ECW on Sci Fi
Date: March 6, 2007
Location: Tuscon Convention Center, Tuscon, Arizona
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

Now this is going to be different as we have a very special guest star in the form of Steve Austin. For once, it is someone who has an actual connection to the original ECW, which really doesn’t mean much but is kind of nice for a change. He’ll be talking about a Raw story, but that is the case with every show at the moment. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick recap of Vince McMahon vs. Donald Trump and Bobby Lashley drawing the boss’ ire.

Opening sequence.

Here is Vince McMahon to get things going in a surprise. Vince recaps Steve Austin being named guest referee for the Battle of the Billionaires and tells us to watch the contract signing on Raw. After getting a little rattled by the WHAT chants, Vince gets them back by saying “Tuscon sucks.” See how easy it is when the fans care about you? Vince promises a Billionaire B**** Slap to Donald Trump at Wrestlemania, but first we see a montage of Bobby Lashley receiving the same kind of slap.

Lashley tried to apologize to Vince earlier today but Vince isn’t accepting that unless it’s in public. Vince calls Lashley out for the apology so here is a rather happy looking Lashley. It’s true that Lashley wants to apologize, but to everyone here and at home as well as Vince (Vince: “Did you just call me Vince?”).

Lashley shakes, and squeezes, Vince’s hand and apologizes for not hitting him in the face for the slap last week. If Vince ever does that again, Lashley will break him in half. Vince goes down from the handshake and Lashley walks off. There wasn’t much said here, but Lashley felt intense and seemed like he belonged on this stage.

Ashley is in Playboy.

Hardcore Holly vs. Balls Mahoney

Holly wastes no time in jumping Mahoney and hammers him down in the corner. The stomping in the corner seems to wake Mahoney up though and he fires off the snap jabs. The guillotine legdrop misses though and Holly hits the Alabama Slam for the fast pin.

Post match, Snitsky comes in and kicks Holly in the face.

CM Punk talks about Money in the Bank but here is Elijah Burke to interrupt. Punk doesn’t seem happy but Burke offers him a spot in the New Breed. Rob Van Dam comes in to say Burke doesn’t know what ECW is all about (Burke probably can’t even spell ECW!) but he’ll learn tonight. Punk looks intrigued.

Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke

The ECW Originals and New Breed are all here. Van Dam kicks him down to start and grabs a headscissors. Burke misses a right hand and gets armdragged down, allowing Rob to kick him in the face. A running crossbody sends Burke outside and they crash to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Rob fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in some rolling suplexes for two. The double arm crank doesn’t last long on Rob but he misses a charge into the post. A double arm crank is broken up in a hurry so Burke takes him into the corner for some running knees to the back. They clothesline each other for a double breather until Rob makes the clothesline comeback. Some kicks to the face set up the split legged moonsault for two on Burke. The Five Star gives Rob the pin.

Rating: C. Not too bad here as Van Dam can still have a good match when he has the right opponent, which Burke can certainly be. This is the kind of match that helps the feud along too, as the New Breed can beat up the rest of the Originals but Van Dam gives them a fighting chance. Losing to Van Dam doesn’t hurt Burke and it makes the Originals look better so this was as effective as you could get.

Post match, Tommy Dreamer challenges the New Breed to an eight man tag at Wrestlemania. Answer coming later.

Nick Bockwinkel is going into the Hall of Fame. That feels wrong on ECW.

Extreme Expose.

We recap the opening segment.

Here is Steve Austin for the big close. He’s glad to be back home in Tuscon, which is home because WWE is here tonight. The dry heat bugs him though and he needs some beer. Austin recaps the Battle of the Billionaires, albeit in the to the point way that you might expect. Either way, he is calling the match right down the line.

While he has been walking through the airport, people have been asking him who he thinks is winning at Wrestlemania. Austin doesn’t know, so he goes outside and polls some fans, who want McMahon to get his head shaved. He’ll be at Raw for the contract signing because things could get interesting. You’ll see a bald headed billionaire at Wrestlemania….and that’s it. Beer is consumed to end the show, following this rather inconsequential cameo.

Overall Rating: C-. Austin being there felt big just because of who he is, but it wasn’t like he did anything important. This show was more or less an excuse for an Austin cameo to go along with setting up the eight man tag at Wrestlemania. In other words, it was basically a supplement to Raw’s main story with little in the way of importance on its own. The whole thing felt more like a bunch of commercials than a show, which meant it flew by without being all that interesting. Totally skippable show this week.

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Summerslam 2003
Date: August 24, 2003
Location: America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 16,113
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tazz, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

The US Marine Corps presents the American flag while Lillian sings the Star Spangled Banner.

The opening video talks about how there is evil in this world and the Chamber tonight will prove it.

Raw Tag Titles: Dudley Boyz vs. La Resistance

Coach says La Resistance was clever so Bubba accuses him of being anti-American and vows to get the belts back.

Undertaker vs. A-Train

A-Train starts pounding away on the ribs and sends them into the barricade for two back in the ring. Taker gets in some shots to the ribs of his own for a breather but A-Train comes back with an impressive suplex to take him down. This is the kind of character A-Train was perfect as: a heavy who could do some impressive moves at times. A-Train fights out of a sleeper with a belly to back suplex but Taker hits a quick Snake Eyes to get a breather. A big boot misses the big bald head and a double clothesline puts each other down.

Taker wins a slugout after A-Train hung in there a lot longer than expected. Now the big boot sets up the legdrop (BROTHER) for two and another legdrop to the back of the head with A-Train on the apron has the bald one staggered. The Last Ride is easily broken up but the referee is bumped.

A-Train hits the Derailer (chokebomb) but the delayed count only gets two. Taker accidentally clotheslines the referee down again (the second match does NOT warrant two ref bumps) and A-Train brings in a chair, only to have it cracked over his own head for a near fall. A-Train escapes a tombstone but gets caught in a chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: D. What are you expecting out of this match? This was back when Taker was pretty bad in the ring due to being completely unmotivated and bored with the biker character. Thankfully he would be the Dead Man again by Wrestlemania and would eventually reignite his career around 2007.

Post match Sable tries to seduce Taker for some reason but Stephanie comes in to go after her, presumably setting up a mixed tag.

Coach polls some fans on who wins the Chamber.

Shane McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff

Wrestlemania moment. Kind of an odd time for one of these but Shawn superkicking Bret was an awesome moment.

Flair and HHH tell Orton to keep the title on the Game tonight and nothing more.

US Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri vs. Rhyno

Eddie is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Eddie has ticked off all three challengers so they all want to take him out. The champion bails to the floor so everyone else can fight and we quickly get down to Rhyno vs. Benoit. Chris hooks a quick Crossface, drawing Eddie in for the save. Tajiri is back in as well but Eddie breaks up a cover. Everyone is in now and all three challengers go after Eddie at the same time.

Tajiri makes the ropes so Eddie turns around to dropkick Benoit in the head for the save. Benoit grabs the Crossface on Guerrero but Rhyno and Tajiri make the double save. Rhyno hits a spinebuster for two on Tajiri but Benoit knocks Rhyno to the floor. Chris rolls some Germans on Tajiri but Tajiri reverses into one of his own for two on Benoit.

Smackdown World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

Lesnar picks up the belt and tries to walk out with it but Kurt pounds him down in the aisle to start the brawling. Back in and Angle snaps off the first overhead belly to belly for two before stomping him down in the corner. Brock comes right back with a gorilla press and throws Angle out to the floor. Angle is sent into the steps as this is far different from the Wrestlemania match. Back in and Brock hits a release belly to belly without leaving his feet.

Some Arizona Diamondbacks are here.

^th time or so, turning him into a psycho who lit JR on fire. Kane swore everyone was laughing at him even though RVD told him everything was fine. Kane beat up RVD in a match and tombstoned Linda McMahon on a stage to start his feud with Shane, leading to a rematch with Rob here tonight.

Kane vs. Rob Van Dam

RVD kicks out of the chokeslam but gets knocked out to the floor as the brawl continues. Kane sends him into the steps and is in full on monster mode. Back in and Van Dam scores with a kick and some shoulders to the ribs for two. Rob goes up top but gets shoved down onto the barricade to give Kane control again. A ladder to the face gets two back in the ring and a big clothesline puts Van Dam down again.

We hit the slow motion part of the match as Kane pounds on Van Dam very slowly to stop the crowd from being interested. Van Dam is backdropped to the floor but Kane badly botches the top rope clothesline, nearly falling on his head and dying. Kane avoids another ladder shot and DDTs Van Dam on he floor, only to have Rob catch a charging Kane in a drop toehold to send him face first into the steps. Kane is kicked into the crowd and crotched as he tries to come back to ringside.

Eric is annoyed that Terri is asking him questions. Linda comes in and slaps Bischoff in the face.

HHH looks at the world title.

The Chamber is lowered.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton

Flair shoves the pod door closed to save HHH so Goldberg kicks the pod door in so we can actually have a match. Goldberg pounds away in the pod before sending HHH face first into the cage. The champion is busted open but he FINALLY gets in a kick to the leg and sends Goldberg into the cage. Goldberg comes right back with a clothesline and they head into the ring. The spear is loaded up but hits the sledgehammer that Flair slid in, keeping the title on HHH.

Post match HHH and Evolution gets to destroy Goldberg again with the hammer to really pound in who is the star. Goldberg is handcuffed to the cage so HHH can shove the belt in his face and remind him who the champion is to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

La Resistance vs. Dudley Boyz

Original: C

Redo: D+

A-Train vs. Undertaker

Original: D

Redo: D

Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon

Original: D

Redo: N/A

Tajiri vs. Rhyno vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

Original: B-

Redo: B+

Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

Original: A-

Redo: B

Rob Van Dam vs. Kane

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Goldberg vs. HHH vs. Kevin Nash vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Original: D

Redo: C-

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C

So I liked almost all of the matches more or the same the first time, but the overall rating is much higher this time. Not surprising.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/06/history-of-summerslam-count-up-2003-brock-vs-angle-ii/

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Summerslam 2003
Date: August 24, 2003
Location: America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 16,113
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tazz, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

So Austin and Rock are retired, Lesnar is still a big name, HBK stuck around to shock the world even more, and that’s about it. Seriously, not much else has happened. Cena and Batista haven’t risen to power yet as they’re about a year and a half away from taking over the company. There is a new arrival however: Goldberg, who I wouldn’t call a flop but I’d call him a disappointment.

He’s at war with HHH over the title currently, so that’s your main feud, but of course they couldn’t just have them go one on one, so we get the second Elimination Chamber instead. Your other main event here is Brock vs. Angle in a Wrestlemania rematch. The card looks….ok I guess but a bit top heavy. Let’s see how it is.

Lillian Garcia sings the Star Spangled Banner with the Marine Corps Color Guard on the stage. To say she’s gorgeous is an understatement. They need to do this more often at PPVs. The opening video is pretty good, as we hear a clock striking what I would assume to be midnight and with each bell sound we see a clip of another match. Oh I forgot to mention: Lesnar is a heel again and is working for Vince.

Raw Tag Titles: Dudley Boyz vs. La Resistance

This is as simple as you can get here: the French champions make fun of American so the American team that’s never really been patriotic rally round the flag to fight for the Red White and Blue, despite the fact that the French flag has the same colors but you get the idea I guess. La Resistance are the guys that were the tag team of the year at this time, always holding the belts mainly due to the fact that they never had any opponents of note to face them.

The Dudleys were guys you could just throw into the title picture and it would work though, much like they do now in TNA. Guys like that are great to have because their resume makes them a legit threat so you know you’ll get a decent performance out of them and they make the other team look good. It’s the same thing that Shawn Michaels did in the last year or so.

He was never going to beat Jericho for the belt, but he was a legit challenger that you could count on for a solid match and he can be thrown into the title picture at a moment’s notice and be perfectly credible. That’s a very valuable asset to have. This was also back in the day of the old school tag title belts which I’ve always loved. JR touches on the idea that Bubba and D-Von are related which he kind of brushes off.

The faces are WAY over and take control early on which makes sense. They continue to dominate after a brief heel comeback, but after the 3D a cameraman comes in and hits D-Von with the picture taking machine for the pin. Bubba was too busy counting the three to stop the run in to break up the 3D, so the heels steal it. Post match, the camera guy beats up D-Von, Bubba and Spike who runs in for the attempted save, with the camera. Of course it’s Rob Conway, who didn’t have a name yet.

Rating: C. This felt like an extended TV match to me. It was ok, but nothing you wouldn’t see on Raw. The tag division was pretty much the same for about 5 years and it’s still that way today, with not much of anything of note going on other than the occasional title change. La Resistance was nothing special, but they were ok I guess. Not a bad match, just nothing that jumps off the page at me.

Coach interviews the Dudleys in the aisle, saying that the French were clever. Bubba doesn’t like this.

Bischoff is warming up and Christian talks to him like they’ve never met. Really? Bischoff is fighting Shane tonight for some reason. Christian is upset that he doesn’t have a match and Eric blames his co-GM, Stone Cold. The audio is bad here for some reason and I can’t make out all of what they’re saying.

We see the recap of Taker against A-Train. Basically Vince is hiring all the monsters he can find and Taker is the one he can’t get, so he’s the one that fights them off. A-Train started by attacking Stephanie last month at Vengeance to keep her from beating Sable, who Vince was having an open affair with.

Then, Taker fought back but A-Train kept making him lose matches, including one on Smackdown by pinfall to John Cena. Yes, Cena has indeed hit the FU to the Undertaker and pinned him in the middle of the ring. Anyway, that of course leads to this match.

Undertaker vs. A-Train

Taker’s music with lyrics is just awesome. This is the very end of his biker character though, as he was literally buried at Survivor Series by Kane in a Buried Alive match. I used to get the opening to A-Train’s music and JBL’s music confused. How can Sable be this hot at this age? She’s even hot now with Brock and this is 6 years later. Why is Taker in the second match of the night? Can I get an explanation?

Taker still has taped up ribs. Basic big man match for Taker which is probably his specialty: fighting monsters. A-Train was always someone that they wanted to push it seemed but it just never happened. Old School puts the train down.

We hit the floor for a bit and Taker’s back goes into the post as A-Train takes over. Can we just look at Sable’s chest some more? It’s certainly more entertaining. Taker grabs a sleeper of all things but walks into a belly to back suplex as Train keeps dominating. Taker gets out of the corner as nothing but punches. At times it seems like he does nothing but that and his finishers.

After some very basic stuff Taker can’t get the Last Ride and walks into a Derailer (choke powerbomb) for two of course. Good grief this is a formulamatic match. Down goes the referee as A-Train hits a bicycle kick and grabs a chair. It gets kicked into his face for two as we learn a good lesson about bringing a foreign object in. Use AMERICAN DANG IT! Chokeslam ends it clean.

Rating: D. Again, Taker is good at fighting monsters, but it feels like a TV match and nothing more. Why would I want to watch a TV match on PPV when I have to pay for it? It’s ok, but that’s all it is. A-Train was an underused talent, but come on. Taker deserves more than an underused talent, and to be fair he would be put into a title feud with Lesnar starting in the next week or two. Sable was hot as fire though.

Post match, Sable comes in to try to seduce Taker. Taker doesn’t go for that and chokes her until Stephanie returns and beats the heck out of her. Cole says she kicks the heck out of her, but I’m pretty sure it’s only punches. Then again, I’m no professional. Sable and A-Train bail as Cole freaks because of the power in the ring at the moment.

Brock has a new DVD.

We see Jericho stretching in the back as Coach is at ringside asking fans who they think will win the EC tonight. Everyone thinks Goldberg. If you’re going to waste time, I guess you might as well involve the audience.

Hit the recap button for Bischoff vs. Shane. This is REALLY long so I’ll try to summarize it as well as I can. Shane and Kane were feuding because Kane tombstoned Linda. Vince is being a jerk and won’t let Shane fight Kane, so Shane fights Bischoff. Kane saves Eric and helps him win. JR then decides that since Bischoff caused Kane to try to burn JR alive, that he’s going to sue Eric.

Austin comes out and says that JR won’t sue if Bischoff agrees to face someone. Eric, assuming it’s Shane, agrees. However, it’s Kane. For no apparent reason, Kane bails and Eric immediately wins by count out. However, the contract had a clause in it that said that the winner got Shane at Summerslam.

My that’s a fast contract to have drawn up in a matter of minutes isn’t it? Anyway, Bischoff goes to Vince’s house and kisses Linda and it’s implied he either raped her or slept with her with her being willing.

Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon

According to Tony Schiavone, anyone that follows tournament karate knows that Bischoff is a great fighter. In other words, about 4 people know that. Eric gets on the mic before Shane comes out and implies again that he slept with Linda. Eric is cut off by Shane’s music. You can tell he’s pissed because he only dances a bit. They’re on the floor inside of a minute as Shane is just killing him as you would expect.

Shane keeps rolling in and breaking the count and then goes back out again and it’s getting annoying quickly. JR references an elevator company, and sadly enough I get the reference. Coach pops up and smacks Shane in the back with a chair. Bischoff gets on the mic and makes it a hardcore match. Bischoff says that since Coach is the best commentator of all time to cut off JR and Lawler so that Coach can do all of the commentary. Yeah, this isn’t going to be bad at all.

What was the appeal of Coach? I’ve yet to ever be entertained by him at all. Without commentary this is somehow more boring if that’s possible. Shane finally wakes up and fights them both off, breathing some much needed life back into the crowd, but Austin comes out to really wake things up. I miss JR screaming about this. Austin can’t hit Coach though unless he’s touched so we get the I’m not touching you joke.

Shane makes Coach touch him though, which I think is illegal in some states, leading to the Austin beatdown. Austin and Shane make a weird team to say the least. Austin thankfully turns the announcers back on, which I hope is illegal in all states. Bischoff slaps him and gets a stunner from the man that he fired via fed ex.

Shane puts Eric through the Spanish Announce Table, which is famous enough to get all capital letters, with the elbow for the pin on the floor. JR calls this coast to coast. No JR, no. Austin and Shane have beers to kill some more time.

Rating: D. This was more like a big angle and it went on WAY too long. There were parts of this where it was just dragging on and on and on. Austin coming out completely saved this as it was an incredible boring segment. Coach is a waste of air and always has been so why would I care about him?

This was just really bad with only Austin being interesting at all. You know, even after this, the problem for Shane is that it’s never known if Linda did anything or not, so what does Shane actually gain out of this?

Of all things, we get a Wrestlemania Recall. Dude, the show is EIGHT MONTHS AWAY. I get the idea of early promotion, but come on now isn’t that a bit much?

Nash is getting ready for the Elimination Chamber.

Flair is with Orton, talking about how HHH will win tonight. Evolution was in a weird stage at the moment as Batista was out with an injury. The real reign of terror would begin in October when he came back.

