I haven’t been on the show in awhile but it was a lot of fun as always.  We talk the goings on in wrestling today, including the problems with Raw, some of the upcoming stars of WWE, some of the smaller stories in wrestling that might be going under the radar and Kenny Omega.  Check out this one, plus check out the show every week.  You’ll find the links to everything below and please subscribe to/rate it and like their Facebook page.  In other words, press some buttons to help out a good show that has been incredibly nice to me over the years and gives you an awesome wrestling discussion at the same time.

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Yeah it’s gone again.https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/breaking-xfl-ceases-operations-not-returning-next-year/

Your interest in football may vary, but I wasn’t big on the idea of a spring league.  To be fair though, this has very little to do with the football or anything else, as the Coronavirus spreading took away every sporting league.  That being said, I really hope this is dropped for good now as it has failed twice, for various reasons.

You might want to get in on this.

Highspots is the company that presents WrestleCon but since that went under, they are in need of some money. Therefore, they are offering a CRAZY sale on everything they sell at the moment, which includes everything from wrestling gear to rings to authentic pay per view banners to DVDs to videos on demand to memorabilia and more. Right now, everything on their site is 36% off and all DVDs/video downloads are 50% off. Some of their DVDs and videos are $5 and under, meaning you can get full wrestling DVDs for $2 each and under in some cases.

As a result, I’ve dropped almost $200 and picked up:

8 Books

1 Old Magazine

15 DVDs (5 PWG, 5 Wrestling Revolver, 2 ROH, 2 FIP, 1 WWE)

12 Downloads (8 PWG, 2 Pro Wrestling Superstars, 1 Five Dollar Wrestling, 1 WrestleCon Supershow, 1 New England Wrestling, all full shows)

2 Documentaries

1 DVD Set

You need to check this stuff out and, as you might have guessed, you’ll be seeing a lot of PWG stuff in the near future (and all of the other DVDs I’ve gotten in the Wrestling Loot Crates/from Jim Cornette’s site as I’m running out of space for them). This is perhaps the best sale I’ve ever seen and you would do yourself a favor to check some of them out.

It aired on the Reelz channel on Sunday and we may have a new winner for worst documentary(ish) look at wrestling I’ve seen in a good while.

The idea of the show is kind of a medical investigation deal with a doctor looking over an autopsy report and trying to figure out what happened. In other words, a guy who has nothing to do with wrestling looking at it from an outside perspective with some wrestling people included. That’s where things fall apart.

There were three main wrestling people involved with the show: Les Thatcher (fine), Greg Oliver (wrestling writer who named Bret Hart as the fourteenth best Canadian wrestler of all time) and a guy who wrote a book on Benoit that Lance Storm trashed in an amazing way. That’s it. No other wrestlers, no more wrestling journalists, nothing else.

There were the usual wrestling errors, including the following:

• Referring to Nancy Benoit a “wrestling Diva”

• Saying Benoit fought through injuries to get to the end of the season

• Talking about Benoit getting hurt and coming back from injury to win the World Title “not long after his return to the ring”. It was almost two years later.

• They talked about Benoit getting hurt at King of the Ring, while showing footage of a Raw match. They showed various other pay per views, so why not show the right clip there?

You learn to live with those things, but the problem is the show wasn’t all that good. They talked about Benoit having issues with alcohol, steroids and head injuries and called it a big mixture of factors that caused the incident. What gets annoying is the host saying he discovered things like Benoit having certain drugs in them. By discovered, he means read in the report, which makes me wonder why he needs to be on the show.

Finally though, his big conclusion is that Nancy was the victim of domestic violence. I’m not sure why that’s a conclusion, but that’s what he says as one of his big points. The other thing is that he implies that Benoit snapped because he lost the World Title. While he never flat out says that, he says that Benoit was losing everything he had worked for while showing a picture of Benoit with the title.

Maybe he didn’t mean it this way, but he sounded like he meant Benoit went over the edge because he lost the title. Benoit was probably close to retirement around this time, but that was never mentioned anywhere on here, making it seem like Benoit’s title loss was considered a factor. Sometimes I’ll give people the benefit of the doubt, but not on a show that says a wrestler made it to the end of a season.

All in all, this feels like a very formula based show that was made in about a day. Just wait for Dark Side of the Ring next week and see something with a good bit more effort put into it by more people who know what they’re talking about.

Believe it or not, they like these AEW and New Japan guys.

