411’s Larry Csonka has passed away.
I didn’t know Larry on a personal level but I was a member of the 411 staff a bit back in the day. I would regularly read his reviews and while I didn’t always agree with him, I understood how he came to most of his conclusions. He was a machine at reviewing material and it’s sad to see that he’s not here anymore. There was no cause of death given but he’s had some health issues over the years, including losing a leg.
I haven’t been on the show in awhile but it was a lot of fun as always. We talk the goings on in wrestling today, including the problems with Raw, some of the upcoming stars of WWE, some of the smaller stories in wrestling that might be going under the radar and Kenny Omega. Check out this one, plus check out the show every week. You’ll find the links to everything below and please subscribe to/rate it and like their Facebook page. In other words, press some buttons to help out a good show that has been incredibly nice to me over the years and gives you an awesome wrestling discussion at the same time.
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IMG Credit: WWE
NXT UK
Date: April 30, 2020
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Andy Shepard
Host: Tom Phillips
It’s another special edition of the show but this time around it’s something you have seen before. This week’s theme is Hidden Gems, which means we are looking at matches that aired for the live crowd at TV tapings but were filmed for whatever reason. That could make for some interesting footage as it’s all new to us. Let’s get to it.
Tom welcomes us to the show and explains the idea.
From the Download Festival in Derby, England, June 14, 2019.
NXT UK Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Storm is defending and they fight over wristlocks to start. Storm takes her to the mat but Purrazzo headstands out of a headscissors. Purrazzo gets in her own headscissors so Storm slips out as well to give us a standoff. Some uppercuts give Storm one and we hit the half crab. A rope is grabbed in a hurry so Storm kicks her in the chest for two more. Storm misses a charge into the corner though and Purrazzo snaps the arm back for her own two. Purrazzo stomps away in the corner and takes a bow, setting up a modified STF.
The fans ask if Storm will be their girl until Purrazzo quiets them down with another shot to the arm for some near falls. The armbar brings the fans back into it but it’s a Lethal Combination into a Koji Clutch. Back up and they slug it out until Toni rolls some German suplexes. The arm goes out on Storm Zero though, allowing Purrazzo to put on another armbar. Storm gets to the rope for the save so it’s a hard clothesline and a quick Storm Zero to retain at 11:14.
Rating: B-. Storm is someone who can be awesome when she has the right circumstances and she made it work here. The arm work made sense and Storm went with a rush of adrenaline to retain the title in the end. It was also one of Purrazzo’s best performances around here, even though she wouldn’t be in the company by the time it aired.
From Plymouth, England on July 20, 2019.
Matt Riddle vs. Ligero
From a TV taping. Andy: “How do you solve a riddle like the Original Bro?” Tom: “I see what you did there.” The fans chant something I can’t understand as the bigger Riddle goes with the grappling to start. Ligero reverses into a headlock but Riddle powers him up with a belly to back suplex. The chinlock is snapped back on and Ligero slugs away with the forearms.
Riddle powers him down again and starts with the strikes, setting up the running forearms in the corner. A suplex sets up the Broton for two and Riddle is fired up. Riddle grabs a Jackhammer for two but the Floating Bro is countered into a running German superplex. Ligero flips out of a German suplex and they head to the floor with Riddle getting caught with a hurricanrana. A springboard Stunner gives Ligero two back inside and a slingshot splash gets the same. C4L is countered into a powerbomb and it’s the Final Flash into Bro Derek. The Floating Bro finishes Ligero at 8:38.
Rating: C+. I wanted to see more of this as Ligero came to play this time. Ligero can work well with anyone and while I’m still waiting on that big breakout moment from Riddle, he looked good here in a rare instance where he was a good bit bigger than his opponent. Nice match here with both guys putting in a nice performance.
From the Download Festival in Derby, England, June 15, 2019.
NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Isla Dawn
Shayna is defending and drives her into the corner to start without looking too worried here. Dawn gets a quick one off a rollup and takes out the leg to mess with Shayna’s head. That earns Dawn a headlock so she rolls Baszler up for another two. A suplex sends Baszler outside so Dawn follows but gets sent into the steps.
