WWF Wrestling Challenge
Date: February 7, 1988
Location: Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

What a name for a venue. We’re past the Rumble and the Main Event, but only the Rumble had aired when this show was taped. We won’t be into a post Main Event set of tapings until the end of the month so for now all you’re going to hear about is the Rumble (in theory). We’re getting into some very interesting times now though so let’s get to it.

We hear from the arena manager who welcomes us to the arena.

Vince says that the announcers aren’t allowed to talk about the ending of The Main Event. That’s pretty clever actually.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules

Hercules gets fired up before the match. Heenan is at ringside for this so Vince is alone on commentary. It’s a pre-match posedown because the chain is still in the ring. We’re going to get a tug of war to start. There’s been no contact yet. They keep moving their hands closer and Herc kicks him in the ribs. They keep pulling on the chain and it breaks in half. Herc hits him with half of the chain and the thing is thrown out before it officially starts.

Herc has to be pulled off of Warrior allowing the painted one to come back and choke Hercules to the back. This would result in a Wrestlemania rematch.

Mania is officially announced for Atlantic City at 4pm. We hear about some people who are going to be in the city although not exactly at the show.

Jerry Gray/Rex King vs. The Bolsheviks

Slick is with the Russians here. Heenan is back on commentary here. After the Russian anthem Nikolai goes after Gray. Heenan wants to talk about Indianapolis but he’s not allowed to. Off to Boris who gets pounded in the corner which gets him sent to the floor. Nikolai and King come in and Boris hits King in the back of the head. A double ax to the chest gets the pin. Squash.

Demolition says that Billy Jack Haynes and Ken Patera can’t stop them. They want whoever they can get their hands on, but they especially want the new champions, Strike Force.

Bad News is back next week.

Gino Carabella/Brian Costello vs Young Stallions

Roma and I think Costello start things off. Powers comes in with a sunset flip and it’s back to Roma. Heenan talks about hanging out with Donald Trump. The jobbers double team Roma but the Stallions make a blind tag. Roma (I think the illegal man) pins Costello with a belly to belly suplex.

Slick and the One Man Gang say that the Gang will win the world title this coming year.

The Bulldogs say thank you for your get well wishes to Matilda.

Rick Rude vs. Brady Boone

These two went to high school together actually. Boone jumps over Rude in the corner and does it again. His momentum is short lived as he walks into a powerslam for two. Rude Awakening ends this quick.

Jim Duggan talks about winning the Rumble. He’s always got the board in case he needs it.

Butch Reed vs. Dave Stoudemire

Heenan comes back into the booth and talks about The Main Event but it’s censored. There’s nothing to say here. It runs about two and a half minutes and Reed wins with a top rope shoulder block.

We get clips from the Rumble with Dino Bravo trying for a world bench press record. They only show about two minutes here but the whole thing ran about twenty and ended with Jesse helping.

We also get a clip of the end of the Women’s Tag Title match.

Demolition vs. Rick Hunter/Omar Atlas

Atlas starts and gets beaten down very quickly. Off to Hunter who is taken down even faster. Hunter gets demolished and the Decapitator ends this quick.

Ron Bass thinks all the top talent is hiding from him.

Heenan gets censored again and Vince leans his head in front of Bobby’s mouth so no one can read his lip. That’s a pretty good idea.

Overall Rating: C. The show was just ok but the story was clearly coming strong here and it would only be a matter of time before the whole thing finally got to be talked about. Once that happens, the road to Mania will begin and we’re only about seven weeks away from that show anyway. The wrestling wasn’t great here, but the story was.

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 1, 2001
Location: Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

This show almost has to be better than last week’s. Last week wasn’t really bad but it just wasn’t interesting in the slightest and nothing happened with it. This week hopefully Austin is back and we’re moving towards No Mercy and then Survivor Series. Based on the card, nothing is going to get any better this week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip from Smackdown with Rock and Angle trying to win the tag titles from the Dudleys but having Booker and Test run in for the save. Angle took a 3D through a table as did Rock.

After the theme song here’s Kurt for a chat. Angle says that he has business to finish with the Dudleys, but first of all Austin isn’t here again. Angle doesn’t quite believe that, but maybe it’s true. He’s not sure you see. Maybe Austin is scared. There’s nothing embarrassing about tapping out to escape the pain of the ankle lock. Angle doesn’t want to embarrass Austin but how about Austin comes out here right now.

Instead he gets the Rock for some reason. Rock doesn’t know or care where Austin is tonight. He does however care about the Dudleys after the pair of 3D’s on Smackdown. Rock thinks that maybe they should get together with the Dudleys tonight. It can be all of the Dudleys, even the more obscure ones which he lists for some decent laughs.

Here’s Shane who is in fighting clothes. Shane thinks that he’s going to put the Dudleys against Rock in a handicap tables match for the title. If Rock doesn’t do it, the belt is stripped from The Rock. Rock says cool, although he’s a little more colorful than that. Angle wants to talk about strudel.

Austin is a giant strudel and Shane doesn’t have a strudel of his own. Shane says he has a whole bakery down there, so tonight it’s himself vs. Angle for the WWF Title. How does he get to make that match? Shane comes to the ring but the Dudleys run in for the beatdown. Angle gets powerbombed through a table and Rock makes the save. That goes badly as he takes a 3D of his own. Did this segment really need seventeen minutes?

We get a fax at the announce table. I wonder if that’s the father of the GM Computer. It’s for Heyman from Austin and it says (complete with a graphic saying communicating by fax) that Austin won’t be here tonight because he resents Angle as well as the fans. It even includes WHAT’s, which is kind of awesome.

European Title: Spike Dudley vs. Hurricane

The word on the street is that Molly has turned villain by turning hero. Spike pounds on him to start but Hurricane comes back with a neckbreaker. Superkick by the champion misses and Spike goes up. Mike Awesome comes down for no apparent reason and Spike dives on him. Hurricane hits Spike and goes up but jumps into the boot. He loads up the Dudley Dog but Awesome trips him up. Eye of the Hurricane off the top ends this. Short and bad.

In the back Molly officially becomes Mighty Molly and joins Hurricane as they leave on the Hurricycle. Big Show pops up on the Tron looking like an IDIOT in a jean hat and jacket. He says on Smackdown that he’ll take Spike out on the town to meet a bunch of women. Show sounds drunk.

Booker T/Test/Rob Van Dam vs. Undertaker/Kane/Chris Jericho

Booker and Test beat the monsters for the WCW tag titles on Smackdown. Before the WWF guys come in we get another fax from Austin which says that he congratulates the new champions but RVD needs to remember that there’s only one leader of the Alliance. Jericho and Booker start things off. The Canadian starts with the forearm and chops Booker into the corner.

Off to Undertaker who gets very little reaction. I guess he listens as he tags back out less than ten seconds later. A hook kick lets Booker tag Test in and now Taker will fight for awhile. Taker works on the arm and hits Old School which gets a good reaction. Kane comes in with a side slam and the top rope clothesline. RVD walks into a big boot but as Kane tries the double chokeslam, RVD hits Kane low right in front of the referee who doesn’t do anything.

RVD is legal off that somehow and hits Rolling Thunder for two on Kane. Back to Booker and then Test very quickly. The Canadian beats on Kane for a few moments but gets caught in a belly to back suplex to put him down. Off to Taker who is moving quickly by his standards.

He beats up all three Alliance guys while Jericho just lets the three on one fight to continue. Van Dam superkicks Undertaker but RVD bulldogs him down. Everything breaks down and we have some heel miscommunication. Test kicks Kane’s head off but gets caught in an UGLY Last Ride. Booker knocks Taker to the floor but gets caught in the Walls. Van Dam hits a top rope kick to the face and rolls up Jericho for the pin.

Rating: C-. Basic six man tag here with some REALLY bad refereeing in there too. The idea of tagging was thrown out the window most of the time in this match and it got pretty annoying. Not a good match either but the combining of two feuds into one match is a pretty good idea in a period like this one.

We get a clip from Heat where Stacy and Torrie have a stupid argument. Torrie beats her up.

Stephanie and her rocking rack will be back next week. Jericho hurt her on Smackdown and we get a clip of the match where she got hurt in the Walls. Her in a tight blue halter top and leather pants WORKS.

Awesome talks to RD in the back when Shane comes in. He wants to talk about the Stephanie injury and implies it was RVD’s fault. This goes nowhere.

Oh geez it’s time for a Torrie promo. Thankfully Stacy jumps her before anything can be said. Lillian the interviewer yells in Spanish.

WCW World Title: Dudley Boys vs. The Rock

Tables match. Rock needs to put one through a table to win. Rock charges the ring and we’re off fast. They go to the floor and Rock sends both of them into the table and makes Bubba clothesline D-Von. Rock puts a table in the ring and hits a baseball slide to kick a different table into Bubba’s face. D-Von gets in but Bubba Rock up to give the team control. What’s Up to Rock and it’s one of those stupid matches where they have to tag.

D-Von is in legally first and there’s a table set up in the ring. Bubba kicks Rock in the back to put him down again and then tags in legally. Quickly back to D-Von as Rock comes back with punches. The reverse 3D takes Rock down and Bubba is in legally. The Dudleys set for something off the top but Rock comes back. He crotches Bubba but D-Von moves the table so Rock just slams Bubba onto the mat. D-Von sets up a second table for a 3D but Rock knocks D-Von to the floor.

Samoan Drop puts Bubba down as does a DDT. D-Von back in and he walks into a Rock Bottom but Bubba moves the table. Spinebuster puts Bubba down and here’s Shane. He puts Rock through the table but there’s no referee. Another Alliance referee comes in but a WWF one counters him. What authority would the WWF one have here? Bubba picks up Rock and gets caught in a Rock Bottom through the table so Rock can retain.

Rating: C-. So, again, we have a challenge of the week for Rock and there’s more interference by Shane which Rock overcomes. This has been going on for what, four weeks in a row now? Like I’ve been saying the whole time, there’s no point to the majority of these matches as there’s nowhere for this specific pairing to go anymore and once again, it’s about a McMahon instead of a wrestler. Same old, same old.

DDP still has a creepy smile and wants us to like ourselves. He recently hurt his knee and needed surgery, but that’s a good thing because his knee is stronger than ever and he loves rehab. We get a yoga demonstration which was never mentioned again I don’t think.

Tajiri/Torrie Wilson vs. Stacy Keibler/Tazz

Torrie is in a full body dress and Stacy is in leather shorts. Clearly they’re in fighting gear here. The guys start (thank goodness) and Tajiri hits the handspring elbow. He tries a kick but gets caught in the capture suplex and it’s off to Stacy vs. Torrie. Make this quick. As expected they’re terrible because THEY AREN’T WRESTLERS. Back to the guys with Tajiri firing off his strikes and hooking the Tarantula. Ivory runs out and DDTs Torrie so Stacy can pin her. Awful match and for the life of me is anyone supposed to care?

Another fax says Austin doesn’t like bullies, which is what JR is.

Ivory hits on Regal who isn’t impressed. Lance Storm comes in to talk about sexual harassment and we have a match later.

Here’s Christian to complain about not getting respect after defending his title twice last week. No one defends his title like he does and no one cares. He insults the locals and wants to know why no one likes him. Cue X-Pac (irony!) who sympathizes with Christian. He was part of the most popular group ever and then went out on his own. The people turned on him and he’s mad about it. Christian says shame on the people and Pac calls them all losers.

Cue Edge who says Pac didn’t make the people chew him up and spit him out. He made them want to vomit. 1998 called and they’re sick of him, so come join us in 2001. Edge used to be into the goth thing but then changed because of this thing called “character development.” Maybe Pac should look into it. This is great stuff. Christian makes fun of Edge as the fans chant for Edge. Edge asks the fans why they hate Christian and gives them some options to pick from. Albert jumps Edge and it’s three on one until the APA makes the save.

William Regal vs. Lance Storm

This HAS TO be good right? Storm quickly takes him down with a jawbreaker but Regal knocks him to the floor. Regal fires off forearms back in the ring but walks into a boot that bloodies his nose. Not that it matters as the Regal Stretch gets the tap out after about 90 seconds.

FAX! Austin says that he’s either #1 contender or else Regal is going to get it. Regal isn’t pleased and roughs up Heyman as a result.

In a hilariously bad bit of acting, Maven, the Tough Enough winner, is told by Taz that he’s competing on Smackdown. His opponent is about to come through that door. Maven turns around and there’s a Tazmission, because Taz is the opponent.

Shane implies that he wants Van Dam to help him in the main event…I think.

WWF Title: Shane McMahon vs. Kurt Angle

Your main event people! We’ve got ALL OF ECW AND MOST OF WCW on the payroll but we get Shane McMahon. Sure why not. Angle starts fast with punches and some hard clotheslines. Out to the floor for Kurt to hit RVD but it allows Shane to take over. And never mind as Angle suplexes him to take over again. Kurt tries to suplex Shane over the top and to the floor but Shane grabs the rope.

A springboard clothesline by Shane puts Kurt down for two. He works on the neck and breaks it for two. Kurt starts a comeback but gets caught by a floatover DDT. Top rope elbow gets a delayed cover as the elbow hurt Shane too. Kurt comes back with punches and the Rolling Germans. Out to the floor and Shane takes another belly to belly. Van Dam fires off a kick and hits a Frog Splash from the apron. That gets two in the ring so Van Dam throws in a chair. Shane tries a piledriver but Angle reverses into the ankle lock to retain.

Rating: D. So we got a basic squash for the WWF Title in the main event. No one on the planet bought Shane as a legit threat here and you could tell with no one reacting to the covers in the slightest. With the roster you have out there, THIS is the best you can give us? Even with the knowledge of the names that would be there within just a few months, this is still unacceptable. Booker, RVD, Rhyno, Mike Awesome, any of these guys would have been a better and more believable option than Shane. The other problem is that even if Shane won the title, so what? It’s a world title apiece again.

Overall Rating: D+. These shows are getting worse and worse because it’s the same stuff over and over again. We have these meaningless title defenses while we sit around and wait for Austin to come back and no one has a freaking clue what the point of any of this is. I know I harp on this a lot but none of these matches or fights mean anything. The Alliance never had a goal or anything other than to come in and beat WWF guys, which doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day, which is where the whole thing fell apart. Well among other things but you get the idea. Weakest show in awhile here.

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Smackdown
Date: May 11, 2012
Location: Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Booker T

We’ve got two shows before Over the Limit and after Raw we have a fatal fourway main event instead of just Sheamus vs. Del Rio which should be a big upgrade over the singles match. Other than that we have very little set up for the PPV on the blue side. The show is going to be a filler show so it doesn’t really need to be that set up. I’m sure we’ll get Show vs. Rhodes again too. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip from the Raw tag match and the post match brawl/announcement in the back.

Sheamus/Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio/Chris Jericho

No car for Del Rio this time. Orton and Jericho get things going. Randy takes him down with a shoulder block and slaps Sheamus on the shoulder to tag him in. Sheamus clotheslines Jericho down and brings Randy back in with a hearty slap on the arm. Off to Del Rio who gets taken down but the knee drop misses. Alberto goes for the arm and drops some knees on it.

Randy gets in a boot as the announcers say there’s no point in trying to predict the fourway. Tag to Sheamus who hits the Regal Roll for two. Jericho low bridges Sheamus to send him to the floor and gets in a shot to the injured shoulder. Jericho comes in legally and puts on a modified Fujiwara armbar.

To give you an idea of the commentary I have to listen to here, this exchange happens: Josh: “I know you can’t predict a winner in the fatal fourway but will Sheamus retain?” Michael: “I don’t think so because it’s almost mathematically impossible. He only has a 25% chance.” After that butchering of both logic and math, Sheamus hits Jericho with the ax handle and tags in Orton. RKO is countered but a dropkick gets two for Orton. Everything breaks down and the referee calls for the bell after about four seconds for the double DQ at 5:19.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t really a match but rather just a backdrop for the double DQ ending. That’s probably a good thing too as there’s no need to have anyone look better or weaker before the PPV. It was just a basic main event style tag match until then and at least we didn’t have to wait long before it got thrown out.

Post break we’re told that it’s Del Rio vs. Orton and Sheamus vs. Jericho later.

AJ vs. Kaitlyn

AJ takes her down immediately and then does it again. She dropkicks the knee and hits a running knee to the head for the pin at 35 seconds.

Post match AJ goes after Kaitlyn again but here’s Daniel Bryan. He says he’s impressed by her ruthlessness and AJ looks like a little lost puppy. Bryan sees her in a new light and is willing to move past all the angst they’ve had. After he becomes WWE Champion at Over the Limit he’s looking forward to moving on. AJ looks at him and Bryan nods, but Bryan says he’s looking forward to moving on to Kaitlyn. AJ looks completely psychotic and leaves.

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show

Show corners him and chops the chest. Bryan goes for the knee but it doesn’t do much good. Show chops him again but Bryan manages to take him down with a middle rope dropkick. He hooks the YES Lock….and there’s the bell at 1:28. Ace pops up at the timekeeper’s table and says Bryan wins by submission.

Ace makes Show apologize again and Show is humiliated again. Ace says that on Monday Show better give him a real apology. Way to emasculate the good guys WWE! As Ace is leaving he says that at Extreme Rules, Lesnar destroyed Cena and revolutionized the WWE. In nine nights, he’s going to beat Cena and shake the WWE to its foundation.

Heath Slater is in the ring and says that his opponent looks like a caveman with a pea sized brain. The guy he’s facing tonight hasn’t beaten anyone like the One Man Southern Rock Band. Again, WHAT DOES THAT NAME MEAN???

Ryback vs. Heath Slater

Slater actually gets in some offense but before I can make an NXT joke, it’s powerslam, clothesline and MuscleBuster at 1:15 for Ryback’s latest win.

Teddy Long is guest ring announcer for the next match.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Alex Riley

Teddy has to run off a long list of names for Cesaro such as the Swiss Sensation, His Opponent’s Plight and Aksana’s Delight. Cesaro hits a big boot in the corner and a gutwrench suplex. Riley gets in some jobber offense but the spinebuster is broken up. The European Uppercut sets up that Gotch whatever move for the pin at 2:23.

Post match Aksana reminds Teddy they were just friends but Cesaro is her lover. They kiss and Teddy wants to cry.

Video on Cena’s work with Make-A-Wish, which he wrote an article for USA Today about. Love him or hate him, that’s awesome stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio

The entrances are cut for some reason. Del Rio controls to start but Orton comes back and hits the slingshot into the bottom rope for two. Alberto drapes the arm over the top rope to take over. Hammerlock slam gets two and it’s off to an armbar. Orton gets up and powerslams Alberto but the elevated DDT is countered. He sends Orton to the apron and hits an enziguri for two.

Orton comes back again with the backbreaker but Del Rio kicks him in the arm. Codebreaker to the arm puts Orton down and he loads up the armbreaker, but Orton kicks him off. Elevated DDT from the top rope hits but Ricardo is on the top rope. He jumps right into an RKO which is good for the DQ at 5:22.

Rating: C. I liked this. The story of Orton using his usual stuff to counteract all of the arm work was working for me and even though there was no way Orton would ever tap to the hold, it was interesting watching him counter all that stuff. Then again I’m an Orton fan so that probably has a lot to do with it. Also anyone jumping into an RKO is cool to see.

Del Rio puts Orton’s shoulder into the post and hooks the armbreaker post match.

