Monday Night Raw
Date: December 8, 2014
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

It’s the Slammys! These shows used to be a highlight of the year but now they’re just there as a background for a usually boring show. However, there’s usually a good ending to these shows but with tonight being the go home show for Sunday’s TLC show, it’s hard to say how big of a surprise we’re going to get. Let’s get to it.

We start with a Tonight On Raw preview, focusing on Cena vs. Big Show in the main event.

Jerry Lawler brings out Seth Green to host the show. Seth says this is our awards show and you can vote for the winners of the awards on the WWE App. Miz and Mizdow cut him off though (minus the belts). The amusing thing here is that Green is 5’4 so they TOWER over him. Miz gives a pitch about being the A-lister Seth needs, but Green says Mizdow is the real A-lister. Mizdow smiles but Miz cuts him off, only to have Damien do a “call me” sign behind Miz’s back. Anyway they’re here for the THIS IS AWESOME Award. The nominees:

Occupy Raw

Stephanie McMahon getting arrested for slapping Brie

The Authority being eliminated/Sting debuting

Steve Austin, The Rock and Hulk Hogan opening Wrestlemania

We’ll get the winner after the first match.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Ziggler backdrops him to the floor and we take a break thirty seconds in. Back with Rollins in control and driving a knee into Dolph’s ribs. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Dolph sends him face first into the buckle to get a breather. The Stinger Splash and elbow drop get two but Seth blocks the running DDT. Ziggler counters the buckle bomb into a sunset flip and now the running DDT is good for two. Back up and they head to the corner with Ziggler shrugging Dolph down, only to have the Stooges shove him off, setting up the Curb Stomp for the pin at 7:20.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything but at least Ziggler didn’t lose clean. I can live with a heel cheating to win and beating a hot star, evne though he’s going into an Intercontinental Title shot this coming Sunday. Why would we need to keep Ziggler strong for something like that?

Sting debuting wins the THIS IS AWESOME Award. Of course Sting isn’t here so Seth is going to accept on his behalf, but Seth comes up and takes the trophy because Sting is responsible for the Authority being gone and Seth deserves it.

Here are some Slammys awarded on the pre-show:

Insult of the Year – Rock insulting Lana and Rusev

Tag Team of the Year – Usos

Breakout Star of the Year – Dean Ambrose

Hashtag of the Year – RKOOUTTANOWHERE

Fan Participation – YOU SOLD OUT to Seth Rollins

Kofi Kingston vs. Stardust

Stardust takes Kofi down to start and steps on his chest before the referee breaks it up in the ropes. A chinlock goes as far as you would expect it to and Kofi fights up with a hurricanrana. Some dropkicks put Starudust down and the NEW DAY Drop (no more Boom) sets up a running knee in the corner. A high cross body is enough to pin Stardust at 2:58.

Johnny Ace is presenting Surprise Return of the Year. After suggesting the People Power replace the Authority, here are the nominees:

Hulk Hogan

Batista

The Rock

Ultimate Warrior

Winner announced after How To Download The App and a break. After we’re back, Ultimate Warrior wins.

Rollins is in the back with the Stooges when the run into Paul Heyman. Seth sends the Stooges away so he can talk to Heyman about the tables match. He thinks he might be next in line to face the Beast after he beats Cena, but promises that his cash-in will come when Lesnar and Heyman least expect it. Heyman is fine with that, but his client might as well be champion for life. However, that doesn’t stop Rollins from being the future. John Cena is standing in his way, so if Rollins wants to be the future, he needs to make sure that Cena is stuck in the past. Rollins seems to like the idea.

Video on NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte.

Charlotte vs. Natalya

Non-title of course. We get a WOO to start and Charlotte drives knees into the ribs to start. She stomps Natalya down against the ropes but gets caught in a quick choke to slow her down. That’s fine with Charlotte who just pounds away at her face. A slap makes Charlotte even madder but Natalya takes out the legs as they hit the mat. Charlotte drops her again with a wicked chop and drops a hard knee for two. Natalya tries the Sharpshooter but gets countered into the Figure Four, which is countered into a small package to give Natalya the pin at 2:30.

Tyson Kidd takes the spotlight like he did at Survivor Series.

Santino presents the OMG Shocking Moment of the Year. He says he was shocked just now by seeing Luke Harper take a shower. Usually he’s watching the Divas take showers….but he’s not a creep. The nominees are:

Seth Sells Out

Nikki Turns On Brie

Bray Wyatt’s Children’s Choir

The Streak Is Conquered

The winner is of course the Streak being conquered. Lesnar’s music plays but we get Heyman instead for a very brief acceptance speech without saying anything of note.

Here’s Bray Wyatt to talk about seeing her for the first time in that rocking chair beneath the Cypress tree. We see Dean destroying the chair last week and Bray says Dean destroyed something that can’t be replaced. That leads us to Dean having his throat crushed on Smackdown in retaliation. Bray asks if that shocks or frightens us. No one here knows what they’re dealing with and he despises all of us.

If you get too close to him, you will get burned by his fire as he stands on top of that ladder. Bray won’t allow us to cry for him though as Dean deserves what’s coming. He repeats Tables Ladders and Chairs over and over again until an ambulance drives into the arena. Dean pops out in a neck brace and pulls a table out of the ambulance. He throws it on the ramp before pulling out a ladder and chair to go with it.

There goes the neck brace and Dean drags the ladder and chair to the ring. He throws the chair in and nails Bray in the ribs with the ladder. Dean throws in a chair and hits Bray square in the head with it. A table comes in as well but Wyatt rolls to the floor. Dean lays on the table with the chair over him. Bray comes back down and gets another chair thrown at him. This Sunday, Dean is going to become the monster and eat Bray alive.

Seth Green brings out Jerry Lawler to present Diva of the Year. The nominees are:

Brie Bella

Nikki Bella

AJ Lee

Paige

The girls are shown in the back when Titus O’Neil shows up in a tuxedo for some reason. AJ wins and nothing seems to come of the cameo. She says that she promised to redefine the term Diva three years ago. Next year she hopes that next year, it’s Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Emma or Paige is up here on the throne. She’s not done being queen though and will get her title back this week.

Cena talks about Vince telling Austin that the locker room needs to step up. That might fire up Seth Rollins, so maybe Rollins wants Big Show to wear him out tonight. This Sunday, Rollins has to put him through a table, which is good for Seth because he can’t pin Cena or make him tap out. If Cena can’t win this Sunday, maybe it’s time for him to step down so Seth can step up. Tonight he’s going to slam a giant and shake South Carolina because his time isn’t up yet. This Sunday, Rollins goes through a table.

Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper

Non-title and Harper brings a ladder with him. It’s a slugout to start with Rowan getting the better of it and nailing a running splash in the corner. That’s fine with Harper who nails a dropkick for one before kicking Erick in the head. The Gator Roll doesn’t get Luke anywhere as Rowan pops back up and nails some clotheslines. A full nelson slam gets two on Harper and they head outside with Luke hitting Rowan with the ladder for the DQ at 2:05.

Post match Rowan fights back and starts throwing the stairs into the ring. Harper takes a big shot to the head and bails.

The Usos come up to Naomi to celebrate their Slammys. Jimmy says it’s the second best thing to happen to him all year after marrying her. Naomi has been talking to Miz’s agent and apparently it went well. Uso isn’t sure but Naomi has a screen test later this week. That’s fine with Jimmy but he’s going to Hollywood with her because Miz is involved in this somehow. Naomi interprets this as Jimmy not trusting her.

Adam Rose comes out to present LOL Moment of the Year. The Bunny won Animal of the Year earlier. Rose thinks he should be hosting and says the fans know nothing when they disagree. The nominees are:

Mr. T.’s Mother’s Day message at the Hall of Fame ceremony

WeeLC

Mizdow the Stunt Double

Vickie Guerrero knocking Stephanie into pudding

The Bunny tries to open the envelope but Rose gives us Mizdow for the win. Here he is along with Miz (and the belts this time), who actually lets Mizdow have some spotlight for a bit. It’s only for a bit though as Miz takes the trophy and says he can make us go through all these emotions because he’s an actor. Miz: “I hear you. You want MIZ NOW and you’re getting MIZ NOW!” Miz thanks the only one that has been there for him since day one: the moneymaker. Mizdow doesn’t seem that offended.

Here are some other winners.

Faction of the Year – Shield

Rivalry of the Year – Bryan vs. Authority

Raw Guest Star of the Year – Jackman

Twitter Handle of the Year – @HeelZiggler

Couple of the Year – Bryan/Brie Bella

Here are Lana and Rusev for a chat. Lana runs down the American economy and President Obama before moving on to the Real Americans. Lana: “That is an LOL moment!” Cue Swagger, who will be challenging Rusev for the title on Sunday, to say that Rusev broke Colter’s leg, so he’s going to snap Rusev’s ankle. Jack charges and ducks the running superkick before dropping the ankle on the barricade. There’s the Patriot Lock on the floor and Rusev kind of taps until referees make the save.

New Day vs. Goldust/Stardust on Sunday’s pre-show.

Usos/Ryback vs. Kane/Miz/Damien Mizdow

Seth Green is on commentary. Kane slams Ryback to start as Seth talks about Battlestar Galactica. The Usos come in to start in on the arm but the announcers are too busy taking pictures. Off to Miz to stomp away on Jey before a headlock takes the actor down. Lawler has to get the announcers back on the match as Cole does his traditional driving off a cliff of a tangent. Jey hammers away on Miz and grabs a suplex, so Mizdow comes in and mimes getting hit in the face before raising his arm like he’s about to be suplexed. He flips over then dives over the top after Miz is sent flying.

Back from a break with Kane holding Jey in a chinlock before it’s off to Miz for a Reality Check. Jey finally breaks free and tags in Ryback to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Usos escape a double chokeslam and nail Kane with a double superkick. Jey dives onto Kane but Jimmy gets low bridged to the floor when charging at Miz. The Meathook and Shell Shock end Miz at 9:52.

Rating: C. This was a quick match that combined the two feuds into one and there’s nothing wrong with that. Jimmy vs. Miz is at least a fresh story and something that fits the characters instead of being shoehorned in. Ryback continues to get a push, even though he’s lost some momentum after that performance at Survivor Series.

Green celebrates with the winners.

We look back at the first Slammys in 1986.

Here’s Ricky Steamboat to present Match of the Year. He gives a very nice speech about what it means to have a classic match to introduce the nominees.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista – Wrestlemania XXX

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Payback

Shield vs. Evolution – Extreme Rules

Team Cena vs. Team Authority – Survivor Series

Team Cena vs. Team Authority wins with Ziggler coming out to accept. Ziggler sounds very touched by this and says they’re going to build off of it because this belongs to all of the fans.

AJ Lee vs. Summer Rae

Summer mocks AJ for winning the award earlier and AJ goes right at her, only to eat a wheelbarrow slam for two. A spinwheel kick that misses by six inches gets two on AJ before we hit a quickly broken chinlock. AJ pops up and Black Widows Summer for the submission at 2:18.

Rob Van Dam is here to present the Extreme Moment of the Year. The nominees are:

Brock Lesnar’s 16 suplexes to John Cena

Kane tombstoning Bryan on the steps and the announcers’ table

Chris Jericho diving off the cage and onto Bray Wyatt

Seth Rollins Curb Stomps Dean Ambrose onto cinder blocks

Jericho wins and Fandango comes out to accept on his behalf. You’ll never forget his name you see.

Saint Mick does his merchandise shilling.

Big Show says no one is going to forgive him for what he does so he’s going to destroy Cena tonight.

Booker T. is presenting Superstar of the Year.

Dean Ambrose

Bray Wyatt

Roman Reigns

Brock Lesnar

Bray Wyatt

John Cena

Seth Rollins

After a break, the winner is Roman Reigns. He’s actually in the building tonight to accept the award and says this may not be the brass ring but it’s a step in the right direction. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the top of the stairs, he’s stepping up and you can believe that.

Chris Jericho is Guest GM next week.

John Cena vs. Big Show

Big Show’s music comes on at 11:00pm EST so this is going to be quick. Cena charges right at him and gets headbutted down. A shoulder bounces off Show and he chokes Cena on the ropes. Cena avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a DDT, only to walk into a side slam to put him right back down. Off to a bearhug for a bit before Cena jumps onto the giant’s back for a sleeper. Show flips him forward but misses the KO Punch, allowing Cena to hit a belly to back. The Shuffle is countered by a chokeslam but Cena slips out and AA’s Show for two as Rollins and the Stooges come in for the DQ at 5:43.

Rating: D. This was every Cena vs. Big Show match you’ve ever seen and with the ending that everyone and their mother (even Mr. T.’s) knew was coming. It’s not the worst match in the world, but what could they possibly do in less than six minutes with a completely telegraphed ending?

Rollins loads up a ladder for a super Curb Stomp but Ziggler makes the save. Cena and Ziggler beat up the Stooges but Big Show knocks them both out. Cue Rowan but Harper jumps him from behind. Show chokeslams him onto the steps so here’s Ryback for the late save. He posts Show and Meathooks Harper before setting up a table. The Shell Shock is broken up by Kane with a chair but Ziggler takes out Kane. Some superkicks drop Big Show, only to have Harper put Dolph through a table. Cena AA’s Harper, only to eat a Curb Stomp. Rollins loads up the announcers’ table and TripleBombs Cena through to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was one of those shows where there just wasn’t anything to talk about. The Ambrose vs. Wyatt segment was good but it’s not enough to carry a three hour show. This was much more a go home show with a few other things going on in the background. Sunday should be fun but we really need to get to Wrestlemania season to breathe some life into this company again. The show wasn’t even horrible but there’s just nothing here worth seeing.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Curb Stomp

Kofi Kingston b. Stardust – High cross body

Natalya b. Charlotte – Small package

Erick Rowan b. Luke Harper via DQ when Harper hit Rowan with a ladder

Usos/Ryback b. Miz/Damien Mizdow/Kane – Shell Shock to Miz

AJ Lee b. Summer Rae – Black Widow

John Cena b. Big Show via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

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Is it a bird? Or a plane? Maybe a frog? Not bird nor plane nor even frog. It’s the Hurricane!

Shane Helms got his start in the Carolinas along with the Hardys way back in 1991. That’s a hard era to find footage of though and since Helms has actually done a lot in his career, we’re going to jump ahead to 2000 with Shane part of 3 Count. From Uncensored 2000.

Hardcore Title: 3 Count vs. Brian Knobbs

Knobbs is challenging and has to beat all three guys. Apparently it’s a gauntlet match. 3 Count does their dancing thing and then Tony says “Wait a second. How can we do this after what we just saw?” He’s talking about Crowbar and apparently it took him three minutes to realize how distraught he was. They talk about stopping the show, and the thought occurs to me that this could somehow be a commentary on Vince not stopping the show after Owen fell last year. If that’s the case, this company deserves to die more than anything I’ve ever seen.

Anyway, Knobbs wastes some time looking for weapons before the match starts. Knobbs is all upset by Crowbar apparently. As he’s putting the weapons in one of the champions jumps off the top with a kendo stick to drill him. By gauntlet apparently they mean handicap elimination because they’re all out there at once. Knobbs cleans house and uses the Pit Stop on all three of them. Helms gets a chair shot to take over and sends Knobbs into a ladder in the corner.

Splash off said ladder gets no cover because the other two have to go up for splashes also. Karagis uses a corkscrew one and Moore’s Swanton misses. With Knobbs crawling away for weapons, 3 Count turns their back on him for a dance sequence. Helms has a chair on his face and Knobbs hits the chair with a mop to eliminate him. He had a broken nose so that’s more painful than it sounds.

It’s Table Time and after walking around for awhile, Knobbs powerbombs Karagis over the top rope through the table which more or less explodes. Helms is still around and beats on Knobbs a bit to no avail. Tony calls a chair shot a table shot because he’s not very smart. Another table is sent in while Moore is out cold. Moore manages to get a pin when Knobbs trips over something, but it’s a DUSTY FINISH due to Knobbs’ foot being on the ropes. In a freaking ow man moment, Knobbs throws a ladder over the top rope to land on Karagis who is still down. Middle rope garbage can shot gives Knobbs the title back.

Rating: D+. Somehow this might be the match of the night so far and it was a Brian Knobbs showcase match. Why in the world is this happening in the year 2000? And with a freaking Dusty Finish of all things. It was fine for a weapons match I guess, but there was never any doubt of the finish. Why in the world was this on PPV in 2000 though?

Here’s a bit better match at New Blood Rising.

3 Count vs. Jung Dragons

This would open about 19 Thunders in a row. Tank Abbott is their Rikishi and dances with them. Ok to be fair, this was freaking hilarious. The only Dragon that is known is the masked one who would become Jamie Knoble. Three Count has one guy that meant nothing, Shannon Moore and Shane (Gregory) Helms. This is a double ladder match where the Dragons are trying to get a recording contract so 3 Count can’t record again and 3 Count is trying to get their gold record back.

You have to tag here and it’s a ladder match. They stack up a ladder in the corner and do a ton of stuff with that. Both teams hit a springboard Doomsday Device as this is a fun match but you can tell nothing is ever going to go anywhere. Noble does a HUGE dive off the ladder to the floor. Oh and Yang cut his hair and became the resident redneck on Smackdown. This isn’t bad but it’s certainly is entertaining.

And then 3 Count stops to dance. Jamie hits a nice rana and the other two hit a double splash off the ladders. Jamie gets the record but it’s not over yet. Abbott gets the record and we keep going a bit more. I’d love to hear the explanation to a record company that they lost their contract in a professional wrestling ladder match. Kaz and Helms sprint up the ladders but Abbott shoves both guys over. Karagis climbs up and gets the contract. Soon after Jamie would be unmasked and Karagis would team up to become a third team. Abbott leaves with the contract and record.

Rating: B. Solid stuff here although it made limited sense with the whole double prize thing but that’s WCW for you. These six guys would open just about every show there was without ever getting anywhere at all for it and while the matches were solid, people just got sick of seeing them. I know I did.

Little six man match from Fall Brawl 2000.

3 Count vs. Misfits in Action

The Misfits here are Sgt. AWOL (The Wall who most of you likely don’t remember) Lieutenant Loco (Chavo) and Corporal Cajun (Lash Leroux). The band has a new song here that likely could have been a decent hit if sung by a “legit” band, which is either great or scary. The idea of the Misfits was that they were guys that were thrown out of storylines by Russo so they banded together as their only way to have a chance. That works well enough.

And yes, 3 Count gets a match against someone not named the Jung Dragons. Two of the boy band members are Shannon Moore and Shane (Gregory) Helms. The third sucks. We hear about Duggan giving the flag and board to General Rection (Hugh Morrus) and will be in his corner tonight. Yeah I’m sure this isn’t going to go badly at all for Rection.

This is a pretty basic match but it’s not bad. They’re just kind of filling in time as these matches aren’t going to mean anything past tonight anyway. The idea here is that the band is scared to death of AWOL so they’re going to try to keep him out. Simple story but it works. Leroux was a lot better than he was given credit for. I might even stretch to say he was pretty good.

He hits a springboard X Factor to get the hot tag to AWOL who cleans house. Moore hits a nice flip to put Cajun down and we let the high spots loose. AWOL gets knocked through a table (his signature thing) but not before holding Moore up off the ground purely by his hair. Everything goes insane and Leroux hits Helms with what we would more or less call Cradle Shock for the pin. They get a standing ovation for it and that’s what they deserved.

Rating: B. I REALLY liked this. There was no interference, there was nothing completely insane, the effort was there and the wrestling was there. What a shock that when you put all this together, you get a good match. Worst thing is I can more or less guarantee this is the high point of the show.

3 Count split up soon after this and Helms became a big deal in the Cruiserweight division. Here’s hit title shot at Greed.

Cruiserweight Title: Shane Helms vs. Chavo Guerrero

They put the wrong graphic up for the match just to show how inept they were here. Helms and Guerrero were more or less perfect in this division at this time so this should rock. Helms has his own rap song and his own dance team called the Sugar Babies. He’s Sugar Shane Helms if that clears up anything else. He also has an awesome finisher called the Vertebreaker.

They start off rather slowly with Shane being a fast paced guy and Chavo being more of a Dean Malenko style guy. Very nice technical and mat basted stuff gets us to a standoff. Shane is a heel here I think but it’s not exactly clear. Regal Stretch, which is different than the STFU, by Chavo and Helms is in trouble.

Chavo takes over and apparently he’s the heel. It’s not a good sign when about halfway through this match and I’m just getting that. Huge dive to the floor gets no reaction. I don’t get this crowd: they just don’t seem to care about anything at all and it’s rather annoying. Shane does some basic stuff to take us back to even and both guys are down. Decent match so far.

Shane keeps kicking out and the Tornado DDT is blocked. Nightmare on Helm Street, the Eye of the Hurricane later on, gets two. Top rope cross body gets two in a cool looking move. Shane did it which I left out somehow. Vertebreaker hits on Chavo to let us hear that rap song again as Shane wins the title which I think was the final title change until the WWE stuff.

Rating: C+. Entertaining match but it never clicked to get it up to that top level. This was pretty good here though although the crowd just flat out did not care. I think you can chalk this up to the company just being dead at this point though. The match was good though, but it just never really got off the ground well enough to be very good. Solid use of about 15 minutes though.

Here’s Helms on Raw, August 27, 2001. Before the match he talked about loving superheroes.

European Title: Hurricane vs. Matt Hardy

This is the debut of the Hurricane superhero character but he has hip hop music still. Matt looks shocked but he clotheslines Hurricane down quickly. Superkick by Helms sets up a top rope cross body for two. There‘s a Russian legsweep by Matt and Hurricane is in trouble. The middle rope leg gets two. A cross body misses for Matt and here‘s Ivory to hit Lita in the knee with a pipe. She hits Matt as well, allowing Hurricane to hit the Eye of the Hurricane to steal the pin and the title. This was really quick.

Helms would pick the Cruiserweight Title up again and defended it at King of the Ring 2002.

Cruiserweight Title: Jamie Noble vs. Hurricane

This was either Noble’s first match or at least his first feud. Oh ok this is his second. Seriously, the recap is still going. It’s getting more time than the opening video. Oh and the heels unmasked him which Burchill is still trying to do. IT’S STILL GOING! I have absolutely no interest in this match at all. Hurricane was running around chokeslamming people. Nidia thinks she means something. That’s just amusing.

There’s a “she’s a crack w****” chant going as we flash back to ECW. She tries to trip Hurricane and misses. You grab the big white thing. It’s how you got a job more than likely as it certainly isn’t for your looks and talent. Oh Tuesday is the Divas Undressed thing. It was a lingerie thing that went nowhere. There were some ok looks but that’s about it. As you can tell, I’m not talking much about the match.

This division and title were just jokes and it’s good that the title isn’t coming back. Let it go people. Oh dear we begin the sex jokes about Hurricane and why Nidia dumped him. I hate those. Oh dang it they’re using sleepers. I can barely stand the thought of this match already and they’re just boring me to death. This division was just a freaking waste. Wait a minute. This is a Smackdown match. WHY ARE LAWLER AND ROSS CALLING IT???

We have acknowledged that Tazz and Cole, the SMACKDOWN ANNOUNCERS are in the building, but instead we get Ross and Lawler who have nothing to do with these guys or their show talking about the match. What in the heck is wrong with this? Hurricane and Nidia fight over his cape. Hurricane suplexes Noble over the ropes and he lands on his leg. Dang it he’s getting up so we have to keep going. The main problem here is Nidia.

She won’t freaking shut up and she’s just annoying as all goodness. Hurricane hits a swinging neckbreaker from the top rope. This match just needs to end. It’s all highspots and Nidia and only one of those things are interesting. Noble kicks out of the chokeslam which stuns the crowd. For some reason they’re into this. Hurricane crotches himself on the top and Noble powerbombs him for the title while Nidia shoves his foot off the ropes. They make out way too much after the match.

Rating: D-. And it passes for the highspots. This was just freaking pointless and of course they gave it 10 minutes. See, in WCW, this was successful because there WERE NO STORIES. It was all highspots and no stupid ugly women screaming all the time. Learn from that Vince.

Here’s Helms putting over a rookie on Raw, December 2, 2002.

Batista vs. The Hurricane

Flair comes out with Batista. Batista jumps him before the match as the announcers talk about the guest referee. Gee, I wonder who it’ll be between HHH and RVD in a match to decide who faces SHAWN for the title. Hurricane has bad ribs from something not important enough to tell us about. Batista Bomb ends this in about a minute.

Here’s Helms’ reward for that on Raw, March 10, 2003.

The Hurricane vs. The Rock

No DQ. This is during Rock’s last heel run, right before he was to face Austin for the third time at Wrestlemania. Rock tells Hurricane to bring it and the masked man hammers away with right hands to send Rock out to the floor. Hurricane follows him out to hammer away, only to walk into a Samoan drop back inside. Rock puts on the cape for a cool visual and nails Hurricane with a clothesline. He chokes on the ropes and jogs around the ring like the pompous jerk that he is.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Hurricane fights up and grabs a running neckbreaker. JR is Hurricane’s biggest cheerleader here like a face announcer is supposed to be. Some more clotheslines and a slow motion enziguri (called a Shining Wizard by JR) staggers Rock and a high cross body gets two. There’s a Blockbuster for the same and Rock is in trouble. Back up and Rock nails the DDT before nipping up a split second later.

The Rock Bottom is countered but Rock fires off more right hands. A low blow breaks Rock’s momentum and Hurricane nails a Rock Bottom of his own. It’s only a delayed two though and Rock plants him with the spinebuster. Rock hits the second rope for the elbow but here’s Austin for the distraction, allowing Hurricane to grab a rollup for the huge upset.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t much but I’ve been wanting to get to this one for awhile. It’s a sad way to end Rock’s career as a main event guy. I know he was getting closer to Hollywood and all that, but this loss just ended any mainstream appeal that he had and he was lucky to get a supporting role in a B-Movie after this.

So we’ll mov…..wait a second. That’s not exactly what happened is it? Upon a bit more research, Rock is considered one of the biggest stars in the history of wrestling, went on to become a huge star in Hollywood and would headline three more Wrestlemanias (Rock vs. Austin was the main event of Wrestlemania XIX. It just was.), including one of the highest drawing shows in the history of wrestling.

BUT HE JUST LOST TO THE HURRICANE! Yes he did, and almost no one remembers it, because three weeks later he was hitting three Rock Bottoms on Steve Austin to finally defeat him at Wrestlemania before facing Goldberg and moving on to Hollywood, only to come back for a huge match at Wrestlemania XX.

The point of the story is simple: big stars don’t lose their star power by losing a single match. This was Rock giving Hurricane a huge rub for multiple reasons. Besides the pin of course, the key thing here was Rock SELLING for Hurricane. This wasn’t Rock destroying Hurricane and barely breaking a sweat before Hurricane got a fluke pin. Instead, Rock’s eyes were rolling back in his head and he was making the kickouts look like some of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

It didn’t really make Hurricane a star, but it was Rock not having an ego and putting someone over. Today, Hurricane would be considered the biggest joke in the world and would probably get beaten down after the match was over. Why? Because Heaven forbid someone new gets to look like a star thanks to a rub for a huge name.

We’ll jump ahead again to Hurricane in a tag team with Rosey. Here’s a one off non-title match at Backlash 2004.

La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey

This is what we call a filler match to bring the crowd back down. It isn’t even for a title. Conway and Hurricane start and the crowd goes almost completely silent. A headscissors takes Conway down and it’s off to Rosey. That’s really only so he can throw at Conway and it’s back to the storm guy.

Conway hits a swinging neckbreaker and powerslam before tagging in Grenier. Grenier puts on a powerslam and here’s Eugene. Hurricane tags Rosey as Eugene plays with the flags. Rosey misses a corner splash but Hurricane dives on both French dudes on the floor. Eugene runs the ropes but does nothing else. Eye of the Huricane gets the pin on Grenier.

Rating: D+. The match could have and probably should have been on Raw, but dang I always feel sorry for the people in this match. They know no one is really interested in seeing them out there but they have to go out and work a match anyway, which no one wants to see and that no one is going to talk about, but they do it anyway. This was fine and Eugene didn’t add or subtract anything.

Here’s a one off match from Raw, November 1, 2004.

Hurricane vs. Christian

This is a result of some sneak attack by Christian recently. About five seconds into the match, here’s Edge (I believe debuting Metalingus (the Alter Bridge song)) to promote his book as the match is going on. Hurricane has a headlock on Christian as Edge talks about how he doesn’t like Peoria. It wasn’t nice of those people to not vote him in at Taboo Tuesday but he’ll write an epilogue for that later. JR seems annoyed so Edge offers him a signed copy. The match is nothing and the camera is mostly on Edge during this.

The team would win the Raw Tag Team Titles on May 1, 2005 at Backlash. Here’s their first defense from the next night on Raw.

Raw Tag Titles: La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey

Hurricane and Rosey won the belts last night in tag team turmoil. Rosey gets jumped before the match starts and the fat man gets to start with Grenier. A Hart Attack gets two on Rosey and it’s off to Conway. Back to Grenier for nothing of note and it’s back to Conway. Rosey breaks free and it’s off to Hurricane. No one is responding to any of this at all. A top rope rana gets two on Grenier and Conway is sent to the floor. A side slam/Eye of the Hurricane combo gets the pin on Grenier to retain.

Rating: D. What in the world was the point of this other than filling in time? The answer to that would be nothing, as it was nothing but filler. These four guys were in the horrible spot on the card as they had to be thrown out there in between the major matches and had to fill in time. That’s a horrible spot to be in but at least they got on the show which is more than Hurricane and Rosey would do for a long time.

We’ll jump ahead to New Year’s Revolution 2006 for a bad choice for a match with Helms now a heel.

Jerry Lawler vs. Gregory Helms

This is more or less the same thing that they did with Hassan last year as they were just giving Helms this to get him over as a cruiserweight trying to fight heavyweight guys. Apparently Lawler said Helms sucked and he got slapped or vice versa, and I think it was the original. I love how Coach tries to act like he means something. The idea worked as I want to smack him already but then again I always do.

Helms is mostly dominating here so at least they’ve got that working right. In a funny line, Coach says he isn’t sure which chin Helms is grabbing. Helms pulls a Rock and does his own commentary in the match as this is going a bit long. Uh oh it’s strap time and here comes Lawler.

They say his fists are moving like pistons. That’s just amusing in general. Lawler shouts out piledriver and somehow Helms counters it. I wonder how he figured out what to do? And Lawler hits the middle rope punch….FOR THE PIN??? WHAT IN THE FLYING HECK WAS THAT???

Rating: F. Seriously, there is ZERO justification to put Lawler over clean here as this isn’t in Memphis. No way is this ok at all. This was a failure plain and simple. Not from a wrestling perspective but from a booking and thinking one. Helms deserves far better than this and it’s not fair to see this happen to him.

Better times would come later in the month at the 2006 Royal Rumble.

Cruiserweight Title: Gregory Helms vs. Kid Kash vs. Funaki vs. Jamie Noble vs. Nunzio vs. Paul London

Kid Kash is champion coming in and this is Texas Tornado rules and one fall to a finish. Helms is from Raw but is here because it’s an open invitational. It’s a big brawl to start and everyone gangs up on Helms. I don’t know if there was a delay of some sort or just a really bad sign, but there are dozens if not hundreds of empty seats visible in the lower arena, most of them opposite the hard camera.

Helms gets beaten into the corner but Kash pulls some other people off for no apparent reason. Nunzio slams Kash onto the mat for one Noble gets two on Nunzio off a powerslam as London hits a dropsalt for two on Noble and Nunzio. Wait apparently those red seats are stairs. Those are rather distracting and the seating structure is odd as there’s a group of about eight seats per row then another set of stairs as opposed to most arenas where there are about twice that many in a row. At least the place isn’t as empty as it seemed.

Nunzio hits a slingshot to send Noble into the corner and Funaki adds a bulldog for two. We finally get to the dives with Nunzio diving on a pair of guys, allowing Noble to get two on Kash via a leg lariat. Noble dives on Helms and Nunzio on the floor and Funaki is knocked off the top onto Nunzio and Noble. London kicks Kash to the floor as well and dives on everyone not named Helms with a shooting star off the top.

Back in and London loads up a shooting star press onto Kash but Helms goes up top at the same time and hooks a swinging neckbreaker to bring London down for two. A brainbuster from Kash kills London again but two guys come in for the save. All six guys are back in the ring now and Kash gets two off a Backstabber on Nunzio. Funaki can’t hit a tornado DDT on Noble and gets caught in a gutbuster for trying. Noble gets sent to the floor by Helms and Gregory hits a Shining Wizard out of nowhere for the pin on Funaki and the title.

Rating: C+. What are you expecting to find here? It’s six guys in the ring all at once and going nuts on each other with spots. There isn’t supposed to be any sort of story or flow to it and there certainly wasn’t here. It was the right choice for an opener and the match worked well enough for its purpose. Fine but nothing memorable at all. Helms would hold the title for over a year.

Here’s a title defense at Judgment Day 2006.

Cruiserweight Title: Gregory Helms vs. Super Crazy

Helms is in the middle of his year plus title reign and this is just another title defense. Crazy is part of the Mexicools here so he’s on a lawn mower because….well just because. An Arizona Diamondback is here. We get a Smokey Robinson reference for no apparent reason at all. Jackknife cover gets two for Crazy as does another rollup. La Majistrol gets two.

Crazy sends him to the floor with a clothesline and sets for a dive. Nick Patrick stops it so Crazy uses him for a springboard to dive anyway. LET THE ECW CHANTS RING!!! And never mind as a hot shot gets two for Helms as does a neckbreaker. Remember that whole “this is just a TV match” from the previous match? That isn’t the case here. This is the very different LONG TV match.

Suplex by Crazy gets no cover as we go back to more holds on the mat. Off to the chinlock as we hear about Crazy winning a triple threat to get here. No word on opponents or anything but I guess they don’t matter. Rollup gets two for Crazy as the fans are mostly deceased. Elbow misses for the champion and Crazy fights back a bit. For a guy named SUPER CRAZY he’s really not that insane.

Missile dropkick gets two. Moonsault misses as does the Shining Wizard for the champion. Spinwheel kick gets two as we’re totally killing time here. Helms gets about his 8^th neckbreaker of the match for two. Helms finally gets a snake eyes and rollup with his feet on the ropes to end this.

Rating: D+. Rather boring match here as Super Crazy becomes the Scott Steiner of the Cruiserweights. What I mean by that is he used to be good and at this point he’s doing nothing but living off past glory with the same name and one or two of the same moves that are signature things. Nothing of note here at all and a rather weak match.

And a non-title match at Great American Bash 2006.

Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms

Helms is Cruiserweight Champion but this is non-title because Matt is overweight. The fans are all behind him though so at least he has that going for him. Matt grabs an armdrag and it’s a standoff. They go to the mat with Hardy in control. Back up and it’s a standoff but Matt strikes a Hurricane pose to crack everyone up. Rollup gets two for Hardy. Helms grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two and control.

Another neckbreaker gets the same and let’s hit that chinlock. Matt fights up and hits a punch to the ribs of a jumping Helms. Russian legsweep sets up an attempted Side Effect but Helms escapes. He goes up and gets crotched so Matt tries a superplex. The more famous of them is crotched also so Helms hits a top rope swinging neckbreaker to put both guys down.

It eventually gets two as Matt throws his foot on the rope. Greg works on the neck some more and goes into a chinlock again. He shifts that over to a Pedigree position on the mat so he can ram some knees into Matt’s face. Back up and they slug it out. Side Effect gets two for Matt. Bulldog gets two. Twist of Fate is countered (probably due to him standing there before trying it) into…..uh…..the best I can think of is a Killswitch if Matt was facing up and Helms was a bit off to the side. I’ve never seen that before. Either way it gets two.

Shining Wizard misses but the second attempt hits for two. Helms sets for a belly to back superplex but Matt hits some elbows and OH MY GOODNESS THE HUMANITY!!!! Matt hit a moonsault press and I’m sure Helms is dead. I mean….the fat that must have just landed on him. Anyway Matt drops an elbow on the top of the head for two. Matt pounds away in the corner but a snake eyes drop into the buckle plus some tights are enough for Helms to get the pin.

Rating: C-. The first seven minutes or so were really bad but after that this got a lot better. The innovative stuff from Helms is always worth seeing. They were trying to make him seem like something more than just a Cruiserweight and it was kind of working before he broke his neck in May of next year and was out for about 15 months.

Helms wouldn’t do much for the next few months before undergoing neck surgery and missing a year and a half. He would come back in a dual role of ace reporter Gregory Helms and of course the Hurricane. ECW’s Paul Burchill wanted to prove Hurricane’s real identity, leading to a mask vs. career match on ECW, November 17, 2009.

Paul Burchill vs. The Hurricane

Burchill has Katie Lea (Winter) with him. Feeling out process to start and Hurricane arm drags him to the floor. Hurricane sends him to the floor again and it’s time for a chinlock. Katie trips Hurricane so that Burchill can hit a Saito Suplex to take over. Back from a break with Burchill controlling via a chinlock. Burchill pounds on him in the corner but Hurricane avoids a charge. They slug it out with Hurricane taking over. A Hurri-press and clothesline take Burchill down for two.

Eye of the Hurricane is broken up though and a kick to the face gets two for Paul. Another Eye attempt is countered into a northern lights suplex for two. Hurricane hits a rana for two but Katie distracts him again and a powerslam gets two for Burchill. A suplex is reversed into the Eye of the Hurricane but it only gets two. Hurricane goes up again but gets crotched. Burchill tries to suplex him to the floor but Hurricane counters into a swinging neckbreaker off the top for the pin. It was more exciting than it sounds here.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty fun match as Burchill kept getting frustrated but he never could put Hurricane away. The neckbreaker off the top was a big enough move to end things, but it felt kind of flat as it hit and that was it instead of building to a bigger climax for the pin. Still good though.

We’ll wrap it up there as Helms was released soon after this and has hit the indies since then. Helms is one of those guys that is a good hand at what he does and that’s all someone like him needs to be. He came up with a good character which hasn’t been done very well before and he made a good career on charisma and talent. That’s a rare thing but something i for someone to be able to do.

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Best of Motor City Machine Guns
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz, Don West
Host: Jeremy Borash

On the other side of the spectrum from the technical brawlers of Beer Money, we have the fast paced high fliers in the Guns. This is one of the most popular teams the company has ever had, but unfortunately just like the other set, a lot of great stuff happened after this was filmed. This actually includes a lot of singles stuff too. Let’s get to it.

Borash does a quick intro to try and tie this into the Beer Money part, even though it’s completely separate.

The Guns talk about how great the tag team division is in TNA right now.

Brutus Magnus vs. Chris Sabin

From Against All Odds 2009 and Magnus is issuing an open challenge. This is when Magnus was a Roman gladiator, based on his character on the UK show Gladiators. This was referenced by Tenay except for one thing: he never actually said what Gladiators actually was. That’s kind of important to mention no? Magnus easily shoves him down to start as the fans chant USA. They stay on the mat with Magnus holding a horrible armbar until Sabin fights up for a kick to the ribs. He escapes a gorilla press and goes after the legs until Magnus just ends him with a clothesline.

A delayed vertical suplex gets no cover on Sabin but a slingshot elbow has him in trouble. After a chinlock goes nowhere, Sabin fights up and nails a springboard clothesline for two. He tries to get too fast though and has his hurricanrana countered with a powerbomb. Magnus misses a charge and falls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big plancha. Back in and Magnus grabs the referee, earning him a shove into the ropes to crotch Sabin. Tormentum (a spinning Samoan drop) is enough to give Magnus the pin.

Rating: D+. That’s how you open a DVD about how great the Guns are? With a dull match ending in a loss? The gladiator character really didn’t do much for me and Magnus would be far more interesting once he just became a British guy. I still can’t get over this loss though. What’s the thinking here?

The Guns talk about having experience all over the world and how it’s made them a stronger team.

X-Division Title: Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young

Also from Against All Odds 2009 and Shelley is defending. For some reason they aired these matches out of order, meaning that this match was spoiled by the commentary in the previous match. Alexis is the villain here here and Eric hammers away to start before clotheslining him out to the floor. They keep trading places with no contact until Alex gets dropkicked off the apron, setting up a slingshot plancha from Young.

Shelley comes right back by sending Eric into the barricade, only to be sent into it as well. That’s fine with Alex though as he sidesteps a dive, sending Eric into the steel a second time. Back in and Alex kicks him out of the air before putting on a bow and arrow hold. A top rope knee to the back has Young in even more trouble as they head out to the apron.

Alex tries a catapult out there but can’t send Young anywhere. He can however duck a charge, sending Young crashing over the post. Back in and Shelley nails some running elbows to the face and a low dropkick for two. Off to a cobra clutch for a few moments before Young grabs a quick flapjack to get a breather. A discus lariat gets two for Eric but Alex hits a top rope jawbreaker of all things. Young’s Death Valley Driver is countered but he nails a springboard Fameasser for two.

The champ avoids a moonsault and nails what would become known as Sister Abigail for two. A standing Sliced Bread #2 gets the same and Shelley takes him up top. Young tries to counter but winds up eating a Mysterio sitout bulldog, followed by a nice Frog Splash for an even closer two. They head back up again with Eric countering something into a hot shot onto the buckle. For some reason Young stops to argue with the referee, allowing Shelley to grab a rollup to retain.

Rating: C. Not bad here but Young barely got in any offense after the first few minutes. It wound up being an extended squash with an odd ending, as Young didn’t even cover before he went over to yell at the referee for no apparent reason. It’s not a bad match or anything but it was oddly worked.

The Guns name the Midnight Express as their greatest influence and say they have to rely on their minds rather than their physical abilities.

Steel Asylum

Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Petey Williams, Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Super Eric

From Bound For Glory 2008. You should know who everyone is here. Super Eric is Eric Young as a superhero and is part of the Prince Justice Brotherhood along with Shark Boy and Curry Man (Christopher Daniels as an Indian curry company mascot). This is inside a big red cage with a dome on top. There’s a hole in the top of the dome and the first person to climb up and out gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Since there are ten men in the ring, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on.

Everyone goes after everyone to start with the Brotherhood and the Guns taking over early on. Shark Boy gets beaten up in the corner and then Devine gets the same treatment. The abused start fighting now as Sharky stomps on Johnny in the corner. We get a six man suplex with the Brotherhood all getting suplexed at the same time. Naturally they sell way too long for a suplex but that’s what you get in big spots like that.

Petey hooks his Russian legsweep on Dutt but gets pulled down when trying to escape. Curry Man goes up but Shelley makes a save. Alex’s climb goes just as well with Shark Boy leg sweeping him down. Super Eric drops Devine with a neckbreaker off the middle rope before Lethal and Dutt slug it out on the top rope. Curry Man takes Sonjay down with the Tokyo Dangerous backbreaker off the ropes. Lethal hurricanranas Rave off the top and Shelley adds a frog splash for good measure.

Eric hits a Death Valley Driver on both Devine and Dutt at the same time but the Guns stop him from leaving. The Guns take everyone down until Petey nails Shelley with a Canadian Destroyer. Shark Boy hits a double Stunner off the top to plant Shelley and Petey at the same time. The parade of finishers begins and Devine is the last man standing. Dutt gets up to stop his escape attempt though and Curry Man takes everyone down so he can do his dance. Curry almost gets to the exit but Dutt pulls him down. Lethal hammers Dutt in the ribs and climbs out for the win.

Rating: C. These matches are fun but they get really tiring after awhile. You can only see these spots for so long before you want some kind of storytelling or coherence after awhile. The match was entertaining but I’d much rather have like five guys in there at most. It would make things flow so much easier instead of being the mess that it was.

The Guns talk about not getting opportunities for about fifteen seconds.

Rock and Rave Infection vs. Kaz/Eric Young vs. Rellik/Black Reign vs. LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Petey Williams/Scott Steiner

From Lockdown 2008. This is one of the dumbest ideas TNA has ever had: Cuffed In A Cage. It’s an elimination match but you only eliminate a team by handcuffing them to the cage. I’ve never gotten Russo’s obsession with handcuffs but I have a feeling it’s rather disturbing. On top of that, we don’t even have tags so it’s everyone fighting to start. The Infection is a bad rock band (complete with Rock Band guitars) made of Jimmy Rave and Lance Rock. Before the match we see Young getting laid out by Rellik (Johnny the Bull) and Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) to continue their stupid monster feud, leaving Kaz to go it alone.

It’s a huge brawl to start of course and there’s almost no way to call anything. Steiner gets taken down and stomped by the monsters and Rock before they quickly cuff him. Eric Young stumbles out to make sure have TWELVE people in the ring at once. Thankfully the monsters keep him out because Eric is afraid of them. Young walks out and heads to the back, leaving Kaz all alone.

The match is still a huge mess where you can barely tell what’s going on, even with things slowing down. Kaz sidesteps Sabin to send him into the cage before cuffing him to the cage. Shelley gets cuffed as well, eliminating the Guns. Williams gets beaten up by the monsters and cuffed to the cage. This is almost like a battle royal as there’s nothing going on between these eliminations.

A Doomsday Cutter from LAX drops Rave and Hernandez just LAUNCHES him into the steel. Rock makes a save with a clothesline as Kaz hits the Flux Capacitor (top rope C4) to knock Rave silly. The monsters are on him almost immediately and LAX has been cuffed. So we’ve got Kaz, Rock and Rave, Reign and Rellik still in it. Rock and Kaz head up top with Lance chokeslamming him down, allowing the monsters to cuff Kaz.

The fans are screaming for Super Eric and get him almost immediately. It’s Eric Young as a superhero which keeps him from being afraid of the monsters. Young dives onto all four guys left in the match and quickly cuffs the Infection. So it’s Young vs. Reign/Rellik as everyone else is still in the ring, cuffed to the side of the cage. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a handicap match where you can barely reach the side of the cage? Rellik tries to cuff Eric but gets cuffed instead, leaving Eric to piledrive Reign and cuff him for the win.

Rating: D-. There was barely any wrestling, the match was such a mess because there were so many people in it, and the whole thing was a disaster. Young being afraid of the monsters worked if you didn’t think about it, but Reign and Rellik were pretty horrible in the roles, which didn’t make things any better.

The Guns talk about the idea behind the team: two bodies, one mind.

Steel Asylum

Sonjay Dutt, Curry Man, Consequences Creed, Shark Boy, Jimmy Rave, Kaz, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Johnny Devine, Jay Lethal

From Sacrifice 2008. It’s the same concept as earlier, meaning everyone is in the ring at once and the first man to climb out wins a shot at the X-Division Title. By the way, this is the fifth match on the set and the Guns have only been a team in the cuffed match, where they were eliminated first. This isn’t much of a Best Of set. TNA boss Jim Cornette comes out and offers the winner a spot in tonight’s World Title match due to Angle being unable to compete.

Again it’s the big red cage with ten guys inside at once so you can barely keep track of what’s going on. Creed takes Curry Man (Daniels) down with a flip clothesline but gets nailed by Rave. Sharky dropkicks Kaz but gets double teamed by the Guns’ speed offense. Sonjay’s piledriver attempt on Shelley is countered into a reverse powerbomb (that’s a finisher waiting to be made).

We get our first attempt at an escape with Creed going up, only to dive down onto Kaz instead. The Guns beat up Curry Man again before Sonjay throws Sabin into Shelley, causing Chris to DDT Alex when Sonjay takes Sabin down with a neckbreaker. It’s as stupid as it sounds. Back up and we get a ridiculous six man Tower of Doom, capped off by Devine hitting a hurricanrana off the top of the cage.

Rave stops Lethal from escaping before taking him down with a freaky spinning Angle Slam kind of move. Sharky hits the Chummer (Stunner) on Shelley followed by the Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) on Sabin. Curry Man takes Dutt up top for a powerbomb onto everyone else for a huge crash. Rave and Curry slug it out until Curry Man hits a top rope Spice Rack (upside down AA) as this just keeps going. Kaz takes Curry Man down with a Flux Capacitor but Creed stops him from escaping. Devine piledrives Creed down and goes up, only to have Kaz throw him onto the pile again, allowing Kaz to climb out for the win.

Rating: C+. The match is a total spot fest but man alive it gets annoying to have these big messes. It was like they were trying to come up with stuff to fill in time instead of having any kind of flow to the match. On top of all that, the Guns continue to barely be a factor in their own DVD set. What’s up with that?

The Guns talk about what it means to face Team 3D.

X-Division Title: Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Johnny Devine/Team 3D

From Against All Odds 2008. Believe it or not, this has a bunch of stipulations. Team 3D and X-Division Champion Devine have gone to war against the X-Division and if they win here, the division disbands. If Lethal and the Guns win, Team 3D has to weigh less than 275lbs to wrestle and the person who gets the fall wins the X-Division Title. Got all that?

It’s a huge brawl to start as you would expect and thankfully we go split screen to see most of it. I say most of it because there’s a huge AGAINST ALL ODDS logo covering the top half of the screen. Is that there in case you’ve bought all the PPVs that night and are flipping through the channels to pick something to watch? They finally start heading inside with Lethal nailing Ray in the head with a Dead End sign. The good guys hit stereo dives to the floor to take out everyone else in a nice visual.

Now we get the big weapons, including Sabin throwing in an inflatable doll. We also get the now clichéd kitchen sink, which makes West far too excited. Team 3D takes some sink shots to the face as Devine chokes Lethal on the floor. The Guns put sleepers on 3D and Lethal gets back in, only to take a double suplex from Team 3D, driving the Guns into the mat in the process. The villains take over with Devine nailing Lethal in the head with a keyboard for two.

Sabin saves Lethal from a big kendo stick shot and the Guns start speeding things up again to take over. High/Low gets two on D-Von but he pops back up to nail 3D on Sabin. Shelley eats one of his own but Lethal nails a springboard dropkick to drop D-Von. The fans want tables as Ray nails Lethal to take over again. Jay’s girlfriend So Cal Val is begging them to stop but Lethal flips Ray off, earning him a trashcan shot to the head. Ray pulls Val in as Tenay freaks out, because the idea of Team 3D attacking a woman is just sick right Mike?

Lethal saves Val from a cheese grater to the head and takes Ray down with a top rope hurricanrana. D-Von pulls the referee out at two so Jay dives onto him as this has basically turned into a handicap match. Jay’s springboard clothesline gets two on Ray and the Lethal Combination gets the same on Devine. A huge Bubba Bomb puts Jay down for two as it’s table time. Jay fights off all three guys again and blasts Devine with the Dead End sign. A Macho Elbow through Devine through the table gives Jay the title. The Guns weren’t seen for the last four minutes of the match.

Rating: C. The match was fun, if not TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I mean, I’m supposed to believe that Jay Lethal can beat Team 3D and the X-Division Champion on his own in a street fight? The Guns continue to mean nothing on this set, which is really starting to get old. Can we see them featured in a single match already? They certainly weren’t here, as this was all about Jay Lethal.

The Guns talk about Generation Me being younger versions of them. Generation Me (the Young Bucks) aren’t on the set but it’s nice to hear about them.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. No Limit

From Lockdown 2009 and inside a cage with the Guns defending. No Limit is a Japanese team comprises of Naito and Yujiro. No tags again here as we have to make sure everything is as big of a mess as possible. Naturally it’s a brawl to start and I have no idea which member of No Limit is which. I believe Naito goes up for a cross body but Shelley breaks up his second attempt by tying him into the Tree of Woe.

Hernandez yells at the referee as Homicide elbows Yujiro in the jaw to take over. Yujiro powers Homicide up into a powerslam for two. Sabin kicks Hernandez in the head but has his Octopus Hold easily broken up. Hernandez just LAUNCHES Sabin into the cage in an awesome looking crash. Shelley chops away at SuperMex but Sabin has to break up a delayed superplex. That’s fine with Hernandez as he suplexes both of them down with ease.

No Limit takes the Guns down as well but LAX runs them over like the generic foreigners that they are. A middle rope knee drop gives Homicide a two count on Yujiro but the Guns get back up to crotch Homicide on the ropes. They bust out the kicks on Hernandez before putting Homicide on his shoulders for a missile dropkick, driving both members of LAX into the mat.

No Limit gets back up and hits a kind of Poetry In Motion on Shelley, setting up a big splash from Hernandez. A middle rope dropkick to the ribs gets two on Yujiro but Hernandez easily blocks a sunset flip attempt from Sabin. Chris gets LAUNCHED into the cage again as Hernandez is just way too strong for everyone. Shelley gets Border Tossed into the cage but No Limit slams down both members of LAX with Hernandez kicking out at two.

Sabin avoids a swan dive from Yujiro and a corkscrew moonsault from Naito as the Guns take over again. LAX gets back up though and takes Yujiro down with a Doomsday Cutter. The Guns bust out the kicks on Hernandez and nail a sitout powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 (Made In Detroit) on Naito to retain the belts.

Rating: C. This was the first somewhat traditional match we’ve had on this entire set and it was only so good. Naito and Yujiro were just warm bodies out there and barely did anything for the entire match. LAX vs. the Guns would be a far better match, assuming you can overlook Hernandez not being a junior heavyweight.

The Guns talk about some international teams that they think would be great opponents, including Apollo 55 from New Japan.

Team Mexico vs. Team Japan vs. Team TNA vs. Team International

Team Mexico – Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Averno
Team Japan – Milano Collection A.T./Masato Yoshino/Puma
Team International – Alex Kozlov/Doug Williams/Tyson Dux
Team TNA – Curry Man/Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin

From Victory Road 2008 and this is part of the World X Cup, which was something like a World Cup for X-Division wrestling. This is a four corners elimination match with the winners getting three points, second place getting two points and third place getting one point. Also this isn’t the final, as there’s an Ultimate X match later on in the show.

Curry Man starts with Yoshino and eats a quick dropkick that might have just needed some sauce (I apologize for that joke already). The Guns quickly come in and hammer away on Yoshino, firing off some incredibly fast kicks in the process. Dux tags himself in to work on Sabin before handing it off to Williams for a running knee in the corner. This is moving incredibly fast so far.

An inverted Gory Stretch/Dragon Sleeper combo has Sabin in major trouble before it’s off to all three members of Team Mexico to clean house on Williams. Dux takes a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination before Guerrero hits a big flip dive to take out Douglas. A quick rollup gives Bucanero a pin on Dux as this ring needs to be cleared out a bit.

Yoshino and Bucanero fight on the floor before Yoshino throws him back inside for a double team from the other Japanese guys. Off to Bucanero vs. Puma with Ray hitting a kind of reverse sitout powerbomb for two. Mexico and Japan have an insanely fast sequence ending in Puma kicking Milano by mistake, allowing Averno to faceplant Puma down for the pin.

Milano flips Averno to the apron but gets kicked in the head, followed by a low superkick for two with Ray making the save. Sabin tries a springboard forearm but Milao Matrixes down to avoid any contact. Shelley comes in at the same time but both guys get taken down into a single half crab from Milano. Curry Man makes a save but Milano pretends to take a low blow, only to have a second referee say Sabin didn’t cheat. Instead Sabin kicks Milano in the head, setting up the Cradle Shock for an elimination.

So we’re down to all three TNA guys, Kozlov and Williams for International, all three Mexico guys and just Yoshino for Japan. Yoshino grabs a kind of double leg Fameasser for two on Sabin but Shelley comes in off a hot tag to kick Yoshino in the head. The Guns speed things up again with some hard kicks to the head for two more but Yoshino comes back with an Octopus Hold on Shelley. Sabin makes a fast save but Averno tags himself in to hit a kind of reverse spinout powerbomb (popular move tonight) for two on Yoshino. They trade rollups until Yoshino cradles Averno down for the pin.

Kozlov comes in to powerslam Curry Man but stops for his dancing kicks spot. Williams slides in for Rolling Chaos Theory on Sabin with Curry making a save. It’s Williams and Curry Man slugging it out now until Team Mexico double teams Curry Man in the corner. Guerrero throws Bucanero onto Williams’ back before powerbombing Curry Man down for an elimination. Guerrero puts Williams over his knees for a corkscrew plancha from Bucanero for the pin.

We’re down to the Guns for TNA, Bucanero and Guerrero for Mexico, Kozlov for International and Yoshino for Japan. The Guns dropkick Team Mexico to the floor but miss their dives. Kozlov tries to start a RUSSIA chant in the ring so Guerrero counters with a MEXICO chant. He might actually have a chance as this show is in Houston. Kozlov kicks Guerrero low and puts on a kind of cobra clutch crossface for the submission. Bucanero comes right in and faceplants Kozlov for two, sending Kozlov off to tag in Sabin.

Bucanero goes up top but takes a huge hurricanrana from Sabin, followed by a double kick from the Guns for an elimination, finishing off Team Mexico. Yoshino eats some kicks to the face as well before the Guns but out some insane double teams, including a dropkick into a Downward Spiral, for two on Kozlov. The Russian dives into a dropkick to the ribs and eats an RKO followed by a wicked clothesline for two. Kozlov is almost done but still grabs a rollup on Sabin with his feet on the ropes for the pin.

It’s Shelley vs. Kozlov vs. Yoshino now with Kozlov hitting a huge dive to take out his fellow Alex in a big crash. Yoshino fires off strikes to Kozlov’s face, followed by Sin Cara’s La Mistica mat slam for two. A kind of armbar makes Kozlov tap and we’re down to one on one. Shelley comes back in but takes too much time setting something up, allowing Yoshino to nail a dropkick for two.

A quick Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Yoshino but he blocks a Frog Splash with raised knees. Shelley puts him on top for a superkick, only to get caught in a kind of springboard spinning Zig Zag to give Yoshino a VERY close near fall. Yoshino says that’s it and takes him up top, only to take a top rope atomic drop, followed by Sheamus’ White Noise to give Shelley the pin.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but once they got going it was nothing but fast paced action the entire way. Some of those near falls were excellent and they kept the match moving fast enough that you couldn’t keep up with what was going on. Keeping it up for over twenty four minutes is very impressive and the match was a blast.

Interestingly enough, the rest of this DVD isn’t on the video TNA put up on its official YouTube channel and I had to find it myself. That’s rather odd, especially when the Beer Money disc was there in its entirety.

The Guns talk about singles competition and how it means a lot to them, just like teaming together.

X-Division Title: Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Amazing Red vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

From Bound For Glory 2008 and it’s Ultimate X with Red defending. Red is a guy that was around near the beginning of TNA and did some very impressive flips, earning the adulation of Don West. Don is now managing the champ and was known to climb on the announcers’ table and cheer for him. Sabin and Shelley won a match on the preshow to get in this match. Suicide is a video game character who started appearing on TV, portrayed by Daniels or Kazarian (the latter here). Homicide is part of the World Elite stable, which is a group of international wrestlers, led by Eric Young, who feel they haven’t been treated right.

It’s a mad scramble to the corners to start but no one can get anywhere. Everyone goes after everyone with Homicide getting the biggest advantage by taking down Shelley and diving through the ropes to take out Daniels. Suicide rolls the champion over and dives onto Homicide but the Guns work together to set up a suicide dive on…uh Suicide actually. Red kicks Shelley but gets dropped by Daniels, who goes for a climb. Red isn’t done yet and hurricanranas Daniels onto everyone else in the match.

Back in and Sabin busts out a giant swing on Red but Shelley adds a dropkick to the champ’s head to make it even worse. Daniels attacks both Guns and Homicide goes for a climb, only to have Suicide springboard up to the ropes and make a save, only to get pulled down into a Gringo Cutter. Sabin holds Daniels and Homicide for a top rope double stomp from Shelley.

The Guns continue their control by working over Red but the champion escapes a Doomsday Device with a Sliced Bread #2 instead of a clothesline and takes Sabin down with a hurricanrana. Suicide comes back in but Homicide suplexes him down. Homicide drops the champ and goes up but Daniels pulls him down and nails a Death Valley Driver. Red goes for the ropes but slowly comes back down for some reason, only to go back towards the belt until Suicide pulls him back down.

Now it’s Daniels and Sabin going up and kicking at each other while hanging in the air, eventually knocking each other down for a big crash. Sabin nails a tornado DDT on Daniels and Shelley nails a Sliced Bread #2 on Suicide. We get the Parade of Secondary Finishers, followed by Shelley, Red and Suicide hitting a huge Tower of Doom out of the corner with Suicide taking the worst of it (and kicking Daniels in the face on the way down).

Suicide throws Daniels down but Red kicks him in the face and gets caught by a corkscrew dive. Sabin goes nuts until Suicide kicks him off the top rope. Suicide goes right back up and hits the Flux Capacitor on Sabin, setting up Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels and Suicide climb onto the top of the structure above the cables and Red follows after them.

The fans ask them not to die so Daniels and Suicide tease suplexing each other off. They slap each other until Daniels carefully climbs down onto the X but Suicide does the same and they both fall with Daniels landing on his head. Tazz rightfully shouts CHECK HIM as Red slips down through the treeses as well and grabs the title before someone dies.

Rating: C+. That Daniels bump had me terrified when I saw it live and it doesn’t get any easier here. Thankfully he was ok for the most part. I can’t emphasize how much better this was than last year’s opener with just six men involved. It gives the match a chance to breathe and you can keep track of what’s going on. This was a good opener but the Daniels fall made it hard to sit through at the end.

What would happen if they fought each other? We would find out at Genesis 2009.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

From Genesis 2009 and it’s a tournament final. They circle each other to start until Alex grabs an armbar. Sabin grabs one of his own but gets kicked off and they nip up to a standoff. Back up and Sabin cranks on the arm a bit more until Shelley takes him down by the leg. They get up again and speed things WAY up with armdrags and flips into another standoff.

Sabin gets in the first major shot of the match with a kick to the face before cranking on an armbar with his leg around Shelley’s head. Chris sends him out to the floor for a big suicide dive, driving Alex’s head into the announcers’ table. Back in and Sabin drapes Sabin over the middle rope, setting up a Harlem Hangover into a Fameasser for a close two. They trade chops with Shelley getting the better of it before hitting a Lionsault for two. Off to an abdominal stretch from Alex with an additional arm crank for good measure.

It doesn’t last long though as Sabin tries Cradle Shock, only to have Alex escape and send him face first into the mat. That’s fine with Sabin who pops up and kicks Shelley’s head off for two. They slug it out again with Sabin knocking him into the corner for a running elbow to the jaw.

A big springboard tornado DDT gets two on Alex as Sabin is getting frustrated. He goes for another springboard but dives into a Crossface which Shelley spins into an attempted tiger suplex, only to have Chris send him into the corner for a break. Sabin snaps off the tiger suplex for two and White Noise gets the same for Shelley. Alex blocks a top rope hurricanrana and plants Sabin with a slam, only to have his Frog Splash hit knees.

Sabin misses a kick of his own and Alex nails two straight Frog Splashes for two. Back up and Sabin nails a clothesline and Cradle Shock gets two. A middle rope Cradle Shock is countered into a super Sliced Bread #2 for another near fall and Alex is STUNNED. He loads up another Sliced Bread but Sabin throws him off, only to have Shelley come up limping. Sabin checks on his partner and gets rolled up for the pin to give Alex the title.

Rating: C+. I liked most of this and the idea was decent enough, but the opening was kind of a stretch. The idea is that they think the exact same way, but there comes a point where it’s clearly choreographed and there’s almost no way around it. The rest of it worked well enough with a bunch of near falls, and they probably did the right thing with a shifty ending instead of letting one member get a fair pin.

The Guns talk about how the future is more important to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: D+. What the heck was that? I’m really not sure how this can be described as the Best of the Motor City Machine Guns when there’s a single match where they’re a regular team and the rest is almost all about them either in a big gimmick match or as afterthoughts in a multiman singles match. They said the fans picked these matches, which makes me think the fans don’t like the Guns all that much. This set needed to be released about three years later, when the Guns had built up a big catalog of matches to pick from. Like a title win for example.

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

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Yes seriously.  He’ll be debuting in 2015.

It’s going to be really interesting to see how well he draws now.

Thunder
Date: July 14, 1999
Location: Jefferson County Civic Center, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Larry Zbyszko, Mike Tenay

Oh joy. It’s a taped Thunder coming off a PPV. The good thing is we’re coming off the least boring show WCW had in awhile, though on the other hand it led us to ANOTHER Hogan title reign that only people with the last name Hogan actually wanted to see. That being said, I’ll take bad over dull, and anything that gets me away from Randy Savage in the main event is a good thing. Let’s get to it.

This is a Wednesday show.

Vampiro vs. Van Hammer

Hammer throws him around to start but gets armdragged down to space things out a bit. A full nelson doesn’t get Hammer anywhere but some kicks to the chest knock him out to the floor. Vampiro hits a nice dive but Hammer easily sends him into the barricade to take over. Back in and Hammer pounds away before kicking Vampiro square in the jaw. A big slam sends Vampiro off the top but walks around instead of covering.

Vampiro comes back with some strikes and a snapmare, followed by a kick to the back. This is going nowhere for the most part. Van takes him down again and stomps away because he really doesn’t have that strong of an offense. A chokeslam of all things puts Hammer down for two but Vampiro misses a top rope splash. That’s FINALLY enough to make the announcers stop talking about Hogan returning on Monday. Hammer slugs away in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Vampiro nails him low, only to walk into the cobra clutch slam for two. They slug it out again and Vampiro grabs a rollup for a fast pin.

Rating: D+. This goes back to the problem for Thunder: the wrestling is just ok, but there’s no reason to care about these guys. Yeah Vampiro is popular with the fans, but why should I care about him? He has one off matches that don’t go anywhere and has no story to speak of. On the other hand you have the worthless hunk of flesh known as Van Hammer, who isn’t going to make things any better.

Speaking of Van Hammer, he destroys Vampiro after the match. Really? THIS warrants a continuation?

Sick Boy vs. Rick Fuller

Oh come on now. Sick Boy now has blond hair and actually looks like a bigger Dolph Ziggler if he had a brown beard. Fuller drops him with a shoulder as Tenay says this is a proving ground match. A bad looking legdrop gets two on Boy and a bad looking sunset flip gets the same on Fuller.

We keep the dull going with Fuller’s generic power offense in the corner before he hammers Sick Boy down in the middle of the ring. Sick Boy scores with a lariat but gets choked on the middle rope. Another sunset flip attempt is blocked so Fuller puts him on the top and….very gently takes him back down. Sick Boy gets two off a spinwheel kick but Fuller puts him back on the top and hits a kind of powerbomb for the pin.

Rating: F. What a disaster. Again, it’s not even that the match was horrible, but they just had nothing going on here and I had no reason to care. The match is just SO dull and uninteresting that there’s nothing to keep my attention. If the idea here was to have Fuller look like a killer, it’s failed as much as….well almost anything else WCW tried around this point.

Steve Regal/Fit Finlay/Dave Taylor vs. No Limit Soldiers

This would be Chase Tatum, Swoll and B.A. Chase and Finlay slug it out to start and Chase is already about 847 times better than Swoll. The fact that he’s only a bit above average should tell you all you need to know. They trade some good forearms with Chase getting the better of it, only to miss a charge into the corner. Off to Taylor for some very quick shots before Regal comes in to get in some offense of his own.

Regal misses an elbow though and the hot tag brings in Swoll to clean house. We go to a commercial with the good news that Swoll hasn’t maimed anyone yet. Back and thank goodness it’s Regal vs. B.A. Regal works on the arm and drops some knees, only to have B.A. make a nice comeback with dropkicks and armdrags. The Europeans take him into the corner though and it’s European uppercuts a go-go with all three getting in a few.

Finlay misses a charge into the corner but Regal comes in to prevent B.A. from making the hot tag. Then for a change of pace, Taylor comes in to prevent B.A. from making the hot tag. It’s back to Finlay for the chinlock before it’s off to Taylor for yet another chinlock. Regal comes in for some brief hammering before it’s back to Dave, who misses the third tag of the match and finally allows the hot tag to Swoll. Thankfully it doesn’t last long with Swoll running everyone over and hitting his palm strike to the chest (called a Heart Punch by Tenay, who apparently doesn’t get the concept of a PUNCH) to pin Taylor.

Rating: D. The worst part about this is the majority of the guys out here are really talented and deserve much better than this. Chase wasn’t anything special but he was fine for what he was doing. Then however you have Swoll, who is basically the Erik Watts of his day. Also, it’s so depressing that guys like Regal, Taylor and Finlay, who could teach anyone a thing or twenty about wrestling, have to job for this guy because his uncle is famous.

West Texas Rednecks video.

We see the whole Sting/Flair argument from Nitro, plus most of Sting vs. David.

US Title: Bobby Eaton vs. David Flair

What is this, a theme show? Ric and Asya will be running interference. David actually takes Bobby down with a headlock before Bobby does the same to him, albeit much faster. A hiptoss drops Eaton and he looks somewhere between shocked and frustrated. Ric tries to give Eaton a wad of cash, only to have Eaton take the money and suplex David down. Asya comes in to block the Alabama Jam before taking his place. Eaton climbs down and yells at Ric, earning a low blow from Asya. The Figure Four retains the title.

Rating: F. I’m sure you get the idea.

Recap of Vampiro vs. Konnan, Miller and Bagwell’s non-match, Kidman vs. Regal and Stevie Ray saving Booker. Even Smackdown isn’t this bad.

Kidman vs. Mikey Whipwreck

This HAS to be better. Kidman scores with some headscissors and a dropkick to start, sending Mikey out to the floor for a breather. Kidman spends too much time walking around and not paying attention, allowing Mikey to pull him out to the floor. He drops Kidman across the barricade as Tenay prattles on about Hogan vs. Nash. Back in and Mikey works on the ribs and legs with all the usual submission attempts that won’t work.

Kidman fights back with a quick powerbomb but can’t follow up. Instead it’s Mikey getting two off a slam, followed by a slingshot legdrop. Back up and he tries a suplex, only to have Kidman shove him out to the floor. A big plancha takes Mikey out again, followed by a high cross body for two back inside. Mikey nails a nice springboard clothesline, but makes the eternally stupid mistake of trying to powerbomb Kidman. The faceplant sets up the Shooting Star for the pin.

Rating: C-. At this point I think I’d have given anything a better rating. Mikey continues to be about as obvious of a cheap shot signing as you can imagine as there’s just no reason for him to be in WCW. His work is average and most of the fans don’t care about him, but at least he’s not working for ECW right?

Video on Hogan vs. Savage.

Rap Is Crap.

Tag Team Titles: Jersey Triad vs. Curt Hennig/Barry Windham

Heel vs. heel here, but maybe they’re hoping the rednecks will be over as faces in the south? Kanyon starts out on the floor as Bigelow easily hammers Curt down. It’s off to Windham for a Starrcade 1988 rematch, with Barry doing just as badly as Hennig did. Page comes in which goes a bit better for Windham. A shoulder and lariat put Page down and it’s back to Hennig, who only stays in for a few seconds.

Off to Kanyon who eats a suplex from Windham before it’s quickly back to Hennig. Now, to really make this stupid, Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum Jr. jump up on the apron as Barry drops to the floor. Curt tags out to Kendall and drops to the floor, meaning it’s now Kendall/Bobby vs. the Triad.

So to recap, we have two heel teams both using an upgraded version of the Freebird Rule, but the team of heels that might actually get some face sympathy in this town is now cheating even more, guaranteeing that the bigger heel team is going to be less heelish here, somehow making them the faces. I didn’t believe it was possible but this company is somehow coming up with new ways to screw stuff up.

Anyway we take a break and come back with Kanyon coming in to face Duncum with Barry on the apron. Bobby drops Kanyon with a right hand but Hennig interferes for no apparent reason, allowing for a double tag to Barry and Bigelow. The others start interfering, allowing Page to hit Barry low to really take over. The other three guys are fighting on the floor, leaving Kanyon to miss a moonsault on Barry. Hennig comes in off the hot tag but everyone gets in for the double DQ.

Rating: D. For DUMB. This match was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen in wrestling and I can’t believe I actually watched it. WCW managed to screw up one of the basic core ideas of wrestling (good vs. bad) and couldn’t even have champions win clean in doing so. I can’t believe it but this company is somehow getting worse.

Overall Rating: G. This show is behind a failure. This was one of the worst shows that I’ve ever had to sit through, with Kidman vs. Whipwreck having the ONLY thing that was watchable. However, when you have Rick Fuller vs. Sick Boy, a David Flair match with Ric Flair stuffing money down Bobby Eaton’s tights like he was a stripper to whatever the heck that main event was to SO MANY FREAKING RECAPS, something like Kidman vs. Whipwreck is pretty quickly forgotten. This was a disaster and made me change my standard line from “it can’t possibly get any worse” to “dear goodness please don’t let it get worse.”

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

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Today is a guy that was much more awesome than good: Max Payne.

Payne started in Japan but didn’t really do much. After a bit on the indy scene, he was brought in to WCW in early 1993 with one of his first major matches coming at SuperBrawl III.

US Title: Maxx Payne vs. Dustin Rhodes

Payne is replacing Ron Simmons. Rhodes just couldn’t have been blander if his life depended on it. Payne is from the State of Euphoria which is one of the best hometowns I’ve ever heard of. The fans are DEAD. I mean no one cares at all and why should they? Every time I look up someone is leaving on the camera side. That should tell you a lot about this epic encounter.

This match is just boring as all goodness as it’s like a Chris Jericho list of holds come to life. Why do people think fans want to see this? Dustin Rhodes was just boring as all goodness athis point but his dad was booking so there we are. After over ten minutes of this mindless crap, Dustin hooks an abdominal stretch and Payne shoves the referee for the DQ. Really? Post match Dustin beats up Payne. This was awful.

Rating: F. What the world did we need to spend ten minutes on this for? You can have short matches you know. It’s not going to kill you. Also, MAXX PAYNE is the best replacement you can come up with? Was Arn Anderson too injured or something? Payne wasn’t much in the ring but he was almost all character, which would come out later.

Off to a better time for him, starting at Beach Blast 1993. This is fallout from Payne blasting Johnny B. Badd in the face with Badd’s Bad Blaster at Clash XXIII.

Maxx Payne vs. Johnny B. Badd

Payne is that punk rocker character that simply wouldn’t go away. I don’t think many people got it which doesn’t surprise me at all. He hit Badd in the face with the Badd Blaster to set this up. Badd is wearing pink and black feathers with a feather mask. I have to be very careful with my jokes here to avoid one of the bosses infracting me for prejudiced remarks. You know the ones I’m talking about.

He’s wrestling in a pink mask here because of getting hit in the face. This is idiotic. There is just a ridiculous number of empty seats. You would think they would upgrade people or something. Payne’s finisher was an armbar which was just odd as all goodness. Badd dives over the ropes to take Payne out. Not that we get to see it or anything but we’re told that’s what happens.

Just to show how stupid Watts was, Badd throws Payne back in and goes for a cross body off the top but has to step down a rope to avoid a disqualification. The problem is that Payne is about 6’6 so Jonny can’t get up high enough to do the move right so it’s more or less a shoulder block for the pin. I hate Bill Watts.

Rating: F Who thought that a guy the size of Albert should use an armbar? The top rope thing was just dumb and it was 5 minutes long. This was awful, mainly because of the booking. Seriously, you have a speed guy against a monster and the speed guy can’t use the top rope. Thankfully Watts was gone soon I think. Actually never mind as later on people use top rope moves and they’re fine. Badd is just an idiot and when Maxx Payne is the smart guy in the match, the thing just sucks.

Here’s the rematch at Clash XXIV.

Maxx Payne vs. Johnny B. Badd

This is Payne’s guitar vs. Badd’s mask, which he debuted after having his face burned by the Badd Blaster at the previous Clash. Payne pulls him to the floor to start and rams Johnny’s back into the apron. Back in and some hard elbow drops knock the feathers off of Badd’s boas. Johnny comes back with some clotheslines but misses a cross body.

Payne rips the mask off but Badd is wearing a second mask. A running clothesline puts Badd down again though and Maxx starts going after the arm. He takes a bit too long though and gets rolled up for two as Badd counters the Payne Killer. Maxx misses a middle rope splash and Johnny gets a cover for the fast pin.

Off to a tag match at Battlebowl.

Ric Flair/Steve Austin vs. 2 Cold Scorpio/Maxx Payne

Ok this HAS to be good right? Austin is about the level of Dolph Ziggler at this point and I’m pretty sure Flair is a face at this point, so expect more tension. BIG reaction for Flair. Austin cost Flair the world title about ten days ago. Well of course he did. Payne’s head looks a bit like Undertaker which is kind of weird to say.

Austin and Payne start us off here. Payne is a grunge rocker more or less with long black hair and metal band t-shirts. He can wrestle though, and we hear about Flair vs. Vader at Starrcade. The fans want Flair here, which is odd as less than 5 years later Austin would be the biggest star in the world. Scorpio comes in while Flair yells at Austin. For those of you that have never seen him, go find some of Scorpio’s early to mid 90s stuff as he’s incredibly fun to watch. Basically imagine Morrison with some meat on his bones and a lack of botches with the gimmick of just being awesome.

The future Stone Cold hits the floor and he still looks weird with a star on his tights. Flair comes in again and just owns all. We shift into a far more traditional and old school style of tagging with Flair and Austin making Scorpio the face in peril. Flair with old school heel tactics never gets old, but since he’s more or less a natural heel it doesn’t make him look evil. That makes no sense to me either so don’t try to make sense out of it.

Flair and Austin of course go at it which doesn’t last long. TEXTBOOK suplex by Flair. Just absolute perfection there. Austin with a top rope elbow of all things for two. He was a totally different wrestler once Hart broke his neck. In a stupid looking move, Scorpio just kind of falls down, sending Austin stumbling into the corner. Flair and Payne come in and Flair can’t do anything. A running knee in the corner misses and the Figure Four ends it to a big pop. That’s basic psychology and again it works.

Rating: B-. See, THIS is how you do one of these things. There was a simple story here of two guys making something work and just doing their thing on Scorpio while keeping the bigger and stronger guy out. This was a very simple style, but there is one important thing it had going for it: it worked. Best match BY FAR up to this point and likely of the whole show.

Here’s a brawl at Starrcade 1993.

Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne vs. Tex Slazenger/Shanghai Pierce

Payne is a grunge rocker while Slazenger and Pierce are big Texans with Pierce wearing a mask. They would wind up in the WWF as the Godwinns if you remember them. Cactus is fresh off a world title feud with Vader and is one of the hottest stars in the company. Payne and Shanghai get things going and collide in the middle of the ring, sending both guys staggering back a bit. Pierce takes him down with a running shoulder block and let’s stop to look at each other.

Maxx slams him down, causing Shanghai to bring in Tex. Jack gets the tag as well and they stare at each other a bit more. Cactus takes him into the corner but walks into a right hand to slow him down again. A boot to Tex’s head puts him down again and it’s back to Payne. Maxx hits a BIG clothesline to take Slazenger down as the match continues plodding along. Tex charges out of the corner and hits a kind of bulldog to take Maxx down. Off to Shanghai who is immediately caught in a belly to back suplex for no cover.

Back to Cactus who pounds Pierce down before charging into the heel corner. Everything breaks down and the Cactus Clothesline puts Jack and Pierce on the floor again. Slazenger goes over the top to the floor as well, so Payne backdrops the 300lb Jack over the top onto Tex. Back in the ring and Maxx puts on the Payne Killer armbar but Tex makes the save. A double clothesline puts the Texans down and it’s back to Cactus. He ducks a Pierce clothesline which winds up hitting Tex, allowing Cactus to hit his double arm DDT on Pierce for the pin.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t horrible and it was a step above the other tag match, but man alive this show isn’t doing anything well right now. These four guys are all big and mostly slow, which made for a dull and slow match here. Cactus was insanely popular though and kept the crowd interested in the match for the most part.

One more Clash at XXVI.

Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne

The Nasty Boys are Tag Team Champions but this is non-title. Payne has turned face and joined Jack in a team of strange looking human beings. Jack and Maxx are nowhere to be seen and still aren’t here after a break. They finally come through the crowd and jump the Nasty Boys to start a big brawl. Jack sends Knobbs to the floor and drops the elbow off the apron to the back. Sags comes out and gets slammed and elbowed as well.

Maxx works over on Knobbs in the ring as this is one sided so far. Jack comes back inside and hits a running forearm and it finally settles into a regular match. Jack and Maxx slam Knobbs’ face into the mat and Payne stays inside against Brian. Knobbs rakes the eyes and brings in Sags who walks into a belly to belly for two. Back to Knobbs who gets a boot up in the corner, allowing Jerry to trip Maxx from the floor. The Nastys take over with Payne being sent to the floor for a chair shot to the back from Jerry.

Back in and a double clothesline puts Payne down again and Cactus gets knocked off the apron. Payne comes back with a double clothesline to drop the champions and the hot tag brings in Jack. Everything breaks down and the Cactus Clothesline puts both Nastys on the floor. Back in and Jack hits the double arm DDT on Knobbs but Sags breaks it up with an elbow. Payne breaks that up with an elbow of his own and puts Jack on top for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not a terrible match here but they weren’t playing to their strengths. Payne was a good choice as a face but didn’t have a ton of skills to back up his character. The teams would wind up having some great matches when they stopped trying to wrestle and just went with the insane brawls.

Here’s the rematch at SuperBrawl IV.

Tag Titles: Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne vs. Nasty Boys

Naturally we get the big match intros which mean nothing here. Payne was annoying and not that good. Jack is of course epically awesome. Some very hot blonde is at ringside. I’m pretty sure Cactus and Payne are the faces here. They again try so hard to make someone, Payne in this case, a big deal and it still doesn’t work. The fans are dea here despite the company trying to push Cactus as a big deal.

Two to one says the champions keep their belts. Payne was one of those guys that never did anything but was supposed to be a big deal anyway. He’s more commonly known as Man Mountain Rock in case you didn’t know that one. Who thought this was a good matchup anyway? Cactus comes in for the hot tag to clean house and the match picks up a bit.

This is far less of a match and far more of a fight, which makes sense given that the second most talented guy in the match is freaking Brian Knobbs. HOKEY SMOKE Foley got knocked from the apron to the exposed concrete and landed on his HEAD. He’s got to have a freaking concussion. He has to. So the idiot Sags kicks him in the head. Keep in mind, you can see them TONIGHT on Impact!

They have to bring up Lost in Cleveland after that. That’s a story we’ll cover someday. Think of the dumbest angle you’ve ever heard of. This is worse. This feels like one of those bad ECW matches that they have a bad name for putting on time and time again. The rematch would be far better but that’s not saying a lot. This thing needs to end, like NOW. Payne gets his armbar (yeah that’s his finisher) on Knobbs but Sags gets a guitar shot to him for the DQ to end it.

Rating: D. It’s an ok brawl but a terrible match. The Cactus bump was great but just another reason why Foley isn’t going to know his name about three years from now. Still though, this could have been far worse but it was boring as all goodness. Why have these guys try to wrestle?

Here’s the last WCW match and Payne’s best by about a million miles.

Tag Titles: Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne

This is a street fight with falls counting anywhere so call it a hardcore match. This match is more or less epic as they more or less kill each other for about 9 minutes. I’m fired up for this. They don’t even make it to the ring. Well at least Cactus and Brian don’t. How weird is it that Cactus was probably the more normal of those two men? Cactus hits Knobbs in the face with half of a pool cue which at least isn’t metal so it’s a bit more believable.

They have two referees here which is smart for a change. There’s nothing here but violence and they’re living it up out there with it. This is a freaking war with the cameras having issues keeping up with it. Now I know I have a reputation for hating these things, but a few things to keep in mind here. Number one, the stuff they’re using isn’t incredibly over the top. There are chairs, trash cans, a pool cue (a bit of a stretch but not really) and various things they find in the arena.

There aren’t scissors or screwdrivers etc. Second, this is the culmination of a big feud between these guys. Payne and Knobbs are fighting in a souvenir stand in case you were wondering. But yeah, this isn’t just a random brawl for the sake of having a random brawl. They had built this feud up for months but it kept ending in a DQ. The story makes sense to end like this.

Third, these guys can actually work decent matches without weapons. I’ve yet to see Sabu or New Jack do so. Finally, there aren’t any ridiculous spots here to suck the life out of it. There’s no scaffold or whatever. They’re just beating the tar out of each other and you get the feeling that they want to kill each other. Good freaking night.

Foley was covering Jerry and Knobbs came from nowhere with a shovel (Jack’s trademark at the time so it makes sense) and just blasts the heck out of him with it. Sags takes the shovel and with Cactus on the ground, he just smacks the heck  out of Jack’s head with it kind of like a conchairto. Payne goes through a real table after it anyway, before it was a clichéd spot.

Rating: A-. This was freaking AWESOME. Like I said though, there were a lot of differences here that made the thing far better than your typical brawl. The main thing was the amount of brutal spots and the total lack of stopping. Watch this match as it’s just freaking awesome. This was brutal now but back then this was EPIC.

Payne would head over to the WWF after this as Man Mountain Rock, which was basically a more kid friendly version of Van Hammer. We’ll start things on Raw, January 30, 1995 in his debut.

Man Mountain Rock vs. Charlie Hunter

Rock plays his guitar before we get going. Unfortunately it’s not the awesome WWF logo model. Hunter’s shoulders have as much effect as you would expect on a guy that weighs nearly 400lbs. Rock hiptosses him down and drops a big elbow, followed by a big splash. A gordbuster ends Hunter quick.

Since that was his first WWF match, we’ll wrap it up with his last one, from Superstars on September 9, 1995.

Jean Pierre LaFitte vs. Man Mountain Rock

Now we get the WWF guitar. LaFitte is a pirate who steals stuff from fans, as well as Bret’s jacket. Rock runs him over with some shoulders and a clothesline sends Jean out to the floor. Back in and Jean avoids a charge, allowing him to tie Rock up in the ropes. That goes nowhere so Rock tries a slam, only to have LaFitte fall on him for two. The huge Rock’s sunset flip doesn’t work but he grabs a nice overhead belly to belly. He misses a middle rope splash though and Jean ends him with a swanton called Le Cannonball.

Rating: D. This really wasn’t much to see as the styles clashed badly. LaFitte wasn’t much more than a bad gimmick and Rock was way too fat to do much at this point. That suplex looked good though and he still had enough charisma to carry him through a bad match. Still though, not a good way to end his career.

Payne was a guy that was all character and very little in ring abilities. The fans dug him though and the WWF guitar was just freaking cool. He was much better when he was brawling instead of trying to have a match, but that still doesn’t mean much. If nothing else, check out that Spring Stampede street fight, which is considered one of WCW’s best matches ever.

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Today we’re looking at a guy who has been around for way longer than you would expect: Shannon Moore.

Shannon got his start in North Carolina in 1995 with the Hardys. Eventually they moved west into the Music City Wrestling promotion out of Nashville, including this match at some point in 1998.

Willow The Wisp vs. Shannon Moore

Willow (Jeff Hardy) sends him into the corner to start but has to chase Shannon around the ring, only to miss a charge and fall out to the floor. Back in and Willow does a strange dance, earning him a dropkick to send him right back outside. They fight over a top wristlock with Shannon flipping over Willow’s back a few times. Willow keeps missing a bunch of shots in the corner and Shannon busts out a top rope hurricanrana for two. Moore heads to the corner again but gets caught in an Alabama Slam.

Things slow down with Willow sending him into the corner a few times before planting Moore with the sitout gordbuster. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Willow dropkicks him in the back of the head for two. Back up and Mysterio’s sitout bulldog gets two on Willow but Moore misses a top rope moonsault. Willow loads up something like a powerbomb but Shannon rolls over the back into a sunset flip for the pin.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t great but this was still around the time when cruiserweight style wrestling was the hottest thing in the world. Moore looked polished out there (for the level he’s at that is) and the fans were getting into a lot of his speed stuff. Nice match here, especially for an indy show.

Shannon would head to WCW in late 1999. We’ll pick things up at Spring Stampede 2000 with Shannon as part of the boy band 3 Count.

Cruiserweight Title: Artist vs. Chris Candido vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Shannon Moore vs. Lash Leroux vs. Crowbar

No Evan Karagis for 3 Count here. I think they would split soon after this. The two 3 Count guys do their thing before the match. It’s a Suicide Sixway. The other guys run out and the big fight is on. Shane is on the outside and not in the match. Candido vs. Moore at the moment and I don’t think tags are required. Ok so yes they are. Crowbar escapes a DDT and gets a northern lights suplex for two.

One fall to a finish here. If DQ rules have been relaxed why not allow everyone to run in all the time? Lash vs. Juvy now as this is going to be one of those insane matches. Juvy Driver gets two as Artist saves. Daffney accidently hits a Frankenscreamer on her man crowbar and then screams her way out of trouble. We bust out the dives by everyone and everybody is down.

David Flair comes in and beats up Helms and Candido is crotched by Artist. Candido misses a swan dive and Artist hits an Angle Slam (called a Samoan Drop) and Tammy debuts with a chair to give Candido the title. I can’t complain about her in a see through nightgown and a nice thong shot.

Rating: C. This was your usual insane Cruiserweight spot fest but I could have gone for it being longer than 5 minutes. The non-high flying power brawler as champion is the usual bit for them and that’s fine. The title hadn’t meant anything in years so throwing this together is fine. Nothing great but it did its job I guess and we have a new champion now and he’s New Blood.

Here’s one of the only bright spots from the last days of WCW. From Starrcade 2000.

3 Count vs. Jung Dragons vs. Knoble and Karagias

There’s a lot to get through here. This is a three team ladder match but the winner is gets a Cruiserweight Title shot against champion Chavo Guerrero, who will be on commentary. I’m very surprised that we haven’t seen Chavo before this as he’s been around since the mid-90s and is a pretty talented guy. He’s also Eddie’s nephew if the name sounds familiar. I’m not sure how the title shot (which is for a later date rather than tonight) is going to work given that a team wins here rather than an individual. It might be a three way dance, it might be a handicap match or it might be whichever team member pulls the contract down.

As for who is who in this match, these six guys used to be on two three man teams who fought each other for the better part of six months without ever advancing up the card at all (nice job WCW). 3 Count is Shane Helms and Shannon Moore and they’re a boy band ala the Backstreet Boys. The Jung Dragons are Kaz Hayashi and Yang and they’re just Japanese guys. Jamie Knoble and Evan Karagias used to team with the Dragons and 3 Count respectively before splitting off and forming their own team.

You have to tag in this match for no apparent reason other than WCW doesn’t get the concept of a match like this. Shannon and Kaz get things going and head to the mat very quickly before slamming into each other and seemingly knocking themselves out for a second. The ever so caring fans think it’s boring because the guys might have concussions and therefore aren’t doing anything for ten seconds.

Back up and Shannon heads for the ladder but Karagias breaks it up before Moore can get there. Off to Yang vs. Helms but everyone says screw the tagging stuff and heads out into the aisle for the ladder. 3 Count pulls a fast one though and pulls out their own ladder with everyone else in the aisle. The Dragons make the save though, only for Knoble and Karagias to take them down and go up, but the Dragons slam the ladder down onto him. Yang adds a moonsault onto the ladder and the Dragons for good measure to get the crowd into the match.

Jamie and Evan set up a ladder on the middle rope before sending Shane face first into the steel. Kaz is dropped head first onto the ladder as well before Noble brings in another ladder. Knoble and Karagias get in an argument over who gets the contract, allowing Yang to take both guys down. Yang puts Shannon on the ladder and catches him diving into a gutbuster. Shane throws Yang to the floor and hits a BIG spinning dive to take both guys down. Kaz dives on Shane and Evan dives on everyone, followed by Shannon diving on everyone plus Evan.

Jamie goes up the ladder but Yang gets back in and shoves the ladder over, sending Jamie down onto the pile of guys at ringside. Yang puts another ladder in the rungs of the standing ladder, making a platform between the ropes and the standing ladder. Evan walks on said platform and catches a springboarding Kaz in a powerslam to the mat. Shannon dives off the platform to take Evan out before Helms hits a neckbreaker to take Knoble off the ladder. Shannon breaks up the platform and puts up another ladder so four people can climb at once.

Knoble powerbombs Shane off one ladder, leaving Shannon and Yang fighting on the top, until Moore hits a neckbreaker to bring Yang down. Jamie goes up but Leia Meow, the Dragons’ mistress, pulls him down. Even brings in a third ladder but Yang shoves him down to the floor. The Dragons load up a big scaffold using four ladders but get knocked down as another brawl breaks out. Kaz kicks Knoble off the scaffold but gets knocked down by Karagias. It’s Helms and Yang on the scaffold now but here come their partners as well. Shannon headscissors Yang down and 3 Count pulls down the contract at the same time.

Rating: B. There’s your match of the night right there. I don’t have to watch the rest of the show and it’s very clear that this isn’t going to be topped. That’s WCW’s problem at the end of the day: these six guys fought FOREVER and never got to move up the card at all. They never fought for the tag titles or a single title other than the Cruiserweight Title or anything like that at all. Instead they were tasked with going out there and tearing the house down while breaking their backs so that the “stars” could get the glory. That’s WCW in a nutshell and it’s a big part of why they went out of business.

Another match with the same cast from SuperBrawl 2001.

??? vs. Shannon Moore vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Yun Yang vs. Evan Karagis vs. Jamie Knoble

This is a 4 corner 6 man elimination match. In other words you have two in the ring and one in every corner and it’s tagging in and out in an elimination match. We get a clip of Knoble and Karagis qualifying beating a team called Air Raid. That team was comprised of Air Paris and Air Styles. Styles started going by his initials: A.J. You may have heard of him and yes, he was in WCW for awhile. The entrances take forever and the replacement is Shane Helms, making it ANOTHER combination of these six.

This isn’t for a title or anything other than bragging rights as far as I can tell. For some reason Shane being the partner is SHOCKING even though there are two other teams in there. Knoble and Moore start us off. Oh apparently the winner gets a title shot at Greed. Knoble can’t get a tombstone so they slug it out instead. Belly to back gets two for Knoble. Shane tags himself in to face Jamie and 3 Count gets some double teaming to take Jamie down but not out.

Everything breaks down and Moore is sent crashing to the floor. The Dragons take out 3 Count with stereo Asai Moonsaults. The Dragons beat on Knoble a bit now but Karagis takes Yang out with a springboard cross body. Yang and Knoble speed things WAY up and Knoble gets a neckbreaker for two. Knoble brings in Karagis and it turns into a brawl. Full nelson slam puts Yang down and Evan hammers away a bit but hurts himself on a back splash.

Shane comes in and beats the tar out of both Karagis and Yang. Yang grabs a rollup for two but Shannon makes a blind tag and some double teaming takes down Yang. Scott forgets that this is elimination because he’s not that intelligent. Everything breaks down and Kaz pops Helms only to get jumped by Evan. Shane gets a superplex to Kaz and everyone misses dives off the top in a cool looking sequence.

The tagging stuff has been thrown completely out at this point. 3 Count gets a sweet double teaming move to Kaz as Shane dives all over the place. Now Kaz gets a huge spinning dive as does everyone else. Karagis gets a big spinning spinebuster to Yang and then does his driving the Cadillac and talking on the cell phone taunt. Knoble and Karagis argue over who should pin Yang because they’re not very intelligent.

Yang botches what looked like a Lionsault and slips off the ropes. He settles for a neckbreaker to put out Karagis. Tombstone to Yang by Knoble gets rid of the future Resident Redneck seconds later. Knoble sends Moore flying to the floor and it’s Helms vs. Knoble at the moment. Moore gets a Fameasser off the top on Knoble and we have Moore, Helms and Kaz yet.

3 Count double teams Kaz as you would expect them to do. Moore gets a backslide and Helms adds a leg drop to Kaz’s exposed neck. That’s INSANE when you think about it. Samoan drop/neckbreaker combination kills Kaz but they don’t go for a cover. Moore grabs a Fameasser on Helms to be a jerk for two but Kaz kicks him for no apparent reason and hits the referee at the same time. Do they not realize this is ELIMINATION???

Helms beats on Moore but takes a low blow to put him down. Kaz and Moore beat on Helms before fighting each other. Kaz sets for a moonsault but Moore pushes Helms out of the way so that Kaz crashes. Nightmare on Helm Street takes Moore out and we’re down to Kaz vs. Helms. They fight over suplexes with Kaz getting a German for two (make your own international jokes). Top rope sunset flip by Helms is reversed into a BIG swinging kick by Kaz for two. They grapple a bit more and Helms gets a Vertebreaker to end this finally.

Rating: B-. The match ran nearly 20 minutes which made it feel long. Also the people not seeming to grasp the rules at various points hurt it a lot also. Good match and fun but the ending was never really in danger. And of course these people would keep feuding until WCW went out of business because having the best matches in the company wasn’t worth being advanced right?

Shannon would be on the last Nitro, March 26, 2001.

3 Count vs. Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman vs. Kaz Hayashi/Yun Yang

Winners get a Cruiserweight Tag Title shot later. Yang is more commonly known as Jimmy Wang Yang and a member of 3 Count is now Shannon Moore. Everybody does a bunch of flips and dives to the floor with no rhyme or reason to them. Yang sends Rey into the buckle and hits a huge corkscrew moonsault called Yang Time. This is under tornado rules apparently. BIG 450 from Evan Karagis but Kidman makes the save. For the finish, imagine Moore being in position for Orton’s DDT but turned face up. Rey hits a springboard legdrop on him there to end it. I didn’t skip anything in the description. It was really that fast.

Rating: C+. Entertaining match but at under four minutes how into it can you get? This was just to give the challengers a disadvantage against Skipper and Romeo later on. The spots were shaky but hey, it’s the last night of the company so who cares? Not bad but nothing we haven’t seen a million times before and better.

Off to WWE now, which we’ll start on Smackdown, August 29, 2002.

Tajiri vs. Shannon Moore

Hurricane, Nidia and Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble are at ringside for no apparent reason. Moore armdrags him out of the corner to start and nails a spinwheel kick for two. That’s fine with Tajiri who drops him chest first across the top rope and starts unleashing the kicks. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a superkick knocks Moore silly.

Back to the chinlock as the match slows WAY down. Moore finally gets up and nails a running back elbow followed by a neckbreaker for two. A bad looking top rope hurricanrana gets the same on Tajiri but he snaps off a German suplex for two of his own. Shannon tries to hit the ropes but Noble trips him up, earning a shot to the face from Hurricane. Back inside and a quick victory roll gives Moore the pin.

Rating: C-. Those chinlocks killed the match as they went on like a minute each. It’s not bad but this is a strange point for the division. It’s only on Smackdown at this point and Mysterio was just recently debuted, meaning the division was basically in a holding pattern until he took the belt.

We’ll jump ahead a good bit to Smackdown on December 4, 2003.

Big Show vs. Shannon Moore

Moore hits a baseball slide to start. That’s the extent of his offense in this match. Oh wait that was before the match started so the beating continues. Shannon fires off some forearms and has his head taken off by the US Champion. Show hits his step over legdrop which is called the Hog Log. Chokeslam ends this quick.

Another jump to Smackdown on October 21, 2004.

Shannon Moore vs. Heidenreich

Moore is a bit more punkish now and hammers on Heidenreich while he’s still in a straitjacket. We get the opening bell and Shannon’s beating begins. They’re quickly on the floor to continue the destruction before a gutbuster drops Shannon back inside. A Boss Man Slam ends Shannon quick.

Shannon wouldn’t do much in the rest of 2005 so we’ll jump ahead to his first match in TNA on Impact, January 21, 2006. Moore had been jumping AJ Styles in recent weeks so it’s time for a street fight.

AJ Styles vs. Shannon Moore

Moore is now the full on Prince of Punk and has stolen AJ’s Mr. TNA plaque. Christopher Daniels is in on commentary here and AJ is in street clothes. Styles hammers away to start and sends Shannon over the top to the floor. We take a break and come back with Moore being sent face first into the barricade. They fight into the crowd with AJ in control and backdropping Moore off a short balcony. Styles hits the required follow up dive as Alex Shelley is filming at ringside.

Back in the ring with AJ wrapping a chair around Shannon’s neck and sending it into the post. Now Samoa Joe comes out to watch from the stage, complete with a towel covered in Daniels’ blood. Shannon gets in a shot to the knee to take over but Styles blocks a Pillmanizer attempt. Instead Moore cranks on a half crab and Daniels throws in the towel to stop it, just like AJ did to him at Final Resolution. That doesn’t end the match though so Moore rolls AJ up for the pin. Did they really need that part?

Rating: C. Nice little brawl here with the storyline stuff overpowering the wrestling. It’s not bad or anything but Shannon could have been any warm body out there. Shelley filming the match (a thing that he regularly did) was another distraction and the whole thing was just overbooked.

Back to WWE at the 2007 Great American Bash.

Cruiserweight Title: Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Shannon Moore vs. Jamie Noble vs. Funaki

It’s a five man match but remember that this is a Cruiserweight Open, as in anyone can get in on this. Chavo is champion coming in. This is the dying days of the title as this was thrown on the card yesterday with no story. They did these kind of matches for probably a year. Hornswoggle is on the floor and hides under the ring. Chavo tries to run but gets thrown outside instead. This is one fall to a finish.

This is one of those matches where you can’t really keep up with anything so the whole thing is pretty all over the place. Chavo comes back in and Cole talks about his Latina wife. Shannon gets two on Chavo but Funaki hits a cross body onto both of them for a combined two. Powerslam gets two for Noble but Chavo breaks it up again. Chavo hooks some freaky rollup on Yang and transitions into a half crab but it gets broken up by Funaki.

Moore slams Funaki into the buckle HARD. Noble vs. Moore now. Make that Noble vs. Funaki. See what I mean about how there’s no point in trying to call this? Funaki gets an enziguri for two on Moore. Gory Bomb to Funaki gets two for the champ. Almost everyone goes to the floor so Yang sets for a dive. Chavo stops it and it’s Tower of Doom time. Noble is down and here’s Horny to come off the top with a Tadpole Splash to win the title.

Rating: C-. Like I said there’s only so much you can do in these. The ending is totally legal when you think about it: he’s certainly small enough and it was an Open so anyone can enter at any time right? This wasn’t anything great but it was very clear that the title was done. And no it wasn’t Horny that killed it. The belt was long since dead.

From Smackdown, August 5, 2008.

Shannon Moore/Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Edgeheads

That would be Hawkins/Ryder. Ryder cranks on a headlock on Yang to start but eats a dropkick for two. Off to Hawkins who eats a chop, only to have Ryder offer a distraction so Curt can knock Yang to the floor. The heels take over on Yang’s arm with Ryder getting two off a hammerlock slam. Hawkins charges into a boot in the corner though and the ice cold tag brings in Moore. Shannon speeds things up but the numbers get the better of him with Hawkins hitting a reverse inverted DDT for the pin.

Rating: D. This was just a step above a squash without much to see. Hawkins and Ryder weren’t the best team in the world but they were fine for a midcard role like this. I kind of like the idea of them being superfans of Edge and dressing like him, but you would think they would use his in ring style a bit more.

After several more months of nothing, it was back to TNA in 2010, including this match at Lockdown that year.

X Division Title: Homicide vs. Kazarian vs. Shannon Moore

If Moore wins, this show sucks. They should have just gone with a one on one number one contenders match but I can go with this I guess. No belt here since it’s in Europe I guess. I’d bet on that being used in an angle which would make sense at least. They double team Homicide to start. Apparently they don’t take kindly to qualifiers in these here parts.

Taz points out that he’s a former wrestler. That’s a good thing actually as a lot of people might not know that actually. If you started watching post 2002-03, you’ve likely never seen a Taz match. Homicide hits Eddie’s triple suplex. Scratch that as he doesn’t get through the trio.

Homicide hits a SICK double Diamond Cutter off the top but can’t get the pin. Nice spot there. Taz says he opened up a can, causing he and Tenay to laugh like idiots. Ok then. We hit the near fall portion as everyone is making saves. It’s clichéd but it still works incredibly well. Pretty solid stuff so far in here. After a near Gringo Killer, Kaz hooks more or less a reverse piledriver for the pin. He had Homicide on his back and dropped down. That was sweet.

Rating: B+. Solid stuff here and it worked very well. There was nothing epic about it but nothing bad here at all. The absence of Williams hurt but you can’t fault them for that. I liked it pretty well and so did the crowd. Yeah I’m bumping this up to a higher grade due to the crowd alone.

From Bound For Glory 2010 with Moore as part of the tattooed Ink Inc.

Orlando Jordan/Eric Young vs. Ink Inc.

Ink Inc. is a tattooed team comprised of Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal. This is the result of an Xplosion match and Eric is carrying a rulebook and has drawn on tattoos for some reason. Oh this is during Young’s latest crazy period. Jordan and Jesse get things going but Young quickly puts the referee on the apron and takes his place. Things settle down and Jesse gets two off a spinning cross body and it’s off to Shannon for a kick to the face and two.

Young comes in and gets rolled up for two so he congratulates Shannon for his success. He high fives everyone, including a tag to Jordan. Ink Inc. kicks Jordan in the corner and Eric wants to join in, only to get crotched on the top rope. Jordan gets crotched right along with him as comedy abounds. Back in and Orlando grinds on Shannon before planting him with a spinebuster. The fans want Eric but get a Jordan suplex for two on Moore.

Young breaks up Jordan’s cheating to give Moore another two count and now Orlando doesn’t want to tag. Instead Jordan nails Jesse and holds Moore open for a cheap shot but Eric goes over and takes Jesse’s place on the apron. Moore tags Eric in because why not and Young cleans house on Jordan. In the confusing, Shannon loads Jordan up in a fireman’s carry so Neal can hit a top rope neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: D. If you like Eric Young’s comedy, this was gold. If you’re like me and he makes you want to pound a rusty spike into your eye, this was the longest eight and a half minutes of your life. I will however give him this: at least this was something different than the same four things he would do for years on end.

Back inside the cage at Lockdown 2011.

Ink Inc vs. Scott Steiner/Crimson vs. Orlando Jordan/Eric Young vs. British Invasion

Jordan’s outfit of the night is a Tarzan leopard print kind of deal. I think this is one fall to a finish. Young vs. Neal to start us off with Young immediately trying to escape which isn’t an option for winning. Neal with some arm drags followed by Young with an arm drag leading to a standoff. Moore comes in and takes over with basic heel stuff.

Williams and Jordan get tags at the same time and it’s off to Magnus very quickly. Jordan does various dirty things to Magnus while beating both Brits up. Off to Neal again as this is moving too fast, namely due to having too many people in the match again. The Brits beat down Neal for a bit and a double back elbow gets two. Double neckbreaker gets no count as Moore makes the save.

The crowd wants Steiner so we keep going with Neal vs. Magnus because the crowd wasn’t quite dead enough. Neal breaks free and tags Crimson when he was wide open to tag either. After Crimson beats on Williams for a bit we FINALLY get Steiner and a roar. Steiner cleans house with his traditional stuff, including belly to bellies all around. He goes for the pin on Williams but Moore distracts him.

Young tries to jump Steiner and Crimson is fine with his partner fighting off four or five guys. Shannon makes a blind tag to bring himself in. He dances around Scott and then chokes away in the corner. Young takes his pants off to reveal some tiny tiger print tights. And so much for that as a jumping back elbow takes him down.

Everything breaks down as Moore hits a moonsault press to Williams, Young hits the Gender Bender to Young, Crimson hits Red Alert to Jordan, Magnus hits….something like a Michinoku Driver to Jordan, Steiner hits a t–bone on Magnus, Young hits a missile dropkick to Steiner….and then tries to escape again. Rolling Chaos to Moore is blocked and the Mooregasm ends Williams and gives Ink Inc the win. I give up.

Rating: D. Dudes, I beg of you: GIVE THE FANS SOMETHING TO CHEER FOR! Steiner was over beyond belief and was in the match for all of a minute. The opening 45 minutes of this show should be a lesson in how to kill a crowd. Nothing has been interesting and the best match has been ok at best. Well done TNA: you’ve proven me right so far.

From Turning Point 2011 for a title shot.

Tag Titles: Mexican America vs. Ink Inc.

Ok so it’s a six person tag with Sarita and Toxxine or whatever her name is in as well. This was about a beating that injured Neal from like 6 months ago which is being mentioned now because we’ve had too much to talk about since then. Anarquia vs. Moore gets us going but it’s off to Neal quickly. Jesse and Hernandez get in each others’ faces and yell at each other a lot as the fans chant USA. I’m assuming it’s for Ink Inc, but the Mexicans are Americans so who knows?

The big showdown goes nowhere and it’s back to Moore who gets caught by the power game for a bit. Ink Inc speeds things up and it’s off to Anarquia. Boring stuff so far and we have a Pork sign in the front row. Tazz praises Sarita for jumping up and down on the apron like he’s a 12 year old trying to sound mature. Off to Neal who gets caught by a slingshot shoulder by Hernandez.

Mexican America takes over on Neal as I’m trying to imagine Ricky Morton with that kind of hair. It really isn’t working. Off to a chinlock by Anarquia for a bit of rest. Some SuperMex power double teaming doesn’t work as Anarquia misses his assisted dive. Neal tags in the chick and it’s Toxxine vs. Sarita. The tattoed chick dominates until Hernandez makes the save and things break down.

We get to the comedy of the match as Toxxine and Neal pulls Anarquia’s pants down to show the involuntary tattoo back there. And then Sarita hits Toxxine in the back with the belt for the pin at 8:34. You know, because they haven’t made the titles even more worthless already. Didn’t they have something to do with Hulk for like fifteen minutes?

Rating: D+. Whatever here as this is what we waited for since June or however long its been? The match wasn’t anything good and the girls added nothing to it at all. Oh and the forced tattoo thing was pointless too as well as not funny. They couldn’t get five minutes to build this on Impact either? I don’t think it would have helped but the thought would have been nice.

One more singles match at Against All Odds 2012.

TV Title: Robbie E vs. Shannon Moore

…..REALLY? They have all these people on their roster that can’t get on TV at all and they pick Shannon Moore? Well at least it’s not Eric Young. Shannon armdrags Robbie around and Rob tries to take a walk. Robbie uses his usual basic offense as Moore tries to speed things up. JB talks about going clubbing with Robbie in Topeka, Kansas. Robbie knocks him through the ropes and into the barricade to take over. Back inside we hit the chinlock which is quickly broken.

Shannon keeps trying to go up but Robbie stays on him. Moore makes his comeback and a bulldog gets two. Out to the floor and an Asai Moonsault puts the champion down. Back in and I think Moore spits at Big Rob. Moonsault press misses and a clothesline gets two for the champ. Robbie goes up but gets crotched and a top rope rana gets a near fall. O’Connor Roll gets two but Robbie kicks out, sending Shannon into a right hand from Big Rob. An inverted DDT keeps the title on Robbie at 9:25.

Rating: C. This got a lot better as things sped up, but I could pop in a Best of Robbie E DVD if I ever need help sleeping. He’s so boring on offense and I have no idea why this was given ten minutes. I’d assume it has something to do with the time being short, but if not then they need help. This did improve as it went along though.

Moore is a guy that I never really cared for, but I think that had more to do with his punk character than his in ring abilities. He’s a perfectly fine cruiserweight style guy and had some decent performances over the years. On top of that, I’ve heard nothing but good things about him as he’s supposed to be one of the nicest guys in wrestling.

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

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Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

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Smackdown
Date: December 5, 2014
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re getting close to TLC and we have most of the card set already. Naturally most of it is just pairings from the Survivor Series main event split off into singles matches with gimmicks attached. The violence and carnage at the pay per view is usually enough to carry it over the weak stories so hopefully it works again this year. Let’s get to it.

Recap of the main story from Raw with Cena vs. Rollins in a tables match being set for TLC and all the brawling between the Survivor Series teams.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper

Harper is defending of course. The champ sends him into the corner to start but Dolph hammers away with shots to the jaw. That’s fine with Luke as he picks Dolph up and drives him into the corner again. Ziggler tries the same sunset flip that pinned Luke on Monday but only gets two and a boot on his throat for his efforts. A quick neckbreaker gets two for Ziggler but Harper blocks the running DDT and just drills him with an elbow to the face.

Harper doesn’t want his leg to feel left out so he nails a big boot to send Ziggler to the floor and us to a break. Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and sending Luke shoulder first into the post. Harper counters another neckbreaker but misses the big boot and eats the running DDT for two more.

Now it’s Dolph missing a kick of his own and walking into a superkick from the champ. The Fameasser gets two more as the trading continues. Ziggler gets two each off a high cross body, sunset flip out of a powerbomb and superkick as frustration is setting in. Harper has had enough though and kicks Dolph low for the DQ at 10:10.

Rating: C+. I still like their matches as they’re playing the power vs. speed dynamic very well, but they’re starting to do the same match over and over again. On top of that, it’s hard to believe that the title is going to change hands before TLC, which makes the near falls a bit harder to get behind. Still entertaining though.

Post match Harper pulls in a ladder and loads up a powerbomb, but you can’t powerbomb Kidman. In this case you can’t powerbomb Ziggler either as he faceplants Luke into the ladder. Harper rolls outside so Dolph pelts the ladder at his head in a big crash. Santino comes out and makes the obvious ladder match at TLC because the power makes him feel like Oprah.

Here’s what’s left of the Authority, complete with Big Show, with something to say. Rollins says he hates Christmas but can’t wait for the annual demolition derby known as TLC. In nine days, he gets to face your hero John Cena in a tables match with Cena’s future title shot on the line.

Rollins is excited by taking away the only thing Cena cares about, because he doesn’t have to make Cena tap out or pin him, even though he could (Sheamus used nearly the exact same line in 2009). All he has to do is drive Cena through a table, but more than just a table is going to be broken. Rollins is going to have tables everywhere and Cena is going to get beaten up, plus a lot of splinters. Uh….right Seth.

Anyway, Big Show says he’s been here for a long time and had all kinds of matches. However, this is going to be his first steel stairs match. He heads outside and bangs the steps into the post a few times and promises to do much worse to Rowan. Kane wants to talk about his chairs match with Ryback, where Ryback will be fed chair after chair after chair. Cue Santino to make our tag match main event: Rollins/Big Show vs. Ryback/Rowan.

We recap the Miz/Naomi/Jimmy Uso stuff from Monday. Miz apologized to Jimmy on Main Event and asked if Jimmy was mad that Miz could do more for Naomi’s career than Jimmy ever could.

Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs. New Day

Woods/Kingston here. Woods tags out less than five seconds in so Kofi can sunset flip Cesaro for two. Cesaro drives Kofi into the corner so Kidd can hammer him down. Kingston easily fights out of a chinlock and cleans house, including the Boom Drop on Tyson. Trouble in Paradise misses but the SOS gets two. Everything breaks down and a Demolition Decapitator with a Woods top rope stomp instead of an Ax elbow is good for the pin on Kidd at 2:45.

New Day celebrates when the Dusts pop up on screen. Stardust wants to know why the three of them are thinking this will be any different when they’ve tried the same things over and over again. They’re heading for a black hole (seriously) where light can never escape. The positive message means nothing to Goldust and there will be no new day. Woods says darkness will not prevail because there is no force in the cosmos that can hold them back. Kofi says the New Day is about unity and they’ll take the Dusts on any time. Big E. goes into full on preacher mode and promises to make them feel the power of the New Day.

Naomi is very happy with a bouquet of flowers. She thanks Jimmy for them but he didn’t send her any flowers. Apparently she never thought to read the card because they’re an apology from Miz. Jimmy smashes the vase.

We get a clip from Main Event with Swagger making it his mission to take the US Title from Rusev.

Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev

Non-title. Before the match, Dean says he really enjoyed destroying the rocking chair on Monday. Maybe Bray’s grandmother used to read Baby Bray stories from that chair. Or maybe he just saw it at Cracker Barrel and liked it. Not that it matters because at TLC, Dean is going to break Wyatt into more pieces than he broke that chair. Lana and Rusev come out with the blonde saying the match won’t be happening, thanks to Jack Swagger.

We see a clip from Raw of Swagger going after Rusev, which Lana calls persecution. Rusev promises to snap every bone in Jack’s body, just like he did to Zeb Colter. Dean tells Lana to stop with the flirtatious eyes because he’s going to fight the Russian. He goes after Rusev but gets jumped from behind by Wyatt. Dean fights back as Bray goes to get a chair but Wyatt sends him into the steps. He gets the chair and puts it against Dean’s throat before driving the chair into the steps. Medics check on Dean as Bray has a disturbing smile on his face. Ambrose does a stretcher job.

Jey Uso vs. Miz

Before the match, Miz wants to know what’s up with Jimmy. Is he really that insecure and jealous? Miz is just trying to pass along the kind of help that made people like Kate Upton and Selena Gomez. The agent has been watching her on Total Divas and thinks she’s a star in the making because she’s hot with a voluptuous body.

The Usos come out with no special entrance and we’re ready to go. Jimmy tries to come in soon after the bell but gets ejected for his efforts. We get our first contact over a minute in with Miz driving a knee into Jey’s ribs. It’s already off to a chinlock but Jey quickly fights up and nails a Samoan drop. Mizdow comes in for a distraction though and the Skull Crushing Finale is enough to pin Jey at 2:25.

Brie Bella vs. Naomi

AJ Lee and Nikki are both at ringside with the former on commentary. We look at AJ fighting both Bellas on Monday. AJ: “It’s great therapy to punch a Bella in the face.” Brie nails a dropkick for an early two as Nikki sits on the steps and taunts AJ with the belt. A clothesline gets two for Brie and we hit the chinlock. AJ says she was Divas Champion for so many days that it was a common law marriage. Naomi tries what looked to be Rey Mysterio’s sitout bulldog but Brie falls backwards instead. AJ prevents Nikki from interfering and Naomi rolls Brie up for the pin at 2:34.

Santino is in the back, talking about how hard it is to be in charge. If anyone understands what that means, it’s….the Bunny. Apparently Santino’s grandmother calls him at 3am to ask him how to fix the clock on the microwave.

Rollins and Show are ready for their match thanks to a Kane pep talk. Show says they’re not friends but he needs to get through this match to get to TLC.

Ryback/Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins/Big Show

Rowan and Rollins get things going with Seth being launched across the ring. Rollins bails to the corner but actually doesn’t tag. Rowan does though as it’s Ryback’s turn to hammer away in the corner. He misses a charge though and Seth drives in some elbows to the head, only to be driven across the ring with ease. Seth runs him over again though and we take a break. Back with Big Show headbutting Ryback and elbowing him in the back of the head. Ryback fights out of a chokeslam attempt and makes the hot tag to Rowan.

Things speed up with Rowan nailing a bunch of clotheslines to put Show down, only to have the Stooges offer a distraction so Big Show can take over. We settle down to Rollins driving knees into Erick’s head before it’s back to Show for a snapmare of all things. A DDT gets two on Erick but Show misses the elbow. The real hot tag brings in Ryback to clean house, but Rollins counters a swinging Rock Bottom into a crucifix for two in a nice counter.

The springboard knee to the head misses though and Ryback powerslams him down for two. The Stooges’ distraction breaks up the Shell Shock and the knee to Ryback’s head gets two. Seth misses a Curb Stomp and eats a spinebuster, only to have Kane get on the apron. Rollins enziguris Ryback down as Kane gets ejected. The referee won’t allow a tag to Big Show that he didn’t see, leaving a protesting Rollins to eat the Meat Hook and Shell Shock for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: C. What is with WWE not letting Big Show or Kane do a job? You have Big Show right there and you have Rollins do a clean job instead? Anyway, it’s nice to see Ryback get a pin but he lost a lot of momentum at Survivor Series. The match was your standard main event tag without anything to make it interesting but it was a fine way to finish a show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was the run of the mill Smackdown with nothing worth seeing and very limited storyline development, but it’s cool to see actual stories in the midcard other than the standard stuff you see every time. Thankfully there isn’t much time left until TLC and we can get ready for the Rumble when things will actually pick up.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Luke Harper via DQ when Harper kicked Ziggler low

New Day b. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd – Top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination to Kidd

Miz b. Jey Uso – Skull Crushing Finale

Naomi b. Brie Bella – Rollup

Ryback/Erick Rowan b. Big Show/Seth Rollins – Shell Shock to Rollins

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/

Lucha Underground
Date: December 3, 2014
Location: Lucha Underground Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

I’m finally caught up with these guys but unfortunately it’s right around the time when things are starting to slow down. The stories are getting a bit dull but there’s still more than enough time to fix things before it gets too boring. The main story continues to be Mundo/Puma vs. Ryck/Cisco/Castro, while Cueto is still behind the scenes pulling the strings. Let’s get to it.

Big Ryck is in Cueto’s office and has just signed a big money contract. Cueto calls violence his favorite form of entertainment, and things are about to become a lot more entertaining.

Here are Ivelisse and Son of Havoc for a chat. She isn’t pleased that Son of Havoc has been treated like such a joke since he debuted here, having to face a woman and half a man so far. If they wanted to deal with this, they wouldn’t have signed a seven year contract to fight here. If this is what they wanted, they would be living in Nashville. Yeah yeah yeah, take those shots at companies that have actually been around longer than five weeks. Havoc issues an open challenge.

Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Son of Havoc

Escarlate is an exotico, which basically means cross dressing wrestler. Striker says Gorgeous George was something like an exotico, which is like saying Chyna and Miss Elizabeth are the same kind of characters because they’re both women. Escarlata hits a high cross body to start things off but Havoc isn’t pleased. Back up and Escarlata tries to kiss him in the corner but settles for a top rope armdrag.

They head outside with Havoc taking a flip dive off the apron, setting up a missile dropkick back inside. Ivelisse gets on the apron as Havoc hiptosses him into the corner for two. A backdrop sends Escarlata over the post and out to the floor but he avoids a cross body. Escarlata is favoring his shoulder as Ivelisse comes in, drawing in Mascarita Sagrada for a distraction so Escarlata can grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D. Much like the Sagrada matches, these matches may mean a lot in Mexico but American audiences are going to need someone a lot more competent than Vampiro or Striker to explain the idea. On top of that, the match was bad with some basic flips but too much going on to keep track of anything. Bad match and not a good idea in the first place.

Mundo goes in to yell at Cueto, saying he’s going to hurt him more every time Cueto sends Big Ryck after him. Cueto offers to pay Mundo off but Johnny takes the key from around Cueto’s neck for insurance.

Famous B. vs. Mil Muertes

Muertes jumps him before the bell before choking B. across the ropes. He slams B. out of the corner and the spear sets up the Flatliner for the pin.

Post match Mil holds Famous up for the lick from Catrina.

Video on Drago, focusing on how awesome dragons are.

Drago vs. King Cuerno

Cuerno immediately dropkicks him down and stomps away. He seems very angry but is nice enough to stand in one place so Drago can take him down with a springboard hurricanrana. The King slams him down though and nails Drago in the ribs a few times. I love how Cuerno stalks him like a hunter would. Those little things can carry a character. Back up and Drago kicks the knee out to send Cuerno to the floor, setting up a big dive.

The same chick from last week is shown watching from the entrance again. A running Blockbuster gets two for Drago with Cuerno grabbing the referee to break up the count. Back up and a rolling cradle gets two for Cuerno before he sends Drago outside for a dive of his own. Drago is done so the sitout AA (the Thrill of the Hunt) is enough for the pin.

Rating: C. I like Cuerno more than most of the people on this show but he needs to get on to someone other than Drago. It’s not a bad match or anything but it feels like Cuerno is just several steps ahead of him, which doesn’t make for the most entertaining matches. Good enough here though and Drago didn’t look bad.

Johnny Mundo comes out and demands Cueto come out here and pay him the $100,000 he stole at the first show. Instead he gets Big Ryck, who threatens to put Mundo through another table unless he leaves. Mundo dives through the ropes to take Ryck down before telling Cueto to get out here again. Cue Konnan, who says the money really belongs to Puma. Mundo’s actions have caused Puma to be attacked over and over so Puma will no longer have Mundo’s back.

The distraction lets Ryck nail Mundo, only to have Puma come in for a save. The good guys dropkick Ryck out to the floor but start slugging it out in the middle of the ring. Security can’t break them up so Cueto comes out with a briefcase containing the money. It’s supposed to be Ryck’s signing bonus, but Ryck has to earn it. Therefore, next week we’re having a $100,000 ladder match. Striker: “Dirtsheet quality news!”

Chavo Guerrero Jr./Pentagon Jr. vs. Sexy Star/Fenix

Fallout from last week with Chavo and Pentagon attacking Star, causing Fenix to come out for a save. Pentagon and Star get things going but all four are in a second after the bell. Fenix dropkicks Chavo out to the floor but Pentagon throws Star after him, leaving the masked men to speed things up. Fenix knocks him to the floor so it’s back to Chavo vs. Fenix with Guerrero slapping on a chinlock.

That goes nowhere as Fenix pops up and makes the tag off to Star to hammer on Chavo, until Pentagon trips her up from the apron. Pentagon comes in and chokes on the ropes as the heels keep control. Star finally slaps Chavo in the face, allowing for the hot tag off to Fenix. Things speed up as Fenix kicks him in the head, only to have Pentagon come back in with a quick powerbomb for two. Chavo nails a dropkick for two before Pentagon comes in for a double team.

Fenix nails a handspring cutter on Pentagon, setting up the real hot tag to Star for her revenge. Everything breaks down and Chavo takes over on Star, only to have Fenix dive into a double stomp to his back but get suplexed into the corner by Pentagon. Star DDTs Chavo down and hits a big dive out to the floor to take out Pentagon again.

Fenix backdrops Chavo outside as well, setting up a huge dive of his own. Back in and Star dives into a slam, setting up the “Five Star Frog Splash” (seriously, can we have Striker shot already?) until Fenix makes the save. He superkicks Pentagon down and nails a top rope double knee to the chest to give Star the pin.

Rating: D+. This is a tricky one as the match felt more like a lucha tag with everyone all over the place, but that takes away most of the storytelling that goes with it. The match was kind of a mess, though it was exciting enough to keep me interested. Star probably needs to win a singles match against a guy to validate all this stuff, but this was better than nothing.

Overall Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one but they’ve set up enough stuff going forward. The problem here is that most of the wrestling hasn’t been great, and at the end of the day that’s going to catch up with you. I like the main event story though as Mundo and Puma should be able to tear the house down, which Cueto and Konnan make things a bit more interesting. The ladder match next week should be interesting as well. Not a good show this week but there’s a lot to look forward to if they can make it work.

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

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Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

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Best of Beer Money
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Taz
Host: Jeremy Borash

I’m going to cheat a bit with this as this is actually half of a DVD set called Fandemonium, which focused on Beer Money and the Motor City Machine Guns. However, since the set is two DVDs and has nothing to do with each other, I’m splitting this up into two reviews. I think the title says it all here so let’s get to it.

We’re starting with Beer Money and a quick intro from JB.

Storm and Roode say they’re another team thrown together but the difference is they’re both career tag guys.

Team 3D Tag Team Invitational Tournament Finals: Beer Money Inc. vs. British Invasion

From Sacrifice 2009 with the winners getting a title shot against Team 3D plus a trophy and $100,000. The Invasion is Magnus and Douglas Williams with Rob Terry in their corner. Team 3D jumps in on commentary. Roode and Williams get things going with the fans chanting USA. Douglas easily takes him down to the mat and Roode is quickly frustrated. Back up with Douglas cranking on the arm again and taking Bobby down to the mat with ease.

Roode tries some power instead but eats a jumping back elbow to the jaw. Instead, Roode takes him down with a snapmare and the Hennig neck snap before Storm comes in with a Russian legsweep for two. Off to Magnus who takes some right hands to the head before throwing Storm over the top, only to have the cowboy skin the cat. Again I wonder who came up with a term like that.

Everything breaks down for a bit with Beer Money picking Magnus up and ramming him into Williams. Beer Money do their SHOUT OUR NAME bit before Roode backdrops Storm onto the entire Invasion. Rob Terry finally gets in a cheap shot and the Brits take over on Storm. Magnus stomps away as Bully talks about hitting the Invasion with a kettle while they have tea and crumpets. We hit the chinlock for a bit before James comes back with a Backstabber to put both guys down.

Williams comes in before Storm can tag though and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Douglas finally misses a charge into the corner and the hot tag brings in Roode. Everything breaks down and Storm kicks Williams from the apron, only to be pulled outside by Terry. Williams uppercuts Roode for two but Beer Money crotches him on top, setting up a super hurricanrana from Storm and a top rope splash from Roode for two as Rob makes the save. That earns Terry an ejection but Williams grabs his Feast or Fired briefcase, only to have Roode take it away and knock him silly for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: C+. Not bad here but it needed a little more time. Beer Money is a more interesting team than the Brits, though the Invasion wans’t a bad midcard stable with Rob doing well enough out there as an enforcer. Beer Money vs. 3D would be the best match for the division at this point so it’s hard to pick against them winning.

Storm talks about growing up on the USWA while Roode was always a big tag team fan.

Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Lethal Consequences vs. Matt Morgan/Abyss

From Genesis 2009. Lethal Consequences (Jay Lethal/Consequences Creed, now known as Xavier Woods) are defending, having won the titles less than a week ago. Beer Money has Jacqueline with them because she won’t just go away. Creed and Storm get things going but Consequences wants Roode and his bad knee. He stays with Storm though and nails a few kicks to take over.

Creed stays on Storm in the corner but James bails for a tag as Lethal tries to come in off the top. Jay no sells chops in the corner and nails a top rope ax handle for two. The champs start tagging in and out but Jackie comes in, only to get crushed between Beer Money in the corner. Abyss splashes all three of them and Jackie falls face first onto Storm’s crotch, followed by Roode falling onto his knees behind her. Naturally he likes it as my eyes roll.

Lethal Consequences hit big dives onto Beer Money before Morgan dives onto all four of them. It’s about time the monsters got involved. Abyss finally comes in legally but Beer Money breaks up a double chokeslam attempt and bulldog the big man down. A nice double suplex allows them to SHOUT THEIR NAMES to a fairly tame reaction. Abyss easily kicks Roode off and sends Beer Money into each other before crawling over to Morgan, only to have Creed tag himself in.

Consequences cleans house with a cross body and a double DDT for two on Storm. Beer Money comes back with a big double team into a swinging Rock Bottom from Roode for two. Storm and Roode both drop elbows for two and it’s off to Robert for a chinlock. Back up and a big spinebuster plants Creed for two before Storm comes back in, complete with a cowboy hat. James misses a charge in the corner though and Lethal comes in to speed things up. The fans FINALLY wake up and Lethal dropkicks Roode down for two before avoiding Storm’s elbow for the attempted save.

The Lethal Combination looks to set up the Macho Elbow but Morgan tags himself in to clean house. Well at least a room or two. Abyss comes in and no sells Lethal’s offense but gets kicked down by a flying Creed. The Carbon Footprint drops Creed but Beer Money plants Morgan with a Backstabber.

Morgan won’t have any of this though and throws Beer Money down, only to have Roode pop up for two off a Blockbuster. Jackie distracts the referee as the belt comes in, only to have Abyss knock Morgan out by mistake. Lethal drops the top rope elbow on Roode to break up the pin but Jackie WON’T SHUT UP, allowing Storm to Last Call Lethal to give Roode the pin on Morgan for the titles.

Rating: D+. This felt like it went on for about nineteen years and never really picked up. The fans treated it like it was even less interesting than I thought it was though, only waking up when Lethal and Morgan came in. It’s not a really bad match, but it went on too long and really dragged at points.

Beer Money talks about being thrown together and how perfect their name was. They came in when the division was stacked and took on anyone they came up against.

Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Team 3D

From Destination X 2009. This is an Off the Wagon Challenge, meaning it’s titles vs. TNA careers (only for whoever loses the fall) with Beer Money defending. Roode and D-Von get things going with Team 3D being the heavy crowd favorites. Roode easily takes D-Von down to ride him on the mat before driving a forearm into the back. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Ray who is taken right down as well with Roode walking over his back.

Storm (with a bad leg) comes in and hits a single right hand before posing like a boxer. Time for the standard dancing test of strength spot until Ray takes him down with a neckbreaker. Everything breaks down for a bit with Beer Money taking a beating, including a side slam/legdrop combo for two on Roode. Bobby saves his partner from What’s Up and a double suplex puts D-Von down, allowing them to SHOUT THEIR NAMES.

We settle back down with Roode hitting a nice dropkick for two. The champs start double teaming but D-Von sends them into each other, allowing the hot tag to Ray. We get the required Beer Money gay sex spot so Ray hits a big Rock Bottom for two on Roode. The Flip Flop and Fly drops Storm again but Bobby pops up with the Blockbuster for two.

Storm’s nice hurricanrana sets up the top rope splash from Roode for two more and the champs are getting frustrated. Storm spits beer in Roode’s face by mistake and the reverse 3D gets a VERY close near fall. They load up the regular version but Storm comes in with a chair for the DQ.

Actually hang on a minute as TNA boss Jim Cornette comes out and says this isn’t ending that way. He orders the match to be restarted with No DQ. D-Von heads outside and goes old school with a double noggin knocker as Ray steals Storm’s cowboy hat. 3D connects on Storm but Roode pulls the referee out. He picks up Storm in a fireman’s carry and leaves for the countout.

Rating: C+. This was good for the most part but the ending was rather odd. There really wasn’t a need for the second half of the match as it does the exact same thing that the DQ would have done. It’s one of the better matches so far and hopefully a sign that things are going to pick up soon.

Beer Money talks about how important it was to be in the ring with Team 3D since they were huge influences on them. Team 3D even gave them some tips on their matches, which meant a lot to Storm.

Tag Team Titles: Lethal Consequences vs. Beer Money Inc.

From Against All Odds 2009. Beer Money is defending and the video has an equation theme, mainly talking about how Lethal Consequences are really fast and want the titles back after holding them for three days. Lethal goes right after Roode to start but Robert bails into the corner. The champs slow things down and bring in Storm, only to have Creed (with a bad shoulder) dropkick him out to the floor.

Back in and Consequences easily slams James a few times before snapping off a headscissors. Creed ties Roode in the Tree of Woe and crotches Storm against Roode’s face, naturally sending Roode falling down on top of James. Much beer is consumed to clean out the taste, but Roode spits the beer on James’ face by mistake. Everything breaks down for a bit with Lethal’s back being driven into the barricade for two.

The champs take over inside with some elbow drops for two on Jay followed by a Backstabber for the same. Jay fights up but charges into a knee to the ribs to put him right back down. The champs nail a nice double superplex and LOUDLY SHOUT THEIR NAMES. Jay uses the breather to drive them into each other and roll over for the hot (not according to the fans) tag. Creed’s shoulder keeps him from throwing a lot of punches but he’s still able to nail a double clothesline.

A high cross body gets two on Storm but Jackie offers a distraction, allowing James to shove Creed off the top and arm first into the barricade. Back in and the champs start working over the arm with an ax handle and armbar for good measure. With that not working too well, Beer Money just hammers away in the corner.

Lethal FINALLY tries to make a save and actually beats them down enough to allow Creed to make the hot tag. Jay speeds things up with dropkicks and clotheslines before making Storm elbow Roode by mistake. The Macho Elbow gets two on Roode but Jackie comes in and takes a backdrop. Jay’s Lethal Combination gets another near fall on Roode as Storm can be seen loading up a chain. Lethal loads up a monkey flip but gets knocked out with the chain to retain Beer Money’s titles.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but Lethal Consequences felt like a team there to lose to Beer Money to make the champs look good. The three day reign really didn’t help them as it made them feel like flukes instead of a top team, but at least the match wasn’t all that bad. Creed’s shoulder injury really didn’t play into the match all that much.

Quick chat about how much it meant to beat Team 3D.

Lethal Lockdown

Beer Money Inc, Team 3D

British Invasion, Main Event Mafia

From No Surrender 2009 with Beer Money fighting for the forces of good. This is TNA’s WarGames for no apparent reason. There’s one ring and the two starters fight for five minutes until the villains get to send in a second man due to winning a match prior to tonight. That team will have a 2-1 advantage for two minutes until the team that lost the coin toss sends in a second man. They alternate every two minutes until all eight men are in. Then the roof lowers with weapons attached and it’s first fall wins.

It’s Williams and Storm to start but Douglas tries to get in a cheap shot on the stage. That earns him a beer to the face and a hiptoss on the ramp as the fight starts before the bell. They get inside with Williams choking away in the corner before he nails a running knee to the chest. Storm comes back with a powerslam for a cover that doesn’t count. Douglas nails a jawbreaker and chokes with his shirt as the fans are trying to get into this.

Back up and the Eye of the Storm has Williams in trouble before James chokes with a t-shirt. A low blow has Williams in trouble but he pops back to life and tries to send Storm into the steel. Storm chokes him against the ropes until Magnus gives the Brits a 2-1 advantage for two minutes. He takes too long getting in though, allowing Storm to baseball slide the cage door into his face. That’s fine with Magnus who slams the cage door onto James’ face to put him back down.

A High/Low has Storm in even more trouble and the Brits pose a bit. Storm is busted open and Magnus hammers away at the cut. Roode comes out to tie things up and of course cleans house as soon as he gets in. Very traditional you know. Roode catapults Williams into a DDT from Storm, followed by a Hennig neck snap and a knee drop from James. A few fans try to count down the clock from 25 seconds and it’s as lame as it sounds.

Scott Steiner makes it 3-2 as the villains take over yet again. He busts out a Frankensteiner on Roode in an attempt to make people think he’s more than a brawler. Beer Money is sent into the cage as we’re following the WarGames model to the letter. D-Von ties things up and fires off right hands, followed by a slow motion Thesz press to Magnus.

Things slow down again until Booker T. completes the heel team. Speaking of slow, Booker very calmly walks to the ring while holding both Tag Team Titles. The villains take over with Steiner and Booker sending Storm into the cage so hard that they knock the door open. Cue Brother Ray to give us a ridiculous eight people inside the ring at once. Well in theory at least as Big Rob Terry intercepts Ray on the way to the ring and sends him into the crowd. He adds a chair shot to the back for good measure before forcing the guy in charge of the cage to lower the roof, bringing the weapons into play.

Steiner and the Brits take over with the weapons but Terry misses a chair shot to Ray’s back. Ray hits a completely unnecessary chair shot to the head to put Terry down before taking said chair inside to clean house. Now the good guys take over until Magnus goes through a door in the top and climbs onto the roof.

Beer Money follows him up for a terrifying double suplex and SHOUT THEIR NAMES up top. The 3D plants Steiner back inside but Booker comes back with a trashcan. A Book End gets two on Ray but Beer Money comes back in with DWI (Drinking While Investing, a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo) for the pin on Williams.

Rating: C+. This was good based on being Lethal Lockdown, but there really wasn’t a need for this to be in the cage. As usual, the ring got way too crowded near the ending and the whole thing basically resets after the weapons come in. Nothing special here due to the cage not being needed.

Quick chat about wanting to beat the Brits for revenge instead of wanting the titles, so it’s time to go after the gold again.

Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. Team 3D

From Slammiversary 2009 with Beer Money challenging in their title shot for winning that tournament from earlier. D-Von and Storm get things going with the champ taking over on the cowboy. A shoulder puts Storm down and a flying headbutt gets an early two. Roode gets in a cheap shot from the apron and takes over with a knee drop for two on D-Von. Ray comes in to stare at Roode as it feels like they’re going for the big match feeling here.

Off to Ray legally for a slugout with Roode, whose clothesline has no effect. A forearm finally puts Ray down so he rips the skin off Roode’s chest with some chops. Ray goes Canadian with a big release German suplex and the side slam/legdrop combo gets two on Roode. Somehow Roode just pops up though and goes after D-Von, only to have the Beer Money suplex blocked by Ray, allowing D-Von to clothesline both of them down.

Roode gets D-Von to chase him though and crotches him against the post to give Beer Money their first real advantage. They take turns with their choking until Roode hits the chinlock. D-Von finally fights up and backdrops Storm down, allowing for the lukewarm tag off to Ray. The Bubba Bomb gets two on Roode but Storm knocks Bubba away from Team 3D, leaving Roode to only take the flapjack. What’s Up nails Roode and it’s table time. Storm gets back up and tries to put D-Von through, only to have Ray make a save. That earns Bully a spinebuster from Roode for two and things settle down a bit.

Now the double suplex puts Ray down and they SHOUT THEIR NAMES. Cue the British Invasion who have been having issues with Team 3D lately to join in on commentary. D-Von finally comes in off the hot tag to clean house, including a clothesline for two on Roode. A chokeslam of all things gets two on Storm as everything breaks down again. James pops up for a high cross body to both champions and Roode escapes a Doomsday Device attempt.

Storm’s top rope hurricanrana sets up Roode’s splash for two more as the fans are way into this now. The challengers load up a double superplex but Ray makes a save and sets up the Doomsday Device for another near fall on Roode. 3D puts Roode down again but Rob Terry distracts the referee. Ray goes up top and dives on Terry and Magnus, causing a small earthquake in the processs. Now Williams tries to interfere but gets knocked through a table, only to cause Beer Money to nail DWI on D-Von for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C+. The best word for this one is overbooked. They really didn’t need to do all the stuff they did here for the ending. I get that you don’t want to have the champions lose the belts clean, but the Brits and the tables were more than they needed. At least Beer Money got the belts though, which they rightfully deserved.

Beer Money talks about how awesome that match was, but there was a better one at Lockdown 2009.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/TNA Tag Team Titles: Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc.

From Lockdown 2009, meaning two months before Slammiversary and this is title for title. Team 3D brought in the IWGP Tag Team Titles and the fans were just supposed to care about them, even though the tag division was barely deeper than WWE’s. This is a Philadelphia street fight but the reason they’re fighting isn’t explained because Ray had to talk about how awesome the Japanese belts are. The match starts in a cage but the door won’t be locked and falls count anywhere.

It’s a brawl to start with Team 3D taking over early on. They quickly throw Beer Money out to the floor and it’s time for the ECW portion of the show. We go split screen but it only covers half the screen because we need a BIG FREAKING LOCKDOWN LOGO instead of more of the match. You can barely see what’s going on but Team 3D seems to be in full control. Storm comes back with some right hands to Ray as they fight into a luxury box.

That’s fine with Ray as he just hammers Storm down and shouts a lot. They fight near the concourse but come back into the arena with Storm falling down the stairs. Ray crotches Roode on a barricade and Storm easily gets knocked backwards. D-Von bites James’ head as they “fight” back towards the ring (read as they stagger about five feet off a single punch).

Back to ringside now with Ray having the cage door rammed into his face to give Beer Money their first control. They load up the steps in front of a table, setting up a double suplex to drive D-Von through the wood in a nice looking crash. A bloody Ray is brought inside where Roode hammers away at the cut like a true villain should. D-Von is still down on the floor so Ray has to clothesline both of them down before climbing up to the top rope for a super Bubba Bomb, knocking Roode senseless.

It’s Beer Money up first but D-Von breaks up DWI, allowing Ray to nail a big side slam for two on Roode. Storm takes a Doomsday Device for two and What’s Up Roode. It’s table time but D-Von takes the better part of forever to bring the thing in, allowing Beer Money to drop Ray with a double belly to back.

A Blockbuster/Samoan drop combo gets two on Ray but he avoids a splash from Roode and a Swanton from Storm. That’s fine with Bobby who comes back with a spinebuster and neckbreaker as Storm has fallen to the floor with a bad knee. He’s good enough to slam a door, only to hit his partner by mistake though knocking him into the 3D for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. This was your standard ECW style brawl, but at least this was a different kind of match than what we had been seeing for most of the night. It used to drive me crazy when I had to see six or seven matches that were so similar in the original ECW, so mixing things up like this helped.

The team talks about what it means to stay together instead of go their separate ways.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/TNA Tag Team Titles: Beer Money Inc. vs. British Invasion vs. Team 3D vs. Main Event Mafia

This is a TLC match with two sets of titles above the ring. These teams have been feuding forever and this is the final showdown. The British Invasion (Douglas Williams and Brutus Magnus) and the Main Event Mafia (Booker T. and Scott Steiner) hold the IWGP and TNA titles respectfully coming in.

It’s a huge brawl to start with Team 3D getting beaten down in the corners. We head outside with Steiner using a ladder on D-Von. The Brits are smart enough to go in to try and climb but stop for a handshake, allowing Beer Money to make the save. The fight is getting too busy to keep track of as Beer Money destroys Williams in the ring and Steiner fights with I believe Magnus by the stage. Booker comes in to clean house but Roode stops his climb attempt.

Booker ax kicks Roode and Steiner is choking D-Von with a cable. The fans go nuts for the Spinarooni but Booker takes too long climbing, allowing Beer Money to take him down with a Last Call and DWI (powerbomb/neckbreaker combination). Steiner gets back in and destroys everyone in sight, even busting out Frankensteiners and superplexes for the Brits. Booker’s wife Sharmell comes out to check on Booker’s knee as Scott suplexes everyone he can find.

Scott goes up and we realize that the ladder needs to be about four feet higher. The Brits drop Steiner with a double neckbreaker and Booker is taken out on a stretcher. What’s Up nails Steiner and it’s Table Time. Team 3D destroys the Brits for stealing their table gimmick and Beer Money takes a beating of their own. Ray hands Zack Wylde (remember him?) a chair to blast Storm before D-Von puts Williams through a table in the ring. The real What’s Up makes Magnus writhe in pain and we get a lot more tables brought in.

Beer Money gets chokeslammed through tables but Steiner comes in with a chair to drop Team 3D. He brings in a ladder but is still too short to bring it down, allowing Team 3D to slam him through a table. The belts seem to be lowered a bit when it’s clear that this match is never going to end.

Both members of Team 3D climb up at the same time but Rhino of all people comes in to destroy them with chairs. D-Von pulls the IWGP Title down anyway to win the titles for he and Ray but takes a beating from the chair. The Brits come in and lay out Rhino and Team 3D even more before climbing up to to go after the other belts. Beer Money makes another save by shoving one ladder over and superplexing Magnus off the other.

They take too long getting up though and Magnus nails them both with a chair. Storm comes back with beer to Magnus’ face and a huge sunset bomb off the ladder. Williams hits James with a chair but Roode knocks him off. The third British Invasion member Rob Terry pulls Roode down and slams him through a table before lifting Williams up the ladder for the TNA Tag Team Titles. That’s the same way TLC II ended at Wrestlemania X7.

Rating: B+. This was a solid brawl, even though Scott Steiner was down WAY too long towards the end of the match. They did a good job of keeping all of the teams involved for the most part, which is the hardest thing to do in a match like this. Booker being taken out of the match was the way to write him off TV as he and Sharmell were leaving TNA.

One last talk about the future of the team wraps things up.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s not bad for the most part but this really needed to be done like two years later. This was all from the same year and got repetitive after awhile, with eight matches and five of them had Team 3D involved. The set was released before the great matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. This was very similar to the Kurt Angle DVD where they just needed to wait another year or so to have a far better match selection. It’s good, but the best for the team was yet to come.

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