Wrestler of the Day – August 22: D’Lo Brown

You’re looking at the real deal now. It’s D’Lo Brown.

Brown would start under his real name (AC Conner) in 1994 and appeared on Superstars on September 2, 1995.

Henry Godwinn vs. AC Conner

Conner is a good deal bigger here than in his more famous days. Godwinn takes him down with a headlock before whipping him hard into the corner. A legdrop across the bottom rope has Conner in trouble but here’s Ted DiBiase for a distraction. Conner comes back with a splash in the corner but walks into the Slop Drop (reverse DDT) for the easy pin.

Brown would head to SMW for a good while before returning as part of the Nation of Domination. Here he is in a handicap match from In Your House XVIII.

Nation of Domination vs. Legion of Doom

This is a handicap match with Rocky Maivia, Kama Mustafa (a martial artist/street fighter) and D’Lo Brown (a large guy who could move faster than most people his size) representing the Nation. Ken Shamrock was supposed to team up with the Legion of Doom but was injured, leaving them without a partner. Hawk and Brown get us going with D’Lo actually staggering him off a shoulder block.

Back up and a boot to the face sends Brown into the Nation corner for the tag off to Rocky. Animal comes in as well and the Rocky Sucks chants immediately begin. The Nation has a meeting on the floor until Rocky comes back in, only to be taken down by a dropkick. Animal cranks on the arm a bit before tagging out to Hawk for a headlock. Rocky drives him into the corner for the tag off to Kama. The power guys slug it out until a double clothesline is no sold all around.

Hawk actually busts out an enziguri to take Kama down and we hit a chinlock. Back to Animal for a powerslam but Rocky sneaks in with a DDT to put him down. The distraction lets the Nation take Animal to the floor for a triple team before it’s off to D’Lo to pound away at the ribs. Animal comes back with a clothesline out of the corner but Brown breaks up another tag attempt. The Nation breaks up another hot tag attempt though and it’s off to Rocky for a chinlock.

Maivia draws Hawk in again due to Hawk not being the brightest guy in the world, allowing for a low blow to Animal for two. Back to Kama for a spinning kick to the ribs but Animal avoids a charge into the corner. The hot tag brings in Hawk but the referee didn’t see it, allowing Brown to hit a frog splash on Animal for two.

Animal gets up again and forearms Rocky down, allowing for the seen hot tag to Hawk. Everything breaks down with the LOD taking over. A pair of running clotheslines look to set Rocky up for the Doomsday Device but Faarooq comes out for a distraction, allowing Kama to kick Hawk into the still yet to be named Rock Bottom for the pin.

Rating: C+. I liked this much better than I expected to. The LOD was rapidly approaching their expiration date at this point but they looked good enough out there. Rocky clearly had something special, but the character joining the Nation was the best possible option for him, as he got to show some character instead of boring everyone to death as the happy go lucky guy.

Followed by a Survivor Series match at the 1997 show.

Team Legion of Doom vs. Nation of Domination

Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson
Farrooq, The Rock, Kama Mustafa, D’Lo Brown

The LOD and company talk about being ready for war. The LOD are tag champions. Hawk and Brown start with D’Lo bouncing off Hawk. Hawk no sells a piledriver as is his custom and a neckbreaker puts Brown down. Off to Rocky who gets knocked around but someone hits Hawk in the back and the yet to be named Rock Bottom eliminates Bird Man.

Off to Ahmed who “hits” a jumping back elbow to take Rock down. Kama, a freaking monster who would become a pimp named Godfather, is in next and takes Johnson down with one shot. Farrooq is in next to work on Ahmed’s ribs and continue a feud that went on for like a year. Brown whips Ahmed with a belt which the referee somehow doesn’t hear. Farrooq loads up the Dominator but Johnson escapes (while falling down) and hits a Pearl River Plunge (Tiger Driver) for the elimination.

Brown comes in again and hits a quick Low Down for no cover. Johnson starts no selling and hits a sitout gordbuster. Farrooq is still at ringside. Rock comes in but walks into a spinebuster. Ahmed hits the ropes but Farrooq trips him up and holds the foot so Rocky can get the pin. It’s Animal/Shamrock vs. Brown/Rocky/Kama at the moment. Animal comes in to face Rocky but it’s quickly off to Shamrock. Ken is still somewhat new here so his style still looks fresh.

A big dropkick puts Rocky down and it’s off to Kama. After getting beaten around for a bit, Kama puts on a front facelock to slow things down. A double clothesline puts both guys down but not for long. Some LOUD noise freaks everyone out and JR and King don’t know what it was either. Anyway Animal gets two off a legdrop but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Kama showboats a bit too much though and Animal dropkicks him in the back and gets a rollup for the pin.

Brown comes in and during the distraction, Rocky hits Shamrock low for two. D’Lo hooks a chinlock followed by a backbreaker, but his moonsault misses by about two feet. The Outlaws come out while wearing the stolen LOD shoulder pads, and we’ve got powder and a shoved referee. Animal gets counted out during this mess, leaving us with Brown/Rock vs. Shamrock.

JR talks about how many people Shamrock has made tap out. Jerry: “This is wrestling. You don’t win by making people tap out.” JR: “…….YEAH YOU DO!” Brown starts but it’s both Nation members in there at once. Shamrock runs them both over, suplexes Brown and gets the submission via ankle lock. Rock cracks Ken in the back with a chair shot but it only gets two. Rock hits his spinning DDT for two as does the People’s Elbow (not a thing yet). Ken comes back with a northern lights suplex and a standing hurricanrana. There’s the ankle lock and Rocky is done.

Rating: C. This was a little messy but it pushed Shamrock hard while the heat for Rocky was INSANE. The crowd hated him and Vince certainly took notice. Both of these guys would get huge pushes in the next year with Rock winning the title at next year’s Survivor Series. The LOD were in their very last run of note here and they didn’t go out well after that. Fun match here although not great from a technical standpoint at all.

The Nation’s feud with Ken Shamrock would continue at In Your House XX.

Nation of Domination vs. Ken Shamrock/Ahmed Johnson/Disciples of Apocalypse

This is a ten man tag with the Nation comprised of Faarooq, Rock, Kama, D’Lo Brown and the now heel Mark Henry. The match has been billed as a war of attrition which would imply survival and elimination rules, but this is one fall to a finish. Skull starts with D’Lo and Brown goes to the eyes for an early advantage. An atomic drop slows D’Lo down though and it’s off to Shamrock for a back elbow to the jaw. A double tag brings in Kama and Chainz with Mustafa pounding away in the corner.

Some quick elbows have Kama in trouble so he tags off to Mark for some raw power. Henry wants Ahmed though and the fans till care about Johnson at this point. Johnson wins a slugout and slams Henry down, only to have the Nation come in with some cheap shots to take over. D’Lo hits a spinebuster to put Ahmed down and a long distance frog splash gets no cover. Instead it’s off to Faarooq who walks into a spinebuster from Ahmed but Rock breaks up the Pearl River Plunge.

8-Ball gets the tag and powerslams Faarooq down for two as the good guys start speeding things up. It’s off to Rock vs. Shamrock which is one of the matchups that people have wanted to see. Rock scores with a quick DDT and stomps away in the corner before bringing in Kama to miss a charge. Skull and 8-Ball take turns on Kama as we get some o the original twin magic. Kama will have none of that though and takes Skull into the Nation corner for a beating.

Rock comes in with the yet to be named People’s Elbow for two and it’s back to Faarooq to punch Skull in the jaw a few times. Skull comes back with a faceplant but Rock breaks up a hot tag attempt. Henry comes in to pound on Skull for about ten seconds before it’s back to Kama for a chinlock. D’Lo gets a tag but misses a moonsault, finally allowing for the hot tag off to Shamrock. Everything breaks down and the ring is cleared except for Shamrock to ankle lock the Rock for the win.

Rating: C-. It’s not a great match or anything and the elimination rules would have helped things a lot, but it was certainly better than some of the other stuff tonight. Above all else though the fans CARED about this. It wasn’t some dull filler match that was there to make sure a card was complete but rather a match with characters and a story we’ve been given reason to care about. That’s a big step up from a lot of this show.

And it continued still at In Your House XXI.

Nation of Domination vs. Faarooq/Ken Shamrock/Steve Blackman

Rock has officially taken over the Nation after kicking Faarooq off the team. The non-Nation team does the Nation salute just to tick them off. Tonight the Nation is Rock/Henry/Brown. The fans are already all over Rock about five seconds after the bell. Brown grabs Blackman’s (a rather generic martial artist) arm to start things off and they trade shoulder blocks until Brown hooks a snap suplex. Blackman comes right back with a dropkick and an armdrag into an armbar.

It’s off to Shamrock to stay on the arm but the ankle lock is escaped via the ropes. Faarooq hesitantly comes in but Brown asks for mercy. Instead he gets a whipping with Faarooq’s belt and a snap suplex from Blackman. Back to the armbar but Brown gets away to tag Henry. That lasts about five seconds before it’s back to Brown who walks into a cross body for two. Back to Faarooq who is easily taken down before it’s back to Rock for the cheap shots he’s been looking for.

Henry comes back in and drops some elbows for a somewhat delayed two count, allowing Faarooq to pound away and make a tag off to Blackman. Henry runs Steve over but takes his time covering again. Back to Brown for a middle rope elbow and a standing one to the jaw for two. Rock comes in and stomps away in the corner while talking a lot of trash.

The still yet to be named People’s Elbow gets two and you can see the crowd really starting to react to it. Rock hooks a chinlock and it’s back to Brown for some trash talk and a backbreaker. D’Lo misses a moonsault and Steve makes the hot tag off to Faarooq. The Nation’s house is cleaned and everything breaks down with Faarooq hitting the Dominator out of nowhere to pin Rock.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much for me. The match wasn’t horrible but the crowd didn’t really react to it very strongly and the ending didn’t work nearly as well as it was supposed to. Faarooq getting some revenge on Rock is a good idea but when the fans seem to like Rock more than Faarooq, it’s not the best move.

The next feud would be against DX, including this match on Raw, July 20, 1998.

European Title: D’Lo Brown vs. HHH

Brown takes over early on but HHH takes him down with a quick clothesline. Rock is watching from ringside. Trips ducks his head and takes a kick to the face. Pedigree is countered but HHH clotheslines Brown to the outside. He gets in Chyna’s face and has his blocked knocked off. Back in D’Lo takes over for a few moments but HHH hits the jumping knee to the face to take over. Suplex by the Game looks to set up the knee drop but Rock trips Trips. Chyna takes care of Rock as HHH hits a powerslam. Henry comes out and Chyna meets him with a chair. Rock comes in with a Rock Bottom and D’Lo wins the title.

Rating: C-. Quick story about this match. This show was taped on the 14th. Sometime over the weekend I went to a house show where Brown was already acknowledged as champion. Based on that, I already knew that HHH was going to lose the title when this show aired. That’s probably my first experience with a spoiler. The match was nothing of note at all but it advanced the DX vs. Nation feud.

Brown would defend his title at Summerslam 1998.

European Title: Val Venis vs. D’Lo Brown

Brown is defending and there’s no story to this that I remember. It has a sixty minute time limit, just in case the lower midcard title match in the opening slot pushes going Broadway. Since we’re in MSG we have the old school set with the entrance opposite the cameras instead of off to one side. This is Venis’ first title shot and D’Lo is doing a gimmick where he’s from a different European city each time with tonight being Helsinki. He’s also part of the Nation of Domination here but only has his chest protector for an advantage here.

Brown shoves him into the ropes to start and they slap hands. The champion also slaps Val’s face to tick him off as JR tells us about Austin destroying a hearse which may have had Undertaker or Kane inside. Brown hits a standing splash with the chest protector for added impact to take over. A splash misses in the corner though and Venis takes over with a Russian legsweep. After a quick breather on the floor, Brown comes back in to run the ropes but he gets caught in a spinebuster. A newcomer named Edge is watching in the crowd.

Venis misses a splash and gets caught in a belly to back suplex to give Brown control again. Val comes back with an overhead t-bone suplex but walks into a clothesline followed by a legdrop for two. A leg lariat and a middle rope elbow gets the same and Val is holding his back for some reason. Brown follows up on the injury with a Texas Cloverleaf but lets it go after only a few seconds. Did he learn submissions from No Mercy? Brown misses a middle rope senton and both guys are down. The fans are much more into this than you would expect them to be.

Val hits some running knees to the ribs and a backdrop for no cover. He tries a high cross body but gets caught in a Sky High (lifting powerbomb) which gets a delayed two count. Brown hits a quick DDT but dives off the middle rope into a powerslam for two. A butterfly suplex sets up the Money Shot (top rope splash) but Brown gets his knees up.

The fans LOUDLY chant for D’Lo but he can’t get Val all the way up for a powerbomb. Another try is good for a running Liger Bomb but the Low Down frog splash misses. Val finally rips off the chest protector and puts it on himself before going up top. The referee tries to pull him down and crotches him, earning a toss from Val for the DQ.

Rating: C+. I was digging this until the lame ending. The problem here was the match built up over fifteen minutes and then hit a brick wall with a referee crotching a guy on the top and then complaining that the guy was hurt. That’s not a satisfactory ending to a match with that long of a build, but at least the build was good.

Brown would lose the title to X-Pac but had a rematch on Raw, October 5, 1998.

European Title: X-Pac vs. D’Lo Brown

Pac is defending and he’s coming out before JR can even welcome us to the show. Brown charges right into a spin kick but he comes back with a powerslam. Legdrop hits Pac and a leg lariat gets two. Off to the chinlock and Brown yells at the crowd. He always was good at that. Someone serves Chyna with papers and Henry is smiling.

The champ fights out of the hold and hits a belly to back suplex. His elbow misses and Brown hits one of his own off the middle rope for two. Side slam gets the same. The Low Down misses and it’s slugout time. Pac speeds things up and hits the Bronco Buster, but Henry trips him up and rams Pac’s back into the post. That and the Low Down gives us a new champion.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but it was more about building up the DX problems as Chyna didn’t help Pac out for no apparent reason. Brown would hold onto the title for awhile until the title fell into obscurity. You know, as in more than it already was at this point. I’ve always been a fan of Brown’s work so I can’t complain much here. Decent opener.

Brown and Henry would split from the Nation and form a tag team of their own, including this match at In Your House XXVI.

Supply and Demand vs. Mark Henry/D’Lo Brown

Supply and Demand is Val Venis and the Godfather who is now a pimp and brings his ladies to the ring with him. I think you can figure out the joke yourself. Godfather says the holiday season is upon us and Val will be hanging some mistletoe, so tonight the girls have the night off and get Val as a present. Val says he has the yule log if they have the fireplace. Henry and Brown have the Pretty Mean Sisters (Terri and Jacqueline) with them here in the start of a story that went on way too long and didn’t work. In short, the girls hate men and think they’re only around to do the Sisters’ bidding.

Brown pounds away on Venis to start but stops to walk around, allowing Venis to clothesline him down. A spinebuster puts D’Lo down again and it’s off to Godfather for some chops. Another clothesline drops Brown and a hook kick to the shoulder (called the chest by Cole) has almost no effect. Off to Henry who powerslams Godfather down and chokes him on the mat. Back to Venis who tries a German suplex and gets elbowed in the face for his efforts.

A splash in the corner drops Venis and it’s back to Brown who gets two off the Sky High. The Low Down (frog splash) only hits mat though and a double tag brings in Henry and Godfather. Everything breaks down and a double suplex takes Henry over. The two sets of girls get in an argument on the floor and Jackie comes in to pull Val’s trunks down. Henry runs Venis over and splashes him for the pin.

Rating: D+. This had its moments but the ending wasn’t the best. It made things feel like a comedy match which usually only works if the popular team wins. Terri and Jacqueline would go on annoying people for months while not really accomplishing anything. Not terrible here but Brown vs. Venis would have been a better choice.

A few months later, the tag division was so lame that Wrestlemania’s title match saw the last two men in a battle royal getting a shot. From Wrestlemania XV.

Tag Titles: D’Lo Brown/Test vs. Owen Hart/Jeff Jarrett

The challengers fight with each other before the match starts. Owen and Jeff have Debra with them who is in a jacket and bikini. From the neck down she’s not bad at all. It’s a brawl to start and Test hits a fast big boot to take over. Brown and Jarrett get things going officially and D’Lo hits some fast clotheslines. Jeff charges into an elbow and it’s off to Test. He’s part of the Corporate Team while Brown has no connection to them whatsoever. A powerbomb gets two on Owen but he comes back with an enziguri, only to have Brown break up the Sharpshooter attempt.

Brown comes in legally and hits the shaky head legdrop for no cover but Jeff knees Brown in the back to give Owen an opening. A spinwheel kick puts D’Lo down for no cover as it’s back to Jarrett. Brown comes back with a double clothesline to both champions and hits something resembling a Sky High on Jeff. There’s no cover though as the managers (Ivory for the challengers) are fighting. In the distraction, Owen hits a missile dropkick on Brown to give Jeff the retaining pin.

Rating: C-. The match was ok enough but when the challengers are formed into a team 30 minutes before the match, it’s a little difficult to get behind a match like this. The tag division was BEGGING for something to save them here but it wouldn’t be until the fall when the Dudleys finally showed up and made the division worth something for a few more years.

The European Title had been retired around this time, but Mideon of all people would find the title in a bag and declare himself champion. Here’s a title defense from Fully Loaded 1999.

European Title: Mideon vs. D’lo Brown

Mideon literally found the belt in the back and said he was champion. Ok so not everything in this era was a great idea. Well it’s different I guess. WCW would do the exact same thing with Jim Duggan and the TV Title in about 6 months but even fewer people cared.

D’lo is a guy that’s actually pretty sweet in the ring but he never got a push of note. I always liked him though. Mideon was a guy that had some of the weirdest gimmicks ever but he kept his job anyway so if nothing else he was good enough to keep around. Nothing bad about that at all. Mideon shouts loudly and I think he’s not supposed to be heard.

This is about as basic of a match as you can ask for. Definitely something that belongs on Raw. Smackdown didn’t exist as a regular show yet. Brown botches a tornado DDT for two. Mideon turns around and walks into the Sky High. Low Down gives him the title back to a surprisingly NICE pop.

Rating: C-. I like Brown so there’s your justification. This should have been on Raw though as there is nothing special at all about this match to warrant a PPV spot. To be fair though they kept it short so it’s not like this was eating up PPV time and it wasn’t really bad or anything. Just no need to put it on the PPV.

There were two midcard titles around this time, so let’s unify them. From Raw on August 2, 1999.

European Title/Intercontinental Title: D’Lo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett

They slug it out to start and the referee actually breaks it up for a change. Jeff jumps into an early Sky High for two but the fans are more interested in puppies. A powerslam gets another two on Jeff, sending him outside as a result. He tells Debra that they’re leaving but it’s a ruse to sucker Brown to the floor. That’s fine with D’Lo who drops Jeff face first onto the steps.

Back in and Jeff dropkicks him out of the air before dropping some knees to the chest. A DDT on the arm drops Brown again and we hit the armbar. Jeff transitions into a sleeper but Brown elbows his way to freedom. Brown catapults him into the corner and hammers away with right hands but the referee gets bumped. Debra comes in with both titles and unhooks her top. The distraction doesn’t work though as Brown catches Jarrett sneaking up with a title belt. The gold goes off Jeff’s head and Brown is a double champion.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t anything great but it was nice to see someone actually smart getting something special. The title reigns wouldn’t last long but I’m glad they went with something new instead of the old guard in Jarrett. Brown was getting a very nice push around this time and while he wouldn’t have fit in the main event, this was a very nice prize for him. Also, how rare is it to see a match get some time in this era?

Brown’s reigns wouldn’t last long but he had a chance to get the European Title back at Unforgiven 1999.

European Title: Mark Henry vs. D’Lo Brown

WOW they’ve picked two bad matches to start us off here. He’s Sexual Chocolate here. Tom Pritchard is the referee. Henry says there can’t be a match because Garcia slapping him hurt him. Brown actually got one heck of a push around this time if you can believe that. Brown could go in the ring if nothing else. Yes I liked him. Pritchard is wearing blue pants and it looks ridiculous. The crowd is somewhat alive here but not much.

They talk about Rebellion which is in 6 days. Yep, that’s coming too. Brown hits a Taker Dive over the ropes which looked great. This has been all Brown so far so expect that to change in a few seconds. Yep there it is. Good night Henry is limited as all goodness in the ring. How has he not leaned anything new in like 15 years? This is still just boring as all goodness. Brown is getting some pops if nothing else. Henry does the ten punch in the corner but gets powerbombed out of it and the Lo Down ends it. Nice ending to a terrible match.

Rating: D. Somewhat better but that’s not saying much. It was just ok and that’s mainly because I liked D’Lo. If nothing else they made it believable which is really all you can ask for here. Not bad. Ok yeah it was but it could have been worse. Also who in the world thought giving Henry a title at this point was a good idea?

We’ll skip ahead a bit due to an injury and return with Brown in a low level tag team on Raw, January 22, 2001.

Tag Titles: Dudley Boys vs. Lo Down

Low Down is Chaz (Mosh from the Headbangers) and D’lo Brown in an Arabian gimmick. They were supposed to be in the Rumble but Drew got their spot so this is their makeup present. I miss the missile/rocket that would come down for the Dudleys’ entrance. Tiger Ali Singh, the manager of Lo Down, is on commentary here.

The challengers jump the Dudleys early and take over. The Dudleys are slightly hurt from Edge and Christian attacking them and their match the night before. The Dudleys beat down the challengers as Jerry gets a turban. Brown tries to use a belt but gets hit in the head with it for the DQ. Lo Down wins and Tiger goes through a table via 3D. This was again really short and too short to grade.

Brown was sent to developmental for a LONG time, not returning until late 2002. From Raw, October 21, 2002.

Test vs. D’Lo Brown

Stacy is referee so she can wear a revealing outfit. Test looks like an idiot with long hair and short tights. Stacy slaps Brown and rings the bell. Test launches him over with a big backdrop and pounds away in the corner. Brown gets his feet up to block a charge followed by a flying forearm. Brown drops a leg but Stacy interferes again. The Sky High hits but Stacy is tying her shoe instead of counting. The big boot from Test and a fast count give the Canadian the win. Stacy jumps in Test’s arms post match.

We’ll head over to TNA where Brown was something resembling a big deal. Here he is in a tag match at TNA Weekly PPV #43 on May 7, 2003.

Triple X vs. AJ Styles/D’Lo Brown

Triple X is Elix Skipper/Low Ki and the winners go on to a #1 contenders match later tonight. Brown and Low Ki trade strikes to start until Brown grabs a slam and drops some elbows. A blind tag brings in AJ for a springboard missile dropkick and a knee drop for two. Low Ki has to kick someone before he explodes so he takes over with a cartwheel kick.

Off to Skipper but AJ nips up into a hurricanrana for two. Brown comes in and slams AJ onto Skipper’s chest but Low Ki comes back in for some chops. Skipper is back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down. A flapjack gives Brown even more of a breather and he dives into a tag to Styles. The good guys chop Elix down but he pulls Brown to the floor and sends him into the barricade.

Back inside and Low Ki kicks AJ in the head to stagger him again before Skipper comes in again for some forearms. Styles counters the Play of the Day and makes another hot tag to Brown. Everything breaks down and D’Lo hits a double shaky head legdrop. A Cactus Clothesline sends Brown and Skipper to the floor but Brown slides back in to catch a cartwheeling Low Ki in the Sky High for the pin.

Rating: D+. Nice finish to a boring match. I’m not sure why this match was on the set as there were some much more interesting tag matches. There’s a good chance this was based on the name power instead of the match itself, which is understandable given how long it would take to watch every match.

After several years in Japan, D’Lo would make a surprise return to WWE at some house shows (one of which I saw live). He would return to WWE on Raw, July 21, 2008.

D’Lo Brown vs. Santino Marella

Beth Phoenix comes out to watch for reasons yet to be explained. Brown shoves Santino off a headlock and drives shoulders in the corner. A suplex and legdrop have Santino in even more trouble and Brown adds a low clothesline for no cover. The Low Down gets the easy pin. Total squash.

We’re going to jump way ahead now to 2013 when D’Lo joined the Aces and 8’s in a story everyone saw coming and no one cared about. It let to this match on Impact, May 3, 2013.

Kurt Angle vs. D’Lo Brown

Before the match, Brown says we make it an I Quit match. He jumps Angle to start but Kurt easily takes him to the mat as you would expect him to. Anderson tells the rest of the bikers to stay back as the guys head to the floor. Brown misses a hammer shot against the post but manages to pull Angle’s arm into the post. Back inside and D’Lo goes after the arm with a bunch of basic stuff.

We get a wristlock into a cross armbreaker but Angle fights up into a quickly broken ankle lock. Off to a cobra clutch on Kurt but he Hulks Up and rolls some six straight German suplexes. Brown breaks the ankle lock again and busts out a Samoan drop of all things. D’Lo loads up a powerbomb but Angle rolls through into the ankle lock for the submission at 8:02.

Rating: D+. Yeah imagine that: challenging one of the best submission wrestlers ever to a submission match WAS A REALLY BAD IDEA. At the end of the day, this was D’Lo Brown trying to be a big physical threat in the year 2013. There’s only so much you can do with something like that, which shows the problem with Aces and 8’s.

D’Lo was a guy that didn’t seem to be the most interesting guy in the world but he had a very long career and comes off as a very smart guy. The thing that impresses me the most about Brown was him getting a degree so he would have something to fall back on once his career was over. I like it when people show some common sense and intelligence like that and it makes their careers more enjoyable. Brown had a very solid career but unfortunately is remembered as the guy that rolled his head from side to side.

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