Summerslam 1988
Date: August 29, 1988
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 20,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Billy Graham

The main event here is Hogan/Savage vs. DiBiase/Andre in a match billed as Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks. Allegedly the plan was to have Ric Flair jump from the NWA and challenge Savage for the title but Flair backed out, giving us the tag match instead. Other than that we have Honky Tonk Man defending his title against a mystery opponent and the Hart Foundation challenging Demolition for the tag titles. The card wasn’t exactly stacked for this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video has what would become the Royal Rumble theme song set over shots of the four guys in the main event plus their managers, Virgil and Miss Elizabeth.

Fabulous Rougeaus vs. British Bulldogs

These two teams could not stand each other behind the scenes, eventually reaching the point where the Bulldogs left the company as a result. Davey jumps Jacques to start and rams him into turnbuckle after turnbuckle to put him down. Smith throws Jacques over to Raymond for a tag in a nice display of bravado. Off to Dynamite for a quick headbutt and a slam to keep Raymond in trouble.

Off to an armbar by Dynamite Kid before Davey comes back in for one of his own. Dynamite comes back in with a wicked clothesline to take Raymond’s head off. Chris Benoit idolized Dynamite and you can see so many of Benoit’s moves when you watch Dynamite’s matches. Davey comes in and trades some snappy rollups before it’s back to Dynamite to continue cranking on the arm.

Davey comes in again but Jacques trips him up to shift control to the Canadians. It’s off to some leg work now as Jacques kicks away at Davey’s hamstring. The Rougeaus start tagging in and out with Ray coming in to drop some knees on the hamstring before Jacques comes back in to pull on the leg. Ray comes back in sans tag to pull on the leg before Jacques puts on a spinning toehold. Davey finally gets back up and monkey flips Ray down, allowing for the tag to Dynamite.

The Kid speeds things way up and sends Ray out to the floor, triggering a brawl between Davey and Raymond. Back inside and Davey hits the powerslam but Jacques breaks it up before a one count. Dynamite comes back in for the headbutt but Jacques drills him with a belly to back suplex for two. Off to an abdominal stretch by Jacques followed by a camel clutch from both Rougeaus. Kid fights up and rams Ray into the buckle to escape but it’s right back to the abdominal stretch by Jacques.

Dynamite finally fights up again and headbutts Jacques down to bring in Davey. Jacques immediately grabs the rope to avoid a dropkick but gets caught in a gorilla press onto the top rope. Everything breaks down and Davey picks up Dynamite to launch him into a headbutt on Jacques, but the time limit expires before there can be a cover.

Rating: C+. This was a solid opener as the fans were staying hot throughout the extended rest holds. The parts with both teams brawling and getting to move around made for a much better match, but you can’t do that for twenty minutes when you’re going for the draw. Draws were much more commonplace back in the 80s so this was nothing that odd to see.

We see Ron Bass attacking Brutus Beefcake and busting him open with a spur. The big red X saying CENSORED which doesn’t actually cover the cut on Brutus’ head is hilarious. Brutus won’t be able to challenge Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Title tonight but there’s an unnamed replacement.

Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera

Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter who has seen far better days. Bad News is a former Olympian as well, having won a bronze medal in Judo. Brown goes right after Patera during Ken’s entrance and drops a quick elbow for no cover. Patera comes back with a clothesline and takes his jacket off to really get things going. A back elbow puts Bad News down but an elbow drop misses. Brown stomps away on the apron as we’re firmly in punch and kick mode here.

Patera blocks a backdrop with a kick to the chest and gets two off a bad backbreaker. Off to a bearhug by Patera but Brown pokes him in the eye to escape. Patera can’t get his full nelson on in either attempt at the hold so he botches a charge into the corner instead, hitting the post shoulder first. The Ghetto Blaster (enziguri) is enough for the pin by Brown.

Rating: F. Patera was terrible by this point, not even being able to run into Brown’s elbow in the corner properly. Even the announcers were suggesting that he retire at this point, which I believe he did soon after. This match was nothing more than punching and kicking which doesn’t make for a very entertaining few minutes. It’s a product of the times on house shows that, which for all intents and purposes is what this show is: a big house show with a big main event.

Ad for a boxing PPV which had some kind of promotional deal with WWF.

The Mega Powers (Hogan/Savage/Liz) are hyped up for the main event and say that Liz is their secret weapon.

Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog

Just like in the previous match, the good guy is jumped during his entrance. This time though Rude is backdropped down and headbutted to the floor for a hug from Heenan. Back in and Dog misses a headbutt, allowing Rude to hit Dog with a top rope axhandle. Rude pounds away on the head as Graham shouts that it won’t work. Instead it’s off to a chinlock by Rick as the match slows way down.

Back up and Dog pounds away in the corner but stops to go after Heenan. A Russian legsweep puts Dog down, and Rude goes up top. Instead of immediately diving off though, Rude takes his own tights down to reveal another pair with Cheryl Roberts (as in Jake’s wife) on them. Jake charges in for the DQ as you would expect him to do.

Rating: D. The match sucked but it’s miles ahead of the previous match. If nothing else Dog had some great charisma and kept the crowd in it, as opposed to Patera who put the crowd to sleep seconds after the bell rang. The Dog was just a jobber at this point and would be in WCW by the end of the year.

The Dog is mad post match but nothing comes of it.

Honky Tonk Man, like the dolt that he is, doesn’t want to know the identity of his mystery opponent. He says he wants to be surprised.

Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks

The Powers (Barbarian and Warlord) are still faces here and have the Baron (Von Raschke) with them. Just like in the previous two matches the brawl is on as soon as the good guys hit the ring. The Powers double clothesline Boris Zhukov as Volkoff tries to sneak in for a cheap shot. Barbarian easily catches him coming in and sends him flying until we get down to Barbarian vs. Boris to start things off.

Boris puts his head down and…..something happens (it looked like a choke but it’s not really clear) before it’s off to Warlord for a gutwrench suplex on Zhukov. Both Russians double team Warlord but they can’t even get him down to his knees. Nikolai chokes away before Boris puts on a chinlock. The Russians have a double backdrop broken up and it’s off to Barbarian again. Everything breaks down and it’s a double shoulder followed by a swan dive to Boris for the pin.

Rating: D. Another lame match here but the Powers looked decent. The Baron would be gone in a few weeks as the company wasn’t pleased that a dark character was getting cheered, so they turned Demolition and their evil S&M looking gear face instead. Also did the Russians ever actually win a major match?

Ad for Survivor Series.

Here’s the Brother Love Show with a bell ringing to start it for some reason. After a minute or two of talking about love, he introduces his guest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan says that he loves the country and that Love is a fake. Love thinks that Dino Bravo knows the meaning of love and loves his country (Canada), but Duggan says that the people of Canada don’t respect Bravo. Duggan says this isn’t Sunday school and he’ll police this company if need be. Love says he doesn’t see a badge on Duggan, but Jim says his 2×4 will do just fine. Duggan gives him a five count to leave and Love is gone at four. This was pointless.

Same boxing ad as earlier.

Intercontinental Title: Honky Tonk Man vs. ???

Honky says to get him someone out here to wrestle and he doesn’t care who it is. After a few seconds, the Ultimate Warrior charges to the ring, pounds Honky with right hands, hits a shoulder block and splashes him for the pin and the title in thirty seconds. The crowd ERUPTS, as this is what they’ve been waiting over a year to see.

So why was this so awesome? This was one of the most perfectly told stories the WWF ever produced and they nailed it every step of the way. Back in 1987, Ricky Steamboat was Intercontinental Champion but wanted to take some time off. The solution was to put the title on the comedic newcomer the Honky Tonk Man, who cheated to win the belt. Honky viewed as a total joke as champion due to his lack of skill and his gimmick of a wrestling Elvis impersonator.

The fans looked at him as someone who would lose the title the first time he defended it against someone far more competent than he was so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This is where Vince had the fans: what if Honky just didn’t lose the title? If there is one thing pure fans hate, it’s seeing a guy who doesn’t deserve a title holding onto it against people they like. Honky did this for the next 18 months by coming up with every way imaginable to cheat, ranging from getting counted out, disqualified, having Jimmy Hart interfere, walking out of matches and all points in between.

Honky continued to hold the title against far better talent, such as Jim Duggan, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat and Brutus Beefcake, with the idea being “he has to lose eventually.” All of a sudden, Honky was one of the biggest draws around because people would pay their money to see him get beaten up, thinking that the lucky streak couldn’t go on much longer. Well the streak DID keep going, stretching into the longest title reign in the history of the belt which still stands to this day and will likely never be broken.

This is why having Warrior out there was so brilliant. Warrior was the last guy on earth that you would expect to pull off something clever, but he did what everyone else had overlooked: he didn’t bother trying to outsmart Honky, but instead just ran over him and beat him in thirty seconds. This is EXACTLY what the fans had wanted to see for over a year and they got it to perfection. That’s the kind of storytelling that you never get anymore which is a shame.

Regis Philbin is here.

Survivor Series is coming, so here’s a four minute highlight reel from last year’s show. This must be intermission.

Sugar Ray Leonard, one of the boxers in the advertised show, thanks Vince for promoting his fight.

Video on Leonard and his opponent in the fight Donny Lelonde.

Lelonde talks a bit as well.

Leonard says he’ll win.

We see the intro video from the beginning of the show again.

Bobby Heenan comes up to the announcers’ booth and says that DiBiase is counting his money while Andre reads the Wall Street Journal. The Mega Powers are currently cowering in their locker room.

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco

These two fought at Wrestlemania earlier in the year as well. This is power vs. power so they shove each other around to start. Some armdrags put Bravo on the floor before heading back in for a hiptoss. Off to an armbar by Muraco but Bravo comes back with an atomic drop to take over. A Russian legsweep puts Bravo down but Muraco has to go after Bravo’s manager Frenchy Martin. The referee gets kicked but nothing comes of it, allowing Bravo to hit his side slam for the pin.

Rating: D-. Somehow that match ran five and a half minutes. Muraco would also be gone soon before the end of the year and it’s not hard to see why. He was nowhere near as bad as Patera earlier but it was clear that his best days were behind him. Bravo would become Earthquake’s lackey soon after this and have the most productive time of his career.

Another Survivor Series ad.

Jesse Ventura says that he’s going to be impartial as the guest referee in the main event despite taking money from DiBiase.

Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

Demolition is defending and the Harts don’t even get an entrance. The champions have Mr. Fuji and the Harts’ former manager Jimmy Hart with them. Bret and Ax start things off with Ax pounding Hitman down like he’s nothing. Bret avoids an elbow drop and it’s off to Anvil (Jim Neidhart) vs. Smash with Neidhart taking over. Ax hits a knee to Jim’s back from the apron and the champions take over again.

Neidhart gets in a punch to Ax’s face and it’s off to Hart vs. Smash again. Smash will have nothing to do with this selling stuff and whips Bret shoulder first into the post as the champions get their first extended advantage. Bret’s bad arm is caught up in the ropes and both champs pound away on the injured limb. Smash bends Bret’s arm around his own leg Off to Ax for more cranking on the arm. Bret is shockingly not selling it all that well.

Smash sends the arm into the post again and Bret is in big trouble on the outside. Back in and Ax pounds away while Graham is SCREAMING at Anvil to do something. Bret comes back with a clothesline with the injured arm but the referee misses the tag. Smash charges into a knee in the corner and now the referee sees the tag. Anvil comes in and cleans house, even slingshotting over the top onto Smash on the floor. Back in and Bret throws Anvil into Smash in the corner for two before everything breaks down. Neidhart goes after Fuji, allowing Ax to hit Bret in the back with the megaphone to retain.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but once Bret got in and started selling, it was all awesome. Demolition would hold the titles for nearly another year in the longest tag title reign in company history. These teams would go at it again in two years in one of the most entertaining tag matches ever. This was good stuff, but they were capable of much better.

Boxing ad.

Honky is going NUTS in the back, ranting about how this isn’t fair.

Big Boss Man vs. Koko B. Ware

Boss Man is brand new here. This wasn’t included on the home video version for reasons that I’ve never figured out. It was probably a time thing though. Koko fires away to start and staggers the very fat Boss Man with a dropkick. Boss Man is one of the best cases of weight loss you’ll ever see as he lost probably 100lbs in a year and a half, making him MUCH smoother in the ring.

Koko charges into a front facelock and Boss Man pounds him down with a forearm to the back. A splash in the corner crushes Ware but Boss Man pulls him up at two. Off to a surfboard hold but Koko rolls forward and kicks Boss Man in the face. A stiff right hand puts Koko down again but Boss Man misses a top rope splash. Boss Man misses another splash in the corner and a missile dropkick gets two for Koko. Ware charges again but gets dropped face first onto the post, followed by the Boss Man Slam for the easy pin.

Rating: D. This went WAY too long for a squash early on in Boss Man’s run with the company. The match wasn’t terrible and Koko looked good with the high flying stuff, but therein lies the problem: there’s no reason to have Koko look so good here. He should have gotten destroyed in about three minutes as opposed to being somewhat competitive in twice as long.

Boss Man hits Koko with the nightstick post match.

Survivor Series ad. Again.

Ultimate Warrior celebrates in the back and talks about it being like a comic book tonight. He’ll be on the next spaceship to Parts Unknown.

Jake Roberts vs. Hercules

Jake goes for the snake but it’s merely a ploy to get in some quick right hands. A knee lift puts Herc down but Jake can’t hook the DDT. Instead it’s a headlock and Hercules can’t even break it with a belly to back suplex. Herc escapes and drops some elbows for no cover. Off to a chinlock on the Snake as Graham says you can use this to talk to your opponent. In non-announcer speak: it’s a nice way to call spots. A lot of spots could be called here as Herc keeps the hold on for well over a minute.

Jake finally fights up and tries a hammerlock but gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Roberts pulls Herc from the apron to the floor, only to have his neck snapped across the top rope as Hercules comes back in. We hit the chinlock again but Jake immediately jawbreaks his way out of it. The short clothesline looks to set up the DDT but Hercules backdrops out of it. Herc drops an elbow for two but Jake slips out of a slam and knocks Hercules out lukewarm with the DDT for the pin.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing special but it certainly wasn’t bad. The DDT looked great and the fans went nuts for it so you can’t say they didn’t get what they wanted. Hercules was fine for a role like this as he was strong enough to be a threat to anyone but rarely won anything. Decent little match here actually.

We recap the buildup to the main event. Andre seemed to be challenging Savage for a world title shot but DiBiase jumped Randy from behind, allowing Andre to choke Savage down. The Mega Bucks challenged Savage to a tag match which Savage accepted, saying that he would announce his partner later. If you didn’t know who that was from a mile away, you fail as a wrestling fan. Jesse Ventura, long time Hogan hater, is guest referee for no apparent reason. Andre intimidated Jesse and DiBiase paid Jesse off so the fix is in.

Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks

Jesse sends all three managers (Virgil, Heenan and Liz) to the floor but not to the back. He also makes the teams change corners for no apparent reason. Savage gets to fight Andre to start but it’s quickly off to DiBiase. He wants Hogan and gets both Hulk and an atomic drop into a right hand from Savage. Hogan pounds DiBiase as well and it’s off to Savage for some double elbows. A top rope ax handle gets two for Savage off a slow count from Ventura.

Andre comes in to beat Hogan down but Jesse is with Liz. Now the Giant comes in legally and sits on Hogan’s chest a few times before putting on a nerve hold. With DiBiase coming in sans tag, Andre chokes away with his singlet. Ted comes in legally for a near fall off a clothesline before dropping those trademark fists of his. Off to a chinlock which Gorilla swears is a choke. Hogan finally elbows his way out of the hold but a double clothesline puts both guys down.

The hot tag brings in Savage to pound away on DiBiase with right hands and a backdrop. A top rope ax handle puts DiBiase down again but Ted rams him into the top turnbuckle to change momentum again. DiBiase clotheslines Savage down and it’s off to Giant again. Andre sits on Savage in the corner which is a lot more devastating than it sounds. Back to DiBiase who gets two off a suplex. Ted goes up for a middle rope elbow, but Savage uses all of his flying elbow experience and rolls away.

Hulk comes in again off the real hot tag and cleans house on both Mega Bucks but Savage jumps into Andre’s boot. Hogan puts DiBiase in a sleeper but Andre makes the save with some headbutts. The Mega Powers are down, but Liz gets on the apron and in the most famous part of the match, takes off her skirt to reveal a bikini bottom and some nice legs. The distraction lets the Mega Powers do their big handshake and Hulk Up as one. A top rope ax handle to Andre, a flying elbow and legdrop to DiBiase later and things are pretty much done. Jesse only counts two, so Savage has to shove his hand down for the three.

Rating: B-. Much like the original Wrestlemania main event, there isn’t much to see here but it’s a fun match. It gave the fans exactly what they wanted and the Liz bit was a big surprise as she NEVER did anything sexual up to that point and rarely did after. Hogan and Savage were obviously going to win, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun moment and a decent main event.

Hogan lifts Liz (who remember is rather scantily clad here) onto Savage’s shoulder for the post match celebration. Savage gives him a look that says “Dude, NOT COOL!” You could see the seeds being planted even back then.

Overall Rating: D+. This is more of the start of a historical series than a good show itself. The only things people remember are Liz’s legs and a thirty second squash and it’s really not surprising. The rest of the show is a bunch of boring matches with nothing of note to them at all. It’s certainly not a terrible show as there are some good tag matches and some decent singles matches, but nothing on here is must see television and nothing is really significant. For a big house show though, not too bad.

Ratings Comparison

For each of the reviews, I’ll be posting a comparison of the original reviews to the redos as I always do. Summerslam was one of the first set of reviews I ever did so the original ratings are going to be very interesting.

British Bulldogs vs. Fabulous Rougeaus

Original: B
Redo: C+

Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera

Original: D+
Redo: F

Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog

Original: D
Redo: D

Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks

Original: C+
Redo: D

Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man

Original: A+
Redo: N/A

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco

Original: B-
Redo: D-

Demolition vs. Hart Foundation

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Big Boss Man vs. Koko B. Ware

Original: D
Redo: D

Jake Roberts vs. Hercules

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks

Original: B
Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: D+
Redo: D+

How could I have possibly liked Muraco vs. Bravo? There’s NOTHING there!

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/23/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1988-liz-has-some-nice-legs/

Dynamite
Date: June 25, 2025
Location: ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ian Riccaboni

The road to All In is getting rather short and that means it is time to fill up the rest of the card. With the top of the show mostly set, there is still a lot that needs to be done. There is a good chance that we’ll get a lot of it done this week, hopefully with the action to back it up on the way. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Mercedes Mone jumps Toni Storm and Luther in the back and they come into the arena. Mone calls her a stupid little b****, setting up the Bank Statement. Mina Shirakawa makes the save.

The Young Bucks move Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay’s match to now instead of in the second hour.

Will Ospreay/Swerve Strickland vs. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian

Ospreay runs to the ring with his boots half laced, taping his wrist and putting his elbow pad on. Strickland is at least a bit more put together as Ospreay and Christian start things off. Christian charges into a boot in the corner and a double big boot drops Johnson. The Phenomenal Forearm is loaded up but cue the Young Bucks for a distraction, allowing Christian to knock Ospreay to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Christian giving Ospreay the strutting Old School wristdrag. Ospreay fights out of trouble without much of a problem and hands it off to Strickland to clean house. Chasing The dragon drops Christian and the House Call gives Strickland the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C+. The idea here was that the new kind of friends were caught off guard by the match (which they were having but had earlier than expected) but then they just had a pretty run of the mill match. Johnson and Christian were never putting them in any danger and the only issue was when the Bucks offered a distraction. It was a fine idea but didn’t really make anything different.

Post match Ospreay and Strickland have to be held back from the Bucks so they get back inside the ring. Strickland is tired of dealing with the Bucks and suggests a tag match at All In. Ospreay wants to up the stakes, with the Bucks’ Vice Presidencies on the line. Then Strickland dives onto the security and the good guys stand tall. So the Bucks are going to insist Ospreay and Strickland put up something too right?

We look at the return of Kota Ibushi last week.

The Bucks suspend Strickland for the week. The Don Callis Family comes in and they both want Kazuchika Okada to win at All In. And to hurt Kenny Omega of course. Okada and Konosuke Takeshita have a staredown and the fans approve.

Kota Ibushi vs. Trent Beretta

They go up against the ropes to start before Ibushi takes him to the mat to work on the arm. Trent sends him outside for a running cheap shot from Rocky Romero. Back in and Ibushi grabs a powerslam, followed by a standing moonsault for two. Trent is right back with a running knee into a Gotch style piledriver for two of his own. Ibushi snaps off some snapdragons and traps the arms to set up a jumping stomp to the chest. The big knee to the face finishes for Ibushi at 7:22.

Rating: B-. Well Ibushi is back and he was….fine. It was the same kind of match that a lot of people on this show, even down to the knee to the face for the finisher. I’ve never found Ibushi even remotely special in AEW and that was on full display again here. I don’t dislike him but there’s just nothing about him that makes me care. Even repeatedly hitting Beretta in the face. Now if he had done that to Romero, we might be getting somewhere.

Post match Kazuchika Okada comes out for a staredown but walks away without getting physical.

Jon Moxley talks about how Hangman Page has lost who he is. Page has talked about how he isn’t special and that makes Moxley sick. Moxley wants Page to reach out and grab what he deserves. At All In, Page will see what a real World Champion looks like.

Ricochet interrupts AR Fox and suggests that Fox join his new team. Say tonight, against Jet Speed? Fox is a bit anxious, but he’s in.

Ricochet/AR Fox vs. Jet Speed

Knight and Ricochet start, with the latter wanting Fox to watch and learn. This leaves Ricochet caught between both Knight and Bailey for some double teaming. Bailey is sent outside for a big running flip dive from Fox though and the villains (or the team with a villain) take over. Back in and Fox hits a clothesline to drop Knight but Fox and Ricochet are sent to the floor. Stereo dives take them out and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet trying to talk his way out of trouble, leaving Fox to get kicked in the face. Bailey’s running shooting star press hits Fox for two as everything breaks down. Fox grabs the rolling Downward Spiral but Ricochet drops to the floor rather than tag. Knight drops Fox and hits the spinning frog splash for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C+. Jet Speed hasn’t been around very long and they’re a fine enough team, though I’m still not wild on Bailey. There is nothing that makes me want to see him and pairing him with the talented Knight isn’t it. Other than that, Ricochet turning his back on someone he had been paired with for less than ten minutes makes sense for him, as he has to find the perfect partner.

Post match Jet Speed say they want to rescue the Tag Team Titles. Knight sings part of MVP’s WWE theme song and says they want the titles at All In. The Hurt Syndicate comes in to take them out. The beating goes on for awhile until Jet Speed is sent through a table. With that out of the way, MVP has the Hurt Syndicate’s music played and they go to the ring. MVP says if Jet Speed can get up, they can have the title match at All In.

MJF gets the mic and MVP has to tell the crowd to be quiet. Next week, MJF is in a qualifying match for the Casino Gauntlet match all All In. MJF says hit their music but here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt instead. Briscoe doesn’t want to hear MJF talk all night and the producer told him to get MJF out of here because we have stuff to get to. MJF doesn’t care because unlike Briscoe, they are actually stars.

These people can relate to Briscoe because they grew up ugly and poor. Briscoe loses if he gets in, so go back to Delaware and pick up chicken s***. Briscoe talks about MJF going through a lot as a child so the Word Of The Day is empathy. Maybe MJF is trying to overcompensate for having a tiny kosher pickle for thirty years. MVP cuts MJF off and yes, we get a KOSHER PICKLE chant. So the Syndicate will get out so Briscoe can lose in peace. I like Briscoe vs. MJF, but Jet Speed getting the title shot at the biggest show of the year makes my head hurt.

Casino Gauntlet Qualifying Match: Mark Briscoe vs. Bandido vs. Roderick Strong vs. Konosuke Takeshita

The winner is the #1 entrant and Bandido’s Ring Of Honor World Title isn’t on the line. Taz tries to make this a four way international deal before realizing there are two Americans and having to stop himself. Takeshita shoulders Bandido down to start and gets nowhere so they go outside. Strong punches Briscoe out of the air but Briscoe is back up with an apron Blockbuster to Bandido. Strong drops Briscoe again though and we take a break.

Back with Strong giving Briscoe a nice dropkick into a backbreaker but getting clotheslined by Bandido. That means an Undertaker situp from Bandido but Takeshita shoves him off the top. Briscoe misses the Froggy Bow and gets rolled up for two, leaving Takeshita to kick Strong in the face. Bandido and Briscoe both hit something off the top, with Briscoe decking Bandido and covering Takeshita for two.

Takeshita breaks up the 21 Plex and German suplexes Bandido and Briscoe at the same time. Strong makes a save of his own but charges into Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Bandido is back in with the X Knee to Takeshita and a German suplex sends him to the floor. Strong knees Bandido in the face and hits End Of Heartache but Briscoe drops the Froggy Bow for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: B. They were starting to roll near the end there and they had a bonus of not having the champion take the fall. Briscoe getting the first spot in the match is at least something for him to do and now we get to see who else is in the match. Good, fun match here though and it’s nice to see Briscoe do something other than losing for a change.

Adam Cole issues an open challenge to any member of the Don Callis Family for Collision.

Casino Gauntlet Qualifying Match: Kris Statlander vs. Athena vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Thunder Rosa

The winner is the #1 entrant and Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Statlander sends Athena into a boot to the head from Rosa, who sunset flips Statlander for two. Athena snaps off a headscissors to Statlander and we get a Tower Of Doom less than two minutes in.

We take a break and come back Rosa running over Athena a few times before Nightingale Death Valley Drivers Athena. Statlander faceplants Rosa at the same time, leaving us with Statlander vs. Nightingale. They forearm it out until Athena breaks it up, earning herself a double suplex. Rosa is back in to send them both down before faceplanting Athena. Back up and Athena orders Billie Starkz (her Minion) to get the title but gets sent into the steps.

Athena is fine enough to suplex Rosa off the steps but cue Marina Shafir to distract Nightingale. Cue Wheeler Yuta to jump Nightingale, who Pounces the heck out of him. That’s enough of a distraction for Staturday Night Fever to finish Nightingale and give Statlander the pin at 10:47.

Rating: B-. Again, at least they didn’t pin the champ. Statlander vs. Nightingale continues to be one of the more interesting feuds in the women’s division and it doesn’t seem like we’re close to wrapping it up. As a bonus, it seems that we are going to be seeing Athena vs. Thunder Rosa at Supercard Of Honor, assuming they bother advertising anything in advance.

Video on Nick Wayne and Christian Cage wanting the Tag Team Titles.

FTR isn’t happy with the Outrunners for chasing them off on Collision. Stokely Hathaway wants to deal with this and suggests a tag match on Collision this week.

Hangman Page vs. The Beast Mortos

Page works on the arm to start and a running shoulder just annoys Mortos. Instead Mortos hits some running corner clotheslines but Page hits one of his own. A triangle clothesline sends Mortos outside and a fall away has him crashing into the corner as we take a break. Back with both of them missing a clothesline until Page’s connects for two. Page’s sitout powerbomb gets two but he misses the moonsault out to the floor. Mortos runs him over and grabs the pop up Samoan drop for two back inside. Page gets in a shot of his own though, setting up a discus lariat into the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird choice for the main event, as while it was smart to get Page on the show, it didn’t feel important in any way. Page continues to win on the way to the pay per view, though it’s a good example of a match that could have been done in about four minutes. Otherwise, it was just keeping things going to extend the show’s run time.

Post match the lights go out and here are the Young Bucks to give Page the EVP Trigger. Cue the Death Riders so Jon Moxley can choke Page with a chain. The Opps run in with chairs and Will Ospreay joins them to chase the Death Riders off. Moxley promises to show the world what a real World Champion looks like to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It wasn’t quite the same as last week (which would be far from a fair comparison) but instead focused on All In. The show is starting to fill out and we can see most of what is coming there. They added a title match and gave us the first entrants in the Casino Gauntlet matches. It might not be the most interesting show on its own, but it checked some things off of the All In list.

Results
Will Ospreay/Swerve Strickland b. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian – House Call to Christian
Kota Ibushi b. Trent Beretta – Knee to the face
Jet Speed b. Ricochet/AR Fox – Spinning frog splash to Fox
Mark Briscoe b. Roderick Strong, Bandido and Konosuke Takeshita – Froggy Bow to Strong
Kris Statlander b. Athena, Willow Nightingale and Thunder Rosa – Staturday Night Fever to Nightingale
Hangman Page b. The Beast Mortos – Buckshot Lariat

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: June 25, 2025
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Robert Stone, Peter Rosenberg

It’s time to get violent as this week features a Last Woman Standing match between Wendy Choo and Kylie Rae. The two of them have been feuding for a few months now and it is time to blow everything off. That should make for something interesting, but the rest of the show will need to fill in the gaps. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video is about Choo vs. Rae, which does make it feel like a big deal.

Opening sequence.

Keanu Carver doesn’t like the WWE ID talent taking food off his table.

Ice Williams vs. Keanu Carver

Carver jumps him from behind to start and knocks Williams outside before the bell. Back in and Williams gets in a knockdown of his own, with Carver being knocked outside for a baseball slide. Back in and Carver runs him over for two and hits a reverse AA for two (oh that should have been the fall). The chinlock doesn’t last long as Williams fights up and hits the Ice Breaker (superkick) for two of his own. The Pounce cuts Williams back down though and the spinning powerslam finishes for Carver at 5:13.

Rating: C+. Williams is someone who impressed me enough over Wrestlemania Weekend but that was about the last time I thought of him. Oddly enough, it’s also about the last time I thought of the ID Titles, which makes me wonder if they’ll ever actually happen. Other than that, Carver gets to look like a beast again, though he should go with that reverse AA as a finisher.

Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel talk about their journey to get here.

The Vanity Project was at a Beyond Wrestling event over the weekend and don’t think much of the LWO. They’ll face off next week.

Zara Zakher vs. Kendal Grey

Both have been accused of being the backstage attacker and they argue over it to start. Grey takes her down into an armbar but it’s broken up. That earns Zakher a cross armbreaker, sending her over to the rope. What looks to be an Angle Slam is escaped so Grey goes with a spinning belly to back suplex for the pin at 3:36.

Rating: C. Grey continues to feel like a project around here, though I could go for seeing her having some more development. At the moment, she’s just another athletic woman who only has so much making her stand out. Zakher had a Wolverine style to her gear here, which made sense given her smaller stature. That’s more than Grey has and that needs to change.

Edris Enofe can’t get Stevie Turner’s attention….and Aria Bennett has been attacked. Zara Zakher and Kendal Grey both come in from the ring, meaning they’re both innocent.

Video on the awesomeness that is the WWE ID Program.

Stevie Turner announces the newest Evolve signing: Dante Chen. The fans do Chen’s pose before he talks about getting to join such a great roster. Earlier this year, Ethan Page injured Chen’s ankle and it put him in some dark times. Now he is ready to come back but here is Edris Enofe to interrupt.

Chen is glad to see him, but Enofe says all of the hype for Chen isn’t special. A few weeks ago, Enofe was in this spot and got a lot of attention, but now he can’t get ten seconds of Stevie Turner’s time. And for who? Dante Chen? Enofe is sick of doing things the right way and just getting ignored. Chen isn’t hearing this and gets hit in the face.

Layla Diggs is glad she has evolved but Jin Tala interrupts, saying she’s replacing Aria Bennett in their match next week. Works for Diggs.

Remember how Tate Wilder was coming? He still is.

Lince Dorado thanks the LWO for help. We pan over to Jamar Hampton yelling at Edris Enofe, who doesn’t like it. Hampton tells him to do something about it, but Enofe isn’t doing anything for anyone else anymore.

Wendy Choo vs. Kylie Rae

Last Woman Standing. Rae starts fast and hammers away before kicking Choo outside. A suicide dive connects and Rae picks up a table, which takes too long. Rae is back up with a trashcan to put over Choo and strikes away with a broom. They get back inside with Rae grabbing a suplex, only to miss a Cannonball into the trashcan in the corner. It’s time for a toolbox as commentary makes various monster/slasher movie comparisons. Choo tapes Rae’s legs to the corner and hits her in the ribs with a wrench.

We take a break and come back with Choo tying her in the ring skirt for a beating, only for Rae to get in a fire extinguisher blast. Rae hits a Cannonball against the steps but Choo is back up at 8 and they get back inside. The crossface has Choo in more trouble but she gets out and drops Rae again.

It’s time for the pillow case full of Legos (I don’t like having to write that) but Rae hits her with a teddy bear….which apparently has a brick inside. Rae didn’t know it was in there and panics, earning herself a half nelson slam onto the Legos. They go to the apron where Choo gets the Dirt Nap, only for Rae to drop backwards through the table at ringside. That’s enough for Rae to beat the count for the win at 12:39.

Rating: B-. Good enough here and while the weapons use was getting silly, they didn’t go too insane for the most part. What matters the most is that Rae gets a big win, which she has been needing around here since she debuted. Hopefully it also ends things with Choo, as this feud has been needing to wrap up already.

Natalya is in Stevie Turner’s office and wants to help build Evolve. Turner thanks her but Natalya wants to face Kali Armstrong. Turner isn’t sure to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show has found its groove and that is very impressive for a show about three and a half months old. They have done a nice job of putting everything together and making this feel like something rather logical most weeks. You have people coming in and stories that make sense. I’m finding myself liking this show more and more each week, which is a nice feeling to have as it never burns out its welcome. Another perfectly watchable show this week and it worked well.

Results
Keanu Carver b. Ice Williams – Spinning powerslam
Kendal Grey b. Zara Zakher – Spinning belly to back suplex
Kylie Rae b. Wendy Choo when Choo couldn’t answer the ten count

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

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

NXT
Date: June 24, 2025
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

While the Great American Bash is coming up in a few weeks, tonight is about Evolution, as we have a four way match to crown a new #1 contender for the pay per view. Other than that, we should be finding out who is next in ling for Oba Femi and the NXT Title, which could go in a few different ways. Let’s get to it.

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

Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, Jaida Parker and Jordynne Grace all say they’re going to win tonight and go on to Evolution. Three out of four people lying is not a great ratio.

TNA World Title: Trick Williams vs. Josh Briggs

Briggs, with Yoshiki Inamura, is challenging and sends Williams into the corner a few times to start. Williams’ whip is blocked and Briggs hits a running clothesline for two. A hot shot onto the buckle cuts Briggs off and Williams takes him down with a headlock. Back up and they trade some running shots to the face until Williams is knocked outside. Briggs gets in a big boot and we take a break.

We come back with Briggs countering a side kick into a suplex and hitting a splash. Williams gets in a middle rope knee for two and flips out of a chokeslam. A powerbomb doesn’t work for Briggs, who is right back with a chokeslam for two. Briggs misses the moonsault though and the Trick Shot retains the title at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This was a case of giving the champion a fairly safe title defense where he had to work for it anyway. Briggs didn’t even get a pin to earn the title shot so he was playing with the house’s money in the first place. It’s a fine way to open the show, though I could still go for seeing more of Briggs actually winning something.

Post match Williams says he wants respect but here is Joe Hendry from behind to clear the ring as we’re told that Hendry gets the title shot at Slammiversary.

Tavion Heights (in a Ribera Steak House jacket) is ready to win tonight and escape the No Quarter Catch Crew. Charlie Dempsey doesn’t seem thrilled.

Myles Borne is talking to some football players when Lexis King interrupts. King mocks all of them and leaves.

Je’Von Evans vs. Tavion Heights

If Heights wins, he’s out of the No Quarter Catch Crew. Heights easily wrestles him down to start and gets two off an early cradle. The armbar goes on to keep Evans down but he’s back up with a springboard headscissors. Heights is sent to the floor for a big dive and we take a break. We come back with Evans getting the better of a slugout until Heights hits a Pounce for two. A German suplex gives Heights two but he charges into a superkick in the corner. The spinning top rope splash gives Evans the pin at 8:52.

Rating: C+. The result surprised me a bit, as while I wasn’t certain that Evans was going to win, I was surprised that he did it completely clean. Heights and Myles Borne both leaving the No Quarter Catch Crew in the span of a few weeks would have been a lot, but I was expecting Charlie Dempsey to get involved if nothing else. I’m sure Heights will keep trying to get out, but that was a pretty painful loss.

Post match Jasper Troy comes in to drop Evans.

We recap Tony D’Angelo vs. Stacks for the Heritage Cup. Stacks was set for the title match but Noam Dar was injured. As a result, D’Angelo was given the spot for the vacant title instead. The question is about Luca Crusifino, who is working for one of them but it isn’t clear whom.

Ricky Saints vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

They slug it out to start with Adonis fighting out of the corner. A crisscross lets Saints kick him in the face and throw Adonis outside as we take a break. We come back with Saints fighting out of the corner but getting caught with an AA for two. Saints fights back and grabs suplex like a backdrop into a tornado DDT for two of his own. Roshambo gives Saints the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here with almost half of the match taking place in the break. Saints gets a win to help reestablish himself a bit, though Ethan Page is what really matters for him. This was a fine way to get Saints back on track though and that’s what Adonis should be used for most of the time.

Post match Ethan Page pops up on screen for a distraction but here is Page to jump Saints from behind. Page hits his own Roshambo.

Darkstate says they’ll be front and center with chaos and destruction.

Here is Oba Femi for a chat. He has been NXT Champion since January and since then, a variety of stars have come for his title but wound up as footnotes. Femi loves the fight and wants someone to come step up to him. Cue Yoshiki Inamura to say he’s here to chase gold. He missed Josh Briggs but he also missed NXT, with its culture and the passion of the fans. Femi admires his moxie but says it won’t go well for Inamura. That’s fine with Inamura, who is ready, only for Jasper Troy to take him out. I’d rather have Troy over Inamura, but at least we should be getting a #1 contenders match out of this whole thing.

Izzi Dame gives Tatum Paxley a doll but Zaria and Sol Ruca come in. Paxley walks off with the doll and meets up with Dame and the rest of the Culling. Dame takes Paxley with her.

High Ryze comes in to see Trick Williams and next week, it’s Wes Lee vs. Joe Hendry. Williams approves.

Heritage Cup: Stacks vs. Tony D’Angelo

For the vacant cup. Round one begins with D’Angelo knocking him into the corner but Stacks hammers right back. A trip to the apron and a backdrop get D’Angelo out of trouble. With the wrestling not working, they go back to straight brawling to end the round at a standoff. Round two begins with D’Angelo hitting a running clothesline and adding a spear for the pin at 37 seconds of the round and 4:07 overall.

We take a break and come back with Stacks hitting Cement Shoes for a very near fall as round three ends. Round four begins with D’Angelo slugging away but his knee (which was attacked during the break) gives out on the spinebuster attempt. Stacks gets a small package for the pin at 18 seconds of the round and 9:03 overall.

Cue Luca Crusifino to suddenly be D’Angelo’s corner man. Round five begins with Stacks tying up the leg but D’Angelo fights out and hits the spinebuster. Stacks is sent outside where D’Angelo goes after Stacks’ goons. Crusifino comes in to help but accidentally hits D’Angelo in the back with a bucket. A running knee gives Stacks the pin and the cup at 1:41 of the round and 14:21 overall.

Rating: B-. I’m rather impressed by how they’re managing to find new ways to keep up the mystery about Crusifino’s loyalties. At the end of the day, it could go either way as you could say it’s all a bunch of mistakes or he’s being subtle with his backstabbery. That’s a good way to keep the story going and they’re making it work rather well.

Post match D’Angelo lays out Crusifino.

Fatal Influence isn’t impressed with Blake Monroe and Jacy Jayne is ready for the four way tonight, as she’ll find out who loses next.

Thea Hail rants about recent issues when Lainey Reid comes in to mock her. Lash Legend comes in to say she has a match so they can’t be arguing right now.

Ava yells at Ethan Page for attacking Ricky Saints but Page just wants Saints away from him. They’ll settle it in her office next week. Hold on though as Hank & Tank have been attacked.

Joe Hendry is ready to take out Trick Williams and get the TNA World Title back at Slammiversary. He’ll be around here until then, including next week against Wes Lee.

Andre Chase tells his students that they need to toughen up. The attitude is what made the university a success….but Kale Dixon says it’s what killed it as well. Dixon and Uriah Connors leave, saying it was supposed to be different this time. Apparently they’re the ones who stopped Chase when he was closing the university in the first place (which isn’t that big of a reveal).

Lash Legend vs. Jaida Parker vs. Izzi Dame vs. Jordynne Grace

Fatal Influence is watching as Legend slams Grace to start. Dame takes Grace’s place before the other two come back in. Grace and Parker are sent outside again, leaving Dame to slug it out with Legend. That doesn’t work for Legend, who sends Dame outside before missing a charge into the post.

Back in and Grace gets two off a fisherman’s suplex, followed by Dame’s flapjack getting two on Grace. Legend breaks up the Hipnotique but gets taken down by Grace, who is chokeslammed onto the apron by Dame. Cue Tatum Paxley, so Zaria and Sol Ruca grab her and take her back.

We take a break and come back with Parker hitting a Tear Drop each to Grace and Dame. A fireman’s carry to Grace is cut off by Dame’s big boot but Legend puts Dame on top. Parker cuts that off with a Backstabber to Legend and a sunset flip gets two. Since there are four people involved in the match, we get the Tower Of Doom with Parker getting the worst of things, leaving Grace to get two each. Grace misses the Vader Bomb and Legend gives Parker the over the back faceplant. Dame makes the save, leaving Grace to give Parker a spinning torture rack bomb for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure if this earned the THIS IS AWESOME chants it was getting, but I can go with what we were getting here. If nothing else, Grace is someone who could massacre Jayne if given the chance, but that’s what was supposed to happen when Jayne got her title shot in the first place. This was pretty much Grace’s to lose, but the other three hung in there well enough to keep it interesting.

We run down next week’s card to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They started to look towards both the Great American Bash and Evolution here and that’s something that needed to happen. There are still a few weeks to go, but what matters is that the corner is starting to be turned. As is often (but not always) the case around here, nothing on here is worth going out of your way to see, but it makes for a good overall presentation. Simple, easy to follow stuff and acceptable action tends to work well for NXT and they did it again here.

Results
Trick Williams b. Josh Briggs – Trick Shot
Je’Von Evans b. Tavion Heights – Spinning top rope splash
Ricky Saints b. Ashante Thee Adonis – Roshambo
Stacks b. Tony D’Angelo 2-1
Jordynne Grace b. Izzi Dame, Lash Legend and Jaida Parker – Torture rack powerbomb to Parker

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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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 23, 2025
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Night Of Champions on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. That means it’s time to start getting the card finalized, including the King and Queen Of The Ring finals. On top of that, Bayley is challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Title, which should be quite good. Let’s get to it.

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

We get the drone shot flying into the arena and dang that is so cool.

Here are Seth Rollins and company to get things going. We see a clip of LA Knight being attacked by the team on Smackdown, putting him out of action indefinitely. After hitting the catchphrases, Rollins says the people here are giving him mixed signals. Rollins asks the people here what they want, which earns him a CM PUNK chant. The fans keep chanting and singing for different people and Rollins isn’t sure what’s going on.

Rollins says the fans are confused and they want the things that they’re asking for because of him. He created Roman Reigns, Punk is back because WWE wanted to capitalize on how much Rollins hated him, Cody Rhodes needed Rollins to put him on the map. On top of that, Rollins was the first NXT and World Heavyweight Champion. He is the creator and the prime mover and this is the future of this company. Rollins and Paul Heyman know a thing or two about revolutions and sometimes you have to stop someone from messing with you.

That’s what happened to LA Knight (pause for the YEAH), who got Tsunami after Tsunami. In a few minutes, Penta is going to be taken out as well. There are a lot of people who think they can exist at the very top. Those are people like John Cena and Gunther, plus others like the ones in the King Of The ring or CM Punk and Goldberg. What those people don’t understand is they are all running a race for second place. The briefcase is the finish line and the end game and it has always been Seth Rollins. This was the “we’re dangerous” promo and didn’t really change much else, but you have to get these guys on the show.

Penta vs. Bron Breakker

We’re joined in progress with Penta in trouble in the corner but coming out with a running kick to the head. A springboard spinning crossbody drops Breakker and Penta hits the handstand slingshot dropkick in the corner. Back up and Breakker runs him over, setting up a quick suplex to send Penta flying. Breakker’s backbreaker gets two and one heck of a clothesline drops Penta again.

