IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: January 17, 2005
Location: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 9,600
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

The focus is on Canada this week with Chris Benoit facing Chris Jericho in a challenge match. Other than that, the big story is likely to be the continuing issues between HHH and Batista, the latter of whom is starting to rebel against his boss. This seems to be leading to the Royal Rumble, where Randy Orton is getting a World Title shot after beating Batista last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Orton beating Batista, though not before planing some seeds in Batista’s mind about HHH using him.

Opening sequence.

We open with the Highlight Reel and you know the fans are going to love Jericho here. Before we get to the guest though, Jericho brings up that he won a match last night and is officially in the Royal Rumble. See how much easier that is than having us sit through a match that had an obvious ending? Jericho has something else to say but here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari to interrupt.

Jericho rants about how they came out before their introduction so Hassan rants about being forgotten. We get a proper introduction (with Jericho being called a creepy little sidekick) before Jericho mocks Hassan for being so serious all the time. Shouldn’t he be happier that we’re in Canada tonight? Hassan says Jericho is right as he’s felt a connection to Canada. See, in the US, Canadians are viewed as second class citizens.

They deserve it though because the REAL terrorists gained access to America through Canada. That’s why everyone here booing him is a hypocrite. See, Canadians are afraid to show their true feelings because they can’t back it up in a confrontation. Jericho tells him to shut the h*** up so Daivari rants at him for a bit.

Jericho has been studying though and offers a translation: Fozzy’s All That Remains comes out tomorrow and Daivari wants an autographed CD! Well he didn’t say please so that’s not happening. Hassan keeps ranting and the fight is on with Jericho putting on the Walls. Daivari breaks it up though and it’s a double beatdown until Chris Benoit comes inf or the save.

HHH and Ric Flair arrive with Ric insisting that everything is cool with Batista. They didn’t actually talk, but Flair has a feeling about it. HHH isn’t impressed.

La Resistance/Maven vs. Shelton Benjamin/Rosey/Hurricane

La Resistance are Tag Team Champions again, having won the titles in a handicap last night over William Regal. Fair enough as they didn’t have many other options with Eugene being out for months. Benjamin and Conway slug it out to start and Maven’s interference is scared off by a single glare.

Hurricane comes in for WHATUPWITHDAT and a thumb to the eye. A cheap shot from Maven lets Grenier throw Hurricane to the floor, followed by the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up with an atomic drop and it’s off to Rosey as the fans don’t seem interested. Rosey sits on Conway’s chest for two with Shelton making the save. Everything breaks down and Au Revoir finishes Rosey.

Rating: D. Just a match here with La Resistance getting their footing back after a quick title win. It’s not like they have anyone to feud with at the moment so this was about as good as they were going to get. Maven is much, much better suited in this role and while he isn’t going to win anything, it’s better than watching him take up a spot he’s not ready to be in.

Stacy Keibler wishes Randy Orton luck tonight and kisses him on the cheek. Orton doesn’t seem to mind.

Steve Austin is having a press conference on Wednesday.

Here’s Orton for a chat. This is a special place for Orton as he won the World Title right here back at Summerslam. Orton cried that night because no one thought he could pull this off. Then the next night, HHH ruined everything by throwing him out of Evolution. Now Orton wants it all back and he’s coming for it all at the Royal Rumble.

This brings out HHH, who says he’s heard this from Orton before. HHH is going to make him suffer because HHH is the greatest wrestler alive today. We hear all the names that HHH has beaten before but Orton says he’s heard this before. He had to hear every day when he was in Evolution, from the car to the gym to the hotel.

HHH says he’s sick of saying it but he has to do it because some young punk kid like him keeps coming out here and trying to take his spot. The fight is teased but HHH says it’s his time. Dang I miss that song. Orton charges up the ramp and the fight is on, with Flair coming out to help. That doesn’t go well as Orton beats up both of them, albeit with the help of a chair. This still isn’t interesting, but points for calling out HHH for his interviews being repetitive.

Post break HHH is livid and bubbly Maria comes up to ask him a question. He shouts her down and storms into his locker room where Batista is waiting. You can see HHH’s mood change because he knows Batista is a big problem if handled wrong. Batista is ok with what happened last week and HHH calms down a bit. Right now though, Batista needs to talk to Eric Bischoff about something.

HHH offers to go get whatever Batista wants, but Batista is talking about getting in the Royal Rumble and getting a shot at the title. HHH: “….my….my World Title?” I watched this story as it airs but watching it back, it deserves WAY more credit than it receives. They’re hitting every point to near perfection and I’m digging it.

Shawn Michaels talks about how he’s tried to apologize to Canada but for now, he’s focused on the Royal Rumble. See, if he wins tonight and wins the World Title, Edge can’t be champion. Bischoff comes up and goes over Shawn’s Royal Rumble history, including winning in 1996 to take the title from Bret Hart. Based on that history, Shawn is in, but he gets to fight Christian tonight.

Shawn Michaels vs. Christian

Christian, with Tyson Tomko, gets the big hometown hero pop. Before Shawn comes out, we look at his rather good brawl with Edge last week. Edge comes out and we take a break before the bell. We’re joined in progress with both guys getting up for the slugout. A backdrop sends Christian to the floor as the fans just do not let up on Shawn. Edge offers a distraction so Tomko can get in a cheap shot and the Canadians rejoice.

Back in and the chinlock goes on, followed by a backbreaker to keep it on. Shawn fights up and gets in a Thesz press as the fans continue their anti-Shawn tradition. Edge tries to come in with a spear but misses, allowing Shawn to drop the top rope elbow. Sweet Chin Music is countered into the Unprettier attempt which is countered into Sweet chin Music for the pin.

Rating: C. Just a match here as Christian isn’t big enough to give Shawn a real threat. What matters here is letting Edge get out there to mess with Shawn a bit because Edge does feel like he could give Shawn trouble. This was perfectly watchable though and that’s better than a lot of what we get on Raw.

Post match Edge hits the spear and puts on the Edgecator, making him look like a bigger star than he has been in years.

Batista vs. Viscera

Big pop for Batista. Viscera powers him around to start but Batista gets in some shoulders in the corner. A middle rope forearm to the back has Viscera in trouble but he’s right back with a Samoan drop. The big elbow gets two as Flair and HHH are watching in the back. Batista is right back with a spinebuster for the pin. This was a total face performance from Batista and there’s no other way to present him at this point. It’s a perfect rise to the top of the card and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.

Batista comes back in to see HHH and Flair. Next week, he can have a Royal Rumble qualifying match, if he wants it. HHH says “Uhhh…..” as Flair shakes his head no. See, Evolution should have one focus at the Royal Rumble and it should be Randy Orton. It would be a little selfish for Batista to enter the match because it could lead to Batista wanting a title shot. That would make it all about Batista and not Evolution because he would sound like Orton. Batista agrees because no one likes a selfish, self-centered egomaniac. The stare at HHH as he said that wasn’t exactly hidden.

Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit

The fans aren’t sure what to do here as they start with some grappling on the mat. The standoff gets some polite applause and Benoit takes him down into an armbar. Jericho reverses into one of his own but Benoit starts rolling some German suplexes. A cross armbreaker is broken up and another standoff takes us to a break.

Back with Jericho fighting out of a chinlock and catching Benoit on top with a butterfly superplex. Some near falls ensue before Benoit suplexes him to the floor, only to fall outside with him. Back in and a very hard clothesline gives Benoit two as the fans are getting quiet again. The rolling German suplexes have Jericho rocked but the Swan Dive misses. Jericho can’t follow up so Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter but gets small packaged for the pin.

Rating: C+. The crowd hurt things a good bit here as they didn’t want to boo either of them but cheering would mean a knock on the other guy so they sat there quietly for the most part. The wrestling was good stuff of course, but they never cranked it up as these two know how to do. With no issue though, why would they do that?

We recap Gene Snitsky vs. Kane, which is happening again tonight because reasons.

Chris Masters is coming.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Here’s Trish Stratus to another hometown pop for a chat. Trish runs down America for mocking her so often but that’s beside the point. She’s not here to say she told us so, but she told us she would take the title back from Lita, which she did. Trish destroyed Lita’s knee and she’s going to be out for a long, long time. But don’t worry, because there is a locker room full of men who would be more than happy to impregnate Lita. Cue Kane to chase Trish off but he throws her back inside. Kane lets go of the chokeslam though and smiles….before chokeslamming her anyway.

Kane vs. Gene Snitsky

No holds barred. They slug it out on the floor with Kane charging into a big boot. The clothesline off the barricade drops Snitsky though and they go inside for the first time. The threat of a chokeslam sends Snitsky right back to the floor and he gets in a bell shot to take over. It’s time for a weightlifting belt (which just happened to be underneath the ring) and the whipping is on. The fans would rather do the Wave though Kane’s comeback seems to get their attention.

A chair is brought in but Snitsky knocks it out of his hands. The GO LEAFS GO chant starts up as Snitsky wraps the chair around Kane’s throat. Kane gets up and chairs Snitsky off the middle rope though and it’s time for another whipping. They fight up to the stage with Snitsky going into the steel. Snitsky misses the big right hand and gets chokeslammed off the stage with Kane going with him through the table. That’s good for a no contest of course.

Rating: D+. The fans’ reaction isn’t a good sign here as there’s no interest left in this feud. Kane defeated him cleanly at the pay per view so why should it keep going? He has his revenge and Snitsky lost his appeal as soon as someone beat him for the first time. This didn’t need to happen and the fans didn’t care, which tells you a lot about where these two are.

Post match everyone checks on the two of them to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Batista is carrying this show right now, but you don’t need to do anything else going into the Rumble. There are some other good things going on at the moment so it’s not a bad show, but there are parts of it that are better than others. Just getting Batista right is all that matters, and it’s working very well right now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: June 17, 2019
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s the go home show for Stomping Grounds and egads they need to come up with something to bring some fire to the show. There are all kinds of tickets still available and while you could come up with a variety of reasons why, the biggest problem is the show doesn’t feel interesting. Maybe they can pick things up a bit tonight, but I wouldn’t get too excited. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Elias to open things up. He talks about being friends with Anthony Davis (basketball star recently traded to the Lakers), who came here because he needed to surround himself with trash. With that out of the way though, Elias reveals that he is the referee for Sunday’s Baron Corbin vs. Seth Rollins Universal Title match. Cue Rollins to chair Elias down and say that whoever chooses to be the referee (So it’s not Elias?) will be answering to the chair.

The announcers make it clear that Elias, as well as Sami Zayn from last week, are having second thoughts.

The Miz vs. Ricochet vs. Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Cesaro

Elimination match with the winner getting to face Samoa Joe for the US Title on Sunday. Since Elias is still in the ring, everyone hits something on him during their entrances. I get what they’re going for here with giving the fans something fun to start the show, but what is the motivation for everyone to beat him up? It’s another good example of doing something because the script tells you to and that’s not a smart move for anyone. Samoa Joe is at ringside to watch as well.

