Wrestlefest 1991
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes
Host: Randy Savage

I think you can tell the time frame here and that might not be the best thing. This isn’t the greatest time for the company but I can always go for some Coliseum Videos. It’s all going to depend on the lineup and that could go in a few different ways. The WWE Vault tends to have a reason for these picks so let’s get to it.

We go to Randy Savage’s estate to open things up and he’s having nightmares about losing his career at Wrestlemania VII. Savage insists that he was NOT sleeping but says he lost to the best of all time in the Ultimate Warrior. He’s excited to host this tape, which might be the apex of his career. Today though, Ultimate Warrior isn’t facing the Macho Man on tape but rather the Earthquake.

Earthquake, with Jimmy Hart, brings up attacking Ultimate Warrior in a pushup contest, which is how Earthquake made his debut.

From Fort Myers, Florida, February 19, 1991.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Earthquake

Jimmy Hart is here with Earthquake and offers a distraction so Earthquake can get in a cheap shot. Warrior is right back with a flying shoulder to put Earthquake on the floor so Warrior chases Hart around. That earns him a ram into the apron (from Earthquake if that isn’t clear) and Earthquake takes him inside again to start on the back.

Some rams into the corner set up a bearhug, with Warrior not being able to power out. Earthquake puts him down and drops an elbow, followed by the Earthquake for two, with the kickout being as Hulking Up as you can get. Some clotheslines set up the big slam and the Warrior Splash finishes at 5:38.

Rating: C-. They might as well have had Warrior in red and yellow out there as he was just doing a Hogan impression. It’s the exact same formula that Hogan would do in a quick house show match, to the point where I remember him doing about the same thing in a match against Typhoon. When you still have Hogan around, why would I want to see Warrior just copying him?

Savage tells us how to send in a request for a Fan Favorite match, just like the one we just saw. Uh, I’ll pass if that’s the option.

And now, a special look at Jimmy Hart, featuring the Manager Cam.

From Green Bay, Wisconsin, May 7, 1991.

The Mountie vs. Big Boss Man

So the deal here is that the camera stays (mostly) on Jimmy Hart, who is mic’d up. Mountie charges at him to start but gets kicked away for his early efforts. A slugout doesn’t go much better as Boss man picks him up for a spinebuster. Hold on though as Boss Man goes after Hart, who screams for the Mountie in a funny bit. Boss Man even grabs Hart’s jacket and puts it over Mountie’s face for a slap. Mountie gets knocked outside and thrown right back in, which isn’t exactly nice treatment.

Back in and Boss Man chokes some more, setting up the running crotch attack to the back of the neck. More choking has Hart losing her mind but Boss Man misses a charge to give Mountie a breather. Mountie ties the leg up in the ropes and kicks away, leaving Boss Man to fall down in a heap. Hart approves and, of course, can’t shut up, as tends to be his custom. We even get an I AM THE MOUNTIE announcement…and Boss Man punches him back, setting up the Boss Man Slam for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C-. This was an idea that might have sounded fun but it would have been better served on a better match. Mountie and Boss Man didn’t get to do much here and putting a camera on Hart is only going to be so interesting when you can already hear just about everything he says thanks to the megaphone. It wasn’t a bad idea, but it wasn’t all that interesting.

Post match Mountie gets in a shot with the shock stick to drop Boss Man.

From Omaha, Nebraska, April 15, 1991.

The Rockers vs. Power And Glory

Slick is here with Power And Glory as Michaels and Roma trade hammerlocks to start. Roma gets over to the ropes to escape before stomping away on Michaels in the corner. Back up and the Rockers clear the ring without too much effort and it’s time for a meeting on the floor with Slick. Back in and Roman takes over on Jannetty, with Hercules getting in a right hand from the apron like a good villain. A nice dropkick puts Jannetty down but he’s back with a sunset flip for two.

Michaels gets drawn in though and more double teaming has Jannetty in trouble again. Hercules turns him inside out with a clothesline (Jannetty could always make that look good) and Roma grabs a chinlock. Back up and Jannetty can’t get a sunset flip so Roma clotheslines him down again. Roma comes in off the top with another shot but misses a charge in the corner. That’s enough for Michaels to come in and clean house as everything breaks down. Slick grabs Michaels’ leg though and the Rockers go after him, resulting in the countout at 12:05.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen worse, as this match got some time, even with the fairly weak house show style ending. It’s not a bad match at all, with the Rockers still being popular and Power And Glory being a perfectly fine heel team. I could have gone with more of a clear finish, but the Rockers doing just about anything work.

Post match the Rockers clear the ring and double clothesline Slick (who loses his snazzy hat). Michaels even steals the hat, which doesn’t do much for him.

Ted DiBiase is ready for the Texas Tornado, who apparently isn’t that smart.

From Orlando, Florida, February 18, 1991.

Ted DiBiase vs. Texas Tornado

Hold on though as before the match, Tornado asks about Virgil, who recently left DiBiase. Cue Virgil, sending DiBiase into a frenzy, including yelling a lot as the bell has already rung and we’re just stalling here, possibly because Tornado is in no condition to have an overly long match.

Tornado follows DiBiase to the floor and hammers away, followed by some rams into the buckle inside. Tornado throws him outside, where Virgil throws DiBiase back inside. The Tornado Punch connects but another hits the post to bang up Tornado’s hand. DiBiase knocks him to the floor again but this time Virgil sweeps the leg, allowing Tornado to fall on top for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: D+. This was absolutely nothing and it would not surprise me a bit of the match had to go short because of Tornado being out of it. That happened more than a few times and it was getting harder and harder to see him do much. That’s what you were seeing here, as Tornado wasn’t doing much more than punching until he fell on top for the pin. It was more about Virgil vs. DiBiase anyway, but still, nothing to see here.

From Fort Myers, Florida, February 19, 1991.

British Bulldog vs. Haku

They circle each other to start until Haku grabs a headlock as commentary discusses rugby. Bulldog powers out and hits a dropkick to send Haku outside, where he wants time out. Back in and Bulldog slams him down, with Haku wanting another breather. A sleeper goes on before Bulldog switches to a rather pathetic looking armbar. Haku fights out and hits a hard piledriver for two, setting up a rather painful looking hair pull. That’s switched into a more standard chinlock but Bulldog fights up and hits a crossbody. Haku is right back with another chinlock but Bulldog fights up again and runs him over. A crucifix finishes Haku at 7:48.

Rating: C. Pretty standard match here with Bulldog fighting from behind and winning. It wasn’t an interesting match for the most part and it was nothing that hasn’t been done far better. Bulldog was starting to get moved up the card as a singles star and it makes sense that he gets a win here.

Randy Savage plays some pool but he only went 2/3 when he played himself the last three times.

We go to the Barber Shop for some grooming tips, which is Brutus Beefcake cutting hair and putting mud (from the Dead Sea, as written on the container) on someone’s face. Then he adds in an egg. This just keeps going and isn’t funny.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 12, 1991.

Greg Valentine vs. Rick Martel

Ah yes face Greg Valentine. Actually make that ah no, face Greg Valentine. Feeling out process to start with both of them backing the other into the ropes. Valentine shoves him to the floor and Martel wants a breather on the floor. Back in and Valentine grinds away on a headlock before it’s time to go after the leg in various painful ways.

Martel kicks him in the face for the break and chokes away a bit but the bad leg means he can’t follow up. Some elbows to the back have Valentine down and we hit the abdominal stretch. Valentine fights out and makes the comeback with a clothesline to the floor, where they fight to the double countout at 8:34.

Rating: C. Valentine as a face is still one of the all time weirdest decisions from the WWF. I still have no idea who in the world (other than Vince McMahon) wanted to see this in 1991 and it just never worked. It doesn’t help that Valentine is wrestling the same style that had been dull (quality but dull) for years but now against different opponents.

Post match the brawl continues until Martel loads up the Arrogance. Instead Valentine knocks it away and grabs the Figure Four. Like a hero.

From Fort Myers, Florida, February 19, 1991.

Warlord vs. Koko B. Ware

Slick is here with Warlord, who commentary thinks could be in line for another WWF Title shot. Warlord powers him around to start, including a lifting choke to drop Ware again. Back up and Ware goes to the eyes before slugging away, with Ware bailing out to the floor before Warlord maims him.

Warlord slowly hammers him down so Ware strikes away, only to get backdropped out to the floor for a nice crash. Back in and we hit the bearhug for a good while until Ware fights out. The comeback is on with the middle rope dropkick getting two (with Ware landing on his feet). Warlord isn’t having that and hits a running powerslam for the pin at 6:38.

Rating: C-. This was exactly what you would have expected it to be, with Warlord doing his power stuff and Ware doing his speed stuff, which didn’t exactly thrill anyone. It wasn’t a terrible match, but you could tell how bad things were if they were trying to make Warlord into a thing. He’s as generic of a power monster as you could get and there was no hiding it.

Randy Savage watches his retirement match against the Ultimate Warrior from Wrestlemania VII and says you can’t change history.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 12, 1991.

Hart Foundation vs. Legion Of Doom

And here’s the reason to watch the tape. Non-title, as the Harts would still be Tag Team Champions at this point but as they would lose the titles before this was released, they don’t have the belts. Neidhart and Animal shove each other around to start until a double clothesline leaves both of them down. It’s off to Hawk vs. Bret, with Hawk knocking him to the floor for some rather hard headbutts.

Back in and Hart knocks Hawk to the floor for a stomp to the ribs so Neidhart can get two off a clothesline. A backbreaker gives Hart two and the front facelock goes on. That’s broken up so Hawk is sent into the corner for a running shoulder to the ribs. The chinlock with a knee in the back keeps Hawk down and it’s back up for a quick Hart Attack.

Animal makes the save so Hart hits an atomic drop to keep Hawk in trouble. Hart misses the running charge into the corner (chest first of course) and now it’s back to Animal to clean house. Everything breaks down but Neidhart breaks up the Doomsday Device, allowing Hart to get a rollup for two. The slingshot shoulder hits Animal and a rocket launch crossbody….is countered into a powerslam to give Animal the pin on Hart at 12:21.

Rating: B. You do not see the Harts doing a clean job very often but the LOD aren’t your usual opponents. This was two top level teams in what felt like a dream match and it worked well. You had the Harts using their mixture of brains and power to slow the monsters down but in the end, Animal caught Hart one time for a fast pin. Good stuff here and absolutely a dream match for this era.

From New York City, New York, March 15, 1991.

Marty Jannetty vs. Pat Tanaka

From MSG and Mr. Fuji is here with Tanaka. Jannetty circles him to start until a Fuji distraction lets Tanaka get in a kick to the back. A right hand sends Tanaka outside and he comes back in, only to get knocked outside again. Back in and Fuji offers a distraction and Tanaka…does nothing. Tanaka yells at him so Jannetty hits him in the face and adds the jumping back elbow.

Back up and Tanaka sends him into the corner for a crash into the post, putting Tanaka in control for a change. The headbutt between the legs has Jannetty in more trouble but Jannetty is back with a knockdown and rollup for two each. Tanaka hammers him down again but Jannetty reverses into an Owen Hart piledriver (and a scary one at that) for the pin at 10:54. Mooney: “What a tremendous win for Shawn Michaels’…..partner Marty Jannetty.”

Rating: C+. The ending was scary but the rest of the match was fine enough, as the Rockers and the Orient Express always had good chemistry together. That was on display again here, as you had two talented wrestlers getting to do their thing. The fans only cared so much, but how much were they supposed to get into a match like this one in MSG?

Elizabeth calls Savage so he wraps up the tape and seems to make dinner plans.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a VERY mixed bag with all kinds of stuff, but it could have been so much worse. They had a nice variety going here and it’s still interesting to see what was going on without Hogan around for a change. The tape isn’t great by any means and there are some weak spots, but that tag match is awesome and there was enough going on here to keep me more than interested for almost two hours.

 

 

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NWA House Show
Date: February 26, 1984
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia

This is exactly what it sounds like, as we’re going to one of the biggest arenas in the south and probably the most important in all of the NWA. This is a pretty awesome era for wrestling and there is some incredible talent on the show, which means we should be in for a treat. I’ve been looking forward to this so let’s get to it.

Pez Whatley vs. Jesse Barr

Whatley is rather popular and Barr is better known (kind of) as Jimmy Jack Funk. After some extensive referee instructions, we’re ready to go, with an exchange of standing switches. A wrestling exchange on the mat goes nowhere and it’s a standoff. Whatley grabs a quick small package for two and we get a nice shake of the finger. Barr takes him down and puts a knee in the back for the chinlock to slow the pace.

Whatley fights up a few times before a pull of the hair drags him back into a regular chinlock. Another comeback is cut off with a snapmare into another chinlock as they’re not exactly burning the mat up here. Back up and Whatley hits a crossbody and small package for two each, followed by a quick belly to back suplex. Barr sends him crashing to the floor though, setting up a running knee (loud one at that) for one on the way back in. Another running knee is blocked though and Whatley hits a running headbutt for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C-. Not exactly a hot start here as this wasn’t even a long match and a good chunk of it was spent on the chinlocks. The fans did come up for Whatley’s comebacks but there wasn’t much to see here. That being said, this was the kind of match that existed for the sake of having wrestling going on while people were filing in and it served that purpose.

The Spoiler vs. Johnny Rich

Spoiler is a rather large masked man while Rich is a traditional good guys. Rich gets backed into the corner to start and Spoiler slugs away. Some right hands and a bad dropkick get Rich out of trouble so Spoiler powers him into the corner without much trouble. More right hands rock Spoiler and Rich gets two off a slam, with Spoiler already having to use the ropes. From offense that bad looking? Spoiler goes up and walks the ropes (yes, that is where Undertaker got it from) for a shot to the head before knocking Rich out to the floor.

Back in and Spoiler walks the rope for another elbow and Rich is outside again. Rich gets back in and slugs away before slamming Spoiler off the top to break up the third rope walk. Spoiler shrugs it off and grabs the claw before knocking Rich outside for the third time. Rich tries a sunset flip but gets caught in the claw, which is enough to give Spoiler the win at 6:58.

Rating: C. Spoiler seemed to be a solid monster villain and it shouldn’t be a surprise that he wound up being such a success. He had a look and could do some impressive things in the ring, which is more than enough to turn someone into a star. On the other hand you have Rich, who really didn’t show me much here. He seemed fine enough for a regional guy, but Spoiler beat him up pretty easily here, as he should have.

Post match the hold stays on a bit too long before Spoiler lets him go. A bunch of people come out to help Rich to the back but he’s mostly out of it.

Mr. R. vs. Ted DiBiase

This is an idea that you’ve seen a bunch of times, as Mr. R. is Tommy Rich under a mask following a suspension but everyone is in on the joke. R takes him down without much trouble and DiBiase is frustrated early. An armdrag puts R down for a change and DiBiase points to his head, more or less guaranteeing that he’s a villain. A headlock takeover takes DiBiase over with a headlock but he rolls out of it without much trouble.

R is right back with another headlock takeover and grinds away on the headlock as the fans are rather interested. It works so well that R does it a third time, with DiBiase getting frustrated. DiBiase can’t fight out with a top wristlock and the headlocking continues. Back up and DiBiase finally takes him down and starts in on the arm. The cranking continues but the Spoiler and Jesse Barr come in to go after R’s mask, which is enough for the DQ at 6:39.

Rating: C. This felt like more of an angle than a match and I can go with the idea of them just sending in the villains before things got serious. There is something to be said about R doing the obvious joke and it’s working well here. The fans were way more into this than anything else on the show and I’m not overly surprised given who was involved here.

NWA Junior Heavyweight Title: Les Thornton vs. Tommy Rogers

Thornton is defending and is quickly scolded for a shot to the ribs. Rogers grinds away on a headlock and gets rolled up, with Thornton even grabbing some trunks to show what a villain he is. It works so well that they do the same sequence again so Thornton headscissors his way out.

Rogers finally gets up and tries a sunset flip, only to get caught in the headscissors again. That’s finally broken up and Rogers grabs a headlock, which is AGAIN reversed into the headscissors. Back up and Thornton knocks him to the floor as we’re somehow almost ten minutes into this thing with almost nothing happening. A sunset flip gives Rogers two and Thornton’s butterfly suplex gets the same.

The chinlock goes on, with Thornton pulling him down by the hair to keep him in trouble. Back up and Thornton misses a charge into the corner as something actually happens. A knee drop gives Rogers two and he dropkicks Thornton out to the floor. Rogers belly to back suplexes him back inside but Thornton lands on top of him for two, because this is kind of a mess. Rogers hits a suplex and a top rope sunset flip for two but Thornton rolls him up and grabs the trunks to retain at 14:04.

Rating: C-. They picked things up a bit at times here but egads this was another dull match. It’s one of those matches where they were just sitting around waiting to do something and it made things so dull. The Junior Heavyweight Title has almost always come off as mostly boring stuff, which was the case again here. Just laying on the mat in a hold for long stretches of time isn’t interesting and the crowd was letting them know.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Wahoo McDaniel

No entrances here for some reason. They circle each other to start and then stare at each other without the circling. Volkoff kicks him down and hits a running boot before going to the choking. McDaniel fights his way out of the corner but Volkoff is right back to hammer away as this is firmly in punch/kick territory.

A backbreaker gives Volkoff two and his pretty awesome gorilla press backbreaker gets the same. The bearhug goes on (you were just waiting on that one) but doesn’t last long, with Volkoff elbowing him in the face for two. McDaniel finally fights up and chops him to the floor, with the fans getting way behind the comeback. Volkoff misses a chair shot and McDaniel fights back but throws the referee down. That’s enough for the referee to call for the DQ at 5:51.

Rating: C+. This was starting to get somewhere and it made for a good enough power brawl. They weren’t exactly doing anything good here but it worked because the two of them were beating on each other like power wrestlers should. Not a great match, but it was entertaining enough.

Post match McDaniel stays on Volkoff, who runs away from the beating.

TV Title: Jake Roberts vs. Ron Garvin

Roberts, Paul Ellering, is defending and this was a huge feud. It’s so weird seeing Roberts in his pre-WWF days as he wrestles in a sleeveless shirt and pants instead of tights. Roberts takes him to the mat to start and grabs an armbar for some rather necessary cranking. The arm cranking ensues but Garvin gets up, sending Roberts backing up into the corner for a breather.

It’s already back to the arm, with Garvin seemingly nervous about throwing a punch (that feels like a plot point). The armbar goes on again, with Roberts grabbing the trunks to send the fans into another frenzy. Roberts uses the trunks again and then gets in a discussion with the referee over touching the rope. Garvin fights up and hammers away in the corner, including knocking Roberts out to the floor. Back in and Roberts is favoring his arm before bailing to the floor from an angry Garvin.

Roberts gets back in again and shoves Garvin down out of the corner. The armbar goes back on, with Roberts switching over to a chinlock. Garvin fights up and the fans are entirely with him but Roberts karate chops him back. The comeback is on though with Garvin firing off the big right hands to the ribs. Roberts’ shirt goes up to reveal a bunch of tape so Garvin hammers away. Roberts gets tied in the ropes so Ellering makes the save, only to get caught with a chair. The referee gets decked and Roberts hits a DDT onto the chair (that looked good), followed by an elbow drop for the pin at 13:26.

