Superstars 2-11-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, February 11th, 1995
Memorial Coliseum
Corpus Christi, Texas

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They show a quick recap of Shawn Michaels winning the Royal Rumble and the heart of Pamela Anderson ("allegedly"). Then they show him running into Adam Bomb backstage and setting up their match today.

Tatanka vs. Gary Sabough

Sabough is a house of fire to start. Tatanka is preparing for his big WrestleMania match against no one. Tatanka really does have one of the stranger careers for a featured guy during a weak period. Anyway, he hits End Of The Trail and that's all. It's the Million Dollar Corporation, so no one cared.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Just in case you didn't see it the first 300 times, here's another recap of the Lawrence Taylor/Bam Bam Bigelow situation. 

Heavenly Bodies vs. Buck Quartermain & Raven Clark

Yessssss. Del Ray hits a whatamaneuver on Raven before hitting the atomic drop slam on Prichard onto Raven. Del Ray hits a moonsault off the top and that is all. These matches are very short here so far. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Stephanie Wiand. We go to Kama, who cuts the most generic promo you will ever see and he is demanding competition next week. 

Adam Bomb vs. Shawn Michaels

Bomb attacks Shawn and kicks him over the top rope. Michaels is probably at the thinnest he ever was in his run. Bomb blocks a hip toss and hits Michaels with a clothesline for a 2. Michaels misses a splash in the corner and Bomb goes to work on the left arm. Bomb hits a big back body drop, but then Shawn is able to dump Bomb out of the ring. Shawn hits a slingshot crossbody over the top and rolls Bomb back in the ring. Michaels hits an elbow drop off the second rope, but Bomb kicks out at 2. Bomb comes back with a hip toss and some clotheslines. They've kept a really nice pace for this match. Bomb misses with a slingshot splash and Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music for the victory. That was a really solid little sprint of a match there. Bomb is limited in his offense, but held up his end of the bargain. 

Match Rating: ***

Man Mountain Rock vs. Bill Payne

Is Bill related to Maxx? I can't emphasize enough how dorky Rock's outfit is. Rock hits a reverse elbow in the corner and a belly-to-belly suplex. He hits a vertical suplex and a face-first suplex for the victory. So did he really think he was going to get over with efforts like this? He showed absolutely nothing. There was no spark, energy or character in this performance. You don't just get over by showing up.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see an interview with Hakushi and Shinja from a house show with Stan Lane. They just talk about Hakushi being number 1 in Japan and that no one knows Bret Hart in Japan. 

Well Dunn vs. Headshrinkers

We have to be very close to the end of the Headshrinkers here. Well Dunn comes in hot and are all over both Headshrinkers. Sionne battles back and hits a backbreaker. Fatu climbs up top and hits the splash for the victory. That's it? Harvey Wippleman is very frustrated after the match. It's time to bring back Big Bully Busick. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lee Tobin vs. Bob Backlund

Backlund looks like he has aged 10 years here. He is slow and seems off his game. He puts in the Cross-Face Chickenwing and that's all, thankfully. He doesn't release the hold for a few seconds and then celebrates. Just let him stick to promos.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Stephanie Wiand. We get a recap of all the news going on with the Tag Team Championships. The Headshrinkers are going to get a shot against the Smoking Gunns.

British Bulldog vs. Reno Riggins

They sure are cramming a lot of matches into the episode today. I mean at this point, they need to find something for Bulldog to do. He hits the vertical suplex and he hits the running powerslam and that's all. Exactly what you would expect. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jerry Lawler talks about being a Browns fan and that Jim Brown said that LT was nothing without his team. Sure.

This was a show where they jammed too many short matches onto the card, but the one feature match was very good. Shawn was at the top of his game going into WrestleMania, so that's a plus. Otherwise, this was the usual crap.

Overall Rating: 40%

SmackDown 12-15-06

Original Airdate: Friday, December 15th, 2006
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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John Cena is here to kick off the show. He reminds everyone that he lives here in Boston and points out his dad in the front row. He then says that he got Michael Cole for his secret Santa and got him everything he wanted. He got him an entire hard salami, a picture of David Hasselhoff without his shirt on and a bag of salty nuts. He then talks about how he will make history by teaming with the World Heavyweight Champion at Armageddon and then is interrupted by King Booker and Finlay. They show the attack on Batista last week. Booker says that with it being the holiday season, they are going to give him the same beating. They head down to the ring, but out comes Batista before they even get started. Now Teddy Long is out to announce that Cena will face Finlay tonight. 

