Superstars 9-24-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 24th, 1994
Browns County Veterans Memorial Arena
Green Bay, Wisconsin

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British Bulldog vs. Reno Riggins

The crowd is definitely happy to see Bulldog back here. Riggins actually gets in a superkick out of a roll through by Bulldog. Bulldog kicks out at 1 and hits his vertical suplex. Bulldog hits the running powerslam and that's all. It's interesting that they really don't find much for him to do outside of being Bret's sidekick for about a year. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show some charity work they've done, which just falls flat with all of the recent allegations.

Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Kevin Krueger & Rod Bell

They try breaking up Shawn and Diesel here while they show no signs of it in the ring. Michaels hits a superkick on Bell. Diesel hits the Jackknife and tags in Michaels, who is now wearing his hat and sits on his opponent for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Dink and Jerry Lawler from Superstars 2 weeks ago. We then get to re-live kicking the trash can and finding Dink in the trash can during the Duke Droese match. 

Doink vs. Sonny Rogers

Doink gets tossed into the corner and it knocks Dink down off the apron. Lawler leaves to go check things out and grabs Dink's tricycle and smashes it on the ring post. Doink and Dink didn't see it and Doink hits the Whoopee Cushion (with fart noise) for the victory. After the match, they find it and we get some pouty faces. Lawler runs away into the commercial break. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a super cheesy King Kong Bundy vignette. 

Gary Jackson vs. Tatanka

Reggie White is shown ringside. Gary Jackson gets in some offense and some nearfalls. Tatanka Goes up top and hits the top rope chop as DiBiase is contemplating where he went wrong in life. Tatanka picks up the victory after the Samoan Drop. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get highlights of the Bob Backlund interview from Raw and it's still fabulous. 

Adam Bomb vs. Barry Horowitz

Bomb is all business and hits a big dropkick. The announcers keep trying to yell over at Reggie White, as if he can hear them. Horowitz is able to slam Bomb's face into his boot, but then eats a boot in the midsection. Bomb hits the Atom Smasher for the victory. I've said it before, but Bomb looked good enough to get a better push than he did. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Paul Bearer is hyping up the Hart Attack Tour. Undertaker talks really slow except when he says Yokozuna's name for some reason. 

Yokozuna vs. Gary Scott

Jim Cornette is here this week, which is nice of him. Yoko hits his always awesome side suplex and gets the quick victory. Yoko is great in short matches, which is why I can't wait for him wrestle Undertaker in a 15 minute match. Undertaker's music hits after the match and Yoko is freaking out. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Neidhart says that he's going to put the WWF Championship around his waist for the rest of his life. Plus, you can see a blow up Undertaker!

Next week it's more squash matches. What happened to anything halfway decent on this show? Instead we get the debut of Abe Schwartz.

Superstars earlier in the year was a really enjoyable show. It's now gone back to being a bunch of nothing. It doesn't help that we are just treading water until they announce some matches for Survivor Series. 

Overall Rating: 33%

SmackDown 8-25-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, August 25th, 2006
Wachovia Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

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After a SummerSlam recap, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Finlay and William Regal are out to the ring. Booker then knights Finlay and Regal in a touching ceremony. It all leads to a lot of "All hail King Booker" chants until Lashley attacks him from behind. They take care of him and then Batista comes out to make the save. Now it's time for Teddy Long. We haven't gotten this in forever. We're getting a handicap match featuring Booker, Finlay and Regal against Batista and Lashley.

Gregory Helms is out to join the announce booth.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy

If you didn't know that Helms was the longest reigning champion, you will after about 5 seconds. Hardy gets off to a hot start until Kennedy is able to hit a back suplex. Hardy fights back and hits a clothesline for a 2 count. Hardy hits a Side Effect and gets another nearfall. He follows up with a dive to the outside and we head into a commercial. When we come back, Kennedy throws Hardy into the steel steps. Kennedy continues to dominate, but makes the mistake of climbing the turnbuckles. Hardy gets there and hits a superplex. Hardy follows up with a boot to the head and the clothesline/bulldog combo. Hardy hits an elbow off the second rope and signals for the Twist Of Fate. Kennedy counters, but misses with a dropkick. Helms gets up on the apron and snaps Hardy's neck on the top rope. Kennedy hits the reverse neckbreaker and picks up the victory as Helms is shown laughing. This was a good TV match that surprisingly was designed to feature Hardy more than Kennedy. 

