WCW Pro
Date: March 7, 1992
Location: Civic Center, Columbus, Georgia
Attendance: 3,000
Commentator: Tony Schiavone

This is another show I’ve never looked at before but it’s the equivalent of probably Main Event today, not to be confused with WCW Main Event which is an entirely different show. We’re a few days past SuperBrawl which means Sting finally won the world title back from Lex Luger, who is on his way out of the company now, not be to be seen again for over three years. I’m not sure what to expect from this one so let’s get to it.

We open with Rude talking about how he’s beaten Sting before and he can do it again.

P.N. News vs. Fred Avery

News is a 400lb white rapper who is as stupid as he sounds. Avery weighs about 300lb himself and is from Wyoming of all places. News pounds away and dropkicks (kind of) Avery down. A clothesline puts Avery down again as does a fireman’s carry/Samoan Drop. News pounds away very slowly and hits a side slam before strolling around even more. Off to a reverse chinlock for a bit as this is dragging already. A belly to belly puts Avery down and a top rope splash ends this. News’ music was playing before the splash even hit.

Rating: D. News was as fat a fat slob that ever entered the ring this side of say Loch Ness. This was slow and plodding with News walking around the ring, likely in search of a Twinkie to prevent collapsing. He feuded with Steve Austin of all people at this time because when you have Austin, you put him in a feud with a fat tub of goo like News who can barely move an inch.

The new World Champion Sting talks about a title defense against Rude in Chicago.

Terry Taylor vs. Larry Santo

Taylor gets things going by sending Santo into the corner and dropping him with a jawbreaker. Santo is sent to the floor as we hear about Taylor taking Marcus Bagwell under his wing, only to turn on him in an attempt to destroy him. Taylor drops some knees on the back of the head and puts on a Boston Crab which goes nowhere. Taylor won’t even cover off a sitout powerbomb or a powerslam. The Five Arm (a forearm with a semi-clever name) puts Santo out of his misery.

Rating: D+. Not that this was good but it was better than the drek we sat through before this. Taylor though is one of the guys that I never have cared for no matter what he did, primarily because of his lame gimmicks. At this point he was the Taylor Made Man which meant he wore nice clothes. Seriously, that’s it.

Danny Wilson vs. Abdullah the Butcher

Butch is a guy who will run over everyone in sight and doesn’t care about rules at all, making this a more intense than usual squash. That’s what I can’t stand about these old shows: there’s nothing to say about them because it’s the same stuff over and over again. It’s the same destruction over and over again and there’s nothing to say here. Wilson is thrown to the floor and run over with a shoulder block back inside. Two big running 400lb elbows end this.

Rating: F+. Again, what do you want me to say here? Thankfully Butcher didn’t stab anyone in the head or main Wilson this time which is a step in the right direction for him. I’ve never been a fan of the guy as he’s in that camp that thinks bleeding everywhere and dropping an elbow or two makes you a wrestler. Now granted he’s done different stuff before, but his WCW stuff was dreadful.

We get a video from Jesse Ventura at the post-SuperBrawl party. Sting shows up for an impromptu press conference. He says he’ll face anyone who wants to face him and he’d love to defend it in Japan. Sting talks about how strong Luger (the guy he beat) was before Jesse asks what the trash talk was about. Apparently they were saying this is it and they were asking each other if they were ready. Sting doesn’t know who his next opponent will be but here’s the Dangerous Alliance, headed by Rick Rude.

He’s very happy about Sting being champion and offers Sting a drink. Sting says he has no reason to drink with Sting so there’s a drink to the face. Sting is ready to fight right now and it’s on with Rude getting a front facelock and riding Sting down with ease. The rest of the Alliance shows up and Sting is WAY outnumbered until security makes the save.

We get a segment called the Brickhouse Bonus which is an editorial from Jack Brickhouse, a legendary Chicago sportscaster. This is the Chicago version of WCW Pro, which is the same from a content perspective, but has stuff like that thrown in, along with ads for Chicago shows.

Young Pistol Steve vs. Ricky Steamboat

Steve is Steve Armstrong of the Armstrong Family. Feeling out process to start with Ricky carefully taking him into the corner. Steve heads to the apron as we’re over two minutes into this with barely any contact so far. A few shoulders put Steve down before Steamboat slaps him for no apparent reason. Ricky wants a test of strength but Armstrong stays in the corner. Armstrong grabs a headlock takeover out of the corner as they’ve got a lot of time to use here.

Another headlock takeover puts Ricky down again but Steamboat counters into a top wristlock. They go to the mat for some chain wrestling until Armstrong goes to the hair to keep him down. They get back up again with Steamboat taking over via a clothesline and a chop. Out to the floor now for nothing of note so we head back in for Steamboat to keep control. Armstrong goes into the corner a few times but he sends Ricky’s head into it instead to take over again.

Some punches to the face keep Steamboat down as Tony rambles about someone slapping someone else in the face. I would have more details about that but listening to Tony Schiavone makes my head hurt. A suplex puts Armstrong down but Armstrong hits one of his own on the Dragon. Ricky pops back up though and pounds away on Steve in the corner. Steamboat misses a clothesline and it’s off to a surfboard by Armstrong. A sunset flip gets one for Armstrong but Ricky rams him face first into the mat. Armstrong misses a charge and hits the ropes, allowing Ricky to go up top and finish with the cross body.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that was long for the sake of being long which doesn’t make it entertaining. At the end of the day, this was a former world champion against a lower midcard tag guy. This would be like Orton taking ten minutes to beat Epico. At the end of the day, it’s really hard to stay with a match that long when it’s just ok. Nothing to see here.

We run down the house show card again.

Rude says he’s going to show Chicago who the better man is between he and Sting.

Brian Pillman says don’t do steroids.

Overall Rating: D. This was your basic show from this era: a bunch of squashes and a feature match which didn’t work all that well. 1992 was decent at times, but you need more than this for a show to work. To be fair though this was the lower level show of the era which didn’t do it any favors. This was boring stuff, but at least it was relatively short.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Do you know who has never lost on the biggest PPV of the year for whatever company he was in?Rob Van Dam:

3-0 at November to Remember

4-0 at Wrestlemania

3-0 at Bound For Glory

Is anyone else undefeated at all the major shows they’ve wrestled at other than the MMA Cowboy of Death?

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 20, 2006
Location: 1^st Mariner Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Back to the land of requests here which means I have no idea why I’m watching this. We’re at the go home show for Survivor Series which means things are pretty boring right now. There are some Survivor Series matches at the PPV with the main one being Team Cena vs. Team Big Show, even though Big Show is an ECW guy at this point. As usual I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.

Here’s Team Cena for Sunday to open the show. That would be captain Cena, RVD, Sabu, Lashley and Kane which is hit and miss to say the least. Cena cuts to the chase and says that he wants to get Survivor Series going tonight, so get out here Big Show and company. Instead it’s Rated RKO along with Johnny Nitro (Morrison), Gregory Helms and Mike Knox with the captains bragging about beating Flair/Piper for the titles recently. You know, like any good heels would do.

