Dynamite
Date: December 9, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Things are getting a little wacky around here and that makes things all the more interesting. Above all else, Kenny Omega is now the World Champion and last night he appeared on Impact Wrestling to say….well I’m not completely clear but it is definitely going somewhere in the future. Other than that, we get to hear from Sting after last week’s debut. Let’s get to it.

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

Hybrid 2 vs. Young Bucks

Non-title. Before the match, the Bucks say they don’t know what is going on with Kenny Omega and they haven’t talked to him in over a week. They start fast with the Bucks sending them outside to start, meaning it’s time for a big flip dive. Back in and we settle down a bit with the Bucks hitting a double basement dropkick on Evans. Angelico comes in to send Matt outside but Nick is right back up to kick Evans off the apron.

Nick is knocked off the apron as well and it’s the assisted 450 for two on Matt. The superkicks take the Hybrid 2 down though and the hot tag brings Nick back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Nick hits the slingshot X Factor to rock Angelico. Nick powerbombs Evans onto the Acclaimed at ringside and it’s a top rope splash/standing moonsault combination for two on Angelico. Evans is back in with a 450 for two on Nick but he gets powerbombed into the enziguri in the corner.

A springboard Doomsday Device onto the ramp drops Evans again and it’s a double superkick to Angelico for two. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up and Evans hits an inverted hurricanrana on Matt. Angelico wrenches Matt’s knee with a spinning leglock with a name that only Excalibur cares about. Even with his brother’s knee getting cranked, Nick goes up top for a Swanton for the save, even with the leglock still being on. The Bucks hit a slingshot spike Tombstone to put Evans down on the floor and it’s a double superkick into the BTE Trigger to finish Angelico at 11:42.

Rating: B. Well that was a lot. There were all kinds of flips and dives here and that’s exactly why you book a match like this one. The selling wasn’t there and the psychology was non-existent, but there is no reason to look for either of those in a match like this. If you’re not looking for those and treat these things like the junk food wrestling that they are, it’s a fine way to spend some time.

Post match the Acclaimed jump the barricade to go after the Bucks but SCU runs in for the save.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman gets to beat Orange Cassidy tonight and upset a lot of not so smart marks. He’s going to bash Cassidy’s head in because he’s better and Cassidy knows it.

Darby Allin does a word association test with members of Team Taz. He sees Powerhouse Hobbs as a snake in the grass, Brian Cage as a puppet, but he’s also someone waiting for an opportunity, which Allin will give him. Then we see Sting’s face and Allin chuckles.

Here’s Cody for a chat….and hang on because here’s Sting. Arn Anderson steps up to Sting to say he wanted to get a closer look and then walks away. Tony Schiavone says something similar and goes to leave but Sting says come give him a hug. Sting thanks Tony for helping him throughout his career and asks for one more IT’S STING for old times’ sake. Tony gives him what he wants (Never say no to a 61 year old man in face paint holding a baseball bat. Remember that.) and Sting says this is awesome.

With Tony gone, Cody says welcome back and thanks Sting for the assist last week. Cody has been waiting to share a ring with him for a very long time….but Sting isn’t here for him, at least not right now. Sting says there is something really familiar about this place and points to Darby Allin in the rafters.

This ring is the jungle and he’s glad to be back on TNT. Cody again says welcome back but Sting says that the only thing for sure about him is that nothing is for sure. He is here full time and plans to be around for a good while. The way Sting chooses to play is his business and he gives Cody a rather firm pat on the back. Sting: “See you around kid.” Sting sounded more energized and invested here than he ever did in WWE, though I’m scared to see how much of that good look goes away if/when he has a match of any kind. For now though, rather nice start.

Team Taz talks about how Cody needed Sting to come save them. Well now Cody’s former star student, Taz’s son Hook, is training with them and they’re ready to beat someone up.

FTR vs. Varsity Blonds

That would be Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison. Pillman gets taken into the corner to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Back up and Pillman brings Wheeler over for the tag to Garrison. A few rooms of the house are cleaned and it’s a spinning legdrop from Garrison to give Pillman two. Pillman misses the middle rope spinning crossbody though and the chinlock goes on as we take a break.

Back with Pillman getting caught in a Demolition Decapitator and being sent outside for a shot from Tully Blanchard. Pillman manages to get in a quick shot though and Air Pillman allows the hot tag to Garrison. House is cleaned but Harwood slips out of a suplex. Pillman comes back in and is caught with a brainbuster and the Goodnight Express gives Wheeler the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Perfectly watchable match with the Blonds mostly getting squashed to put FTR back on the winning side. FTR is a team who could work with anyone around here and hopefully that is the case going forward. The Blonds are fine for the young pretty boy team and you can never have enough of them.

Post match FTR gets in a staredown with the Jurassic Express on the floor.

Hangman Page is in a six man tag next week against Matt Hardy and Private Party but he doesn’t have any partners. John Silver and Alex Reynolds pop up from behind the bar (Page: “How long have you been there?” Silver: “About seven minutes.”) to offer their services. Page eventually relents, but it’s one match only. Works for the cult guys.

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10

Rhodes shoves him around to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Dustin sending him face first into the barricade. 10 drops him onto the apron though and they head inside again with 10 hitting a big spinebuster. Dustin is sent outside again but Aaron Solow grabs 10’s arm, earning himself a pump kick to the face. Back in and Dustin gets in a shot of his own, setting up the bulldog for the pin at 5:51.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with 10 getting in most of the offense until a bit of a surprising choice for interference gave Dustin the chance. 10 looked solid here, but other members of the Dark Order have moved pretty far ahead of him in recent weeks. Then again the team is kind of all over the place at the moment so I’m not sure how much this is going to help him.

Post match here’s the Dark Order, with Evil Uno saying Dustin has a long legacy in wrestling and has been around for a very long time. That comes with a lot of pressure, so he should join the Dark Order as Seven. Tony: “He doesn’t want to be that number.” Dustin extends his hand and then slaps Uno in the face. Uno calls the troops off before they get to Dustin and says he’ll be waiting when Dustin sees the light.

Tony Schiavone has a sitdown interview with Shaquille O’Neal and Brandi Rhodes. Brandi doesn’t like hearing all of Shaq’s accolades but Shaq talks about Jade Cargill injuring Brandi’s arm. Shaq didn’t like what Jade did to her arm and Brandi agrees, though she will get in Cargill’s face again if she does the same. Shaq understands that and says he and Cody were just messing around on Twitter.

He has all the respect in the world for the wrestlers and the Rhodes Family, so Brandi gets up and shakes his hand with a smile. She goes to leave without incident, but Shaq says that while Brandi’s arm is in a sling, she should get some pointers from Jade. That’s too far for Brandi, who says she’s sick of this s***, throws a drink in Shaq’s face, and calls him an overgrown a******. They got the point across, but dang Shaq can be hard to understand with that deep voice.

Here’s the Inner Circle for their summit. They have had a week to figure things out but if this doesn’t work, the team is done. That’s not why Jericho put the team together and it was embarrassing. Now MJF and Sammy don’t like each other, Ortiz hates all of them and Santana was so mad that he didn’t even come to work this week. MJF interrupts and says they are all friends and he wanted to join this team because they are great. Sammy snaps and says he’s tired of MJF, with Ortiz saying that MJF is growing on him like a fungus.

They try to calm Sammy down, with Sammy eventually agreeing to shake his hand. However, if ONE MORE THING happens, he’s quitting this team and taking it out on Jericho. They shake hands and Jericho says things are calm…..but Jake Hager doesn’t like Wardlow staring at him. Jericho tries to calm things down and they agree to stop staring. They’re on the same page and know that they need to dominate AEW as only they can. They have a big main event tonight with MJF promising to end Orange Cassidy. The team all puts their middle fingers in and it’s all cool. I’m sure.

FTR and Tully Blanchard say they’re great together, unlike Jurassic Express, who are a bunch of crazy people. They are the 82 Ford Bronco with Mario Andretti driving and they are ready to win the titles back.

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade vs. Lance Archer/Lucha Bros

The brawl is on outside before the bell with everyone going at it in a hurry. The bell rings with Pentagon getting dropped hard and having to be taken to the back. Fenix gets caught in the corner as the numbers game is already in trouble. Eddie hammers away on Fenix and then sends him chest first into the corner as Jake Roberts is sitting on the stage. Blade gets to choke away with his leg but Fenix manages a shot to Kingston’s face.

The hot tag brings in Archer to slug it out with Butcher before hitting some running shoulders to both Butcher and Blade in the corner. We take a break and come back with Archer hitting a German suplex on Blade, only to grab at his knee. The hot tag brings in Fenix with the springboard and there’s the big dive to take Kingston down. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Fenix at 9:21.

Rating: C. This was a weird one with the Penta deal being a weird way to go *assuming it wasn’t legit that is). Archer continues to be a heck of a monster and it’s easy to see why he is so dominant all the time. What we got here was fine, but it was a weird way to go with the choices they had.

Post match Archer cleans house without much effort again.

Nyla Rose, Jade Cargill and Vickie Guerrero are beating up Red Velvet. Ivelisse and Diamante come in for the save.

Abadon vs. Tesha Price

Price looks scared to death and being thrown across the ring makes it even worse. Abadon hammers away in the corner and hits the Widow’s Peak for the pin at 1:12.

Post match the beating continues until Hikaru Shida makes the save with a heck of a kendo stick shot to the head. Abadon sits up and Shida and Price bail in a hurry.

The Inner Circle is ready to destroy Orange Cassidy.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to interview Kenny Omega….who arrives in a helicopter with Don Callis. After the big entrance, Tony talks about how he has never been more disgusted than he was when Don Callis interfered last week (yeah still not that big of a deal). Callis talks about Tony Khan welcomed him into his home and then Callis screwed him over. Callis: “Welcome to the wrestling business kid.”

This might have been a bigger screwjob than Montreal because the AEW Title raises the stakes. Callis gives us a fast version of last night’s Impact promo: he has known Omega since Omega was ten and the plan has been in place for years. Now Callis, as the invisible hand, has pushed Omega to the World Title after helping put together Omega vs. Chris Jericho in the Tokyo Dome, which brought AEW to fruition. Omega talks about how they had this ultimate plan and waited a year to pull it off.

Then last week it was a fine art performance and it was downright inspirational. Everyone fell for it from commentary to Jerry Lynn. What mattered most though was Jon Moxley fell for it and no one kicks out of the One Winged Angel. You haven’t seen anything yet and Omega does goodbye and good night. The delivery was good…..but the big idea behind it is that they needed a plan to get Omega, who has the biggest reputation of anyone here in the company and helps run the whole place, to become World Champion? That’s kind of hard to buy, though Callis’ promo was good.

Dynamite Diamond Ring: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Orange Cassidy

The Inner Circle and the Best Friends are here too. MJF jumps him to start and breaks the sunglasses to really make things serious. A Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble though and they head to the apron, with Cassidy missing a charge into the post. MJF ties Cassidy’s fingers in the turnbuckle to make it worse and it’s a chinlock back inside. Cassidy gets sent outside again and the Inner Circle gets in the group stomping. Sammy posts Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with MJF mocking the hands in the pockets, only to have Cassidy come back with the tornado DDT. MJF hits the top rope stomp to the arm but has to duck the Orange Punch. A double underhook shoulder breaker sets up a tiger driver for two and they’re both down. Cassidy is back up to dive onto the Inner Circle but MJF gets in the Heat Seeker back inside. Jericho sends MJF the bat for the Eddie Guerrero treatment, but Cassidy doesn’t even catch it, puts his hands in his pockets, and falls down.

MJF grabs the bat and gets caught in a nice twist on the usual deal, meaning the referee throws the bat outside. The Beach Break gets two so MJF is back with the Salt of the Earth, but Cassidy rolls out. The Orange Punch, with the bad hand, gets a delayed two and another one connects, but this time Wardlow puts the foot on the rope. Everyone brawls on the floor so here’s Miro to deck Cassidy and put his hands in his pockets as MJF steals the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it got a bit messy at times, but dang they had me with some of the drama in the near falls. What matters most here is MJF keeping the ring and keeping the Inner Circle going for the time being, as their breakup is something you should stretch out rather than hot shot. Good match, even with all the chaos going on.

Post match Miro, in his Versace sweater, wrecks the production staff, including throwing one off the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was an up and down show and I’m not sure what to think of the whole thing. The wrestling wasn’t as good this week but after last week’s huge show, it’s understandable that they need a little breather. The main event and the opener both worked and it’s not like the there was anything completely horrible throughout the show.

The important parts here were Sting, Shaq and Omega and…..yeah I’m not sure on them. The Sting stuff was good, as Sting looked and sounded like his old self, but how long does that charm last? I can’t bring myself to care about Shaq, especially when it seems to be more about Brandi than anyone else. That leaves Omega, and while the story of why they needed a plan doesn’t really work, it’s still WAY too early to know where this whole thing is going to pass judgment on it yet. Overall it’s a good show, but they have a lot of things to address going forward.

Results

Young Bucks b. Hybrid 2 – BTE Trigger to Angelico

FTR b. Varsity Blonds – Goodnight Express to Pillman

Dustin Rhodes b. 10 – Bulldog

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade b. Lucha Bros/Lance Archer – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Fenix

Abadon b. Tesha Price – Widow’s Peak

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Orange Cassidy – Pin after Miro interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: September 30, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Taz

Things were shaken up in a pretty big way last week so things should be back to normal this time around. The roster had to deal with a Coronavirus outbreak last time around but all roads are leading towards the anniversary show in two weeks anyway. That includes World Champion Jon Moxley defending against Lance Archer and the champ is in action tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Ricky Starks

The long awaited showdown. Before his entrance, we get the latest Allin stunt video. Allin pulls him into a choke to start and they’re quickly on the apron, with Starks being suplexed down and out to the floor. There’s a dive to the floor but here’s Brian Cage to offer a distraction. Will Hobbs comes out to break it up and fight Cage to the back so Starks gets in a shot to the back to take over.

Starks pounds him down and even hits a reverse curb stomp for two. The Roshambo is countered into a Code Red for two and they’re both down again. They slap it out with Allin getting the better of things, sending Taz into hysterics. The flipping Stunner connects but Starks spears him out of the air for two more. Starks takes it up top and tries a super Roshambo but Allin knocks him off the top. The Coffin Drop gives Allin the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. These two have been built up for a showdown for a few weeks now and what we finally got was mostly worth the wait. They are both stars in the making and it’s great to see the two of them out there doing their thing. It was also nice to have a definitive winner, and hopefully that doesn’t lead straight into a rematch for no reason other than they need to have a rematch.

Here’s what’s coming for the rest of the show.

Here’s Cody for his first (wrestling) comments since losing to Brodie Lee. Cody talks about his trainer, Al Snow, saying you’ll always wrestle hurt but you should never wrestle injured. All these years later, Cody would offer this retort: what if the injury went beyond your body and was inside your soul? Cody talks about the tradition of shaking hands in the back (at least pre-pandemic) because the wrestlers need each other. The marquee has two names on it: you vs. someone else.

Now imagine if you lose your title and then you get that 323 phone call from Hollywood. Then he found himself sitting on the set of a show near Rosario Dawson and Snoop Dogg but he’s the guy who got beat in three minutes. Cody is back now but while he was gone he has heard people talking about being the future or the ace. He would love to say that he has the honor of being the ace, but that can only be the people who are holding the singles titles around here: Hikaru Shida, Jon Moxley or the man carrying the ace belt himself, Brodie Lee.

As for the dog collar match against Lee, the answer….is no, and Cody walks away. Actually hang on as he comes back to say that means NO regrets because he’s in for the dog collar match for the TNT Title next week. Cue the Dark Order for the brawl but a bunch of wrestlers come out to break it up. Brandi hits a dive onto the Dark Order because Brandi is a star and you will accept it. Anna Jay comes out to brawl with her and Nyla Rose jumps the barricade to stomp KiLynn King. Lee breaks through security and comes after Cody again to little avail. They’re finally broken up for good.

FTR and Tully Blanchard don’t think much of the Best Friends wanting a title shot but SCU is a different story. As for the Young Bucks, why should they get a title shot when they keep losing their big matches? Is it because Dave Meltzer loves them? Cue Matt Jackson to superkick Tony Schiavone and leave when FTR asks why they didn’t kick them.

SCU is ready to win the Tag Team Titles back. Shawn Spears comes in to sarcastically wish Scorpio Sky good luck, because they’re still trying with Spears for reasons I don’t want to try and fathom.

Tag Team Titles: SCU vs. FTR

FTR, with Tully Blanchard, is defending and SCU has Christopher Daniels in their corner. Hangman Page is on commentary for a bonus. Sky dropkicks Harwood for an early two but gets taken into the champs’ corner. That goes nowhere as Sky escapes and it’s a headlock takeover to put Wheeler down for a change. Back up and they trade leapfrogs until Wheeler throws himself down and blames Daniels.

That’s worthy of an ejection and FTR is knocked outside as JR talks about Schiavone being superkicked not being “part of the show.” FTR takes Sky down on the floor and we take a break. Back with Sky hitting a Russian legsweep and bringing Kazarian in to clean house. Kazarian cradles Harwood and suplexes Wheeler for two at the same time, followed by a fisherman’s suplex for two on Wheeler alone. Harwood takes Kazarian down but an elbow to the face allows the tag back to Sky.

Everything breaks down and a high crossbody/sunset flip gets a double near fall on the champs. Stereo slingshot cutters get the same but SCU collides, allowing Wheeler to dragon suplex Kazarian for two. Kazarian gets crotched on top but the powerbomb/top rope clothesline is powerslammed out of the air for a rather near fall. Sky grabs some quick rollups for two each on Wheeler, even with Tully grabbing Wheeler’s hand to try and block one. Sky tries a suplex but Tully sweeps the leg and holds it down so Wheeler can get the pin at 15:44.

Rating: B. They surprised me by not going to the time limit here and it makes FTR look like a bigger deal by beating former champs rather than having to settle for a draw. FTR feels like a dominant team and that’s a great thing to have around. SCU is very valuable as well as they can take a loss like this and not really blink an eye. Good match too, but were you expecting something else with these teams?

Excalibur announces a #1 contenders tournament with the finals at Full Gear. We know three of the eight participants so far: Jungle Boy, Rey Fenix and Kenny Omega, with the final announcement making Page rather emotional.

Isaiah Kassidy vs. Chris Jericho

Matt Hardy, Marq Quen and the rest of the Inner Circle is here too. Jericho gets in Kassidy’s face to start and Kassidy looks a little shaken. That’s playing possum though as Kassidy takes him down and hammers away but Jericho comes right back with shots of his own. They head outside with Jericho being sent over the barricade, where Luther punches Jericho back and clotheslines him back to ringside.

Kassidy hits the big dive and a Swanton gets two back inside. Jericho gets in another good shot though and we take a break. Back with Jericho’s running bulldog being countered into a crotching in the corner. Kassidy hits a springboard flipping Stunner for a near fall and a springboard non-flipping Stunner gets two more. The Lionsault misses so Kassidy hits his own Codebreaker for another two. Jericho has finally had enough of this and hits the Judas Effect for the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C. Jericho continues to try and get people over, which only works so well when he keeps doing it over and over. It was far from a bad match, though I’m not exactly interested in seeing the Inner Circle vs. the Chaos Project (Luther and Serpentico, because they needed a team name too). The match was fine with Kassidy doing his high flying but not being good enough, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling setup to get here.

Post match the Inner Circle jumps Quen, along with getting in a brawl with Luther and Serpentico.

Kip Sabian and Miro discuss the bachelor party, which needs to be epic. Miro makes phone calls while Sabian throws axes. Now it’s off to an arcade where they play Pac-Man…with Billy Mitchell, a famous video gamer. He has an idea if Miro is interested.

The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy are asked about what happened to them last week but FTR comes in to say the three of them are comedic backyard wrestlers. They can get in the van, half milk and cookies and be midcard relief. Top guys out. Cassidy grabs a mic and calls them weenies. I’m sure there will be a shirt by Friday.

10 vs. Orange Cassidy

A good chunk of the Dark Order is here, along with the Best Friends. 10 takes Cassidy’s sunglasses and gives them to Silver, who dances in celebration….I think. Cassidy gets caught in a swinging Downward Spiral for one, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. Back up and Cassidy grabs a rollup for his own two, only to walk into a spinebuster.

10 kicks him out to the floor, where Dark Order mocks the Big Hug. The distraction lets Cassidy hit a dive off the top to take the team out, only to have his high crossbody pulled out of the air. Cassidy hits a tornado DDT and the Orange Punch is good for….well not even enough to put 10 down. The Beach Break ends 10 at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Not much in the way of a match but Cassidy getting a win after last week’s loss was a good idea. This was more of the serious version of Cassidy, which often helps a good bit. The goofy shtick is going to get old in a hurry if he does it all the time, so going with something else from time to time is a good idea. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it went as it should have.

MJF and Wardlow come in to see the Inner Circle, complete with customized jackets for the team. Well not for Sammy Guevara actually, as there is nothing left in the box. MJF says this wasn’t on purpose but Sammy and Jericho (using the same words back to back) want to know why MJF is here. Jericho thanks him for the jackets but wants to know what MJF wants.

MJF says he asked Jericho a long time ago if he wanted MJF on the team. This turns into a “do you want me in/do you want in” argument until Hager and Wardlow get into a staredown. Jericho says they appreciate the jackets, which were a very MJF move. MJF says it’s a very Jericho move to notice. He and Wardlow leave in peace, prompting Sammy to dub MJF a loser. Jericho says maybe not as this is starting to get interesting.

Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet

Baker takes her down into a rollup to start as Taz brags about the dental plan that Team Taz has. It’s off to a hammerlock on the mat with Baker driving a forearm into the side of the head. Velvet is back up with a leg lariat and a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog gets two. Baker is right back with a hammerlock lariat and there’s a kick into the ropes. Another into the bottom rope has Velvet in even more trouble but she gets in a rollup. The superkick sets up a fisherman’s neckbreaker to give Baker…the chance to trash talk instead of cover. A Stomp is enough to finish Velvet at 4:39.

Rating: C-. They kept this short as Baker was in her first real match in about four months. Velvet is someone who has been around for a good while on Dark and has gotten to showcase herself multiple times. The match wasn’t anything great but all that mattered was getting Baker back out there and showcasing some more. Well done on that count, which is what mattered.

Post match Baker puts on the Lockjaw for a bonus.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Eddie Kingston is in the ring with the Lucha Bros and referee Bryce Remsburg. Eddie talks about getting choked out last week but he never tapped or said he gave up. So why did Remsburg call the match like that? Remsburg says Eddie was unresponsive last week. They’ve known each other for years and last week they were in their professional lives so Remsburg did his job. The beatdown is teased but here’s Jon Moxley to break it up. Eddie says cut the music and here’s the Butcher from behind Moxley to start their match.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. The Butcher

Moxley is defending and chops out of the corner to start. A running knee misses though and Butcher counters a chop into a slam to take over. Butcher runs him over with a clothesline and we take a break. Back with Butcher working on the leg but Moxley pulls him into a cross armbreaker. Butcher reverses that into a half crab to stay on the leg but lets it go to hit a running powerslam.

The half crab goes on again, followed by a failed attempt at a Brock Lock. They head outside with Moxley avoiding a charge to send Butcher into the barricade. Eddie and the Bros try to fire Butcher up again and it’s time to head back inside for the slugout. Butcher hits a crossbody and a Rock Bottom for two, followed by a big leg for the same.

For some reason Butcher goes up but gets caught by Moxley, who brings him back down into a superplex. Butcher is right back with another leglock but Moxley gets away again. This time it’s a jumping piledriver for one on Butcher, who is able to block another superplex attempt. A middle rope crossbody gets two on Moxley but he pops back up with the Paradigm Shift into the bulldog choke to retain at 14:34.

Rating: C+. This got some time and they worked a classic formula, but Butcher might not be the kind of guy you want working a nearly fifteen minute main event singles match. He’s a good brawler and worked well enough here, but it felt like he was trying to figure out what to do next at times. Moxley knows how to work this style rather well though and they wound up being pretty good.

Moxley and Kingston stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Another show that might not have been great but it was certainly good enough to do its job. They didn’t focus as much on the anniversary show this week, but given Archer’s status that is pretty excusable. What we got was good enough, as usual, as AEW continues to not really have bad shows. I can certainly live with a company whose low end is one of the better shows of the week and that’s what this show usually is.

Results

Darby Allin b. Ricky Starks – Coffin Drop

FTR b. SCU – Wheeler reversed a suplex from Sky

Chris Jericho b. Isaiah Kassidy – Judas Effect

Orange Cassidy b. 10 – Beach Breaker

Britt Baker b. Red Velvet – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Jon Moxley b. Butcher – Bulldog choke

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: May 20, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Double or Nothing and that means it is time to hammer home everything that has already been set up. Hopefully that makes for a good show as you never know what you might get out of something like this. Maybe Cody can ram something at six miles an hour this time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Double or Nothing’s three big matches.

The Inner Circle arrives and has a surprise for Matt Hardy.

Here’s a preview of the show.

Jon Moxley vs. 10

Non-title and Brodie Lee, carrying the title, is here with 10. Before the match, Lee tells 10 to take a knee and talks about how he puts his pants on like anyone else and can’t walk on water. He is a man rather than a god, but he has taken possession of something important. This is the new Dark Order, and they operate at a different level. Lee sends 10 to hurt Moxley for him.

Moxley wastes no time in sending 10 flying with a suplex into the corner. That means some mocking but 10 gets in a cheap shot and hits a suplex onto the apron. Back in and 10 hits his spinebuster but Moxley pops back up with the Paradigm Shift. The Gotch style piledriver and another Paradigm Shift finish 10 at 3:36.

Rating: C. This is how things should have gone as Moxley beat him up, shrugged off the offense, and then beat up the goon. They have done some stuff to make 10 look important over the last few weeks so the win means more than beating some flunky who hasn’t accomplished anything. Perfectly booked buildup to the title match.

Post match Moxley wraps a chair around the arm and says Lee has ten seconds to get out here or the arm is being broken. Lee pops up on screen to say he’ll see Moxley Saturday and leaves. Moxley breaks the arm.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Marko Stunt

Wardlow is here with MJF. As we get going, JR pays a quick tribute to Shad Gaspard in a nice touch. Stunt gets slammed down to start and MJF grabs the bearhug. Stunt gets suplexed and we hit the chinlock, with MJF forcing Stunt’s finger into his own nose and then mouth. Wardlow gets in a cheap shot and MJF throws him down by the hair.

Stunt fights out of a superplex attempt and hits a top rope flipping hurricanrana into the corner. A dropkick and jumping knee have MJF in trouble and he gets low bridged to the floor. MJF is sent into the steps but he blocks the suicide dive with a forearm. The shoulder breaker into the Salt of the Earth (Fujiwara armbar) finishes Stunt at 4:56.

Rating: C-. At least Stunt didn’t get in too much offense and MJF got to dominate for the most part. That’s all this needed to be and the match wasn’t too long. MJF can beat Jungle Boy on Saturday and move on to something bigger, as you have to expect a World Title chase coming sooner rather than later.

Post match Wardlow holds Marko so MJF can make him kiss the ring. That means hitting him in the face, which draws out Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy for the late save.

We look back at Cody and Lance Archer’s brawl from last week.

Here’s Jake Roberts for his face to face discussion with Arn Anderson. Roberts talks about how it’s an honor to sit across the table from Anderson but the reality is Lance Archer is a monster. Archer is going to rip Cody’s face off and take the TNT Title. Anderson says he almost believed what Jake was saying because the two of them are what you call credible. He has known that Jake is evil for a long time now but the snake in the bag was just a distraction.

What matters is in the heart, but Jake challenges Anderson to a fight. Anderson says he’d love to but he won’t for the sake of decorum. At Double or Nothing, Mike Tyson will be at ringside to present the title but he’ll also have free reign. Is Jake going to throw the snake on Tyson? Jake talks about Archer being ready to take Tyson’s head off but he was hoping Brandi would be there to present the title. Jake: “I’d love to bump into her again.” Anderson talks about Jake doing DDP Yoga, which is a good thing because he wants Jake to be limber when he spinebusters him to the mat. Referees break it up in a hurry.

Video on Darby Allin, who pushes chips into a table and then climbs a ladder with fire above.

The Death Triangle threatens violence.

Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix

Cassidy, with his hands in his pockets, grabs the leg to start and sends Fenix to the floor. Back in and Cassidy tries a bit more, including a rollup for two. Fenix stomps on the back of his head but a slingshot powerbomb is countered into a Code Red for two. That earns Cassidy a few kicks into a springboard legdrop for two more. We hit the chinlock with both of Cassidy’s arms pinned back as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy getting fired up with rapid fire shots to the chest and the Superman punch. The suicide dive connects, followed by a high crossbody. There’s a tornado DDT for two, with JR pointing out that Jake Roberts’ DDT actually beat people. A top rope DDT gives Cassidy two more and he catches Fenix on top with a headbutt. Fenix is right back with a right hand on top but the Black Fire Driver is countered into a small package for two. Cue Kip Sabian with a ladder and the distraction lets Fenix hit a low blow. The rolling cutter finishes Cassidy at 10:32.

Rating: B-. I was worried when the match started but it wound up being a rather entertaining back and forth match. Cassidy is at least entertaining when he puts in the effort, though it’s not like he’s done anything that others haven’t done better. Still though, pretty easily the best thing Cassidy has done so far so well done.

Post match SCU comes out to shove Sabian off the ladder. They head outside for the big dives, with Jimmy Havoc joining in. Fenix hits a crazy springboard flip dive and might hurt himself on the landing. Colt Cabana runs in for one of his own, followed by the Best Friends coming out to toss Cassidy onto the pile for the huge crash.

Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander vs. Nyla Rose/Britt Baker

Rose misses a kendo stick shot to start and it’s a brawl before the bell. We finally settle down enough to officially start with Rose hammering Stadtlander in the corner. We take a break and come back with Shida firing off the running knees, including one to Baker on the apron. Everything breaks down again and Rose is double Death Valley Drivered into Baker in the corner.

Shida adds another running knee to the back of Rose’s head for two The medics are checking on Baker’s knee as Rose counters a sunset flip by landing on Shida for two. The Beast Bomb finishes Shida at 9:53 in what might have been a missed spot as Stadtlander didn’t make the save in time.

Rating: C. Not too bad here though I’m thinking the ending was either botched or switched due to Baker possibly being injured. There was no logical reason to have the #1 contender take a fall three days before the pay per view so maybe that wasn’t the plan. If it was though, I’d love to hear the logic behind it.

Post match Rose busts out a table but Shida jumps up and superplexes her through it instead.

Moxley talks about how disagreements can get a lot worse in a hurry. It started with a stolen belt and now it’s a broken arm. How bad is it going to get on Saturday?

It’s time for Shawn Spears News. In a breaking story, Dustin Rhodes has retired. That’s what Cody wanted all along right? Either way, it must be a tough pill to swallow, though a few years ago, Dustin had no problem swallowing pills. Another tough pill to swallow is Spears not having a match at Double or Nothing because wins matter around here. Therefore, he’s challenging Dustin to a match at Double or Nothing.

Double or Nothing rundown.

Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara recap the Elite/Hardy vs. Inner Circle brawls over the last two weeks.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Matt takes him outside to start and sends Sammy’s hand into various things. Sammy’s head is crushed against the post but he’s able to block the Twist of Fate. The superkick to the back of the head staggers Hardy but a springboard cutter is countered into a reverse DDT. A Razor’s Edge bomb is countered into a hurricanrana to send Hardy outside, meaning it’s a corkscrew dive to take him out again.

Back with Sammy missing a standing moonsault so Matt can send him into the buckles over and over. A running clothesline sets up the Side Effect for two and Matt sends him outside. Another Twist of Fate is countered back inside and Sammy kicks him in the face. The shooting star press misses and the Twist of Fate connects for two, with Matt not believing the kickout.

Matt takes off the boot and bites the toe (JR: “The metatarsal has been munched on!”) so Sammy gets in a jumping knee to the face. A springboard cutter gives Sammy two but another shooting star hits knees. Another Twist of Fate is enough to give Matt the pin at 13:18.

Rating: B-. It’s a nice relief that Matt just wrestled as himself instead of doing something ridiculous like he tends to do in the Broken persona. Matt can still have a good match when he has the chance, but a lot of the time the antics get to be a little too much. Sammy continues to look like a star and it’s great to see him getting this kind of a chance.

Post match Matt grabs a chair but we cut to the stadium where the Inner Circle has Kenny Omega against the goal post. Matt goes running off for the save but here are the Young Bucks to dive in for the save (Were they just going to wait there until someone came over to them?).

Matt comes in to help (showing that you can get from the arena to the stadium in maybe forty five seconds on foot, proving again that the explanation of “Cody was over by the stadium and can’t make the save” from two weeks ago was stupid) and Hangman Page sprints down the field for the real save. The Inner Circle bails and Page walks off on his own now that the fight is over.

Overall Rating: B. This one is going to depend on what you were looking for, but they did a good job in both areas. The wrestling itself tonight was fine enough, but the important thing was they made me want to see Double or Nothing. I’m looking forward to the stadium match to see what they can pull off and the rest of the card looks good enough. Just make it work as they usually do and it can be another great night.

Results

Jon Moxley b. 10 – Paradigm Shift

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Marko Stunt – Salt of the Earth

Rey Fenix b. Orange Cassidy – Rolling cutter

Nyla Rose/Britt Baker b. Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander – Beast Bomb to Shida

Matt Hardy b. Sammy Guevara – Twist of Fate

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Dark
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re back to the full length of this show, meaning it’s over an hour long this week. That’s quite the jump from a few weeks back when it wasn’t even breaking twenty, but things have opened up a bit since then. Hopefully they can make the show work well enough as that kind of length can be a problem given what they are going for with this show. Let’s get to it.

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

Excalibur and Taz give us a pretty vague preview of the show.

Shawn Dean vs. Colt Cabana

Chicago explodes and thankfully the referee is wearing a mask. Colt takes his time folding up his jacket and headlocks Dean down. Dean bails into the corner but gets taken down with a wristlock. Back up and a dropkick sends Cabana outside and things slow down a little bit. Cabana comes back in to work on the arm but gets caught in a waistlock. That just earns Dean some snap jabs and the Flying Apple sets up the Superman pin at 4:54.

Rating: C. Dean is someone they’ve been using a lot and that’s a good sign for his future. He has done well enough in spots like this though he is far from being ready to win anything. If nothing else though, this will get him all the indy cred he wants once the independents start back up. Cabana was his usual self here and that’s not a bad thing.

Jurassic Express vs. Mike Reed/Ryan Rembrandt

It’s Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus for the team here and they start wrecking things early. The Tail Whip puts Reed and Rembrandt on the floor, earning them a dive from Boy. Back in and Reed plants Boy down to take over for the first time. Rembrandt runs him over for two and a belly to belly is good for the same. Boy rolls over Reed’s back though and the hot tag brings in Luchasaurus. Reed slips out of a fireman’s carry but gets chokeslammed into a standing moonsault. Some superkicks send Reed outside and the reverse powerbomb into a cutter finishes Rembrandt at 5:39.

Rating: D+. AEW really needs to understand that it’s ok to squash people more often. Luchasaurus is a monster and shouldn’t be needing the better part of six minutes to finish these two off. It wasn’t terrible (mainly because Marko Stunt wasn’t in there), but the jobbers got in too much offense and it got a bit annoying at the end.

Lee Johnson/Musa vs. Private Party

This is the third straight match with someone from Chicago. Kassidy and Johnson trade waistlocks to start and it’s quickly off to Quen for an enziguri to take over. Musa low bridges Quen to the floor though and it’s a big dive from Johnson to drop him again. Back in and Musa snaps off a suplex for two but it’s back to Kassidy without much trouble. It’s Johnson getting caught in the corner for a splash from Quen, who tags out at the same time. Musa gets sent outside again and it’s a running Downward Spiral from the apron over the top. The shooting star press finishes Johnson at 5:36.

Rating: C-. Another match that just existed here as Private Party continues to be a team who knows how to look flashy but don’t know a ton about structuring a match. Or in this case about squashing a team of jobbers, though we’ve covered that well enough. The shooting star always looks great though and I had missed it over the last few months.

10 vs. Jon Cruz

10 shoves him down to start and takes Cruz’s head off with a clothesline. They head outside with Cruz being sent into the steps, only to have 10 miss a charge into the steps as well. Back in and 10 hits the spinebuster for the pin at 2:33 to finish in a hurry.

Post match, Brodie Lee comes out to applaud.

Fenix vs. Alan Angels

Fenix headlocks his way out of a waistlock to start but gets reversed into a small package for two. Back up and Fenix moonsaults over him and hits a hard superkick for two more. Some slaps to the head set up a leglock that lasts all of half a second. The announcers make Toru Tanaka references as Angels comes back with shots to the face.

That earns Angels a dropkick to the face and a kick to the chest. Angels is back with a springboard dropkick of his own and a clothesline on the apron drops Fenix again. Back in and a top rope double stomp to Fenix’s back sets up a moonsault for another near fall. Fenix pops back up and hits a high crossbody into the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 6:36.

Rating: C+. Match of the night so far by a mile as Fenix continues to be one of the most entertaining people in any company. He can make anyone look good and that’s what he did here. That being said, Angels didn’t quite reach the point that he did with Chris Jericho on commentary. Anyway, nice match here as they continue to make Angels look like a thing.

Dani Jordan vs. Kris Stadtlander

Dani brings out a binder. They trade headlocks to start with Stadtlander taking her down a few times in a row. Jordan is back with a crucifix for two so Stadtlander does the nose touch. A short armscissors doesn’t work for Stadtlander so she elbows Jordan to the floor. Jordan rams her back first into the apron for two back inside and a basement dropkick gets the same. Stadtlander moonsaults over her in the corner and a running knee sends Jordan into the barricade. Back in and Stadtlander hits a Pele into Big Bang Theory for the pin at 4:33.

Rating: D+. Jordan didn’t seem interested in slowing down for most of Stadtlander’s offense here and that’s where things start to go south in these matches. The point should be to promote Stadtlander, as in the person who regularly works here. Jordan sticking in there took the focus off of Stadtlander and that’s not a good idea.

Orange Cassidy vs. Jason Cade

The Best Friends are here with Cassidy beach towels. Cade won’t let him put his hands in the pockets so it’s a headlock to slow things down. Cassidy grabs a single handed wristlock and puts a hand in the pocket, so Cade tears off the sunglasses. That annoys Cassidy, so he sweeps the leg and hits a dropkick into a nipup, all with the hands still in his pockets. Trent throws in some extra sunglasses and Cassidy armdrags him down before….posing with the thumb up. That annoys Cade so much that he hits a jumping knee to the face, only to get crucifixed for the pin at 2:41. That’s another match that happened.

Post match, Cassidy gets dressed again.

Britt Baker vs. Skyler Moore

Baker immediately claims a shot to the nose AND a broken nail on the first lockup attempt! Moore grabs a rollup for two so Baker kicks her in the face. Angry stomping ensues and Baker sends her throat first into the middle rope. Baker puts her foot against Moore’s jaw and pulls a bit, allowing her to explain dental issues. Moose grabs a small package for two so Baker knees her in the face. A fisherman’s neckbreaker sets up Lockjaw (with a glove of course) to make Moore tap at 5:07.

Rating: C-. Now this was more like a squash, which makes sense as Baker is on the way to a big match this week on Dynamite. I can’t get over how much better Baker has gotten in the last month and a half or so and it shows that they can figure things out. That means a lot for their future and Baker has been a great bright spot.

Dr. Luther vs. Jimmy Havoc

No DQ and Havoc has Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford with him. This is such a big match that the sun has come back out to check it out. Luther throws him into the corner to start so Havoc bites the finger. Havoc snaps the arm across the top but Luther is back with a toss. Sabian slips Havoc a chair so he can unload, only to have Luther throw the chair at his head to break it up. A big flip dive to the floor drops Sabian and Havoc and Luther backbreakers him onto an open chair.

Back in and Havoc is hiptossed through the open chair for a nasty landing, causing Luther to scream a lot. Sabian offers a distraction though and Havoc catches Luther on top. The super hurricanrana sends Luther over the chairs so Havoc lays him on them instead. A top rope double stomp gets two so they head onto the ramp. Luther grabs a butterfly suplex and something close to a top rope bulldog sends Havoc hard into the mat. Ford throws water at Luther’s face though and Sabian pelts a chair at his head. That’s enough for Havoc to hit a fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C-. What exactly does it say that Havoc needed help from two people to beat Luther? I know he’s one of Jericho’s buddies and Luther certainly hasn’t embarrassed himself in any of his appearances, but Havoc probably shouldn’t be having trouble with someone who has been around that long and who doesn’t have the biggest reputation.

A quick Dynamite preview ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well that happened. This was almost an hour and fifteen minutes of nothing but average (above average once) matches with a lot of mid to lower midcard wrestlers. This could have and probably should have been split into three different shows, just for the sake of length. Watching three or four of these matches at once would be one thing but nine in a row is a good bit too much in a single sitting/show.

Results

Colt Cabana b. Shawn Dean – Superman pin

Jurassic Express b. Mike Reed/Ryan Rembrandt – Reverse powerbomb/cutter combination to Rembrandt

Private Party b. Lee Johnson/Musa – Shooting star press to Johnson

10 b. Jon Cruz – Spinebuster

Fenix b. Alan Angels – Black Fire Driver

Kris Stadtlander b. Dani Jordan – Big Bang Theory

Orange Cassidy b. Jason Cade – Crucifix

Britt Baker b. Skyler Moore – Lockjaw

Jimmy Havoc b. Dr. Luther – Fisherman’s DDT

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: May 5, 2020
Location: Undisclosed Location
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Cody

The show continues and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. AEW has made an interesting choice with this show as it means nothing but can often give you a few good moments of wrestling a week. Maybe that’s what they’re trying for and if so, well done. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick card rundown.

10 vs. Ryan Pyles

That would be 10 from the Dark Order, meaning Brodie Lee is with him. 10 runs him over with a clothesline and sends Pyles flying out of the corner. Pyles gets sent outside so 10 follows him outside, looks at Lee, and hits a hard chop. Back in and Pyles hurts his own hand on a chop as I try to figure out why the video screen says Dynamite instead of Dark. Lee is livid that Pyles got in that much so it’s a spinebuster to give 10 the win at 2:22.

Shawn Dean vs. Sammy Guevara

Cody calls Sammy the Starscream to Chris Jericho’s Megatron. I never watched Transformers so I’ll assume that’s a good comparison. Sammy pulls out his phone before the match and spends so much time talking to it that he gets rolled up for two. That means the beating is on so Sammy grabs the fireman’s carry and does some squats. Dean muscles him up for a suplex though and a rolling knee gets one. The count earns him some kicks to the head for two and we hit the chinlock. Shawn fights up with some shots to the face and a DDT but he walks into the Burning GTS for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C-. Dean is someone who could be turned into something with some more time and experience and that’s not a bad thing. I’m not sure if AEW is going to bring him in full time or anything but for someone who is there to make others look good for the time being, he has done well enough. Sammy on the other hand comes off as a star every time he’s out there and AEW knows what they have.

Kip Sabian vs. Colt Cabana

Sabian has Penelope Ford with him and this is fallout from about six weeks ago on Dynamite. Sabian slaps him in the face to start and grabs a quickly broken headlock. They run the ropes for a bit until Cabana hits a bigger slap to send Sabian outside. Back in and Sabian misses a springboard kick to the face so Cabana starts in on the arm. It’s off to the leg next, followed by the arm and the leg at the same time.

With that broken up, Colt runs the ropes so Sabian holds up his hand and says stop. Cabana runs him over anyway, suggesting that he isn’t great at following orders. A Ford distraction lets Sabian take him off the apron…but Ford won’t kiss Sabian for some reason. Sabian kicks Cabana in the chest for two and a springboard missile dropkick connects for the same.

A stomp to the face blinds Cabana a bit but he can get the boots up to block a springboard splash. Cabana strikes away and hits the Bionic elbow for two. The Flying Apple drops Sabian but Ford gets in to block something off the middle rope. That’s enough for Sabian to get in a low blow for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C. This felt like the biggest Dark main event in a long time and you could have seen it taking place on a slow episode of Dynamite. That’s all you can ask for in a show like this as it’s not like there is anything to be expected around here. It was nice to see a story tied together from Dynamite though and for what it was, this worked out perfectly fine.

A quick Dynamite preview ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. Of course this isn’t a show worth going out of your way to see but the thirty minute run time made for a pretty sweet spot compared to the very short or very long shows. You don’t need a show built around dark matches to go very long but you also don’t want it to have no value at the same time. This worked well enough and it’s not like you can get overly annoyed at a show this short.

Results

10 b. Ryan Pyles – Spinebuster

Sammy Guevara b. Shawn Dean – Burning GTS

Kip Sabian b. Colt Cabana – Low blow

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Saturday Night’s Main Event #10
Date: March 14, 1987
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 21,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura

This show is all about Hogan vs. Andre and everything else is just kind of going on in the background. The company is rolling right now though and it’s all going to pay off in the Silverdome soon after this. It’s very interesting that they’re running this show basically in the same city as Wrestlemania just about a month before the big show. Let’s get to it.

Hogan has no friends in the battle royal but knows he’s in there himself. All he wants to do is get even with Andre the Giant and that’s the only reason he’s in this match. It’s going to be just the two of them and Hogan will get what he wants.

Heenan says Andre is the best.

Elizabeth explains the stipulations for Savage vs. Steele: the winner gets the title and her.

The Hart Foundation say it’s their first defense on this show but it’s going to be Santana and Spivey’s last time period.

Jake Roberts and Damien will be feasting on 400lbs of King Kong Bundy.

Opening sequence.

Jesse says Vince looks like the Penguin from Batman.

Hogan says he lives in the danger zone and he’ll face Andre anyplace anytime. It doesn’t matter if every member of the Heenan Family comes after him at once, he’s getting his hands on Andre.

We recap Savage vs. Steele, which we covered last time. Steele loves Elizabeth but it’s really just a background story for Savage vs. Steamboat. Of note here, the wrestlers now have customized graphics, such as Savage’s saying Macho Man underneath a picture of his signature sunglasses.

Elizabeth says she’s scared but Savage says he’ll win. Okerlund says Elizabeth has to go out last due to some rules. Savage: “Well rules are made to be broken. LIKE YOUR NECK!”

After Savage’s entrance, Steele comes up to Elizabeth and says “George! Manager! BYE BYE!”

Intercontinental Title: George Steele vs. Randy Savage

Winner take all. Before we get the bell, we get our fourth separate segment with Elizabeth in the first ten minutes, with Gene wishing her luck. Elizabeth is sitting in a chair at ringside like a lifeguard. George goes over to her but Savage jumps him from behind to get things going. He immediately tries to take Elizabeth to the back but Steamboat is waiting on him.

The distraction lets George get in a shot from behind as the match really gets going. Savage goes face first into the buckle and takes a blind swing at the referee. Naturally Steele stops to eat a turnbuckle. The champ uses the distraction to knee Steele in the back and nail the top rope ax handle. Steele just bites the arm and chokes Savage in the air but again goes for a turnbuckle. This time he shoves the stuffing in Randy’s face, only to go outside and look at Elizabeth. Savage sends him into the barricade and knocks Elizabeth’s chair onto the Animal for the countout win.

Rating: D. I’m sick of these two fighting as they had a ridiculous three matches on the first ten episodes of this series. Thankfully this would be it for these two as Savage would go after Steamboat full time after this. Steele would have been easier to sit through if he mixed things up every now and then but it was always the same thing.

Steele takes the title belt and finds a poster of Elizabeth as a consolation prize.

Hogan is warming up and keeps saying the name of someone in the battle royal with every other name being Andre.

Heenan and Andre say the Giant will win.

Battle Royal

Hillbilly Jim, Ron Bass, Sika, Haku, Tama, Lanny Poffo, Hercules, Butch Reed, Paul Orndorff, Billy Jack Haynes, Koko B. Ware, Nikolai Volkoff, Blackjack Mulligan, Ax, Smash, Honky Tonk Man, Jim Brunzell, B. Brian Blair, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan

You should know most of these people. Sika’s sons are Rosey and Roman Reigns. Haku and Tama, collectively known as the Islanders, are actually faces here. Reed is a power guy who was around for a few years but never really did much. Billy Jack Hayes was around even less time and accomplished even less. Demolition and Honky Tonk Man are both newcomers. The announcers make no secret of the fact that this is all about Hogan vs. Andre.

Everyone gangs up on Hogan to start but some guys go after Andre instead. Hogan fights back and dumps Honky Tonk Man before Andre does the same to Sika. Andre dumps Sika before hitting a massive headbutt on Poffo to bust him open, followed by a quick elimination. Hogan fights back as Poffo is taken out on a stretcher with pools of blood underneath him. Things settle down a bit as the ring has cleared out a little. Bass gets eliminated by Hogan and Andre does the same to Mulligan.

Hogan dumps Volkoff as we’re just waiting for the clash of the titans. Andre gets rid of Blair before stepping on Koko’s face. Orndorff and Hercules (now minus the Hernandez) whip Hogan across the ring and HERE WE GO. Hogan runs right into Andre and the fight is on. A few right hands stagger Andre but Orndorff and Demolition come over to break it up. Hogan dumps Orndorff but a single headbutt from Andre is enough to knock Hogan out and stun the crowd. We stop for a slow motion replay with a focus on Andre’s sneer at Hogan on the floor.

After a break we come back with Hogan still leaving. Andre tells him to come back for more and literally swats Koko away without even looking at him. Brunzell quickly gets tossed but everyone left gets together and dumps Andre. Hercules dumps Tama and Ax is gone a second later. Smash tosses Jim out and we’re down to Smash, Hercules, Koko, Reed and Haynes. Koko dropkicks Reed out, setting up their Wrestlemania III match.

Haynes goes after Smash and Hercules stomps Ware down in the corner. Pure power dumps Koko and we’re down to three. A double clothesline puts Haynes down but he nails a clothesline of his own to eliminate Smash. Heenan gets on the apron for a distraction and Hercules puts Billy Jack out for the win.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much good here but it’s rare to hear a crowd come to life like they did when Hogan and Andre went at it. It was clear that that match was going to be huge but I don’t think anyone realized just how big. Hercules winning is more of a footnote than anything else as the interest just died after the two big names were gone. To be fair though they wrapped it up in a hurry after Andre was eliminated.

Andre says it took eight men to eliminate him but it took one giant to get rid of Hogan. Heenan comes in and brags about Andre’s success before declaring him the next Heavyweight Champion of the World. Bobby never mentioned Hercules whatsoever.

Jake says he and Damien will always be at the top of the food chain.

Jake Roberts vs. King Kong Bundy

Roberts tries to work on the arm to start and Bundy runs from the snake bag. Things settle back down with Bundy going to a standing armbar but Jake kicks the knee out to escape. Bundy goes to a test of strength and easily takes the Snake down for some near falls, only to have Jake go right back to the knee to get out again. A front facelock has a more lasting effect on Roberts but Jake slithers out and drills Bundy with a knee lift.

Jake goes for the bag, only to have Bundy drag him back to the middle of the ring and Heenan steals the bag. We take a break and come back with Roberts walking down the aisle with the snake bag, making Heenan’s actions fairly pointless. Jake sidesteps a big charge and Bundy hits the buckle hard. Some right hands and clotheslines put Bundy down but the referee stops Jake from going for the bag, earning a knee to the ribs for the DQ.

Rating: C. This was much better than I was expecting until the fairly lame ending. Jake was so smart in the ring and even acted like a snake, right down to the slithering around. I was surprised by how good the chemistry was here, especially when the match was looking like a filler.

Jake plants Bundy with the DDT and tries to get the snake, only to be tackled by the referee. Vince: “Put the snake on the referee!” That’s exactly what Jake does because he listens to his boss.

We see crooked referee Danny Davis costing the British Bulldogs the Tag Team Titles back in January.

The Hart Foundation introduces Danny Davis as their official ringside observer, whatever that means.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Dan Spivey/Tito Santana

The Harts are defending and Davis cost Santana his Intercontinental Title over a year ago in another questionable decision. Spivey is a tall guy who looks a lot like Barry Windham (so much that he replaced Windham when he left the US Express). He takes Neidhart down with a headlock to start but a big clothesline drops Spivey right back. Off to Bret vs. Santana, which should be awesome.

Unfortunately it only lasts a few seconds before Spivey comes back in for a shoulder. The Harts take over on Dan though with Neidhart dropping him throat first across the top rope. Bret chokes against the rope and gets two off a middle rope elbow. Off to a front facelock from Bret, of course drawing in Neidhart so the referee misses Spivey’s tag to Santana.

Bret misses a charge into Neidhart, allowing Tito to come in off the real hot tag. Santana cleans house with his flying forearm to both Harts before putting Bret in the Figure Four. The other two are still fighting though, allowing Davis to nail Santana with the megaphone to give Bret the pin.

Rating: D+. This was decent while it lasted but there was no way we were getting new champions here. Spivey wasn’t much of a partner as he couldn’t even neutralize the likes of Danny Davis. The tag division was about to take off and once the Harts started getting some better competition, they never looked back.

Ricky Steamboat says his fire is getting hotter and hotter, even if people go after his injured throat.

Iron Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat

Savage comes out to yell at Steamboat before sitting in on commentary. Sheik uses the distraction to hammer Ricky down but the Dragon skins the cat and suplexes Sheik down. As Ricky slaps on a front facelock, Savage stays on a rant about how none of this would work on him because he’s the best in the world. A suplex puts Ricky down and Savage swears he would have gotten a pin right there. Sheik puts on an abdominal stretch but Steamboat hiptosses out and nails a top rope chop for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have a ton of time but Savage’s commentary carried the whole thing. They’ve done a great job of keeping these two apart before they finally get to destroy each other in about two weeks. Savage’s commentary was great here as he can say all these things but we know he’s capable of backing them up. Fun match but not very good if that makes sense.

Savage and Steamboat yell at each other.

Hogan is distraught about the loss and says Andre cheated. He doesn’t actually say how but he swears it happened. Hogan thinks Andre must have cheated in every win of fifteen years, apparently because Hogan has never watched an Andre match. He has the big man upstairs in his corner and there’s no way Andre can beat him at Wrestlemania III.

Roddy Piper is retiring after Wrestlemania III and is humbled by having a tribute video made for him. Wrestling kept him out of jail when he was a kid, but he’s going to Hollywood to give it all he’s got. We see the tribute video, set to Frank Sinatra’s My Way, which really is an appropriate song.

The standard recap ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was one of the weaker shows in the series, but it’s only there to set up Wrestlemania III, which was already set in stone by this point. Piper’s tribute is good stuff, even though at least half the clips were from the previous Saturday Night’s Main Events. The company is about to explode even more than it already has and the next few months and years will be outstanding stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

TNA Weekly PPV #10
Date: August 21, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay

We finally hit the two number mark and it’s a two out of three falls match tonight with AJ vs. Lynn to unfortunately get us closer to the end of their feud. On top of that we’ve got Truth defending against Monty Brown and the usual stuff other than that. After the backers left after last week, it should be interesting to see where things go now. Let’s get to it.

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

This is the falls count anywhere match which is the first of three between the two tonight. AJ tries a baseball slide as Lynn comes in because he’s all evil at the moment. Lynn pounds on AJ and we head into the crowd which is fine here as the fall can end there. That’s what got old about ECW: the brawling was worthless because the match couldn’t end out there. After nothing in the crowd, they chop it out around ringside and Lynn crotches AJ on the railing.

We head back into the crowd but since the production values have to be lower now, we can barely see what’s going on. I guess it’s more like ECW than I thought. AJ throws him into a barricade and hits a backsplash for two. Back to ringside we go with Lynn suplexing AJ onto the floor for two and we head back inside. AJ tries the springboard moonsault but Lynn jawbreakers (is that a word?) him to counter. This isn’t going as fast paced as you would likely expect, but it’s the first of three ten minute matches they’re doing tonight.

The Cradle Piledriver is broken up by something like an X-Factor and both guys are down. AJ tries a suplex but gets countered into a neckbreaker before we head back outside where Styles gets two off a rana. An enziguri puts Lynn down and they head up the ramp. Lynn hits a spear of all things and bulldogs Styles off the stage onto a well placed platform. Back up to the stage and Lynn counters a Styles Clash into the piledriver to win the first match.

Rating: C+. Like I said, they’re doing thirty minutes in total tonight so them going a bit below their usual speed is acceptable. The ending was nothing special here but being on the stage made the piledriver look much better. AJ as a heel worked well at first, but once he turned face he was going to be a big deal and everyone knew it. Solid opener here though.

AMW is in the back (they need to be officially named already) and Harris is annoyed at Storm doing the cowboy gimmick too much. That’s the reason why they’re not on TV as much apparently. It’s so hilarious to hear Chris Harris giving James Storm career advice. Ron Harris and Brian Lee, their opponents tonight, come up and cowboy jokes are made.

Chris Harris/James Storm vs. Ron Harris/Brian Lee

You might remember Lee from ECW. He and Storm start things off with the Cowboy getting pounded down in the corner. Well it was a very different time for him so this isn’t a big surprise. Storm avoids a charge and fires off some forearms to take over. Everything breaks down for a minute before it’s off to Harris vs. Harris. Great now I can’t use that name anymore. Ron is immediately armdragged out to the floor and things reset again.

Back in and the Harris Brother (that’s Ron by the way) hits a bunch of clotheslines before being clotheslined down himself. Wildcat (Chris Harris) sends Ron to the floor via a backdrop so Storm dives on both guys in a nice spot that you occasionally see him do to this day. Back in and it’s Lee vs. Wildcat with the former hitting a Tombstone to take over. Well he was the fake Undertaker in 1995 so that’s very fitting.

We enter the formula part of the match as Harris gets beaten down through various big power man offense. This is one of those matches that is basically there to fill time, because there’s no reason to believe that AMW is going to lose given how they’ve been pushed lately. Chris comes back with a Thesz Press on Lee but gets hit low to slow him right back down.

We head to the floor for nothing of note and it’s back to Ron. After an arrogant heel cover, James hits a bulldog which is enough for the hot tag to Storm. Everything breaks down quickly and Lee is knocked to the floor. A plant gets in a fight with him as Storm rolls up Ron for the pin.

Rating: D+. Like I said, it’s hard to buy into the makeshift big man team as a threat to a pair that hasn’t lost yet I don’t believe. They’ll be named soon enough and the rest will be history after that. Anyway, not much here but that’s the case for a lot of this show as it’s basically just filling in time until we get to the stuff that actually matters.

We run down the rest of the card to fill in some time.

Jimmy Yang vs. Sonni Siaki

This is 2/3 falls and the fight starts on the stage. Yang kicks him down and sends Siaki into the barricade before dancing a bit. This is I guess the blowoff of the Flying Elvises deal. Yang dances a bit and shows off a Yang Time sign from the crowd. Yang gets two off a dropkick and hits a charging Siaki with an elbow to the face. A Figure Four necklock across the top rope has Siaki in even more trouble and a missile dropkick gets two. We hit the chinlock so Tenay can talk about some card in Japan. Siaki comes back with a quick Cutter but Yang neckbreaks him down and Yang Time (Phoenix Splash) gives him the first fall.

Yang tries that neck lock thing again but Siaki sends him to the floor. They head into the crowd where Siaki immediately suplexes Jimmy back to ringside. This is a much more physical brawl than I was expecting. Back in and a spinning neckbreaker gets two for Siaki and it’s off to a chinlock. After some chops it’s a pumphandle slam for two for Siaki and a legdrop gets the same.

Siaki hooks a surfboard and the fans are getting WAY into Yang here which is kind of surprising. Honestly I can’t even remember who the third Elvis was at this point but apparently the right two were picked for this match. The hold is broken but Siaki immediately takes him right back down with a lariat for another two count. Yang finally gets a boot up in the corner to break the momentum and a top rope spinwheel kick gets two. A suplex from Yang doesn’t work though and a neckbreaker (called the Money Clip) ties things up at a fall apiece.

Siaki immediately keeps going with a shoulderbreaker, followed by a not exactly Storm-level half crab by Yang. After some quick leg work by Jimmy, Siaki loads up a superplex which is basically no sold by Yang. A Shining Wizard puts Siaki back down as Tenay is overdoing the commentary as he also does. A pair of clotheslines get two for Yang as does a moonsault kick out of the corner.

Yang pounds away in the corner but Siaki drops him face first on the buckle in a nice counter. They head up again with Yang coming off with a top rope swinging neckbreaker for no cover. Jorge Estrada (that’s the third Elvis. I seriously didn’t remember him until now) gets on the apron, allowing Siaki to roll up Yang with the ropes for the pin. I’m not sure whose side Estrada was on there.

Rating: C-. This kind of went on forever and I really didn’t see the need for this to be two out of three falls. Siaki was a solid choice for a midcard heel but he needed to get away from the Elvises before he could really go anywhere. Yang would go on to WWE soon after this as one of Tajiri’s henchmen. Not a terrible match but not great here either as Yang’s selling was barely there.

As soon as Siaki’s music hits, here’s Jeff Jarrett. He wants to talk to Bob Armstrong right now and doesn’t care about whatever surprise Armstrong has planned. Brian Lawler jumps Jarrett and a brawl breaks out before it’s quickly broken up by security. Goldilock has Lawler about to say what his problem is with Jarret but Slash jumps Lawler from behind and we have an impromptu match.

Brian Lawler vs. Slash

Apparently this is a scheduled match for later but we’re getting it now instead. Slash knocks him to the floor and throws Lawler into the barricade before peeling back the mats. He loads up a piledriver on the floor but Lawler backdrops him down to prevent presumably death. Lawler knocks Slash down and we head up the ramp for a bulldog on the ramp by Lawler. Brian tries to get a chair from a fan but the fan won’t give it up.

Back in and Slash grabs a superplex for two, followed by what we would call the Eye of the Storm. Lawler comes back with a floatover DDT but stops to dance instead of covering. There’s an enziguri from Brian and there’s even more dancing. Both guys hit the other low (in front of the referee who is cool with this I guess) before Slash puts Lawler on top. Brian knocks him down and hits the guillotine legdrop for the pin.

Rating: D. This didn’t quite work because Lawler is really hard to care about. I have no idea if he’s a face or if he’s a heel here and the lack of clarity is really annoying after awhile. Also, the dancing thing is dead but he keeps doing it anyway because it used to work a few years ago. Slash and the Disciples of the New Church continue their free fall as well.

X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. Jose Maximo vs. Joel Maximo vs. Amazing Red

Elimination rules here and Low Ki is defending. Apparently the three men form a team called the S.A.T.’s. I think I remember hearing that before. Didn’t we basically do the same thing last week with the Elvises? They all go after Low Ki to start but he, say it with me, kicks them all down. Both of the Maximos get hard kicks in the head and apparently they have to tag.

Red and the Maximos get in a fight before it gets down to Red vs. Ki with the champ hitting a hard elbow for two. The Ki Crusher 99 is broken up and Red fires off a kick to the back to take over. Off to let’s say Jose who has a tornado DDT countered and the champ fires off some chops in the corner. The Maximos double team Low Ki a bit to take him down and Joel gets two off a clothesline.

Ki comes off the ropes with a pretty sloppy springboard rana to take Joel down and then kicks the tar out of both brothers at the same time. Red tags himself in and tries to pin Joel off a standing shooting star but only gets two. We get some overly complicated triple teaming from the SAT’s before Red turns on Jose with a rana. Joel drops Ki with something like Wasteland but he pops up (selling? What’s that?) and hits a spinning springboard kick to Red who is dropped from WAY in the air by Joel.

Ki gets sent to the floor so the three guys in the ring get to flip around a bit. Red hits a bunch of kicks to send the brothers to the outside followed by a rana to Jose off the apron to send him into Joel on the floor. Red loads up a dive onto Ki but the champ kicks him in the head on the way. Ki loads up the Crusher but instead throws Red over the top onto the brothers to take them out again. A big twisting dive takes out the Maximos and everyone is down.

Back in and Jose hits a powerbomb into a facebuster on Red for two. Joel hits a sitout Pedigree on Jose for a fast elimination and Ki rips off kicks to the face of the remaining Maximo. A springboard tornado DDT takes Joel down and the Infra-Red (spinning corkscrew “splash”) gets us down to Ki vs. Red. Ki slams Red into the corner a few times before trying a Ki Crusher out of the corner. Red escapes to avoid death but Ki hits it anyway for the pin to retain.

Rating: C+. The more I see of these kind of matches, the less I care about them at all. They’re all over the place and have a ton of botches throughout them. Also the idea of selling ANYTHING is totally foreign. As for the match itself, was there ever any doubt as to who the final two were going to be? The fans liked it but it’s just nothing of note at all other than some decent high spots.

Truth says he set the African American sports entertainers free like Lincoln did with the slaves. Brown has to kill him to take the title.

April Hunter, an adult star, has accepted Bruce’s challenge for next week. Ok then.

NWA World Title: Ron Killings vs. Monty Brown

Truth is defending if that’s not clear. Brown shoves him around and they slug it out a bit with Brown taking over. A bunch of shoulder blocks get two on the champ but Truth low bridges him to send Brown to the floor. Truth dives onto Brown on the ramp before sending him into the steps and stomping away.

The champ gets on the announce table but Brown fights back. The Alpha Bomb through the table is blocked and they keep slugging it out. Brown hits a release overhead belly to belly, sending Truch onto his head. FREAKING OW MAN. Back in and Brown pounds away but walks into a Downward Spiral for two. Truth hooks a chinlock but Brown fights up and hits a sunset flip for two.

Brown grabs a suplex and after some LOUD spot calling, a snap suplex puts both guys down. A powerslam puts Truth down and a splash gets two for Monty. Truth does his signature backflip into the splits into the side kick sequence but Brown ducks away, only to get caught by the ax kick. That gets two and Brown has the Alpha Bomb countered into….I think that’s supposed to be a sunset flip by Truth for the pin to retain.

Rating: D-. This was AWFUL with both guys looking completely not ready for this level at all. Brown would get better when they just turned him into a monster that ran through people with the Pounce. This match sucked though, with both guys botching a ton of stuff, with the ending being an especially big eyesore. Nothing good at all from this one.

Post match Jarrett runs in and beats up Brown with a chair. Truth blocks a shot and slugs it out with Jarrett until Brian Lawler comes in to beat on Jarrett again. Lawler swings the chair but Jarrett pulls Truth in the way and the champ is out. Brown is like whatever man.

Lynn is in the back with Goldy when Styles jumps him, starting the second match in the series tonight.

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

This is No DQ. AJ beats on Jerry to send him down to ringside and then into the ring. Lynn gets sent to the apron but grabs AJ’s neck to guillotine him on the top to take over. We already have a table set up but Lynn’s sunset bomb through said table is blocked. AJ misses a splash and Lynn grabs a chair but Styles takes him down and legdrops the chair onto Jerry’s face. This is very fast paced so far.

The chair is placed between the top and middle ropes in the corner as Lynn tries a powerbomb on AJ, only to get countered into a sunset flip for two. AJ gets sent face first into the chair (following law #1 of wrestling: if you set it up, you get hurt by it) for two before being sent to the apron. Lynn hits his rotating legdrop to the back of Styles’ head but his tornado DDT through the table is countered. Still fast paced and really good stuff so far.

Back in and AJ clotheslines Lynn down before BADLY missing a springboard splash, drawing a rare derogatory chant at Styles. They clothesline each other down and it’s Lynn getting up first. He tries a sunset flip, only to get whacked in the head by a chair by AJ. Well that’s efficient. AJ loads up another chair shot but Lynn channels his inner RVD to dropkick it back into Styles’ face. That gets two so Lynn DDTs AJ off the top for another two.

The fans want tables (again) as Jerry gets kicked away from the ropes. That gets AJ nowhere as Lynn crotches him and hits a HUGE rana to send Styles through the table on the floor. Somehow that only gets two so Jerry takes the chair and goes up. A sunset bomb by AJ doesn’t work, but he hangs on and hits the Styles Clash onto the chair to knock Jerry out cold and get the pin to tie up the series.

Rating: B. REALLY fast paced match here but unlike the fourway, this one was, you know, good. This was the feud that got the company noticed, which is something Lynn was always good for: a solid performance that got someone else, be it Van Dam or AJ, over better than they ever could on their own. Good stuff here.

The third match, a ten minute Iron Man match, begins immediately.

AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn

AJ gets two quick falls on the unconscious Lynn inside of twenty seconds. A third attempt only gets two and Lynn fights back with a neckbreaker. Styles grabs a sleeper and pulls Lynn down by the long hair. Why would you ever be a face with long hair? It’s not going to end well for you. A chinlock goes nowhere so AJ tries a rana, only to get countered into an X-Factor from Lynn to make it 2-1. Jerry tries to do what AJ did and get a second pin really fast but Styles gets up at two.

We’re about four minutes in now as AJ counters the cradle piledriver with a backrdrop before missing a corner charge. That always happens for some reason. Jerry goes up top but gets caught in a crucifix and slammed face down onto the mat to make it 3-1 AJ. A spinwheel kick puts Jerry down again as we have Low Ki standing on the stage with a ladder for no apparent reason. Two minutes to go now and Jerry grabs a tombstone out of nowhere to make it 3-2.

Lynn loads up the cradle piledriver but AJ keeps blocking it. In a nice thinking move, Jerry shifts his legs and hooks AJ in a Styles Clash of all things to tie the match up again. That’s a Russo favorite but I don’t think he was around at this point yet. A backslide gets two for AJ and they fight to a draw in a slick pinfall reversal sequence.

Rating: C+. Not as good as the No DQ match but then again this was their third match of the night. This is one of those feuds that works well, so naturally TNA’s idea is to run it into the ground by doing the same match over and over again. Still though, good stuff here, really stupid ending aside.

Post match Low Ki kicks them both and says it’s a triple threat ladder match next week for the title.

Scott Armstrong begs his dad not to fight Jeff Jarrett. Oh yeah, Jarrett is closing the show. Did you expect anything different?

Jeff comes to the ring and wants the surprise revealed to him now, so here’s The Bullet, which is Bob Armstrong’s masked persona from the 80s. Jeff pounds on him but the unmasked Bob comes out to beat up Jeff to close the show.

Overall Rating: B-. See what happens when you don’t have stupid comedy? Granted it would be better if this happened because that’s the right way to go and not because they couldn’t afford the bigger names, but I’ll take what I can get. The problem with this show is mainly in the Jarrett stuff as the Armstrongs and Brian Lawler simply are not interesting people. Then again this is Jeff Jarrett so logic doesn’t matter much to him.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 9, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz

It’s the go home show for hardcore Justice and most of the card is set. Last week we had three fatal fourways added which is a pretty quick way of stacking the card. Other than that we’ll get more of a build to Roode vs. Aries, but more interestingly we’ll get more on Aces and 8’s. Another interesting thing is that there’s a chance D-Von won’t be re-signing with the company, so the TV Title may be in danger. Let’s get to it.

Recap to start in the overly dramatic fashion.

Here’s Bully Ray to open the show. He has his Twitter machine but wants to talk about Joseph Park. If there’s enough evidence against someone, they must be guilty. All of the evidence points to James Storm being guilty about being behind Aces and 8’s. Tonight Ray is going to beat up Storm and then he’ll do it again on Sunday in the tables match.

Cue Storm in street clothes. Storm says he’s sick and tired of a lot of things, but the top one of them is that he’s tired of being sick and tired. He says again that he had nothing to do with the attacks because he wants to win the BFG Series and winning back the world title. Storm draws a line in the ring and says Ray has a count of three before Storm punches his way across that line. Ray turns his hat around and says start counting. At three Ray backs off and bails. Storm says anyone can cross the line and fight him tonight.

Cue Aces and 8’s on the screen. Their voices are distorted and it’s hard to understand them. The one that talks says that Sting has invited them here tonight but they’re going to do it on their own terms. The guy talking had the word “prospect” on his jacket. Ray says I TOLD YOU SO and we abruptly cut to commercial.

Pope says he’ll win on Sunday.

Bound For Glory Series Leaderboard:

James Storm 66

Samoa Joe 53

Kurt Angle 41

Mr. Anderson 40

Jeff Hardy 35

Christopher Daniels 33

Rob Van Dam 28

Magnus 21

Bully Ray 21

AJ Styles 16

D’Angelo Dinero 7

Robbie E 5

Bound For Glory Series: Rob Van Dam vs. Magnus

This should be good. Magnus takes over to start and knocks Van Dam to the floor. Back inside and Van Dam gets in a kick to take Magnus down. More kicks take the Brit down again and the Five Star gets the clean pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. My goodness there wasn’t much in this. Still though it’s nice to see a clean win like this for a change as compared to all of the screwy ones you usually get on wrestling TV. Magnus has a great look but he can’t quite get a push rolling. Giving him matches against these eleven guys isn’t a bad thing at all though and will only help him.

Roode says the contract signing tonight might not happen because of some language in the paperwork.

Time for the Clair portion of our show this evening. Ok maybe just a recap.

Tag Titles: D-Von/Garrett Bischoff vs. Kazarian/Christopher Daniels

D-Von and Kaz start things off and the (tag) champ is taken down by a back elbow. Off to Garrett who hiptosses Daniels down and hits a clothesline for two. Back to the TV champ who uses his usual stuff to take over. Soon all is right with the world again as Garrett gets beaten down by both guys, including a sweet standing stomp to the chest off the top by Daniels. Hot tag brings in D-Von who cleans house. Rock Bottom gets two on Kaz and there’s the spinebuster to Daniels, but he isn’t legal. While the referee is putting him out, Kaz hits D-Von with a belt for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C. Garrett Bischoff is still not a champion, meaning there is still hope for the world. This was just a quick match for the champs which is fine. They’ve had the titles for like a month now and I don’t remember them defending the things. A quick defense like this is fine as it keeps them looking a bit more legit. Also Garrett being attacked is always a good thing.

We recap Brooke being threatened last week.

Sting is in the back and calls out Aces and 8’s again. Brooke isn’t here tonight apparently.

People in the four ways talk about how they need to win.

Robbie E gets promo time. Ok then. He says he’s got five points at the moment and then he’s going to get 20 more on Sunday. Robbie plans to put Jeff Hardy through the table to get the extra points because that’s who he got the five from in the first place. We get a clip of that win which was by countout. Rob lists off five reasons why he’s better than Hardy but only gets through the first one (he wears pink sweaters) before Jeff cuts him off. Jeff cleans house but Robbie T makes the save and powerbombs Jeff through the table.

AJ says he doesn’t remember having sex with Clair, nor does he drink, so he doesn’t know what’s going on.

Joe comes out to commentary and rants about how he’ll win on Sunday.

Bound For Glory Series: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

AJ goes behind him to start but gets elbowed in the face. We get the signature drop down/kick sequence from AJ to send Kurt to the floor followed by a big slingshot dive onto Angle. We take a break and come back with AJ getting rammed into the corner before getting his boot up to the face of a charging Angle. Kurt will have none of that and snaps off an overhead belly to belly to take over again.

Kurt hooks a chinlock followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to a charging AJ, getting two. Back to yon chinlock while Clair is cheering for Styles. She never was a stable person for the most part. AJ gets back up and they clothesline each other down. Apparently AJ has only been in five matches in the Series so far which is why he doesn’t have that many points.

AJ starts a comeback and he hits the FU into a backbreaker for two. Styles tries a springboard but misses and it’s time to roll some Germans. The big one at the end gets two and Angle is frustrated. The Pele out of nowhere gets two as does the Angle Slam. The ankle lock is quickly countered and AJ tries some Germans, only to be quickly countered into the ankle lock again.

That gets broken again and there’s the springboard foearm for two. AJ hits the Clash….for two. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kicked out of before. Styles goes up but Kurt runs the ropes and hits the belly to belly off the top. THAT gets two so Kurt goes up for the moonsault. Say it with me: it misses. AJ busts out the springboard 450 but it hits knees. Another Angle Slam finally gets the pin at 12:45.

Rating: B. This is another of those pairings that falls under the category of almost impossible to screw up. I don’t ever recall these two not tearing the house down and they did it again here. With guys like these there’s no point in using basic stuff so just having them bust out signature move after signature move is fine. Good stuff here.

As AJ is leaving Clair shouts encouragement to him. He looks at her and he keeps walking.

Aces and 8’s says a lot of people have gotten the Dead Man’s Hand and the next target is revealed tonight.

Anderson goes up to Storm in the back and says he thinks Storm is behind Aces and 8’s. Storm says it’s not him and Anderson says if Storm is lying and Anderson gets attacked, he’ll be coming for the Cowboy.

Austin Aries says the contract will work out tonight.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Gail tries to jump Tessmacher during the entrance but the champ (this is non-title) avoids the charge. Back inside Gail kicks Tessmacher down and hits a gutbuster for two. After more of the beating it’s off to a bodyscissors by Kim. Tessmacher makes her comeback with some clotheslines and a dropkick followed by another clothesline out of the corner. There’s a Stinkface followed by the belly to back mat slam for the pin for Tessmacher at 3:42.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and for the Knockouts this was one of their best matches in a long time. At the end of the day, Gail may be good in the ring but I don’t think anyone cares about her at all. Apparently Tessmacher’s move is call the Tess Shot. That’s certainly better than whatever name I can come up with most of the time.

Post match here’s Madison who kisses Earl Hebner, freaking Tessmacher out.

Joseph Part talks about contract signings.

Video on Kenny King.

Here’s Sting to address Aces and 8’s. Actually he’s here for the Roode and Aries signing but he says Aces and 8’s can come out if they’d like. We get the champ and the challenger Roode doesn’t like the contract because it says that if he loses on Sunday, he doesn’t get another shot while Aries has the belt. Roode goes on a rant against Sting, saying that Sting has had it in for Roode since he won the title.

Aries cuts him off and says enough whining. He says that for someone so convinced that Aries’ win was a fluke, Roode is awfully worried about a rematch clause. Aries says he has Roode’s number and if there’s a clause that’s holding him back, forget the contract. Aries says that if Roode wins on Sunday, he’ll give up his rematch clause, so it’s winner take all and no rematches period. Roode finally shakes on it and we have a deal. They get rady to brawl but Roode sticks his hand out again. Aries shakes it but gets water thrown in his face. Roode bails before the champ can kill him.

Chavo/Hernandez/Gunner/Kash talk about the tag match on Sunday.

We run down the PPV card.

Bound For Glory Series: Bully Ray vs. James Storm

Ray says he isn’t going to let anyone jump him so he hides in the ropes a lot. They fight over arm control before Ray sends him to the floor. We take a break and come back with Ray missing an elbow drop. Ray works on the leg a bit but goes back to punches to the face instead. Why try to be fancy I guess. A splash misses though and Storm starts his comeback. He gets sent to the apron and hits an enziguri to Ray’s head but walks into a Rock Bottom for two back in the ring.

Storm elbows him in the face and hits a top rope cross body for two. Storm goes up again and knocks off a Ray superplex attempt but a top rope elbow misses. Bubba Bomb gets two but the backsplash off the middle rope misses for Ray. Codebreaker (didn’t Storm have a name for that?) looks to set up the Last Call but Ray avoids it. Instead Storm rolls him up for two but walks into the Cutter for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Now that’s a bit of a surprise. At the end of the day though, you have to have Storm lose once in awhile because he’s way ahead in the standings so it’s not like it matters that much anyway. Ray picking up a clean win like that is a good thing too as he doesn’t get that many of them and needs to be kept strong. Decent main event here.

Ray screams WHERE ARE THEY and gets his chain but no one comes out for the second week in a row. Instead Aces and 8’s pop up on screen and say Ray is going to see a lot more of them on Sunday. Ray panics to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I really liked tonight’s show. Everything seemed like it had a point and we got some solid wrestling on top of that. The Aces and 8’s stuff and the Clair story are likely going to die in the desert at BFG which is ok, but I wouldn’t mind if they had some more interesting stuff to carry us out there. Hardcore Justice is all set up and I really like the idea of the three fourway matches on Sunday each having a different gimmick as four straight matches would get dull. This was a really good show and I was digging it the whole time.

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Magnus – Five Star Frog Splash

Kazarian/Christopher Daniels b. D-Von/Garrett Bischoff – Kazarian pinned D-Von after hitting him with a title belt

Kurt Angle b. AJ Styles – Angle Slam

Miss Tessmacher b. Gail Kim – Tess Shot

Bully Ray b. James Storm – Bully Cutter

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

In Your House 10: Mind Games
Date: September 22, 1996
Location: Core States Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect

Well, Summerslam has come and gone. Paul Bearer famously turned on Taker to join Mankind after the Boiler Room Brawl. Shawn survived against Vader, and Ahmed had to vacate the IC belt due to injury. Marc Mero would win it the night after this show though. Other than that, not a lot of note has happened. I remember being afraid as a kid that Mankind would take the title here.

As silly as that was, it was a legitimate possibility. However, other than that this card looks pretty weak. Just six matches, but aside from one the shortest is a respectable 5 minutes and 13 seconds. This show gets a lot of praise though, so let’s see if it lives up to the hype.

Free For All-Savio Vega vs. Marty Jannetty

DANG Jannetty just won’t go away will he? The most interesting part of this match is Jannetty’s partner in the New Rockers, Leif Cassidy, more commonly known as Al Snow at ringside. The crowd is chanting the name of some independent northeastern wrestling organization. There’s some dude in the front row that’s really short and looks tough. His tattoo says Toz or something like that.

There’s some dude chugging beer next to him. The third guy there looks….well he looks……he looks hardcore. He’s hardcore? He’s hardcore? He’s HARDCORE! Bradshaw is in the back and apparently is angry that he’s never been on Pay Per View. Oh how that will change. Also, JR mentions he saw the Undertaker come in and go to his dressing room. How weird does that sounds?

Anyway, we have a bad match to watch here. Vince and JR actually acknowledge the ECW chants, saying that this is the home base of their independent company. They thank them for joining WWF for the evening and are glad they bought tickets. My goodness…that was borderline classy.

I know it was planned but still, they weren’t jerks about it. In something that is making me laugh, JR mentions he saw Jim Cornette eating two triple cheeseburgers from a fast food place. For some reason that I simply don’t understand, Jim Cornette’s eating habits at Wendy’s are legendary in the wrestling business. A number three combo large with no lettuce or tomato, extra cheese and no ketchup or mustard with a sprite.

I didn’t look that up, I just knew it off the top of my head, and that’s exactly what he would order every time. Look it up on his website and you’ll see that I’m right. This match is just boring for the most part. It’s just your standard one on one match that ends with Marty getting reversed and pinned.

Rating: D. There was nothing here and the talk of cheeseburgers was more interesting. That’s simply not a good sign at all. Nothing match and just relatively bland. It was free though so that helps things out.

Good opening video but the editing is a bit odd. We get the package of Mankind vs. Shawn, then Goldust vs. Taker, then another on Mankind and Shawn. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Very lackluster welcome from Vince. There’s also no music playing, which just kind of kills the mood.

Strap Match-Savio Vega vs. Justin Hawk Bradshaw

This match is a result of what happened on the Free For All. See, again the match was bad, but it served a bit of a purpose for the PPV. I like how Savio is built up as a god in these matches. It’s something unique about him and it gives him a specialty, kind of like Foley and hardcore. Anyway, this match is rather infamous. Like I said this is ECW country.

During this match, Sandman, Dreamer and Taz create a small riot in the front row as Sandman spits beer at Vega. There’s a huge ordeal and all kinds of security guarding them, which completely takes away from the match but who cares about that. I particularly like how the commentators keep talking about how great this match is until the beer incident. Once that happens, they more or less make it sounds like it’s time to just end this.

That’s a shame too as this wasn’t a terrible match. The stipulation was pretty random, but at least it was something that fit with Savio and continued this mini feud that had been going on for months now with no one caring about it. The finish though was exactly the same as Vega/Austin from a few months ago. Vega holds on to get the first three but then we get a tug of war and Savio is launched into the fourth corner.

Rating: C+. Not bad at all really, but it’s overshadowed by the ECW incident. I’ve long since been a fan of this kind of stipulation, but I’d like to see it as a match for a solid feud and not just something that’s there for the sake of filler. As long as they had been feuding for, this was filler and nothing more. Not bad, but for seven minutes, what are you expecting?

Jose Lothario vs. Jim Cornette

This is just a manager vs. manager match. However, Cornette is more known for his eating abilities and not his work in the ring. Lothario trained HBK and Bobby Lashley, as well as had a relatively successful career in Texas during the 70s.

This started a month ago in a face to face debate that of course turned into a fight. Since then, Super Sock, which was Lothario’s nickname, beat up Cornette on a regular basis. Of course, Cornette got in all the standard old guy jokes: when he was in school there was no history, his social security number is 1, etc.

For some reason, before this match we jump to the back to see “Razor Ramon and Diesel” beat up Savio Vega. This was just a strange angle that never made a bit of sense to me at all. For some reason the decision was made to turn JR heel.

He started going on these absurd rants about how he was the reason WWF was as successful as it was, and promised to bring back Razor and Diesel. They weren’t the real ones obviously and it was a bomb. The fake Razor never did anything of note but a year later the fake Diesel would become known as Kane.

The whole thing made no sense at all and no one bought it. About a month later the company woke up and realized that JR simply isn’t a heel character so they just dropped the angle all together.

Anyway, Jose comes out to Shawn’s music. This match is just hysterical. Cornette is about 240lbs but fat. Jose is 62 years old and in decent shape. He beats Cornette in about a minute, but the jokes that JR and Perfect get in during that time are just great. Cornette is without a doubt one of the funniest guys I have ever seen and this is no exception. He’s so on here it’s amazing.

Rating: N/A. Hardly a match but not enough to grade really.

Savio says he’s not sure who attacked him but it might have been Razor and Diesel.

We go back to the arena where Brian Pillman comes out and says that he’s upset at Bret. Apparently Bret bailed out of an interview that Brian had set up. We see a video from Bret saying that there was never an interview and Pillman is lying. Pillman says that Philadelphia is a horrible city with drugs, prostitution etc. He says that he’ll bring out someone to clean up the city and out comes Owen.

Owen says Bret needs to retire, and brings out Stone Cold. Austin says things like Bret claims to be the excellence of execution but Austin lives it instead of saying it. Austin is on top of his game here but it wouldn’t be until Bret answered his challenge that Austin was launched into the stratosphere. This was most entertaining.

Tag Titles: Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart/British Bulldog

Pretty much Camp Cornette was just handed the #1 contender spot simply because everyone knew they were the best team in the company. This match was pretty much just a formality to confirm it. No Cornette here though which is I guess because he got his teeth kicked in. Ah yes that’s where he is according to Doc.

Was there anything Sunny didn’t look good in? Bulldog and Owen have commandeered the massive Sunny poster. YOU SWINE! Billy and Owen start us off. Could the Guns have been any more bland? Mason comes down with a clipboard. I believe this was due to a document Cornette signed which was him accidentally signing away the control of his stable.

Owen controls early of course since Billy has nothing at all. Ross brings up Vince’ indictment which has to be a line fed to him because if not then he would die. Perfect begins the lie about Billy being awesome. I couldn’t stand him eventually as he was constantly being pushed and he never deserved it whatsoever.

The other two are in now and we get the and it’s a chop block to Bart and to put him in trouble. Vince reads off Clarence’s business card to kill time. This isn’t much at all here as we’re just kind of going through the motions.

All challenger dominance here. Enziguri on Bart gets two. The Gunns take over for a change of pace and still nothing is working that well at all. Sidewinder on Bulldog but Mason gets the referee. Slammy to Billy’s head doesn’t get us anywhere either. Crowd is rather dead here too.

Billy takes over and you would think that would imply some pops from the crowd wouldn’t you? Apparently we’re playing the quiet game I suppose. Billy makes a stupid tag and Bart walks into the powerslam to give the heels the titles which they would hold forever. Sunny goes off on them afterwards, splitting with them.

Rating: D+. Pretty boring here for the most part as the Gunns just sucked BADLY. This wasn’t anything special or even good as both teams knew there was no real point or heat at all here and it wasn’t any good. Boring match and the only thing it had going for it was that it wasn’t incredibly long.

The Gunns would finally split up soon after this and pretty much no one would care. After this, the tag title would pretty much do nothing for about a year as Owen and Bulldog dominated the division. You’d get a random two superstar tag team reign (Austin/Foley etc.) or the off the wall reign like the returning LOD or the Headbangers.

It wasn’t until November of the following year that the New Age Outlaws would form and breathe life into it as teams like the APA and the Hardys made the belts and the division worth anything again.

After almost two years of worthless reigns by teams no one wanted to see, the Dudleys finally arrived as the hottest tag team act on the planet and brought in another golden age of tag wrestling along with the other two teams that everyone associated them with. And that’s enough Attitude Era tag team history for now. More in later reviews.

Jerry Lawler vs. Mark Henry

Oh dang it I forgot Henry debuted in this time period. We see a recap of Henry making some run ins to help out Jake Roberts against Lawler. Henry is pure face at this point and acts like Kurt Angle when he debuted. It’s a sight indeed. Lawler continues to prove why he’s one of the best mic men ever. His insults are so basic but his delivery is great and it just works.

Lawler even insults Henry by saying he’s going to teach him all kinds of lessons. Lawler of course gets his head handed to him. Henry has no offense at this point but that makes sense as he’s a rookie in his first match. He uses very basic moved like slams and chops, but for someone brand new that’s logical. However, when they’ve been with the company for twelve years it’s not acceptable.

This is a pure comedy match with Lawler never being able to get anything going. He lands an illegal object to the head of Henry which does some damage. Henry comes back with more rookie offense of course and lands an over the shoulder back breaker for the submission. Think of the starting position for the Razor’s Edge but instead of lifting them up you pull them down so they’re being pressed against your shoulder.

It really looks painful actually, despite Henry not using it right. Anyway, it was a decent debut. Post match, the New Rockers and HHH run out to try to fight Henry for absolutely no reason at all. They of course get beaten up. Pyro goes off for no logical reason and Henry celebrates.

Rating: B-. It’s a comedy match for a gimmick wrestler’s debut. Were you expecting Steamboat/Savage here? For what it was, this was fine. It made Henry look good against a veteran that didn’t need a win and for a person like Henry at the time I really liked his offensive style. However, that was 1996. It’s now 2009 and Henry still uses the same moveset. That is unacceptable plain and simple.

In the back we see the new tag champions with their new manager that lawyer guy. Apparently he tricked Cornette into signing their contract to him. No one cares.

Goldust vs. Undertaker

We see a recap, which implies Mankind is working for Goldust. Why would that make any sense at all? Why would a mid carder have power over a main eventer? Come on WWF, think please? This is a Final Curtain match, which means no DQ and you can only win by pinfall. Ok I guess. Yet again though, Taker is just beating Goldust up. At least this time it’s not as one sided.

It’s still one sided, just not as badly. Marlena does nothing really. Taker picking her up by her elbows was cool though. More random moves from Taker including a vertical suplex. Goldust throws some dust into his eyes to take over and for the first time in five months, we see Goldust work over Taker. You get your basic stuff here, and then Goldust uses one of the most effective basic moves I’ve ever seen.

Taker is in position for a reverse chinlock, but instead Goldust just covers Taker’s mouth and nose with his hands. That’s such a simple move but it’s actually brilliant. Then we get your standard Taker comeback after Goldust rubs his own chest a bit.

Basic stuff but the crowd pops for it so it’s all well and good. Anyway, we get the chokeslam from the top and a tombstone to finally polish off this feud. Post match, the commentators talk about how they’re looking forward to Buried Alive next month, which really was a cool idea I think. It was absurd, but a good kind of absurd.

Rating: B-. Far better than anything they have done before and for one reason: it wasn’t a squash. Goldust got in some good offense here and controlled a decent portion of this match. That’s really all I ask for is something somewhat competitive. Good match and while not a classic, it got Taker a decent win in his main storyline, which means it served its purpose.

We go to the back to hear Shawn talk about how he really has no idea what he’s going to do here as he’s never faced someone like Mankind. That’s true, as there really hadn’t been anyone like Foley before in the company. Thank goodness he didn’t get his original name: Mankind the Mutilator, as that would have just not worked. Earlier today on Superstars Shawn was put into the Mandible Claw and it knocked him down for a long time. He says he’ll be making it up as he goes out there.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind

This match has always been praised as a classic by both men. I’ve heard good and bad things about it, so let’s see how it holds up. Mankind was viewed as a legitimate threat to the title based on what he had done to Taker in the past. At this point though, he was still a relative rookie in the company, but that didn’t matter. That’s what WWE needs more of today: don’t start guys as rookies.

Launch them into main storylines. Anyway, Mankind comes out in a casket and does his whole rock back and forth with the urn which was something I always liked for some odd reason. The crowd is insane for Shawn. I’ve never gotten how the reaction that the crowds give didn’t equal the ratings. Shawn was madly over, but he never drew anything as far as ratings went. Maybe it was the rest of the show or WCW, but for some reason there wasn’t a connection there.

The announcers are really putting Foley over big here which is something that does a lot to help him in this match. He opens up hard by taking control, but eventually it goes outside and Shawn starts going nuts. He hits a cross body from the top to the floor and after pulling the mats up, jumps from the apron to the floor, shoving Foley’s head into the concrete in what is another basic but good spot.

Not everything has to be flashy to look good. That move and Goldust’s smothering thing earlier are proof of that. This match has a weird flow to it. While it’s not a traditional face vs. heel formula, it has a unique formula that is working for some reason. Shawn is throwing everything he’s got at Foley but nothing is working. Most of it is Shawn on the offense using his standard stuff, but it’s just not working on Mankind.

He’s having to get more aggressive in this match and it’s a style I like. This is very reminiscent of the Diesel match that he had at In Your House 7 and that just worked on all levels. This match is really the kind of stuff that the Attitude Era was built on which is likely why it was considered to be so good. You could say that it was ahead of its time I suppose.

Anyway, Foley gets his knee slammed into the stairs a few times but that really doesn’t get Shawn anywhere. They keep going back and forth which is just great. Every time one gets anything going for them the other just takes it away from them. They’ve been going about 15 minutes and haven’t let up yet. We finally get the famous spot in the match as Mankind is thrown into the ropes and gets his head caught between them.

As Shawn attacks, he gets stuck in the claw. They brawl on the floor for awhile and the Claw is locked on again but Shawn counters. Mankind accidentally punches a chair and Shawn works on the fingers to take away the Claw, which is really smart actually. Somehow Mankind gets the advantage back and starts getting near falls. This match really is getting great now as it’s long passed just being good.

Back and forth, all kinds of action, and if you were watching at this point you had the doubt in your mind as to whether or not Shawn could put him away, which is the golden key to any match: doubt. Foley can’t beat him so he pulls a Spunky and starts to beat on himself.

After that Shawn makes ANOTHER comeback and starts beating the living tar out of Mankind. He’s jumping all over the place but finally, and I do mean finally gets crotched on the top rope to stop him. Shawn then gets belly to back suplexed from the top through the Spanish Announce Table, which was a brand new concept at the time and therefore not funny or ironic yet. After that, Mankind throws a second chair into the ring but Shawn gets in first.

Mankind climbs the ropes but Shawn gets a running start and kicks the other chair into Foley’s face, which is called Sweet Chin Music. Not really but I’ll let it go. Shawn goes insanely slow so you can tell that this is your finish. And of course, here he comes: Vader runs in for the DQ and we get the garbage finish to the great match. Post match, Sid runs out to fight Sid after Paul Bearer knocks Shawn out with the urn.

He knocks Shawn out again for the second time in about 30 seconds with the Claw before signaling for the casket to be opened. Then, in one of the funniest scenes I can ever remember as a wrestling fan, the casket is opened and of course Taker is inside. The look on Bearer’s face is mindblowingly funny.

The key here is that earlier the casket was opened and there was no Taker. He goes after Mankind of course and just looks absolutely awesome doing it. Foley looks scared to death and limps to the back with Taker following him as Shawn is declared the winner by DQ to end the show.

Rating: A. This would be an easy A+ if it had a real finish. I don’t like the DQ here, but I really don’t have another choice I guess. There wasn’t anything that could have been done otherwise to keep Mankind’s heat going and not take the belt from Shawn or make him look weak. Either way, this was a great match with all kinds of back and forth stuff. Top level here all the way and I can see why they both rate this match so highly.

Overall Rating: A. GIN! The company got it right, FINALLY. Every match on this card had a purpose, everything made sense, and above all else: THE MATCHES WERE GOOD! Let’s see what we have here: a gimmick match, a comedy match, a title change, a debut, the blow off to a feud, and a great title match to close out the show and set up the main event for the next show. What more could you really ask for? This is a great PPV, regardless of what formula you’re following. Definite recommendation as this is two hours of what wrestling is all about.

Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

I’ll have to take Adam Bomb vs. Ear……oh you mean the other matches.This show has two masterpieces on it and the question is simple: which is better?

I think I’m going to have to go with the opener.  It’s got a built in story and it still holds up to this day as a great match.  The ladder match is still great and I don’t buy the argument of “it’s been topped since.”  The future ladder matches have no bearing on this one because they had history to look back on.  This was, for al intents and purposes, the first ladder match.  Maybe it’s that I’ve seen the ladder match too many times, but I like Bret vs. Owen a little better.

Your pick?