The last class for eight years and it’s not hard to see why.Baron Mikel Scicluna

This is another one of those names that just happened to be around about twenty years before he was inducted.  Scicluna is a guy you’ll see a lot of if you watch shows from the late 70s to early 80s and odds are you won’t be that impressed.  The guy was nothing special and was a pretty generic foreign (Maltese) heel.  That doesn’t make for an interesting character but he was pretty successful in Australia.  Other than that though, I don’t see a reason for him to be in a Hall of Fame.  This is a no.

Captain Lou Albano

This is one of the few layups of this class.  Albano managed a remarkable 15 tag teams to tag titles in his day, as well as being an absolutely hated manager.  He was involved with Cyndi Lauper and more or less was the grandfather of Wrestlemania in that sense.  Albano had moderate success as a wrestler, but was FAR more successful as a manager.  When you manage the guy that ended Sammartino’s seven year world title reign, you have to have something going for you.  Albano was the top heel manager of the 70s and part of the 80s, so I have zero issue with him going into the Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Snuka

Appropriately enough, Snuka was one of Albano’s clients when he started in the WWF.  Snuka is one of those guys that is revered not because of his accomplishments but rather how influential he was.  He was the first high flier to be a star in modern wrestling and was pretty easily the second biggest star in the first half of the Hogan Era.  I’m sure you’ve all seen the legendary cage dive onto Muraco that apparently inspired about 974 different wrestlers, all of whom seemed to be in attendance that night.  I’m fine with Snuka being in the Hall of Fame, as he’s one of the characters that changed the way wrestling worked, which is far more important than winning a title here or there.

Johnny Rodz

This is another one of those guys that is in the Hall of Fame and no one is quite sure why.  He’s FAR more famous as a trainer, having trained a lot of ECW stars (Dreamer, Tazz, Dudleys), but at the time of his inductions those wouldn’t have meant anything.  Rodz was around for about twenty years but never really accomplished anything.  He was mainly a jobber to the midcard, which makes his induction all the more questionable.  This is one of the top names that really has no business being enshrined.

Killer Kowalski

Now we’re getting into something a bit better.  Kowalski was one of the top heels in the world in the 60s and 70s and was a genuine monster.  He was Sammartino’s top opponent for years in the WWF and had a ton of success in regional promotions around the country.  Kowakski was also the first man in North America to pin one Andre the Giant, which should tell you a lot about how big of a deal he was.  He trained a bunch of people you’ve heard of too, with the most famous being HHH.  This is another layup and definitely another guy you should look up if you never have before.

Pat Patterson

This is anther guy that is more well known for his contributions rather than his in ring ability, which is saying a lot as he was very skilled in the ring.  Patterson was of course the first Intercontinental Champion and held the title for a long time after first winning it.  Other than that, he had an excellent match with Sgt. Slaughter in MSG known as an Alley Fight, which we would call a street fight.  However, Patterson was much better behind the scenes as a consultant and agent.  He invented the Royal Rumble and was a master at laying them out.  If you watch the Rumble year to year, it’s very obvious when Patterson is the one that laid it out as he knows how to create a three act structure for them.  This is another layup, but not for reasons that most people would see.

Vincent J. McMahon

Aka Vince Senior, he’s the father of the Vince McMahon we see on TV every now and then.  Vince founded what would become the WWF and promoted cards for decades.  That’s more or less the main thing he’s famous for, and if that doesn’t get you into the WWE Hall of Fame, I don’t know what else would.  This is another easy yes.

Valiant Brothers

I forgot these guys when I first did this class.  Basically they’re an old school tag team that held the tag champions for awhile back in the 70s.  There were three of them (Jerry, Johnny and Jimmy) and various combinations of them held the titles in the WWF.  They were good, but as the first tag team in the Hall of Fame?  I can’t go with that.  They’re worthy of the Hall of Fame, but not as the first team at all.

The class isn’t that bad really, but at the same time it lacks the huge name that most classes have, leaving mainly questionable entries or people that don’t have a lot of importance on camera in WWE.

That wraps up the first era of the WWE Hall of Fame and it’s pretty easy to see why this went away for eight years: other than Andre, there aren’t a lot of big names in there.  We’ve got Pedro and Snuka, but other than that most of these guys just aren’t huge names.  Yeah they’re big deals overall, but in WWE they weren’t incredibly important.  In every industry that has a Hall of Fame, there are certain names you have to have to make it credible.  Most of those names are missing here and that’s what brings the original classes down.  That and there was almost no publicity for it at all, which hurt a lot.  The modern era starts tomorrow.

How nice it is to only have one Chamber match at this show.  Let’s get to it.Starting with the preshow, I’ll go with Brodus/Tensai to beat the Rhodes Scholars.  Wait, didn’t they split up already?  Oh wait that was about two weeks ago so there’s no reason to remember it.  This is basically just a way to put the dancers over which is fine, but the Scholars shouldn’t have split already.  This should be the reason they break up, but that would make too much sense I guess.

I’ll go with Rock to retain the title, but I’m not 100% sold on it anymore.  The promos don’t have me wanting to see the match as much as I wanted to see them last month, but it should be better now that Rock isn’t coming in seven months cold.  I think they’re heading for Rock vs. Cena II at Wrestlemania and I can’ t say I’d argue over that idea.  Rock retains.

For the other title match…..I’ll go with Del Rio winning.  The bigger question seems to be will Ziggler cash in.  He hasn’t been seen much lately at all, which may be an attempt to make us forget about him before he cashes in on Sunday.  That being said, I’ve been thinking he’ll cash in for six months now, but I don’t think he’ll do it here.  Either that or he cashes in and loses.  Del Rio walks out with the title.

This brings us to the Chamber itself.  I’m pulling for Henry to win and set up the 6’4 Mexican David vs. the guy that Goliath checks under the bed for every night.  That being said, I have a bad feeling they’ll go with Swagger for the evil xenophobia angle at Wrestlemania, which makes my head hurt.  Bryan and Kane will likely continue to self destruct which is probably the best thing for them.  Orton and Jericho are just there and might have a match at Mania out of it.  Hopefully Henry wins but Swagger is the dark horse candidate.

I’ll take the three man machine to beat Shield.  Why would you have Cena win the Rumble one month and then lose in a six man the next?  Shield goes down here.

Kaitlyn over Tamina and Cesaro over Miz in matches that make no difference whatsoever.

Elimination Chamber looks like it could fit into the category of “good because it has no expectations coming in.”  Things could change a bit at this show and odds are we’ll finally get some answers about the rest of the card at Wrestlemania.  There are a lot of options open still which is nice as opposed to the card being pretty obvious eight weeks out.  The show should be good an interesting, which is a good sign.

Is this supposed to be funny or something?Let’s see: we’ve got a boss with a huge ego who has a good looking daughter.  An upper midcard heel marries said good looking daughter and will likely get a title shot out of it very soon.  The loud heel turns face and now has a quad injury.

In case you’re not making the connection, I’m talking about Vince, HHH and Stephanie.  Sound familiar?

Smackdown
Date: February 15, 2013
Location: Verizon Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Josh Matthews, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re finally ready for the Elimination Chamber PPV on Sunday and we’ve finally got a lineup set for the Chamber match. Other than the final push for that, tonight we’re getting Orton vs. Henry in a rematch from last week. The original saw Orton get literally squashed so hopefully it lasts a little bit longer this year. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Punk vs. Rock as the champion is apparently here tonight. We also talk about the Chamber match.

