Monday Night Raw 8-7-06 Review

Monday, August 7th, 2006
FedEx Forum
Memphis, Tennessee

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WWE Women's Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James

The ladies lock up and Edge's music hits. He and Lita come down and say to stop the match and the show. Edge says that he is sick of taking the back seat and tells Mickie to leave because he is taking over Raw. He starts complaining about the SummerSlam poster and how he isn't on it even though he's the WWE Champion. He then points out that he's not on the cover of the WWE Magazine, Trish is. He did keep her in the ring to point this out. Lita then gets in Trish's face, so she goes after her. Lita hits a Spear on Trish and then holds her up for Edge. Out comes Carlito to make the save, but he eats a Spear from Edge. At the very least, it was refreshing to start the show off with something other than DX/McMahons.

Johnny Nitro and Melina are out to watch the next match. 

#1 Contender Match For The Intercontinental Championship 
Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane

Ah yes, Intercontinental challenger, Kane. Shelton tries to get off to a quick start, but god forbid he do that against Kane. Kane goes for a chokeslam, but Shelton counters it into a DDT. Shelton goes off the top rope, but Kane catches him by the throat and hits the chokeslam for the victory. Just what the world wanted. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

John Cena is out next to tell Edge that his face scares children and that's why he wasn't on the SummerSlam poster. He tells Edge that if he wants respect, he should come out here and earn it. Instead, Jonathan Coachman comes out. He says Edge isn't coming out because he and Lita are facing Trish and Carlito. Instead, he's found Cena an opponent for tonight.

John Cena vs. Viscera

We go to commercial break and when we come back the match is already in progress. Viscera misses with a splash, but comes back with his rolling kick. They show that during the commercial break Viscera hit Cena with a Samoan Drop. Viscera hits a splash in the corner and Cena is on the outside. This is already longer than I was anticipating. Cena starts to make his comeback, but when he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, Vis hits the spinning slam. Viscera misses another splash and Cena bounces up and hits the FU for the victory. Cena got nearly no offense in this one and it was about 7 minutes long. I'm not sure why you would have him put Viscera over like that, but it did make him look a lot better than he normally does.

Match Rating: **

They show the Showdown At Shea highlights, which I feel like they don't talk about much these days.

Vince and Shane McMahon are shown with police. 

Carlito and Trish are backstage and Trish is flustered. She ends up kissing Carlito, leaving him feeling pretty good about himself. 

Back to Shane out of the locker room and looking for Shawn Michaels. Just as he's about to walk back in, he's attacked by Shawn. The police try to restrain him as they brawl.

Triple H after the break tries to get in, but isn't allowed in.

Edge & Lita vs. Carlito & Trish Stratus

I know all four were out earlier, but they get very quick entrances. The men start off, but the action gets going once Trish is tagged in and goes right after Lita. Trish runs into a reverse elbow, but Edge holds onto Lita when Trish goes for the handstand hurricanrana. Lita slaps on the sleeper hold and when Trish tries to break the hold, she slams her down by her hair. All four come in and Carlito and Trish hit double dropkicks into the commercial break. During the break, Carlito went for a springboard move, but Lita grabbed his ankle and tripped him up. Trish gets a hot tag, but gets hit with a kick to the face. Lita hits the handstand hurricanrana, but Carlito moves out of the way of a Spear and it accidentally hits Trish. Edge and Carlito go outside and Lita rolls on Trish for the victory. This was something a little different, which always makes for better TV rather than the same thing over and over when it comes to the midcard. After the match, Carlito checks on the injured Trish.

Match Rating: **1/2

JR addresses Hulk Hogan's knee injury. Todd Grisham tells us that Hogan has a torn meniscus in his knee and in comes Randy Orton. Orton says that he's trying to get out of the match because he'll get destroyed. 

Ric Flair is down to the ring with Mick Foley's book. He takes the book, throws it on the ground, stomps on it and hits some elbow drops. Flair then reads from his book and reads the part that says Foley's favorite match ever was Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk. Foley comes out and says that used to idolize Flair, but he's still not wasting a match on Flair unless he can come up with more than just a match. Flair gets Foley all fired up, so Foley says he'll do an I Quit match at SummerSlam. This was the usual good to borderline great stuff from these two.

Randy Orton vs. Jerry Lawler

Orton hits a back body drop after a slap to the face from Lawler. He goes for another one, but Lawler gets in a slap of his own. Orton give him a rake to the eye and a dropkick. Lawler is 56 here. Lawler tries to fight back with some jabs and a body slam. He goes for the second rope fist, but Orton is able to roll out of the way. He goes for the RKO, but Lawler pushes him away and right into the referee. This allows Orton to hit a low blow and then the RKO for the victory. Not that Lawler should have gotten 10 minutes, but I'm surprised he only got 2. This just felt really rushed given the fact that it was his hometown.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Umaga vs. Triple H

They start brawling right off the bat and Umaga gets the better of the exchange. Triple H is able to duck a charging Umaga and he falls to the floor. Outside the ring, he throws him into the ring post and has him wobbly. Armando Alejandro Estrada, Vince and Shane are all at ringside for Umaga. Umaga hits a spin kick on Triple H and follows it up with a headbutt. Umaga hangs Triple H in the tree of woe and then hits a running headbutt. Triple H tries to hit the Pedigree, but Umaga counters out of it. He is able to hit the spinebuster, but Vince grabs the referee out of the ring. In comes Shane, but he gets hit with a spinebuster. Vince comes in, but Umaga saves him from a Pedigree by hitting the Samoan Spike. The referee is back in the ring and picks up the pinfall. I don't think Umaga at this point needed all of that to get the win. After the match, Vince hits the Pedigree on Triple H and mocks him. The match felt rushed and went overboard on the interference.

Match Rating: **

After weeks and weeks of some really bad episodes of Raw, this one felt a little bit different. It didn't focus as much on the DX/McMahon feud and that worked out in its favor. It went by a lot quicker and we saw some fresh matchups. I would say overall, this one was a success.

Overall Rating: 60%

NXT 8-21-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, August 21st, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tournament Semifinal Match
Enzo & Big Cass vs. Vaudevillains

Enzo and Cass dominate the early going until Gotch catches Enzo off the top rope. He hits a rolling slam and they hit That's A Wrap for the victory. Um, that was quick? After the match is over, the Legionnaires attack Cass and Enzo. Sylvester Lefort shaves off some of Enzo's beard with some razors. I'm not sure why they keep jobbing Enzo and Cass so quickly all the time. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Triple H is here for a big announcement. He lets us know that in 3 weeks, we will get our next TakeOver on September 11th. He announces that all of the titles will be on the line and that there will be a new GM next week. 

After showing highlights of Adrian Neville/Tyler Breeze from last week and then go to an upset Breeze. 

Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze

It seems like this should probably be the main event. Breeze lets out a little bit of his anger, but Kidd is able to hit a kick to the head. Breeze falls to the outside and then grabs his phone and walks away, saying that he doesn't need this. I guess this is why this isn't the main event because Kidd wins by countout. Kidd celebrates in the ring and puts on the vest. This was all for storyline. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

I'm not sure I really like the headbanging Becky. Charlotte starts strong and works on the leg of Becky. Becky goes for a suplex, but Charlotte hits an Exploder. Charlotte is able to hit Natural Selection and that's all. That was a pretty one-sided match for whatever reason. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Enzo and Cass are back out again? Enzo challenges Sylvester Lefort to a hair vs. hair match at TakeOver.

Mojo Rawley vs. Steve Cutler

Mojo drives Cutler in the corner and then a running shoulder tackle. Cutler actually comes back and hits a clothesline. Mojo hits the butt bopper and then Hyper Drive for the victory. After the match, he grabs the mic and tells Bull Dempsey that he's going to find out what staying hype is all about. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tournament Semifinal Match
Kalisto & Sin Cara vs. Sami Zayn & Adam Rose

Kalisto and Zayn have a nice segment together, but then again, who doesn't with Zayn? Cara tags in and Zayn is able to hit a spinning backbreaker. Rose comes in and hits a series of reverse stomps on Kalisto in the corner. Sin Cara comes in and hits a springboard crossbody on Rose. He hits a headscissor on Zayn  and a dive to the outside. Rose clocks Kalisto with a clothesline, but Kalisto bounces up and hits a kick to the head of Rose. He hits Salida del Sol and then Sin Cara hits a senton from the top rope and picks up the pinfall victory. Adam Rose couldn't even escape getting jobbed in NXT, but rightfully so since Zayn has eaten enough pinfalls. This was a good little tag team match. 

Match Rating: **3/4

There was nothing special about this one, but it was solidly entertaining overall. The main event was good and I'm glad that we are building to another TakeOver event.

Overall Rating: 60%

Off The Grid, Volume 22: Saturday Night's Main Event XXI Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 27th, 1989
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Des Moines, Iowa

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Off The Grid, Volume 22:

Hulk Hogan cuts a promo behind the blue cage and in front of a green screen to start things off. As far as Hogan promos go, this is pretty standard fare. 

Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are here (but not really) to kick things off. They show a clip of Rick Rude winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania V. We then go to Rude and Bobby Heenan with Mean Gene Okerlund. After Rude's entrance, newly crowned King Jim Duggan is here and calls Rude pink. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Rick Rude vs. Jim Duggan

I didn't realize Duggan got the entire king treatment with the music and being carried down to the ring. Duggan starts off hot and then hits a series of clotheslines. Rude hits a headbutt to the gut to shift the momentum. Rude goes up top and hits him with a clubbing blow. Duggan hits a piledriver, but Rude gets his foot on the bottom rope. Out comes Haku and he wants his crown back. Officials get involved and we head to commercial break. When we come back, Rude hits a dropkick. It should be noted that the crowd is extremely hot for this match. WWE would kill to have the crowd this invested for an undercard match these days. Duggan makes his comeback and hits a big back body drop. Duggan hits the running clothesline, but Rude falls out of the ring. Duggan is portrayed as such an idiot, that he just lets him get counted out and the crowd goes along with it. I don't get the logic here at all. The match itself was fun though.

Match Rating: **1/2

Mean Gene is now with Jim Neidhart to talk about his match with Randy Savage. Neidhart hates Savage for how he treated Miss Elizabeth. Neidhart's promos worked better with Bret to go back-and-forth with. Jesse Ventura is with Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri. Savage says that he's coming for Hogan after this. This is before Sherri went completely off the rails with Savage. 

Jim Neidhart vs. Randy Savage

Savage is rocking the neon green trunks with shite knee pads. Sherri grabs Neidhart's knee, but it doesn't end up doing much for Savage. Neidhart locks in an early bearhug, but Savage rakes the eyes to break the hold. Savage drives a running knee to the back of Neidhart, sending him sternum first into the turnbuckle. Sherri gets in a little choke behind the referee's back. Savage hits a double ax handle from the top rope, but Neidhart kicks out with authority. Neidhart launches himself from the apron over the top rope for a shoulder breaker and a dropkick to the shoulders to knock Savage out of the ring. Neidhart turns his attention to Sherri, but the distraction doesn't work, as he catches Savage sneaking up from behind. Neidhart misses Savage and falls to the outside, allowing Savage to hit the double ax handle to the floor. He puts Neidhart back in the ring and hits the top rope elbow drop for the victory. This was better than it had any business being, mostly because Savage was just insane here. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Jesse Ventura is with Slick and Big Boss Man. This is pretty much Slick's biggest achievement as a manager with Boss Man getting the title shot tonight. Slick is an easy favorite of mine on the mic. 

Steel Cage Match For The WWF Championship
Big Boss Man vs. Hulk Hogan

Slick mentioned that he had a surprise and it's none other than Zeus. Zeus is standing in front of the cage door and they do a good job of making Zeus look huge. Zeus attacks him with less than convincing offense and we head into a commercial break. When we come back, Hogan is still down and Boss Man brings him into the ring. It doesn't take long for Hogan to gain control and it also doesn't take long for Ventura to get in a good dig on how good this match is for Hogan is because he can cheat like crazy. Hogan tries to climb out, but Boss Man knocks him off and hits a splash. He heads for the door, but Hogan grabs him by the ankle. Boss Man is able to climb the cage and makes it over the top. Hogan grabs him through the cage and hits a huge superplex that is still impressive 33 years later. Slick tosses Boss Man a chain and he uses it to choke Hogan. Hogan makes another comeback here and tosses Boss Man repeatedly into the cage. Slick throws the referee into the cage and gets into the ring. He grabs Hogan by the leg as he is climbing. Hogan kicks him away and then crotches Boss Man on the top rope. Hogan handcuffs Boss Man to the ropes and Slick desperately tries to get him uncuffed, but Hogan climbs over the top and picks up the victory. After the match he throws Slick around the cage because Hogan was always a heel. I never have liked Hogan, but as far as Hogan matches go, this was a good one. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Jesse Ventura is with Bobby Heenan and the Brainbusters, who are confident they will walk away champions. Demolition is with Mean Gene and they are going to demolish their opponents. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Brainbusters vs. Demolition

The champions are able to get the best of the contenders in the early on. They even are able to fight off an illegal knee to the back and Heenan tries to come up with a plan. Ax gets hit with knees to the face, but catches Blanchard and knocks him to the floor. Smash tosses him right back in the ring and the champs look unstoppable. Blanchard gets thrown over and he hits Heenan and he looks to be almost legit mad about it. The Busters use their intelligence to finally get some offense in on Smash. Anderson hits his always impressive spinebuster and gets a 2 count. Smash comes close to making the tag, but Blanchard sneaks from behind and pulls Ax off the apron. Things break down and we have a brawl. The referee gets shoved to the ground and it results in a disqualification with the Busters winning. We then get a brawl all the way down the aisle. Another dumb ending, but the match was good. I keep finding myself saying Demolition was a lot better than I remember them being. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Ventura is once again with Savage and Sherri and they call out Hogan.

Boris Zhukov vs. Jimmy Snuka

Snuka's music of course interrupts Zhukov's attempt to sing the Russian national anthem. Snuka hits a couple of moves and then hits the Superfly Splash for the quick victory. I guess this was just to re-establish the returning Snuka. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mean Gene is with Hogan and he's in full No Holds Barred mode here to close out the show. 

I am very much a 90s WWF over 80s WWF guy, but this was a great slice of nostalgia here. The matches were all given time to tell their story and honestly if it weren't for the stupid finishes in two of the matches, it'd be an even higher rating. I highly recommend this one. 

Overall Rating: 84%

SummerSlam 1994 Review

Monday, August 29th, 1994
United Center
Chicago, Illinois

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This is one of those rare early 90s pay-per-views that I have only seen one time, so I'm happy to be getting another viewing. The show kicks off with Randy Savage coming down the aisle and he introduces SummerSlam in a strange fashion. They also kind of give away British Bulldog being there, as he is seen giving Savage a high five. We go to Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon and they announce that the Headshrinkers are no longer the Tag Team Champions and that Shawn Michaels and Diesel now have the titles. This of course makes no sense heading into a pay-per-view. 

IRS & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

This match had just about no build and now has no stakes. The Shrinkers start off hot and hit a double superkick on Bam Bam for a 2 count. IRS tries to come in with a hot tag, but suffers the same fate until he's able to duck a crossbody. Samu does the same and IRS ends up outside the ring. Bam Bam and Fatu end up colliding in the middle of the ring and both men are down. They both are able to make tags and Samu hits a back body drop on his opponents. He hits a second rope headbutt on IRS, but he's able to kick out at 2. Fatu hits the top rope splash, but Ted DiBiase is distracting the ref. Lou Albano is on the apron and Bam Bam slugs him. In comes Afa to attack Bam Bam and it results in a DQ. The Million Dollar Corporation is already dead and somehow it lasts forever. All four men start brawling in the aisle and to the backstage. This was decent, but felt like a TV match. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We go to a Leslie Nielsen skit. I'd rather just see more wrestling. 

WWF Women's Championship Match
Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze

Alundra misses with a dropkick and Bull tosses her around the ring with her hair. Alundra is able to sneak in a hurricanrana and a spin kick, but Bull ends up right back in control after the small flurry of offense. Bull puts Blayze in a Boston Crab in the center of the ring. Alundra picks up the pace and gets in some more offense before getting hit with a sit down powerbomb. We get some distractions from Luna Vachon, which leads to Alundra hitting a German suplex for the victory. They get a good reaction too, which is pretty surprising due to how little they are on TV. Anyway, this match was really solid and they did a good job of telling a story that made sense. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Todd Pettengill is with Shawn Michaels and Diesel. Michaels does most of the talking in his mid-90s cheesy talking. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels

Walter Payton is out wearing his ugly Razor shirt and is out to a good pop. Razor starts off hot and this one has the big fight feel that was pretty rare for the undercard during this time period. Diesel regroups outside the ring and hits a short arm clothesline. Razor fights back, but gets hit with a reverse elbow. Diesel slaps on the sleeper hold, but Razor counters out of it with a back suplex that leaves both men down. Razor is up and charges at Diesel, but he sidesteps him and Razor goes flying out of the ring. Shawn is able to remove the top turnbuckle pad behind the referee's back while he is distracted by Payton. The distraction also allows Shawn to hit a running clothesline off the steps. Payton points out the exposed turnbuckle and the referee blocks it. He runs over to Shawn which of course allows Diesel to throw Razor into it. Razor tries to fight back, but runs into a huge boot and we have another nearfall. Diesel goes for Snake Eyes on the exposed turnbuckle, but Razor escapes and pushes Diesel into it. He then slides under Diesel's big boot in the corner and crotches him on the ring post. He hits a bulldog off the top rope and they have the crowd in the palm of their hands here. Razor sets Diesel up on the top rope, but Diesel elbows him off before he can hit the suplex. Diesel sets up for the Jackknife, but Razor hits a back body drop. Razor calls for the Razor's Edge, but Shawn distracts him and Diesel hits a leaping shoulder block, leaving both men down again. Shawn goes and grabs the Intercontinental Championship. Walter Payton is able to grab it, once again distracting the ref. Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Razor ducks and he hits Diesel. Payton chases Shawn around the ring and pulls him from interfering. Razor crawls on Diesel and the ref runs back in the ring and counts to 3. We have a new Intercontinental Champion and the crowd absolutely loves it. Razor was absolutely awesome here in 1994. This was a great match that really gets overlooked. After the match, Diesel is furious with Shawn. 

Match Rating: ****

We go to Todd Pettengill with Lex Luger and Tatanka. Todd tells us that 54% of the people who called in, think that Luger sold out. Tatanka shows us all the proof and Luger continues to deny it. 

Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

They start things off hesitantly and it turns into a back and forth match. Luger misses with an elbow drop and Tatanka hits a body slam. Tatanka hits a couple of chops, but Luger kicks out. Tatanka hits a top rope chop, but again Luger kicks out. Tatanka misses with the top rope crossbody and Luger hits two running clotheslines. Out comes Ted DiBiase with a bag of money. Luger is distracted and Tatanka rolls him up to get the victory. Luger and Tatanka argue after the match and DiBiase comes in with the money. Luger kicks the money away and Tatanka attacks him from behind. He and DiBiase embrace to some boos. They should have just had Luger join DiBiase in retrospect. Luger was always better as a heel and could have faced Undertaker at WrestleMania instead of King Kong Bundy. There really wasn't much to the match. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

Wow, two hot feuds back-to-back. Jarrett ducks a bunch of Mabel's offense, but his gloating gets the best of him and Mabel clotheslines him over the top rope. Oscar gets in Jarrett's face and he gets pushed into the steps. Jarrett trips up Mabel and hits an ugly top rope fist. He hits a couple of second rope ax handles, but Mabel catches him on the third one. Jarrett is able to escape and jumps on his back for a sleeper. Mabel backs him into the corner, but Jarrett jumps back on and this time Mabel is down to a knee. Mabel gets out and hits his spin kick for a 2 count. Out comes Abe Schwartz with a sign saying he is on strike. 1994, everyone. Jarrett goes after Oscar for some reason, but Mabel grabs him and the referee allows Oscar to slap him. Back in the ring, Mabel misses a second rope splash. Jarrett goes for a sunset flip, but moves when Mabel tries to squash him. Jarrett rolls him up for the pin and gets the victory. It's kind of crazy to think that Mabel would headline SummerSlam just a year later. Jarrett worked really hard here to try to pull a halfway decent match out of Mabel.

Match Rating: *1/2

Vince brings out Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy for some reason and then they just walk back. 

Vince and Lawler then interview the Hart family, including the British Bulldog in his glasses. Jim Neidhart is sitting with them for some reason. Bruce then yells at Neidhart for splitting up the family. We go to Todd and Bret Hart, who is recovering from strep throat. Bret says that this will be a dog fight, but he will walk out the champion.

Steel Cage Match For The WWF Championship
Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart

Owen attacks Bret as soon as he walks in and hits him with a series of right hands. Bret is able to hit a clothesline, but Owen rakes the eyes to regain control. Bret hits a DDT and they exchange right hands. Bret tries to climb out, but Owen grabs him and hits an enzuigiri. Owen then makes his first attempt to escape, but Bret hits a back suplex. They both trade attempts to crawl out of the cage door in a fun spot. Owen is able to climb over the top of the cage, but Bret is up there to pull him back in. They start fighting on the top rope and Owen is able to knock him down. Owen hits a missile dropkick and kips up. He runs and jumps up towards the cage and again gets over the top. This time Bret gets the better of Owen and knocks him off the top rope. Bret runs off the ropes and they end up colliding in the center of the ring, leaving both men stunned. Bret again climbs and Owen yanks his leg convincingly and crotches Bret, leaving Neidhart happy. Owen is able to get over the top again, but it ends with Bret slamming him off again. Bret gets a leg over, but Owen grabs him and hits a Samoan Drop. Bret throws Owen into the cage and again gets close, but Owen hits a back suplex. Owen hits a piledriver and again begins to climb. Owen knocks Bret off, but loses his balance and crotches himself on the top rope. Bret begins to crawl towards the door, but Owen grabs his ankle. Bret tries to kick him off and then just starts hammering away before trying to crawl out again. Owen now does the same and Bret slingshots him into the steel cage. British Bulldog looks like he's auditioning for a Right Guard commercial. Anything less, would be uncivilized. Owen tries to push Bret into the cage, but he ducks and Owen's head goes straight into it. Bret starts to climb, but Owen grabs his arm and pulls him back in. Owen throws him off the ropes and hits a spin kick. Owen again comes very close and it leads to a battle on the top rope. Bret kicks Owen away, but then Owen pulls Bret down and hits some uppercuts. Owen climbs up the corner, but Bret meets him up there and hits a superplex from the top. Bret again tries to climb out the door, but Owen grabs him and slaps on the Sharpshooter. Bret is able to get out of it and reverse the hold. Bret releases and tries to climb again and they both end up falling off the top rope. They climb again and this time they both make it over the top. Bret slams Owen's head into the cage and his leg gets trapped, allowing Bret to drop to the floor. After the match, Neidhart clotheslines both British Bulldog and Diana over the railing. Neidhart and Owen drag Bret back into the ring and lock the cage door. Bulldog attempts to try and climb in, but Owen hits him on his way up. Other members of the Hart family also try to climb. Bulldog eventually gets in and Neidhart and Owen escape. Todd Pettengill chases down Owen and Neidhart backstage and Owen acts as if Bulldog interfered and cost him the match. The match was very good even though it only relied on the escape aspect of the match. I would have liked to see the actual cage come into play a little bit more. 

Match Rating: ****1/4

Underfaker vs. Undertaker

Paul Bearer comes down with a casket and the debut of the giant urn. He opens the urn and a light shines out. Out comes the real Undertaker. Seeing them face-to-face, it is more than obvious how little the imposter looks like the actual Undertaker. The imposter tries to do Old School, but Taker throws him off the top rope. The crowd already doesn't care about this, but can you blame them? Taker hits Old School to almost no reaction at all. The imposter tries to do the Stun Gun, but they botch it and Vince claims that the crowd is in awe. The imposter ducks a charging Undertaker and he falls slowly to the floor. Again, Vince mentions the virtual silence from the capacity crowd. I don't know how else to say it, but this match is horrendous. The imposter hits a chokeslam, but doesn't go for a pin. He puts him up for the Tombstone and hits it. DiBiase tells him to pin him, but he takes too long and Taker sits up. He goes for another one, but Taker reverses it and hits one of his own. Taker pulls him back up and hits him with another one, but that's not enough. He picks him up again and hits a third Tombstone to finally put us all out of our misery. DiBiase bolts to the back and the druids are out to put the imposter in the casket and wheel him away. This was embarrassing. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Randy Savage tries to tell us how amazing all of this was. Leslie Nielsen is in the back and opens it to find nothing inside. They find a briefcase and it leads to them telling us the case is closed. Sigh. 

This is a tough one to rate. Up until the stinker of a main event, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Even the matches that weren't as good were kept short and the crowd was into them. The main event might as well have been an empty arena match. It wasn't overly long at least, but it really left you with a bad taste in your mouth. I try not to let one bad match completely affect my score, but it certainly lowers it a few points. 

Overall Rating: 77%

Superstars 8-27-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, August 27th, 1994
Wheeling Civic Center
Wheeling, West Virginia

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Bret Hart is here for an interview with Vince McMahon to kick things off. He tells Owen that this isn't just a couple of kids rolling around in the Dungeon for fun any more. He then calls Jim Neidhart a big fat tub, which naturally gets a smirk out of Vince. After the show intro, they show Bret walking back and Owen and Neidhart walking to the ring, which leads to a confrontation into the commercial break. 

Jim Neidhart vs. Frank Stalletto

We join the match in progress and Vince blames Jerry Lawler for sending out Owen and Neidhart early. He beats up Frank and slaps on the Camel Clutch for the victory. After the match, he puts the hold back on so that Owen can slap on Bret's glasses. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lawler goes to interview them on their way to the back. Owen says that Bret's reign as WWF Champion is over. He also claims that Bret robbed him of his youth. 

Live Event News focuses on the epic Undertaker feud.

Mabel vs. Barry Horowitz

Neither man gets an entrance here. In just one year from now, Mabel will be headlining SummerSlam and Horowitz will have a match on the main card. This is a super quick squash that ends with a second rope leg drop from Mabel. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for more Leslie Nielsen. We then head to Todd Pettengill for the SummerSlam Report. Tatanka says he is going to prove that Lex Luger sold out. Luger says Tatanka is jumping to conclusions. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Duke Droese

I don't think I've ever seen Jarrett wear this color attire before. It's a total prom dress color. Droese starts off hot. Droese charges at Jarrett, but Jarrett ducks and rolls him up. He puts his feet on the ropes and gets the victory. Out comes the voice of reason, Oscar and says that Jarrett's feet were on the ropes. A second official comes out and that the match will continue. Jarrett decides to head to the back, but Mabel is there. He turns around and Droese is there. He finds a route to the side and runs up the arena steps. Droese gets back in the ring and wins by countout. What a feature match.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for more of the SummerSlam hard sell with a Bret/Owen video package and then a Walter Payton promo letting us know Razor Ramon is coming up next. 

Razor Ramon vs. Mike Collins

Razor slaps Collins a little bit, throws on a couple of short-lived submission holds and hits the Razor's Edge for the victory. I'm not sure if we've gotten more than 5 minutes of actual ring action this week. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Heartbreak Hotel and the guests are Ted DiBiase and Underfaker. Make it stop. During the interview, the lights start flickering and we also get fake noises. Paul Bearer is on the video board and then get to hear Undertaker's voice where he probably talks about resting in peace. I don't know, I lost interest. 

Vince and Lawler try to make sense of it all and that's all. 

There really wasn't much to this episode. It was a the final show before SummerSlam and they let you know it. There was no real last minute movement in the feuds outside of the real Undertaker talking. This was 100% skippable, even if it was a quick paced show. 

Overall Rating: 37%

SmackDown 8-4-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, August 4th, 2006
Izod Center
East Rutherford, New Jersey

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United States Championship Match
Finlay vs. William Regal

The two best friends beat each other up again for a little bit until Hornswoggle comes out and gets in a cheap shot behind the referee's back. Regal gets a chance to get some offense in and then goes and grabs the shillelagh. Finlay is able to take it away and hits him to cause the DQ. In runs Lashley and Finlay gets a shot in on him. He tells Regal to work together with him, but just screws him over and hits him before leaving him with Lashley. Finlay walks away to the back. This all just kind of feels like they are just wasting time until Lashley can compete again. 

Match Rating: *

Sylvester Terkay Elijah Burke vs. Scott Wright

Elijah Burke introduces Terkay and he gets no reaction. Terkay looks at Wright and decides he's not going to fight him, so Burke does instead. Burke hits a nice clothesline while sweeping his leg behind Wright's leg to trip him. He slaps on a submission hold and that's all. Terkay comes in and beats up Wright before putting him in his submission hold. I kind of forgot how big of a guy Terkay was. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jen cuts a 30 second promo until someone shoves a pie in her face. 

Milena cuts a promo and again gets the pie treatment. 

Ashley vs. Kristal

It's the feud that is keeping SmackDown going. Ashley's ring gear seems less than ideal. They brawl a little bit until Kristal rolls her up and pulls her tights to win. Why?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Layla gets her chance to get pie in the face. 

Tatanka vs. Sylvan

For some reason they show Tatanka's background again. They are just firing on all cylinders tonight. I'm not really sure why they thought Tatanka would work after months of trying here. Tatanka hits a top rope chop, but Sylvan is able to kick out. Tatanka hits a spinning slam and wins? They gave up on Sylvan really quickly. The match was okay for what it was, but no one cared about either guy. 

Match Rating: *

Mr. Kennedy vs. Batista

They end up going outside the ring and it ends with Batista pulling Kennedy's shoulder into the ring post. Kennedy is able to hit a dropkick to the knee of Batista and works on his knee. Kennedy counters a suplex attempt into a pin after Batista's knee buckles. Batista is able to hit a clothesline and a spinebuster. He goes for the Batista Bomb and nails it. to finally get a victory over Kennedy. This was probably the worst match between the two, as they just seemed to be off here. There just never really was a flow. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Michael Cole interviews Batista and he says he won't take any congratulations until he wins back the World Heavyweight Championship. 

Erica gets her chance to get pie in the face.

Vito vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Hey, look. It's Vito boxing in a dress. Brawler even gets an entrance here with some extremely generic music. If you like clotheslines, this one is a classic. Vito puts on his submission hold and that's it. This is the same match he has been having for weeks. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

JT just stands there for some reason and then gets pie in the face. Miz says that anything can happen in the WWE. 

MVP makes his television debut by trying to convince Teddy Long to sign him to SmackDown. 

Scotty 2 Hotty & Funaki vs. KC James & Idol Stevens

Michelle McCool introduces them as two of her teacher's pets. It's always good to see Damien Sandow on my television screen. They show Paul London and Brian Kendrick watching on an angle in the locker room. Obviously this is the new flavor of the month in the heel tag team division. KC looks like someone who would have been in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Funaki finally gets tagged in and the new team hits a cool slingshot into a missile dropkick for the victory. I don't remember that finisher, but I like it.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Booker T and Sharmell are backstage and she hypes up Booker before his match with Undertaker tonight. 

Chavo Guerrero is here to explain himself. He accuses Rey Mysterio of being a leach off of the Guerrero name, so of course Rey comes out and they start brawling. Vickie Guerrero comes out to intervene. We zoom out and that's it. 

World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker vs. Undertaker

It's the battle of two of the longest entrances in pro wrestling history. Undertaker knocks Booker over the top rope with a right hand into the commercial break. With Undertaker wrestling tonight, it means we get to hear about how he's the best pure striker in history. I bet he isn't. Taker goes for Old School, but Booker is able to throw him off the top. Well with it being Taker, he goes for it again a few moments later and hits it. More typical Taker, as Booker gets hardly any offense before Taker makes his comeback. Taker hits a chokeslam and out comes Great Khali and he hits the chop on him for the DQ finish. Taker gets on the mic after he recovers and tells Khali it's going to be a Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam. The match was mostly nothing.

Match Rating: *

This show continues the streak of meaningless episodes created by taping Raw and SmackDown on the same night. SmackDown has taken a little step down as of recently, which is a shame. The WWE had 3 shows at this time all running at a sub-par level heading into their second biggest show of the year. Hopefully they can flip that switch to make things more interesting soon. 

Overall Rating: 48%

ECW 8-1-06 Review

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Hammerstein Ballroom
New York City, New York

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So this one was supposed to be a pretty big deal. I remember making sure not to miss this one. Let's see how it holds up. 

Extreme Rules Match
Sandman & Tommy Dreamer vs. Test & Mike Knox

So this obviously turns into a brawl in about 10 seconds. Dreamer and Sandman go under the ring and pull out some barbed wire board and bring it in the ring. Test saves Knox from being suplexed in it with a shot to the head with the kendo stick. Kelly Kelly tries to step in front of Sandman, but he picks her up ou tof the way and continues the attack. Dreamer then puts Kelly on his knee and spanks her with his bloody hand in an embarrassing moment. In comes Paul Heyman's personal protection beats up Dreamer and throws him into the barbed wire. Heyman walks away and in comes Test to throw Dreamer onto the barbed wire again. Test hits the TKO and that's all. What could have been a fun match, it turned into everything I have grown to hate about the original ECW. 

Match Rating: *

Heyman is shown backstage with the locker room giving him the cold shoulder. Sabu tells Heyman he wants Big Show, but Heyman says he won't let him and threatens to throw him out of the building. 

CM Punk says that he's going to make the most of his opportunity. 

Justin Credible vs. CM Punk

This was what had me excited about this show, even though I had never seen anything he had done at the time this aired. Punk quickly connected with me and has been one of my favorites ever since. Some nerd who writes wrestling reviews that no one reads on the internet likes Punk. What a shock. The one thing I do remember about this match was how much offense Credible got here. Credible hits two snap suplexes and then an overhead belly-to-belly into a bridge and gets a 2 count. Punk makes a comeback and hits a springboard clothesline. He then hits the running knee in the corner into a bulldog. Punk puts on the Anaconda Vise and that's all. I'm not sure I would have had Credible look that much of a serious threat, but Punk looked good here. 

Match Rating: **

Brooklyn Brawler is in the ring and says he is too extreme for Raw and SmackDown and is going to become ECW Champion. 

Brooklyn Brawler vs. Kurt Angle

We get mostly stalling and then Angle hits a headbutt and slaps on the Ankle Lock for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

ECW Championship Match
Batista vs. Big Show

Leave it to Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman to book this match in ECW country. The crowd is naturally crapping all over it. Big Show gets on the mic and says to screw RVD and Sabu. He then stands outside the ring and stalls just to get more heat. Batista ends up outside the ring and eats a kick to the face. Listening to both Tazz and Joey Styles both defend the match is just bizarre. Anyway, they try to have a match and it isn't very great. Show grabs the title belt, but Batista hits him with a spinebuster. He goes for the Batista Bomb, but Show picks him up and slams him off his shoulder. Show grabs the belt and hits Batista with it for the DQ. Why even book this match? Sabu of course comes out and chucks a chair at him. He then hits an Arabian Facebuster to Big Show's back. He follows that up with a dropkick with the chair, knocking Show off the apron and through a table. Well those 30 seconds were better than the entire match. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

The Punk debut was good and the Sabur interference was effective. The rest wasn't very good. I can't believe they would try to pull this off in NYC. They had a chance to redeem themselves a little bit and they just weren't able to do it.

Overall Rating: 43%