He’s now on the alumni page of WWE.com. If true, this isn’t the biggest shock in the world. He hasn’t done anything of note in years and is just there for someone to beat in a “surprise”. I still don’t get people who say he’s the worst in the world. Yeah he’s big and slow, but what else are you expecting from someone like him? Why would he do anything but use power moves and big man offense?
Survivor Series 2004
Date: November 14, 2004
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz
It’s another year and the main thing that has changed is a few people rising up the card. For instance, Cena and Batista are about six months away from taking over the company while Orton is currently the top face on Raw, feuding with who else but HHH. Other than that we’ve got JBL as world champion which was pretty dreadful stuff. Hopefully this is more inspired than last year. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video about the seventeen years this show has run already.
The set looks cool here as it’s made of six screens which I guess will act like the Tron tonight. That’s the annoying thing about WWE today: all of the shows look the same.
Cruiserweight Title: Spike Dudley vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman
Spike is defending and is a heel here. This is one fall to a finish. Kidman hurt Chavo on a Shooting Star Press and seemed to be proud of it, which resulted in a heel turn for him. The other good thing here is that they don’t have to tag. That’s always a waste of time in these things as you just wait for things to break down. Kidman and Spike form a quick alliance, only to have Kidman dropkick the champ out to the floor.
Rey sends Kidman to the floor and it’s off to Rey vs. Chavo who are apparently friends at this point. Oh please, like these two could EVER get along. Rey spins Chavo around with a headscissors before Spike sends Rey into the corner and stomps away while screaming. Chavo comes back in and a double clothesline puts himself and Spike down. With Kidman on the apron, Rey hits a rana to send him out to the floor in a cool looking spot.
Back in and Rey tries the sitout bulldog on Chavo but Guerrero throws him onto Kidman in a seated senton. Chavo dives on both of them, leaving Spike standing ta….short actually. Anyway the champ dives on all of them but they step aside to let him crash. Chavo finally gets his hands on Billy back in the ring but Spike comes back in to break up a pinfall attempt.
Rey misses a moonsault over Spike’s head and gets thrown to the floor as a result. We get a Tower of Doom with everyone minus Rey involved, so Rey comes in and tries to steal a pin. Rey charges at Kidman but gets caught in a BK Bomb (Sky High) for two but Chavo breaks up the Shooting Star. Spike hits a running headbutt to Rey’s ribs but the Dudley Dog is broken up. 619 hits Spike but Billy breaks up the West Coast Pop. Chavo hits the Gory Bomb on Spike but Kidman hits a slingshot legdrop on Chavo. Rey takes out Kidman and Spike steals the pin on Chavo to retain.
Rating: B-. Not a great match or anything here but it was fine for an opener. Rey was insanely popular still but Spike keeping the title was a great way to tick off the fans. There’s nothing wrong with a heel winning, as long as the opener fires up the crowd, which this did. Good choice.
Heidenreich is getting fired up by Heyman when Paul goes to get his jacket. Snitsky, another creepy heel of the day, comes in. He says he likes Heidenreich’s poetry and Heidenreich likes what Snitsky does to babies. There’s WAY too much deep breathing here. By the way, this was almost who Taker and Kane fought at Mania before the company woke up and stuck Orton against Taker instead.
Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian
Shelton is defending but the Waterproof Blonde version of Christian’s theme makes him far more awesome. Shelton is at the point in his career when he’s about to get on one of the biggest rolls in years but it never went anywhere past the IC Title. The champ cranks on the arm to start before they head to the mat. Keeping in mind that Shelton was a legit All-American wrestler, he’s just fine being on the mat with Christian.
Christian cranks on the arm but Shelton drops to the mat and immediately nips up which looked great. It didn’t do anything but it looked great. Christian talks trash and gets punched in the face for his efforts. Shelton skins the cat before hitting a great looking springboard clothesline for two. A HARD chop slows Benjamin down and Christian talks some more trash. Shelton counters a monkey flip by casually landing on his feet and grabs an Oklahoma Roll for two.
We head to the floor for a quick distraction by Tomko but Christian gets punched in the face instead. Tomko tries to cheat again and this time the distraction is enough to let Christian get in a shot. Why that creepy little bas…..never mind. A cross body gets two for Shelton but Christian immediately puts him back down with a neckbreaker. Off to a chinlock (Tomko: “BREAK HIS NECK!”) by Christian and he launches Benjamin to the floor as he tries to break the hold.
Shelton comes back with a hard whip into the corner to put Christian down. A Russian legsweep gets two for the champ as does a slingshot reverse suplex (called a reverse fisherman’s suplex by JR for some reason). Benjamin misses a Stinger Splash and gets caught in a reverse DDT for two. Tomko slides the belt in (hitting the referee in the foot in the process) but Shelton kicks Christian in the face.
The referee sees Christian holding the belt, which lets Benjamin hit a top rope clothesline for two. As the belt is being put out, Tomko kicks Benjamin in the face for two. The Exploder Suplex (a snap floatover T-Bone suplex which is Benjamin’s finisher) is countered but Benjamin kicks Tomko down. The Unprettier is countered into the Exploder for the pin to keep the title on Benjamin.
Rating: B. I really got into this match at the end even though Christian didn’t have much of a chance at winning. The Tomko and belt stuff didn’t help anything but they had to try to slow Shelton down a bit. Benjamin was in the beginning of a very long run with the belt that would last until June, which I think was the longest reign in about six years.
Really good match here as Christian put Shelton over strong. There’s a reason this guy basically had the world title waiting for him on a plate whenever he stepped up enough to take it, but that never happened for various reasons. Namely he just stopped trying and coasted on his reputation, but that’s another story.
Angle complains to Edge about something Edge wrote in his book about Angle. Kurt makes fun of Edge for never winning the world title. Just wait another fifteen months or so Kurtski. They trade some insults before Kurt leaves and runs into Eugene. Eugene lists off (slowly) some of Angle’s accomplishments before singing the You Suck version of his theme song.
Team Angle vs. Team Guerrero
Kurt Angle, Carlito Caribbean Cool, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak
Eddie Guerrer, John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Big Show
Eddie and Angle have been feuding since Wrestlemania, Carlito debuted and beat Cena for the US Title before injuring Cena in a nightclub (or having someone do it. The attacker was never revealed I don’t think but it might have been Carlito’s buddy Jesus. Make your own jokes because Cena destroyed Jesus at Armageddon), Show is feuding with Reigns and Jindrak and Angle for shaving his head, and Van Dam is there as a warm body.
Before the bell, Cena chases Carlito and Jesus to the back and gets in a brawl with them. Carlito and Jesus steal a car and speed away, which is an elimination apparently. Back at ringside there’s a big brawl until Show (on a bad ankle) pulls Jindrak into the ring. Here’s Cena back to the ring to make it 4-3. Off to Van Dam who hits a spin kick before it’s off to Eddie for the slingshot hilo, followed by Rolling Thunder from Van Dam.
Eddie suplexes Jindrak down and armdrags Reigns as he headscissors Jindrak in a cool move. Angle comes in to stop his team’s bleeding but it’s quickly back to Reigns for a bunch of backbreakers for two. Off to Jindrak for a full nelson but Eddie sends him into the buckle. Eddie dives for the corner but Angle literally tackles Guerrero to break it up. Kurt hits a belly to belly before bringing in Reigns for more stomping.
Off to a chinlock from Jindrak but Eddie eventually grabs a jawbreaker to escape. Angle again blocks the tag and puts on a front facelock. One thing to note here: the entire time the hold is on, Cena is reaching out for a tag and encouraging Eddie. It doesn’t mean much, but it helps things from getting really boring. Little things like that can make a big difference. Watch guys like Rock and Hogan when they’re on the apron in tag matches. They’re ALWAYS doing something, even if it’s minor like clapping. It can make a difference.
Jindrak comes in but Eddie knocks him away and it’s off to Van Dam. Rob goes off (Cole: “He’s supple!”) and hits an enziguri on Angle to set up the Five Star but Jindrak pulls him away. The Splash hits Jindrak, allowing Angle to roll up Rob (using the ropes) for the pin. Angle heads to the floor so Eddie rolls up the illegal Jindrak, using the ropes as well, for an elimination to make it 3-2 (Eddie/Show/Cena vs. Reigns/Angle).
Eddie tells Angle to bring it on and there go the straps. Eddie tags in Show, making Angle tag in Reigns. Reigns gets in one or two shots but a chokeslam beats him quickly. Kurt rolls through a chokeslam into the ankle lock but Show sends him through the ropes to escape. Angle starts to walk up the aisle but Van Dam is waiting on him. Kurt backs up while still looking at RVD, and backs into Show. He reaches up to see how tall what he backed into is and shakes his head. Show throws Kurt back in to face Cena (in for the first time legally) and it’s an FU and Frog Splash for the final elimination.
Rating: C+. This wasn’t a good match but it was entertaining, which is more than you got from almost all of last year’s show. I’m guessing Cena and Carlito were injured as they didn’t do anything for the most part. Angle was great here and the look on his face when he backed into Big Show always makes me chuckle. Fun match here which is what you need sometimes.
Maven, who for some reason likely related to drug intoxication is in the main event tonight, offers to demonstrate his skills to Coach (the West Virginia accent was a killer for him) but Snitsky jumps Maven and Maven is badly busted open. This would be how they would keep Maven out of a PPV main event for most of the match when they realized OH SNAP WE PUT MAVEN IN A MAIN EVENT!
Video on Heidenreich vs. Undertaker, where Heidenreich is the latest guy to try to kill Taker at Paul Heyman’s direction. This was one of those matches where they were trying to make it seem like Undertaker was in trouble but Heidenreich comes off like the villain in the fifth direct to video sequel in a horror series that has overstayed its welcome by two movies.
Heidenreich vs. Undertaker
Heidenreich comes out in a straightjacket because he might attack more plants. Taker does the big long entrance as is his custom. Taker http://onhealthy.net/product-category/analgesics/ stares at Heidenreich for awhile before the beating begins. A charge in the corner runs into a Heidenreich elbow but the Dead Man will have none of this being on defense stuff. Taker works on the arm but a Heyman distraction lets Heidenreich crotch Undertaker to break up Old School. He crotches Taker against the post again and we head to the floor.
Heidenreich pounds away on Taker against the barricade while shouting that he can beat Undertaker. Taker again shrugs that off and hits the legdrop on the apron for two back in the ring. Old School hits the second time followed by a modified Downward Spiral for two. A big boot misses Heidenreich in the corner and it’s time for more punching on the floor. This isn’t one of those matches where the fans are worried about Undertaker as I don’t think anyone believes Heidenreich is a real threat.
A kick to Taker’s face sets up a chinlock and a clothesline for two. Another clothesline stops Taker’s comeback but a suplex stops the stopping of the comeback. Heidenreich sends him to the apron but Taker stuns him on the top rope. Taker channels his inner Kane (he had the name first) and hits a top rope clothesline for two. Back in and Snake Eyes/the big boot takes Heidenreich down again.
The chokeslam is broken up and Heidenreich gets two off a Boss Man Slam. Then like an idiot, Heidenreich punches away in the corner while Taker’s arms are down. The obvious Last Ride only gets two though as Heidenreich grabs the rope. Heidenreich tries a sleeper but Taker is like boy please and suplexes out of it almost immediately. Chokeslam and Tombstone finish this quick.
Rating: D. Like I said at the end of the day, did ANYONE buy Heidenreich as a real threat to Taker? The guy just wasn’t that good and he came off as more silly than a serious threat. Not much to see here and Heidenreich never got higher than he did in this match. Taker would move on to a much better feud with Orton soon enough.
Bischoff says Maven is out of the main event and if he allows Orton to add a replacement, HHH will complain and Eric will lose his vacation, which is the point of the main event.
We recap Trish vs. Lita, which is happening because….well who else are they going to fight? Lita got pregnant with Baby Kane but lost it because of Snitsky. Trish made fun of Lita for being a sl**, having a dead baby, and for being fat.
Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Lita
Trish is defending. Lita is all ticked off and punches Trish as soon as she gets in. Trish gets pounded even more and they head to the floor where Trish goes into a table and gets cracked with a chair 80 seconds into the match. Trish apparently has a broken nose. This wasn’t much, but these two would main event Raw in a few weeks. I don’t mean a match that went on last and then they had the promo that closed the show. I mean they spent the whole show hyping up Trish Stratus vs. Lita as the main event and Lita won the title and celebrated to end the show. It was actually pretty awesome.
Teddy comes in to congratulate Team Guerrero while Show is in a towel. Show hands the towel to Teddy and walks off. Cena: “THAT’S DISGUSTING!” Teddy makes Cena vs. Carlito for the title on Thursday. Why is Cena in his underwear?
We recap Booker T vs. JBL. Booker pinned JBL in a tag match but JBL says Booker isn’t in his league. Booker beat up Orlando Jordan and pinned him to earn the title shot. There really isn’t much to this one.
Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T
Booker’s big yellow gloves don’t really do him any favors. Feeling out process to start as they trade really basic stuff for the first minute and a half or so. Booker knocks him to the floor and JBL gets the advantage coming back in. Back to the floor and Booker gets sent over the announce table. As they head back in, Jordan gets in a cheap shot to give JBL two. Still in first gear at best.
JBL hooks in a cobra clutch followed by an elbow drop and a chinlock. After that VICIOUS offense, Booker easily fights back and hits a superplex to put both guys down. Orlando gets in some more cheap shots on the floor but JBL walks into a Book End out there to give Booker his first real advantage. Back in and a missile dropkick gets two for Booker. They’re into second gear now but it’s just not an interesting match.
Booker goes up but another Jordan distraction lets JBL avoid a Houston Hangover (flip legdrop). Another sleeper by JBL is escaped but Jordan breaks up the ax kick. JBL hits a quick DDT for two and there goes the referee. Jordan comes in and pounds on Booker but Josh Matthews comes out to help Booker for reasons that aren’t important enough to explain. JBL destroys Josh but there’s the side kick to JBL. The ax kick takes him down as well but Jordan takes out the referee. Booker hits the Book End on Jordan but JBL clocks Booker with the belt to retain.
Rating: D. This just didn’t work. Basically they were redoing the HHH/Flair run from 2003 with Jordan interfering every ten seconds and the matches sucking and the crowd groaning when JBL retains the title. JBL is a hilarious commentator and a solid main event jobber, but as champion the guy was painfully boring.
Batista and HHH are ready for the main event.
We recap the main event which is Team HHH vs. Team Orton. Team Orton has united to oppose HHH’s tyranny and the winning team gets to run Raw for a week each. Snitsky has said that when Team HHH wins, he’s coming for HHH’s world title, as has Edge. Batista has been looking at the title too. This gets the music video treatment for the night. Maven and Snitsky stick out like two shattered thumbs in this video.
Team HHH vs. Team Orton
HHH, Edge, Batista, Gene Snitsky
Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Maven
HHH is world champion. Maven isn’t here due to the earlier attack. It’s interesting to think that it would be Batista rather than Orton that would rise up out of this match as the real star. Not that Orton isn’t a star, but Batista was without a doubt the biggest star in the company in 2005 and part of 2006. For some reason Edge comes out last. Benoit vs. Edge to start which is fine with me. Benoit destroys Edge and knocks him to the floor to start but it’s off to Orton vs. Snitsky.
Orton pounds him down with ease before it’s Jericho in off the tag. HHH comes in but Jericho immediately elbows him down and brings in Orton to no response. Orton can’t challenge for the world title because of some stipulation due to losing to Flair. Great way to make sure the fans get behind him there right? Make it clear that no matter how awesome he is, he’s not getting the title shot.
Batista comes in and has some better luck with Randy, firing off shoulders into the corner. Edge is in now and he mocks Orton’s pose in an often done bit. Edge draws in Jericho for no apparent reason, but it allows Orton to clothesline Edge back down. Off to Benoit as the fans are dead for this match for some reason. Benoit cleans house and suplexes everyone in sight. Edge prevents a Swan Dive onto HHH, so HHH suplexes Edge onto HHH and Swan Dives both of them for two.
Everything breaks down even more and HHH gets caught in the Sharpshooter by Benoit. Snitsky makes the save and Edge gets put in the Crossface. This time Batista saves, allowing HHH to Pedigree Benoit and give Edge the pin for the elimination. Jericho comes in to pound away on Edge but HHH and Snitsky get in an argument. Batista comes to HHH’s defense but has to break up the Walls on HHH instead.
Flair trips up Jericho and gets ejected for his efforts. Flair walks up the aisle but comes back a second later to allow Batista to kill Orton and Jericho. There’s the spinebuster to Jericho but Orton hits Big Dave with the belt, allowing Jericho to hit the enziguri on Batista for the pin. Jericho hits the springboard dropkick to knock Snitsky onto HHH on the floor but Batista kills Jericho with the clothesline before leaving.
It’s Snitsky vs. Jericho at the moment with Snitsky choking away. Edge comes in and pounds on his fellow Canadian but gets caught in the sleeper drop to put both guys down. Orton gets shoved to the floor and Edge and HHH double team him for a bit. Jericho DDTs Snitsky down….and here comes Maven. He goes right after Snitsky and takes him down with a forearm as things seem to go into slow motion.
Maven bulldogs HHH down and is all fired up, but Snitsky kills him with a chair shot for a DQ. HHH covers the dead Maven for the easy elimination. Edge keeps covering Jericho but can’t get more than a bunch of two’s. It’s Orton/Jericho vs. HHH/Edge if you’re keeping score. A spear puts Jericho out and it’s 2-1 with Orton in trouble. Orton says bring it on and is promptly beaten down in the corner.
Edge suplexes Orton down and holds him while HHH pounds away. Orton punches away at HHH but gets DDT’d down for two. Edge comes back in and gets slammed down before getting dropkicked into HHH on the apron. That gets two off a rollup from Orton but he walks into a HHH spinebuster. We get the required heel miscommunication as Edge spears HHH down and walks into an RKO for the pin. It’s down to Orton vs. HHH with the Game hitting Orton low as Edge leaves. The Pedigree is countered into the RKO for the final pin.
Rating: B. The match was good stuff but as I said earlier, Orton pinning HHH doesn’t mean anything. Somehow Orton would get a title match at the Rumble through means I don’t remember where HHH would destroy Orton once and for all. I think I’m the only person on the planet that liked Orton’s first main event face run so when I watched this I was digging it at the time. It turned out they got lucky with Batista, but the Orton face run could have been more if HHH hadn’t hacked the legs out from under it.
Overall Rating: B-. There’s some dull stuff here, but the good stuff really is solid as you can see the new generation ready to burst through. The main event was entertaining stuff and the fans did react to Orton pinning HHH clean. The Smackdown side of things was pretty lame but other than that, this was a solid show and I was digging it at the end. Good show.
Ratings Comparison
Spike Dudley vs. Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Original: C+
Redo: B-
Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian
Original: B
Redo: B
Team Guerrero vs. Team Angle
Original: D
Redo: C+
Undertaker vs. Heidenreich
Original: D
Redo: D
Trish Stratus vs. Lita
Original: N/A
Redo: N/A
John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T
Original: F
Redo: D
Team Orton vs. Team HHH
Original: B-
Redo: B
Overall Rating
Original: C-
Redo: B-
In a rare instance, I liked this a lot better the second time around.
Here’s the original review if you’re interested:
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
NXT
Date: November 13, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan
Tonight is a big show for NXT as we have the showdown between Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville for the NXT Title. I don’t quite believe we’re getting the full match tonight though, or at least we’re not getting a clean ending. Other than that we have the fallout from the debut of Finn Balor, who will be helping Itami in his war against the Ascension. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Itami vs. Ascension and Balor debuting last week.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Balor to open the show with a rather epic entrance. He says he’s here in NXT because he’s the future….and here are Natalya and Tyson Kidd arm in arm. Tyson is sure that Balor has a fascinating story but no one cares. Fact. Kidd was brought into this business as a Hart, so the first thing he was ever taught was respect. Cue Justin Gabriel who says a new international superstar is here every week to be a top guy. Finn has to get through them first though, but let’s pause for a WHO ARE YOU chant at Gabriel. Kidd and Gabriel get in the ring but here’s Itami, walking very slowly out to save his buddy.
Finn Balor/Hideo Itami vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel
This should be good. Gabriel and Itami get things going but it’s quickly off to Kidd for a wristlock. Balor comes in for the first time and Tyson is already out for Gabriel. A dropkick puts Gabriel down but he bails to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Balor as we take a break. Back with Itami putting Justin in a chinlock and getting two off a kick to the chest. Off to Balor vs. Kidd with Tyson taking him outside for a neckbreaker on the floor. Gabriel hits a LOUD chop on the floor before kicking Finn in the back.
Tyson does the same for two as the heels take over on Finn in the corner. We hit the chinlock on Balor before Justin cranks on both arms at the same time. Kidd and Gabriel keep making the fast tags until Balor nails Tyson with a Pele Kick. The hot tag brings in Itami to clean house and a big kick gets two on Kidd. Justin dives into a knee to the ribs for two as everything breaks down. The newcomers hit stereo corner dropkicks, setting up a top rope double stomp to end Gabriel at 10:34.
Rating: C+. This was a much more promising match from Itami than the previous weeks singles efforts. Balor continues to look like the star of the team though and the more complete wrestler. Itami is coming around though and just needs some more time to get used to the WWE style.
We look back at Zayn vs. Neville from about a year ago in a great #1 contenders match.
Zayn says tonight feels different than all of the previous times. The road to redemption is more than just a nice tagline because destiny never makes mistakes. Tonight is going to unfold just like it’s supposed to.
Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
Banks sends her into the corner to start and nails a low clothesline for an early two. The fans argue over whether Sasha is ratched as she puts Bliss in a modified surfboard. Bliss nails a dropkick but gets caught in the Backstabber into the Bank Statement for the tap out at 2:18.
Banks wants to make her title match against Charlotte official. She doesn’t do anything to accomplish that but she does indeed want it.
Neville says Sami is his friend but he’s going to be disappointed again tonight.
Lucha Dragons vs. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy
We need new jobbers around here. Non-title again. Kalisto throws Blake around to start but Murphy sneaks in to catch Kalisto in mid air for a suplex. Murphy gets two off a clothesline before it’s back to Blake for a top rope stomp to the back for two of his own. Buddy comes back in to hammer away but Kalisto slips through his legs to tag Sin. Cara speeds things way up but gets thrown into Blake to knock him off the apron. Kalisto hits a HUGE corkscrew plancha to drop Blake again, setting up the Swanton from Cara to Murphy for the pin at 5:07.
Rating: B-. Those dives from the Dragons are just nuts and made the match that much better. This was in the classic power vs. speed mold and worked as well as you would have expected it to. Murphy and Blake have a future if they’re allowed to get some more ring time. They’ve got a look and aren’t bad in the ring which puts them ahead of a lot of teams.
The Vaudevillains applaud the Dragons but tell them to keep the titles polished.
NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn
Zayn is challenging and quickly flips Adrian down to send the champion into the corner. He does it again before avoiding some dropkicks and dropkicking Adrian out to the floor. Sami loads up a dive but backflips back in when Neville moves. The OLE chants start up as Sami holds the ropes open but Neville flips back in. Now it’s the champ’s turn for some rapid fire kicks and Sami is in trouble.
Back from a break with Neville holding a chinlock to slow things down. Sami fights up but is pulled right back down into the same hold. Back up again with Sami nailing three clotheslines because that’s the standard comeback anymore. The third puts Neville on the floor and now the flip dive connects. Back in and Sami hits the cross body but hurts himself on the impact. Adrian hits a quick standing shooting star for two but can’t hook a powerbomb.
Sami gets back up and catches Neville on his shoulders for a BIG spinning powerbomb and two. Fans: “THAT WAS THREE!” Neville nails another kick but Sami ducks the second and rolls some Germans, capped off by a release half nelson suplex for two. The Helluva Kick is blocked by a kick to the face and the exploder is countered with a rollup for two more. Neville goes up for the Red Arrow but only hits mat to put both guys down. Adrian comes up holding his knee and Sami won’t go for the Helluva Kick. The referee throws up the X so Sami goes to check on Adrian….and gets rolled up for the pin at 15:33.
Rating: B. They were starting to feel it here but it’s clear that they’re setting up another match down the line. I’m glad that this didn’t come off like a full heel turn but rather Adrian continuing to do whatever it takes to retain the title while staying within the bounds of the rules. Sami is getting the title though and the match at Takeover (you know it’s coming) is going to blow the roof off the place.
Sami is stunned as trainers check on Neville to end the show.
Overall Rating: B+. Two good matches and a nice debut from Balor are about as good as you can get out of an hour of wrestling. Sami’s road getting stopped for a bit is a nice twist but you know Zayn vs. Neville is headlining the next special. This was an awesome show though and felt like a big one even though it only had one major match. Really good stuff.
Results
Hideo Itami/Finn Balor b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Top rope double stomp to Gabriel
Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Bank Statement
Lucha Dragons b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Swanton bomb to Murphy
Adrian Neville b. Sami Zayn – Small package
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Today we’re looking at one of WCW’s less heralded luchadors: Ultimo Dragon.
Dragon’s initial gimmick was as the last protege of Bruce Lee. This kind of fell apart when some research told you Dragon was five years old when Lee died. Anyway, Dragon got started in 1987 but we’ll start things off at a show co-promoted by SWS and the WWF in 1991.
Jerry Estrada vs. Ultimo Dragon
Dragon flips around to start and scores with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Estrada avoids a spinwheel kick and gets caught in an ankle scissors and armbar from the Dragon. There’s a cross armbreaker on Estrada for a few seconds before another ankle scissors sends him flying. Dragon is sent outside to slow things down though and we reset. Back in and Ultimo monkey flips Jerry out to the floor to get another breaker.
Jerry comes back in for what looks like MVP’s Play of the Day but he cranks on Dragon’s arm for a submission attempt instead. I’m not sure that would actually hurt but at least it doesn’t last long. Dragon sends him outside again and hits a spinning springboard dive to take Jerry down. They head back inside for a dropkick to Dragon’s back, knocking him outside yet again.
Dragon heads back to the apron and suplexes Dragon over the top and out to the floor, setting up a perfect looking Asai Moonsault to send both guys into the crowd. Back in yet again for some rollups before Dragon misses a moonsault press. Dragon fights out of a surfboard attempt and avoids a dropkick. Estrada powerbombs him down for two but Dragon comes back with a quick German suplex into a bridge for the pin.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but Estrada was only doing so much. The part in the middle where they kept going outside could have been cut down by two or three minutes to really tighten things up a lot but the match wasn’t terrible. Dragon’s high flying made the match work though with that Asai Moonsault looking great.
Here’s Dragon’s opening match from the 1995 Super J Cup.
Super J Cup First Round: Sho Funaki vs. Ultimo Dragon
Dragon seems to be the heel here. He steps on Funaki’s back to start but has to escape a Fujiwara Armbar attempt. Instead Funaki puts on a leg bar to send Dragon rolling out to the apron. A plancha takes Dragon out again and Funaki goes back to the leg. Back up and they slug it out with Funaki taking over again with a headlock. Funaki grabs another leg lock so Dragon slaps him in the face and puts on one of his own.
They keep fighting over the leg locks with Funaki getting the better of it and keeping Dragon on the mat. Dragon grabs his own leg lock at the same time before they both get back up. A botched hurricanrana takes Funaki down and a Lionsault press gets two. No selling of the leg to be found in case you were expecting any for some reason. A fisherman’s buster gets two for Funaki but Dragon pops back to his feet and hits a hurricanrana followed by a DDT for the pin.
Rating: D+. When half of the match is spent with both guys working a leg and then both guys popping up for speed and high flying stuff, it’s really hard to care about the first half of the match. They looked like they were setting up something good but it wound up being all for naught because selling didn’t seem to exist here.
Off to WCW now with Hog Wild 1996.
Cruiserweight Title: Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio
They of course mess up and call him Ultimate Dragon. Tenay comes in to save the biker boys for this one. Tony and Dusty are in leather jackets, dew rags and bad sunglasses with leather pants. You figure out why I said what I said earlier. After both guys come out, Tony says good night. They had aired everything up until that point on WCW Saturday Night.
That’s a brilliant idea actually to hook in a few extra viewers if it worked. Rey is champion here, having won it like a month or so ago. Dragon is 29 here and Rey is 21. I never would have guessed Dragon was that old. We hear about the lawn dart moment which scared the heck out of me back in the day as I was a big Rey fan. The fans chant USA for a guy based out of Mexico against a guy based out of Japan. Brillaint.
These two are freaking fast. Dusty gets the name of a kick right and FREAKS over it. That was kind of amusing. Even Sonny Onoo is dressed as a biker. This is creepy. Great dropkick to the chest by Dragon. Oh and Dragon is heel. Dragon busts out a Liger Bomb but doesn’t cover or anything stupid like that. We hear about Dragon’s run in the J Crown tournament where he beat Liger in 2 and a half minutes.
Also we hear of Liger having a brain tumor. He would recover which is always good to hear. The ring here is up on a platform that’s probably two and a half feet high and then it’s just the ground. Rey dives over the top and lands on Dragon on the ground. Looked AMAZING to put it mildly.
Rey was just fun to watch. That’s the only way to put it. They both just start busting out the high spots which the crowd love of course because you don’t need backstory for stuff like this. Rey goes for a rana from the top but it’s blocked so he does it again and gets the pin. I kind of like that.
Rating: B. For an opener, this was about as good as you were going to get it. The crowd is wide awake now as that’s the kind of match that you don’t need to have much stuff explained to you to have it work. High spots are the best choice for opening a show and this was no exception.
A rematch at World War 3 1996.
J-Crown: Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio
The J-Crown was a collection of 8 cruiserweight titles from around the world, one of which being the WWF Light Heavyweight Title which was active since the 80s and only defended in Japan and Mexico. Therefore, a WWF Title is being defended here on a WCW PPV. There’s just a pile of championships in the corner. How awesome is that? He has so many belts he just piles them up. Ah apparently Bischoff has already joined the NWO. Good to know. We start off in a mat based match which is kind of odd but it can work. How weird is it to think that Rey would become a two time world champion?
Now they crank it up and get a nice ovation for it. WCW fans could always appreciate good wrestling and this was no exception. Dragon is dominating here which makes sense as he was pushed as a really different kind of cruiserweight that could mix it up incredibly well. Heenan sounds like he’s on speed here as he’s talking so fast. Dragon hits a powerbomb but picks Rey up again and throws him backwards into a hot shot. NICE.
We go WAY old school with a giant swing. Someone really needs to look at Bobby’s monitors. They’re always on the blink. The crowd loves Rey here. Pay no attention to that though. He’s a small guy of Mexican descent. He can’t ever mean anything. This is basically Dragon does a big move and Rey gets up every time. Rey could sell like few others so this is certainly good.
I’ve never gotten the order of the rings at these shows. It seems like they have this obsession with how many rings there are here and there and it never works. There’s no Mike Tenay for this either, which makes the commentary more annoying than helpful. Rey kind of botches some stuff but nothing too bad. A springboard sunset flip gets two for Rey. Good freaking night that man could move back in the day. After they crank it up again, Rey goes for the West Coast Pop but Dragon counters into a slingshot powerbomb to retain the pile of belts. They say Malenko is next.
Rating: B. This was solid again and one more time the cruiserweights set the table for what could be a promising show. Dragon was definitely a different kind of cruiserweight back then as he used more power and leverage stuff rather than high flying and it worked very well. He and Malenko had some very good stuff coming up that we’ll get to soon enough. Quite good match.
Off to a new opponent at Starrcade 1996.
J-Crown/Cruiserweight Title: Ultimo Dragon vs. Sonny Onoo
The J-Crown is a collection of 8 junior heavyweight titles from around the world collected into one title. Dragon currently holds the J-Crown but wants the Cruiserweight Title, held by Dean. Sonny Onoo, the evil Japanese representative from last year, is now a regular evil manager, representing Dragon. The Dragon is a very solid wrestler from Japan while Malenko is a smaller guy but known as the Man of 1000 Holds. Mike Tenay, international wrestling expert, joins commentary for this one.
Dean takes it to the mat to start but Dragon sits out. Now Dean sits out as both guys fight for control. Ultimo finally gets control with a leg lock but Dean rolls away to the ropes. Dragon takes him right back down to the mat and puts on a quickly broken chinlock. They’re moving very quickly so far. Dragon nips out of a headscissors and we have a standoff. Dean is taken down again and Dragon fires off some HARD kicks to the back.
Dean takes him down with a backbreaker and puts on a headscissors as this is a chess match so far with both guys trying to get an extended advantage. Dragon hooks another chinlock but Dean is out of it almost immediately. The fans all chant USA as Dragon hits a jumping kick to take Dean down and it’s off to a modified STF. Malenko fights up again and we head outside where the Dragon slams him down. A suicide dive takes Malenko down but there’s no Asai Moonsault (it’s named after Dragon, its inventor).
