NWA World Championship Wrestling Being Added To The Network
I’m talking the TBS show from 1986-1988. This is the treat that a lot of old school fans have been waiting on as it’s the opposite of what you see today. These shows were almost entirely built around the promos to make you pay for the house shows later. The idea of seeing big names fight each other on this show was almost unheard of and it made for some much more entertaining TV. It’s not for everyone and you might get bored at times, but Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes one upping each other every week is some of the best you’ll ever see. Check this out if you want to see what made WCW work in the old days.
They could really use some spring cleaning so maybe this is the start. It would be nice considering how many people they have on the payroll who never do anything. Maddox tried but there’s only so much you can do with his size and look.
Monday Nitro – July 3, 2000: It’s Coming And We Can’t Stop It
Monday Nitro #247 Date: July 3, 2000
Location: Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, Scott Hudson
It’s the go home show for Bash at the Beach and I can’t imagine we’ll be seeing Hulk Hogan here tonight to set up the title match because that’s probably not in his contract. Other than that we might get Goldberg eating another contract and then finding a way to make it reappear. He’s like a magician you see. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s shows with almost every show getting a quick feature. Unfortunately this includes Vampiro but it also includes the Cat being all over the show.
Cat is on the phone and says he’s suspended Scott Steiner for a week. I believe this was the suspension over Scott not wanting to do a job on Thunder and being punished by being suspended with pay over the Fourth of July weekend. Mike Awesome comes in and isn’t happy about something.
Four ambulances are waiting outside.
Opening sequence.
Tank Abbott takes over DJ Ran’s booth (I love you Tank Abbott) and plays some 3 Count.
3 Count vs. Jung Dragons
Shane tries to cut a promo but Tank tells them to shut up and sing. Six man tag here and the Dragons start fast upon hitting the ring. Jamie accidentally splashes Kaz as Shane has hurt his arm and has to be looked at by a trainer. As he leaves, Tank comes down to take his place, making sure to stand next to Shannon on the apron. Evan punches Yang down so it’s off to Shannon, because why tag in the killer? It’s quickly back to Evan, who sends Yang into the post. Everyone tries dives but Yang gets left in the ring with Tank. Madden: “DO THE CRANE DANNY!” Tank knocks Yang out and Shannon gets the easy pin.
Rating: C. The match was barely a thing as it was almost all about establishing Tank as the semi-official fourth member of the team. Like I’ve said though, the Dragons and 3 Count would have a lot of good matches but they would never climb up the card or do anything significant against anyone else. That’s a major area where WCW failed and it was rarely more true than here.
Tank makes them dance, including the returning Helms.
Kevin Nash arrives. I have no idea why his clothes are already in his dressing room.
Cat has a proposition for the Dragons.
Goldberg arrives.
Mike Awesome powerbombs a backstage worker through a table.
Video on the Outsiders. Screw you WCW for hinting that Hall might be coming back when you knew he wasn’t. Goldberg finally comes into the truck and demands that the video gets pulled. Nash isn’t pleased.
Here’s Goldberg to a big pop with something to say. He’s sick and tired of hearing about the Outsiders because they’re some of the biggest pieces of garbage in wrestling. Goldberg has carried this company for the past two years and he’s sick of having to do it. This brings out Nash to say he doesn’t want to wait but security holds him back. Cat comes out and says go to a commercial. Madden: “WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY COMMERCIAL???”
During the break, the locker room had to hold Nash back and Awesome powerbombed a security guard. That would be the second man sent to the hospital tonight.
Cat calls Eric and says he’s going to keep them apart for the rest of the night.
Terry Funk tells Johnny the Bull that he has a real tough opponent tonight before hitting Johnny with a chair.
Terry Funk vs. Johnny the Bull
Madden: “Could the opponent be Terry Funk?” Funk knocks Bull into the arena with a chair and does the same thing in the ring. Johnny gets rammed into the announcers’ table but comes back with a chair shot of his own. They head into the crowd with Johnny piledriving Funk onto a chair.
Back to ringside with Funk bleeding a bit from the eye, only to have Bull springboard from the top to the floor into a legdrop onto the chair onto Funk’s face. Yeah believe it or not, that’s REALLY STUPID TO DO and Johnny would be out for two months with a broken tailbone. Back in and Bull small packages him for two (Madden: “The heck with that! Kill each other!”) and DDT on a chair is enough to pin Funk.
Rating: D. I’ll give the points for having Funk put over some young guys, but at the same time it seems that the young guy is stupid enough to try a springboard legdrop to the floor. This is going to derail the hardcore division but it’s not like it’s hard to set up something new for this waste of time. Bad match, but at least Funk put someone else over.
We see Dale Torborg and Asya rehearsing earlier today when an explosion went off and knocked Asya off the stage.
Torborg is going back to the hospital when a man in a robe gives him the Demon attire. It’s Vampiro of course but there’s another man behind him in a robe of his own.
Goldberg yells at Cat.
General Rection/Corporal Cajun vs. Mark Jindrak/Sean O’Haire
The winners get a title shot next Monday. Jindrak, in pants instead of his trunks, gets punched down by Cajun to start before it’s off to Rection vs. O’Haire (also in pants for some reason). Rection slams him off the top and brings the Corporal back in, only to have him take a double suplex.
Cajun grabs a quick small package for no count as the General has the referee for no apparent reason. Sounds like a plot point. It’s off to Rection for a bunch of clotheslines as everything breaks down. An electric chair on the General sets up a top rope splash from Sean for two. Not that it matters as Rection slams Jindrak down and nails the No Laughing Matter for the pin.
Rating: D+. Build a team up one week, have a nothing team beat them the next week. Such is life in WCW because they have to go against what could work best for them for the sake of pushing people like Lash Leroux and Hugh Morrus. The match was good enough but that’s the stupid booking that has WCW in the shape it’s in.