Paul London, Brian Kendrick & Jimmy Wang Yang vs. William Regal, Dave Taylor & Gregory Helms

Regal gets in a cheap shot on Kendrick behind the referee's back to help out Helms. The heels continue to work on Kendrick as JBL and Cole talk about Ashley maybe starting to be a distraction for the champions. Taylor comes in and misses with a slow charge to the corner. Kendrick is able to hit a suplex on Helms and tags in Yang. Things start to break down and it leads to Regal and Taylor heading towards the back. Yang hits a moonsault on Helms and gets the victory ahead of his match at Armageddon. This was pretty disappointing and just way too short to mean anything.

Match Rating: *

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

Mercury is kind of in limbo. Nitro is clearly still a singles guy and I guess they are just throwing Mercury on Armageddon for now? Mercury is in control early on until Hardy hits a running clothesline. He follows it up with a second rope elbow for a 2 count. He hits a Side Effect and a Twist Of Fate and that's it? This was the definition of filler.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They talk about the Inferno Match and we go back to MVP talking to his agent. Mr. Kennedy comes in and they start arguing again. They finally agree to be on the same page tonight and then we get Kane and Undertaker with their eyes rolled in the back of their heads.

MVP & Mr. Kennedy vs. Kane & Undertaker

We come back from commercial with the match already started. The "brothers" dominate the match because we have to pretend like they are some unstoppable team. Kennedy gets his chance and stomps on Taker in the corner. In comes MVP and he gets destroyed by Taker. He hits Old School and goes for Snake Eyes, but Kane tags himself in. Taker looks confused, but it doesn't matter. They hit a double chokeslam on Kennedy. Taker gets Kennedy up for the Tombstone, but MVP grabs him off his shoulder. Taker starts going after MVP and throws him into the SmackDown set. Kennedy throws Kane into the steps and the bell rings for a double countout. Kennedy hits a DDT on the floor and Taker takes his brawl to the back. Kennedy grabs the hearse and MVP comes out to help. He's revving it up and the lights go out. When they come back on, Taker is in the hearse next to Kennedy. Kennedy runs out and then Kane sits up. They run away and we go to commercial. This was all stupid.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero are out. Re-visiting this whole "Chris Benoit hits women" angle is really uncomfortable. Anyway, they call out Benoit to apologize and he's out in a suit. He says he doesn't owe them anything. There was no point to this other than to remind us that they are feuding.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki

Chavo hits a brainbuster and then follows it up with a Frog Splash for the victory. There was minimal action before that. Benoit comes in after the match and puts him in the Sharpshooter. Vickie comes in and slaps him in the face and Benoit smiles. Benoit releases the hold and Vickie gets on her knees and is screaming. This was all terrible.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vito vs. Sylvain

I thought we were done with this. Man, did my interest in this episode just jump off a cliff that would impress Wile E. Coyote. Sylvain hits a variation of a fall away slam for a 2 count. They are no longer doing the blurred out tights thing and he is wearing normal trunks. We get some weird pinfall and that's all, with Vito sneaking out a victory. I assure you, not one person cared about this match.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They rundown the Armageddon card and then show the Boogeyman/Miz storyline and that's brought to us by World Of Warcraft. Is that still a thing? Miz and Kristal are in the ring and there's a table set up with three trays that are covered. Miz says that he's going to prove that he is fearless. The first tray is pig's tongue and Miz takes a bite out of it to Kristal's disgust. The second tray has monkey brains and he eats that as well. Under the third tray, it's naturally worms. Miz tries to do it, but just can't. He puts the lid back on and then Boogeyman's head pops out of the table. They run off to the back and Boogeyman does his dancing. 

Finlay vs. John Cena

It's going to take a match of the year contender to save this show. They work a nice pace to start off the match, with both guys swapping momentum. Cena tries to put on the STFU, but Finlay grabs the ropes. He drags him outside and starts hitting him with come clubbing blows. Out comes Hornswoggle and Finlay throws him at Cena. He catches him and Cena tosses him into JBL. Confession, I fell asleep during this one and had to rewind. Finlay slams Cena's arm on the steel steps and goes back to a submission hold. Cena makes the comeback and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He charges at Finlay, but misses and hits the post. Finlay hits the Celtic Cross, but Cena kicks out at 2. Finlay rips off a turnbuckle cover and the ref turns his attention to putting it on, but Hornswoggle uses it to throw in a chair. Cena knocks it away and hits the FU for the victory. This was just okay. 