R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger

This is due to the tag title match that was set up for the PPV. Truth quickly takes over and hits a dancing legdrop for one. AW and company are watching in the back. Mason Ryan is with them now. Swagger comes back with a wheelbarrow suplex for two. He hits Truth’s back a few times but Truth comes back with a DDT to put both guys down. Swagger tries another wheelbarrow suplex but Truth rolls him up for two. Dolph trips up Truth and gets punched and kicked by the champions. Swagger jumps Truth on the floor but Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise. That lets the Little Jimmy get the pin at 3:20.

Rating: D+. Another short match in an annoying series of them tonight. This is your usual formula to set up a tag team title match and I still have yet to find anyone that cares about this match and feud at all. This match was just ok at best but again, with only three and a half minutes to work with, there’s only so much they could do.

We get a piece of the Cena sitdown interview from Monday.

Santino Marella/Zack Ryder vs. Titus O’Neil/Darren Young

Ryder doesn’t even get an entrance anymore. Titus runs Santino over to start and slams him down. Off to Young who hits a neckbreaker and belly to back suplex. Titus suplexes Young onto Santino and it’s off to a Darren chinlock. Santino escapes and tags in Ryder who speeds things up. He hits his usual stuff and the Broski Boot gets two on Darren. Rough Ryder is broken up by Titus and Santino gets clotheslined down while he loads up the Cobra. Young knocks Ryder off the ropes and the Demolition Decapitator (called the Ghetto Blaster) gets the pin at 2:59.

Titus makes Lillian announce the winners again. They say they’ll be the new champions and make millions.

Damien Sandow says he knows his message is going over everyone’s heads but they have no one to look up to. He’ll be the sword of taste and decency, which concludes the interview. You’re welcome.

Brodus Clay vs. Hunico

Hunico and Camacho jump Brodus before the bell. Camacho is thrown out and Brodus starts smiling. There’s the bell and the beating begins. Suplex and splash end this at 54 seconds.

Post match it’s time to dance.

Video on HHH being attacked by Lesnar and Heyman returning to announce Brock quitting on Monday.

Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus

Sheamus takes him into the corner to start and uses the power to control. Jericho misses a charge into the corner and Sheamus knocks him off the apron into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Sheamus hitting the slingshot shoulder block for two. Out to the apron and Sheamus tries to suplex him to the floor, but Jericho drapes the arm over the top rope to take over.

Sheamus’ arm goes into the post and Jericho puts on an armbar back in the ring. The champ fights up but Jericho dropkicks him down. That gets him nowhere as Sheamus makes his comeback. That gets countered also but the Walls are countered. Irish Curse is broken up as is the Regal Roll. The Walls go on but Sheamus is too close to the ropes. He sends Jericho to the floor where Del Rio pops in and sends Jericho into the steps for the DQ at 5:45 shown of 9:15.

Rating: C. Just like last time this was a pretty decent match for the most part as the two of them had chemistry, but I’d like to talk for a minute about psychology. Sheamus has a bad arm, Jericho worked on the arm all match, and then he tried a back hold. I get that it’s his finisher, but sometimes you need to go with the move that makes sense instead of the finisher.

Post match Del Rio puts Sheamus in the armbreaker but Orton comes out for the save. Del Rio takes all three finishers and Orton stares at Sheamus to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did a great job at playing up the fourway with only Del Rio looking weak, which more or less guarantees that he’ll be walking out with the title. The short matches were annoying, but they got TEN matches on one show which has to be way up there on the lists of two hour shows. Not a terrible show but it was more for building up later shows than this one, which is annoying but understandable.

Results
Sheamus/Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho/Alberto Del Rio went to a double DQ
AJ b. Kaitlyn – Running Knee
Daniel Bryan b. Big Show – YES Lock
Ryback b. Heath Slater – MuscleBuster
Antonio Cesaro b. Alex Riley – Gotch Style Neutralizer
Randy Orton b. Alberto Del Rio via DQ when Ricardo Rodriguez interfered
R-Truth b. Jack Swagger – Little Jimmy
Darren Young/Titus O’Neil b. Zack Ryder/Santino Marella – Demolition Decapitator to Ryder
Brodus Clay b. Hunico – Splash
Chris Jericho b. Sheamus via DQ when Alberto Del Rio interfered

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 10, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

It’s the go home show for Sacrifice and I don’t think much has been announced for the show. It’ll probably be more about RVD vs. Roode which hasn’t been built up all that well for the most part. I mean the material is there but it hasn’t really grabbed me yet. Either way the match is set for Sunday and it should be entertaining enough. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Roode to open the show and say his usual stuff. I’m sure you know this speech by now. He took out Anderson, Hardy and RVD last week because he’s the champion and that’s what he does. He’ll be the longest reigning champion in 14 days and no one can stop him, especially not RVD on Sunday.

Cue RVD for a brawl with Roode going to the floor. RVD holds up the belt and Anderson comes out to beat up Roode too. Hardy comes in and it’s a 3-1 beatdown. Hardy and Anderson get in a fight because that’s what they do. Cue Hogan who has an idea for a fatal fourway tonight with everyone in the brawl in it. If Anderson or Hardy win, they get the RVD’s title match. If Roode wins, he can pick which of the three he wants to face. If RVD wins, he gets to pick the stipulation. RVD says cool let’s do it. Well at least it plays up to the Sacrifice name. Too bad this is IMPACT and not Sacrifice.

Ray isn’t worried about the tiny man known as Austin Aries. He says he’s going to take care of Aries tonight so stay tuned.

Gail is panicking about her match with Brook while Madison gets ready. Madison wants to look perfect for some guy but won’t say who.

Velvet Sky vs. Brooke Tessmacher

Velvet sends her to the corner and shakes her hips. Brooke sends her to the corner and shakes her hips. Ok then. They do some basic stuff until Brooke knocks her into the corner and uses her hips to ram Velvet’s face. Velvet comes back and hits a basement dropkick but In Yo Face is countered. Brooke hits a drop toehold to send her into the buckle and that belly to back mat slam for the pin at 3:42.

Rating: D-. This was REALLY bad with both girls missing a lot of stuff. It looked like their stuff was missing too, which is what can usually be covered up by people with more talent than this. Also I get tired of the hip stuff quickly. We get it: you know how to shake your hips. Now do something else.

Gail comes out and Brook Eats Defeat.

AJ has no comment on the secret thing and is focused on Angle this Sunday.

Hardy is ready for the main event.

Matt Morgan vs. Crimson

Bully Ray jumps Morgan with the chain before Morgan can get into the ring. He adds in a chair shot to the head and says that’ll be Aries in a stoic voice. No match as Morgan is taken out on a stretcher.

Post break and Morgan is still being taken out. Crimson gets on the mic and says that week after week Morgan claims to be the man to break the streak. He makes the referee ring the bell and count to ten.

Crimson vs. Matt Morgan

Ten count, 39 seconds.

RVD talks about Greek mythology and choosing the life of the hero instead of the long peaceful one.

X-Division Title: Zema Ion vs. Austin Aries

Aries takes over to start with a seated dropkick and it’s out to the floor. Aries misses a double ax off the top rope and hits the barricade. Ion hits a big flip dive which gets two back in the ring. Backbreaker gets two. A middle rope moonsault gets knees so Aries clotheslines him to the floor. Suicide dive takes Ion out and back in, a Tajiri handspring leads to a back elbow on the mat for two. A pair of dropkicks sets up the brainbuster to retain at 4:16.

Rating: C. The match was fine but it was basically a squash. Aries has zero competition and hasn’t for months, which makes these matches pretty dull as there’s no drama at all. It’s good that he’s moving up to the regular midcard but they need to get the title off of him. It’s not that hard to do it either but for some reason they keep waiting on it.

Kaz is worried about revealing the secret but Daniels says it’s ok.

RVD is ready for the win tonight and he’ll win the title on Sunday.

Quick recap on the latest incarnation of Daniels vs. AJ.

Daniels and Kaz are in the ring and Daniels invites AJ out to set the record straight. Cue AJ who says that this is a mistake but Kaz cuts him off. Kaz says that he protected AJ and then saw what was in the envelope and he stopped realizing why he was protecting AJ. Kaz opens the envelope and it’s a photo of AJ and Dixie Carter holding hands. AJ says so what so we get another of AJ with his hands on her face. The third is of them kissing. Daniels drops the pictures and leaves AJ stunned.

TV Title: Robbie E vs. D-Von

D-Von clears the ring of Big Robbie to start and hits a Thesz Press with punches. Headbutt keeps E down but T pulls D-Von to the floor. That goes badly for the big guy and E gets clotheslined as he tries to jump D-Von. Spinebuster ends this in 1:13.

Robbie T powerslams D-Von post match to keep this feud going another week.

We go to Tennessee to hear from Storm about how he has no excuse to lose. He’s put a lot of work into everything on his farm and in wrestling and he’s never second guessed himself until now. He didn’t get the job done at Lockdown and it kills him.

If RVD wins, it’s a ladder match. Apparently this was revealed earlier.

Joseph Park needs help finding the ring.

D-Von challenges the Rob’s to a handicap match at Sacrifice.

We recap the Abyss Is Missing story and how Joseph is looking for him.

Here’s Joseph in the arena and he has issues getting in the ring. He says everyone here knows who he is and what he’s doing. Every lead he’s had has said find Bully Ray so he’s not going away. Joseph says that he might buy a ticket and come to Sacrifice on Sunday to watch the show. Why bother? You’ve walked into every show here for months now.

Ray comes out and yells, saying this isn’t a court room and that Joseph needs to get out. Joseph says that Ray lost to Abyss in Abyss’ last appearance, plus he lost to D-Von two weeks ago. Then last week a guy half of Ray’s size named Austin Aries beat Ray down. How is that bully thing working out for you Ray? Ray shoves Joseph down and leaves as Park smiles.

Anderson is looking forward to not having his match on Sunday.

We get a great moment in TNA history which is Hogan arriving and throwing The Band out.

