This is actually from the latest Steve Austin Show and it almost made me cheer for him while I was listening.In a discussion of always facing the hard camera, here’s what he said (paraphrased):
“If I do a move or a spot and one of the 6-8 cameras they have around the ring doesn’t pick it up, that’s on them. I’m busy trying to put on an entertaining match and it might not make sense to turn to the camera.”
The other day I was watching Hogan vs. Warrior at Wrestlemania VI and Hogan puts Warrior in a chinlock with his back to the camera. A camera on the floor went around and got a good shot of the hold and nothing changed. Back then, the match was considered a classic and one of Hogan’s best ever. Today, he’d probably be lectured about how to properly work a match and how there is ONE AND ONLY ONE way to get over, because all that jazz Hogan did just isn’t the same as looking at a specific camera and saying whatever catchphrase is on a t-shirt that month.
Monday Night Raw – May 25, 2015: It All Comes Crashing Down
Monday Night Raw Date: May 25, 2015
Location: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., John Bradshaw Layfield
It’s Memorial Day and also the last Raw before Elimination Chamber. The two Chamber matches are set and we also have the World Title match ready to go, leaving just the details to be added to the matches to make things fully ready. There’s also the issue of Owens powerbombing Cena last week and standing on his US Title. Let’s get to it.
We open with the traditional salute to the veterans who have passed away serving their country. In the arena, we have a moment of silence and a ten bell salute. WWE always does a great job with these things.
Here’s the Authority in full to open things up. After a look at the ending to last week’s show, Seth talks about Ambrose coercing the Authority into giving him a title at Elimination Chamber last week. That’s not how the Authority operates because it’s not best for business. Therefore, couldn’t the Authority just take away the title match or fire Ambrose right now? Well they could and they considered it, but Rollins asked them not to.
HHH has a contract ready for Ambrose to sign so here’s Dean to the stage. Dean thinks there might be something wrong with him because he’s been having trouble sleeping lately. He’s tried counting sheep but he would rather count the times he punches Rollins in the face. It’s the closest thing to happiness he can have and that’s what he got last week. He always enjoys beating Seth up, but next time he wants it to be for the World Title.
Once he becomes the new face of the WWE, there are going to be some changes. The Stooges can go barefoot like some respectable hobbits and Kane can just wear a collar like the lapdog that he is. That leaves Rollins to drunk dial Selena Gomez like the Justin Bieber that he is.
Rollins shrugs off the Justin Bieber chants by actually defending him, saying the fans all want to be Bieber, just like Ambrose wants to be like Seth. He talks about Ambrose being a loser all his life and asks him to sign so he can lose one more time. Really good back and forth segment here with the Authority just being in the background while it happened. Ambrose comes to the ring but here’s Reigns to have his back. Stephanie gets on the mic and says Dean can sign the contract until the end of the show, but until then, it’s Reigns/Ambrose vs. Rollins/Kane right now.
Seth Rollins/Kane vs. Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns
Kane slugs Ambrose in the corner to start but Dean punches and chops up against the ropes. Off to Reigns who takes Kane down with a suplex before Rollins comes in to do the same to Ambrose. It’s quickly back to Reigns for a Samoan drop on Seth but he goes outside to chase the Stooges off, only to get caught in a chinlock back inside. A lukewarm tag brings in Ambrose for shots in the corner and a clothesline to put Seth outside, setting up the suicide dive. The good guys stand tall and we take a break.
Back with Rollins stopping a Dean comeback and getting some nice applause from the Stooges. A big time clothesline puts Rollins down and the hot tag brings in Reigns. Roman cleans house for a bit until a Kane boot puts him down. That earns him a Superman Punch and the top rope elbow from Dean for two with Rollins making the save. The springboard knee to the head gets two for Seth (that looked good) but an enziguri knocks Dean into the ropes, only to have him bounce back and grab a backslide to pin Rollins at 13:25.
Rating: C-. The wrestling was fine but it was really hard to care about this one. It’s almost the same match we’ve seen a dozen times with one or two pieces being changed without anything really changing. Ambrose getting the pin is the right idea for this match to set up Sunday, but these tag matches are almost impossible to get up for these days.
After a break, Ambrose says he’ll get the contract signed later in the night. The Stooges come up and say they have the contract but Mercury forgot it. Noble: “Well slap me upside my head and call me Sally!” Always the gentleman, Ambrose does just that and beats up the two of them before punching a cameraman by mistake. Dean looks upset by what he did to the innocent guy.
Video package on Kevin Owens’ career.
The cast of the movie Entourage arrives and don’t get much of a reaction.
Rusev vs. R-Truth
Rusev is officially Bulgarian again. Truth gets in a few shots but the Accolade wraps things up in 59 seconds.
Post match Rusev says he and Lana need to talk so please get down here. He stays in the ring waiting for her through a break asking her to come out and talk to him. Come on man. At least have a giant boom box. Lana finally comes out but won’t let Rusev hold the ropes open for her. Rusev knows she cares about him, even with all the mistakes she’s made and that he makes sure to list off.
It’s not her fault though. She’s a woman, and all women make mistakes. He talks about the dreams they had back in Bulgaria and asks her to take his hand….which she eventually does. Rusev wants to hear three magical words though: “I was wrong.” That’s too much for Lana though as she shoves his hand away and leaves, saying Rusev quit. Rusev: “YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR PLACE WOMAN!” Lana calls him a liar and a quitter. No one earns her, especially Rusev. She leaves yet again and here’s Ziggler for another kiss.
So yeah, remember the last year plus of Rusev being a monster who beat Cena by knockout at Fast Lane? Well screw all that because we need to put him in a stupid soap opera style story because EVERYONE is a character like that who needs to have depth and emotions and all that nonsense.
HHH and Rollins come into Ambrose’s locker room and have the cameraman say that Ambrose hit him, despite thinking someone pushed him. Dean is arrested (“Yeah I’ve heard this before.”) and HHH smiles.
Post break the Stooges laugh at Ambrose as he’s taken away.
King Barrett vs. Ryback
Ryback still has bad ribs coming in. Barrett is thrown around to start and planted with an early powerslam but he rolls outside. Ryback follows but takes a hard kick to the ribs to give the King control. Back in and some kicks to the ribs followed by a middle rope elbow get two. Wasteland gets the same as Barrett wisely stays on the ribs. The Bull Hammer takes too long to set up though, allowing Ryback to hit a spinebuster and the Shell Shock for the pin at 3:56.
Rating: D+. So Barrett just spent the entire match working on the ribs and then Ryback hit his power moves like he was perfectly fine. Nothing to see here other than yet ANOTHER Barrett loss, which just keep coming and coming and coming. This was another match designed to set up the Chamber but with no time to get there because we need more stupid soap opera nonsense.
The cast of Entourage comes in to see the Authority and name drop people cameoing in their movie. They bring up Rhonda Rousey making Stephanie scream at Wrestlemania and are politely asked to leave.
Tough Enough videos.
Stardust vs. Neville
Stephen Amell of Arrow is in the front row. Neville vs. Bo Dallas is official for Sunday. Stardust goes after the bad knee to start as the announcers talk about Stardust and Amell feuding on Twitter. As Stardust puts on a half crab, Bo Dallas slowly walks to the ring to cheer for Neville. Stardust can’t hit a superplex as Neville kicks him down and nails a tornado DDT, setting up the Red Arrow (after some slaps to the bad knee to wake it up again) for the pin at 3:19.
Rating: C-. The match was nothing special, but this is the kind of match I like: a guy with a pay per view match having a bit of a sweat before beating a guy with a nice resume. We don’t get these nearly enough. It sets up the match on Sunday and keeps Neville from having to waste a big match. Good booking but not a great match.
Post match Dallas tells him to Bolieve and kicks the knee out again.
The Entourage guys hit on the Total Divas, creating a massive vortex of indifference. Zack Ryder comes up and asks them to come into his dressing room because he has an idea.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
Cole incorrectly says the Intercontinental Title is the only title Sheamus has never held (Tag Team Titles being the other). Sheamus runs him over to start as the announcers talk about Lana and Rusev. We’re already in the chinlock with Sheamus talking a lot of trash at the same time. They head outside with Dolph ramming him into the announcers’ table, only to get kicked in the knee back inside.
A Cactus clothesline puts both guys on the floor but Sheamus powerslams him outside, drawing Lana to the stage to watch. Back from a break with Sheamus getting two off a neckbreaker but Ziggler fights up with a bunch of forearms. The Fameasser gets two and Ziggler escapes White Noise and ducks the Brogue Kick. Ziggler’s superkick gets two and here comes Rusev to the ring for a distraction, allowing Sheamus to hit the Brogue Kick for the pin at 10:20.
Rating: C. And we’re DONE with the Intercontinental Title preview matches. This is one of those ideas where WWE does one match and then just MUST do the exact same idea three times in one show with no one looking good coming out of it because none of this matters for Sunday. Decent match but my goodness this show has killed my interest.
Rusev puts on the Accolade to make Ziggler look at Lana. “KISS HIM NOW!”
It’s Open Challenge time. Fans: “JOHN CENA SUCKS!” Cena to the camera: “I guess the remix is still a popular song.” Cena says in the last ten years, the WWE Universe can be summed up in five words: “Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks.” He thanks the fans who believe in hustle, loyalty and respect but has to stop for a WE WANT RYDER chant. Those people have had his back for years and he thanks them from the bottom of his heart.
That brings him to the other group of fans, who have been begging for someone to get in this ring and knock him down. Name after name have tried to do just that but all of them have failed. Last week he met Kevin Owens, who broke the internet last week and then broke his best friend Sami Zayn in half.
Maybe that’s why the fans think Kevin Owens is the man that can put Cena down for good. This Sunday those fans that chant CENA SUCKS can instead chant FIGHT OWENS FIGHT. Owens can fight all he wants because it doesn’t mean WIN OWENS WIN. Last week Cena found out that Owens knows how to start a fight and this Sunday he’ll find out if Owens can finish one. That’s Sunday though, so let’s get to tonight. The Open Challenge starts right now.
Cena is ready and here’s the cast of Entourage. Cole: “Really?” Thankfully they’re just here to introduce the man taking the challenge.
US Title: John Cena vs. Zack Ryder
The Entourage cast is at ringside. Some early suplexes get two for Cena to start but Ryder comes back with the middle rope dropkick. Cena avoids the Broski Boot and starts his finishing sequence, only to have one of the Entourage guys get in for a distraction. A quick rollup gets two on Cena but Ryder counters the AA into a Killswitch for two. Now the Broski Boot gets two and the Rough Ryder gets the same. Zack goes up top but misses a 450 of all things, setting up the AA for the pin at 4:05.