Match Rating: **

King Booker comes through the crowd and starts brawling with Cena. Finlay hits Cena in the back with the shillelagh. Batista comes out and makes the save. 

This show was absolutely awful. There was nothing worth watching here and even worse, it did nothing to make you want to see Armageddon. Just bad.

Overall Rating: 29%

ECW 12-12-06 Review

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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After a lengthy recap of Big Show losing the title, they hype up the main event for tonight which is Bobby Lashley vs. Paul Heyman's goons.

Rob Van Dam vs. Test

After knocking Test out of the ring, RVD hits a somersault dive over the top and to the floor. He throws him back in the ring and hits a slingshot leg drop. Test hits a thumb to the eye to slow down RVD. He throws him into the ring post and goes to work. After a commercial break, Test eats a boot to the face when he dives off the top rope. RVD hits a springboard reverse kick and then a spin kick for a 2 count. After being crotched on the top rope, RVD hits Rolling Thunder and again Test kicks out. He goes for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but misses. RVD goes for a sunset flip, but Test counters and grabs the ropes to steal the victory. The finish was a little sloppy, but the match wasn't bad.

Match Rating: **1/4

Matt Striker is in the ring for another class segment. He makes fun of Boston sports and then brings out Balls Mahoney. He starts making fun of him, so he hits Striker with a clothesline. Striker kicks Balls below the belt and insults him to conclude the segment. 

Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay have to tell us who they are again. A constant on ECW. 

CM Punk vs. Hardcore Holly

These two go right at it and we get some pretty stiff offense. Punk hits the high knee into the bulldog, but Holly kicks out at 2. Holly then gets Punk in the corner and starts hammering away with closed fists. We can all see where this is going and the referee disqualifies him after trying to get him to stop. Nothing says extreme like a disqualification. Punk then fights back and puts him in the Anaconda Vice. The crowd was into it until the finish and now it's mostly silence. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Tommy Dreamer is out and he challenges Great Khali to a match. Out comes Daivari and Khali, but Daivari says that last week was a fluke and he's going to take him up on his challenge.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Daivari

Daivari attacks him with the microphone and we're underway. Dreamer catches his reverse crossbody attempt and he hits an inverted DDT. Khali hits Dreamer in the back, but Dreamer still hits a DDT and that's all. Khali immediately grabs him and pulls Dreamer out of the ring to slam him to the mat. This had no point of existing.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly last week. I assure you, no one cares. 

Handicap Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Paul Heyman's Personal Enforcers

Speaking of no one cares, here's Paul Heyman's goons. Do you think they were less over as this or as the Bashams? The answer is both. Lashley hits a double clothesline and a delayed vertical suplex. He then starts throwing them around the ring. The enforcers are able to cheat behind the referee's back and then awkwardly take him down. Lashley makes a comeback and hits the Dominator for the victory. This felt like the fourth match on a house show. The enforcers try to attack after and he hits another Dominator. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The show started off decently enough and then fell off a cliff. They just continue to not be able to give you a reason to really care about anything. They're trying, but nothing is sticking. 

Overall Rating: 42%

Backlash 2023 Review

Saturday, May 6th, 2023
Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot
San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Raw Women's Championship Match
Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky

As expected, we have a very hot crowd tonight. They do the whole let's trade athletic moves and the crowd will eat it up thing to start. The crowd is overwhelmingly behind Iyo, which is kind of weird. Iyo is able to counter Bianca with a roll through and then hits a big stomp. Michael Cole informs me that both women will be on SmackDown now, which makes sense for the Raw Women's Champion to move. Iyo goes for a headscissors, but Bianca stops her and hits a backbreaker out of it. Bianca does a one-handed press slam, which was pretty impressive until Iyo almost fell really awkwardly on her face. Bianca follows it up with the handspring moonsault for a nearfall. I should probably note that the reason that she used one arm is because it was being worked on by Iyo. Iyo hits a big missile dropkick and the momentum carries Bianca out of the ring. Bianca shoves Iyo off the top rope and goes for a 450 splash, but Iyo gets her knees up. Iyo slaps on the Crossface, but Bianca rolls out and goes for a powerbomb, but Iyo counters into a X Factor for a 2 count. After a series of counters, Bianca is outside the ring again. She tries to drag her out of the ring, but Iyo kicks her away. Bianca tries a handstand, but Iyo counters it and sends her to the floor. Iyo then hits a moonsault to the floor. Unlike Charlotte's, that one actually made contact with Bianca. They battle up on the top rope and it leads to Bianca hitting a super powerbomb, but Iyo kicks out. Yeah, that should have just been the finish. Out comes Bayley and Dakota Kai. Iyo starts grabbing Bianca by the hair, but she hits her with a right forearm. She has her up on her shoulders, but Iyo rolls her up for another 2 count. Bianca gets pulled in the ring and this allows Kai to hit a kick on Bianca. Sky goes up top, but misses with the moonsault. Bianca gets her up and hits the KOD for the victory. This was very much a John Cena in 2006 type of match. They had a good match overall, but there were some flow issues for me that held this back from being more.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Rey Mysterio is back with Bad Bunny and in walks Savio Vega. He hands him a kendo stick with the Puerto Rican flag on it. 