Match Rating: ***

Ashley is talking to Miz about how great it was when she won the Diva Search and how happy Layla must have been. Miz then talks about all his Mizfits and how they're going to go crazy when he comes out. Ashley isn't buying it.

Miz brings out Layla and he keeps interrupting her to start his heel turn. He announces the biggest SmackDown debut in history, as he's having his first match. 16 years later, he's still killing it.

They show Tatanka's bad luck over the last two weeks. 

Tatanka vs. Sylvester Terkay

I would have thought Tatanka would have been a pretty good opponent for Terkay here, but unfortunately this one starts out pretty dull. Tatanka tries to make a comeback and hits a clothesline and some chops, but Terkay is still standing. He hits a top rope chop to knock him down. After the failed pin attempt, Tatanka starts arguing with the referee. He gets hit with a boot and Terkay gets the win. This one wasn't very good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show highlights of the disappointing Chavo/Mysterio match at SummerSlam. Out comes Vickie Guerrero to Eddie's music. She says that she loves this music, but it's the last time we will hear it. She hurt both Rey and Chavo and she apologizes. She brings out Rey Mysterio and apologizes. Rey takes a moment and hugs her. She brings out Chavo next and apologizes. They also embrace. Chavo attacks Rey while Vickie yells for him to stop. Chavo grabs a chair, but Vickie stands between them. Chavo throws the chair down and Vickie grabs it. She turns around and hits Rey with it and then Chavo hits the brainbuster on the chair. The crowd was pretty dead until the turn. 

Paul London vs. KC James

James hits a back body drop and backbreaker out of the gate. London battles back until Idol Stevens trips him up. Kendrick comes up and makes the save. London is ready to get back rolling until the Pitbulls come out and attack London. Stevens and James come in and start brawling with them. This was just to remind us that there are 3 tag teams. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

MVP is shown walking through the crowd. 

Kristal vs. Jillian Hall

I'm not quite sure what the point of cramming this one on here was. Anyway, Kristal basically controls the match and then gets a roll up by holding the tights.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vito vs. Sylvan

Sylvan and his main event gimmick take it to Vito to start. He hits a nice looking missile dropkick and then continues to wear him down. Vito starts feeling it and hits the usual offense like he does in every match before putting on his finisher for the quick tap out. This show fell off a cliff.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Vito challenges MVP. MVP takes his time and then says "no contract, no contact".

Handicap Match
King Booker, Finlay & William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley & Batista

Despite the advantage, it's all Lashley and Batista until a Finlay distraction opens up an opportunity. Booker hits a Scissor Kick, but Batista is able to break up the count. Finlay gets Lashley outside of the ring and out comes Hornswoggle. Finlay tosses him off the apron and onto Lashley. He then goes over to Michael Cole and bites him. Batista gets the hot tag and takes care of Finlay and Lashley. Booker tries to use the scepter, but Batista ducks it and hits the spinebuster for the victory. They booked that more one-sided than expected. 

Match Rating: **

This show started off good enough, featuring a fairly lengthy match. From there on, it was extremely mediocre and even bad in spots. After SummerSlam, they haven't really found anything interesting for them to really expand on.

Overall Rating: 49%

ECW 8-22-06 Review

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006
Wachovia Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

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Apparently we're getting a rematch of the ECW SummerSlam match that didn't deliver. But first, it's an Extreme Bikini Contest between Torrie Wilson and Kelly Kelly. Torrie goes first and then you'll never guess what happens when Kelly goes. Out comes Mike Knox and Test to stop her. Tommy Dreamer and Sandman come out and I'm guessing we're going to get a match here. Sandman says 6 person tag, right here, right now. 

Torrie Wilson, Tommy Dreamer & Sandman vs. Kelly Kelly, Mike Knox & Test

Torrie grabs Kelly and throws her in the ring. The lights go off for some reason and then Torrie gives Kelly a stink face. In come Test and Dreamer and Test hits a series of backbreakers. Knox and Test go to work on Dreamer until he is able to hit a reverse neckbreaker on Test. Sandman gets the tag and hits a somersault dive off the top. Test pulls him off the pin attempt, but gets thrown into the ring post. Knox misses a leg drop off the second rope on Sandman and in comes Dreamer. He hits a DDT on Knox and gets the somewhat surprising victory. This was pretty standard fare. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Big Show lets Paul Heyman know that he's got Sabu tonight.

Matt Striker cuts his usual promo about coming to ECW. 

