Monday Nitro #164
Date: November 23, 1998
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko, Bobby Heenan

We’re on the road to Starrcade now with a main event of Kevin Nash challenging Goldberg for the World Title. The other main story coming out of last night was Hogan not appearing in the big battle royal for reasons that weren’t explained. Other than that we didn’t get the two big midcard matches we were promised because this is WCW and giving us angles instead of delivering advertised matches is a great idea. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about the battle royal last night and tell us to tune in to the Tonight Show on Thursday to see why Hogan wasn’t in the battle royal.

We get some stills of the battle royal as well.

Lex Luger vs. Mike Enos

They circle each other for a bit to start until Luger runs him over with a shoulder block. A headlock sends Enos to the floor as the announcers talk about everything other than the match. Back in and Mike drops him throat first across the top rope and nails a piledriver for two. We hit the chinlock on Luger followed by a nice powerslam for two more. Back up and Mike can’t hit a superplex, allowing Luger to hit a top rope clothesline and a superplex of his own. A powerslam sets up the Rack for the submission from Enos.

Rating: C-. Enos didn’t look all that bad here and Luger was actually doing more than just the usual for a change. It’s still not all that entertaining but it was better than a lot of the dull matches with guys like these two on Nitro. I’d still like the Wolfpack to actually do something of note instead of just having random matches of no consequence.

Goldberg shows up in a limo, followed by the Wolfpack in their limo. Konnan tells Nash that he’s next but Goldberg says that’s not a safe place to be. “Just ask your girlfriend.”

Gene brings out Kidman to talk about the situation last night where Rey Mysterio helped him win back the Cruiserweight Title. Rey comes out and Kidman offers him a title shot tonight due to Mysterio being back to his old style. Wasn’t he only away from his old style for six days and by force? They shake hands and say may the best man win but here are Eddie and his bodyguard to interrupt. Eddie says Rey is still a contracted member of the LWO so he needs to put the shirt back on. Guerrero pulls out a gigantic shirt that Rey is forced to put on, but he promises to make this right later.

Norman Smiley vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is actually taken down pretty easily and kicked in the back, only to have him pop up and slap Norman in the face. They hit the mat for a bit until Benoit takes him into the corner and stomps away, only to charge into a knee to the ribs in the other corner. Smile does that spinning slam of his but Benoit comes right back with Rolling Germans, the Swan Dive and a Crossface for the fast submission. This was better than expected.

Nitro Party.

Stills of Hall vs. Nash which wasn’t a match.

Here’s the Wolfpack to celebrate their victory. Luger doesn’t like finishing second in anything but at least it was to another Wolfpack guy. Nash takes the mic and says he’s next and will be the 1 in 190-1. So Heyman stole his big promo from Kevin Nash? The Wolfpack leaves but Gene follows to ask about Hall. Nash can’t trust him because of what’s happened already, which makes sense. Goldberg comes by and says he’ll be the truck that runs Nash over. Nash: “Lay off the caffeine Bill.” Nice to see Big Kev so serious before his title shot.

Kanyon vs. Tokyo Magnum

Before the match we see Kanyon trying to get Raven to come out with him but Raven says Kanyon wouldn’t understand. Once in the arena, Kanyon yells at Raven to come out, allowing Tokyo to grab a rollup for two. A bulldog gets the same but Kanyon snaps off a Russian legsweep to take over. Tokyo gets two each off a sunset flip and small package, but a hiptoss is countered into the Flatliner to give Kanyon a fast pin.

Nitro Girls.

Glacier vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

The cowboy takes him into the corner to start and shrugs off some kicks before nailing a headbutt to the ribs. More power shots such as a clothesline and shoulder drop drop Glacier and we head back outside for even more punishment, including a hard whip into the barricade. Back in and a top rope clothesline is good for two on Ice Dude but he comes back with his usual variety of kicks. A powerslam gets two for Glacier, only to have Duncum come right back with a running DDT. Duncum’s attempt to use his bullrope doesn’t work so he hits a Skull Crushing Finale for the pin. That’s not a good finisher for him.

Rating: D. Duncum is trying, but him going after the cowbell and bullrope shows how stupid WCW could be at the time. I know they’re a southern based promotion, but I got so sick of their OBSESSION with cowboys. Yeah we get it you have a bullrope and a big hat. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

Giant comes out to talk about the battle royal last night. He wanted a piece of Nash but Nash needed an army to take him out since Big Kev won’t fight him one on one. Since that’s out of the question, Giant wants to know if Goldberg has the guts to face him tonight.

Hour #2 begins.

Saturn vs. Silver King

Before the match, Saturn tells Ernest Miller to jump him if he wants to. Why is this feud still a thing? A hard shoulder takes Silver King down to start followed by a drop toehold. Back up and a few kicks drop Saturn, setting up a slingshot splash for two. Saturn is bored by selling and nails a clothesline and superkick to send Silver King outside, only to draw out Sonny Onoo and Ernest Miller. After some lame trash talk, a German suplex and the Death Valley Driver end Silver King.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start with Rey sending him into the corner for an early Bronco Buster to a bit of a mixed reaction. Maybe the huge shirt is offputting. They trade headscissors takeovers with Rey’s taking both guys over to the floor. Back in and Rey hits a quick dropkick to the knee followed by something like a Fameasser for two.

Kidman is sent to the apron but comes in over the top with a top rope cross body for two of his own. The champion charges at Rey but Mysterio uses what would become the 619, sending Kidman flying out to the floor in a cool spot. A big springboard flip dive takes Kidman down but he’s able to dropkick Mysterio out of the air as they come back in. Kidman powerslams him for two before getting caught in the sitout bulldog for another near fall. That’s FINALLY enough to get the announcers to care about the guys in the ring instead of Nash vs. Goldberg.

Rey comes back again with a sunset bomb out of the corner but Kidman is right back as well with a running bulldog up the corner. The masked dude hits a superplex but West Coast Pop is countered into the short powerbomb in a great counter. Juvy and Eddie come out for a distraction with Kidman going after the latter, allowing Guerrera to hit the Juvy Driver on Rey, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C+. This was a nice back and forth match between these two but the LWO continues to go nowhere for the most part. It’s nice of them to have some kind of a story, but there’s only so much that they can do against each other. I’d love to see them get out of the division for a change, but this is WCW so that’s a very rare thing to see.

Here’s Bischoff for his weekly Horsemen address. He understands that Flair isn’t going away and asks for him to come out here right now for a showdown. Flair comes out for the staredown on his own and says he’s humbled by the reaction he’s getting here in Grand Rapids. Bischoff actually says Flair deserves this before saying they have to acknowledge that Bischoff runs the company. Flair will admit that Ted Turner is a great man but made a mistake in hiring Bischoff.

Eric brings up Flair bringing in Barry Windham but Flair has no authority to hire anyone. This brings out Barry who immediately hugs Flair. Bischoff thinks that Barry is going to turn on Windham, which might be an accurate prediction. Bischoff slaps Flair and gets jumped, only to have Barry hit Flair low. The NWO jumps the Horsemen as they try for a save and Horace works over Dean’s leg. Eric makes Bret vs. Malenko tonight.

Stills of Booker saving Stevie Ray from Konnan last night.

Booker T. vs. Konnan

Tony tells us that Horsemen have left the arena other than Dean. Nice teammates they are. Booker takes over to start with a wristlock but walks into the rolling clothesline. A clothesline and back elbow to the jaw drop Konnan and a pair of kicks but Stevie comes out and nails Konnan in the head with a slapjack for a DQ.

Stevie asks Booker where his head is but Booker says he doesn’t need his brother.

Gene brings out Bret Hart for a chat. Bret says that punk DDP stole a cheap win last night and wants a rematch. He’ll destroy Dean’s knee until Page accepts the challenge.

Nitro Girls.

Wrath vs. Kevin Nash

The idea here is simple: Nash is facing the ultimate streak at Starrcade so he’s challenging a smaller streak here. Wrath drives in knees in the corner and nails a bicycle kick to drop Nash with ease. A dropkick sends him over the top and out to the floor as it’s all Wrath to start. Nash comes back in with right hands and elbows in the corner but Wrath easily suplexes him down. Wrath gets two off a top rope clothesline but he charges into a boot in the corner. Side slam is good for two on Wrath and a shoulder gets the same on Nash. Kevin comes right back with a big boot and the Jackknife to end Wrath once and for all.