Michael Cole and Corey Graves go over the updated rosters. Who ended up on ECW, though?

Omos vs. Seth Rollins

Omos hits Rollins with his big boot while Rollins is listening to the crowd sing his entrance music. Omos hits a big shoulder tackle with a very nice bump by Rollins. Omos then shoves Rollins over the top rope. Rollins is able to counter and shove Omos into a ring post. Rollins hits a suicide dive with almost no impact. He goes for another one, but this time Omos catches him and drops him on the apron. We're getting lots of boots and lifting in this one. Rollins hits a knee off the springboard and stars to kick out the legs of Omos. He hits a dropkick that gets him down to one knee and follows up with a superkick. Seth sets him up for a Pedigree while he's on his knees, but Omos hits a back body drop. Rollins slams Omos's face into the ring post and hits a tornado DDT. Rollins hits a Frog Splash, but Omos kicks out at 1. Rollins hits a blow to the back of the head from the second rope. He goes for the Stomp, but Omos blocks it with his strength. Omos hits a chokeslam and Rollins kicks out. Rollins is able to hit a Stomp and kicks MVP off the apron. He hits a second stomp and Omos kicks out at 2 this time. Rollins goes up to the top rope and hits a super Stomp and that's enough to finally put Omos away. This was as good as it was going to be. Omos is just so limited that it's nearly impossible for him to do much more than this.

Match Rating: *3/4

Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Lashley hits a clothesline on Reed that forces Theory into a DDT. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex on Theory, but misses a clothesline and gets tripped up and squashed by Reed. Reed and Theory work together for about 6 seconds when Reed runs Theory over. Lashley bounces back and knocks Reed down and hits a slam on Theory. Lashley hits a Spear on Theory, but gets dragged out by Reed. Reed hits a superkick and then hits a Vader Bomb from the outside of the ropes to Lashley on the floor. I can say that I have never seen that before. Reed rolls Lashley back in the ring and climbs the ropes. Theory shakes the rope to knock him down. Lashley slaps on the Hurt Lock. Theory uses the ropes to turn it into a pin. Lashley releases the hold and gets splashed by Reed on the top rope, but Theory is able to break up the pin. Theory hits a Blockbuster and then gets Reed up on his back for a moment, but Reed hits a powerslam on him. Reed goes for a moonsault, but Theory moves out of the way. Lashley hits the Spear on Reed and Theory dumps Lashley out of the ring. Theory pins Reed before Lashley can get back in to retain his title. This was good action, but way too short to achieve what it could have been.

Match Rating: **1/2

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Zelina Vega

We get a little bit of a cat and mouse start until Ripley catches Vega and hits a powerbomb. I should note that Zelina is getting the hometown treatment here and is crazy over with the crowd. Zelina gets the usual shoulder in the post in on Rhea and the hits a series of clotheslines, but can't knock her down. Ripley counters the last one with a headbutt, but when she goes for Rip Tide, Zelina turns it into a DDT. She hits a 619 and then goes to the second rope. She shimmies her shoulders and then hits a Meteora for a 2 count. Ripley then kind of hits Rip Tide out of nowhere and that's all. Zelina deserved this moment, but the match itself was more of a middle of an episode type of SmackDown match.

Match Rating: *1/2

San Juan Street Fight
Damian Priest vs. Bad Bunny

The reaction for Bad Bunny is pretty insane. Priest messes with Bunny a little bit, but Bunny is able to sneak in a Michinoku Driver in for a 2 count. Priest goes back to messing around with Bunny, insulting him in front of his fans. Priest hits South Of Heaven and picks him up before the ref counts 3. Priest then goes and grabs an ax handle, but then decides to just throw it out of the ring. Bunny is out of the ring and chucks a chair at the face of Priest. Bunny grabs a kendo stick and starts whacking him with it, but Priest shoves him away. Bunny comes back with a tornado DDT and clotheslines him out of the ring. Bunny then hits a crossbody off the top rope. He hits him with some garbage can lids and then hits a Broken Arrow for a 2. Priest decides to head to the back, but Bunny chases after him. He baited him into it and Bunny eats a trash can to the face as a result. They start brawling in the crowd and get on top of some crates in the production area. Priest hits a Broken Arrow off them and through a table. Priest picks him up and carries him on his shoulder back to the ring. Priest misses with a kick and hits the ring post. Bunny comes in and hits him with a kendo stick and then works on his knee. Bunny then hits his knee with a chair and wants to go for more. Priest is able to sucker him in and kicks him in the face. Priest goes for a chair shot, but Bunny hits a low blow. Out comes Judgment Day and they attack Bunny. Out comes Rey Mysterio to try and make the save. He gets attacked and then out comes Carlito to a monster pop. He hits a Backstabber on Fin Balor and takes a bite out of his apple. In comes Dominik, but it ends with him getting hit by a 619. Carlito then spits the apple in his face and Judgment Day heads to the back. Now Savio Vega is out and he then calls out the LWO. Vega hits a big kick on Balor and then takes care of Dominik. I would have preferred that Kwang came out instead. Back in the ring, Priest goes for a kick, but his leg gives out. Bunny then slaps on the Figure Four. Priest teases tapping, but is able to get out. He misses with a charge in the corner and hits his face in a chair. Bunny then hits Sliced Bread #2 for a 2 count. He attacks Priest with a chair multiple times and then hits a Canadian Destroyer for the victory. The match was pretty good and the crowd was incredible. Rey, Savio, Carlito and the LWO come out to celebrate. 

Match Rating: ***

Usos & Solo Sikoa vs. Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

The first notable spot is Solo tagging himself into the match and there being a little bit of tension between the team. They do then isolate Zayn in their corner, but this one is off to a slow start. Jey grabs Owens off the apron and slams him into the steps. Sami is able to hit a tornado DDT and tags in Riddle. Riddle has a really nice hot tag segment that ends with him hitting a springboard reverse corkscrew somersault (maybe?) on all 3. when he goes back in the ring, he eats a superkick from Jimmy. Jimmy goes up top and Riddle meets him there for a suplex. Owens is climbing his way back up the steps and hits a Swanton. The Usos try a blind tag, but Owens is ahead of them and moves out of the way for the superkick and they hit each other. Owens hits a Pop Up Powerbomb for a nearfall. Owens goes for a Swanton, but the knees are up. We now have a battle between KO and Jey and it ends with a big clothesline from Owens. Zayn and Jimmy are tagged in and Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. Sami climbs up top, but Jimmy hits him with some kicks to the head. Sami goes off the top and gets hit by a double superkick, but kicks out. I'm not sure why that you wouldn't have them break that one up. I think a double superkick seems like a pretty reasonable way to lose. Jey goes off on Sami and verbally berates him. He's starting to set something up and Solo tags himself in. Jey then decides to tag himself back in and we have some more tension. Sami charges with a Helluva Kick, but Jey ducks and he hits Solo. Sami hits the exploder into the corner and a Helluva Kick, but the pin is broken up. The match breaks down adn we get the spot where everyone hits big moves. Solo almost hits Jey with a Samoan Spike and then thinks about still doing it after he realizes who it is. Riddle comes back in and hits Bro Derek, but Solo is the legal man. He comes in from behind and hits the Samoan Spike on Riddle for the victory. This one took a little bit to get going, but it ended up being a nice match. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody attacks Brock with a suicide dive before Lesnar gets into the ring. Cody hits him with some steel steps and this is all before the bell rings. They are in the ring and the match is underway. Cody hits a couple of Disaster Kicks, but Lesnar catches him for a suplex on the third attempt. Now it's time for Suplex City. As Lesnar keeps hitting suplexes, Cody rips off a turnbuckle. After getting destroyed some more, Cody trips up Lesnar into the exposed steel and Lesnar is bleeding. Cody hits a Cody Cutter and a Disaster Kick. He hits another Cody Cutter after smearing Brock's blood on his stomach. Cody hits Cross Rhodes, picks him up and hits another one, but Brock kicks out. Cody goes for another Cross Rhodes, but Brock picks him up and hits the F5. Cody now kicks out. Brock puts in the Kimura, but Cody is able to turn it into a pin attempt and steals the victory. This was pretty good, but didn't ever really get to that main event gear.

