NXT LVL Up
Date: October 28, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

And here we go again, with more of the same batch of people having matches against each other over and over. There are very few people who can rise up the ranks (or Level/LVL Up if you will), save for maybe Miles Borne in the last few weeks. Maybe that ride continues this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Stacks vs. Tank Ledger

Tony D’Angelo is on commentary. Stacks bounces off of the bigger Ledger to start and it’s time to crank on the arm. Ledger runs him over with a shoulder and a slam sends Stacks outside. A kick to the face drops Ledger on the floor as D’Angelo invites Saxton to dinner next weekend. The chinlock doesn’t work very well for Stacks and the comeback is on including a running crossbody for two. Stacks is right back with some running shots to the face, setting up a running elbow drop for the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C-. Stacks continues to be one of those guys who is just there in NXT and not doing anything, though to be fair he’s just a lackey who is keeping the D’Angelo stuff warm until he is back to health. That should be the case in a few weeks, but until then, Stacks is little more than just a guy having not very good matches.

Trick Williams is on the phone but stops talking about a vacation to be ready for Brooks Jensen. Williams isn’t worried because he has the FLASH.

Thea Hail vs. Jakara Jackson

Andre Chase is here with Hail and Duke Hudson is in the student section. Hail grabs a headlock to start but Jackson takes her down by the hair. We hit the armbar and Hail can’t quite roll out of it. Hudson busts out the Chase U flag and Hail powers out and starts the comeback. The faceplant cutter finishes Jackson at 4:32.

Rating: C-. Jackson has a great look but didn’t exactly come off as someone who had any chance of winning here. That being said, sometimes you have to get your feet wet and this is as good of a way as anything else. At the same time, Hail gets to win to boost herself up a bit, even if it was just an extended workout.

Brooks Jensen vs. Trick Williams

Josh Briggs is here with Jensen. They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get very far. A flying headscissors of all things takes Williams down but he’s fine enough to tie Jensen in the ring skirt to stomp away and take over. Back in and a jumping clothesline drops Jensen for two and we hit the cravate. That’s broken up and Jensen snaps off a powerslam for a needed breather. The comeback is on and Jensen fakes Williams out from the ring skirt, only to have his high crossbody punched out of the air. Jensen is fine enough to hit a quick Fameasser for the pin at 6:10.

Rating: C. Williams is someone who is decent enough to be a bit better than Carmelo Hayes’ lackey and he was showcasing some of that here. This was a completely watchable match and it went fine for both of them. Jensen is doing fine with the country boy deal, but the team has definitely lost some steam since losing the titles.

Overall Rating: C. Yeah what else are you expecting here? The good thing is that they did have the star power up a bit this time around, as you can only get so far with the same NXT rookies. Having people like Jensen, Hail and D’Angelo does boost things up a bit, which is what this show has been dying for in recent weeks. Granted it isn’t likely to last, but I’ll take it as a one off.

Results
Stacks b. Tank Ledger – Running elbow drop
Thea Hail b. Jakara Jackson – Faceplant cutter
Brooks Jensen b. Trick Williams – Fameasser

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Texas Till I Die
Date: April 3, 2022
Location: St. Jude Hall, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Chris Russo, Sammy Cassel

This is from New Texas Pro, which as you might guess is a local Texas promotion which ran some events over Wrestlemania XXXVIII weekend. I’m not sure what to expect from this show but there are some talented names on the card. Shows like this can go in a few different ways and hopefully this one works out well. Let’s get to it.

As you might have gathered, I don’t follow the promotion so I apologize for not knowing plot or character points.

Hyan vs. Billie Starkz

For the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. They hit stereo pump kicks to start and that means it’s already time for a standoff. Starks sends her outside and yells at a lot of empty seats, allowing Hyan to get back up for her own dive. Back in and Hyan rolls her down into a cravate for some knees to the face. A half crab with a boot on the back of Starkz’ head makes it even worse and it’s off to an armbar.

Back up and Hyan plants her with a Wasteland for two and we hit the chinlock. Starkz fights up and hits a kick to the head of her own. They slug it out for a double knockdown but Hyan blocks a third Amigo. Hyan hits a running knee in the corner to set up a Falcon Arrow for two but Starkz rolls her up for the same. A Gory Bomb and Swanton give Starkz two each, only to have Hyan pull her into something like a crucifix with both arms cranked back for the tap at 9:35.

Rating: C. Not bad for a starter and Hyan seems like a fairly polished star. Starkz is someone who has been around the indies for a bit now and has potential but still needs some work and experience to sharpen the edges. Not a great match, but they didn’t do anything horrible and it had enough energy.

Respect is shown post match.

Tag Team Titles: Fly Def vs. JJ Blake/Cam Cole

Fly Def (Warren Johnson/Zack Mason) is challenging. Mason drives Blake into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to Cole. Johnson dropkicks him down for two but Cole grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Cole gets his neck snapped across the top to put him back in trouble, setting up a slingshot elbow for two. Cole gets launched into the corner, where Blake is fine enough to not tag in.

Blake is willing to come in for an assist on a double clothesline and a neckbreaker gives Cole two. Back up and Mason grabs a German suplex on Blake, who cuts him off with a quick front facelock. As you might have guessed, Mason powers over for the tag but the referee is distracted, meaning the beating continues (that will always work and I love it). A Demolition Decapitator (with a knee instead of an elbow) gets two on Mason and we hit the one arm camel clutch.

Mason finally fights out and kicks Cole away, allowing the hot tag off to Johnson to start cleaning house. A sitout bulldog gives Johnson two but Cole comes in to cut him off. Cole hits a frog splash for two and a not very good looking Big Rig gets a delayed two. Everything breaks down again and a pair of running shots in the corner rock Blake.

A spinning high crossbody into a top rope splash gets two with Cole making a rather last minute save. What looks to be a Tower of Doom winds up as a sitout powerbomb to Cole, leaving Blake to get caught in a Gory Bomb/middle rope Codebreaker (doesn’t work so well but nice concept) for the pin and the titles at 13:16.

Rating: B-. I like Fly Def, but this one went on too long and the champs were in over their heads. This needed to wrap up a few saves earlier and the extra stuff didn’t really make it better. The title change is nice and Fly Def was a good enough young team, but the lack of audience noise is making this show a bit weird to watch, especially in a longer match like this one.

ASF vs. Stephen Wolf

That’s short for Antonio San Francisco. Feeling out process to start as Wolf takes him down in a front facelock with commentary talking about Wolf recovering from a horrible neck injury/surgery. ASF slips out of a rollup for two and we’re up to a standoff. Another takedown attempt is cut off by a standing backflip flip from ASF so Wolf tries a springboard wristdrag….which gets so high that he gets his feet caught in some of the drapes above the ring.

You don’t see anything like that happen very often and since Wolf is fine, ASF slips out of a powerbomb attempt and kicks him to the floor. There’s the big running flip dive to drop Wolf on the floor but he’s fine enough to avoid a 450 back inside. The Death Valley Driver into the corner gives Wolfe two and we hit the chinlock. ASF slips out and hits a springboard Sling Blade, with commentary possibly implying that was a bit more flippy than necessary.

Back up and Wolf kicks him in the face, setting up a running shooting star press for two. ASF isn’t going to be outdone with a Death Valley Driver of his own into a basement dropkick. A series of strikes from ASF looks to set up a handspring but Wolf grabs a sliding cutter (cool) for two more. Wolf misses a moonsault though and the 450 gives ASF the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C+. They had a bit of time here and while this was a very indy feeling style match with a bunch of flips and dives, it was entertaining enough to keep me interested in two guys I have barely heard of before. For a ten minute match on this kind of show, it worked out perfectly well.

