Dynamite
Date: December 31, 2025
Location: Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Ralston, Nebraska
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Worlds End and we’re wrapping up the new year with MJF back on top of the mountain. MJF won the World Title again at the pay per view, marking what I’m sure will be a humble title reign. Other than that, we also have a new Continental Champion in Jon Moxley, whose losing ways were completely erased with a pair of huge wins on Saturday. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We get a recap of the bigger events of Worlds End.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

MJF arrives and it’s time for a championship celebration. On Saturday, he beat the franchise (Swerve), the Samoan Submission Machine (the Samoan) and the main character (Page) at once and that makes him the top man. The World Title is thrown down and the Triple B is back. He loves the idea that anyone thinks they can catch him, because he’s a stallion and he’s tired of walking around so everyone can keep up.

It’s time to sprint….but Kenny Omega pops up on screen. Omega knows his time is coming to an end, but what if he becomes World Champion again? He isn’t collecting belts anymore, because he’s collecting one belt. There are a lot of people coming for the belt and his name is on the list. MJF says Omega wouldn’t say that to his face but here are Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland in (different parts of) the crowd.

Security runs out to cut him off and says they need to earn a title shot by getting some wins. Page and Swerve get in the ring so MJF bails, leaving security to get beaten up. The two of them say they’re coming for the title but the Opps appear on screen. Samoa Joe says he should be the #1 contender but he’s sick of hearing about these two. He wants to wrap this up next week so it’s a lights out match.

The Conglomeration is ready for tonight when Toni Storm comes up next to Orange Cassidy (“Citrus Boy”). Mina Shirakawa comes up and is NOT happy but Storm insists it’s not like that. Storm does have Luther produce an orange for a big bite, but Shirakawa pulls her away. Mark Briscoe asks for a bite and Roderick Strong wants no part of this.

Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm/Roderick Strong vs. Death Riders

Tornado match. The men go to the floor to start, leaving Storm to hammer on Shafir inside. Castagnoli knocks Storm outside but gets dropkicked by Strong, who gets hammered in the corner by Garcia. Cassidy is back in for the save and puts his hands in his pockets to escape Shafir’s full nelson. The Riders beat the fire out of Cassidy and we take a break. We come back with Strong chopping his way out of trouble and giving Castagnoli an Angle Slam.

Cassidy and Storm get back inside for the dancing offense, plus a double hiptoss to Castagnoli. Storm teases her own Swing on Castagnoli, which is broken up due to avoiding the battle against the laws of physics. Strong has to save Cassidy from Mother’s Milk and it’s a Stundog Millionaire to Castagnoli. Storm gives him the hip attack but Wheeler Yuta shows up for a distraction, allowing Castagnoli to uppercut Cassidy for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why this was a tornado match, but the match seemed to be more about having an excuse to do the Storm/Cassidy stuff. Now granted, there’s nothing bad about that as those two have some great chemistry, though I’m not sure if that’s going to be anything more than a funny bit. The match itself was nothing out of the ordinary for everyone else, with the Death Riders being up to their old shenanigans.

Post match Mina Shirakawa comes in to yell at Cassidy, with Storm calming her down.

Video on Mercedes Mone and her very long TBS Title reign.

Bandido vs. The Beast Mortos

Non-title. Bandido flips around to start and does the bullfighting deal, likely in a tribute to Tito Santana. Mortos knocks him outside for the running flip dive but Bandido is back with a leg sweep into the gun pose inside. This time it’s Mortos being sent outside so Bandido can put on the cape and dive.

We take a break and come back with Bandido snapping off a very spinny headscissors into a frog splash for two. Mortos is right back with his big backbreaker into the discus lariat for two, followed by another lariat for zero. The moonsault misses though and Bandido is up with an impressive X Knee, followed by the 21 Plex for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: B-. I’m hardly surprised that these two worked well together as Bandido can work against anyone and Mortos is a great choice to face a fast moving star. It’s also a good way to build up Bandido before his title match against MJF in two weeks. That being said, I could go for having champions lose less often, as there are more than enough wrestlers on the roster to find someone for this spot who doesn’t have a title.

Post break Bandido and Brody King are in the back, with Bandido saying he’s ready to be the World Champion. Er, the AEW World Champion. King loves the idea, and says he’s first in line for the new champ. Works for King.

Brody King vs. Lee Johnson

Johnson jumps him to start but gets chopped down hard on the floor. The bell rings and Johnson gets a foot up, only to be blasted with a lariat. The cannonball and the piledriver finish for King at 52 seconds. Note that Johnson is set for a big match tomorrow on Ring Of Honor. This certainly makes me want to see more of him. They finally hype up a match for Ring Of Honor with some weeks of build and hype: the Swirl vs. Jay Lethal/Bandido. Instead though, here is one half of the Swirl getting squashed in less than a minute. Either make ROH seem important or get rid of it already.

And then the night before on Dynamite, half of the Swirl gets squashed in less than a minute. Because of course he does.

Darby Allin talks about how pain gives him peace. He wants the World Title, but first he needs to beat Pac to end this with the Death Riders.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Josh Alexander vs. Jon Moxley

Non-title contenders match, as Alexander, with his two singles wins in eight and a half months in AEW, gets a chance to earn a title shot. Alexander hammers him in the back to start but Moxley is back up for the exchange of forearms. Moxley pounds him down in the corner before hitting the big big forearm. Back up and Alexander knocks him outside for a crash, with Moxley coming up holding his knee. Some shots in the Tree Of Woe have Moxley in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Alexander still working on the knee and they trade their signature holds. Moxley makes the rope rather than tapping to the ankle lock and they go to the apron. Neither can hit a piledriver so they strike it out until Alexander hits a World’s Strongest Slam. Back in and Alexander misses the moonsault so they trade more forearms.

The running cutter gives Moxley two and a hard clothesline turns Alexander inside out. Moxley knocks him outside for a dive, though the knee is banged up again. Alexander wraps the knee around the post and grabs the Hartbreaker. They get back inside with Moxley grabbing the bulldog choke, followed by the elbows to the face and another choke for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B-. So I guess Moxley is just awesome again. After a few months of having troubles where he kept giving up and going against everything he spoke about, he’s just….back? Like he just woke up one day, decided he was done losing, and is unbeatable again? And we’re supposed to cheer him? Hopefully that isn’t where we’re going (and it very, very well may not be, as it’s still early in the new turn) because that’s a lot to take.

Post match Shelton Benjamin and MVP come out to stare Moxley down and he seems to be fine.

The Triangle Of Madness liked seeing Kris Statlander drop Jamie Hayter on her head. Let them take her place and make it really toxic.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

National Title: Jack Perry vs. Ricochet

Perry, with Luchasaurus (whose shoulder is banged up), is challenging and the Gates Of Agony are here with Ricochet. Perry backs him up against the ropes to start so Ricochet grabs a wristlock. After some glaring between the big guys on the floor, Perry and Ricochet trade some flips until Ricochet is sent outside. Perry’s dive sends him into the barricade but Luchasaurus gets beaten down, allowing Ricochet to hit a dive of his own as we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet rolling some suplexes into a running shooting star press for two. A big running clothesline gives Perry two but the threat of the running knee sends Ricochet out to the apron. Perry follows him to the floor for a sitout bulldog, only to get crotched on top. He’s fine enough to give Ricochet a top rope tornado DDT but the Gates offer a distraction, meaning the Spirit Gun can retain the title at 10:15.

Rating: B-. I still have almost no idea why this title needs to exist but Ricochet cheating like a weasel to win is a fine way to go. It’s nice that they set this up on Saturday and then did the title match here, though there is still only so much to get out of Ricochet having the title. In theory they’ll have something better going forward, but this was about as basic as you can get (which isn’t a terrible thing).

Post match Luchasaurus gets beaten down, which might be a way to write him off to heal up that shoulder.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, are fine with fighting Shelton Benjamin. As for Darby Allin, if he wants to face Pac, he…has to face Wheeler Yuta first.

Willow Nightingale is ready to get her title back.

MJF is ready to make his previous title run look like nothing but Bandido and Brody King interrupt. King says MJF needs to worry about Bandido, rather than Kenny Omega and company.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging and gets knocked outside to start fast, with Mone sending her into the barricade. Mone’s running knees only hit the barricade and Nightingale absolutely smashes her with a clothesline back inside. A middle rope dropkick knocks Mone outside again, with the apron cannonball dropping her again. Mone is able to send her into the steps though and the running knees connect as we take a break.

We come back with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver and they’re both down. Nightingale hits a Pounce into another Death Valley Driver for two. The Babe With The Powerbomb gets the same as Mone gets over to the ropes. Nightingale misses a moonsault but she gets her knees up to block a frog splash.

An AA onto the apron drops Mone again but another cannonball misses. Mone can’t get the Three Amigos so Nightingale clears off the announcers’ table, where Mone hits the third suplex. Back in and Mone elbows her into the Statement Maker but Nightingale powers out rather quickly. The Babe With The Powerbomb is blocked so they trade rollups, only for Nightingale to hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin and the title at 15:24.

Rating: B. This was a match where it felt like they were building up to something special and then they paid it off with the big title change. Mone has been losing a lot lately, but at least she finally lost the big title. I’m not sure what is going on with Mone next, but at least Nightingale got her big singles win. Nightingale has been having some success lately and that is great after seeing her come up short so many times. Nice ending here, which is a good way to close out the year.

Various stars, including Kris Statlander, come out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending was more than good enough to make the show a success, though there were a few things that got on my nerves here. That’s the usual for AEW, as they have quite a few good things and some less than appealing ones, though also as usual, the good outweighed the bad. MJF as World Champion again is good, but I’m going to need some more time with the new Moxley. Good show here, with a great finale.

Results
Death Riders b. Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm/Roderick Strong – Swiss Death to Cassidy
Bandido b. The Beast Mortos – 21 Plex
Jon Moxley b. Josh Alexander – Bulldog choke
Ricochet b. Jack Perry – Spirit Gun
Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Mone – Babe With The Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Royal Rumble 1994
Date: January 22, 1994
Location: Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase

We’re in the New Generation and that means we could be in for something interesting. In theory it means we’ll be seeing some rather good in-ring action, though the star power is hit and miss at best. In addition to the Royal Rumble itself, we also have the Undertaker challenging Yokozuna for the WWF Title in a casket match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is your usual look at some of the bigger names, with the videos seemingly being displayed on the side of buildings. Kind of an odd odd.

Ted DiBiase is brought out as the other half of the commentary team, which seems to surprise McMahon. Well dude you hired him.

Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bigelow, with Luna Vachon, is replacing an injured Ludvig Borga (he would never wrestle for the WWF again). Tatanka strikes away to start and takes Bigelow down with an armbar. That’s broken up and Tatanka misses a high crossbody so he tries a top rope sunset flip. That doesn’t go well either as Bigelow sits on his chest for two, followed by a bearhug. Tatanka fights out and hits a quick powerslam but they both try crossbodies to leave them both down. Back up and Tatanka hits the war path but misses a charge and goes down. The moonsault misses for Bigelow though and a high crossbody gives Tatanka the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C. Perfectly decent opener here as the match was designed to be about Tatanka trying to get revenge on Borga but they didn’t have a better choice. This worked as well as it could have, with Tatanka still being a completely serviceable midcard star. It wasn’t great, but it was acceptable enough for their situation.

