Nick Bockwinkel vs. Terry Allen

Feeling out process to start as the announcer puts over Allen as an up and comer. A headscissor puts Bockwinkel down and they trade Irish whips until Allen runs into a knee in the corner. Nick hooks a short arm scissors followed by an armbar until Allen slams him down and grabs a headlock. That goes nowhere as Bockwinkel fires off a series of hard forearms in the corner, setting up the piledriver for the easy pin.

Rating: D+. This was a squash for the most part but it was nice to see Allen get in a good bit of offense out there. There’s only so much you can do in a four minute match though, especially when you spend about a minute in an arm hold on the mat. It’s not a bad match but it’s just a TV squash.

We’ll stay in San Antonio for this match with Buck Robley, a fairly big deal in the Mid-South territory. Not sure on the date again but it’s some point in the early 80s.

Buck Robley vs. Terry Allen

A wristlock has Terry in early trouble but he reverses into one of his own. Robley takes him into the corner, only to walk into a big hiptoss. Off to a test of strength with Allen taking over, only to be headbutted down to give Buck control again. They slug it out with Robley taking over via a hard elbow to the jaw. Choking ensues, followed by a knee drop and piledriver to give Buck the pin.

Rating: D. While the previous match was actually entertaining despite being a squash, this was long and dull with Buck taking his sweet time and boring the fans into oblivion to get there. Nothing to see here and Allen wasn’t even as game as he was in the Bockwinkel match. Really boring stuff here.

It’s off to Mid-South, where Allen would have his name changed to Magnum TA due to his resemblence to Tom Selleck of Magnum PI fame. Here he is with his regular tag partner Mr. Wrestling II on January 13, 1984.

Paul Garner/Don Ralston vs. Magnum TA/Mr. Wrestling II

Magnum and Wrestling are tag champions. Magnum and Garner start us off…..and here’s Jim Cornette. He gets in the ring and makes fun of the champs as the Midnight Express runs in through the crowd and knocks out Wrestling with a blackjack. The Express lay out Magnum as Cornette pours some liquid on his back. They pull out a pillow and tar and feather Magnum. Ok that’s AWESOME. I remember hearing about this in Cornette’s shoot and it resulted in the Express almost being killed on multiple instances. This was a comedy spot in Memphis but here, it’s DEAD serious.

It’s off to the NWA and Mid-Atlantic in particular. Magnum would be a big deal in a hurry, earning a US Title shot on March 23, 1985.

US Title: Magnum TA vs. Wahoo McDaniel

McDaniel is very old but is US Champion here. It’s in a cage and is the real push for Magnum to the solid midcard spot he held until he retired. From March of 85 if you’re curious. Tony puts over the belly to belly as being really sudden and Wahoo kicks him low. Magnum fires off that great right hand of his but gets rammed into the cage. Magnum is like BRING IT ON and takes Wahoo down for two and an eruption from the crowd. A dropkick gets two.

They chop it out and Wahoo isn’t going to lose something like that. Wahoo goes into the cage again and just collapses this time. A headbutt puts Wahoo down and David Crockett, the other commentator, is getting on my nerves. Wahoo sends him into the cage again and a chop gets two. The mat isn’t a regular mat but is a bunch of blue gym mats shoved together. You can see the lines between them.

Magnum kicks him in the chest to take him down as the momentum doesn’t last long for Wahoo at all. He does manage to get a small package for two but Magnum is back up and punching away again. Wahoo tries to escape (I guess you can win that way) and Magnum suplexes him off the top for two. Wahoo, the old school lunkhead that he is, charges off the ropes a few times into Magnum which lets Magnum snap off his belly to belly suplex finisher for the US Title.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and it’s so nice to see a full match here. Magnum was so awesome and this was the moment that launched him up the card. His real classic would be later that year (and later on the tape) against Tully in a cage. Wahoo was just old at this point but this is how you go out: you lay down for a young guy clean and give your title up to him. Perfect example of that and good to see Magnum get the title that he should have had.

Here’s a title defense from Great American Bash 1985.

US Title: Kamala vs. Magnum TA

This is from the Great American Bash 1985. Kamala recently had his foot/leg amputated so the timing is appropriate. Kamala jumps him before the bell and it’s on. Magnum fires off a cross body and hammers away on the big man. You know Kamala never did much other than get beaten up. I never remember him winning anything of note and he’s usually just around because he’s big.

Kamala wants a test of strength but Magnum is a lot smarter than that, popping him in the jaw instead. Magnum gets knocked down by a chop and kick as Kamala takes over for token reasons. A choke somehow counts as a cover and gets two. Kamala grabs Magnum’s chest in a weird claw move then splashes him twice. Magnum is on his stomach so it doesn’t count. That’s an old standard for moon belly man. Back to the claw which wastes more time. Magnum makes his comeback and gets an easy slam. Kamala walks into the belly to belly and we’re done.

Rating: D. Kamala as usual isn’t interesting. He was supposed to be this savage and all that but it just didn’t work at all. He did his thing and that thing never was all that interesting. This is the definition of a house show match and the whole idea was to set up a quick match for Magnum to look good in. This was pretty weak.

The main event for Starrcade 1986 was going to be Ric Flair vs. Magnum for the World Title. That wouldn’t happen due to Magnum’s accident, but the match did take place at AWA Superclash 1985.

NWA World Title: Magnum TA vs. Ric Flair

I need this. Flair in the 80s may be somewhat overrated, but Flair’s worst match ever is going to be a glass of water in the desert on this show. Magnum is young here but looks awesome. It’s such a shame what happened to him. Flair doesn’t have the big gold belt yet. Nelson: “Flair like to talk about his robes and his money and his possessions. Magnum TA likes to talk about winning the heavyweight championship of the world.”

They go to the mat to start and no one can get an advantage. They try it again and Magnum takes over with a hammerlock. Back up and Magnum wins a power match in a top wristlock. They speed things up and Magnum dropkicks him down followed by a gorilla press. Flair chops him in the corner but Magnum shrugs them off and it’s back to the arm. Flair throws him through the ropes but Magnum holds on and comes back in all fired up. His dropkick misses though and here comes Naitch.

The champ hits that one armed snapmare that you’ll see him do a lot. There’s the knee drop but he doesn’t cover. Butterfly suplex gets two. Abdominal stretch has Magnum in trouble but Flair gets caught pulling trunks so the hold has to be broken. Flair snapmares him down again but the knee misses. Magnum IMMEDIATELY throws on a figure four and the champ is in trouble. You don’t need a big long beatdown. This makes perfect sense so the psychology is right there. Love it.

Ric finally makes a rope but his knee is messed up now. Magnum tries to put it on again but Flair counters. A low blow takes TA down but Flair can’t capitalize. Suplex gets two for Magnum. Backslide for two. Flair pokes him in the eye and throws him to the floor. Magnum comes back with a sunset flip attempt but Flair punches him in the head to break it up. This time Flair hooks a hammerlock and puts his foot on the rope at the same time. Little things like those will always get someone booed, but for some reason no one does them anymore.

Flair stays on the arm and puts his foot on the rope but swears he didn’t do it. Again, little things. Crucifix position cradle gets two. Magnum fights up and hooks a sleeper. Flair slaps at the ropes but doesn’t grab them so the referee won’t break it up. The sleeper was Magnum’s finisher before he started using the belly to belly. A splash hits knees though and both guys are down.

Flair hits a kneecrusher out of nowhere and there’s the Figure Four. Magnum turns it over so Flair lets it go. He tries to hook it again just like Magnum did earlier but Flair’s is countered as well. Magnum throws him into the corner for the Flair Flip (Nelson thinks it’s a DQ but the referee says Flair flipped himself. Whatever) and they go to the floor. Flair is busted so Magnum pounds away at the cut.

Magnum is all fired up but Flair says bring it on. TA keeps pounding away at the cut and Flair is bleeding nice and strong. Big right hand gets two. Backdrop puts Flair down as he’s holding back on the belly to belly so far until he knows Flair is ready. They do the awesome backslide bridge out and the fans are all fired up now. There’s the belly to belly (powerslam according to Nelson) but Flair’s feet hit the referee. Magnum rolls him up but Flair pulls the tights into one of his own for the pin. Nelson: “Flair wins the title!”

Rating: B+. After the AWFUL stuff that we had to sit through for the last three hours, I’d have given anything that was good a solid grade here. Good match here and after Magnum had his best match ever in about two months, seeing this again in about fourteen months would have been awesome. Very good match and every time I see Magnum in a big one, it makes me kind of sad. He’d be 52 today so he could still be somewhat active. What a shame.

Like every other wrestler of his era, Magnum would head to Memphis for a few one off matches, like this one from Novembe 18, 1985.

Arn Anderson/Ole Anderson/Tully Blanchard vs. Jerry Lawler/Dusty Rhodes/Magnum TA

That’s a HECK of a lineup. This is a Bunkhouse Match, meaning anything goes. It’s a brawl to start with the good guys taking over early on. They all get in the ring with Lawler just unloading on Tully in the corner. Dusty chases Arn to the floor as I can barely keep track of everything here. Magnum dropkicks Ole into the corner and we’ve got belts brought in for some whipping. The Andersons are busted open as Ole knocks Dusty into the corner and the future Horsemen take over. Dusty gets the belt back and starts whipping everyone until Jerry does the same. Rhodes goes up top for a Bionic Elbow to Ole’s head for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C. This was WILD and exactly what the match should have been. The people in the match makes this far more interesting than it would have been otherwise as this is an all star match in 1985. You could have easily found another upper midcard face and done an awesome match in Charlotte or Atlanta with this.

Now we get the peak of Magnum’s career and the culmination of his feud with Tully Blanchard. Tully and his manager Baby Doll had stolen the US Title from Magnum, setting up a feud between the two of them that lasted for months. The final blowoff was at Starrcade 1985 in an I Quit match inside a steel cage.

US Title: Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard

This is definitely the biggest match of the Greensboro card and has a huge feud behind it. As mentioned, Tully stole the US Title from Magnum over the summer, setting off a war between the two based off the culture clash between the two. You had Tully Blanchard who was the wrestler’s wrestler. He was as technically sound as you could ask a wrestler to be, drank champagne and rode around in limousines. On the other hand you have Magnum who rode Harley-Davidson’s and drank beer. As mentioned, this storyline and characters would be copied almost identically for Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin in 1997.

This is inside a cage and is an I Quit match, which means anything goes and you lose when you make your opponent say I quit. Blanchard is defending if that wasn’t clear. Tully takes it into the corner to start but Magnum throws that great right hand of his to knock him down. The champ keeps taking it to the mat but Magnum turns it into a brawl. Back up and Tully starts pounding away on the ribs but Magnum comes back with some HARD punches to the face.

Magnum gets him between the ropes and the cage and rakes Tully’s face against the cage. Tully comes back with an elbow off the ropes to gain control before sending Magnum into the cage. Off to a reverse chinlock but Magnum fights out, only to be kneed in the back. Back up and Magnum pelts him with more right hands. The sounds as they hit make you cringe every time. Blanchard sends him into the cage and rakes at Magnum’s face as the brawling continues.

Now TA (short for Terry Allen, Magnum’s real name) sends Tully face first into the cage a few times and it’s off to an armbar. Tully is busted BAD already as Magnum keeps pounding away. Baby Doll screams for Tully to fight back so Blanchard gets in a right hand of his own, busting Magnum open as well. Tully gets the corded microphone and we get an iconic scene with Tully shouting at Magnum to SAY IT, Magnum shouting NO and Tully hitting him in the head with the microphone.

A top rope fist puts Magnum down but he still won’t say it. They get to their feet and Magnum slugs him back down before pounding him with the mic. Blanchard rips at Magnum’s eyes and POUNDS him with right hands. Magnum punches him down and tries to get Tully to quit but Blanchard kicks him down. TA punches him in the corner but Tully comes out with an atomic drop. Both guys look like they’ve been through a war.

Tully drops some elbows and throws the referee away. He brings in a wooden chair and immediately breaks it against the mat to get a nice jagged piece. Tully tries to drive it into Magnum’s already cut forehead but Magnum knocks it away and gets the wood himself with a crazed look in his eye. He knocks Tully down again and DRIVES THE SHARP EDGE INTO TULLY’S EYE, making Tully scream that he quits and giving Magnum the title. Magnums is fired up from winning the title but looks down at Tully holding his bloody eye and becomes very stoic, realizing what he did to win the title and beat Blanchard.

Rating: A+. Not only is this the best match of the night, not only is this the best match in the history of Starrcade, but it’s in the running for greatest match of all time. This was an absolute war and it felt like these two wanted to kill each other. If you’ve never gotten to see this, go check it out right now as it’s absolutely required viewing for wrestling fans. If you want to see a fight instead of a wrestling match, check this out.

Magnum would team up with Ronnie Garvin for the 1986 Crockett Cup. They would receive a bye to the second round.

Crockett Cup Second Round: Magnum TA/Ronnie Garvin vs. Buzz Sawyer/Rick Steiner

Ronnie vs. Sawyer to get us going but it’s off to Magnum quickly. Magnum works on Buzz’s arm but we’re clipped to him working on Rick’s arm. Go figure. Sawyer comes back in and goes nuts on him with all kinds of pounding away. Off to a chinlock and also off to Steiner. We’re clipped to a bit later in the heel beatdown and a DDT by Sawyer for two.

Magnum grabs a small package for two as well as a backslide. He finally gets the hot tag to Ronnie who throws some punches and tags right back out. Magnum hits the belly to belly on Steiner and in 1986 that might as well have been a bullet to the head. Again, way too short. Is a full match over three minutes too much to ask?

Crockett Cup Quarter-Finals: Tiger Mask/Giant Baba vs. Magnum TA/Ronnie Garvin

Tiger Mask vs. Garvin starts us off but we’re joined in progress again. Garvin works on the leg and it’s off to Magnum vs. Baba. Baba runs him over a bit until we’re off to Tiger again. Magnum gets a suplex and we’re clipped to him being caught in a front facelock. Sunset flip gets two for Magnum and it’s back to Baba. Garvin comes in to get smacked around a bit by the Giant and everything breaks down again. Baba’s arms are frighteningly skinny. Tiger hits a dropkick and senton on Magnum. He goes up for the cross body but jumps into a belly to belly for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D+. From what I could see here this wasn’t that good. They were all faces which hurt things a lot. The ending wasn’t bad but the match was still pretty dull. This sets up another all face final which isn’t going to do this show any favors. Nothing great here but that’s just the way things have been going all day tonight.

Crockett Cup Finals: Road Warriors vs. Magnum TA/Ronnie Garvin

All faces here. The winners also get a million dollars. Animal and Magnum get things going. We get some surprisingly quick stuff until Magnum takes over with a dropkick. Animal takes him down with a top wristlock and they trade arm work on the mat. Off to Hawk who puts on a chinlock….and they clip this match too. ARE YOU SERIOUS???? The whole show is about one freaking tournament and you give us a total of ONE MATCH THAT ISN’T CLIPPED??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

A middle rope splash misses and Garvin gets a small package for two. Off to Magnum who doesn’t have as much luck with Animal who stomps away on the US Champion. Off to Animal again and it’s chinlock time. Powerslam gets two as Magnum is in trouble. Magnum grabs the belly to belly for two as Hawk saves. Hot tag to Garvin and down he goes almost immediately.

Garvin tries an abdominal stretch on Hawk but punches Hawk instead. The problem with this is he punches Hawk so hard that he breaks his hand. I’m not sure if this is kayfabe or real but it doesn’t really matter either way as Animal hits a pretty weak clothesline on Garvin and gets a quick pin for the tournament win and the million bucks.

Rating: D+. Apparently Garvin’s hand was broken coming in. Imagine that: Ronnie Garvin does something stupid like HIT A GUY IN THE HEAD WHILE HE HAS A BROKEN HAND. Garvin’s team deserves to lose after that. This match was pretty boring and the ending didn’t help things at all. Nothing to see here other than the end of a long and boring show.

Magnum’s last feud was over the US Title which was held up after Magnum went a bit nuts. He fought Nikita Koloff in a best of seven series for the vacant title. Here’s match #4 from the 1986 Great American Bash.

Magnum TA vs. Nikita Koloff

Koloff is up 3-0 coming into this. They stare each other down to start and fight over some lockups. Magnum runs the ropes and collides with Nikita, sending him out to the floor. Back in and Magnum sends him into the corner before fighting over a top wristlock. Koloff wins the power battle but gets countered into a hammerlock. Nikita powers out again and sends Magnum down with a back elbow to the jaw. A backbreaker and slam get two each for the Russian and he throws Magnum outside. Ivan gets in a few cheap shots before Nikita throws Magnum back in. TA comes right back in with a sunset flip for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D+. The match isn’t all that great from modern standards as it was obvious they weren’t going to go four straight for Koloff but the fans back then weren’t as jaded as we are today. The story here was that Magnum was in over his head against the much stronger Nikita but hung in there until he found a way to win, giving him confidence for later in the series.

Here’s the final match from WCW Worldwide on August 23, 1986.

US Title: Nikita Koloff vs. Magnum TA

Magnum is just ungodly over at this point. They fight over a lockup to start until Magnum grabs a headlock. A cross body gets two on Koloff and he gets sent out to the floor via a dropkick. Back in and Magnum cranks on the arm, taking Nikita down to the mat to drive knees into the arm. TA fights to get the arms pinned to the mat but Nikita rolls on top. They fight over control and roll out to the floor for a bit until they head inside again for a top rope ax handle from Magnum. An armdrag into an armbar keeps Nikita in trouble as we go to a break.

Back with Magnum missing a cross body and falling out to the floor. Ivan offers a distraction so Nikita can ram Magnum’s back into the apron. TA’s neck gets snapped across the top rope and the Russian is in full control. A one arm slam puts Magnum down for two We hit the bearhug for a bit until Magnum smacks Nikita’s ears. Magnum’s sunset flip is countered and it’s back to the bearhug.

This time he fights out with a slam and fires off right hands with all he’s got. A dropkick gets two but Ivan pulls Magnum to the floor. That’s fine with Magnum as he piledrives Ivan on the concrete. Back in and Magnum hits his belly to belly but Krusher Khrushchev comes out for another distraction. Magnum goes after him but walks into a chain shot from Nikita for the pin and the title.

Rating: C+. This was much more about the backstory and the fans’ reaction than the match itself. Koloff taking the title was unthinkable because there was no way Magnum could possibly lose something like this in the end. They had to do it this way though to set up Magnum for the World Title at the end of the year.

Magnum would wreck his car just before Starrcade 1986, ending his career forever. It’s widely known that he was scheduled to win the NWA World Title at that show, which makes you wonder what was going to happen had he won the title. I doubt he would have been able to save the company, but it certainly would have been worth seeing. Magnum wasn’t a great wrestler, but he had a ton of charisma which is far more important. Make sure to check out the I Quit match as it might be the best WCW/NWA match ever.

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Here’s a guy who did very well on very little. Today is Tatanka.

Tatanka vs. Brooklyn Brawler

A shoulder block doesn’t send anyone anywhere but another shoulder goes better for Tatanka. Brawler gets drooped by a slam and some middle rope chops but he comes back with forearms. Tatanka goes on the war path and the Papoose to Go (Samoan drop) gets the pin. Not a very interesting debut.

Like many newcomers, Tatanka would be given a fairly meaningless match on a big stage to get some exposure. In his case, the match was at Wrestlemania VIII.

Rick Martel vs. Tatanka

There are Indians at ringside chanting for Tatanka. This is about two months after Tatanka debuted on TV so you should be able to figure out what’s going to happen pretty quickly here. Tatanka start off hot as Heenan explaining that Flair did nothing wrong. Gorilla shouts that Heenan is a liar, so Heenan challenges him to a fight. Martel makes a quick comeback and sends Tatanka out to the floor. Back in and Bobby makes Indian jokes as Martel stomps away a bit more. Rick goes up and gets crotched, allowing Tatanka to pound away even more. Out of nowhere a cross body pins Martel.

Rating: D+. The match was ok but it was nothing more than a way to give the fans a breather. Like I said, no one knew Tatanka at this point due to how little time he had been on TV. Martel was in total jobber to the stars territory by this point and would be gone pretty soon. Nothing to remember here at all.

Tatanka would go on the European tour just after Wrestlemania and open the European Rampage event.

Tatanka vs. Skinner

Tatanka gets an ERUPTION. Sweet GOODNESS. This is the last night of the tour apparently. Skinner was the operator of FCW which became NXT for those of you unaware. Tatanka is relatively new here and is in long tights still. We talk about Colonel Mustafa who is more commonly know as Iron Sheik getting stuck on an escalator for an hour and a half yesterday.

It’s all Tatanka so far as you would expect. This is more about just running down the card for the rest of the show so far which is fine I guess. It’s a glorified house show but that’s all you need sometimes. Gorilla and Heenan are awesome of course as they always were around this time.

Tatanka might be bleeding but I’m not sure. Heenan does that little stutter when he says his name which is funny for some reason. Skinner yells at Tatanka to keep his shoulder down. He’s direct if nothing else. Heenan is apparently reading a rule book and looking for something Tatanka is doing wrong. Skinner scared me as a kid. He was just creepy.

I’m really not sure why this was chosen as the opener. Tatanka meant very little at this point and neither did Skinner for that matter. This would likely be better suited as a dark match or something like that. It’s not terrible though. Skinner goes for a double axe off the middle while Tatanka is on his back.

It’s the jump into the boot spot which is one of the dumbest things I can remember. What’s the point of that anyway? Bobby says no one here has ever seen an Indian. I wonder how true that actually is. Would they be familiar with what his character is supposed to be? Tatanka makes a quick comeback and hits the Papoose To Go to win.

Rating: D+. Nothing special but it was ok for an opener I guess. Tatanka wouldn’t mean much of anything for about a year or so. This was just odd to say the least, but it could have been far worse. This was very similar to the Martel match at Wrestlemania as Tatanka was still getting exposure. I don’t think Skinner was around much longer.

A few weeks later, Tatanka would be in a battle royal on May 18, 1992.

Battle Royal

Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels (can these two ever be apart?), Sgt. Slaughter, Tatanka, Tito Santana, Virgil, Kerry Von Erich (he had a job at this point???), Barry Horowitz, Jim Powers, Repo Man (missed by the announcer), Kato, Skinner, (she gets Repo Man here), Dale Wolfe, Brooklyn Brawler, Brian Costello, Reno Riggins, Barry Hardy, Dwayne Gill, Chuck Casey, Tom Stone

Colonel Mustafa (Iron Sheik), Crush, Burt Spears, George Anderson (announced as Chuck Casey to mess my numbers up even more), Ron Cumberland, Bill Melky (might have missed the name but does it matter?), Ted DiBiase, IRS, Beau Beverly, Blake Beverly, Knobbs, Sags, Animal, Hawk, Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Earthquake, Typhoon.

There are 40 people in this and since a lot of them are jobbers and not mentioned by the announcers, I’m sorry if I don’t know their names but it’s not like they matter. This was a record for biggest battle royal in WWF history until the 2011 Rumble tied it and is still a record for most people in the ring at once. I count 38 but I’m not counting them again. One is named Donny apparently so that’s 39. Don’t even ask me who is still in there or going out here as it’s impossible to tell.

A mob takes out Earthquake almost immediately. Typhoon is out seconds later. Everyone stands around throwing punches for awhile and there goes a jobber. A few more jobbers go out as Slaughter is in trouble. There’s another jobber as there’s a bit of room in there now. Hawk and Sags go out. Animal and Knobbs are on the floor now so they’re out. I’m missing eliminations but it’s not like it matters.

A pair of jobbers go out on opposite sides. There’s another one out. Repo Man is gone too, as is Von Erich. Bret and Shawn go out at the same time. It’s almost scary with those two at times. Owen goes out as they fight up the aisle. Skinner is gone. Horowitz is out. We’re down to about 15 now. Slaughter does his over the corner bump to be put out. Powers is gone at the hands of Sheik.

DiBiase and Kato put Crush out. Sheik is gone, getting us down to 9. Make that 8 with Koko going out. Jobber gone. Ok so it’s Kato, Tom Stone, Beau Beverly, Blake Beverly, Tatanka, Ted DiBiase, IRS and Virgil. There goes Stone…through the ropes. Then he does it again. Kato is gone as are Virgil and DiBiase.

Stone gets tossed and it’s down to IRS, the Beverlies and Tatanka. They triple team the stereotype and drop elbows on him. They try some double teaming and one of the Beverlies is put out. I think it was Beau but does it matter? They try to throw Tatanka out but he low bridges them, sending IRS out. A chop gives the win to Tatanka.

Rating: C. I’ll go right in the middle because there’s nothing at all you can really say about this that you can’t say about the vast majority of others. The 40 man aspect here was a little novelty and Tatanka winning keeps them from having to deal with the whole “well it was a battle royal so he’s still undefeated” thing. Not bad but just a big battle royal.

Here’s a slightly tougher opponent from Novembe 23, 1992.

Ric Flair vs. Tatanka

This isn’t from Raw but rather a Wrestling Challenge taping. What they would do is have their TV tapings and then tape matches like these for tapes. This has to be early 93 as Flair was gone by like February of that year. Heenan gives us some rather interesting insight into Flair’s mindset and strategy. He says Flair will often give the other guy his arm to sucker him into the Figure Four. That’s psychology people and you rarely get things like that told to you. Also how nice of Heenan to tell EVERYONE how Flair operates in the ring. Obviously no potential opponent will ever see this match and hear that or anything like that right?

Very basic stuff to start but it’s well done. Tatanka takes over and we get a Flair Flop. Flair sends him to the floor as this is a very slow paced match. Again Heenan vs. Ross is the main attraction here but often times they take away from the match, which their discussion of Green Acres is doing here. Classic Flair as he asks the referee to check if Tatanka gives up so he can grab the ropes. Basic things like that make guys into heels. It’s so simple yet it gets a big reaction. Flair is a master at that.

Back to the floor again goes the less successful of these two. To fill time we hear about how Flair was in a plane crash. They haven’t actually gone past basics here which is kind of a bad thing but at the same time the match is working fine for what it’s supposed to be so I can’t complain much. Ok so yeah I could but you get the idea. After nearly ten minutes Flair goes in for the knee and gets the Figure Four.

Heenan getting under Ross’ ultra serious skin is absolutely hilarious. Tatanka is pretty bad about selling the hold as all he does is lay there. Naturally he rolls over and Flair lets go immediately. Flair goes flying off the top of course and here comes the racial stereotype. A chop hits Flair as he comes off the top. Can Tatanka do anything other than chop? He goes for a chop (SHOCKING) off the top but gets caught by a punch to the ribs. Both hit the floor and brawl for a bit but Tatanka is thrown back in at 9 for the count out win. Flair puts him in the Figure Four on the floor but Perfect comes out for the save.

Rating: B-. This was basic but it was well done I thought. Tatanka won to keep his nearly two year undefeated streak going and Flair looked good in the process. That’s all you really need I’d think. This worked rather well though as Flair was his usual evil self. Not a classic by any means, but after almost 12 minutes it didn’t get boring so I’ll give it a point.

Tatanka still hadn’t lost a match at this point which earned him an Intercontinental Title shot at Wrestlemania IX.

Intercontinental Title: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is defending of course and has the debuting Luna Vachon behind him. Tatanka is still undefeated here and would be so until much later in the year. Shawn’s former manager, Sensational Sherri, comes down the aisle to stare at Shawn and presumably be in Tatanka’s corner. Tatanka takes Shawn down a few times to start and they fight over arm control. Shawn comes back with a headlock and climbs the ropes to roll Tatanka down with it for two.

The champion tries it again but gets caught in a belly to back suplex for two this time instead. Shawn goes up again but dives into an armdrag as things pick up a bit. There’s a Flair Flip in the corner and a big chop puts Shawn on the floor. Sherri and Luna get in a staredown and Luna licks the ring post. More chops keep Michaels on the floor as the fans are getting into this.

Back in again and Shawn comes off the top with a semi-botched sunset flip for two but Tatanka comes right back with an atomic drop. A DDT puts Shawn down again and Tatanka works on Shawn’s apparently bad shoulder. Shawn tries a clothesline like an idiot and hurts his own arm again. We hit another armbar but Michaels fights up, only to charge shoulder first into the post.

Back to the armbar followed by a shoulder breaker for no cover by the challenger. A top rope chop to the shoulder has Shawn in even more trouble but a second attempt jumps into the superkick. Since it’s 1993 though that doesn’t end anything so Shawn sends Tatanka out to the floor. The girls get in another staredown but Shawn hits a running clothesline off the apron to take Tatanka out again.

Instead of following up, Shawn yells at Sherri. Since he’s Shawn Michaels though, he still maintains control with a neckbreaker for two. A standing dropkick gets two for Shawn and it’s off to a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Shawn hits a modified victory roll out of the corner for two. The shoulder seems to be fine now. Tatanka counters another victory roll attempt into an electric chair to put both guys down. A very delayed cover gets two for the challenger and it’s time to go on the warpath.

Shawn gets caught in a cross body for two and a slingshot sends him face first into the post for two. The crowd is WAY into this match now. Tatanka’s Papoose To Go (Samoan Drop) is countered into a rollup for two for Shawn but he walks into a powerslam for two. Shawn sends him out to the floor and the fans chant for Sherri. Michaels dives off the apron but slams his head into the steps, knocking himself silly and causing a countout win for the racial stereotype.

Rating: B. If Tatanks wins clean here, it’s a near classic. This was a VERY solid opener with the fans getting completely into the near falls. The shoulder injury being forgotten ten minutes into it hurt things though as I can’t stand a plot point being introduced and then left completely alone. Also Tatanka should have won but it still makes for a fine opener.

Like any wrestler worth anything at this time, Tatanka would take part in the 1993 King of the Ring.

First Round: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Luger beat Backlund and Tatanka beat Giant Gonzalez. Luger is the Narcissist at this point and both he and Tatanka are undefeated at this point. They had teased Luger vs. Hart for awhile but it never happened. Luger has a steel plate in his arm so he was being forced to have a pad over it in most of his matches. Luger really did nail the self absorbed heel character.

He has to put it on or he can’t fight. Savage says the King of the Ring is the most prestigious ever. I love how things at the moment have to be built up. I get why it was done, but that’s just amusing. Tatanka starts off hot if nothing else. He was generic but dang the people responded to him. Heenan gets as close to being too far as you can get without going too far with his jokes about Tatanka. Why wasn’t Savage in this thing? I’ve never gotten that.

He says that the winner of the tournament should be considered equal to the WWF Champion. Well that’s over the top but if nothing else it does come close to validating the tournament as being a big deal. That’s not terrible. Bam Bam says that he wants Tatanka. Heenan says that Bigelow’s grandfather was Buffalo Bill Bigelow. I don’t know how to reply to that.

This turns into a pretty decent back and forth match, but given the amount of times that the announcers point out the fifteen minute time limit and the double undefeated streaks here, the ending is pretty clear. Luger is in control for the most part, but Tatanka does his version of Hulking Up towards the end. A chop gets two. A chop gets two. A chop gets two. A top rope chop gets two.

A top rope chop gets two. Starting to see why Tatanka didn’t really do a lot in the company? The announcers point out that neither guy can know the time limit is about to expire, which it does following Luger nearly winning it. There’s no announcement that we’re running out of time which is something that I like here. Why tell them?

It makes things more believable towards the end of the match. Anyway, we have a draw, but afterwards Luger acts like a face by asking for five more minutes. He confirms being a heel, even though that would end in like two weeks, by nailing Tatanka with the steel forearm to knock him out. Bigelow is in the finals now.

Rating: B-. This was another good match. While the ending was a bit predictable, sometimes that’s ok. These two were both rather limited in the offense area but they still put on a solid enough match for this to be passable. Tatanka didn’t do much other than chop people, but he knew how to work a crowd and it made up for everything else, which holds true for Luger also. It wasn’t pretty, but it did what it was supposed to do.

Without much else going on, Tatanka would be put in a six man tag at Summerslam 1993.

Smoking Guns/Tatanka vs. Headshrinkers/Bam Bam Bigelow

Aren’t cowboys and Indians supposed to fight? The heels have Afa and Luna Vachon with them. The Samoans run over the Guns to start and we have Bigelow vs. Tatanka to get us going. Tatanka fires off a shoulder block and a dropkick followed by an impressive backdrop. Both guys try cross bodies and Tatanka actually gets the better of it. For a gimmick wrestler Tatanka had some good success around this time.

A double tag brings in Billy vs. Fatu (Rikishi) with the Samoan hitting a quick superkick. Billy comes back with a top rope clothesline as Vince tells us Billy went to college on a rodeo scholarship. That actually exists? Another superkick from Samu knocks Billy into the tag to Bart who is slammed face first into the mat for his troubles. Bigelow comes in with a dropkick for two before it’s back to Fatu for a wicked powerslam. The Samoans take turns double teaming Bart with headbutts and chops as the heat segment goes on for a good while.

Bigelow misses a charge and hits the post, allowing Bart to make the hot tag off to Tatanka. The Indian chops every heel in sight and takes Bigelow down with a DDT and a high cross body for two. Tatanka goes on the war path but walks into an enziguri from Bam Bam. Sometimes there’s no better solution than to kick a guy in the head. Everything breaks down and Tatanka is left all alone against the three monsters. A TRIPLE HEADBUTT puts Tatanka down and all three go up for a triple flying headbutt, but Tatanka rolls away and rolls up Samu for the pin.

Rating: B-. Where in the world did this come from??? This was a shockingly good tag match with everyone moving fast and some great looking spots from Bigelow. Tatanka was one of those guys that the fans just liked and there’s no way you can fake that. Good stuff here and a very nice surprise.

Tatanka’s undefeated streak would be broken by Ludvig Borga in October 1993. There was some new talent being brought into the company around this time and Tatanka would face one of them on Wrestling Challenge on February 13, 1994.

Tatanka vs. Jeff Jarrett

Jeff gets in a cheap shot during Tatanka’s posing and drops him with an elbow to the jaw. Tatanka makes a comeback and chops away in the corner but misses a charge to give Jeff control again. He mocks an Indian cry and nails a snap suplex for two. Ludvig Borga comes out for no apparent reason and Jarrett chokes away even more. Borga gets in a cheap shot but it only wakes Tatanka up. We hit the warpath and Tatanka hits the floor to chop Borga as well, drawing in Ludvig for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This was nothing to see and was just there to keep up the feud between Borga vs. Tatanka, which didn’t go anywhere after that. Jarrett would take a long time to really get anywhere and this character wasn’t helping anything. Granted that’s likely because there was no character to be seen.

The next match up is from the March to Wrestlemania X special.

Yokozuna vs. Tatanka

Yokozuna’s WWF Title isn’t up for grabs. This is about revenge after Yokozuna crushed Tatanka and put him on the shelf for a few months. Yokozuna’s manager Mr. Fuji offers a distraction to give Yokozuna a cheap shot from behind. Some chops don’t have much effect on the big man but he misses a splash. A high cross body gets two for Tatanka, but that’s about the extent of his offense as he runs into a knee to the ribs. We hit the nerve hold before Tatanka is thrown to the floor with ease.

The fat guy takes off a turnbuckle pad and we take a break. Back with another nerve hold before a clothesline takes Tatanka’s head off. Yokozuna sends him into the corner but goes face first into the exposed buckle, giving Tatanka a very delayed two. A series of chops put Yokozuna down for another two but he’s way too big for the Papoose to Go (or the Wigwam Bomb as Johnny Polo dubs it). The belly to belly sets up the Banzai Drop to give Yokozuna the pin.

Rating: C-. This pairing actually made a good deal of money on the house show circuit in 1993 with this exact same match. There’s something that works about a smaller guy doing everything he can to drop a huge guy and the reaction to the big chop putting Yokozuna down proves it. Not a good match or anything but it told a good story.

With the hard working Native American gimmick having run its course, it was time to switch things up. Around this time, Tatanka’s friend Lex Luger was having issues with Ted DiBiase. The Million Dollar Man was saying that Luger had sold out and Tatanka started to believe it. Luger felt the only way to prove his innocence was to have a match because that’s how wrestling works. From Summerslam 1994.

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

The fans aren’t sure how they feel about Luger at the moment. They finally lock up with Luger taking it into the corner for a clean break. A shoulder puts Tatanka down but Luger still won’t follow up. Tatanka grabs the arm as we’re still in first gear. A cross body gets two for Tatanka and it’s time to slug it out with Lex taking over. Tatanka starts the war path and hits a top rope chop for two but a high cross body only hits mat. Luger starts his comeback but here’s DiBiase with a bag of money. Lex shouts that he didn’t sell out, allowing Tatanka to roll him up for the pin.

Rating: D. The match was very slow paced which isn’t good in a short match. We were waiting for the angle here instead of the match which is fine, but it didn’t make the match any less dull. Tatanka was into a more serious phase of his career here and his matches got a lot less fun to watch as a result.

Post match Luger is mad and he kicks the bag out of DiBiase’s hand…..only to have Tatanka reveal the HE sold out by destroying Luger. Tatanka puts him in the Million Dollar Dream and shoves money down Luger’s throat. This has always been a favorite of mine.

Here’s a rematch from October 19, 1994.

Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Tatanka is part of the Million Dollar Team so this is after Summerslam 94. We’re in Albany it seems. The racial stereotype tries to talk but gets cut off by the music of the Renegade Lex Luger. Luger goes right after Tatanka and we’re on in a hurry. The Indian hides on the floor as we stall a lot. Luger wants to kill him it seems. Literally all we have here is Luger chasing Tatanka and Tatanka running away.

FINALLY the referee gets in Luger’s way and we get going. Luger hammers away and after about a minute I have a bad feeling about this tape. Out to the floor and it’s Tatanka in control. We’re maybe four minutes into this and I want to go watch some Sandman vs. Sabu. Three elbows get two for Tatanka.

Ah there’s a chinlock. Wow this is riveting. Luger’s face is pathetic here as he might as well be ordering dinner. He fights up and Tatanka gets a knee to put him back down. Back to the chinlock again. To tell you how pathetic the Million Dollar Team was, King Kong Bundy was considered their best chance at getting a title. Lex fights up again and AGAIN it’s the chinlock. This is one of the most boring matches I’ve ever seen, which is covering a lot of ground.

Luger knocks Tatanka to the floor which seems to be a common theme tonight. Lex goes out after him and the beating continues. At least this is finally picking up a bit. It’s about time after that big long boring match. And there’s a double countout to end this. Oh no. Oh no they didn’t just give us THAT finish after watching these two for almost fifteen minutes. Dang it yes they did.

Rating: F. This was AWFUL. Nothing happened in this and it was the epitome of filling in time without having to do a thing. This was a feud I always liked and then we get this nonsense. Totally boring match that is mostly chinlock and running. I know this era was bad but this isn’t making me feel any better about this tape.

Tatanka would continue to be part of the Million Dollar Team, including teaming with Bam Bam Bigelow to go after the Tag Team Titles. They would have their shot in a tournament final at the 1995 Royal Rumble.

Tag Titles: Bob Holly/1-2-3 Kid vs. Bam Bam Bigelow/Tatanka

Shawn and Diesel split up and we needed champions. Holly and Tatanka start things off with Tatanka hitting a side slam for two. Holly comes back with a slam and a few dropkicks as this is going nowhere so far. Off to the Kid vs. Bigelow, with the big man running over both of the smaller guys with ease. Bigelow LAUNCHES Kid into the air but gets caught in a rana to send Bam Bam rolling.

Back to Tatanka who whips Kid into the buckles a few times before it’s off to Bigelow to pound on the small guy some more. In something that actually impressed me, Kid backdrops Bigelow to the floor. Both small guys try top rope cross bodies but they escape and dropkick the heels together. Things settle down with Tatanka beating on Holly for a LONG time. Bigelow comes in, allowing Tatanka to distract the Kid. Holly goes to the corner to find no partner and Bigelow splashes Bob.

Holly gets beaten down so badly that he goes to the wrong corner and tags in Tatanka. Thank goodness this isn’t the Attitude Era because it probably would have been legal in some of their matches. Tatanka comes in for more beating on Holly until Bob FINALLY gets in a clothesline for the hot tag to the Kid. Everything breaks down and Kid is LAUNCHED to the floor by Bigelow. Bam Bam loads up the moonsault but Tatanka accidentally hits the ropes to knock him to the mat. Somehow that’s enough for the pin and the titles for the Kid.

Rating: C+. This went nearly sixteen minutes which was just too long. It’s quite good but it would have been great if they cut off five minutes or so. Those launches by Bigelow were awesome looking as Kid continues to be an excellent seller of moves like those. The idea was that it was all Bigelow’s fault, even though Tatanka is totally to blame for Bigelow crashing like that. The Gunns would win the titles back the next night on Raw, making this whole thing pretty pointless.

Bigelow would be thrown off the Million Dollar Team and eventually be replaced by Sid. This set up the main event of the 1995 King of the Ring, with Tatanka teaming with Sid against Bigelow and WWF Champion Diesel.

Diesel/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sid and Tatanka

For some reason Bigelow had a pyromaniac gimmick going on or something like it. His outfit consists of a full body costume with orange and black flames sticking off of it and forearm things that shoot fire. This is stupid as all goodness. This match hasn’t been mentioned or hyped or anything at all tonight. Literally, I forgot about it for a lot of the show. That’s how important this match was for the company.

Sid and Diesel had fought at In Your House with Diesel winning. Bigelow was fired from the Million Dollar Team because he kept losing. Other than that, the Team injured Diesel’s arm so it’s bandaged. This feels like a dark match after a show is over that isn’t advertised or anything. Seriously, it’s added on at the end or something like that. What’s the point here?

It’s your standard main event tag match with the faces dominating early and then the heels work on the injury to set up the hot tag, then beat down face #2, Bigelow in this case, leading to the final hot tag to the champion. That takes 15 minutes, and NO ONE CARES! That’s the issue with the whole show. No one cares about anything here because there is zero effort being put into it. You can tell the wrestlers don’t care because this show means nothing at all.

This might as well have been a big house show or something. After working on the injured elbow, which Vince wants them disqualified for in a stupid string of comments, Diesel hits the powerbomb on Tatanka but wants Sid, who runs away so Diesel can get the pin. There would be a lumberjack match the next month and that’s all there is to it. Yeah seriously that’s how the show ends.

Rating: C-. And that’s out of pity. This was just so generic again that all I can call it is average. It had some ok spots but nothing special at all. Sid and Diesel were crushing the company with their horrible feud that never went anywhere. The company somehow managed to screw things up even worse in a few months with Diesel vs. Mabel.

Vince’s love of big men continued to suck the life out of his company and more importantly the fans with these stupid big men matches. Diesel was talented, but the opponents weren’t. Seriously, you have Bret, Shawn, Owen and Taker to put him against and you picked Mabel. That’s just freaking stupid. Anyway, this was ok, but like every single match tonight, there was no reason to care about it and I’m glad this crap is over.

Tatanka’s time in the company was coming to an end but he would have this match on Raw from February 19, 1996.

Tatanka vs. Undertaker

This is after Undertaker’s VERY long feud with the Million Dollar Team so we can call this part of the aftermath. Undertaker sends Tatanka into the corner to start and chokes away as Diesel comes to the ring with an ax. He takes the cameraman with him and we go to a break. Back with Tatanka holding a headlock and a split screen showing Diesel destroying Undertaker’s casket with the ax. Undertaker comes back with the running clothesline and Old School as the casket is destroyed even more. Tatanka scores with a piledriver but gets chokeslammed and tombstoned for the easy pin.

Rating: D. This was there as a backdrop for the Diesel stuff which helped set up their Wrestlemania match. Tatanka meant nothing at this point and it was painfully obvious. At the end of the day there’s only so much you can do with a character like his and we passed that about two years ago.

Tatanka would leave the WWF soon after this and hit the indies/mostly retire. He would come back on the indy circuit a bit later on, including this match from Rodman Down Under in 2001.

Australasian Title: One Man Gang vs. Tatanka

Yes seriously. Tatanka is defending and is the face, but wouldn’t you think he would be a heel for being so proud of being from another country? The Gang thanks the fans for their support but wants the women to wash their underwear before they throw them to him. Gang looks so old it’s unreal. He pounds away in the corner to start and gets two off a clothesline. Tatanka comes back with kicks and chops as this is somehow less interesting than the girls.

Gang is sent to the floor and complains about how bad he smells. He takes a walk up the aisle and after nearly a minute the fans fill the ring with trash. Back in and they trade wristlocks with Gang pounding down into the shoulder. Tatanka comes back with shots to Gang’s shoulder as well and a chop to the head for two. A nearly botched cross body gets two more for Tatanka but Gang hits one of his own for two. Tatanka works the leg for a bit as this is already going longer than it should.

Gang kicks him to the floor but gets caught in a sunset flip for two. The big man slowly drops knees as I go read Gone with the Wind to fill in the time. Off to a nerve hold until Gang drives some shoulders into Tatanka’s ribs. Gang misses a running charge in the corner but Tatanka charges into a boot in the corner. A big fat legdrop makes me wish I was watching a Yokozuna match but Tatanka avoids a second one. I’m assuming he does as the camera was on fans in NWO shirts.

Tatanka makes his comeback and a chop to the head gets two. He rams Gang’s head into the buckle but the referee is crushed off a whip. Gang is slammed off the top and chopped in the head but there’s no referee. The fat man loads up some brass knuckles and knocks out the Indian for the pin and the title after nearly TWENTY MINUTES.

Rating: F+. I’ll give Gang credit here: he was trying. He was playing to the crowd and actually moving a bit out there which is more than you can say for most of the wrestlers tonight. The match was WAY too long though and on a show already this bad there’s no reason for it to go this long. Did they only have twelve people for the show or something?

He even came back to WWE for a year, with this being the highlight. From No Way Out 2006.

MNM vs. Matt Hardy/???

This is an open challenge. MNM is Mercury, Nitro and Melina. Nitro is more famous as Morrison now. Matt took them up on it but we don’t know who the partner is. MNM are the Smackdown tag champions here so of course this is non-title. Here’s Matt, and here’s his partner.

MNM vs. Matt Hardy/Tatanka

This is like an indy show nightmare. Tatanka is in a non-title tag team match with Matt Hardy on PPV in 2006. WHAT THE HECK? Zero reaction as you probably would have guessed. Tatanka came back at the Rumble and would eventually turn heel and start a feud with Lashley before leaving before they had any contact. Hardy and Mercury start us off here.

Somehow Matt is the big star here. Off to Tatanka and Mercury is in trouble. Sweet goodness this is uninteresting beyond belief. Tazz: who’s going to challenge MNM. Cole: Matt Hardy and Tatanka? Point for Cole. Melina gets in Hardy’s face and slaps the tar out of him. Tatanka comes in to chop a lot. Melina rakes his eyes and MNM takes over again. Sweet merciful crap this is boring.

The heels double team Tatanka as I want to find a bag to put over my head to avoid having to watch this. Suffocation is sounding good right now. You can hear Hardy calling Tatanka Chris which probably isn’t the best thing in the world to hear. Tatanka catches Mercury coming off the top in an atomic drop but Nitro comes in to keep the tag from happening. And that completely fails as Matt comes in a few seconds later.

Matt cleans house as this is still completely uninteresting. Twist of Fate is blocked and Nitro gets a superkick to Hardy. Both members of MNM have been in the ring for like a minute and Tatanka doesn’t seem to mind his partner doing double duty. Back to Tatanka and we get stereo Twist of Fate and Papoose To Go to end this. Was there ANY point to this at all?

Rating: D. It was boring, it wasn’t interesting, and Tatanka was the best they could come up with? Was Shannon Moore not available? Somehow he would have been a better choice. This was just awful as the fans didn’t care and this went nowhere at all. I can’t even say it was short as it went over ten minutes. Bad match.

Tatanka is a good example of a guy who had a very limited gimmick and turned it into a fairly decent career. He was kind of a throwback to an old school one note gimmick character and it did about as well as it was going to. Even though he didn’t have a ton of success, he was always around for a long stretch which isn’t the worst thing in the world.

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I remember watching this about a hundred times.

The InVasion/2001 as a whole.

Steve Austin.

Undertaker.

Edge.

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Today we’re looking at one of the most influential wrestlers of all time with Superstar Billy Graham.

Billy Graham vs. Tommy DeMarco

Ivan Koloff is Graham’s second here. Before the match Graham shows off his tye dye which is a very different thing to see at this point. Graham starts very fast and cranks on the arm before sending him to the floor. Tom comes back with a very fast series of right hands in the corner followed by a backdrop. Graham runs him over with a shoulder but walks into a dropkick and armdrag. Billy has to run outside for a breather and things slow way down. Back in and Graham cranks on the leg before wrapping it around the post. A big elbow drop is enough to pin DeMarco.

Rating: C-. WAY more entertaining than I was expecting here with DeMarco being very energetic. It was a step above a squash and that’s way better than what you would usually get on TV at this point. Speaking of TV, the production values for 1972 are AMAZING here as I could easily buy that this was from about fifteen years later.

Still in the AWA, this time in Chicago on Halloween 1973.

Wilbur Snyder vs. Billy Graham

Graham hides in the ropes to start and Gene Okerlund gets to make a rare commentary appearance. A lockup goes nowhere until Billy pulls him down by the hair into a chinlock. Snyder counters into a headlock of his own as this isn’t the fastest paced match in the world. Different time though. They trade elbows to drop each other with Wilbur getting the better of it and stomping away.

Boots are put to Graham and Snyder starts going after the arm by wrapping it around the ropes. Back up and Graham scores with some elbows to the head and rams Wilbur into the buckle. Snyder avoids a charge in the corner and ducks a right hand, sending Graham out to the floor. Graham sneaks in a right hand back inside and we’re back in the chinlock.

Snyder actually wins a power battle and cranks on an armbar, followed by a headscissors on the mat. Back up again with Graham cranking on the headlock to take Snyder back down. After that eats up way too long, Snyder sends him into the buckle and they fight to the apron for a double countout.

Rating: D+. Not the most exciting match in the world but again it’s a different era. This really was built around a lot of stuff on the mat instead of more fast paced action. That being said, this was a lot of chinlocks which can be hard to sit through. Snyder was a fairly big deal back in the AWA so this was a pretty big time match.

It’s off to New York now Graham was instantly a big deal. Here he is challenging Bruno for the World Title on October 13, 1975.

WWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham

It’s a boxing match to start and Graham hides in the ropes like a good heel should. A LOUD Bruno chant starts up as Graham shoves Bruno into the corner. The champion cranks on his arm and it’s a fight over a top wristlock. After a long stretch of having Bruno overpower him, Billy pulls him down by the hair and we’re back in the top wristlock battle. Another hair pull gives Graham control again but Bruno gets all ticked off and slams him down.

We get another test of strength with Billy taking over, but Bruno won’t let it go and fights up. This keeps going for a few minutes with Graham not being able to keep Sammartino down. Bruno finally takes over but another cheap shot gives Graham a breather. Off to a chinlock on Bruno with tape around his throat until the champion fights up again. A big backdrop and some boots have Graham in trouble so he begs off in the corner.

The delay is enough to allow Graham to grab his bearhug and take Bruno down to the mat. You know the champion isn’t going to stay down like that though and he’s quickly back to his feet. As has been the case throughout the match, the hold stays on for a good while until Billy rams him into the buckle, SLAMMING Bruno’s head into the buckle. Now it’s Bruno with his own bearhug but an eyerake gets Graham out. They collide with Bruno being knocked outside for the countout in a sudden ending.

Rating: C. While the match was a lot of the same holds for a long time, they actually told a nice story with it. They played up the idea of both guys being incredibly strong and turned it into a showdown where you wanted to see which guy was going to blink first. The ending worked really well too as it sets up the rematch but keeps Bruno looking good.

Graham would continue chasing the title until April 30, 1977.

Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham

The ring is especially wide here for some reason. They feel each other out a bit and Graham easily shoves Bruno around. Now Bruno shoves back and grabs an armbar for good measure. Graham makes the rope and heads to the floor for a bit before returning for a test of strength. Bruno goes down to his knees twice and even gets his shoulders counted a few times. The champ fights back and sends Graham to the floor to reset things a bit.

Back in and they fight over a top wristlock with Billy taking control again. Bruno fights back again and takes over with an armbar of his own. The challenger fights up and hits a knee to the ribs, sending Bruno down for some more stomping in the process. Graham goes to the throat to keep the advantage but misses a running knee in the corner. Bruno pounds away and Graham is busted open.

Billy comes back with a whip into the corner and it’s off to a bearhug on the champion. Bruno is in trouble all of a sudden but he fights up from his knees on the much taller Graham. Right hands to the head break the hold and there’s a hard whip into the corner by the champion. Now Sammartino hooks a bearhug of his own but Billy gets a rope. They fight in the corner with Bruno in full control. The referee tries to break it up though, allowing Graham to trip Bruno’s legs out from under him and roll Bruno up with his feet on the ropes for the pin and the title.

Rating: C. This wasn’t too bad but more importantly it showed what Graham could do in the ring. He was insanely powerful and had a flashy look as opposed to the bigger than average but still relatively normal look that dominated wrestling in the 70s. This was Bruno’s last match as champion and he went out in a pretty good way.

And now, for a rematch on August 1, 1977.

WWF Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham

Gorilla is the guest referee for this one and good night is he huge. He shoves Graham around for trying to jump Bruno before the bell. He has no issue with Bruno doing the same though. Gorilla is also doing the voiceover thing here and says that more or less anything goes here. For the second time he says he’s 423lbs at this point. He won’t count Graham out because he says he’s not ending a title match with a count out.

Bruno was limited in his offense but at the same time that’s all you have to do. I think this is in Toronto but I’m not sure at all. Graham gets the feet and gets something from under the ring. Ah it’s a rope. Bruno chokes him with it and Gorilla isn’t as adamant about stopping that. According to Gorilla this is in MSG also but there’s no way given how this arena looks.

The idea here is that Bruno just wants the title back and Graham is trying to find a way to escape with it as his power isn’t working this time as Bruno might be stronger and is at least just as strong. Bruno works on the knee and hooks a half crab. We get a clip again as the hold is broken. That kind of sucks the drama out of matches and I’m not a fan of it at all.

Graham throws in a low blow and Gorilla seems to be ok with it. On the commentary he claims it might have been in the thigh. Yeah the hand being up around the hips of Bruno really looks like a thigh shot Monsoon. Graham goes up top and misses a knee and Bruno is all fired up again. Ok never mind as he eats post. Billy goes out and gets the belt which Gorilla steals as well. Shame he didn’t do it before the belt hit Bruno’s cranium.

Bruno is BUSTED WIDE OPEN as I channel my inner Gorilla. Graham hits the floor to leave so Gorilla throws him back in the ring. Well you can’t say he’s not active. He says if you look hard enough in the rule book it’s in there. Graham might be busted too and now he can’t get back in the ring.

Gorilla won’t count which is kind of funny. Bruno is ALL FIRED UP and there’s the bearhug again. And there’s a shot to Gorilla but still no DQ. Now that Gorilla’s shirt is just covered in blood he has no real choice but to stop it. It’s kind of hard to question that and he points out that he didn’t have much of a choice.

Rating: B-. Another brutal fight here with all kinds of blood out there. Feuds back then were based more on what happened in the ring rather than what happened on the mic so it’s a very different kind of style. This was a pretty fun match though as Bruno just beat the living tar out of him and Graham kept trying to cheat no matter what he could do. I liked it though.

Here’s a match against another opponent from December 19, 1977 in MSG.

Billy Graham vs. Mil Mascaras

Mascaras is a Mexican legend and one of the biggest stars the country has ever produced. I’ve heard a lot about Mascaras not selling stuff so let’s see if that’s the case or not. Graham is a roided up mess here and likely had to lose the title due to health issues soon after this. The Grand Wizard, Graham’s manager, gets to stay here as he’s promised to be good. I’m not making this up. Fink actually says the words “as long as he behaves.”

And Mascaras sprints off to the back to….uh….apparently he’s getting a burrito? Ah never mind he gets Backlund which is likely to set up the next show. Mascaras goes insane to start us off and just beating the tar out of Graham. They’re going with the basic power vs. speed formula here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Mascaras gets a bow and arrow hold and makes Graham dance like a chicken. You’d have to see it to get it but then again this is a book so that makes no sense. Basically graham is flapping his arms around trying to break the hold but since his arms are behind him he looks like he’s trying to fly.

Graham can’t overpower the guy that’s a lot bigger than I expected him to be. We stay in this hold for a LONG time as Graham isn’t smart enough to break it by using the ropes I guess. And of course just as I type that he’s in them. So far it’s been almost all Mascaras which says a lot given the size difference here.

Graham wins a test of strength but Mascaras just keeps out moving him. We hit a full nelson but that doesn’t work either. Graham can’t get anything to keep working at all here which I think is the point of the match. An abdominal stretch is a big deal at the time but lasts a second or two here. There are a LOT of submission holds here and they’re kind of sucking the life out of it.

Vince is also very different here as he’s not talking a mile a minute. That rarely would be the case later on in his more prominent stuff. Wizard shouts instructions to Graham and gets taken away by the POLICE. WOW they took wrestling more seriously back then. There’s the bearhug which is Graham’s finisher at the time. Just like every other hold he’s used though Mascaras counters into his own version.

Graham reaches for the ropes and looks like he’s a large man at a country fair reaching for the last slab of pie in an eating contest. He finally escapes and goes for the mask in an evil move. I say evil because we’re at two minutes and counting so far of him trying to take the mask off. Ah here we go again. Champion goes to the floor and is rammed into the post, cutting him open. Mascaras goes off on him but the ref stops the match due to the cut. Some things never change I guess. That isn’t enough for a title change though as it’s pin or submission only, which makes sense at least.

Rating: B-. It’s slower paced and kind of a clash of styles but the whole Mascaras counters everything was a decent enough story. Backlund coming out to counter the Wizard was a nice touch as it would foreshadow issues between him and the world champion in the coming months, but we’ll get to that in a bit. Graham here was looking like a modern champion in that he was barely surviving but escapes with the title to fight another day despite being outmatched.

While no longer champion, Graham would continue to be a big deal and face Dusty Rhodes on August 28, 1978 in one of the first gimmick matches in MSG history.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Billy Graham

This is a Texas Bullrope match and it’s pin or not being able to answer an 8 (yes 8) count. Jay Strongbow is referee for some reason. Graham doesn’t want to be tied up so Strongbow grabs him and ties him up anyway. Graham keeps running and Dusty keeps pulling him in. The elbow to the head puts Graham down and he tries to run again. Another elbow stuns Graham but he rakes the eyes to get a break.

Dusty gets choked by the rope but Billy misses an elbow drop. The Dream is busted open and Graham hooks his bearhug. That doesn’t last long for some reason so Billy goes up top. That’s REALLY FREAKING STUPID in a bullrope match as Dusty pulls him down to the mat. Billy is busted too and Dusty pounds away. Apparently this is the rubber match in a series. Graham comes back but Strongbow breaks it up for some reason. Dusty elbows him in the head and that’s enough for the 8 count and the win. That was a really abrupt ending.

Rating: C. This was fun while it lasted but unfortunately that wasn’t too long. There’s something cool about letting two guys beat the stuffing out of each other and that’s what happened here. I still don’t get what Strongbow had to do with this but maybe it was Graham’s next feud. Dusty never did much in the WWF but he did enough elsewhere to make up for it.

We’ll jump to Japan for a match at some point in 1979.

Mighty Inoue vs. Billy Graham

Graham spits at him to start before getting in a shot to the throat. Inoue is sent to the floor and rammed into a chair for some choking. He tries to bring the chair into the ring so Graham throws some more in at him. Things settle down with Inoue working over Billy’s leg in the corner but getting choked by the tag rope. The choking is switched over to a chinlock until Inoue cranks on the leg to escape.

They head outside again for more choking with Graham saying to put this on television. Back in and Inoue hammers away before it turns into another battle of the chokes. A pair of dropkicks give the Mighty one control but Graham avoids a third and drives in an elbow to the back. Graham puts him over his shoulder for the backbreaker and a submission.

Rating: C. Energetic match here but the choking got really annoying. At least they kept things moving so that it wasn’t a boring match but the extended holds are getting to be a bit much to sit through. I’m not all that familiar with Inoue but he wasn’t bad at all. The constant choking took away from the match though.

We’ll jump ahead to November 25, 1982 in Philadelphia.

Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Billy Graham

Graham is now bald and a karate master, having lost a lot of weight and muscle. Jay quickly chops him down and cranks on a wristlock to eat up a good chunk of time. Graham goes to the eyes to escape and we hit the bearhug on the Chief. Jay finally escapes and gets choked with tape but it’s time to go on the warpath. Strongbow cleans house but a shot to the jaw sends him to the floor for a VERY fast countout.

Rating: D. This really didn’t work all that well. Graham as the karate guy never worked but he wasn’t going to do the Superstar stuff anymore as Vince Sr. wouldn’t let him turn face. Strongbow was a guy that was popular with the crowd but really doesn’t hold up in modern times due to how generic his offense was.

That’s enough long matches. Here’s a squash from early 1983.

Barry Hart vs. Billy Graham

Barry would later change his last name to Horowitz. Some right hands to the face have Hart in trouble and a back elbow to the jaw puts him down. Barry fights back with a knee lift but Graham quickly sends him to the floor. Back in and a karate chop to the neck is good for the pin.

Graham would head to the NWA in 1985 and appear at Starrcade 1985. I’ll include the setup to the match as well.

Now we get some good old fashioned ARM WRESTLING between Billy Graham and the Barbarian. Graham finally puts him down but Barbarian’s manager Paul Jones whacks Billy with a cane as soon as it’s over. Apparently it’s time for a match.

Barbarian vs. Billy Graham

Barbarian rips at Graham’s face and chokes away like any good monster villain would do. He even bites Billy’s forehead but doesn’t bust him open here. We get a very early bearhug from Barbarian and he slams Billy down, only to miss his top rope headbutt. Graham stomps away and puts on his own bearhug but Jones comes in and breaks it up for the DQ.

Rating: D. Was there a point to this? It was barely long enough to rate and the majority of the match was spent in those bearhugs. Graham would be back in the WWF sooner than later and Barbarian would continue to be this same character for about twelve more years. Nothing to see here.

Injuries would slow Graham down but he would come back to the WWF as a monster face for a bit. The injuries would put him on the shelf again, but Graham would come back for one final run in the fall of 1987. Here’s his last match from November 14, 1987.

Butch Reed vs. Billy Graham

Reed jumps him to start and stomps away at Graham’s injured hip. A series of chair shots to the hip has Billy in big trouble and Butch goes after the leg even more. Butch goes up but jumps into a fist to the ribs. Graham has to deal with Slick, allowing the One Man Gang to come in for the DQ.

Gang splashes Graham on the floor, which was the way he was written into retirement. Don Muraco made the save.

To say Billy Graham influenced a lot of wrestlers is an understatement. If you listen to him talk you’ll hear lines used by Dusty Rhodes, Scott Steiner and Hulk Hogan among others. He was far more important on the mic and how he looked than in the ring, but to say he was a big deal is nowhere near a strong enough statement. He also held the World Title longer than any heel ever in the company. That’s quite a record to last over thirty years.

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It’s the go home show for Money in the Bank and the big story tonight is the reveal of the rest of the roster for the contract ladder match. Other than that it’s likely going to be the usual go home show, with a lot of speeches about why everyone will win and not have a lot of other development. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Stephanie in a very tight pink and black dress to open things up. She says that as owner of this business, she can’t stand gross negligence. Vickie Guerrero couldn’t get her a simple cup of coffee, so Vickie needs to get out here and face the consequences. Vickie comes out looking terrified and says she knows Roman Reigns spiked the coffee. Finally, someone watches the show.

Stephanie is still annoyed though because Reigns was the one thing that Vickie was supposed to avoid. Somehow Vickie screwed up and allowed Roman to get into the title hunt and Stephanie gets in a plug for the ladder match. Stephanie says Vickie has been riding Eddie’s coattails for nine years. She couldn’t be a Diva so they made her a GM, but Vickie couldn’t even do that right.

Vickie doesn’t deserve the same respect Eddie got so Stephanie has no choice. Guerrero offers to beg and the fans chant NO. Stephanie tells her to beg on her knees and Vickie does just that. The boss says stop humiliating yourself because you have one more chance: win your match tonight or get fired. Vickie wants to know who she would have to face and of course Stephanie is the opponent. Stephanie is about to fire her but Vickie gets some courage and says the Guerrero name is more respected than the McMahons. The match is on.

Jimmy Uso vs. Luke Harper

The Family now has some I believe organ version of He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands for their entrance. I’m hoping it’s just for the tag team because it doesn’t work at all. Harper nails a quick dropkick to start but gets caught by a spinning kick to the face. Jey and Rowan get into a fight on the floor and Jimmy loads up a dive, only to walk into the discus lariat for the pin at 1:43.

Jey wants to fight Rowan right now and gets what he wants after a break.

Jey Uso vs. Erick Rowan

Joined in progress with Jey fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a fall away slam. Another slam gets two for Rowan but he misses a charge into the post. A superkick puts him down though and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin at 1:58. Same match with the roles reversed.

The Wyatts destroy the Usos post match. Bray pops up on screen and says he’s proud of his boys. He and his brothers look down upon creation and see the bodies of all their conquerings. On Sunday, Bray will climb the ladder and become champion of champions. His brothers will prove themselves worthy to be his disciples and they will roam the earth like disciples, spreading their message of follow the buzzards.

Lana and Rusev went sight seeing earlier today and rip on some Washington landmarks. America’s only option is to bow down and accept Vladimir Putin.

Alicia Fox vs. Naomi

Paige and Cameron are on commentary. Naomi gets a quick rollup for two but can’t hit the Rear View. Cameron brags about how touch she is and how she’s going to dance all over everyone and win the Divas Title. The girls fight on the floor with Naomi getting the better of it but getting pulled off the apron and down onto the concrete. Fox gets two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as Cameron is still running her mouth. A northern lights suplex gets two on Naomi as Paige shrugs off everything Cameron says. Fox sends Naomi outside and poses a lot but back inside, a quick reverse DDT gives Naomi the pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t bad as you had two girls who could have a decent match in there, but Cameron was painfully annoying and was almost literally shouting PAY ATTENTION TO ME. Paige vs. Naomi could have a great match if given the chance but we’ll have to put up with Cameron because of a team split that no one is going to care about.

Post match Paige gets on the apron and holds up the belt while sticking out her hand. Naomi slowly shakes it and it looks like we have a future title match set.

Sheamus and Reigns are in the back talking about their 4-3 handicap match tonight. Reigns is ready but Sheamus brings up Shield attacking everyone in WWE over the last year and a half. Sheamus says Sunday is every man for himself and Reigns says he’ll be ready. The idea seems to please Sheamus and both guys say they’ll win on Sunday.

Titus O’Neil vs. Bo Dallas

Bo has a black eye but brings up Titus’ two losses in less than a minute on Smackdown. He suggests Titus Bolieve of course. Some dropkicks have Titus staggered but he comes back with a series of slams and chops in the corner. Titus misses a charge though and the Bodog gives Bo the pin at 1:06.

Titus knocks the mic out of Bo’s hands post match. Bo: “Silly me. Mr. Butterfingers.” Titus gets the pep talk but nothing else happens.

Here’s HHH to talk about how all the decisions in this country are made right here in Washington DC. He explains the double ladder match on Sundaya nd how the winner of the briefcase is almost guaranteed to be World Champion. The lineup for the ladder match will be Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler (big pop), Rob Van Dam and Bad News Barrett. That’s only six even though the graphic had seven spots. HHH picks Rollins to win the match of course and here’s Seth, now with his own t-shirt.

The fans chant YOU SOLD OUT and Rollins says they really should be over it by now. If the fans love Ambrose and Reigns as much as they claim they do, they should still be thanking Rollins for getting them as high as they did. Shield may have gotten him this far, but this Sunday he’ll climb the ladder all by himself. You can call him a sellout but on Sunday you’re going to call him Mr. Money in the Bank.

This brings out RVD who thinks he’s not being taken seriously. Seth: “I do take you seriously. I’d take you even more seriously if this was 2005.” RVD: “Back when you had to ask your mom to stay up late and watch me wrestle?” Van Dam brings up crushing HHH’s trachea in the first Elimintion Chamber before challenging Seth to a match right now. HHH says let’s do it.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins

This actually starts without a break and Van Dam hits a quick monkey flip to take over. Seth is sent to the floor for a dive followed by a moonsault from the apron as we take a break. Back with Rob getting choked on the ropes before Seth hits Three Amigos for two. After a chinlock goes nowhere, Seth gets two off the spinning sleeper drop.

Back to the chinlock for a few moments before Rob grabs a rollup for two. Some clotheslines look to set up Rolling Thunder but it takes a big spinning kick for Rolling Thunder to connect. A top rope kick to the face drops Seth but the Five Star only hits mat. The buckle bomb sets up the curb stomps but Dean Ambrose runs in for the DQ at 10:00.

Rating: C-. I’m really getting tired of Rob Van Dam lately. His matches aren’t bad for the most part but you can call almost every spot he’s going to do in the entire match depending on how long it runs. Thankfully he’s only there to put people over at this point because that’s all he should be doing now.

Ambrose destroys Seth until Rollins can get away. Dean demands to be put in the ladder match because he’ll wreck things if he doesn’t get in.

After a break, Rollins wants Ambrose in the ladder match so Seth can keep his eyes on him. Rollins says any failure will be on him so HHH grants his wish.

Intercontinental Title: Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rematch from a non-title match on Smackdown where Ziggler got a quick upset. Barrett rips on the Redskins before the match. We get big match intros after a break and Ziggler grabs a quick rollup for two. A clothesline puts him on the floor though and Barrett takes over. Back in and Barrett cranks on a chinlock but comes back with a hard series of right hands on the mat and in the corner. Winds of Change gets two more for the champion but he gets caught by the Zig Zag. Barrett rolls to the floor before Dolph can cover though and we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting two off something we didn’t see but being sent to the floor so the champion can take over. We head back inside with Bad News kicking him in the ribs for two but going up top, only to get caught in the top rope X Factor for a very close near fall. Barrett loads up a powerbomb but switches over to Wasteland for two instead. The Bull Hammer is countered into the Fameasser for yet another near fall as the fans are WAY into this. Another Winds of Change is countered into a crucifix but the Stinger Splash lands on the Bull Hammer for the pin to retain the title at 12:34.

Rating: B. This was a very solid back and for the match and makes up for the loss on Friday. It made that match look much more like a fluke as Barrett gets to come back and win a competitive match. These two had chemistry together and that’s always something good to see.

Vickie says she has no regrets. Orton shows up and says Vickie will get what’s coming to her.

Vickie Guerrero vs. Stephanie McMahon

Guerrero comes out to Eddie’s music and Stephanie comes out in the pink and black dress and heels. The match isn’t going to take place in the ring, but rather in a mud pit. The first person to go into the pit loses the match, and Vickie is fired if she loses. Stephanie sends Rosa Mendes, Layla and Alicia Fox to attack Vickie and she’s easily overpowered, but manages to send Rosa into the pit. Layla goes in as well and Alicia follows her, causing Vickie to do the YES chant. Stephanie hits her from behind though and knocks her into the pit for the win. Not a match of course.

Stephanie fires her in a perfect imitation of Vince’s voice. She starts the Goodbye Song but Vickie gets fed up and the reality that Vickie has nothing to lose quickly sets in. Vickie throws her into the muck and Vickie does the Eddie dance before leaving. The referee is pulled in while helping Stephanie just to make things all the better.

We recap the debut of Stardust.

Goldust is in the back and says he didn’t see Cody last week. This brings in Stardust who sings When You Wish Upon a Star. Goldust: “WOW! Now I’m the normal one!”

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger

Kofi goes after the leg to start before kicking away at the ribs. A hard shoulder puts Kofi down but he comes back with the jumping elbow to the jaw. Swagger kicks him in the ribs and hits the Vader Bomb before cranking on the arm. Kofi fights up with some dropkicks to send Swagger outside, followed by a big flip dive. Back in and Kingston’s top rope cross body is caught but he comes back with a victory roll for two. A flapjack sets up the Patriot Lock though and Kofi taps at 3:56.

Rating: C. The match was fine but they seemed to be a step off at times. It’s nice to see Swagger get a clean pin, but at the end of the day I have no reason to buy into his push at all given how many times it’s gone nowhere before. Kofi’s high flying is still awesome and he’ll have a job because of it for years.

Naomi vs. Paige is official for Sunday.

Del Rio says he’s the only one in the ladder match that is undefeated in Money in the Bank. Not true but whatever. Cesaro and Heyman come up with Paul talking about how Del Rio may be the one in the ladder match, but Heyman is the one behind the one in 21-1 and how Cesaro will win on Sunday. Del Rio asks Cesaro if he ever talks, so Cesaro says he doesn’t speak loser.

Damien Sandow is Abraham Lincoln this week and reads a proclomation that says some people don’t find him entertaining. He’d rather spend a night in Ford’s Theater than let simpletons determine his career. He runs his mouth for a bit longer until Big E. interrupts.

Damien Sandow vs. Big E.

Sandow wrestles in the suit and stomps away in the corner. Big E. runs him over and hits the Big Ending for the pin at 54 seconds.

Post match Big E. goes into what sounds like a preacher rant about how this is the land of the free and how tired he is of hearing Rusev and Lana run down America. Lana comes to the stage, allowing Rusev to jump Big E. from behind. The jumping superkick sets up the Accolade as America is crushed again.

Cena talks about how this Sunday, seven men will fight for the WWE Championship. Moments and memories will be made but we’re guaranteed to see a new WWE Champion. It’s time to pick which of the Magnificent Seven walks out as champion. He’s wearing green tonight and that’s the color of money, so people should bet on him. I’ve heard worse lines.

John Cena/Sheamus/Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio/Randy Orton/Cesaro/Bray Wyatt

Rematch from Friday. Cena and Orton get things going after a break with John quickly running him over and making the tag to Sheamus. It’s quickly back to Cena to face Del Rio with Alberto stomping away in the corner. The running bulldog puts Alberto down and it’s off to Cesaro for a big showdown. Cesaro wins a test of strength and takes Cena into the corner for a stomping from Wyatt.

We hit the nerve hold on Cena followed by the running backsplash as we take a break. Back with Del Rio trying to keep Cena in a chinlock. Cena gets to his feet but a DDT brings him right back down for two. Cesaro tags himself in and loads up the Swing but opts for a Boston crab instead. John fights up and powers out, seting up the hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans house with his usual stuff, including the apron dropkick to Del Rio. The Superman Punch drops Cesaro and Orton but Del Rio gets two off a Backstabber.

Back to Bray for the running cross body followed by the gutwrench suplex from Cesaro. Orton tags himself back in to Cesaro’s annoyance before suplexing Reigns down for two. We hit the chinlock before the heels all start taking their turns on Reigns. A quick Superman Punch drops Bray and Cesaro comes back in, only to knee Reigns into the tag to Sheamus.

The pale one cleans house and hits fourteen forearms to Cesaro’s chest. White Noise doesn’t work but the powerslam puts Cesaro down. Everything breaks down and it’s finishers a go-go. Orton and Del Rio take AA’s but Cesaro lays Cena out with Swiss Death. The Brogue Kick out of nowhere is enough to pin Cesaro at 15:30.

Rating: C. This was pretty much just a shotened version of the Smackdown match, meaning it wasn’t all that great. This is the most basic version of a match like this that you can have and while it’s full of stars, the action was nothing all that special. That’s part of the problem with Money in the Bank: it focuses everything on one match and that causes problems.

Post match Kane comes out to clean house with chokeslams for most of the seven men. HHH comes out and announces Kane as the eighth man. Reigns spears Kane down after the fire comes out of the posts.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was ok, the build for Sunday was acceptable and we got a good moment from Vickie. That being said, the show felt like it was a very paint by numbers build up show which is what I had a feeling we’d be getting. It’s not bad or anything, but I have no more desire to watch Sunday’s show than I had coming into tonight. The show should be fine but I’d have liked a bit more than this.

Results
Luke Harper b. Jimmy Uso – Discus lariat
Jey Uso b. Erick Rowan – Superfly Splash
Naomi b. Alicia Fox – Reverse DDT
Bo Dallas b. Titus O’Neil – Bodog
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam via disqualification when Dean Ambrose interfered
Wade Barrett b. Dolph Ziggler – Bull Hammer
Jack Swagger b. Kofi Kingston – Patriot Lock
Big E. b. Damien Sandow – Big Ending
Roman Reigns/Sheamus/John Cena b. Bray Wyatt/Cesaro/Randy Orton/Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick to Cesaro

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KB