Monday Night Raw 2-19-07 Review

Monday, February 19th, 2007
Rabobank Arena
Bakersfield, California

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After once again forcing me to watch a recap of Donald Trump/Vince McMahon, we go to a shot of a mini barber shop set up in the ring and Vince on his way down to hype up this trash. He shows a picture of Britney Spears, who recently shaved her head here. We then get pictures of Trump with different haircuts. Vince then announces his representative as Umaga for the match at WrestleMania 23. Vince then says that Umaga is about to become a champion and that match is now. Jeff Hardy's music hits and he is out apparently to defend his Intercontinental Championship.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy

We join the match in progress and Hardy hits a couple of dropkicks through the ropes, but then Umaga catches him off a dive. Hardy is able to counter and push Umaga into the ring post. Hardy runs on the barricade, but is greeted with a thrust to the throat on the way down. Umaga slows down the pace until he misses with a top rope headbutt. He misses with a splash in the corner and Hardy hits him with Whisper In The Wind. Umaga comes right back with the pop up Samoan Drop to slow down Jeff's momentum. He drags Jeff into the corner and hits the butt bop in the corner. He hits the Samoan Spike and we have a new champion. Hardy was doing a nice job of building the title up, but now it will just become a backdrop for the Trump stuff. Vince stands confidently on the top of the entrance ramp. These two have good chemistry, but this was more of a traditional squash, with Hardy just getting a few moves in. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Ric Flair & Carlito vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

They show the handshake from last week after their match on Raw. So now they're a tag team. After a short heat segment with Carlito, Flair gets the hot tag. He hits a bunch of chops and a back body drop. Flair hits a low blow behind the referee's back and tags in Carlito. He hits the Backstabber and the new team picks up the win. This story just feels like filler.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to John Cena and Shawn Michaels backstage for an interview. Cena says that he and Michaels that they know exactly where they stand as far as their WrestleMania main event. Michaels then hypes up the new DX DVD. Cena then promotes The Marine DVD. They compare what their DVDs has and Shawn says that his has Big Dick Johnson, who comes out and dances until Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music.

We then go to Edge and Randy Orton watching backstage. Orton says that he got their rematch against Cena and Michaels for next week. Orton says that after he's done with Cena tonight, it will be real easy to get their titles back. 

They hype up the Money In The Bank match by showing highlights of the last two. 

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match
Edge vs. Rob Van Dam

This is definitely a pretty high profile match for a qualifying match. RVD hits his helicopter leg drop to the outside. Edge is able to hit a swinging neckbreaker on the way back into the ring and shifts the momentum. He hits a Rude Awakening and gets a 2 count. RVD is able to hit a spin kick in the corner and both men are down. RVD goes for Rolling Thunder, but Edge catches it and hits a powerslam. Edge goes for a top rope superplex, but RVD is able to crotch him on the top rope and then hits a single leg kick that knocks Edge to the floor. RVD follows up with a dive to the floor and then throws Edge back in the ring. He goes off the top rope, but Edge hits him with a dropkick in midair. RVD leapfrogs a Spear attempt and then RVD hits the split legged moonsault for a 2 count. RVD goes up top, but out comes Randy Orton. RVD hits him with a kick, but then Edge hits the Spear for the victory. This was a really solid match here, with both guys treating it like a big deal. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

WWE Women's Championship Match
Melina vs. Mickie James

Let's see if they get more than 2 minutes. Mickie hits the first high impact move with a seated dropkick. She then hits a sliding dropkick to knock her out of the ring. She goes for another one outside of the ring, but Melina sidesteps it and pulls her to the floor. Back in the ring, Melina throws her across the ring by the hair. We get into a brawl, with the trading blows on the mat. Mickie returns the favor and throws Melina across the ring by her hair. Melina counters a headscissors attempt by grabbing the ropes. Mickie sells that she fell on her head and Melina uses the ropes to steal the victory and win the title. Two new champions here tonight on what must have been some last minute adjustments for the WrestleMania card. The match wasn't bad, but it felt a little bit like a series of moves.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Todd Grisham tries to interview Mickie James, who then slaps him in his face. 

Highlanders vs. Great Khali

The Highlanders attack Khali as he walks in and as you'd expect, it doesn't really work. He hits the double hand chokeslam and then pins him by standing on him. I get why this existed, but that doesn't mean I wanted to watch it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

If you didn't get enough earlier, they recap the Vince/Umaga segment.

We go to Coach talking to Kenny Dykstra and in walks Great Khali. He yells a noise and it means he wants more competition. In walks Ron Simmons to do his thing. 

They show Ashley's cover reveal from SmackDown. We go to Melina, who is upset that they had to wait for a video of Ashley before interviewing her. 

We find out that the next inductee to this year's Hall Of Fame class will be none other than Mr. Perfect.

They go back to the original WrestleMania for the WrestleMania Recall.

Next week, Trump is going to pick his opponent for Umaga. Oh boy. Plus, Rated RKO will take on Shawn Michaels and John Cena.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

They have a pretty standard start to the match, with Cena besting Orton at every turn. Orton tries to grab a chair, but we go to commercial break. When we come back, Orton has taken control and slowed the match all the way down. Orton hits the draped DDT, but Cena kicks out at 2. Orton finally starts signaling for the RKO, but Cena takes him and throws him. Cena gets Orton up for the FU, but in runs Edge and he hits a Spear. He then grabs two chairs, but then out comes Shawn Michaels and he's making the save. The match was decent, but you knew it was going to be a disqualification.

Match Rating: *3/4

This was a one match show, but also featured a couple of title changes and a Money In The Bank qualifier. So in that sense, it was a decent enough episode. There were a lot of low, but there was enough on the show to entertain the crowd. 

Overall Rating: 52%

NXT 5-6-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, May 6th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Emma vs. Charlotte

Emma is in Bayley's shirt in heel mode. She starts off with some mat wrestling, looking pretty good overall. She goes to work on the left leg, slamming it into the mat multiple times. She puts on the half crab, bending it back close to Charlotte's head. Charlotte breaks the hold by grabbing the bottom rope. Emma goes to slam her knee into the mat, but this time Charlotte lands on her feet. She comes back and hits a Spear on her. She hits Natural Selection and that's it? Um, sure. After the match, Bayley is out and she gives Emma a hug, only this time she doesn't let go. She hits a Bayley-to-Belly on her and rips off her shirt. Charlotte pulls her off and she heads to the back. The match felt like it was being set up for a 10+ minute match and then Charlotte just won out of nowhere.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a Becky Lynch vignette talking about her journey to NXT. 

Next up, it's a previously recorded sit down interview with Michael Cole and Kevin Owens. Owens repeats over and over that it's about the money that comes with being NXT Champion. Owens reminds him that he never even congratulated him on winning the title. Cole agrees and does so, but in return wants him to tell him why he would do what he did to his best friend. Owens sticks with his story. 

Bull Dempsey vs. Rhyno

Rhyno hits a big belly to belly suplex and hits the Gore for the easy squash. I guess NXT thinks the same about Dempsey as I do. After the match, Rhyno challenges to a match at TakeOver. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Sasha says Fabulous Moolah was the greatest Diva until her. 

They show Apollo Crews signing his contract and a vignette.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were supposed to face Enzo and Big Cass, but the latter don't come out during their music. We then go to the back and we see Blake and Murphy attacking them.

We now go to a sit down interview with Michael Cole and Sami Zayn. He says the biggest difference between him and Owens is that Owens is a liar. Next week, he wants Owens to come out and tell him why he did what he did. They show Zayn fighting Cena on Raw, with Zayn getting hurt. 

We now have the contract signing between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. Becky cuts a promo real quick on her journey and that she isn't here to take part, she's here to take over. She signs it and then Sasha pulls out a stamp and signs her name that way. We get an attack from Sasha and then Becky gets Sasha to tap out. The crowd reaction was kind of weird for this one.

They show Kevin Owens' attack on Alex Riley and Sami Zayn from last week. Riley then talks about how he's going to need surgery on his knee. He then heard the crowd thanking Kevin Owens for attacking him and that the last minute of the show was all about Sami, not him. He's realizing these risks aren't worth it. We won't be seeing him for awhile now. 

We get a Dana Brooke interview that is having some weird microphone issues, which seems to be a theme here tonight. She's a heel.

Finn Balor is at ringside to watch the main event.

Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami

Things start off slowly and we get an early commercial break. Itami quickens the pace with his comeback and hits a top rope clothesline. He goes for a running kick into the corner, but Breeze rolls out of the way before he can get there. Itami goes for another kick and Breeze misses, kicking Finn Balor straight in the face. They go back into the ring and Breeze misses with the Beauty Shot. Itami hits the running kick and that's all. After the match, Itami and Balor kind of glare at each other, which allows Breeze to attack Itami. Breeze throws him off and goes to Itami. Breeze then hits a Supermodel Kick on Balor and a Beauty Shot on Itami. This was obviously mainly to add some drama to the triple threat match at TakeOver and in that regard, they were successful. The match itself was nothing memorable.

Match Rating: *1/4

NXT continues to be slumping on the weekly TV show. The build to the top matches have been good, but almost at the expense of the show. TakeOver should be a blast, but I'd like to see them focusing on some better TV matches here.

Overall Rating: 42%

Monday Night Raw 5-15-95 Review

Monday, May 15th, 1995
Broome County Arena
Binghamton, New York

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We get an intro of Bam Bam Bigelow and IRS cutting quick promos ahead of their match tonight. Bam Bam vows to run through the entire Corporation. We then go to Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler, with the latter gloating about defeating Bret Hart last night at In Your House.

Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Nick Barberry & Bill Weaver

The champions are fresh off their win last night over the Smoking Gunns. Barberry and Weaver try to get some offense in on Owen and it works for a brief moment, but Yoko comes in and takes care of business. He hits a Rock Bottom and picks up the easy victory. Yoko just lays on his opponent for an extended amount of time since he didn't hit him with the Banzai. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see some still photos of Bret Hart losing to Jerry Lawler. 

We see the "Saving The World" alien WWF commercial that is just super weird.