Angle is ready for AJ.

We run down the Sacrifice card.

RVD is ready for Sacrifice.

Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson

If Rob wins, Roode vs. Van Dam is a ladder match. If Roode wins, he gets to pick his opponent on Sunday. If Hardy or Anderson win, they get RVD’s spot. Everyone jumps Roode to start but Anderson shoves Hardy off. They fight to the floor so it’s RVD vs. Roode with the champ hitting a suplex as we take a break.

Back with Roode getting two off another suplex. Anderson comes back in and gets his spinning neckbreaker for two on RVD. Van Dam comes back with the split legged moonsault for the same result. He loads up the Rolling Thunder but Roode catches him in the spinebuster for two in a nice counter. Rob superkicks Roode into the corner but his monkey flip to Jeff is countered. Whisper in the Wind gets two on RVD. Rolling Thunder hits Hardy but Roode throws Van Dam to the floor. Twist of Fate and Mic Check to Roode followed by Anderson spearing Hardy to the floor. Five Star pins Roode at 8:30.

Rating: C-. That’s the longest match of the night and it ran less than nine minutes, about four of which were spent in a commercial. I don’t think anyone thought anybody but Van Dam was going to win here which is ok, but they should have set up the stipulation way earlier than this instead of waiting for three days to go before the PPV.

Post match RVD puts up a ladder and here’s Abyss on the stage. He whispers to the camera and says Joseph is getting too close to the fire and to back off before he gets burned.

Overall Rating: D+. This show didn’t work for me for the most part. There was WAY too much talking and a lot of this felt like they were getting ready for TV later instead of the PPV on Sunday. That’s a major problem this company has: they book for TV instead of their major shows which doesn’t make much sense.

Why would anyone want to pay money (which is what TNA”s goal is: to make money) if the focus is on TV instead of the PPVs? Some of the matches got built somewhat ok, but adding a ladder stipulation to the title match three days early is a bad idea as you had a month you could have built that up with. Either way, not a good show heading into a filler PPV.

Results
Brooke Tessmacher b. Velvet Sky – Belly to Back Mat Slam
Crimson b. Matt Morgan via countout
Austin Aries b. Zema Ion – Brainbuster
D-Von b. Robbie E – Spinebuster
Rob Van Dam b. Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode and Mr. Anderson – Five Star Frog Splash to Roode

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 24, 2001
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 7,730
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

We’re past Unforgiven and the biggest detail is that we have a new WWF Champion in the form of Kurt Angle, who beat Austin in a pretty good match. We’re four weeks away from No Mercy and it’ll be the first show where things look even the slightest bit different in the main event picture. And then that’ll all mean nothing as it’ll be time for the Survivor Series and the end of the Alliance. Let’s get to it.

We open with Angle being announced as the new world champion and his family coming in to celebrate with him.

We’re waiting on Austin to arrive so in the meantime we’ll play a theme song.

Kane/Undertaker/Bradshaw vs. Dudley Boyz/Test

Kronik has been fired due to last night’s debacle so we have a new Alliance team for Undertaker and Kane to beat up. The Dudleys are WWF tag champions and Kane/Taker are the WCW counterparts. Bradshaw jumps Test to start and escapes the full nelson slam. Test absorbs some right hands and clotheslines Bradshaw down. Off to D-Von who gets slammed down and there’s a tag to Kane.

Sidewalk slam puts D-Von down and the top rope clothesline puts him down even further. Big boot from Test changes momentum and gets two for D-Von. Kane gets beaten up on the floor a bit as Undertaker tries to help, thereby allowing more cheating. Bubba drops some ax handles for two. Test comes in and pounds on Kane but the Spaniard slugs back and tags in Undertaker. Everything breaks down and Taker avoids the 3D. Bubba gets taken down by the Clothesline and a Last Ride pins D-Von.

Rating: D+. Total meh match here with nothing going on at all. Undertaker looks strong which doesn’t really help anything. I guess this sets up Dudleys vs. Brothers but it doesn’t really make the big tough team look all that vulnerable. Also as usual, the match doesn’t mean anything past the latest win/loss for either side.

Stacy comes in to see Torrie and wants to know what she sees in Tajiri. Stacy thinks he’s short and not much of a man. Torrie says at least she has a man (does Stasiak ring a bell?) so Stacy says she can get one anytime she wants (Stasiak? His dad was world champion?) so a challenge is set up for later.

Christian arrives and Heyman thinks it’s Austin. Christian warns the security guard to be ready for the mob of people that will be here soon. Oh and go get his bags later. He talks to two people ignoring him and says that he’ll sign all their autographs post show.

Shane fires up the Alliance by saying Austin will be here later. He says Austin is still champion because his arm was under the rope. Booker and Shane got screwed by Hebner too, so tonight is about revenge. Stephanie pops in and thinks they’re all here for her birthday. You know, because they wouldn’t show up for work otherwise. Stephanie (looking GREAT again this week) says that tonight is about leadership and following the example of….RVD. Booker comes out of his pose to complain so it’s Booker vs. Angle for the WWF Title and Rock vs. RVD for the WCW version.

Tajiri vs. Tazz

Tajiri kicks him down but walks into a Tazplex to take over. Tajiri comes back with the kicks and the Tarantula. Buzzsaw kick connects but Stacy kisses Tajiri which lets Taz hook the Tazmission for the tap out.

Shane talks to Booker about how it’s time to move up to the WWF Title.

US Title: Rhyno vs. Jeff Hardy

Rhyno won the title last night off Tajiri. Jeff speeds things up to start and sends it to the floor. Slingshot dropkick sets up a rana off the apron to take over. Back in the champion hits a spinebuster but misses a top rope splash. Jeff hits a flipping legdrop for two but walks into a belly to belly. Whisper in the Wind puts Rhyno down but the Swanton misses. The first Gore attempt misses but Jeff goes to the corner and when he lands, Rhyno kills him dead with the Gore to retain.

Rating: C. Rhyno was on a roll at this point and couldn’t have a bad match if he tried. He was great at the power matches and using that Gore to split people in half. He didn’t really have a character but he didn’t need one with his finisher. On top of that he added in some psychology with the constant rib work which makes perfect sense. Good stuff.

Hurricane tells Citizen Ivory and Citizen Storm that he’s glad they’re studying for the match. He also thinks Ivory is in danger and tells her to wait at the entrance. She leaves and Hurricane confides to Storm that he’s ready to take Holly on as his full time sidekick. He makes Storm do Wonder Twin Powers Activate in a funny bit.

Kanyon comes in to see RVD because he’s worried about Austin freaking out on him. Van Dam says just chill.

Ivory/Lance Storm/Hurricane vs. Big Show/Spike Dudley/Molly Holly

Spike is in a Show costume for no apparent reason. Show and Hurricane start things off and the masked man wants a test of strength. That goes nowhere so he slaps Big Show, which gets him thrown across the ring. Off to Ivory and Molly with the latter hitting a northern lights suplex for two. Storm and Spike come in and things speed up a bit. Spike chases Hurricane around and gets kicked down by Lance coming back in. Hurricane and the cape come in with a cross body for two. Show comes in and cleans house but Ivory hits him low. Molly gets on Show’s shoulders for the Molly Go Round for the pin on Storm.

Rating: D+. Just turn Molly into a sidekick already and get it over with. It was clear that’s where they were going so just get it over with already. On top of that, Show needs something to do. He’s been doing nothing for months now and it’s getting a little tiring to sit here and watch him do nothing at all.

Earl Hebner comes in to see Shane, who yells at him about an apparent screwjob last night. We see a clip of Austin tapping out but being under the ropes. Hebner admits his mistake but says the decision stands. Shane is barred from ringside for Angle vs. Booker for some reason.

WWF Title: Kurt Angle vs. Booker T

BIG USA chant goes up. You know Booker is an American too. Angle hits a quick overhead belly to belly for two. Booker grabs a headlock but Kurt grabs the ankle lock which is quickly broken. Angle goes for the ankle again but Booker hits an enziguri to take over. Booker drops a knee to what I think is a bad neck and stands around a lot. Off to a chinlock to take some time out of the match.

Kurt fights up and hits some elbows to the ribs but walks into a spinning forearm for two. Booker hits the ropes but walks into a belly to belly suplex and a belly to back gets two. Booker shoves off the referee to avoid the Slam and kicks Angle down. Belt shot puts Angle down for two. Bookend is countered into a northern lights suplex for two. Ax kick misses and Kurt rolls through a suplex into the ankle lock to retain.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match here but it wasn’t anything great. Booker jobbing again shouldn’t surprise anyone and I don’t think it did. He’s the biggest WCW star there was so of course he lost. That was another of the big issues with the Invasion: the Alliance guys were always second and third fiddles to the WWF guys.

Kanyon hits on Lita which is a lot more awkward in retrospect. She makes fun of his speech impediment.

Intercontinental Title: Christian vs. Chris Jericho

Christian won the title last night. He makes fun of the former champion Edge pre-match and we get a solo Five Second Pose….or we would have if Jericho hadn’t interrupted. Jericho takes him down to start and chops away. Christian comes back with punches and knocks Jericho into the corner. Backbreaker gets two. Jericho hits the forearm and avoids a dropkick. Christian avoids the Lionsault and rolls to the floor. A bell shot draws the LAME DQ to end this. Nothing match.

Christian loads up the Conchairto but Jericho avoids it and hooks the Walls.

X-Pac is sitting in Regal’s chair when the Commissioner comes in. Pac complains about his lack of TV time despite having two titles. Regal rips into him and says that it’s Pac vs. Regal tonight.

We get America the Beautiful from last night which is by one of those women singers that basically screech the words but it’s called great for some reason.

Raven asks RVD for advice about how depressed he’s been lately. RVD suggests being more positive about being negative. Raven thanks him and leaves when Stephanie comes in. She says win and you’re the leader of the Alliance. Some mild sexual tension is teased.