As Orton brags about Morriso winning the IC Title from Jeff Hardy later tonight, here are Flair and his fellow legends (minus Piper, who thankfully had a concussion last week. When he was in the hospital getting checked out, they found cancer in him, which was previously undetected. He was saved in time because of said concussion) to say that beating up some legends doesn’t mean much. Uh…..Ric……

Thankfully before Naitch can say anything else that stupid, here’s the Spirit Squad (giving us about 20 people in this segment) to make fun of the old guys even more. This coming from a bunch of male cheerleaders in bright green uniforms. Team DX (Shawn, HHH, Punk, Hardys) interrupt now as this is getting ridiculous.

They want to fight, so here’s Team Big Show (Show, Umaga, Finlay, MVP and Test, bringing the head count to twenty nine people) to say they’re better than anyone else out here. Cena is like screw it let’s do it right now, but Vince pops up to reach the Royal Rumble level. Tonight it’s an eight man tag which is the only logical move here.

Sabu vs. Umaga

This is a Survivor Series preview for Team Cena vs. Team Big Show. Umaga is an undefeated monster at this point and takes over quickly to start. He throws Sabu around to start and pounds away in the corner before scaring the referee away. Sabu is knocked to the floor and sent into the barricade for good measure. Back in and Sabu gets in some right hands but gets superkicked down for his troubles. Umaga misses a charge in the corner and a springboard leg lariat staggers the monster. A springboard tornado DDT has limited effect though and the Samoan Spike ends Sabu quick. Total squash.

Here’s Torrie in the ring to throw out some shirts but Chris Masters interrupts. He makes some unwanted advances on her until Carlito makes the save. That goes badly for the guy with the insane hair (Carlito) as he’s put in the Masterlock. Jerry Lawler makes the save, presumably setting up a future match in Memphis.

Nitro says he’ll win the title tonight.

Flair is making out with Candace Michelle when the Spirit Squad comes up. Ron Simmons is the punchline as expected.

Jeff gives the referee the title for the ladder match.

Intercontinental Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Ladder match with Jeff defending in case you’re stupid like that. The fans are all behind Hardy as they lock up to start. Johnny bails to the floor but comes back in with some uppercuts to take over. The Whisper in the Wind puts Nitro back down but Nitro comes back with a facebuster. There’s the screech from Melina and Nitro gets the ladder. Before it can be put inside though Jeff hits a baseball slide to take him out. A big dive takes out Nitro and the ladder as we take a break.

Back with Jeff loading up the ladder in the ring, only to have Nitro shoving him down and into the ropes. Jeff gets back up and rams Nitro face first into the ladder before going up and blocking a superplex off the ladder. Jeff loads up something off the top of the ladder but gets crotched on the top rope instead. Nitro loads up the ladder but Jeff comes off the top with a missile dropkick to take the ladder and Nitro down at the same time.

Nitro comes back with a catapult but launches Jeff onto the ladder for no apparent reason, causing a fight on top of said ladder. In a pretty awesome move, Johnny jumps off the ladder and dropkicks Jeff on the way down, sending both guys crashing down to the mat. With nothing else to do, Nitro throws the ladder at Hardy in the corner to crush him again. Johnny goes a climbing but Jeff makes an easy stop. A slam on the ladder keeps Nitro down but Jeff’s Swanton attempt only hits ladder.

Johnny throws the ladder at Jeff’s head and dropkicks him down but can’t follow up. Jeff’s back is whipped hard into the corner, allowing Nitro to bring in the big ladder. It gets driven into the champion’s ribs before being set up in the middle of the ring. Actually never mind as Nitro moves it over to the corner instead. Hardy comes back and sends him into the big ladder before climbing up the regular one. They both climb up, resulting in a sunset bomb to knock Nitro silly. A legdrop off the ladder keeps Nitro down and Hardy puts the ladder over him before climbing up to retain the title.

Rating: B. This was more about the brutality of the spots instead of the drama and that’s definitely an acceptable way to go. It’s not on the, pardon the pun, highest rung of the ladder match ladder, but for a free one on TV, there isn’t much to complain about on this one. Hardy doing his stunt show was a tried and true idea and it worked here fine.

Dusty Rhodes is ready for the Spirit Squad on Sunday as well as tonight. The liver quiver line is good most of the time.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Nicky

That would be Dolph Ziggler for you new people. Nicky is on his own here without the Squad. They lock up to start and Dusty takes him into the corner for the ultra rare clean break. They do the same thing with the roles reversed but Nicky tries to fire off a right hand in the corner. Dusty loads up the Bionic Elbow but the future showoff runs away. Nothing of note happens for a bit as they stare at each other to fill in time for the old man. Nicky pokes him in the eye a few times and goes after the knee, only to get sent out to the floor with ease. Back in and Nicky jumps into some right hands before the Elbow ends him.

Rating: F. What in the world are you expecting here? Dusty was 61 here and still the better of the two out there.

Rated RKO is in the back with Lita when Maria pops in. Lita leaves as Maria is all bubbly while asking if Rated RKO can win tonight and on Sunday. Before Edge can answer we hear commotion which the champions go to investigate. Cryme Tyme is making noise for some reason and an argument ensues. Edge says he knows black people because he’s Canadian. The champs leave so Maria gets to watch See No Evil with Cryme Tyme. Sweet goodness she was gorgeous. Total waste of three minutes.

Lita vs. Mickie James

Lita is Women’s Champion but this is non-title. Apparently Lita has asked for a stipulation for this, so Mickie is blindfolded. Apparently last week Mickie was shackled and the week before that she had an arm tied behind her back. Total squash here with Lita hitting a fast DDT and the moonsault for the pin. Ok then.

Post match Lita goes on a rant about how important she is to the division and how awesome she is. She says she’s (legitimately) retiring on Sunday after the title match between these two which wasn’t that well known coming into this.

Video on Batista vs. Booker T which would be one of the worst PPV main events ever.

John Cena/D-Generation X/Ric Flair vs. Rated-RKO/Big Show/Kenny

All captains here which isn’t a bad idea. During the heel entrance we get the PPV run down. Rated-RKO are tag champions, Show is ECW Champion and Cena is WWE Champion. Everyone jumps on Cena to start and is triple teamed before DX is out here. Here comes the cavalry though and house is cleaned. Edge is left alone against all four good guys and it’s time for a lot of shots to his Canadian head. Shawn adds a top rope elbow for good measure.

Big Show pulls Edge away from Sweet Chin Music before running over all of the guys guys with headbutts. Show loads up a double chokeslam on DX but Flair hits him low. DX hits him low too and we take a break. Apparently the match officially started during the break so all of that was pre-match stuff. We come back with Shawn in trouble due to Edge stomping away before it’s off to Kenny.

Orton comes in for the still boring Garvin Stomp and it’s back to Big Show. The giant kicks him down and drops a leg for two as HHH makes the save. Back to Kenny for a shot off the top for two before Edge gets another tag. After a quick bow and arrow hold it’s back to Orton who takes forever loading up the RKO. Shawn uses the long delay to counter and it’s hot tag to Cena who gets to beat up Kenny. There’s the Shuffle but Big Show breaks up the FU. Show beats up everyone in sight but Cena gets out of a chokeslam. A superkick puts Show on the floor and the FU ends Kenny for the pin.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull match here but the point of it was to preview the matches on Sunday. That being said, it’s pretty hard to get excited over something like Kenny vs. John Cena, despite the roll that Cena was on at this point. This was also pretty short and not long enough to get anywhere, but that’s the norm for a match with this many people involved.

Post match all thirty people in the elimination matches on Sunday run in for the huge brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Other than the ladder match, this was a dull show. None of the guys seemed particularly interested in the show tonight and Survivor Series wound up sucking just the same. None of the matches they built up tonight are of any interest to me and I don’t think many other people cared either. Nothing to see here but the ladder match was good stuff.

Here’s Survivor Series if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/11/12/survivor-series-count-up-2012-redo-2006-man-this-year-sucked/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

But look at the tag division from WM 16 to WM 17.Coming into Wrestlemania 16 (April 2, 2000), Edge and Christian had never won the tag titles.  Going into Wrestlemania 17 (April 1, 2001), they were record 6 time tag champions and would win their 7th titles that night.  In the same year, five other teams (Dudleyz, Hardyz, RTC, Too Cool and Rock/Undertaker) all won tag titles.  That’s about one title change every month, yet people complain when it changes every three months today.  This was a golden era of tag wrestling though right?

Yet he never gets the credit for it….Randy Savage.  Let’s look at his Mania career.

Wrestlemania 2: retains the IC Title.

Wrestlemania 3: greatest match of all time.

Wrestlemania 4: wins the World Title.

Wrestlemania 5: main event, Hogan’s second best match ever

Wrestlemania 7: second biggest and by far best match on the card, Warrior’s best match ever

Wrestlemania 8: wins world title, match of the night

Why doesn’t Savage get credit for such a career at Wrestlemania?  That’s a fine career, let alone just at Wrestlemania.

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 6, 2000
Location: Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is another On This Day as we approach Wrestlemania. I did the show before this and you can check that out in the On This Day section for February 27. Anyway the main story is that Rock wants to be in the main event of Wrestlemania but Shane screwed him out of his chance last week. Wrestlemania is in less than a month so Rock has to hurry to get there on time. Let’s get to it.

We open with what else but a recap of the battle of the McMahon siblings. On Smackdown it was Rock/Rikishi vs. Big Show/HHH but Show accidentally hit HHH with a chair, allowing Rock to pin the world champion. Shane and Stephanie started arguing post match but HHH saved his wife from any potential danger.

Here are Shane and Big Show to open things up. Shane shows us a clip of Show hitting HHH, asking us to figure out if it was an accident or not. Shane seems to think it’s accidental but HHH shoving him down certainly wasn’t an accident. Shane goes on a rant about how HHH made it personal by running Vince off and turning his sister into a cheap sl**. McMahon makes HHH vs. Rikishi in a Wrestlemania warm up match, but that brings out the Game himself along with his wife.

HHH says that he and Shane are brothers so they need to get along. He has to pause for a SL** chant at Stephanie before talking about how Wrestlemania is the Biggest Show of the year. At Wrestlemania, HHH is going to prove that Big Show isn’t in his league. Stephanie, in her eternally high pitched voice, makes Kane vs. Big Show to open the show. As for the mean comment, Stephanie slaps the tar out of Shane. Well that sums it up well enough I guess.

Earlier today the Mean Street Posse delivered room service to Crash Holly and brought referee Tim White with him. A Hardcore Title broke out in the hotel room but the Posse couldn’t pin Crash down on a bed against his will and take something from him. The Posse hit each other with lamps by mistake, allowing Crash to escape.

Kane vs. Big Show

It’s a brawl to start with Kane winning a brief slugout before hitting an enziguri to stagger Big Show. Shane low bridges Kane but the masked man lands on his feet of course. The distraction lets Show send Kane HARD into the steps though as HHH is watching in the back. Back in and Show pounds away in the corner but Kane comes back with an uppercut. HHH and Stephanie are still watching. A side slam puts Kane down but Show misses an elbow drop. Kane hits a DDT to drop Show and there’s the top rope clothesline for no cover. They both load up chokeslams but here’s Rock for a Rock Bottom on Big Show for the DQ.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t bad but again the right move was to keep things moving fast. Big Show and Kane just do not work well together and they never have. The match was there for Rock to run in though and that Rock Bottom looked good. Rock always has had surprising strength. Decent enough all things considered.

Kane chokeslams Show post match.

Mae Young insists that she’s coming out with Henry tonight despite having a hand last week.

The APA do a Pulp Fiction driving scene parody to establish that they’re open for business now. Why? “Because we need beer money.”

Mark Henry vs. D-Von Dudley

D-Von charges in but gets beaten down by Henry for his efforts. Mae and Bubba get on the apron as D-Von takes over, only to have Mark pull Bubba in. There’s a Bronco Buster to Bubba and a powerslam for D-Von for the pin. Short and seemingly worthless.

Post match the Dudleys hit a good looking 3D on Henry before looking at Mae. In a scene that would get them thrown off TV in a heartbeat today, Mae is powerbombed off the middle rope through a table. Bubba’s trance is still cool looking.

Road Dogg/X-Pac vs. Too Cool

Scotty and Pac get things going and the fans think X-Pac sucks. Scotty is flipped around and winds up dancing as a result. Off to Grandmaster for more dancing followed by a hip toss to send Pac to the floor. Roadie comes in and is sent down as well before Sexay hits a middle rope dropkick for two. Too Cool hits a double elbow on Roadie but he pops back up and throws Scotty to the floor.

X-Pac sends him into the steps and there’s a spin kick to take Scotty down again. Back in and Hotty rams DX’s heads together before it’s back to Grandmaster. Everything breaks down and Grandmaster hits what we would call the Skull Crushing Finale on Road Dogg to set up the Worm. A flapjack puts X-Pac down but Tori crotches Sexay to break up the Hip Hop Drop. Not that it matters though as here’s Kane for a piece of X-Pac and the DQ.

Rating: C. Better match than I was expecting here as Too Cool was on one heck of a roll at this point. The tag division was showing signs of actually being alive at this point as there were several decent to good teams running around. The division got hot as a result, but it reached unthinkable heights with the advent of triple ladder matches with tables and chairs on the side.

Post match Kane beats up Roadie as well.

Intercontinental Title: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho

Angle is defending here but doesn’t like the idea of facing a has been like Jericho. Cue the Canadian who makes fun of Angle for living with his mom and tells said mom to put down the whiskey and watch her son get a beating. I believe this is the debut of the Kirk Angel moniker. They speed things up to start while I believe botching a leapfrog spot with Jericho hitting an elbow instead of ducking underneath but it looked ok.

The champion comes back with a hot shot before pounding away in the corner, only to have Jericho do the exact same thing. Well if you’re going to copy someone, copy an Olympian. Angle gets up a boot in the corner to stop a charging Jericho. Chris tries the flying forearm but hits the referee by mistake. There’s the Lionsault but there’s no referee meaning no new champion. Angle loads up a title belt shot but gets caught in the Walls for his efforts. Jericho pulls it to the middle of the ring but…..BOB BACKLUND comes in for a crossface chickenwing on Jericho for the DQ.

Rating: C+. It’s Angle vs. Jericho so you know it’s going to be good. This was unfortunately short but they would get a lot more time and a lot more Benoit at Wrestlemania, making for an awesome match. These guys would dominate the midcard for over a year and then move up to the main event soon after that. Good stuff here but short.

HHH vs. Rikishi

Non-title of course. Rikishi has a bad ankle coming into this. A quick Pedigree attempt is countered but Rikishi can’t sit on HHH’s chest just yet. Instead is an avalanche in the corner to put HHH down and there’s the Stinkface. A Stephanie distraction allows for a low blow to stop Rikishi dead. Rikishi is sent shoulder first into the post so HHH can stomp and choke away back inside. A facebuster puts Rikishi down because HHH doesn’t follow his racial stereotypes. HHH finally wakes up and goes after the BIG FREAKING CAST on Rikishi’s leg. He pounds away in the corner but walks into a Samoan Drop to give the fat man a breather. Rikishi knocks him into the corner but Stephanie slides in a chair. A blast to the fat man’s back is good for the DQ and we’re done.

Rating: D+. Not much here as yet again it’s to set up the post match stuff. Rikishi would go on to solid success over the rest of the year, but at the end of the day he was a dancing Samoan in a thong and there’s a limit on how far you can take that. The match was ok enough but the ankle stuff took way too long to get to. Also what is with all the DQ’s tonight?

Post match the Rock comes out and hits a Rock Bottom on HHH to set up the Banzai from Rikishi. Too Cool and Rikishi do some dancing.

Promo for Rock being on Saturday Night Live in a few weeks to promote Wrestlemania.

Big Show and Shane go to talk to HHH about something.

Matt Hardy vs. Steve Blackman

This would still be the Head Cheese period for Blackman so Snow wants an army of midgets carrying platters of cheese during the entrance. Blackman threatens the production guy with violence if any of that happens. To show you how confusing the Hardys were back in the day, Jeff is announced as the guy in the match but it’s Matt in there instead. I couldn’t remember which was which either at this point. Blackman kicks Matt down to start and blocks the tornado DDT out of the corner.

A quick legdrop by Matt gets two as the fans are dead for this. Blackman gets sent to the floor and there’s a big dive to take him out. Matt heads to the apron, only to get caught in a kind of gutbuster, sending him face first into the steps. Back inside Blackman poses some more and hits a backbreaker, only to jump into a boot to the face. A DDT gets two for Matt but the Twist of Fate is countered into a German suplex by Blackman for two. Jeff and Snow get in a fight on the floor as Blackman goes up for a kick to the chest for the pin.

Rating: D. I have no idea why this match got five minutes but it didn’t work at all. This kept going and going before it ever got anywhere close to going anywhere. The Hardys were a good bit away from being what they would become yet while Head Cheese never quite got anything going. The fans were into them though so I guess there’s that.

Shane and Big Show convince HHH to make Rock vs. Benoit in a cage match. Didn’t Shane have match making powers an hour and a half ago? Why did he need HHH and Stephanie?

Dean Malenko/Perry Saturn vs. Edge and Christian

This was during the brief period where Terri managed Edge and Christian so she’s on commentary here. Edge gets double teamed to start but he fires off a faceplant to stop Saturn. Off to Christian for a double hiptoss by the Canadians. It’s back to Edge who has his knee taken out by Saturn with a chop block. Saturn works over the knees as Terri rambles on about how awesome she is. Dean comes in to crank on the leg a bit before cannonballing down onto it.

Edge comes back with an enziguri to take Malenko down and there’s the double tag to bring in Christian vs. Saturn. JR is getting sick of Terri and I can’t blame him a bit. Thankfully she gets up to watch as everything breaks down, only to get knocked down by Edge as Dean punches him. An Eddie Guerrero distraction lets the Radicalz go High/Low on Christian for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was acceptable but DEAR GOODNESS was Terri annoying. Thankfully Edge and Christian got away from her soon after this once the brass figured out the truth about Terri: no one cared about her at all. Besides, Trish Stratus would be debuting in less than two weeks and she blew Terri out of the water in the looks department so there was no real need for Terri to be around anymore.

Hardcore Title: Crash Holly vs. Viscera

The challenging Viscera throws Crash around to start and we head into the crowd very quickly. Crash runs to the back but gets caught again and whipped into whatever Viscera can find. They wind up at the APA office where Crash gets in a low blow. Viscera stumbles into the card table so the APA lays him out, giving Crash the fluke pin. Surprisingly enough, Viscera’s only Hardcore Title reign came in the battle royal at Wrestlemania. You would think he would be a natural fit for that belt.

We look at Mae getting beaten up earlier.

Rock thinks HHH and Stephanie are nuts if they think the cage match tonight gets rid of their problems.

Mark Henry goes after the Dudleys but gets beaten down.

The Rock vs. Chris Benoit

Cage match here and I think it’s escape only for a change. They slug it out to start with Benoit pounding away into the corner. A big clothesline puts Benoit down but Rock can’t escape. Benoit suplexes Rock down but there’s a hard elbow from Rock to come back. Benoit comes back as Shane and Big Show come out for a closer look. Chris pounds away in the corner but gets backdropped into the cage to shift the momentum again.

Rock gets crotched as he tries to get out and here are HHH and Stephanie. Another suplex puts Rock down but he comes back with right hands and choking. Benoit suplexes him again to put Rock down but he crotches himself trying to get down. Rocky’s problem becomes apparent: Rock can’t escape because of who is waiting outside. Benoit fights back with chops, tying Rock up in the ropes in the process.

Rock escapes the ropes and avoids a charge before sending Benoit into the cage. Benoit goes up top for the Swan Dive but it knocks Benoit silly again. Rock stops him from escaping and hits the spinebuster, only to get caught in Rolling Germans from the Canadian. Rock escapes the third and grabs a Rock Bottom out of nowhere to put both guys down. The climb has to be slow though because of HHH and Benoit. They both climb the cage but Rock sits down and hits a wicked powerbomb to take him out. HHH tries to climb up and stop Rock but is punched down onto Big Show, allowing Rock to escape for the win.

Rating: C-. This didn’t work all that well for me. As is the case with almost everything else associated with the main event at this point, this was overdone. I get the idea they were going for, but the match became all about Rock having to deal with HHH and Big Show instead of Benoit, who was made to look like an afterthought here.

Post match it’s a 3-1 beatdown and they get him back inside the cage. HHH gets a chair and the fans want Rikishi. Rock gets sent into the cage but HHH’s chair shot hits Big Show instead. HHH gets punched down as Shane runs out of the cage to escape. Rock stands on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This didn’t do it for me all that well. I’ll give them this though: the reaction when Rock gets into the main event of Wrestlemania is going to be through the moon. Other than that though, the show isn’t really clicking all that well. That would be the case at Wrestlemania as well, with only the main event and two other matches having any kind of interest whatsoever. This didn’t work all that well but with the amount of wrestling on it, there isn’t much to complain about.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

http://www.wwe.com/inside/paul-bearer-passes-26096670

That’s rather sad.  No word on what happened yet.  He was 58 years old.

Kind of a big deal but it’s the easiest to write.

Honorable Mention: Edge. Before he became the ridiculous character that he was in the Rated R days, Edge was AWESOME, tearing Smackdown apart in 2002 and being on the verge of the world title until a neck injury put him on the shelf for over a year.  I was a huge Edgehead back in the day as the look and the music got me totally into his stuff.  There’s a fourway on Smackdown with him facing Angle, Guerrero and Benoit which is as good a TV match as you’ll see in a long time.

Honorable Mention: Rey Mysterio. Back in the mid to late 90s, Mysterio was like nothing else I had ever seen before.  When you go from the big brawling guys of the 80s to Bret and Owen on the mat earlier in the decade to Mysterio jumping all over the place and doing flips that no one in America had ever seen before, how in the world can you not be impressed?  Some guys would probably wind up doing it better, but Mysterio was doing it first and did it best back in the 90s.

Honorable Mention: Tito Santana. Santana is a guy where the more I see of him the more I like him.  The guy was incredibly talented and had some very solid charisma, as he could get a crowd going no matter what he was doing.  Santana is the original Kofi Kingston, as he won various other titles and got a once in a blue moon world title shot.  He never was a threat to win the title, but it was next to impossible to have a bad match with him.  That’s very valuable and it allows for a lot of help on a card.

5. Kane. Kane is a guy who constantly goes from being dull to entertaining at the drop of a hat.  His debut back in 1997 is still one of the most awesome moments I can remember, as you had heard about Kane for months and months until he FINALLY debuted in the first Hell in a Cell match.  It was clear from that moment that Undertaker was in for a fight and that’s what he got.  Think about it like this: Steve Austin was the hottest thing in the world for well over a year but Kane took the title from him two months after he won it.  That says a lot about him, even if it was for just one day.  Throw in the HILARIOUS anger management stuff and Kane is one of the most entertaining guys I’ve ever seen.

4. Randy Savage. Again, the more I watch this guy the more I appreciate him.  Savage is so smooth in the ring it’s unreal, as he can go from high flying to mat wrestling to brawling and back again like it’s no problem at all.  On top of that, Savage was NUTS and had some of the most over the top and insane promos you’ll ever hear.  Wait why am I bothering to explain this?  If you don’t know who Randy Savage is, why are you reading this?  The man is awesome and in a few years he’ll probably be higher on this list.

3. Hulk Hogan. Dude, it’s Hulk Hogan.  He got me into wrestling as a kid and he kept me in it for years.  It’s a simple idea: he’s a hero and he fought off the bad guys.  It’s amazing how simple of a concept that is yet so many people over the years have tried to/insisted on overthinking it.  While Hogan has done a lot of bad things over the years, without him there wouldn’t be a modern wrestling for him to do bad things in.  That pretty easily makes up for all of it and there’s not much of an argument against it.

2. Sting. As much as I liked Hogan, there’s something about Sting that I like that much more.  Sting is one of those guys that is indeed timeless and has done it all in wrestling.  Yes I said did it all, because he doesn’t need to go to WWE.  He’s one of the biggest stars of all time (get over yourself WON HOF.  To suggest that Sting isn’t a main event star is ridiculous) and had one of the most intriguing stories in the history of wrestling, which just happened to draw a fortune.  I love the guy and he’s always awesome.

1. Mick Foley. Foley on the other hand is awesome on a completely different level.  One of my favorite movies is Rocky, which clearly had a lot of influence on the Mick Foley character.  The night he won his first world title is still perfect and makes me smile every time I see it.  On top of that though, Foley really is a brilliant character.  Many people see him as three different interchangeable characters, but in reality it’s one who has multiple personalities that manifest themselves at the appropriate time.  That’s a really interesting and deep idea which has never been done other than this that I can think of.  On top of THAT, a few years ago I got to meet Foley at a book signing and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy, which made him all the more awesome.  Go read his books as they’re certainly worth it, even Countdown to Lockdown.

Smackdown
Date: March 5, 2010
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Todd Grisham, Matt Striker

I did this show last week for On This Day so here’s kind of a sequel I guess. We’re still heading towards Wrestlemania with Jericho defending against Edge so there’s your main focus. Other than that though we need to fill in the rest of the card, which means we’ve got some more developing to do tonight. I’m not sure what to expect out of tonight’s show and that’s the way I like it. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Edge and Jericho’s segment from last week with Edge spearing Jericho mere seconds after Jericho said that would never happen again.

Theme song opens us up.

It’s Edge vs. Big Show in the main event.

Speaking of Edge, here he is to open the show. He talks about how we’re getting close to Wrestlemania and he’s a little bit scared. Jericho has been out here for weeks talking about how he’s the best in the world and how he’s going to hurt Edge at Wrestlemania. However, no matter how many times Jericho says that, he keeps getting speared. At Wrestlemania, the same thing is going to happen: Jericho is going to get speared. This brings out Big Show with something of his own to say.

Edge calls this a depressing surprise and thinks it’s because Edge beat up Miz last week. Tonight Big Show will get speared too, but Big Show says that’s not the only reason why he’s there. Tonight Show and Miz are also finding out who gets the title shot at Wrestlemania.

Big Show talks about being dominant, so Edge worries that Big Show will eat him. We get the “I eat pieces of crap like you for breakfast” verbatim from Happy Gilmore to show how original the writing team is. Edge makes fun of Big Show’s breath and promises to spear him later tonight. Show charges at Edge and gets low bridged to the floor. Serves him right.

Teddy Long is in the back reading WWE Magazine when Drew McIntyre comes in. He doesn’t like the idea that fans think he lost to Kane last week, so he glares at Teddy. Long breaks down again and says the record book shows that Drew is still undefeated. Kane is still in the MITB match though. Drew gets another chance to qualify next though, against Matt Hardy.

Wrestlemania ad.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre

During the entrance we see Drew losing last week. Striker: “This is the WWE. We don’t pretend things didn’t happen.” Ladies and gentlemen, your WOW THEY REALLY JUST SAID THAT line of the year. Matt has his NXT rookie Justin Gabriel with him. The fans are completely behind Hardy here as he grabs a headlock to start things off. McIntyre elbows him down for two but Matt gets two of his own off a rollup. A clothesline puts Drew on the floor but he comes back by dropping Hardy ribs first onto the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Drew holding Matt in a chinlock which is quickly broken. A neckbreaker gets two on Hardy as does a northern lights suplex. Back to a modified chinlock with an arm trap but Matt fights out. He goes up but has to fight off a Drew superplex attempt. With Drew knocked down, there’s a middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. The Twist of Fate is countered into a Futureshock DDT attempt, but Matt reverses into a sunset flip for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C-. I never was a big fan of McIntyre and Hardy was on pure fumes at this point. He would be gone soon after this, I believe during the post Wrestlemania European tour. The match was nothing special and naturally Drew would get the loss expunged from his record yet again because that’s his thing at the time.

Post match Drew yells at Striker, saying that he’ll be at Wrestlemania no matter what.

In the back, a character that no one cared about at all named Slam Master J (Jesse from Jesse and Festus), talks to John Morrison about Parkour. R-Truth comes in with David Otunga, his NXT Rookie. Truth and Otunga had been having problems lately but apparently they’re ok now. Morrison and Truth have a chance to get a tag title shot at Wrestlemania tonight so they need to work together. They discuss team names like Black Magic and the White Shadow or Rock and Rap. Truth suggests “The Unified Tag Team Champions” which pleases Truth.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Dolph Ziggler

Shelton runs him over to start and POINTS AT THE SIGN! Ziggler grabs a quick sleeper but Shelton jawbreaks his way out. A Stinger Splash misses Dolph in the corner though and Ziggy stomps away. Ziggler hits a dropkick for two and it’s off to the chinlock again. A neckbreaker gets two for Dolph as does a jumping elbow.

Shelton counters a monkey flip by landing on his feet and clotheslining Ziggler down. A German suplex gets two for Benjamin but he gets caught in a sleeper. That gets nowhere so Shelton sends him into the corner and tries Paydirt (the jumping Downward Spiral) but Ziggler falls the wrong way, making it like a jumping clothesline or punch. Either way it gets Shelton the pin.

Rating: D+. This just happened. Seriously that’s it. Two guys had a wrestling match with nothing significant going on and a bad ending. What else are you expecting me to grade it as? Ziggler was almost a year from being anything resembling good and Shelton was WAY below what he used to be, but he could jump so he kept getting pushed. Nothing to see here and it left a bad taste in my mouth if that makes sense.

Cena says don’t try this.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Ezekiel Jackson

I smell a squash. Yep I’m right as this lasts about a minute and is your paint by numbers squash: power moves, quick Yang comeback, release Rock Bottom by Jackson for the pin.

Rey’s daughter is here and Rey gives her a Mysterio action figure. Tiffany, the ECW Gm, is going to keep an eye on her while Rey has a match. The daughter crosses him for protection which is cool.

Video on Taker vs. HBK II at Wrestlemania set to Ain’t No Grave by Johnny Cash.

Luke Gallows vs. Rey Mysterio

Before the match, Gallows’ leader CM Punk talks about bad parents who let their kids watch their “superhero” Rey Mysterio. Apparently the fans are all cowards just like Mysterio, because Rey won’t face Punk like a man. Rey cost him a chance to win three straight MITBs and now it’s time for revenge. Punk gets in Gallows’ face and says he’s fighting for an entire society. Gallows pounds away to start so Rey goes after his legs.

A belly to back suplex puts Rey right back down as does a flying shoulder. Darren Young, the NXT rookie of CM Punk, is watching in the back. Rey finally gets in some offense by sending Gallows out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Luke clotheslining Rey down for two and sending him to the apron. Rey is whipped into the post and Gallows is in full control. Back in and a slam gets two for Gallows as the match stays slow.

Off to a chinlock as the fans chant 619. Rey starts to fight up so Gallows hits a fallaway slam (Striker: “How about that Chico?”) for two but Rey avoids a charge in the corner, sending Gallows’ shoulder into the post. A springboard seated senton sets up a springboard cross body for two. Luke comes back with a clothesline but Rey counters what looks like a chokeslam into an X-Factor. He takes too long going up though and dives into an uppercut from Gallows for two.

Rey loads up a tornado DDT but stops halfway through, turning it into a guillotine choke. Gallows makes a rope but Rey immediately knocks him into 619 position. Punk’s chick Serena interferes though to block the 619, allowing Punk to get a breather. Gallows tries a powerbomb but Rey falls forward and gets a quick pin.

Rating: C-. Better match than the previous one but not great here either. Gallows, currently Doc in Aces and 8’s in TNA, is such a generic big guy that he makes it hard to care about him at all. This was all about building up Punk vs. Mysterio though and there’s nothing wrong with that. The match was just kind of there.

Post match Punk tries a GTS but Rey escapes and kicks him in the knee.

Jericho wants Big Show to destroy Edge. Show says he’s going to do it but not for Jericho.

MVP says don’t try this.

We recap the HBK segment from Raw with him saying without beating Undertaker, there’s no reason for him to have a career anymore. HHH came out and told Shawn he knows Shawn can beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. DX proceeded to not win the tag titles that night because Undertaker distracted Shawn. Sheamus then ran in and beat up HHH.

John Morrison/R-Truth vs. Hart Dynasty vs. Cryme Tyme

Winners get a title shot at Wrestlemania against ShowMiz. We get a quick recap of Truth and Otunga having issues on NXT to fill in time. The Hart Dynasty is Tyson Kidd/David Hart Smith/Natalya and Cryme Tyme is Shad Gaspar and JTG. The Dynasty might be heel here but I can’t remember exactly. Morrison and Shad start and this is one fall to a finish. It’s power vs. speed here as Striker talks about which team matches up best against the tag champions. A spinebuster puts Morrison down and we take a break.

Back with JTG holding Morrison in a chinlock before it’s back to Shad. Kidd tags himself in but almost immediately tags back out to Smith. Seems pointless but whatever. Smith does something I never remember seeing by rolling belly to belly suplexes for two. Morrison and Smith ram heads to put both guys down and there’s the double tag to give us Truth vs. Kidd.

Truth cleans house and kicks Kidd in the face for no cover. Shad and Smith go at it but Morrison hits a cross body to take all three of them to the floor. Tyson hits a springboard missile dropkick for two on Truth but R- immediately comes back with the Lie Detector (spinning forearm) for the pin and the title shot.

Rating: D+. Nothing of note here other than a fast match to give us some number one contenders. The title scene was its usual generic self at this point with two thrown together teams facing each other for the titles at Wrestlemania while regular teams like these two are left in the preshow. Eh then again it’s not like any of them mean anything so it’s fine.

The winners dance post match.

Laycool is in the back with Vickie and they suck up to each other a bit before making fun of Mickie James from last week when Michelle won the title. Vickie gets a Laycool t-shirt. Beth Phoenix comes up and scares Laycool away. Phoenix wants her title shot but Vickie says it’ll be on Vickie’s time.

We run down the Mania card.

Edge vs. Big Show

Big Show runs him over to start and knocks Edge out to the floor. As he pulls the guy with hair back inside though, Edge guillotines him down onto the top rope to get himself a breather. A chop puts Edge right back down though but he uses some speed to avoid the monster. That lasts all of a handful of seconds though as Big Show chops him right back down. All Big Show so far.

Show pounds him down again as Striker talks about how big Wrestlemania will be for Edge. Off to a chinlock by the big man which doesn’t last long. There’s a slam on Edge but a Vader Bomb misses, giving Edge a breather. Show charges into some boots in the corner and a middle rope bulldog gets two. Edge counters the chokeslam into a sloppy DDT and the spear gets the pin on Big Show.

Rating: C-. The match was ok but man alive was it dull. After last week it was pretty clear where this was going, but it was basically five minutes of Edge getting beaten up then hitting two moves in a row for the pin. The match was nothing to see at all and was more or less there so the show could have a main event.The problem here isn’t that the match is bad. It’s that the match is boring.

Post match Jericho runs in and gets speared down again.

Overall Rating: C-. This show came and went and that’s all there is to it. It wasn’t good and it only held my interest to a degree. Now to be fair, almost all of Wrestlemania is set by this point, so it’s not like there’s going to be anything significant before then, but it wouldn’t kill them to come up with something a bit more entertaining than this. Not a bad show, but pretty uninteresting.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 4, 2013
Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole

We’re inching closer to Wrestlemania and the Raw World Title match is set. Rock is going to be defending against John Cena, who locked up his spot as #1 contender after winning a masterpiece of a match against CM Punk last week. That now leaves Punk without an opponent for Wrestlemania so maybe tonight we’ll find out who that is. The rest of the card will likely continue to take shape as well. It’s also Old School Raw II which was incredibly entertaining the first time around. Let’s get to it.

After we see the new WWE logo and the old school Raw entrance from the early 90s, we hear a gong go off in the arena as the Undertaker makes his return. He appears on stage and a Wrestlemania logo appears behind him…and that’s that. Ok then. Also the set is the old RAW letters.

After a quick video on the history of Raw, (and a shot of Cole in the snappy yellow blazer and King in full royal attire), here’s CM Punk to really get us going. We have the old school red, white and blue ropes and the guardrail instead of a barricade. Punk talks about being cheated out of the world title last week by the fans (not exactly sure how) and if he isn’t fighting for the world title at Wrestlemania, what’s the point in fighting at all? Then he saw that Undertaker was back and changed his thoughts. if he can’t be world champion, he might as well be the guy that makes Undertaker 20-1.

Randy Orton comes out though because he has other ideas. Orton thinks that since he’s been the dominant predator in WWE in the last few years, he should get the chance to avenge his past loss to Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Big Show adds his name into things and says it should be a giant facing the Undertaker. Sheamus thinks he should get a shot too since he’s never lost to Undertaker, but Vickie Guerrero interrupts before anyone else can add their names. Tonight it’s a fatal fourway between Orton, Punk, Sheamus and Big Show with the winner facing Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro

Non-title here. Ryback starts off fast and rams into Cesaro to send him flying away. Back in and Ryback hits a fast suplex for no cover, sending Cesaro to the floor again. Ryback goes out to get him this time but is knocked into the old school barricade, stopping the monster cold. Cesaro throws him back in and pounds away as we take a break. Back with Cesaro countering the Meat Hook with the European Uppercut and loading up the Neutralizer, only for Ryback to counter into the Shell Shock in mid lift for the pin at 8:01.

Rating: D+. This is getting stale in a hurry. As I’ve complained about on Smackdown lately, having the same match over and over again isn’t interesting but rather repetitive. We don’t gain anything from seeing Ryback beat Cesaro over and over again. It doesn’t do anything for either guy and other than the ending, this wasn’t anything interesting.

Post match Mark Henry comes out and stares down Ryback but walks past him towards the ring instead of starting a fight.

Zack Ryder vs. Mark Henry

This is about what you would expect: Ryder gets in a few punches and it’s the World’s Strongest Slam and the pin at 54 seconds.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Before the match, Miz has something to say but can’t get his microphone to work. Once he does, he introduces Ric Flair to be in his corner. Feeling out process to start until Ziggler takes over with some shots in the corner. Miz fights back with a shot to the face and sends Ziggler out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Ziggler kicking Miz in the leg and putting on a chinlock, complete with a fancy bridge. Miz fights up and pounds away on Ziggler before sliding through his legs for two off a sunset flip.

The Reality Check gets two and Miz goes after the knee, only to be caught in a DDT. The Zig Zag is avoided but Ziggler grabs the sleeper hold instead. Miz rolls out of it and tosses Ziggler in the air so he crashes onto the mat below. A corner clothesline by Miz sets up the top rope ax handle but as the referee is checking on Ziggler, big E. Langston attacks Miz. Flair goes after Langston to no avail, but back in the ring Miz takes out Ziggler’s leg and puts on the Figure Four for the submission at 10:14.

Rating: C-. I was hoping we were away from the whole Miz/Flair thing but naturally we have to keep it going. It doesn’t make anyone look better but rather just gets makes Miz look like a guy doing stuff completely against his nature. The Figure Four doesn’t fit for him and it’s not like the hold is a big upgrade for him or anything. I’m thinking Ziggler doesn’t get the title anymore, as he becomes more of a jobber every night.

It’s time for Point/Counterpoint with the Rock and John Cena so here’s the WWE Champion. Rock has to wait for the fans to stop cheering before he can talk. He talks about being in Panama recently but he knew he was coming to Raw so he was packing. Apparently a woman at the airport named Donna said he needed a jacket. Rock called her Sally because it doesn’t matter what her name is, but he doesn’t need a jacket because of the electricity inside him.

Then he got here and SWEET GOODNESS it was COLD. Not that it mattered though because FINALLY the Rock had come back to Buffalo. He’s been looking forward to this day for a long time because it means we’re 34 days from Wrestlemania. Cue John Cena for an interruption, or perhaps he’s the counterpoint. Cena talks about how Rock has conquered everything he’s done and therefore doesn’t know what it’s like to fail. Last year Cena talked about how he had to win the match last year but he didn’t do that.

The fans chant CENA SUCKS as Cena talks about how this is his chance to rewrite history. It was no coincidence that he won the Royal Rumble on the same night that Rock won the WWE Title or that he finally beat Punk when it mattered most. The loss to the Rock is the reason everything fell apart for him last year but he gets a chance to rewrite history and he won’t let it pass by.

Rock is glad to see the fire back in Cena because Cena was the man that Rock wanted to face at Wrestlemania. The Rock knows what the WWE Championship means to Cena and that no one in the WWE locker room has the fire and desire to win like Cena……except the Rock. As much as it means to Cena, it means that much more to the Rock. When the Rock gets to connect with all of the fans, that means more to Rock than anything.

Cena quotes WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson by talking about wanting to eat Rock’s children. It’s a shame that Tyson is remembered for that, because Tyson also said that in order to be the best man living, you have to beat everyone else. The Rock is the only thing Cena hasn’t been able to conquer. At Wrestlemania 29, the Rock’s time is up and Cena’s time is now. Rock says his time is just getting started. He has a quote for Cena: winning is about heart, but you have to have it in the right place. That’s from Lance Armstrong and he was full of nonsense just like Cena.

Cena says Rock has the same confidence that he had a year ago. In 34 days, Cena is making history by becoming the WWE Champion again. Rock says the difference between the two of them is that Cena thinks he can beat Rock but Rock knows he can beat Cena. At Wrestlemania, Rock is beating Cena again, if you smell what he’s cooking.

Jack Swagger vs. Jim Duggan

Swagger gets no entrance and Duggan has Sgt. Slaughter and Dusty Rhodes with him. Jack steals the 2×4 and stands on the floor for a bit before bringing the board into the ring with him and knocking out Duggan with it. He beats up the other legends as well and I don’t think the bell ever rang to end this. We’ll say it lasted about 45 seconds.

Swagger puts Duggan in the ankle lock post match.

We get a trailer for Marine 3.

After a break, Swagger says this is his America, but Del Rio jumps him, triggering a brawl in the back.

Ted DiBiase Sr. is at ringside for the next match.

HELL NO vs. Prime Time Players

This is non-title and apparently if the Players win, DiBiase might be their manager. Kane and Young start things off but it’s quickly off to Bryan to work on Young’s arm. He fires off kicks at Darren and dropkicks him down for two. Off to Titus who runs over Bryan and suplexes Young down onto Daniel’s chest. Back to Darren for some fist drops for two before it’s back to Titus.

After a quick chinlock, Bryan avoids a charging Titus in the corner. It’s off to Kane vs. Young now with the big man running over Darren. A low dropkick has Young in trouble and there are some clotheslines in the corner. A side slam gets two for Kane as everything breaks down. Titus is low bridged to the floor and Bryan hits the running knee off the apron to take him down. Darren goes up to the middle rope but jumps into the chokeslam for the pin at 3:45.

As Tensai (now called Sweet T) and Brodus dance, here’s Honky Tonk Man. Before he can say anything though, the dancing fat guys’ opponents, 3MB, takes his mic away. Slater tells him to go back to Vegas with the other Elvis impersonators and get out of the ring.

3MB vs. Tensai/Brodus Clay

It’s Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater here. Drew pounds away in the corner to start but gets rolled up and pinned in 25 seconds.

Post match everyone dances and Slater gets hit with a guitar.

Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango

Fandango has a good looking ballroom dancer with him. Before the match though, Fandango says he won’t debut until Justin Roberts can pronounce his name correctly. Roberts tries a few times but Fandango isn’t pleased. No match.

We recap the HHH/Lesnar confrontation that opened Raw last week.

Here’s HHH to address Lesnar. The name graphic says that HHH is a superstar instead of the COO or whatever his job title is. HHH says he hasn’t been in the ring since eight days after Summerslam. He talked about how he might be done but he wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince us or himself. After the cast was off, he was right back in the gym training. He didn’t have a goal in mind though because he was doing his day job in a suit, even cutting his hair to look the part.

Then he found himself sitting in a hospital room next to an old man that just had hip replacement surgery. HHH put aside his wife and kids crying, because now he had a reason. Then the old man got out of his bed and got beaten up by Brock Lesnar again, but it made HHH happy because now he has a reason. If Lesnar thinks they’re done, reach on top of your head and feel the staples that closed the cut on Lesnar’s head. HHH says it’s no coincidence that he’s here five weeks from Wrestlemania, because he’s calling Lesnar out. It’s up to Lesnar now.

Shield talks about how Sheamus, Orton and Big Show are throwing their hat in the ring to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Rollins talks about how Shield has an undefeated streak of their own, so maybe people trying to make history should remember that the eye of justice is always watching. Big Show isn’t getting another cheap shot on them either like he did on Smackdown.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Wade Barrett

Non-title of course. Wade pounds away in the corner to start but gets caught in the Backstabber for his efforts. Swagger and Colter come out to watch on the stage. Barrett slides back in and hits Winds of Change for two before dropping some elbows for the same. Off to a chinlock for a bit but Del Rio fights up and grabs the cross armbreaker on the ropes. He has to break at four though, allowing Barrett to hit a big boot to the face, sending the world champion to the floor.

Some knees to Del Rio’s head get two but Barrett misses a middle rope elbow. Del Rio kicks Barrett in the face and some clotheslines put him down. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Wade down and a low superkick gets two for Del Rio. Alberto charges into another boot though and Barrett loads up the pumphandle slam. Del Rio easily escapes though and the cross armbreaker gets the submission for Alberto at 4:56.

Rating: C. This is another match that is rapidly joining the list of matches we’ve seen and don’t need to see again for a long time. Again, is there ANYONE else that could be used to put Del Rio over than the Intercontinental Champion? The title is a prop now because Barrett constantly loses and he never defends the stupid belt. That’s what makes it a prop: no one wanting the title. If no one wants it, why should I care that Barrett owns it?

It’s time for another Colter/Swagger video. They don’t like the backlash they’re receiving for some of their opinions. They like the times when you could be mad about someone taking something that belongs to you. Real Americans refuse to use politically correct terms. The best thing people can do is respect them, because if not there will be real Americans that are ready to fight for them.

Here are the New Age Outlaws apparently for a match. We get a censored version of the signature entrance and you can see the younger fans confused by what they’re seeing. The older ones are loving it though, which si the point of a show like this.

New Age Outlaws vs. Primo/Epico

Dogg and Epico get things started and there are the shaking punches followed by the shaky knee drop for two for Roadie. Primo distracts Dogg though and Epico gets in a dropkick to take over. The cousins work over Roadie with Epico hitting a slingshot elbow for no cover. Off to a chinlock for a bit but Roadie fights up and the two of them collide. Hot tag brings in Billy who pounds away on both guys before getting two off a tilt-a-whirl slam. Everything breaks down and the Fameasser ends Primo at 2:58.

We recap the Rock/Cena segment from earlier.

We get some TOUTING IT OUT from the fans about tonight’s events.

We have a lot of birthday cakes and cupcakes for Mae Young’s 90^th birthday and most of the roster is here to celebrate. Mean Gene comes out to introduce Mae and the Divas help her to the ring. Everyone sings Happy Birthday to her but CM Punk interrupts. Well that was rude.

CM Punk vs. Sheamus vs. Big Show vs. Randy Orton

I think this is one fall to a finish. There are no tags so everyone is in the ring at once. Punk heads to the floor but Orton and Sheamus go out to surround him. Punk slides back in and has to fight Big Show which goes as badly as you would expect for him. Sheamus and Orton try their luck on Big Show and are both knocked down almost immediately. Orton finally gets him to the floor, giving us Sheamus vs. Randy for a bit.

Orton hits the backbreaker and Punk tries to steal a pin to no avail. The Irish Curse puts Orton down and Punk tries to steal it again. This time though Sheamus catches him and the good guys toss him to the outside. Big Show is back though and a single shot puts both Sheamus and Orton down as we take a break.

Back with Punk in control of Orton but Randy comes back with the powerslam. A t-bone suplex puts Punk down for two but Punk escapes the Elevated DDT. Sheamus comes back in with the slingshot shoulder for two but seems to be limping a bit. There are the ten forearms to Punk’s chest but Big Show takes Sheamus down with the Final Cut for two. Punk breaks it up and fires off knees to Show’s head.

Show pops back up though and knocks Punk out with the WMD. Sheamus tries to fight Show and spears him into the corner with some shoulders to the ribs. The WMD misses Sheamus and a kind of cross body takes Big Show down. The giant comes right back though, only to miss a Vader Bomb. White Noise puts Big Show down but it only gets two.

Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick on Show but Orton catches him in the powerslam. A chokeslam puts down both Orton and Sheamus but the one on Sheamus only gets two. The WMD misses Sheamus and the Brogue Kick lays out Big Show. An RKO lays out Sheamus but Punk comes in with a GTS for the pin on Orton at 12:40.

Rating: C+. While it was pretty obvious that Punk was winning here, the match wasn’t bad at all. They did the right thing by having everyone moving around quickly and the finish was nicely done. Punk vs. Undertaker is a solid match and definitely the second biggest match on the show. It wasn’t Punk vs. Cena but it did what it was supposed to do.

Post match Undertaker comes out to stare down Punk to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was good and bad at the same time. The good stuff here was the Wrestlemania build. The card seems to be mostly set now and it’s time to push towards the show. That stuff, mainly Rock vs. Cena, was good for the most part. Then we get to the bad stuff, which is the Old School stuff. As I’ve mentioned before, having legends come out over and over again doesn’t do much for the fans other than the older ones.

If you want to do nostalgia, use people like the Outlaws or bring in Val Venis or Godfather or freaking Steve Blackman or something like that. You know, people from the Attitude Era that is now apparently the GREATEST THING EVER in wrestling. On top of that, guys like Duggan, DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man and most of the other legends here were barely ever even on Raw other than Flair and the Outlaws. Use nostalgia correctly people. I assure you it’s not that hard.

Results

Ryback b. Antonio Cesaro – Shell Shock

Mark Henry b. Zack Ryder – World’s Strongest Slam

The Miz b. Dolph Ziggler – Figure Four Leg Lock

Jim Duggan b. Jack Swagger via DQ when Swagger hit Duggan with a 2×4

Brodus Clay/Tensai b. 3MB – Rollup to McIntyre

Alberto Del Rio b. Wade Barret – Cross Armbreaker

New Age Outlaws b. Epico/Primo – Fameasser to Primo

CM Punk b. Big Show, Sheamus and Randy Orton – GTS to Orton

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