Impact Wrestling
Date: February 29, 2024
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re officially out of the Scott D’Amore era as the show he set up, No Surrender, has come and gone. That means we are on the way to Sacrifice and we should be in for a big showdown with Moose defending the World Title against Eric Young. Other than that, Mustafa Ali is the new X-Division Champion after beating Chris Sabin. The rest of the card will need to be built so let’s get to it.

Here is No Surrender if you need a recap.

In Memory of Ole Anderson and Mike Jones (Virgil).

No Surrender recap.

Opening sequence.

Mike Bailey vs. Steve Maclin

Trent Seven and the Rascalz are here too. Bailey firs off the bouncing kicks to start and they’re already on the floor for a strike off. Both of them have to dive back in to beat the count, where Maclin hits a clothesline to the floor. The Rascalz get in a chop block to put Bailey down and it’s Maclin working on the leg back inside. The spear in the corner only hits post though and Bailey kicks him in the face.

A springboard flip dive drops Maclin on the floor and shows you what Bailey thinks about selling a banged up leg. They strike it out on the apron until Bailey’s moonsault knees only hit said apron. Maclin spears him down to the floor and Mayhem For All gets two on Bailey. Seven offers a distraction of his own, allowing Bailey to fire off some kicks. The tornado kick is blocked though and Maclin hits a buckle bomb. Bailey shrugs that off and hits a poisonrana but misses the Ultimate Weapon. KIA gives Maclin the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. And that is the kind of Bailey match that drives me nuts. He had his leg worked on for a good bit and then started jumping around and doing all of his flips and kicks. It takes me out of the match every single time and that was certainly the case again here. The action was good but I didn’t enjoy it, with the blame being pretty firmly on Bailey.

Post match Maclin calls out Nic Nemeth, who pops up on screen to show off his new IWGP Global Title. The match is made for Sacrifice.

We look at Eric Young becoming #1 contender to the World Title by beating Frankie Kazarian at No Surrender. Then Kazarian beat the fire out of an official.

Earlier today, Frankie Kazarian was told he was suspended and couldn’t come in. This led to a threat to Santino Marella.

Laredo Kid vs. Jake Something

Something gets caught with an early headscissors to put him outside, where Kid’s dive is countered into a sitout powerbomb. Back in and Into The Void is blocked, allowing Kid to hit a missile dropkick. A running flipping DDT gives Kid one and a middle rope moonsault gets two. Back up and Into The Void plants Kid for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced match and Something continues to feel like someone who should be a big deal if he was given the chance. For some reason that doesn’t ever actually take place but it’s nice to have another tease. At the same time, Kid is one of the better hands around and he made Something look rather good here.

Alan Angels is late to this week’s Sound Check, with special guest Kon. There is extra security around here but Kon isn’t impressed by Angels trying to be his friend. Kon isn’t scared of PCO, who shows up to wreck Angels and glaring at Kon, who isn’t scared. They both pull back punches and the camera cuts.

AJ Francis/Deaner vs. Joe Hendry/Rich Swann

Before the match, Hendry talks about how this is Francis’ in-ring debut and he won’t want to flop. We want this to be a good start, so Hendry doesn’t want anyone to chant AJ SUCKS. He knows the fans want to chant WE BELIEVE though and we’re ready to go. Francis knocks Hendry off the apron to start and we take a break less than a minute in.

Back with Hendry coming in for a double elbow to Deaner, followed by some rhythmic chops. Deaner knocks him into the corner though and Francis comes in to plant him hard. Hendry manages to get Francis onto his shoulders but can’t hold him up, instead settling for a DDT. Everything breaks down and Swann takes out Francis, leaving Hendry to hit Deaner with the Standing Ovation for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C. The break didn’t help things here but there is only so much you’re going to get out of a team with Deaner and Francis. The good thing is TNA isn’t treating Francis as anything serious and at least he is losing when he gets in the ring. Hendry still needs something better to do, but I’ll take he and Swann getting on the show.

Decay are in New Orleans to get the Knockouts Tag Team Titles back.

Hammerstone has officially signed with TNA. Cool.

Josh Alexander is ready for his rematch with Hammerstone at Sacrifice. Dirty Dango and company interrupt to plug his wrestling academy, so Alexander says he’ll get the match made.

Here are the Good Hands to introduce Mustafa Ali (while thinking we’re in Mississippi) for his X-Division Championship celebration. Ali says the people have accepted change and made the X-Division great again. Cue Chris Sabin to interrupt, with Ali giving him the floor. Sabin talks about how they are both champions and that’s where the similarities end.

To Sabin, change is about making things better but for Ali, change is about himself. Ali says the Good Hands are here to support change, but at No Surrender, no one supported Sabin. That’s fine with Sabin, who is here to fight. The brawl is on, with Kevin Knight and Kushida running in to even things out and clear the ring.

Here is Ash By Elegance with a huge announcement: next week she is having her SECOND MATCH! You’re welcome.

Mustafa Ali is livid about what happened and promises consequences.

Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside

For a Knockouts Title shot at Sacrifice. Steelz takes her into the corner to start as Jordynne Grace is watching from the back. A headbutt puts Brookside down for two and Steelz stomps down in the corner. The chinlock goes on as they’re not wasting time here. Brookside fights up and makes the clothesline comeback, including Broken Wings in the corner. The Brooksie Bomb is blocked though, with Brookside settling with sending her outside. A running neckbreaker hits Steelz on the floor but they brawl for the double countout at 5:18.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go very far and odds are the ending sets up the triple threat at Sacrifice. The problem here was they billed it as a rubber match which is true, but it’s only so interesting when I don’t think the three matches added up to twenty minutes. That doesn’t make for the most interesting series and we didn’t even have a winner. Not exactly inspiring stuff.

Post match Grace comes out to say she’ll fight them both at Sacrifice.

Rhino promises to Gore Gore Gore Crazzy Steve.

Sacrifice rundown.

ABC/Eric Young vs. The System

Moose bails from Young to start so Young bites Myers’ arm. ABC comes in for a double armdrag for two on Myers, followed by Bey armdragging Edwards into an armbar. Edwards gets stuck in the corner for a series of running elbows to the face and a near fall but he manages to drop Bey. Now Moose is willing to come in and the villains start taking turns on Bey. Back up and Bey flips out of a suplex, allowing Austin to come back in for a dropkick. Moose cuts Austin off on the apron though and we take a break.

We come back with Moose coming in to stomp away before knocking the System off the apron. Austin gets over for the tag to Bey but the referee doesn’t see it (always works) so the beating continues. A front facelock doesn’t last long for Myers so Austin kicks him in the face, allowing the tag off to Young.

Everything breaks down and Bey gets to kick Moose out to the floor. Bey’s big running flip dive is pulled out of the air for a powerbomb but Young is right there with the suicide dive. Back in and ABC kick away at Moose, with the 1-2-Sweet connecting and Edwards making the save. Austin kicks Myers to the floor but Moose cuts him off. The Backpack Stunner hits Bey and Myers’ top rope elbow connects to finish Bey at 17:13.

Rating: B. This was a good example of having two feuds put together at once, assuming Myers/Edwards get the Tag Team Title shot at Sacrifice. That’s the kind of match that makes sense and does a lot of good, especially with such a quick turnaround between the big shows. The action worked well here too and they can still do more to set up Young vs. Moose next week.

Overall Rating: B-. They were walking quite the fine line here as they had this and one more show to set up Sacrifice. The show isn’t quite a sequel to No Surrender but it’s the next step in a lot of things. That didn’t leave them much time to get things ready, but thankfully a lot of the setup was already done. That left us with a pretty good show, with the main event as the highlight, as it often is. If you can get Bailey to sell his injuries a bit more, the show could be that much better, but this did what was needed.

Results
Steve Maclin b. Mike Bailey – KIA
Jake Something b. Laredo Kid – Into The Void
Joe Hendry/Rich Swann b. AJ Francis/Deaner – Standing Ovation to Deaner
Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside went to a double countout
The System b. Eric Young/ABC – Top rope elbow to Young

 

 

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 29, 2024
Location: Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are just over a month away from Supercard Of Honor and this show has been a bit up and down in recent weeks. This has mainly been due to the Women’s TV Title tournament, which has made things feel a bit more important. That importance should continue this week with Dalton Castle finally getting his hands on Johnny TV. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We run down some of the card.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Taya Valkyrie vs. Queen Aminata

Johnny TV is here with Valkyrie. Aminata grabs a headlock to start but Valkyrie reverses into one of her own. That’s reversed as well so Valkyrie powers her into the corner for the exchange of forearms. Aminata misses the hip attack though and gets knocked into Johnny’s arms, allowing Valkyrie to hit a dropkick through the ropes.

A suplex on the floor keeps Aminata in trouble and Valkyrie makes it worse with the STF. That’s escaped as well and Valkyrie spears her down for two. Aminata comes back with a suplex into the penalty kick, setting up the required hip attack in the corner. Valkyrie gets in a slam for two but walks into a headbutt for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: C+. So I guess Aminata is just kind of a thing now, as she went from losing all the time to being a serious contender for the title. I do like putting some fresh blood out there, but they took a rather odd way to get there. The match was fine enough and beating Valkyrie is the biggest win of Aminata’s career to date.

We look back at last week’s tournament matches.

Mike Sydal vs. Lee Johnson

Johnson takes him to the mat to start and switches into a hammerlock. A rollup gives Johnson two and Sydal needs a breather in the corner. Said breather seems to work as he takes Johnson down into a chinlock, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Johnson fights out of another chinlock and grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb for two of his own. The reverse inverted DDT finishes Sydal at 5:49.

Rating: C. Johnson is a good example of someone who is technically sound but not very interesting. There isn’t much about him that stands out and while his matches are fine, they come and go week after week. He doesn’t feel like a complete waste, but he needs something to make him stand out a lot more.

Komander vs. Blake Christian

They trade some rapid fire armdrags to start until Komander takes over with a dropkick. Komander kicks him off the apron and hits a Lionsault for two back inside. A missed charge hits post though and Christian knees him in the head as the arena is eerily silent. Christian knocks him outside for a big running flip dive and a snap suplex off the steps (that was cool) drops Komander again.

Back in and Christian’s top rope elbow to the back gets two and a backbreaker gets the same. Komander kicks his way out of the corner and snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana to the floor. The 450 hits Christian’s raised knees, but Christian’s top rope elbow hits Komander’s raised knees. Komander catapults him throat first into the rope but Christian bails to the floor. That means a moonsault to the floor and a shooting star press back inside gives Komander the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. They got the crowd into it by the end but this was another ice cold match that was out there for the sake of filling in time. Komander is on this show almost every week and it never feels like he’s getting anywhere. The fans were eventually into it but I felt sorry for the wrestlers when the place was so eerily silent to start.

Athena has called an emergency minion meeting with Lexi Nair and Billie Starkz coming to the stage. She’s sick of Lexi trying to interview everyone else so from now on, she’s staying by Athena’s side. Athena brags about beating Nyla Rose last week but she isn’t impressed with Starkz winning her first two TV Title tournament matches. The fans think she can do it, so Athena says win the title or else. Athena says this is the year of Minion #400237 ¾ and if you don’t like that, step up or step out. So unless Rose is coming back, Athena currently has no opponent for Supercard Of Honor. Maybe work on that?

Taiji Ishimori vs. Jacoby Watts

Watts picks up the pace to start but Ishimori knocks him down. Ishimori goes up but his high crossbody is blocked, allowing Watts to hit a hard clothesline for two. Not that it matters as Ishimori pulls him into a Border City Stretch for the tap at 2:57.

Queen Aminata is ready for the last two rounds of the tournament.

Johnny TV vs. Dalton Castle

For the Boys and Taya Valkyrie is here with TV. Castle can barely walk so the Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson come out to revive him with Savage Sauce. TV rolls around to start before Castle sends him outside. Back in and TV sends him outside, where the Boys fan him up. Castle gets back in but misses a charge to the floor, where TV grabs the Boys for a picture with Valkyrie. Back in again and Castle grabs a throw, followed by a DDT to put TV down.

They head outside again, this time with TV driving Castle into the barricade. Castle is dropped onto said barricade and TV neckbreakers him down back inside. The cravate doesn’t last long for TV so Castle is back up with some suplexes. TV slips off the shoulders though and hits his flipping neckbreaker for two more. This time Castle catches him on top for a…reverse Razor’s head face plant, which looked rather painful indeed. They both go up top where Castle knocks TV onto the Boys, allowing Valkyrie to shove Castle down. Starship Pain finishes for TV at 12:24.

Rating: B-. The stakes helped here but this really didn’t feel that dramatic. It was a nice back and forth match with the two of them working hard, though I’m not sure what this is going to leave for Castle. I’m sure the feud will continue, even if Castle is not quite the same without his Boys. What mattered here was it felt like a big match and that is how a main event should feel.

Valkyrie and TV literally drag the Boys up the ramp as they leave. Castle leaves as commentary sounds like they witnessed a murder to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the only times in the history of this show where it felt like the idea of “leave them wanting more”. The show was less than an hour and ten minutes long and nothing felt like it was a waste of time. It was a show built around keeping things moving and not overstaying its welcome. I’m well aware that this is likely a one off idea, but this was something close to a normal non-ROH show and my goodness it was nice for a change.

Results
Queen Aminata b. Taya Valkyrie – Headbutt
Lee Johnson b. Mike Sydal – Reverse inverted DDT
Komander b. Blake Christian – Shooting star press
Taiji Ishimori b. Jacoby Watts – Border City Stretch
Johnny TV b. Dalton Castle – Starship Pain

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Great American Bash 2008
Date: July 20, 2008
Location: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Attendance: 12,454
Commentators: Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Mike Adamle

We’re wrapping up the period before the Summerslam build here and the card is one sided to put it mildly. The Smackdown side is pretty much Edge challenging HHH for the Smackdown World Title, plus a four way Tag Team Title match. On the other side, Raw has John Cena vs. JBL in a parking lot fight, CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against Batista and Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho in a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Vickie Guerrero and Edge’s wedding, plus HHH revealing that Edge cheated on her the night before to end Smackdown. The other big matches get some attention of their own.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Edgeheads vs. Miz/John Morrison vs. Finlay/Hornswoggle vs. Jesse and Festus

Miz and Morrison are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Festus clears the ring as tends to be his custom before Hornswoggle comes in for a stare…uh, up. Hornswoggle rolls up his sleeves but opts to dive onto Miz and Morrison instead. We settle down to Jesse monkey flipping Miz and knocking him down again for two. Festus beats on Miz as well before handing it off to Finlay. Morrison comes in and actually takes over on Finlay before bringing Miz back in for a chinlock.

It’s back to Morrison for his own chinlock as JR continues his Morrison to Rick Rude comparisons. Finlay fights up and double legs Miz down before doing the same thing to beat on Morrison. They collide in the corner so Ryder tags himself in to hammer Finlay down. The neck crank doesn’t last long on Finlay so Hawkins comes in to keep Finlay in trouble.

The Celtic Cross hits Hawkins and a shillelagh shot gets two, with Miz and Morrison making the save. Hawkins grabs a chinlock but Finlay is back up again, this time getting over to Hornswoggle to pick up the pace. Jesse tags himself in just as fast though and the fans are not pleased with the lack of Hornswoggle. Hawkins comes back in for a cheap shot on Hornswoggle but it’s back to Festus to really clean house. Miz and Morrison are sent outside and Hawkins breaks up the Rocket Launcher to pin Jesse and win the titles.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced opener with a bunch of moving parts but they managed to keep the focus on just a few people at a time until the ending. Hawkins and Ryder winning the titles is the right way to go as Miz and Morrison have gotten everything they can out of them and La Familia is still the biggest thing on Smackdown. Give the team some more gold, as it’s not like Jesse and Festus or Hornswoggle/Finlay are worth anything.

US Title: Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

Hardy is defending and is quickly taken to the mat to start. A small package gives Hardy two as well as a breather but Benjamin is right back with a headlock. That’s reversed into an armbar as they’re certainly starting slowly. Benjamin sends him to the apron for a ram into the post, setting up the armbar back inside. A gutbuster sets up the seated abdominal stretch as commentary talks about Benjamin’s aggression, despite there being nothing to suggest it exists here.

Hardy fights up and tries a Side Effect but gets planted with something like an STO. Back up and Hardy blocks Paydirt to start the comeback and hits the bulldog out of the corner. Hardy’s middle rope hurricanrana is countered into a heck of a buckle bomb and they’re both down. A Side Effect gives Hardy two but the moonsault…I think it was supposed to hit knees but Hardy overshot it anyway. Paydirt gives Benjamin the pin and the title.

Rating: C. The match was far from bad, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling, as it came off as more of a house show match. The ending didn’t help things either as commentary had to scramble to cover Hardy missing. It’s not like hardy was doing anything with the title anyway so switching it over to Benjamin works as well as anything else.

We see an interview from Monday, with CM Punk talking about how he’s always been the underdog. It’s not about your size or muscle and he’s in the business of proving everyone wrong, which is what he’s always done.

We look at HHH revealing that Edge cheated on Vickie Guerrero the day before their wedding.

ECW Title: Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer

Henry is defending and has Tony Atlas in his corner while Dreamer has Colin Delaney. Dreamer charges at him and is quickly shoved into the corner, with Henry throwing him around again for a bonus. A hard clothesline puts Dreamer down again and Henry steps on his head as a few BORING chants start up.

Henry works on the arm (which is code for he leans over and grabs the wrist), Dreamer fights up, Henry takes him down and works on the arm again. The splash misses though and Dreamer hits the basement dropkick but has to escape the World’s Strongest Slam. The DDT puts Henry down and Dreamer goes up for no apparent reason, allowing Delaney to pull him down. Henry hits the World’s Strongest Slam to retain.

Rating: D+. This was a good example of everything that is wrong with ECW. First of all, there was no reason to believe Dreamer was going to take the title. He hasn’t been nearly that important for a long time now and it wasn’t going to change here. Second, the Delaney turn doesn’t mean much as he’s a loser who didn’t exactly become a star when he was with Dreamer. Third, the match was really boring, which is quite ECW in a lot of ways. Rather dull stuff here and by far the worst thing on the show.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, and thank goodness as the show needs it. Jericho claimed Michaels is a hypocrite (and was kind of right) and then took out his eye. Now Michaels is back for revenge and to prove that no matter what Jericho does, Michaels will always be better.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

They lock up to start and thankfully drop that in all of two seconds to start hitting each other in the face. Shawn gets the better of things with some chops and knocks Jericho into the corner before going after the leg. The reverse Figure Four has Jericho in early trouble but he’s in the ropes pretty quickly. Shawn stays on the leg and the referee stops things for a second to check on Jericho in the corner.

Jericho is fine enough to send Shawn over the corner and out to the apron, with Shawn favoring his back. The knee is fine enough to hit a triangle dropkick out to the floor before Jericho takes him inside for a double arm crank. With that broken up, Jericho dives into an atomic drop and Shawn drops him with the flying forearm. Shawn nips up but Jericho pulls him straight into the Walls, which is counter you don’t see very often.

This time Shawn makes the rope so Jericho loads up the bulldog, only to get dropped with a clothesline for two. The top rope elbow is broken up but Shawn wins a fight on top and now the elbow connects. Cue Lance Cade to break up the superkick but Shawn blocks the Codebreaker. They slug it out again until Shawn hiptosses him out onto Cade for the big crash. Naturally Shawn is right there with a moonsault onto the two of them and everyone is down again.

Back in and Shawn’s bad eye is busted open, with commentary not being sure when it was cut. Naturally Jericho goes right after the eye and knocks him into the ropes, where Cade gets in the cheap shot. The very bloody Shawn manages to pull him into a crossface but Jericho pulls him into the buckle for the violent escape. The referee wants to stop it but Shawn begs him not to, meaning Jericho is right back on the eye. Shawn is COVERED in blood and does the “pull myself up on the other guy’s tights” spot, only to have Jericho punch him down again and hammer away….until the referee finally stops it.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but there is almost no one better than Shawn at making you think he was dying in front of your eyes. Shawn was trying to fight and was still in there until the injury flared up again, along with Cade offering the distraction. This felt like the big middle piece in a bigger story and they pulled me in with the emotion and hatred. Awesome match and we’re almost certainly not done yet.

We get the emotional exit for Shawn, who has to be helped out.

Edge is really not pleased with HHH for violating his privacy and taking away his personal life. All Edge has left is his professional life and tonight, he will be extra dangerous.

Divas Title: Michelle McCool vs. Natalya

For the inaugural title but commentary is to busy talking about Edge/Vickie Guerrero. They grapple to the mat to start as commentary compares McCool to softball star Jennie Finch. Natalya wheelbarrow drops her throat first over the top to take over and we hit the surfboard to stay on McCool’s….well various parts. McCool powers out so Natalya switches to the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up as well and this time McCool pulls her into the heel hook for the title.

Rating: C-. These two were in the death slot as there was almost no way they were going to be able to follow the previous match. It doesn’t help that the match was almost a Natalya squash until McCool got in her one hold for the win. It’s rather nice for the women on Smackdown to have something to do, but they could use some more blood in the division or it is going to turn old fast.

Post match here is Chris Jericho to interrupt, saying you need to save your ticket stubs because this is the night of Shawn Michaels’ last match. Shawn has a detached retina and that means his career is over. It shows that the good guys win and the wicked are punished and the worst has finally come for Shawn. Jericho was feeling the evil here and it worked.

We recap CM Punk defending the World Title against Batista. Punk won Money In The Bank and used it to become champion, meaning he needs to prove himself worthy. Batista doesn’t seem to be overly intimidated so Punk is extra motivated.

Raw World Title: Batista vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and we go old school with a weapons check. Batista powers him around to start and Punk realizes he might need another plan. Some kicks to the legs slow Batista down but he elbows Punk in the face to cut him off. An enziguri knocks Batista outside and Punk follows him outside with a suicide dive.

Back in and Punk strikes away, only to be run over to give Batista two. The camel clutch goes on to keep Punk in trouble, which is broken up as camel clutches tend to be. Punk gets up a shot to the face in the corner and hits a high crossbody for two. The Batista Bomb is countered but a powerslam isn’t, meaning Punk has to counter the Bomb again.

Punk hits the running knee in the corner but can’t hit the GTS, instead settling for the springboard clothesline. The Anaconda Vice (been a minute since Punk used that) is broken up and Batista hits a heck of a clothesline. Batista’s charge hits the post and he falls outside, where he is able to catch a diving Punk with a spinebuster. Cue Kane to jump Batista for the DQ.

Rating: C+. They were starting to get somewhere but then just stopped for the DQ ending. This is either setting up a triple threat (erg) or Punk vs. Batista II, but Punk needs to win something on a big stage. It was bad enough that he got the title via Money In The Bank, but he’s lucky to crack the top five stars on Raw. This didn’t help things, though I guess Batista needed to be kept strong. Granted that makes me wonder why he was in the match in the first place, but I can picture Vince’s “oh it’s fine” face from here so we’ll move o.

Post match Kane lays out Punk, Batista, and a production worker. With Kane gone, Batista hits the Batista Bomb on Punk to make things even worse for the champ. Somehow this is a double DQ, despite Kane not touching Punk before the bell.

We recap John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield. With Vince McMahon gone, JBL has declared martial law but Cena isn’t having it. Now they’re going to fight in a parking lot.

John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

This is taking place in the parking lot in a circle of cars and JBL shows up in his limo, fighting in most of a suit. There’s no Cena to start so JBL gets on a hood, only to have Cena pop up in another car and ram into him. Cena chokes him with a cord and then slams a car hood onto JBL’s back. Some jumper cables to the crotch set up some electrocution and JBL screams a lot.

JBL is put on another hood and Cena throws a well placed keg, only to hit windshield. With JBL trying to drive away, Cena grabs him for some rams into the horn. JBL fights back to little avail but manages to whip Cena through a car door, knocking it off the hinges. Cena gets punched off a car for two and then sent through the windshield of another for the big crash.

A crowbar shot misses for JBL and Cena slugs away but JBL sends him through a window. With nothing else working, JBL goes to grab some gasoline (with his limo rolling away) and douses one of the cars (with Cena inside). The car is lit on fire and promptly extinguished, with an annoyed looking Cena getting out. JBL goes over to a forklift but Cena is there to send him into another car.

Now Cena gets in the forklift and gores said car, only to lift it up and carry it into the arena. Commentary kicks in as Cena knocks JBL around and plants him with the ProtoBomb onto the stage. Cena loads up the FU but walks JBL over to the edge of the stage, only to take too long as JBL slips off. JBL sends him off the stage and through a windshield for the upset win.

Rating: C-. This was quite the situation and I wasn’t wild on most of it. They had a bunch of slow brawling in the back with car stuff before coming to the arena for a few minutes. JBL had to get a win of some sort but egads this means we’re going to have to hear him talk even more, which is about as painful of a thought as I can imagine. Not exactly great here, but what are you expecting from JBL?

We recap Edge vs. HHH for the latter’s Smackdown World Title. Vickie Guerrero gave Edge the title shot before their wedding but then Edge cheated on her the day before said wedding, with HHH revealing Edge’s, uh, indiscretion. Now it’s about the title, though Edge is more than a bit distracted.

HHH has no regrets over what he did.

Smackdown World Title: HHH vs. Edge

HHH is defending and we get the Big Match Intros with a weapons check. Edge charges right at him and hammers away but gets sent outside. HHH sends him outside and grabs a neck snap across the top. A ram int the buckle has Edge on the floor again but he knocks a diving HHH out of the air. Back in and Edge hits the running shoulder in the corner before sending him outside for a whip into the steps.

A drop onto the announcers’ table keeps HHH’s ribs in trouble and Edge grabs a bodyscissors back inside. HHH fights up but gets dropkicked to the apron, where he sidesteps a spear to send Edge crashing to the floor. Back in and HHH slugs away before they go outside (again) with Edge going into the post. Edge is right back up though and grabs the Impaler on the floor, which means a rather delayed cover gets two.

HHH hits his own DDT for his own two but the Pedigree is countered into the Edge-O-Matic. The spear only hits buckle but Edge’s big boot only hits HHH’s jaw, leaving them both down again. Back up and the spear is countered into the spinebuster to give HHH a much needed breather. The Pedigree is countered again, this time with a ram into the corner. Edge takes him up top for a superplex but here is wedding planner Alicia Fox to send in the title. Cue Vickie Guerrero to take Alicia down and the catfight is on in the ring. The spear hits Vickie by mistake, allowing HHH to grab the Pedigree for the pin to retain.

Rating: B. It was good but they never came close to hitting that really high level. At the same time, it didn’t help that this was more about the Vickie/Edge stuff, with the title just kind of being there on the side. These two feel like they should have had their first big match on a more important show, but at least what they got to do here did work. It just could have been a pretty good bit better.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a perfectly fine show that should have been better than it was. There were some big matches on the card and those matches worked, but the lower card stuff is completely forgettable, even with three new champions being crowned. It’s a show where things happened, but it’s not a show that felt important. Instead, it came off like a “the big one is next time”, which doesn’t make for the most enjoyable event.

 

 

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NXT LVL Up
Date: March 1, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

We’re just over a month away from Stand & Deliver and that means we get to see people who will have nothing to do with that show. LVL Up is back to its old self with little in the way of interest, but at least we could be in for a surprise, which the show has had over its history. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Stacks vs. Kale Dixon

Riz is here with Stacks and Dixon is back after about eight months away. Dixon powers him into the corner to start so Stacks wrestles Dixon down to the mat. An armbar into an armdrag has Stacks down and Dixon sends him outside. A baseball slide lands Dixon in the ring skirt though and Stacks hammers away. Dixon gets a boot up in the corner back inside, only to get hit in the face. Cement Shoes finishes for Stacks at 5:22.

Rating: C. Stacks isn’t the biggest name in the world but he’s a bigger deal than you usually see around here. That’s a nice little bonus around here, even if it is just for a week, and helps a good bit. At the same time, Dixon is back and his name is still Kale Dixon, meaning I think you know how far he is getting around here.

Je’Von Evans is happy to be back and ready to go in another try against Javier Bernal.

Lola Vice vs. Wren Sinclair

They fight over wrist control to start until Sinclair gets her down to work on the leg. Vice isn’t having that though and takes her into the corner to start in on the arm. Some right hands in the corner put Sinclair down and Vice cranks on the arm again. Back up and a legdrag has Vice down and Sinclair rolls her up for two. Vice shrugs it off and hits a spinning backfist for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: C. What matters here is that I could see this match taking place on a regular episode of NXT. Vice was challenging for the Women’s Title not too long ago and Sinclair has been something of a featured name in recent weeks. It wasn’t exactly a great match but it felt like something a bit more important than usual and I’ll certainly take that.

Je’Von Evans vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal works on the arm to start and shrugs off a dropkick attempt. Back and Evans snaps off a headscissors but Bernal knocks him down again. A knee to the ribs cuts off Evans’ comeback and Bernal gets in a shot on the apron. Back in and they slug it out with Bernal hitting a jumping kick to the head. Evans’ springboard clothesline gets two but Bernal’s DDT gets the same. Some rollups give Evans two each and he kicks Bernal down. A springboard spinning splash gives Evans the upset pin at 6:23.

Rating: C+. At some point, if you’re going to make these new wrestlers into stars, you have to do something like this. Evans certainly has a certain something to him and giving him a win over someone like Bernal is a nice start for him. He has a long way to go but at the end of the day, at least he has a win under his belt and that is the right first step.

Overall Rating: C+. Egads this show cannot pick what it needs to be most of the time but at least in this case they went with the right choice. There was more star power here and Evans got his big win. Good enough show here, as it felt like something you might want to see rather than something that is just kind of there.

Results
Stacks b. Kale Dixon – Cement Shoes
Lola Vice b. Wren Sinclair – Spinning backfist
Je’Von Evans b. Javier Bernal – Springboard spinning splash

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestlemania VIII
Date: April 5, 1992
Location: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 62,167
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

This was one of the names mentioned for a possible redo so I’ll throw it in as a bonus. On his podcast, Bruce Prichard mentioned this as one of the worst Wrestlemanias ever and I’m really not sure why. The show features a double main event with Ric Flair defending the WWF World Title against Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan’s possible retirement match against Sid Justice. Let’s get to it.

Vince McMahon gives us the big over the top introduction as only he can do. It only talks about the double main event but really, nothing else is worth talking about.

Gorilla and Bobby (with a VERY visible section of empty seats between their heads, which will be a recurring problem tonight) intro the show with Heenan looking for the pictures. Those would be promised “centerfolds” of Elizabeth, which Ric Flair has promised. More on this later.

Reba McIntyre singes the Star Spangled Banner. It’s odd to hear anything but America the Beautiful.

Tito Santana vs. Shawn Michaels

Tito is a bullfighter (it didn’t work then either) and Heenan says he’s McIntyre’s sister. Heenan: “That’s arriba McIntyre!” Shawn has Sherri with him and we get a cool shot from behind with Shawn looking up at the huge stadium. This is his first singles Wrestlemania so it’s quite the big moment for his career. Heenan thinks Shawn is a future Intercontinental Champion. He’s a few months early but he certainly can call things.

We get a long stretch of Sherri leaving and some trash talk before we actually do anything because stalling is a thing on stadium shows too. They start fast (once they start that is) with Tito getting two off a crossbody and headlocking him to the mat. Shawn gets sent outside in a heap and that means it’s time for the over the top selling. We hit the headlock again and MY GOODNESS there are some half empty sections very visible in the upper deck. If that happened today, the production staff would all be fired.

Tito pops him in the jaw and Sherri is panicking at the thought of Shawn’s face being damaged. It’s back to the headlock and Shawn can’t even throw him off with a lift into the air. Heenan swears that he’s won a match with a headlock and that someone even gave up during instructions.

Back up and Shawn finally throws him over the top for a huge crash to take over. A backbreaker keeps Tito in trouble as Sherri is taking her glove off for some reason. We hit the chinlock and even more of those empty sections are shown. There’s almost no angle you can show here that doesn’t display them and it’s really distracting. Tito fights up but charges into the superkick (not yet a finisher) and Heenan declares no more tacos tonight.

The Teardrop Suplex is broken up and Tito scores with his flying forearm (Heenan: “That’s the Flying Jalapeno!”) to send Shawn outside. Back in and Tito slugs away, allowing Shawn to do the overblown Wrestlemania selling for the first time. El Paso Del Muerte (jumping forearm to the back) sends Shawn to the floor and Tito tries a suplex, only to have Shawn grab the rope and fall on top for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Good opener here as Tito is one of those guys who is always good for a solid performance. Shawn’s star was clearly on the rise here (give someone Sherri if you need them to get a rocket attached to their back) and a win in a competitive match was a good start. Solid match here and that’s all it needed to be.

Gene Okerlund is on the platform and brings out the Legion of Doom for an interview, including manager Paul Ellering. Paul talks about the need to put the team together in the first place and now revenge has brought them back together. He’s not here to get rich but to get even. Animal talks about facing and defeating adversity and now it’s time to get revenge on everyone, including Jimmy Hart and Money Inc.

Hawk says they’re a runaway train and now, look who’s driving the train. Paul wraps it up by saying they’re going to earn their money the old fashioned way: beating people for it. They want the titles back and don’t care who they have to beat to get them back. Ellering was good for the team in the NWA but I have no idea why he was needed here. Or why he’s somehow back in WWE twenty six years later.

Jake Roberts isn’t bringing a snake back to the ring but he will recap his feud with Undertaker. He’s gone full evil to go after Ultimate Warrior but since Warrior left the company, Undertaker turned face on Jake, setting up the match. Jake trapped Undertaker’s hand in the casket on the Funeral Parlor and laid Bearer out with a DDT, followed by a chair shot to Undertaker. Evil Jake was awesome but this was a bit of a different kind of animal.

Jake Roberts vs. Undertaker

I love that pulling himself up from the corner thing that Jake does. Diamond Dallas Page borrowed it from him and it’s not all that surprising. Jake slugs away to start and reality sets in very quickly. A running right hand puts Undertaker on the floor but Jake gets pulled outside as well. The beating is on and the fans are WAY into a fired up Undertaker.

Back in and Jake’s right hands still don’t have much effect so Bobby starts making Munsters references. Better than the Addams Family at least. Undertaker starts choking but Jake grabs a quick DDT and you can feel the fans react. Then Undertaker sits up and it’s very clear that this is something different. Another DDT drops Undertaker again but this time Jake goes after Bearer….as Undertaker gets up again. That means a Tombstone on the floor and Jake is DEAD for the pin at 6:41.

Rating: D. This was around the time where the Undertaker would start to be the kind of attraction that the company wanted him to be. It’s clear that there’s something very different about him and beating a big name like Roberts was a great way to push him towards that goal. I mean, beating Hogan less than six months ago did it even more so but still, awesome booking here. This was Jake’s last match with the company until 1996 as he was turned down for Pat Patterson’s job and left as a result.

Roddy Piper and Bret Hart are in the back with Roddy talking about growing up together when Bret was a bit dumb. Apparently Mrs. Hart would make them sandwiches but Bret finally cuts him off. They’re supposed to have a nice contest for the Intercontinental Title but Bret wants to be serious. That’s fine with Roddy and the match is on. Bret lost the title due to wrestling with a high fever and Piper won it almost immediately. This is Bret’s big rematch and one of the most intriguing matches on the show.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper

Piper is defending. The first minute is spent with Piper taking off his kilt and some instructions from the referee. Never let it be said that Wrestlemania doesn’t know how to waste time. Piper armdrags him down to start as Monsoon actually analyzes the match, which isn’t something you get from most other announcers. Heenan’s idea: waffle the other guy with a tire iron.

Piper tries some amateur wrestling and is quickly sent outside in a huff. Back in and Piper spits at Bret and Heenan wants an apology right now. Bret wins a battle of the wristlocks and Piper can’t chop his way to freedom. Monsoon says thirty countries are watching the show live, lists off three of them, and then stops for a good fifteen seconds of silence. A running dropkick drops Piper but Bret comes up holding his shoulder. Heenan sees right through it (Bobby: “WHAT A GREAT MOVE!”) and Roddy is REALLY not happy.

Bret comes back with a running crossbody and they fall out to the floor at the same time. Piper is up first and holds the ropes for Bret but naturally gets in a cheap shot to take over. Well you know he’s the most natural heel ever so it’s not exactly a surprise. A bulldog gives Piper two and Bret is busted open (which he lied about, claiming that it was a hardway cut to save his job) somewhere in there.

Bret is fine enough to get two off a sunset flip and Heenan is begging for some more violence. A slugout goes to Piper so Bret hits a running forearm to knock him outside. Back in and a double clothesline puts them both down with Piper’s head landing on Bret. Heenan wants a count but Monsoon accurately says all four shoulders are down so there can’t be a pin. So much for the Brain.

Bret is up first with the Five Moves of Doom but Piper blocks the Sharpshooter. The middle rope elbow hits a raised boot and Piper has an opening. The referee gets bumped though and Bret is sent face first into the steps. Piper grabs the bell but can’t bring himself to do it (Heenan: “GIVE IT TO ME! I’LL HIT HIM!”), instead grabbing a sleeper. Bret climbs the corner and flips backwards onto Piper for the pin and the title at 13:52.

Rating: A-. This is the match that you point at when you need to prove that Piper can put on a good match when he’s given the chance. Bret winning the title back here was all that this should have been and the classic made it an even better moment. That ending would be used several times over the years and is rather famous in its own right, which is rather fitting when it comes from a classic wrestler like Bret. Great match here and another example of how talented both of them really are.

They shake hands to make it clear that Piper is still on the good side.

Heenan sends us to Atlanta, Georgia and the home of future WBF Bodystars Champion Lex Luger. Lex is his usual smug self and praises Bobby while calling Gorilla fat. Luger takes off his shirt to reveal a muscle shirt and Heenan is WAY too excited. He has some milk to wrap this up with Monsoon not exactly being impressed. Monsoon: “You found someone even more conceited than you are!”

The Mountie, the Nasty Boys and Repo Man are excited for the eight man tag.

Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, Virgil and Big Boss Man are excited for the eight man tag. Remember that Slaughter was main eventing the show last year.

Comedian Ray Combs is guest ring announcer for said eight man tag and of course he has some jokes. Since we can’t survey who will be good or evil (yeah you can), he’s asked 100 people (the gimmick of his Family Feud game show) about some of the people in the match. The Mountie is dumb like the Three Stooges, Repo Man is ugly and looks like a girl and the Nasty Boys are only successful because they’re lucky. With that he’s chased off and we’re ready to go.

The Mountie/Nasty Boys/Repo Man vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Jim Duggan/Big Boss Man/Virgil

The good guys clean house with elbows and clotheslines as Heenan plugs some WWF names being on Family Feud. So there’s your cross promotion. Hang on though: SHAWN MICHAELS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING! Monsoon: “WHO CARES?” Well Shawn might. Anyway we settle down to Sags vs. Duggan with Jim firing off some clotheslines. I mean, as much fire as Duggan is going to have.

Slaughter comes in for some clotheslines of his own to Knobbs before dropping to his knees for an elbow to the ribs. What an odd visual. It’s off to Boss Man for a wind up uppercut but he misses a splash on Repo Man. Repo jumps onto Boss Man’s back, shouts ONE MORE TIME, and jumps right into a low blow.

Virgil, with a broken nose, comes in and gets taken down without much effort. Even Heenan is running out of ways to make fun of the people in this match because Virgil is such a joke in the first place. Sags hits a pumphandle slam but Boss Man comes in with a spinebuster as everything breaks down. Some heel miscommunication sees Sags hit Knobbs to give Virgil the pin at 6:28.

Rating: D. Wrestlemania was different back then, which might be the biggest understatement of the wrestling year. This was a house show match to pop the crowd but here it served as a way to let them cool down a bit after the title change. At least it served a purpose, but it feels so out of place on here.

Flair and his executive consultant Mr. Perfect look at the blown up picture of Liz (we can’t see it of course) with Flair swearing it’s real. Ric talks about the bright lights and the big city where Savage will try to reclaim the biggest trophy of them all. After Savage takes the beating of his life, Savage can look up and see the pictures just like everyone else. Then Liz has one more shot at Space Mountain. Perfect: “Can I come along with you this time champ?”

Savage won’t grant interviews.

Since the company doesn’t feel the need to explain the story, the idea here is Flair claimed to have been with Liz before she met Savage. As Savage is completely crazy most days and even worse when it comes to her, this sent him into the rage of all rages and set up the angle after the match was made, which is always odd. Anyway, Flair has promised to show some rather private pictures of Liz, which have only been referenced about a hundred times in the first hour and ten minutes of the show.

WWF World Title: Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair

Flair is defending and wearing red, meaning he’s likely losing (Look it up. He almost never wins a big match when he’s wearing red.). Heenan instantly says that to be fair to Flair, you have to say that’s a great robe, giving Monsoon one of his best ever WILL YOU STOP’s. Savage jumps Flair in the aisle until Perfect drags him off the champ. Heenan sums things up very well: Savage wants to hurt Flair rather than win the title so things should be going fine for Flair (and Heenan, who was in full on Flair fanboy mode here).

Flair tries an atomic drop and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. A backdrop sends Savage to the floor with one of his trademark great bumps. Savage is already favoring his back so Flair stomps away as Heenan goes into one of the best, longest rants I’ve ever heard him give on Flair not losing. Flair gets two off a suplex (Heenan: “An eighty year old woman could have counted faster than Hebner!”) and the belly to back version is good for the same. A chop takes Savage right back down and Flair drops him back first onto the apron.

Another suplex gets another two as they’ve moved to a rather slow pace. Savage manages to get in a neckbreaker and Heenan needs a drink. The required slam off the top keeps Flair in trouble and Heenan is begging for Flair to do something. I know I’m talking about Heenan a lot in this match but he’s absolutely amazing here. The Flair Flip sends Ric to the top but he dives into a clothesline for two and Heenan….well I think you can figure this one out from here.

Savage sends him outside and hits an ax handle to drive Flair into the barricade. With Flair falling down, we get one of the most obvious blade jobs you’ll ever see (nearly getting him fired in the process). Back in and Savage hammers away with another ax handle getting two. The big elbow connects but Perfect pulls Savage out at two. Thank goodness that wasn’t a DQ or they might have burned the dome down.

Perfect gets dragged in and the referee gets bumped for a few seconds, allowing Perfect to throw Flair an object. That’s only good for two as well so Perfect nails Savage in the leg with a chair. Cue Liz with a host of suits (including Shane McMahon in one of his first on-screen appearances) trying to stop her. Flair goes into his usual leg work routine and the Figure Four goes on. Heenan: “SHOW ME THE PICTURES!”

Perfect grabs the hand so the referee kicks it away, allowing Savage to turn it over and break the hold. A small package gives Savage two (and a GREAT false near fall with the crowd gasping) but Flair goes back to the knee. Savage blocks a right hand though and a rollup (with trunks) gives Randy the title back at 17:58.

Rating: A. I got WAY into this match watching it back and was having a great time with everything. The crowd completely bought into Savage’s quest for revenge with the title just being a bonus prize. All the cheating was great stuff with Savage overcoming all odds, partially due to the inspiration from Liz. The match was even different from the usual stuff with Savage having long stretches of control, which you almost never see in a match like this. Really great stuff here and an underrated classic. If nothing else just listen to Heenan’s commentary.

Post match Heenan bails from the booth and Flair tries to kiss Liz. That earns him a bunch of slaps to the face as everything goes crazy. Perfect takes Savage down and Flair goes after the knee as all the suits are powerless to stop anything. Savage fights up and cleans house before finally being announced as the new champion.

Perfect claims a handful of trunks (accurate) and says that’s not how a macho man would act. Heenan comes in and says there’s nothing to worry about because it’s all on tape. Flair says tonight, a man is going to walk around Indianapolis claiming to be the real World’s Champion and to have the love of Liz. Perfect talks about Savage taking a shortcut, which Flair has NEVER done. Perfect: “Just like his old lady! A cheater!” Ric promises to get the title back and kiss Liz whenever he sees her.

Savage can barely walk and says this isn’t done. Today was just a piece of what Flair has coming to him because he hasn’t been beaten up properly. Flair has somehow made him even madder than he was so it doesn’t matter where it is, but Ric is getting the beating he deserves. Liz isn’t allowed to say if she’s been vindicated as Savage gives her the belt, saying it’s hers. Savage if Flairs though and this is just a piece. GREAT stuff here from Savage who can play the crazed man like few others (and I use the term “play” loosely).

We recap Sid Justice vs. Hulk Hogan. Hulk had been named #1 contender and Sid wasn’t happy. Therefore he turned on Hogan during a tag match and went on a major rampage, including destroying the Barber Shop set. That was enough to change Wrestlemania as Hogan wanted to fight Sid instead. Hogan has also teased that this might be his last match, which translates to “steroids are becoming a big issue and Hogan isn’t the cleanest looking guy in the world”.

Intermission keeps going with some members of Tatanka’s tribe dancing in the ring.

Rick Martel has some reservations about Tatanka because he’s still outside scalping tickets.

Rick Martel vs. Tatanka

Yes this is on Wrestlemania as it’s just a different time. Martel knees him in the ribs to start as Heenan issues a statement on it being a matter of time until they get the title back. He lists off all of his jobs in the Flair organization with Monsoon only responding with “YOU’RE A LIAR!” Heenan offers to put em up and Monsoon laughs it off.

Tatanka elbows his way out of trouble and sends Martel shoulder first into the post. A choke takedown drops Tatanka as we’re still waiting on the announcers to acknowledge the match going on. Martel sends him hard to the floor as Monsoon says “Ric Flair” is giving a wrestling lesson right now. Rick heads up but gets crotched, setting up the comeback and a crossbody to pin Martel at 4:31.

Rating: D. Just a filler match here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Today it would be a quick comedy match or something so it’s hard to argue with something being in this spot on the card. Martel feels out of place here, though there’s nothing wrong with having a solid hand like him on the roster. You’re going to get least a watchable match out of him and this did its job, albeit not in the most entertaining way.

Tag Team Champions Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and IRS with new manager Jimmy Hart) is ready to take care of the Natural Disasters. Hart jumped from the Disasters to Money Inc. and has told them all of the Disasters’ secrets. It’s not a bad idea and it’s not like it’s hard to boo Money Inc.

The Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) are ready for revenge and the titles.

Tag Team Titles: Money Inc. vs. Natural Disasters

Money Inc. is defending. IRS starts with Earthquake but bails in very short order as Heenan complains about all the noise here. Some hard shoves send DiBiase into the corner before the champs are rocked with some big clotheslines. After a meeting with Jimmy, it’s IRS getting his arm hammered by Earthquake.

Typhoon comes in for a hiptoss and it’s his turn to get tossed into the corner. Completely one sided so far as Gorilla keeps mocking Heenan over Flair’s loss. Typhoon finally misses a splash in the corner and it’s off to DiBiase. We get an awkward looking sequence where DiBiase doesn’t seem ready to low bridge Typhoon to the floor. No worries though as they do it again a few seconds later (erg) and this time Typhoon goes over.

A double clothesline (somehow to the back of the head as Typhoon can’t even run the ropes properly) sets up a front facelock as this is dying before my eyes. Back up and Typhoon gets in a clothesline for his own for the ice cold tag to Earthquake. Everything breaks down and DiBiase is clotheslined to the floor. Earthquake loads up the Earthquake but IRS is pulled to the floor and it’s an intentional countout to retain the titles at 8:37.

Rating: F. WOW this was terrible and the fans clearly didn’t care. Can you blame them though? Not only was it boring but on top of that it was full of botches and had a house shoe level finish. Just horrible stuff here and in the running for worst Wrestlemania match ever. That’s some rather elite company and I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea.

Brutus Beefcake is here to support Hulk Hogan because Hulkamania will live forever.

Owen Hart vs. Skinner

Oh come on GET TO THE MAIN EVENT ALREADY! Skinner jumps him from behind to start and hits a quick shoulder breaker. The reverse DDT gets two on Owen but he skins the cat and grabs an O’Connor Roll to pin Skinner at 1:08. Absolute filler.

Sid cuts off Gene Okerlund, calling him a short, bald headed little oaf. He’s going to destroy Hulkamania once and for all. We go to a sitdown interview with Hogan where he says he’s just not sure if this is his final match or not. Vince, conducting the interview, shakes his hand and thanks him for everything. Sid promises to destroy every Hulkamaniac because he rules the world.

Sid Justice vs. Hulk Hogan

Sid has Harvey Whippleman in his corner. Hogan gets the big entrance and the fans are as into it as they’ve been in a good while but Sid jumps him from behind. In one of the most underrated Hogan sequences ever, he does a mini Hulk Up, punches Sid to the floor, and clotheslines him off the apron to send Sid outside. You can feel the power of Hulkamania and my goodness it works so freaking well all over again.

We settle down to Sid choking and hammering in the corner but Hulk is right back with more right hands. The fans are ALL OVER this and Sid bails to the floor for a minute. Back in and we hit the test of strength with Hogan going down. As the fans all reconsider their place in life, Hogan fights up but gets knocked into the corner. Hogan is in trouble again and gets sent to the floor for some shots to the back from Harvey’s medical bag.

Sid grabs a nerve hold and it looks like Hogan is taking a nap. Sid’s powerbomb sets up Hogan’s fish out of water selling and it’s time for the Hulk Up. Heenan: “THEY’RE BOTH NUTS!” The big boot and a slam (not exactly impressive on Sid) set up the legdrop….for two, as the scheduled run-in was mistimed (on purpose, as the company decided to make Hogan look bad in case it was his last match). Instead Harvey comes in for the DQ at 12:37.

Rating: D-. I know the wrestling is pretty terrible but my goodness some of those Hogan comebacks felt like the old days. The fans helped this one a lot and the opening was just too much to call this a failure. It felt like a house show match and that’s completely unacceptable for a Wrestlemania main event, but at least it had some great moments.

Post match Papa Shango (the scheduled run-in) comes out for the double beatdown but the Ultimate Warrior makes his return after about eight months away for the save. A lot of posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is all over the place as it goes from very good to horrible all night long. The ending with Warrior returning is more than enough of a combination with the two great matches to make the show work though and really, some of the bad matches are short enough that they don’t mean much. It doesn’t mean much in the long term as this was a VERY weak time for the company, but better times were coming in the forms of Bret and Shawn. For one last hurrah for the old guard though, it worked as a fun show, albeit one that needed a very powerful fast forward button.

Ratings Comparison

Shawn Michaels vs. El Matador

Original: B-

2013 Redo: C

2018 Redo: B-

Jake Roberts vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C-

2018 Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper

Original: A

2013 Redo: B+

2018 Redo: A-

Mountie/Nasty Boys/Repo Man vs. Jim Duggan/Virgil/Sgt. Slaughter/Big Boss Man

Original: F

2013 Redo: D

2018 Redo: D

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2018 Redo: A

Rick Martel vs. Tatanka

Original: D

2013 Redo: D+

2018 Redo: D

Natural Disasters vs. Money Inc.

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D-

2018 Redo: F

Skinner vs. Owen Hart

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2018 Redo: N/A

Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice

Original: D

2013 Redo: D

2018 Redo: D-

Overall Rating

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2018 Redo: B-

Nothing really out of the norm there and I’ve liked the show every time.

Here’s the original review:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/15/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-8-hogan-who-needs-the-bald-man/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/17/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-viii-show-me-the-pictures/

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

Revolution 2024
Date: March 3, 2024
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view with one of the big four events, which should make for a good night. There are a few major matches on tap for the show, including Samoa Joe defending the World Title against Samoa Joe and Hangman Page. In what should be the real main event though, Sting and Darby Allin are defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks in Sting’s retirement match. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs. Private Party/Willie Mack/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh

Max Caster still can’t get the rap right as he seems to have the yips. Kassidy headlocks Austin to start but gets shoved away and dropkicked down. Colten comes in for a dropkick to Quen and Bowens adds Scissor Me Timbers. It’s back to Colten, who gets knocked into the corner by Mack but manages to knock Kassidy down. Bowens comes in to clean house but a distraction lets Jarrett grab a Russian legsweep.

Back up and is able to hit a Blockbuster and the big tag brings in Billy to clean house. Singh offers a distraction though and it’s a Mack Stunner into Lethal’s cutter. Quen hits a 450 and Mack gets two, with the fans being impressed by the kickout. The Blade Runner is broken up and it’s Singh coming in to wreck everyone. White and Billy manage to get him down for a Fameasser and White grabs the Blade Runner for the pin on Mack at 12:16.

Rating: C+. This was a match where there were so many people that it was hard to stand out. The Gang winning was the only way to go, but at the end of the day I can’t imagine the team lasting that much longer. There is little reason to have both of the six man champs together when neither of them defend their titles, so hopefully the unification is coming soon enough. Perfectly fine opener, even if it was really busy with so many people around.

Post match White puts over the team and brags about their success. After hyping up the card, he teases doing something of his own on March 13.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale vs. Skye Blue/Julia Hart

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Blue kicks Nightingale into the corner to start but gets whipped away, allowing Statlander to elbow her in the jaw. Statlander’s slam is escaped though and it’s off to Hart, who gets crossbodied by Nightingale. Stereo suplexes put the villains down for two on Hart and Statlander’s belly to back suplex gets the same. Blue comes back in and kicks Nightingale into the corner, meaning the villains can take turns stomping away.

Three straight whips into the corner wake Nightingale up for some reason and she gets over for the tag back to Statlander. House is quickly cleaned with a shot to the face getting two on Blue. Hart’s sliding lariat to the back of the head gets two on Statlander so Blue goes up, only to have her high crossbody pulled out of the air. Nightingale Death Valley Drivers Hart for two as Blue superkicks Statlander on the floor.

Statlander and Hart slug it out back inside until Hart knocks her down. The moonsault gets two and it’s Blue coming back in to kick Statlander in the face a few times. Statlander gets in a shot of her own though and brings Nightingale back in to Pounce Blue. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Blue at 13:16.

Rating: C. This felt like an extended Collision or Rampage match and that’s not a bad choice for a Kickoff Show match. Nightingale very well could be in for a TBS Title shot and this could put her into contention. Now that Hart is healthy again, it would be nice to see her actually defend the belt. Nightingale has needed a big win and while this wasn’t that, it could set her up for something in the near future.

And now, the show proper.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Patriarchy, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start with Garcia being taken up against the ropes but getting a clean break. Cage takes him down into a front facelock but Garcia fights up and knocks him outside without much effort. Back in and Garcia takes him down again, with Cage suggesting a leg injury. Naturally that’s a fake for a thumb to the eye and Garcia is back in trouble.

We hit the chinlock with a knee in Garcia’s back but he fights up again, only to be sent out to the floor. The big dive to the floor drops Garcia again but he’s able to hit a chop block back inside. Garcia’s ankle lock doesn’t last long as Cage sends him outside and then does it again for a bonus. The back of the neck snap across the top rope but Garcia finally fights up and hits some forearms to the head.

Cage goes up and gets legdragged down, allowing Garcia go roll him up for some near falls. They go outside again, this time with Cage’s knees being sent into the steps. Back in and the reverse DDT onto the knee gives Cage two but Garcia snatches on the ankle lock again. Cage manages to send him into the corner, where Killswitch gets in a chokeslam (the referee seemingly thinking Garcia knocked himself down), setting up Cage’s top rope splash for two.

Cue Matt Menard to go after Killswitch but Mother Wayne offers a distraction. Menard brawls with Killswitch to the back, leaving Garcia to hit the piledriver for two. Garcia’s rollup gets two more as Cage grabs the rope this time. Cue Nick Wayne for a Stunner over the ropes, setting up the Killswitch to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B-. This was a bit longer than it needed to be but they had a good match. Garcia wasn’t ready to win the title here and thankfully he got in some near falls here. The interference got a bit annoying but I’ll take it for a way to keep the title on Cage. Garcia has come a long way in recent weeks but this was the right way to go, especially with Adam Copeland likely coming back soon.

Continental Classic: Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson

Kingston is defending and Danielson has to shake his hand if he doesn’t win the titles. Danielson takes him into the corner to start but Kingston fires off the chops to leave Danielson’s chest in trouble. A suplex puts Danielson down on the floor and Kingston hits a big dive before they head up to the apron. Kingston’s chop only hits post though and Danielson suplexes him off said apron to the floor before taking him back inside to stay on the bad hand.

A middle rope dropkick to the shoulder keeps Kingston in trouble and Danielson does it again for a bonus. Danielson goes up again but dives into an exploder suplex to give Kingston a breather. The Stretch Plumb has Danielson in trouble so he goes after the bad hand to break it up. Kingston uses the good arm to fire off his own elbows but Danielson sends him into the corner for a running dropkick.

Another running dropkick misses so Danielson settles for a dragon suplex instead. Danielson kicks away in the corner and puts Kingston on top for a running dropkick. Oddly Kingston doesn’t react so Danielson butterfly superplexes him into a failed LeBell Lock attempt. That’s escaped so Kingston hits a spinning backfist into the northern lights bomb for a near fall.

Danielson goes back to the hand though and hits a running kick, setting up the running knee for an even nearer fall. Danielson’s triangle choke has Kingston in trouble but the arm drop doesn’t work. Instead Kingston gets his feet into the ropes, sending us into dueling chants from the fans. Danielson starts kicking away and Kingston tells him to bring it before winning an exchange of suplexes. They strike it out until Danielson reverses the powerbomb attempt, only to have the running knee clotheslined away. Kingston’s powerbomb retains the title at 19:43, leaving McGuinness rather pleased.

Rating: B+. This was Kingston’s specialty: fighting from behind and coming back up to win in the end as the fans get behind him. There is something so easy to get behind with Kingston and that was the case here. Heck of a match, which shouldn’t even be that surprising with Danielson involved.

Post match Danielson teases not shaking the hand but goes through with it before leaving.

Hook vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Brian Cage vs. Wardlow vs. Dante Martin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Magnus

Non-title and one fall to a finish for a World Title shot. The four power guys clear the ring to start and are left alone, giving us a MEAT chant. Said monsters have a pose down before slamming into each other. A bunch of clotheslines are no sold until it’s Wardlow and Archer slugging it out inside. Archer walks the rope to take Wardlow down and then goes after Hobbs, only to have Jericho come in to Codebreaker Wardlow for two.

The vegetarian options come in to slug it out, doing the same things the meat guys did. Martin hits a dive onto the floor and Hook hits a top rope ax handle onto Cage on the floor. Wardlow and Archer are back in as we miss some of the others doing something rather loud. Cage apron superplexes Hook and everyone but Martin is down, with Martin hitting a frog splash for two. Martin’s middle rope crossbody gets two on Jericho, with Magnus making the save.

Magnus goes after Martin in the corner but gets hiptossed down by Archer, who hits the chokeslam for two. Jericho is back in to take Archer down for stereo Lionsaults along with Magnus. Hobbs is back in to powerslam Archer, who rolls outside. Hook and Cage get to have their showdown until Wardlow is back in to throw some suplexes. Hook breaks up the powerbomb to Cage by grabbing Redrum but Jericho puts the Walls onto both of them. Cage breaks up the Walls and Hook lets go of Redrum for no logical reason before staring Jericho down.

Hobbs breaks that up and sends Hook outside, leaving Jericho to triangle dropkick him to the floor. Hobbs plants Jericho on the floor but he’s back up with a fog machine of all things to cut him off. Back in and Cage knees Hook into an F5 but Martin gets two on Magnus. Archer breaks that up so Martin kicks him in the head. Wardlow cleans more house and breaks up Redrum, setting up the powerbomb to finish Martin at 16:19.

Rating: C. The result helps a lot as Wardlow cutting those fired up promos and then being put out there to lose wouldn’t have made a ton of sense. At the same time, the match was long, had WAY too much going on and as is usually the case with these things, it felt like someone hit one move to win rather than someone being the best. Wardlow is the best option but this really didn’t work.

We recap the International Title match. Roderick Strong wants the title and Orange Cassidy is willing to give him a shot, which set up a feud between Cassidy and the Best Friends and the Undisputed Kingdom.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong

Strong, with the Kingdom, is challenging and Cassidy is here on his own by his request. Strong misses an early Sick Kick attempt and they go to the floor, where Cassidy’s banged up ribs are sent into the barricade. Back in and Cassidy manages a high crossbody but bangs up his ribs in the process. The backbreaker keeps Cassidy in trouble and Strong wisely hammers away on the ribs.

They go up top with Strong hitting a crazy gutwrench superplex to send Cassidy bouncing onto the top turnbuckle (GEEZ). Strong sends him into the corner and is already rather confident, even getting his his own lazy kicks. The threat of a chop makes Cassidy go face down and Strong is even happier.

Back up and End Of Heartache is countered into a Stundog Millionaire to give Cassidy a breather. The Stronghold goes on but Cassidy slips out and hits the tornado DDT. The middle rope DDT gives Cassidy two and he hits his own Panama Sunrise. Beach Break is broken up so they trade big shots to the face. The second Beach Break connects for two but Strong comes back with the End Of Heartache for the pin and the title at 12:45.

Rating: B-. Strong might not be the most interesting star in the world but he is someone who can have a good match with just about anyone. Working on the back/ribs over and over is a fine way to go and Cassidy really needed to get away from the title for a bit. They also didn’t go too long, which makes for a nice change of pace on the show.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom celebrates, with Kyle O’Reilly returning. He’s in too for a nice return.

FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Rematch of the teams going to a draw and the Club comes out in pretty bad looking Road Warriors style spikes. FTR on the other hand has the Midnight Express lighting, which hopefully goes better than the time the Express fought the Warriors. Harwood and Castagnoli trade rollups for two each to start but Castagnoli is back up to knock him into the corner.

They slap it out and then trade strikes with neither being able to get very far. Schiavone talks about Dean Martin as Moxley comes in to take over on Wheeler. That’s broken up and Moxley is knocked into the corner, only to kick Wheeler in the face. It’s back to Castagnoli, who gets Russian legsweeped to put him down in a hurry. Wheeler comes back in and gets sent outside in a heap, followed by a gutwrench suplex for two back inside.

The Club trade front facelocks as the fans trade supportive chants. Moxley takes Wheeler up top for a back rake into a superplex for two. We get the trash talk in the corner, which is enough for Wheeler to fight up and hand it back to Harwood. Striking abounds but Castagnoli slips out of a suplex. Harwood hits him in the face but the spike piledriver is broken up and Harwood is sent into the post. Castagnoli snaps off a powerslam for two as Harwood is busted open rather badly.

Moxley and Harwood have their slugout but Wheeler is back in with the spike piledriver for two more. The Club is back in with a Doomsday Device (European uppercut variation) for two on Harwood and everyone is down. Moxley grabs a cutter into the Swing with a dropkick for two more on Harwood and everyone is down again. Moxley takes Harwood up top for some elbows and biting to the cut, with Castagnoli adding a running big boot.

Wheeler is back in for the save and a powerbomb/top rope clothesline gets two, setting up the Shatter Machine for two with Castagnoli making the save. A Neutralizer hits Wheeler on the floor but Harwood plants Castagnoli as well. Back in and Moxley Death Riders Harwood for two, with Harwood rolling him up for the same. The choke finishes Harwood at 21:43.

Rating: A-. This was very good and they got the crowd into it, with all kinds of big near falls and quite the violent edge. I could have gone for FTR winning instead of more of the Club’s dominance but that’s just going to happen. Heck of a fight here and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Club going after the Tag Team Titles in the near future.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Deonna Purrazzo. They used to be friends but now Purrazzo wants the old Storm back. Plus the title.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Storm is defending and has Mariah May, who dresses as old school Storm, plus Luther, with her. Feeling out process to start with Purrazzo going technical to take over. Storm is back up to fight over a hammerlock until Purrazzo takes her down into a headscissors. Purrazzo can’t get the Fujiwara armbar so she goes for it again, only to be taken into the corner for some shots to the face.

Storm kicks her low to take over and then stomps the chest, setting up a bit of dancing. Purrazzo gets up and slugs away, setting up the clothesline comeback. Storm rolls out of the armbar so Purrazzo kicks her in the face for another knockdown. A missed charge in the corner sets up Storm’s hip attack and a DDT gives Storm two.

Storm grabs an ankle lock but Purrazzo gets out and kicks her to the floor, where Luther makes a catch. Purrazzo hits a dive onto both of them and the Fujiwara armbar goes on back inside. Storm taps but Luther has the referee, allowing May to offer her own distraction. That’s enough for Storm to grab the piledriver to retain at 12:16.

Rating: C. This was ok, but they never hit that level that you might have expected on a pay per view title match. Neither of them have exactly hit a high point in the ring in recent matches, but this was miles better than Purrazzo’s disaster against Madison Rayne a few weeks ago. Storm still seems destined to face Mariah May, which is going to need to be built up a bit more before we get there.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay. This is Ospreay’s in-ring debut as a full time AEW star and they’re both in the Don Callis Family, though there is some tension.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay

Don Callis is on commentary. The fans are clearly amped for this and the OSPREAY chants are off to a fast start. The fight over a lockup goes to the ropes, where Ospreay slaps him in the face. Ospreay snaps off a running hurricanrana before it’s time to slug it out. A springboard clothesline drops Ospreay and a delayed superplex gives Takeshita two. Takeshita takes him down again but Ospreay comes back up with the hard chops.

Ospreay is back with a springboard elbow and then knocks Takeshita outside in a heap. Back in and Takeshita fires off his own strikes, setting up a running kick to the face to send Ospreay outside. There’s the big running flip dive to take Ospreay down again, followed by a NASTY bridging German suplex for two. A release version cuts Ospreay off but he’s back with a running Spanish Fly to put them both down. Ospreay knocks him down again and we need the referee to check on him for a second.

Back up and Takeshita hits a heck of a headbutt, which doesn’t knock Ospreay down. Another headbutt wakes Ospreay up and he’s back with the Kawada Kicks. Back up and neither can hit a powerbomb variation so Ospreay kicks him in the face a few times. The tiger driver gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is knocked out of the air for two. Takeshita can’t get in Rolling Chaos Theory so Ospreay kicks him in the head again. There’s the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade is countered with a shot to the face for two of his own.

Takeshita puts him on top but Ospreay slips out and hits the Cheeky Nandos kick. The super hurricanrana is blocked and Takeshita hits an El Generico Brainbuster, with Ospreay’s back taking a terrifying landing. Takeshita takes down the knee pad but his running knee is blocked. The Stundog Millionaire and a poisonrana have Takeshita in trouble but he’s right back with a wheelbarrow piledriver.

Ospreay pops up with a Hidden Blade for one and they’re both down again. Back up and Takeshita’s running knee is countered into a Styles Clash for two and they’re both down again. Ospreay is back up with a tiger driver 91, setting up the Hidden Blade for the pin at 21:48.

Rating: A-. This is the definition of “if you like this style, you’ll love this” and there is nothing wrong with that. It was a great spectacle with one cool looking move after another and if you can ignore some no selling issues, it was a blast. I had a good time with it and it’s a great debut for Ospreay, though some of those spots had me cringing in a less than good way.

Post match Kyle Fletcher comes out to celebrate with Ospreay.

We recap the AEW World Title match. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland are still in their blood feud but Samoa Joe, the reigning champion, is still involved in the whole thing and promises violence.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

Joe is defending. They circle each other to start until Page is knocked into the corner, with Joe getting to step away from Swerve’s middle rope elbow. Swerve is sent outside for the suicide elbow, with Joe kicking Page in the head for daring to try a dive. Joe gets knocked down on the floor though and Swerve is back in to stomp away on Page. Swerve goes outside to drop Joe again, setting up a springboard dropkick to Page for another near fall.

Page is back up with a belly to belly for two of his own with Joe making the save this time. Back in and Joe powerbombs Page into the STF into the crossface so Swerve makes a save of his own. Joe and Swerve go up top with the former hitting a headbutt out to the floor. Swerve is right back in though and a double powerbomb plants Joe for a triple breather. Page and Swerve slug it out until Page middle rope moonsaults into a tombstone for two on Swerve.

Joe gets dropped again and Swerve suplexes Page for two with Joe being right there for a save. Back up and Joe gets to strike away, setting up the MuscleBuster for Page. Swerve Stomps Joe though and everyone is down. There’s the House Call to Joe and another to Page but the delay lets Joe break up the cover. With Page on the floor, Swerve hits a 450 to Joe’s back for no cover. Swerve knocks Joe down again for two but Page pulls the referee. A belt shot hits Swerve in the head and Page yells at him a lot, followed by a pair of Buckshot Lariats.

Here’s another referee to count the two but another Buckshot is pulled into the Koquina Clutch. Swerve breaks that up with a Sky Twister Press and grabs a foreign object, only to throw it down instead. Joe grabs the Clutch on Swerve but Page takes out another referee. Back up and Joe runs Page over but he’s back up with a Buckshot Lariat. Swerve hits Page with a Buckshot of his own into the JML Driver but Joe suplexes Swerve down. The Clutch finishes Page to retain the title at 19:40.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but it got a lot better by the ending. They did have a setup where all three could have pulled it off, though Joe winning does make the most sense….I think. Swerve is going to be champion one day but winning in a three way doesn’t quite feel great. For now, it’s a good title match that was in a rough spot after Takeshita vs. Ospreay.

Post match commentary suggests that Page gave up to cost Swerve the chance of winning. That’s….certainly a way to go.

AEW Dynasty is in St. Louis on April 21.

We recap Sting and Darby Allin defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. It’s Sting’s retirement match and the Bucks have gotten violent. Oh and Ric Flair is here too because of course he is.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Allin and Sting are defending, it’s a tornado match, Ric Flair is here and Ricky Steamboat is here as a guest time keeper. With everyone else here, we get an amazing entrance, with Sting sitting in a theater and watching a highlight reel of his career. Sting says it’s showtime for the last time. We get some old era Sting’s on the stage (apparently played by Sting’s kids) and Seek & Destroy is back for one last time.

Allin starts fast against the Bucks with all three Sting’s getting in a Stinger Splash. A double Scorpion Deathlock has the Bucks in trouble but they slip out and head to the floor. Some tables are set up at ringside and Nick is slammed off the barricade. There’s a backdrop to put Matt down as well, leaving Allin to Coffin Drop off the top onto both of them. Sting whips out a pane of glass (JR: “You think we might be taking things a bit too far?”) but Sting misses a baseball bat shot and shatters it.

They go up to the stage with Matt having to break up a Scorpion Death Drop. Instead Matt suplexes him through a pair of tables and Sting appears to be mostly done. The Bucks take Nick back to the ring and toss him into a ladder in the corner. Allin fights back and loads up some chairs with glass on top on the floor before climbing up the ladder and flip diving through the glass and chairs onto the floor. Sting is back in as the medics check on Allin’s very bloody back.

The comeback is on and Matt is put on the table, with Sting going up the ladder (oh geez), only to be sent through a table. Sting pops up but gets knocked down through the glass again for two. The Bucks go to grab more weapons but Steamboat makes an attempted save. That’s broken up so Flair gets in the ring to protect Sting. A superkick drops Flair and Steamboat is taken out as well, setting up a belt shot to Sting for two.

The Bucks superkick Sting again (“WE HATE YOU!”) but he pops up and hits the Death Drop for two on Matt. The EVP Trigger gets two more and another….gets one. Sting laughs at them and Allin is back up to break up the Meltzer Driver. The Scorpion Death Drop gets two on Matt and the still bleeding from the back Allin hits the Coffin Drop. Sting puts on the Deathlock to retain at 20:56.

Rating: B. I have no idea how to rate something like this as it’s barely a wrestling match and is all one big ridiculous sendoff for Sting. I could have gone for not having the glass nonsense or Allin attempting his latest dumb idea, but I’ve been a Sting fan for more than thirty years and my goodness did he get a respectful sendoff. That’s all this was supposed to be and they didn’t do anything ridiculous with the result so we’ll call it a positive.

Post match Allin says we have three minutes left so let’s show some love for Sting. After soaking in some cheers, Sting thanks the fans for being there with him since the 80s and that he hoped he gave them a night to remember. Sting thanks Allin as the greatest partner he ever had and wonders how many stitches Allin needs. Sting talks about being a risk taker but hang on because he’s getting cues….and we’re done because the show went long. As usual, AEW can never time anything right, but at least we got the gist of it.

Overall Rating: A-. This is a show where the good was excellent and the worst was still fine. There is a one-two punch of the Ospreay vs. Takeshita match and FTR vs. the Club, plus the big emotional moment for Sting (that video is top notch). I’m not sure if it’s the best thing AEW has ever done but it was back to form after some weaker entries at the end of last year. Great stuff here, and check out most of it (with the fast forward ready for that scramble).

Results
Bang Bang Scissor Gang b. Willie Mack/Private Party/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh – Blade Runner to Mack
Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue/Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb to Blue
Christian Cage b. Daniel Garcia – Killswitch
Eddie Kingston b. Bryan Danielson – Powerbomb
Wardlow won the All Star Scramble – Powerbomb to Martin
Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy – End Of Heartache
Blackpool Combat Club b. FTR – Rear naked choke to Harwood
Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Piledriver
Will Ospreay b. Konosuke Takeshita – Hidden Blade
Samoa Joe b. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland – Koquina Clutch to Page
Sting/Darby Allin b. Young Bucks – Scorpion Deathlock to Matt

 

 

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Wrestlemania VII
Date: March 24, 1991
Location: Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,158
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

It’s the Gulf War show, as Hulk Hogan is fighting to get the WWF Title back from former American hero turned Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter. If that sounds like one of the worst ideas for a Wrestlemania main event ever, you have quite the memory for these things. Other than that we have Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior in a match that actually belongs in a big spot at Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is all about the stars and stripes with only Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter being shown.

Willie Nelson sings America The Beautiful.

Jim Duggan joins commentary for the first match, while saying that Hulk Hogan going after Sgt. Slaughter is like the military going after Saddam Hussein.

The Rockers know they’re ready for Haku and the Barbarian, whether they are part of the Heenan Family or not.

Rockers vs. Haku/Barbarian

Haku and Barbarian, with Bobby Heenan, are already in the ring in a move that could cut down on so much Wrestlemania time these days. Shawn and Haku start things off as the fans are already yelling about Heenan. Haku whips him into the corner a few times but a shoulder and some right hands get Shawn out of trouble. Marty comes in for the double elbow but Barbarian clotheslines both Rockers inside out.

Back up and a double superkick drops Barbarian and it’s time for pointers with the Brain (jot that down for a talk show idea). We settle back down to Marty sunset flipping Barbarian for two before working over the arm. Haku comes back in for a double headbutt and an assisted hot shot has Marty in even more trouble. The gorilla press plants Marty again and Barbarian even draws Shawn in so double choking can ensue.

A hard whip into the corner gives Barbarian two more and we hit the required bearhug (What took them so long?). Marty tries to fight back but gets caught in a heck of a powerslam to cut him off again. Barbarian misses the top rope headbutt though and there’s the tag to Shawn. House is quickly cleaned, including a middle rope crossbody to Barbarian. Everything breaks down and it’s a double clothesline to Barbarian. Marty missile Barbarian and Shawn adds a high crossbody for the pin at 10:33.

Rating: C+. The middle felt a little bit long but this was a perfectly fine power vs. speed tag match. The Rockers are one of the better speed teams from around this time and they were a great choice for an opener. Haku and Barbarian on the other hand were perfectly acceptable monsters, making this a rather nice way to get the crowd fired up. It would have been a heck of a house show match (and probably was more than once) and that worked well in this spot.

We get our celebrity interviews with Regis Philbin (scared of Earthquake), Marla Maples (future wife of Donald Trump and tonight’s guest timekeeper) and Alex Trebek (Jeopardy jokes abound). I love Jeopardy and Regis can be funny, but these are about as cringe as you can get.

Dino Bravo vs. Texas Tornado

Jimmy Hart is here with Bravo, who jumps Tornado at the bell and clotheslines him out to the floor in an early heap. Back in and Tornado slugs away but can’t get the Claw. Bravo knocks him down again and drops an elbow for two, setting up the side slam. The delayed cover gets two and there’s a middle rope elbow to the back of Tornado’s head. Bravo goes up but dives into the Claw, setting up the Tornado Punch for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: D. This is the match that I cite for why I don’t redo every Wrestlemania (or any show) very often. There are only so many ways you can talk about a nothing match like this with no build and almost no time. Tornado was past his expiration date and Bravo would be gone, save for mostly house shows, after this, so what were they supposed to do here?

Slick and the Warlord are ready to beat British Bulldog. Sweet goodness I was scared of Warlord’s half mask back then and it’s still an awesome look to this day.

Bulldog says he can powerslam Warlord.

British Bulldog vs. Warlord

Slick is here with Warlord but Bulldog has his mascot Winston (he’s no Matilda). This is power vs. power so Warlord starts with the clubbing forearm to the back. Bulldog runs him over with some shoulders and Warlord is already on the floor for a breather. Back in and Warlord counters the crucifix into something like a Samoan drop as things slow way back down. The bearhug goes on for a bit before Bulldog charges into a hot shot to cut the comeback right back off.

We hit the chinlock, with Heenan even complaining about how sloppy Warlord has it on. With that broken up, Bulldog dropkicks him into the corner and hammers away, setting up a crossbody for two. The piledriver is blocked so Bulldog settles for two off a sunset flip instead. Bulldog misses a charge though and Warlord gets most of the full nelson, minus the fingers being locked. The incomplete version is broken up and Bulldog hits the powerslam for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C. This was another house show style match as Bulldog gets an impressive win, with that powerslam still looking great. Warlord is up there with the most generic monster villains you can get but he looked good enough that beating him still felt like something of a big deal. These two could have some nice power matches though and they made a basic story work well here.

The Nasty Boys, with Jimmy Hart, are ready to win the Tag Team Titles, even if it means beating the Hart Foundation. They destroy Gene handkerchief to warm up.

The Hart Foundation are ready for a fight but say the Nastys can’t crack, move or break the foundation.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Nasty Boys

The Nastys, with Jimmy Hart (in a helmet), are challenging and Macaulay Culkin is in the audience, with Monsoon thankfully recognizing him. Sags punches away at Bret to start but Bret is back with a Thesz press and right hands (….hey). Bret cuts off a kick to the ribs and stomps Sags in the abdomen (or bread basket, whichever you prefer). Knobbs comes in to hammer on Neidhart in the corner, which of course is just fine with Neidhart.

The hard shoulders send Knobbs to the floor before it’s time to work on the arm back inside. It’s back to Sags, who gets taken down again by Neidhart, allowing Bret to hammer away as well. The Russian legsweep into the middle rope elbow connects but Bret has to cut off an interfering Knobbs. That’s enough for Sags to get in a cheap shot so the Nastys can actually take over for a change.

Bret is knocked to the floor for a breather, followed by a hard whip into the corner back inside as the pace stays slow. The reverse chinlock goes on for a good while before Knobbs comes in for one of his own. Sags grabs a third reverse chinlock, followed by Knobbs dropping elbows to the bad back.

Make that four reverse chinlocks until Bret finally avoids a charge in the corner. The tag to Neidhart isn’t seen but Knobbs runs into Sags by mistake, allowing Neidhart to come in legally. House is cleaned and a powerslam gets two on Knobbs. The Nastys collide again and the Hart Attack hits Knobbs. There’s no referee though, allowing Sags to get in a shot with Jimmy’s helmet to give Knobbs the pin and the titles at 12:00.

Rating: C. There were good sections, but how in the world can four straight reverse chinlocks be the best you have? Mixing it up at least a little big really shouldn’t be too much to ask but apparently that wasn’t going to happen here. This was a way to get some fresh blood in the tag division, which would be needed as the Harts were more or less done after this, with Bret moving into his singles career.

We recap Rick Martel vs. Jake Roberts. Martel went to spray Jake’s snake bag with cologne (because reasons) but sprayed Jake in the eyes. Roberts was blinded as a result, though he managed to DDT Brother Love at one point. His eyes were messed up for months but now he’s back for a blindfold match.

Roberts says snakes have five senses but they always do it better in the dark.

Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel

They’re both in hoods and if you ignore being able to see the eye hole when Jake puts his on, it makes for a good visual. Roberts goes smart early on by having the crowd help him find Martel. There’s no contact for the first minute until both of them stumble over the other a bit. Jake gets two off a rollup and then steps around Martel’s backdrop attempt (because that’s the kind of thing you do when you can’t see).

The pointing thing results in a collision and a pair of missed charges. Then to mix it up a bit, they miss each other again. Martel finally catches him with a slam but misses the elbow drop as Gorilla and Bobby suddenly can’t hear each other. Martel corners the referee in the corner as Jake is in another corner to start the pointing. With that not working, Jake starts clapping to get Martel to come over. This one actually works, but they crash into the ropes. Heenan: “Why doesn’t Martel lift the hood up and peak?” Gorilla: “That’s cheating!” Heenan: “SO WHAT???”

A headlock doesn’t work for Jake as Martel sends him outside. Heenan: “Excuse me. MARTEL! HE’S ON THE FLOOR!” Martel follows him out and pokes around with a chair, with the swing only hitting the post. Back in and Martel hits a backbreaker to set up the Boston crab. With that broken up in a hurry (so much for Martel’s finisher), Jake grabs the DDT for the pin at 8:31.

Rating: D. This match isn’t something that works well on second viewings, as there are so many instances where it is clear that they can see each other. Roberts getting the win is the feel good moment, but it took its sweet time getting there. Not as completely horrible as I remember it, but it doesn’t work very well if you’re paying attention.

Post match Jake busts up the Arrogance atomizer and puts Damien on Martel.

Marla Maples is in the locker room where the Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart and the Mountie are celebrating the Tag Team Title win. Dino Bravo and Earthquake come in with more champagne and Marla is surrounded. That’s it for her, as this isn’t exactly a great celebrity cameo. What exactly was nasty about a big celebration anyway?

Jimmy Snuka vs. The Undertaker

Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker of course. Snuka stares at Undertaker as we cut to Bearer looking….well weird to everyone else, normal for him. Undertaker sends him into the corner a few times before knocking Snuka outside in a heap. A suplex brings Snuka back in but he manages a few strikes for a breather. Snuka’s missed charge only hits ropes though and it’s another crash to the floor, followed by the Tombstone to make Undertaker 1-0 at Wrestlemania at 4:20.

Rating: D+. It’s always kind of interesting that one of the most important things in the company’s history started off as such a nothing match. This was little more than a squash as Snuka had absolutely nothing. The Tombstone alone was worth a look, though Undertaker was still figuring a lot of things out at this point.

We recap Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior in a career threatening match. Savage wanted a shot at Warrior’s WWF Title but got turned down (despite Sherri’s suggestive advances). As a result, Savage cheated like crazy to cost Warrior the title to Sgt. Slaughter. Warrior wants revenge, and their careers are on the line. This is FAR more interesting than the real main event as it has a more personal story and could go either way.

Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

Before the match, Heenan spots Miss Elizabeth in the crowd, looking a bit distraught. Savage, with Queen Sherri, gets his big throne entrance and Warrior makes it weird by walking to the ring. They take their time to get going until Warrior powers him away. Savage bounces off of him and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Warrior chokes away before hitting an atomic drop, though things are still moving fairly slowly.

Sherri’s interference fails and Warrior punches Savage down again. Savage finally comes back with that running clothesline but Warrior pulls a high crossbody out of the air (that’s always impressive). Instead of slamming Savage down though, Warrior sits him down to start up the mind games. Said games cause Savage to throw in a chair but Warrior punches him down again. Warrior finally misses a charge into the corner though and Sherri stomps away on the floor.

Savage’s top rope ax handle has a bit more impact but Warrior shoves Sherri down anyway. A posting drops Warrior and Sherri, not taking this lying down, kicks away at Warrior. As Gorilla says this is officially the largest pay per view audience in the history of pay per view, Warrior gets two off a backslide for a breather. Warrior hits the clothesline and runs the ropes a bunch, only to miss the shoulder.

Savage grabs the chinlock for a bit before Warrior fights up. A double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and they’re both rather winded. Back up and Warrior actually grabs a small package but Sherri has the referee. Savage knees Warrior in the back to send him into the referee and now things are getting going. Sherri comes in off the top with her shoe but hits Savage by mistake, meaning it’s time for Warrior to go a-stalking.

A rollup (seemingly with trunks) gives Savage two and he sends Warrior hard into the corner. Savage clotheslines him in the back of the head and drops the top rope elbow. Then he drops the top rope elbow. Then he drops the top rope elbow. Then he drops the top rope elbow. Then he drops the top rope elbow….for two, just in case you didn’t know who was winning here.

Warrior Warriors Up and hits the shoulders into the gorilla press drop. The Warrior Splash connects for two and now Warrior is stunned. Warrior looks up, then looks at his hands, and starts walking up the aisle. Instead of taking the countout, Savage jumps him from behind and goes up top, only to miss his dive onto the barricade. Back in and Warrior’s flying shoulder sends Savage outside again. They get back in and do it again, as Savage’s bumps off the shoulder here are awesome. A third running shoulder sends Savage outside again and Warrior throws him back inside. Savage is DONE and Warrior gets the pin at 20:47.

Rating: A-. This felt like an epic showdown between two top stars and that is what it was supposed to be. You don’t get this kind of a match very often around the WWF and they made it work on every front. The ending scene of Savage being completely defeated made it look like the better man won, even with Savage and Sherri cheating every chance they could. Outstanding match here and it still more than holds up.

Post match Warrior leaves and Sherri berates Savage as he still can’t get up. She even kicks him over and over….until Elizabeth jumps the barricade and chases Sherri off (the ultra rare instance of her getting physical). Savage finally gets up and sees Elizabeth, leaving him very confused. Elizabeth stretches out her arms and Savage finally hugs her to a huge roar. Savage puts her on his shoulder and then holds the ropes open for her, because things have finally changed before them.

This is the moment that can still bring a bit of a tear to the eye of fans of my generation because it was YEARS in the making and the fans were begging Savage to take her back by the end. It’s Savage FINALLY being at peace and getting his happy ending after leaving it all in the ring. This is still one of the best things that WWE has ever done and it still gets to me, even if I’ve seen it dozens of times.

And now, a debate on instant replay in wrestling, with Vince McMahon moderating the discussion between New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and NFL analyst Paul Maguire. Steinbrenner wants instant replay but if it takes more than a minute to get the call right, fire them. Vince: “What do you mean fire him? Like, from his job?” Maguire doesn’t like the idea and insults Steinbrenner over his comments. We get an instant replay, as looked at by the Bushwhackers, which results in the tape being ruined. Their ruling: the tape is inconclusive, therefore the play stands. This was bizarre to put it mildly, which might be why it isn’t on the Peacock version.

We run down what is left on the show as this feels like an intermission. Gorilla and Bobby talk about what has gone on so far, with Heenan saying if he was Savage, he would rather have some money than a skirt.

Regis Philbin interviews Undertaker and Paul Bearer, with Undertaker taking measurements for….reasons. Puns about being alive ensue.

Alex Trebek interviews Demolition, with Mr. Fuji, who yell a lot and scare Trebek a bit. Trebek tries to turn it into something Jeopardy-ish and the yelling gets has him throwing it back to Regis.

Regis tries to talk to Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao about their match but can only use Japanese company names. They want to know where Kathy Lee (the co-host of his talk show) is and it doesn’t go well.

Jake Roberts and Damien scare Trebek off. Roberts tells Damien that he’ll have to settle for the home version of Jeopardy.

Those four segments? They were really, really bad.

Genichiro Tenryu/Koji Kitao vs. Demolition

This is Crush/Smash, with Mr. Fuji, in the very last try to push the team as meaning anything. Tenryu and Kitao are here as part of a partnership with Tenryu’s SWS promotion. Demolition jumps Kitao to start but Kitao knees Crush against the ropes. A distraction lets Smash get in a shot from behind though and Demolition takes over. Crush hits a top rope ax handle to the back as the fans aren’t exactly interested here. Kitao gets over for the tag off to Tenryu, who misses a top rope elbow. The Demolition Decapitator is loaded up but Kitao makes a save. Tenryu enziguris Smash and a powerbomb gives Tenryu the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D. Call it a style clash, call it Demolition being worthless at this point or call it the WWF not getting why this would be a bad idea, but this really did not work in any sense. The Ax/Smash version of Demolition was great, but the Crush/Smash version was Demolition in name only. This was more or less it for Demolition and based on this, that is the best thing for everyone involved.

Big Boss Man is tired of Bobby Heenan talking about his mama and has run through the Heenan Family. Now Mr. Perfect, and the Intercontinental Title, are all that’s left.

Bobby Heenan references the Rodney King beating and promises you’ll see something similar when Mr. Perfect beats up the Big Boss Man.

Intercontinental Title: Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect

Boss Man is challenging after spending months beating up the rest of the Heenan Family (Rick Rude was originally going to be included but he left the company in the fall). Alfred Hayes is joining commentary to replace Heenan, who is in Perfect’s corner. Boss Man catches Perfect’s towel and cleans himself off with it, much to Perfect’s annoyance. Perfect gets knocked around as the beating is on, including Perfect charging into a boot in the corner.

There’s the big toss over the top and you know Perfect is going to take a huge bump off that one. Back in and Boss Man takes off his belt, only to have Perfect take him away and start hammering him down. Some shots to the back keep Boss Man in trouble and we hit the abdominal stretch. With that broken up, a good looking dropkick gives Perfect two and the neck snap makes it worse.

The PerfectPlex is countered into a small package for two but Perfect knocks him down again. Perfect goes up and dives onto a raised boot, setting up the ram into the buckle for another huge Perfect bump. Boss Man crotches him against the post but a Heenan distraction lets Perfect send him into the steps.

With the numbers advantage causing issues, Andre the Giant (oh boy) comes out to….well it’s not exactly even but it definitely changes things. As you might expect, Heenan panics so Perfect goes after Andre, who smacks him in the face with the Intercontinental Title. A VERY delayed cover gets two and here are Haku and Barbarian to jump Boss Man for the DQ at 10:46.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here but I still don’t get why Boss Man didn’t win the title. That would seem to be the most obvious ending but instead it just goes nowhere, with Boss Man getting the “feel good” win. Perfect very easily could have wont he title back a month or so later, but at least we got one more Andre appearance where he looked somewhat mobile.

Gene Okerlund interviews……Donald Trump, who hopes to have Wrestlemania back in Atlantic City. Chuck Norris is here too, and thinks the wrestlers are great athletes, even name dropping Argentina Rocca of all people. Henry Winkler is happy the Ultimate Warrior won. Lou Ferrigno finds this really entertaining. I need a Christmas special where those four get together and save Santa Claus.

Earthquake vs. Greg Valentine

Jimmy Hart is here with Earthquake. This is my regular chance to ask what the heck the WWF was thinking by making Valentine a good guy around this time. Earthquake starts fast and hits an early powerslam for two as the dominance seems to be on. Valentine avoids a charge in the corner and slowly hammers away. A running elbow to the head actually puts Earthquake down on one knee and a middle rope version actually knocks him down. The Figure Four is blocked and Hart offers a distraction, allowing Earthquake to drop the elbow. The Earthquake finishes Valentine at 3:17.

Rating: D+. The match was fine enough and Valentine got in some offense, but there is only so much that you can get out of this situation. Earthquake cleaned Valentine out and beat him without much effort. I’m still not sure who saw Valentine as a good guy but to call it a flop would be too kind.

The Legion of Doom promise to make Power And Glory sour and gory. That’s a heck of a line.

Legion of Doom vs. Power And Glory

Slick is here with Power And Glory. The Doomsday Device finishes Roma at 58 seconds and the LOD wants the Tag Team Titles.

We recap Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase. Virgil had been mistreated for years and FINALLY snapped at the Royal Rumble after a tag match with DiBiase. Roddy Piper has been supporting Virgil, despite Piper being in a horrible motorcycle accident that has left him barely able to walk at the moment.

Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase

Roddy Piper is here with Virgil, who punches DiBiase outside to start. With DiBiase back inside, Virgil punches him right back to the floor. Back in again and DiBiase gets clotheslined to the floor as the frustrations continue. A slower DiBiase gets back inside and this time a few shots slow Virgil down.

The beating is on, including a piledriver for two as commentary talks about how big of a show this has been. A suplex drops Virgil again and DiBiase heads outside to deck Piper. Back in and a powerslam gives DiBiase two but Piper uses his crutch to low bridge DiBiase to the floor. DiBiase goes after Piper but gets counted out at 7:42.

Rating: C-. As has been said, the problem with Virgil is that there just wasn’t anything there in the ring. His punches were his best weapon, as other than that, he was as generic as you could get. Getting the win over DiBiase was a nice moment, but they didn’t exactly make it feel like a big deal. It would have been too much to see Virgil pin him, but this wasn’t exactly thrilling.

Post match DiBiase goes after Piper’s knee again, with Sherri running in to help with the beating. Some crutch shots to the knee have Piper in trouble but Virgil gets up for the save. Piper is in agony but Virgil tells him to get up. Then Piper gets up with Virgil’s help.

Sean Mooney sends us to a recap of Sgt. Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan. Slaughter has been playing by a new set of rules, including burning a Hulk Rules shirt. Adnan and Slaughter come in, with Adnan ranting a lot before we look at Slaughter jumping Hogan recently. Slaughter threatens to get himself disqualified or counted out in the main event. It doesn’t help that Slaughter getting disqualified or counted out was his best chance to retain the title.

Mountie vs. Tito Santana

Just in case the show hasn’t gone on long enough yet. Santana knocks him outside to start and hammers away back inside but Jimmy Hart slips Mountie the shock stick. One electrocution (and a joke about bad Mexican food from Heenan) and Santana is done at 1:21. This might be the all time definition of needless filler.

Hulk Hogan promises to use secret weapons to win the WWF Title. And no, a beating from Sgt. Slaughter isn’t slowing him down.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter, with General Adnan, is defending, Marla Maples is the guest timekeeper, Alex Trebek is the guest ring announcer and Regis Philbin is on commentary. Hogan chases Adnan and Slaughter around to start before Slaughter even takes the belt off. We then pause for Slaughter to get ready before hitting the stall button for a bit longer. They lock up (accidentally knocking the referee down) and slaughter is sent into the corner.

Back up and Hogan runs him over with a shoulder, sending the champ outside. Slaughter grabs a chair but Hogan is waiting for him. Instead they head back inside, where Slaughter pokes him in the eye to take over. Heenan has to explain some of the backstory to Regis as Hogan slugs away to put Slaughter in the corner. Some rams into the buckle keep Slaughter in trouble as this isn’t exactly thrilling so far.

There’s a backdrop to Slaughter and a running knee sends him into the corner again. A catapult into the corner sets up the raining down right hands but Slaughter knocks a diving Hogan out of the air. Hogan shrugs that off and drops a bunch of elbows before going to the top (oh dear) where Adnan’s distraction lets Slaughter slam him down. Now a chair to the back can keep Hogan down on the floor, followed by the slow beating back inside.

Slaughter complains about the speed of a two count and the referee yells right back. The Boston crab goes on, all of four inches from the rope, so Hogan tries to power out anyway. With that not working, Hogan grabs the rope to escape, which feels pretty out of character. Some knees to the back set up a top rope knee to the back but for some reason Adnan distracts the referee, allowing Hogan to kick out.

A chair to the head busts Hogan open so Slaughter pounds away on the head and grabs the camel clutch. Hogan powers up again and escapes but Slaughter sends him into the corner. Slaughter puts the Iraqi flag onto Hogan and that’s enough for the Hulk Up. Said flag is destroyed and Hogan throws the punches, setting up the big boot and leg to get the title back at 20:22. Monsoon: “The war is now officially over.”

Rating: C+. The problem here is that it isn’t a bad match, but it might be the most obvious result in the history of….well perhaps human kind. Desert Storm was already over so this was just a formality, as Slaughter was a short form champion from the second he won the belt. Hogan did his normal match here, albeit a bit longer than usual, and the Hulk Up was short even by his standards. It’s completely fine, but with the war already over, it was nowhere near the feel good, special moment they were hoping it would be.

Hogan poses and waves the American flag to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a show that has good pieces but DESPERATELY needed to be trimmed down. Would anyone have missed Earthquake vs. Valentine, Santana vs. Mountie or Von Erich vs. Bravo? The main event is on the lower end of Wrestlemania main events and the celebrity stuff is horrid. At the same time, Warrior vs. Savage is a classic and there is some other good stuff in there, but they really needed to cut this down by at least thirty minutes to get rid of some of the drag.

 

Ratings Comparison

Rockers vs. Haku/Barbarian

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B
2023 Redo: C+

Texas Tornado vs. Dino Bravo

Original: F
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D-
2023 Redo: D

British Bulldog vs. Warlord

Original: B-
2013 Redo: C+
2015 Redo: C-
2023 Redo: C

Nasty Boys vs. Hart Foundation

Original: C-
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: C+
2023 Redo: C

Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel

Original: F
2013 Redo: F
2015 Redo: F-
2023 Redo: D

Undertaker vs. Jimmy Snuka

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D
2023 Redo: D+

Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

Original: A+
2013 Redo: A
2015 Redo: A
2023 Redo: A-

Genichiro Tenryu/Koji Kitao vs. Demolition

Original: W (For What were they thinking)
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D-
2023 Redo: D

Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: C+
2023 Redo: C

Earthquake vs. Greg Valentine

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: F+
2015 Redo: D
2023 Redo: D+

Legion of Doom vs. Power and Glory

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2023 Redo: N/A

Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D+
2023 Redo: C-

The Mountie vs. Tito Santana

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2023 Redo: N/A

Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: C+
2023 Redo: C-

Overall Rating

Original: C
2013 Redo: B-
2015 Redo: B-
2023 Redo: C-

I’ve really come down on this one over the years and other than maybe boosting up Savage vs. Warrior a bit more, I’m not sure how I had some of those earlier ratings.

Here is the original if you’re interested:

The 2013 Edition:

And the 2015 Edition:http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/16/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-vii-no-that-isnt-a-tear-in-my-eye/

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

It’s been a little while since AEW has been on pay per view as there was no monthly pay per view in January or February. It helps that Revolution is one of the main four pay per views from AEW so we should be in for a big one. Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland in a triple threat but the real main event will see Sting/Darby Allin defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks in Sting’s retirement match. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Julia Hart/Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale

This is a feud that has been going on and off for a few weeks now and the interesting part is whether Nightingale and Statlander are on good terms with Stokely Hathaway in the middle. Neither of them seem to like him but he’s there anyway for some reason. At the same time, either of them could be the next challenger for Hart’s TBS Title, whenever that might take place.

I think they’ll go for the title challenger coming out of this match, which would see Nightingale and Statlander winning. Nightingale pinning Blue would go a long way towards making that happen so we’ll say that takes place, even if Hart could use a boost since she has been out of the ring for a few weeks now. This should be how the night gets started and we could be in for a good kickoff.

Pre-Show: Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Willie Mack/Private Party

This was added recently and the villains actually got to work together a bit this weekend on Collision. That’s more interaction than I was expecting, even if Mack feels very tacked on to the team. The story here would seem to be the problems between the Gang, which could make things interesting as they hopefully head towards a unification match for the two six man titles.

For now though, I’ll go with the Gang winning, as there is little reason for a team of lowers like Jarrett and company to win here. Unless there is some kind of an issue between the Gang, there is no reason to believe that the team will be in danger. This is going to be a total circus given how many people will be involved, but that is what happens when you have this big of a roster.

FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club

This is a match that has been built up in recent weeks and they went to a time limit draw the first time around. FTR is probably the best team going today and it is always fun to see them in the ring, regardless of their opponents. The first match between these guys worked well so hopefully they can recreate it here on the bigger stage. And have one of the teams win, which often helps.

As much as I like FTR and would love to see them win, the Club seems to be the likely choice here so we’ll go with them. The Club is regularly featured while FTR gets put out there for a lot of high profile losses. Unless the CMLL wrestlers get involved to mess with the Club, I’m seeing them taking out FTR, who can go on being the best team in the world no matter what happens here.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Roderick Strong

So this is the match that has been set up for several weeks now and there is more or less zero reason for Strong to lose. The Undisputed Kingdom desperately needs a win as they have barely done anything since coming together last year. Strong winning the title wouldn’t be some saving grace but it would be better than nothing and it’s not like Cassidy needs the title any longer.

I’ll go with the logical move here and have Cassidy lose the title to Strong. There is no reason to keep the title on Cassidy, who has done the “I’m tired and fight everyone” bit to death over the last year. Strong isn’t likely to be some big, dominant champion, but at least he will have won something. Just make it happen already and move on, as the build for this hasn’t been the best.

Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is Ospreay’s debut as a full time member of the AEW roster and he happens to be facing off with a fellow member of the Don Callis Family. That should open up some doors, but the reaction that Ospreay received on Dynamite should tell you exactly what you should be expecting from the match. While it should be good, I’m not sure how much drama there is going to be.

Naturally this is going to be Ospreay going over, as there is zero reason to have him lose in his first match as part of AEW. At the same time, there is a good chance that this will lead to his departure from the Family, as there is no reason to keep him in. Ospreay wins here in a heck of a match, which will be made better as Takeshita has been treated as a big enough deal so far in AEW.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo

This is a match that feels like it is more about the future than what is going on here. After Mariah May won her match on Collision, Storm came to the ring and ignored May’s win, which likely hurt her feelings. That should set up the May vs. Storm fight, which makes me wonder how things are going to go here. May very well could get involved, and that could change things quite a bit.

At the end of the day, while I think May will get involved, I’m thinking Storm retains the title. Purrazzo has been doing well but I’m not sure she has been doing well enough to take the title. The May vs. Storm feud is already set up and very well could be up next for the title. For now though, Storm retains over Purrazzo, who can move on to something else after the loss.

Continental Crown: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Bryan Danielson

While this is for the title, it’s much more about respect, as Danielson cannot stand Kingston and wants the title. At the same time, Kingston wants Danielson’s respect and will get a handshake if he wins. Kingston has already been elevated by winning the title and it might be time for him to move on to something else. Then again that would mean Danielson winning a big match and that has already happened in the last year.

For now, I’ll take Kingston retaining the title. While I can’t imagine him being a long term champion as it doesn’t seem to be his nature, he could use another big win or two to really establish himself as a bigger deal. Danielson has long since proven that he isn’t going to be hurt by a loss, so we’ll say he goes that way here. It should be a heck of a fight, but it ends with the title being retained.

All Star Scramble Match

This is an eight way and replacing Meat Madness due to reasons. With so many people involved it can be kind of difficult to pick a winner, as you might have someone come in and steal a pin. There are some that you can probably write off to start, which leaves you with only a few real options. That makes things all the more interesting, though it’s still hard to pick.

Since it’s quite the crap shoot, I’ll go with with a wildcard and pick Dante Martin. He could be slotted into a one off title match and lose to the champion without giving up anything big. At the same time you could easily have him steal a pin somewhere in there, as the whole thing will be all over the place. I have next to no confidence in Martin winning, but with eight options it’s more or less a glorified guess anyway.

TNT Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Daniel Garcia

Here we have a match that feels like it belongs more on Rampage or Collision but it could work out well enough as a one off title shot. Garcia has been built up in recent weeks, but I’m not sure I can imagine the idea of him winning the title. It feels like quite a jump for him to go that high up the ladder out of nowhere, though there is one way that I could see it happening.

One way or another, I’m expecting Adam Copeland to come back here and set up his next match with cage. At the same time though, Copeland wants to take the title back from Cage rather than helping Garcia win it, so we’ll say Cage retains and then Copeland shows up. Garcia has come a long way in recent weeks, but Cage’s title reign feels like it is going to end in epic fashion and losing to Garcia isn’t it.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

The more I think about this one, the more confused I am about which way to go. Oddly enough, Strickland might be the least likely to win the title, which is almost hard to fathom coming in. Joe is already defending the title and hasn’t held it that long while Page is in the middle of a turn and is such a wildcard that I could see him getting the title so Strickland could chase him.

At the end of the day though, I think I’ll take Joe winning to retain, possibly over Strickland after Page costs him the title. Normally this would feel like a feud between two people with the champ just on the side but that would suggest Joe is normal, which is flat out wrong. I’ll go with Joe retaining here, though I could easily see any of them getting the belt, which is quite the impressive build.

Tag Team Titles: Sting/Darby Allin(c) vs. Young Bucks

This has to headline right? There is more or less no way this isn’t the biggest match on the show and that has me scared. Tony Khan has a bad tendency to go with the heat ending rather than sending the fans home happy and I’m scared that’s where he’ll go here. There is nothing in the world that would say Sting and Allin should lose and I’m worried that it’s going in that direction.

With that being said, I’ll go with Sting and Allin to retain, as there is more or less no reason for the Bucks to win. It would be the definition of the wrong kind of heat as the fans want to see the good guys get a win to send Sting off into the sunset as a champion. While I can absolutely see the Bucks naming themselves champions after the loss, they need to go down here and in spite of Ric Flair being around, I think that’s what will happen.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the more interested I am. The show has some variety going on and we should be in for a good show, which tends to be the case with the pay per views. AEW has had time to set this up and we could be in for something that works out well for everyone. As long as Sting and Allin walk out on top, everything should work out, especially with what could be some rather good matches.

 

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Collision
Date: March 2, 2024
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Revolution and while the card is mostly set, there is always the chance that something more could be added at the last minute. The likely main event will see an eight man tag which will feature some of the matches at Revolution combined into one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Matthews comes out for a match but Mark Briscoe jumps him from behind and the beating is on. Briscoe uses a chair for a step up flip dive through a table at ringside before grabbing a spike. The House Of Black comes in for the save and Buddy has to knee Briscoe in the head to knock the spike away. Briscoe fights back on the stage and sends Matthews down to the floor. Things get more serious as Briscoe grabs the controls for the pyro and tries to use it to burn Matthews before security cuts him off. Briscoe being violent fits him well.

After getting jumped on Dynamite, Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with what Hangman Page did. Swerve will never take his eyes off of him again and at Revolution, Swerve is taking the World Title.

All Star Scramble Qualifying Match: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Bryan Keith vs. Dante Martin

They shove each other to start before an exchange of shots to the face put everyone down for a second. Back up and Martin knees Keith to the floor, leaving Penta to Sling Blade Martin a few times. Penta Backstabbers Martin outside but gets suplexed by Keith for two. Martin comes back in with a dive onto both of them, followed by another dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with another three way exchange of strikes but Penta blocks Keith’s Diamond Dust. Everyone is knocked down again until Keith knocks Penta outside. Keith’s tiger driver gets two on Martin before Keith heads to the apron to chop it out with Penta. That leads to a Fear Factor to drop Keith on the apron but Martin knocks Penta off. A frog splash gives Martin the pin on Keith at 10:01.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the result as Penta is a more established name and Keith is getting a lot of TV time in recent weeks. That being said, Martin is someone who has felt like he could move up to the next level more than once but it has never clicked. While I can’t imagine him winning the scramble, getting into it is a step forward for him. Fun match too, with all three working well.

At Dynamite, a rather mad Hangman Page says he did what he had to do and he won’t let Swerve Strickland get the World Title.

Mariah May vs. Angelica Risk

May chops her to start and chokes on the ropes, followed by a rather spinning side slam. Nigel McGuinness is so overcome when May blows him a kiss that he falls down on the floor (Schiavone: “A grown man.”) and May kneeing Risk in the face makes it worse. May Day finishes for May at 2:54. Total squash.

Post match here is Toni Storm, leaving May rather overwhelmed. Never mind though as Storm calls out Deonna Purrazzo, ignoring May entirely. Storm says this isn’t why she and Purrazzo got here and says she loves Purrazzo. She also loves that there is only room for one and it will never be Purrazzo. That makes Purrazzo laugh, because she says she is the best friend and the worst enemy. Purrazzo promises to break both of Storm’s arms so Storm puts on lipstick and kisses her on the cheek. The fight is on but May breaks it up, earning herself a piledriver from Purrazzo. This played into two stories at once and did so well.

Austin Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Dark Order

The rest of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang is here too. This time the rap is broken up by Jay White putting his arm around Max Caster’s shoulders. Gunn punches Reynolds down to start before handing it off to Caster, who is driven into the corner. That doesn’t last long as Caster fights back and cleans house without much trouble.

Scissor Me Timbers hits Uno but Silver breaks up the scissoring. Uno hits a DDT and we take a break, coming back with Gunn knocking Uno down. The tag brings in Bowens to clean house, including the running Fameasser to Uno. Everything breaks down and the Order’s triple slam hits Bowens for a rather near fall. Back up and the Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Reynolds at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Fun match here as the Order got in just enough offense to be interesting but not enough to overstay their welcome. The rap being messed up gives me hope that the team is already about to implode, meaning we could be in for a unification match at Double Or Nothing or so. I’m not sure what else the endgame for the whole thing should be, and it would be nice to see it finally happen.

Stokely Hathaway apologizes to Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander, but Nightingale cuts him off and promises to beat up Skye Blue and Julia Hart at Revolution.

Tony Schiavone brings out Wardlow for a chat, though Wardlow tells him to get out. Wardlow says he’s ready to win the scramble match and become the new #1 contender. But which champion is he going to face? Maybe he can slap Hangman Page back into depression. Maybe he can kick in the front door of Swerve’s house. Or maybe it’s Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe, because Wardlow is sick of the JOE chants. Joe is in Wardlow’s spot and this is no longer wrestling, because this is WAR.

Cue Chris Jericho to interrupt to say Wardlow isn’t fighting for the World Title tomorrow. He’s fighting Jericho, one of the best to do this. Jericho has won eight World Titles but Wardlow hasn’t won anything and it’s been years since he has had the chance to win the title again. Jericho knows he’s good enough, but does Wardlow know it? Maybe the reason Wardlow never got here is because he’s just not good enough, Mike (Wardlow’s first name).

Wardlow says he was this close to the top of the mountain, but then he had to take one step down after another and yeah he was mad. Work took away his happiness and he sat at home for three months, but then he came back and remembered who he was. He is the baddest man ever in wrestling and he is done eating scraps, so come do something about it. Jericho goes towards the ring but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to jump him from behind. Dang that was a heck of an exchange and now I want to see Wardlow vs. Jericho on their own rather than in a scramble.

Serena Deeb wants competition and issues an open challenge. She is the final boss. Meiko Satomura does not approve.

Private Party vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Sydal hurricanranas Kassidy to start and everything breaks down in a hurry, giving us a four way standoff. We settle down to Quen and Daniels having a bit of a dance off, including the Curry Man dance. Sydal comes in to take Quen down for two before it’s back to Daniels for a clothesline to the back of the head as we take a break.

Back with Daniels grabbing a quick Downward Spiral, meaning a double tag brings in Sydal and Quen. Sydal gets to clean house but gets caught in a Swanton/neckbreaker combination for two. Daniels comes back in for the save but Angel’s Wings is broken up. Sydal’s top rope Meteora hits Zay and Daniels hits Angel’s Wings on Quen. Cue Jeff Jarrett and company (teaming with Private Party at Revolution) for a distraction though, allowing Jay Lethal to drop Daniels with the Lethal Combination and give Quen the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. The match itself was fine and the interference at least set something up for the pay per view match. Private Party is at least getting to do something now that they are back together, while Sydal and Daniels are more or less the jobbers to the stars in Ring Of Honor, which might be spreading here too. That’s not a bad use of them, but I’m not sure how long it will last.

Video on Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson.

Thunder Rosa vs. Cassandra Golden

Commentary talks about various wrestlers named Golden over the years as Rosa kicks her in the chest to start. Golden gets out of a fireman’s carry but gets sent into the corner for a running dropkick. A top rope double stomp to the back sets up a seated cobra clutch to make Golden tap at 2:18. That was efficient.

Video on Sting/Darby Allin vs. the Young Bucks.

Revolution rundown.

Hook/Daniel Garcia/Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage/Killswitch/Brian Cage/Roderick Strong

Brian shoves Trent into the corner to start and shrugs off a headlock attempt. Garcia comes in to face Strong with Garcia rolling around a lot. Strong’s wristlock doesn’t get him very far so Garcia and Hook clear the ring. We take a break and come back with Garcia being whipped hard into the corner but managing to send Brian into the buckle. That just earns Garcia a heck of a superplex and now Christian is more than willing to come in. The villains take turns beating on Garcia but he manages a shot of his own. The tag brings in Trent to clean house, only to have Killswitch chokeslam him onto the apron.

We take another break and come back again with Christian’s reverse layout DDT planting Trent. The top rope headbutt misses but Strong cuts off the tag attempt. Trent kicks him away though and it’s Cassidy coming in to clean house. The Stundog Millionaire drops Brian and the spinning DDT gives Cassidy two.

Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of strikes and throws. Brian F5’s Cassidy for two with Garcia and Hook making the saves. Cassidy dives onto Strong, who hits End of Heartache on the floor. The Stronghold keeps Cassidy in trouble outside as Trent rolls Killswitch up for two. Nick Wayne gets in a cheap shot though and Killswitch hits a clothesline to the back of Trent’s head for the pin at 19:14.

Rating: B-. This was the big fight to advance a bunch of matches at once and that is one of the best ways to go on a show like this one. The action was fine but it never hit that level that something like this tends to go. Trent taking the pin is the right way to go as he has nothing going on, so well done on doing the logical move.

Post match the big brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice, efficient show here with little that didn’t advance a story (or two in some cases). This covered enough things on the way to Revolution, which is feeling like a pretty big show all things considered. They didn’t rock the boat here and that is what you want to do with the last show before the big event. Good enough here and that worked well.

Results
Dante Martin b. Bryan Keith and Penta El Zero Miedo – Frog splash to Keith
Mariah May b. Angelica Risk – May Day
Austin Gunn/Acclaimed b. Dark Order – Mic Drop to Reynolds
Private Party b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels – Quen pinned Daniels after a Lethal Combination from Jay Lethal
Thunder Rosa b. Cassandra Golden – Seated cobra clutch
Brian Cage/Christian Cage/Killswitch/Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Hook/Daniel Garcia – Clothesline to the back of Trent’s head

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Wrestlemania VI
Date: April 1, 1990
Location: Skydome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 67,678
Commentators: Jesse Ventura, Gorilla Monsoon

Robert Goulet sings O Canada for a change of pace from the previous years.

Koko B. Ware vs. Rick Martel

Tag Team Titles: Demolition vs. Colossal Connection

Earthquake vs. Hercules

Rating: D. No one ever accused Hercules of being smart but come on now with that backbreaker attempt. Hercules would be moved into a heel tag team soon after this and that was certainly better for everyone involved. He played his role well enough and was a good choice for a midcard power wrestler.

Earthquake gives him another splash for good measure. Hercules becomes one of the first victims to not leave on a stretcher.

Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect

Post match Brutus puts Genius to sleep and cuts his hair to really end this feud.

Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown

Hart Foundation vs. Bolsheviks

The Russians try to sing but get jumped, setting up the Hart Attack for the pin on Boris at 18 seconds for a new Wrestlemania record. The fans love it and the Harts are ready to challenge Demolition.

Tito Santana vs. Barbarian

Dusty Rhodes/Sapphire vs. Randy Savage/Queen Sherri

Intermission time.

Wrestlemania VII ad.

Demolition is ready for the Hart Foundation.

Rockers vs. Orient Express

Rating: C+. These teams would have far better matches together, including a classic at the 1991 Royal Rumble, but this is still more entertaining than almost anything else on the show so far. This was a perfect choice for the first match back from intermission as they hit the ground running and brought the crowd right back to life. Well done.

Steve Allen is with Rhythm and Blues (Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine, now as a regular tag team and also a band) who will be performing tonight. Allen thinks this is going to be as big as when Tiny Tim played the Vince Lombardi rest stop.

Dino Bravo vs. Jim Duggan

Million Dollar Title: Jake Roberts vs. Ted DiBiase

DiBiase is defending of course but the title is only kind of official. Jake starts fast with a shoulder and knee lift but DiBiase bails to the floor to run from the DDT. They do the same sequence again and the stalling continues. Jake gets him back inside and starts working on the arm with a bunch of knee drops followed by a hammerlock. Gorilla and Jesse argue over what Jake is working on until Jake leverages DiBiase out to the floor in a nice counter.

Akeem vs. Big Boss Man

The new attendance record of 67,678 (easy to remember at least) is announced. This is done in about twenty seconds.

Rick Rude vs. Jimmy Snuka

Rating: D. Just a quick match to put Rude over as a tough guy before we FINALLY get to the main event. Snuka was nothing more than a jobber to the stars at this point and he still did that job quite well. Not a good match or anything but what do you expect in the death slot before the biggest match of the year?

WWF World Title/Intercontinental Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior

Hogan is stunned and dejected at his first ever clean loss in the company. The referee brings Warrior both titles and the camera focuses on just Warrior so the WWF World Title can be returned to ringside, allowing Hogan to go get it. He hands it to Warrior and endorses the new champion before riding away in the card, leaving Warrior to celebrate to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Rick Martel vs. Koko B. Ware

Original: D

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: D+

Demolition vs. Colossal Connection

Original: C-

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: C+

Earthquake vs. Hercules

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D

Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: C

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: C

Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown

Original: A

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: C

Hart Foundation vs. Bolsheviks

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

Barbarian vs. Tito Santana

Original: D

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

Dusty Rhodes/Sapphire vs. Randy Savage/Sensational Sherri

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: C-

Orient Express vs. Rockers

Original: C

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: C+

Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo

Original: D+

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D-

Ted Dibiase vs. Jake Roberts

Original: C

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: C

Big Boss Man vs. Akeem

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

Rick Rude vs. Jimmy Snuka

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D

Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: C

Why can’t I make up my mind on Brown vs. Piper?

Here’s the original review:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/13/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-6-epitome-of-a-one-match-show/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/15/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-vi-the-ultimate-challenge/

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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