We recap the Hart Brothers challenging the Quebecers for the Tag Team Titles. Owen is feeling forgotten by Bret, mainly after being eliminated from their match at the Survivor Series. Owen said he was tired of living in Bret’s shadow and wanted a match between the two of them. Bret refused but had a better idea: they win the Tag Team Titles. This worked for Owen (even though he said he was going to take off with Bret right behind him) and we’re ready to go.

We look at the Quebecers losing and regaining the Tag Team Titles in a series with Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid.

Bret (standing in front of Owen) are ready to face any challengers.

IMG Credit: WWE

Tag Team Titles: Bret Hart/Owen Hart vs. Quebecers

The Quebecers, with Johnny Polo, are defending. Bret and Pierre start things off with Bret taking over and working on a wristlock. Owen comes in for his spinning wristlock escape and it’s off to Jacques, who offers a handshake. A suplex puts Jacques down and he bails over to the corner for a hug from Pierre. And a mini version from Polo, who doesn’t want to feel left out. An enziguri puts Jacques down and something like a Demolition Decapitator gets two. Pierre comes in to take over on Owen in the corner but Owen dives over Bret for a rollup and near fall.

The champs bail out to the floor (likely for more hugging) before Pierre comes in and gets clotheslined. It’s back to Bret, who gets caught in a powerslam to let the Quebecers take over. Bret gets choked on the ropes and some running knees to the back give Jacques two. Pierre dives into a raised boot though and it’s Owen coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Owen grabs a quick Sharpshooter, which is broken up with a bulldog.

A hot shot rocks Owens again but he’s back with a double running dropkick. The tag brings in Bret and Pierre is sent outside, though Polo low bridges Bret to the floor. Bret comes up clutching his knee and that’s never a good sign. Naturally the champions are smart enough to start in on the knee, including a chair shot from Jacques.

More shots to the knee keep Bret down and Owen sends Pierre into the steps, which doesn’t really do much good. Back in and a middle rope legdrop to the back of the head gets two and Pierre goes after the leg again. The Cannonball misses….but Bret won’t tag, instead trying the Sharpshooter on Pierre. The knee gives out though and the referee says Bret can’t continue at 16:47.

Rating: B-. I remember seeing this match when I was a kid and thinking Bret was completely wrong, which is still the case here. There was zero reason for Bret to not tag out and let Owen come in other than he didn’t think Owen was good enough. It was just a straight up heel move and Owen was totally justified, especially after everything else he had done. The match was all about telling the story of Bret going too far, though he and Owen did work very well together.

Post match Owen screams at Bret and kicks his leg out (amen). With a bunch of agents out there helping Bret, Ray Rougeau comes out to check on Bret’s status, even wanting to talk to Bret himself. Dude he’s getting help from Pat Patterson and Rene Goulet. He’s already in enough trouble.

Anyway Bret is carried out on a stretcher with Owen popping up on screen to rant about Bret being selfish (yep). They even stop the stretcher in front of the screen so Bret can watch (GEEZ PEOPLE) as Owen says he kicked the leg out from his….leg. Yeah Owen screwed the line up, but this was a heck of a heel turn, even though he was pretty much totally justified.

Ted DiBiase applauds Owen for what he did. Owen as part of the Million Dollar Corporation could have worked well.

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon, of Radio WWF, step in for the next match. And yes, Radio WWF is exactly what it sounds like and no it didn’t work.

IMG Credit: WWE

Intercontinental Title: IRS vs. Razor Ramon

Ramon is defending and IRS accuses everyone here of being a tax cheat. Ramon slugs him down to start and even more right hands send IRS outside for a breather. Back in and an atomic drop into a clothesline drops IRS again, only to have him send Ramon outside. A posting has Ramon down again so IRS goes up top. The boot is raised but IRS sees it coming like a bad sweat attack and drops an elbow instead.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so it’s a legdrop into…well another chinlock. Ramon fights up and punches away, setting up a fall away slam. The referee gets bumped in the corner though but the briefcase is taken away. A shot to the face drops IRS but there’s no referee. The Razor’s Edge is loaded up but Shawn Michaels runs in with the other Intercontinental Title to knock Ramon silly. That’s enough to give IRS the pin and the title…but another referee comes out to say what happened. Ramon grabs a Razor’s Edge for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C-. Yeah you know what you’re getting here, as IRS is technically sound but he’s just not that much to watch in the ring. His stuff is so dry and it can make a rough sit, though he’s kind of perfect for the spot. Ramon got a nice title defense and that’s all it needed to be. Fine enough use of Ramon, but not a very good match, even with the false finish.

We recap Undertaker vs. Yokozuna for the latter’s WWF Title. Undertaker wants the title and has built an extra large casket, naturally with Yokozuna being terrified of a casket. Well yeah, a lot of people are. We get various scenes of the casket being built and then taken away in a cart (though Undertaker standing there after it is taken away is a cool visual). They also did the “Yokozuna opens the casket and Undertaker is inside” deal, which scared him all over again. This went on for a good while and it got almost silly instead of a serious title match.

IMG Credit: WWE

WWF Title: Undertaker vs. Yokozuna

Yokozuna (with Jim Cornette and. Mr. Fuji) is defending in a casket match and Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker. The uppercuts have Yokozuna in trouble to start and a running shot knocks him out to the floor. Back in and Old School connects but Undertaker misses the big jumping clothesline. Undertaker knocks him outside and they trade chair shots to the head with Yokozuna getting the better of things.

Back in and a headbutt knocks Undertaker silly but it’s too early to put him in the casket. Undertaker fights up and hits a kind of choke shove (no elevation due to gravity), followed by the running DDT. It’s time to put Yokozuna in the casket but cue Crush to go after Undertaker, who takes him down anyway. Now it’s Kabuki and Tenryu to slow Undertaker down, with Bam Bam Bigelow coming in as well.

Fuji steals the urn from Bearer, who kicks Fuji in the ribs and steals the urn back, allowing him to bash the other managers. The power of the urn brings Undertaker back so here is Jeff Jarrett to help the villains. Adam Bomb comes in as well and here are the Headshrinkers to finally put Undertaker down.

The casket is opened and he’s put inside but fights out AGAIN (the place is losing it for the comeback and…well yeah understandably so). Diesel comes in as well as Yokozuna steals the urn and actually opens it, revealing a bunch of green smoke. The beatdown is on again and everyone unloads on him with all kinds of stuff to FINALLY get him in the casket to retain the title at 14:22.

Rating: C. I’m really not sure what to think of this as it sound up being 10 (12 counting the managers) on 2 at the end (ok 2.5 if you count Bearer) and the comebacks had the people going nuts. That being said, the match itself was pretty slow and sluggish, with the regular action being little more than a setup for the big stuff at the end. Either way, it’s certainly memorable and that’s what matters the most.

Post match the casket is wheeled out and the gong sounds. We go to Casket Cam, with undertaker looking up and saying that you will soon see his rebirth and he will never rest in peace. Then his body raises up through the top of the video screen (just go with it, and no it wasn’t Marty Jannetty) and disappears. This is interesting, as when I was a kid, I couldn’t actually see the body, so I thought Undertaker just disappeared. Seeing it on a better TV, you can still only kind of see the silhouette (ignore where the hat came from), but at least it makes some more sense.

It’s time for the rapid fire “I’m going to win the Royal Rumble” comments from Randy Savage, Jeff Jarrett, Tatanka, Diesel, Doink, Shawn Michaels and Lex Luger.

IMG Credit: WWE

Royal Rumble

90 second intervals with Scott Steiner in at #1 and Samu in at #2. Shockingly enough, they hit each other rather hard with Samu getting the better of things until Rick Steiner is in at #3. DiBiase wants to see the Steiners fight but they need a voice of reason to say “yeah, or the Steiners could then beat up everyone else and fight at the end”. A belly to belly and Steiner Line have Samu in trouble and he misses a charge to get his head caught in the ropes.

Samu is knocked out and it’s Kwang in at #4, meaning it’s some green mist to Rick. Kwang beats on both of them and it’s Owen Hart in at #5. The villains pair off and Owen actually gets rid of Rick. Bart Gunn is in at #6 and they pair off again as we’re told that something has happened backstage. Well I would hope that they’re not just all standing there like statues. Kwang hits a good superkick on Bart and it’s Diesel in at #7 to toss everyone with ease. The ring is cleared out and it’s Bob Backlund in at #8.

Backlund is smart enough to stay low to the mat and go for the legs, to the point where he almost gets Diesel over. Diesel fights that off and throws him out, before Billy Gunn is in at #9. And there goes Billy, as we go to the back where Tenryu and Kabuki have jumped Lex Luger. Virgil is in at #10 (DiBiase: “WHERE DID HE COME FROM? Ok I’m going to enjoy this McMahon.”) as an alternate for Kamala and tries some jabs, only to get hit in the face and dumped out.

Randy Savage is in at #11 to give Diesel some real competition as he hammers away to start. The shots to the face and some choking in the corner even have DiBiase impressed. Diesel gets knocked down in the corner and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #12. Jarrett knocks Savage down and throws him over, only for Savage to skin the cat. Savage tosses Jarrett and it’s Crush (whom Savage absolutely hates) in at #13.

Savage is of course all over him with right hands and ax handles but Savage switches to Diesel, allowing Crush to get in a shot from behind. Doink The Clown is in at #14 as Savage is tossed out. Doink sprays water at Diesel and steps on their feet, which is about as long as the good lasts. Bam Bam Bigelow is in at #15 as Doink is out, leaving us with the three monsters to fight each other. Mabel is in at #16 (as Doink is being helped out) and it’s a four way monster fight as the clock seems to be getting shorter.

Sparky Plugg (replacing an injured 1-2-3 Kid) is in at #17 and everyone gets together on the ropes but no one is out. Shawn Michaels is in at #18 and has a staredown with Diesel (his bodyguard) but a bunch of people get together and toss Diesel (Michaels might have shoved but it’s not clear). Mo is in at #19 to help Mabel a bit and things slow down. It’s Greg Valentine (he has to be an alternate) in at #20, giving us Crush, Bigelow, Mabel, Plugg, Michaels, Mo and Valentine at the two thirds mark.

Bigelow and Mo (what a team) beat on Valentine and Mabel and Plugg team up (part of why I love the Rumble). Tatanka is in at #21 as the ring is getting too full. Great Kabuki is in at #22 and a bunch of people get together to toss Mabel. Lex Luger is in at #23 and throws his variety of punches before getting rid of Kabuki. Things slow back down and it’s Tenryu in at #24.

Tenryu chops away at Luger and kicks him in the face as….no one is here at #25. Commentary thinks it was supposed to be Bret Hart as the fairly listless brawling continues. Rick Martel is in at #26 as there are some rather fillery people in here. Luger and Tatanka slug it out until Michaels cuts Luger off. A very limping Bret Hart is in at #27, with commentary being stunned. He takes his time getting to the ring and knocks Crush down as Fatu is in at #28.

A bunch of people get together and throw Crush out as March Jannetty is in at #29 as we’re told the missing entrant was a sick Bastion Booger. Jannetty goes right at it with Michaels in quite the heated brawl but Tenryu breaks it up. Jannetty’s superkick staggers Michaels and he grabs a sleeper as Adam Bomb is in at #30. That gives us a final grouping of Bigelow, Plugg, Michaels, Mo, Valentine, Tatanka, Luger, Tenryu, Martel, Hart, Fatu, Jannetty and Bomb.

That’s FAR too many so Michaels gets rid of Plugg, leaving Hart to beat on Mo in one of those Only In The Royal Rumble pairings. Michaels starts in on Hart’s bad knee but gets kicked into the post for his efforts. Martel gets rid of Valentine (who might have slipped out, though it doesn’t really matter) and then gets tossed himself, with Bomb following him for another quick elimination. Mo and Tatanka are out too, followed by Bigelow and Jannetty as we get rid of some people in a hurry.

We’re down to Luger, Michaels, Tenryu, Fatu and Hart. Tenryu sends Fatu and Michaels head to head, with the expected result. Fatu and Michaels are whipped into each other so Tenryu goes after Luger, who tosses him as well. That leaves us with four so Michaels goes after Hart (it seems so appropriate) and Luger faceplants Fatu. Since NO ONE CAN EVER LEARN IN THESE THINGS, Fatu superkicks him down and hits a middle rope fist drop. Fatu and Michaels are tossed out, leaving Hart and Luger to slug it out. They both go over the top at the same time and that’s….apparently it at 55:04.

Rating: B-. This is a tricky Rumble, as there are certainly good parts, including Diesel’s monster run (which the company and fans both noticed), the ending and Hart’s performance in general, but there are also some dead spots that drag it down. While it isn’t quite an all time Rumble, it’s certainly a good enough one and that’s an acceptable result. It did a good job of selling the drama of not knowing who was winning and there were some interesting “every man for themselves” moment. Solid Rumble, though it could have been better with some tweaks.

Post match one referee says it was Luger and another says it was Bret. The replays show that they landed at pretty much the exact same time and it couldn’t have gone much better. Eventually Jack Tunney comes out to say they’re co winners, which set up the unofficial tournament at Wrestlemania X.

Respect is shown and we get some quick stills to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The Rumble is such a unique show as one match eats up so much of the card. That was the case here and I liked the Rumble well enough. The problem is almost nothing else really stands out, save for maybe Owen Hart going completely nuts in his turn. Well that and Undertaker being….whatever he was supposed to be. It certainly has some memorable moments and the ending to the Rumble is a classic, so we’ll call it a good enough show with some weak parts.

Results
Tatanka b. Bam Bam Bigelow – High crossbody
Quebecers b. Bret Hart/Owen Hart via referee stoppage
Razor Ramon b. IRS – Razor’s Edge
Yokozuna b. Undertaker – Yokozuna put Undertaker in the casket
Lex Luger and Bret Hart co-won the Royal Rumble last eliminating each other

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

In case you might need a gift receipt.

https://www.smarkdownsblog.com/wrestling-christmas-gifts-keep-return

NXT
Date: December 30, 2025
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the last show of the year and that means it’s time for the End Of The Year Awards. These are an annual tradition around here and that usually winds up being worth the look. If nothing else, seeing the choices that are made can make for some interesting options and we also have a title match. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

IMG Credit: WWE

North American Title: Moose vs. Ethan Page

Page is defending and jumps him to start fast. That earns him a spear from Moose and the crash sends Page outside. Another charge only goes into the steps though and Moose’s arm is banged up. A neckbreaker puts Moose down and we take a break. We come back with Page kicking him in the face but Moose grabs a suplex. A release Rock Bottom into a backsplash sets up a chokebomb to plant Page for two. They strike it out with Page going after the arm and he hits a big clothesline.

A Codebreaker gets two on Moose, who sends him flying on the kickout. Page is sat on top for a dropkick out to the floor and there’s the spear through the barricade. Back in and another spear gets a delayed two as Page has to put his foot on the rope. The threat of another spear sends Page bailing out to the floor. Moose’s charge is backdropped onto the steps for a nasty crash and a splash gets two back inside. The Twisted Grin retains the title at 10:47.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here, with Page’s rather long title reign continuing. He’s getting into striking distance of Oba Femi’s record for the longest title reign in the belt’s history and him getting to the top spot isn’t a bad idea. If nothing else, beating a former World Champion/powerhouse like Moose is a good look for him, as Page is pretty clearly seen as a big deal around here.

The nominees for Male Superstar Of The Year are:

Je’Von Evans
Ricky Saints
Trick Williams
Ethan Page
Oba Femi

The winner is….actually Evans, which is rather surprising as he hasn’t actually won anything. That being said, it’s a popularity vote so it’s hardly some big issue.

Evans talks about the things he has done this year and promises that the next year is going to be even bigger. The fans are thanked as well.

Izzi Dame is ready to deal with Tatum Paxley, though the rest of the Culling doesn’t think that’s a great idea.

Kendal Grey has been attacked and Wren Sinclair wants help.

Izzi Dame is in the ring and says Tatum Paxley is going nuts after one bad day. Dame doesn’t like Paxley going so nuts and wants to deal with it once and for all. Cue Paxley, who thinks Dame is the real weak one because she’s too scared to deal with Paxley herself. Dame says if Paxley had listened to her, she would still be the Women’s Champion.

Paxley says when she’s in the graves and bugs are eating her brain, they’ll see the memories of what Paxley is going to do to her next week. Dame says playtime is over but Paxley says it’s not over until she says it is. Dame jumps her from behind but Paxley is ready because she knows Dame that well. Nice segment here.

The nominees for Tag Team Of The Year are:

Hank & Tank
Zaruca
The Culling
Fatal Influence
Darkstate

And the winners are….Zaruca, who don’t team together very often but they promise more victories.

Jacy Jayne vs. Wren Sinclair

Non-title and the rest of Fatal Influence is here with Jayne. A running shoulder drops Sinclair to start but she’s back up with some arm cranking. What looks like a Fujiwara armbar is blocked so Sinclair settles for a kick to the arm. Fatal Influence offers a distraction though and Jayne kicks her down as we take a break.

We come back with Jayne hitting a neckbreaker and stopping to pose but getting sent throat first into the middle rope. A butterfly suplex gives Sinclair two but Jayne’s running knee gets the same. Sinclair’s high crossbody sets up Cattle Mutilation (or “this unique submission” according to Vic) before Sinclair gets some rollups for two each. Back up and the Rolling Encore finishes Sinclair off at 11:08.

Rating: C+. This is something that needs to happen on occasion, as the champ gets to prove that she can beat someone with a bit of status around here. It helps that Sinclair was fighting on her own thanks to the attack on Grey so she’s even protected a bit. The match had some nice back and forth stuff too, which fits well for Sinclair.

Post match the beatdown is on until the injured Kendal Grey runs in for the save. She even gets a cross armbreaker on Jayne for the tap and gets to hold the title.

Here is Joe Hendry for his concert. Hendry recaps his year and then…plays a song to recap the year in NXT. As he sings, you can see Tony D’Angelo watching from the crowd. This involves saying he made Darkstate famous and cue the team to beat Hendry down, including the toss powerbomb.

Ava comes into her office and finds Blake Monroe, who is still rather depressed. Ava’s advice is for the Glamour to show up next week.

Various people pick between Oba Femi and Leon Slater next week.

Speed Title #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Tavion Heights vs. Lexis King

Heights hits the belly to belly for the pin at 8 seconds. Well that works.

Match Of The Year Nominees:

Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams – Stand And Deliver
Sol Ruca vs. Kelani Jordan – Battleground
Ethan Page vs. Ricky Saints – Great American Bash
Jacy Jayne vs. Lola Vice – No Mercy
Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans – Heatwave
Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge – Deadline

And it’s the Stand And Deliver match. Eh fair enough.

Swipe Right vs. OTM

Swipe Right (with Jackson Drake) takes Price into the corner to start but Price is right back with some very loud chops. Nima comes in and starts on Baylor’s ribs but Smokes gets in a shot to the leg. That’s enough for Baylor to grab a chinlock, which is broken up so Price can come back in. The assisted Alabama Slam finishes Smokes at 3:37.

Rating: C. It wasn’t a squash, but OTM got to showcase their power against the pretty boy tag team. That’s what should have happened here, as OTM needs to get some wins going after a rather up and down run in NXT. They have the potential to do something and hopefully this was a start on that road.

Jordynne Grace offers some praise to Thea Hail so Hail asks for Grace to be in her corner next week. Grace agrees, but has to be talked into a hug.

Female Star Of The Year Nominees:

Kelani Jordan
Sol Ruca
Tatum Paxley
Blake Monroe
Jacy Jayne

Ruca wins, which makes sense as she’s insanely popular. Jordynne Grace not even being nominated isn’t a good sign.

We run down next week’s card.

IMG Credit: WWE

Je’Von Evans vs. Ricky Saints

Evans jumps him during the entrances and the brawl is on fast. Saints fights back and blocks a German suplex but gets knocked into the corner. A stomp to the knee cuts Evans off and Saints punches him down. They go outside and Evans is sent hard into the barricade. Evans is able to get in a shot to the face though and the big dive connects. Saints is sent into the barricade and Evans unloads with right hands on the announcers’ table.

Back in and Saints sends him face first into the apron and teases sending Evans into the ring structure as we take a break. We come back with Saints grabbing a guillotine choke until Evans suplexes his way to freedom. A spinning kick to the head gets two and a standing kick to the head rocks Saints again. Back up and Saints grabs a tiger bomb for two so it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

That takes too long though as Evans is back up with a big dive to cut him off. The frog splash gets two back inside but Saints breaks up a springboard. The spear gives Saints two and a tornado DDT gets one. Evans cuts off another spear with a cutter but the OG Cutter hits the referee by mistake. That’s enough for Saints to kick Evans low and hit the Roshambo for the pin at 15:28.

Rating: B. Another good main event here, as Evans has a reason to either go for revenge or possibly move on. Odds are it’s the former though, as someone cheating to win is hardly the way to wrap up a feud like this. Evans continues to look more and more comfortable out there though and that’s what matters the most, as he has quite the potential future in front of him.

One more New Year’s Evil rundown wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the show that was getting things warmed up for next week’s really big show. That’s where the awards helped a bit, as they padded things out just well enough to keep the show from getting long. The main event worked well too, as Saints is already doing a nice job in his new role. Next week is the show that really matters, but at least the wrapped up the year with something good enough.

Results
Ethan Page b. Moose – Twisted Grin
Jacy Jayne b. Wren Sinclair – Rolling Encore
Tavion Heights b. Lexis King – Spinning belly to belly
OTM b. Swipe Right – Assisted Alabama Slam to Stokes
Ricky Saints b. Je’Von Evans – Roshambo

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: December 30, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

For reasons I don’t quite understand, we have a special edition of the show here from New York City. That’s in addition to this week’s regular show and it should be interesting to see what kind of thing we get here, with what should be in front of a bigger audience. Well in theory at least as that has not always been the case with these things. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Alec Price/Jordan Oliver vs. Death Riders

Yes it’s Yuta and Garcia, because they’re around a lot. The Riders jump them to start fast but Price snaps off a running hurricanrana. The villains are sent outside and Price hits a running dive to take both of them out. Oliver gets shoved off the top for a big crash to the floor though and he’s in trouble back inside.