Theme song. That’s a pretty catchy tune.

Here’s Big Show to open things up. As he comes out, we get a clip from last week with Del Rio destroying the bus. Show yells at the fans for laughing at the video before going into a rant about how he’s never been pinned by Alberto. On Sunday, Show is going to unleash all of his rage and turn Del Rio’s fiesta into a siesta.

This brings out Chris Jericho, because if anyone is going to use a play on words, it’s him. Jericho talks about knowing Show for sixteen years but Show yells at Jericho, saying he should be off on tour with Fozzy or writing a book or hosting some robot fighting show (he’s really doing that I believe). Jericho says he’s back in the WWE and is better than ever. He also knows that Big Show is worried about Del Rio, even though Big Show is a huge and powerful force.

Jericho talks about his history in the Chamber and says that he’ll be beating Big Show at Wrestlemania for his seventh world title. Show says if they meet at Wrestlemania, it will be the last Wrestlemania Jericho ever appears at. Cue Booker to make the main event for later tonight. At least it’s not a tag match.

Orton and Henry have a staredown in the back, which leads us to this.

Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton

Before the match, we get a video on Henry and the newly reopened Hall of Pain. Henry shoves him into the corner to start but Orton comes back with enough shots to the head to send Mark into the corner and out to the floor. Back in and Henry headbutts Orton down but the splash misses. Randy pounds away in the corner some more but gets sent to the outside.

We take a break and come back with Orton fighting out of a nerve hold. Back up and Henry immediately knocks him back down with a standing clothesline for two. Back to the nerve hold for a bit but Orton avoids a charge in the corner. A clothesline puts Henry down but Mark hits one of his own to take over again.

The World’s Strongest Slam is escaped and a low DDT gets two for Orton. Henry heads to the apron and gets caught in the Elevated DDT. The RKO is easily blocked though and Orton is sent to the floor. Another Strongest Slam is escaped on the outside and Orton blasts Henry with a chair for the DQ at 6:35 shown of 10:05.

Rating: C. This was another short match between the two although Orton came off looking way better here than he did last week. Orton didn’t need to win here so it’s fine to see him lose the way he did. The match was pretty decent as they kept it short, likely to keep Henry looking strong. Henry hopefully wins the Chamber on Sunday.

Orton hits him with the chair again but Mark pulls it out of his hands and lays Randy out with a World’s Strongest Slam. That was awesome.

Post break Henry takes a microphone from Matt Striker and says the Hall of Pain is open for business again.

We recap Shield vs. Cena/Ryback/Sheamus on Sunday.

Fandago is coming. Dang I hope he improves a lot over what I’ve seen already.

Tamina Snuka vs. Layla

Tamina is getting a title shot on Sunday, apparently due to something that happened on the WWE App. Layla gets a few quick rollups for two and the bouncing cross body out of the corner for two more. Tamina gets sent to the floor, only to trip up Layla and ram her spine into the apron. Apparently Josh wanted a Valentine’s Day text from JBL and let the rant begin. Layla gets put in a chinlock for a bit before coming back with a superkick. A cross body is caught by Tamina’s Samoan Drop though, and the Superfly Splash ends Layla at 4:12.

Rating: D. This was obvious as soon as they announced Tamina as the #1 contender. They would have been much better suited making this for the title shot instead of doing it on their app or whatever it’s on this week. As usual, it was Layla being all bubbly in her small outfit and getting beaten up for her efforts. Nothing to see here.

We get part of Rock vs. Punk from Raw where Punk stole the belt.

Here’s Rock for the final hard sell of the PPV on Sunday. Rock talks about how Punk has made a trade: holding Rock’s belt for six days in exchange for a beating that he’ll never forget. Then on Sunday, Rock is going to treat Punk like the spoiled child that he really is. Rock is going to give Punk a night that he’ll never forget.

Punk and Heyman pop up on screen with the title, saying that it is a symbol and not a toy. He accuses Rock of committing larceny at the Rumble and says that on Sunday, Rock is going to snap and get disqualified. Rock says that Punk’s words mean nothing, but everything Rock has said he would do, he’s done.

Even with Heyman paying Shield to put Rock through a table, the Rock won the title. Instead of Sunday, Punk should be afraid of Monday, when all of the reality is going to set in and Punk realizes that he was wrong about everything. This wasn’t as great as some of their older exchanges but it made me want to see them fight again.

3MB vs. Brodus Clay/Tensai

It’s Slater and Mahal here. Heath and Tensai start things off and the big man is taken down by a few kicks. Off to Mahal who knocks Tensai down again for two before putting on a quickly broken chinlock. Tensai tries a spinning Rock Bottom but Mahal lands on his side and it looked like a counter more than anything that hit. Off to Brodus who cleans house with his usual fat man offense. The dancers beat up the singers and the big splash from Brodus pins Mahal at 2:38.

Post match we get some dancing but here’s Shield for the beatdown.

Fandango is still coming.

Cody Rhodes vs. The Miz

This is a rematch from Monday where Cesaro interfered, resulting in a shoulder injury to Miz. Cody immediately goes for the bad arm, only to have Miz punch him using the good arm. Cody goes to the middle rope but gets pulled down, only to kick Miz in the arm to take over. A hammerlock slam gets two for Rhodes and it’s time for some arm work. Rhodes pounds on the bad shoulder for a bit until Miz comes back with some right armed clotheslines. A low boot to the face misses Cody but Miz catches the Disaster Kick coming in and hooks the Figure Four for the submission at 3:14.

Rating: D+. This was a quick match and an annoying reminder that Miz is still using the Figure Four. It doesn’t fit for him at all and makes you wonder why he of all people got that rub. Cody’s back and forth booking gets more and more ridiculous every week as he wins one week then loses again the next because he has no direction at all anymore. Miz vs. Cesaro on Sunday does nothing for me at all.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger

Another rematch from Monday here and Swagger has the Tea Party guy with him here. Jack beats him down to start and counters the double knees in the corner with ease. A hard whip into the corner keeps Ryder down but Zack hits a quick flapjack to get a breather. The Broski Boot misses in the corner and Swagger wraps the knee around the post. Back in and the gutwrench powerbomb sets up the Patriot Act for the submission at 3:20.

Rating: D. The problem with Swagger’s new character and mouthpiece is the in ring work. He’s the exact same guy that he’s been for years now and making him be very conservative isn’t going to make people interested in him at all. The match was the exact same thing we saw on Monday, which means it was dull.

Post match Swagger introduces Coulter to do the same “we’re REAL Americans because somehow we get to determine what that means” schtick while ripping on Ryder for caring about his hair and tan.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Del Rio acknowledges that he’s never pinned Big Show but since he likes to do the impossible, he’ll beat Big Show on Sunday. Ricardo says si a lot.

Big Show vs. Chris Jericho

Show rushes him into the corner but misses a chop. Jericho pounds away but is immediately knocked out to the floor with a single shot from the giant. As they come back in, Jericho hits a dropkick to buy himself a few seconds of rest. They head to the floor again and Show LAUNCHES Chris over the announce table in a great looking spot. Back in and Show hits some knee lifts to the chest and a slam before going to the middle rope on the inside. The Canadian finally gets in some offense and heads up, only to jump to the floor while hitting a guillotine on Show.

Back in again and Jericho charges right into a spear to put him down for two. Jericho escapes a chokeslam but goes up top and jumps right into a successful one, which sends him to the floor. Back in for about the fifth time and Show takes FOREVER setting up a middle rope elbow, allowing Chris to roll away. The Lionsault hits for two but the Codebreaker is easily blocked. Big Show’s chokeslam attempt is countered into a DDT for two. Jericho tries the Walls but Show easily blocks the hold. The WMD ends this at 6:44.

Rating: C+. This was a nice David vs. Goliath match with Jericho more than holding his own against the monster. Big Show continues to look decent before the PPV, but I can’t see him walking out with the title. Jericho is doing what he’s best at: making people look better than they could look on their own. Good main event here.

Alberto comes out to stare down Big Show to end things.

Overall Rating: C. This was an odd show for the go home edition as the focus of the show was on almost everything but the Smackdown main events. Those matches bookended the show so it’s not like they were ignored, but they weren’t featured if that makes sense. The show was entertaining enough though and I’m mildly interested in seeing the PPV so I can’t fault it for that. Not bad tonight but it didn’t feel like a go home show, which may or may not improve it given your individual take.

Results

Mark Henry b. Randy Orton via DQ

Tamina Snuka b. Layla – Superfly Splash

Brodus Clay/Tensai b. 3MB – Splash to Mahal

The Miz b. Cody Rhodes – Figure Four Leg Lock

Jack Swagger b. Zack Ryder – Patriot Act

Big Show b. Chris Jericho – WMD

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Back for another of the old entries in the series.Antonino Rocca

This is one of those guys you’ve likely only heard of once in awhile, but he’s well worth looking into more.  Rocca was a BIG star back in the 50s and if I remember right, at times he was the #1 draw in wrestling at the time.  He was the guy that Buddy Rogers “beat” in a “tournament final” in Rio de Janeiro for the first WWF Title, obviously making him a big deal at the time.  Rocca was a high flier before there was such a thing as a high flier to be.  On top of all that:

That’s him beating up SUPERMAN.

In case you didn’t get it, Rocca belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Ernie Ladd

Ernie Ladd was a big power guy who was mainly a heel who worked in the WWWF in the 70s.  After watching some of his stuff, I can definitively, without a doubt or question, declare that Ladd was completely and utterly…..not bad.  That’s Ernie Ladd in a nutshell: he’s not bad.  Ladd was a heel who was built up for other faces to take down, kind of like Mark Henry before he went on his path of rage a year or two ago.  As for being in the Hall of Fame, no he doesn’t belong.

George Steele

Steele allegedly is in the Hall of Fame because Stephanie McMahon was a fan of his as a kid.  Other than that, I can’t think of a legitimate reason to put him in the Hall of Fame.  Steele was a crazy monster heel for awhile before becoming a face in 1984.  After that he was a goofy face for the rest of his career and did nothing of note.  There’s no reason for Steele to be in the Hall of Fame, but he’s certainly a fun character and I have nothing bad to say about him.  He’s just not in the elite class that is supposed to be in a Hall of Fame.

Ivan Putski

This is another name that just does not go with the term “Hall of Famer” when you think about it.  Putski was a Polish fan favorite and that’s about the extent of what he’s known for in wrestling.  He and Tito Santana held the tag titles in the late 70s and that’s about all he ever accomplished of note.  There isn’t much else to say here and in case you’re kind of thick, Putski is a no vote.

The Fabulous Moolah

This is one of those names that doesn’t need much of an explanation at all.  She’s the freaking Fabulous Moolah!  Of course she belongs in the Hall of Fame!  In case you’re a young whippersnapper, we’ll go with this: Moolah held the Women’s Title for over 26 years (technically).  If that doesn’t sum up why she’s in the Hall of Fame, nothing is going to.  This is an even bigger layup than Rocca, which is saying a lot.

The Grand Wizard

This is another one of those names that you don’t hear much about but you really should.  The Wizard was an incredibly hated heel manager who managed two world champions (Billy Graham and Stan Stasiak) as well as the first two IC Champions (Patterson and Patera) among many other big names.  He died in 1983 before the Golden Era hit, so there isn’t much video of him to go on.  Based on what I’ve seen and heard, Wizard was indeed an awesome manager and would rank right up there with Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan if he had been around to be seen with them.  Wizard should certainly be in, but again I’m not sure if he should have gone in this early.

Pedro Morales

This is another guy you might not have seen much of but I’ve always been a fan of the guy.  You constantly hear about people being a triple crown champion today, but Morales was the first man to ever accomplish that, and he would be the only man to do it for nearly 12 years.  Think about that.  The IC Title debuted in 1979 and until 1991, only Pedro Morales won all three titles.  He held the WWF and Intercontinental Titles for over a year each, which has only been matched by Randy Savage.  If you’re in that kind of company, you belong in the Hall of Fame.  Morales is an easy yes.

This was a stronger class on top but tomorrow we hit the class that stopped the Hall of Fame for nearly ten years.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Date: February 15, 1986
Location: WPCQ Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Bob Caudle, Johnny Weaver

This is another territory that I’ve touched on before and we’ll be taking another look at it here now. I only have one episode at the moment but if this goes well I’ll see if I can find some more. This isn’t the main WCW show but rather a territory still, although I’d bet pretty strongly that you’ll see a lot of the same people. Let’s get to it.

I’m a little sketchy on the time period because this show should be called World Championship Wrestling. This doesn’t look like the Atlanta studios though. The opening sequence says Mid-Atlantic too.

Upon further investigation (and by that I mean I did the World Championship Wrestling show from this date already), this is the B show and would be the forerunner to WCW Pro. I think I’ve got this now.

Caudle says we have new world tag champions but with him are the former champions, the Rock N Roll Express. They say they’re coming for Cornette and their titles.

Manny Fernandez vs. Mike Semani

No idea if I spelled that last name right. Manny takes him down immediately and does kind of a reverse leapfrog out of the corner and the Flying Burrito (that’s the real name. It’s a flying forearm) gets the pin.

Ron Bass says he thinks he’s stronger than Barbarian. If he wins whatever challenge that follows, he’ll get $10,000.

Arn Anderson, the TV Champion, rants about how Dusty Rhodes has apparently been stealing money from him.

Rock N Roll Express vs. ???/???

Two unnamed jobbers here. Robert starts with the one in green and after some armdrags it’s time for Ricky. Double dropkick to the second one and we’re done in 30 seconds. Replay shows that Robert’s literally missed by 10 inches.

We get a clip of Nikita saving Ivan Koloff from getting pinned by Magnum’s belly to belly. Baron Von Raschke came in for a 3-1 beatdown. Dusty tried to make the save but got beaten down as well. Baby Doll, Dusty’s chick, tried to help also but it only got Dusty beaten down even worse until the Road Warriors and Rock N Roll made the save.

Black Bart vs. Ron Rossi

Bart is a big evil cowboy and he wins with a middle rope double legdrop in about 20 seconds. This would be the case a lot.

Midnight Express vs. Rocky King/Ben Alexander

This would be Condrey and Eaton. The Rock N Roll Express comes out to watch and the place erupts. The jobbers are Rocky King and Ben Alexander. Not that it matters but I try to be informative. Top rope splash by Eaton, 45 seconds. That’s a long match for this show.

Buy the Starrcade 1985 video for just $40!

House show ads. Anderson isn’t worried about defending the title in a cage against Dusty.

Cornette says that the Midnights are ready for Rhodes and Magnum in South Carolina.

Dusty says he and Magnum want to take out the Russians.

Magnum says pretty much the same thing.

Nelson Royal/Sam Houston vs. Jim Jeffers/Tony Zane

Everything breaks down to start and we finally get it does to Houston and Zane. Houston is Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. Off to Royal who puts a knee in Zane’s ribs and it’s off to Jeffers. Royal dropkicks him down and it’s off to Houston for some abuse. Royal takes him down with a headlock takeover and Houston hits an atomic drop. This is going a lot longer than I thought it would. Royal uses a spinning toe hold to get the submission.

Rating: D. This was long and not that good. When I say long I mean about four minutes but for this show that’s a marathon. This could have been accomplished in about 45 seconds but I guess they had to fill in the time somehow. I don’t remember much about Royal but Houston would go to WWF soon and wouldn’t mean anything.

The Midnights say they’re awesome and any team can come after them that wants to.

Paul Jones and Barbarian say they’re sick of Jones being called a weasel. Bass’ challenge is accepted.

Ron Bass vs. George South

Bass throws him around and easily breaks any hold that South tries. Claw ends this quick.

More house show ads. Baby Doll says Arn has no chance against Dusty in a Texas Death Match. For the South Carolina show, the Midnights need to be ready for America’s Team.

Baby Doll is in the arena now and says Dusty is on a movie set in Arizona with Willie Nelson.

TV Title: Arn Anderson vs. Italian Stallion

The fans chant for Dusty which gets on Arn’s nerves. A quick rollup gets two for Stallion and he grabs an armbar. Arn finally wakes up and pounds on his back before sending Stallion to the floor. Now Arn hooks the arm as is his custom. The fans keep chanting Dusty as Arn stays on the arm. Arn literally works on it with basically the same hold for five minutes. He wraps it around the post a few times and Stallion makes his comeback. He charges into a hot shot and the gordbuster ends this.

Rating: D-. This is a good example of a match that is long but not good. The match runs almost ten minutes but like I said, almost seven or eight of that is a boring arm hold. When it doesn’t even play into the finish, that doesn’t make things interesting. It makes them long and uninteresting, which isn’t good. Really boring match.

Houston, Royal and Fernandez say they’ve got Magnum’s back against the Russians.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t that interested in this. You can tell that it’s the B show here as there’s not much of interest going on here. The main focus is on the two tag team feuds and Flair is nowhere in sight. It’s not the worst show I’ve ever seen but there’s nothing of note going on here. I might take a look at one more episode of this but if it’s not any better I won’t be doing more than that.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

We’re still back in the days of holding this thing at the Mariott and it isn’t even associated with Wrestlemania yet.

Arnold Skaaland

This is the first entry where you kind of scratch your head.  Skaaland had a nice career but at the end of the day, he’s most famous as the manager of Bob Backlund and the man that threw in the towel to give the WWF Title to the Iron Shiek.  Other than that though, he was kind of just another guy.  The only difference between him and all the other guys: he owned a stake in the Capitol Wrestling Corporation alongside Vince McMahon Sr.  Skaaland in the Hall of Fame is something I can accept, but not in the second class ever.

Bobo Brazil

Now we’re getting somewhere.  Bobo Brazil was the first big time black wrestler in America and was a top star for years.  He was the first black man to “win” the NWA Title although the title change isn’t recognized.  His biggest fame was in Big Time Wrestling in Detroit where he had a legendary feud with the Sheik but he wrestled everywhere, including on the famous Black Saturday show in 1984.  Bobo doesn’t belong in the WWF Hall of Fame, but he does belong in a professional wrestling Hall of Fame for sure.

Buddy Rogers

If you want to talk about someone innovative, look no further than Rogers.  He was basically the original Ric Flair, down to the long time on top, the blonde hair, the strut, and he invented the Figure Four.  Rogers was also the first man to win both the NWA and the WWWF World Title, as he was the first man to win the latter.  Granted he lost the WWWF Title in about 45 seconds, but that’s beyond the point.  Rogers definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Chief Jay Strongbow

This is another questionable one although Strongbow has a better resume than Skaaland.  Jay won titles all over the country and wrestled for the better part of forty years.  He wasn’t the best worker in the world but he was popular for most of his career and had a ton of title matches all over the country.  Strongbow fits into the same mold as Skaaland as he probably has a case for being in the Hall of Fame, but not before a lot of other people.

Classy Freddie Blassie

Blassie is another guy who fits into the category of “take away the WWF part and he’s a lock”.  He was a top heel in Los Angeles as well as other parts of the country and even had mainstream appeal, appearing on the top rated Dick Van Dyke Show in a cameo.  Blassie was a top heel manager in the WWF in the 70s and 80s as well which is where a lot of people probably remember him best.  He was also a legend in Japan and allegedly had a match with Rikidozan (the Hulk Hogan of Japan) that was so intense that fans watching on TV had heart attacks.  This is as much of a layup as we’re getting in this class.

Gorilla Monsoon

I may be incorrect on that last statement on Blassie.  Monsoon is the embodiment of nostalgia for a WWF fan.  Monsoon was by far most famous as a commentator in the 80s where he was the voice of the WWF on the first eight Wrestlemanias.  He and Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan were the best commentary teams of all time, bar none.  He later became President of the WWF which was an appointment I don’t think anyone was complaining about.  On top of all that, he was a big star back in the 60s and 70s so he had the credibility to back up his post in ring career stuff.  Also, he was one of the original owners of the CWC along with Skaaland.  Easy yes vote here.

James Dudley

Now for the white (or black in this case) elephant in the room.  This is pretty easily the weakest entry of the early days of the Hall of Fame and probably the lamest member of the Hall of Fame ever.  Dudley is allegedly in the Hall of Fame for being the first black man to run a major arena in America, but the common sense version is that he was Vince Sr.’s personal bodyguard and limo driver.  To the best of my knowledge, his only appearance on camera was as Bobo Brazil’s manager.  There’s no way he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

For the early days, this is actually a pretty solid class with one major outlier.

NXT
Date: February 13, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

Tonight we have the finals of the tag title tournament and more build for the NXT Title match between O’Brien and Langston. Other than that we’re probably getting ready for the next challenger for Langston, which could be almost anyone. Something else I like about NXT: no triple threats for the most part. That’s the only way I could see Langston losing though, so there’s a chance they might start showing up. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the tournament thus far.

Opening sequence.

Mike Dalton vs. Axl Keagan

Before the match, Paige jumps ring announcer Summer Rae. Paige says the match isn’t going anywhere until Rae comes back to face her. This brings out Dusty Rhodes to tell her to leave but Paige won’t go. Paige finally leave\s but gets in a fight on the stage with Rae, possibly injuring her shoulder in the process. No match apparently.

Alex Riley vs. Corey Graves

The mat is black here for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the match is happening for a specific reason as Graves attacked Riley after a tag tournament match two weeks ago. Riley starts fast and sends Graves into the corner early on before slamming him down. Graves suckers him in though and fires off a kick to the knee to slow Riley down. Regal: “Sometimes a boot to the face can work wonders.”

Graves grabs a chinlock as we hear about Summer Rae vs. Paige coming up next. A back elbow gets two for Corey and it’s off to another chinlock. Riley fights up and comes back with a quick suplex and a spinebuster for two. Not that any of it matters though as Graves takes him down with the 13^th Step for the fast submission at 5:16. The announcers don’t know the name of the hold even though they’ve said the name before.

Rating: C. I really like Riley so it’s nice to see him doing something here. He isn’t going to make it onto the main roster for a long time due to whatever reason they have at this point, but it’s cool to see him here. Graves is a guy I could see going to the main roster soon as he has the unique look that WWE loves and isn’t bad in the ring either. Nice little match here.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Summer Rae vs. Paige

Paige has a bad shoulder coming in so Summer immediately kicks the shoulder for two. Off to a short arm scissors as Rae is at least showing some brains. Paige immediately fights up and throws Summer down, only to get her arm pulled on again. A BIG spin kick takes Paige down for the pin out of nowhere at 1:59. That’s Paige’s first loss I believe.

Sasha Banks gets another love note and will meet her secret admirer next week.

The O’Brian vs. Langston match is next week.

NXT Tag Titles: Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey

It’s a tournament final so no one is defending. The Family is Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, but we get another Wyatt promo first. This one talks about how the ultimate underdogs are already in the ring and they get to face some monsters tonight. Harper and Grey get things going with Luke being sent to the floor almost immediately. A big dive takes Harper out and we take a break.

Back with Neville coming in to work on Erick’s arm. The size difference is huge here as Rowan might be a full foot taller than Neville. Back to Grey to pound on the arm before it’s back to Adrian. Bray is standing at ringside instead of in his rocker here. The monsters finally get in a shot to Grey’s ribs as Lee comes in again. That advantage lasts all of a few seconds though as it’s back to Neville who backflips over Luke before tagging Grey back in. That seemed rather pointless.

Rowan pounds on Oliver in the corner but the advantage again only lasts a few seconds with Grey cranking on the arm again. Back to Neville who fires off kicks to Rowan’s leg and hooks a quickly broken sleeper. Bray actually gets involved by tripping up Grey, only to get ejected by Dusty. We take another break and come back with Grey in a chinlock at the hands of Harper. A slam puts Oliver down and it’s off to a neck crank from Rowan. The cranking continues as the monsters change again.

Luke mixes things up by switching over to a front facelock before Rowan comes in for a bearhug. Grey finally fights out of the corner and avoids an elbow drop to make the tag to Neville. Things immediately speed up and a jumping DDT gets two on Harper. Neville loads up a springboard kick but jumps into a kick to the face from Harper.

Grey makes a diving save at two and things settle down a bit. Neville escapes a belly to back suplex but gets splashed in the corner. The monsters collide in the corner and Adrian kicks Harper in the face, setting up the corkscrew shooting star for the pin and the titles at 11:54 shown of 18:54.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going and the middle dragged a bit, but the little guy vs. big guy formula here was working like a charm. Grey makes a fine punching bag and Neville has enough stuff to make a convincing comeback to set up the big finish. This was the perfect way to give us a first set of champions and the match worked really well. Good stuff here.

Dusty comes out to present the champions with their titles.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a very solid show all around with a great ending to cap it off. It’s an amazing thing: when you build up a moment as a big deal, treat it like a big deal, and have the match be a big deal, the moment becomes a big deal. The tournament was a success and we’ve got underdog champions that can hold the belts for a few months before dropping them to some bigger threats. This was good stuff all around and another example of how well NXT works.

Results

Corey Graves b. Alex Riley – 13^th Step

Summer Rae b. Paige – Spinwheel Kick

Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey b. Wyatt Family – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 14, 2013
Location: Wembly Arena, London, England
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley

We’re in London for the next two weeks and we’re getting really close to Lockdown, which apparently won’t be all cage matches. We do however need a main event so odds are things are going to be announced tonight. The crowds have been hot lately so hopefully they’ll be able to keep that streak going tonight. Let’s get to it.

After the LONG recap, here’s Hogan to open the show. He announces a tournament of four matches tonight for the title shot against Hardy. The matches are Storm vs. RVD, Joe vs. Angle, Magnus vs. Daniels and Aries vs. Roode. Instead of brackets though, it’s whoever the fans like best getting the shot. This brings him to Aces and 8’s, who apparently want a war. Gee they’ve been terrorizing the place for 7 months so now you’ve finally figured that out Hulk? Anyway Sting is apparently the captain and he says that he’ll be looking for teammates tonight.

Christopher Daniels vs. Magnus

The obvious crowd favorite takes over with a fast shoulder block but Daniels rams him into the corner to slow him down. A suplex keeps the pressure on Daniels but Kaz interferes, allowing Daniels to hit an STO to take Magnus down. Off to a neck crank by Daniels and the release Rock Bottom puts Magnus down. The BME attempt misses though and a big boot puts Daniels down. Kaz interferes and gets ejected, firing up the crowd. Back in and a clothesline puts Chris down and a falcon’s arrow does the same. A top rope elbow is enough to end Daniels at 5:06.

Rating: C. Magnus continues to impress while he’s actually out there, but unfortunately since we’re out of England after next week, the odds are that he leaves the main show too. Daniels and Kaz didn’t get to do anything funny tonight which is their main strength at the moment. Decent match here but not bad.

Brooke tries to make Bully feel better about being hurt and not being in the title shot. They plan a date.

Magnus makes a plea to Hogan to get the title match.

Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle

Feeling out process to start but Joe pounds him into the corner. A snapmare sets up the chop to the back and a running knee drop for two. Angle comes back with a fast belly to belly overhead as we hear about the history between these two. Angle hits a back elbow to put both guys down again as we take a break. Back with Joe hitting the running elbow through the ropes to take over again. Back in and the backsplash gets two for the fat man, but Kurt rolls the Germans to take over.

Angle charges into the release Rock Bottom out of the corner but as Joe puts Kurt on the top rope, Angle hits a missile dropkick for two. Joe pops right back up though and puts on the Clutch, only to have Angle reverse into the ankle lock. That gets reversed too and a double clothesline puts both guys down. Not that it matters though as Aces and 8’s come in for the no contest at 11:33.

Rating: C+. These two have good matches with each other in their sleep (or drug induced haze in Angle’s case) so the match was going to be good here no matter what. The ending sucks but I’m guessing these four (Bischoff and Brisco interfered) are having a tag match at Lockdown. Other than that, nothing to see here.

Angle and Joe clear the ring post match.

Dixie talks to the British Boot Camp losers.

Blossom Twins/Party Marty vs. Gail Kim/Tara/Jesse Godderz

The guys start things off and Jesse takes over early. Marty kind of misses a moonsault out of the corner and we take a break. Back from the break and it’s off to one of the Blossoms vs. Tara. A dropkick gets two for the rookie (apparently Hannah rather than Holly) but it’s a double sideslam for two on the champ. Gail comes in to pull on let’s say Holly’s hair and the heels take over. Tara throws around I think Holly as get into a really long and dull beatdown segment on the Blossom.

Tara beats on her, Gail beats on her, Tara comes back in and the moonsault hits knees, allowing for the hot tag to Hannah. The Blossoms beat up the other girls and hit a nice double team splash onto Tara. Jesse comes in to be a bully but gets dropkicked out to the floor. Marty BADLY misses a dive to the floor, but I think it was more on Jesse than Marty. Hannah walks into Eat Defeat from Gail for the pin at approximately 11:00.

Rating: D. I’m not a fan of women’s wrestling and this was pretty lame even by Knockout standards. It went on WAY too long and we here in America have almost no idea who these rookies are. Why in the world would I care about a guy named Party Marty? The match was watchable due to the Blossoms’ looks, but other than that there wasn’t much going on.

Gail wants the title so here’s Brooke to make Velvet vs. Tara vs. Gail vs. Tessmacher next week for the title.

We recap Dixie saying the show is going on the word permanently.

We recap Jeff’s knee injury. He’ll be back in two weeks.

James Storm vs. Rob Van Dam

James starts with a fast kick to the head but RVD kicks him right back down and hits the Rolling Thunder for two. The split legged moonsault gets the same but Storm hits a fast DDT to take RVD down. A punch to Rob’s face does little damage but an Alabama Slam out of the corner gets two for James. Closing Time hits but Van Dam blocks the Last Call with that stepover kick to the jaw. The Five Star is broken up but Van Dam kicks Storm into the other corner. There’s the freaking Van Terminator but it only hits ropes, allowing Storm to knock him out cold with the Last Call for the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C+. Good back and forth match here that was needing more time. Thankfully Storm seems to be at least getting a chance in the title scene again. If nothing else it’s better than fighting Godderz over and over again. Van Dam losing here is fine as it’s not like the division exists anymore.

Joseph Park learns a lesson in politicking. Hogan says it’s a rib, which Park has to find out the definition of.

Brooke badgers Hulk to give Bully the title shot.

We recap Austin Aries and Robert Roode’s history together.

Robert Roode vs. Austin Aries

Before the match Roode says Hogan’s attempts at wedging the tag champions apart won’t work. They say ring the bell and an argument breaks out over who should lay down for the other. Aries tries to steal a pin and we take a break. Back with the champions slugging it out before Roode misses a charge into the corner. Aries comes back with a sunset flip for two and argues with the referee about the count.

We get another slugout with Aries hitting the discus forearm, only to walk into the spinebuster for two. Aries is placed on the top rope but fights out of a superplex attempt. They slug it out on top with Austin knocking him down to the mat, only to miss the 450. Roode’s spear is countered into the Last Chancery but Roode rakes the eyes to escape. There’s the Crossface from Bobby but Aries fight out as well.

The referee is bumped (duh) and Bobby grabs a chair. We get the Eddie Guerrero spot with Roode pretending to have been hit with the chair, but Aries tries the same thing. That’s brilliant! Chavo and Hernandez come out for a distraction and as the champions go after them, we get a double countout at approximately 10:00.

Rating: B-. I was really digging this and the mirroring Guerrero spots were brilliant. These two work incredibly well together but for the love of goodness I do not want to see them fight Chavo and Hernandez again. The ending was annoying but they had to do that in order to avoid a “who’s the best” angle.

Sting tells Hogan to choose wisely.

Here’s Hogan to choose the winner, but Aces and 8’s surround the ring. Cue a limping Bully Ray with a chain, and of course Aces and 8’s won’t fight an old man and a limping fat guy. Sting comes out with three ball bats for the real save. No announcement is made.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t their best show. I can’t imagine any of these guys getting the shot as no one really stood out, so odds are it’s going to be Ray so he can screw over TNA. The matches were decent here tonight which is all you can ask for out of a free TV show. Too much Hogan tonight though, which is a major problem this show has anymore.

Results

Magnus b. Christopher Daniels – Top Rope Elbow

Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle went to a no contest when Aces and 8’s interfered

Gail Kim/Tara/Jesse Godderz b. Blossom Twins/Party Marty

James Storm b. Rob Van Dam – Last Call

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode went to a double countout

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Against All Odds 2010
Date: February 14, 2010
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tazz, Mike Tenay

Well we’re a month and a half into the Hogan regime and things are looking better from a wrestling perspective but from a ratings perspective not so much. Anyway, tonight we have Joe vs. Styles and a one night tournament for the title shot at Lockdown, which isn’t for another two months but whatever. I fail to see where the card game aspect comes from also but whatever, The tournament is intriguing looking so let’s get to it.

Here are the brackets.

Pope
Desmond Wolfe

Hernandez
Matt Morgan

Kurt Angle
Mr. Anderson

Abyss
Mick Foley

We open with Flair storming in and he’s ticked because Bischoff is the referee. Ok then. Flair stumbles over his words a lot. Does anyone buy Flair as a 60 year old man being physically intimidating?

The opening video is about the tournament and how winning it is the ultimate prize. I thought that would be the world title but whatever. Oh and we hear about the world title match too. For the life of me, why are they making Styles into a Flair clone? He’s the best in the world, so let’s change it up right? That makes LOADS of sense.

The music sounds like bad lounge music.
–
8 Card Stud Quarterfinals: Desmond Wolfe vs. D’Angelo Dinero

Sweet goodness Chelsea looks great. Good night though, shut up Tenay and West. Wlofe is a guy I like more and more every time I see him. Pope….I just don’t get it. He’s a wrestling Slick and somehow that’s a gimmick? Wait…Tenay just asked which young stud will break through. Angle, Abyss and Foley are all former world champions, Hernandez has been around forever and everyone knows Kennedy.

I get the idea of what he’s saying but it’s still kind of dumb. The people are behind Pope, but at the same time how serious can you take the Impact Zone fans? They’re starting out fast paced here which I like pretty well. Wolfe’s nipples are really close together. NICE DDT on Pope. Pope has a unique style of striking which is reminding me of Sting, which is a compliment.

A top rope cross body gets two. The big lariat misses and Pope gets a rollup for two. And then we get a very contrived ending on the levels of the 619 as Pope hits the dumbest finisher in the company at the moment with the double knee to the back of the conveniently placed opponent for the pin.

Rating: B. Not bad at all and a very solid opener. They went out there and had a fast paced match. I would have had Wolfe go further, but if they wanted Pope to go over strong, I can’t argue with how they did it as it was a completely clean win.

Flair yells at Bischoff again. He declares himself the wrestling god. Oh dang it they’re channeling JBL. That can’t be good. You can smell Flair vs. Hogan and Hogan going over from here.

JB is (back thank goodness. Not a huge fan of his but he’s not Bubba so he’s great by comparison) with Morgan and Hernandez who says they fight tonight but they’re still champions no matter what. Hernandez being that much shorter is funny for some reason.

8 Card Stud Quarterfinals: Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan

Not wild in the slightest about them having these two go at it so soon but I get the point again. Something I need to make clear: any company is going to get a lot of points for just having a direction and an idea that is clear. I likely won’t agree with it, but if something has a point that makes something resembling sense a lot of the time I’ll just go with it. This is one of those times. Don’t agree with it, but it’s passable.

Tazz thinks both guys want to win. Oh year that’s such great analysis. Winner gets Pope. Hernandez goes for a cross body and they botch the living heck out of is as Morgan tries to catch him but it fails completely. They’re being really tentative here which makes sense from a storyline perspective but at the same time it makes for some boring wrestling. Taz and Tenay are REALLY annoying. They finally crank it up a bit but not that much really.

We do get a 25-30 second delayed vertical suplex. That’s rather impressive. Uh oh Hernandez might be hurt. So Morgan goes for the shoulder and uses the tights to get the win. TNA…why are you trying to mess with things that are like your mother: NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD BE SCREWING WITH! Yep they’re teasing tension between the two.

Rating: C-. This was too slow for my taste. It wasn’t bad at all but just not that good. I HATED the ending as these two simply do not need tension yet. I don’t like them as a team but it’s still stupid nonetheless. Morgan should have won though.

We recap Angle recently which is kind of odd but whatever. Ok this has gone on for about three minutes now. Angle apologizes to Hogan for….no apparent reason. Oh ok it’s for helping him Thursday. He also calls out Anderson, who is his first round opponent.

8 Card Stud Quarterfinals: Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle

He misses the mic. “That was intentional.” I chuckled. Kennedy is another guy that has found something that works and has RAN with it. Sometimes that’s the best thing to do and it worked here. For some reason his music starts up again after his promo and plays for like 3 seconds before Angle’s starts up. Whatever. Angle is another interesting case as he’s proof that a reputation can be a character.

The screen behind him says The Greatest Wrestler In The World. What more do you need to know about him? They start rather quickly which is a perk. Angle hits the post with his shoulder which I don’t think was his initial idea. Anderson gets the dog tag that Angle wears and cuts him open with it really bad. Oh man he’s bleeding nice and hard.

I love that release belly to belly that Angle uses. Take note Scott Steiner: there are other moves than that and a bad chinlock. There goes the buckle pad thanks to the heel here. Naturally the Angle Slam doesn’t work. Has that gotten anyone in forever? Angle GOES OLYMPIC but it doesn’t work. After being rammed into the buckle, Angle gets pinned by the Mic Check. Uh, yeah. Anderson spits on the dog tag afterwards.

Rating: C-. It’s certainly not bad, but this felt like it was just a total crash course of a match. They flew through it and it felt like it was about 3 minutes long when it was closer to ten or so. That’s not good, but like I said this certainly wasn’t bad at all.

Bischoff is with Foley and Abyss and if they don’t fight then the mask comes off. The fans are chanting Angle which is amusing for some reason. Also there’s no reason that Abyss should freak over the mask coming off when he took it off on his own months ago. It’s now a No DQ match. To clarify something FTS was wondering about, I’m ok with this as it makes sense from Bischoff’s perspective. It follows the story and I don’t need a scorecard to keep track of what’s going on. That makes up for the inconsistencies. I don’t like it, but it makes something close to sense so I’ll let it go.

8 Card Stud Quarterfinals: Abyss vs. Mick Foley

Remember this is No DQ. Foley’s music isn’t bad and Abyss’ is at least easily recognizable. Eric made him get rid of the flannel. Naturally Tenay argues over what material it is. The fans of course want to see the bat used for no apparent reason. Foley slaps Abyss. Only Foley could slap a monster and get away with it. We hit the floor and I like the mats they have.

They’re really thick which I have no problem with. Foley busts out a chair and takes over. The fans aren’t sure what to do here as is often the case with two faces fighting. It’s thumbtacks time. Abyss keeps going against the hardcore stuff here as he chokeslams Foley but makes sure it’s not in the tacks. The fans still want the bat. And Abyss steals the sock from Foley’s pants, prompting a USE THE SOCK chant. Ok then.

Foley takes the referee down and gets his sock. Well that works I guess. The Claw goes onto Abyss but it only gets two. Foley comes at him with the bat and walks into the Black Hole Slam onto the tacks for the pin. He freaks because he hurt Foley.

Rating: B. This is a very different kind of match as it’s more about thinking and storytelling than action. Now the smart thing is that they took a guy like Foley who is as good at in ring psychology and character development as anyone in history and let him do this as it worked really well for me. This was a situation where it wasn’t about the wrestling but it really worked which is incredible rare.

Pope
Morgan

Anderson
Abyss

No reason for those names. Just a writing exercise I thought I’d try.

The Nasty Boys are with Christy and apparently Nastys vs. 3D is 15 years in the making. The Dudleys (the famous pairing that is) haven’t been around that long but whatever. The Nastys say they’re here to prove something or other. Whatever. Knobbs can’t say the name of their opponents. It’s a number and a letter. We recap the feud which was ok if nothing else. Again, yes they Nastys have feuded with a lot of great teams. How many have they actually beaten?

Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D

So now people are being asked to pay to see the Nasty Boys. Good to know. That lounge music is REALLY annoying. No one in TNA has ever taken it to Team 3D like the Nastys? REALLY? Sags looks slimmer and nearly in shape. Knobbs…not so much. 3D runs them off and I guess they’re the faces? It’s been 2 minutes so they might have turned since then.

We get to a regular tag match with Sags vs. Bubba. Both guys have pants with their team name on it. Is that in case they get lost? Sign in the front row: pipe down nerds. That’s rather funny. The fans want to sit down and eat. What else could they want tables for? This hasn’t been as bad as I expected, but it’s nothing compared to the Nasty Boys doing science experiments like they did in 1995.

You have to see that clip if you don’t know what I’m talking about. SuperBrawl 1995, opening of the tape. Go find it as it’s just bizarre. Oh look: Brooke Hogan is here. It has nothing to do with the show or the match, but it needs to be noted: Brooke Hogan is indeed HERE. The Nastys take over now.

Taz says lifting Knobbs is like lifting a small foreign car. That’s rather funny. Sags takes 3D and JIMMY FREAKING HART makes the save. Are you kidding me??? His helmet is slammed into Bubba for the pin. Love that voice.

Rating: C-. I’m very surprised as this wasn’t terrible by any means. It wasn’t particularly good but it was far from bad. I do not get the point in the Nasty Boys being on TV but having Hart there is never a bad thing.

Joe and Bischoff talk about the world title match.

8 Card Stud Semi-Finals: D’Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan

Again I ask: what is a street pope? I don’t get it. Pope does the Bret Hart glasses thing which works. They’re going big man vs. little man here so that’s all well and good. We’re on the floor now and not a lot is going on. Oh I almost forgot: this is the feud that made me hate Burke. Back in OVW these two feuded FOREVER and it couldn’t have been more boring if their lives depended on it.

It was that feud that made me hate Burke and it’s why I have issues about him to this day. Expect a low grade here. Morgan is acting very heelish here and I’m not big on that at all. It’s bearhug time so they’re not doing themselves any favors at all. Morgan is dominating here and screw that as Pope is making his comeback.

Morgan BLUEPRINTS UP though and takes his head off with a clothesline. So one minute Pope is in survival mode and the next he’s hitting the knees to the back for the pin. Riiiight. Oh I especially love Morgan being on the corner and looking over his shoulder twice to see when he needs to be ready to sell.

Rating: D+. While I want to fail it because of the people in it, this didn’t do it for me. The story and psychology were pretty much non existent here and the ending was completely unbelievable as in yeah right that was stupid. Yes there’s likely some bias in there and it wasn’t jumping off the page bad or anything so don’t think that’s what I’m saying.

Anderson cuts a rather funny promo about how he beat Angle. It’s funnier than it sounds. He says his name once, leaves to the left and comes back from the right to say it again. The guy can talk no matter what you think of his in ring stuff.

8 Card Stud Semi-Finals: Abyss vs. Mr. Anderson

We start with a very long stalling session here which I guess is ok. The crowd is oddly quiet here. Why is Abyss being a former world champion NEVER mentioned? I know it’s a different world title but it’s just never talked about at all. They’ll talk about the WCW and WWE titles whenever it benefits them. Hey, we’re on the floor!

Always good to see TNA mixing things up. For some reason I always love dropkicks to the knee. There’s just something cool about that. Anderson works on the knee so at least that makes sense. He goes for the mask and when Abyss is trying to fix it, the Mic Check sends Anderson to the finals.

Rating: D. This was really weak to me. The knee stuff led nowhere and the ending did nothing for me. Abyss is in desperate need of credibility. This should have been Foley vs. Kennedy, period.

AJ cuts a very solid promo about being a great worker. Again I ask; WHAT POINT IS THERE TO FLAIR BEING THERE IF HE CAN TALK THIS WELL??? “But KB, he learned so much from talking to Flair.” And I have to see Flair on TV making AJ look like he needs a mentor WHY?

If you want to make him act like Flair then fine but we don’t need to see him there every five minutes. Sorry I just completely fail to see what Flair is there for. He’s the golden boy and the man in TNA and the best wrestler in the world so he needs a mentor all of a sudden? He’s the BEST. How much better can he get?

We recap Joe vs. AJ which needs no recapping but whatever.

Bischoff is coming to the ring. And Hogan is here too. Ok then.

TNA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Remember Bischoff is referee here. Why is he referee? No clue but it’s TNA so that comes with the territory. I love the total lack of tattoo on his face. AJ has a Flair robe. Shoot me now. Ok the hood on it makes it a lot better than I thought. Why in the world are they making AJ a heel here? Seriously, he’s so insanely over and they make a fortune off his merchandise so let’s just throw that away.

He has blonde highlights now too. That’s just great. Fans are WAY behind Joe. There is something awesome about the way JB says “From the Isle of Samoa.” No idea why but I’ve always loved that. As soon as the robe came off AJ got about 10x more awesome. AJ simply doesn’t need Flair to be a heel. The interesting thing here is that Flair and Eric have legit heat. Some of you might not know why though.

Back in 1998, Flair’s son Reid was wrestling in an amateur tournament in North Carolina and Flair was dead set on being there to watch him compete. He gave warning to Bischoff that he would be there and that’s all there was to it. The thing is there was a Thunder, not Nitro or a PPV but THUNDER, that night. Flair, having a thing called common sense, thought that since he was Ric Flair and this was WCW and he gave sufficient warning that he would be able to have a night off.

Bischoff thought otherwise and suspended him. This literally went on for months and the fans reverted back to 1991 and spent the whole show chanting WE WANT FLAIR. So this led to a famous as well as awesome moment where Arn Anderson reformed the Horsemen (adding in Dean Malenko for the first time) and completely unannounced brought out Flair for the first time in about four months in NORTH CAROLINA. What the heck do you think the reaction was?

Naturally Flair gets one of the biggest pops in WCW history and looks like a million bucks and the fans are FREAKING OUT. And of course they had Flair have a heart attack a few weeks later then had Bischoff beat him at Starrcade with a screwjob ending that the fans booed out of the freaking building. How did that company ever make a freaking dime?

The Horsemen were then, you guessed it, fed to the NWO and made to look like jokes while Hogan won the world title from Nash in the Fingerpoke of Doom, because of course having the guy the fans are cheering for like there’s no tomorrow being pushed as a serious character can’t work so let’s just stick with the same stuff that’s made us lose the biggest ratings lead in wrestling history while Austin and Vince are owning us in the ratings right?

ANYWAY, the point is that Bischoff more or less said that Flair was just one of the wrestlers and that carrying the company for as many years as he did was NOTHING in comparison to guys like Hogan and Savage who came in and tanked the company for two years before the one good idea that Bischoff had (read as stole from two Japanese companies that did the same thing years before the NWO was even heard of) made any money before he ran the company into the ground. Flair was disrespected and the fans chanted WE WANT FLAIR very loudly and Bischoff had to back down and let Flair come back before embarrassing him again.

Oh yeah there’s a PPV here. There is something just freaking awesome about the fans chanting JOE’S GONNA KILL YOU. How can that not get into your head? AJ works on the knee. Ok, that’s fine if he does it a bit but you have AJ Styles in there. Have him use his stuff, not Flair’s as his primary offense. We’re on the floor (I know I’m shocked too) and AJ is trying to suplex Joe which fails more than Flair’s hair.

I’m glad Joe is in the shorts again. They work better for him. Joe counters a top rope hurricanrana and goes aerial and hits kind of an enziguri to the front of the face. Flair goes after the leg. Never mind that it’s the WRONG ONE as AJ had worked on the right leg and Flair went after the left one but whatever. AJ uses an Indian Deathlock and bends back to more or less have his hands like you would for a reverse neckbreaker.

Benoit did that to Booker T once on Thunder and WCW went to a commercial just as he locked it in. Brilliance I tell you, brilliance. There’s the figure four that you knew was coming. Love that snap powerslam Joe does. I know I tend to skip around a lot on my reviewing but here’s my thought on why I don’t just list off play by play: if you wanted that, you could just go watch the match yourself.

Just thought I’d make that clear in case people think I fast forward and just watch pieces of the match. I write out what pops into my head and at times there isn’t much. Doesn’t mean the match is bad or anything but just nothing strikes me about it. And end of random tangent.

And Bischoff punches Flair. Ok then. Joe hits the Muscle Buster while this is happening and is ticked off that nothing can be done about it. Joe pulls Bischoff back in and walks into the Pele and the Clash for the pin. Flair demands that Bischoff raise AJ’s hand.

Rating: B+. Solid stuff here but it was missing a little something that I just can’t place. This is another match that you just can’t mess up and they didn’t here. Another solid showing here and it was certainly worthy of being the world title match.

We recap the tournament to this point which seems like a way to kill 3 minutes.

Anderson is with the red hot Christy who talks very well again. He’s wearing a different shirt here too. I have no idea what he’s saying here as Christy is just ridiculously good looking here. The gum is a great touch for Anderson.

Pope is with JB. Ah I get why I hate Pope again: he talks once in awhile. I was liking him a bit earlier and that’s all gone now. And it’s Hall and X-Pac. TNA security running in to stop them reminds me of a Keystone Cops segment as they’re constantly chasing these two around the building trying to stop them from getting into the building. They say something to Hogan and it’s whatever. Does anyone care about them at this point?

8 Card Stud Finals: Mr. Anderson vs. D’Angelo Dinero

Pope takes forever getting out there because he got beaten up. Ok then. The referee starts counting and you know he’ll be there in time so this is kind of pointless. Yep there he is. Anderson beats on him on the ramp. Even money says they’ll brawl on the floor too. Hey they’re fighting on the floor! They haven’t actually been in the ring yet. AJ and Flair are watching in the back.

This has been ALL Anderson, making the ending a tad obvious. Pope of course is ok after that much of a beating. Most of the match is Anderson beating on Pope and there’s your comeback. The DDE gets two and Anderson is in control again. Pope uses an STO which is Kennedy’s finisher in reverse.

Kennedy cuts a promo mid match and stops to hit the Mic Check for two and a pop from the fans. That’s….a bit too much from Pope. Anderson misses a Swanton and Pope hits the double knees to the back. He REALLY needs a new finisher.

Rating: B. They kept it simple here and it worked. This was fun. That’s the best way to put it I think as it wasn’t particularly great or even very good but it was fun. That’s all you can ask for here I guess. Either way it worked fine though so all in all this was a good main event.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good show. It put me in mind of Survival of the Fittest that I did from ROH: nothing great but nothing resembling a bad match at all. This was solid and it worked rather well I thought. The whole show was based around the tournament and that’s all well and good. My main problem was how all of the tournament matches other than the final were so short.

They averaged about 8 minutes which just isn’t long enough for that many matches. That’s my only major criticism with the show. Other than that though, I liked this show and while it’s no classic or anything, it’s good. That’s how I would describe it: good. Check it out if you have some time to kill.

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