ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 15, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,422
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz, Mike Adamle

We’re over in England this week as the European tour is on. In this case, we have a special main event as the Brothers of Destruction are here. That alone should be enough to carry the show, as there is little to care about other than one or two stars. Maybe they have something else to help it out, because the show needs it. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a preview of the show, which in this case means Undertaker/Kane vs. Miz/John Morrison. Well that ups the star power.

Opening sequence.

Tazz tells us that this is Joey Styles’ last night on the show as he is going on to head up WWE.com. We meet the new play by play announcer: Mike Adamle. Oh boy.

CM Punk/Kofi Kingston/Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore vs. Elijah Burke/Deuce N Domino/Shelton Benjamin

Well it’s different. Domino and Punk start things off with Punk taking over. Moore comes in with a sunset flip and starts on the arm, as the good guys get to take their turns. Yang hits a dropkick and lands on Domino for two before it’s back to Punk. Benjamin comes in and gets kicked in the face as everything breaks down on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Burke missing an elbow to Punk, allowing Kofi to come in for an armbar. The rapid fire tags continue as it’s off to Moore to stay on the arm. Burke comes in and uppercuts Yang to take over, setting up the running crotch attack to the back of the head. Benjamin and Deuce put on a chinlock each before Domino drops a leg. A backdrop gets Yang out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Kingston to clean house. Everything breaks down and Trouble In Paradise finishes Deuce (who had tagged in) for the win.

Rating: C+. This match got some time and picked up steam as it kept going. What mattered here was keeping Kingston strong as ECW is certainly protecting him. With Punk pretty clearly not long for the minor show, fresh talent is going to be needed. Kingston is getting better in his spot so maybe he could do some good in the future.

We look back at Chavo Guerrero and his lackeys beating up Kane, including his new bald enforcer.

Kane promises revenge on Chavo, but tonight it’s about the Brothers of Destruction.

And now, a Diva Dance Off, featuring Layla, Maryse, Eve, Lena Yada and Kelly Kelly. Tazz, the emcee, demonstrates a bit of dancing (or kind of jiggling in his case) before everyone gets to go. Shockingly Layla and Eve, the former professional dancers, blow everyone else away but Kelly, the only one to remove clothing, wins. Post contest, Kelly and Tazz dance together in a funny moment.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Mike Knox

Colin Delaney is here with Dreamer. Hold on though as here is Armando Estrada to change things up.

Colin Delaney vs. Mike Knox

Dreamer is sent to the back. Total destruction with Knox hitting a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin in about a minute.

Miz and John Morrison say they’re a real team while Undertaker and Kane are always fighting each other. Morrison is even willing to let Miz start the match!

Miz/John Morrison vs. Kane/Undertaker

Non-title. Kane shoulders Miz down to start and sends him shoulder first into the corner. Undertaker comes in to punch the shoulder, setting up Old School. Morrison breaks up the apron clothesline with a legdrop though and we take a break. Back with Morrison striking away at Undertaker in the corner, only to have Undertaker show him how it’s done.

Morrison gets struck in the face a few times, allowing Kane to come in with a side slam to Miz. A Morrison distraction lets Miz get in a chop block though and Morrison comes in to crank on the knee. Miz hammers away until an uppercut and big boot give Kane a breather. That’s enough for Undertaker to come in and really take over, including Snake Eyes into the big boot. Double chokeslams set up the Tombstone to finish Morrison.

Rating: C. This is a good example of “it was what it was” as Kane and Undertaker ended up decimating the champs in the end. Miz and Morrison got in a bit of offense on Kane but there is no way to buy this working when things evened up. It’s also no shame to lose to a pair of monsters with success of their own like Undertaker and Kane, so Miz and Morrison could have come out looking worse.

The Brothers posing with their titles is a great visual to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Pretty skippable show, but then again it felt like it was more for the live fans than anything else. ECW really needs to develop some new names and right now it seems to be Kane and Kofi Kingston leading the charge. Kane is fine, but Kofi has a long way to go but the potential is there. This week was more or less a spectacle though and it was an easy enough way to burn through about forty five minutes.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 14, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,363
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re over in England this week with less than two weeks to go before Backlash. The Raw World Title match at the pay per view is now a four way and that means we should be in for some build on the way in. Other than that, Batista and Shawn Michaels aren’t happy with each other and that likely won’t end well. Let’s get to it.

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

William Regal is drinking tea in his office when JBL comes in. JBL doesn’t care where we are tonight or that Regal is wrestling in his home country. What he cares about is that Regal has become spineless, just like Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Why are John Cena and HHH in his title match at Backlash? Regal didn’t want a match as awful as Orton vs. JBL, which doesn’t work for JBL either. He wants out of here on a private plane, but Regal gives him a match with HHH instead (the fans approve).

Opening sequence.

Here is Shawn Michaels to get things going. He recaps the build up to and match with Ric Flair at Wrestlemania, where Shawn gave Flair his best, just as requested. That should have been closure and everyone is cool with it….except for Batista. Last week on Smackdown, we came to the realization that Batista’s problem is with Shawn himself (Shawn: “Shocking.”).

Back in 1998, doctors told him he would never wrestle again but he came back in 2002, proving them all wrong. He has done a lot of things in the past though and now he is tired of apologizing. At Backlash, Shawn is going to kick Batista’s teeth down his throat….but here is Ric Flair….’s music, as Chris Jericho comes out instead (the fans are NOT pleased). Jericho says Batista thinks Shawn is a phony, but Jericho knows that what Shawn loves the most is Shawn Michaels.

In reality, Shawn probably liked taking out Flair and probably wanted to send him through a barber shop window. Jericho thinks Batista is being irrational about Flair being gone, but he isn’t being irrational about Shawn. Maybe Shawn is the one who suggested the retirement stipulation in the first place. Then Shawn superkicks him silly and says he’ll admit this: that felt pretty good. This story is getting better, though that might be because it moved on from the Flair worship.

Carlito/Santino Marella vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

For a future title shot. Santino and London start things off with London taking over. Carlito comes in with London dragging him over to the corner so Kendrick can come in with the kicks. Carlito gets in a sitout spinebuster as we see Hardcore Holly and Carlito watching in the back. The villains take turns beating Kendrick down but he slips over and brings in London to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Kendrick misses a hard charge to the floor. London dropkicks Santino tot he floor but gets Backstabbed to give Carlito the pin.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what WWE sees in Marella and Carlito but it feels like they have fought Holly and Rhodes over and over again at this point. The division needs a lot more depth and it would seem that London and Kendrick could be quite the option. Instead, we get the low level team who might not exactly be the most inspiring choice. The division hasn’t been good for a long time now and the lows are getting even worse.

Post match Santino and Carlito promise to get the titles.

Women’s Title: Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James

Mickie is challenging and gets powered down without much trouble to start. Some forearms and kicks slow Beth down but she rams Mickie hard into the corner. A slingshot suplex sets up a dragon sleeper (that’s a unique sequence) but Mickie fights up again. This time Beth pulls her into a double arm chickenwing, with Mickie’s legs around her waist (ow).

Since that can’t last long, Mickie sends her into the corner and Beth is rocked. The MickieDT is cut off though but Mickie is fine enough to hit the top rope Thesz press for two (which JR calls a bulldog for some reason). The Glam Slam is loaded up but Mickie reverses into a cradle for the pin and the title out of nowhere.

Rating: C+. You really can see how much further along these two are in the ring as they had a much better match than almost any other women in the company could pull off. Mickie winning the title makes the England show feel bigger, but also Beth had carried the title for a long time and a change was needed. The fact that it took place in a good match made it even better.

Post match Mickie can’t believe she won, with Maria and Ashley coming out to celebrate with her. Mickie is so happy that she kisses Todd Grisham.

William Regal is warming up and suggests Mike Adamle let him get ready. Chris Jericho comes in to talk about Shawn Michaels vs. Batista, so Regal makes him guest referee. Jericho wants to wrestle, so he can face Umaga tonight.

JTG vs. Trevor Murdoch

Shad Gaspard and Lance Cade are here too. Earlier today, Cade gave Murdoch a pep talk, which didn’t seem to include getting dropkicked by JTG. A big boot drops JTG for two and we’re already off to the chinlock. Murdoch goes up for a high crossbody but JTG rolls through for the surprise pin.

Post match Cade pats Murdoch on the back and walks away without him.

Here is Randy Orton for a chat before his match. Orton talks about how the win at Backlash is only going to make him feel like a bigger star because we are living in his age.

William Regal vs. Randy Orton

Non-title. Regal neck bridges to avoid getting powered to the mat so they go with the test of strength instead. The fans are WAY behind Regal as Orton gets flipped into a bodyscissors. Orton’s headlock doesn’t get very far but his backbreaker has Regal writhing in pain.

We hit the chinlock and the fans still haven’t dropped the LET’S GO REGAL chants. Regal fights up and grabs a reverse fisherman’s suplex, sending Orton bailing to the floor. Back in and a running knee gives Regal two before he starts stomping on the leg. The referee won’t let him do it near the legs though, and the distraction is enough for Orton to grab the RKO for the pin.

Rating: C+. The intensity was there and the fans were way behind Regal, which makes Orton getting the win all the better for him. Orton is the top villain around at the moment and as Regal was always going to be incredibly popular here, it makes Regal feel like bigger threat. If nothing else, it is nice to see Regal being all intense and focused here, as you don’t get to see it very often.

Umaga is ready for Chris Jericho.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Umaga

Jericho is defending and gets knocked to the apron early on. Back up and Jericho dropkicks the knee before striking away as well as he can. That earns him an elbow to the face but Umaga isn’t quite interested in following up in a hurry. Jericho gets launched hard over the top for a crash to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Umaga knocking him out of the corner and the nerve hold going on. With that broken up, Jericho avoids a charge to send him outside, followed by the baseball slide through the ropes. Umaga takes Jericho’s head off with a clothesline but Jericho gets the knees up to block a sitdown splash.

Jericho tries a slam for no logical reason and is whipped hard into the apron to put him down again. The running hip attack misses though and Jericho scores with the missile dropkick to the back of the head. The Walls are blocked so Umaga Samoan drops him for two, only to miss the Samoan Spike. Umaga kicks him into the corner but misses the splash and hits the post. That’s enough for Jericho to roll him up (with feet on the ropes) to retain in a bit of a shifty move.

Rating: B-. This was a back and forth match and the two of them both looked good. Jericho had to cheat to beat Umaga but he survived so much from Umaga in the first place. That being said, Jericho has been needing a shakeup for the time being and maybe a heel turn is the right way to go. Good match here and the amount of time it got helped.

Jim Duggan vs. Paul Burchill

Katie Lea Burchill is here with Paul. Duggan gets jumped at the bell to start and the beating is on, with the fans not being pleased with Duggan getting mauled. Back up and Duggan slugs away but a corner clothesline sets up a curb stomp to give Paul the pin.

After plugging his DVD, HHH says he’s going to make JBL play the game.

Backlash rundown.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. HHH

Joined in progress with HHH grabbing a headlock takeover to put them both on the mat. JBL powers up and drives him into the corner, meaning it’s time to go nose to nose (HHH might have an advantage). A neckbreaker gives HHH two and we hit the armbar. That’s broken up and JBL knocks him down again, setting up a full nelson of all things. HHH powers up and slugs away, setting up the facebuster. A running clothesline sends JBL to the floor and the brawl is on in the aisle…and here is Randy Orton to jump HHH for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Pretty basic match as JBL isn’t the person you want doing exciting stuff. This was just a way to get Orton out there for the fight with the two of them, which isn’t much of a surprise with the four way coming up. JBL just can’t back it up in the ring that well without a bunch of shenanigans so keeping it short here was as good of a call as they had.

Post match Orton unloads on HHH, who comes back with the spinebuster. The Pedigree is loaded up but JBL breaks it up with a big boot. Now the big double teaming is on, including the RKO to HHH. The Punt is loaded up but JBL cuts Orton off with the Clothesline From JBL (that looked good too). JBL poses with the title and hits another Clothesline on HHH before posing again to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. These British shows can be a bit all over the place when it comes to quality and this one was no exception. Maybe it was jet lag or maybe it was just not very interesting choices but the show wasn’t the most thrilling. Backlash has come together well enough already and I’m interested in seeing the show, but this wasn’t their best TV. The title change was fun and the Jericho stuff worked, though the rest wasn’t all that good. Get to Backlash already.

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Smackdown
Date: April 11, 2008
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Gresham

We are on the road to Backlash and believe it or not, Edge is already getting his rematch after losing the World Title at Wrestlemania. Undertaker isn’t overly pleased and that rarely works out well for anyone else. Other than that, Batista isn’t happy with Raw’s Shawn Michaels, which almost has to be better than the last time he fought someone from Raw. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Great Khali is in the ring with a bunch of dancers and two shirtless guys. Apparently this is a Punjabi Peace Offering to Big Show. One of the men explains the concept and is about to quote Gandhi when Big Show comes out. Show isn’t interested as the ring clears, save for one of the men and the giants.

The offering is some sort of spiritual water, followed by a bottle of the world’s finest scotch. Show drinks it but cringes before being given….a black chicken so he will never be hungry? Finally Show is presented with a goat, so he will never be thirsty. Show says words can’t describe how he feels and he shakes Khali’s hand. Then the big right hand knocks Khali silly. That looked good.

John Morrison/The Miz vs. Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore

How many times are these teams going to fight? Non-title but we do see a clip of Miz and Morrison mocking Yang and Moore on the Dirt Sheet. Moore works on Morrison’s arm to start and Yang comes in with a dropkick for two. It’s off to Miz, who can’t get a belly to back suplex, as Yang kicks him in the face instead. Moore comes back in but gets sent throat first into the middle rope to cut him off. The slingshot elbow hits Moore and Morrison grabs the armbar.

Morrison stomps away as commentary questions Miz and Morrison’s ethical standards. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Moore’s back, which is enough to set up the comeback. Moore gets over for the tag to Yang so the pace can pick way up. The missile dropkick puts Morrison down for two but he’s back up with a kick to the face of his own for two of his own. A blind tag brings Miz back in though and a jumping neckbreaker finishes Yang.

Rating: C+. These teams work well together and it’s a shame that Moore and Yang didn’t get more of a chance. That’s one of the flaws with having a division that is about two teams at most and there just wasn’t room for a makeshift pairing. Miz and Morrison continue to roll though and I’m not sure who could take the titles anytime soon.

Teddy Long watches Edge and Vickie Guerrero get a couples massage. They’re both been so stressed out and Edge is so happy to be here instead of being at the arena.

Finlay vs. Matt Striker

Hornswoggle is here with Finlay and goes underneath the ring at the bell. They grapple against the ropes to start, where Hornswoggle sprays Striker with a water gun. The annoyed Striker kicks Finlay down and starts in on the arm. Finlay fight sup for the Regal Roll, setting up a catapult into the corner. Striker ties him up on the apron and hammers away, as he is known to do. Coach: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone use the apron like that.” Cole: “Then you haven’t been watching Smackdown because Finlay does it every match.” Point to Cole.

Now it’s Hornswoggle with a bucket of confetti (Striker: “Get out of here Sky Low Low!”) but it doesn’t work so well. Another bucket, this one of water, works better but Striker avoids a charge into the post. Hornswoggle’s shot with an inflatable hammer (called a shillelagh but it looked like a hammer) just annoys Striker, who is distracted enough for the real shillelagh shot to knock him cold for the pin.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t exactly there for the back and forth action, with the commentary being the best part. This was much more about having Finlay get back on track after his Wrestlemania loss and he got as much as he could out of beating Striker. It was a nothing match as expected, but Cole burning Coach was funny.

Post match Hornswoggle hits the Tadpole Splash.

Victoria vs. Michelle McCool

Before the match, Victoria introduces us to her new best friend: Natalya Neidhart, so we get a look at Natalya’s father Jim. Natalya says it’s about her and “When you mess with the best, you go down with the rest. Yeah baby.” With that thankfully out of the way, Michelle takes Victoria down and starts hammering away. A basement dropkick sends Victoria outside but she’s right back in with a hard clothesline. Victoria grabs a superplex for two but McCool fights back up. Natalya gets in a jacket shot though and Victoria grabs a rollup, with tights, for the win. Bad ending aside, that was a better women’s match than usual for Smackdown.

Michael Cole is in the ring and talks about how personal the issue between Shawn Michaels and Batista has become. We get a recap of their troubles, which stems from Michaels retiring Flair. Since the wrestling world can’t exist without Flair, Batista is mad at Shawn for not letting Flair win. That’s not what Flair wanted but Batista just wants Flair around (they make it sound like he’s dead). Here are Batista and Shawn to go face to face, with Shawn saying everyone, including Flair, has moved on. Well, except Batista that is, which has Shawn thinking.

Batista’s problem isn’t with Flair, but with Shawn himself. That’s true, and what Shawn did at Wrestlemania opened Batista’s eyes. The blood on Shawn’s hands isn’t getting washed out and Batista doesn’t like how Shawn got to the top. Batista was up front, which Shawn says is a luxury he had at 6’5, 280lbs. Shawn couldn’t do that and yes he did take shortcuts when he had to. He’ll knock Batista’s teeth down his throat at Backlash but for now he has to escape the Batista Bomb. The match will be good but Batista acting like the world is ending because Flair is gone is still a lot to take.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Matt Logan

Kozlov tosses him around and finishes with the reverse DDT in less than a minute. Total destruction.

Back to the spa, where Edge and Vickie have face masks on, complete with cucumbers over their eyes. Teddy Long brings them their drinks and has to take the cucumbers away. They’re even getting matching pedicures! Teddy’s disgusted look is great.

Matt Hardy vs. Chuck Palumbo

MVP is on commentary. As MVP calls out Coach and Cole for being ranked the worst commentary team of all time (with Cole no selling it), Matt reverses a headlock into a hammerlock. With that broken up, Palumbo kicks him in the back and cranks on the neck. Matt fights up and enziguris his way to freedom and they both crash out to the floor. That of course means an MVP distraction so Palumbo can jump Matt from behind and take over.

We take a break and come back with Matt fighting out of another neck crank. Palumbo suplexes him down and grabs a third neck crank, followed by a fourth because Palumbo seems a bit limited in the ring. Another comeback lets Matt grab a Side Effect to take over and Palumbo’s missed charge goes into the post. There’s the middle rope elbow to the back of the head but Palumbo plants Hardy for two. Not that it matters as the Twist of Fate finishes Palumbo off.

Rating: C. Palumbo’s usefulness continues to be putting others over as angry biker only has so much of a shelf life. Hardy is on a bit of a roll and is getting somewhere on the way to his US Title shot against MVP. Taking the title is going to be a bit easier said than done, but at least we are FINALLY getting to that point.

Post match MVP poses at Hardy and walks off.

Jesse and Festus are nervous about the latter’s match against Undertaker tonight.

Backlash rundown.

Undertaker vs. Festus

Non-title and Jesse is here with Festus. Undertaker starts fast with a big boot before going after the arm, including Old School. Festus manages a powerslam for two and hammers away in the corner. Another boot to the face and a clothesline give Undertaker two and they fight to the floor. Festus rams him into the barricade a few times and they head inside, where Festus’ right hands send Undertaker outside again.

Undertaker isn’t having that and sends him into the steps, setting up another kick to the head. Back in and Undertaker hits the running DDT and starts hammering away in the corner. They slug it out until Undertaker has to escape a fireman’s carry and grabs the chokeslam for two. Festus fights up and slugs away but the referee gets bumped. With the referee down, Undertaker grabs the triangle choke and, after a good while, the referee comes back in to say Festus is out.

Rating: C+. Undertaker gave Festus a lot more than I would have expected here, as Festus got to beat Undertaker up for a few minutes. The ending was a good way to make Undertaker’s choke feel dangerous, which is quite the upgrade for someone who is already such a monster. Festus showed something here though, and that is how unnecessary Jesse is to his success.

Post match Jesse runs in and breaks it up to protect Festus. Undertaker looks down at them and doesn’t appear happy before posing to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They kept this show moving despite very little actually happening. Undertaker being in the ring always feels like something special, even if he was facing someone like Festus. Other than that, Backlash is pretty much set and now we need to just get to the show in a few weeks. Some of the stories still need some more polish though and we could be getting some of that until we get to the pay per view. Not a great show here, but it held things in place well enough.

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 8, 2008
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

We are still starting the new reality around here, with Kane as the ECW Champion and CM Punk as the star who is way too big for this show. Other than that, we have the continuing adventures of Colin Delaney, who is still trying to get a contract. That hasn’t been going well for him and odds are it doesn’t get better this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Miz vs. CM Punk

John Morrison is on commentary. Punk grabs a headlock to start and runs him over with a shoulder to start. Back up and Miz hits his own shoulder, only to have his leg tied up for some hard cranking. Punk gets sent outside though and Miz drives him back first into the apron. Morrison gets caught interfering and gets ejected as Miz grabs a chinlock.

We take a break and come back with Miz snapping Punk’s throat across the middle rope for two. Punk gets out of the double arm crank without much trouble but Miz pulls him into a reverse chinlock. Back up and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown, followed by Punk making the comeback. The powerslam gives Punk two and it’s the running knee in the corner into the GTS for the pin on Miz.

Rating: C. Punk continues to feel like the biggest star in ECW but Miz has improved by leaps and bounds. He still isn’t exactly polished but he can wrestle a completely watchable match. You can see the effort that he has put in and it is starting to pay off. Just find some actual challenges to go after he and Morrison and you might be on to something.

Colin Delaney and Tommy Dreamer come up to Armando Estrada to ask about Delaney getting a contract. Estrada says sure….if Delaney can beat Dreamer tonight. Oh and if Dreamer goes easy on him in any way or loses, he’s fired. Neither seems pleased.

Here is Armando Estrada in the ring for the Kane/Chavo Guerrero contract signing at Backlash. Guerrero, with the Edgeheads, comes out first, with Kane following. Kane goes to sign first, but Chavo says that means signing away the title. That makes Kane laugh as he signs, but Chavo says he’ll have someone watching his back at Backlash. Cue a bald man in a suit to start the brawl, including a belt shot to Kane. The beatdown is on and Chavo frog splashes Kane through the table. Now Chavo signs.

Elijah Burke vs. Nunzio

Burke works on the arm to start and sends him face first into the apron to keep Nunzio rocked. A hard shot to the face sets up the running crotch attack to the back of Nunzio’s head. There’s a middle rope forearm into a release German suplex before an STO finishes Nunzio off. Total squash.

Kofi Kingston vs. Domino

No Deuce or Cherry here. Before the match, Kofi talks about having a good time in the ring and bringing the good vibrations. Domino even wrestles without his shirt to really make things different. Kofi slides between the legs and takes him down, setting up the armdrag into the armbar. It works so well that Kofi does it again before sending him into the corner. Domino manages a faceplant out of the corner (kind of a reverse powerbomb) for two, followed by a knee to Kofi’s face. The chinlock goes on but Kofi fights out and hits his jumping back elbow. Domino ducks a crossbody but charges into Trouble in Paradise for the pin.

Rating: C. Kofi is still building himself up but this was a win over a slightly bigger name. You need to do something like this over the months as Kingston needs to move up the ladder. He still needs a lot more than beating Domino, but you can tell that WWE is paying attention to him and sees something there.

Eve Torres is in the back with Kelly Kelly when Layla comes in. Layla says there is room for one Diva Search winner around here. She is the top Diva around here and Eve needs to learn that. This stuff continues to be bad.

Colin Delaney vs. Tommy Dreamer

Basically only the winner has a job and Armando Estrada is at ringside. Dreamer wrestles him to the mat to start and grabs a slam. The elbow misses though as they are firmly in first gear here. Delaney gets in a shot or two before low bridging Dreamer to the floor. There’s the slingshot dive and a slingshot hilo gets two on Dreamer back inside. Dreamer grabs some kind of a reverse suplex and avoids a missile dropkick to send Delaney crashing down. The Tree of Woe dropkick sets up the DDT to finish Delaney.

Rating: C-. There was a story here with Delaney wanting a contract and Dreamer having to beat him up despite not wanting to. The problem though is the Delaney matches are only so good as he can’t do much in the ring and is mainly getting squashed. Delaney got in a little more than usual here, but it is still only going so well. They need to go somewhere with this, as I don’t know how much fuel this version has left.

Overall Rating: C. Kind of a lackluster show here, as there is only so much that you can get out of this roster. Kane is a star and Kofi feels like he is on the way up, but then you have whatever is left of Elijah Burke, Chavo Guerrero and a somewhat out the door CM Punk. That isn’t going to make for the best show, with the hour long run time being this show’s saving grace.

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 7, 2008
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re officially out of Wrestlemania season and the build to Backlash has begun. We should be in for some big stuff going forward, apparently including JBL coming after Randy Orton’s Raw World Title. They are going to need something to go with that, and Shawn Michaels vs. Batista might be on the list as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is William Regal to get things going and he wastes no time in bringing out Randy Orton. Regal isn’t done and introduces Orton’s new #1 contender for Backlash: JBL. With Regal starting to hype up the match, here is HHH to interrupt. HHH isn’t clear on something and asks if Regal is out of his frickin mind.

He doesn’t understand how he is being left out of the title match, as Orton pinned John Cena at Wrestlemania. Also, how does JBL, who was a commentator for two years, get a title shot for beating up Hornswoggle? Regal makes a handicap match for tonight, with HHH having to beat JBL and Orton to get into the Backlash title match. They kept this to the point, but Orton vs. JBL is going to have to be changed due to reasons of bleck.

Umaga vs. Val Venis

Venis slugs away to start and avoids a charge into the corner. That’s about it for the offense though as Umaga runs him over and puts on the nerve hold. The Samoan drop plants Venis and it’s the running hip attack in the corner. Umaga nails the Samoan Spike for the fast pin.

Rating: D+. Total destruction here and that shouldn’t be a big surprise. Umaga needed a win to get him back on the right track after the pretty terrible Wrestlemania match against Batista. Venis is capable of making anyone look better, even if it is in near complete squash. This did what it needed to do and they did it in a hurry.

Mickie James/Ashley vs. Melina/Jillian Hall

Jillian kicks at Ashley to start but gets caught in a quick hurricanrana. Melina gets in a cheap shot to take over and a wheelbarrow slam/faceplant combination gets two. A missed charge in the corner lets Ashley get over for the tag to Mickie so house can be cleaned. Melina hits the double knees in the corner to cut James off though as everything breaks down. The Mickie DT finishes Melina to end a rather sloppy match.

We look back at Ric Flair having to retire and then his farewell.

Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

London and Kendrick jump them at the bell with Kendrick being sent outside fast. London is fine enough to hit a dropsault for two on Cade but a hard clothesline puts him down. Murdoch kicks away at London and Cade grabs a neck crank. With that broken up, London avoids a charge and it’s back to Kendrick to clean house. Cade clotheslines him down but a small package gives Kendrick the pin.

Rating: C. Just a quick match here with Kendrick and London continuing to get back on track. They needed to win a few matches after losing over and over so this is going to help boost them back up. It was a quick win, but that’s better than losing over and over. Now just get them into the title picture, as a handful of wins is enough to get them there.

Randy Orton tells JBL to stay out of his way out there.

HHH vs. Randy Orton/John Bradshaw Layfield

If HHH wins, he’s in the Backlash title match and William Regal is at ringside. Orton and JBL are already in the ring, which is quite the weird way to treat the pay per view main event. HHH and Orton punch each other to start with HHH having to fight out of the corner. JBL comes in and gets stared down by HHH, which makes him back off.

A headlock takeover takes JBL over and things slow down a bit (yes, during the JBL portion believe it or not). Some double teaming takes HHH down for a change and the Orton knee drop gets two. HHH fights out of the corner but walks into a powerslam for two more. JBL grabs the sleeper but HHH fights out, bringing Orton back in. The RKO is loaded up, only to have HHH reverse into the Pedigree for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one but the action worked well enough. What matters is getting HHH into the pay per view title match, as JBL vs. Orton was never going to happen. Other than that, you have the Cena factor and I’m sure he’ll be involved in something. For now though, it was a good way to go for a bit of a twist.

Post match Regal is about to announce the triple threat but John Cena comes out to interrupt. Cena talks about how he’s beaten HHH and JBL (it’s been awhile for the latter) and he beat Orton at Backlash last year. He wants it to be a four way but Regal says Cena has to beat HHH and JBL in a triple threat match tonight to get in.

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes vs. Carlito/Santino Marella

Non-title. Carlito works on Cody’s arm to start but Rhodes switches into a headlock. It’s quickly off to Holly to load up the Alabama Slam on Santino, with Carlito making a fast save. The referee isn’t counting Carlito’s illegal cover so Carlito drops a leg for two. Holly knocks him away so Santino comes back in, only to get kicked down. Cody comes back in to clean house, including crotching Santino on top. Carlito makes a save though and Santino’s saluting top rope elbow gets the pin.

Rating: D+. The fact that a team like Carlito and Santino are getting a clean win over the Tag Team Champions tells you what the titles mean right now. There is pretty much no one else available to fight for the titles and the division desperately needs some fresh blood. Granted that has been the case for a long time so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Cryme Tyme has some Wrestlemania merchandise for us, including some of Rocky Johnson’s soul (as scraped off of him), a signed copy of Maria’s Playboy (they stop and look for a bit and then decide the item is no longer available) and finally, a pair of Kim Kardashian’s underwear. Actually it wasn’t her dressing room though, and it turns out they belong to Mae Young. This team can be funny, but they can also be cringe inducing.

JBL comes up to HHH to talk about an alliance tonight, but HHH has his headphones in.

Beth Phoenix vs. Maria

Non-title. Maria slaps her in the face to start and manages a kick to the head, only to be slammed into the ropes. Beth sends her ribs first into the post, setting up a Boston crab…with Beth bending Maria backwards into a backbreaker (that was cool). Maria is back up with an awkward knee to the ribs and a high crossbody. The reverse DDT gives Maria two but Beth hits a hot shot into the fisherman’s buster for the pin. What did Maria do to get this kind of losing streak with the Playboy deal?

It’s time for the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho bringing out Batista and Shawn Michaels. They all stood in this ring and cried over Ric Flair retiring and that is all because of Shawn. It was Flair who asked for Mr. Wrestlemania though and Jericho shows us Shawn missing the Asai moonsault onto the announcers’ table. Jericho brings up “I’m sorry, I love you” but Batista cuts them off and says everyone is calling out Shawn on what he did.

Batista hates what Shawn did but Shawn says Flair didn’t pick Batista because he didn’t have what it took. Shawn talks about the battles he has gone through over the years, which is what Batista says made trust him. Batista says Shawn did the wrong thing at Wrestlemania but Shawn is sick of being blamed. Batista glares at him and walks off.

Backstage, William Regal says that Vickie Guerrero has made Batista vs. Shawn Michaels for Backlash. Randy Orton complains about how his singles match has grown, so next week in England, Orton can face….Regal himself. Ok then.

John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/HHH

Again, no entrances for JBL and HHH. JBL kicks Cena in the head to start fast and grabs a DDT for a fast two. The slow beating continues but JBL won’t tag HHH in, despite his requests. A shoulder drops Cena for two as this is one sided so far. Cena gets thrown outside and a clothesline drops him again.

We hit the neck crank back inside as Randy Orton is now ringside to cheer the team on. Cena fights up and finally hits a clothesline to start the comeback and bring the fans back to live. HHH still won’t tag in as Cena hits the ProtoBomb but JBL breaks up the FU. Another big boot drops Cena again but HHH has finally had enough and brawls with JBL to the floor. Orton gets hit as well so he comes in and RKO’s JBL, allowing Cena to get the pin (HHH doesn’t seem to mind).

Rating: C. This was all about the build towards the Backlash main event, but HHH not wanting to keep Cena out of the match was a little strange. He already proved he can beat Orton and JBL on his own so why would he want to have Cena added in as a wild card? Even if he’s angry at JBL, it’s rather out of character for HHH to let his emotions get the better of himself like that.

Overall Rating: C-. Not their strongest show here as the build to the Backlash main event was different, but not exactly the most interesting way. Other than that, the biggest story is about avenging Ric Flair, because six months of “no, please don’t retire Ric Flair” just wasn’t enough. Batista apparently wishes Shawn had laid down for Flair at Wrestlemania and is willing to fight him over it, as Flair just can’t go away despite not being here. Not the greatest show here, but they’re still resetting things a bit after Wrestlemania.

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Smackdown
Date: April 4, 2008
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Michael Cole

It’s the first show after Wrestlemania and the big story is the Undertaker defeating Edge in the show’s main event to get the World Title back. You can all but guarantee that won’t be it between the two, as a match like that is primed for rematches. Other than that, we might be seeing some new stars around here, which tends to be the case after Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is La Familia to get things going and none of them look happy. Edge has never been so upset as he felt he left everyone down. Most of all, he feels like he let Vickie Guerrero down but swears on their love that he will get the World Title back. Chavo Guerrero feels like he let La Familia down and says Kane cheated to beat him at Wrestlemania. Vickie, after a rather mild “excuse me”, says Edge and Chavo will get their next title matches at Backlash. As for tonight, their opponents can face each other, as it’s Kane vs. Undertaker.

Matt Hardy vs. MVP

Non-title as the battle rages on. MVP drives him into the corner to start and fires off the shoulders to the ribs. A neckbreaker gets Matt out of trouble and they fight to the floor as Cole recaps this rather long feud. Back in and Matt drops an elbow for two and a clothesline has MVP outside again.

That doesn’t last long this time either as MVP hangs Matt over the ropes for something like a Nightmare On Helm Street to take over. MVP sends him outside in another heap and Matt goes into the announcers’ table to make it worse. We hit the reverse chinlock back inside before MVP goes simple by stomping on Matt’s face.

Back up and Matt goes after the knee (feels like some poetic justice), including wrapping it around the rope in the corner. More cranking ensues on the mat, followed by the Side Effect. The Twist of Fate is broken up but MVP’s knee is too banged up to try the running boot in the corner. Now the Twist of Fate can finish MVP off.

Rating: B-. This was a slower paced match than the two usually have but they both have the skills to have a quality match like this one. MVP almost has to lose the title to Hardy sooner than later as that is entirely the point of picking this feud up after such a long hiatus. Granted it won’t mean as much due to MVP’s consistent losing, but at least they are tying up the loose end.

Festus vs. Zack Ryder

Jesse and Curt Hawkins are here too. Before the match, Hawkins and Ryder didn’t have many nice things to say about Festus. The bell rings so Festus beats both of them up on the floor without much trouble. Back in and Festus beats on him in the corner as commentary talks about Snoop Dogg at Wrestlemania. A bunch of headbutts keep Ryder down but he manages some forearms to the face. The fall away slam sends Ryder flying though and a running knee makes it even worse. Festus grabs the fireman’s carry flapjack for the pin.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash but Festus can do the power stuff well enough to make it entertaining. If nothing else the flapjack looks like something that could wipe someone out, which is not something every finisher manages to accomplish. I’m a bit surprised that Ryder lost to someone who is little more than half of a comedy team, but maybe the reheating is upon us.

Long video on Ric Flair losing to force his retirement, plus his farewell.

Here is Shawn Michaels to address what he did to Ric Flair. Shawn talks about being face to face with Flair on Raw and feeling his eyes well up with tears. Cue Batista to interrupt though and he isn’t looking happy. Batista says that he isn’t over what happened to Flair yet, because he won’t get to see his friend wrestle again. Shawn says it killed him too but Batista doesn’t want to hear it.

Shawn talks about how Flair wanted his best and Batista would have done it too. Batista says not so fast and says that while Shawn had a job to do, Shawn doesn’t do jobs. If Shawn had laid down JUST ONCE, Flair would still be here. Because Shawn wouldn’t do the right thing, Batista will never ride with his best friend again. Does Shawn really see Flair as Old Yeller? Like some sick old dog? Batista walks away, still making it sound like Flair died.

Undertaker and Kane meet in the back but don’t say anything.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Matt Bentley

Bentley is an OVW mainstay while the debuting Kozlov comes to the ring to no music for a bit of an eerie vibe. Kozlov flips him over to start before firing off some kicks. The boot choke in the corner sets up a headbutt to the chest and a torture rack drop finishes Bentley fast. Total squash and impressive enough while it lasted.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore

Non-title. Miz drives Yang into the corner to start but misses a clothesline. Moore comes in with a dropkick for one but it’s off to Morrison as there are a disturbing amount of empty seats opposite the hard camera. Morrison finishes fast with the flipping neckbreaker.

Post match Great Khali comes out to wreck everyone. Cue Big Show to say he is getting in Khali’s face instead, with Khali leaving again.

Here are Teddy Long and the owners of Beverly Hills Choppers to announce the winner of the Divas contest. Michelle McCool wins but here is Victoria to interrupt. Victoria says the contest was fixed and the brawl is on, but a mystery woman jumps Michelle from behind. Said mystery woman also knocks Cherry (here for the finals) down as well and leaves with Victoria. No name is given but you might know her better by her name in OVW: Nattie Neidhart.

Long Wrestlemania video.

Kane vs. Undertaker

Non-title. They shove each other around to start so Undertaker goes after the arm. Some arm cranking has Kane down until he powers out, only to have Undertaker take out the leg instead. With that not working, Undertaker switches back to the arm as Coach says they aren’t going as hard as usual due to not wanting to hurt each other.

Kane backs him into the corner for some shots to the face as the pace picks up fast. The slugout actually goes to Kane, who drops him with a big boot. The right hands in the corner just wake Undertaker up and the brawl heads to the floor. Back in and they fight over a chokeslam attempt until stereo big boots put them both down. They both sit up but here is La Familia to jump both of them for the double DQ.

Rating: C. This was little more than a way to have a big main event without having either champion lose. The match was barely a thing as they spent about half of it in slow motion, which did kind of make sense for the story they were telling. Thankfully they didn’t have either of them lose, so they were thinking here, even if the stakes were nonexistent.

Post match Undertaker and Kane fight back, including double chokeslams and Tombstones, to clear the ring and end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They kept the pace going here and had a few debuts to go with the next steps in the big stories. Other than Batista’s weird way of talking about Ric Flair being gone, there wasn’t much that didn’t work here. While nothing was through the roof, it was a show that felt like it came in with momentum and then moved towards Backlash. Good, efficient show here and a great breath of air after the last few weeks.

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 1, 2008
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

We’re done with Wrestlemania and thankfully that means we have a new ECW Champion. Kane won the pre-show battle royal and then beat Chavo Guerrero in about ten seconds to win the title. That alone makes the show feel more important, but now we get to see where they go from here. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kane winning the battle royal and the title at Wrestlemania.

Here is Kane to recap winning the battle royal and the title at Wrestlemania. Kane says we haven’t seen anything yet, so here is CM Punk, with Money in the Bank briefcase, to interrupt. That earns him a threat from Kane, but Punk says he’s out here to say he’s a bit jealous. Punk explains the idea of Money in the Bank but here is Chavo Guerrero to interrupt. He’s getting the title match next because Kane’s title win was a fluke! Kane: “I beat you in eight seconds!”

Punk talks about how that has to be some kind of a record but Chavo laughs him off. Chavo promises to win the title back next time. For tonight though, it’s tag match time, with Chavo and Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane/Punk. Cue Shelton to say the only reason Punk is standing there is he got double teamed on Sunday. Punk calls Benjamin Goldilocks and says the one thing Benjamin can’t call himself is Mr. Money In The Bank. This was quite the wordy exchange.

Mike Knox vs. Stevie Richards

Knox takes him into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs to start but Richards manages a trip to the floor. Richards’ dive off the apron is elbowed out of the air, followed by the bearhug back inside. A belly to back suplex cuts off Stevie’s comeback attempt but Stevie kicks his way out of trouble. Knox shrugs it off though and grabs a backbreaker, followed by the spinning Downward Spiral for the pin.

Rating: C-. Pretty nothing match here as Knox is about as generic of a heel as you can get and Richards has been beaten into the ground. There isn’t much else that can be said about these two feuding, but for some reason they have been going back and forth for a few weeks now. Hopefully it wraps up soon, though neither is exactly interesting at the moment.

Video on the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Tazz is in the ring with Colin Delaney, who says he didn’t get hurt at Wrestlemania. Next year though, he wants to be at Wrestlemania as part of the roster. Cue Armando Estrada to offer Delaney a contract….or not as it’s an April Fools joke. Delaney can have a contract, and all he has to do is win this match.

Colin Delaney vs. Big Show

Cobra clutch finishes Delaney in about 45 seconds. The spin when Show sent Delaney flying to let go of the hold was the best part.

We take a long look at Ric Flair retiring at Wrestlemania and the still outstanding farewell from Raw.

Chavo Guerrero/Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk/Kane

Punk cranks on Benjamin’s arm to start before handing it off to Kane. The basement dropkick gets two on Benjamin but it’s off to Chavo to kick at the leg. Kane scares Chavo over to Benjamin, who comes back in, only to be launched over the top. We take a break and come back with Kane and Punk taking turns kicking away at Benjamin in the corner.

Chavo comes back in and hits a quick jawbreaker but needs Benjamin to save him from the GTS. We hit the neck crank from Benjamin, followed by the double arm crank from Chavo. Punk finally fights out of the corner and bulldogs his way to freedom. Kane comes back in to start cleaning house, including a big boot to Benjamin. Chavo crotches Kane on top, only to have Punk hit the GTS on Benjamin for the pin.

Rating: C+. This got some time and felt far bigger than anything else on the show, despite not being that important of a match all things considered. Punk is pretty clearly on his way out of ECW, Chavo was destroyed at Wrestlemania and Benjamin is Benjamin. That leaves Kane, the already established monster, as the big deal for ECW and that doesn’t leave much reason to believe Chavo and Benjamin had a chance over fifteen minutes.

Overall Rating: C. The show still isn’t very good and feels miles beneath the two main WWE shows, but just having Kane as the top star, or at least champion, gives it more of a legitimacy. No one was buying Chavo as champion of anything but Kane could be a midcard champion on Raw or Smackdown without a bit of doubt. The rest of the show was nothing, but I can give them a break as everyone is still exhaling after Wrestlemania. If things stay like this next week then there’s a problem, but for a one off, it was ok enough.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 31, 2008
Location: Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are finally done with Wrestlemania and the big story on the Raw side is the retirement of Ric Flair. Shawn Michaels, who does in fact love him despite making apologies for it, superkicked Flair to end his career last night in a rather emotional moment. Other than that, Randy Orton is still Raw World Champion but we can worry about what he is doing at Backlash later. It’s the Raw after Wrestlemania so this should be different. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Ric Flair losing to Shawn Michaels in a big, emotional moment.

Here is John Cena…..’s music to get us going. There’s no Cena, so we get HHH…..’s music instead, but no HHH. Instead here is Randy Orton in person to get things going. Orton talks about how no one gave him a chance going into Wrestlemania and the question was all about who was going to pin him to win the title. No one ever wanted to give him any credit but now they have to show him respect. He lists off all of the people he has beaten and says we are now in the Age Of Orton.

Cue JBL of all people to say he deserves the next title shot. Orton’s entire title reign has been about luck while JBL beat up Finlay and Hornswoggle at Wrestlemania. Orton can’t beat him and never will be able to do so. JBL announces his candidacy for the title and leaves, with Orton being livid. Cue Matt Hardy through the crowd to go after Orton with referees breaking it up.

Post break Matt Hardy rants to William Regal about how he wants Orton in the ring tonight.

Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Cryme Tyme is back after being fired a few months ago. Cade hammers on Shad to start but a few shots break that up. JTG comes in for two off an Oklahoma roll but Cade blasts him with a clothesline. Cade drops Murdoch onto JTG for two more and the beating is on in the corner. Then Cade misses a charge into the corner and gets rolled up for the fast pin. Out of nowhere ending but the fans popped hard for Cryme Tyme’s return.

Video on Ric Flair’s career, which is still an awesome look back.

Here is a fairly somber Shawn Michaels for a chat. Shawn says he is a bit conflicted here, as he was asked to be Mr. Wrestlemania last night and he isn’t sure how he feels about that. He had a job to do last night and loved and respects Ric Flair to do anything less than his best. Now the greatest career in wrestling is over and he has to live with it. Shawn: “Lucky me.” And with that, he leaves.

Post break, William Regal tries to console Shawn, saying it had to be done and it should have been a long time ago. Regal leaves, and Batista is seen glaring at Shawn.

Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly

Non-title. Cody and Kendrick have a feeling out process to start with Kendrick going to the ropes to escape the wristlock. Holly comes in and actually gets forearmed back by London. That’s about the extent of the odd though as Holly unloads on him with chops in the corner. Everything breaks down and Cody bulldogs Kendrick down, with London making the save. Holly and London are sent outside, leaving Kendrick to grab an O’Connor roll for the pin.

Rating: C. I’m never wild on champions losing but Holly and Rhodes have no one to fight and London/Kendrick had a lot more miles left in them. Even if this is just a quick title program, it’s better than sitting around doing nothing or facing Cade and Murdoch again. Not exactly a classic but it did what it needed to do.

We look at the Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat series.

Wrestlemania highlight package.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Non-title. They go straight to the strikes with Jericho getting the better of it, setting up the front facelock. An exchange of rollups gets two each and Jericho clotheslines him down for two more. A backsplash (with Jericho grinning evily) sets up a chinlock with a knee in Punk’s back. As Lawler tries to remember the name Jean Claude Van Damme, Jericho misses the triangle dropkick but is fine enough to knock Punk off the apron.

Punk manages a neck snap across the top and the springboard clothesline hits Jericho in the back of the head. Punk’s dropkick misses but Jericho misses the Lionsault and bangs up his knee. Some kicks to the leg look to set up the GTS but Jericho reverses into the Walls attempt. With that not working, Jericho grabs the Codebreaker for the clean pin.

Rating: C+. That’s not a great start to Punk’s time as Mr. Money In The Bank but at least he has a get out of the midcard free card for later. Jericho is the Intercontinental Champion but still feels like he’s just kind of there. Granted just handing him the title because Jeff Hardy screwed up didn’t help things.

Ric Flair won the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Here is Big Show for a chat. Show congratulates Floyd Mayweather Jr. for needing a bunch of bodyguards, a steel chair and brass knuckles to remind the greatest fighter on the planet. For now though, Show is out here because of the Hall Of Fame. Ric Flair stood at the podium and said that despite facing Andre the Giant, Show was the greatest big man he ever faced. That meant the world to Show, who is going to go back to what he does best. He is going to make a promise….but gets cut off by Great Khali. We get the big showdown, Show tells him to get out of his face, and Khali does. Feels Backlashish.

Santino Marella is warming up before his anything goes match with Maria, who comes up and begs him to not go forward with the match. Santino mocks the Divas, saying they should be at home in the kitchen, making lunch and babies. He offers to let the match go in exchange for some other kind of release, earning a slap to the face. The match is on.

Matt Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Non-title. They go straight to the floor to start with Hardy getting the better of a brawl. Back in and Hardy sends him into the corner a few times before a neckbreaker gets two. We take a break and come back with Hardy fighting out of a chinlock so Orton slowly hammers away.

A belly to back superplex is broken up and Hardy’s moonsault press gets two. Hardy wins a slugout and grabs another neckbreaker. The middle rope legdrop doesn’t get to launch as Orton rolls outside, so Hardy dives onto him instead. There’s the Twist of Fate on the floor but it takes some time to get Orton back inside. So much time that Orton grabs the RKO back inside for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. Hardy may not be quite the biggest star in the world at this point but he can still wrestle a completely decent, if not better, match. It helps that he lost to the World Champion, which is hardly some career killer. Nice enough TV match here, with Hardy working hard and Orton getting a win to keep his momentum going.

Dusty Rhodes praises Ric Flair’s career.

JBL glares at Randy Orton.

Maria vs. Santino Marella

Anything goes. Santino shoves her down to start so here are mot of the Divas to beat him up (Victoria seems to be twisting his nipples). Maria adds the falling low blow headbutt and gets the pin.

Here is Ric Flair for his big farewell speech. Flair will never wrestle again but he is not sad about it. You should be happy that he got to have the greatest career of all time and lost to a great wrestler and better man. He has had more fun and loved all of us every day of his life. Flair thanks the fans and goes to leave, but here is HHH to interrupt (Flair is already in tears).

HHH says a lot of people want to say thank you, starting with himself of course. Now that being said, there are some other people backstage who want to say thank you. There was one group of guys in the back and since HHH was talking to them, his hand keeps creeping up into four fingers. Cue the Four Horsemen (Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham) and Flair is just done.

This is followed by Batista, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, John Cena (maybe not the best time for “Your time is up”), Flair’s family, and Shawn Michaels (with the camera catching a quick glare from Batista). HHH points out the matching watches Shawn and Flair have before just having the rest of the locker room come out.

After a long celebration and a lot of hugging, we get some bonus footage from after the show (brilliantly titles AFTER THE SHOW) with Undertaker coming to the ring. The wrestlers in the aisle part so he can walk by (that’s such a cool visual) and the ring clears out. Undertaker does the full entrance, including taking off the coat and hat, as Flair isn’t sure what is going on.

We get the hug and Undertaker drops to his knee for the pose to Flair in a great show of respect. Leave The Memories Alone plays and even Vince McMahon comes out for a hug of his own (despite starting all of this). Vince yanks Flair’s arm to hold it up for the posing before leaving the ring to Flair. The family gets back in and Flair gets to soak in a lot of cheering (and dropping the elbow/knee on his coat for old times’ sake) before walking up the aisle to his own music to end the show.

This was a very special moment and it felt like the kind of tribute that Flair deserved. Like him or not, Flair is one of the biggest names in modern wrestling and getting to see him getting this huge celebration was great. The amount of talent in the ring alone made this feel special, with the fact that they were there for one person making it even better. Awesome stuff and one of the best moments WWE has had in a long time.

Overall Rating: B. This was the post Wrestlemania Raw and while it didn’t have the big storyline moment, it did have the huge Flair tribute at the end and it felt like a special two hours. They can get to the bigger stuff next week, but for now we had a mixture of a deep breath after Wrestlemania and some stuff being set up for the future. Good show this week, with the Flair stuff more than carrying it to the next level.

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: March 25, 2008
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s the final ECW before Wrestlemania and that means pretty much nothing around here. There is no title match set for Wrestlemania as it is going to be all about the battle royal. I’m not sure what that is going to leave us to do on this show but maybe they have one more week of nothing before things, at least hopefully, reset next week. Let’s get to it.

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

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes/Kofi Kingston/Kane/Tommy Dreamer/Jesse & Festus/Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore/Jim Duggan/Val Venis/Jamie Noble vs. Great Khali/Miz/Chuck Palumbo/Matt Striker/Mark Henry/Snitsky/Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch/Brian Kendrick/Deuce N Domino/Elijah Burke

Because THIS is a good idea. This is all twenty four entrants into the battle royal thrown into a tag match, which makes me wonder how many people the aprons can hold. Cody rolls Kendrick up for a fast two and then backslides him for the same. It’s quickly off to Noble vs. Palumbo, with the latter grabbing a belly to back suplex.

Yang comes in off some of that Jung Dragons chemistry but gets suplexed for his efforts. A middle rope hurricanrana gets Yang out of trouble and it’s time for a parade of dives. We take a break and come back with everything breaking down, as you might have expected. Kofi dives onto Deuce N Domino and Holly gets to hit an Alabama Slam. Khali and Kane have finally had enough of this and start wrecking people. With the two of them down, Henry feeds Dreamer into a big boot from Snitsky for the pin.

Rating: C. This is one of those matches that isn’t about the action itself but rather telling you what you might be seeing on Sunday. In that sense it worked out well enough, but my goodness the battle royal might as well have about three people. Chavo almost has to lose at this point as there is just nothing to his title reign and someone else can take the title to hopefully do something with it.

Post match everyone gets in the ring for the huge staredown.

Boxing personalities talk about Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Chavo Guerrero comes up to mock the injured Tommy Dreamer. A match is set for tonight, thanks to some insults to Colin Delaney (sure why not).

Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Feeling out process to start with Carlito slugging away as Taz says he has been hit in the face with a ladder in a match but never had a ladder match. Benjamin skins the cat but Carlito snaps his throat across the top for a crash to the floor. We hit the chinlock back inside and the fans do not seem impressed. Benjamin fights up but gets knocked back into the corner as this isn’t exactly burning up the mat.

Another chinlock goes on but this time Benjamin electric chairs his way to freedom. Carlito is back with a neckbreaker for two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Benjamin’s back. Benjamin finally makes the comeback and hits the overhead belly to belly. A neckbreaker gives Carlito two more but the Backstabber is countered into a buckle bomb. Paydirt is countered into a backbreaker to give Carlito two more but Benjamin catches him on top. A super Paydirt finishes Carlito off.

Rating: C-. These two were left out there to fill in as much time as they could and it didn’t exactly work. There were far too many chinlocks to get them through the match until Benjamin finally won in the end. This really didn’t work very well, but like everything else around here, none of that is going to matter by next week.

Video on the Raw World Title triple threat match.

Wrestlemania rundown.

The final inductee into the Hall of Fame Class: Gordon Solie.

Kelly Kelly/Stevie Richards vs. Mike Knox/Layla

The women actually wrestle to start with Kelly getting two. Knox gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Layla takes over for a bit. The men come in and Richards swings away until the women getting in a fight distracts him. Knox grabs a swinging Downward Spiral for the fast pin.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title and the battle royal participants are at ringside. Dreamer backdrops him to the apron and punches him out to the floor to start, with the unofficial lumberjacks sending Chavo back inside. Chavo sends him shoulder first into the post and we hit the front facelock. The fans think Chavo sucks, even as Dreamer fights up with a bulldog. Guerrero blocks something out of the corner so Dreamer settles for a neckbreaker. Dreamer gets crotched on top though and the frog splash gives Chavo the pin.

Rating: C-. And that’s another Chavo match these days, as they are still rather uninteresting with little going on that could make me care about the title. Dreamer making his comeback is always decent enough but there was only so much that can be done with a three minute match less than a week before Wrestlemania. Just get the title off of Chavo already because this reign is dragging down everything else.

Post match everyone gets inside and the fight is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. My goodness Wrestlemania needs to come and go already because this show is falling apart in a hurry. There is only so much that can be done when you have one important story and that one is in limbo due to the champion not having an opponent. Other than that, it is a bunch of people trying to fill in time and that is not going to work long, or even short, term.

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 24, 2008
Location: Colonial Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home Raw for Wrestlemania and that means we aren’t likely to see much of anything this week. The midcard will likely get some focus and the triple threat will probably do some staring, but other than that, I’m not sure how much of a risk WWE wants to put the starts into this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is John Cena to get things going. Cena talks about how everything is coming to this Sunday when everything that we have gone through leads to one match. After everything else, Cena is looking pretty good to take the WWE Title….and here is Big Show to interrupt. Show promises to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Wrestlemania, which will replace Hogan slamming Andre as the most iconic moment in WWE history.

Cue JBL to say his match will be memorable because there are no rules, meaning he can do anything he wants to Finlay. Cena: “I wasn’t listening to anything you said. I was thinking about how I beat your a** at Wrestlemania XXI.” Cue Randy Orton to interrupt, saying that some people have predictions about Wrestlemania, but no one thinks he is retaining the title. He feeds off of that doubt, and that is what people will be talking about after Wrestlemania.

Now it’s Umaga interrupting and actually taking the mic from Orton. Umaga says Batista and rants a lot until Cena says he is fluent in Samoan. Cena says Umaga talked about Orton being obsessed with boy bands but here is HHH to interrupt. HHH won’t say they’re wrong with everything they’re talking about, but Wrestlemania is about the WWE Title. It’s a good thing Wrestlemania is in an open air stadium because they would blow the roof off otherwise. Arguing ensues and here is William Regal to make the eight man No DQ main event, with Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair joining the good guys.

MVP/Carlito vs. CM Punk/Chris Jericho

MVP and Punk get things going with Punk quickly taking over and handing it off to Jericho. Carlito comes in as well and gets draped ribs first over the top as we take a break. Back with Jericho hitting the running crotch attack to Carlito but it’s too early for the Lionsault. Instead Jericho tries the Walls on an invading MVP but gets sent to the floor.

Back in and the double arm crank sets up a neckbreaker to give Carlito two. MVP grabs a neck crank but misses the running boot in the corner. It’s back to Punk to clean house as everything breaks down. Jericho comes in to try an enziguri but hits Punk by mistake, allowing MVP to grab the pin.

Rating: C. Take some people in the Money in the Bank ladder match, put them in a tag match and let them fight each other before the big match on Sunday. I’m not sure how much of an impact this is going to have, but how many other ways are there to build towards a ladder match? It also helps when you have this kind of talent in there, so the match was at least decent.

Mr. Kennedy promises to win Money In The Bank.

Video on Ric Flair, set to Leave The Memories Alone by Fuel.

Video on Big Show’s training regimen for his match with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Great Khali vs. Hardcore Holly

Holly goes after him to start but gets caught with the usual. The chokebomb finishes for Khali without much difficulty.

Here is Ric Flair for a chat. He isn’t sure if he had Vince McMahon beat last week or not because Shawn Michaels had to interfere, despite Flair asking him not to. As of last week, Flair is losing respect for Shawn because he doesn’t think Shawn respects him. Flair invites Shawn out here right now, so here he is. Shawn is sorry to hear what Flair thinks, but Shawn could never lose respect for him.

The Flair that Shawn knows would always have backup and no matter what happens, Flair will always be the greatest of all time. Flair: “SHUT UP!” Flair goes on a rant about how he wants to prove he still has it….and whips out the NWA World Title. He first won the title in 1981 and if Shawn was 20 years younger, Shawn would have challenged him for it. Now it is 2008 and Flair has picked Shawn to show that he still has it one more time. Shawn promises to give him everything he has and on Sunday, Flair is getting in the ring with Mr. Wrestlemania.

That’s what Flair wants, but Shawn stops before leaving. Shawn talks about Old Yeller, and on Sunday, he is taking Flair out back and putting him out of his misery. That is WAY too far for Flair, who throws down the title and slaps Shawn in the face. Flair wants him to Old Yeller him right now, but Shawn promises to put Flair out of his misery and leaves. That is a direction for this story to go a long time before the match, but it is a different aspect to explore.

Video on Floyd Mayweather Jr. training to face Big Show.

We look at Big Show on Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

Maria vs. Melina

Beth Phoenix is here with Melina and trips Maria early on. That brings out Ashley to even things up, followed by Santino Marella. Jerry Lawler is so sick of Santino that he gets inside too and it’s six person tag time, as per William Regal.

Maria/Ashley/Jerry Lawler vs. Santino Marella/Melina/Beth Phoenix

We ring the bell and take a break (erg) before coming back with Lawler punching Santino out of the air. A backdrop and dropkick have Santino in more trouble so it’s off to Melina vs. Ashley. That doesn’t last long as Maria comes in for a headscissors but she walks into a spinebuster. Maria slaps Santino as the guys fight to the floor. Phoenix chop blocks Maria down and Lawler sends Santino back in, where he pins Maria in a hurry. This was kind of a weird mess.

HHH comes up to John Cena and promises to win the title. Cena doesn’t think so, because he never lost the title and wants it back.

John Legend is playing America the Beautiful at Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Video on the Raw World Title match at Wrestlemania.

Randy Orton/JBL/Umaga/Big Show vs. John Cena/Shawn Michaels/Ric Flair/HHH

Michaels and Orton get things going with Orton taking him into the corner for some right hands. The armbar goes on but here is Finlay to beat up JBL and brawl with him up the aisle. Back with Umaga beating up Shawn as this is now 4-3. The running hip attack hits Shawn in the corner but here is Batista to take Umaga out in the aisle.

They fight to the back as well, leaving Show to beat up the good guys. House is cleaned but Show doesn’t think much of Orton tagging himself in. That means a chokeslam to Orton but HHH and Cena get in a fight on the floor. Flair goes for the Figure Four on Orton so Shawn punches him out. That earns Shawn a low blow and Flair Figure Fours Orton for the tap.

Rating: C. Much like the other tag match, there was nothing else to be done here other than throw people into a big match where no one is in there too long but it still feels big. In other words, it’s the last match on this show before Wrestlemania and this was about as good as it could have gone. If you ignore Flair beating the World Champion of course.

Overall Rating: C. There isn’t much that you can do here as the Wrestlemania card is all set up and WWE didn’t want to mess with anything. What matters is having me want to see Wrestlemania more than I did coming in and that’s only kind of the case. It’s a very skippable week, but none of that is going to matter in six days.

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.