A suplex gets Oliver out of trouble but it’s not enough for the tag to Price. Instead Oliver is sent into the corner and the Boston crab has him in more trouble. That’s broken up though and Yuta gets kicked away, allowing the diving tag off to Price. The pace picks up, including a moonsault over the Riders, who are right back with a double faceplant. Price gets double teamed and a running knee gives Yuta the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. Price and Oliver have done well in their recent appearances, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they have more than a bit of experience together. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them around a bit more often and it would be nice to have some more teams around here. Other than that, the Death Riders were the same thing they’ve been every time they’re together.

Mark Davis is 2-0 in ROH this year, with one of those wins being in February. This is vital information that you absolutely needed to know.

Mark Davis vs. Matt Mako

Mako, a former MMA fighter, kicks at Davis’ knee to start but charges into a slam. Davis hammers him down and we hit the chinlock. A suplex toss sends Mako flying but he’s back with a kick to the head. Davis sends him into the corner, only to get caught in a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and it’s a big running clothesline to finish Mako at 3:22.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why we needed to have a video explaining that Davis had won a pair of matches here this year when one of them was only two weeks ago but oh well. At the same time, Davis isn’t someone who has done much either in AEW or ROH so this is at least something for him. I’ve liked the stuff I’ve seen from Mako so hopefully he’s around a bit more often.

We look at Athena not being happy with Billie Starkz.

Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Dark Order

Keith headlocks Silver to start but gets shouldered down, allowing the Order to hit a double basement dropkick. Reynolds is knocked outside and Bill hits a running clothesline to take him down again. Keith comes back in to knock Reynolds down and grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up though and it’s back to Silver for the rapid fire kicks to Keith. Silver tries the Spin Doctor on Bill but can’t keep him up, meaning it’s a big boot to knock Silver silly for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. Bill and Keith work well together, though I still have no idea why they’re stuck on this show. They wear at least established in AEW and it’s not like the tag division is overflowing with talent. Hopefully they get a chance to do something else, even if it’s around here, though there is a chance that it’s just to have Bill wrestling in New York.

Blake Christian wants a World Title shot against Bandido but instead it’s going to be Jay Lethal/Bandido vs. the Swirl on Thursday.

Satnam Singh vs. Charles Mason

Mason bites Singh’s hand to start and gets gorilla pressed for his efforts. A running crossbody and chokeslam finish for Singh at 1:42.

Back at Worlds End, Ace Austin said he wants a World Title shot at Bandido. Rocky Romero came in and a match was set up between the two of them.

Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

They go with the grappling to start until Austin armdrags him into a dropkick. Back up and Romero sends him outside, where Austin is back with a dropkick. They get back inside with Romero grabbing a quickly released ankle lock but the Forever Lariats are broken up. Austin is back with some clotheslines in the corner into a super anklescissors for two.

Romero kicks him in the head and they trade rollups for two each. A rather spinning leg trap roll up gets two on Romero, who is right back up with Sliced Bread for two. Austin gives him a suplex but the Fold misses. Instead Austin kicks him in the face and now the Fold finishes Romero off at 7:51.

Rating: C+. I still like Austin quite a bit and it’s nice to see him getting a bit of a showcase like this. He got in there and they even had something set up with the quick story before the match. At the same time, Romero losing isn’t going to hurt him because he’ll pop back up next time like nothing has changed, which is ok in a case like his.

Red Velvet vs. Janai Kai

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Kai can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Kai takes her down by the arm to start and some hard kicks connect. Velvet is back up to send her into the corner and stomps away, only to dive into a superkick. A hard kick to the back gives Kai two and her armbar sends Velvet over to the ropes.

Kai’s slam is countered into a small package for two and something like a hammerlock dragon sleeper has the arm in more trouble. That’s broken up and Velvet hits a DDT but Kai cuts her off again. Some running kicks to the head stagger Velvet and a question mark kick drops Velvet. Back up and Velvet hits a heck of a slap for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was much more about Kai taking it to Velvet, which is hardly out of the norm for her. Velvet got in a bit of offense here but it was mainly about her surviving against Kai with the kicking stuff. It’s good to see Velvet getting in the ring more often though, as she’s still doing the best stuff of her career so far.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a fine show, though I have no idea why this was some kind of a special bonus edition. There was nothing on here that really stood out and hopefully they have something a bit better/bigger for the week’s regular show. It wasn’t awful, but unless you’re a die hard Ring Of Honor fan, there wasn’t anything here worth going out of your way to see.

Results
Death Riders b. Alec Price/Jordan Oliver – Running knee to Price
Mark Davis b. Matt Mako – Running clothesline
Big Bill/Bryan Keith b. Dark Order – Big boot to Silver
Satnam Singh b. Charles Mason – Chokeslam
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Red Velvet b. Janai Kai – Slap

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Royal Rumble 1993
Date: January 24, 1993
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 16,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

This is a pretty forgotten show for reasons that should be obvious. First of all, this is 1993, one of the worst years in company history from a creative standpoint. Bret is defending the title against Razor Ramon (his only world title shot ever) and we’ve got the Rumble for the title shot at Wrestlemania for the first time. I don’t know if that’s official here, but the winner did indeed get the shot at the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.

Historical note: this is 13 days after the debut of Monday Night Raw.

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

For you ECW freaks, Bill Alfonzo is the referee. Scott and I think Blake start things off. This is the Steiners’ first major match and the fans seem to love them right off the bat. Scott immediately takes him to the mat with a top wristlock, causing Blake to freak out with a claim of tights being pulled. That sequence worked so well that they do it again. Heenan is very excited about the debut of Narcissist, which is Lex Luger as a guy obsessed with his muscles. In other words, Lex Luger debuts tonight.

After Blake stalls some more, here’s Beau to taunt the not legal Rick. There’s the tag to Rick who chases Beau around and hits Blake in the process. A powerslam puts Rick down and I don’t think Gorilla knows which Beverly is which. Since this is a Steiners match, it’s time for suplexes! Scott nearly kills Beau with a belly to belly and everything breaks down for a bit, allowing the Beverlies to take over on Scotty.

We get into a standard formula with Scott having his back worked on by both villains. Blake chokes with a tag rope in the corner for two. Heenan: “Gotta hook the tights.” Gorilla: “WHAT?” I love how shocked he sounds every time Heenan says something like that. Beau puts on a Boston Crab but Scott easily pushes out of it. Blake blocks a tag and let’s make sure that we’re LIVE still. What was WWF’s obsession with that?

Scott avoids an elbow drop but Blake breaks up the hot tag again. The crowd is silent when the Beverlies are on offense. Scott comes back with a butterfly powerbomb to put Blake down and Scott actually dives through the ropes and tags at the same time. Rick cleans house and there are Steiner Lines for both Beverlies. Scott pounds on Blake in the corner and counters a Doomsday Device with a victory roll for two. The Frankensteiner to Beau gets the pin.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull match here as the Steiners were clearly going to dominate the entire time. The Beverlies never got above lower midcard status and their biggest feud was against the Bushwhackers. What were you going to expect them to do against the freaking STEINER BROTHERS? Nothing here but a squash.

We recap the Rockers’ time together and their split. If my eyesight is correct, you can see Shane Douglas as a jobber. After the Barber Shop incident, Jannetty was out for months. He finally returned on Superstars, setting up the match tonight for Shawn’s Intercontinental Title. During his return, Jannetty accidentally hit Sheri with a mirror, which is important to know for the match.

Intercontinental Title: Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels

Sherri is at ringside with the question being who would she side with? Why would she side with Marty anyway? I never got that. Apparently it’s because Shawn never called her while she was in the hospital….which she was in because of Marty. So why would she ever go with Jannetty? Apparently Jannetty was drunk during this match. That might make things a bit funnier if nothing else.

Jannetty controls to start, sending Shawn to the floor twice with a knee lift and a clothesline. Marty punches Shawn down on the floor and poses in the ring. He tries a punch off the top but gets caught in the ribs on the way down. Shawn loads Marty up on his shoulder and in one of the only times I can ever remember it working, rams Marty shoulder first into the post.

The champ rams the other shoulder into the post because he hit the right one the first time, and you just don’t do that. Back in and Shawn hits a shoulderbreaker before sending Marty to the floor again. Back in and the shoulder goes into the buckle, followed by a double ax right down onto it as well. We hit the armbar but Marty fights out quickly. He tries a comeback but walks into a DDT on the arm for two.

Quick sidebar: why is that move called a single arm DDT? It’s a hold used on the arm, but the double arm DDT is used to hurt the head. Also a regular DDT uses just one arm, so why is this called a single arm DDT instead of the regular one? These are the kinds of things I think about when I’m bored by a match.

Anyway, Shawn does the always stupid looking jump into the boot spot. I mean he jumped RIGHT AT Marty’s feet. What could he possibly have been trying there? Marty avoids a charge in the corner, sending Shawn’s shoulder into the post instead. Marty speeds things up and pounds away, only to have Shawn slingshot him out to the floor. Shawn goes to pick him up but Marty suplexes him out to the floor.

Sherri finally does something by slapping Shawn, who gets belly to back suplexed into the ring. Shawn gets launched to the floor again as the pace picks up a bit. A powerslam puts the champ down but Shawn avoids the top rope punch. Marty stops himself before crashing and gets two off a DDT. Shawn misses a superkick and gets caught by one of his own for two. The crowd is getting into this.

Marty slingshots Shawn so he gets to do his big bump onto the post. There goes the referee via an elbow to the face and Sherri comes in. She swings her shoe but hits Marty by mistake of course. Shawn yells at her a lot and then superkicks Marty in the chest for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. This started slow, picked up a good bit during Marty’s comeback, and then had a horribly uninteresting ending. Seriously, that’s it? These two would have a rematch soon after on Raw which won Match of the Year in a contest for least bad match of the year for all intents and purposes.

In the back, Gene yells at Sherri to calm down. Marty comes to the back for some more brawling.

Heenan and Gorilla argue a bit.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

Bigelow jumps Boss Man in the corner to start and Boss is in trouble early. He gets whipped into the corner and a Bigelow forearm knocks him to the outside. This is one of those “do one move then stand around for awhile” matches. Boss Man comes back with some clotheslines and some punches to the “face” in the corner. Another right hand and a bulldog puts Bigelow down but Boss Man’s charge is countered by a backdrop to the floor.

Off to a body vice by Bigelow which is a rather dull move as usual. A hot shot puts Boss Man down for two and some shots to his back keeps him down. We hit the body vice again but Boss Man comes back with a suplex. It hurts him more than Bigelow though, as Bam is up first. Boss Man starts his real comeback with a punch to the face and a running crotch attack to Bigelow’s back. Bigelow gets a boot up in the corner and clotheslines Boss Man down. The flying headbutt gets the pin.

Rating: D. This was pure filler and not even entertaining filler. Bigelow was on the rise at this point while Boss Man would be gone in less than two months. On top of that, the match was really dull with Bigelow laying around and working on Boss Man’s back most of the time, which doesn’t make for an interesting match at all.

We get a clip from WWF Mania (Saturday morning show) of Razor beating up Owen to hype the world title match.

Razor says he’s got gold around his fingers and neck and now he wants it around his waist.

Bret says he’s ready.

WWF World Title: Razor Ramon vs. Bret Hart

Feeling out process to start with Razor getting the early advantage with some right hands. A knee in the corner misses and Bret has on the Figure Four in less than 90 seconds. Razor gets the rope so Bret drops elbows on the knee instead. The leg gets wrapped around the post before Bret goes after the other leg in the corner for some reason. Ramon comes back with a whip to send Bret ribs first into the post.

Now we get to the best part of any Bret Hart match: him getting the tar beaten out of him. Some backbreakers on the floor keep Bret down and we head inside again. Razor pounds on the ribs some more and hits the fallaway slam for two. Helen Hart (Bret’s mom) is in the front row. There’s the chest first into the buckle bump from Bret for two more and it’s off to the abdominal stretch, another Razor trademark.

As always, Bret reverses Hall’s hold into one of his own before getting hiptossed over. Bret is sent to the floor on a kickout and gets two on a sunset flip. We hit the reverse chinlock by Razor, followed quickly by a bearhug. Bret bites his way out of it and sends Razor to the outside in a quick move. The champion follows it up with a suicide dive and the comeback is on.

Bret pounds away in the corner over and over as we hit the brawl. For a guy known as a technical master, Bret brawled an awful lot. Not that he’s bad at it or anything but it happens really often. There are the Five Moves of Doom but Razor gets to the rope before the Sharpshooter is on. The second attempt doesn’t work either as Razor pulls the referee into a pile with the two of them.

Ramon goes right back to the ribs and Bret’s momentum is stopped dead. A belly to back superplex is blocked by Bret into a belly to back suplex for two for the champ. Razor clotheslines Bret down but Bret escapes the Razor’s Edge into a backslide for two. In a pretty awesome ending, Bret counters a test of strength into a sunset flip in a sweet flip counter, followed by grapevining the legs together on the mat and turning Razor over into the Sharpshooter for the submission.

Rating: B. Good match here and again, why did Razor never get more title matches? I know he wasn’t the kind of guy to make the world champion, but are you telling me that when the company was falling apart at times they couldn’t throw him in there as a token challenger? I would have bought him as legit threat to any champion, but it never happened. I’ve never gotten that. Anyway, solid match here as you would expect from these two.

Heenan unveils Narcissist, which is Lex Luger in front of a bunch of mirrors. Lots of posing commences and Heenan sounds like he’s in love. Well at least extreme lust. Luger says he’ll be dominant. Not much here. A curtain is lowered over Luger and Heenan actually gets on his knees, begging to see more. I’ve heard of overtones but this is ridiculous.

Here are Caesar and Cleopatra to hype up Wrestlemania. They read a proclamation about it and this is really stupid.

Royal Rumble

Ric Flair is #1 and Bob Backlund, going through a career resurgence at the time, is #2. Backlund drops Flair with a shoulder and does his little dance. Flair pounds him into the corner but Bob backdrops him down. Papa Shango is #3 and is dumped out by Flair in less than thirty seconds. Backlund it sent to the apron and Flair stomps away. They chop it out until Ted DiBiase, I believe half of the tag champions here, is #4.

Heenan makes fun of Backlund as the double teaming ensues, prompting Gorilla to threaten to knock Bobby out. Backlund is beaten on even more until Brian Knobs is #5. The Nasties are good guys at this point and happen to be feuding with Money Inc. Guess who he starts swinging at. Knobs almost dumps Flair but only gets him to the apron. Things slow down for a bit until Virgil is #6. The faces team up to fight the heels as not a lot is going on at this point.

DiBiase tosses out Knobs and we’re down to four in the ring again. Here’s the pretty new Jerry Lawler at #7 in a HUGE cape. I think he’s a heel here but Flair grabs him for some chops almost immediately. Flair goes to the floor through the middle ropes so Virgil goes after Lawler. Flair gets back in and Jerry immediately goes after him. Oh never mind as Heenan is praising Lawler. He’s a heel alright.

Max Moon (presumably played by Konnan) is #8. He hits a few moves and is dumped by Lawler before anyone else shows up. Lawler’s attire is really intricate here with lots of writing on it instead of the usual two color design. I kind of like it for a change. Japanese legend Genichiro Tenryu is #9 and he starts a chop-off with Flair as you would expect them to do.

Things slow down a bit until Mr. Perfect is #9 at a full sprint. Heenan: “OH NO! OH DEAR GOD NO!!!” Perfect immediately goes after Flair so Ric goes to the top. There’s the slam off the top and the Hennig Neck Snap as Heenan is having a heart attack. We hear about the loser leaves the WWF match tomorrow on Raw between the two of them, which is a very rare match for some reason.

Skinner is #11 and he does nothing before Perfect shoves Flair out to a HUGE pop. Lawler (looking very different here for some reason that I can’t place) pounds away on Hennig as we’re back down to six people in there. That’s usually the right amount so thankfully they’ve gotten through the first third without things getting too hectic. Koko B. Ware and those big green pants of his are #12. Heenan: “Koko B. Ware could go to Wrestlemania to face Bret Hart. Gorilla: “What’s wrong with that?” Heenan: “IT SHOULD BE RIC FLAIR!!!”

Perfect dropkicks Skinner out and not a lot is going on again. Here’s Samu at #13, giving us a group of Backlund, DiBiase, Tenryu, Virgil, Perfect, DiBiase, Lawler and Ware. Lawler and Perfect keep going at it in a feud that could have been AMAZING in Memphis. Berzerker is #14 as we need to get rid of some people in there. Lawler misses a charging punch on Perfect and there he goes. With Perfect distracted, DiBiase and Ware team up (you’ll NEVER hear that again) to kick him out with an assist from Lawler. Virgil was thrown out during that melee, getting us down to just six again.

The Undertaker is #15 to a BIG pop. Gorilla calls him the odds on favorite. I’m not sure I’d go that far but whatever. Berzerker goes to the floor and beats up Backlund (not eliminated) with a chair. Taker puts Samu out and no sells a lot of Tenryu’s stuff before dumping him as well. We’ve got Backlund (mostly dead on the floor), Taker, Berzerker, DiBiase and Ware in at the moment. Terry Taylor (he still had a job at this point?) is in at #16 and he’s gone in less than thirty seconds thanks to DiBiase, as is Ware.

There’s a chokeslam to DiBiase and Taker dumps him, leaving Berzerker against Taker. In one of the biggest “oh great it’s this guy” moments ever, Giant Gonzales debuts as Taker dumps Berzerker. Gonzales, a legit 7’7 tall, stares down at Taker as Damien Demento (don’t ask) is #17. Gonzales chops Taker out for an illegal elimination. In case you’re not familiar, Gonzales is a monster who makes Great Khali look like Lou Thesz. Speaking of Khali, he was literally the same character as Gonzales in a repeat of the same exact story the Undertaker was involved in in 1992. In short, both of them sucked and were really tall.

Gonzales destroys Taker for a bit as Demento still won’t get in. IRS is #18 as the Giant is still beating up Taker. It’s IRS, Backlund and Demento at the moment with Taker out cold in the corner. Tatanka is #19 as Paul Bearer uses the Urn to revive Taker. This of course is all the fans focus on, making the match in the ring look even less interesting than it already is, which is saying a lot when you think about it. Lots of choking ensues until Jerry Sags is #20.

There is NOTHING going on here and I don’t think Typhoon at #21 is going to help things at all. Fatu is #22 and my goodness I have never heard more silence for an entrance. NOTHING is going on here and Earthquake is #23. He immediately goes after….Typhoon, his partner. They have a fat man brawl for a bit until Quake dumps him out. Carlos Colon, aged 44 and called a youngster by Monsoon is #24.

Colon dumps Demento as the eliminations are keeping the crowd on life support. Quake can’t put Backlund out as Tito Santana is #25. Fatu misses a charge at Backlund and eliminates himself. We’ve got Quake, Backlund, Santana, IRS, Tatanka, Colon and Sags in there at the moment. Rick Martel is #26 who is STILL feuding with Santana. Why did they never have a big match to blow off that feud? It went on for like four years or so.

Earthquake dumps IRS and now we get to the first interesting part of the match in WAY too long: Backlund is sent to the apron and the crowd collectively gasps until he gets back in. Gorilla actually swears at how big the reaction is. Yokozuna is #27 and it’s time to clear some space. Yoko and Tatanka chop it out and there goes the guy with red hair (figure out which is which).

Colon is out and it’s time for the fat man showdown with Quake vs. Yoko. They collide a few times and no one moves so Quake pounds him into the corner. Owen Hart is #28. Quake splashes Yoko in the corner but the second attempt misses. Yoko suplexes Quake out and that more or less seals the winner. Repo Man is #29 and is immediately dropped by Yoko. Everybody gangs up on Yoko and it doesn’t work at all.

Randy Savage is #30, giving us a final group of Savage, Yokozuna, Repo Man, Owen, Martel, Santana, Sags and Backlund. They’re not even trying to hide the winner at this point. Yoko dumps Tito as Owen dropkicks Sags out. Owen skins the cat to save himself before being dumped by Yoko and possibly injuring his knee. Repo is out and we’re down to four. Backlund actually picks up Martel to sit him on top and punches him out. The place is WAY into Backlund here, so he goes after Yoko. A pair of dropkick put Yoko against the ropes but Backlund charges into the elimination, drawing a standing ovation.

So it’s Savage vs. Yoko and the beating of the small man begins. Yoko flattens him over and over again until Savage fires off a bunch of kicks out of the corner. The fans are trying to get behind Savage and there’s a top rope ax handle. One to the back gets Yoko down to one knee. Uh…why would you want to knock a guy this big DOWN in a battle royal?

Either way he superkicks Savage to knock him down again and there’s the belly to belly. The legdrop crushes Savage but the Banzai Drop misses. In one of the STUPIDEST endings ever to the Rumble, Savage hits the elbow and COVERS, getting launched over the top rope on the kickout to send Yoko to Las Vegas for the title shot.

Rating: D. This was one of the worst Rumbles of all time. The main problem here is the period after Taker, the only guy you could actually see eliminating Yoko, was eliminated. From then until the time Backlund got close to the longevity record (which he got), there’s NOTHING. It’s a bunch of lame midcarders standing around lifting each others’ legs in the air. Why would I want to see that at all? Anyway, nothing to see here and a BAD Rumble.

Overall Rating: D+. There’s a reason no one cares at all about 1993 WWF: it’s really not very good. The title matches here aren’t bad but other than that, this show is pretty freaking terrible. The Rumble sucks the life out of the show, as the highlights are a two minute segment between Flair and Perfect and the Backlund part at the end. When the whole match is 65 minutes long, that doesn’t hold up. Weak show here.

Ratings Comparison

Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty

Original: C

Redo: C+

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon

Original: B

Redo: B

Royal Rumble

Original: D+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: D

Redo: D+

Not much change here.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/12/royal-rumble-count-up-1993/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Royal Rumble 1992
Date: January 19, 1992
Location: Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, New York
Attendance: 17,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

It’s time to get back to one of the classics as this one comes up on the request list pretty regularly. Since this is going to be my fourth time looking at it, odds are this is going to be the last time I look at it for a very good while. You probably know the big attraction by heart at this point and that should be more than enough to carry the whole thing. Let’s get to it.

We open with Vince McMahon narrating a list of Royal Rumble entrants, which does have a certain charm as he is SO into it.

Commentary runs down most of the card. There are only five matches, so a full list wouldn’t be too much to ask.

Orient Express vs. New Foundation

The Express (Kato/Tanaka) has Mr. Fuji with them. Owen and Kato start things off as Heenan ignores everything else to talk about Ric Flair in the Royal Rumble (fair enough in this case). Kato’s O’Connor roll is countered into an armbar, followed by a running hurricanrana to give Owen two. Neidhart comes in for an armbar of his own before it’s off to Tanaka for another showdown.

Tanaka bounces off of Neidhart as commentary talks about Neidhart’s questionable sanity. A spinebuster sets up Owen’s middle rope elbow as commentary finally starts talking about the match in front of them. That lasts all of ten seconds as we switch over to the Mountie winning the Intercontinental Title from a rather sick Bret Hart (not quite) at a recent house show. Heenan: “He had a 104 degree temperature. I’ve wrestled with an 113 degree temperature! It’s not that big of a deal!”

Neidhart hits a double clothesline to set up Owen’s high crossbody, followed by a spinwheel kick for two on Kato. Tanaka gets in a kick from the apron though and a Fuji cane shot lets the villains take over. Kato is back up with a jumping back elbow for two as Heenan tries to leave to consult with Flair before the Rumble. We get our first “fair to Flair” of the day as Owen does Breth’s chest first into the buckle bump. A superkick gives Tanaka two so he does it again, setting up a headbutt to the, ahem, lower abdomen (even commentary isn’t sure on that one).

Owen fights up and gets over for the tag but the referee doesn’t see it thanks to a well timed distraction (because the classics always work). Instead a belly to belly plants Tanaka for two, leaving them both down. Neidhart gets drawn in again, allowing a double clothesline for two on Owen. Another superkick drops Owen again but he gets back up with a double dropkick. The hot tag brings in Neidhart to clean house as everything breaks down. Owen hits a heck of a suicide dive on Kato, setting up the Rocket Launcher for the pin (Monsoon: “Sayonara baby!”) at 17:19.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that I miss in modern wrestling: take some talented people and put them in the ring together for a good while with little on the line. I get why it wouldn’t go over well today, but dang it is a nice flashback to a different era. The New Foundation wasn’t exactly as good as the Harts, but they were good enough to put in a nice effort like this one here.

We look at the Mountie defeating the sick Bret Hart to win the Intercontinental Title. Mountie kept the beatdown going after the match until Roddy Piper made the save. Another sneak attack from Mountie didn’t work, but now we have a title match.

Jimmy Hart is ECSTATIC over the Mountie winning the title. Mountie promises to beat Roddy Piper up, while taking his manhood AND his skirt.

Roddy Piper says we’re looking at one of the original Village People in the Mountie. First, Mountie wants to take Piper’s integrity, but Piper doesn’t have any! Then he’s coming for Piper’s manhood. Piper is here to wrestle, but he doesn’t know what Mountie is here to do. Tonight, Piper can win two titles and now he has to go win the first one.

Intercontinental Title: Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie

Mountie is defending and has Jimmy Hart in his corner. Piper unloads to start and Mountie bails outside fast. A Hart distraction lets Mountie get in a few shots, followed by some leapfrogs back inside. You can only do that to Piper for so long though as he sends Mountie into the buckle a few times. There’s a bulldog out of the corner as commentary bickers about how many rights Heenan has.

Hart’s distraction lets Mountie get in a few shots, including some face first rams into the buckle. A sunset flip gives Piper two as Heenan again claims the 113 degree temperature, which he survived thanks to half of a children’s Aspirin. Back up and Piper sends him over the top, only to have Mountie skin the cat. Piper sends him into an interfering Hart though, grabs the sleeper, and wins the title at 5:20.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing, but was anyone buying the Mountie as having a chance against Piper? The whole thing was a way to transition the title off of Bret to set up the eventual showdown with Piper at Wrestlemania. Piper winning a title after all those years as a star is great to see though and that was the other major point. Bad match, but a good result.

Post match Hart tries to come in with Mountie’s shock stick, which Piper takes and uses on the Mountie instead. We do get a classic Fink AND NEEEEW moment, with Piper getting to hold the title for a great moment.

Hulk Hogan is ready to win the Royal Rumble, where he won’t have any friends because he wants the WWF Title back.

The Bushwhackers and Jamison (a disturbingly nerdy guy with a bad suit and a sock sitting out of his pocket) are ready for the Beverly Sisters’ final fling. They’ll beat up the Genius too.

Bushwhackers vs. Beverly Brothers

Jamison and the Genius are here too. We hit the stall button to start, with two and a half minutes passing before the Brothers jump Luke to start the physicality. Luke fights up and bites the back of Blake’s tights, setting up a double forearm to put the Brothers outside. We settle down to Beau vs. Butch as commentary talks about Jack Tunney actually doing something lately.

Beau gets in a cheap shot to take over as commentary talks about 20,000 fans here (17,000 official, so at least it’s not that far off). Everything breaks down again and the Bushwhackers clear the ring for the second time as we are somehow almost seven minutes into this. The Beverlies both try sneaking up from behind to even less avail but this time Butch goes outside to beat up Beau. A cheap shot to Luke finally gets us into a more traditional match, with the Beverlys taking turns with the elbows. Jamison: “Stop cheating!”

A backbreaker puts Luke down again and there’s a headbutt to the back for two. Heenan rants about his tax money going to Jamison as this match just keeps going. Luke gets beaten up again as genius slaps Jamison. One shot is finally enough for Luke to get over for the tag to Butch so house can be cleaned. The Battering Ram hits Blake and a running headbutt gets two on Beau. The referee has to get Luke out though and Blake hits a top rope ax handle to pin Butch at 14:56.

Rating: D-. Yowza this was a horrible match, with nothing good in the way of wrestling, a bunch of repetitive stalling and a lame ending. This was one of the worst pay per view matches I’ve ever seen from the WWF and the time would have been better used by airing an old pinball tournament. Awful in every sense.

Post match the Bushwhackers clean house and hold Genius back so Jamison can kick him in the shin. Good for him I’m sure.

The Legion Of Doom is ready for the Natural Disasters because they’ll fight anyone. Hawk wants the Disasters’ tongues hanging out like dead deers’.

Tag Team Titles: Natural Disasters vs. Legion Of Doom

The Disasters, with Jimmy Hart, are challenging. Hawk wastes no time in swinging away at Typhoon and everything breaks down quickly. Earthquake comes in and shrugs off Hawk’s dropkick, only to miss a (decent actually) dropkick attempt of his own. Gorilla: “He wouldn’t have hit Sky Low Low with that one!” Well no, as it would have been two feet above Low Low’s head. Think Monsoon.

It’s off to Animal for a double clothesline and knockdown, followed by Animal’s failed slam attempt to put him in trouble again. That lasts all of three seconds as Typhoon comes back in and gets his arm cranked, allowing the tag back to Hawk. A backbreaker cuts Hawk down and Typhoon adds a running crotch attack to the back. The required bearhug goes on before Earthquake steps on Hawk’s ribs.

Another bearhug goes on as Heenan is trying to pay someone to go to the back to get Flair information. This one is broken up just as quickly as the other, leaving Earthquake to miss a splash in the corner. Hawk manages a middle rope elbow to the head and it’s finally off to Animal to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and they fight to the floor, with only Typhoon beating the count back in for the win at 9:24.

Rating: D+. While it wasn’t good, this is just slightly better than the other tag match and that is what matters here. At the end of the day, the match was about setting up something in the future, even if that didn’t quite happen. The match wasn’t exactly fun to watch, as Earthquake and Typhoon are only going to be able to do so much in the ring. Throw in the LOD being a bit limited in their own right and this was about as good as it was going to get.

Post match the brawl is on and the Disasters are cleared out.

In the back, Jimmy Hart and the Disasters rant a lot.

Roddy Piper is very happy with his win and dedicates it to his son Colt.

After a clip of the famous Barber Shop split, Shawn Michaels doesn’t care that Marty Jannetty is out of the Rumble because Shawn is going to win it anyway.

Ric Flair has drawn #3 and doesn’t care, because he’s Ric Flair.

Randy Savage is ready to get back to the top of the mountain.

Sid Justice is ready to win the Royal Rumble.

Repo Man is ready to repossess the WWF Title.

British Bulldog is ready to win another battle royal, just like he won another one last year at Royal Albert Hall in London.

Jake Roberts is ready to get what he needs and beat up Randy Savage at the same time. Trust him.

Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair are ready for the latter to prove that he is the REAL World’s Champion.

Paul Bearer is ready for 29 caskets as the Undertaker is WWF Champion again.

Hulk Hogan is ready for it to be every man for himself in the Royal Rumble so he can get the title back. Hogan was sounding rather whiny and a bit paranoid here.

Jack Tunney gives us a brief welcome and says may the best man win.

WWF Title: Royal Rumble

For the vacant title (after Hulk Hogan cheated to take it back from Undertaker) with two minute intervals. British Bulldog is in at #1 and Ted DiBiase is in at #2 as Heenan is already calculating odds on Flair’s ring time. Bulldog hammers away but charges into an elbow in the corner. DiBiase grabs some suplexes as Heenan suggests going through the ropes and hiding to kill time.

Bulldog gets thrown over the top but hangs on and runs back in to toss DiBiase, leaving Heenan upset. Ric Flair is in at #3 (Heenan: “NO!” Monsoon: “YES!”), sending Monsoon into a statement about how no one from entrants #1-5 has ever made it to the end. Heenan apologizes for not being able to be objective as Bulldog grabs the gorilla press. Flair gets in a poke to the eye for a breather as Jerry Sags is in at #4.

Bulldog gets double teamed as Heenan wants Flair to go rest in the corner. A double clothesline gets Bulldog out of trouble and there’s a dropkick to get rid of Sags (Heenan: “OH NO!”). Haku is in at #5 and goes after Flair (Heenan: “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HAKU??? HAVE YOU GONE NUTS???” You know, because HAKU is most well known for his calm, rational demeanor), who actually takes him down and drops a knee to the head. Bulldog gets rid of Flair and Shawn Michaels is in at #6.

A superkick drops Flair fast (not yet the big time finisher) and another….lands in the general vicinity of Bulldog’s head as Heenan wants a stiff drink. We also start the weird timing as Heenan says Flair has been in over ten minutes despite the match not even going for ten minutes yet. Tito Santana is in at #7 and has Flair upside down in the corner (Heenan: “PERFECT! GET OUT HERE!”).

Flair slips out and gives Santana a belly to back suplex, followed by a low blow to Bulldog (Heenan: “I’d do that to my grandmother if I had to!”). The Barbarian is in at #8 (Heenan: “When I managed him, he barely liked me!”) and everyone brawls around without much going on. The Texas Tornado is in at #9 and goes right after Flair as Heenan is sounding increasingly desperate. Things slow down even more (fair enough) as the Repo Man is in at #10, giving us Bulldog, Flair, Michaels, Santana Barbarian, Tornado and Repo Man.

Barbarian and Flair double team Tornado and it’s Greg Valentine (in his bizarre face run) at #11. Naturally he goes right for Flair as Heenan talks about how the Perfect Plan called for Flair to go no more than 30 minutes. Flair kicks Repo Man low and it’s Nikolai Volkoff (Heenan: “300 pound Lithuanian!”) in at #11. Valentine grabs the Figure Four on Flair (Heenan….well you can just imagine) as Volkoff is tossed out to clear some of the ring. The Big Boss Man is in at #12 to pick up the energy a bit.

There goes Valentine, with Repo Man and Bulldog following him. Tornado is out as well as Heenan is begging Flair to get away from Boss Man. Santana and Michaels are both out and it’s Hercules at #13. Flair chops at Barbarian (Heenan: “NO RIC!”) and gets gorilla pressed for his efforts. Hercules dumps Barbarian (saving Flair in the process) but gets tossed as well. Boss Man clotheslines Flair but misses a charge and gets low bridged out, leaving Flair alone in the ring.

It’s Roddy Piper in at #14 and Heenan is beside himself as Flair is in even bigger trouble. Piper beats him up and takes it to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and it’s an airplane spin into the sleeper to knock Flair mostly out. Jake Roberts is in at #15 to sit in the corner as the sleeper continues. Roberts goes after Piper (Heenan: “Thank you Jake!”) before hitting the short arm clothesline (Heenan: “You no good….”). Piper makes the save (Heenan: “It’s not a skirt! It’s a kilt!”) and Flair puts the Figure Four on Roberts. That’s broken up by Piper (Heenan: “You no good skirt wearing…..”) and it’s Jim Duggan in at #16.

Even Monsoon is praising Flair’s conditioning at this point as Heenan thinks Hulk Hogan is behind the order of entrants. Duggan punches Flair into the corner as Roberts does the same to Piper. It’s IRS in at #17 and it’s a double noggin knocker from Duggan to Roberts/Flair, giving us a Flair Flop. Jimmy Snuka is in at #18 and he still looks weird in those long tights. Heenan: “He’s wasting time!” Monsoon: “He is not!” Heenan: “I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

Piper chops on Flair in the corner but hands him off to Roberts, who can’t get rid of him. The Undertaker is in at #20 and Heenan is….oddly kind of calm about it. That gives us Flair, Piper, Roberts, Duggan, IRS, Snuka and Undertaker, with Snuka being tossed almost immediately. Undertaker grabs Flair by the throat, with Heenan declaring that everything is over. Duggan saves Flair and gets kicked low by Undertaker (that’s a weird visual) as Randy Savage is in at #21, meaning Roberts bails straight to the floor (not out).

Undertaker jumps Savage from behind so Piper comes back in, only to get kneed over the top by Savage. Hold on though as Savage dives over the top to go after Roberts again….but Undertaker throws Savage back inside, apparently because he wasn’t THROWN over the top. Ignore that this goes against previously established rules, but since when has that mattered? Flair stomps on Savage in the corner and hits Undertaker low, the latter of which doesn’t seem to matter.

Berzerker is in at #22 and hammers on various people as Heenan panics at Flair going after Savage. Undertaker and Piper choke Flair until Virgil is in at #23. Flair survives an Undertaker elimination attempt and it’s Colonel Mustafa in at #24. Monsoon refers to Flair as “Martel” twice, even as Duggan punches Flair in the face. Piper beats on Flair in the corner and it’s Rick Martel in at #25.

Heenan thinks some of the bigger names have gotten some great luck in the drawing, again forgetting an announcement on Superstars that some of the bigger names were guaranteed later numbers. Mustafa is out and everyone brawls….until Hulk Hogan is in at #26 (Heenan: “OH MY GOD NO!”). The brawl is on again as Heenan starts bargaining with God to let Heenan win. Hogan gets rid of Undertaker and Berzerker back to back with Virgil and Duggan going out at the same time.

Skinner is in at #27 as Heenan thinks Flair should be the Real World’s Champion no matter what. Sgt. Slaughter is in at #28 as Skinner is out. Hogan and Piper go at it, with Monsoon sounding almost surprised because they’re friends, despite having one of the most famous rivalries in wrestling history. Flair officially sets the all time record as Sid Justice is in at #29 to quite the reaction.

More brawling ensues as Warlord is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Flair, Piper, IRS, Savage, Martel, Hogan, Slaughter, Sid and Warlord. Hogan slams Flair at the top and they both roll outside (not eliminated) to fight some more outside. Sid dumps Slaughter as Monsoon can’t believe that Flair is still here. Granted he also thinks Flair has been here for an hour when we’re still coming up on an hour into the match.

Piper pulls IRS out by the tie and Sid dumps Warlord to get us down to six. Sid gets rid of Martel and Piper, leaving us with Savage, Sid, Hogan and Flair, which makes me want to play Super Wrestlemania. There goes Savage as well, leaving Hogan to punch Flair over the top. Hogan goes to dump him but Sid tosses Hogan instead. Ever the nice guy, Hogan grabs Sid’s arm because “you stole my belt”, allowing Flair to dump Sid (with Hogan’s help) for the win and the title at 1:02:02. Heenan: “YESx50!”

Rating: A. Yes it’s still great and it still works as well as probably any Rumble would for almost ten more years. Flair has a great performance in setting the record and never once seeming like he was laying around for any extended period of time. You also have a star studded lineup with all kinds of people feeling like dark horse candidates, meaning there was little down time. Then of course there’s Heenan, who has the call of a lifetime as you can picture him losing his mind at everything falling apart. Monsoon laughing at Heenan when Flair comes out early but then respecting Flair by the end is great too, making this a masterpiece.

Post match Hogan and Sid bicker a lot, setting up Wrestlemania. I remember watching this at around four years old and wondering why Hogan was upset when he was eliminated without breaking any rules. There was no reason for him to be angry over this and he was just whining.

In the back, Jack Tunney presents Ric Flair with the title, allowing Flair to give the incredible “with a tear in my eye” speech, talking about how this is the title that matters the most in the world. Flair, Perfect and Heenan all WOO in celebration. Perfect: “We’re not the kind of guys to say we told you so but….we told you so!” After Flair cracks up at that one (and Gene gets in the infamous “PUT THAT CIGARETTE OUT!”), Gene signs off and sends us to the highlight package to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This is a weird show as the main event is the ONLY thing that matters (though the Piper title win was a very nice moment) and everything else is pretty minor. The problem is one of those two matches is horrible and another is pretty bad, bringing the overall rating down a bit. That being said, this is the definition of a one match show and there is little reason to watch anything but the Intercontinental Title match and the main event. One is a feel good moment and the other is an all time classic, so we’ll call this quite the success.

WWF, 2022, 1992, Redo, Royal Rumble, New Foundation, Orient Express, Mountie, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan, Bushwhackers, Beverly Brothers, Jamison, The Genius, Natural Disasters, Legion Of Doom, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice, Randy Savage, Undertaker

Ratings Comparison

New Foundation vs. Orient Express

Original: C+
2013 Redo: B-
2018 Redo: C
2023 Redo: C+

The Mountie vs. Roddy Piper

Original: B
2013 Redo: D
2018 Redo: D
2023 Redo: D+

Beverly Brothers vs. Bushwhackers

Original: F+
2013 Redo: T (The Worst Match In Royal Rumble History)
2018 Redo: F
2023 Redo: D-

Legion of Doom vs. Natural Disasters

Original: D
2013 Redo: D
2018 Redo: D
2023 Redo: D+

Royal Rumble

Original: A+
2013 Redo: A
2018 Redo: A-
2023 Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: B
2013 Redo: B
2018 Redo: B
2023 Redo: A-

I’m pretty much done with this show after this one, though it’s still rather great.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 29, 2025
Location: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re wrapping up the year right here with the show before we get to the big show next week. That could mean a few different things but hopefully this one can end the year on a high note. If nothing else we’re live again and now we get to see where things go on the still long road to the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Austin Theory seemingly having a successful audition with the Vision last week.

IMG Credit: WWE

Here is the Vision to get things going. After some CM PUNK chants, Paul Heyman talks about how you’re looking at the future Wrestlemania main eventers right in front of you. We get some OTC chants, with Heyman thanking the fans for their irrelevant opinions. That brings Heyman to Austin Theory, who says he has a lot to talk about, starting with Bron Breakker.

Heyman explains that the goal of the team is bigger than that of any member, but here is Punk to interrupt. Punk says Theory is already drinking gallons of the Kool-Aid but he’s here to talk to Breakker. The title match is already set for next week and yeah he could come down there and get beaten up, but then there’s no title match next week. Punk comes to the ring and actually gets inside, where he asks Bron (“Kid”) what he has.

Breakker is ready to take Punk out because he’s tired of being called the future because he is the now. Everyone is waiting for Breakker to fall apart but go find someone like him. Go find someone with so little experience who has taken wrestling over and is as much of a dog. Yeah he came from a wrestling family but it just put more pressure on him. While Punk was on the indies, Breakker was on the field with the Baltimore Ravens. Next week, Breakker is going to put Punk in the ground and take the title.

Punk says Breakker is more ready than anyone back there, but Punk isn’t ready. If Breakker wants the title, which Punk lays on the mat, pick it up, because it’s heavier than Breakker believes. He’s not ready to let it go and stop coming into these sold out arenas and say how great it is to be alive on a Monday night in Orlando, Florida. They aren’t the same and that’s because one of them is CM Punk. One day someone is going to beat him for this but it won’t be Breakker on January 5. Punk was bringing the fire here and as usual, it’s where he shines.

Raquel Rodriguez promises no tricks in tonight’s title match. Liv Morgan comes in and says Judgment Day needs the win tonight, especially with Dominik Mysterio out for a bit. Roxanne Perez comes in and agrees they want Rodriguez to win the title, though Rodriguez doesn’t need luck.

IMG Credit: WWE

Women’s Title: Nikki Bella vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer is defending and rolls Rodriguez up for an early two. Bella breaks up an early Devil’s Kiss attempt and Vaquer is knocked outside. A running dropkick on the floor has Vaquer in more trouble and we take a break. We come back with Rodriguez pulling Bella’s high crossbody out of the air, setting up a fall away slam. A Gory Stretch goes on and Rodriguez leans her forward for two. Bella is back in and Rodriguez has to break up the Devil’s Kiss so Bella snaps Rodriguez’s leg on the rope.

A high crossbody hits Rodriguez but Bella sends Vaquer into the post. Bella puts Rodriguez in an STF (Fans: “THANK YOU CENA!”) but Rodriguez twists it into a leglock, with Vaquer adding a double Devil’s Kiss. Vaquer twists Rodriguez’s knee out of the corner but Rodriguez is able to knock both of them down again.

We take another break and come back with Bella sunset bombing the other two down for two each. Vaquer’s double underhook faceplant into a Codebreaker gets two on Bella with Rodriguez making the save. Rodriguez counters a tornado DDT but gets small packaged for two instead. Back up and Rodriguez tries a double Tejana Bomb but Vaquer slips out and sends Rodriguez outside. That’s enough for Vaquer to steal the pin on Bella and retain at 17:05.

Rating: B. I liked the match well enough, but this needs to be it for Bella getting title shots. She did well enough with two others out there, but it’s just over by this point. Vaquer has beaten her multiple times now and while I could go for more of Vaquer facing Rodriguez, it needs to be without Bella. There is a place for Bella in modern WWE, but it shouldn’t be such a prominent one.

Gunther reminds us that he made John Cena tap out but R-Truth comes in to say the disrespect has to stop. Saying it over and over again makes him a piece of…and R-Truth whispers something in Gunther’s ear, which Gunther doesn’t like. Gunther takes this as a challenge and the match is set.

Here are the Kabuki Warriors to brag about beating Rhea Ripley last week. Iyo Sky never should have attacked Kairi Sane, but Asuka cuts Sane off. Cue Ripley and Sky for the brawl, with Sky being sent into the announcers’ table. She’s back up to save Ripley from the assisted Insane Elbow though and Sane has to escape Riptide. Instead the Warriors both get kicked outside to send them running.

Rey Mysterio runs into CM Punk and says he has some backup for tonight. Punk approves.

Gunther vs. R-Truth

R-Truth jumps him to start but gets dropped with a quick chop. The pace slows way down and Gunther chops him again, only to take too long doing You Can’t See Me. Some shoulders stagger Gunther but he kicks R-Truth in the face. The powerbomb gets two as he picks R-Truth up so the sleeper can get the tap at 3:29.

Rating: C. That’s exactly what it should have been as Gunther barely broke a sweat here. They’re setting up the idea that someone is going to have to step up to Gunther sooner than later and that’s going to be the next bit feud. R-Truth is the kind of person who can get beaten up and get some heat on Gunther in the process and it worked well here.

Jey Uso isn’t sure about this but Jimmy Uso gives him a pep talk.

Video on Oba Femi.

Je’Von Evans runs into AJ Styles and Dragon Lee, who praise him for the match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Wherever Evans winds up, let them know so they can run it back. Evans appreciates this but runs into Los Americanos. El Grande Americano speaks a lot of Spanish, though Evans doesn’t understand.

Paul Heyman officially welcomes Austin Theory to the Vision, and they officially have each others’ backs. Heyman even sends Logan Paul to the ring with Theory for some quality time together.

IMG Credit: WWE

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Logan Paul is here with Theory, who powers Mysterio into the corner to start. A backbreaker just wakes Mysterio up a bit and the middle rope hurricanrana drops Theory. That’s fine with Theory, who elbows Mysterio in the face to cut him off. Theory sends him hard into the post and we take a break. We come back with Mysterio hitting a top rope seated senton into the running headscissors. Theory tries something like a torture rack but gets spun into a DDT for two. The 619 is loaded up but Paul jumps Mysterio for the DQ at 7:30.

Rating: C+. Well, at least he didn’t get pinned, though this was hardly the best sign for Theory’s future. It plays off the idea of the Vision having Theory’s back and he dominated a good chunk of the match, though that’s only so encouraging. Hopefully there is something more for Theory than being the team’s whipping boy, as he has more potential than that.

Post match the beatdown is on but Penta returns for the ring clearing save.

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles next week.

Here is Maxxine Dupri for a chat. She thanks the fans for helping her get this far and brags about making Becky Lynch tap out last week. Now she’s ready to defend her title next week but here is Lynch to interrupt. The ONLY thing she tapped out on was living in Orlando, but the fans should cheer for having her.

Dupri threatens to make her tap out again but Lynch says she isn’t here to start a fight. She’s here to give Dupri cr…cred…..CREDIT, for working so hard. Dupri has gotten a tiny bit better but that’s not going to be enough. Dupri laughs it off and says next week, everyone, maybe even Sports Illustrated, is going to be saying Lynch tapped out. That’s WAY too far for Lynch, who talks about how people and publications say she’s so great. Next week, it’s time to find out what Dupri is, because Lynch already knows. Dupri’s upward mobility over the last few months deserves some kind of an award.

Trick Williams meets with Adam Pearce, who seems interested in having Williams around. Williams leaves him his card when Bayley and Lyra Valkyria come in to say they want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Pearce mentions Judgment Day getting the title shot and Bayley snaps, calling Pearce a bald idiot. Valkyria seems to think they have a deal but Pearce wants a drink. Pearce continues to be outstanding in this role.

Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Dragon Lee vs. Usos

The Usos are challenging. Styles knocks Jey into the corner to start and hits him in the face a few times. The champs send Jey outside and Jimmy is tossed out to join him as we take a break. We come back with Jey getting a cheap shot to Styles but not looking happy about it. Lee comes in and grabs a hurricanrana on Jimmy, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two on Jey.

Back up and Lee is knocked outside, with Jimmy loading up the announcers’ table. Styles is knocked onto said table and we take another break. We come back with Lee in trouble but managing to knock Jimmy into the Tree Of Woe. The top rope double stomp drops Jimmy and it’s back to Styles to clean house. A backbreaker drops Jey but he powers out of the Styles Clash.

The superkick hits Lee and a spear drops Styles, setting up Jimmy’s Superfly Splash for two. Everything breaks down and Jey misses a charge and hits the post. Lee hits the big running flip dive to knock Jimmy onto the announcers’ table (that looked good), leaving Styles to Pele Jey. The Styles Clash gets two so Styles loads up another, only for Jimmy to make the save. Styles loads up the Phenomenal Forearm but gets superkicked out of the air. 1D hits Lee for the pin and the titles at 18:43.

Rating: B+. Good stuff here, as the Usos get back to the top while Styles and Lee, who were never going to be a long term team, get to end their reign with a nice match. I’m not sure how long the Usos are going to be champions, but at least they got a win to boost them back up. It helps that the Usos can still more than go in the ring and Styles/Lee had chemistry together. I liked this and they did the right thing.

Overall Rating: B. One of the good things about modern WWE is they have made the non-World Titles feel a lot more important. No the Raw Tag Team Titles aren’t on the top of the list, but the main event did at least come off as something that mattered. It made for a better show and things were set up for the future as well. I wasn’t expecting much coming into this show and it wound up working, which is always a nice surprise.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b. Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez – Tejana Bomb to Bella
Gunther b. R-Truth – Sleeper
Rey Mysterio b. Austin Theory via DQ when Logan Paul interfered
Usos b. AJ Styles/Dragon Lee – 1D to Lee

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Back when things were different.

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-nxt-takeover-r-evolution-review/

Christmas Carnage
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, Michael Hayes, Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler

This is the Christmas week contribution from the WWE Vault and that could have some possibilities. WWE has often done something over Christmas and it should be interesting to see what they have brought out of mothballs. There are quite a few options here and some of them are worth a look so let’s get to it.

From Smackdown, December 22, 2006.

Batista is in the ring and Santa Claus comes out with gifts for the fans. Michael Cole even gets a Roddy Piper DVD and shirt (not shown, but that’s what someone with notes from Smackdown from 2006 are for)…but then Santa hits Batista in his bad arm with a pipe. Cue Teddy Long to give Santa a match with Batista.

Batista vs. Santa Claus

Batista’s World Title isn’t on the line and Long might not be the nicest guy to have Batista in the match when he’s already hurt. Santa goes after the bad arm and slams it into the apron for two. Batista drives him into the corner but charges into a boot to the bad arm. A backdrop (looked like a mistimed spinebuster) sets up a spear and the beard comes off to reveal…Sylvan. The spinebuster and Batista Bomb finish at 1:41.

From Superstars, December 23, 1995.

Xanta Klaus vs. Scott Taylor

Yeah this had to be here. Xanta is better known as Balls Mahoney, is from the South Pole, and likes to steal presents. Some hard forearms, a belly to back suplex, and a camel clutch finish for Xanta at 1:31. The match was so short that I didn’t have time to mention Xanta’s manager, Ted DiBiase, doing a split screen interview and promising that the Million Dollar Champion is coming. This was the only match for Xanta, because….well how much of a shelf life was he going to have?

From Monday Night Raw, December 20, 1999.

Mankind is not happy about having to face Santa Claus in a Boiler Room Brawl because he doesn’t want to have to punch the rosy cheeks or kick him in the stomach that shakes like a bowlful of jelly. Cue the Mean Street Posse to jump him and send him into the boiler room, which has him rather disturbed to officially start things off.

Mankind vs. Santa Claus

Santa is in fact in the boiler room and Mankind isn’t sure what to do about this. Santa doesn’t want to put Mankind on the bad list so Mankind offers to let Santa walk out and win in peace. That works for Santa but three other Santas jump Mankind. He’s fine with fighting them and finds a well placed garbage can and some frying pants (in their bag of toys).

The three of them are down but two more are waiting on him and these two happen to be the New Age Outlaws, who have some better luck. Mankind fights back against the two of them like he’s in Championship Mode in No Mercy (SOCKO!) and grabs a mirror, naturally singing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire in the process. Another Santa knocks the mirror into his face to shatter it…and since it’s HHH, he tells Mankind to suck it and leaves to win at 3:34.

Rating: C. What in the world do you want me to say about this? It felt like some weird comic book scene with the collection of Santas coming at Mankind, who was almost fighting his nightmare scenario come to life. Like so much from this era, it wasn’t so much a match as a segment with brawling, but this did work for what it was supposed to be.

From Monday Night Raw, December 23, 2012.

Good Santa vs. Bad Santa

YES! This is the one I was hoping would be on here. Here we have a 400lb wig splitting World’s Strongest Santa vs. the Intellectual Santa of the Masses in a battle to save Christmas. The good one hits the bad one in the head to start and opens a package to find a toilet. Bad Santa goes face first into said toilet and they head outside, where the bad one finds a fire extinguisher….which doesn’t work.

The good one takes the pin out and sprays the bad one as commentary argues over whether Santa’s suit is fireproof or Santa himself. The bad one finds a Singapore candy cane to beat on the good one and wreck the (awesome) Christmas decorations, which is just too far for the good one. They fight back to ringside, with the bad one taking a present to the back. The bad one STILL can’t get the fire extinguisher to work so the good one sprays him again, setting up the World’s Strongest Slam (which Cole dubs the Sleigh Ride) for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: A+. I’m a Christmas fanatic and I remember loving this match live. It still holds up today as they absolutely knew the assignment and had a comedy brawl which didn’t overstay its welcome. That’s exactly what wrestling should be at times and it worked very well, with Henry being lovable and Sandow being the snob. Great stuff.

Post match Henry pulls out some cupcakes (he approves) and slams them into Sandow’s face. JBL: “Jimmy Stewart is rolling over in his grave right now.”

From Monday Night Raw, December 23, 2019.

We’re near the streets of New York City, where Santa Claus sends R-Truth over to his sled and then jumps Akira Tozawa to win the 24/7 Title. Of note: Santa was played by future AEW star Bear Bronson.

From Wrestling Challenge, November 27, 1993.

Doink The Clown is brought out for an interview, where he is told that there can only be ONE Doink in the WWF. Apparently he has drawn the ire of Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon, but he doesn’t care because he loves Christmas. Cue Santa Claus to hug Doink, who started off badly but has gotten a lot better. His present is in the bag, and it’s……a mini Doink! Actually that won’t work, as there can only be ONE Doink….so we’ll just call him Dink! Yeah sure why not. Dink leaves in a wagon and Heenan hopes he goes to play on the interstate.

From a Superstars taping in what looks like late 1992.

We meet Santa’s helpers from the South Pole: a couple of guys who whack their arms around and call each other Cousin Luke and Cousin Butch. They seem to love Christmas and remember their mother singing them Christmas songs (if they’re cousins, why do they have the same…..never mind). The interviewer is licked and toys are dispensed to the fans.

From World Class Championship Wrestling, December 25, 1983.

Michael Hayes dresses up like Santa and jumps the Von Erichs after a tag match. Mike Von Erich gets piledriven.

Overall Rating: B. Again, I love it when they throw in a few curves here and there with some actual interesting moments. Rather than doing a bunch of lame stuff that doesn’t matter, they went with stuff that a lot of fans probably haven’t thought of in a long time and it makes these things so much more fun. I love the Henry vs. Sandow match and the Mankind deal was a nice flashback. This could have been a lot longer but at just shy of thirty minutes, it’s hard to get too annoyed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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