IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2005
Date: November 27, 2005
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole, Tazz

This show is all about brand vs. brand, which really isn’t an interesting story because they would interact pretty regularly but of course WWE doesn’t get this. Therefore, the main event is a five on five Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown Survivor Series elimination tag for pure bragging rights. At least they didn’t have a full pay per view about it yet. Let’s get to it.

As you would expect, the opening video is about fighting to survive. The theme is still mostly about Raw vs. Smackdown, which really only matters in WWE’s eyes. Still though, a well built feud for bragging rights is better than building up a match for a lame story so I’ll take what I can get.

Booker T. vs. Chris Benoit

Here’s an idea they blatantly copied from WCW as this is the first match in a best of seven series for the US Title. Booker had been defending and we had a double pin in a match against Benoit, meaning we need to have seven matches instead of one. At least both guys are good. Benoit glares out at Sharmell and goes right at Booker in the corner to start. Feeling out process in the early going as Booker gets in a quick slam for two. Booker gets sent to the floor and it sounds like something falls near the entrance.

As Benoit takes Booker to the mat, Cole unintentionally buries the WCW TV Title (the first series was for a shot) by saying this series is actually important. Either Cole doesn’t know what the original was for or Vince fed him that line and then cackled a bit. Back up and Booker kicks him in the face, followed by an elbow to the same general area for two.

A raised boot in the corner and a side slam breaks it up and we hit an armbar. Yeah after the shots to the head and a slam where Benoit lands on his back, it’s a hold on the arm. Come on Booker you’re smarter than this. Thankfully Booker wakes up and goes to an abdominal stretch instead. Benoit fights out again so Booker knocks his block off with a spinwheel kick. Tazz starts talking about Cole looking mints and having a funny face as a result.

WHAT IS WITH HIM??? Every single show he goes on these insane tangents that make NO sense and barely talks about the match. Why did he keep doing commentary for the better part of ten years? Occasionally he’ll say something insightful (like AVOID THE HOLE in the Buried Alive match in 2003) but most of the time it’s just random babbling. Anyway, there’s a neckbreaker for two from Booker and we hit the chinlock.

Benoit fights up and starts the Germans, only to eat another kick to the face. A quick dragon screw leg whip looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Booker rolls him up for two. More rolling Germans look to set up the Swan Dive but Sharmell offers a distraction, only to have Benoit headbutt Booker down. The Swan Dive misses anyway and Booker grabs a rollup with his feet on the ropes (and Sharmell holding them there) to win the first match in the series.

Rating: B+. This is a heck of a match and a really good opener. They’re a case of two people who work really well together and this is what they can do with time. After Booker realized that the armbar was stupid (which it was) and he started cutting Benoit off every time, the match fell into a good story that ended with Sharmell’s interferences playing in to the finish. Really good stuff. Booker would win the series in January.

Eric Bischoff is warming up for his match with Teddy Long. Oh geez it’s this show. Vince comes up to wish him luck and Bischoff brings up Montreal. Bischoff promises to bring him up to date though because the fix is in with Kurt Angle vs. John Cena for the Raw World Title. Cena pops up and oh geez it’s THIS show. After a quick gay joke from Cena, Vince says “keep it up my nigga” and then does his strut past Booker and Sharmell. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go sing Real American for no reason in particular.

Women’s Title: Melina vs. Trish Stratus

Joey Styles of Raw and Tazz of Smackdown are on commentary as this is interpromotional. Trish is defending after Melina had MNM kidnap her on Raw and demand a title shot. Melina has MNM with her and the ticked off Trish has the recently debuted psycho Mickie James in her corner. Trish attacks to start and sends Melina to the floor for a big dive off the top. I could really get used to this psycho and angry Trish. It’s shall we say, rather attractive in a purely innocent way of course.

The headstand into a headscissors puts Melina down but she forearms Trish in the back to get a breather. Joey talks about Melina being inexperienced on paper, sending Tazz into an actually funny rant about “WHAT PAPER ARE YOU COMMENTATORS ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT???” Melina kicks her square in the face but has to deal with Mickie, leaving MNM to load up a Snapshot on Trish, only to get caught just in time. Instead of that being the logical DQ, it’s just an ejection. So you can come in, pick someone up and throw them down and not get disqualified? Good to know.

Melina puts on a surfboard as the announcers debate which of Trish’s laces are more valuable at the moment. A hair takedown gets two on Melina and we hit the screeching. Tazz: “I’m kind of cool with that.” The Stratusphere (that headstand headscissors out of the corner) sets up a spinebuster of all things for two. After Mickie pulls Trish away from a charge, some kicks to the face set up a top rope bulldog to retain Trish’s title.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t much but it’s amazing how good Trish got in just a few years. She looked like she knew more about what she was doing out there than almost any Diva going today, which is probably why she’s considered the best ever. Melina would get way better when she became a wrestler instead of mainly being a valet. Not a great match but good lord Trish knew how to dress.

Detroit Tiger Dmitri Young is here.

We recap HHH vs. Ric Flair. HHH returned from some time off and turned on Flair, making Ric a face in the process. This led to a great match inside a cage at Taboo Tuesday where Flair turned on the magic one more time and won. You know HHH isn’t letting it end that way though so we’re having a last man standing match.

Ric Flair vs. HHH

Last man standing. HHH jumps him in the aisle before Flair can even get his robe off. They get inside with Flair in big trouble, made even worse by HHH grabbing a chair. Flair comes back with a kendo stick, which really looks weird in his hands. They brawl to the hockey boards with HHH taking over again and bringing it back to ringside. Flair is up at seven after a backdrop on the floor and an elbow to the back makes Flair swear a lot.

Ric’s strikes have little effect (WAY too early for that) and they head outside again. You can tell they have a long time to go here and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Flair goes into the post so HHH pulls out a toolbox and picks a screwdriver to bust Ric open BAD. If it wasn’t opened up enough, Ric makes sure to blade (on camera by mistake) to make it even worse.

Back in and we get more screwdriving (I would have pictured Flair being a big fan of screwdrivers), followed by two knee drops that clearly miss by a good eight inches each. I know they almost never hit but get it together production guys. They go back outside to load up the announcers’ table but first of all HHH grabs a spinebuster on the floor. HHH yells a bunch of trash on the mic so Flair grabs him by the crotch.

That’s not cool with HHH because Stephanie is the ball ripper in this company so it’s a Pedigree through the announcers’ table, only to have Flair backdrop HHH through the other table. It’s only good for nine though because HHH isn’t losing to a backdrop, even if it’s from Flair. A bunch of chops get a six for Flair but HHH can’t bring himself to use a chair. Instead HHH pounds on him even more, only to take a low blow. A chair off the head drops HHH for eight more so Flair bites the forehead.

HHH gets crotched against the post FOUR TIMES IN A ROW before Flair bites him on the back of the leg. There’s a Garvin Stomp of all things followed by a chop block but the Figure Four is broken up. Well, says, Flair, if that doesn’t work, why not a chair to crush the leg against the post? Now the Figure Four goes on and he can grab the ropes all he pleases.

HHH taps for no meaning so Flair lets go, only to have HHH beat the count at nine. He’s still able to drop Flair with a clothesline and bring in some steps. As so many people have done, HHH makes the mistake of holding them over his head, allowing Flair to score with a drop toehold to send HHH face first into the steps. HHH is up again and two Pedigrees get eight each so HHH gives him a third. Flair is STILL getting up so it’s a sledgehammer to the general area a few inches above Flair’s back to give HHH the win.

Rating: B. Long but good here with a ridiculous amount of blood to really make this feel like an old school brawl. HHH was always good at being especially evil and look how evil he was here as he beat up a guy in his late 50s. I’m not sure how bright it was to give Flair this kind of a rub when you could build up someone new, but you know HHH wasn’t going to sell like this for anyone but Flair or Shawn. Still though, good, violent brawl.

Flair goes out on a stretcher.

Trish and Mickie are online.

Orton is giving Team Smackdown a pep talk about why he should be the leader since Batista is injured. Cue Batista who thinks he’s in charge. JBL disagrees and gets stared down in a funny bit.

Here are Edge and Lita (good lord) with something to say. Edge has an announcement to make…..and it’s not him cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. No actually he and Lita are going to have their own talk show soon, called the Cutting Edge. That’s enough of that now though so let’s go annoy Dmitri Young. Edge goes with the basic jabs at the Tigers and Young looks stunned that a heel would insult him.

After some steroids jokes, Edge runs down the Detroit sports teams (ignoring the LET’S GO REDWINGS chants). Young lists off the sports championships Detroit has won but can’t see one on Edge (who would wind up with as many World Championships as the Redwings as of 2015).

We recap the Raw World Title match which is built around trying to make Cena vs. Bischoff into Austin vs. McMahon again. Bischoff doesn’t like Cena as champion so he’s gotten Kurt Angle: Wrestling Machine to take the title. Angle has beaten him before but Kurt now has his own personal referee in Daivari to really stack the deck.

Raw World Title: Kurt Angle vs. John Cena

Cena is defending, Daivari is referee and Angle’s YOU SUCKS are censored due to Bischoff thinking it’s unfair. Kurt takes him down by the leg to start and drops elbows on the knee, followed by an early leg crank. Back up and the threat of a right hand sends Angle to the floor but Daivari keeps Cena in the ring. So much like Bill Alfonso in ECW, Daivari is a heel for doing his job.

The fans are red hot for this one as Lawler talks about all the countries watching this show live. Apparently Coach thinks the Gaza Strip is a topless bar. The release fisherman’s suplex drops Angle for no count. That earns Cena the ankle lock for way longer than anyone should be able to survive the hold. Cena gets the rope but Daivari kicks his hand away. The hold is reversed and Cena’s ankle is FINE, allowing him to slam Angle and slap Daivari. Kurt makes sure Daivari doesn’t call for the DQ so Cena rams them together to get a breather.

Cena gets sent into the steps and a second referee comes in to count two. Well you knew there was going to be a way around Daivari. Kurt grabs a waistlock before throwing Cena hard into the corner to keep him in trouble. The fans are ALL OVER Cena and another suplex gives Kurt two. Off to something like an STF on Cena but Kurt goes to a regular chinlock instead. Cena fights up and grab a DDT without selling the ankle injury one bit. The champ wins a slugout and initiates his finishing sequence, including pumping up the shoes.

Kurt clotheslines the referee down and there’s a low blow for Cena. Here’s a third referee as you would think Daivari would have risen from the dead by now. The Angle Slam gets two, followed by a superplex for the same. The moonsault misses because of course it does so Kurt uppercuts the third referee. Daivari is finally up so Cena DDTs him back down, only to have a Smackdown referee come out to take over. He’s got a quick night though as Cena hits the FU to retain.

Rating: B-. WAY too overbooked here but they had to protect Cena here, even if he wouldn’t sell being in the ankle lock for thirty seconds. You could see Cena’s inexperience in matches at this level coming through, which is so bizarre when you know what he would become. Angle was so hot at this point that they had to do something with him but what can you do when you don’t want to give him the Raw World Title? Well in this case you wait for Batista to get hurt and give him the Smackdown World Title until he leaves for TNA in less than a year.

Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long

Let’s get this over with because neither is a wrestler and this is happening because EVERYONE LOVES BRAND WARFARE! Teddy has network adviser Palmer Cannon in his corner and we have two referees to make sure this is fair. Eric throws some kicks and Teddy does his bouncy dancing. Bischoff finally chokes him down as we’re waiting on a match to break out.

The fans think this is boring and that’s being too kind. A sleeper takes Teddy down but a shoe to the head breaks it up. Bischoff’s karate shot to the throat….and here’s the Boogeyman. Eric looks to the entrance but Boogeyman is behind him with a choke and a pumphandle powerslam. Teddy wins and it’s time for more dancing.

Rating: I. I’ve had infections that were more pleasant than this. Moving on.

The Raw and Smackdown teams are cheered on by their respective rosters.

We recap the main event. Back in October at Raw Homecoming, Bischoff turned the lights out on a Smackdown six man tag. This triggered a war between the shows as they kept invading each other to try one more time to get this brand warfare thing to matter, even though no one outside of WWE cared. You over there. You say you cared? Stop lying, because you know you didn’t. Why? Because no one cared.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown

Raw: Big Show, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters

Smackdown: Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Batista, Randy Orton, John Bradshaw Layfield

Batista is Smackdown World Champion but has a bad upper body due to an attack by Kane and Big Show. JBL has his publicist Jillian Hall, who still has a mole on her face. Lashley is still pretty new here but considered a can’t miss prospect. Orton (with his dad) is replacing Eddie Guerrero who passed away just a few weeks before this show. Kane and Big Show are Raw Tag Team Champions. The announcers bicker throughout the nearly ten minutes of entrances which makes me think we’re in for a long match. This really is one sided on paper.

Shawn and Orton get things going after Batista wasn’t allowed to start due to his injuries. Randy backs him into the corner and slaps the taste out of Shawn’s mouth, only to have Shawn slap him down to one knee. Three times in a row Shawn headlocks him to the mat but gets caught in a headscissors. With that not working, Shawn slaps him even harder but Orton grabs a slam.

The announcers talk even more than they do now with Tazz being a jerk. Like, moreso than usual. Masters comes in but takes a dropkick from Orton. It’s off to Lashley for the big power showdown. Lashley tells him to try his luck and Masters charges into a powerslam for two. A cheap shot from the apron lets Masters try the Masterlock but you know that’s not working. Lashley sends him flying with a belly to belly and it’s off to Carlito who has to be dragged in.

Some clotheslines set up a running powerslam for two (on Carlito in case you’re a bit slow today) and it’s off to Michaels. That’s fine with Lashley who slams him off the top, followed by an overhead belly to belly. I told you Lashley was a can’t miss prospect. I wonder how he wound up missing so badly in WWE. The Dominator plants Carlito but Kane chokeslams Lashley from the apron to give Shawn the pin for the first advantage.

Mysterio comes in for some kicks to Shawn’s legs but Kane interferes again with a knee to the back. It’s back to Masters who might be able to do something with Rey this banged up. A gorilla press drop sets up the tag to Kane (Tazz: “This isn’t good.”) who is quickly chopped down by some kicks to the head and a standing moonsault for two.

Rey charges right into a boot to the face though as the announcers are now talking about qualifying matches and Coach not being funny. A bearhug puts Rey in trouble as the argument turns to ratings. Tazz: “Joey I beg of you shut up.” Mysterio finally escapes and it’s off to Batista to really get Smackdown going. Kane gets in a shot to the bad ribs but Batista spears him down with ease. The rest of the Raw guys are dispatched and it’s a 619 to Kane, followed by a spinebuster for the elimination.

Batista walks into a Big Show chokeslam for two, followed by a double chokeslam from Kane and Show behind the two referees’ back. They didn’t notice that three of the nine people still at ringside weren’t around? We settle down to JBL vs. Big Show but the giant throws Rey around a bit first. Orton snaps Show’s throat across the top and the Clothesline From JBL, the 619, the RKO, another Clothesline From JBL and a springboard seated senton from Rey finally ties it up.

We’re down to Mysterio/JBL/Orton vs. Shawn/Carlito/Masters, which again is pretty one sided. Everything breaks down again and JBL throws Shawn on the floor with a fall away slam. Masters plants Rey down and it’s off to Carlito for a chinlock as Shawn is still down. Rey fights up and JBL gets in a blind tag, setting up another Clothesline From JBL to get rid of Carlito, who has to be helped from the ring. Masters suplexes JBL for two as Shawn STILL hasn’t moved.

Back to Mysterio who avoids a charge in the corner and hits the 619, followed by Dropping the Dime (Springboard legdrop. Tazz: “HE DROPPED THE WHOLE DOLLAR ON HIM!”) to make it 3-1. JBL throws Shawn back inside and it’s off to Rey for another 619. As Joey Styles points out that Smackdown could have won on a countout, Shawn superkicks Rey and JBL for back to back pins in 15 seconds to get it down to Orton vs. Michaels.

Orton is quickly sent to the floor for a big dive as things speed up. Back in and some clotheslines set up the top rope elbow as the fans want Undertaker (who was advertised for the show). JBL tries to come in with a chair but eats a superkick, setting up the RKO to give Smackdown the pin.

Rating: B+. That’s how you do an elimination tag. This was great stuff (save for the commentary, though it was actually entertaining at times) with the eliminations coming fast enough that they didn’t get ridiculous and Shawn doing his best to make you believe he was dead before his comeback. They kept people looking strong too and the whole thing worked well. Good match and a really good main event to make the Survivor Series match feel important again.

The Smackdown roster hits the ring and here’s Undertaker. Well scratch that as first we have the druids bringing a casket. After a lot of chanting, the casket lights on fire (as Orton had done to Undertaker about a month and a half back) and Undertaker walks out. Undertaker stalks to the ring to clean house and a throat slit has Orton terrified to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. For a show that almost no one remembers, this is a heck of a good card. The main event is good, there’s a lot of other solid stuff around, Trish looks about as good as she ever has……..and dang it Teddy Long’s dancing makes me smile. I don’t think I can call this a classic but there’s a lot of really good stuff on it to carry it a lot higher than I thought it was going to be. They’re in a transitional period here but this was a great show.

Ratings Comparison

Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

Original: B

2012 Redo: B-

2015 Redo: B+

Trish Stratus vs. Melina

Original: B

2012 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

HHH vs. Ric Flair

Original: B-

2012 Redo: B+

2015 Redo: B

John Cena vs. Kurt Angle

Original: B+

2012 Redo: C

2015 Redo: B-

Theodore Long vs. Eric Bischoff

Original: O (For Oh I can’t think about this anymore)

2012 Redo: S (For Six Minutes)

2015 Redo: I (For Infections I’ve had that were more entertaining)

Team Smackdown vs. Team Raw

Original: B

2012 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B

2012 Redo: B

2015 Redo: A-

I’m surprised by how much more I liked the girls and Cena vs. Angle. They’re good but they’re not that good. Still a solid show though.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/14/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2005-a-forgotten-almost-classic/

And the redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/11/11/survivor-series-count-up-2012-edition-2005-raw-vs-smackdown/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2005
Date: November 27, 2005
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole, Tazz

The main change here is that we’ve seen the rise of Batista and Cena, with the latter defending against Angle and a crooked referee tonight. On top of that we’ve got Raw vs. Smackdown in a major Survivor Series match which actually feels kind of big for once. Other than that there’s HHH vs. Flair in a Last Man Standing match which should be good. Let’s get to it.

The announcers talk about the main event and bragging rights to start things off.

Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

This is the first match in a best of seven series for the US Title, which would go on until January and saw Randy Orton wrestling four of the matches in Booker’s place. Benoit gets in Booker’s face in the corner and they tie up for a bit. Booker hits an awkward kind of slam but Benoit pops right back up. Benoit sends him to the floor and that goes absolutely nowhere. Back in and Chris takes him to the mat with a leg hold.

After Booker grabs a rope, it’s time for a test of strength with Booker (the heel here) kicking Benoit in the face to take over. When all else fails, kick the guy in the face. A suplex puts Booker down as does an elbow to the face. Booker hits a side slam for two and it’s off to an arm hold followed by an abdominal stretch. After Benoit escapes, Booker kicks his head off for two. This is moving somewhat slowly so far but it’s not bad.