Rating: B-. This was a fairly basic match but the crowd was WAY into everything, with Garvin’s comebacks getting quite the reception. The arm/rib injuries were good additions and they made me want to see Garvin use them to get back against the cheating Roberts. You could see that this was part of a bigger story and that explained a lot of the reactions from the crowd. Best match on the shot thus far.

National Tag Team Titles: Road Warriors vs. King Kong Bundy/Stan Hansen

The Warriors, with Paul Ellering, are defending and this could be a mess. Hawk and Hansen lock up to start and neither can get anywhere with the power stuff. Instead, Hansen chops him up against the ropes, which works better than I would have expected. Animal (with a decent amount of hair) comes in but gets dropped by Bundy (no hair) as the fans sound pleased.

We settle down to Hawk coming in to face Bundy and the test of strength ensues. Bundy isn’t having any of this being kicked in the ribs thing and knocks Hawk backwards, setting up the bearhug. Hawk gets out but can’t whip Bundy out of the corner. A scream sets up a charge but Bundy gets the boot up without much trouble. Animal can’t slam Bundy so it’s off to Hansen for a headlock. Hawk comes in and gets hit in the face a few times as the fans approve.

An armdrag into the armbar (that feels so out of place in this match) has Hawk down again and Bundy drops a bit knee on the arm. The legdrop on the arm has Hawk in more trouble and it’s back to Hansen for some rapid fire elbows on the arm. Hawk actually gets over to the arm so Animal can work on Hansen’s arm for a change. The armbar goes on again and the fans are right there to cheer Hansen to freedom.

Animal splashes the arm to cut that off though and it’s back to Hawk for his standing armbar. The armbar goes to the mat for a good while before it’s back to Animal for the same. Back up and Hansen misses a charge into the corner, allowing Animal to bend the arm around the rope.

Hawk gets to continue the armbarring but Hansen fights up, drawing in Animal to cut him off almost immediately. Hansen fights up and hits a running knee, allowing Bundy to come in and clean house. The splash hits Animal for two as Hawk makes the save. Ellering seems to trip Bundy down and it’s a big four way brawl, with the referee throwing it out at 15:41.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the weirder thing was seeing the Warriors as unpolished heels. They weren’t doing much of anything that would become their standard, including the rather lengthy armbars. While that part didn’t work so well, there was something to be said about the wild brawl at the end and seeing such a different version of the legendary team. And a hot tag to King Kong Bundy, which is not the most common thing to see.

Post match the brawl stays on and the Warriors bail, with Bundy shouting something into the microphone.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Brad Armstrong

Flair is defending, not long after winning the title at the first Starrcade. Armstrong’s National Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line here and he can’t be older than 21 or so. We get the old school referee instructions and a handshake gets us going. Flair backs him up to the ropes before wrestling him down but Armstrong reverses into a hammerlock. The standing armbar sends Flair over to the ropes so Armstrong switches to a headlock instead.

Flair fights up so Armstrong cranks on the head even more. Flair finally escapes and goes to a waistlock, only for Armstrong to reverse back into the headlock. This one is broken up much faster and Flair cranks on the arm, setting up the big chops. Armstrong isn’t having that and goes back to the armbar. That’s broken up as well and Flair adds in a handshake. They start running the ropes and Flair gets in a leapfrog, only to walk into a pair of dropkicks.

This time Flair needs a breather on the floor, which is more in his style. Back in and Flair fires off some shoulders in the corner but Armstrong cuts him off again and hammers away. A backdrop sets up another headlock but Flair forearms his way out a good bit faster this time. Not that it matters as Armstrong gets it on again, only for Flair to elbow him in the face. The knee drop connects (or as close as it gets) and it’s back to the corner for some shoulders to Armstrong’s ribs.

Flair gets two off a suplex and chops away in the corner but Armstrong fights out again. This time we get the Flair Flop before Armstrong slaps on a sleeper. Flair has to get his foot on the ropes, so Armstrong gets smart by crashing down onto the leg. Armstrong gets in his own suplex before grabbing the abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well and they’re both down for a needed breather. Flair is up first and misses the big elbow, allowing Armstrong to whip him into the corner.

This time Flair actually gets stuck in something close to the Tree Of Woe, allowing Armstrong to knock him down. A backslide and O’Connor roll give Armstrong two each so Flair goes up top, only to get slammed back down. Right hands in the corner earn Armstrong a bit of a lecture, allowing Flair to chop away. Flair whips him into the corner but falls down on a slam attempt to give Armstrong two more. Back up and Armstrong hits a crossbody, with Flair rolling through and putting his feet on the ropes to retain at 20:49.

Rating: B. This was a good example of storytelling, as Flair was taking Armstrong lightly at first but got in trouble because he couldn’t keep up with him. Flair caught him later on and took over but Armstrong just kept coming at him until Flair had to cheat to win. It’s no masterpiece or anything but you could see Flair bringing him along in a basic but well put together match.

Flair leaves and we’re out pretty fast.

Overall Rating: B-. This show took some getting used to but you could tell the fans were into just about everything. The one thing that takes time to adjust to is how basic a lot of the matches were, as this was much more about simple action between people the fans cared about. It’s very different than what you get today and while it’s not perfect, there is an energy to it that works well. This was a great surprise from the WWE Vault, though it definitely takes some adjustment if you’re used to a modern style.

 

 

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Collision
Date: April 12, 2025
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are done with Dynasty and the long road to Double Or Nothing has begun. That could go in a few different ways but for right now, AEW has taken its foot off the gas, at least for the time being. It made for an enjoyable Dynamite and it would be nice to see the same thing happen again here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Commentary tells us that Pac is injured and therefore Jon Moxley is taking his place as an interim Trios Champion. That’s about the only option they had so there is nothing wrong with that move.

Here is FTR to explain turning on Cope at Dynasty. Wheeler talks about how the more he listened to Harwood talk about Cope, the more sense it made. The reality was that Cope only cared about himself so at Dynasty, everything clicked. Cope saw Wheeler as a helpless kid but the reality is FTR are living legends and they should be treated as such. Harwood has been realizing he needed to change and the people will understand that he is right.

After waiting for four months, the only thing they were allowed to be was Cope’s new Edgeheads. Just like every wrestler in Cope’s place, he was too selfish because he wanted them to help him win another World Title. That brings Harwood to Tony Schiavone, who wasn’t pleased with them on Dynamite. Against Nigel’s advice, Schiavone gets in the ring and says FTR was wrong.

Harwood cuts him off and brings up Schiavone talking about Harwood’s daughter. Ever the genius, Schiavone brings it up AGAIN and gets loaded into a spike piledriver. That’s enough for Nigel to get up (FTR lets Schiavone go) and step between them, which draws out Daniel Garcia. FTR shoves him down (not clear if they knew who it was) before immediately apologizing and helping him up. FTR leaves in peace. Nigel getting involved is interesting, though I’m not sure I can imagine him having a match out of this.

Toni Storm is ready for the winner of the Owen Hart Tournament and has some thoughts on the competitors:

Mercedes Mone: She’ll drain her 401k and leave her having to drink Storm’s bath water.
Kris Statlander: What a woman.
Jamie Hayter: No one has ever made a dime in wrestling pretending to be from another era.

Anyway, she’s ready for anyone.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Jamie Hayter vs. Billie Starkz

They take turns missing shots to the face to start so Starkz suckers her in with a handshake. Starkz sends her to the apron for a basement superkick to the floor but gets sent hard into the barricade. That’s broken up and Starkz hits a Swanton off the apron to the back for a big crash. Back in and Hayter hits a spinebuster for two before sending Starkz outside as we take a break.

We come back with Hayter working on a half crab but Starkz fights up for a kick out of the corner. Starkz slugs back but gets caught in a fireman’s carry into the knee for two. Some forearms rock Starkz, who gets two off a backslide. Starkz drops her again and the Swanton connects for two more. They go to the apron where Hayter gets in a headbutt and suplexes her out to the floor. Back in and they slug it out until the Hayterade finishes for Hayter at 13:56.

Rating: C+. Starkz is trying in these chances she’s getting but at the same time, you’re only going to get so much out of someone who has never won anything of note on the main roster. Other than the women’s midcard title in Ring Of Honor, there isn’t much of a resume there, certainly not compared to Hayter. I’m not sure how far Hayter is going to go, but at least she got a win here.

The Death Riders are ready to keep fighting without Pac, with Jon Moxley taking Pac’s place as a Trios Champion. Moxley isn’t sure what the Opps are teaching Hook, but chicks dig scars.

Gates Of Agony vs. ???/???

Kaun hits a running suplex to start and it’s off to Liona for the corner clotheslines. It’s back to Kaun for Open The Gates for a double pin at 1:06. Total destruction.

FTR goes to leave but Matt Menard and Angelo Parker cut them off and yell at them a lot. A match seems to be made for later.

Blake Christian vs. Anthony Bowens

Billy Gunn is here with Bowens, who takes Christian down into a front facelock to start. A rollup gives Bowens two but Christian avoids a charge and hits a quick springboard dropkick to the back. Bowens fights up without much trouble and we take a break. Back with Bowens kicking away and hitting a running Fameasser from behind. Christian gets hung up in the ropes for a spinning DDT and a near fall. Back up and a Spanish Fly gives Christian two and a 630 connects for the same. A Stunner drops Bowens again but he’s right back up with a superkick. The spinning forearm finishes for Bowens at 9:11.

Rating: C+. This was another nice win for Bowens, who is on the way to his own singles run after the Acclaimed broken up. That has me at least somewhat interesting as Bowens is feeling like he could be a star if given the chance. You have to start somewhere and beating Christian in a first (non-squash) singles match is a good way to get things going.

Post match Bowens says this is a long time coming and he is the five tool player. He doesn’t need some document to prove he is the best, so who is the best to get a beating?

Megan Bayne vs. LMK/Kelly Madan

Penelope Ford is here with Bayne, who drives Madan into the corner with the shoulders to start. LMK gets tossed aside and they’re both splashed in the corner. Fate’s Descent sends Maddan onto LMK for the double pin at 1:28. Another total squash.

We look at the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament.

Kevin Knight vs. AR Fox

They trade rollups to start and Knight hits a spinning splash for two. Knight’s springboard is cut off with an enziguri and Fox sends him outside as we take a break. Back with Knight hitting a nice dropkick and unloading in the corner. A Sky High gives Knight two but Fox kicks him down and hits a 450 for two of his own. Knight hits another dropkick but gets kicked in the face, only to come back with a springboard clothesline for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: B-. This was the “let them do their thing” for awhile match and that’s what it should have been. Fox can make almost anyone look entertaining and Knight does a lot of good on his own. Knight seems like someone who is going to be a player around here and giving him a few wins here and there will only be a good thing for him.

The Gates Of Agony want the Hurt Syndicate.

FTR vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker

Daniel Garcia comes out to watch as FTR jumps them to start fast. Wheeler beats on Parker on the floor as Harwood drops Menard inside. Menard is already busted open (and it’s a gusher) so Harwood hammers away even more. Menard comes back with some right hands but Wheeler cuts him off. The Shatter Machine hits Parker and a spike piledriver drops Menard. Another spike piledriver connects so Garcia begs them to start…which is actually enough to get Wheeler to cover for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C. This wasn’t about the match of course but rather about FTR looking like killers out there. Beating up Menard and Parker is a fine way to go as they’re mainly around to take punishment. The blade job from Menard was a good one and made FTR seem that much more devastating. Good angle here, though Garcia being involved isn’t the most appealing thing.

Post match Garcia yells at FTR and checks on Menard, only to get beaten down as well. The spike piledriver plants Garcia again so security has to save him from another one. The Paragon makes the real save (ignore Nigel calling them the Undisputed Kingdom).

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Harley Cameron

Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Athena backs her into the corner to start so Cameron grabs a headlock. A rollup gives Athena two and they go to a staredown, which has Athena a bit surprised. Cameron is sent to the apron for a kick to the head but Athena sends her head first into the buckle. A wheelbarrow suplex on the floor drops Cameron hard and we take a break.

Back with Athena working on a bow and arrow, which is quickly escaped. Athena strikes away for two and puts Cameron in the Tree Of Woe for some kicks to the back. A swinging neckbreaker gives Cameron two and she strikes away in the ropes. Athena rolls through a high crossbody but gets hurricanranaed back down. Cameron forearms her out of the air and gets two off a belly to back suplex. Her Finishing Move is broken up but Cameron grabs a rollup for two. Athena knocks her back down though and hits the O Face for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see Cameron getting to put up a fight here and she only got so far. The good thing is that Cameron now has a finishing move (Her Finishing Move) to serve as something of a threat. That’s one of the keys she has been missing and if she can string together some wins, it could get that much better. Athena needs to move on in the tournament though, even if she’s facing Mercedes Mone next and that might be it for her.

Mercedes Mone is ready to face Athena in her own hometown of Boston.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Brody King vs. Konosuke Takeshita

King powers him into the corner to start but gets caught in a quickly broken headlock. A belly to back suplex drops Takeshita and King chops away in the corner. The running backsplash misses though and Takeshita drops a middle rope backsplash to take over. They’re quickly on the apron, where King hits a Death Valley Driver to knock Takeshita silly. The running crossbody against the barricade is cut off by a jumping knee though and we take a break.

Back with King hitting a cannonball for two, meaning it’s time to trade forearms. Takeshita muscles him up for the Blue Thunder Bomb before King wins an exchange of clotheslines. Dante’s Inferno gets two but Takeshita hits a kneeling piledriver into a wheelbarrow suplex. One heck of a lariat gives Takeshita two and two running knees get the same. Another pair of running knees finish King at 12:19.

Rating: B. This was a match where the result was only so much in doubt given King’s recent record in singles matches. That’s not a bad thing though, as giving Takeshita a dragon to slay is something that works rather well. Takeshita continues to feel like he could be an outstanding hero if given the chance, and there is a good chance that’s coming one day.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was mainly focused on the tournaments and FTR and that’s not a bad thing. The show might not have been the most important in the world, but it was the kind of show that got a lot of things done in a single night. Sometimes that’s the show you need to see and it worked well enough. Maybe not a show you need to watch, but a useful one.

Results
Jamie Hayter b. Billie Starkz – Hayterade
Gates Of Agony b. ???/??? – Double pin
Anthony Bowens b. Blake Christian – Discus forearm
Megan Bayne b. LMK/Kelly Madan – Double pin
Kevin Knight b. AR Fox – Springboard clothesline
FTR b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Spike piledriver to Menard
Athena b. Harley Cameron – O Face
Konosuke Takeshita b. Brody King – Running knee

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: April 11, 2025
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We are just over a week away from Wrestlemania and that means it is time for one of the final pushes to the show. That means we aren’t likely to be seeing much in the way of big time matches but the talking will get a lot of attention this time around. Your mileage may vary but it’s a special time of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kevin Owens announcing his neck injury and Randy Orton hitting an RKO on Nick Aldis to blow off some steam.

Here is Aldis to get things going with the fans being VERY pro Orton. Aldis is here to address what happened last week and while he is going to maintain his professionalism, he invites Orton to the ring. Cue Orton to say that he paid his fine double in advance because he knew what would happen. Right now there is nothing for him at Wrestlemania and Orton doesn’t care who he faces, but he needs to be on that show. Orton doesn’t even care if it is Aldis himself, but Aldis needs to calm down.

Aldis doesn’t need Orton to pay another fine because he needs his respect. Orton says Aldis earned his respect a long time ago but he can’t promise he’ll apologize to Mickie James if Aldis doesn’t give him a match. Cue Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga, with Sikoa promising that Jacob Fatu is leaving Wrestlemania with the US Title. Orton doesn’t like the interruption and issues the challenge so the brawl is on, with Orton getting beaten down. LA Knight runs in for the save and issues the challenge for the tag match later tonight. Aldis makes the match.

Women’s Tag Team Gauntlet Match

For a shot at Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (ringside) at Wrestlemania. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria are in at #1 and Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark are in at #2. Baszler takes Bayley down without much trouble to start and it’s off to Stark for a running shoulder. Bayley gets up and brings in Valkyria, who is quickly dropped by Stark. Bayley makes the save so Baszler goes to stomp Valkyria’s arm. That’s reversed into a jackknife cover to give Valkyria the pin at 3:18.

Natalya and Maxxine Dupri are in at #3 and we take a break, coming back with Natalya hammering away at Valkyria. Maxxine comes in with a high crossbody for two on Bayley before taking the straps down (the fans approve). Some running clotheslines set up the reverse Worm but Bayley reverses a Sharpshooter attempt into a small package to pin Dupri at 9:14 total.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are in at #4 and rush Bayley, who gets her knees up to cut off a splash. The elbow drop gets two on Carter so it’s off to Valkyria, who gets caught with the Keg Stand for two. A quick Nightwing finishes Chance at 11:48 total and it’s Michin/B-Fab in at #5.

We take another break and come back with Valkyria kicking her way out of trouble and bringing Bayley back in. Michin cuts her off with a quick DDT and everything breaks down. Michin dives onto Valkyria but Bayley Rose Plants B-Fab for the pin at 17:31 total. Piper Niven and Alba Fyre are in at #6 (last) and knock the winded Bayley outside. A double suplex into a backsplash gets two on Bayley as we take a third break.

Back again with an assisted backsplash giving Fyre two as Bayley is in big trouble. Bayley counters a double suplex into a double DDT (the fans are WAY into the comeback) and the diving tag brings in Valkyria to clean house. A tornado DDT hits Niven, who is right back with a suplex to Valkyria.

Somehow Valkyria powerbombs Niven out of the corner and the top rope elbow gives Bayley one. A backbreaker/Swanton combination gets two on Bayley but Valkyria is back in for the save. Bayley dropkicks Niven into a powerbomb to the floor but Fyre kicks Bayley down for two. The Rose Plant hits Fyre though and Valkyria adds a top rope ax kick for the pin at 28:39.

Rating: B. Normally I don’t care for gauntlet matches but they were working hard here in front of a VERY hot crowd. Bayley and Valkyria are a thrown together team but at least they had to put in a hard fought performance to get the title shot. It’s not like there are any other teams ready to go after the belts and it is something fresh so I can go with this.

Post match the champs get in the ring for the staredown.

Apparently Charlotte and Tiffany Stratton got in a fight before the show. Which we aren’t seeing.

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre is set for a street fight on Wrestlemania Sunday.

Classic Wrestlemania Moment: Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock. That works.

Here is Damian Priest for a chat but Drew McIntyre runs in and rams him head first into the apron monitor. Priest is carried out, leaving McIntyre saying we are starting to see now. McIntyre is the only one who tells the truth and Priest is the only person who benefits from McIntyre getting screwed. Their street fight is a year in the making and his eye is completely fine. He’s 100% cleared so Priest is 100% screwed. Cue Priest so the brawl is on but McIntyre goes to the eyes and hits him in the face with the steps. The Future Shock onto the steps leaves Priest laying.

DIY thinks there is a conspiracy against them and Pretty Deadly thinks they’re nuts. The Motor City Machine Guns come in to mock DIY as well.