Matt Hardy vs. Kanyon

Matt punches him down to start and hits a moonsault press for two. Kanyon takes him down and heads to hit on Lita, who slaps the taste out of his mouth. Back in Kanyon drives Matt’s head into the mat for two. Kanyon talks to Lita more and gets rolled up for two. A bad Russian legsweep by Matt puts both guys down. They go to the corner with Kanyon getting shoved down and the middle rope legdrop sends Kanyon to the outside. Lita hits her hurricanrana off the steps. Twist of Fate is countered and Matt is shoved into Lita. Flatliner gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Nothing match here and as usual it doesn’t mean anything. These one night made feuds and their resolutions were fine for filling in TV time but it didn’t help anything long term. This was just ok as Matt was nowhere near what he would become yet (take that for what you will) and Kanyon still didn’t mean much.

EXTREME CLOSEUP of DDP who is very positive now. He’s into the motivational speaker gimmick now.

We go to WWF New York with the Tough Enough finalists. The five finalists are Nidia, Taylor (cute but never did anything), Chris Harvard, Maven and Josh Matthews, who looks like more of a tool than he does now.

Rock brags about retaining the title last night and now he has RVD. As for Stephanie, if she cheats she’s going to get a birthday spanking. She’s 25 tonight. He singe a version of Happy Birthday to her as well: “Happy Birthday to Steph, you’re a ho with big breasts, so take the night off from hooking, if ya smell what the Rock is cooking.” Ok that was awesome.

William Regal vs. X-Pac

Regal knocks him down but gets caught in a suplex for two. Bronco Buster hits and Regal comes back with the Regal Cutter for the pin. What in the freaking world was the point of this?

WCW World Title: Rob Van Dam vs. The Rock

Since Shane is barred from ringside for some reason, Stephanie comes out to watch the match. Rob counters a headlock and the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Rock Bottom is countered as well and they head to the floor. A clothesline puts Van Dam down but Rob comes back with the spinning kick to Rock who is draped over the barricade. Back in the top rope kick gets two.

Rock grabs a belly to belly for two. Back to the floor and Rob loads up the announce table, only to get punched in the face for his troubles. Rock throws him onto the table but Van Dam bounces off of it. Back inside a spinebuster gets two. RVD kicks him down and tries the split legged moonsault but Rock moves. Stephanie slaps Rock into a rollup for two. Rock hits a DDT and the Sharpshooter goes on but Stephanie comes in again. He chases her up the aisle and throws her back in as Van Dam slams him down. He gets ready for the Five Star but Stephanie shoves the referee into the ropes. Rock Bottom gives Rock the win.

Rating: C-. We’ll continue the running theme tonight by talking about how this is another problem the Invasion had: this match wasn’t about RVD, it wasn’t about the WCW Title and it wasn’t about the Invasion. This match was about Stephanie and how The Rock wants to ruin her birthday. That’s a fun single night thing and the more I get to see mid-20s Stephanie the happier I am, but this doesn’t do a thing long term. It doesn’t set up a PPV match, it doesn’t give Rock a new challenge, it doesn’t do anything. That’s fine once in awhile, but this is like the fourth week in a row. That’s not good.

Austin never arrived.

Overall Rating: D+. This didn’t work at all for me. It’s a total throwaway show with nothing happening and the whole thing being about Stephanie and her birthday with the usual world title matches that meant nothing at all. No Austin, so that went nowhere (nice bait and switch guys) and Angle and/or Rock have no opponents yet, so what was the point of this? Oh yeah, Stephanie is 25 now. Pointless show.

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

NXT
Date: May 9, 2012
Location: Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

We’re in the south this week and allegedly there might be some new talent if you can believe Regal. Then again he’s a villain by nature so he’s likely not to be trusted. Also it’s apparent that Hawkins and Reks aren’t gone yet and therefore we’ll have to deal with that never ending saga for a few more weeks. Let’s get to it.

We throw it to Striker and Regal to start. Have they always had those ring skirts? Regal is going to address the attacks in the back the last few weeks. He doesn’t believe Watson had anything to do with it, and he’s also not sure if McGillicutty had anything to do with it. There’s new security tonight….and it’s Hawkins/Reks. Just because they’re fired, it’s no excuse not to plug their Twitters. Dang that sounds a lot dirtier than it really is.

They make fun of Striker for being kidnapped which causes Striker to lunge. Apparently if they’re good and win their match on Superstars this week, they’re on the track to getting reinstated. Regal threatens them to stay in line or being fired will be the least of their worries. Josh: “So apparently Hawkins and Reks are now the Avengers of NXT.” I love that movie but that line made my eyes roll.

Tamina Snuka vs. Maxine

Before the match Maxine says that this is about working together (this was set up by a tag match) and calls herself the New Maxine. Feeling out process to start and Maxine is knocked to the floor. She trips Tamina up and takes over back inside. A facejam gets two. There’s a full nelson and then a front guillotine choke by Maxine but Tamina sends her into the buckle to break. A side slam looks to set up the Superfly Splash but Maxine moves. A dragon sleeper with a body scissors gets the submission for Maxine at 3:50.

Rating: D+. Not much here and I’m really not sure why they were fighting other than they’re both women. Maxine is supposed to be “new” or whatever now, which means I guess we’re dropping the whole idea of her trying to blackmail Regal with those papers or whatever they were using last time. Eh not that it matters much as long as it was short.

Post match Maxine volunteers to be cuffed again.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. JTG

This is the debut of JTG’s new look at the hands of Alicia Fox. He’s got a vest and regular trunks but the same music. Yoshi kicks him around to start but misses a charge in the corner. A clothesline gets two as does a modified Regal Cutter. Off to a neck crank but a knee drop misses. Yoshi rolls forward and hits a kick to the chest. JTG hits that spinning clothesline of his for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: D. It’s just JTG. That’s the problem with him at the end of the day: there’s nothing different to him here other than his clothes are different and even that’s not a major change. He’s still annoying and nothing but being loud and from Brooklyn. I’m not a fan of the guy at all and this change isn’t helping any of my problems with him.

Raw ReBound sees Heyman returning and Cole acting like it’s a new stoplight in his hometown.

Curtis and Maxine run into Hawkins and Reks security. The security says let’s work together and if there’s an NXT left when this is all over, they’ll be on the same team. Reks gives them the key to the handcuffs. Striker comes in and calls Hawkins Terra Ryzing. Regal is watching and doesn’t seem to complain about this.

Watson and Kaitlyn are in the back and talking about the attacks. Bateman pops up and says Watson can’t be trusted. She complains about how much of a jerk Bateman has been since his match on Smackdown. A heel turn is the last thing Bateman needs after his last one bombed so hard. Kaitlyn walks away and hears a scream. She runs back and sees Bateman holding his knee, saying it wasn’t Watson.

Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis vs. Tyson Kidd/Percy Watson

McGillicutty and Kidd start things off and Kidd puts on a variety of holds to control quickly. Michael escapes an armbar and brings in Curtis, only for him to be pulled down into a hold of his own. Watson comes in for an armbar of his own but Curtis makes a blind tag. That gets his team nowhere as McGillicutty is sent to the floor along with Curtis. Kidd and Watson rule the ring as we take a break.

Back with Kidd holding McGillicutty in a chinlock. Kidd goes to the apron for a springboard but Curtis hooks the rope to send him down and into the heel corner. Michael keeps him on the mat with a chinlock. He backslides Kidd down and Curtis adds a slingshot legdrop onto Kidd for two. Cool double team move there. Suplex gets two for Curtis. Kidd gets up and turns up the speed, hitting a dropkick on McGillicutty and making the tag to Watson. He cleans house and avoids a splash in the corner before finishing McGillicutty with the Persecution at 8:05.

Rating: C. Just a main event of NXT tag match here with nothing of note to it. Kidd is still better than anyone else on the roster so having Watson get the win is more beneficial than having Kidd making McGillicutty or Curtis tap out again. Not a bad match or anything but it was just kind of there.

Post match Hawkins and Reks come out and say that Watson attacked Bateman and say he has to come with them. Watson says no so a brawl ensues and Watson is dragged out by Hawkins and Reks.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t as good as last week’s but it’s still far more entertaining than it was the past few months. I have a bad feeling this mystery attacker is going to wind up being Hawkins/Reks which is going to be dull in the end, but other than that the show’s stories have been a bit more interesting lately. Now if they can get that fresh talent in there it’ll be a lot better.

Results
Maxine b. Tamina Snuka – Dragon Sleeper
JTG b. Yoshi Tatsu – Spinning Clothesline
Percy Watson/Tyson Kidd b. Johnny Curtis/Michael McGillicutty – Persecution to McGillicutty

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

I’m leaning heavily towards joining a network of sports sites which will result in a completely new layout and look for the site. I’ll still own it and will be the only person uploading anything to it, but there’s a very good chance that in the near future, things will look very differently around here. Also the comments system will probably be through Facebook.

KB

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 28, 1998
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 14,517
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s after Breakdown and we don’t have a world champion. Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time and Vince took the belt with him. This would set up the next PPV, Judgment Day, and the events that came after it. Also we don’t really have a #1 contender as the main event last week was thrown out. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video about Vince and his master plan which payed off last night.

The show opens with Austin’s music but Vince and his stooges come out with the title. Vince talks about how we’re doing this the hard way which is Austin’s fault. You better believe him when he guarantees something. There’s no rematch either. Cops are waiting in the back to welcome Austin to the show. Tonight there’s going to be a new WWF Champion who will get the REAL WWF Title belt. The Smoking Skull title is going to go over Vince’s mantle. First though, Vince has Slaughter put the Skull title around his waist so he can pose a bit.

