They Are Chanting HIS Name?

 

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-chanting-name/24899/

Monday Nitro #175
Date: February 8, 1999
Location: Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 15,378
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay

We’ve got two shows before SuperBrawl and some cracks are starting to show in WCW. Some of the booking is getting more and more questionable and the matches aren’t as sharp as they’ve been in the past. The tag team tournament is starting to take shape though so at least there’s something interesting going on. Well at least in theory. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip from the end of last week’s show with Chuck Zito and Hogan stalking David Flair. It turned out that they didn’t do anything.

The announcers do their opening chat about Flair vs. Hogan.

We see a clip from Thunder where Arn Anderson called Ric to check on David. Thankfully we can’t hear Ric’s voice.

Nitro Girls. Diamond Dallas Page is shown watching from the entrance in case Steiner shows up.

Disco comes into the Wolfpack locker room to see Hall and Nash standing over a fallen Arn Anderson. Disco stands over him as the Outsiders leave. Hall says that’s three down and two to go.

Opening sequence.

We go to a pool hall where a gorgeous blonde is talking to the camera. She saw whoever is holding the camera and thought he looked good, so come get in her limo for a ride.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg is a masked man who gets rave reviews whenever I see him mentioned. I don’t remember anything special out of him so it should be interesting to see what he’s got. Blitzkrieg takes him down into a quickly broken chinlock before jumping to the top rope to moonsault over Rey. A dropkick sends Rey to the floor and sets up an Asai moonsault into a corkscrew. Back in and Rey catches a hurricanrana in a powerbomb before getting two off a split legged moonsault.

Blitzkrieg misses another corkscrew dive but catches Rey in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. A standing moonsault gets two on Rey and he misses a charge into the post to give Blitzkrieg an even bigger advantage. They head outside with Rey dropkicking Blitzkrieg out of the air to take over. Back in and Rey drapes him over the ropes and nails a guillotine legdrop followed by a superplex for two. Off to a headscissors on the mat before Rey gets two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own. There’s a Bronco Buster and Blitzkreig misses a corkscrew moonsault, setting up a top rope hurricanrana to give Rey the pin.

Rating: C. It had a bunch of high spots but Blitzkrieg did the same corkscrew about three times and it was basically just flipping for the sake of flipping. They look cool but the flip really doesn’t add anything. It doesn’t make the match any better and it didn’t make Blitzkrieg live up to his hype. Mix it up a bit and things will get better.

Video on Luger/Nash vs. Rey/Konnan.

Kanyon goes to Raven’s house where his mom asks Kanyon to keep an eye on Raven. They sit on the couch and Kanyon says Raven has to get better. Raven, looking directly into the camera: “What a mark.” Raven says money can buy happiness and they go into the garage where Raven has a yellow Ferrari waiting on him. They drive off with the engine reving.

Booker T. vs. Fit Finlay

A hiptoss puts Finlay down to start but Finlay comes back with a slam and sits on Booker’s chest. Finlay staggers him with a jawbreaker and appears to low blow Booker on a leapfrog attempt. An elbow to the chest keeps Booker in trouble but he comes back with a spinning kick to the face. Booker gets sent outside for an elbow to the back of the head and Finlay rams him into the apron. Finlay slams him head first into the steps and we take a break.

Back with….Horace coming in to see Hollywood. The champ says he needs help and Horace says he’ll do whatever he needs. The Black and White guys are tugging for position and Horace needs to lead the team. Horace: “WHOA!” He’s not allowed to tell anyone though for reasons not exactly clear. Obviously none of the Black and White members watch the show so this will be a well kept secret.

Now we go to the back where Flair makes Bischoff a janitor. If he quits, he’s fired.

We actually get back to the match now with Booker grabbing a sleeper but getting rammed into the corner for a break. Finlay drives him head first into the mat with a knee and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Booker comes back with a belly to back suplex and the ax kick, side kick and missile dropkick for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was hard to stay into when there was an eight minute break in the middle. Finlay didn’t do much here but he’s just a jobber to the stars at this point anyway. It’s nice to see Booker getting more wins, but hit would be nice to see him go somewhere instead of spinning his wheels like this.

Raven takes $20,000 out of the bank, half of it in one dollar bills. They’re going clothing shopping for Kanyon.

Jimmy Hart tells Bischoff they need more toilet paper.

Hollywood tells Brian Adams the same things he told Horace.

Gene brings out Flair for a chat. Flair says he had to walk the aisle tonight because he’s the Nature Boy. The only thing he hasn’t done in this town is ride a barrel over the falls. There goes the jacket and Flair talks about the Outsiders in a high pitched voice. Tonight it’s the Outsiders vs. Mongo/Flair. As for SuperBrawl, Hogan has two weeks to keep living his dream. Flair threatens to strip right now and promises to take Hogan down in Oakland.

He puts the Figure Four on the air and says we should get some great wrestling tonight. Flair says Hall beat Benoit last week but gets no shot because he’s abusing his power. Hart has been faking a groin injury so he needs to come out here and drop the belt right now. Bret limps down to the ring and Flair says he’ll be wrestling at SuperBrawl or give up the title. Hart says he’s injured but Flair says he’s doing it whether he wants to or not. Actually let’s just have Hart wrestle tonight against Roddy Piper and the title is on the line. Flair says the match with the Outsiders will be DOWN THERE.

Bret leaves and gets in the face of Will Sasso from MadTV.

The still unnamed blonde promises not to bite too much and tells the person behind the camera to come sit next to her.

Solid video on the tag team tournament and the great tag teams over the years.

Nitro Girls with Page watching on a monitor in the back.

Hollywood tells Stevie Ray to take over the team. Is everyone else watching a Mighty Mouse marathon? The announcers haven’t acknowledged any of these meetings yet.

Tag Team Title Tournament: Brian Adams/Horace vs. Barry Windham/Curt Hennig

Neither team has lost yet. Windham and Hennig come out to something that sounds a lot like a cover of the Legion of Doom theme. It’s a brawl to start with Hennig taking over on Adams, only to get caught in a gorilla press. Horace chops Barry on the floor before Brian throws Hennig outside as well. All four guys brawl on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Bischoff having to find aftershave for the luchadors. He can’t understand their Spanish and this really isn’t funny.

We go back to the match with Barry holding Horace in a Figure Four with Hennig adding in some extra leverage. Off to Hennig for chops in the corner and the necksnap but Horace kicks him in the face. Adams comes in with a suplex for two but gets caught in a sleeper. The fans are dead here because, amazingly enough, not many people are interested in two midcard heel teams fighting each other.

Everything breaks down and the PefectPlex gets two on Brian with Horace making the save. Vince comes out with the slap jack and Stevie Ray is shaking his head in the aisle. Hennig is in trouble as Stevie takes the slap jack from Vince, only to knock Adams out cold and give Curt the pin.

Rating: D. Again, who in the world thought this was a good idea? There’s no one for the fans to cheer for and the whole point of the match was an argument between the NWO B Team. The match was watchable but I need someone to care about to make up for it being dull stuff. I still have no idea why this is a double elimination tournament.

The Black and White argues post match.

The Blonde is in a hotel and tells the guy he has nothing to be worried about. They get in an elevator and she holds up a hotel key.

Video on Goldberg vs. Bigelow.

Vince gets his time with Hogan. Vince: “I’m the daddy!”

Gene brings out Bigelow, who is carrying some kind of paper, for a chat. Bigelow says he loves it when a plan comes together. This has been the idea all along: to break down Goldberg by raiding arenas until he had Goldberg right where he wanted him. Bigelow holds up the paper, which is an article from USA Today about Goldberg going to Washington D.C. to speak against animal fighting.

Goldberg should have his mind on SuperBrawl and the Beast From the East. The article says Goldberg hopes to have everyone in WCW adopt an animal this year. Bigelow would be glad to put a leash on Goldberg’s wife and walk her around the block a few times. This brings out Goldberg and the fight is on until security breaks it up.

Nitro Girls.

We see Page meeting a woman from a TV show he’ll be appearing on later this week. The woman tries to do a promo and it’s painful.

Kenny Kaos vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Tony does on sale listings, including a Chris Jericho and the Nitro Girls appearance at the Rupp Arena box office. Why did I never hear about this? Page takes over to start and sends Kaos out to the floor. Kenny is rammed into various things before they head back inside for a discus lariat to send Kaos right back outside. A belly to belly gets two for Page but Kaos snaps his throat across the top rope. Kaos drops him with a springboard clothesline and chokes a lot. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Page fights up with two more discus lariats followed by the middle rope Diamond Cutter for the pin.

Rating: D+. Just a basic match here but Kaos continues to get in some offense. It’s not like it’s going to lead anywhere or anything as he’s already reached the peak of his career, but it’s nice to see some lip service. The fact that his reign as a champion is never mentioned sums up how much it meant though.

Kanyon and Raven go to Versace and we get a Kanyon fashion show, including him changing in his underwear. Raven: “You’re such a jabroni.”

After a break and a montage of bars and clubs, Raven and Kanyon get back home just before Raven’s mom. They don’t say anything about what happened, but WCW has called and asked for Raven to come back to work. He seems fine with the idea.

Ernest Miller comes out for another open challenge. We cut to the Black and White locker room where Adams tells Vince to go get him. The Black and White laugh after Vince leaves.

We see Vince going to the ring and telling Disco Inferno that Miller is talking about his sister. Disco is too smart (there’s one I didn’t think I’d get to type) this time though and tells Vince to do it himself.

Vince vs. Ernest Miller

Seriously. Vince goes after Sonny Onoo before the bell and Miller jumps him from the apron. Back in and Miller kicks him a few times to send him back to the floor. Another kick sends Vince into the crowd for some brawling. Back inside again and Vince hits a jawbreaker but gets superkicked for the third time. More kicks drop Vince and Miller heads up top, but Sonny gets dragged to the apron which crotches Miller down. Vince grabs a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D-. Vince vs. Ernest Miller just got four minutes on Nitro after a four minute intro. I like that they’re trying to do something with Miller and it’s better than he used to be, but at the end of the day, there isn’t much they can do that is going to make me care about Vince. If nothing else this is bad because it gives him more to brag about when no one is in line to see him at conventions.

Kimberly is getting in her car when Scott Steiner shows up. Page is right there to go after him but security holds Page back, allowing Steiner to get in the car with her. They speed off and Steiner shoves her out of the car onto the concrete. That’s rather extreme. It’s so extreme that Kimberly keeps her face down on the concrete and is in a full body outfit so you can’t tell it was a stuntwoman.

After a break, EMTs are tending to Kimberly. They get her in an ambulance and Page leaves with her. Tony wants charges pressed against Steiner.

We get the same clip of Bret on MadTV, though this time it’s extended to show that he was beating up Jesse Ventura.

Larry Zbyszko is doing his hair in the bathroom and yells at Bischoff over the floor not being clean. Bischoff finds some bleach and is way too happy about it.

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper

Bret is defending and this is Piper’s first televised match since September. Piper slaps him in the face to start and does the ear slap before hammering away in the corner. Bret comes back with right hands and takes it to the floor but stops to limp a bit. Back in and the champion chokes a lot but Bret falls down, holding his groin. Piper clearly didn’t hit him so I think we’ve got some goldbricking. The trainer comes in to check on Hart as Tony is screaming for Piper to get on him.

Naturally Bret is faking and takes Piper into the corner for a stomping and we take a break. Back with Bret choking even more before punching Piper out to the floor. Hart pulls Will Sasso over the barricade to choke him, and despite Tony seeing him earlier and identifying the man as Will Sasso from MadTV, Tony has no idea who he is.

The distraction lets Piper get in a suplex for two back inside before getting caught in the sleeper. Bret goes to the corner to escape and the referee goes down. Piper is up first and Will Sasso is playing cheerleader. Hart has a foreign object and knocks Piper out, but he goes over to yell at Sasso, allowing Piper to get a rollup for the pin and the title.

Rating: D. This is a good example of why people were tuning out from WCW at this point. I understand that Piper wasn’t going to be a long term champion, but was there NO ONE ELSE that they could put in this role? No, it had to be Piper, who shows up and wins a title that so many other people could benefit from holding. It’s 1999 and I can’t imagine many people want to see Piper with a belt. But then again we don’t want to risk pushing someone new do we? That would just be crazy.

The Outsiders come out for their catchphrases and we go to a commercial.

The Blonde brings the cameraman into her hotel room and has him sit down on the bed while she goes to do something.

Outsiders vs. Ric Flair/Steve McMichael

It’s a brawl to start and the Outsiders are knocked to the floor. Hall and Flair get things going with Flair chopping him into the corner. Scott comes back with some right hands in the corner to no effect but Hall nails a clothesline to put both guys down. Flair elbows him in the jaw and goes up, only to be slammed back down. It’s off to Nash but Ric is able to tag in Mongo, who stomps on Nash’s foot. Both Outsiders are slammed down but Nash kicks McMichael in the face to take over.

Tony brings up Sting again as Mongo gets double teamed in the corner. Hall hits the fall away slam for two before putting on the sleeper. Mongo jawbreaks his way to freedom and the ice cold tag brings in Flair. Ric beats up Hall with ease and a few knee crusher set up the Figure Four. The hold stays on for a good while but we cut to Hogan knocking on the bathroom door. Bischoff hands him the mop bucket that he poured the bleach into earlier and says that this should work.

Hogan leaves with the bucket and all of the backstage workers are out cold on the floor. Back to the arena and Hall is out of the hold without much damage. A shoulder puts both he and Flair down as Hogan comes out with the bucket. He throws the bleach in it at Flair but hits Mongo to blind him and the match is thrown out.

Rating: D. This was Mongo’s final match and thank goodness for that. The guy dragged down a match between three guys that shouldn’t have their stuff dragged down like this. The fans did not care about him when he was in there and after two and a half years, there’s really no excuse for him to not get any better at all.

Hogan and the Outsiders go after Flair but Ric fights them off until Goldberg makes the save. Bigelow comes in but is easily dispatched to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. You could feel things starting to change on this show. Between the car thing with Steiner and the bleach in Mongo’s eyes, things were getting a bit more sinister at this time. The Blonde is an interesting idea as there’s a mystery about who sent her and who she’s talking to, but we’ll get to that later.

The wrestling on this show was really bad. There are a few bright spots like Rey’s match, but the rest of the show felt like it was there for the stories and the matches were bridging the gaps. That can work when the stories are good, but that’s not the case here for the most part, especially when the matches are this dull. Not a good show, but SuperBrawl is looking like a chance for some serious revenge.

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Here’s a guy you’ve probably never heard that much about but could wrestle circles around a lot of people: Brad Armstrong.

Armstrong would get his start in Alabama in 1980. We’ll pick things up in Georgia in March of 1984.

Tim Horner vs. Brad Armstrong

Brad is National Heavyweight Champion. These two would become regular partners and the winner faces Jack Brisco and the winner of that gets a World Title shot against Ric Flair. They head to the mat for a nice amateur sequence with Brad getting caught in a front facelock. Horner grabs a headlock on the mat but gets armdragged down into an armbar. Another headlock has Brad in trouble but he comes back with more technical stuff, only to get caught in a headscissors. Road Warrior Hawk, who had recently lost to Horner in a huge upset, comes in to go after Tim but nails Armstrong by mistake for the DQ.

Rating: D+. The fans make this a lot better but this was eight minutes of headlocks and armbars. Both guys are capable of having a more entertaining match than this but instead it was all basic stuff. I’m not sure why they went this route but the ending likely has a lot to do with it.

We’ll move to the promotion where the Armstrong Family got famous: Continental Championship Wrestling, with this one coming from January 4, 1986.

TV Title: Robert Fuller vs. Brad Armstrong

Fuller is champion and is more famous as Colonel Robert Parker. The title hadn’t been around for about five years but Fuller reactivated it for all of a month. Fuller is your standard “I’m pretty” character. Armstrong knocks him to the floor quickly and Fuller stalls a lot. Back into the ring and it’s off to an armbar by Armstrong. Fuller comes back and uses a variety of slams as I look for blunt instruments to hit myself with. Armstrong dropkicks him down and out to the floor. Some of Fuller’s friends come out and apparently TV time is up and the title is held up until next week.

Rating: F. The biggest move in a 4 minute match was a dropkick. You figure out the rest.

On to bigger things now, including Starrcade 1986.

Jimmy Garvin vs. Brad Armstrong

Garvin is billed as Gorgeous Jimmy here and comes out to Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top. He also has a good looking blonde named Precious with him. The first match here is in Atlanta and we’ll be alternating back and forth. Schiavone and Stewart are the commentators here in Atlanta as well. They fight up against the ropes to start before heading into the corner with neither guy being able to get an advantage.

They go to the mat with neither guy being able to get any extended advantage. Back up and they fight over a top wristlock until Brad finally takes over with an armbar. Off to a headlock instead but Jimmy rolls Brad up for two. Now Jimmy grabs an armbar of his own but they roll into the ropes. Garvin grabs a leg lock and bends the knee back, only to have Armstrong reach his arm around into a chinlock to escape.

Off to an armbar by Brad and Jimmy taps, but that wouldn’t mean anything in American wrestling for about seven years. Garvin counters into a headscissors as the back and forth mat work continues. Armstrong nips out of it and puts on another headlock, only to be countered into another headscissors. By this point you should be able to figure out what happens next on your own: Armstrong counters into a headlock.

Garvin tries to pick Armstrong up to slam him down, only to be dragged into another headlock to keep the match at a very slow clip. Back up and Jimmy suplexes out of the hold but can’t immediately follow up. Armstrong gets sent out to the floor where Precious talks trash as we have three minutes left in the time limit. Back in and Garvin gets two after dropping Armstrong throat first onto the top rope.

A backbreaker gets the same and Jimmy is getting frustrated. They start running the ropes, only to crack heads and put both guys down again. Back up and Brad charges into a knee in the corner but even that only gets two. They trade rollups but Garvin puts on a chinlock of all things with fifteen seconds to go. He releases the hold and goes up, only to miss a top rope splash as the bell rings for the time limit draw.

Rating: D+. This was one of those matches where you could see the time limit draw coming a mile away. As is the Starrcade custom, the good guy can’t win the opener and the opener is pretty dull stuff. Why they’re so afraid to allow a good match to open the show is beyond me, but this was nothing of note at all. Neither guy would ever do much of note either.

Post match Garvin tries to jump Armstrong, only to get knocked to the floor by some right hands.

Brad would have a run in the UWF, including a TV Title shot in the summer of 1987.

TV Title: Brad Armstrong vs. Eddie Gilbert

Armstrong grabs a headlock to start as Jim Ross talks about something bad happening to Chris Adams recently. The champion grabs a hammerlock but gets reversed into the same hold from Brad. We take a break and come back with Brad getting two off a cross body. Now they trade wristlocks with Armstrong grabbing an armbar for a bit. A big right hand drops Gilbert to the floor and we take another break.

Back with Armstrong cranking on another armbar before running the ropes a few times, only to be sent out to the floor. Eddie sends him face first into a table but Brad counters a suplex back inside for two. We have two minutes left in the match and Armstrong gets two off a dropkick. Eddie’s running knee hits the buckle and Brad slaps on a Figure Four but Terry Taylor runs in to attack Armstrong for the DQ.

Rating: C. Better match that the Horner match as there was more stuff besides all the holds. The ending was a nice surprise as you would have guessed it was ending off the time but it advances an angle instead. That’s a good idea as the predictable is usually not the best way to go.

Armstrong would get a shot at a different title at Clash of the Champions III.

TV Title: Mike Rotunda vs. Brad Armstrong

Mike is defending and the announcers emphasize that it’s a twenty minute time limit. Brad is talented but this is a BIG challenge for him. Rotunda takes him down to the mat a few times before slugging away at Brad in the corner. Armstrong rolls through a middle rope cross body for two and the champion bails to the floor. Back in and Mike hides in the corner and walks into a dropkick as he comes back to the middle of the ring. The fans are going crazy when the local boy Armstrong is in control. Rotunda gets back in again and walks into a headlock takeover to the mat. It’s all Armstrong so far.

The champion rolls Brad back for a few two counts before finally shoving him off, only to get caught by a cross body for two on him. Mike bails outside again before getting caught in an armbar to slow things down. Brad cranks on it a bit too long though and gets sent into the ropes for a knee to the ribs followed by a hot shot as Mike takes over for the first time. Armstrong is tossed outside and Sullivan gets in some stomps before Rotunda pounds him back down to the floor.

A big suplex over the ropes gets two for the champion and we hit the chinlock. Mike gets caught with his feet on the ropes to break the hold so he hammers away on Brad in the corner instead. Back to a chinlock thanks to a pull of Armstrong’s hair as Mike is working the clock. Armstrong gets back up but Rotunda takes his head off with a clothesline. The champion drops an elbow for two as the fans go NUTS on the kickout. Another chinlock actually gets a two count on Brad and a backbreaker gets the same.

Mike sends him outside for a few seconds but Brad comes back in with a sunset flip attempt. Rotunda drops to his knees and grabs the ropes but referee Teddy Long kicks the champ’s hands to put him down for two. Rotunda comes back with an elbow and a legdrop for another near fall. We go to the fourth chinlock as Steve Williams comes out to cheer for Armstrong.

Brad fights up but gets caught in an airplane spin of all things. Mike makes himself dizzy and can’t follow up but does grab a gutwrench suplex for two. A small package gets two for the champion as we have a minute left. Despite being a heel Mike tries to get pinfalls until the end of the match but just can’t put Brad down as the time limit expires, earning a huge moral victory.

Rating: C+. As usual, Brad Armstrong puts on a far better performance than would have been expected. The ending of the match told a good story with Rotunda getting more and more frustrated but not being able to put the plucky kid down. I would have liked a few more near falls from Armstrong but the idea of him just wanting to survive was an easy idea to get behind.

We’ll jump ahead a bit to Wrestlewar 1991.

Brad Armstrong vs. Bobby Eaton

We hear about Armstrong’s brother fighting Desert Storm, which would be Road Dogg. Eaton gets a good reaction and the fans chant for him on his way out. Bobby jumps him during the opening and takes over for a little bit. A flying headscissors and dropkick by Armstrong set up an armbar to slow things down. They get back up and a monkey flip sets up the same armbar by Brad.

Bobby gets back up and we head out to the floor. That goes nowhere so let’s hit that armbar again. Off to a test of strength with Bobby taking over. Brad climbs up Eaton and goes to the corner for a spinning crossbody….and back into the armbar. Eaton finally gets tired of it and pops Brad in the face, but his slingshot suplex is countered into a regular suplex by Armstrong for two.

We hit the fifth armbar in five minutes as we see Jason Hervey here again. A backbreaker puts Armstrong down and he drops an elbow to the face. We hit the chinlock and Great Muta is here watching as well. Eaton hits a slingshot backbreaker for two. Off to a modified camel clutch to keep the pressure on Armstrong’s back. Back up and Armstrong tries to hit the ropes but Eaton elbows him in the face and out to the floor.

After a beating on the floor we head back into the ring for an abdominal stretch. Eaton holds the ropes because that’s just the kind of a guy he is. Anderson dives through Armstrong’s legs to see the cheating in a nice touch. Eaton misses a charge in the corner and Brad hits that perfect dropkick to take over. Bobby grabs a ducked head and hits a neckbreaker followed by the Alabama Jam (top rope legdrop) for the pin.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as bad as the opener but it wasn’t that great either. Eaton would get a decent run as an upper midcard heel before turning into a jobber to the stars for most of the 90s. He was still popular after being part of the Midnight Express so it was good to see WCW capitalizing on that here. Also as usual, get Brad Armstrong if you need someone to look good, which is what Eaton would become later on.

Next up is Clash of the Champions XVI for another solid match with Brad as Badstreet, a masked member of the Freebirds.

Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinals: Badstreet vs. Brian Pillman

Pillman is back in WCW after the Loser Leaves WCW match last time. Right after he had left there was a newcomer named the Yellow Dog who wrestled in a mask but was the same size as Pillman and used the same moves. I’m sure you can connect the dots on your own. The Freebirds are ejected before the match starts to make things fair. Pillman gets in Badstreet’s masked face to start and runs him over with a shoulder block.

A quick victory roll gets two for Brian and it’s off to the armbar. Badstreet sends him to the apron but gets caught by a springboard sunset flip for two. Pillman tries to suplex him to the floor but they switch places and it’s Brian being suplexed out to the floor. Badstreet kicks him into the barricade but gets caught in a sunset flip for two more.

The masked man goes up top but gets dropkicked out to the floor, setting up a HUGE suicide dive to take him down again. Back in and Pillman tries a missile dropkick but Badstreet dropkicks him out of the air. A spinwheel kick gets two for Brian but he walks into a DDT. Pillman’s crucifix is countered into a fall away slam for a close near fall. Badstreet takes him to the top for a superplex but Brian knocks him away and Air Pillman is good for the pin.

Rating: B-. Really solid fast paced match here with Pillman being ahead of almost everyone else in America at this point. Badstreet was more than skilled enough to keep up with him for about seven minutes and the result was very fun stuff. Factor in that this was 1991 and this is mind blowing stuff.

Then he was a Spider-Man ripoff that was so realistic that Marvel said cut it out. From Starrcade 1991.

Scott Steiner/Firebreaker Chip vs. Johnny B. Badd/Arachnaman

Chip is the shorter partner of Todd Champion in the Patriots. As his music says, Badd looks just like Little Richard. Arachnaman is a purple and yellow Spider-Man. The resemblance was so strong that Marvel Comics threatened to sue WCW if they didn’t drop the character, which WCW did. It’s Brad Armstrong under the mask. Badd and Chip start things off with Chip hitting some quick Japanese armdrags to take over. Johnny, a legit Golden Gloves champion, fires off a left hand and drops an elbow for two.

Badd fires off some more punches but Chip comes off the top with a cross body for two before it’s off to Arachnaman. Chip grabs his arm and brings in Scott for an armbar of his own. Things speed up with some leapfrogs from Arachnaman but he gets caught in a powerslam and clotheslined out to the floor. It’s off to Badd for a quick left hand and a right to take him down. Steiner isn’t pleased and easily takes Badd down with a leg trip before lifting him into the air and ramming Badd ribs first into the buckle.

Back to Chip for a chinlock for a few seconds before Badd rolls out and tags in the Spider guy. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Badd vs. Scott, with Steiner hitting a big Steiner Line and a double underhook powerbomb. Back to Chip as the match slows down all over again. Chip stands around and lets Arachnaman come back in before missing a charge into the corner. Back to a chinlock by Arachnaman as this match is dying without Badd and Steiner in there. The cameramen are bored too so we look at the crowd a bit.

Chip puts on a Boston Crab but the far smaller Arachnaman is able to power out of it with relative ease. Back to Badd for the chinlock as a Scott chant breaks out. Arachnaman comes back in and gets caught in a crisscross with Badd. Chip thankfully makes a blind tag to Scott and things pick WAY up. Arachnaman tries going up but jumps into an overhead belly to belly suplex from Scott for the pin.

Rating: D+. Scott is good, Chip is not. That’s more or less the entire match in a nutshell here. Chip was boring everyone out there and the crowd just wanted to see Scott. Arachnaman was a horribly dumb gimmick who barely even flew around at all and Badd was nowhere near ready yet, so this was pretty much the Scott Steiner show.

Here’s a solid opponent from Clash XXII.

Chris Benoit vs. Brad Armstrong

Feeling out process to start with Benoit grabbing a headlock before trying a powerbomb but Brad counters with an armdrag, leading to an incredibly fast pinfall reversal sequence and a stalemate. They earn a nice ovation as Brad takes him down with another armdrag and slapping on an armbar. Benoit tries to nip up but Brad takes him back to the mat to maintain control. Chris finally gets up and they try a test of strength with both guys going to the mat and bridging off the mat with pure neck strength. That always looks cool.

They stick with the arm motif by trading hammerlocks until Brad sends him to the floor by the arm. Back in and Benoit is taken down by the arm again before going with forearms to the back to take over. Chris lifts him up and drapes Brad over the top rope before knocking him to the floor with a springboard clothesline.

Back in and Benoit takes his head off with a clothesline followed by chops and headbutts. A backbreaker has Armstrong in trouble and Chris bends him over the knee for a submission attempt. Benoit misses the swan dive but Brad misses an elbow drop, allowing Chris to snap off the dragon (full nelson) suplex for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was a nice way to wake up the crowd a little bit after some decent at best matches earlier. Benoit would get a job soon after this if not from this match alone. Armstrong continues to be as good a hand as anyone else and can have a good match with almost anyone you put out him out there against.

Something from WCW Pro, April 29, 1995.

Brad Armstrong vs. Dino Cassanova

Dino is a very tall guy. Brad cranks on his arm to start but Dino counters into a hammerlock of his own. Armstrong wises up and takes the big man to the mat to drive some knees into the arm. Back up and Brad grabs a great looking armdrag to take him back down. Cassanova comes back with a clothesline to the back of the head before snapping Brad’s neck across the top rope. An elbow drop misses though and Brad’s Russian legsweep gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but Cassnova had a good look to him. The match didn’t do much as it was on WCW Pro in 1995 and I can’t say I blame them for not giving their best efforts. The announcers talked about the same thing they always talked about when Armstrong was in the ring: how close he was to winning a major title.

Armstrong was good enough to get a title shot at Dean Malenko’s Cruiserweight Championship at Slamboree 1996.

Cruiserweight Championship: Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong

So Malenko is the second champion as Otani of all people won it at an NJPW show. Yeah it made no sense but it’s WCW so there you are. There allegedly was a tournament, but only the finals were ever seen. It was also double elimination apparently, but no one other than these three have ever been mentioned. I hear it was in Rio. Apparently the Cloverleaf is a standing Figure Four. And so begins Tony being an idiot.

Armstrong is a guy that was pretty good back in his day but never really was given anything past a glorified jobber role. He hooks the Cloverleaf. Wow I do not care about this match at all. Dean hits his gutbuster from the top to end it. Somehow this was almost ten minutes long. Wow.

Rating: D+. Nothing special at all but considering what we’ve had to watch otherwise, this was GREAT. Like I said Armstrong was good but the title was brand new and nothing was told to us about this. This show needs to die when a basic and dull match like this is one of the most entertaining things all show.

We’ll jump ahead a bit to Nitro, January 5, 1998.

Brad Armstrong vs. Rick Martel

This is Martel’s debut and his first national match in years. A quick rollup gets two for Martel as I think Armstrong is the heel here. Brad grabs a headlock as Tony is SURE there are problems in the NWO. Armstrong charges into a knee in the corner and gets caught by a middle rope clothesline for no cover. Brad gets in a forearm out of the corner and chokes away, only to get caught in the Quebec Crab for the win for Martel. Another short match.

Here’s a match from Worldwide on March 7, 1998 against a pretty famous name.

Brad Armstrong vs. Ric Flair

Flair takes him down with a headlock before cranking on the leg. Brad puts on a chinlock and Flair clearly taps but the match keeps going. They trade arm holds until Armstrong gets suplexed down. Flair rakes Brad’s eyes over the ropes as Tony tells a story of seeing these two wrestle to an hour time limit draw at the Omni.

Brad charges into an elbow in the corner but is still able to slam Ric down from the top. A dropkick misses though and Flair falls head first onto Armstrong’s “abdomen” and now it’s time for the pinfall reversal sequence but they don’t do the backslide bridge. Brad gets two off a clothesline but a suplex puts him down, setting up the Figure Four for the win.

Rating: C-. There’s something fun about watching a basic Ric Flair match. You know exactly what you’re getting but it’s still entertaining enough to work. It’s such a basic wrestling match but well done enough to work. I’d like to see that hour long match though, especially in Georgia.

Time for another new gimmick, this time as part of a hip hop stable. From Bash at the Beach 1999.

West Texas Rednecks vs. No Limit Soldiers

It’s Curt Hennig, Barry and Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum Jr. vs. Konnan, Rey, Brad Armstrong (don’t ask why he’s in a rap team) and Swoll (huge guy that never did anything) and this is an elimination match. Oh and Rey is Cruiserweight Champion. Konnan speaks some weird language and talks about peeling potatoes. I’m sure there’s some other meaning in there somewhere, especially since tossing salads is mentioned.

Rey vs. Barry to start us off with Rey using his speed and splashes/moonsaults to take over. Off to Hennig who does better for about a second. Off to Armstrong who is there in gimmick number 387 for him, none of which worked that well. Duncum, who would be dead in like a six months, comes in and doesn’t do well either. Swoll comes in and it’s very obvious why he needed Master P to get him a job in WCW.

He can’t do much other than clotheslines which he sells for WAY too long. Barry gets a low blow to him and it’s off to Kendall. Rey comes in and takes both Bobby and Kendall to the floor at once. Konnan, the unofficial captain of the team is in now. He gets a bulldog to take Hennig down and things stay fast. Everything breaks down and slows down as well. The referee messes something up badly as he signals kickout before it happens. Not that it matters as Duncum is pinned a few seconds later. Messy spot there.

The rest of the Soldiers beat up Duncum as he leaves. Things grind to a halt now until we get to Armstrong vs. Hennig. Heel cheating results in a Perfectplex getting rid of Armstrong. Off to the captains again (Hennig vs. Konnan) and that lasts about a second as Kendall is in again. Konnan gets the rolling lariat and things get awkward again. Konnan gets what I guess you would call a rollup to get rid of Kendall.

If you need a scorecard it’s Barry/Hennig vs. Konnan/Rey/Swoll. Barry gets a DDT on Konnan as the Soldiers are fighting with Kendall now. Konnan vs. Barry now as this needs to end quickly. Nicely timed as they fight to the floor with one of the Soldiers named Chase carrying Barry off and it’s a double countout. I guess Soldiers are immune to disqualifications. It’s Rey/Swoll vs. Hennig now.

Swoll proves why it shouldn’t be him in there because he just isn’t that good. Barry comes back in so Swoll beats on him too until Chase gets rid of him. Thankfully Swoll would retire by the end of the year. Another of those far too long clotheslines sets up a tag to Rey who climbs on Swoll’s shoulders and dives off to pin Hennig with a splash.

Rating: D+. Well when they only had a few people in there this was good but after that, it turned into a huge mess. Swoll has zero business being in a ring at this point but hey, his cousin managed to not help the ratings at all and cost the company a few hundred grand so everything is cool right? Let the wrestlers wrestle and stop having the faces be jerks while the heels are just out there doing their thing.

After not doing anything of note in a major promotion for years, we’ll wrap up Armstrong’s career at a reunion show in 2006 called World Wrestling Legends 6:05: The Reunion.

Midnight Express vs. Bob Armstrong/Scott Armstrong/Brad Armstrong

is the manager of the Express (Lane, Condrey and Eaton) and the more famous Armstrong (Brian, as in Road Dogg) isn’t here so who really cares? Cornette says the Armstrongs have been a thorn in his side for years and tonight he can get rid of them. When was that? Well Condrey looks like crap.

BOBBY HEENAN IS MANAGING THE ARMSTONGS!!! HOLY FREAKING SMOKES!!! Heenan looks a bit bad here but not too bad. Wow this is awesome to see. Bob Armstrong is in a mask for absolutely no apparent reason. You can see through the face part of it though so there’s zero point to it at all. Condrey vs. Brad, who is very underrated, to start us off.

Eaton comes in and doesn’t look that great. Off to Scott who is the referee that was in WWE that had the hitch in his count. We get the Heenan vs. Cornette showdown which is the main point of this match. And they just look at each other and now back to the match. Off to Lane vs. Scott now with the crowd kind of dead for this for some reason. Here’s Bob who is old as all goodness and in the mask and never really was anything special but who cares?

Stan kicks Brad in the back to give the Midnights the advantage. Bob was in there maybe four seconds. Stan dances a bit as Cornette chokes Brad. This is awesome to see them together again which is the idea here. Heenan gets a chair. When would Bobby EVER do that? Brad gets a pretty ugly looking suplex to break Eaton’s momentum.

Everything goes nuts and Cornette pops Bob with the tennis racket which does nothing at all. Heenan takes out Cornette so that Bob can pop Bob to pin Eaton. In other words Bob Armstrong pinned Bobby Eaton after Bobby Heenan got him the tennis racket. Wow these were unoriginal parents.

Rating: D. Boring match of course as Bob Armstrong looked horrible in there and for the life of me I still don’t get the mask but whatever. This was just for the managers which the announcers point out which is fine. This wasn’t anything of note but seeing the Midnights was awesome all over again. Bad match, cool moment.

Brad Armstrong was a good hand to have in the lower card. Yeah he got stuck with a lot of horrible names and gimmicks, but he would always put on a passable match and make the other guy look good. That’s a really hard thing to be able to do but he pulled it off very well. I would have liked to see him get a token TV Title reign. It would have been better than Prince Iaukea at least.

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http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0701/577625/wwe-diva-arrested-before-monday-raw/

For a freaking iPod case? Seriously?

Over the years Money in the Bank has been one of the more reliable shows on the PPV….er I mean Special Event calendar. The ladder matches were clearly going to dominate this show and the rest of the stuff on the card was just there to fill in the gaps left by having fourteen people in two matches. Let’s get to it.

The pre-show saw Daniel Bryan return for an interview to talk about his status. The update wasn’t too promising: his arms aren’t getting their strength back and there’s talk about a second operation. If that’s the case, word on the street has him out another six months to a year. That’s a horrible situation but I’d much rather have him out that long and able to walk when he’s forty than get another year of matches. Bo Dallas came out and told Bryan to Bo-lieve which led nowhere.

The opening PPV match was an awesome back and forth fight with the Usos retaining the titles against the Wyatts. Both teams looked awesome out there and it’s the kind of match where the Wyatts don’t lose face by not winning the belts. The near falls in this were very hot and the fans got way into things as a result. A hot tag match is usually the best option for an opener and this was no exception. Luke Harper continues to be as awesome as you can be while still being a Bruiser Brody inspired lackey to a Louisiana cult leader. Really solid stuff here and I’d be fine with a rematch.

Ambrose continued his awesome streak of promos by wondering if he should use a ladder to get the briefcase or crush Rollins’ face. Dean is just feeling it right now and is one step off, making him all the more interesting to watch. The showdown is going to be white hot when it happens.

Naomi and Paige tried to do something different in the Divas Title match with some nice athletic stuff, but at the end of the day this was more about Cameron and Naomi’s impending split. You know, because we’re supposed to care about Cameron because she’s a STAR. The match was fine but nothing I’m going to remember two days later. Actually that’s true as I had to read the description to remember what happened.

Damien Sandow was Paul Revere and got beaten up by Adam Rose. I guess they were seven minutes short or something.

Before the briefcase match, we got some old school style interviews from the participants talking about how they were going to win. I loved these as they take like fifteen seconds apiece and give you a quick look at each person. Why haven’t these been a regular thing in twenty years?

Seth Rollins won the Money in the Bank briefcase in a good and entertaining match. Well entertaining most of the time at least as some of the high spots had me terrified. Thankfully no one seemed to be too badly banged up as a result. The main story was of course Rollins vs. Ambrose as their showdown continues to look awesome. After leaving with a shoulder injury, Ambrose came back and almost won the case, but Kane ran interference to give Rollins the win.

It’s such a simple idea but more importantly than that, IT MAKES SENSE. Kane works for the organization Rollins is a part of, so why wouldn’t he come down to help? It also sets up a potential match for Dean against Kane, though hopefully it’s on a Smackdown or something so that it doesn’t take up a ton of time. The rest of the match was nothing special and no one really stood out, save for Swagger for some power stuff at times.

Goldust/Stardust beat Ryback/Curtis Axel in the same match they’ve had multiple times now. Another TV match.

Rusev beat Big E. Again. It was slightly better than their last effort but it didn’t make things any more interesting.

Layla beat Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee. Fandango is a lucky man and that’s about it.

Cena won the title again in another ladder match. The ending was exactly what it should have been, but I would have liked the challengers to do a little big more on the way to the obvious ending. Cena had to win given how things are looking heading into Summerslam so I’m fine with that. Would it have hurt them to let Wyatt and Cesaro not look like such afterthoughts though?

Post match Cena was called the greatest WWE Champion of all time. This made me roll my eyes, though I get why they say it. For those of you that aren’t up on your history, the statement isn’t laughable but it’s certainly not correct.

Overall Money in the Bank’s big matches worked but it felt more like a formality than a show you needed to see. The ladder matches were both good and entertaining enough for the $10 (something I skipped: the announcers were HAMMERING in the idea of getting the Network. It seems clear that the PPV providers are about to be gone in full very fast. Not a surprise at all when you think about it though) but the other matches save for the tag match were horrible or totally meaningless. That’s not a great selling point for a big show.

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Today we’re going to Canada for a former TNA World Champion: Eric Young.

Young started in the Canadian independents in 1998 and eventually earned a spot as a jobber in WWE. Here’s a match from Velocity on August 23, 2003. Notice Young’s partner.

FBI vs. Eric Young/Bobby Roode

The FBI are Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli. Johnny and Roode get things going with the jobber getting run over. A crucifix gets two for Roode and he brings in Young to work on the arm. Stamboli easily powers him into the corner and brings in Palumbo for some shoulders to the ribs. A hard slam drops Young and a buckle bomb has him rolling around in pain. The double teaming begins as Young is taking quite a beating. Palumbo gets two off a clothesline and we hit the chinlock. Eric finally avoids a charge and tags in Roode as everything breaks down. Chuck superkicks Roode in the back of the head for the pin.

Rating: D. Just a squash here but it’s always interesting to see these future names doing nothing in a match like this. Roode and Young looked decent but it was clear they were far from being ready to do much of anything. In other words, they were perfect for TNA at the time, especially since TNA was only a bit over a year old.

Young and Roode would team again as part of Team Canada in TNA. Here they are in the first match ever on Impact on June 4, 2004.

Team Canada vs. Amazing Red/Sonjay Dutt/Hector Garza

Team Canada is Petey Williams, Eric Young and Bobby Roode. Another very different idea from this point is the time limit on screen. Non-title matches only have ten minute time limits and title matches get thirty minutes. If the match goes to a time limit draw, a judge will decide the winner. The Canadians all bail to the floor to start and there’s the triple dive. We start in the ring with Eric Young (with BIG bushy hair) getting beaten up by Amazing Red until the Canadians take Eric out.

Roode pounds away on Red as the power member of the Canadians, getting two off an elbow. There’s also an ESPN style bottom line, running down results of recent TNA PPVs. Petey gets two off a middle rope bulldog and Coach Scott D’Amore gets in a cheap shot of his own. Back to Roode for a nice suplex before knocking Dutt and Garza out to the floor.

Red comes back with a simultaneous headscissors to Roode and DDT to Young, allowing for the hot tag to Garza. Roode takes him down with a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb as everything breaks down. Red gets two on Roode off a springboard hurricanrana but Petey snaps off the Canadian Destroyer to take Red out. Roode’s Razor’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana by Dutt, setting up a corkscrew moonsault from Dutt for the pin.

Rating: C. This was fine for an opener with most of the guys busting out all of their dives. It’s the standard formula of throwing some fast paced guys out there to open up a show and it still works as well as anything else. It’s always fun to see how big starts like Roode got their starts as he looked good here.

The pair would continue to team together and have a change to win their second World Tag Team Titles at Turning Point 2004.

Tag Titles: Ron Killings/BG James vs. Eric Young/Bobby Roode

3 Live Kru are the champions. They won the titles from the Canadians a month ago, making this a rematch. Young and BG get things going with Young being rammed into all of the buckles. Young tries to steal BG’s gyrating punches so the Kru hits their version of What’s Up. Here’s Roode to face Truth. Truth is a replacement for Konnan who is injured so this is under the Freebird Rule.

Truth hits his usual not-WWE stuff and gets two off a spinning kick. The Canadians double team Truth with a double backbreaker for two. They take over with Roode bringing Young back in. Young stomps on Truth in the corner but Truth won’t even sell it at all. He pulls himself up and hits a missile dropkick. No tag as it’s back to Roode. They try their own What’s Up but Truth escapes and makes the tag.

James knocks Roode to the outside and punches Young down. Roode comes back in and James gets two on him off a forearm. Young goes up but Truth hits the ax kick. Roode hits his spinebuster on James for a VERY close two. Roode sets for maybe a spear but the Kru hits a Hart Attack with a side kick instead of a clothesline. James loads up the pumphandle but Johnny Devine runs in and hits James in the back with a hockey stick so the Canadians can get the titles.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here and it was ok enough for an opener. It wasn’t particularly good and I didn’t care who won by the end. That’s a running problem for this era of TNA: the matches and feuds aren’t really compelling as they’re trying desperately to keep a show on and fill in three hours. There’s some ok stuff in here though so it’s certainly not a failure or anything.

Young would stay in Team Canada but switch over to teaming with Petey Williams. They would challenge for the titles at Slammiversary 2005.

Tag Titles: Team Canada vs. The Naturals

It’s Eric Young/Petey Williams vs. Chase Stevens/Andy Douglas respectively. The Naturals are defending and I still don’t remember which is which. Eric and I think Stevens start things off. Ok so Stevens is the blonde one. Got it. Eric works on the arm to start which goes nowhere. They slap/slug it out and Young goes down. Double tag brings in Douglas and Williams. Williams tries a handstand but Douglas grabs his feet and puts on a modified leglock while Petey is still holding himself up. It’s different if nothing else.

Back to the starters with the champions in firm control. Young might have hurt his knee on a leapfrog attempt. When Williams comes in and gets Stevens’ attention, Young pops up and sends him to the floor so that A-1, Canada’s muscle guy, can get in some shots. It’s still Eric vs. Chase but with Stevens in the Tree of Woe, Petey comes in to stand on his crotch and sing O Canada.

Young comes in off the top with a guillotine legdrop for two. Time for the chinlock and Douglas is freaking out waiting for a tag. Petey lures him in and the Canadians get in some double teaming. Some choking and a regular legdrop get two. Eric sends him to the floor so it’s time to talk about Jarrett possibly making bail to make the title match tonight. D’Amore and A-1 work over Stevens more on the outside.

The announcers think the Naturals should consider throwing in the towel. Dang those guys quit pretty easily. The match has only been going on for about ten minutes. Stevens gets in some punches but A-1 stops the comeback. Douglas comes around to break that up but there’s no one for Stevens to tag. Can I get some wah wah wah music? There’s the hot tag a few seconds later and a full nelson backbreaker gets two.

Everything breaks down and Williams puts Douglas in a Sharpshooter. Stevens tries a powerbomb but gets caught in a DDT. Douglas knocks Young to the floor as Stevens and Williams slug it out. Williams gets caught on Douglas’ shoulders and a modified (and bad) Doomsday Device gets two. Natural Disaster (elevated Stunner) gets two on Young. Russian legsweep to Stevens but the Destroyer is countered. D’Amore gets in a hockey stick shot, but JIMMY HART pops in from out of nowhere with the Megaphone. Stevens pops Williams with it and gets the easy pin.

Rating: C+. This was formula down to the core and there’s nothing wrong with that. All four guys were moving pretty quickly out there and the Canadians did their usual stuff. The Naturals were pretty decent in the ring but they had NOTHING to make you care about them at all which wound up being their downfall.

Team Canada would show signs of dissent and finally split in July 2006. Natually they fought amongst each other after the breakup, including this match at No Surrender 2006.

Eric Young vs. A-1

This is fallout from Team Canada breaking up and everything being blamed on Young for no apparent reason other than he was popular. Basic power vs. speed match here which is happening because Young was insanely popular as opposed to now being insane in general. A-1 pounds him down with ease because that’s what big men do. I haven’t seen much of his stuff but he’s one of the most generic big power guys I’ve ever seen.

Young finally gets a break and fights back, even hitting a top rope elbow which gets two. There’s something cool about how moves that have really nothing to do with the size and power of the guy only work for Savage or whoever is using them. Never got that. Anyway, A-1 fights back but can’t get a tombstone, which is another example of what I just mentioned. This is one of those matches where stuff is going on but nothing is happening. After some cheating by A-1, Young hits something like the Lethal Injection for the pin.

Rating: D+. Just a match for the most part here. Power vs. speed usually works pretty well but this was boring for the most part. A-1 more or less never meant anything at all so I guess you can call this his career highlight. Let that sink in for a minute. Young would go on to a REALLY long feud with Roode after this that did nothing for either guy. We did get to see Traci in a bikini though so that helped a bit.

Next up was a feud with the now serious Robert Roode, who Young would wind up working for in exchange for sleeping with Roode’s valet Traci Brooks. The idea was Young was very popular and Roode wanted the same fan support so he tried to buy it. This led to a match between them at Slammiversary 2007 with Eric’s job on the line in exchange for a shot at freedom.

Robert Roode vs. Eric Young

Roode slaps Young in the head a bit and it fires Young up, making him shout HIT ME AGAIN. Young sends him to the floor and hits a huge dive off the top to take Roode out. Roode takes over quickly and we make Brooks jokes. There’s the Hennig neck snap and Roode is in total control. Time for a chinlock and I remember why I hated this heel run by Roode.

Eric counters into an electric chair drop and both guys are down. Discus lariat gets two for Eric. Young is sent to the floor so he pulls Brooks’ pants down after dancing with her. Top rope elbow gets two for Eric. Brooks comes in and there’s a double Death Valley Driver which gets two on Roode. You know, because a big and impressive spot like that shouldn’t end a match. And then Roode whacks Eric in the head with a chair for the pin. Seriously that’s it.

Rating: C-. The ending KILLS that match. Young was rather popular at this point and having him lose after a big spot like that is really pretty stupid. Roode was SO freaking boring as a heel and he never really changed anything about his character, which somehow made him even more boring. Decent match until the ending, but that kills it.

It’s a Dusty Finish though. Roode fires Eric but here’s Cornette to say hang on a second. The match is restarted and Roode hits him in the head multiple times. Gail runs out and beats down Brooks. The distraction leads to a rollup pin for Eric.

This one doesn’t need much of an explanation. From Bound For Glory 2007.

Fight For the Right Tournament Stage One: Reverse Battle Royal

Dang it. Ok so this one might just hold the record for most ridiculous TNA concept. This is the beginning of a HUGE #1 contenders tournament. The winner of this match is the #1 seed in said tournament, which he would wind up losing anyway, making this COMPLETELY POINTLESS.

Anyway there are 16 people in this and you start on the floor. The first eight to get into the ring make it to part two. When those eight are in there’s a battle royal. When there are two left in the ring, they have a one on one match and the winner is the #1 seed. The other seeds are determined in the order you were eliminated.

Somehow this is slightly less complicated than the previous year’s tournament where the winner of the battle royal advanced to the finals and 6 other guys had qualifying matches to set up a triple threat where the winner met the battle royal winner to get a title shot. And people wonder why this company is loathed by so many people.

ANYWAY, the 16 people are Jimmy Rave, Lance Hoyt (Vance Archer), Havok (Johnny Devine), Shark Boy, Petey Williams, Kaz, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt, Kip James, BG James, James Storm, Eric Young, Robert Roode, Chris Harris and Junior Fatu (Rikishi, who was there like a week).

Fatu gets in first. This is so stupid. I know there are issues with getting ring time in this company but this is ridiculous. Kaz and Roode are in. Shelley is in fourth. Hoyt accidently drops Young in and there’s Sabin. Hoyt goes in seventh and Storm just beats Harris in to give us the 8th guy. Let’s get this over with. Young puts Storm out seconds in, making him the #8 seed in the tournament. Naturally he would win his first round match as he had to do the least wrestling, making it easier on him. See what I mean by flaws in the system?

Young goes after Rikishi who was supposed to be a huge deal I guess. He chokeslams Roode and stacks up four people in the corner for the splash. Stinkface to Hoyt as this is boring. The Andre treatment takes care of him though. He would make the semi-finals of the tournament and then leave the company.

The Guns go nuts with an insane double submission on Roode and Young. They move Young’s legs so he has an Indian Deathlock on Roode before putting a crossface on Roode and an abdominal stretch on Young. It doesn’t accomplish anything but it looks awesome. Think of it as a Divas match.

Shelley is gone. Kaz hits his slingshot DDT on Sabin and then dumps him too. We’re down to Hoyt, Kaz, Roode and Young. Kaz is out as well. Hoyt like an idiot goes for a moonsault and gets thrown out because he’s a freaking idiot. The final two….ok make that three as Sabin is still in there I guess, are Sabin, Roode and Young. And scratch Sabin….who apparently is Sabin as they apparently misspoke earlier. I give up. Roode vs. Young is the final.

Roode is a power guy still here and isn’t in a tag team. The tournament sets up Sabin vs. Shelley which is of course good but means nothing compared to them in the X Title final years later. These two had been feuding and were stablemates years ago. And then Young rolls up Roode in a small package to end it. Young would lose to Storm in the first round and Kaz would beat Christian to win the tournament.

Rating: F+. This was perhaps the most overdone match in history. Seriously, is it that hard to have a battle royal to determine who the #1 contender is? Couldn’t they just have a tournament with a random draw? Apparently not as they decided to just combine them and throw in a one on one match too. This is what we mean by overbooking. You don’t have to do a big complicated thing when a simple thing would work fine and in this case much better. Stupid match and VERY stupid concept.

In December 2007, Scott Hall was scheduled for a six man tag at Turning Point. Hall, being himself, no showed and Samoa Joe was told to explain it to the crowd. He cut a shoot on the company and picked Eric Young as his replacement.

Angle Alliance vs. Samoa Joe/Kevin Nash/???

The match isn’t going to start for a bit. The Alliance is Tomko/AJ (Tag champions) and of course Angle (world champion). AJ as a heel just isn’t working at all. It never did and it never will. He’s a clueless putz here too so that isn’t helping anything. Karen has some sweet legs. Joe comes out last and grabs the mic for the rant heard around the Impact Zone.

He talks about how he was told to come out here because the fans love him and they’ll listen to him. Scott Hall no showed this event but he’s not going to be here in a surprise or something like that. This got Joe thinking: he could walk out here and have a handicap match, but TNA just gave him a live mic on a PPV. Therefore, he has a few things to say.

There are two types of people in TNA: the diehards who do whatever it takes to entertain the fans every night, and Superstars who come in and do whatever they like. The Superstars screw the wrestlers and the fans who paid to see them, no matter how old they are. TNA is about the Guns, TNA is about Jay Lethal, TNA is about Samoa Joe, TNA is about hard working young guys who want to change wrestling. TNA is about guys doing whatever it takes to entertain the fans while others come in and pad their pensions.

Joe talks to someone in the crowd (presumably Dixie) saying go ahead and fire me. He went to the back and said who wants to be in a fight tonight. The X Division jumped up and said give me the shot. One guy though stood out to him and that is his partner tonight: Eric Young. This was a weird pick and according to some reports I’ve read, Joe’s immediate answer was Homicide, but since LAX were heels at this point that got shot down. At least that’s a valid reason.

Ok so now it’s time for the match. AJ vs. Joe gets us going here. Joe hooks a sunset flip but rolls AJ to the side around the ring (that has a name but I can’t think of it) and chops away. Joe tags in Eric who just doesn’t fit here as he’s a comedy character. This didn’t result in a major push for him either. Young comes in to fight Angle and he’s just Eric Young. That’s the problem here: there’s nothing significant about him but he’s just kind of there.

Off to Nash vs. Tomko and the one with hair takes him down with his usual big strikes. Young gets a Thesz Press on Styles, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Angle grabs Eric’s arm and pulls it across the ropes to try to give the match a story. AJ tries a superplex but gets caught in a gordbuster off the top. Double tag brings in Nash and Angle but everything breaks down quickly.

Eric’s dive is caught by the tag champs so Joe dives onto all three of them to take them out. Ankle lock to Nash and Joe smiles. He eventually breaks it up with a superkick and tags himself in to beat on Tomko. Powerslam gets two. There’s a Jackknife to Angle as the parade of finishers begins. AJ hits the forearm on Nash and double teaming abounds. The MuscleBuster ends Tomko.

Rating: D. What a mess this was, and somehow having Hall in there would have made it even worse. Young had no point of being in there and it was almost a shoot with everyone being thrown off by Joe’s promo. The match was going to be bad no matter what, but this was really weak and a horrible PPV main event.

After a stupid feud with James Storm over who could drink more beer, Young became a superhero named Super Eric. This led to a trio with Shark Boy and Curry Man, who teamed together at No Surrender 2008.

Rock N Rave Infection/Christy Hemme vs. Prince Justice Brotherhood

The Brotherhood is Super Eric (Young in a bad superhero gimmick), Stone Cold Shark Boy and Curry Man in one of the dumbest gimmicks even by TNA standards. The Infection is a bad rock band gimmick that played Guitar Hero controllers and had the smoking hot Christy Hemme as their manager. Eric vs. Rave to start with Eric taking over.

Eric gets a plancha to the floor which gets two back in the ring. Lance Rock comes in which gets his team nowhere so it’s off to Shark Boy. Thesz Press takes down Rock again as the good guys are dominating. Shark Boy is the same Steve Austin parody that was on Impact the other night. Over to Curry Man who gets a pop for no apparent reason other than a potential lack of oxygen in the arena.

Curry Man tags in Christy and we’re in a comedy match officially. He shoves her off and then realizes where his head was so he offers to go back into it again. Funny spot. Off to Shark Boy and Rave. Back drop sends Shark Boy (I refused to refer to him as Sharky like West and Tenay keep doing) to the floor as momentum changes.

Jawbreaker almost gets Shark Boy a tag but Rock N Rave get something close to a 3D but into a knee instead of a cutter. Christy comes in and is dropped onto Shark Boy by Rock. Cold tag to Curry Man (I thought he was hot and spicy?) who gets a flying hip to Rock. He and Hemme dance a bit and she gets kissed. Rollup gets two but Rock drills Curry so that Christy can hit the Flying Firecrotch Guillotine (don’t ask) for two. Chummer (Stunner) to Christy and a double Death Valley Driver to the guys from Curry Man end this.

Rating: C+. Basic fast paced and fun match to start us off here which is often times the best idea to open a show. Christy was the only good thing about the Infection as she looked great as the groupie. This was just here for comedy and to warm the crowd up and it did that rather well. Good opener.

Young would defeat Sheik Abdul Bashir for the title in late 2008 but the finish was questionable, leading to a rematch at Final Resolution.

X-Division Title: Eric Young vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir

Naturally the referee that interfered in the last match is the referee here. It’s Shane Sewell, that guy that got a brief push for no apparent reason. The fans are all for Eric as this is evil foreigner vs. not so evil foreigner. Thesz Press by Young lets him get in some punches. Young to the floor as I have a feeling the highlights of this match are over already.

Bashir puts on a surfboard hold to waste a lot more time. This is going absolutely nowhere at all and everyone knows it. Young nips up and hammers away and starts a rather generic comeback. Top rope elbow hits for two. Young goes up for a moonsault and misses by literally three and a half feet. That was awful in every sense of the word. Young goes for a sunset flip, the referee kicks Bashir’s arms when he grabs the ropes, match over thank goodness.

Rating: D-. The match was ok I suppose but at the same time it could not have been less interesting. No need at all to have the title be vacant here when they could have had the title change here. The wrestling was boring beyond belief too and the whole thing just did not work whatsoever. Boring match all the way through and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Not that it matters as this was overturned as well. Young would pin Bashir again at the next Impact but the title was in a tournament because TNA. Anyway, we’ll jump ahead to Bound For Glory 2009 where Young was starting to become more serious and had a Legends Title shot. Eric was the leader of the World Elite stable at this point, which was a group of guys from other countries that weren’t getting the respect they deserved. This didn’t go very far as you might have guessed.

Legends Title: Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez

Nash has the title here if I forgot to mention that. Hernandez went from being the hottest thing in the world to this. In a year the Legends Title went from Legends to Global to TV. Hernandez, still in the khaki shorts here, beats up both guys to start us off. BIG shoulder block puts Young on the floor. This is basically Hernandez beats up two guys until we get to the conflict between the heels match.

Solid heat on Young. Match is far from that though. And there’s the issue between the heels as Young insists it was just instinct. Hernandez hits a pretty weak missile dropkick to Nash as this is just a boring match. It’s not really horrible but it’s just totally not interesting at all. Big dive by Super Mex to try to make this more interesting. This has zero flow to it at all and it’s hurting badly. Young hits a big elbow on Hernandez and pulls Nash’s straps down. He sets for the Jackknife and Young rams Hernandez’s head into Nash’s balls for the pin. Pay no attention to Nash’s shoulder being WAY up.

Rating: D-. Not a bad match exactly but just not interesting at all. This was a weird one as they were trying but the styles just totally did not mesh. Like I said it’s not horrible but it’s just there. No flow or story being told really and while the ending was somewhat creative it just never amounted to anything and didn’t work at all.

Young would join the Band and win the Tag Team Titles under the Freebird Rule….until Scott Hall got arrested again, meaning the titles were stripped because the other two members couldn’t defend them for some reason. After ANOTHER comedy angle with the bisexual Orlando Jordan, Young would get a TV Title shot on the May 26, 2011 episode of Impact.

TV Title: Eric Young vs. Gunner

Young has the title itself because Gunner stole back the wrong belt last week. I guess the whole “one is black and one is red” thing is too hard to keep track of. They reenact the Fingerpoke of Doom but Young rolls him up for the pin and the title at 32 seconds. Whatever man, whatever.

After losing the title to Robbie E., Young would hook up with ODB and challenge for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles on Impact, March 8, 2012.

Knockout Tag Titles: Eric Young/ODB vs. Gail Kim/Madison Rayne

Eric starts with Gail but ODB tags herself in. Gail runs and is promptly clotheslined. Off to Madison who looks great in red. The champs work over ODB with some double teaming. Madison takes a clothesline to the ribs which was supposed to be a spear I think. Either way it allows the double tag and Eric locks up with the referee. Eric puts both girls in an airplane spin and ODB clotheslines them both down. There go Eric’s pants and Madison hits Eric with a title, knocking him onto Gail for the pin and the titles at 5:48.

Rating: D. I hate this angle. I’ve made that quite clear over the past few months and I don’t think it really requires a lot of explanation. Eric Young and ODB are supposed to be funny but they aren’t. It’s the most forced comedy I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s like taking the ingredients of a cake and putting them on a table and calling it a cake. It doesn’t quite work.

While holding the titles, Young would take a leave of absence to host a fishing show on Animal Planet. He would return as a surprise partner at Lockdown 2013.

Lethal Lockdown

TNA: Sting, Magnus, Samoa Joe, Eric Young, James Storm
Aces and 8’s: Mr. Anderson, D-Von, Doc, Mike Knux, Garrett Bischoff

This has some interesting rules. Two men (Anderson and Magnus) start things off and fight for three minutes. After those three minutes, Aces and 8’s (they won a series of matches on Thursday) get a man advantage for two minutes. Then TNA sends in its second man to even it up for two minutes. Aces and 8’s then get another advantage for two more minutes. They alternate until everyone is in and then it’s one fall to a finish.

Magnus pounds Anderson down in the corner to start before hitting a clothesline. Anderson sends him into the cage though to take over as we have less than a minute before someone else comes in. Off to a chinlock by Anderson to kill the time until Knux makes it 2-1. Also remember that the match can’t end until all ten men are in the match. A sidewalk slam and legdrop floor Magnus as this is one sided so far.

Samoa Joe is in to tie things up and TNA takes over for a bit. The former tag champions continue to work well together by taking the bikers apart. Anderson and Knux are beaten down until Garrett Bischoff comes in to make it 3-2. The fans tell Garrett that he can’t wrestle as Magnus and Joe beat him up as well. Anderson and Knux finally get up and save their partner as Eric Young is in to make it 3-3. Oh wait he has to strip first.

As is the case with every other period, the team with the latest man in takes over. D-Von is in to make it 4-3 Aces and 8’s and the numbers game takes over for the bikers again. Joe fights back with some palm shots to Anderson in the corner but D-Von knocks him down again to take over. The fans want Sting but they get James Storm instead. Storm cleans house with Closing Times and Last Calls but they don’t mean much at this point.

House continues to be cleaned until Doc is in to round out Aces and 8’s. Doc takes over for Team TNA with his power stuff and the match slows down a lot. Here’s Sting with two garbage cans full of weapons to finalize things, meaning it’s now one fall to a finish. Team TNA takes over with a bunch of weapon shots as I guess there’s no roof this year for a change. It’s all Team TNA at this point as the match slows down a bit. Garrett Bischoff gets worn out by Joe via a trashcan.

Sting holds Anderson for Young but Young almost hits Sting by mistake. The break lets the bikers take over with Doc chokeslamming Young. Magnus and Storm come back to take over, sending Garrett running to the top of the cage. They chase after him, resulting in I think Doc and Knux making the save. Joe powerbombs ALL FIVE GUYS down in a big Tower of Doom before putting Anderson in an STF but Doc makes the save. TNA takes over again with Sting hitting the Death Drop on Knox, but he doesn’t cover. Instead he sends Young to the top of the cage for an elbow drop for the pin at 26:27.

Rating: B. The problem of the ring being too small to hold ten guys still exists, but as someone with a bad fear of heights I’m very glad to see them not have the roof on the cage. It’s a risk they just don’t need to take and the Tower of Doom spot was more than able to make up for it. Very solid match here but Aces and 8’s continue to fall further into the abyss.

The return wouldn’t mean much as Young would go and film more fishing. While he was around briefly, the Knockouts Tag Team Titles were finally stripped and retired as they hadn’t been defended on TV in about a year. Young would then hook up with Joseph Park to prove that Park was Abyss. Here’s a match from that period, on November 7, 2013’s Impact.

Bad Influence vs. Eric Young/Joseph Park

Eric gets double teamed to start but sends Bad Influence into each other. Park comes in for some work on the arm but it’s back to Young for an Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner. Kaz is sent to the floor for a suicide dive from Eric and a cross body back inside gets two. Young is sent to the corner for a Flair Flip plus some strutting on the apron, only to have Kaz knock him out to the floor. Back inside and Bad Influence lays him out with Daniels getting two off a clothesline to the back of the head.

A Kaz distraction prevents the referee from seeing the hot tag to Park but Young ducks a clothesline, sending Bad Influence into each other again. Now the hot tag brings in Park and there’s a Boston Crab on Kaz. Daniels makes the save but everything breaks down. Daniels whips Young knees first into the steps before picking up the bell ringer’s hammer. That goes nowhere so he picks up the Appletini to blind Park, allowing Kaz to crucifix him for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: D. Just a match here for the most part with nothing significant happening at all. We’ve seen these teams fight several times now and nothing has really been accomplished as a result. The only interesting thing here is the difference in comedy. Young and Park have hammered their jokes so far into the ground that they haven’t been funny for months. Bad Influence on the other hand at least keeps their comedy moving, which keeps them feeling much fresher. It’s a nice breather.

Then Eric Young was a main event guy, and would be in a gauntlet match on April 10, 2014’s Impact for a future World Title shot.

Gauntlet Match

It’s basically a ten man Royal Rumble. James Storm is #1 and Gunner is #2 and of course the brawl is on in the aisle. They get inside with Gunner avoiding a middle rope ax handle and taking him into the corner for a stomping. Storm is in even more trouble until Bobby Roode comes in at #3 to give him a breather. Beer Money reunites for a bit but Gunner shrugs off the ten rams into the top turnbuckle. Bully Ray is #4 and cleans house as you would expect him to. A double suplex has no effect though and he clotheslines Beer Money down.

Gunner and Ray load up What’s Up to Storm but Roode makes the save Ethan Carter III comes in at #5 to give the heels an advantage. Ray shrugs everything off and chops away but Roode punches him down in the corner. No one has been eliminated yet. Carter and Roode try to toss Ray until Bobby Lashley is in at #6. The big man cleans house and hammers on all the heels until Gunner, Ray and Bobby have a three way standoff. That goes nowhere and they keep beating up the villains.

Abyss is #7 and cleans house but Ray tries to toss him. Magnus comes out for commentary as we take a break. Back with Sanada having entered and Eric Young entering at I believe #9. No eliminations yet. Everyone fights against the ropes and teases a few eliminations but no one is really close. Willow is #10 and we get a showdown with Carter. A Twisting Stunner has Carter in trouble as Spud wheelchairs down to ringside, only to pop up and pull Willow down for the elimination.

Abyss chokeslams Sanada and throws him out but walks into a spear from Lashley. Roode throws the bald Bobby out though, only to get tossed by Ray. We’re down to Ray, Gunner, Storm, Carter, Abyss and Young. Ray is about to go off on Carter but Roode trips him up, allowing Carter to throw him out and get us down to five. Storm nails a superkick to Gunner and easily throws him out.

The three heels team up on Young but he skins the cat and eliminates Carter on the way back in. Abyss lays him out again though and the double teaming continues. Eric trips both of them up though and actually hits the top rope elbow on Abyss. Storm takes him right back down with the Backstabber though, followed by an Orton Elevated DDT. The Last Call misses though and Young throws him out. Abyss hits Shock Treatment on Eric but can’t get him out. Young fights back with some right hands and an ax handle, followed by a clothesline for the win and title shot at 26:21.

Rating: D+. ERIC YOUNG? This is the guy they’re giving a title match to? Not Gunner, Ray, Joe, or ANYONE ELSE??? They have like five PPVs a year and the guy who was doing a Dr. Frankenstein gimmick earlier in the year is getting one of the main event slots? He’s more bearable when he’s serious but my goodness this matches my head hurt.

Eric calls out MVP post match. The boss comes out after a break and Eric says he does a great job. Young isn’t a doctor but since this is live TV, anything can happen. What MVP just saw was Eric earning a title shot. This is live TV though and Eric is feeling crazy. He wants his title shot TONIGHT. MVP asks if he’s sure and says it’s on. Magnus says that’s fine because everything abides by his rules. MVP says there are no Magnus Rules in effect, meaning the title changes hands on a countout or DQ and Abyss is banned from ringside. If anyone interferes, they’re fired on the spot.

From later in the night.

TNA World Title: Eric Young vs. Magnus

Eh why not. It worked at Wrestlemania XXX. Young scores with a quick dropkick and flips over the corner before strutting down the apron. Apparently Young has a bad arm coming into this to really hammer in the similarities. Magnus avoids a charge into the corner and sends Eric out to the floor with a big running knee. Back in and Eric sends Magnus to the floor, only to get nailed as he tries a suicide dive.

Magnus sends him into the steps and we take a break. Back with the champion getting two off a gutwrench suplex and we hit a sleeper on Young. Eric is quickly out of the hold but gets caught in a camel clutch to work on the back as well as the bad arm. Young powers up into an electric chair and both guys are down. Back up and some forearms and a clothesline drop Magnus. The arm seems fine at the moment. Eric tries a wheelbarrow slam into a neckbreaker but mostly drops Magnus on the way down.

The top rope elbow gets two and Magnus nails the Michinoku Driver for the same. He brings the belt into the ring but the referee takes it away. Young loads up a Death Valley Driver but gets hit low for two. Magnus is livid and gets caught in a crucifix for two. Eric comes back with a piledriver for the pin and the title at 13:05.

Rating: C. Eric Young is the TNA World Champion. Yes it’s a blatant ripoff of Daniel Bryan on Sunday, but Eric Young hasn’t earned the spot like Bryan has. He’s a comedy guy that has kept a job for a long time. That doesn’t mean he should be the World Champion. I’m assuming this doesn’t make it past Sacrifice, but I’ve only been able to tolerate Young for this many years. Having him as World Champion is too far for me.

As you can see, Eric Young hasn’t exactly been the most serious wrestler in the world over his career, which is why the title reign at the end didn’t work for me. There’s nothing wrong with being a comedy guy, but I would have liked to see him do something different every now and then. I don’t mind Young when he’s serious, but six weeks of being serious isn’t enough of a time to become World Champion. His reign wasn’t bad though so it wasn’t a disaster.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 30, 2014
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Things have changed after last night’s Money in the Bank show but it was pretty much what people expected. John Cena won the World Title while Seth Rollins became Mr. Money in the Bank. I can’t help but think Cena’s reign is just until we get to Summerslam where Brock can destroy him and take the title. Battleground is in three weeks so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the ladder matches last night.

Here’s the Authority to get things going. Stephanie says she was born in Hartford before going into a discussion of Daniel Bryan’s announcement last night. However, the Authority is about the future going forward, much like Seth Rollins who became Mr. Money in the Bank. HHH talks about John Cena winning the ladder match and proving that he’s an A+ player.

Cena comes out to the usual reaction with the titles wrapped around his neck like an untied scarf. Stephanie gets cut off so John can say the Authority won’t give Bryan a title shot but Cena would love to. That starts up a huge YES chant but Stephanie has a different question. She asks how many people here are gamers. The reason she asks is because Cena is going to be on the cover of the WWE 2K15 video game. The banner unfolds and Stephanie dances to Cena’s music in a cute bit.

Cena says that’s very nice but hang on a minute. The Authority are being way too nice to him because he saw them right after he won those titles. He shows us a shot of them looking crushed after the match ended but Stephanie says it was because of Randy Orton’s injuries. Cena says that’s because they have Orton in their pocket, just like Seth Rollins.

HHH tries to talk like a Dr. of Thuganomics (seriously) before saying all this can go away really fast if Cena doesn’t do it with respect. Cena would rather do it the hard way if it means doing it by himself. HHH says he’d have it no other way, which is why Cena is defending the title in a fourway at Battleground.

After Stephanie explains the rules, HHH announces Kane, Orton and Roman Reigns. Just for fun, tonight let’s have Cena/Reigns vs. Kane/Orton. Cena says he’ll earn the titles again at Battleground and brings up Stephanie being thrown in the pool of whatever that was last week. Cena goes to leave but HHH says that if Cena survives the fourway, there’s always a plan B. Rollins comes out next to Cena, briefcase in hand.

Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam quickly sends Seth outside before a big kick to the head staggers Rollins again. Rob fires off some shoulders to the back before putting on an old school abdominal stretch. He switches it up to a freaky looking double leg lock but Rollins makes the ropes and heads outside as we go to a break. Back with Van Dam hammering away but getting tripped into a half crab.

Rob injured his leg last night so there’s actually additional some psychology to this. Ropes are quickly grabbed and Van Dam comes back with clotheslines and a kick to the face, setting up Rolling Thunder for two. The split legged moonsault to Rollins’ back gets two but he grabs a legdrag to take over again. Rollins loads up the buckle bomb but Rob counters into a hurricanrana into the corner. The Five Star is ready but Rollins rolls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big dive from the top. As they come back in, Rollins twists the knee again to set up the curb stomp for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. This worked really well and was one of Van Dam’s best matches in a very long time. He was actually doing stuff other than just the regular moveset so the match worked much better than usual. Rollins getting a win over a former World Champion is always a good thing and the match was a solid effort.

Post match Rollins says the briefcase proves him right over Ambrose because this is his golden ticket. Ambrose pops up on screen and says from one scumbag to another that this isn’t over. Plan A failed miserable last night when Rollins’ daddy had to send Uncle Kane out to save him. It might be more fun this way because Ambrose is going to be right there every time Rollins tries to cash in. That briefcase doesn’t have a contract inside because it’s full of TNT. Every time Rollins tries to case in, it’s going to blow up in his face.

Here are Rusev and Lana with something to say. Lana wants the USA chants to stop and talks about how there is only one superpower. She asks who will be the next American to try to stop him and Rusev speaks some Russian. The answer is the one that should have been here months ago: Jack Swagger.

Colter goes on a great rant about how Boris and Natasha can say this in America because they’re taking advantage of the Freedom of Speech. Lana said that nothing can stop the Rusev Crush but Colter thinks a Real American could do it. WE THE PEOPLE gets the loudest reaction of Swagger’s career and the boys are ready to go but Lana stops him. A LET’S GO SWAGGER chant starts and Rusev tries to get in a cheap shot. Swagger comes back with some armdrags of all things and the Russians bail.

Sheamus/Usos vs. Wyatt Family

Jey and Rowan get things going and a clothesline sends Jey to the floor and use to a very quick break. Back with Rowan cranking on Jimmy’s neck before Bray hits his running splash in the corner. Jimmy finally comes back with a Whisper in the Wind to Harper, allowing for the hot tag to Sheamus. Rowan gets sent to the apron for the ten forearms to the chest until Harper makes a save. Sheamus dives off the top to take the Family down before powerslamming Erick in the ring.

Wyatt offers a distraction though and Rowan sends Sheamus to the floor. Harper kicks Sheamus’ head off and the Wyatts take over. Rowan gets two off a splash and puts on the double fist head squeeze. It’s back to Bray who runs into a boot but knocks Sheamus out to the floor. A JBL chant starts up because the fans are bored I guess. Back in and Harper superkicks Sheamus down for two as the announcers ignore the crowd for a change.

Sheamus finally grabs the Irish Curse on Harper and makes the tag off to Jey as house is cleaned. A big dive takes Harper out and a pair of kicks to the face get two. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Rowan down and Jey hits a dive to take him out. Bray plants Sheamus with a release Rock Bottom and avoids a superkick from Jimmy, allowing Harper to hit the discus lariat for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: C+. Good but not great match here as the Wyatts will get another shot at the titles in theory. Harper continues to blow my mind every time he’s out there, but Bray makes me sad. The guy’s incredible push in the spring has been totally wasted and he hasn’t won anything of note in months. He isn’t being depushed but he just needs to do SOMETHING.

Stephanie interrupts Nikki Bella in the back and puts the Bellas in a tag match against the Funkadactyls. Since Brie is gone though, it just has to be a handicap match.

Here’s Bo Dallas who asks for sixty seconds of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan who can’t compete at the moment. He actually kneels for about sixty seconds before showing us a clip of him interacting with Bryan on last night’s pre-show. We go into the next match with Bo still on the stage.

Nikki Bella vs. Funkadactyls

Cameron gets things going as the announcers try to get bomb.com over as a catchphrase. Nikki fights off Cameron to start because even Nikki is better than she is. Naomi comes in with a huge high cross body and the reverse DDT for the pin at 1:35.

The Funkadactyls are about to fight post match.

We look at Barrett’s shoulder being injured, which will put him out for several months. The Intercontinental Title is now vacant and will be decided in a battle royal at Battleground. This brings out Paul Heyman for his usual talking points and to introduce Cesaro as the first entrant in the battle royal.

Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston

Cesaro now has a black robe. Kofi is in the battle royal as well and comes out with a bad limp. Cesaro slams Kingston down with ease but gets sent to the floor for a BIG flip dive. Back in and a springboard gets caught in a Cesaro backbreaker. We hit the chinlock on Kofi before Cesaro hammers away, only to get rolled up for two as we take a break. Back….and the match ended during the break? Apparently that’s the case so we’ll say it ended at about 7:30.

Rating: D+. I don’t remember this happening in about the last ten years or so but it opens up a few more possibilities. I guess they’re pushing the App and to be fair this was a meaningless match so I don’t mind that I didn’t see how the fall took place. Kofi winning is a surprise, even though I have no idea how he won.

Cesaro DESTROYS Kofi with a hard throw into the crowd, Swiss Death, a throw over the table that wipes Cole out, and about 15 postings in a row. A replay shows that Kofi won with a rollup out of an electric chair.

Santino is having a party but no one showed up. Adam Rose and his Party shows up with a case of Twisted Tea, which I guess is a sponsor.

Damien Sandow comes out as Vince McMahon and does one heck of an impression. He hits all of the catchphrases and has the voice down perfectly. Sandow is in the Intercontinental Title battle royal but Stephanie interrupts and freaks out on Damien. He gets to face a giant also in the battle royal right now.

Great Khali vs. Damien Sandow

Chop, pin, four seconds.

It’s time for the return of a former WWE Champion and it’s….the Miz. He brags about being in Marine 4 and says he’s back to prove everyone wrong. People have called him a fluke but he’s here to show them that he isn’t a fluke. Miz isn’t leaving until he main events Wrestlemania again and people are begging him not to go. He’s finally cut off by the returning Chris Jericho in the real surprise. Miz rants about being the Marine and a huge star but gets taken down by a Codebreaker. Jericho says that felt great but we’ve got Wyatts. A triple team beatdown sets up Sister Abigail to leave Jericho laying.

Fandango vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler tries to start fast but gets sent into the corner and dropped face first onto the mat for two. Fandango gets a kiss from Layla but Dolph hammers away with right hands. Summer, looking great in a pink dress, comes to the ring and kisses Ziggler who does the same right back. Fandango isn’t sure what to do so it’s the Zig Zag for the pin at 2:36.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Stardust/Goldust

Goldust hammers on Axel to start but Ryback gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. We hit the chinlock on Goldust for a bit before he counters the Meat Hook with a spinebuster. The hot tag brings in Stardust who cleans with clotheslines all around plus a springboard dropkick. A downward spiral is enough for the pin on Axel at 3:00.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here again as Goldust and Stardust are already getting dull. I do like Cody getting a new finisher but it would have been nice if it was something a bit less generic. Ryback and Axel have lost every bit of their momentum from winning all of those matches against Goldust and whoever he had as a partner.

Here’s Paige with something to say. People have been telling her that she needs to go back down to NXT because she isn’t ready to be a champion but she has proven everyone wrong. This brings out the returning AJ Lee who says she wants to prove that she can get the title back. She congratulates Paige on being champion but Paige won’t shake her hand due to it being exactly what Paige did in her debut. The Title is on the line right now.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

Paige takes her into the corner to start and poses a bit. She shouts that this is her house now but gets small packaged out of nowhere to give AJ the title back at 1:00.

John Cena/Roman Reigns vs. Kane/Randy Orton

Cena and Orton get things going and the fans are already on John. Feeling out process to start with Cena getting the better of it. Reigns comes in and Orton bails to the corner for the power showdown. Kane is sent to the floor and we take our last break. Back with Reigns in trouble and Orton cranking on a chinlock. Kane gets in a few shots but Reigns nails a clothesline to start a comeback.

It only lasts a few seconds though as Orton sends him to the floor for a clothesline from Kane. Back in and Kane puts on a chinlock but Reigns powers up. They slug it out and a Samoan drop is enough to put Kane down, allowing Reigns to make the hot tag. House is cleaned and Kane takes the ProtoBomb but Orton nails Cena with an RKO. Reigns Superman Punches Kane down though, leaving Orton and Reigns to fight up the ramp. Kane sends Cena to the floor and nails him with the steps for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: C-. This was pretty dull stuff and was only there to build towards the fourway. Kane isn’t going to win the title and everyone knows it but at least he’s getting a nice push instead of looking like everyone else. It was just a standard main event tag match and not a very good one at that.

Post match Kane tombstones Cena and knocks him out, drawing out Rollins for a cash in. HHH says ring the bell but Ambrose hits the ring to attack Rollins before the bell. Ambrose chases Rollins into the crowd and HHH is livid. Kane gets a chair to go after Cena but Reigns comes back and spears him down. Roman and HHH stare each other down and the fans are into it to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t the best in the world here but a lot of stuff was happening on this show. We had three returns, a new champion, a title vacated, and the start of a nice new feud for someone that needs it. This show took care of a lot of things they’ve needed to get around to and it worked really well as a boost. Battleground feels like a throwaway show but they seem to actually be putting some effort into it on the way. That’s a rare thing but it’s very welcome. Not a great show but it got some stuff done.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb stomp
Wyatt Family b. Usos/Sheamus – Discus lariat to Jimmy Uso
Funkadactyls b. Nikki Bella – Reverse DDT
Kofi Kingston b. Cesaro – Rollup
Great Khali b. Damien Sandow – Chop
Dolph Ziggler b. Fandango – Zig Zag
Stardust/Goldust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Downward spiral to Axel
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Kane used the steps

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Due to Barrett’s shoulder injury.  There will be a battle royal at Battleground for the title.

Money in the Bank 2014
Date: June 29, 2014
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Tonight is one of those nights that is going to change everything all at once. The World Title is vacant and will be hanging above the ring like the briefcase normally would. In addition to that we have a regular briefcase ladder match, meaning we’ll see the future of the company for the net few months decided tonight. Let’s get to it.

As per the pre-show, Bad News Barrett is officially out of the ladder match with a shoulder injury.

Instead of a match on the pre-show, we’ve got an interview with Daniel Bryan. He’s already out of the neck brace and does a full YES chant around the ring. The fans come unglued for him and Bryan is clearly overwhelmed by their reaction. Bryan: “Shh.” Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Bryan: “Well ok. YES! YES! YES!”

Cole gets right to the point: when can we expect him back in the ring? Bryan doesn’t know because his arm strength isn’t back and there’s talk of another surgery. He promises that he’ll be back and better than ever though. It wouldn’t be a Daniel Bryan story if he didn’t have a setback, and he’s coming back to win his title.

It’s time for some Twitter questions. Bryan thinks Reigns will win tonight and felt disrespected when he was stripped of the title. He finds it interesting that he was stripped of the titles because no one could beat him. This brings out Bo Dallas of all people for this line: “I know you can’t compete tonight. That’s got to be a pain in the neck!” Bryan can still climb the ladder of life and make his way back to the top. All he has to do is Bo-lieve! Bryan steals the line from the NXT fans and tells Bo to leave.

The opening video is about the climb and how it is more important tonight than ever before as it will decide the future.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Wyatt Family

The Usos are defending and have been feuding with the Wyatts for over two months now without actually defending the titles against them. The children’s choir sings a few lines of He’s Got the Whole World before the music changes to some slow rock music. It’s far better than the banjo music they had on Raw. Jey and Harper get things going and Luke gets kicked in the ribs to start. The Usos speed things up with some tagging but Harper dropkicks Jimmy down.

Jimmy gets caught in the wrong corner for some double teaming but he finally dropkicks Rowan through the ropes, setting up a big dive off the barricade to take him down again. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Erick and it’s off to Jey vs. Harper. Luke quickly sends Jey through the ropes before catapulting him throat first into the bottom rope for two. Rowan puts on a claw hold for another two before it’s off to a neck crank.

Jey avoids a legdrop but Harper breaks up the tag. A legdrop gets two on Jey but Rowan misses a splash and goes shoulder first into the post. Jey finally makes the hot tag to send Jimmy in to face Harper. Things speed way up and both Wyatts take Samoan drops. The Umaga attack nails Rowan and a Whisper in the Wind gets two on Luke. Two straight superkicks get a near fall on Harper but Jey dives into Rowan’s arms. Jimmy dives onto both of them but walks into a shot from Harper as he comes back in.

Jey saves his brother from a double something and Jimmy rolls up Harper for a VERY close two. Harper powerbombs Jimmy for an even closer two before diving through the ropes at Jey. Jimmy’s dive is caught by Rowan so Harper dives through the ropes again to take Jimmy down. Back in and something like a double chokeslam (if you lift under the arms instead of by the throat) gets two on Jey as Jimmy has to make a save. Harper is kicked to the floor so Rowan goes up top, only to get crotched out of desperation. The Usos superplex Rowan down and both add splashes for the pin to retain at 13:17.