Extreme Rules Match
Kevin Thorn vs. Balls Mahoney

Thorn kicks the chair right into the face of Balls on his way in the ring. Of course it's ECW, so he basically no sells it and knocks Thorn out of the ring. Thorn starts using his staff and uses it to slam it right into the throat of Balls. Balls bounces back with a sit down spinebuster, but only gets a 2 count. Balls goes out to grab a chair, but Ariel grabs his leg and bites him. Thorn kicks the chair in his face and picks up the victory. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Shannon Moore is still coming.

CM Punk vs. Christopher W Anderson

Joey Styles first lets us know that Punk hasn't beaten any main event talent yet and then also claims Anderson had a cup of coffee in ECW. Anderson is a guy that I can't believe they even bothered signing. For some reason, he gets in some offense, but then eats a running knee into a bulldog. Punk then gets hit with a spinebuster for a 2 count. He goes for another one, but Punk escapes and hits the Urinage into the Anaconda Vice for the victory. For those of you keeping score, CM beat CW.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They now show Paul Heyman hyping up Hardcore Holly and lets him know how no one wants him in ECW except him. He lets him know that he needs to make an impact.

Rob Van Dam vs. Danny Doring

Doring gets to hit a swinging neckbreaker and works on the back of RVD. RVD comes back with the rolling monkey flip. He hits the top rope kick and Rolling Thunder. He heads right up, hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and picks up the easy victory. After the match, Holly comes from behind and hits RVD with a chair. He then nails Doring with a chair to the head and an Alabama Slam on RVD. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Rene Dupree is still coming.

ECW Championship Match
Big Show vs. Sabu

They sure have crammed a lot on this show. Granted, not much of it was good, but they did schedule a lot. Big Show dumps Sabu on the top rope and he falls to the floor into a commercial break. We get a ref bump, so Sabu uses some chair shots to knock Show down. He hits the triple jump moonsault and an Arabian Facebuster, but the referee is out. A second ref comes in and he gets a 2 count. Sabu uses the ring bell on Show right in front of the ref and then threatens him. The ref goes out of the ring and Sabu continues to use it, eventually knocking him over the top rope and through a table. Sabu's music hits and I guess the official decision is a DQ victory for Show. Show is busted open really badly out on the floor as we go off the air.

Match Rating: *3/4

There is just nothing interesting going on in ECW. I was watching this show a lot more often than SmackDown and I'm not really sure why. I do have a soft spot once it turned into NXT, but that's a long ways away.

Overall Rating: 40%

Monday Night Raw 8-21-06

Monday, August 21st, 2006
Arena At Harbor Yard
Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Edge is out to gloat about still being the WWE Champion despite everyone thinking he was going to lose. Lita is not out with him and neither is the title belt. They show Lita on the Titan Tron and she has the belt with her. She chucks it into the harbor and Edge declares that the end of the John Cena era. Edge then debuts the Rated R belt. Out comes Jeff Hardy to make his return and Edge shouts insults at him. Jeff doesn't like it and takes him down with some right hands. He goes up for a Swanton, but Edge is able to roll out of the ring. This was a good way to start the show, I just wish they hadn't announced that Jeff would be returning and kept it a surprise. 

Spirit Squad vs. Jim Duggan, Eugene & Highlanders

Eugene gets in an airplane spin and tags in Robbie. The Spirit Squad distract the ref and Johnny is able to hit a spin kick. The Squad dominate, while the crowd chants for Hacksaw. It's kind of interesting that we were led to believe that Kenny was the next Shawn Michaels because he could jump high. The match breaks down, as one would expect. The Highlanders hit a springboard reverse suplex and pick up the win. This was inoffensive fun that go the crowd going. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Edge is looking for Vince, but finds Jonathan Coachman working out instead. Edge wants Jeff Hardy and Coach grants that. Vince and Shane arrive and kick Coach out. Shane says their loss at SummerSlam shouldn't count because he was the legal man and Vince was the one who was pinned. Vince then says that he's feeling gnarly tonight. 

Randy Orton is back for an interview and says that he got screwed at SummerSlam. He's going to use this aggression on Ric Flair tonight and calls him a bigger legend than Hogan. In walks Carlito and he says that watching Hogan getting his hand raised was cool. Orton tells him that at least he was at SummerSlam. 

Triple H is here to tell us about Vince's private plane. They show a video of them getting off the plane and a big DX logo on the plane. Vince is furious of course. 

Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish starts off aggressively and then hits a victory roll for a 2 count. She goes for an early Stratusfaction, but Victoria is able to counter it into a backbreaker. Victoria goes for a Widow's Peak, but Trish slides out and hits Stratusfaction for the clean victory. That was actually a fun little match. 

Match Rating: **

Out come the McMahons and the ladies are out of there. We then see DX on the roof of Titan Towers. They of course put a big DX mark on the building. Vince walks away in shock.

They show Vince and Shane backstage and Mick Foley comes up to them. Vince tells him that it might be his night to join the club. Vince says that it's either that or he's fired. 

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge

Hardy attacks Edge with a baseball slide on his way into the ring and then hits him with a dive over the top rope. Hardy goes for a Twist Of Fate, but Edge counters it and hits an inverted DDT. Hardy is able to come back with Whisper In The Wind, but Edge kicks out at 2. Hardy is able to hit a Twist Of Fate and follows it up with the Swanton Bomb. Lita pulls Edge's leg in kind of an awkward spot and the referee calls for the bell. Out comes John Cena and he attacks him and brawls with him in the backstage area. The match was good, but the finish felt botched.

Match Rating: **1/2

They go back to the brawl and they are out by the harbor now. This all leads to Edge getting thrown into the water and Cena telling him that he's not going anywhere. 

Mick Foley is with Melina and they're talking about Ric Flair being crazy last night. She asks him about what he's going to do tonight and tells him to think it through. I never really understood this relationship.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Johnny Nitro vs. Kane

Nitro tries to use his quickness to avoid Kane, but he eats a big boot. Kane hits a top rope clothesline, but then out comes Umaga and he hits a Flatliner. He then hits the Samoan Spike for good measure. Kane site up, but Umaga hits a kick and a couple of leaping headbutts. Umaga then hits a Super Samoan Spike off the second rope. Kane is shown bleeding from the mouth. This was all just to continue the build for Kane/Umaga and unfortunately at the expense of Nitro.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

Orton hits an early vertical suplex and then takes 2 tries to get Flair over the top with clotheslines. Flair gets thrown into the steps, as Orton slows the match down. Flair tries to fight back, but Orton just dominates him before hitting the RKO for the victory. Orton attacks Flair after the bell and the referee reverses the decision, which never makes sense. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for Mick to join the club. He refuses to because he doesn't need the WWE. They say it's not him that would be fired, it's Melina. Foley willingly does it for her, but then Melina hits him with a low blow. Vince takes the mic backstage and keeps running his mouth. He and Shane go outside and Vince admits that X has broken them. He yells at the limo driver for not wearing a tie. The limo drives off and it's chained to something and it causes the rear axel to pull right off. Vince and Shane struggle to get out and Vince berates the driver. They look at the limo and DX logo is on it. Vince is just insufferable here tonight. 

This was actually a really entertaining episode if you can get past Vince's poor performance tonight. There was a lot of energy in the matches, even if most of them didn't get a lot of time and a lot of storylines were advanced as they head towards Unforgiven. Thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 69%

NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way Review

Thursday, September 11th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension

Sin Cara is able to hit a series of springboard aerial moves to slow down Viktor, but it doesn't last long as Cara goes flying into the guardrail. Viktor goes for a springboard powerbomb, but Cara counters it into a hurricanrana. Viktor is able to tag in Konnor and he knocks Kalisto off the apron before he can make the tag. Cara is finally able to make the hot tag and Kalisto shows off his impressive skills. I'm enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. Cara hits a dive on Konnor on the ramp. Kalisto hits a hurricanrana, but gets caught on his double crossbody. In comes Cara and takes them down. Kalisto misses a double jump moonsault and gets hit with a clothesline by Viktor. They go for Fall Of Man, but Cara grabs Konnor's leg. Kalisto is able to hit Salda del Sol to finally end the reign of the long time champions. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this. They told a really nice story and actually deserved to have a few more minutes. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Renee Young interviews the new champs and they let us know the future starts now. 

The announcers then offer their sympathy for anyone affected by the 9/11 tragedies. This goes right into an Adrian Neville video. 

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

They say this is Corbin's debut, but I'm pretty sure he has been on before. He actually gets some chants before the match, which is funny. Corbin hits him with a clothesline and then End Of Days for the quick victory. That was a good way to debut him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Tyson Kidd video package. These are just the same ones they showed last week. 