Breakker talks some trash before putting Penta on top for a hard shot out to the apron. Penta manages to knock him out to the floor for a breather but Breakker pulls the dive out of the air. That’s broken up as well and Penta sends him into the post, setting up a big running flip dive.

We take a break and come back with both of them having crashed over the announcers’ table thanks to Breakker’s apron clothesline. Back in and Penta seems to be favoring his knee but it’s fine enough for the gorilla press gutbuster for two. Breakker grinds away on a headlock of all things, which is reversed into a Sling Blade. Penta comes up favoring his own leg but manages a suplex into a bridge (as in he hooked the leg after they landed) for two.

The Destroyer is blocked so Penta goes up, only for Breakker to roll through into a jumping knee (that was sweet). The super Frankensteiner gets two on Penta and it’s time for the straps to come down. Penta cuts off the Super Spear with a superkick and grabs a spinning DDT. Now the Destroyer can connect for two as the fans are WAY into this. Back up and Penta tries a springboard but dives into the Super Spear for the pin at 14:09.

Rating: B. These two had chemistry together and it’s another solid win for Breakker, who can hit that next level like few others. Penta was doing everything he could but there is no way around that kind of power and explosion. That was a heck of a match and I had a much better time with it than I thought I would.

Post match here are Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed, with Rollins telling Penta to stay out of his way.

Liv Morgan is confirmed to be out of action for several months.

Adam Pearce (hey he’s back) meets AJ Styles, who is told Dominik Mysterio is apparently being out with an injury. Styles: “What did he do? Strain his mustache?” Therefore, the title match at Night Of Champions is off, but Styles will get his shot at the first chance. Styles isn’t happy but understands and leaves. New Day and Grayson Waller (no Austin Theory) come in and are told that next week, Judgment Day gets a title shot. Xavier Woods is NOT happy and Waller hits the catchphrase, leaving Pearce confused.

Earlier today, Goldberg sat down with Michael Cole to talk about why he wants to face Gunther. Last year at Bad Blood, Goldberg took his family to a show for fun and got verbally assaulted by Gunther. That was so disrespectful and that is never going to happen. Gunther isn’t getting away with that and as long as Goldberg can get in that ring, he’s making Gunther pay.

He going to beat the **** out of Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. After the interview was over, Goldberg apparently said it was his last match, but it’s an interesting dilemma if he wins the title. Goldberg was bringing the intensity here and the story makes perfect sense, but it’s still Goldberg in 2025. After all of his previous comebacks, it’s pretty hard to get up for another one.

Judgment Day is upset about what happened with Liv Morgan but Finn Balor gives them a big pep talk. Balor says something that upsets Raquel Rodriguez and that’s the fire that Balor has been wanting. Go take it out on Rhea Ripley.

Bayley is warming up when Lyra Valkyria comes up, wondering why Bayley has ignored her. Bayley apologizes and says she’s been focused on the title match. When Bayley wins, Valkyria gets the first title shot, which seems to smooth things over.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals: Jade Cargill vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez gets smart by bailing from Cargill to start but does get in a quick slap. The chase lets Perez get in a few shots of her own on the way back in but a sunset flip attempt is blocked. Cargill starts in with the muscle but gets caught with the throat snap over the top. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets Perez out of trouble and they go to the floor, where Perez dropkicks the knee out.

We take a break and come back with Perez staying on the leg, followed by a running uppercut to the back. A springboard moonsault gives Perez two and she grabs a sleeper, which is muscled up into a fall away slam for the big crash. Cargill’s knee is banged up but she boots Perez into the ropes for the spinebuster. A chokeslam gives Cargill two but Jaded is countered into a bridging rollup for two. Something like La Mistica sets up cartwheel knees to the head to give Perez two of her own. Pop Rox is blocked though and Cargill hits a powerslam, setting up Jaded for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: B-. They were trying here but Cargill doesn’t have the skill to hang in a match like this just yet. Cargill’s big appeals are her incredible power and athleticism and she got to show those off, but Perez was there to do a lot of the more complicated work. It’s a good enough match, though Cargill is still rather green.

Post match Asuka comes out for the staredown.

Video on Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso.

Sheamus and the Alpha Academy console each other but Rusev interrupts. Rusev asks if Sheamus is still pretending to be everyone’s friend and Sheamus is ready to fight anytime. We even get a League Of Nations reference and Sheamus says it’s time to put up or shut up. Rusev slaps him on the chest and walks away.

Here is Gunther for a chat. Last week was supposed to be his big celebration but Goldberg had to interrupt him. It’s true that Goldberg was the man in 1999 but it’s 2025 and now Gunther is the man. Gunther sees a 58 year old man who can’t lace his boots, so now he’s apologizing for everything that he’ll do to the man who used to be Goldberg. At Saturday Night’s Main Event, it is his responsibility to destroy the myth of Goldberg once and for all. Same as before: good intensity, but the idea of the match itself only does so much for me.

Becky Lynch thinks Lyra Valkyria and Bayley are working together (uhhh….) and storms off but we go over to Sami Zayn. He is about to say how he’s processing his loss on Smackdown when Karrion Kross and Scarlet interrupt. Kross was almost believing him last week but then Randy Orton took Zayn out. The reality is Zayn will never be World Champion. Zayn: “Ok.” Then he hits Kross in the face. He’s done talking to Kross and their match is official.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending and in a nice touch, Bayley is wearing the gear she had planned for Wrestlemania before Lynch took her out. Bayley takes her into the corner and hammers away to start before doing it again in another corner. Lynch can’t get a Disarm-Her but the Rose Plant is blocked as well. They fight to the floor for a bit with Bayley getting the better of things and knocking Lynch out of the air back inside. Back up and Lynch snaps the arm over the top rope to take over as we go to a break.

We come back with Bayley hitting some clotheslines but the Bayley To Belly is blocked. The Rose Plant is blocked again and Lynch suplexes her down. The Manhandle Slam is blocked as well and now the Bayley To Belly connects for two. Lynch’s springboard kick to the face is blocked though and Bayley hits a sunset bomb into the corner for another near fall.

Lynch is right back up with a superplex into the cross armbreaker but Bayley slips out again. A half crab works on Lynch’s leg (as Bayley’s arm is too banged up for a full version) but she’s over to the ropes in a hurry. Back up and Bayley hits her own Manhandle Slam, with Lynch bailing out to the floor.

Bayley goes after her and gets knocked over the announcers’ table, where Lynch buries her with a bunch of stuff. Cue Lyra Valkyria to save Bayley with Lynch decking Valkyria, who won’t go after Lynch. Bayley pulls Valkyria off the apron, allowing Lynch to baseball slide Valkyria down. Bayley fights back and loads up the top rope elbow but Valkyria comes in to jump Lynch for the DQ at 13:36.

Rating: B-. This was hurt by the Lyra Valkyria factor, as it wasn’t a question of whether she would get involved but when she would get involved. As a result, it was hard to get invested in the majority of the match as Valkyria wasn’t there yet. Things picked up once she got there and it was far from bad, but this was running with an anchor.

Post match Bayley yells at Valkyria as Lynch kisses the title.

Chad Gable explains some things to Ivy Nile but goes over to mock Penta. This earns Gable an arm snap.

Here is Raquel Rodriguez to call out Rhea Ripley for a fight. Cue Ripley and the fight is quickly on, with Ripley getting the better of things. Rodriguez fights back on the floor and loads up a table but Ripley is on the announcers’ table for a jumping forearm. Cue Roxanne Perez go break up the Riptide though and the numbers game results in Ripley going through the table.

Post break Ripley demands and receives a street fight with Rodriguez. Sounds like a Night Of Champions replacement match and that’s perfectly fine.

Video on CM Punk vs. John Cena, looking at how they’re in different places than during their famous matches.

Night Of Champions rundown.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Jey Uso vs. Cody Rhodes

They stare at each other to start and we do get a handshake. Uso’s headlock doesn’t get him anywhere so Rhodes shoulders him down for a staredown. Rhodes works on the arm for a bit before they trade armdrags, with Rhodes having the smallest of advantages. Back up and Uso takes him down for a change and a YEET takes us to a break.

We come back with Uso making the ropes to escape a Figure Four. An exchange of strikes sets up a Samoan drop to give Uso two and the running Umaga Attack connects in the corner. The Superfly Splash hits raised knees though and Rhodes goes way different with a kimura. That’s broken up and Uso gets the sleeper but Rhodes powers up and dumps him over the top. A suicide dive is cut off though and they fight up to the top. Rhodes runs the corner for a top rope superplex and they’re both down off the crash.

We take another break and come back again with another slugout until Rhodes hits a running forearm. Uso snaps off a powerslam but his Cross Rhodes is countered into a Cody Cutter to give Rhodes two. The Disaster Kick misses as well though and Uso’s spear gets another near fall. Another spear is cut off though and a top rope Cody Cutter gets a rather near fall. Uso counters Cross Rhodes into one of his own for two more and another spear drops Rhodes again. The Superfly Splash is cut off though and a super Cody Cutter plants Uso hard. Cross Rhodes finishes Uso at 20:06.

Rating: B+. The rise of Uso turned this into a match where the ending wasn’t obvious and that’s great. Uso isn’t on Rhodes’ level but he’s a genuine main eventer and that made him a threat to pull off the upset. It helped that they beat the heck out of each other until one of them was left standing and it felt like an awesome main event style match. Rhodes winning makes more sense, but he wasn’t a lock and that’s a great feeling.

Post match respect is shown and they’re all cool to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a pretty great show with four good matches, but they had to scramble to change some of the Night Of Champions undercard. Thankfully what we are going to get is good enough and I’m fairly interested in the show so what we got here worked well. This one was built around the in-ring side of things and that worked rather well, with that opener in particular being rather entertaining.

Results
Bron Breakker b. Penta – Super Spear
Jade Cargill b. Roxanne Perez – Jaded
Becky Lynch b. Bayley via DQ when Lyra Valkyria interfered
Cody Rhodes b. Jey Uso – Cross Rhodes

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

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

King of the Ring 1993
Date: June 13, 1993
Location; Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

It’s another WWE Vault special as we’re looking back at one of the company’s on again/off again concepts. That could make for a good way to go, but this show has a bit of a hit and miss reputation. Bret Hart is the #1 seed and that’s good enough for me, though this is hardly a strong time for the company. Oh and Hulk Hogan is defending the WWF Title against Yokozuna in a Wrestlemania rematch. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the tournament and runs down the brackets:

Bret Hart
Razor Ramon

Mr. Perfect
Mr. Hughes

Jim Duggan
Bam Bam Bigelow

Tatanka
Lex Luger

Commentary previews the show, including the non-tournament stuff.

King Of The Ring First Round: Razor Ramon vs. Bret Hart

Heenan and Savage bicker about the 1-2-3 Kid’s famous upset of Ramon so JR ignores them to call the match as Hart starts in on the arm. Hart works on an armbar but can’t get a hiptoss, instead getting dropped by a hard clothesline. An elbow misses though and Hart is back on the arm, including another armdrag into an armbar.

Ramon gets evil by going to the eye before elbowing Hart in the face for two. The chinlock doesn’t work though as Hart reverses into a hammerlock and cranks away. Back up and Hart misses a charge into the post, allowing Ramon to really take over for the first time. A fall away slam gives Ramon two and he nails a running powerslam for the same.

Hart fights up and hits the atomic drop into the running clothesline for two as the fans are way into the comeback. The Five Moves Of Doom are cut off with the chest first crash into the buckle but the Razor’s Edge is blocked as well. A small package gives Hart a VERY near fall so Ramon takes him up top for the belly to back superplex. That’s reversed into a crossbody to give Hart the pin at 10:24.

Rating: B. It’s a good sign for Hart that he’s gotten this much better in just a few months, as this was quite a bit better than his match against Ramon at the Royal Rumble. This was Hart figuring out a bigger and stronger opponent, which is where he tends to shine. Good stuff here, though if Hart is the #1 seed, Ramon is dead last? Really?

We look at Mr. Hughes taking out the Undertaker, who needed a new monster to slay. The villains stole the Urn as well.

King Of The Ring First Round: Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes

My money is on Mr. Before the match, Heenan uses his Brain Scan to mock Perfect’s form on the gum swat, because he’s still bitter over Perfect deserting him. Hughes powers him into the corner to start and shrugs off a dropkick. Perfect is sent outside and comes back in to slug away with limited success. A neck crank keeps Perfect down for a bit and a big boot makes it even worse. The neck crank goes on again before a big whip into the corner has Perfect down again.

Bret Hart gets an insert interview, where he says he’d rather face Perfect in the second round. Back up and Perfect tries to jump over Hughes but both of them go down, with Perfect slugging away to keep things going. A missed charge in the ropes gives Perfect a breather and he manages a backdrop (Hughes doesn’t even lose his sunglasses) and there’s the necksnap. That’s enough for Hughes, who grabs the Urn and clocks Perfect for the DQ at 6:01.

Rating: C. Yeah there isn’t much that Perfect can do here, as they didn’t have time to go anywhere and the ending was just lame. Hughes is getting one of his biggest shots ever and he just hits Perfect for the lame DQ? It’s just a weird way to go, though Hughes was just a successful enough monster to feel like he could win, giving Hart another monster to slay in the semifinals.

Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna are ready for Hulk Hogan, who cheated at Wrestlemania. Not exactly but Hogan was hardly on fair footing there either.

King Of The Ring First Round: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jim Duggan

Duggan is in the singlet style gear here so you know this isn’t going to go well. Bigelow grabs a headlock to start as JR is firmly in NFL resume mode. Heenan: “CAN IT! WHO CARES???” Duggan slugs back with a running shoulder to the floor, with Savage getting on him for spending way too much time playing to the crowd.

Back in and Duggan can’t pick him up, allowing Bigelow to start in on the ribs. The bearhug doesn’t last long and Bigelow misses a headbutt but Duggan still can’t slam him. The second bearhug works a bit better but Duggan fights out again. This time the slam works but Duggan misses a charge into the buckle. Bigelow’s top rope headbutt finishes Duggan at 5:01.

Rating: D+. I love Duggan but the magic was gone by 1993. That made this little more than a formality, though Duggan still did have the ability to slug it out with a big man. Bigelow was clearly the right way to go here as he was always worth a look and they didn’t waste an opponent on him, but yeah not much to see here.

The Steiner Brothers and the Steiner Brothers are ready for Money Inc. and the Headshrinkers in an eight man tag. This is from the Coliseum Video version of the show so it isn’t even the original broadcast.

King Of The Ring First Round: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Luger does his mirror entrance and has the steel forearm for a bonus. Hold on though as Luger has to put on an elbow pad or he’s out of the tournament. As Heenan panics over the pad ruling, Luger jumps Tatanka to start fast but stops to pose, with commentary losing it over how stupid he is here.

Tatanka is back in to chop him to the floor for a slam, followed by a clothesline for two back inside. The armbar slows Luger down again and Tatanka chops away at the shoulder as this is already feeling like the time limit draw of the tournament. Bam Bam Bigelow joins us for an insert promo which we can’t hear to start, but he seems to want to face Tatanka next.

The armbar goes on again but this time Luger fights out as you can hear the crowd getting rather quiet. A backbreaker out of the corner puts Tatanka down again and a rather delayed elbow gets an also delayed two (oh yeah the time limit draw is coming and they’re not hiding it). Luger actually hits his big jumping elbow for a VERY delayed two and we hit the chinlock.

Tatanka fights up and chops away as we have three minutes left. A big chop gets two as the fans are responding to actually seeing someone working faster. The top rope chop gets two but Luger knocks him down again and we get a double breather. A backdrop puts Tatanka down again and a suplex gives Luger a near fall with thirty seconds left. Another suplex gets another two and time expires at 15:00.

Rating: C-. This was one of the most frustrating things you can see in wrestling, as it was just a countdown until the obvious finish. There was no reason for them to do some of the things they were doing here other than killing time and that made for a tedious match. Tatanka’s comeback was good and they needed to do this to protect his undefeated streak, but find a more interesting way to do it.

Post match Luger talks about wanting to keep going and then takes the pad off to knock Tatanka silly.

Mr. Perfect doesn’t like Bret Hart saying he would prefer to face Perfect, with Gene Okerlund egging things on. Then they argue over whose dad could beat the other before bringing up Hart beating Perfect at Summerslam 1991. They do at least shake hands.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect

Hart has a bandaged hand after the first round. They start slowly until Perfect takes him down by the head as commentary discusses whether or not Heenan was managing Perfect when Hart beat him for the Intercontinental Title. Ignore that he wasn’t, but Heenan seems to have forgotten that. Hart blocks a slam and kicks him away, setting up a headlock to grind away a bit.

Perfect gets up and gets pulled into another headlock, which is broken up as well. A nice dropkick sends Hart outside and Perfect hits a rather loud chop as the fans approve of what they’re seeing. Back up and Hart gets shoved off the apron for a huge crash (near a cooler full of ice, water and Pepsi). Hart is back in and Perfect’s missile dropkick gets a pair of near falls. Perfect goes up again but gets caught in a superplex, allowing Hart to start in on the leg. The Figure Four has Perfect in trouble until he makes the ropes, meaning Hart can grab another leglock to keep him in trouble.

That’s broken up and the sleeper goes on, with Perfect putting his foot on the ropes because he’s still a bit of a heel. Hart gets out again and starts the comeback, including the backbreaker into the middle rope elbow. The Sharpshooter is loaded up but Perfect gets smart by grabbing Hart’s bandaged hand. Back up and the PerfectPlex is blocked as Hart suplexes him out to the floor for a huge crash. Back in and Perfect tries a small package but Hart reverses into one of his own for the pin at 18:54.

Rating: A-. There are certain people who work very well together and these two have some very underrated chemistry. Hart continuing to get the better of Perfect is a cool thing to see as you know Hart had to work for this one. Perfect was game here too and I could have gone for a heck of a lot more of hero Perfect than we got over the years. He really was that good and it was on display here. Outstanding match.

Post match respect is (eventually) shown.

Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart give a VERY pro-America speech about how they’re protecting us from the evil Japanese threat. This would have been over the top during World War II.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna

Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji, is challenging and there are a lot of Japanese photographers at ringside. Heenan says this is a fresh Yokozuna, not one who wrestled a “thirty minute match” before Hogan faced him. That’s a stretch even for Heenan. Hogan comes out and sweet goodness he’s probably….oh 40lbs down from his traditional size or so?  Happy steroids trial everyone.

Hogan can’t shove him around to start but Yokozuna can shove him down rather quickly. A big slam drops Hogan again and Fuji is certainly approving. Back up and Hogan avoids a charge in the corner before hammering away with right hands. The running corner clothesline rocks Yokozuna but it’s way too early for the slam. Another attempt gets a leg up but Hogan falls down and is in trouble again. Hogan fights up and hits some running clotheslines but Yokozuna drops him with a single clothesline.

The big splash misses and Hogan has an opening, which is cut off with a bearhug. That stays on for a good while until Hogan fires off some right hands to free himself. Yokozuna drops him again though as Hogan just can’t keep anything going. The belly to belly suplex gets two (and Yokozuna gets some height on the kickout) as it’s time to Hulk Up. The big boot rocks Yokozuna but doesn’t drop him and a second has the same result.

A third big boot finally drops Yokozuna and the legdrop connects…for two, with the kickout putting Hogan back on his feet. Hogan has to deck Fuji but a photographer (with a huge beard) gets on the apron. Hogan goes over to him and the camera causes a fireball to go off in Hogan’s face. The big leg gives Yokozuna the pin and the title back at 13:07.

Rating: D+. There is only so much you can do for a match like this, but that’s how Hulkamania officially ends in the WWF in the 90s. They went out of the way to make sure Hogan didn’t get to slam him and that’s the big sign that things are changing. Hogan never should have gotten the title back in the first place and he had some protection with the camera, but Yokozuna kicking out of the legdrop was a big moment. Not a good match as expected, but it certainly has the historical significance.

Post match Hogan tries to get up but he can’t see. Yokozuna hits the Banzai Drop and Hogan is helped out, not to appear on WWF TV for nearly nine years.

Mr. Perfect is disappointed with his loss but he’d rather not talk about it.

Gene Okerlund talks about the love that Detroit has shown to the WWF (I’m thinking there was a promo for Summerslam 1993 cut out here) but wants to talk to Shawn Michaels and his new bodyguard. Michaels dubs the new bodyguard as Diesel (who had been around for all of five minutes at this point) but says he (as in Michaels) does the talking.

Steiner Brothers/Smoking Gunns vs. Money Inc./Headshrinkers

Welcome to the death slot guys. Scott and DiBiase start things off with Scott getting the better of things and sending DiBiase outside. Rick sends him back in, where Scott hits a Steiner Line out to the floor. Back in again (thanks Rick) and it’s off to Fatu vs. Bart, with latter of whom hits a dropkick into an armbar. Bart makes the mistake of ramming him head first into the mat, earning a shot to the face from Fatu.

IRS comes in for a back elbow and it’s back to DiBiase for a nice suplex. Samu drops a headbutt and a backbreaker gets two. IRS’ top rope right hand connects as IRS is fascinated by Money Inc.’s briefcase. Bart gets in a shot of his own though and it’s off to Billy to clean house. The Million Dollar Dream cuts Billy off though, only for DiBiase to let him go for some reason. Billy grabs a quick small package for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: C. There’s nothing to see here as the idea was just to put people in the ring after the big devastating title change. That’s what you need to do in a spot like this, even if the match meant pretty much nothing. It’s kind of a shame too, as there were some good tag teams in there.

Post match the brawl is on with the good guys cleaning house in a hurry. The Steiners would win the titles from Money Inc. the next day (and lose then two days later, only to win them back again three days later).

Jack Tunney congratulates Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji on the win. Fuji brags about doing exactly what they said they would do.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Crush

Michaels, with Diesel, is defending. They take their time to start until Crush grabs a headlock and then shoulders him down. The headlock goes on again before some leapfrogs frustrated Michaels. The superkick misses and Crush hits a pair of dropkicks to put him out on the floor. Back in and Crush gorilla presses him (with reps) and drops Michaels so casually that it’s kind of funny.

There’s the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and Diesel pulls Michaels to the floor for a breather. Crush goes after him but gets in a staredown with Diesel, allowing Michaels to get in a diving shot off the apron. Diesel sends Crush head first into the post and Michaels rams Crush’s head into the post over and over (GEEZ).

Back in and Crush actually kicks out so Michaels grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up with pure power as Crush sends him out to the floor and then swats away a dive off the top. Crush hits a big boot and drops the leg for two (not a good combination on this show)….and we have two Doinks. The distraction (it could be their cigars) lets Michaels hit a superkick to the back of the head to send Crush into the buckle and retain at 11:15.

Rating: C+. I’ve long since had a soft spot for Crush and I could have gone for seeing him do something more. Maybe not being the guy getting the Luger spot, but doing something else could have been interesting. This was memorable due to the RAM CRUSH’S HEAD INTO THE POST spot but there was pretty much no way that Michaels was losing when his new bodyguard was getting his big debut.

Bam Bam Bigelow is fresh and ready to become the first King Of The Ring. Short and to the point here.

King Of The Ring Finals: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bret Hart

Hart is pretty banged up with a band hand and a slight limp. Bigelow goes with the big forearms to the back to start but Hart counters a gorilla press into a crossbody for two. More pounding drops Hart again and Bigelow launches him over the top for a big crash. Back in and Bigelow slowly hammers away, setting up a hard whip into the corner (back first for a change). Thankfully JR is right there to sell the impact and the pain, which is where he shines like few others.

A jumping elbow gives Bigelow two and we hit the bearhug. That’s broken up and they go outside, where Hart reverses a whip into the barricade. Back up and Hart is rammed into the post so Bigelow goes back inside. Cue Luna Vachon with a chair to drop Hart again but he actually makes it back inside. The top rope headbutt gives Bigelow the pin and the crown at 9:27….but here is another referee to point out the chair shot.

For some reason that isn’t a DQ and instead we keep going. Bigelow isn’t happy and hammers away again, with a headbutt knocking Hart silly again. The bearhug goes on again so Hart escapes, only to get headbutted into an over the shoulder backbreaker. That’s broken up as well and somehow Hart manages a belly to back suplex. Bigelow misses a backsplash and Hart fights up again, this time with a dropkick out to the floor.

The slingshot dive hits Bigelow and Hart hammers away as this feels like his last shot. Back in and a middle rope clothesline gives Hart two and the middle rope bulldog gets the same. The Sharpshooter is broken up so Hart tries another belly to back, with Bigelow landing on him (nice call back to earlier in the match) for two. Back up and Hart gets a boot up in the corner and grabs a victory roll for the pin at 18:21.

Rating: B+. Just in case you needed another great Hart match to close things out. As usual, Hart can do some of his best work against a monster and also as usual, he knows how to make you believe that he’s near death before making the comeback. Having Bigelow get a pin in there was kind of weird, but Hart was cheated to make it happen so it hardly brought anything down.

Post match Randy Savage runs in to hug Hart and they RUSH him over to the platform for the coronation. Hart gets the robe and the crown…and Jerry Lawler comes in, saying he’s the only king in the WWF. Lawler offers him the chance to kiss his feet, but Hart asks why he was never in the tournament in the first case. Hart starts the BURGER KING chant and Lawler jumps him from behind, beating him down with the scepter and kicking off a two year feud. JR is AGHAST and Lawler kicks Hart in the face, which he says is making Hart kick the royal feet. Hart is out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It’s so weird to see a show divided in half between Bret Hart and everything without Bret Hart. This was a one man all star performance from Hart, who had three awesome matches and…well everything else. What was the best match without him? The Intercontinental Title match I guess, and even that was just decent. Absolutely incredible work from Hart, with the Perfect match being outstanding, and not much else in the way of quality.

At the same time though, it’s a huge change of course though with Yokozuna taking the title back and getting rid of Hogan, who would be off to Hollywood and then WCW. That’s quite the big night, with Hart pretty clearly turning into the next star…but we had to deal with Luger’s face run first. In other words, 1993 WWF didn’t make a ton of sense, but Hart is awesome.

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

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

Collision
Date: June 21, 2025
Location: ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back stateside after a pretty fun show down in Mexico City. Things are starting to shape up for All In and there is a good chance that tonight will be focused on that show as well. Then again Collision is not often the show that gets the build for the pay per views so it might be a case of waiting until Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Stokely Hathaway says his men are ready for their eight man tag tonight.

Jon Moxley vs. AR Fox

Non-title and Wheeler Yuta is here with Moxley. Fox ducks a clothesline to start and hits a quick jumping enziguri but Moxley drops him with a right hand. They go outside with Moxley getting in another shot, only to get caught with a running hanging DDT back inside. Fox knocks him outside for a running moonsault but Moxley gets in a crotching on top.

Moxley rakes the back and bites the ear, setting up a reverse Rings of Saturn to send Fox to the ropes. Back up and Fox kicks him to the floor for the big dive, followed by a pair of cutters back inside. Moxley isn’t having that and hits a heck of a clothesline into a Gotch style piledriver. Some big shots into the rear naked choke finishes for Moxley at 5:46.

Rating: B-. Fox has grown on me at a rapid pace in the last few months and that was on full display again here. There is something fun about watching Fox do his flips and dives as he is unique enough to make them stand out. Of course he wasn’t going to beat the champion, but at least he had a good time getting there.

Post match Moxley gives him a Death Rider before grabbing a mic. Moxley says he’s been watching Hangman Page waste his chances and his talents for years. He doesn’t have the same patience that these people have and promises to run Page out of the sport at All In. This business is not for Page. Moxley kept it short here and that’s better for everyone.

Various people talk about how special/important it was to be in Arena Mexico. It certainly seemed to be a great night so well done on having such a success.

Adam Cole and company are ready for their eight man tag.

Don Callis Family/FTR vs. Bandido/Daniel Garcia/Paragon

Bandido and Harwood start things off but Takeshita grabs Bandido from the apron. That doesn’t seem to bother Bandido who hits a quick dropkick and hands it off to Strong. Takeshita comes in to take him into the corner and chop away before it’s Fletcher gets to hammer Strong down. Strong is fine enough to get over for the tag to Garcia, who is caught in the wrong corner as well. Harwood’s chinlock doesn’t last long and the needed tag brings in Bandido to clean house. FTR cuts off a dive though and sends Bandido face first into the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Bandido hitting a top rope corkscrew crossbody to Harwood and it’s back to Cole to pick the pace up again. A Backstabber gets two on Fletcher and everything breaks down with a string of knockdowns. Back to back top rope splashes set up an exchange of shots to the face. Cole brainbusters Fletcher onto the knee and they all get up for the big slugout. The Shatter Machine is broken up but so is Chasing The Dragon. Fletcher superkicks Strong into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: B-. This was another fast paced tag match from teams who know how to wrestle that style. Everyone got to do a little something, though I was expecting more involving Bandido. It isn’t that what he did was bad, but we have less than three weeks before Supercard Of Honor and he doesn’t even an opponent yet.

Post match the winners beat them down again but the Outrunners make the save.

Thunder Rosa and company are ready for the eight women’s tag.

Athena tells her partners to get it together for tonight.

Mercedes Mone, now with six belts, tells Toni Storm to bring it because Storm’s time is ticking.

Swerve Strickland vs. Shane Taylor

Prince Nana and the rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here too. Strickland starts fast by knocking him out to the floor but tries to get into a slugout. This goes rather badly as the much bigger Taylor drops him to the apron without much effort. Strickland slips out of a Death Valley Driver but takes too long trying a powerbomb, earning himself a splash on the apron.

We take a break and come back with Strickland hitting a springboard dropkick to the leg. Taylor is fine enough to hit a hard knee but goes up for some reason, allowing Strickland to super Angle Slam him back down. The Swerve Stomp to the apron connects but Strickland has to dive onto the Promotions to save Nana. Back in and the House Call finishes for Strickland at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’ve said it many times now, but there comes a point where there is nothing left to get out of Taylor if he is used this way over and over. He gets these short term runs where he says it’s time to take him seriously or whatever and then he loses, starting the process over again. Why should I take him seriously if no one else does?

We look at Toni Storm stalking Mercedes Mone at Grand Slam.

Storm, looking rather Carmen Sandiegoish, was told that the match between herself and Mone would be huge, but Mone has done nothing but eat steak and try to kiss her. This doesn’t work for Storm, because if Mone makes one wrong move, she’ll eat Mone alive. She knew that Mone was special but Storm is a “manic, neurotic, erotic, sexually questionable, consistently sweating, bottom heavy trans-Atlantic w****.”

She makes magic happen when the title is in her bosom and unless Mone can pull a rabbit from her censored, Mone is going to have to kill her. You know what you’re getting from the match at this point and I’m worried about them burning out the interest by the time we get to All In.

Conglomeration vs. MxM Collection/Taya Valkyrie

That would be Mark Briscoe/Willow Nightingale/Hologram. The women start things off with Valkyrie getting to strut a bit but Nightingale knocks her down. Hologram and Madden come in with the former hitting a dropkick into the corner. A springboard missile dropkick sends Mason outside and it’s off to Mansoor. Hologram is sent outside though, where Mason gets in a spinning Boss Man Slam as we take a break.

Back with Hologram grabbing a satellite DDT, allowing the tag off to Briscoe. Everything breaks down and Hologram gives Mansoor the spinning torture rack powerbomb. Stereo dives take out the other two and Briscoe drops the Froggy Bow for the pin on Mansoor at 8:30.

Rating: C+. This has been the latest “Hologram gets another win which changes absolutely nothing about what he is doing around here because that is what he does” (patent pending) match. It’s the same (entertaining) stuff time after time and after all these months, it would be nice for AEW to do SOMETHING with him. Otherwise, it makes me wonder why so many others are getting a chance before him, as the internal logic is questionable at times.

Kris Statlander is frustrated about not being in the eight woman tag match. Wheeler Yuta comes in to mock her but she tells him to get out. Jon Moxley comes in and Statlander gets scared, but Moxley says never let anyone tell you what you’re worth.

Here is Don Callis with his Family for a chat. Callis gets straight to the point: Kazuchika Okada has joined the Family. We look at their beatdown of Kenny Omega last week, with Tony Schiavone being rather sick at the whole thing. Callis mocks Schiavone and calls out Omega, who is against the wall and all alone at All In.

Cue Mark Briscoe to interrupt, saying he’s Omega’s friend. He’s not the only friend though, and Kota Ibushi is back. Ibushi gets in the ring and kicks Josh Alexander in the head before slugging it out with Okada. Ibushi easily clears the ring and is at least a bit more enthusiastic than he was before. Again though: why does Omega vs. Okada need anything extra? It sells itself, and having all this other stuff around sounds like an unnecessary addition.

We come back from a break with Big Bill/Bryan Keith brawling with the Workhorsemen on the floor. Bill and Keith get the better of things, including a chokeslam onto four open chairs. Cue Christian Cage and the Patriarchy, saying he doesn’t like this kind of a brawl taking up his television time. Cage is proud of Nick Wayne, and thinks it’s time for he and his son to become Tag Team Champions. Bill mocks Mother Wayne’s promiscuity and wants to fight right now. Cage suggests that Bill is drunk and hits his catchphrase.

Anthony Bowens yells at Billy Gunn for his recent losses. Things don’t seem to be going well.

Jet Speed vs. Gates Of Agony

Ricochet is on commentary. Bailey and Kaun start things off with Bailey’s dropkick sending him into the ropes. Liona comes in for a headlock and quickly hands it back to Kaun so Knight comes in with some armdrags. The rolling spinning splash only hits Kaun’s raised knees though and Liona sends Knight into the barricade. Ricochet certainly seems to improve as we take a break.

Back with Knight getting over for the tag to Bailey, who misses a running shooting star press. Liona is back up with a fall away slam/Samoan drop combination but Knight breaks up Open The Gates. Knight hits a double DDT, which brings Ricochet to his feet. Bailey hits a big dive out to the floor, only for Kaun to grab his fireman’s carry gutbuster for two back inside. Bailey is right back with his tornado kick though, setting up the spinning top rope splash to give Knight the pin on Kaun at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The Gates Of Agony are pretty much the tag team version of Shane Taylor and I don’t really mean that in the best way. They’re a fine monster team, but when that monster team hasn’t won anything in a good while and often lose against any level of competition, it’s not going to help their prospects. Bailey and Knight are fine as a midcard tag team and thankfully that’s about all they seem to be at the moment.

Thekla/Athena/Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Queen Aminata/Anna Jay/Tay Melo/Thunder Rosa

It’s a brawl to start until Aminata and Ford are quickly left in the ring. We get the parade of knockdowns until Rosa and Athena wind up on the apron. With everyone else on the floor, Aminata and Ford hit stereo dives as we take a break. Back with Athena and Bayne having a staredown (despite being partners) so Thekla goes Upside Down on Aminata. Melo and Jay come in to double team Bayne, who suplexes both of them without much trouble.

Rosa and Athena slug it out until Athena scores with an enziguri. A parade of secondary finishes sees Thekla DDT Bayne for two. Thekla hits a spear on Bayne and Athena piledrives Aminata but Rosa is up with a spinning Death Valley Driver. Billie Starkz gets on the apron for a distraction though and ROH TV Champion Red Velvet runs out to give Athena her title. Athena decks Rosa with the belt for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: C+. Much like Bandido, Athena still doesn’t have anything set up for Supercard Of Honor, though at least it seems like Rosa is going to be coming after her at the show. There is a good chance this sets up Billie Starkz coming after the Women’s TV Title to avenge her leader, though it would be great to have those matches actually announced. Other than that, it was nice to tie the tag team feud in with the ROH stuff to give the latter some more exposure, as they need all the help they can get at the moment.

The winners pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. While it was nice to see some bigger names in action, this felt like so many Collisions, in that it didn’t come off like a need to see show. Collision continues to be in that weird place where it feels like the quality is there but not the importance and that makes things a bit tough to get through at times. It’s certainly not a bad show, but it’s not a show that is required viewing if you want to keep up with what is going on in AEW. That is such a contract to Dynamite, where it feels like you’re behind if you miss five minutes. AEW might want to work on balancing that out a bit.

Results
Jon Moxley b. AR Fox – Rear naked choke
Don Callis/FTR b. Bandido/Daniel Garcia/Paragon – Shatter Machine to Strong
Swerve Strickland b. Shane Taylor – House Call
Conglomeration b. MxM Collection/Taya Valkyrie – Froggy Bow to Mansoor
Jet Speed b. Gates Of Agony – Spinning frog splash to Kaun
Thekla/Athena/Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford b. Queen Aminata/Anna Jay/Tay Melo/Thunder Rosa – Belt shot to Rosa

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

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

Thunder
Date: May 17, 2000
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Attendance: 3,066
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

I saw this on the WCW Vault channel so let’s take a look at this again. Thunder is of course an all time disaster of a wrestling show and we are at the point where WCW has more or less given up. The draw for this show is the Millionaires Club vs. the New Blood, with WCW thinking the fans would get behind the old rich wrestlers. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of recent carnage and chaos with no context whatsoever. This feels like a scene from a sitcom where someone is tasked with making a simple film but instead goes nuts and turns it into some art house deal which makes no sense but they blame the audience for not getting it (Diane did it on Cheers).

Opening sequence, featuring a countdown to the start of thunder. Isn’t the point of thunder that you don’t know when it’s going to start?

The New Blood arrives in a school bus, because that’s cool. Shane Douglas takes roll because Eric Bischoff has put him in charge. This leads to a fight with Konnan and here is the Millionaires Club, plus the Misfits In Action, running in for the brawl. Hulk Hogan, all in black with FUNB on his back (oh 2000 WCW, you glorious disaster), steals the keys to the bus.

Commentary welcomes us to the show and tells us that Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo aren’t here tonight. Dang I picked a good one.

Here is the Millionaires Club and the Misfits In Action, with Hulk Hogan saying they just stole the keys to the bus. Whatever Shane Douglas had planned is out the window because the Millionaires Club is booking the show tonight. Cue the New Blood, with Douglas telling Hogan to shut up. Hogan mocks Billy Kidman for the match at Slamboree and wants a rematch at the Great American Bash. If Hogan wins, he gets a World Title match at Bash At The Beach (DUN DUN DUN) and the match seems to be made.

As for tonight, Hogan wants to face Horace, but Jeff Jarrett cuts them off, saying he wants his World Title back. Cue champion Ric Flair (who would win and lose the title again before the end of the month) to deck Jarrett with the title and the big brawl is on again. So The Millionaires Club has already outsmarted the young, athletic guys and beaten them up twice inside of five minutes.

In the back, Konnan and Shane Douglas argue again, with Konnan and the rest of the Filthy Animals (Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera and the Disco Inferno) walking out.

Misfits In Action vs. Filthy Animals

We also get Major Gunns, who is rather quickly oogled. Corporal Cajun plays to the crowd to start but gets jumped from behind, only for Inferno to get caught in the wrong corner for some running splashes. Gunns comes in for a chest to the face before it’s back to Guerrera for some dropkicks to Stash’s leg (with Schiavone getting Stash’s rank wrong, even if PRIVATE STASH makes more sense).

Mysterio comes in to take over on Rection (because…yeah that’s his name) in the corner, but the Bronco Buster is cut off. A powerbomb out of the corner drops Mysterio and it’s off to Loco vs. Konnan. Cue Shawn Stasiak (who is also part of the New Blood) to jump Loco for the DQ at 3:18.

Rating: C. Why do I have a bad feeling that this is going to be the best match on the show? You had a bunch of talented wrestlers in the ring here but there is only so much you can do when the match barely gets three minutes, especially with interference for a DQ ending. Also, it might be nice to have commentary explain why Stasiak was out there, but I’m assuming it just a battle of the stables.

Post match the MIA gets beaten down but Booker T. makes the save. Gunns gives Loco mouth to mouth. This allows commentary to talk about her lung capacity, because this is what WCW 2000 was like. And that’s the real reason this match existed: to put Major Gunns over.

The Millionaires Club is happy, though Lex Luger goes to deal with something.

Booker T. is happy to be with the Misfits In Action and their FUBAR (FU Bischoff And Russo) shirts. He’s ready to declare all out war.

Hulk Hogan vs. Horace

This is a rematch from Nitro where Horace used a chair to win. Before the match, Hogan says he never did anything to deal with Horace’s father (Hogan’s brother) and now it’s time to teach Horace something. In the back, Horace decks Kidman so he can take Torrie Wilson with him. Hogan jumps Horace on the way in and hits a clothesline to send Horace outside. Horace is sent into the steps and Hogan whips out a table but takes too long, allowing Horace to fight back.

That lasts all of three seconds as Hogan fights back and Heenan and Tenay get into it over Hogan giving Horace chores when he was a kid. Heenan: “You have servants for that!”. Back in and Hogan whips him with a belt, followed by a clothesline with said belt. Wilson gets up for a distraction and gets in a kiss on the cheek from Horace, which draws Kidman out to jump Horace. Hogan is back up to chair Horace in the back, sends Kidman through the table, and gets the pin at 3:56.

Rating: D. And yeah there you go: Hogan squashes Horace and beats up Kidman at the same time, just to show you that this isn’t so much a competition as much as it is the Millionaires Club having target practice. I get that Horace wasn’t going to be the next big thing, but this was domination and that doesn’t help anyone but Hogan. Also, Stasiak interfering in the previous match draws a DQ but Hogan can use a belt, a chair, and shrug off interference and the referee is fine with it?

Post match Hogan kisses Wilson, who seems to love it. Just in case you didn’t get that Hogan is the star here.

Lex Luger is in a car and wants to go find a gym. He’s told “go down here and make a right, you can’t miss it”, which is quite the detailed set of directions.

Post break, Luger winds up at a gym and finds Chuck Palumbo lifting so Luger beats him up with a muscle bar and various other things. Luger whips him with a belt, which is the second segment in a row with the same weapon. He drops a 40lb weight on his ribs too and then throws it away, totally showing that it isn’t fake in the slightest. Luger pours a protein shake over him for a bonus as the New Blood gets humiliated again.

Ralphus and Norman Smile have “t-sherts fer sale” in the parking lot because they need to eat.

Hardcore Title: Terry Funk vs. Ernest Miller

Funk is defending and calls Miller out. Miller comes to the stage and threatens to whip the old piece of junk, earning himself a DDT for two. A neckbreaker gets the same but Miller kicks him in the head and they fight to the back. They brawl with various items and a chair to the head drops Funk. We hear about Funk’s career, with Heenan sounding very respectful of him, as Funk comes back with a trashcan. A bag of popcorn to the head rocks Funk and he gets sent into a steel door.

The door is slammed down onto Funk before Miller lifts it up. Tenay: “If he hadn’t lifted the door, how could Funk have kicked out?” They go outside where Miller spins a rake around and hits him in the face. Smiley and Ralphus t-shert stand is broken up and Funk beats on Ralphus’ car with a chair. Funk breaks that up and throws him into the (open) hood of the trunk. Smiley tries to sell Miller a shirt and gets yelled at, so Smiley chairs him into the trunk, where Funk gets the pin to retain at 5:41.

Rating: C+. This started off lame but then Funk turned into his usual amazing self and got the stupid thing over. WCW’s hardcore stuff was stupid and Bischoff going after Funk and the Hardcore Title wasn’t much better, but sweet goodness Funk could make it work just due to talent, willpower and effort. Far more entertaining than it had any right to be.

Post break, Normal Smiley and Ralphus are arrested for selling bootleg merchandise.

Here is Mike Awesome with a stretcher to announce that he’s facing Diamond Dallas Page in am ambulance match at the Great American Bash. He wants an ambulance match right now though and we have a taker.

Scott Steiner vs. Mike Awesome

Steiner’s US Title isn’t on the line in an ambulance match. Steiner says that he’s not in the Millionaires Club or the New Blood but wants to give Awesome a beating. Awesome gets knocked to the floor to start where he grabs a chair to throw inside. Steiner pulls that out of the air (dang) and throws it back at Awesome. Some suplexes drop Awesome and Steiner gets the Recliner but Goldberg’s music starts playing.

We cut to the back where Tank Abbott imitates Goldberg’s entrance. Steiner stands still and watches the whole thing as Abbott comes into the arena. Cue Rick Steiner to help Abbott beat up Scott, with Awesome getting up to help. Cue the Goldberg monster truck into the arena, with Scott throw Abbott and Rick onto the hood. The truck drives away (no driver is seen) and Awesome jumps into the ambulance, which is enough for Scott to win at 4:54.

Rating: F. When I watch these shows, it starts to make me wonder just how much they spent on this nonsense. Not only did they have two vehicles in the match, but Awesome basically walked out, making the ambulance COMPLETELY unnecessary. I know it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s that “oh who cares” mentality that helped kill WCW.

The New Blood continues bickering.

Chris Kanyon is in a halo in his hospital room and has weakness in his extremities. Now he doesn’t want to wrestle anymore because he just wants to walk again. Mike Tenay asks why Kanyon got involved in the cage match at Slamboree, where Mike Awesome threw him off the cage to injure him.

Kanyon keeps mentioning Diamond Dallas Page and Tenay brings up their history, but Page is up walking around while Kanyon is here. It’s true that Page has done a lot for him and he was here with him the night of the injury. Since then, Page is on the road wrestling but he’s calling multiple times a day. He hopes Page survives. Say it with me: then Kanyon turned on Page.

Kronik calls Shane Douglas, who wants to fight him in a three way dance. The New Blood walks out on him.

During a break, Kronik broke into Douglas’ locker room and dragged him to the ring.

Bryan Clark vs. Bryan Adams vs. Shane Douglas

So this is a triple threat instead of a handicap match due to reasons. Kronik double teams him to start and Clark hits the Meltdown (pumphandle powerslam), followed by Adams hitting an F5. Cue the Wall with a table so Douglas can go through it, setting up High Times (double chokeslam) to give Clark the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D-. As much as I enjoy seeing Douglas get beaten down, it makes me wonder why this was a thing that happened. It was another case of the old guys getting to wreck one of the “new” stars (ignore that Douglas had been around since the mid 80s) and make him look worthless. Other than making the Millionaires Club look great, how does this help anyone?

Here is World Champion Ric Flair (for the fifteenth time) and he can’t believe it happened again. Flair puts over Jeff Jarrett as a great wrestler and says he got lucky to win, but that’s what he did. He respects Jarrett, who isn’t the World Champion anymore. Now though, Flair needs to get his personal life in order. His son has been corrupted by Vince Russo, a skinny little Italian kid who grew up in New York. Like everyone else, Russo wanted to be like Bruno Sammartino, the champion of the WWWF (yes he got the extra W in there).

Then Russo’s dad bought him the cable and he saw Ric Flair in Atlanta and that’s what Russo wanted to be. Russo’s dad panicked because a good Catholic boy can’t be like the Nature Boy. Russo had no muscles, girlfriends or long limousines, so he could he be Flair? Now Russo is grown up and the only thing he has is a checkbook. Russo couldn’t control anyone from Flair to Sting to Hulk Hogan but he still wanted to be Flair.

But he’s still just a skinny little boy with no muscles and now Flair is the champ again. Now the title belongs to the old generation again (oh that doesn’t sound as good as WCW thinks it does) and the title is all that matters. Since Russo can’t have Flair, he’s trying to do it through Flair’s son. Cue Jeff Jarrett to interrupt to say he’s sick of hearing this and the brawl is on.

Cue Crowbar and David Flair to jump Flair (with Daffney screaming as only she could) but Arn Anderson runs in with a pipe for the save. Anderson says he’s old school too and last week, Russo opened up a sleeping dog. Anderson wakes up grumpy and he was happy with working backstage, doing whatever he could.

The reality though is he’s a wrestler and when he comes home and sees one of his kids playing with matches, he doesn’t care about women’s groups, because he’ll take off his belt and whip some discipline into his son. David needs to stop listening to that guy from New York City because he’s 0-everything. Anderson holds up the Four Horsemen sign and says it’s time for a Horsemen beating. Sweet goodness that Horsemen song is still amazing.

Other than that though, this was straight fire from Ric, who was doing one of those promos that makes him sound like he’s a cross between insane and the most passionate man in wrestling. That’s one of the reasons he’s a legend, but it brings up the big problem: he’s doing this to deal with Vince Russo. Put him against pretty much anyone else (excluding Jarrett because it just wasn’t going to happen) and this would have been outstanding stuff. As it is, it’s just more proof that Flair could still bring it when he was trying.

Vampiro is in the back with a Sting mask…which he lights on fire.

Here is Sting in the ring to say he’s this close to snapping. Tonight, he’s taking Vampiro out right here in Louisiana. Cue Vampiro to say “Stinger”, which Tenay interprets as “he just called him STEVE”, and ask about Sting not finishing the job in the cage last night. Maybe there is a little bit of Sting that likes Vampiro and wants to be like him. Vampiro challenges Sting to an Inferno match at the Great American Bash, where you have to light your opponent on fire to win. Sting: “You’re psycho man.”

They aren’t doing that match, but Vampiro says sting doesn’t have a choice. Then the ropes, or at least some parts of them, light on fire. Ignore the guy with the blowtorch lighting them on fire on camera of course. Then the fire goes out so Sting stands on the ropes to pose. So Sting is Undertaker and Vampiro is Kane? That’s bad.

Shane Douglas is worried about Bischoff and Russo being mad at them and sends Jeff Jarrett to fix things.

Crowbar/Jeff Jarrett/David Flair vs. Ric Flair/Arn Anderson

Non-title and Ric is in street clothes after Daffney’s screaming music plays by mistake. We cut to the back where Anderson has been beaten down by David and company so here is Jarrett to jump Ric on the stage. Ric fight back and they get inside but here are David and Crowbar to beat Ric down. David Figure Fours Ric but here is Kevin Nash….and Ric small packages Daffney for the win at 1:23.

Post match Ric gets the Figure Four on Daffney and Nash no sells a chair shot from Jarrett. With the villains dispatched, Ric collapses on the ramp, which Flair has said was part of a legitimate inner ear issue and not a storyline.

The New Blood gets on their bus but the Millionaires Club runs in to TURN THE BUS OVER (because that’s a thing) and the Goldberg monster truck charges at the bus to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. WOW. Normally I would say I have no idea where to start, but in this case, it’s somehow all about Bischoff and Russo. The whole point of this show is that the two of them weren’t here and the New Blood was completely massacred by the Millionaires Club all night as a result.

That’s where we are: a group of young, talented wrestlers got beaten up by the old (and also talented) wrestlers because Bischoff and Russo weren’t there to save them. Meanwhile, the Rock, HHH, Benoit, Jericho, Angle, the Hardys, the Dudleys, Edge and Christian and more were tearing it up on Raw and Smackdown. It’s a miracle WCW lasted as long as they did. Flair’s promo was awesome, but as usual that’s not enough to save this mess.

Oddly enough, for some reason I remembered a lot about this show, which I’ve only seen once since it originally aired. I remember Luger saying “great set man” to Palumbo in the gym, the Hogan kiss and the bus being overturned. I’m not sure what that says, but there are memorable points even in this kind of a wretched show.

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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Smackdown
Date: June 20, 2025
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re still in the middle of the build towards Night Of Champions and tonight the two tournaments get a big boost. This week will see one of the two semifinals taking place in each of the tournaments and that should make for a big night. Other than that, we need some other things on the card and we might get some of that this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is LA Knight to get things going. Knight has been sabotaging people in the King Of The Ring tournament because he wants to get his hands on Seth Rollins. Therefore he wants Rollins out here right now, but he gets Paul Heyman instead. As Heyman does all of his usual stuff, Knight asks him to get to the point already.

Heyman talks about representing Seth Rollins and company but he’s a huge Knight fan as well. He even gives us a YEAH before saying Rollins has allowed him to say to Knight, that as a favor, it is time for Knight to get out of town. Either that or something bad is going to happen to him before the end of the night. Knight calls Heyman a grifter and a leech who bleeds everyone dry. Right now it’s Rollins and Knight doesn’t care who is next.

Since there is no Rollins, Knight is willing to face Heyman right now, and even turns his back so Heyman can get in a free shot. Heyman bails to the floor and reiterates his warning about something bad happening to Knight tonight. And that’s a spoiler, so here are Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. The monsters get in and take Knight down, with Reed throwing him into the timekeeper’s area. Knight finally gets smart by grabbing a chair to fight back. The villains are cleared out. This was more of Knight getting a strong performance and I could go for more of that.

Post break, Heyman and company are told that it’s Reed vs. Knight later tonight. Heyman implies this was the plan all along.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals: Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka

Bliss’ running shoulder just earns her a growl from Asuka so Bliss grabs the leg instead. A basement dropkick takes Asuka down for a change but she’s right back up with a running shot of her own. Bliss gets knocked off the apron and we take an early break. We come back with Bliss breaking out of the Asuka Lock and hitting a running flipping backsplash for two.

Asuka’s running knee gets two but she has to counter the Sister Abigail DDT into a rollup for two. The big kick to the head gets two on Bliss, who grabs a DDT for two more. Bliss goes up for Twisted Bliss but instead drops down, allowing Asuka to grab something like the Rings of Saturn, but Bliss slips out as well. The Empress Impact is blocked and Bliss hits a running corner dropkick. Twisted Bliss hits raised knees though and now the Empress Impact can finish Bliss at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Bliss was putting in the work here but there was almost no way that she was going to be able to beat Asuka in a straight match. Asuka went toe to toe with Stephanie Vaquer on Raw so having her lose to Bliss would have been a stretch. It helps that Asuka is someone who is talented and decorated enough to be put back into this place rather quickly, which is exactly what WWE has done.

Jade Cargill is impressed by Asuka but she’s ready. Cargill is also ready for Roxanne Perez in the semifinals on Monday because Perez is still proving herself. Asuka is a different story but the tournament was made for a woman who can take the crown. She’s walking in to reign. This was as rehearsed of a promo as I’ve heard in a long time.

Chelsea Green mocks Alexa Bliss for her loss when Charlotte comes in, threatening to take Green out tonight. Bliss says she doesn’t want Charlotte’s help, but Charlotte wasn’t offering it.

Kit Wilson vs. Aleister Black

Hold on though as here is R-Truth to attack Wilson during Black’s entrance. The STF makes Wilson tap and R-Truth wants a microphone. He wants John Cena (who he’s facing later tonight) out here right now and puts Wilson in the STF again. Agents come out to break it up as Black stands and watches. R-Truth leaves and Black…is still standing there. No match.

We recap Goldberg’s return and setting up his match with Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

In the back, R-Truth is told to calm down but he wants to kill John Cena. Aleister Black comes in to ask why R-Truth is getting involved in his matches but R-Truth says it had nothing to do with Black. They go nose to nose but Damian Priest comes in to separate them, saying he’ll talk to R-Truth. Priest says that there was no need for that because it’s what Priest used to do. Then R-Truth would be the one to make him smile. Use that aggression on Cena tonight and then they’ll hit the town. That seems to get through to R-Truth, but he’s still angry. If nothing else, points for addressing Black just standing there.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat but before he can say anything, it’s Jey Uso (facing Rhodes in the King Of The Ring on Raw) to interrupt. After a few encores of his entrance, Uso says that this Monday, there’s only room for one of them. Uso knows Rhodes is going to bring it and he knows this isn’t personal. But with that being said, on Monday, after they go to war, please believe that it’s going to be four letters and one word.

They shake hands but here is Sami Zayn to interrupt. Zayn says this is nice, as he gets to share the ring with two great friends, who are two of the best the business has to offer. He’s the only one to have never been World Champion though and that bothers him. Zayn talks about being the first one to congratulate both of them when they won their World Titles but now it is time for him to finish his story.

Cue Randy Orton to interrupt, saying he’s going to be going after the World Title by winning the King Of The Ring. He respects everyone here and makes it clear that it isn’t personal. Orton says Zayn will be World Champion one day soon, but it’s not at Summerslam because tonight, Orton is taking him out. Unless I missed it, Rhodes did not say a single word on the microphone here. I wonder if he’s under the weather or something.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Randy Orton vs. Sami Zayn

Orton works on the arm to start but gets sent to the floor, where he has to avoid the dive. Instead Zayn bounces back into the middle of the ring and is smart enough to wait for Orton to join him. Back in and Orton gets chopped so he pokes Zayn in the eye, with Zayn doing it right back to him. Zayn sends him outside, where Orton grabs the leg to send Zayn face first into the apron. Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table and then does it again as we take a break.

Back with Orton hammering on Zayn’s chest but charging into an elbow in the corner. Zayn’s middle rope ax handle connects but the Blue Thunder Bomb is blocked. Orton grabs the hanging DDT and they go back outside, where Zayn escapes another drop onto the table. This time Orton goes onto said table before missing a charge into the post back inside. The Helluva Kick is countered with a powerslam for two on Zayn, who is back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. The RKO is blocked but then the second attempt isn’t and Zayn is done at 11:19.

Rating: B. This was two professionals getting to have a match and there was almost no way it was going to go badly. Orton winning is a bit of a surprise, but they have definitely planted the seeds to get us to a major Zayn title win. That is going to be a heck of a moment and it would be awesome to see it take place at Wrestlemania next year, if not before.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat. Tiffany Stratton came to her to ask Jax to be a mentor. Cue Stratton, who says Jax is like the annoying ex who won’t leave her alone. It’s ok though because next week they’re facing each other, with Stratton getting to add some more scars to that five head of Jax because it’s Last Woman Standing.

The brawl is on and Jax easily leaves her laying. That would be the second Last Woman Standing match taking place on WWE programming next week. With Stratton down, Naomi runs out and tries to cash in but Jax won’t let her, giving her a new way to get on my nerves. Stratton gets up and dropkicks Naomi into Jax before leaving. No cash-in. Jax is just not interesting, which was on full display here.

Video on CM Punk vs. John Cena, comparing them to yin and yang as they have been intertwined for years. This is quite the package, with the two of them being treated as the major stars they have become.

Charlotte vs. Chelsea Green

The Secret Hervice is here with Green and Alba Fyre offers a distraction, allowing Green to get in a cheap shot to start. Charlotte kicks her away and hits a high crossbody for two, followed by a kick to the head in the corner. Fyre distracts Charlotte again though and Green takes over again as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte chopping away and hitting the fall away slam into the nip up. Charlotte mocks the salute and hits a front flip clothesline for two. Fyre offers a third distraction but gets booted down, allowing Green to hit a Rough Ryder for two of her own. Green takes her mask off and tries the Unprettier, which is countered into a spear to give Charlotte two. Green gets two off a small package but the Figure Eight finishes for Charlotte at 9:36.

Rating: C+. I am running out of ways to explain how little I care about anything Charlotte does. She’s been around for so long and has been in the title picture so many times that it is just too hard to get interested again. This was Charlotte wrestling as a hero and my goodness that does not sound like something I want to see.

Post match the Hervice comes in for the beatdown but Alexa Bliss makes the save. Charlotte walks away from the offer of a handshake.

JC Mateo is getting ready to beat up Jacob Fatu but Solo Sikoa wants to try and talk it out. Mateo should be ready though.

Here is Sikoa, who requests and receives Fatu so they can clear the air. Sikoa says he’s not here for a fight because he loves Fatu, as he always has. Families fight but then they move forward, which is what Sikoa wants to do again. Fatu is all Sikoa has and that’s all he needs. Sikoa says he loves him but the fans are certainly not convinced. Fatu thinks Sikoa has been using him to gain power and fight his battles. Is that all this was for Sikoa?

Fatu wants Sikoa to look at him while he’s speaking. Ever since Fatu won the title, Sikoa has been acting differently, so maybe the title is the problem. Fatu lays it on the mat and says come fight him for it. Sikoa loads up the Spike but Fatu shoves him down, only to have JC Mateo run in. The double teaming takes Fatu down but Jimmy Uso runs in for the save. Uso gets taken down until Fatu is up for the real save. They have to do the Sikoa vs. Fatu match sooner or later and Night Of Champions would be a good place for it to happen.

Bronson Reed vs. LA Knight

Paul Heyman and Bron Breakker are here with Reed. Cue Knight through the crowd to post Breakker and send Reed outside. Reed has to calm Breakker down before getting inside, where Knight stomps him down in the corner. The seated sitdown splash misses for Reed but he grabs the ropes to block the jumping neckbreaker.

Reed misses the backsplash though and Knight is back with a middle rope bulldog. Knight sends him to the floor and hits a springboard spinning crossbody as we take a break. We come back with Knight blocking a superplex attempt and dropping the jumping elbow for two. Reed’s Death Valley Driver gets the same but Knight fights back up, only for Breakker to come in with the Super Spear for the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match until the ending, which is what makes sense all things considered. Knight is someone who can fight back and probably will, likely with some kind of a weapon or some help. What matters right now though is that Knight is getting higher level competition, which is what he has been needing for a good while.

Post match Breakker hits another Super Spear, setting up three straight Tsunamis.

Here’s what’s coming next week from Saudi Arabia.

Jacob Fatu is ready for Solo Sikoa at Night Of Champions for the US Title. Get in where you fit int, because if not, it’s about to be all gas, no brakes.

R-Truth vs. John Cena

Non-title. R-Truth starts fast and slugs away, even sending Cena outside to keep up the beating. Back in and Cena gets sent into the corner as we take an early break. Back with Cena hitting the Shuffle but R-Truth slips out of the AA and hits a Thesz press. Cena bails out and grabs the title to leave but R-Truth cuts him off. That’s fine with Cena, who hits him with the belt for the DQ at 5:45, most of which was during the break.

Post match CM Punk runs in for the brawl but gets kicked low. Another belt shot gives us a loud THUD and Cena pulls out a table. Cena gets in another belt shot and AA’s Punk through the table. Cena grabs the mic and sits on the turnbuckle, where he starts a slightly tweaked version of the Pipebomb. Cena has a lot to get off his chest, starting with the fact that he doesn’t hate Punk. He hates the idea of Punk being the best in the world because Cena is the best in the world.

Punk is better at one thing, as he is the best bulls****** in the world. Uh oh. He said a bad word so the show must be off the rails. Look at him! He’s breaking the fourth wall! Cena is jealous of Punk for conning people saying he’s the best in the world, especially when he changes his values more often than Cena changes his shirts. Cena: “Hey Claudio Castagnoli! Hey Nic Nemeth! Hey Matt Cardona!”

Punk has done nothing but repeat the same things over and over again because he’s a promo potato salad. He’s not the Voice Of The Voiceless anymore because he’s a millionaire these days. In Saudi Arabia, he’ll face a different tune when he finds out that Cena is the best of all time. Punk was the best in the world for seven minutes, ten years ago. If he still thinks that after Night Of Champions, it must be a small world after all. Punk needs to bring his a-game because the mood is starting to change.

A referee FINALLY comes in to check on Punk, which seems to be a signal that they need to stretch things out a bit longer. Cena says he won’t do anything else to Punk and holds up the title, saying get a good shot of the champ. And USA can keep the extra 2.5 minutes, because he doesn’t need the time to set off a bomb. He flips the mic to Punk, saying that he just made the stupid promo more famous. Cena poses to end the show.

Yeah this was rather good, and makes their match feel all the more important as it ties back into one of the most famous promos ever. Cena was getting some of his swagger back here too, which has been missing for a rather long time. Good stuff here, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Overall Rating: B. This show did a good job of making Cena vs. Punk and the King Of The Ring feel way more important. That’s what both of them have been needing, as Night Of Champions got a heck of a boost out of this show. Now just get everything else going on the show, which is where Monday Night Raw should work. Next week’s show is pretty stacked and that’s some nice momentum to have, even if it’s in Saudi Arabia.

Results
Asuka b. Alexa Bliss – Empress Impact
Randy Orton b. Sami Zayn – RKO
Charlotte b. Chelsea Green – Figure Eight
LA Knight b. Bronson Reed via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered
R-Truth b. John Cena via DQ when Cena used the title belt

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

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

NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #14
Date: September 25, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Things are in quite the transitional period around here and that makes for an interesting time. If nothing else, it makes for a necessary time, as the show has gone from total insanity to something more coherent, but that doesn’t make it interesting. Last week’s show ended with something of a Kliq reunion and that is not something that has me interested. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We go to the back where Jerry Lynn is attacking Sonny Siaki, who cost him the World Title last week. The brawl keeps going until security breaks it up.

Commentary previews the show.

Sonny Siaki vs. Amazing Red

This doesn’t seem fair. Red jumps him on the floor to start and they get inside, with Siaki being sent into the corner for a running dropkick. Siaki fires off some running shoulders in the corner and a big backdrop sends Red to the floor. Red gets dropped onto the barricade for some near falls back inside but the bad rips are slowing Siaki down. A bearhug keeps Red in trouble and a superkick makes things even worse. Siaki chokes a bit but Red is back with the Code Red for two. A spinning kick to the head drops Siaki again but he’s right back with a spinning neckbreaker for the win at 7:25.

Rating: C+. Well so much for Red. Not only did he come in with an advantage, but he jumped Siaki to start, only to lose anyway. Siaki is getting more and more featured time and there are worse ideas, but it isn’t going to matter all that much unless he breaks into the holy trinity of the X-Division. Those guys are the ones who matter and everyone else is just kind of there beneath them. Either change that or nothing Siaki does really matters.

Post match Jorge Estrada comes out to say the rest of the Flying Elivses are giving up on Siaki.

We go to the back, where Ron Killings is attacking Amazing Red.

Tag Team Titles: Brian Lee/Ron Harris vs. James Storm/Chris Harris

Storm and Chris are defending in a tables match and this is a rematch from last week when they won the belts. Lee hammers on Chris to start as I wonder why there are tags. The villains are sent to the floor for a pair of dives from the champs but Lee takes over back inside. Ron loads up a table in the corner but gets cut off, leaving Lee to choke Chris instead.

With Storm on the floor, Ron loads up a powerslam…and completely ignores the table and plants Chris in the middle of the ring instead. Chris fights out and brings in Storm to clean house and after sending Ron to the floor, knock Lee through the table at ringside to retain the titles at 6:39.

Rating: D+. This is where TNA, and other promotions for that matter, look bad and I still don’t get it. There are some people who need to be protected and others who can take a loss without any issues. Ron Harris and Brian Lee have next to no value around here and having one of them take a finish for a clean pin is not going to hurt them. If you want Storm and Chris to be a big deal, let them look like a big deal rather than having to knock Lee through a table to win.

Post match Ron wrecks the champs again, but security breaks it up…including Don Harris, who gets in a shoving match with his brother. So yes, the newly crowned Tag Team Champions, and by far the best team in the company, is laid out for the sake of THE BATTLING HARRIS BROTHERS.

Earlier today, Bruce arrived and got in an argument with an elderly woman.

Here is Ron Killings for a chat. He talks about growing up in poverty with five people in one bed but now people who grew up with security are talking about how he should live. There is real prejudice around here because Ricky Steamboat is gone now that Killings won the title. Where is Killings’ merchandise? Or his private dressing room? Killings calls out Jerry Lynn but gets BG James, because they were partners in the WWF (which commentary points out).

James says that he protected Killings in the WWF and now it’s time to slap some sense into his head. After getting annoyed at the WHAT chants, Killings says this is a new reality and James is his b****. The brawl is on and Killings bails, with James saying he isn’t Tom Cruise or Jack Nicholson because he can handle the truth. It’s more stuff from the WWF, but at least it’s something that was only a few years ago at this point.

You can see AJ Styles at a county fair in West Virginia! And that’s the kind of thing that makes this place feel low level.

Brian Lawler insists that everything is fine with April (his girlfriend) and their business is their business. April doesn’t want her talking for him so he yells at her and gets the camera cut off. This really isn’t as interesting as TNA thinks it is.

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

2/3 falls for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title. Styles works on the arm to start and then grinds away on a headlock. Ki kicks his way out of a wristlock and drops a hard elbow for two, only to get caught in an atomic drop of all things. Back up and Ki sends him to the floor for the big running flip dive from the apron but Styles gets in a crotching on top back inside. Styles strikes away and grabs a quickly broken chinlock and kicks him down, setting up the Dragon Clutch for the first fall at 6:35.

Styles is right back up with a discus lariat and a delayed suplex into a knee drop. A jumping enziguri knocks Ki to the floor, where Styles drops him hard onto the ramp. Back in and Ki strikes away but Styles sunset flips him out of the corner for the pin to tie it up at 10:57. Styles kicks him out to the floor and gets smart by going after the legs.

Back in and a super shinbreaker sets up something like a spinning toehold to keep Ki down. The Ki Crusher attempt is countered and the leg gives out again so Styles rolls him up for two with feet on the ropes. With the cheating not working, Styles hits the Styles Clash for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: B-. This felt rushed even though they had some time. The good sign here though is that these two (along with Jerry Lynn) are guys you can throw out there in any combination for a good result. That’s what you had here, even if the 2/3 falls deal wasn’t really necessary for the match.

Jeff Jarrett isn’t happy with the suggestion that he’s getting further from the World Title. Tonight though, he has options.

Elix Skipper/Brian Lawler vs. Scott Hall/Syxx Pac

April is here with Skipper and Lawler. Pac and Skipper trade missed kicks to start until Skipper throws him down. Lawler dances on the apron (as he does) and it’s off to Hall. We pause for Lawler to order April to stay in a chair on the floor, allowing Hall to come back on Skipper. A chokeslam gives Hall two but the villains get together to crotch him on the post a few times.

Lawler and Skipper take turns beating on Hall, who finally clotheslines his way out of trouble. Naturally, Lawler is on the floor checking on April, even as Pac comes back in to clean house. The fall away slam sets up a missed Bronco Buster but Skipper dives into the X Factor for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: D+. And again, it’s a problem of focusing on one idea and not realizing that it isn’t very interesting. Why in the world should I care about Lawler and April? There is nothing to April save for her being with Lawler, who isn’t interesting in the first place. That was the entire focus of the match and it’s not like Hall is able to do much to keep up the interest between the bells.

Post match Jeff Jarrett is in with a Stroke each to Hall and Pac. Don Harris makes the save.

AJ Styles hits on Goldilocks and wants to face Jerry Lynn for the X-Division Title in, say it with me, a ladder match.

Jorge Estrada vs. Kid Kash

They fight over wrist control to start but Kash messes with Estrada’s hair. That leads to a standoff as a rather nerdy man is shown watching from the stage. Estrada fights back and hits a clothesline to the floor, setting up a dive which is almost left low. Kash is right back up to chop away and a double jump flip dive drops Estrada for two. Estrada hiptosses him into a running shooting star press for two but a pumphandle faceplant drops Estrada again. They chop it out until Kash hits a DDT for two. Back up and Estrada drops him for a Lionsault into a Swanton for the pin at 6:06.

Rating: C+. You had two guys who can do flips and dives doing flips and dives until one of them won. That’s the kind of filler match that is entertaining but doesn’t feel overly important. At least Estrada has something going on with Sonny Siaki, though it’s still a bit difficult to make him seem important or serious when he’s in an Elvis suit.

Post match Estrada calls out Sonny Siaki, who comes out to apologize for the issues with the rest of the team. He’s willing to turn in his Flying Elvis uniform…and we see a video of him burning it earlier today.

We recap the X-Division getting behind Jerry Lynn trying to win the World Title last week, only for Siaki to cost him.

X-Division Title: Jerry Lynn vs. Ron Killings

Only Lynn is defending in a lumberjack match. Killings tries to bail to the floor to start but is quickly tossed back inside. Lynn hammers away in the corner and a middle rope bulldog gets two. Back up and Killings hits a middle rope shoulder into a wheelbarrow faceplant for two of his own. Lynn is tossed outside where the lumberjacks check on him, which earns Amazing Red a shot to the face from Killings.

Back in and a kneeling MuscleBuster gives Killings two more and we hit the chinlock. A powerslam plants Lynn as AJ Styles has set up a ladder on stage. Lynn gets a boot up in the corner but charges into a powerslam. The front facelock, with feet on the ropes, keeps Lynn in trouble but he fights out and grabs a reverse DDT. Back up and they slug it out until Killings sneaks in a low blow. The cutter is blocked though and Low Ki gets in a cheap shot, setting up Lynn’s TKO to retain at 9:07.

Rating: B-. Again, no surprise that this worked, as Lynn is one of the few people around here who can wrestle with anyone and Killings is certainly fine enough. Lynn getting a win should set up a rubber match between the two of them, or Ki getting a World Title shot of his own. This was another example of the X-Division being treated seriously and that is very refreshing to see.

Don West hypes up next week’s show, with the ladder match confirmed.

Jeff Jarrett vs. BG James

Naturally James runs his mouth before the match and promises a beating before getting in his catchphrase. James punches him down and dances before a right hand sets up the shaky knee drop. Jarrett comes back with an enziguri but James’ dancing punches send him outside. Some chair shots to the back knock Jarrett into the crowd, where he takes over. They go back to ringside where Jarrett gets in some chair shots of his own, setting up the running crotch attack to the back inside.

Jarrett grabs a sleeper but James fights up into one of his own, meaning it’s the required belly to back suplex counter. James hits a big boot and rains down some right hands in the corner. Jarrett is sent into a chair in the corner but here are Elix Skipper and Brian Lawler. The latter offers a distraction but Jarrett runs into him by mistake. James goes after both of them, allowing Jarrett to get in a chair shot to the head for two. Another comeback is on but this time Lawler and Skipper run in for the DQ at 9:08.

Rating: D. I know I’m getting repetitive with these criticisms, but it’s the same thing again: the least interesting people are getting these spots because they’re stars with names. That might make sense on paper, but it’s also making for some awful television. James was busted open last week and his dad has been attacked, so he’s out there doing his funny dancing stuff to pop the crowd. It’s almost tolerable if he’s having a good match, but this was just more slow paced stuff that wasn’t any good in the first place.

Post match the brawl is on, with Syxx Pac and Scott Hall running in for the save. Ron Killings runs in with belt shots and the villains stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It really is amazing to see how much this show feels divided in two. You have the X-Division having fun, fast paced and athletic matches where they all feel like they’re trying to break out and become stars. Those parts are often good, but the rest of the show feels like “here are a bunch of former WWF names, you’ll probably remember them, ignore that their stuff is terrible.” It’s a problem that has plagued many a promotion and it’s doing so again here. Having those people around is ok enough, but just cut down on their focus really fast.

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

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