US Title: Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit vs. Rhyno vs. Tajiri

Eddie is champion here. All four are in the ring and the first person to either get a submission or as Chimmel puts it, catch a pinfall, is the champion. After announcing that, he says it again seconds later in case we weren’t listening I guess. There’s no backstory here that I know of and if there is they don’t cover it. I can’t find any mention of one, so I’m guessing it’s one of those let’s throw everyone together and have them do their best. That can be a great idea at times.

Eddie comes out in a car of course. He would very soon be pushed to the main event and given the WWE Title in one of the biggest head scratchers of all time as he wasn’t a big enough star and obviously wasn’t ready for it, and likely never would be ready for it. Oh so Eddie hit all of them with the belt on Smackdown so that’s our story? Dude, anyone can do better than that. The US Title is just over a month old at this point, so it’s not like there’s time for a real history.

Eddie beat Benoit for it in a tournament final at Vengeance the previous month. It’s funny seeing the table all destroyed with Eddie standing in front of it. It looks so out of place and it’s making me chuckle. It’s kind of cool to think that Benoit and Eddie would both be champions at the end of Mania in 8 months. I love the Rhyno character around this time as he was just completely insane and liked hurting people. I love that.

In other words, he was his normal self. Four ECW guys out there as well, so if nothing else ECW had an eye for talent. I always like the Lasso From El Paso. In a very cool spot, Benoit puts Rhyno in the Crossface at the same time Eddie has the Lasso From El Paso on Tajiri. For one thing, the referee isn’t sure who to check on, but Eddie has a problem. Does he try to win, or does he break up the Crossface to save the title? That’s very smart and I really like it.

Tajiri gets to the ropes though so that’s all over. Eddie gets put in it and it takes several kicks from Rhyno and Tajiri to get him to break it up. Why does ever spinebuster have to contain an Arn Anderson reference? We get it, he had a sweet move. I will always mark out for the rolling German suplexes. Rhyno hits a gore but Eddie is holding the belt which is an old and classic move. Benoit and Tajiri fight to the floor which allows Eddie to steal the pin with the Frog Splash.

Rating: B-. To me, this is perfect for a PPV title defense for a new champion. It looks challenging, he gets a clean pin over an opponent, it’s about 11 minutes long, and two guys save face, allowing them to challenge for the title in the future because they didn’t get pinned. The wrestling was fine, but as is the problem with multi-man matches, it can get hard to follow. Either way, this was fine and a great way to really start Eddie’s reign.

Shawn Michaels is in a hallway getting ready. I guess that’s better than being in a closet.

Metallica is doing the theme song, with St. Anger. Still not sure if I like that album or not. The song is good, but I’m not sold on it. It’s certainly not bad, but I’m not sure if it is good enough for Metallica.

Lesnar has been a monster lately and this past Thursday he beat up Zach Gowen, and for those of you that don’t know, he had one leg. He broke his leg apparently. Gowen was supposed to fight Matt Hardy on Heat, so Matt declared himself the winner. Matt saying that real wrestlers fight through injuries absolutely cracked me up.

We get the recap of the Angle/Lesnar feud, which they more or less say has only happened over the course of a month and not 8 months, which is the real case. Angle was a heel back then so I guess that’s why. Angle won the title at Vengeance as a face but it was a triple threat. Kurt and Brock formed kind of a super team in between the shows as Angle said Brock helped him through his injury. After he agreed to the title match though, Lesnar turned heel in a complicated angle.

Vince said that Brock had to earn the title shot, but he would have to beat Vince in a cage match to earn it. Ok, that makes little sense on Vince’s part so I guess that means everything is perfectly normal. To continue making things odd, he makes Kurt the guest referee. Before the match though, someone attacks him.

Lesnar goes into the match anyway but collapses. Angle beats up Vince but Lesnar is faking and turns heel by beating up Angle. I’m not wild on Lesnar being the heel, but I guess that works. I am glad that he comes out alone though.

Smackdown Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

They start with amateur moves which I’m always a fan of. It’s just cool to see guys that are so naturally talented at things like that and it’s always fun to watch. This was back when Angle still had meat on him and didn’t look like he was about 200lbs. He was also relatively sane at the time, which is always a plus. In a funny visual, Angle out wrestles Lesnar and sends him to the floor. The Spanish guys STILL have no table.

They have at least a dozen tables for hardcore matches but they can’t loan the Spanish guys one for the night? I’d love to hear how pissed off they are at times. It turns into more of a brawl and Lesnar takes over as is expected. Lesnar’s second press slam is countered into a rollup. I like that as it shows that Angle learns with every move that he uses. That’s a nice little touch that likely wasn’t even intentional at all.

Lesnar busts out a rear naked choke so I guess MMA was always in his blood. We slow it down a LOT as Brock takes over with some standard heel stuff which is fine, but when I watch Brock Lesnar I want to see more than just stomps and chin locks. They keep talking about how Brock won the title last year, which is stupid as I’m pretty sure he’s done more since then. In this match, we get some of the good Angle, as he gets into that zone of his and more or less wills himself to victory.

He continues to steal moves from other wrestlers as he launches into a series of Germans from that other guy. Angle gets thrown over his head as I completely love Brock’s belly to belly and I always have. This review is rather short but as I’ve said many times, it’s hard to make fun of a good match. Lesnar’s shoulder hit the post so it’s hurt as well. Angle counters the F5 into a DDT while making it look miles better than Eddie would at No Way Out.

He pulls the straps down and for likely the first time ever, I’m loving Kurt Angle. He’s much better as a face than a heel to me, but I’m odd in that area. In a very weird thing, Angle puts the straps back up, only to pull them down again. Um, why? It looked very odd to see him do that as he got the big pop for it once so I guess he wanted another big pop? Either way it came off as odd. Ankle lock is on after Brock kicks out of the slam. In a huge twist, the referee gets knocked down.

Angle looks like he’s going for a sunset flip but in a unique move he locks his legs around Brock’s head and I guess uses a sleeper? It looks cool and I could see it working as a knockout hold I guess. From this he transitions to the ankle again and after about 30 seconds and two ropes Brock taps but there’s no one to tap to. I guess Brock is a drunk man? Vince runs out and chairs Angle to break it up as I’m going into a play by play guy which I don’t like doing.

Vince looking around as if to say I didn’t do anything makes me laugh. To just show how much of a freak he is, Lesnar hits the F5 while standing on one leg. To say that’s insane is the understatement of all time. It looks completely sick too as Angle lands straight on his head. However since this is a major PPV, Angle kicks out. Vince’s shirt looks completely stupid. The F5 is reversed into the ankle lock but Brock gets to three of the bottom ropes (called all four by Cole as he’s just a stupid boy).

However, despite him touching the ropes and even grabbing them, Kurt pulls him back and the referee doesn’t count them I guess. Lesnar taps as Kurt Mir keeps the belt. Post match Vince tries to attack Kurt with a chair and in an odd looking bit Vince misses but falls on his back. Angle slam through the chair looks completely sick.

Rating: A-. This was a GREAT match. It was two machines working very hard out there and with the right amount of time they were able to make this something special. Brock would get the title back in a few weeks after an iron man match on Smackdown. This was a very good match all around with Angle having to go to lengths he rarely had to in order to keep the title. Very good match and you should watch it.

We get an ad for Shawn’s first DVD which is also available on VHS. That just sounds odd.

Goldberg is getting ready with IPod headphones in. That makes me chuckle.

I think it’s Vince’s birthday if I’m reading the commentator’s hints right.

We see the first diva search winner, Jamie. She never got a contract which is why you’ve never heard of her. She’s cute.

Recap of RVD and Kane. This came about because Kane had to unmask in a very creepy moment and he blamed RVD for it for no apparent reason. Since then he’s just been a violent big red monster. Van Dam tries to fight him off but Kane just keeps destroying him, leading to Van Dam being tortured.

RVD vs. Kane

Just before the match starts, Fink announces that it’s been made no holds barred. At the time Kane was wearing the singlet top with pants and no mask, so he looks like a freaking moron. Anyway, Van Dam comes out and Kane of course kicks his head in for the most part. The opening half is just about all Kane but Van Dam is able to get some random punches and kicks in, but of course since he’s a main event guy, they work better. I’ve always wondered that.

Why do jobber punches mean nothing while a single right hand from say Austin can stop a guy dead in his tracks? Is it the punch that makes a guy great or is it the guy that makes the punch great? We get weapons brought into the equation and now Van Dam at least has a fighting chance. I wouldn’t call this filler, but it’s certainly not a major match, at least not in my eyes, as it’s sandwiched between the two title matches.

It’s odd to think that RVD has been world champion for far longer than Kane was, twenty two times for that matter. Kane comes off the top with the diving clothesline but misses and hits the barrier which is awesome looking.

This is back when Kane was really quite good in the ring still, but for no reason at all they wouldn’t give Kane the belt in 2002 when he was at his hottest since his debut. Van Dam gets in his usual offense but it was fairly obvious that Kane was getting the win here. RVD goes for the Van Terminator but Kane moves. This leads to the tombstone on the stairs to end it.

Rating: C-. You have a former tag team, no rules, and a violent guy. That should be a solid match wouldn’t you think, especially with two of the bigger names around. This just fell flat to me. It’s ok, but it wasn’t something I wanted to really watch. Some people would probably say it was good and I likely wouldn’t argue with them, but I just couldn’t get into it. I think the placing on the card was bad for this.

In the back Eric is getting iced and Terri asks how he’s feeling. He asks if she’s stupid. This came off as really funny to me when it likely wasn’t that great, but I really liked it. Linda comes in and Eric gets all nervous. She slaps him.

HHH is looking at his title belt. I’ve always wondered if it talks back to him. Flair gives him a pep talk.

The Chamber is lowered.

We get a recap of the first chamber match, including HHH’s legit throat injury. The problem is that we’re never told why these 6 are in this match. We instead get a music video set to St. Anger. From the best I can tell, HHH and Shawn have been kind of feuding, Nash and Jericho I know were feuding, Orton is there because he’s in Evolution, and Goldberg is the next big feud for HHH and his current feud. This is all what I remember and infer from the video.

Raw World Title: Kevin Nash vs. Jericho vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Orton vs. Goldberg

In case you don’t know the rules, you start with six guys, four in the individual pods and two in the ring. After a set amount of time, one of the four are released. It’s pinfall or submission, last man standing wins. Orton is out first, so he’ll be in the pod, as will the next three. I’m 21 years old. That’s how old Orton is here. That’s absolutely scary. Nash, out second, got his hair cut by Jericho on Monday, which in reality was for a movie he was in.

Third is HHH, who I would say needs no introduction but he’s getting one anyway. Flair isn’t with him. Correction yes he is, but just very far behind. HHH was coming off a torn groin at the time so he’s rocking some shorts, kind of like Lashley wears but a bit longer. Think of Cena’s but tights. Goldberg is out fourth so Jericho and HBK will be starting. WWE of course had to change his music, which is dumb because his music was awesome.

The chants have already started. Him walking through the pyro was always cool. JR says that describing Goldberg as intense is like describing the universe as fairly large. Listen here fat boy, I use analogies, not you, UNDERSTAND? Goldberg is also wearing the shorts now and he also looks stupid. I guess it was to avoid looking too much like Austin, which makes sense as he was a pure rip off of him already. The fans are WAY into him.

Orton is just a kid here and he looks almost scared to death. Jericho is next, making Shawn last. HBK is the grizzled veteran here who once again is going for one more shot at the title which would be his storyline going into Mania. The Chamber really does look awesome. There’s the bell and we’re finally ready to go. Jericho and Shawn had the classic at WM 19 so this is going to be good. JR says a coin toss determined who starts. How can you have a six way coin toss?

JR says that HBK dominated the late 80s and early 90s. Am I thinking of a different HBK? The fans are chanting Goldberg so I’m not sure what promotion I’m watching. The announcers do a good job of playing up HBK vs. Jericho as JR talks about the history of the world title changing in Arizona. Dude, you’re either preparing WAY too much or you’re the most bored man in the history of the world. Wait, that’s not right anyway.

That was the original world title, not this one. This belt has only been around about a year at this point, so no it hasn’t changed in Arizona. Are you starting to see why I can’t stand JR? This is probably my favorite period in Jericho’s career. It’s a shame he was turned face soon and feuded with that waste of air Christian. Orton is in third so it’s 2-1 in favor of the heels. I wish he did that cross body more. It’s awesome and always has been.

We get the WOO for Jericho’s chops, which is interesting as Flair is at ringside. I wonder if he considers that a compliment. I’d have to think that he would. Ross is really getting annoying with his repetition of things. Ross calls for Orton to break free of HHH and work for himself. Give it about a year or so there Jimmy boy. They finally go outside the ring and hit the cage a bit and the match instantly gets more interesting.

Shawn goes for…something and Jericho catches him with the Walls. It looked bad as more or less Shawn jumped perfectly for the Walls. Nash is in now as they try as hard as they can to make him sound like a credible threat. Well, he’s been in there 15 seconds and he’s not hurt yet so he can consider tonight a victory of sorts I guess. He has short blond hair here, so he looks completely stupid.

He’s the jobber here as no one, and I mean no one thought he was a legit challenger, despite being the only guy here to actually have beaten Goldberg. Jericho is busted. Nash and HHH had easily the worst Cell match ever earlier this year, ending any credibility that he had left. Apparently Shawn is really close to a lot of people. It’s a shame none of them are named Becca.

Shawn super kicks Nash leading to a Jericho rollup to get rid of him, just furthering the theory that he’s a jobber. HHH is next and in a cool spot he steps through the door and HBK kicks him in the face. HHH falls back into the pod, out cold. Nash, desperate to get injured so he gets more time off with pay I guess, jackknifes Jericho and Orton before leaving. It’s a shame that he couldn’t stay healthy as he’s certainly a decent worker, especially when he’s talking.

He gets a solid pop when he throws his hand in the air, so if nothing else the people still liked him. HHH looks like he’s taking a nap. Shawn is bleeding now too, so at least we’re getting some solid violence in this one. This match isn’t very good. It’s about half the length of the original if even that and it’s just not interesting. All anyone wanted to see was Goldberg and HHH, yet for no good reason, we got this. It’s a novelty and nothing more, and in this case it’s hurting things.

Back in 2002, it was great because it was new and flashy. It’s been a letdown since then and this match is a great example of that. I think a big part of last year being a success also was Shawn’s big moment, which really was cool when you think about it. I’m actually pretty bored right now watching this. I think it’s the lack of drama. Everyone knew that it was coming down to Goldberg and HHH, so why have the other four?

There are a bunch of combinations you could put those guys in, so why have the Chamber other than to bump up buyrates? Goldberg and HHH had the one on one showdown the next month, so it’s not like it was never going to happen. It makes little sense to me and it’s really hurting things because we have to wait 20 minutes before Goldberg is there and another 10 before he and HHH get into it.

What’s the point? Most of the rant is over but I reserve the right to come back to it later on which I likely am going to do. Yeah this is another reason it sucks. Right now and for the last 45 seconds or so, EVERYONE IS DOWN. Literally, we’re watching them lay there and try to get up. Dude I can go to my aunt’s house and watch people lay around and do nothing if that’s what I’m looking for. Why would you have a match based on a lot of action and then do nothing with it?

Who do you think you are, TNA? Of course since we get a fistfight, JR says it’s like Saturday night in some obscure Oklahoma town. Is there really nothing better to do in Oklahoma than get in bar fights and choke in big football games? Oh yeah apparently you can overeat and become the world’s most annoying announcer who does nothing but shout and be a big country boy.

I get that JR is a great announcer and he’s had some masterful moments, but DANG he’s just annoying most of the time. Some of the stuff that he says blows my mind with how annoying it is.

Man I want to just sit here and rant about him for the next few minutes but I guess that would be fairly boring, so instead I’ll continue rambling like this. Oh Goldberg is in and the fans have a pulse again. Good for them. JR says he’s hitting everything with a heartbeat. If that’s so, why isn’t he hitting the camera guys or himself?

Jericho and Shawn commit an ultimate sin and cause a sign of the apocalypse by teaming up to fight Goldberg. Orton gets the heck speared out of him to eliminate him and HHH has been down a LONG time now. Oh he’s up. I guess that’s this being a cowardly heel thing I’ve heard about so many times. I know it’s hard to believe but yes, the WWE does make their heels cowardly from time to time.

In the first really good spot of the match, Goldberg spears Jericho through the Plexiglas. That just looked and sounded awesome. Sweet Chin Music is ducked and Shawn gets speared. I don’t have a Becca joke here. Jackhammer ends him. Just before that he points at HHH and JR says it’s as if he’s saying you’re next to HHH. My oh my what a great phrase JR has coined. How does he EVER come up with these things?

Jericho gets the same combo platter so it’s now one on one but HHH is still in his pod. There’s no way to get him out, so Goldberg kicks and punches the door in. That’s actually really stupid but it was all he could do. Anyway, HHH gets completely destroyed as you would expect. HHH starts coming back so at least this isn’t a squash. The showdown lasts all of 3 minutes though as they go into the ring and Flair slips the hammer to HHH.

Goldberg goes for the spear but he gets a hammer into the head. After the match we get the Evolution beat down. JR says that it’s felonious assault. You know what, that’s so stupid I’m not even going to make fun of it. You Jim Ross, are annoying, plain and simple.

They handcuff him to the cage as JR is saying that they think Evolution doesn’t want to see Goldberg around here anymore. Really JR? Did you figure that all by yourself? Did you manage to tie your own shoes together too? I guess Vince and Linda must like each other since they have kids. HHH poses with the belt as we go off the air.

Rating: D, For reasons already given, this match just sucks and it sucks badly. Actually that makes no sense because it means it’s bad at being bad, making it good. Oh dang it I’m turning into JR. Where’s my Texas shirt when I need it? Anyway, this match was horrible.

It was about two guys and they were together for all of 4 minutes out of 18 the match went for. Last year it was anyone’s to win, even guys like Booker or RVD. This year, we knew it would be one of the two, so why should we care? Add onto that the dead time and Nash and this was just really bad.

Overall Rating: D+. This was really quite bad. There’s one very good match here with Brock and Kurt, but other than that everything is either bad or average at best. I liked the US Title match but for the way it was booked more than the match itself. This show is pretty bad, as was most of the WWE around this time.

Nothing of interest was going on and it wouldn’t until the young blood stepped up and took over next year with Benoit’s title reign and Edge coming back from his injury to fight Evolution. Batista would be back in about a month or so to complete the team, which was both good and bad but that’s a rant for a later time. I wouldn’t watch this again, but Brock and Kurt is definitely worth checking out. Other than that, stay away.

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

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

AND

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

How Many More People Can They Let Go?

New Title Match Set For Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-title-match-set-summerslam-2/

BREAKING: WWE Releases Twelve More Wrestlers.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-wwe-releases-twelve-wrestlers/

New Grudge Match Set For Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-grudge-match-set-summerslam/

NXT Takeover 36 May Be Getting A Huge Change.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nxt-takeover-36-may-getting-huge-change/

RUMOR KILLER On Adam Cole’s Contract Status.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/rumor-killer-adam-coles-future-wrestling/

Braun Strowman Reveals Surprising Career Plans.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/braun-strowman-reveals-surprising-career-plans/

Vince McMahon Personally Dealing With WWE Contract Situation.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/vince-mcmahon-personally-dealing-wwe-contract-situation/

More On NXT Releases, Major Changes May Be Coming.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nxt-releases-major-changes-may-coming/

As always, please check out all of the videos if you can, hit up the comments section and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

Smackdown
Date: August 6, 2021
Location: Amale Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee

With just over two weeks to go before Summerslam, things are starting to come together. The big story last week was the return of Sasha Banks, who teamed with and then attacked Bianca Belair in the span of about an hour. There are still a lot of things to cover for the pay per view and odds are we’ll get some of that this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Sasha Banks to get things going. She talks about how she attacked Bianca Belair last week and we see a video about the return and beatdown. Banks says that Belair wouldn’t exist without her because she is the best of all time. Cue Belair to say Banks is one of the greatest every but she isn’t the reason Belair if here. If Banks wants the title at Summerslam, come get it. Cue Zelina Vega with a challenge of her own, meaning Banks can mock Belair a bit from the announcers’ table. That’s fine with Belair, who will fight Vega tonight and Banks at Summerslam.

Rey Mysterio tells Dominik Mysterio to keep calm with the aggression because they have their title shot. Dominik is cool with that.

Jey Uso vs. Dominik Mysterio

The other Uso and Mysterio are here too. Dominik slugs away in the corner to start and adds a dropkick. The springboard wristdrag takes Jey down but he’s back up to hit Dominik in the face. Dominik gets knocked outside but manages to jump back in for a dropkick through the ropes. The sliding sunset bomb sends Jey into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Dominik fighting back, including a dropkick to send him face first into the corner. The 619 connects and Rey takes out Jimmy, only to have Jey come back with the superkick. The Superfly Splash finishes Dominik off at 8:29.

Rating: C-. Nothing much to this one but the Usos taking the Mysterios down again isn’t that much of a stretch. They have their upcoming match at Summerslam but I don’t know if there is much doubt about who is leaving with the titles. It’s kind of nice to have them not build up false drama and it’s fun to see Dominik get kicked in the face.

We recap Seth Rollins attacking Edge last week because Edge got the Universal Title shot.

Edge is asked about what Rollins did last week. Edge: “Seth Rollins. What a rotten selfish b******.” He’s ready to meet Rollins tonight to show what a rotten selfish b****** he can be.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews

Non-title with Rick Boogs and Commander Azeez at ringside. Crews shoulders him down to start so Nakamura kicks him in the face. A jumping knee gives Nakamura two so Crews slams him for the same. That doesn’t do much to Nakamura, who hits a running knee to the ribs in the corner for two. Something like a GTS sets up another kick to Crews’ head but Azeez breaks up the cover for the DQ at 2:10.

Nakamura kicks Azeez to the floor.

Long recap of last week’s Finn Balor/Roman Reigns contract signing, with Baron Corbin trying to steal the title shot but getting taken out by John Cena….who stole the contract instead, because that’s how contracts work.

Paul Heyman (Heyman: “WHAT??? WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT DO YOU WANT???”) is asked about the contract signing last week. He talks about how John Cena is living off of Roman Reigns’ fame and asks what would happen if he jumped Tom Brady and signed his Tampa Bay “Schmucaneers” contract. That wouldn’t get Heyman $75 million because that’s not how contracts work. Heyman isn’t in the mood to talk about this but here’s a very laughing Big E. with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman leaves, looking rather concerned.

Nox vs. Tamina

Tamina has both Tag Team Title belts here and Shotzi is in Nox’s corner. Nox hammers away in the corner to start but Tamina knocks her straight back down. The Samoan drop is loaded up but Shotzi fires the tank for a distraction, allowing Nox to grab a rollup pin at 1:43.

Zelina Vega is told that her Women’s Title match has been downgraded to a Contender’s Match so she can earn the title shot. That’s fine with Vega because she knows she can beat both Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks.

Here is Edge for a chat. Edge is glad that Seth Rollins isn’t here because he doesn’t want to get arrested. To be fair though, Edge probably would have hit him in the face with a camera just like Rollins did because they’re very similar. Edge will show him that when he gets the chance and this will be finished. Rollins pops up on screen to say that they are alike and everyone should have a Plan B. Edge has a Plan B and throws out the Summerslam challenge. That gets a laugh from Rollins, who wants to know what happens when he stomps on a neck that has been fixed three times.

How can Edge take care of his family when that happens? Edge freaks out over that, calling Rollins a cross between Russell Brand, a televangelist and Colonel Sanders (Rollins: “Hallelujah!”). Edge talks about how Rollins should have finished the job in 2014 (they might want to show that a time or two if they are going to keep referencing it). Rollins wants to follow in his footsteps but can’t fill Edge’s boots. That’s too far for Rollins, who accepts the challenge. They were going to get there somehow and this worked as well as anything else.

A ticked off Finn Balor isn’t happy with Baron Corbin costing him a Summerslam Universal Title shot. Corbin can be dealt with tonight, but then Balor has a bone to pick with John Cena.

Street Profits vs. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler

Montez Ford snapmares Roode down to start but has to bail out of a standing moonsault. The standing dropkick has Roode in trouble but Ford goes after Ziggler, allowing Roode to snap off a spinebuster. Ziggler comes in with a running kick to the face into Roode’s Russian legsweep for two on Ford. A shot to the face lets Ford get over for the tag to Angelo Dawkins but Ziggler Fameassers him down for two. Dawkins is right back with the Anointment though and the Cash Out finishes for Ford at 3:40.

Rating: C. Just a welcome back match for the Street Profits and that was fine. It isn’t like Roode and Ziggler are going to be hurt by a loss so letting the Street Profits get some momentum back makes sense. The Street Profits vs. the Usos would be fine for a fall title program and getting the team reheated is a good way to start.

Bianca Belair vs. Zelina Vega

Non-title. Belair goes right after her to start but gets rolled up for a fast two. Vega gets sent to the apron but grabs Belair by the hair to take over. That doesn’t seem to bother Belair, who gorilla presses Vega but here is Sasha Banks for a distraction. Vega slips out and takes Belair down as we take a break.

Back with Belair fighting out of a chinlock but Vega sends her hard into the corner. The choke goes on so Belair drives her into the corner as well for a break. Belair suplexes her down but a delayed suplex is countered into a DDT. With Belair on the floor, Vega tries a hurricanrana from the apron, only to get pulled out of the air and swung into the apron. Back in and the KOD finishes Vega at 9:50.

Rating: C. Vega got in some offense here but ultimately this was never going to be in a ton of doubt. I’m curious to see how Banks vs. Belair goes and that is the right kind of feeling as we come into a match like this. If they can live up to the hype, things are going to go rather well. Vega worked hard here but was in over her head. The problem is I’m not sure how that can change, but a lot of the skill is there.

Roman Reigns says he is interested in Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin.

Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin has lost his music but hold on though as he has something to say. He offers Balor an apology for last week but gets punched in the face as Balor DOES NOT accept. Corbin knocks him into the corner and punches at the ribs but gets taken down again in a hurry. There’s the Sling Blade to drop Corbin and the shotgun dropkick puts him into the corner. The Coup de Grace gives Balor the pin at 2:46.

Post match Balor says he wants the Universal Title match with Roman Reigns and if he has to go through John Cena to get there, name the place and the time. Cue Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman to interrupt though and, after a break, they get in the ring for a chat. Reigns talks about how he was trying to give Balor an opportunity, so keep the Head of the Table’s name out of your mouth.

Reigns drops the mic and goes to leave but gets shoved out to the floor. The fight is teased (with the fans chanting for Cena) but here are the Usos to jump Balor from behind. The Superfly Splash misses though and Balor fights back, drawing Reigns back in for the brawl. Balor takes Reigns down but the Usos lay him out. Reigns guillotines Balor for the tap to end the show. Odds are Balor, perhaps as the Demon, is the fall challenger and there is time to rehab him on the way there.

Overall Rating: B-. All in all, this was a solid show with matches being made for Summerslam, good talking and nothing bad. That last part is what often sets Smackdown apart, as they are a pretty steady two hours most weeks. That’s a pretty good place to be and it makes Friday such an easy night of wrestling. It’s not a great show, but it was good enough and I’ll certainly take it at this point.

Results
Jey Uso b. Dominik Mysterio – Superfly Splash
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Apollo Crews via DQ when Commander Azeez interfered
Nox b. Tamina – Rollup
Street Profits b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Cash Out to Ziggler
Bianca Belair b. Zelina Vega – KOD
Finn Balor b. Baron Corbin – Coup de Grace

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

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

AND

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

The Busy Days Roll On.

New Title Match Set For WWE Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-title-match-set-wwe-summerslam/

New Tournament Begins Next Week With Special Rules.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-tournament-begins-next-week-special-rules/

Come On Up? NXT Could Be Adding Another Former Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nxt-adding-another-former-champion/

VIDEO: New Olympic Gold Medal Winning Wrestler Wants In WWE.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-new-olympic-gold-medalist-wants-wwe/

John Cena Talks Being Worried About WWE’s Future.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/john-cena-talks-worried-wwes-future/

Another WWE Star’s Contract Expiring Very Soon.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/another-wwe-stars-contract-expiring-soon/

VIDEO: Dixie Carter Makes Surprise Wrestling Appearance.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-dixie-carter-makes-surprise-wrestling-appearance/

Wrestling World Pays Tribute To Beautiful Bobby Eaton.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wrestling-world-pays-tribute-beautiful-bobby-eaton/

As always, please check out all of the videos if you can, hit up the comments section and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

NXT UK
Date: August 5, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’ve got a big one this week as it’s Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Devlin injured A-Kid’s knee in a previous match to set this up so let’s have a good one. That alone should be enough to carry the show but you know there is going to be at least a little bit more. Let’s get to it.

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

Shawn Michaels narrates a video about the history of the Iron Man match and what it means. Devlin is ready to win however and A-Kid says this is wrestling instead of a way to hurt people, as Devlin likes to do.

Opening sequence.

Xia Brookside vs. Blair Davenport

Brookside goes after the arm to start and takes Davenport down twice in a row. Back up and Davenport cranks on the arm as well until Brookside is back with a dropkick. Davenport takes her down and a baseball slide puts Brookside on the floor. Back in and Davenport is back on the arm until a headscissors gets Brookside out of trouble. A neckbreaker gets two on Davenport, who kicks her in the head. Two knees to the head put Brookside away at 4:23.

Rating: C. This was a way to make Davenport look like a bigger deal as she beat up a more established name. There was some nice storytelling to it also, as Brookside isn’t quite as serious in the ring and was taken out by the aggressive power stuff. Davenport seems to have started fast and it would be nice to see how far she can go. Brookside still has potential, but eventually she needs to do something with it.

We look back at last week’s staredown between Moustache Mountain and Pretty Deadly.

Pretty Deadly and Moustache Mountain agree to a match in the future.

We are getting an eight man tournament to crown a new #1 contender to the Heritage Cup Title. Here are the brackets:

Mark Andrews
Noam Dar

Kenny Williams
Oliver Carter

Wolfgang
Sam Gradwell

Teoman
Nathan Frazier

Isla Dawn finds a box buried in the woods and opens it to find that it’s empty. She puts a watch inside and I think we have a curse.

Wolfgang runs into Subculture, who isn’t happy with him costing them the Tag Team Titles. Flash Morgan Webster slaps him and leaves.

Josh Morrell/Danny Jones vs. Dave Mastiff/Jack Starz

This is Mastiff and Starz’s first time as a team. Starz grabs a front facelock on Morrell and takes him down. It’s time for some shouts to the arm, setting up the armbar. Morrell and Mastiff come in, with Mastiff suplexing him over the top and outside in a huge. Starz comes back in so Morrell kicks him in the face. Jones sends him into the corner for a running knee but charges into a backdrop. It’s back to Mastiff to clean house for a few seconds before Starz puts Morrell in the Tree of Woe. A running headbutt sets up Mastiff’s Into The Void for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C-. A big/small team has worked forever and it can work here, even if it feels like a recycled Killian Dain/Drake Maverick story. It’s not like the division is deep in talent at the moment so throwing another team out there could do some good. If nothing else, I’ve wanted to see something more from Mastiff and this could be a good place for him.

Nina Samuels and Amele scream at each other in the makeup room.

Noam Dar and Mark Andrews have met before and they both wound up leaving on stretchers. Now they are ready to face each other again in the first round of the Heritage Cup #1 contenders tournament.

Aoife Valkyrie is ready to face Jinny one on one and has an idea to deal with Joseph Conners. The camera pans out to reveal a shark cage. Fair enough.

Stevie Turner interrupts Meiko Satomura’s training with what sounds like a challenge.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few weeks.

A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin

Thirty minute Iron Man match and A-Kid might have a bad knee coming in. Feeling out process to start and they take turns going after wrist control. Devlin gets him down into an armbar but A-Kid is right back up. A dropkick puts Devlin on the floor but it’s back inside for more grappling. The threat of an armbar sends Devlin over to the ropes and he grabs a Gory Stretch to put A-Kid in trouble for a change. That’s broken up as well so they go to the pinfall reversal sequence.

A-Kid grabs a cross armbreaker, sending Devlin straight to the ropes. Devlin kicks him down though and starts cranking on the arm until A-Kid is up with a dropkick of his own. A slap to the face doesn’t annoy A-Kid, who grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s broken up as well and Devlin ties the bad leg into the ropes. A hard stomp onto the leg sets up a Texas Cloverleaf to give Devlin the first fall at 9:45.

We’re down to 20:00 to go as A-Kid insists that he can continue. Devlin is smart enough to stay on the leg with a kick to the knee into a chop block but A-Kid pulls him into a rear naked choke. The rope is reached though and Devlin drives the knee into the apron. Devlin wraps it around the post as well and the Figure Four around the post makes it even worse. Back in and a Boston crab sends A-Kid bailing to the rope.

With that not working, they trade German suplexes until they fall out to the floor for the double crash. They both beat the count back inside, where Devlin can’t get a Crossface. Instead he hits a running knee to the face for two but Devlin is back up to win the slugout. A-Kid pulls him right back down into the cross armbreaker though and Devlin taps to tie it up with 11:43 to go.

Devlin has to pause to get his elbow back to normal and gets knocked off the apron to make it worse. A-Kid kicks him down to get rid of a chair and snaps off a hurricanrana for two. The running knee gets the same on Devlin and they’re both down with a banged up limb. Devlin gets kicked outside with just over seven minutes to go but comes back in and headbutts A-Kid down for two.

They slug it out from their knees and wind up on the apron, where Devlin is smart enough to hook the rope to avoid any suplex attempt. Instead, he drops to the floor and pulls him down with the Devlin Side for the big crash with 4:00 left. They both dive back inside, where another Devlin Side is countered into a Canadian Destroyer. A kick to the head gives A-Kid two at 3:00 left.

A-Kid tries to pull him into the Rings of Saturn with his legs and finally gets the whole thing on to make Devlin tap with 1:30 left to make it 2-1. Devlin tries some rollups but can’t get anywhere with less than :30 left. They slug it out until Devlin gets two at 30:00, with A-Kid winning 2-1.

Rating: B+. The highest compliment that you can give a match like this is that it didn’t feel long and that was the case here. It felt like two guys beating each other up until one of them couldn’t hang in there any longer, but not through violence. Instead, this was a technical exchange with both guys working on a body part to have an advantage later in the match. Heck of a fight here and worth checking out.

Overall Rating: B. It’s kind of hard to complain about a show where about half of it was a rather awesome match. This was a great showcase for two of the potential breakout stars around here while the rest of the card was fine as a supplement. What matters here is they built up a big match and then delivered, which is a lot more than you would get on a lot of shows these days. Great main event on a good show.

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

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

AND

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

Happy August 5thaversary!

RUMOR: WWE Worried Summerslam Will Be Canceled, Touring In Jeopardy.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/rumor-wwe-worried-summerslam-will-canceled-touring-jeopardy/

Former WWE Star Likely Signing With AEW Soon.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/former-wwe-star-likely-signing-aew-soon/

Allegiant Stadium Announces Change Of Rules For Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/allegiant-stadium-announces-change-rules-summerslam/

John Cena Provides Interesting Update On His WWE Future After Summerslam.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/john-cena-provides-interesting-update-wwe-future/

VIDEO: WWE Hands Out Its Half Year Awards.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-wwe-hands-half-year-awards/

Huge Retirement Teased To End AEW Dynamite.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/huge-retirement-teased-end-aew-dynamite/

VIDEO: Son Of Famous Wrestler Makes Cameo Debut.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/video-son-famous-wrestler-makes-surprise-debut/

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-1-contender-named-weeks-aew-dynamite/

As always, please check out all of the videos if you can, hit up the comments section and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page.

Dynamite
Date: August 4, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re back in Jacksonville for Homecoming as we have the fifth week in a row with some kind of a special themed show. That could include a lot of different things, including Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera of all people. Why? Well he wrestled in WCW in the 90s so he’s fair game. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Chris Jericho

MJF is on commentary and Jericho has to hit a move off the top to win. The once again masked Juvy chops away to start and grabs a headscissors to send Jericho outside. Air Juvy takes Jericho down again and but he slips out of the Juvy Driver back inside. Jericho takes him outside and chops away, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. Jericho forearms him down but runs into a superkick (MJF: “I taught him that.”). A low kick to the face sets up the Rings of Saturn to Jericho, who powers up with ease.

Jericho hits a top rope ax handle for two, with frustration setting in. Jericho knocks him down and goes for a cover, which isn’t how this match works. With that not working, Jericho goes up again but Juvy catches him with the right hands to the head. The super hurricanrana is countered into the Walls but Juvy grabs the rope. Another kick to the face gives Juvy two more and the Juvy Driver gets the same. MJR wants Aubrey fired for the slow count as Juvy takes Jericho up top. That’s fine with Jericho, who shoves him down and hits a top rope Judas Effect for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. This was a lot better than I was expecting, but it was another legends match which didn’t exactly blow the roof off. It also didn’t exactly feel like a bit followup to the Nick Gage match last week, but they probably should have taken a step back as you can only go so far. Juvy looked like an older version of himself here but that’s exactly how is should have been.

Post match here is Wardlow to wreck both of them, allowing MJF to announce that Labor #4 is Jericho vs. Wardlow. That match needs a special referee, and MJF will be the perfect choice.

The Lucha Bros are here sans Pac. Andrade El Idolo comes up with his entourage, with Chavo Guerrero offering money, cars etc. That’s going to be a no, with the Lucha Bros leaving because Death Triangle is family.

The Dark Order is ready for a chat but Hangman Page shows up, drink in hand. Page takes blame for the loss last week and says he can’t keep blaming himself. For now, it is time to go their separate ways, even though he still loves them. They agree to let him have his space.

Daniel Garcia/2.0 vs. Darby Allin/Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Sting is with the good guys. Before the match, 2.0 (formerly Ever-Rise in NXT) says it is time to show what they can do. During Moxley’s entrance, JR talks about how great it is going to be in Cincinnati. He quotes Major League (and gets the first word wrong), which is about the Cleveland Indians. Anyway we start fast with Garcia getting some early near falls on Allin. A blind tag brings in Matt Lee to send Allin into the corner but a quick roll into the corner allows the tag to Kingston.

The chop off goes to Kingston and it’s time to stomp Lee down in the corner. A chop block cuts Moxley down though and we take a break. Back with Kingston and Garcia hitting a double clothesline but Garcia cuts off the tag. Moxley has had it and comes in to wreck everyone, allowing Allin to hit the dive to the floor. Back in and Moxley this a clothesline into a neckbreaker to drop Garcia. The Paradigm Shift sets up a Coffin Drop to put Garcia away at 7:20.

Rating: C. This could have been worse and I could see 2.0 being on Dark or Dark Elevation. I’m not sure if they need to do anything more than that as this tag division is completely bloated already, but I can see why they are getting a chance. Garcia was the star of the team and will likely get at least another look, which he should.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks, with Starks knowing that the FTW Title is his ticket to the top. Cage says he’s going to bring the intensity because who’s better than him?

The Elite is still having fun with a basketball, with the Young Bucks asking if there is anyone left to come after their Tag Team Titles. That would be no, because they are going to have to be buried with their belts. Kenny Omega talks about how Hangman Page blew it at the buzzer and now the fans don’t care about him anymore. Brandon Cutler goes up and cuts down the net. Note that Omega was wearing a Cookie Monster shirt. As in CM.

Christian Cage vs. Blade

Bunny is here with Blade, who gets in a fight with Christian on the ramp. Christian hammers him down to the floor but Bunny gets in Christian’s face. That doesn’t quite work as Christian decks Blade again and goes back inside. Bunny grabs the foot again but here is Leylah Hirsch (her opponent tonight) to fight her to the back. Christian grabs the reverse DDT for two but Blade drops him ribs first across the top as we take a break.

Back with Blade stomping on Christian but missing a charge into the post to send Blade outside. Christian hits the big dive but is too banged up to do anything about it. Back in and Christian wins a slugout, allowing him to stand on Blade back for the middle rope choking. There’s the middle rope elbow but Blade is right back with a powerslam. Blade teases going after the turnbuckle but it is a ruse so brass knuckles can be grabbed. Not that it matters as Christian spears him down for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was another nice match, even if it didn’t hit that next level. Christian is piling up wins and I’m curious to see where that is going. Cage getting a pay per view title shot is hard to imagine but it is the kind of thing that we might be seeing. It isn’t the worst idea, but it seems like there might be better options.

Dax Harwood goes on a heck of a rant about how Santana and Ortiz watched Cash Wheeler’s arm be busted open so badly that he nearly lost it. This isn’t funny and it isn’t over between them.

Here are Britt Baker and Rebel for a chat, but since chats don’t last long without being interrupted around here, it’s Red Velvet to interrupt. Velvet says Baker doesn’t look good in red but Baker says she beat Velvet in three minutes last time. That was when Velvet was an enhancement talent (Velvet’s words) but now she is 22-4 with 7 straight wins.

Baker says the match is on if it’s Tony Khan approved, which it will be because she’s the golden girl. We’ll do it on the big stage in her hometown of Pittsburgh next Friday. Rebel tries to get in a crutch shot but Velvet knocks her away, only to get jumped by Baker. This is just a one off match and that’s fine, because Baker’s reception next week is going to be other worldly.

Chavo Guerrero has gotten Fuego del Sol to work for Andrade El Idolo, but del Sol isn’t happy with being told to shine shoes. Andrade destroys him.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat but he only gets out a “well” before the Elite interrupts him. Page says he has something to say to them, so the Elite joins him in the ring. Kenny Omega sees this as a plea to rejoin the Elite, but Page says not quite. Omega thinks Page is a try hard just like all of these people. They have been thinking about accepting Page’s faults, but they don’t have failures in their group. Page slaps him in the face but the beatdown is on in a hurry.

Cue the Dark Order but Evil Uno and Stu Grayson holds them back. A Magic Killer and some BTE Triggers have Page rocked but it’s Frankie Kazarian running in to take out some of them. The beatdown is on though, with Michael Nakazawa even throwing in the basketball. Omega belt shots Page to leave him laying.

We look back at Lance Archer destroying Dan Lambert.

TNT Title: Lee Johnson vs. Miro

Johnson, with Dustin Rhodes, is challenging and gets powered around to start. The driving shoulders in the corner have Johnson in more trouble. Johnson jumps over him out of the corner and strikes away, only to get tossed with a belly to belly. Game Over sends Johnson bailing to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Miro holding a bearhug but Johnson slips out and slugs away as well as he can. A dropkick puts Miro outside and Johnson hits back to back suicide dives, followed by a big running flip dive.

Miro tries to catch Johnson but falls over, allowing Johnson to throw him back inside. A high crossbody gets one on Miro and Johnson kicks him in the head again. More superkicks rock Miro but he catches the fifth (yes fifth) superkick. Johnson slips away again though and hits the big superkick, setting up a frog splash for two. Miro escapes the fireman’s carry though and kicks Johnson in the face instead. Game Over retains Miro’s title at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good example of giving it everything you have in a rough spot. It worked out pretty well too, with Johnson doing more than I would have expected here. At the end of the day though, Miro should be holding that title for a long time to come and it seems like he will be. Good enough match here, which was a nice surprise.

Christian Cage thanks Leylah Hirsch for the save (while singing the Golden Girls theme) but he has some friends. Best Friends. Next week on the debut of Rampage though, he is ready to be #1 contender.

Bunny vs. Leylah Hirsch

The winner gets an NWA Women’s Title match. The Hardy Family Office and the Best Friends are all here too. Hirsch tries an armbar and Bunny bails to the floor. Back in and Hirsch works on the arm a bit until Bunny sends her outside. Bunny runs into Kamille (the NWA Women’s Champion) in the front row though and we take a break.

Back with more of the women’s division watching at ringside as Hirsch fights up. Hirsch knocks her into the corner for two but COMPLETELY misses a moonsault. Bunny is right back with a Death Valley Driver for two but Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up. Hirsch gets the cross armbreaker for the tap at 8:15.

Rating: C. I don’t think there was much drama to this one as Bunny isn’t going to get a major title match against Kamille. Hirsch getting a one off title shot will work well and it took a nice performance here to get her there. Just don’t let her try any more moonsaults, because that really didn’t work.

Post match, Hirsch and Kamille have a staredown, with Kamille being more than a foot taller.

Mark Sterling says Jade Cargill hasn’t been wrestling because it has been all about growing their brand. Cargill will be back on Dark Elevation next week and the sky is the limit, because she is that b****.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Black has a skull mask with horns for his entrance and it works rather well. Cody isn’t sure what to do to start so Black goes after the leg. That’s reversed into a Figure Four attempt until Black rakes the eyes to escape. A legsweep takes Cody down and we hit the half crab to keep him in trouble. The rope is grabbed and Cody is right back with the Cross Rhodes attempt, which is broken up with ease. Cody goes up and is kicked right back down, sending him through a ringside table. Back in and Black Mass knocks Cody silly for the pin with a boot on the chest at 4:43.

Rating: C+. Yeah that worked and it’s how this should have gone. Black Mass is one of the best finishers in wrestling today because it’s a really obvious idea: kick the other guy in the head really hard. Black ran through Cody here and even though this is for the sake of filming the Big Show, he put Black over perfectly here. Nice job.

Post match Black leaves and Cody talks about legacy. He got into the business at fifteen as a referee and he wanted to win the title that they stole from his daddy in the Garden. Time flies and goals change though and it takes Cody a second to get up. The fans are already singing the GOODBYE Song as Cody uses a crutch to get to his feet. Cody talks about how he fired them instead of them firing him (meaning WWE) and then he met Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.

Now this isn’t just an alternative because they’re competition. They set this table and now it’s time for someone new to eat. He has been around everywhere and has been so lucky. There have been some outside people and maybe there has been some in-fighting with the other Executive Vice Presidents but they are here. For him, this is the AEW Amphitheater and he thanks the fans.

Cody takes off his boot (a sign of retiring)….and Malakai Black breaks the crutch over his back. Black steals the boot and glares a lot to end the show. I’m glad they didn’t tease the full on retirement angle here as AEW fans are smart enough to know why Cody is going to be gone. Also, well done on bringing Black back in, because it would have been annoying to have him get that kind of a win and then just leave while Cody did his thing.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like they were taking their foot off the gas a bit and that’s ok. We’ve had four weeks of major shows and what we got here still worked. They kept advancing the stories forward and with All Out in about a month, it means they can set up the actual matches in the next week or two. What we got here was fine enough, but it was one of the slower paced shows they’ve had in a bit.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Juventud Guerrera – Top rope Judas Effect
Jon Moxley/Darby Allin/Eddie Kingston b. 2.0/Daniel Garcia – Coffin Drop to Garcia
Christian Cage b. Blade – Spear
Miro b. Lee Johnson – Game Over
Leylah Hirsch b. The Bunny – Cross armbreaker
Malakai Black b. Cody Rhodes – Black Mass

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

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

AND

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 5, 2007
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are less than a month away from Wrestlemania and for once, the build is actually clicking really well. There is a lot of focus on the Battle of the Billionaires, which is hardly the most thrilling story due to the people involved, but just about everything else has my interest. Let’s get to it.

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

John Cena comes up to Shawn Michaels in the back (to a THUNDEROUS CENA chant) and asks what is up with Shawn. Michaels says he isn’t going to turn on him, but Cena wants some more reassurance. What makes this one so different? Shawn: “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not.” Cena has Shawn’s back tonight, but Shawn says he doesn’t need it. That’s not cool with Cena, who will have Shawn’s back. Shawn says he doesn’t want or need Cena’s help and walks off.

Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton

Edge is here with Orton, who punches Shawn down to start. That doesn’t last long, as Shawn is back up with a clothesline out to the floor. Back in and Orton punches him down a few more times, followed by a rather evil rake to the eyes. Orton sends him crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Orton holding a pretty bad Boston crab and Shawn teasing the tap until he makes it over to the rope.

Shawn is back up with a crossbody for two but Orton drops him hard with the hanging DDT. A dropkick sets up the chinlock, which draws Shawn back to his feet for the chops. The atomic drop into the slam sets up the top rope elbow but Sweet Chin Music is countered into the RKO attempt, which is countered with a shove into the referee. Orton hits a clothesline and Edge throws in a title, but the referee intercepts the belt. That’s enough for Shawn to grab a rollup for the fast pin.

Rating: B-. It’s two main eventers getting some time and having a story to set up the match. That’s going to work every time and it was one of the better Raw matches in recent memory as a result. I liked what we got here and you know something else is going to happen after the match to make things that much better. Rather good opener here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Post match Edge throws in a chair, with Orton laying Shawn out with an RKO. Cue John Cena for the late save.

We recap Bobby Lashley destroying the cage to crush Umaga on ECW.

Vince McMahon asks Armando Alejandro Estrada what kind of mood Umaga is in tonight against Jeff Hardy. Estrada has something planned and leaves. Coach thinks Vince is worried about the guest referee being named for the Battle of the Millionaires. Vince of course isn’t, because he has made a suggestion, as Chairman of the Board: Shane McMahon.

Intercontinental Title: Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy

Umaga, with Armando Alejandro Estrada, is defending. Hardy avoids an early charge in the corner and they sent outside where Umaga gets dropkicked off the steps. Back in and Umaga blasts him with a clothesline before cannonballing down onto Hardy’s chest. Hardy tries to fight up and gets clotheslined down again, meaning it’s time to go into the Tree of Woe. The running headbutt knocks Hardy silly and it’s the running hip attack into the Samoan Spike to retain the title.

Rating: C-. Total squash here for the most part and that’s what it should have been. Umaga has jumped up the ladder and he should be squashing Hardy at the moment. It did what it was supposed to do and is going to make Bobby Lashley look that much better when he can go toe to toe with Umaga.

We recap Bobby Lashley’s week: brawling with Umaga on Raw, beating Hardcore Holly on ECW and turning down Vince McMahon’s offer to jump on Smackdown.

Some low level celebrities and John Travolta give their picks on the Battle of the Billionaires. Travolta does not seem to have any idea what he is being asked about.

Ric Flair and Carlito are in a Money in the Bank qualifying match tonight and Flair is very confident that he’s winning tonight and at Wrestlemania. Flair: “Why? Because I can. WOO!”

Shane McMahon calls Vince McMahon and thinks the Board of Directors votes how Vince wants. More later.

Here is Jim Duggan to take the Masterlock Challenge. The hold goes on, Duggan is in trouble, the fans chant USA, Duggan can’t fight out, Masters wins. This is about two minutes of the show.

We recap Shawn Michaels getting beaten down until John Cena made the late save.

Shawn isn’t happy with Cena, but will still have his back tonight. Cena doesn’t seem impressed.

Here is Vince McMahon for the announcement about the guest referee. Before we get to that though, Vince has an announcement: next week, Donald Trump will be here to sign the contract for Wrestlemania. If Trump gets out of line, it is going to be the McMahon B**** Slap. As for the guest referee…..here is Eric Bischoff. Don’t worry though because he isn’t the guest referee, but he does live in Phoenix. We hear about the garbage truck firing and Bischoff can’t wait to see Vince bald.

Bischoff leaves and Vince wants the guest referee….so here is Mick Foley in a referee shirt. Vince: “How are the kids?” Vince is clearly nervous and seems to hint at a bribe, but Mick would rather have his old job back. That’s granted, but Mick also wants unlimited access to pop in and plug his new book, the Hardcore Diaries. Oh and could Vince pick up his room service bill, including an adult double feature? Sure on that too, but Foley isn’t the referee for Wrestlemania. He’s the referee for a rib eating contest between Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns Gorilla.

Cue the Gorilla so Vince throws them both out as Shane McMahon comes out to replace them. Vince is thrilled, but Shane says they lost. Vince: “If you’re not the guest referee…..” And cue the glass shatter, giving us an all time Vince Face with the Wrestlemania sign behind him. Steve Austin comes out, hits the buckles, won’t shake Vince’s hand, and drinks a lot. He does throw some beer on Vince for old times’ sake and the fans are very pleased. As usual, Austin knows when he doesn’t have to do anything more than the classics without saying a word. The fake referees were great too, with Austin being a perfect payoff.

Post break, Foley leaves with the Gorilla, giving Ron Simmons something to swear about.

Women’s Title: Mickie James vs. Melina

Melina is defending, Falls Count Anywhere, and Ashley is guest ring announcer. As luck would have it, Lawler has Ashley’s Playboy, with the expected reactions. They waste no time in brawling to the back with Mickie tossing her over a makeup table. Now it’s time to go into the women’s locker room, with Lawler demanding wider camera angles. Victoria goes after Mickie but Torrie Wilson hairsprays Melina in the face. Candice Michelle pops up in a towel, which is ripped off in a hurry.

They head back into the arena and the ring with Mickie throwing her around by the hair over and over. Melina is sat on top for a super hurricanrana but holds on, leaving Mickie to crash ONTO HER HEAD, allowing Melina to get the pin. That was terrifying and I would hope not how it was planned.

Rating: D+. Well that was completely terrifying and not something I ever need to see again. Mickie crashed down hard and thankfully they got straight to the pin after that. The Falls Count Anywhere stuff was little more than a way to feature some of the other women and Ashley’s Playboy gets another plug. I don’t know how much the match mattered, but that is often the case with the title.

Post match Melina goes to yell at Ashley, who shoves her down. Ashley helps Mickie to her feet, which is quite the relief.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Carlito vs. Ric Flair

Torrie Wilson is here with Carlito. Flair gets backed into the corner to start and stomps away until Flair chops his way to freedom. Carlito knocks him down again though and stomps away, setting up a snap suplex for two. The left hands are rained down so Flair chops away even more. The knee drop gets two and Flair grabs a chinlock. That’s broken up as well, allowing Carlito to hit the springboard back elbow….and here is Great Khali to jump them both. There is no bell so we’ll call that a no contest, meaning no winner.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to do much but it wasn’t going to be very good in the first place. The story works well enough but it isn’t like this is a great idea. Flair as a mentor to Carlito is still a little weird, but so is barely having Carlito ever win anything. I’d assume one turns on the other in the end, though that could take some time.

Post match Khali says he wants Kane.

Here’s the Steve Austin appearance again.

Austin will be on ECW.

The newest Hall of Fame inductee is…..Nick Bockwinkel. That would be this year’s “how is he not in already” entrant.

Randy Orton makes it very clear to Edge: he does NOT have his back tonight.

John Cena vs. Edge

Non-title….and non-Edge at first as MNM comes out instead. Cue Edge to say he is a civil rights activist (yes) and since Arizona was one of the last states to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day, something needs to be done. Johnny Nitro’s great great grandmother was Black so he’s getting to face Cena instead. I really was not expecting that one so well done….maybe?

John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro

Non-title with the rest of MNM and Edge at ringside. Nitro kicks him down to start and sends him outside, where Mercury gets in a posting. Cena goes into the steps and it’s a chinlock to keep him down back inside. That’s broken up with raw power and Cena starts the clothesline comeback. The ProtoBomb into the Shuffle means Cena has to knock Edge off the apron. The AA is broken up by Mercury for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Another match that didn’t have time to go anywhere and was only there to set something up going forward. Edge’s line to get out of the match was completely out there, but it worked well for the kind of coward that he can be. Barely a match of course, but Nitro isn’t feeling like a complete accident in these roles anymore.

Post match the beatdown, including the Snapshot, is on. Cue Shawn Michaels, who teases running in for the save but turns around….only to run in and save Cena. Now it’s Cena’s change to be confused to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t very good here outside of the opener but the Steve Austin surprise worked well. They have the card set and now it is time to hammer things home. There are still a few weeks to go until Wrestlemania so hopefully the feuds have been mapped out well. Otherwise you run out of ideas in a hurry and the last few weeks are awful. Not a great show here, but Wrestlemania is looking strong.

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

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

AND

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