Rating: B+. This was AWESOME and a great opener. Luke Harper continues to blow my mind every time he goes insane out there and those double dives should not be coming from someone his size. The Usos are a great team and work so well together with a lot of that coming from being brothers. You can’t create chemistry like that.

We recap the Shield split, leading into Rollins vs. Ambrose.

Ambrose says he wants to grab Rollins by his new tie and rip him apart before climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase. The question is should he climb the ladder and grab the briefcase or use the ladder to bash Rollins’ face in? Case or face? Case or face? Eh why not both?

Divas Title: Naomi vs. Paige

Paige is defending and Naomi gets the shot due to beating Paige on Main Event. There seems to be a respect between them but Cameron and Naomi have been having issues lately. Naomi takes Paige down to start and slams her down from the apron to the floor. A big running dive over the top rope crushes Paige again but Cameron doesn’t look happy. Back in and they trade some quick rollups for two each before Naomi puts on a modified surfboard.

Naomi goes up but slips off the top, only to pull Paige out to the floor with her. They get back in at eight and Paige grabs a stump puller of all things. Cameron is finally smiling. Paige lets the hold go and Naomi snaps off a quick hurricanrana. The Rear View connects for a near fall but Paige blocks the split legged moonsault with knees to the ribs. Naomi tries the reverse DDT but Paige spins out and hits a fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C+. They tried something different here and it worked for the most part. They’ve been letting the wrestlers wrestle a bit more lately and it’s getting better every time. Naomi vs. Cameron isn’t going to do much for anyone but it’s what you have to expect from reality show stars?

Cameron cheers at her partner losing.

The expert panel (host Renee Young, Booker T., Alex Riley and Christian) talks about what we’ve seen so far and make predictions for the ladder matches.

Money in the Bank by the numbers video.

Here’s Damien Sandow as Paul Revere to warm us that the half wits are coming. That would be the Rosebuds for those of you that aren’t smart enough to understand him. Rose comes out and says his usual stuff before backdropping Sandow to the floor.

Adam Rose vs. Damien Sandow

Rose hammers away with his comedy stuff to start but Sandow trips him up and rams Adam’s face into the mat. The fans sing Rose’s song as Sandow hooks a chinlock. Sandow hits the Wind-Up elbow (Sandow: “The elbow is coming! The elbow is coming!”) and it’s back to the chinlock. You’re Welcome (full nelson slam) gets two but Sandow misses a middle rope moonsault, setting up the Party Foul for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D. Just a Raw match here but Sandow got more offense than he’s gotten in months. Rose needs a feud against someone not named Jack Swagger but he might have already reached his peak. He’s still good for a lower card act for the song though so he’s worth keeping around until he gets something to do.

Jon Stewart from the Daily Show is here.

We get some old school interviews from each guy in the MITB contract match.

Seth Rollins says he’ll shock the world again. Plan A is he wins the contract. Plan B is he wins the contract.

Rob Van Dam says he’s the winner.

Kofi Kingston says he’ll fly high and everyone else will have trouble in paradise.

Dolph Ziggler says lightning strikes twice tonight.

Zeb Colter says tonight another great patriot will have his moment in Boston.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dean Ambrose

Everyone but Kofi and Van Dam head to the floor to start but Kofi is quickly outside as well. Swagger goes for a climb but Kofi is back in to dropkick him down. The Boom Drop on a ladder crushes Swagger and Kofi goes up. Ambrose shoves the ladder over but Kofi lands on the top rope and springboards down onto the rest of the people in the match. Rollins and Ambrose fight over who gets to climb with Ambrose slamming Seth down. A ladder is laid in the corner and Dean suplexes Rollins onto the steel.

Kofi and Dolph climb the ladder but have to deal with Swagger. They climb again after sending Jack to the floor but fight down to the mat where Rollins nails them with another ladder. Van Dam kicks Rollins in the face and puts a ladder over the bottom rope. Rolling Thunder crushes Rollins onto the ladder and Ambrose is kicked to the floor. Ziggler and Ambrose are dispatched as well with Swagger taking the Five Star. Lawler points out how meaningless that is as Rob finally realizes he needs to climb.

Kofi comes back for a save but takes too long trying to superplex Van Dam, allowing Swagger to hit Kingston in the back with a ladder. Jack sets up a ladder in the corner in front of Van Dam but gets headbutted down to the mat. Rollins breaks up a Five Star attempt but has to fight out of a superplex attempt. Swagger climbs up and powerbombs Van Dam down but Dean climbs the ladder and superplexes Rollins down. Both guys are down but Ambrose grabs a ladder, only to have Ziggler dropkick it into his face.

Swagger throws Kofi around and hits the Vader Bomb onto the ladder onto Kofi. Van Dam makes a save but Ambrose and Rollins pull them both down. Seth and Dean climb up and slug it out on top of the ladder with Rollins being knocked down. Swagger makes a save and pulls Ambrose down, only to have Dean counter into a DDT off the ladder. Ambrose comes up holding his shoulder and the doctor says he dislocated it. He quickly walks off under his own power but isn’t happy about it at all.

Rollins goes up but Rob makes the save. They fight on the ladder and Kofi bridges a ladder between the ropes and into the standing ladder. Van Dam falls and seems to have hurt his leg. Kofi backdrops Rollins onto the bridge and almost gets the case but Ziggler makes a last second save. Ziggler hammers away on Swagger as Van Dam is back up, only to take a Fameasser.

The Zig Zag to Kofi sends both guys onto the ladder but Dolph is still able to climb. Swagger puts him in the ankle lock but Ziggler still climbs in a cool visual. Jack gets kicked away but Rollins his Ziggler in the injured ankle. Rollins climbs but Ambrose comes back and destroys him with the chair. Dean goes up but Kane’s pyro goes off and he makes the save. A chokeslam plants Ambrose and the safest looking tombstone I’ve seen in years knocks him out. With Kane playing defense, Rollins gets the case at 21:23.

Rating: B. Good but not great match here. One thing that stands out to me more than anything else though is how much easier this match went with fewer people. There were a lot of times where people were able to stand around, meaning there wasn’t so much insanity that you couldn’t keep up with it. Some of the earlier spots were scary at times but they settled down and got a great reaction for Ambrose, which is a really good sign.

The Authority comes out to celebrate with Rollins.

Orton says he doesn’t need the same help Rollins needed. He has nothing to say about Roman Reigns.

Goldust/Stardust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Axel now wears a singlet but gets quickly taken down by both Dusts. An armdrag sends him over for a tag off to Ryback who gets double teamed very quickly. Goldust comes in for an atomic drop and kick to the side of the head but Axel gets in a shot from the apron. Goldust gets hammered by Ryback and the middle rope splash/elbow combination gets two for Axel.

We hit the chinlock as JBL sounds like his voice is starting to go. Ryback comes in with a slam but misses a splash in the corner, allowing for the hot tag to Stardust. House is cleaned and Stardust DDTs Ryback for two. Shell Shock is countered into Cross Rhodes for two with Axel making a diving save. Stardust sends the partners into each other and rolls up Ryback for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Another Raw match here and there was no way the Dusts were going to lose this early into their run. The team could go one of two ways in the coming months but the clear thing is how into the role Cody is. The visual of his face is awesome and the character is already working.

Goldust and Stardust dispatch an attacking Axel after the match.

We recap the love triangle between Summer Rae, Layla and Fandango. Summer had been Fandango’s dance but Fandango dumped her and picked up Layla. She saw him kissing Summer recently and now they’re fighting over him.

Fandango is in the back when the girls come up and present their attributes to him for lack of a better term.

Rusev vs. Big E.

Big E. hammers away to start and actually has some early success. Rusev in knocked to the apron but gets up a knee to stop the spear through the ropes. The gutwrench suplex drops Big E. and we hit a chinlock from Rusev. A splash misses though and Big E. gets two off a belly to belly. Rusev charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two and Big E. avoids the jumping superkick. Another suplex sends Rusev to the apron and now the big spear connects. Back in and the straps come down but Rusev kicks him in the side of the ear. The jumping superkick and Accolade keep Rusev undefeated at 7:19.

Rating: C-. Better than last month’s match between these two but it was still nothing special. Rusev needs to move up a step as he’s defeated Big E. twice in a row now. It’s good to see him get tested a bit though and that’s what this match was designed to do. Those kicks still look good too.

The expert panel talks a bit more and we see clips from Bryan’s pre-show speech.

Summer Rae vs. Layla

Fandango is guest referee. It’s a brawl to start with Summer stomping her down into the corner. Layla kicks her into Fandango and puts on a leg lock, drawing a CM Punk chant from the bored crowd. Summer fights out with a bunch of basic offense, only to get her neck snapped across the top rope, setting up a high kick for the pin at 2:59.

We recap the main event, which is taking place because of Bryan’s injury.

WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro

The title is vacant coming in. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going for a ladder or each other early on. Bray escape an AA attempt and dives at a ladder to crush Sheamus before hooking up with Cesaro to clean house. Reigns and Orton fight while Sheamus and Kane do the same on opposite sides of the ring. Reigns and Sheamus pick up ladders to crush Kane and pin him underneath the smaller ladder. Del Rio stops Reigns from going up as Cesaro and Sheamus climb. All four start climbing two ladders but Kane breaks it up and cleans house.

Cena comes back in and charges into a chokeslam before Kane cleans out most of the ring. He sets up a ladder in the middle of the ring and tells Orton to go up just like he did with Rollins earlier. Reigns shoves Kane into the ladder for the save but gets jumped by Bray. Cena comes back in with a ProtoBomb to Wyatt, only to walk into Swiss Death. Cesaro and Sheamus slug it out on top of the ladder as Bray spider walks up and shoves the ladder over. The Europeans are left hanging in the air and eventually fall to reset things.

Orton is all ticked off after getting hit with the ladder so he pulls out more ladders. He bridges one between the announce table and apron so he can put Sheamus over the bridge for an Elevated DDT. Back in and Orton throws a ladder to the floor before setting up the big one in the middle. Everyone gets back in and we go into scramble mode with no one getting higher than the second or third rung.

The people all get steadily knocked to the floor until only Kane is left standing. He takes down the big ladder and goes over to fight with Sheamus instead of climbing. Sheamus comes back with the forearms to the chest and White Noise, followed by a Brogue Kick to Cena. Sheamus sets up the big ladder again but Kane makes a save. The Irishman goes up but Cesaro bridges a ladder into the tall one to climb faster for another save. Cena and Del Rio fight to the floor as Reigns lifts up the big ladder with Sheamus and Cesaro on top. The bridged ladder keeps them from falling and Cena pushes it back to level.

Everyone is back in again and Cena is slammed onto the bridged ladder by Wyatt. Kane pulls people off the ladder but gets speared by Roman. Orton sends Reigns into the big ladder and knocks it over though, leaving no standing ladder in the ring. Reigns comes back with Superman Punches all around and the apron boot to Del Rio. HHH is all ticked off and we’re down to Cena vs. Reigns. They slug it out and Cena tries the AA, only to get speared out of his shoes.

Reigns goes up but Orton makes a last second save. With blood on the top of his head from earlier, Orton goes up but Bray takes him down with Sister Abigail. Del Rio stops Bray (and kills the crowd) but Sheamus shoves the ladder over and kicks Del Rio’s head off. An RKO pulls Sheamus off the ladder but Reigns stops Randy’s attempt. Orton is busted open BAD so Reigns rips at the cut and headbutts him a few times. Kane is back in for yet another save though by chokeslamming Reigns off the ladder. Cena grabs Kane for an AA though and Orton gets one as well, allowing Cena to get the titles at 26:30.

Rating: B. They toned down the big spots in this which kept my stomach in better shape this time. These matches are fun but man alive can they be scary at times. Cena winning is going to annoy some people but he’s the most logical choice as Lesnar is waiting in the wings for whoever gets the belt here. Brock vs. Cena will be awesome and is the money match that people will pay to see.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show for the most part with the Tag Title match and the ladder matches both delivering, but the rest was pretty meaningless stuff. Still though, those are the only matches that mattered for the most part and they were good enough to make the show solid. Money in the Bank tends to be hard to screw up and this was no exception.

Results
Usos b. Wyatt Family – Superfly splash to Rowan
Paige b. Naomi – Fisherman’s DDT
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Rob Van Dam – Rollins pulled down the briefcase
Goldust/Stardust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Rollup to Ryback
Rusev b. Big E. – Accolade
Layla b. Summer Rae – Kick to the head
John Cena b. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Kane – Cena pulled down the titles

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Survivor Series at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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