Commentary compliments ASF’s…..cover. That’s a pretty rare one. Respect is shown as well.

Cole Radrick vs. Aaron Mercer

Radrick has been decent in the few matches I’ve seen from him before. We get a bit of a tentative handshake and we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start and they trade some chops, with both of them standing still to maximize the shots. Mercer chops him so hard that blood is trickling down Radrick’s chest (dang) and a running kick to said chest gives Mercer two.

They head outside with Radrick being sent hard into the barricade to keep him in trouble. Back in and they strike it out with Radrick knocking him down for two of his own. Mercer gets knocked to the apron and grabs a triangle choke over the ropes. With that broken up, they slug it out again with Radrick getting the better of things until a running shot to the face cuts him off. Radrick gets caught with another right hand on the top and it’s Nigel McGuinness’ old Tower of London to give Mercer the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C. I’m still not big on the “you hit me and then I’ll hit you” stuff and there wasn’t much here besides that. I don’t know if Radrick was a bit tired after wrestling so much this weekend, but this didn’t exactly catch fire. Granted it doesn’t help when you are having a cold match in front of a small crowd so there is only so much that you can get going.

Post match Radrick grabs a mic and puts Mercer over. He thanks the fans for coming out and shakes Mercer’s hand, apparently finally getting to meet him.

Heather Monroe vs. Shazza McKenzie

This is McKenzie’s New Texas Pro debut. Monroe has a large fan (as in one she holds in her hand) and quite the feather boa so she’s more than a bit over the top. McKenzie cranks on the arm to start and takes it to the mat with an armbar. Monroe can’t get a Figure Four so McKenzie headlock takeovers her down. A running dropkick puts Monroe in the corner and a running shot to the face makes it worse.

Monroe is able to take her to the floor by the knee (egads) and makes fun of McKenzie’s face, which was damaged by Maven (yes that Maven, because there can be only one) over the weekend. Back in and something close to a dragon sleeper keeps McKenzie in trouble, setting up a running hip attack in the corner to make it worse. A double stomp to the back out of the corner gives Monroe two but McKenzie manages a knockdown of her own.

They’re both down for a bit, followed by a strike off. McKenzie ties her in the ropes for the rapid fire kicks to the chest and a high crossbody gets two. Monroe is fine enough to grab a half dragon suplex and a basement superkick connects for two more. They strike it out again until McKenzie hits a splits Stunner and goes up. The middle rope sunset flip is countered though and Monroe sits down and grabs the rope for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. McKenzie is someone who feels like she should be ready to become a top star but never breaks through for whatever reason. You could definitely tell she had some more polish here than a lot of the other stars on the show and she did a nice job of putting over Monroe. Nice enough match here, and McKenzie still feels like she could have a lot of potential.

Six Shooter Challenge

This is a six person match with timed intervals, but a pin or submission can win the match at any time, even if everyone isn’t in yet. There is a two minute interval for the first two entrants and one minute intervals after that, with the winner gets a future title match. I’d assume six entrants but you never can tell with these things. At least it isn’t everyone at once though, with Max Heights (whose Lone Star Title isn’t on the line) in at #1 and Izzy James is in at #2.

Heights gets rolled up to start and bails to the floor for a quick breather. Back in and Heights gets some rollups of his own until he drops James pretty hard onto his shoulder. James pulls a springboard dive out of the air and grabs a Sharpshooter but Rudy Garza is in at #3 for the save. Garza snaps off Three Amigos on Heights, who is right back with a high crossbody to take both of them down. Sky de Lacrimosa (the Texas Chasinsaw, who has no chainsaw) with Cousin Otis, is in at #4 and knocks Garza out of the air.

There’s a Rock Bottom out of the corner to take out James but all three get on the monster. That doesn’t work very well and it’s Jerome Daniel Griffey (Dr. Sleep, who looks like an MMA fighter) in at #5 to go after Sky as well. Griffey gets to clean house and it’s a quadruple sleeper until T Ray is in at #6 to complete the field. It’s Griffey getting in Ray’s face, earning himself a quick T (F) 5 for two, with a group save needed.

Ray shrugs that off and sends them into the corner for some running clotheslines. A running hurricanrana drops Sky and a powerbomb gets two on Heights. Ray is knocked outside for a big flip dive from Heights, leaving Griffey to muscle Sky over for a suplex. Garza takes Griffey down but Ray is back in with a T5 to Garza….but Heights comes in to steal the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. I liked the staggered entrances deal but yeah this was just another scramble match and nothing more. Heights seems like a good villain, but there is only so much to be gathered from a match with six people over ten minutes. T Ray felt like a good monster and Sky is probably going to be a threat to multiple people around here, but find a better way to showcase them than throwing everyone in at once.

Heights immediately runs off in a smart move.

Women’s Title: Raychell Rose vs. Willow Nightingale

Rose is defending and gets powered away to start. Nightingale’s headlock is broken up and they go to the grappling for a change. Back up and Nightingale flips to the middle of the ring for some quick dancing. Nightingale manages Two Amigos before the third is countered into a small package for two.

A fisherman’s buster plants Rose for two but she’s right back to work on Nightingale’s leg in the corner. The leg cranking stays on in the middle of the ring before a running knee in the corner rocks Nightingale again. Nightingale quickly fights out of a chinlock and scores with a heck of a clothesline for a double knockdown.

The clothesline comeback is on, setting up a spinebuster to give Nightingale two. There’s the Pounce into a Cannonball in the corner for two but Rose knocks her off the top. Rose’s spear connects for two but Nightingale knocks her off the top as well. Rose goes right back to the leg and a running knee to the back of the head (ala Adam Cole’s Last Shot) retains the title at 10:12.

Rating: C+. Nightingale is such fun to watch but she didn’t get to do as much of her thing here. She has so much charisma and it is so easy to like her so having her around helped a lot. Other than that, Rose was fine as a champion for Nightingale to go after, making this a perfectly fine title match.

Mysterious Q vs. Davey Richards

For a future New Japan Pro Title match. Feeling out process to start with Richards getting him down by the arm. An exchange of cradles gets two each and Richards takes a quick breather on the floor. Richards comes back in and kicks him down to set up the chinlock. With that not working, Richards kicks away at the arm before cranking away at it in various painful looking ways.

They head outside where Q cuts off the big kick to the chest, only to have Richards take out the leg again back inside. A running dropkick to the knee sets up the Figure Four, which Q turns over to send Richards to the rope. Richards is fine enough to kick him down again as commentary wonders why Q can’t get anything going. Back up and Q grabs a release German suplex, followed by the Q Cutter for a delayed two.

A dragon screw legwhip over the rope lets Richards go up, where he misses the double stomp. Richards instead grabs an Indian Deathlock to send Q bailing to the ropes again. They slug it out until Q’s handspring kick to the face is countered into an ankle lock. That’s broken up so Richards kicks him down and hits the top rope double stomp for two. A brainbuster gets two more so we hit the ankle lock again, which Q reverses into a cradle for the pin out of nowhere at 15:48.

Rating: B-. In case you were wondering, no, Richards has not gained the ability to show emotion or do much beyond striking people rather hard. I know he has an audience and some people are into this stuff, but I’ve never been a fan and Q didn’t get in much here, with even commentary acknowledging it. Q has a good look and some size, but this wasn’t a good showcase of him because of all the Richards dominance.