Rating: C+. At the end of the day, it would have been cool to see Ryder get the big win to close out the building but you can’t do something like that to Cena here. Ryder looked good here and hopefully gets some more TV time out of a good performance like this. The 450 wasn’t half bad either.
Cena, Ryder and the Entourage guys get to pose in the ring for a nice moment. Cena poses on his own but turns around for a Pop Up Powerbomb from Owens, now wearing a FIGHT OWENS FIGHT shirt. Owens stomps on the US Title again for good measure.
The Authority recaps the Ambrose incident.
Now the announcers recap the Ambrose incident.
Tamina vs. Paige
Bellas are on commentary. Tamina knocks her to the floor to start and slaps on a neck crank. A quick rollup gets two for Paige followed by her three clotheslines and a dropkick. Nikki gets in a quick cheap shot though and Tamina’s Samoan drop is good for the pin at 3:52.
Rating: D-. Oh sweet goodness really? This is the best thing they can do? We’re six days before the Divas title match and the #1 contender just got pinned by the enforcer in less than four minutes. I know Tamina is Jimmy Snuka’s daughter or whatever, but that doesn’t make her the slightest bit interesting. Bad match here and even dumber booking.
Here’s the New Day to say it’s preposterous and ridiculous that they’re being persecuted for being positive. No one wants to see them lose their titles! Just ask the WWE Universe! Cue Kane to say that the Chamber is fair, but the following match isn’t quite the same.
Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/Los Matadores/Lucha Dragons/Prime Time Players/Ascension vs. New Day
10-3 handicap match and joined in progress with……never mind as all ten come in for the big beatdown and the DQ at 49 seconds. Yes, the HEELS are in a big handicap match and were put there by a heel. I guess logic and the Curb Stomp can chill together on the banned list.
We get the big brawl with the Dragons diving on most of the other people at the same time. New Day stands tall, only to have Cesaro and Kidd come in and clean house.
Preview of the preview of the Daniel Bryan documentary airing on the Network tonight.
We get a second angle of Ambrose punching the camerman (from the WWE Youtube channel because of course it is) because Rollins shoved Ambrose into him. This really doesn’t change anything as Ambrose still turned around and punched him, but this show is a sitcom instead of a wrestling show.
Here’s the Authority for the big stupid ending to this stupid, stupid show. Yeah there’s a video, yeah there’s evidence saying Ambrose is innocent (he isn’t) but there’s no time. Therefore….cue Reigns before HHH can say it’s too late. The brawl is on, Reigns gets beaten down, Ambrose shows up in the police van and wearing police gear, and the big brawl allows Ambrose to sign just in time. CUE THAT LAUGH TRACK AND END THEME SONG!!!
Overall Rating: F. Yeah it failed. I was miserable watching this show as they took a huge leap backwards from all the good stuff they had been doing in the last few weeks. Instead of the fun matches and high energy, this was ALL about the backstage stuff and in ring segments with the Authority being on screen WAY too much. Look at some of the things they were doing out there and tell me they were segments we needed to see. The Entourage guys were on TV like four times and added nothing. They certainly weren’t bad, but have them out there once and stop showing them otherwise.
On top of that…..my goodness just make Rusev into the crying Zack Ryder when Eve left him. No it won’t be that bad, but my goodness man, what in the world is the point of this stupid love triangle story? What WWE doesn’t understand is there are some people who shouldn’t be like everybody else. Yeah Rusev is a human, but he needs to be treated like a monster. Let him just be the guy that got this far and stop trying to add dimensions to him. There are some people it’s ok to mess with, but Rusev isn’t that kind of character.
Then there’s the stupid contract signing deal, which comes off like a sitcom plot: it’s some wacky situation which JUST HAPPENS to work due to some master plan coming together, but it somehow manages to all unravel just as the show goes off the air with the Authority shouting that they’ll get you next time Ambrose, NEXT TIME!!!
I was livid sitting through this show as they just completely turned off the reality and made it into the biggest TV show schtick they could. That’s not even talking about the HORRIBLE booking choices of having three Intercontinental Title preview matches that went nowhere and barely set up the Chamber whatsoever. Horrible, horrible show here and wouldn’t you know it: it’s also the first show in a long time where Stephanie was a featured player. How about that.
Results
Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins/Kane – Backslide to Rollins
Rusev b. R-Truth – Accolade
Ryback b. King Barrett – Shell Shock
Neville b. Stardust – Red Arrow
Sheamus b. Dolph Ziggler – Brogue Kick
John Cena b. Zack Ryder – Attitude Adjustment
New Day b. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/Los Matadores/Lucha Dragons/Ascension/Prime Time Players via DQ when all ten attacked New Day at the same time
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Reviewing the Review – Monday Night Raw: May 18, 2015
We’re done with Payback and therefore it’s time to race towards the Elimination Chamber show because we must get it in before people have to start paying for the Network again. The big story here is Rollins retaining the World Title over his former Shield teammates and Orton in a good four way last night, but now everything is about getting to Elimination Chamber.
The Authority was back, complete with HHH’s slow talking and Stephanie dropping in every proper name that she could in a manner that no one uses in the real world. They don’t have much to say here (thank goodness) other than All Hail Rollins and that he’s getting a tribute later in the night.