Post match the Perfect Event comes in for the big beatdown with the exercise bars. The rest of the Misfits run in for the save and everyone lays down for CPR from Gunns.
Nash tells Cat to make the match.
Awesome powerbombs another backstage guy. Is there a point to this anytime soon?
Cat is on the phone with Eric again and says he has an idea.
Here’s Jeff Jarrett with something to say. After declaring himself amazing, Jeff talks about how great Hogan is. He talks about his granddaddy paying a nickel to watch Hogan back in the day and wanting to be like Hulk growing up. Now it’s 2000 and Jarrett is going to be the one to put him out this Sunday at Bash at the Beach.
Jarrett brings out fat ladies dressed as vikings to Flight of the Valkyries (Hudson: “Or Kill the Wabbit to some of you out there.”). They praise Jarrett a bit and then sing some of the Goodbye song to keep this going. A guy from standards and practices comes out, only to eat a guitar shot. WAY too long for the point here, aside from it not being funny.
Cat comes out to announce a battle royal with Goldberg and Nash included. If they can survive, they can fight each other. “Or make whoopee, I don’t care.”
The third ambulance leaves.
Jarrett and Cat yell at each other a lot.
Shane Douglas vs. Booker T.
Kanyon jumps Booker in the aisle and now we’re ready to go. Shane starts fast with some quick neck snaps and they head outside where Kanyon does the Diamond Cutter sign. Back in and Booker gets in a running forearm for his first offense. A Kanyon distraction fails and gives Booker a rollup for two, followed by the Book End (not yet named) for the pin.
Rating: D. Short and not good enough to go anywhere but at least Booker is on a winning streak. Shane is fine in this role and Kanyon continues to be funny, but they need more than three minutes to actually make this work. Booker vs. Kanyon should be fun on Sunday, though does anyone remember why they’re fighting in the first place?
Kanyon lays out Booker post match until Page’s music plays. Tony freaks out and then realizes Kanyon has just stolen the song.
The Demon is back.
Cat puts a bunch of people in the battle royal and says their jobs are to hold Goldberg and Nash apart. Bonuses are promised.
We recap Vampiro vs. Torborg/Demon.
The Demon vs. Vampiro
Vampiro’s entrance is interrupted by the Road Report. These editing errors wouldn’t pass on a low level indy company. Vampiro kicks him down to start as the fans want Sting. In a stupid moment, Vampiro sends him into the ropes and ducks, looking at Demon the entire time as Demon kicks him in the face. Demon fights back and we’ve got an army of guys in hoods and Sting masks. They all point bats at Vampiro and the distraction lets Demon grab the Love Gun (cobra clutch slam) for the pin.
Post match the hooded guys surround Vampiro but the lights go out and Vampiro is gone. Did you expect anything less?
Smooth talks to the Filthy Animals.
Cat gives the same speech to the Misfits and some other guys. Johnny the Bull is here despite being sent to the hospital earlier. God bless pre tapes.
David tries to talk Daffney, who now has short, blue hair, out of fighting Hancock. Over his shoulder, Hancock is shown going to the ring in a wedding gown (which stops about a foot above her knees) and David can’t help but look. David opts to sing to Daffney instead.
In the ring, Hancock says she can’t decide what to wear under the wedding gown on Sunday. Maybe she’ll just wear nothing. Since she’ll be winning Sunday, she’ll just give us what we want now. Crowbar comes in to stop the dancing and we cut to David in the back. He claims a stomach ache and runs to the ring as Crowbar has Hancock in a chair. Crowbar pulls out clippers to take Hancock’s hair off. Madden: “SHAVE HER! SHAVE HER!”
David comes out for the save but Daffney catches him and hits David low. Of course she has a bottle of Pepto-Bismol too. A lame catfight starts and Hancock distracts Crowbar until David hits him with a chair. Daffney gets her cut off and David puts the clippers in Crowbar’s hands for Daffney to find. As usual, video doesn’t exist in the wrestling world.
During the break, Crowbar chased after Daffney but got laid out by Awesome and thrown in an ambulance.
Smooth brings Tygress in to see Cat. A proposition is made but Cat wants to keep his shoes on.
Rey Mysterio/Juventud Guerrera vs. Lance Storm/Kidman
Before the match, Disco brings out Juvy and Rey dressed as Storm and Kidman for a special interview. They make the expected jokes until the real Storm and Kidman come out for the brawl to start the match. Kidman powerbombs Juvy to start and it’s off to Storm for a gorilla press. Rey makes the save with a dropkick and kicks Storm low. Lance comes right back with a suplex and makes the tag off to Kidman for some house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Storm powerbombs Rey, only to have Juvy faceplant Kidman on a chair for the pin.
Rating: C-. I’d love to see these guys get a regular tag match instead of having to fly through everything in four minutes because we need to see Mike Awesome powerbomb someone else or whatever STUPID Vampiro and Demon stuff is going on. As usual, WCW has too much going on to keep track of the entertaining stuff.
Cat is getting his clothes back on and missed what just happened.
Vampiro is all annoyed and wants Demon in a Graveyard Match, whatever that is.
Nash says Sunday is about Scott Hall but tonight is about Kevin. He’s ready for Goldberg.
We recap Awesome’s rampage.
Awesome comes to the ring and yells about not being a mullet in the same tone that Owen would say he wasn’t a nugget. Fans: “MULLET!” He wants Scott Steiner right now and demands a bell ring. A referee comes out to count to ten but Rick Steiner runs in and takes Mike out, promising that Scott will do the same on Sunday.
Cat gives the people in the battle royal a pep talk.