Rating: C-. The match actually wasn’t all that bad but the booking is pretty questionable. I fully understand the idea of having Nash beat a winning streak, but Wrath was a guy with potential and they just burned through it here. On top of that, Wrath dominated the match and Nash hit like two moves for the win in less than five minutes. This should have been a bigger deal than it was.

Gene brings out Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho’s hair looks like he’s been subjected to static electricity experiments. However Jericho wants to be serious tonight. The Jericholics have disappointed him lately by not cheering loud enough. He’s their role model because he’s better than every single one of them. Gene brings up Bobby Duncum Jr. and Jericho can’t pronounce his last name. As Jericho makes fun of cowboys, Duncum walks out with a hogtied Ralphus. Jericho: “GET AWAY FROM HIM! HE’S A TRAINED KILLER!”

Scott Hall vs. Alex Wright

Jericho is still trying to untie Ralphus during Hall’s entrance. Hall says cut the NWO Black and White music. Tonight is going to be the final survey because the fans are all here to see the…..something I can’t make out. There are two factions in the NWO and Hall doesn’t care for either one of them right now, so send out Alex Wright so Hall can destroy him. After the toothpick throw, Alex flips out of a belly to back suplex but gets punched in the jaw and clotheslined out to the floor.

Alex actually pulls Hall outside for some right hands as the fans chant USA. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Hall down again but it’s time to dance. Heenan is LIVID over this as you can hear the manager in him trying to come back out. They slug it out a bit until Hall levels him with a clothesline and the Edge is good for the pin.

Rating: C. Far better match here than I was expecting as Wright got to show off here in a bit of a surprise. Hall being serious is a good thing though as I really didn’t care for the drunk angle. Hall is talented enough to put on entertaining matches with almost anyone so it was a waste of his talent to use that kind of a gimmick.

Nitro Girls.

Bret Hart vs. Dean Malenko

Dean is favoring his knee after the attack earlier. Bret goes right for the knee to take over and kicks away but Dean gets in a right hand and some stomps to take over. Dean tries a rolling cradle but the knee gives out and they roll to the floor. We take a break and come back with Tony telling us about a special bonus Nitro tomorrow with another hour. Oh freaking JOY.

Dean tries a suplex and the knee holds up for the most part but he can’t follow up. A small package is good for two on Hart as Tony actually gets a fact right: Windham wasn’t an original Horseman. Dean comes back with a sleeper which Heenan points out allows him to rest the leg. Bret fights out of it with a belly to back but Malenko keeps the hold on. They head outside for a few seconds before Dean chokes with the boot in the corner.

Bret goes right back to the knee to take over though and snaps the bad leg down. He grabs the leg again but gets enziguried down to give Dean a breather. Back up and Dean slams him into the buckle while hobbling across the ring. Nice touch. A superplex doesn’t work but Bret goes down to the apron to keep Malenko out of trouble. The leg lariat sets up the Texas Cloverleaf but Bret is right in the ropes.

They fall to the floor with Dean landing on the leg to keep him down. Bret tries to bring in a chair but the referee takes it away, allowing Malenko to nail a missile dropkick for a very close two. Malenko tries a leapfrog but can’t get the elevation and goes down again. Bret wraps the leg around the post a few times and nails a Diamond Cutter, causing the referee to stop it.

Rating: B. I was really liking this one and the ending actually makes it better. Malenko doesn’t have to do a clean or even dirty job here and goes down fighting the whole way. His comeback was great with the knee being sold the whole way through. But of course we couldn’t have Dean move up the card long term or anything like that as a result of a great performance like this.

DDP comes in to save Malenko’s knee but gets beaten down with a chair. Bret misses a chair shot to the knee but gets away from the Diamond Cutter. Page calls him Hitscum Hart as Bret walks away. We get a challenge for a rematch for the US Title next week.

WCW World Title: Giant vs. Goldberg

They fight into the corner to start and Giant kicks him in the side of the head. Chokeslam gets two and Goldberg hammers away with some kicks to the ribs. Spear and a delayed Jackhammer retain the title.

Bam Bam Bigelow runs in post match but Nash comes out for the save. Goldberg goes after Nash and security separates them to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was an entertaining enough show but I’m not interested in Starrcade so far. Goldberg vs. Nash just doesn’t feel like a big showdown main event but it’s what we’re getting no matter what. The Jackhammer to Giant was very impressive and Malenko’s match was good so it’s a watchable show but in a bad time for WCW.

Remember there’s the extra Nitro show Tuesday and no Thunder this week.

Remember there’s the extra Nitro show Tuesday and no Thunder this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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This is a good sign for WWE.As I’m sure you know, Evolution (or at least most of it) reformed on Monday.  I actually don’t have an issue with this for one reason: it makes sense in the story.  I can’t count how often I’ve heard people say *insert stable here* should reform for no reason other than there are four or so people with nothing to do.  That’s not going to work and it’s the same problem with turning people for no good reason.  This team makes sense and fits the story as well as serving a purpose.  That’s a good thing and hopefully it works here, which it should.

Raw on Monday was a hybrid between the Ultimate Warrior tribute show which can make for some less interesting shows. We also got the first round of a tournament to find a new #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title. The problem is Daniel Bryan is on his honeymoon so there’s not a lot that can happen. Let’s get to it.

First up was the Ultimate Warrior tribute which worked better than I expected. The video worked very well, the roster on the stage in Warrior shirts and fans with Warrior masks looked great and the ten bell salute was its usual tear jerking moment. There really isn’t much to complain about here because they did everything the way it was supposed to be done.

RVD advanced by beating Del Rio. There’s not much to say here, much like with almost all Del Rio matches anymore. He did his arm stuff and the other guy did the rest. It’s a pattern he’s fallen into and it’s not working for me much anymore. That’s why I liked his face push so much last year. He’s a talented guy and it allowed him to show off a lot of those skills that we don’t often get to see now that his moveset is getting rather short. Note that there’s a difference between limited moveset and being lazy. Del Rio’s offense makes a lot of sense for what he does but he doesn’t go that far beyond.

We got some classic Warrior moments throughout the night including Summerslam 1988 vs. Honky Tonk Man, Wrestlemania VI against Hogan and Summerslam 1990 against Rick Rude. I understand that you can’t show full fifteen to twenty minute matches on Raw, but I was surprised they showed a clip of the FORTY FIVE SECOND Summerslam 1988 match. Seriously, from bell to bell it’s less than a minute and from Honky Tonk Man’s music hitting to Warrior leaving is less than five minutes. You really need to clip something in there?

Ryback/Axel beat the Rhodes Brothers. This is a good example of the problem with the division: the match was ok at best but Ryback and Axel are “on a roll” after winning a grand total of two straight matches. Before then, their last win as a team was over two months ago. It’s REALLY hard to buy them as a hot team when they’re like 4-16 this year. It also doesn’t help that we’ve seen every team against every team so many times now that there’s almost nothing new to see. Have some longer feuds, but give them a story to help us carry them along. Why is this so hard?

Paige squashed Alicia Fox. That Scorpion Cross Lock looks AWESOME and is a great compliment to the Paige Turner. This was a much better performance from her this week.

We got a rematch from last week with the Usos vs. Randy Orton/Batista. The Usos got beaten up again but thankfully they didn’t get pinned or give up. I can live with the champions getting beaten down and the Shield running in for the DQ because there was a chance the Usos could have made a comeback if they were given the chance. Not having champions job clean is all I ask. Having them lose like this doesn’t really hurt anyone though so no real issue here.

Cesaro advanced by Neutralizing Henry. There’s nothing here we haven’t seen a bunch of times but it’s still cool looking.

Rusev squashed Xavier Woods and set up a future match against R-Truth. I didn’t really see the match as it was less than a minute long and I was looking at Lana.

Sheamus advanced over Jack Swagger in a match that is showing the problem with most Sheamus matches. He was in trouble for most of the match but just popped up with a Brogue Kick for the win. I like the guy, but he’s in need of some adjustments in his character. For one thing, it’s ok to have him lose on occasion as it would make him seem more human. On top of that, GIVE HIM A STORY ALREADY!

Big Show knocked out Sandow in a segment that wasn’t even a match. I’m not sure what the point here was but if it’s to push Sandow, they’re going about it in their typically stupid and highly backwards way.

Now we get to the stupid part of the show, as the Wyatts had another good promo about bringing the monster out of John Cena and John responded by showing pictures of the Wyatts dressed as women. This is an old standard “comedy” bit for WWE and it just isn’t funny. It’s not witty, it’s not intelligent, it doesn’t make a point about anything. It’s something a 15 year old can do with an old version of Photoshop and think it’s the funniest thing EVER but instead we’re getting it from the top star in a multi-million dollar company in prime time television.

This is a good example of what scripted promos can do. The Raw script leaked and Cena’s promo was mostly written out in advance. As you can see, there’s a major problem with the WWE’s writing staff: they’re not very funny. Guys like Santino are funny and he’s allowed to do some funny stuff at times. While I’m not a Santino fan at all, at least he mixes things up on occasion.

The writers have a few standard bits they go to when they want to be funny and they just don’t work most of the time. This wasn’t one of them and you would be much better off letting Cena do his own thing out there, as he’s proven he can more than handle a microphone. Oh yeah and Cena vs. Bray in a cage at Extreme Rules. That could be fun.

Speaking of Santino, he and Emma lost a mixed tag to Fandango and Layla. I still have no idea why I’m supposed to care about this feud at all, nor why you would spend a few weeks building Emma up and then have her lose in 80 seconds here.

Stephanie got Kane to put the mask back on for revenge on Daniel Bryan. At first I thought this was stupid but the more I think about it the more I think it could work. It’s very much like Foley becoming Cactus Jack for the violent feuds and that worked well enough to go its job.

Dolph Ziggler lost to Bad News Barrett in the final match. I’m digging the Barrett push, but they’ll need to put him over Sheamus, which would likely set up Barrett vs. Cesaro in the finals and that’s just not happening. In other words, they’re shooting themselves in the foot with this booking again.

The main event was Shield vs. eleven heels which didn’t last long as a brawl broke out and Evolution reunited for a big beatdown of Shield to end the show. See, now THIS is how you bring a stable back. There’s a logical reason for this group to come together again and it’s going to be used to give Shield a big rub. Far bigger than they got from the Outlaws at least.

Raw on Monday really didn’t do it for me. It felt like a totally skippable show which oddly enough didn’t feel like much of a tribute. It was more like “Warrior died and we’re all genuinely sad but we really don’t have time to stop and wait for anything so on with the show!” I can understand that, but would airing a few more people talking about him have hurt? I mean, I know it would have meant no Santino vs. Fandango Part 73 but I think we can all live with a break from that feud.

The wrestling was pretty lame as well with no match being entertaining beyond just a basic level. Evolution is a nice idea but the tournament had the same problems every tournament has: I don’t need to watch anything until the final, because the first matches were nothing we hadn’t seen before. But hey, tournaments rock right?

Finally, it was a good example of why the booking just doesn’t work a lot of the time. Yeah I know it’s Extreme Rules so it’s time for rematches, but Cena vs. Wyatt worked so well the first time because Cena didn’t go for the “comedy”. Now we’ve got pictures of the Wyatts as old women and it’s neither funny nor advancing anything at all. It’s hard to take the feud seriously when Cena has gone from nearly bashing Bray’s head in with a chair to this in eight days. Again, that’s mainly on the writers though, as they have no idea how to do a long form story.

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These are always fascinating.  Cena’s promo was scripted and happened to be one of the worst in months.  Interesting how that works.

With a number of buys that would usually make Vince want to jump off a building.The show did under 400,000 regular buys but with the 660k+ that it did on the Network, the show set a record for most people viewing the show, according to WWE.  That was the plan, and it’s not even taking international buys into account yet.  That’s a VERY good result for WWE.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 14, 2014
Location: BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Tonight is going to be an interesting episode as it’s a tribute show to the Ultimate Warrior. However there’s going to be some regular stuff too, including the start of a tournament for the #1 contendership to the Intercontinental Title. In a way that’s good as I’m not sure there’s enough Warrior stuff to fill in three hours. Also given how good things are going for the WWE, it’s nice to see things continue. Let’s get to it.

We open with the roster on the stage and an In Memory graphic on the screen. Most of the people are in Warrior shirts.

First up is a music video set to a song called Catch A Falling Star. We get a highlight video of Warrior with various people, including HHH, Hogan and Stephanie, talking about how awesome he was. It also shows some shots of his Hall of Fame speech and shots of him with his daughters. There are also shots of his speech last week.

Ten bell salute.

The fans have been given Warrior masks. Nice touch. HHH starts a Warrior chant.

Here are the tournament brackets.

Mark Henry

Cesaro

Rob Van Dam

Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus

Jack Swagger

Dolph Ziggler

Bad News Barrett

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio

Van Dam starts with some kicks to the face and a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. A clothesline puts Alberto on the floor but he comes back in and kicks Rob down to take over. Alberto gets two off a suplex but is sent outside as we take an early break. Back with Del Rio in control and getting two each off a DDT and Backstabber.

Van Dam scores with a kick but gets caught by the enziguri off the top rope for two, frustrating the former aristocrat. Back in and the armbreaker is countered into a rolling cradle for two and Van Dam pulls Del Rio off the top, sending him head first into the buckle. The Five Star sends RVD to the semi-finals at 10:15.

Rating: D+. This really didn’t do much for me as the offense was WAY off with the kicks and punches missing left and right. On top of that a good chunck of the match was spent in the commercial so we only got about two thirds of the thing. RVD is good in the ring but he should be putting over young guys, which to be fair he might do by the end of this.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Shield officially turning face by attacking HHH, Orton and Batista.

HHH, Batista, Orton and Stephanie shake hands and have a meeting we can’t hear in the back.

We look back at a classic Warrior match. From Summerslam 1988 with Warrior winning the Intercontinental Title. Amazingly enough, it’s a thirty five second match and they show a package on it instead of the whole match.

HHH tells Orton and Batista they need to be united. They both want to be champion though, and say HHH is on his own.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Goldust starts with Axel and we’re already on the arm work. The Brothers take turns on Curtis’ arm and Goldust gets two off a knee to the chest. Goldust is taken into the corner for the tag to Ryback and the heel beating begins. A middle rope splash from Ryback and middle rope elbow from Axel combine for two.

Off to a chinlock from Ryback for a few moments until Goldust fights up and makes the tag off to his brother. The moonsault press mostly misses and almost looked like Ryback slammed him down instead. Cody dives off the top to take Ryback down again and a springboard missile dropkick gets two. Everything breaks down and Ryback is able to clothesline the heck out of Cody for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D+. I didn’t like this for the most part either but the right team won. Ryback REALLY needs to get away from Axel though as Curtis is just dragging him down every time they’re on screen together. Also, can we get a banning on just combining wrestler names to make a team? Be creative, like with Rhodes Scholars. That was at least thinking.

Legends House ad.

Bo Dallas is coming.

We look back at Paige winning the Divas Title last week.

Alicia Fox vs. Paige

Non-title. Paige easily takes her down to start and sends Fox out to the floor. Back in and Fox shoves the new champion around with ease, only to get chopped HARD out of the corner. A northern lights suplex with a great looking bridge gets two for Fox. Paige comes back with some clotheslines and a running kick, setting up the Scorpion Crosslock for the win at 3:29.

Rating: C-. Paige looked WAY better this week which is probably due to a lack of nerves. To be fair though, last week was only one really bad looking move. Paige is going to be something special though as she’s being given the time to get over with the audience. That finisher is going to help a lot as well.

Usos vs. Batista/Randy Orton

Non-title and the Usos are in Ultimate Warrior themed paint. The Usos quickly send them to the floor for some big dives and the Ultimate Warrior rope shake makes the fans happy. Things start properly with Orton hammering Jey into the corner and the backbreaker keeps him in trouble. Off to Batista who grabs a quick suplex for two before it’s back to Orton. A spinebuster gets the same and they head outside with Orton ramming Jey into the announce table, only to have Shield run in and massacre Randy for the DQ at 4:08.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but the Usos not losing clean is a good thing. Yeah they were in trouble but they didn’t get pinned and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Shield going on offense is interesting as well and the match at Extreme Rules should be awesome.

Batista takes the Superman Punch to send him running.

Another Warrior Moment: winning the WWF Title from Hulk Hogan. I’d have thought they would air that match.

HHH glares at Orton and Batista after a break. Nothing is said.

Paul Heyman says he represents the man that conquered the Streak. If you think he’s going to drive that in until the end of time, it’s because he is. Heyman says it about six times in a row and shows us some photos of Undertaker walking away and of Brock destroying him last Sunday. Here’s the new next big thing: Cesaro.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Cesaro vs. Mark Henry

They lock up to start and Cesaro climbs up the ropes to shove off but still gets thrown to the mat and then to the floor. Heyman says go to plan two so Cesaro fires off uppercuts in the corner. A big running one sets up rights and lefts to the ribs but Henry keeps shoving him away. There’s a clothesline for two but Henry can barely stand up. The World’s Strongest Slam doesn’t work and a middle rope uppercut puts Henry down. Cesaro acutally Neutralizes him for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C. At the end of the day, there’s very little more awesome than a strong man lifting up someone very heavy and throwing them around with ease. That’s the kind of stuff you can put on a highlight reel for years and it’s still going to look cool. I’m wondering when the King of Swing will swing people though.

The Thank You video from last week airs.

The Authority sends Brad Maddox to put Shield in the main event but won’t say who their opponents are.

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Woods has been beaten up by Rusev in NXT for awhile. Kick to the chest, spinning slam, Accolade and submission in 47 seconds.

R-Truth tries to make the save post match and gets laid out.

Another Warrior Moment is the main event of Summerslam 1990 with Warrior defending the title inside a cage.

We get a clip of a special on Daniel Bryan’s journey to Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger

Jack takes him into the corner for some knees to the ribs but gets kicked in the face and dropped with a clothesline. A Colter distraction breaks up the ten forearms to the chest and Swagger catches Sheamus in a powerslam coming off the apron. Back in and a belly to belly suplex gets two on Sheamus but he comes back with a forearm to the head.

Some running knees and a kick to the back put Swagger down and a knee drop gets two. There are the ten forearms and a top rope shoulder for two. Sheamus misses a slingshot shoulder and gets caught in the Patriot Lock but Jack is quickly kicked away. A shoulder puts Sheamus on the floor and Jack rams the bad leg into the steps. Back in and a Brogue Kick out of nowhere is good for the pin at 6:54. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: C. Not a great match again but it did well enough. Sheamus going down into the midcard title scene is a good idea as he’s not big enough to compete for the World Title but he’s too big to beat up jokes anymore. The Intercontinental Title is a great spot in the middle there and he can bring some value to it.

Adam Rose vignette.

Clips from Warrior’s Hall of Fame speech as an advertisement for a four part special on the WWE Network this week.

Damien Sandow is talking but Big Show’s music cuts him off. He rants more anyway and says he won’t be silenced and keeps ranting about how Big Show is only popular because he shakes hands. Everyone should be trying to touch Sandow as he comes to the ring because he deserves it. Show just looks on from the corner until Sandow goes over to him. Big Show doesn’t have anything to say but Sandow says Show knows Sandow is the future of WWE. WMD and we’re done. No match even though there was a referee there.

The Wyatts pop up and Harper is whistling again. They’re next.

Here’s the Family with Bray saying the man wants one thing, but he’s different. The people see a blank canvas but he sees a beautiful painting. He’s been called the seducer, the accuser or the destroyer but know that he’s never once lied to us. John Cena has made a career out of lying to us all though and Bray won’t let that happen anymore. Right now though he wants the monster to come out and play.

Here’s John to do just that but right now he doesn’t need to do anything but have fun. Cena wants to know why so serious. Bray tried to bring the monster out at Wrestlemania but the monster doesn’t exist. Cena looks at the Wyatts and thinks there’s fun waiting inside of them. Harper is the kind of guy that would go streaking through the quad and Rowan must be full of jokes. Wyatt must be the king though because only a real man wears white pants. We need to get them to a happy hour and it’s Roll Tide.

Cena wants to know about the Family though because he’s not sure if Sister Abigail is real or not. He’s found the picture on MySpace and it’s time for pictures of the Wyatts on other bodies. Each guy gets one until Bray cuts him off and says this is typical Cena: a serious threat comes up and he makes jokes.

Cena says Bray knows what happens when he gets serious because it got Bray beaten at Wrestlemania. Wyatt must know that he’s on the defensive now so Cena wants a rematch at Extreme Rules inside a cage. Wyatt loves the idea because one of them is going to get stabbed as they throw knives. Bray sings a bit and I think accepts.

Santino Marella/Emma vs. Fandango/Layla

The guys trade wristlocks to start but the girls come in when Santino loads up the Cobra. Emma gets the Dilemma on Layla but gets slammed off the top for the pin at 1:20.

Stephanie goes off on Kane for messing things up over the last few weeks. He couldn’t stop Shield or Daniel Bryan, so what has happened to Kane? Instead of a monster he’s a screwup so what happened? Kane gets angry and looks at his mask in a case. The case is taken away and Kane holds up the mask.

Bo Dallas is coming.

We see Warrior’s speech from last week.

Adam Rose vignette involving a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. Seriously.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett

Barrett pounds Dolph down to start and sends him into the buckle a few times. A snap suplex gets two but he misses a knee drop to give Dolph control again. Barrett tries to get Dolph in the ropes but Ziggler comes back with right hands and a nice dropkick. A Cactus Clothesline puts both guys on the floor and Dolph is posted as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and sending Barrett’s shoulder into the post. A cross body sets up some right hands to the head followed by even more in the corner. Ziggler gets caught in Wasteland for two but comes back with a quick Fameasser for the same. Dolph misses a charge into the corner but is still able to run the ropes for the X-Factor. The Zig Zag is countered into Winds of Change but a quick Bull Hammer is enough to send Barrett on at 11:33.

Rating: C-. Just a match for the most part here which isn’t the most interesting thing in the world most of the time. Barrett winning is the right move as well as Ziggler doesn’t really need the wins whereas Barrett hasn’t won anything in years. He doesn’t stand a chance against Sheamus but it’s nice while it lasts.

Barrett says the Bad News is he’s winning the Intercontinental Title.

Kane puts the mask on again.

Shield vs. Alberto Del Rio/3MB/Ryback/Curtis Axel/Jack Swagger/Fandango/Bad News Barrett/Titus O’Neil/Alexander Rusev

Slater gets drawn into the ring osnce and Reigns stomps away before it’s off to Rollins for a quick enziguri. The heels start using the numbers advantage though as Rollins gets attacked by almost everyone on the team. Ryback slams Rollins down and follows him the floor, only to have Reigns nail the spear. The brig brawl breaks out and it’s a no contest at 3:15.

Rating: D+. This was barely a match at all but the idea of having everyone out there worked well enough. I’m glad they didn’t have Shield get a win here as there comes a point where it’s too far. The important thing here is the post match stuff of course so we’ll cut this short to get to that.

The beatdown ensues post match until Evolution’s old music hits. Orton, HHH and Batista hit the arena and you can see bad things coming. HHH instructs everyone else to get out of the ring and the real beatdown is on. RKOs, Batista Bombs and Pedigrees take us out as Daniel Bryan is on his honeymoon and won’t be making a save.

Overall Rating: C-. Tonight was about telling stories but the wrestling they used to tell those stories was pretty lame. The tournament is a nice idea but at the end of the day you could skip the whole thing and wait for Extreme Rules for the payoff. Evolution reforming is a good thing as they’ll be used to put others over and thankfully there’s no Flair there to mess with it this time. The show wasn’t horrible but it really didn’t do anything for me.

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Alberto Del Rio – Five Star Frog Splash

Ryback/Curtis Axel b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust – Meat Hook to Rhodes

Paige b. Alicia Fox – Scorpion Crosslock

Randy Orton/Batista b. Usos via DQ when Shield interfered

Cesaro b. Mark Henry – Neutralizer

Alexander Rusev b. Xavier Woods – Accolade

Sheamus b. Jack Swagger – Brogue Kick

Fandango/Layla b. Santino Marella/Emma – Slam off the top to Emma

Shield vs. Alberto Del Rio/3MB/Ryback/Curtis Axel/Jack Swagger/Fandango/Bad News Barrett/Titus O’Neil/Alexander Rusev went to a no contest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Hey guys I’m sorry to have to do this but something has come up and I have to run to the airport tonight.  This is the review up to this point and I’ll be back the the rest tonight.  I apologize for the inconvenience but there’s no way around this.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 14, 2014
Location: BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Tonight is going to be an interesting episode as it’s a tribute show to the Ultimate Warrior. However there’s going to be some regular stuff too, including the start of a tournament for the #1 contendership to the Intercontinental Title. In a way that’s good as I’m not sure there’s enough Warrior stuff to fill in three hours. Also given how good things are going for the WWE, it’s nice to see things continue. Let’s get to it.

We open with the roster on the stage and an In Memory graphic on the screen. Most of the people are in Warrior shirts.

First up is a music video set to a song called Catch A Falling Star. We get a highlight video of Warrior with various people, including HHH, Hogan and Stephanie, talking about how awesome he was. It also shows some shots of his Hall of Fame speech and shots of him with his daughters. There are also shots of his speech last week.

Ten bell salute.

The fans have been given Warrior masks. Nice touch. HHH starts a Warrior chant.

Here are the tournament brackets.

Mark Henry

Cesaro

Rob Van Dam

Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus

Jack Swagger

Dolph Ziggler

Bad News Barrett

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio

Van Dam starts with some kicks to the face and a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. A clothesline puts Alberto on the floor but he comes back in and kicks Rob down to take over. Alberto gets two off a suplex but is sent outside as we take an early break. Back with Del Rio in control and getting two each off a DDT and Backstabber.

Van Dam scores with a kick but gets caught by the enziguri off the top rope for two, frustrating the former aristocrat. Back in and the armbreaker is countered into a rolling cradle for two and Van Dam pulls Del Rio off the top, sending him head first into the buckle. The Five Star sends RVD to the semi-finals at 10:15.

Rating: D+. This really didn’t do much for me as the offense was WAY off with the kicks and punches missing left and right. On top of that a good chunck of the match was spent in the commercial so we only got about two thirds of the thing. RVD is good in the ring but he should be putting over young guys, which to be fair he might do by the end of this.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Shield officially turning face by attacking HHH, Orton and Batista.

HHH, Batista, Orton and Stephanie shake hands and have a meeting we can’t hear in the back.

We look back at a classic Warrior match. From Summerslam 1988 with Warrior winning the Intercontinental Title. Amazingly enough, it’s a thirty five second match and they show a package on it instead of the whole match.

HHH tells Orton and Batista they need to be united. They both want to be champion though, and say HHH is on his own.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Goldust starts with Axel and we’re already on the arm work. The Brothers take turns on Curtis’ arm and Goldust gets two off a knee to the chest. Goldust is taken into the corner for the tag to Ryback and the heel beating begins. A middle rope splash from Ryback and middle rope elbow from Axel combine for two.

Off to a chinlock from Ryback for a few moments until Goldust fights up and makes the tag off to his brother. The moonsault press mostly misses and almost looked like Ryback slammed him down instead. Cody dives off the top to take Ryback down again and a springboard missile dropkick gets two. Everything breaks down and Ryback is able to clothesline the heck out of Cody for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D+. I didn’t like this for the most part either but the right team won. Ryback REALLY needs to get away from Axel though as Curtis is just dragging him down every time they’re on screen together. Also, can we get a banning on just combining wrestler names to make a team? Be creative, like with Rhodes Scholars. That was at least thinking.

Legends House ad.

Bo Dallas is coming.

We look back at Paige winning the Divas Title last week.

Alicia Fox vs. Paige

Non-title. Paige easily takes her down to start and sends Fox out to the floor. Back in and Fox shoves the new champion around with ease, only to get chopped HARD out of the corner. A northern lights suplex with a great looking bridge gets two for Fox. Paige comes back with some clotheslines and a running kick, setting up the Scorpion Crosslock for the win at 3:29.

Rating: C-. Paige looked WAY better this week which is probably due to a lack of nerves. To be fair though, last week was only one really bad looking move. Paige is going to be something special though as she’s being given the time to get over with the audience. That finisher is going to help a lot as well.

Usos vs. Batista/Randy Orton

Non-title and the Usos are in Ultimate Warrior themed paint. The Usos quickly send them to the floor for some big dives and the Ultimate Warrior rope shake makes the fans happy. Things start properly with Orton hammering Jey into the corner and the backbreaker keeps him in trouble. Off to Batista who grabs a quick suplex for two before it’s back to Orton. A spinebuster gets the same and they head outside with Orton ramming Jey into the announce table, only to have Shield run in and massacre Randy for the DQ at 4:08.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but the Usos not losing clean is a good thing. Yeah they were in trouble but they didn’t get pinned and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Shield going on offense is interesting as well and the match at Extreme Rules should be awesome.

Batista takes the Superman Punch to send him running.

Another Warrior Moment: winning the WWF Title from Hulk Hogan. I’d have thought they would air that match.

HHH glares at Orton and Batista after a break. Nothing is said.

Paul Heyman says he represents the man that conquered the Streak. If you think he’s going to drive that in until the end of time, it’s because he is. Heyman says it about six times in a row and shows us some photos of Undertaker walking away and of Brock destroying him last Sunday. Here’s the new next big thing: Cesaro.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Cesaro vs. Mark Henry

They lock up to start and Cesaro climbs up the ropes to shove off but still gets thrown to the mat and then to the floor. Heyman says go to plan two so Cesaro fires off uppercuts in the corner. A big running one sets up rights and lefts to the ribs but Henry keeps shoving him away. There’s a clothesline for two but Henry can barely stand up. The World’s Strongest Slam doesn’t work and a middle rope uppercut puts Henry down. Cesaro acutally Neutralizes him for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C. At the end of the day, there’s very little more awesome than a strong man lifting up someone very heavy and throwing them around with ease. That’s the kind of stuff you can put on a highlight reel for years and it’s still going to look cool. I’m wondering when the King of Swing will swing people though.

The Thank You video from last week airs.

The Authority sends Brad Maddox to put Shield in the main event but won’t say who their opponents are.

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Woods has been beaten up by Rusev in NXT for awhile. Kick to the chest, spinning slam, Accolade and submission in 47 seconds.

R-Truth tries to make the save post match and gets laid out.

Another Warrior Moment is the main event of Summerslam 1990 with Warrior defending the title inside a cage.

We get a clip of a special on Daniel Bryan’s journey to Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger

Jack takes him into the corner for some knees to the ribs but gets kicked in the face and dropped with a clothesline. A Colter distraction breaks up the ten forearms to the chest and Swagger catches Sheamus in a powerslam coming off the apron. Back in and a belly to belly suplex gets two on Sheamus but he comes back with a forearm to the head.

Some running knees and a kick to the back put Swagger down and a knee drop gets two. There are the ten forearms and a top rope shoulder for two. Sheamus misses a slingshot shoulder and gets caught in the Patriot Lock but Jack is quickly kicked away. A shoulder puts Sheamus on the floor and Jack rams the bad leg into the steps. Back in and a Brogue Kick out of nowhere is good for the pin at 6:54. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: C. Not a great match again but it did well enough. Sheamus going down into the midcard title scene is a good idea as he’s not big enough to compete for the World Title but he’s too big to beat up jokes anymore. The Intercontinental Title is a great spot in the middle there and he can bring some value to it.

Adam Rose vignette.

Clips from Warrior’s Hall of Fame speech as an advertisement for a four part special on the WWE Network this week.

Damien Sandow is talking but Big Show’s music cuts him off. He rants more anyway and says he won’t be silenced and keeps ranting about how Big Show is only popular because he shakes hands. Everyone should be trying to touch Sandow as he comes to the ring because he deserves it. Show just looks on from the corner until Sandow goes over to him. Big Show doesn’t have anything to say but Sandow says Show knows Sandow is the future of WWE. WMD and we’re done. No match even though there was a referee there.

The Wyatts pop up and Harper is whistling again. They’re next.

The winner gets a shot at Big E. at some point in the future, likely Extreme Rules.

Here are the tournament brackets.

Mark Henry

Cesaro

Rob Van Dam

Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus

Jack Swagger

Dolph Ziggler

Bad News Barrett

Supercard of Honor VIII
Date: April 4, 2014
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Steve Corino

I’m not the biggest ROH fan in the world but I was in New Orleans for Wrestlemania weekend and saw ROH was having a pay per view the night I got into town. The general admission ticket was cheap so I grabbed a seat and took in my first Ring of Honor show ever. I didn’t know a lot of the people on the card so it’s going to be interesting to hear the commentary to fill in some details. The main event is Adam Cole defending the World Title against Jay Briscoe in Ladder War V, which is their version of a TLC match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video shows last year’s Supercard of Honor where Jay Briscoe won the title in the first place. He was injured last summer and had to vacate the title, but held onto the belt and said he was never defeated for the title. Therefore, there are two titles but only Adam Cole is champion, setting up the main event tonight. The idea here is Briscoe is nuts but Cole is classy. Adam gives off a Bobby Roode vibe in his promos.

We start with a YES chant as the announcers run down the card.

Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is part of the Decade (Strong, Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer with their assistant Adam Page), which represents the old days of ROH and doesn’t like a lot of the disrespectful young punks around anymore. They threw Cedric’s bag out of the locker room to show their displeasure after Cedric used Strong’s backbreaker. The Decade also has their Young Boy Adam Page here to towel them off and hand them water, which isn’t the worst gimmick in the world.

They trade wristlocks to start with Strong getting the better of it until Cedric quickly flips out of it and sends Roderick into the corner. The Decade is quickly on the apron to check on Strong as the match slows down already. A dropkick puts Strong down though and he’s bleeding from the hand. Alexander goes to the corner but gets tripped up, sending the back of his head into the top turnbuckle to give Strong control.

Adam Page runs back down to the ring with a bandage for Strong as he hits a backbreaker for two on Cedric. We stop to get the thumb taped up which I thought was putting on a foreign object live. Some knees to the back are good for two and we hit a rear waistlock. Back up and Roderick misses a dropkick as the announcers talk about RD Evans’ streak. Strong loses the tape off his hand and gets caught with a slingshot DDT for two.

A half nelson facebuster gets the same but he gets caught by a running knee to the ribs and an Angle Slam for two. Some running knees in the corner look to set up a Rock Bottom but Cedric crucifixes him down for two. Strong comes right back with a backbreaker for two more and they chop it out. A running knee to Cedric’s face sets up a fireman’s carry into a double knee gutbuster for a VERY close two and the fans think this is awesome. That’s a stretch at this point.

Alexander comes back with a spinning kick to the face out of the corner (remember that for later) but has to go after Adam Page. A fireman’s carry into another kick to the head drops Strong and another kick knocks Jimmy Jacobs to the floor as well. Cedric dives onto the Decade but springboards into a dropkick which mostly misses. Strong lifts him into the air for a suplex but drops him onto his knees (ankles but whatever) for the pin.

Rating: C+. The match was going well but the camera showing the misses at the end really brought it down for me. You could see that the dropkick missed live but the cameras made the finish look a lot worse. Still though, I liked the idea they were going for here and it was a fast paced opener which got the crowd going.

Post match Jimmy Jacobs agrees that that was wrestling (another stretch) and says you can learn exactly what NOT to do by watching Cedric Alexander. You can learn how to get started in this company by watching Adam Page however. Alexander almost comes back into the ring but Jacobs orders him out of their building. Jacobs advises Adrenaline Rush and Andrew Everett to take a lesson from Alexander in what NOT to do.

Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush/Andrew Everett

This is a scramble match, which I believe means lucha rules, meaning that if you leave the ring, it’s as good as a tag. Adrenaline Rush is ACH and Tadarius Thomas. Steve Corino says ROH popularized this kind of match, which is just flat out wrong as WCW was having these almost weekly back in their heyday. ACH makes sure to get as many handshakes as he can get when the Decade won’t give him one. Jacobs pulls out his spike to go after ACH but the referee won’t let it happen.

ACH wants to start with Jacobs but Jimmy tags in Page after swearing a bit. They start fast with ACH nailing some fast armdrags into a nipup for a standoff. Off to the powerful BJ Whitmer who knocks ACH into the corner. Some dropkicks have little effect on BJ so ACH actually points into the air to distract him before dropkicking the knee out. Whitmer bails to the floor, allowing Jacobs to come in and knocks ACH to the floor.

Thomas comes in for a rollup to Jimmy followed by Richie Steamboat’s Sling Blade. The high flier Everett comes in and speeds things up with a moonsault over Jacobs followed by a big dropkick. Two backflips set up a hurricanrana to Whitmer but BJ pulls Andrew to the floor. Thomas hammers on Jacobs but charges into the corner and moonsaults down onto Whitmer and Page. Jacobs sends ACH to the apron where BJ pulls him onto his shoulders, setting up a Jimmy spear through the ropes to crush ACH. Cool spot. I’m sorry for all the play by play here but we’re in total spot fest mode.

Back in and ACH gets beaten up as Corino says one of the photographers looks like he’s from Jamaican. Kelly: “HE’S FROM ARKANSAS!” The guy they’re talking about was all over ringside and did more than any crew member I’ve ever seen. The Decade triple teams ACH to give Page a two count followed by a chinlock. A nice spinwheel kick gets the same on ACH and it’s back to BJ for some kicks in the face. ACH comes back with a running clothesline to send BJ onto the floor, setting up a HUGE flip dive to take him down again.

That allows Thomas to come in legally and kick Jacobs in the face (that’s at least two tonight) for two before throwing him down with a suplex. Page comes in for a fireman’s carry backbreaker but Everett comes in as Thomas rolls to the floor. Everett charges too fast into the corner and slips onto the ropes, and we get something I really liked: Page is right on him. Instead of waiting around like an idiot for Everett to get back into position, Page goes over and starts pounding on a fallen opponent, like a wrestler should be doing. It MAKES SENSE for him to be doing that but you hardly ever see that in WWE.

Anyway Andrew comes out of the corner with a nice moonsault press and Page rolls to the floor. BJ comes in but gets caught by a springboard kick to the face (you may be noticing a pattern here). Everett hits a gorgeous springboard shooting star to take out Jacobs and Page followed by a springboard shooting star press for two on Whitmer. A big backdrop sends Everett over the top and to the floor, followed by a wicked clothesline to Thomas. The All Seeing Eye (gutwrench mat slam from Whitmer with a sliding neckbreaker from Jacobs. I’ve seen that somewhere before and I think it was in TNA) is good for the pin on Tadarius.

Rating: C. Total spot fest here and there’s nothing wrong with that. ACH looked polished out there and I can see why he was given a WWE tryout a few months back. That being said, the opening two matches should have been combined into one or had the opener cut. The show starts to drag at the end and neither of these matches really did much differently from the other.

Jacobs gets his spike post match and goes after Thomas until an injured ACH makes the save.

We recap Truth Martini vs. Matt Taven. Martini is a heel manager who led Taven to the TV Title, but after losing the belt they parted ways with Taven firing Truth. Tonight Martini is back with a mystery wrestler to take care of Taven.

Martini says he’s alone tonight but that doesn’t bother him. He won’t be alone for long and promises a big surprise.

Matt Taven vs. ???

Martini comes out alone and says Taven is nothing without him. He calls Kevin Kelly into the ring (Corino: “YOU’RE THE MYSTERY GUY???”) as he reads the end of the Book of Truth. Matt says no one wants to see this and opens the book, only to get kicked low by Martini. Truth says surprise and walks out. No match.

Silas Young vs. RD Evans

Time for a comedy match! Evans is back and on a made up win streak but it’s played totally for laughs. He called himself a real man and that’s not cool with Wrestling’s Last Real Man in Silas Young. However, the interesting part here is Evans’ manager Veda Scott, who is absolutely GORGEOUS. I had heard her name before but I had never seen her in person. She’s a redhead with a kind of sexy nerd thing going on here in a short green skirt. Evans’ other dude Ramon comes out with an 82-0 sign which will come into play later.

Evans kicks Young in the face to start but gets driven hard into the corner to give Silas control. We get a Flair Flip in the corner but Scott trips Silas up for two. Young chases her around the ring but she SPRINTS away and loses her shoes in the process. Ramon offers a distraction and Evans takes over. Scott jumps in on commentary as Evans is slammed off the top. Apparently she’s an attorney along with Evans who is a wrestler on the side. I’ve heard worse gimmicks.

Young puts on a bodyscissors as the announcers talk about Evans winning a match in what sounded like Romania. Back up and a dropkick nails Evans but Young runs into a boot in the corner. A top rope shoulder block puts Young down again and a powerslam gets two. Evans misses a top rope splash though and a backbreaker into a lariat is good for a near fall on RD. Fans: “YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM!”

They head to the apron where Young can’t hit a German suplex to the floor but does hit an electric chair drop onto the apron. Evans DIVES back in at 19 (ROH goes to 20, which I forgot until the referee got to 11) and gets a near fall off a small package. Scott gets on the apron for a distraction as Ramon gets on the apron.

Silas takes the belt and claps his hands before grabbing his back. It’s not enough for the DQ so Evans gets a VERY close near fall off a rollup. The referee takes a belt shot to the head and goes down as Evans hits a running neckbreaker. Young gets up and hits a rolling fireman’s carry into a slingshot moonsault for the pin by another referee to break the streak.

BUT WAIT! The original referee says Young hit him in the head so THAT’S A DQ AND THE STREAK LIVES! Ramon sprints to the back and comes back with an 83-0 sign as Scott goes nuts.

Rating: C. This was so over the top and completely goofy but I totally loved it. There’s something awesome about a character that is played totally for laughs like this and Veda Scott made it all the better. The fact that the skirt was barely there helped a lot but she’s also hilarious on commentary. I dug this one a lot and the fans did too.

Mike Bennett and Maria promise to make Mark Briscoe feel pain tonight. He promises a new submission to put Chicken Briscoe down.

Mark Briscoe is all fired up and sounds completely insane, talking about a shark and a female dog being in a jungle before tearing Bennett’s face off like a gorilla.

Mike Bennett vs. Mark Briscoe

No DQ. Maria is with Mike here and somehow blows Veda Scott away by wearing basically a bikini. Briscoe takes him down with a flip dive off the apron to get things going. Maria rants at the commentary table about how she didn’t want Mike to do this in the first place. Back in and a hard clothesline drops Bennett again but he comes back by whipping Mark into the barricade.

They head into the crowd with Briscoe backdropping him onto the stands and landing a big dive off a railing. Back to ringside where Bennett is able to pelt a chair at Mark’s head a few times to take over. Inside again with a low blow with a chair before Bennett wedges the chair in the corner. In a funny bit he sings Edge’s theme song but misses a charge into the chair, knocking him back to the floor. Mark hits a running elbow off the apron for two and they fight up to the entrance.

The fans and announcers say they can’t see anything as Briscoe is knocked off the stags and through a table as the cameraman goes down. They head back to the ring with Maria acting as a shield for Bennett. To his credit he shoves her out of the way to take the kendo stick shots for her. Maria gets in a cheap shot from the floor and a Side Effect onto a chair sets up a series of chair shots to the back. Bennett Pillmanizes the neck (it’s not a Conchairto if it’s wrapped around a body part people) and puts on an Anaconda Vice for the easy win.

Rating: C. This was a wild brawl which made sense given the story they were telling here. That was quite the ending spot with the Pillmanizing and it was nice to see the match again as I spent most of the first viewing staring at Maria. Seriously, she’s just hard to take your eyes off at any time but barely dressed makes it even better. She’s also great at messing with the crowd as she stands there in terror when Bennett is in trouble but then poses and shakes her hips when Mike wins.

Matt Taven is looking for Truth Martini and gets beaten down in the bathroom by Truth’s new guy who we don’t see. This didn’t air for the live crowd.

Intermission, during which Nigel McGuinness was working the merchandise stand. This ran about twenty minutes but they cut it out here for obvious reasons.

Speaking of Nigel, he replaced Corino on commentary for the second half of the show.

A small guy named Cheeseburger is in the ring and asks who wants free t-shirts. He’s interrupted by Matt Hardy who tells Cheeseburger to get out of the ring before something bad happens to him. Matt says he’s back in Ring of Honor and it’s on to its biggest year ever. ROH’s ratings, attendance and merchandising are setting records and it’s all because Matt Hardy is here again. He’s giving ROH the rub and has picked Adam Cole as the Holy Spirit of Wrestling.

Matt says the internet smark fans just don’t get it. Cole and himself are like the Holy Trinity you hear about in church because they’re one in the same. Hardy: “Go ahead and boo. It’s just part of my $15,000 payday.” Matt says he and Cole run this company along with Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis instead of the fans or announcers. Tonight Cole will cement himself as the greatest ROH World Champion in history, including CM Punk. Cheeseburger gets in the ring like an idiot and takes a Twist of Fate. “You’re not on my menu anymore.” The heat was great, but this didn’t need nine minutes.

Forever Hooligans vs. ReDragon vs. Hanson/Raymond Rowe

The Hooligans are Alex Kozlov (fake Russian but a small guy) and Rocky Romero. ReDragon is Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. Fish is very energetic and tries to fire Kyle up before we get things going. Hanson and Rowe are two big power guys that you don’t often see in ROH. The winner of this gets a Tag Team Title match against the Young Bucks at some point in the future.

Rowe and O’Reilly get things going by circling each other for a bit. Kyle knocks Hanson to the floor but makes the mistake of heading outside for a breather. Hanson plants him with a slam so it’s off to Fish who walks into an overhead belly to belly. Hanson gets the tag and nails a clothesline to the back of the head for two. Bobby heads outside again and we get a chase, resulting in Fish sliding back in and tagging out to Romero.

Two fingers to the eyes slow Hanson down and a hurricanrana puts him on the mat. Off to Kozlov for some double teaming, including a springboard cross body for two. O’Reilly tags Hanson after the big man drops Alex with a clothesline but Romero gets in a cheap shot from the apron to give the Hooligans control. Now we get to the stupid comedy portion of the match with Kozlov putting on one of those Russian hats and hitting some dancing kicks to the head. Thankfully it doesn’t last long.

Romero starts firing off running clotheslines to Kyle in the corner and won’t let Alex hit one of his own. They nearly come to blows but hug it out to a big reaction. Rowe comes in to blame Romero with something resembling a release Rock Bottom but Fish tags himself in to work over Rocky. ReDragon hits a backbreaker/middle rope knee combo for two on Romero before things settle back down.

Kyle works over Rocky’s arm before it’s back to Fish for some shots of his own. Kyle comes in again for a hammerlock slam and a chinlock but Rocky fights back with a spinning kick to the face. Alex gets the tag and hits a springboard cross body on Kyle, despite Rowe clearly touching O’Reilly’s back in plain view of the referee. Kozlov nails a bunch of kicks to the head and takes out most of the people in the match with a big flip dive.

A springboard missile dropkick gets two on Kyle but Hanson comes in and cleans house. Everything breaks down even more and everyone is knocked to the mat or floor. Kozlov and O’Reilly are the only ones left in the ring and they slug it out until Rowe trips Kyle to the floor. Rowe is driven into the barricade by Kyle and hit with a running dropkick off the apron from Fish. Hanson catches a diving Fish in a powerslam but Kozlov sends him to the floor. Alex hits a shooting star for two but Fish makes the save. Forever Hooligans loads up some kind of a double team move on Fish but he slips off Alex’s back and gets a rollup for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was an insane tag match but it went on a bit too long. It was entertaining enough but I would have gone with the title match here instead of the #1 contenders match. Still though, this was another fun spot fest with some power added in to balance things out in a nice addition.

Replays show that Fish had a handful of trunks.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal which started about two years ago when Ciampa injured his knee in a match against Lethal and was put out for a year. Lethal has had Ciampa beaten twice but various issues has cost him the TV Title. Tonight it’s 2/3 falls again.

TV Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal

Ciampa is defending and this is 2/3 falls. This is where the fans were getting restless as you could see a lot of them looking at their phones and the chants started to die a bit. Ciampa takes off his knee brace for the first time since his injury in a symbolic move. Feeling out process to start as they trade headlocks and rollups for two each. A hiptoss puts the champion down and Lethal cartwheels over to a standoff.

They chop it out in the corner but Lethal misses a springboard dropkick. Jay kicks him into the barricade and nails a suicide dive followed by a second one for good measure. A third puts Ciampa into the crowd and the fans chant for ROH. Why they don’t chant for Lethal is beyond me, but it’s happened since the ECW days. Lethal is whipped into the barricade and Ciampa hits a running knee so fast that he falls right back into the crowd. The referee restarts the count for no apparent reason before Ciampa throws Jay back inside.

Jay comes back with some kicks to the head and a dropkick in the corner for two until Ciampa bites Jay’s hand to escape. Lethal tries a Tajiri handspring elbow but gets caught in what was supposed to be a Backstabber. They fight over a suplex until they both go over the top in a big crash. Neither guy gets the better of a slugout and they both slide back inside at the 19 count, which didn’t please the fans in my section. Another Tajiri handspring is countered but Lethal grabs a German suplex for the pin and the first fall.

There’s no rest period so gets in a quick shot to the head and they trade near falls. Lethal Combination (backbreaker into a Downward Spiral) sets up a Koji Clutch on the champion but he counters into a Rings of Saturn Crossface. Jay gets his feet into the ropes though and it’s time for another slugout. Again neither guy can get the better of it so Jay tries another Tajiri handspring but gets caught in a Diamond Cutter, which apparently is the finish to the handspring.

Lethal busts out Ciampa’s finisher (powerbomb into double knees to the back) for two but ANOTHER Tajiri handspring hits the referee. Ciampa rolls some Germans and hits a discus lariat to put both guys down. This brings out Truth Martini who throws Jay the knee brace. He nails Ciampa in the face for two before nailing the top rope elbow, only to have Ciampa Hulk Up. Some superkicks have no effect but Lethal FINALLY hits the handspring into the cutter for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. This was longer than it needed to be as the second fall could have been cut out to the same result. The ending really didn’t work for me either as Lethal knocked Ciampa out but they did another minute or so, making the entire knee brace thing seem completely worthless. Just too long here, but I’ve never been a Jay Lethal fan in the first place.

Post match Lethal says there’s a new house in New Orleans and it’s the House of Truth.

Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen

Winner gets an IWGP Title shot at Global Wars in May. Elgin is one of the few ROH guys I really like but Steen is pretty much the top star in ROH. Steen immediately tries the Package Piledriver but Elgin fights out, only to get caught by a Cannonball in the corner for two. You can tell this is going to be a power brawl. They head to the floor with Elgin being thrown into the barricade which is knocked into the crowd.

Michael is sent into the barricade again around the ring as the fans chant OVER HERE. Elgin reverses and “hits” a running big boot to the….chest I think? Steen teases getting back in but would rather load up a piledriver on the floor. Thankfully Elgin backdrops him down to prevent the whole broken neck thing and lands a delayed vertical suplex on the floor. They head back inside but Elgin’s sunset flip attempt is countered by some running knees to the head for two.

A senton backsplash gets two on Michael but he muscles Steen up into a German suplex to put both guys down. The Sharpshooter from Steen is quickly countered into a suplex for two but Steen misses a moonsault into a flip to give Steen a breather. A knee to the back of Elgin’s head gets two but a second Cannonball is countered into a powerbomb. Steen comes right back with the F-Cinc (French for 5) for another two count.

Elgin wins a slugout and Steen almost falls out to the floor. Michael tries the Cesaro superplex but Kevin headbutts him down, only to get enziguried (again with the head kicks!) to the floor. Kevin powerbombs him onto the apron but Elgin gets up and powerbombs him against the post. That’s only good for two as well so Michael tombstones him down for another near fall. They slug it out until Steen throws him into the air for a powerbomb and gets two off the Package Piledriver.

Steen is STUNNED and takes too long going up top, allowing Elgin to block a Cannonball with knees. A sitout powerbomb gets Elgin another near fall so he loads up a superplex. Steen fights back AGAIN and hits a top rope brainbuster. The kickout shocks everyone again but Elgin is able to counter a Package Piledriver into a triple bomb. Another powerbomb and a lariat set up a buckle bomb on Steen, followed by a Package Piledriver to FINALLY pin Steen.

Rating: B+. This is the kind of match the show was needing for awhile now. It’s totally different from the rest of the show and that was the big problem. The show had become repetitive so mixing things up like this made a good match feel like a very good match. Elgin gets a big win as well which can only help him.

Steen takes awhile to get up and receives a THANK YOU BOTH chant.

The main event took awhile to set up so a bit was cut out here.

ROH World Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending. There are two belts above the ring and three ladders at ringside, first person to pull down the belts wins. Corino is on commentary as well. Jay wins a fight to start and nails a quick backdrop to stagger the champion. He heads outside but comes up with a chair to the head to stop a suicide dive. Back inside and the chair bounces off Briscoe’s head before Adam slams him down onto the steel.

An AA breaks the chair and it’s time for the smallest ladder, only to have Jay baseball slide it into Cole’s face. Some more chair shots put Cole down before Jay pelts the chair at his head to even the score. Adam comes back with a suplex onto the ladder and Briscoe’s head is busted open BAD. The first attempt at the belts is easily cut off as the referee brings in a towel to wipe Jay’s face. He refuses the help of course and brings in the medium sized ladder.

Cole is sent up the ramp but Jay goes after him instead of climbing for the titles. There’s another LOUD chair shot to Cole’s head and Jay bridges the small ladder between two chairs. A big splash knocks Cole off the ladder and now it’s time to climb. Scratch that actually as Jay shoves the medium ladder over and gets a table. Cole is able to get off before Jay can dive off the big ladder though and Adam gets in another cheap shot to take over.

The big ladder is laid against the ropes but both guys head back inside. Briscoe is knocked down by a hard clothesline and the small ladder is thrown into the ring again. Jay pops right back up though and powerbombs Adam onto the small ladder in the corner. Adam fights off a superplex through the ladder (fans: “PLEASE DON’T DIE!”) and superkicks Jay onto it instead for a HUGE crash.

Adam climbs the medium ladder but Jay is right back up and throwing Cole through the small ladder in the corner, badly bending it in the process. Briscoe is now bleeding from the back as well but is still able to put the champion down with a neckbreaker. Jay sets up another ladder bridge but the ladder is badly broken so it collapses as soon as Adam lays down on it. That’s fine with Jay as he tries a splash onto the mostly broken ladder but Cole moves, sending Jay crashing down.

The medium ladder is set up in the middle of the ring but Jay pelts another chair off the champion’s head to put him back down. They both climb up to fight on top but Jay knocks him off for a big crash. Cole is able to talk enough trash from the mat though that Jay drops down and hits the Jay Driller piledriver. He still won’t climb though and loads up a Conchairto onto the ladder, only to have Matt Hardy run in and hit a Twist of Fate to Jay on the floor.

Matt helps Cole climb but Mark Briscoe runs out, completely crippling a lot of the momentum this show had going for it. His neck was Pillmanized but here he is an hour and a half later? I don’t care how tough he is. Mark Briscoe shouldn’t be seen for AT LEAST two months after a spot like that. He puts Matt on the table but Mike Bennett comes out to shove the ladder over, sending Mark through the table.

Jay and Cole are alone in the ring and the Jay Driller puts Cole down again. A Jay Driller puts Bennett down as well and there’s a third to take out Matt Hardy. Cole and Jay climb at the same time but the champion wins a slugout and shoves him down. Jay tries one last climb but Cole pulls down the belts to retain.

Rating: B. This was a solid fight but the Mark Briscoe stuff really took me out of things. To be fair though I got to look at Maria a bit more when she came down with Bennett so I can’t complain too much. Jay looked like a soldier out there which is the right idea and Cole holding onto the title is the right choice at the end of the day. Good stuff here.

The heels pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show where the parts don’t add up to the final total. As mentioned, the show just went on forever and it really started to drag around the TV Title match. It’s certainly entertaining and the last two matches brought things back up, but it didn’t really fire me up and make me want to see more ROH.

At the end of the day, it’s about the same take on ROH that I’ve always had: there’s good stuff here, but it’s not enough to make me want to keep coming back. Thankfully they cut WAY down on the no selling stuff (Mark Briscoe aside) but unfortunately they cranked up on the repetitive moves. From Jay Lethal trying Lethal Injection four times to seemingly EVERYONE using a spin kick to the head, I felt like I saw the same match several times tonight. If ROH was near me again and relatively cheap I’d go, but it’s not something I’m going out of my way to see.

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