Tag Titles: Southern Justice vs. New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws are just ridiculously over. Jerry says that he’s not going to talk about an alleged incident with Jim Carrey on the set of Man on the Moon which of course is kayfabe. Canterburry vs. Gunn to start things off and a flapjack gets two on Billy. Knight comes in to double team but it doesn’t last long. Now he comes in legally but walks into a neckbreaker for two. Off to Roadie for the shaky knee but Canterburry hits a knee to the back and a clothesline to take over. Back to Billy who cleans house and hits the Fameasser but Jarrett comes in with the guitar. Roadie steals it and hits Knight with it for the short DQ.

Billy yells at Roadie post match and tension is teased. X-Pac comes in and Billy shoves him down before leaving. HHH comes out but Billy walks past him.

Oh and that would be Southern Justice’s last match on Raw.

Dan Severn vs. Owen Hart

This is a submission match. Severn comes out with the NWA and UFC Titles. Cole is outside DX’s locker room and hears a lot of yelling. Severn throws his towel at Owen and catches an easy charge. It turns into a fight on the mat and you know Severn is more than comfortable with that. Severn suplexes him down and adds a powerslam. Owen hits a spinwheel kick to take Dan down and adds a powerslam of his own. There’s the dragon sleeper but Owen reverses into the Austin killing piledriver and Severn is unconscious so the match is stopped.

We get a stretcher job for Severn as Owen appears concerned. This would basically be it for Severn in WWF other than a quick return in January. This was storyline from what I can tell.

Vader vs. Al Snow

Vader has Sgt. Slaughter with him for no apparent reason. The fans want Head. Vader takes him down pretty quickly and drops some elbows on the leg. Belly to belly suplex gets two. Snow comes back with some clotheslines but can’t hit the Snow Plow. Vader takes him down but Vader hits an enziguri for two as Sarge makes the save. The distractions lets Snow get a Head shot for the fast pin. Vader would be gone soon.

Billy Gunn is walking out.

Edge vs. Gangrel vs. D’Lo Brown vs. Darren Drozdov vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Marc Mero

You have two in the ring and one on each corner, it’s elimination rules and the winner gets a European Title match next week on Raw. Edge and Gangrel start things off with Edge in control. He misses a cross body and gets caught in a dragon screw legwhip. La Magistral pins Gangrel and Brown comes in to beat down Edge. A DDT gives Edge control and he tags out to Droz. Droz looks to be mostly bald now and cleans house.

Brown tags Jarrett who hits the Stroke to take over. Dropkick puts Droz down but there’s still no cover. Droz hooks a quickly broken sleeper and they head to the floor for a double countout. So it’s Edge, Mero and Brown left. Mero and Edge go at it and Mero hits a Samoan Drop. He loads up the Wild Thing but Brown shakes the rope to crotch him. Edge ranas him and avoids a Low Down which hits Mero. A dropkick puts Brown on the floor and Edge gets the easy pin. Edge dives on Brown but Gangrel and “that kid we saw last night” distract Edge so that Brown hits the Sky High for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing of note but the idea behind it was pretty solid. I’d like to see this kind of thing again but I don’t ever really recall that many of them. Obviously Edge would have some more business soon with Gangrel and Brown would go on to win the title back next week before losing it back to X-Pac in another few weeks.

Oh and “that kid we saw last night” would soon get a name: Christian.

Gangrel and Christian run into the crowd and Edge goes after them.

Here are Vince and company for the presentation of the new champion. It’s the old winged eagle title which is under a glass case. He announces the new champion as The Undertaker. Oh wait he’s just bringing Taker out. The second candidate is of course Kane. Vince is about to make the announcement but here’s Austin on a Zamboni machine. He dives over the top rope and takes out Vince before getting arrested.

Post break Vince is back in the ring with everyone and Vince is all upset. He’s not going to live up to his word. Undertaker and Kane are going to have to fight for the title at Judgment Day. Oh and Austin is going to be referee and Vince is going to be there. Tonight it’s Undertaker/Kane vs. Shamrock/Rock/Mankind. Vince says the giants are handicapped: one is physical and the other is mental. Undertaker says the next time Vince crosses them, Vince will be the one that’s handicapped. Vince laughs and the beating is on. They go after Vince’s knee and Taker puts a hold on it before crushing it in the steps, breaking it.

Vince gets treatment post break.

Mark Henry vs. Farrooq

Chyna is guest referee. Henry attacked HHH last night to set this up. What Farrooq has to do with it I’m not sure but I guess he fills in a spot. Henry runs over Farrooq to start and knocks him to the floor. World’s Strongest Slam gets no count. Henry loads up a gorilla press but Chyna hits him low so Farrooq falls on him. A fast count gets the pin.

Post match someone serves Chyna with papers which she tears up. Henry picks up the pieces.

Vince is being taken out and Mankind is trying to cheer them up.

Shamrock doesn’t like Detroit but he likes getting his partners back for last night.

Oddities vs. Headbangers

The ICP, Detroit natives, play the Oddities to the ring. It’s Golga/Kurrgan here. The Headbangers jump Golga to start and it’s Mosh officially starting for the Bangers. Golga gets beaten up for awhile but shrugs it off and makes the tag to Kurrgan. The ICP trips up Thrasher and Kurrgan splashes him for the pin. This was nothing.

Rock talks about winning the cage match last night and becoming #1 contender. Being the WWF Champion means nothing compared to being the People’s Champ. You can feel the famous Rock coming out in this.

Terri is apparently looking for her earrings while on her knees in front of Val.

European Title: Val Venis vs. X-Pac

Pac has an eye injury because of a guitar shot from last night. Val slams him down a few times but misses a headbutt. BIG spinwheel kick takes Val’s head off but Val’s big boot takes him down in turn. There goes the eye patch. Val pounds on him a bit more but a kick takes Val down. Pac nips up and loads up the Bronco Buster but Terri trips him up. Fisherman’s Suplex gets two and here’s Chyna. She shoves Terri down so Val gets in her face and drilled for a DQ. These short matches are getting annoying.

Val and Terri get in the ring and kiss but get cut off by Goldust’s music. The place gets really excited for Goldie actually, who says that he told Val that “he was coming back.”

Mankind talks about how nothing is standing in his way tonight and admits that the elbow he dropped last night was awful.

Mankind/The Rock/Ken Shamrock vs. Undertaker/Kane

There’s a ton of time left for this. Mankind and Shamrock come out first and get in a fight. Here’s Rock who Shamrock stares down the whole way. Now they go at it before Undertaker and Kane are even here yet. Mankind gets back in and it’s a three way fight until Taker and Kane get here. Why would they even come out until the other three are all beaten down?

Even with the giants in the ring, the three of them keep fighting each other. Mankind and Shamrock fight on the floor while Rock is on his own. Rock vs. Taker officially gets us going and the dead man is totally in control. Old School puts Rock down and it’s off to Kane. Rock gets in a clothesline and makes the tag off to Mankind who doesn’t do that well.

Back to Undertaker with Mankind in trouble in the corner. Shamrock comes in and knocks Mankind to the floor so Rock beats him up. It’s Taker vs. Shamrock now but Kane comes in quickly. Shamrock dropkicks him and a standing rana puts Kane down. Off to Mankind again and they head to the floor with Foley hitting that always awesome flip dive off the apron.

Kane takes over back inside, hitting the top rope clothesline for two and a tag. Mankind makes a brief comeback but falls to the floor. Both monsters follow and Kane hits a SICK chair shot to cave in Foley’s already dented skull. That only gets two inside for Taker because there hasn’t been a full on murder yet. JR gets in a jab at Hogan, saying you don’t see any bald 45 year olds playing the air guitar here.

Mankind gets a kick to Kane’s face but can’t make the tag. Things look to break down again but Undertaker stops the tag and drags Foley back to their corner. Double arm DDT puts Kane down as the referee says three minutes left. Double tag brings in Rock vs. Undertaker and a DDT puts Taker down for two. People’s Elbow gets the same and everything breaks down. Shamrock and Taker get in there eventually and a big boot puts Ken down but he grabs the ankle lock.

Kane saves and goes to the floor with Shamrock. Undertaker sends Rock into the ropes and they botch something BAD. I think Rock was supposed to run at Taker and grab the Rock Bottom with Taker trying a clothesline and Rock countering. The problem is that Rock sold the clothesline, which was a good foot over his head and their shoulders collided. They try it again and Rock hits the Rock Bottom and gets the pin, which is the biggest of his career at that point.

Rating: D+. The match was a mess and I’m sure you can figure out why. What I want you to notice here is that this is how you put someone over. Undertaker, a big star, was beaten by a young up and comer. It wasn’t someone else doing the work and Rock got a pin on Undertaker. The Rock countered the Undertaker, hit the Rock Bottom and got a pin. Also Undertaker was more than a big enough star to not be hurt by this at all. That’s a huge upgrade from the usual “rubs” you see people get.

Overall Rating: C+. DANG a lot of stuff happened on this show. The wrestling, as usual, was pretty weak but at the same time a ton of stuff happened here which is where things get fun on a week to week basis. We had a famous moment, an arrest, a return, a HUGE win and a main event being announced. It’s not exactly a good show, but it was certainly entertaining which might as well be the battle cry of the Attitude Era.

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 21, 1998
Location: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Jim Cornette, Shane McMahon, Kevin Kelly

It’s the go home show for Breakdown which will see Undertaker/Kane vs. Austin in what amounts to a handicap match. Other than that there isn’t much to talk about, but we have a freshly face Rock and a rapidly turning face Mankind so things have to be pretty entertaining around here this week. Let’s get to it.

Whoa where are Jim and Jerry? I can live with this new team though. Kevin Kelly is there too.

We open with Rock coming to the ring to meet Vince, Mankind and Shamrock. Undertaker and Kane are standing on the ramp to prevent Austin from attacking Vince. Tonight it’s Austin/whoever wants to join him vs. Undertaker/Kane. As for the other three in the ring, he’s here to ensure that none of them are going to be Austin’s partner tonight. Why should any of them settle to be a partner when they could be the same as Undertaker or Kane? By that, Vince means any of them could be world champion. If they don’t help Austin, they can be in a triple threat match tonight and the winner gets a title match next week.

