IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Strong Style Evolved
Date: March 25, 2018
Location: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California
Attendance: 4,372
Commentators: Jim Ross, Josh Barnett

This was a fairly heavily requested show and I remember liking last year’s show so it’s worth a look. New Japan very rarely comes stateside so it’s cool to see their expansion. As is usually the case, this show is built around the Bullet Club, which is having some major issues. The main event is the Golden Lovers (Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega and old partner Kota Ibushi) vs. the Young Bucks. I don’t watch Being the Elite so odds are I’m going to be a bit lost in the bigger parts because Heaven forbid I just watch wrestling. Let’s get to it.

Ross (who looks nearly asleep) and Barnett open things up and offer an explanation of strong style. I really don’t like listening to Barnett at almost any point so thankfully this is short.

We get a long, well done video on New Japan, looking at what has happened since their previous appearances in Long Beach. Each match gets a quick look, with the wrestlers being listed by name. The big matches do get some longer attention, which is perfectly acceptable. It’s nice to see everything get a look instead of only looking at the top stuff. I’m also warming to the idea of announcing the matches in advance. You don’t get that in America and it lets you know when you can expect a match you want to see.

Roppongi 3K vs. So Cal Uncensored

There are American and Japanese announcers here, which is a very smart move. What’s not a smart move is getting the name graphics under each wrestler wrong. Like, seriously, how hard can that be to pull off? And yes I know WWE did it at Wrestlemania, which is even less excusable. Romero wristlocks Sky to start as Josh sounds confused about Sky starting for some reason.

Sky claims a hair pull despite a high level of baldness. A neckbreaker gets Sky out of trouble and the fans are very, very pleased. Makes sense that So Cal Uncensored would be popular in So Cal. Kazarian and Yoh come in with Kazarian getting clotheslined down and it’s Sho coming in for some speedy double teaming. Now why didn’t they do this in ROH? The fans shift over to Sho as he works on Kazarian’s ribs in the corner. Daniels offers a trip from the floor but Kazarian slips off the rope on the springboard spinning legdrop attempt. Thankfully he seems fine and So Cal takes over for the first time.

Romero tags himself in but the referee didn’t see it so it’s Yoh being draped over the top rope to keep him in trouble. It’s Daniels knocking him to the floor for a big springboard flip dive, because of course he can do that at his age. Sky gets two off a slingshot cutter but Yoh rolls over and brings Romero in to speed things back up.

The forever lariats have Daniels and Kazarian rocked and a springboard dropkick to the back gets two on Kazarian. Everything breaks down again and Sky takes Daniels out by mistake. Sho is smart enough to pull Romero to the corner for the tag off to Yoh and there’s a slingshot dive to Kazarian. A Dominator/sliding cutter combination gets two on Sky but 3K (a 3D into a Downward Spiral instead of a cutter) puts him away at 10:24.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match at all here, even if it’s odd to see the ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions lose clean. But hey, that might imply Ring of Honor being on New Japan’s level and that just can’t happen. It’s rather impressive that Sho and Yoh are already this much better than they were in ROH. I used to dread their matches but now they seem to be putting on good performances. It’s almost like they learned and evolved.

As Roppongi 3K leaves, we hear Josh say that he agrees with JR: “They need to get out of the f****** ring.” And so we continue the production issues.

David Finlay/Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto/Gedo

Taguchi Japan vs. Chaos. Goto and Robinson fight over a wristlock to start and a shoulder doesn’t get Goto anywhere. A shot to the face drops Goto for two (Josh: “I wonder what kind of juice that was.” I would have guessed Josh was the biggest expert on juice around. Certainly in MMA at least.) and it’s time to trade more clotheslines. Goto kicks him down and suplexes the invading Finlay onto Robinson.

Forearms to the back of the head have Robinson in even more trouble as Goto is bleeding from the mouth. Robinson easily loses a slugout and it’s off to Gedo for some dancing around. This slugout goes a lot better for Robinson and Finlay adds in another right hand from the apron, which is enough for the hot tag. Finlay comes in to clean house and everything breaks down. Robinson gives Goto a full nelson slam and a right hand to Gedo. A dive takes Goto out and Finlay’s jumping Stunner puts Gedo away at 7:26.

Rating: C-. Totally standard tag match here with four guys who have no connection that you would know of based on this match. I knew the stables because of Wikipedia and that tells me that either the commentary isn’t great or the stables don’t mean much (with both being true in this case). Not bad or anything, but definitely felt like a preliminary match.

Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuckie T./Toru Yano

Oh yay, it’s Yano time and that means “comedy”. Suzuki-Gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr,/Lance Archer) vs. Chaos here, with Josh at least telling us that the Squad is part of the stable. Archer throws his hat into the ring to make it clear that they’re the heels. Nothing wrong with some basic villain stuff and it worked here too. Yano’s entrance consists of plugs for his various merchandise so at least he’s living the gimmick.

The Squad wastes no time in hammering away like the monsters that they are. Chuckie gets in Soul Food (Eat Defeat) on Davey (who Josh calls Harry, his real name) but misses an enziguri. Yano gets kicked to the floor and it’s off to Archer for some heavy forearms in the corner. An Undertaker rope walk crushes Chuckie as you can hear JR’s disdain for Yano’s shtick. Smith grabs a chinlock and then a Liontamer, followed by some heavy right hands to the head.

With Yano walking up the aisle and talking to the fans, Archer runs Chuckie over as the beating continues. A DDT finally gets Chuckie out of trouble and it’s off to Yano, who lays in the ropes to hide. Yano’s atomic drop to Archer doesn’t work (Archer is too tall) so this time Archer kicks him out of the ropes. Yano pulls him outside though and it’s a collision to put both Squad members down.

After teasing a dive, Yano takes the turnbuckle pad off and Archer misses a charge into the exposed steel. Chuckie’s sunset flip gets two and a stuff piledriver is good for one. Yano and Smith go outside, leaving Archer to chokeslam the heck out of Chuckie for two. Chuckie even reverses into a crucifix for a heck of a near fall but the Killer Bomb (Batista Bomb/full nelson slam combination) ends Chuckie at 10:50.

Rating: D+. I’m really done with Yano as it’s the same stuff time after time in a TNA Eric Young/Santino Marella way and that’s not good. Archer looked great here and is rapidly becoming another name on WWE’s “How did we screw him up?” list. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Squad get the titles back soon, as should be the case given how dominant they looked here.

The Squad is coming for the titles.

Cody/Marty Scurll vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

It’s amazing how much better the combination of Cody’s theme and Brandi can make things. We’re not quite ready to go yet as Cody grabs the mic to say Bullet Club is fine, which doesn’t exactly please the audience. What’s not fine is this match’s booking, which is why the match won’t take place. Why should there be a match when they’re all friends? Tama Tonga is an original Bullet Club member and the Guerrillas are a great team that made Bullet Club cool in the first place.

Now it’s Cody that makes it popular today, which the fans REALLY don’t seem to find accurate. The fans think they’re chanting TEAM CODY, which everyone here must be. Tonga says the match is happening no matter what and Tonga Loa says they’re not on Team Cody. That’s enough for Cody, who jumps Loa but gets pounded down by Tonga. Scurll gets all fired up with the Guerrillas, earning himself a double shoulder to the floor where he hides in Cody’s arms.

We settle down to Marty tagging Cody in to face Loa. That goes nowhere so it’s back to Scurll, who gets punched in the space in front of his face. Cody gets splashed in the corner so Brandi pulls him out to the floor for a pep talk. The distraction lets Scurll hit the apron superkicks to take over for the first time. Tama gets double teamed in the corner and a delayed gutbuster gives Cody two. Scurll superkicks the knee and loads up the chickenwing, only to have Cody tag himself back in.

As you might expect, this doesn’t go so well as Tama grabs a neckbreaker and brings Loa back in. A Disaster Kick cuts Loa down in short order but Tama superplexes Cody. Scurll does the same thing to Tama and everyone is down for a bit. Cody is up first and does Kenny Omega’s Terminator pose but Loa spears him down. Back up and the Tongans are sent into each other, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes on Tama for the pin at 10:53.

Rating: C. This was, again, about the Bullet Club, which is the case far too often in wrestling. Cody was quite the jerk here though and that’s the best thing that he can do. Instead of relying on ref bumps and all the cowardly heel shenanigans, sometimes you just have to be a horrible friend who you have to have around for the sake of winning. Not a bad match, as the Guerrillas are always fun.

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Taguchi Japan/Dragon Lee

Taguchi is Ryusuke Taguchi/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Kushida. The fans go nuts for Los Ingobernables, with Naito getting the biggest reaction of them all. Naito and Tanahashi start things off but, as you might expect, Sanada and Evil come in to jump Tanahashi from behind before anything can happen. Naito hits Sanada in the face by mistake though and it’s a headlock takeover/headscissors to give Tanahashi a breather.

Lee comes in to face Takahashi to a heck of a reaction. The chop off is on and gets one of the best reactions of the night. Lee cartwheels out of a running hurricanrana and suplexes Takahashi out to the floor. Everything breaks down and Takahashi gets crushed in the corner over and over. La majistral gives Kushida two and it’s time to work on the arms. Takahashi fights up and brings in Bushi for a middle rope moonsault into some breakdancing to his feet. Take that Booker T?

We hit the sleeper before Bushi switches over to a choke with the shirt. Shouldn’t that be Evil’s job? Kushida finally gets in a handspring elbow and that’s enough for the hot tag to Tanahashi. The fans hit the GO ACE chants as Tanahashi cleans house and hands it off to Taguchi for the hip attacks. Takahashi has to come in and break up a triple submission attempt so Tanahashi goes with a Sling Blade on Sanada. Lee gets suplexed into the corner and Naito hits Destino for the pin on Taguchi at 12:15.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one, as tends to be the case with most Ingobernables matches. They work very well together and Naito is as smooth in the ring as you’re going to find. Taguchi doesn’t do much for me but his partners were all worth checking out. I could go for more Kushida, who has kind of fallen off the radar in recent months. That’s a shame too as he’s my favorite New Japan guy, but the rest of the division is so stacked that it’s understandable.

Post match Los Ingobernables do the big group pose for a cool visual.

Here’s Rey Mysterio, who was scheduled to face Jushin Thunder Liger but had to pull out due to an injury. Mysterio explains the situation and says he wants to face Liger again someday (they had a match in WCW in 1996). He will be back to wrestle for New Japan when he’s healthy. It’s a shame but there’s nothing that can be done here. At least he made an appearance too, which often wouldn’t be the case. We do have a replacement on hand though and Mysterio is sitting at ringside.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay

Non-title. They shake hands with Ospreay bowing deeply and JR sums up the difference here: the day Ospreay was born, Liger had been wrestling for nine years. Liger wastes no time in grabbing a surfboard to get the fans even more into this. Back up and Ospreay hits a running corner dropkick before taking Liger down for an armbar. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit before Liger sends him outside for a flip dive from the apron, followed by a brainbuster on the floor.

Thankfully Ospreay doesn’t pop back up and Liger gets to go inside for some posing. JR: “There’s no reason for the match to continue if you’ve just been dropped on your head on the concrete.” Ospreay gets up and makes a very improbably dive underneath the ropes to beat the count (at nineteen so it’s not as bad as usual). The Liger Bomb gives Liger (duh) two but Ospreay sticks the landing on a super hurricanrana. He comes up favoring the knee but is fine enough for a Sasuke Special to drop them both again.

Back in and a standing shooting star gives Ospreay two with grumpy JR talking about the sloppy covers. A 619 misses Liger so he comes back with the rolling kick to the face. That’s fine with Ospreay, who grabs a standing C4 for two more. The spinning kick to the back of the head rocks Liger again but the Oscutter is countered into another brainbuster.

Liger gets two off a super brainbuster with Ospreay having to put his foot on the rope. That’s a good way to show how beaten down he is. Liger’s palm strike gives him two more but Ospreay is right back up with a Batista Bomb for two of his own. The Oscutter is good for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. They were trying here but there’s only so much Liger can do at his age. That being said, he was still doing things well enough and certainly didn’t look terrible. Ospreay getting this kind of a spot is a good idea and while the fans may be disappointed by the lack of Mysterio, this is about all they could do given the circumstances.

Post match Ospreay praises Liger for wrestling like that at 53 years old (fair enough) and thanks Liger for everything he’s done over the years. Ospreay says he has to go through legends to make a name for himself with this title so he wants Mysterio. That seems to be cool with Rey but here’s Scurll to jump Ospreay with the umbrella. Mysterio tries to make a save but loses his mask, leaving Liger to make the real save.

Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada/Tomohiro Ishii

This could be a lot of fun and it’s Suzuki-Gun vs. Chaos again in a preview of Okada vs. Sabre for next Sunday. Suzuki and Ospreay’s British Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line though they’re carrying the belts here. Okada, with his awesome robe, goes face to face with Sabre before we’re ready to go. They even start things off for a nice bonus and the fans are behind Okada.

Sabre pretty easily slips out of a wristlock attempt and sneers down at the champ as only a pompous heel can. The fans start singing for Sabre, though another group adds that he sucks. Sabre cranks on both arms at once but Okada reverses into a crank of his own. You can see the calculations going through Sabre’s head for a cool visual. An early Rainmaker attempt misses and Sabre needs to think about things a bit. It’s off to Ishii vs. Suzuki and that means we start the slugout.

That goes on for a long time until a running shoulder takes Suzuki down as JR is starting with the football analogies. Oddly enough, that’s the first real energy he’s shown n a long time. Suzuki chokes him over the ropes as Sabre stretches Okada’s abdominals on the floor. The fights head into the crowd before Suzuki chops Ishii into the corner, allowing Sabre to grab an armbar. That’s fine with Suzuki, who comes in to add an ankle lock, followed by a double Fujiwara armbar. The fans are all over Sabre again so he flips Okada off, leaving Suzuki to kick Okada to the floor.

Suzuki comes in and slaps Ishii in the face before handing it back to Sabre for some mocking kicks to the head. Harder kicks to the chest just wake Ishii up and it’s a release German suplex to drop Sabre. There’s the hot tag to Okada so house can be cleaned in a hurry. Something like White Noise is countered into an armbar, because of course Sabre can pull off that kind of a counter.

Sabre grabs the Octopus Hold to stay on the arm, followed by a heck of a painful looking armbar. Ishii makes a diving save and the fans are split over Sabre again. The Rainmaker is countered with a kick to the arm and it’s off to Suzuki, who can’t hit either of his finishers. Ishii comes back in and slugs away at a screaming Suzuki in the corner. More yelling and more slugging out ensues with the fans going quiet for the hard forearms. Ishii even sticks his face out for more because he’s kind of out there.

A hard one staggers him but can’t put him down, with Suzuki doing the same. Suzuki knocks him into the ropes so Ishii muscles him over with a suplex. Back up and Suzuki hits a hard clothesline and everything breaks down. Sabre’s running kick is countered as Ishii headbutts the heck out of him. A powerbomb gets two but Sabre is back up with a guillotine choke.

Okada makes the save and hits the great dropkick, followed by Ishii’s clothesline for two. Another Octopus Hold has Ishii in trouble and Suzuki grabs a sleeper on Okada. Sabre twists around into an armbar and kneebar at the same time (just because). With that STILL not being enough, Sabre turns it into something like a bow and arrow at the same time (Orientating With Napalm Death. Seriously that’s what it’s called.) for the referee stoppage at 19:55.

Rating: B+. This is a good example of a match with people who do things that no one else are doing/can do. Suzuki and Ishii beat the heck out of people and Sabre’s holds are so insane that you have to give them those wacky names. Okada is probably the best in the world right now and his match with Sabre has some major, major potential. For now though, we’ll have to settle for a great tag match.

Post match Sabre puts Okada in another Octopus Hold. Suzuki and Sabre beat up the referee for fun.

On July 7, New Japan is back in the US with the G1 Special: Fighting Spirit Unleashed at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

We recap Jay White vs. Hangman Page. Kenny Omega tried to bring White into the Bullet Club to right the ship but White turned him down, instead wanting to take the Club apart instead. He won the US Title and now it’s Page’s chance to take it back for the Club.

US Title: Jay White vs. Hangman Page

Page is challenging. They go with the hard chops to start until White charges into a raised boot. A dropkick gets White out of trouble as this seems to have a lot of time to work with. JR doesn’t think White is known as a dropkick guy. I’m not sure how you define such a thing so we’ll go with White working on the leg, including a Muta Lock. Since that holds is kind of hard to maintain, they head outside for more chopping.

White gets sent into the barricade and then the post as JR remembers that you can lose a title via countout. That probably should have been made a bit more clear. Page pulls him back in and JR explains why that was a bad idea. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Page two and it’s time to talk some trash. White grabs a suplex for a breather and rolls some suplexes to keep Page in trouble.

The back gives out on a Kiwi Crusher attempt so White settles for a Downward Spiral and a German suplex for two instead. A hanging DDT gets Page out of trouble but he can’t follow up as they’re certainly selling some beatings after about twelve minutes. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up with an ax handle and that means more chops to Page’s very red chest. They head to the apron and White can’t hit the Blade Runner (Sister Abigail) so he GERMAN SUPLEXES PAGE OFF THE APRON for a sick landing.

Back in and they both head to the top (since Page is somehow still alive) which can’t possibly end well. It’s Page with a super swinging neckbreaker (not a cutter Josh) for a delayed two and both guys are spent. They get up for the slow motion into a fast motion slugout until Page is suplexed to the floor in a heap. A Saito suplex on the floor rocks Page again and somehow he’s still getting up.

Back in again and Page elbows his way out of another suplex, followed by a piledriver for tow on the champ. White is rocked and heads outside, only to have Page bust out a running shooting star shoulder block. The Buckshot Lariat is only good for two and the Kiwi Crusher gives White the same. White loads up the Blade Runner so Page spits in his face to break it up. With nothing else left, Page loads up the Rite of Passage, only to be reversed into the Blade Runner to retain the title at 25:00.

Rating: B. The clock hurt this as a lot of these spots felt like they were there to fill in time and the point had already been made. Page continues to look like a future star while White already looks like one. I like both of these guys more and more every time I see them and it’s quite a compliment to put them in a spot like this. Good match, but cut out seven or eight minutes to really make it work.

Post match David Finlay spears White down, with Josh acting like this is completely expected. Finlay wants a title shot against his former partner on April 24.

We recap the Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks. Kenny Omega has risen up the ranks of the Bullet Club but now Cody has come in and shaken things up. As a result, Kenny has reformed his old team with Kota Ibushi and the Bucks are caught in the middle of the whole thing. Tonight isn’t so much about hatred, but rather who is the best tag team in the world.

Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks

Matt and Ibushi start but Matt wants Omega instead. Omega comes in and trash talking ensues until Matt decks Ibushi off the apron. Now Nick comes in and Ibushi wants in as well. We’re over two minutes in here with no action between the legal men. Nick grabs a headlock at two and a half minutes but has to duck Ibushi’s kick and avoid the standing moonsault. Ibushi sticks the landing anyway though and the fans are way behind him. A kick to the chest puts Nick down and a kick to Matt’s perpetually bad back drops him as well. Omega checks on Matt but gets shoved away, much to Omega’s shock.

Matt’s running neckbreaker into a backbreaker from Nick drops Ibushi and there’s a double dropkick to Omega. Back up and Omega sends Nick into Matt’s back but Nick’s superkick breaks up Omega’s big dive. Nick scores with a big rope walk flip dive onto both Lovers and it’s time for a table. We’ll save that for later as Matt hits a slingshot swanton onto Ibushi but holds his back. Ibushi pops up and avoids a Nick charge, followed by a big dive to take out Matt.

Omega gets dropped again though and the buckle bomb into an enziguri rocks Ibushi again. A dropkick allows the hot tag to Omega but the Bucks drop both Lovers again, because you know the Bucks aren’t going to spend that much time selling. Omega is back in and kicks Matt’s bad back to take over again and the jumping Fameasser plants Nick. Moonsaults to the floor drop the Bucks (with the camera missing Ibushi’s, which apparently missed anyway) and it’s Matt in trouble again.

A running shooting star from Ibushi into a middle rope moonsault from Omega (whose legs hit Matt in the face) gets two and a shot to the back makes Matt cringe. Matt gets whipped hard into the corner and tells Nick to get him out of here. I know I don’t care for the Bucks but Matt can sell the heck out of a back injury. Back up and Matt spits in Ibushi’s face so it’s off to a chinlock. I guess revenge comes in the form of slowing things down.

Matt is sent outside for a belly to back suplex onto the apron but he slips over for the tag to Nick. Kicks abound in a hurry to get in some much needed offense as everything breaks down again. A Blockbuster into a running knee to the face gets two on Ibushi. Both Bucks head up with Nick getting knocked down and Omega coming in for a double superplex (with Ibushi having to move his feet in a fairly scary moment) to wreck the back even more. The Golden Shower (stereo 450 splashes) are broken up with Nick hitting a German suplex on the apron to rock Omega.

The table is bridged between the apron and the barricade and Matt has to pick whether to go for the pin on Ibushi or to take out Omega on the table. He takes too long picking Omega and gets kicked in the back, allowing Ibushi to take Nick out. Omega loads up a One Winged Angle through the table but Ibushi springboards to the top for a German superplex with Matt landing on his head in a scary crash. Somehow Matt isn’t dead (must be a Bullet Club thing) and gets in a superkick to slow Ibushi down.

That just earns Matt a V Trigger and a Golden Star Bomb for two. Another V Trigger gets the same with Nick diving in for the save to let the fans breathe one more time. Nick gets sent outside so Ibushi kicks the heck out of Matt even more. Somehow that’s reversed into a Scorpion Deathlock (not a Sharpshooter) so Omega is back in with hard right hands. Matt BEGS Omega to hit him in the face but it’s Nick in with a superkick to drop Omega again. A big flip dive to the floor drops Omega and this time it’s a Sharpshooter on Ibushi). Matt’s back gives out though and the hold is broken to put them both down.

More Bang For Your Buck looks to finish Ibushi but Matt dives onto Omega, who happened to be laying on the table, instead. Back in and Nick hits the 450 while Ibushi is hanging in the ropes for two more. Stereo low superkicks have Ibushi down again and there’s another one to Omega. That’s fine with Ibushi, who hits a backflip into double kicks to the head. It’s Omega and Matt up for the slugout (JR: “There’s some face punching alright.”) with Omega grabbing the Snapdragon. Matt pops up with a jumping piledriver though and Omega looks a bit dead.

The weightlifting belt comes off and Omega takes a whipping but manages a shot to the back to cut Matt off in a hurry. Omega throws the belt down and knees Matt in the face instead but a very fast spear cuts Omega off. Ibushi breaks up the Meltzer Driver and powerbombs the heck out of Nick, right through a table. A spike Tombstone gets two on Matt, followed by a gutwrench sitout powerbomb for the same.

Omega can’t believe it and begrudgingly hits the V Trigger and Matt makes him hit the One Winged Angel (you read that right) with Nick diving in for the save. The near fall FINALLY draws the old JR out as Matt is dead but Nick swears that it’s not over. Nick is willing to fight on his own but it’s a V Trigger into a half nelson Snapdragon from Ibushi. Omega takes the kneepad down and the Golden Trigger ends Nick at 39:22.

Rating: A. This felt long in the middle but the emotion at the end was very good with Matt admitting defeat but Nick never saying die no matter what. The Bucks having individual personalities helps a lot and Matt’s selling was very good. The Lovers looked awesome as well and this should do a lot for advancing this part of a much bigger story. Outstanding match here with the emotion being better than the very good action.

Post match everyone checks on Matt. An exhausted Ibushi leaves and here’s Cody to shove Matt down. He yells at Nick but here’s Omega to chase Cody off. The Bucks are back up and Nick accepts a handshake but Matt leaves instead. Omega says that it’s a shame when war makes friends go to war with each other, but the silver lining is the Golden Lovers are back. The Lovers are going to be back on July 7 and one day he’ll beat the heck out of Cody. Omega says he might have a broken orbital bone and wishes us all goodnight (muah) and goodbye (bang) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Overall, this felt like a very New Japan show: much more good than bad but it overstays its welcome by a hair, with the Finlay/Robinson vs. Goto/Gedo match being expendable to take some of the length down (note that it’s just slightly longer than it needs to be and nowhere near as major of an issue as WWE has in the same area). The main event is excellent and the Bullet Club Civil War, while being on more platforms than I would prefer, is an interesting story, even if you don’t know all of the parts. I’m not sure how it ends save for a match at Wrestle Kingdom or some other big show, but it’s fun while it lasts.

New Japan is a very good promotion and feels like another major league (which it is), which makes these shows feel important. It’s cool to see these shows stateside and if they ever come much closer to me, I’d definitely check one out. It’s a bit longer than it needed to be, but that’s a pretty minor complaint. Just get a better commentary team (I’ve never liked Barnett and JR sounds like he’s getting ready for a painful medical procedure all night long) and cut the length down a bit and it’s that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: December 25, 2003
Location: Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

This is a very special show as it’s Christmas in Iraq for the first of a series later called Tribute to the Troops. Back in the day they actually went overseas for the shows, giving this a very special feeling indeed. The focus isn’t going to be on the wrestling tonight but rather the atmosphere as a whole, which is how things should be going for something like this. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the National Anthem, though not by Lilian Garcia for a change.

Here’s Vince McMahon to get things going and he’s staying in character with the scowl. That’s gone pretty quickly though as on behalf of freedom loving people around the world, WWE is hear to say thank you. Vince thanks everyone for their sacrifices and for protecting our great nation. Oh and thanks for catching Saddam. Vince wants to say one more thing….but here’s a rather rotund Santa Claus with bags of presents.

The presents aren’t for Vince though, because they’re for the troops. Santa starts handing out shirts from the bags but Vince wants him to come back in for one more thing. Vince wants his present and thinks it’s somewhere in Santa’s stomach. And why didn’t Santa come visit him when he was a kid? Vince shoves Santa over and the hat comes off….to reveal a bald head. There’s the Stunner and let’s drink some beer.

Austin isn’t done though and, while still wearing the furry Santa boots, says he’s going to go backstage and drink some more beer instead of hurting us by trying to sing Christmas carols. He thanks the troops and talks about how much WWE supports them before having the troops throw up the middle fingers to Saddam. Perfect way to open things up with one of the few timeless segments that will never stop working.

We see some of the wrestlers being told what to do if terrorists attack. That’s a rather sobering discussion.

Clip of the ring and arena being set up. The troops who helped got to sit in the front row.

World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. APA

Bradshaw is in a helmet and flack jacket. Shelton takes Faarooq into the corner to start but gets taken down by a middle rope shoulder. Bradshaw comes in to forearm Haas in the back for two but has to let go of an early torture rack as Shelton tries to make a save. The Dominator doesn’t work on Haas and Shelton gets in a cheap shot to take over. Faarooq shoves Haas away and brings in Bradshaw to clean house. Everything breaks down and Shelton superkicks Bradshaw down. Not that it matters as Faarooq tosses Shelton to the floor, leaving Bradshaw to Clothesline Haas for the pin.

Rating: C. I’m going to be a lot nicer to the wrestling here as that’s not the point to a show like this one. This match was about letting the APA, a popular team, come in and get a quick win and to have Bradshaw, who was one of the big names behind the whole idea, out there as he should be. If nothing else, Bradshaw hitting a Clothesline that hard is going to get a reaction.

Austin gives Chris Benoit a pep talk before his match with Eddie Guerrero. That’s kind of an odd segment as it’s not like they’re great friends or anything.

Some troops say hi to their families.

Rikishi vs. Rhyno

Rhyno gets shoved away to start as the announcers talk about this being in the middle of an active war zone. Some kicks to the, ahem, thong arena, have Rikishi in some trouble but he stops a charge with a superkick. The announcers actually act like they’re there (commentary is being recorded in Connecticut), even talking about their clothes in the desert for a little flavor. The Rump Shaker hits raised knees but the Gore misses. Rikishi grabs a Samoan drop for the fast pin.

Post match, Rhyno takes a Stinkface and dancing ensues with some (armed) troops coming into the ring.

Video of wrestlers meeting troops.

Some wrestlers went up on a helicopter to another camp to meet more troops.

Here’s John Cena for a chat. He wants to give Torrie Wilson a pearl necklace for Christmas but tonight he has to deal with Big Show. Sure he’s wrestling a giant but the real big show is in his crotch. Show is picking the wrong day to fight when Cena has all of the troops behind him and Saddam should be buried in a hole.

Now Austin gives Eddie Guerrero a pep talk. Apparently Benoit promised to lie, steal and cheat tonight. Eddie: “THAT’S MY STUFF!”

More troops say hello.

Wrestlers signed autographs and met troops at the other camp. Cena even had some battle raps.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

Feeling out process to start as Cole and Tazz go over the history between these two. Eddie starts in on the arm and gets two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Benoit comes back with some forearms and Eddie grabs the referee’s waist for security. Hang on as a security helicopter flies over the ring so Eddie puts on a flack jacket. As you might expect, Eddie throws the jacket at Benoit and takes over with a dropkick.

They fall out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Benoit cranking on both arms as the fans chant for Eddie. That seems to do him some good as he sends Benoit into the corner to take over again but falls off the ropes on a sunset bomb attempt. The Three Amigos are countered into the Crossface but Eddie rolls over to the ropes.

Some rolling German suplex soften Eddie up a bit more and a shoulder breaker has the arm banged up even more. Benoit barely misses the Swan Dive but avoids the frog splash for another double knockdown. Back up and Eddie gets in a rollup with feet on the ropes for the fast pin.

