Off The Grid, Volume 26: Fall Brawl 1994: War Games Review

Sunday, September 18th, 1994
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia

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Off The Grid, Volume 26:

Some country singer named Martin Delray sings the "Star Spangled Banner" to kick it off. 

Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene Okerlund let us know that Ricky Steamboat has an injury, but there are some backup plans.

WCW Television Championship Match
Johnny B. Badd vs. Lord Steven Regal

The beginning of this match is exactly how a match like this should start and it's a shame that this style has really gone away. Badd gets in some nice offense to get the crowd warmed up and Regal plays the heel role perfectly. I will continue to stand up for Badd/Mero as a wrestler for the rest of my days. Badd hits an airplane spin and Regal wisely rolls out of the ring. Well, at least until Badd comes diving over the top rope and sends him into the guardrail. Badd takes one risk too many, as Regal ducks the dive and he snaps on the top rope. Regal is all over Badd and Sir William uses the cane behind the referee's back. It's so good to hear Bobby Heenan making fun of fans again. They do a good job of having Badd attempt to make comebacks with Regal continuing to cut him off. Badd finally makes the comeback and hits a spinning headscissors. Regal kicks out at 1 and then dumps Regal out to the floor. Badd comes back in and tries to do a sunset flip. Regal holds onto the cane,r, but the referee kicks it out of his hand. Regal still kicks out. William holds Badd, but Badd ducks and Regal knocks him off the ring. Badd gets another nearfall. Then out of nowhere, Badd hits a backslide and gets the win to become the new Television Champion. This was a really good opening match that I probably liked more than most. My only complaint was the finish. They should have just went with the initial pin attempt where the crowd was 100% with it. Regardless, the crowd and I both loved this one.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show highlights of Hulk Hogan being attacked at Clash Of The Champions by a masked man. We then see that if Hogan didn't wrestle, he would have had to forfeit the title and then he comes out to face Flair. The masked man comes out again during the match and does it again. 

Loser Leaves WCW Match
Cactus Jack vs. Kevin Sullivan

They go right at it to start outside the ring. Dave Sullivan holds Cactus to allow Kevin to throw him to the exposed cement. This whole Dave Sullivan storyline just baffles me to this day. Cactus starts making his comeback and hits an elbow drop for a 2 count. Jack goes for a piledriver outside the ring, but gets back body dropped on the concrete instead. Kevin follows up with a running clothesline. Cactus goes to use a chair, but Dave grabs it and Kevin attacks him. Cactus hits Dave off the apron, but Kevin rolls him up and that's the ending? The finishes in WCW were always just so bad. Eric Bischoff has said it numerous times, but every time I watch their shows, I can't help but think about how right he is. This was really too short be anything special.

Match Rating: **

Mean Gene is with the Stud Stable backstage. Bunkhouse Buck was really an underrated oddball character that gets forgotten. This version of Meng is so strange too. 

They first bring out Steve Austin and then United States Champion, Ricky Steamboat. Nick Bockwinkle announces that they do not know how long Steamboat will be out and that Austin is the new champion. Steamboat lets Austin know that he never ever beat him for the title. Austin wants to head out but Bockwinkle announces that Austin has to wrestle tonight. 

United States Championship Match
Steve Austin vs. Jim Duggan

So Duggan is here for his debut and Austin is livid. He tries to leave, but Bockwinkle throws him back in the ring. Duggan hits a back body drop and gets the pinfall victory. They couldn't have had him use a clothesline instead? The crowd loved it and Austin sold it like a heel, so I guess in that respect, it worked. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mean Gene interviews Duggan after the match and he calls this the greatest night of his life. He also calls out Ric Flair for what he's done to his buddy, Hulk Hogan. It's kind of crazy how Duggan never won a title in WWF, but wins it here in his first match here. 

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Stars & Stripes vs. Pretty Wonderful

They show a "fan" being escorted by security and it's the Blacktop Bully. Pretty Wonderful is such an odd pairing to me. There is definitely a large amount of people who are cheering the heel team here instead of the lame babyfaces. This feels the most over the top that Roma has been. Outside the ring, Roma dumps the contents of Bobby Heenan's cooler on Bagwell. The Patriot finally gets in and dominates the champs. However, Orndorff hits a piledriver on Bagwell outside the ring. They throw him back in the ring and Roma pins him before Patriot can break it up. I know I didn't write much about this one, but it was decent. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Mean Gene is now with the Nasty Boys, Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes. 

Triangle Elimination Match To Become The #1 Contender
Vader vs. Guardian Angel vs. Sting

So this is your typical overcomplicated WCW stipulation that makes no sense. So Vader and Guardian Angel start off in the first match and the winner of that faces Sting. Throw in all the stupid overtime rules and it's enough to make you not care despite three really good professional wrestlers being involved. These two big men always had surprisingly good chemistry and honestly this is the last good thing that Ray Traylor really did in terms of ringwork. After some typical big man action, in comes Harley Race to hit a headbutt, allowing Vader to get the pinfall victory. That was quicker than I expected, but I guess if you're going to have a 400 pound man wrestle two matches in a row, it should be fairly quick. So Vader gets a quick break and then out comes Sting. Speaking of two guys with good chemistry, but this is not as surprising. Vader is able to get Sting down and hits the Vader Bomb splash version. He goes for a second one, but Sting slows him down. Vader comes back and hits him with a big clothesline to slow down the comeback. He goes for another splash, but this time Sting moves. Sting clotheslines Vader to the floor and Race checks on him. Sting hits a suplex on Race and then back in the ring, he hits a suplex on Vader. He goes up top and hits an odd looking splash. He goes for a running splash and this time Vader gets his knees up. Vader goes for the moonsault, but he of course misses the mark. Sting hits a superplex and a Stinger Splash, but it's not enough to get the victory. We now go into big move mode, as the ring announcer continues to let us know how little time is left. We're down to under a minute and Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Vader is able to fight through it as the countdown to 0 hits. We're in overtime now and we're getting big moves, but much slower paced. Vader hits the powerbomb, but he's not able to pin him in time before overtime ends. So now we're in sudden death and all you need to do is knock your opponent to the mat. After some big clubbing blows, Sting is able to knock him down. The referee is distracted by Harley Race in the aisle and then out comes the masked man, who knocks Sting down. The referee sees him down and Vader is the #1 contender. The rules of this match ruined what it could have been. Vader was the only choice who made sense here with Hogan as champ. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

It's time for Mean Gene to interview Hulk Hogan from a gym. He says that he is hangin' and bangin'. They then have Flair and Hogan talk on the phone and this is a huge waste of time. This segment is so long and so terrible that I fell asleep. It leads to them agreeing to a career ending match. Since exactly zero people will ever read this, I'm not even going to bother re-watching it.

WarGames
Arn Anderson, Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck & Col. Robert Parker vs. Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes & Nasty Boys

Dustin and Arn start off, which is a little surprising. Dustin shoves Arn's head in between the two rings and dishes out some punishment with a good camera angle to go along with it. Dustin then hits a leaping clothesline from one ring to the other. The crowd is somewhat quiet here to start. I should probably mention that Meng was originally supposed to be in the match, but they punished Parker instead. The coin toss is made and you'd never guess it, but the heels win it. Bunkhouse Buck is in there and he is all over Dustin. Next up it's Jerry Sags to help save his partner. Dustin locks in a sleeper on Arn as they announce there is a 60 seconds before another competitor enters. It's always nice when something makes sense. Terry Funk is next and he nails Dustin in the head with a boot. Arn and Buck throw Sags off the ropes, but he collapses before they can hit the move after he hits the cage. We are getting a good Bobby Heenan performance here, where he really is selling the match. Brian Knobbs is in and he's cleaning house. It's Parker's turn to enter now and he wants nothing to do with it. He finally enters once Buck has Dustin held up and he kicks him in the midsection. Dustin has the belt out and he's whipping everyone with it. The crowd is chanting for Dusty and he's in now. It's bedlam now and in typical WCW fashion, you can't even see the finish. The bell rings and the faces are victorious. Unfortunately we are subjected to hearing Dustin's awful entrance music again. It may be worse than the SmackDown opening music from my 2006 timeline. We finally get a replay and it's Parker in Dusty's Figure Four and the Nasty Boys are hitting him with elbow drops. Not a bad finish, but it felt anti-climatic. This was a fun match, but just as it hit the second gear, it ended. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This is a great example of a show with no classic matches, but it had a bunch of good ones and a fun atmosphere. It's not one you're ever going to list on your list of greatest shows, but I could see it being a sentimental favorite as an entertaining show. I enjoyed this one despite the awful Flair/Hogan segment.

Overall Rating: 76%

NXT 10-9-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, October 9th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

They show the highlights of Breeze attacking Mojo two weeks ago. Breeze gets in a couple of right hands, but backs away before Mojo can retaliate. Mojo gets his hands on him and throws him in the corner. Breeze hits him with a kick and goes after the injured shoulder. Breeze puts on an arm bar and the referee stops the match. You will never hear me complain about a short Mojo match. They continue to show a little bit more of an edge for Breeze as they continue to build him back up. With that being said, it was one of the weaker ref stoppages I can think of.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Oh. Great. More home video footage with Enzo and Cass. They bring William Regal to show him Carmella. She's working in the ring at the Performance Center and he gives her a job. 

Viktor vs. Hideo Itami

They go right at it when the bell rings. Viktor is able to hit a snap suplex and gets a 2 count. Viktor goes for an atomic drop, but Itami flips out of it and gets some kicks in. He hits a springboard dropkick and then follows it up with a running kick in the corner. Out on the stage, Konnor is shown attacking Funaki. Itami ducks a Viktor sneak attack and he hits a dropkick to pick up the victory. Seriously? In comes Konnor and he destroys Itami with forearms to the head. They tie Itami up in the bottom ropes and continue the attack. Funaki attempts to save him, but he's too injured to do anything. They hit Fall Of Man on Funaki as Itami watches on. I'm not really sure I get why Viktor lost to a dropkick during a distraction. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo & Big Cass

We'll see if this one gets more than a couple of minutes. Enzo counters a suplex and is able to tag in Cass. Cass hits a high knee on English and then Gotch gets hit with a big boot after the tag. Cass suplexes Enzo on Gotch, but then English knocks Cass off the apron. Gotch is able to throw Enzo's neck on the middle rope and they hit That's A Wrap for the quick victory. They will not let Enzo and Cass wrestle for longer than 3 minutes. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Sami Zayn talks about Titus O'Neil backstage and he's feeling pretty good about his match tonight since Titus is currently involved in a battle with a bunny.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Lynch gets to show off some athleticism early on until Banks makes her miss in the corner. Becky quickly fights back and gets a 2 count after a leg drop. Sasha outsmarts her on running the ropes. Sasha hits the Backstabber into the Banks Statement for the victory. Becky shows a lot of babyface potential, but this was all about putting Sasha over. This is another episode with a lot of short matches.

Match Rating: *

Titus O'Neil vs. Sami Zayn

They start off with the classic big man start, with Zayn attempting to knock Titus off his feet. Titus catches Zayn and hits the slam before slowing things down. Titus is 37 years old here. No one really plays this role better than Zayn, but it's going to be a little bit of a challenge here with Titus. Zayn is thrown out of the ring before we go to a commercial break. When we come back, Titus has Zayn in my favorite hold, the bearhug. Zayn battles out only to be put right back in the bearhug. Zayn is able to pull down the top rope and down goes Titus. Zayn follows it up with a senton over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Zayn hits a top rope crossbody for a 2 count. Zayn runs into a big boot and Titus almost picks up the victory. Zayn jumps on the back and slaps on the sleeper. Zayn hits the Helluva Kick, but Titus's legs are under the ropes on the pin attempt. Zayn gets crotched when going up for the top rope tornado DDT and Titus hits the sit down powerbomb for the victory. I'm a little surprised there that there wasn't a distraction or something to this finish. Zayn tried here, but this was just okay.

Match Rating: *3/4

After the match, Titus drapes Zayn on the apron and is going for a leg drop, but Adrian Neville comes out and makes the save. 

This was a pretty middle of the road show. There wasn't a ton in the way of story progression and most of the matches were long. Titus's appearance didn't really feel like a big deal and not even Zayn was able to drag a good match out of him. Overall it was entertaining enough, but I can guarantee I will forget I watched this one come tomorrow.

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 10-17-94 Review

Monday, October 17th, 1994
Burlington Memorial Auditorium
Burlington, Vermont

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Doink vs. Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett trips Doink up and goes to work on the leg. Doink fights back and hits a hip toss and body slam. They talk about Doink's new hair and it's more weird to me than anything. We eventually get some distraction from Cheesy and Queasy. They go after Doink and Dink and Wink try to stop them, but Jarrett gets in his way. Doink runs into a boot to the face and we go to commercial break. Doink is finally able to hit a double underhook suplex and both men are down. Jarrett misses with a fist off the top rope and Doink finally makes a comeback. We have the little people chasing each other around the ring. Doink goes up top and hits the Whoopee Cushion but the ref is distracted. Jerry Lawler interferes and hits a fist to the back of Doink. Jarrett picks up the win and Lawler heads for the back. 

Match Rating: **

Jerry Lawler, never one to be outdone, introduces us to Sleazy. 

British Bulldog vs. Roy Raymond

Vince just can't stop talking about the Action Zone and how much better it is than NFL pre-game shows. God, when they get stuck on something, they just drive it into the ground. Bulldog hits some suplexes and for some reason Raymond kicks out of a pin attempt. Bulldog then hits the running powerslam and gets the victory.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Burt Reynolds tells us that we're watching Raw and to read his book. 

Vince and Randy talk about what Bob Backlund did to Arnold Skaaland on Superstars this week and out comes Backlund. Vince interviews him and Backlund doesn't want to show the video because the fans have great memories. Backlund says he should apologize and proceeds to apologize for ever choosing Skaaland as his manager. Backlund then goes on to say that he's never eaten marijuana or sworn in front of his children. God, when he gets going, there is no topping this. He then challenges a fan to escape from the crossface chicken wing. Out comes Lex Luger and he's sick of hearing about Backlund and the crossface chicken wing. Luger tells him to pick on someone his own size and then nothing really happens.

Bob Holly vs. Reno Riggins

Savage is talking about the "eating marijuana" comment from Backlund. Riggins goes for a superplex, but Holly pushes him off and hits the top rope crossbody for the victory. What a dork. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna for the Intercontinental Championship. 

IRS vs. Tim McNeany

Oh, great. IRS says that he's going to be exposing the biggest tax cheat in history, the Undertaker. McNeany gets a nearfall, but then IRS puts him in the Write Off for the victory. IRS has so much technical skill according to Vince. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Yokozuna and the casket from Superstars. 

Heavenly Bodies vs. Nick Barbarry & Barry Horowitz

I'm guessing the Bodies are going to "barry" these guys. I'll see myself out. Anyway, I love the Bodies and I hate that they are just nothing at this point. We're less than a year away from the big Barry Horowitz push, so there's that. Del Ray hits a superkick before tagging in Prichard. Prichard hits the sitdown powerbomb and Del Ray kind of hits the moonsault for the easy victory. I know they don't care about tag team wrestling, but if they are even going to put them on TV, why not just let them wrestle the real teams?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Savage interview Luger backstage. Luger doesn't like what he sees with Backlund and challenges him to a match. We come back from a commercial and Savage says his money is on Yokozuna next week. Don't forget to watch the Action Zone.

This was definitely more entertaining than Superstars, as for whatever reason the flow of the show is just so much better. Don't get me wrong, this isn't thrilling television, but there's a certain energy to it. The Backlund interview was fantastic as well.

Overall Rating: 46%

Superstars 10-15-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, October 15th, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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Jerry Lawler hypes up the hottest superstar on the roster, Queasy. 

Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs. Gary Scott & Reno Riggins

We get the debut of Charlie Minn. What a historic episode. Meanwhile, the champs destroy their opponents, with Diesel hitting the Jackknife and Shawn Michaels picking up the easy pin. It should be noted that Michaels is in peak mullet mode here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We're back to Charlie Minn with Live Event News. We hear from Paul Bearer and see the 40 foot Undertaker. Quality television.

Bob Holly vs. Mike Bell

I guess he isn't Sparky any more. Or Thurman. Bell gets an Irish Whip in, but Holly essentially no sells it and hits a running clothesline. He hits the crossbody off the top rope and picks up the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince McMahon is in the ring with Arnold Skaaland to talk about Bob Backlund. They talk about him throwing in the towel and how Arnold did it to save Backlund's career. Skaaland couldn't be any less interesting. Out comes Backlund to save this segment and he's already turned up to 11. Vince snaps at Backlund for not wanting to shake Skaaland's hand because Vince is such an honorable man. He takes Skaaland away and of course Backlund attacks him and puts on the crossface chicken wing. Bob Holly comes and helps officials pull Backlund off and then screams at him for what he did. 

Doink vs. Cory Student

It's getting harder to care about face Doink matches. Dink sure gives it his all though. He hits the Whoopee Cushion and that's all. Doink grabs the mic and calls our Lawler. Doink then introduces Wink. It certainly doesn't get any better than this. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go off to the Toddster, who is here to hype up the Action Zone debut next week. No boring football pre-shows. I mean, come on, who watches football? Bret Hart will be taking on brother Owen one last time. Owen says that it will be his night next week, even though the show is in the morning. 

Owen Hart vs. Mike Park

Park looks to be pretty green. There isn't much to this one either and Owen hits the beautiful missile dropkick for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Tony DeVito vs. Lex Luger

How is there still 12 minutes left in this show? I am doing everything in my power not to fall asleep at this point. Luger hits the powerslam and puts him in the Rebel Rack for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Yokozuna vs. Jason Storm

Yoko hits the huge side suplex and that is pretty much it. Yoko was getting to that point where he really wasn't in any shape to perform in anything longer than 60 seconds. The Undertaker's music hits and out comes Paul Bearer wheeling a giant casket. Yoko pretends to not even see it at first, but then turns around and falls to his back and rolls out of the ring. He stumbles on his way back up the entranceway. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Back to Charlie Minn. Randy Savage was at a charity event with Vince and Linda McMahon. Oh good, Rudy Giuliani was there. They show Randy getting his salad served to him and the waiter almost hits Linda in the face with the bowl. That was pretty much the highlight. 

Bob Holly is backstage for an interview and he will be wrestling Backlund next week. He calls him a bully and that he's had to deal with bullies his whole life. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. We'll also see British Bulldog, King Kong Bundy, 1-2-3 Kid and Tatanka. Plus, the Heartbreak Hotel will host Doink, Dink and Wink. 

This one was a chore to get through this week. They are just in such a bad place overall as a company and there is nothing really interesting going on. The build to Survivor Series has just been so dull outside of Backlund's shenanigans. 

Overall Rating: 30%

Clash At The Castle 2022 Review

Saturday, September 3rd, 2022
Principality Stadium
Cardiff, Wales

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So they finally move some shows to a Saturday night and of course I am out of town for both of them. So I'm playing catch up here for another impressive stadium show for WWE.

Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky

The crowd starts singing the "Hey Bayley" song and she's not wanting any of it. Things break down early on and the fans start singing again. We get a triple suplex from the faces and then Bianca hits a cartwheel moonsault on all three ladies. I don't really care much typically for castles and dragons, but I do like the ring skirt being used here. It looks very much like a wrestling graphic. Bliss and Sky now give us our first true one-on-one spot of the match. Sky hits a springboard dropkick on Asuka after Bayley takes a hit to allow her the time to do so. Sky seems a little off here tonight. The match as a whole is a little slower paced than I expected. After a quick hot tag to Asuka, Bayley hits here with a weird seated clothesline. Bianca is now in and hits a spinebuster on Bayley. Alexa and Asuka hit a double superplex off of Bianca's back. We get an obvious springboard moonsault spot from Sky and we're in the ring now with Dakota and Bianca. Bianca walks in the ring while pressing Dakota and uses as her a weapon before hitting the slam. Bianca hits the powerbomb and goes up top. Dakota moves and Bianca rolls through, allowing Dakota to hit the Scorpion Kick. She misses a kick in the corner, but Bayley grabs her hair and Dakota connects this time. Bayley hits the Rose Plant and Sky hits a moonsault to pick up the victory. This was surprisingly very mediocre. I was expecting a petal to the metal match and we didn't get that at all. 

Match Rating: **1/4

After a Cody Rhodes vignette, they show Drew McIntyre talking to Tyson Fury. They've already mentioned how this is the first premium live event in a stadium in UK in 30 years like 73 times and now they show the highlight of British Bulldog/Bret Hart main event. They then announce the family of Bulldog and Bret Hart. Bret gets a huge reaction, as he should. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Sheamus vs. Gunther

Sheamus gets a well deserved big reaction. The Imperium apparently are back together and introduce Gunther. This is actually my first time seeing Gunther on the main roster. I'm not always as big of a fan of his matches as a lot of people are, but he is a star. Imperium and the Brawling Brutes start brawling, but Gunther and Sheamus remain in a staredown. Butch hits a moonsault on the outside and the two competitors start going at it as soon as the bell rings. The action spills outside and Sheamus tosses Gunther into the steps. Gunther starts with the chops and he eventually knocks him off the top rope and to the floor. The crowd starts chanting "Walter" and Cole actually acknowledges it. Meanwhile, Gunther body slams Sheamus onto the steps. Gunther hits a big boot to the head of Sheamus and some stiff shots follow that. After a long heat segment, Sheamus is able to hit more than just 10 Beats Of The Bodhran. Sheamus hits a big knee and gets his first true nearfall. Sheamus hits White Noise and gets an even closer call. They have the audience on their feet. Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick, but Gunther ducks and hits a powerbomb that doesn't quite hit the way he wanted to. Gunther tries to climb to the top, but Sheamus kicks the ropes and hits the Celtic Cross, but again Gunther kicks out. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick again and Gunther once again hits a powerbomb. Gunther then hits a huge clothesline and he retains his Intercontinental Championship. That was what you would expect from these two and I'm sure a lot of people will like this more than I did. This was a good match, but didn't quite hit where I was hoping it would go. Sheamus gets a huge standing ovation on his way out. For whatever reason he isn't considered to be on the top tier of guys on the roster, but he has been one of the most consistent performers of the last decade. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get a lengthy Uso vignette before we get the backstory on Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler. 

