SmackDown 2-9-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, February 9th, 2007
Qwest Center
Omaha, Nebraska

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We get a lengthy Undertaker Royal Rumble decision video package before Taker comes out to the live crowd. 

Undertaker vs. Miz

They show a little recap of Miz bragging about not losing to Undertaker about a month ago. Taker quickly hits Old School. Miz tries to bring it to Taker in the corner, but Taker isn't having it and dishes it right back. Taker hits Snake Eyes and a chokeslam, as it's pretty apparent this is going to be a glorified squash if you had any doubt. Taker hits the Tombstone and that's all. This was just to continue the build to WrestleMania for Taker and took advantage of a minor plot point they set up awhile ago. After the match, Taker clears off the announce table and gives Miz a Last Ride through the table. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a vignette saying that in 2 weeks, Rey Mysterio returns to the 619 on SmackDown to update us on his condition. 

Deuce 'N Domino vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick

This is once again a non-title match. They announce that we will have a rematch of the ladder match from Armageddon at No Way Out. I do not remember them announcing that. The newcomers dominate the early going and Deuce hits a big kick on Kendrick for a 2 count. London comes in and is able to shift the momentum. Deuce is able to push London off the top rope and hit a double team move for the victory. They've now beaten the champs twice in a row. This wasn't as good of a match as the last one, but that was mostly because it was more one sided. 

Match Rating: *

We get a Kane/King Booker recap and then go to King Booker and Queen Sharmell with Teddy Long. Booker wants an apology and Kane to be suspended. Teddy announces that they will square off at No Way Out. 

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

I don't mind these two wrestling still, but they really haven't given much for Mercury to do on his end of the story. Hardy dumps Mercury out of the ring and hits him with a slingshot dive into a commercial break. I wonder what percentage of in match commercial breaks have a dive as the move right before the break? When we come back, Mercury drops Hardy on his knee from the second rope and then goes to work on it. After a lengthy heat segment, Hardy does make a minor comeback. He goes for the Side Effect, but Mercury counters it into a pin attempt and picks up the victory. Well, they had to have him get a clean win eventually if they are going to keep fighting.

Match Rating: **

51 days until WrestleMania.

Mr. Kennedy is out because he has an issue with everyone saying that the main event of WrestleMania is going to be Batista against Undertaker. He's here to tell us that he's going to be the buzzkill because he's tired of being overlooked. He knows that he deserves to be the World Heavyweight Champion and he will prove it tonight. Out comes Batista to interrupt and they start brawling. Multiple officials are out to try and break it up. Batista charges at Kennedy and he ducks, causing Batista to run into the ring post. Kennedy retreats through the crowd. 

Boogeyman vs. Finlay

It's matches like this where it's very apparent how good of a professional wrestler Finlay is. Just this little opening segment with Boogey is better than what most would be able to get out of this guy and I love Finlay for it. I also think that it's worth noting that there is over 90 years of life experience between the two performers. Finlay actually gets to do some offense and when it's time for Boogeyman to get in his stuff, the crowd is pretty quiet for it. Out comes Hornswoggle and Boogeyman grabs him and throws him in the ring. Boogeyman grabs some worms and that distraction allows Finlay to club him in the knee with the shillelagh and pick up the victory. After the match, he lets Hornswoggle out from under the ring and lets him run to the back. Boogeyman seems to not be phased by the loss, as he just sucks down some worms. I'm not sure why they keep putting Boogeyman in the ring, but you know what the result is going to be.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Daivari vs. Gregory Helms

Apparently Daivari is returning to SmackDown to compete in the cruiserweight division. So naturally they just have him wrestle the champ here in a cold match between two heels. This is the type of booking I just don't understand, as I'm not sure how this is going to help either guy. JBL criticizes him for leaving the walking ATM machine that is Great Khali. Helms goes up top, but Daivari is able to hit the top rope to knock him off. Daivari misses with a top rope leg drop and JBL notes that you can hear a pin drop because people don't like Helms and fans aren't used to watching Daivari in a SmackDown ring. Something like that. Helms hits a spinning backbreaker, but Daivari kicks out at 2. Helms rolls up Daivari, but it gets reversed and he grabs the middle rope to steal the victory. I didn't realize that Daivari was only 23 years old here. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Maryse says more SmackDown is coming. 