Match Rating: ***

This was a good show overall, with a lot of the credit going to the crowd. They were incredible with the turd known as New Year's Revolution and this time WWE gave them something better to cheer about. This was very much a B show card, but the action was mostly good, even if there weren't a lot of storyline advancements. 

Overall Rating: 73%

Monday Night Raw 12-11-06 Review

Monday, December 11th, 2006
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut

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John Cena vs. Armando Alejandro Estrada

Armando offers Cena a box of cigars to cancel the match. Cena breaks the cigar in half, so he then offers him a diamond watch. Cena doesn't accept that either, so he goes to cash. Cena takes the money and starts throwing it out to the crowd. The match finally starts and this is as one-sided as you would expect. Cena hits the FU and that's all. This was kind of a flat way to start the show. After the match, Cena puts on the STFU and out comes Johnny Nitro. Nitro says that's exactly what he's teaching Kevin Federline for his match. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the commercial break, Cena is interviewed backstage. Cena challenges Nitro to a match tonight and directs it at Federline. 

Jerry Lawler & Carlito vs. Chris Masters & Viscera

Viscera hits a big sit down powerbomb on Lawler, but Carlito breaks up the pin attempt. King almost gets a pin after Masters flexes with his junk in Lawler's face. In comes Carlito and he hits a springboard reverse elbow. Masters comes in and Carlito hits him with a dropkick. Viscera hits him with the sidewalk slam, so Lawler hits him with some right hands. Masters tries to put on the Master Lock, but the match breaks down and Carlito rolls up Viscera for the victory. This was pretty bad.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Cryme Tyme and the Highlanders gambling backstage earlier today. Cryme Tyme of course ends up with their money, which leads to Charlie Haas being ashamed for them playing into racial stereotypes. They make fun of him, so Shelton Benjamin comes in to talk some sense into them. Shelton says that he's reuniting with Charlie Haas tonight against the Highlanders. 

Kenny interrupts Randy Orton and Edge backstage to try to convince them that he helped them out last week. They aren't buying that he did.

Next week, Raw starts at 8:00 with the biggest battle royal in Raw history. The winner will face John Cena.

Highlanders vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team

They just really didn't know what to do with Shelton any more at this point. Rory gets a hot tag and that's when the match breaks down. Shelton hits the leapfrog onto Rory's back and TWGTT gets the victory. This was just to re-introduce them as ta team. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of AWA SuperClash III for the 24/7 spot. They show what looked to be an absolutely terrible finish to the Kerry Von Erich/Jerry Lawler match. 

Edge vs. Triple H

Triple H comes out with The Game music instead of DX. These two go right at it with Triple H draping Edge over the apron and hitting some elbows. Triple H knees Edge off the apron and then leaps onto Edge as he's heading to the back. Randy Orton is out and he attacks Triple H, causing the bell to ring. Out comes Shawn Michaels and then Kenny. Ric Flair is out to even the score and we have a brawl. The faces clear the ring and out comes Jonathan Coachman. He lets us know that we will have a six man tag team match right now.

Rated RKO & Kenny vs. DX & Ric Flair

When we come back from the commercial break, the match is in progress and Triple H is working on Kenny. Flair and Edge are in and Flair is all over him. He goes for a Figure Four, but Orton hits him with a dropkick. Flair is able to get a hot tag to Michaels and he hits a top rope elbow drop on Edge. We come back from commercial break and Michaels hits a swinging neckbreaker on Orton. Triple H then gets his turn at a hot tag before tagging in Flair, who looks to put on the Figure Four. Things break down and now Kenny is trying to put on the Figure Four. Flair counters with an inside cradle and picks up the victory. After the match, Edge attacks Triple H with a Spear and we have another brawl. They grab some chairs and set Michaels up for the Conchairto. Triple H grabs the sledgehammer and that's enough to make them retreat. The match itself was pretty standard, but entertaining. It just kind of feels like this feud is at a standstill.

Match Rating: **1/2

Nitro and Melina are on the phone with K Fed. Coach then informs him that he will get another shot at Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Championship in a steel cage at New Year's Revolution. This leads to them leaving K Fed on the phone and Ron Simmons walking in to do his thing.

Carlito comforts Torrie Wilson with a kiss before her match with the crazy Victoria.

Victoria vs. Torrie Wilson

Victoria sets her checklist on the announce table, with only Torrie and Mickie James' names left to check. It's a great reminder of how small the division is right now. Victoria quickly gets Torrie on the mat and snaps her neck on the bottom rope. Victoria bites off Torrie's nail and then spits it in the crowd. The distraction allows Torrie to get a roll up for 2. She hits some forearms and a clothesline, but Victoria quickly comes back and hits the Widow's Peak for the victory. Torrie held up her end of the bargain here.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Chris Masters is out to put the Master Lock on Torrie. Carlito is quickly out and he scurries. 

Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy

This is a non-title match. Armando Estrada is not ringside for this one because of what happened earlier. Hardy goes for a sunset flip and Umaga tries to counter with a splash, but Hardy rolls out of the way. Hardy runs into an elbow, but avoids a splash in the corner. Jeff hits a Whisper In The Wind, but he can't make the cover. We go into a commercial and when we come back, Hardy dives off the apron and we get an awkward spot and Hardy ends up on the floor. I'm not sure what happened there. Umaga is up on the top rope, but Hardy is able to move out of the way. Hardy now climbs up top and hits the Swanton, but Umaga kicks out with authority. The crowd is very much into Jeff here. Umaga hits a Samoan drop after he blocked the Twist Of Fate. Umaga then hits his butt splashes in the corner twice and the referee claims that Jeff "can't go no more" and stops the match. They call the match, but Umaga hits another one for good measure. He then gives the referee the Samoan Spike. He picks up Jeff and gives him one as well. I enjoyed this one a lot and the build of Umaga the past few weeks has really kicked into high gear. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Johnny Nitro vs. John Cena

Cena goes right after Nitro and we are underway. After some Cena domination, Nitro is able to weasel his way into some offense. He's been portrayed as so weak since moving to Raw. Cena counters a suplex and Cena drops him on the top rope. Cena charges and Nitro is able to pull the top rope down and Cena is on the floor. Nitro is able to lock in the sleeper in the middle of the ring and has Cena to his knees. Cena is able to escape after dropping Nitro on his back. Nitro goes right back to the sleeper and this time has Cena flat on the mat. Meanwhile, JR and Lawler just can't stop talking about this battle royal. We get it. It's next week. Cena gets out, but Nitro hits a face-first powerbomb. Nitro climbs the ropes and hits a corkscrew moonsault that doesn't quite connect as well as he hoped. Cena comes back with the FU and picks up the victory. Cena gave him more offense than expected and the action was pretty good despite the multiple sleepers. 

Match Rating: **1/4

In case you didn't know, there's a battle royal next week. They close out the show with highlights from the match and we're out.

This was a much better show than last week. It started off slowly, but the second hour was very good. Umaga was the MVP here, as he continues to look like a major threat. I'll take it.

Overall Rating: 67%

NXT 1-28-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons

Cara gets some offense going, but gets hit with a dropkick when he goes for a reverse springboard. Sin Cara makes his comeback and tags in the more exciting Kalisto. He hits a corkscrew crossbody and then a Canadian Destroyer. Things break down and Blake gets a blind tag that allows him to pin Kalisto and we surprisingly have new champions. That was a really quick match, with most of it being a headlock. Blake and Murphy really lack an identity beyond good wrestlers so far and that kind of hurts the reaction to them winning the titles. I say that as someone who has enjoyed their team so far.

Match Rating: *3/4

They show last week with the drama in the women's division. We then go to Bayley and Charlotte and Charlotte isn't happy about what Bayley did last week. Bayley thinks she's been too nice and Charlotte warns her that she may not make it to TakeOver.

Tyler Breeze says that he lost a match, big deal. He's going to watch the rest of the tournament very closely. 

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament First Round Match
Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd

After a hot start by Neville, Kidd does some stalling outside the ring. Kidd dominates into the commercial break and when we come back, Neville hits a dive over the top rope to the ramp. Kidd is able to bounce back and hits a suplex onto the top rope. Neville rebounds with a sit down powerbomb that looked a little too close to an injured neck. Neville goes up top and hits the Red Arrow for the victory. This was longer than my recap shows and it was fairly entertaining overall. They're capable of better, but this was a solid match.

Match Rating: **1/2

Sasha Banks says that Becky Lynch is going to do the right thing and help her win the NXT Women's Championship. When Sasha walks away, Becky says that she will do the right thing and win the title.

Blake and Murphy are celebrating their victory and give a generic victory promo.

Bayley & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch

All four women get a little bit in to start and rightfully so. Sasha mocks Bayley a little bit and they are able to isolate her from Charlotte. When she tags in, she's able to get the Figure Eight in, but Becky dropkicks Charlotte to break the hold. Sasha hits a reverse neckbreaker. Bayley breaks up the pin attempt and she sort of hits Charlotte. They start fighting and then Becky and Sasha join in and the bell rings. They brawl, as we get closer to their match at TakeOver. This was fine.

Match Rating: *1/2

Finn Balor says friendships go out the window when titles are involved. Hideo Itami comes in and says he was the one who brought him over here. 

Emma is coming back to NXT. 

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament First Round Match
Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

Why must you keep doing this to me, NXT? Corbin dominates the early going, as they talk about the mystique he possesses. Just wait until he becomes the Olive Garden host. Anyway, he hits End Of Days and that's all. I completely had no idea that Bull was treated like such a jobber during this.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bull confronts Baron and tells him he got lucky twice. Yeah, okay. 

William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing. He tells both men that this will not be like every other contract signing in WWE. If they lay a hand on each other, their match is canceled. Sami grabs a mic and talks about their history. Owens points out that the contract says non-title match. Owens says he's not signing it until that is added. Sami tells Regal that he knows Owens and that he won't sign it. Sami says he wants it added too and Regal allows it. Owens throws a pen at Sami on his way out and Regal holds Sami back. Owens heads to the back and we go off the air.

This was a pretty good episode, but for whatever reason I just never got sucked in. The tag title change felt a little out of left field within the context of the show and I really don't want to see any more of Baron/Bull. On the plus side, the women's feud is shaping up nicely and you have a hot story at the top of the card in Owens/Zayn.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 2-6-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, February 6th, 1995
Manatee Civic Center
Palmetto, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a recap of last week's Mabel/King Kong Bundy over the top challenge and then get Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon in front of a green screen. 

Men On A Mission & Lex Luger vs. King Kong Bundy, IRS & Tatanka

Bundy and Mabel kick things off. Mabel hits the enzuigiri on Bundy and then tags in Mo. Mo thinks for some reason that he can body slam Bundy and that shifts the momentum. Mo does squeeze in a crossbody on IRS, but Tatanka is able to take control into the commercial break. Luger finally gets in and gets in some offense on IRS, but then tags in Mo. He runs into Tatanka's knee when running the ropes and the Corporation gets in some more offense. I still don't really understand why Shawn Michaels is the Raw announcer. Meanwhile, Mo is able to avoid a charging Bundy and he is able to tag in Luger. He attacks Bundy and hits a body slam. Tatanka comes in from behind and attacks Luger. He hits a DDT and Bundy rolls over on Luger for the victory. They really pinned Luger over Mo? This was pretty basic action here that just featured too many boring competitors to make it good.

Match Rating: *3/4

We get one more Man Mountain Rock vignette.

We now get Bobby Cupo, who reads Lawrence Taylor's statement. If you thought Jack Tunney was dull, Cupo makes him look like Dwayne Johnson. LT demands an apology and has no plans to be a wrestler. 

Man Mountain Rock vs. Charlie Hunter

Rock plays guitar in the ring before the match. They hype up Rock's technical skills and all we see are generic wrestling moves. He hits a face-first suplex and that's enough for the victory. Yawn.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for a pre-recorded interview between Vince and Diesel. This is the interview where Vince calls him Kevin Nash and then they try to make him look cool with all of the celebrities he's hung out with. 

Shawn talks about needing a body guard and shows his black eye. 

Mantaur vs. Leroy Howard

Ah yes, we are reminded that next week there is no Raw because of the dog show. Leroy gets in an elbow drop, but gets caught when going off the top rope for a slam. Vince is just so impressed by Mantaur. Leroy hits some clotheslines and a dropkick, but can't knock Mantaur down. Once again, he catches Leroy and hits a slam. This is waaaaayyyy too long for a Mantaur squash. It looks like Bill Alfonso tells him to go home and thankfully they do after two avalanches and a belly to belly suplex. This stunk.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Razor Ramon vs. Steve Lancaster

Razor hits the fall away slam and slaps on the abdominal stretch. Razor hits the back superplex and finishes him off with the Razor's Edge. This was the usual.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Henry Godwinn vs. Bill Weaver

Godwinn is wearing a black shirt today. I'm not sure I've ever seen that other than the Undertaker shirt he wore at Survivor Series. I still can't believe how good Godwinn looked in that match with Taker on Superstars. He eventually hits the Slop Drop for the victory. This wasn't as good as Saturday.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shawn will announce his body guard in two weeks time. He announces his farewell from the announcer's booth and we go off the air. 

This was not the best use of 47 minutes of television. The six man tag just felt off and the crowd was probably tired by that point. The squashes were pretty basic and overall, this isn't one you want to watch.

Match Rating: 37%