Hair vs. Hair Match
Sylvester Lefort vs. Enzo Amore

I'm not really sure what they ever saw in Lefort. This match just has nothing going for it. Lefort's offense is pretty dull. Enzo starts to make a comeback, but Marcus Louis distracts him and he gets hit with a clothesline for a 2 count. Cass takes out Marcus outside the ring and Enzo rolls up Lefort and picks up the victory. Lefort tries to escape after the match, but Cass hits him with a clothesline and he carries him up to the barber chair. Marcus comes from behind and stops them from bringing him up there. Lefort makes a run for it and Marcus gets attacked. Enzo grabs the bucket and dumps it on Marcus's head. This wasn't good. At all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After Tyler Breeze's video package, out comes William Regal. He brings out the biggest international signing in WWE history, Kenta. He lets us know that he will be known as Hideo Itami and that he wants to be NXT Champion. Out come The Ascension and they toss him out of the ring. They want a rematch, but in comes Itami and he takes both of them out. 

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

Bull attacks Mojo right away. Mojo comes firing back, but he ends up running right into Bull. Bull climbs the top rope and hits a headbutt for the victory. That was certainly quick. He goes up top and hits another headbutt. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Enzo and Cass are looking for Lefort and Marcus and find them backstage. Lefort escapes again, but they are able to bring Marcus through the crowd and into the ring. They show the crowd what he looks like for good measure. 

NXT Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Charlotte

I believe this is the debut of Bayley's music here and she is definitely over with the live crowd here. Bayley comes out aggressive, but Charlotte fires back. Charlotte puts on the Figure Four headlock to ground Bayley and hits a low dropkick after the hold is broken. They are telling the underdog story well here and the crowd is loving every second of it. Charlotte goes up top, but Bayley slows her down and hits a hurricanrana for a 2 count. Charlotte is able to hit a roll up, that sends Bayley into the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte kind of hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Charlotte hits Natural Selection and that is all. The finish was a little underwhelming, but the rest of the match was very well worked. Both competitors brought out the best in each other here and Bayley losing here ended up working great in the long run. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

After the match, Sasha Banks comes out and eventually attacks Bayley. Charlotte decides to make the save, as it appears that Bayley has earned Charlotte's respect.

Fatal 4-Way For The NXT Championship
Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville

This quickly turns into a brawl with Zayn and Breeze pairing off while Kidd and Neville go at it. Breeze and Kidd begin to work together and knock out Neville with a suplex on the stage. Alliances can only last so long and Kidd quickly turns on Breeze. Meanwhile, Neville is playing the role of the guy who keeps getting knocked out every time he tries to get back in. Kidd begins to dominate until Zayn makes a comeback. He has Breeze and Kidd on the outside and is going for a dive, but Neville gets in his way and hits a springboard moonsault before Zayn can do anything. Neville and Zayn give us some quick paced offense that leads to Neville almost getting dropped on his head. In comes Kidd and he is able to launch Zayn into Neville, who is sitting on the top turnbuckle. Kidd goes for a Sharpshooter, but Zayn escapes, but it leads to him getting kicked in the head. Zayn gets his knees up on the springboard elbow drop. Then Breeze comes out of nowhere to hit a series of kicks in a great sequence. Breeze goes for a superplex on Neville, but Kidd joins him and it leads to a tower of doom spot thanks to Zayn. Zayn stomps on Kidd in the corner, but then gets hit in the jaw by a Neville kick. Neville goes up top and hits a Shooting Star Press on Zayn. Breeze runs in and steals the pin, but Zayn kicks out at 2. Breeze goes for the Beauty Shot, but Kidd turns it into a Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Neville is able to stop Breeze from tapping out and break the hold. Zayn sends Neville over the top and then hits an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle. He hits a dive on Neville and then the leap through the ropes for a DDT on Breeze. He hits the Helluva Kick on Kidd in the ring, but Neville pulls the referee out of the ring to some boos. Zayn angrily goes outside the ring and is greeted with a superkick. Neville comes in and hits the Red Arrow on Kidd for the victory. This was a fantastic match from start to finish and the match that got me interested in NXT. It has the problems that all of the multi-man matches have, but it doesn't take much to look past that with the brilliant display all four men put on here. Great stuff.

Match Rating: ****1/2

This was far from a perfect show, but the double main event delivered big time and the opener was also well done. The rest of the show felt a little pointless, but it never overstayed its welcome. This was definitely NXT's crowning achievement up to this point. 