This brought them to the Elimination Chamber, which led to interruptions from Ryback and Sheamus. Both of them are announced for the match but of course they’ll be fighting tonight too. The match was nothing out of the ordinary with Sheamus Brogue Kicking a distracted Ryback for the pin. I’m glad it’s only a two week build to the Chamber as you can only have the people in the match do these simple matches for so long before they lose their effectiveness. The match was fine and I like Sheamus winning, but I think Ryback’s push is in major trouble after back to back losses.
Kane was put in charge of the celebration tonight and didn’t seem to mind. Ambrose came in and asked for a title shot but was given a match against Bray Wyatt tonight. This was a great example of people being in the right place at the right time saying the right things to move the show forward, making it feel very unnatural.
Neville was being interviewed when Bo Dallas came out. This seems to be the next feud as Dallas isn’t cool with Neville bringing up their history in NXT. Dallas attacked Neville’s previously injured knee, allowing Barrett to take Neville down pretty easily. This wasn’t much of a match due to the time, but I’m getting worried about Neville doing the same things every time. He’s going to be over due to his high flying abilities for a long time, but some of that heat is going to wear off and he needs to have something to build himself back up. The knee injury and a feud with Dallas are a good start though and there’s no reason to panic.
Rusev yelled at Lana a lot and broke up with her. Later that night, Lana came out and kissed Ziggler. I’m not wild on pairing her with Ziggler, but I’m even less wild about how fast this turn started and wrapped up. One week she was Fandangoing and then she’s being dumped by Rusev? That’s because here in WWE, we have to get the next story set up before the pay per view because Heaven forbid we wait more than a few weeks to set something up.
Bray Wyatt beat Dean Ambrose in a match built around a ton of interference and cheating, which is the only way to have that result. This was the usual good brawl between these guys but did you really expect anything else?
Cesaro and Kidd failed to win the Tag Team Titles again after a no contest with New Day. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and was really just a way to extend the feud yet another week as we’re getting closer and closer to Elimination Chamber, where this time FOR SURE we’re getting new champions. The feud and matches are still fun, but they’re running out of ways to have New Day survive without getting repetitive.
After the match, Ascension, the Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores and the Prime Time Players came out to confirm that it’s going to be six teams in the Chamber instead of just three. This makes for a very interesting match where it’s possible that several teams could walk out with the titles. Well other than Los Matadores or Prime Time Players of course but the other four all have at least a chance. I’m not sure who wins there and I love that feeling.
Now we get to the money part of the show: the US Open Challenge. This week’s was answered by NXT Champion Kevin Owens, who gave one of the best debut promos that I’ve ever seen, as he talked about the NXT Title being the real prize to fight for and how Cena doesn’t get to give him advice or pick the time where they fight. I’ve spent a lot of time on the podcasts on how much I loved this segment and Owens comes off like one of the best villains in a long time. He can back it up in the ring too and he’ll get to show that at Elimination Chamber. That’s a non-title match too, which a lot of people seem to be overlooking.
Dolph Ziggler beat Stardust in a very short match to set up Lana kissing him. I’m really not wild on that move but it’s what we’re stuck with for the time being, meaning Dolph is right back where he was a few years ago.
The Wyatts crushed Ryder/Fandango in a match designed to say “yo, we’re monsters.”
Nikki beat Naomi via DQ when Tamina interfered. Paige returned for the save and laid out Nikki in what wasn’t a heel turn.
The big ending segment was a long, drawn out exchange with Rollins making Kane praise him before Dean came out and threatened to put him through some cinder blocks until he was given a title shot. A bunch of brawling ensued and Rollins hit a Pedigree to stand tall to end the show.
I tried really hard to get into this one but it didn’t leave much for me to care about. The main event stuff has too many people floating around it right now. You have the Authority bosses, Kane, the Stooges (ok they don’t count as much) and the two guys in the match. They need to just let Ambrose and Rollins carry this instead of just putting everyone they can in there and making it a big mess all over again.
The rest of the show was an improvement over the main event with the Chamber matches both looking good and Owens vs. Cena making me all tingly. If they can keep the HHH/Stephanie involvement to a minimum, we could be looking at a very hot card at Elimination Chamber. Or we could be looking at the same lazy stuff WWE does over and over to waste their potential.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
This time we talk some TNA demise (this year’s version at least), Payback and Elimination Chamber with some fantasy booking, some what if scenarios and a nice ride through the Georgia countryside.
Ignoring all the in ring action and all the characters and match time either group gets, here’s how I know the NXT division is treated more seriously.
One is simple and effective.
The other is a butterfly.
Which of these would you think is the more serious championship and division contending for it?
Reviewing the Review: Payback 2015
We continue to marathon these pay per views and the big question here is can Payback continue to be the most unlikely good series in wrestling? The main event is a well enough built up fatal fourway with Rollins defending against Reigns, Ambrose and Orton, basically making it a Shield triple threat with Orton on the side. Let’s get to it.
I’m getting through the pre-show matches as fast as I can so I never have to think about them again. R-Truth beat Stardust in a bonus match with all the charm of a bad infection. These two have fought two or three times now and it’s gotten less and less interesting every single time. Therefore, look for them to fight again in the future.
In the other pre-show match, Ascension beat the Mega (changed from Meta for reasons of good taste) Powers in a short match. I would praise WWE for not going with the comedy act here, but I have some issues giving them credit for upgrading from a horrible move to common sense. Yeah they put Ascension over a newly formed comedy team. Am I supposed to be impressed? Finally, does anyone else feel dirty about calling them the Mega Powers?
The opener was a good back and forth match between Dolph Ziggler in Sheamus to seemingly blow off their feud. The key here was the end of the match where Ziggler headbutted Sheamus and busted himself open hardway, which caused the match to end in a hurry. Now granted they didn’t have to cut off much time as the match ran twelve minutes, but it always makes me curious to know what they were going to do otherwise.
Sheamus getting a nice win is the right idea though as he needs the push more than Ziggler. I’m pretty much over Dolph at the moment as he’s been the same guy for the better part of ever now. Yeah his matches are still good enough, but I haven’t been excited to see a Ziggler match in years now.
For reasons I don’t quite get, Kane and Rollins argued even more. On pay per view. I’m going to be really surprised if they set up a Kane face turn as that would be so far out of the realm of common sense these days for WWE. Rollins is almost going to have to turn face eventually though, as it’s the nature of being a heel in wrestling.
Now it’s time for the match people were drooling over: New Day defending the Tag Team Titles against Cesaro/Tyson Kidd in a 2/3 falls match. This had the potential to be one of the most entertaining matches in a very long time if they set it up right, but unfortunately that’s not exactly the way they went about it. Cesaro/Kidd won the first fall in less than three minutes (off a mostly botched Swing into the dropkick). This never sits well with me as the champions just got pinned in almost no time. Let the thing stretch out a bit or have them win the first fall by cheating so it doesn’t look that easy.
A bad looking Midnight Hour (with Kofi’s arm hitting Kidd’s back instead of being a DDT) tied things up in less than nine minutes total and NOW we could pick things up. This is where they get into the insanity with the hot near falls and all the good stuff…..and it was about five minutes long.
That’s where the match lost me a bit as the majority of the match was done in the first two falls instead of the really hot ending. This needed to be more of a bottom heavy match, setting up the really smart finish of having Woods pretend to be Kofi to steal the final pin. Yeah it’s borderline racist, but it was a really smart and even funny way to keep the belts on New Day. I would have liked more time here though and more offense from the challengers, but entertaining stuff all around.
Bray Wyatt and Ryback had a good power brawl built around the idea that Ryback had busted up ribs due to a backsplash off the apron from Wyatt. Granted it didn’t work as well as when Ryback hit a top rope splash and didn’t sell the ribs all that well. Either way, this was a fun enough match with Ryback going down at the end as he should have. Wyatt needed the win a lot more than Ryback did, but neither guy really needed a major loss at this point. Both guys are in need of a direction though, and that’s way too common a problem at this http://onhealthy.net/product-category/adhd/ level of the card.
Now we had the most entertaining and probably divisive match of the night as John Cena defended the US Title against Rusev in their final battle with an I Quit match. These two beat the living tar out of each other for nearly half an hour with the spots getting bigger and bigger. I had a great time here as they kept building up to the big ending, but the key was I wound up forgetting that it was an I Quit match other than the constant DO YOU QUIT. I know a lot of people have found this annoying, but I really didn’t have a big problem with it. Yeah they said it a lot, but that’s kind of the point of the match no?
This was exactly what this match should have been with both guys beating the living tar out of each other until Lana submitted for Rusev, which is likely going to trigger their split. It’s not the beat match in the world, but it was more than entertaining enough which is the right way to go with something like this. Rusev can get right back on track by beating like, anyone in a big match, so this didn’t hurt him all that bad. At the end of the day, he was destined to lose this feud, though I could have done with cutting the chain match and just going with this as the finale at Extreme Rules.
We’ll follow that up with my favorite part of the night: a quick New Day promo where they drink milk out of champagne glasses, brag about not complaining or swearing…..and of course do a spot take, complain and swear upon hearing that they’ll be defending their titles inside the Elimination Chamber. That’s the perfect moment for these three and I laughed just as much as I expected to. These guys can do no wrong at the moment and they’re a major highlight for me.
Naomi and Tamina beat the Bellas in the worst match of the night, which had some bad looking botches, bad timing and the least time of any match on the main card. This was nothing more than a way to set up Nikki vs. Naomi for the title, which really should have just been here instead of the next night on Raw but WWE doesn’t have the best logic at times anyway.
Neville beat King Barrett via countout in a good but short match. This was designed to introduce Neville’s knee injury, which seems to be his major story going forward. It doesn’t really change much about his offense, but at least they’re giving him some attention instead of just letting him be the same guy week after week until the crowd gets bored with him.
That brings us to the main event which is your standard wild brawl with all four getting in their big stuff with a bunch of near falls to tease a title change that was never coming. The big deal here was a very short Shield reunion, which blew the roof off the place for just a few moments. That’s all the validation they need to pull the trigger on a real reunion for the trio one day, as those three are going to be a force going forward.
The match itself was fun and that’s all it really needed to be. Thankfully Orton ate the pin because he’s a made man who can do whatever he wants and keep popping back up without any real damage being done to him. The ending came when Rollins Pedigreed Orton for the pin, which I’m assuming is to fuel Rollins vs. HHH down the line, but it comes off as more like Rollins screaming for his daddy’s attention. Good match, not my favorite ending though. I didn’t mind all the brawling like some have though. Rollins is a heel who cheated. Why is this some big surprise?