Back inside and Dragon suplexes him down for two and Malenko gets the same off a sunset flip. Dragon hooks on a bow and arrow hold before shifting over to an abdominal stretch. The match has slowed WAY down and not in a good way. Tenay talks about Dragon’s name meaning that he’s the final student of Bruce Lee. Dragon would have been about seven years old when Lee died, so I’m thinking that’s not true.
Malenko fights up and hooks a quick release German suplex for two and it’s off to a leg bar by Dean.
In a smart move, Dean lets go of the hold for a second so he can pull Ultimo back to the middle of the ring. Dragon finally makes it to the rope so Dean dropkicks him in the side of the knee to keep the pressure on. A kind of spinebuster puts Dragon back down and we hit another leg lock to keep Dean in control. Dean catches a charging Dragon in a WICKED powerslam to pop the crowd but for some reason there’s no cover. Dragon comes back with a spinwheel kick and a powerbomb for two.
Dean picks him up for a tombstone and the fans go nuts again. The Texas Cloverleaf (Malenko’s leg lock finisher) is escaped but a tiger bomb gets two instead. Dean is kicked to the floor and there’s the Asai Moonsault to put both guys down again. Back in and Ultimo misses a moonsault, allowing Dean to put on the Cloverleaf, only to break it to go after Onoo. A brainbuster gets two on Dragon but Ultimo escapes a suplex, leading to a pretty awesome pinfall reversal sequence, culminating with Dragon hitting a tiger suplex for the pin and the title.
Rating: B-. Cut five minutes out of this and it’s a classic. The main flaw other than that is the leg work not going anywhere as Dean worked that thing over for a good five minutes and then it’s perfectly fine for all of Dragon’s high flying stuff. It’s a good match but there are a lot of things holding it back. That and Dean losing hurt the crowd a lot.
And a rematch at Clash of the Champions XXXIV.
Cruiserweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Ultimo Dragon
Dean is now a good guy here and is challenging after losing the title to the Dragon at Starrcade 1996. They trade wristlocks to start before heading down to the mat with Dragon grabbing a leg lock. We take an early break and come back with the two of them circling each other and heading into the ropes. Dean slams him into the buckle a few times and gets two off a suplex. A headscissors keeps Dragon on the mat but he fights up and tosses Malenko out to the floor.
Back in and Dean hits a quick tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to set up a legbar. That goes nowhere so it’s off to a half crab instead but Dean shifts back to the legbar for a second time. Off to a stump puller (Dean stands over Dragon’s neck and pulls up on the leg) before Dean covers for two. Malenko throws the champion to the floor and Dragon is holding his leg. Back in and Dean tries a Figure Four but Dragon blocks the hold from going on full. With that not working, Dean throws him into the corner for a running clothesline, only to get kicked in the face.
Malenko is up fast enough to pull Dragon off the top with a superplex but can’t follow up. A rollup gets two on the champion but he counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two of his own. Dragon comes back with a springboard dropkick to send Dean to the floor, setting up the Asai Moonsault (springboard moonsault to the floor) from its inventor.
They get back inside and Dragon hits his moonsault for a very close near fall. A top rope hurricanrana drops Dean but he counters the tiger suplex (double arm hook suplex which won Dragon the title in the first place) into a rollup for two. Malenko comes back with a double underhook powerbomb, knocks Sonny Onoo to the floor, and puts on the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission and the title.
Rating: A-. Another great Cruiserweight Title match here to open up a Clash. There was a very solid story here with Dean using his technical and mat wrestling skills to counter the Dragon’s high flying. Both guys looked great out there and the match was somehow better than Malenko’s match at the previous Clash.
Dragon would switch to heavyweight titles starting on Nitro, April 7, 1997.
TV Title: Ultimo Dragon vs. Prince Iaukea
Iaukea is injured from the attack by Regal earlier in the night. He tries to speed things up to start but a slam fails. Iaukea rolls him up for two and a backslide gets the same. Dragon uses his first opening and kicks the Prince in the ribs to take over. Iaukea gets the feet up to take out a diving Dragon but Dragon kicks him in the ribs a few times and pins him quickly for the title. This was basically a squash.
Here’s a defense from Slamboree 1997.
TV Title: Steven Regal vs. Ultimo Dragon
Regal is challenging. Dragon goes to a wristlock and manages to stop Regal’s usual counter to it and hooks an armbar. Test of strength goes on with Regal taking him down but Dragon pops right back up. They go to the corner and Dragon does his stand on his head in the corner deal. Why does no one ever hit him while he does that? I get the real life reason that he might die, but in kayfabe why not hit him?
Back on the mat Dragon fires off some kicks and hooks a half crab. Regal makes the rope and fires off some kicks of his own to send the champion to the floor. Back in a suplex gets two for Regal. They trade full nelsons and Dragon gets a sunset flip for two. Regal Stretch is avoided and Dragon is all fired up now for some reason. They get into a chain wrestling match and Regal is in his element. Regal tries the Stretch again but Dragon grabs his own mask to block it.
Since the Stretch won’t go on it’s time for the bow and arrow/surfboard (Dusty and Tenay call it either or) but Dragon escapes and fires a kick to the back. Here’s the bridging Indian Deathlock and the fans chant for Regal. Dragon switches to a camel clutch and it turns into a brawl. Dragon dropkicks him to the floor and Sonny fires off some kicks. Those get him yelled at by the champ so Dragon sends Regal back in and hits a top rope rana for two.
Regal tries the Stretch again but Dragon makes the ropes. The fans are firmly behind Regal now which is strange as this is heel vs. heel and Dragon has been the good guy by default. Both guys try rollups for two but Dragon takes over with a spinwheel kick. Tiger suplex is countered but Dragon sends Regal to the floor. Asai Moonsault hits and Sonny adds in some more kicks. Dragon stops him so Sonny kicks Dragon, allowing Regal to take over. In the ring a reverse suplex sets up the Regal Stretch and we have a new champion.
Rating: B. This was getting really good at the end and was still good when Sonny got involved. Was there ever a more useless manager now named Paul Jones? Really good opener here as they were beating the tar out of each other. Dragon would get the title back in a little over two months.
Take a bunch of cruiserweights and throw them into one match. From Nitro, June 9, 1997.
Super Calo/Juventud Guerrerea/Ultimo Dragon vs. La Parka/Psychosis/Silver King
Psychosis vs. Calo to get us going but all six get in the ring before anything happens. It winds up as Psychosis vs. Dragon to start and the headstand into the headscissors by Dragon out of the corner doesn’t quite work. Going to the floor is just as good as a tag here so when those two hit the floor, it’s off to Calo vs. Parka. A headscissors out of the corner sends La Parka flying and Calo knocks him to the floor, followed by a slingshot Swanton Bomb to the floor.
It’s off to King vs. Juvy with Silver King superkicking Guerrera down. Back to Psychosis….who ignores being tagged for some reason. Guerrera hits a great hurricanrana and a HARD dropkick to the face. Tenay talks about Silver King’s famous father Dr. Wagner who Larry apparently fought. Juvy is sent to the floor and King tags out, bringing in Dragon vs. Psychosis but it’s quickly off to Juvy and La Parka again.
I can’t even keep up with how fast this match is going which is the right idea for something like this. Psychosis takes over on Calo and the fans start loudly chanting something that sounds like boring. I can’t believe that’s what they’re saying. Everything breaks down and Juvy hurricanranas King down.
We finally get down to Psychosis vs. Dragon with Dragon hitting a rana for two but Psychosis counters into a near fall of his own. Both guys get sent to the floor and it’s La Parka vs. King now. We unleash the dives with everyone hitting at least one. Dragon throws Psychosis back in for a super rana and the Dragon Sleeper for the submission.
Rating: C+. When you need something good to start a show, throw six cruiserweights out there and let them go nuts. That’s exactly what they did here and the fans (I hope) liked it quite a bit. This wasn’t a cliché yet so the idea of it was still appealing and fresh, much like the rest of WCW at this point.
Here’s another title shot on Tuesday Nitro, July 22, 1997.
TV Title: Ultimo Dragon vs. Steven Regal
No entrance for either guy and Regal is defending. The champ cranks on Dragon’s arm but Dragon speeds things up to escape. Dragon has the awesome black and gold attire on tonight so you know he’s going to be on his game. Regal gets kicked hard by his challgener before doing his headstand in the corner. Steven takes him down and pounds away on the mat before putting dragon on the top, only to get taken down by a sunset bomb. A reverse suplex puts Dragon down so Dragon comes back with the kicks and a Dragon Sleeper to win the title out of nowhere.
Rating: C+. Dragon is one of those guys that had the skill in the ring and was better than most of the other cruiserweights, but the lack of personality always held him back. Now that being said, this was solid stuff because it was what Dragon was best at: matches where he had someone solid to work with and you got a good match out of it in the process. Solid stuff here, especially for a four minute match.
Dragon would get a Cruiserweight Title shot on Nitro, October 6, 1997.
Cruiserweight Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon
Eddie is defending. Apparently the main event of Benoit vs. Savage is canceled and it’s now Benoit vs. Hennig. After a quick armdrag by Eddie it’s off to a test of strength. Dragon goes down, only to bridge his body which won’t break even with Eddie’s full weight on it. That’s so awesome looking. Eddie elbows Dragon down but the challenger pops back up and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam to take over.
Dragon hits a hard kick to the back and puts on a chinlock to kill some time. Eddie fights up and hits a suplex to set up an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Dragon counters a release flapjack into a hurricanrana but Eddie snaps back up. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Dragon down again. That doesn’t get sold long either and here are the rapid fire kicks to stagger the champion. Guerrero heads to the floor where Dragon fakes him out before hitting a suicide dive to take Eddie down. Now it’s picking up a bit.
Back in and Dragon gets two off the dive he hit a second ago before putting on the Dragon Sleeper. Eddie gets his feet into the ropes though and Dragon has to break. Dragon puts the champ on the top rope for the super rana, only to get shoved down off the top. A tornado DDT lays Dragon out before hitting (most of) a long Frog Splash to retain.
Rating: B-. This started slow but once it picked up, it picked up BIG. I knew these two weren’t going to have a sluggish match as there’s just way too much talent out there to not put on an entertaining match. This was also good as Eddie had lost last week and he needed a clean win to keep him looking dominant going into the showdown with Rey at the PPV.
And a rematch on Nitro, December 29, 1997.
Cruiserweight Title: Ultimo Dragon vs. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie is defending and jumps Dragon from behind in the aisle. A very quick powerbomb puts Dragon down and a suplex does the same before Eddie puts him on top. Dragon fights back but has his super rana countered. A tornado DDT puts Dragon down but he counters a suplex into the Dragon Sleeper for the tap out and the title in less than 90 seconds. So Eddie dominates the division for months before tapping out in a minute and twenty six seconds? Really?
Here’s Dragon’s last match in WCW on Nitro, July 20, 1998.
Tokyo Magnum vs. Ultimo Dragon
Tokyo, usually the dancing idiot, comes out to traditional slow Japanese style music. Dragon jumps him to start and takes Magnum into the corner for the rapid fire kicks. The announcers talk about how the teacher is beating up the student as he kicks Magnum in the back. Magnum slams him off the top but dives into a dropkick, setting up a brainbuster and the Dragon Sleeper. Basically a squash in Dragon’s last WCW match.
After training his own roster in Japan for a few years, Dragon would have a WWE run that didn’t go anywhere. We’ll wrap it up with one of his matches from Smackdown on Halloween 2003.
Rey Mysterio vs. Ultimo Dragon
Mysterio’s current rival Tajiri is on commentary. Dragon cranks on the arm to start before running Rey over with a shoulder. A springboard cross body gets two for Rey but Dragon rips off the alternating kicks for two of his own. Dragon takes him down with a spinning version of Nikki Bella’s Rack Attack to set up a half crab. Back up and Dragon charges into an elbow to the face before Rey dropkicks his knee out. The sitout bulldog gets two but Dragon kicks Rey out of the air. The referee gets bumped and Tajiri kicks Rey in the back of the head (clearly didn’t connect at all) to give Dragon the pin.
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here for the most part with Dragon doing a toned down version of the style that made him famous. He was basically a prop here while Mysterio and Tajiri did their thing. That’s a common role for wrestlers anymore, not that it makes things any better. Mysterio would get a lot hotter in the near future.
Ultimo Dragon is a guy that has had a lot of success with a different style than most other cruiserweights. He was often overshadowed by guys like Mysterio, Malenko and Guerrero, which is a shame given how good he really was. His best work came in Japan, where he stuck around for years after leaving WWE. The guy is talented though and can have a classic with the right opponent.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Looking at Japan for once. Well, at least an Oklahoman commentating on a Japanese PPV.
http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-thats-japanese-slobberknocker/31370/
Impact Wrestling
Date: November 12, 2014
Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
We’re down to just two episodes left but I’m sure the TV deal is coming any day now, right Dixie? The main story at the moment is the build to Roode vs. Lashley III, but as is the case with everything else, there isn’t anywhere to actually air the match. We also have the Wolves vs. the Hardys coming up at some point. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of MVP getting on Lashley’s nerves last week and then losing a title shot.
Lashley is waiting for MVP but finds Kenny King. He asks where MVP is but King doesn’t know. That’s not good enough though as Lashley wants to know where MVP is. King keeps walking and doesn’t like Lashley’s attitude.
Here’s the Revolution to open the show. Storm offered Richards a chance to join the team last week and now he wants his answer. He gets both of the Wolves though with Eddie saying that the answer is always going to be….cut off by Davey apparently. Davey says he can speak for himself and he’s been listening to what Storm has been saying. A lot of it makes sense, but after after all this time, he’s come to the conclusion that Storm is out of his mind.
The answer is no so Storm sends the Revolution after them. Storm uses his noose around Davey’s legs before crushing it with a chair. Security gets rid of Storm but he comes back with a briefcase. Edwards tries to fight back but takes a briefcase to the head. Eddie takes a case shot to the ankle before Storm yells at the referee. The case is his Feast or Fired Tag Team Title briefcase, meaning he has a shot with a partner of his choice at any time.
Tag Team Titles: James Storm/??? vs. Wolves
James covers Eddie for two before planting him with the Eye of the Storm. Storm grabs the mic and says he told Edwards to stay out of it. Cue Abyss as the newest member of the Revolution. A chokeslam to Edwards sets up the Black Hole Slam to give Storm the pin and the titles at 3:06. I’m not rating it due to the announcement and entrance taking up so much time but this was an angle instead of a match.
Storm lays out Richards post match for good measure.
Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
Taryn gets jumped as she comes in but fires away on Madison. Rayne runs up the ramp but Terrell throws her back into the ring for another beating. Madison comes back with a kick to the ribs for some two counts as frustration is starting to set in. Taryn’s face is bounced off the mat for two but Madison runs into some knees in the corner. A running neckbreaker drops Madison and Taryn is all fired up….until she runs into a boot in the corner. Madison hammers away but the Rayne Check is countered into an RKO to give Terrell the pin at 6:38.
Rating: C-. Not bad here as Terrell is starting to look better out there every week. Madison getting beat is a good thing for her as she can only win the title so many times before it stops meaning anything (see also Gail Kim). Terrell vs. Havok could be interesting if they let it go the right way but it would be tricky.
Lashley comes up to Angle and demands his rematch tonight. That can’t happen because Roode isn’t here, so Lashley gets in Angle’s face. The tension continues to grow.
Sheera, the Indian wrestler, is in the back when Manik jumps on his back. In a friendly way of course. Manik says there’s a powerful man that Sheera is ready to meet. Sheera goes off with him.
Here’s Kenny King with something to say. He doesn’t like the fact that Lashley is so angry at everyone because it means bad things for Impact Wrestling. However, he’s here to address Chris Melendez, who had a little dust up with him a few weeks back. Cue Melendez and Anderson with King calling Melendez a fraud.
That’s not cool with Anderson who calls Melendez a hero and an inspiration. King says he’s talking to peggy over here because Melendez doesn’t belong in this ring. He wants to fight Chris one on one but Melendez says Anderson is his role model. King says role models don’t exist and sucker punches Anderson before running.
Gail Kim and Taryn are in Angle’s office to complain about Havok so Angle makes a triple threat for the title next week.
Menagerie vs. BroMans/Beautiful People
Handicap elimination tag. Angelina and Rebel get things going with Love avoiding a kick and scoring with a dropkick for two. Rebel comes right back with a quick rollup for the pin to get us down to 3-3. Off to Knux vs. Jesse with the big man cleaning house with a cartwheel into a dropkick for two. Knux lifts DJZ up for a slam but Jesse dropkicks his partner’s back and grabs the foot, giving DJZ a fast pin.
Steve rolls up DJZ for the pin a second later, leaving us with Sky/Jesse vs. Steve/Rebel. The girls go at it for a bit until Angelina sneaks back in with hairspray to Rebel, giving Sky the pin. DJZ flips Steve into a facebuster, setting up a gorilla press drop. Sky comes back in to kick Steve in the ribs, only to get rolled up (and kissed) for the pin. It’s down to Jesse vs. Steve with the Craazy one being powerbombed for an arrogant two. Jesse puts him on the top but gets caught in a tornado DDT for the pin at 7:04.
Rating: D. This was a waste of time as they could have just done Steve vs. Jesse and gotten the same result. I have no idea why they had to do an elimination tag other than maybe Survivor Series coming up. Nothing to see here as this match was a mess with the eliminations coming so fast that you couldn’t keep up with them.
Eric Young is in the back when Spud comes up and asks to be in his corner tonight. Young says okey dokey.
We look at the opening again.
The Revolution is in the back with Storm telling Abyss that this is just beginning. Sheera comes in but Storm spits on him and tells him to leave. Storm whispers something to Manik who bows and leaves.
Eric Young vs. Tyrus
Young goes after Tyrus to start but the big man throws him into the corner and heart punches him out to the floor. Back in and Young tries a slam for the exact result you would expect. We hit the nerve hold on Young before Big E.’s Big Ending plants Eric again. A Vader Bomb misses though and Young fires off whatever he can. Spud stops Carter’s interference as Young shoves Tyrus off the top, setting up a top rope elbow for the pin at 4:50.
Rating: D+. At least Young isn’t in the main event anymore. The guy just does not fit in that role so moving him down to hopefully put Carter over at some point is a good idea. Spud needs to do something to get his momentum back, even though that’s rarely something that can be done.
Post match Lashley runs in and cleans house, including Pillmanizing Young’s arm and putting him in a Crossface. Austin Aries comes out with a chair of his own for the save. A challenge is made for later.
Brittany is with Samuel Shaw in the back and says Gunner came onto her. Shaw isn’t pleased and storms off.
Here’s Samoa Joe who says he has to make a difficult but correct decision. He isn’t medically cleared to compete for quite awhile and therefore he can’t defend the title. When he won the X-Division Title again, it was to rebuild the division that the company started on. The wrestlers in the division as well as the fans deserve better, so he’s vacating the title tonight. There will be a new champion crowned but the belt is a beacon to bring Joe back for his title.
Bram wants to face Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match next week. Dreamer’s time is over so he’s going to bleed next week.
Gunner vs. Samuel Shaw
No DQ. Shaw hides next to the entrance and jumps Gunner at the entrance. We pause so Shaw can kiss Brittany, allowing Gunner to take over again. Shaw sends him into the post but again looks at Brittany, setting up a fall away slam from Gunner. They head inside with a bunch of chairs, including one going into Shaw’s ribs. He comes back with a dropkick to send a chair into Gunner’s face but Gunner escapes the choke.
A Cactus Clothesline puts both guys on the floor and Brittany makes sure Shaw is ok. She distracts Gunner again, allowing Shaw to send him face first into the steps. Back in and Gunner punches Shaw out of the air before stacking up the chairs on the floor. A superplex puts both guys down on the chairs but Brittany gets up on the apron again.
That’s fine with Gunner who powerbombs Shaw off the apron and onto the steps. All three get in now and Brittany kicks Gunner low before trying to drag Shaw over. Gunner grabs her leg though, allowing Shaw to nail him in the back with a chair. He takes too long to go for his choke though and takes an F5 onto the chairs for the pin at 8:58.
Rating: D. Good grief this felt long. These guys have been feuding for almost six months now and for the life of me I have no idea what either guy has gained from it. I can barely remember why they’re even fighting anymore and I really don’t care. Shaw is just not an interesting character and it shows more and more every time he gets in the ring.
Austin Aries vs. Lashley
Aries throws his shirt in Lashley’s face to start and tries an early brainbuster but is easily powered down. The Last Chancery doesn’t work either as Lashley throws him out to the floor. Aries nails the running dropkick against the barricade to take over but Lashley shrugs off the missile dropkick back inside. Lashley shoves him out of the corner and we take a break.
Back with Lashley snapping off so many belly to belly suplexes that even Scott Steiner would say something incomprehensible about sugar or being from a highly educated university. Oh and freaks. Always freaks. The spear is blocked though and Aries scores with a missile dropkick. Some discus forearms put Lashley on the floor for the suicide dive but Lashley throws him into the steps. The spear connects on the floor but it’s a double countout at 15:23.
Rating: B-. These guys have always had good chemistry and I liked the ending they went with. Lashley doesn’t care about anything but the title and is willing to destroy someone like Aries to get there. Austin is going to bounce back up and be one of the most popular guys in the company again just by smiling so there’s no damage.
Lashley press slams Aries on the ramp and puts Aries in the Crossface to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the less annoying shows they’ve had in awhile but unfortunately the TV deal looms over everything. They cut out a lot of the drama tonight and just let people wrestle. Unfortunately a lot of that wrestling wasn’t great but the show flew by and didn’t get on my nerves, which is a huge step up for them in a lot of ways. They’re setting up some intriguing stuff, but we’re likely going to have to wait at least a month for any of the payoffs. Decent show tonight with some promise for the future, assuming there is one.
Results
James Storm/Abyss b. Wolves – Black Hole Slam to Edwards
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Menagerie b. BroMans/Beautiful People – Tornado DDT to Godderz
Eric Young b. Tyrus – Top rope elbow
Gunner b. Samuel Shaw – F5 onto a chair
Lashley vs. Austin Aries went to a double countout
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Survivor Series 2003
Date: November 16, 2003
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,487
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz
Well as usual, a lot has changed around here since last time. Brock is a monster again, Goldberg is Raw Champion, Vince is back and fighting the Undertaker, and it’s Austin vs. Bischoff having surrogate teams fight for control of Raw. This is a big change of pace from last year and hopefully it’s a bit better as well. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is about surviving. There’s an original concept.
Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar
Kurt Angle, Hardcore Holly, John Cena, Bradshaw, Chris Benoit
Brock Lesnar, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan, Big Show, A-Train
Cena does a rap before the match about how big the other team is. This is one of Morgan’s few matches in WWE. From what I can find, he had 18 total matches, one of which was over a year after his previous one. Holly is here because Lesnar broke his neck and now Holly wants revenge. This would result in Hardcore Holly actually getting a world title match at the Rumble. Show is US Champion here.
Holly jumps Lesnar during his entrance and tries to put him into a full nelson, earning himself a DQ before the match ever starts. Back in the ring, Bradshaw and A-Train start things off with Bradshaw blocking a Vader Bomb and hitting the Clothesline for the elimination to tie us up. Bradshaw charges into a chokeslam from Show and is out 20 seconds later.
Cena comes in but can’t FU Show yet. Off to Brock but Cena takes his knee out. A quick rollup gets two and Cena does the same thing again. Off to Morgan who isn’t quite as polished as Lesnar. A side slam puts Cena down and it’s already off to Jones. Jones does some very basic choking and it’s back to Brock. Cena hits the Throwback on Brock and there’s the tag to Benoit (notice the pop).
Benoit pounds on Lesnar in the corner but it’s back to Big Show and there’s only so much Show can do with him. Show lifts Benoit into the air and drops him on his face while talking trash to Angle. The chokeslam is countered into the Crossface but Brock (who is Smackdown Champion here) makes the save. Show puts on an abdominal stretch of all things followed by the standing legdrop for two.
Angle gets a tag but the referee doesn’t see it. Back to Morgan for some skilled standing on Benoit’s throat. Benoit speeds things up and takes out Morgan’s knee before tagging in Angle. Kurt immediately rolls some Germans on Matt and everything breaks down. Angle Slam eliminates Morgan, the ankle lock eliminates Jones (who would quit in about two weeks and never be seen again) and the F5 takes out Kurt, all in the span of about 25 seconds.
This gets us down to Benoit and Cena vs. Lesnar and Big Show. Lesnar misses a charge in the corner and Benoit goes after the arm like a crazy man. Brock gets Benoit up for the F5 but Benoit counters into the Crossface. Show makes the save so Benoit puts it right back in, only to have Brock make the ropes. The third time though gets a rare tap from Brock as this match is flying by. That more or less makes Benoit the #1 contender.
It’s Benoit and Cena vs. Big Show now as the fans tell Lesnar that he tapped out. Benoit hits a top rope shoulder but can’t put on the Crossface. Cena gets a blind tag and there’s a chokeslam to Benoit. A chain to Show’s head and the FU are enough for the pin. Somehow Cena wouldn’t win the US Title from Show for almost six more months.
Rating: C. Not a great match here but to say it got the fans fired up is the understatement of the year. That FU at the end was the usual jaw dropping moment for Cena and while the rest of the match was pretty forgettable, the crowd is all ready to go now, which is the point of this kind of a match. Angle would turn heel and feud with Eddie soon into the new year.
Vince talks to Shane about how tonight it’s father and son against two brothers which is a somewhat cool idea, but the matches are both likely to suck so it’s hard to care. Shane says he feels sorry for Vince. Vince leaves and runs into Austin and they have a really awkward laugh before Austin stops and glares at Vince. This is one of those moments where it was supposed to be big but came off as weird instead.
Women’s Title: Lita vs. Molly Holly
Lita is somewhat recently back after breaking her neck on a TV show and is challenging here. The fans immediately start cheering for Lita and she hits a quick clothesline to take over. Some knees to Molly’s chest sets up a suplex and a nipup by Lita. We head to the floor where Lita is sent into the barricade back first, which gets two for the champ back inside. Off to a chinlock by Molly followed by a dragon sleeper which doesn’t last that long.
Molly sends her into the corner and hits the Muta handspring elbow in one of the only times you’ll hear his name mentioned on WWE TV. Lita kicks Molly away and backflips to the top for a cross body and a two count. A rollup gets the same but Molly sidewalk slams her down for two. Molly tries a rana out of the corner and gets powerbombed down, but the Litasault misses. The Molly Go Round (flipping seated senton) surprisingly only gets two so Molly goes to expose a buckle. After a save is made by Lita, the champ sends her face first into the exposed buckle for the pin.
Rating: D+. The match itself was ok, but man alive Molly wasn’t that interesting to watch. I get that she’s a very technically competent wrestler and could do almost anything pretty well in the ring, but she was a black hole of charisma. Molly was just there most of the time, which doesn’t make for interesting matches at all.
We recap Kane vs. Shane. Kane, being all psycho, tombstoned Linda on the stage one night. Shane stood up for his mama and beat on Kane as much as he could, but it basically turned into a monster movie as Shane did all sorts of things to Kane but Kane just kept coming. Shane got his testicles electrocuted in a semi-famous bit in retaliation. Somehow this set up an ambulance match, which is a casket match but with an ambulance. This is one of those feuds that went on and on for MONTHS, apparently ticking off guys in the back because Shane wasn’t a full time wrestler but he was getting big spots on the card.
Shane McMahon vs. Kane
Shane immediately knocks him to the floor but Kane sends him into the steps to take him down. Shane gets the steps on top of Kane and pounds him down with a chair. The announce table gets loaded up early and there’s a monitor to the side of Kane’s head. Shane hits the big elbow through the table and both guys are down less than two minutes in. Both guys get up and Shane makes Kane chase him (literally) through the crowd.
They head to the back and we lose the camera feed for a bit. Kane really is stalking Shane like in a slasher movie. Shane gets behind Kane somehow and blasts him with some kendo stick shots. Shane gets in an SUV and backs up into Kane, knocking him into a guard shake. McMahon grabs a walkie-talkie and says send it, so here’s an ambulance. Kane fights off the stretcher and throws Shane into a concrete wall before they head back to the arena.
Shane looks like he’s dead on his feet as Kane punches him. Kane throws him onto the hood of the ambulance, cracking Shane’s head open apparently. Shane sends him into the side of the ambulance and opens the doors, slamming one onto Kane’s head a few times. Kane fights his way out of the back of the ambulance before throwing Shane in, but only one door gets shut.
McMahon comes back with a kind of tornado DDT out of the ambulance and hits Kane with a trashcan. He then puts something big and black between Kane’s legs before climbing on top of the ambulance. Shane goes Coast to Coast off the top of the ambulance to drive a trashcan into Kane’s face while Kane was laying against the barricade. The big black thing apparently was a box to keep Shane from, you know, dying.
Kane is dead weight now and Shane can’t get him into the ambulance immediately. Kane pulls Shane inside with him before getting all fired (pun intended) up. He rams Shane into the ambulance over and over, tombstones him on the concrete and throws him into the ambulance to win.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t horrible but it went on too long. Thankfully this was the last time Shane was an active wrestler for a few years as he was only good for stuff like this in doses. Kane would go on to feud with, who else, the Undertaker in a few months. There were some good bumps here, but at the end of the day Shane isn’t a wrestler and that was becoming obvious near the end.
Brock says he didn’t lose tonight. Josh Matthews says he tapped out and Lesnar doesn’t want to hear it because he didn’t tap out. Lesnar says line up anybody in the world and he’ll beat them because he’s the WWE Champion. Oh hi Goldberg. Yep, they’re foreshadowing THAT match.
Here’s Coach to waste more time. He’s in a neckbrace due to a 3D on Monday. His doctors assure him that in a few days, he’ll be fine. Coach sees Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, in the front row. Cuban agrees to a quick interview and says he’s looking forward to Austin beating Bischoff. Coach says that’s not happening so he asks Cuban if he prefers WWE or NBA referees. Cuban says they all suck (Cuban is well known in the NBA for being highly critical of referees) and here’s Bischoff to yell at Cuban a bit.
Eric asks Cuban to get in the ring and say whatever Cuban thinks to his face. Cuban gets in the ring and TOWERS over Bischoff, probably a good seven inches or so taller. Bischoff says that he can have security take Cuban out or he can do it himself. Mark shoves Eric down but Randy Orton slides in and RKO’s Cuban, who sells it as well as any celebrity I’ve ever seen. If I remember right, this was actually referenced SIX YEARS LATER when Cuban guest hosted Raw. This was a waste of about seven minutes.
Evolution is having a party in the back with a ton of women. HHH takes his shirt off to drive the girls crazy but Flair says not yet because HHH has to fight later. Orton comes in and panics, stops to flirt with the girls, and then says that he’ll kill the legend of Austin tonight.
Smackdown Tag Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Basham Brothers
The Brothers are Doug and Danny, have Shaniqua with them and are defending here. Los Guerreros take over to start as this is apparently about something the Bashams did on Smackdown. What that was isn’t important enough to explain, but apparently it happened. Chavo and I think Danny start things off with Chavo in control. It’s quickly off to Danny who stomps Danny down in the corner and follows up with the Three Amigos.
It’s back to Chavo with a low dropkick for two and it’s right back to Eddie. A Sin Cara-esque headscissors takes both Bashams down but the champs double team Latino Heat to take over. Shaniqua, a big old monster chick that won Tough Enough 2, runs over Eddie on the floor and Doug pounds away on him in the ring. A double slingshot suplex puts Eddie down for two and it’s off to a reverse chinlock by Danny. Eddie fights up and takes Danny down with a headscissors before tagging in Chavo.
Everything breaks down and another double flapjack puts Chavo down. Danny loads up something like a spinebuster off the middle rope but Eddie makes the save before Danny can jump. Eddie gets sent to the floor but Chavo dropkicks Doug down. Danny and Chavo clothesline each other down and the “twins” switch. Eddie takes Shaniqua down and Frog Splashes her. Let’s spank her too because she’s a dominatrix. Chavo hits a tornado DDT on Doug but kicks Eddie in the process. As Chavo checks on him, Danny rolls Chavo up to retain.
Rating: D+. I know the description sounded really dull, but there was nothing here at all. The guys in this match are pretty talented, but the tag division was so dead around this point. The Bashams just weren’t that interesting and there isn’t much else to say about it than that. That was a major problem back in 2003: a lot of the guys were just there and nothing of note, which is a shame as Danny is a legend in OVW but it never translated to WWE.
Los Guerreros glare at each other post match.
We recap Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff. They had been sharing power and tonight’s match is for full control. Austin is skeptical about trusting anyone and he’s fired if he touches anyone. From what I understand from the video, if Austin’s team wins, he can beat up anyone he wants.
Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff
Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Dudley Boyz
Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Christian, Scott Steiner, Mark Henry
The Dudleys are Raw tag champions and RVD is IC Champion. Team Bischoff hides on the floor and Austin yells at Jericho a bit. Christian and D-Von start things off with the Dudley pounding away. A flying clothesline gets two on Christian and here’s Van Dam who gets the same off a spinwheel kick. Off to Jericho who gets kicked in the face as well, followed by a northern lights suplex for two.
A dropkick puts Van Dam down and here’s Steiner for the same power stuff he’s done for about eight years running now. After making Steiner miss in the corner and hitting a cross body, Van Dam gets caught in an overhead belly to belly suplex. Van Dam goes up and gets crotched, allowing Scott to hit an overhead belly to belly for two. Off to Booker who gets clotheslined down and elbowed for tow.
Booker hits the forearm to take Steiner down and hits the ax kick but it’s a Spinarooni instead of a cover. Everything breaks down and Steiner hooks the Recliner on Booker. Stacy, Steiner’s reluctant manager, cheers for Booker. The distraction breaks the hold and the Dudleys hit the reverse 3D on Steiner and the Bookend gets the elimination. Henry comes in and immediately hits the World’s Strongest Slam to take Booker out and tie things up.
Van Dam comes back in and the kicks to Henry’s legs don’t do much good at all. Bubba gets a blind tag and pounds away on Henry but Mark runs him over. Bubba pounds away but brings in D-Von because it takes both Dudleyz to take Henry down. Henry misses a charge in the corner and walks into the 3D, allowing Van Dam to hit the Five Star. The dogpile pin is allowed and Henry is out.
It’s Jericho vs. Van Dam now with Rob sending Jericho into the corner for two. Off to Orton who clotheslines Van Dam down hard for two. RVD comes back with the springboard kick to the face but Jericho breaks up the Five Star, knocking Rob into the RKO for the elimination. Off to D-Von for a flapjack and a legdrop for two. A top rope headbutt gets two on Orton so it’s off to Jericho.
Chris’ missile dropkick puts D-Von down but Bubba breaks up the pin. Jericho is all cool with that though and hits the Flashback (sleeper drop) for the pin and elimination. It’s Bubba and Shawn vs. Jericho, Christian and Orton. Here’s Shawn for the first time and house is quickly cleaned, but that little dust bunny known as Chris Jericho takes him down. Off to Orton again who gets in a few shots before getting clotheslined.
There’s the not hot tag to Bubba who beats up all three Bischites. A flapjack puts Jericho down and a backdrop gets two on Christian. A Samoan Drop puts Orton down and we get heel miscommunication between the Canadians. Jericho breaks up the Bubba Bomb with a low blow and the Unprettier pins Bubba, making it 3-1. Shawn immediately comes in with a forearm to Christian and the nip up as things speed up.
Jericho low bridges Shawn and the double stomp is on outside. Off to Orton as the heels slow things down. Shawn and Christian slug it out but Shawn has to beat up Jericho as well. Christian slingshots Shawn into the post and Michaels is busted open. Back in and Christian suplexes Shawn down before doing the HBK pose. Shawn is covered in blood as Christian shoves him out of the corner….and charges right into Sweet Chin Music for the elimination. That was sweet!
Jericho is all ticked off now and pounds away on Shawn’s forehead but Michaels comes back with a chop in the corner. Shawn can’t follow up though and a clothesline puts him down for two. Shawn comes back with a DDT out of the corner for a delayed two as Orton saves. Shawn throws Orton out to the floor but Jericho’s Lionsault hits knees and Shawn FINALLY gets up. The superkick misses but Shawn rolls Jericho up to counter the Walls and somehow it’s down to Orton vs. Shawn. Jericho, ever the bad sport, clocks Shawn with a chair.
Orton, who is still down from being thrown to the floor somehow, is left against a dead Shawn. Randy crawls back in but can only get two. He goes up but the cross body takes out the referee instead. Shawn loads up the Superkick but Bischoff comes in and kicks him down. Austin finally snaps and beats up Eric before Stunning Orton. Steve goes after Bischoff and throws him up the aisle, but Batista runs in and powerbombs Shawn, giving Orton the academic pin to win the match and send Austin away for at least a good three weeks.
Rating: B. This took A LONG time to get going, but once Shawn was on his own and got to get the crowd behind him completely, it was all gravy. The important thing here was that Shawn basically beat Christian and Jericho through a pair of flukes and not because he Hulked Up or anything like that. He caught Christian charging at him and rolled Jericho up when Jericho’s arms were being used in a hold. Shawn made this match work, as the other members of his team were useless. The guy really is that awesome.
Austin is shocked and goes into the ring where Shawn isn’t moving at all. He helps Michaels up and Shawn says he’s sorry. Austin pulls Shawn up and they shake hands with no Stunner. They walk up the aisle together and leave but Austin’s music plays and he comes out one more time. He says that he started his career 14 years ago right here in Dallas. Austin says if it has to end, he’s glad that it’s ending where it started. He says that you won’t hear him say this much, but he loves the fans.
This brings out Coach to sing the goodbye song and have security take Austin out. Austin of course beats up the guards and Coach as this is going on too long. Austin Stuns Coach and beer is consumed. He leaves the two cans sitting in the ring and flips off the crowd for old times’ sake.
We recap Undertaker vs. Vince. Taker keeps trying to win the title but Vince screwed him over at No Mercy against Lesnar. Undertaker says that Vince has to be held accountable for his actions and on Smackdown, Taker won the right to have any match with anyone he picked. He said it was buried alive and Vince loved the idea of getting to see Lesnar bury Taker. Taker said not so fast my friend, because the match is against Vince.
Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon
Taz actually has keys to victory. First: be mentally stable. Second: be confident. Third: AVOID THE HOLE! Did Taz just make me laugh? I don’t know how to handle this. Oh good we have the bell so I don’t have to deal with it. Remember that in this you have to put the other guy in the grave and cover him with dirt to bury him alive. Apparently it’s thirteen years to the day since Taker debuted. Vince kneels in prayer before the match starts.
Taker punches him in the face, drawing blood off a SINGLE PUNCH. He pounds away on Vince as McMahon is just trying to get back up. Vince gets crotched against the post and Taker wraps the leg around the post for fun. The same thing happens on the opposite post and Vince is sent into the announce table. There is blood EVERYWHERE. Taker hits him and says this is for my wife. Yeah this was around the time when Vince said he was going to have someone rape Taker’s wife. You know, because there’s nothing wrong with that.
The beating continues for awhile and Vince hasn’t had a single bit of offense in yet. Vince gets punched up against the barricade and we head back inside. Taker heads to the grave site and gets a shovel which is CRACKED off Vince’s head. This is quite a beating. Taker crushes Vince’s ankle just like he did in 1998. There are PILES of blood on the floor. Taker carries him to the grave but Vince gets in a low blow to FINALLY slow Taker down.
Vince hits him with a shovel and taker falls into the grave. Taker shrugs it off and pulls McMahon down into the hole, but as he goes for the machine to lower the dirt, an explosion goes off. Kane is in the cab and helps Vince out of the grave. Taker is knocked into the grave and Vince lowers the dirt onto Taker to get the shocking win.
Rating: D. This was REALLY boring although that first shovel shot was great. Other than that though, there wasn’t enough here to make this match matter. This would be the last time Biker Taker was seen as he would return as the Dead Man at Wrestlemania to, say it with me, feud with Kane. The blood alone prevents this from being a failure.
We recap Goldberg vs. HHH. Goldie won the title at Unforgiven so HHH put a $100k bounty on his head. Batista returned from an injury and broke Goldberg’s ankle to claim the bounty. This is almost literally the same story that Race and Flair had to set up the first Starrcade, with the main difference being that Race was champion when he set up the bounty. This gets the music video treatment.
Raw World Title: Goldberg vs. HHH
Goldberg is defending and has a broken ankle. Doesn’t that mean Batista didn’t take him out/put him on the shelf? With Flair still in the ring, Goldie limps and punches at the same time. There’s a spear to HHH but there’s no count because the bell hasn’t rung yet. Flair gets backdropped and there’s the bell. HHH gets knocked to the floor and the champ is in full control. Goldberg drops him face first onto the barricade and we head back inside.
Goldberg tries to use power but the ankle gives out on him. A chop block takes Goldberg down and we head to the floor for a low blow. Flair sends the leg into the post and is DRENCHED in sweat already. Back in and things slow down even more as HHH does whatever he can as Flair chokes away even more. HHH stays on the knee and the sequence keeps going on and on and on. That was the problem with HHH matches: they were the same boring formula over and over and it never worked.
HHH puts on a half crab but Goldberg is in the ropes. The ankle gets bent around the post as this is getting even more boring. Goldberg comes out of the corner with a clothesline but a powerslam is too much for him here. Goldberg kicks HHH into the referee and Flair throws in some brass knuckles to knock Goldberg out cold. That only gets two and HHH is ANGRY, so he drops an elbow on the referee.
It’s sledgehammer time but HHH charges into a boot. Flair gets slammed off the top and Goldie has the hammer. He takes Flair out with it but as he goes for HHH, Batista and Orton run in, only to be knocked out with the hammer as well. The Pedigree is countered and Goldberg throws down the hammer. The spear and the Jackhammer retain the title.
Rating: D+. Well the match sucked, but you certainly can’t say HHH didn’t put Goldberg over huge here. This is where the good parts of the match end. As for the bad: Goldberg wouldn’t sell the leg once the big insane part started, the match sucked, and HHH won the title a month later at Armageddon in a three way match, with Goldberg moving on to feud with Lesnar after this. Not a good match here but that was typical of HHH around this time.
Overall Rating: D+. This is from a bad time in the company as HHH was still on top but there were other things that were far more interesting. For instance, the Austin thing DEFINITELY should have closed this show as Shawn is the only thing that was really good on the whole card. On top of that, the main problem here is that other than the Shawn match, there’s no heart to this show. It comes, it goes, nothing really feels like it matters. That would be the case until Cena and Batista rose up to breathe new life into the company.
Ratings Comparison
Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar
Original: B-
Redo: C
Molly Holly vs. Lita
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Kane vs. Shane McMahon
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Basham Brothers vs. Los Guerreros
Original: D
Redo: D+
Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin
Original: A-
Redo: B
Vince McMahon vs. Undertaker
Original: D
Redo: D
Goldberg vs. HHH
Original: D-
Redo: D+
Overall Rating
Original: C-
Redo: D+
This matches up pretty well: most of the matches were about the same but a few were lower this time, as was the overall rating.
Here’s the original review if you’re interested:
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Monday Nitro #193
Date: June 21, 1999
Location: Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan
We’re in the Silv…..SUPERdome tonight with three weeks before Bash at the Beach. The main story is the old vs. new story kicking off last week with Bagwell pinning Flair in an eight man tag. Other than that it looks like we’re looking at Sid vs. Nash for the title at the PPV, which almost has to be better than Nash vs. Savage. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s show. Haven’t I suffered enough?
The Hummer shows up with Savage and entourage inside. Nash’s limo pulls up behind it and tries to find out who was driving but the Hummer gets away. So Sid wasn’t driving a few weeks ago?
Nitro Girls.
Master P. and some other rappers perform. These guys are so “bout it bout it” that they don’t even need microphones near their face to rap. This goes on WAY too long.
The announcers wonder about the Hummer.
Video on the music battle match from the Bash.
Lenny Lane is in the back and wondering what trunks to wear. Lodi comes in to give him a pep talk for his match with Meng later because Lenny can last a long time and has a lot of stamina. Lenny even gets a shoulder rub to warm him up. This is exactly what it sounds like.
DJ Ran.
Kidman vs. Psychosis
We start fast with Psychosis scoring with a shoulder and baseball slide to send Kidman out to the floor. Kidman slingshots back in with an ankle scissors and a great looking dropkick. A clothesline puts Psychosis on the floor for a HUGE dive to put both guys down. Back in with Kidman nailing a slingshot legdrop for two, only to have a superplex attempt countered into a super gordbuster.
They head outside again with Kidman going into the barricade, setting up a split legged moonsault out to the floor for a cool spot. Back in again with Kidman dropkicking the masked one out of the air, only to miss a charge. Psychosis puts him on top for a huge hurricanrana, only to try a powerbomb for some stupid reason. Kidman goes up for the Shooting Star….and Savage and Sid come in for the DQ.
Rating: C. Nice opening match but the Savage Show must continue. Sid at least keeps Savage from needing the girls to do all the work for him to make Savage look a bit tougher. The match itself was entertaining but we’re running out of matches to see in the division. I still don’t get why Psychosis had to drop the belt back a week after winning the thing. Mysterio has defended it once since winning it nearly two months ago so why give it to him?
Sid cleans house until Sting comes out for the save. Nash follows him out but has a question for Sting: why didn’t he attack Savage and Sid? And why did he get out of a black Hummer last week to go after Rick Steiner? Sting denies driving the Hummer a few weeks ago, but Nash says he wasn’t accusing him. Nash even calls Sting Franchise Boy. There’s a Shane Douglas joke in there somewhere.
Piper and Flair make Savage/Sid vs. Sting/Nash for Bash at the Beach and Sting vs. Sid for tonight.
Clips of Piper and Flair teaming up.
Meng vs. Lenny Lane
The fans shout various homophobic terms at Lane. Lenny’s headlock is easily broken up and a headbutt works as well as you would expect. He tries going up top but gets Tongan Death Gripped down to the mat for a fast pin.
Lodi helps Lane to the back.
Nitro Girls.
More on who was driving the Hummer. No one knows if that wasn’t clear.
Here are Master P. and the No Limit Soldiers, complete with Brad Armstrong in fatigues. Master P. wants to sing Happy Birthday to his brother and asks a fan to come in to sing the song for him. We get a guy in a big black afro wig to sing Happy Birthday as the fans are just dying. Cue Curt Hennig in a Dallas Stars jersey with a present for P.’s brother. Hennig opens the gift and pulls out a cowboy hat. The brother throws it down and stomps on it, a brawl starts and cake is thrown.
You know, out of all the stupid stuff WCW did over the years, this might be the worst thought out feud ever. To begin with, Master P. allegedly cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per appearance, which usually lasted all of three minutes. Then he and his friends run around shouting HOODY HOO and sounding like a bunch of morons. But remember, they’re the good guys in this story.
The bad guys are the ring technicians who wear cowboy hats and gave what appeared to be a nice gift to Master P.’s brother. Keep in mind that WCW has weekly NASCAR updates on Thunder, but we’re supposed to boo the cowboys. This feud has been a disaster since the beginning and makes the least sense of anything I’ve seen in a long time.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Juventud Guerrera
Can we just keep this match on for the next two hours or so? This is Eddie’s in ring return after about six months off due to injury. A slap annoys Juvy and Guerrero stomps away to take over. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Juvy but he comes back with a hurricanrana for two. Eddie takes over again with a belly to back suplex and they head outside. After whipping Juvy into the barricade they head back inside for a sleeper from Eddie as we take a break.
Back with Juvy in an abdominal stretch but crawling over Eddie into a sunset flip for two. Eddie starts going after the legs before nailing a brainbuster for two. We hit the sleeper again until Guerrera counters with a belly to back suplex of his own. Juvy pulls Eddie down by the hair and nails a missile dropkick to send Eddie outside. A big suicide dive drops Guerrero and a springboard spinwheel kick does the same back inside. Eddie easily escapes the Juvy Driver though and grabs a neckbreaker, only to pick Guerrera up and spin him around before dropping him again. The Frog Splash is good for the pin.
Rating: C+. Yep Eddie still has it. He looked as polished as he has in years here and had a good comeback match minus a lot of the character stuff he had going before the injury. Eddie looks like a guy that is ready to step up to the next level, but I can’t imagine that’s going to happen in this company.
Prince Iaukea vs. The Cat
We get the usual dancing and five seconds thing before Iaukea dropkicks Cat out to the floor. They slug it out on the floor with Iaukea going into the barricade before it heads back inside. Iaukea nails an enziguri and Samoan drop for two, only to have Sonny slip the shoe on Miller’s foot. A big kick to the head is enough to end Prince and thankfully get us out of here quickly.
Booker T. vs. Kanyon
Kanyon has a Tag Team Title with him. Booker gets one of the biggest pops I’ve ever heard him get. At least the fans can recognize talent. We get things going with Mr. T. armdragging him down and scoring with an awesome looking dropkick for two. The big forearm and a clothesline sends Kanyon to the floor and us to a break. Back with Kanyon running from Booker on the floor before coming back in to duck a sidekick and botch what looks like a Gory Stretch with Booker falling off his shoulder.
A neckbreaker and legdrop get two on Booker but he they head outside with Kanyon taking over again. Back in again and a surfboard has Booker in trouble but as usual, the hold doesn’t last long. Some suplexes and a slingshot elbow get two for Kanyon. Booker fights up with his usual and hits some kicks, only to have Page and Bigelow come in for the DQ.
Rating: C. Again, good stuff for the most part until someone ran in for the DQ. That being said, Booker fighting off the forces of the Triad could be interesting and could be a boost for him, as long as he doesn’t just get back together with Stevie Ray to reform a tag team that stopped meaning anything about two years ago.
Something like a 3D on the title belt leaves Booker laying.
Gene brings out Piper and Flair, with entourage of course, for a chat. Piper uses the usual cheap lines about sports teams and mentions Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Flair says Buff is a beggar and that he was with Bagwell’s girlfriend last night. Buff comes out, gets beaten down and the brawl is on. Actually make that a match according to Flair. Good thing he and Piper just happened to be in their wrestling gear.
Buff Bagwell vs. Roddy Piper/Ric Flair
Flair tells Bagwell to make the same sounds his girlfriend made last night. The old guys hammer away on Bagwell and throw him out to the floor, only to have Anderson get nailed in the face. Buff comes back in with a sunset flip for two and nails all three guys. He slaps a Figure Four on Flair but Piper makes a fast save. Some atomic drops have Piper reeling but he comes back with that double ear clap. Piper puts on the sleeper and the crowd just dies. That was almost disturbing.
Bagwell fights up and hits Piper low before slamming Flair off the top. Off to Ric who ducks a dropkick and tries the Figure Four but gets rolled up for two. Piper comes back in as Malenko tries to come in but gets stopped by Mickie Jay. Dean is allowed to be Buff’s partner as Bagwell clotheslines Flair down and makes the hot tag to Malenko. Roddy breaks up a quick Cloverleaf attempt so Dean slaps it on Arn instead. The Blockbuster knocks Flair out but Piper hits Buff with brass knuckles and puts Flair on top for the pin.
Rating: D+. Well so much for Buff’s momentum. By momentum I mean winning one match after losing every big match he’s had for months of course but that’s a major push in WCW if you’re under 38 years old. Piper continues to drag down any match he’s in as his offense would have looked outdated in 1978.
Nitro Girls.
Tag Team Titles: Kanyon/Diamond Dallas Page vs. Konnan/Rey Mysterio Jr.
Why would Kanyon work twice tonight when Bigelow is in their corner? Page takes Mysterio into the corner to start but takes a standing Lionsault and a dropkick to knock him into the ropes. Off to Konnan for the rolling clothesline but he walks into a jawbreaker. Kanyon comes in but walks into a drop toehold, setting up a springboard legdrop from Mysterio. For some reason Rey dives onto Bigelow, earning him a whip into the steps as we take a break.
Back with Mysterio headscissoring Page down, setting up a double tag to Kanyon and Konnan. Everything breaks down with Konnan cleaning house and throwing Mysterio into a Bronco Buster on Page. Kanyon comes back with a legdrop between Konnan’s legs as Bigelow gets in as well. Things settle down with Page hooking a front facelock on Konnan. Back to Kanyon who misses a moonsault, allowing for the real hot tag to Mysterio for a springboard seated senton to Page. Rey dives onto Bigelow again but with better results this time. Everything breaks down again but the cowboys come in for the DQ.
Rating: D+. Yet another DQ to mess up what could have been a decent match. Konnan and Mysterio have nice chemistry together and putting them up against three guys at once is a good way to make them look like underdogs. Mysterio diving on Bigelow over and over again made him look stupid though and slowed things down.
Benoit, Saturn and the No Limit Soldiers run in for the save to try and validate the latter’s pay.
Sting vs. Sid Vicious
They stand around for a bit before Sting avoids a charge in the corner. Cue Savage and the girls to trip Sting and give Sid early control. Sting makes a quick comeback with a bulldog and kick to the face but Savage offers another distraction to let Sid choke away. Some kicks to Sting’s head and ribs have him in trouble but Sid stops to yell at the camera. Another boot misses and Sting hits the Splash, drawing in Savage for the DQ.
Rating: F. This match headlined a show in 1989 and it’s headlining another show in 1999. Is that really all WCW can come up with? And a DQ finish to make sure neither guy has to look bad? The fact that it’s the fourth DQ on the show doesn’t help either, as it makes things all the more frustrating. This was barely a match.
Luger comes in for the save and a long staredown and insults wrap things up. Sting: “WE’VE GOT TWO WORDS FOR YOU!” A crotch chop ends the show. Seriously.
Overall Rating: D. I’m not sure how to describe this show. It was better than the recent weeks due to less stupid stuff going on but the in ring stuff was even more frustrating. Half of the matches ended via DQ, two ended with foreign objects to the head, and one of the clean wins lasted all of ninety seconds. This show has almost completely stopped being about wrestling and is now about every old, over the hill wrestler they can dig up. The old vs. new stuff was still around but it’s clear that the story is taking a backseat to the other old guys. Speaking of which, where did Nash disappear to? He was just gone after half an hour.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
They have a DVD now so why not? Today we have the Brothers of Destruction.
Since the team didn’t join forces all that often, expect some big gaps.
We’ll start on Raw on September 21, 1998, when the brothers were still uneasy allies.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Steve Austin/???
Before Austin gets in the ring, Billy Gunn comes out to be his partner. Ok then. Brawl to start with Kane hammering Billy to the floor. Austin and Taker start things off with Austin hitting the middle finger elbow. Off to Billy who has to stick and move. Taker misses a big boot and gets caught by a Fameasser for two. Back to Austin who sends Taker into the corner but gets clotheslined down.
Off to Kane but Austin fights back and tags in Billy. Chokeslam is broken up but Undertaker’s distraction allows Kane to knock him over the top. Billy is sent into the steps and we head back in. Taker comes in and beats on Billy but lowers his head so Billy can get in a boot. Taker looks at him and takes Billy’s head off again. Back to Kane who hits a big boot for two.
A regular clothesline sets up the top rope clothesline for two. Austin makes the save and flips off Kane. Well at least he’s multitasking. Billy and Kane hit a double clothesline and Gunn makes the tag to Austin. Stunner doesn’t work but the second attempt gets two on Kane due to a Taker save. Everything breaks down and the referee goes down. Chokeslam to Billy by Undertaker is good for the pin despite them both being legal.
Rating: C-. Standard main event style tag match here but I’m really not sure why they picked Billy Gunn of all people to be his partner. I know they lost all of the other main event players but still, Billy Gunn? Not HHH? Anyway, the match was fine but I really don’t know what it does for Sunday.
Again on Raw, October 12, 1998 for a pretty big showdown.
Kane/The Undertaker vs. Steve Austin/The Rock
Ok so apparently Rock IS #1 contender. I think what messed me up last week was that he was #1 contender to a title that had no owner, so I thought Kane and Undertaker would be considered the contenders. Say it with me: it’s a brawl to start. Kane and Austin go to the floor while Rock beats up Undertaker. Austin and Rock double team Taker down but he sits up. We start with Austin and Undertaker while Kane is on the floor.
Here comes Paul Bearer, which is good as I had forgotten he was here. Taker hits a clothesline for two before working over the arm. Austin comes back and wraps Taker’s leg around the post before tagging in Rock. He loads up the People’s Elbow but Taker sits up. Rock kicks him right back down before hitting the elbow in a move that I’m sure has been on highlight reels before.
Kane distracts Rock so Taker can hit a HUGE chokeslam. Off to Kane now as Brown and Henry come out too. Back to Taker for some choking and then to Kane again. Rock finally comes back with a DDT as the referee tells them seven minutes left. Kane blocks the tag and drapes Rock over the top before tagging in Taker again. Kane hammers on Rock on the floor but comes back in for a Samoan Drop.
A double tag brings in Austin to face Undertaker again and things pick up. Austin can’t quite drop him as Henry and Brown beat down Rock on the floor. Austin gets caught in the ropes and Taker pounds away. That doesn’t last long as Austin escapes and hits a clothesline for two. Thesz Press is broken up by Kane and the security guard from earlier with the dogs run in and hits Austin with a stick before unmasking to reveal Big Bossman. The match is thrown out.
Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that sounds better on paper than in reality. This was more about Austin getting beaten down by Vince’s guy which is ok, especially when the main event on Sunday is about Austin vs. Vince with the title and the Brothers being thrown in. Not a bad match but the important thing here again is to have Rock rubbing elbows with these top guys.
We’ll jump ahead to Smackdown: EXTREME on February 1, 2001.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Haku/Rikishi
First blood here. Total brawl to start with Undertaker throwing Haku into the steps. The Brothers ping pong Rikishi with punches until Haku is back up. Rikishi and Undertaker head into the ring and Taker hits Old School. The pairings switch off and the Samoans get chairs to take over. Rikishi pounds on Kane in the corner and sets for a Stinkface but Taker cracks Haku with a chair and Kane breaks it up with a low blow. A chokeslam puts Rikishi down and Haku is bleeding but it isn’t seen. Steps to the head of Rikishi and the referee sees Haku bleeding to end it.
Rating: D+. Just a brawl that had a way to declare a winner. This feud wasn’t really interesting anyone and it only ended because of an injury to Rikishi. Not much to see as far as a match but power matches are always kind of fun to see. Kane and Undertaker would move on to bigger things very soon.
From a few days later on Raw, February 5, 2001.
Tag Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Dudley Boys
The Dudleys are champions coming in here. Kane vs. D–Von to start us off. D–Von has to use speed of all things which isn’t something you often see. Kane misses an elbow and D–Von hits a dropkick (???) to put Kane down. Off to Bubba and Kane takes him down with relative ease. Top rope clothesline by Kane gets two. Taker comes in and cleans house, dropping Old School on Bubba.
Bubba gets a Russian leg sweep to take Taker down and Undertaker gets hit with What’s Up. That’s not right for some reason. Double flapjack to Taker but Kane saves him from the 3D. DDT to D–Von gets two. Off to Kane vs. D–Von now and a nice legdrop gets two. Off to the non–Deadman who hits his jumping clothesline. D–Von manages a neckbreaker and brings in Bubba.
They slug it out for a bit and Bubba gets a belly to back suplex for two. Chokeslam is blocked and everything breaks down. D–Von and Kane head to the floor while in the ring it’s a chokeslam to Bubba. Cue Edge and Christian for no apparent reason. Not that it matters as their Conchairto misses. The referee sees a chair down and Bubba down and that’s good enough for a DQ. LAME!
Rating: D+. Not much of a match as the styles clashed pretty badly here. I think this set up a triple threat later which wasn’t that good. This was just ok and the only answer for Edge and Christian was that they didn’t want to face the Brothers. The ending sucks either way and it wasn’t a great match prior to that anyway.
Time for PPV at No Way Out 2001.
Tag Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Edge/Christian vs. Dudley Boyz
This is a tables match but not elimination style. Uh sure. The Brothers go after Edge and Christian in the aisle but stop when the Dudleys come out and corner them. Dudleys are champions here. The Canadians hide and it’s on early. It’s a massive brawl of course. Tazz is still on commentary here. The table HHH went through is still just in pieces on the floor which is funny for some reason as it always is.
The Dudleys are down and the Brothers beat up the Canadians. The champs make the save from a double powerbomb but Bubba slips on a chair and falls on his back. For the first time we get in the ring and Bubba gets his crotch stepped on. What’s up to Edge makes up for that though. This is just a big mess of course but it’s fun. Taker and Kane stop the getting of tables and Christian hits Unprettier on Bubba in the ring.
Stereo powerslams by the big men and then they both go up. Taker goes airborne which isn’t something you see that often really. We get some near endings but a bunch of saves are made including a low blow to Taker. A pair of chokeslams hit but there aren’t any tables. The Dudleys get chokeslammed too and the Brothers stand very tall.
They set for stereo powerbombs but Rikishi and Haku waddle down to stop it and brawl with the monsters. Have we ever had a generation without an evil Samoan team? For some reason Vince thought these Samoans would be a good choice for a team, even though Haku wasn’t Samoan. The monsters all go up the ramp to tick off the crowd. 3D on Christian ends it.
Rating: C+. Just a fun match here but somehow this was supposed to set up monsters vs. monsters, even though the ethnic monsters were gone very soon. This wasn’t much but it definitely wasn’t bad. The constant double teaming got pretty stupid after awhile but it wasn’t horrible. Passable match for what it was, but with TLC 2 next month, it’s hard to stay underwhelmed.
Back to Raw on March 5, 2001.
Haku/Rikishi vs. Kane/Undertaker
Heyman calls the Samoans children of the jungle. Is that like Children of the Corn? The brawl begins on the ramp and everything is a bit nuts. Finally we get down to Taker vs. Haku in the ring and we actually get a bell. To the shock of no one, this is a slugout. The Samoan hits a German on the American for two. Taker can’t hurt Haku’s head so he calls some spots instead, namely running into an elbow. Off to Rikishi as those two had been in there way too long. And never mind as Haku is back in maybe 8 seconds later. DDT puts Haku down for two. Off to Kane and everything breaks down. Chokeslam ends Haku rather quickly.
Rating: D. Match was flat out horrible as I’d almost think Kane was hurt here as he did almost nothing at all. Taker in 2001 isn’t someone you want to have fight this long on his own, especially against Haku. Rikishi would be gone very soon due to an injury so this was one of the last moments for the Samoans. Yeah Rikishi would work Smackdown the next night and then was gone for two months.
And again on March 26, 2001, the go home show for Wrestlemania X7.
Undertaker/Kane vs. The Rock/Steve Austin
Kane vs. Rock starts us off. All four guys are faces here which is a rather weird thing. Taker comes in as we’re just waiting for the hot tag to Austin at this point. Austin gets the tag as we’re totally going through the motions here. Thesz Press to Taker as it’s pretty clear they’re in a slow gear here.
Taker shoves Austin into the Rock and grabs him by the throat. JR thinks it could be for the chokeslam. Gee you think? HHH pops up out of nowhere and drills Taker with a chair, allowing Austin to get the pin. Austin drinks beer after the match but walks into a Stunner to end it.
Rating: N/A. No one cared here and everyone knew it. They did manage to get the Game on the show though, so that’s always a plus.
The Brothers would be the main opposition to the Two Man Power Trip at Backlash 2001 with all the titles on the line at once.
WWF World Title/Intercontinental Title/Tag Titles: HHH/Steve Austin vs. Undertaker/Kane
Kane has a bad elbow/arm here so that’ll likely play into the ending. Oh and if HHH wins he’s a Grand Slam Champion. The heels stall a lot and Austin can’t even throw his vest into the ring. There’s the bell and it’s time to go. Kane gets a shot into HHH’s head and we stall even more. HHH finally gets in alone and down he goes again. They’ve been on the floor about three minutes now.
Finally the tall dudes go out to the floor and the slugout begins. HHH goes into the announce table as Austin and Taker are actually in the ring now. They switch off with HHH and Kane in the ring now. No idea if anyone is legal yet. Kane chokes both guys but his arm is hurting. Ok so HHH and Kane are the official starters now. There’s the jumping knee and down goes the big fried freak.
HHH brings in Austin but Kane gets the tag and Austin tries to run. His reward is having a mudhole stomped into him. Taker destroys him for a bit and Austin offers a handshake. This is the guy that a month before was at war with Rock. Wow indeed. Taker reluctantly tags in Kane, which makes sense here. Back off to Taker and HHH and Old School hits. Old School to Austin also and Taker clears the ring.
The Two Man Power Trip tries to leave but Kane makes the stop. Back in the ring and HHH breaks up the Last Ride. Double mudhole is stomped into Taker in the corner and we head to the floor again. Austin vs. Taker now in the ring and make that HHH instead. The challengers (kind of) are tagging in and out rather well. Taker fights out of it and gets a DDT on HHH but won’t tag. Not can’t, but won’t.
Austin hits a Thesz Press but the middle finger elbow is caught in an attempted chokeslam. HHH makes the save but Taker gets a double clothesline to put all three guys down. Kane tags himself in and hammers on Austin. Another chokeslam is broken up by HHH and Kane avoids a Stunner. HHH finally wakes up and works on the arm. This is kind of a mess. Austin gets a chair shot to the arm and it’s an ARMBAR in the ring by the Game.
Kane’s face is pounded on a bit more but Kane reverses to pound on Austin a bit more. HHH makes another save as it keeps seeming like this is a handicap match rather than a regular tag. Top wristlock goes on which Kane fights out of again. HHH gets tossed to the floor where he’s able to break up a tag. Austin comes in sans tag and he and Kane botch something badly. It looked like it was supposed to be a clothesline but Austin didn’t go down or anything like that.
HHH tries to comes off the top but Kane gets a foot up but still can’t tag out. He picks up Kane’s leg and Kane looks like he’s setting for an enziguri but he just hops for awhile and HHH takes him down. Pedigree hits and HHH tags out for no apparent reason. During the confusion Taker comes in and chokeslams Austin. Stephanie distracts Hebner so he shoves her down and counts two on Austin.
Kane hits the enziguri this time which makes me think they blew the spot earlier. The referee goes down for a bit and doesn’t see the hot tag to Taker. Taker pummels them both and it’s a Last Ride to Taker but he’s not legal a minute after being tagged in. Low blow by Austin to Taker and a Stunner to Kane. Taker and Austin brawl into the crowd and HHH gets a tag title belt, only to get it kicked into his face. Chokeslam is loaded up but Stephanie comes in, only to get kicked in the face also. Vince runs in with a sledgehammer which HHH gets for a pair of shots to Kane, one in the head, for the tag titles.
Rating: D+. This was about half an hour long and the whole thing didn’t work for the most part. It was just a big mess with everything going all over the place and nothing of note going on other than the arm work. It was more about everyone doing random moves instead of a coherent match, which is rarely a good thing at all. Not a good main event.
Back to Raw in the InVasion era, starting on July 16, 2001.
Diamond Dallas Page/Rhyno vs. Undertaker/Kane
The Brothers clear the ring early on. Kane and Rhyno officially get us going and the horny one takes a powerslam. This is one of those matches where everyone hits high power and high impact stuff from the bell. Taker comes in to knock Rhyno around a lot. Old School sends Rhyno to the floor and it breaks down even more. The Brothers beat on them even more and here are the Dudleys. I’m not going to bother rating it because it was far more of a brawl than a match.
From two weeks later on Raw, July 30, 2001.
Dudley Boys vs. Kane/Undertaker
Tables match. The brawl starts on the floor until we get down to Kane beating on D-Von in the ring while the other two fight outside. Top rope clothesline puts D-Von down. I’m not sure if you need one or both to go through a table to win here. Taker and Bubba are in the ring now. The Dudleys double teak the Dead Man and the reverse 3D puts him down.
A table is brought in but so is Kane. D-Von is left alone with Taker who loads up a chokeslam, but Nick Patrick shoves the table away. Page runs in with a low blow and they load up a superbomb for Sara through the table. She holds Bubba off until Kane and Taker get bac up and Ray is chokeslamed through the table for the victory for the tall brothers.
Rating: D. The match sucked but it was there to fill in some time and I guess kid of almost advancing the Taker vs. DDP feud. Can you really even call it a feud when DDP hasn’t won a single round of it? Not a horrible match but again it was more filler for the ending of the show with Rock.
Here’s one of their more famous matches as a team at Summerslam 2001.
WCW Tag Titles/WWF Tag Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Diamond Dallas Page/Kanyon
Inside a cage to make sure the jobbers have no chance at all. The WWF guys have the WCW titles and the WCW guys have the WWF titles because CRAZY! Undertaker’s wife Sara drops the key to the cage down her shirt for safekeeping. The monsters dominate to start, shocking no one at all. Taker pounds on Page and Kane destroys Kanyon until DDP actually gets in a low blow and sends Taker into the cage.
The guys trade off opponents and Kane kicks Page’s head off as Taker destroys Kanyon. Kane powerbombs Kanyon into the corner as Taker rams Page into the cage. A big boot sends DDP’s head into the steel but Kanyon comes out of the corner to take Taker down. He hits a kind of Fameasser out of the corner to take Kane down but the Brothers sit up at the same time. Page and Kanyon go up top but Taker kicks Page down and tells Kane to let Kanyon go. Now it’s the Brothers against Page, two on one.
They take turns with running clotheslines in the corner and Taker hits a sidewalk slam for two. Kane yells at the referee in the corner as Taker pounds Page down. There’s a chain in the ring from somewhere and Taker whips Page in the back for fun. Kane is just chilling in the corner watching this. Taker tells Page he can leave and live, but if he ever looks at Sara again he’s dead. DDP tries to leave but gets chokeslammed off the top a few seconds later. The Last Ride ends the slaughter and gives the Brothers both sets of titles.
Rating: D+. So you the dominant team of former world champions beat a guy who is nothing like the successful character he portrayed a few years ago and his midcard comedic lackey. Thankfully this was only ten minutes long and Sara didn’t look bad. This finally ended Page’s destruction by Taker and Kane once and for all I believe.
And a more infamous one at Unforgiven 2001.
WCW Tag Titles: Kronik vs. Undertaker/Kane
Richards is with Kronik here. The brawl starts on the floor and it’s Adams vs. Taker to officially get us going. Off to Kane who still has a bad arm. Off to Clark with Kronik in control now. Big boot gets two. There are a lot of kicks and punches in this. Kane kind of falls down on a neckbreaker….and then a shoulderbreaker. Taker comes in and works on the arm, hitting Old School.
An armbar goes on but Adams breaks it up. Clark sells the arm so he’s up a few steps already. More punches and kicks from Kronik and they’re not clicking at all. Kronik takes over with double teaming and upgrades their offense with a double shoulder block for two. Off to the chinlock with Adams keeping Taker down. Back to Clark but Taker hits a running DDT and there’s the tag to Kane.
He cleans house and a big boot puts both guys down. A side slam to Clark does the same and Kane loads up a chokeslam. Adams makes the save and we get the rare triple clothesline to put everyone down. Taker comes back in and it all breaks down. He sets for a chokeslam on Clark but Richards comes in for the save. Double chokeslam to Taker is broken up and Kane hits his clothesline and a chokeslam ends Clark to keep the titles on the Brothers.
Rating: D-. This match was voted worst match of the year….and I’m really not sure why. Sure it’s bad but I’ve seen FAR worse matches than this before. Kronik looked as limited as you can be and they would be fired soon after this for the match. They needed more seasoning and the offer was to send them to the minors but they refused and were fired because of it. I don’t get why this was blasted so much because it’s not the worst match I’ve ever seen or really even close to it. I’m sure I could find some worse WCW matches.
One more match before a big jump. From Raw on October 22, 2001.
Undertaker/Kane vs. Booker T/Test
Taker and Test start us off and Taker will have none of these punches in the corner. A big boot and a clothesline put Taker down and it’s off to Booker. Side slam and knee drop combine for no cover by Booker. Taker comes back with a clothesline and it’s off to Kane. Booker kicks him down and it’s off to Test. This is your usual power brawl so far. Taker comes in and does his arm lift to Booker but walks into a big boot from the Canadian.
Out to the floor and Booker rams him into the steps. Back in and the beating continues. Yes, Undertaker is actually selling some of this stuff. The ax kick misses and the side kick is caught in a slam move. Double tag brings in Test and Kane with the masked one cleaning house. Kane hits a big boot to both guys but Booker breaks up the chokeslam to Test. Booker and Taker go to the floor as the other two hit big boots at the same time. Chokeslam to Booker and after Taker saves Kane from the pumphandle slam, the Tombstone by Kane pins Test.
Rating: D. The ending was decent but man was the rest of this dull. The match wasn’t bad I guess, but this is the same thing we’ve seen time after time which doesn’t make it interesting. All it does is make it repetitive and clear that they have no idea what to do with these four guys or anyone else they’ve had out there in this position.
The team wouldn’t hook up many more times, so we’ll jump ahead over eleven years to Raw on April 22, 2013.
Undertaker/HELL NO vs. Shield
Surprisingly enough Undertaker comes out first. Shield surrounds him and the fight is on, only to have HELL NO come out for the save. The brawl is on and we take a break before the bell. Bryan and Ambrose start with Dean getting his arm cranked on over and over. Kane comes in and does the same before it’s off to Undertaker to a big pop. Taker works on the arm as well with some driving shoulders before having Old School broken up. Ambrose charges into a boot in the corner and now Old School connects for two more.
Back to Bryan who gets to fight Reigns. After a hard kick in the corner by Daniel it’s off to Kane for an elbow drop for two. Shield finally uses the numbers game to get Kane down in the corner and pound away on him with everyone getting in a shot. Rollins comes in and goes up top, only to jump into an uppercut from Kane. Hot tag brings in Bryan who immediately speeds things up and moonsaults out of the corner.
A clothesline puts Rollins on his knees and there are the NO kicks to the chest and a big one to the head. Rollins is sent to the floor and there’s the suicide dive to take him down. Back in and the missile dropkick puts Rollins into the corner but a running dropkick from Bryan misses. Back with Bryan being hit in the throat by Reigns for two. Off to Rollins as Bryan is in big trouble.
Rollins talks trash so Taker does the throat slit and has a bit of a fit on the apron. Bryan finally gets in a shot on Ambrose and it’s hot tag to Taker. Ambrose gets the Snake Eyes into the big boot and legdrop (brother!) for two. Taker loads up the double chokeslam on Ambrose and Rollins but Reigns spears Taker down for two. Off to Kane for a chokeslam to Ambrose and there’s another hot tag to Bryan. Daniel goes up but gets crotched by Reigns. Bryan still manages to launch the Swan Dive but only hits mat, allowing Ambrose to pin him at 18:58.
Rating: B. Again this was good but it didn’t reach the level that they were shooting for. This was a great moment for Shield though as they get a win over Undertaker which is a big name to add to their list. Odds are they take the tag belts off HELL NO at Extreme Rules, which puts the company in a bind unless they do a triple threat to get the belts off Shield. Anyway, good match here.
The Brothers of Destruction are something like a modern day Hansen/Brody: two unstoppable monsters who destroy everyone they come across, at least in theory. Well ok so Hansen and Brody didn’t light each other on fire but you know they would be up for it if they had the chance. The interesting thing is how infrequently they teamed, especially when they have a DVD about their partnership. They’re fun for a beatdown but I don’t care for them most of the time
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Survivor Series 2001
Date: November 18, 2001
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 10,142
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman
I’ve talked about the Invasion over and over and over as have a bunch of other people so I’ll spare you the big explanation of it. In short, WWF bought WCW and ECW (or close enough to that at least) and over the summer and fall of 2001, squandered what could arguably have been a billion dollars’ worth of stories, feuds and shocks. But hey, why make a fortune when you can destroy WCW and have a final blowoff in the home of Starrcade where you can say HAHA I BEAT YOU TURNER and crush WCW once and for all? That’s the whole show for the most part. It’s one Survivor Series match, winner take all. Let’s get to it.
The opening video is a cool idea as it shows all of the old logos for the WWF over the years and a bunch of great moments in company history, set to a song called The End Is Here. Tonight it’s winner take all in the main event.
European Title: Christian vs. Al Snow
Christian is in the Alliance and defending. He greets his fans in South Carolina and says he’s awesome. Snow comes out to the Tough Enough theme which is always awesome. Snow takes him down to the mat which frustrates the champ. Christian comes back with a foot on Snow’s face in the corner followed by a Russian legsweep for two. We hit the chinlock as the match slows down.
Snow fights up and hits his headbutts but Christian hits a tiger driver backbreaker for two. Snow gets rammed into the buckle and things slow down again. The trapping headbutts hit Christian again and Snow escapes the reverse DDT into a neckbreaker for two. Heyman schilling for the Alliance guy is always funny. A sitout powerbomb gets two for Snow and now Christian’s reverse DDT hits for no cover. Instead Christian talks a lot of trash and gets rolled up for two. A top rope cross body is rolled through by Snow and the Snow Plow gets two. There’s the Unprettier out of nowhere to keep the title in the Alliance. That was quick.
Rating: C-. This is one of those shows where anything but the main event means nothing, which makes the first hour and a half of the show pretty uninteresting to sit through. This match was fine but it could have been on Smackdown on any given week. Snow and Christian are both good hands so a good match is really nothing shocking at all.
Austin arrives and yells at the Alliance. He doesn’t like being accused of being a traitor to the Alliance. This would be a lot better if Stephanie had more acting ability than say, a carrot. Austin yells at everyone on the team and says stop being paranoid.
Vince and Linda arrive with Vince brimming with confidence. Cole comes up and says this might be their last night in business but Vince doesn’t want to hear talk like that. Vince talks about taking calculated risks and being confident because someone is jumping to the WWF. Regal comes up and says he doesn’t buy the idea that Austin is jumping back to the WWF.
William Regal vs. Tajiri
Regal hurt Tajiri’s girlfriend Torrie on Smackdown to set this up. Also these two used to be friends. Tajiri is Cruiserweight Champion and was supposed to face X-Pac in a title for title match, but according to Commissioner Mick Foley, “No one cared about X-Pac or the Light Heavyweight Title anyway”. Tajiri fires off a kick but gets suplexed right back down.
The knee trembler takes Tajiri down but Tajiri goes after Regal’s knee with the kicks. There’s the Tarantula and Regal is bleeding from the nose. A handspring elbow gets two for Tajiri but Regal ties his head up in the ropes to stop the momentum dead. Regal tries a powerbomb but gets countered by another kick to the head. The Buzzsaw Kick misses and there’s the Tiger Bomb from Regal for the pin. Too short to rate but it was fine. Short, but fine.
Regal powerbombs him again post match. Torrie (looking GREAT in a purple top and leather pants) comes out to check on Tajiri, only to get powerbombed as well.
We recap Edge vs. Test. These two are both midcard champions after the seemingly dozens of never ending midcard title changes going on at this point. Edge is US Champion, Test is IC Champion, tonight only one belt survives.
Test complains about the makeup lady not rubbing in the oil well enough on him. Stacy comes up and agrees with Test. Test hits on her and she’ll think about it if he wins.
Edge compares himself to Test and says that there are a lot of similarities between them. The difference is that Edge hasn’t been dumped by every chick on the planet. Edge makes fun of Test for sounding wooden and that’s about it.
Intercontinental Title/US Title: Edge vs. Test
They fight over control to start with Edge taking over via a series of forearms to the head. Test powers him down and goes after the ribs with a wide ranging selection of stomps. We head to the floor with Edge being dropped across the barricade to further the attack on the ribs. Back in and Edge hits a dropkick to take over before we head outside again. Back in quickly and a swinging neckbreaker gets two for Edge.
Test drops Edge onto the top rope ribs first to reinjure him and the taller of the blonde Canadian champions takes over again. Test puts on a chinlock as the match slows down again. Edge fights up and avoids a corner charge before hitting a middle rope missile dropkick for two. A middle rope cross body misses though and Test puts him on the top rope.
Edge blocks a superplex with some CANADIAN right hands to the ribs but a sunset bomb doesn’t work. Test dives off the top but jumps right into a dropkick to put him down. The problem with this match is neither guy has been able to build up any kind of a run with the title as both have changed hands four times since the InVasion began about four months ago. How can you get behind either guy as a big time champion in that little bit of time? On top of that, Edge has been champion for six days and Test for thirteen. That’s not exactly Honky Tonk Man unifying with Luger in the late 80s.
Both guys are down now but it’s Edge up first with some clotheslines and a spinwheel kick. Test’s pumphandle slam is countered into the Edge-O-Matic for two. Test spears Edge down for two but the big boot misses. There’s the pumphandle for two but Test’s powerbomb is countered into a rana. Edge’s spear gets a close two but he can’t hit the Edgecution. Test tries a full nelson slam but Edge rolls through for the pin and both titles.
Rating: C+. This started pretty slow but it got going once Edge was able to start countering Test’s power stuff. In other words, Edge did the work to make Test’s generic big man offense look decent. This was probably the match of the night, which isn’t surprising given how hot Edge got in the next year.
Angle comes up to see a stressed out Stephanie. My goodness her acting is bad. I know I say that a lot, but IT’S FREAKING TERRIBLE. She says if the Alliance loses tonight, she’ll have to buy her own groceries and wash her own car. She can’t be a…..a…..a REGULAR PERSON!!! Angle reminds her that she’s special and doesn’t think Austin will jump.
A cage is lowered.
Jeff and Lita are talking about Matt being different lately. Matt comes up and yells at them for acting strange and not being focused enough. It turns into a rallying speech and things seem ok. The guys leave and Trish comes out of the same locker room Matt came out of earlier. It says Team WWF so maybe there’s nothing there……..but maybe there is. DUN DUN DUN!
WCW Tag Titles/WWF Tag Titles: Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys
In a cage. The Dudleys are WCW Champions and the Hardys are the WWF Champions and Stacy is STUNNING at this point as the Dudleys’ manager. All four belts get laid out between the guys in the ring and it’s time to go. There are tags required here and it’s Matt vs. Bubba to start. Matt can’t get anywhere so it’s off to Jeff who walks into a Boss Man Slam for two.