Billy Gunn vs. Jeff Jarrett

Roadie has a throat issue so Billy has to do the entrance, complete with a cue card for his own name. All of the outside people are sent out and Billy jumps Jeff to start things off. Jeff escapes the gorilla press and a dropkick gets two for Billy. There’s a six man tag on Sunday between DX and Jeff/Southern Justice. Jeff comes back with a pair of dropkicks There’s the gorilla press from Gunn but Jeff pops up and hits a top rope cross body for two. DDT gets the same. Jim and Jerry are filming Man on the Moon apparently.

Billy misses a cross body as Shane is more fired up than anyone Raw has had on commentary in years. Out to the floor with Jarrett in control, only to be sent into the post by Billy. That does nothing at all as it’s back to Jeff stomping on him. Jeff goes up and hits Billy in the back as we hear about a Women’s Title match tonight, which would be the first time the title had been active in almost three years.

Russian legsweep gets two for Jarrett. Piledriver by Billy is broken up with a backdrop and both guys are down. Fameasser (not yet named) puts Jarrett down but a Stinger Splash misses and Billy runs into the referee. The guitar is taken away though and Billy hits a neckbreaker for the pin.

Rating: C-. Nothing great here but it furthered the feud between the two groups and helped to set up the match on Sunday which is about all you can ask for in a match like this. Billy was decent in the ring but I don’t think anyone wanted to see him as a singles guy ever. Jarrett got better in a hurry too.

We go to the back and Vince says he has no idea who will team up with Austin but the match is happening no matter what.

Here’s Austin for a chat. Things are starting to look bad for him because Undertaker and Kane are back there making deals with Vince. Undertaker says this is just business Coming after the title though is automatically personal because it means you’re coming after him. As for Vince, Austin isn’t going to moan about those stipulations because he’ll fight Undertaker and Kane on his own if he has to, just like he’ll do on Sunday.

Earlier today Undertaker and Kane arrived. I figured that would be confirmed when we saw them here earlier but you can’t be too sure I guess.

Headbangers vs. Oddities

Silva and Golga in this case. The Headbangers spray something in the giants’ eyes and choke Golga out before ripping up the Cartman doll. Kurrgan gets beaten up as well. No match.

Undertaker tells Austin to cool off with his threats. Due to his and Kane’s deal with Vince, they’re getting the title match.

Women’s Title: Sable vs. Jacqueline

Mero stays on the apron and distracts Sable so that Jackie can get in a shot to her back to take over. Jackie fires off some kicks into the ribs and a DDT gets two. She misses a crotch attack on the ropes though and Sable goes into catfight mode with a take down. Sable throws Jackie to the floor and knocks Mero off the apron as well. She suplexes Jackie back in but Mero holds the foot for the pin and the title for Jackie. I don’t think there’s a belt. Too short to rate but as usual Sable was bad in the ring.

Undertaker/Kane vs. Steve Austin/???

Before Austin gets in the ring, Billy Gunn comes out to be his partner. Ok then. Brawl to start with Kane hammering Billy to the floor. Austin and Taker start things off with Austin hitting the middle finger elbow. Off to Billy who has to stick and move. Taker misses a big boot and gets caught by a Fameasser for two. Back to Austin who sends Taker into the corner but gets clotheslined down.

Off to Kane but Austin fights back and tags in Billy. Chokeslam is broken up but Undertaker’s distraction allows Kane to knock him over the top. Billy is sent into the steps and we head back in. Taker comes in and beats on Billy but lowers his head so Billy can get in a boot. Taker looks at him and takes Billy’s head off again. Back to Kane who hits a big boot for two.

A regular clothesline sets up the top rope clothesline for two. Austin makes the save and flips off Kane. Well at least he’s multitasking. Billy and Kane hit a double clothesline and Gunn makes the tag to Austin. Stunner doesn’t work but the second attempt gets two on Kane due to a Taker save. Everything breaks down and the referee goes down. Chokeslam to Billy by Undertaker is good for the pin despite them both being legal.

Rating: C-. Standard main event style tag match here but I’m really not sure why they picked Billy Gunn of all people to be his partner. I know they lost all of the other main event players but still, Billy Gunn? Not HHH? Anyway, the match was fine but I really don’t know what it does for Sunday.

Austin clocks both guys with a chair post match.

Southern Justice vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

8-Ball and Mark start things off with 8-Ball getting two off a legdrop. Off to Knight and Skull with Skull taking his head off with a clothesline. Sidewalk slam gets two. They head to the floor and here’s Jarrett with a guitar shot to Ellering. The match just kind of stops.

Vince says Undertaker and Shane are going to take care of Billy Gunn later.

A REAL MAN’S MAN is coming.

Al Snow vs. Sgt. Slaughter

This is a boot camp match, which basically means a street fight. Before the match Snow does the questions about Head. If Snow wins he’s reinstated but if he loses he’s gone. Sarge jumps him and rips off Snow’s shirt as Cornette says that Snow is as crazy as a rainbow trout in a carwash. Snow comes back with a superkick and a slingshot into the post. Snow has Slaughter’s belt and whips the Sarge’s back and they go to the floor.

He gets a chair but his swing hits the post. A chair to the back of Snow gets two on the floor. Snow shrugs that off and hits something like Poetry in Motion up against the railing. A moonsault off the barricade only gets two. Cornette is just great on commentary, snapping off all kinds of analysis and insane things but staying entertaining the entire time. Snow goes up top with the chair but as he moonsaults with it, Sarge moves and Al hits canvas. Cobra Clutch goes on but Snow escapes. He breaks it up again with a low blow and Sarge takes off his boot. That goes nowhere and a shot with Head gets the pin for Al.

Rating: D. This was nothing but a way to finally give Al a reason to be around every week, even though he has been for like four months. Sarge is only so interesting and it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to win here. I like Snow but this did nothing for me for the most part.

Patterson and Brisco run in post match for a beatdown on Snow but Scorpio makes the save.

Rock says he’ll be champion soon, that Mankind is a piece of trash and that Shamrock is proof that anyone can act tough.

Val Venis vs. Owen Hart

Dustin is on commentary. Val talks about cigars before the match. This was in the Lewinsky scandal so I think you know where this is going. Owen takes over to start as Shane taunts Dustin about his wife being in two adult films with Val. Owen pounds on Val some more and Dustin comes in for the DQ.

Val knocks him back and ties him up in the ropes. There’s a third video with her from Val which has Terri saying she was considering a reconciliation but has changed her mind.

European Title: X-Pac vs. D’Lo Brown

Brown is in the unusual position of having to use power here so he slams Pac down to take over. The legdrop hits but Brown poses too much. Brown misses a charge in the corner and Pac hits a spin kick, but the Bronco Buster misses and D’Lo takes over again. A middle rope moonsault misses Pac and he comes back with spinning kicks. There’s the Bronco Buster but Pac charges into the Sky High for a delayed two. Brown dives off the top but jumps right into the X-Factor to give Pac the title.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here and for a midcard title like the European Title, it’s fine to make DX look even stronger. Also I’m glad they didn’t mention the Nation vs. DX feud as it’s been done for awhile now. Fun little match here and it worked pretty well. Pac would lose the title back pretty quickly though.

Mankind says he feels like the little engine that could. On his best early to mid-afternoon, he could beat Rock on his worst late evening. As for Shamrock, he knows a lot of holds and Mankind doesn’t know how to get out of any of them. It takes a very tough man to beat Mankind, but it certainly doesn’t take very long. I love this guy.

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock vs. Mankind

The winner gets a title shot next week. Rock and Mankind double team Shamrock to start but Mankind is the first to turn on his partner. They head to the floor but Shamrock hits a baseball slide to take out Foley. Foley comes back in the ring with the running knee to Shamrock’s head. Rock is down on the floor. Shamrock suplexes Mankind down so Rock comes in to pick their bones.

There’s the People’s Elbow but instead of covering, Rock throws Shamrock to the floor. He turns around and walks into a double arm DDT for two. Ken pulls Rock to the floor and sends him into the barricade. Back in, Mankind tries the Claw but Shamrock pounds away on his face. Shamrock has busted open Mankind’s left cheek. Rock comes in and it’s double/triple sleeper time. Foley comes back with the double jawbreaker and here come Vince, Kane and Undertaker.

Shamrock hits the belly to belly on Mankind and puts the ankle lock on him but Rock makes the save. Rock Bottom takes out Shamrock but this time Mankind makes the save. Shane hasn’t chilled out for the entire show which is both annoying and good at the same time. Undertaker pulls Mankind to the floor and the monsters beat him down. Rock hits his spinning DDT on Shamrock for two. Ken comes back with a standing rana and a powerslam for two. Shamrock gets sent to the floor and the monsters beat on him too. They get in the ring and beat down Rock so the match is thrown out somewhere in there.

Rating: C. I think it was pretty clear we weren’t getting a clean ending here and that’s ok. This was playing into the theme of drama all night long and that makes for a pretty interesting show most of the time. These three would have a cage match eventually with the winner getting a title shot, so at least we would get a winner there.

Post match Undertaker and Kane beat up Foley some more, which allows Austin to sneak up on Vince and beat him up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is one where your taste will vary greatly. We’ve reached the point of soap opera Raws, as each show turns out to be a small piece of a huge story that won’t be revealed for months. That being said, it’s very interesting to see where these turns take us and it’s easy to see how this show was so successful. It would get better soon too.

Here’s Breakdown if you’re interested:

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 7, 2012
Location: Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Another week, another Raw. The focus this week is likely going to be on Lesnar for his attack last week on HHH, but I’d be surprised if Brock is actually here. Also we get more build towards Cena vs. Ace, which I’ve mellowed on since last week. Other than that it’s hard to say what’s coming as most of the midcard hasn’t been set for the PPV yet. Let’s get to it.

Ace opens things up and says that since he’s the boss of the company, he has to be respected. Cena called him an idiot, so Ace went into a rage. Lesnar hurt Cena’s arm but Ace hurt his pride. At Over the Limit, he’ll finish what “Brock Cena” started. He’s won’t be reprimanded by the board and he’s requested that Cena not be here tonight so he can heal up. Cena however will be here for a satellite interview.

Also anyone that makes fun of his voice will suffer severe consequences. It wasn’t always like that, as he was injured by Steve Williams. That didn’t stop him from becoming, and I quote, the biggest star in Japan. We get a set of stills of him in Japan and Ace calls himself the Hogan, Austin and Rock of Japan. He’ll wrestle one time at Over the Limit. May God bless everyone and have mercy on Cena.

Cue Punk who says that despite Ace saying he’s behind People Power, Ace has no idea what the people want to hear or see. Punk is here to help tonight though, but he’s not going to tell Ace what the people want to see. What he will do though is say what the people don’t want to see, and that is Johnny Ace. They also don’t want to hear about Ace’s time in Japan and his “success”. This is all about Ace putting his chips on Lesnar and then Cena beating Brock.

That turned Ace red and the only reason Ace was a success in Japan is because no one in America would pay a dime to see him which is why he can’t get booked anywhere. Ace asks if Punk is done. Punk says that Ace is ugly, stupid, has no friends and is a gigantic tool box. Ace says if he wasn’t in training he’d pummel Punk, but tonight it’s going to be Punk vs. Tensai. Punk says cool.

Ace runs into Big Show (literally) and yells at him. Show makes fun of Ace after he leaves and Eve glares at him.

Intercontinental Title: Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes

Show takes him into the corner and chops him down, then he throws him out of another corner. Cody gets up some boots in the corner and hits the Disaster Kick which puts Show on his knees. Cody runs from the WMD and says give him his belt. Show meets him as he’s leaving but Cody gets out and sprints to the back. Countout at 1:51.

Show asks for a mic and tells Cody to come back but Cody walks off. Cue Eve who tells Show to apologize to Ace for making fun of his voice. Show lacklusterly apologizes but that’s not good enough for Eve. She says outside of this business, there isn’t much room for a 7’0 400lb freak. Show apologizes again but is a little more testy this time. He leaves and Eve glares at him.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

This should be awesome. AW and company are watching in the back. Kofi misses a charge in the corner and Dolph gets two. Mason Ryan is now watching in the back with AW, Primo, Epico and Rosa. Dolph takes Kofi onto the mat for a second but he misses a charge as well, allowing Kofi to speed things up. Boom Drop looks to set up the Trouble in Paradise but Swagger distracts. Zig Zag is countered and the SOS gets two. Vickie gets up on the apron and the distraction lets the Zig Zag get the pin at 2:20. Dang they actually waited a week to have a tag champion lose.

Cena joins us via satellite and says that he has to get his elbow drained twice a day. His doctors say not to compete for a few months but he’s going to do it anyway. He’s not surprised that the board didn’t act because he requested that they didn’t, at least not until after Over the Limit. Cole says he’s impressed by what Ace has accomplished in the ring over his career and thinks maybe Cena is scared of Ace. Cena says he is scared of Ace to the point that Ace will hurt himself. In 13 days, Ace gets beaten up.

Kelly Kelly/Layla vs. Natalya/Maxine

Beth is on commentary and wants her title back. She gets her title match at the PPV. Layla and Maxine get us going and Kelly takes out Natalya for no apparent reason. Layout beats Maxine at 1:05. Moving on.

Randy Orton/Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio/Chris Jericho

Orton and Del Rio start us off. Jericho doesn’t really have a feud in this that I can tell. Del Rio jumps over Orton out of the corner but gets clotheslined down for two. Off to Jericho who has about as much luck as Del Rio did. Sheamus gets the tag and keeps beating on the Canadian. He hits the ten forearms to the chest in the ropes but Jericho sends Sheamus’ bad shoulder into the post as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus breaking out of an arm hold and sending Jericho into the corner. Double tag brings in Del Rio to get beaten up by Orton. Elevated DDT looks to set up the RKO but he stops to powerslam Jericho instead. An enziguri from Del Rio puts Orton down for two. Orton dropkicks Del Rio down but it’s Jericho’s powerslam that takes Orton down. Orton gets a rollup for two but another enziguri puts Orton down.

Back to Del Rio who works on the arm and hits it with the Codebreaker. With a shout of DESTINY he tries the cross armbreaker but Orton counters into the backbreaker. Back to Sheamus who cleans house and sets up the Cross on Jericho but the arm gives out. A Walls attempt is countered and the Irish Curse gets two. Del Rio dropkicks the arm but Orton hits him with the RKO. Jericho ducks the Brogue Kick and it hits Orton. Codebreaker to Sheamus gets the pin at 13:02.

Rating: C+. Pretty decent match here and it might signal that they’re setting up a threeway, which would be a very good idea. Del Rio vs. Sheamus one on one just sounds boring beyond all belief but throwing in the Canadian would help things a lot. Not a great match here but it accomplished its goal and that’s all that matters.

Sheamus tries to help Orton up but Orton RKOs him.

Ace sends Eve to talk to Big Show. Jericho comes in and demands a title match. Del Rio says it’s his shot. Orton demands one as well when Sheamus comes in and jumps Jericho. Sheamus and Orton clean house and get in an argument with Sheamus saying anytime Orton wants some, come get him. Ace makes it a fatal fourway. Thank goodness.

Brodus Clay vs. The Miz

Before the match, Brodus says to make sure to call your mama this Sunday. Miz doesn’t like having to face Brodus tonight because if he wanted to see King Hippo dance, he’d play Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Miz pounds away on him but Brodus runs him over and knocks him to the floor. Coming back in Miz gets the upper hand, hitting the boot to the face.

There’s another boot and it gets two. The corner clothesline hits and Miz comes off the top with the ax handle for two. Brodus shrugs off the chinlock but Miz takes the knee out for the low DDT, getting two. Brodus shrugs him off again and uses his head to take Miz down. Miz jumps into the suplex and the splash ends this at 4:14.

Rating: C-. The match was pretty boring but having Brodus beat a bigger name is a big step for him. He’s beaten jobbers for so long and has only beaten Dolph/Swagger by countout/DQ other than I think once. Not a terrible match or anything but it was a good thing to see as Brodus is looking to have an actual feud instead of just people he doesn’t like.

Don’t be a bully!

We recap the HHH/Lesnar attack from last week. HHH will have to have surgery and rehab. He’ll be on Raw next week and here’s Lesnar. Scratch that it’s his legal team. I like that they’re coming up with some ways to keep him off the shows. HOKEY SMOKE IT’S PAUL HEYMAN. Cole of course undersells it like he does with everything else. He talks about how different things are today than they were ten years ago when he originally represented Lesnar.

It was ace who sent Brock an offer because Brock is a machine. He lists off Brock’s accomplishments and says that the demands Lesnar made were fair because Brock is an honest man. Heyman reads a statement from Brock about corporate politics and about how Lesnar gave what HHH and Cena deserves. The Cell match vs. Undertaker was now “nearly an hour” according to Brock (it was under 31 minutes). Brock is never coming back because he quits.

CM Punk vs. Lord Tensai

During Punk’s entrance, Ace adds Daniel Bryan to the match….and we take a break at 10:56.

Show is talking to two guys from some USA show and they think he doesn’t need to apologize to anyone. Show says things are different now and it’s not a good place here. The actors say they’re detectives and think they should investigate some pictures that are out there apparently. They make fun of his voice and Show laughs but here’s Eve. Show stops laughing.

CM Punk vs. Lord Tensai/Daniel Bryan

No entrances for the heels to save some time. Tensai starts off and uses the power to put Punk down. Off to Bryan who gets a reaction from the crowd. He fires off the kicks to the chest and shouts YES on each one. Punk escapes a suplex and rolls him up for two. They cross body each other and both guys are down. Tensai comes in for more power and they head to the floor with Punk’s back going into the post.

Back in now and it’s time for a Japanese nerve hold. Backsplash gets two and it’s off to Bryan but the Swan Dive misses. Bryan reaches for a tag but gets caught in a slingshot. Punk makes what I guess you can call a comeback with a neckbreaker. The knee and bulldog combination actually works and it’s GTS time. Bryan escapes and tags in Tensai who clotheslines Punk’s head off very slowly. GTS to Tensai is countered but Punk manages the high kick. Tensai’s dude gets up for a distraction and Bryan crotches Punk. The chokebomb is totally messed up and the Mist Claw with the legsweep gets the pin at 6:54.

Rating: C. Tensai is boring and that’s all there is to it. The guy just isn’t an interesting wrestler and no matter how Japanese they make him it’s not going to happen. He’s big and slow with a bad finisher in the claw. Use the chokebomb (if you can do it right) and be a monster like you look like. Punk vs. Bryan is going to be good.

Bryan stomps on Punk post match and puts him in the YES Lock.

Overall Rating: C. This was a hit and miss show. The Heyman return was a big shock and THANKFULLY we got the Sheamus vs. Del Rio match adjusted as it desperately needed to be. Other than that, the wrestling was ok at best. They built up Over the Limit pretty well, but having no Cena for the majority of the show really brought it down. This show needs more Eve as well, especially with those glasses.

Results
Big Show b. Cody Rhodes via countout
Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston – Zig Zag
Kelly Kelly/Layla b. Natalya/Maxine – Layout to Maxine
Alberto Del Rio/Chris Jericho b. Sheamus/Randy Orton – Codebreaker to Sheamus
Brodus Clay b. The Miz – Splash
Lord Tensai/Daniel Bryan b. CM Punk – Claw Hold

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews