I won’t do a full review of it as it’s almost impossible to review a documentary in my style and I’ve done all of the matches before.  I’ll give some thoughts on it if I can remember to soon enough, but one line made me stop the DVD.They’re talking about Punk cashing in his first world title and HHH has this GEM.

“I’ve always thought it’s the guy who makes the title, not the title that makes the guy.”

This coming from HHH, who had a title invented for him so that he could hold the same belt Flair and Race held just so he could be on a list with them, which is hogwash by the way.  That title that Del Rio currently holds has as much to do with the NWA World Title as a belt I made when I was nine.  It has a lineage dating back about 11 years and started when HHH pulled it out of a briefcase.

Anyway, HHH saying that a guy makes a title is rather hysterical given that he’s had a title made for him as well as unified ALL of the titles into one so he could be champion of the universe.

So for the first time in forever I’m watching a WWE (Evolution of a Predator) and the DVD opens at Elimination Chamber.The narrator talks about how the Elimination Chamber is special because it only happens once a year.  Not only does it happen more than once a year, it happens more than once a night.  Just the sound of that on paper cuts down on how special the match should be.  Make it once a year or at least give us several months between each match.

Really, they are.They have great talent down in NXT, a solid (though confusing) main event storyline, part timers doing what they should be doing, John Cena and Sheamus waiting in the wings, and Punk/Heyman owning the world.  What more can you really ask for?

And cue everyone saying that WWE sucks.

Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: September 20, 1997
Location: Worthen Arena, Muncie, Indiana
Attendance: 3,329
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jim Cornette

This is another show that I haven’t touched on as much as I should. Shotgun Saturday Night was a show that did a lot to set up the Attitude Era but by this point the era was almost ready to go. We’re getting close to Badd Blood In Your House, meaning it’s all about Shawn vs. Undertaker at this point. Let’s get to it.

The whole show is spent talking about the first MSG Raw which really was a huge deal. Link provided at the bottom.

This is also after the unique parts of the show have been eliminated, making it just another syndicated style show.

Owen Hart vs. Flash Funk

Owen has cops with him to keep Austin away. They trade near falls off simple leg trips before Funk takes over on the arm. Owen spins out to take Flash’s arm but Funk cartwheels away from a monkey flip. A clothesline gets two for Hart and it’s off to a chinlock. After over a minute in the hold it’s a spinwheel kick for two and we take an early break.

Back with Flash getting two off a spinning high cross body. Owen gets two off a swinging neckbreaker but Flash blocks a piledriver with a kick to the head. Flash drapes the Canadian flag over Owen and gets two off a middle rope flip legdrop but Owen hits the piledriver for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here but at the end of the day it was a five minute match with a minute spent in a chinlock. Still though, Funk is an old favorite of mine and Owen was on fire at this point due to the Hart Foundation story. Then again that would be completely derailed in about two months but we’ll get to that later.

We recap Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter announcing an Intercontinental Title tournament for the vacant title due to Austin’s injuries. We also get a look at the first round matches so far.

Ahmed Johnson is ready for a shot at The Rock in the last first round match.

Vader vs. The Sultan

Sultan is Rikishi as a Middle Eastern masked man. Vader pounds away to start and knocks Sultan down in the corner. A middle rope clothesline drops Sultan as well and there’s a second one for good measure. Sultan comes back with a superkick and some ripping at the nose before clotheslining Vader to the floor. Vader pummels him back but gets sent into the steps. Back in and a huge clothesline sets up the Vader Bomb to pin Sultan.

Rating: C-. Much more fun than you would expect here with both guys showing off their power and agility. Rikishi is a great example of a guy where you just had to find the right gimmick. He went from the Samoan to the Sultan to the dancer and that’s what it took all along. It’s a matter of trying until you get the right combination.

Phineas Godwinn is looking forward to Being in MSG.

We get the Austin interview from Raw with Jerry Lawler laughing about Austin Stunning JR and Slaughter recently. Lawler wants to see it happen to Vince but Austin wants to talk about JR some more. JR was in the wrong place at the wrong time so just mind your business and no more Stunners.

Austin threatens Vince to Jerry’s delight before saying he can take out Owen Hart anytime he likes. This brings out the Hart Foundation with Bret saying they’re sick of Austin using weapons all the time, so here’s a guy in a suit coming to Austin. It’s a lawyer carrying a restraining order which keeps Austin from Owen. Lawler talks too much about what just happens and earns a Stunner.

Austin reads a fan letter and promises to go nuts in MSG this Monday.

Dude Love says he’s home again here in New York and wants to be a role model. He’s ready to fly in MSG like Jimmy Snuka did and be a hep cat you see.

Los Boricuas vs. Rockabilly/Jesse James

It’s Jose and Jesus for Los Boricuas in case you care for some reason. Los Boricuas get jumped from behind with Jesus being elbowed in the face to give Billy control. Jesus comes back with an armdrag, only to be clotheslined down for no cover. James comes in for an elbow drop but Billy misses a Stinger Splash. A hot tag to Jose has no heat at all and everything breaks down. Billy and Jesus fall to the floor and Billy cracks Jose over the head with a guitar for the pin. Jesse and Billy would feud a bit longer before calling themselves the New Age Outlaws. This was their first match as a team though.

The other Boricuas come in to beat down Billy and James post match.

Shawn vs. Undertaker vs. Bret in a triple threat for the title is announced for Monday. You would have heard of that match if it ever happened, meaning it never occurred.

El Pantera vs. Super Loco

Super Loco is Super Crazy of course and the flips begin very quickly. Crazy flips Pantera over but misses an elbow drop. Pantera hooks a surfboard but has to let it go to avoid getting pinned. A slow motion Sin Cara style armdrag takes Crazy down and Pantera sends him to the floor for a dropkick and a suicide dive. Back in and Crazy crotches him on the ropes for a spinwheel kick to the back of the head and a dropkick to send Pantera to the floor.

Crazy hits a BIG dive to take both guys down but Pantera scores with a pair of armdrags back inside. Crazy is sent chest first to the floor ala Rey Mysterio and Pantera takes him down again with a great looking moonsault press. Pantera grabs a quick hurricanrana before crawling up Crazy’s body into a sunset flip for the pin.

Rating: C+. Take two guys and let them fly all over the place to pop the crowd for about seven minutes. It’s a formula as old as any other and it works perfectly well every time. There’s no story to these matches but that’s the point: it’s a spot fest but it’s rather entertaining if you don’t rely on them too much.

We look at Brian Pillman’s XXX Files. He brags about advancing in the Intercontinental Title tournament due to accidental interference from Goldust. Soon enough Pillman will be a champion but he stops to make some sexual noises. The idea is he has Goldust’s wife Marlena for 30 days and is forcing her into various actions with the eventual plan of Marlena turning on Goldust. Here she’s rubbing his feet.

Godwinns vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

8-Ball grabs a headlock on Phineas to start before clotheslining him out to the floor. Cornette implies that the Godwinns are members of the KKK as it’s off to Henry to shove 8-Ball into the corner. 8-Ball comes back with a big boot for two before it’s off to Skull. Phineas low bridges Skull to the floor before Hank gets two. Back to Phineas for some choking but he misses a splash in the corner. Hot tag brings in 8-Ball and the fans don’t care at all. Everything breaks down and Uncle Cletus (Zeb Colter) gives Henry a horseshoe to knock Skull out for the pin.

Rating: D-. Filler and nothing more. The tag division sucked at this point.

Post match the rest of the DOA comes out for the save, sending the Godwinns running to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t the worst show in the world but it covered everything but the main event story, which is the most interesting part of the company at this point. Not that it matters though as this coming Raw was the beginning of the biggest feud of all time. Still though, nothing to see here, which is why it was a Saturday night show that almost no one watched.

Here’s Raw if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/11/04/monday-night-raw-september-22-1997-one-of-the-best-and-most-historic-raws-of-all-time/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

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

I took in the WWE house show tonight at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. I know I said this about the TNA show I went to over the summer, but this might have been the most fun I’ve ever had at a wrestling event. The crowd was red hot all night and the matches were all at least decent. There was even a nice surprise that I’ll get to in a bit. Let’s get to it.

The tickets didn’t cost anything as I beat a wrestling expert on the local radio station in a trivia competition to win the seats. We were in the second row on the first level above the floor seats, which is where I’ve sat many times before. The view was great and you could easily see almost everything save for some brawling on the floor or in the aisle. I’m horrible at guessing attendances but I’d guess there were a few thousand people. The entire upper deck was empty but Rupp arena holds well over 20,000 people so a packed house was out of the question. As usual the empty sections started filling up as the show went on.

Also note that I’ll be lighter on the ratings tonight as this is a house show, not a major show.

Damien Sandow vs. Zack Ryder

In possibly the biggest shock, Zack Ryder might have actually received the ovation of the night. I mean the place exploded for him and didn’t stop cheering for him for nearly half of his match. It was like 2011 all over again and it was a very nice surprise for an old Ryder fan. Before the match Sandow asked up to stand for My Old Kentucky Home (state song) but said we weren’t worthy of it. He also promised to drive 65 miles to Louisville to be with a real basketball team before trying to start a Let’s Go Cards (hated enemy of the Kentucky Wildcats who play at Rupp) chant. He also said God bless Rick Pitino (Cardinals coach) to really tick them off.

The match was what you would expect, though there was some nice psychology included. Ryder missed a charge and got his arm tied up in the ropes. Sandow spent the majority of the match working over the arm which is such a basic move but so many wrestlers just miss it anymore. Ryder hit the Broski Boot and sent Sandow face first into the buckle, setting up the Rough Ryder for the pin in about 6:00.

Rating: C. Fine opener and the crowd is very hot tonight.

The fans voted for the Divas tag to be a dance off instead of a match.

AJ/Layla vs. Funkadactyls

Didn’t Layla turn her back on AJ recently? Anyway AJ got a high pitched pop before refusing to dance. Layla did the usual comedic dancing before slipping while going to the corners. The Dactyls did their usual routine but AJ/Layla jumped them to start a match. I sat through this entire thing and absolutely nothing happened that deserved to be written down. Horrible boring stuff and the fans didn’t care at all. Cameron pinned Layla after about 7:30 with a not horrible DDT.

Rating: D-.

The Dactyls danced afterwards.

Jack Swagger vs. Sami Zayn

Since this is an ultra conservative state, Swagger was relatively over. Zayn was the one guy I was hoping would be here who wasn’t advertised, though he came out to crickets. Remember that for later. This wasn’t as good as their NXT match but it was still one of the better matches of the night. A few fans behind us chanted OLE which seemed to confuse many fans around us. Colter wasn’t there either as was recently announced.

This was a nice match with Swagger controlling for the most part. Sami came back with his high spots, including a big flip dive over the ropes to take out Swagger. Sami’s top rope cross body looked great too. He tried a second one but got caught in the second Patriot Lock of the match, only to roll Swagger up for the pin at about 10:00. The important thing to note was that while Sami came out to crickets, he had the crowd invested in the match after just a few minutes. Zayn made them care about someone they didn’t care about, which is really difficult to do. That’s a good sign for his future.

Rating: B-. This was really fun stuff.

Kofi Kingston/Usos vs. Wyatt Family

The Wyatts was the advertised appearance I was looking forward to most. First of all though, the Usos’ entrance got a HUGE reaction. They always get a solid reaction on TV as well, which makes me hope that they get a stronger push soon. The Wyatt entrance got a nice reaction too and the reports are correct: they’re just chilling in person. Bray sat in his rocking chair while the other two were in the ring when the lights came on. I’ve seen Undertaker, Kane and Big Show in person but those two were even more imposing. Rowan, the one with the mask, stood perfectly still during the pre-match staredown and stayed there until the opening bell. It worked really well.

Bray stayed on the floor at first before bolting into the ring to beat down an Uso, revealing some bright red pants that you have be a brain washing swamp preacher to pull off. Bray is downright eerie in person, walking around the apron with this psychotic look on his face. They worked a regular formula match here with I think an Uso getting beaten down for the most part. You just couldn’t take your eyes off Bray though as he was so creepy. The big spot of the match was a triple suicide dive from the good guys.

It was quickly forgotten though as Bray came back in and did the spot where he leans over backwards in the corner, only to drop to his hands to do the upside down on all fours walk from the Exorcist. JBL freaking out when he sees that on TV will be quite a sight. Anyway Kofi got the hot tag and everything broke down with Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise on Harper, only to get caught with Sister Abigail for the pin at about 12:00.

Rating: B. REALLY fun match here with the Wyatts, Bray in particular, totally stealing the show.

World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

There wasn’t much to talk about here. Alberto worked on the arm, Rob came back with kicks. Del Rio went after the arm and got the armbreaker, only to not break when Van Dam got to the ropes for the DQ, just like at the PPV. Match ran just under 10:00 and was nothing special at all. Not bad, but these two have don’t have much chemistry.

Rating: C-.

Rob got up and kicked Del Rio down, drawing out Sandow to tease a cash-in, only to be kicked in the face by Van Dam. Van Dam went around shaking hands as we went to intermission.

Ryback vs. Santino Marella

Now we get to the comedy portion of the evening. Ryback insisted that the referee hold the ropes open for him, only to say those weren’t the ropes he meant and that the referee had to open the other set. Ryback was then introduced at 305lbs, which he insisted be described as ALL MAN. Santino was ticked off about the bullying and said Ryback was just a bully, just a mean person and….much bigger than he looked from the floor.

Santino tried a series of shoulder blocks to start the match but kept bouncing off Ryback and falling to the mat. He hit the ropes again but stopped short of Ryback, said “allow me” and fell on his back without being touched. Santino couldn’t execute a nip up or slam Ryback, so the big man destroyed him for a bit instead. Santino came back and hit the nip up and slam to big pops because they had been built up. Again, simple idea but no one does it anymore. Santino loaded up the Cobra but Ryback bit his fingers to block it and put on a bearhug, only to have Santino escape with a wet Willy. The Shell Shock ended Marella in 7:40.

Rating: C+. Fun comedy squash here and there’s nothing wrong with that.

CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel

This was kind of confusing as the match had been advertised as for the title, then as No DQ later in the show. Axel said that Heyman (not here tonight) had found a rule saying that Axel didn’t have to defend the title if he had defended it in the last 30 days, so this was non-title. Axel also said there would be DQ’s, because apparently he just has that authority.

There really wasn’t much to this match and it was mainly punching and kicking. Punk did his usual spots, including the dive through the ropes and the Macho Elbow, but there were no weapons at all in the match. At one point Axel even grabbed a mic and said he wouldn’t be using a table so stop asking for one. Punk won with a GTS in approximately 15:00 (I forgot to time it). Not much of a match but the fans were into Punk.

Rating: C. I’m guessing Punk is moving a bit slowly due to the injuries from the PPV.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton

Now this is where we’ll get to the interesting part. Orton got a solid pop but Bryan…got the same at best or maybe even a bit weaker one. The fans got on their feet and did the YES chant and the finger point, but it definitely wasn’t an explosion or even a huge pop. My buddy Josh suggested that a lot of the fans aren’t so much into Bryan, but maybe just joining in because everyone else is doing it. I read a report from I want to say Wade Keller from a Smackdown taping a few weeks back and he said about the same thing: the fans cheered for Bryan, but he doesn’t get the same reaction that other superstars get. There’s time to change that, but it’s very difficult to overcome.

This was about what you would expect as Bryan got in all of his usual spots. Bryan is incredibly talented, but he’s getting to the point where he’s using a lot of the same sequences. Those sequences are very entertaining, but other than the running knee he hasn’t changed things up in awhile.

The interesting part of this was Orton might have lost a tooth due to a running dropkick in the corner. Something very large flew out and Orton was holding his mouth and nearly writhing around in pain. Bryan got the YES Lock but Orton got to the rope. Bryan missed a dive to give Orton control, meaning a lot of chinlocks. Bryan made his comeback and hit his signature spots before hitting the running knee out of nowhere for the pin at 16:50. I don’t even think Orton loaded up an RKO.

Rating: B-. Good match but it wasn’t great by any means.

Bryan went around to shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was a blast with only the Divas match being bad, but if the worst thing I have to sit through is Layla basically wrestling in a bikini, so be it. The fans were on fire all night, most of the big stars were there, and the matches were all solid. I believe the seats we were sitting in cost about $20-30 and they would have been more than worth the price. I was at the show in Louisville a few months back and wasn’t very impressed. This was the polar opposite and one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever been to. WWE is on fire at the moment and at a level I haven’t seen in a long time. Great show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

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

No Demolition makes this a faulty list.50. Tazz – “13”
49. Too Cool – “U Look Fly 2 Day”
48. Drew McIntyre – “Broken Dreams”
47. The Shield – “Special Op”
46. Steve Blackman – “Drums in the Night”
45. Prime Time Players – “Making Moves”
44. Maven – “Tatoo”
43. Ken Shamrock – “The Ultimate”
42. The Miz – “I Came To Play”
41. Jake “The Snake” Roberts – “Snake Bit”
40. Goldberg – “Invasion”
39. The Oddities – “Oddities”
38. Brock Lesnar – “Next Big Thing”
37. Vader – “Mastodon”
36. Sheamus – “Written in my Face”
35. Legion of Doom – “What a Rush”
34. The Wyatt Family – “Live in Fear”
33. Booker T – “Rap Sheet”
32. C.M. Punk – “Cut of Personality”
31. Christian – “At Last”
30. Big Show – “Crank It Up”
29. Evolution – “Line in the Sand”
28. Mankind – “Wreck”
27. John Cena – “Basic Thuganomics”
26. Goldust – “Gold Lust”
25. Batista – “Walk Alone”
24. Mr. Perfect – “Perfection”
23. Mark Henry – “Some Bodies Gonna Get It”
22. Dusty Rhodes – “Common Man Boogie”
21. C.M. Punk – “This Fire Burns”
20. D Generation-X – “Are You Ready?”
19. Chris Jericho – “Break the Walls Down”
18. Ultimate Warrior – “Unstable”
17. Randy Savage – “Pomp and Circumstance”
16. Kurt Angle – “Medal”
15. John Cena – “The Time is Now”
14. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase – “It’s All About the Money”
13. Kane – “Burned”
12. Honky Tonk Man – “Cool, Cocky, Bad.”
11. The Brood – “Blood”
10. Randy Orton – “Voices”
9. Shawn Michaels – “Sexy Boy”
8. Triple H – “The Game”
7. Ric Flair “Also Sprach Zatathustra”
6. The Rock – “Electrifying”
5. The Undertaker – “Graveyard Symphony”
4. Mr. McMahon – “No Chance in Hell”
3. Edge – “Metalingus”
2. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – “Hell Frozen Over”
1. Hulk Hogan – “Real American”

Music used to be SO much better.

This is one of the best lists WWE has ever put together.  #1 still gives me chills.

#20-#11:

#10-#1:

They’re missing a huge one though:

The place erupted on that pin. Still though, excellent list and if anything else had been #1 it would have failed. You can barely hear the announcement of a new champion.

Wasn’t he pretty much retired already anyway?  Nothing major here but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t pop up every now and then.

A little on Batista.Think back to Big Dave Batista.  He was the face of Smackdown for years, he was a monster, he won a bunch of world titles, he was called the future in Evolution, he was the biggest star in the company for a good while……and there wasn’t much to him.

Think about it: what was there to Batista’s character other than he’s big, he’s strong, and he wins world titles?  Yeah he’s aggressive and an animal, but there really wasn’t any depth to him.  Here’s the thing though: that’s all you need a lot of the time.  Batista was a big scary monster who could destroy anyone that came at him.  How many people would stop flipping though the channels if they saw some monster like him powerbombing someone in half?  It’s a simple idea but it made a pile of cash for the WWE.

Simple is more sometimes.

Superstars of Wrestling
Date: September 6, 1986
Location; Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, Bruno Sammartino

So I was going to do the September 13 episode when I found out that it was the second episode of the series. This would be during Hogan vs. Orndorff in what was an absolutely huge feud and indirectly led into Hogan vs. Andre the following year. I’d expect a lot of squash matches here which is what Superstars was known for as it replaced Championship Wrestling. Let’s get to it.

We open with an opening. There’s a good idea.

The announcers run down the people on the card tonight.

Ricky Steamboat/Sivi Afi vs. Roger Kirby/Terry Gibbs

The heels try to jump Steamboat and Afi but are quickly atomic dropped to the floor. Steamboat starts with Gibbs but it’s quickly off to Kirby. Now it’s quickly back to Ricky. Gibbs manages an elbow to take Afi down and the heels pound on Afi in the corner. A headbutt from Kirby puts him down but gets rolled up for two to stop the momentum. There’s the hot tag to Steamboat and house is cleaned. He suplexes Kirby down and Afi hits a top rope splash for the pin. Short but not half bad.

Video on Billy Graham training, set to Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Graham, with a freaking tarantula crawling over his face, says he’s coming for Studd and Bundy.

Hart Foundation vs. Koko B. Ware/Paul Roma

This is Koko’s debut. It’s also Ventura’s first appearance since Wrestlemania too. Neidhart and Koko start things off and Koko armdrags him down. Off to Roma who doesn’t have as much luck because he isn’t that good. Bret, who is that good, comes in and pounds him down with ease. Ventura praises him and we get an inset promo from Koko who has nothing to say. While he’s talking the Hart Attack pins Roma. Vince calls it bad officiating but it seemed fine to me.

Koko saves Roma from a beating post match.

MSG house show ad. The Machines, including Hulk Machine, are ready for Heenan and his boys. Hogan trying to sound Japanese is borderline offensive and I’m not even Japanese.

Honky Tonk Man is coming and he wants to beat up Paul Orndorff. He was a face when he debuted until the fans were actually asked if they would give him a vote of confidence. In other words, the fans decided if he was a face or a heel. Now there’s something different.

Ron Shaw/Pete Doherty vs. Hillbilly Jim/Cousin Luke

Luke isn’t that good but he furthered the hillbilly gimmick for Jim. Jim and Shaw start us off and the Hillbilly throws him around for a bit before it’s off to Luke. Luke doesn’t do that well so Jim comes in and mauls them both, finishing Doherty with the bearhug. Total squash.

Meadowlands house show ad. Heenan isn’t worried about Steamboat because he has Mr. Wonderful ready. Orndorff knows what a monkey wrench is, and just like Steamboat’s martial arts, that won’t mean a thing.

Kamala vs. Tommy Sharpe

This is Kamala’s return apparently. Kamala’s manager King Curtis tells us about how great Kamala is. Sharpe gets in more offense than you would expect here, but at the end of the day he’s a jobber and Kamala is a returning monster. The big splash ends this in about two minutes.

Time for the Flower Shop with Adrian Adonis which replaced Piper’s Pit and set up a great angle between the hosts. Piper is the guest and he’s still on a cane due to the knee injury he suffered earlier in the knee. He says he’s not here tonight to fight (despite implying Adonis is female) but he does have a letter. They’re the ratings for the segments on WWF TV, and apparently the Flower Shop is killing them. He gives Jimmy Hart another letter which says that the Flower Shop will be canceled next week so that Piper’s Pit can return. Adrian freaks and it’s on next week.

Rougeau Brothers vs. Mike Fever/Bob Bradley

Bradley was in the last show I reviewed and it was the only time I had ever heard of him. I love little things like that. The Rougeaus aren’t fabulous yet but they take Bradley apart to get things going. We listen to some French commentary for no apparent reason. Total dominance again with Ray getting the pin after the Cannonball that the Quebecers would use as their finisher years later.

We get a clip from a previous Flower Shop where Heenan tries to prove that one of the Machines is Andre the Giant but they keep switching places to confuse him.

Big John Studd/King Kong Bundy vs. Corporal Kirschner/SD Jones

The Corporal and Studd start us off with the Corporal hitting and moving. He pounds on Studd and goes for a slam but Bundy breaks it up. Bundy comes in and uses fat man offense but it’s back to Studd quickly. Jones comes in and it’s Wrestlemania all over again. The Avalanche gets the quick pin. Literal squash. Even Vince says this match wasn’t that good.

Another MSG ad. Harley Race says that Tito Santana is in way over his head.

Vince tells us what’s coming next week and we’re out.

Overall Rating: D+. For a debut episode this was pretty forgettable, but back then it wouldn’t have been seen as all that bad. The idea here was to pump up the house shows so on that front, it did pretty well. It’s hard to criticize these shows because they’re not meant to be some masterpiece and a show that’s going to get you to watch next week like Raw is today. It wasn’t that bad and at 45 minutes, how can I really complain?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews, and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

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