Teddy Long tells Jillian and Kristal that at No Way Out there's going to be a Divas Talent Invitational. They then run down the card for No Way Out, which now includes Finlay vs. Boogeyman. \

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Mr. Kennedy vs. Batista

So now that they just ran down the card of No Way Out and it includes Undertaker and Batista on a tag team, would it be Mr. Kennedy and Undertaker if he wins? JBL names a bunch of wrestlers who never got to main event a WrestleMania and for some reason includes Greg Valentine and Haku in the list. We get a pretty standard pre-commercial start that eventually leads to Kennedy throwing Batista into the steps. Kennedy makes the mistake of going up top and Batista meets him there. Kennedy is able to knock him off and hits the Kenton Bomb for a 2 count. The underrated part of Kennedy is that his offense is less boring than a lot of the current heels. He gets a nice nearfall after a belt shot and a boot to the face. Kennedy, now frustrated, hits a running boot to a seated Batista in the corner. Batista battles back and hits a spinebuster, but Batista is too hurt to really follow up on it. Batista continues to regain his strength and hits a powerslam and two more spinebusters. The Batista Bomb is next and he retains his championship in a hard fought match. These two had much better chemistry than you would ever think and it usually made for compelling television. 

Match Rating: ***

As Batista is celebrating, Undertaker's music hits and he rises up on the stage. Batista is selling it for some reason, but then raises up his title belt. 

We got some decent action here tonight and they did build towards No Way Out, even if it's looking like kind of a dud overall. I didn't recall the ladder match being announced and am curious why they pivot away from that, but I would hardly call that me having interest in the show. SmackDown continues to be the more consistent show over Raw and ECW and I'm not sure it's particularly close at this point in time. 

Overall Rating: 61%

ECW 2-6-07 Review

Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
Qwest Center
Omaha, Nebraska

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After a lengthy recap of Vince McMahon naming Elijah Burke the new face of ECW and the attack on him afterwards, Vince is making his way to the ring with the ECW Originals already in the ring. Vince talks about all of their criminal records. I know another guy with a criminal record. Vince then calls them dinosaurs and that they're about to be extinct. He says that some of them will be in action and warns them to not put their hands on any officials and that there better not be any interference or they are fired. 

If you thought ECW couldn't get any worse, think again. Snitsky is coming. Now with 100% less eyebrows.

Kevin Thorn vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer was literally just in the ring. Did he really need to go back and then come back out? Right before the match starts, Matt Striker is introduced as the referee for the match with Vince watching in the back. Dreamer hits a sit down spinebuster and when Striker goes to make the count, he "hurts" his knee. Dreamer gets up to argue it and Thorn hits him with a clothesline over Striker's back for the victory. This was exactly what you were expecting after the opening promo. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Hardcore Holly is with Rebecca and says that he's sat back and watched Bobby Lashley defend that title to everyone but him. Tonight he's going to prove why he should be ECW Champion.

They show a little biography piece on Bobby Lashley with his family and growing up. 

Hardcore Holly vs. Bobby Lashley

We get a little bit of Holly maybe egging Lashley on in the corner and he hits him with some seemingly stiff shots. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex, but Holly quickly is able to throw Lashley's shoulder into the ring post. They go outside and Holly throws him into the ring post and steps. He drives him into the ring and then throws him back into the ring to work on the back. Lashley is able to hit Holly with an overhead belly to belly suplex before hitting some clotheslines. Lashley hits a back body drop and a clothesline in the corner. He hits the press slam into the powerslam and that's all. That was at least more compelling than his match with Kenny, as they continue to just try and give him victories. Then out of nowhere, Lashley is attacked by Snitsky. Is he the first person to get a vignette and then debut the same night? Holly then hits Lashley with an Alabama Slam. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Balls Mahoney vs. Marcus Cor Von

Matt Striker is your guest timekeeper for this one. They show Mahoney getting destroyed by Umaga last night on Raw and he's sporting a neck brace. Cor Von quickly attacks Mahoney and hits a clothesline. He rips off the neck brace and throws it out of the ring. Mahoney hits the Balls punch thing, but then Cor Von hits a swinging neckbreaker. Cor Von hits the Pounce and then puts on the Cobra Clutch for the victory. They need to get rid of that. Striker then repeatedly just rings the bell and that's his contribution to his role there. Mahoney can't bump around that well, so this was probably Cor Von's least impressive squash so far. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Extreme Exposé does their thing until Matt Striker interrupts. He then announces that Marcus Cor Von is the guest announcer and Kevin Thorn is the guest timekeeper. He is the ring announcer for this match.

Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke

We join the match in progress after the final commercial break. Burke snaps RVD's neck on the top rope and RVD is snapped into the barricade. Burke hits leaping double knees to RVD in the corner. They are really hyping up the New Breed name because it's WWE and that's what they do. RVD comes back and hits a spin kick in the corner. He hits the 5 Star Frog Splash, but Thorn rings the bell while he's in the air. Striker tries to announce Burke as the winner, but the ref stops him. This distraction allows for Burke to hit a low blow and pick up the pinfall victory. This was rushed, so it didn't work as well as they had probably hoped. After the match, the New Breed attacks and the Originals come out to make the save. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Well, like most things, this show is even worse with Vince's involvement. I am all for them trying to build new stars, but I don't think anyone was asking for Kevin Thorn to get a push. I'm not sure why I religiously watched this over SmackDown, but it's easy to see why I was in the minority.

Overall Rating: 36%

Monday Night Raw 2-5-07 Review

Monday, February 5th, 2007
Tyson Event Center
Sioux City, Iowa

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After a quick recap of the finals of the Royal Rumble match, Undertaker's music hits and he's out to start the show. After his usual 20 minute entrance, out comes John Cena. He holds up his title and Bobby Lashley is now out. As you would expect, Batista is out here next. We're about 8 minutes into the show and all we've had are entrances and a recap. Taker stares into each man's eyes before signaling to his throat in front of Batista. Out comes Shawn Michaels immediately after to gloat over Taker's decision. It leaves John Cena without an opponent at WrestleMania and now Randy Orton is out to crash the party. He talks about how he will be the next WWE Champion and unless you've never seen this show before, you'd know that Edge is now out to interrupt. He talks about never losing at WrestleMania, which they will ruin in a couple of months for no reason. Out comes Mr. McMahon and makes fun of Iowa. He notices that no one is out challenging Lashley. Vince speculates that it may be because he's the best champion in the ring. He says that someone will challenge Lashley here tonight on Raw. He then announces that Randy Orton, Edge and Shawn Michaels will face off tonight in a triple threat match to face Cena at WrestleMania. Vince then says that he's not going to drop money from the ceiling, but that main event is value. After Vince leaves, Batista feels Taker still staring at him in the ring. He turns around and holds up his title. Taker hits him with a chokeslam and signals for the title before leaving to the back. This was your usual multi-man interruption promo to kick off the show. 

Carlito & Cryme Tyme vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team & Chris Masters

We get shortened entrances, so the opening segment probably ran long. They all start brawling until it comes down to Shelton and JTG. JTG hits a Lou Thesz Press, but Shelton quickly turns things around. He eventually tags in Carlito so that he can hit some of the least impressive clotheslines you will see. The match breaks down quickly and it leads to Carlito rolling up Haas. Masters distracts the referee and it allows for Benjamin to hit a leaping neckbreaker and they steal the victory. This was rushed, but it at least is helping build Benjamin and Haas as contenders. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show a recap of the two morons fighting over what the WWE fans want. Kenny Dykstra then interrupts Vince and Coach, saying he wants a match with Bobby Lashley tonight. So I guess that's happening. Coach then gives Vince a letter from Trump saying that he'll be on Raw next week to give him a business proposal that will change Vince's life forever. Vince then says that maybe Trump will join an exclusive club next week.

We go to Maria with Ric Flair. He rambles on something about taking on Jeff Hardy and if he wins he fights him at WrestleMania.

Candice Michelle and Melina are talking about Candice's Super Bowl commercial. In comes Johnny Nitro and he tells her that he will take care of Super Crazy. He tells her that the paparazzi will be ready for her tonight after her match with Mickie James.

Balls Mahoney is in the ring and out comes Coach. He says that Vince has had some issues with ECW originals lately, so he has picked someone to take care of Mahoney.

Balls Mahoney vs. Umaga

This all just leads to Jerry Lawler making an Umaga playing with Balls joke. Umaga hits the butt bop. He hits the Samoan Spike and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Johnny Nitro vs. Super Crazy

I don't like that both women are out for this match so close to their title match later tonight. Super Crazy rolls through a sunset flip and hits a low dropkick on Nitro. Melina grabs Crazy's leg and that lets Nitro get control. Mickie returns the favor and that gives him a brief opening. He tries going up top, but Nitro meets him there. Crazy elbows him off and hits a moonsault for the victory. It's pretty wild to look back and see Crazy getting a little bit of a push here in 2007. Obviously, it didn't last. This was way too short to mean anything.

Match Rating: 1/2*

WWE Women's Championship Match
Melina vs. Mickie James

Well, I guess after the commercial break we are going right into this match. I guess that explains the women coming out. I'm sure they will get 20 minutes here. They have some pretty spirited action to start, with Melina getting a nearfall after a kick to the head. The crowd is very much into this one too. Mickie fights back. Nitro tries to interfere, but Crazy is able to stop that from happening. Mickie hits a kick to the stomach, but then gets tossed through the ropes to the floor. Mickie tries a sunset flip off the top, but Melina blocks it. She uses the ropes and gets caught by the ref. Mickie reverses it and retains her title. This was pretty good for the time given. After the match, the paparazzi Nitro promised comes out to watch her have a meltdown. 

Match Rating: *

Shawn Michaels and John Cena are backstage. Michaels says he knows why Cena is coming back here and it's to wish him luck because he knows they will have a classic at WrestleMania. Cena disagrees and says that he's hoping Edge will win because he knows he can beat him. 

Apparently next week, Raw is on Thursday. I guarantee I forget that.

Jeff Hardy vs. Ric Flair

Hardy sells an accidental knee injury after leaping over Flair in the corner and Flair goes after it. Hardy eventually is able to hit an enzuigiri and battles back with a limp. He sort of hits Whisper In The Wind and follows it up with a Twist Of Fate. Hardy goes up top, but Flair rolls out of the way of the Swanton. Flair goes after the knee again. He struts around and wants to go for the Figure Four, but Hardy rolls him up and is victorious. It's getting harder to watch Flair and he still has over a year left. After the match, Flair gets in Hardy's face, but then grabs his arm and shakes it.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Todd Grisham is backstage with Batista. He talks about payback and successfully defending his title against Undertaker. He tells him that he also has no problem teaming up with him at No Way Out.

ECW Championship Match
Kenny Dykstra vs. Bobby Lashley

I can assure you that there is not one person watching this that thinks Kenny will win. Lashley knocks Kenny out of the ring, but when he goes after him, he gets hit by a low dropkick on the ramp. Back in the ring, Kenny hits a leaping reverse elbow and slows things down. Lashley battles back and hits a T-bone suplex. Kenny is able to hit a dropkick and Lashley is out to the floor into a commercial break. When we come back, Lashley quickly hits his powerslam from a press slam for the victory. This was about the usual from a Kenny match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Randy Orton and Edge are backstage and Edge says that they need to make sure it's not Shawn Michaels going to WrestleMania.

They show Carlito and Torrie leaving the arena and Ric Flair is there. Flair chastises Carlito for leaving before the main event. Flair then calls him lazy and that's why he's not in the main event and that he's lucky to be here. Flair says Carlito has no passion or guts. Flair says guys like him are taking his spot and Vince told him he still has to prove himself. This was a good promo from Flair, but there's no way they had to think that was good for Carlito, even if it was true. 

#1 Contender For The WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Edge and Orton immediately double team Michaels to kick things off. Michaels hits a double clothesline and then two inverted atomic drops. Michaels goes up top, but Orton shoves him off and into the ring. They knock Michaels out of the ring and then are shown arguing as we go into the last commercial. When we come back, Michaels is able to hit a back suplex on Edge after sending Orton over the top rope. Michaels hits a baseball slide that sends Orton into the announce table. Edge is able to hit a kick on Michaels and get a 2 count. Edge goes up top, but Orton throws Michaels into him and he is crotched on the top rope. Michaels does his Garvin stomp on Michaels and has Michaels in trouble. Orton hits a dropkick and gets a nearfall. Orton hits a RKO but Edge is able to pull him off the top. Edge tries to get the pin and now the argument begins. They start shoving each other but then shake hands. That lasts about 2.3 seconds and they start brawling. Orton goes for a RKO, but Edge shoves him in the corner. Orton leaps over a Spear and Edge runs into the turnbuckle. They hit a double crossbody and both men are down. Michaels climbs back into the ring. Michaels hits a top rope elbow on Edge. Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Edge ducks and Orton catches it. He throws Edge into Orton and hits Edge with it. He then pins Orton and will face Cena at WrestleMania. This was actually on the disappointing side, as I was expecting them to deliver a pay-per-view worthy match here and it fell short of that. After the match, Cena is in the ring and they go face to face. Batista's music then hits, followed by Undertaker's. Batista and Taker go face to face on the ramp before turning their attention to Cena and Michaels. Cena's music plays and that's all.

Match Rating: **3/4

We got a lot of wrestling on this show, it's just that most of it was pretty forgettable. I don't think anyone was clamoring to see Kenny Dykstra face Bobby Lashley, but here it is. The opening segment was the usual, but it was entertaining and it set the stage for WrestleMania. The other memorable spot here was the Flair ripping on Carlito promo, which didn't end up doing either guys any favors. 