It’s that time of year again. Dave Meltzer and his minions have voted on their End of Year Awards for 2019 (which makes me feel better for only getting mine done the day after the Rumble). I’m sure there are going to be a lot of AEW/New Japan stuff in here and that’s fine enough. I’ll throw in a few thoughts on each but some of them aren’t going to have much need. I’ll so be skipping the MMA awards because they’re not wrestling and I still have no idea why they’re included here.

Wrestler of the Year – Chris Jericho

Jericho was a nominee for me so it’s far from out there. I’m not sure I could go with him as he only wrestled a dozen times last year, but he carried AEW on his back for the first three months of Dynamite so I can see where this would make sense.

Outstanding Wrestler of the Year – Will Ospreay

I’m still not sure why this needs to be two awards (I’ve had it explained to me every year, still don’t see the need) but Ospreay had a heck of a year and some outstanding matches so I can see this. There are a lot of people with some great matches this year so you could pick from a bunch here. Ospreay is fine enough though.

Tag Team Of The Year – Lucha Bros

That breaks a six year run for the Young Bucks and it should. The Bucks are good but the Bros are on another level every time they’re out there. WWE’s tag teams are nothing for the most part so it’s not like there was much competition. I went with Undisputed Era but I consider stables as well.

Best on Interviews – Chris Jericho

The only person in his league is Maxwell Jacob Friedman but Jericho’s stuff has had me cracking up multiple times. I can’t bring myself to argue against Jericho’s talking so no complaints here.

Promotion of the Year – New Japan Pro Wrestling

They had a down year but there isn’t anything that jumps off the page for this one. It kind of amazes me that WWE has won this award twice in the nearly forty years they’ve been running. I’m not saying they should win it, but you would think they would sneak in a win here or there.

Best Weekly TV Series – Dynamite

I couldn’t go with a show that was on the air for a fourth of the year. NXT was its usual self for most of the year and better than Dynamite most weeks, but you knew AEW was going to get some major accolades this year.

Match of the Year – Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi (Best of the Super Juniors)

Didn’t see the match so can’t comment on it, though I did hear great things.

US/Canadian MVP – Chris Jericho

Japan MVP – Kazuchika Okada

Mexico MVP – Rey Fenix

Europe MVP – Walter

Non-Heavyweight MVP – Will Ospreay

Women’s Wrestling MVP – Becky Lynch

I’m going with a collective “uh, sure” on these as I’m not sure how much need there was for individual MVP awards by continent and weight class. Lynch winning was as much of a layup as you can get, as it should be.

Best Box Office Draw – Chris Jericho

I’m assuming there are numbers to back this up so sure.

Feud of the Year – Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Same for me.

Most Improved of the Year – Lance Archer

I didn’t see much of him this year but I heard this over and over so fair enough.

Most Charismatic – Chris Jericho

One question: how in the world has he never won this before???

Best Technical Wrestling – Zack Sabre Jr.

Six in a row and like it could be anyone else.

Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii

Six years in a row as well.

Best High Flying Wrestling – Will Ospreay

Only four years in a row for him. Pick up the pace man.

Most Overrated – King Corbin

I’m torn here. On the one hand, yeah. On the other hand, anything involving Corbin receiving praise is too much for me.

Most Underrated – Shorty G

I think you can call this “Wrestler We Feel Most Sorry For” and it would apply just as well.

Rookie of the Year – Jungle Boy

Normally I would say I don’t know how you can be a rookie in 2019 when you started in 2018 but I gave it to Ricochet as newcomer of the year so I can’t complain much. And yeah Jungle Boy has been rather good.

Non-Wrestler of the Year – Paul Heyman

This is your safe default pick and I didn’t have anyone jump out in front so that’s fine.

Best Television Announcer – Kevin Kelly

It was him or Mauro Ranallo and I can see why Mauro isn’t the biggest favorite.

Worst Television Announcer – Corey Graves

It’s going to be whomever has the most Vince McMahonisms in their ear but Graves can get especially annoying in a hurry. As long a she doesn’t have Renee Young there to bicker with, things are at least looking up a bit.

Best Major Wrestling Show of the Year – Double Or Nothing

I’m not sure if Takeovers are eligible in this one (they very well may be) but I had Double Or Nothing nominated so it’s not a big stretch.

Worst Major Wrestling Show Of The Year – Super ShowDown

This was one of my three nominees but WOW that’s an upset over Hell in a Cell. My goodness I’m actually surprised by this one.

Best Wrestling Maneuver – Storm Breaker (Will Ospreay)

Really? I mean….it’s fine but…..really? There’s nothing better? Not a 630 or anything else?

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE’s Relationship With Saudi Arabia

Could it be anything else?

Worst Television Show – Monday Night Raw

Not only is it not even the worst WWE show, but am I really the only person who watches Ring of Honor? This feels like a bunch of people who don’t watch Raw voting for it as the worst show because they don’t watch it. It’s bad, but there are multiple worse shows out there.

Worst Match of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell

That’s going to be an all timer so it was going to run away with this one.

Worst Feud of the Year – Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend

Like it could have been anything else.

Worst Promotion of the Year – WWE

Ring of Honor was literally drawing a few hundred fans a year and had people falling asleep during a World Title match at a major show, with the year capped off by PCO winning the World Title. But yeah, it’s WWE, because WWE SUCKS AND IT ALWAYS WILL! Give me a break.

Best Booker of the Year – Gedo (New Japan)

They might as well name it after him anymore.

Promoter of the Year – Tony Khan (AEW)

Again: you might want to wait until they’re running for the full year before calling it the best thing around. But that’s not fair to AEW or something I’m assuming.

Best Gimmick – The Fiend

Like it could have been anything else.

Worst Gimmick – Shorty G

It takes something special to actually make me mad in wrestling and that’s what they did here. Easy win.

Best Pro Wrestling Book – 100 Things A WWE Fan Should Know Before They Die – Bryan Alvarez

I’m sure the author has nothing to do with this.

Best Pro Wrestling DVD/Streaming Documentary – Dark Side of the Ring

Given how much people have been drooling over the second season trailer, this was a pretty easy pick.

So yeah, not as many annoying ones but it was the AEW/New Japan love fest that you knew it would be. The Worst Promotion of the Year award though is rather ridiculous

IMG Credit: WWE

We’ll wrap it up with this, which is as important of an award as you can have. The name on the marquee says wrestling and at the end of the day, it all comes down to the big wrestling matches that people are willing to watch (preferably after paying to do so). With so many matches over the last ten years, I have a pretty long list of options as there are just so many to pick from.

Honorable Mention

John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan – Summerslam 2013 – Cena was a big part of making Bryan by selecting him for this match, but what mattered more was Bryan going over Cena completely clean. It set up everything until Wrestlemania and was an instant classic in the process. Not bad all around for a dream match.

Ten Man Tag – WrestleCon SuperShow 2017 – I saw this one in person and it changed the way I look at wrestling. Check out the review of the show and then check out the match itself because it’s some of the most fun you’ll have with ten guys going completely insane.

Revival vs. DIY – Takeover: Toronto – It might be the most entertaining tag match I’ve ever seen with DIY working together and FINALLY beating the Revival to win the titles. The last shot of the match is awesome and this is as feel good of a moment as you’re getting this side of the Harts beating Demolition.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada – Dominion 2018 – I’m still a bigger story/promo guy so I don’t have the connection to this one that some people might. That being said, it’s incredible and one heck of a showdown. It’s not seven stars or whatever it was because that match doesn’t exist, but it is more than worth the lengthy time.

Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne – Takeover: Chicago – Sometimes you see stars made before your eyes and these two did just that. They went out there and showcased themselves on the big stage with a match for the ages. What else could you ask for from two people who had only been alive for about 45 years between the two of them? And then THEY GOT BETTER!

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar – Summerslam 2013

A lot of people, myself included, have criticized Lesnar since his return to WWE. He does a lot of things that get on a lot of people’s nerves, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do great things when he’s given the chance. Lesnar was feeling it on this night though and they did a great job of making me care about everything that was going on in the match. It’s an amazing story and that’s what you need in something like this.

What mattered most here was Punk looked like the kind of hero who could take down the Beast once and for all. It took Paul Heyman to stop Punk and when Lesnar finally took him out with the F5, it wasn’t a feeling of dread but rather a feeling of you just saw something special. That’s the kind of thing you don’t get very often and it was an incredible performance on all sides.

John Cena vs. CM Punk – Money In The Bank 2011

I don’t remember the last time I saw a match that made me wonder just how things were going to go. There were so many things going on every step of the way and I didn’t know what was going to happen in the match. The fact that the match worked so well and was an instant classic from bell to bell made it even better. There were so many things going on at once though and there was no stopping this one.

The drama is what made this work so well though, as there was this real feeling of not knowing what was coming. Punk’s stunned face when he won the title and the famous shot of Punk blowing a kiss to Vince McMahon before left with the title are the kind of things you’re never going to forget. It’s a special moment and that isn’t going to be topped for the better part of ever.

Undertaker vs. HHH – Wrestlemania XXVIII

There aren’t many matches that are the culmination of a four year feud and yet they managed to make it happen here. This was the fourth straight match between Undertaker and HHH/Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania, and this time it was technically against both of them at once. It was clear that Undertaker had to take himself to a new level to win and that’s exactly what he did.

There are two spots here that showed you what was going on. First was the spot of the decade with Undertaker kicking out of the superkick into the Pedigree, which is as good of a kickout as I’ve ever seen. Later in the match, HHH reached for the sledgehammer, the only thing that he could use against Undertaker, and Undertaker just stepped on it, showing that it was over. Another beating ensued and it was the Tombstone for the pin. It was an incredible ride and it had the moments to make it work throughout. Incredible stuff, and you have to react to it in some way.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – Takeover: Brooklyn

I was tempted to put this on the top as it might be my favorite match of the decade. The storytelling here is top notch, with Banks coming in at the top of her game and having all of the confidence in the world. By the end though, she was barely standing and throwing wild right hands because it was all she had left. Bayley finally put her away with the Bayley to Belly but Banks was dead where she stood before then. It was Bayley not just winning, but rather defeating Banks, which is what they were going for here.

What mattered was making a new star. Bayley had been chasing the title forever and needed to prove that she could hang at this level. That’s what happened here and it’s one of the best performances either of them have ever seen. It’s a great match and a great moment with Bayley moving to the top of the division (and arguably the top of the promotion at the same time). Watch this one again, as I do every now and then just because I love seeing it.

And now, for the final listing of the decade, it’s an old favorite.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Takeover: New Orleans

What else is there to say about this? It’s one of the best displays of hatred and storytelling in recent years and the match that had been nearly a year in the making. Ciampa turned on Ciampa in May 2017 but tore his ACL, meaning he was gone for the better part of a year. That didn’t stop him from haunting Gargano the entire time though, and there was only one solution for the two of them when Ciampa got back: a fight. Not a match, but a fight.

That’s what we got too, with Gargano and Ciampa beating the fire out of each other. The fans made this even better, as Ciampa came to the ring to no music, thereby allowing him to be booed even louder. Later, Ciampa bounced off of the concrete and the fans told him that HE DESERVED IT. The fans wanted to see Ciampa get what was coming to him and that’s what happened after an incredible fight. This is what they had built to and then they gave the people what they wanted to see. It’s great, and there was nothing better in ten years.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

As much as people are going to remember the best matches, these are the ones that are going to get people talking more than anything else. The wretched, terrible matches are the kind that stick in your head because you wonder how bad things can possibly get. Sometimes it’s the whole match and sometimes it’s one thing, but these are the matches that you’ll remember for all the wrong reasons.

Honorable Mention

Sting vs. Jeff Hardy – Victory Road 2011 – I’m not putting this as an official one as I don’t consider it a “real” match. Instead, we have another mess where TNA managed to make it even worse, because that’s what they did back then. There’s a reason this keeps getting brought up and it’s not getting topped for a long time.

Kaitlyn vs. Maxine – NXT – October 19, 2010 – Just watch it and try not to cringe.

Royal Rumble 2015

It takes something special to have the fans booing the Rock out of the building. This is one of those horrible ideas that could not have been much worse and it’s a big part of why Roman Reigns never reached the point they were wanting him to achieve. They missed every single point of this whole thing and it could not have gone much worse.

The entire idea of this match was to make Roman Reigns look like a star. They managed to turn it into the biggest disaster imaginable with one mistake after the other. Reigns looked like he had no business being in the ring and was little more than a big WWE logo. His big opponents were Big Show and Kane, plus a surprise Rusev at the end. That’s their big idea to get him to face Lesnar? No wonder he was a failure for so long.

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole – Wrestlemania XXVII

I named this worst feud of the decade and I’d say that gives it a fast pass on to this list. The match itself wasn’t any good in the first place, including Cole being way too dominant and having Steve Austin and Jack Swagger there to try and make it interesting. Lawler can have a watchable match with a bag of wet mice but for some reason this is the best thing that they had for him to do.

And then he lost, because WWE felt the need to keep the story going on and on. Why should Wrestlemania be the blowoff for some big feud? This was a complete misfire and the crowd just dying as a result shows you how bad it really was. The show never recovered from this because WWE set it up for one possible ending and then we got the complete opposite, presumably just for the sake of messing with us. How lucky we are.

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton – Wrestlemania XXXIII

I was in the stadium for this one and I’m still not sure what I watched. After a pretty decent build with Orton infiltrating the Wyatt Family to take them down from within and possibly destroying Sister Abigail, we wound up with some bizarre mind game where Wyatt put gross images on the mat to get in Orton’s head. Orton’s response? RKO for the pin and the title….which he lost to Jinder Mahal.

What were they thinking with this mess? It was a bunch of bad wrestling in between their weird ideas. If you want to do Wyatt vs. Orton at Wrestlemania then just do the match. Instead we got something that I’m sure WWE found to be very clever and it wound up being a disaster of other level proportions. How Wyatt survived this is beyond me, but he managed to make it work despite this disaster.

Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal – Battleground 2017

This is the Punjabi Prison match and MY GOODNESS it still manages to get on my nerves. Mahal got to go out there for nearly half an hour before Great Khali came in to save him. The only highlight of this was seeing Orton torture the Singh Brothers, who deserved a big raise after everything they went through with the whole Mahal story.

The problem with this match is the length (in addition to Mahal just being there, because there is little reason for him to be anywhere near the top of the card), as the match just went on and on for WAY too long. It was Orton getting close to winning and then the Singhs interfering and then Orton getting close to winning and then the Singhs interfering over and over and it just never stopped. I hated this match and it was the last straw after Mahal would not go away no matter how much people rejected him.

Those made me mad. This one was mad and sad.

Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend – Hell In A Cell

Over the years, there are very few matches that I’ve seen that actually made me mad. It takes something special to misfire on every point while damaging your hot new character and wrecking your big gimmick match. WWE managed to do this while also getting fans to chant for the competition at the end of the show. Rollins was in a bad place already and this shoved him to the point of no return.

I still can’t fathom how bad this really was. Fiend was the unstoppable monster and while Rollins didn’t completely destroy him, it was one of those nights where you had to wonder how bad things were when they were setting it up. This was the best thing they could do with their monster? In the Cell? I’ve used a lot of words to talk about this one in the last few months and I could continue doing so for a long time to come. The match was another level of awful and I don’t see it being topped anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

You know a great one of these when you see it as they have all of the awesome parts and very few in the way of weakness. Now I know that this is going to include a lot of Takeovers and….well how could it not? Those shows are critically acclaimed and it’s almost impossible to not have have them very high on the list. I’ll try to limit it, but that’s not exactly easy.

Honorable Mention

Summerslam 2013 – This is one of those shows where people remember the one two punch of a double main event but there is so much other great stuff on there. I watched it again last year and sweet goodness it might be the best Summerslam of all time.

Wrestle Kingdom XIII – You have to have some Wrestle Kingdom on here as the shows are often incredible and this one might have been the best one I’ve ever seen. Great matches, great action and how GREAT was it to have this be less than four hours? That’s such an important key as they get out before it loses its welcome.

Takeover: Brooklyn I – This might have my favorite NXT Match ever and that is some pretty high praise. NXT was on the top of the world and got to show what they could do. The fact that it would somehow get even better is almost scary, but that’s just what they do down there.

Takeover: Brooklyn IV – I had almost forgotten about this one and that’s saying a lot. It’s the one with the Last Man Standing match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, with Gargano taking the injured Aleister Black’s place. On top of that there’s Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era and Ricochet vs. Adam Cole. Isn’t NXT fun?

Wrestlemania XXX

Somehow this was almost added in for the sake of filling in some space on the main list. Wrestlemania XXX is always going to be special to me as it’s the first Wrestlemania I ever attended live. I remember walking into the stadium and seeing some lights flickering through the black curtains. All I could think was “Wrestlemania is behind there.” Then there was the show itself and….my goodness.

Between Hogan, Austin and Rock in the same ring, Bryan vs. HHH, the Streak being broken and Bryan’s incredible celebration, what more could you want? WWE knows how to do these big anniversary shows and that was on full display here, with one great moment after another, all capped off by the feel good moment to end it. This is one of those shows that always makes me smile and that is never going to change.

Takeover: Dallas

This show feels like a lifetime ago and yet it still holds up today. The problem here is how many shows have surpassed it, which is downright scary. For a long time this was the benchmark for what Takeover could be and my goodness it was something special. You had something that showed just how good it could be and it had fans, including myself, who was in the crowd that night, desperate for more.

That night saw everything that you needed, with the incredible Revival vs. American Alpha opener, the perfectly fine Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn’s nice to meet you/we’ll miss you special, Asuka crushing Bayley and FINN BALOR HAS A CHAINSAW. This is something that blew the roof off the place and it’s still one of the best Takeovers ever, which is some pretty high praise.

Money In The Bank 2011

Sometimes you see a show that doesn’t bother with any pretense and just hits you in the face with one great match after another. That’s what you had here with the two Money In The Bank matches, the underrated Randy Orton vs. Christian feud and the instant masterpiece between John Cena and CM Punk (the reason Orton vs. Christian didn’t get the recognition that it deserved).

It’s a show where everyone is going to remember the incredible main event but there is a lot more to the show than that. With so many great things going on at the same show, it’s hard not to give this show some serious praise. The main event is what matters more than anything else though, and that’s one of the best match ever, which is the kind of thing that moves this all the way to the top of the list.

Takeover: New York

My goodness what a show. This is the kind of event that gives Takeover the reputation that it deserves. The first three matches on here are all instant classics and the main event is the big emotional moment that the fans had been waiting for. It’s one of the best and most entertaining shows that I’ve ever seen and that is hardly shocking given what NXT does on the big stage.

The big deal here is Johnny Gargano winning the NXT Title by defeating Adam Cole. Gargano had been chasing the title from Tommaso Ciampa for months and then he FINALLY got the win that he had been looking for. If this had been Gargano defeating Ciampa for the title to end their amazing feud, it might be the greatest show of all time. As it is, it’s just one of the best ever and that’s saying something given its competition.

Yeah I’m splitting hairs here, and me being in the building might have had something to do with it.

Takeover: New Orleans

What brings this over is the emotion. The big main event here was the first Gargano vs. Ciampa showdown, which was as awesome of a fight/brawl that I’ve ever seen. NXT made the right call by making this the main event. There was nothing else topping it and NXT turned in one of the incredible shows that you knew they were capable of and then some.

On top of that, you have what might have been the best multi-man ladder match since TLC II, which covers quite a bit of ground. These six people fought the heck out of each other for half an hour and everyone looked like a star. Then you have everything else on the show, including the awesome NXT Title match with Aleister Black kicking Andrade’s head off to win the title. This is a special show and I don’t know of anything better in the last decade.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

These are the ones that stick in your mind forever because they’re what people remember more than anything else. Some of these can come at the end of a match, during a segment, backstage, or really anywhere in between. They might not mean much in the long run or they could change everything forever. Either way, they’re the things that people remember the most and that is the case as we enter a new decade.

Honorable Mention

Big E. Langston Faces The Shield – NXT – January 2, 2012 – This is a personal one for me. NXT Champion Seth Rollins was defending against Corey Graves when the Shield interfered. GM Dusty Rhodes sent out the locker room and they all got slaughtered as well. Watching at home, I said out loud “In a good promotion, this is where the monster would come out for a showdown.” As soon as I said it, Big E. came out and the Shield ran. I was hooked.

Sting Debuts – Survivor Series 2014 – Yes, that actually happened after all the years. It didn’t mean anything in the long run, but for an old WCW fan, this was magical.

Daniel Bryan Is Medically Cleared – Smackdown – March 20, 2018 – I never thought I would see the day but it actually happened. This was a feel good story as Bryan was FINALLY back in the ring where he belonged after three long years away. Good for him and he’s still going strong.

Women Main Event Wrestlemania – Wrestlemania XXXV – At Wrestlemania XXVI, the women’s match was a ten woman tag that ran 3:26. XXVII and XXIX didn’t have a women’s match. XXVIII had a women’s celebrity match. XXX was a big cluster match. We’ve come a long way and again, I never thought I would see something like this.

Austin, Rock and Hogan Together – Wrestlemania XXX – Yep.

Undertaker/HHH/Shawn Michaels Hug

This was arguably fifteen years in the making, as the three of them had had so many battles and wars over the years. The last four Wrestlemanias had offered some of the best matches in recent memory as the three legends left it all in the ring and nearly destroyed each other in one classic after another. The final blowoff in the Cell had the best near fall I’ve ever seen. It was a roller coaster the whole way through and it had to end with something special.

That’s exactly what it did too, as all three got together and hugged on the stage, signaling that the wars were over (until Australia and Saudi Arabia needed big matches of course). This would never happen at such a level again and it was amazing to get to watch these things unfold in front of our eyes. They were incredible performers at the top of their game and deserved every second of what they got.

Kofi Kingston Wins

One of the things you hear a lot about in wrestling is the journey that you have to take to get to the goal and that is how things were with Kofi Kingston. He debuted in 2006 and seemed incapable of having a bad match. However, he also never made it close to the main event scene and the idea of him being a World Champion seemed impossible. Then we came to the Elimination Chamber in 2019 and it wound up being Kofi vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.

I don’t remember the last time that so many people snapped to attention so fast. Somehow this felt like something that could really happen and that’s what needed to happen. Kingston could actually do it and while he didn’t make it at the Elimination Chamber, he was suddenly a real threat to the title. That took us to Wrestlemania XXXV and he did it. Kofi Kingston actually did it and won the WWE Championship clean in the middle of the ring. It was a special moment and everyone knew it, because Kofi Kingston had earned every single thing that he was finally getting.

Becky Lynch Bleeds And Stands Tall

There are moments in wrestling where you can feel something is about to happen. When Hogan returned in 1984 to save Bob Backlund. When Austin Stunned McMahon. When Batista gave HHH the thumbs down. You can see the future before you and you know where things are going. The energy spikes and it doesn’t matter what happens next, because you know where it’s going.

That’s what happened on the November 12, 2018 Monday Night Raw when Becky Lynch led the Smackdown women in an invasion of Monday Night Raw. Lynch attacked Ronda Rousey in the locker room and then took the fight to the stage. A damaged Ronda came out but got taken down….as Nia Jax wildly swung and knocked Becky silly, breaking her nose and giving her a concussion in the process. Lynch wasn’t done and kept fighting, eventually being forced to flee into the crowd. The show ended with a bloody Becky posing near the top of the arena and a star was born. It was Becky’s time and everyone knew it, in case they didn’t before.

Daniel Bryan Wins

This one is similar to Kofi but I think it’s just a bit better. Kofi’s run had only taken place over the course of about six weeks while this one was over more than six months, with Bryan being screwed over by the Authority but never giving up (that’s kind of a trend with him) and eventually found his way to the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. Then the magic happened.

The main story here was a major villain, with the Authority constantly telling us that Bryan was never going to reach the top. That gave Bryan a reason to fight, and fight he did, all the way to the highest point that he could with an amazing performance that went beyond anything we could have expected. It felt like a changing of the guard in a feel good moment, which was exactly what they were shooting for. Well done indeed.

CM Punk Wins

There are times in wrestling where you say “That couldn’t happen….right?” That last word is where everything gets interesting, because all WWE has to do is go there and they have their fans right where they want them. That’s what they did going into Money In The Bank 2011, as CM Punk threatened to win the WWE Championship and leave the company with the title. That couldn’t happen…right?

Well that’s exactly what DID happen and it was one of the first times I can remember where I didn’t know what to expect. That’s an incredible feeling to have and it worked like a charm here. While it got brought down a lot by having Punk back two weeks later, it was a special moment and Punk blowing a kiss to Vince before leaving through the crowd is as good as it gets.

And now, as bad as it gets.

The Streak….Is Over

I’ve been a wrestling fan for over thirty years. During that time, a lot of things have come and gone and that is always going to be the case. When I was born, Hulk Hogan was the WWF Champion. Now, Hogan is recently back from being blackballed from the company and only gets to make the occasional legends appearance. For most of my life though, there were only a handful of constants. One of those was taken away at Wrestlemania XXX.

On that night, Brock Lesnar defeated the Undertaker, ending a Streak which began over 23 years earlier (on Undertaker’s birthday actually). It’s something I never thought I would see and I really did believe that there was a chance it would live forever. I was in the stadium that night and I could not stand up or speak. It was that kind of shock: they managed to shut me up, and that’s all the proof you need that this was one for the ages.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author- page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This might be the biggest of them all and that makes things all the more interesting. It really depends on what you’re looking for in the best wrestler in the world, as you could go with the wrestling abilities or the talking abilities or some combination of the two, which is really what matters most. There are a lot of great ones in there and several ways to go with the choices.

Honorable Mention

Johnny Gargano – I know he isn’t on the main roster, but you don’t have this many incredible matches at a high level without getting some recognition. The Johnny Takeover name is very appropriate (partially because his name is Johnny) and he has become a guaranteed hit on the major shows. That’s worthy of at least a mention.

Chris Jericho – I’m not sure where to put Jericho because he’s turned it back up to another level since he became a living legend, but there was a big gap in the middle of the 2010s where he was just kind of there. The List brought him back up and then AEW put him back over the moon, but the special attraction nature for such a long time holds him back just a bit.

Hiroshi Tanahashi – This is a name where you kind of have to include him, just because of everything that he has accomplished and continues to accomplish. Every time he seems ready to be put out to pasture he just keeps hanging around, because he really is that good.

Randy Orton

I know a lot of people aren’t big on Orton, but he is one of the most talented people in wrestling history. He has the talent, the resume and the killer finisher to make it work. He’s one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster and if John Cena hadn’t been around for so much of his career, we would look at Orton in awe.

You’re going to be hard pressed to find someone as good at everything as he is and possesses the kind of talent that almost no one else has. There’s a reason why he is always around and given how good he still can be in the ring, he is going to be around for as long as he wants to be. Orton might not be popular all the time, but he’s around for a reason and had a great decade.

AJ Styles

How can you not have him in there? Styles is the rare breed of wrestler who has dominated everywhere he goes. He’s the most successful wrestler ever from TNA, then he won the IWGP Heavyweight Title and then he won several WWE Titles. Has anyone ever done that? Kurt Angle maybe? Styles really is one of the best of all time and it’s great to get to see him shine on this kind of a level.

What matters the most about Styles is that he still feels special. Styles went from being the huge fish in the small pond to finally graduating to something big in New Japan and then to the main event in WWE. He has been a featured attraction throughout and while his career is winding down, there is still a lot to enjoy about everything he does, which hopefully is the case for a long time to come.

Kenny Omega

This is another name where you have to include him whether you’re a fan of his or not. Omega has done so many things everywhere he has gone and while the style might not be your favorite, he is the rare star to get some nearly universal acclaim. I’m not big on a lot of the video game references and some of his style gets annoying a times, but dang if he can’t have one exciting match after another.

Omega is now considered one of the big stars in AEW and there is a reason to expect him to be there, at a high level, for a long time to come. When his matches get to that next level, there is almost no stopping him and he has the legendary series with Okada, including the IWGP World Title win, to cement things even further. If you can’t get into him at least a bit, you might want to check your pulse.

Kazuchika Okada

It’s very rare that you see someone who feels like he is the best in the world but that’s the feeling you get every time Okada is in the ring. He has size, the look, the completely overrated finisher (I will die on that hill if I have to) and the presence to make you feel like you’re seeing greatness in front of you. If nothing else, he might have the greatest dropkick of all time and that’s always worth seeing.

The problem with Okada is what is he supposed to do now? He’s dominated New Japan for so long now and is still relatively young. What in the world is left for him to do? I mean, other than going back to Impact and beating their heads into a wall for using him as a freaking superhero sidekick instead of LETTING HIM BE OKADA! I know the Rainmaker gimmick wasn’t there yet but put him in boots and trunks and let him do his thing. Anyway, Okada is great, in case you didn’t know that somehow.

Daniel Bryan

This is more my speed as Bryan only started in WWE at the beginning of the decade and then got thrown out almost immediately once he made it to Raw. He was back soon enough through and slowly took the company by storm, being capped off by the absolutely incredible YES Movement and the title win at Wrestlemania XXX. How in the world do you top that? By doing it again.

Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania XXX may not have been the ultimate surprise, but him coming back to the ring after three years away certainly was. I never would have believed that he could make it back but through never giving up and being near insane in his efforts, Bryan was medically cleared, won the WWE Championship again, and reinvented himself as a psycho environmentalist. It takes someone special to do that and Bryan certainly qualifies.

And now, say it with me.

John Cena

There are very few wrestlers who can be placed on the list of true faces of the WWE. You have Bruno, Hogan, Austin, Rock and then Cena. That’s as elite of a list as you’re going to get and Cena has fought his way to make it on there, which he has certainly earned. The 2010s were Cena’s legendary time as he came in as the top star in the company and then moved on to the US Open Challenge where he would have an awesome match every week just because he could. Couple that with the part time mega legendary status that he has enjoyed since 2016 and what else can you need?

Oh yeah: that whole biggest match of his generation with the Rock. There is very little that Cena has not done yet (save for the Intercontinental Title, which you would think he would have won at some point in his career) and yet somehow you could believe he could still pop in and break Flair’s record. He’s already tied it, and that’s the kind of unreachable star that only a special someone could reach. Cena is beyond special though, and that was made clear in the last ten years.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author- page with cheap wrestling books at:

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