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan

WWE never seems to book the underdog champion very well. Liv tries to throw as much at her as she can, but it backfires when he's walking the top rope and Shayna counters. Baszler dominates the next couple of minutes before Morgan is able to counter a move and put on the Triangle Choke. She then puts on an armbar, but it doesn't last long enough. Liv hits a powerbomb for a 2 count and then Shayna immediately puts on the Kirifuda Clutch. Morgan hits a Codebreaker and Oblivion for the victory. This was a little better than I was expecting, but I still don't really agree with how they are booking Liv. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Damian Priest & Finn Balor

This storyline still doesn't make much sense to me. Edge is crazy over with the live crowd though. After Mysterio gets the better of Balor, Priest is tagged in and he wants Edge. He nails Edge with a right hand, but that only seems to wake Edge up. Rey gets back in and now the heels are feasting. Mysterio sends Balor flying into the audience and then leaps up on the barricade. Priest leaps up to join him, but is crotched on the barricade. Mysterio tries to crawl back in the ring to tag in Edge, but Priest grabs his ankle. Mysterio fights him off and in comes Edge. Edge then hits a 619 on Balor and Rey hits a splash, but Priest breaks up the pin attempt. Edge Spears Priest off the apron to the floor and then Balor tosses Mysterio out of the ring. Dominik distracts the referee and it allows Rey to hit a top rope hurricanrana on Balor. Rhea Ripley attacks Dominik until Rey hits her with a dive. Mysterio hits a 619 and Edge follows up with the Spear and they secure the victory. This one felt like TV match good, but nothing extraordinarily great. 

Match Rating: ***

After the match, Dominik kicks Edge in the crotch and then clotheslines dad as the Judgment Day applauds him. 

We get a Drew McIntyre hype video for the main event tonight. 

They announce the attendance as 62,296 and it looks pretty legit to me. 

Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

This is the match I was most looking forward to on this card. After an early attack from Riddle, Rollins hits a barricade bomb to knock Riddle out. Rollins then hits a dive through the ropes and knocks Riddle on the announce table. Rollins throws him back into the ring Rollins hits a double stomp off the top rope onto a draped Riddle. After some good back-and-forth action, Rollins hits a Pedigree for a 2 count. Rollins starts insulting Riddle and then goes for the draping DDT and nails it. It should be noted that the crowd continues to sing Rollins' entrance music over and over. Rollins mocks Randy Orton some more by pounding on the mat like he's going for the RKO, but Riddle unleashes some fury on Rollins. He throws Rollins back in the ring, but Rollins hits the Stomp onto Riddle when he's on his way back in. He hits another Stomp, this time from the second rope and picks up the victory. That was a hard fought match between these two. Rollins is still probably the best in ring performer in the company at this point. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Undisputed Universal Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns

I know this will surprise you, but McIntyre is the overwhelming favorite here. We get the typical Roman Reigns house show match start here. The action is outside the ring and McIntyre gets a bottle thrown at him. It turns out it's Karrion Kross and the distraction allows for Reigns to take advantage. Roman dominates and hits a vicious big boot. Reigns grabs the microphone and tells Cardiff to acknowledge him, but McIntyre hits him with a Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre hits a spinebuster into a pin attempt, but Roman kicks out at 2. Roman comes back with a Rock Bottom and he gets a 2 count. McIntyre comes back with a Future Shock DDT and goes for the Claymore Kick, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch instead. Reigns hits the Spear, but it's not enough to put McIntyre away. We get the now generic Spear through the barricade spot. Back in the ring, Reigns hits the Spear again and McIntyre kicks out again. We get a ref bump spot and Austin Theory's music hits. He goes to cash it in, but Tyson Fury knocks Theory out before he can make it official. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Reigns kicks out. They start brawling again until McIntyre hits a Spear and a Claymore Kick. Solo Sikoa debuts by pulling the referee out of the ring. Solo snaps McIntyre's neck on the top rope, Reigns hits the Spear and Reigns picks up the victory. Well that was a pretty flat finish. The match was pretty good, but it's getting tiring seeing this same type of match over and over. Tyson Fury comes in the ring and shakes Reigns' hand. Fury then grabs the mic and tells McIntyre that he should be proud. Honestly, he should be furious since some guy came out and ruined it for him. Fury then starts singing "American Pie", which is a song I really don't care for. This is pretty lame. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

This show was solid, but unspectacular. The stadium enthusiasm definitely helped things out, especially in the main event. It's great that the matches all got a good amount of time, but sometimes matches just don't need to be as long as the performers want them to be. The opener could have easily had 5 minutes shaved off of it. I liked it better than I did SummerSlam, but it's nothing I'm going to rush back and watch again. 

Overall Rating: 68%

SmackDown 9-15-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, September 15th, 2006
DCU Center
Worcester, Massachusetts 

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Finlay is out with Hornswoggle with a sheet over him. He says he loves to fight and shows us what he did to Batista last week. He talks about stealing Batista's manhood, so out comes Bobby Lashley. He insults Finlay before Teddy Long comes out and says they will face each other tonight, with the winner becoming the #1 contender. Lashley pushes Finlay over, falling on Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle can't see, so he tries to attack Finlay, so Finlay kicks him in the head and shoves him under the ring. 

William Regal lets Finlay know what's at stake for him tonight. 

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy

It's pretty crazy that the crowd is still as into Hardy with as poorly as he has been booked the last year. They really could have given him a main event run and just saw how it would go, but of course they didn't. Anyway, he sneaks through the crowd and attacks Helms from behind to start the match. Helms fights back and kicks Hardy into the ring steps. Hardy is bleeding from the mouth after that. It's time for Hardy's comeback, but he accidentally hits the referee. This allows Helms to kick Hardy below the belt and pick up the victory. This was a little quicker than I was expecting, but what we got was good.

Match Rating: **1/4

Rey Mysterio is with Dominik and Dean Malenko wishes Rey good luck tonight. 

Jimmy Wang Yang gives a cringeworthy promo talking about Asian stereotypes. 

Miz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

The Miz is defending his undefeated streak so far. Miz is hamming it up a little bit more than he did his previous two matches. Scotty comes back with a leaping forearm and then hits a bulldog. It's worm time, but Miz rolls under the bottom rope and snaps Taylor's neck on the top rope. Miz hits the Mizard Of Oz and that's enough for the victory. This was his most decisive victory so far, but it's very apparent that he's still pretty green here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Idol Stevens

Kendrick tries to start off quickly and take on both opponents, but eventually the heels get in some offense. This of course leads to them fighting over who gets a shot at Kendrick. Kash goes for an aerial maneuver, but Stevens throws him off. Kendrick hits Sliced Bread #2 and picks up the quick victory. After the match, the Pit Bulls and Stevens and James start a shoving match. This felt like an afterthought.

Match Rating: *

King Booker is with Finlay and William Regal. He lets Finlay know that they need to discuss the arrangement if Finlay wins his match tonight. 

Rey lets Dominik know that he has him hooked up with a private room and TV to watch his match tonight. 

United States Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. Kennedy

Kennedy slows the match down and goes to work on Mysterio's back. Kennedy keeps Mysterio grounded until hitting a slingshot into the second turnbuckle. Mysterio is able to come back and hit a drop toe hold into a 619. Kennedy wisely rolls out of the ring, but Mysterio hits a corkscrew dive to the floor as we head into the commercial break. Kennedy crotches on the top rope and throws him into the corner, where he slides into the ring post. Michael Cole and JBL continue with the story of Mysterio not being focused thanks to Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero. Mysterio is able to move out of the way of the Kenton Bomb. Rey hits a seated senton before messing up a weird cover and it costs him. Out comes Chavo, Vickie and Dominik. It distracts Rey, Mr. Kennedy rolls him up and that's all. That was a pretty long match where not a whole lot happened. Disappointing, but part of that is due to the storyline. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a MVP promo spot where he calls out Teddy Long for not offering him more. 

Vito vs. William Regal 

Regal would literally agree to anything. We get lots of blurred shots of Vito and a surprising dropkick from Regal. Vito just doesn't have chemistry with anyone. He's better suited to be the muscle outside the ring. The match is made even harder to watch with the commentary. Vito flashes to get the crowd going, but Regal just nails him with a knee. Regal goes for a sunset flip from the apron, Vito shoves his junk in Regal's face and picks up the victory. This was pretty bad. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Teddy Long is talking with King Booker and Queen Sharmell backstage. Vito comes in and challenges Booker. Teddy Long announces they will fight on the SmackDown season premiere. Was that supposed to draw viewers in? 

Sylvester Terkay vs. Todd Smith

Elijah Burke does the ring announcing for Terkay. Terkay destroys the jobber of course, puts on his submission hold and that's it. Terkay hasn't been getting over with the crowd and he still has no direction. That seems to happen a lot. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

King Booker and Queen Sharmell join the announce team. 

World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

We get lots of arguing with Booker and Michael Cole while we get a lot of stalling in the ring. Lashley eventually gets Finlay up in a Torture Rack and drops to his knees for a backbreaker. Regal then tosses a chair in the ring. This distracts the ref and Finlay goes for the shillelagh. Lashley avoids it and hits a suplex. Lashley gets Finlay up in the military press and drops him on his knee. Regal grabs Lashley's leg and trips him up. Hornswoggle gives Finlay the shillelagh and he hits Lashley with it in the knee. The ref sees it and Finlay is disqualified. Booker jumps in and they all attack him. Batista is backstage in street clothes and his music hits. He's on his way out to the ring with a lead pipe. He hits the referee with it and chases Finlay backstage. Booker and Regal continue their attack on Lashley. Lashley fights back and hits a Spear on Booker. This wasn't much of a match despite the time they got. 

Match Rating: *1/4

On paper, this looked like a really strong show. However, I don't think it lived up to what it could have been. The Vito stuff is beyond old at this point because he can't deliver in the ring. This one just kind of felt like filler overall.

Overall Rating: 50%

ECW 9-12-06 Review

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York

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Paul Heyman is out to kick off the show. He takes all of the credit for ECW returning and being at Madison Square Garden and blames the fans for ECW going out of business. Out comes Sabu to interrupt. Sabu attacks his security and goes after Heyman. The security attacks him, but Sabu hits them with the chair and then an Arabian Face Buster. Heyman says that Big Show will take on Sabu for the ECW Championship in Extreme Rules. Sabu then hits a springboard dive off the top rope on both security guards. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

RVD attacks Holly on his was up into the ring and there's a big "R-V-D" chant from the MSG crowd. The action goes outside and Holly does a rare dive. RVD then tries a moonsault from the barricade and kind of, sort of hits it, but sells it accordingly. Back in the ring, Holly hits a nice dropkick and gets a 2 count. Holly goes for an elbow off the turnbuckle, but RVD gets his leg up, but Holly kind of lands on it strangely. RVD hits Rolling Thunder and a monkey flip on Sparky Plugg. RVD goes up top, but Holly is able to hit the top rope and cause him to lose his balance. From there he goes for a top rope superplex, but RVD knocks him off. He goes for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but in come Test, Mike Knox and Stevie Richards. He hits a kick on Richards, but then they all gang up and attack RVD. Sandman's music hits and he and Tommy Dreamer come in and make the save. Poor Stevie gets the worst of it. The match was decent, but a little on the sloppy side. 

Match Rating: *1/2

CM Punk vs. Shannon Moore

Well, Moore finally makes his re-debut tonight. He slaps Punk and goes on the attack. Punk does a Tarantula style move in the ropes and then hits a springboard clothesline. He hits the big running knee in the corner followed by the bulldog. Punk hits a flurry of kicks into the Uranage, which is followed by the Anaconda Vice and a tap out by Moore. Well, that was some debut. I mean, it made Punk look like a killer, but why even waste time even mentioning Moore before tonight? 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Rene Dupree now says he is debuting tonight too. What a historic night. 

Kelly Kelly lets CM Punk know that she is a big fan of his. Oh, and in case you didn't know, she's an exhibitionist and wants to go to some parties, but can't because she's 19. That was a lot of commas for that run on sentence. She says they can stay in though and then Mike Knox comes and takes her away. Kelly's acting is so rough here in 2006.

Kevin Thorn and Ariel are out to watch the next match.  

Rene Dupree vs. Balls Mahoney

2006 is just such a weird year. Dupree hits a springboard elbow drop off the first rope. I'm not sure I've ever seen that one before. He does the little hop thing that leads into a fist in the face of Balls. He starts slapping Mahoney, which wakes him and he hits a sit down powerbomb. We get the "Balls" chant and he follows it up with a kick sending Dupree to the floor. Up comes Thorn and Balls takes care of him. Balls grabs a chair, but the ref takes it away. Thorn throws him off the apron into the steps, which appeared to be a rough fall. Dupree rolls him in and gets the pinfall victory. This all just felt surreal. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Matt Striker uses big words to insult Sandman backstage. 

Extreme Rules Match For The ECW Championship
Big Show vs. Sabu

Sabu throws a chair, but Big Show swats it away. Show manhandles Sabu for a little bit and then destroys a chair so Sabu can't use it. It's probably the only chair in the building. Show hits a clothesline and gets a 2 count with a cocky pin attempt. Sabu makes his comeback and starts chucking chairs at Show's head. Show attempts to chokeslam Sabu through a table, but Sabu counters it into a DDT. Sabu goes back to the chairs and knocks him off the apron through another table. Show gets revenge and plants Sabu through another table. Back in the ring he hits his backbreaker and new leg drop finisher to pick up the victory. This was a decent enough main event that hit the notes the live crowd was looking for. 

Match Rating: **1/4

This was a fairly good episode on a show that has shown some potential, but still isn't quite there yet. The roster is just such a hodgepodge of talent, that the crowd is just finding it hard to care about most of them. 

Overall Rating: 59%