Monday Night Raw
Date: April 7, 2014
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the night after one of the best show in years and the big question is where do they go from here? For the first time ever, Undertaker is coming off a loss at Wrestlemania in what very well may be his last match. Other than that we’ve got a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the form of a goat man. Tonight is usually one of the most fun shows of the year. Let’s get to it.

As you might have heard, I was in the arena for the show so this is my second viewing. It’s being written the Wednesday after so a lot of things have changed.

We open with the Monster video on Daniel Bryan’s career that aired at Wrestlemania. The song fits so perfectly. The video eats up nearly five minutes but it’s awesome.

The arena is filled with the YES chant and here’s Daniel Bryan to drive it them even harder. Bryan is wearing the World Heavyweight Championship and has the WWE Championship in his hand. I wish they would just get rid of one already. Even JBL admits that Daniel Bryan is an A+ player. The music stops and the DANIEL BRYAN chant begins. They go on so long that Bryan asks if the people ever get tired. The fans switch into the NO chant and Bryan says be careful that you don’t hit the people next to you.

The YES chant starts again and Bryan joins in but says after this his shoulders need a break. Daniel talks about starting the pose two years ago and now everyone in the WWE Universe is united under one word. He’s cut off again by a YOU DESERVE IT chant and you can see Daniel is getting overwhelmed by the reaction. He says he deserves it a little bit but the fans deserve the rest. The YES stuff isn’t about a movement or anything else, but about the power the fans have to make a change. It gave him the chance to stand up to the Authority and now he is the WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

The fans strike up the band one more time but here are HHH and Stephanie (in a very nice black dress) to interrupt. They stand on the apron and the fans aren’t pleased with HHH. Cole: “It’s going to be one of those nights.” HHH says he isn’t going to step into the ring because he doesn’t want to do something he’s going to regret. Bryan: “You’re not getting in the ring? Hang on a second.” Bryan gets right in his face and starts another YES chant in a great bit. The boss says enjoy this while you can, because tonight Bryan is defending against HHH himself. HHH throws the mic down so hard the cube falls off and we get a final chant.

After a break HHH and Stephanie are in the back and talking about how great tonight is going to be. Batista comes in and says he wants his rematch because it’s HHH’s fault that Bryan was in the main event. He says he earned a one on one shot at the title but Orton comes in and says he wants his rematch tonight. HHH says he himself is getting the shot but the other two will at some point. Stephanie gives them a Tag Team Title shot as a consolation prize. HHH reminds them that when they work together, things go their way.

Wyatt Family vs. Big E./John Cena/Sheamus

The fans clap along to the Wyatts’ song. The good guys come out after a break, during which a video aired about WWE’s issues with cars over the years. Seeing the Wyatts stand in the ring and watch was rather odd to see. Cena is of course absolutely LOATHED by the smarky crowd but he smirks it off. In something that is going to catch on fast, the fans chant JOHN CENA SUCKS in time to his music. It’s a brawl to start until we get down to Cena vs. Bray. A big right hand drops Cena and the fans go NUTS. Cena comes back and you would think he lit Santa Claus on fire.

Sheamus comes in off the tag and stomps away in the corner to a slightly less hateful reaction. The fans chant for Bryan before chanting for Erick Rowan who comes in off the tag. A running forearm drops Erick into the corner and he hammers away with right hands, only to be shoved down to the mat. Sheamus fights back with a knee to the side of the head and it’s off to Big E.

The champ picks up Rowan for three straight backbreakers, drawing the ONLY face pop of the match for his team. Off to Harper, who accidentally runs into Rowan to knock him off the apron. Cena comes back in for a quick Protobomb and the Shuffle (minus the run). An AA doesn’t work so Harper slams him face first into the mat for two. Bray gets the tag and we take a break.

Back with Cena fighting out of a Harper chinlock as the fans chant for the Family. He still can’t get the AA though and Harper drops him with a DDT for two. Rowan comes back in for a legdrop as the fans sing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. Wyatt stomps a mudhole until John fights up with a hard clothesline. You can actually hear a TINY Let’s Go Cena chant but the singing drowns it out again.

Bray headbutts him down and it’s back to Harper for some uppercuts. Cena fights up and makes the tag off to Sheamus to clean house. The rolling fireman’s carry puts Harper onto Rowan but a Wyatt distraction breaks up the Brogue. Back to Big E. as everything breaks down. Big E. loads up the Big Ending on Bray but Harper breaks it up with a nice looking superkick. Harper hits a suicide dive to take out Sheamus and the place goes NUTS. Bray spider walks out of the corner (Lawler: “CALL YOUR LOCAL EXORCIST!”) and gets a Wyatt’s Gonna Kill You chant, setting up Sister Abigail on Big E. for the pin at 10:30 shown at 13:14.

Rating: C+. This would fall into the category of fun rather than good and there’s nothing wrong with that. The crowd was awesome here because of one major reason: they chanted about stuff going on in the ring. Not the announcers, not wrestlers that haven’t been on the show in years, not Justin Roberts. They were chanting about the Wyatts and John Cena and the match felt like a much bigger deal as a result. The Wyatts looked great here too.

Slam City ad.

Bo Dallas vignette, with Dallas playing something like a motivational speaker. “It’s not pronounced impossible, but I’M POSSIBLE.” The fans liked the idea of this, even though it took awhile to get to the reveal of who it was.

Fandango/Summer Rae vs. Emma/Santino Marella

Summer looks great in blue. The guys get things going with a quick dance off but Fandango quickly runs from the Cobra. Off to the girls and Summer is quickly caught in the Dilemma followed by the Emmamite Sandwich (zero need to change the name) and the Emma Lock (bridging Indian Deathlock) for the submission at 1:30. This was just a way to showcase Emma.

Here are Lesnar and Heyman for the ultimate bragging session. Heyman bows down to Brock to just drive the crowd even crazier. JBL brings up the comparison to Bruno losing the title to Koloff and that’s really the only thing you can compare the Streak to. Paul introduces himself and says he’s glad to represent the conqueror of the Streak. Brock has a nasty looking black eye.

Heyman talks about the Streak lasting nearly a quarter of a century before being broken in three seconds. The fans are LIVID which Heyman says is a lack of intelligence. He hates to say we told you so, but WE TOLD YOU SO! How could anyone doubt Heyman’s mind or Brock’s physical attributes? Brock isn’t here to make people smile. Instead he’s here to shock the WWE Universe and put tears in the eyes of children.

If that’s not great enough, Heyman wants to shoot a bit. Five seconds after Undertaker walked through the curtain, Undertaker collapsed (apparently a true story). He was taken to the hospital and Vince McMahon went with him instead of staying for the main event of Wrestlemania. Undertaker is lucky that he was pinned so soon, because Brock wasn’t stopping until the Streak was dead.

What really gets to Heyman is that after the match was over, “John Bradshaw Layfield and those other two things called announcers, plus 80,000 other people in the Super Dome Hogan, not the Silver Dome, gave Undertaker a standing ovation.” However they should have been chanting the winner. That brings him to tonight. This is supposed to be the wildest crowd of the year and every member of this audience is just like the WWE locker room: they’re all wannabes.

Everyone back there wants to be Brock Lesnar but Brock doesn’t like anyone. “He barely tolerates me!” Brock isn’t going to suck up to a bunch of people that fly in once a year for Raw after Wrestlemania. A lot of people say they could have broken the Streak, but BROCK did it. A lot of people wanted to fight in the Octagon and be the UFC Champion but BROCK did it. A lot of people wanted to be the NCAA Heavyweight Champion but BROCK did it. Everyone else is a wannabe because BROCK LESNAR is the one.

A lot of people came up to Heyman last night and said they could have broken the Streak. “Yeah? Well why didn’t you?” BROCK did, and he’s the 1 in 21-1. Heyman hears a WHTA chant so he slows down and repeats the 1 in 21-1 line. There are legends, Superstars and Hall of Famers. All of them are plural though, and there’s just one BROCK LESNAR. This was one of the best promos ever and Heyman just owned the audience and the locker room. I kept waiting for someone to come out and confront him, but I’m glad no one did. This needed to be all about Brock for the night, not setting up anything else just yet.

Adam Rose and his party bus are coming. The fans ate this up with a spoon. It’s another example of a character that is different and the fans responded to it faster than another version of “cocky heel that is better than you” or “plucky face that just wants to compete.” It’s a character rather than a gimmick and that’s always going to work.

Tag Team Titles: Randy Orton/Batista vs. Usos

The twins are defending. Something that took a little getting used to this weekend: seeing the Usos just standing there during the previous entrance. I knew they were there due to how the entrances worked but it looks odd in person. Batista draws the YOU TAPPED OUT chants but easily takes Jimmy into the corner for a tag off to Randy. Jimmy fires back with some right hands but Orton headbutts him back. The fans are already bored and start a Y2J chant, followed by one for CM Punk, Justin Roberts and JBL. The Usos are sent to the floor and destroyed until it’s a double countout at 2:15.

Orton hits an Elevated DDT on the floor to Jimmy and Batista nails a LOUD Batista Bomb to Jey on the steps. They were smart to keep this one short before the fans took things over again. I would have preferred it wasn’t against the champions though.

Damien Sandow vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam got a nice reaction but it wasn’t deafening. A quick kick sends Sandow outside but he comes back in with some forearms to the back and shoulders in the corner. Another kick to the face puts Sandow on the apron and a third sends him to the floor. Sandow is draped over the barricade for the spinning kick to the back and the fans think Rob still has it. Back in and Rolling Thunder sets up the Five Star for the pin at 2:49. Just a return squash.

Rey Mysterio vs. Bad News Barrett

Barrett gets one of the loudest pops of the night for his first match since late last year. The fans chant for Barrett right after the bell and he grabs the mic for the catchphrase, only to get nailed by some forearms, making Rey a heel for the night. A headscissors sends Barrett to the floor and Rey hits the sliding splash under the bottom rope. Back in and Barrett counters a headscissors and kicks Rey in the stomach to take over.

An OLE chant starts and Barrett gets two off the Winds of Change. Barrett nails him with a running knee in the corner but Rey breaks up a superplex attempt. A headscissors doesn’t work for Rey but he nails a spinning DDT for two, followed by the 619. Rey goes up but gets crotched down, setting up the Bull Hammer for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing but hopefully the company realizes they’ve got something here with Barrett. He looked good in the ring and the fans were WAY into him. See what happens when you have a talented guy wrestle instead of just making stupid jokes that no one remembers?

Video on Alexander Rusev.

Another Adam Rose video, taking him inside his bus. “This is my current ex-girlfriend, and this is my future ex-girlfriend.” He also says you need little people to have a big party and that he loves bunnies because they hop. This is going to get over in a hurry.

Alexander Rusev vs. Zack Ryder

Lana is officially named the Ravishing Russian. That won’t last but she looks good in the short skirts. This is exactly what you would expect (plus a nice jumping kick to the face) and ends in 1:19 after the Accolade (Camel clutch) with Ryder tapping very quickly.

Hall of Fame video.

And now for the part that is hard to watch. The Ultimate Warrior comes to the ring with a rather red face. He certainly looks to be in good spirits though. Warrior puts on a coat like he used to wear back in the day and does the rope shake a few times but already looks blown up. He says it’s been hard for him to find the words to say this evening so he pulls out a Warrior mask to get into old form.

Warrior tells Warrior (yes that’s right) to shut up and let him do the talking. He talks about no one becoming a legend on their own because everyone’s heart beats their last beat and they breathe their last breath. However, no one’s memory is ever forgotten because the storytellers will carry their spirit on forever. The fans are the legend makers of the Ultimate Warrior. He sees some in the back with the Warrior Spirit and they can make those people legends as well. The spirit of the Warrior will run forever. That’s absolutely chilling as he would be gone less than 24 hours later.

We get a cool video on all of the work and equipment that it takes to broadcast Raw. However, none of it would be possible without the fans. This drew a WE ARE AWESOME chant in the arena.

Here are AJ and Tamina with something to say. AJ talks about being the Divas Champion for 295 days, which is the longest reign ever. Several months back she tore the Divas a new one and no one has been able to prove them wrong. Last night she showed why she’s the hero of this story because it was AJ Lee vs. the world and she overcame the odds again. She was a poor girl in New Jersey to being the best Diva in the world.

AJ has to pause for a CM Punk chant before saying she is the Divas division…..and here’s the debuting Paige. The fans absolutely love her but AJ wants to know why she’s here. Paige says she’s here to do what no one else would: congratulate her for her win. AJ says every Diva should be doing that but she doesn’t need the congratulations. Paige needs to go running back to NXT because AJ doesn’t need to hear this. AJ calls her sweet and offers her a match right now. Paige says she isn’t ready and gets slapped in the face for her efforts. AJ says ring the bell and let’s make it a title match for fun.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

AJ jumps her to start and hammers away before parading around the ring. Paige powers out of the Black Widow (despite slapping AJ’s leg which looked a lot like tapping) and mostly botches the Paige Turner (kind of a snap reverse Angle Slam) but gets the pin and the title at 1:18. The place went NUTS at the pinfall and AJ has no idea what to do.

Another Bo Dallas vignette.

Here’s Hulk Hogan for the Andre trophy presentation. He gets the building name right to an approving reaction and talks about what a great Wrestlemania moment the battle royal was. Hogan knew Andre was smiling when Cesaro won and says the battle royal will keep going every year. Apparently there were 31 men in the battle royal last night and here’s the one that survived.

Cesaro comes out in a shiny jacket with Zeb Colter by his side. Hogan shakes his hand, congratulates Cesaro and actually leaves without saying anything else. Zeb takes the mic and says a real American should do the talking. He promises to give the mic back to Cesaro in a minute so Cesaro can “say what kind of a guy he really is.” Cesaro is a guy who was invited into the Real Americans fold ten months ago. He made Cesaro a Zeb Colter Guy but Cesaro takes the mic. “I’m sorry Zeb. I’m a Zeb Colter Guy. I’m a Paul Heyman Guy.” The fans take a second to realize what they heard and start up the YES chant.

Heyman comes out with a big smile on his face and says he’s now the advocate for the King of Swing, Cesaro. Colter is livid as Heyman shakes Cesaro’s hand. Heyman calls Zeb grandpa and says this is a shocking week for Paul Heyman Guys. Paul heads outside to tell the announcers (including another JBL and those other guys comment) how to address the King of Swing. The fans chant the new nickname as Swagger hits the ring to attack Cesaro and BREAK THE TROPHY. Cesaro goes after him and we go to a break.

During the break, Brad Maddox came out and said clean up the mess so we can have a match. The crew came in to clean things up and a guy with a broom swept out the ring. The fans gave him a “Let’s go sweeper!” chant and he even gave a fist pump when he was done. It was a little thing but gave us a nice moment nonetheless.

Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger

Back with Cesaro fighting up and hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Heyman is holding the Andre statue, minus its right leg. Swagger tries to leave but gets kicked in the ribs and thrown back into the ring. Cesaro goes up top but Jack runs the corner and suplexes him down to take over.

Jack cranks on both arms for a bit but gets caught by some European uppercuts. A powerslam gets two on Cesaro but the Vader Bomb hits feet (Swagger landed one during the break). Cesaro nails the superplex from the apron and some running uppercuts in the corner. He loads up the Swing but Jack runs away for the countout at 5:15.

We recap the opening segment.

Stephanie is in the back with Shield and Kane. Her orders for the night are to make sure HHH leaves with the WWE Title because this was an injustice. Rollins says that’s fine but wants to know where the Outlaws are. Ambrose thinks they’re gone for good but Kane isn’t pleased. He goes on a rant about how expendable Shield is before running his mouth too much, revealing that HHH ordered the attack on them a few weeks ago. Stephanie goes back to the injustice line and says what HHH wants, he gets.

WWE World Heavyweight Title: HHH vs. Daniel Bryan

The title now has YES plates. Instead of HHH, here are Batista and Orton. They surround the ring and beat Bryan down with both guys hitting their finishers. Kane comes out to add a chokeslam and here’s HHH. He demands the bell ring but like any villain, he takes his time and the Shield is here for the save. Why HHH didn’t cover Bryan while they were heading to the ring is anyone’s guess. The “match” officially started but we’ll call it a no contest at about eight seconds.

Shield gets on one side of the ring while Orton/Kane/Batista are on the other. The fans chant HOUNDS OF JUSTICE while HHH says don’t do it. He says this isn’t going to be a war but walks into the spear and it’s on. Rollins and Ambrose lay out Orton and Batista with dives (Ambrose’s mostly missed) and HHH is all alone. Bryan is getting up and with the YES chant going through the roof, it’s a running knee to the boss to end the show.

The post show scene was excellent as well with Shield all saying the Believe line and Bryan giving a very emotional speech about how he’s living his dream because of all the fans. WWE played a video that was made by people you’ll never see in front of a camera, but he thanked the crowd personally, nearly breaking down in tears.

Overall Rating: A. Oh yeah this worked. First and foremost, they kept the crowd from getting too out of hand. Yeah they booed Cena but there’s really no way around that. This show was very fun and a great way to introduce several new characters (or return some that we haven’t seen in action in awhile). The matches were just there as a backdrop for all of the action and for a show like this, that’s the best decision possible.

Bryan vs. HHH is amping up and there are a few options for Extreme Rules. You could go with Bryan vs. HHH II in a gimmick match with Shield taking on the other three, or you could do an eight man war with the title on the line. The key thing though is there are options. We’ve been building to matches we’ve known for months now and a change of pace is very nice. WWE is white hot right now and they’re reloading for Extreme Rules. This was an incredible weekend and if they even keep up most of this momentum things are looking great for the next few months.

Results

Wyatt Family b. John Cena/Sheamus/Big E. – Sister Abigail to Big E.

Emma/Santino Marella b. Fandango/Summer Rae – Emma Lock to Summer

Usos vs. Randy Orton/Batista went to a double countout

Rob Van Dam b. Damien Sandow – Five Star Frog Splash

Bad News Barrett b. Rey Mysterio – Bull Hammer

Alexander Rusev b. Zack Ryder – Accolade

Paige b. AJ Lee – Paige Turner

Cesaro b. Jack Swagger via countout

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 was originally going to be Undertaker but things have changed. Today is Ultimate Warrior.

The Warrior got his start down in Mid-South as part of the Blade Runners, but we’ll jump ahead to his time in WCCW as the Dingo Warrior. And no, I don’t know what a Dingo is. This would be from sometime between July 4, 1986 and September 1, 1986.

Dingo Warrior vs. Lance Von Erich

Lance is one of the lesser known Von Erich and really wasn’t all that good. They pose at each other a lot until Von Erich dropkicks him out to the floor for a meeting with manager Gary Hart. Back in and Warrior nails a hiptoss but misses a series of elbows. Lance takes over with an armdrag and drives some knees into the arm.

Back up and Warrior chops away in the corner, only to miss a charge. Warrior counters a cross body into a slam for two and chokes on the ropes for a bit. A hard clothesline sets up the bearhug on Lance but Von Erich just falls down. Warrior misses a middle rope knee and they slug it out with Lance taking over. He sends Dingo into the ropes but misses a back elbow, setting up a powerslam from Warrior for the pin.

Rating: C-. That’s quite the upset in Texas as the Von Erichs hardly ever lost. The match wasn’t terrible but it was clear neither guy was really ready for big time matches. To be fair though, this was the opening match on a TV show so it’s not like this was a huge deal or anything. Warrior would of course get better.

It was soon off to the WWF where Warrior wasn’t known for his long matches. Here’s one of the more lengthy ones from Houston on November 6, 1987.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Rip Oliver

Oliver was a big territory guy but never did much on a national stage. A few slams put Oliver down to start before actually working the arm. Another slam sends Oliver into the corner as this is one sided so far. Warrior whips him across the ring and drops Rip with an elbow to the jaw. Rip bails to the apron for a bit but comes back in for a chinlock from Warrior. Back up and some hard clotheslines set up the gorilla press for the pin.

Rating: D+. Total and complete squash here but Warrior was starting to figure the character out. He didn’t need to do the arm stuff though and he would work the kinks out soon enough. Oliver was nothing special at this point but he was good for roles like this. He had some good talking skills though.

Warrior’s first feud was with Hercules, who he would face in one of the few non-tournament matches on the card.

Hercules vs. Ultimate Warrior

They collide to start as the announcers recap the tournament. Hercules hits three straight clotheslines to put Warrior down to Jesse’s amazement. Warrior fires off some chops but gets backdropped out to the floor. They brawl on the floor for a bit as Heenan is reaching in his pockets. Both guys head back inside and pound on each other a little bit more with Warrior hitting the ten punches in the corner. Hercules comes out of the corner with an atomic drop and sends Warrior into the corner chest first. He puts on the full nelson but Warior climbs the corner and falls back ala Bret and Austin at Survivor Series 96 for the fast pin.

Rating: D+. Warrior was rapidly becoming a force but it wouldn’t be another six months before he finally hit something special. Hercules would be around for a few more years but would never do anything of note. This was just a filler match to bridge the gap between the first and second rounds of the tournament.

Warrior would continue feuding with Heenan and company, setting up a weasel suit match at Wrestlefest 1988. I think you get the idea on the name itself.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Bobby Heenan

This is kind of a famous match. The loser wears a weasel suit. You figure out who wins this one. I’ll give you a hint: he’s crazy. Neither gets an entrance which is weird. We get some of Warrior’s music but that’s it. Heenan runs for his life multiple times but Warrior drops to the floor so Heenan can’t see him and surprises him. Yes, Warrior used his brain and it worked.

Heenan gets a foreign object and pops him with it after calling Warrior a son of a gun. Wouldn’t an object like that be fine to a guy from Parts Unknown? Heenan hits him with it like five times and can’t drop Warrior. He more or less just jabs it in Warrior’s throat over and over but it doesn’t work at all. Warrior bangs on his chest and I think you can figure the rest out from there.

Warrior puts him out with a sleeper which makes sense here and puts the suit on him. Where does one get a weasel suit? Was there a furry convention in town? You know for being in a sleeper for about 30 seconds, he’s WAY out of it. Warrior bangs on his chest once he gets it done like someone standing over his fallen prey. Ooh that was a good one. Bobby wakes up and realizes he has claws and a tail. This is like Kafka’s worst nightmare.

Rating: N/A. This was for comedy more than anything else. They tried to make the match into nothing at all and that’s what the best answer was. Heenan was always a good sport though and could do just about any kind of comedy so this was perfect for him. It wasn’t quality or anything but it worked.

Now we’ll get to one of the most famous moments in Summerslam history. From the 1988 edition.

Intercontinental Title: Honky Tonk Man vs. ???

Honky says to get him someone out here to wrestle and he doesn’t care who it is. After a few seconds, the Ultimate Warrior charges to the ring, pounds Honky with right hands, hits a shoulder block and splashes him for the pin and the title in thirty seconds. The crowd ERUPTS, as this is what they’ve been waiting over a year to see.

So why was this so awesome? This was one of the most perfectly told stories the WWF ever produced and they nailed it every step of the way. Back in 1987, Ricky Steamboat was Intercontinental Champion but wanted to take some time off. The solution was to put the title on the comedic newcomer the Honky Tonk Man, who cheated to win the belt. Honky viewed as a total joke as champion due to his lack of skill and his gimmick of a wrestling Elvis impersonator.

The fans looked at him as someone who would lose the title the first time he defended it against someone far more competent than he was so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This is where Vince had the fans: what if Honky just didn’t lose the title? If there is one thing pure fans hate, it’s seeing a guy who doesn’t deserve a title holding onto it against people they like. Honky did this for the next 18 months by coming up with every way imaginable to cheat, ranging from getting counted out, disqualified, having Jimmy Hart interfere, walking out of matches and all points in between.

Honky continued to hold the title against far better talent, such as Jim Duggan, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat and Brutus Beefcake, with the idea being “he has to lose eventually.” All of a sudden, Honky was one of the biggest draws around because people would pay their money to see him get beaten up, thinking that the lucky streak couldn’t go on much longer. Well the streak DID keep going, stretching into the longest title reign in the history of the belt which still stands to this day and will likely never be broken.

This is why having Warrior out there was so brilliant. Warrior was the last guy on earth that you would expect to pull off something clever, but he did what everyone else had overlooked: he didn’t bother trying to outsmart Honky, but instead just ran over him and beat him in thirty seconds. This is EXACTLY what the fans had wanted to see for over a year and they got it to perfection. That’s the kind of storytelling that you never get anymore which is a shame.

Next up was Rick Rude, in the feud where Warrior started having good matches. From Wrestlemania V with Warrior defending.

Intercontinental Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Warrior is defending but Rude has the belt imprinted on his tights. Rude tries a knee to the ribs but hits the belt by mistake. Warrior immediately takes over with the power game and LAUNCHES Rude into the corner. The champ throws on a bearhug for a bit until Rude finally pokes him in the eyes to escape. Rude busts out a MISSILE DROPKICK for two but gets launched off Warrion on the kickout.

Back to the hearhug but Rude gets out the same way as he did the first time. Warrior responds by biting Rude in the face but the splash hits knees. A piledriver puts Warrior down but Rick can’t immediately cover. It only gets two but the kickout is much weaker than earlier. Rude tries to swivel his hips but his back is too messed up. He cranks back on Warrior’s arms but the champion gets to the ropes and starts shaking away.

Here come the shoulders from Warrior and he plants Rude face first into the mat a few times. Warrior tries a slam or something but drops Rude and almost puts him on the floor. Rude gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charging Warrior but the Rude Awakening is broken through pure power. Rick is clotheslined to the floor and Warrior suplexes him back in, only to have Heenan trip Warrior up and hold down his foot for the shocking upset and the title to Rude. This might have been Warrior’s first televised loss but I don’t think it was.

Rating: B. This is one of those pairings that just worked no matter what you had them do. You often hear about people having chemistry and that’s what you had here: these two could just work well together for no apparent reason and this is a fine example. Warrior would get the title back later in the year before moving to the world title scene a few months later. Good match here.

And the rematch with Warrior challenging Rude at Summerslam 1989.

Intercontinental Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Rude isn’t sure what to do with Warrior to start so he tries punching him in the face to no avail. A clothesline puts Rude on the apron and a sunset flip is easily blocked with a right hand to the champion’s face. Warrior easily picks him up and gorilla presses him to the floor as this is one sided so far. Rude is sent into the barricade as Jesse is losing his mind over the referee not disqualifying Warrior.

Warrior gets two off a top rope ax handle before throwing him into the corner and pounding away. A shoulder block gets two on Rude and there’s an atomic drop to crush Rude’s spine a bit more. Warrior swivels his hips but gets crotched on the top rope to Jesse’s glee. Rude pounds on the back as he did in the Wrestlemania match and gets two off a suplex. Off to a reverse chinlock with Rude dropping down onto Warrior’s back for good measure. Back up and Warrior breaks up the Rude Awakening but gets caught in a sleeper.

Warrior finally fights out with a jawbreaker but after they run the ropes a bit, Rude sends Warrior into the referee to put everyone down. It’s Rude on his feet first but Warrior starts to Hulk Up to a HUGE reaction. A big backdrop and a clothesline put Rude down followed by a powerslam but there’s no referee. Warrior hits a piledriver but the referee crawls over for two. A powerslam sets up the splash but Rude gets his knees up to slow Warrior down again.

Rude hits a kind of powerbomb (basically driving Warrior’s head into the mat) for a close two as things slow down again. Rude hits a top rope right hand to the jaw as Roddy Piper strolls down. A piledriver puts Warrior down but Piper flashes Rude, allowing Warrior to suplex him out of the corner. Warrior hits a quick shoulder block followed by the gorilla press and splash for the title and an ERUPTION from the crowd.

Rating: B. If there has ever been better chemistry between a talented guy and a guy who could barely survive against anyone else, I’m not sure where it is. Warrior looked great out there and got the win back to conclude a very well done feud. Good stuff here as this show is cooking after a somewhat weak start. That pop for Warrior pretty much gave him the world title right then and there.

The rematch with Rude had been set up by Andre the Giant attacking Warrior. This set up a series of matches between the two of them. From October 28, 1989 in MSG.

Intercontinental Title: Andre the Giant vs. Ultimate Warrior

Heenan shoves the referee to start and gets ejected before the bell. Shoulder, clothesline, clothesline, clothesline, splash, Warrior retains before his music ever stops playing.

Heenan’s war against Warrior would continue, including this non-title match at a special called Survivor Series Showdown. The show is just a big preview for the PPV of course.

Tully Blanchard vs. Ultimate Warrior

Warrior shoves him down a lot as Heenan tells Tully to set the pace. Back in and Warrior squeezes him down by the hand until Tully pokes him in the eye to escape. The advantage only lasts for a few seconds though as Warrior sends him outside and hammers Tully in the head. Tully tries to walk out but gets gorilla pressed over the top and back inside. A slam off the top drops Blanchard again and Warrior hammers away, only to miss a charge in the corner. Not that it matters as Warrior counters a suplex before powerslamming Blanchard off the top. Warrior is all fired up but Arn Anderson runs in for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere as they had to have Blanchard get beaten up for a few minutes before the DQ. That’s not a match you can do well in only about five minutes, especially when Warrior had to carry him back to the ring. The Survivor Series match would be a bit better.

Here’s the Survivor Series match to follow up on the previous two matches. Tully would get in trouble for drugs though and Heenan had to take his place.

Ultimate Warriors vs. Heenan Family

Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, Rockers

Andre the Giant, Arn Anderson, Haku, Bobby Heenan

Andre can barely move and it’s sad to see. Neidhart and the Rockers start before anything happens and Jim is in trouble early. Here’s Warrior without any music (he’s IC Champion here) and a big clothesline puts Andre on the floor, which draws a countout because when the bell rang, Andre was the only Heenan Family member in the ring. We’ve already got the same problem the Hogan match had.

Warrior and Haku get things started for all intents and purposes but it’s quickly off to Anvil vs. Arn. Andre (in blue instead of black) yells incoherently at the Warrior as he leaves. It’s Haku vs. Anvil now with Haku in control. A superkick puts Neidhart down and eliminates him like it’s a squash match. Off to Shawn to make Haku miss him and now it’s off to Jannetty.

Haku tries a double clothesline but only hits Shawn. He picks up Marty but Shawn dropkicks Marty down onto Haku for a near fall. Off to Arn who tries a double suplex with Haku on Jannetty, but Shawn catches his partner in a nice move. Double superkicks put the wrestlers on the other team down and it’s off to Marty vs. Haku. Warrior gets a tag in a few seconds later and Haku immediately goes for the eyes.

Haku backs Warrior into the corner and Heenan points to Arn for the tag in a funny bit. Arn immediately gets taken down and Marty hooks an armbar. Anderson brings Marty to the corner and brings in Heenan for a single punch before it’s back to Haku. Arn knees Marty in the back and Haku superkicks him down so Heenan can drop a knee on Jannetty for the pin. You could loudly hear them calling spots on that sequence for some reason.

Warrior comes in so here’s Anderson again. There’s a bearhug by the Champ and Haku gets one as well. Off to Shawn who gets knocked to the floor with a few shots. Shawn moonsaults out of the corner over Arn and Anderson is in trouble. Warrior and Michaels both punch Anderson at the same time and Arn backs away from Warrior. A splash from Shawn gets two and it’s off to Haku.

That doesn’t last long at all as a cross body eliminates Haku to get us down to Warrior/Shawn vs. Heenan/Anderson. Heenan tries to get in some cheap shots on Shawn which draws in Warrior. Why? Was he that afraid for Shawn’s safety? Arn dumps Shawn to the floor and Heenan goes up….and then regains his sanity and climbs back down. Arn keeps asking for help from Heenan because he’s getting tired so it’s finally back to Bobby who runs at the first sign of trouble.

Shawn rams his head into the back of Arn’s head and both guys are down. They slug it out but Shawn walks into the spinebuster (called the Anderson Drop) for the elimination. Warrior fires off some shoulders but Arn ducks and sends him to the floor. Heenan goes up again but thinks better of it again. Off to Heenan but Warrior quickly Hulks up so we see some more Anderson. Warrior fights him off as well and whips Arn into Heenan to knock Bobby to the floor. The gorilla press and splash get us down to one on one. Warrior sneaks up on Heenan and what do you think happens here? A shoulder block and splash ends this.

Rating: C-. I think it was watching the whole show before this but this was another dull match. Warrior was never in any danger and I think everyone knew it. To be fair, this would have been better with Tully out there and you can’t fault the guys for that. Heenan being in there had to turn it into a comedy match and I can’t hold that against them. Still though, another dull match in a series of them tonight.

With this feud out of the way, Warrior was one of the hottest acts in wrestling. Soon after this, Warrior would be in the Royal Rumble. At one point, he and Hulk Hogan were the only to guys in the ring. You could feel the fans losing their minds as this was a place no one thought they could go. Neither guy got the advantage, so the Ultimate Challenge was set up: Wrestlemania VI, Title for Title.

WWF World Title/Intercontinental Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior

This is title for title. It’s one of those matches where both guys are built up to the point that neither can lose and the fans are completely split on who they want to win. That’s REALLY hard to pull off and I don’t remember a better execution of something like this ever before. The shot of Warrior on the ropes doing his pose as Hogan comes to the ring still sends chills up my back.

They stare each other down and both guys shove the other into the corner. We get the famous test of strength with Warrior taking over to start. Jesse is STUNNED but Hogan fights back up and takes Warrior down to his knees, giving us one of the most popular .gif’s in the history of the internet (implied oral sex if you’re not familiar). Hogan trips Warrior down and drops an elbow for one but Warrior pops up and no sells a slam. Warrior slams Hogan down and clotheslines him to the floor where Hogan might have hurt his knee.

Back in and the brawl is on with Hogan’s knee being fine and not ever mentioned again. Hulk takes over and pounds away at Warrior’s head before getting two off a pair of elbow drops. Off to a front facelock and a small package for two. Hogan hooks a chinlock and pounds away on Ultimate’s head. After a brief break we’re right back to the chinlock followed by a belly to back suplex for two for Hulk.

There’s chinlock #3 and you’re not likely to ever hear the fans freak out as much from someone fighting out of a chinlock as you get here for Warrior. A double clothesline puts both guys down and Hebner counts VERY slowly, which is the right idea here. Warrior grabs the ropes and starts Warrioring Up before hitting some clotheslines. A suplex gets two for Warrior and it’s off to a bearhug on Hulk.

Hogan fights out of the hold with some solid rights to the head but on the breakup, the referee is taken down. Warrior hits a pair of ax handles off the top and starts to get fired up. The shoulder block misses though and Hulk drives him head first into the mat, but there’s no referee. Warrior suplexes Hogan down but there’s still no count. A rollup gets a VERY close two for Hogan and it’s time for the punches.

An elbow sends Warrior out to the floor and Hogan gets posted. Back in and Warrior snaps off some clotheslines followed by the gorilla press into the splash. That gets two and it’s time to Hulk Up. Hogan pounds away and hits the big boot, but the legdrop misses. Warrior hits a fast splash for the surprise pin to win the title and shock the world.

Rating: A. That’s likely high but the crowd here REALLY helps this one. This is a match that just works and there’s almost no other way to put it. I don’t think there’s much of an argument over this not being Hogan’s best match ever and it’s easily Warrior’s first or second best ever depending on your taste about next year’s entry. Either way, this is a great match and one of those matches you have to see at some point as part of being a fan.

Hogan hands Warrior the belt and leaves in the cart, partially stealing the spotlight but it’s not as bad as I remember.

Warrior held the title for about nine months but refused to defend against Randy Savage. Randy cost him the title at the 1991 Royal Rumble, setting up a career vs. career match at Wrestlemania VII.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

Before the match, Heenan spots Miss Elizabeth sitting in the crowd. Warrior only walks to the ring with a coat on instead of his usual sprint to the ring. His trunks have the WWF Title belt on the back with the words “Means much more than this”. The fans HATE Savage here while Warrior gets some great pops. They lock up to start with Warrior easily shoving Randy down a few times. A shoulder does nothing for Savage so he heads to the outside.

Back in and a clothesline puts Savage down and there’s an overhand choke. An atomic drop has Savage in trouble again and there’s a big atomic drop for good measure. Sherri tries to interfere and is immediately knocked to the outside again. Savage gets tied up in the ropes and Warrior pounds away as this is completely one sided so far. Savage finally comes back with a clothesline but he dives off the top into a slam position, but Warrior puts him down on his feet with no slam. Now THAT is a mind game.

Macho King goes to the floor and grabs a chair which is nothing more than a distraction so that he can jump Warrior. That goes as well as anything else has for him so far with Warrior pounding away at Savage’s head. Warrior stomps away in the corner as Heenan says you couldn’t sneak a midget into the building. Savage falls out of the corner to avoid a charge, sending Warrior out to the floor. Sherri adds a slap to the face and there’s the top rope ax handle.

Warrior gets posted and Sherri gets in a few more shots for good measure. We’re told that this is the largest PPV audience in the history of pay per view. Since there’s no way to know that for months, I don’t think this is the case. Warrior absorbs some slams and pops up to stare Savage down. A Sherri distraction doesn’t work at all and Warrior runs the ropes, only to be slammed face first down into the mat for two.

We hit the chinlock/sleeper for a bit before a double clothesline puts both guys down. Sherri tries to interfere again but the referee is taken down in the process. AGAIN the Queen interferes but accidentally takes Savage out by mistake. Warrior goes after her but gets caught in a rollup for two. Heenan is panicking over this stuff. Savage clotheslines him down and hits the flying elbow, followed by a flying elbow, followed by a flying elbow, followed by a flying elbow, followed by a flying elbow, which gets a two count in total. To say Savage is in shock is the understatement of the year.

Warrior starts shaking the ropes and hits the war path around the ring before clotheslining Savage half to death. The gorilla press and splash only get two and Warrior talks to his hands, asking if it’s time for him to step aside. With Warrior on the apron, Savage decks him down to the floor as the crowd continues to be on the edges of their seats.

Savage loads up the ax handle to the barricade but Warrior hits him coming down, sending Randy crashing into the barricade. Back in and Savage can barely stand so Warrior hits two tackles to send Savage out to the floor both times. A third hits and Savage is DONE. Warrior puts his foot on the chest to end Savage’s career.

Rating: A. After watching both this and Wrestlemania 6 in about three days, there is zero question as to which is the better match. This was a pair of titans colliding and one man clearly was better. That’s one of the formulas that never fails if worked even mostly right and they NAILED IT here. This is by far and away Warrior’s best match ever, but the best part is yet to come.

Post match Sherri gets in the ring and beats the tar out of Savage who is defenseless and can’t see who it is. Elizabeth shocks everyone by jumping the guardrail and throwing Sherri to the floor in the only time I can ever remember her getting physical. Savage gets up and is SHOCKED to see Liz, who hadn’t been seen in about a year. Liz says it was Sherri attacking Savage who has no idea what to do.

Liz holds out her arms and after a few moments, Savage hugs her to one of the biggest ovations you will ever hear. Savage puts Liz on his shoulder before the go to leave. As is their custom, Liz holds the ropes for him but Savage says not this time, and holds the ropes open for her. Savage gets to take a bow in the middle of the ring and the fans are thrilled. This is the only, repeat ONLY, moment in wrestling that legitimately brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. I think that’s the case for a lot of fans.

Warrior would join forces with Hogan again soon after this to face Sgt. Slaughter (the man that beat him for the title) and Slaughter’s two cronies at Summerslam 1991.

Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Colonel Mustafa/General Adnan

Sid Justice is guest referee and Hogan is WWF Champion. Hogan and Slaughter get things going but the Sarge wants to stall. Slaughter pounds on him in the corner but gets caught between the right hands of both superheroes. Off to Warrior for a clothesline followed by a double big boot to put Slaughter down again. A clothesline gets two for Hogan and it’s back to Warrior. This is completely one sided so far. Hogan comes back in with a middle rope ax handle for two.

Sid breaks up some choking in the corner and the distraction lets Slaughter get in some shots on Hogan. Adnan, an old manager, comes in to rake Hogan’s back and slowly pound away in the corner. Off to Mustafa (Iron Sheik) for the gutwrench suplex and the camel clutch but Warrior makes the save. Slaughter comes back in to choke away in the corner and send Hogan into Sid for a staredown. Sarge jumps the distracted Hogan and stomps away on the back.

Warrior breaks up a top rope something by Slaughter, allowing for the hot tag to the painted one. Warrior cleans house on Slaughter but runs into Sid for another staredown. Back to Mustafa who gets caught in a suplex but Slaughter blocks a tag. Slaughter puts Warrior in a chinlock, only to have the Ultimate One fight up and clothesline Sarge down. There’s the hot tag to Hogan as Hogan chases the lackeys to the back with a chair. More on that later as Hogan throws powder in Slaughter’s face and drops the leg to win.

Rating: D+. I’m not a fan of this one as the match was never in doubt at all, but above that the Iraq War had been over for six months so the interest in the feud was done long ago. Nothing to see here but the fans reacted pretty well to it. This would have been better as a house show main event instead of the main event of Summerslam. If nothing else there was a match around this time on a Coliseum Video with Slaughter/Mustafa/Undertaker against the superheroes. Wouldn’t that make a much better main event here?

Warrior would be fired after he walked through the curtain for holding up Vince for more money. He would return at Wrestlemania VIII to save Hogan from a beatdown. Warrior made it back to the top of the card by the end of the summer and challenged Savage for the title at Summerslam 1992 in London. The idea here is Ric Flair/Mr. Perfect have said one of the guys has sold out and we’re to find out here. Therefore both guys are paranoid about the other and it’s driving them to violence.

WWF World Title: Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

There’s no sign of Perfect or Flair with Warrior. Warrior is also in a singlet here instead of in his usual trunks. There’s no one with Savage either though, meaning we have to wait even longer to find out who sold out. Savage offers a handshake to start but Warrior accuses him of selling out and won’t shake. Scratch that as he does shake but they pull each other together and it’s on.

It’s a feeling out process to start with Savage shoving him away and hitting a knee to the ribs. A clothesline to the back of Warrior’s head puts him down as the fans are booing. Savage goes up top but Warrior punches him in the ribs to break up a double ax handle. A pair of atomic drops puts Randy down and some shoulder blocks do the same. Savage pounds away and hooks a chinlock, only for Warrior to break it up with a jawbreaker.

A bit right hand staggers the champion in the corner and Warrior stomps away for good measure. Warrior hits a clothesline but Savage ducks away, sending Warrior chest first into the buckle. The champion clotheslines him out to the floor for a bit before hitting the top rope ax handle back inside. It has no effect at all though as Warrior starts marching around the ring. Savage elbows him in the face to put him back down though and goes up again, only to dive into a backbreaker for two.

Warrior whips the champion hard into a corner a few times before putting on a bearhug. Instead of hanging onto it though he lets Savage go almost immediately and gets a two count. Another backbreaker gets two but Savage comes back with a small package for two of his own. A neckbreaker puts the challenger down but a delayed cover only gets two for Randy. Warrior comes back with a hard clothesline and starts pounding away on Savage’s weak back.

A suplex puts Savage down for a close two as the fans are getting into these near falls. Warrior charges at Savage but falls out to the floor by mistake. Randy goes up and drops yet another double ax onto Warrior’s back before sending him into the steps for good measure. Back in and a sunset flip gets two for Savage but Warrior slams him down. Here are Flair and Perfect to ringside as Warrior’s splash hits knees.

Savage and Warrior clothesline each other down which gets two each for both guys. Randy is up first but Perfect trips him down, signaling that Warrior is the sellout. Back up and Warrior punches him down before choking Savage into the corner. Warrior throws Savage into the corner again but the referee is bumped in the process. A slam puts Savage down and Warrior goes up top for a right hand to the head, although there’s no referee.

The referee finally comes over to count the two and Warrior is visibly frustrated. Back up and Savage hits a knee to send Warrior into the referee again before hitting a piledriver on the Ultimate one. There’s no referee again though so Savage goes to check on him. As Randy is out on the floor, Flair and Perfect take out Warrior behind Savage’s back. Randy drops the big elbow but the referee isn’t there in time for a count. Flair and Perfect are huddling on the floor.

Warrior starts his comeback with Savage pounding away on his back but to no effect. He runs over Savage with clotheslines and the flying shoulder block before loading up the gorilla press. Savage is in big trouble but as Warrior sets up the splash, Flair hits him in the back with a chair. Note that Savage didn’t see what Flair did.

Savage doesn’t know what to do now but he realizes Flair and Perfect did something. The champion goes up top but he isn’t sure. Instead of dropping the elbow though he dives at Flair, but gets knocked out of the air by a chair shot, injuring Savage’s knee in the process. Savage is counted out but retains the title.

Rating: B+. This was another really good match between the two and a great rematch from their first classic a year and a half earlier at Wrestlemania 7. The idea of having someone turn was a great incentive to watch the show, and having neither guy do the turn was the right move. The ending of the match is important soon after this.

Warrior left again before Survivor Series and hit the indies for a few years. He would return to the WWF at Wrestlemania XII in a rather infamous moment.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Ultimate Warrior

HHH debuts Sable as his latest good looking valet. This is Warrior’s latest return and the story was he might weigh 400lbs and be bald. Warrior of course is fine and the fans go nuts for him. Warrior’s entrance is far longer than the match. HHH jumps Warrior before he takes his coat off and actually hits the Pedigree. That goes nowhere though as Warrior is on his feet at the same time HHH is. Clotheslines, shoulder blocks, press slam and splash mean we’re done. The match didn’t even last two minutes.

Around this time he also debuted on Raw, against a future World Champion. From April 29, 1996.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Isaac Yankem DDS

Warrior runs him over to start and sends Issac over the top to the floor as we take an early break. Back with some clotheslines putting the dentist down before the splash gets the pin in about 1:45 shown.

Warrior bailed on the WWF again later in the year. We’ll jump over the WCW mess and go to Warrior’s final match. It’s from the NWE (Nu Wrestling Evolution) promotion in Spain against Orlando Jordan for Orlando’s NWE Championship on June 25, 2008.

NWE Championship: Orlando Jordan vs. Ultimate Warrior

It’s more of an awkward looking jog than a run. Orlando jumps Warrior during the rope shaking and hammers away in the corner, only to have the painted one comeback with kicks and chops. A backdrop puts Jordan down and he bails to the floor. Warrior’s paint is already peeling off. Back in and Orlando gets in a few shots, only to be rammed into the corner. A running clothesline puts the champion on the floor again and Warrior hammers on his own chest a bit.

Orlando stalls on the floor for a long time before coming back in to trade some hammerlocks. Jordan can’t keep a rear waistlock on for very long as Warrior powers into one of his own. They hit the mat for a bit as the match is quickly breaking down. Another backdrop puts Jordan outside and Warrior is clearly gassed. He follows Orlando outside and they fight in the confetti with Jordan in control.

Back in and Jordan mocks the chest beating, only to get taken down by a shoulder block. A powerslam gets two and a superplex to Jordan brings both guys down to the mat. Orlando is up first but Warrior starts shaking the ropes and hits the clotheslines. Warrior actually goes up for a nice cross body but the splash hits knees. He pops right back up though and hits some clotheslines and a bad shoulder for the pin and the title. No slam or splash?

Rating: D. This just wasn’t very good. I have no idea who thought giving this match 17 minutes was a good idea when Warrior barely made it through 14 minutes back in 1998. There was a lot of standing around but it didn’t really help. Warrior was clearly out of energy about five minutes in and it was becoming more sad than anything else.

Ultimate Warrior is a guy who will be remembered as great at times, but unfortunately his bad times will overshadow the good. The WCW run and some of his stuff outside the ring will dominate his memory, which is a shame as when he got what was going on, Warrior was VERY talented. His time in 1990-1991/2 was incredibly entertaining and had the best matches of his career. The matches against Randy Savage are some classics and should be remembered better than they are, and do I even need to talk about Wrestlemania VI? He belongs in the Hall of Fame and it was an honor to see him one last time. Warrior was great in his time and the work certainly holds up.

Monday Nitro #163
Date: November 16, 1998
Location: Wichita Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas
Attendance: 13,981
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

It’s the go home show for World War 3 and most of the card isn’t known yet. We’ll get the battle royal and Mysterio vs. Guerrera for the Cruiserweight Title…and that’s about it. My guess is we’ll get a bunch of rematches from Halloween Havoc, but thankfully Hogan vs. Warrior III isn’t going to be one of them. Let’s get to it.

The announcers welcome us to the show and run down the card.

We see a motorcade coming up, meaning it’s time for more Hogan For President stuff later on. I’ll give them this: it’s something different.

More from the announcers.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera

Apparently Judy Bagwell is in the hospital and has sent in a tape which we’ll look at later. Juvy takes him down with some headscissors to start but Kidman nips up and grabs a headlock. Juvy counters into one of his own before rolling Kidman up for two. The short powerbomb (Sky High) puts Guerrera down for two and he rolls out to the floor for a breather. A suplex back inside sets up a slingshot legdrop to give the champion a near fall.

We hit the chinlock on Juvy for a few moments before Guerrera pops up and grabs a hurricanrana out of the corner. A nice looking headscissors puts Kidman down again and Juvy rains down right hands in the corner. The crowd is WAY behind Juvy here. Kidman sends him to the apron but gets caught with a Stunner across the top rope. A high cross body gets two for Guerrera but Kidman dropkicks him out to the floor to get a breather.

Kidman follows him out with a plancha and we hit the chinlock back inside. Juvy fights up and rolls Kidman to the floor, setting up a dive off the top. Back in and Juvy hits a springboard legdrop but hurts his back, allowing Kidman to kick out at two. A sitout bulldog gets two more for the challenger but he tries a powerbomb like a dolt.

The faceplant gets two for Kidman and he counters another sitout bulldog into a wheelbarrow slam for two more. Juvy nails the Juvy Driver out of nowhere for two and takes him up top but Kidman hits an uncharacteristic low blow. A sitout spinebuster off the top gets a VERY close two but Juvy breaks up the Shooting Star. The 450 (mostly hitting knees) is enough for the pin and the title.

Rating: B+. This was AWESOME with both guys doing everything they could with Kidman even cheating a bit near the end. Juvy has been tearing the house down lately so there’s nothing wrong with him getting the title here. If nothing else it sets up Mysterio vs. Guerrera again on Sunday and that’s never a bad thing.

Kidman teases hitting him with the belt post match but just hands it to Juvy and raises his hand.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Judy Bagwell in the Tag Team Title match last week.

Wrath vs. Raven

Before the match Raven says that WCW isn’t his mother and can’t tell him what to do so he’s not wrestling tonight. Kanyon begs him to change his mind and offers to take his spot. He does the usual stuff with the crowd, only to be laid out by Wrath. The Meltdown destroys Kanyon, whose scheduled match is next.

Kanyon vs. Glacier

Glacier comes out to go after a downed Kanyon but Wrath doesn’t think that’s fair. There’s a Meltdown for Glacier as well and we go to a commercial. Back with both guys down and the referee counting until Kanyon covers Glacier for two. They’re selling the heck out of those Meltdowns.

They head outside with Glacier nailing a suplex but takes too long to follow up, allowing Kanyon to hit a Fameasser onto the steps. Somehow that only gets two so Kanyon goes up, only to jump into the Cryonic Kick for another two count. This time it’s Kanyon kicking Glacier down but coming off the top into a northern lights suplex. Not that it matters as Glacier walks into the Flatliner for the pin. It wasn’t long enough to rate but it was more about Wrath than either guy.

Nitro Party winner.

We look at the Hogan For President stuff from last week.

Hogan, Bischoff and company were on Imus in the Morning for a charity thing.

Sonny Onoo vs. El Gringo

Let’s get this over with. It’s fairly obvious that Gringo is Kaz Hayashi under a mask. Gringo blocks a Sonny kick and Onoo says this isn’t what they planned. Sonny gets shoved down as Gringo unmasks as Kaz Hayashi. Not that it matters as Ernest Miller comes out to kick Hayashi in the head, giving Onoo a pin with his foot on Kaz’s chest. Amazingly enough, NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS STORY.

Nitro Girls.

Horace/Stevie Ray vs. Dean Malenko/Steve McMichael

Horace takes Dean into the corner to start and chokes for a bit before being dropped by a belly to back suplex. After a bit of leg work it’s off to Mongo who tries to fight both guys at once with the results going as badly as you would expect. Ray comes in but charges into an elbow followed by a kind of suplex from McMichael.

Dean gets the tag but can’t hook the Cloverleaf. The NWO beats Malenko down until a hot tag brings in Mongo and everything breaks down. Vincent breaks up the tombstone on Horace and gets destroyed by Arn as a result. Stevie nails McMichael with the slapjack but Arn pulls out the trusty tire iron and knocks out every NWO member in sight for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Malenko tried but he can’t carry three other guys on his own. Horace wasn’t even terrible but he’s just so uninteresting that there’s nothing to him. McMichael really should be better by this point and Stevie Ray was Stevie Ray. I can always go for some old AA bludgeoning though.

Doug Dillinger comes out to take the tire iron but Arn says no.

Back from a break with Arn being taken away by security and Mongo going to the hospital.

Gene brings out Ric Flair for a chat. It’s true that Arn is going to jail and Mongo is hurt but Flair doesn’t seem too shaken up by these developments. He rants about tradition for a bit before saying he wants Bischoff in the ring, so he can “chop him so hard he’ll be on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not as the man with four nipples.”

As for tonight, Flair has a surprise for us so here’s Barry Windham of all people. Barry and Flair hug before Barry talks about how right it is to have the Horsemen back in WCW. Bischoff comes out to say Barry doesn’t have a job here and Flair has no authority. Flair says that’s true, but Barry can tear up Bischoff’s girlfriend tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

Again if Rey loses he has to join the LWO but Eddie will leave him alone if Rey wins. Eddie has an unnamed enforcer with him who has been seen in recent LWO attacks. A headscissors and hurricanrana put Guerrero down and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker send him crawling to the referee. Back up and a nice armdrag takedown puts Eddie on the mat and we hit the armbar. They go to a test of strength but Mysterio climbs the ropes and moonsaults into a DDT in an AWESOME counter.

Rey tries something resembling a Whisper in the Wind but complete misses and comes up favoring his knee. Not that it matters as he’s able to backdrop Eddie to the floor and hit an Asai Moonsault. A dropkick to the back of the head drops Eddie again but the bodyguard trips Rey down. Guerrero nails a powerbomb but Juventud runs out to even things up. His springboard legdrop hits Rey by mistake though and Eddie adds the Frog Splash for the pin.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to reach their usual level but it’s still an entertaining match. Juvy adds a new wrinkle to the story and having Eddie get what he wants through these means is a smarter move than giving him a clean win. These two getting time in the ring together is never a bad thing.

The LWO puts a shirt on the unconscious Rey.

The announcers talk about Judy Bagwell for a bit before taking us to a video of her in the hospital. She can’t believe Buff would let this happen and makes it her mission to bring Marcus back where he belongs. Only in WCW people.

Scott Putski vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

They pose at each other to start until Putski takes over with a nice slam. He throws Chavo into the air and lets him crash down to the mat. Chavo comes back with some forearms in the corner but gets caught in a suplex. Now for something a bit more interesting as we go split screen to see Gene watching a Cadillac arrive. Bam Bam Bigelow of all people gets out and goes through security, screaming for Goldberg to come fight him. Gene tries to talk to him as we’re on a single screen now. Bigelow comes to the arena and destroys both guys with a powerbomb to Putski and a gorilla press to Guerrero.

Bigelow demands that Goldberg get out here right now but Eric Bischoff, JJ Dillion and an army of security come out instead. Bischoff and Dillon say get out of here but Bigelow doesn’t go. Instead here’s Goldberg and A LOT more security to try to keep them apart. Bischoff yells at JJ and wants to see him in the back.

After a break Eric yells at JJ and fires him. JJ says no way because he quits.

We look at the brawl again.

World War 3 ad.

Konnan vs. Saturn

This is due to Konnan coming out last week to save Saturn from an LWO attack. Saturn didn’t want the help and wants revenge. Konnan does his usual stuff but Saturn jumps him in what is becoming a tradition in WCW. Saturn fires off some kicks in the corner and hits a jumping clothesline. A rolling clothesline misses Saturn but he misses the superkick as well, allowing Konnan to nail a clothesline of his own. The LWO comes out as Konnan hits the seated dropkick and puts on a chickenwing.

We cut to the back and see Bischoff saying Bigelow will not be at World War 3. Goldberg comes up to Bischoff, grabs his face and demands Bigelow tonight. Back in the ring with Saturn nailing a superkick but walking into a spinebuster for two. The announcers have given up any pretense of talking about the match to hype Goldberg vs. Bigelow.

Splash Mountain (Razor’s Edge into a sitout powerbomb) gets two on Saturn but he comes back with a northern lights suplex. A double clothesline puts both guys down until La Parka gets up on the apron and holds Saturn. Konnan will have none of that and lays out La Parka instead. The LWO beats up Saturn as a result and that’s a DQ.

Rating: C+. I’m glad the backstage stuff only went on for a few moments as this was an entertaining match for the most part. It was always nice to see two different styles work together out there and the match worked fairly well. The LWO isn’t doing much for me but it’s nice to see them doing something.

Konnan goes to help Saturn but Saturn will have none of that. The LWO leaves them alone to fight.

Hour #3 begins.

Nitro Girls.

We look at Hall vs. Nash.

Here are Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell and their own referee. By referee, I mean a guy with a whistle and hat running all over the place. Buff talks about how WCW won’t give them a referee right now so the NWO has their own. He has the referee demonstrate how to do a very over the top three count before Scott insults the women here in Kansas. He talks about the NWO being stronger than blood, which is why it’s ok for Scott to go attack Buff’s mother.

Scott says Buff can return the favor, so here’s an old “lady” called Mrs. Steiner. Buff beats her up and the referee counts the pin until Rick Steiner runs in to clear the ring. He rips the wig off to reveal a man and says that’s not his mother. Thanks for that Rick. Scott Norton sneaks up on Rick and lays him out so Buff and Scott can come back in to beat Rick down. The referee counts a pin with all three guys covering Rick.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.

Jericho is defending. Duncum is a tall guy who looks like a cowboy and is making his WCW debut. He’s wrestled for a few years elsewhere though. Jericho grabs something like a surfboard before letting it go for a senton backsplash. Heenan: “A senton?” Tenay: “Yes a senton.” Heenan: “Senton? SENTON? A senton? It’s a senton.” Jericho hits a nice belly to back (Heenan: “THE SUPER SENTON!”) but Duncum grabs the boot to block the Arrogant cover.

A hard clothesline puts Jericho on the floor and another one off the apron sends Chris into the barricade. Back in and Jericho nails a dropkick as Heenan says this match has been going for twenty minutes. I know Heenan can embellish time once in awhile but stretching a four minute match to twenty minute be a new record. Duncum grabs his bullrope and chases Jericho off for the countout.

Rating: C-. Duncum looked good and could move well for a bigger guy but much like Kaos, there’s not much interest there. The annoying thing is Jericho vs. Goldberg was built up for over a month now and it seems like Jericho getting speared last week is the end of their story. As Jericho has mentioned before, I see no reason why Jericho couldn’t get squashed on PPV or even Nitro.

Here comes the Secret Service and it’s time for Hogan. He comes out to Hail to the Chief and the announcers swear that Hogan is serious about this. Hogan is by himself here with the white feather boa around his neck. A huge American flag comes down in front of the entrance as red, white and blue balloons fall.

Hogan gets in the ring as confetti falls as well. He talks about what a great week this has been due to the fans embracing his vision for the country. Tonight he’s introducing his official intern and of course it’s a woman that looks like Monica Lewinsky complete with a blue dress and hat. She congratulates him and makes a cigar joke before giving her a long hug.

Hogan invites the NWO out here because the campaign trail is just as solid as the NWO. Eric comes out and looks ticked off but sucks up to Hogan a bit anyway. Hogan makes light of Eric being worried about Goldberg and the wrestlers’ safety due to Bigelow. Scott Hall comes out and says they’re NWO for life. He wants to know where Bischoff’s head is at though. Eric says that’s ironic coming from Hall and says they’ll take care of this later on. Hall decks Eric so Hogan goes after Hall until Nash makes the save. Scott leaves and Nash says he’ll see him in Detroit. There’s another match for the PPV.

Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit

Non-title. Benoit nails a hard elbow to start before firing off chops in the corner. A snap suplex gets two and Benoit stomps away in the corner. Bret comes back with a shot to the throat before stomping down on Benoit for good measure. The backbreaker and middle rope elbow are good for two and Bret catapults him throat first into the bottom rope.

Chris charges into a boot to the face but comes back with a great looking superplex. The Swan Dive connects for two and Benoit clotheslines him out to the floor. Bret grabs a chair but runs away for some reason, allowing Benoit to punch it into his face back in the ring. Hart hits him low and crushes Benoit’s arm with the chair for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was more about setting up the angle than the match itself and that’s fine. Heenan saying that Hart just didn’t care anymore is very accurate. It’s clear that there’s no fire in him anymore and he’s just out there because his contract says he has to be. Also did we really need another face to be taken out?

Post match Malenko makes the save but Bret sneaks up on him and hammers away. DDP makes the real save and taunts Bret with the US Title. He’ll keep getting back up and will defend the title against Hart at World War 3.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldberg

Bigelow jumps Goldberg in the aisle and they fight by the entrance way until security breaks it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a better show as it felt like there was an actual effort being put into things this week. As stupid as it sounds, I can actually go with the Hogan For President stuff. Yeah it’s totally stupid, but I’d much rather watch something over the top and goofy than something deadly serious and horrible. The rest of the show was fine and bringing in Bigelow to put over Goldberg isn’t the worst idea in the world. It’s still not a good show but it was a nice change of pace.

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:

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

That’s what HHH says on Twitter.  It’s the verified account as well.  What in the freaking world?

Take this with a HUGE grain of salt as it could be some storyline etc.

 

Saddened to announce the passing of the Ultimate Warrior. Icon and friend. My sympathy to his wife Dana and his daughters

— Triple H (@TripleH) April 9, 2014

Edit: WWE has confirmed the story.  No cause of death has been released yet.

Editx2: TMZ has posted a story saying Warrior collapsed outside his hotel and was taken to the hospital where he passed away.  That would heavily imply it wasn’t self inflicted.

I was in the upper deck and facing the cameras so there weren’t a ton of great options.  The review will be up tomorrow.Nothing to do with Raw but it looked cool.

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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I had to zoom in REALLY far for most of these so they’re not very good.  I also didn’t take a lot of shots as I was just taking all of the show in instead of snapping photos.

 

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 .99 at:

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

Saturday session, 1-5pm.

Most of these are self explanatory.

 

 

Ascension vs. Jason Jordan/???

 

 

 

 

Wrestlemania Today being filmed.

 

Lanny Poffo.

 

The Wild Samoans after their signing.

 

 

There was a camera crew following her.

 

Camera crew as well.

 

Legends House.  They had a professional photographer take the Duggan shot and gave me a card to download the picture.  This would have been really good everywhere but it was the only booth they did this at.

 

\

 

 

For you Becca.

Most of these should be self explanatory but I’ll caption anything that isn’t clear.  Also note that my camera is well over ten years old so the quality isn’t great.These are from the pre-show autograph signing.  I got handshakes with most of them and everyone was nice.

 

Dark match.

 

Steve Corino coming out for commentary.

 

Bad picture of the titles hanging above the ring.

 

Opening match.

 

Maria.  I think that’s all you need said.

 

At intermission I walked out to get a drink and saw Nigel McGuinness just standing there talking to fans.

 

Nigel replaces Corino on commentary for the second half.

 

Matt Hardy promo.

 

What is with the streamers?  Seriously I don’t get it.  I know Japan but it’s annoying.

 

The main event setup.

 

 

Main event showdown.

 

 

Still trying to find a copy of the show to review.  Hint hint to you internet savvy people.

 

 

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:

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

The record for views was broken by 25% today.  I’ve spent 10 months thinking I’d never break it at all.  I’ll be more amazed when I regain the ability to think.

 

Thank you all so very much.  I don’t know how to comprehend how this works but it does.

KB

A few notes.1. Ryback beat Dolph Ziggler and Titus O’Neil beat Kofi Kingston in the dark matches.

2. Paul Heyman is AMAZING and owned the crowd.

3. The place went nuts for Paige.

4. “No Zeb.  I’m a Paul Heyman guy” was the non-Bryan moment of the night.  I’m not sure what they’re going to do though as he’s still a heel.  It’s a perfect fit though and most importantly there’s no Jack Swagger.

5. There were Adam Rose and Bo Dallas vignettes.  I didn’t so a “coming soon” graphic for Dallas though.  He seems like a motivational speaker or something.  The fans were WAY into Rose.

6. Rusev was impressive and Lana is hot in person.

7. The roof went off when Shield came out.

8. I’m not sure if you could hear it but the fans were singing JOHN CENA SUCKS to the trumpet part (as in the duh duh nuh nuh.  The part before Your time is up, my time is now) of his song throughout the night.

9. I had a blast.

10. Oh and NO STING SO SHUT UP ABOUT HIM ALREADY!

11. Oh and I met Bob Backlund.  Twice.