Respect is shown post match to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show where the wrestling was pretty good for the most part but it was such a dry event that I was dreading watching most of it. Maybe it was the small crowd and venue, but there was almost nothing on here that would make me want to watch more from the promotion. There was no emotion here at all and it felt like a show that could be done better by other promotions. That doesn’t make it feel special, but rather just kind of there.

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Make sure you check out some recent reviews.

Classic All Star Wrestling – October 16, 2022

Smackdown – October 28, 2022

Rampage – October 28, 2022

Survivor Series 1993 (2012 Redo)

Survivor Series 1994 (2012 Redo)

Classic All Star Wrestling – October 23, 2022

LOOK: Man Wears WWE Title During Suspected Armed Robbery.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/man-wears-wwe-title-suspected-armed-robbery/

WWE Considering Major Feud For Bray Wyatt.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-considering-major-feud-bray-wyatt/

33 Year Old Former WWE Star Makes Surprise Return After 5 Year Absence.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/33-year-old-former-wwe-star-makes-surprise-return-5-year-absence/

WWE Adds Two Huge Title Matches To Crown Jewel.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-adds-two-huge-title-matches-crown-jewel/

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE May Move Major Annual Matches To WrestleMania.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-rumors-wwe-may-move-major-annual-matches-wrestlemania/

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow: “I Have Girls Chained Up In My Bedroom”.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/aews-wardlow-girls-chained-bedroom/

WWE Hall Of Famer Making Special AEW Appearance Next Week.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-hall-famer-making-special-aew-appearance-next-week/

Becky Lynch Explains What Hurt Her Friendship With Charlotte.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/becky-lynch-explains-real-life-issues-charlotte/

Possible Reason Why Two WWE Stars Are Missing.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/possible-reason-two-wwe-stars-missing/

Identity Of SmackDown’s Uncle Howdy Possibly Revealed With Old Photo.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/identity-smackdowns-uncle-howdy-possibly-revealed-old-photo/

LOOK: NXT Stars Get Creative In Halloween Costume Battle Royal.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/look-nxt-stars-get-creative-halloween-costume-battle-royal/

Arn Anderson On Time As A WWE Producer: “I Hated That Job”.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/arn-anderson-wwe-producer-hated-job/

Mick Foley Opens Up On Health Issues From His Career.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/mick-foley-opens-health-issues-career/

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 23, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

We’re back with another week of random classic matches which in some cases are more old than classic. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of this as I don’t know what’s coming and that’s a great feeling to have. If nothing else, it’s cool to try to figure out what I’m seeing most weeks, which is quite the mystery to solve in some cases. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re starting with a bit of a confusing one, as Parsons says this is from Southwest Championship Wrestling (San Antonio). Now this is billed as being from San Antonio, but the ring is rather Memphis, the commentary is rather Memphis, the referee is from Memphis and the only record I can see of these two having a match is in Memphis on January 4, 1986, so I’m thinking Parsons slipped up with the announcement.

Rick Casey vs. Benny Trailer

Casey (better known as Wendell Cooley) works on the arm to start and grabs a quick suplex. Arm cranking ensues and the bulldog finishes Trailer at 3:04.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing more than a squash but I was having fun trying to figure out where this took place. All signs point to Memphis and I’m all but certain it was just a quick mistake from commentary. That’s the fun part of this show and they made it work again here, even if it was a pretty lame match.

Next up is from International Championship Wrestling, likely from the early 1980s.

Tojo Yamamoto vs. Kenny Harris

Yamamoto was a longtime star in Memphis so this is a rare excursion for him. The graphic says Harris but commentary (which sounds like Lanny Poffo) says Hall. A chop has Yamamoto in trouble so he goes into his tights for what is likely a phantom foreign object. Yamamoto gets his arm cranked so it’s a pull of the hair to get himself out of trouble.

Another shot sends Yamamoto into the corner and we pause again as he keeps trying to find something in his tights. Back up and Yamamoto goes to the eyes to take over and some chops in the corner keep him in trouble. Some chops put Harris down and the stomach claw is enough for the submission at 5:20.

Rating: D+. You know, if you want to have Yamamoto go with the foreign object deal, he might want to actually find one (even if it doesn’t exist) at some point. I’m not sure what else you could expect here, but they were doing quite a bit of stalling for a payoff that didn’t really come. That being said, you don’t get to see much Yamamoto but he knew how to do the villainy things. There are better examples than this though as it wasn’t the most interesting deal.

I’m assuming we’re staying in in International Championship Wrestling, as I can’t imagine anywhere else going here, from Frankfort, Kentucky, again in the early 1980s.

Pez Whatley vs. Walter Johnson

We’re joined in progress and Johnson, a former NFL player, misses a headbutt as the referee is down. Whatley dives into a bearhug as Rip Rogers comes in to throw powder in Johnson’s eyes to give Whatley the pin at 1:00 shown. Just the finish instead of the match here.

Post match, Whatley yells about Ronnie Garvin and yes this is ICW.

Finally, from Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, likely on July 1, 1984.

Parsons gives us the preview for next week and signs off before the main event. Ok then.

Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher

We’re joined in progress again with the two fighting on the floor. Back in and Butcher kicks him low so Butcher beats up the referee (in case you thought the referee mattered here). The brawling continues as we get a second referee, who is shoved down almost immediately. They fight to the floor again and then into the crowd where they find a piece of wood. A bunch of fans run off as they fight to a high rise area and choke/rake eyes. Brody grabs a chair and Butcher wanders off at 4:58 shown.

Rating: C. I have no idea how much of that was part of the actual match as it was just a big brawl rather than anything resembling a match. Brody and Butcher were there to do this kind of thing over and over and that is why they would always be able to find work around the country and world. It’s a total freak show, but dang they could make it feel exciting.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t one of their better shows, but what matters is still the fun from just seeing what we might get that week. It’s the point of a show like this and it worked very well again here. Getting to go around the wrestling world and get away from the WWF or Crockett is great for a change as there is so much talent that you just won’t see most of the time. Not a great edition, but dang this is a fun concept.

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Rampage
Date: October 28, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back with another live Rampage this week and this time we have the World Champion in action as Jon Moxley is facing Matt Menard. That would likely be the big match of the show and after that, there is a good chance the star power goes a bit downhill in a hurry. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but we should be in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Matt Menard

Non-title and Angelo Parker is here with Menard. Hang on though as Moxley asks Menard for a minute before going after a distracting Parker. With that not working, Moxley sends him outside and there’s a ram into the barricade. There’s the back rake to Menard and Moxley bites away back inside. We hear that Mike Tyson will be on commentary next week (oh dear) as Menard has to block a Figure Four attempt. Parker gets in a shot that we don’t see (thank goodness for replays) and we take a break.

Back with Menard choking on the ropes but Moxley grabs a quick cutter to get himself out of trouble. Moxley tells Menard to hit him before hitting the King Kong lariat for the knockdown. The ankle lock goes on but Menard actually manages to kick his way to freedom. Parker tries to interfere and gets cuttered as well but Menard gets in a cheap shot off of the distraction. Menard gets in his own kicks but gets pulled into the choke to give Moxley the tap at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it should have been. There was zero reason to believe that Moxley was in any serious danger and other than Parker interference, Menard didn’t get in control very often. This was a glorified workout for Moxley but it was fun, which is the direction a match like this should have gone.

Post match Stokely Hathaway and Lee Moriarty come out. Stokely throws out the challenge to Moxley for next week on Dynamite and for some enticement, we see a video on Moriarty beating on Wheeler Yuta and explaining Taigastyle. Moxley says the Blackpool Combat Club likes Moriarty but that was a big mistake. The match is on.