Overall Rating: 86%

Money In The Bank 2022 Review

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Paradise, Nevada

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Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi vs. Alexa Bliss

Everyone leaves the ring except Asuka and Becky to start and Asuka gets the hot start. Asuka hits a modified bulldog on Becky on a ladder, but Asuka hits a big boot to the face from Rodriguez. Rodriguez hits a double suplex on Liv and Becky on a ladder. Shotzi tries to climb a ladder up by Rodriguez, but she falls. She just seems not into this match so far. Liv and Lacey are able to hit a move on there and then Lynch stacks them up and hits a splash. Alexa climbs up top and hits a somersault dive. Asuka hip tosses Shotzi on a ladder and then starts to climb. Lacey slams her into the ladder and they both start climbing. Becky tips the ladder, but they both land on their feet. Shotzi and Lacey both start climbing and Lacey knocks her off with a big right hand. Lacey has her hands on it, but up comes Rodriguez to slow her down. Liv climbs up the other side and gets her hand on it, but Lacey stops her. Liv hits her with a sunset flip powerbomb on Lacey. Rodriguez is hung upside down on the ladder and Shotzi takes advantage of it. Shotzi gets Alexa on her shoulders and kind of drops her into the ladder for another awkward spot from her. Shotzi misses with a splash and hits a ladder. Asuka tries to run up, but then Rodriguez stops her. Rodriguez sets up a ladder between the announce table and the ring, but while she is cordially rearranging the table, Asuka stops her. Rodriguez fights her off and they battle on the table. Asuka ends up top of the ladder thanks to Becky. She climbs up a ladder on the outside of the ring and hits a splash, but doesn't break the ladder. Becky is able to knock a bunch of ladies off the ladders and now Liv comes to join Becky. Liv gets pushed over and pushes herself back up, knocks Becky off and wins the Money In The Bank! Her facial expressions on the way to the ring kind of gave it away, but it's been a long time coming for her. The match itself was on the sloppier side and was a little all over the place. The Liv moment was classic, but this was more in the good rather than great. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

United States Championship Match
Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

This is kind of an intriguing feud to me, as Lashley has been fantastic in his return and seems like he is above the US Championship at this point. However, it's more than obvious that they love Theory. Lashley starts off all over Theory and knocks him off the apron and to the floor. Theory is able to drive Lashley into the ring post. Lashley catches a leaping Theory, but loses his balance and falls. He's able to walk back up with him still on his back and slams him into the ring post. After curling up when Lashley goes for the Spear, Theory takes control after a running left forearm. Lashley makes a comeback, but Theory is able to escape the suplex and snap him on the top rope. Theory goes for his somersault move, but Lashley catches him and Lashley hits a powerslam. We get some back and forth action and it leads to a somersault dropkick for a nearfall. Theory rakes the eyes of Lashley and hits a Spear. Lashley escapes Theory's finisher and puts on the Hurt Lock and gets the victory. The crowd loved this match and honestly, I enjoyed that quite a bit. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get an interview with Liv Morgan and she says that she really doesn't want to screw this up. She wants to enjoy this moment. 

Raw Women's Championship Match
Carmella vs. Bianca Belair

Carmella has always been a valuable character on the women's roster, but has never quite hit the in ring quality of her peers. This is a fresh shot for her tonight. We get lots of strength, athleticism and butt slapping from Bianca in the early going. Carmella comes back and hits a Bronco Buster in the corner. Bianca comes back with the marching suplex and a series of forearms. Carmella moves out of the way of a charging Bianca and she rams her shoulder into the ring post. Carmella gets some close calls, but it's not enough. Bianca has had enough, hits the KOD and retains her title. That felt more like a TV match unfortunately. It was by no means bad, but just didn't hit the emotional levels the first two matches did. However, after the match, Carmella aggressively attacks Bianca. I guess this one is going to continue, but it sure doesn't feel like a SummerSlam type of feud. 

Match Rating: **

We get some Logan Paul propaganda and then an Alexa Bliss WWE Credit One card commercial, which the crowd boos. 

Unified Tag Team Championship Match
Usos vs. Street Profits

The Profits completely dominate the opening moments of this match, but Angelo Dawkins makes a big mistake by allowing a blind tag. The Usos hit a double suplex into the ring post on the outside. The Usos continue to work on Dawkins and taunt Montez Ford. Montez finally gets tagged in, but gets hit with a superkick when he goes off the top rope. They are making the Usos look like absolute killers in this match. After a long beatdown, Ford attempts a comeback. He ends up getting hit with a big uppercut. Ford finally makes the tag to Dawkins and he hits a senton dive over the top rope to the floor. He follows it up with a leaping reverse elbow and a spin kick to the head. The Profits hit a cool double team where Dawkins hit a shoulder tackle and Ford caught him for a modified powerbomb slam. They hit a super blockbuster and that's still not enough. Ford runs into a double superkick, but he's able to kick out at 2. Ford is able to send both Usos out of the ring and then hit his running somersault dive over the ring post. Ford hits the splash after the spinebuster, but the pin attempt was broken up. This turns into a brawl and it ends with the Usos hitting the 1D to pick up the victory. I think some will like this more than I did. They got a lot of time and put on a good match, but it just never hit that next level for me. They show a replay and they show that the shoulder was up for the pin attempt. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Natalya vs. Ronda Rousey

We get lots of mat wrestling here, as you would probably expect. As a result, they start to lose the crowd a bit. Rousey puts on the Sharpshooter to wake them up a little bit, but Natalya is able to get to the bottom rope. Rousey goes for an arm bar, but gets too cocky and Natalya kicks her out of the ring. Natalya puts Rousey in the Sharpshooter on the apron. Rousey is able to roll through and Natalya goes into the ring post in a really cool spot. Rousey is selling her leg, but goes for the Piper's Pit. Natalya gets out of it, but she puts on the arm bar. Natalya gets out and tries for the Sharpshooter. Rousey counters that into the Ankle Lock in the center of the ring. Natalya tries to turn that into another Sharpshooter, but Rousey locks in the arm and Natalya taps. This felt like it should have been a little bit more intense than it was. Rousey continues to sell the knee after the match and out comes Liv Morgan.

Match Rating: **1/4

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey

Morgan goes for a kick, but Rousey gets her in the Ankle Lock and the crowd is booing. Liv is able to kick the bad knee, rolls her up and we have a new SmackDown Women's Champion. Total goosebump moment there. Rousey quickly gets up and gives her a hug. Ronda limps back and Liv gets her moment. Finally. I probably would have preferred her to cash it in at different event, but I think we'll all take it. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Riddle vs. Seth Rollins vs. Omos vs. Madcap Moss vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Theory

Before the match is about to start, out comes Adam Pearce. He's going to add to the match and of course it is Theory. Omos gets the monster start, dominating everyone. McIntyre hits the Claymore to get him out of the ring. He tries to climb, but Sheamus throws him off and they start going at it. Theory tries to sneak up in the meantime, but they catch him and he gets destroyed by the two of them. This reminds me of Daniel Puder at Royal Rumble 2005. Rollins throws a ladder at the both of them and then Riddle attacks Rollins from behind. Rollins throws him into a ladder and goes for a Pedigree. Riddle back drops him on the ladder and then hits the Broton. Sami Zayn throws him out and starts climbing. Madcap is the one to stop him, but he ends up getting a ladder dumped on him. Riddle and Madcap battle at the top, but Omos is back in and he hits a powerslam on Riddle. Omos is about to climb, but Theory comes off the top. Omos catches him and hits a chokeslam. We finally get multiple wrestlers going here and it's all of them attacking Omos. He ends up being buried with a pile of ladders. Sheamus then turns on most of them and Rollins starts to climb. Sheamus adds another ladder and then Theory joins them. Rollins and Zayn get tipped over and Theory is able to slam Sheamus into the ladder. Madcap grabs Theory and take him out. Zayn gets close, but Madcap is able to powerbomb him into a ladder and that one looked painful. McIntyre headbutts Madcap off the ladder and then Sheamus knocks him off and hits White Noise. Riddle hits a draping DDT on Sheamus from the ladder. Riddle gets a shot to shine and it culminates in a Floating Bro from the very top of the ladder. Sheamus looked like he got a pretty good shot to the head there. Omos is back and they again try to give him their beset shot to knock him out. Rollins hits a Stomp on Omos on the apron. Everyone joins up to chuck Omos through the announce table. We get some more physicality and Drew starts climbing the ladder on top of Sheamus. Out comes Butch and he jumps on the back of Drew and puts on a sleeper. Sheamus gets out and hits a knee to Drew. Sheamus returns the favor and climbs on top of Drew. Drew pushes the ladder up and knocks Sheamus down. He then hits a Claymore to Butch and starts to climb. Sheamus stops him and then they both start climbing. Sami Zayn tips it and then fall onto a ladder propped up in the corner. Zayn is all alone and has his hands on the briefccase, but Madcap knocks him off. Rollins pushes him off and he takes a rough looking fall and then gets hit with the Stomp. Rollins starts climbing, but Riddle hits him in the back with another ladder. Riddle starts to climb, but Rollins knocks him off with some right hands. Riddle starts to climb again and he hits a RKO from the ladder. Riddle and Theory battle at the top, with Theory getting the better of Riddle. He grabs the briefcase and predictably becomes Mr. Money In The Bank. He takes a selfie from the top and the rocket is officially strapped. This was a good match, with Riddle really stealing the match. The Theory run has potential, but I think they will really have to let it ride for awhile. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This was a good, solid show that will forever be remembered as the night Liv Morgan finally got her moment. Like I said, I would have probably preferred it got cashed in on a separate show, but it still worked effectively tonight. I really enjoyed the Lashley match and the tag team match was good as well. The main event delivered, even if it didn't do a ton to distinguish itself from the many other ladder matches at this point. Thumbs up overall, but not a top tier show by any means. 