We look at Rey Fenix’s debut last week.

HHH Hall Of Fame video, looking at him winning the 1997 King Of The Ring.

Berto vs. Rey Fenix

The rest of Legado del Fantasma are here with Berto. Fenix rolls him up for a fast two to start and spins around into another rollup for another two. Berto shoves him off the top and onto the apron for a crash. The big dive connects and we take a break. Back with Fenix chopping away and hitting a spinning top rope headbutt for a knockdown. Berto is sent outside for the big running flip dive but he’s back in with a springboard kick to the face for two.

A sitout powerbomb gets two more but Fenix is back with a springboard hurricanrana for two of his own. Berto is back with a fireman’s carry into another sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Fenix gets his boots up to stop a moonsault though and a running springboard kick to face in the corner rocks Berto again. The Mexican Muscle Buster finishes for Fenix at 10:41.

Rating: B. This was a good showcase for Fenix, who might not have the cool factor like Penta but he can do some crazy high flying stuff. That’s the kind of thing that is going to get someone noticed in a hurry and Fenix has made it work in two weeks. Note that commentary also mentioned Fenix and Penta are brothers, so they aren’t bothering wasting time with some big reveal.

Roxanne Perez is here to talk about how she doesn’t like Tiffany Stratton, who comes in to yell at her. They both want a match and Nick Aldis pops in to say he’ll think about it.

We get a video on Paul Heyman’s history with CM Punk, including OVW footage and their time working together to great success. Then Punk left and came back, with their relationship still being a thing, albeit in the background. Punk then helped Heyman a bit and Heyman will be in Punk’s corner at Wrestlemania, even with Roman Reigns in the same match.

Chelsea Green is annoyed that Piper Niven and Alba Fyre aren’t ready to help her. Zelina Vega comes in to mock Green for having to wrestle on her own.

We get another smoky vignette.

Zelina Vega vs. Chelsea Green

Non-title. Green stomps away to start and they go outside with Vega being dropped onto the announcers’ table. Green throws her back inside, yells at commentary…and gets counted out at 1:02.

Santos Escobar is disappointed in Berto for losing to Rey Fenix. Escobar and Angel are off to congratulate Fenix on his win.

After a look at what is coming in the rest of the show, Andrade comes in to give Berto a pep talk. Berto tells him to mind his own business.

Naomi can’t stand Jade Cargill, who she calls a snake for taking Naomi’s spot.

Jade Cargill says Naomi’s time has run out and revenge is coming.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat and there are a bunch of WWE Titles from throughout history in the ring. Rhodes puts his title on a pedestal in the middle of the rest and, after soaking in some cheers, Rhodes thanks the fans for always giving him a warm reception. These titles are the denotations of excellence and Rhodes has been blessed to hold the title. Wrestlemania is about the next twenty champions, who might be from NXT or the ID Program or maybe someone here in Seattle tonight. But there is one man who wants to take all that away and that man is John Cena.

Seattle is not part of Cena’s retirement tour so Rhodes brings up Cena saying Rhodes is nothing but a common fan. Rhodes has his tattoo and wears a suit because he wants to be someone. He goes down the titles and talks about various champions who held them, including Cena with the spinner title. Cena was someone who was trying to find himself, which is what he has said about Rhodes.

The reality right now is that Rhodes is the WWE Champion and Cena is not. Rhodes calls himself the captain around here and he is part of a stacked roster (which he lists off). The reality is that Rhodes does his best work when his back is against the wall and that is going to be the case at Wrestlemania. It would be clever for Rhodes to say Cena’s time is up but that has been the case for a long time. The reality is Rhodes is champion and it is staying with the people. I love a good props segment and this was very good stuff, with Rhodes making the title the focal point of the whole thing.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

The Street Profits are ready to retain their Tag Team Titles against the Motor City Machine Guns next week. Dawkins even mentions the IWC as the Guns’ fans, but Miz and Carmelo Hayes interrupt. They seem to want the titles for themselves and a staredown ensues.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez

Non-title. Stratton shoves her out of the corner to start and Matrixes her way out of a clothesline. A headscissors takes Stratton down but she’s back with some snap suplexes for two. The referee has to fix the ring skirt though and Stratton is sent into the post as we take a break.

Back with Stratton hitting some clotheslines and a spinebuster gets two. Another spinebuster gets another two but Perez avoids a hip attack. Perez’s Lionsault hits raised knees but she breaks up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. A middle rope Russian legsweep gives Perez two and the crossface goes on. That’s countered with a Regal Roll and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever finishes for Stratton at 9:18.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here with Perez looking like she was getting squashed but turning it into a good match. That’s a nice thing to see as Perez could be quite the player on the main roster if given the chance. I’m not sure when that is going to start, but at least she is in the ring for something like this. Also of note: it’s a bit odd that both Women’s Champions both use moonsaults as a finish. Not a bad thing, but not something you often see.

Post match here is Charlotte, who had been sent home, to jump Stratton.

We recap CM Punk picking his favor from Paul Heyman, which did not sit well with Roman Reigns. Then Seth Rollins attacked Punk and teased attacking Heyman, saying Heyman owed him a favor as a result. They wouldn’t have Punk join Rollins, right?

We get the official Wrestlemania lineups, including the days:

Saturday:

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
Raw Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. New Day
Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu
Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte
Raw World Title: Gunther vs. Jey Uso

Sunday:

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Bayley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez
Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky
Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

That Saturday show is rather stacked, though I would assume Sunday gets another match to even things up.

Randy Orton/LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa/Tama Tonga

Tonga drives Knight into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. Sikoa comes in and Knight fights his way out of the corner, allowing the early tag off to Orton. An early hanging DDT plants Sikoa but he comes back with a Samoan drop as we take a break. Back with Sikoa grabbing a chinlock so Orton belly to back suplexes his way to freedom.

Knight comes in for a running knee in the corner to Tonga and a neckbreaker out of the corner drops Sikoa. Back up and the Samoan Spike hits Knight, only for Tonga to walk into the RKO. Sikoa and Orton brawl into the crowd, leaving Knight to hit the BFT to pin Tonga at 9:01.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much a house show main event and that’s not a bad way to wrap up the night. We’re coming up Knight facing a member of the family for his title at Wrestlemania so having him beat one of the lackeys is a fine way to go. Orton vs. Sikoa doesn’t feel like much of a Wrestlemania showdown (and it might not be) but it’s not like they have anything else ready on such short notice.

Post match Jacob Fatu comes in and beats down Knight, including three triple jump moonsaults, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. We’re literally now to the point where the cards have been announced for Wrestlemania so there isn’t much left to do. With just the final Raw and next week’s Smackdown, which is pretty much just a big pre-show, to go, Wrestlemania really feels like it is here. This week’s show had better action than I was expecting and I really liked the Rhodes segment with the classic belts. Good stuff here (with one of the hottest American crowds in recent memory), as we’re starting to get the final touches ready for the biggest nights of the year.

Results
Bayley/Lyra Valkyria won a gauntlet match last eliminating Piper Niven and Alba Fyre
Rey Fenix b. Berto – Mexican Muscle Buster
Zelina Vega b. Chelsea Green via countout
Tiffany Stratton b. Roxanne Perez – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
LA Knight/Randy Orton b. Solo Sikoa/Tama Tonga – BFT to Tonga

 

 

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

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Evolve
Date: April 9, 2025
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Robert Stone, Peter Rosenberg

After the first month or so, I’m starting to enjoy watching this show. No it isn’t anything great but it’s a logically put together show that is doing a good job of helping the young stars in their development. That’s a tricky thing to do but they’re making it work well thus far. Let’s get to it.

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

Swipe Right is happy with their performance last night on NXT, even though they lost. They know they’re the future.

We look back at Dani Palmer and Kali Armstrong teaming together and not getting along. Therefore, it’s time to fight, as tends to be the case in wrestling.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Javier Bernal vs. Riley Osborne

Bernal starts fast by spinning out of a wristlock and headscissoring him into the ropes. A superkick misses though and Osborne sends him to the floor, only to miss a moonsault. Back in and Osborne rolls into a hurricanrana for two and a clothesline drops Bernal again. The standing moonsault hits raised knees though and Bernal hits a nice running DDT to leave them both down. A facebuster into a butterfly suplex gives Bernal two and frustration is setting in. Osborne fights up and goes to the top, where he knocks Bernal down. The Star Stream (shooting star press) finishes for Osborne at 4:32.

Rating: C+. You can definitely tell that these two are more experienced and polished than the usual stars but at the same time, they have histories in NXT and that doesn’t exactly make them feel like fresh stars. Neither of them should be written off, but they’re going to need something else to build them back up. Osborne is rather athletic, though that’s not enough to really make him stand out these days.

Post match Bernal leaves his jacket behind and walks away, not looking happy.

Haze Jameson is in the VIP area.

Drako Knox is ready to work hard now that he finally has his chance. Whether it works out or not is up to him.

Bryce Donovan believes in survival of the fittest and to survive, you need to evolve. Oh I get it.

Bryce Donovan vs. Drako Knox

Hold on though as here are Swipe Right, Zayda Steel and Jackson Drake, saying Donovan is with them. Cue Cappuccino Jones, Jack Cartwheel and Ice Williams to even it up. Stevie Turner comes out to make it an eight man tag.

Bryce Donovan/Jackson Drake/Swipe Right vs. Ice Williams/Jack Cartwheel/Cappuccino Jones/Drako Knox

Knox and Drake shove each other to start until Drake runs him over with a shoulder. Drake hammers away in the corner but Knox pulls him over for the tag off to Jones. They forearm it out with Jones getting the better of things and knocking Drake down. Smokes comes in and gets caught in a backbreaker, setting up Cartwheel’s big flipping elbow to drop Smokes again. A cartwheel into a corkscrew moonsault gives Cartwheel two and we hit the chinlock.

The rather large Donovan comes in for a clothesline to Cartwheel and a big elbow gets two. Baylor comes in and slowly hammers away before dropping Cartwheel with a clothesline. Cartwheel manages to send Baylor to the floor though and everything breaks down. Jones gives Cartwheel some coffee and the big flip dive connects (Stone: “ARE YOU EVEN ALLOWED TO DO THAT???”).

We take a break and come back with Knox slamming Smokes so Williams can come in with a flipping shot for two. Donovan gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and it’s off to Balor for a front facelock. Smokes rakes the back and gets two off a neckbreaker. It’s back to Drake for a knee drop and a powerbomb gets two. Donovan gets in a few shots before Baylor hits some knees to the back for two of his own. The chinlock goes on but Williams fights up for an enziguri.

A discus lariat hits Smokes and the hot tag brings in Knox to clean house. Knox hits a powerslam out of the corner for two and everything breaks down. Knox’s pump kick puts Donovan on the floor but Zayda Steel distracts the referee so Swipe Right’s dropkick/spinebuster combination can get two on Cartwheel, with Williams making the save. We hit the parade of knockdowns with Cartwheel taking over on Baylor. A shooting star press misses though and Donovan’s Black Hole Slam is good for the pin on Cartwheel at 14:30.

Rating: B-. This was a showcase for a lot of the people involved and that’s a good idea. You can’t get much out of having this many people in just a few minutes so it was nice to see them get some actual time. Swipe Right continues to feel like they’re a big project and Williams and Jones feel like they could go somewhere. Good enough stuff here though, and it was nice to see them getting a chance in a different format.

Post match the winners are rather pleased with their win but seem to be a bit sickened. Sean Legacy and Timothy Thatcher come in to glare them down.

Chantel Monroe is in the VIP section.

Kali Armstrong is ready to fight.

Dani Palmer is from Kentucky and won’t take nonsense from anyone.

Dani Palmer vs. Kali Armstrong

Armstrong shoves her off to start and wants to fight. They trade arm control until Palmer hits a flipping seated senton for two. A basement crossbody gets two more and Palmer grabs a Fujiwara armbar. Armstrong fights up and pulls her off the top for the big crash. A belly to back slam puts Palmer down again and we take a break.

Back with Palmer fighting out of a chinlock and a double clothesline leaves them both down. They hit stereo crossbodies and they’re both down for a bit. Palmer fights up and hits an enziguri, setting up a middle rope Meteora. Armstrong catches her with a powerslam for two but Palmer knocks her down again. A rather high up frog splash misses and Armstrong hits one heck of a Pounce (the Kali Connection) for the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C+. The match was ok (that Pounce was great) but I haven’t been interested in this story since it started at the beginning of the series. It was a good enough story of a high flier vs. a powerhouse and it went well enough, but it felt like they were going through the motions. Armstrong feels like she could turn into something if she can get the talking ability to back up her athleticism. Palmer….I’m not wild on the whole Kentucky thing, as she felt more interesting as the “I’m really athletic” person on LVL Up.

Post match Armstrong says she’s different and calls out the entire locker room. Cue Kendal Grey and Brinley Reece, with Armstrong reiterating that she is different.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was a nice mixture of stuff and that made for a good show. I liked the idea of having something different than the usual kind of show we would get form LVL Up. Just putting in the eight man tag made things feel unique and that’s a nice thing to see. The show is establishing itself as something that exists in its own world and they’re making it work fairly well all things considered.

Results
Riley Osborne b. Javier Bernal – Star Stream
Bryce Donovan/Jackson Drake/Swipe Right b. Cappuccino Jones/Ice Williams/Jack Cartwheel/Drako Knox – Black Hole Slam to Cartwheel
Kali Armstrong b. Dani Palmer – Kali Connection

 

 

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 9, 2025
Location: Baltimore And Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Dynasty and that means both Double Or Nothing and All In are on the horizon. Well the distant horizon but the horizon nonetheless. Jon Moxley is still the World Champion and will need a new challenger, which we should get closer to finding if the Owen Hart Cup continues tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynasty if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, talks about how the roster might be talented but no one can get together to take him out. The Young Bucks have returned and Moxley sees it as a power play. He doesn’t recognize the Bucks anymore and he hasn’t in a long time. They better think before they make a move.

Jon Moxley vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Non-title and Marina Shafir is here with Moxley. They go with the grappling to start and Shibata gets on a quickly broken headscissors. Back up and they fight over a lockup until Shibata hits a rather loud chop. Shibata then stands still so Moxley can chop him, with the exchange of chops going to Shibata as Moxley staggers. An Octopus goes on but Moxley slips out and grabs a piledriver…with Shibata not even going down and kicking Moxley in the chest. Moxley goes to the eye though and gets a rear naked choke for the win at 5:39.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to see here as this was more about seeing Moxley get a win over someone talented. Yes Moxley cheated to get the win, but this didn’t exactly make me think much of Shibata as a result. Moxley being in the ring is slightly better than him talking, but that’s not much of a bar to clear.

Post match the Young Bucks come out, with Moxley saying something we can’t hear and leaves with Shafir. The Bucks talk about costing Swerve Strickland the World Title, which was a favor to Hangman Page, who is still their friend. As for helping the Death Riders, consider it a peace offering. The Bucks and the Death Riders have a lot in common, as they both want the locker room to rise up and make AEW better so they can change the world. They couldn’t even get the World Title so what about the Death Riders and the Elite together?

Cue Kenny Omega to say the Bucks didn’t seem to remember him as part of the Elite. The last time he saw them, they were shoving Omega off a stretcher during the height of his diverticulitis. When Omega was in high school, he had a friend with two dogs who were kind of annoying. The dogs kept relieving themselves and it became a bit hard to take, so Omega suggested that they move it to his house instead.

That’s how AEW was without Omega around to clean up after the Bucks. The last time we saw the Bucks, they were shredding documents, which was to cover up various expenses they had billed to AEW. Omega didn’t like the Bucks trying to kill the company he gave his life to so let’s just fight.

Cue Kazuchika Okada but Swerve Strickland comes through the crowd with a chair (Omega looks surprised) to chase the Elite off. Omega shows some respect/thanks to Strickland before leaving in peace. Strickland says it is time to go Buck hunting and he’s ready to blast them. The Bucks just couldn’t leave well enough alone…and here is Pac from behind to jump Strickland before their scheduled match. The more I see the Elite talking about their backstage stuff, the more it feels like a less interesting McMahons saga.

Pac vs. Swerve Strickland

We come back for the opening bell, with Swerve hitting a Snake Eyes into a running big boot. Swerve knocks him outside but Pac flips over him, only to get buckle bombed for his efforts. Pac gets sent outside…and he grabs his ankle and goes down. The referee holds Swerve back as Pac gets up and rolls back inside. Swerve hits a superkick and the Swerve Stomp finishes Pac off at 4:16.

Rating: N/A. I’m not going to rate the match, which was only getting going before Pac seemingly got injured. Assuming that’s a legitimate injury (and it seems to be given how fast they went home), we’ll just have to hope for the best. Swerve was probably going to win anyway, but they just stopped cold out there and that’s never a good sign.

Ricochet, Cru and the Beast Mortos are ready for an eight man tag for $400,000. The other three aren’t happy about the idea of Ricochet being the captain.

Mark Briscoe, Will Ospreay, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight talk about what they might use their winnings on. Bailey wants shoes, Knight wants to go to Atlantic City, Ospreay wants to go to Disney World and Briscoe…wants to diversity his portfolio.

Commentary recaps the evening so far.

We look back at the first round of the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament, including the matches still to come.

Renee Paquette talks to Hangman Page, who doesn’t know what to say because he’s facing a wild card in the Owen Hart Cup. He storms into Swerve Strickland’s locker room but only finds Prince Nana. Page was NOT trying to help Swerve at Dynasty and if Swerve gets involved in his tournament matches, he’ll pick up where he left off. Nana goes to say something to Page, who cuts him off and storms out.

Ricochet/Cru/The Beast Mortos vs. Mark Briscoe/Will Ospreay/Mike Bailey/Kevin Knight

The winning team gets $400,000. Ricochet starts with Bailey but immediately tags out to Mortos instead. Bailey is fine with kicking away before scaring Ricochet outside again. Ospreay comes in and gets taken down in the corner, where Cru gets to stomp him down. Everyone comes in and Ricochet runs his mouth enough that he gets pummeled. The villains are sent into the corners for right hands to the head, followed by a toss to the floor.

A string of dives, capped off by Bailey’s moonsault, drops everyone again. Ricochet tries a dive but has to land on his feet, earning a quadruple shot to the head in a funny bit. We take a break and come back with Bailey kicking away at Mortos, who catches him with a Backstabber. Ricochet comes in but misses Bailey, instead settling for knocking Bailey’s partners to the floor.

Bailey does the same to Ricochet’s partners but gets caught with a jumping double stomp. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of knockdowns, including Ospreay hitting a double backflip kick to drop Cru. Ricochet Death Valley Drivers Bailey, who comes back up with some crane kicks to Mortos. The Oscutter hits Mortos and Knight hits his spinning frog splash for two with a big save (they got me on that one). The Hidden Blade finishes Mortos at 12:00.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and I can go for the occasional adding in of a prize that isn’t a traditional title. The money means nothing going forward (in theory, as I could go for more of Briscoe’s stock tips) but it did make the match feel a bit more interesting. They had talented people doing their stuff, with that look on Ricochet’s face after he landed on his feet being great. Just a fun match here and I can always go for something like that.

We look back at FTR turning on Cope and laying him out at Dynasty. Cope is out indefinitely and Tony Schiavone goes OFF on FTR, calling it the worst thing he has ever seen in wrestling. Dax Harwood’s daughter is probably disappointed in her father too.

Here is the Hurt Syndicate to celebrate their successful title defense, albeit with an unexpected assist from MJF. They bust out the champagne for a toast but here is MJF to interrupt. MJF stands next to the team and is happy to be with them, because it means he can skip the line and get his World Title back sooner than later. He helped them retain the Tag Team Titles and now they can help him win the World Title. So what is the initiation process?

Bobby Lashley tells MJF to shut up because they didn’t need MJF’s help. The Syndicate does not need him and Lashley gets into an argument with MJF (who insults Lashley’s new glasses). MVP and Shelton Benjamin break that up and MVP says it’s time to vote, with MJF needing three thumbs up to get in. MVP is a yes and Benjamin is in the middle….but says no. That’s enough for the Syndicate to leave and MVP just shrugs at MJF. This is going to keep on and I’m curious to see how MJF tries to change the team’s minds.

Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford are ready to move forward, with Bayne being at Collision.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Kris Statlander vs. Thunder Rosa

Toni Storm is on commentary, having stolen one of the commentators’ cars and returning their keys, albeit apologizing for the tobacco juice she left in there. Statlander runs her over with a shoulder to start but Rosa grabs an armbar. Back up and Statlander hits a running dropkick but misses a slingshot elbow. The running dropkick in the ropes knocks Statlander to the floor, setting up a seated senton off the apron. Back up and Statlander knocks her to the floor as well and we take a break.

We come back with Rosa grabbing a springboard hurricanrana into a northern lights suplex for two. Statlander gets a Blue Thunder Bomb, with Storm admiring her “juicy muscles”. A Canadian Destroyer gives Rosa two but Statlander powers up and hits Staturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: B-. This was a strong showing from Statlander and that’s kind of weird to see when she is in there against Rosa. While Rosa didn’t get squashed here, it was more about Statlander looking dominant. Statlander might be a long shot to win the whole thing, but she’s already on a nice start.

Don Callis is ready for Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita to win the Owen Hart Cup. The team has injuries though and now it’s time to recruit some new members.

Adam Cole is happy to have gotten his moment but Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong want their own moment. Cole says they’re back and seems to dub the team the Paragon.

Here is an angry Chris Jericho for TV Time. Jericho is no longer the Ring Of Honor World Champion as he lost his match, his tooth and his title. He gives credit where credit is due to Bandido, who won the match, albeit with help from his brother and his STOOGE of a mother. Bandido has his family but so does Jericho, who brings out Big Bill and Bryan Keith.

Jericho gets on them for losing at Dynasty but Bill cuts him off. He joined up with the Learning Tree because Jericho is one of the best ever, but he is not here to be a punching bag when things go wrong. If all Jericho is going to do is berate him, then let him know now and it’s over.

Jericho says that’s not why he brought them out here, but rather so he can yell at them for not helping him retain the Ring Of Honor World Title. But that’s not what Jericho believes at all, because he isn’t angry. He’s just disappointed. Then he hits his TV monitor with a baseball bat, shouting about how he is disappointed…..in Bill. Jericho wants Bill to fix this and leaves. I really could have gone with no Jericho for a bit but that’s just not going to happen.

We look at Anthony Bowens returning to take out Max Caster.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

The Hurt Syndicate is in the back and Lashley says they don’t need or trust MJF. Benjamin thinks MJF is kind of funny and Lashley walks off, with Benjamin going to talk to him. MJF comes in to yell about how badly the rest of the Syndicate is treating him. MJF: “I’M MJF!” MVP: “That’s the problem.” He suggests that MJF find out what the rest of the team wants and give it to them.

Chris Jericho goes to leave and bashes more things with his bat.

Death Riders vs. Opps

Yuta’s waistlock doesn’t work on Joe to start and a forearm just annoys Joe even more. Castagnoli comes in for a strike off, with Joe sending him into the corner for a jumping enziguri. Hook comes in and gets slammed by Castagnoli but sidesteps Yuta’s dive in a nice tribute. Some rolling German suplexes have Yuta in trouble but he sends Hook to the apron for a double stomp from Castagnoli.

We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting an Angle Slam on Hook. A suplex gets Hook out of trouble but Yuta knocks Joe off the apron. That means a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination (that looked good) for two on Hook, leaving Joe to go after Castagnoli. Hook goes for Redrum but here is Jon Moxley to offer a distraction. Cue Katsuyori Shibata to choke Moxley and Redrum has Yuta down for the tap at 11:40.

Rating: B-. It was a nice enough main event tag match and I can go for seeing the Death Riders lose. While it seems like we are coming up on the Opps getting a Trios Title shot and Pac is injured, Moxley could be swapped in to defend the titles if necessary. That might be what the ending was setting up, but for now, it’s nice to see the Opps getting somewhere.

Post match Marina Shafir comes in with a chair to take down the Opps. Castagnoli gives Hook a Neutralizer onto an open chair so Joe comes in to chase them off. Joe says the Opps are coming for the Trios Titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was good here but the storytelling wasn’t holding up as well. The Young Bucks, the Death Riders and Jericho got a lot of focus here and that didn’t help the show. There was a lot of doubling down on stars who have not seemed to be getting the best reception in recent months and that’s quite the way to go. Hopefully we get more of the fun stuff that AEW has been doing and less of the annoying stories, because AEW can be very entertaining when they don’t go in the wrong directions.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rear naked choke
Swerve Strickland b. Pac – Swerve Stomp
Mark Briscoe/Will Ospreay/Mike Bailey/Kevin Knight b. Ricochet/Cru/The Beast Mortos – Hidden Blade to Mortos
Kris Statlander b. Thunder Rosa – Staturday Night Fever
Opps b. Death Riders – Redrum to Yuta

 

 

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NXT
Date: April 8, 2025
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We are less than two weeks away from Stand & Deliver and this week’s show is going to be focused on the main event. In this case we have a six man tag between the three people involved in the Stand & Deliver main event and the debuting Dark State. That could go in a variety of ways so let’s get to it.

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

Stephanie Vaquer will announce her opponent for Stand & Deliver after this match.

Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker

Stephanie Vaquer is on commentary. They get in a fight to start and head outside for some rams into the apron. Back in and Grace hits a Death Valley Driver for two before heading out to the apron. Neither can drop the other so Parker hits a TKO onto the top rope. A Blockbuster gives Parker two and she sits on Grace in the corner (setting up that high step, which is an awesome signature taunt).

We take a break and come back with Parker blocking a sunset bomb but getting caught in….well Grace loaded her up for a Tombstone but flipped her backwards onto her back (that was cool). Grace drops her face first onto the turnbuckle and gets two off a neckbreaker. The Juggernaut Driver is blocked so Grace sends her to the floor, where a suicide dive doesn’t work as her foot gets caught in the ropes. Thankfully she’s ok as Parker slaps Vaquer, who swings and hits Grace by mistake. That’s enough for the referee to throw it out at 10:03.

Rating: B-. As much as I like both of them, my goodness I do not want another triple threat over Wrestlemania Weekend. They are hammering those things into the ground this year and that’s where it seems we’re going with this one too. Parker continues to feel like a star and if she can back it up in the ring, they have something special with her. Grace isn’t exactly bad either, but please don’t just throw them both in there with Vaquer.

Post match the brawl stays on but Giulia makes her return and helps Vaquer clear the ring. Then Giulia lays out Vaquer and holds up the title. Vaquer never announcers her challenger.

We look back at Ricky Saints winning the North American Title last week in a star making performance, only to be taken out by Ethan Page after the match.

Swipe Right interrupt Hank & Tank and offer them advice after their match tonight. Hank: “We’re not that desperate…are we?” Tank: “No Hank.”

The Culling wants the North American Title back but Shawn Spears says he is happy with what he did and it’s time for the rest of the team to succeed.

Fraxiom vs. Swipe Right

Non-title and Swipe Right (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) are the heel pretty boy team from Evolve. Smokes dropkicks Axiom off the apron to start and Baylor comes in for a Hennig necksnap on Frazer. Back up and Axiom helps clear the ring, with Fraxiom hitting stereo dives to the floor. Axiom hammers away on Baylor in the corner but Smokes comes in off a blind tag and hits a spear.

A springboard X Factor gives Baylor two as Graves busts out a Julius Smokes reference for your obscure independent wrestling name drop of the week. Frazer comes back in and hits a running shooting star press but gets kneed in the face. An assisted swinging double underhook neckbreaker drops Frazer but Axiom is back in to clean house. The super Spanish Fly into the Phoenix splash finishes Smokes at 5:12.

Rating: B-. For a pair of rookies who are from the most minor of minor league shows, Swipe Right looked pretty good in there against one of the best teams going today. This was a rather nice performance from the newcomers and while they might not be ready to move up, they certainly made a nice first impression. That’s a good thing to see, though I’m almost worried about who is coming for the titles next.

Fatal Influence bickers over who will get the Women’s North American Title.

Women’s North American Title Qualifying Match: Sol Ruca vs. Jazmyn Nyx

The rest of Fatal Influence and Zaria are here too. Ruca starts fast by fighting out of a headlock and sending her into the corner. A suplex into something like a moonsault Meteora gives Ruca two but a springboard splash hits raised boots. Nyx stomps away and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two. A running knee gives Nyx two more but Ruca is back with a spinning belly to back faceplant. Ruca’s running knee gets two but Henley offers a distraction, allowing Nyx to kick Ruca in the face for two. Back up and the Sol Snatcher finishes Nyx at 5:04.

Rating: C+. Fatal Influence is starting to fall apart and that isn’t the best sign for their future. Other than that, Ruca moving on is a good idea to go with, as having her hit the Sol Snatcher off a ladder should be fun. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title, but it’s nice to see her getting a win in a match that matters in some way.

Je’Von Evans is coming for the NXT Title but tonight, he’s taking out Dark State.

Giulia wants a rematch with Stephanie Vaquer at Stand & Deliver.

Culling vs. Hank & Tank

Hank & Tank start fast to clean house until we settle down with Tank working on Jensen’s arm. Vance breaks it up though and Jensen comes back with a neckbreaker for two. Tank fights out of the chinlock and Hank gets the tag to fight back. Everything breaks down though and Vance sends Hank into the barricade. Hank is right back up and misses a Swanton, setting up a top rope knee/Dominator combination to give Vance the pin at 3:26.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but the point was giving the Culling a win. Hank & Tank are flailing, which very well could lead to something changing for them in the near future. Other than that, neither of these teams feel like they’re coming for the Tag Team Titles, but that didn’t seem to be the goal here anyway.

Here is Ricky Saints for a chat. Saints appreciates the reception and says the revolution will be televised again. He’s happy with his win but he’s not pleased with Ethan Page. Saints gets that Page isn’t ok with someone showing him up so get out here right now. Instead it’s Lexis King, who says he loves gold…and here is Eddy Thorpe to interrupt.

Thorpe wants a title, and it should be the one that represents the land stolen from his people. Cue Wes Lee, who says he was the best champion the title has ever seen so the conversation starts with him. Starks is ready for any of them but here is Page to drop him. The four challengers get in a brawl and Lee hits a big flip dive to take them out.

Ava, Robert Stone and Stevie Turner are in the back when Stephanie Vaquer comes in. She wants to face everyone at Stand & Deliver, so it’s a four way with Giulia, Jordynne Grace and Jaida Parker. As they somehow get bigger than a triple threat.

Trick Williams is ready to get the NXT Title back and he’s not sweating Dark State.

Wes Lee vs. Yoshiki Inamura

Tyson DuPont, Tyriek Igwe and Josh Briggs are here too. Lee kicks him in the face to start fast but gets dropped with a running shoulder. Some choking on the ropes has Inamura down again but it’s too early for a 450. Inamura strikes away in the corner and muscles him up for a fisherman’s suplex. Lee fights up and takes out Briggs but Inamura pulls him out of the air for a spinning slam. Briggs goes after DuPont though and Lee hits the Cardiac Kick for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C+. Neither of these two have much going on at the moment but Lee could at least be in the running for the North American Title shot. I still don’t get the appeal of Inamura, who hasn’t done much in his time around here and has only had some flashes of interest. Maybe that changes in the future but for now, he’s just kind of there without doing much.

Oba Femi is ready to wreck Dark State and keep his title at Stand & Deliver.

Women’s North American Title Qualifying Match: Izzi Dame vs. Wren Sinclair

The Culling and the No Quarter Catch Crew are here too. Dame drives her into the corner to start so Sinclair grabs a wristlock. A rollup gives Sinclair two but the octopus is broken up rather quickly. Dame hits a clothesline and hammers away, setting up a crossface chickenwing. Sinclair fights up and hits some clotheslines for two, followed by a crucifix for the same. Back up and Dame grabs a Sky High for the quick pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. Not much to see here, with Dame being another name without much chance to win, though it would be a nice surprise. The Culling is having a good night here and that’s a nice thing to see, as the team is at least getting a chance. Sinclair is still good in the ring but she isn’t exactly doing much lately, which is another annoying thing to see.

A bunch of women are in Ava’s office and she announces a last chance qualifying match for the Women’s North American title match.

Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon finally get Andre Chase to agree to help them. Hank & Tank come in but run into the Street Profits, who tell them to be themselves. The Profits want them in next week’s gauntlet match for a Tag Team Title shot at Stand & Deliver.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Dark State vs. Je’Von Evans/Oba Femi/Trick Williams

Dark State charges the ring and the fight is on, with Dion Lennox starting against Oba Femi. Lennox sends him into the corner so Cutler James can come in for a clothesline. Williams comes in to go after Saquon Shugars, who pulls him down by the hair. A jumping neckbreaker hits Shugars but James comes in for a sleeper on Williams.

James slams him down but gets hit with a heck of a backdrop. Williams chops away at Shugars in the corner and hands it off to Evans, who snaps off a hurricanrana. Everything breaks down and Dark State is knocked to the floor, giving us a standoff as we take a break. Back with Evans hitting a springboard high crossbody on Shugars but Cutler comes in with a clothesline.

Lennox grabs a chinlock and the villains take turns beating on Evans. An elbow misses though and Evans hits an enziguri, allowing the tag off to Femi. House is cleaned until Shugars is tossed Williams, meaning the brawl is on. Evans hits a frog splash for two on Lennox as Williams and Femi fight up the aisle. A triple bomb, with Shugars diving off the top to put Evans down (cool) is good for the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. For a team of people who came from pretty much nowhere with little success before this, Dark State did rather well here. That finish had quite the impact and I liked what they were doing together. They have the D’Angelo Family to deal with and this makes their feud that much more interesting as they had a strong in-ring debut here. The other three brawling into a fight isn’t a big surprise, but this was more about Dark State and they did well.

Post match Stacks pops up on the screen to issue the challenge for a fight in the parking lot next week. Well that ups the danger significantly.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more about setting up things for Stand & Deliver, with matches being made and some qualifying matches being covered. That being said, the show isn’t feeling like the most must see card as all of the multi-person matches don’t really come off as special. Stand & Deliver is supposed to be the biggest show of the year and that doesn’t often mean a bunch of matches with all kinds of people running around. It should be good, but it doesn’t feel special and that’s not a positive thing at all.

Results
Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker went to a double DQ when Stephanie Vaquer interfered
Fraxiom b. Swipe Right – Phoenix splash to Smokes
Sol Ruca b. Jazmyn Nyx – Sol Snatcher
Culling b. Hank & Tank – Top rope knee/Dominator combination to Hank
Wes Lee b. Yoshiki Inamura – Cardiac Kick
Izzi Dame b. Wren Sinclair – Sky High
Dark State b. Oba Femi/Trick Williams/Je’Von Evans – Triple Bomb to Evans

 

 

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

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Wrestlemania XXX
Date: April 6, 2014
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 75,167
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

This is a special one for me and I’m glad that it was the other requested redo. I was in the stadium for this, marking my first ever Wrestleamania live. In case you’re really new at this, the show is all about Daniel Bryan, who will be facing HHH for a spot in the main event. He’s been riding on the strength of the YES Movement for months now and this is the grand finale. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Real Americans vs. Los Matadores

The Usos are defending and this is under elimination rules. Zeb Colter introduces the Real Americans (Cesaro/Jack Swagger, which feels like it’s from forever ago). On the other hand, JBL wants to eat El Torito. Just in case you needed both sides of the spectrum there. I also forgot how much I miss the Siva Tao and the Usos’ theme. They’re just cool. Axel and Jey get things going as the fans chant WE THE PEOPLE. JBL gets in his own way by saying Colter is the greatest hero to be in New Orleans since Andrew Stonewall Jackson in 1814. You history buffs know how bad that sounds.

Axel runs Jey over with a clothesline and it’s already off to Ryback, who feels like a relic despite being in the company over two years after this. Ryback runs him over and bangs on his own chest but Diego tags himself in to cut things off. Why you would do that isn’t clear but never let that get in the way of a tag. Diego shrugs off the Usos’ double elbow and gets in an OLE! Somehow he’s still employed to this day so how can I mock him?

Cesaro tags himself in this time and the fans certainly seem to approve. A jumping back elbow puts Swagger down and Diego knocks him to the floor. The Real Americans, Ryback and the Usos are sent outside so Los Matadores him stereo dives. Axel won’t let Torito dive but Los Matadores catch him on top, allowing Torito to drive Axel onto the pile. Back in and the Patriot Lock makes Diego tap at 5:40 to get us down to three.

Axel tags himself in and snaps Jack’s neck across the top rope before running Jimmy over. Ryback gets two off a delayed vertical suplex and some knees to the back keep Jimmy in trouble. We hit the chinlock (notice the REST HOLD sign in the crowd because Wrestlemania fans think they’re rather intelligent) for a bit until Ryback is sent shoulder first into the post.

That’s enough to bring in Jey for the pop up Samoan drop on Axel. Swagger cuts him off with his belly to belly powerslam for two and it’s Ryback snapping off a string of spinebusters. The Meat Hook drops Swagger but Cesaro beaks up the Shell Shock. Cesaro isn’t done as it’s Swiss Death into the Neutralizer to eliminate Ryback and Axel at 11:47.

The fans are behind the Real Americans as we’re down to two teams. A double dive takes the Americans out but Cesaro pulls Jimmy out of the air with a backbreaker for two. It’s too early for the Swing though as Jey tags himself in. That’s fine with Cesaro, who uppercuts his head off too. Swagger grabs the Patriot Lock but Jimmy makes a save. Swiss Death drops Jimmy but Jey is back up with a Samoan drop to put everyone down. The Americans are sent into each other and it’s a double superkick into a double Superfly Splash to Cesaro to retain the titles at 16:13.

Rating: B+. Now THAT is how you do a Kickoff Show match. It was fast paced, it was energetic, the fans were into it (because the fans were already in the stadium and the wrestlers weren’t performing in front of a bunch of empty seats and 500 people) and it was a lot of fun. This match is really great stuff and it had everyone fired up for Wrestlemania. No complaints here and a heck of a performance.

Post match Swagger yells at Cesaro and blames him for the loss. Colter tells Jack to calm down but it’s a Patriot Lock to Cesaro instead. Zeb wants a handshake but Cesaro swings Jack, breaking up the team and making the fans cheer him even more. This should have been the start of a rocket push for Cesaro but it just never clicked for a variety of reasons.

The opening video starts with a man standing on a dark street when a marching band comes in. The voiceover says someone once said a good time starts when we lose track of time it is. “And man oh man, have we lost track of time.” The street fills up with people (and wrestlers, with the Bellas and their signature dance prominently featured) in a Mardi Gras style party with a Wrestlemania highlight package, both historical and modern, airing at the same time. This one didn’t click with me at first but it’s grown on me a lot over the years and now it’s amazing.

As odd as it may seem, the most exciting part of the night is the short stretch between the end of the opening video and the pyro going off. You know it’s coming and it’s just a few seconds away. That’s such a sweet feeling.

Cole: “This is Wrestlemania. Then, now and forever.”

We waste no time in introducing the host of Wrestlemania: Hulk Hogan. Well if you insist. At a milestone show like this, it would have been criminal to not have the most important man in the show’s history front and center. You can tell the fans are ALL over this as they’re losing it over every look he gives the camera. “Well let me tell you something brother” has them even more rabid and I was certainly one of them.

We get the infamous line of Hogan calling it the Silverdome (To this day I still believe that was intentional. Hogan is the oldest player in the business and what’s the big thing that people remember from this? Him slipping up on the line. Then you laugh and chuckle because it’s goofy, and Hogan looks funny in retrospective. That’s the kind of thing he would do.) and not getting why the fans are a little confused. Hogan recaps the first Wrestlemania and messes up the location again.

This time reality sets in and he makes the correction, saying he was thinking about bodyslamming Andre the Giant. Hogan promising more Wrestlemania moments, and you never know when one of those will happen. Then the glass shatters, and the place goes coconuts. I’ve seen a lot of wrestling and it takes a lot to surprise me, but I lost it at this point. This was special and WWE knew what they had here, which is why this is one of the best moments they’ve done in a very long time.

Austin hits all four corners and does a quick staredown for a very cool image. It’s good to be back here at the SILVERDOME and Austin even praises Hogan for everything he did at Wrestlemania I-X (he wasn’t at X but I can live with it here). Austin brings up the two of them wanting to protect their legacies before shaking Hogan’s hand and saying he respects Hogan and everything he’s done for the business. He hits the catchphrase…..and here’s the Rock just in case this wasn’t amazing enough already.

Rock takes his sweet time getting to the ring (it’s a four hour show so it’s acceptable) and even shows off the goosebumps. After hugs and posing, we pause for the completely appropriate THIS IS AWESOME chant. Rock says all five of his senses are on fire because you can see and hear the people, taste it and feel it and OF COURSE you can smell it because FINALLY, the Rock has come back to Wrestlemania. Which means, the three of them have finally come back to the SUPERdome. That means a SUPERDOME chant and thankfully Hogan takes it in stride.

Rock talks about seeing his good friend and his childhood hero, who are the biggest names in the history of the WWE. He’s faced them both at Wrestlemania and they’ve both had an incredible impact on that locker room. Tonight, someone is going to come out here and fight in the name of hustle, loyalty and respect (fans aren’t happy) and that doesn’t happen if Hogan hadn’t promised to say his prayers and take his vitamins. Tonight, someone is going to come out here and rise against the Authority (pause for YES chant) and that doesn’t happen if a bald headed SOB didn’t cross the boss.

Those are facts, just like so many WWE fans having birthdays nine months after Wrestlemania. It’s because of Rock you see. Rock: “Just wait for January. A lot of Rock Babies running around.” Rock even throws out some Wrestlemania rhyming before catchphrases are spoken (with Hogan making sure to say SUPERdome) and beer is consumed. I was ready to go home at this point because this couldn’t have been done better no matter who they brought out. This was special, and that’s how you start a show this important.

Oh yeah. We have three and a half hours left.

We recap HHH vs. Daniel Bryan with the incredible Monster video. The idea is that Bryan has fought his way up the card because this is all that he’s ever wanted to do. Bryan kept fighting his way up, eventually winning the World Title. HHH and Stephanie McMahon, the Authority, didn’t want someone so small and plain being the face of the WWE.

Less than five minutes after becoming champion, HHH then cost him the title, setting up a major feud. The fans would have none of this though and hijacked nearly every show, chanting for Bryan and the YES Movement all night long. Bryan knew he would have to beat HHH once and for all at Wrestlemania, but that’s not all. The winner of the match will move on to the main event for the title.

Make no mistake about it: this push and this feud played a major role in changing WWE for years to come, as the fans suddenly realized that they could power their chosen star to the top of the company. I highly, highly recommend you see this video as it’s one of the best videos WWE has ever put together. You might be noticing a trend in that direction so far tonight.

Daniel Bryan vs. HHH

Stephanie, in some very revealing shorts, introduces HHH. Now since this is Wrestlemania, HHH appears on a throne with three gorgeous masked women (Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss) surrounding him. They remove his robe and armor and HHH takes off his skull helmet before the regular music comes on. As usual it’s a lot, but also as usual it’s hard to ignore the three women around him. Dang indeed. Bryan is coming in with a very bad shoulder.

After a minute of staring each other down, Bryan kicks away an offered handshake and gets two off a rollup. Some kicks in the corner have HHH in trouble and the threat of a big kick sends him bailing to the floor. Back in and a hard shoulder to Bryan’s bad shoulder puts him down but it’s a headlock takeover to put HHH down as well. HHH is completely outclassed on the mat so he drives Bryan into the corner as the DANIEL BRYAN chants start up.

A shot to the leg cuts Bryan off again but Bryan is right back up with a tornado DDT off the apron (sloppy, but it did its job) to drop HHH. Bryan follows up with a cannonball off the top to the floor and everyone is down again. Well not Stephanie of course. Like she would ever do what everyone else was doing.

Back in and Bryan gets crotched on top as Stephanie shouts that he’ll never win. They fight outside again and while HHH can’t get the Pedigree onto the announcers’ table, he can drive the shoulder into the table to really take over. Now the real arm work begins with a DDT on the arm and some good old fashioned cranking.

Bryan kicks him away for a second and loads up a suicide dive, only to get punched out of the air to keep HHH in full control. They’re doing a very good job here with the slow beatdown as you don’t want to have Bryan make his comeback too soon. It makes it that much better to give him a beating like this and let it sink in. A crossface chckenwing into a crossface (hold the chickenwing) stays on the arm but Bryan makes the rope. Bryan slugs away and scores with a running forearm, followed by a pair of German suplexes for a pair of two’s.

That’s it for the offense though HHH goes out of the comfort zone with a tiger suplex (what an odd thing to type) to cut Bryan off again. The one suplex worked so well for HHH that he tries the super version, only to get reversed into a sunset bomb. It’s time for the running dropkicks in the corner but a heck of a clothesline turns Bryan inside out (Stephanie: “YEAH!!! WOO!!!”).

This time it’s Bryan popping up with the kick to the head but the Swan Dive hits a raised knee. Why that doesn’t hurt HHH’s knee isn’t clear. Granted he’s too busy going back to the Crossface to care. The grip starts to slip away as Bryan crawls over to the ropes (it’s barely on his forehead) but HHH rolls it back to the middle. Bryan finally switches it over into the YES Lock but a rope is reached. It’s time to get fired up with back to back suicide dives and YES Kicks against the barricade, followed by the missile dropkick back inside.

The shoulder being banged up doesn’t seem to bother Bryan as he nips up for more kicks to the chest. The running knee is countered into a spinebuster though and the Pedigree….gets two, sending the fans right back into their frenzy. JBL and Stephanie are both stunned and a small package for two on HHH makes things even worse. Some more Pedigree attempts are countered so HHH knees him in the head. A third attempt is countered so HHH tries a belly to back suplex. Bryan flips out, lands on his feet, and hits the running knee to go to the main event at 25:55.

Rating: A. Excellent performance and storytelling from both here as Bryan survives everything HHH has to throw at him and wins in the end through pure determination. This was all about HHH being confident that he was the better man coming in and getting frustrated that he couldn’t stop Bryan. You could see the desperation coming in when the Pedigree only got two and there was nothing else he could throw at Bryan.

Also, Stephanie added a lot here with the constant screaming, to the point where you were begging to see her lose. What made it work though was she DID lose and got shown up, a rarity for her. Outstanding stuff here though with everyone doing their thing as well as they could have in a classic match.

Post match Stephanie slaps Bryan for a distraction, allowing HHH to wrap the arm around the post and crush it with a chair. Again: HHH lost his control and is acting like the old savage instead of the corporate boss that he’s become. That’s a nice touch.

New Age Outlaws/Kane vs. Shield

Kane and the Shield both work for the Authority but they’ve been having issues as of late. A few weeks back, Kane sent out the Outlaws and a few other teams to beat Shield down, seemingly going rogue on HHH in the process. Shield comes through the crowd with those thankfully short-lived half masks until Kane INSANELY LOUD pyro interrupts.

Kane and Ambrose slug it out to start with Dean getting the better of it. Reigns comes in to no reaction (oh, it’ll come) and cleans house with the jumping clotheslines and a Samoan drop. The double apron kick hits both Outlaws and everything breaks down in a hurry. Ambrose breaks up a Fameasser attempt on Reigns and there’s a Superman Punch to Gunn.

That leaves Billy all alone so the Outlaws bail, earning a double suicide dive from Rollins and Ambrose. The spear drops Kane and a double spear puts the Outlaws down. It’s a double TripleBomb to the Outlaws (JBL: “There goes the Attitude Era.”) for the double pin at 2:55. Total and complete squash as the Shield has basically turned face already.

Jim Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter are playing with action figures, with DANNY DAVIS refereeing. Ricky Steamboat comes in to challenge….but that’s not happening because Ted DiBiase has bought the toys. I chuckled, though I wonder why Duggan isn’t wearing a shirt. Ron Simmons, cameo, swearing, you get the joke.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Big Show, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, The Great Khali, Zack Ryder, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Mark Henry, Titus O’Neil, Santino Marella, Brad Maddox, Darren Young, Justin Gabriel, Yoshi Tatsu, David Otunga, Big E, Fandango, The Miz, Jinder Mahal, Rey Mysterio, Tyson Kidd, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Brodus Clay, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Xavier Woods, Cesaro, R-Truth

Only Sheamus and Big Show get entrances. One thing WWE is VERY good at is sneaking the people to the ring when something (the legends segment) is on the screen distracting you. I was surprised when the lights came back on and the ring was filled up. Yoshi is out first as there are way too many people in there at once to keep track of much. Cody and Kofi are sent over the top but hang in, resulting in a battle of kicks to the ribs as they hang over the apron. Cool visual if nothing else and they both get back in.

There goes Maddox (still Raw GM at this point) and Khali’s chop gets rid of Clay. Khali is dumped out by a posse and McIntyre gorilla presses Ryder out. 3MB tosses Young but Henry tosses all three of them (including future WWE Champion Jinder Mahal). Show eliminates Henry as the ring is getting a lot less full in a hurry. Sheamus dumps Titus and Santino loads up the Cobra because that’s his one joke and he’s going to use it every chance he can.

The Cobra gets rid of Miz (erg) but Alberto throws Santino out in a replay of the 2011 Rumble. There goes Sandow as you can at least see the mat again. Woods was put out off camera and Big E. powerbombs Gabriel out in a big crash. Otunga is out next as even Lawler is acknowledging the rapid eliminations. Fandango kicks out Big E. (Intercontinental Champion in a miserable reign) and the Fandangoing begins. Unfortunately he spends WAY too much time on the apron, allowing Sheamus to hit about 30 forearms to the chest for an elimination.

Truth gets tossed as well and Show mocks the dancing for an unfunny moment. For some reason Rey goes after Show, greatly pleasing JBL who wants Show to eat him. With Sin Cara eliminated off camera, Kidd is tossed as well and Del Rio enziguris Goldust out. We’re down to Cody, Alberto, Kofi, Ziggler, Sheamus, Big Show, Cesaro and Mysterio. Before I can finish tying that list, Cody gets tossed to get us down to seven. The 619 hits Alberto but Cesaro blocks a second attempt and uppercuts Rey out. JBL: “Good.”

Cesaro LAUNCHES Kofi over the top…but his feet land on the steps for his annual save. I’ve always liked that one. Kofi comes back in for his run of Troubles in Paradise until Cesaro pulls him out of the air for the Swing. Cesaro is so dizzy that he walks into a chokeslam but a Brogue Kick drops Show. A second eliminates Kofi and now it’s Ziggler’s turn to get our hopes up. Thankfully Del Rio superkicks him out, much to the crowd’s annoyance. Give it a few more years and see how much you care.

Ever the nitwit, Del Rio puts Sheamus in the cross armbreaker but Sheamus powers him up, only to tumble over the top for a double elimination. We’re down to Cesaro vs. Big Show and you know who the fans are behind here. Some uppercuts and clotheslines rock Show but he throws Cesaro to the apron. A chop knocks Cesaro out of the air but he PICKS SHOW UP (ala Hogan slamming Andre) and throws him over the top to win at 13:24.

Rating: D+. Nothing special for a battle royal but that’s to be expected with so many people in there at once. Like I said earlier though, there is no excuse for this not to have launched Cesaro to the moon. The fans wanted to see it happen, he has the skills and they gave him a great moment to set it up. Now how could that possibly fail? Putting him with Heyman really was a death sentence as it brings this expectation and there’s no way around it, which ultimately sank him. Great moment here though and that’s at least hope for the future.

Show shakes Cesaro’s hand and leaves. It takes five referees to bring the trophy into the ring so Cesaro lifts it up by himself.

We recap John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray hadn’t even been around for a year at this point and it’s his first major match after several months of midcarding it. I’m still not sure what the idea here is, but Wyatt started talking about wanting to destroy Cena’s legacy. I think it was supposed to be giving in to Cena’s inner anger or turning to the dark side, but it wound up with Cena being scared of the Wyatts and saying he’d fight anyway. They were really bad about making the intent clear, which could be said about a lot of Wyatt matches.

Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena

Wyatt is played to the ring with a bunch of (I think) voodoo dancers and fire around him for a CREEPY visual. Harper and Rowan are here too with Rowan dragging the rocking chair. What a way to debut at Wrestlemania. Cena’s big entrance? Running to the ring. Wyatt drops to his knees and offers Cena a free shot, allowing Cena to “be the monster”. Cena tells him to get up before grabbing a headlock takeover.

That goes nowhere so an uppercut puts Cena down instead. Some maniacal laughter ensues and Wyatt says Cena doesn’t want to fight him. Bray runs him over with a body block but Cena is right back with the clothesline as he goes into a bit of a frenzy. That makes Bray smile and laugh again so Cena chokes in the corner as you can see the anger on his face. A running big boot (Huh?) drops Wyatt again but he’s right back with the suplex slam (always looks painful).

The fans serenade the two of them with He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands and we hit the sleeper/chinlock to keep Cena down. You don’t chinlock Cena though as he comes back with the ProtoBomb but Bray spiders up to block the Shuffle. That’s still one of the coolest signature spots of its day. A release Rock Bottom gives Bray two and he conducts the fans as the singing begins again. Cena manages to get up top but gets powerbombed out of the air for a sick impact.

A spinning gutbuster gives Bray two and a DDT onto the apron knocks Cena even sillier (take a shot for the announcers reminding us that it’s the hardest part of the ring). The fans sing again, this time with their arms waving and Bray is smart enough to acknowledge them. Cena powers out of a superplex but dives onto Harper and Rowan, despite them barely being a factor so far.

Wyatt sends him into the steps, and says he knows what to do now. Apparently that would be take too much time picking up the steps and getting posted as a result. Cena can’t bring himself to use the steps and gets body blocked for two instead. We pause for more singing and the backsplash misses as a result, meaning the first AA connects for two. Harper and Rowan finally get involved as Rowan offers a distraction so Harper can hit a superkick. Cena rolls outside and drives Harper though the barricade. At least he was justified for once.

Back in and Sister Abigail’s Kiss (kissing didn’t really fit Bray) is countered into the STF but Bray is in the ropes. Sister Abigail’s Kiss gets two and Bray backs into the corner in shock for a good reaction. It’s chair time so Rowan comes in for the distraction but Bray throws the chair to Cena instead. He offers him another free shot to end him but Cena hits Rowan instead. I’m not exactly sure if that makes things better. Not that it matters as Cena reverses Sister Abigail into the AA for the pin at 22:27.

Rating: C. And that’s it for Bray Wyatt being a big deal. For the life of me, I have no idea why Cena needed to win this match and I’m never going to get that. Wyatt didn’t have the big win yet and he had clearly gotten into Cena’s head but then Cena just pins him clean. How does this help anyone? Cena doesn’t need an upper midcard win and Wyatt has his legs cut out from underneath him. Horrible, terrible decision here and the match wasn’t even great in the first place.

Recap of the Hall of Fame ceremony. Undertaker coming out during Paul Bearer’s induction was great.

And now for the class presentation:

Jake Roberts (not much of a reaction)

Mr. T. (that mother….)

Paul Bearer (his son does such a perfect impression)

Carlos Colon (next to no reaction)

Lita (ROAR)

Razor Ramon (another roar)

Ultimate Warrior (The camera guy pulled WAY back in case he ran to the ring. This is so hard to watch now, knowing what was coming just two days later.)

That’s a heck of a class actually.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker. I think you get the idea here: no man can beat the Streak but a Beast might be able to pull it off. During the build, Undertaker stabbed Brock in the hand to show that he was more aggressive, which is rarely a good idea in wrestling. Heyman got in a great line here by saying Brock is the 1 in 21-1. The end of the video is equally awesome with Heyman saying “Eat, sleep, conquer, repeat, eat, sleep, conquer, repeat, eat sleep, conquer….the Streak.” Finally, the lyrics playing over this: “In times all things shall pass away.” They weren’t exactly hiding things.

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Brock looks downright terrifying here, being as chiseled as I can remember seeing him and giving that stare that guarantees death that only he can pull off. Undertaker’s entrance features a line of caskets with each Streak victim’s name on top. They all light on fire because that’s the kind of thing Undertaker does.

Undertaker hammers away to start but the first suplex takes him down twenty seconds in. That seems to wake him up and a necksnap across the top rope staggers Brock. Back in and Undertaker wraps the arm around the ropes before sending it into the post. It’s weird to see Undertaker this aggressive to start. Old School is broken up with right hands as Cole goes over the history of the Streak. Lesnar misses a charge and posts himself so Undertaker kicks him in the bad arm. There’s the apron legdrop as Brock is in trouble for the first few minutes.

Back in and the chokeslam and F5 are both escaped with Undertaker sending the shoulder into the buckle. A running big boot misses though and Brock sends the leg into the post. Undertaker tries a kick but gets shoved down onto the floor, which may be where he suffers a severe concussion. You can see his eyes looking very messed up and he’s not moving nearly as well all of a sudden. Back in and Brock chokes in the corner and OH YEAH Undertaker is gone. That glossy look on his face is scary stuff and Lesnar stomps away at the leg.

Undertaker gets in an elbow to the jaw but Brock easily shoves him down again. You can see Brock trying to figure out what he can do right now because Undertaker has nothing to give him. Heyman offers a near creepy laugh as Brock forearms Undertaker down again and again. I know it’s not the most thrilling thing in the world but this is about all they can do safely in Undertaker’s condition.

A running DDT puts Lesnar down for a few seconds and Snake Eyes into the big boot (or high boot according to Cole) drop him again. The chokeslam gets two and an F5 gets the same with the latter shocking Brock. A quick Hell’s Gate has Brock in trouble but he muscles Undertaker up for the powerbomb break. Undertaker slaps it on a second time (Heyman: “POWER YOUR WAY OUT! YOU’RE BROCK LESNAR”) and it’s a second powerbomb for another escape.

The Kimura goes on but Undertaker actually reverses into one of his own. Brock VERY carefully takes him down (it’s clear Brock knows Undertaker’s head is hurt) and drives some slow motion shoulders to the ribs. Undertaker stops a charge with a raised boot but Old School is countered into a second F5 for two more, sending Heyman into a fit.

Some German suplexes rock Undertaker but Brock can’t follow up. At least we get an awesome speech from Heyman, saying Undertaker is taking Brock’s legacy away from him. Hey now that’s Cena’s deal (whatever it means). For some reason Brock hammers away in the corner and even stands on the ropes while Undertaker is almost seated in the corner. That means the Last Ride but Undertaker can’t follow up.

The worst Tombstone in recorded history gets two (you could see a good eight inches between Lesnar’s head and the mat) and Undertaker is stunned. He’s fine enough to sit up and try another Tombstone, only to be reversed into the third F5 to end the Streak at 25:11. Heyman makes the segment by going from the cocky grin at two to shock and awe at the pin. And no, this wasn’t changed on the fly and Brock didn’t shoot on Undertaker or whatever other nonsense conspiracy theories you’ll see out there. It was the planned finish and Undertaker got hurt during the match. Nothing more.

Rating: D. We’ll get to the important part here in a minute. This is a match where you have to excuse the performance because of Undertaker’s injury. It’s very clear that he was banged up early on in the match and you can see everything chance in a heartbeat. With the concussion, Lesnar wasn’t able to do much to him and Undertaker was only able to do so much on his own. It’s a bad match, but not because of the two people involved. Disappointing, but understandable given the circumstances.

Now for the 800lb gorilla in the room. There are two schools of thought to the Streak and you could go with either of them. There’s the thought that it never should have ended and could have gone on as the one thing that never happens in WWE. I can live with that. At the same time though, there’s the mentality of it has to end sometime and how can you buy that Undertaker, who hadn’t wrestled in a year, could come back and beat Lesnar in one on one match? I can see that line of thinking as well.

However, if you’re going to break the Streak, it should have been on someone with a lot to gain. Sure Lesnar went on to beat Cena for the title in a very memorable match, but there were others who needed the win WAY more (like Bray Wyatt for example). Lesnar does look like an even bigger deal, but Lesnar already was a big deal. What’s the point in giving him something like this if it doesn’t make that much of a difference?

As for the reaction though….I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like Santa Claus was shot in front of all the children in the world on Christmas Eve. The air was let out of the stadium and there was nothing that could be done. This wasn’t something that happened in wrestling and fans didn’t know how to take it. I saw fans crying and running out of their seats while others begged Hogan to come out here and do something about it. But no, the Streak was over, and there was nothing that could be done. That’s how it went down and really, I think I can live with it.

Should he have kept wrestling? Again, I could see it going either way. On the one hand, he had some good matches after this and I can understand why he wouldn’t want to go out this way. That being said, without the Streak, so much of what Undertaker was is gone. It’s a huge part to take away from him and I’m not sure how much of a point there is to continuing at Wrestlemania with the Streak being broken. It’s a hard question, but I could see why he didn’t want to go out, either this way or at all.

The fans are all stunned (complete with the infamous bug eyed guy in the front row) and it takes a few moments for the official announcement. You’ll hear this compared to Bruno losing the title and really, it’s hard to argue this being on the same level. The 21-1 sign comes on the screen as Lesnar and Heyman leave and the announcers act like they’ve seen a murder.

Undertaker looks up the ramp to see that they’re gone before sitting up as the standing ovation begins. He falls back down again though and closes his eyes on the mat for a bit. There’s another situp and the THANK YOU TAKER chants begin. He gets to his feet (Fan: “YOU SUCK!”) and looks around a bit before going back to one knee and shaking his head. The announcers give him a standing ovation as well until Undertaker slowly walks up the ramp. He leaves the stadium….and collapsed backstage as the concussion really was that bad.

Wrestlemania XXXI is in the Silicon Valley.

Divas Title: Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational

AJ Lee, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Tamina Snuka, Summer Rae, Cameron, Eva Marie, Emma, Layla, Naomi, Natalya, Rosa Mendes

AJ is defending and this is one fall to a finish with only the champ getting an entrance. Vickie, who hates AJ for reasons not important enough to explain, screeches good luck to everyone and we’re ready to go, with everyone in the ring at once. AJ and bodyguard Tamina are shoved into the middle so everyone can beat on her. It’s a big brawl (well duh) and I’m not going to bother trying to keep up with the play by play here.

The Bellas hit a horrible double gutbuster for two on Layla and Natalya stacks up Cameron, Rosa and Fox at the same time. The triple Sharpshooter doesn’t work (partially due to the laws of physics) and it’s a four way cover for a four way near fall. Cameron hits a Codebreaker and snaps her top, which is made worse when Emma puts on the Emma Lock. It’s time for the parade of secondary finishers as they’re trying to get any kind of a reaction here. Brie dropkicks Tamina to the floor and the Bellas hit stereo suicide dives onto the pile (marking the ONLY time I’ve ever thought the Bellas looked cool).

Back in and the twins shove each other, thankfully without wishing the other died in the womb. The Rack Attack gets two on Brie but Alicia comes back in with a good looking tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Nikki. Naomi breaks up the Superfly Splash and we hit the required Tower of Doom spot. AJ grabs the Black Widow on Naomi to retain at 6:50.

Rating: D-. Oh come on how was this going to be anything but a failure? The women’s division was nothing at this point save for AJ and Paige, who would debut the next night (which I called to perfection at least two weeks early). Other than that though, it was a bunch of models trying to be wrestlers and bad action throughout the division. This was a mess, but what were you expecting with fourteen people in there at once?

Mean Gene Okerlund talks to Hulk Hogan (yeah he’s still a thing on here) when Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff come in. Piper COMPLIMENTS Hogan on how good a job he’s doing tonight and says he’s finally over the loss at Wrestlemania I. It eats Orndorff up though, because every day someone tells him about it. How does that make him feel? Gene: “Horrible!” Violence is teased and here’s Mr. T. to even the odds. Pat Patterson, in a referee shirt for the sake of continuity, comes in to say it was thirty years ago. The four of them actually bury the hatchet, though Piper nearly retches as he shake’s Mr. T.’s hand.

Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Dusty Rhodes and Bret Hart (easily the biggest reaction) are in the front row.

No recap for the main event so we’ll improvise. Orton is the Authority’s hand picked face of the company and was handed the World Title by HHH. Batista won the Royal Rumble to get here. Bryan is in due to winning earlier (in case you decided to skip the opener for some odd reason).

WWE World Title: Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan

Orton is defending and is played to the ring by Rev Theory. Bryan still has a horrible arm coming in. Batista tries a Batista Bomb but Bryan hurricanranas him outside in short order. A crank to the arm brings Bryan down though and it’s Batista coming back in for some shoulders to Orton’s ribs. All three head outside with Orton going back first into the apron. It’s already time to go to the announcers’ table but first, Bryan gets knocked down again.

Orton suplexes Batista onto the barricade but it’s Bryan back up with YES Kicks to both of them. The big kick takes out Batista, only to have Orton suplex Bryan onto the bad shoulder for two. Somehow Bryan comes back with the running corner dropkicks to both guys, followed by a top rope hurricanrana to Orton. The fans are back to life, only to have Orton send Bryan outside.

A superplex drops Batista but Bryan is right there with the Swan Dive. Bryan grabs the YES Lock on Orton but here are HHH and Stephanie for the save. The referee gets taken out as well so here’s crooked referee Scott Armstrong to take over. The Batista Bomb gets two on Bryan but a spear only hits post. Bryan has finally had enough of this and kicks Armstrong in the head, followed by a suicide dive to take out Stephanie and HHH.

That’s enough for HHH who grabs the sledgehammer, only to have Bryan take it away and blast him instead. A livid Orton is back in though and sends Bryan into the barricade as Batista comes over to help with the stomping. The tape is pulled off of Bryan’s arm and Orton drills it with the steps.

They load up two announcers’ tables and, after hitting Bryan in the head with a monitor (and some CM PUNK chants, back when they might actually mean something), it’s a Batista Bomb into an RKO (jumping reverse neckbreaker in this case) with Orton’s back landing square on a monitor. I was terrified that he had a major injury but thankfully he gets up pretty quickly. Medics come down to check on Bryan as Lawler makes a good point: why isn’t Batista throwing one of them in the ring and PINNING THEM?

Instead Batista sends Orton into various non-ring things before taking him back inside….for a backdrop to the floor. The hanging DDT off the apron plants Batista as Bryan is being wheeled out. Not so fast though as he fights his way off the stretcher, only to be sent into the steps by Orton. The RKO is countered into a YES Lock but Batista is there fore another save. That just earns Batista a YES Lock of his own with Orton making the save this time. A spear cuts Bryan down and the RKO gets two on Batista in a great false finish.

Orton loads up the Punt but Bryan cuts him off with the running knee. Batista throws Bryan outside and gets two on Orton. There’s the Batista Bomb to Orton but Bryan comes back in with the running knee to Batista. The YES Lock goes on and Batista taps (that’s important because Bryan had showed he could beat Orton before) to FINALLY make Bryan champion at 23:21. Cole: “A MIRACLE ON BOURBON STREET!” I mean, the Superdome isn’t on Bourbon Street but that’s an awesome call.

Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t the point here (duh) but what was important was nailing the ending, which is exactly what they did here. This match made Bryan look like the giant killer and that’s exactly the point of what was going on here. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions as Bryan fought through everything and won the title that was rightfully his to begin with. It may not be a classic, but the ending was all you could ask for and more.

Bryan celebrates for a LONG time, including the iconic shot with both belts on the announcers’ table, as confetti (of which I have a piece) falls to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. There are some weak spots in there (Undertaker vs. Lesnar stands out like Undertaker’s sore head) but the stuff they nailed, they REALLY nailed. Above all else this is the Daniel Bryan show and with a classic to start and the perfect ending, it’s hard to complain about much. This show felt like it was a spectacle and that’s where WWE shines. Yeah there were some weaker matches, but there was also a twenty five minute segment with Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and the Rock acting like the biggest stars of all time. I had the time of my life watching this show live and it more than holds up. Outstanding stuff.

Ratings Comparison

Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Real Americans

Original: B

2015 Redo: B

2018 Redo: B+

Daniel Bryan vs. HHH

Original: A

2015 Redo: A

2018 Redo: A

Shield vs. New Age Outlaws/Kane

Original: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

2018 Redo: N/A

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Original: C+

2015 Redo: C+

2018 Redo: D+

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt

Original: B

2015 Redo: C+

2018 Redo: C

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

2015 Redo: C+

2018 Redo: D

Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational

Original: D+

2015 Redo: D

2018 Redo: D-

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista

Original: A-

2015 Redo: B

2018 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2015 Redo: A-

2018 Redo: A-

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/04/07/wrestlemania-xxx-oh-yeah-i-went-there/

And the 2015 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/03/28/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxx-2015-redo-yes/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Wrestlemania XXIX
Date: April 7, 2013
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 80,676
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

With those matches out of the way, the only name left is the Undertaker, who will be facing CM Punk in a match that might have been better had it been for the title. This time it’s personal though, as Paul Bearer had recently passed away, leaving Punk to mock his memory and steal the urn one last time. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Intercontinental Title: Wade Barrett vs. The Miz

Barrett is defending and Miz is now a good guy who uses the Figure Four. Miz gets sent to the apron to start but slides in for a sunset flip for two. A hard kick to the ribs drops Miz but he’s still able to get his boot up to stop Wade’s running boot. The Reality Check (backbreaker/neckbreaker combo) gets two on the champ, followed by Winds of Change (spinning Boss Man Slam) from Barrett for the same. Barrett’s Bull Hammer (hard elbow to the head) is countered with the Figure Four, sending Wade into the ropes. Not that it matters as Miz sweeps the leg and puts the hold on again for the tap out and the title at 4:05.

Rating: D+. Really quick and nothing match here to fire the crowd up before the real show comes on. Barrett and Miz were both in tailspins at this point and the title was in an even worse place with meaningless title changes like this one. To give you an idea of what this meant, Barrett would get the title back the next night on Raw.

The opening video is narrated by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who talks about the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, which leveled huge portions of New Jersey. In the face of all that adversity though, New Jersey stood tall and is still alive today. Everywhere from New York to New Jersey, the people are unbreakable and unstoppable.

The New Jersey National Guard waves American flags.

We get the standard awesome Wrestlemania opening video, again focusing on the Wrestlemania Moment. The Streak actually gets the primary focus here with the other two main events going after. A great line here: “The storied past is only rivaled by the promise of a glorious future.”

We’re back in the company’s home area, hence the theme song called Coming Home.

The set is one of their most detailed ever with the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building over the entrance and the Statue of Liberty over the canopy above the ring.

Sheamus/Randy Orton/Big Show vs. Shield

Shield (Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins. I’ll spare you a description of each.) comes through the crowd as is their custom. Show hasn’t been considered the most trustworthy partner so the question is whether or not the team will implode. Sheamus and Reigns get things going with Roman taking over in the corner and stopping a charge with an elbow.

It’s off to Orton to slam Rollins’ head into the mat and then stomp on his face. Some right hands in the corner and a slingshot suplex get two on Rollins and it’s back to Sheamus. Notice the lack of tagging in Big Show. Ambrose comes in and gets powered down by Sheamus as well, only to have Show tag himself in for a series of rapid fire (well as rapid fire as Show can reach) chops in the corner.

Shield starts going with what brought them to the dance with the fast tags, setting up the top rope knee to Show’s head for two. Dean has lost his shirt as he comes in to stomp Show down, followed by some knees to the head to give Rollins two. Reigns puts on a chinlock (he’s the only member of the team who could make that work) until Show easily throws him down and makes the tag off to Sheamus.

That means Rollins loses his shirt as well for the ten forearms to the chest. Not to be outdone, Ambrose replaces Sheamus and takes a string of forearms of his own. Reigns breaks up the top rope battering ram though as Orton and Show have been taken down off camera. Orton gets triple teamed and it’s a triple stomp on Sheamus back inside.

Show comes back in with a spear to break up the TripleBomb. Sheamus crawls over to tag Show but Orton tags himself in instead to clean house, including catching a springboarding Rollins in the RKO. Reigns comes in with a spear for the pin at 10:34 with Big Show just watching the pin go down.

Rating: C+. Nice opener here as Shield looked good and are clearly the future. Show turning on his partners doesn’t do anything for me as it happens at least twice a year. Orton and Sheamus were great choices to put in on the team as they can take a loss with no damage and are just good enough that you could see them pulling it off. Shield would have far better matches but that wasn’t the point here.

Post match Show knocks his partners out.

Music video on Rock vs. Cena. Haven’t we already paid for the match at this point? We really don’t need to have it hyped again. The theme here is Rock’s legacy vs. Cena’s redemption.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Ryback has been in a free fall since losing his undefeated streak and needs a win to get his momentum back. Henry hasn’t meant much in awhile but is still strong enough to be a threat to anyone. They slug it out to start with Henry as the strong crowd favorite despite being the heel. New York fans are smart you see. Henry runs him over and grabs a powerslam for one.

A “Sexual Chocolate” chant begins and Henry clotheslines him out to the floor before bringing Ryback inside again for some shots to the back. The bearhug doesn’t last long as Henry throws him outside again, only to put the bearhug on again. Just in case Ryback didn’t learn his lesson the first time. Ryback makes his quick comeback with the Meathook clothesline but Henry grabs the rope to break up the Shellshock. The weight makes Ryback collapse and Henry falls on him for the pin at 8:03.

Rating: D. What the heck was that? They’ve set Ryback up as needing a win and they have him lose here? The only answer would be a losing streak to set up a heel turn, because WWE thinks the best way to get someone over as a heel is to have them lose all their matches first. Really weird decision here but WWE had a lot of those.

Post match Ryback hits the Shell Shock. Henry would lose a World Title shot the next night and Ryback would indeed turn heel, leading a series of pay per view title shots. Why they didn’t have Ryback win here, then have Henry answer an open challenge for the title the next night and then let Ryback have his title series as the bigger threat. Instead they did everything backwards because they do a lot of stupid things.

The announcers play with their new toys with JBL making sure to beat up Rey Mysterio.

The WWE is partnering with the Special Olympics.

Some Special Olympians are here with Stephanie McMahon and Chris Christie.

Tag Team Titles: HELL NO vs. Dolph Ziggler/Big E. Langston

HELL NO (Daniel Bryan/Kane) is defending. Langston is Ziggler’s new bodyguard and an awesome powerhouse. The bell rings and Ziggler kisses AJ (Now with him. As Lawler put it, AJ has been on more manhunts than the FBI.) and walks into a kick to the head from Bryan for two in a nice callback. Ziggler bails to the floor and eats a suicide dive followed by the YES kicks. That’s finally enough to send Ziggler over for the tag and Bryan does the same for the power vs. power match.

Langston throws Kane into the corner and powers out of a chokeslam before running Kane over ala Vader. It’s off to Ziggler who misses a splash in the corner and overshoots the Fameasser. Everything breaks down as Langston breaks up a cover, leaving Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag on Kane for two. AJ throws in the Money in the Bank briefcase, only to have Dolph walk into a chokeslam. Bryan adds the top rope headbutt to retain the titles at 6:17.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a Raw match here which is becoming a problem on this show. Things picked up a lot near the end but what are you going to get out of a six minute match? Bryan and Kane were becoming something special and Ziggler would win the World Heavyweight Championship the next night.

WWE works with Make-A-Wish.

Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

Fandango is a dancer (formerly known as Johnny Curtis) making his in ring debut here. It had been teased a few times before but he had declined due to someone pronouncing his name wrong (seriously). Jericho was chosen because he kept messing the name up (“Fan-Danny Devito? Fan-B-I-N-G-O-and Bingo was his name-o!”). Fandango comes out with a bunch of dancers before going to ringside with his main dance partner.

Jericho takes him down to start and pounds away with a very early Codebreaker putting Fandango outside for a big dive. Fandango is staggered but finally comes back with an enziguri to take over. JBL is really not pleased with Fandango posing so much because JBL is far too uncultured to understand the power of dance. A chinlock just seems to re-energize Jericho as he comes back with an enziguri of his own, only to be sent into the post.

Now we get Fandango’s real control as he drops his top rope legdrop for two. Yeah they really just had his finisher get two in his debut. Does that mean it’s still his finisher? Jericho breaks up a second legdrop attempt but the Walls are countered into a small package for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C. That’s one of the biggest upsets in Wrestlemania history and it really shouldn’t be that big of a surprise given that Jericho was only around to put people over at this point. The extra time helped a bit but everyone knew that a dancing gimmick was only going to go so far, though it did lead to the INSANE rise of Fandangoing (a dance done to the tune of Fandango’s music) that was the hottest thing in the company for about a week, starting the next night.

Clip of the pre-show match.

Another Rock vs. Cena video with fans quoting Rock’s catchphrases. This is the kind of stuff that really needed to be cut for the sake of more match time.

Here’s a montage of Wrestlemania moments set to music from the Rocky movies, leading to P. Diddy coming out for the musical medley. At least it’s shorter than Kid Rock.

We recap Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger. Del Rio has turned face and won the World Heavyweight Title back in January. Swagger then adopted a new gimmick as the disciple of Zeb Colter (formerly known as Uncle Zebekiah about eighteen years ago), a man who accused ever non-white person of sneaking across the border and being here illegally. The match is a huge culture clash with Swagger wanting to win the title and get rid of Del Rio while Del Rio is standing up for what he believes America is all about. Swagger won the Elimination Chamber to earn this shot.

World Heavyweight Title: Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio

Swagger is challenging and doesn’t even get an entrance. Did I mention that he had been arrested for DUI and marijuana possession about six weeks before this match? Before the match, Colter rips on New York for being a bunch of people who can’t speak English. Swagger recently broke Ricardo Rodriguez’s ankle but Ricardo limps out here. I had hoped they would get Ricardo deported and then have him make his big return here instead but it’s not that big of a deal.

Swagger bails to the floor to start so Alberto drops him with two boots through the ropes. Back in and a Colter distraction lets Swagger run him over and put on a very quickly broken chinlock. A Vader bomb gets a close two on the champ and Jack drives in some weak shoulders to the ribs. Alberto fires off some clotheslines and even stomps on Colter’s hand, only to have Swagger slam him down to break up the armbreaker attempt.

Swagger finally gets to the point by taking out the leg to set up the Patriot (ankle) Lock. Del Rio easily kicks him away and pounds in forearms to the back, followed by a Backstabber for two. Neither guy can get their submission so Jack settles for a layout powerbomb for two more.

The Patriot Lock goes on but Del Rio takes him down and counters into the armbreaker, only to have Swagger kick the arms away and grab the ankle again. Del Rio gets to the ropes and comes back with the corner enziguri (thankfully limping into it) but has to save Ricardo from Colter. Swagger gets in a few cheap shots but Del Rio grabs the armbreaker back inside for the tap out at 10:30.

Rating: B-. Again the time hurt this but the submission trading with all the counters was really fun stuff. They would have an I Quit match the next month which sounds good on paper, until you realize that Del Rio just beat him by submission here. Del Rio was a good face but for some reason they turned him right back in June. On the other hand, Swagger was dead in the water the second he got arrested which made the match more academic. There were rumors that he was going to win until the arrest, which really does show how much one mistake can screw you up.

WWE supports the National Guard, in case you haven’t been told how awesome the company is in the last half hour.

We recap CM Punk vs. Undertaker, which is mostly about the urn and Paul Bearer’s legacy. Undertaker had been paying tribute to him but Punk interrupted to say that Bearer was lucky enough to not see Undertaker lose his Wrestlemania perfection. Punk spent weeks disrespecting Bearer’s memory with manager Paul Heyman even dressing up like Bearer as a distraction so Punk could beat Undertaker down. Undertaker swore that even if the Streak ended, Punk wouldn’t live to tell about it.

CM Punk vs. Undertaker

Living Colour plays Punk to the ring and Heyman still has the urn. No druids this year but the stage is so close to the fans that you can see hands reaching through the shadows and smoke to try and touch Undertaker. Punk spends the entrance tossing the urn in the air like a ball. Undertaker stalks him into the corner and gets slapped in the face as Punk is trying to win any way he can, including by DQ.

The chokeslam is broken up by a kick to the head so Undertaker takes him to the floor and throws Punk over the timekeeper’s barricade. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Undertaker throws him back inside. Old School is broken up as well and Punk actually does his own Old School for a new idea.

Punk starts working on the arm to set up for the Anaconda Vice before throwing him outside for a top rope ax handle. Back in and we hit the chinlock as Heyman talks trash from the floor. Punk makes the eternal mistake of trying the same move twice and crotches himself going for Old School. Heyman breaks up the Taker Dive and Punk gets two off a springboard clothesline.

The Macho Elbow gets the same and Heyman holds up the urn. A quick chokeslam gets two for Undertaker but the big boot is blocked by a leg lariat. They head outside with Punk escaping a Last Ride and kicking Undertaker onto the table. The Macho Elbow doesn’t break the table which had to feel horrible on Punk’s hip and knee. Undertaker beats the count at nine and a half and Punk is shocked. He’s shocked enough that Undertaker grabs Hell’s Gate, only to have Punk roll over into the Anaconda Vice.

In the spot of the match, Undertaker does the situp and stares into Punk’s eyes as the hold is still on. Punk’s confidence is shattered as he looks completely terrified with his best move getting him nowhere. A chokeslam is countered into a bad GTS but Undertaker shrugs it off (to be fair it really didn’t connect) and grabs a Tombstone for two on a hot near fall. They slug it out and there goes the referee.

Punk tries his running knee in the corner but gets countered into the Last Ride. Before he’s dropped, Heyman throws in the urn for a shot to the head and a very close two (done much better with HHH and the sledgehammer at Wrestlemania XVII). The GTS is countered into the Tombstone which is countered into the GTS which is countered into the Tombstone to make it 21-0 at 22:08.

Rating: B+. I liked this better on a second viewing as when I watched live, I never bought the Streak as being in jeopardy. They tried to make the Vice a big deal but at the end of the day, Undertaker does not tap out. Period. Why should I buy this particular submission as having a chance? The urn to the head was a good near fall though and had me closer to thinking it was over than anything in the HHH match two years earlier. Very good match but it never hit the level of the HHH and Shawn editions.

Undertaker poses a lot and retrieves the urn one more time.

Ad for the new Mick Foley DVD.

Here’s a video on Cena wanting his redemption tonight after losing a year ago. This makes over ten minutes spent on these things.

Sports commentator Michelle Beadle is here.

We recap HHH vs. Lesnar II. They fought at Summerslam 2012 with Lesnar making HHH tap out. HHH teased retiring as a result (again taking the focus off Lesnar as the last shot of the show was HHH standing in the ring alone) and after no one bought it, Lesnar attacked Vince and Shawn to set up the rematch here. To make it even more intense, it’s no holds barred with HHH’s career on the line. (which was announced with the same intensity as last year’s Cell match). Just in case you had any doubt that HHH was winning here you see.

At the end of the day though, everyone knew this was all about HHH getting his redemption over Lesnar because Lesnar is the latest monster trying to stop HHH’s precious legacy, even though Lesnar is anything but just another monster. Unfortunately that’s how Lesnar was billed and it made this feud even less interesting. The first match was fine, but this was the least interesting rematch in a long time.

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar

Shawn and Heyman are here as seconds and remember it’s no holds barred. HHH sends him to the floor to start and whips Brock hard into the barricade. You know, the same Brock who destroyed Cena when they fought about a year ago? Well HHH is beating him up a minute into the match. The fans are silent but it’s in awe of the awesomeness I’m sure.

HHH knocks a chair out of Lesnar’s hands but Heyman is smart enough to grab the chair before HHH can get it. A whip into the steps has no effect on Brock as he belly to bellys HHH on the floor (now that’s more like it). HHH gets suplexed through the announcers’ table and Brock is in Beast Mode. Brock throws him onto the pieces of the table and a single glare at Shawn sends him SPRINTING away. Yeah because a Hall of Famer and one of the best ever just isn’t good enough to stand up to Brock the way HHH did.

Back in and a series of suplexes gets a series of two counts. Brock goes after Shawn on the floor but the distraction lets HHH get in a clothesline to put Lesnar in the timekeeper’s area. That goes nowhere though as Brock Germans him again and elbows Shawn in the face. You don’t mess with HHH’s life partner though and he plants Brock with a spinebuster. The Pedigree is countered into an F5 but Shawn comes in for a superkick, only to take the F5 instead.

HHH grabs a quick Pedigree for two but the sledgehammer shot is countered with an F5 for another two. They go outside again with HHH going into the steps, which are then sent inside for more fun. Brock hits him with the steps for two and tells HHH to retire, igniting HHH’s comeback. Cole: “A little flame in the game!” The Kimura (Brock’s arm lock) has HHH in trouble but he breaks it up as the fans want to see a broken arm.

Brock gets it on for the fourth time in a row with his legs wrapped around HHH’s waist, only to get powered into a spinebuster for the break. HHH is MANLY you see. A low blow keeps Brock down and HHH wraps his arm around the post. He crushes Brock’s arm with a chair for good measure and there’s a Kimura from HHH. So he’s a submission guy too. Heyman tries to come in for the save but Shawn superkicks him down. See, Heyman isn’t some big monster that would scare Shawn.

Thankfully Brock doesn’t tap as he lifts HHH up and slams him onto the steps. HHH grabs the hold again so Brock counters it the same way. It worked so well that they do it AGAIN, but since HHH is so smart he counters into a DDT onto the steps. The sledgehammer to the head and a Pedigree onto the steps ends Brock at 23:58.

Rating: B-. This was HHH’s big thank you for putting Lesnar over last year, because a win over HHH means SO much at this point. Let’s recap: HHH is able to beat Brock in a slugout, knows how to do UFC submissions, isn’t a coward like Shawn (that Hall of Fame World Champion), can survive suplexes and F5’s and isn’t hurt by things like Kimuras.

HHH looked like a god here and it was so ridiculous for a long majority of the match. The fans’ silence was so telling as they just did not want to see HHH get his big moment, no matter how much HHH demanded that he get it. Oh and they had ANOTHER match the next month too, stretching their feud to a year. At least HHH was nice enough to put Lesnar over there, because he couldn’t do it here at the show people remember most.

Hall of Fame video, with a STACKED lineup.

Here’s the Class of 2013: Mick Foley, Booker T. (probably the lowest level wrestler in the class), Trish Stratus, Bob Backlund, Donald Trump (booed here but he’s been at five Wrestlemanias now) and the headliner: Bruno Sammartino (so long overdue it’s unreal). If there’s ever been a better class, I’ve yet to see it.

Wrestlemania XXX is in New Orleans.

The new attendance record is announced.

No recap of the main event but I think you get the idea by now.

WWE World Title: John Cena vs. The Rock

Rock is defending. Cena is booed out of the building even worse than he was last year, which I didn’t think was possible. After the big match intros, Cena runs him over with a shoulder to start. Rock nails one of his own and it’s a standoff. They circle each other for a bit as the fans are restless, leaving Cole to explain Rock’s history.

Rock takes over with some right hands and a kick to the face but Cena grabs a belly to belly. A chinlock keeps the match slow until Rock reverses into a sleeper. Cena counters with another suplex and stomps down as JBL actually says Rock and Cena compete in movies. A release fisherman’s suplex gets two on the champ and good grief do something interesting already.

Rock comes back with right hands before ducking a shoulder. The STF is broken up but now some weak shoulders have Rock in trouble. Well they’re certainly doing something now. A much better Sharpshooter has Cena in trouble but he rolls away and hits the ProtoBomb. The Shuffle misses so Cena settles for the STF, only to have Rock reverse into a rollup for two.

Cena catapults him into the corner and now the Shuffle connects. The AA is broken up and Rock plants him with the spinebuster, only to have the People’s Elbow countered into another STF. Rock rolls onto his side and separates Cena’s hands for the break in a good power display. Back up and a Rock Bottom out of nowhere gets two. There’s an AA for two with almost no one buying the near fall.

Rock avoids the top rope Fameasser and scores with the spinebuster into the Elbow for two more. Just like last year, Rock goes up for a cross body but gets caught in the AA, only to slip out and hit the Rock Bottom. Instead of covering though he tries the Shuffle, allowing Cena to hit another AA for two. Cena wins a slugout and Rock Bottoms Rock (BIG reaction for that) but the kickout stuns him all over again.

Just like last year (again), Cena tries the Elbow but is ready for Rock, only to take too much time setting up the AA and getting countered into the Rock Bottom for two. They counter each others’ finishers about five times in a row (with little energy on any of them) until Rock plants him with a DDT. Another Rock Bottom is countered into another AA to give Cena the title back at 24:00.

Rating: B-. While it’s still entertaining, there was almost no emotion in this. It felt like both guys were just going through the motions to get to the obvious ending and that’s not good. As we’ve seen over the years, there are ways to have an entertaining match with an obvious ending but that’s not what happened here. Instead this was a bunch of finishing moves over and over after about ten minutes of nothing to start. It’s still a good enough match, but they really needed more intensity here. At least look like you’re giving it everything you have even if you really aren’t.

One last thing of note: at some point, Rock ripped his abdominal muscle and suffered a hernia. Reports vary about when it happened (ranging from in the opening to the first AA to the final AA) but it’s a major reason why Rock hasn’t had a match since. This is WAY too dangerous for him to be doing when he’s needed on movie sets and it will probably keep him out of the ring for good, save for maybe one more farewell match.

They shake hands post match and say something to each other than the cameras can’t pick up. Cena leaves Rock in the ring to pose until Rock comes up to the stage to raise Cena’s hand and end the show.

Overall Rating: C. In a word, this show was just there. There’s good stuff on it but nothing feels like it matters. Instead we have a bunch of good to decent matches with the crowd (and remember a good chunk of it is a New York crowd) not caring. The last two matches are especially bad about this as they were rematches that people didn’t want to see. The HHH vs. Lesnar rematch was even worse about this as there was no need to have a rematch other than to make HHH look good. Rock vs. Cena wasn’t as bad about that but it also wasn’t as entertaining of a match.

Undertaker vs. Punk is definitely the best match of the show due to the good story behind it and the execution helps even more. I still didn’t believe that Punk was a real threat to the streak but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining. Punk got in a lot more offense than I was expecting and had some near falls to make it good. There was no way Undertaker was going out in his tribute to Bearer though.

The rest of the card is where the show falls apart. There’s some watchable stuff but so much of it feels like it belongs on Raw. None of the first five matches break eleven minutes and I really didn’t have much interest in seeing Chris Jericho lose to a newcomer, even if it was one of the biggest upsets ever. The first half of this show had the problem of not feeling like a Wrestlemania, which is one of the worst things that can happen. The second half is a huge improvement, but nowhere near enough to make this required viewing.

Ratings Comparison

The Miz vs. Wade Barrett

Original: D+

2014 Redo: C

2015 Redo: D+

Shield vs. Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show

Original: B-

2014 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: C+

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Original: D

2014 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D

Dolph Ziggler/Big E. Langston vs. HELL NO

Original: C

2014 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: C-

Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

Original: D

2014 Redo: C

2015 Redo: C

Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio

Original: C+

2014 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: B-

Undertaker vs. CM Punk

Original: B

2014 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B+

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B+

2014 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

John Cena vs. The Rock

Original: C+

2014 Redo: B-

2015 Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B-

2014 Redo: B

2015 Redo: C

There’s good stuff in there but it’s swimming with an anchor.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/07/wrestlemania-xxix-and-so-it-ends/

And the 2014 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/04/05/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxix-redo-twice-in-a-lifetime/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Wrestlemania XXVIII
Date: April 1, 2012
Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 78,363
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

As big as HHH vs. Undertaker is, everything pales in comparison to Rock vs. Cena. This was the biggest match since Rock vs. Austin’s heyday and the money it brought in more than validated an entire year spent setting everything up. There’s no way the match isn’t going to be great and everyone was ready to see it. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Primo/Epico vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Primo and Epico (Carlito and Primo’s cousin) are defending and this is one fall to a finish. Primo, Jey and Kidd start things off and you have to tag your partner. Kidd sends Primo to the floor and jumps into a rollup for two. The champs start stomping Tyson gets caught in a DDT for two more. Primo loads up a superplex on Jey but Kidd springboards up to make it a Tower of Doom in a cool spot.

Jimmy and Epico get hot tags and everything breaks down. Jey throws Gabriel up for a Samoan drop but Justin kicks out. Epico gets backdropped over the top and out onto Primo, setting up a dive from Jey. Gabriel moonsaults out onto all three of them, leaving only Jimmy on his feet. Jimmy throws Gabriel back in for a cover, only to have Epico come in for a Backstabber to Jimmy for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C. Fun tag match here and much better than most of the pre-show matches in recent years. Epico and Primo certainly weren’t great champions by any stretch but there were far worse options out there. This wasn’t meant to revitalize the division or anything but it was very suitable for a quick match to fire the crowd up.

Lillian Garcia sings America the Beautiful. The show is outside again and the stadium looks amazing.

The opening video shows the paths that Cena and Rock took to get here in a really nice concept. We also see the montage of Wrestlemania moments before focusing on HHH vs. Undertaker as the last of a generation. Just like two years earlier, they’re making no secret of the fact that this is a two match card.

World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

Notice that the Raw and Smackdown names have been dropped as the Brand Split officially ended in August 2011. Sheamus is challenging after winning the 2012 Royal Rumble and choosing to fight Bryan, who won the title by cashing in a Money in the Bank contract at Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2011. Bryan also has his girlfriend AJ Lee with him. The bell rings, Bryan kisses AJ, and it’s a Brogue Kick to give us a new champion at 18 seconds. That fall would haunt Bryan for over a year and indirectly lead to his rise up the card which we’ll get to later.

Team Johnny (as in John Laurinitis, one of McMahon’s longtime yes men) is ready for the ten man tag later tonight. Miz tries to captain the team but they’re not interested in listening. David Otunga (a wrestling lawyer) introduces Johnny in his white suit. Johnny talks about what a big moment this is going to be, just like Austin not submitting and Hogan slamming Andre. There’s no punchline or anything here and it’s just building up the match later. It’s Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy with the winning GM controlling both shows.

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Kane is upset that he shook Randy’s hand last year after a street fight and needs to become a monster again. Cole explained that as Kane made his entrance and it was simple, to the point, and told you everything you need to know. Why is that so hard the rest of the year? The fans chant for Bryan as the sun is starting to set.

Orton pounds him down to start and loads up the elevated DDT (which Cole calls a bulldog), only to get draped over the top rope. A big boot to the face sets up a chinlock as the match slows down a bit. Kane’s side slam gets two more and we hear a weak BORING chant. Orton gets taken down in a vertical suplex and Kane puts on his third chinlock of the match. They get back up and Orton hooks his backbreaker, followed by the elevated DDT (AGAIN called a bulldog by Cole).

It’s Kane up first though and he tries the top rope clothesline, only to dive into the dropkick. The Punt is countered into a chokeslam for two (Do they really need to have finishers kicked out of so often? This is a midcard match, not a main event.) so Kane heads up top. Orton breaks it up and tries the superplex, only to get countered into a super chokeslam to give Kane the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad and it’s nice to see Orton lose a match after getting dominated and not just nail a quick RKO for the pin. You can tell this is designed to set up a bunch of rematches, which is part of the problem with Wrestlemania: it should be the big ending to a feud, not the start of one. I liked this more the first time around but the chinlocks really hold it back on another viewing.

Santino Marella talks to a cast member from Deadliest Catch and Mick Foley is there eating crabs while talking like a pirate. Mr. Socko and the Cobra make cameo appearances and destroy the crabs until Ron Simmons comes in for his catchphrase.

Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Show is challenging but more importantly he’s in search of his Wrestlemania moment. Cody had made fun of him for weeks over being a joke at Wrestlemania because in this universe, Wrestlemania XVI where Big Show was in the main event doesn’t exist. Yeah he lost quick but how many main events has Cody been in? Cole makes it even worse by saying Show has won some tag matches but was never involved in the pinfall victory. I guess that quick match last year doesn’t count either.

Cody gets Show to chase him to start but dives into Show’s arms, meaning it’s time for the beating to begin. There are the loud chops in the corner and Show adds a Stinkface to make up for some of the humiliation. Cody comes back with a series of dropkicks, including one to the leg for a smart move.

Show gets his leg cranked as Cole says he isn’t as big when he’s on the mat. As usual, this is inaccurate. Actually Show is the same size but he can’t use it to his advantage. I know it’s stupid but that always gets on my nerves. Show fights up and the Disaster Kick doesn’t even knock him down. Cody tries another but gets “speared” (more like a shoulder block which went very low), followed by the WMD (KO Punch) for the pin and the title at 5:20.

Rating: D. So Big Show has the title now, but I guess the whole Wrestlemania moment is the real prize. It’s not like the title had meant anything in years anyway so that makes as much sense as anything else. It makes more sense than saying being in the main event of a Wrestlemania doesn’t count as a major moment at least.

Video on what it means to be a WWE Diva, which seems to translate to wearing very little clothing and dancing a lot.

We recap the Divas tag match. Kelly Kelly had been a guest on Maria Menunos’ (a good looking TV host) Extra when Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix came in and said they should be interviewed. The solution was a tag match of course.

Maria Menunos/Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix/Eve Torres

Beth is Divas Champion (and has wings on her head for no apparent reason) while Maria has cracked ribs and stress fractures in her feet. A quick rollup gets two for Kelly but her cartwheel into an elbow hits feet to the legs. Eve’s moonsault is broken up and Maria comes in for a double Stinkface. Off to a bodyscissors on Maria until Beth comes in for a bearhug from the side.

Eve tries another dancing moonsault but gets kicked out to the floor, allowing for the tag off to Kelly. The screaming headscissors puts Beth down and a top rope seated senton gets two. Beth’s Glam Slam is countered into a bulldog (actually a bulldog this time) and the tag is made to the still injured Maria. Kelly saves her from getting slammed and Maria rolls Beth up for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: D+. I know Kelly is supposed to be this big deal but her theme song is still about hollering in a club to a hot beat. Then you have the Divas Champion lose to a celebrity, who to be fair was clearly trying. The match could have been worse but the division was just dying at this point and this was great proof. Watchable match, horrible ending. You really can’t have Eve get pinned here? Really? Also: only Maria would be involved with the next Wrestlemania.

Shawn Michaels says this next match will be the end of an era. It’s ironic that he gets to decide which era that will be.

The attendance record is announced.

Jim Ross, now with a goatee, comes out to do commentary.

There’s no recap for the Cell match (if you were watching the show you probably knew the story already) but as I said it’s the final chapter in the story between these three men. HHH wanted one more shot at the Streak (though the way he talked you would think he already broke it) and Undertaker agreed if it was inside the Cell. Shawn is guest referee to add some more drama.

Undertaker vs. HHH

Inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn as guest referee. Shawn takes a quick lap around the stage before coming to the ring. HHH comes out through a miniature set designed like a war helmet and shoulder pads. Undertaker’s hair now now shaved into a mohawk with the first reveal coming here, much to the crowd’s shock. The Cell is lowered to The Memory Remains by Metallica, allowing JR to talk about how the Cell is morally corrupt.

Undertaker slugs him down to start (with carcinogenic right hands according to JR) and HHH can’t hang in a fist fight. They head outside instead with Undertaker backdropping him onto the floor. The announcers talk about how this is the end of an era and we’ll never return to it. Undertaker sends him into the cage as Cole’s latest stat is HHH winning every match in which Shawn is a guest referee. So he’s what: 2 or 3-0?

Back in and the facebuster has no effect on Undertaker and it’s Old School putting HHH down again. The steps off HHH’s head surprisingly don’t draw blood. The apron legdrop keeps HHH in trouble before we get to the real violence. HHH finally gets in a DDT for a breather but the Pedigree onto the steps is quickly broken up. The spinebuster onto the steps works a lot better and Undertaker is in trouble.

HHH walks right into Hell’s Gate from the steps so he lifts Undertaker up (JR: “Sinful strength by HHH!”) into a powerbomb onto the mat for the save. The steps are sent to the floor and it’s time for the chair shots to Undertaker’s back. Shawn tries to pull HHH off but JR accurately says that there are no rules (unfortunately with no strange word choices). Michaels tries to talk Undertaker into quitting (out of sympathy, not cheating) but Undertaker demands that it not be stopped.

That earns him a chair to the ribs and the back for a pretty slow two count. HHH goes to get more weapons and tells Shawn to end it before he does. That means sledgehammer time but Undertaker says keep it going. There’s a sledgehammer shot to the face for two (we’re getting close to that ridiculous point). Shawn breaks up another one to the back of the head to avoid being a murder witness and thinks about calling the match to save Undertaker.

You don’t threaten the Undertaker though so he chokes Shawn out to break it up. That earns him another sledgehammer to the head but there’s no referee. Undertaker is still able to kick HHH low, despite probably having about 18 concussions at once. The Hell’s Gate has HHH in trouble and here’s another referee to take Shawn’s place. A chokeslam gets two so Undertaker chokeslams the new referee (barely getting him above shoulder high).

Shawn gets back up and superkicks Undertaker into the Pedigree for maybe the hottest near fall of all time, sending Shawn nearly into tears in the corner. I totally and completely bought that it was over on that cover. HHH gets the sledgehammer and throws an intervening Shawn to the floor…..and Undertaker sits up with that look in his eye. You can take your Brock Lesnar, your old school Vader, your Mankind and your Mr. McMahon at his craziest. For me, ticked off Undertaker is the scariest thing in wrestling.

The big boot and Snake Eyes set up a Tombstone for a very close two and Undertaker’s adrenaline comes to a sudden stop. They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until a quick Pedigree gets two. Shawn is still on the verge of tears. Undertaker sits up again but falls when he tries to get to his feet. HHH gets the sledgehammer again but Undertaker steps on it before unloading on HHH with a chair.

The chair is bent over HHH’s back and now Shawn has to try to stop Undertaker. All those shots are only good for two and Shawn begs HHH to stop. HHH tries to get the sledgehammer back up but Undertaker easily blocks a swing. Barely able to stand in the corner, HHH fires off a crotch chop as Shawn turns his head. A sledgehammer to the head means it’s time for the straps to come down and the Tombstone finally ends HHH at 30:54.

Rating: A+. What a ride. Those are the first words to come to my head after seeing this again because that went from one end of the roller coaster to another with every kind of emotion you could find in the middle. This is one of the best stories ever told in a match and a perfect way to conclude a four year saga between these three men. I’m glad the Streak didn’t end here, but that superkick into the Pedigree had me ready to believe that it was over. This is an absolute masterpiece and the definition of wrestling as art. There’s nothing left for these three to do and they left it all in the ring. See this if you haven’t before.

Shawn has to pull Undertaker up as HHH is still unconscious. They eventually help HHH out and get him up the ramp where they all hug to truly end this in a show of respect. That’s what the entire story was based on, even if they went to war for years. It was never a war based on hatred and it’s very good that they showcased that at the end.

We get the Hall of Fame video from last night with the Four Horsemen being inducted as a team so Flair could be put in twice. This wound up biting them though as Flair was officially still under contract to TNA so WWE had to send Christian to Slammiversary 2012 as compensation (while Christian was still Intercontinental Champion).

Here’s the Class of 2012: Mil Mascaras, Yokozuna (represented by his children), Ron Simmons, the Four Horsemen (Flair, Arn Anderson, JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham. I believe it’s just this incarnation and not the group as a whole), Mike Tyson and Edge.

Heath Slater wants to sing a duet with Florida (“That’s Flo Rida.”) but Rida isn’t interested in any sort of partnership. Slater gets beaten up.

Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny

Teddy: Santino Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, Great Khali, Booker T.

Johnny: David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, The Miz

The winner’s team gets to run both shows. Johnny has Vickie Guerrero and Brie Bella, Teddy has Hornswoggle, Eve Torres, Brie Bella and Aksana (Teddy’s would-be girlfriend). Ryder is fresh off becoming a grassroots hero who won the US Title, only to lose it all (presumably because he isn’t what WWE wanted as a star, as brilliant an idea as that is). Johnny is in a white suit and red tie, making him look like a thin Colonel Sanders. All of the wrestlers (including Captains Otunga and Marella (US Champion)) are in red or blue shirts.

Kofi and Ziggler start (makes sense as they’ve fought literally about thirty times on TV alone over the years) with Kofi grabbing a headlock and bringing in Truth for a double hiptoss. Ziggler comes back with a dropkick and it’s off to Drew as Cole and Lawler bicker over who would be the better GM.

Khali comes in for the big chops before handing it off to Booker (a last minute addition to the team) for two off a side slam. Booker gets in trouble though and it’s time for the face in peril (along with Vickie screaming). Mark comes in and throw Booker into the corner before Miz comes in, much to Cole’s delight. Booker fights out of a chinlock as the discussion turns to Vickie’s looks.

The World’s Strongest Slam drops Booker and everything breaks down. A double flapjack drops Khali but Kofi, Ryder and Truth hit triple flip dives to take out most of Team Johnny. Aksana and Vickie brawl which gets the Bellas into it. The hot tag brings in Santino to clean house, including his saluting top rope headbutt.

There’s the Cobra to Miz (Cole: “Oh my God, oh my God.”) but Ziggler breaks it up at two. Ryder comes in and takes down Miz and Ziggler, including a Rough Ryder (leg lariat) to Dolph. Eve gets in the ring for no apparent reason other than to distract Ryder, allowing Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin on Zack at 10:38.

Rating: D+. Big mess here but that triple dive was really cool looking. This was another step towards Ryder’s complete burial after he ran from Kane, was destroyed by Kane, lost his US Title and lost Eve (the woman of his dreams) a few months ago. It was depressing how bad things got for him and he never recovered. As you probably guessed, this was your annual get everyone on the show match.

Eve kicks Ryder low to make sure you get the idea: don’t cheer for people WWE doesn’t pick.

Alex Rodriguez and Torrie Wilson are here.

Wrestlemania week video.

CM Punk is ready to defend his WWE World Title but Johnny comes up to say the title can change hands on a DQ.

We recap Jericho vs. Punk. Jericho returned again and accused Punk of ripping him off when Punk called himself the best in the world. Punk eliminated him from the Elimination Chamber by knocking Jericho out due to injury without pinning him. Jericho then won a battle royal to earn this shot and started accusing Punk’s family of being a bunch of alcoholics and drug addicts. That’s too much for Punk and now he’s out for blood.

WWE World Title: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

Punk is defending if that wasn’t clear and he can lose the title on a DQ, just in case they didn’t hammer the idea in well enough at Wrestlemania XXV. The champ takes it to the mat to start before taking Jericho down again with a knee to the ribs. Jericho gets sent into the corner where he shouts “HOW’S YOUR FATHER” to send Punk over the edge again. Punk beats him down again but the threat of the top rope elbow sends Jericho to the floor.

That’s fine with Punk as he dives onto Jericho, who then asks about Punk’s sister. Punk grabs a chair but opts to kick Jericho in the ribs instead. Just like three years ago, these pauses are killing the flow of the match. A quick dropkick gives Jericho a breather and he suplexes Punk over the top and out to the floor for a big crash. You don’t often see that work. Jericho starts working on the back to set up the Walls with a kick to the spine and a backsplash for two. A double arm crank keeps Punk in trouble until he dropkicks Jericho into the corner.

The running knee in the corner sets up the bulldog but Jericho slams him down instead. Punk has to counter the Walls and gets two off the high kick to the head. The Macho Elbow hits Jericho’s knees though and a Codebreaker puts Punk on the floor. Back in and a GTS out of nowhere gets two (no way a title match ends on the first finisher). Jericho drapes him ribs first over the top rope and the Lionsault gets two. Cole: “Not often you see somebody kick out of the Lionsault.” I don’t remember the last time it pinned someone.

The Walls have Punk in trouble but he makes the ropes as you would expect. A knee to the head staggers Jericho but Punk springboards into another Codebreaker for another two. Punk kicks him down again and tries the GTS (Punk: “BEST IN THE WORLD!”), only to be countered into the Liontamer (kneeling Boston crab) and then the Walls. Punk counters into a small package and then the Anaconda Vice. Jericho counters THAT with knees to the head but can’t hook the Walls again, allowing Punk to hook the Vice (and duck his head this time) for the tap out at 22:20.

Rating: B+. This got so much better once they got away from the stupid DQ stuff (which would be remedied at the next pay per view with an awesome street fight). I really don’t get the thinking behind the DQ idea. I know it’s the evil GM screwing with Punk but it cripples whatever the match could get going. Either let them do the violent stuff that fits the story or just have it be an awesome match like they’re clearly capable of having. This half and half stuff almost never works and this only succeeded because of how good both guys are.

Wrestlemania XXIX is in New Jersey.

Here’s the still mostly new Funkasaurus Brodus Clay to tell us to call our mamas. Brodus calls his own mama and finds out that she’s here, complete with the bridge club. Cue mama and said bridge club (all a bunch of older women (clearly in makeup) and matching dresses) for a massive dance number. This got twelve times the length that Sheamus vs. Bryan had.

Video on G.I. Joe 2, which wasn’t released for over a year due to re-shoots.

After all that, we recap John Cena vs. the Rock. This has been built up for over a year now and both guys have spent so much time heavily insulting each other that it actually is epic, as described by a bunch of legends in the video. Several years back, Cena had been on a radio show where he talked about Rock saying he loved WWE and then leaving. Cena on the other hand was here every single day because this is what he loved more than anything.

This turned into a back and forth war until Rock finally returned over a year ago. This is the match that has been set up by both guys trading huge bombs on the mic with Rock saying Cena wasn’t serious enough and Cena calling Rock out for using wrestling to become an actor. They flat out did not like each other and made that very clear, setting up this match as the biggest in a generation, which it certainly was. The tagline for the match and the show: Once in a Lifetime.

Since we haven’t dragged it out enough, here are Machine Gun Kelly and Skylar Grey to perform the show’s theme song and define the word underdog.

John Cena vs. The Rock

Cena is booed out of Miami the second his music hits. And wait again because here’s Flo Rida to perform two songs and eat up even more time. Of note: he has a bunch of backup dancers, who I’m assuming are the bridge club after a costume change. After that eats up WAY too much time, Rock’s ovation is thunderous. Ignore him having to walk through the posing dancers to look out at the people. They talk trash after the big match intros and we finally get the opening bell, nearly twenty minutes after the video package began.

We get the big lockup and Cena shoves him away. Rock does the same as we’re firmly in Hogan vs. Warrior territory so far. Some quick armdrags and a majistral cradle get two for Rock, sending Cena into the corner with a stunned look on his face. Rock can’t get a Sharpshooter and Cena bails to the floor for a breather.

Back in and Cena takes Rock’s head off with a clothesline for one and we hit a bearhug on the mat. That goes nowhere so they head to the floor with Rock being dropped ribs first over the barricade. Cena stays on them with a belly to belly and now it’s off to a bearhug. Rock fights back with right hands and the spinebuster but Cena grabs the leg for the STF to break up the People’s Elbow. He can’t get the hold on so it’s a ProtoBomb instead, followed by the Shuffle.

Back up and it’s a double clothesline to give us another breather. Another slugout goes to Rock but he tries his own You Can’t See Me and walks into the AA for two. The Rock Bottom gets the same but Cena comes back with a side slam. The top rope Fameasser gets another two and both guys are spent. Something like a spear (it was supposed to be a spinebuster) sets up the Sharpshooter (with Rock pulling back with his hands instead of his arm), only to have Cena quickly make it to the ropes.

Rock sends him hard into the steps to keep Cena in trouble but he grabs the STF (with almost no torque). The hold stays on WAY too long and Rock starts to fade, even drawing an arm check. Rock finally makes the ropes after about two minutes and grabs a Samoan drop to get a breather.

The AA is countered into a spinebuster (Rock might have said “Yabba dabba” on the way down) and the People’s Elbow for a really close near fall. A catapult of all things sends Rock into the buckle (as opposed to a Buick sending him into it), only to have Rock break up a superplex. Rock goes nuts with a high cross body but Cena counters into an AA for two more. With nothing else working, Cena tries his own People’s Elbow but charges into the Rock Bottom for the pin at 30:54.

Rating: A. Just because it’s not quite as good as the Cell. That was the main event of Wrestlemania. What else can you ask for from these two, especially after all this build and the Rock having one match in eight years? This was almost all about the atmosphere coming in and then they had a great match on top of it. It’s one of the best main events ever and certainly one of the biggest, which is exactly what it needed to be.

So did the right guy win? I really don’t think so the more I look at it. Everything that Cena had said over the year was true: win or lose, Rock was going back to Hollywood to star in another blockbuster so why should he win here? It really doesn’t help Cena either as he got beat by a guy who hasn’t wrestled in eight years, though at the same time I don’t want to imagine how bad the reaction would have been if Rock had lost in his hometown. I would have gone with Cena, though I think I can understand their reasons behind going with Rock. Maybe.

Now for the second iconic image of the show: Rock poses on the ropes and Cena sits on the ramp, totally lost.

Overall Rating: B+. This is almost all about the two main events which ate up nearly half the show when you consider buildup and fallout. Those two matches were both home runs and that’s all you need to make this a good show. Jericho vs. Punk is good but not great….and that’s about the extent of the positives on the show. Everything else is just ok at best but again, nearly two hours of great is more than you get on several months of shows most of the time, which easily makes this a very good show.

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2015 Redo: C-

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show

Original: D+

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: D

Kelly Kelly/Maria Menunos vs. Beth Phoenix/Eve Torres

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: D+

HHH vs. Undertaker

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A+

2015 Redo: A+

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy

Original: C

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: D+

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Original: A

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: B+

The Rock vs. John Cena

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A+

2015 Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: B+

The top matches on this card are as good as WWE has done in a long time.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/04/01/wrestlemania-xxviii-one-of-the-best-shows-of-all-time/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/06/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxviii-this-show-got-me-excited-all-over-again/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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