Original Airdate: Thursday, August 4th, 2005
Harbor Yard Arena
Bridgeport, Connecticut
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Rey Mysterio is here for The Peep Show with Christian. Christian takes a few jabs at Rey about the Eddie situation. Rey tells Christian to bring Eddie out like he promised. Christian calls Eddie out to read chapter 2 of his story, but Eddie is on the video screen instead. Rey keeps interrupting and Eddie says that he isn't going to finish the chapter right now, but he promises he will by the end of this show. Christian then attacks Rey with a microphone to the head and hits the Unprettier.
Jillian Hall says she has carried a burden her entire life. She has a blemish on her face, but she carries herself with dignity. She shows the thing on her face and asks if it makes us uncomfortable. She says she is a fixer and she is here to work for MNM. She walks past Sharmell and Booker T, who then talk about the blemish.
MNM vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This should be a nice test for MNM, as there currently hasn't been much of a tag division for them to work with so far. We get some nice back and forth action to get started. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Nitro pulls Mercury out of the ring going into the commercial break. Booker gets a reverse kick in on Nitro and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Benoit hits some German suplexes and then places Nitro on the top rope. Melina distracts the ref, allowing Mercury to knock Benoit off the second rope. MNM cut the ring in half. Benoit fights back and hits a German suplex on Nitro. Benoit hits an enzuigiri and makes the hot tag to Booker. He hits the Book End on Mercury, but Nitro makes the save. Benoit puts Nitro in the Crippler Crossface outside the ring and Nitro taps, but it doesn't count of course. Booker is grabbed by Melina, causing Sharmell to chase after her. Jillian Hall takes out Sharmell. Booker pulls her off and checks on Sharmell. Mercury rolls Booker up and holds on to the ropes for the victory. I'm not sure why Benoit decided to just keep hanging outside the ring for that long, but other than that this was a pretty good tag match.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Christian is backstage with Teddy Long and he naturally makes Christian vs. Rey Mysterio for tonight.
Randy Orton is interviewed backstage and says he will make his intentions clear tonight.
Teddy Long is in the ring and has the contract for the World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. He brings out both JBL and Batista for the always classic contract signing. Batista takes one of the horns off of JBL's limo on the way to the ring and places it on the table. I sometimes find JBL's promos to be too long for no reason, but I do think in these face-to-face situations he does really excel at just being a good heel. Batista isn't quite as comfortable as he would become on the mic. JBL checks the contract and says that Batista left the stipulation blank and mocks Batista for it. Batista wants him to pick it. JBL decides to make it a no holds barred match. Is this the first contract signing in history that didn't end in a brawl?
Heidenreich tells Animal that he's feeling it with the new haircut. Animal now tells him to start using the face paint.
Michael Cole and Tazz run down the SummerSlam card and man are the match graphics awful for this show.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Josh Daniels & Damian Adams
I think it would have done Animal a lot of good to wear a vest of some sort here during this run. This one goes a little bit longer than last week's squash, but not much. They hit a few impact moves and then the Doomsday Device, which is really awkward with Heidenreich going off the top rope.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Randy Orton is here to address the Undertaker situation. Orton says WrestleMania 21 was supposed to be his night, but fate intervened. Now he's on SmackDown and he's able to get what he needs, which is to beat Undertaker. He says that he will not rest until he beats him and he challenges him at SummerSlam and he wants an answer right now. Taker's music hits and RKO goes up on the screen. All we hear is Taker's voice and the letters change to RIP as Taker accepts his challenge.
Eddie is back and opens a limo door for a woman. He says there is no chapter 2 without her.
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian
Mysterio goes right after Christian as he's climbing into the ring. He then launches himself over the top rope. Rey throws him into the ring and the bell rings. Rey hits a spin kick, but Christian then throws him out of the ring. Rey lands on his feet and hits a springboard senton. Eddie and the woman walk out as we head to commercial. During the break, Christian avoided a 619 and was able to take control since. Cole claimed that Christian had eyes in the back of his head or, you know, was just looking at the large television screens that he was facing. Rey gets a 2 count out of a small package, but Christian immediately kicks him in the gut. Christian dumps Rey on the top rope and then hits him with a high knee, causing Rey to fall to the outside. Rey goes for a springboard senton again and Christian hits him with a dropkick in midair. Rey counters a gutbuster into a pin attempt for 2. Rey is able to make a little bit of a comeback, until he misses a springboard crossbody. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Rey slips out and dropkicks him and hits the 619. Rey hits the springboard leg drop and gets the victory. When you put two of your top performers in there, you're going to get a good match. They are capable of better, but this was a good TV main event.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Rey then calls Eddie to the ring, but Eddie instead introduces Anna to Rey. Eddie tells Rey to read chapter 2 or else he will. Anna hands him the book. Rey finds a blue piece of paper in there and Rey is in disbelief. Eddie says those are official custody papers and next week Rey has to bring Dominik because Eddie is his true father. Eddie says that if Rey can prove how much he loves his son, Eddie says he might let Rey keep him. Rey says that Dominik is his son and that he has raised him for 8 years. He says that he was going to eventually tell Dominik the truth when he was old enough to understand. He says that Dominik is so depressed right now that he hasn't spoken since last week. Rey begs Eddie to stop hurting Dominik. Eddie mocks him and then says that Anna is his attorney. Dominik is the son he has always wanted and that he will be the one to carry on his Guerrero legacy. Eddie says to stay tuned to chapter 3 where Dominik comes home to his papi. Again, this whole storyline is just so over the top in a bad way, but both men have done the best they can with it.
Well, two of the three matches got a decent amount of time and were both pretty good. Orton's short segment was also solid and it set up a worthy rematch at SummerSlam. The Jillian Hall thing continues to be ridiculously stupid and I can't wait for the Dominik angle to end. So in other words, SmackDown is a real mixed bag right now. This show runs somewhere right in the middle.
Overall Rating: 54%
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Monday Night Raw 8-1-05 Review
Monday, August 1st, 2005
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Chris Jericho is here to kick off the show. He talks about the plan that he has concocted to end the reign of John Cena with Eric Bischoff. He shows the highlights of him kicking Cena below the belt from last week. Jericho says that he's going to beat either Cena or Carlito at SummerSlam. Out runs Cena (sans entrance music) and they have a big brawl. Bischoff tries to stop it and sends out security. I'm kind of surprised that they went this route with 20 days left until their match. Bischoff then announces that Jericho will once again be the referee tonight.
Chris Masters & Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin & Big Show
It's always a nice bonus when there is a little bit of continuity on the weekly shows. None of these guys had much going on in the storyline department, so here's a little mini feud to keep things interesting. We get a brawl to start. Things slow down and Show hits some open palm slaps on Snitsky. Show clotheslines him over the top. Masters tries to attack him from behind, but Show picks him up and tosses him over the top rope onto Snitsky. After the break, Shelton goes for a splash in the corner, but Snitsky gets the boot up. They work on Shelton's back for awhile. They get some double teaming in and Show comes in and clotheslines them both. Shelton goes for a backslide, but Masters counters with a big clothesline. Masters wasn't great at this point, but it's kind of amazing that they didn't get more out of him since he was only 22 years old. Shelton finally makes the tag and Big Show hits a double splash and then runs though them both. Big Show hits the chokeslam on Snitsky and that's all. This was pretty formulaic, as you would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing by the way. Shelton gets his revenge, Big Show stays strong and Masters looked solid.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eugene comes out with Christy in a cheerleader outfit. They bring out this week's hometown hero and then Kurt Angle's music hits. Eugene asks him his name and where he's from repeatedly until Angle finally gives in. Eugene tells him that he's not a hometown hero, so he won't face him. Angle wonders who could possibly be from Uncasville. Tatanka's music hits and he comes out to a mild pop.
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Tatanka
Man...Tatanka's mullet. They work the beginning to a standard match, which doesn't really work with the whole three minute stipulation. With about one minute left, Tatanka hits a chop off the top rope for a 2 count. Eugene hits an Angle Slam, kind of. He puts him in the Ankle Lock and in comes Angle, causing a disqualification. Tatanka then helps out Eugene and they double clothesline Angle to the floor. This obviously existed to continue the set up for their match at SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle is stopped by Todd Grisham backstage. Next week he says Raw is in Pittsburgh and he will be the hometown hero.
They show the finish of the Edge/Kane match from last week and then the attack from Kane afterwards. They update it by saying that Kane was arrested for his acts.
Jericho is backstage and in walks Carlito. He tells Carlito that it will be them at SummerSlam. Bischoff walks in and tells them to come up with a plan to make sure that happens.
A limo is shown arriving to the arena and out walks Vince McMahon. Vince says that tonight is the 636th episode of Raw, passing every TV show in history. He then thanks himself for building this juggernaut that will last for generations. I'm guessing he hasn't seen the ratings in 2020. He says he is standing here because he makes good business decisions, even if it is signing someone like Eric Bischoff or bringing a dead brand like ECW back. Tonight he is announcing a good business decision and that decision is bringing back Matt Hardy. Hardy is shown coming out of a limo and then kind of awkwardly jogging when he realizes how far away it is from the entrance ramp. This is a great reminder of how underrated Hardy's single entrance theme is. Vince hands Hardy the mic and walks out of the ring. Hardy thanks Vince, but says it was the fans that brought him back. He fills in everyone on the Hardy/Lita/Edge real life saga. He uses their real names here. Hardy then says something about Edge being killed in a car accident and that even made JR pipe in. Matt is a much better talker when he's playing a character and with this being very close to real life, it came off a little flat. I say that as someone who is a big fan of Matt.
Vince bumps into Chavo...I mean Kerwin White. He's looking for a house in Greenwich. As dumb as the gimmick is, Chavo was actually pretty good in the role.
Val Venis vs. Rob Conway
Val gives away his towel to a lady at ringside. Does he think this is 1998? Rob Conway then comes out to entrance music that is so bad, the entire arena goes quiet. His outfit is even worse. I can't imagine why this flopped. He starts the match still wearing his sunglasses. If there was ever such a thing as a bathroom break match, this was definitely it. His glasses get knocked off and Conway is upset. Val hits a powerbomb and then a variation of the Figure Four and no one cares at all. I am shocked they weren't told to go home early. Val goes up top and Conway knocks him off. Conway hits what he calls the Ego Trip and gets the victory. Conway was a solid enough worker, but he had literally everything else working against him here with this gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are supposed to be seeing career highlights of Shawn Michaels, but instead we get a fake Larry King and Michaels dressed up as Hogan coming in on a walker. This is the famous "brother" promo. After making fun of him for a bit, "King" shows the highlight reel. Back to the Larry King spot, he makes fun of Hogan not working hard every night. He pretends to hurt his back after posing and then hits Sweet Chin Music on King. He rips off his fake bald head and asks him what Hogan is going to do when reality kicks him in the face and kicks the cameraman.
Diva Search time. Summer is cut this week. The ring this week has an inflatable bounce ring and they are going to try and knock each other off the pedestals. They introduce Rob Schneider as a guest judge. Elisabeth wins in what was absolutely terrible.
WWE Championship Match
Carlito vs. John Cena
Carlito attacks Cena, who is distracted by Jericho. Cena fights back, but Jericho holds his punch back and Carlito takes advantage again. Jericho is playing the role of heel referee here, with fast counts and interfering when he can. Jericho blocks Cena's suplex counter and then doesn't stop counting when Cena's feet are on the ropes. They've got JR all riled up here tonight. Cena finally fights back and Jericho steps out of the ring. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jericho doesn't go to count the pin attempt. Cena attacks Jericho, allowing Carlito to again attack from behind. Cena fights through it and then accidentally knocks Jericho down with his elbow. Jericho hits a low blow on, but Cena knocks him out of the ring and then hits the FU on Carlito. In runs Chad Patton and he counts the victory for Cena. Jericho attacks him after the match. He takes a "high dollar" camera and hits Cena over the head, busting him open. Jericho puts on the Walls of Jericho while Bischoff yells in his face and gets a few slaps in. This was all storyline and not much of a match. It furthered along the story of Cena and Jericho, but the in ring action was pretty weak.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We had Michaels imitating Hogan, Matt Hardy return, a WWE Championship match and the show still wasn't very good. They've kind of hit a little bit of a slump here recently and one of the main reasons why is the Diva Search. It is nearly unwatchable every week. Rob Conway's debut was one of the worst ones I can think of during this era, so that certainly didn't help this episode's cause. The only thing really to check out here is the Michaels segment.
Overall Rating: 38%
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Chris Jericho is here to kick off the show. He talks about the plan that he has concocted to end the reign of John Cena with Eric Bischoff. He shows the highlights of him kicking Cena below the belt from last week. Jericho says that he's going to beat either Cena or Carlito at SummerSlam. Out runs Cena (sans entrance music) and they have a big brawl. Bischoff tries to stop it and sends out security. I'm kind of surprised that they went this route with 20 days left until their match. Bischoff then announces that Jericho will once again be the referee tonight.
Chris Masters & Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin & Big Show
It's always a nice bonus when there is a little bit of continuity on the weekly shows. None of these guys had much going on in the storyline department, so here's a little mini feud to keep things interesting. We get a brawl to start. Things slow down and Show hits some open palm slaps on Snitsky. Show clotheslines him over the top. Masters tries to attack him from behind, but Show picks him up and tosses him over the top rope onto Snitsky. After the break, Shelton goes for a splash in the corner, but Snitsky gets the boot up. They work on Shelton's back for awhile. They get some double teaming in and Show comes in and clotheslines them both. Shelton goes for a backslide, but Masters counters with a big clothesline. Masters wasn't great at this point, but it's kind of amazing that they didn't get more out of him since he was only 22 years old. Shelton finally makes the tag and Big Show hits a double splash and then runs though them both. Big Show hits the chokeslam on Snitsky and that's all. This was pretty formulaic, as you would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing by the way. Shelton gets his revenge, Big Show stays strong and Masters looked solid.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eugene comes out with Christy in a cheerleader outfit. They bring out this week's hometown hero and then Kurt Angle's music hits. Eugene asks him his name and where he's from repeatedly until Angle finally gives in. Eugene tells him that he's not a hometown hero, so he won't face him. Angle wonders who could possibly be from Uncasville. Tatanka's music hits and he comes out to a mild pop.
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Tatanka
Man...Tatanka's mullet. They work the beginning to a standard match, which doesn't really work with the whole three minute stipulation. With about one minute left, Tatanka hits a chop off the top rope for a 2 count. Eugene hits an Angle Slam, kind of. He puts him in the Ankle Lock and in comes Angle, causing a disqualification. Tatanka then helps out Eugene and they double clothesline Angle to the floor. This obviously existed to continue the set up for their match at SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle is stopped by Todd Grisham backstage. Next week he says Raw is in Pittsburgh and he will be the hometown hero.
They show the finish of the Edge/Kane match from last week and then the attack from Kane afterwards. They update it by saying that Kane was arrested for his acts.
Jericho is backstage and in walks Carlito. He tells Carlito that it will be them at SummerSlam. Bischoff walks in and tells them to come up with a plan to make sure that happens.
A limo is shown arriving to the arena and out walks Vince McMahon. Vince says that tonight is the 636th episode of Raw, passing every TV show in history. He then thanks himself for building this juggernaut that will last for generations. I'm guessing he hasn't seen the ratings in 2020. He says he is standing here because he makes good business decisions, even if it is signing someone like Eric Bischoff or bringing a dead brand like ECW back. Tonight he is announcing a good business decision and that decision is bringing back Matt Hardy. Hardy is shown coming out of a limo and then kind of awkwardly jogging when he realizes how far away it is from the entrance ramp. This is a great reminder of how underrated Hardy's single entrance theme is. Vince hands Hardy the mic and walks out of the ring. Hardy thanks Vince, but says it was the fans that brought him back. He fills in everyone on the Hardy/Lita/Edge real life saga. He uses their real names here. Hardy then says something about Edge being killed in a car accident and that even made JR pipe in. Matt is a much better talker when he's playing a character and with this being very close to real life, it came off a little flat. I say that as someone who is a big fan of Matt.
Vince bumps into Chavo...I mean Kerwin White. He's looking for a house in Greenwich. As dumb as the gimmick is, Chavo was actually pretty good in the role.
Val Venis vs. Rob Conway
Val gives away his towel to a lady at ringside. Does he think this is 1998? Rob Conway then comes out to entrance music that is so bad, the entire arena goes quiet. His outfit is even worse. I can't imagine why this flopped. He starts the match still wearing his sunglasses. If there was ever such a thing as a bathroom break match, this was definitely it. His glasses get knocked off and Conway is upset. Val hits a powerbomb and then a variation of the Figure Four and no one cares at all. I am shocked they weren't told to go home early. Val goes up top and Conway knocks him off. Conway hits what he calls the Ego Trip and gets the victory. Conway was a solid enough worker, but he had literally everything else working against him here with this gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are supposed to be seeing career highlights of Shawn Michaels, but instead we get a fake Larry King and Michaels dressed up as Hogan coming in on a walker. This is the famous "brother" promo. After making fun of him for a bit, "King" shows the highlight reel. Back to the Larry King spot, he makes fun of Hogan not working hard every night. He pretends to hurt his back after posing and then hits Sweet Chin Music on King. He rips off his fake bald head and asks him what Hogan is going to do when reality kicks him in the face and kicks the cameraman.
Diva Search time. Summer is cut this week. The ring this week has an inflatable bounce ring and they are going to try and knock each other off the pedestals. They introduce Rob Schneider as a guest judge. Elisabeth wins in what was absolutely terrible.
WWE Championship Match
Carlito vs. John Cena
Carlito attacks Cena, who is distracted by Jericho. Cena fights back, but Jericho holds his punch back and Carlito takes advantage again. Jericho is playing the role of heel referee here, with fast counts and interfering when he can. Jericho blocks Cena's suplex counter and then doesn't stop counting when Cena's feet are on the ropes. They've got JR all riled up here tonight. Cena finally fights back and Jericho steps out of the ring. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jericho doesn't go to count the pin attempt. Cena attacks Jericho, allowing Carlito to again attack from behind. Cena fights through it and then accidentally knocks Jericho down with his elbow. Jericho hits a low blow on, but Cena knocks him out of the ring and then hits the FU on Carlito. In runs Chad Patton and he counts the victory for Cena. Jericho attacks him after the match. He takes a "high dollar" camera and hits Cena over the head, busting him open. Jericho puts on the Walls of Jericho while Bischoff yells in his face and gets a few slaps in. This was all storyline and not much of a match. It furthered along the story of Cena and Jericho, but the in ring action was pretty weak.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We had Michaels imitating Hogan, Matt Hardy return, a WWE Championship match and the show still wasn't very good. They've kind of hit a little bit of a slump here recently and one of the main reasons why is the Diva Search. It is nearly unwatchable every week. Rob Conway's debut was one of the worst ones I can think of during this era, so that certainly didn't help this episode's cause. The only thing really to check out here is the Michaels segment.
Overall Rating: 38%
Monday, March 30, 2020
NXT 4-17-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger
These two had a pretty good match a few weeks back on the 3-20-13 episode. They show off their solid chemistry in the opening sequence. It should be noted that William Regal is thankfully back at the announcer table and not Brad Maddox. Kruger hits a spinebuster for a 2 count. Gabriel hits a nice monkey flip and hits leg strikes. He goes for a springboard move, but Kruger hits the ropes, causing him to fall. Kruger hits a big lariat, but Gabriel kicks out. Gabriel locks in a Fujiwara Armbar, but Gabriel gets to the ropes. Gabriel goes up to the top rope, but Kruger hits him with a forearm. Gabriel knocks him off, but Kruger comes back with a headbutt to the midsection. Gabriel blocks the superplex attempt and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but it's blocked by Kruger. Kruger locks in the GC3 and gets the submission victory. Not as good as their last match, but decent enough.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
Next week it's a Clash Of Champions, as four titles will be on the line. They then show clips of NXT at WrestleMania weekend.
Paige is backstage with Renee Young and she's tired of Summer's running away. She wants her one-on-one and then from behind Summer attacks her and accepts her challenge.
Bayley vs. Emma
Emma actually makes it into the ring this time without falling. Emma is pretty over here tonight. Bayley hits a dropkick and then has to pull Emma back to the ring. Bayley goes for a sunset flip, but Emma sits down and does some dancing. Emma moves out of the way of a charging Bayley and then puts her in the Tarantula. She then hits a splash to the corner an a slingshot to the center of the ring. Emma then puts her into the Emma Lock and that's all. That was a fun little match there. These three minute matches are always so much better when the crowd actually cares.
Match Rating: *1/2
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt
Wyatt hits a splash and then gets up during the cover. He runs right into him in the corner and then hits a Sister Abigail and that is all. After the match he hits another one. Poor Yoshi. Wyatt cuts a promo after and says there is no one who walks on this Earth that is greater than him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Lumberjack Match
Corey Graves vs. Seth Rollins
These two are arguably the two most controversial personalities in 2020 WWE. This is kind of an odd match, as both are heels. Graves is kind of the face here, but Rollins is more over with the crowd. Graves catches Rollins' leg, but Rollins hits him with a double throat thrust. Graves moves out of the way of a splash, but after going up top gets his by a kick from Rollins. The lumberjacks are mostly comprised of guys that haven't done much on NXT like Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Rollins has Graves in a bodyscissors on the mat. Rollins misses off the top and Graves hits him with a knee to the face. Graves hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Out come Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and they take out all of the lumberjacks. Rollins hits his neckbreaker for the victory. Pretty blah match.
Match Rating: *3/4
This episode was just OK, but I can't help but think it should have been a lot better. The main event was really flat, especially since the Shield were the hottest thing going at the time. The WrestleMania weekend recap felt really long and I would have rather seen another few minutes out of the Bayley/Emma match.
Overall Rating: 48%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger
These two had a pretty good match a few weeks back on the 3-20-13 episode. They show off their solid chemistry in the opening sequence. It should be noted that William Regal is thankfully back at the announcer table and not Brad Maddox. Kruger hits a spinebuster for a 2 count. Gabriel hits a nice monkey flip and hits leg strikes. He goes for a springboard move, but Kruger hits the ropes, causing him to fall. Kruger hits a big lariat, but Gabriel kicks out. Gabriel locks in a Fujiwara Armbar, but Gabriel gets to the ropes. Gabriel goes up to the top rope, but Kruger hits him with a forearm. Gabriel knocks him off, but Kruger comes back with a headbutt to the midsection. Gabriel blocks the superplex attempt and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but it's blocked by Kruger. Kruger locks in the GC3 and gets the submission victory. Not as good as their last match, but decent enough.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
Next week it's a Clash Of Champions, as four titles will be on the line. They then show clips of NXT at WrestleMania weekend.
Paige is backstage with Renee Young and she's tired of Summer's running away. She wants her one-on-one and then from behind Summer attacks her and accepts her challenge.
Bayley vs. Emma
Emma actually makes it into the ring this time without falling. Emma is pretty over here tonight. Bayley hits a dropkick and then has to pull Emma back to the ring. Bayley goes for a sunset flip, but Emma sits down and does some dancing. Emma moves out of the way of a charging Bayley and then puts her in the Tarantula. She then hits a splash to the corner an a slingshot to the center of the ring. Emma then puts her into the Emma Lock and that's all. That was a fun little match there. These three minute matches are always so much better when the crowd actually cares.
Match Rating: *1/2
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt
Wyatt hits a splash and then gets up during the cover. He runs right into him in the corner and then hits a Sister Abigail and that is all. After the match he hits another one. Poor Yoshi. Wyatt cuts a promo after and says there is no one who walks on this Earth that is greater than him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Lumberjack Match
Corey Graves vs. Seth Rollins
These two are arguably the two most controversial personalities in 2020 WWE. This is kind of an odd match, as both are heels. Graves is kind of the face here, but Rollins is more over with the crowd. Graves catches Rollins' leg, but Rollins hits him with a double throat thrust. Graves moves out of the way of a splash, but after going up top gets his by a kick from Rollins. The lumberjacks are mostly comprised of guys that haven't done much on NXT like Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Rollins has Graves in a bodyscissors on the mat. Rollins misses off the top and Graves hits him with a knee to the face. Graves hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Out come Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and they take out all of the lumberjacks. Rollins hits his neckbreaker for the victory. Pretty blah match.
Match Rating: *3/4
This episode was just OK, but I can't help but think it should have been a lot better. The main event was really flat, especially since the Shield were the hottest thing going at the time. The WrestleMania weekend recap felt really long and I would have rather seen another few minutes out of the Bayley/Emma match.
Overall Rating: 48%
Friday, March 27, 2020
Monday Night Raw 2-22-93 Review
Monday, February 22nd, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Rob Bartlett is in the crowd and does a cheesy rip off of Saturday Night Live. Bartlett couldn't be more of a dork.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Taylor
Bartlett asks if Taylor is some guy off the street. Taylor ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. It doesn't phase Bigelow and he ends up hitting a clothesline this time around. Taylor ends up on his shoulders and eats an electric chair. It may just be due to it being the opening match, but Bam Bam is over with the crowd tonight. Bam Bam goes up to the top rope and hits a headbutt and follows up with another one. Bam Bam gets an impressive squash.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Vince McMahon takes us to an interview taped earlier this week with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. Yes, Vince introduced himself. Hogan is rocking an ICOPRO shirt. Hogan says that whenever you are at the top of your profession that people start digging in your past. He says that he is a human being and he made some mistakes. He then starts talking about the media reporting things that aren't true. He wants to focus on the positive vibes of Hulkamania.
Shawn Michaels & The Beverly Brothers vs. Tatanka & The Nasty Boys
As far as 1993 Raw matches go, this is a pretty big one. Tatanka runs in and goes right after Michaels. He hits a double chop on the Beverly Brothers and then tosses Michaels over the top rope. The Nasty Boys give the Beverly's a double Pit Stop. Michaels is tagged in and hits a reverse elbow on Knobbs. In a hilarious moment, Vince messes up his own "Uncut, uncooked, uncensored" slogan. They go to commercial with Knobbs working on Beau. Beau then drops Knobbs over the top rope. Michaels then throws Knobbs into the ring post. The Bros keep working on the Boys. Michaels is tagged in and Knobbs kicks him in the face, but no tag. They collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. Hot tag to Tatanka, but his pin attempt is quickly broken up by Blake. He hits a couple of chops on Michaels and then hits one off the top rope. The ref loses control of the match and Michaels goes for his suplex finish, but Tatanka turns it into a pin attempt and gets the victory. That was a fun 1993 style WWF wrestling match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Sean Mooney is outside with fans outside the building. They're here to see Hulk Hogan.
Crush vs. Terry Taylor
Crush hits a dropkick and then a body press. Taylor tries to leave, but Crush grabs him by the hair. Taylor gets a thumb to the eye to take control. For some reason Bartlett pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger on the phone with Vince and it's as terrible as it sounds. Crush kicks out of a pin attempt with authority. Crush is just not over at all here with the crowd. Crush hits his spinning backbreaker and then signals for his finisher, which gives him his biggest reaction of the night. Taylor was better than the role he was playing here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show highlights of last week with Brutus Beefcake getting his face smashed. After the commercial, Vince McMahon is in the ring to bring out Hulk Hogan. Something, something, brother. He gives his usual shtick and then introduces Beefcake as the "Bionic Barber", who is sporting a pretty terrible makeup job and a bandage on his nose. They then introduce their manager, Jimmy Hart. This is all just so strange. I wasn't watching wrestling during this time, but when I went back to watch WrestleMania IX a few years later, this was all very lame to me then. I never was a Hogan fan, so that's not much of a surprise. So they will be taking on Money, Inc. at WrestleMania. I don't quite understand how anyone thought that was a co-main event match?
Undertaker vs. Skinner
They join the match in progress and Skinner clotheslines Undertaker out of the ring, who lands on his feet. Skinner jumps on Taker's back to try and choke him. Taker wasn't ready and he hits head-first into the guardrail. Skinner then starts choking him and they say that we're all out of time and we'll see you next week. Not the TV production crew's finest moment here. No match rating, as it was about 30 seconds of nothing.
The first half of the show was solid 1993 era WWF wrestling. From there it fell off, but I suppose if you're a Hogan fan this is essential viewing as it was his comeback moment. I would put this one in the so-so category.
Overall Rating: 50%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Rob Bartlett is in the crowd and does a cheesy rip off of Saturday Night Live. Bartlett couldn't be more of a dork.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Taylor
Bartlett asks if Taylor is some guy off the street. Taylor ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. It doesn't phase Bigelow and he ends up hitting a clothesline this time around. Taylor ends up on his shoulders and eats an electric chair. It may just be due to it being the opening match, but Bam Bam is over with the crowd tonight. Bam Bam goes up to the top rope and hits a headbutt and follows up with another one. Bam Bam gets an impressive squash.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Vince McMahon takes us to an interview taped earlier this week with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. Yes, Vince introduced himself. Hogan is rocking an ICOPRO shirt. Hogan says that whenever you are at the top of your profession that people start digging in your past. He says that he is a human being and he made some mistakes. He then starts talking about the media reporting things that aren't true. He wants to focus on the positive vibes of Hulkamania.
Shawn Michaels & The Beverly Brothers vs. Tatanka & The Nasty Boys
As far as 1993 Raw matches go, this is a pretty big one. Tatanka runs in and goes right after Michaels. He hits a double chop on the Beverly Brothers and then tosses Michaels over the top rope. The Nasty Boys give the Beverly's a double Pit Stop. Michaels is tagged in and hits a reverse elbow on Knobbs. In a hilarious moment, Vince messes up his own "Uncut, uncooked, uncensored" slogan. They go to commercial with Knobbs working on Beau. Beau then drops Knobbs over the top rope. Michaels then throws Knobbs into the ring post. The Bros keep working on the Boys. Michaels is tagged in and Knobbs kicks him in the face, but no tag. They collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. Hot tag to Tatanka, but his pin attempt is quickly broken up by Blake. He hits a couple of chops on Michaels and then hits one off the top rope. The ref loses control of the match and Michaels goes for his suplex finish, but Tatanka turns it into a pin attempt and gets the victory. That was a fun 1993 style WWF wrestling match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Sean Mooney is outside with fans outside the building. They're here to see Hulk Hogan.
Crush vs. Terry Taylor
Crush hits a dropkick and then a body press. Taylor tries to leave, but Crush grabs him by the hair. Taylor gets a thumb to the eye to take control. For some reason Bartlett pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger on the phone with Vince and it's as terrible as it sounds. Crush kicks out of a pin attempt with authority. Crush is just not over at all here with the crowd. Crush hits his spinning backbreaker and then signals for his finisher, which gives him his biggest reaction of the night. Taylor was better than the role he was playing here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show highlights of last week with Brutus Beefcake getting his face smashed. After the commercial, Vince McMahon is in the ring to bring out Hulk Hogan. Something, something, brother. He gives his usual shtick and then introduces Beefcake as the "Bionic Barber", who is sporting a pretty terrible makeup job and a bandage on his nose. They then introduce their manager, Jimmy Hart. This is all just so strange. I wasn't watching wrestling during this time, but when I went back to watch WrestleMania IX a few years later, this was all very lame to me then. I never was a Hogan fan, so that's not much of a surprise. So they will be taking on Money, Inc. at WrestleMania. I don't quite understand how anyone thought that was a co-main event match?
Undertaker vs. Skinner
They join the match in progress and Skinner clotheslines Undertaker out of the ring, who lands on his feet. Skinner jumps on Taker's back to try and choke him. Taker wasn't ready and he hits head-first into the guardrail. Skinner then starts choking him and they say that we're all out of time and we'll see you next week. Not the TV production crew's finest moment here. No match rating, as it was about 30 seconds of nothing.
The first half of the show was solid 1993 era WWF wrestling. From there it fell off, but I suppose if you're a Hogan fan this is essential viewing as it was his comeback moment. I would put this one in the so-so category.
Overall Rating: 50%
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
SmackDown 7-28-05 Review
Thursday, July 28th, 2005
Blue Cross Arena
Rochester, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Teddy Long is already in the ring to kick things off. He talks about how amazing Great American Bash was. He apparently must have been watching a different show. He announces that they have new tag team champions and a new #1 contender in the Undertaker. He is about to announce the main event for SummerSlam and then JBL's music hits. He of course complains about what happened last night and says that he doesn't want it to be anything other than one-on-one with Batista. Teddy then pulls out one of his classic lines and says that JBL will be going one-on-one with the Undertaker tonight to decide the #1 contender. Let's see if they can follow up their surprisingly good match on the 6/16 episode of SmackDown with another one.
Christian & Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This is a classic case of booking that I actually enjoy. Book two feuds together and have a tag team match to further the issues. Benoit tries to go for the Crippler Crossface on Jordan, but Christian makes the save. Jordan has his shoulder taped up as a result of his match with Benoit. After some chops from Benoit, Jordan grabs Benoit's feet as he goes off the ropes. Christian hits a big clothesline and locks Benoit in an Anaconda Vice before tagging Jordan. It's been 15 years and I still can't get over that they couldn't find something better to do with Christian to stop him from leaving. Benoit hits a suplex and then a hot tag to Booker. Booker hits the Book End on Christian, but Jordan pulls him out of the ring. Benoit hits a baseball slide to knock down both men. Back from commercial, Booker hits Christian with a kick under the jaw. Booker hits a spinebuster and then does the spinaroonie. Jordan comes in and illegally hits him with a clothesline as Booker went off the ropes. Christian shows off some aggression and starts unleashing some right hands. Christian's chest has got to be throbbing from this match. Christian ducks under a kick and hits an inverted DDT, but Benoit makes the save. Christian goes off the second rope, but Booker greets him with a huge kick in a nice spot. Benoit gets his chance at a hot tag and unleashes a series of suplexes on both men. Benoit hits the headbutt on Jordan off the top rope and this time Christian makes the save. Christian dumps Booker over the top rope, but then Benoit knocks Christian over. Benoit locks in the Crippler Crossface and Jordan taps. Christian had a chance to break it up, but didn't. That was a textbook tag team match. The crowd was into it and all of the men played their roles well.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
They show Animal with Heidenreich and talks him into buzzing his head.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Chris Hamrick & Chuck Szili
By the time I found the spelling of the jobbers names, the match was over. Doomsday Device was about all it took. Squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show MNM in the back watching the match. Melina said they got a new publicist and that they will be on the cover of SmackDown Magazine. Melina brings in their "fixer", who is Jillian Hall in her debut here. It is also of course the debut of the thing on her face.
They show Dominik playing PSP in the back and asks his dad about the secret that Uncle Eddie has. Rey says he will tell him when he is older.
Rey and Dominik come down to the ring and in a shocking turn of events, Eddie Guerrero interrupts them. Eddie says that he feels like telling a bedtime story. I love that Eddie went through the trouble to make a book cover. Rey starts coming down to Eddie, but Eddie spits out the truth before he can get there. He tells Dominik that Rey is not his father, he is. Rey goes back in the ring and hugs Dominik, who asks him if it's true. Dominik then runs away through the crowd and Rey goes after him. Eddie comes in the ring and sits down to tell the rest of the story. He says there was a time when he was separated from his wife, so he was partying and hooking up with lots of women. Rey was shooting blanks, so Eddie gave him one of the kids from his hookups. Instead of being the father, he handed him off to Rey and went to being Uncle Eddie.
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Jillian is with Melina and Candice Michelle is with Torrie. Tazz and Cole talk repeatedly about the thing on Jillian's face. This was a terrible idea in 2005 and somehow is even worse now. Melina is pretty aggressive here, which is a nice change to women's matches during this era. Melina goes up to the second rope, but Torrie gets her knees up. Torrie hits some clotheslines and a dropkick. Torrie charges at Melina, but gets her in a sloppy looking pin where she wasn't able to get her feet on the ropes. That's good enough for the victory and then Jillian attacks Candice after the match. We are a long way from treating women's wrestling serious here in WWE.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Mexicools are backstage in a storage room and a concession manager tells them to get back to work. I mean, who wouldn't think a guy in a cowboy hat, sunglasses and no shirt at a wrestling show would be working for them?
William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Just as they lock up, the Mexicools make their way down carrying concessions to sell. Psicosis dumps popcorn in Tony Chimel's face. They then attack both Scotty and Regal and dump the concessions all over them. No match there.
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
The match started during the commercial break, which is always a choice I don't understand on a TAPED SHOW. I know that probably nothing happened, but I'm not sure why you pretend it did. Taker goes after JBL's taped ribs at the start. Taker has now twice scared the ref away when he has told him to break a hold. Taker drapes JBL over the apron and hits him with an elbow and then a leg drop. JBL gets an opening and takes it to Taker in the corner. JBL goes up top, but Taker gets up there and hits a big superplex for a 2 count. Taker hits Snake Eyes and then gives a boot to Jordan off the apron. He turns around and eats a Clothesline From Hell, but rolls out of the ring. Back from the commercial break and JBL body slams Taker on the top piece of the announce table while it was leaning on the table. Back in the ring, Taker hits Old School. Jordan distracts the ref and it allows JBL to hit a low blow. JBL hits a DDT, but Taker kicks out. JBL puts on a Cobra Clutch and it looks as if he has never put that hold on before. Taker ducks under JBL and hits a leaping clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes again and this time hits the boot on JBL. We get a ref bump and Jordan runs in with a chair. Taker sees it and hits him with a boot. He goes for the Last Ride, but JBL breaks it up. JBL hits an unprotected Taker square on the head with a chair. Awful. Taker kicks out at 2, sits up and hits a DDT. Chokeslam time and he hits Jordan, who knocks the referee out of the ring. Taker hits the Tombstone, but the referee is still down. In comes Randy Orton and he hits a RKO and drapes JBL over Taker. The ref is back in the ring and JBL is your #1 contender. Orton finally makes his first appearance other than the night he debuted. JBL and Taker deliver another real solid big man match on free TV. I obviously could have done without the chair to the head, but other than that this was a worthy TV main event and certainly better than the main event match at Great American Bash.
Match Rating: ***
The show started and finished strong, which is always a win. The middle was your typical SmackDown, with a lot of filler and the awkward continuation of the Mysterio/Guerrero feud. That one still feels off and unnecessary. However, nearly half the show was good TV wrestling and that's good enough for me.
Overall Rating: 60%
Blue Cross Arena
Rochester, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Teddy Long is already in the ring to kick things off. He talks about how amazing Great American Bash was. He apparently must have been watching a different show. He announces that they have new tag team champions and a new #1 contender in the Undertaker. He is about to announce the main event for SummerSlam and then JBL's music hits. He of course complains about what happened last night and says that he doesn't want it to be anything other than one-on-one with Batista. Teddy then pulls out one of his classic lines and says that JBL will be going one-on-one with the Undertaker tonight to decide the #1 contender. Let's see if they can follow up their surprisingly good match on the 6/16 episode of SmackDown with another one.
Christian & Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This is a classic case of booking that I actually enjoy. Book two feuds together and have a tag team match to further the issues. Benoit tries to go for the Crippler Crossface on Jordan, but Christian makes the save. Jordan has his shoulder taped up as a result of his match with Benoit. After some chops from Benoit, Jordan grabs Benoit's feet as he goes off the ropes. Christian hits a big clothesline and locks Benoit in an Anaconda Vice before tagging Jordan. It's been 15 years and I still can't get over that they couldn't find something better to do with Christian to stop him from leaving. Benoit hits a suplex and then a hot tag to Booker. Booker hits the Book End on Christian, but Jordan pulls him out of the ring. Benoit hits a baseball slide to knock down both men. Back from commercial, Booker hits Christian with a kick under the jaw. Booker hits a spinebuster and then does the spinaroonie. Jordan comes in and illegally hits him with a clothesline as Booker went off the ropes. Christian shows off some aggression and starts unleashing some right hands. Christian's chest has got to be throbbing from this match. Christian ducks under a kick and hits an inverted DDT, but Benoit makes the save. Christian goes off the second rope, but Booker greets him with a huge kick in a nice spot. Benoit gets his chance at a hot tag and unleashes a series of suplexes on both men. Benoit hits the headbutt on Jordan off the top rope and this time Christian makes the save. Christian dumps Booker over the top rope, but then Benoit knocks Christian over. Benoit locks in the Crippler Crossface and Jordan taps. Christian had a chance to break it up, but didn't. That was a textbook tag team match. The crowd was into it and all of the men played their roles well.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
They show Animal with Heidenreich and talks him into buzzing his head.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Chris Hamrick & Chuck Szili
By the time I found the spelling of the jobbers names, the match was over. Doomsday Device was about all it took. Squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show MNM in the back watching the match. Melina said they got a new publicist and that they will be on the cover of SmackDown Magazine. Melina brings in their "fixer", who is Jillian Hall in her debut here. It is also of course the debut of the thing on her face.
They show Dominik playing PSP in the back and asks his dad about the secret that Uncle Eddie has. Rey says he will tell him when he is older.
Rey and Dominik come down to the ring and in a shocking turn of events, Eddie Guerrero interrupts them. Eddie says that he feels like telling a bedtime story. I love that Eddie went through the trouble to make a book cover. Rey starts coming down to Eddie, but Eddie spits out the truth before he can get there. He tells Dominik that Rey is not his father, he is. Rey goes back in the ring and hugs Dominik, who asks him if it's true. Dominik then runs away through the crowd and Rey goes after him. Eddie comes in the ring and sits down to tell the rest of the story. He says there was a time when he was separated from his wife, so he was partying and hooking up with lots of women. Rey was shooting blanks, so Eddie gave him one of the kids from his hookups. Instead of being the father, he handed him off to Rey and went to being Uncle Eddie.
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Jillian is with Melina and Candice Michelle is with Torrie. Tazz and Cole talk repeatedly about the thing on Jillian's face. This was a terrible idea in 2005 and somehow is even worse now. Melina is pretty aggressive here, which is a nice change to women's matches during this era. Melina goes up to the second rope, but Torrie gets her knees up. Torrie hits some clotheslines and a dropkick. Torrie charges at Melina, but gets her in a sloppy looking pin where she wasn't able to get her feet on the ropes. That's good enough for the victory and then Jillian attacks Candice after the match. We are a long way from treating women's wrestling serious here in WWE.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Mexicools are backstage in a storage room and a concession manager tells them to get back to work. I mean, who wouldn't think a guy in a cowboy hat, sunglasses and no shirt at a wrestling show would be working for them?
William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Just as they lock up, the Mexicools make their way down carrying concessions to sell. Psicosis dumps popcorn in Tony Chimel's face. They then attack both Scotty and Regal and dump the concessions all over them. No match there.
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
The match started during the commercial break, which is always a choice I don't understand on a TAPED SHOW. I know that probably nothing happened, but I'm not sure why you pretend it did. Taker goes after JBL's taped ribs at the start. Taker has now twice scared the ref away when he has told him to break a hold. Taker drapes JBL over the apron and hits him with an elbow and then a leg drop. JBL gets an opening and takes it to Taker in the corner. JBL goes up top, but Taker gets up there and hits a big superplex for a 2 count. Taker hits Snake Eyes and then gives a boot to Jordan off the apron. He turns around and eats a Clothesline From Hell, but rolls out of the ring. Back from the commercial break and JBL body slams Taker on the top piece of the announce table while it was leaning on the table. Back in the ring, Taker hits Old School. Jordan distracts the ref and it allows JBL to hit a low blow. JBL hits a DDT, but Taker kicks out. JBL puts on a Cobra Clutch and it looks as if he has never put that hold on before. Taker ducks under JBL and hits a leaping clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes again and this time hits the boot on JBL. We get a ref bump and Jordan runs in with a chair. Taker sees it and hits him with a boot. He goes for the Last Ride, but JBL breaks it up. JBL hits an unprotected Taker square on the head with a chair. Awful. Taker kicks out at 2, sits up and hits a DDT. Chokeslam time and he hits Jordan, who knocks the referee out of the ring. Taker hits the Tombstone, but the referee is still down. In comes Randy Orton and he hits a RKO and drapes JBL over Taker. The ref is back in the ring and JBL is your #1 contender. Orton finally makes his first appearance other than the night he debuted. JBL and Taker deliver another real solid big man match on free TV. I obviously could have done without the chair to the head, but other than that this was a worthy TV main event and certainly better than the main event match at Great American Bash.
Match Rating: ***
The show started and finished strong, which is always a win. The middle was your typical SmackDown, with a lot of filler and the awkward continuation of the Mysterio/Guerrero feud. That one still feels off and unnecessary. However, nearly half the show was good TV wrestling and that's good enough for me.
Overall Rating: 60%
Monday, March 23, 2020
Monday Night Raw 7-25-05 Review
Monday, July 25th, 2005
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Kurt Angle is here to kick things off and he's looking for some real competition. Out comes...Christy Hemme. She says it's not her who he's wrestling, but she is here to introduce Eugene. Eugene shows off his Cleveland Browns jersey to a big pop. They argue back and forth about being from Cleveland and then we have our match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Eugene
Angle attacks him and goes right to work. Angle starts to get cocky and takes his time. Eugene starts to hulk up and fires back with some right hands. Angle comes back with a clothesline and the straps are down. Angle Slam and then he puts him in the Ankle Lock with about 15 seconds left. Eugene counters out of it and sends Angle through the ropes. The clock runs out and Eugene wins Angle's Olympic Gold Medal. He and Christy celebrate and then quickly get out of the ring to get away from Angle. Who would ever think that in back-to-back SummerSlam events that Eugene would face Triple H and then Kurt Angle?
Match Rating: 1/2*
Viscera is shown backstage next to his apparent tag team partner.
John Cena sneaks up behind Eric Bischoff. Bischoff calls Cena trash. Bischoff goes on a rant and then when he turns around he finds out that Cena was no longer there.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Antonio & Pocket Rocket vs. Viscera & Cloacas
Pocket Rocket starts off in control and then Antonio tags in and slaps Cloacas. He continues to dominate him and the crowd is absolutely silent. Antonio accidentally knees his partner, knocking him off the apron. Antonio hits an airplane spin slam, but misses the elbow drop. Cloacas crawls under Antonio's legs and tags Vis. Viscera hits a Samoan Drop, but then Romeo jumps on his back. Viscera knocks him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. For some reason that's not a disqualification. Viscera then picks up Pocket Rocket and launches him onto Romeo. Body slam by Viscera and then Cloacas tries to get on Viscera's back, but he stumbles. He tries again and hits a splash. That's all thankfully. It legit looked like this was Cloacas's first match. This was both terrible and unnecessary.
Match Rating: 0 stars
JR tells us that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago, introducing a highlight package of his work.
Shelton Benjamin is back with Bischoff. Benjamin says that he deserves a rematch with Carlito, but Bischoff disagrees. He tells him instead he is getting a handicap match with Snitsky and Chris Masters. Benjamin says that is just like Bischoff's breath, it stinks.
Chris Jericho is with Maria and she says that she loves Fozzy the Bear. She asks if any of the other Muppets are coming. Jericho says that hip hop is manufactured music and that he's real music.
It's time for the battle of the bands. John Cena is out first. As far as wrestlers doing a hip hop performance, it was pretty good. Jericho comes out and insults the performance. Jericho refuses to perform because the crowd is already against him. Instead, he'll beat Cena at SummerSlam. Cena then breaks out a performance of his entrance song.
Bischoff is with Carlito to talk about Cena. Bischoff says that Carlito will face Cena tonight. Apparently if he wins tonight, he will face him for the title next week. He also throws in that Jericho will be the special guest referee.
Out comes Shawn Michaels to the ring. Michaels says that he would call out Hulk Hogan tonight, but he's out promoting his reality show. Michaels says that he is an old fashioned guy and wants to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history, not a TV or movie star. Michaels says that Hogan is doing the same tired routine he's been doing for 20 years. They said they want the old HBK back, well they got him and he won't lay down for Hogan at SummerSlam. Solid promo work there from Michaels as usual.
Handicap Match
Snitsky & Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin
On a nerdy note, Snitsky was already in the ring, then Benjamin came out and then they had Masters come out last. I get why they did it, but I can't remember another time that they have done that unless it was a surprise partner. Even then, it would typically be announced right after their partner. Masters ducks a charging Masters and he falls out of the ring. Shelton goes up top and hits a somersault dive to the floor, taking out both opponents. Back in the ring, the heels quickly regain the advantage. Shelton slides under Masters and hits a Samoan Drop. He hits a Stinger Splash, but Masters grabs the ref and allows Snitsky to illegally attack Shelton. Masters puts on the Master Lock. Benjamin tries to escape by repeatedly backing Masters into the corner, but is unsuccessful. Shelton shows a second wind, but again Masters brings him to his knees and that's all. Snitsky encourages Masters to keep it going after the bell and out comes Big Show. Being the smart men that they are, instead of attacking Show as he slowly gets into the ring, they wait until he's in so that he can hit a big boot on Snitsky. Both men escape, as Show checks in on Shelton. The match was probably what a handicap match should be, but that doesn't always make for much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Diva Search must continue I suppose. Tonight is a hot dog eating contest. They announce that Cameron is cut from the contest. Layla and Summer tie, so they do a 30 second eat off to finish. This is awful television. Layla ends up winning. Next week is a queen of the mountain competition. Whatever.
Stretcher Match
Edge vs. Kane
Kane attacks Edge from behind during his entrance. As per usual, a big "Hardy" chant has started. Kane continues the assault in the ring and then is back out throwing Edge into the steps. He places Edge on the stretcher and tries dragging him up the ramp. Edge starts to fight back, so Kane just drops him down the ramp into the ring. Back from commercial break and Edge is choking Kane with a cord. During the break Edge hit a DDT on Kane onto the steps. That seemed like a bigger move than usual that was missed due to commercial break. They go back in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane gets distracted by Lita and Edge hits a spear and rolls him onto the stretcher. Lita hits Kane with a kendo stick and then Edge gets in on the action, cracking it over Kane's head. How many years do I have left until weapon shots to the head are no longer a thing? Edge goes up top, but Kane swings a chair at him and knocks him to the outside. Kane pulls him up by the hair and hits a chokeslam from the apron onto the stretcher. The stretcher is now on an angle, but Kane tries pulling him up the ramp anyways. Lita is at the top of the ramp and takes the briefcase and hits Kane in the back with it. Kane no sells it and starts going after Lita. Kane grabs her by the throat and goes to chokeslam her, but Edge is there to make the save. He hits him in the head with the briefcase and knocks him down by the stretcher. They lay Kane on the stretcher and Lita helps push it up. Kane sits up and grabs Lita, but Kane eats yet another briefcase to the head and that is all. After the match, Kane sits up again and throws Edge into the Raw set. He then grabs Lita and gives her a Tombstone on the stage. As Edge is checking in on Lita, out comes Matt Hardy to a big pop. These moments were so fun. Matt Hardy will forever be one of the most underrated performers in WWE history. This was the best match in this series.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back from commercial break, Kane is with Lita in the ambulance and gets in the driver seat and drives away with the back doors open.
Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff is up on the stage as the bell rings. Jericho broke the rules of being a wrestler referee, as his shirt isn't three sizes too small. Cena hits a huge back body drop, but then gets an elbow to the face. Carlito goes for a chair, but Jericho takes it away. Carlito counters Cena into a DDT for a 2 count. So far Jericho as been calling it down the middle. Carlito hits a dropkick and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena hits a desperation suplex. Carlito is able to continue working on Cena for a little while until Super Cena makes his return. Five Knuckle Shuffle time and then he goes to follow it up with the FU, but Jericho hits him with a low blow. Jericho hits his running bulldog and a Lionsault, allowing Carlito to get the victory. Bischoff applauds the result as Jericho holds the WWE Championship belt. This was the usual Carlito match. So next week we will get a rematch, this time for the title.
Match Rating: *3/4
This wasn't the strongest episode of Raw, thanks to the Viscera segment and the Diva Search for existing. However, the battle of the bands segment was well done, Michaels' promo was strong and the Edge/Kane match was entertaining. The build for the top matches at SummerSlam continues to go well, while the rest just kind of continues to lack focus.
Overall Rating: 53%
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Kurt Angle is here to kick things off and he's looking for some real competition. Out comes...Christy Hemme. She says it's not her who he's wrestling, but she is here to introduce Eugene. Eugene shows off his Cleveland Browns jersey to a big pop. They argue back and forth about being from Cleveland and then we have our match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Eugene
Angle attacks him and goes right to work. Angle starts to get cocky and takes his time. Eugene starts to hulk up and fires back with some right hands. Angle comes back with a clothesline and the straps are down. Angle Slam and then he puts him in the Ankle Lock with about 15 seconds left. Eugene counters out of it and sends Angle through the ropes. The clock runs out and Eugene wins Angle's Olympic Gold Medal. He and Christy celebrate and then quickly get out of the ring to get away from Angle. Who would ever think that in back-to-back SummerSlam events that Eugene would face Triple H and then Kurt Angle?
Match Rating: 1/2*
Viscera is shown backstage next to his apparent tag team partner.
John Cena sneaks up behind Eric Bischoff. Bischoff calls Cena trash. Bischoff goes on a rant and then when he turns around he finds out that Cena was no longer there.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Antonio & Pocket Rocket vs. Viscera & Cloacas
Pocket Rocket starts off in control and then Antonio tags in and slaps Cloacas. He continues to dominate him and the crowd is absolutely silent. Antonio accidentally knees his partner, knocking him off the apron. Antonio hits an airplane spin slam, but misses the elbow drop. Cloacas crawls under Antonio's legs and tags Vis. Viscera hits a Samoan Drop, but then Romeo jumps on his back. Viscera knocks him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. For some reason that's not a disqualification. Viscera then picks up Pocket Rocket and launches him onto Romeo. Body slam by Viscera and then Cloacas tries to get on Viscera's back, but he stumbles. He tries again and hits a splash. That's all thankfully. It legit looked like this was Cloacas's first match. This was both terrible and unnecessary.
Match Rating: 0 stars
JR tells us that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago, introducing a highlight package of his work.
Shelton Benjamin is back with Bischoff. Benjamin says that he deserves a rematch with Carlito, but Bischoff disagrees. He tells him instead he is getting a handicap match with Snitsky and Chris Masters. Benjamin says that is just like Bischoff's breath, it stinks.
Chris Jericho is with Maria and she says that she loves Fozzy the Bear. She asks if any of the other Muppets are coming. Jericho says that hip hop is manufactured music and that he's real music.
It's time for the battle of the bands. John Cena is out first. As far as wrestlers doing a hip hop performance, it was pretty good. Jericho comes out and insults the performance. Jericho refuses to perform because the crowd is already against him. Instead, he'll beat Cena at SummerSlam. Cena then breaks out a performance of his entrance song.
Bischoff is with Carlito to talk about Cena. Bischoff says that Carlito will face Cena tonight. Apparently if he wins tonight, he will face him for the title next week. He also throws in that Jericho will be the special guest referee.
Out comes Shawn Michaels to the ring. Michaels says that he would call out Hulk Hogan tonight, but he's out promoting his reality show. Michaels says that he is an old fashioned guy and wants to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history, not a TV or movie star. Michaels says that Hogan is doing the same tired routine he's been doing for 20 years. They said they want the old HBK back, well they got him and he won't lay down for Hogan at SummerSlam. Solid promo work there from Michaels as usual.
Handicap Match
Snitsky & Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin
On a nerdy note, Snitsky was already in the ring, then Benjamin came out and then they had Masters come out last. I get why they did it, but I can't remember another time that they have done that unless it was a surprise partner. Even then, it would typically be announced right after their partner. Masters ducks a charging Masters and he falls out of the ring. Shelton goes up top and hits a somersault dive to the floor, taking out both opponents. Back in the ring, the heels quickly regain the advantage. Shelton slides under Masters and hits a Samoan Drop. He hits a Stinger Splash, but Masters grabs the ref and allows Snitsky to illegally attack Shelton. Masters puts on the Master Lock. Benjamin tries to escape by repeatedly backing Masters into the corner, but is unsuccessful. Shelton shows a second wind, but again Masters brings him to his knees and that's all. Snitsky encourages Masters to keep it going after the bell and out comes Big Show. Being the smart men that they are, instead of attacking Show as he slowly gets into the ring, they wait until he's in so that he can hit a big boot on Snitsky. Both men escape, as Show checks in on Shelton. The match was probably what a handicap match should be, but that doesn't always make for much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Diva Search must continue I suppose. Tonight is a hot dog eating contest. They announce that Cameron is cut from the contest. Layla and Summer tie, so they do a 30 second eat off to finish. This is awful television. Layla ends up winning. Next week is a queen of the mountain competition. Whatever.
Stretcher Match
Edge vs. Kane
Kane attacks Edge from behind during his entrance. As per usual, a big "Hardy" chant has started. Kane continues the assault in the ring and then is back out throwing Edge into the steps. He places Edge on the stretcher and tries dragging him up the ramp. Edge starts to fight back, so Kane just drops him down the ramp into the ring. Back from commercial break and Edge is choking Kane with a cord. During the break Edge hit a DDT on Kane onto the steps. That seemed like a bigger move than usual that was missed due to commercial break. They go back in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane gets distracted by Lita and Edge hits a spear and rolls him onto the stretcher. Lita hits Kane with a kendo stick and then Edge gets in on the action, cracking it over Kane's head. How many years do I have left until weapon shots to the head are no longer a thing? Edge goes up top, but Kane swings a chair at him and knocks him to the outside. Kane pulls him up by the hair and hits a chokeslam from the apron onto the stretcher. The stretcher is now on an angle, but Kane tries pulling him up the ramp anyways. Lita is at the top of the ramp and takes the briefcase and hits Kane in the back with it. Kane no sells it and starts going after Lita. Kane grabs her by the throat and goes to chokeslam her, but Edge is there to make the save. He hits him in the head with the briefcase and knocks him down by the stretcher. They lay Kane on the stretcher and Lita helps push it up. Kane sits up and grabs Lita, but Kane eats yet another briefcase to the head and that is all. After the match, Kane sits up again and throws Edge into the Raw set. He then grabs Lita and gives her a Tombstone on the stage. As Edge is checking in on Lita, out comes Matt Hardy to a big pop. These moments were so fun. Matt Hardy will forever be one of the most underrated performers in WWE history. This was the best match in this series.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back from commercial break, Kane is with Lita in the ambulance and gets in the driver seat and drives away with the back doors open.
Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff is up on the stage as the bell rings. Jericho broke the rules of being a wrestler referee, as his shirt isn't three sizes too small. Cena hits a huge back body drop, but then gets an elbow to the face. Carlito goes for a chair, but Jericho takes it away. Carlito counters Cena into a DDT for a 2 count. So far Jericho as been calling it down the middle. Carlito hits a dropkick and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena hits a desperation suplex. Carlito is able to continue working on Cena for a little while until Super Cena makes his return. Five Knuckle Shuffle time and then he goes to follow it up with the FU, but Jericho hits him with a low blow. Jericho hits his running bulldog and a Lionsault, allowing Carlito to get the victory. Bischoff applauds the result as Jericho holds the WWE Championship belt. This was the usual Carlito match. So next week we will get a rematch, this time for the title.
Match Rating: *3/4
This wasn't the strongest episode of Raw, thanks to the Viscera segment and the Diva Search for existing. However, the battle of the bands segment was well done, Michaels' promo was strong and the Edge/Kane match was entertaining. The build for the top matches at SummerSlam continues to go well, while the rest just kind of continues to lack focus.
Overall Rating: 53%
Friday, March 20, 2020
NXT 4-10-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday April 10th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson & Scott Dawson
All six men begin brawling before the bell even rings. After the Shield dump their opponents outside the ring, we get a bell. Dawson eats two dropkicks from Ambrose and then Rollins. Dawson is able to escape and make a tag to Keegan. Ambrose quickly takes care of him and tags in Rollins. Ambrose holds him in a surfboard and Rollins comes off the top rope, which was pretty cool. Rollins gets the pin and that was really fun as far as 3 minute squashes go.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
After the match, they attack Dawson and hit the triple powerbomb. Ambrose grabs the mic and says that justice has been served. Rollins says that they run Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Corey Graves then comes on the big screen and says that NXT is his wasteland to run. He challenges one of them to a match next week. Rollins said he started it with Graves and he will take him on next week.
Summer Rae is backstage and says that she did not run away last week. She says that she left her curling iron on and didn't want to burn down the building. Someone got paid to write this.
Renee Young is backstage now with Emma. Emma says her path is like Lady Gaga, which Young questions. She then says it actually is probably more like Madonna. Young then references her being a clutz, but she says that isn't true. She then trips on her way out.
The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins
This match most likely features three hall of famers. Naomi starts off hot and makes the mistake of tagging in Cameron. Brie attacks Cameron from behind as she is distracted by Nikki. Brad Maddox is really distracting in a bad way on announcing. Cameron is able to hit a neckbreaker. She goes to tag Naomi, but Nikki knocks her off the apron. They hit a weak looking wishbone suplex with a roll through or something for the finish. This was what you would expect it to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno says that no one is going to see or hear from Regal again after this match.
After a lengthy WrestleMania weekend recap, William Regal says may his children forgive him for what he's about to do to Ohno.
Kassius Ohno vs. William Regal
Not that there has been much competition, but this is the most excited I have been for a NXT match up to this point. Regal is 44 years old here. They go to commercial before the match starts and then show a Corey Graves promo about his tattoos. They surprisingly don't go right at it and choose the slow approach instead. Regal works on the arm of Ohno in multiple ways. Regal gets in a cheap shot below the belt with his back turned blocking the ref. Ohno is able to dump Regal through the ropes and then hits a dropkick through the bottom two ropes. Back in the ring, Regal uses some finger manipulation. Ohno is able to sneak in a knee to the face. They then show Ohno trying to pop his fingers back into place. Ohno then hits a kick to the head into the ring post. For some reason Maddox tries to get over the fact that Ohno is working on Regal's ear. Regal fights back and hits an exploder suplex and tries to go for the Regal Stretch, but Ohno hits him with some elbows. Regal is off balance and then eats a kick to the head for a 2 count. Ohno goes for the spinning elbow, but Regal hits him with one. Regal then hits a running knee and that's it? That was extremely disappointing. Bummer.
Match Rating: **1/4
I was expecting a home run for this episode and I'm not even sure if they got a stand up single. The Shield match was a fun reminder of how good they were, but the main event in my opinion was nowhere near as good as I had expected. It was slow and not as aggressive as I was expecting, especially after the great attack Regal delivered on last week's show.
Overall Rating: 50%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson & Scott Dawson
All six men begin brawling before the bell even rings. After the Shield dump their opponents outside the ring, we get a bell. Dawson eats two dropkicks from Ambrose and then Rollins. Dawson is able to escape and make a tag to Keegan. Ambrose quickly takes care of him and tags in Rollins. Ambrose holds him in a surfboard and Rollins comes off the top rope, which was pretty cool. Rollins gets the pin and that was really fun as far as 3 minute squashes go.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
After the match, they attack Dawson and hit the triple powerbomb. Ambrose grabs the mic and says that justice has been served. Rollins says that they run Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Corey Graves then comes on the big screen and says that NXT is his wasteland to run. He challenges one of them to a match next week. Rollins said he started it with Graves and he will take him on next week.
Summer Rae is backstage and says that she did not run away last week. She says that she left her curling iron on and didn't want to burn down the building. Someone got paid to write this.
Renee Young is backstage now with Emma. Emma says her path is like Lady Gaga, which Young questions. She then says it actually is probably more like Madonna. Young then references her being a clutz, but she says that isn't true. She then trips on her way out.
The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins
This match most likely features three hall of famers. Naomi starts off hot and makes the mistake of tagging in Cameron. Brie attacks Cameron from behind as she is distracted by Nikki. Brad Maddox is really distracting in a bad way on announcing. Cameron is able to hit a neckbreaker. She goes to tag Naomi, but Nikki knocks her off the apron. They hit a weak looking wishbone suplex with a roll through or something for the finish. This was what you would expect it to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno says that no one is going to see or hear from Regal again after this match.
After a lengthy WrestleMania weekend recap, William Regal says may his children forgive him for what he's about to do to Ohno.
Kassius Ohno vs. William Regal
Not that there has been much competition, but this is the most excited I have been for a NXT match up to this point. Regal is 44 years old here. They go to commercial before the match starts and then show a Corey Graves promo about his tattoos. They surprisingly don't go right at it and choose the slow approach instead. Regal works on the arm of Ohno in multiple ways. Regal gets in a cheap shot below the belt with his back turned blocking the ref. Ohno is able to dump Regal through the ropes and then hits a dropkick through the bottom two ropes. Back in the ring, Regal uses some finger manipulation. Ohno is able to sneak in a knee to the face. They then show Ohno trying to pop his fingers back into place. Ohno then hits a kick to the head into the ring post. For some reason Maddox tries to get over the fact that Ohno is working on Regal's ear. Regal fights back and hits an exploder suplex and tries to go for the Regal Stretch, but Ohno hits him with some elbows. Regal is off balance and then eats a kick to the head for a 2 count. Ohno goes for the spinning elbow, but Regal hits him with one. Regal then hits a running knee and that's it? That was extremely disappointing. Bummer.
Match Rating: **1/4
I was expecting a home run for this episode and I'm not even sure if they got a stand up single. The Shield match was a fun reminder of how good they were, but the main event in my opinion was nowhere near as good as I had expected. It was slow and not as aggressive as I was expecting, especially after the great attack Regal delivered on last week's show.
Overall Rating: 50%
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