Overall Rating: 74%

Monday Night Raw 9-19-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, September 19th, 1994
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

So even though this episode again was taped before SummerSlam, the intro is all about the heel turn of Tatanka. What a way to draw viewers in. 

Lex Luger vs. Executioner

I continue to be surprised at how over Luger is with the live crowds, although this one seems to be a little sweetened. This variation of the Executioner looks like your friends dad playing wrestler. Luger explodes and puts him in the Rebel Rack for the victory. I still don't get why they just didn't turn him heel. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's a King's Court with British Bulldog.

Jerry Lawler vs. Duke Droese

Lawler cuts a promo before the match on Droese being a piece of trash. I feel like they forgot about this feud for a couple of weeks. I guess with it being taped over 30 days before this, they kind of had to. We get lots of stalling, which is pretty typical of Lawler during this era. Droese finally gets his hands on him and gets 10 punches in the corner. This match is so good, we're getting a second commercial break. Lawler is a able to slow things down and take control. Lawler goes outside the ring to grab Duke's garbage can, but Dink pops out of it and squirts him. Lawler chases him and gets counted out. "The squirt gave him a squirt" - Randy Savage. Dink comes back and Lawler grabs the can again. Doink is behind him so he runs out through the crowd to get away while Doink and Dink laugh. As bad as this was, it was entertaining in the way a B movie is. 

Match Rating: *

Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell & Steve King

They seem to be semi-remembering that they have a tag team division lately. I can't say enough how much I like the Bodies. Prichard hits a variation of the sitdown powerbomb and Del Ray follows it with a moonsault for the victory. More of this please.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Vince McMahon brings out Bob Backlund for an interview. The character work is great because he is really crazy. He talks about how he used to like all the fans but now he is just so disappointed. Lots of plebeian talk here. Backlund says he didn't use the Chicken Wing to make the people happy. He says it is the best hold in wrestling and even Bret Hart can't get out of it. The crowd calls him a has been, so Backlund says that he runs more in a day than most people do in their life. It's too bad he has to wrestle, because this is great TV. He then claims that if anyone can get out of his Chicken Wing while pinned to the mat, he will retire from wrestling. He takes of his and challenges someone. They bring out Lou Gianfriddo from the WWF magazine and would make me look like a big guy. He puts him in the hold and snaps. Vince tries to pull him off along with a bunch of officials and eventually Randy Savage. This was really well done and one of the better interview segments in Raw history up to this point. 

Sparky Plugg vs. Richie Rich

Man, all that money didn't do much for Richie Rich. Vince apologizes for not calling much of the match and just talking about Backlund. He then just continues to talk about Backlund even more. Plugg hits a top rope crossbody for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo

No Jim Cornette for the Bodies or Yokozuna. I guess they had to save on travel expenses. Yoko is noticeably bigger on his comeback here. Yoko shows a little bit more aggression than normal with a series of right hands in the corner. He hits the Banzai Drop and that is all. After the match, Undertaker's music hits and Yoko heads to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After a very poor episode of Superstars, this Raw more than made up for it. Bob Backlund was fantastic in his interview and just something totally different than what we were used to seeing at this time. The squash matches had a lot of energy to them too, which is surprising for a taped show. Thumbs up here.

Overall Rating: 61%