Booker hits an arm trap neckbreker (like Sandow’s Terminus) for two and it’s off to a reverse chinlock. Benoit escapes a vertical suplex and it’s time to roll some Germans, but Booker escapes the third and kicks Benoit in the face again. Another attempt at a kick is caught in a legdrag but the Sharpshooter that follows it up doesn’t quite work, giving Booker a cradle for two.

A snap suplex gets two for Chris and we roll some more Germans. Benoit loads up the Swan Dive but Sharmell’s distraction lets Booker load up a superplex. Benoit goes psycho though and headbutts Booker to the mat, but the Swan Dive misses, allowing Booker to get a rollup with Sharmell holding Booker’s feet on the ropes for the pin.

Rating: B-. These two are awesome together and both series they had (they did this in WCW for the TV Title) were entertaining stuff. At the end of the day, sometimes there’s nothing wrong with throwing two people out there and letting them have a good match. This was a solid choice for an opener too as both guys got to show off and the fans were getting into it near the end.

Vince wishes Bischoff luck tonight and Montreal is referenced. Of course. Eric says he’ll screw Cena. Cena pops up and says “so Eric Bischoff screws guys. Good luck with that.” Vince then says to Cena, and I 100% quote, “keep it up my nigga.” Booker and Sharmell don’t seem pleased.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Melina

Trish is defending and Melina has MNM, the Smackdown tag champions, with him. This is interpromotional apparently. Melina and MNM had kidnapped Trish and held her captive until the match was agreed to. Well that’s one way to do it. Trish and her psycho fan (the brand new Mickie James) come out fast with Trish sending Melina to the floor and diving on all three members of MNM. Trish is looking great here.

Melina gets thrown around by her hair, sending those furry boots flying. Trish headscissors her down and I think they botch a headscissors out of the corner with Trish kicking Melina in the face instead of getting the ankles around her head. Melina uses her basic abilities (meaning stretching to freakish angles to choke and kick a lot) before going to the floor for a cat fight with Mickie.

As the brawl is going on, MNM tries the Snapshot (elevated double team DDT) on Trish, only to get caught and ejected. Things calm down a bit and Melina puts on a surfboard, which may or may not be an excuse to have Trish’s chest shoved out while wearing tight leather. Trish fights back but Stratusfaction is countered into a face plant for two, drawing the primal screams from Melina.

Stratus comes back with some forearms but runs into a boot in the corner. The Stratusphere puts Melina down and there’s a spinebuster of all things for two for Trish. Chick Kick and Stratusfaction miss and Trish is sent to the apron, but Mickie pulls her out of the way of a charging Melina. Trish goes up and misses about 95% of a top rope bulldog but it’s good enough for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was much better than I was expecting given what level Melina was at here. Trish looked fine (and her wrestling was even good too) but she needed more to work with here. This would lead up to Mickie going totally psycho and evil, setting up an excellent match (other than the ending) at Mania between the two of them.

Watch Jake’s DVD! It’s full of lies but watch it!

Dmitri Young, a baseball payer, is here.

We recap HHH vs. Flair. HHH came back from injury and turned on Flair in their first match together. They fought in a cage match at Taboo Tuesday with Flair somehow pulling out one of the biggest upsets of his career. Tonight it’s a rematch in a last man standing match.

Ric Flair vs. HHH

Last man standing. Oh and Flair is IC Champion but this is non-title. Like HHH would ever actively go after a midcard title. HHH jumps Flair as he comes to the ring and beats on him in the aisle for a bit before we head inside. It’s chair time very quickly but Flair pokes HHH in the ribs with a kendo stick to block the shot. They head into the crowd with Flair chopping HHH through the fans. He swings one time too many though and HHH backdrops him back to ringside.

A suplex puts Flair’s back on the concrete and draws some loud swearing. HHH suplexes him back into the ring and Flair is in trouble. Some quick punches don’t do much good for Flair and we head back to the outside. Flair gets posted, but if that’s not enough to cut him open, HHH carves up his forehead with a freaking SCREWDRIVER. There is blood everywhere in just a matter of seconds, so HHH digs it in even more back in the ring.

HHH takes him down and the knee drop misses by about eight inches. The shot of the second one is even worse and they slug it out in the corner. We head outside again and Flair sends him into the steps to give Flair a breather. Flair pokes HHH in the eye but HHH hits a spinebuster to take him right back down on the concrete. HHH talks trash on the mic and Flair is like “boy Jack Brisco’s tights were tougher than you” and he grabs HHH by the balls. Well when there’s nothing else I guess that’s all you can do. HHH blasts him with the mic to break the grip. I guess that’s Stephanie only territory.

Flair is set for a Pedigree through the announce table but he backdrops HHH through the other table, drawing our first count of the match. That gets a nine and HHH grabs another chair. Back in and HHH has Flair dead to rights but instead of swinging the chair, HHH pounds away with punches instead. HHH pounds away in the corner, so Flair kicks him low again, followed by a chair shot for five. Flair is like YUM and bites at the cut on HHH’s forehead. Flair is kind of a weird dude sometimes.

Ric wraps HHH’s balls around the post and does the same to the leg, which is a smart move in a last man standing match. Then he crushes the balls FOUR MORE TIMES. DUDE FOR THE LOVE OF STEPHANIE GIVE IT A BREAK! Back in and Flair chop blocks HHH, before biting the guy’s thigh. Flair is a pretty sick guy at times no? He goes back to the knee (with kicks this time instead of teeth) but the Figure Four is blocked twice, the second time having Flair knocked to the outside.

For the first time, Flair pulls out a weapon of his own and whacks the knee with a chair. Now the Figure Four goes on and Flair is perfectly allowed to grab the ropes. HHH taps but it doesn’t mean anything here. That draws an 8 with a shaky call from the referee that HHH was up at one point. A double clothesline puts both guys down and HHH rolls to the floor. The Game throws in some steps and clocks Flair in the face with them. Flair needs to scream less. Sometimes you should just be stunned and dazed you know?

HHH charges with the steps again but Flair hits a drop toehold to send HHH into the steps face first. That only gets a nine so they slug it out. Flair sends him into the ropes but ducks his head like an idiot, allowing HHH to hit the Pedigree……which only gets eight. HHH Pedigrees him AGAIN, but Flair is up at 8 and flips off HHH. A THIRD Pedigree gets nine, so HHH “hits” (Get better directors already. This is ridiculous) him in the back with the sledgehammer to finally keep Flair down for ten.

Rating: B+. Bad direction and cuts aside, this was a very solid brawl. They beat the tar out of each other with Flair trying as hard as he could to have one last great moment, but not being evil enough anymore to hang with the new guy in HHH. This was good stuff and thankfully it more or less ended HHH and Flair’s time on camera together.

Flair is taken out on a stretcher.

Buy the Bret Hart DVD! No really, this one is awesome.

Trish and Mickie do an online interview.

Orton gives Team Smackdown a pep talk but talks about Batista as the weak link. Batista shows up and the tune changes. He thinks that since he’s world champion, he should be leader. JBL says it should be him. Batista glares at him and JBL stammers a lot.

Here are Edge and Lita with something to say. Edge is Mr. MITB at this point but doesn’t have a match tonight. Edge talks about how his own talk show, called The Cutting Edge, is debuting soon. Now that we’ve got that covered, let’s talk to Dmitri Young. Edge makes fun of the Tigers for not being able to win the World Series and calls everyone here fat. He makes fun of the Detroit sports teams and now they give Dmitri Young (“Come here Mark Henry. Oh wait…”) a live mic. Young talks about Edge’s balls and lists off all of Detroit’s titles before saying Edge has none. This took seven minutes somehow.

We recap Angle vs. Cena. Basically it’s “I’m Kurt Angle and therefore better than you. NOW LET ME SHOUT EXACTLY WHAT I JUST SAID AGAIN!” Cena is like bring it man and whatever rhymes with man!

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Kurt Angle

Daivari, Angle’s crony, is the guest referee. The YOU SUCKS from the crowd are censored because of some Bischoff ruling. Daivari is rubbing Angle’s shoulders during the intros. Oh and Cena is defending. The champ is here….right on the mat with Angle working on the leg. Cena comes back with an armdrag into an armbar and some shoulder blocks to send Kurt to the floor. Daivari won’t let Cena go after Angle and Joey is way more excited about it than anyone else. Isn’t Daivari doing what a referee is supposed to do anyway?

Back in and Cena hits some elbows and a release fisherman’s suplex for no count from Daivari. Cena goes to yell at him and is immediately caught in the ankle lock. Cena finally gets to the rope but Daivari kicks his hand off. The hold is broken and Cena spinebusts Angle before slapping Daivari a few times. Angle won’t let Daivari DQ Cena, so Cena knocks them both to the floor.

Kurt gets all fired up and slams Cena into the steps and hits an overhead belly to belly on the outside. A second referee comes out as Daivari is still down. Daivari would be a wrestler one day, so how did he get so much better at being able to take punishment? I’ve never gotten that. Anyway, Cena puts on a reverse waistlock but Cena comes back with a cross body for two. Angle comes back with a knee lift and Cena is in trouble.

The fans are ALL OVER Cena all of a sudden, with a huge Cena Sucks chant. Off to a chinlock with Angle holding the leg back as well. Cena finally comes back with a jawbreaker and a DDT to put both guys down. They slug it out with Cena taking over via some clotheslines. Cena initiates his finishing sequence and is set for the FU, but Angle clotheslines the replacement referee.

A low blow puts Cena down and Angle calls in another referee to count two on the Angle Slam. Angle superplexes Cena down for two but the moonsault misses. Cena loads up another FU but Angle grabs the referee to escape. An uppercut puts the referee down AGAIN and Kurt throws Daivari back in, who is apparently STILL out cold after about ten minutes, breaking Davey Boy Smith’s record from 1994. A Smackdown referee comes down but Angle yells at him, allowing Cena to DDT Daivari. Kurt comes in and walks into the FU for the pin.

Rating: C. This was WAY overbooked and Cena was in over his head with Angle, but it wasn’t bad or anything. Angle vs. Cena was supposed to be a huge feud but it never felt like anything all that special. Cena wasn’t ready for a real showdown with Angle yet but he would get a lot better over the next year or so though. The referee stuff was kind of stupid though, especially with Daivari being out cold for so long.

Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long

Yes this is real, yes it’s happening on PPV, yes we’re supposed to ignore Bischoff being a martial arts expert from WCW and thing Teddy might have a chance in a straight fight, and yes this is going to SUCK. Teddy has some network consultant with him named Palmer Cannon who never lasted long. They’re both GM’s if that wasn’t clear. Teddy poses a lot on the corner and we haven’t had any contact after a minute. Teddy dances a bit and Eric misses a kick. There’s more dancing and no contact still.

We do the exact same thing AGAIN before Eric chokes Teddy with his sash. There are two referees in there for no apparent reason. Eric chokes away but Teddy takes off his shoe and whacks Eric in the head. Bischoff goes to the throat to stop Teddy again…..and here’s the Boogeyman. If you’ve never seen him, picture Darth Maul from the first Star Wars prequel if he ate worms. He sneaks up on Eric and lays him out with a pumphandle slam, giving Teddy the pin.

Rating: S. Six minutes. This match took SIX MINUTES. The WWE owes me six minutes of my life back. John Cena vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship can only get thirteen minutes but this gets SIX? Who in the world thought this was a good idea? At least it went by….no actually it didn’t go by fast. This won worst match of the year and I can’t argue at all.

Team Smackdown is coming to the ring and the Smackdown D-list guys cheer them on.

The Raw guys do the same thing.

We recap Raw vs. Smackdown. At a 3 hour special Raw called WWE Homecoming, there was going to be a Smackdown six man tag but Bischoff turned the lights out on them because he said they were inferior to Raw. This prompted a multiple PPV running feud where they kept invading each others’ shows, setting up a battle for supremacy here.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown

Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, Big Show,

Batista, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, John Bradshaw Layfield

Show and Kane are tag champions, Batista is world champion but is injured due to Big Show and Kane attacking him over and over, and Lashley is undefeated at this point. This hasn’t been mentioned yet on the commentary for pretty obvious reasons, but Orton is replacing Eddie Guerrero who died about ten days before this. Shawn vs. Randy gets things going and it’s a very slow opening with both guys feeling the other out.

Orton gets thing going by slapping Shawn so Shawn literally slaps Orton down to the mat. Three times in about 30 seconds, Shawn takes Orton to the mat with a headlock, Orton grabs a headscissors to counter, and Shawn escapes. Randy charges into a boot in the corner but slams Shawn down to take over again. The match is starting slow but the bickering from the commentators is funny stuff, as they’re taking this rivalry personally.

Off to Masters who gets his eyes raked by Orton but the power game of Masters takes over. Lashley comes in to a reaction from the fans and they do the two power guys collide with each other. Bobby takes over with a slam but Masters clotheslines him down. Masters tries the Masterlock but Bobby easily blocks it. Carlito is pulled in and thrown around as well, culminating with a powerslam for two.

Off to Shawn to see what he can do with this monster, but Lashley slams him off the top. A suplex puts Shawn down so Carlito comes in sans tag and takes the Dominator. Shawn is about to take one as well, but Kane breaks it up and chokeslams Lashley to give Shawn the pin. Rey comes in next and Kane hits him in the back as well to give Shawn another advantage. Masters drops some elbows on Rey to keep him on the mat which is the right move.

A gorilla press drop puts Rey down again and here’s Kane who misses an elbow. Mysterio starts speeding things up and gets two off a standing moonsault. Kane comes up with a very easy counter by kicking a charging Rey in the face. Off to a bearhug as this is the longest segment of the match so far. Rey fights out of it and slides between Kane’s legs to make the tag to Batista.

Big Dave gets in some shots but the bandages all over his arm and chest are a target for Kane. Kane gets in a shot and everything breaks down, allowing Batista to hit a spinebuster on Kane for the elimination. Big Show chokeslams Batista for a very close two but Kane and Big Show double chokeslam Batista to put him out. JBL immediately tries the Clothesline on Show but gets grabbed by the throat. JBL kicks Show low, but gets caught jumping off the middle rope. That’s freaking SCARY power by Show. Show superkicks Orton down and LAUNCHES Rey into the corner.

Orton guillotines Show into the Clothesline from JBL who tags….Mysterio? The 619 sets up the RKO which sets up another Clothesline which sets up a seated senton from Rey for the elimination. Cool sequence here as the team all went after Show to get rid of him. Show would DESTROY Rey on a special Smackdown to get revenge. Shawn goes after JBL on the floor and gets thrown away in a fallaway slam.

To recap, it’s Mysterio, JBL and Orton vs. Shawn, Carlito and Masters. It’s Masters vs. Rey now with Masters getting two after sending Mysterio into the corner. Off to Carlito for a legdrop and chinlock for a few moments. Mysterio fights up and makes a blind tag to JBL who ENDS Carlito with a Clothesline to make it 3-2. Masters and JBL slug it out a bit but Rey tags himself in. JBL kicks Chris in the face to give his teammate an advantage, setting up a 619 and the springboard legdrop to take out Masters.

So it’s Shawn vs. Rey/Orton/JBL and Shawn is STILL down on the floor from the fallaway slam. Mysterio starts with Shawn and things go faster. Rey hits the 619 to send Shawn across the ring, but the West Coast Pop jumps right into the superkick ala Shelton Benjamin for the elimination. JBL comes in and tries the Clothesline but gets superkicked down AGAIN to make it Orton vs. Shawn. There were about fifteen seconds between the two pins.

The RKO and superkick both miss so Shawn dives on Orton on the floor to take him out. The fans want Taker who was promised to be here tonight. There are the forearm and superkick followed by some clotheslines. The top rope elbow hits Randy but Shawn can’t cover. JBL is still at ringside for some reason and he grabs a chair. Shawn loads up the superkick again but JBL shoves down the outside referee and misses a chair shot. The distraction lets Orton hit the RKO for the final pin.

Rating: B. This was a direct copy of Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff from two years ago, even down to the final participants, but the results were a bit inverted. Here, the part before the solo Shawn part was better but Shawn’s solo part wasn’t as good. Also, Batista running in was better than JBL’s chair stuff here. It’s still probably a better match overall, mainly due to the better opening part.

The low level Smackdown guys come out to put Orton on their shoulders…..and there’s a gong. We’ve got lights, we’ve got chanting, we’ve got druids carrying a casket, and a Dead Man coming out of said casket. Taker walks into the ring and beats up some jobbers as the roster bails. Orton is scared to death to end the show. Hell in a Cell for these two next month.

Overall Rating: B. This show is pretty much never talked about other than occasionally the main event and that’s a shame. This is an entertaining and solid show all around with the only bad match being a battle of the GM’s, and even that only runs six minutes. You have a bloodbath in HHH vs. Flair, a fun main event with entertaining commentary and some solid wrestling all around. Nothing is great, but if you’ve got two hours and forty five minutes to spare, check this out as it’s quality stuff.

Ratings Comparison

Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

Original: B

Redo: B-

Trish Stratus vs. Melina

Original: B

Redo: C-

HHH vs. Ric Flair

Original: B-

Redo: B+

John Cena vs. Kurt Angle

Original: B+

Redo: C

Theodore Long vs. Eric Bischoff

Original: O (For Oh I can’t think about this anymore)

Redo: S (For Six Minutes)

Team Smackdown vs. Team Raw

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B

I’m surprised by how much more I liked the girls and Cena vs. Angle. They’re good but they’re not that good. Still a solid show though.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/14/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2005-a-forgotten-almost-classic/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2005
Date: November 27, 2005
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles, Tazz, Michael Cole

It’s all about brand supremacy here as the main event and the only match with a good build this year is Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown. What does that actually gain us? Absolutely nothing, but it’s the best we can come up with so there we are. Continuing that theme we also have Teddy Long vs. Eric Bischoff. Oh that’s going to be awful isn’t it. In some real wrestling we have in the Raw main event John Cena vs. Kurt Angle. Now we’re getting somewhere.

This was a weird time for the company as there’s just not a lot going on right now and they’re just kind of going through the motions. Cena and Batista are the top dogs on their respective shows but there’s just nothing that’s a spark for the company right now which is a trend that would continue for a few more years after this.

TNA is starting to get its footing but it’s far from a major deal in case you three TNA fans were wondering. That was random I know but this opening paragraph was way too short.

Don’t you just hate it when you run out of things to say and you just have to ramble on and on about absolutely nothing at all when it’s clear that the person talking is some moron that has nothing else to say but beating around the bush and trying to fill up space in a page because he’s not intelligent enough to have anything else to say about something he’s reviewing on a website like WrestleZone which should be about wrestling but isn’t always? Yeah I hate that too. Let’s do this.

There is one major thing that happened recently as Eddie Guerrero passed away two weeks before this show. I’ve always thought he was both overrated and gets far to much hype, but he was certainly a great talent and could wrestle with anyone and it was sad to lose him, especially when he was allegedly going to win the world title again before this show.

Again, the video is just painfully generic. It’s just a voiceover guy talking about survival and clips of the feuds. The only highlight is a single shot of taker who was returning tonight. Once we’re in the arena we find that it’s Styles on commentary which is a nice change of pace. Not saying he’s better or worse than Ross, but when you do so many of these in a row it’s nice to hear a different voice.

This was a time when for whatever reason we had three announcers for Raw which is of course overkill. Lawler either slips up or makes a sex joke by saying return your flight attendants to their upright positions. No one laughed but they didn’t react either so they either didn’t get it or didn’t notice.

They talk about how Raw will beat Smackdown which is fine. We go to the Spanish guys and then over to Cole and Tazz. For some reason this made me laugh. It was like the Spanish guys were just randomly thrown in there with no rhyme or reason. Stuff like that amuses me.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T

This is match 1 in a best of 7 series for the US Title which was vacant due to a double pin between these two. The series wound up being Benoit vs. Orton because Booker got hurt so once Orton won the last match Booker got the title because that makes perfect sense right? These two traded the title back and forth like four times in about eight months which was just kind of stupid but whatever.

The whole idea of a series is stupid as well for one simple reason: why should we care about the first few matches? These don’t mean anything and nothing is going to be decided here, so why should we watch? Sharmell gets her own entrance and she is just painful to listen to. Something feels different about this show from last year which is a good thing. It feels bigger I guess you could say.

We start with a weird looking spot where Booker tries for a slam but can’t do it and it turns into a half suplex half powerslam. That was just odd. They mention that the second match will be on Tuesday at the Smackdown Special. That show was a disgrace for two reasons. First of all it was just flat out awful from a wrestling standpoint.

Second, there was a big spot where Eddie’s lowrider was blown with I think Big Show in it. This was sixteen days after Eddie died. Seriously? If you just have to use that for an angle, wait awhile would you?

Booker does some sweet looking stuff to get out of a test of strength. His in ring stuff really is overlooked. Booker gets an abdominal stretch and Benoit starts shaking his hips for some reason which looks very odd indeed. Benoit is getting dominated for the most part here, which is fine because he’s great at selling.

I’ll never get the point in announcers mentioning necks being surgically repaired. Wouldn’t that imply that they’re stronger than before? Are we really supposed to believe that a wrestler’s neck is still that weak even a year or so after they came back from the injury? Benoit gets a short comeback with one of those awesome Germans but Booker takes him down with a kick that was sweet looking. This has been a solid match.

Booker gets caught in an insane looking leg drag but avoids the Sharpshooter. After the triple Germans, Benoit goes for the headbutt but Booker stops him on the top. In a sequence that is very short but that I like, Benoit knocks him back down and goes for the headbutt anyway. See, while it seems pointless, it adds a bit more action to the match and got the fans into it just a tiny bit more. That’s what makes a match even better: adding that little extra bit.

Benoit could have just come off with the heabutt and missed to set up the finish, but instead we get an extra ten to fifteen seconds of action which got the crowd going a bit more. The more you can draw the fans in, the better the match is going to seem. If a match is weak (this one isn’t) that can be covered up by the crowd being into it. If a match is good (like this one) the crowd being into it means that the thing is a success on both levels.

Anyway, Benoit misses the headbutt and Booker gets a roll up with his feet on the bottom rope for the pin. Now wait a minute. How would the bottom rope help you? Isn’t the point of using the ropes to add more leverage to the pin by making you have to shove up a slope? With the bottom rope it’s just balanced out evenly.

Why am I wasting my time thinking about this? That ending was kind of weak but whatever. To further the stupidity, Sharmell grabs his feet and pulls down. Wouldn’t that pull Booker away from Benoit?

Rating: B. This was very solid. It’s not great but it’s very good. It was intense throughout other than the submission holds in the middle and it had time to develop. I’m not wild on the ending, but other than that I had no problems here. These two can work very well together when given the time as they were here, so who am I to complain? This was good but can someone shoot Sharmell for me please?

Bischoff is in the back warming up and Vince walks up. He wishes him luck and Bischoff says tonight he’s going to screw Cena, thereby making it about as obvious as possible that Cena will retain. Why do they insist on making so many Montreal references? They did it in WCW and the company died because they couldn’t let it go. Even after the mess that was Starrcade 97 they did it over and over again and it just never worked at all.

Also, they tried so hard to make Cena vs. Bischoff the next Austin vs. McMahon and it just failed. Actually failed isn’t the right word. It just didn’t live up to what it was supposed to be, which is fine because they’re inferior talents to what came before them. Also, since it had been done already there was no real reason to think this would be better which aren’t Cena and Bischoff’s faults at all. Anyway, Cena walks up and makes a gay joke to get Bischoff to leave.

Vince and Cena talk for a bit which when you think about it isn’t a pairing you see together that often. Vince actually says what’s up my nigger to Cena. WOW. Even Cena looks taken aback by this as do Booker and Sharmell. That was just out there to say the least.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Melina

Melina is part of MNM here along with Mercury and Nitro (now known as John Morrison). They’re the Smackdown tag champions and did the thing where they hung the belts from their belts so they hung between their legs. That’s original at least. This is inter promotional so Tazz and Styles are the commentators. ECW would be back in June with these two being the commentators.

Despite the fact that Melina looks better with all black hair instead of the blonde she has going here, she looks good in her signature entrance. Melina had MNM kidnap Trish on Raw so she could ask for a title shot because that makes perfect sense. Melina more or less is wrestling in a tiny bikini so this match has gone up in ratings for me. Mickie James, the newcomer, is with Trish.

Very soon she would go into the sexy crazy stalker mode with Trish, leading to her heel turn which was awesome. Trish starts with a spear and some punches that land squarely on the mat. Melina hits the floor but Trish hits a cross body from the top to the floor to take out all three heels. When did Lita get bigger and dye her hair red? Melina is a complete rookie here. Wow has she really been around for four years?

They botch a spot but if nothing else they make it work. It was supposed to be a headscissors but it turned into a kick to the face. It still worked though. Joey says Trish wins on paper. Tazz wants to see the paper. That’s actually kind of funny. Melina and Mickie fight on the floor while MNM goes for the Snapshot which was an elevated DDT on Trish. They get ejected for it though so that sucks. The belts are just making me laugh. This is intense if nothing else.

DANG Melina can hit the high notes. This is a quite good match actually. Melina actually counters Stratusfaction twice which isn’t bad. Mickie interferes to help Trish, leading to a kick and a top rope bulldog that missed but again they improvise slightly with Trish grabbing Melina’s hair on the way down.

It looked bad but it could have been worse, but it ends the match. On the replay they do a great job of covering the botch at the end by showing it from the back where you can’t tell how bad it was. That’s well done.

Rating: B. This was quite good. They beat the heck out of each other and on the two noticeable botches they improvised, especially the earlier one. Melina was clearly talented and not just another pretty face that thought she would try wrestling for a paycheck. Trish was her usual solid self here, so I have few complaints.

It was one of the better Diva matches that I can remember so that’s a perk. The looks didn’t hurt things either. This is what the Divas need to shoot for: hot women but good wrestling to back it up. I’d watch more of this.

Buy this PPV of the DVD of Jake Roberts.

We recap HHH vs. Flair which was a good feud I thought. More or less HHH decided that Flair was too far gone to mean anything anymore so he beat him up. Flair wound up winning the Intercontinental Title of all things which I actually liked as it made the belt seem prestigious. They had a cage match at Taboo Tuesday for the belt and Flair won clean in a great old school style match. That leads us to here which is last man standing.

Ric Flair vs. HHH

Like I said Flair is IC champion here but it’s non title. Trips jumps him in the aisle to start us off. Flair is beaten on pretty badly at first since his robs is still on. He comes back though as the old man powers will never die. They haven’t actually been in the ring at this point. Scratch that they have but it was for about twenty seconds. I’ll give Flair this: he can sell as well as anyone in history even at this age.

That’s why he was so great for so long: he could tell a story as well as anyone in the world. HHH works over his back which is fine. He needs to lose the mustache though. It just flat out doesn’t work on him. We go hardcore as HHH pulls out a screwdriver. Dang Flair is bleeding badly. Granted I think that happens is someone stares at him for more than four seconds. Has anyone been in as many last man standing matches as HHH?

He’s been in a ton of them over the years with at least three that I can remember against Orton alone. I’ve always loved that red blonde hair on Flair. They finally mention that it’s HHH’s lifelong goal to break Flair’s record, which depending on what you look at should be around 22 or 23. If TNA has their way Angle will pass that in about a week. Edge is likely going to get close to it as well, but I’d take almost any of Flair’s runs over any two or three of Edge’s combined.

They’re out on the floor again with Flair finally taking some control. I have a feeling we’re in for a long one here, which should be fine. Coach offers commentary simply saying what number the referee is up to. Good to see why he’s paid the big money. HHH gets on the mic because three commentators in one match just aren’t enough. He yells at Flair to get up and in the next breath says to stay down if he knows what’s good for him.

No wonder Flair never would retire. He was too confused from hanging out with HHH all those years. Flair grabs the ball of HHH for no apparent reason. Is he competing with Stephanie or something now? HHH gets control back because I guess he likes being the dominant one.

I’ll be pausing for a few seconds here to get the image of a submissive Stephanie out of my mind. Ok I think I’m good now. We hit the tables and HHH gets countered through the table as he always is. Both guys are more or less dead at this point. The table practically exploded too and it looked great. Both guys are up though and we keep going.

We’re back in the ring for likely the longest stretch of the match which is a nice change of pace. For some reason we have to get another replay of HHH going through the table. We get it already people. A chair comes into play and both men are down, or at least that’s what Styles says. Call me cracy, but Flair looks up to me. Flair continues making sense by going for the legs. He pulls the balls of HHH into the post as he seems slightly obsessed with them.

Lawler mentions that he hopes HHH isn’t planning on going out tonight. I certainly wouldn’t. If I had a wife like Stephanie I wouldn’t be going to work either so there we are. Flair bites HHH for the second time in the match, this time on the leg. Style infers that the biting could mess up the quad again. Oh come on now. Flair goes to town on the legs in a very slow old school style plus weapons. That’s not a bad idea actually.

The figure four makes HHH tap but it means nothing here. I love how he’ll give up in a match where it means nothing, but that’s a different story. They’re both back up now with HHH knocking Flair back down. HHH brings the steps in and for some reason that only Flair knows, he runs right at HHH and rams his head into the steps. That’s just stupid. This time HHH runs and Flair hits a drop toe hold to slam HHH into the steps. This is like a cartoon or something.

I know there’s not a lot being said here but a lot of this is either one or both guys laying there for a ten count which somehow takes about 30 seconds each. HHH gets a Pedigree to a big pop which means either the people are tired of this match or they like HHH. My guess is the former, because HHH is such a masterful heel that no one can hate him. I mean he’s the best of all time at everything right?

Flair of course gets up and takes another Pedigree but of course he gets up, this time throwing out a double bird to HHH. This just gets him beaten up more so he’s obviously the face. You very rarely see a heel being defiant and getting his beating because of it. The third Pedigree connects as this is complete overkill.

We get it: Flair is tough. There’s no need to kill the credibility of the Pedigree to prove this. A sledgehammer shot to I think the shoulder or something like that ends this. The fans are actually into this which is a good sign. I guess the reactions earlier on were for greatness, even though this wasn’t that great. It was good, but not great.

Rating: B-. This was very old school in nature so if you don’t like slower paced stuff, you’ll hate this. Both guys bring in a lot of psychology here which is exactly what they were supposed to do. The leg stuff worked quite well despite HHH not selling them at all at the end of the match. This was good at times but there were parts that just kind of sucked too.

The three Pedigrees were WAY too much and the fact that it took nearly half an hour to get rid of Flair is a bit of a stretch despite how great Flair is. Some people would love this while others will hate it, which to me is a good thing. It means that it’s not just a run of the mill match but rather something that gets an opinion out of people, which to me is always good.

After about three minutes of replays we see Flair being stretchered out of the arena.

Buy the Bret Hart DVD, which was quite good actually.

Team Smackdown says they have to make up for Batista’s injury while Bradshaw sounds stupid. This was a waste of three minutes of my life.

Edge and Lita come out to say that the Cutting Edge will be debuting soon. He was hurt at the moment so this was their way to keep him on camera which really is a great idea. Edge goes after Dmitri Young who is a hometown baseball guy in the front row. He and Lita insult Young for about five minutes with nothing of note to say about it. Yep, that was a waste of time.

We recap Kurt vs. Cena which was something like this: Angle wants a title show and has his own referee that’s going to cheat to make him win. That’s all you’ve got to know here.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Kurt Angle

This both has the big match feeling and doesn’t have it. I’m leaning towards no because of the spinner belt and Daivari as the referee. Angle looks far better in the darker colored singlet. The same can be said of Cena if you change the word singlet for long shorts. Angle naturally immediately starts on the leg as we have LOUD dueling chants. They’re out of sync though so it takes a trained ear to get what’s being said.

It’s nice hearing Styles speaking with an interest in the product. Ross and Lawler rarely sounded interested in matches and while Styles isn’t as great as he’s built up to be by any means, he’s awesome at times. Dang we’ve been going for about three minutes and those chants literally haven’t stopped. They’re quieting a bit but by no means are they stopping. If this was in front of a Wrestlemania sized crowd with these kinds of fans….good night that would be amazing.

These two could main event a Mania as well, and given Angle it’s not completely out of the question to have that happen. This is one of the hottest crowds I’ve ever seen. Cena gets a cover and Daivari just stands there and we have a story. Ankle lock is hooked, finally called the Angle Lock like it should have been many times before, and the referee is all over it. He finally gets the ropes and of course the hold isn’t broken.

He gets out himself and slaps the referee (I’ll be referring to him as that because Daivari requires that I think as I type) and Angle makes the diving save to stop the disqualification. Oh for those fans that might be new, Daivari is now known as Sheik Abdul Bashir in TNA. The referee gets bumped by Cena and we go to the floor. Angle pops his hips on a sweet belly to belly overhead suplex to Cena. That was always an awesome move.

A real referee comes down and we now have a far more normal match. They go to the mat for awhile and it occurs to me that Angle can get away with far more boring moves on the mat such as just basic grapples because of his background. When he uses something like a front facelock I buy it a lot more because he’s an Olympian. That just goes to show you what a real background can do for someone. Cena can do a great job of fighting back.

There’s just something about him that makes you want to watch him which is something that very few people can accomplish. There go those chants again. Cena starts the comeback as I’m starting to wonder where Daivari is. He didn’t get hit by anything huge. Cena just knocked Angle into him and he’s been down at least five minutes. Angle apparently needs glasses because he can’t see Cena. Man maybe he really does as he clotheslines the heck out of the referee and low blows Cena.

A third referee comes out and for some reason has NO problem with Angle laying out his colleague. Now wait a minute. As they mentioned earlier, it’s standard operating procedure for a new referee to run out in case the regular one gets knocked out. That means that someone, and I’d assume the referee that ran down, has to be watching the match in the back right? If not how would he know that he was needed in the ring? If that’s the case, why couldn’t he disqualify Angle?

This is what overbooking a match does to it: it brings up a lot of loopholes that aren’t needed. After a few minutes of good stuff, Angle misses a picture perfect moonsault. I mean that was lucha libre quality. Angle gets out of the FU and then hits the third referee and rolls Daivari, who is still out cold, back in.

A fourth referee, this one from Smackdown, comes out as Cena DDTs Daivari for no apparent reason as he was already out cold. With four people laying in the ring (Cena and three referees), Cena plays possum and Angle walks into the FU for the pin. I want more of this!

Rating: B+. This is a great example of a situation where the extra booking was 100% not needed. I was completely buying into this match which is something that very rarely happens to me. There’s a natural connection here that is very clear and it worked incredibly well. I don’t get why there needed to be the gimmick with the referees and things like that. A lot of the times less is more and this is certainly one of those times. I’d love to see these guys go at it even more.

Watch this really bad show that we’re calling a special!

Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long

Eric is of course dressed in his karate stuff, because anyone that follows tournament karate knows that Eric Bischoff is a great fighter. I will never get over Schiavone saying that at Starrcade 97. Teddy is with Palmer Cannon, who was a very short term character that was a representative of the network. He served absolutely zero purpose and I’ve never been sure what the point of having him was.

Granted to be fair I missed about a year and a half of Smackdown due to not having the station and just not being interested in it. I would always catch the spoilers though so I at least knew what was going on. The words to describe how I feel going into this match haven’t been invented yet. No good can come from this at all. It’s like the book in Hocus Pocus. To top it off, Cole and Coach are your commentators. I just had to stop the video for the sake of laughter.

Coach: “Eric Bischoff is a mixed martial artist.” I don’t care or know if that’s true or not but it’s the funniest image I can think of. Can you imagine him against Brock or GSP? Cole starts the Did You Know tradition with a stat that I’m not going to remember in a few seconds. Yep it’s gone. The bell rang 45 seconds ago. In that time they’ve avoided contact with each other, Teddy has posed on the ropes and then he danced a bit. This is riveting stuff!

Cole calls Bischoff Mr. Miyagi. The one liners for this match are going to take up a full page. After about a minute and a half I think we made contact but I’m not sure. Teddy dances more than Shawn Michaels imitating Shane. Cannon gets on the apron for no apparent reason and imitates the things that Long has been doing as Bischoff chokes Long with his belt. Why am I watching this? Oh there’s two referees, one from Raw one from Smackdown because this needs more people.

We have our second boring chant as we’re still doing the choking thing. Bischoff changes the pace a bit by using the world’s worst sleeper. Cannon gets up again and Long uses the distraction of both referees (since a guy named Palmer Cannon is obviously a major threat) to take his shoe off and hit Eric with it to break up the “hold”. Wouldn’t the shoe be legal? It’s not a foreign object unless it was made in Japan or something like that so I don’t get it.

Eric takes over again with a Kung Fu YEAH and a Karate Chop! Give me a break I have to make jokes like those to keep myself awake during this mess. We’re on boring chant number four and the Boogeyman’s music hits. He had only been around for a few weeks at this point and nothing was known about him.

The referees go up the ramp to stop him and naturally he’s behind Eric. I love how a guy like Boogeyman used a freaking pumphandle slam. Papa Shango used a shoulderbreak. I’m not sure which is dumber. Teddy gets the pin with ease and dances a bit more. He really is a tiny man. Ok so he dances a lot.

Rating: O, as in oh I can’t think about this anymore. Give me anything else please!

Armageddon proimo.

Team Smackdown is coming to the ring as the Smackdown guys cheer them on. The Raw guys do the same thing. The backstory here is simple. There was a special called WWE Homecoming where there was a Smackdown match scheduled but Bischoff canceled it because it wasn’t up to his standards. The feud sprang from there. Other than that, the only thing you need to know is that Eddie has just passed away and Orton is his replacement and Batista was injured by Show and Kane.

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown

Raw: Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, Big Show
Smackdown: Batista, Rey Mysterio, Lashley, Randy Orton, JBL

All ten guys get their own entrances because we need to kill about ten minutes or so. To further the stupidity of this we’re having all five commentators here. HBK and Orton start us off. On both shows everyone has been attacking everyone so I’ll be withholding the so and so attacked so and so on so and so show. Even Styles and Tazz are arguing. They point out that Orton has been the sole survivor in the previous two Survivor Series.

Again, this is what announcers are supposed to do. Rey just looks out of place on the apron with all of these big guys. Orton and HBK do nothing but punch/chop each other for a few minutes as Tazz and the rest of the announcers have their stupid fights. For some reason Chris Masters is in the main event here in something that I just don’t get. Lashley comes in and gets a great pop. Lashley is about as green as possible here with next to zero experience.

He has the amateur background to fall back on though along with insane power so he can use both of those to avoid any actual wrestling. Is there a reason why amateur guys use a ton of suplexes? Angle, Lesnar and the Steiners were all suplex machines as well as all American wrestlers. Why is that? They all use belly to belly overhead suplexes. I’ve never gotten that. Is that supposed to be something that’s used in amateur wrestling, because I’ve never seen that done in the Olympics.

After he dominates Carlito (he hit him with the Dominator so he literally did), he goes for it on Shawn but Kane grabs him from the apron and hits a chokeslam to allow HBK to pin him. I guess that’s a smart move as it keeps Lashley from looking weak because cheating beat him. That’s about as good as you could have done there I suppose. Rey comes in after Lashley as HBK is still in there.

Kane comes in for Raw and Rey of course dominates him because Kane can’t look good in a big match ever. Kane and Show are Raw tag champions at the time too which I forgot to mention. Kane just about kills Rey with a boot. That was awesome looking. Tazz is just ripping into Coach on commentary.

It’s funny but it’s distracting as all five guys are fighting and not a thing is being said about the match. I’ve always found that to be incredibly disrespectful. It shouldn’t be about the announcers but about the wrestlers, period.

Batista comes in and after more double teaming he takes out Kane with a spinebuster. He gets up and walks into a Big Show chokeslam which doesn’t take him out. The double one from Kane and Big Show does though so we’re down to 4-3. JBL comes in next and in a flat out SCARY show of strength, Big Show catches him coming off the top rope. That’s ridiculous.

Soon thereafter, the whole Smackdown team attacks Show, beginning with a Clothesline From JBL, a 619, an RKO (Massive pop for that), a second Clothesline From JBL and all of that doesn’t keep him down, but Rey jumps on him and that’s enough for a 3. This is why I hate Rey. He’s one of my all time favorites but at times he makes me want to rip my hair out. Why should that pin Big Show when he was almost up from all of those finishers?

That just doesn’t make any sense. JBL destroys his future employee on the floor while we try to figure out who Rey is supposed to be fighting and it’s Masters. Carlito comes in and slows down everything with a chinlock that goes on far too long. HBK is still down on the floor from the fall away slam that JBL hit him with. Rey finally gets up and makes a blind tag to JBL. With Rey distracting him, Bradshaw hits one of the best Clotheslines From JBL I’ve ever seen.

He half kills Carlito and gets the easy pin. He proceeds to beat the holy tar out of Masters, thus continuing to prove his worth. It’s Rey in now as HBK is still down meaning that the hopes of Raw rest on the shoulders of Chris Masters. I don’t even need to make fun of that one. Rey Drops the Dime on him and makes it 3-1. Styles has barely talked the whole match.

Shawn is thrown back in and Rey hits the 619. He goes for something that wasn’t clear but takes a less great looking version of the ending Shawn and Shelton did to take him out. Here comes JBL and there goes JBL with another kick. Bradshaw was in there less than ten seconds. We’re down to Orton and Michaels. We hit the floor but Shawn launches himself over the ropes as we’re doing the same thing we did back in 2003 which had far better drama and emotion to it but whatever.

The fans chant WE WANT TAKER who had been promised for the show and we have less than ten minutes to go. Shawn initiates his ending sequence to a rather weak pop if that’s what you want to call it. The elbow hits but gets two. JBL is still here and swings at Shawn with a chair. Michaels kicks it in him face but turns around to set up the RKO for the pin. The Smackdown locker room hits the ring and have Orton on their collective shoulders and there’s the inevitable gong.

This was the fall after Orton had feuded with Taker. It’s the expensive Taker return, complete with druids and a casket. A HUGE lightning bolt hits the casket which has been set up and it’s lit on fire. Taker eventually kicks it open as this is seeing vaguely familiar.

Cole then points out that Orton had Taker in a coffin and lit it on fire, which is the same story that was done seven years prior with Kane. I remember that angle and the first was light years better. Taker come to the ring and beats up the Smackdown jobbers before staring down Orton to end the show. They would have a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon to end their feud.

Rating: B. This was good enough, but Masters and Carlito being there just didn’t work for me. Lashley was a rookie and the ending was a rip off of a far better one a few years earlier. Shawn was the only one on his team worth having so putting him in the end was the best idea. This show lost a lot with Eddie not being there and the week of buildup that they lost but that was an issue for the whole show.

The match was good, but the ending leaves a bit to be desired. Smackdown won, but so what? It means nothing really, and that’s where this match falls apart for me. The wrestling is good and it feels like a big match when you’re watching it, but at the end you realize that nothing happened at all.

Overall Rating: B. This was actually a really good show. When I’m giving the overall grade I go back and look at the card and the grades I gave them but that’s not the main thing I go on. This is a great example of why that’s the case. The matches individually other than the GM match were all very good with nothing at all not above watchable. However, there’s just something about this show that I can’t put my finger on. Something keeps this show from being great.

Maybe it’s the lack of build which wasn’t anything they could help due to Eddie, but it still takes away from the show. The wrestling here is great but the emotion isn’t there. Maybe their thoughts were on Eddie or something like that, but there’s just something missing from this show and it keeps it from being excellent. Certainly recommended, but that X factor isn’t there.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 5, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

I don’t know how to say this but the company is on a roll. They had a good Bound For Glory and a rather strong debut on AXS, which seems to actually care about them. That being said, if there is one thing that Impact’s history has taught me it is to never get comfortable with what they are offering as they will instantly make you regret it. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Sami Callihan and OVE (complete with a bunch of unnamed lackeys) are drinking beer because they aren’t cowards who drink bubbly. They started a revolution and they are for Ohio, by Ohio.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Willie Mack

Moose runs him over with ease to start as we hear about his football career. Again. The discus lariat misses and it’s a headscissors to put Moose down, followed by a hurricanrana to send him outside. That means a running flip dive because some sort of a dive is required in wrestling these days.

Back in and Moose hits some running dropkicks in the corner, followed by a hard whip into another corner. The chokebomb out of the corner gets two but Mack fights up to no sell some forearms to the face. The chop off goes to a stalemate so Moose pokes him in the eye, only to get Stunned for his efforts. Mack’s standing moonsault gets two so he goes up but gets crotched right back down. A superplex drops Mack again and the spear gives Moose the pin at 8:38.

Rating: C. They did their usual stuff here with Mack being a freak of a different nature. Moose is your one of a kind athletic marvel though as he is such a big guy who gets to beat up anyone he wants to in a variety of ways. You don’t get something like that every day and it’s worth giving Moose whatever he wants so he can be around for a long time.

Alisha Edwards is scared about going to dinner with Ace Austin but is told to just enjoy it. She goes through some doors and just so happens to overhear Austin and Reno Scum talking about his rather nefarious plans for her. Alisha is livid.

Hard To Kill is coming to Dallas.

Taya Valkyrie and Madison Rayne trade pop music references to insult their fashion sense. Taya leaves and runs into Jordynne Grace, who wants a title shot. That gets her blown off, as expected.

Watch Turning Point this weekend! I won’t be but the card looks decent.

Michael Elgin vs. Fallah Bahh

They slug it out to start with Bahh no selling some big boots to the face. Elgin tries to jump over him in the corner but gets kicked in the ribs. A running splash in the corner hits Elgin’s raised boots and he falls to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and a slingshot double stomp gives Elgin two and he manages a suplex for two as we take a break.

We come back with Elgin muscling him over with a t-bone suplex for two more but Bahh runs him over with a clothesline. Bahh sits on his chest for two but Elgin is back up with a superkick into a great looking German suplex. A superplex drops Bahh…who pops up with a Samoan drop. Bahh goes up, only to get knocked right back down for a crash. The powerbomb and Samoan drop are countered so Elgin rolls around into a Crossface for the tap at 14:03.

Rating: C. This was a hoss fight but it went on about twice as long as it needed to. You can only do the same power displays so often before the impact stops working. That was what happened here and the match wasn’t all that fun by the end. Elgin winning is the right call and thankfully Impact didn’t do anything zany. Also, well done by Bahh for turning into something other than a comedy goof, which I wouldn’t have bet on happening.

Austin comes up to Alisha, who gives him her hotel key and says they’re skipping dinner.

OVE is drunk and comes in to meet….Tommy Dreamer. They make fun of him for being fat and that’s it.

Flashback Moment of the Week: EC3 vs. Moose for the Grand Championship.

The North tells Naomichi Marufuji to find a partner for a Tag Team Title match next week.

Joey Ryan vs. Ken Shamrock

Just get this over with. Shamrock is in workout shorts and running shoes because he doesn’t think much of Ryan. Ryan gets backed up against the ropes and Ken gives him a clean break before snapping off some armdrags. The ankle lock attempt sends Joey to the rope and a dropkick staggers Shamrock. He offers a handshake so Ryan shoves the hand to his crotch for the YouPorn Plex. Shamrock is scared but manages the ankle lock for the win at 4:52.

Rating: F. You have Shamrock, who is pretty close to a legend in wrestling, willing to come in and help you out a little bit and this is what you use him for? To give a spot to Joey Ryan’s comedy bits? The Ryan stuff is dumb enough on its own for about 184 reasons, but they use Shamrock to do it? And Shamrock agreed???

OVE goes into the locker room and try on Daga’s vest. Daga comes in and a fight is teased until Rich Swann breaks it up to give us a main event.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Madison Rayne

Non-title. Madison tries to point out the LRL logo on the back of her trunks….but it’s not there for some reason. Taya kicks her down and hits a basement dropkick before kicking away. The armbar doesn’t last long so Taya stomps away in the corner, only to get drop toeholded into the middle buckle.

Madison gets in some knees and we take a break. Back with John E. Bravo tripping Madison down so Taya can take over again. Something like a Side Effect plants Madison again but she’s right back with a tornado DDT for two. A wind up cutter gets two with Bravo throwing his stuffed dog into the ring for the save. Taya knees her down and hits the Road to Valhalla for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C. Taya is doing her thing and it seems pretty clear that we’re building up to the fight with Grace. There is nothing wrong with going there and I could go with Grace taking the title. Rayne is fine as well, but it just isn’t all that interesting of a match here. The Taya stuff has been done to death so far and they need to get to the title shot soon, not wait until January.

Post match Grace comes out and suplexes Bravo as Valkyrie bails.

Gama Singh yells at the Desi Hit Squad and brings in Bhurpinder Singh, who could replace one of them if they keep losing.

Ace goes to the hotel.

Rosemary yells at Susie about killing Allie and doesn’t buy the new act. Rosemary leaves and Susie goes up to Havok, who has no idea what is going on.

Bhurpinder Singh vs. Petey Williams

It wouldn’t be a Canadian show without Williams. For a bit of a detail, the referee has no legs. Williams avoids a charge to start and hammers away to send him outside. The slingshot hurricanrana is countered though and Singh drops a legdrop back inside. A Rock Bottom backbreaker sets up a spinout Rock Bottom for two but Williams is right back with a headscissors. Singh grabs a powerslam for two more, only to get caught with a slingshot….nothing as Singh catches him on the shoulders. That’s fine with Petey who slips down and grabs the Sharpshooter for the win at 3:58.

Rating: D+. This would be the match where we have to get these two into a match and I have no idea why we’re supposed to be interested. The Hit Squad continues to grow despite having all of its interest elsewhere, and then you have Petey who is there because of where the show is taking place. This stuff was old years ago and now it’s just a bad tradition.

Post match Singh goes after the referee but Petey makes the save, allowing the referee to hit a 619 into a 450. This is a thing that happened.

Into the hotel room now, where Alisha tells Ace to take it slow. She goes to change so Ace takes off his clothes and even blindfolds himself. Eddie Edwards, fight on the bed, Alisha canes Ace into the hall and, ahem, reunites with Eddie on the floor.

Johnny Swinger recruits Petey to be his young boy. Petey isn’t carrying his bag but here’s OVE to say they’re bringing the party to the ring.

Turning Point rundown the sequel.

Here’s OVE to celebrate in the ring. After a break, Jake Crist has to introduce Sami Callihan twice so Sami can talk about partying all week long. Cue Tommy Dreamer to talk about how Sami is a bully and a troll. Sami: “Fat Dreamer….can I call you Fat Dreamer?” He offers him a fight but Dreamer wants a referee for an EXTREME celebration.

OVE vs. Tessa Blanchard/Rich Swann/Daga/Tommy Dreamer

Anything goes and they start fighting on the floor. Tessa starts swinging a chair and Dreamer uses it for his baseball slide into Jake’s face. Fulton claw sweeps Dreamer onto the chair but gets tornado DDTed by Daga. It’s Sami vs. Swann for a bit with Rich being sent outside, setting up the showdown with Tessa.

A quick cutter drops Sami and Tessa hits the big flip dive to the floor to take everyone out. Back in and the small form Tower of Doom drops Fulton and Swann hits the double Lethal Injection on Sami and Jake. Sami is right back up with an attempted Cactus Special but gets reversed into a rollup to give Swann the pin at 5:51.

Rating: C-. That is some WWE style booking with the brand new World Champion losing in a random eight person tag a week after winning the title. They can cover up a lot of it by saying Sami was tired/drunk but what’s the point of having lackeys if they can’t take a fall here? Oh and I laughed at the Dreamer inclusion, because it’s a running gag at this point.

Overall Rating: D+. They missed on a lot of points here and it was a big step down from last week. Between the Squad/Petey/Dreamer inclusion to the embarrassment of having Shamrock wasted on Ryan, I was having trouble staying interested in this show. It was one bad Impact Wrestling trope after another and that isn’t a good sign a week after their big debut on their upgraded network.

Results

Moose b. Willie Mack – Spear

Michael Elgin b. Fallah Bahh – Crossface

Ken Shamrock b. Joey Ryan – Ankle lock

Taya Valkyrie b. Madison Rayne – Road to Valhalla

Petey Williams b. Thunderbird Singh – Sharpshooter

Tessa Blanchard/Rich Swann/Daga/Tommy Dreamer b. OVE – Rollup to Callihan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

205 Live
Date: November 8, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Aiden English

After WAY too long, the show is finally taking place at Full Sail, which is what they should have done when the show first debuted. I have no idea why WWE feels the need to put the show in front of an empty arena after Smackdown but at least we’re getting a change of pace this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Brian Kendrick vs. Mansoor

Kendrick pounds him down to start but Mansoor headscissors him out of the corner, followed by a dropkick to the apron. Back up and Kendrick is fine enough to send Mansoor’s hand into the rod connecting the buckle to the post. The same hand gets crushed in the barricade and there’s a Codebreaker to the arm.

The short armscissors doesn’t last long so Kendrick takes him down by the arm again. We hit the Fujiwara armbar for a bit until Mansoor gets up for some loud chops. An enziguri into the Falcon Arrow gives Mansoor two and a Death Valley Driver is good for the same. A half nelson suplex drops Mansoor on his head and there’s a powerslam, only to have Mansoor roll through into a small package for the pin at 6:33.

Rating: C-. The arm stuff was fine but Kendrick was recently turned heel and here he has to job to Mansoor because….I’m assuming it’s a clause for the Saudi Arabian shows. Mansoor is good enough in the ring to get by and certainly isn’t a chore to watch but if he isn’t going to be around (which wouldn’t be the worst idea), it’s a little annoying to have him come in and get a win just because Saudi Arabia.

From NXT.

Tony Nese vs. Angel Garza

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot at some point in the future. Garza goes after the arm to start but it’s an early standoff. With that not working it’s time to start on the leg but Nese manages to get on top for a fast two and it’s another standoff. This time Nese takes him down by the arm for all of a few seconds, meaning it’s Garza snapping off a running hurricanrana.

That means it’s time for GARZA TO TAKE….a chop to the chest to prevent his disrobing. Garza puts him on the top and hits an enziguri, only to have Nese try a sunset bomb. That’s blocked and NESE TAKES OFF GARZA’S PANTS! Garza gets in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Garza hitting another kick to set up the moonsault to the floor. Nigel: “A thing of beauty from the most beautiful man in the world!”

Nese’s sitout pumphandle powerslam gives him his own two but Garza is back up with a reverse Project Ciampa. It’s Nese’s turn to knock him down and this time it’s a 450 for two with Garza getting a foot on the rope. They chop it out again until Garza flips around into a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall. A double underhook drop down (think a Bubba Bomb but with Nese turned the other way and with a butterfly instead of a full nelson) called the Wing Clipper finishes Nese at 11:19.

Rating: C. Garza winning is the right call and it makes more sense to push the NXT guys over the 205 Live guys. Point blank, most of the people on 205 Live are there for a reason and while Nese is good, he doesn’t feel like someone who would be a star around here. I’m still not sure how much longer 205 Live can last, but I’ve been saying that for two years now so what do I know.

Post match Lio Rush comes out and Garza slaps him in the face. Their title match is next week.

Danny Burch is coming.

Video on NXT invading Raw and Smackdown.

Lio Rush vs. Raul Mendoza

Non-title rematch from last week. Mendoza starts fast and knocks Rush into the corner, only to have the champ fight right back out. An enziguri slows Mendoza down but he catches Rush on top. We hit the surfboard on Rush, causing me to cringe as usual. With that broken up, Rush rolls around and flips into an enziguri to drop Mendoza again. That means a LIO chant so maybe he is doing something right.

Rush kicks him to the floor for a suicide dive (of course) and there’s the springboard Stunner for two back inside. A YES Kick is blocked and it’s a fisherman’s driver for two on Rush. Mendoza has to bail out of a Phoenix splash so Rush kicks him in the head and hits the spinning Unprettier for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C. Rush is getting better at the face stuff and that’s a good thing if they won’t let him do what worked so well in the first place. Mendoza losing again doesn’t hurt him as it wasn’t like he had any capital in the first place, even if he has quite a bit of talent. They packed enough stuff into the match to make it entertaining, but it’s nothing I’m going to remember in fifteen minutes.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was the show being shorter but my goodness does Full Sail make this show a lot easier to watch. There is an actual energy there and WWE doesn’t have to spend a lot of time trying to hide the empty seats from the camera. Just keep doing thing and cut the whole arena thing, though history has suggested that WWE will keep going because….well because they can be stubborn at times.

Results

Mansoor b. Brian Kendrick – Small package

Angel Garza b. Tony Nese – Wing Clipper

Lio Rush b. Raul Mendoza – Spinning Unprettier

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Saturday Night SuperFight
Date: November 2, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini

So this is a big deal as MLW is having its first pay per view. This is something that is a long time in the making and the card actually looks pretty good. The main event is LA Park challenging Jacob Fatu for the World Title in a match that could be anywhere between a disaster or a blast. Other than that, all three titles are on the line and we should be in for some good stuff.

Since we have to have more wrestling all the time, there is an hour long pre-show, which basically serves as this week’s Fusion but isn’t listed as such.

We open with a long recap of the big stories, which is always a good way to start.

Pre-Show: Leo Brien vs. Savio Vega

Feeling out process to start with Savio’s hammerlock being the big thrill of the first minute. They fight over said hammerlock and then yell at each other a bit, followed by a trade of slaps. Savio’s jumping kick to the…..chest I guess, sends Brien outside. That goes nowhere and it’s Brien hitting a knee in the corner to take over. A suplex sets up a chinlock for a short while until Savio fights up, only to get kicked in the face. There’s a spear to drop Vega again but Brien misses a middle rope elbow. Vega fights back but the referee gets distracted, allowing Brien to get in a bell shot. The big elbow finishes Vega at 6:57.

Rating: D+. I know Vega is a name and is working backstage but that doesn’t mean he should be in the ring. He certainly wasn’t a disaster but there really wasn’t anyone else they could have put out there? It’s not like he has a lot of value so the win doesn’t exactly mean much for Brien. They’re pushing someone new though and that’s a good sign.

Post match Brien goes after him again but gets spinwheel kicked down. Vega gets in some kendo stick shots and stands tall. Well tall enough at least.

Video on Mance Warner vs. Jimmy Havoc in the Stairway to Hell match. Havoc has gone all violent so Warner whipped out a chainsaw and wants barbed wire hanging above the ring this time. And we’ll throw in Bestia 666 in just for a bonus.

Gino Medina is….here tonight actually.

Gino Medina vs. Air Wolf

Gino is billed as a Latin heartthrob. They go to the mat to start and get a grand total of nowhere early on. A rollup gives Medina two and he shoves Wolf down by the mask. Wolf gets in a headscissors and a dropkick for his own two so Medina comes back with an enziguri. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Wolf sends him into the bottom corner for a 619. An exchange of kicks to the head goes to Wolf but Medina hits a running knee in the corner. Eat Defeat (with a wide gap between the foot and the jaw) finishes Wolf at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Medina didn’t showcase himself very well here while Wolf looked like a future star, as has been the case multiple times now. That being said, you can’t judge someone off of one match but this was pretty disappointing, especially after all of the weeks of vignettes about Medina. Hopefully the next one is better, which is certainly a possibility.

MJF gives Richard Holliday his sunglasses.

SuperFight rundown.

Cue Injustice to protest….or maybe advertise….the fact that they are on the pay per view.

Hijo de LA Park vs. Zenshi

Salina de la Renta is here with Park. Zenshi starts fast and flips in for a hurricanrana to put Park on the floor. That means a crazy high dive but Salina grabs Zenshi’s leg, allowing Park to score with an enziguri. The suicide dive drops Zenshi and Park gets in a chair shot as Salina yells at the referee….who can see the chair shots. Zenshi gets crotched on the barricade as I continue to wonder why this referee exists.

That’s good for a very delayed two and it’s time for some stomping. Zenshi kicks at the legs and hits a 619 over the top into a neckbreaker for two. Salina breaks up another springboard attempt but this time Zenshi is fine enough to sweep the leg into a slingshot corkscrew hilo for two more. Park is right back with a running corner dropkick and a Code Red gets two.

They head up top with Park hitting a super Spanish Fly, only to get enziguried right back down. Just to show off, Zenshi hits (ok with with me here) a crazy long flip dive coast to coast diagonally across the ring. It only grazes Park’s leg but dang that was almost incredible. Park is back with another kick to the head though and a belly to back package piledriver is good for the pin on Zenshi at 7:53.

Rating: C. Zenshi is another one of the names around here who could become something if they are given a bit of a push. Park may not be for everyone but he has the cool costume like his dad but minus about 50lbs. His matches have been fine enough though and he could become something as well, given how his stuff with Salina is going fairly well.

Post match Salina addresses the ladies and gentlemarks and naturally switches from English to Spanish because that’s what you do in a promo if you speak both languages. Cue Contra for their match, but Salina of course won’t get out of the ring because she’s rather stubborn. Thankfully she gets the hint and bails before getting killed.

Contra vs. Douglas James/Dominic Garrini vs. Spirit Squad

That would be Kwon/Gotch for Contra and Ken/Mikey for the Squad. Before the opponents come out, Gotch pounds a chair against the floor for no logical reason. The Squad is from the University of Parts Unknown (the Dean better be named Douglas) and they are JACKED. Ken and James start things off with the former grabbing a headlock, allowing him to take James down and strike the pose.

Some elbows keep James in trouble until Kwon tags himself in and gets a hard dropkick from James. Mikey gets in a hair pull from the apron and everything breaks down in a hurry with the fight heading to the floor. James and Kwon chop it out in the ring until Kwon dives onto the pile. Back in and Garrini pulls Mikey down into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Ken gets in a cheap shot of his own from the apron to take over again.

A snapmare faceplant gives Mikey two on Garrini and it’s Gotch coming in to stomp on Garrini as well. Garrini gets in a suplex to drop Gotch and it’s Kwon coming in to face Ken. James tags himself in and starts kicking people in the face, one of which makes Ken DDT Kwon. Everything breaks down and Garrini break sup whatever the Squad had planned and grabs a choke on Ken. The referee breaks that up and Kwon mists Mikey, setting up the piledriver from Gotch for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C. Contra should NOT be having this much trouble against the Spirit Squad and a thrown together team. I’m not sure why they needed to take this long for what should have been a squash. Their teammate is the World Champion and the team as a whole was in the main event of the most recent major show. It wasn’t long or bad but it was set up wrong.

The announcers preview the card one more time to wrap up the preshow.

The opening video is your standard, yet well done, preview.

Opening sequence, complete with graphics identifying the wrestlers in each match. How nice that is for a change.

Tag Team Titles: Dynasty vs. Von Erichs

The Dynasty is defending and this is Texas Tornado. Hold on though as MJF grabs the mic to tell the fans that they need to shut up and that the Von Erichs suck, plus a mocking of the Claw. Richard Holliday calls the Von Erichs fake Texans who live in Hawaii and you know those are fighting words.

The Von Erichs hit the ring and send the champs outside with some fast double dropkicks, only to be sent into the barricade on the floor. MJF tears up a sign and hits Marshall in the head with the bell as the beating continues. Ross gets taken inside and a lifting swinging neckbreaker gets two. A double armbar makes things even worse until Ross sends the champs together.

Marshall comes back in with a double clothesline, setting up stereo Cannonballs in the corner. Something like a double powerbomb gets two on Holliday but he’s fine enough to superplex Ross down. MJF’s top rope splash connects for two with Marshall having to moonsault in for the save. The Claw/belly to back suplex combination finishes MJF at 9:46.

Rating: C. This was a pretty basic match that seemed designed to protect the still very green Von Erichs. That is the right play too as you don’t want them going out there and looking terrible in one of their biggest matches to date. Just let them get in, do their stuff, and win the titles for the feel good moment, as they did here.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. fires up Brian Pillman Jr. for his match against Low Ki.

Injustice vs. Gringo Loco/Septimo Dragon/Puma King

Lucha rules but hang on as we need to check Injustice for weapons. With that out of the way, the big brawl is on and everyone heads to the floor. Back in and Loco and Oliver trade misses before heading outside again. Dragon and Reed come in with Dragon hitting a running Spanish Fly. It’s King with a few superkicks and a faceplant to Kotto and a reverse powerbomb makes it even worse.

Double moonsaults from Dragon and Loco and a double reverse gorilla press slam puts Oliver back down. The dives are on and the fans certainly seem to approve. Back in and it’s King and Dragon being sent outside so Injustice can suplex Loco down. Brazil’s Sling Blade gets two but Oliver’s top rope hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb for the double knockdown.

Everything breaks down again and Dragon’s top rope double stomp crushes Reed. Loco’s Tombstone gets two on Reed and it’s some very hard dives from Injustice. Reed hits his running jumping over the top cutter on Loco, setting up the standing Sliced Bread on Dragon. Brazil adds the springboard 450 for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how smart of an idea it was to have the first two matches both be wild fights but Injustice is getting somewhere as a midcard heel stable. Some of the dives and flips looked really good here and I was getting into the match by the end, which I wouldn’t have expected from Injustice. Nice addition here and a good way to keep the crowd going.

We recap Austin Aries vs. Teddy Hart for the Middleweight Title. Hart has been champion for a long time but Aries is here to show that he is the greatest middleweight in the world. He gave Hart a brainbuster onto the apron to knock him cold so Hart is here to retain the title and get some revenge.

Middleweight Title: Teddy Hart vs. Austin Aries

Hart is defending and has Mr. Velvet the cat with him. Aries hits the suicide dive before the bell (common theme tonight) and we’re ready to go in a hurry. Well Hart isn’t ready but that’s kind of the point. Aries can’t hit a brainbuster on the floor but he can hit a missile dropkick for two inside. They’re already back on the floor with Hart hammering away but barely being able to stand.

Back in and Hart hits his springboard spinning legdrop for two to send Aries outside again. Aries grabs the Death Valley Driver onto the apron to mess up Hart’s head even more, setting up the slingshot hilo for two. It’s off to a leglock of all things, though Aries does put a foot on Hart’s head to make it worse. A middle rope elbow to the jaw gets two and the Last Chancery goes on.

That doesn’t last long either so it’s Hart coming back with shots to the face and a Backstabber. A belly to back gets two but Hart hits his head again. Aries scores with the discus forearm to take right back over but spends too much time talking trash, allowing Hart to hit a Project Ciampa out of the corner. Hart puts him on top, only to come back with the sunset bomb for two.

The Last Chancery goes on in full, sending Hart on the slow crawl to the rope. Hart’s super Canadian Destroyer is countered with a crotching and now the brainbuster connects….for two. Aries freaks, as he probably should given how protected that move really is. Hart rolls outside and ducks the suicide dive to send Aries face first into the barricade. Aries has to be muscled back inside and he grabs a quick rollup for two, only to get caught with the Canadian Destroyer to retain Hart’s title at 18:32.

Rating: B. They took their time here and set up a good story with a better match to make it the best thing on the show so far. Hart was fighting through his injury and still managing to pull off the win, which was arguably an upset, in the end. I’m rather surprised that Aries lost, mainly because I have no idea who is supposed to take the title off of Hart now.

Josef Samael congratulates Hart on his win but says he has a target on him. So that’s what’s next for Hart. Anyway, Jacob Fatu will retain the World Title tonight.

The women’s division is coming.

Low Ki vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Ki offered some advice to Pillman and got blown off, setting this up. Pillman starts fast with the chops in the corner and hits the running slap for a bonus. They head outside with Pillman striking away as they walk around ringside. Ki gets the better of the striking (well duh) and it’s a kick to the chest to set up the Figure Four necklock back inside.

Some kicks to the face set up a chinlock on Ki, followed by a spinning chop to the back of the neck. A powerslam gives Pillman two but the double arm neckbreaker is broken up. Ki kicks him in the head a few times and the referee might want to stop this. Pillman fights up and wants to fight so it’s the rolling Liger kick to knock him cold for the stoppage at 8:12.

Rating: C. This was shorter than I was expecting and it was just ok. It felt like a big TV match more than a pay per view one but at least they are getting something with Ki being all angry and violent. Pillman is still pretty green and needs ring time, but one of the good things about this place is being able to have him in there with a bunch of different styles. It certainly wasn’t bad and while it could have had more time for the story to develop, it went the way it should have.

MLW is partnering with AAA. That’s a good thing for MLW as the star power and more variety are nice additions.

Tom Lawlor vs. Timothy Thatcher

They’re both shoot style guys and Thatcher challenged him for the fight. Thatcher also has Douglas James with him. They slug it out to start with Thatcher being knocked outside and the fight heading out there as well. Lawlor’s guillotine is countered with a ram into the barricade and they head back inside for some attempts at pulling on limbs.

Thatcher kicks him in the head and gets a bow and arrow hold, only to be reversed into a blocked cross armbreaker. The half crab works better on Lawlor but he’s out in a few seconds, setting up a seated strike off. Lawlor gets in a Figure Four but Thatcher rolls over into the ropes pretty quickly.

We go old school with an airplane spin to make Thatcher dizzy, though he’s fine enough to pick the ankle. Lawler gets to the ropes to save his arm and it’s time to slug it out again. Thatcher hits a belly to belly so Lawlor hits one of his own for the double knockdown. They head outside again with Thatcher being sent into the barricade this time and then getting chopped around ringside.

Back in and some YES Kicks have Thatcher in more trouble but he’s right back with a butterfly suplex. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but this time Lawler reverses with a German suplex. Thatcher gets in his own suplex so Lawlor grabs a Tombstone for two. They both grab arms with Lawlor hitting a pumphandle suplex for two. That’s enough for Lawlor as he unloads with strikes to make Thatcher cover up, meaning it’s time for the rear naked choke to give Lawlor the win at 15:27.

Rating: B. That’s the kind of match that they were supposed to have and it was rather entertaining. These guys beat each other up with strikes and submissions until one of them won. They even told a nice story with Thatcher being the one who believed he could hang with Lawlor, only to find out that he was in over his head because Lawlor was a professional fighter who knew exactly what to do in this situation. Heck of a fight too.

Post match Thatcher is busted open but Lawlor says he can do anything he wants around here because MLW is going to stay filthy.

We recap Mance Warner vs. Jimmy Havoc….and vs. Bestia 666, who is here after Havoc attacked his father in a bit of a forced addition. Anyway this is Stairway to Hell with barbed wire above the ring and anything goes, with wins coming by pinfall or submission.

Mance Warner vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Bestia 666

Warner and Bestia start brawling on the floor to start with Warner getting the better of it, only to head outside to poke Havoc in the eye. Bestia’s dive is cut off by a trashcan to the head, followed by the staple gun to Havoc’s crotch. Mance goes outside and gets some dollar bills from the audience to staple to various parts of Havoc. You know, like Thesz used to do to Gotch.

A ladder is bridged between the apron and the barricade but Bestia is back up to send Warner into the ladder. Havoc and Bestia fight over the barbed wire but Warner, now bleeding, shoves them both down and grabs…a door. A spear through the door in the corner is broken up and Bestia slams Havoc onto the ladder. Havoc goes up again so Warner shoves him off and through the door for the big crash to put everyone down.

It’s Warner up first to get the barbed wire but a double teaming takes it away. Havoc rips up Warner’s face and it’s time for the barbed wire to be put on a trashcan. A suplex sends Warner through both of them but Havoc sends Bestia into the announcers’ table (Rich: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? HOW MANY TIMES???”). Back in and Bestia backbreakers him onto the edges of two open chairs, only to have Havoc get up and slam him off the ladder onto the same edges in your HOW IS HE MOVING spot of the march.

Warner comes back in and takes the wire to the head, followed by the wire going into Bestia’s crotch. Back up and Warner’s lariat hits Havoc but Bestia superkicks Warner down. Bestia mocks the kneepad up, kneepad down before bridging a door between two chairs. You don’t mock kneepads though and Warner superplexes Bestia through the door for the pin at 14:02.

Rating: C. This is another case where your mileage may vary but what matters here is keeping the violent insanity to one match instead of doing it over and over. This was your designated violence match and while it didn’t go as far as some others (that’s a good thing), it felt like a lot of violence for the sake of violence. I’m also not big on the feud continuing as Bestia was tacked on to take the fall, but that’s wrestling for you.

Post match Havoc jumps Warner and piledrives him onto a piece of the barricade. An Acid Rainmaker leaves Warner laying.

There will be a special Fusion on Thanksgiving. Just what the world was waiting for.

We recap Alexander Hammerstone vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. They’re the hoss monsters of their respective groups and this has been built for a long time. Hammerstone even hooked up with Smith’s sister to get in his head, which seemed to work well.

National Openweight Title: Alex Hammerstone vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Smith is challenging. Davey shoves him away to start before headlocking Hammerstone down. The arm cranking begins with Smith working on one arm and then both at once for a bonus. Hammerstone can’t power out of it so it’s off to the ropes instead. The choking in the corner doesn’t get Hammerstone very far so he hits a delayed vertical suplex.

Smith pops right back up and waits for Hammerstone to turn around in a good visual. We see how it’s really done to send Hammerstone outside, setting up a ram into the barricade. Back in and Hammerstone pulls the turnbuckle pad off but Smith hammers away in the corner instead of eating steel. Hammerstone slugs right back and even hits a missile dropkick for two. He takes too long going up though and it’s a superplex, setting up a Swan Dive for two on the champ.

They take turns no selling release German suplexes so Smith rolls some German suplexes for another near fall. Smith can’t get the Crossface as the Dynasty comes out for a distraction. Hammerstone sends him into the exposed buckle for two and the shock is real. Smith is right back up but can’t get the running powerslam. Instead he tries an O’Connor roll but Hammerstone reverses into his own rollup and grabs the rope to retain at 13:29.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling the ending but at least Smith was protected and didn’t lose clean here. Hammerstone is a genuine monster and whoever beats him is going to get a heck of a rub. I didn’t like the ending though as it felt out of place in the match after two guys beat each other up for so long. It was good while it lasted, but I could have gone with a hotter finish.

Post match Smith is ticked.

Quick recap of LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu for the World Title. Park won Battle Riot II to get a title shot so it’s time to cash in. This has turned into Promociones Dorado vs. Contra, which is quite the fight.

MLW World Title: LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu

No DQ, Park, undefeated, is challenging and Fatu is a monster. Salina de la Renta and Josef Samael are here as seconds. Before the match, Park grabs the mic and rants in Spanish. They circle, shove and slug it out with Park getting the better of it off a pair of clotheslines. A running knee puts Fatu on the floor and there’s a suicide dive, which is like a flying bus at this point.

Back in and Fatu starts firing off the headbutts to take over and some shots to the face put Park in trouble. The mask is torn and it looks like we already have some blood flowing. Park gets whipped into the barricade as the beating continues on the floor. Even Salina is looking worried as they head into the crowd to continue Park’s destruction. Back in and Park gets knocked into the corner but snaps off a powerslam for two and a breather.

Fatu superkicks him down and hits a handspring moonsault for his own two. With nothing else working, Park goes up top and hits something like a Whisper in the Wind. What all else fails, throw your large body at the other guy. They head outside again with Park nailing a chair to the back, followed by literally breaking the bell over Fatu’s head. Park headbutts away, which sounds rather idiotic against a Samoan. After not knocking himself silly, Park whips away with the weightlifting belt.

Fatu, now busted as well, runs the corner for a flying shoulder to send Park outside for a huge running dive to crush Park again. There’s a table set up in for corner as Park is thrown back in, only to avoid the moonsault. Samael throws a fireball at the referee though, which might be taking things a bit too far. That brings Salina in….and Park’s spear misses Samael, sending Salina through the table instead. The Samoan drop sets up the double jump moonsault to retain the title at 20:00.

Rating: B. This took some time but eventually got going once Park showed that he was able to hang with Fatu. I know he’s old and that gut probably has its own gravitational pull, but Park can turn it up as soon as he needs to. Salina getting speared to FINALLY put her down once and…well not for all of course but for now, is how this should have gone. Contra prevails in the big match and now we try to find a new challenger for the title. Good main event and far better than I would have expected.

Overall Rating: B+. This is a case of the show having nothing bad and being under some good circumstances. MLW has come a long way in about a year and a half and they gave us a good first pay per view here. Almost all of the wrestling was completely watchable to very good and the stories got to pay off in a logical way. On top of that we also got some stuff to set up the future. This was a really nice success and I hope people bought it to see what MLW can do.

Results

Von Erichs b. Dynasty – Claw/belly to back suplex combination to Friedman

Injustice b. Septimo Dragon/Gringo Loco/Puma King – Springboard 450 to Dragon

Teddy Hart b. Austin Aries – Canadian Destroyer

Low Ki b. Brian Pillman Jr. via referee stoppage

Tom Lawlor b. Timothy Thatcher – Rear naked choke

Mance Warner b. Jimmy Havoc and Bestia 666 – Superplex through a door to Bestia

Alex Hammerstone b. Davey Boy Smith Jr. – Rollup with a grab of the rope

Jacob Fatu b. LA Park – Double jump moonsault

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Full Gear
Date: November 9, 2019
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur

Despite being less than a month and a half after the debut of their weekly television show, it is already time for their next pay per view. The big main event tonight is Cody vs. Chris Jericho for the latter’s World Title, but if Cold loses he can never challenge for the title again. I’m not sure what is going to happen there and that makes things more interesting. Let’s get to it.

Preshow: Britt Baker vs. Bea Priestly

There is a ramp to the ring for an old WCW feel. It’s a fight to start with Baker taking her down but not being able to get in the Lockjaw. Priestly is right back with some kicks to the chest and choking across the ropes until Baker is able to fight back up with some forearms of her own. A double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and it’s Baker up first with a Sling Blade.

Priestly is right back with a bridging belly to back suplex for two and it’s off to an arm trap choke to keep Baker in trouble. The slow crawl gets Baker over to the ropes for the break so Baker is right back up with a Canadian Destroyer for two of her own. A Paige Turner looks to set up Lockjaw but Priestly stacks her up for two instead. Baker tries it again and this time Priestly has to tap at 11:22.

Rating: C. Just a match for the most part and it’s time for Baker to get closer to the title scene, even though Riho already beat her. I would have gone with Priestly winning here as she seems like someone who could take the title from Riho and then drop it to Baker (or Allie) eventually but they’re going with the Baker push again, which is far from a terrible idea. Just push someone up against Riho though.

Post match here are Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong with the latter laying out Priestly. Brandi whips out a knife (yes a knife) and it’s time for a haircut.

The opening video focuses on the pressure to prove that you are the best over and over, including tonight.

Young Bucks vs. Proud And Powerful

Just call them Santana and Ortiz. The Rock N Roll Express is in the front row. Ortiz hits Matt in the face for an early cheap shot and everything breaks down in a hurry. Matt spears Santana down and it’s the stereo dives out to the floor. We settle down to the Bucks working on Santana’s arm and it’s off to Ortiz, who gets armdragged into an armbar. Santana: “WHAT HAPPENED???”

Ortiz slaps Santana’s foot but that’s not a tag, which does not please the fans. Now the referee doesn’t see a tag to Santana and it’s another armbar. The referee’s shirt gets untucked and it’s Ortiz sneaking in for a cheap shot to Nick. Everything breaks down and it’s a Boston crab to Nick and a Gory Stretch to Matt, with everyone standing together in one big ball for a heck of a visual. That lets LAX beat on Nick with some shots to the back but it’s off to Matt pretty quickly.

Everything breaks down and a big dive takes Ortiz down on the floor. Nick goes leg first into the post though and Ortiz is all over the injury, like any good heel should be. That’s not enough as Nick gets thrown at the Rock N Roll Express, with Santana blowing his nose at them for a bonus. Back in and Matt gets knocked to the floor, setting up another shot to Nick’s legs to cut off the comeback bid.

There’s a dragon screw legwhip for two but Nick uses the good leg for the superkick. Matt comes in for the rolling northern lights suplexes, including a double version for a double near fall. The standing moonsault/top rope splash combination gets two but Nick gets pulled out to the floor. Ortiz rolls Santana backwards so he can cutter Matt for two as we hit the fifteen minute mark.

The Street Sweeper is countered with a belly to belly suplex for a little Steiner Brothers and it’s Nick coming back in for a double superkick. The powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 combination gets two on Ortiz but the leg gives out on a Meltzer Driver attempt. Nick spits his gum at Ortiz so Ortiz puts it in his mouth, meaning it’s Nick forearming both of them at once. That’s cut off by a powerbomb though and the Street Sweeper gives Santana the pin at 21:10.

Rating: B+. This was exactly what fans wanted to see out of this match as it really was two of the biggest teams in the world today going at it on the big stage. That being said, they really need to cut out the dives, cutters and false finishes as they go through so many of them in a single match that it takes away the impact they have. It’s one thing if it happens here, but how many matches are going to have several of them all over again?

Post match Sammy Guevara comes in for the beatdown, bringing in the Express for the save. Ricky Morton hits a Canadian Destroyer and a suicide dive to stand tall.

Here’s the rest of the card that you already paid to see.

Hangman Page vs. Pac

Pac beat him a few weeks ago and Page wants revenge. It’s a brawl to start with Pac being sent outside, which of course means a dive. Back in and Pac gets his knees up to block a running shooting star press and it’s time for Pac to hammer away. A running knee in the corner gets two and there’s a kick to the face for a bonus. Pac snapmares him into a chinlock as the pace continues to go slowly.

The delay lets JR rant about refereeing, though clarifying that this match’s referee is doing it right. Pac’s running kick to the head rocks Page again and it’s time to stare at the crowd. The chinlock goes on again, with JR saying Page looks like Tony Schiavone getting out of a tanning booth. Pac misses a middle rope Phoenix splash and Page hits a big clothesline. A spinebuster sends Pac to the apron where Page hits a Boss Man Slam.

The middle rope moonsault to the floor drops Pac again but he’s fine enough to roll to the floor before the Buckshot Lariat can launch. Page goes out after him and gets brainbustered onto an open chair. For reasons of modern wrestling, that isn’t two weeks/months away from the ring but rather Page coming back inside and telling Pac to kick him harder. Pac gets crotched on top so Page hits a super fall away slam to put them both down.

The Buckshot Lariat is countered into the snap German suplex but Page is right back with a pop up powerbomb. The Deadeye is countered into the Brutalizer but they fall into the ropes for the break. Page can’t hit the Buckshot again but he’s able to block a low blow. A hard clothesline sets up the Deadeye for the pin on Pac at 18:51.

Rating: B. So in a match where someone too a brainbuster onto a steel chair, he wins the match five minutes later? Sure why not. They beat each other up well here and it gives Page the big win, though I’m not sure where he is supposed to go from here. We’ve done Jericho vs. Page already and there isn’t anything else for him to do at the moment. Maybe we get a trilogy match, but at least round two was good.

We look at the preshow.

Shawn Spears vs. Joey Janela

Grudge match after Janela put a cigarette in Spears’ manager Tully Blanchard’s soda, so they tried to pull out his tongue with pliers. Spears chops away to start but gets knocked outside with Janela hitting a quick hurricanrana. That’s fine with Spears, who powerslams him on the floor to start in on the back.

They head inside with Spears working on the back, including a chinlock with a knee in said back. Janela’s back gets rammed into the apron and Spears ties him into the corner by the hair. That’s broken up and Spears grabs a Sharpshooter to work on the back some more. Janela makes the ropes and hits a superkick, followed by a top rope flip dive to the floor. Back in and Spears catches him on top with a superplex for two more.

Spears gets sent outside though and it’s a suicide dive (take a shot) to give Janela two again. Janela goes up top so Spears catches him with a backbreaker onto the buckle and it’s time to go for a turnbuckle pad. The referee deals with that so Tully does the spiking in a spike piledriver to knock Janela silly. A running Death Valley Driver finishes Janela at 11:28.

Rating: C. Both of these guys continue to just exist for the most part. Spears has gotten a little better, mainly because he has actually won a few things. Janela on the other hand comes off as someone who just kept showing up one day and then was allowed to have a match to make him happy. Tully getting more involved is a good idea too, and hopefully it happens more often.

Kip Sabian is glad to be teaming with the Hybrid Two because he can trust them and rely on them. Penelope Ford comes up and kisses him on the cheek, saying it’s time to bring some sex appeal to the company. Ford: “Why be bad, when you can be super bad?”

We recap the Tag Team Title tournament.

Tag Team Titles: SCU vs. Lucha Bros vs. Private Party

SCU is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Kazarian headlocks Quen down to start so Quen flips to his feet for a standoff. Fenix comes in and counters the whip to the floor, setting up the kick to Kazarian’s back. Everything breaks down for a bit until Fenix suplexes Kazarian for two. It’s Pentagon coming in for some kicks of his own, including a superkick to Kazarian’s jaw.

There’s a double clothesline and it’s off to Kassidy for a kick to Pentagon and a springboard X Factor for two. Quen takes Kassidy’s place and it’s the camel clutch into a double stomp to the back of Pentagon’s head for two more. The Bros are back with a Doomsday Dropkick to Quen, followed by a monkey flip Cannonball for their own near fall. The spike package piledriver is broken up though and Quen hits a Backstabber for two as Kazarian makes the save.

Quen hits a dropkick and brings in Sky for some kicks of his own. A slingshot cutter sets up a dragon sleeper on Fenix, who gets caught in a cutter from Kazarian. Everything breaks down and it’s time for the series of dives, with Fenix walking the ropes for a knee to Sky’s face to cut him off.

More dives ensue, with Fenix hitting a big corkscrew version onto the pile. Kazarian hits an assisted tornado DDT on Fenix for two with Private Party making the save. Quen drops the perfect shooting star on Kazarian for two more, because that move isn’t allowed to EVER get a pin. Gin and Juice is broken up and it’s the SCULater to finish Quen at 12:02.

Rating: B-. Entertaining stuff, but it feels like the kind of match that we see at least once a week around here. I like SCU retaining and Private Party taking the loss isn’t going to hurt them. The Lucha Bros or Santana/Ortiz would make great next challengers and you have to expect that to be the case in one way or another, though the latter would be more likely. It’s a fun match, but it’s been done better.

Post match the Bros beat up the champs until a third masked man runs in for the save. He unmasks as….Christopher Daniels.

Video on Riho, who is awesome and was trained by Emi Sakura, her challenger for the Women’s Title. Kenny Omega makes sure we know how big this is.

Women’s Title: Riho vs. Emi Sakura

Riho is defending and we hear about them being in the ring together in one way or another 287 times. An early test of strength goes to Sakura off a legsweep and a dropkick puts Riho down again. Riho gets sent outside but she’s back up in time to block a dive to the floor. The top rope double stomp to the apron rocks Sakura and it’s off to a half crab to keep the champ in control.

Sakura fights right back with a surfboard that doesn’t last long so Riho is up with a high crossbody for two more. A spinning Vader Bomb gives Sakura her own two and a tiger driver makes it worse, only to have Riho pop up for a fast double stomp before Sakura can get up.

Riho hammers away and hits a middle rope double stomp to put Sakura in more trouble. The top rope double stomp gets two with Sakura bridging up for the kickout. Riho is right back with a spinning pair of knees to the chest before spinning around into a rollup for a stacked up pin to retain at 11:17.

Rating: C+. Well worked, nice technical match here with Riho doing enough to make up for the size different. Sakura is hardly huge but she’s bigger than Riho, which isn’t that hard to do. Riho has to wrestle the right style to be believable and she did that here. The story worked well enough, though it was a pretty basic way to do everything. That’s fine enough, but it could have been more.

We recap the World Title match. Cody needs to win and is willing to never challenge for the title again should he not win here. Jericho is as arrogant as he can get and that is one of the best things about him. He also had Cody’s brother Dustin’s arm broken by the Inner Circle.

AEW World Title: Cody vs. Chris Jericho

Cody is challenging and has MJF with him while Jericho has Jake Hager. There is a sixty minute time limit and if we go the distance, Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko and Great Muta are here to pick a winner. The fans give Jericho a HAPPY BIRTHDAY chant and he bails to the floor at the bell. Back in and Cody works on a hammerlock to send Jericho to the ropes, meaning it’s a cartwheel from Cody for a little mind game.

Back up and Jericho grabs a headlock before shouldering Cody down. The Dustin Rhodes pop up uppercut rocks Jericho so he goes to the floor and glares at Malenko. Cody is right back with a dive (in front of the judges) and it’s time to work on the arm. Some good cranking has Jericho in trouble but he sends Cody down hard onto the ramp, with Cody coming up bleeding.

We get a breather for the doctor to check on Cody so Jericho sits down in a chair in the ring as he should. Cody comes up favoring his ribs but Jericho is right on the cut forehead in an attempt to get the doctor to stop it. Hager gets in a cheap shot behind the referee’s back and Jericho puts a knee in the ribs to drop Cody again. Cody fights up and knocks Jericho down, only to have the moonsault hit knees.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Jericho dropkicks him down for two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. The Lionsault hits raised knees as well though and Cody hits a springboard cutter (Has there been a match yet that didn’t include a cutter? The Women’s Title maybe?) to start the comeback. There’s the Disaster Kick to knock Jericho off the apron and even Cody’s mom gets in some yelling.

Back in and the Alabama Slam (with Excalibur blanking on the name) out of the corner plants Jericho again. The Figure Four goes on as Excalibur remembers the name of the Alabama Slam (JR: “DING DING DING!”) but Hager gets in a cheap shot for the save. Cody goes with a rollup instead but the kickout sends him into another shot from Hager as JR is losing his mind at the cheating. MJF yells at Hager and gets mauled for it, allowing Jericho to get in a belt shot.

The very slow cover gets two but the Judas Effect is countered into Cross Rhodes. JR wants Cody to pull….I’m going to assume leg because JR is rather unbiased but Jericho kicks out anyway. Back up and Jericho knocks him into the ropes, setting up a whipping with the weight belt. Cody fights back and puts Jericho up, only to get pulled down into the Walls in the middle of the ring. It’s broken up so Jericho tries it again, this time making it the Liontamer. Cody is in trouble and MJF throws in the towel to keep the title on Jericho at 29:33.

Rating: B-. This was a tricky one to grade and I’m going to have to let the ending sink in a bit. What matters here is finding a way around the ending, but what would matter the most here would be to have MJF turn on Cody, though you could go the other way also. Good match, but it felt like they were stalling at times. That being said, they were VERY smart to not drag this out any longer. It felt a little long, but thank goodness the judges were red herrings.

Post match MJF looks crushed as the Inner Circle has some bubbly. The team leaves and Cody tells MJF it’s ok….and then MJF kicks him low and gives us a great evil smirk. A fan throws a bottle at him on the way out. That was a heck of a heel turn, even it if was far from shocking.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley. They’ve been trying to fight for months now but this is the rescheduled match after Moxley was hurt. Moxley has promised violence so the match is unsanctioned.

Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley

Anything goes. Moxley goes straight at him to start and it’s a Boss Man Slam to put Omega down early. The trashcan is brought in but they fight to the floor with Moxley being put over the barricade. Kenny hits a running dropkick over the barricade, followed by a beer to the head. The regular trashcan is poured onto Moxley and a stomp off the barricade crushes him again.

Omega’s moonsault is broken up though and it’s time to go back to ringside. That means Moxley can pull out a barbed wire baseball bat and some shots to the back have Omega pounding the mat in pain. Moxley puts the wire on Omega’s back and stomps on it as the fans are impressed. Back up and Omega blocks a shot to the face before trying a snapdragon, only to have Moxley rake it across his arm. That’s a good storytelling device as Omega is in Moxley’s world here.

Omega gets in a trashcan shot to the head and it’s table time, plus the barbed wire broom. Moxley throws the trashcan at his head to break it up though, only to have a dive cut off with a broom to the head. Back in and Omega sweeps Moxley’s back to keep the blood flowing. The bat across the face cuts Moxley open and it’s a running Fameasser onto the bat to make it worse.

The Regal Roll sets up a middle rope moonsault with the trashcan for two….and it’s time for a board of mousetraps. Yeah I’m done with this now as this is CZW level nonsense. Omega hits a jumping knee but gets clotheslined down. Moxley drops him onto the mousetraps and now, it’s time for some big gold chains. They get wrapped around Omega’s mouth before Moxley pulls out a spike.

That’s blocked with a chain to the ribs but Moxley suplexes him onto the chains. Omega hits the snapdragon suplex and a second one makes it even worse. The chain goes around Moxley’s throat to choke him over the rope but Omega’s hands slip to get Moxley to the floor. Omega hits a big flip dive through a table and takes his sweet time finding a bag of….broken glass.

A Sky High puts Moxley onto the glass for two and Omega drags him through the glass to set up a Sharpshooter. Moxley has to crawl through the glass to get to the ropes, thankfully with the referee not calling for the break and only watching as Moxley climbs the ropes for the break. Omega tries to put the glass in Moxley’s mouth but gets German suplexed into the glass.

Some V Triggers rock Moxley and they head to the ramp. Omega calls Page and the Bucks to bring something out but the say that’s too far. They reluctantly bring out….a big barbed wire spider web board. The One Winged Angel is loaded up but Moxley reverses into a suplex to send them both into the wire and get a lot of gasping.

A bunch of people come out to help them escape and Omega hits him with something made of metal. The V Trigger sends Moxley through a wall covering a spotlight and stay down for a bit. Back in and it’s a Paradigm Shift onto the glass for two so Moxley grabs a knife and cuts up the mat away from the ring.

The pad is pulled back as well and the wood is exposed. Omega backdrops him onto the wood and hits a V Trigger, setting up a Paradigm Shift to Moxley onto the wood….for two. END THIS ALREADY. Omega’s Phoenix splash hits wood and Moxley gets two more. An elevated Paradigm Shift onto the wood finally finishes Omega at 39:22.

Rating: D+. That’s the one that is going to get the most arguments and I completely understand that one. They went on WAY too long here and you could have cut at least ten to fifteen minutes out of it. Some of the near falls near the end had me sighing because it just kept going for whatever reason. The violence and hardcore elements went further than I was good with, though it didn’t get all the way to the point of no return (the mousetraps were at least kept…..yeah I’m not finishing that). I completely get why people are going to like this, but it’s a case of a match not being for me.

Overall Rating: B. That main event took a lot out of what was an otherwise rather good show. There are still some things that I would change but they’re getting to a point where they have an established style. That may or may not be to your liking, but it is a good thing for them to figure out something that works for them. I would still cut down some of the lengths, but the action itself is good enough. Stick with what works and fix what didn’t and they have something, but that main event is going to divide the audience, at least somewhat.

Results

Proud And Powerful b. Young Bucks – Street Sweeper to Nick

Adam Page b. Pac – Deadeye

Shawn Spears b. Joey Janela – Running Death Valley Driver

So Cal Uncensored b. Lucha Bros and Private Party – SCULater to Quen

Riho b. Emi Sakura – Rollup

Chris Jericho b. Cody when MJF threw in the towel

Jon Moxley b. Kenny Omega – Elevated Paradigm Shift

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

One Night Stand 2005
Date: June 12, 2019
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Joey Styles, Mick Foley

Oh boy this is a different one. So back in 2004, WWE put out an outstanding DVD about ECW called the Rise and Fall of ECW. It was one of the best looks back at a company that was certainly influential and had a heck of a cult following that you could ask for and made the fans want to see something more. Therefore, this show was born as a celebration of ECW’s history and legacy (which certainly exists and in many cases is a positive one). That leaves the big question: can WWE manage to screw this up? Let’s get to it.

Before we get started, a little background on my history with ECW. I did not watch most of it as it aired and had no connection to it when the Alliance was formed in 2001. It came on Friday nights at like 4am for me and I might have seen one show ever. The only thing I remember from a Hardcore TV was Joey Styles talking about how some guy named Tommy Dreamer had pinned Raven to end their feud. I knew Raven from WCW and they kept playing clips of Bam Bam Bigelow, who I knew from being a WWF fan.

Therefore, this isn’t going to have quite the sentimentality for me as it will for some others and there are going to be references that I miss or don’t get in the first place. It just wasn’t something I grew up on as I was a bit too young for it, though I have seen a lot of since then and know more than I did when I last saw this show. Let’s get….uh….back to it I guess.

The show looks like an old ECW show and the fans are out in force with their chants. The venue is great too as I can’t imagine WWE running the bingo hall.

Joey Styles gets a big introduction as they’re already off to a great start as you can’t do ECW without him. He gets choked up before the first OH MY GOD and brings out Mick Foley, thankfully in a Cactus Jack shirt. That’s way better than having Cole or Lawler out there and the fans will show him respect.

We get the ECW on TNN intro, which is still one of the best theme songs ever.

Lance Storm vs. Chris Jericho

And that’s Lionheart Chris Jericho, complete with the old WCW style gear. We even get some highlights from their ECW careers during the entrances. Well at least Lance does but he was a bigger deal in ECW. They start with the technical stuff that you had to expect and trade armdrags into a standoff. Lance’s manager Dawn Marie is affectionately (?) referred to as a crack w**** and it’s Jericho chopping him down.

A baseball slide puts Storm on the floor as Joey rants about the required floor mats. Jericho’s dive off the apron lands on the barricade and it’s Storm hitting a nice dropkick for two back inside. A delayed vertical suplex sets up a quickly broken chinlock so Storm goes to the first right hand. Storm tries to dive off the top but gets dropkicked out of the air for the first….oh you know what they’re chanting. Jericho hits an enziguri (Foley: “EN-ZU-GOO-REE!” Joey: “Nicely done Mickles!”) and the fans chant for Chris Candido.

Storm can’t hit a Jerry Lynn cradle piledriver so he settles for two off a superkick instead. He gets tossed off the top though and Jericho’s top rope elbow to the jaw is good for the same. The fans rant about John Cena as Storm gets the half crab. That’s broken up and Jericho knocks him down to set up the Lionsault.

Storm gets the knees up so Jericho steps to the side and grabs the Walls, only to have Jason and Justin Credible come out. With the two of them dispatched, Storm kicks Jericho right into a kendo stick shot from Storm for the pin in what Storm said might have been his last match. Joey isn’t sure about that but it wouldn’t be ECW without violence for the sake of violence.

Rating: C+. They had to find a way out of that one and it’s not like Jericho is ever going to be hurt by a loss. Storm cheating to win was a surprise and makes a bit of sense in a way, as he is going with the Impact Players side, which makes a bit more sense than the Triple Threat associate stuff, especially given Chris Candido passing away a month and a half before the show.

Post match the Impact Players post and Jericho gets a nice Lionheart chant.

With the fun opening out of the way, Pitbull Gary Wolfe gives us the roll call of ECW wrestlers who have passed away, which is far too long of a list when the promotion was open four and a half years before this show. The fans aren’t sure if that should be a CANDIDO or ECW chant.

Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Little Guido

These three fought about a hundred times in a year and as usual, this is elimination rules. Tajiri has Mikey Whipwreck and the Sinister Minister with him, Guido has the entire FBI, save for Big Sal, while Super Crazy….well he has no friends. Guido is the first one sent outside so Crazy and Tajiri can chop it out, only to have Guido take Crazy’s place. That means a Fujiwara armbar until Crazy comes back in for the save. Tony Mamaluke breaks up the dive though, allowing Guido to hit the Sicilian Slice.

They fight into the crowd with Crazy getting into the balcony for the huge moonsault (Joey: “O DIOS MIO!”) and the place goes coconuts again. Back in and Tajiri grabs a quickly broken Tarantula on Crazy and it’s time for the interference. Mikey’s Whippersnapper to Guido lets Tajiri get the first fall. Tajiri gets two off a tornado DDT but Crazy kicks him down to set up the triple moonsaults. Mikey breaks up the third and a little miscommunication starts up the YOU F***** UP chants. Crazy knocks him right back down though and hits the top rope moonsault for the win.

Rating: C+. Very short form version of the crazy stuff that these guys could do, though as you can tell, the winners and losers are not the point here whatsoever. Crazy’s moonsaults always looked good and they got in the big dive out of the balcony for old times’ sake. I would get used to hearing that one on this show and it’s exactly the point of this show.

Here are some classic clips of the early years of the promotion. These are the days that made the promotion famous as opposed to the time where they were open to the masses and you can see how it became such a big deal.

Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis

Psicosis works on a wristlock to start because we’re supposed to believe that’s where this match is going. Rey armdrags him out of the corner and climbs the shoulders for two off a victory roll. The fans implore Psicosis to put his mask back on and….well he is a rather odd looking human. We hit the sleeper on Rey and the fans are NOT pleased as they know what they want here.

Thankfully Psicosis gets the hint and takes it outside, with Rey being draped over the barricade for a top rope legdrop to the back. A running corner dropkick misses though and Rey hits a pop up X Factor for two of his own. Psicosis misses a charge into the post and falls over the barricade, meaning it’s the big top rope seated senton into the crowd. Back in and the 619 gets booed out of the building (Joey: “And he’s got free minutes on nights and weekends!”), followed by the West Coast Pop for the pin.

Rating: C. This had some moments of the stuff they could do but it felt more like a regular match at times instead of the lucha match that these two are capable of doing. Rey can still do the big dives and all that jazz while Psicosis only did a thing or two. It’s not bad, but there is only so much you can get out of a six minute match.

The Smackdown Anti-ECW Crusaders arrive.

More classic clips. The more I see of Bill Alfonso, the more I appreciate what a simple yet awesome gimmick he really was.

Joel Gertner shows up in the Crusaders’ balcony for some rhyming and….then JBL throws him out in about three seconds. Kurt Angle goes on a rant about how much he hates ECW and how stupid the fans are, having to talk over their rather rude chanting. JBL goes on about how stupid the fans are as well (“You email your buddy and say I’m hardcore and he emails you back and says I’m hardcore too!”), talking about how if you bleed, you’re ECW. He knows that he’s the reason people are buying this show….and here’s Rob Van Dam, still recovering from his knee surgery, to interrupt.

Rob thinks this is awesome and wishes Alfonso, next to him with the whistle, had gotten a job with WWE a long time ago. Van Dam goes on a rant about how sick he is of having the WWE wrestlers shoved down your throats. He’s shooting from the hip tonight and taking you back to a time before all he could say was “whatever” and “cool”. He misses the days of being TV Champion and runs through some catchphrases, saying the fans respected him back in the day.

Then he suggested an ECW pay per view to Vince and they wouldn’t even need a storyline or the lights on. The date was set….and then he had to have knee surgery. This is worse than missing Booker T.’s wedding, the tour of Japan or Wrestlemania. After the longest promo of Van Dam’s career, Rhyno runs in (making a one night only return after being fired in April) for the Gore but the lights go out and I think you know where this is going.

Sabu vs. Rhyno

Rhyno shoulders him down to start fast but gets a chair bounced off his head. They head outside for another chair shot but Rhyno breaks up the moonsault through the table. A running kick to the head has Sabu in more trouble but he’s right back with a hurricanrana. Sabu’s slingshot legdrop gets two and there’s Air Sabu in the corner.

Rhyno trips him up though and Sabu goes face first into the chair. The Gore hits the referee for some reason and it’s Van Dam coming in for a chair to Rhyno’s head. The chair gets skateboarded into Rhyno’s face in the corner and it’s table time. Sabu Arabian Facebusters him through said table for the pin.

Rating: C-. Your mileage may vary on this one and that’s pretty normal for Sabu. I know he isn’t for everyone but they absolutely had to have him on a show like this. Rhyno coming back in for one night only was fine too as he was a big deal in the final year of ECW. It’s a shame that Van Dam couldn’t wrestle but at least he got to do something, because it wouldn’t have been right otherwise.

Al Snow blames Head for bringing in the Crusaders and we get more classic clips, mainly involving breaking stuff. Like people.

The Raw Crusaders arrive, with Joey being glad he didn’t bring his wife with Edge in the building.

Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie’s heelish sneer is still incredible. They go to the technical stuff to start (of course) as the fans talk about someone having herpes. Eddie can’t win the battle of the wrestling so it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Eddie hits a hard elbow to the face so Benoit lays in the chops, only to get poked in the eye. The fans are split as we hit the chinlock and Eddie’s nose is bleeding.

Benoit suplexes his way to freedom but misses a charge and falls out to the floor. Eddie cracks him with a chair and hits a top rope superplex to put them both down for a bit. The frog splash misses though and Benoit hits his running clothesline to take over. This time it’s Benoit hitting a superplex for two of his own and it’s time to roll the German suplexes. The Swan Dive gets two more and the Crossface goes on for the tap.

Rating: B-. Shortened version of the match that these two are capable of having but it was still good stuff with the violence not being a factor for the most part. These are guys who could have a good match in their sleep and it’s great to see them getting to do it one more time. I can’t even get annoyed at Eddie losing because that’s not the point of this show.

Gertner comes back into the Crusaders’ balcony because….he really needs a job. He begs Bischoff to bring him on before being yelled at and thrown out again in a funny bit.

Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka

This should make up for the violent quota. Joey erupts on Awesome for bailing on ECW back in 2000 with Foley sticking up for Awesome’s talent. Mike sends him outside for a suicide dive, with Joey saying it’s a shame he didn’t succeed in taking his own life. A hard chair shot to the head sends Awesome over the barricade (Joey: “NICELY DONE!”) with Foley suggesting that Awesome lost his power when he cut off the mullet.

Awesome hits a clothesline and leans a table up against the barricade, which can’t end well. The Awesome Bomb from the apron drops Tanaka through the table and on his head and an Awesome Splash gets two. Both guys get chairs and it’s three shots to the head to put Tanaka down…for about two seconds. Diamond Dust (always cool) drops awesome and a tornado DDT onto the chairs gets two. A top rope elbow with the chair gives Tanaka two more but Awesome is right back with a spear.

Awesome hits a top rope chair shot to the head and it’s time for a table as Joey and Foley take shots at Awesome’s WCW gimmicks. Fair play on that one. A superplex through the table is countered into a tornado DDT to give Tanaka two more and we cut to JBL talking about how that isn’t wrestling. Awesome takes him up for a super sitout Awesome Bomb for two, because ECW doesn’t know how to end a match. Another table is set up at ringside and it’s another Awesome Bomb over the top, followed by a slingshot splash for the pin on the floor.

Rating: B. Yeah this was fun, though the chair shots to the head are downright disturbing. They did what they were supposed to do here with both guys destroying the other all the way until the end. Awesome really should have been something else in WCW/WWF, or at least been given the chance to be something. Indeed he did sell out ECW, but how much of a high ground can that company take on financial matters?

Awesome has to be helped out.

Here’s Paul Heyman for the big speech and he’s not even trying to hide the tears on the way to the ring. He bows to the fans and soaks it all in, as he certainly deserves to do. To clarify, he isn’t crying but rather his eyes are watering because he was in the back smoking a joint with Van Dam.

Heyman thanks various people, including director Ron Buffone and the fans themselves as he sounds like he doesn’t know what to say. He was going to take the high road and just say thank you (Foley: “Don’t take the high road Paul.”)…..but he has something to say to the Crusaders. He’ll start with Bischoff, who has come to an ECW show instead of a WCW show.

Then hide your wives because Edge is here. Heyman has two words for him: Matt Freaking Hardy. The Crusaders decide that is three words in a funny reaction. Finally there’s JBL, who was WWE Champion for a year because HHH didn’t want to work Tuesdays. These were some great lines but the Crusaders laughing about them weakened things a bit. Still though, Heyman had to get in his big speech because this isn’t happening without him.

Dudley Boyz vs. Tommy Dreamer/Sandman

I can’t think of a much better main event. You can see the emotions here and as much as I can’t stand Dreamer at times, he belongs in this spot. Sandman’s entrance is still one for the age with the full Enter Sandman as he goes through the arena with the fans singing the song. It was always cool back in the day and this is no exception, with this one probably being his best ever for the pure emotion. Thankfully commentary is smart enough to just let the moment sink in for the most part as they are silent for a good two or three minutes straight.

We’re ready to go (Foley: “That’s right we still have a match.”) but it’s the Blue World Order, sending Joey into hysterics. Joey sums them up perfectly by saying “if any gimmick never deserved to make a dime and made a whole boat load of cash, this is it. And the best part is they couldn’t sue us because it’s a parody!” Stevie Richards has heard people about invading but you can’t do that without the BWO. They’re taking over and there’s a Stevie Kick to Sandman.

The beatdown is on until Kid Kash (Joey: “Mr. TNA: Total Nonstop Attitude!”) and the Hardcore Chair Swinging Freaks make the save, with chairs of course. Punches and chair shots ensue (Joey: “That’s more painful than having to be Simon Dean on national TV! Yeah I’m fired I know.” Foley: “There are some hideous looking human beings running around.”) until everyone heads outside, leaving Kash to hit the huge running springboard flip dive. The people not in the match leave so it’s time for some weapons. And then we get the opening bell, just for fun.

Bubba cracks Dreamer in the head with a metal sign and it’s time for the cheese grater. Dreamer is sliced open in a hurry, with the blood dripping down onto the mat. The middle rope backsplash misses but the belly to back neckbreaker takes Dreamer down. Sandman makes the save and Dreamer slices Bubba up a little bit, giving us one of my all time favorite lines of commentary from Joey: “You know I was going to say something classy like Dreamer wrestling here tonight is like Lou Gehrig’s last at bat at Yankee Stadium, but Gehrig didn’t whip out a cheese grater and start mutilating people.”

Sandman puts the ladder onto D-Von for the Rolling Rock but gets his head caved in by Bubba’s chair shot. Dreamer and Sandman grab stereo Figure Fours (Joey: “I’ll be d*****! Wrestling holds!”) but the Impact Players run in with barbed wire to break them up. Dreamer is COVERED in blood and it’s Francine coming in to kick him low. Beulah McGillicutty comes in for the catfight and a low blow to storm, setting up the big hug with the bloody dreamer. Joey: “Oh what a beautiful…sickening, bloody, graphic, sickening, nauseating moment that I never want my children to see.”

Tommy and Beulah hit DDTs on the Dudleys (in Bubba’s case it’s more falling down while Beulah grabs his head but fair enough) but Bubba gets all fired up and grabs a table. One heck of a cane shot to Sandman’s head sets up a double powerbomb through the table for two. There’s an old school 3D to Dreamer and it’s Spike Dudley as another table is brought out. Just for fun, let’s set the thing on fire. Joey: “They’re gonna throw us in jail.” Dreamer gets powerbombed through the fire and Bubba mercifully pins him to end the carnage.

Rating: B. Like the rating matters on this one. This wasn’t about the match or anything close to it really, but rather just getting the big names out there and doing one more ECW style match for the road. Joey kept emphasizing how much they love each other and that makes more sense as the show isn’t about storylines or anything close to them. This was a blast and the commentary alone helped make it work. It probably needed New Jack or something involving Raven, but for what we got, this was great.

Post match Sandman save Beulah from a 3D, asks for a beer, canes Spike in the head, and asks for a beer again. Cue glass shatter, with Steve Austin (ECW alumnus) in an XFL shirt of all things, and he wants the locker room to empty out for a beer bash. Before we drink though, Austin calls the Crusaders down here to the ring for a fight.

They get to the ring and, with Bischoff on commentary (Joey: “YOU WERE THE WORST GOD D*** PLAY BY PLAY MAN I HAVE EVER HEARD!”), it’s Tazz coming out to go after Angle. The fight is on with Tazz and Angle going to the floor for the Tazmission, all while JBL shoots on Blue Meanie, beating the fire out of him in what would probably be defined as a criminal attack. The ECW guys clear the ring with blood on JBL’s shirt and now it’s time to drink, with Austin wearing JBL’s cowboy hat.

Hold on though, as Austin would like Foley to bring Bischoff to the ring. Reality sets in for Bischoff in a hurry and with the Crusaders gone, plus a BANG BANG from Foley, he is carried to the ring. That means a 3D, a Swan Dive from Benoit and the 619 from Mysterio, all setting up a Stunner, to get rid of Bischoff, with the Dudleys carrying him out of the building. A lot of beer is consumed and Joey shouts ECW LIVES to end the show.

Overall Rating: A+. What else do you want me to say? This was presented exactly as advertised: an ECW reunion with almost every major name in the promotion’s history getting to make an appearance. What mattered here was that it was a celebration of ECW and not a WWE show that incorporated ECW. Other than better equipment and production values, very little about this show felt like it was from WWE and that would have ruined the whole thing. This is one of my favorite shows ever as it feels like something special, which you never get in WWE. Check this out, though watch Rise and Fall first to get in the mood.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/09/04/one-night-stand-2005-one-of-my-favorite-shows-ever/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: June 9, 2019
Location: Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Attendance: 4,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Things have gotten interesting all over again here in the form of the Draft, which saw Smackdown World Champion John Cena head over to Raw this week. That means things are going to be shaken up in a hurry and we’re going to need some new talent coming in here. That will be the case tonight and that could be a very good thing given how some stuff has gone around this place. Let’s get to it.

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

Theodore Long is in the ring to get things going. He recaps the Draft and we see Cena going over to Raw to start the process of becoming the biggest star in the world. This means Smackdown doesn’t have a champion so here’s a very happy JBL, giving us a great deadpan glare from Long. JBL is willing to make Long’s job that much easier because he knows the locker room is nervous. Of course he doesn’t spend time with them, but he knows that’s what’s going on.

Long tells him to shut up because there will be no decision on the title until after the Draft at the end of June. With that out of the way, here’s the first Draft pick to Smackdown: Chris Benoit. There wasn’t much left for him to do on Raw and he fits in anywhere so this is a good move.

Benoit is glad to be here because unlike JBL, he has never quit. JBL backs off at what sounds like a threat and talks about some of Benoit’s biggest victories before ranting about Kansas City and ECW. Benoit says he regrets nothing about his career and is glad to be here because he didn’t quit. Anyway they’ll fight tonight so JBL swings at him but has to escape a Crossface attempt.

Carlito vs. Charlie Haas

Matt Morgan and Hardcore Holly are both here. Haas shoulders him down to start and goes after the arm as a wrestler tends to do. Carlito gets in a shot of his own and we see Morgan stuttering his approval. The front facelock goes on to keep Haas slowed down until he fights up with the dropkick. Morgan gets on the apron so Haas sends Carlito into him and dives onto Morgan for a bonus. The distraction lets Carlito grab a rollup with trunks to pin Haas.

Rating: D+. Well that was a little overbooked for what they were going for here. The match wasn’t anything of note but they’ve done a nice job of setting up Haas and Holly as lower level jobbers. They can both have a good enough match under the right circumstances, such as not doing this much in a match that barely broke three minutes.

Long recap of the ECW invasion of Raw, which was really good stuff.

Heidenreich wants Benoit to be his best friend but Benoit thinks he’s a bit much. After Heidenreich leaves, Eddie Guerrero comes up to say he didn’t expect to see Benoit until One Night Stand. They reminisce about Wrestlemania XX where they were both World Champions, so maybe they’ll fight for the new Smackdown title. They’ll still be friends though of course. Benoit isn’t so convinced because he’s seen how Eddie has treated his friends. Besides, Benoit’s title match would be against Rey Mysterio since Eddie can’t beat him. See you Sunday amigo.

Kurt Angle says he is obsessed with Sharmell and couldn’t stop staring at her last week. When he pinned her last week, it felt so good to look down at her. Then Sharmell wouldn’t let him go he looked into her eyes and felt the chemistry between the two of them. Tonight, the games with Booker T. end because to the victor go the spoils. After Booker taps, Sharmell is coming home to daddy.

Paul London vs. Akio

Non-title. London’s headlock doesn’t work so he jumps over Akio in the corner. Hang on though as here’s Eddie for a distraction, with Akio showing some intelligence by beating London up as Eddie walks to the ring. Eddie grabs the mic and gets in the ring while the match is going on. London dropkicks Akio into London so the beatdown is on for the no contest which should be a DQ but wrestling doesn’t do DQ’s in situations like these for some reason.

Post match, and after tossing London (just kill the Cruiserweight Title already), Eddie complains about the lack of respect he receives around here. No one thinks he can beat Rey, even though he has left Rey laying. Rey remembers being laid out and taken away by the EMTs as the fans screamed about him. After talking about the ways he has hurt Rey, Eddie talks about never breaking a promise he made to Rey. More on this later.

Kurt Angle vs. Booker T.

Before the match, Angle calls out Tazz again, saying he wants an answer by the end of the night. Tazz doesn’t answer but says on commentary that he doesn’t answer to anyone and is going to call the match. The bell rings and they circle each other because that’s what Booker should be doing right now. A hiptoss and armdrag into an armbar continue the completely unrealistic responses.

Booker reverses into an armbar of his own, showing how worthless Booker is as a protector when it comes to defending valet wives. Booker fights up and drapes him over the top for the ax kick to finally get somewhere. Back in and they slug it out with Booker getting the better of it off a kick to the face. Angle snaps off a release German suplex, followed by more suplexes to keep Booker in trouble. A very telegraphed charge lets Booker backdrop him to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Booker fighting out of a waistlock and hitting a Stunner. The Angle Slam is reversed and it’s a Book End for two. Angle is right back up with the rolling German suplexes for two and the Angle Slam is good for the same. A missed charge sends Angle into the buckle and Booker hits a quick spinebuster.

Now the ax kick gets two more but Angle is right back with the ankle lock. Booker eventually kicks it off but the referee gets bumped, meaning it’s time for Angle to glare at Sharmell. Angle grabs a chair and hits Booker’s ankle but the second chair shot hits the top rope so the chair hits Angle in the head by mistake. The scissors kick gives Booker the pin.

Rating: C-. This felt like it belonged on a pay per view but wasn’t all that good. Angle has beaten Booker up in almost every match but keeps losing, as he should, but it isn’t exactly something that warrants more rematches. Then there is the story stuff which is just disturbing in a lot of ways. I’m hoping this wraps things up because there are very few good ways to keep it going.

Post break and post recap, Angle grabs a chair and a mic because he wants his answer from Tazz. The sunglasses and headset come off with Angle threatening violence if he doesn’t get the answer he wants. Angle…then sits down next to Tazz, who just stares at him. After a few moments of nothing, Angle snaps and hits him with the chair. Tazz is bleeding from the head as the trainers come down to check on him. He tries to walk away but collapses and has to be helped out.

Heidenreich vs. Rory Fox

Heidenreich finds a friend before the match, though this time she is a woman in her twenties. The Boss Man Slam finishes Fox in about thirty seconds.

Post match Heidenreich reads his new friend a poem.

Raw Rebound.

Chris Benoit vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Paul Heyman replaces Tazz on commentary and has ECW with him. JBL has the Cabinet with him to even things up a little bit. Benoit takes him into the corner to start and the fans already want tables. A hard whip into the corner puts Benoit down but he chops his way out of trouble. The first suplex looks to set up the Sharpshooter but JBL gets out twice in a row. Back up and JBL hits a big boot as Heyman rants about Eric Bischoff, as he is known to do.

A powerbomb is countered into the Sharpshooter but Benoit has to deal with the Bashams and Orlando Jordan as they earn their pay. Cue Carlito and Matt Morgan and we take a break. Back with JBL choking underneath the ropes and hammering away as the pace has slowed. A sleeper has Benoit in trouble until he belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. There’s the snap suplex and it’s time to roll the German suplexes. The Crossface goes on and Kurt Angle comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C. They weren’t exactly hiding where this was going until the ending and there is nothing wrong with that. JBL is still a big deal at this point and putting him in there against the #1 Draft pick makes a lot of sense. It also helps to advance One Night Stand, which really is coming off like a big deal for a change. Benoit should have won under normal circumstances, but the build to One Night Stand isn’t all that normal.

The big brawl is on and here’s Tazz to choke out a Basham as the ECW guys clear the ring with finishers. ECW stands tall and Michael Cole is their biggest fan to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s a pretty weak show but getting Benoit helps, as does setting up the tease of a new World Champion, finishing Booker vs. Angle (we can only hope) and making me want to watch One Night Stand again. They’ve done a good job here and Sunday’s show is looking strong, so hopefully we’re in for WWE treating ECW right. Not a good show on its own, but it gives me some hope for the future.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2004
Date: November 14, 2004
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is an interesting show as the two big matches are a match where the impact comes over the next four weeks and another where there is little more than bragging rights on the line. The build for this show hasn’t been the strongest, though a lot of that is due to the changes taking place in the company. There are some fresh talents coming in and they’re still finding their footing, so it should be interesting to see where this show takes us. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the show’s history, which means about five of the seventeen shows get a look. The video talks about trust and how only the strong will survive. Fair enough, though I’d have rather had more of the historical stuff.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Spike Dudley

Spike is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start with Rey taking a shot to the ribs and Chavo getting double teamed in the corner. Kidman doesn’t waste time in dropkicking Spike to the floor and here’s Spike to clothesline Kidman to the other side of the floor. That leave Rey to sunset flip Chavo for two and armdrag him outside. Spike replaces Chavo and stomps Rey down in the corner as Chavo comes back in.

A double clothesline puts Spike and Chavo down at the same time, leaving Rey to hurricanrana Kidman off the apron. Chavo picks Rey up and throws him into a seated senton Kidman, setting up a dive onto both of them. Spike’s dive just hits floor in a nasty crash but he’s fine enough to run back in and break up Chavo’s belly to back on Kidman. Rey gets whipped hard into the corner, leaving the other three to set up a Tower of Doom with Spike getting the worst.

Kidman was just the electric chair so he BK Bombs Rey but gets posted by Chavo. Spike’s running headbutt to the ribs puts Chavo down, only to have Rey come back with a 619 to the champ. Kidman breaks up the West Coast Pop and drops a slingshot legdrop on Chavo. Rey takes Kidman to the floor though, allowing Spike to pin Chavo to retain.

Rating: C+. Pretty good choice for an opener here with Rey and Chavo handling the dives and a Tower of Doom before it was a cliché. Spike retaining the title isn’t the most thrilling thing in the world but I think I could go for that over another Rey or Chavo reign. Kidman has already fallen off a lot and at the moment there isn’t another better option.

Gene Snitsky comes up to Heidenreich to compliment his poetry. Heidenreich likes what Snitsky does to babies. An uncomfortable amount of grunting ensues.

Intercontinental Title: Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin

Christian, now with Just Close Your Eyes for theme music and with Tyson Tomko in his corner, is challenging. Shelton goes with a hammerlock to start and Christian bails to the ropes to avoid the wrestling on the mat. Back up and Shelton blasts him with a shoulder to show off some power for a change. Christian is already frustrated and slaps the champ in the face before sending him over the ropes.

The cat is skinned and Shelton hits a springboard Blockbuster (looked like it was supposed to be a clothesline but he rotated too far) for two. For some reason that wakes Christian up even more and he hammers away in the corner. Shelton sticks the landing on a monkey flip and threatens Christian to the floor with a superkick, leaving the announcers to discuss the origins of the Oklahoma roll. A Tomko distraction lets Christian kick him into the barricade and the angry Christian pounds away.

The neckbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock to stay on Shelton’s neck. Shelton gets thrown outside with someone’s elbow pad flying onto the announcers’ table in the process. Back in and Christian’s reverse tornado DDT gets two but Shelton reverses a whip to send Christian chest first into the buckle. A Jackknife rollup gets two and a reverse slingshot suplex (not quite a fisherman’s JR) is good for the same on Christian.

Shelton misses the Stinger Splash though and it’s an inverted DDT to give Christian two of his own. With nothing else working, Tomko slides the title in and even though it hits the referee in the foot, he doesn’t actually notice. It doesn’t work for Christian, who gets the title tossed, only to have Tomko kick Shelton in the face for two. Back up and Christian tries the Unprettier, which is countered into a quick exploder to retain the title.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a difficulty of five but an execution of ten. They went with a simple story but did it so well that it was easy to get behind as you wanted to see the more athletic champion overcome the cheating and retain. It’s a story that you can get into in a single viewing and Shelton played his role very well. Good match and I could go for another one.

Kurt Angle doesn’t like how Edge portrayed him in his book. He did like the chapter on Edge winning the World Title….or at least he would have if there had been one. Edge laughs it off because his team will win tonight and he’ll get a title shot. Angle goes off for his match but Eugene comes in to list off Angle’s resume and sing YOU SUCK.

Wrestlemania Recall: STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!

Team Angle vs. Team Guerrero

Kurt Angle, Carlito, Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns

Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Big Show, Rob Van Dam

Cena charges to the ring to chase Carlito off and beats Jesus up the aisle. Carlito keeps running and Cena shouts about Carlito sending his guys to stab him. With Jesus getting in a cheap shot, Carlito and Jesus jump into a car and run away. Everyone else gets in a fight on the floor and we get the opening bell, meaning Carlito is eliminated due to running away (in other words, he was injured).

We officially start with Show chopping Jindrak in the corner and handing it off to Van Dam for a spinning kick to the face. Rolling Thunder gives Eddie two and the headscissors/armdrag combination puts Jindrak and Reigns down. Angle comes in and punches Guerrero down before handing it back to Reigns for a backbreaker into a side slam. Jindrak’s full nelson is countered with a trip into the buckle but Kurt dives over to break up the hot tag attempt.

The chinlock goes on and switches into a front facelock before it’s back to Jindrak for more entry level offense. Actually hang on as he throws in a hip swivel in between the elbows. Eddie finally gets up and brings Rob in to punch Angle. Jindrak tries to save Angle from the Five Star but takes it instead, allowing Kurt to roll Rob up with the ropes for the elimination. Eddie is right back with a rollup in the ropes to get rid of Jindrak (with a fast count) to make it 3-2.

Big Show comes in to face Angle, who bails out so Reigns can do it instead. Reigns finally goes after the big bandage on the ankle, meaning it’s all of five extra seconds before the chokeslam can get rid of him. That leaves Angle by himself so he grabs the ankle lock, which is countered to send him into the aisle. Angle tries to leave but runs into Rob, who sends him backing up the aisle….and right into Show, with Angle reaching up and finding the very tall head to realize how much trouble he’s in. Back in and the FU into the frog splash is enough for the pin.

Rating: D. I was having flashbacks to the Hulkamaniacs vs. the Million Dollar Team from 1989 as the faces were never in serious trouble. There was almost no doubt after just a few minutes because Jindrak and Reigns were the lamest of goons against a bunch of top stars. They never did anything beyond stomps and slams and it wasn’t exactly believable that they could be a threat. There was no drama here and it showed badly.

Maven doesn’t like the suggestion that he doesn’t belong in the main event…and gets jumped by Snitsky. The beatdown is on and Maven is left bloody.

We recap Heidenreich vs. Undertaker. I’d go into the details here but Heidenreich is the definition of a monster for Undertaker to slay. There have been a lot of them over the years but Heidenreich is one of the lowest of the low. He tried to crush Undertaker with a car, which worked as well as you might have expected. Then he read poetry and seemed to sexually assault Michael Cole. Do I need to continue the explanation?

Undertaker vs. Heidenreich

Undertaker punches him into the corner to start and the referee wisely bails out to the floor. There’s a big boot to put Heidenreich down and Undertaker sends the arm into the corner. Some pulls on the arm look to set up Old School but Heyman offers a distraction so Heidenreich can break it up with a low blow.

Undertaker gets crotched against the post, which Cole thinks may be a kink in his armor. They head outside with Undertaker taking over off the shots to the ribs and the elbows on the apron. The apron legdrop completes the standard sequence and now Old School can connect. A Downward Spiral has Heidenreich in more trouble but the running boot in the corner misses.

Undertaker gets knocked off the apron so Heidenreich can hammer away against the barricade for two back inside. The chinlock goes on for a bit until a clothesline gives Heidenreich two more. Undertaker gets in a suplex and it’s time for the slugout. The clothesline takes Heidenreich down and it’s Snake Eyes into the big boot.

Right hands get Heidenreich out of the chokeslam and a Boss Man Slam gives him two. The punches in the corner are countered into a weak Last Ride with Heidenreich grabbing the rope for the break. Undertaker slams his way out of a sleeper in a hurry and now the chokeslam connects. The Tombstone finally finishes Heidenreich off.

Rating: D. This was far worse than bad as it was really, really boring. Heidenreich had nothing that felt like a threat to Undertaker and the match itself was much longer than it needed to be at about sixteen minutes. The villains continue to be weak on Smackdown with Undertaker dispatching this goon without much serious trouble, as he should have done.

Eric Bischoff says Maven may not be wrestling tonight and since there is so little time left, Bischoff won’t be naming a replacement. His vacation is too valuable to listen to HHH’s complaints about a replacement.

We recap Trish Stratus vs. Lita. Trish mocked Lita for getting pregnant by Kane and referred to her as the Kiss of Death for destroying so many careers over the years. Lita lost the baby thanks to Snitsky but Trish wouldn’t shut up, with some of the best heel promos the women’s division has ever seen. Lita wants to kill her and if she wins the title as well, so be it.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Lita

Trish is defending and starts by hiding in the corner. That’s fine with Lita who slugs away and heads outside where a chair shots DQ’s Lita at just over a minute.

Post match Lita stays on her as Trish’s nose is busted.

Theodore Long comes in to see Team Guerrero and asks if he can talk to Cena alone. Show takes off his towel and Cena is a little disturbed. Long has some good news for him: Cena gets his US Title shot this week on Smackdown.

We recap JBL vs. Booker T. Booker earned the title shot by winning a title shot and the rest of the feud has been built around JBL’s lackey Orlando Jordan vs. interviewer Josh Matthews, because this feud doesn’t have the strongest legs.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T.

JBL is defending and will leave Smackdown if he loses. Feeling out process to start with JBL shouting that this isn’t WCW. Some right hands have JBL in trouble so he hits Booker in the back of the head to take over. Booker’s clothesline doesn’t do him much good as a swinging neckbreaker gives the champ two. A much better clothesline sends JBL outside, though he’s fine enough to poke Booker in the eye.

They fight over the announcers’ table and it’s Jordan getting a cheap shot in from behind. We hit the cobra clutch on Booker, followed by some elbow drops for two. And now, just to mix it up a bit, we hit the chinlock. With that broken up, JBL heads up top and gets superplexed right back down. They head outside with a Book End dropping JBL again though Jordan keeps it on the floor.

JBL and Jordan both get taken out and it’s Booker’s missile dropkick for tow back inside. The Houston Hangover misses but Booker is right back with more kicks to the face. Another Jordan distraction lets JBL get two off a DDT….and the ref gets bumped. It’s Jordan coming in again and this time bringing in a chair. Cue Josh Matthews to take the chair away but JBL kicks him in the face. Booker gets in his own kicks but the second referee takes his time diving in for two, allowing Jordan to make the save. The Book End hits Jordan but JBL hits Booker with the title to retain.

Rating: D. Back to back overly long matches from the blue show with JBL and Jordan being as dull of a combination as you can get. The JBL title reign has lost what little charm it had thanks to the Jordan addition, as the guy isn’t adding anything and was the focal point of this feud, despite being that bad. Booker was trying but he needs something better than this reheated HHH/Ric Flair formula.

Evolution has a pep talk before the main event. HHH leaves and Batista talks about wanting to have his night running Raw. The seeds are being planted.

We recap the Raw elimination tag. Bischoff is tired of being in charge so he’s taking a month off. Therefore, the winning team gets to run Raw a week at a time for a month. They have all made it clear that if they win, they’re coming for the World Title, which is about as logical as you can get. The problem though is there’s little reason to watch this show because it’s all about the next four weeks.

Team HHH vs. Team Orton

HHH, Batista, Gene Snitsky, Edge

Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Maven

There’s no Maven to start and Ric Flair is at ringside to make it 5-3. Benoit gets aggressive with Edge in the corner to start and elbows him in the face to take over. That’s enough to bring in Snitsky and Orton, which is quite the strange looking showdown. Their slugout doesn’t last long and it’s off to Jericho vs. HHH to keep up the alternating matchups. Orton is right back in to hammer on HHH with Flair panicking about HHH taking such a beating.

The jumping knee to the face gets HHH out of trouble and it’s Batista hitting his powerslam for two. Edge comes in and gets sent into the corner, allowing the quick tag to Benoit, who beats up everyone in short order. The rolling German suplexes have HHH in trouble and Benoit suplexes Edge onto him. A double Swan Dive gets two with Snitsky having to make a save.

The Sharpshooter has HHH In trouble but Snitsky makes another save. That’s enough for HHH to hit a quick Pedigree so Edge can pin Benoit for the first elimination. Jericho comes in next and gets taken down by a neckbreaker but HHH and Snitsky gets in a shouting match. HHH gets shoved down so Batista comes in to go nose to nose with Snitsky. Batista realizes what’s going on and breaks up the Walls on HHH.

Flair gets caught breaking up the Walls again and that means an ejection. With the referee taking care of Flair, Batista blasts Jericho and Orton with a double clothesline. Orton breaks up the big clothesline to Jericho with a belt shot and it’s a running enziguri to eliminate Batista. That’s not it for Batista to leave in peace though so he blasts Jericho with the big clothesline and then heads out. Snitsky comes in for stomping and choking instead of covering because he’s new at this. It’s off to Edge, who gets taken down with a sleeper drop but Snitsky breaks up the hot tag attempt. Everything breaks down again but here’s a bandaged up Maven to come in and go after Snitsky.

Maven’s middle rope bulldog takes HHH down but Snitsky caves his head in with a chair shot that would get him tossed out of the building today. Here it’s just a DQ, though HHH pins Maven with no trouble a second later. We’re down to HHH/Edge vs. Orton/Jericho with Jericho slipping out of the Pedigree but getting speared down for two. HHH and Edge smile down at Orton, who says bring it on.

The double stomping is on with Edge stomping away and handing it off to HHH, with JR losing his mind that Edge won’t get out of the ring. HHH’s DDT gets two and he argues with the referee, allowing Orton to roll him up for two. Edge comes in and accidentally spears HHH to give Orton the easy pin. We’re down to HHH vs. Orton with the former starting fast with a low blow. Orton gets up again and counters the Pedigree into the RKO for the pin. The Orton vs. HHH part was barely a minute and a half long.

Rating: B-. Perfectly watchable match here with Snitsky still being protected and Maven still being Maven. Other than that they’ve done a good job of making Orton look like a threat to the title, but the two Canadians are just kind of there with little reason to believe that they’re going to be a threat t o the title. That leaves us waiting until probably the Royal Rumble for a new challenger, meaning it’s time for winter vacation without missing any time from the show.

Orton poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a really weird one as it contains a lot of perfectly watchable to good wrestling, but absolutely nothing that changes anything long term. The main event stipulation lasts a grand total of four episodes of Monday Night Raw, and while that might change something, there’s no guarantee that any of this could actually matter. The Smackdown stuff was even less important with the two main matches being long and dull, leaving us with no one to challenge JBL at the moment.

Overall, the show is a rather quick sit (only a little over two and a half hours) with nothing too bad (boring, but not terrible). It could have been worse, but the biggest problem is how nothing actually matters in the end. Like I said, they’re in a big transitional period right now and while they probably have long term goals in mind, this is a rather hard stretch to get through because the villains feel like placeholders, which is the case with most of the stories at the moment. It can get better, but we have some long stretches to get through first.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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