Monday Night Raw 5-8-06 Review

Monday, May 8th, 2006
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, California

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After a really lengthy intro about the whole Spirit Squad show last week, we get Jim Ross back at the announce table. Out comes Triple H and he wants his WWE Championship, so he calls out John Cena. Cena tells him that we all know what Triple H has done, but it's about what you've done lately. He reminds Triple H that lately he's both pinned him and made him tap out. Cena's ready to go right now, but out comes Vince to say it's not happening. Vince ends up saying Triple H will get his rematch, but he has the night off tonight. Vince then announces that Cena and Shawn Michaels will take on the Spirit Squad. Vince then introduces the Fatal 4 Way match. Rob Van Dam comes out first and he and Cena give a little to tease to what is going to happen. RVD grabs a mic and calls what happened to Joey Styles a bunch of crap. He said he agrees with everything Joey said and tries to get the crowd to chant for ECW. 

Fatal 4 Way For The Intercontinental Championship

Rob Van Dam vs. Charlie Haas vs. Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin

Did you know that this is a huge disadvantage for the champion? If not, you will of course be reminded of it 55 times. After the long opening segment, of course they are going to interrupt this one right away with a commercial break. RVD is able to hit Rolling Thunder while Shelton dumps Haas out of the ring. Shelton hits a big kick on Haas, but RVD breaks up the pin. Masters comes out of nowhere and takes Shelton out of the match. He puts the Master Lock on Haas, but Van Dam comes from off the top rope with a sunset flip and scores the pin. This was an enjoyable TV match that tried it's best to stay chaotic rather than always having two people laying around. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Carlito vs. Matt Striker

I'm a little surprised they are going from match to match with no background segment. Maybe something was edited out? They go back and forth with big punches until Carlito is able to hit his springboard elbow. Out of nowhere, Eugene comes to the ring and attacks Striker, which allows Striker to win the match by DQ. Carlito attacks Striker, but then also hits the Backstabber on Eugene. This whole thing was rushed and I'm not sure many people cared about it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Edge comes out and makes fun of the California fans. Foley comes out and says that he couldn't have a hardcore match without some ECW and says that he's adding Tommy Dreamer to the match.

Triple Threat Hardcore Match

Edge vs. Mick Foley vs. Tommy Dreamer

They keep warning us about how violent this is going to be. Foley hits Dreamer in the back with his barbed wire baseball bat and then hands it to Edge. Lawler is trying his best to sell this, but the crowd seems a little bit confused. Edge and Foley start working together and Dreamer is gushing. Foley puts Mr. Socko on Dreamer and Edge hits him with a Spear for the victory. They give the victory to Foley and he and Edge shake hands after the match. I don't think this played as well as they hoped for. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mickie James vs. Maria

Trish is in Maria's corner. Mickie dominates the entire match and hits her variation of the DDT for the easy victory. After the match, Mickie invites Trish into the ring. Mickie hits a cheap shot on Maria, so Trish tries to save her with one arm and Mickie takes advantage of it. Out comes a blonde woman to attack Mickie and she is restrained by WWE officials. This of course is Beth Phoenix in her debut. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kevin Martenson & Tommy Wilson vs. Umaga

Umaga gets two opponents this week, which is always fun. This is obviously Umaga just destroying these two ham and eggers He hits the Samoan Spike and that is all. This was exactly what it needed to be, as Umaga slowly continues to get over a little more every week. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kane vs. Big Show

Ah, yes. I remember this match like it was yesterday. This is the match where these two decided to do a mat wrestling match. We get a drop toe hold from Big Show and then they decided to do a test of strength. They keep going with it and kind of just feels like a slow motion version of a 1993 Bob Backlund match. Kane starts to climb the ropes and the lights go out and a Kane mask shows up on the screen, saying "May 19th". Kane grabs a chair and unleashes on Big Show and he walks away as his music plays. They don't make any announcement, but I am guessing Big Show wins by DQ. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The Spirit Squad are backstage getting pumped up for their match. 

Spirit Squad vs. Shawn Michaels & John Cena

Cena and Michaels throw Kenny over the top rope and take out the entire Squad into the commercial break. Cena gets Johnny up for the FU, but his teammates save him and Johnny hits him with his kick for a 2 count. The crowd has finally woken up for this match. The Spirit Squad continues to use their numbers advantage to work on Cena. Cena finally makes the hot tag and he fires right hands at all five opponents. Meanwhile, they throw Cena into the steps. Behind the referee's back, they hit Michaels with one of their Tag Team Championship belts to the face and score the cheap victory. After the match, they hit the referee and steal his belt to start whipping Michaels with it. Cue the "government mule" line. Out comes Triple H and Cena comes in to start tossing guys out of the ring. Triple H hits the Pedigree on Cena and gives him multiple crotch chops. This was your typical cheap match that we have all seen a million times. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Match Rating: **

This was another middle of the road show for the red brand. They really don't have much to build to, so they seem to just be treading water and throwing the Spirit Squad out there every opportunity they get. The only thing notable about this show was the lack of backstage segments. There were very few on this show and instead had a couple more matches than normal.

Overall Rating: 50%

Extreme Rules 2021 Review

Sunday, September 26th
Nationwide Arena
Columbus, Ohio

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New Day vs. AJ Styles, Omos & Bobby Lashley

This one was just added to the card today, which is not normally how you book your champion on a pay-per-view. It really is pretty amazing that New Day is still a thing in 2021. It just goes to show how much being genuine can work. After a little bit of start and stop with AJ, Lashley and Big E go at it. We get some action on the outside and it allows Lashley to take advantage of Kofi and toss him across the ring. They single out Kofi for awhile and Lashley does a nice job of making sure Kofi doesn't make the hot tag to Big E. Lashley gets him up for the Dominator, but Kofi is able to slip out of it. We finally get a hot tag to Woods and he hits a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Woods hits a missile dropkick and Big E is back up on the apron. He gets the tag and suplexes Styles all over the ring. We get a really nice segment between E and AJ. Kofi makes a blind tag and it leads to a top rope stomp off the shoulders of Big E, but Lashley is in to break up the pin attempt. Lashley misses with a Spear and ends up outside. AJ comes in and he gets launched outside. Big E then sends Kofi over the top, but Omos is there to make the save. Lashley is upset when AJ tags himself in. Lashley tags in himself and it leads to Lashley accidentally hitting the Spear on AJ and Big E hits the Big Ending and gets the pinfall on Lashley. For a match that wasn't on the card, they sure got a lot of time and rightfully so. I have been saying since they went back to the brand split that they need to do more matches like this with the champion to keep things fresher. This was a good example of one, although I'm not sure I love that Lashley got pinned here.  

Match Rating: ***1/2

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match

Street Profits vs. Usos

It seems like an odd choice to put both tag team matches to kick off the show. Montez has his ribs taped up and this leads to the Usos kicking him in the ribs as he is running the ropes. They continue to work on the ribs and rip off the ace bandage. Dawkins is finally tagged in and is able to catch one Uso on a suicide dive and hit a suplex. He catches the other Uso with a fist when he goes for one. Ford hits a Blockbuster off the top rope, but Jimmy is able to kick out. Ford goes for the big Frog Splash off the top rope, but they get their knees up on the injured ribs. Jimmy is able to counter out of another electric chair due to Montez climbing slowly. Dawkins is able to kick out of an Uso Splash. They throw Dawkins into the barricade, but then out comes Ford out of nowhere with a somersault dive over the ring post. He hits the Frog Splash, but the Usos break up the pin. Just an FYI, I will never be able to tell the difference between the Usos. Ford gets hit with a double superkick and then hit the double Uso Splash for the victory. This one was just okay for me. They seemed to be moving a little bit slower than normal and just didn't click. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Lashley is backstage upset and he wants Big E tomorrow. He also uses the s-word here. At what point does WWE lose their TV-PG rating? 

Raw Women's Championship Match

Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair

The hype video for this match has me absolutely not wanting to watch this match and I like both of these ladies as in ring performers. Alexa is getting a nice hometown pop for everything she does here. This match just feels very disjointed so far. Alexa gets her boots up on the moonsault and hits the Canadian Destroyer, but Charlotte kicks out. Charlotte is able to move out of the way of Twisted Bliss and goes for the Figure Four, but Alexa rolls her up for a 2 count. Charlotte hits a running boot to the face and hits Natural Selection for the victory. They didn't get a whole lot of time there and the match was just kind of weird to me. It lacked a flow and felt more like a TV match. Charlotte attacks Alexa after the match and then starts ripping up the stupid doll. Bliss comes back in the ring and attacks Charlotte. Charlotte is able to fight her off and throw her into the table. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Paul Heyman is backstage on the phone, but won't let us know who it is. 

Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus vs. Damian Priest

As soon as the bell rings, Sheamus drills Hardy and he's out of the ring right away. Priest and Sheamus are brawling outside and out comes Hardy leaping out of nowhere. Priest hits a somersault dive over the top onto Hardy. Priest looks to lose his footing and falls off the apron. He recovers about as well as you could and starts hitting the clubbing blows on Sheamus. Hardy hits a Whisper In The Wind on both men and gets a 2 count on Sheamus. Sheamus hits an Alabama Slam and slaps on the Texas Cloverleaf. Hardy gets to the ropes, but he doesn't have to break the hold. Priest makes the save and hits Sheamus with a kick to the injured nose. Sheamus hits White Noise, but Hardy breaks up the pin attempt. He hits the Twist Of Fate. He goes up top, but Sheamus is able to knock him off. He goes up top and does an awkwardly funny mockery of Hardy and then hits Priest with a knee. Hardy hits a Swanton on top of both men while Priest is making a pin attempt. Hardy is the most over man in the match with the live crowd. We get the usual frantic finish with lots of nearfalls and Priest is able to roll up Sheamus for the victory. It had some nice moments, but it also had some sloppy spots. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Big E is backstage and says that he will face Lashley tomorrow night at 8:00 pm sharp. 

SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

We get some dueling chants for both women. I've reached the point of the night where it takes everything I have to stay up. Becky dominates most of the beginning parts of the match. Bianca hits her nice vertical suplex. They tart having a tug of war with Bianca's hair, which Bianca wins and hits a spinebuster. We get a nice sequence of the going at it with counters after Bianca lifts Becky off the top rope. It ends with the Disarm-her being put on and Bianca getting her feet to the rope. Becky drives Bianca into the steel steps and heads up to the top again and hits a leg drop for a 2 count. Becky hits a nice guillotine leg drop as well. They once again start battling over the Disarm-her and Bianca gets a nearfall. This is one of those weird matches where the crowd is kind of quiet because they like both women. They are popping for the big moves though. Bianca has Becky up for the KOD, but in comes Sasha and she attacks Bianca. After that, Sasha starts attacking Becky and then hits the Backstabber on Bianca. She gives one to Becky for good measure. This was a pretty solid match that felt like it was heading for some sort of screwy ending, but at least it was something that makes the dynamic more interesting. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Extreme Rules Match For The WWE Championship

Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor

Balor is the Demon character for the first time in a long time here tonight. For a show called Extreme Rules, it took until 10:32 for a weapon to be pulled out and it's a kendo stick. Balor has 4 kendo sticks, so he wins and starts lashing Roman in the back. Balor starts pulling out a table, which pops the crowd more than just about anything all night. Roman attacks him and tells the crowd that there will be no tables tonight. Reigns starts using a chair and attacks Balor with it. Balor is able to fight back and stomps onto the chair on Roman's chest. Balor tries to get the table in the ring and Roman hits him with a Drive By kick. They start battling in the crowd and Balor gets thrown onto the Kickoff Show table. I love that Roman put a mask on as he went into the crowd.  Balor hits a crossbody off the table and puts Roman through another table. Balor sets up the table in the ring, but Roman ends up throwing him through it. Roman hits a Spear, but Finn kicks out and hits him with a low blow. That was a nice touch. Balor hits a senton over the top rope and hits the Coup de Grace, but the Usos come out and interfere. Balor hits a powerbomb on Jey through the announce table. Roman then comes and hits a Spear through the barricade. They really need to stop using that spot like every single show. Balor's music starts playing and it's supposed to be his heartbeat and he is up and okay now. He starts unloading on Reigns with a chair and hits a dropkick that sends Roman through the table as the music is still playing. Balor goes up top and the turnbuckle collapses out of nowhere. Roman hits the Spear and picks up the victory. This was all very strange, as the Demon seems to now have joined the Bray Wyatt universe. Roman sells how confused he is by looking up to the sky before celebrating. They went the non-Brock ending, which I didn't expect. That ending wasn't up my alley, but it was oddly entertaining to me. I didn't think this was a classic or anything, but it was an entertaining match overall. It was nice to see Balor booked strongly here against Roman. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This was kind of a middle of the road show for me. It was bookended by good matches, but the rest was a little all over the place for me. There just weren't many interesting stories told here tonight and just felt like a good episode of Raw or SmackDown.

Overall Rating: 60%

NXT 4-24-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, April 24th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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JBL approaches Paige backstage and tells her that it's not fair that she's the NXT Champion with her being the Divas Champion now. JBL is being all babyface during this, but Paige isn't happy. She reluctantly relinquishes it and there will be a tournament to crown the next champ. 

Alexander Rusev vs. Travis Tyler

Tyler hits a dropkick, but Rusev just squashes him anyways. He hits the high knees to the ribs and then a modified Samoan Drop. He slaps on the Accolade and that's all for poor Tyler. The presentation for Rusev and Lana was always really good. Meanwhile, the announcers make a bunch of lame jokes. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Adam Rose is backstage and calls Camacho a party pooper and boring. 

Charlotte & Sasha Banks vs. Emma & Paige

Emma gets off to a hot start and hits a monkey flip on Charlotte. Her and Paige hit a double suplex, but Charlotte comes back and works on the ankle of Paige. Charlotte does the Flair fall and then is tossed around the ring. After a blind tag, Sasha unleashes some anger and then Charlotte shows off her leg strength. Emma is able to make a hot tag to Paige, but Charlotte slows down her momentum with a low dropkick. Charlotte hits Natural Selection and she pins the Divas Champion. This was a pretty good little tag team match. It was pretty clear that Charlotte was the focus of this match. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Tyson Kidd vs. Mason Ryan

Ryan methodically starts off the match until Kidd catches him with a kick to the head. Kidd hits a nice guillotine legdrop by leaping over the top rope to the floor. Ryan grabs him before he can hit a springboard and drops him face-first. Kidd hits a top rope somersault neckbreaker and gets a fairly easy win over Vince's failure of this era. After the match, Renee Young interviews him on the ramp and Kidd lets us know that this is his rebirth. I'm surprised that this was basically a squash, but they had already given up on Ryan at this point. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Angelo Dawkins vs. Tyler Breeze

Dawkins apparently has a new look with a backpack and glasses. File that under things I had no clue existed. Dawkins gets in a little bit of offense, but this is basically a Superstars squash. Breeze hits the Beauty Shot and that's all. They were finally getting serious about pushing Breeze here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Corey Graves & Ascension vs. Sami Zayn & Usos

This is an interesting main event. Things start off nicely and I'm enjoying this enough to where I don't feel like typing about it. After the commercial break, Graves finally gets in and immediately goes to a rest hold. Jey Uso is the one singled out and is finally able to throw Konnor through the ropes and makes the hot tag to Jimmy. Graves gets a kick to the head and then Zayn hits a top rope crossbody for a nearfall. Zayn hits the Blue Thunder Bomb, but the Ascension makes the save. Zayn and one of Jimmy double clothesline them out of the ring. Zayn hits the Yakuza Kick and then a double dive to the outside. Jey hits the top rope splash and picks up the victory. This was a nice main event here for NXT, as the Usos were down here to have a good match. 

Match Rating: ***

This is the type of show that NXT was supposed to be in this era. They featured a few of their better talents and then had an enjoyable main event. They even gave the women's match a few more minutes than usual. I'll definitely take more episodes like this. 

Overall Rating: 68%

Monday Night Raw 5-2-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, May 2nd, 1994
Green Mountain State
Burlington, Vermont

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WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Quebecers vs. Headshrinkers

I've been really looking forward to this one. This one starts off as most Quebecers matches do, with them being cowardly heels. The Quebecers already head to the back, which leads to Earl Hebner making up his own rules. If the Quebecers don't get back in the ring by the count of 10, they lose their titles. They are rightfully furious and get back to the ring as we head into a commercial break. The Headshrinkers are in control when we come back until Pierre hits a big clothesline. Quebecers hit some of their double teams and we head into another commercial break. Samu gets tied up in the ropes by his neck, which slows down their attempted comeback. Jacques shows off some strength with a delayed piledriver, but then miss with the somersault double team. Meanwhile on the outside, Lou Albano holds Johnny Polo so that Afa can take a shot at him. Then out of nowhere, Pierre hits Jacques on purpose? The Headshrinkers hit a double Skull Crushing Finale and then Fatu hits the top rope splash to crown new champions. The crowd is loving it and they even get some cheapo fireworks. In an era where title changes were pretty rare on TV, we got two of them in three days between this and Diesel. Three kayfabe days that is. This was another fun match, although the commercial breaks kind of hurt the flow of the match here. 

Match Rating: ***

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report with Todd Pettengill. He announces another qualifying match between Razor Ramon and Kwang. Todd announces Art Donovan will be on hand. I wonder how that will turn out? 

Tatanka vs. Derrick Domino

Chief Jay Strongbow is interviewed real quick and is about as charismatic as an eggplant. IRS joins us on the phone and he can't wait to face Tatanka. Tatanka is easily taking care of Domino, who looks like some random guy from a bar. Why are his squashes always about four times longer than they need to be. Domino gets in a few seconds of offense so Tatanka can do his hulk up and then hits the Samoan Drop for the finish. This was way too long for what they were hoping to accomplish. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jerry Lawler is out for a King's Court and starts ripping on Roddy Piper. Diesel is the guest here and it's surprising that Nash isn't a little more natural here. I'm not sure what his accent is here, but it just sounds off. Diesel then announces that he wants the WWF Championship now, so I guess that's how the build began for King Of The Ring. 

Now it's time for another Undertaker sighting. Hopefully they don't do this for another 4 months. 

Handicap Match

Yokozuna vs. Scott Taylor & Mike Davis

This is your average Yokozuna match here, but, you know, with two opponents instead of one. It's pretty clear they don't have much of a plan for him now, so I guess this is just a reminder that he's a force to be reckoned with. He then stacks up his opponents and hits a double Banzai for the win. After the match he hits another one on Davis. He then goes over to the other corner and hits one on Taylor. Out comes Earthquake to make the save and Yoko retreats. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Macho are with Earthquake after the commercial. He challenges Yokozuna with a lot of yelling. Vince and Savage high five as we go off the air. 

This was another entertaining episode, as 1994 continues to be a little bit more consistent than 1993. The title switch was well done and was a compelling way to begin the show. The rest was nothing special, but it flew by quickly enough. 

Overall Rating: 59%

Superstars 4-30-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, April 30th, 1994
War Memorial Auditorium
Rochester, New York

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We get highlights of the Shawn Michaels/Diesel/Razor Ramon story, which has been very good. Today, Diesel gets his shot at the Intercontinental Championship with about as big of a match as you're going to get on Superstars. 

Mabel vs. Jim Messenger

We get no entrances here, as they continue to focus more on going right to the action. After an awkward looking move from Mable he jumps on Messenger's arm. Mabel hits his spin kick and a DDT to finish things off. This was short, as it should have been. Only about 16 months until Mabel headlines SummerSlam.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Intercontinental Championship Match

Diesel vs. Razor Ramon

Razor goes right after Diesel and we are underway. Shawn is wearing a weird tank top with his logo on it. I'm not sure I've ever seen that. After a series of right hands, it sends Diesel out of the ring. On the way back in, Diesel is able to snap Razor's neck on the top rope. Diesel hits a side suplex and Snake Eyes. I still can't get over how good Razor was during this era and I'm enjoying all of it. I also don't quite understand how Diesel went from here to challenging Bret Hart at King Of The Ring. Razor makes a comeback and hits his leaping second rope bulldog. Shawn eats a right hand from Razor that sends him flying, but allows Diesel to regain control. Razor throws Diesel into Shawn, sending him soaring once again. Diesel hits the Jackknife and we have a new Intercontinental Champion. This was a fantastic sprint of a match between two guys with Shawn bumping all over the place. After the match, Shawn and Diesel celebrate to the back, as Razor sells the effects of the Jackknife. This was really a flawless 5 minute match. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Sparky Plugg vs. Tony DeVito

I can't think of a better way to follow up with that perfection than with a race car driving wrestler. Sparky hits a second rope clothesline and a snap suplex. He hits the top rope knee drop and puts DeVito out of his misery. Another quick squash. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's finally time for the first King Of The Ring Report with Todd Pettengill. He announces that Scott Steiner vs. IRS will be the first qualifying match. 

It's time for another Duke Droese vignette. 

Heavenly Bodies vs. PJ Walker & Mike Khoury

The Heavenly Bodies have the angel wings on their jackets this week. Jimmy Del Ray was a genius. Walker gets a hot tag and misses with a top rope reverse crossbody. They hit their awesome finisher and that is all. Why did we not get more of these guys? I say that after every match they have. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Dink is here for an interview with Jerry Lawler. Doink comes out, even though we were told he is on vacation. I can't wait to see how they stretch this feud all the way to Survivor Series in 7 months. Doink has some pies an squashes them in Dink's face. Doink reveals himself as Jeff Jarrett as poor Dink walks away in shame. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jason Headings

Some older guy who actually bought a Doink shirt is the guest ring announcer. Headings tries to get something going, but Bam Bam catches him for a slam and then tosses him out of the ring. Luna gets in a few cheap shots and then Bam Bam brings him in the hard way. Headings goes for a sunset flip, but Bam Bam squashes him and gets the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show us highlights of the Intercontinental match earlier and then they show them getting into a limo. They stand up through the sunroof as it drives up the ramp out of the arena. 

We get another Undertaker sighting. This time it's a traffic cop. God, these are stupid. Next week we get Owen Hart, 1-2-3 Kid, Jeff Jarrett, Lex Luger, Scott Steiner vs. IRS and Ted DiBiase on the Heartbreak Hotel. 

Any episode of Superstars that has a big moment like this is an automatic thumbs up. The squashes were all short and the Diesel/Razor match was really good. That's about as good as TV gets in 1994.

Overall Rating: 61%

SmackDown 5-5-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, May 5th, 2006
US Bank Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio

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After a lengthy recap, they announce that JBL will face Rey Mysterio at Judgment Day and out comes Rey Mysterio to the ring. He naturally is interrupted by JBL, who is wearing an American flag jacket. JBL goes on a rant against Mexicans and this all feels a little dated and probably offensive. JBL announces that Mysterio's opponent will be Mark Henry and he comes out for a staredown into the commercial break. 

Booker T vs. Gunner Scott

This one starts off slowly and is already losing my interest. Gunner gets in a few spots before Booker gets in the way of the referee and allows Sharmell to grab Gunner's leg. From there, Booker attacks him, hits the Scissor Kick and gets the victory. This felt like a house show match. After the match, Booker grabs a mic and stands on the announce table. He continues the tease towards him winning the King of the Ring and ends with the famous "All hail, King Booker". 

Match Rating: 1/2*

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

London & Kendrick vs. MNM

Melina comes out by herself, which allows MNM the chance to attack London and Kendrick before the match. They hit the Snapshot twice. Instead of heading to the back, they hit a third Snapshot. So we're not getting a match here tonight. 

Teddy Long approaches Daivari and in comes Great Khali from behind. Long tells him that Undertaker has challenged Khali for a match at Judgment Day. Khali yells a lot in response. 

King Of The Ring 1st Round Match

Finlay vs. Chris Benoit

We get a lot of mat wrestling to start off, so it's pretty apparent this one is going to get some time. Benoit is bleeding from the top of his head pretty early on here. The winner of this match takes on Lashley, if you're wondering who is going to win this match. Benoit pulls out a German suplex out of nowhere and starts hitting some chops. Finlay's not happy about it, so he starts throwing chairs into the ring and we take a commercial break. Nothing comes of it once we come back and Benoit is hitting a snap suplex. Finlay turns things around when he throws Benoit into the turnbuckle sternum-first. Benoit tries to comeback after a long rest hold, but misses with the headbutt off the top rope. Finlay grabs the shillelagh, but Benoit sends him over the top rope. Benoit picks up the shillelagh and Finlay picks up a chair and jabs it in Benoit's face. He hits the Celtic Cross and picks up the victory. This was pretty disappointing overall. They got a lot of time and didn't do much with it. The finish did fit what they have been doing with Finlay and this is a good victory for him as a character. 

Match Rating: **

Gymini vs. Scotty 2 Hotty & Funaki

I guess Gymini is still a thing. Even though this is all I have typed, I can't believe this match is still happening. Gymini dominates and hits the Crash Diet for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lashley is backstage and walks into Booker and Sharmell's locker room. They talk some trash and I have to say, I'm kind of confused why they telegraphed this tournament so much.

#1 Contender Triple Threat Match For The Cruiserweight Championship

Super Crazy vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash

The winner's match will take place at Judgment Day. Super Crazy is the only one who gets an entrance here. They attack him to start off and we are underway. Crazy hits a double back body drop out to the floor and then hits a springboard moonsault to both men. Great Khali's music hits and he heads out to the ring. He attacks them all and then heads to the back. So aren't triple threat matches always no disqualification? I'm not sure why this match would be over with. There wasn't much time for the match here.

Match Rating: 3/4*

I certainly didn't remember CM Punk's first WWE music being the theme song for Judgment Day. They run through the card which features Undertaker/Great Khali, Melina/Jillian Hall and JBL/Rey Mysterio. Out comes JBL to join the announce table. 

Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey tries to start off hot, but Henry is too much for him to start off. Mysterio does make a comeback quicker than you would think and plants Henry with a DDT. He hits a dropkick from behind and hits the 619. Henry catches Mysterio and hits the World's Strongest Slam and picks up the pinfall victory? I'm not sure I understand the booking here. Henry tosses Mysterio out of the ring and then drags him by his leg to the set. He tosses him into the set and starts climbing. JBL comes out to stop him and promises Henry that he'll give him the first title defense when he wins at Judgment Day. JBL gets in Rey's face and tells him that next week, he'll have to face Great Khali. JBL picks him up and slaps him in the face. Shouldn't Mark Henry get involved in the match now too? Anyways, they packed in about the same amount of action as Benoit and Finlay did in a match that was 3 times as long at least. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was a pretty ho hum showing for the blue brand this time. It certainly wasn't bad, but for the most part, it wasn't exciting either. They haven't really done much to make you want to see Judgment Day yet either. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Monday Night Raw 5-1-06 Review

Monday, May 1st, 2006
Nationwide Arena
Columbus, Ohio

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Vince kicks off the show backstage and has the Spirit Squad running Raw. Kenny tonight will be getting a title shot against John Cena. 

Cheerleader Tag Team Match

Torrie Wilson & Maria vs. Victoria & Mickie James

The underdogs start off in control, which leads to Torrie hitting the "stinkface" and Maria hitting a Bronco Buster. Torrie then hits a X-Factor. Mickie goes for a suplex on Maria to get her back in the ring and out comes Trish in a sling. She trips up Mickie and Maria steals the victory. That wasn't executed very well, but she does have a bum shoulder. This was as bad as you would think. It's not 1999 any more. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Spirit Squad vs. Eugene, Goldust & Snitsky

Man, this show is going to be one of those shows, isn't it? They show Vince watching the show and then Candice Michelle brings him a drink and sits in his lap. We are like 20 minutes into the show and the crowd is already dead. Eugene gets singled out and the Spirit Squad uses illegal triple teams behind the referee's back. Eugene hits the Rock Bottom and makes a hot tag to Snitsky. It doesn't last long, as Mikey lowers the top rope and Snitsky falls to the floor. Snitsky tags Eugene back in and he eats a nice spin kick from Johnny for the pinfall victory. Minus the finisher, this wasn't good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Apparently during the commercial break, Maria was doing the Kiss Cam and Mickie James came out and attacked her. 

Eugene is backstage and is making fun of Uncle Eric when he is attacked by Matt Striker.

They do a This Week In Wrestling History and it's Vince narrating his victory over Shawn Michaels. This I actually enjoyed. They show Shawn watching it backstage with his longtime buddies Big Show and Charlie Haas. In walk the Spirit Squad to talk trash and tell him that Shawn will be a referee in the match of Kane vs. Rob Conway. They also give him a special referee shirt and it says May 19th all over it. 

Rob Conway vs. Kane

I give them credit for committing to booking a show as terrible as the wrestlers they are claiming did. Shawn checks out Conway's boots and Michaels hits him with a low blow. He takes off the shirt and puts on it on Conway. Kane of course is dominating Conway and Shawn is helping him out. Michaels hands him a trash can and smashes Conway over the head in it. Kane starts to walk away and Michaels gets on the mic and starts yelling "May 19". He comes back and hits the Tombstone for the victory. More garbage here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Umaga vs. Rory Fox

Umaga sets him on the second rope and throws Fox over his head. He rams into him in the corner and then hits a top rope splash. He hits the Samoan Spike for the victory. This was the first thing on the show to really have some life to it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince is back with Candice and he starts kissing her neck. In walks Triple H and Vince says Triple H should be the special referee for the Kenny/Cena match. Triple H says he'd rather just take Kenny's spot. Vince tells him that it'll be a long time before he gets a title opportunity if he doesn't take the referee spot tonight. 

Edge and Lita are out and Edge is ranting about stealing the show last night and then makes fun of Joey Styles calling his match at WrestleMania. He brings out Mick Foley and he cuts a heelish promo and says that he and Edge had maybe the greatest hardcore match in wrestling history. Foley says he wants a rematch here tonight. Edge complains about Foley waiting for him to survive a triple threat match and is battling strep throat. Edge tells Foley, he's on...crack. Edge then says next week he'll take on Foley in any match that he wants. 

Masters is out first and gets on the mic. He says that he dominated Carlito and tells him next time they face off, he won't be spitting apples. He'll be spitting teeth. He then calls out Rob Van Dam for a Master Lock Challenge. He puts the hold on and then Shelton Benjamin comes out to help attack RVD. Out comes Carlito, who hits Masters in the back with a chair. Nicky comes out and announces that they will have a match tonight. 

Chris Masters & Shelton Benjamin vs. Rob Van Dam & Carlito

The match started during the break and then is interrupted by Vince and Candice again. Just in case you thought they didn't care about this match, Joey Styles gets a note and the Spirit Squad want to see him backstage. Anyway, Benjamin works on RVD until he's able to hit the hot tag to Carlito. He hits a springboard back elbow and then a dropkick on Masters. Shelton hits Carlito with a kick, but then RVD comes flying in off the top rope with a kick. Carlito hits the Backstabber on Masters, but the referee gets distracted. Shelton is about to hit him with a chair, but then out comes Charlie Haas and steals the chair. This allows Carlito to score the pinfall victory. This was very rushed and okayish.

Match Rating: *3/4

The Spirit Squad is with Styles and they tell him that he has a lack of spirit. They threaten to make him dress up like a cheerleader if he doesn't call Kenny the new champion here tonight. 

On his way back to the announce table, Lawler starts making fun of Styles. Styles slaps him and Lawler shoves him to the ground. Styles storms to the back furiously. After another commercial, Lawler calls Styles out. Styles cuts his big shoot promo here. Him complaining about not being good enough to call Backlash is funny. It all leads to Styles quitting and Lawler calling him an idiot. 

WWE Championship Match

Kenny vs. John Cena

After a little bit of offense from Cena, Kenny uses the numbers to his advantage. Triple H nonchalantly is counting Kenny's pinfall attempts and Kenny has had enough. He shoves Triple H and Triple H hits him with a right hand. He's about to fight back, but instead walks away and lets the Spirit Squad attack Cena. Out comes Shawn Michaels in his ref outfit and he and Michaels stop up at the ramp. Michaels comes down and makes the count, but stops before 3. Kenny isn't happy, so Shawn hits him with Sweet Chin Music. He and Cena clean house and Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Johnny. Cena hits the FU on Kenny and gets the win. This was just more teasing of DX and an over the top match. 

Match Rating: *1/2

With the exception of the Joey Styles promo and the Edge/Foley interaction, this show was very poor. Particularly the first half hour or so was extremely weak. This was not the way I would have wanted to follow up from last night's pay-per-view.

Overall Rating: 47%