Overall Rating: 48%

Fastlane 2023 Review

Saturday, October 7th, 2023
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a Pat McAfee intro to kick it off. 

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs. Judgment Day

The entrances are just so long these days. Not everyone needs the Undertaker length. We get the standard tag start with the faces looking good until Damian Priest hits an illegal kick to the head from the apron of Jey Uso. They isolate Jey until it's time to make the hot tag to Cody. He hits the Disaster Kick on Finn Balor, but it's not enough for the 3 count. We get a sequence of counters between of Finn and Cody, with Finn getting the best of it. He hits a running dropkick in the corner and climbs up top. Cody is able to get there before he gets all the way up and hits him with a superplex. Now it's time for Jey and Priest, with Jey looking a tad slower than usual for whatever reason. He hits a top rope crossbody, but Priest kicks out at 2. Priest connects with a kick to the head and a flatliner for a nearfall. Jey hits a dive to the outside on both opponents and then hits a Uso Splash that barely gets saved. Cody hits a Cody Cutter on Finn and Uso hits a Spear on Damian. Jey goes up top, but then out comes Dominik and Rhea Ripley. The distraction allows Priest to hit a hurricanrana and Balor hits a Coup de Grace, but Cody breaks up the pin. Cody tries to hit a superkick on a diving Damian, but they mis-time it and we get an awkward spot. JD McDonagh is out now and he gets a superkick. Jey gets hit in the face with the Money In The Bank briefcase, but he's able to kick out of the roll up by Finn. Cody ducks JD McDonagh and he hits Priest in the knee with the briefcase and then Cody hits Cross Rhodes on the table. Back in the ring, we get some chaos that leads to Cross Rhodes on Balor and new Undisputed Tag Team Champions. This was a pretty good opener and I'm a little surprised that Judgment Day lost here. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Wade Barrett and Booker T are talking about the show and in walks Xavier Woods. He's about to order some Pizza Hut in our product placement segment of the night. 

Bobby Lashley & Street Profits vs. Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar 

So I guess we are just having a handicap match. It looks like Lashley eats a lot of Pizza Hut, so it makes sense that they sponsored this match. Escobar hits a beautiful top rope hurricanrana on Montez Ford, who of course makes it look even better. They do a spot where Lashley catches the 619 from the ground and slams him to the mat. They work on Rey for a bit until Rey avoids a Lashley Spear, but then Montez rips Santos off the apron before he can make the tag. Zelina Vega then hits a dive on Montez  behind the ref's back. Rey still has no one to tag until Carlito's music hits. He's out and makes the tag in. We get some six man chaos and Carlito hits the Backstabber on Ford for the victory? That seems like a bad start for Lashley's new crew. The match was solid, but nothing to write home about. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Triple Threat Match For The WWE Women's Championship
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka vs. Iyo Sky

Charlotte immediately gets mist to the face courtesy of Asuka and then my computer decides to be stupid and restarts. Charlotte sells the mist like it's death and has to go off to the side to get assistance wiping it off her face. I didn't pause the show, so that's all I can recall off the top of my head. Charlotte hits a double crossbody off the top rope and then hits some chops to both opponents. Charlotte then hits a double suplex and then hits a front walkover into a double clothesline. Asuka sends Iyo off the ropes and she decides to dive onto Charlotte instead. Asuka then hits a sliding kick on Charlotte and then Sky trips Asuka up on the apron. Sky hits a springboard moonsault, but barely touches her if at all. Enough so that the announcer make note of it. Charlotte then climbs up and hits a double moonsault. We then get a tower of doom spot, with Asuka orchestrating it. The pace and big time moves start to pick up here and Charlotte hits a Spear to get a nearfall. Out comes Bayley and she puts Sky back in the ring. Charlotte knocks her out of the ring and then Asuka almost picks up the victory after a top rope Codebreaker. Charlotte puts the Figure Eight on Asuka and Bayley distracts the referee. Sky hits a moonsault on Charlotte and retains her title. They worked hard here, I just didn't think the flow was as good as some of the classic these have been in. After the match, Bayley and Sky hug. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Pat McAfee is out now and he basically just gets the crowd hyped up. He mentions that Indianapolis deserves a WrestleMania before introducing John Cena.

John Cena & LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso

I kind of thought this might be the main event here tonight. Cena basically gets destroyed from the get go and they play it for quite a long time. Out of nowhere, Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment on Jimmy and he starts crawling to his corner, but Solo gets there first. Knight finally gets the hot tag and the crowd is with him for it. Solo hits a Samoan drop on him, but then Cena hits a top rope crossbody. In comes Jimmy with an Uso Splash and all four men are down. Knight is up and hits multiple fists on his opponents. He gets dumped out of the ring and Cena goes for an AA, but they counter out of it with a superkick from Jimmy. Jimmy goes up top and Knight leaps up there and hits a superplex. It's time for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle on Jimmy and then Knight hits the BFT for the victory. Paul Heyman is not happy and this leads into Roman Reigns' return on SmackDown this Friday. The match was about what you would expect from these four. The goal was to get Knight even more over and they probably did, so mission accomplished.

Match Rating: **1/2

They show the Judgment Day backstage and Damian says that tonight's the night. Rhea Ripley says it isn't and takes his briefcase away. 

Last Man Standing Match For The World Heavyweight Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

The story has been very good for these two and they have done a nice job of re-building Nakamura. I'm also loving that this isn't going to be a 4 hour show. They go outside quickly and Rollins lifts up the pads. He goes for a powerbomb, but Nakamura counters out. Seth throws him face first into the steps though. Seth tries to go for some big blows, but Nakamura is able to avoid them. He hits a diving knee with Rollins hanging over the apron. Nakamura then starts hitting Rollins with nunchucks. They set up a table in the corner and Rollins is able to avoid a charging Nakamura and he goes through it. Rollins hits the Stomp, but Nakamura is able to beat the 10 count. Rollins goes under the ring and pulls out a ladder and rams it into Nakamura. They battle up into the crowd and up on the stairs. Nakamura hits a low blow and then kicks Rollins to the floor. Rollins is able to break the count and then Nakamura hits him in the back with a chair. Nakamura sets up Rollins on a table and hits a double knees off the apron through Rollins chest. The ladder comes back into play and they both start climbing. Nakamura blows the red mist in Rollins face and he then pushes Rollins off the ladder and through the announce table. Rollins is able to get up at 9 despite Michael Cole's plea for him to stay down. It's kind of surprising that they did 2 mist spots in the same night. Nakamura then hits Kinshasa and sends Rollins through a table. Rollins is able to roll out of the ring and land on his feet this time to break the count. They go back out in the crowd. They battle up on a crate and Rollins hits both a Pedigree and a Stomp. Rollins then hits a Falcon Arrow through a couple of tables next to the crate. Rollins beats the count and Nakamura isn't able to to give Rollins the victory. They kept up a really good pace for the type of match it was. They didn't overdo the count either, which is nice. This was a very good main event and better than their first match.

Match Rating: ****

This one didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was a good show. The main event was the must see match and everything else ranged from pretty good to good. The only thing that really baffled me was Lashley and the Street Profits losing. The Bloodline losing should make for an interesting next step in their story and we'll see where LA Knight goes from here. 

Overall Rating: 76%

NXT 4-15-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 15th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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CJ Parker vs. Solomon Crowe

I'm Team Parker here after the disappointing debut from Crowe. They are playing up Parker's frustration as he continues to lose. Crowe hits a leaping 2nd rope clothesline from inside the ring on Parker, who was standing on the apron. He falls to the floor and Crowe hits him with a suicide dive. Parker gets a boot up on a charging Crowe and slows things down. Parker hits a nice scissors kick, but this match has lost my interest. Crowe comes back and gets hit with a back elbow. Crowe goes up top and hits a splash on the leg of Parker. He then puts on a unique leg submission that is basically a half crab where he bends it around his neck instead of standing up. This wasn't particularly good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Crowe gets on the microphone and says to stay tuned because this is just the beginning. Sure. 

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

Corbin hits a clothesline and hits End Of Days for the win. That was one of the worst of his squash matches that I can think of. This show is not off to a great start. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Sami Zayn says that he still seems to have a target on his back despite not having the NXT Championship. He says that Kevin Owens used him to get to the top and Rhyno is trying to do the same thing.

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Sawyer Fulton & Angelo Dawkins

Enzo goes up top, but Fulton is able to shake the ropes to crotch him. Out comes Parker and Murphy to give Carmella flowers. Meanwhile, Enzo is still being dominated, failing to make the hot tag. He then sneaks in some sort of a jawbreaker and makes the tag. Cass hits the usual big guy offense before hitting the Stinger Splash and spinning Boss Man Slam. He launches Enzo off the top rope and that's enough for the finish. As the are celebrating, Enzo notices the flowers. They argue a little bit.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Alex Riley then asks us if we thought that was it? He's telling Kevin Owens that he'll be in the ring next week and Kevin Owens better be there.

Blue Pants vs. Dana Brooke

This show is just on fire. Dana Brooke doesn't look much like 2023 Dana Brooke. She does all of the heel 101 stuff you would expect and hits her finisher after a few offensive moves from Blue Pants.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's a Triple Threat #1 Contender's Match when Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch all square off. Alex Riley will face Kevin Owens. 

Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno

Things start off slowly until Zayn hits a headscissors. We get a commercial break and when we come back, Rhyno is in control. Rhyno is able to hit a spinebuster for a 2 count. They really are going for the slow burn here so far. After what feels like 20 minutes, Zayn desperately fights back and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. That of course does not win him the match, so he goes up top. Rhyno catches the crossbody and hits a neckbreaker. Zayn knocks Rhyno off the apron with a forearm and hits a dive. Back in the ring, Rhyno shifts the momentum but misses with the Gore. Sami hits the Helluva Kick and picks up the victory here. I assumed they might go with an interference finish here, so that was a pleasant surprise. The match was a little on the dull side, which is a rarity for any Zayn match. 

Match Rating: **

This was one of the weaker episodes of 2015 so far and is most likely just a one off. Nothing really clicked for me on this one and I have no doubt that next week will be much better. 

Overall Rating: 39%

Monday Night Raw 4-24-95 Review

Monday, April 24th, 1995
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska

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We get a recap of Bam Bam Bigelow's rough start to 1995. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Barry Horowitz & Brooklyn Brawler

The legendary jobber team of Brawler and Horowitz here with us tonight. The Gunns hit the double side Russian leg sweep on the Brawler. I would love to figure out the travel schedule here back in the day. Raw has a much better energy live in front of a much bigger crowd than normal for Raw. The Gunns hit a variation of a double team neckbreaker for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Ted DiBiase and Bam Bam Bigelow. Bam Bam says that he's bringing the jewel to the Corporation tonight. Bam Bam has a black eye here, but he doesn't let us know how he got it when asked by Vince

Vince and Lawler talk to Diesel real quickly about his match with Bam Bam tonight. He said he promised to be a fighting champion and Bam Bam wanted a match, so he's got it. 

Bertha Faye vs. La Pantera Serena

Bertha has upbeat music here rather than her slow love ballad that she'll eventually have. A lot of her offense is very telegraphed. Serena gets a few small opportunities and it leads to a botched spot from the top rope that even Vince calls a "miscommunication", which seems like a botch in its own right. This all leads to them talking about Duckman. Bertha hits a sit down powerbomb and for some reason that's not it. She hits a press slam and falls on her for the victory. As far as debuts go, this was a bit of a flop. It was too long and was sloppy. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Todd Pettengill for the In Your House Report. Have you seen the price of popcorn lately? No new matches are announced here and lots of house talk. Sid then says the only thing that will make him happy is winning the WWF Championship.

WWF Championship Match
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Diesel

They do a commercial break after each entrance and then it looks like the entire match is commercial free, so I'll take that as a win. Diesel has an energetic start to the match, hitting some running forearms in the corner before throwing Bam Bam around. Two things of note so far are that these guys are running a pretty quick pace for big guys and the crowd is very much behind Diesel. Bam Bam drives Diesel into the ring post to slow things down. Well, there is a commercial break, but Peacock isn't making me take one, so I guess my theory was incorrect. When we come back they collide off the ropes and both men are down. Diesel hits a splash, but Bam Bam kicks out at 2. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a Diesel splash until this moment. Diesel runs into an elbow and then eats the top turnbuckle. Bam Bam tries to hit a vertical suplex, but Diesel blocks it and hits one of his own. Bam Bam is eventually able to hit one and gets a 2 count out of it. Out comes Tatanka and also a cotton candy vendor in the crowd. Diesel hits a back suplex and they are both down again. We get another commercial break and this time I am forced to take it too. So that's technically four commercials for this match. Tatanka accidentally trips up Bam Bam and it allows Diesel to hit a boot. Diesel hits a Jackknife and that's all. That was a very quick post-commercial finish. I actually liked this match quite a bit. The put in a very strong effort and kept up a quick pace for big men, especially in 1995. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

After the match, Ted DiBiase gets on the microphone to recap how embarrassing Bam Bam has been. DiBiase says 3 strikes and you're out and he fires him. Tatanka attacks him from behind, but Bam Bam hits a clothesline before throwing him to the floor. Bam Bam grabs the mic and says that DiBiase can't fire him because he quits. Out comes IRS and he attacks him from behind. Now Sid is out and he hits him with some boots to the gut while the other two jobbers hold him. Sid then hits a dangerous looking powerbomb. Out comes Diesel and he attacks Tatanka while the other head to the back. 

Next week on Raw, it's Sid vs. Razor Ramon in a pretty big marquee match. 

Aldo Montoya vs. Black Phantom

Speaking of big marquee matches, it's Justin Credible vs. Gangrel. Montoya hits a hip toss and a dropkick before hitting a dive to the outside. There's no canned crowd noise here, so it's dead silent for this. Phantom comes back in and hits a DDT. Montoya hits a reverse crossbody and a running dropkick. He hits a second rope bulldog and that's all. The squash matches have stunk.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see a glimpse of Hunter Hearst Helmsley. 

Vince and Lawler recap the Bam Bam saga and then we see what happened during a commercial break. Diesel and Bam Bam shook hands and Vince talks about us not seeing enough of that in sports today. Okay, Vince. 

Well this was a one match show and the match took up about a third of the show. The angle after was fine in turning Bam Bam face as well. The squash matches lacked pizazz, particularly the Bertha match. 

Overall Rating: 51% 

Superstars 4-22-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, April 22nd, 1995
Glens Falls Civic Center
Glens Falls, New York

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We get a recap of the historic first match between Aldo Montoya and Jeff Jarrett that sent Montoya to the upper echelon of all time WWE performers. 

Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. John Crystal & Leroy Howard

Owen misses some elbow drops and Crystal takes advantage. Howard hits an ax handle off the second rope, but then gets hit by a clothesline from Owen. In comes Yoko and they hit a double clothesline. Yoko honestly looks like he has no interest in being in the ring today. Yoko hits the Banzai Splash for the victory. I like this team, but this had no oomph to it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Smoking Gunns vignette to remind us that they exist. 

We go to an interview with Jeff Jarrett and Roadie to remind us that he's great. 

Razor Ramon vs. Mark Starr

Starr is kind of a cheap imitation of Flyin' Brian and gets hit with a fall away slam. Razor just toys with him and kind of like the last match, Razor seems to not really want to be here. He hits the back suplex off the second rope and then the Razor's Edge to pick up the easy win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for Hunter Hearst Helmsley, but he ignores Vince and we quickly go away from that. That was strange. 

Stephanie Wiand is here with the In Your House Report. We have two new matches added to the card with Bret Hart vs. Hakushi and Razor Ramon teaming up with 1-2-3 Kid taking on Jeff Jarrett and Roadie. Don't forget, it's only $14.95 and is a tremendous value in family entertainment.

Aldo Montoya has all the confidence in the world and then speaks Portuguese. 

We see the Sid attack on Shawn Michaels again, which led to Ted DiBiase adding Sid to the Million Dollar Corporation. 

Kama vs. Tony Roy

If you think the other two matches were uninspired, this one literally put me to sleep. Kama hits a sloppy looking top rope elbow drop to pick up the win and no reaction. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Bob Backlund on Spring Break. He visits a wet t-shirt contest and there is lots of yelling. He has a big announcement on May 15th. Dok Hendrix claims that it's that Backlund is marrying Janet Reno.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Aldo Montoya

The Portuguese Man O' War Aldo Montoya has to be an all time worst name contender, right? His mask is also up there for worst headgear. At least he got a second chance with a great name as Justin Credible. Nothing really noteworthy happens until Jarrett hits a nice DDT for a 2 count and a classic call from Vince before we go to commercial break. Aldo is able to sidestep Jarrett and he accidentally hits Roadie. We get lots of canned crowd noise for his short-lived comeback, as Roadie trips him up. Razor is now out and he chases Roadie out to the back. This distracts Jarrett and Montoya rolls him up twice for 2 counts. Montoya hits a reverse crossbody for another 2 count. He goes up top, but Jarrett throws him off and puts on the Figure Four for the victory. This wasn't bad, but I actually was expecting a little bit more. Montoya just doesn't seem to have much left in the tank as a character. 

Match Rating: **

We go back to Stephanie and she reminds us that Sid doesn't liked to be called psycho. I guess that's why he ended up going with Sycho. They show the same footage again from Action Zone that they showed earlier. 

Duke Droese vs. Roy Raymond

Raymond gets in more offense than in a typical Droese match and it leads to Vince making fun of how bad he is. Droese hits a leg drop, but Raymond kicks out. He hits the Trash Compactor and that's all. This was another weak squash today.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week Hakushi faces Kwang. Hunter Hearst Helmsley is going to talk to us and then he realizes that it's just us, so he doesn't.

This was not an inspiring episode of television. Superstars continues to go downhill a bit here in recent weeks, as Raw continues to be the much better show.

Overall Rating: 39%