D-Von comes in as Heyman talks about Big Daddy Dudley which JR could not care less about. Back to Matt who rolls D-Von up for two but walks into a reverse inverted DDT for two. Bubba comes in again and drops a bunch of elbows for two. The Dudleys tag in and out a lot and it’s back to Bubba for more punching to Matt’s ribs. Bubba tries to ram Matt into the cage but Matt counters into a reverse DDT.
Off to Jeff who cleans house as everything breaks down quickly. Poetry in Motion hits Bubba and Matt climbs but D-Von makes the save. It’s pin/submission/double escape to win here and there’s a Bubba Bomb off the top to Jeff. Wouldn’t that hurt both of them equally? Bubba goes up again but Matt slams him down for two. Matt gets rammed into the cage but when the Dudleys try to do the same to Jeff, he grabs the cage and tries to climb out, only to get caught in a Doomsday Device (Paul: “WHAT A RUSH!”).
Matt gets crushed against the cage and Bubba whips D-Von into him for good measure. Bubba splashes him as well and the Dudleys are in full control. Jeff gets in a shot and Matt hits a top rope double clothesline to shift the momentum just as fast though. A DDT puts Bubba down for two and Jeff hits the legdrop between D-Von’s legs. A double backdrop takes Ray down again and the Hardys go up.
Matt hits a legdrop and Jeff hits a splash off the top at the same time for two on Bubba. Matt makes a climb but gets pulled down with one leg still stuck in the cage. What’s Up to Jeff and Bubba asks Stacy for a table. Stacy hits on Nick Patrick and picks the key out of his pocket. There’s a table in the ring now but Matt breaks up the 3D by jumping Bubba. Why D-Von didn’t flapjack Jeff through the table is anyone’s guess.
Bubba and Matt go tot he top and pound away at each other until Bubba is knocked down. Matt climbs down to escape but he’s left alone against the Dudleys. D-Von is rammed into the cage a few times and Jeff goes up as D-Von climbs onto the table for no apparent reason. Jeff looks down and sees D-Von there before diving off the top of the cage, but the Swanton misses. Bubba covers the table and therefore Jeff as well for the pin and the titles.
Rating: B-. This was the usual good brawl between these teams and it furthers the Hardys’ issues, but at the end of the day this feud was played out at this point. There was nothing left for these two teams to do and at this point it was being dragged out way too far. Still though, good match and a good way to I believe finally end this nearly two year long feud.
Jeff is taken out on a stretcher.
Mick Foley is at WWF New York and admits that his job (WWF Commissioner) means nothing.
Scotty 2 Hotty is about to be in the Immunity Battle Royal but Test beats him up to take his spot.
Immunity Battle Royal
Test, Billy Gunn, Bradshaw, Farrooq, Lance Storm, Billy Kidman, Diamond Dallas Page, Albert, Tazz, Perry Saturn, Raven, Chuck Palumbo, Crash Holly, Justin Credible, Shawn Stasiak, Steven Richards, Tommy Dreamer, The Hurricane, Spike Dudley, Hugh Morrus, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Funaki
No matter who wins the main event tonight, the winner of this is guaranteed a job for a year. Stasiak is thrown to the floor before the bell rings and is apparently out. Test drops to the floor to hide as Tazz comes in late. Since it’s a battle royal there’s really not much to talk about here. Everyone punches everyone and no one is put out for awhile. Heyman freaks out about Tazz because Tazz choked him out on Smackdown.
Hurricane dives at Farrooq and is clotheslined out by Bradshaw. Albert throws Saturn out and Test, who is back in now, dumps Farrooq. Page is put out by someone we can’t see and Storm superkicks Palumbo out. Morrus and Chavo run in as wildcards because they tried to jump from the Alliance to the WWF on Raw but got fired as a result. Billy dumps Chavo as Morrus is eliminated as well. Tazz dumps Dreamer and Crash as Storm low bridges Spike out. Bradshaw’s Clothesline kills Richards and he’s gone.
Tazz stops to run his mouth to Heyman and gets dumped by Billy. Test and I think Kidman put Albert out. We’re down to Bradshaw, Kidman, Gunn, Test and Storm. Sorry if I missed a bunch of eliminations but a lot of them weren’t shown. The fallaway slam puts Kidman out and we’re down to four. Bradshaw kicks Storm down and might have hurt his ankle. Things slow way down as Billy and Bradshaw hang on for dear life. Storm and Test team up to put Bradshaw out but Test dumps Storm as well. A big boot eliminates Gunn and Test wins immunity.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but at the end of the day, it’s a battle royal so what are you expecting to get here? Test would fall through the floor in the next year with no one caring about him at all. This was a pretty big batch of jobbers in there though and that doesn’t really make for an interesting match. Then again, neither do most battle royals.
Sacrifice video by Creed.
Booker is worried about Austin jumping. Shane says it’s ok and stick with it.
Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Ivory vs. Lita vs. Mighty Molly vs. Jacqueline vs. Jazz
Chyna relinquished the title earlier in the year without being pinned and then disappeared so this is the best we’ve got to pick from for the new champion. This is Jazz’s debut and NO ONE CARES. Why does no one care? Because Jazz meant nothing in ECW and was a face there but is a heel here. Jazz and Lita start things off with Jazz pounding away. Off to Jackie vs. Molly off some blind tags and somehow even fewer people care about Jackie.
Jackie dropkicks Molly down and it’s off to Ivory who gets caught in a sunset flip for two. This is one fall to a finish. Ivory slingshots Jackie into the ropes and it’s off to Trish who is looking very good in those little pink shorts of hers. Lita gets knocked to the floor and the three Alliance chicks (Ivory, Jazz, Molly) triple team Trish for a bit. Jackie double crosses Lita on Poetry in Motion and everyone hits their finishers on everyone else. The Litasault gets two on Ivory as Jazz saves. Lita gets backdropped to the floor and it’s Ivory vs. Trish left. Stratusfaction gives Trish I believe her first title.
Rating: D. It was short, the match wasn’t any good, Trish looked great in the skin tight barely there pink shorts, Lita looked good as usual, and that’s all I’ve got here. As usual with situations like this, when the previous champion doesn’t lose the title, the new champion comes in at a big disadvantage.
Vince looks at Team WWF and gives them a pep talk, bringing up names like Dr. Jerry Graham, Peter Maivia, Gorilla Monsoon (pop) and Andre the Giant (BIG pop). He understands he might be looking at a group of losers, and if that happens no one will ever forgive them. After listening to that speech, I want to go fight three WWF guys and one guy each from ECW and WCW!
We recap the main event which has been summed up pretty well already. Vince was replaced by Big Show and Rock and Jericho are having major issues. Rock is WCW champion and Austin is WWF Champion. This really does feel like a huge match. The video is set to Control by Puddle of Mudd which is a good song.
Basically Vince said that he was tired of all of the InVasion (I think a lot of us were at this point) and offered one winner take all match with the losing organization going out of business. Angle joined the Alliance after the announcement but Vince says Austin is coming back to the WWF, giving the Alliance reason to be concerned. Austin stunned Angle on TV recently to further that idea.
Team WWF vs. Team Alliance
The Rock, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Undertaker, Kane
Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon
Everyone gets individual entrances so it takes forever to get to the start of the match. As those are going on, a few things to notice here: Team Alliance has one of the biggest WWF superstars ever, a guy that at this point had only wrestled in the WWF, a WCW guy, an ECW guy, and the then heir to the WWF throne.
Also, as goes the stereotype for the WWF, most of their guys are big and strong instead of the more athletic styles of the Alliance team. One other thing: JR keeps up one of the annoying inaccuracies in wrestling by saying that Taker won the world title in his WWF debut. It was a year later, which you should know if you’ve been reading my reviews like good minions.
Rock and Austin start fighting before the bell and you know the early advantage doesn’t mean a thing in this one. Austin hits the Thesz Press and the middle rope elbow for a very early two. Rock comes back with a middle finger elbow of his own and dares Shane to get in. Off to Booker who gets clotheslined down for two as Shane makes the save. Expect to hear that line for awhile. Off to Jericho as Heyman blames Vince for the end of ECW.
Van Dam and Jericho have a nice fast paced sequence with Jericho hitting a spinwheel kick for no cover. Jericho chops away but misses a dropkick, allowing Rob to hit the cartwheel into a moonsault for two. For reasons likely related to high levels of drug use, Van Dam tries a standing rana on Jericho, only to be countered into the Walls. Shane makes the third save of the match already and it’s off to Angle vs. Kane.
Angle gets thrown around but eventually slips behind Kane and hits a German Suplex for two. Kane comes back with a side slam and the top rope clothesline for two of his own as Shane saves again. Off to the Dead Man who pounds away but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Booker to get the tag. Taker immediately drops Booker and hits a legdrop, but Shane breaks up his fifth near fall of the match.
There’s Old School to Booker followed by that lifting wristlock which always looks painful. Off to a short armed scissors followed by a clothesline for two, resulting in ANOTHER save from Shane. Austin comes in to pound on Taker (and to cause Heyman to say WHAT after everything JR says) but he gets caught in Old School. Say it with me: Shane makes the save. Taker gets caught in the wrong corner and quintuple teamed.
Angle is in next and tries to slug it out with the Deadman for some reason. Taker escapes a German and DDTs Angle down. There’s the tag to Big Show and JR almost immediately bashes him, saying Show can make a huge difference, or he can make some huge mistakes. Show throws around RVD and Angle before clearing off the entire Alliance corner. Angle gets underneath Show and there’s the Slam followed by an Ax kick from Booker (and a Spinarooni) and a Five Star and a top rope elbow from Shane for the first elimination.
Shane dances around in celebration before turning around to meet The Rock who beats the living tar out of Shane with right hands in the corner. Off to Kane for a chokeslam, then a tombstone from Undertaker and a Lionsault from Jericho to tie it up. That’s the best way to go as Show and Shane were the weak links on both teams. Angle vs. Jericho now with Jericho hitting the forearm to start. A double underhook backbreaker puts Angle down but Austin saves.
Angle uses an amateur takedown and brings in Booker to slam Chris a few times. RVD gets a tag but one of his shoulders in the corner is countered into a sunset flip for two. Off to Kane who catches a punch from RVD. Van Dam’s comeback? Kick the guy in the head. Why make things too complicated? Kane pulls Booker in and kicks him in the face too but the numbers game allows Van Dam to take Kane down and hit the Five Star. Rob takes too long to cover though and gets caught in a chokeslam, but Booker kicks Kane down. Everything breaks down and Rob kicks Kane from the top for the pin to make it 4-3.
Taker pounds on Van Dam in the corner while everyone else is fighting on the floor. Austin and Angle get in as well and Taker has to fight all four guys at once. He gets them all in a corner and keeps charging at all of them with clotheslines in a cool sequence. Snake Eyes and a big boot take Angle down and there’s a Last Ride for him as well. Booker comes in with a chair but Taker boots him down, leaving himself open to a Stunner from Austin and the pin by Angle. That leaves us with Austin/Angle/Booker/RVD vs. Rock/Jericho.
Booker stomps on Rock but Rocky comes back with right hands. A side kick takes Rock right back down but Rock does the same with a DDT for two. Booker charges into a Samoan Drop for two as Austin makes the save. Rock whips Booker into Angle and grabs a rollup to eliminate Mr. T, making it 3-2.
Rob is in next but as he goes up, Rock kind of powerbombs him off the top for two. Jericho gets the tag and hits a running neckbreaker for two before chopping away in the corner. Van Dam avoids the Lionsault and kicks Chris’ head off, followed by the split legged moonsault for no cover. Jericho pops up and hits a Breakdown (Skull Crushing Finale) out of nowhere for the pin and the elimination to tie it up at two each.
Austin slingshots Rock into the post on the floor while Angle and Jericho fight in the ring. Angle picks Jericho’s ankle and stomps away on him as Heyman thinks the Alliance can find a place for the Rock. Back to Austin to pound away on Chris and hit a superplex for two. Austin hits a kind of northern lights/belly to belly suplex for two and here’s Angle again. Jericho puts Kurt in the ankle lock but Kurt quickly escapes and hits a clothesline to take over.
It’s back to Austin for a suplex and an elbow to the face. Angle comes in and stomps away before it’s back to Austin who stomps away as well. We hit one of the few chinlocks in this match as Jericho is in trouble. Jericho fights up and it’s a double tag to bring in Rock vs. Angle with the Great One quickly hooking a Sharpshooter on Kurt for an even faster tap. Heyman LOSES IT in a great moment.
Off to Austin vs. Jericho with Chris trying the Walls but Austin rakes the eyes to escape. Austin can’t put Jericho in the Boston crab either but he gets the knees up to block the Lionsault. Steve loads up a superplex but gets shoved down, followed by a missile dropkick for Jericho for two. Austin counters a rollup out of nowhere for the pin and the elimination to get us down to Rock vs. Austin. Did you expect it to be anything else?
Rock hits a bad spinebuster but Jericho hits a Breakdown on Rock to take him down in a double cross. It’s not joining the Alliance, but rather just personal hatred. That gets two for Austin and Taker comes out to stalk Jericho to the back. Austin pounds away before launching Rock over the top and out to the floor. They fight on the floor with Austin being laid on the table and slapped in the chest over and over.
Austin comes back but gets sent over the announce table and punched in the face by Rock. Back in Rock chops away but gets caught in the whip spinebuster from Austin. Austin puts on a bad Sharpshooter and there’s your Montreal reference. Rock finally makes the rope so Austin grabs the WWF Title. Rock ducks the swing and puts Austin the Sharpshooter but he’s afraid to let go of the belt for some reason. I guess realizing he has a job no matter what, he grabs the rope instead.
Back up and Austin’s Stunner is countered into a Stunner from Rock. Why that puts Rock down after Rock had been in control for awhile is beyond me but whatever. Rock covers but here’s Nick Patrick to pull Hebner out. A Rock Bottom to Patrick is broken up and Austin Rock Bottoms Rock for two. Austin drills Patrick and pulls Hebner back in, only to be sent into him again as Rock counters the Stunner. There’s the Stunner to Rock but there’s no referee. Angle runs in and nails Austin with the title, letting Rock hit the Rock Bottom for the pin and the death of the Alliance. JR to Heyman: “You’re out of work! AGAIN!”
Rating: A. This felt like a main event and was very entertaining too. It runs forty five minutes bell to bell and feels like about half of that. At the end of the day, it was pretty clear what was going to happen but that doesn’t make it a bad match. Rock vs. Austin was pretty much done for a long time after this match, which is the right call as they had run it a lot this year. Great stuff here though.
Everyone celebrates and Vince comes out for the big dramatic pose, because this whole storyline was all about Vince and his kids remember.
Overall Rating: B+. Like I said, as goes the main event, so goes the show. The rest of the show isn’t bad but the main event is over an hour counting buildup video and entrances and all that jazz. The rest of the show isn’t bad at all with a good cage match and nothing truly bad that didn’t involve Trish looking great, so I can’t complain much here. Also, it gets rid of the Alliance which makes things better already.
As for the InVasion, I’ve gone on at great length about it already, but in short form here: it was the biggest waste of time, money, and potential that there ever could be in wrestling. This was the biggest storyline you could possibly ask for and they BLEW IT. There are multiple options you could go with here. One idea is have no mention on TV of the WWF buying WCW and just keep it going with WWF guys in charge behind the scenes. Think a network might have been interested with it being under the direction of the biggest wrestling company ever?
Another option: have the Alliance win. At the end of the day any money they’ve got goes into the WWF’s pocket as they own EVERYTHING, so what difference does it make? Granted that was never going to happen with Vince’s ego, but why let money get in the way of Vince feeling good about himself? The InVasion could have been so much more but it wound up running about five months with the WWF dominating the whole way through. Such a shame and a loss for wrestling fans who had waited for so many years for a chance to have this happen.
Ratings Comparison
Christian vs. Al Snow
Original: C+
Redo: C-
William Regal vs. Tajiri
Original: C
Redo: N/A
Edge vs. Test
Original: B-
Redo: C+
Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys
Original: B+
Redo: B-
Battle Royal
Original: N/A
Redo: C-
Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Jacqueline vs. Ivory vs. Mighty Molly vs. Jazz
Original: D+
Redo: D
Team WWF vs. Team Alliance
Original: B
Redo: A
Overall Rating
Original: C+
Redo: B+
Like I said, as the main event goes, so goes the show. That’s apparently the case here as I liked both better the second time around.
Here’s the original review if you’re interested:
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at: