NXT 5-27-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, May 27th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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We get a TakeOver recap and then Sami Zayn's music hits, but out comes Kevin Owens. They show Owens hitting the Pop Up Powerbomb on John Cena on Raw before stepping on the United States Championship. They let us know that he will be facing Cena at Elimination Chamber. This was really kind of weird to me at the time. He bounces back and forth between Cena and Zayn until William Regal comes out and is tired of Owens sending people out on a stretcher. This leads to my favorite Solomon Crowe coming out. Crowe calls him a piece of crap. Owens says that he just earned himself an opportunity and Regal says it will be the main event tonight. 

They show the Hideo Itami video again in the parking lot. They go to Hideo to say he'll be back for revenge.

Zack Ryder is with Renee Young from TakeOver. He said he had to check it out and Mojo Rawley tells him that's how hype NXT always is. This will lead to their amazing tag team.

Bayley vs. Emma

Dana Brooke is in Emma's corner. Emma shoves Bayley to the mat to start. Bayley charges, but Emma shoves her into the turnbuckle and starts to stomp away. Bayley eventually fires back up and hits a suplex. Then Emma fires back and slaps Bayley into the Emma Lock and gets the win? Really? After the match, Dana and Emma team up on Bayley, so out comes Charlotte to save the day. They double team Charlotte too and Dana hits her finish on her. This is kind of surprising, but I guess they need someone else to look strong outside of the four usuals. Although, I would argue that Bayley sure loses a lot. This was too quick for what it should have been.

Match Rating: *

They show Baron Corbin beating Rhyno at TakeOver. They show Baron with Renee after TakeOver and Rhyno interrupts him. He gives a creepy interview saying that he hopes they do that again sometime.

They show a Becky Lynch video package.

Mike Rallis & Elias Sampson vs. Blake & Murphy

Alexa Bliss is with the champions. Mike Rallis is Riddick Moss and Elias is none other than Elias. This is a squash obviously and just to remind us that Bliss is their manager. After the match, Bliss hits Twisted Bliss for good measure.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They interview the champs after the commercial break. Alexa insults Carmella and says that she's going to send Carmella back to the garbage dump she came from.

Tye Dillinger vs. Finn Balor

As of TakeOver, Balor is now the #1 contender for Kevin Owens NXT Championship. Dillinger gets in some offense and Corey Graves calls him out for mocking Balor. Balor comes back and hits the running dropkick. Balor hits Sling Blade and then the standing running dropkick. That sets up Coup de Grace and that's all. I feel like we have to be close to Dillinger moving up the card, but I guess I'll find out.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They interview Jason Jordan and he says that he found the perfect partner, which introduces us to Chad Gable. Jordan says that he's already got a partner. I bet they start teaming together. 

Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe

Owens takes it to Crowe to start the match. Crowe battles back and tries to climb the ropes. Owens knocks him to the floor and we get a commercial break. We come back to Owens still in control of the match. Owens then continues to dump Crowe out of the ring. Crowe is able to get in a running knee, but then Owens hits a senton. Owens his the Pop Up Powebomb and that's all. No problem there from me. Owens dominates Crowe in an easy win. After the match, Owens throws Crowe out of the ring again and he sets him up for a powerbomb. Out comes Samoa Joe and Owens retreats with his title belt. They kind of have Owens involved in just too many things at the same time. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

This was a pretty lackluster episode overall, as it just felt like a recap of TakeOver. It feels like they are finally going to be moving on better days after a little bit of a slump, but we shall see.

Overall Rating: 40%

Monday Night Raw 6-5-95 Review

Monday, June 5th, 1995
Struthers, Ohio
Struthers Auditorium

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They show the WWF blimp flying high above the "arena" and then they pan down to Bob Backlund campaigning. Yes, in 1995 they were holding Raw tapings in towns of 10,000 people. 

Savio Vega vs. Kenny Kendall

I like how Vince tells us that we didn't know who Savio was when he debuted but that he is the "Caribbean Legend". It takes quite the legend for no one to know who they are. He isn't particularly impressive here and puts on an abdominal stretch type submission for the win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Diesel music video that leads to going to Ted DiBiase, Sid and Tatanka in the high school locker room. 

They show Skip running up and down the stairs in the high school with Sunny hyping him up. 

Don't forget to buy the King Of The Ring shirt! You'll definitely want a shirt to remember that show!

Skip vs. Barry Horowitz

I didn't realize that these two fought in Skip's debut. Vince even is hyping up the fact that Barry has never won on Raw. Barry hits a Lou Thesz press for a 2 count and then gets leveled by Skip with a clothesline. Skip hits a top rope leg drop and gets the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Todd Pettengill with the King Of The Ring Report. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog

We go to an actual arena and we are lucky enough to get Mr. Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross on the announce team. Gorilla isn't as good with JR, but he's definitely better than yelling for no reason Vince. Both of these guys are kind of stuck in the tag team division now, so this is probably pretty refreshing for them. We get some good action to start and it leads to JR apologizing that we have to take a break and Gorilla being dumbfounded because the action is heating up. When we come back, they are telling us that there are only 4 minutes left in the time limit. Bulldog gets out of the sleeper hold and makes his comeback. He hits a fisherman suplex for a 2 count. They try to keep us posted on the time limit, but the wrestlers aren't really wrestling like it. Owen goes for a backslide and the bell rings. He acts as if he won, but the referee puts his arm down and we have a time limit draw. Both are eliminated from the tournament and we have one spot open as a result. They go to Vince and Jerry and they put the pressure on Jack Tunney to make a decision on who will take on Razor Ramon. The match was solid, but they didn't sell the drama of the time limit and it felt like the live crowd was confused by it.

Match Rating: **1/4

We see the same Jerry Lawler foot promo from Superstars.

Bret Hart is in the ring with Vince for an interview. He talks about how sick Lawler is and dedicates the match to his family and fans. Meanwhile, Lawler has his foot out on the announce table. 

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Jerry Flynn

We come back from commercial just as the match begins here. Flynn shows off those kicks that would make him a household name as a jobber on WCW early on. Lafitte just dumps him out of the ring and then hits the somersault dive over the top. He quickly goes back in the ring and hits a side suplex. Vince announces that Lex Luger and Yokozuna will square off for that last King Of The Ring spot. Lafitte goes up top and hits the Cannon Ball for the victory. Lafitte is one of my favorites on the roster right now. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Bob Backlund still outside campaigning in the dark with no one there.

Next week it's the aforementioned qualifying match, Bam Bam Bigelow, Man Mountain Rock and Lawler is going to debut his exclusive training video. They go to Backlund and they let him know that Man Mountain Rock will be there, so Backlund says that he will be there to get rid of his music. 

We get a Todd hype video for the Yokozuna/Luger match. They put that together pretty quickly. 

This was a solid episode for the time. It was nice to see some fresh faces on here and we got a pretty good match in Bulldog/Owen. The bar is pretty low with them being in a high school gym, so that probably isn't saying a whole lot.

Overall Rating: 58%

Superstars 6-3-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, June 3rd, 1995
O'Neill Center
Danbury, Connecticut

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Jerry Lawler will make a "royal decision" here on Superstars about Bret Hart's challenge. It's Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix. They talk about Diesel's injury and we are going to see the Roadie in singles action for the first time.

Allied Powers vs. Gus Kantarakis & Mike Bell

Vince is in full infomercial mode here this morning. Bell gets his 15 seconds of offense in the middle of the match. Luger puts him in the Rebel Rack as punishment and that's all. Why didn't they come up with a finisher? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Jerry Lawler and he is sitting in a throne with his feet exposed. He brags about not washing them for 2 weeks and that he isn't going to until after King Of The Ring. He challenges Bret to a Kiss My Foot match at King Of The Ring. I don't think the knight that was next to him could be any less intimidating. We then get a Bret Hart interview and he calls Lawler sick. He says he'll be there at King Of The Ring to wipe Lawler out once and for all. 

Skip vs. Scott Taylor

Skip and Sunny get no entrance on their debut. The use of some of these new stars during this era is very questionable. They shockingly are not really focusing on Sunny either. Skip hits a nice 2nd rope leg drop and then hits a top rope hurricanrana. He pins him while doing push ups on Taylor's chest and gets the win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report and Vince tries to steal Todd's thunder here by throwing out two of the matches right before Todd starts to talk. There are still two spots left open. Mabel says that Undertaker will rest in peace. Clever. Shawn is his usual cheesy 1995 self here as well.

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Roadie vs. Doink

I'm thinking that this is probably the last match of any consequence that Doink participates in. Doink outsmarts the Roadie early on and he wisely rolls out of the ring to re-group. I get that Roadie is playing a character, but his attire screams jobber. Even when he was with the New Age Outlaws, he looked like one too. Doink goes up top, but Jarrett starts going after Dink and Doink gets distracted. Roadie rolls him up and he's going to the King Of The Ring. This match stunk. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get our first Waylon Mercy vignette. He talks about being peaceful, ya know what I mean? 

Bob Holly vs. Roy Raymond

Roy attacks Holly and takes it to him. He tries to send him into the turnbuckle, but Holly leaps up and hits a reverse elbow. Vince talks about Holly being the one that Roadie will face in the tournament. That's one way to get people to not buy a show. Raymond and Holly collide in the middle of the ring, but Holly is so resilient that he's up and hits a clothesline. A dropkick and a top rope crossbody get the win. They find the two Bob Holly fans in the world and show them celebrating in the crowd. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Dok Hendrix is in the ring to bring out Bertha Faye and Harvey Wippleman for an interview. This is the debut of the legendary entrance music. Harvey tells us that she has whooped every girl in the trailer park and every girl at the honky tonk. This is probably the role that Wippleman was born to play. Bertha says that Alundra Blayze can't compete with her because she has it all. She says that when she wins the WWF Women's Championship, there will be some polka dots on there. 

We get another Diesel video talking about his elbow injury. Roger Clemens makes his Superstars debut here.

Rad Radford vs. Bert Centeno

Radford is another new star that they have done nothing to build up. Radford dumps Centino over the top rope and then hits him with a baseball slide. He hits a suplex into a bridge and gets the easy win.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Bob Backlund and he talks about crime being out of hand. 

Undertaker vs. Tony DeVito

We get another fairly rare Undertaker match here. He made 3 Superstars appearances last year, one of which was against DeVito. This one is about as routine as it gets. He hits a chokeslam, he hits a Tombstone, he goes home. He puts DeVito in the body bag and stomps on him after. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to the Toddster for another King Of The Ring Report. I can't tell you how excited I am to watch that show again. He hypes up the tag team match that no one asked for and then we hear from Ted DiBiase, Tatanka and Sid. 

Vince reminds us that the WrestleMania XI special is on TV sometime. You better check yourself. Owen Hart and British Bulldog will square off on Raw in a King Of The Ring qualifier. On Superstars, we are blessed with the main event of Aldo Montoya vs. Jerry Lawler.

This was a pointless show outside of the Jerry Lawler announcement, which is hardly anything to get too excited about. The rest was just the usual pointless stuff and the feature match stunk.

Overall Rating: 29%

SmackDown 3-9-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, March 9th, 2007
Tucson Arena
Tucson, Arizona

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We get a good Batista/Undertaker recap video to kick off the show. 

King Booker vs. Matt Hardy

They announce that Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair vs. Carlito will fill the last spot for Money In The Bank. Queen Sharmell joins the announce team for the match. As is the formula for TV matches, Hardy hits a dive over the top rope just as we go to commercial break. They battle up on the ropes, with Booker looking for a superplex. Hardy is able to push him off, but then misses with a moonsault. Booker hits a spin kick, but Hardy is able to get the shoulder up. Hardy battles back with a Side Effect and an elbow off the second rope. He goes back up again and hits the leg drop this time for 2. Sharmell leaves the booth to jump up on hte apron. Hardy goes for Twist Of Fate, but Booker shoves him into the ropes. Sharmell is there and hits him with her shoe and that's enough for Booker to win. They gave them a fair amount of time and I guess Booker probably needed a big win to make him seem like a bigger name ahead of Money In The Bank. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Kristal is with Batista to talk about Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak. They show a video package of his 14 wins. 

We then get a recap of Steve Austin being announced as special guest referee. 

Teddy Long is interrupted by MVP proposes that he wrestles Chris Benoit at WrestleMania for the United States Championship since he cost him his Money In The Bank shot. Teddy says he'll consider it.

Kristal interviews Kane about Batista's remarks that he is sick, twisted and demented. He says Batista has no idea how true that is. 

They show us Great Khali on Raw saying that he wants Kane. 

Batista vs. Kane

Oh great, it's Kane. Not a single thing of importance happens before the commercial break. Nothing of importance happens after the commercial break either. I'm not sure why they thought these two deserved this much time. That's not a knock on Batista. It's next to impossible for most people to have a good match with Kane. This match feels as if the ring is made of tar, they are moving that slowly. Kane hits a top rope clothesline and Batista kicks out at 2. Batista comes back with a spinebuster to some boos. He goes for a Batista Bomb, but Kane drives his back into the turnbuckle. Kane hits the chokeslam for 2. Kane isn't happy and climbs up on the second rope for some right hands. Batista counters that into the Batista Bomb and picks up the victory. The last minute or so is all you needed to watch in this one.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get another recap of the Battle Of The Billionaires.

We get more celebrities talking about Vince and Trump shaving their heads.

We have the debut of Miz TV with special guest Ashley. For some reason he's sitting on the ring and asks her to join him. She declines and sits on the chairs in the ring. Ashley talks for a few seconds and then is interrupted by Melina. Miz says that he forgot to tell her she has a second guest scheduled for tonight. Melina says there isn't enough money for her to pose in Playboy because her body is for only man to see, Johnny Nitro. That was obviously a jab. Ashley says that the only way for her to shut up Melina is to challenge her to a match at WrestleMania. They start brawling with Ashley getting the best of her. 

Kristal tries interviewing Kane, but he's attacked by Khali. This undercard at WrestleMania keeps getting worse and worse. Kane is busted open and left for dead. 

They show Mr. Kennedy beating Sabu to qualify for Money In The Bank.

Mr. Kennedy vs. CM Punk

Kennedy forces Punk to chase him outside the ring and Punk pays for it by getting hit with a clothesline. Michael Cole declares that Mr. Kennedy is his pick to win the Money In The Bank. Punk gets the knees up on a splash and follows it up with a series of strikes. He goes for the high knee but is dumped to the floor into the commercial break. When we come back, Punk is kicking out of a pin attempt. Punk battles back and hits the high knee again. This time he's able to hit the bulldog. Punk gets crotched on the second rope and Kennedy hits a draped inverted DDT and that's the finish? That was kind of abrupt and the match was a little disappointing. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Kristal is with Finlay and he says that he's not afraid of Undertaker. He says that you will not see fear in his Irish eyes.

Finlay vs. Undertaker

It looks like they'll get a fair amount of time here. Undertaker quickly hits Old School and then goes for a weird pin attempt. The action spills outside and Finlay tries to take it to him, but then gets hit with a big boot. He throws Finlay into the timekeeper's table. Out comes Hornswoggle and that distraction allows Finlay to hit Taker with a chair to the ribs and into a commercial break. When we come back, Finlay is working on the ribs of Taker. Finlay jumpst off the apron, but Taker catches him and drives him into the ring post. That doesn't last long, as Finlay is able to reverse Taker into the steel steps. Taker blocks a suplex and hits one of his own, leaving both men down. They exchange right hands and once again Finlay goes back to the ribs. He ducks a clothesline, but gets hit with a leaping clothesline the second time around. Taker hits Snake Eyes and the big boot into the leg drop. Out comes Hornswoggle again and he hits Taker in the back with the shillelagh. It has no effect and Taker hits him with a boot. Finlay attacks Taker, but Taker kicks out at 2. He lands on the ref from the kickout, so he grabs the shillelagh. Taker tries a chokeslam, but Finlay hits him with the shillelagh. The ref slowly snaps out of it and Taker is able to get that shoulder up. Taker sits up and hits a big boot. Taker hits the chokeslam and Tombstone for the win. Taker gave Finlay a lot of offense here most likely out of respect. The match was fine.

Match Rating: **

After the match, Batista comes out to the entrance way and gives the thumbs down. 

I'd call this episode a disappointment. The card was good and the matches got time, but nothing was anything special. Outside of the two title matches and Umaga/Lashley, everything else just feels like it is there to fill time. 

Overall Rating: 43%

ECW 3-6-07 Review

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
Tucson Arena
Tucson, Arizona

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We shockingly get a Trump/McMahon recap to start the show. After the intro, Vince is on his way to the ring and reminds us that Steve Austin is the guest referee for the Umaga/Bobby Lashley match. Vince stumbles over his words as he's trying to talk about slapping Trump. Just make this stop. He brings out Lashley for a public apology for choosing to side with Trump. Lashley says that he wants to apologize to everyone, including Vince. He shakes Vince's hand, but then doesn't let go of the hold. He says that when Vince slapped him, he should have broken him in half and then walks to the back. This all took up over 25% of the show. 

If you hadn't been reminded enough, Ashley is in Playboy.

Balls Mahoney vs. Hardcore Holly

We get lots of punches and kicks here. For some reason Balls goes up top and then misses. Holly hits the Alabama Slam and that's all. Out comes Snitsky and he attacks Holly. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Rebecca with CM Punk to talk about Money In The Bank. He's interrupted by Elijah Burke and he's complimentary about Punk. Burke offers him a choice to join the New Breed. In walks Rob Van Dam and he tells him not to listen to him. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke

It's all RVD in the beginning and into the commercial break. During the commercial, Ariel distracts RVD as he is going for Rolling Thunder and the delay allows for Burke to get his knees up. Burke hits RVD with running knees to the back in the corner after a rest hold spot. RVD fight back and hits a superkick. Burke gets hit with the monkey flip and then a spin kick. Split-legged moonsault gets a 2 count and Tazz claims that not many people kick out of that. I can't remember a time in WWE that he's won with that. RVD goes up top and hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and gets the win. This was pretty standard stuff.

Match Rating: *3/4

After the match, Tommy Dreamer gets on the mic and challenges the New Breed to a 4 on 4 at WrestleMania. 

We go over Nick Bockwinkle being the next inductee in the Hall Of Fame. This obviously is a perfect transition to go to Extreme Exposé in the ring. 

We then get a recap of Lashley and Vince from approximately 30 minutes ago. 

It's time for Stone Cold and he talks that wherever there are WWE fans and WWE cameras, that's where his home is that night. He tells us that he's going to call the match right down the middle because that's the way it has to be. He talks to people in the crowd about who they want to get their head shaved. Austin says he doesn't care because either way someone is getting their head shaved. I would say that this is probably not the best advertisement for the city of Tucson. Austin says he will be at Raw for the contract signing. Austin is one of the most entertaining performers in company history, but I am pretty sure that he would tell you this was not one of his better segments. 

Calling this episode inessential would be the nicest way of putting it. They are just using ECW as an extra spot for the Vince/Trump stuff. Like I have mentioned before, it obviously worked at the time to get extra buys. I can't argue that. However, hindsight has made this pretty insufferable especially with how both of these morons continued to fall further down the drain. With that being said, this show was not very good and contained next to no wrestling on it.

Overall Rating: 31%

Off The Grid, Volume 41: Starrcade 1990: Collision Course Review

Sunday, December 16th, 1990
Kiel Auditorium
St. Louis, Missouri

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Off The Grid, Volume 41:

Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously are here to welcome us to the show and run down the card. Missy Hyatt is with the "greatest promoter ever" Sam Muchnick. In true WCW fashion, the microphone isn't working great, so you can't hear him at first. They then talk about it being broadcasted in Saudi Arabia and have Marines here for the national anthem, which is already playing when they announce this. 

Bobby Eaton vs. Z-Man

They're very proud of the stats they are showing on each wrestler here. They announce that due to injury, Ric Flair will not be wrestling in his tag team match against Doom and Barry Windham will replace him. Z-Man hits a reverse top rope crossbody to catch Eaton off guard. The big story they are trying to sell here is this is Bobby Eaton's first big singles match and Z-Man is on a 35 match win streak. We get a big spot where Z-Man reverses a suplex and he hits it onto the ring ramp. He then hits a leaping dive over the top rope. The ramp is a little different than usual, as there is a decline right before the ring. Z-Man runs into an elbow in the corner and Eaton hits a bulldog. He goes up top and hits the always nice leg drop. He misses Z-Man in the corner and gets hit with a dropkick. Eaton hits a neckbreaker and he goes back up to the top rope. He lands into a superkick. Now Z-Man goes up to the top, but Eaton moves out of the way. He uses an inside cradle and picks up the victory. That was a very 2023 type of finish for a match in 1990. Both guys gave a good effort here and gave us a nice opener.

Match Rating: **3/4

Tony Schiavone is with Dick The Bruiser to talk about refereeing the cage match tonight. He claims that he is the king of the cage match and has never lost a cage match. He will make sure Sting gets a fair shot tonight.

Now it's time for the Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament. They bring out the giant trophy and then a bunch of women with very 1990s hair come out with the flags of the countries represented in the tournament. 

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Sgt. Krueger & Colonel DeKlerk (South Africa) vs. Steiner Brothers (USA)

DeKlerk is Rocco Rock and is 100% not from South Africa. Rick does all the dirty work, hitting some clotheslines. Scott gets tagged in and hits the Frankensteiner with the quick squash of a match. The crowd loves the Steiners, so this was the right move over the no name opponents. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Norman Smiley & Chris Adams (United Kingdom) vs. Rey Misterio & Konan

Adams hits a big superkick early on to knock Misterio out of the ring. They're trying to cram a lot in here and it's working to varying results. For some reason they had Misterio listed as Misteric and even Jim Ross calls him that. Konan hits a reverse suplex on Smiley and then takes a long time to do a reverse pin and pick up the victory. For whatever reason, Misterio hits a dive over the top when the pin is already almost over and then they sell it as if he got hurt. There was some good action, but it was kind of sloppy and lacked a good flow.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Missy Hyatt is with Michael Wallstreet and Alexandra York. They talk about the computer predicting that Wallstreet will beat Terry Taylor in less than 8 minutes and 32 seconds. What a time to be alive. 

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Rip Morgan & Jack Victory vs. Great Muta & Mr. Saito (Japan)

Muta is the star of the match, but Saito does look pretty good for his age here. Saito gets hit with a cheap shot when running the ropes and almost loses as a result. Muta hits the handspring elbow and then the match breaks down. Morgan accidentally clotheslines Victory and Muta hits a German suplex into a bridge for the win. This was pretty meh overall outside of the good Muta spots. 

Match Rating: *

Paul E. Dangerously is with the winners and Saito says they are the best. 

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Danny Johnson & Troy Montour (Canada) vs. Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov (Soviet Union)

I still have nightmares of this match. The Soviets are legit amateur wrestlers and the Canadians are nobodies. We get a nasty looking suplex where Johnson looks to fall right on his face. Are we sure that they smartened up the Soviet team? We then get another suplex and possibly a pin and the referee counts to 2 and then decides to just count to 3. This was just pathetic. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

We go back to Sting and Tony Schiavone. Sting says that he's back and he's going to find out who the Black Scorpion is. 

They show a brief set up for the next match. Apparently that's enough to make us have to watch IRS and Red Rooster wrestle.

Terry Taylor vs. Michael Wallstreet

These two are supposedly 2 of the top 8 in the world. They have a countdown clock in the corner because the computer predicted Wallstreet would win in less than 8:32. This match is the definition of just generic action. Wallstreet drops Taylor on the top rope and then hits the Stock Market Crash for the victory. This was boring but at least it was better than the Soviet match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Motor City Madman & Big Cat vs. Skyscrapers

Big Cat is Mr. Hughes and Motor City Madman is nobody. We get our first botch of the match about 15 seconds in when Sid ducks for a back body drop and Spivey doesn't. Sid goes for a powerbomb and Motor City Madman does nothing to try and help get up, so Spivey helps him and that's all. This roster sucks.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton vs. Fabulous Freebirds

This show is just so full of generic stuff. I actually like these guys, but they are following every cliche in the book in this match. The last few matches have really hurt my interest in this too. Garvin is arguing with his roadie for some reason and Rich rolls him up and they pick up the victory. I don't think anyone will mind that I skipped most of this. The Freebirds attack Robert Gibson after the match. 

Match Rating: *

Stan Hansen gives a promo with nasty tobacco dripping out of his mouth.

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 2nd Round Match
Rey Misterio & Konan vs. Steiner Brothers

Oh good, more of this. Scott hits a powerslam on Konan and next thing you know Rick hits the bulldog from the shoulders of Scott. Konan rolls and tags in Misterio. Rick catches him and hits a powerbomb for the win. That was out of nowhere. Who was coming up with these finishes? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Barry Windham and Arn Anderson are interviewed while they show the clips of Ric Flair earlier. Arn should have worn a backwards hat more often.

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 2nd Round Match
Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov vs. Great Muta & Mr. Saito

Whatever they paid these guys, it was way too much. Saito looks like he gets mad at something and comes in and levels one of the Soviets with a clothesline. He hits a suplex and that's it thankfully. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Doom is out here with Teddy Long. Teddy is way too dorky to be their manager. 

Texas Lariat Match For The United States Championship
Lex Luger vs. Stan Hansen

This is just a rope/strap match if you are wondering what a Texas Lariat match is. I haven't seen a ton of Hansen matches, but out of what I have seen, I have liked. That's pretty high praise because so many people have ripped him off. Luger is another one who has grown on me. We get a straight up brawl to start. The first memorable spot comes when Hansen hangs Luger over the top rope. I'm not sure if Hansen isn't super over or if it's that in between where they know they shouldn't cheer him, but they also don't hate him. Luger uses the rope to pull Hansen into the ring post shoulder first. We get Luger touching 3 corners and Hansen fights him on the 4th. Hansen lets go of the rope and Luger crashes into the 4th corner, but he knocks out the referee. Hansen then hits Luger in the back of the head with a cowboy boot. A new referee is out and starts counting Hansen and the crowd is very much into it now. Hansen touches all 4 and the new referee calls for the bell. The original referee tells him what happened. Luger clotheslines Hansen out of the ring and they announce Luger as the new United States Champion. There are only a few ways these matches can go, but this ending worked out well. This show was desperate for a decent match and these two delivered.

Match Rating: ***

Jim Ross is with Luger and he's fired up to be champion.

Street Fight For The NWA Tag Team Championships
Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Doom

Shockingly, this is a brawl. Windham is busted open very early on. This type of match is almost impossible to recap, as it's mostly punches and weapons, but also filled with intensity. Simmons hits a big spinebuster on Windham for a 2 count. Simmons goes up top and Windham low blows him. He hits the superplex, but Simmons kicks out. Butch Reed hits a shoulder tackle from the rope. More brawling ensues. Windham holds Reed for Anderson, but Simmons hits Windham and Reed clotheslines Anderson. Windham pulls off an inside cradle on Simmons and Reed covers Anderson and both men get counted to 3 and we have a double pin. The bell rings and they keep brawling down the ramp. So I guess we have a draw in a street fight. I actually remember liking this better, but it was still a good match.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup Finals
Great Muta & Mr. Saito vs. Steiner Brothers

I know that my upcoming King Of The Ring 1995 tournament is about as pointless as it comes, but this one isn't far behind. We get a decent amount of stalling to start. The Japanese team is able to illegally hit Rick Steiner with the ring bell. This match has no juice to it so far. The finish just comes out of nowhere. Rick hits a sunset flip off the second rope and gets the win. This tournament sucked big time. I like the Steiners a lot, but this wasn't good.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Now we're stuck sitting through an award ceremony for this stupid thing. Thankfully it is brief and we can just pretend that it never happened.

Steel Cage Match For The NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Black Scorpion vs. Sting

I can't believe this is the main event of their WrestleMania. Four "Black Scorpions" are out to the ring during the entrance. They come out to no reaction whatsoever. We then get this stupid pod thing from the ceiling and some pyro. It opens up to unveil a guy in a shiny robe and he walks to the ring. Dick The Bruiser is the special referee, but there's nothing special feeling about this match. The start of this match is just absolutely terrible, with Flair trying not to wrestle like Flair. My god this match is just so slow and plodding. Sting finally makes a comeback and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Scorpion gets out of it and then gets thrown into the cage. Sting rips off his mask, but he has a second mask. You can see Flair's hair on the back of the mask. This main event is right up there with Hulk Hogan vs. The Butcher. Sting hits a top rope crossbody and picks up the win to put this out of its misery. Absolutely awful match between two of the all time greats. The other Scorpions run in And Sting and Dick attack them while Flair is trying to climb out. Out come Windham and Anderson to attack Sting. Windham hits a DDT on the chair and we only have 2 MINUTES LEFT! Flair starts hitting Sting with a chair while Arn and Windham hold him down. Some of the babyfaces come down, including the Steiners with bolt cutters. Sting finally rips the mask off and it's Flair. What a stupid idea and a stupid match. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

This show sucks big time. There are a couple of good matches, but there are so many bad finishes and stupid booking decisions that there's no way I could ever recommend this to anyone. I hope to never see the Black Scorpion again in my lifetime.

Overall Rating: 28%

Monday Night Raw 3-5-07 Review

Monday, March 5th, 2007 
US Airways Center
Phoenix, Arizona

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Shawn Michaels is shown getting ready and in walks John Cena. Cena wishes him some luck tonight and Shawn agrees to say the same to John tonight. They start semi-arguing and Cena says that he will have Michaels' back during his match with Randy Orton. Michaels doesn't want it and heads out to the ring.

Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton

The first high spot here is Michaels getting dumped over the top and to the floor. That seems like a pretty dangerous spot for him just weeks before a WrestleMania main event. I know you can get hurt doing anything, but this one seemed unnecessary. After a commercial break, Orton puts Michaels into a Boston crab in the middle of the ring. Michaels is able to slowly crawl to the bottom rope to break the hold, but then Orton hits a draped DDT. Michaels is able to sneak in a back suplex and both men are down. Michaels hits the running forearm and does the delayed kip up. Michaels hits the top rope elbow drop and he starts tuning up the band. Orton blocks the attempt and goes for the RKO. Michaels shoves Orton and he goes into the referee and Orton levels him with a clothesline. Edge goes and grabs a title belt to give to Orton. A second referee was sent out and he sees it, which causes a distraction for Michaels to roll him up and squeak out the win. After the match, Edge and Orton try to attack him with the chair, but out comes Cena to make the save for him. Overall, I am just so grateful that we didn't have to start with Vince or Trump. 

Match Rating: **1/2

We get a rare ECW highlight, but this one was more than worthy to be shown multiple times. They show Lashley jumping through the cage and onto Umaga. We go to Vince talking to Armando Alejandro Estrada. Vince wants to see what Umaga is made of during his match with Jeff Hardy tonight. Jonathan Coachman starts talking to Vince and he lets him know that he has recommended that Shane McMahon be the special guest referee for Umaga/Lashley.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

On his way into the ring, Umaga pulls up the pads just outside the ring. We get some cat and mouse that leads to Hardy dropkicking Umaga to the floor and then hits a somersault dive over the top rope. Hardy then hits a leaping clothesline off the steps. Umaga levels him with a clothesline and a splash. He puts Hardy in the tree of woe and hits a running headbutt. Umaga hits the butt in the face and hits the Samoan Spike to put Hardy out of his misery. These two continue to show great chemistry in these matches. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We get a hype video for Umaga and Lashley. Then after the commercial we hear from Mark Cuban, Howie Mandel and John Travolta about Vince or Trump shaving their head.

We go to Todd Grisham and he is with Carlito and Ric Flair. They are battling tonight for a spot in Money In The Bank and start arguing about who is going to win. 

We get a Masterlock Challenge and tonight it's Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He puts it on and Duggan submits. That's it? Why was this on the show? 

Vince is walking towards the ring and feeling confident.

We get more Cena/Michaels drama backstage. It's like they're going to be wrestling soon or something.

Vince is out and takes a quick stop at the barber shop before heading to the ring. Next week is the contract signing. Great. Then all of a sudden, Eric Bischoff is out to Vince's surprise. I'm not really sure what the point of him being here was. Vince then says we're going to find out the guest referee and now Mick Foley is out in his homemade referee shirt. They kind of suck up to each other, but when Vince tries to announce Mick as the special guest referee, Mick says he isn't. He's actually refereeing a rib eating contest with the Phoenix Suns gorilla, who then comes out to the ring. Now out comes Shane to the relief of his father. Shane tells him that the board made their vote and they lost 5 to 4. Well if Shane isn't the referee, then who is? Shane whispers it in his ear and then the glass breaks and out comes Steve Austin. It sure took us a long time to get to this point. This just leads to Austin soaking Vince in beer. This was a terrible segment that felt like it went on for an hour. 

We get a recap as if it didn't just take all night for that thing to end. Then Mick is showing the gorilla his new book and that leads Ron Simmons to do his thing.

Lillian Garcia brings out Ashley as the guest ring announcer for the next match.

Falls Count Anywhere Match For The WWE Women's Championship
Mickie James vs. Melina

Mickie knocks Melina off the ring and they head to the back. They battle in the locker room where Torrie Wilson and Maria are hanging out. Victoria then comes in and holds Mickie to allow Melina to slap her. Torrie then sprays her with hairspray in the face. Out comes Candice Michelle in a towel. Melina rips it off and we have it blurred out and the camera man falls on his back to boos. When we come back from commercial, they are battling towards the ring and start rolling all the way down the ramp. They eventually make their way back to the ring and are climbing the turnbuckles. Mickie goes for a hurricanrana, but Melina shoves her off and she takes a nasty looking spill. Melina rolls her up and pins her. Melina celebrates with her fake eyelash falling off and then heads to Ashley to rip her title away. Ashley shoves her on her back and goes to check on Mickie. Melina storms to the back and Mickie seems to be okay. This wasn't very hard hitting, but it was chaotic and kind of lighthearted fun.

Match Rating: *1/2

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match
Ric Flair vs. Carlito

This one just doesn't get off to a good start. Flair puts on a really unconvincing headlock and then Carlito hits a springboard reverse elbow that Flair telegraphs and falls too early. I guess I get why because Great Khali is on his way to the ring to disrupt things. He takes out both guys and we have a no contest I suppose. Khali gets on the mic and I think he says that he wants Kane. This was just all around terrible.

Match Rating: No Rating

Steve Austin returns home to ECW tomorrow night.

Nick Bockwinkle is announced as the next inductee into the Hall Of Fame.

We go to Edge and Randy Orton talking about what happened last week. Orton tells Edge that he doesn't have his back. 

Cena is on his way to the ring. 

John Cena vs. Edge

All 3 members of MNM come out before Edge is introduced. So I guess that's Edge's new backup for tonight. Edge then says that he can't perform in front of these bigots because they were one of the last states to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. Edge then says that Johnny Nitro's great great grandmother is black and he wants to take it out on Cena tonight.

John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro

Umm...sure? I believe Edge was injured and there was some fear that he would miss WrestleMania. Nitro throws Cena into the ring post and Cena is out. Back in the ring, Cena battles out of a rest hold and hits him with a big clothesline. It's 5 Knuckle Shuffle Time and then Joey Mercury and Edge start with distractions. It doesn't work and Cena gets Nitro up for the FU. Mercury comes in and hits a chop block and they attack Cena. They hit the Snapshot with Edge directing. Out comes Michaels and he runs down to make the save, but then stops short of the ring. Edge runs into the crowd, but MNM are still in the ring. Michaels and his hideous brown shirt leaves for the back and MNM start attacking again. Michaels thinks again and runs back into the ring to take out MNM. This wasn't much of a match and the setup was questionable at best.

Match Rating: 1/2*

This show started off really great and then Vince had to go and ruin it as usual. The women's match was just about the only fun segment outside of the first half hour. 

Overall Rating: 39%