Rating: B-. That’s all you can ask for her with the two guys who know each other well enough to have a good match in their sleep. There were a few botches here but wrestling in that kind of heat in this kind of atmosphere isn’t the easiest thing in the world. The fans were more into Eddie anyway and it’s not like a win or a loss on this show means much.

Post match Eddie puts the jacket and helmet back on for a handshake.

We look at the opening segment again.

More soldiers say hello.

Another video on wrestlers meeting troops.

More soldiers say hello.

Wrestlers shoot guns with Big Show being the best shot.

It’s time for a Santa’s Little Helper’s contest between Torrie Wilson, Dawn Marie and Sable as Cole tries to figure out the rules. Thankfully Tazz points out the obvious that the rules really aren’t likely to mean much here. Cole: “I’d like to be the Crocodile Hunter and Dawn Marie be the crocodile.” I…really don’t know what that means and I think I’ll keep it that way. It’s a dance contest, they all look great, and Torrie wins. A brawl breaks out, which is rather difficult as Torrie is in lingerie. Sable gets stripped and the villains bail. This was exactly what you would expect.

Wrestlers visited wounded troops.

One more video of the wrestlers with the troops.

One more video of troops saying hello to their families.

John Cena vs. Big Show

Say it with me: non-title. Cena gets chokeslammed about five seconds in and rolls to the floor for a breather. Back in and Show hits the overhand chop in the corner, followed by a hard headbutt to put Cena down. It’s off to the abdominal stretch for a few seconds but the ref gets kicked down. Show grabs the chain but gets kicked low, allowing Cena to hit him with the chain for two. Another chokeslam is countered into the FU to give Cena the pin.

Rating: C. I remember watching this match with my dad, who is one of those people who tends to not think much of wrestling because it’s fake. When Cena tossed Show onto his shoulders and flipped him over like it was nothing, my dad’s jaw dropped for a second. There’s nothing to the match of course and it’s not like Show losing means anything to his title reign, which is as unnecessary as any I can ever remember.

Post match Austin comes out to Stun both guys. Austin calls out the ladies and the locker room for one last celebration. One more Stunner to Big Show and beer consumption ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. As mentioned, the wrestling really isn’t the point to something like this. The wrestling is secondary to entertaining the troops and that’s what happened. It did exactly what it was designed to do and felt important, unlike what this show would eventually become. This had nothing to do with storylines and nothing was advanced, which didn’t need to be the case. It was a fun show and having Austin as a big star was the right call. Just let it be fun and come back home for the real stuff later on. And be glad La Resistance didn’t get squashed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 23, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still on the way to Best in the World and I’m not sure where things go on the way there. Several people want the World Title and two of them are in action tonight as Jay Lethal faces Punishment Martinez in what could be an interesting match. We’re also likely getting some more on Bully Ray’s heel turn which has had me agreeing with him the entire way so far. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jay Lethal vs. Punishment Martinez

Both guys say they’ll win on the way to the ring. Martinez goes right after him to start but gets clotheslined to the floor. That means the triple suicide dives into the barricade….but Jay goes INSANE by making it seven straight as Coleman is losing his mind. Lethal starts in on the knee but gets kicked away as we take a break.

Back with Lethal still on the leg in a smart move to keep Martinez down. The Figure Four is blocked and Martinez elbows him in the corner. Martinez gets caught on top and punched in the knee again, followed by a running dropkick to the leg. You can’t say Lethal isn’t going with a smart game plan here. Martinez knocks Lethal down and scores with a top rope clothesline for two but Jay suplexes him down to take us to a break.

Back with Lethal holding Martinez in the Figure Four but Martinez reaches up to get a rope. The Lethal Injection is countered into a full nelson faceplant and a curb stomp. Must have watched Rollins vs. Miz recently. Martinez takes Lethal up top, only to be cut off by a shot to the knee. The top rope elbow (not a great one) gives Lethal two and frustration is starting to set in. The chokeslam is broken up and Martinez’s knee gives out. A superkick sets up the Lethal Injection to give Jay the pin at 16:28.

Rating: B. Lethal is getting better and better, which says a lot when he was already one of the best Ring of Honor has ever had. He walked Martinez through a good match here and that’s all you can ask him to do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lethal getting the World Title shot at Final Battle after all the build they’ve given him this year, and it’s not like it would be the worst move in the world to put the title on him.

Video on Sumie Sakai vs. Jenny Rose for the Women’s Title next week.

Joey Daddiego vs. Shane Taylor

Daddiego says everyone has to go to work and he’s ready to do that harder than everyone else. Joey slugs away but can’t lift the much bigger Taylor. That earns him a heck of a forearm to the jaw and an even harder chokebomb. Taylor gets two off a splash but misses a Cannonball as the fans are behind Daddiego a bit. A hard right hand staggers Taylor and Daddiego gets two off an AA.

They head outside with Daddiego being sent into the barricade over and over (second match in a row with someone going into the barricade multiple times). Taylor lays the mostly out cold Daddiego across two open chairs for a splash off the apron in a SCARY spot. The referee yells at Taylor and gets chokeslammed on the floor. Security runs in and gets beaten down as well, meaning it’s a no contest at about 5:00.

Rating: D+. So the idea with Taylor is that he’s trying to earn money to support his family but after beating jobbers in thirty seconds, he can’t beat a career jobber in five minutes and did stuff that will likely get him fined? Taylor has the skills to become a big deal around here but this is the best they have for him. Such is life in Ring of Honor, unfortunately.

Cody keeps cutting Brandi off and says that he’s getting his rematch at Best in the World. That should be the layup of all layups.

We recap Bully Ray’s heel turn on Cheeseburger, which brought him out of retirement and back to the active roster.

We look at the Briscoes attacking Bullet Club last week in a good angle.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Bullet Club

Non-title. Cody, Adam Page and Marty Scurll here (with Bernard the Business Bear) in the latest six man main event, which seems almost like a semiannual tradition anymore. Cody cranks on Sky’s arm to start and hits a delayed gordbuster of all things to send us to a break. Back with Daniels sitting on the mat and Scurll patting him on the head. Page comes in to a nice reaction and gets to face Kazarian in what has wound up being a heck of a rivalry.

They slug it out with Page getting the better of it and dropkicking Daniels into a moonsault on Kazarian. Cody tries a Disaster Kick but hits Scurll by mistake, with the announcers debating his intent. Daniels leg lariats Cody down and the and Sky hits a super hurricanrana as we take a break.

Back again with Cody and Daniels hitting a double clothesline and the hot tag bringing in Scurll for some rapid fire stomps on Sky. Page adds a running shooting star and Scurll superkicks Sky from the apron. That means it’s time for the dives with Sky hitting the last one to put all six down. Daniels goes up top with Cody and that means a superplex to bring Daniels onto everyone else.

Everyone dives in at nine and Daniels pokes Marty in the eye for the sake of saving his fingers. Kazarian slingshots Page in for a cutter and Sky slingshots himself in to cut Cody. Scurll can’t hook the chickenwing on Sky so Page hits a double Buckshot Lariat on Daniels and Kazarian. Din’s Fire (a sweet Zelda name for the Vertebreaker) hits Kazarian and the Rite of Passage puts Sky away at 15:06.

Rating: B. I had a really good time with this one and the tension in the Bullet Club continues to be interesting. Scurll and Page are turning into some fun characters and I’m curious to see where the two of them are going. The champs losing isn’t a good idea but it’s so common anymore that it’s not even worth getting annoyed over. That’s not a good sign but it’s also not surprising.

The fight keeps going post match and Marty hits Cody in the face (great shot) with the umbrella to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The annoying Taylor angle aside, this was a heck of a show with two very good matches to bookend things. It’s the second good show in a row since Supercard of Honor but next week is going to fall back down with the Women’s Title match. There’s a lot going on around here and ROH needs to figure out the way to get this stuff together to make the shows like this instead of the messes that they’re more likely to put on far too often.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

What more is there to say about NXT? The promotion, which started off as nothing more than a developmental territory to build up some of WWE’s stars, has taken on a life of its own. There have been more classic matches, more stars made and more great moments there than anywhere else in recent wrestling memory.

In this book, I’ll be breaking down over one hundred more episodes of NXT plus ten live specials, ranging from the first show after Takeover: Dallas through Takeover: New Orleans. I’ll also be breaking each one down match by match and segment by segment. Included will be analysis and ratings for the shows to see what worked and what didn’t.

The book runs about 450 pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $11.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.

You can pick up the book from Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.

And From the UK Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.

Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “KB NXT III” and it should be the first thing to come up.

Also you can still get any of my previous books on the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998, 2001 and the first half of 2014, Monday Nitro from 1995-1999, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania, WWE Grab Bag and Clash of the Champions at my author’s page here.

I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.

KB

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

I’m out of ways to say that this show is going to be all about Money in the Bank qualifying matches. Those things have dominated Monday Night Raw and Smackdown for the last few weeks now and it’s burned out a lot of my interest in the upcoming pay per view. It says a lot when the Main Event original content needs to bail us out. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick/Jack Gallagher vs. Lince Dorado/Kalisto

Kendrick uses an early Gallagher distraction to take Kalisto down in the corner to start. A backbreaker keeps Kalisto in trouble and let’s talk about the Cruiserweight Title match. Eh it’s not like this match means anything anyway. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook so it’s off to Gallagher (no longer in Slytherin green), who is backdropped in a hurry. That’s not enough for a hot tag though as Gallagher runs over and pulls Lince off the apron in time.

Kendrick comes back in for a chinlock but Kalisto fights up with some kicks to the chest. That’s enough for the hot tag to Dorado so things can speed up, including a moonsault press. The Golden Rewind drops Kendrick again and Kalisto dives on Gallagher. Back in and Lince’s hurricanrana to Kendrick doesn’t count as Kendrick isn’t legal. The confusion lets Gallagher headbutt Lince down for the pin at 4:47.

Rating: C-. The heels…won??? I don’t remember the last time that happened in a cruiserweight match on this show, to the point where it was a running joke for a long time. Gallagher and Kendrick are fine for a low level heel team and Lucha House Party is going to be fine, at least until fans grab those noisemakers and bludgeon them half to death.

We get some highlights of the first three Women’s Money in the Bank qualifiers.

From Raw.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan

It’s a brawl to start and Morgan gets two off a top rope faceplant to Natalya. Everyone gets in a running shot for two each until the Riott Squad double teams Natalya. Brooke comes back in for the save and breaks up Logan’s cover, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. Natalya is back up with the discus lariat and the Sharpshooter for the win at 4:28.

Rating: D. Another match where they had to rush the whole way, mainly because the first hour was the Roman Reigns Show. Natalya winning was the only pick here, mainly because she’s likely to cash in on her new friend Ronda Rousey and win the title. You know, because that’s how you make Rousey a bigger star: make her a former champion who couldn’t hold the title for five minutes.

From Smackdown.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Naomi vs. Sonya Deville

Naomi starts fast with some rollups for two each as we see other qualifiers watching in the back. Sonya gets in some right hands and a shot to the back for two. A spinebuster gives Sonya two more but Naomi comes back with some kicks. They trade enough kicks for a double knockdown, only to have Naomi grab another rollup for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: D+. Naomi is the right call as she’s a bigger star and has the crazy athleticism needed to make something like the ladder match fun. I’m not sure what Sonya did to warrant getting a second chance at getting into the match but at least they got the winner right, which isn’t always the case.

From Raw again.

Here’s Stephanie to emcee the contract signing. Nia comes out first and Stephanie talks about the personal issues between Nia and Bliss. Rousey is out now and asks Stephanie how her arm is feeling. After Stephanie asks Rousey about how it feels to jump over the women that Rousey has called more deserving, we hear about Rousey not being used to wrestling singles matches.

Stephanie continues her monologue, talking about how Rousey might leave WWE if she loses and accusing Nia of being lazy for taking so long to beat Bliss (Way to treat one of your best homegrown stars there Steph.). She talks about the armbar and Nia finally snaps, saying that Rousey can’t get the armbar on her.

Nia is tired of being called lazy and promises to make a name for herself at Money in the Bank. She signs and picks up the title with Rousey signing next. Rousey moves the table to the side and promises to take the title as they do the long handshake. She promises to take the arm too and a staredown ends things. Not bad, especially once Stephanie shut up for a few seconds.

Apollo Crews vs. Mojo Rawley

Mojo powers him down to start as Nigel recaps Rawley’s last year or so. The always good looking dropkick puts Rawley down and a high crossbody gets two. A shot to the back puts Crews on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Rawley grabbing a chinlock for a good while before hitting a running shoulder in the corner. A second attempt hits a raised knee though and Crews starts his comeback to a nice reaction. The Pounce is cut off by an enziguri and a standing moonsault puts Rawley away at 8:34.

Rating: D+. That chinlock didn’t do them any favors, but at the same time it’s annoying to have Rawley win one week and lose the next. If they want to use this show to help people along (ok so that’s not likely the case), they might as well have some continuity to the thing. Rawley is someone they see something in so why is he losing clean like this?

Post match Titus O’Neil comes in to celebrate but Rawley jumps them both. Titus gets sent outside and Crews goes into the post for a big crash. My goodness, an angle on Main Event. What else could we possibly see?

From Smackdown.

Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan

The winner gets Samoa Joe, on commentary here, in a Money in the Bank qualifying match next week. Feeling out process to start until Bryan shoulders him down for two. The moonsault over Jeff into the running clothesline is countered with an atomic drop. Bryan rolls outside and we take a break. Back with stereo crossbodies putting both of them down again.

Its Bryan up first and kicking Jeff to the floor but missing the apron knee. Jeff scores with a running clothesline from the apron but takes too long going up top. The delay allows Bryan to tie him in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. Jeff blocks a belly to back superplex though and scores with a Whisper in the Wind for two. The Twist of Fate is countered and Bryan kicks away, only to get caught with the Twist.

The Swanton hits knees (with a great bounce off the crash) so Bryan kicks him in the head for two more. Another Twist is countered into a dragon screw legwhip and Bryan slaps on a heel hook for the tap at 11:23. That would be the second time that the US Champion has lost clean in Money in the Bank matches.

Rating: B. Champion losing again aside, this was a fun match with both guys looking like stars who could have gotten the win. Bryan needed the win to get back on track after the Rusev loss, but I’m not sure I can picture him beating Joe next week. Then again I’m not sure I can picture Joe losing to Bryan either, and that makes for a much more interesting match.

And one more time from Smackdown.

Here are AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura o announce the stipulation for Money in the Bank. Nakamura doesn’t understand what a stipulation is but can show us a clip of him defeating Styles last week. He’s been thinking very carefully and wants to dishonor Styles at Money in the Bank. Nakamura picks a pillow fight, which AJ doesn’t think much about. Not that it matters as Nakamura wants to dishonor AJ at Money in the Bank.

The fight is on with AJ blocking the low blow and taking it outside. A chair shot misses as well and Nakamura gets sent into the crowd. AJ tries a springboard off the barricade but gets chaired down, allowing Nakamura to hit Kinshasa. Nakamura makes it a Last Man Standing match. Makes sense given most of their matches.

Overall Rating: D+. They were trying to do something better here but if I heat that MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY song one more time I’m not going to be held responsible for my actions. It’s been done to death for years and now we get to hear it all over again because the calendar says so. This was another run of the mill show, save for that surprising result to the tag match. Just get past the ladder matches already so we can move on though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: May 22, 2018
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re back stateside now and that means we need to get ready for next week’s title match with Cedric Alexander defending against Buddy Murphy. Tonight though we’ll be seeing a battle of the strikers as Hideo Itami faces Akira Tozawa in a battle over their issues during tag team matches of late. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Itami vs. Tozawa with Itami saying he didn’t like their time together. Why did Itami need a partner in the first place?

Opening sequence.

Drew Gulak vs. Gran Metalik

Before the match, Gulak says he’s taking down another member of Lucha House Party. They can flip and dive all they want but if they step to him, they’ll tap out. Hang on though as here are Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher for commentary. Kendrick even has some drawings for the other commentators in this FIVE MAN BOOTH. Egads is that necessary?

They trade chops to the chest to start and a dropkick puts Gulak down on the floor. Back in and a middle rope springboard dropkick gets two but Gulak crotches him on top. The Tree of Woe stomping is on with Metalik in trouble. It’s off to a neck crank with Gulak’s leg behind Metalik’s neck and pulling on the leg and arm (kind of hard to describe) before going to a regular armbar.

Gallagher thinks Lucha House Party is strange because they wear masks and Watson has no response. He also loved “Grand Metallica’s first album but thought they went too commercial after that.” Kendrick: “Ciclope and Puss in Boots are also very good.” You know he’s a fan if he can get in a Ciclope reference. Metalik gets sent to the apron and jumps over a charging Gulak but lands on the ropes for a perfectly timed Asai moonsault to drop Gulak as he hits the floor.

Back in and Gulak turns him inside out with a clothesline for two. Some chops put Gulak down in the corner so Metalik walks the ropes for a half Coast to Coast and a near fall. That’s not quite as impressive when you have someone like Killian Dain doing the full Coast to Coast in NXT. Then again that’s making you wonder why this division exists and that’s just going to make your head cave in. The Gulock makes Metalik tap at 8:13.

Rating: C+. Gulak is getting better and better every week but they need to go somewhere with him other than just having him run through people week after week. The win over Metalik is the only way they could have gone here and I could see a six man coming in the next few weeks, but Gulak should be in the title hunt instead of messing with these guys.

Video on Buddy Murphy.

TJP vs. Christopher Guy

Guy is in yellow trunks, blue kneepads and red boots for a very bright look. TJP takes him down with a drop toehold and stops for some dabbing. A snap of the arm has Guy writhing in pain as TJP smirks down at the pain. Rolling suplexes into the slingshot hilo have Guy in more trouble but he escapes the Detonation Kick. Not that it matters as TJP takes him down by the leg into a curb stomp, followed by the Detonation Kick for the pin at 2:31.

Post match TJP says he’s the best in the world and carried this division on his back. He wants better competition.

Earlier today, Cedric Alexander sat down to talk about the title match. He’s used to the pressure and is ready to defend in front of his friends and family. There’s a lot of great talent around here but Cedric is above all of them, including Murphy.

Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami

Before the match, Tozawa says he didn’t like Itami either. If Itami wasn’t happy with him as a partner, he really won’t like him as an opponent. They kick each other in the face at the bell and stop for some Tozawa grunting/shouting. A chop exchange means more shouting with Tozawa getting the better of it (both halves actually). We’re already in the chinlock as there are even more empty seats here than in the run of the mill 205 Live taping.

Back up and Itami is done playing around, meaning it’s time to kick Tozawa really hard. Demands of respect don’t get Itami as far but a neckbreaker gets him one. Itami takes him outside for a kick to the chest for two back inside and we hit a chinlock (just evening the score you see). Itami: “RESPECT ME!” Dude get a new line. It hasn’t worked in the last year. Another kick to the ribs has Tozawa in a lot more trouble and a DDT gets two.

Back to the chinlock as the announcers want Itami to switch gears. I wouldn’t mind if he switched offense. Tozawa fights back so Itami bails to the floor, only to take a running flip dive from the apron. Nigel: “You see what Tozawa is doing. No rear chinlocks from him!” Save for the one he used before that is. Back in and the tornado neck snap sets up Itami’s top rope clothesline for two more.

Tozawa kicks him in the head and goes up top but gets crotched. That means a top rope Falcon Arrow for two on Tozawa, who almost looks surprised that he kicked out. Itami gets sent outside for a suicide dive but the top rope backsplash misses (Nigel: “X marks the spot and Tozawa landed at Z!”.). Some running dropkicks set up the cravate into the knee to the face to end Tozawa at 15:17.

Rating: B. That’s one of the best Itami matches in WWE as the violence and kicking are better for him than trying to be a good guy who can’t talk. Tozawa is still good for the high flying and crowd support, though I miss him running around and firing everyone. Itami is starting to put it together, but stop with the RESPECT stuff. It didn’t work in NXT and it’s not working here.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re doing a better job here of making people outside of the title picture more important but it still has a long way to go. The lack of people in the seats is a really bad sign and not something that is going to be solved overnight. 205 Live has that bad reputation and it’s not getting any better being left to die at the end of a taping with so many fans already leaving. Good show here, but the big problems are still glaring.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to an old problem that this show has had many times before: not much is really standing out. Sure there’s some good stuff going on, but it’s not exactly sticking as something that leaves much of an impact. The big stories are still Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. and Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards, but they’re both starting to feel a bit long. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long and rather detailed recap of last week’s show. That’s a good idea.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Drago/Aerostar

Drago wastes no time in diving onto everyone with a corkscrew dive and Aerostar adds a springboard trust fall dive. They head inside for the opening bell and Jake kicks Drago in the head. We hit a very early chinlock but Aerostar comes in for the save. A dropkick to the face keeps Dave in trouble but Jake kicks away to take over. We go split screen to show Eddie Edwards arriving with a kendo stick and ignoring his wife’s pleas for him to stop. Cue Eddie with the stick to hit Jake in the back for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: C-. I was starting to get into this one as OVE was doing the stuff that made them work in the first place. The Eddie goes psycho stuff is interesting but I’m almost worried about where it’s going to go. Eddie as a psycho who eventually goes full heel could have potential and it seems that they’re going that way, though I’d be worried about an attempt to make Sami a face in some twisted way.

Post match Eddie’s wife Alisha pleads with him to stop but six people have to hold him back.

Post break Alisha yells at him but Eddie vows to destroy Eddie. She accuses him of becoming Sami.

The announcers talk about next week’s show.

LAX vs. Cult of Lee

They head outside for a brawl to start as the announcers talk about LAX needing to win to get back on track. Ortiz gets sent into the steps and Santana posts himself by mistake (that’s the kind of problems some good Konnan advice could prevent) as we take an early break. Back with Ortiz in trouble and getting forearmed in the face.

A belly to back gets two but a suplex into a Stunner is enough for the hot tag to Santana. Everything breaks down and a Death Valley Driver/DDT combination (cool) gets two on Konley. LAX loads up some kind of a double team with a wheelbarrow slam but Lee pulls Ortiz to the floor, allowing Konley to roll Santana up (with trunks) for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere with the break in the middle but the downward spiral for LAX continues. I’m curious to see how they get out of this, especially with the chance that Konnan isn’t coming back. LAX is a good team and it’s clear that they have something in mind for them, though they need someone new to feud against.

Jimmy Jacobs says Moose is the problem and Kongo Kong is going to solve that tonight.

KM is giving Fallah Bahh another pep talk. They run into Grado and Katarina with KM asking what she sees in him. Apparently she likes big guys.

To fill in some time, here’s a segment from 2013 with Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray hyping up their World Title match at Lockdown.

We look back at Madison Rayne saving Kiera Hogan from Tessa Blanchard last week.

Madison says the Knockouts Division is built on respect and doesn’t like the bullying she saw last week. Tessa comes in and rants about Madison getting involved in her job. Next time, meet her in the ring. That’s what she did last week.

DJZ and Andrew Everett know they can compete with any team and will face anyone. Scott Steiner and Eli Drake come in for some yelling. This turns into Drake and Steiner arguing.

X-Division Title: El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. Fantasma offers a handshake so Sydal bows to him and touches the mask. A quick takedown has Sydal glaring up at him before sending Fantasma to the apron. That’s fine with the masked one who headscissors Sydal down for two and the champ begs off. An armbar into something like a one armed cobra clutch has Fantasma in trouble and a standing legdrop gets two.

Fantasma fights up and a baseball slide puts Sydal on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sydal being dropped face first onto the steps but avoiding a top rope double stomps. The Thrill of the Kill is broken up so Fantasma grabs a modified Indian Deathlock of all things. With that not working, he just slams Sydal’s knee into the mat but Matt grabs his stacked up cradle to retain at 13:18.

Rating: C+. I’m still not wild on Sydal as champion with this third eye thing which isn’t fitting him very well. Granted it’s still better than having Josh Matthews there, which didn’t fit him either. Fantasma did well enough here and is fine for something like this, at least with putting on a good singles match instead of a messy four way spot fest.

LAX rants about everything falling apart when Eddie Kingston comes in. He says Konnan is in a good place and that he’s the next in the chain of command. It’s time to get LAX back to where they were before by getting them back to their roots.

Video on Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr.

The announcers talk about the World Title match and say they’ve stepped up security to prevent attacks this week.

Dezmond Xavier vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets to face Brian Cage next week. Feeling out process to start with Xavier’s headlock takeover not getting him anywhere. Some standing switches go nowhere so Xavier hits a great dropkick for two. A headscissors to the floor has Xavier down and we take a break. Back with Petey grabbing a chinlock and getting two off a belly to back suplex. Petey takes him to the corner but gets German superplexed back down.

That means a big flip dive to the floor but it’s too early for the Final Flash. The delayed Downward Spiral plants Xavier and a crucifix gives Petey two. Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker isn’t enough to set up the Canadian Destroyer do Dezmond kicks him in the head. The backflip kick to the head sends Xavier on to next week at 12:01.

Rating: C+. They were really starting to turn it up at the end but that wasn’t enough to make it especially good. I’m glad they went with Xavier as he’s more interesting than Williams, who still only has one move for the most part. I need more to a match than hearing him trying for the Destroyer fourteen times in a match.

Allie is in Rosemary face paint (that actually works very well) and says she knows this isn’t what Rosemary wants but it’s how it has to be.

Next week, Allie defends against Su Yung in a Last Rites (casket) match.

Moose vs. Kongo Kong

There’s no Jimmy Jacobs in sight this week. Kong shoves him away to start and hits the big clubbing forearms to the back. Moose’s dropkick doesn’t have much effect so they head outside with Moose being sent hard into the steps. The Cannonball crushes Moose against the steps and gets two back inside.

We hit the nerve hold (as required), which Kong makes look even lazier than usual. A shot to the back cuts Moose off but he wants Kong to hit him even harder. The running corner dropkick finally puts Kong down but the Game Changer is countered into a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Kong’s top rope splash misses and it’s three straight bicycle kicks to set up a slam. The spear puts Kong away at 8:56.

Rating: D. Moose was trying here but there’s a firm limit on what you can do with Kong. That nerve hold in the middle looked terrible and it was more of the fat man offense that looks embarrassing instead of anything good. I’m hoping we don’t get another match between these guys because Jacobs wasn’t here. Kong needs to go away for good and hopefully slaying the monster causes just that.

Post match the X logo appears on screen and we see a recap of the attacks. A voiceover talks about death riding with him as we see Jacobs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a really flat show with nothing really standing out and little of interest. Some of the wrestling was perfectly fine but it didn’t make me want to see more. The X attacker is interesting, though you can pretty easily pencil it in as Brian Cage (not a bad thing). It’s nice to have something to keep you interested, because Drake arguing with Steiner, the same tag matches we’ve seen for a long time and Sydal with the third eye isn’t doing it for me.

Results

OVE b. Aerostar/Drago via DQ when Eddie Edwards interfered

Cult of Lee b. LAX – Rollup with trunks to Santana

Matt Sydal b. El Hijo Del Fantasma – Stacked Up Cradle

Dezmond Xavier b. Petey Williams – Backflip kick to the head

Moose b. Kongo Kong – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Business is good.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-money-money-yeah-yeah/

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 23, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

The build to Chicago is slowly taking form with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch looking likely to challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Other than that, we really don’t have anything set up yet. That being said, NXT has an amazing track record of being able to catch up in a hurry so it’s not like they’re in any real trouble. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Coachman is in the front row.

Heavy Machinery vs. TM61

Dozovic goes with the power to start and runs Thorn over with a shoulder, followed by a double shoulder to give Knight two. Everything breaks down for a few seconds with Miller being run over as well while Thorn is put in the Tree of Woe. That allows Miller to be driven into his partner’s ribs as this is one sided so far. A shot to the back cuts Knight off though and the fans stay completely behind Heavy Machinery.

Mauro makes a rare mistake by saying TM61 made it to the finals of the first Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (it was the second) as the beating continues, including a clothesline to the back of Knight’s head. A double suplex takes both Miller and Thorn down in an impressive power display and it’s back to Dozovic to speed things up. The Caterpillar Elbow gets two on Miller but Dozovic takes WAY too long going up, even stopping to wipe himself down. The delay allows Thorn to kick him in the face so Miller can get a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:23.

Rating: D+. Cheating wins are better than boring matches where I can’t remember what happened so this is an upgrade for TM61. I still like Heavy Machinery but they’ve hit their ceiling and are falling back to earth. To be fair, it’s not like the team had much of a chance to go very far in the first place. At least they’re still fun and the fans seem to like them quite a bit.

Video on Bianca Belair. Next week, we get a special sitdown interview.

Video on EC3. He brags about taking over NXT in just three matches, so imagine what he can do in number four.

Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans

Sane dropkicks her in the face at the bell so Evans hits one of the loudest chops in recent memory. A reverse DDT gets two on Evans but she kicks Sane down and grabs a chinlock. Evans starts in on the arm and keeps being aggressive with a bunch of stomping in the corner. We hit a neck crank for a bit before Sane fights up for a running ax kick. There’s the Interceptor spear and the sliding forearm in the corner, sending Lacey outside. Sane goes up but dives into the Woman’s Right for the big upset pin at 5:03.

Rating: C. Evans getting a win is a major boost for her and that’s what the women’s division needs right now. Sane continues to wait for the big push off but it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. You would think her challenging Shayna Baszler for the Women’s Title would make sense but at the moment, we’re still waiting for it to take off.

The injured Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae arrive and have an announcement on his future. They’ll make that in the ring in front of the people though.

We look at the end of last week’s show with the Undisputed Era losing to Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch.

Lorcan and Burch want a title shot.

The Undisputed Era blow the loss off as the luckiest night of the British guys’ lives. There’s no reason to give them a title shot but Strong wants to face Burch next week.

Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream/Ricochet

Fallout from Sullivan interfering Dream vs. Ricochet last week. Ricochet can’t do anything with the power to start so Dream comes in for some alternating right hands and a double dropkick. That’s not enough to put the big guy down so Ricochet goes up for a springboard missile dropkick to finally get Sullivan off his feet.

They stay on him with the running forearms in the corner and a kick to the head gets Ricochet out of trouble. Superkicks put Sullivan down for a double two but he won’t stand for a double suplex. One heck of a clothesline puts Ricochet on the floor and Dream gets tossed away. We hit the chinlock with Sullivan throwing in some crossface shots for good measure.

Dream fights up and tries for the tag, only to be thrown right back down. A top rope headbutt gets two on Dream with Ricochet making a save. That doesn’t sit well with Sullivan and the distraction lets Dream kick him down and make the hot tag. More kicks to the head set up a standing shooting star for two. Ricochet nails a springboard 450 but Dream turns on him with the Death Valley Bomb. Dream walks away and the Freak Accident gives Sullivan the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. That’s a smart way to end the match and really, there’s not much of an excuse for Sullivan to not be #1 contender. Seeing Aleister Black trying to kick him in the head could be interesting and the drama could be awesome. Dream vs. Ricochet in Chicago should get quite the reaction and give one of them a big win.

Next week, Dakota Kai gets a Women’s Title match.

Kai is worried but ready to fight because this is what means so much to her. Baszler comes in and says Kai has no chance. She makes fun of Kai for being scared and leaves with Kai almost cowering in fear.

Here are Gargano and LeRae for their big announcement. Gargano talks about being here last time and everything that happened to him while he was here. After the attack by Tommaso Ciampa, he sat down with Candice and started to think about his future. With everything that’s happened and after talking to Candice, he knows it’s worth it and wants Ciampa out here RIGHT NOW.

Candice tries to talk him out of this but the neck brace is off. Cue Ciampa on the stage as LeRae runs through the crowd. Ciampa comes to the ring and here’s LeRae again with referees to get between them before anything can happen. Candice gets him away but Ciampa says be a good little boy and listen to your wife. Gargano charges the ring but gets knocked off the apron, right into Candice, who is slammed onto the ramp. Even Ciampa looks like that was too far and everyone checks on Candice to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Some good wrestling and even better storyline development makes it another solid hour of NXT. Chicago should be a lot of fun and the card is starting to come together. You can get to five matches without much trouble and the crowd is going to more than carry any issues the show might have. Another good outing this week, as expected.

Results

TM61 b Heavy Machinery – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Lacey Evans b. Kairi Sane – Woman’s Right

Lars Sullivan b. Ricochet/Velveteen Dream – Freak Accident to Ricochet

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 22, 2003
Hosts: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler

It’s the end of the year and thankfully that means we’re having a week off. This week it’s a Best Of 2003 special, which could be a rather short show. Unfortunately this is just a Best Of Raw show, meaning you’re going to be hearing a lot from HHH and a lot about the Eric Bischoff Era, which is still running strong. Let’s get to it.

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

Of note: I’ll be posting the full version of each match, even if the versions shown here are clipped.

Opening sequence.

Lawler threatens to kill the injured Coach if he makes one wrong move.

From Wrestlemania XIX.

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn tries to fire some confetti cannons on the way to the ring but some of them fail to go off, prompting an “eh what are you going to do” look. Jericho on the other hand just looks down at him in disdain in the perfect response. Some early armdrags frustrate Jericho so Shawn lounges on the top rope.

Back up and Shawn kicks him away without too much effort as they’re still firmly in first gear. Jericho is ready for a leapfrog and slaps Shawn in the face, earning himself a right hand to the jaw and a trip to the floor. Back in and Jericho scores with a spinwheel kick but a bulldog is countered with a good crotching. We hit a random Figure Four but Jericho reverses pretty quickly.

They head outside again with Shawn hitting a nice plancha, only to get caught in the Walls in the aisle. The bad back is sent into the post as Jericho has a big target to work with now. Back in and Jericho yells about how he’s better than Shawn as he stays on the back in a variety of ways. We hit the chinlock with a knee in the back before Shawn grabs a DDT to get him out of trouble.

Jericho nips up and hits the forearm into Shawn’s pose, which you just don’t do at Wrestlemania. Shawn makes his comeback (with two nipups of his own) and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence (as required by a classic like this) for a couple of twos each. Jericho is Lionsault for two more before countering a hurricanrana into the Walls. Shawn grabs the rope so Jericho elbows him in the jaw and tunes up the band.

Sweet Chin Music puts Shawn down for two and the fans seemed to buy that as the finish. Shawn teases the Walls but goes with a catapult into the post for two instead. It’s Jericho up first with a belly to back superplex but Shawn reverses into a crossbody in mid-air for yet another near fall.

The top rope elbow gets the same but the real Sweet Chin Music is countered into the Walls again. Just like last time, Shawn grabs the ropes though this time he follows up with more Chin Music for a very delayed two. Both guys are spent so Jericho grabs a belly to back suplex, only to have Shawn flip over and grab a rollup with his legs for the pin at 22:31.

Rating: A. Oh come on like this one needs an explanation. These two were both on fire here and just had an awesome match. It’s the match that made it clear Shawn had more than just a few performances in him as he felt a lot more like the older version here, which is exactly what the match needed to be. Jericho being able to do every athletic thing Shawn could do but not be able to outsmart him is a perfect story in a similar vein to Shawn vs. Shelton Benjamin a few years later. Great match here and one of the best Shawn had in his comeback.

They hug post match but Jericho kicks him low like the heel he is.

Coach and King plug the Unscripted book and Shawn vs. HHH for the title next week in San Antonio.

From Raw, January 27.

Women’s Title: Victoria vs. Trish Stratus

Victoria (looking especially good here in pink) is defending in a street fight and jumps Trish from behind with a pool cue. Trish is sent into the steps and Victoria stops to pose in the ring. A Chick Kick drops the champ and a clothesline gets two on the floor (street fights and hardcore matches aren’t the same thing but you can’t expect WWE to keep up with something like rules).

Back in and Victoria misses a charge into the post and gets two trashcan lids cracked around her head. Victoria is right back with a catapult into a trashcan in the corner but a Stratusphere gives Trish two. Steven Richards tries a fire extinguisher but hits Victoria by mistake. Richards comes in for the save so Trish kendo sticks him away. Stratusfaction is broken up and Trish is sent into the barricade…for the pin? What a lame ending.

Rating: C+. That ending really hurt things here as they were beating the heck out of each other and looking more polished as almost any hardcore match you would see from this company. It felt like they were actually trying to hurt each other, which is far more than you can say about these matches most of the time. Just find a new challenger though as the feud is really starting to look stale.

Raw Retro package on the Tenth Anniversary Special. Egads what a wreck.

Stacy Keibler comes in to see Coach and King with Coach saying he’s tired of Lawler drooling over the women every week. She’d pick King and it’s a plug for a body spray.

From Raw, September 29.

Intercontinental Title: Christian vs. Rob Van Dam

Christian is defending in a ladder match. Rob easily wins a battle of kicks to start but Christian won’t let him set up an early ladder. Instead it’s Christian picking one up so Rob hits a flip dive over the top onto the ladder onto Christian. Well that was rather stupid. Since that did more damage to Rob than Christian, the champ bridges a ladder between the barricade and the steps. Christian is dropped ribs first onto the ladder and the spinning kick to the back makes things even worse.

There’s a ladder set up in the corner so of course Van Dam is whipped hard into it for his efforts. A catapult sends Rob face first into the ladder but he’s right back up with a delayed gorilla press onto the ladder. Rob has always been deceptively strong and the athleticism makes it even less noticeable. Christian gets knocked outside so Rob can make the first climb, only to be taken down by the reverse DDT off the ladder.

That’s not enough to get the title though as Christian is sent into the ladder in the corner, followed by a Cannonball (called Rolling Thunder, which is close enough). Rob uses the ladder for a Van Daminator but the Five Star only hits ladder. A hard running shot with the ladder puts Van Dam on the floor again but he comes back in with a top rope kick to knock it over again. The double climb leads to a slugout with both guys falling, only to have Rob catch himself on the other ladder. A Five Star from that ladder is enough for Rob to go up and get the title for the win.

Rating: B. While it’s no classic, this was the kind of match that Raw has been needing: hard hitting, a lot of fun and with a good guy winning in the end. Oh and a lack of HHH or Evolution helped too. This isn’t the kind of match that anyone is going to remember as anything great, but it was what they should have done on this show, especially as the main event instead of the big tag match.

Clip of Goldberg debuting and spearing Rock the night after Wrestlemania.

From Backlash.

The Rock vs. Goldberg

The entrances take a long time and Rock hits the floor before the bell as they’re hitting the stall button hard here. They stare each other down as the match hasn’t actually started yet. We’re finally ready to go after several minutes of killing time, which isn’t what this show needed. Goldberg shoves him away off the lockup, which isn’t that surprising as Rock isn’t known as a power guy.

They do it again with Rock falling to the floor this time around. Back in and Rock slaps him in the face, only to get run over with a shoulder. Rock bails again as the announcers debate music. We hit another long stall until Rock snaps him throat first across the top. Goldberg grabs a Rock Bottom but takes way too long on the spear, allowing Rock to send him into the post. The Sharpshooter goes on for a bit before Rock goes with a low blow.

That means nothing either and it’s a spear to cut Rock down. No Jackhammer though as Goldberg gets two off a slam instead. Good grief END THIS SHOW ALREADY. Rock hits a spear of his own (called a spinebuster by Coach, which isn’t that far off actually) and the Rock Bottom gets two. Now the spinebuster actually connects and the People’s Elbow gets two more. Goldberg pops up, hits a spear, ignores the GOLDBERG SUCKS chant, adds a second spear, and finishes with the Jackhammer.

Rating: D-. This was about as dumb as they could have gone with Goldberg doing the same kind of match that every WWE main eventer has with the multiple finishers and trading moves instead of doing the formula that got him over in the first place. It was a completely terrible debut match with Rock’s selling alone completely outshining everything Goldberg did.

Compare this Goldberg match to his recent return (true story: he wrestled more in this match than in a match, a Royal Rumble appearance, a title win and a title defense) and look at which got better reactions, more entertaining matches and just more success overall. It’s not hard to figure out why one was better than the other and a lot of it has to do with booking Goldberg like Goldberg and not like any other star.

Another moment: Jericho kisses Trish.

Video on Eric Bischoff being given thirty days to turn Raw around by signing Steve Austin, including his time in Texas.

From No Way Out.

Eric Bischoff vs. Steve Austin

Bischoff, in his karate gear, begs for mercy and offers to help Austin make a fortune. That goes as well as you would expect as Austin, in jean shorts, takes him down and stomps away to quite the reaction. Austin takes off Bischoff’s gloves, allowing Eric to rake the eyes. A kick to the chest has no effect, because former professional martial artists are worthless once they become authority figures. Austin takes him to the floor for another beating and hits three Stunners for the pin. JR, of course, loses it.

Rating: D-. There’s your Raw main event people and it was about what had to be expected. Austin looked good in a short burst like this but he wasn’t very interesting when he left in the first place and that’s not a good sign going forward. Austin vs. just about anyone on Raw at the moment doesn’t sound too appealing (Austin vs. HHH would be their best option and that sounds rather boring) but maybe he’s the shot in the arm that Raw needs, at least in the short term.

Austin hits another Stunner for good measure.

From Confidential, Gene Okerlund thinks Christmas From Iraq is a good idea.

Another moment: Kane unmasks and goes coconuts.

From Survivor Series.

Shane McMahon vs. Kane

Ambulance match with Shane charging straight at him for a crossbody to the floor. Shane knocks him onto the announcers’ table and hits him in the head with a monitor, setting up the big elbow to drive Kane through. That’s enough at ringside though so they head to the back, including the camera cutting out. That means we hit the pretape and come back with Shane pounding him down with a kendo stick.

Shane puts him in a security shack and jumps into an SUV to run Kane over again. Finding a well placed walkie-talkie, Shane tells someone to SEND IT, which means it’s time for an ambulance backstage. But is that the designated ambulance? That makes a difference you know. Instead of backing the ambulance up to the shack where Kane is down, Shane grabs a stretcher and wheels it twenty feet over, allowing Kane to grab him by the throat and slam Shane into a wall.

The camera goes out again and we pick it up with Kane knocking him back into the arena. Shane gets knocked into the front of the ambulance but manages to hit Kane in the face with the back door. What a sick sounding thud too. Kane is back up and sends Shane into the ambulance but another ram with the door gets Shane out of trouble. A tornado DDT on the floor plants Kane as they’re now near the grave for the Buried Alive match.

Shane puts a trashcan (good thing one was nearby) and a crashpad (same as before) and hits the Coast to Coast off the top of the ambulance to smash Kane’s face. That’s still not enough to wrap things up as Kane pulls Shane into the ambulance with him for more brawling. It’s Kane throwing Shane out though and then ramming him back first into the side. He javelins Shane’s head into the other side (you have to match you see) and a Tombstone on the floor is enough for the win.

Rating: D. This wasn’t as long as I was expecting but again, this doesn’t really do what they were likely shooting for with Kane. It makes two straight matches where Kane has had trouble beating up Shane McMahon. He can destroy Rob Van Dam but Shane gives him trouble? It didn’t work last time and it doesn’t work here. Now that he’s lost all of his heat though, you can pencil him in for a World Title match.

Another moment: Hurricane spies on the Rock and has one of the funniest segments of the year.

Video on the wrestlers who have passed away this year, including Stu Hart, Crash Holly, Miss Elizabeth, Hawk, Mr. Perfect and Freddie Blassie.

Another moment: Ric Flair wants HHH to bring it full blast for their match.

From Raw, May 19.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Ric Flair

HHH is defending and has heavily taped ribs. He tells Flair to lay down but Flair just slicks backs his hair as we hit the opening bell. They WOO at each other until Flair pokes him in the eye to take over. HHH tries a suplex but the ribs give out, allowing Flair to send him outside in a heap. Ric can hit the suplex on the floor but walks into a spinebuster back inside.

The champ can’t follow up though and Flair actually hits the top rope shot to the head. JR is selling the heck out of the chance Flair could win here and it’s time to go after the leg. The Figure Four goes on for a good while until HHH makes the rope. The referee gets bumped though and HHH grabs the belt, only to get poked in the eye. A belt shot gives Flair a close two and you can feel the fans gasp. The Pedigree is countered with a backdrop so Flair tries one of his own, only to get countered into the Pedigree to retain the title.

Rating: C. They were starting to get going near the end but, alas, HHH needed to go over Flair in Flair Country for the sake of…..I’m guessing his ego or something, even if it took away Flair’s best reaction in at least a year. Throw in the fact that this was designed to help set up HHH vs. Nash II instead of what could have been a great HHH vs. Flair match in an interesting story and this is even sadder.

Another moment: Mae Young does various things to Eric Bischoff during the Redneck Triathlon from Bad Blood. Give me ANYTHING else please.

From Survivor Series.

Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff

Austin: Shawn Michaels, Dudley Boyz, Booker T., Rob Van Dam

Bischoff: Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Christian, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton

Coach, Stacy Keibler and the two team captains are at ringside. The fans want tables to start but have to settle with D-Von and Christian instead. D-Von shoulders him down to start but gets slapped in the face, triggering a bunch of right hands to the head. That’s not a nice response. Van Dam comes in for some forearms to the face and a kick to the jaw gets the same. It’s off to Jericho for some more luck, followed by Steiner whipping Van Dam hard into the corner to set up some posing.

Van Dam’s comeback is cut off by a belly to belly superplex but he’s able to get over to Booker for the hot tag. Things speed way up in a hurry and the scissors kick into the Spinarooni makes Bischoff face palm. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Steiner hits Booker low. The Recliner goes on but Stacy offers a distraction, setting up a reverse 3D. A Bookend is enough to get rid of Steiner and make it 5-4.

The World’s Strongest Slam gets rid of Booker a few seconds later to tie it right back up. Bubba comes in to try his luck and is sent hard into the corner. D-Von’s help doesn’t make things much better as the Dudleys are rammed together. Mark misses a charge though and it’s a 3D into the Five Star for the elimination. It’s off to Orton for a hard clothesline on Van Dam but Rob scores with a kick. Another Five Star is loaded up but Jericho makes a save, setting up the RKO to tie things up at three each. Jericho comes in and missile dropkicks D-Von down as JR and King wonder how things will go tomorrow night.

D-Von shoulders Jericho down for no count as Christian has the referee, setting up the sleeper drop for another elimination. This match is already better paced than the opener and here’s Shawn to pick things up all over again. Shawn pounds on Jericho in the corner and catches an invading Christian without much effort. Orton gets in a dropkick but stays down anyway as I guess he didn’t hit all of it. A double tag brings in Christian and Bubba with a backdrop getting two on the Canadian.

Jericho runs Christian over by mistake but a low blow sets up the Unprettier to get rid of Bubba. We’re down to Shawn vs. Christian/Jericho/Orton and Austin is starting to see how much trouble he’s in. Shawn punches away at Christian to start but some good old fashioned double teaming has Shawn in trouble again. Like there’s any other way this should go. Shawn is taken outside and catapulted into the post (you can see him blade on the wide shot) to bust open a GUSHER.

That and a suplex are only good for two back inside and Christian even steals his pose. Jerry: “That was a creepy little pose right there.” The Unprettier is broken up and a quick Sweet Chin Music gets rid of Christian. A frustrated Jericho comes in and gets two off a clothesline before handing it back to Orton. Shawn gets in a belly to back suplex but Jericho comes back in to take over again. As usual, JR is perfect at calling this kind of a story and Shawn getting two off a DDT has Jerry trying as hard as he can to believe in Shawn.

The Lionsault hits knees and Shawn pulls himself up but gets pulled into a Walls attempt. That’s reversed into a quick small package to get rid of Jericho and make it one on one (Lawler: “I BELIEVE I BELIEVE!”). Jericho isn’t gone yet though and caves Shawn’s head in with a chair shot. Why that isn’t a DQ on Orton isn’t clear but Shawn is done as Orton comes back in.

That’s only good for two and you can see the sigh of relief from Austin. Orton’s high crossbody hits the referee and here’s Bischoff to break up Sweet Chin Music. That’s too much for Austin so it’s a Stunner to Orton but he makes the mistake of beating on Bischoff a bit too much. They go up the aisle and here’s Batista to powerbomb Shawn, giving Orton the final pin.

Rating: B+. I love this match and always have. It doesn’t really pick up until Shawn is on his own but that’s what he’s done best throughout his entire career. He knows how to play the underdog better than anyone I’ve ever seen and you really can get behind the Lawler mindset of trying to believe here. As usual, Shawn is great in this role and it’s never too far to believe that he could pull this off (quick superkick, small package for two eliminations). Great stuff, but you might want to skip the first few minutes.

Austin is stunned at the loss because he placed his career in someone else’s hands and was let down. The bloody Shawn can barely stand and Austin congratulates him for giving it everything he had. Austin grabs the mic and talks about starting here in Dallas and going out here as well. Coach comes out to laugh and gets beaten up one more time with security getting the same treatment. Beer is consumed as a final goodbye. You know, assuming you believe that he’s gone for good this time.

We wrap it up with a video on last week’s ending with Mick Foley walking out, even with Randy Orton spitting on him.

Overall Rating: D+. How can you make a Best Of show this boring? It’s been a very rough year for Raw and this show didn’t even focus on most of the HHH issues. There are some good things in here but for the most part nothing came off like it was important or even all that good. Weak show here, but at least I could watch it in a hurry.

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