Oh boy, Man Mountain Rock is back and jamming in the middle of the ring. 

Man Mountain Rock vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

We have to be getting close to the end of Sharpe here. Rock's first mini run was absolutely uninspiring, so I doubt we'll see anything better here. This one is over quickly and not one person seemed to care. It's safe to say that it's time to move on.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the clip of the house giveaway from last night. We follow this with more still photos, this time of the Razor Ramon match with Jeff Jarrett and Roadie. They talk to Savio Vega backstage and he's all fired up, so Vince has to cut him off to go to commercial break. 

We have an exclusive one night only Sid/Diesel shirt and it's only $16. Don't forget about that totally rad Bret Hart shirt. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Mantaur vs. Bob Holly

Jim Cornette is still with this goof for some reason. I'm guessing this match set ratings records for the company. Mantaur manhandles Holly to start. Apparently it's a rule that if you have "Man" in your name, you suck. This one is just torture and testing my patience here. Mantaur completely telegraphs missing Holly in the corner and Holly rolls him up for a 2 count. Holly hits a dropkick to the back and a trio of clotheslines. He's still on his feet, so Holly hits a missile dropkick and gets another nearfall. Holly hits a top rope crossbody and pulls off the upset in a terrible match. That's two matches in a row with performers they need to give up on. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shawn Michaels returns next week and he'll be facing King Kong Bundy. Remember him?

Vince is in the ring with Bob Backlund. It's finally time for Backlund to let us know what his big announcement. He rambles on for 5 minutes about whatever and Vince finally has him focus on the announcement. He announces that he is running for president and a marching band comes out to help celebrate it. 

Well you knew it was coming, yes, it's the still photos of Sid vs. Diesel. 

Earlier today, Jim Ross interviewed Ted DiBiase and IRS as they were walking into the building. Ted challenges Bam Bam Bigelow and Diesel to team up to take on Sid and Tatanka. I'm not really sure why, but between this and the Mantaur match, I have a feeling King Of The Ring may suck.

IRS vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam has new ring entrance gear and it's pretty dorky. He also has pyro now and a new theme. Bam Bam brings out Diesel to be in his corner here tonight and he gets a good pop. DiBiase runs to the back just as the match is starting. Bam Bam hits an atomic drop that sends IRS up and over to the floor. After the commercial break, Bam Bam goes for the top rope headbutt, but IRS rolls out of the way. As with all IRS matches, as soon as he takes over, no one cares. IRS removes the top turnbuckle and is able to get Bam Bam to dive into it. He goes for the pin and puts his feet on the ropes. Diesel pushes them off and this distraction helps Bam Bam use the exposed turnbuckle and pick up the win. This wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't that good.

Match Rating: *

They show Sid and Tatanka in the aisle as we go to commercial. When we come back, everyone is gone. They then hype up the return of Shawn Michaels with a music video. King Kong Bundy then says that Michaels won't be back for long. 

This episode was really bad. After I just praised 1995 for being easy to watch, they torture you with an episode like this. Nothing happened and no one cared. That's pretty much what I would say about this.

Overall Rating: 24%

In Your House 1: Premiere Review

Sunday, May 14th, 1995
Onondoga County War Memorial
Syracuse, New York

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I started this journey many years ago with WrestleMania VIII. I have covered a lot of squash matches and a lot of shows in this timeline (it should have been more, but the whole Peacock transition ruined me covering some Superstars). It's finally time to take the next step and head into the monthly pay-per-view era that still exists to this day. This is the premiere of the 2 hour concept, which I don't think was a bad idea, they just didn't have the roster depth to pull it off. Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix are your announcers for this show.

Hakushi vs. Bret Hart

This is the first of two matches for Bret tonight. As Hakushi is entering, Todd Pettengill is back with Bret. Bret says that Hakushi has never faced someone like him. Bret dedicates this match to his mother and wishes her a happy Mother's Day. Near the iconic house entrance, there is a huge bin full of letters of people trying to win that free house. On a side note, I watched the Vladimir documentary on Peacock and I think that any longtime WWF/WWE fan should definitely check it out. As someone who has watched WrestleMania VII about 100 times, he was a big part of my fandom at a young age and it was cool to see him get his due. Bret and Hakushi seem to have a couple of small miscommunications early on. Hakushi rolls out of the ring and he tries to sneak attack Bret, but he sees him before that can happen. 1995 Bret really isn't that far off from peak Hogan, as much as I do like him. Hakushi sends Bret sternum first into the turnbuckle before hitting the second rope splash for a 2 count. They show Jerry Lawler watching the match backstage. Hakushi hits a bronco buster in the corner ande then is able to dump Bret outside the ring, allowing for some Shinja interference. Shinja is able to distract the referee to allow Hakushi to choke Bret out in the corner. Hakushi hits the cartwheel handspring elbow in the corner and then rakes the eyes of Bret before he can come back. Hakushi hits a top rope headbutt and gets a 2 count. Hakushi misses with a springboard splash and Bret hits a side Russian leg sweep. Bret hits the bulldog and a backbreaker before hitting the patented second rope elbow. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter, but Shinja gets up on the apron and Bret stops. Bret hits Hakushi with a big clothesline, but then is tripped up by Shinja. Bret then hits a dive on Shinja and a series of right hands. Back in the ring, Hakushi goes for a suplex, but Bret blocks it and he suplexes both of them over the top rope to the floor. Bret turns his attention to Shinja and then gets hit by a springboard moonsault to the floor from Hakushi. You weren't seeing many of those in 1995 WWF. Bret beats the count back into the ring and Hakushi goes for a suplex. Bret blocks it and rolls him up for the victory. I guess it's only fitting that Mr. In Your House has the first win in the show's history. I've never liked this match quite as much as the consensus, which is strange because I am a big fan of both of these two. It's still a good match, just not quite the classic some make it out to be. They then show Bret hopping out of the ring and he appears to have injured his knee. He hobbles to the back.

Match Rating: ***1/4

They go back to the WWF Hotline area and Lawler is begging to fight Bret right now. 

We go to Stephanie Wiand hyping up the 340,000 entries for the contest. 

Jeff Jarrett & Roadie vs. Razor Ramon

As Jarrett and Roadie are entering the ring, they get on the phone with 1-2-3 Kid. He says that he's keeping a close eye on Roadie and that he'll get back with him when he returns. Razor says that this is his first advertised handicap match, but all along it's been 2 on 1 when he faces Jarrett. This time he's not concerned about the gold because this is personal and then wishes mama Ramon a happy Mother's Day. Jarrett misses with a dropkick and gets clotheslined over the top rope. Razor goes after him and this allows for Roadie to attack him from behind. We get our first glimpse of Roadie as an in ring performer here. They use the handicap to their advantage, making quick tags and illegally interfering. Jarrett gets hit in the midsection on his way down from the second rope. He goes for a Razor's Edge, but he's dumped over the top rope. Roadie then hits a clothesline from the second rope to the floor. Jarrett hits a crossbody off the top rope, but Razor rolls over and almost gets a 3 count. Jarrett comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. Razor and Jarrett collide off the ropes and both men are down. Razor is able to hit a back suplex and both men are down again. Jarrett finally tags in Roadie and he hits a knee off the second rope. You would never think that Roadie was a second generation wrestler, as he is all sizzle and no steak. Razor makes his comeback and hits a back superplex on Roadie. Razor goes for the Razor's Edge, but Jarrett hits him from behind. Jarrett goes for the Figure Four, but Razor kicks Jarrett right into Roadie. Razor struggles, but gets Jarrett up for the Razor's Edge and earns the victory here to a nice pop. After the match, he gives Roadie a Razor's Edge, but Jarrett takes out his knee before he can hit it. Jarrett then puts on the Figure Four until Aldo Montoya comes out to make the save. Yes, Aldo Montoya. They dump him out of the ring and then Jarrett puts on the Figure Four again. Then another man comes into the ring and we don't know who he is. Dok says he looks familiar, but Vince says that he has no business being in the ring. The police come out and he surrenders to the back. This was a smartly worked match and they had the crowd the whole way. I liked this maybe even slightly more than the opener.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Oh boy, it's almost time for King Of The Ring.

We go back to Jerry Lawler arguing with Jack Tunney. This leads us into a Sid vignette. 

It's time for you to buy a new Bret Hart t-shirt and it costs more than it did to order this show. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Adam Bomb vs. Mabel

Mabel attacks Bomb before the match. The referee isn't happy, but starts the match. Bomb comes back and hits some right hands. He hits a shoulder tackle to the back of Mabel to knock him out of the ring. Bomb hits a slingshot dive over the top rope before throwing him back in the ring. He hits a slingshot clothesline, but Mabel easily kicks out at 1. Bomb goes up to the top rope and hits a clothesline and again only gets a 1 count. Mabel comes back with a spin kick and then catches Bomb for a powerslam and the victory. Bomb put in a good effort here, but we were all aboard the Mabel train here. In that respect, they really didn't make him look that great. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go back to Razor Ramon and he introduces us to one of the biggest stars of the Caribbean, Savio Vega. He also references that he looks a little different. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna

Bart gets a big press slam on Owen Hart and tags in Billy to hit the dropkick/suplex combo. Owen is able to hit an enzuigiri after a distraction from Mr. Fuji. Billy then gets clocked by a Yokozuna clothesline. After a sunset flip attempt from Billy, Owen hits him with a dropkick. Yoko tries to charge at Billy, but he moves and Yoko runs into the ring post. Billy then avoids Owen back in the ring and tags in Bart. Bart hits a back suplex and they team up for the super neckbreaker for a 2 count. Bart misses with a crossbody and he rolls through the ropes to the floor. Yoko hits him with a leg drop before throwing him back in the ring. Owen runs over and that's enough for the victory. The finish was weak, but this was otherwise bell to bell action. I'm surprised they only gave them about 5 minutes here because this could have been very good.

Match Rating: **1/2

We go back to Diesel and he talks about this being the first Mother's Day since losing his mom. Todd asks about the lower back after his match with Henry Godwinn. They come out and say that he was hired by the Corporation for the night, but it didn't work because he's here in living color. They talk about Shawn Michaels watching at home and that he has to stop Sid. They say they're about an hour away from the match. There is 35 minutes left in the show. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart

Jerry Lawler is in the ring with his "mother", who is younger than he is. She wants Jerry to beat Bret tonight and then she wants to challenge Helen Hart after. She gives him a kiss for good luck. Bret goes right after Lawler as soon as he enters and we're underway. The knee looks to be fine so far and he hits a back body drop. Lawler comes back and hits a piledriver as his mom cheers him on. Bret is right back up though and he hits a bulldog. Bret hits a piledriver of his own, causing Lawler to reach out for his mom. Lawler goes up top, but he's hit in the midsection with a right hand. Out comes Shinja to distract the ref. They do a cool spot where Bret sends Lawler off the ropes and it causes the referee's leg to get trapped in the ropes. Out comes Hakushi and he attacks Bret. He hits a diving headbutt with Lawler holding him. The ref is back up and Lawler is able to pin him and pick up the surprising win. I absolutely love that ref spot even though they probably don't do it because it seems like an easy way to get injured. After the match, Hakushi accidentally hits Lawler after Bret ducks and Bret clears the ring out of frustration. 

Match Rating: **

We go backstage to Sid telling Diesel that time has run out for him. It's time to meet the master and the ruler of the world. 

It's time to go to Todd and Stephanie to give away the vacation home in Florida. The best part of this is the two nerds there to verify the legitimacy of the contest. They pull out an envelope and call the winner. We get some live TV shenanigans. I will say when they do talk to him, the reaction is exactly what WWF would have wanted. It's won by an 11 year old kid who then went on to flip the house for $175,000. That's equal to over $353,000 in 2023. Not bad. 

WWF Championship Match
Sid vs. Diesel

They stand face to face until Diesel shoves Sid to the ground and Diesel throws him from corner to corner with some splashes thrown in for good measure. Sid is out of the ring, while Ted DiBiase tries to help him regroup. Diesel is there to throw him back in teh ring and hits him with a trio of clotheslines to knock him on the mat. A DiBiase distraction allows for Sid to hit Diesel with a running knee to the back and it knocks him to the floor. Sid then drives Diesel's back into the ring post as the announcers give Henry Godwinn credit for softening that up for Sid. Sid slows things down and continues working on the back. He slaps on the Camel Clutch for a little too long and they start to lose the crowd. Sid signals for the Powerbomb and he hits it. Instead of going for the pin, he goes to one knee for the signature Sid celebration. He finally goes for the pin and of course Diesel kicks out. We have full blown yelling Vince announcing at this point. Diesel ducks Sid and hits the big boot. Diesel then hits the Jackknife but in comes Tatanka to attack Diesel during the pin attempt. DiBiase joins him until Bam Bam Bigelow is out to make the save. You knew this was going to have a lame finish and in that regard, they didn't disappoint. The first portion of this match was good stuff, but the Camel Clutch felt like forever. 

Match Rating: *

This show was a lot easier to digest than I remembered. That seems to be the theme for 1995 WWF. I know that changes at the next big show, but even a lot of the mediocre stuff from this time period is easy to watch. There is nothing on this show that is must watch, or really even close to that, but I think you can do a lot worse, which is a lot better than I remembered it being.

Overall Rating: 48%

Superstars 5-13-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 13th, 1995
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Des Moines, Iowa

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Razor Ramon vs. Todd Becker

Becker is wearing some dorky capri pants that scream 1995. Razor has been doing kind of the same squash match for awhile now, which is fine because it's good as far as squashes go. It of course all leads to the Razor's Edge with a lot of hype for Razor's In Your House handicap match.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see highlights of Bam Bam being kicked out of the Million Dollar Corporation. Bam Bam then says that he gave Ted DiBiase 100% and says that he got fired, but he wanted to quit anyways. 

Rad Radford vs. Jerry Lynn

I guess Radford just debuts with no fanfare here on a random Superstars taping. It's kind of cool that his opponent is Jerry Lynn though. Lynn gets a nice headscissors here, but then gets clocked with a right hand over the referee's shoulder. Radford hits a dropkick. Lynn fights back until he gets hit with a second rope reverse forearm. Radford hits a spinebuster and Vince makes fun of his dirty looking hair. He hits a Northern Lights suplex for the victory. They looked like they wanted to have a good match, but Radford had to have the decisive victory, which is understandable.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Pettengill runs down the In Your House card for the 15th time (it's only $14.95). 

Vince McMahon announces that Shawn Michaels will be returning in two weeks. 

Doink vs. Brooklyn Brawler

I can confirm that Steve Lombardi is not playing the role of Doink on this show. I mean is there really much to say about 1995 Doink? There's some butt biting and then a Whoopee Cushion. He no longer serves a purpose as far as TV goes.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Skip and Sunny making fun of us for being lazy. 

Men On A Mission vs. Buck Zumhoffe & Tommy Ferrara

We get a rare match that we miss the entire entrance and start in progress here. Ferrara seems to be a pretty jobber. He gets hit in the back of the head by a Mabel spin kick. Mabel hits a squash in the corner and then a belly to belly suplex for the quick win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a highlight package of Bob Backlund's spring break shenanigans. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Diesel

Diesel hits a big running clothesline early on and hits a clothesline in the corner. Godwinn is able to clothesline Diesel over the top rope and then drives him into the ring a couple of times. Dok Hendrix is hinting at DiBiase backing Godwinn here. Godwinn picks up Diesel and hits his back into the ring post twice. Diesel tries to make a comeback, but he telegraphs his move and Godwinn slams his face into the mat. Godwinn continues to be impressive here in 1995. Godwinn puts on a Camel Clutch, but of course Vince calls it the Boston Crab. They show Sid in the back looking on. We come back from a commercial break and Diesel is able to hit an impressive electric chair. Diesel hits a side suplex and gets a 2 count. Diesel hits a big boot and then hits the Jackknife to pick up the win. As soon as it's over, Sid and DiBiase make their way out to make us aware of their presence. This was a good big man match that showed that Diesel was capable of more than what people seem to always claim. Godwinn was really an underrated worker. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We go back to Todd Pettengill to talk about In Your House (only $14.95). We get a Sid promo where he talks about being the master and the ruler of the world. 

They show the Todd/Stephanie vignette of showing off the house that you can win tomorrow at In Your House. They are just killing time at this point. 

They go to Ray Rougeau with Diesel and the microphone isn't working, so Dok Hendrix talks for them. Vince plays it straight because he's a moron. 

This was another decent enough episode that was boosted thanks to yet another good feature match. Diesel continues to be much better in the ring than I remembered and the pacing is still typically pretty good on these shows. 

Overall Rating: 47%

No Way Out 2007 Review

Sunday, February 18th, 2007
Staples Center
Los Angeles, California

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MVP & MNM vs. Hardys & Chris Benoit

So we were supposed to get a rematch of the ladder match from Armageddon, but instead we are getting this and Paul London and Brian Kendrick will face Deuce 'N Domino. Benoit and MVP weren't feuding, but I guess this will be used as the beginning of their feud. The faces all dominate the beginning of the match until Mercury is able to pull Jeff and throw him into the barricade. Jeff does fight back by hitting a variation of Whisper In The Wind and tags in Matt. The heels are able to work well as a team here and quickly isolate Matt. Benoit comes in and hits a double German suplex to get a nice pop. The Hardys hit Poetry In Motion into a Matt Side Effect, Jeff Swanton and Benoit diving headbutt. They go for the pin on Mercury, but MVP breaks up the attempt. Hardy goes for a sunset flip powerbomb to the outside, but Nitro holds onto the ropes and hits him with a clothesline. Benoit is able to get MVP in the Crossface, but Nitro breaks that up. We get some more chaos and MNM goes for the Snapshot on Benoit, but Matt stops them. Benoit puts the Crossface on Mercury and he immediately taps. That was a nice little match to open the show, which is about the only reason it existed. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Kristal is backstage with Vickie Guerrero, who thanks her for her help.

Hornswoggle can talk now and he says that he doesn't want to go out to the ring because he's afraid of the mini Boogeyman. He throws him into a garbage can and then out comes mini Boogeyman. This is the point of the show where I realized that I skipped over SmackDown in my reviews, haha.

Cruiserweight Open For The Cruiserweight Championship
Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Daivari vs. Gregory Helms vs. Funaki vs. Shannon Moore vs. Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Jamie Noble vs. Chavo Guerrero

This is like the Royal Rumble, where they drew numbers for how they entered. Daivari and Scotty are first and the crowd doesn't even react for Scotty. Scotty hits the Worm and that's it? You have to love how there is just absolutely no logic in these matches. Gregory Helms is next and it feels pretty obvious that he's going to lose it here now. Scotty is going to sign for the Worm, but Helms snaps his neck on the rope. He then hits a variation of the Codebreaker and moves onto the next opponent. It's Funaki and he quickly goes for a crossbody off the top rope, but Helms rolls through and grabs the tights and he is gone. Moore hits a Blockbuster neckbreaker off the second rope and gets a 2 count. Helms comes back and hits that Codebreaker type move and Moore is gone. Out comes Jimmy Wang Yang and he quickly hits a standing moonsault for a 2. Yang misses with a moonsault and lands on his feet, but then is clubbed by Helms. Yang comes back with a hurricanrana and hooks the legs for the pin. We are now guaranteed a new champion as Jamie Noble makes his way down. I like Helms, but his title reign was uninspired. They have never cared about the Cruiserweight division and this run was no different. They battle for a little bit until Yang hits the moonsault for the win. They are about to announce Yang as the new champion, but then Chavo Guerrero's music hits. So anyone could just join after the numbers were drawn and guarantee themselves the last entry? I wish I cared about any of this, but I just don't. Chavo hits the Frog Splash and is your new champ. The crowd barely reacted to any of this. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Kristal is with John Cena and he's in a jokey mood tonight. He just says that tonight he will fight as hard with Shawn Michaels as he will against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania.

Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman

How did the card for this show get approved? Finlay and Boogeyman battle a little bit and it leads to Little Boogeyman being in the ring. Hornswoggle comes out from hiding and rolls up his sleeve. Instead, Finlay knocks him down instead. Hornswoggle goes back into hiding and Little Boogeyman uses a small package to get a 2 count on Finlay. Finlay beats on him for a little bit and then throws him out of the ring. Hornswoggle grabs him and rolls him under the ring. Finlay goes to check and the regular Boogeyman is there. Boogeyman makes a comeback and hits a catapult. He then launces Little Boogeyman on top of Finlay, but Hornswoggle breaks up the pin attempt. Boogeyman pulls out some worms and he bolts through the crowd. Finlay hits Little Boogeyman with the shillelagh and picks up the win. This was death. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shawn Michaels is now with Kristal and says that the only man he trusts is Triple H, but he gave his word that absolutely nothing will happen to Cena before WrestleMania.

King Booker vs. Kane

You know what will make a show worse? Kane. This just has first hour of SmackDown written all over it. Kane hits a boot to the face and then clotheslines Booker over the top rope. Booker comes back and hits a missile dropkick. Michael Cole is losing his voice on this show and it just adds to the awfulness. Kane goes off the top rope, but Booker is able to catch him with a kick on the way down. Booker tries to suplex Kane, but Kane counters and hits one of his own. Kane hits a side suplex and hits the top rope clothesline. Sharmell distracts Kane and it allows Booker to hit a kick. Kane still comes back and hits a chokeslam and that is enough for the victory? Yet another stupid match. Kane was as impressive here as he has been as a mayor. Kane should have been on the poster for this show so that we could be warned that it would be this awful. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Kristal is now with Batista and he says that SmackDown is going to beat up on Raw. She tries to pretend she is good at interviewing, but instead it's about as convincing as an elementary school play. 

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. Deuce 'n Domino

While I personally love the challengers, it's clear they were not over with the live audience. The champs outsmart them early on and clear the ring. We get a blown spot where Deuce doesn't get into the ring quickly enough and London runs into him. Domino has a bloody lip also in the early going. The challengers come back and slow the pace way down and probably too early for this match. They hit a big double back body drop and go right back to the ground. London avoids a kick and then makes the hot tag to Kendrick. He hits a big dropkick but then runs into a big clothesline. Kendrick is going up top but Domino gets there. Deuce puts him up on his shoulders for a Doomsday Device, but Kendrick ducks it and rolls him up to steal the victory. This was a very disappointing match, as they had done much better work together on SmackDown and this felt like a pointless match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Mr. Kennedy is interviewed and says that his thoughts on Bobby Lashley are the same as his opinion on the people of LA, phony. He's about to declare himself the new champion until Lashley interrupts him. Kennedy tries to hit him with a right hand, but it gets blocked and Lashley hits him with one of his own. This was kind of a weird segment. 

ECW Championship Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Mr. Kennedy

Lashley is announced first and is attacked from behind. The whole thing falls kind of flat and they just eventually get to the ring and the match starts. JBL wisely brings up the fact that if Kennedy wins the title here, would he be forced to leave? I don't think anyone thinks he would win because this was such an afterthought of a match. The crowd is pretty dead for this as well, which is kind of surprising since Lashley's fan reaction has been improving and Kennedy has been booked pretty strong. Kennedy is working on the leg for what feels like forever here. The crowd is dead and JBL is doing everything in his power to put this over, but this one is just not working. Kennedy goes for the Kenton, but Lashley gets his knees up. Lashley goes for the powerslam, but Kennedy takes out his knee. He goes outside and grabs a chair while the ref's back is turned. Somehow he doesn't hear Kennedy hit him with it even though he is 3 feet away from it. Lashley gets the chair and hits Kennedy with it and is disqualified. What a stupid match. Lashley then attacks him repeatedly with the chair until IRS and other officials stop him. What an absolute waste of time.

Match Rating: 1/2*

The Miz is out to start the Diva Talent Invitational. Up first is ECW's Extreme Exposé and they do seemingly the same dance they always do. You know the one where Layla dances to the beat and the other two don't. How is there 43 minutes left in this show? Jillian is up next and she starts her singing gimmick. She says she wrote her own song and then she needs to warm up first before doing the whole schtick. Miz calls her the female William Hun g and then she snaps back. The other ladies come out to confront her and they all start brawling. Out comes Ashley to pyro and her cover being hung in front of the address. She takes off her top and is wearing nothing on top other than bunnies. Miz then declares her the winner of the contest. If you thought this show couldn't get any worse, you were wrong. 

We get a lengthy recap of everything that has led up to the main event because they realize they have a ton of time to kill still. 

John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. Batista & Undertaker

I mean I guess the main appeal of this match was that all of the matchups within the matchup were fresh here. They build up the early part of the match to a hot tag to Cena, which of course receives a mixed reaction from the live crowd. Cena hits a top rope leg drop to a standing Batista, but Taker is able to break up the pin attempt. Cena hits a 5 Knuckle Shuffle to wake up the crowd. He gets Batista up for the FU, but eats a big boot from Taker. Michaels dumps Taker out of the ring. He tries leaping off the apron, but Taker catches him and gets driven into the ring post. Batista gets Cena up for a Batista Bomb, but Michaels takes out his knee. We're getting some good action here, especially after all of the garbage we've been forced to watch prior to this. Cena even plays heel for a second, taking a cheap shot on a wounded Batista behind the referee's back. Batista is bleeding now and Cena puts on the STFU. After a lengthy time in the hold, Taker just decides to come in and hit a boot to the head. Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Batista ducks and hits a spinning Rock Bottom. Both men make tags and Taker gets the better of it. He hits Snake Eyes on Michaels and a diving shoulder tackle on Cena. Batista hits a spinebuster on Michaels and Taker hits a chokeslam on Cena. Batista then hits a spinebuster on Undertaker. Michaels then hits Sweet Chin Music and Cena hits the FU for the victory as Batista stands and watches. Batista then grabs his title and holds it over a knocked out Undertaker before heading to the back. Taker sits up and gives Batista the look. This was a very entertaining match, but it would have taken an all time classic to save this dumpster fire of a show. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

This was such a bad, bad show. The card was poor, the match layout was uninspired and there was no purpose to just about everything on the show. This was just filler. 

Overall Rating: 26%

NXT 4-29-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 29th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Kevin Owens is here to kick off the show. He calls out Sami Zayn and says that he is ready for a fight. We get William Regal out instead and Owens isn't happy with it. Sami does make his way out shortly after and Regal does not want this to turn into a circus again. Regal then decides that Owens and Zayn will square off on May 20th at TakeOver. Owens says he wants to fight him, but he doesn't think he deserves the title to be on the line. Sami says that he doesn't just fight, he fights for a prize and ends up talking Owens into the title being on the line. 

We get an announcement that NXT is hitting the road and then is interrupted by Big Cass, Enzo and Carmella arguing. Blake and Murphy come in and try to charm Carmella after Enzo and Cass leaves. In walks Alexa Bliss and she wonders why Carmella doesn't carry herself with more class if she's a princess. She pushes her and walks away and Blake and Murphy check on Alexa.

Sami is signing his contract with Regal backstage and in walks Alex Riley, who wants another chance. Regal tells him that he's all out of opportunities, so Zayn offers to wrestle him. Riley accepts and says that if he runs through Zayn, he gets Owens at TakeOver.

Enzo & Big Cass vs. Blake & Murphy

The champs get the early advantage on Enzo, but we quickly get a double tag. Cass takes care of both opponents with ease and hits the big splash in the corner before the side suplex. Blake breaks up the pin attempt and then Enzo tries to take out both from the top rope, but misses. Murphy is distracted by Carmella and eats a big boot. Cass then launches Enzo off the top and they pick up the upset victory. This was a non-title match and it was fine.

Match Rating: *

Becky Lynch talks about her journey and that she didn't do all of that just to be second best. 

Bayley is all flustered because she can't find any of her stuff. She goes to look for it and Emma walks in holding it.

We get a Baron Corbin vignette and they remind us that he doesn't get paid by the hour.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Bayley is without her headband here. The thing with Dana is that she has that trait that most subpar wrestlers have and that's how she telegraphs everything she is going to do instead of making it look natural. After a little bit of dominance from Brooke, Bayley shows a little bit more aggression on her comeback. She's up on the second rope and all of a sudden Bayley's music hits. Out comes Emma dressed in Bayley's shirt and headbands. The distraction allows Brooke to hit her finisher and get the 1-2-3. You knew they couldn't have Brooke lose yet, so this at least made sense. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Regal announces that there will be a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship at TakeOver. It will be Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor.

Hideo Itami vs. Adam Rose

Hideo's look of disgust as Rose entered was well done. We get the usual Rose shenanigans and then Hideo hitting him with some kicks. He hits the running dropkick in the corner and then the big kick for the easy victory. That was a squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bayley is looking for Emma so that they can squash this once and for all.

Becky Lynch vs. Sarah Dobson

Dobson is Sarah Logan looking much different than her 2023 self. They go with a quick pace to start off the match and Becky hits a few running leg drops. They keep up the pace before Becky puts on the Dis-Arm-Her for the submission win.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Rhyno tells Baron Corbin that making people feel pain makes him tick. Rhyno is not just the past, he's the present and the future. 

Alex Riley vs. Sami Zayn

Owens is in the announce table for this one. Riley gets most of the offense to start, as I'm still not really sure what they are doing with him as a character. Zayn ducks a charging Riley and he falls to the outside. Zayn then hits the senton over the top rope. Owens then leaves the announce table and attacks Zayn for the DQ ending. This entire show was about building to TakeOver, so I'm not sure why I would have expected this to be an actual match. Owens then hits a powerbomb on the apron to Riley. Owens walks to the back laughing, as both enemies lay wounded as we go off the air.

Match Rating: 1/4*

NXT's weekly show has been in a little bit of a slump lately. This one was building to TakeOver in 3 weeks, but it didn't necessarily translate to a great episode. I'd like to see some of the younger talent get a little bit of a chance to shine rather than putting them in rushed matches.

Overall Rating: 40%