Battle Royal
Nash comes out and we cut to the back again where Cat tells the Misfits and Booker to stay out of this. Juvy and Rey come out first and this is looking like a gauntlet match. Nash eliminates both of them with ease and Konnan gets the same. Disco’s sleeper doesn’t work so here comes the Perfect Event to finally slow Nash down a bit.
Nash fights them off but doesn’t throw them out as Big Vito comes in with the stick. Now it’s Kanyon to make it 5-1 as the Misfits are still being held back. Booker shoves him away and the good guys come out, followed by Goldberg. House is cleaned in a hurry and Goldberg superkicks Nash. The Misfits grab Goldberg’s boot though, allowing Nash to kick him in the face for the elimination and the win.
Rating: F. It’s another segment called a match where Nash AGAIN gets to run roughshod over half the roster because why else would you bring him out there? They’ve done a good job of building up Nash vs. Goldberg, but this has to lead to them having a match and that’s where the whole thing is going to fall apart.
Security holds them back to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. Again one of the best shows in a long time, fat viking women aside. There are coherent stories here and that means more for WCW than anything else. Their key at the moment is attracting new viewers and the Russo shows weren’t doing it. You should be able to tell what’s going on within thirty seconds of turning on the show. The Russo shows needed about a month to make sense (assuming he hadn’t changed the story a dozen times in the first hour) whereas these are simple stories that you can figure out quick. Unfortunately that doesn’t make the stories good, but it’s a step up.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Middle Kingdom Wrestling – October 12, 2015: American Know-How
Middle Kingdom Wrestling Episode 4 Date: October 12, 2015
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China Commentator: Eddie Strong, Cam Ferguson
Back to the east again with the latest offering from a company that I like for reasons I can’t put my finger on. We’re moving forward in the tournament but it’s been a long time and I might not remember everyone involved. Hopefully they have a decent recap, along with a better announcer. Let’s get to it.
The opening sequence has changed a bit but the recap is still the same. They still need to get a better graphic though.
We open with a recap of Black Mamba being ejected from the tournament for cheating and getting to face the Slam as a result. That right there is all I needed for a recap so far as it took less than a minute and summed up the big story. Well done.
Ash isn’t pleased with being cheated out of the tournament by Black Mamba and Da Li Sam. After implying that Sam is a prostitute for fat women, he talks about ripping the stitches out of his head with chopsticks. I think that deserves a HE’S HARDCORE chant. He’s back earlier than the doctors recommended and he wants the Slam’s top student Jason. Therefore, Jason needs to go tell Slam that he’s tired of taking out the trash and buying toilet paper and wants to face Ash instead. The delivery wasn’t the best but he definitely had some charisma to him and was comfortable in front of a camera.
Ash vs. Jason
This is billed as a special challenge match. Ash has an American flag on his jacket so I’m guessing he’s the heel here. He comes out with a good looking woman so he can’t be all bad. We have a new commentator named Cam Ferguson who apparently has a Masters in Confucianism and is clearly a heel.
Jason hides in the corner to start as Eddie recaps the story so far in that annoying voice of his. A dropkick gets two on Jason and Ash messes with the hair. Ferguson says that’s typical American bullying but Eddie says he’s supposed to be hitting him in a wrestling match. Ferguson: “So it’s ok to kick him in the stomach?” A quick belly to belly puts Ash down and Ferguson accuses Ash of hitting low.
We hit a chinlock from Jason (Or a rear naked chin hold according to Eddie. That sounds like the Matt Striker school of “here’s a WAY more complicated name than you need.”) as Ferguson accuses the referee of being a traitor to the Communist Party. Ash comes back with some forearms and a middle rope kick to the chest (think RVD) for two, followed by a Boston crab for the win.
Rating: C. You can really tell which people in this promotion have the ring experience. Ash isn’t great but he clearly has a much better idea of what he’s doing. There was even a little story here and it helped the match move on a lot. Also they’re starting to go longer and I’m not bored so things are definitely improving.
MKW Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Dalton Bragg vs. Len Bai
Bragg has comically skinny arms. Bai doesn’t like Dalton taking his time on the floor and dives over the top, only to crash down in front of him. It doesn’t really matter as the ring is only about three feet above the ground but it was still quite the crash. Bragg gets in a cheap shot form behind to take over and we get a ridiculously slow motion Irish whip into a monkey flip to Bai.
Back up and they trade chops (with Bai’s lacking any follow through) until Bragg asks a little girl to rub his hand to make his stronger. Bragg’s cross body is countered into a backbreaker for two and Strong is somehow still on my nerves. After Bai hasn’t done anything flashy all match, he slaps on Cattle Mutilation of all things. Where did he learn that? A fisherman’s buster gets two on Bragg but he pops up and hits a nice middle rope Codebreaker to advance to the finals.
Rating: C-. Not the best match here but you can see that Bai is still new out there. Bragg isn’t anything worth watching either though he definitely has more experience and looked more comfortable. The Cattle Mutilation and Codebreaker looked good and the right guy won though so it’s not the worst in the world.
Post match Bai breaks Bragg’s arm in a surprisingly big heel move.
After the credits, Black Mamba and Da Lip Sam say they’re not worried about the Slam. Bai promises to take care of the tournament final too.
Overall Rating: C-. The tournament is coming to a close as we’re wrapping up the first season but this wasn’t their strongest show. You can clearly see the difference between the talent levels and it can be a bit tiring watching the people with next to no experience. The show is still watchable at less than half an hour but I’m hoping it picks up a bit in the final.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
This is a combination of more than one thing.First and foremost, the NFL is killing WWE. I don’t think that’s a bit secret at this point.
Second, the fans seem tired of the same matches over and over. Last night’s main event was Rusev vs. Reigns. That was a cool showdown in the battle royal last year but now, who in the world thinks Rusev is going to beat him? It’s a boring match that is just set up as part of a much longer story. In other words, don’t bother watching now because it’s going to be at least January before something interesting happens.
Third, the fans have gotten so used to having no one to cheer for that seeing ANOTHER heel champion is burning them out. Reigns held the title for five minutes. Unless you count Brock, who was still officially a heel, we haven’t had a face champion since Summerslam 2014. That’s getting into TNA territory. At some point, you have to give the people something to celebrate or they’re going to give up.
Fourth, the injuries are taking a big toll. All those people being gone leaves a BIG chunk of the show needing to be filled in and it’s really hurting things. Without Cena, Orton and Rollins (not to mention the part timers), there’s a lot of time to be filled. Last night we had the New Day doing a (funny) segment that went nowhere and Ryback beating up Heath Slater in another “country music is stupid” segment. Couple that with a nothing Mark Henry vs. Neville match and some midcard tag matches and there was nothing interesting to watch.
Finally, Sheamus is the World Champion. Now Sheamus is a cool guy and capable of doing some good stuff in the ring (see the Big Show matches which gave Big Show his best performances in years), but coming into the title win, he had won one singles match since September. I know WWE disagrees, but fans remember that. They see a guy who stole the title and is likely holding it for a long time. So we have a loser fighting a choker for the title while the Authority sits back and laughs. How is that supposed to be entertaining?
At the end of the day, WWE needs to freshen things up a bit. Aside from major changes like the show running long etc., they need something fresh. I don’t mean giving the Authority new toys to play with. I mean a new idea. The Divas closing the show last week drew the best ratings in weeks. Now the show shouldn’t be about the Divas, but the key thing as that felt fresh. It wasn’t another tag match or another two upper midcard guys fighting on Monday night Maggle.
Freshen things up, get rid of Sheamus, stop having champions lose and BUILD UP SOMETHING FOR NEXT WEEK! That still drives me nuts. Why in the world can they never have a match built up for the following week unless it’s a tournament? “Next week, Dean Ambrose gets his shot at the Intercontinental Title! Ambrose beat Owens at Survivor Series and now he wants the gold! Tune in next Monday!” Maybe that can open the show instead of Stephanie strutting down to the ring and then yelling at someone for fifteen minutes. I don’t know about you, but nothing gets me fired up more than TALKING!
But yeah, these numbers aren’t surprising given how little effort they’re putting in right now.
I can’t say I blame them. Crowe had potential but he never really clicked. That’s definitely not to say he doesn’t have talent, but the little monster gimmick was never going to work. I was really intrigued by the hacker gimmick though and was hoping it was going to go somewhere. Unfortunately HHH allegedly didn’t like the idea, which is a shame because the clips i saw of it had potential.
Reviewing the Review: Survivor Series 2015
Normally I wait a little bit before writing these things because I want to let the shows settle in a little bit. I don’t want to throw up some immediate reactions and miss a few things that I would get with more time. In this case however, I haven’t changed what I was thinking since the show ended. This show had a few options to get out of the dilemmas WWE are in at the moment but some of those options are pretty horrid. Let’s get to it.
The pre-show did exactly what it needed to do: take a bunch of people and throw them together into a Survivor Series match to give them something to do and warm the crowd up. It was a group of midcarders with the returning Goldust getting a nice reaction. They seem to be setting up Goldust vs. Stardust, which makes little sense given how lame their first match was.
Cesaro was supposed to be here but was out due to his shoulder injury, which adds another name to the long list of injuries. Neville’s team won though it might as well have been called “Team midcard good guys”. There’s nothing wrong with this one and it did exactly what it was supposed to do.
In the unofficial response to the ISIS threats, Lillian Garcia sang the National Anthem. It seems that the rumors of the threats were groundless but there’s nothing wrong with being overly cautious. I think everyone was at least a bit worried about this but the song was a nice moment and you knew there was going to be something like this at some point. Lillian Garcia may not be the best announcer in the world and she screws up some times, but sweet goodness she can belt out that song.
First up on the actual show was Reigns vs. Del Rio in the first tournament semifinal. This was the one that people knew in the first place with Del Rio being by far and away the biggest underdog in the whole thing. Reigns winning wasn’t in question, but people were hoping that Del Rio wouldn’t put the fans to sleep, which thankfully he didn’t for once. The match was a pretty solid back and forth main event style match as they didn’t bother with the slow start. Instead they just beat each other up for about fifteen minutes with Del Rio working the bad arm until he ate a spear. This was a nice surprise but nothing we didn’t see coming.
Pretty much the same thing happened in the second match as Ambrose and Owens beat each other up for a bit before Ambrose advanced. There was a little bit more drama here but Owens was still a big underdog coming into this. Reigns vs. Del Rio was better, but that’s because Reigns is better in the ring. Dean used all his signature stuff (and he has more than enough of it to get him through a long match) and set up the showdown we were waiting on in the main event.
Next up was another Survivor Series match with the wrestlers finally being announced. There weren’t any surprises here but we did get to see Sheamus and Barrett being funny. I really don’t get why they didn’t announce the participants in advance as there was nothing out of the ordinary here and most of the people could be predicted in advance. The match itself was fine but the ending went on too long with Sheamus getting triple teamed and finally losing after New Day walked out.
That’s where the show started to fall apart. They knew that Sheamus was getting the title later in the night and could have done a bunch of things to keep him from getting pinned here. Have him do the Honky Tonk Man deal from Survivor Series 1987 and walk out when he realizes he can’t fight the numbers. Have him grab a chair and get disqualified. Have him win the thing. Do SOMETHING other thing have him get pinned in the middle of the ring two hours before he becomes World Champion.
WWE just does not get this concept but the fans remember it when people lose. Sheamus was the guy losing to a minor league rookie (albeit an awesome one named Finn Balor) throughout the European tour and he’s won one singles match on TV since the beginning of October. Therefore, let’s make him the World Champion. You had to know that Sheamus was going to get the title sooner or later so maybe they could have done SOMETHING to build him up in recent months but no, just go off that one big match he won FIVE MONTHS AGO and assume it’s going to be enough. Totally stupid idea here to end a decent match.
Charlotte defended the title against Paige and again sweet goodness they missed the point here. I know they were trying to get out from under the whole Reid Flair mess from Monday but their solution was to have a boring, run of the mill match. Instead of Charlotte trying to kill her, she started the match with a freaking waistlock. As soon as that happened, I knew they were done here. This had the potential to be a big slugfest but we had Paige working on the ribs and Charlotte just wrestling a normal match.
It’s a good example of how psychology can cause problems in a match. Sometimes you need to switch from your game plan and go with something different to suit the match. Just because you can wrestle a regular match doesn’t mean that’s always the way to go. Charlotte should have been out for blood here and Paige should have caught her in one of her mistakes. Instead of telling a good story, the whole thing was a big mess that felt off the entire time.
Tyler Breeze beat Dolph Ziggler in a nothing match. Breeze is still new around here and needed a big win after he got pinned in his debut. Again, WWE seems like they don’t get it. Have this be his debut and give him the win to establish him as a threat before having him lose a few times. Breeze feels dead in the water already but to be fair Ziggler has been the same way for years and people seem to love him.
Now we get to the first of two main events and the first of two matches where it’s about to come crashing down. The Wyatt Family picked two members to be sacrificed to Undertaker and Kane after Bray stole their souls, which seemed to mean gave them a quick vacation. As expected, the Wyatts were effectively squashed at the Undertaker’s 25th anniversary.
I’m fine with Undertaker winning a major match at a major milestone for him, but this was the same Wyatt problem they’ve had for a year and a half. There was no reason to believe that the Wyatts were going to pull off the upset and ascend up the ladder but this was really just a squash. The only good thing here was that Harper got pinned instead of Wyatt, but it’s pretty clear that the Wyatts are still dead in the water while Undertaker and Kane weren’t even on Raw.
So that leaves us with Reigns vs. Ambrose for the title which didn’t even break nine minutes. The show ended at about fifteen minutes before the hour (which it almost always does) and the main event gets nine minutes? I mean…….REALLY? Did they need time in case Stephanie needed to get in some more buzz words or strut down to ringside to remind us how sexy she is? Anyway, Reigns won on the second spear (a really good one too) and finally got the title.
Then HHH came out and ate a spear, allowing Sheamus to cash in Money in the Bank five minutes later. This is where the show falls apart because the booking is stupid. So the story making the rounds is that the fans were going to boo Reigns winning the title so they decided to screw him over and build up sympathy, basically taking the Daniel Bryan path.
The problem here should be obvious, but for some reason WWE doesn’t get that there’s a difference between an average size guy like Bryan who fights with everything he’s got and a 6’4 monster with a rich family history who has been anointed as the next chosen one. The logical move here would be to turn Reigns heel and let him fight Ambrose, Cena and Lesnar in big matches but instead here’s a midcard guy with one win in the last two months because HAHA MONEY IN THE BANK BABY!
That’s the only justification for Sheamus winning the title: they were scared of the fans not worshiping Reigns (again because they’ve completely missed the idea with him) and one match back in June that gives them a way out. As usual, it seems to boil down to the simple concept of the writers not wanting to actually put in the effort to tell a good story when they can put out a single idea and just build off that for months. It hasn’t worked before so they’ll keep doing it forever because it’s easier for them.
Overall, Survivor Series felt flat. It was a show that could have been something special or at least interesting with all of the potential plot decisions they had before them, but instead they went with the most basic, simplistic ideas they could have with the least effort possible. That’s the problem with so much of what WWE does these days: they would rather stick with the most hackneyed ideas instead of taking a chance (a logical chance) and trying something long term. Almost everything has to be wrapped up in a matter of weeks and that’s not good. Mix it up a bit and go with what makes sense, not what’s easiest.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Monday Night Raw – November 23, 2015: The Real Injury Problem
Monday Night Raw Date: November 23, 2015
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton
The end of the year is almost upon us and we’re in another Sheamus era. It seems that they’re heading towards Roman Reigns playing Daniel Bryan this year because that’s totally the same thing. There isn’t much else coming out of Survivor Series but we could be in for a few very long months. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the World Title scene from last night.
Here’s the Authority to open things up with Stephanie strutting down the ramp. Stephanie talks about opportunity striking very rarely and HHH brings up Reigns being stupid with his decision two weeks ago. Here’s someone who seized opportunity when he had the chance: the new WWE World Champion Sheamus. The fans still say Sheamus looks stupid but there’s nothing that is ruining his moment.
Last night he kicked Roman off his mountain because just as he promised, he was one Brogue Kick away. Sheamus holds up the title and asks who looks stupid now. Cue Reigns to say he wants his rematch and the fans chant YES. Stephanie is of course right there to make fun of the fans because she needs their balls for her collection.
There’s no rematch tonight as Stephanie shouts at Roman to get out of her ring. Roman asks if HHH is hiding behind his wife so we get another staredown. HHH says no rematch tonight and leaves. Cue the returning Rusev to superkick Reigns down, followed by a Brogue Kick from Sheamus. Oh yeah he’s the new Bryan. Well at least in WWE’s minds. Everyone leaves and HHH makes Sheamus vs. Reigns in a TLC match at the pay per view. Stephanie adds Rusev vs. Reigns tonight.
Recap of Undertaker and Kane squashing the Wyatts last night.
Dudley Boyz vs. Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt
Harper chops Bubba in the corner to start as the Wyatts are looking more aggressive tonight. Bubba kicks Harper in the face and it’s off to D-Von for the reverse 3D. Bray saves his buddy from the regular version and we take an early break. Back with Bray chinlocking D-Von before switching things up with a nerve hold. D-Von fights up and makes the hot tag as everything breaks down. In the melee, Harper’s discus lariat puts Bubba away at 7:53.
Rating: D+. Barely enough to rate here because of the big commercial break right in the middle. It’s good to see the Wyatts win again, but does anyone believe that they’re going to do anything after this? They’re the biggest chokers in the company and it’s getting harder and harder to buy them as contenders to anything. On the other hand, it’s cool to see the Dudleys out there putting people over like they should be doing.
Post match Rowan and Strowman come in to continue the beatdown.
Video on Undertaker’s career, the same from last night.
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
This starts after a commercial, the fourth in forty five minutes. Sasha takes over to start and chokes Becky on the ropes as we hear about the Irish dominance of WWE at the moment. Tamina gets in a cheap shot to give Sasha two and we hit the bow and arrow. Back up and Becky grabs a t-bone followed by the Disarm-Her but Tamina’s distraction lets Naomi pull her under the ropes. A quick rollup with trunks gives Sasha the pin at 4:08.
Rating: D+. This is every problem the Divas have had in the last year: no characters, no personalities, no reason to care and no time for the match. The team thing is still annoying and it’s one of the same ideas that the heels have used for the better part of ever in this company. These two can have matches but only Nikki Bella is allowed to have a personality around here.
Cole says Sasha might be in the running for #1 contender but Paige cuts him off and shows a clip of Charlotte’s arm being under the rope in the Figure Eight last night. Charlotte is just a dirty cheater like her old man and Paige is going to prove it tonight.
Here’s the New Day for a country music jamboree to celebrate their first anniversary as a team and to issue an open challenge. They come out on pink stick unicorns with Big E. wearing a cowboy hat. This is already funny by definition but JBL singing the Rawhide theme hurts it a bit. Big E.: “YIPPIE KAY AY MOTHER…..” Kingston: “Shut your mouth!”
They can’t bring themselves to say that they’re in the capital of country music so they make fun of the genres tropes of losing your girlfriend, your truck breaking down and your dog running away. Big E. goes on a rant about tractor songs and says that’s enough country music for a lifetime. Kofi, with a braided horn on his head, sums it up by saying this is the truth and it’s not even coming from his character: country music SUCKS.
The open challenge is on and we’ve got some challengers in the form of the Lucha Dragons. Actually wait as the New Day goes to leave but get cut off by the Usos. Woods: “BAD JIMMY! BAD JEY!” Big E: “SIT! STAY!” The open challenge was just a figure of speech according to Kofi but Cara says let’s make it a triple threat. New Day doesn’t like this spotlight stealing and says no title match because the challenge is canceled. The Dragons and the Usos attack anyway and the champions are cleared out.
Charlotte is ready to defend her title against Paige in a rematch tonight.
Mark Henry vs. Neville
Henry throws him into the corner to start and Mark gets annoyed at Neville for fighting back. A BIG throw sends Neville outside and Henry looks conflicted. Back in and Neville escapes the World’s Strongest Slam before kicking Henry in the head. For some reason we cut to Miz in the back before the Red Arrow pins Henry at 2:22, even though he looked like he kicked out at two.
Henry shakes his hand post match and tells Neville he’s going to be good.
Stardust is raving about Cesaro and Goldust when Titus O’Neil comes in. They talk about science and Titus barks at him. That’s your random segment of the week.
Stardust/Ascension vs. Goldust/Prime Time Players
Byron on Stardust and the Ascension: “They look like they had a big gulp of evil.” The Dusts start things off but it’s off to Konnor before any contact, just like last night. Viktor comes in before any contact as well so Goldust armdrags him down. Darren comes in to stay on the arm before Titus suplexes him onto Viktor as normal.
A belly to belly gets two for Darren and it’s off to Stardust who eats a discus forearm. Viktor comes in off a blind tag to take over and I don’t remember the last time a crowd was this silent. Stardust charges into a boot in the corner and the hot tag brings in Titus. Everything breaks down with Goldust clotheslining his brother to the floor, leaving Titus to hit the Clash on Konnor for the pin at 6:30.
Rating: D. The action wasn’t that bad but there was nothing to care about here and the crowd made that clear. It picked up a bit at the end but there’s only so much I can get out of watching Darren get beaten up for a few minutes. It doesn’t help that neither regular team is going anywhere and Goldust vs. Stardust wasn’t any good.
The winners dance after the match.
Here are Zeb Colter and Alberto Del Rio for the state of the MexAmerican union. MexAmerica was supposed to be a perfect nation but the early growing pains have been turned into fuel for all the haters on social media. Del Rio talks about everyone wanting to see something great but not being entertained enough. Therefore, the borders of MexAmerica are closed forever.
Cue Jack Swagger because he hasn’t lost to anyone recently enough. How many people are there that could stand up for America or just call Colter and Del Rio out for being stupid to get a rub? No instead here’s good old Jack Swagger to get built up and then lose the big match AGAIN because we haven’t done that recently enough. Swagger says Colter used to stand for something but now he’s just complaining all the time. Jack comes to the ring but Del Rio holds up the title and backs off. Swagger does WE THE PEOPLE as they leave.
Divas Title: Charlotte vs. Paige
Charlotte is defending after beating Paige last night. After some big match intros they fight over a lockup, already showing more intensity than they had last night. They slap each other rather hard before Charlotte throws her face first onto the mat. A Fujiwara armbar sends Paige to the ropes and she yells at the fans to blow off some steam. Some knees to the chest get two for the champ and she puts on the figure four neck lock for those flipping slams.
Paige pulls her out of the corner for a crash and puts on a chinlock. That goes as far as a chinlock is going to go so Paige puts on her own figure four neck lock. A low superkick gets two and a suplex into the ropes gets the same. Paige gets tired of the submissions and hits Charlotte in the face a few times for two. After a leg lock from Paige, both of them score with kicks to the face as we take a break.
Back with the match turning more into a brawl until Paige kicks her down and nips back up. Charlotte puts on a rear naked choke of all things before spearing Paige out to the floor. I’m kind of digging this submission battle. At least it’s better than last night. Paige throws her into the barricade but it’s still a double countout at 15:02.
Rating: B-. WAY better than last night as there was some actual intensity and a much better story with Paige trying to do the submissions to match Charlotte because she wanted to prove she was better. It’s amazing what you can do when you actually have personality and character instead of interchangeable people like most of the roster. This was WWE’s way of saying “yeah we know last night sucked.”
Paige sends her into the steps and puts on the PTO on the table.
We recap how the main event was set up.
Here’s Heath Slater with a guitar to show us how real country music goes. He can’t even get a note off before Ryback interrupts. The guitar to the back has no effect and there’s the Shell Shock. I’m hoping Ryback at least mentions pinning the new World Champion last night.
Dean Ambrose/Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens/Tyler Breeze
Ziggler and Ambrose start things off with Tyler grabbing a wristlock. It’s quickly off to Owens vs. Ambrose but Kevin tags right back out. A quick kick to the face puts Dolph down and the heels take over. The double teaming has Dolph in trouble until he comes back with a dropkick to set up the diving tag. Dean’s suicide dive drops Breeze but he walks into a superkick from Owens. Not that it matters as Dirty Deeds puts Breeze away at 5:30. Owens stood by and watched the pin.
Rating: C. This was fine though I have no idea what it accomplished. In theory Owens vs. Ambrose is set up off last night so they could have found a way to do this without having Breeze lose. Like, Ziggler could have lost instead again, but I guess they need to make sure Tyler doesn’t get too strong or whatever.
Earlier today, JBL and El Torito argues over whether to eat Tex or Mex food. Mark Henry was brought in to decide, leading to a dream sequence where Torito did JBL’s entrance and it turns into a Hardee’s commercial.
We look at the end of last night’s show.
Rusev vs. Roman Reigns
Sheamus is in Rusev’s corner. Cole says Rusev wrestles Reigns to the ground to start and probably gets yelled at as a result. Reigns pops him in the jaw and gets two off a running neckbreaker. Back up and Rusev starts kicking Reigns in the face, only to eat a big boot to send him outside. A whip sends Rusev into the barricade and we take our last break.
Back with Rusev holding a chinlock and throwing Reigns outside for a shot from Sheamus. The champ throws him back inside and Rusev starts setting up for the Accolade. That lasts all of ten seconds before it’s off to a cravate instead. Sheamus trips Reigns again and finally gets ejected. The Samoan drop puts Rusev down but Reigns can’t follow up.
The clotheslines in the corner stagger Rusev but he comes back with a spinwheel kick. A top rope headbutt gets two on Roman and Rusev loads up the Accolade. Reigns doesn’t even bother letting it go on and comes back with a Superman Punch for two. Rusev bails to the floor before the spear can launch and superkicks Reigns to stop a charge.
Roman gets rammed into the announcers’ table a few times but comes back with the knees to the face inside, followed by a Superman Punch to knock Rusev off the apron. A countout doesn’t sound good for Reigns so he goes out to get Rusev, only to have King Barrett jump him for the DQ at 16:16.
Rating: C+. Good brawl and I like the ending with Reigns now having to fight the entire trio instead of just one at a time. It’s a good alliance and makes all three of them look better as a unit. Unfortunately it stills feels like it should be over the Intercontinental Title but they’re making do with what they can due to all of the injuries.
Barrett gets a chair but Reigns fights off Rusev, Barrett and the invading Sheamus to end the show.
Overall Rating: D. You can really see where all the injuries are starting to mount up. The problem here isn’t the lack of star power but the lack of an ability to cover three hours. Rollins may have been failing near the top, but he was taking up A LOT of TV time which has to be filled. Cena, Orton and Cesaro aren’t there to do it either and it’s really starting to show. The stuff like Neville vs. Henry and the Ryback segment were acceptable but nothing that’s going to make me want to keep watching. They need to stir things up a bit and making fun of country music because Vince finds it funny isn’t going to solve that.
Results
Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt b. Dudley Boyz – Discus lariat to Bubba
Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Rollup with a handful of trunks
Neville b. Mark Henry – Red Arrow
Goldust/Prime Time Players b. Stardust/Ascension – Clash of the Titus to Konnor
Paige vs. Charlotte went to a double countout
Dolph Ziggler/Dean Ambrose b. Tyler Breeze/Kevin Owens – Dirty Deeds to Breeze
Roman Reigns b. Rusev via DQ when King Barrett interfered
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Reality of Wrestling – September 13, 2015: I Can Dig That
Reality of Wrestling Episode 75 Date: September 13, 2015
Location: Clear Lake Recreation Sports Center, Clear Lake, Texas
Commentators: Matt Topolski, Brad Gilmore
You might have heard of this company before but I’ve never actually seen anything from them. This is Booker T.’s promotion which was previously known as the Pro Wrestling Alliance. They’ve actually been around for ten years now and I’m going into this one totally blind. Let’s get to it.
One more note: I’m not sure of the date this aired but it’s the date the show was uploaded to the promotion’s Youtube channel.
The opening sequence isn’t bad as this looks like a pretty well run place. I’ve seen FAR worse and the production values aren’t bad at all.
The announcers preview the show and call the promotion the Row (as in Row, Row, Row Your Boat).
Steele vs. Evan Snow
Steele is a good sized guy in something like a silver Vader mask. Snow is the hero and a hip hop guy. I’m guessing this is second generation Al Snow vs. George Steele. Snow speeds things up to start and gets two off a dropkick and cross body. We hit a chinlock on the heel which certainly isn’t something you often see.
Back up and Steele takes his head off with a clothesline and a HHH style spinebuster. Some knees to the head get two on Evan and we hit the chinlock. Snow fights up and nails a quick elbow for two but gets caught on top for a superplex. That’s fine with Snow as he shoves Steele down and drops a top rope leg for the pin.
Rating: C. Yeah this was fine with a basic story of power vs. speed, which has worked for the better part of ever and is going to keep working no matter how much wrestling tries to over complicate things. Snow was a simple gimmick but he was fine out there with some good charisma against a run of the mill monster (nothing wrong with that).
Bryan Keith, a cowboy, is polishing his belt and says last week’s bounty was one of his toughest. Apparently GM Sharmell has put a series of bounties on his head and he welcomes all comers.
A monster named Cedric (seriously?) gets yelled at for letting down Legion (sounds like a heel stable). The guy doing the yelling (who looks like Jimmy Jacobs) slaps Cedric and laughs.
Diamonds Title: Miranda vs. Athena
This is the Women’s Title and it’s vacant coming in. Athena is billed from Dallas/Chicago and gets run over before nipping up into a headscissors for a sweet comeback. Miranda snapmares her down again before kicking Athena square in the back. I think Miranda is the heel here but it’s not clear. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Athena hits a nice springboard cross body for two more. A bad looking spear gives Miranda the same but Athena sends her to the floor for a suicide dive. Both of them are down so here’s another woman named Ivory (not that Ivory) to attack Athena, drawing a DQ.
Rating: C+. This worked as well with Athena looking more polished, though I’m not sure Miranda really had a chance to showcase much. She didn’t really have much to make her stand out, whereas Athena was flying all over the place. It may not have been the best executed stuff but it was certainly exciting. Miranda doesn’t have the size or power to make a spear work, though that’s never stopped a bunch of wrestlers.
Post match Ivory says she wants a title shot. The match was billed as a no contest, which is nonsense as Ivory didn’t touch Miranda.
We see a clip of a previous match between Aiden Cristiano and Gino who seem to be former partners or mentor/mentee. Gino won with a rollup to shock his manager Rayna, who seems to have left Cristiano for him. Gino looks to be about 12 years old, albeit tall. The two of them bragged after the match but I could barely understand a word of it due to background noise. You can tell Gino is a heel as he speaks in the third person.
Parviz vs. Erik Lockhart
Parviz is another monster with a guy named X in his corner. Lockhart used to be part of a tag team with his brother but they split for unknown reasons. Erik tries an early triangle choke but gets powerbombed into the corner. A powerslam puts Erik down again and Parvis pulls down the straps to let Lockhart get in some open chops. Parvis’ chokeslam is countered into a DDT but here’s Andrew Lockhart (Erik’s brother of course) to pose on the stage so paparazzi can photograph him to distract Erik, allowing Parvis to grab the chokeslam for the fast pin.
Athena swears revenge on Ivory. Again, she could use some coaching but the core stuff is there. A little research says that the more coaching will come in NXT, where she signed two days before this aired. Good for her.
Erik Lockhart has an edited interview where he talks about how he might have to slap some sense into his brother but he’s just not sure.
Someone named Mysterious Q will break his silence next week.
The announcers debate Andrew Lockhart’s change of attitude. Gilmore: “I saw him in a People Magazine when I was at the grocery store.” Toploski: “What grocery stores do you shop at?”
Tag Team Titles: Heavenly Bodies vs. Pump Patrol
The Patrol (a pair of exercise enthusiasts named Jared Wayne and Curt Matthews) is challenging. One note here: Evan Snow was billed from Hip Hop, USA. The Patrol is from Pump City, USA. They need to come up with something more original as you shouldn’t be repeating an idea that soon. The announcers argue over whether someone named Jackson is the GM or not with Sharmell being brought up as the real GM. Power struggles even happen down in the minors.
Curt and Justin (no last name given) start things off with Justin missing an elbow, allowing Curt to do some pushups. The other Heavenly Body comes in and gets clotheslined in the corner as the announcers are promising a Flexorcism. Ok then. A double elbow from the Patrol sends both champions (seriously, TELL US THEIR NAMES) to the floor, followed by Wayne with a flipping double clothesline.
Back in and a snapmare into a legdrop gets two on Dustin (thank you). The champions take over for a few seconds but Jared blocks Curt from hitting the corner off a whip. A double Stun Gun gets two on Curt and Justin makes it serious by stealing Curt’s headband. Dustin comes in for a leg lariat (clearly made no contact) and a blind tag keeps Curt in trouble. The referee misses the hot tag and the Bodies get in some double stomping.
Curt kicks out of a top rope splash and finally rolls away from both champs (The referee didn’t mind them both being in there because he’s a nice guy. Or incompetent.) for the hot tag to Jared. Everything breaks down and the Flexorcism (Codebreaker into a full nelson slam. I do like the move name) gets two with Dustin making the save. Jared charges at Dustin but gets caught in the Pearly Gates (A wheelbarrow slam into a cutter. Again, good name and a good move.) for the pin.
Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part as both teams are screaming indy level teams. It’s not a bad match or anything but neither of them made me care about the match. There was no real story and the Patrol’s gimmick didn’t do much for me. The Bodies are as generic as you can get and it showed badly in the match. That’s a good finisher though.
Overall Rating: C. Totally watchable show here with more than enough good action and stories going around to keep my interest. Nothing really stands out (save for Athena who was already signed up by WWE at this point) but it’s a great way to have the people get ring time, which is the most important thing when you’re at this level.
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