Summerslam 2004
Date: August 15, 2004
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 17,640
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the second biggest show of the year and that could go multiple ways. Smackdown has been getting better as of late but it’s still not very good. Raw has had its moments, but with the second biggest match from the red show being HHH vs. Eugene, they’re working underneath a pretty low ceiling. Let’s get to it.

The theme is the Summer Games, giving us an Olympic themed opening. I’ve always liked these as they’re actually rather entertaining.

The opening video looks at the big matches, but Diva Dodgeball is in the middle, even before the Intercontinental Title and Smackdown World Title matches. I’m thinking no on that one.

Dudley Boys vs. Paul London/Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio

Spike recently joined his brothers and since there are no other teams on Smackdown, Kidman and London are still feuding with the Dudleys. Rey just walks out to his music, which takes a lot of the impact away. D-Von hammers on Kidman to start but gets armdragged down for his efforts. London comes in for an assisted moonsault and the dropkick gets two.

A rather hard clothesline takes London down and it’s off to Spike for some screaming stomps in the corner. Bubba comes in for the trash talking elbow drop and the villains start taking turns working on London. Straight right hands break up the comeback attempt but Bubba hits D-Von by mistake. Spike gets kicked away and that’s enough for the tag off to Mysterio.

The springboard legdrop gets two on Spike and a hurricanrana out of the corner makes things even worse. A reverse DDT plants D-Von and it’s back to Kidman for a top rope back elbow to Spike. Everything breaks down and a BK Bomb gets two on Spike. Bubba gets double dropkicked to the floor and Spike takes a Hart Attack of all things. The 619 sends Spike into the shooting star from Billy for two with D-Von making the save. Back in and Kidman walks into the 3D to give Spike the pin.

Rating: C. Well that was a dumb ending. You have Spike as Cruiserweight Champion and have him pin a Tag Team Champion to open one of the biggest shows of the year? You couldn’t have Rey pin D-Von here to let the fans feel good? This didn’t help anything other than building Spike up, which was done as well as it was going to be with the Cruiserweight Title win. Bad decision here, in a match that didn’t need to have this kind of a finish.

We recap Kane vs. Matt Hardy. Lita slept with Kane to get him to leave Matt alone, actually being stupid enough to believe it would work. As a result Lita is pregnant but still loves Matt. Therefore, she’s marrying the winner of this match. Somehow, not even the most bizarre stipulation in Summerslam history.

Kane vs. Matt Hardy

Matt goes straight at him to start and hits what I guess was a middle rope Side Effect for two. The middle rope legdrop to the back of the head gets the same and a weird looking tornado DDT (with Matt landing on his stomach) gets the third two. Kane finally hits a clothesline to take over but a Lita distraction lets Matt low bridge him to the floor.

The slingshot dive sets up a Twist of Fate for nine and probably the best chance Matt had. Lita throws in the bell and distracts the very stupid referee so Matt can clock Kane for two. Kane kicks him in the face and goes up but gets caught by Matt. That’s fine with Kane, who hits a super chokeslam for the pin and Lita’s hand.

Rating: D. Short and bad here, with Matt having less than no chance throughout. Matt has been destroyed and turned into an idiot this whole feud and Kane winning in the end was the only way it could go. Now just get to the wedding, which is destined to be the most entertaining part of this whole thing. The match was nothing that couldn’t have been done on Raw but with a nice looking ending. That’s also Matt’s last WWE match for about a year as he had a bad knee injury and was then released in April.

Randy Orton doesn’t want to hear about anyone being upset because tonight is a night for celebration. John Cena cuts him off and promises him some merch. He’s an Orton fan, but a quick fan poll seems to suggest that they don’t agree with him. And so it begins.

Booker T. vs. John Cena

Match #1 in a best of five series for Booker’s US Title. They slug it out to start with Cena hitting a clothesline for one. Cena gets in the Throwback for two so Booker crotches him on top to cut that off in a hurry. Booker throws in a You Can’t See Me and drops a knee for no cover. A jumping kick to the face cuts off Cena’s early comeback and it’s a camel clutch to keep things slow.

That’s broken up so Booker goes with a spinebuster and side slam to drop Cena again. The ax kick misses though and Cena hits his running clothesline out of the corner. That just earns him a flapjack into a Spinarooni but Cena hits a quick FU for the pin, ignoring Booker’s shoulder being way off the mat.

Rating: D+. That’s the third straight fast match here and that’s not a good thing on a show like this. They didn’t even have seven minutes here, which is the kind of match that could have been on Smackdown instead of wasting it on this show. Cena is likely losing the next two matches to put him in a hole which is fine, but I could have gone for a better start to this thing.

Eric Bischoff (“the head cracker in charge of Raw”) comes in to see Theodore Long and points out the revolving door to the Smackdown GM office. Bischoff advises him to enjoy it while it lasts but Teddy tells him to get to steppin.

Intercontinental Title: Batista vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Hometown boy Edge is defending and Batista is on fire at the moment. Speaking of Batista, he knocks Edge off the apron during his entrance and we hit the Y2J chants early on. A hard elbow knocks Jericho down and a shoulder does it again. Edge comes back in with a chop block to break up the Batista Bomb though and it’s time for some Canadian violence on Batista. Snake Eyes gets Batista out of trouble but Jericho grabs his boot to slow him down a bit.

A clothesline puts Batista outside and leaves Edge alone in the ring….where he’s booed out of the building. Well that’s rather surprising. Batista gets sent face first into the steps and we’re down to Jericho vs. Edge in the ring. Edge gets the better of the fight but gets loudly booed when loading up the Edgecution. The Walls attempt gets a much better reaction, though Edge reversing into a small package isn’t as well received. Back up and Jericho pokes him in the eye, setting up the full Walls of Jericho.

The hold is pulled back into the middle until Batista finally makes a save with the clothesline. Edge takes Batista down with an Edgecution for two as Jericho is banged up on the floor. The spear is loaded up but for some reason Jericho cuts Edge down on the way to Batista. A spinebuster gives Batista two on Jericho but this time it’s Edge sending the big man outside. That gives us another battle of the Canadians and another loud Y2J chant. Batista gets dropkicked off the apron but the distraction lets Edge spear Jericho down to retain.

Rating: D+. The odd crowd reactions threw things off here, though they’re not quite as out there as you might think when you remember Edge teasing a heel turn as of late. Now that being said, you would think the hometown deal would be enough to overcome the recent cheating but that wasn’t the case here. On top of that, the match didn’t have a ton of heat and was a string of one on one matches instead of all three at once. Edge retaining is fine, though Batista is getting bigger and bigger every week.

We recap Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle in a Wrestlemania rematch. Eddie cheated (kind of) to win at Wrestlemania in Angle’s last match for about five months. Angle is back now, though while he was on the shelf he cost Eddie the WWE Championship so Eddie is out for revenge and to prove that he can hang with Angle on an even playing field. This has been the best set up feud for the whole show and the match should be able to live up to the hype.

Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero

Angle has Luther Reigns with him. Feeling out process to start as the odd fans are cheering for Angle here. Shockingly enough Angle is more than fine against Eddie on the mat so Eddie tries for the ankle. He’ll settle for a headlock instead so Angle reverses into a quick keylock. Eddie armdrags him straight into an armbar but it’s time to start the rolling German suplexes. That doesn’t work either as Eddie reverses the second into the ankle lock as the wrestling lesson continues. Angle reverses into the real thing but Eddie puts his own on at the same time. It doesn’t last long, though cool idea there.

A rope finally saves Eddie so Reigns gets in a cheap shot like a good lackey should do. That means another ankle lock before Angle finally switches gears a bit for something close to an STF. With Eddie down, Angle starts untying Eddie’s boot but the delay lets Eddie get in a kick to the face. It’s right back to Eddie’s ankle until Eddie gets in an Angle Slam of his own. Eddie makes his comeback with right hands but the ankle isn’t exactly sturdy.

It’s fine enough for the Three Amigos so Eddie goes up for the frog splash, only to get caught with the running belly to belly superplex. Angle’s Angle Slam is countered into a DDT and another frog splash attempt misses. The Angle Slam gets two so Angle rips the boot off to set up the ankle lock again.

The roll through sends Angle into the referee so Eddie hits Angle and Reigns with the boot. Of course Eddie throws the boot away and falls down instead of hitting a frog splash, which would have made more sense. Eddie hits the frog splash for two a few seconds later and yells at the referee on the kickout. That’s enough for Angle to pick the ankle and put on the grapevine to make Eddie tap.

Rating: C+. What exactly are they saving all the time for on this show? That’s the first match to break thirteen minutes and nothing else has even hit nine. There are three matches left on the card and nearly an hour and a half left in the show, but nothing has even hit fifteen minutes yet. Did Diva Dodgeball need the extra time?

Anyway, this wasn’t all that great as the first few minutes were looking like the start of a thirty minute classic but then they just jumped the stolen finishers (which is becoming a rather tired trope) and had Angle break the ankle down for the win. This was dying for another eight minutes of build towards the finish but for some reason this show has to go as fast as it can because of reasons.

We recap HHH vs. Eugene. HHH found out that Eugene was his favorite wrestler and agreed to use him to help get the World Title if HHH could eventually make Eugene want to quit. In other words, it was a story that was way more complicated than it needed to be and Eugene, who started off as a very fun, unique character has turned into the clueless putz that cost HHH the title. Therefore, HHH must destroy him to prove that he’s better than a mentally disabled person who doesn’t know how to wrestle but imitates wrestling he watched on TV as a kid. In the second biggest Raw match on Summerslam. Of course.

HHH vs. Eugene

No one is at ringside for a bit of a surprise. HHH wins an early slugout but Eugene elbows him in the face so it’s time head outside. That means a chance for HHH to hide behind Lilian Garcia, allowing him to take over again. It’s time to load up the announcers’ table but Eugene blocks a suplex to the floor. Some right hands in the corner set up a Flair Flop and HHH has a bad knee. Believe it or not, it’s a way for HHH to sucker Eugene in again and outsmart him for a cheap shot.

A backbreaker keeps Eugene in trouble as JR freaks out of the fake injury. He certainly must have loathed Bret Hart then. The fans think Eugene sucks so his comeback isn’t exactly well received. HHH offers a handshake but this time Eugene is ready for him and pulls it into a Rock Bottom. The People’s Elbow is countered with the spinebuster to a face pop as the trip into the bizarre continues. HHH chokes away and it’s back to the floor for a whip into the steps.

Back in and HHH slowly beats on him, setting up the sleeper because this match needed a sleeper. Eugene escapes and hits a backdrop, followed by a middle finger and the Stunner. That’s enough to send HHH outside for a breather though and here’s Ric Flair because HHH is actually in trouble. The big boot into the legdrop connects but Flair gets knocked off the apron. Eugene goes up top and dives into the Pedigree but spins out, setting up a Pedigree on HHH instead. Flair puts his foot on the rope so it’s just a two, earning an ejection. Cue William Regal to knock Flair cold with the brass knuckles as the Pedigree finishes Eugene.

Rating: D. Well thank goodness for that. After a few months of getting frustrated, the great and mighty HHH came back and beat the comedy act in a match at one of the biggest show of the year. All it cost Eugene was all of the good will he built up too, but at least HHH got the big win. This whole story was really stupid and a huge waste of time, which really doesn’t work when it boils down to HHH needing almost fifteen minutes to beat a comedy guy. It was just bad all around and didn’t help anyone other than HHH, who didn’t get that much out of it anyway.

And then, Diva Dodgeball with the Diva Search girls basically in swimsuits while the Raw women are in matching gear. Before the game starts, Coach tells us about some trash talk that happened after Raw went off the air. They proceed to play dodgeball, which is in no way shape or form an excuse to have good looking women in barely existing clothing running around. The Diva Search girls dominate and win. Trish yells about the refereeing and then blames Victoria, triggering a fight. This took up nearly six minutes, which is about seven minutes too long.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Undertaker

No recap for this one because the build hasn’t exactly been thrilling. JBL won the title earlier in the summer and needed an opponent so Undertaker showed up. For some reason JBL decided he wasn’t afraid of Undertaker and brought out a mini version, who Undertaker wound up beating up instead. Then JBL brought in Orlando Jordan as his Chief of Staff because he needed a designated lackey.

Undertaker knocks him to the floor early on and the beating begins, including JBL’s arm going into the steps. Back in and JBL hits a quick swinging neckbreaker before going up top for a good looking top rope shoulder. An armbar doesn’t get JBL anywhere so Undertaker pulls on the arm as well and hits Old School. Undertaker grabs an ugly triangle choke until Jordan pulls the foot under the rope.

With that not working, Undertaker hits a big boot to JBL but misses a running version in the corner to let JBL take out the knee. The leg is wrapped around the post and a Jordan distraction lets JBL smash the leg with a chair. Undertaker gets sent into the barricade so Jordan can get in a few shots before sending him inside. The fans start the Wave as the leg work continues.

The leglock goes on as JBL is smart enough to just throw on a hold and let the fans die down. It’s not exactly thrilling for the fans at home but it’s a smart idea here. Undertaker fights out and pulls JBL down into a quickly broken kneebar. They head outside again with Undertaker hitting the apron legdrop. The announcers start chanting for the Spanish table but JBL snaps the throat across the top for a breather. Again JBL takes too long going up though and it’s a superplex for two.

JBL goes right back to the knee with a spinning toehold of all things but Undertaker hits a sloppy release spinebuster for two more. The jumping clothesline puts JBL down again and Snake Eyes into…a running clothesline instead of the big boot gives Undertaker another two. The chokeslam gets a delayed near fall, which seems to shock the announcers. Who hasn’t kicked out of a chokeslam? Jordan gets up for a quick distraction and it’s the Clothesline From JBL to give the champ two of his own. The referee gets bumped though and it’s a double big boot for a double knockdown.

Jordan throws the belt in for a shot to the head and the very delayed near fall with Jordan grabbing the hand to slap the mat. Undertaker finally beats up Jordan but eats another Clothesline From JBL. With the referee still down, JBL rains down right hands in the corner which is only done to set up the Last Ride. Jordan is back in with the belt so Undertaker takes it away and hits JBL for the DQ.

Rating: D. The thing is, it’s not even the worst match in the world. It felt like it was straight out of the HHH/Ric Flair Greatest Hits playbook with Jordan being the worst Flair impersonator of all time. The leg work was fine and JBL still wasn’t horrible yet, but the ending was pretty lame with Jordan being pathetic and JBL’s finisher not being able to do much damage. It’s not so much horrible or even bad as much as it is uninteresting and uninspired, which made for a very long seventeen minutes.

Post match the beatdown continues with the bloody JBL being chokeslammed through the roof of the limo. JBL does a stretcher job, guaranteeing a rematch. Of note: at some point during the match, a fan tried to climb onto the limo and security kept him from not only, you know, climbing onto the limo but also breaking the roof and injuring himself/ruining the spot.

Cole shows us a replay and tells us to listen. There’s no sound.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton

Orton is challenging after winning a battle royal and pinning Benoit in a tag match. Here’s your exchange that would never happen today: Lawler: “Hey JR you got a camera on you?” JR, dripping with sarcasm: “Yeah right here in my pocket.” The fans are all over Earl Hebner with the YOU SCREWED BRET chants as they stare each other down at the bell. Benoit drives him into the corner and takes Orton down for a rather early chinlock. A test of strength goes to Orton but he misses a knee drop.

Benoit is right back with the armbar and armdrags him down into another armbar. That’s reversed as well with Orton grabbing a Sharpshooter of his own. Benoit slips out of that and tries a Crossface, sending Orton to the floor where he posts Benoit to really take over. A second posting keeps the champ down and Orton drapes him over the top rope for good measure.

Something like a DDT on the apron gets Benoit out of trouble but he misses a dive through the ropes, sending himself HARD into the barricade. Back in and Orton hits the over the shoulder neckbreaker for two, followed by the chinlock. Benoit fights up for stereo crossbodies but gets up first for a northern lights suplex. A release German suplex has Orton in more trouble and the Sharpshooter goes on.

That’s good for two arm drops until Orton makes the rope so they’re both exhausted. Some rolling German suplexes put Orton down again but he gets his feet up to block the Swan Dive (FREAKING OW MAN!). The cover is countered into a Crossface but Orton rolls out. Back up and Benoit tries it again but Orton spins him around into the RKO for the pin and the title.

Rating: B. It’s not a masterpiece but it was a good, long, well put together match with a completely clean ending that made Orton look like the better man. The new heel on top is long overdue and it’s nice to see Orton, who has gotten a lot better in a hurry, win the title here. Benoit’s title reign was very respectable and he beat HHH a few times, which is about as good as you’re going to get. It’s a rather good main event, though not exactly a classic.

Post match Benoit gets back in and shakes his hand, demanding that Orton be a man. Orton shakes his hand and Benoit leaves in peace, allowing Orton to pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This show is two different halves and it’s as noticeable as you’re ever going to see. The first four matches are all short and need more time while the remaining four, as in the big matches, either fail to live up to the hype or just aren’t very good in the first place. This show needed to be reshuffled a bit with some extra time being given to a few other matches. Stuff like Diva Dodgeball and the opener could have been cut to give the time to other matches. It would have done the show a lot of good, but there was only so much this show could do.

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Summerslam 2002
Date: August 25, 2002
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial, Uniondale, New York
Attendance: 14,797
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Jim Ross

It’s very rare that a Summerslam is the biggest show of the year but that might be the case in 2002. Wrestlemania XVIII was in a much bigger venue and had a much bigger top match but as far as a whole card goes from top to bottom, this might have it beaten. The big matches here are Brock Lesnar challenging the Rock for the Undisputed Title and HHH vs. Shawn Michaels in a grudge match with Shawn making his first in-ring appearance since 1998. Let’s get to it.

Not much of an opening video other than the theme song over shots of the crowd.

Opening sequence.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey showed Angle up recently and Kurt wants to prove that it’s just a fluke. Angle’s singlet looks like a barber pole and Rey sneaks in from behind with a springboard ankle scissors. The ankle lock goes on in less than thirty seconds but Rey sends him into the ropes with Kurt having to duck the 619.

A hard wheelbarrow suplex sends Rey hard onto the mat and one heck of a clothesline gives Angle two. Rey’s back is bent around the middle rope and Angle is getting a bit too cocky. A one legged Liontamer has Mysterio in even more trouble but a rollup gives him a fast two. Rey is certainly sticking around well enough so far.

That just ticks Angle off though and he throws Rey with a belly to belly. Kurt misses a charge though and goes sailing over the top but the referee won’t let Mysterio fly. That’s fine with Rey who flips OVER THE REFEREE to take Kurt down. The fans are losing their mind and Rey Dropping the Dime (springboard legdrop) for two makes them even worse. Now the 619 connects and the West Coast Pop is good for a VERY near fall. Rey puts him on top for a super hurricanrana but Angle slips out and grabs the ankle lock for the submission at 9:20.

Rating: A-. What a match. This is one of the best opening matches in company history as they just do not stop for the better part of ten minutes. It’s an outstanding performance with Rey getting his big breakout performance and Angle showing that he’s still one of the best in the world.

Stephanie McMahon brags about that match and tells a production guy to tell Eric Bischoff about it. She goes into her office and….there’s Eric, who seems to be sharing the office with her. I’m sure comedy and drama will ensue.

Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho

Standard “you’re old and it’s my time so get out” feud with the required broken guitars to ruin a mid-show concert segment as well. This is actually Flair’s in-ring debut at Summerslam. Feeling out process to start and we hear about Jericho becoming the first ever Undisputed Champion. JR: “Not too many people can claim that.” Yeah Jim. I think it’s like, one or so.

Jericho misses an elbow drop and the chops start flying. They head outside with Jericho sending him into the barricade, followed by a middle rope dropkick for two back inside. Some suplexes stay on Flair’s back so you certainly can’t fault Jericho’s psychology. This time it’s Jericho taking too much time going up though and Flair slams him right back down.

The Walls are countered into a small package for two but Jericho goes extra evil by grabbing the Figure Four (I said evil, not original). In a creative save, Flair grabs the rope and then taps out, which means the hold is broken and the submission doesn’t count. The referee gets bumped and it’s a low blow into the Figure Four to make Jericho tap at 10:23.

Rating: C+. This was fine and while I’m not wild on having Flair go over Jericho, at least he lost in a good match to a dirty finish. If nothing else it could mean a whiny Jericho and that’s nothing but entertainment. Oh and Flair low blows are always worth checking out, just for how hard he hits those things.

Ad for a Hogan DVD.

Paul Heyman loves the idea of the Hogan DVD because it looks like they’re trying to squeeze out the final few dollars from his body after Lesnar destroyed him. Tonight, Lesnar destroys the Rock.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge

Apparently Eddie is mad that Edge fancies himself a sex symbol. I don’t really remember that being brought up on TV leading up to this match but maybe it was subtext. Eddie snaps the back of Edge’s neck across the top rope and takes over, only to get thrown across the ring.

Edge ties him up in the ropes and hits a spear but a second attempt misses to send the Canadian outside. That might mean a bad shoulder so Eddie sends him into the steps. Back to back DDT’s on the arm including one from the top get two on Edge and we hit a Kimura of all things.

It’s off to a crossface chickenwing and then a top wristlock which is a very good idea. I get so bored watching matches where we get the same hold over and over. There are so many holds that can be used on the same body part so mixing it up like this helps so much. Edge fights back with a one armed slam and a faceplant to send Eddie outside.

It doesn’t take two good arms to dive out to the floor so Edge takes Eddie out all over again. Back in and a super sitout gordbuster gives Edge two more, followed by the Edgecution for the same. Eddie goes right back to the shoulder but walks into the spear (more on that in a second) at 11:47.

Rating: B-. This was going to be much higher until that completely ridiculous ending. Eddie spent eleven minutes working on the arm and then Edge just uses the shoulder for the spear to end the match with nothing more than a flinch? There’s no excuse for that and Edge should know better.

The Un-Americans are ready to give the greedy Americans more. More of the Un-Americans that is.

Tag Team Titles: Goldust/Booker T. vs. Un-Americans

Lance Storm and Christian are defending. Goldust cleans house to start before it’s off to Booker, who JR describes as being “as Americana as Americana can be.” The Canadians are still reeling so Storm throws Goldust over the corner to take over, setting up some of those weird hopping stomps.

Christian gets two on a backbreaker, which JR says works on the back. Something like a Boss Man Slam gets Goldust out of trouble but Christian grabs a front facelock. As you might expect, that means a missed tag so Goldust has to catapult the champions into each other.

That’s STILL not enough for the tag though as the champs knock Booker off the apron, only to miss a Conchairto. The USA chant starts up and there’s the hot tag to Booker who scores with a missile dropkick on Christian. Storm hits the referee by mistake and both champions take the same ax kick. Cue Test to kick Booker’s head off, giving Christian the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C. The match was fine but the ending brought it down a good bit with the standard WWE style finish hurting things a lot. At least we had a good match to get there and the Un-Americans are still fine for heel champions. The Test stuff gets annoying but you had to know it was coming as soon as the ref went down.

There’s a Make Out with Nidia Contest at the World. We’re moving on before that sinks in.

Stephanie and Bischoff debate women’s place in wrestling. McMahon: “It’s like mine: ON TOP!” This turns into a discussion of the Intercontinental Title match and GOOD GRIEF Stephanie’s acting is somehow worse here.

Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit

This is Raw vs. Smackdown and Benoit is defending. A kick to the leg sends Benoit outside but he comes back in and easily takes Van Dam down until Rob starts spinning around to escape. The release German suplex drops him again though and Benoit starts in on the neck to set up for the Crossface later on.

A Dynamite Kid snap suplex gets two on Van Dam but he avoids the Swan Dive. Chris does the same to the Five Star though and it’s time for the Crossface. The long legs get Van Dam over to the ropes so Benoit shoves him off the top and down onto the barricade for a crash. Benoit cranks on the arms for a bit and slams him head first into the mat to keep Van Dam in trouble.

It’s right back to the Crossface with Van Dam quickly breaking free, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. Some suplexes onto the arm make me realize that Eddie probably should have worked something other than the arm if Benoit, whose finisher is an arm hold, was going to do this.

Another Crossface is about to be broken so Benoit switches into a dragon sleeper of all things. That’s escaped as well and Van Dam’s hair is down in a very rare sight. Rolling Thunder gets two on Benoit but he’s able to crotch Rob on top. You don’t try a belly to back superplex on a high flier though as Rob crossbodies his way out, setting up the Five Star for the pin and the title at 16:22.

Rating: B. Sometimes you just need to have two talented guys go out there and have a match. The shoulder didn’t quite play into the finish but at least Van Dam’s finisher isn’t done with his arm. I liked this more than I was expecting to and that’s always a positive, especially on a show this stacked.

Bischoff gloats so Stephanie laughs at him. WELL OF COURSE SHE DOES! How dare we suggest that Stephanie not have some kind of ace up her sleeve? That’s why people get tired of Stephanie: she almost NEVER has to give up anything and it gets old in a hurry. I’m sure she’s stolen some other talent and Bischoff will be crushed while Stephanie gets to dance around and talk about how great Smackdown and its fans really are.

Video on the Un-Americans to set up Test vs. Undertaker.

Undertaker vs. Test

JR says Undertaker has a big home field advantage. I get what he’s going for but we’re MUCH closer to Canada and Toronto in general than we are to Houston. But then again, never underestimate how hard an American announcer is going to push his countryman in a feud like this. Undertaker starts with a hiptoss of all things but a knee to the ribs cuts off some driving shoulders.

Test shoves the referee into the ropes to break up Old School and since this isn’t Raw, that’s not a DQ. After a quick trip to the floor, Test very slowly hammers away in the corner and drops a knee on the ribs. It’s off to an armbar of all things until Undertaker fights up and suplexes his way to freedom. AMERICAN freedom that is.

The pumphandle slam doesn’t work so Undertaker plants him with a chokeslam for a delayed two. Cue Storm and Christian for a distraction so Test can get in the big boot for two of his own. Test grabs a chair and shoves the referee down, allowing Undertaker to kick the chair straight back into his face. The Tombstone ends Test at 8:20.

Rating: D. This was fine for a long Raw match but on a show with this much talent around, it’s only going to go so far. Undertaker winning is fine enough as it’s really hard to buy Test beating someone who was in the main event of last month’s pay per view going toe to toe to toe with Rock and Kurt Angle.

Undertaker goes into the crowd and grabs an American flag for some posing.

We get a long and very good recap of HHH vs. Shawn Michaels. They used to be friends and Shawn came back as part of the NWO. After the team was disbanded, Shawn came back again and was made into HHH’s manager. That wasn’t cool with Shawn and his Texas pride so HHH beat him up twice in a row, including putting Shawn through a car window. Shawn is willing to have one more fight (not match, but fight) here tonight.

HHH vs. Shawn Michaels

Anything goes and unsanctioned with Shawn in jeans. Shawn hammers away to start and spears HHH down for more right hands. They’re quickly on the floor with Shawn ramming him head first into the post. It’s time for some toys, including a trashcan to HHH’s head and a top rope right hand for the same.

Sweet Chin Music misses less than three minutes in and Shawn walks into a spinebuster for the first real shot to his bad back. Like a smart villain, HHH starts in on the back but Shawn says bring it, earning himself a kick to the chest. One heck of a chair shot to the back has Shawn’s face in agony, which is where so much of this match’s strength comes from. Michaels could tell such a story with his face and it really does bring you deeper into the story they’re trying to tell.

Shawn gets in a desperation rollup for two but walks into the facebuster to cut him off again. A DDT on the chair gets two and we’ve got some blood. HHH steals Shawn’s belt for a good old fashioned whipping followed by a few buckle shots to the cut head. With Shawn pulling himself to his feet, it’s sledgehammer time. As is his custom though, Shawn cuts HHH off at the exactly right time, earning himself an abdominal stretch.

HHH goes for the hammer again but Earl Hebner calls him off and yells a lot. A superplex is broken up so HHH blasts him in the back with the chair again. There’s a side slam through an open chair and Shawn looks dead. You can feel the fans getting more and more into this and JR wants the referee to do a fast count. Shawn kicks out and now HHH is getting frustrated because Michaels won’t stay down.

Another side slam onto a closed chair gets the same and HHH covers three times in a row. The Pedigree is broken up by a low blow and you can feel the crowd coming back to life. HHH grabs the chair but a desperation superkick knocks it into HHH’s face to draw blood as well. Shawn hits the forearm into the nipup and the fans actually come to their feet as it’s the old Shawn one more time. A great chair shot to the head drops HHH and Shawn picks up the belt to even things up a bit from earlier.

Shawn bulldogs the very bloody HHH onto the steps to knock him even sillier. Since that’s not enough, let’s bring in a ladder too. Said ladder is thrown inside but HHH baseball slides it into Shawn’s ribs for a breather. HHH goes up top for some reason and it’s a superplex to bring him back down for two. Now the steps are brought in but Shawn drop toeholds HHH into them before knocking him outside again.

With nothing else left, here’s a table too with Shawn splashing HHH off the top through the wood. HHH very slowly rolls back in and Shawn brings the ladder inside again. The big elbow off the ladder crushes HHH and Shawn pops right back up. It’s superkick time but HHH counters into the Pedigree which is countered into a jackknife rollup for the pin at 27:19.

Rating: A+. My goodness what a performance. That’s the only way to put it as Shawn basically started all over again and had this kind of an amazing match. This was some outstanding storytelling with Michaels taking us to the very brink but fighting back until there was an actual way to believe he could pull it off. HHH was at his most dastardly here and that makes for one heck of a match. This is one of the best matches of both of their careers and the circumstances make it even more amazing. Shawn timed that comeback as well as anything I’ve ever seen and I got swept up in the match all over again. Just excellent.

Post match, HHH hits a celebrating Shawn in the back with a sledgehammer to go biggest heel ever. Shawn does a stretcher job, seemingly putting him out of action for a long time. Oh and one more thing: for some reason HHH has tried to claim that this match was forty five minutes long. Even if you count the entrances and the post match stuff, it’s less than thirty six minutes total. That’s a big stretch even in wrestling, which is covering a lot of ground.

Here’s Howard Finkel of all people to talk about how he hasn’t been here since Wrestlemania II but you’ll always have him because of loyalty. Cue Trish Stratus (who has been feuding with a sexist Finkel) but the Fink doesn’t want to hear from someone who thinks she’s hot stuff because of her looks. Trish hits on him and Finkel makes sex jokes until Lillian Garcia (who is having the real issues with him) to slap Howard in the face and kick him low. This was just a way to calm things down after the previous match but it was still stupid.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock. Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament to earn this show and Rock won the title at Vengeance. Brock has run through the company but this is by far his biggest test to date.

Undisputed Title: Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock

Lesnar is challenging and has Paul Heyman in his corner. The fans are ALL OVER Rock as he charges right into a belly to belly, further banging up his already injured ribs. Some backbreakers have the fans cheering for Rock though and Brock takes him outside for a beating in the crowd.

Back in and another belly to belly sends Rock flying for two. Heyman even gets in a little choking as Rock’s right hands are cut off by a powerslam. Brock charges into the post and three straight clotheslines finally put him down for two. It’s off to a bad Sharpshooter with Rock nowhere near sitting on Brock’s back.

Heyman finally gets on the apron for a distraction but Lesnar saves his agent from a Rock Bottom. The distraction lets a chair go into Rock’s ribs, setting up a bearhug into a waistlock on the mat. This stays on WAY too long but to be fair, Lesnar isn’t really capable of having a long match on his own just yet.

Rock punches his way out but takes one heck of a running shoulder to the ribs in the corner. Lesnar gets punched (you might notice a pattern emerging here) outside again and it’s announcers’ table time. Instead though Brock gets catapulted into the table and Heyman takes a very slow motion Rock Bottom through the table.

Back in and the Rock Bottom only gets two but Lesnar grabs one of his own (JR: “Brock Bottom?”) for another near fall. The spinebuster looks to set up the People’s Elbow but Brock jumps up for a BIG clothesline. Brock can’t hit the F5 but reverses the Rock Bottom into the F5 for the pin and the title at 16:02.

Rating: B. It’s not a classic but the key thing here is that Brock reversed Rock’s finisher into his own for the completely clean pin. Heyman hadn’t been a factor for about five minutes so the pinfall is WAY more important. Lesnar won because he was better here (ignoring the rib injuries but that was hardly cheating). This was a good match but it’s important and well done which is all that matters.

Overall Rating: A. This is one of the best pay per views the company has ever put on and pretty easily the best Summerslam ever. The worst match of the night was Undertaker vs. Test and even that was watchable. Throw in a masterpiece like HHH vs. Michaels and this is an instant classic, which isn’t often the case at Summerslam.

Ratings Comparison

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A-

2017 Redo: A-

Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair

Original: B

2013 Redo: C

2017 Redo: C+

Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge

Original: C+

2013 Redo: B-

2017 Redo: B-

Un-Americans vs. Booker T/Goldust

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D+

2017 Redo: C

Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit

Original: B

2013 Redo: B

2017 Redo: B

Undertaker vs. Test

Original: D

2013 Redo: D

2017 Redo: D

Shawn Michaels vs. HHH

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A+

The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

2013 Redo: B-

2017 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A+

2017 Redo: A

Still a masterpiece.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/05/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2002-best-summerslam-ever/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/07/summerslam-count-up-2002-the-performance-of-a-lifetime/

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.

Summerslam 2001
Date: August 19, 2001
Location: Compaq Center, San Jose, California
Attendance: 15,293
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

I’m not sure how it happened but this show was twenty years ago. We’re in the middle of the Invasion so this is going to be a rather Alliance heavy show. That may or may not be a good thing, but the double main event of Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle and Rock vs. Booker T. would likely fall on the good side. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a naration-less highlight package set to Bodies by Drowning Pool. I guess you don’t need words for a story as simple and easy to follow with so few moving parts as the Invasion.

Intercontinental Title: Lance Storm vs. Edge

Storm is defending and feels the need to explain the issues with offbeat shenanigans. After saying that the silence from the crowd is “splendid” (such an awesomely underused word), Storm is cut off by Edge’s entrance and we’re ready to start fast. They run the ropes a bit until Edge knocks him outside. That doesn’t last long and Edge comes back in with a high crossbody for an early two. Storm sends him crashing to the floor though and it’s back inside for those unique stomps.

A gordbuster gets two on Edge and Storm starts in on Edge’s ribs. Storm tells him to get up so Edge does with some right hands, only to miss a dropkick. So now Storm is happy that Edge is back down. Make up your mind dude. Edge gets shouldered in the corner as we cut to the WWF locker room, including Christian (with Edge’s King of the Ring trophy) watching (as they are known to do).

The chinlock with a knee in the back has Edge in more trouble and we hit the abdominal stretch. Edge fights out and sends him to the apron so Storm springboards back in, right into a powerslam. A spinwheel kick gives Edge two and the Edge-O-Matic gets the same. Storm is fine enough to roll him into the Canadian Mapleleaf but Edge makes the rope (to a heck of a reaction). Edge gets his own Mapleleaf so here is Christian….who spears Edge by mistake to give Storm two. Edge has had it with this and Impales Storm for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. The Christian stuff advanced the story, but the point here was everything else going on. Storm and Edge had some good chemistry together and while Storm was always in need of a better finisher, they had an exciting match here and it got the fans off on the right foot. That’s why you put these two in this spot and it worked out well.

Post match Christian grabs the title and seems to think about something before handing it to Edge.

Test, who recently joined the Alliance, and the Dudley Boyz are ready to destroy the APA and Spike Dudley. Test is sick of the WWF sounding stupid and the Dudleys are sick of being overshadowed by Spike. Tonight, Test will show you loyalty.

Test/Dudley Boyz vs. Spike Dudley/APA

Molly Holly is here with Spike and the APA. Faarooq slugs away at Bubba to start but it’s quickly off to D-Von for a clothesline. Test gets a chance of his own and is clotheslined down by D-Von. The fast tags continue as D-Von comes in and gets DDTed. We get to the important part as Spike comes in for some rollups until Bubba drops him onto the top rope. The stomping is on in the corner as Heyman is very pleased with the “tough love”.

It’s table time (JR: “This is not a tables match!” Heyman: “It’s a Dudleys match!”) but Spike slips out of a gorilla press. He gets caught with a double flapjack though and the villains get to beat on him a bit more. Spike gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Bradshaw to clean house. Everything breaks down and Bradshaw powerbombs D-Von for two. Spike gets puts through the table as the Clothesline From Bradshaw blasts D-Von. The referee is distracted though and Alliance boss Shane McMahon chairs Bradshaw to give D-Von the pin.

Rating: C. The match was nothing memorable but it kept a midcard story going and give us some nice action at the same time. The chair shot at the end will give them somewhere else to go and Spike vs. his brothers would work almost every time. I can always go for a good six man and this was close enough.

Some WWF wrestlers are upset but others are too busy congratulating Edge. Christian interrupts and says he has a European Title match tomorrow. Edge doesn’t seem thrilled with Christian stealing his moment but Grandma Edna calls Christian….so she can talk to Edge instead. With plans made for later, Grandma hangs up instead of talking to Christian again. This continues to work.

Shawn Stasiak interrupts Debra (Steve Austin’s wife) and complains about his trunks. Debra tells him to buzz off because Austin has a big match tonight. If Stasiak wants to impress Austin, go beat someone up.

Cruiserweight Title/Light Heavyweight Title: X-Pac vs. Tajiri

Title for title and I do miss the X Factor theme. Both guys hold up both titles and we’re ready to go. Pac takes him down in a hurry to start and the posing is on. Tajiri sweeps the leg and hits a standing moonsault as we hear about Pac’s career in Japan. Back up and Tajiri sends him outside for a baseball slide as the pace picks up in a hurry. Pac manages to send him into the barricade to take over and hits a spinning kick to the face back inside. There’s the surfboard, which seems almost required in this spot.

Back up and Pac grabs a sitout powerbomb for two but the Bronco Buster misses, mainly because Pac takes WAY too much time running around like a moron. Some kicks give Tajiri two and the Tarantula makes it worse. Tajiri’s bridging German suplex gets two but Pac sends him outside for the big running flip dive. The handspring elbow is broken up and a quick X Factor gets a delayed two. Cue Pac’s buddy Albert, who gets misted down in a hurry. That’s enough for Page to hit a low blow into an X Factor to retain/win.

Rating: C. The one good thing about Pac is he could have a fine match with just about anyone and did so here. Tajiri can go with all kinds of opponents as well so they had a nice setup here. I wonder if that first X Factor was a timing issue, as it was a finisher that didn’t go anywhere and then they did the angle to finish it. Either way, perfectly fine match for titles that mean nothing.

Perry Saturn is at WWF New York and is looking for Moppy (his mop). He even has her on the side of a milk carton.

Stephanie McMahon gives Rhyno a pep talk about all the things she wants him to do to Chris Jericho.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Rhyno. Jericho has tormented Stephanie McMahon for months so she is sending Rhyno after him. Violence is promised.

Chris Jericho vs. Rhyno

Stephanie is here with Rhyno. The slugout is on to start until Jericho hits a running forearm to take over. A top rope elbow to the head has Rhyno in trouble but it’s way too early for the Walls. Rhyno misses a charge and flies out to the floor so Jericho goes up. Stephanie grabs the foot, earning herself a kick away, but the distraction lets Rhyno Gore Jericho out of the air (which doesn’t get the reaction it deserves). It takes some time for both of them to get back in, where Rhyno drops him ribs first across the barricade.

Stephanie gets in a slap (the most lethal move in the company) and Rhyno grabs a bodyscissors to (wisely) stay on the ribs. With that not getting very far, Rhyno changes things up a lot with an airplane spin into a TKO of all things. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Jericho fights up, only to get knocked down again. Rhyno misses a top rope splash (because Rhyno is known for his flying) and they’re both down. Jericho fires off some running shoulders but slips on the Lionsault attempt.

Instead Jericho connects with the top rope elbow to the face but Stephanie gets up for a distraction. That warns her a kiss (which makes me wonder how much money there would have been in a forbidden roman angle between these two) and Jericho catches Rhyno with the bulldog. Now the Lionsault connects for two but Rhyno grabs a belly to belly to set up the Walls on Jericho. The rope is grabbed so Jericho snaps off an enziguri but has to avoid the Gore. The missed charge lets Jericho get the Walls for the tap.

Rating: C+. This worked well and a lot of that is due to Stephanie, who made this whole story work in the first place. I know she gets a lot of flack but when she actually has someone show her up, it really does make things better. The match itself was Jericho vs. a (talented) monster and that was going to work all day. This wasn’t the show stealer or anything, but it was a rather nice match with a well told story. That’s all you need a lot of the time.

Stephanie storms off, as she should.

William Regal stops the Rock to ask if he’s ok after an attack from Booker T. on Smackdown. Of course the Rock is hurt but he’s here at Summerslam and the only thing Booker T. did was tick him off. Rock asks if Regal can hear the crowd and feel the….unspecified something. Regal certainly can, but can he smell it? They step aside for a charging Shawn Stasiak, and Rock confirms that you certainly can smell it. Stasiak is a guilty pleasure but Rock didn’t have much to say here.

Hardcore Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy

Hardy is defending in a ladder match, which should write itself. They actually go technical to start for an early standoff, though the fans stay into it because they know what’s coming. Van Dam misses a dropkick and gets caught with the legdrop between the legs. Back up and Hardy is sent to the apron, where he hiptosses Van Dam outside. A springboard Whisper in the Wind drops Van Dam again but he’s right back with a kick to the face.

There’s the spinning kick off the apron to the back and it’s time for the first ladder. As usual, that takes too long so Hardy gets in a shot of his own, only to have Van Dam see saw the ladder into Hardy’s face. Hardy is right back by pulling Van Dam onto the ladder for an Arabian press onto Van Dam onto the ladder. Van Dam ties him in the Tree of Woe for some shoulders to the ribs and the ladder is laid across the bottom rope.

That means Rolling Thunder out of the corner to crush Hardy again, setting up a slingshot legdrop over the top, onto Hardy and onto the ladder. Hardy gets in a shot of his own and goes up, only to have Van Dam come off the top to kick the ladder down. Now it’s Rolling Thunder onto the ladder onto Hardy, leaving him down again. Van Dam goes up so Hardy dropkicks it down this time to leave them both in a heap.

This time it’s Hardy going up, and promptly being superplexed back down. They both go up again, with Hardy hitting a heck of a sunset bomb for another double crash. Hardy goes up and grabs the title but Van Dam moves the ladder, leaving Hardy hanging. Since Van Dam can’t pull him down, it’s a top rope spinning kick to knock Hardy out of the air for the huge crash. That’s enough for Van Dam to pull down the title, with Hardy not getting there in time.

Rating: B. This wasn’t about psychology or anything else, but rather “can you top this”. That was the absolute right way to go for these two as they’re both insane high fliers who can do that style like few others. It’s also what the fans wanted to see here and the guys delivered, leaving very little room for complaining. Sometimes you need a human car crash and these two are as good as there were at it at this point.

Shane McMahon gives Booker T. a present: bookends made from the table he put the Rock through on Smackdown. Booker dedicates his match to Shane, who is rather pleased.

We recap Diamond Dallas Page/Kanyon vs. Undertaker/Kane. Page stalked Undertaker’s wife Sara, filming her at home and passing the tapes around the locker room. He even had a shrine to Sara set up at the arenas (must have been the travel version). Page got Kanyon to help him so Undertaker found Kane, and since we need all the wacky titles around here, this is title for title in a cage.

WCW Tag Team Titles/WWF Tag Team Titles: Undertaker/Kane vs. Diamond Dallas Page/Kanyon

Title for title in a cage with pinfall, submission or escape. Undertaker slams the door shut (with a good THUD) and we’re ready to go, with Sara holding the key. The violence begins in a hurry with Page and Kanyon getting beaten down without much trouble. Page manages to send Undertaker into the cage and hits a clothesline, only to get kicked in the face. Kane kicks both of them down and the first chokeslam plants Kanyon.

A powerbomb drives Kanyon into the cage and Undertaker’s running boot drives Page into the wall as well. Kanyon is back up and tries to escape in the corner, allowing him to hammer at Kane’s head. The Brothers are actually down but sit up at the same time, meaning the double chase is on. Undertaker winds up on top of the cage and punches Page down, but tells Kane to let Kanyon go.

Page gets up and realizes what is going on, meaning torture can ensue. A side slam plants Page again but Undertaker pulls him up at two. Undertaker pulls out a chain to send Page into the cage before telling him to get out of here and live. Page tries to leave and is chokeslammed back down. Serves him right for being an idiot. The Last Ride ends Page for the pin and both titles.

Rating: C. I think I remember hating this one before, but it makes sense in context. No one was expecting Undertaker and Kane to have trouble with these two goons and that’s what happened here. This should have been a squash, both for the sake of who was in there and the story they were telling. It wasn’t a competitive match, but why should it have been? Who in the world is supposed to be able to hang with Undertaker and Kane in a cage anyway?

The Rock tells the trainer that he’s fine and, after sidestepping a charging Shawn Stasiak, promises to win the WCW World Title.

We recap Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle for Austin’s WWF Title. Austin turned on the WWF at InVasion because he thought Vince McMahon wanted to hug Angle instead of him. Angle became the face of the WWF and went on a roll throughout the company, tearing everyone apart along the way. Austin was all that was left and it’s time for the big showdown. This gets the well deserved music video treatment.

WWF World Title: Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin

Austin is defending and they start in the aisle before the bell. Angle gets tossed inside to officially start and takes Austin down without much effort. An exchange of right hands in the corner goes to the more aggressive Angle but he gets elbowed in the back of the head. It’s already time to go after Angle’s knee with some cannonballs and a twist, but Angle reverses into a quickly escaped ankle lock.

Austin gets two off a suplex, with JR saying it won’t be the last. On cue, Angle rolls some German suplexes, ducks a clothesline and rolls some more German suplexes. After getting Austin away from the ropes, Angle rolls some more German suplexes but the Angle Slam attempt is reversed into a whip into the corner. A top rope superplex plants Angle again but Austin’s own back is messed up. There’s a Stunner out of nowhere for two and Austin (who is walking a bit funny) yells at the referee.

Another Stunner sends Angle outside and Austin whips him into the post to draw some blood. More postings have the blood flowing even faster and Austin sends him in a fourth time for a bonus. Back in and Angle kicks out at two so Austin throws him outside again. Angle manages to send Austin over the barricade for a breather but Austin puts him down on the concrete as well.

That’s fine with Angle, who grabs the ankle lock on the steps and drags Austin back inside (that was cooler than it should have been) but Austin crawls back outside to escape. A belly to belly on the floor rocks Austin again and there’s a belly to back to make it worse. Back in and Angle ACTUALLY HITS THE MOONSAULT (I’m actually not sure when I’ve seen that work so you know it’s a big match) for two but Austin is right back with the Million Dollar Dream.

That’s good for two arm drops, plus a great closeup of Angle’s bloody head. Angle powers out but walks into another Stunner for two. A desperation Angle Slam gets a delayed two and the ankle lock goes on, but Austin hits the referee. Angle grabs a DDT for two from a second referee, so Austin hits Angle low and Stuns the referee. A third referee comes in and gets hit with the belt, meaning the Angle Slam gets no count. Cue Alliance referee Nick Patrick to DQ Austin instead.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a fight with both guys laying into each other and telling a great story. Both guys were on their game and Austin simply could not beat him. That is how you set up a rematch, which is exactly what they did next month when Angle won the title in his hometown. Outstanding match, and the last great one of Austin’s career.

Angle destroys Patrick to blow off some steam.

JR EXPLODES on Heyman, shouting about how Austin couldn’t beat Angle, with Heyman basically no selling the whole thing.

We recap Booker T. vs. the Rock. The Rock had returned and confirmed that he was still with the WWF by laying out Shane McMahon. He was still the People’s Champion, which Booker didn’t like. Rock didn’t care what Booker had to say but Booker challenged him for Summerslam. Game on, complete with Booker putting Rock through a table with the Book End to bang up his ribs.

WCW World Title: The Rock vs. Booker T.

Booker, with Shane McMahon, is defending. Rock knocks him outside to start but stops to chase Shane, allowing Booker to get in a few shots. The Samoan drop gives Rock two abut Booker is back with a knee to the ribs. A side kick gives Booker two but Rock tosses him over the top for the crash to the floor.

Booker is sent into the announcers’ tables a few times but is back up to crotch Rock on the barricade. They go over the barricade to keep up the brawl and then head back inside for the slugout. Rock punches away until another kick to the face cuts him down. The chinlock goes on as commentary gets in another argument over the Spinarooni. That’s broken up and Rock grabs the Sharpshooter, drawing Shane back up to the apron.

With Rock taking care of Shane, Booker is able to get back up for another kick to the face. A catapult sends Booker face first into the (exposed) buckle for two so Shane grabs the title…and is taken out by the APA in revenge for earlier. The referee checks on Shane so the Book End only gets a delayed two. Rock’s big jumping clothesline into the belly to belly gets two and the spinebuster connects. The People’s Elbow gets two as Shane grabs the referee and Booker is back with a spinebuster of his own. The ax kick sets up the Spinarooni….but Rock nips up into the Rock Bottom for the pin and the title.

Rating: B. They were in a tough spot here for a few reasons. First of all, the Rock was several levels above Booker and there was no way around it. As great as Booker was, he wasn’t the Rock and that was very obvious. On top of that, you can only get so far when you’re following Austin vs. Angle going 22 minutes. They tried to have all of the extra stuff going on here to make it feel huge, but it came off as a matter of time rather than a big showdown.

Rock celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a heck of a show with some great matches and almost nothing close to bad. The one two punch of the main event is awesome, with Storm vs. Edge and the ladder match making it even better. Angle vs. Austin is still white hot as a main event story and things should get better heading into the fall. They wouldn’t, but based on what they had here, they should. Awesome show and worth watching for sure.

Ratings Comparison

Edge vs. Lance Storm

Original: B

2013 Redo: B-

2021 Redo: B-

APA/Spike Dudley vs. Test/Dudley Boys

Original: C

2013 Redo: D+

2021 Redo: C

Tajiri vs. X-Pac

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2021 Redo: C

Rhyno vs. Chris Jericho

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2021 Redo: C+

Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B

2021 Redo: B

Diamond Dallas Page/Kanyon vs. Undertaker/Kane

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2021 Redo: C

Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

Original: A-

2013 Redo: A-

2021 Redo: A-

The Rock vs. Booker T

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B

2021 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A-

2021 Redo: A-

I think we’ve come to just about as definitive of a version of this show as I’m going to have.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/04/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2001-summerslam-gets-all-alliancey/

And the 2013 Redo:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2021/08/03/summerslam-count-up-summerslam-2001-2013-redo-the-alliancey-one/

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.

Summerslam 1998
Date: August 30, 1998
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 21,588
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is the Summerslam you guys requested that I do for the third time and I’m very glad that you picked a good one. 1998 was the year where the WWF really turned things around in the Monday Night Wars and Summerslam was the biggest show of the year, easily surpassing a two match show at Wrestlemania. The main event here is Undertaker vs. Austin for the title, but there are questions about Undertaker’s loyalties to Vince and Kane. Let’s get to it.

Unfortunately the opening video isn’t the one set to AC/DC but instead a well done video of Austin wondering if Undertaker and Kane are in cahoots (I love that word) against him. Vince has guaranteed that Undertaker will win the title with Kane helping him out tonight.

Before the first match, we get a quick announcement that Austin attacked a hearse that either Kane or Undertaker might have been inside. Thank goodness this is 1998 because today we’d get a series of videos from WWE.com and the YouTube channel showing how it happened and speculation over who was in it and words from 10 people on what it means. Instead just mention it here and move on because there’s other stuff to get to than a million recaps.

The entrance is a black gate over a red background with smoke in the aisle, directly opposite the hard camera. That’s such a cool visual and it works really well here.

European Title: D’Lo Brown vs. Val Venis

Brown is defending in a match that doesn’t have any real backstory, but it does have a sixth minute time limit. I love the name graphic covering Val’s gyrating crotch. Val’s pre-match speech is about coming, seeing and coming again. Brown is billed from Helsinki because he’s a real European.

Venis tries to chop the champ but hurts his arm on the chest protector, because of a very slow healing injury. A Russian legsweep works a bit better and Brown bails to the floor. That means it’s time to gyrate and the high pitched screams suggest it worked well. Back in and a spinebuster gets two on Brown as we see the mysterious rookie Edge watching from the crowd.

Venis misses a splash and since JR is JR, he points out that the splash would have hurt Val even more because of the chest protector. Brown gets in his first big move with an (appropriately) Irish whip into the corner to put Venis down. Back up and an overhead t-bone suplex of all things gives Val a breather, only to have the champ slam him down and drop a leg for two. JR gives us a great stat: Brown is 27 and Venis is 26. It’s a really good idea to bring up how young these guys are, especially when they’re doing well like this.

Another slam stays on Val’s back and Brown is smart enough to slap on a Texas cloverleaf for some psychology. D’Lo slams him again with Lawler saying “here comes some more!”, which I think was a soundbyte in WWF Attitude, a Nintendo 64 game. Val goes up but dives into a modified Sky High for no cover as Brown took himself out too. A DDT plants Val (really good one too) for a near fall and the New York fans are appreciating this match.

Brown goes up but opts for the second rope, allowing Venis to catch him in a powerslam for another near fall. Val drops him with a butterfly suplex but the Money Shot hits knees. You would think hitting the chest protector would have hurt just as much but close enough at least. Brown can’t get him up for a powerbomb and almost drops Val on the back of his head in a scary spot.

The second attempt gives us a Liger Bomb, allowing the referee to make sure Val doesn’t have a broken neck. The champ misses the Low Down (Lawler: “How does Val Venis continue to rise up like that?) and they slug it out from their knees. Val finally wakes up and takes off the chest protector, only to put it on himself. The referee isn’t pleased and accidentally crotches Venis on top, causing Val to shove him down for the DQ.

Rating: B. This is one of the biggest “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM” moments in wrestling history as both guys had the match of their lives here but never got close to it again. They were just beating the tar out of each other out there and working as hard as I’ve ever seen them go, making for one heck of an opener and a borderline classic. Give this an ending and it’s even higher.

Venis beats up the referee and gives him the Money Shot post match.

Mankind laments the destruction of the hearse and plugs the Brisco Brothers Body Shop. Maybe he can use his sledgehammer after all.

Kai En Tai vs. Oddities

This is a 4-3 handicap match but more importantly, the Insane Clown Posse play the Oddities to the ring and blow the roof off the place. As usual, Kurrgan dancing badly is one of my favorite things in wrestling due to how serious his face looks. Golga (the 6’8, 450lb Earthquake) starts with Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku and all four Kai En Tai members are destroyed in about eight seconds.

Golga steals Yamaguchi-San’s (Kai En Tai’s manager) shoes and almost falls down from the smell. Kurrgan comes in to face Funaki and is nice enough to get on his knees so they can be the same height. I always appreciate a polite dancing monster. Kurrgan throws all four of them around just as easily as Golga did as this isn’t going well for the Japanese contingent. Off to Giant Silva, who is about 4 inches taller than Kurrgan, who could look down at Undertaker.

All four try Silva at the same time and the Oddities go 3-3 in their dominance. Silva puts all four of them in the corner before his partners come in to help whip everyone across the ring. Now it’s Taka being launched over the top onto the other three. This is getting hilarious with how one sided it is. Funaki and Men’s Teioh come in and double dropkick Golga before actually slamming him down.

Four straight top rope splashes keep Golga in trouble and four straight legdrops get no cover. The referee is fine with letting all four of them in there but can you blame him at this point? Golga clotheslines all four of them at once (that looked cool) and all three Oddities come in, leaving Yamaguchi-San to get beaten up by Luna Vachon. A triple quadruple chokeslam lets Golga pin all four men at once for the win.

Rating: C+. I know they’re not very good and they were never going anywhere, but I’ll always have a soft spot for the Oddities. They’re a total guilty pleasure for me but I have such a good time watching them. It’s an act where you know what you should be getting and that’s exactly what you got. Total comedy match here but I had fun.

Jeff Jarrett vs. X-Pac

This is hair vs. hair with Howard Finkel in X-Pac’s corner due to Jarrett and his cronies Southern Justice (the heel Godwinns, in an even worse gimmick) shaved his hair earlier in the night. We even get Howard doing the crotch chop to really pop the crowd. Jarrett is told to suck it and goes after X-Pac to start, only to get kicked in the face to send him outside, followed by a nice middle rope plancha.

Jeff tries a sunset flip back inside but X-Pac just steps to the side. I don’t remember seeing that anywhere else but it’s a very smart counter. X-Pac is very talented in the ring, all of his outside the ring shenanigans aside. Things get a bit too quick though and X-Pac gets crotched against the post to stop his momentum cold.

Back in and a powerslam gets two for Jeff as they’re keeping this quick enough to not bore the New York crowd with Jarrett’s Memphis style. We hit the sleeper on X-Pac and it’s so strange to hear Fink’s familiar voice as a cheerleader. X-Pac does the same sequence to counter the sleeper that has happened in every Jeff Jarrett match ever but Jeff puts him on the top instead of suplexing him down.

The middle rope cross body misses, just like the spinwheel kick and Jarrett is in trouble. Like any good southern villain with his opponent on the mat, Jeff slaps on a figure four, despite not touching X-Pac’s legs so far. A rope is quickly grabbed and now the belly to back puts Jarrett down but X-Pac can’t follow up.

Jarrett gets two off a high cross body but his leapfrog is countered into a sitout powerbomb for the same. A Bronco Buster attempt hits a raised boot but Finkel distracts the referee (Fink: “HE KICKED HIM IN THE BALLS!”), allowing X-Pac to hit a quick X Factor for no cover. Instead here’s Southern Justice to slide in a guitar but the distraction lets X-Pac take it away from Jeff and knock him silly for the pin.

Rating: C+. It’s another match where both guys were working hard to get a pretty uninteresting match over and that’s exactly what they did. Jarrett is in his element here as a bully midcarder who gets his comeuppance at the hands of a popular act. Read as: NOT A MAIN EVENT WORLD TITLE CONTENDER.

The New Age Outlaws, Droz and the Headbangers come out to make sure Jarrett gets his hair shaved. Jeff arguing with the referee about the guitar as he’s held in the chair is great stuff.

Doc Hendrix previews the Lion’s Den, a UFC knockoff.

Rock is pleased by attacking HHH’s knee on Sunday Night Heat earlier in the night. We get a guarantee that Rock is retaining the title tonight, if you smell what he’s cooking. Kevin Kelly: “Well there you ha….” Rock: “Shut up.”

Sable/??? vs. Jacqueline/Marc Mero

Sable needs a mystery partner to help her out here after Mero dumped her for Jacqueline. This led to some contests between the two with Jacqueline getting the upper hand most of the time due to a combination of Mero and, you know, being a wrestler. Sable comes to the ring alone but introduces her partner as…..Edge. The guys get things going with Mero stomping away in the corner until Edge comes back with some Japanese armdrags.

Lawler isn’t sure if this is Edge or The Edge. Jacqueline comes in so Sable demands a tag, sending Jacqueline scurrying off to the floor. It’s back to the guys but Jacqueline grabs Edge’s leg to let Mero take over again. Edge escapes the TKO and takes Mero down with a DDT to give himself a breather. The double tag brings in the women and it’s catfight time. A chase sends Jacqueline to the floor but Mero is waiting on Sable.

That’s fine with her as she loads up a powerbomb, only to have Jacqueline jump her to take over again. That earns Jacqueline a half decent TKO but it’s Mero making a save this time. Back up and Jacqueline hits Mero by mistake, giving Sable the opening to fix her hair. Edge comes in and dives on Mero to fire the crowd up again. Jacqueline gets a spanking to keep them rolling, followed by a high cross body for two on Marc.

More heel miscommunication puts Jacqueline on the floor and Mero gets crotched on top. Sable busts out a top rope hurricanrana for two, followed by the worst “accidental falling headbutt into a low blow” from Jacqueline to Mero. Edge plants Mero with the Downward Spiral (actually called that) and picks Sable up for a splash to give her the pin.

Rating: D. Yeah I still don’t care for this one. Sable was a very popular character and it made sense to put her on this show, but it’s still not a good match. Edge getting a big spot like this is a nice touch, but it’s still not an interesting match or story. Thankfully the Sable vs. Mero stuff would wrap up soon after this and Edge would go on to be part of the Brood.

Mankind is told that Kane can’t be his partner tonight so maybe he should just forfeit the titles. If the fans want their money’s worth though, maybe Michael Cole can be his partner. Or better yet, maybe Mankind can go play in the traffic. Vince comes in and brings up Mankind hitchhiking to Madison Square Garden as a teenager. The boss thinks Mankind can defend the titles against the Outlaws on his own, even though he doesn’t have a sledgehammer.

Vince hands him what looks like a candelabra and a cookie sheet. That’s enough to inspire Mankind and he has thirteen words for the Outlaws: “How much would would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” Well no one ever accused Foley of making the most sense. I have no idea why but I always loved this segment as Mankind was so perfect for this character and Vince manipulating him was always entertaining.

We recap Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock, which is more about Dan Severn and his manly mustache against Shamrock in a UFC feud. Severn was Owen’s trainer and taught him how to fight with submissions, setting up the Lion’s Den match here.

Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock

This is in a small theater adjacent to MSG. The match is held in a small, circular cage which is about as blatant of a ripoff of a UFC cage as you can get. You win by submission or knockout. Hart is a member of the Nation but Severn is the only person here with him. Shamrock easily takes him down to start until Owen counters into a leglock. Ken gets dropped with a spinebuster but floats over and unloads with right hands.

A low blow is shrugged off as well and Shamrock takes Owen’s head off with a clothesline. The cage starts coming into play with Shamrock climbing the cage into another clothesline, only to miss a charge into the steel. The fans are entirely behind Shamrock as he gets thrown face first against the cage. Lawler isn’t sure what to call the structure. JR: “How about the Lion’s Den?” Lawler: “Uh, ok.” Owen can’t piledrive him and his hurricanrana is countered into a nice powerbomb.

Both guys are bleeding from the face and Owen scores with a powerslam and a nice belly to belly. The Sharpshooter is on but Ken crawls over and climbs the cage to escape in a nice counter. Something like a tornado DDT out of the corner drops Owen but he grabs the dragon sleeper, only to have Shamrock climb the cage and roll over into the ankle lock for the submission.

Rating: C+. Again, they tried something different here, even though it was just a glorified cage match. Both guys were trying hard out there, which really is a theme for the show so far. Shamrock looked like a gladiator, but it really doesn’t need to set up a feud with Severn. At the end of the day, neither guy can talk and one of them is Dan Severn, so how far can this really go?

Austin will do whatever it takes to retain the title tonight.

Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Mankind

Mankind is defending on his own and comes out with a big metal dumpster because this is a hardcore match. The Outlaws are in South Park shirts, which still look weird at this point. Mankind and Billy duel with chairs until Road Dogg sneaks in from behind to take over. They start cracking Mankind in the head with whatever metal objects they can find but a swinging neckbreaker on the floor gets two on Gunn.

That earns Mankind more double teaming and a ram into the side of the dumpster. It’s table time back inside, but it’s one of those old tables that looks a bit more realistic that the common ones. Billy is sent through it as well though and Mankind has a breather. Lawler is freaking out because Vince might have been right but a reverse 3D drops the champ again. A double powerbomb through two open chairs only gets two and Dogg stops to jaw with the referee. Instead it’s a spike piledriver onto the belt to give the Outlaws the titles back.

Rating: D+. There isn’t much to talk about here as this was a glorified squash for obvious reasons. Mankind is a tough guy but having him beat a top level team like the Outlaws on his own would have been way too much. This also sets up more stuff with Kane for Mankind so what else can you really ask for?

The Outlaws put Mankind in the dumpster but Kane is inside, sledgehammer in hand. With Mankind out of camera range, Kane slams the hammer down into the dumpster and everyone goes silent.

We recap HHH vs. Rock, which was disguised as DX vs. the Nation. Rock won almost every major match leading to this final blowoff, including costing HHH the European Title. Tonight it’s a ladder match for Rock’s Intercontinental Title, which he’s held for a remarkable nine months. The only solution was to hold the title above the ring and channel Shawn vs. Razor at Wrestlemania X.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. HHH

Rock is defending and of course this is a ladder match. Chris Warren and the DX Band sings HHH to the ring because 1998 was a time when people actually knew who Chris War was. HHH destroys the band’s equipment for reasons that aren’t exactly clear but here’s the Rock to turn things serious. The seconds here are Chyna and Mark Henry, which aren’t exactly fair. I mean, at this point Chyna was kind of awesome and Henry was…..well he was Mark Henry. The title isn’t hung above the ring yet so we have to wait a few seconds for it to go up.

Rock drops a few F Bombs before it’s time to slug it out. A big clothesline puts Rock down and HHH hammers away, followed by the facebuster. Neither finisher can hit and HHH is backdropped over the top to give HHH a reason to limp on his legitimately bad knee. They slug it out in the aisle with HHH getting the better of it but limping back inside so Rock can hammer away again.

It’s already time to go for the ladder but instead of just picking it up, Rock whips HHH face first into the ladder instead. Why bother with anything but violence if you don’t have to? Rock starts a climb but HHH dives off the top to break it up, only to have the ladder fall onto his back. There isn’t much effect though (HHH is allowed to no sell at least once in every big match) and HHH climbs up, only to get nailed in the knee to bring him back down.

Rock goes in after the knee with elbows before realizing he has a ladder at his disposal. The leg gets crushed between the ladder but now it’s time for a chair to crush it even worse. He wraps the leg around the post as well before driving the knee into the ladder for good measure. Ever the cocky one, Rock climbs up as slowly as he can, allowing HHH to knock the ladder over for the save.

You don’t cut the Rock off on the second rung though so he takes HHH and the ladder to the floor for a catapult into the steel. I’m sure it happened at some point before but someone should catapult the ladder into a person instead. Rock keeps it going by backdropping HHH onto the ladder and this is getting ugly.

Henry thinks (yes seriously) the ladder is too busted up so he throws in another so Rock can climb faster. Chyna forearms Henry in the face, allowing HHH to dive in for the save. A baseball slide puts the ladder into Rock’s face and HHH has his first control in a long time. The bloody Rock is able to pull the ladder down again before setting the second ladder on the top rope. I don’t see this ending well, but that could be because I’ve seen this many times.

HHH is smart enough to break up whatever Rock had in mind though and plants him with a DDT. They climb the ladder again and Rock shoves him down and into the ladder in the corner, only to have HHH bounce into the standing ladder to knock Rock throat first into the top rope. Rock is up first and grabs a ladder, only to have HHH blast it with a chair over and over to get a breather.

Back up and Rock wins a slugout before slamming HHH onto the ladder for the People’s Elbow. Neither guy can follow up though and it’s HHH climbing first, only to dive into a Rock Bottom for no logically explained reason. HHH is able to get up again and pulls Rock (and his trunks) down, followed by the big Pedigree to give himself the best chance he’s had all match. As he’s getting up though, Henry throws powder in his face. The blind HHH climbs, only to get punched in the face by Rock. This brings in Chyna for a low blow on Rock, allowing HHH to finally pull down the belt to win.

Rating: A. This is one of my favorite matches of all time and it still more than holds up. It’s a match that launched both guys up the ladder to the next level with HHH becoming an upper midcarder and Rock becoming a main eventer who would pick up the World Title in November. The key thing here though is they focused on the wrestlers and the drama instead of the ladder and the spots, which almost always make for the best matches. Check this one out if you want a great brawl with some awesome back and forth action which meant a great deal going forward.

We get some exclusive home video footage of Rock stumbling to the back and swearing revenge that wouldn’t come for years. He’s still the People’s Champ.

Quick recap of Undertaker vs. Austin, minus the awesome video package, which is built around where Undertaker’s loyalties lie. He may or may not be in league with both Kane and Vince, but there’s no actual proof either way. It feels like a conspiracy against Austin, which really isn’t all that shocking when you consider who he had gone to war with all summer.

WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Undertaker

Austin is defending. They get in each other’s faces to start before trading wristlocks. A rollup with tights gets two for the champ and he puts on a Fujiwara armbar of all things. It’s off to a regular armbar as Austin could never look right with a technical hold like a Fujiwara armbar. Then disaster strikes as Undertaker ducks his head and gets kicked in the face, only to have Undertaker snap his head up and nail Austin in the jaw, knocking him silly for the rest of the match.

Once Austin can stand again, a quick Thesz press attempt is countered into a hot shot for two as you can see Austin is WAY off. Undertaker slowly punches and stomps away but Austin is coherent enough to go after the leg and wrap it around the post. It’s not enough though as Undertaker comes back with the running clothesline and some good old fashioned choking. Old School is easily broken up and it’s back to the knee as there’s only so much they can do here aside from striking.

Cue Kane as a 3:16 chant starts up. The distraction lets the referee make sure Austin knows what planet he’s on but Undertaker tells Kane to head back because he wants to do this himself. Austin goes after Undertaker on the floor again but takes too much time, setting up a nearly falling chokeslam from the apron back inside. Undertaker can’t cover though, allowing Austin to clothesline him out to the floor and right onto that bad knee.

They brawl up the aisle and into the crowd, which is probably best for Austin as it’s a lot less complicated for a scrambled brain to deal with. Undertaker backdrops him onto the concrete as the knee seems fine. Austin goes spine first into the post, heads back inside, and is promptly thrown right back to the floor in an awkward landing. It’s time for the big spot as Undertaker lays Austin onto the announcers’ table and heads up top for a HUGE legdrop, crushing Austin but not the table for maybe the biggest spot Undertaker has ever done.

Somehow it only gets two, which is only right as Undertaker’s foot was under the bottom rope. You would expect a better enforcement of the rules from Earl Hebner. This time it’s Undertaker missing a charge into the corner and running into a double clothesline to put both guys down. It’s time for the hero comeback with Austin winning a slugout and hitting the Thesz press. Something like the Stunner is mostly botched as Undertaker falls backwards with Austin landing on top of him for two.

Undertaker comes back with the chokeslam but Austin escapes the tombstone. They have an awkward exchange in the corner with Austin getting crotched on the top rope, followed by a Russian legsweep from Undertaker to put both guys down. Old School is loaded up again but Undertaker dives into a low blow, setting up the Stunner to retain Austin’s title.

Rating: B-. This is a really hard one to grade after the injury to Austin. It’s much more a collection of spots loosely tied together instead of a match, but the big spots worked well enough and Austin won as clean as he was going to win in a main event match in 1998. It’s also really nice to not have all the interference for a change because that was the norm for so long at this point. Good match, but it’s definitely a few steps beneath Austin’s usual greatness.

Undertaker hands the belt to Austin and Kane comes out to stand by his brother’s side to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Oh yeah it still holds up. This is a great show with some awesome matches that capped off stories while also setting up some stuff for the future. Above all else though it felt like a major show, which isn’t really the case at any other show all year. It’s still one of the best Summerslams and a show you kind of have to see at least once.

Ratings Comparison

Val Venis vs. D’Lo Brown

Original: B

Redo: C+

2015 Redo: B

Oddities vs. Kai En Tai

Original: C-

Redo: C-

2015 Redo: C+

Jeff Jarrett vs. X-Pac

Original: B

Redo: C

2015 Redo: C+

Marc Mero/Jacqueline vs. Sable/Edge

Original: F

Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D

Ken Shamrock vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

Redo: B

2015 Redo: C+

Mankind vs. New Age Outlaws

Original: D+

Redo: D+

2015 Redo: D+

HHH vs. The Rock

Original: A+

Redo: A+

2015 Redo: A

Steve Austin vs. Undertaker

Original: B-

Redo: B-

2015 Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: A-

2015 Redo: B

This is a good example of why I don’t do a third take of shows very often. Most of the ratings are either the same or really close to the same with the World Title and Tag Team Title matches having the same rating every time. I think we’ve found my definitive take on those matches and I really don’t have anything else to say about most of them. I’ll do a different Summerslam next year and a fresh review of each of the big four every year though, as it’s a fun thing to look back at, especially a good show like this one.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/01/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1998-the-biggest-summerslam-ever/

And the original redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/03/summerslam-count-up-1998-rock-and-hhh-ascend/

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.

Smackdown
Date: December 7, 2007
Location: Civic Center, Florence, South, Carolina
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re almost up to Armageddon and the big story continues to be Edge joining forces with Vickie Guerrero, making them the top villains around here. Edge is set to face Batista and Undertaker in a triple threat at the pay per view and that should make for a heck of a show. The rest of the card could use some build as well though so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Vickie/Edge/Batista/Undertaker situation.

Opening sequence.

Here is Teddy Long, now the Assistant General Manager, to get things going with a State of Smackdown address. Teddy is happy to be back while Vickie Guerrero is out of action, which is why he made last week’s announcement. At Armageddon, it will be Edge and Undertaker challenging Batista for the World Title. Speaking of titles at the pay per view, MVP will be defending the United States Title against Rey Mysterio.

Cue Edge to interrupt and say that even a heart attack can’t stop Long. Edge reminds Long that he is the ASSISTANT General Manager, but Long says he is still the boss. After Edge talks to the camera to express his love to Vickie, Edge rants about how Long has screwed him out of the title over and over. Long logically explains all of his actions and gives Edge Kane tonight to shut him up.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Jesse/Festus

Non-title. The bell rings and Festus chases Morrison to the floor, leaving Jesse to hiptoss Miz. A high crossbody gives Jesse two but a neck snap across the top cuts him off. That’s broken up and the hot tag brings in Festus to clean house with reckless abandon. A faceplant and big boot drop Morrison so it’s back to Jesse. That’s fine with Morrison, who crotches Jesse on top and steals the fast win. Miz and Morrison keep racking up wins, but they’re rapidly running out of teams to beat.

Elijah Burke doesn’t like the idea of being the last person on Batista’s mind and is going to beat him tonight.

We recap Edge vs. Kane, which started back in July when Kane attacked him, leading to the big injury.

Batista vs. Elijah Burke

Non-title. Burke backs into the corner to start and then gets backed into the corner for a bonus. A running clothesline rocks Burke but he dropkicks the knee out to get a breather. Burke hits a chop block into a basement dropkick for two, with Batista getting annoyed. Batista spears him out of the air and hits the Batista Bomb for the pin.

Jamie Noble hits on Michelle McCool with offers of….Pepto Bismol? Noble rants about being a real man, unlike Chuck Palumbo and puts out an offer: if Noble beats Palumbo again, he gets a date with McCool. Deal.

Jamie Noble vs. Chuck Palumbo

If Noble wins, he gets a date with Michelle McCool. Palumbo takes him into the corner to start and hammers away but Noble kicks the knee out. An overhead belly to belly rocks Noble, but he gets a knee up in the corner. McCool gets up on the apron and takes off her jacket for a distraction. Palumbo is almost sent into McCool though and a rollup gives Noble the pin (and the date).

Cole has an idea for the date: curling up on the couch and…..watching the Triumph and Tragedy of World Class DVD! Works for me, but I might be the minority.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP talking about how he has world class everything, so of course he wants to talk about World Class Championship Wrestling. We see what looks like a trailer for the DVD and here it this week’s guest: Michael PS Hayes! Complete with Bad Street! Hayes isn’t interested in sitting down but is willing to talk about all of the deaths from the promotions. Hayes: “Six Von Erich brothers. Five are dead.” The point of the DVD is to say no to drugs and that is a great message (fair).

Hayes wants people to learn that but MVP says that Hayes is a survivor. MVP: “You look good for your age.” Hayes doesn’t like that and asks if MVP can tell time. Of course he can, so Hayes asks how it feels for your time to be running out soon. MVP asks about Hayes’ receding hairline and his expanding waistline but backs off from a fight. Hayes wants to try to stick with the DVD but MVP switches to the Hardys. Like that time when MVP crippled Matt Hardy.

Hayes says the Hardys are their own men and when Matt is back, MVP will have a serious problem. That sends Hayes into a rant about Rey Mysterio taking MVP out last week. MVP calls out Hayes for being the third wheel of the Freebirds and says they carried him. Hayes goes off about how MVP has no respect for the people who got here so he’s ready to beat MVP up. The beatdown is on with MVP laying him out with the Playmaker but Rey Mysterio makes the (very late) save. At least this was a different way to build up the title match.

Remember that Edge vs. Kane video? Here it is again.

Batista is ready for Edge and Undertaker, though he knows how hard of a fight it is going to be.

Raw Rebound.

Hornswoggle is playing in Deuce N Domino’s car and they don’t like it. The chase is on but Finlay comes in, allowing Hornswoggle to break the antenna. A match is implied.

Finlay vs. Deuce

Hornswoggle, Domino and Cherry are here too. Deuce actually hammers him down in the corner to start but Finlay grinds away on the mat to take over. A headlock takeover puts Deuce down again, with Cole referring to Finlay as Great Khali. Domino chases Hornswoggle around the ring, allowing Deuce to jump the distracted Finlay and take over. The neck crank goes on but Finlay slugs away….as Finlay sprays Cherry with a fire extinguisher. The distraction lets Finlay get in a Shillelagh shot for the pin.

Rating: C-. The big thing here is that Finlay needed to cheat to beat Deuce. When in the world would that make sense? Anyway, Finlay and Hornswoggle are slowly becoming a decent team together and that is more than I would have bet on what seems to be a glorified comedy act. The match was nothing to see, but Finlay is still good most of the time.

Post match here is Great Khali but the distraction lets Domino get in a cheap shot. Khali vice grips Finlay down.

Armageddon rundown.

Kane vs. Edge

Batista is on commentary. Before the match, Edge declares his love for Vickie Guerrero. Kane chokes him down to start as Batista doesn’t want to talk about the past. Edge’s arm is wrapped around the post and the rope before a right hand puts him down again. The double arm crank goes on but Edge fights up and hits an Edge-O-Matic. A spear knocks Kane off the apron and we take a break.

Back with Edge driving knees into the ribs but Kane fights up and hits the running clothesline in the corner. There’s the side slam but Edge breaks up the top rope clothesline. The regular spear is cut off with a big boot and now the top rope clothesline drops Edge again. Kane loads up the chokeslam but Edge drops him throat first over the top rope. That’s enough for Edge to bring in a chair (but doesn’t use it), which draws the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was just getting going when they went with the ending to keep both of them strong. That’s the better result, as both of them have a match at the pay per view. At least they got in some good stuff before they wrapped things up, which is all you can ask for in a situation like this one.

Post match Kane beats Edge down and loads up the steps but Edge sends him face first into them. The Conchairto is loaded up but Batista comes in for the save….and there’s the gong. Undertaker pops up to chokeslam Edge, earning himself a spear from Batista to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. There wasn’t much in the way of wrestling on this show, though the pay per view feuds got enough of a quick build to make the show sounds more interesting. While Armageddon isn’t entirely built around the triple threat, it is by far and away the biggest part of the show. Giving it a lot of attention here makes sense, but it would be nice for something else to get some significant time of its own.

 

 

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I’m rather pleased with a recent move.

 

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-thats-good-judgment/

Smackdown
Date: November 30, 2007
Location: Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s time for one of the big matches as Batista is defending the Smackdown World Title against Edge. This could be quite the issue as Edge is now apparently with Vickie Guerrero but Undertaker isn’t happy about anything. Odds are we’ll be seeing him at some point tonight so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Edge/Vickie Guerrero reveal and the World Title match setup.

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge for a chat. Four months ago, tragedy struck when he suffered an injury and had to vacate the World Heavyweight Title. He was gone, but no one had any sympathy for him. There was no call, no message, not even a lousy text! It was so bad that he was even considering retirement, because he didn’t need to come back to a company that doesn’t care about him.

Then about two months ago he got a phone call from someone who changed his career and his life. It was Vickie Guerrero, and Edge knew it was because she saw him as an asset. She was with him every step of the way through his rehab and they fell in love. They knew Edge had to make a statement when he came back, and that is why he hit Undertaker in the head with a camera.

Now he’s ready to take the title from Batista and it will feel so good, but not as good as getting to publicly declare his love for Vickie. Then that monster the Undertaker destroyed Vickie with a Tombstone. Vickie even felt bad for getting this involved and is probably at home with tears running down her face. Tonight, Edge will be the knight in shining armor and the World Heavyweight Champion.

We recap Vince McMahon sending Great Khali and Mark Henry to take out Finlay as Hornswoggle had to watch.

Finlay/Hornswoggle vs. Deuce N Domino

Finlay and Deuce start things off with Deuce actually taking him into the corner. A neckbreaker cuts Finlay off though and the fans get behind Hornswoggle. They head outside where Cherry gets in a slap to the face, allowing Deuce to get in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and Domino holds Finlay down so Deuce can get in a shot of his own. Hornswoggle runs underneath the ring and pulls out a mouse to chase Cherry, with the distraction letting Finlay get in a Shillelagh shot. The Tadpole Splash is enough to give Hornswoggle the pin.

Rating: C. I know the team is goofy, but would Finlay and Hornswoggle getting a title feud be that much of a stretch? Miz and John Morrison don’t exactly have anyone coming after them and Finlay/Hornswoggle are a more featured act than any other team on the show. Have some fun for a bit and think outside the box. It isn’t like there is anything else going on with the titles.

Post match, Finlay and Hornswoggle dance.

We look at Edge cashing in Money in the Bank to take the World Title from Undertaker earlier this year.

Jamie Noble hits on Michelle McCool during her photo shoot. This turns into a rant about Chuck Palumbo, who is indeed right behind Noble. A match is set for later.

CM Punk vs. Kenny Dykstra

Non-title. Punk kicks at the leg to start and Dykstra crashes out to the floor early on. Back in and Dykstra gets in a shot to the arm and the armbar goes on. That’s broken up with an armdrag but Dykstra puts it right back on. Punk fights out again and goes for the springboard clothesline, only to get dropkicked out of the air. Not that it mattes as Punk gets in a shot of his own and hits the GTS for the pin.

Rating: D+. That’s the kind of opponent that Punk should be facing when he comes on this show, though they could have done it a bit better than spending most of the match in an armbar. In theory at least, this was a good showcase for Punk, who seems to be on his way up to the next level sooner rather than later. Other than that though, this was a pretty lame match as they didn’t really get it going until the end.

We look at Edge vs. Batista at Judgment Day 2007.

Big Daddy V/MVP vs. Kane/Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is here with the villains. Rey kicks away at MVP to get things going before it’s off to Kane for the uppercut to the floor. A dive (from Rey if that’s not clear) takes MVP down and we take a break. Back with MVP fighting out of the corner to knock Kane back and it’s V getting in some cheap shots from the apron. MVP’s running boot in the corner takes too long though and Kane blasts him with a clothesline.

The hot tag brings Rey back in to clean house but Striker gets in a cheap shot to cut him off. V comes in and steps on Rey’s chest and a tilt-a-whirl side slam drops him again. MVP cranks on the arms for a bit before V misses a charge into the corner. That and an enziguri are enough for Kane to come in off the hot tag, meaning house can be cleaned. Kane hits a top rope clothesline and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to pin MVP.

Rating: C+. Smackdown has long since figured out how to do this kind of a match and eat up some TV time without feeling boring. There is a wide variety of wrestlers who can be thrown into something like this and make it work and that was the case again here. MVP vs. Mysterio continues and unfortunately so does Kane vs. V, but at least the good pairing got the focus.

Here’s the opening video again.

Edge and Batista had another match at One Night Stand.

Batista is ready to destroy Edge tonight.

Here’s Edge vs. Batista in Smackdown vs. Raw.

Jamie Noble vs. Chuck Palumbo

Michelle McCool is here with Palumbo. A clothesline puts Noble down to start and Palumbo knocks him to the floor. Back in and Noble gets in a dropkick to the knee to cut him off, setting up the leglock. The spinning toehold keeps Palumbo down but he’s fine enough to hit a quick suplex. An overhead belly to belly rocks Noble, but he avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a rollup (with jeans) for the pin.

Rating: C-. Palumbo can’t be long for this show right? He’s lowing to Noble and having McCool around him is only going to get him so far. He has a good look and some size, but the biker deal isn’t going to carry him much further than this. They proved the point with this last week and hopefully that wraps up things for the feud and Palumbo in general.

Vince McMahon has a surprise planned for Great Khali vs. Finlay at Armageddon. To keep the joy going, Vince has Runjin Singh do a Hornswoggle imitation. Then Vince has him do an imitation of Singh’s uncle, who is a stereotypical convenience store clerk. Then it’s a Great Khali impression, with the real Khali coming in. Singh has to talk his way out of trouble.

Edge and Batista fought again at Vengeance.

Raw Rebound.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Edge

Batista is defending and after the Big Match Intros, knocks Edge into the corner. Edge gets sent into the ropes and seems to want to slow things down. Another hard shot has Edge down again and a shoulder gets one. We take a break and come back with Batista getting two off a slam but Edge manages to send him outside.

That doesn’t get Edge very far though as Batista cranks on the arm to cut him right back off. Some right hands to the head stagger Edge again and a big running forearm knocks him off the apron as this is mostly one sided so far. A swinging neckbreaker gets Edge out of trouble though and we take another break.

Back again with Edge holding a chinlock before taking a bit too long to go up top. That lets Batista grab a suplex and a top rope shoulder sends Edge flying again. There’s the swinging Boss Man Slam for two but the Batista Bomb is countered into the Edgecution for two more. Back up and Batista loads up the spear but we’ve got Undertaker. He throws Edge outside and chokeslams Batista as the match is thrown out.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as the match was almost a Batista squash until Undertaker came in. Edge hit that one Edgecution and a few other shots but this was Batista in control for the large majority. It didn’t matter in the end, but it also didn’t paint Edge in the best light in his first important match back from injury.

Post match Teddy Long makes his surprise return and announces (via a printed message from Vickie Guerrero) the triple threat match for Armageddon.

Overall Rating: C. Another pretty steady show here, though MVP vs. Mysterio and the Finlay/Hornswoggle/Vince stuff is picking up some steam. I do like that they have some other stories going on besides the main event, as that has been dominating the show for a little too long. Edge vs. Batista vs. Undertaker is interesting enough, but you can only ride that one idea for so long. Mostly in the middle show this week, as Smackdown continues to rarely break out of its comfort zone.

 

 

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Smackdown
Date: November 23, 2007
Location: St. Pete’s Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Both Survivor Series and Thanksgiving have come and gone so it is probably time for a lot of leftovers. The big story coming out of the pay per view is Batista retaining the World Title over Undertaker with an assist from the returning Edge to make things rather interesting. You can probably book the triple threat from here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Edge returning at Survivor Series to cost Undertaker the World Title against Batista inside the Cell.

Edge is in Vickie Guerrero’s office where she yells at him for messing everything up. His punishment: a shot at the World Title next week. Edge likes the idea and thanks her for helping him get inside the Cell at Survivor Series. Vickie: “You’re welcome baby.” Edge can thank her properly later and kissing ensues to a BIG reaction.

Opening sequence.

JBL is in the ring and brings out MVP for a chat. After some congratulations, JBL is ready to present MVP with the first ever United States Title ring. First though, we look at MVP taking out Matt Hardy last week and putting him on the shelf. MVP brags about himself and says Matt should be one of the people putting up the ring. Matt doesn’t even have a leg to stand on and MVP feels so much better after dropping that weight.

We see the ring, which has a lot of international jewels included. MVP says he is the MVP of the show but here is Rey Mysterio to interrupt. Rey calls MVP a rookie and a punk (but not a rookie punk) and knows that he is scared. That earns Rey a right hand so the brawl is on with MVP bailing before the 619. MVP needed some fresh competition and Rey will do just fine.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Major Brothers

Non-title and Miz/Morrison still have separate entrances. Morrison and Brian start things off with Brian going after the arm. Brett comes in but gets driven into the corner so Miz comes in for a throat first catapult into the rope. It’s back to Morrison for a front facelock but Brett is back up with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Brian to start cleaning house, only to have Miz come back with the Reality Check for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. This was more or less a squash for Miz and Morrison, which is the kind of thing that they need at some point in their reign. Just having them beat some team here or there is going to get them somewhere, though it isn’t like there are a ton of teams for them to take out. You can see the chemistry there though and that is a good sign for the future.

Vince McMahon comes in to see Finlay and talks about the tough love that Hornswoggle has been experiencing as of late. Finlay says that wasn’t part of the deal but Vince doesn’t want to talk about that. Tonight, Finlay and Hornswoggle are going to be facing Mark Henry in a handicap match.

Kane vs. Big Daddy V

Matt Striker is here with V, who takes Kane into the corner for a running splash. V drops Kane and rides him in that odd manner before hitting a running clothesline. Kane is back up with some shots to the face and a big boot. The top rope clothesline is loaded up but Striker comes in for the DQ.

Post match Kane grabs the chair that Striker brought with him and clears the ring.

MVP vs. Rey Mysterio

Non-title. Rey takes him down into a headscissors to start but MVP slips out without much effort. Back up and Rey kicks at the knee as we hear about Matt Hardy being out for two to three months. The springboard spinning crossbody gives Rey two so MVP bails out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with MVP hitting a running kick to the head for two of his own but Rey kicks his way out of the corner. One heck of a clothesline takes Rey down and we hit a full nelson on the mat. Rey fights out so MVP kicks him in the face for two more and rains down right hands. We hit an armbar of all things but Rey fights up into a tornado DDT.

A running boot to the side of the head cuts MVP off for a change, followed by a standing kick to the head for two more. Another tornado DDT is countered into something like a Downward Spiral but Rey is right back with the 619. The West Coast Pop is loaded up but MVP counters into a powerbomb and stacks him up, with a grab of the rope, for the pin.

Rating: C. They had some sloppy moments in there as it seemed they weren’t on the same page, which isn’t something you would expect from these two. MVP getting a cheating win could either wrap things up for the two of them or set up a rematch so Rey can get some revenge. That being said, it is hard to imagine anyone taking the title from MVP until Matt Hardy is back, which might not be the best idea.

Batista comes in to see Vickie Guerrero and wants to know why Edge is getting a title shot next week. That would be because Vickie loves Edge and Batista can get out.

Jesse tells us that Festus is a huge John Cena fan, which explains why he is dressed as Cena. Did you know that Cena has a new DVD out?

Jamie Noble hits on Michelle McCool and gets slapped in the face.

Hornswoggle thanks Finlay for helping him.

Mark Henry vs. Hornswoggle/Finlay

Finlay and Hornswoggle manage to double team Henry down and a catapulted Hornswoggle might have set up a low blow. Finlay drops him onto Henry before dropping some elbows but Henry gets up. A shot drops Finlay so the chase is on, with Hornswoggle grabbing the Shillelagh. The distraction lets Finlay pull out another one and knock Henry silly so Hornswoggle can get the pin.

Post match here is Great Khali so Finlay is ready, only to get taken down by Henry. We cut to the back, where Vince McMahon approves.

Chuck Palumbo vs. Jamie Noble

JBL says Noble has “a malignant case of wall to wall dumb.” Palumbo knocks him down to start and gets two off a suplex. Noble is right back up and hits a middle rope knee to the head, setting up a neck crank. A right hand drops Noble and a clothesline does it again to prove a point. Palumbo misses a charge into the post though and Noble victory rolls him for the pin.

Rating: D+. That’s it for Palumbo right? He wasn’t exactly great in the first place but now he is losing to Noble clean? Why in the world would you think there was anything else for him to do at this point? Nothing much to this one, but it is nice to see Noble get a win after all of those weeks of being destroyed.

Torrie Wilson vs. Victoria

Torrie takes her into the corner to start but Victoria is right back with the spinning side slam cuts her off. Victoria sends her into the corner but Torrie fights out with some elbows. A dropkick sets up a high crossbody for two, followed by a neckbreaker to give Torrie the clean pin. This would actually be Torrie’s last match as she would take time off for a back injury and not get back in the ring.

We look at Edge returning in the Cell to cost Undertaker the World Title again.

It’s time for the Cutting Edge, with Vickie Guerrero coming to the ring arm in arm with Edge to make things a bit more official. Edge knows the fans are glad to have him back and says this is the result of four months of careful planning. Everything will be finished next week when Edge wins the World Title from his guest this week, Batista. After Batista comes to the ring, he says Edge and Vickie make him sick and Edge deserves his beating next week. Batista shoves him down and leaves….and there is the gong. Edge leaves Vickie to get grabbed by the throat and Tombstoned to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As has been the case in recent weeks, this was all about one story, but Edge is instantly a major player thanks to the Vickie Guerrero relationship (plus, you know, being Edge). You can all but line up the triple threat for the next pay per view, meaning there are likely to be some shenanigans next week. The rest of the show was the usual skippable stuff, though Finlay and Hornswoggle oddly work together.

 

 

 

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 23, 2022
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re in a bit of a different era these days, as we now have unified Tag Team Champions, plus the lack of Sasha Banks and Naomi. I know WWE got their chance to complain about Banks and Naomi last week, but why do it once when you can do it again? Other than that, we might actually get something new set for the pay per view next weekend. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Usos beating RKBro to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. The Bloodline wrecked RKBro after the match.

Here is Riddle for a chat, because that’s how long a post match beatdown lasts for these days. Riddle talks about how things have been hard for Randy Orton in the last few years. His back was messed up before the unification match and he could barely walk. Riddle isn’t happy with “that tribal piece of trash” Roman Reigns and he wants revenge on all of the Bloodline. Vengeance is sworn and he knows that Orton is watching at home. The RKBro chants take us to a break. Serious Riddle is different and while he wasn’t the most natural, I bought it.

Riddle/Street Profits vs. Sami Zayn/Usos

The Usos get in a quick promo about how great they are, plus a special entrance, announcing them as FROM THE BLOODLINE. The brawl is on at the stage and we take a break before the bell. Back with the opening bell, giving us a cliffhanger time of about 2:53. Sami backs away from Dawkins to start as Riddle and Ford trade places on the apron for some unclear reason.

Dawkins takes him into the corner and hands it off to Riddle, with Zayn going after the bad ribs. Riddle fights up and hands it off to Ford for some house cleaning, only to have him get sent outside. A whip into the steps leaves Ford down and we take a break. Back with Ford still in trouble as Riddle’s ribs are dropped onto the barricade by the Usos. Ford fights up and brings in Riddle, which might not be the smartest tagging choice. Everything breaks down and Ford hits a flip dive onto the Usos. Riddle hits Zayn with the hanging DDT as the Usos walk off. The RKO finishes Zayn at 12:38.

Rating: C. This was about making Riddle look like a serious threat and they did it work enough. He had the bad ribs but survived and won here, as he had Zayn beaten before the Usos left. Riddle as the next challenger to Roman Reigns makes sense, though I’m still not sure why I should believe he has an actual chance at winning.

We look back at Bobby Lashley beating Omos in a cage last week, almost by accident.

Here is Bobby Lashley for the Almighty Challenge to MVP and Omos, the latter of whom he is facing at Hell In A Cell. Cue MVP and Omos, who don’t think much of Lashley. Here’s the challenge: a match tonight, with the winner getting to pick the stipulation for the pay per view match. Lashley wants MVP tonight and after a little goading, gets MVP to agree. MVP and Omos come to the ring but then leave without doing anything.

Crown Jewel is back on November 5.

We look back at Asuka becoming the new #1 contender last week.

Dana Brooke wants Carmella but runs into Becky Lynch (in an….odd shirt). After an exchange of cattiness, Lynch says she wants Asuka. That’s cool with Adam Pearce, who makes a rematch for tonight. If Becky wins, it’s a triple threat match at Hell In A Cell.

Here is the Judgment Day for a chat. Damian Priest talks about how they had an open call for new members last week but now those people need to help themselves. Rhea Ripley rants about how she doesn’t like Liv Morgan before Edge talks about how the team is power. Edge says everyone is a sheeple and afraid to get everything you can out of life. Now the question is who joins the team next. Maybe it’s Tommaso (yes Tommaso) Ciampa, Corey Graves or Drew McIntyre (Edge: “Surprised you with that one didn’t I?”). Or maybe AJ Styles, who can learn to call him Uncle Edge.

Liv Morgan/AJ Styles vs. Rhea Ripley/Damian Priest

Priest works on Style’s arm to start but Styles is back up with the tag off to Morgan to clean elbow Ripley in the corner. Ripley pulls her out of the air and tries a suplex, which is reversed into a Backstabber. That’s enough to send Ripley outside and Morgan hits a dive. A heck of a knee from Styles drops Priest on the floor but Ripley runs Morgan over back inside. It’s back to the men with Priest sending Styles into the corner. That’s fine with Styles, who knocks him to the floor but glared at by Ripley.

We take a break and come back with Morgan dropkicking Ripley, setting up a springboard spinning Codebreaker for two, as Edge puts the boot on the rope. Styles decks Edge but Priest makes the save. That leaves Liv to try Oblivion but Edge holds Ripley back, allowing her to stack Liv up for the pin at 10:31.

Rating: C. It isn’t a good sign that Judgment Day is only really interesting when they are adding someone new or not wrestling/talking. They have a great look and presence, but the “we’re better than you and you’re all stupid” isn’t exactly inspired stuff. Maybe it works better once they get beyond the AJ feud, though it isn’t grabbing me so far.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Styles and Liv being left laying.

Miz says he doesn’t trust anyone with a neck tattoo and Cody Rhodes’ ego is out of control. He has more pyro than the 4th of July and it is time to take him down a peg.

Here is Jerry Lawler for the King’s Court. He hypes up Veer Mahaan as a monster and brings him out to ask some questions. Mahaan doesn’t have anything to say, but Lawler asks if that is because of what the “Dominiks” did to him last week. Lawler asks if it’s because Mahaan is so hairy that when he goes outside to walk his dog, people pet him instead. Mahaan grabs the mic and says this isn’t about being funny. Violence is threatened but the Mysterios run in for the save. They knock Mahaan to the floor where he yells at them a lot.

Alexa Bliss is glad to be back and laughs at Sonya Deville’s recent issues. Maybe Deville should try some therapy. As of tonight, she gets to beat up Nikki Ash, who dressed up like a super hero while Bliss talks to a doll. Bliss: “It sounds weird when I say it.”

Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Ash

Doudrop is here with Nikki Ash. Bliss takes her down to start and sends Ash outside so posing can ensue. Back in and Ash gets in a shot of her own to set up a chinlock, which is broken up rather quickly. A running Blockbuster gives Bliss two but Ash catches her on top. That is broken up and Twisted Bliss finishes Ash at 2:58.

Seth Rollins is asked about his issues with Cody Rhodes and how they escalated this far. Rollins talks about fans cheering for him every week and singing his song but now all he hears are CODY chants. Now there is even a countdown clock for Cody. WHERE DOES IT STOP??? The countdown is on for Rollins as well, and it’s ticking down.

Video on Asuka.

Asuka says Becky Lynch wasn’t ready for Asuka last week and mocks her crying. Tonight, she’ll beat Becky again and turn her into the Big Time Baby.

Cody Rhodes vs. The Miz

Miz grabs a headlock to start but Cody is right back up with an early rollup. A dropkick puts Miz on the floor but he blocks a dive with a shot to the face. The threat of the Figure Four is broken up and Cody hits some running knees to the ribs. Miz kicks him off the apron though and we take a break. Back with Cody hitting a powerslam and the Cody Cutter, setting up the Figure Four. Miz gets out so Cody goes up, only to get shoved off the top by Seth Rollins for the DQ at 8:52.

Rating: C. They might as well have put up a big sign to Rollins interfering and that is more or less what Rollins promised before the match. It’s a good enough match, but at the same time, you can’t have Cody pin Miz? Maybe that happens next week or the week after, but there is something a little strange about Cody not being able to get a pin here.

Post match Rollins sends Cody knees first into the steps and then steals a weightlifting belt from the fan Cody handed it to. That means a heck of a whip to the back and Rhodes is left laying. With Rollins gone, Cody gets up and limps to the back, making sure to hand the belt back to the fan on the way.

Ezekiel vs. Chad Gable

Kevin Owens and Otis are here too. Gable takes him to the mat to start as Owens shouts about barbecue sauce. Ezekiel comes back up with the chops and sends Gable into the corner. After Gable escapes an electric chair, Otis gets in a chop block and Gables goes after the knee. There’s a dragon screw legwhip and Gable gets to pose. Gable takes him down again but the moonsault hits raised boots. Ezekiel gets a kick out of the corner but Otis offers another trip. That’s enough for an ejection so Owens tries to come in as well, only to get ejected too. Distraction, rollup, Ezekiel wins, 4:22.

Rating: D. This is the kind of match that can get rather annoying because you could see almost every step they were going to take from the second the match started. They then did exactly what you would have expected, but even then the match felt a bit clunky. It wasn’t a disaster or the worst match of the year, but it was a boring wait to get to the ending, which didn’t look great either.

Post match Ezekiel bails into the crowd but Owens says cut the music. All he cares about is beating the heck out of Ezekiel, Elias, Giuseppe, or whatever he calls himself. The challenge is on for Hell in a Cell with Ezekiel agreeing.

We look at Seth Rollins taking Cody Rhodes out not that long ago.

Cody Rhodes gets out of the trainer’s room and says this isn’t just Rollins’ second chance, but his shot at going 0-3 against the American Nightmare. Rhodes will be waiting in the Cell. Good fire from Cody here.

Bobby Lashley vs. MVP

The winner gets to pick the stipulations for Omos, at ringside, vs. Lashley at Hell in a Cell. MVP bails to the floor to start and then hides in the corner as well. The third stalling is on the floor again, with Lashley going after him. Omos gets in a cheap shot this time, and now MVP is fine enough to hit the running boot in the corner. Lashley is right back up and posts MVP but another Omos distraction means Lashley can’t beat the count at 3:06.

Rating: D+. This was a good example of a smoke and mirrors match, as MVP wasn’t exactly doing much here. Maybe his knee isn’t better or maybe they were trying to make it feel one sided, but they were keeping it simple here. They did a good enough job of setting up the pay per view match, assuming you can accept that there is any reason for Lashley vs. Omos to be happening again.

Post match Lashley grabs the Hurt Lock on MVP for about five seconds.

Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair is at ringside and if Becky wins, the Women’s Title match at Hell in a Cell is a triple threat. Corey Graves seems to get annoyed at Mike Rome for some reason during the entrances and it’s Asuka driving her into the corner to start. The threat of the armbar sends Lynch outside but the sliding knee misses. Lynch sends her hard into the post and we take an early break.

Back with Asuka being knocked off the apron but managing to get back inside. A shot in the corner staggers Asuka but she is is back with a German suplex for two. Becky goes up but dives into a Codebreaker, setting up the cross armbreaker. That sends Becky to the rope but Asuka superplexes her down for two.

The running hip attack in the rope misses so Becky cranks on the arm, earning herself a dragon screw legwhip. Now it’s the hip attack sending Lynch to the floor, where Asuka kicks Belair by mistake. Becky takes her down and slides in, with Asuka beating the count. That’s fine with Becky, who grabs a rollup for the pin at 10:52.

Rating: C. There’s your 50/50 booking, as Asuka and Becky now both go in to face Belair with a loss to the other. I don’t know how that is supposed to make me believe either has a real chance of winning the title but they have done dumber things. This is where the countout should have taken place, though I can accept not wanting to do two of them (plus a DQ) on the same show.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t a very strong show and a lot of that is due to it feeling like they are dragging the Wrestlemania stories out one more time. AJ vs. Edge, Belair vs. Lynch, Lashley vs. Omos and probably more are all going to be stretched out to a third month, even if they weren’t that interesting at the second. Things should change a bit once they get towards Money in the Bank, but that doesn’t exactly give me hope for next week’s show.

Results
Riddle/Street Profits b. Sami Zayn/Usos – RKO to Zayn
Rhea Ripley/Damian Priest b. AJ Styles/Liv Morgan – Rollup to Morgan
Cody Rhodes b. Miz via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered
Ezekiel b. Chad Gable – Rollup
MVP b. Bobby Lashley via countout
Becky Lynch b. Asuka – Sunset flip

 

 

 

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 16, 2022
Location: Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re in for a big grudge match with Omos vs. Bobby Lashley inside a cage. This is the third match between the two of them after they split the first two, though I’m not sure if it’s the best idea with the Cell pay per view a few weeks away. Other than that, we will probably get another push towards the Usos vs. RKBro on Friday, which will totally be the big conclusive ending. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Omos vs. Bobby Lashley.

Here’s what’s coming on the rest of the show.

Omos vs. Bobby Lashley

Inside a cage with MVP in Omos’ corner. Before the match, MVP runs down the history and goes over the ways you can win the match (pinfall, submission, escape) before promising a lot of violence. Hold on though as Cedric Alexander jumps Lashley from behind in the aisle and the big brawl is on. We take a break and come back with the opening bell, as Lashley hammers away until MVP gets in a cheap shot from the floor.

Lashley grabs a choke anyway but Omos hits him in the chest to break that up. Another MVP cheap shot lets Omos choke away and then take it into the corner for a running splash. MVP tries to interfere again but Lashley grabs him by the arm for a ram into the cage. The spear takes Omos down for two and Lashley elbows him in the face. Lashley looks ready to finish but has to cut off Cedric Alexander, who is pulled down into the cage. Omos boots Lashley in the face and throws him through the cage, allowing Lashley to step outside and win at 7:32.

Rating: C-. This felt like the last third (or even half) of a cage match but they were so rushed through everything that almost nothing had a chance to make an impact. They had a seven minute match with multiple interferences and a screwy finish. I know they’re a bit rushed, but could you slow down at least a little bit? The ending was a good way to protect Omos, but Lashley was going even with him throughout at worst so I’m not sure how much the protection helps anyway.

Long recap of Mustafa Ali vs. Miz/Theory.

Theory vs. Mustafa Ali

Non-title….and Theory says hang on a second. He thinks we need a special referee for this match, so here is Miz to replace the referee already in the ring. Hold on again though as Theory is using Vince McMahon’s advice of “expect the unexpected”. Therefore, Ali has a different opponent.

Veer Mahaan vs. Mustafa Ali

Miz is guest referee. Ali goes after him to start but gets knocked away. Some superkicks stagger Veer so Theory trips Ali up (Miz doesn’t mind). Veer gets low bridged to the floor and some dropkicks make it worse, but Miz gets in the way of Ali’s dive. Miz shoves Ali and the distraction lets Veer hit the Million Dollar Arm. The Cervical Clutch finishes for Mahaan at 2:47, as Ali’s punishment continues.

Post match the beating continues but the Mysterios run out for the save and knock Mahaan off the apron. The throw everyone else in the pot feud continues.

Becky Lynch has seen Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving the building before the Six Pack Challenge. Lynch is going to just be the new #1 contender and takes the night off, but Adam Pearce makes Lynch vs. Asuka for the #1 contendership tonight instead. So they advertised a Six Pack Challenge and then changed it inside of 50 minutes. That’s a new mark even for them.

Riddle vs. Jimmy Uso

Jey Uso is here with his brother but there is no Randy Orton because of a family commitment. Jimmy starts with the kicks but gets caught in a triangle choke to the floor. A Jey distraction breaks up the apron kick though, meaning Riddle kicks Jey instead. Jimmy gets in a dive and Riddle is sent into the steps as we take a break. Back with Jimmy hitting another enziguri, setting up the running Umaga Attack for two.

The chinlock goes on but Riddle is back up with a few shots of his own. As the Countdown To Cody clock comes up (before his ten o’clock appearance), the pop up Samoan drop gives Jimmy two. Jimmy goes up top but has to break up the super RKO attempt, only to have the Superfly Splash hit knees. A rollup has Riddle in trouble but the referee catches the interference, earning Jey an ejection. Riddle small packages Jimmy for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t all that interested when the match was another tag match preview between two singles wrestlers but at least it wound up being pretty good. Riddle beating the Usos on his own doesn’t exactly make the Usos look great, but maybe they have something better planned for Smackdown. I still don’t buy the titles being unified on TV, though Friday should have the big fight feeling.

Video on AJ Styles/Finn Balor/Liv Morgan’s lack of luck against the Judgment Day.

Earlier today, Morgan was upset about Rhea Ripley when Los Lotharios came in to offer her a spot in the Kiss Cam. That’s a no, but AJ Styles and Finn Balor came in to chase them off. The guys offer her a spot in their corner tonight but she’ll think about it.

The Judgment Day is rather happy with how everything is going but Edge knows that there are some people who want in. They know everyone wants power, so anyone who wants to come in and move to the next level is welcome. It could even be you, AJ Styles. They could use his athleticism, so join him on top of the mountain. Either be by their side or at their feet, because they aren’t stopping.

AJ Styles/Finn Balor vs. Los Lotharios

Liv Morgan is here with Styles and Balor, apparently having made up her mind at some point today, because saying “I’m in” was too much to ask. Humberto actually stomps Styles down into the corner to start and it’s off to Angel to pound on the back. The abdominal stretch goes on, with Humberto getting in a kick to the ribs for a bonus. Styles fights up and brings in Balor to clean house, setting up the double slingshot dives to send us to a break.

Back with Humberto working on a half crab before Angel comes in for a double half crab. Styles powers out and brings in Balor to clean house. Angel actually cuts that off with a superkick and hands it back to Humberto. The moonsault hits raised boots (with Humberto taking a huge bump off the impact) and it’s the shotgun dropkick to Humberto in the corner. AJ Phenomenal Forearms Angel and it’s the Coup de Grace to finish Humberto at 9:15.

Rating: C+. Los Lotharios are a good team most of the time but in this case, they went with the right call of having AJ and Balor take them down. There is almost no way to imagine a midcard team beating a pair of former World Champions so don’t bother going nuts with it. At least it should be good when Balor or Styles joins up with Edge and company.

Too Sweeting ensues after the match.

Kevin Owens, in a Sami Zayn Forever shirt, meets the Alpha Academy, who has the results of Ezekiel’s DNA tests. They open the envelope….but the results have been contaminated by the presence of BARBECUE SAUCE on the sample. Otis is immediately blamed but Gable tries to keep things calm. Next weeks, Gable promises to expose Ezekiel for the fraud that he is. Tonight though, Gable is going to beat it out of him in the ring. Owens: “THAT’S WHAT YOU SAY EVERY WEEK!”

We recap Sonya Deville losing her job as a WWE boss last week, followed by losing to Alexa Bliss in about thirty seconds.

Alexa Bliss vs. Sonya Deville

Deville gets slapped in the face to start as the match has already lasted longer than last week’s. Bliss takes her down with a legsweep but misses the standing moonsault. A running knee gives Deville two and the chinlock goes on. Another running knee blasts Bliss so Deville goes to unhook a turnbuckle pad. The distracted referee misses Deville hitting a clean spinebuster but runs over for a delayed two. Bliss hits a DDT for the pin at 4:01.

Rating: C-. They had a bit of something here with the delayed cover, but it’s hard to get into the idea of Deville being screwed over. She was more interesting when she was serious a few years ago, and the idea of her getting what happened to her over and over again is only going to get so much of my attention. The match itself wasn’t great, but Bliss is still probably shaking off some ring rust.

Post match Deville yells at the referee and then slaps him.

We recap Seth Rollins attacking Cody Rhodes and Stomping him on the announcers’ table.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He has been told that Seth Rollins is not here tonight but he hopes that Rollins is listening. Last week, Rollins poured gasoline on the fire but the reality is that Rollins is his own biggest threat. Rollins has built his own purgatory and wants to pull Rhodes down in with him. We flash back to 2011, when Rollins arrived with the rest of the Shield, with Rhodes as one of the bitter guys in the back. Rollins went on a rocket to the top by shattering the glass ceiling, which Rhodes never knew was there in the first place.

Rhodes’ story is a little different. He lost a lot and worked his way up, even if he was looking at the lights most nights. Now he has a second chance, and he isn’t taking it for granted. Rollins isn’t denying him a second chance so Rollins will have to kill him. So let’s run it back one more time…..inside the Cell. Rollins, who seems to be backstage, pops up to say Rhodes is nuts because anyone inside that Cell with him is changed. The match is on. I’d again like to point out that Rhodes has looked and sounded like a star since he returned. That makes all the difference in the world.

Asuka is giddy about getting to face Becky Lynch tonight.

Ezekiel vs. Chad Gable

Kevin Owens is on commentary and Otis is in Gable’s corner. Before the match, Owens doesn’t want to see a photo of Ezekiel and Elias together. Gable takes him down by the arm to start but Ezekiel is back up with an armdrag. That doesn’t work for Gable, who wants some SHOOSHING, only to have Ezekiel come back with a Gory Stretch. Gable slips out and gets into the ropes, with Ezekiel being sent outside.

Otis drives Ezekiel into the apron and we take a break. Back with Gable working on the arm but Ezekiel comes up with a clothesline. A spinebuster gets two and the jumping knee gets the same. Gable sends him into the corner for two but Ezekiel comes out with a kick to the chest. Otis’ distraction lets Gable grab a rollup, which is reversed into another rollup to give Ezekiel the pin at 10:59.

Rating: C. The more I see of Ezekiel, the more I like him. It isn’t like Elias was tearing the house down every week in the ring so there isn’t much of a bar to clear. Ezekiel had a perfectly watchable match here and is different enough than Elias to make it a bit more interesting. Not exactly a classic, but Ezekiel is an interesting enough change of pace for the time being.

R-Truth finally serves Akira Tozawa with his divorce papers and then runs off. Dana Brooke comes in to thank Truth for serving Reggie last week, but Truth wants to consummate with the 24/7 Title. Dana runs off and bumps into Carmella. Insults ensue, including Dana saying Carmella hasn’t mattered since the Guy With No Chin was here. Truth runs up and asks Carmella for help getting the title back. Sure, but she wants Dana Brooke when the time is right. As we continue adding people to this thing.

Here is Lacey Evans, who is introduced as a mother, daughter, Marine and more. Evans puts over the military and thanks them for everything they do. She is proud of what she has done and knows she has a long way to go, but no one in the back is any better than she is. I’m still not sure what they’re doing with Evans and I don’t think WWE does either.

Riddle is ready for the Usos.

The Usos are ready for Riddle.

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

The winner gets a shot at Bianca Belair, at ringside, at Hell In A Cell. Becky starts fast but gets caught with the running hip attack on the apron. They go to the floor, where Becky hits a suplex into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Asuka getting two off a backslide and kicking Becky in the head. A knee to the face sets up a German suplex and a sliding knee gives Asuka two.

Becky gets in a running shot of her own for two and frustration begins to set in. A rollup is countered into the Asuka Lock but Becky flips backwards for the cover to escape. The cross armbreaker sends Becky to the ropes so she heads outside to yell at Belair. Asuka follows her out, earning herself a whip into Belair. That’s enough to bring Belair to the apron, allowing Becky to grab Asuka’s umbrella. That takes a bit too long though and it’s the green mist into a buzzsaw kick to give Asuka the pin at 9:52.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have time to get great here but it was a good win to build Asuka back up and get her ready for the title match next month. Becky’s slide continues, but she is so far and away established as a top star that it doesn’t matter. This felt like a big enough main event, though I could go for the pay per view version again.

The referee doesn’t seem interested in the fact that Lynch is green to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t exactly a strong show but the whole ordeal with Naomi/Sasha Banks walking out kind of turned parts of the show upside down. They started moving towards the Cell, but I still don’t know what the biggest match on the show is supposed to be. That is the problem with the lack of a World Champion, though it is likely to stay that way for a long time to come. For now, this worked well enough, even if nothing was exactly a show stealing classic. They still don’t have the terrible stuff and that is an important level to reach.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Omos – Lashley escaped the cage
Veer Mahaan b. Mustafa Ali – Cervical Clutch
Riddle b. Jimmy Uso – Small package
AJ Styles/Finn Balor b. Los Lotharios – Coup de Grace to Humberto
Alexa Bliss b. Sonya Deville – DDT
Ezekiel b. Chad Gable – Rollup
Asuka b. Becky Lynch – Kick to the head

 

 

 

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