We’re getting another #1 contenders tournament with the finals coming at Full Gear for a Winter Is Coming title shot. The first entrant: Dante Martin. Their last tournament was last month.

Jade Cargill is training and promises to get the TBS Title back.

Keith Lee vs. Serpentico

Serpentico chops away and the Spirit Bomb finishes him off at 17 seconds.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring to talk to Lee about the Full Gear Tag Team Title match. Before Lee can say anything, the Acclaimed interrupt, sans rap. They haven’t seen Swerve Strickland or Billy Gunn and want to know where he is. Swerve pops up on screen to reveal that he has kidnapped Gunn and has him tied to a chair. Gunn tells Swerve to blame himself but Swerve says Gunn won’t be at the title match. Swerve whips out some pliers and seems to break Gunn’s finger before cutting the video. The Acclaimed runs off….and I have no idea to where. Lee seems to think that was too far.

We see the Jericho Appreciation Society challenging any former Ring Of Honor Champion. Thankfully they have the audio fixed this time.

Tay Melo vs. Madison Rayne

Sammy Guevara is here with Melo. Feeling out process to start and Melo flips her over into a sunset flip, which is reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and they yell at each other until Melo hits a backbreaker on the ropes and we take a break. We come back with Madison managing a DDT and a neckbreaker gets two. Rayne catches her on top with a super cutter for a rather delayed near fall. Melo is back with a spinebuster for two and the SHOCKED face is great. A quick TayKO finishes Rayne at 9:22.

Rating: C. Rayne continues to be just kind of there and nothing more as she keeps losing one after another. The good thing is that she came in with low expectations but she is still enough of a name and can hang in a match well enough. Melo gets another win here and should be moving up the ladder, at least a little bit.

Ethan Page yells at the idea of MJF being anything without him. Plans have changed and now MJF is going into Full Gear at less than 100%. In addition, he is going to Full Gear himself because he is in the #1 contenders tournament.

Wardlow and Matt Taven are ready to fight. Taven is ready to make the TNT Title into the Taven Network Television Title. Wardlow would rather just powerbomb him a lot.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Matt Taven vs. Wardlow

Taven, with the rest of the Kingdom, is challenging. Taven chops away to no effect but a dropkick puts Wardlow on one knee. Unfortunately that lasts half a second and I’M MATT TAVEN takes a bit longer, allowing Wardlow to send him flying. A big toss over the top sends Taven outside and that means a posting to make it worse.

Mike Bennett gets in a cheap shot, allowing Taven to hit the Flight of the Conqueror. Wardlow gets rammed into the steps and we take a break. Back with Taven missing a top rope…I guess stomp, allowing Wardlow to hit the F10. There’s a spinebuster to plant Taven so Wardlow offers a distraction, which does nothing to stop a Four Movement Powerbomb Symphony to retain the title at 9:01.

Rating: B-. This is exactly how AEW should be using Wardlow. Taven isn’t a major star, but he has enough of a resume that beating him means something. Wardlow needs to move up in competition but he needs to be doing it the formula that got him to this point. The match was good enough, but what matters is that it was the Wardlow style that worked so well for him in the first place.

Post match Bennett comes in to jump Wardlow but Samoa Joe makes the save. Cue Powerhouse Hobbs to stare at Joe and Wardlow, with the Embassy running in from behind to beat the two of them down. The big beatdown ends the show, with Hobbs holding up the TNT Title while Brian Cage grabs the ROH TV Title.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very Rampage style episode of Rampage: there was some good enough content but it felt like the majority was spent setting up something for later or just wasn’t that important. Having Mike Tyson on the show next week should be entertaining, but it isn’t going to make the show feel like it matters any more than that. It’s strange as Dynamite makes the lowest stuff feel important, but for some reason Rampage is the complete opposite. Maybe find a bit of a better balance? Or just put more into Rampage.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Matt Menard – Rear naked choke
Keith Lee b. Serpentico – Spirit Bomb
Tay Melo b. Madison Rayne – TayKO
Wardlow b. Matt Taven – Powerbomb Symphony

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Smackdown
Date: October 28, 2022
Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We are less than eight days away from Crown Jewel and Roman Reigns is actually here this time. Odds are he’s going to be talking about Logan Paul, but there is always the chance that he will be giving us some hints about what he is going to be doing at Survivor Series. Other than that, I’m sure Bray Wyatt will be running around. Let’s get to it.

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

Brawling Brutes vs. Solo Sikoa/Sami Zayn

In the back, Sami asks Jey Uso to keep things calm, as Roman Reigns isn’t here yet and the first thing he needs to see is the team being successful. Butch and Zayn start things off with the former hitting a rather hard clothesline. Holland comes in to help Butch out with some forearms to the chest but they don’t exactly look great.

Jimmy gets in a cheap shot to Butch from the floor but he’s fine enough to send Sami outside. A running knee off the apron drops Zayn but Sikoa runs Butch over as we take a break. Back with Sikoa Samoan dropping Holland for two but getting caught with the Al Snow trapping headbutts (Best offense strong A, U+B can buy. At least out of Create A Wrestler.).

Butch tries the Cloverleaf on Sami but has to glare at Jimmy. An enziguri rocks Sami in the corner, leaving him to argue with Jey on the floor. Sikoa comes over and reminds them of a match, allowing Holland to run all three over. Back in and Holland small packages Sami for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. Good start to the show as the Brutes get built back up at the expense of the top stable in the company. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Brutes getting a big title shot soon, perhaps even at Crown Jewel. The Bloodline continuing to have issues is a great thing and we could be in for some even more interesting stuff going forward.

Post match arguing ensues….and here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt (Sami’s scared face is great). Post break Reigns has the fans acknowledge him but he’s tired of the team messing up. Reigns says if the team wants to act like children, he’ll treat them like children. He wants them to put everything on the line, so Sami apologizes for everything and asks if he and Jey can bury the hatchet once and for all.

Sami extends his hand and Jey thinks about it before saying Sami needs to get that hand out of his face. Jey talks about everything he doesn’t like about Jey, including pretending to be part of the Bloodline when he isn’t blood. Jey is willing to bleed for his family but Sami will never be part of it. Sami: “The Tribal Chief wants peace!” Jey: “I DON’T GIVE A D*** WHAT THE TRIBAL CHIEF SAYS!”

As Reigns slowly turns around, everyone knows that Jey is pretty much dead. Sami again tries to play peacekeeper and says Jey (who can’t look at Reigns) is going through a lot and hasn’t been very Ucey lately. Reigns smiles and asks if that is what is going on around here. Reigns: “Jey is that the problem? It’s that you’re not feeling……..UCEY?”

Jey tries to leave but a smiling Reigns puts his arm around him and says stay right there. Reigns says if Jey can’t find his honorary Ucey, he’s going to do something Jey doesn’t like. If Jey can’t figure this out, Sami goes from being an honorary Uce to a full one, with a new name of Sami Uso. Sami looks like a three year old on Christmas morning as Paul Heyman says that’s about it and plugs Reigns vs. Logan Paul at Crown Jewel.

This is still the most interesting character stuff in wrestling, with multiple paths this could take. The reaction when Jey went too far was amazing because that was getting in way over his head and he knew it. Great segment here as it continues to be the highlight of the WWE week.

New Day vs. Maximum Male Models

In an inset interview, New Day isn’t sure if the New Day is more Rick Martel/Tyler Breeze or Billy and Chuck. Kofi starts in on Mansoor’s and hands it off to Woods to work on the arm. Mace takes Woods down from the apron though and the villains take over. That doesn’t last long and the hot tag brings in Kofi to clean house. The Midnight Hour finishes Mansoor at 3:40.

Rating: C. Just a quick match to get New Day back on track as they are probably heading for a showdown with the Usos over the Tag Team Titles, probably with the record on the line. The Models were never going to be big stars in the division so this is hardly some devastating loss. New Day can still work well with anyone and this was fine enough.

Sonya Deville doesn’t think much of Liv Morgan, who runs up and attacks her.

Braun Strowman loves the idea of Omos as a challenge.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. ???

Rousey is defending in an open challenge against….Emma. Yes that Emma, though this time it’s very much in the Tenille Dashwood mold. We start after a break with Rousey kicking her to the floor but missing a charge into the steps. Back in and Emma grabs the Tarantula, followed by a high crossbody for two.

Rousey pulls her down to the mat but Emma fights up and hits a running clothesline. A Russian legsweep drops Rousey for two but she’s right back with the ankle lock. That’s countered into a wheelbarrow suplex so Rousey uses a distracted referee to rake the eyes. Piper’s Pit sets up the armbar to make Emma tap at 6:51.

Rating: C+. It was nice to see Emma being back and I’m curious to see what she can do as the serious version on the main roster, assuming she is sticking around. Thankfully there is nothing in the way of Emmalina to be seen, as that was a career killer. Also, having Rousey beat a surprise challenger makes her look good, which is a good way to get her back on track.

Newly announced for Crown Jewel: Bayley vs. Bianca Belair, Last Woman Standing for the Raw Women’s Title and Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against the Brawling Brutes.

Jey Uso tries to talk to Roman Reigns but Heyman says he’ll take care of it. Jey is pleased but Heyman seems to know Jey is in trouble.

Shayna Baszler congratulates Ronda Rousey on her victory when Natalya pops in. Natalya says she would have won if she had answered the challenge and is immediately choked out by Baszler. Well that makes Baszler look a lot better.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Hit Row/Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is a mystery partner and Zelina Vega/B Fab are the fourths. The brawl is on with Hit Row cleaning house, leaving the four of them to hit a Nakamura COME ON as we take a break. Back with the bell having run during the bell and Adonis in trouble. Del Toro adds a top rope splash for two but a tag bring sin Nakamura to clean house, including the sliding German suplex to Escobar. Top Dolla comes in for the World’s Strongest Wasteland (thanks Barrett) and a rope running chop to the head (cool) knocks Wilde silly. Kinshasa finishes at 4:19.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much I can get behind either of these teams at the moment, as Hit Row is nowhere near as good without Swerve and Legado is already getting beaten up. Nakamura is kind of thrown in there out of nowhere and I’m not sure how much Hit Row gets out of the win with Nakamura doing the main work.

Paul Heyman shows Roman Reigns some of Logan Paul’s boxing, which Reigns sees as a waste of time. Heyman knows that Paul has metal pins in his hand to knock people out, but Reigns says IT’S HIS THIRD MATCH! Heyman: “Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Title in his third match!” That’s a bit too far for Reigns so Heyman runs off to do something else.

LA Knight doesn’t think much of SmackDown so Ricochet comes in to offer him some advice. Knight isn’t impressed and a match is likely.

Karrion Kross vs. Madcap Moss

Scarlett is here with Kross. They fight over a lockup to start and Moss knocks him down for a bit. Back up and Kross knocks him into the corner, only to charge into an elbow. A middle rope shoulder and a clothesline put Kross on the floor and we take a break. We come back with Kross stomping away in the corner and hitting a clothesline for two.

A suplex gets another two but Moss makes the rope to avoid a cross armbreaker. Moss fights up and hits a spinebuster but Scarlett gets up on the apron for a distraction and Kross kicks him in the face. There’s the Doomsday Saito and the running forearm to the back of the head finishes for Kross at 11:39.

Rating: C+. They had a good brawl but it’s weird to see Moss getting beaten up like this. He was on a rather nice run and had cooled off a bit, but I didn’t think he was ready to get beaten up by Kross this decisively. Kross vs. Drew McIntyre at Crown Jewel will be good, though I’m not sure how much of a chance McIntyre has.

Post match Kross chokes out Moss and grabs the mic, saying Drew McIntyre is a much weaker fighter. Kross will always stand for the new beginning and McIntyre is done at Crown Jewel.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Rey Mysterio is ready for Gunther when Imperium jumps him. Gunther hits the big chop to leave Rey laying.

Here is Bray Wyatt for a chat. He could get used to those reactions because it is like pure adrenaline. Bray says this isn’t him behind a mask or with any smoke and mirrors because this is Bray, the real man. He is here today and plans on doing some spectacular things. For the majority of his life, he has had no control and he has done some horrible things. There is a part of him that likes to do horrible things and there will be a time when he is asked to do that again….and then the video feed is taken over.

We see the same man who said Howdy last week (looks like Bray with a lot of makeup) but this time he says he is the ghost of the man who sold the word. There is a reason why you (presumably Bray) is a shell of who he once was and while he claims to not wear a mask, that is not true. Bray will never be able to hide from him, his Uncle Howdy. End of show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was pretty much in the middle and I wasn’t wild on the ending, but that Bloodline segment was more than enough to carry this to a sold week. The Bloodline is on an absolute roll right now and delivering the best story in wrestling. Crown Jewel and Logan Paul feel like little more than a pit stop because that’s more or less what it is, but you can feel something big coming at Survivor Series and that should be great.

Results
New Day b. Maximum Male Models – Midnight Hour to Mansoor
Ronda Rousey b. Emma – Armbar
Hit Row/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Legado del Fantasma – Kinshasa to Wilde
Karrion Kross b. Madcap Moss – Running forearm to the back of the head

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 16, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

So it’s back to this show, which should be a lot of fun if they do things like they did last week. Granted that seems to be the format of the show and that should make for a lot of fun every week. Last week’s preview mentioned a battle royal featuring Andre the Giant, which could be anything. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re going to Big Time Wrestling to start. The promotion is based out of Detroit but I believe this is from Toronto in 1975. Or at least something close to that.

North American Title: Stan Stasiak vs. Ron Doner

Stasiak is defending and the name is Doner, not Donner as the graphic says. Doner takes him down by the arm but Stasiak is back up with a thumb to the throat to cut that off in a hurry. Stasiak takes him into the corner but misses a charge, which is enough to send him outside and give the fans a BIG reaction for Doner. Back in and Stasiak takes hi into the corner again, only to get forearmed into the ropes for his efforts. Doner is back on the arm that got hurt in the missed charge and then leapfrogs the referee (that was cool) to stay on Stasiak. With the arms freed, Stasiak is done with this and finishes with the heart punch at 4:18.

Rating: C. Stasiak is a guy who could have been quite the monster for someone to slay at the right point and Doner seems to be the latest person to go after him here. Stasiak was a former WWWF Champion at this point so he was already a big deal in the sport and being a champion here wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t exactly a good match, but the fans were into Doner so it was fine for a one off match.

From ICW in Lexington, Kentucky (likely at Henry Clay High School). Based on who is holding a title coming in, we’re looking at late 1981 or late 1982.

TV Title: Great Tio vs. Ron Strunk

Tio is defending and he is managed by Ox Baker. Strunk elbows him down to start and Tio needs a breather in the corner. Some chops put Strunk in trouble but he blocks a ram into the buckle to send Tio outside. Back in and Tio sends him outside as the video goes black for some reason, but commentary suggests that Baker got in a cheap shot. Back in again and Strunk slams him down, only to be sent into the corner. A suplex retains Tio’s title at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Strunk didn’t exactly do much here but at least he put up a short term fight until Tio beat him. Tio is fine for a monster and you could see him being the kind of monster for a classic good guy to take down (there’s a theme with this show). Nice, short match here and Tio wasn’t half bad.

Post match Baker brags about his champion winning and promises to get even better because of some changes coming with Tio’s training regimen.

Parsons talks about the dangers of the battle royal.

From Polynesian Pro Wrestling in Hawaii, I believe on December 19, 1984.

Battle Royal

There are twenty people in this and we’re joined in progress so I’m not even going to hope to figure out everyone involved. Some notable names would include Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco and Masa Sasito. Andre cleans house and everyone brawls on the ropes as we hear about Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA coming to Hawaii. Commentary keeps going on about an upcoming show as the camera just goes around the ring with various brawls. We’re nearly four minutes in and we’ve heard all of ten seconds of discussion about the match.

Back to back wrestlers are tossed out and Snuka pairs off with Muraco for a double elimination. We’re down to six with Andre, four other people not important enough to mention. One of them is tossed and Andre dumps two more….which is enough for Andre to be declared the winner at 6:17 shown. The other two just don’t count because….I don’t know why.

Rating: D. I’m not sure if this was normal for Polynesian Pro Wrestling but it felt like a bit of a waste of time. I get the idea of talking about an upcoming show (and the show they were talking about was the biggest show the promotion ever had, but my goodness the match they were airing was nothing but background noise. Andre winning a battle royal is no surprise and is always fun to see. I just could have gone with it getting some kind of attention.

The preview for next week wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C. The not so great main event aside, I could still go for a lot more of this show and I will be sticking around for a long time. Just seeing the random stuff that pops up is cool as it isn’t a bunch of famous or classic matches, but rather a sample of the run of the mill stuff that you would see, plus a bigger main event. It’s a very fun half hour and I will take that every week.

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Make sure you check out some recent reviews.

Survivor Series 1991 (2012 Redo)

Survivor Series 1992 (2012 Redo)

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Survivor Series 1992
Date: November 25, 1992
Location: Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Attendance: 17,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

So remember everything that’s happened so far at this show? Forget it, because this is your usual PPV with a single Survivor Series match and that’s a tag match, where you have eight people to start and when a member is eliminated, he and his partner are gone. The main event is the same as it would be five years later: Bret vs. Shawn for the title. Those two just can’t get away from each other but you know this is going to be awesome. There’s also a regular tag match which is the co-main event which was set up by a big face turn. Let’s get to it.

Slick is behind a pulpit in the interview area to start and talks about how great this show was. Well this is the home video version so he’s not insane. He goes into preacher mode and talks about spreading joy and peace. I have no idea what this has to do with wrestling and I don’t think he does either.

Vince and Bobby run down the card. There are multiple gimmick matches tonight.

Headshrinkers vs. High Energy

High Energy is Owen Hart and Koko B. Ware in really ugly pants. The Headshrinkers don’t get an entrance. I’ve always been a fan of the Samoans so I’m kind of looking forward to this. Samu and Owen start things off with Owen being thrown around pretty easily. Things speed up a bit and Owen avoids a big clothesline and hits a cross body for two. The fans are getting fired up.

Off to Koko who makes Samu miss a right hand which hits Fatu. Koko stomps on Samu’s bare feet but he tries to ram the Headshrinkers’ heads together but THAT DOESN’T WORK ON SAMOANS! No one ever accused Koko of being bright. Afa, the Headshrinker’s manager, CRACKS Koko in the back with his staff and Koko is in trouble immediately. Owen is draw into the ring by some Samoan bragging, only causing Koko to get beaten down even more.

Vince tries to talk about the main events and Heenan says stick to the subject. That’s a new one. Samu hooks a nerve hold on Koko but he’s too dumb to feel pain so it’s a clothesline instead and Ware is still in trouble. A chop gets two and Samu chokes a bit. Samu misses a corner splash and there’s the hot tag to Owen. Owen dropkicks both guys down and hits a top rope cross body on Samu for two. A spinwheel kick takes Fatu (Rikishi) down, only to get caught in a powerslam. Fatu hits a GREAT looking top rope splash to crush Owen and get the easy pin.

Rating: C+. I liked this match a lot more than I should have but I love the Headshrinkers. That top rope splash looked great and Owen sold it like the master that he was at it. Other than that this was a very basic match with power vs. speed and that’s the right choice for an opener. Good stuff here and I liked it a lot.

Boss Man is getting ready in the back. He says Nailz is a bad man and that he’s committed a lot of crimes and has to be punished for them.

Sean Mooney issues us a warning about how violent the upcoming match is going to be. I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. Nailz comes in and says he’s been waiting for this for a long time and now he’s out of prison. The story was that Nailz was an allegedly innocent convict that was abused by Boss Man in prison and now he’s here for revenge. It’s corny but it’s as good as anything else.

Boss Man (in his second promo in about two and a half minutes) says he’ll take out Nailz tonight. He sees Nailz in the ring and runs out to the arena.

Big Boss Man vs. Nailz

This is a nightstick on a pole match, which means you can get it down and use the stick on the other guy. Is it a DQ if the person that doesn’t pull it down uses it? That’s how the rules sound. Nailz tries to get to the stick but Boss Man runs out for the save. Nailz isn’t a wrestler so him using nothing but chokes and punches makes perfect sense. He chokes Boss Man down but still can’t get the stick.

A right hand puts Nailz down and Boss Man gets his hand on the stick but he gets slammed down off the top. Nailz works on Boss Man’s back a bit and chokes away some more but Boss Man shoulders him down. A splash misses and Nailz goes for the corner again. He gets crotched as this is already slowing down. A double clothesline puts both guys down and Boss Man quickly gets to the corner to get the stick. Nailz barely sells a stick shot to the face but Boss Man no sells one to the ribs and hits the Boss Man Slam for the pin.

Rating: D. This was terrible with the no selling looking awful. I mean, it’s a nightstick to the head. There are only so many ways you can get hit with that and be up twenty seconds later. Nailz never did anything other than this although he was scheduled to feud with Undertaker. Boss Man would be gone after the Rumble and wouldn’t be back for years.

Nailz chokes Mooney and says that was misjustice.

Tatanka is chanting to get ready for his match with Martel, which is over some stolen feathers apparently. Welcome to the 1992 midcard people.

Flair and Ramon are with Gene. This is a pairing that came out of nowhere but they’re in one of the main events tonight. Ultimate Warrior was supposed to team up with Savage to face these guys but Warrior went nuts and bailed on the company again, leaving Savage without a partner. Savage was on Prime Time Wrestling (the forerunner to Raw) and offered the spot on his team to Flair’s manager Mr. Perfect. Heenan, Flair’s other manager, immediately said no and Perfect snapped on him and accepted the offer, causing Heenan to slap him. Bobby begs for Perfect to stay and gets water poured on him for being pathetic.

After the clip is over, Flair is all fired up and wants to know what Perfect is thinking. Perfect basked in Flair’s glory but it was only because Flair allowed it. Now Perfect has made a decision and stepped to the other side and it’s time to pay to the Nature Boy and Razor. Flair looked all kinds of fired up here and it was awesome.

Razor, still in his original persona of Al Pacino from Scarface (funny story about that: Vince is known for not seeing almost any big time movies. When Ramon was interviewing with Vince for his job, Vince asked him to come up with a character on the spot. Ramon went into a Tony Montana imitation from the movie Scarface without knowing Vince had never seen the move. Vince immediately thought Ramon was a genius and signed him), makes generic threats. Flair was AWESOME here.

Tatanka vs. Rick Martel

Tatanka is undefeated at this point. Again, this is over stolen feathers. They trade chops in the corner with Tatanka taking over via a backdrop. Martel bails to the floor and I have a feeling this is going to be a long one. Rick gets knocked to the floor again and the fans don’t seem to be that interested. Martel is called a former Intercontinental Champion which is incorrect. Nice job Vince.

Back inside and Martel pounds away a bit before hitting a hot shot to take over. Off to a front facelock as the fans are distracted by a fight in the crowd. Tatanka suplexes out of the hold but gets put right back in it. Doink pops up in the aisle making balloon animals. Another suplex puts Martel down but Rick hits Tatanka in the throat to take him down. It’s back to the stupid facelock as Doink keeps making animals. Tatanka escapes and clotheslines him down before avoiding a charging Martel in the corner.

This is going nowhere at all. Tatanka works on the arm and gets two off a backslide. Back to the arm although it’s fairly late in the match to do so. Doink is tormenting fans now. Martel sends Tatanka over the top to the floor and things somehow get even more dull. Back in and Tatanka goes on the war path and hits a top rope chop. Because he’s an Indian you see. The Papoose To Go (Samoan Drop) finally pins Martel.

Rating: D. This was a long match that wasn’t bad. It was worse than bad: it was BORING. That’s the problem with Tatanka: he only had so far that he could go and they pushed that limit WAY farther than they should have. He wasn’t anything interesting and his in ring stuff wasn’t that great. Martel was kind of hanging around at this point and he would be gone soon.

Doink (not yet named I don’t think) pops the animals he made. That’s not nice.

Perfect talks about being in Flair’s shadow, which he finds laughable. He says Flair has wanted to be like Mr. Perfect since Flair got here, but there can only be one Mr. Perfect. That’s true as the guy that should be Mr. Perfect Junior is now known as Michael McGillicutty. Perfect says he can beat Flair and Ramon with no trouble. Savage says he knows more about surviving than anyone else. Ten days ago he had no partner but now he has Mr. Perfect. He doesn’t trust Perfect, but he thinks they could be the perfect tag team. I want to see this match now.

Razor Ramon/Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage/Mr. Perfect

Well that wasn’t hard to get. Perfect comes out separately to give Heenan momentary hope that he bailed. Hennig comes through the curtain and Heenan ERUPTS, going on a rant that lasts through Perfect and Savage’s very slow walk down the aisle. Perfect and Ramon start things off in an AWA reunion. This is one of Perfect’s first matches in over a year I believe. Perfect takes Razor to the mat and slaps him in the back of the head, sending Flair into a fit.

Ramon takes him into the corner and gets slapped, which brings in Flair for the big showdown we’ve been wanting. Perfect beats him into the corner almost immediately and pounds away. We get a Flair Flip out of the corner and Flair runs right into Savage who gets a tag a second later. Savage slaps Flair in the face to tick him off even more. Then he does it AGAIN.

Ramon and Flair both come in and get punched in the face. A couple of clotheslines take Flair down until FINALLY Ramon gets a knee in the back of Savage to slow him down. Razor tries to go for the leg but Randy kicks him off both times. When all else fails, Ramon chokes away to keep Savage in the ring. Off to Flair for more stomping and it’s Ramon in again, working on the back of Savage.

We get Ramon’s signature abdominal stretch with help from his partner spot. Vince tries to imitate Monsoon by saying Ramon needs to hook the toe but it’s just not the same. Savage hip tosses out of it but gets stomped right back down. Flair throws him over the top and tot he floor where Ramon rams Savage into the steps. Back to Ramon for a half crab and Perfect goes for a walk up the aisle. Heenan is ESTATIC.

Never mind though as he turns around and comes back. Well it was a cool moment while it lasted. Randy is busted open and Ramon pounds away on the face even faster. Flair starts covering a lot faster as he’s getting frustrated. Razor comes in and drops an elbow for two and a chokeslam gets the same. With the heels completely in control, Flair goes up top. The man may be a master in the ring, but he NEVER LEARNS.

Savage superplexes him down and Ric is in trouble all of a sudden. There’s a tag to Ramon and one to Perfect as well. Perfect hits the Hennig Neck Snap and a knee lift to both guys. Everything breaks down and Flair hits Savage with a chair to make it two on one. Perfect gets knocked into the official but he flips out of the Razor’s Edge and this the Perfectplex on Ramon for a delayed two as Flair makes the save. The Perfectplex to Flair gets the same result and we have two referees in there. One of them calls the match for a DQ. Lame! Savage and Perfect win which you may want to know.

Rating: B-. This was a good match that was bordering on great until the lame ending. I wouldn’t see a problem with Flair getting pinned by the Perfectplex here. They would have a great match on Raw that would send Flair packing soon enough, but for now this was a great return to the ring for Perfect who hadn’t wrestled in a year.

Post match Flair puts Hennig in the Figure Four and Razor gets a chair, but Savage makes a save and chases both guys off.

Flair and Ramon rant in the back.

Yokozuna vs. Virgil

Yoko is listed as being from the Polynesian Islands here. This is when Yoko is only 505lbs and he had padding in his outfit to make him look fatter. I think this is his PPV debut. Yoko immediately shoves him away and chops Virgil down. Some dropkicks do some good for Virgil but Yoko superkicks him (and gets his foot higher than Virgil did) to take over. Virgil pounds away a bit but a Rock Bottom takes him down. Some more shots stagger Yoko but a sidewalk slam and a legdrop make things all better again. Yoko misses a charge and like an IDIOT, Virgil tries a rollup. Yoko falls on him and it’s BANZAI for the pin.

Rating: C-. For a debut, this could have been better but it’s clear that no one is going to stop this guy for awhile. Yoko would get the rocket to the stars push soon, winning the Rumble in two months and the world title at Wrestlemania in another two months. Virgil was a jobber to the stars here and nothing more, which is all he should have been. Somehow he would keep a job until 1994.

Savage and Perfect brag a lot.

Nasty Boys/Natural Disasters vs. Beverly Brothers/Money Inc

Money Inc has the tag titles and are about to fight the Nasty Boys. This is one of those “when one guy gets pinned, both team members are out” deals, so it’s a max of three falls to end this match. We start with Typhoon vs. Blake Beverly and it’s a strut off. Typhoon starts throwing Blake around and puts him in an over the shoulder backbreaker so he can hand him off to Quake for a bearhug.

Beau tries to cheat to help his brother but it only results in a double splash from both Disasters in the corner. Off to Knobbs as the fans aren’t interested in this match at all. Knobbs runs Blake over with clotheslines and brings in Jerry who finally allows a tag to Beau. A pumphandle slam puts Beau down but he no sells it for some reason. Off to DiBiase who can’t suplex Sags, so Sags suplexes him.

Off to IRS who Jerry hiptosses down. The limited selling continues as IRS gets up and brings in Beau for a powerslam and it’s off to Blake again. Scratch that it’s Beau in now. Off to a chinlock from Blake as the Beverlies keep tagging in and out very fast. Jerry tries a quick sleeper but they wind up slamming heads to put both guys down. There’s the tag to Earqhquake and Blake is in trouble. Quake takes out all four of them and everything breaks down. For some reason Beau tries a crucifix on Typhoon and gets crushed for his efforts. The Earthquake from Earthquake eliminates the Beverlies and it’s 4-2.

DiBiase comes in to face Earthquake but gets beaten up by all four opponents in short order. Back to Quake who misses a splash in the corner and Money Inc double suplexes the fatter man down. IRS gets two off the suplex and picks him up to freak Bobby out again. Back to DiBiase as the fans are all over IRS. IRS chokes away on Quake some more and it’s back to DiBiase for some chops.

A middle rope double ax by Ted gets two so here’s IRS again. The champs do tag in and out quite well. Quake clotheslines IRS down and finally makes the hot tag to Typhoon. House is cleaned and a splash crushes IRS. DiBiase trips up Typhoon (how appropriate) and IRS gets the easy pin to tie it up, but Jerry runs in and rolls up IRS for the fast pin to win.

Rating: C. Not bad here but the ending kind of sucked. What was the point in having the Nasties beat Money Inc that fast when the majority of the match was about the Disasters vs. Money Inc? The Nasties were basically there to fill in a spot instead of being the focus of the match for their team. Odd indeed but it was entertaining enough.

Virgil warns Bret Hart about Yokozuna. Of course Bret wasn’t in the same room. Virgil is beneath Bret’s boots.

We recap Kamala vs. Undertaker. Taker beat him at Summerslam so Kamala crushed him with a bunch of splashes, which Taker sat up from. This set up the Coffin Match tonight, which is a regular match but the winner gets to put the loser in a coffin.

Taker is building a special coffin.

Undertaker vs. Kamala

Kamala immediately runs from Taker and they head to the floor for more not fighting. Back in and Kamala pounds away with almost no effect. Taker hits the yet to be named Old School and Kamala is in trouble again. A clothesline sets up some choking by the dead man but Kamala chops him to the floor. This is really dull so far. Kamala rams Taker head first into the steps and hits him in the back before we head inside. A kick to the chest puts Taker down for all of a second. Kamala slams him a bunch of times and three splashes. The urn is knocked into the ring and Taker sits up. An urn shot to the head pins Kamala.

Rating: F. Seriously, that’s it. That’s IT? This is one of the biggest matches on the show and this is all we get? Just a dull match with nothing more than a few shots to the back and a quick ending. This didn’t even make six minutes and Taker didn’t even break a sweat in crushing Kamala. Nothing to see here and it was completely worthless, much like Kamala.

Taker nails the coffin shut.

Shawn brags about winning the IC Title a few weeks ago and says he doesn’t need Sherri. Shawn says he beat Davey and Davey beat Bret so Shawn can beat Bret.

Harvey Whippleman and Kim Chee get Kamala out of the coffin and he’s catatonic. This would lead to the arrival of Giant Gonzalez.

Bret is ready for Shawn. Gene lists off all of the micarders Bret has defended the title against with the idea being that Bret will fight anyone.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Sherri still sings Shawn’s theme music and this is champion vs. champion, but only one title is on the line. Feeling out process to start and they hit the mat with Shawn getting in way over his head. Shawn works on the arm and pulls Bret to the mat but Bret nips up. So that’s where Shawn got it from. Bret cranks on the arm and Shawn cranks on the hair. Things speed up and Shawn trips Bret up but it’s right back to the arm. This technical stuff isn’t working for Shawn so far.

Michaels gets to the arm but Bret easily sends him to the floor to escape. Hart takes over on the arm again and Shawn can’t get anything going in the first five minutes or so. A cross body gets two for Bret as does a sunset flip. It’s back to the arm and Shawn is getting frustrated. They hit the ropes and Shawn catches Bret in a hot shot to finally get in some offense. A thumb to the eye puts Bret back in trouble and he charges into the post to make it even worse.

Shawn DDTs the arm as the roles have completely reversed now, although it’s due to evil ways now instead of technical and good ones. See how good psychology can be when it’s done right? Bret’s chest to the buckle spot gets two for Shawn and it’s chinlock time. They fight over a top wristlock but Shawn uses the hair again to pull Bret back to the mat. Bret fights out of the chinlock but gets dropkicked right back down for two. Shawn is one step ahead of him in everything Bret does right now.

A backbreaker gets another two for Shawn and let’s hit that chinlock again. Shawn ducks his head and a swinging neckbreaker puts Shawn down, but cheating by means of a shot to the throat stops Bret again. A front facelock goes on and Bret rams Shawn into the corner with some shoulders to counter. Shawn charges into a boot and a bulldog puts him down. Bret misses a middle rope elbow and both guys are down again.

Michaels hits a jumping back elbow to the face for two and it’s back to the front facelock. After two arm drops for Bret, he pulls off the fastest small package you’ll see in a long time for two. A suplex by Hart puts both guys down but things start speeding up anyway. Shawn gets sling shotted into the corner and hits the post as is his custom. Bret launches him into the corner and kicks Shawn so hard that Shawn gets crotched on the top rope.

A BIG baaaaaaaaaaaaack body drop gets two on Shawn and Bret is surprised. Russian legsweep gets two for the world champ and a backbreaker sets up the middle rope elbow for the same. Bret superplexes Shawn down but he can’t cover immediately so it only gets two. There’s a sleeper from Hart and the referee gets bumped. That goes absolutely nowhere and he’s up a few seconds later. Ok then.

Bret tries another sleeper but Shawn sends him to the floor in the exact same way that Bret sent Shawn to the floor earlier. NICE! Bret gets posted and we head back inside for a whip to the corner for two. The problem here for Shawn is that he doesn’t have a big time finisher as his only big move was a stupid suplex move. Just as I type that, Shawn superkicks Bret down. It’s not a finisher yet though so he doesn’t even cover.

Bret blocks the tear drop (finisher) suplex but the second attempt connects for two. Bret uppercuts Shawn into the ropes but Hart misses a charge and crotches himself on the top. Shawn goes up to the middle rope but he jumps right into the Sharpshooter (in the EXACT same sequence that ended regulation of the Iron Man Match) for the submission to keep the title on Bret.

Rating: A. It’s Bret vs. Shawn with almost 27 minutes. Were you expecting anything but a scientific war? If you give Shawn the superkick here to use as a finisher, there’s no way this isn’t even better. Great match here with both guys trading great psychology the whole way through. Really good main event and a great way to show that Hulk isn’t needed to fire up a crowd as they were all kinds of into this match.

Post match here’s…..Santa Claus? He puts a hat on Bret and it starts snowing in the arena.

Post ending of the show, Bret asks Santa for better competition. Ok then.

Overall Rating: B-. This isn’t a great show but if you have about two hours to kill and a good fast forward button on whatever device you’re using, there are a lot worse shows you could watch. The main event is great stuff and the tag match isn’t bad either, but it’s better if you know the backstory and watch the promos. This was a good show and considering there was no Hogan or Warrior on it, it was a pretty bold step for WWF at the time, although it’s a step they had to make. Good stuff.

Ratings Comparison

Headshrinkers vs. High Energy

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Big Boss Man vs. Nailz

Original: D+

Redo: D

Tatanka vs. Rick Martel

Original: C-

Redo: D

Randy Savage/Mr. Perfect vs. Razor Ramon/Ric Flair

Original: B

Redo: B-

Yokozuna vs. Virgil

Original: C
Redo: C-

Nasty Boys/Natural Disasters vs. Money Inc./Beverly Brothers

Original: D

Redo: C

Undertaker vs. Kamala

Original: C+

Redo: F

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels:

Original: A-

Redo: A

Overall Rating:

Original: C+

Redo: B-

Dang I must have really grown to hate Kamala since then. Overall it’s roughly the same though.

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

Survivor Series Count-Up – 1992 (Original): Minus Survivor Series

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