Overall, Payback was another big surprise as they had no reason for this to be much of anything, but it wound up being a more than entertaining show with some really solid matches in there. I don’t know if it’s due to the really low expectations or the really hard work, but for a show with nothing important going on, Payback was really fun and a great surprise.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
We’re back after NorCal’s work schedule has cleaned up. Tonight we talk about Takeover, the NXT house show NorCal went to and a good discussion on the territory system and why the future looks bright.
WWC Lucha Estrellas – March 9, 2015: Featuring Vince McMahon!
Lucha Estrellas Date: March 9, 2015
Location: Puerto Rico
Commentator: Nelson Santano
This almost has to be better than the previous show I sat through, as I believe we’re still coming up on the big show that they spent half the hour hyping up. Carlito is still feuding with Mighty Ursus but also has to deal with the young guy from last time…..whoever that was. Let’s get to it.
We open with a shortened version of the same opening from last time, with Carlito destroying the convenience store and flashbacks to the cage match.
Clips of the end of yesterday’s main event with the young boy (wearing a mask) coming in and attacking Carlito until La Revolucion ran in to save Carlito. We also get the young guy talking to his brother.
The young guy was on the phone since yesterday.
Opening sequence.
Same Peter the Bad Romance promo from yesterday. Why don’t I just watch that show again?
Clip of the ending of Peter vs. Angel Cotto with Peter winning with a fisherman’s driver.
Same house show ad that I’ve seen like five times in an hour and a half.
And now, back to June 27, 1977 in Madison Square Garden for a WWWF match announced by Vince McMahon! Why you ask? Well likely because this is on the Network and more interesting than whatever nonsense I’ll have to sit through otherwise.
Chad Nelson vs. Jose Gonzalez
Joined in progress with Chad cranking on the arm. Jose fights up and sends him into the buckle with one of those firey Latin comebacks. This time it’s Jose starting in on the arm before four straight dropkicks put Nelson away.
Rating: F. Four dropkicks? Seriously, four straight versions of the same move? This went on nearly ten minutes in full and I can’t imagine wanting to ever see either of these guys again. Luckily neither guy ever did anything that I know of and it’s fairly easy to see why after a performance like this.
Same promos for the Tag Team Title match from yesterday.
Carlito and the guy on the phone, just like yesterday. They really don’t change these things do they?
Puerto Rican Title: Chicano vs. Ricardo Rodriguez
Yes that Rodriguez, who is challenging here. Chicano is very tattooed but has a good look for the most part. As you might expect, Ricardo is quickly knocked to the floor to start and Chicano sends him into the post. Back in and Rodriguez gets in a shot to take over and heads back outside to choke from the floor. We hit a reverse chinlock but Ricardo lets it go to yell at the fans as we go to a break for more promos and house show ads.
Back with Chicano kicking out at two and backdropping Ricardo to get a breather. A huge clothesline gets two for Chicano as the announcers are now doing house show ads. Ricardo hits a jumping knee to the face but misses a moonsault. He’s up fast enough to go up top, only to get shoved back down, setting up a Swanton to give Chicano the pin.
Rating: D+. Chicano looked good and thankfully Ricardo had a shirt on here. This wasn’t much of a match but at least Chicano got to show off and hit a good looking Swanton to end it. He would win the Universal Title less than a month after this show, so there was clearly something to him.
La Revolucion runs in to beat Chicano down post match. Apparently Chicano is challenging for the Puerto Rico Title, held by one of the nameless members of La Revolucion.
La Revolucion rants about Chicano.
Chicano rants about La Revolucion.
The young guy gets out of his car and goes to the house of some old guy, presumably for training.
Hey look: ads for a show.
William de la Vega and another guy yell about Superstar Ash.
The old guy talks to the young guy to end the show.
Overall Rating: F+. This show comes off like the old Memphis TV show: a glorified commercial for the upcoming arena shows, minus the interesting promos and the cool angles. Maybe the language barrier is messing things up for me, but this really isn’t a fun show to watch, even if you can cut out about forty percent of it with the ads and replays from last week.
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WWC Lucha Estrellas – March 8, 2015: Carlito Still Isn’t Cool
Lucha Estrellas Date: March 8, 2015
Location: Puerto Rico
Commentator: Nelson Santano
We’re going down to Puerto Rico today because my e-book cover artist is from there and enjoys making me sit through this company for some sick reason. I’m not familiar with this to say the least, but my limited Spanish should be able to get me through some of the stories instead of being lost in Japan. Let’s get to it.
We open with Carlito, a big star here and I believe WWC Universal (World) Champion (in his fifteenth reign to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with), going to a convenience store and acting like a jerk by drinking juice he hasn’t paid for yet and throwing stuff on the floor. I know you’re a heel but be tidy. A younger guy comes up and yells at him so Carlito spits an apple in his face. The younger guy goes to yell at someone named Bobby, who is walking on a crutch. We get some flashbacks to Carlito Backstabbing people inside a cage in what looked like a heel turn. I’m assuming Bobby and the younger guy are brothers?
Opening sequence.
I come into this show knowing absolutely nothing, so it could be interesting to see how well they can tell their stories to someone who is clueless.
Diablico vs. Xix Xavant
This is joined in progress with Xavant (found his name through Google) dropkicking Diablico (whose name I didn’t figure out until much later). Xavant nails a German suplex on Diablico but he comes back with a reverse gordbuster for two. Diablico goes up but eats a superplex for two more, followed by a powerslam for the same. The referee yells at Xix, allowing Diablico to pull out a foreign (maybe American?) object to knock Xavant cold for the pin.
Rating: D. This was pretty lame stuff so thank goodness it was clipped. Diablico is a big guy who wasn’t the most energetic in the world. Xavant looked like Dale Torborg, which is quite the insult if you’re familiar with your late 90s wrestlers. Bad match here and I thought Diablico was the face until the end.
House show ads.
A cruiserweight named Peter the Bad Romance (seriously?) has a question for us. He’s been the best wrestler in the world for the last three years but he keeps hearing about Samuel Adams and Chicano. Well now he’s going to prove that he’s the best Junior Heavyweight wrestler in the world by winning the Junior Heavyweight Title. Simple but effective here, assuming I understood it right.
Junior Heavyweight Title: Ricochet vs. Samuel Adams
Ricochet (not Prince Puma) is defending and wears a mask. Joined in progress again with Ricochet slugging away and hitting a springboard middle rope bulldog for two. Adams chops out of the corner and hits a buckle bomb followed by a hard clothesline for two of his own. That’s it for his offense at the moment as Ricochet gets two more off a high cross body, only to walk into a Diamond Cutter driver. Back up and Ricochet counters a superplex into a sunset bomb for another near fall, followed by a cool spot where he bounces from one foot to another to fire off kicks to Adams’ ribs, setting up a quick rollup for the pin to retain.
Rating: C-. Still not great stuff here as they were just trading spots for the few minutes they were out there. That’s one of the big dangers of having matches joined in progress: you go right to the ending and there’s almost no way to get into things as you have no idea what you missed before that. Not bad here but I need more between the big spots.
Universal Title: Carlito Caribbean Cool vs. Mighty Ursus
This one isn’t joined in progress for a change. Ursus is challenging and is a big strong guy in a mask. The champ starts fast and rams him into the corner over and over to a limited effect. Ursus starts shrugging them off and rams Carlito into the buckle himself. Carlito is sent outside for more punches to the head, followed by a trashcan shot. A splash into the post works as well as a splash into the post would be expected to work and Carlito gets a breather.
Carlito posts Ursus again and chops him against the barricade but the Mighty one starts Ursusing up. That means it’s time for chops to the champ’s chest, followed by going back inside so Carlito can choke him a bit. We take a break and come back with Ursus choking with his boot. They’re not exactly going nuts with the offense here. A DDT drops Carlito and a snap suplex (not bad for a guy Ursus’ size) gets two. Ursus goes to the corner but some guy comes in with a flag for the DQ.
Rating: D+. Well it was better as I got to see most of the match but the ending was pretty lame. Neither guy seemed interested in cranking it past about a three here and it showed really badly. Nothing much to see here and I’m really seeing why Carlito can only get a big push in his dad’s promotion.
La Revolucion, a three man military team, comes in to take out the guy with the flag and rips off his mask. It’s the young guy from the opening segment, so Carlito yells at him about his father. He tells La Revolucion to let the kid go as he loads up an apple, only to take a low blow so the kid can run away. A lot of shouting ensues.
Carlito yells at a guy for being on the phone but peace is quickly made.
Carlito is ready for his showdown with Mighty Ursus.
Ursus and his manager with a very scarred head aren’t worried about Carlito because it’s Ursus’ day.
We see the end of a Tag Team Title match where La Revolucion and Los Boricuas (the champions) had a double pin, meaning the titles are held up.
La Revolucion says they’re winning the titles to take over the company.
Los Boricuas say bring it on.
The young guy goes back to tell his brother what happened but the brother is worried about him. I think the young guy is going to be fighting soon so the brother writes something down, which pleases the young guy.
Overall Rating: D. Uh….yeah. The wrestling sucked, the stories weren’t all that interesting and a good chunk of the hour was spent on the same ad for the big show. I can easily see why this company isn’t very well received these days if this is the kind of product they’re regularly putting out.
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Lucha Underground – May 20, 2015: Lucha! Lucha! Luch….You Get The Concept
Lucha Underground Date: May 20, 2015
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker
It’s a big night here as the Trios Titles are on the line with Angelico/Ivelisse/Son of Havoc defending against the Crew in a ladder match. This would sound like an interesting match, but it’s even bigger as Ivelisse still has a broken leg. Other than that, we should get some fallout from Johnny Mundo’s big heel turn last week. Let’s get to it.
Standard recap of last week’s show gets things going.
Cueto’s window is still busted from last week. I love bits of continuity like that.
Marty Martinez vs. Prince Puma
Non-title. Martinez is the Moth guy from a few weeks back and is better known (work with me here) as Martin from Tough Enough like five years ago. Konnan wants Puma to treat the Moth like a joke. They put their arms around each other for a photo op until the Moth chops him down with a huge shot to the chest. Puma eats a forearm in the corner but he comes back with a springboard spinning kick to the face. They trade more kicks with Moth hitting something like a Brogue Kick for two before missing a moonsault. There’s a Blue Thunder Bomb for no cover before the 630 is good for the pin for Puma.
Rating: C. Puma is always fun to watch and it’s cool to see him get an easy win like this. I don’t remember the last time we saw Puma win a glorified squash but it was a nice change of pace. Moth looked decent and continues to show that bigger guys can work well in this company. Nice little match here.
Hernandez comes to the entrance but doesn’t come down. Konnan says Hernandez makes lambs look tough so if Hernandez wants to fight, come down here right now. Hernandez gets close to the ring but says not now like a good heel.
We get a sitdown interview between Vampiro and Johnny Mundo. Johnny says he’s here to be the best in the world and he threw Alberto through the wall to make a statement. That gets Vampiro’s attention and he puts down his notes. Vampiro thinks Johnny is jealous of Patron’s success but Johnny goes into a rant about how he was here on day one and Alberto thinks Johnny is some guy he can slap around at catering. Mundo is this promotion’s top star and this is his world, but you already knew that. Best mic work Mundo has ever done here and he looks like the biggest heel this company has ever seen. Really good stuff here.
Cueto tells the Crew to make a sacrifice of Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse or someone will make a sacrifice of them. I love the fact that Cueto is a jerk to everyone. It makes him feel so much more realistic.
Delavar Daivari vs. Texano
The chase is on before the bell as the Daivari story changes a bit. Last week he wrestled and then became rich but now it’s he’s been rich his entire life. Daivari sends him shoulder first into the post and nails a DDT on the arm into something like a Kimura. Texano pops back up by nailing Daivari on the top and hitting a superplex for a face pop. Was there a double turn that I missed? A leg lariat gets two for Texano but Daivari (who Striker calls the Golden Warrior for the third time in about two and a half minutes) rolls some Germans. Texano grabs a quick Codebreaker for two but Big Ryck comes in to jump Texano for the DQ.
Rating: C. Nice while it lasted but Striker was getting too cute with the name dropping here and it got annoying quick. So Daivari is now a heel despite being introduced like a face and wrestling a heel in his only match so far? I get that he’s a heel character but why introduce him as a face so far?
Ryck beats Texano down so Daivari can cover him for a pin, while not spilling a drop of his drink of course.
Cueto is nervous in his office when Katrina comes in. Muertes can deliver the sacrifice Cueto wants, so he makes Fenix vs. Muertes next week in a death match at Katrina’s request. The match is on and Katrina disappears like a creepy person does.
Black Lotus is walking but doesn’t know where she is. She appreciates what her master has done for her but she’s ready to kill Cueto’s brother. Chavo Guerrero comes to see the master and says Lotus will need her help if she doesn’t want to die. Chavo offers to protect Lotus in exchange for protection from Mexico, which seems to mean Blue Demon Jr. Apparently the Guerreros and the Cuetos don’t like each other. This is so over the top but it really, really works in this promotion.
Trios Titles: Crew vs. Angelico/Son of Havoc/Ivelisse
This is a ladder match with the Crew challenging and Ivelisse has a broken leg. The Crew jumps the champs in the entrance as Vampiro says he’s turned on by the idea of someone getting hurt. Bael punches Ivelisse in the jaw at ringside as Cisco pulls out a big ladder. Angelico dives onto a rusty ladder (which I like instead of the polished WWE ladders) to take out Castro and Bael but he bangs up his own knee in the process.
It’s not bad enough to prevent him from setting up a ladder but Cisco makes a fast save. Angelico knees a turnbuckle by mistake and Cisco shoves the ladder over for the sake of punishing the champs more first. A ladder to Angelico’s groin has him in even more trouble but of course it’s table time because ECW had to make that a thing for all time and eternity. Havoc is stomped down in the corner but drop toeholds Castro into a ladder, setting up a standing moonsault.
The other two Crew members get going with a double stomp to the back/DDT combination to put Havoc down but Angelico makes a last second save. They head outside and break open the window to Cueto’s office (who is shown on the phone because he just likes making carnage instead of actually watching it) but Angelico pops back up and throws I think Bael into the office. Angelico puts Castro on a table and climbs to the balcony for a huge dive but Cisco makes a save.
Havoc escapes a powerbomb on the floor but Bale dives out of the office to take him down. All three Crew members are in the ring by themselves but wait for Havoc to get back in instead of climbing. Naturally he gets in and beats them all down but has to stop Castro from going for the belts. A chair is brought in and Havoc knocks Bael silly, only to have Cisco break up the shooting star through a table.
That lasts all of ten seconds before the shooting star puts Bael through the table, leaving Castro to climb the ladder. All hope is lost so here’s Angelico diving out of the balcony AGAIN with a spot on dropkick to knock Castro off the ladder. Cueto leans out the window in shock at the crash and with good reason. Ivelisse remembers that she’s a wrestler so a single right hand shouldn’t knock her out for fifteen minutes so she climbs up, kicks Cisco down, and gets the titles to retain.
Rating: B-. This was good but the big drama didn’t work as well as it did in the initial title win as this was basically a repeat of the first match but with a ladder attached. Ivelisse was nothing here and these title defenses have basically become a bunch of insane matches instead of a regular title defense. The dive looked very cool but it didn’t have the same impact as the first.
Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show but again it was to set up stuff down the line. The Trios Champions are still entertaining but there needs to be a big set of challengers to take the titles from them soon. The turns tonight weren’t bad, though as I said, a lot of it feels like we’re just setting up for later. Muertes returning should be awesome though.
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