The match starts after a break with Strowman cleaning house until Cesaro manages to hit his reverse Angle Slam. That earns him a powerslam from Strowman, who then powerslams Lashley onto Cesaro to get rid of the latter at 1:18. Another powerslam gets rid of Lashley at 2:21. Strowman runs over Ricochet and Miz on the floor before throwing Miz back inside. Hang on though as Lashley spears Strowman and Cesaro adds a Neutralizer, setting up the 630 for a triple pin to get rid of Strowman at 4:21.

Strowman isn’t done either and throws Ricochet onto the two of them before driving Cesaro into the set. Back from a break with Ricochet hurricanranaing Miz to the floor, setting up a flip dive. Back in and Ricochet counters the Skull Crushing Finale with a rollup for two but Miz drops him on his head with a DDT. The YES Kicks keep Ricochet in trouble but Miz gets smart by going for the knee. The Figure Four goes on until Ricochet turns it over, only to have Miz do the same until a rope is grabbed. Ricochet kicks him down and stumbles up to the top for the 630 and the pin at 14:21.

Rating: C-. This was all over the place with the first three eliminations being just a means to get us to the final showdown. Ricochet winning is the right call as he has won a few matches against Cesaro in the last few weeks. It’s a smart move to build up someone for a change, especially when you use the same methods that have always worked in wrestling and always will.

Post match Samoa Joe comes after Ricochet, who knocks him to the floor for a running flip dive.

Here’s Becky Lynch for a chat. She gets straight to the point and calls out Lacey Evans, who comes out without much trouble. Evans talks about how jealous Becky is of her and how many things she’s done that Becky can never dream of. She’s a former United States Marine who can run boot camp in the morning and a cotillion at night. Lynch just wants to fight while Evans talks about how the women’s division needs a real woman as champion. Becky is beatable, but Lacey spends too much time getting in the ring and gets caught in the Bexploder. Becky steals her hat. More of the same from these two, though that’s not terrible.

The Revival, dressed rather nicely this week, joins Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre’s celebration.

Corbin says he still needs to find his referee and will announce it tonight on the Kevin and Sami Show. Rollins hits him in the back with a chair.

Here are Daniel Bryan and Rowan to insult the people of Los Angeles. This is the capital of smog and full of stupid and impotent people. Tonight though they are going to excite the audience, which means here are the Viking Raiders. Uh….ok.

Viking Raiders vs. Russ Taylor/Randy Taylor

So that’s what Randy did after Home Improvement. The beating is on in a hurry with the Viking Experience finishing Russ at 34 seconds.

R-Truth and Carmella are in disguise in the crowd but they get caught in a hurry. The mob comes out and chases Truth under the ring…..where Titus O’Neil is hiding? The distraction lets Truth and Carmella escape.

Heath Slater comes in to see Shane and company where he asks for a raise. That’s a big no so Slater goes into the hall to call his wife. Drew follows and the beating is on and Dawson takes Slater’s wallet.

It’s time for the Kevin and Sami Show, with Kevin yelling at their graphics guy. Owens brings out the guest, which is of course Baron Corbin. Sami calls this a safe space but pulls himself out of the running to be guest referee on Sunday. Owens does the same but now we get to find out who the referee will be. That would be someone born to count 1-2-3: EC3. As EC3 comes to the ring, Rollins chairs him down as well. Baron says it’s back to the drawing board but here’s New Day to interrupt.

Sami says that they’re not invited, nor are they official Wild Cards (so that’s their answer this week) but since Kofi is champion, he goes wherever he wants. Owens says Kofi isn’t going to be champion again after Sunday and even if he is, Owens will take the title from him the next chance he gets. Kofi promises to retain on Sunday but as for tonight, Corbin wants a six man tag. New Day is down and picks up EC3 to referee, with Big E. and Woods shaking him up and down to nod yes.

We go to the trainer’s room where AJ Styles is cleared to return. Hang on though as the Good Brothers come in. AJ says they debuted three years ago right here in the Staples Center when they jumped the Usos. They’ve had some classics, but AJ thinks they’ve gotten comfortable. When is the last time they won a match? The doctors’ coats come off and things get serious.

New Day vs. Baron Corbin/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

This is now 2/3 falls and it’s Zayn/Owens vs. Big E./Woods on Sunday. Woods gets taken into the wrong corner to start and the stomping is on. Corbin comes in and mocks the clap before hitting a running right hand to the head. An enziguri drops Corbin but Owens is right there to break up the tag. That earns him raised knees to block the backsplash so Sami breaks up another tag attempt. A quick rollup gives Woods the first fall at 4:41 and we take a break.

Back with Big E. in trouble in the corner and Woods and Kofi down on the floor. Big E. tries to fight out but gets superkicked down for two instead. The villains take turns beating on Big E. until Owens gets sent into the post. A belly to belly plants Owens and the hot tag brings in Kingston to beat up Corbin. Kofi’s dropkick into a high crossbody gets two and there’s the Boom Drop. Deep Six cuts Kofi off but Owens and Corbin get in an argument with Owens giving him a superkick. Zayn and Owens leave and it’s Trouble in Paradise to give New Day the 2-0 win at 12:15.

Rating: C. Well that was a bad idea. Corbin is already a weak challenger for the Universal Title and now he’s getting his head kicked off to lose a fall six days before the title shot. I’m not sure what the point was in having this be 2/3 falls but I’m sure just sticking a gimmick onto the match makes it better.

Alexa Bliss brings Nikki Cross a gift: a Women’s Tag Team Title shot against the IIconics. Nikki is thrilled and Alexa slips in a few lines about Bayley causing drama.

Here’s Paul Heyman for a chat. He isn’t that comfortable tonight because Seth Rollins is running around with a chair. Heyman will NOT be guest referee on Sunday because he doesn’t want to get beaten up with a chair. This morning, he thought of something: what do Rollins and the Los Angeles Lakers have in common? They’ve both traded away their balls.

The Lakers traded away their (Lonzo) Ball so LeBron James can have a playmate when he loses again. Rollins traded his balls for a chair so he can fight Brock Lesnar. Heyman threatens Rollins with a cash-in either tonight, Sunday, or any night for that matter. More of the same from Heyman, who seems like a waste of time at this point.

Corbin offers Eric Young the referee job and leaves. Rollins comes in to say he’s turning the job down because he doesn’t look good in stripes. They’re friends (Have they ever been together on TV before?) but Rollins destroys him anyway.

The Usos are ready for the Good Brothers.

Usos vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers waste no time with the Boot Of Doom getting two on Jimmy. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Anderson stops for a Too Sweet. Jey breaks up the Magic Killer with a superkick and it’s another superkick into a double superkick to finish Gallows at 2:40. This feels like the beginning of the traditional losing streak to get rid of someone.

AJ isn’t happy in the back.

Hulk Hogan of all people praises the US Women’s soccer team. There’s your random segment of the week.

Here’s Roman Reigns, who isn’t happy with having to see a video of his loss to Shane McMahon at Super ShowDown. He wants to beat someone up tonight so Shane can come out here and fight. Shane pops up on screen to say no because Reigns needs to worry about McIntyre on Sunday. Drew promises to beat Roman up on Sunday until it becomes very uncomfortable. Maybe he’ll pin Reigns then, but it won’t be over until Reigns is physically disfigured.

He wants Reigns’ children to scream at the sight of him and that’s enough for Reigns to come through the crowd and head after him. Reigns beats up the Revival and puts Drew through the table before chasing Shane into the arena. A diving clothesline over the barricade drops Shane and it’s the Superman Punch into the spear. Reigns tells him to tell Drew he’s getting beaten up on Sunday. Somehow, this is still all about Shane.

Bayley says there is no truth to the rumors that she wouldn’t take a picture with a fan in a Nikki Cross shirt. Naomi and Natalya aren’t so convinced.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: IIconics vs. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss

The IIconics are defending but before the match they say they can’t believe they’re having to defend against these two. Billie laughs at LeBron James for not being able to win with the Lakers (because there are NO OTHER sports in Los Angeles). We get Big Match Intros and Bayley comes out to watch. Alexa slaps Billie to start and sends her face first into the middle buckle.

Peyton comes in and a trip lets the champs pose on Bliss. It’s off to Cross for an armdrag and a rollup for two of her own. Nikki has to fight out of the corner but Bliss gets knocked off the apron and into a fight with Bayley. The distraction lets Billie roll Cross up to retain at 3:31.

Rating: D. Just a way to build towards Bliss vs. Bayley, which needs a bit more help. Bliss being involved in multiple stories at the same time is interesting, but at this point Bayley has to win, just to exorcise some of the demons of her earlier career. Oh and one more thing: there were five people involved in this segment. Three of them have titles. That’s a bit much.

Stomping Grounds rundown.

Cross wants Bliss to win on Sunday and will be in here corner.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray is watering his plants, which he says is just like our minds. If you water them and give them care, they can grow. Some ideas are just full of worms though and that’s not good. Some kids have been told bad ideas, like the earth being round or dinosaurs being extinct. Bray knows what it feels like to not belong or to be different.

That’s why he built this place for us, so they can all be together. We see all the puppets looking at him as Bray gets more sinister and tells everyone to join him here. People worship what they fear and fear is power. Follow the leader. The video starts breaking up and we see various clips from the series’ history, including the Muscle Man Dance, all with the words LET HIM IN flashing on the screen and voices singing “Follow the Leader” as the Fiend appears. Let him in. So is this all in Bray’s mind or some way for him to deal with his psychosis?

Daniel Bryan rants about how he’s a better wrestler than Rollins because Seth can’t have his chair all the time. Rollins has never beaten him and that won’t change tonight.

We recap tonight’s referee chronicles.

Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan

Non-title and Rowan is in Bryan’s corner. Bryan tries to wrestle to start but gets knocked to the floor for the suicide dives. Rowan catches one though and it’s a claw slam onto the apron for the DQ at 1:28.

Post match the beatdown is on but New Day, Owens, Zayn and the Revival all run in for the brawl. The Usos come in as well and the bad guys are sent to the floor for the big dives from the Usos.

Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan

Still non-title and restarted after a break with everyone banned from ringside. Bryan backdrops him to the floor to start with Rollins landing hard. Back in and Bryan hits a running dropkick in the corner but a second attempt is cut off by a hard clothesline. The threat of a Sling Blade sends Bryan outside, followed by another slugout. Rollins’ enziguri is countered into an ankle lock, followed by a German suplex to send Seth outside.

A running knee off the apron has Rollins in more trouble. Back in and Rollins hits the superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into the LeBell Lock. That’s broken up with a rope grab but the running knee is countered into a buckle bomb. The low superkick gets two but Bryan pulls him into the LeBell Lock again. This time it’s reversed into a cradle for two, followed by the Stomp to finish Bryan at 8:02.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much time to do anything here and that’s fine. What matters most here though is Rollins winning and the fact that they didn’t go with the minute and a half version of the match from earlier. This wasn’t anything great, but it was the best match of the night, even in such a short form.

Post match Corbin chairs Rollins from behind and beats him down with the chair (including a shot that seemed to catch Rollins in the head). Corbin poses with the title to end the show. No announcement on the referee.

Overall Rating: C. The main thing here was the energy. The last several shows have felt so lethargic and it’s been killing anything that might have been good about them. However, the energy doesn’t make up for the big problem that Sunday’s show faces: it’s still a possible Baron Corbin main event and there’s no way around that. I know they can’t have this kind of energy every week, but having something a little more interesting in the main event scene would do wonders for them week to week.

Oh and this week’s Wild Card:

Kevin Owens

Carmella

Daniel Bryan/Rowan

Bayley

Elias

Shane McMahon

R-Truth

New Day

And those are just the ones I counted, meaning there could have been more in the mob chasing R-Truth. Even if you factor out New Day (designated as non-Wild Cards yet they show up and have a match anyway), Shane (because him being listed as a Smackdown star doesn’t count because reasons), Rowan (because two man tag teams are one person) and R-Truth (fair enough, even though he’s still a Smackdown guy), you have five people. The fact that they needed excuses for SIX people to get it down to five shows you that the Wild Card Rule is being phased out for the sake of everyone being on the show. Fine, but hide it better.

Results

Ricochet b. The Miz, Braun Strowman, Cesaro and Bobby Lashley – 630 to Miz

Viking Raiders b. Russ Taylor/Randy Taylor – Viking Experience to Russ

New Day b. Baron Corbin/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Trouble in Paradise to Corbin

Usos b. Good Brothers – Double superkick to Gallows

IIconics b. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss – Rollup to Cross

Seth Rollins b. Daniel Bryan via DQ when Rowan interfered

Seth Rollins b. Daniel Bryan – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: October 31, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Burlington, Vermont
Attendance: 1,800
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

I’m almost scared to see how this era of the company does Halloween. It’s already been a terrible enough time around here and that means it could only get worse given what we’re building towards. The big match for this week is Lex Luger vs. Bob Backlund, which could work under optimal circumstances. However, there is nothing optimal about this time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with some shots of a graveyard, which Vince manages to transition into Backlund’s nightmares haunting him. Now he’s changed from Dr. Jekyll (he doesn’t say into what exactly) and Luger needs to slay the monster.

Opening sequence.

Lex Luger vs. Bob Backlund

A quick armdrag puts Backlund down and Luger does Backlund’s lunging steps thing. Some leg sweeps have Backlund in more trouble and Bob can’t believe it. The standoff lets Backlund take him down but Luger slips out in something I wouldn’t have bet on. Backlund goes to a wristlock and Luger can’t power out this time. Luger gets taken down by the arm for two as Savage thinks Backlund is scared that the chickenwing won’t work here. Savage: “What if Lex Luger doesn’t exist and we’re watching Lex Luger by himself???” Vince: “Uh….how much of that candy have you eaten?”

Luger powers up but here’s Tatanka as we take a break. Back with Backlund….holding a bearhug? The heck? Luger bails to the ropes from the threat of the chickenwing so it’s off to a hammerlock bearhug (that’s a new one). Some right hands get Luger out of trouble and a running knee lift drops Backlund. Cue Tatanka again and this time the distraction lets Backlund get the chickenwing. Backlund takes him down….and Tatanka comes in for the DQ. What sense does that make?

Rating: D+. I’m still trying to get my mind around Backlund using a bearhug. Anyway, this was a mostly dull match but there was no way they were going to have a clean finish. I’ll give them points for making the chickenwing feel like the scariest move in the company, which is hard to pull off. I remember being scared of it because it was beating EVERYONE and that’s exactly the point.

Post match referees break it up but Backlund goes back in to put the hold on again. Savage finally gets off commentary and breaks it up. Instead of beating on Backlund, he pulls on him instead, which would likely crank on Luger’s arm even more. Then again, Savage was never one to think before he acted. Pretty awesome segment though, with Savage going into the crazy eyes look after the break when he rants about Backlund.

The main event of the third Action Zone: Mabel vs. Yokozuna. So much for that show.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Tony DeVito

The Kid’s hair is rather huge for some reason. Must be a Halloween thing. Savage keeps ranting about Backlund and I kind of want to see that match. DeVito shrugs off a dropkick and sends the Kid into the buckle a few times, only to miss the big elbow. The rapid fire kicks in the corner rock DeVito and it’s the running legdrop to make it even worse. A slam sets up the guillotine legdrop to finish DeVito.

Rating: D. DeVito was one of the regular jobbers around this time and while he didn’t have a good look, he was more than fine enough for a watchable match. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case here, which is hard to do against the Kid. At the same time, it’s hard to see the Kid win a squash as he’s at his best when he’s selling and you didn’t get much of that here.

Survivor Series Report, featuring the announcement that Bob Backlund wants the title match to be a submission match. Moving on though, Undertaker vs. Yokozuna is going to be a casket match and Chuck Norris (seriously) is going to be the guest enforcer. There will also be the Bad Guys (Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid/British Bulldog/Headshrinkers) vs. the Teamsters (Diesel/Shawn Michaels/Jim Neidhart/Owen Hart/Jeff Jarrett) and Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Wink/Pink) vs. the Royal Family (Jerry Lawler/Cheesy/Sleazy/Queasy) in a show that is making me cringe just thinking about it.

There was a charity softball game with the WWF Superstars beating a women’s union team.

King Kong Bundy vs. Bert Centeno

Bundy chokes him in the corner to start and goes with the general beatdown as this isn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Savage keeps going on about Backlund as the Avalanche finishes Centeno for five. Bad squash.

IRS goes to a cemetery and yells at the grave of a man named John Dough for not paying his taxes. His daughter’s birthday dinner was NOT deductible so he’ll be taking the flowers from the grave.

It’s time for the King’s Court with the Undertaker and Paul Bearer as the guests. The lights come back up and Bearer asks if Lawler is comfortable now. I’m more confused by the image of Bearer and Lawler in the same ring (you just don’t see them together that often). Lawler brings up the previous Undertaker vs. Yokozuna casket match and Undertaker doesn’t like it.

Bearer breaks out a WWF Magazine to recap the other match and promises there will be no deja vu this time around. See, Chuck Norris will be at ringside to deal with things between the undead mortician and the Samoan/Japanese sumo wrestler. Undertaker makes his usual threats and says the Creatures of the Night will help Yokozuna rest in peace. This story is so over the top that it’s kind of incredible, though not incredible enough to make up for everything else.

Next week: Bret Hart/British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart. Well ok then.

Jim Neidhart vs. Tony Roy

Neidhart starts fast and throws Roy around as we hear about Neidhart hanging around the White House. Roy gets tied in the Tree of Woe so Owen can choke from the floor and talk trash, which is more interesting than the squash. A slam sets up the chinlock into a gutwrench suplex as this needs to end already. Neidhart finally finishes with a camel clutch.

Rating: D. All this made me want to do was skip over the rest of the show and get to the tag match next week. Neidhart doesn’t get to do squashes that often but that’s because he’s a lot better as the muscle of a team or the insane promo. This was rather dull but what else were you expecting?

Post match the hold goes on again with Owen putting the sunglasses on Roy.

Vince is in the back with Luger but we can’t hear anything being said. Savage talks over it instead….and Tatanka runs in to brawl with Luger to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Sweet goodness this was a bad time for the show. There were a few bright spots here and there but the biggest problem was how they tried to mix the comedy with the serious to no avail. The Survivor Series matches are looking awful with Backlund doing everything he can to carry the show. Really uninteresting show and it’s leading up to an awful pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: October 24, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Burlington, Vermont
Attendance: 1,800
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

We’re still in Vermont and still on the very slow build towards Survivor Series, but first up we have Razor Ramon defending the Intercontinental Title against Yokozuna. Other than that we have the bizarre feud between Lex Luger and Bob Backlund over chickenwings and drugs. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna

Razor is defending and Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji are in Yokozuna’s corner. Yokozuna jumps him from behind to start as the arena is still full of smoke from the pyro. Some right hand slaps and a clothesline don’t put Yokozuna down so it’s a jumping clothesline to finally drop the monster.

Razor knocks him to the floor and it’s time for the stumbling turtle look. Apparently those were Miami street smarts that put Yokozuna on the floor. What the heck do they do in the streets of Miami? Razor is smart enough to let him get back in as we hear about Oprah running a marathon.

A slam plants Razor and the big legdrop crushes Razor’s head. We hit the nerve hold and take a break, coming back to the hold keeping Razor down. Razor fights up with some elbows so Yokozuna pounds away in the corner. It’s back to the nerve hold as we talk about football. Back up and Razor avoids the charge in the corner, setting up the middle rope bulldog for two. Cue the casket though and Yokozuna bails for the countout.

Rating: D. That was a pretty weird way to end the match as Razor wasn’t exactly in trouble. I can appreciate the idea of not having Razor look weak, but it’s not the kind of thing that you usually see happen. At least they were smart enough to go with the logical ending instead of having someone take a clean loss, which you wouldn’t see today.

It’s time for the Survivor Series Report, with the big Texas theme rolling strong. There needs to be a main event though so we look back at yesterday’s premiere episode of the Action Zone, where WWF Champion Bret Hart offers Bob Backlund a title shot. As for the traditional Survivor Series matches, we have Guts N Glory (Smoking Gunns/Adam Bomb/Mabel/Lex Luger) vs. the Million Dollar Team (Bam Bam Bigelow/King Kong Bundy/Tatanka/Heavenly Bodies). And yes, you are supposed to want to pay for that match.

Next week: Backlund vs. Luger. That’s some great timing given the matches they just announced.

Smoking Gunns vs. Mike Bell/Barry Hardy

Joined in progress (Seriously?) with the Gunns in control as Bart whips Bell all over the place. A double Russian legsweep plants Bell as Savage starts talking like Dusty Rhodes for some reason. Billy’s powerslam sets up an over the shoulder backbreaker/top rope elbow to finish Bell with ease.

Tatanka vs. Scott Taylor

Tatanka sends him into the corner to start as we hear about Walter Cronkite going to a Grateful Dead concert. Savage: “I wonder if the Undertaker knows about that.” DiBiase brags about Tatanka, showing that he has some pretty low standards. Now we hear about Savage going to a car race and where he went to dinner after it was over. Taylor gets two off a rollup and gets clotheslined right back down. The very (and I mean VERY) slow beating continues until the End of the Trail gives Tatanka the pin.

Rating: D-. Egads this was slow but I do want to hear about that Vinny’s restaurant that Savage went to. There wasn’t much other than that though as the Million Dollar Corporation vs….well anyone actually was just awful. It was as low level of a stable as you can get and there was no way to hide that.

IRS can’t believe Undertaker would DIE to avoid paying taxes. Even after you come to the funeral home, you still need to pay up!

Adam Bomb vs. Phil Apollo

Apollo is better known as Doink and he actually jumps Bomb to start. This goes as well as you would expect as Bomb…hiptosses him. What a power display. A dropkick sends Apollo into the corner as Savage talks about John Candy movies. The pumphandle powerslam finishes Apollo in a hurry.

Post match Backlund comes out and puts Bomb in the crossface chickenwing.

It’s time for the King’s Court and I have a bad feeling about this. Lawler does his usual set of insults of the crowd before talking about the mini kings. He recaps the entire history of the mini kings vs. the mini clowns and sounds like he loses himself somewhere in the process. Savage: “GET TO THE POINT!” That is indeed what he does, by introducing Cheesy as the third mini. Lawler issues a challenge to Doink and the mini clowns (That wasn’t already set up?) with the mini kings talking some horrible trash. Sweet goodness this is awful and the match would be even worse.

This week on Action Zone: Shawn Michaels and Diesel defend the Tag Team Titles against Razor Ramon/1-2-3 Kid in a pretty famous match.

Diesel vs. Ben Jordan

Believe it or not, Diesel runs him over to start and hits the big boot into the side slam as the announcers pay attention to this one. It’s almost like Diesel could wind up going somewhere. The neck crank goes on, followed by a bearhug as we hear about YA Tittle’s (former NFL quarterback, who happened to date my grandmother WAY back in the day, believe it or not) birthday. Another neck crank doesn’t last as long this time as Diesel hits the Jackknife for the win.

Rating: D. See, this is the Diesel who had all the potential in and I can get that entirely. He was big, he was cool (no word on if he was a daddy at this point) and he was dominant while having a great look. What else can you ask for at this point? It’s pretty clear that they need something else so why not try Diesel?

Now let’s make fun of the Major League Baseball strike. Just makes me want to watch baseball.

Bob Backlund comes to the ring and dances around to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. E pluribus gads I had forgotten how bad things got around this time. What in the world am I supposed to be interested in on this show? Tatanka vs. Lex Luger? The Smoking Gunns? Backlund is entertaining but I don’t think any sane person would believe that he was going to be the next big thing, or even a thing that was big whatsoever. Oh and the battle of the minis is an all time nightmare but I think that one speaks for itself.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: October 17, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Burlington, Vermont
Attendance: 1,800
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

The march to Survivor Series continues and that means I need to up my blood pressure medication. This isn’t a good time for the company and I don’t see that getting any better anytime soon. As long as the show doesn’t focus too heavily on Lawler vs. Doink, I think I can make it through this. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with some shots of Burlington, which seem to confuse the announcers. Ok then.

Opening sequence.

Doink the Clown vs. Jeff Jarrett

And Doink has a second mini clown by the name of Wink. They give the Spanish announcers a fake flower, because that’s what this show has turned into. Jeff bails straight to the floor but gets in a shot to the knee to take over early on. Back in and Doink gets in a slam, allowing Dink to bite Jeff in the tights area. A headlock doesn’t slow Jarrett down very much as he comes back with a drop toehold.

An abdominal stretch with a grab of the rope puts Doink in trouble, allowing Vince to talk about the minis running around as of late. Cue Dink to bite Jeff’s hand to get Doink out of the hold as the pace picks up. Now it’s Queasy and another unnamed mini King, drawing Dink and Wink over to chase them off. Things settle down until Doink charges into a boot in the corner as we take a break. Back with Doink still in trouble and Jeff getting two off a dropkick, meaning it’s time for the chinlock.

Doink slams his way to freedom but misses an elbow as this keeps going. Jeff’s sleeper is broken up pretty quickly so it’s a whatamaneuever (enziguri here) for two on Doink instead. Doink makes his comeback with a butterfly suplex as Vince and Randy talk about Savage’s old Gremlin needing a steering wheel. Jarrett misses a middle rope splash and gets powerslammed. A suplex gives Doink two more as the mini clowns chase the mini kings. Doink hits the Whoopee Cushion but here’s Jerry Lawler to deck Doink, giving Jarrett the pin.

Rating: C. You know what? Why not? They were trying here and got some time to turn it into a half decent match. It’s not like there were any expectations to this one and the focus was on the minis running around anyway. What we got was decent though and I can think of worse ways to spend the first third of the show.

Post match, Lawler introduces the second mini king as Sleazy.

The Action Zone is coming. Sweet…for like two weeks.

British Bulldog vs. Roy Raymond

They shove each other to start and Roy actually goes with a slap. The beating is on in a hurry and there’s the delayed vertical suplex. Bulldog grabs a chinlock as the announcers talk about Action Zone. A butterfly suplex gets a very delayed two and it’s back to the chinlock. Roy fights up and manages to go up top, only to be tossed back down. A kick to the ribs, as in Roy’s ribs, knocks Bulldog down and a release fisherman’s suplex gets two. The running powerslam gives Bulldog the pin.

Rating: D. This was Bulldog’s big return after being let go (I assure you the timing had nothing to do with the steroid investigations) and he’s….exactly the same guy as he was before. As has been said, there is only so much you can do to repackage the British Bulldog and this is more proof.

Post break Bulldog is still here….and he just poses without saying or doing anything else.

Here’s a random cameo from Burt Reynolds, saying to watch Raw.

Here’s an angry Bob Backlund, who wants to talk to Vince. Bob does NOT want to show the tape of what he did to Arnold Skaaland over the weekend but Vince shows it anyway. Backlund refused to accept Skaaland’s apology for throwing in the towel to cost Backlund the WWF Title back in 1983 and gave his a crossface chickenwing instead. Back in the arena, Backlund says he should apologize to everyone involved….for having Skaaland as his manager.

Back in July, Backlund understood that the people didn’t get him and they are doomed to be down in life. He did more to try to help people, including never eating marijuana or ever swearing in front of children. How can you expect your children to not take drugs when they’re in your billfolds??? HIS daughter isn’t out there with a gun.

Vince: “What does this have to do with the crossface chickenwing?” Backlund says the chickenwing is about discipline because no one can break it, and yes that’s a challenge. Cue Lex Luger to say he’s heard enough about the chickenwing so try it on him instead. Backlund: “He’s got a lot of panache!” Agents and referees keep anything from happening.

Bob Holly vs. Reno Riggins

Randy is trying to figure out the eating marijuana thing as Holly works on a weak headlock. An armbar keeps Riggins in trouble but he’s back with a slam to the mat by the hair. Riggins charges into an elbow in the corner and gets shoved off the ropes, setting up a high crossbody to give Holly the pin.

Next week: Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna for the Intercontinental Title.

IRS vs. Tim McNeany

Before the match, IRS says he’s coming after the Undertaker for cheating on his taxes. Egads I had forgotten that nightmare feud. Randy gets in on the IRWIN chants but stops before IRS hits a hiptoss. Some elbows keep Tim in trouble as Vince praises the Million Dollar Corporation, which is still a pretty lame stable. A suplex sets up the Penalty (a weird STF) to make McNeany tap.

We look at Yokozuna being scared of caskets on Superstars.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Barry Horowitz/Nick Barbarry

Jim Cornette introduces the Heavenly Bodies as the team that has won more matches than Elvis and the Beatles combined. Tom and Barry start things off with a bit of shoving until Barry gets two off a rollup. The Bodies switch places until Barry armdrags Tom down again. Barbarry comes in and gets caught with a bad looking floatover DDT, allowing Del Ray to drop Tom into a legdrop onto Nick. The moonsault gives Del Ray the pin in a hurry.

Luger says he wants Backlund.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s a weird night when Backlund and Doink carry the show, because I don’t think that has ever happened before. We’re coming up on Survivor Series but so far we’re not quite ready for things yet. I’m not sure what they’re going to do, because Luger vs. Backlund doesn’t quite feel big, but then again there’s a reason this era is so poorly remembered.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: October 10, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Attendance: 4,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

We’re still on the way to getting ready for Survivor Series though you can see where most of the card is heading. Bret Hart is fighting two different fronts as crazy Bob Backlund wants another shot at the title but there’s also Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart coming from the other way. Other than that, Undertaker and Yokozuna are fighting each other on a well publicized house show tour, which sounds like a preview of Survivor Series. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lex Luger

Bigelow has Tatanka, Nikolai Volkoff and Ted DiBiase with him. They get together and offer a distraction so Bigelow can jump Luger to start, proving that they’re not actually worthless. I mean, their worth is about as low as you can go but it’s there. Bigelow forearms and stomps him down, followed by some shoulder blocks for the same result. An elbow to the jaw and a right hand knock Bigelow to the floor because Luger is really strong. Back in and we hit the armbar on Bigelow, followed by a wristlock as the announcers rip on Tatanka for selling out.

Bigelow makes the rope and hits a powerslam but misses the top rope headbutt. That means the armbar can go back on as King Kong Bundy comes out to watch. Back from a break with Luger in trouble as Adam Bomb and Mabel come out to even things up a bit. Bigelow gets two off a DDT with Savage saying what a fantastic technician Bigelow is. Can we take away Savage’s drugs already?

Luger is staggered so Bigelow jumps into the air for what looked like a hurricanrana but he just kicked Luger in both sides of the head (on purpose). That sets up a chinlock as this just keeps going. Back up and Bigelow finally charges into some boots in the corner to give Luger a comeback. The clotheslines put Bigelow down but a DiBiase distraction lets Tatanka grab the leg. Bigelow knocks Tatanka off the apron by mistake and Luger gets the rollup for the pin. Mabel and Bomb didn’t do a thing.

Rating: D. WAY too long here as they went nearly fifteen minutes counting the commercial. DiBiase and company vs. Luger isn’t a good feud but it seems like all Luger can do without screwing something up. They did the basic face vs. monster formula here which is fine in theory but doesn’t quite work when it’s Lex Luger vs. Bam Bam Bigelow.

Tatanka, Bigelow and DiBiase argue all the way to the back.

We look at Bob Backlund on the Heartbreak Hotel where Shawn Michaels and Diesel approved. Backlund doesn’t seem interested, but he did issue a challenge to Bret Hart because he never lost the WWF Title ten years ago.

Mabel vs. Reno Riggins

In case you didn’t get enough Mabel earlier tonight. Riggins gets shoved around to start and stops for the test of strength for some reason. A slam puts Riggins down but he avoids the big elbow. Mabel doesn’t seem to mind as it’s a belly to back suplex into the legdrop for the pin. Vince is too busy talking about Larry King and Marlon Brando to notice.

Randy Savage was on a float in the Columbus Day parade.

Owen Hart vs. John Crystal

Feeling out process to start with Owen not being bothered by a hammerlock. Crystal gets armbarred as the fans want Bret. Vince talks about George Lucas writing three more Star Wars movies and Roseanne, which isn’t great on a show that already feels like it’s going on for years now. A missed dropkick keeps Crystal in trouble and it’s a belly to belly into the Sharpshooter for the win.

Rating: D. Totally standard squash with Vince calling Crystal “a non-entity”, which is one of the best dismissals of a jobber that I’ve ever seen. Owen was on fire at this point and while the great feud with Bret was over, he still had a lot left to do and could make anyone else look good, even an apparent non-entity like this guy.

Undertaker and Paul Bearer are ready to make Yokozuna pay for his crimes on the Hart Attack Tour.

Hart Attack Tour lineup.

King Kong Bundy vs. Mike Khoury

Khoury tries some early right hands and is thrown outside like a bad chicken leg. Bundy splashes him in the corner for two as the announcers talk about Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone. The Avalanches gives Bundy the five count pin.

We look back at Dink the Clown making Jerry Lawler sit on a pie on Superstars. Kill it. Kill it with fire.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Lawler ranting about how much he can’t stand short people. That turns into a rant about Dink as we see Lawler breaking Dink’s tricycle back in September. Now though, Lawler has an idea for what to do with Dink, so meet Queasy, the mini King. Queasy promises to take care of Dink with promises of forced foot kissing. And so begins one of the dumbest things they’ve ever done.

Action Zone is coming. That show was AWESOME! For like two weeks!

Headshrinkers vs. JS Storm/Corey Student

This would be Sione (Barbarian) and Fatu for the Headshrinkers with Student getting thrown all over the place. Storm comes in for a bunch of ineffective right hands as we hear about Shawn Michaels writing a love advice column in WWF Magazine. Sione kicks Storm’s head off for the fast pin. Total squash.

Razor Ramon confesses to a priest about attacking a man over breaking his toothpick. Priest: “Who do you think you are? Razor Ramon?” This has been an ad for the new WWF Generation, which is just weird a lot of the time.

Doink and Dink bring out Burger King crowns for Savage and McMahon. They’re not worried about Queasy to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. Well this didn’t work. This was a bunch of slow, boring matches with the eternally terrible Doink vs. Lawler feud to wrap it up. It’s a terrible time for the company as we get closer to Survivor Series, which isn’t going to make things that much better. Bad show here, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 3, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Attendance: 4,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

We’re in between Summerslam and Survivor Series here that means the big story is Bret Hart, who successfully defended the WWF World Title against his brother Owen back in August. However, after the match the British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart got involved and it seems that we’re moving towards a tag team feud. I’m not sure where that’s going to lead us at the moment but it’s almost time to start up the Survivor Series build. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Neidhart challenging Bulldog for tonight.

Earlier today, Neidhart and Owen arrived to call Bulldog a mud dog.

Opening sequence.

Jim Neidhart vs. British Bulldog

Owen is here with Neidhart but Bulldog is all alone. Some help Bret is. An early Owen distraction lets Neidhart jump him from behind but Bulldog nails a flying shoulder to send Neidhart outside. Back in and the power lockup (expect a few of those) goes nowhere so Neidhart grabs a headlock. That’s reversed into an armbar, followed by the fully expected test of strength. Neidhart kicks him in the ribs but gets suplexed down, meaning it’s time to go to the mat. I really didn’t think I’d say that, but I did think it would be pretty messy looking.

Neidhart chokes a bit and sends him hard into the buckle to really take over. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Bulldog fights up and tries a jumping knee…which bounces off Neidhart for some reason. Neidhart grabs a shorter form chinlock so Owen low bridges Bulldog as he gets up. That’s finally enough to bring Bret to the ring as we take a break. Back with Neidhart choking on the rope and Bulldog favoring his knee. A rake to the eyes and some choking set up a bearhug as Neidhart won’t go near the knee.

Bulldog finally breaks the thing so Neidhart goes after the knee. A clothesline gives Bulldog two but Neidhart takes the straps down and cranks on the knee again. A camel clutch changes Neidhart’s focus again but he lets go again (dude stick with something) and misses a middle rope splash. Bulldog manages the delayed vertical suplex for two but here’s Bob Backlund to go after Bret, leaving Owen to come in for the DQ.

Rating: D. In case you never needed proof of why Neidhart mainly wrestled as part of a tag team. This was really boring with Neidhart using one lame hold after another and not being able to decide if he wanted to work on the back or the neck. If nothing else this makes me want to see a great tag match between these four, which does exist and is of course awesome.

Baseball is on strike but wrestling isn’t. Good for them?

Doink the Clown vs. Barry Horowitz

Barry headlocks him down as we hear about Doink’s issues with Jerry Lawler. Egads I had tried to forget about that mess. They keep exchanging technical stuff on the mat as Vince and Savage are incensed that Jerry turned Dink’s tricycle into a unicycle. Barry gets in a shot to the ribs but misses a charge. Doink grabs a powerslam and hits the Whoopee Cushion (complete with sound effect) for the pin. Well at least it was short.

The Undertaker wants Yokozuna and will find him on the upcoming Hart Attack Tour. It’s better than Road To or *insert show here* Revenge.

House show ads.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Lawler making fun of Doink and Dink. Imagine, someone dressing up in a silly costume just to get attention (Savage explains the joke.). He doesn’t believe the lies from the commentators, which brings him to someone who needs to set the record straight. People have been saying that Yokozuna is scared of Undertaker so here he is to explain things. During Yokozuna’s entrance, Vince runs off celebrity birthdays and Savage talks about Roseanne.

Jim Cornette explains that the fear story is a smear campaign put out by Undertaker and Yokozuna, because Undertaker is the scared one. There are going to be some casket matches on the Hart Attack Tour, though Jim refuses to say the word casket. Lawler says it and Yokozuna’s head snaps around.

Cornette asks Lawler not to say that again so Lawler promises to not say “casket” again. Undertaker has good reason to be scared, because Yokozuna is the only man to ever beat him in his own game. It’s time for Undertaker to prove that he’s not scared, though let’s pause for Lawler to say casket again. Anyway, Yokozuna will destroy Undertaker soon enough.

Action Zone is coming. That show was awesome for….oh a good three weeks or so.

Bull Nakano/Luna Vachon vs. Heidi Lee Morgan/Alundra Blayze

Morgan was a minor name in the 1980s/90s and is really just a warm body here. Luna misses an early charge on Morgan to start and gets rolled up for an early two. Morgan gets taken into the corner for a beating, including a middle of the rope Vader Bomb from Vachon. It’s off to Nakano, who gets taken down with a victory roll for two. With Vince being astounded that Nakano didn’t break his hair, Savage says he’s attracted to her.

I’m not sure what to say there so we’ll move on to Morgan dropkicking Vachon down but missing a standing splash, as she dove forward three feet despite her feet touching Vachon. You can hear Vince’s disgust on the miss. Anyway it’s off to Blayze for the showdown with Nakano but everything breaks down. Morgan, not realizing that this isn’t about her, comes in to try a double suplex but Nakano suplexes both of them down instead. Vachon dropkicks Nakano by mistake though and it’s the German suplex from Blayze for the pin.

Rating: C. I liked this one as it was a good example of how the women’s division could have worked back in the day. These were four women who could work and had a perfectly fine match. There were problems like Morgan being in the ring for too long and not realizing that this was supposed to be about Nakano vs. Blayze but it’s a far cry from the disasters that this division would become.

King Kong Bundy is back next week. I know that sounds like it’s out of a different era, but it’s no different than Tajiri or Rhyno showing up late in their careers. You know exactly what you’re getting and Bundy is perfectly fine at what he does.

New Generation ad with a woman confessing to a priest about having “thoughts” about people like Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. “The New WWF: Put your faith in us.” I….kind of liked that one.

Bob Backlund vs. Gary Scott

This is crazy Bob who thinks he should still be WWF Champion because he didn’t give up in 1983. Backlund armdrags him down to start and does his little dance. Savage talks about using a thesaurus and dictionary as Backlund gets taken down as well. They get into a technical sequence and Bob takes over without breaking a sweat. A leg trip sets up the crossface chickenwing.

Bret thinks Backlund is insane and points out that he beat Backlund a few weeks back. He had his shot and it’s time to move on.

Overall Rating: C. Not the worst show and it’s amazing how much more of a focus this show feels like it has compared to earlier in the year. The wrestling isn’t great, but they’re telling some stories and I want to see where some of them go. You don’t get that enough in this era and a confident Bret on top is a huge help. Not a great show, but far better than most of what we get from 1994.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: January 10, 2005
Location: Office Depot Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after New Year’s Revolution and, of course, HHH is the World Champion again. This time isn’t so bad though as it’s pretty clear that Batista is waiting in the wings and will be the next big challenger as soon as the timing is right. That’s the only way they can go at the moment but we have the Royal Rumble in less than three weeks to help get us there. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s HHH to open things up because of course he does. During his long entrance, JR calls the place the Home Depot Center in a somewhat funny error. HHH says you can have whatever excuse you want but the truth is that no one can do what he does. It doesn’t matter who it is, what show they’re on or what title they hold because no one can hold a candle to him.

Last night he survived and overcame the odds to get his World Title back. At Wrestlemania XX, everyone thought HHH was done. But now it’s 2005 and one bestselling book, one hit movie and one World Title reign later, and it’s clear that he’s just hitting his stride. Ric Flair says they should have the fans’ respect and HHH says every fan here is useless. There is someone else who is very useful though and last night, he dominated the Elimination Chamber.

This brings out Batista but before he can say anything, it’s Randy Orton coming out as well. HHH: “Look guys, it’s the legend killer!” Orton has no place at a celebration for winners because he’s a loser so get out of here. Orton talks about eliminating Batista last night and has footage to show that HHH doesn’t have Batista’s back. We see a clip of HHH watching Batista get pinned in the Chamber when he had the chance to make a save.

That makes Batista take his sunglasses off but a nervous HHH says he had been in the match for 45 minutes (he loves saying that time for long matches) and lost so much blood that his knees buckled. Orton doesn’t wait for Batista’s explanation and shows another clip of HHH having Batista hold him up on his shoulders after the match was over. Flair gave him the thumbs up, but Orton knows that it’s going to be a thumbs down when the time is right.

Now Batista’s jacket comes off as Orton demands a title shot tonight. Cue Eric Bischoff to say that Orton is allowed a rematch….if he can beat Batista in a #1 contenders match tonight. This was as clear of a confirmation as you can get that Orton is clinging to popularity by his fingertips as the Batista train is pulling away. Orton was just there while the fans loved Batista, which tells you everything you need to know about their futures.

Raw and Smackdown are coming to Japan next month.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Maven

Non-title and a rematch from last night where Benjamin beat Maven twice. Maven goes straight at him to start and uses a distracted referee to get in a low blow. The early neck crank goes on but Shelton is up with a backdrop. The Dragon Whip sets up the Exploder to finish Maven in a hurry. So much for that push.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Hurricane

Daivari and Rosey are here as seconds. Before the match, Hassan talks about dealing a blow to the biased American media last night. The personal revolution continues though and it’s time to show what Hassan thinks of truth, justice and the American way. An early Daivari distraction lets Hassan get in a clothesline and some right hands to take over. We hit the cobra clutch but Hurricane fights up with his own clotheslines. The Shining Wizard misses though and Hassan hits the Downward Spiral for the pin. It was better than last night against Lawler but that’s not saying much.

Wrestlemania Recall: Pete Rose meets Kane.

HHH tells Batista that he has his full support against Orton tonight. It would be an honor to defend the title against Batista at Wrestlemania and Batista deserves it. Batista: “Eventually, we all get what we deserve.” Again: Batista sounds cool, looks cool and wrestles cool. How could he not be a smash hit?

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Edge vs. Rhyno

Edge is banged up from the Chamber last night so Rhyno forearms him in the corner to start and sends him hard into the corner. Rhyno charges into a right hand to the face and Edge wraps his ribs around the post. Back in and Rhyno is fine enough to hit a powerslam for two but Edge is right back with the spear. The Edgecator makes Rhyno tap.

Rating: D+. The ending wasn’t quite in doubt and it’s nice to have Edge come back with a win to make up for last night’s loss. That being said, you can pencil him in for a big showdown with Shawn Michaels and that’s only going to help him. Edge is looking like a star in the making, but he has some more work to do.

Post match Edge says he isn’t happy because he wants Shawn out here to settle things once and for all. Back from a break as Edge says he knew Shawn wouldn’t come out here without the cameras rolling. Edge recaps his issues with Shawn and here’s Shawn in the flesh. Shawn talks about Edge complaining about everything and sounding like the world should just roll over for him. He knows that because Shawn did the exact same thing back in his day.

Some fans cut him off with a YOU SCREWED BRET chant but Edge doesn’t want to listen to him. Shawn: “What is it with you folks coming to Florida? Stay in your own country!” Edge needs to stop complaining about the past and look to the future because he can be a star. He needs to take action, like winning the Royal Rumble instead of being glad that he got a spot.

Shawn asks if this is getting through to him and that’s an affirmative, as he slaps Shawn in the face and they brawl to the floor. Back from a break and they’re still fighting in the back, eventually heading into a concession stand until some referees break it up. Good brawl, though the interruption from the fans took away a lot of the momentum they had going.

Here’s Simon Dean to talk about how popular Florida can be. It’s known for its weather and sunny beaches, but now those beaches are filled with fat people. Simon has the solution though: his fat burning pills. Unfortunately he doesn’t have enough for everyone here….and here’s Kane to interrupt. Kane tries a pill but spits it out, saying that they’re the worst tasting things he’s ever had. After shoving some pills into Simon’s mouth, the beating is on but here’s Snitsky to chair Kane down. Kane spits up blood as Snitsky whips him with Simon’s weightlifting belt. So did last night’s match mean anything?

HHH sends Flair to tell Batista he doesn’t do well against Orton. Flair: “You think that’ll motivate him?” The mental games continue.

Christian/Tyson Tomko vs. Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit

Benoit and Jericho are both banged up. Jericho chops Christian to start and stomps away in the corner. It’s off to Benoit (pop) for some kicks to the ribs but Christian sends him chest first into the buckle. Tomko comes in and knees Benoit in the ribs to stay on the injury with a slam making it even worse. Benoit gets sent outside with Christian dropping him ribs first onto the barricade as the pain continues.

Back in and the front facelock goes on and the comeback is cut off with a backbreaker to give Christian two. Tomko grabs a chinlock but Benoit German suplexes him down, allowing the hot tag to Jericho. Everything breaks down and it’s the walls on Tomko and the Crossface on Christian for the double tap.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here, even with the four of them following the formula pretty much to the letter. It worked well enough and this was a fine example of a match that was just there for the sake of filling in some time with a decent performance. That worked well enough here and it’s not like Christian and Tomko are hurt that badly by the loss.

Flair tells HHH that it didn’t work and HHH isn’t happy.

Your boot of the week: Lita tears her ACL.

With that devastating injury out of the way, let’s have a lingerie pillow fight between Maria and Christy with Candice Michelle as guest referee. There’s a bed, Christy comes out in her lingerie, Maria disrobes, Lilian and Candice get involved, they hit each other with pillows and Christy wins. This is a thing that happened for obvious reasons.

The Masterpiece Chris Masters is coming.

Next week: Benoit vs. Jericho and Kane vs. Snitsky. One of these things is not like the other.

Batista vs. Randy Orton

The winner gets HHH for the title at some point in the future. Speaking of HHH, he and Flair are watching at ringside. Orton’s right hands have limited effects as Batista shoulders him down. A powerslam doesn’t work so Orton hammers away again, only to run into another shoulder. The choking on the ropes begins and HHH is rather pleased. Orton sends him outside though and we take a break.

Back with Orton slugging away even more and managing to knock Batista outside again. The brawling goes to Batista though and he takes Orton inside for some right hands and more choking. They’re not exactly going all that hard with the offense here. Orton goes shoulder first into the post and Batista crushes his head against the steel for a rather cruel bonus. A neckbreaker gives Batista two and the chinlock keeps Orton in trouble. In something I can’t remember seeing in a long time, Orton uses the rope to get out of the chinlock.

Batista pounds away even more as HHH is on his feet watching for a change. Now the powerslam connects for two and a spinebuster makes it even worse. The Batista Bomb is countered though and Orton grabs a DDT for a double knockdown. Orton stomps away and shoves the referee, allowing Flair to get on the apron. He’s knocked right back off though and Orton hits the backbreaker on Batista. The RKO is blocked though and HHH offers Batista a chair. He doesn’t need it, but the distraction lets Orton send Batista into the chair for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C. Batista continues to look like a star and while I’m not wild on the idea of him getting pinned two nights in a row, it makes some sense to have him slowed down a little bit, especially with Orton likely getting the title shot at the Rumble. The bigger issue here though is HHH costing Batista the match, which is going to get a lot more interesting in a hurry.

Batista is furious at HHH to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well last night’s show wasn’t very good and now they’ve followed it up with an only somewhat better Raw. The good thing though is they’re setting up the Royal Rumble, which is one of the most important shows of the year. Orton vs. HHH can be done for good (for now) and we can get to what should be the most obvious Wrestlemania title matches in years. This show wasn’t much to see though, save for Edge vs. Shawn and HHH vs. Batista heating up.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: June 10, 2019
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

They really have to go to California three days after an international trip? Anyway, it’s time to start the short road to Stomping Grounds as we’re finally past Super ShowDown. What’s up next? Well that would be a bunch of Super ShowDown rematches as WWE probably thinks you didn’t watch the show and NEED to see their brilliant ideas at work. It’s turned into a bit of a game to see how bad Raw can get these days so maybe we can hit a new low score. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Seth Rollins, carrying a chair, to get things going, but first we need to look at him retaining the Universal Title over Baron Corbin and thwarting Brock Lesnar’s cash-in attempt at Super ShowDown. Rollins talks about it being a new era for the Universal Title (even though we’re in the exact same place we were two weeks ago) because everyone is trying to take the title from him.

They can do it by wrestling him but no one can lace his boots, or they can try it by cashing in a contract, which earns them a beating. No one can do what he did to Lesnar but here’s Corbin to interrupt. The fans boo him quite a bit as Corbin says he’ll worry about Lesnar after he wins the title at Stomping Grounds. Corbin blames the referee for costing him the match at Super ShowDown and says that won’t be a problem at Stomping Grounds. See, he’s quite the negotiator and therefore he’s going to get to pick the guest referee for the rematch.

Rollins laughs it off because no one likes Corbin but here’s Sami Zayn to interrupt. Sami thinks it would be better for everyone, including Rollins, if Corbin was champion. If that was the case, we would have a champion who isn’t completely obsessed with Brock Lesnar. Rollins doesn’t buy this and thinks there is something in it for Sami.

It turns out that Sami might have been promised a future title shot so Rollins wants to come fight now. This brings out Kevin Owens, who thinks he might come to the ring and fight Rollins instead. The match is made for the main event. While it seems pretty clear, Sami was never officially announced as the referee. You know what might help Raw a lot? Not opening the show with a fifteen minute promo to set up tonight’s main event.

Lars Sullivan vs. Lucha House Party

Elimination rules. Sullivan runs Dorado and Metalik over during the entrances so Kalisto tries some dropkicks, only to get caught in the Freak Accident for the elimination at 25 seconds. Dorado comes in but his springboard hurricanrana is countered into a running powerbomb for the elimination at 58 seconds.

That leaves Metalik, whose handspring is countered into a toss slam. Sullivan pulls him up at two and goes outside to gorilla press Kalisto onto the steps. Back inside and the Freak Accident plants Metalik….for two as Sullivan picks him up again. Instead he tossed Dorado head first into the post, followed by the Swan Dive to finish Metalik at 3:06.

Rating: D+. While exactly what it should have been, this makes Friday even more frustrating. It shows they know what they’re supposed to do but instead they went with the stupid decision at Super ShowDown. This was an improvement, but it made me more annoyed at Super ShowDown, which I didn’t think possible.

R-Truth and Carmella get caught by the mob but they go into an elevator without the referee. The camera inside the elevator shows it stopping between floors. More on this later it seems.

Becky Lynch is getting ready for an interview. Of note: Rollins is with her and Cole acknowledges their relationship.

We get a sitdown, split screen interview with Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans. Lacey wants to go first because ladies go first, but Becky talks about making Lacey tap at Money in the bank. Sure Lacey should beat her because Lacey is bigger and stronger, but Becky isn’t letting someone like her be champion.

Lacey says Becky doesn’t know anything about her and she won’t stop until she has everything she wants. She hears fear in Becky’s voice and it’s the fear of fading back down into obscurity. The stench of fear is nasty and she’ll be Becky No Belts at Stomping Grounds. Becky says she’ll be taking a slap upside the head and another loss. They kept this short and that’s the best thing for everyone involved.

Nikki Cross asks Alexa Bliss about what happened last week but tonight Bliss is in a champions vs. challengers match tonight. Bliss accuses Bayley of being two faced and says you can only try to convince people you’re something you’re not for so long. She’s totally Cross’ friend though.

It’s time for MizTV, because having a short match in between these segments is just out of the question. This week’s guest is Samoa Joe, who does not like being called the NEW United States Champion. Rey Mysterio stole his title and then Joe had the chance to win it back. Miz calls him out on being handed the title back and jumping Mysterio last week. Joe: “Yeah, so?”

On top of that, Joe brought in Rey’s son Dominic, which Miz finds uncool. You don’t do that to a man’s family so Joe is ready to fight. This brings out Braun Strowman who wants a fight with Joe. It also brings out Bobby Lashley, who isn’t done with Strowman. He wants a title shot, but here’s Ricochet to add his name to the list as well. Before he can get that out though, Cesaro interrupts and punches Ricochet in the face. The brawl is on and the good guys clean house to set up the six man tag.

Samoa Joe/Bobby Lashley/Cesaro vs. The Miz/Ricochet/Braun Strowman

I mean, duh? Strowman starts fast with a leapfrog over Lashley and a clothesline, followed by a tag to Miz for the running corner clothesline. It’s off to Cesaro but Ricochet comes in for the running flip dive to the floor. The standoff takes us to a break and we come back with Ricochet in trouble. Cesaro’s uppercut sends him outside but an enziguri drops Lashley.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Miz, who hits running knees and clotheslines in the corner. Joe gets kicked off the apron and a DDT plants Cesaro, setting up the YES Kicks to Lashley and Cesaro. Lashley gets up and plants Miz though, allowing the tag off to Joe. Strowman is knocked off the apron so he pulls Lashley to the floor, leaving Miz to take the Swing from Cesaro.

Miz is fine enough to kick Cesaro away though and it’s off to Strowman for the running splashes in the corner. That’s enough for Joe, who grabs the title and runs off. That leaves Lashley on the floor, with Miz backdropping Ricochet over the post to take him down. The Skull Crushing Finale hits Cesaro and the 630 gives Ricochet the pin at 13:40. The 630 hit Cesaro in the knee and he falls outside holding said knee.

Rating: C. I saw something on Twitter that was incredibly accurate: we’re supposed to believe that these six men all want the US Title and that Baron Corbin is a better choice for a main eventer than any of them. That’s very accurate, and yet these people are probably going to be stuck facing each other for months. It’s not the worst move in the world, but it’s not making me think much of Ricochet beating Cesaro or Strowman beating Lashley if those results got them to the same place.

Corbin confirms that he has not yet made his choice for guest referee. Sami comes up for a talk.

Becky Lynch/Bayley vs. Lacey Evans/Alexa Bliss

Bayley is the hometown girl and Nikki Cross is here with Bliss. Bayley and Bliss start things off with Bayley driving her into the corner for some stomping. Bliss is right back with an arm twist to take her to the mat before it’s off to Lacey vs. Becky. Lacey kicks her in the ribs and hands it off to Bliss, who has to be saves from the Bexploder. Bayley’s sliding dropkick underneath the ropes barely hits Lacey as we take a break.

Back with Becky coming in off the hot tag but getting knocked down in a hurry. The slingshot Bronco Buster makes it worse but Becky sends Lacey outside for a baseball slide. A Bliss distraction lets Lacey get in a neckbreaker, setting up a backflip (from the mat) splash for two. Evans misses a springboard moonsault and that’s enough for the tag off to Bayley. The Women’s Right cuts Bayley off but Twisted Bliss hits knees. Evans knocks Bayley out again though and steals the pin at 10:49.

Rating: D+. You know, I had been thinking that this week’s show was getting better because it didn’t have the big eye rolling moment. But never fear, because WWE won’t let you down. OF COURSE the hometown girl had to lose here because it was the only option they had. They couldn’t have done a countout, a DQ, a brawl to a no contest, or done ANYTHING OTHER THAN HAVE BAYLEY GET PINNED IN HER HOMETOWN AGAIN. Have fun working in front of a dead crowd for the rest of the night people.

Sami comes in to see Shane McMahon and offers to audition as guest referee for Owens vs. Rollins tonight. Shane agrees on Sami being an outside referee, which Sami agrees was Shane’s idea.

Here’s Paul Heyman to talk about how Brock Lesnar can beat up Seth Rollins every day and cash in any day. Three days ago, Rollins needed a chair to fend off Lesnar because he’s a coward and a stupid coward at that. See now, Rollins is going to have to worry about Lesnar cashing in every week. It could be tonight, it could be next week or the week after that. Or Lesnar could be the guest referee at Stomping Grounds and take the title then. He’ll do it one day and that’s a spoiler because Lesnar is the Beast Slayer Slayer. Good for him. Now both of you go away.

The 24/7 people are STILL stuck in the elevator and Truth announces that he has a phone. Just no bars on his phone. Drake Maverick needs to get out of here because he’s getting married in a few weeks. EC3: “And you didn’t invite me???” Maverick: “You’re my best man!” Maverick is accused of being Hornswoggle but what really matters is Heath Slater getting out because he has kids.

Here are the IIconics for a match against some hand selected opponents. They’ve found San Jose’s finest but the two of them will never win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Just like the San Jose Sharks will never win the Stanley Cup.

IIconics vs. Lisa Lace/Aaliyah Mia

Non-title. The announcers crack jokes about the jobbers, with Graves having to cut himself off after a Los Conquistadors joke. Royce knees Mia in the ribs and the knee to the head is good for the pin at 1:19. And….that’s it actually. Just a squash win.

Video on Shane McMahon beating Roman Reigns at Super ShowDown. Normally I would say I can’t believe they did that, but I completely believe this one. After the match was over, Reigns said he was upset at the loss but was moving on to Drew McIntyre at Stomping Grounds.

They’re still in the elevator.

And now, Shane McMahon’s victory celebration. Drew McIntyre is with him and we have live bagpipe players to play him to the ring. Shane talks about growing up in WWE and recognizing special things. That would apply to Roman Reigns, who is a first ballot WWE Hall of Famer. Reigns hits like a mule and has beaten the best WWE has to offer. However, Reigns does not have a victory over Shane because Shane beat him at Super ShowDown. Shane thanks Drew for his preparation but gets cut off by a BORING chant. Shane: “Get used to it. It’s my celebration and I’ve got all night.”

Drew calls Shane the Best in the World but he’s the most dangerous man in the world. At Stomping Grounds, he’s going to give Reigns the beating he deserves and beat him 1-2-3. Shane: “You’re so intense dude.” Shane drinks out of the Best in the World cup before bringing out the Revival. They can’t drink though because they have a Tag Team Title match up next. They can join the party, provided they win some gold. Uh, the titles are silver Shane.

Tag Team Titles: Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins vs. Revival vs. Usos

Ryder and Hawkins are defending and before the match, they talk about their backs being against the wall but it’s not midnight yet. The Revival is knocked to the floor to start so the champs hit a neckbreaker for two on Jimmy. Dawson pulls Hawkins outside though and sends him into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with the Usos picking up the pace off a big dive to the floor. A high crossbody gives Jimmy two on Dawson but it’s back to Ryder to take Dawson down. Jey tags himself in as everything breaks down, allowing Jey to hit the Superfly Splash on Ryder. Dawson tags himself in as well though and steals the pin and the titles at 8:19.

Rating: C-. I like the ending, though odds are this is just going to be a way to advance Reigns vs. McMahon even more, likely with another Usos vs. Revival match at Stomping Grounds. That being said, at least the Revival are somewhat more likely to be on TV than Hawkins and Ryder, who are the most useless Tag Team Champions in at least 64 days.

Rollins is ready for Lesnar, Corbin, Owens and Zayn.

They’re still in the elevator and talk Maverick through his cold feet about the wedding. They decide they’re friends and start singing We Are Family. Then the other people outside the elevator open the door and the chase is on again. Some near falls ensue but Carmella drags R-Truth into the elevator and they get away.

Cole: “Bray Wyatt has invited R-Truth to the Firefly Fun House to stay safe.” Oh….I’m not sure about this.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray posts a sign on the door saying Abandon All Hope Ye Who Exit Here as Mercy and Rambling Rabbit get in a fight. Bray threatens them with the Fiend and they shake in fear. Instead they’ll let fate decide. He puts his hands on his head and things get creepy, but Rambling gets to speak his mind.

It’s not cool to eat your friends but it might be time for him to expose what is really going on around here. Bray, now with a clown nose, picks him up and throws him down before CRUSHING RAMBLING WITH A MALLET. He then eats the entrails and declares them delicious. Today’s show is sponsored by Rambling Rabbit’s Delicious Rabbit Spread. I’ll be over here talking my rabbit off a cliff.

Back in the arena and a wide shot of the arena shows a lot of empty seats on the hard camera sign.

Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title with Sami Zayn as outside referee. Sami checks Rollins, with the taped up ribs, for weapons and does a much faster check of Owens. They start slowly with Owens working on a wristlock and then an armbar. That’s broken up with some spinning and flipping but Sami offers a distraction so a rollup gets a delayed two. Rollins goes to yell at Sami, allowing Owens to send him outside.

A DDT on the floor drops Rollins and we take a break. Back with Rollins jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock. Owens finally wakes up and goes after the taped up ribs with a backbreaker. A dropkick and forearm to the back but the Sling Blade gets Rollins out of trouble. The ribs go out on a suplex attempt but Owens’ Swanton hits knees.

An exchange of superkicks lets Rollins hit an enziguri but Sami comes in to check on Sami before the frog splash can loss. Rollins low bridges Owens to the floor and hits a suicide dive to take out both villains. The Stomp connects but Sami pulls the referee out at two. Sami takes his place so Seth grabs him by the shirt, earning a DQ at 12:01.

Rating: C. Just announce that Seth can lose the title via DQ at Stomping Grounds and get on with it. This was a preview for the title match that no one wants to see (again) and that’s the perfect way to cap off a boring show like this one. Owens could have been just about anyone here, though at least they did some stuff with the ribs instead of looking like morons.

Post match Corbin comes in and grabs a chair but Rollins takes it away and chases him off. Sami gets chaired down with Rollins exploding as Cole talks about everything he’s been through over the last few weeks. What has he been through? Beating up Lesnar, retaining the title, and then a match here? Rollins hits the Stomp on Sami to end the show with no announcement being made on the guest referee.

Overall Rating: D+. Actually, this was a good bit better than the previous few shows. It’s a higher quality than just about anything they’ve done in the last few weeks and that’s an improvement. Then you get to the problem: this show was really boring. We spent weeks setting up Super ShowDown and now we’re getting ready for a very similar card which isn’t interesting either. Between Shane McMahon’s never ending reign and Baron Corbin: Yes He’s Really A Main Eventer, what is interesting here?

The problem around here seems to be that we never get to the big show/match/story. Everything is always about waiting for the next one but, other than Wrestlemania, the next one never comes. Reigns beat McIntyre at Wrestlemania. So? He’s still fighting him and gets to do it again at Stomping Grounds. Rollins defeated Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Well that might be continuing for the next eleven months. Becky is fighting Lacey again. The Revival got the Tag Team Titles back tonight.

It feels like we’re either riding around in a circle and passing the same things every few weeks or driving down the road with no idea where we’re supposed to go. What is the big match on the horizon right now? Unless someone is suddenly brought up from the mid/upper midcard, Corbin and McMahon are the main event heels at the moment and while I expect Shane to get a title shot there, who does that leave for the other title? Maybe they’re just overloaded with the amount of shows they have going on at the moment, but they need to figure something out and in a hurry because these last few months have been awful.

Results

Lars Sullivan b. Lucha House Party – Swan Dive to Gran Metalik

Braun Strowman/Miz/Ricochet b. Cesaro/Bobby Lashley/Samoa Joe – 630 to Cesaro

Alexa Bliss/Lacey Evans b. Becky Lynch/Bayley – Woman’s Right to Bayley

IIconics b. Lisa Lace/Aaliyah Mia – Knee to Mia’s head

Revival b. Usos and Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins – Dawson pinned Ryder after a Superfly Splash from Jey Uso

Kevin Owens b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Rollins attacked the referee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: January 3, 2005
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the first show of a new year and also the go home show for New Year’s Revolution. That doesn’t leave us very long to finalize everything but since so much of the card is tied up in the Elimination Chamber, you can probably guess where things are going this week. Other than that, we probably need some more matches to be added to the card at the last minute. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Beat The Clock Challenge which saw Batista earn the right to enter the Chamber last. Oh and Shawn Michaels is going to be guest referee.

Eric Bischoff is in the back with the World Title and makes tonight very simple: three singles matches between the six Chamber participants. Nothing wrong with that, mainly because it’s once.

Batista vs. Chris Benoit

Batista goes with the power to start so Benoit gets in a dragon screw legwhip to take him down. A backbreaker cuts Benoit off but Batista goes for a turnbuckle pad, allowing Benoit to roll some German suplexes. Batista catches him on top and hits a Muscle buster of all things for a delayed two. The half crab with a knee on Benoit’s head has him in more trouble and Batista even picks up Benoit’s hand to make him tap.

The spinebuster gives Batista two more but Benoit scores with an enziguri, followed by the hard German suplex. Benoit hits the Swan Dive (or at least seems to after a quick camera cut) for two more and the Crossface goes on, though Benoit is almost on top of Batista’s back instead of off to the side. Batista powers up without much effort and drives Benoit head first (several times) into the exposed buckle. Now it’s time to get fired up and the Batista Bomb finishes.

Rating: C+. It’s so frustrating watching WWE stumble through the dark as they try to get monsters (or anyone) over these days when it’s this easy. Batista has been protected for months, says things that makes him look smart and then wins big matches. If they have the talent and intelligence to do the rest, which Batista did because he was well trained down in OVW, you’ll have a star on your hands.

Ric Flair is very pleased with what happened when Batista comes in. Flair says all they have to do is have HHH survive until the end when Batista can destroy everyone so HHH can get the title back. Batista says HHH can count on him, but he wants the $100 from last week’s bet. Flair looks terrified at what this could mean and HHH tells him to give Batista $100.

That’s fine with Flair, who wants to keep the peace. Batista wants HHH’s money though so HHH pulls out $100. Batista laughs and tells HHH to get a sense of humor. Again: treat him like someone with a brain to go with his physical dominance and there is no way he won’t be awesome.

We look back at Snitsky Pillmanizing Kane’s neck.

Snitsky is surprised that Kane is coming back and whispers something to Maria, who runs off. He has a surprise for Kane on Sunday.

Edge still doesn’t get why Shawn Michaels is guest referee on Sunday because it won’t be fair. Bischoff says this is because Edge hurt Shawn even worse and cost Raw revenue. He’s trying to make up for some of it on Sunday, but for now Edge needs to worry about his match.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho

They trade waistlocks to start with Jericho taking him to the mat by the leg. Back up and Edge punches him in the face but gets backdropped to the floor. Jericho follows him out and it’s a double clothesline to take us to a break. We come back with Edge working on the arm for a change, including a DDT on the arm for two. It’s off to a different armbar because Edge is good enough to mix up the holds he uses instead of doing the same things over and over.

Jericho fights up and hits a shoulder with the bad arm, which doesn’t seem to do much damage. A hurricanrana sends Edge flying but he’s right back with a heck of a big boot for two. Jericho’s northern lights suplex gets the same so he kicks Edge hard in the ribs. Edge catches him on top and tries a superplex, which is tossed down for a crash. A missed high crossbody misses Edge but he can’t get the spear. Jericho tries a rollup but Edge sits down on it and grabs the rope for the pin.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite as good as the opener but Edge cheating to win gave him a victory that he needed. Edge is one of the weaker options in the Chamber so having him cheat to win is a good way for him to catch up. It’s not like Jericho losing is going to do any serious damage to him anyway.

Randy Orton is ready for his long awaited one on one match with HHH before he wins the World Title on Sunday.

JR and King thank the British fans for watching the show live but King cuts him off to say Happy Birthday.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Sylvan Grenier

Non-title with Maven coming out to do commentary. The distraction lets Grenier get in a cheap shot before the bell as Maven starts to gloat. Grenier stomps away in the corner as Maven talks about how he wants the Intercontinental Title match on Sunday. The chinlock goes on, followed by a full nelson to mix the holds up a bit.

Shelton fights up and drives him into the corner for the break and the comeback is on. Rob Conway offers a distraction, allowing Shelton to hit the Dragon Whip. The referee just stops counting at two because Grenier doesn’t kick out and the fans are not pleased. The exploder is good for the pin. Too short to rate but that ending hurt what was already a bad match.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

And now, the debate between Muhammad Hassan/Daivari and Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler. Hassan goes into the same speech he’s had every time about how America is racist and it got even worse since 9/11. Lawler says that there are racists and idiots in every country. Hassan has every right to complain about that but when he called the troops cowards, he took it too far.

The reason people don’t like Hassan and Daivari is they’re loudmouth jerks. Daivari goes into a rant but Hassan calms things down. Hassan doesn’t like most Arab Americans because they don’t showcase their heritage. He doesn’t like JR shaking his head at this because Hassan is as American as Mickey Mantle and the Oklahoma Sooners. JR won’t do anything about it though because he’s just like America: angry behind his back but a coward face to face.

JR says America isn’t a perfect place but Hassan and Daivari can love it or leave it (erg). Hassan turns over the podium and punches JR in the ribs, followed by a double team beatdown of Lawler. JR gets choked with a belt but the bloody Lawler takes off his own belt and chases them off, collapsing in the process. This could have been worse, but not that much worse. The RAH RAH AMERICA stuff is wearing thin and WWE knows how to lay it on very thick.

Coach is now doing commentary for the rest of the show. On his own. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish wastes no time in taking her down for some forearms and knees to the face. A hair pull takedown gets two as Victoria is looking like a full on jobber here. Trish chokes her in the corner and a throat first catapult into the bottom rope makes it even worse. Victoria gets in a side slam and rollup for two, followed by the clothesline comeback. The dancing moonsault hits raised knees though and the Chick Kick gives Trish the pin.

Rating: D. What happened to Victoria? She’s one of the best options they have in the division but she’s losing a match like this in a match that is just a step above a squash. It’s not like these two can’t have a good match if they’re given the chance but Trish might as well have been facing Stacy Keibler.

Post match Trish promises to do the same to Lita, so here’s Lita for the slugout. This brings out Snitsky for the save, allowing Trish to hit the Chick Kick. Snitsky grabs a chair but Kane returns to let her escape. Kane and Lita have a bit of a moment.

Video on the Elimination Chamber match from Summerslam 2003. Egads do I really have to think about that one again?

Coach explains why he’s out here alone.

Hassan vs. Lawler is set for Sunday.

Pay per view rundown.

Christy Hemme is doing a photo shoot when Eugene shows up to sing Lindsay Lohan to her. Believe it or not, this is actually dumber than it sounds. Thankfully William Regal comes in for the save with Christy escorting Eugene to the ring. It turns out Regal likes Lohan as well, meaning singing and dancing ensues. This is instantly more entertaining than anything Eugene just did.

Christian vs. Eugene

Christian/Tomko vs. Eugene/Regal for the titles on Sunday. Eugene shoulders him down to start and even shows off some power with the gorilla press into a Warrior Splash (with rope shake of course). Christian finally gets in a shot of his own and a quick distraction lets Tomko drive Eugene back first into the apron. We hit the required neck crank for a bit before Eugene comes back with a Rock Bottom for a very delayed two. Tomko comes in so Eugene forearms him to the floor, leaving Christian to grab a sunset flip (and a rope, since he must have been watching Edge’s match earlier) for the pin.

Rating: D. It’s not a good sign when you’re using the same finish twice in about an hour. This was a perfectly acceptable way to build towards the Tag Team Title match on Sunday, which was announced earlier in the show so it’s not like they can have any less of a story going on. The match was nothing to see of course, but it did what it was supposed to do as well as it could have been asked to.

Evolution (since we haven’t seen them in awhile) is ready for tonight but HHH wants Batista to stay in the back. He only has to beat four guys on Sunday but tonight it’s one on one. Tonight, he needs to show the world that Orton was just a tag along. Flair is all for this while Batista doesn’t seem convinced. He’ll only come out if Orton starts beating HHH up….but that won’t happen.

HHH vs. Randy Orton

Thank goodness JR rejoins commentary for this one. They stare each other down for a good while until Orton snaps off the dropkick to take over early on. A clothesline gives Orton two and it’s time to slug it out. The backdrops has HHH in trouble again and we take a break. Back with HHH being thrown outside again as he hasn’t had any major offense so far. HHH finally manages to snap Orton’s throat across the top to take over and a running knee nearly knocks Orton over the barricade.

Of course that means Flair can get in some stomping because he knows how to cheat properly. Back in and HHH drives shoulders in the corner, followed by another trip to the floor. Flair even gets inside this time for no apparent reason as HHH doesn’t cheat, but Orton manages to send him into the post.

Back in and the powerslam gives Orton two, followed by the backbreaker for the same. The high crossbody gets two more and it’s time to reverse some sleepers. That’s broken up and the ref gets bumped, allowing Flair to slide in the ring bell. Orton takes it away though and blasts HHH, drawing in Batista to hit the big clothesline. That brings in Benoit to cancel out Batista but here’s Shawn to take over as referee.

Edge comes in as well but Jericho stops him from spearing Shawn in some good pre-match sucking up. Jericho dives onto Edge and Batista so Shawn starts counting HHH and Orton as the match is still going. It’s HHH up first but his yelling at Shawn lets Orton….miss the RKO. The Pedigree is countered into a rollup for two and now the RKO gives Orton the pin.

Rating: C-. It was dull until the insanity began, but they might as well just give HHH (who is up against COMPLETELY insurmountable odds) the title now. As usual, Orton wins the match that doesn’t matter and it only took a ring bell, a second referee and half a dozen people getting involved. But hey, HHH certainly put him over here and that’s what mattered.

Overall Rating: C-. The big story here continues to be Batista, who is about to break through the glass ceiling and become the biggest thing on the show if the indications are correct. This show was all about building to the Elimination Chamber as Sunday is a total one match show. That’s perfectly fine and something that has been done before, though there is only so much you can get out of a two hour and forty five minute show with only the main event mattering. They didn’t hide that here, but what they were focusing on got the right amount of attention.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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