….please tell me Big Cass won’t have company.After last week’s injury to Big Cass, two more names have suffered knee injuries and we already have a diagnosis on one.
First up is the one which doesn’t seem to be as bad. Samoa Joe was injured at a house show against John Cena and will be out a minimum of four weeks. Odds are he’ll be out of No Mercy but that’s not confirmed yet.
Then we have what might be the really bad one as Xavier Woods suffered a bad knee injury at a house show. Woods was going for a jumping DDT and got shoved off with his knee buckling on the landing. There is no word on how long he might be out but any time you hear the words “knee buckled”, it’s a really bad sign.
Monday Night Raw – August 28, 2017: Stick to the Plan
Monday Night Raw Date: August 28, 2017 Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves
We’re less than a month away from No Mercy and the show is already looking big. With Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar already on the card and some more potentially huge matches being added, this show has suddenly gone from a nothing pay per view to something pretty big. Let’s get to it.
The Miztourage is in the ring to open things up. Before Miz can get a single word out though, here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt. Angle talks about how the Intercontinental Title has been taking some hits as of late, there’s going to be a title match soon. Miz cuts him off to yell about the lack of respect the title has been shown as of late. It’s going to be fixed soon though as we’re going to have a battle royal right now with the winner facing Miz for the title next week.
Battle Royal
Big Show, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Finn Balor, Jason Jordan, Curt Hawkins, R-Truth, Kalisto, Goldust, Apollo Crews, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Elias
Big Show is now clean shaven. Hawkins (listed as Curtis) is put out at the bell and everyone else turns their attention to Big Show. That goes poorly for everyone else as Show cleans house and things spread out a bit. Kalisto is put out and the Hardys feed Elias to Show for some loud chops. Cole: “That’s music to Big Show’s ears.”
Anderson and Gallows get together to try and get rid of Show but it’s Balor’s assistance that finally gets rid of the giant. Elias (called Samson by Cole in what might be a mistake) decks Balor from behind and things break up again. The Miztourage gets rid of Truth and Goldust is put out as well at the hands of Anderson and Gallows.
Back from a break with Crews having been eliminated. Matt gets rid of Gallows and pulls Anderson to the apron for another elimination, only to have Gallows pull Matt out for the elimination. Miz saves Dallas as the referees are distracted and things settle down again. We’ve got Balor, Jordan, Dallas, Axel, Jeff Hardy and Elias to go.
Balor starts cleaning house but gets into a staredown with Jeff that gets the fans’ attention. Some running dropkicks in the corner have people in trouble, but here’s Bray Wyatt to eliminate Balor and then disappear again. Jordan starts throwing suplexes and gets rid of the Miztourage. There goes Elias, followed by Jordan at Jeff’s hands to give Hardy the win at 16:17.
Rating: D+. I like the choice of a winner there as Jeff is someone who can easily get a spot like this and even win the title. While I still think we’re heading for a Jordan title match at No Mercy, it’s nice to see someone get a surprise shot in the middle. Hardy winning the title wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, but either way it’s a good idea to see him getting more of a singles push.
We look back at Braun Strowman laying out Brock Lesnar last week.
Alexa Bliss promises to regain the title tonight. Tonight, the goddess reclaims her throne.
Here’s Enzo Amore to talk about beating a giant like Big Cass last week. Not only can he hang with bigger men like him, he can also compete in the fast paced, high flying cruiserweight division. After bragging about winning money on Saturday’s fight, he dances around and announces his opponent.
Enzo Amore vs. Noam Dar
Amore spins out of a wristlock to start but gets kneed hard in the ribs. Dar pulls at the hair and knees away in the corner before being sent face first into the middle buckle. Enzo pops right back up and grabs Eat Defeat for the pin at 2:55.
Neville says if Enzo is his competition, he’ll be Cruiserweight Champion forever.
Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman for a chat. Heyman talks about what happened last week with Braun Strowman, who is the kind of monster that his parents warned him about. Strowman had an historic night at Summerslam when he, as Corey Graves said, monster handled Lesnar by powerslamming him through two tables. We see a clip of last week’s attack on Lesnar, which Heyman says made him know Strowman is a monster. At No Mercy, Lesnar is going to be ready for Strowman. Heyman explains what’s going to happen but Brock takes the mic. Brock: “What he’s trying to say is Suplex City b****.”
Long recap of last week’s segment with Miz, John Cena, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns, including their tag match. Cena vs. Reigns is confirmed for No Mercy and their contract signing is tonight.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins and Ambrose did their entrances before the commercial and before the package. That seems like some mistiming, which you don’t see around here too often. Seth starts fast by sending Cesaro outside where he comes up holding his back. Back in and a standing moonsault gives Seth two but he’s sent outside as well. Ambrose and Sheamus have the staredown but Rollins catches Cesaro diving off the apron. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker cuts Rollins off though and we take a break.
Back with Cesaro dropping him with a gorilla press and rolling some gutwrench suplexes. A slam sets up Cesaro’s high crossbody but Seth rolls through for two. There’s the Sling Blade and a Blockbuster but Cesaro catches him on the top. Sheamus and Ambrose get into it on the floor and the distraction lets Cesaro hit a European uppercut for the pin at 10:19.
Rating: C+. I’m already over these teams fighting but that’s no excuse to not have the same singles matches over and over on Raw. Can’t someone just ask Paul Heyman for 842 ways to advance a feud without doing anything else? This seems to be the only idea they know and since there are almost no other teams, this is what we’re stuck watching.
Sheamus says he and Ambrose are up next.
Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose
They fight to the floor to start and it’s off to an early break. Back with Sheamus getting two off a top rope superplex and grabbing a Stretch Muffler (Brock Lock). That goes nowhere so it’s off to a Texas Cloverleaf instead. The ten forearms to the chest keep Dean in trouble and he hobbles into a boot in the corner.
Dean grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two but gets caught on top, setting up a super Regal Roll. The Brogue Kick misses but Dean can’t hit Dirty Deeds. Cesaro and Rollins get into another argument and the chase is on through the ring. The referee deals with Cesaro, allowing Seth to knee Sheamus in the face. Dirty Deeds is good for the pin on Sheamus at 10:45.
Rating: C+. Well at least they got it out of the way in a hurry. This was the obvious next match but please tell me they’re not just going to switch the opponents next week. The division feels completely depleted at this point and having these teams feud over and over again really doesn’t prove otherwise.
Emma is complaining about the whole Twitter thing again because she started the Women’s Revolution. Mickie James is sick of hearing about it (preach it) and has an idea: if Emma beats her tonight, she’ll Tweet anything Emma wants. If Mickie wins, Emma can’t say she started the Women’s Revolution again.
Mickie James vs. Emma
Emma has new music and they’re fighting over hashtags. Mickie kicks her down a few times but gets caught in a quick rollup to give Emma the pin at 1:42.
Emma grabs the mic and says she started the Women’s Revolution all the way to the back.
Kurt Angle is in the ring for the contract signing between Cena and Reigns. Cena is out first to say that he’s on Raw to face one man and Angle has made that happen for No Mercy. He’s seen Reigns being treated as the untouchable star and we’ll see how he can hang at No Mercy. Cena signs and here’s Reigns. Roman says that as great as Cena is, there’s one thing that he’s done that Cena can never do: retire the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
Cena kneels before him and says some people are still trying to figure Reigns out. We hear about the fans wanting to see Cena change his ways (with the term heel turn being dropped in a rare moment) before Cena says Reigns is just a guy trying to fill shoes he can never fill. Cena isn’t a man at the end of his career with a bad hip. The reason Reigns won’t sign that is because the Roman Empire is done if he does.
Reigns says Cena sucks so Cena puts his arm around Angle and says the fans think he does too but he won a gold medal. Roman seems a bit shaken and lost for what to say. Cena: “Go ahead find it. I’ll wait. It’s called a promo and if you want to be the big dog you’re going to have to learn how to do it. SEE YOU FOURTH WALL!” Reigns gets fired up and goes on a rant that sounds straight off a message board, talking about how hard he works on the weekend so Cena can be on the Today Show.
Then Cena gets on his tour bus and shows up at a show if they pay him enough with the big shovel to bury people around him. Reigns is the one guy he can’t bury or see. Cena calls him out for being repetitive and says “it took you five years to cut a halfway decent promo but now I’m about to cut you down to size.” He talks about the mythical golden shovel but it’s always the fans who hold the keys and they always will.
Cena is tired of hearing the same thing for ten years by a lot tougher people. Here’s the thing: Cena hasn’t main evented Wrestlemania in five years and he was the opening match at Summerslam. He won the US Title and used it to introduce new stars to the WWE including Kevin Owens and AJ Styles (I believe he means Sami Zayn as AJ debuted way later). Reigns took the US Title as a demotion and now stands there blaming Cena for not being able to hang with him.
Cena has seen a lot of people trying to hang at this level and he’s heard about one guy getting to do it. Now he sees Roman face to face and gets the line of the night: “You’re lucky I’m a part timer because I can do this part time way better than you ever could full time.” Reigns signs and turns over the table….and here are Anderson and Gallows to make it a tag match in the most ridiculous ending to an amazing promo I can remember in a long time.
Cena DESTROYED Reigns here, making him sound like every other heel. Now if Reigns wins at No Mercy (which he probably will), everything will be fine for him but at the end of the day, almost no one ever can hang with Cena on the mic and he picked Reigns apart the entire time. If nothing else the lines about Reigns needing to learn promos and the fourth wall thing were outstanding. Now let’s get to this ridiculous tag match.
Anderson and Gallows vs. John Cena/Roman Reigns
Joined in progress with Cena in trouble in the corner as Gallows grabs a headlock. Anderson comes in for a chinlock as the announcers rave about everything Cena was saying. Gallows misses an elbow and the hot tag brings in Reigns. Roman cleans house and you can tell Reigns is ticked off here. The Superman Punch connects to both guys and it’s an AA and spear at the same time to give Reigns the pin on Anderson at 6:02.
Rating: D+. While I still have no idea what the point of this was, Reigns vs. Cena is going to be a huge match when we get to No Mercy. Cena’s promo is going to be talked about for a few weeks as he made the match feel even more awesome than it’s likely to be. If Reigns wins he’ll be fine, but he has a lot to make up for at this point. Now can someone explain to me why this match happened? I really don’t get it.
Here’s Elias to sing a song to the tune of Hound Dog about how much he hates Memphis. This brings Jerry Lawler out of his seat to say that Elias has a good voice but he’s missing his audience. While the people of Memphis might not appreciate what Elias is saying, they might appreciate this man: Southpaw Regional Wrestling’s own Pelvis Wesley (Heath Slater). Elias beats him up without too much effort. Cole: “I guess he didn’t want to walk with Elias.”
Miz and Maryse are annoyed at Jeff Hardy getting a shot by just winning a battle royal.
Sasha Banks is ready to beat Alexa.
Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks
Banks is defending and gets rolled up for an early two. Sasha sends her hard into the corner and grabs an armbar. They’re starting with a slow pace and Bliss bails to the floor for a breather. There are the double knees from the apron and we take a break. Back with Bliss holding an armbar of her own before starting in on the back.
It’s off to a bow and arrow hold but Banks fights up without too much effort. The Bank Statement doesn’t work so Sasha goes with the running knees in the corner, only to miss a second attempt. Bliss goes with a hard right hand and a Code Red for a pretty close two. Banks gets in a few more knees and some aggressive forearms in the corner.
Back up and Alexa catches her in the corner by sending her face first into a buckle. A top rope superplex connects to bust up the back even more. Bliss is slow to cover and gets caught in the Bank Statement. That’s reversed into a rollup for two and there’s the DDT to give Bliss the title back at 15:00.
Rating: B. I’m really not getting the lack of successful title defenses for Banks. That makes four reigns and she’s lost the title in her first defense every time. As for the match itself, Bliss winning clean is an interesting call and the right one if you have to change the title. She looked better than she has before in the ring and is getting to the point where she can hang with the better workers. Couple that with the insane charisma and persona and she’s quite the force.
Post match Nia Jax comes out and destroys Sasha before putting Bliss on her shoulders. One electric chair later and Jax holds up the title over the new champ to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was good, the hype for the pay per view was solid and the Cena promo was outstanding. It might not have been a perfect show or anything really close but they felt like they were executing a plan tonight. Raw is smoking Smackdown at the moment and it’s really not even close. Good show this week and one of their best in a long time.
Results
Jeff Hardy won a battle royal last eliminating Jason Jordan
Enzo Amore b. Noam Dar – Eat Defeat
Cesaro b. Seth Rollins – European uppercut
Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus – Dirty Deeds
Emma b. Mickie James – Rollup
Roman Reigns/John Cena b. Anderson and Gallows – Spear to Anderson
Alexa Bliss b. Sasha Banks – DDT
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Mae Young Classic – Episode Four: And There’s the Winner
Mae Young Classic Episode #4 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s the end of the first round here and there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing the tournament winner making her debut. There are a few big names still to go and that means it’s time for some showcases. We’ll also know the second round by the end of this episode and that means it’s time for big names to collide and things to really take off. Let’s get to it.
Long recap of the whole tournament so far and a preview of what we’re seeing tonight.
Opening sequence.
Video on Renee Michelle who is ready to show how awesome women can be.
Video on Candice LeRae, who is one of the biggest names in the tournament. She’s also married to Johnny Gargano but wants no special treatment.
Gargano is in the front row.
First Round: Candice LeRae vs. Renee Michelle
Feeling out process to start as a fan yells something that makes the crowd laugh. They trade rollups into a standoff as this is a VERY pro-Candice crowd. Candice sends her into the corner for a missile dropkick but Renee is back with kicks of her own. Renee gets kicked off and a jumping neckbreaker gives Candice two. Candice misses a charge in the corner but manages to avoid a middle rope moonsault. They head up top and it’s Miss LeRae’s Wild Ride (super swinging neckbreaker) for the pin on Renee at 5:37.
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here though you can tell LeRae is a step above a lot of these people. The fans are clearly into her and that’s the kind of reaction that’s going to guarantee at least a spot in the second round. Good enough match here with Michelle looking perfectly acceptable as well.
Video on Lacey Evans, a former Marine who has made some appearances in NXT before.
Video on Taynara Conti, a judoka from Brazil, who is ready to fight anyone.
Alexa Bliss (and I believe Bayley’s fan Izzy behind her) is here.
First Round: Taynara Conti vs. Lacey Evans
The fans get behind Lacey with the USA chants as Conti fires off some knees to the ribs. An armbar has Conti in some trouble until an over the head throw takes Evans down. A shot to the chest takes Conti back down and something like a Bronco Buster has her in more trouble. Evans throws Conti on her back for a kneeling piledriver and the pin at 4:43.
Rating: C-. Not much to see here and I’m a bit surprised that Conti, who seemed to be built up as a big deal, got beaten down that easily. Evans has been around WWE for a little while, now so her winning isn’t a big shock, but that was quite the quick exit for Conti. Evans doesn’t do much for me but she’s got something with the ex-military thing.
Video on Reina Gonzalez, a second generation wrestler and a powerhouse.
Video on Nicole Savoy, the self-described queen of suplexes.
First Round: Nicole Savoy vs. Reina Gonzalez
Reina is sporting chaps and a Phantom of the Opera mask. You see something new every day (weekly at worst) in wrestling. Feeling out process to start with the far smaller Nicole not being able to take Gonzalez down. A hurricanrana is shoved away and a hard clothesline drops Savoy. Reina plants her again with a sidewalk slam and a reverse Boston crab, only to get pulled down into something like a Kimura. A cross armbreaker works a lot better and Reina taps at 4:46.
Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but Savoy didn’t throw a single suplex, which was her main talking point in her video. Gonzalez was a bit slower than she probably should have been and that hurt things a lot. The ending hurt it a bit too as Nicole was dominated and then came back with two moves to win. That’s not the best thing in the world, but it was at least watchable. Kind of like Reina in general.
Video on Tessa Blanchard, another second generation wrestler who turns into a different person in the ring. She’s been around NXT for a good while now.
Video on Kairi Sane, a Japanese star who likes pirates. She’s probably the favorite in the whole tournament.
First Round; Kairi Sane vs. Tessa Blanchard
Kairi is very pale. Feeling out process to start with Kairi putting her on the ropes for a clean break. A cradle gives Kairi two and a running Blockbuster drops Tessa again. Tessa comes back with a running neckbreaker of her own before a middle rope Codebreaker gets two more. Some hard forearms stun Sane but she’s right back with a spear to cut Tessa off.
Something like a top rope Phenomenal Forearm drops Tessa for two and the fans are split again. Tessa gets two off a belly to back suplex and a top rope backsplash gets the same. Kairi’s sliding forearm is countered into a crucifix for two but she kicks Tessa down again. Kairi points to the elbow and drops one heck of a top rope elbow for the pin at 8:39.
Rating: B. I don’t know if it was enough to live up to Kairi’s hype but this was the best match of the first round. Tessa was more than game here and if she’s not pushed at least to like halfway to the clouds (the moon might be too far this soon), I’m not sure what WWE is thinking. Sane is likely the favorite to win the thing but it was a smart idea to have her sweat a bit in the first round.
They hug post match.
We don’t actually see the full second round brackets but here they are.
Abbey Laith
Rachel Evers
Princesa Sugehit
Mercedes Martinez
Nicole Savoy
Candice LeRae
Mia Yim
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Bianca Belair
Dakota Kai
Rhea Ripley
Serena Deeb
Piper Niven
Lacey Evans
Toni Storm
Overall Rating: C+. The main event alone is worth seeing and the rest of the card is more than watchable. It’s a lot better now that we know who is advancing to the second round as a lot of the deadwood has been cleared out. There hasn’t been that blow away match yet but the main event here was solid enough. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far and the second round should be an upgrade, especially in match quality. Good show here and hopefully it keeps getting better.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Mae Young Classic – Episode Three: I Don’t Get The Hair Thing
Mae Young Classic Episode #3 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s time to start the second half of the first round and I’ve liked the tournament so far. It might not be anything great so far but the talent is there and they’re still in the opening stages, meaning we won’t be seeing any showdowns until the second round. That’s when these things get good but we have to get there first. Let’s get to it.
Mauro recaps and previews us again.
Opening sequence.
Video on Toni Storm, an Australian with an attitude. Oh and a little top hat. She’s also the first Progress Women’s Champion.
Video on Ayesha Raymond, the Deadlift Diva. I think you get the idea here.
First Round: Toni Storm vs. Ayesha Raymond
No handshake before the match. Raymond is much bigger but the fans are behind Storm. Toni backs out of a headlock and offers a handshake but this time pulls her own hand back when Ayesha goes for it. A running kick to the face sets up some hip attacks to drop Raymond again. Raymond is right back up with a side slam and corner splash as the pace slows. Toni avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a Backstabber as the Aussie fans start up again. A slam off the top puts Storm down but Raymond hops down instead of going after her. The delay lets Toni avoid a top rope splash and grab a rolling cradle for the pin at 4:28.
Rating: D+. Storm looked very good out there and has the charisma to back up the work. It’s easy to see why she’s getting a push on the independent scene and I’d like to see more of her. Raymond…not so much. She’s every generic power wrestler you’ve seen with little charisma and a confusing moment at the end where she stopped to yell at the fans instead of following up. It came off as stupid, which isn’t exactly the best thing to do in a big debut like this. But yeah, Storm looked awesome.
Charlotte and Sara Amoto are here. Can we just put both of them in the Hall of Fame already?
Video on Kavita Devi, the first Indian woman ever in WWE. She was trained by Great Khali so her future isn’t exactly bright.
Video on Dakota Kai, the girl next girl from New Zealand who can get very serious if necessary.
First Round: Kavita Devi vs. Dakota Kai
The much bigger Devi shoves her around without much effort and then walks the top rope into an armdrag in a very impressive bit of athleticism. A second version works just as well Kai’s dropkick has no effect and a gorilla press drop makes things even worse for her. Devi slowly walks around instead of following up though and gets caught with a running boot to the face in the corner. Kai is quickly up top and a double stomp ends Davi at 3:58.
Rating: D+. Much like Raymond, Davi didn’t show me anything here and it made for a dull match. Kai has a good look and seems to have the charisma to back it up but there’s only so much you can do against someone who was trained by Great Khali. Hopefully the next match is a better fit for her, which I can’t imagine being the case otherwise.
Rock’s family, including Nia Jax, is here.
Video on Bianca Belair, who is quite the well rounded athlete with a VERY long hair braid that is often used as a weapon.
Video on Sage Beckett, formerly known as Rosie Lottalove. She’s lost something like 150lbs and turned into quite the vicious brawler. Beckett talks about channeling energy to do whatever she needs.
First Round: Sage Beckett vs. Bianca Belair
The power showdown starts early with the bigger Sage (though Bianca is far from small) running her over and getting two off a shoulder. Belair comes back with a dropkick and a hard clothesline for two each as they’re beating each other pretty well here. Something like a running frog splash gets the same and it’s off to a double chickenwing on Sage. Back up and a Bubba Bomb gives Beckett (who was trained by the Dudleys) a near fall of her own and Bianca gets splashed in the corner. Belair gets tied in the Tree of Woe but avoids a Vader Bomb. A shot with the hair braid sets up a spear to send Bianca on at 5:25.
Rating: C+. I liked this one but it had some rough spots. Beckett is a bit better than your average monster, though it felt like she was just there for Belair to slay. As for Belair, there’s some awesome potential there due to natural athleticism but the hair thing isn’t working for me. It’s distracting and having her whip Sage back with it was too far for me.
Charly Caruso recaps things.
Video on Santana Garrett, who is billed as the Wonder Woman of the tournament and has appeared on NXT (and TNA) before.
Video on Piper Niven, a Scot with some size to her. She’s better known as Viper on the indy scene.
First Round: Santana Garrett vs. Piper Niven
Piper drives her into the corner and gives her a friendly shove to the jaw. The fans are split again as Garrett spins out of a wristlock. Niven easily powers out of something like a Black Widow, only to get kicked in the chest for two. A headscissors drops Niven but she comes right back with a crossbody for a near fall of her own. It’s off to the cravate, which JR compares to bangers and mash or fish and chips.
A clothesline gives Piper too as JR praises her for her simple strategy. Garrett gets two off a DDT and an Eat Defeat but a bulldog is broken up. Piper’s running splash gets two (looked great too) but she gets caught on top with a running strike to the face. The fans are WAY into these near falls and Santana’s superkick makes it even better. She misses a moonsault though and a backsplash sets up the Michinoku Driver to end Garrett at 7:10.
Rating: B-. Niven did more than most huge females do and that makes for an entertaining match. Sometimes you need a change of pace from all the same stuff and that’s why she’s going to shine so well. Garrett still seems to have most of the tools but needs some better coaching. You know, like at the Performance Center, where she’s still not signed for some reason.
The recap and preview finish things off.
Overall Rating: C. The good was good and the bad was tolerable but some of this stuff is starting to run together. There are definitely some people starting to stand out though and that’s what makes things more interesting. Avoiding spoilers for the most part has helped too, though when WWE.com is telling you who won some of the first round matches, it gets a little annoying. Still though, not a bad show but it’s yet to hit that high gear.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Mae Young Classic – Episode Two: The Future Is Bright. And Tall.
Mae Young Classic Episode #2 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s kind of nice to have all four episodes of the first round up on the same day as we’re going to be able to get to the final sixteen in one day. The first four matches were all fine and we already have some names to watch. This show will get us down to twenty four names left in the competition so let’s get to it.
Mauro Ranallo narrates the opening video, which looks at last week’s show and previews tonight’s four matches.
Opening sequence.
JR and Lita preview tonight’s matches.
Video on Xia Li, a signee from China who trains in Chinese martial arts.
Video on Mercedes Martinez, who has been a big star on the independent circuit for years and is covered in tattoos.
First Round: Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li
Li has a fan in her hand, which gives me a nice flashback to Mulan. Martinez gets rather evil by doing the crane kick pose instead of shaking hands. A headlock into a front facelock has Li in early trouble but she comes right back with a spinning kick to the ribs. More kicks get two and a forearm knocks Martinez straight down. A spinebuster cuts Li off for one though and Martinez’s shocked face is rather over the top. Martinez stays ticked off enough to grab a surfboard into a dragon sleeper for the tap at 3:06.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t quite a squash with the far bigger star winning despite selling a lot of Li’s offense. Li has a good look and seemed poised in the ring. If she can learn English I could see her going somewhere down in developmental. Martinez is going to be a big deal in this thing and that really shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.
Video on Rachel Evers, the daughter of Paul Ellering who has made several appearances in NXT. She’s well rounded and ready to fight any style.
Video on Marti Belle, who is best known from her time in TNA. She leads the pack instead of following it.
First Round: Marti Belle vs. Rachel Evers
The fans are entirely behind Evers here and Belle is a very clear heel. A single underhook suplex gives Marti two and she brags about how close that was. Back up and Evers gets one off a springboard spinning legdrop out of the corner. Marti snaps the throat across the top as the dueling chants begin.
Rachel comes back with some forearms and a COME ON, followed by a running backsplash. A pretty bad looking spinebuster gets two on Marti so Rachel loads up a fisherman’s buster but slams her forward for two instead. Marti comes back with a Stroke for two of her own as this needs to end soon. A very quick small package pins Belle at 6:31. It’s as sudden as it sounds.
Rating: D-. Yeah this really didn’t work. Rachel has all the requirements to make something of herself (good look, good pedigree) but the in-ring work really isn’t there. The match was sloppy and looked completely disjointed at times, easily making it the worst match of the tournament so far. That only puts it in sixth but I can’t picture much beating this. Really bad match.
Video on HHH welcoming the 32 entrants.
Video on Miranda Salinas, who was trained by Booker T. She’s 5’ and from what I can find, has less than twenty matches in her career. I can’t imagine that’s all she’s had but if so, well done on getting here.
Video on Rhea Ripley, a 20 year old phenom (I’d like some more details on that description) from Australia with a soccer background.
First Round: Rhea Ripley vs. Miranda Salinas
Miranda definitely has some charisma to go with her small stature. The far bigger (probably by a foot) Rhea headlocks her down before hitting a good looking dropkick to send Salinas outside. Ripley fires off some chops in the corner but gets kicked in the back of the head. A running knee to the chest gives Miranda two but a forearm to the face just seems to get on her nerves. Ripley hits a running kick to the face in the corner, followed by a running basement dropkick for two. Something like a Chick Kick sets up a full nelson slam to put Salinas away at 3:51.
Rating: C+. If she’s only 20, they might be on to something with the prodigy thing. I really liked this match a lot more than I was expecting to and there’s something to both of them. Rhea has a good look, solid size and the in-ring work. Her charisma was a bit below average but she can work on that. Salinas’ size is going to work against her but if she can get the work down, she’ll be fine. I was impressed by these two and they had a much better match than I would have bet on. Well done and keep an eye on Ripley coming to NXT.
Video on Mia Yim, who you’ve probably seen in various promotions, including TNA as Jade. She talks about her domestic violence story last year, which got some mainstream attention.
Video on Sarah Logan, better known as Crazy Mary Dobson, who is a backwoods tough girl from Kentucky who trained in Japan.
Natalya and Beth Phoenix are here.
First Round: Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan
Mia works on a wristlock to start and a dropkick gets two. Sarah comes back by taking her down and hammers away with some right hands for two of her own. A basement dropkick keeps Mia in trouble but she kicks Sarah right into the corner. That’s fine with Sarah, who screams at her to do it again.
Mia obliges and puts on the Tarantula before getting two more off a jumping knee. A rolling guillotine choke has Sarah in trouble but she slips out and it’s time for a seated slap off. Logan is back up first with a running knee to the face for another two but Mia grabs a pair of bridging German suplexes for near falls of her own.
Sarah gets two more off a Samoan drop and a fisherman’s suplex out of the corner gets the same. Sarah: “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” She then misses….I’m not sure what actually but Mia kicks her in the head (Mia: “Off with YOUR head!”), setting up Eat Defeat (still don’t like that move) for the pin at 7:17.
Rating: B-. Yim is one of the bigger stars in this thing but she’s going to be facing Shayna Baszler in the second round, meaning she’s probably done after two matches. Logan has some skills but at the same time she’s only going to go so far with the Kentucky tough thing. She needs more time in front of the crowd though and that’s going to come with time.
The recap ends the show.
Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t as good of a show as the first one and a lot of that is due to the Belle vs. Evers match, which really brought things down. The big thing I got out of this one though was the future is looking bright. There’s a lot of talent in this tournament and several of them have been signed to developmental deals. If they can go somewhere with this stuff, the NXT women’s division is going to be in good shape in the near future.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Mae Young Classic – Episode One: It’s Ladies Month
Mae Young Classic Episode #1 Date: August 28, 2017 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Jim Ross, Lita
It’s finally here. In the tradition of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, this is a thirty two participant women’s tournament held down in Florida. The field is comprised of an international group of talents, some of whom you probably haven’t heard of before. There are four shows up today with the finals taking place live on September 12. Let’s get to it.
The opening video, narrated by Stephanie McMahon (because of course), talks about the history of women’s wrestling and how the biggest stars have helped lead us here. The result was the Women’s Revolution and it’s allowed something like this to be possible.
Opening sequence.
One note: I’m not familiar with most of the names in this so if I miss something big about one of them, I apologize in advance.
Video on Kay Lee Ray, a Scot who describes herself as a hardcore daredevil.
Video on Princesa Sugehit (pronounced sue hay). She was the only woman in her gym in Mexico and is here to win the tournament.
First Round: Kay Lee Ray vs. Princesa Sugehit
Sugehit starts with the kicks and a big one to the chest gets two. They trade some trips until Ray grabs something like a Gory Stretch. That’s reversed into a sunset bomb for two as the crowd is WAY into this so far. Sugehit drops three elbows for two but gets kneed in the face for the same. Back up and Kay chops her in the corner as Lita laments never wrestling in a mask.
A reverse DDT sets up a Koji Clutch on Sugehit for a few moments and the fans stay split. Sugehit gets out and rolls her around the ring into a cradle before a hard kick to the head gets two. More kicks are countered into something like a Gory Bomb for a slightly delayed two on Sugehit. Ray misses a splash though and a Fujiwara armbar makes her tap at 5:58.
Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here with two easy to identify styles and Sugehit being the more polished of the two. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it was the right idea: get the crowd into things (shouldn’t be that hard) and something like a masked woman kicking another one in half was an easy choice.
Video on Serena Deeb who has a lot of history in WWE as part of the Straight Edge Society and a long stint in developmental. She had a bit of a drinking issue though and left the company, meaning she had to earn her way back.
Video on Vanessa Borne, who used to be a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals and a dancer for the Phoenix Suns but now she’s here to be the star instead.
Naomi is here.
First Round: Serena Deeb vs. Vanessa Borne
Of note: Jessika Carr, the new female full time referee, is working this match. Feeling out process to start as the announcers focus on Deeb’s previous issues that sent her away from the ring for two years. Some armdrags have the rookie Borne in trouble but she headbutts her way out.
The aggressive style doesn’t seem to sit well with the fans, who are notably more silent for this match (though to be fair these could have been taped out of order). A sliding headbutt gets two on Deeb and we hit the chinlock. Serena fights up with some left hands and a neckbreaker but she goes shoulder first into the corner. A flip neckbreaker and Samoan drop give Borne two each but Deep is right back up with a spear for the pin at 6:06.
Rating: C-. There’s your first story of the tournament and it’s a good one with Deeb’s road to redemption. She never was the biggest star in the division as she barely wrestled singles matches for the company but it’s an easy story to tell. It’s easy to imagine her making a long run in this thing as she’s one of the more experienced names in the field and that could help her go a long way.
Video on Zeda, who learned martial arts to deal with bullying as a kid. She didn’t have a hero to look up to so she became one herself.
Video on Shayna Baszler, a former UFC fighter with a long career. She’s here to try something new now but the style will be the same. Baszler has wrestled in Shimmer so she’s not coming into this as a rookie.
Ronda Rousey is here to cheer on her former Four Horsewoman teammate.
First Round: Shayna Baszler vs. Zeda
Lita and Zeda were in the same judo club, albeit many years apart. Shayna won’t shake hands but the fans know Zeda is going to die anyway. An early cross armbreaker doesn’t work on Zeda and it’s back to a standoff. A ZEDA chant goes nowhere and Baszler easily strikes her into the corner. Zeda gets in some elbows and a monkey flip is good for two but Shayna is done playing around. A suplex backbreaker into a choke makes Zeda tap at 2:21.
Baszler poses with the Horsewomen.
Video on Jazzy Gabert. She grew up in Germany and throws people all around. It’s like a demon comes out in the ring when she hurts the little girls. You might remember her from a few matches in TNA as Alpha Female.
Video on Abbey Laith, who is better known as Princess Kimber Lee.
First Round: Abbey Laith vs. Jazzy Gabert
Gabert is rather intimidating looking with a very blonde mohawk. It’s also odd hearing JR talk about Chikara, where Abbey was Grand Champion. Abbey slugs away to start but gets thrown down by the hair. A Jazzy chant starts up as she throws Abbey down into the splits. That’s fine with Abbey who has a ballet ground for some great flexibility. We hit something like an Anaconda Vice of all things as Abbey is being completely overwhelmed here.
Back up and Abbey is sent into the turnbuckle as the dominance continues. It’s off to a chinlock before a rolling forearm knocks Abbey’s block off. Abbey slips out of something and grabs a Tarantula into a choke on the ropes. Some kicks to the chest stagger Jazzy and some bicycle kicks make things even worse. There’s a dropkick into the corner and a Swanton gets two on Gabert. One heck of a clothesline puts Laith down but she rolls off Jazzy’s back -into an Alligator Clutch (a rollup used by Mae Young) for the pin at 7:12.
Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as they seemed to be going with a squash and then turned it into a better story with Laith winning in the end. There’s a good chance that they’re going to be sending her pretty far in the thing. Good idea here as Laith looks like a star now and should get a nice reception as a result.
Gabert shakes her hand post match.
We wrap it up with a quick recap of the night’s events.
Overall Rating: B-. Good start for the tournament here as they showcased four names and we’re already getting a good chunk of the second round ready. They should be flying through this pretty easily and that makes for a fun tournament. I also like having four episodes released at once as we can get through the first round in a single day instead of stretching it out for months. Lita was completely acceptable on commentary and seemed to be starting to get the hang of it more as the show went on. Good show here and that’s a positive sign.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Starrcade 1990
Date: December 16, 1990
Location: Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 7,200
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul E. Dangerously
This is a double concept show and that’s not a good thing. First of all, we have Sting vs. the Black Scorpion, a magician who claims to be Sting’s former partner and makes children disappear. There’s also a major tag team tournament, which will dominate most of the show. In addition to those things, this show has a very different look to it and I mean that literally. The arena is lit much better than the old arenas you would see in the 80s and it’s a massive improvement. The show looks much more modern as a result and it would stay that way for years to come. Let’s get to it.
The show is being sent to the troops in the Gulf War so we have a big presentation of the National Anthem.
Before I forget, the tag tournament is called the Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament. O’Connor was a former NWA Champion and a famous tag wrestler who had passed away about three months before this show. The tournament is being held in his honor.
Bobby Eaton vs. Z-Man
The Z-Man is somewhat more famous as Tom Zenk and is allegedly on a thirty five match winning streak. This is Eaton’s major solo debut after Cornette and Lane left to make their own company in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Soon after the match begins we’re informed that Ric Flair is out of the world tag team title street fight against Doom and will be replaced by Barry Windham.
Feeling out process to start with both guys going for the arm until Z-Man jumps from the mat to the top rope and hits a spinning cross body for two. For 1990, that’s a HUGE spot. Z-Man takes him down into a hammerlock as Dangerously talks about Eaton breaking up the Midnight Express because Eaton’s partner was dating Yoko Ono. Point for a funny line if nothing else.
Eaton comes back with some hard right hands but he lets Z-Man get up instead of following in on him. A quick dropkick gets two for Z-Man and it’s back to the armbar. Eaton reverses into one of his own as they take a breather. Bobby puts him on the ramp (there’s now a ramp leading from the entrance down to the ring) but Z-Man suplexes Eaton out of the ring and onto the ramp. A BIG dive from the ring onto Bobby fires up the crowd again but Z-Man can’t pin him out there.
Back in and Ross says that Dangerously is a “psychoceramic. You know, a crackpot.” Eaton hits a quick bulldog to set up a top rope legdrop but doesn’t cover for some reason. Instead he misses a charge into the corner and gets caught by a dropkick for two. Eaton comes back with a neckbreaker but he jumps into a kick to the chest. Now Z-Man goes up, only to miss the missile dropkick, allowing Eaton to roll him up for the pin.
Rating: C+. See, THIS is the kind of match you should open things up with. It was fast paced, it was exciting, and the fans are into the show now. Eaton and Z-Man both looked good out there and the fans were way into it. St. Louis has always been a good wrestling town and they responded well to the opener which is always a good sign.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Finals: Steiner Brothers vs. Colonel DeKlerk/Sgt. Krueger
DeKlerk is much more famous as Rocco Rock from Public Enemy. Krueger may or may not be Matt Borne, who is more famous as the original Doink the Clown in the WWF. Their team has a military theme obviously. The Steiners are the US Tag Team Champions here and this is USA (#1 seed) vs. South Africa (#8 seed) with four Americans in there I believe. The Steiners come out to the Star Spangled Banner for good measure.
Krueger and Rick start things off with the Sergeant taking it down to the mat. Rick, a former collegiate champion, has no problem hanging with him down there and comes back with a HARD Steiner Line. Off to DeKlerk who hits a quick leg lariat to send Rick to the floor. The Colonel hits a HUGE flip dive over the top which again was unheard of in 1990. Off to Scott who by this point was a monster and was considered as a future world champion. After running over DeKlerk with a clothesline, the Frankensteiner ends DeKlerk with ease. This was barely two minutes long but the flips by DeKlerk were awesome.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Finals: Chris Adams/Norman Smiley vs. Konnan/Rey Mysterio
Adams and Smiley are British and the #5 seed while Konnan and Mysterio are from Mexico and the #4 seed. There’s a lot to talk about here. First of all, Adams is most famous as a trainer, having taught Steve Austin to wrestle, as well as popularizing the superkick as a finishing move in North America. Smiley would be much more famous as a comedy character later on in WCW. Konnan was nothing of note at this point but soon would become the biggest star in Mexico. Mysterio isn’t the famous version but rather the original here and the uncle of the more famous one.
Mysterio and Smiley start things off but Konnan comes in as well, only to get caught in a double armdrag. Adams comes in as well and things get very fast paced in a hurry with the Mexican team being dropkicked out to the floor. Mysterio comes back in to pop Adams in the face with a right hand, only to be superkicked HARD out to the floor. Rey tries to remember what planet he’s on so he brings in Konnan instead. Konnan climbs the top rope with a wristlock on Smiley to send him flying, only to get caught in a rolling cradle for two.
This is going too fast to be able to keep up with. Konnan gets caught in the British corner and jumped by Adams who puts on a chinlock. Mysterio comes in sans tag for an attempted double team but Smiley dropkicks both of them down. A superkick sends Konnan into a German suplex by Smiley but it’s Mysterio making the save again.
Adams comes back in to crank on Konnan’s arm some more before clotheslining him down for no cover. Back to Smiley but Mysterio comes in again without a tag to elbow Chris down. Konnan takes Adams into the corner and sits him on the top rope facing the crowd before hitting a kind of reverse suplex down for the pin to advance.
Rating: B-. This was a very fast paced and exciting match with all four guys moving faster than anyone else would have at this point. Konnan would go on to become a huge star in Mexico while Mysterio’s nephew would become one of the biggest stars in the world. Good match here though which would have had the crowds going nuts six years later or so.
Mysterio dives over the top to take down Adams post match for no apparent reason.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Finals: Royal Family vs. Mr. Saito/Great Muta
Muta and Saito are the #2 team and obviously are from Japan. The Royal Family are the #7 seed, from New Zealand, and comprised of Rip Morgan and Jack Victory. Morgan actually is from New Zealand while Victory is most famous for his time in Texas and ECW. Muta and Victory start things off with no one being able to get an advantage. Victory gets a shoulder block to take Muta down, only to be sent to the ramp and hit with a big dive over the top by Muta.
We head back inside and it’s off to Saito vs. Morgan with Saito taking over with a clothesline and snap suplex. Back to Victory as the fans are silent for this yet again, other than when Muta is in there. Saito cranks on the arm until it’s back to Muta vs. Morgan with Muta hitting a big spin kick to take Rip down before working on the leg. Saito comes back in and loads up a Scorpion Deathlock of all things before Victory makes the save.
Jack kicks Saito in the back and the New Zealanders take over. Once on the floor, Saito is sent into the post but doesn’t seem to mind it too bad. Back inside and Morgan misses a middle rope legdrop and here’s Muta again for the handspring elbow. Everything breaks down and Morgan accidentally knocks Victory into a German suplex by Muta to send the Japanese team to the next round.
Rating: C-. The crowd reaction here explains the problem with the entire tournament: other than the Americans and Muta, the fans have almost no idea who these people are, and therefore they don’t care. Look at the match before this. The fans have no reason to care about any of these guys so they sit on their hands for five minutes while the guys have their matches. It makes for an odd show with decent to pretty good matches, which again isn’t what you want to see at Starrcade.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Quarter-Finals: Victor Zanigev/Salman Hashimikov vs. Troy Montour/Danny Johnson
Montour and Johnson are the #6 seeded Canadians. I’ve never heard of either of them outside of this match, which makes me think that the rankings are even more bogus than I initially thought. The Soviets are the #3 seed and neither of them ever did anything of note in the United States. Hashimikov was the IWGP (New Japan’s top title) Heavyweight Champion earlier on in his career but that’s about it. Johnson is nicknamed Bull and is dressed like an American Indian. The Soviets are both very hairy men.
Victor and Johnson start things off with Victor (like I’m going to try to type their last names over and over again) easily taking him to the mat and putting him in a bow and arrow hold. Troy breaks it up and Danny tries a headscissors, only to have Victor spin around like a madman to escape. A belly to belly suplex gets two on Bull as it’s clear the Canadians have no chance in this. Off to Troy vs. Salman with the latter easily suplexing him down and putting on an armbar, to which Troy has no idea how to react. The match ends in a submission win for the Soviets but Troy doesn’t seem to get that.
Rating: D. Blame this one entirely on the Canadians. The Soviets needed to be in there with guys like the Steiners instead of two fat schmucks that are glorified jobbers. The Soviets were fun to watch out there, but they might as well have been wrestling cardboard boxes, which is a shame.
Here are the brackets after the first round:
Steiner Brothers
Konnan/Rey Mysterio
Great Muta/Mr. Saito
Victor Zanigev/Salman Hashimikov
Terry Taylor vs. Michael Wallstreet
Wallstreet is Mike Rotundo in a gimmick where he was managed by Alexandra York. The idea was she would use a computer to figure out the perfect strategy for Wallstreet to use and figure out how much time it should take Wallstreet to win. York has said that Wallstreet should need 8:32 or less to win the match so we have a clock counting down on the screen. Taylor starts out fast and knocks Wallstreet out to the floor, causing York to bring over papers for him to look at.
Back in and Taylor puts on a headlock to slow things down as we have seven minutes left on the clock. They get up again but Taylor hits a quick clothesline for a two count. Wallstreet puts on an armbar to slow things down again before catching a charging Taylor in a backbreaker for no cover. A vertical suplex gets no cover again but a legdrop does get two. Wallstreet puts on an abdominal stretch with an illegal grab of the ropes with four minutes to go.
The referee finally catches him and breaks the hold, followed by Wallstreet missing a dropkick. A backdrop puts Michael down again and there’s a knee drop to the face for two. Taylor gets another two off a belly to back suplex before hitting his Five Arm (get it?) but York puts Wallstreet’s feet in the ropes to break up the pin. Back up and Wallstreet hits a stun gun (flapjack into a clothesline on the top rope) and the Stock Market Crash (Samoan Drop) for the pin with 1:40 remaining on the clock.
Rating: D+. Again not much to see here, but Wallstreet’s gimmick was at least original. Fortunately for him it would only be around for a few more months as he would bail to the WWF and become IRS, a tax agent. Interestingly enough, it would be Taylor who would take his place in the York Foundation which would eventually add more members.
Motor City Madman/Big Cat vs. Skyscrapers
The Skyscrapers are Sid Vicious, a Horseman at the moment, and Dan Spivey, who are two monsters who liked to destroy people. The Madman and Big Cat went after Sid on a recent Clash of the Champions, so tonight it’s a reunion with Spivey to hurt the annoying guys. It’s a big brawl to start with the Madman being sent to the apron. A double backdrop puts Cat down and a double powerbomb ends the Madman after about a minute. Total and complete domination here.
The Skyscrapers don’t want to talk to Dangerously.
Sting says he’s ready for the Black Scorpion to be unmasked.
Ricky Morton/Tommy Rich vs. Fabulous Freebirds
The Birds are Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin and claim to be the greatest rock and roll band in the world, meaning they come complete with a roadie named Little Richard Marley. Morton is tagging with Rich here because Gibson has a bad knee injury. Morton and Garvin get things going and it’s Morton hitting dropkicks all around, knocking both Freebirds and Marley to the floor.
Off to Hayes as the fans are all over the Birds. Michael is immediately caught in an atomic drop and we go to the floor where Gibson hits Hayes in the back, allowing Morton to ram him into the post. Back in and Hayes misses a knee drop, allowing Morton to put on a Figure Four. The Birds break up the hold and bail to the floor as the stalling continues. Garvin wants to fight Rich, but Jimmy is quickly taken down.
Marley is brought in as the Birds get beaten up again. Back in and Hayes hits his great left hand on Rich, only to have his DDT blocked. Back to Morton vs. Garvin and Ricky starts cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Marley tries to come in off the top to break Morton’s leg, only to have Gibson shove him into Garvin instead. Jimmy goes after Marley, allowing Ricky to roll up Garvin for the pin.
Rating: D. This was a glorified comedy match and not much more. Apparently the Birds were the guys that injured Gibson’s leg in the first place so there was a story behind it. The problem is that the Freebirds are almost all talk and little substance, so their matches tended to be absolutely terrible. Not much to see here but it gave the fans a breather.
Post match the Freebirds beat up Marley until Morton and Rich make the save. The problem is that allows the Freebirds to clothesline Gibson down on the ramp.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Steiner Brothers vs. Konnan/Rey Mysterio
Everyone here is a good guy. Rick and Konnan start with Konnan trying to take it to the mat for some reason. He manages to hook a modified Indian Deathlock but Rick easily escapes and brings in Scott. The younger Steiner (Scott) wants nothing to do with this wrestling stuff and powerslams Konnan half to death. Scott puts Konnan on his shoulders so Rick can bulldog him off the top for two, bringing in Mysterio while Konnan tries to remember what his name is. Scott easily takes Mysterio down as well before it’s back to Rick, who easily counters a rana into a powerbomb to pin Mysterio. Short and dominant.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Victor Zanigev/Salman Hashimikov vs. Great Muta/Mr. Saito
Victor and Muta start things off and they do a fast paced technical sequence with neither being able to get an advantage. Victor grabs a quick German suplex for two and it’s off to the much larger Saito. The Russian immediately takes him down in an armbar but Saito pulls him up and brings in Salman for a power vs. power match.
Salman takes Saito down and puts on a Boston Crab but Muta kicks him in the back to break it up. Back to Victor and Saito immediately puts him in a Scorpion Deathlock but he lets it go very quickly. Salman suplexes Muta down a few times so it’s back to Saito vs. Victor with the former hitting a quick belly to back suplex to eliminate the Russians and go on to the finals.
Rating: D+. This show is filled with very short matches and it’s almost impossible to care about the majority of them since there’s almost no time for the matches to develop. This is another good example as the fans don’t care about most of the people in there (because the wrestlers are total strangers) and the match is only three minutes long, so why should the fans care at all?
Doom is ready for the Horsemen.
US Title: Lex Luger vs. Stan Hansen
Hansen is a crazy Texan who took the title from Luger in October in a big upset, ending Luger year and a half reign. This is a Texas lariat match, meaning you’re attached to your opponent by the wrist and you have to touch all four buckles. Hansen jumps Luger to start and hiptosses him down but Luger comes back with right hands of his own. Stan is fine with that and beats on Luger with the rope before choking away in the corner. Lex fires off more right hands and we head to the floor for choking with the rope.
Stan gets in a chair to Luger’s back before they head back inside to slug it out even more. This is much more of a fight than a match. A clothesline puts Hansen down and Luger goes for a cover out of instinct. Instead Luger goes to two straight corners but gets suplexed down before he can get to a third. Hansen wraps the rope around Luger’s neck and drags him around to touch some buckles before Lex breaks the momentum, ending the streak.
Tired of wrestling, Hansen throws the rope around Luger’s neck and tosses him over the top rope to hang him. Well when nothing else works, go for the murder I guess. Back in and Hansen drops an elbow before touching three buckles, only to have Luger pop up with a clothesline. Stan chokes away but they go back outside with Hansen being clotheslined down and sent into the post.
Back in and Luger starts dragging Hansen around but Stan holds back after the third buckle. Lex finally pulls away and gets the fourth buckle but the referee goes down at the same time. Another referee comes out as Hansen starts touching buckles with Luger tied around the throat again. Hansen gets a third buckle as the original referee is waking up. Stan knocks Luger out and touches the fourth buckle to retain the title.
Rating: D+. As usual, these matches become the same thing over and over again: one guy gets close and then momentum is stopped, meaning we have to keep going. Hansen being completely insane helped the match a lot and Luger was still insanely popular, so the crowd was into it. That didn’t stop the match from being rather dull though.
Scratch that result actually as the original referee says Luger got the fourth buckle and is the new champion.
Tag Titles: Doom vs. Arn Anderson/Barry Windham
Doom is defending (the WCW tag titles, which are newly formed as the NWA Tag Titles are a thing of the past) and this is a street fight, meaning anything goes. The champions have unmasked since last year and now have former referee Teddy Long as their manager. It’s a big brawl to start with Simmons slamming Windham on the ramp. Arn makes the save and whips Ron with a belt as I’m barely going to be able to keep track of what’s going on here. Windham suplexes Reed in the ring for two as Simmons whips Anderson with a belt.
Reed hits Barry in the face as Anderson hits Simmons in the knee with a chair. Now Barry goes face first into the post and is busted open. Windham comes back with a belly to back suplex on the floor as Anderson is whipping Ron back near the ring. At least they’re all near each other now. Everyone but Reed gets in the ring now with Windham pounding on Simmons with a belt around his fist. Now Barry gets a chair to blast Simmons in the shoulder as Ron is taking a beating.
On the floor, Reed sends Arn into the barricade as Simmons hits a BIG spinebuster on Windham for two. Reed is back in now to pound on Windham as everyone is finally in the ring at the same time. Simmons gorilla presses Anderson down but Barry hits Ron low as he goes up top. There’s Barry’s superplex finisher but Simmons kicks out at two. Now Butch goes up top for a shoulder block on Anderson, only to get caught in a DDT by Windham.
Anderson brings the chair back in but gets it shoved down onto his own head by Simmons for two. Reed chokes on Barry with the chair but Anderson makes the save and sends Reed to the floor. Anderson goes to the middle rope but Reed saves Simmons, allowing Ron to clothesline him out of the air. Windham blasts Reed and it’s a double pin as Barry pins Butch and Ron pins Anderson at the same time, which means Doom retains the belts.
Rating: A-. Great brawl here with a bad ending. This would lead to another rematch between the two teams with Doom retaining the titles once and for all. Still though, after everything else we’ve sat through tonight, this was a big breath of fresh air and a great fight. Doom would drop the titles in a few months and split up in March.
Both teams brawl up the ramp as the fight still isn’t over.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Finals: Great Muta/Mr. Saito vs. Steiner Brothers
There’s a special guest Japanese referee. Dangerously picks the Japanese guys because they make better cars. Scott and Muta get things going with Muta firing off the kicks to take Scotty down. Scott comes right back with a rolling leg lock into a half crab which I didn’t think he was capable of doing. Off to Rick and the fans bark (I believe I’ve neglected to mention that his nickname was the Dog Faced Gremlin) on cue. Rick Steiner Lines Muta down and it’s off to Saito for a brawl.
Rick gets pounded down so he busts out a dropkick of all things followed by a HARD Steiner Line. Muta goes up top and gets crotched as he tries to come in, keeping the advantage in America. Saito bows in respect to Rick so he kicks Saito in the face. A BIG USA chant breaks out as Scotty gets the tag to face Muta. The Great one knocks Scott back into the corner and hits the handspring elbow but an attempt at a second one results in Muta’s face hitting Scott’s boot.
A belly to belly suplex gets two on Muta so it’s back to Saito. Scott fires off some hard right hands and a back elbow to the face before it’s off to Rick, who walks into a suplex. Saito and Rick collide to put both guys down (Ross: “That was like a Ford hitting a Honda.”) but it’s Muta in off the tag. Rick is sent to the floor where Saito can ram him into the post before Muta blasts Rick in the head with a bell.
Saito whips Rick into a hard clothesline from Rick as the Japanese are playing full on heels in this match, despite being gentlemen all night. Back in and Saito comes in off the middle rope with a shot to the ribs before it’s off to a choke. Saito keeps choking long enough for Muta to come in off the top with an elbow to Rick’s back. It’s back to Muta who walks into a Steiner Line and there’s the hot tag to Scott.
A tiger driver gets two on Muta as everything breaks down. Saito hits the Saito Suplex (modified belly to back) on Scott for two and the Japanese guys hit a spike piledriver for good measure. Rick breaks up the count but Muta is already posing. A blind tag brings in Rick, who comes in off the top with a sunset flip on Saito for the pin and the tournament championship.
Rating: B-. This wasn’t terrible but at the same time it didn’t work all that well. They were going with pure American patriotism to carry the match which worked well enough given the crowd reaction, but the wrestling was only decent. The Steiners winning was the right move, unless you wanted to have the Japanese guys cheat like nuts to win and set up a future title match between the teams. Still though, not bad.
The Steiners are presented with a very tall trophy and the O’Connor family is recognized. Rick and Scott dedicate the win to the troops in Saudi Arabia. This speech allows the cage to be constructed.
NWA World Title: Sting vs. Black Scorpion
Dick the Bruiser, a famously tough guy is guest referee. The Scorpion is just a guy in black pants, a black shirt and a black mask. Behind him are two more Black Scorpions in identical attire. There’s a fourth one is in a singlet instead of a black shirt. Now what looks like a spaceship/big pod lowers from the ceiling and the Scorpion’s voice comes over the speakers, saying this is the REAL Black Scorpion. The pod opens up and we see another Scorpion in the same attire with a silver cape. He’s average size and is a white man. If he loses tonight, the Scorpion must unmask.
Both guys are in the cage now and the Scorpion is a rather spry one. There’s the bell and we’re ready to go. They lock up with the four other Scorpions at ringside watching. Sting grabs a headlock but gets suplexed out of it with ease. An elbow drop misses and the fans start chanting the name of the man who is under the mask. I’ll save it for later in case you don’t know who it actually is. The Scorpion gets in a right hand to the ribs and pounds Sting down but Sting comes back with a hip toss. Pedestrian stuff so far.
A clothesline puts Sting down and a gutwrench suplex gets two. Fans are shouting the Scorpion’s name now. Off to a triangle choke by the Scorpion followed by some choking but the Bruiser won’t allow it. Back up and a hard whip into the corner has Sting in big trouble. An atomic drop sets up a clothesline in the corner on Sting and we hit a chinlock. The Scorpion has to wrestle a very basic style to hide his identity and it makes for a very boring match as a result.
Back up again and the Scorpion pounds on Sting’s face with lefts and rights but the champion fires back. The comeback is short lived though as Sting misses a cross body and hits the cage (first time it’s been a factor) to give the Scorpion two. They get back up and the Scorpion rakes Sting’s eyes to slow him down before ramming the champion into the cage. Sting is rammed into the cage a few more times before a piledriver gets two for the challenger.
Sting starts his comeback and pounds the Scorpion down, only to be rammed into the cage one more time. A bulldog out of nowhere puts the Scorpion down and the fans pop very loudly for their hero. There’s the Stinger Splash in the corner and the Scorpion goes down. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on but the Scorpion goes into the cage.
Sting rams him into the cage and rips the mask off to reveal….a silver mask. Sting pounds away even more and whips the Scorpion into the cage a few times before gorilla pressing him into the wall yet again. A jumping clothesline puts the Scorpion down and a top rope cross body retains the title.
Rating: D. This just did not work. As mentioned, the Scorpion had to wrestle a very generic style and it’s hard to buy a generic masked guy as having a real chance against the world champion. It was nearly fifteen minutes of choking and a few shots to Sting’s back before Sting’s comeback and win. The feud sucked leading up to the match though so why should I be surprised that the match sucked too?
Post match the other Scorpions come in but Sting and the Bruiser fight them off. They rip the Scorpions’ masks off (revealing various wrestlers from the international tag teams) but the real Scorpion is trying to escape. Arn Anderson and Barry Windham run out to beat up Sting as well while the other Scorpions hold the Bruiser back. The Scorpion beats on Sting with a chair but here are Z-Man and Ricky Morton to try to make the save. The Steiners come out with bolt cutters to cut the lock on the cage and make the save for Sting. Sting comes back and rips the mask off to reveal….Ric Flair of course. Who else could it have been?
Overall Rating: D. This show comes off like an engine that has a short in it. It keeps trying to start but then sputters and dies without ever getting going. The tournament matches just cripple everything here, as they last like five minutes at most until you get to the finals and then it’s nothing special. This was a terrible year for WCW and the booker (Ole Anderson) was fired literally about five minutes after the show went off the air. Nothing to see here other than the street fight, which unfortunately is rather short.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Starrcade 1984 Date: November 22, 1984 Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina Attendance: 16,000 Commentators: Gordon Solie, Bob Caudle
There isn’t much else to say here. Other than the main event all we’ve really got is Tully Blanchard vs. Ricky Steamboat for the TV Title. There are a bunch of title matches but it’s for stuff like the Brass Knuckles Title, the Florida Title and the Junior Heavyweight Title. This show just isn’t remembered that well at all. Let’s get to it.
We open with a clip of the end of Flair vs. Race with Flair winning the title. A year later and Flair is much more of a tweener than a clear face as he was the previous year.
The announcers talk about the main event as the lights go out behind them. Some music plays and some lights flash as I guess this is the intro. Now there’s a spotlight on the ring and announcer Tom Miller introduces us to the show.
Junior Heavyweight Title: Denny Brown vs. Mike Davis
This would be the equivalent of the Cruiserweight Title back in the day but even less important. Davis is defending and I’ve never heard of either guy aside from this one single match. Brown seems to be the more popular one and takes early control with some dropkicks and headscissors. Off to an armbar on Davis for a LONG time but he comes back with some shots tot he back followed by a few slams.
Brown snaps off a forearm to the face but his back is too banged up to take advantage. Davis slugs him into the corner but walks into a dropkick for two. Back up and they collide to send both guys down. Back up and Davis tries a belly to back suplex into a bridge but Brown raises his shoulder for the surprise pin and the title.
Rating: D+. What in the world were they thinking here? Neither guy is a name whatsoever, the match was really boring and the ending was confusing (the announcer said Davis retained), making this one of the weakest opening matches I can ever remember. That’s not a good sign for a show with such a weak card already.
Tony Schiavone is in Flair’s dressing room….but doesn’t talk to him. Ok then.
Brian Adias vs. Mr. Ito
Ito is a career Japanese guy and Adias is a career Texas guy, which means the fans likely have no idea who either guy is. They go to the ropes to start and get a clean break. Adias is so generic it’s painful to watch. Adias takes him down with a drop toehold but Ito takes him over into a headlock. Back up and a dropkick puts Ito down and there’s a headlock by Brian. Ito armdrags him down and puts on an armbar as this is going nowhere. Adias (yes I’m spelling that right. It’s how it was spelled on his graphic) gets chopped into the corner but comes out with an airplane spin of all things for the pin.
Rating: D-. This is Starrcade right? The biggest show of the year and the show that was supposed to be the original Wrestlemania? We’ve twenty minutes into this shindig and Denny Brown vs. Mike Davis is by far and away the better of the two matches. At least last year I had heard of the people in the bad tag matches. Nothing to see here again.
The announcers actually talk about Adias for a few minutes. It’s so strange to hear what sounds like genuine talk about the match we just saw instead of hearing announcers talk about pitchmen for whatever the latest product WWE is schilling.
Florida Heavyweight Title: Jesse Barr vs. Mike Graham
Barr is defending. You might remember him as Jimmy Jack Funk from the WWF but odds are you don’t. Again, why should fans in North Carolina care about the Florida Championship? Graham immediately takes it to the mat and puts on a leg lock. Off to a chinlock on Barr but Jesse comes back with a top wristlock. Riveting stuff again if you can’t tell. It doesn’t help that both guys are in blue trunks and have similar hair. Barr’s is slightly longer so that’s as good as I can get for telling them apart.
We’re like three minutes into this now and it’s been almost all arm work. Barr takes it to the corner and bends the arm around the ropes before being reversed into a drop toehold from Graham. Back up and we get a test of strength which literally goes on for two minutes. Graham takes over with another armbar before trying his Figure Four, sending Barr into the ropes.
Barr grabs a headlock as we’re somehow nine minutes into this match and still firmly in first gear. There’s no heat to the match at all and nothing as far as a story. It’s just trading headlocks and arm holds for LONG stretches. Barr puts on another headlock and shouts about Graham pulling his trunks.
AGAIN a basic hold goes on for a long time until Graham fights out and goes for the knee. The Figure Four goes on in the middle of the ring but Barr easily makes the rope. Mike tries an atomic drop and a rollup in the corner but Barr throws his feet on the ropes for the pin to retain. The wrestlers keep going for a bit for no apparent reason.
Rating: D-. From a technical standpoint this was fine, but good night this was uninteresting. I think Barr was the heel but I’m really not for sure. After a nearly twelve minute headlock and armbar marathon I really should be able to tell which is which. This was another dreadful match in a series of them tonight.
We get a clip of Dick Slater being tied up in the corner and choked while Ricky Steamboat is beaten up by Tully Blanchard. This is BY FAR the most interesting thing tonight. Black Bart drove a boot into Steamboat’s back off the top.
Zambuie Express vs. Assassin/Buzz Tyler
This is an elimination tag match and the Express is Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammad, with Kareem being the guy who trained New Jack. Tyler and Assassin are apparently your good guys here. It’s a big brawl to start with the Express being sent to the floor in a hurry. We start with Tyler vs. I think Muhammad, the latter being a VERY fat guy. Both Express guys are in what looks to be military fatigues and Tyler knocks Kareem to the floor.
Off to Assassin vs. Akeem with the Express being knocked to the floor again. We get back to Muhammad vs. Tyler with Buzz getting beaten down in the corner. The Express crushes Tyler with a standing double splash but Tyler fires off some punches to come back. Everything breaks down again Akeem is sent to the floor. Tyler and Akeem are both countered out and we’re down to the Assassin vs. Muhammad. Just to keep the entire show at an awful level, the two of them collide and Assassin falls on top for the pin.
Rating: F. Another lame match here as it was a brawl for the most part and I have no idea what the point of the gimmick was. Also again the announcers weren’t sure when the match ended as they missed the countout elimination of the two guys. Assassin seemed popular but the match was such a mess you could barely tell who was legal the entire match.
Dusty Rhodes is sitting in a chair with a jacket covering him up. Is standing up too much effort for him tonight? He talks about how awesome he and Flair are but tonight we find out who the better man is.
Brass Knuckles Title: Black Bart vs. Manny Fernandez
This is a kind of Hardcore Title for lack of a better description but falls have to be in the ring. Fernandez is defending and comes out to Beat It by Michael Jackson. We go to the overhead camera like last year which is still hard to get used to. All four fists are taped up and it’s a slugout to start. Manny punches him down to start but Bart goes to the eyes. Bull (Fernandez, who was nicknamed Raging Bull) chops him back but Bart pounds him in the head.
Bart keeps pounding away on the forehead and the champion is in trouble. Actually scratch that as Manny fights up and pounds away, knocking Bart out to the floor. Back in and Manny punches Bart down, busting him open in the process. Bart goes to the ribs for a change to take over and the punching continues. Bull is knocked down and we see him from the overhead camera again. Bart can still only get two so he drops Manny throat first over the top rope. Bart tries to bring in a bullrope but gets rolled up and Manny retains his title.
Rating: C-. Is it good? Not really. Is it really even wrestling? Again, barely. However, it’s BY FAR the best match of the night so far as it was at least intense and entertaining which nothing so far has been. Also it helps to have a clear face and heel, which we’ve been completely lacking so far. Not a good match or anything but this was water in the desert by comparison to everything else.
Since we’re an hour in, here’s a seven minute intermission.
We get the ending to last year’s cage match, which is already the best thing tonight event though we only get about fifteen seconds.
Tony is with Ricky Steamboat and the lights go out so no interview.
We see the attack on Steamboat again and head back to Ricky, who has put up $10,000 for a shot at the TV Title tonight. His back is really hurt but tonight is too important to miss.
The announcers talk about the TV Title match. Apparently if Tully gets disqualified he loses the title.
JJ and Tully think there’s a conspiracy against Blanchard. Tully says Steamboat is going down and then he’s coming for the world title.
The announcers talk about the remaining matches for a bit.
Paul Jones vs. Jimmy Valiant
This is one of the longest running and most worthless feuds in wrestling history. Jones is a manager and Valiant is a good guy. This is a loser leaves town tuxedo match street fight, which means the first person to strip the other down wins. Valiant gets a GREAT pop and comes out with the Assassin while Jones has a member of the Express from earlier who isn’t important enough to specify.
Jones cowers in the corner to start before Valiant ties him to the top rope with another rope. Valiant rips off both guys’ jackets and puts one around Jones’ eyes. Valiant strips Jones down to an open shirt and underwear as this is one of those comedy matches minus the comedy. Jones loses his shirt and is in his underwear but the match continues. Valiant pounds him down and puts on a sleeper as Jones is squirting blood from his forehead. Assassin and the Zambuie guy get in and the referee goes down. JJ Dillon comes in and knocks Valiant out with a shoe, giving Jones the pin. In a tuxedo match. Why am I surprised?
Rating: F. Let’s see. Valiant wasn’t funny, Jones wound up in his underwear, and then he won by pin after three people interfered in a five minute match. Is this the show that introduced Vince Russo to the world of wrestling? ANOTHER bad match here as this is rapidly approaching the worst shows of all time. Jones and Valiant would feud into 1986 after having feuded for ten months already.
Ric Flair is serious and says that he’s ready for Dusty because the only thing sweeter than winning the title is keeping it.
Mid-Atlantic Title: Ron Bass vs. Dick Slater
This is the other fallout match from the attack on Steamboat as it was Bass helping and Slater who was tied up in the corner. Bass is defending and is also half of the Mid-Atlantic tag champions with Black Bart. Slater knocks Bass to the floor to start and it’s time to stand around. Slater chases Dillon into the ring and out to the floor as we’re still waiting on any significant contact.
Back in and Slater suckers Bass into the corner before putting on the move of the night with a headlock. Back up and we go right back into the headlock as we wouldn’t want this to get too exciting. Bass bails tot he floor but gets pulled back inside very quickly. Back in and Bass rams Slater into the buckle and caught in the ropes where Bass punches him back and forth like….something that pops right back up when it goes down.
Slater comes back with some right hands and a boot over the face. After Slater is sent to the floor, Bass pounds him down but Slater starts Hulking Up. It’s short lived though as during the comeback, Slater hits the referee. Dillon comes in and gets beaten up as well but after a slam and legdrop to Bass we get the DQ.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t as horrible as some of the other matches, but again this was nine minutes of punching and headlocks. That’s one of the major problems with this show: everything is so basic and low level that it’s almost impossible to get interested in anything. Also great job here of having Slater get revenge: by losing.
Now, a VERY slow rendition of the National Anthem to make sure we don’t get excited about anything.
Keith Larson/Ole Anderson vs. Nikita Koloff/Ivan Koloff
Larson and Anderson have Don Kernoodle with them for no apparent reason. Ok so apparently Kernoodle is Larson’s brother (despite having different names) and the Russians injured him. Makes as much sense as anything else. The Americans jump the Russians to start and the beating is on fast. We finally start with Ivan vs. Keith and the Russian’s arm being worked over.
Off to Ole to crank on the arm like an Anderson can. Both good guys stay on the arm and there’s the hammerlock slam from Ole. Off to an armbar as it’s clear we’re in for a long one tonight. Back to Keith again for a wristlock as this match keeps going. At least it doesn’t have headlocks though. The good guys make probably their eighth switch as Larson comes in to crank on the arm. Ivan finally gets some separation and goes up, only to be slammed off the top for two.
Anderson and Larson stay on the arm before Ivan FINALLY drags Anderson over to the corner for a tag off to the monster Nikita. He pounds Anderson down and puts him in a bearhug as momentum has completely swung the other direction. As is the custom tonight, the hold stays on for several minutes before Ole smacks Nikita in the head to escape. Back to Ivan who gets two off a slam.
Back to Nikita to break up a hot tag and puts on another bearhug. Anderson finally punches out of it and makes the hot tag off to Larson. Keith speeds things up but gets run over by a Russian Sickle (hooking clothesline). Everything breaks down and Kernoodle is knocked down. As Ole and Nikita fight on the floor, Ivan pins Larson off a chain shot to the head.
Rating: D+. The frustrations continue here as the heels win AGAIN. Not only does Kernoodle not get his revenge, but we have to sit through fifteen minutes of arm work to get there. It is indeed a story, but it’s a dull story. Somehow this is probably the best worked match of the night though which says a lot.
Post match Kernoodle beats up the Russians with his crutch. Good to see that a guy on a crutch and in a neck brace can beat up two monsters who just beat his brother and Ole Anderson.
TV Title: Ricky Steamboat vs. Tully Blanchard
Steamboat comes out to Eye of the Tiger which is rather awesome. Blanchard is defending and both guys have put up $10,000, meaning Blanchard is getting shafted here. Also if Tully runs or gets disqualified he loses the title. They lock up to start and Tully goes after Ricky’s injured ribs. Steamboat fires back with chops and the champion heads to the floor. The crowd is HOT for this one. Back in and Steamboat suplexes Blanchard down and hooks a reverse chinlock.
Tully can’t shake him off for a bit so Steamboat knees him in the chest to take Blanchard down again. Ricky’s ribs are too banged up though and he can’t stay on Tully. An elbow to the ribs has the champion in control and he follows up with some knees to said ribs. Steamboat kicks his way out of the corner and chops away before putting on a chinlock. Blanchard fights up and gets to the ropes before hammering on Ricky’s ribs again.
Back up and they circle each other a bit with Tully backing away most of the time. Tully escapes a headlock and tries to bail, only to be rolled up for two. Steamboat pounds away in the corner and hits a kind of standing clothesline for two. In something you’ll never see again, Ricky spits in Tully’s face and chops away in the corner. A swinging neckbreaker gets two for Steamboat as does a great looking dropkick. I think the champion is bleeding as Steamboat pounds away.
Tully loads up a foreign object as Steamboat tries to suplex him in from the apron and knocks Steamboat out cold……for two. That would be the ending of Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage a year and a half later. Tully’s superplex is broken up and Steamboat hits a top rope splash for two. Steamboat tries a sunset flip but Tully, right in front of the referee, pulls out the foreign object and blasts Ricky in the head with it for the pin to retain the title.
Rating: B+. If this show doesn’t get a failing grade, it’s all because of this. This is one of those combinations that was going to be amazing no matter what they did due to pure talent alone. The story worked very well with the ribs being injured but Tully cheating every way he could to keep the belt. Very good match here which could have been amazing with more time.
US Title: Billy Graham vs. Wahoo McDaniel
Graham is challenging and is a kung fu master here in a dramatic gimmick change. He even comes out to Kung Fu Fighting. Tom Miller, the ring announcer, is actually taller than Graham. Billy is introduced as a former US Champion but I can find no evidence of him ever holding that title anywhere. Wahoo is teasing a heel turn at this point and starts with a test of strength for some reason.
Graham easily shoves him down so Wahoo tries to grab for hair. This completely fails since Graham is bald so Wahoo goes to the eyes instead. Graham comes back with a full nelson but the champion quickly makes the rope. Back to the full nelson but it doesn’t look to be locked in full. Billy tries some covers for two each before getting back up…..and getting chopped in the chest for the pin to retain Wahoo’s title.
Rating: D-. Erg this show is driving me crazy. The match was WAY too short and drags things back down after the great match we just got done with before this one. Wahoo was old and fat at this point but would be a good foil for Magnum TA in a few months. Graham would join up with Paul Jones to feud with Jimmy Valiant, much like a lot of other midcard heels.
We see the end of Race vs. Flair for the third time tonight.
Some Japanese guy, former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty are the judges for the main event. Frazier is also guest referee and sounds like he’s taken way too many punches to the head.
The announcers say let’s go to the ring then change their mind because we’re not ready yet.
NWA World Title: Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair
Dusty is challenging and the winner gets $1 million. Flair is in pink and Dusty is in purple here which is a weird sight to say the least. Remember Joe Frazier is guest referee. Oh and Dusty is one half of the world tag team champions. Flair is the face here due to the hometown crowd but would be turning heel very soon. Thankfully only Dusty’s robe was purple and he has black trunks underneath. Dusty backs him into the corner to start and runs Flair over with a shoulder block. Off to a headlock by Big Dust before Flair takes him into the corner.
They trade punches and chops with Dusty taking over again with a headlock. We hear about Dusty trying pro football but not liking the team aspect of it. That’s hilarious when you think about it. Some elbows take Flair down as this has been almost all Rhodes so far. Ric goes to the eyes to escape and drops a knee to the head for two. Dusty will have none of this selling stuff though and puts on his terrible Figure Four.
Flair gets to the rope so it’s time for Dusty to lay on Flair’s leg for a bit. We’re five minutes in according to the ring announcer and Dusty puts on a top wristlock. Flair takes it into the corner as this is still going slowly. A bad press slam puts Flair down and Dusty chops away for no cover. Dusty pounds away in the corner and sends Flair into the corner for the Flair Flip. Frazier tries to break up a suplex back into the ring by Dusty but Rhodes does it anyway for a very slow two.
Flair elbows him in the face to take Dusty down, only to go up and get slammed down. Even in 1984 that didn’t work at all. The champion puts on a sleeper but since standing up is too much for Dusty, he rolls forward and sends Flair to the floor. They head to the floor for some brawling and Dusty goes into the post, busting him open. Oh man it’s a BAD one too, right above Rhodes’ eye. The referee looks at it but Flair starts pounding away at the cut, and that’s good enough for Frazier to stop the match. Seriously. In the main event of Starrcade.
Rating: D+. What a perfect way to end a terrible show. The match never got going and it doesn’t even reach thirteen minutes in total. What kind of an ending is that anyway? Here’s how you end this match if that’s what you’re going to do: have Flair either DESTROY Dusty to the point where Frazier stops it to save Dusty’s career or have Dusty blacking out from blood loss. Dusty was up and throwing punches when the match was stopped, making it look like a technicality than anything significant.
Flair kisses the million dollar check.
In the back, Flair celebrates with the check and says he left with what he wanted to leave with and that’s about it. Not really a heel promo but he didn’t say that was unfair or anything like that.
The announcers talk for a bit.
Dusty goes on a big rant against Joe Frazier while having a towel wrapped around his eyes. He promises to get Joe Frazier somewhere down the line. Dusty says he’s coming for Flair still. This could be seen as either an irate face promo or an evil heel one, depending on how you look at it. That’s the problem with a promo like Flair’s: it’s so neutral that you can’t really do anything with it.
The announcers wrap things up.
Overall Rating: F. Before I get into this, let me make it clear: this is excluding Tully vs. Steamboat which was a very good match and is worth checking out if you have time. Aside from that though, this is one of the worst shows that I’ve ever seen. It is PAINFULLY dull and never picks up any steam at all. I know it’s a different time period, but I’ve watched shows older than this which aren’t boring in the slightest, like last year’s Starrcade for example.
On top of that there were WAY too many instances of the heels winning here. Look at last year’s show: the heels dominated the first half before the good guys too over in the last bit and sent the fans home happy. While Flair won here, he was the only top face to win. Other than that, the biggest face to win was Manny Fernandez in a glorified gimmick match. There is nothing else on this show to watch and the show suffers greatly as a result.
As I said before, no one remembers this show at all and it’s not hard to see why. The show before and after it would be MUCH better with the same main event being done far better the next year. Not a good show, not memorable in the least, and definitely not worth torturing yourself with other than Tully vs. Steamboat.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
Smackdown Date: March 27, 2003 Location: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
It’s the final show for Wrestlemania and also my dad’s fiftieth birthday. Everything is pretty much set so there’s a good chance this is going to be little more than a slow paced final push towards the show. Hopefully it’s better than Raw, which really shouldn’t be all that difficult of a task. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Rey Mysterio/Brian Kendrick vs. Matt Hardy/Shannon Moore
Kendrick now has theme music, but it’s not as catch as Matt’s, whose Mattitude will make Wrestlemania a success and is very humble. Shannon starts with Brian and gets two off an early snap suplex. A hurricanrana puts Shannon down though and it’s off to Rey to speed things up. Some raised boots in the corner slow Rey down but Rey dropkicks Matt for two.
It’s back to Kendrick but he’s quickly pulled into the wrong corner to start the double teaming. Shannon’s belly to back gets two and Matt gets the same off a wicked Splash Mountain Bomb out of the corner. Brian slips over for the hot tag and it’s off to Rey for the bulldog and springboard seated legdrop for two on Matt. A tornado DDT gives Kendrick the same and he drops Shannon with Sliced Bread #2, only to walk into the Twist of Fate for the pin.
Rating: B-. Heck of an opener here with all four getting to show off a bit. I’m glad they didn’t have the fall between Mysterio and Hardy for a change and it’s not like pinning Kendrick is a big stretch. If nothing else it’s nice to see a match with some energy in the week before Wrestlemania as they were certainly absent from Raw.
Post match Rey hurricanranas Moore but walks into a Twist of Fate.
Hulk Hogan arrives with his son and Jimmy Hart.
Roddy Piper is interested in Hogan vs. McMahon.
Video of last week’s contract signing.
Here’s Hogan for hopefully (and not likely) the last big push towards the match. Hogan talks about having a business relationship with Vince for over twenty years but he never really knew the man. He’s seen Vince do some horrible, evil and often illegal things but he never knew how twisted Vince really was. If Vince is a genius, he’s an evil genius (no brother so you know he’s serious). He recaps the No Way Out ordeal and it made him so mad that he agreed to make Sunday’s match a street fight.
This won’t be his last time on Smackdown because Sunday is going to be a fight twenty years in the making. You’ll see a Hogan you haven’t seen in twenty years because you’ll have to see it. Hogan promises to leave Vince in a pool of his own blood to wrap it up. It’s a good promo, but we’re still talking about two guys who aren’t wrestlers at this point fighting over which of them is responsible for them both being multi-millionaires. That’s at worst the second biggest match on the show and it’s pretty hard to get behind that idea.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas
They trade leg trips to start and get two each as the fans are very behind Eddie early on. Eddie shoulders him down but seems to bang up his own shoulder. Charlie grabs a hammerlock and drops him arm first onto the rope to take over. A clothesline gets two and Charlie cranks on the arm even more. Eddie suplexes his way out of an armbar but lands on the shoulder again. A hammerlock northern lights suplex gets two but another suplex is countered into a rollup for the fast pin.
Rating: C+. The arm stuff was a good idea here but the time hurt them a bit. Eddie and Chavo are starting to get over as faces due to pure in-ring ability and charisma, plus the whole not fighting the FBI anymore. Haas and Benjamin continue to lose, which almost guarantees that they retain on Sunday.
John Cena promises to teach Brock Lesnar a lesson like he’s Mr. Miyagi.
Video on the FBI, which is actually really well produced. Like, more so than their usual great production.
Lesnar isn’t worried about Cena.
Nathan Jones has beaten up Chuck Palumbo off camera instead of having a match. So five minutes ago we get a good video on the team and now one of them is left laying off camera. Well done WWE.
Vince training montage with Shane as his coach. Can he still catch a chicken though? This is missing from the Network version for no apparent reason.
Nidia and Jamie Noble are in the back when they see Torrie Wilson’s Playboy cover. Jamie can’t bring himself to say that Nidia is prettier.
Wrestlemania Moment: Morton Downey Jr. in Piper’s Pit.
Video on Torrie’s Playboy press conference with Stephanie introducing her for whatever reason. Torrie has the best body she’s ever seen, which is the endorsement that Playboy has been looking for.
Torrie Wilson vs. Nidia
Nidia jumps her from behind and grabs a chair as this is already more physical than I was expecting. A baseball slide sends the chair into Nidia’s face for two and Tazz starts singing. The fans want puppies but settle for Torrie hitting a DDT for the pin.
Big Show and A-Train run into Nathan Jones and make fun of his prison sentence.
Sean O’Haire tells us to eat whatever you want.
Big Show/A-Train vs. Chris Benoit/Rhyno
Cole thinks Heyman had something to do with this for the sake of softening up Rhyno and Benoit for Sunday. For once, that’s almost insightful. A-Train muscles Rhyno into the corner for a rare visual but gets stomped back for a nice reaction. Benoit comes in for some hard chops but one heck of a shoulder drops him hard.
It’s off to Show and Benoit gets tossed hard into the corner, only to come out with some chops. Show clotheslines him down and the beating begins. There’s the required big toss across the ring, which still looks cool every single time. A big headbutt sends Benoit into the corner and it’s off to A-Train for some stomping.
Something like a Gory Stretch has Benoit screaming but a Vader Bomb hits boots. Benoit finally gets in a German suplex and makes the hot tag to Rhyno, who has no issues running through the monsters. Everything breaks down but here’s Jones to go after Show for the lame but logical DQ.
Rating: C. This was actually going somewhere until the ending, which was the only option they had here. Rhyno continues to impress and I’m starting to appreciate his rather simple but effective style. Everyone was game here and it made for a better match than I was expecting, which isn’t that hard for a Big Show/A-Train match.
Undertaker comes in and helps clear the ring.
Kurt Angle is looking for Brock. Post break he’s in Lesnar’s locker room and says they’re a lot alike. The difference is that Brock is a 25 year old rookie and he’s not ready. This match is going to change wrestling forever because they’re the best in the business. If Angle gets destroyed on Sunday, he’s done enough already. He’s bringing everything on Sunday and is willing to end Lesnar’s career to win.
Lesnar doesn’t think this is as brave as Angle hopes it is because Kurt knows he’s safe until Wrestlemania. Brock is willing to lay it all on the line on Sunday. At Wrestlemania, here comes the pain, because Lesnar will do anything to win the title. Good stuff here, and I liked it not being in the ring for a change.
Wrestlemania card, with the Raw Tag Team Title match being moved to Sunday Night Heat.
Another Vince training video.
Gene Okerlund is ready for Hogan vs. McMahon and says they were both responsible for the boom.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Shelton Benjamin
Some amateur stuff goes nowhere so Chavo speeds it up with a headscissors and a dropkick for two. Shelton goes after the leg though and Chavo is in quick trouble. Benjamin grabs a leg lock but Chavo is next to the rope for a break. Shelton puts on a different hold (always appreciated) but Chavo reverses into a small package for two. It’s off to the third hold until a cradle gives Guerrero two more. An enziguri finally gets Chavo a breather and both guys are down. Eddie cuts off Charlie’s interference attempt, leaving Chavo to grab la majistral for the pin.
Rating: C. Oh yeah Team Angle is winning and they’re not even trying to hide it at this point. Chavo looked good here, which isn’t the biggest surprise despite his abilities often being overlooked. This was basically the same formula from earlier but with a different limb, which makes it no surprise that it worked.
Post match Team Angle attacks, only to have Rhyno and Benoit make the save and clean house.
Rikishi vs. John Cena
Cena debuts Basic Thuganomics as his theme music. He jumps Rikishi during his entrance and hammers away until a single right hand puts him on the floor. Rikishi gets whipped into the steps though and Cena pulls off the barricade padding to ram him back first. Back in and we hit a crossface chickenwing of all things as things slow way down. Rikishi fights up and hits the Samoan drop. A superkick sets up the corner splash and Stinkface but the Rump Shaker hits knees. The ref bump allows Cena to hit the chain shot for two, followed by I believe the debuting FU (much closer to a Death Valley Driver here) for the pin.
Rating: D+. It’s kind of fascinating to see so much of what defined Cena debuting in one match as he had the music, the finisher and most of the signature look all at once. It made him look like a star instead of the goof that he was for months leading up to this. They almost have to do Lesnar vs. Cena now and that’s not the worst idea in the world.
Cena calls out Lesnar and after a break (with Arnold Schwarzenegger hyping Vince vs. Hogan) gets his wish, only to have Angle jump Lesnar from behind with a 2×4. Lesnar is down and in pain to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This was a back and forth show with good action (FAR better than Raw) but at the same time there was so much Vince vs. Hogan stuff that it took away the limited interest I had in the match in the first place. I’m still not wild on Wrestlemania but this show did help a lot as they focused on a lot of stuff. Unfortunately one match got so much of the hype and it’s really not one of the best things on the card. It’s all going to be about the presentation and in-ring results on Sunday but they’ve got their work cut out.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
It’s a fun chat as someone who calls me his mentor (egads the problems that man must have) and I talk about Raw 2002, some events from this week and wrestling in Puerto Rico. Plus a bit of my backstory if you’ve never heard it before. Please bear with us on some of the technical issues as the content is there despite some stuttering issues. I’ve known this guy for a long time now and he’s a very talented writer who knows his stuff.