Apparently tonight, Bully Ray invaded Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore event to set up a match at a One Night Only event.
TNA is now co-promoting with an ECW tribute organization. Not ROH, not OVW, not PWG, but a Tommy Dreamer owned ECW tribute organization.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Thunder
Date: June 18, 1998
Location: Corestates Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone
This is a taped show, but I’ll put the over/under of times the announcers say it’s live at 17. We’re still in the middle of the NWO civil war with Randy Savage now out for a long time with a knee injury due to the Black and White’s attack on Nitro. We’re heading towards Bash at the Beach but it’s still too early to start making matches, meaning tonight is again a sequel of Nitro. Let’s get to it.
We open with Konnan and Luger heading to the ring with something to say. The mat is really dark again and it’s not working. Luger talks about how there are some guys that you can dress up a certain way and turn them into a star in wrestling. These would be people like Vincent, Brian Adams, and any other of Hogan’s goons. The problem is people like Hogan are stars because the fans made them a star, which brings up a Goldberg reference. You can see the seeds being planted.
The Wolfpack was formed while Hogan was making another movie and now he’s trying to break them apart, but the fans have decided that the Wolfpack is where the power lies. I think this was supposed to be Luger laying down the gauntlet, but I think we’ve covered that already.
Karl Malone has officially been signed and the tag match is on for Bash at the Beach. We’ll see press conference clips on Nitro.
Macho Man has a broken leg due to Bischoff’s kick and will be out indefinitely. We get a clip of the attack, including Nash raising the cage for the save.
Steve McMichael vs. Mike Enos
This is the kind of match where I want to know what they think is the target audience. I mean, what’s the production idea for this? Who thought these two guys needed to have a match? Enos pulls Mongo into the ring to start and pounds away on his right arm which kept Mongo out for months.
McMichael bails to the floor but Enos slams the arm into the barricade and steps to keep the pressure on. Mongo comes back in the ring with a shot to the head with the right arm and shows no sign of pain. Is it any wonder why he never worked? A three point shoulder puts Mike down but he blocks the tombstone. Enos slaps him in the face so McMichael Mongos Up and hits the tombstone for the pin.
Rating: D. When Mike Enos is the good part of your match, you know the match is in trouble. McMichael just didn’t get wrestling for the most part and was never anything good in the ring. You would think after all those years with Benoit, Flair and Anderson he would have picked up SOMETHING but it just never happened.
Post match Mongo gives the sign of the Horsemen.
Here’s the Flock with something to say. Raven calls Saturn a tumor that plagued the Flock but Raven has successfully removed it. Tonight, Reese is going to win the US Title. Back to Saturn, who was his friend when he was a kid? Who gave him money when he needed it? Who forced the Flock to join Saturn at ringside? The answer to all those is Raven, but now Saturn has let him down. All Saturn had to do was beat Kanyon but he couldn’t even do that, and then Saturn went after Raven, making him despise Saturn.
This brings out Saturn who says Raven let Saturn down, so now Saturn is on his own. The Flock jumps Saturn but he still gets in a good shot to Raven’s jaw. Raven heads to the floor but Kanyon comes in to send Raven back inside. Saturn and Kanyon clear the ring before staring each other down. No more violence occurs though.
Goldbeg video.
Fit Finlay vs. Brad Armstrong
Again, just why? The fans start booing this before any contact is even made. Finlay takes him down with a headlock and cranks on Candyman’s head for a bit before switching to the ever popular nerve hold. Armstrong fights up and hits a powerslam and belly to back suplex for two each before we hit the armbar.
Finlay fights up and yells at the fans before we hit a chinlock and another nerve hold. Riveting stuff here. A slam sets up a Vader Bomb for two on Brad but he counters a second into something resembling an electric chair drop. Not that it matters though as Armstrong goes up but dives into Finlay’s arms for the tombstone and the pin.
Rating: D-. These are talented guys but we have to sit through this boring mess for whatever reason. I’m assuming we’re supposed to buy Finlay as a contender for the TV Title still but beating Brad Armstrong doesn’t really prove much. Nothing to see here, which I think is the subtitle for Thunder.
This week in WCW Motorsports is still a thing for some reason.
Giant vs. Disco Inferno
Disco goes up to the announcers’ booth to dance a bit before the match. Heenan: “Hand me that iron pipe over there.” Giant lights up another cigarette on the way to the ring so Disco lectures him on healthy habits. The instructions continue until a HARD clothesline puts Disco down. A massive chokeslam ends Disco a few seconds later with the cigarette still in Giant’s mouth.
Dean Malenko says he’ll do whatever it takes to get the Cruiserweight Title off of Jericho and onto the waist of someone who deserves it.
IWGP Tag Titles: Tenzan/Masahiro Chono vs. British Bulldog/Jim Neidhart
The champions jump the brothers in law to start and throw Neidhart out to the floor. Smith gets double teamed but comes back with a nice double clothesline to put the champions down. Things settle down with Chono going after Neidhart’s knee to get us going. Some hard kicks to the knee and a quick leg lock take the Anvil down and it’s off to Tenzan for some solid right hands to the head. So much for the technical stuff.
Chono comes back in and goes after Davey, allowing the champions to double team Neidhart a bit. Jim comes back with a hard forearm to Chono and makes the hot tag to bulldog. House is cleaned and the powerslam puts Tenzan down, but Chono hits Davey with the belt for the DQ.
Rating: D+. Somehow this quick, nothing match is probably the best thing we’ve seen so far tonight. The titles being on the line made this a bit better than Monday’s match, but it doesn’t make the fans care about the Japanese guys at all. Granted no one cared about Neidhart and Bulldog at this point either, so it’s not Chono and Tenzan’s fault.
Jim and Davey clear out the NWO guys.
Rick Rude says Goldberg better be ready for Hennig at the PPV. Hennig is up in Minnesota training hard with Brad Rheingans to take the title. Nothing special from Rude, but a Goldberg chant starts up and stops almost immediately in a bad production error.
Konnan vs. Alex Wright
Wright jumps Konnan and whips him with a leather jacket. A top rope knee drop gets no cover and Alex drops some elbows to the back. There’s a backbreaker and Wright still won’t cover. Instead his slingshot splash hits knees and Konnan clotheslines him down again. There’s the basement dropkick but here’s Rude for a distraction. He talks about hunting for a bit which allows Alex to jump Konnan from behind and get a rollup for two. Konnan comes back with an X Factor and a rollup similar to Kofi Kingston’s SOS for the pin.
Rating: D+. Well Rude certainly wasted his time here. This match was nothing special either but at least Wright moved around pretty well. It’s the same problem every match on this show has had though: there’s no heat to any of the matches and as a result the matches feel like nothing we need to see at all.
Video on Hogan and Rodman.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit
This has to be good right? Eddie is depressed after losing to Chavo on Sunday. Benoit stomps him down in the corner to start and gets a quick two off a snap suplex. Eddie whips him across the ring and scores with a dropkick to the back of the head before suplexing Benoit down for two. Nice and crisp so far. A headscissors off the ropes gets two for Eddie and he goes after the Canadian’s knee to keep him down. Benoit will have none of that though and hits a pair of rolling Germans but the Swan Dive only hits canvas. Eddie’s frog splash hits the same, allowing Benoit to snap on the Crossface for the tap out.
Rating: C. Of course this didn’t even get four minutes. Why should it when we needed to see that rising star in MIKE ENOS??? This was by far the best thing on the show so far because the guys were actually working, but what can you do with just three and a half minutes out there?
Post match Chavo comes out and says Eddie is still his favorite wrestler, sending Eddie walking away in disgust.
Public Enemy vs. Riggs/Sick Boy
This is a Philadelphia street fight to appease the ECW fans. Public Enemy brings two tables (stacked on top of each other) and a wheelbarrow full of plunder. The Flock members jump Public Enemy from behind and the weapon shots begin. A cup of some liquid goes upside Rocco’s head as he and Sick Boy bail to the floor. Rock is wheelbarrowed into the crowd as the ECW chant begins. I’m shocked it took this long.
Back inside Grunge wraps a toilet seat around Riggs’ head before blasting him in the head with a trashcan lid. Everyone is back inside now and the fans start a Let’s Go Flyers chant. Rocco is lifted up and dropped onto a trashcan for two as Grunge takes the toilet seat off Riggs’ neck to blast him in the head. Riggs gets rolled into the barricade and Sick Boy takes a plunger to the face. Grunge has a trashcan dropkicked into his chest but he blasts Sick Boy in the head with the can to take him down. Sick Boy is laid out on the top table so Rocco can be flipped onto him, through both tables. The pin back inside is academic.
Rating: C+. The match was your usual ECW style junk, but at the same time this is the only match all night that was actually fun. Public Enemy was definitely a niche act but they played their roles perfectly. Also, the more I see of Sick Boy the more I like him. It’s a shame he never got more of a chance.
US Title: Goldberg vs. Reese
We hear about Goldberg fighting in the Georgia Dome on July 6. Indeed he would. Even the Philly fans go nuts for Goldberg, with Hogan saying only Hogan has ever gotten these reactions. Reese jumps Goldberg to start and Horace adds a shot with a stop sign. That earns him a forearm to the face, knocking him off the apron and nearly knocking the sign into the crowd. A suplex by Reese is no sold and it’s the spear into the Jackhammer to make him 101-0.
End of show. Seriously.
Overall Rating: D. This is one of those shows that just does not need to exist. Nothing happened tonight and none of the matches were anything that needed to be seen at all. This is the worst kind of show you can have: it wasn’t even bad but rather very dull. There’s almost no effort here and it shows very, very badly. Horrid show that didn’t need to air at all.
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Survivor Series 1998
Date: November 15, 1998
Location: Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 21,779
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
This is what you call a one idea show as the entire show (almost) is dedicated to a tournament to crown a new world champion. Austin got robbed of the title and then wouldn’t count a win as guest referee in a title match, so tonight there’s a big tournament to determine the new champion. Also the Corporation now exists to make sure Austin doesn’t win. There’s also talk of someone joining the Corporation tonight as the Corporate Champion and the new top soldier for Vince. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is of the people in the tournament talking about wanting to be champion.
I’ve always loved the theme song to this show. I did when I was a kid and I have it on my iPod today.
JR and the King talk about a big brawl that happened on Heat. They don’t actually say WHO WAS IN IT, but it was apparently quite a braw.
Here are the tournament brackets:
Undertaker
BYE
Kane
BYE
Rock
HHH
Goldust
Ken Shamrock
Mankind
???
Jeff Jarrett
Al Snow
X-Pac
Steven Regal
Steve Austin
Big Boss Man
This is a tournament where you could have easily cut out the first round and made it an eight man tournament but I guess they needed to fill in the time.
Here’s Vince to open things up. If I remember right Undertaker and Kane recently shattered his ankle so he’s hopping to the ring. Vince does a big intro for Mankind who is Corporate but is more of a comedic putz who Vince manipulates to do whatever he wants. He’s also Hardcore Champion.
WWF World Title Tournament First Round: Mankind vs. ???
Vince gives a LONG speech about the mystery opponent and it’s….Duane Gill. He was a jobber who injured his shoulder and was gone for two years to WCW. The fans thought it would be Shawn Michaels and are ticked off by the reveal. Then again it’s meant to be a joke so it’s not that big of a deal. The pyro scares Gill to death ala Eric Young. Gill is wearing a Pasadena Chargers shirt, which is an elementary school football team he coaches. Mankind is in a tuxedo and wins in 30 seconds with the double arm DDT. It would seem that a conspiracy is afoot.
Earlier tonight on Heat, Jacqueline jumped Sable. This gives us ANGRY Sable which is more funny than interesting or intimidating.
WWF World Title Tournament: Jeff Jarrett vs. Al Snow
This is Debra’s PPV debut. The winner gets Mankind and the first round matches only have ten minute time limits. Snow chases Debra around on the floor but hits a flip dive onto Jarrett off the stairs in a cool spot. We head inside and I think a bell has rung but I’m not sure. Jeff hotshots Al onto the top rope to take over but Snow is looking all psycho. Snow comes back and takes Jeff down before going up.
A guillotine legdrop misses and a dropkick takes Al down for two. Snow comes back with a crucifix for another two and counters a spinebuster into a DDT for two. They collide and here’s Debra with the Head. Snow goes to find it but gets Jeff’s guitar instead. Jeff finds Head but the referee gets the guitar out of the ring. During the distraction, Snow steals Head and KO’s Jarrett with it to advance.
Rating: C+. This is a good idea: take two talented guys and let them have a match. What more do you need to do? The ending was a little screwy but they got there on a smooth wrestling match. When Russo could be held back from making things too crazy, late 98 WWF had more than enough talent to put on fun matches like this. Good stuff.
WWF World Title Tournament: Steve Austin vs. Big Boss Man
They’re flying through this so far. Boss Man goes after Austin in the aisle but you don’t win a fist fight against Austin in 1998. Austin sends him into the steps and we head in for the bell. Vince is watching in the back as Austin hits the Thesz Press and the middle finger elbow for two. Boss Man hits Austin low to come back but it just gets a warning. After a quick chinlock there’s the running crotch attack to Austin’s back and an uppercut for two. Austin makes his comeback and stomps a mudhole in the corner. We head to the floor and Boss Man hits Austin in the ribs with a nightstick for the DQ.
Rating: C-. Nothing of note to see here but this was more about story than the match. Did anyone expect Austin to get eliminated by Boss Man? This is the kind of roll Boss Man was good at: enhancing a story and taking something out of the bigger name before we get to the important stuff with the bigger names later on. There’s nothing wrong with that and it kept him employed for years.
Vince smiles at the ending as Austin gets beaten down by the stick some more. He says the night is young.
WWF World Title Tournament First Round: X-Pac vs. Steven Regal
This is one of those matches that doesn’t need to exist. The winner gets Austin and X-Pac is European Champion coming in. Regal is a REAL MAN’S MAN here. Lawler sings the song as Regal comes to the ring in a funny bit. Either that or the audio messed up there for a bit. Pac kicks him down and suplexes Regal for two. Two of those fast legdrops get another two on Regal but the Bronco Buster misses.
Regal puts on an abdominal stretch on the mat as things slow down a bit. Regal charges into the corner but gets caught in a sunset flip but he rolls out of that too and hits a slingshot to send Pac flying. Off to a surfboard stretch as things slow down again. This is probably the longest match so far and it’s not even four minutes in yet. A gutwrench suplex puts Pac down and it’s off to a headscissors.
Pac rolls that over and gets a freaky looking hold where he was on his back with his legs by Regal’s head but he was cranking on the legs in a Sharpshooter position. That gets him nowhere but it looked good. Regal puts Pac on the top and hits a butterfly superplex for two. Back to another rib/arm hold as the fans are getting a little restless. Back up and they collide in the corner before X-Pac kicks his head off for two. The Bronco Buster hits this time but Pac goes up and gets crotched, falling to the floor. They fight for awhile out there and it’s a double countout to give Austin a bye.
Rating: C-. Much like the other three matches, this didn’t need to exist. The match was ok and one of the longer matches of the night (about eight minutes) but it doesn’t need to happen. This is a match you could easily take out and give to a longer match later on. I mean, did ANYONE see these two as threats to the title? Of course not.
Vince isn’t happy with that and insists on overtime. It’s sudden death too, making it just like every other wrestling match on the show tonight. That goes nowhere though as X-Pac walks to the back.
WWF World Title Tournament First Round: Goldust vs. Ken Shamrock
Shamrock is IC Champion coming in. Ken starts with a leg lariat and pounds away at Goldie. Goldust misses a lariat but a second attempt connects to shift the momentum. Shamrock clotheslines him out of the corner for two as this is starting very slowly so far. Off to a reverse chinlock followed by a Russian legsweep for two. A regular chinlock follows that up but Goldust makes a comeback. That lasts about four seconds as Shamrock avoids a charge in the corner. A powerbomb from Goldie is countered and the referee blocks his Shattered Dreams attempt. It’s rana, belly to belly and ankle lock for the tap out win for Ken.
Rating: D-. This was a long and uninteresting squash. Goldust was at a weird point here as he didn’t really do anything and wasn’t weird or creepy anymore. He was just kind of there as a guy who used to be good but in this match he could have been Barry Horowitz and been as much of a threat to Shamrock. Terribly dull stuff here.
Austin has refused medical attention but Cole thinks he’ll be here later in the tournament.
WWF World Title Tournament First Round: The Rock vs. HHH
Oh wait HHH is hurt so we’ve got a replacement.
WWF World Title Tournament First Round: The Rock vs. Big Boss Man
Roc literally immediately rolls Boss Man up and wins in three seconds, setting a new WWF record.
Here are the updated brackets for the quarterfinals:
Undertaker
Kane
Rock
Ken Shamrock
Mankind
Al Snow
Steve Austin
BYE
WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Undertaker vs. Kane
Taker has Bearer here and is heel but he’s against the other heel faction headed by Vince. Naturally they were working together all along but that wouldn’t be revealed for about seven months. Kane pounds on Taker in the corner and not a lot of selling is going on. Kane kicks Taker down and clotheslines him out to the floor. The masked one stays on the offense on the floor but gets dropped face first onto the barricade.
Back in and Taker slugs away but there still isn’t much selling going on. Kane powerslams Taker down but Taker sits up to avoid an elbow. Kane sits up as well and we get more punching. Taker gets a boot up in the corner and starts working on Kane’s leg. The leg work goes on for awhile because neither guy is capable of doing anything with any kind of speed whatsoever. They get back up and it’s MORE punching. This is slow even for a Taker match to give you an indication of what I’m sitting through.
Taker gets caught in the corner with a clothesline and the top rope clothesline follows it up for two. They slug it out some more and good grief SELL SOMETHING ALREADY! Taker tries a chokeslam but gets countered into one by Kane. Bearer distracts Kane on the apron though and Taker pops up with a tombstone to eliminate Kane.
Rating: F+. This was horrible as it was clear Taker wasn’t interested in trying and Kane was only able to do so much in the first place. The match sucked as a result and things would only get worse as time went on. We would soon get into crucifixions, burials (as in dirt over bodies in graves) and demonic possessions. WRESTLING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mankind vs. Al Snow
Mankind is still in his tuxedo. Snow jumps him to start and hits a clothesline for no cover. Mankind heads to the floor for a chair but Snow gets in a few shots to block it. A big chair shot misses Mankind against the post and Snow gets dropped on the chair to give the masked guy control. Back in and Snow grabs Head but Mankind suplexes him down to take it out of Snow’s hands. Here’s Socko (which had been stolen by Snow and wrapped around Head’s…uh…self? Mankind clotheslines Snow down but gets caught in a sitout spinebuster for two. The double arm DDT puts Snow down and the Claw finishes Snow.
Rating: D+. Another pretty worthless match but Mankind and Snow always seemed to have fun together out there. At the end of the day though, it’s Al Snow vs. Mankind in a world title tournament match so it wasn’t exactly a secret as to who was going to win. Then again that’s the problem with almost every wrestling tournament you have. Not much to see here but it could have been worse.
WWF World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock
Winner gets Undertaker. Shamrock gets in a quick kick to the face but Rock clotheslines him down to take over. Ken hooks a quick suplex for two and hits a clothesline in the corner. Rock hits another clothesline to take over. Out to the floor and Rock spits water in Shamrock’s face, prompting Ken to send him into the steps. Back in and Shamrock stomps away before hitting a leg lariat to take Rock down.
A Russian legsweep gets two for Shamrock and a running knee lift sets up a chinlock. Rock comes back with right hands but here comes Boss Man. Back to the chinlock as the fans get on the Boss Man. Rock makes a quick comeback attempt but gets caught in the ankle lock. While that would make Rock tap out in a few seconds back in the day, he’s a good guy now so he fights to a rope.
Double clotheslines put both guys down and Rock starts taking over. Boss Man tries to interfere but it allows Rock to hit Shamrock low. There’s the People’s Elbow but it only gets two. The Rock Bottom is countered but Boss Man throws in the nightstick to Shamrock. Rock intercepts it though and KO’s Ken to make the final four.
Rating: C-. Another not that great match here but it was better than most of what we’ve had so far. Shamrock is another guy like Boss Man who is a great soldier but was never going to get much higher than he was here. He certainly had a better chance at it than Boss Man, but that’s not saying all that much.
The final four are now set:
Undertaker
The Rock
Mankind
Steve Austin
Bearer says Undertaker will win.
Women’s Title: Sable vs. Jacqueline
Jackie is defending. Shane McMahon is referee after being demoted by Vince. Jackie kicks Sable down and, wait for it, runs her mouth. Sable comes back with a TKO but Mero pulls her out at two. Sable kicks Mero low and powerbombs him on the floor. Jackie decks Sable and runs her mouth some more. Did I mention I REALLY don’t like Jackie? Sable counters a tornado DDT and powerbombs Jackie for the pin and the title.
Rating: D-. It came, it went, it wasn’t any good at all. People actually cared Sable, but the title became a prop very quickly. There’s just nothing else to say here.
WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: Mankind vs. Steve Austin
Austin is banged up from the nightstick attack earlier but he goes right at Mankind to start. He rips Mankind’s shoe off and whacks him in the head with it as Vince is wheeled out. The distraction lets Mankind take over and hit a running knee in the corner. There’s the Thesz Press but Mankind escapes the Stunner. Mankind runs out of the ring and towards the entrance but the Stooges bring him back.
Foley sends Austin into the steps and then into the crowd as we’re firmly in brawl mode here. Back to ringside and Austin goes face first into the steps. Off to a reverse chinlock in the ring on Austin but Stone Cold makes a comeback. They clothesline each other down and Vince is getting worried. Austin rams into him and stomps a mudhole but Mankind goes out and gets a chair. That gets kicked into his face but Mankind hits the double arm onto the chair for two.
A piledriver on the chair is broken up because it would have destroyed Austin’s neck which was already in pieces. The Stunner hits but Vince jumps out of his wheelchair and beats up the referee. Mankind loses his tuxedo pants and puts on the Claw but there’s the Stunner. Shane comes in to count the pin but stops at two and flips Austin off, opening up a BIG plot hole which was probably explained by Russo logic. Remember that it was SHANE that rehired Austin, but apparently he was working with his dad the whole time. So why rehire him? Anyway Brisco hits Austin with a chair and Mankind takes the pin to go to the finals.
Rating: C+. Definitely the best match of the night so far. It was insanely overbooked but it was certainly the best match. Imagine that: take two of the best ever and give them some time and you get the best match of the night. This also opens up the door for a surprise ending, as Austin was the favorite going into the tournament. Basically they’ve done the DiBiase master plan from Mania IV but it actually worked here.
Vince and company immediately get in the limo and leave with Austin in pursuit. Austin hijacks a car and we’ve got a chase scene.
WWF World Title Tournament Semifinals: The Rock vs. Undertaker
Rock pounds away in the corner to start but Taker gets in a clothesline to the back of the head to take Rock down. We head to the floor and after being sent into the barricade, Taker knocks Rock’s head off with another clothesline. Back inside and an elbow puts Rock down before Taker chokes on the mat. An uppercut puts Rock in the ropes and Taker pounds away.
Taker charges at Rock but gets backdropped to the floor and hit in the face with a water bottle. They head into the crowd for a few seconds and Taker gets the advantage back again. They slug it out with Taker getting the advantage again before walking into a Samoan Drop. Here comes the Boss Man again as Taker sits up. Rock comes back and loads up the Elbow but Boss Man trips him up. Taker hits Boss Man for reasons of EVIL, but here’s Kane to chokeslam Rock, sending him to the finals by DQ.
Rating: D. If there have ever been two big names with worse chemistry than Rock and Undertaker, I’d like to know who they are. These two just could not have a good match together if their lives depended on it back in the Attitude Era. It never clicked no matter how many times they main evented PPVs. This didn’t work either but at least it wasn’t that long of a match.
Taker and Kane brawl everywhere.
Mankind is ready to climb his last Rock.
Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Headbangers vs. D’Lo Brown/Mark Henry
The Outlaws are defending of course. This was set up on Raw with both challenging teams doing something that I can’t remember to earn the shot. Billy and Brown start things off but Mosh comes in off a blind tag to try to steal a pin on Billy. Mosh hits a running body attack in the corner on Gunn before diving at Brown as well. This is pretty messy so far. The Outlaws pound on the former Nation guys in opposite corners before the Headbangers double team Roadie.
Brown and Mosh trade pin attempts on Dogg. This is the old triple threat tag match rules where there are three people at a time in there which I’ve always preferred. Off to Henry for a bearhug on Roadie until Mosh makes the save. Off to Brown, Thrasher and Dogg as this continues to be ugly stuff. Gunn gets in a LOUD argument with the referee as Brown ranas Thrasher off the top.
Roadie pounds on Brown and Thrasher but Henry takes his head off with a clothesline. Brown’s running powerbomb to Thrasher is countered into a sunset flip for two. A Henry legdrop gets the same on Dogg, followed by the Headbangers double teaming Roadie for the same. Brown offers a pact with Mosh but gets kicked in the balls for his efforts. JR can almost be heard moaning at how bad this match is. Roadie finally escapes the beating for the hot tag to Billy. The fans LOVED the Outlaws so at least they’re reacting here.
Brown hits the Sky High on Billy but since everyone is out of position, it takes forever to start the count. Jesse Ventura would have a field day with this. To further the stupidity here, Billy hits a Fameasser on Mosh but Henry makes the save with a splash, also hitting Mosh. Mark just stays on top of Mosh for a cover, but after two finisher it only gets two. That Mosh man, he’s TOUGH. Billy finally piledrives Mosh to retain the titles.
Rating: F. This was terrible and there’s no other way to put it. They were all over the place and no one was even reading the same book out there. The referee had to count very slowly so the saves could be made and there was no flow to this at all. Just awful and JR’s commentary makes it even funnier, but in a kind of sad way.
We recap Austin getting cheated out of the finals.
WWF World Title: The Rock vs. Mankind
Vince and Shane are back and are talking with Boss Man backstage. Feeling out process to start as Lawler makes fun of Halloween Havoc going off the air earlier a few weeks prior to this. Rock gets two off a clothesline and they head to the floor quickly. Rock gets rammed into the steps and Mankind takes over. Back inside for a chinlock as the McMahons come out. JR is very annoyed at various things and he vents a bit as they come to the ring. A suplex gets Rock out of the hold and Mankind is sent outside.
Rock suplexes Mankind on the floor but he has to go after the McMahons a bit. Into the crowd we go with Rock in control. He backdrops Mankind back to ringside and we head into the ring for a Rock chinlock. Mankind fights back up and hits a Cactus Clothesline to take it back to the floor. A chair takes Rock down again and Mankind gets the steps, only to have them knocked down onto him. Rock pounds on the steps on Mankind with the chair before cracking Mankind over the head with the chair.
That gets two back in the ring but Mankind kicks Rock low to take over again. Rock is sent back to the floor for the elbow off the apron. Mankind starts taking the announce table apart as JR loses it even more. Mankind is heel for the most part coming in but he’s a sympathetic heel. A legdrop on the table mostly misses Rock but it gets two back inside. Off to the chinlock again and Rock’s comeback is cut short by a backdrop to the floor again.
Back in again and Rock hits a DDT to put both guys down. Mankind sends him to the floor AGAIN but a middle rope elbow to the floor sends the masked one through the announce table. The crash looked great if nothing else. We head back inside and the People’s Elbow gets two. A double arm DDT puts Rock down and here’s Socko. Rock hangs on in the Claw forever and comes out of it with a Rock Bottom but it only gets a delayed two. Rock puts on the Sharpshooter and Vince says ring the bell just like last year, giving Rock the title, because Rock is Corporate. He’s also the new champion.
Rating: C-. This definitely wasn’t their best performance with the constant going to the floor getting old fast. Mankind would have his day but it would take awhile to get there. This was all about the shock which shouldn’t be a shock when you think about it. All night it was assumed that Mankind was the Corporate guy, but let’s look at this.
Rock’s first match was against a corporate guy and he just happens to get the easiest pin ever. Then a corporate guy throws in a nightstick so Rock can beat another corporate guy. Then Rock wins by DQ, and now this. That’s establishing a story and giving clues instead of an illogical swerve. It’s easy to tell which is better as this is shocking, but also MAKES SENSE. This is what Russo was capable of, but we almost never got to see it.
Rock hugs the McMahons and JR erupts. Vince says the people have themselves to blame and the explanation is coming tomorrow on Raw. Mankind isn’t sure what to do. Vince brags about screwing Austin over and Shane brags a bit in general. Rock says it’s time for the fans to pucker up to him. Mankind wants to know why he lost because he never gave up. Rock hits him with the belt and here’s Austin to clean house. This set up Rock vs. Austin for the title the next night in a HUGE match which I believe set a then ratings record.
Overall Rating: D+. This show was ALL about the stories and not much about the wrestling. The matches were mostly bad with a few ok ones, but those aren’t the point. This was about Vince and Shane doing their things and getting their Corporate Champion. All of that was accomplished and this set the stage until Wrestlemania. This show doesn’t really hold up that well on its own, but in context this would have been gold.
Ratings Comparison
Mankind vs. Duane Gill
Original: N/A
Redo: N/A
Al Snow vs. Jeff Jarrett
Original: B+
Redo: C+
Steve Austin vs. Big Boss Man
Original: D
Redo: C-
X-Pac vs. Steven Regal
Original: B
Redo: C-
Ken Shamrock vs. Goldust
Original: D+
Redo: D-
The Rock vs. Big Boss Man
Original: A (For Are you kidding me)
Redo: N/A
Undertaker vs. Kane
Original: C-
Redo: F+
Mankind vs. Al Snow
Original: D
Redo: D+
The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock
Original: C-
Redo: C-
Sable vs. Jacqueline
Original: D
Redo: D-
Mankind vs. Steve Austin
Original: C+
Redo: C+
The Rock vs. Undertaker
Original: B-
Redo: D
New Age Outlaws vs. D’Lo Brown/Mark Henry vs. The Headbangers
Original: F
Redo: F
Mankind vs. The Rock
Original: B-
Redo: C-
Overall Rating:
Original: C+
Redo: D+
Man what was I thinking with some of those ratings? I had no idea what I was doing back then and it shows.
Here’s the original review if you’re interested:
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I can’t say I’m surprised.
The guy got in hot water over his physique and has been doing nothing at all in NXT. He’ll probably be ROH World Champion inside of a year.
Smackdown
Date: November 8, 2013
Location: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield
Back to the blue show tonight which might mean another Cena appearance. Last week’s show was definitely an upgrade over what they had been doing lately but it’s hard to say where things go from here. If there’s one thing WWE is notoriously bad at doing it’s keeping momentum going, with the third hour of this week’s Raw being a prime example. This show has to be better than the Orton vs. Big Show segment, which we’ll likely see five or more times tonight. Let’s get to it.
A video on the Wyatts cuts off the opening sequence. It’s a recap of the Family being creepy and targeting Punk and Bryan over the last week and a half.
Here’s Punk with something to say. He talks about how Best in the World can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. Apparently to the Wyatt Family it means the target of a three on one beatdown. No one has been brave enough to go ask the Wyatt Family why they’re coming after him, but tonight Punk is here to fight instead of talk. He’s been outnumbered before but he squashed the biggest rat in the WWE named Paul Heyman. Punk is going to be here all night long so come get him.
Instead Punk gets gets Curtis Axel who says Punk needs to shut his mouth. Axel doesn’t care about the Wyatts because they can wait in line. The two of them have some unfinished business because Punk got rid of Paul Heyman, so Vickie Guerrero has granted him a match with Punk right now.
CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel
In case you haven’t seen Punk beat him up enough yet. Axel stomps him down into the corner to start but charges into an elbow to the jaw. A top rope ax handle puts Curtis down again and a neckbreaker does the same. Punk kicks Axel in the leg to flip him upside down and they head to the floor. CM drapes him ribs first over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Punk fighting out of an armbar but not being able to hit the GTS. Axel bails to the floor and whips Punk into the barricade to take over.
Back inside and a backbreaker sets up a middle rope elbow for two on Punk. Axel charges into a boot and gets caught by a middle rope cross body for two but Curtis comes back with a clothesline for a near fall of his own. CM grabs a belly to back suplex and there’s another neckbreaker for two. The running knee to the face looks to set up the Macho Elbow but the Wyatts look to interrupt. There’s no sigh of them but Axel gets in a cheap shot and the PerfectPlex is good for two. Punk gets bored though and hits the GTS to end Axel for the pin at 8:22 shown of 11:52.
Rating: C-. Man, when the distraction trick can’t even get you a win, just give up. This is one of those pairings where there’s no point in watching because the ending is never in doubt. Axel’s status has just been crushed by this point and unfortunately for him, a lot of that isn’t his fault. There’s no reason to care about someone when they never win a match, which Axel barely ever does anymore.
Post match Bray pops up on screen but blows out the lantern without saying anything.
3MB vs. Usos/R-Truth
The good guys do a cool mix of their entrances with the Usos doing their chant and jumping to start the pyro which sets off R-Truth’s song. JBL: “Truth and I are like Lil Wayne and Eminem.” Cole: “You lip sync?” Slater gets chopped by both Usos but Mahal makes a blind tag and hits a running knee to Jimmy’s face for two. A knee drop gets another two and it’s back to Slater.
There’s a double slingshot suplex to set up a triple team spot from 3MB with McIntyre and Mahal lifting Jimmy up so Slater can hit a running neckbreaker. We get a chinlock instead of a cover though, allowing Jimmy to fight up and hit a spinning kick to the face. Mahal comes in but walks into a Bubba Bomb, allowing the hot tag to the hometown Truth. The Lie Detector gets two on Jinder and everything breaks down. The Usos hit the stereo dives, leaving Truth in the ring to hit Little Jimmy on Mahal for the pin at 3:58.
Rating: C+. That’s probably high but this was as fun of a short match as I’ve seen in a very long time. This was a basic formula tag match and it worked like a charm. You had one Uso get beaten down by some nice double team moves until the hometown guy came in to clean house. Throw in a nice spot with the double dives and the match gave the crowd something to cheer for. Fun stuff.
Funkadactyls vs. Tamina Snuka/AJ Lee
On the way to the ring AJ “plugs” Total Divas before saying let’s focus on the actual wrestling. Our top heel in this division for whatever reason ladies and gentlemen. Tamina shoves Cameron down to start but the funky one comes back with a sloppy looking headlock takeover out of the corner. The Funkadactyls drop Tamina with a double dropkick before low bridging her out to the floor. Tamina pulls Naomi out to the floor and clotheslines her down to take over for the first time.
Off to AJ for a guillotine choke but Naomi fights out and hits a LOUD enziguri to put AJ down. The hot tag brings in Cameron who isn’t the girl you want to clean house. A cross body gets two on AJ but Cameron misses a charge into the corner. Back to Tamina who gets caught in a sitout bulldog for two. Cameron’s hurricanrana out of the corner is caught in a powerbomb for two as everything breaks down. Naomi drills AJ with a solid forearm but Tamina clotheslines her down even harder. AJ is all ticked off so she comes in and puts Cameron in the Black Widow for the submission at 4:32.
Rating: C+. ……what the heck was that??? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I liked this match quite a bit. All four of the girls looked good out there and played their rolls perfectly, but on top of that everyone was crisp and hitting their spots perfectly. Nothing looked stupid or heavily choreographed and the match was as good of a Divas match as I’ve seen in MONTHS.
Here’s Alberto Del Rio with something to say. Alberto talks about being a great Mexican athlete which makes him better than anyone else in the world, including all of the gringos here. His title was stolen from him by John Cena, who is only cheered because the fans are stupid. Cena is a thief, walking around with something he doesn’t deserve. The fans don’t know this but Del Rio went in to the Cell PPV sick and with a bad knee, elbow and neck. JBL: “That’s true.” He fought anyway because he had Mexican pride, and after the rematch, he’ll be able to say el campeon esta aqui (Spanish for “the champion is here)!
This brings out Cena who says he isn’t here to fight because Del Rio is sick. Therefore, we need to give him a gift. Maybe some Edible Arrangements (a good one, not the best one), a card that plays Cena’s theme song, and a card saying sorry for taking the world title, hope you feel better, make sure to watch the JBL and Cole Show.
Alberto wants Cena to be serious (Gorilla Del Rio?) and get out but Cena says make him, because the world champion is two feet away from him. Cena wants the rematch right now and Alberto says he’ll break Cena’s arm tonight. Vickie says not so fast and makes the match for Survivor Series. However, both guys will be in action tonight. It’s Cena vs. Ryback and Del Rio gets Great Khali, with the latter being right now.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Great Khali
Khali hits a forearm to the head to start before firing off elbows in the corner. A hard chop to the chest knocks Del Rio out of the ring and Khali sends him into the barricade for good measure. Del Rio kicks the ropes as they come back in to put Khali down, allowing Alberto to stomp away. Alberto cranks on the arm but Khali fights up and kicks Del Rio out of the air. More loud chops in the corner have Alberto in trouble but he grabs an armbreaker over the ropes to stop Khali in his tracks. Khali shoves him out to the floor but gets caught by the enziguri in the corner. The cross armbreaker gets the submission at 5:10.
Rating: D+. The match wasn’t horrible, but it’s the same problem that so many people in WWE have: no one believes Khali is going to win, no matter how much he dominates Del Rio throughout the match. It gives me no reason to get interested in the match, as the action is nothing special and the ending is already a given. Why should I care under those circumstances?
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper
Bryan has a taped up shoulder coming in but goes right after Harper before the bell. Harper pounds him down into the corner and goes after the bad shoulder to take Daniel down. There’s the Gator Roll to keep Bryan on the ground but he’s still able to send Harper to the floor. The FLYING GOAT connects but Bryan’s bad shoulder lands on the barricade. Harper gets up first and sends Bryan shoulder first into the barricade again as we take a break.
Back with Harper firing off elbows in the corner and throws him across the ring with ease. We hit the chinlock as the announcers talk about Dr. Phil for no apparent reason. Bryan tries to fight up but a single shout to the shoulder puts him back into the corner. Some kicks to the leg have Harper staggered a bit and there’s a dragon screw leg whip to put him down.
Bryan ties up Harper’s legs in a hold before driving in hard shots to the face, firing up the crowd in the process. Harper gets up a right hand in the corner to knock Bryan backwards, but Bryan backflips over him in the corner and hits the running clothesline. The kick kick to the head is countered into a sitout powerbomb but Bryan gets up at two. Bryan counters the discus lariat into the YES Lock but Rowan comes in for the DQ at 6:30 shown of 10:00.
Rating: B-. They’re sticking to formulas tonight and they’re working incredibly well so far. This was a good example of power vs. speed/technical abilities and Harper looked AWESOME in there. Bryan bounced all over like a pinball and the ending keeps both guys looking good. Solid effort out there, which is the point of having Bryan and Punk feud with these guys.
The beatdown is on but as Bray gets into the ring, Punk comes out for the save.
We go back to Raw to recap that infernal closing segment. Good grief we get it already: Big Show vs. Orton is awesome and we’ll praise its name forever. Just don’t make me sit through this anymore.
The weekly sitdown interview with HHH says Kane is the new Director of Operations, because if there’s one more thing WWE needs, it’s ANOTHER person with authority. The powers are yet to be revealed, but Kane has been tweeting about vigilance, which HHH translates as Kane being more than one dimensional.
John Cena vs. Ryback
Non-title. Cena comes out, goes to the back, and comes out again because the first pop wasn’t loud enough. Ryback grabs a headlock to start before running Cena over with a shoulder block. Back to the headlock but Cena counters into one of his own. Not the most exciting opening two minutes to a match. Cena fires off right hands in the corner but Ryback easily throws him off to block a bulldog.
In a very impressive power display, Ryback gorilla presses Cena over his head for probably fifteen seconds before dropping the champion down onto his face. Cena avoids a charge to send Ryback into the post as we take a break. Back with Cena countering a Boston Crab into an STF attempt but Ryback kicks him away. Ryback chokes Cena with his boot before whipping him hard across the ring for two.
Off to a front facelock by Ryback which is quickly switched into a bearhug. Cena fights free and shoulders Ryback down but Ryback counters the Shuffle into a spinebuster. Shell Shock is countered into a DDT to put both guys down but it’s Cena up first. The AA is countered and Ryback’s Jackhammer (called a suplex by Cole) gets two. Ryback charges with the Meat Hook but gets taken down into the STF. He gets to the rope in a nice false finish and hits Cena with a weak spear for two.
The Shell Shock is countered again and Cena grabs a full nelson, only to lift him up and pull Cena down into a neckbreaker for a close two. A high cross body puts Ryback down but he comes right back with a powerslam (Cole: “Shades of the Bulldog!” He references the British Bulldog but can’t remember what the Jackhammer?) for two. They slug it out in the middle of the ring but Ryback scores with the Meat Hook. The Shell Shock is countered again and this time it’s the AA for the pin on Ryback at 11:55 shown of 15:25.
Rating: B. There’s something awesome about letting two power guys beat the tar out of each other for fifteen minutes. The counters in this were getting very good by the end and Cena was busting out some great stuff out there. Ryback looked like he had Cena if he could hit that one big move but Cena kept countering in a nice story. This was a good contrast to Khali vs. Del Rio: Ryback was clearly going to lose, but here the match was hard hitting an entertaining to make up for that. Really solid main event here.
Post match Del Rio comes in to pound away on the arm. After a few moments of that, he actually goes after the bad arm by wrapping it around the post. Cena comes back with some right hands and Del Rio runs to end the show.
Overall Rating: B+. If we didn’t have that ridiculous ten minute long recap from Raw (which thankfully was cut to highlights on the American version), this was one of the best Smackdowns in months. The worst match was just five minutes long and the second worst was far from horrible, leaving us with good to very good matches to fill in the rest of the show. Really fun two hours of wrestling here with nothing new being stupid. Good stuff.
Results
CM Punk b. Curtis Axel – GTS
Usos/R-Truth b. 3MB – Little Jimmy to Mahal
AJ Lee/Tamina Snuka b. Funkadactyls – Black Widow to Cameron
Alberto Del Rio b. Great Khali – Cross armbreaker
Daniel Bryan b. Luke Harper via DQ when Erick Rowan interfered
John Cena b. Ryback – Attitude Adjustment
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Impact Wrestling
Date: November 8, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz, Todd Keneley, Jeremy Borash
Last week’s big moment was the unmasking of Luke Gallows who doesn’t actually have a name at this point. Other than that we had Gut Check and the announcement of a three way for the #1 contendership. Odds are tonight is mostly about Aces and 8’s, but that’s pretty much all you can expect to get on Impact anymore. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the announcement of the triple threat. The guy who takes the fall can’t get a title shot until BFG next year, which is a nice idea actually. We also hear about Aries vs. Hardy being a ladder match. Aries: “IT WAS JUST A METAPHOR JEFF!” Those things are just about the world title match though, so now let’s focus on the important thing: ACES AND 8’s! And that guy who we don’t have a name for yet but is more famous as Luke Gallows!
Aces and 8’s are yelling at Gallows, who is now named Doc (Director of Chaos), because he lost his mask before he was even made a full fledged member of the team. Tonight it’s Doc/D-Von vs. Angle/Sting. This sums up the major problem with the reveals so far: how in the world am I supposed to buy D-Von and Luke Gallows as a legitimate threat to beat Sting and Angle, two of the best of all time?
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode
Storm is on commentary. They fight for control of a wristlock to start before heading to the mat. Roode appears to have gotten a haircut. He blocks AJ’s drop down/kick sequence but AJ sends him to the floor with ease. Styles sends him into the steps and drops a knee back inside as Storm says he would pin Roode if he had to pick. There are ads on the mat now too, which is fine as it brings in some extra cash.
A big backdrop puts Roode down but Bobby gets in a shot to the back to take over. We take a break and come back with Roode hot shotting AJ on the top rope. A Blockbuster gets two for Roode as does an elbow drop. Storm says he’d work with Roode to beat AJ if necessary. I can see the “BEER MONEY REUNION???” posts already. Roode hooks a chinlock for a bit but AJ fights up and hits an enziguri to put both guys down.
We head to the corner with AJ pounding away but getting guillotined on the top rope to slow him down. The disadvantage lasts about eight seconds as AJ comes back with a top rope rana for two. The Clash is escaped and there’s the spinebuster from Roode for no cover. The spear misses though and AJ rolls him up into a Styles Clash position, but Roode kicks him in the head to escape. Pele misses and the fisherman’s suplex gets two for Bobby. Really good sequence there.
Bobby goes to the floor for a chair but Storm comes down to take it away from him. Styles hits a BIG springboard dive to take Roode out but stops to yell at Storm. Back in, AJ loads up another springboard but Roode knocks him off the ropes and gets a fast pin at 10:50 shown of 14:20.
Rating: B. Solid match here and for a TV match, this was great stuff. AJ and Roode have good chemistry together and when you can beat AJ Styles clean on TV, you’ve got something going for you. As for the PPV, you have to think Roode wins, but PLEASE don’t let Storm get pinned. There’s no reason to keep him out of the title scene for ANOTHER year as he never got a real run with the belt anyway which he’s more than capable of doing.
Aries runs into Hogan in the back. Aries complains about the ladder stipulation so Hulk says that if Aries doesn’t give the belt back by the end of the show, Aries loses his title shot.
We run down the remaining card for the show when the feed starts messing up. The screen says “An Ancient Evil Awakes”. Abyss maybe?
Angle is talking to Wes Brisco about timing when Sting comes up. Sting wants Brisco watching their back in the main event tonight. Are we really supposed to not get that Brisco is a member of the team? It’s obviously him given the hair, but are we supposed to not notice it?
Joseph Park is in the ring and after asking if it’s ok for him to talk, he says his body isn’t meant to go through tables and he loved the feeling of taking off Doc’s mask. His legal partners don’t want him to have a match with Aces and 8’s but he has to be a man. First though we have to make the pilgrimage to Mt. Hogan to beg for the match though, because if Hogan’s ego doesn’t get stroked every other segment, that’s just not cool brother.
Here’s Hogan who says that Park is a great guy but he got lucky last week instead of being good. Before Hogan can say no though, here’s Ray with an interruption. Ray says Park isn’t a fighter but he has a lot of guts and a lot to prove. The Bully believes in Joseph Park and so do the fans. Bully to Hulk: “Why say no when it feels so good to say yes?” It’s that mentality that led to the sex tape issue brother. Hogan says just this one time and shakes Park’s hand.
Tara hits on Jesse, who says that he used shooting star presses and a super double tiger driver last week. ODB comes in to yell at the two of them and wants a handicap match next. Jesse: “We’re going to need A LOT of hand sanitizer.”
AJ rants about Storm when the Cowboy comes in.
ODB vs. Tara/Jesse Godderz
Tara and Jesse actually skip down to the floor. They don’t have to tag here so ODB beats up both of them at once. Jesse gets rammed into ODB’s cleavage and there’s a double noggin knocker. A double elbow puts ODB down before Tara raves over the bicep a bit. ODB slams them both down and avoids a charging Jesse. Tara gets sent into his crotch and it’s a double bronco buster. ODB spears Tara down for the pin at 2:40. I smell a tag match Sunday.
ODB gets beaten down with a flask shot post match. Jesse pours the contents on her body.
Post break, ODB is on the phone with Eric’s voicemail and says the tag match is on.
Apparently on Thanksgiving, all of the Gut Check winners will be there. Oh joy.
The Gut Check judges have a chat. Taz thinks it’s a no brainer but doesn’t say which side he’s on. This goes on for awhile and Snow’s jacket gets made fun of.
Sting/Kurt Angle vs. Doc/D-Von
Before you ask, no I don’t be calling him DOC in all caps. Seriously, it makes zero difference so spare me the arguments that I’m saying it wrong. Tenay and Taz take over on commentary. The brawl starts on the floor with Angle destroying D-Von and Sting doing the same to Doc. Sting and Doc start in the corner and Sting hits a quick DDT for two. A D-Von distraction lets Doc hit a clothesline to take over as things get down to normal.
Off to D-Von who drops an elbow for two before bringing Doc back in. A suplex gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. That goes nowhere so D-Von drops a leg for two. Angle gets punched in the face to break up a tag and D-Von pounds Sting down in the corner. A Doc splash gets two as Angle makes the save. Back to D-Von for the spinning elbow for two as Aces and 8’s are using REALLY basic stuff so far.
Doc and Sting clothesline each other down and there’s the hot tag to Angle. House is cleaned and it’s a German for Doc and the Slam for D-Von. Everything breaks down but as Sting puts Doc in the Deathlock, D-Von hits Sting and Angle with the ball bat for the DQ at 5:41.
Rating: D. Nothing to see here as the match existed to get to the end. Like I said earlier, it’s really hard to buy these guys as threats to a team like Sting and Kurt Angle. The match wasn’t horrible or anything it was was absolutely nothing to get excited or interested about at all. If nothing else, Doc has a good look to him with the size and bald head.
Post match here’s Bully for the save and he loads up a table. D-Von runs as soon as he sees it so Sting comes back to beat up Doc. More members come in with a hammer to save Doc and Sting gets put through the table. Angle gets knocked to the floor and Doc “hits” Sting with the hammer, clearly missing his hand by a good space. Joe, Chavo and Hernandez make the save. You know, because you should be afraid when you have the high ground AND A HAMMER. Sting gets taken out by medics.
This has nothing to do with what just happened, but apparently that Ancient Evil Awakes is a Halo 4 ad. Silly me for thinking an ad during a wrestling show was about wrestling.
Time for Gut Check, because that transition is fine. Taz says yes without a doubt and Prichard says yes as well, giving York the contract. I can’t argue with that one.
Aries is in the back on the phone when he sees Brooke and Ray arguing over something. They see him coming and stop immediately because they don’t want him to hear. We’ve got intrigue!
We recap Hardy vs. Aries.
We run down the Turning Point card. Unless I’m missing it, does Ray not have a match?
Hogan is on the phone asking for updates on Sting when he runs into Joey Ryan. Ryan says Hulk can congratulate him on winning the X Title which he hasn’t gotten a shot at yet. Hogan tells Morgan that Matt isn’t allowed at ringside on Sunday. Morgan says Hulk has no idea who he’s messing with but he’ll find out. I still want Morgan as the Aces and 8’s boss. Morgan and Ryan leave and Hogan says he does know.
Samoa Joe/Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels/Kazarian/Magnus
It’s a big brawl to start with Chavo vs. Daniels finally getting things going. Daniels gets beaten around like a pinball before Chavo suplexes him down for two. Daiels hits a knee and tags Kaz but the beating continues very quickly. SuperMex comes in with a splash for two and it’s time for Magnus vs. Joe. The British guy who used to be a gladiator for some reason runs to the floor and upon reentry, the heels gets in a shot to Joe’s back to take over.
Everything breaks down again until it’s Joe hammering away on Daniels in the corner. Daniels drops a knee and brings in Chavo with a slingshot hilo for two. Hernandez hooks a bearhug into an overhead belly to belly before it’s back to Chavo who gets two off a dropkick. Some double teaming FINALLY slows Chavo down and the beatdown begins. A running jumping swinging neckbreaker gets two for Kaz and it’s off to Magnus again.
Daniels acts like he’s riding a horse for some reason before it’s off to Kaz for a bow and arrow hold. Chavo fights up and hooks a headscissors to take Kaz down and make the tag off to Hernandez. House is cleaned and Daniels gets launched with a shoulder block. The Border Toss is broken up but Daniels/Kaz’s double suplex is countered into a suplex on both of them by Hernandez. Off to Joe vs. Magnus with the Samoan taking over. Magnus charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner.
The two of them head to the floor as does Daniels, so here’s a big dive by Hernandez to take them out. Chavo loads up the Frog Splash on Magnus but Kaz breaks it up. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster on Magnus but Daniels makes the save. There’s the Clutch on Daniels but it’s broken up by a jawbreaker. Daniels and Kaz go High/Low on Joe and a top rope elbow from Magnus gets the pin at 11:00.
Rating: B-. Solid six man tag here with the exactly right ending. This gives you a reason to believe Magnus can in fact win the title from Joe which wasn’t really something that was easy to buy into earlier. That’s basic booking and that’s all you need to do most of the time, yet most companies don’t get it.
Roode says his plan is coming together with AJ fighting Storm.
We recap the attack on Sting.
Here’s Aries to return the belt. There’s a ladder at ringside and another one in the ring. Aries says that Hardy says he’s the best wrestler on the planet. Well Aries is the best wrestler in the universe. Either this universe, or any universe. They’re going hard with the WWE jabs lately. Austin talks about how Hardy has lived and died by the ladder match. Hardy has fallen a lot, but on Sunday the fall is going to be worse than any he’s ever had. The fans keep chanting WHAT so Aries goes off on them a bit.
Aries says he’s going to use Hardy’s belt as a belt buckle, meaning Hardy’s face will be down by his crotch (his words, not mine). If Hardy wants this belt back, come and get it. Here’s Hardy who knocks Aries to the floor and takes the title before climbing up the ladder. He hangs both belts and poses but Aries shoves him off the ladder and stomps him down to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Good show overall here and pretty good hype for the PPV, but again, we’ve got a lawyer fighting a career enforcer and Kurt Angle vs. D-Von which we’re supposed to pay for. They need to reveal someone big soon or the interest they’ve got left in this story is going to die soon. That’s a problem because it’s ALL OVER the TV shows. The other stuff with the world title related matches is really good though and I’m looking forward to the show. Still though, where is Bully Ray?
Results
Bobby Roode b. AJ Styles – Pin after knocking Styles off the top rope
ODB b. Tara/Jesse Godderz – Spear to Tara
Sting/Kurt Angle b. D-Von/Doc via DQ when D-Von hit Angle with a baseball bat
Magnus/Kazarian/Christopher Daniels b. Samoa Joe/Chavo Guerrero Jr./Hernandez – Top Rope Elbow To Joe
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:
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ECW on Sci-Fi
Date: November 7, 2006
Location: The Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz
Yep I’m still doing these. It’s been nearly three months but I’m still doing these. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re getting close to December to Dismember and the Extreme Elimination Chamber which is pretty much the worst PPV ever. Tonight we’ve got some qualifying matches which I don’t think we’ve had up to this point. Then again there’s a good chance I’ve just forgotten them. Let’s get to it.
After a recap of last week’s main event (Big Show/Test vs. Holly/RVD) we’re ready to go.
Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Mike Knox
Before we get going, Kelly gets caught smiling at Punk so Knox sends her to the back. A fast rollup gets two for Punk as does a leg lariat as Knox is in trouble early. Punk hooks the Vice in the ropes ala the Tarantula and the springboard clothesline puts Knox on the floor. All Punk so far. Mike finally hits a knee to the ribs to take over and gets two off a bicycle (Brogue) kick. What is with big guys that use that move?
Punk gets a forearm up in the corner but a springboard rana is caught in a powerbomb for another close two. Knox, the big oaf that he is, misses a charge in the corner so Punk can fire off some kicks. The corner knee looks to set up the corner bulldog but of course it fails completely as Knox counters into a backbreaker. Knox loads up a superplex but Punk shoves him down and hits a high cross body for another close two. Since we’re still in 2006, a bunch of kicks set up the Rock Bottom and the Anaconda Vice gets the tap out for Punk.
Rating: B-. You could tell Punk was good because he got Mike Knox to look solid in nearly every match they had. Punk going to the Chamber was obvious as he was the hottest thing they had on ECW at this point and he was destined to be a star. Good stuff here and one of Knox’s better matches ever.
Sylvester Terkay and Elijah Burke are here and promise to bring Elijah Burke Productions to ECW. Great.
Here are Heyman and his security guards with something to say. Heyman has the gorilla head from last week and we get a clip of him costing RVD the main event last week. Tonight it’s Big Show/Heyman vs. RVD/Holly where either someone will get their face kicked in or someone will be extremely embarrassed. Also there’s an open contract for anyone from Raw or Smackdown that wants the last spot in the Chamber and they’ll be able to sign it next week. Heyman says he has to leave to go do some cardio which sends Tazz into hysterics.
Daivari vs. Little Guido
Daivari tries to jump Guido early but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Guido hits some really basic stuff before walking into a hot shot to stop him cold. Daivari stomps on him a bit but walks into an elbow to the face for two. This clearly isn’t going to last long. That would be correct as Daivari sends Guido hard into the corner and hits an arm trap DDT for a quick pin. Nothing to see here.
Khali hits the Plunge on Guido post match.
Video on The Marine.
Extreme Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Test vs. Tommy Dreamer
They start fast with Dreamer hitting a Cactus Clothesline to put both guys on the floor. Since we’re in a Dreamer match though he’s in trouble early with Test ramming him back first into the post. Back in and Test loads up the pumphandle slam, only to have Dreamer slip down his back and hit a neckbreaker for two. A sitout spinebuster gets two more for Dreamer and he chokes away on the ropes. That’s not a nice guy there Tommy. Test kicks him low as he deserves, setting up the big boot and the Test Drive to advance to the Chamber.
Rating: D+. Eh it’s Test vs. Tommy Dreamer. Was there ever a doubt as to who was going to win here? At the end of the day there was nothing surprising either way here as Test gets a push he doesn’t deserve and Dreamer is a jobber who can’t pull off his ultimate goal. This was watchable but pinning Dreamer is hardly an accomplishment.
Rob Van Dam/Hardcore Holly vs. Paul Heyman/Big Show
I smell either a screwjob or a comedy match or even worse: both. Show and Van Dam start with the big man talking trash until Van Dam kicked him in the legs to shut him up. Rob immediately goes after Heyman but gets crushed by a splash and chopped in the corner. Show pounds him down and breaks up a few tag attempts to Holly. The fans are clamoring for a hot tag here which sounds like the screwjob to me.
We head to the floor and Holly backs down from the security. So much for being HARDCORE I guess. We head back in for a clothesline from Show who isn’t interested in trying to get a pin. In a disturbing image, Heyman does jumping jacks on the apron, much to Taz’s disgust. Show holds Rob’s arms so Paul can slap him in the face.
Another Van Dam comeback is stopped by Show but he misses a charge and gets kicked in the face. The chokeslam is countered via a DDT and there’s the hot tag, immediately followed by the turn from Holly. Yep I was right. Holly beats the tar out of him and hits an Alabama Slam on a chair as the match is thrown out.
Rating: C-. The crowd reaction on the heel turn was surprisingly solid but the match before it was generic stuff. Heyman never actually got into the match which doesn’t really surprise me. At least it wasn’t unfunny comedy and they went with the only interesting combo they had. Holly turning was probably a good idea as he’s a natural jerk in the first place.
The heels celebrate to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. For an ECW on Sci-Fi, this was about as good as you’re going to get. The Chamber is coming, but man alive is it going to SUCK. Holly turning is the big story here and it’s the right move to turn him as I don’t think people were really buying him as a face. On top of that we’ve got the incoming star next week to enter the Chamber match. Good show this year.
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This came up again last night while watching an old Raw.JR said Bret had won several major titles in the WWF, including the WWF, Tag Team and Intercontinental Title.
This brings up a question I’ve asked for years: what are some of the minor titles in wrestling? I’ve heard of major ones, but never any examples of minor ones.
Monday Night Raw
Date: February 17, 1997
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 5,876
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross
It’s the night after In Your House: Final Four and we have a new world champion in the form of Bret Hart. However as a condition of him being champion, he has to defend the title tonight against Sycho Sid, who didn’t get his title shot against Shawn due to losing his smile. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania 13 in about five weeks so the buildup will begin tonight. Let’s get to it.
I’ve already done the next two weeks worth of shows and links to the reviews can be found at the bottom.
WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Sycho Sid
That’s quite the way to open up a show. Before the bell we’re told that Undertaker will meet the winner of this match at Wrestlemania 13. They stare each other down but here’s Steve Austin to attack Bret. Referees and backstage personnel break it up but Sid takes a shot to the knee somewhere in there, putting him down on the mat for some swearing. Austin is taken away and Sid gets back inside, but Patterson and Brisco (some REAL Americans) and some referees won’t let the match start like this. More on this later.
We look back at Shawn vacating the belt last Thursday, because of a “knee injury.” I’m sure that wouldn’t be a case of Idon’twanttojobthetitlesoI’mfakingthiswholething-itis.
We get some shots of Final Four last night which is still an awesome match.
Sid is freaking out in the back (moreso than usual) but says nothing is going to keep him from winning the title tonight.
Marc Mero vs. Savio Vega
Apparently Sable has been being much more aggressive lately to help Mero win some extra matches. Savio has the Nation with him, other than Farrooq who is in the balcony, looking down on the arena. Things start fast with Mero snapping off some armdrags and a dropkick sends Savio into the waiting arms of Crush. Mero dives over the top rope to take them both out but Vega takes over as they get back inside. A spinwheel kick in the corner has Mero in trouble and Vega chokes away on the ropes.
Marc gets a quick two off a crossbody and he pounds away with rights and lefts in the corner. Savio comes back with a snap suplex and sends Mero to the floor for a beating from the white rappers known as PG-13. Sable will have none of that and fires off some martial arts kicks to dispatch the white boys. Back inside and Mero hits a Samoan drop but the Nation chases Sable into the ring for the DQ.
Rating: C-. This was fun while it lasted but the ending hurt it a bit. Mero and Vega were both guys that could go when they were motivated and Mero was at his best around this time. This didn’t have time to go anywhere with less than five minutes, but at least they were trying.
Ahmed Johnson, in what appear to be orange pajamas, clears the ring with a 2×4.
Bret says he can’t worry about Austin and has to defend the title against Sid tonight. After that, he’ll be waiting on his next opponent. Lawler accuses Bret of overlooking Sid but Bret says he’s just looking out for #1.
Intercontinental Title: Leif Cassady vs. Rocky Maivia
Cassady, more famous as Al Snow, lost to Mero last night but is getting this shot tonight. Such is life in the WWF. Rocky is still billed from the South Pacific here which makes me picture him singing show tunes. He won the title from HHH last Thursday and beat him again in a rematch last night. Before the match starts, here’s Sunny in a barely there pink outfit to hit on Rocky.
They slug it out to start until Rocky clotheslines Cassady out to the floor. Back in and a cross body gets two for Rocky and we hit the armbar. We go split screen for an interview with HHH who says Maivia is just a lucky punk. These two really were joined at the hip for their entire careers. HHH blames Goldust for costing him the title last night and promises it’s not over with him. Cassady finally fights out of the armbar and elbows Rocky in the face to take over.
A quick rollup gets two for the champion but Leif pokes him in the eye to take over again. Cassady uses a nice forward leg trip to take Rocky down and put on another armbar. The fans think this is boring and I can’t say I blame them. Lawler compares Rocky to some other hotshot rookie that hasn’t proven he can do anything yet: Tiger Woods. Back up and Leif DDTs the arm and hooks yet another armbar. A top rope shot to the head gets two for Leif but Rocky slams him down when Cassady tries another. The high cross body sets up the shoulder breaker to retain Rocky’s title.
Rating: D. Rocky was still brand new at this point and it was really showing badly. Cassady is a very talented guy but there was nothing for him in something like this. He was part of the New Rockers at this point but it was clear that such a gimmick wasn’t going to take him anywhere. Who would think that these two would feud over being Mankind’s best friend someday?
We go to the announcers where Lawler rants about how stupid ECW is. He issues a challenge for them to show up next week if they’re tough enough. Lawler also throws in a jab at WCW, saying a friend of his took a Lawler sign to a WCW show in Memphis but they took it away from him.
We see a clip from the national anthem of all things.
Here are Goldust and Marlena to address HHH making a pass at Marlena. Goldust says he’s from Hollywood but this is reality. HHH has crossed a line and now this is personal. All the money in the world can’t buy Marlena and the only way that HHH is going to get closer to her is over his dead body.
Marlena clears up a few rumors about Goldust, saying that he is all man from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, making him more of a man than HHH could ever be. Cue HHH with a cheap shot to Goldust, allowing him to pound Goldie down into the corner. There’s a Pedigree so Marlena slaps HHH in the face, drawing in the yet to be named Chyna to shake Marlena like a toy, earning her another trip to the pokey.
Headbangers vs. Hardy Boys
Yes it’s them and yes they’re still really new around here. On the other hand you have the Hardy Boys who are REALLY young, with Matt being 22 and Jeff only 19 here. Jeff scores with a running clothesline on Most before bringing in Matt to drop an ax handle on the arm. We go split screen to hear Farrooq saying he’ll finish Ahmed Johnson whenever he feels like it and lists off a bunch of expensive stuff that Johnson owns that he doesn’t want the fans to know about. Their match at Wrestlemania should just be a Chicago street fight.
The Headbangers take over and pound away on Matt including Most hitting a springboard cross body to the floor. Back in and it’s off to Thrasher who stomps Matt down into the corner before lifting him up into a suplex/side slam combo for no cover. Jeff gets the tag and almost immediately is clotheslined in half, setting up a powerbomb/guillotine legdrop combo for the pin.
Rating: D. This is much more of a historical anomaly than anything of note. The Hardys would become a regular low level tag team soon after this while the Headbangers would look like the bigger deal for a good while. The match was just a squash but it’s always fun to see these future stars in their early days.
WWF World Title: Sycho Sid vs. Bret Hart
Sid has a bad knee due to the Austin run-in earlier tonight. We cut to the back and Austin is attacking Bret Hart in the back, ramming him into a steel door and even Vince McMahon is helping break it up. No match again.
Gorilla Monsoon says the title match will happen tonight, period.
Flash Funk vs. Owen Hart
Flash Funk is 2 Cold Scorpio and Brodus Clay minus about 100lbs. Both guys flip out of wristlocks to start before Owen catches a kick, only to have Flash flip him over with the foot Owen caught. That’s a hard one to describe. They keep countering each other until Owen clotheslines him down but Funk is right back up. Both guys try dropkicks at the same time and we have a standoff.
We get to the interesting part of the match: Paul Heyman of ECW calls in to talk to Jerry Lawler. They try a test of strength as Heyman accepts the challenge on behalf of ECW. Lawler makes fun of some of the big ECW names such as Sabu, Sandman and Blue Meanie. Owen tries the Sharpshooter but Flash gets a sloppy rollup for two. Clarence Mason, the annoying attorney that managed Owen around this time, comes out to get Owen’s attention for some reason.
Owen goes to the floor so Flash can hit a big dive as Owen’s partner British Bulldog comes out to yell at Mason. We take a break and come back with Owen bridging up into a backslide for two. Hart gets another near fall off a German suplex and there’s a spinwheel kick to put Funk down again. We cut to a split screen with Steve Austin who says he went over the edge a long time ago.
Austin won the Rumble a long time ago and Shawn quit because he’s afraid to face someone like Austin. Owen suplexes Funk down but Flash fights back with some shots to the face and a backdrop. The high cross body gets two on Owen and a great looking moonsault gets the same. They run the ropes a bit and Bulldog gets in a cheap shot with the Slammy, allowing Owen to hit a spinwheel kick for the pin.
Rating: C. I don’t ever remember a match with so much stuff going on besides a match when Vince Russo wasn’t in charge. Think about it: we had something going on with Mason, interference, a phone call and an interview, all in a ten minute TV match. The match was solid from what I could see, but there was too much going on to keep track of what was going on.
Bart Gunn vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Honky Tonk Man is on commentary as he’s still looking for a protege. After the bell we get a promo from HHH, saying he doesn’t know who Marlena is and he doesn’t care. HHH grabs the arm to start but Bart counters into a wristlock of his own to take over. Gunn scores with a dropkick and takes HHH down into an armbar. Back up and Helmsley misses a charge into the corner and we’re right back to the armbar. Helmsley gets up again and takes him down with a jumping knee to the face but here’s Goldust to chase HHH into the crowd for a countout.
Rating: D. Another boring match here which was only there for the ending. Goldust vs. HHH continues to be an interesting story but the matches never quite lived to the story. Bart Gunn was such a forgettable guy after splitting from Billy until the Brawl For All of all things gave him some notoriety.
We go to Dr. James Andrews to talk about Shawn’s knee. Apparently it’s badly twisted but surgery isn’t a requirement just yet.
WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Sycho Sid
Let’s try this one more time. Bret is defending in case that was lost in this whole mess tonight. Sid takes him into the corner and pounds away to start before whipping Bret hard into the corner to work on Bret’s bad back. Bret has a bad back? Apparently so for the sake of the match. Sid takes him down again with a hard clothesline before stomping down onto Bret’s chest a few times. All challenger so far.
Bret comes back with some punches to the ribs and a backbreaker, causing JR to say Sid isn’t 6’9 now. Unless a backbreaker involves cutting Sid’s foot off, I’ll have to disagree. Sid fires off more shots to the back and hits a backbreaker of his own (Lawler: “YAHOO!”) for two. Bret comes back by taking out the leg and drops some elbows onto the knee for good measure. The leg is wrapped around the post and there’s the Figure Four around the post (making its TV debut).
We take a break and come back with Bret bending the knee around the ropes and kicking away at the thigh. Sid fights out with some forearms to the chest and a legdrop for two. Sid (with the knee looking perfectly fine) goes to the middle rope for another legdrop but Bret blocks a chokeslam. Bret misses a charge into the ropes but is still able to backdrop Sid over the top. Austin tries to come in through the crowd but Sid punches him down. There’s the Sharpshooter but Austin sneaks in with a chair shot to break it up. The powerbomb (dude sell the leg!) is enough to give Sid the world title.
Rating: D+. I remember Benoit having the same problems with Sid two years later: there’s only so much Bret can do when Sid won’t sell the freaking knee injury. Sid had a knee injury coming into the match, had it worked on during the match, then got caught in the Sharpshooter but can hit the powerbomb fine? That doesn’t work and it’s not Hart’s fault at all.
Undertaker comes out to stare down Sid to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This is a very simple concept: the stuff involving Bret vs. Austin is awesome and the rest of the show is about as dull as you can get. That was WWF’s biggest problem for a long time: they couldn’t fill in a full show with interesting stuff and there was no reason to watch. Things would get better, but for now it was the main event scene or nothing.
Here’s the February 24 show if you’re interested:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/03/14/monday-night-raw-february-24-1997-ecw-invades-raw/
Here’s the March 3 show if you’re interested:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/02/05/2557/
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
Impact Wrestling
Date: November 7, 2013
Location: Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Taz, Mike Tenay
It’s a big show this week for TNA as this is the start of their world title tournament, perhaps the final Impact outside of Orlando for a good while and it’s the 500th episode. However, what has TNA been focused on with their new Impact 365 dead? The fact that Pacman Jones is back in TNA for a show or two.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with him, he’s the guy that was suspended from the NFL for a year and thought he’d make a quick buck “wrestling” (read as standing on the apron and making a cover here or there) in the mean time. Now he’s famous for being a decent football player that hasn’t gotten arrested in a few years. He’s been the focus for TNA in their internet videos late. Let’s get to it.
We open with Dixie in the back with Pacman when Mr. Anderson comes up. He doesn’t want any trouble but just a match with Bully. Dixie says she can make that happen.
We get a recap of AJ leaving and the announcement of the world title tournament via a voiceover similar to a movie trailer.
Pacman Jones and another Cincinnati Bengal are in the front row.
Here’s the Main Event Mafia, which is actually still a thing. Sting says the Mafia has accomplished its goals of keeping Aces and 8’s at bay and taking the world title away from Bully Ray. Today he can say mission accomplished, even though there has been a lot of trials and tribulation along the way. As of today, the Mafia is being put back up on the shelf. All of them have something they’re doing at the moment, such as Sting coming up short in the gauntlet match and the other three all being in the world title tournament.
Sting is going to be dealing with this thing called entitlement. He’s going to be dealing with those people that are trying to come in on top without ever having to pay any dues. Sting has respect for this business and hugs all three members of the team. He says he loves Joe and Angle but only hugs Magnus before walking away. Joe takes the mic and says he’s been denied a world title for far too long. The road to the title starts with Magnus and it’s going to go through Angle. They’re all friends, but Joe is going to remind them why they make far better enemies.
Magnus says that Angle is on a road to redemption but it’s also Magnus’ road to destiny. He loves Angle like a brother, but after he goes through Joe, he’ll mow Angle down if he has to. His goal is to become world champion but the fans don’t seem to have the same vision that Magnus has.
Angle is left alone in the ring and says Sting is right. They all have their own goals and his is to become world champion once again. He also wants to prove he’s Hall of Fame worthy, but last week he suffered a setback. Last week he was told he wasn’t cleared to compete, but since then he’s talked to his personal doctor….but here’s Roode with an interruption.
Roode says he’s embarrassed for Kurt because he keeps having to make excuses. Angle needs to be a man and admit that he’s lost twice in a row to the It Factor. Roode’s goal is the world title as well, and if he has to face Angle in the finals, he has no problem destroying him for a third time. Angle is cool with that but doesn’t want to wait for the finals so the fight is on now.
Angle is still in the ring after the break and says he’ll wait in the ring until he gets Bobby Roode even if it’s until next week. Roode comes right back out at him but security tries to break it up. The guys are finally split up after a few moments but Angle sprints up the ramp to get another piece. Joe, Magnus and Bad Influence come out to try to split them up and both guys are finally taken to the back.
The opening segment somehow keeps going with Bad Influence getting in the Bengals’ faces, only to have them come into the ring and slam Kaz and Daniels down.
Garrett and Knux say the condition of the club is none of the people’s business. Anderson comes up behind them and says that he just wants to talk. He says what they did to him was the best thing they’ve ever done to him. They need to get out of the club though because this isn’t what they started.
Velvet Sky vs. ODB vs. Brooke
Winner gets a title shot at some point in the future. Brooke and Velvet shake it a bit to start so ODB chests them down. A double Bronco Buster has Brooke and Sky in trouble but Brooke rolls ODB up for two. ODB gets knocked to the floor so Velvet can get a neckbreaker for two on Brooke. Velvet gets powerslammed down but Brooke takes her down and drops a top rope elbow to ODB. Everyone is down so here are Gail and Lei’D Tapa to watch as we take a break.
Back with a three way slugout with ODB taking over. Both girls put a half crab on Brooke at the same time. The alliance doesn’t last long as Velvet starts chopping away at ODB, only to be ran over again. ODB slams Brooke onto Velvet but goes to the floor to yell at Tapa and Kim. Brooke hits a dropkick through the ropes before clotheslining Velvet down. Everyone is back inside now and Brooke hits a cross body to take out both girls at once. Gail and Tapa get up on the apron and Gail comes in to break up In Yo Face to Brooke for a DQ at 9:45.
Rating: C-. Not the worst match in the world but the ending sucked. Since when are there DQ’s in a triple threat match? Velvet and ODB were their usual selves but Brooke looked a bit better than her typical performance here. The downside here is how obvious it was that the division is dying for some fresh blood though.
Post match Gail and Tapa destroy everyone (save for some forearms from ODB that staggered Tapa). Gail says it’s clear she has no competition so she’s issuing an open challenge to anyone from outside the company and if anyone beats her, they can have a title shot.
We get a video from AJ Styles of a title defense in AAA in Mexico.
Bully goes up to Knux and Garrett in the back and says he’s tired of being ignored. Knux goes on a rant about how this isn’t their club anymore but all about Bully. Ray says it’s because he’s president but Knux demands a vote tonight from all three of them and Taz. Knux storms off but Ray grabs Garrett and glares at him.
Dixie is on the phone, yelling at someone to fix the person who is humiliating her (presumably AJ). She hangs up when Ethan Carter III comes in. Dixie says he’s done a great job but they need to change their plan a bit. Tonight he gets to pick his opponent which he thinks will mean the end of the streak. Dixie says keep the intensity up.
It’s time for the Aces and 8’s vote. Ray comes out last and says his catchphrase but Garrett cuts him off by saying yes, they do know who he is. Before the vote can be taken, Anderson comes out to watch. Garrett votes that he’s finished and takes off his cut. Ray appeals to Knux but Knux says he doesn’t need Ray or the club. He takes off the cut as well, leaving just Tazz and Ray in the club.
Ray assumes that Tazz is going to vote with him, which Ray says we’re going to a tie, which goes to a president. Ray sucks up to Taz a bit before saying Tazz knows how to do what his president tells him to do. Tazz takes the mic and tells Ray to hit the brakes a little bit. They’ve been friends for a long time but have always done the right thing. The club has been about Bully’s agenda alone for way too long, so Tazz is done too. Ray says put those colors back on but Tazz says make him.
Ray yells at Anderson for ruining everything so Anderson throws out a challenge for a No DQ fight at Turning Point. Bully talks about Anderson looking up to Steve Austin, but Anderson has forgotten the first rule. Garrett and Knux jump Anderson so Ray can whip him with the chain while shouting DON’T TRUST ANYBODY. Ray says the Aces catchphrase and the team is still together. Yes, SERIOUSLY.
Back from a break with Bobby Roode coming up to the announce desk and promising to take Angle out tonight.
Ethan Carter III vs. Dewey Barnes
This is another rematch for Carter. Ethan runs him over to start and slams him face first into the mat out of a belly to back suplex. There’s a kick to the ribs but Dewey comes back with a dropkick in the corner and a neckbreaker but his missile dropkick misses. The Bulldog Driver (the 1 Percenter) ends Barnes at 2:25.
Joseph Park is eating candy corn in the back when Bad Influence shows up. Park says they’re bullying him while they suggest he’s Abyss. Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin (NFL players currently involved in a bullying scandal) references are made until Eric Young comes in to make science jokes and set up a tag team match.
Bad Influence vs. Eric Young/Joseph Park
Eric gets double teamed to start but sends Bad Influence into each other. Park comes in for some work on the arm but it’s back to Young for an Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner. Kaz is sent to the floor for a suicide dive from Eric and a cross body back inside gets two. Young is sent to the corner for a Flair Flip plus some strutting on the apron, only to have Kaz knock him out to the floor. Back inside and Bad Influence lays him out with Daniels getting two off a clothesline to the back of the head.
A Kaz distraction prevents the referee from seeing the hot tag to Park but Young ducks a clothesline, sending Bad Influence into each other again. Now the hot tag brings in Park and there’s a Boston Crab on Kaz. Daniels makes the save but everything breaks down. Daniels whips Young knees first into the steps before picking up the bell ringer’s hammer. That goes nowhere so he picks up the Appletini to blind Park, allowing Kaz to crucifix him for the pin at 4:38.
Rating: D. Just a match here for the most part with nothing significant happening at all. We’ve seen these teams fight several times now and nothing has really been accomplished as a result. The only interesting thing here is the difference in comedy. Young and Park have hammered their jokes so far into the ground that they haven’t been funny for months. Bad Influence on the other hand at least keeps their comedy moving, which keeps them feeling much fresher. It’s a nice breather.
Post break here’s Angle again, saying he’ll be out here if Roode wants a piece. Instead he gets Austin Aries who says he respects everything Angle has done, but if Angle doesn’t bring his best, he has no chance. Dixie pops up on screen and spins the Wheel of Dixie to make it a submission match next week. Aries says good luck and walks away but Roode comes in from behind to jump Angle and beat him down against the steps. Aries makes the save so Angle will be at 100% next week. That’s nice of him. Angle throws Aries to the side to get at Roode but so Aries goes after Kurt until security breaks it up.
TNA World Title Tournament First Round: Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Sabin
This is Full Metal Mayhem, which is TNA’s version of TLC but you win by pin or submission. Sabin is sent into a chair in the corner to knock him to the floor, allowing Hardy to hit a clothesline off the apron to take Chris down again. Sabin comes back with a ladder to the ribs as we head back inside for a rolling cutter onto the ladder for two on Hardy. Jeff comes back with a backdrop to send Sabin onto the ladder in the corner and blasts Sabin with a garbage can.
Jeff sets up a table in the corner but Sabin hurricanranas out of whatever Hardy was setting up. Hardy gets crotched on the top and is caught in the Tree of Woe so Sabin can rip at his EARS. That’s just painful looking. A baseball slide dropkick sends a chair into Hardy’s face and Sabin stands on his groin in the corner. Hardy is able to blast Sabin in the back with a chair despite hanging upside down in a nice counter.
Poetry in Motion connects in the corner and a clothesline sends Sabin out to the floor. Hardy lays him on a table and goes up top but misses a dive, crashing through the table as a result. Back in and Sabin puts Hardy on a table but his splash hits knees. It still drives Jeff through the table though so I’m not sure how much good it did him. Jeff scores with a quick Twist of Fate and sets up the ladder for a Swanton off the top to send him to the next round at 10:45.
Rating: B-. This was exactly what it was supposed to be. It wasn’t anything that set the bar any higher, but it was what they advertised it as: complete mayhem with both guys destroying each other and a huge spot to end it. I fear for Jeff’s ability to move when he’s 54 years old, but the entertainment is good while it lasts.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a much better show than what TNA has been throwing at us lately but it was far from perfect. I really liked the Angle vs. Roode stuff which made me feel like they wanted to kill each other. It would be better if they were meeting in the tournament, but there’s always the chance that they could cost one another their matches to set up a showdown somewhere in the future.
On the other hand, we have Aces and 8’s. That’s my problem with them: they’re still around. This group has been around nearly 18 months at this point and shouldn’t have made it half that long. I have no idea why this team is still around and I have no idea what TNA sees in them anymore. It’s Ray and two goons who have never accomplished anything on their own but we’re still supposed to care about them?
Overall the show was decent tonight but there was too much stuff that went nowhere, such as pretty much everything other than the main event and Angle vs. Roode. I liked tonight’s episode, but I have zero faith in TNA to make this last at all. Maybe it’ll be good for a few weeks, but long term planning is TNA’s Kryptonite. Actually scratch that as it would imply TNA is Superman. We’ll say it’s their……whatever the weakness is of Carrotman.
Results
Gail Kim vs. ODB vs. Brooke went to a no contest when Gail Kim interfered
Ethan Carter III b. Dewey Barnes – 1 Percenter
Bad Influence b. Joseph Park/Eric Young – Crucifix to Park
Jeff Hardy b. Chris Sabin – Swanton Bomb off the top of the ladder
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