Back in and Baszler stomps on the arm, setting up the armbar. Baszler hammers away for two and the arm is bent around the top rope. An armbar takedown lets Baszler crank on the arm a little more but Dawn fights up for a running dropkick. A gutwrench faceplant gives Baszler two so she kicks Dawn in the face and grabs the Clutch for the tap at 8:39.
Rating: C. This wasn’t great but I’m not sure who was going to buy Dawn as a threat against Baszler when Dawn has never won anything of note. Baszler is a monster and it takes someone special to beat her, or even challenge her really. It wasn’t bad, but it felt like a long squash.
Ilja Dragunov is keeping his fire going until he finally gets to face Walter for the UK Title. He’s ready to go where no one else ever has and this match will redefine violence.
Next week: the Rise of Imperium. Cool.
From Coventry, England, March 6, 2020.
Ilja Dragunov vs. A-Kid
Kid wrestles him down to start and gets a quick one to set up a standoff. They hit the mat again with Kid tying him up into a bow and arrow. That’s reversed into a chinlock, which is reversed into a headscissors on Dragunov. An exchange of rollups give them two each and Kid slips out of a headscissors for a standoff. Kid headstands into a headscissors on the mat (dang) so Dragunov slips out and says bring it.
Dragunov changes plans and hits him in the face, setting up a crossbody for two more. The top rope elbow to the floor drops Kid again but he’s right back with a German suplex back inside. Kid’s northern lights suplex into an armbar, followed by a quick high crossbody for two. Frustration is setting in so Dragunov BLASTS him with a clothesline.
The 61Line gets two more but Kid kicks him in the arm. Dragunov responds by kicking him in the FACE and a deadlift German suplex gets two. Kid pulls the leg down and twists the ankle so it’s an enziguri with the free leg for the double knockdown. Somehow Kid is back up with a super Spanish Fly for two but Dragunov spinebusters him. Torpedo Moscow finishes Kid at 13:23.
Rating: B+. That’s your perfect example of someone letting it all hang out as Kid gave this everything he had and the match was awesome. It says a lot when I know the result beforehand and still got sucked into the match because they were going that hard. This was awesome and I hope someone important was watching both of them, because it was great stuff.
Overall Rating: A-. Now this was more like it with a heck of a show where they threw wrestling matches out there to fill in their wrestling show. It’s so nice to see that instead of a show with a lot of talking and I’ve been enjoying this (and 205 Live) so much more as a result. WWE has such a deep video library that it makes sense to use it in a time like this. Check this out, especially that main event, if you have time.
Results
Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Storm Zero
Matt Riddle b. Ligero – Floating Bro
Shayna Baszler b. Isla Dawn – Kirifuda Clutch
Ilja Dragunov b. A-Kid – Torpedo Moscow
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Yeah it’s gone again.https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-xfl-ceases-operations-not-returning-next-year/
Your interest in football may vary, but I wasn’t big on the idea of a spring league. To be fair though, this has very little to do with the football or anything else, as the Coronavirus spreading took away every sporting league. That being said, I really hope this is dropped for good now as it has failed twice, for various reasons.
IMG Credit: WWE
Hidden Gems #13
Date: 1980
Texas Championship Wrestling TV
Date: October 27, 1980
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Boyd Pierce
So this is a different one with a full episode of the Texas Championship Wrestling TV, which would eventually morph into World Class Championship Wrestling. These shows are very rare, hence why they make a lot of sense as a Hidden Gem. Believe it or not, the show is about the Von Erichs. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence, with a bunch of still shots.
Tim Brooks vs. Ted Heath
They go into the corner to start with the British Heath getting in a shot to the ribs off the break. What a villain. Some circling goes to Heath as he takes over on the hammerlock, allowing Pierce to talk about how awesome Heath was as an amateur wrestler in the UK. The wristlock into the hammerlock keeps Brooks in trouble until he reverses into a hammerlock of his own. Ever Pierce acknowledges that they’re not moving very much out there, even as Heath takes over with another hammerlock.
A headscissors takes Brooks down, allowing him to hit a quick splash onto the arm. After some pausing for Heath to hold his arm, we get a rather fired up test of strength with Brooks kicking him in the ribs to take over. Heath backflips out of things though and takes Brooks down in a pretty impressive counter (how British of him). Brooks takes him right back down and drops some knees, only to have the arm bent around the rope. They go into the corner with Brooks getting a chain to the throat and the bearhug goes on.
Heath breaks out of that and gets in the chain as well, sending Brooks running off like a true coward. Imagine that: running when an angry man is swinging a steel chain at you. Get some backbone man! We have three minutes left in the fifteen minute time limit and it’s Brooks coming back in to beg away again. With the chain taken away, Heath starts in on the leg and chops Brooks on the mat but a splash hits knees. Brooks drops a leg for the pin at 13:27.
Rating: D+. This was a weird one as it felt like they ran out of time for what they were trying to do and threw together a quick finish. Heath was decent enough here but Brooks was a heel around the territory for a long time. It would have worked better had they gotten to the bigger stuff earlier, but that ended just came out of nowhere and felt like it was from a different match.
Brian Blair vs. The Jackyl
The Jackyl is a masked man replacing the injured Bulldog Brower. Blair slugs away to start with Jackyl staggering around until he falls down. A headlock takeover lets Blair keep him in trouble as the announcer talks about how AMAZING the Von Erichs are. Jackyl finally goes with a pull of the hair to escape and it’s right back to the headlock takeover to lay on the mat some more.
After another minute or so of just laying there on the mat, they get up to their knees for more headlocking. Blair switches to a front facelock as we hit five minutes in….somehow. They FINALLY break it up and it’s time for Jackyl to go with the foreign object. Blair fights back with right hands and a knee drop, meaning we hit the front facelock again. It’s time to go after the mask but Jackyl drives him up against the ropes for the sake of identity.
Some right hands have Blair in trouble and it’s off to the chinlock because this match hates me. Blair reaches up and pulls the mask half off so Jackyl cranks on the chinlock a bit more to keep things hidden. That works so well that they do it again but this time, Blair gets away and blindly swings. The slug it out from their knees until Jackyl slams him down, only to miss a legdrop. An atomic drop into a middle rope elbow to the head rocks Jackyl again and an abdominal stretch into the pin finishes Jackyl at 11:56.
Rating: D. This did get a little better once they started doing something but the first five or six minutes were spent ENTIRELY on the mat in one hold after another. That’s not wrestling, that’s not psychology and that’s not effort. This was the two of them laying there for half of the match and that was horrible. Once they got up and tried to do something it got up to acceptable, but just laying there like that isn’t worth anyone’s time.
Post break (and shower and dressing), Blair talks about all of the physical stuff he has to do to stay in shape. Oh and stay away from drugs and cigarettes. He’s been an athlete since he was six years old and now he does some rodeo along with wrestling. Blair likes the idea of Fritz Von Erich beating up Gino Hernandez too. The lack of charisma was strong here, as was Blair’s goodness being almost hard to take. Then again, different time and Fritz LOVED that kind of stuff so it makes sense.
Stan Stasiak vs. Bruiser Brody
The brawl is on in a hurry with Bruiser knocking him to the floor early on. Back in and they brawl in the corner, with Brody getting smart by working on the heart punch hand. Stasiak is fine enough to send him face first into the buckle and we hit the nerve hold. Brody fights up from his knees and stomps away in the corner so they can go outside. Some rams into the apron let Brody bites him in the head as the beating is on. Back in and the running knee misses Stasiak but the referee gets pushed away, allowing Stasiak to use a foreign object for the pin at 4:28.
Rating: C. That’s not the ending I would have bet on as Brody is Brody and it’s 1980 so why is Stasiak still being pushed as something? It wasn’t clean or anything though so it’s not like this is anything of note. It was one of the more entertaining matches on the show as well, mainly due to Brody’s crazy charisma.
Bruiser Brody/Von Erichs vs. Stan Stasiak/Gary Young/Pak Song/Gino Hernandez
That would be David/Fritz/Kevin here and there are a ton of stipulations. It’s an elimination match with pin/submission/over the top rope eliminations. Whoever is eliminated first can’t wrestle in Texas for six months, but if it’s one of the Von Erichs they can keep living in the state. Any of the other five have to get out of Texas altogether. Brody and Young start things off as there are two referees inside the ring for a weird look.
They run the ropes with a kick to the ribs putting Young in trouble, meaning it’s off to David for an armdrag takeover. David gets pulled into the corner though and it’s time for the villains to start taking their turns on him. Gino gets in some stomps but it’s off to Kevin, sending Gino BAILING to the floor. The villains take a breather on the floor and we settle down to Young front facelocking Kevin. Song’s chops put Kevin down but a dropkick puts him down. The Claw goes on and Song is pinned at 3:57.
We take a break and come back with Brody slamming Gino and cleaning house as only he can. Kevin comes in to get caught with a cheap shot, allowing Gino to throw him outside. Gino chokes Kevin so Fritz comes in to ship Gino with a leather belt. Kevin and Gino fall over the top for the double elimination and the credits roll as they fight on the floor at 6:56 shown.
Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but they got rid of Song so at least they got the important part done. The point of a show like this is to leave the fans wanting more and that is exactly what they managed to do. Granted I’m not sure how well it worked with no real backstory to the whole thing but the Von Erichs in the main event was the guaranteed main event.
Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one at all as it just wasn’t an entertaining show. The promotion was built around personalities and the long form stories but none of those were on display here. It was a case of knowing almost everyone involved aside from the interview with Blair and the deal with Fritz whipping Gino. The promotion would get better but this wasn’t the time just yet. Bad show, but anyone can have an off week.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
You might want to get in on this.
Highspots is the company that presents WrestleCon but since that went under, they are in need of some money. Therefore, they are offering a CRAZY sale on everything they sell at the moment, which includes everything from wrestling gear to rings to authentic pay per view banners to DVDs to videos on demand to memorabilia and more. Right now, everything on their site is 36% off and all DVDs/video downloads are 50% off. Some of their DVDs and videos are $5 and under, meaning you can get full wrestling DVDs for $2 each and under in some cases.
As a result, I’ve dropped almost $200 and picked up:
8 Books
1 Old Magazine
15 DVDs (5 PWG, 5 Wrestling Revolver, 2 ROH, 2 FIP, 1 WWE)
12 Downloads (8 PWG, 2 Pro Wrestling Superstars, 1 Five Dollar Wrestling, 1 WrestleCon Supershow, 1 New England Wrestling, all full shows)
2 Documentaries
1 DVD Set
You need to check this stuff out and, as you might have guessed, you’ll be seeing a lot of PWG stuff in the near future (and all of the other DVDs I’ve gotten in the Wrestling Loot Crates/from Jim Cornette’s site as I’m running out of space for them). This is perhaps the best sale I’ve ever seen and you would do yourself a favor to check some of them out.
It aired on the Reelz channel on Sunday and we may have a new winner for worst documentary(ish) look at wrestling I’ve seen in a good while.
The idea of the show is kind of a medical investigation deal with a doctor looking over an autopsy report and trying to figure out what happened. In other words, a guy who has nothing to do with wrestling looking at it from an outside perspective with some wrestling people included. That’s where things fall apart.
There were three main wrestling people involved with the show: Les Thatcher (fine), Greg Oliver (wrestling writer who named Bret Hart as the fourteenth best Canadian wrestler of all time) and a guy who wrote a book on Benoit that Lance Storm trashed in an amazing way. That’s it. No other wrestlers, no more wrestling journalists, nothing else.
There were the usual wrestling errors, including the following:
Referring to Nancy Benoit a “wrestling Diva”
Saying Benoit fought through injuries to get to the end of the season
Talking about Benoit getting hurt and coming back from injury to win the World Title “not long after his return to the ring”. It was almost two years later.
They talked about Benoit getting hurt at King of the Ring, while showing footage of a Raw match. They showed various other pay per views, so why not show the right clip there?
You learn to live with those things, but the problem is the show wasn’t all that good. They talked about Benoit having issues with alcohol, steroids and head injuries and called it a big mixture of factors that caused the incident. What gets annoying is the host saying he discovered things like Benoit having certain drugs in them. By discovered, he means read in the report, which makes me wonder why he needs to be on the show.
Finally though, his big conclusion is that Nancy was the victim of domestic violence. I’m not sure why that’s a conclusion, but that’s what he says as one of his big points. The other thing is that he implies that Benoit snapped because he lost the World Title. While he never flat out says that, he says that Benoit was losing everything he had worked for while showing a picture of Benoit with the title.
Maybe he didn’t mean it this way, but he sounded like he meant Benoit went over the edge because he lost the title. Benoit was probably close to retirement around this time, but that was never mentioned anywhere on here, making it seem like Benoit’s title loss was considered a factor. Sometimes I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt, but not on a show that says a wrestler made it to the end of a season.
All in all, this feels like a very formula based show that was made in about a day. Just wait for Dark Side of the Ring next week and see something with a good bit more effort put into it by more people who know what they’re talking about.
Believe it or not, they like these AEW and New Japan guys.
It’s that time of year again. Dave Meltzer and his minions have voted on their End of Year Awards for 2019 (which makes me feel better for only getting mine done the day after the Rumble). I’m sure there are going to be a lot of AEW/New Japan stuff in here and that’s fine enough. I’ll throw in a few thoughts on each but some of them aren’t going to have much need. I’ll so be skipping the MMA awards because they’re not wrestling and I still have no idea why they’re included here.
Wrestler of the Year – Chris Jericho
Jericho was a nominee for me so it’s far from out there. I’m not sure I could go with him as he only wrestled a dozen times last year, but he carried AEW on his back for the first three months of Dynamite so I can see where this would make sense.
Outstanding Wrestler of the Year – Will Ospreay
I’m still not sure why this needs to be two awards (I’ve had it explained to me every year, still don’t see the need) but Ospreay had a heck of a year and some outstanding matches so I can see this. There are a lot of people with some great matches this year so you could pick from a bunch here. Ospreay is fine enough though.
Tag Team Of The Year – Lucha Bros
That breaks a six year run for the Young Bucks and it should. The Bucks are good but the Bros are on another level every time they’re out there. WWE’s tag teams are nothing for the most part so it’s not like there was much competition. I went with Undisputed Era but I consider stables as well.
Best on Interviews – Chris Jericho
The only person in his league is Maxwell Jacob Friedman but Jericho’s stuff has had me cracking up multiple times. I can’t bring myself to argue against Jericho’s talking so no complaints here.
Promotion of the Year – New Japan Pro Wrestling
They had a down year but there isn’t anything that jumps off the page for this one. It kind of amazes me that WWE has won this award twice in the nearly forty years they’ve been running. I’m not saying they should win it, but you would think they would sneak in a win here or there.
Best Weekly TV Series – Dynamite
I couldn’t go with a show that was on the air for a fourth of the year. NXT was its usual self for most of the year and better than Dynamite most weeks, but you knew AEW was going to get some major accolades this year.
Match of the Year – Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi (Best of the Super Juniors)
Didn’t see the match so can’t comment on it, though I did hear great things.
US/Canadian MVP – Chris Jericho
Japan MVP – Kazuchika Okada
Mexico MVP – Rey Fenix
Europe MVP – Walter
Non-Heavyweight MVP – Will Ospreay
Women’s Wrestling MVP – Becky Lynch
I’m going with a collective “uh, sure” on these as I’m not sure how much need there was for individual MVP awards by continent and weight class. Lynch winning was as much of a layup as you can get, as it should be.
Best Box Office Draw – Chris Jericho
I’m assuming there are numbers to back this up so sure.
Feud of the Year – Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano
Same for me.
Most Improved of the Year – Lance Archer
I didn’t see much of him this year but I heard this over and over so fair enough.
Most Charismatic – Chris Jericho
One question: how in the world has he never won this before???
Best Technical Wrestling – Zack Sabre Jr.
Six in a row and like it could be anyone else.
Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii
Six years in a row as well.
Best High Flying Wrestling – Will Ospreay
Only four years in a row for him. Pick up the pace man.
Most Overrated – King Corbin
I’m torn here. On the one hand, yeah. On the other hand, anything involving Corbin receiving praise is too much for me.
Most Underrated – Shorty G
I think you can call this “Wrestler We Feel Most Sorry For” and it would apply just as well.
Rookie of the Year – Jungle Boy
Normally I would say I don’t know how you can be a rookie in 2019 when you started in 2018 but I gave it to Ricochet as newcomer of the year so I can’t complain much. And yeah Jungle Boy has been rather good.
Non-Wrestler of the Year – Paul Heyman
This is your safe default pick and I didn’t have anyone jump out in front so that’s fine.
Best Television Announcer – Kevin Kelly
It was him or Mauro Ranallo and I can see why Mauro isn’t the biggest favorite.
Worst Television Announcer – Corey Graves
It’s going to be whomever has the most Vince McMahonisms in their ear but Graves can get especially annoying in a hurry. As long a she doesn’t have Renee Young there to bicker with, things are at least looking up a bit.
Best Major Wrestling Show of the Year – Double Or Nothing
I’m not sure if Takeovers are eligible in this one (they very well may be) but I had Double Or Nothing nominated so it’s not a big stretch.
Worst Major Wrestling Show Of The Year – Super ShowDown
This was one of my three nominees but WOW that’s an upset over Hell in a Cell. My goodness I’m actually surprised by this one.
Best Wrestling Maneuver – Storm Breaker (Will Ospreay)
Really? I mean….it’s fine but…..really? There’s nothing better? Not a 630 or anything else?
Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE’s Relationship With Saudi Arabia
Could it be anything else?
Worst Television Show – Monday Night Raw
Not only is it not even the worst WWE show, but am I really the only person who watches Ring of Honor? This feels like a bunch of people who don’t watch Raw voting for it as the worst show because they don’t watch it. It’s bad, but there are multiple worse shows out there.
Worst Match of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell
That’s going to be an all timer so it was going to run away with this one.
Worst Feud of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend
Like it could have been anything else.
Worst Promotion of the Year – WWE
Ring of Honor was literally drawing a few hundred fans a year and had people falling asleep during a World Title match at a major show, with the year capped off by PCO winning the World Title. But yeah, it’s WWE, because WWE SUCKS AND IT ALWAYS WILL! Give me a break.
Best Booker of the Year – Gedo (New Japan)
They might as well name it after him anymore.
Promoter of the Year – Tony Khan (AEW)
Again: you might want to wait until they’re running for the full year before calling it the best thing around. But that’s not fair to AEW or something I’m assuming.
Best Gimmick – The Fiend
Like it could have been anything else.
Worst Gimmick – Shorty G
It takes something special to actually make me mad in wrestling and that’s what they did here. Easy win.
Best Pro Wrestling Book – 100 Things A WWE Fan Should Know Before They Die – Bryan Alvarez
I’m sure the author has nothing to do with this.
Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary – Dark Side of the Ring
Given how much people have been drooling over the second season trailer, this was a pretty easy pick.
So yeah, not as many annoying ones but it was the AEW/New Japan love fest that you knew it would be. The Worst Promotion of the Year award though is rather ridiculous
IMG Credit: WWE
We’ll wrap it up with this, which is as important of an award as you can have. The name on the marquee says wrestling and at the end of the day, it all comes down to the big wrestling matches that people are willing to watch (preferably after paying to do so). With so many matches over the last ten years, I have a pretty long list of options as there are just so many to pick from.
Honorable Mention
John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan – Summerslam 2013 – Cena was a big part of making Bryan by selecting him for this match, but what mattered more was Bryan going over Cena completely clean. It set up everything until Wrestlemania and was an instant classic in the process. Not bad all around for a dream match.
Ten Man Tag – WrestleCon SuperShow 2017 – I saw this one in person and it changed the way I look at wrestling. Check out the review of the show and then check out the match itself because it’s some of the most fun you’ll have with ten guys going completely insane.
Revival vs. DIY – Takeover: Toronto – It might be the most entertaining tag match I’ve ever seen with DIY working together and FINALLY beating the Revival to win the titles. The last shot of the match is awesome and this is as feel good of a moment as you’re getting this side of the Harts beating Demolition.
Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada – Dominion 2018 – I’m still a bigger story/promo guy so I don’t have the connection to this one that some people might. That being said, it’s incredible and one heck of a showdown. It’s not seven stars or whatever it was because that match doesn’t exist, but it is more than worth the lengthy time.
Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne – Takeover: Chicago – Sometimes you see stars made before your eyes and these two did just that. They went out there and showcased themselves on the big stage with a match for the ages. What else could you ask for from two people who had only been alive for about 45 years between the two of them? And then THEY GOT BETTER!
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam 2013
A lot of people, myself included, have criticized Lesnar since his return to WWE. He does a lot of things that get on a lot of people’s nerves, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do great things when he’s given the chance. Lesnar was feeling it on this night though and they did a great job of making me care about everything that was going on in the match. It’s an amazing story and that’s what you need in something like this.
What mattered most here was Punk looked like the kind of hero who could take down the Beast once and for all. It took Paul Heyman to stop Punk and when Lesnar finally took him out with the F5, it wasn’t a feeling of dread but rather a feeling of you just saw something special. That’s the kind of thing you don’t get very often and it was an incredible performance on all sides.
John Cena vs. CM Punk – Money In The Bank 2011
I don’t remember the last time I saw a match that made me wonder just how things were going to go. There were so many things going on every step of the way and I didn’t know what was going to happen in the match. The fact that the match worked so well and was an instant classic from bell to bell made it even better. There were so many things going on at once though and there was no stopping this one.
The drama is what made this work so well though, as there was this real feeling of not knowing what was coming. Punk’s stunned face when he won the title and the famous shot of Punk blowing a kiss to Vince McMahon before left with the title are the kind of things you’re never going to forget. It’s a special moment and that isn’t going to be topped for the better part of ever.
Undertaker vs. HHH – Wrestlemania XXVIII
There aren’t many matches that are the culmination of a four year feud and yet they managed to make it happen here. This was the fourth straight match between Undertaker and HHH/Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania, and this time it was technically against both of them at once. It was clear that Undertaker had to take himself to a new level to win and that’s exactly what he did.
There are two spots here that showed you what was going on. First was the spot of the decade with Undertaker kicking out of the superkick into the Pedigree, which is as good of a kickout as I’ve ever seen. Later in the match, HHH reached for the sledgehammer, the only thing that he could use against Undertaker, and Undertaker just stepped on it, showing that it was over. Another beating ensued and it was the Tombstone for the pin. It was an incredible ride and it had the moments to make it work throughout. Incredible stuff, and you have to react to it in some way.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – Takeover: Brooklyn
I was tempted to put this on the top as it might be my favorite match of the decade. The storytelling here is top notch, with Banks coming in at the top of her game and having all of the confidence in the world. By the end though, she was barely standing and throwing wild right hands because it was all she had left. Bayley finally put her away with the Bayley to Belly but Banks was dead where she stood before then. It was Bayley not just winning, but rather defeating Banks, which is what they were going for here.
What mattered was making a new star. Bayley had been chasing the title forever and needed to prove that she could hang at this level. That’s what happened here and it’s one of the best performances either of them have ever seen. It’s a great match and a great moment with Bayley moving to the top of the division (and arguably the top of the promotion at the same time). Watch this one again, as I do every now and then just because I love seeing it.
And now, for the final listing of the decade, it’s an old favorite.
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Takeover: New Orleans
What else is there to say about this? It’s one of the best displays of hatred and storytelling in recent years and the match that had been nearly a year in the making. Ciampa turned on Ciampa in May 2017 but tore his ACL, meaning he was gone for the better part of a year. That didn’t stop him from haunting Gargano the entire time though, and there was only one solution for the two of them when Ciampa got back: a fight. Not a match, but a fight.
That’s what we got too, with Gargano and Ciampa beating the fire out of each other. The fans made this even better, as Ciampa came to the ring to no music, thereby allowing him to be booed even louder. Later, Ciampa bounced off of the concrete and the fans told him that HE DESERVED IT. The fans wanted to see Ciampa get what was coming to him and that’s what happened after an incredible fight. This is what they had built to and then they gave the people what they wanted to see. It’s great, and there was nothing better in ten years.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
As much as people are going to remember the best matches, these are the ones that are going to get people talking more than anything else. The wretched, terrible matches are the kind that stick in your head because you wonder how bad things can possibly get. Sometimes it’s the whole match and sometimes it’s one thing, but these are the matches that you’ll remember for all the wrong reasons.
Honorable Mention
Sting vs. Jeff Hardy – Victory Road 2011 – I’m not putting this as an official one as I don’t consider it a “real” match. Instead, we have another mess where TNA managed to make it even worse, because that’s what they did back then. There’s a reason this keeps getting brought up and it’s not getting topped for a long time.
Kaitlyn vs. Maxine – NXT – October 19, 2010 – Just watch it and try not to cringe.
Royal Rumble 2015
It takes something special to have the fans booing the Rock out of the building. This is one of those horrible ideas that could not have been much worse and it’s a big part of why Roman Reigns never reached the point they were wanting him to achieve. They missed every single point of this whole thing and it could not have gone much worse.
The entire idea of this match was to make Roman Reigns look like a star. They managed to turn it into the biggest disaster imaginable with one mistake after the other. Reigns looked like he had no business being in the ring and was little more than a big WWE logo. His big opponents were Big Show and Kane, plus a surprise Rusev at the end. That’s their big idea to get him to face Lesnar? No wonder he was a failure for so long.
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole – Wrestlemania XXVII
I named this worst feud of the decade and I’d say that gives it a fast pass on to this list. The match itself wasn’t any good in the first place, including Cole being way too dominant and having Steve Austin and Jack Swagger there to try and make it interesting. Lawler can have a watchable match with a bag of wet mice but for some reason this is the best thing that they had for him to do.
And then he lost, because WWE felt the need to keep the story going on and on. Why should Wrestlemania be the blowoff for some big feud? This was a complete misfire and the crowd just dying as a result shows you how bad it really was. The show never recovered from this because WWE set it up for one possible ending and then we got the complete opposite, presumably just for the sake of messing with us. How lucky we are.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton – Wrestlemania XXXIII
I was in the stadium for this one and I’m still not sure what I watched. After a pretty decent build with Orton infiltrating the Wyatt Family to take them down from within and possibly destroying Sister Abigail, we wound up with some bizarre mind game where Wyatt put gross images on the mat to get in Orton’s head. Orton’s response? RKO for the pin and the title….which he lost to Jinder Mahal.
What were they thinking with this mess? It was a bunch of bad wrestling in between their weird ideas. If you want to do Wyatt vs. Orton at Wrestlemania then just do the match. Instead we got something that I’m sure WWE found to be very clever and it wound up being a disaster of other level proportions. How Wyatt survived this is beyond me, but he managed to make it work despite this disaster.
Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal – Battleground 2017
This is the Punjabi Prison match and MY GOODNESS it still manages to get on my nerves. Mahal got to go out there for nearly half an hour before Great Khali came in to save him. The only highlight of this was seeing Orton torture the Singh Brothers, who deserved a big raise after everything they went through with the whole Mahal story.
The problem with this match is the length (in addition to Mahal just being there, because there is little reason for him to be anywhere near the top of the card), as the match just went on and on for WAY too long. It was Orton getting close to winning and then the Singhs interfering and then Orton getting close to winning and then the Singhs interfering over and over and it just never stopped. I hated this match and it was the last straw after Mahal would not go away no matter how much people rejected him.
Those made me mad. This one was mad and sad.
Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell
Over the years, there are very few matches that I’ve seen that actually made me mad. It takes something special to misfire on every point while damaging your hot new character and wrecking your big gimmick match. WWE managed to do this while also getting fans to chant for the competition at the end of the show. Rollins was in a bad place already and this shoved him to the point of no return.
I still can’t fathom how bad this really was. Fiend was the unstoppable monster and while Rollins didn’t completely destroy him, it was one of those nights where you had to wonder how bad things were when they were setting it up. This was the best thing they could do with their monster? In the Cell? I’ve used a lot of words to talk about this one in the last few months and I could continue doing so for a long time to come. The match was another level of awful and I don’t see it being topped anytime soon.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: