Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XIV (2024 Edition): One Of The Important Ones

Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: Fleetcenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross
America the Beautiful: Chris Warren

This is the first of the annual redos and it’s a show that is incredibly historic but doesn’t get the most attention. As you might remember, the main event is Steve Austin getting his shot against Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title, along with Kane vs. Undertaker for the first time ever. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of Wrestlemania and how tradition has been taken hostage by a new generation. These people are here to be the top stars and fight for the same title held by Andre, Hogan and Bruno. This year is destined to become a part of the history and somewhere, the father of Wrestlemania will revel in it as well.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Faarooq/Kama Mustafa, Savio Vega/Miguel Perez Jr., Jose Estrada Jr./Jesus Castillo, Truth Commission, Bradshaw/Chainz, New Midnight Express, Mark Henry/D’Lo Brown, Quebecers, LOD 2000, Rock N Roll Express, Headbangers, Too Much, Disciples Of Apocalypse, Steve Blackman/Flash Funk, Godwinns

For a future Tag Team Title shot and LOD 2000, with Sunny, are surprise entrants. If one member is eliminated, the entire team is gone. It’s a huge brawl to start (as it has to be) as JR tries to keep track of everyone involved. Vega is out, with Perez having to be helped to the back. Jim Cornette and Sunny argue on the floor as Kurrgan comes out to help eliminate the Truth Commission.

Cue Barry Windham (not in the match) to toss Chainz out and sure we’ll count that. Brown is eliminated and the Quebecers follow as the ring is clearing out a good bit. The Rock N Roll Express are out and Estrada/Castillo follow. The Headbangers are tossed as well, with JR wondering why Mark Henry is still in there despite his partner being tossed. Henry gets the message and leaves as Animal gets rid of Too Much.

We’re down to the Midnights, the LOD, the Disciples and the Godwinns as they didn’t waste time here. Things slow down a bit with Hawk shoulders Henry but Phineas is back up to get rid of the Disciples. Hold on though as the Disciples come back in to throw the Godwinns out, leaving us with two. Then the Godwinns get back in again and hit the LOD with their buckets. Animal is sent outside through the ropes but comes back in to make the save. Hawk hits a clothesline to get rid of Holly for the win at 8:21.

Rating: C-. This was nothing but a way for the LOD to come in with their new look and Sunny then run through some people for a win. There was almost no drama to this one and the stuff with the Godwinns seemed to be setting up something for the LOD going forward. Having the LOD come out for the return pop worked but a thirty man battle royal which took awhile to get through didn’t help.

We look at various media events to promote the show, including the DX public workout which almost went very badly due to Shawn Michaels being in quite the bad place.

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Michinoku is defending and Aguila would go on to be better known as Essa Rios. Aguila snaps off a headscissors and a spinwheel kick to send Taka outside. That means a baseball slide into a top rope moonsault (which JR calls an Asai moonsault) to take Taka out again. Back in and Taka dropkicks him to the floor for a change, setting up the always great looking top rope dive to the floor.

Back in again and Aguila sends him outside again, only to have Taka go up top. That’s fine with Aguila, who runs the corner and hits a top rope armdrag. A springboard armdrag and a very spinning wristdrag have Taka on the floor again, setting up the big corkscrew dive. JR is trying to keep up with this while Lawler has more or less given up.

Taka misses a moonsault back inside and gets planted for two before being sat up top. Aguila gets knocked down but Taka’s splash hits knees, allowing Aguila to hit a middle rope hurricanrana. A missile dropkick gets Taka out of trouble though and the sit out powerbomb plants Aguila again. Taka misses a middle rope moonsault, only to dropkick him out of the air. The Michinoku Driver retains the title at 5:59.

Rating: B-. It was a total popcorn match as they were all over the place with the high spots and as a result, it was rather entertaining. That being said, this felt like someone saw the cruiserweights in WCW and decided to do their own lower level version. That’s more or less exactly what this was, which is one of the reasons the division didn’t stick. Fun match, but it could have been on any given edition on Raw.

Gennifer Flowers interviewed the Rock earlier today, and asked how he would handle the homeless situation if he was leader. Rock prefers ruler, but the reality is that if those people stay off his lawn and in their boxes, he’s happy. As for the judicial system, as long as you realize he’s the judge and jury, everything is fine. Just remember that he would be a hung jury. Finally, he’s fine with running the White House as long as the interns underneath him do their, ahem, jobs. This was basically a celebrity serving Rock up some batting practice.

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

HHH, with Chyna, is defending in one of the last bits of fallout from Montreal. Hart has a bad ankle coming in and Chyna is handcuffed to Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Hart slugs away to start and snaps off a hurricanrana for two, only to get elbowed in the jaw for his efforts. With Hart out on the floor, Chyna tries a right hand but gets pulled back by Slaughter, meaning HHH’s cheap shot doesn’t work either.

It’s way too early for a Sharpshooter back inside and HHH grabs the facebuster to take over. The jumping knee gets two and Lawler is literally screaming at HHH to go after the ankle. A DDT gets two before it’s FINALLY time to go after the ankle. HHH goes old school (yes even back then) with the spinning toehold, followed by an elbow onto the leg. More cranking on the leg in the corner has Owen in trouble but he’s able to come back with a belly to belly.

A spinwheel kick gives Hart two and he hits the enziguri, only to hurt the bad ankle again. The hurricanrana is countered with a hard powerbomb to give HHH two more as things slow down a bit. HHH puts him up top but gets shoved away, setting up a high crossbody for two. Owen falls head first into a low blow ala Sting (always works), sending Lawler into hysterics over the referee not calling a DQ. The Sharpshooter goes on but HHH makes the ropes. With the referee distracted, Chyna throws powder in Slaughter’s eyes and hits Hart low. That and the Pedigree are enough to retain the title at 11:28.

Rating: C+. This was good enough, though it’s far from the HHH that he would later become. The ending didn’t exactly keep Owen looking strong and that was pretty much the point of the match. Slaughter was barely a factor here, but that is the summation of his time as Commissioner: a grand total of nothing and it was nice to see him go away.

Post match Chyna beats up Slaughter.

We recap Sable/Marc Mero vs. Luna Vachon/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust. In short, Sable is a star, Mero doesn’t like it, Luna and Goldust tried to do something about it and Mero came to her defense. Or the more realistic version: Sable, Sable, Sable, Sable, Sable, Sable and Sable. Er wait, putting “and” in front of her might suggest that Sable isn’t important and we can’t have that.

Marc Mero/Sable vs. Luna Vachon/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Goldust takes Mero into the corner to start but gets caught with a running headscissors. The women come in but Luna immediately tags back out, leaving Sable to superkick (ok not so super) Goldust. Mero comes back in and is quickly clotheslined down as Lawler wants to know why Luna won’t fight Sable.

The villains take over on Mero, who manages a boot in the corner to put Goldust down. Luna gets the tag and so does Sable, which seems rather unnecessary due to the rules. Sable cleans house in the traditional catfighting style but does throw in some kicks in the corner. A clothesline puts Luna on the floor and it’s back to Goldust, who gets sent into the steps. Back in and the TKO is countered into a DDT to give Goldust two as things slow down again.

Mero knee lifts his way to freedom and a springboard moonsault press (which BARELY rotates enough) gives him two. This time it’s Goldust going up top but getting crotched right back down. A super hurricanrana sets up the TKO for two, with Luna making the save. Sable tags herself in and covers Goldust (as the rules are all over the place here) but has to avoid Luna’s top rope splash. Sable powerbombs Luna for two before avoiding a charge against the ropes. The TKO gives Sable the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C-. I know it’s been said to death, but simply put, Sable just wasn’t very good. She was there because of how she looked in gear and she knew how to sell a shirt, but those are the high points of her talent. The other three were trying, but this was all about Sable and everyone could tell from the second the match was announced.

Tennessee Lee (better known as Robert Fuller/Colonel Robert Parker) brings out Jeff Jarrett with Gennifer Flowers, the latter of whom is guest ring announcer for the next match.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

The Rock, with the Nation of Domination, is defending. Shamrock has been wanting the title and Rock gave him one heck of a scary chair shot to the face. Rock also accidentally hit Nation leader Faarooq, which seems to bode badly for him. They start fast as JR says this is for the European Title. Shamrock kicks him in the chest to start and they go to the floor, with Rock staggering near the technical equipment.

Back in and Shamrock strikes him down again before bouncing Rock’s head against the mat. They go back outside with Rock managing a whip into the steps for a much needed breather. That sets up the not quite People’s Elbow for two but Shamrock sends him outside again. The chair is loaded up but the referee grabs it, earning him a shove from Shamrock. Rock grabs said chair for a shot to the head for a near fall as the referee is back up. Shamrock unloads on Rock and belly to belly suplexes him into the ankle lock for the tap/the title at 4:49.

Rating: C. They kept this one moving as it wasn’t even five minutes long, with Rock only getting in a few shots here and there. Shamrock ore or less mauled him, with that chair shot barely doing any damage. This almost felt like a TV match instead of some big pay per view (let alone Wrestlemania) title match, but it also made Shamrock look like a monster by running through the champ that fast.

Post match Shamrock stays on the Rock so here are the Nation and some referees. That doesn’t work at all as Shamrock beats everyone up, which is enough for the referee to reverse the decision, meaning Rock retains. Shamrock blows off some more steam by beating up Rock on the stretcher. This really doesn’t feel like a Wrestlemania title match, but it was a rather different time. Again though: Shamrock looked like a killer and that worked well.

We get the still awesome “we are real athletes” promo, with wrestlers talking about their backgrounds and the injuries they had to deal with over their careers.

We recap the New Age Outlaws defending the Tag Team Titles against Chainsaw Charlie/Cactus Jack. The Outlaws don’t like old guys and put the two of them in a dumpster for a ride off the stage. Now it’s time for the appropriate choice of a dumpster match.

Tag Team Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws

The Outlaws are defending in a dumpster match (same rules as a casket match). It’s a brawl to start with Cactus trying to put Dogg in the dumpster early. That’s broken up and a metal sheet to the head slows Cactus down. Cactus’ flip dive off the apron only hits dumpster (you knew that was coming) and Gunn backdrops Charlie (or Funk as JR calls him) into the dumpster.

The Outlaws slam the dumpster lids onto Cactus and Charlie’s heads as JR thinks the old guys like this a bit. Cactus blocks the slamming of the lid though and it’s time to bring out some more weapons to crank up the violence. An elbow off the apron with a cookie sheet hits Gunn and of course it’s time for the ladder. Cactus and Gunn go up, only to be sent crashing into the dumpster for the big spot.

With Cactus getting out, Charlie gets powerbombed into the dumpster, leaving the Outlaws to take Cactus up to the entrance, which doesn’t feel overly logical. They go to the back so we look at some highlights, which would feel so bizarre these days. Cactus is sent into various catering things, including big Surge and Powerade displays. Gunn gets double armed DDT’ed onto a forklift and here is Charlie to pick both Outlaws up and drop them into a dumpster. Cactus closes the lid for the win and the titles at 10:17.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t exactly your traditional match but what mattered the most was Cactus and Charlie getting their revenge after taking a huge beating. The fans wanted to see them win the titles and that is what they got. Granted it was on the Titantron, but that is better than not getting the belts at all. It makes sense to not put the Outlaws in a more traditional match as that was never really their thing, so thankfully this was a case of playing to their strengths.

We recap Kane vs. Undertaker and…yeah this is a deep one. So Paul Bearer turned on Undertaker, who wanted revenge. Eventually Bearer revealed that Undertaker had a brother named Kane, who was believed to be killed in a fire as a child. In reality, Kane was still alive and had apparently been kept hidden by Bearer for years. Then Kane appeared and wanted revenge on Undertaker, attacking every wrestler he could until Undertaker agreed to fight.

Undertaker never would, so eventually Kane put Undertaker in a casket and burned him alive (after teasing joining Undertaker in a pretty cool moment). That violates one of the most important rules in wrestling, which says “don’t tick off a giant monster who may or may not have evil powers”. This included Undertaker appearing on top of the Titantron and lighting a casket on fire, revealing a burning Kane inside for one of the most amazing things I had ever seen at 10 years old. Now it’s time for their first fight and this is huge.

Here is Pete Rose as a special guest and he is all over the Boston Red Sox fans, instantly getting every single thing about being a heel in wrestling. Rose halfway introduces Kane, who makes his full entrance….and promptly annihilates Rose with a Tombstone. This makes Kane the most popular man in Boston for at least a good thirty seconds.

Undertaker vs. Kane

Kane has Paul Bearer with him but Undertaker comes out with the tunnel made of torch carrying druids for one of the all time awesome entrances. They go nose to nose for an awesome visual before Undertaker starts striking away (I believe the first time he has ever attacked Kane). That’s enough to knock Kane into the corner, where he launches Undertaker in instead. Kane strikes away and puts him in the Tree of Woe to continue said striking.

Undertaker is sent outside for a second before the beating continues back inside. For some reason Undertaker tries to jump onto Kane’s shoulders, earning him a quick crash back down. Kane hits him with the steps and even Bearer gets in some cheap shots from behind. Back in and Undertaker starts running the ropes rather hard (that always looks cool), only to charge into a chokeslam, with Kane pulling him up at two.

We hit the chinlock, which is where the match grinds to a halt. Kane is a monster who has basically become a horror movie villain, but he knows how to grab a chinlock and lay on the mat for a bit? There is something that completely misses there and it kills the match dead. That’s broken up and Kane drops an elbow before grabbing another chinlock. Undertaker finally powers his way out and sends Kane outside, where the Taker Dive is sent crashing through the announcers’ table in a great visual.

Back in and the top rope clothesline gives Kane two but Undertaker is back with a Tombstone…which is reversed into one from Kane for two. That wakes the fans way back up and Undertaker starts striking away as Kane is starting to stagger. A running clothesline puts Kane down and there’s the chokeslam into a Tombstone for two on Kane. Another Tombstone gets another two, with Kane kind of twitching his shoulder for the kickout. The top rope clothesline into a third Tombstone (with a regular cover instead of the hands over the chest) finish Kane off at 16:59, though Kane kicks at about 3.1.

Rating: B-. This is a match that started and ended well, but there is a long stretch in the middle and it really hurt things. That chinlock segment and a bunch of the basic wrestling they did felt like it was out of a completely different match, which dragged things way down. This really needed to have about five minutes cut out, because the opening staredown and brawl worked, along with the last portion. Instead, it’s a rather long match that didn’t work as well as it should have.

At the same time, Undertaker winning didn’t exactly feel right, as Kane had been built up as this monster who should have been a different kind of opponent. In this situation, it would have made sense for him to win and beat Undertaker to set up some big, and much more violent, rematch. What we got was ok, but it should have been that much better.

Post match Bearer comes in to stomp on Undertaker, who fights up and hits Bearer in the face. Kane is back up and wrecks Undertaker with the chair, setting up a Tombstone onto it to leave Undertaker laying. Kane and Bearer leave, with Undertaker getting up and kind of falling out to the floor.

We get a vignette featuring various legends, who talk about how they had their day but can never do this kind of thing today. Now, they cheer for these new people. This is an all timer from the company and shows how everything has changed. Awesome indeed.

We recap Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title. Austin is on an all time roll and is ready to claim his destiny, but he has to deal with not only Shawn, but the rest of DX, including Mike Tyson, who has joined the team and is a special referee. To call this huge would be an understatement as even Eric Bischoff said “oooh, that’s pretty good.”

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin

Michaels, with HHH and Chyna, is defending and Mike Tyson is guest enforcer referee. We get the long tracking shots from the back, which are still some of the best things WWF ever did and make things feel that much bigger. The DX Band plays Shawn to the ring for something that should be cool but they don’t quite have that epic feeling.

Austin flips him off to start and gets punched in the face, which does not sit well. The chase is on outside, followed by Austin hitting him in the head on the way back in. Shawn’s attempt to escape results in his tights being pulled down before Austin backdrops him onto HHH. That doesn’t work for HHH, who whips Austin into the barricade. HHH and Chyna are ejected and things are a lot more even.

Never one to lose a chance to beat someone up, Austin sends HHH into the DX Band set, earning himself a cymbal to the head from Shawn. Back in and Austin hammers away before flipping Shawn over in the corner. An atomic drop of all things gets two and the Stun Gun gets the same. Austin knocks him off the apron and into the announcers’ table, followed by the chinlock back inside.

Shawn fights up but gets sent hard into the post. The fight heads back to the floor, where Austin is sent over the barricade and Shawn clocks him with the ring bell. Back in and Shawn slowly hammers away until Austin fights up with right hands. Shawn is sent over the top for the crash but he’s fine enough to wrap Austin’s knee around the post. They get back inside again with Shawn slowly starting in on the leg but Austin fights back up.

That’s enough for Tyson to offer a distraction though, with Shawn getting in a chop block. The Figure Four has Austin in more trouble be fore finally breaks it up. Austin fights up again and makes another comeback, with the referee getting bumped, leaving Shawn to hit a not so great forearm. There’s the nip up into into the top rope elbow and Shawn loads up the superkick. That doesn’t work as Austin ducks and grabs the Stunner, with Tyson coming in to count the pin for the title at 20:06.

Rating: B. This is one of those matches that has so many details that make things all the more interesting. While it is Austin’s big crowning moment and the start of a new era, there was only so much that could have been done because of Michaels’ injuries. It would have been interesting to see what they could have done at full strength, but the match did the one thing that it needed: Austin hitting the Stunner to win the WWF Title for the first time.

Post match the celebration is on, with JR getting in the all time line of “the Austin Era has begun.” Austin throws Tyson an Austin shirt but Shawn gets up and isn’t happy. He takes the shirt away and tries a right hand, with Tyson easily blocking it and dropping Shawn with a right hand of his own. Tyson and Austin celebrate, confetti falls and the highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B. This show is rather weird in a lot of ways, as it might not be the best show in the way of quality, but it was one of the most important shows the company has ever had. First of course there is Austin, whose win took the company into an entirely new era. It’s the definition of a Wrestlemania Moment and it is still played in highlight reels decades later for a reason.

At the same time you have the focus on a much more in your face style, with stuff like the dumpster match and Kane vs. Undertaker being a weird sci-fi soap opera. The last three matches (and the Intercontinental Title to a lesser extent) felt big and that is what they were supposed to do. The first half of the show is only so good, but once this show kicks in, it kicks in hard and the company was off to the races soon after.

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D+
2024 Redo: C-

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B-
2024 Redo: B-

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: B
2024 Redo: C+

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: C
2024 Redo: C-

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C-
2015 Redo: D+
2024 Redo: C

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: B
2024 Redo: C+

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C-
2015 Redo: D+
2024 Redo: B-

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B+
2015 Redo: A-
2024 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B
2024 Redo: B

The match ratings are all over the place compared to the previous editions and the overall rating is the same. Yep that’s one of my reviews.

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

Rampage – November 4, 2022: Wrestlemania Weekend In November

Rampage
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Mike Tyson, Tony Schiavone

You might notice an interesting guest star here as Iron Mike Tyson is making another appearance for the company. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Tyson is likely going to bring some energy. The big match this week is a special appearance by Katsuyori Shibata as he challenges Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Mike Tyson gets a special entrance.

Video on Katsuyori Shibata, who hits people very hard and is back after what appeared to be a career ending injury.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Cassidy is defending. They stare each other down so Shibata grabs a headlock takeover. A headscissors gets Cassidy out of trouble before cranking on the ankle. Shibata misses the big kick to the head and gets forearmed off the apron, setting up the suicide dive. Back up and Shibata sends him into the barricade a few times, allowing the sitdown pose back inside. Cassidy shrugs it off and sends him into the barricade as well but they both have to dive back inside to beat the count.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy hitting a running corner dropkick and the lazy kicks for the mind games. The lazy superkick is blocked though and now Cassidy is willing to pick up the pace. Shibata cuts him off with an STO (as called by Tyson) and hits his own lazy kicks. That makes Cassidy sit down as well, with Shibata sitting right in front of him. Cassidy gently slaps him so Shibata BLASTS HIM with a forearm before unloading in the corner.

Back up and they knock each other down, allowing us to look at Tyson watching the match. It’s Cassidy up first with a running penalty kick so Shibata tells him to do it again. That’s what Cassidy does before more kicks have no effect. A big running kick manages to knock Cassidy do but Shibata is back up with something like an Orange Punch to knock Cassidy silly. The octopus goes on and they fall to the mat, where Cassidy gets his foot on the rope.

The Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble and he fires off some lazy Kawada kicks. Shibata is right back with a Death Valley Driver but Cassidy counters another one into a Stunner. The Beach Break gives Cassidy two and the Orange Punch….doesn’t actually knock Shibata down. Instead Shibata is up with the choke before suplexing Cassidy back down. The Penalty kick is loaded up but Cassidy pops to his feet for the Orange Punch to retain at 11:10.

Rating: B-. This is going to be an example of “your mileage may vary” and I’m not overly surprised. The match felt like something you see at a Wrestlemania weekend independent show with the question of “wouldn’t it be cool if these two faced each other?”. It was a completely fine way to go and I’m sure Shibata’s fans are happy to see him. Cassidy is one of the most oddball people around but he did well here and it was a bit of a treat, even if not what you would expect Shibata to do.

Respect is shown post match and Cassidy gives Shibata his sunglasses, while also cracking a smile.

That’s it for Tyson, making it a rather forgettable cameo, though he did sound happy to be there.

Toni Storm thinks Britt Baker is manipulating Jamie Hayter but she’ll be ready at Full Gear.

The Blackpool Combat Club isn’t happy with Chris Jericho going too far against Ring Of Honor. Why is he going after non-wrestlers like Ian Riccaboni? If Jericho wants to go after the Ring Of Honor World Champions, come after Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson. William Regal tells Jericho to make his choice.

Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker vs. Skye Blue/Madison Rayne

Rebel is here with the villains. Rayne takes Hayter into the corner to start and Blue cuts Hayter off with a raised boot. A high crossbody gives Blue two but Hayter cuts her off with a hot shot as we take a break. Back with Hayter and Blue knocking each other down, allowing Blue to kick Baker in the head as well for the tag off to Rayne.

House is cleaned and a neckbreaker gets two on Baker, followed by a cutter for a bonus. Hayter is back in with what looked like a chokebreaker to Rayne but Blue gives her a Backstabber. Baker kicks Blue down and hits the fisherman’s neckbreaker for two on Rayne. The villains hit stereo superkicks and Hayter adds the ripcord lariat for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. They kept this moving and the match wound up being a nice showcase for Hayter on the way to her title match. Hayter has impressed a lot in recent weeks and that very well could continue through Full Gear. Blue and Madison are good target practice who can still do fairly well in the ring, making this a completely acceptable match.

Post match Baker mocks Toni Storm and promises Hayter is winning the title at Full Gear. Cue Storm, who drops Rebel with one hand, beats up Baker and Thesz presses Hayter to start the brawl. As you would in any fight, Storm grabs a Texas Cloverleaf but Baker comes in with a belt shot to knock her silly. Hayter gets to hold up the title.

We look at Chris Jericho calling out Lamar Jackson on Dynamite, plus the Baltimore Ravens (Jackson’s team) tweeting a response to Jericho. That’s the kind of publicity AEW can/should brag about.

Tony Schiavone talks to Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho about the Blackpool Combat Club’s challenge. Jericho is thinking about saying both, because the Club doesn’t like each other. So how about the three of them and Sammy in a four way for the title. Jericho suggest that Sammy would “do the right thing”, which doesn’t seem to sit well with him.

Here is Ricky Starks for a chat. Starks asks if you can hear the crowd reaction because he knows people are asking to see him get on TV. He has never had to ask the fans to have his back because they know he can deliver. The people like to see him do the pose and he likes them too.

There is a question that people want to know and that is about the eliminator tournament. Starks is one of those six answers, because he is officially entering. Things are crumbling around here (probably shouldn’t say that) but he is going to hold it up on his bare back. He’s ready to face Jon Moxley or MJF because he is Ricky Freaking Starks. Good stuff here, as I can always go for more of Starks, especially when he is fired up.

Sammy Guevara is ready to keep the Ring Of Honor World Title in the Jericho Appreciation Society, but for now he wants to talk about Bryan Danielson. He wants a rematch and he wants it next week on Dynamite, 2/3 falls.

Samoa Joe/Wardlow and the Gates of Agony are ready for each other. Oh and Wardlow wants Powerhouse Hobbs to come get him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We get the brackets for the Full Gear tournament:

Eddie Kingston
Ethan Page

Bandido
Rush

Lance Archer
Ricky Starks

Brian Cage
Dante Martin

Samoa Joe/Wardlow vs. Gates of Agony

Prince Nana is here with the Gates. Wardlow misses a clothesline to Kaun to start but is fine enough to drive him into the corner. A clothesline drops Kaun again before Wardlow opts to just hammer away at the head. Joe comes in and slugs at Loa before hitting the corner enziguri. Kaun gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Loa runs Joe over for two.

We take a break and come back with Joe fighting out of a dropkick and Rock Bottoming him out of the corner. Wardlow comes back in for a bunch of German suplexes as everything breaks down. The wind up punch drops Kaun and Wardlow shrugs off a knee to the face. The four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Kaun at 9:11.

Rating: C. What am I supposed to say about this? The Gates of Agony have been around for seven months, they haven’t won a two on two tag match since July (when the other team split up mid match) and there was no reason to believe they were going to win here. This was a good example of a match where it felt like Ring Of Honor was shoehorned in and it did not help things in the slightest.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes out to stare down Wardlow to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is more or less the standard Rampage: fun opener, nothing middle match, and something Ring of Honor related in the main event. While it might be a pretty good show, other than an announcement about an upcoming Ring of Honor Title match, absolutely none of this stuff felt important. Shibata vs. Cassidy was little more than a fun curiosity match, Hayter is set for the title match and the Gates of Agony have never felt important around here. Rampage has very little excitement most of the time and I can’t imagine wanting to go to one of these shows, special commentator (for one match) or not.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Katsuyori Shibata – Orange Punch
Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter b. Skye Blue/Madison Rayne – Ripcord lariat to Rayne
Samoa Joe/Wardlow b. Gates of Agony – Powerbomb Symphony to Kaun

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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Wrestlemania Count-Up – XIV (2015 Redo): Everything Changes

Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Tag Team Battle Royal

Los Boricuas (Vega/Perez), Los Boricuas (Estrada/Castillo), Truth Commission (Recon/Sniper), Bradshaw/Chainz, Nation of Domination (Brown/Henry), Nation of Domination (Faarooq/Mustafa), Legion of Doom 2000, Quebecers, Rock N Roll Express, Headbangers, Too Much, Disciples of Apocalypse, Steve Blackman/Flash Funk, Godwinns, New Midnight Express

Ever the poor sports, the Godwinns come back in with their metal buckets to knock the LOD silly and give the Express a chance. Animal rolls under the ropes to the floor, leaving Hawk to beat up both goons on his own. Animal comes back in to clean house and the Express is clotheslined out to give LOD the win at 8:13.

Kevin Kelly and Honky Tonk Man tell us to CALL THE HOTLINE!

Clips of various media appearances that took place in Boston over the recent days. This would become a Wrestlemania tradition and always made the show feel more important.

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Michinoku is defending and won the inaugural title late last year. Aguila is better known as Essa Rios and slaps hands with the champion to start. A quick spinwheel kick sends Taka out to the floor and Aguila follows him out with a moonsault to the outside. Taka kicks him outside as well and nails his signature running springboard dive to take over again.

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

Hart starts fast and scores with some early clotheslines and right hands in the corner followed by a standing hurricanrana for two. So much for the leg being badly damaged but he does seem a bit ginger. HHH sends him to the floor but Slaughter stops Chyna from interfering. Back in and a poke to the eye breaks up the Sharpshooter to give HHH control.

Rating: B. What a difference a year makes with HHH as he went from a slow, boring match with Goldust to a really good, fast paced match here with Owen. I never quite got why Hart kept losing and losing to HHH as you would think they might want to go somewhere with him as the last remaining Hart. At least he was a good opponent for HHH and we got a good match here.

Marc Mero/Sable vs. Luna/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Mero celebrates like he got the pin in a perfect character move.

Intercontinental Title: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock

Rock is defending and the leader of the Nation of Domination. He actually gave Shamrock a title shot back at the Rumble where Shamrock got disqualified and the feud has continued from there. This included Rock BLASTING Shamrock in the face with a chair a few weeks back on Raw in a shot that would probably get him fired today. Rock has the Nation in his corner, minus Faarooq who Rock took the leadership from. If Rock gets disqualified here, he loses the title.

Tag Team Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws

In Your House XXI ad.

We recap Undertaker vs. Kane and this is going to get a bit complicated. Paul Bearer had promised to destroy Undertaker and revealed that Undertaker had a brother named Kane, who had been horribly burned in a fire as a child, a fire that Bearer claimed Undertaker set. During the first Hell in a Cell match, Kane actually debuted and laid out Undertaker, seemingly setting up their first match. However, Undertaker vowed to his parents that he would never fight his brother.

Undertaker vs. Kane

They stare each other down and Undertaker hammers away to almost no effect. A big toss by the throat sends Undertaker into the corner but Kane charges into a boot to the face. Undertaker charges into a Tombstone attempt but gets dropped on his head in the corner. Kane knees Undertaker down in the corner before draping him ribs first across the top rope.

Bearer comes in for some cheap shots, allowing Kane to lay Undertaker out with a chair and another Tombstone. Kane and Bearer leave but Undertaker sits up again.

Another Attitude spot, but this time with some legends talking about how amazing their days were. In their time, there were no flashing lights or moonsaults, no walking the top rope or pyrotechnics. Today though, the legends are the ones cheering. Another outstanding ad here as you can see that everything is changing.

We recap Austin vs. Michaels, which translates to a video on Mike Tyson, who is the real star of this show and the reason it was such a big deal. This is one of the best celebrity investments in company history and made the match.

WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

JR gets the famous line with “The Austin Era has begun!” Michaels is ticked off at Tyson and takes a swing, earning him a right hand to the jaw to knock Shawn out cold. Confetti falls and the highlight package takes us out.

There are better Wrestlemanias out there but this one was the right show at the right time with the right ending. The memorable moments here are memorable for a reason and the show holds up today for all the right reasons. This show launched the WWF into its second great era and they never looked back. Well not for a few years at least.

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D+

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: B

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: B

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B+

2015 Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B

That’s a lot more all over the place than usual, even by my standards.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/21/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-14-everything-changes-forever/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/23/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xiv-the-austin-era-has-begun/

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/B00E6282 W6

AND

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

Dynamite – April 14, 2021: Home Alone

Dynamite
Date: April 14, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time for Dynamite to be on their own on Wednesday nights as the Wednesday Night Wars have come to an end. This is also an interesting time for AEW as the last few shows have seen a slip in their audience and some of their shows have not been quite so well received. AEW has a very good track record of correcting their issues though and maybe they can do it again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Young Bucks talk about how they picked friendship last week. They’re tired of others taking their credit so it is time to bring back the old Young Bucks, which they demonstrate by cutting the tassels off of their gear.

Mike Tyson is ready to be the guest enforcer this week but MJF comes up to say the Pinnacle isn’t happy with him. Tyson thinks MJF is his enemy, even while MJF tries to talk him into thinking it’s Jericho. MJF offers him a blank check but Tyson rips it up….and then eats part of it. That’s too far for MJF, who says he’ll remember that.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Rey Fenix/Pac vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Don Callis comes to the ring with them before going to commentary. Pac takes Matt to the ground to start and rides him a bit before it’s off to Fenix vs. Nick. The pace is picked up with neither of them being able to get very far until a shot to Fenix’s back takes him down. A backdrop into a powerbomb doesn’t work as Fenix snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor.

The Bucks are sent outside for the back to back dives, followed by a series of kicks to rock Matt for two. Nick comes back in with the slingshot X Factor to Fenix and a double hiptoss sets up a double dropkick for a very lazy two. It’s back to Pac for a brainbuster on Nick as everything breaks down. The Bucks hit stereo apron powerbombs and then take it back inside for a running knee to Pac. A hyped up back rake keeps Pac down and we take a break.

Back with Pac backdropping Matt out to the floor, where he pulls Fenix off the apron. Pac knocks Matt away though and brings in Fenix to pick up the pace, including a double cutter for two on the Bucks. Everything breaks down and Fenix grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Matt.

The big flip dive takes Nick down on the floor as Pac grabs a German suplex for two. They head outside again with Fenix and Nick hitting stereo poisonranas. Back in and a top rope superplex drops Matt, setting up the Black Arrow for two with Nick driving Pac into the cover for two. Pac is sent to the floor so the Bucks take off Fenix’s mask and hit a double superkick to retain at 23:23.

Rating: B. The action was good but the mask stealing is a pretty cliched way to deal with a luchador. It didn’t help that there was no drama about a title change whatsoever. Now that the Elite is complete or whatever we’re doing here, it is going to be a long time before the champs actually get beat. Fenix and Pac looked good, but I’m not seeing them getting the titles anytime soon.

Hangman Page goes to get some egg rolls as John Silver and the Dark Order work on physical therapy for Silver’s shoulder injury.

Chris Jericho talks about knowing Mike Tyson for years, even back to when Tyson knocked him out years ago. Now, Jericho knows he needs some help and Tyson was the first person he called. Tonight, Tyson is the enforcer but Tyson says he’ll call it down the line, including knocking Jericho out if he has to.

Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet

It’s a brawl to start with Velvet slipping out of a powerbomb and kicking Cargill in the face. Cargill gets low bridged to the floor and Velvet hits a big dive. That’s fine with Cargill, who fall away slams Velvet into the wrestlers at ringside. Back in and Cargill slams her again as we take a break. We come back with Cargill missing a charge into the corner but some clotheslines don’t put her down. Velvet finally manages to drop her with a wheelbarrow bulldog into the standing moonsault for two. The moonsault only grazes Cargill’s back so she’s up with Jaded (Glam Slam) for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C-. They’re keeping this stuff fast and safe and that is a good idea for these two. Cargill still has all of the charisma and ability to play to the camera in the world but she is going to need a lot more ring time. Velvet isn’t the one to carry her that much farther, but they are doing something smart by letting them have such basic matches.

Britt Baker and Rebel give us an update on Baker’s rankings as she marches towards the Women’s Title.

Anthony Ogogo vs. Cole Carter

This is Ogogo’s, a bronze medalist in boxing, in-ring debut. After some quick grappling, Ogogo finishes with a punch to the ribs for the referee stoppage. That seemed rather fast.

Dax Harwood vs. Chris Jericho

Cash Wheeler, Tully Blanchard and Sammy Guevara are here and Mike Tyson is guest enforcer. They go straight to the brawling to start and the fight heads outside. Back in and Harwood nails him with a clothesline before it’s right back to the floor. This time Jericho stabs him in the head with a pen and then does his steal the camera bit. That takes too long so Harwood whips him into a barricade and gets in an argument with Tyson as we take a break.

Back with Jericho hitting a top rope ax handle into a lariat for two. Harwood runs him over again but misses a diving headbutt, allowing Jericho to grab the Walls. That’s broken up so Jericho misses the Judas Effect, allowing Harwood to German suplex him for two. The Codebreaker connects for Jericho but here are the Pinnacle and Inner Circle to fight. Wheeler goes for the bat so Tyson knocks him out. A Guevara distraction lets Jericho hit the Judas Effect for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: C+. This was a fine enough way to continue the build towards Blood & Guts, though it’s kind of a downgrade after they started with the huge brawls. That being said, the brawl on the stage made sense and it would have been weird to not have this wind up being some big mess. Tyson was fine in his role, and leaving it simple for him is the right idea.

Post match Jericho makes Tyson a member of the Inner Circle.

The Elite talks about everything they are doing now. This is the old version of them and that means the gold will follow. Like the gold they already had? Be prepared to be surprised again. And Callis superkicks the camera.

Thunder Rosa wants the NWA Women’s Title.

Kris Statlander vs. Amber Nova

Statlander starts fast with a boop each for Nova and the referee. Schiavone talks about his time being booped and it’s Statlander hitting a running elbow in the corner. The Big Bang Theory finishes Nova at 2:48.

Post match, Statlander and the Best Friends strike the pose.

Team Taz is ready to go get Christian’s response but Taz thinks Ricky Starks should stay backstage. Brian Cage agrees, but Taz tells him to do the same.

Here is Christian for an open challenge but Taz and company interrupt. Taz asks for an answer so Christian says no, sending Taz into a rant about how he never liked Christian or “his friend”. He even accuses Christian of wearing Taz’s colors and promises vengeance. Powerhouse Hobbs comes to the ring and the brawl is on, with Hobbs getting the better of things. Hobbs sends him into the barricade and then drops him onto the steps to leave Christian laying.

Video on Tay Conti vs. Hikaru Shida before their title match next week.

TNT Title: Matt Hardy vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and this is Falls Count Anywhere. Matt grabs a chair to knock Allin down to start and they head outside, where Matt sends him face first into the apron over and over. They head back inside with Allin already bleeding from the back. A neckbreaker gives Hardy two and he chairs Allin down again. Allin’s neck is put in the chair but the Twist of Fate is countered with a chair ram into Hardy’s neck.

Some chair shots to the back have Hardy in more trouble….and here is the Hardy Family Office to go after Allin. The Dark Order comes in for the brawl and here is Sting to get in on things. We take a break and come back with Sting and Lancer Archer having a staredown, with Archer going over to give Isaiah Kassidy the Black Out. Allin pounds on Hardy and Sting throws him the bat to make it worse.

A low blow cuts that off though and a Twist of Fate with the chair around Allin’s neck gets two. Not two weeks off the show as it probably should, but a two count. Hardy takes it backstage in front of Tony Khan and BJ Whitmer, with Allin being legdropped through a table for two. Back to the stage, where Allin slips out of a Razor’s Edge for a low blow of his own. Allin gets in a few shots with the bat to knock Hardy onto the announcers’ table. The Coffin Drop puts Hardy through the table to retain at 16:30.

Rating: C. So they started the match, then they did something completely different with Sting/Archer/everyone else, then they got back to the match where Allin survived a lot, hit him with the bat and won with a huge Coffin Drop. This felt like two segments crammed together and it only kind of worked, as I lost track of the match for a long portion. It was energetic and some of the spots were pretty good, but I don’t care about Hardy and the Twist of Fate onto the chair being a minor annoyance for Allin left me rolling my eyes more than anything else.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was all over the place and that might not be the best thing in the world. They did a few things rather well, mainly involving the stuff in the ring, but other than that, this was kind of a crazy one with one thing happening after another. I’ll give them points for not focusing on the Elite as much, but I’m not really sure what the big deal of this show was supposed to be. The Bucks would make the most sense, but they were gone about halfway through the show. It felt like they were just throwing stuff out there and while a good bit of it worked, the show felt tossed together and that isn’t like them.

Results

Young Bucks b. Rey Fenix/Pac – Double superkick to Fenix

Jade Cargill b. Red Velvet – Jaded

Anthony Ogogo b. Cole Carter via referee stoppage

Chris Jericho b. Dax Harwood – Judas Effect

Kris Statlander b. Amber Nova – Big Bang Theory

Darby Allin b. Matt Hardy – Coffin Drop through the announcers’ table

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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Dynamite – April 7, 2021: You Can See The Stale

Dynamite
Date: April 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Believe it or not we have a big six man tag here with the Young Bucks and Jon Moxley teaming up to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. That certainly has potential, as does the next step in the Inner Circle vs. the Pinnacle. Throw in the explanation from QT Marshall about his new group and….you’ll realize that this place has a lot of stables. Oh and Mike Tyson is here again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Inner Circle arrived in some very expensive cars.

Opening sequence.

Max Caster vs. Hangman Page

Page doesn’t seem to like the rap and sends Caster into the buckle over and over. Caster gets in some right hands of his own but Page takes him down and hits a backsplash for two. They head outside where Page sends him into the barricade but stops to yell at Anthony Bowens. Back in and Page sends Caster outside again, this time setting up a slingshot dive. Caster is sat on the barricade for a clothesline, followed by a stare to get Bowens to put the boom box down.

The distraction lets Caster start in on the arm with some knee drops and a hammerlock with a crossface. That doesn’t last long as Page is back up with a spinebuster into an exploder suplex for two. They head to the apron for a slugout until Caster charges into a belly to back drop. Page goes up again but Bowens offers another distraction, allowing Caster to grab a superplex.

Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates has Page in trouble but he’s out in a hurry and clotheslines Caster out of the air. The boom box comes in again for a distraction, allowing Bowens to slide Caster the chain. One heck of a right hand gives Caster two but the Mic Drop misses. Bowens breaks up the Buckshot so Page takes him out, followed by the Buckshot Lariat to finish Caster at 10:04.

Rating: C. That’s kind of a long time to beat a tag guy (who was somehow #3 in the rankings). Page is the #1 contender for whenever he gets the title shot and at least he had to take care of both of the Acclaimed here. The match was fine enough, though it didn’t exactly make Page look like the guy who is ready to take on Omega.

Tony Schiavone brings in the Death Triangle for a chat. Before they can say anything, here are the Best Friends (now complete with Kris Stadtlander), with Orange Cassidy showing us a clip from May when the Triangle took them out. The Triangle laughs them off but Pac is willing to give them another beating. Trent says the boys are back in town and now they have an alien with them. I’ll consider that a Toy Story reference as we wrap things up, basically with an announcement of what is next for both group.

Urban Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talked with Mike Tyson earlier.

Here’s the Inner Circle for a chat. After a break, Chris Jericho says they’re back in black after a beatdown from the Pineapple. He apologizes for the bad things they did but that was because of MJF (My Jerkoff Friend). Jericho talks about being bad in chemistry, to the point where his high school teacher asked him if he was on dope. No one is smart at chemistry, but Jericho is smart at people. He didn’t let MJF into the Inner Circle to help him up, but rather to keep him under Jericho’s thumb.

Then MJF outsmarted them, but then Jericho put his face in a toilet. Jericho knows that MJF is going to be the great one one day but he wants to be the great one now. Instead, be better than Peter Avalon, be better than Michael Nakazawa and be better than that scarf, because it is old and is sucks. Jericho was doing the scarf thing five years ago so why is MJF stealing his s***?

MJF is the one who ran to the back to ask how he did, which is called being a mark. Actually, from now on we’re going to call that being a Max. Then there is the Pinnacle, which is quite the lineup. You have Tully Blanchard, who is nothing more than the third string member of the Four Horsemen, right between Ole Anderson and Paul Roma (OUCH). Then there is FTR, who he can’t tell apart. They’re like the Jonas Brothers, in that they’re talented but no one can remember who is which.

Then you have Shawn Spears, and the only thing Jericho knows about him is the phone call Jericho got from him when WWE fired him ten years ago. Finally there is Wardlow with a million dollar brain and a thirteen cent body (yes that is what Jericho said) and is so stupid he has to strip to count to 21. Jericho: “I’ve seen him do it.” They are going to turn the Pinnacle into a human centipede and on May 5, it’s Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle in a Blood & Guts match. Jericho was showing the fire here and his face turn should breathe some new life into him.

Christian Cage talks about bringing Kazarian up to another level last week. Taz comes in and offers him a spot on Team Taz but leaves pretty quickly, telling Christian to sleep on it.

Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express

Bear Country is sent outside to start, where they catch Boy’s dive. They can’t catch Luchasaurus though and it’s time to head back inside. Boy’s top rope hurricanrana is cut off so Luchasaurus dives at them and….bounces off of them, making Bronson and Boy stagger around a bit.

We take a break and come back with Boy taking a backdrop and being powered into the corner. A few elbows get him out of trouble and a few slides between the legs are enough for the hot tag to Luchasaurus. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house with strikes but Bronson catches him on top with a superplex. Boy breaks up the cover and mostly hits a slingshot tornado DDT.

Luchasaurus covers Boulder but Bronson picks up Boy and drives him into the cover (while not looking great in the process) for a save of his own. A double Cannonball in the corner crushes Luchasaurus but he sits up to avoid some kind of electric chair splash. Boulder gets kicked in the face and sent to the floor, leaving Bronson to take a chokeslam. Luchasaurus’ standing moonsault is good for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was rather messy with not much of a flow or anything, plus some ugly looking sequences and spots. They were kind of lumbering around and trying to go a little bit faster than they should have. Throw in the moves they were doing not quite working and it wasn’t the best thing in the world. At least Jurassic Express won, even if they aren’t getting close to the titles anytime soon.

QT Marshall talks about how sick he is of Cody Rhodes, who was stuck behind Ted Jr. in WWE. That’s why Cody went to the indies and surrounded himself with small guys so he could stand out for once. Marshall has surrounded himself with men, like Aaron Solow who will never be someone’s boyfriend (Bayley’s ex), Commarado, who will never be just a body guy, and Ogogo, who is a household name in the UK. This is Marshall’s factory now. Nice promo, but it’s still QT Marshall leading a stable.

Sting comes out for a chat but here’s Jake Roberts to cut him off before Sting can say a word. Jake says Sting is insane if he keeps trying the same thing and expecting something else. Cue Lance Archer to say how awesome he is and how sick he is of Sting getting the mic time. Sting takes the mic and says he’s tired of Archer being left out too. So why isn’t Jake telling him how to do it? Sting tells Archer to make it showtime and leaves.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are watching from the rafters.

Taz cuts off Ricky Starks and Brian Page because they need to focus on Christian.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. JD Drake

Allin is defending and has Sting in his corner. Drake knocks him to the floor with a single chop, where Ryan Nemeth goes after Allin. That earns him a stalking to the back from Sting and we take a break with Allin still in trouble. Back with Allin rolling outside but Drake tosses him into the ropes (from the floor) and nails a hard clothesline. Drake’s Cannonball against the barricade only hits barricade so Allin takes out Cezar Bononi (because Drake has multiple friends too).

Back in and Drake gets him in the Tree of Woe, meaning the Cannonball can connect this time for two. Drake misses a moonsault that wouldn’t have connected even if Allin had stayed in the same place so Allin goes up top. That brings Drake up with him so Allin bites his finger for the break. The super Code Red sets up the Coffin Drop to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see Allin having an actual title defense. Drake is someone with potential, though I’m not sure where he (and his friends) fit in other than being new jobbers. This was fine for a one off match and that’s all it needed to be, though I’m curious as to what Allin’s next actual feud will be.

Post match the Hardy Family Office runs in for the beatdown but Sting and the Dark Order makes the save. Tay Conti comes in for the brawl with the Bunny.

Video on Kenny Omega’s issues with the Young Bucks, who used to be friends, then they weren’t friends, then they were friends, then they weren’t friends, then Don Callis talked to them a lot, and now it’s complicated.

The Pinnacle jumps Chris Jericho and bring him into the ring for the beatdown. The spike piledriver plants him as we see the Inner Circle locked in their dressing room. They break through the door and we come back to the arena where MIKE TYSON saves Jericho and beats up Shawn Spears in the corner. The rest of the Inner Circle comes in for the real save and Jericho poses with Tyson (who is in pretty good shape here).

Britt Baker and Rebel think that Baker deserves a Women’s Title shot because the rankings are nonsense. She is going to be getting her wins up because rankings aren’t based on things that matter like merchandise sales and star power.

The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

The Hardy Family Office, the Dark Order and Hikaru Shida are all at ringside. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bunny hammering away and yelling a lot. Conti is back up with a capture suplex, allowing Excalibur to compare her to Akira Maeda. Bunny is fine enough to send her into the apron and then nail a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Conti hitting a spinning backbreaker but missing a running knee in the corner. Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up and a failed Matt Hardy distraction lets Tay hit the TayKO for….two. Bunny gets in a neck snap over the top and knocks down Shida to take away her kendo stick. Shida takes it back though, allowing Conti to hit a superplex. The DDTay finishes Bunny at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Conti is on a roll as of late and Bunny got in enough to carry her half. It seems that Conti is the next challenger for Shida, though I have no idea if she would wind up taking the title because Shida seems likely to be the champion for the rest of time. Maybe Conti is the one, but it’s not like there is a reason to believe it at this point. She has been awesome as of late though and this was more good stuff.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Jon Moxley

Don Callis is on commentary. Matt and Anderson start things off as JR calls it a six man tag instead of a trios match. Actually we’ll make it Omega vs. Matt instead, meaning a lot of trash is talked. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to Nick to crank on Omega’s arm. A hurricanrana puts Omega on the floor so it’s Anderson coming in. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s the triple dives to take down Omega and the Brothers.

Back from a break with Matt making the hot tag to Moxley so house can be cleaned, including snapping off some German suplexes. Anderson manages to take Moxley into the corner for two, setting up a big boot to drop him again. Moxley manages to come back up with a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Nick to face Anderson. Nick sends Omega to the floor and cleans house on the Brothers until Anderson snaps off a spinebuster. Matt comes in to hiptoss Omega a few times, setting up a DDT to plant him.

Matt can’t bring himself to superkick Omega though, instead asking if he is ok. That earns him a slap from Omega so Matt takes Omega down and hammers away. The rung is cleared out again and Omega grabs the snapdragon on Matt. There’s another snapdragon but Moxley breaks up the V Trigger. Matt piledrives Omega but stops to check on him, only to go with More Bang For Your Buck for two.

Anderson makes the save so the Bucks clear the ring again. The BTE Trigger is loaded up on Omega but can’t do it. Moxley comes in instead for the Paradigm Shift into the rear naked choke….but the Bucks superkick Moxley. Eddie Kingston runs in for the attempted save but gets laid out by the Brothers. A Magic Killer to Moxley is enough for Omega to get the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B-. You knew it was coming and now we’re finally here. The big Bullet Club reunion that….well I guess someone must find it fascinating. It’s the big heel stable again and odds are they are going to hold the titles for a long time to come against a variety of challengers. The story makes sense but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff. At least we’re finally here now after months of “well maybe the Bucks are going to do something” and that’s an improvement. I guess.

Post match the Bucks hit a double superkick on Moxley and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The big angle at the end wasn’t exactly inspiring but the rest of the show was pretty good for the most part. They need to find something to do other than big group beatdowns though, because there were quite a few on this show alone. AEW has a bad tendency to repeat things in their angles and post match segments (which happen in almost every match) and it would be nice if they could mix it up a bit. It’s starting to get tiring and that is never a good feeling. It’s still a very energetic show, but it needs to have something fresh in there for a change.

Results

Hangman Page b. Max Caster – Buckshot Lariat

Jurassic Express b. Bear Country – Standing moonsault to Bronson

Darby Allin b. JD Drake – Coffin Drop

Tay Conti b. The Bunny – DDTay

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Jon Moxley/Young Bucks – Magic Killer to Moxley

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.

Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XIV (2015 Redo): An Actual New Era

Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Tag Team Battle Royal

Kevin Kelly and Honky Tonk Man tell us to CALL THE HOTLINE!

Clips of various media appearances that took place in Boston over the recent days. This would become a Wrestlemania tradition and always made the show feel more important.

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

Marc Mero/Sable vs. Luna/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Mero celebrates like he got the pin in a perfect character move.

Intercontinental Title: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock

Tag Team Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws

In Your House XXI ad.

Undertaker vs. Kane

Bearer comes in for some cheap shots, allowing Kane to lay Undertaker out with a chair and another Tombstone. Kane and Bearer leave but Undertaker sits up again.

WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D+

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: B

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: B

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B+

2015 Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B

That’s a lot more all over the place than usual, even by my standards.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/21/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-14-everything-changes-forever/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/23/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xiv-the-austin-era-has-begun/

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.

Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XIV (2013 Redo): Like Looking In A Weird Mirror

Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Chris Warren of the DX Band sings an unnecessary rock/metal version of the Star Spangled Banner/America the Beautiful. Thankfully this is booed out of the building.

Tag Team Battle Royal

The fans are completely behind the LOD as you would expect. Apparently the title match will be next month at Unforgiven. Things slow WAY down as Hawk runs over Henry Godwinn. The bikers (D.O.A.) are gone but they come back in to eliminate the Godwinns for fun. That leaves the returning L.O.D. against Bombastic Bob Holly and Bodacious Bart Gunn. Do I need to draw you a picture here?

CALL THE HOTLINE!

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Back in and Michinoku misses a corkscrew dive but Aguila hits a moonsault for two. Taka fights up and hits a smack to the face to put Aguila on his knees. A splash hits knees though and Aguila puts Michinoku back on the top. Aguila hits a big old rana off the top for no cover, allowing Taka to come back with a knee in the chest. A missile dropkick puts Aguila down as does a powerbomb, but Taka misses a moonsault. Aguila dives into a dropkick though and the Michinoku Driver retains the title.

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

Chyna decks Slaughter post match.

We recap Mero/Sable against Goldust/Luna. This was a weird feud as Mero had been a total jerk to Sable for months as he thought she was hogging the spotlight. Then Luna and Goldie went after her so for about a week, Mero was the gallant hero standing up for her honor.

The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon vs. Marc Mero/Sable

Mero pounds away on Goldust in the corner but gets clotheslined down to change control. A quick cross body gets two for Marc but Goldust hits an uppercut to put him right back down. The fans chant for Sable as the men collide. A double tag brings in the girls and Sable spears Luna down. She pounds away and kicks Luna in the corner before bealing her across the ring.

Jeff Jarrett brings out Gennifer Flowers to be at ring announcer for the next match.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Back in and Cactus goes up on top of the ladder along with Billy, onto to have Terry knocked into the ladder, sending both guys on top of it into the dumpster. Cactus climbs out as Terry is powerbombed into the dumpster.

Unforgiven is in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Undertaker vs. Kane

Post match Kane lays out Undertaker again, blasting him with a chair a few times. A tombstone on the chair leaves Taker out cold.

WWF World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin

We get the famous line from JR of “The Austin Era has begun!” as Austin gets the belt for the first time. He poses on the ropes in another famous visual before handing Tyson an Austin shirt. Shawn is ticked off at Tyson and gets in his face so Tyson lays him out with a right hand (JR: “TYSON! TYSON! TYSON! RIGHT HAND! DOWN GOES MICHAELS!”). Massive celebrating ends the show.

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-

Redo: D

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+

Redo: B

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C

Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

Redo: C-

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+

Redo: C

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

Redo: C-

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+

Redo: B

I have no idea what I was thinking on the second and third matches.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/21/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-14-everything-changes-forever/

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.

Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XIV (Original): He Did It

Wrestlemania 14
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: Fleetcenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross
America the Beautiful: Chris Warren

We have arrived in the Attitude Era full blast now. As of last year’s Wrestlemania, it was about as obvious as possible that Austin was going to be the guy that the company put itself on for the foreseeable future. Bret was gone due to Montreal and, we didn’t know it at the time, but Shawn was on his way out. This show was based completely around storyline with wrestling thrown in on the side.

The big deal at this show was Mike Tyson. Floyd Mayweather at last year’s show was nothing but a cheap imitation of this. Tyson being on the show was absolutely mind blowing at the time as he was one of the biggest names in the world. We all knew Austin would get the belt, but with Tyson there we wanted to see how he did it. The other feud was a mind blowing one as well with Kane vs. the Undertaker.

That feud is about as epic as you can get so I’ll go into the explanation for that when it’s time. This was the first show that was completely in the new era and it’s clear that the company was going in a new direction. You can see that in the very first match of the show. Before that though, we get an excellent video talking about how the new generation is killing off the tradition of Wrestlemania, but it questions if they really are doing so. Check it out if you get the chance. Where was I? Oh yes, let’s get to it.

The opening video is about how there’s a new era in the company. This era is full of brash young men that are fighting for the same title that Hogan and Sammartino had. Tonight instead of fighting history, they will become it. Cool opening video.

With no pyro or anything, it’s time for the first match.
Tag Team Battle Royal

Los Boricuas (Vega/Perez), Los Boricuas (Estrada/Castillo), Truth Commission, Bradshaw/Chainz, Nation of Domination (Henry/Brown), Nation of Domination (Farrooq/Kama), Quebecers, New Midnight Express (Bart Gunn and Bob Holly), Rock N Roll Express (original), Headbangers, Too Much (Too Cool), Disciples of Apocalypse, Steve Blackman/Flash Funk, Godwins, Legion of Doom 2000
This is for a title shot the following month at Unforgiven. The LOD is returning here, managed by the epitome of sex appeal, Sunny. If you ask most people here, Sunny was one of their first crushes. Just an absolute goddess. Anyway, this is a pretty big mess of a match. The rules are that if one man is eliminated, so is his partner. The RVD sign in the crowd amuses me. The crowd is going nuts for LOD, who were always ridiculously over.

We only see the intros of Farrooq/Kama and the LOD, more or less saying who the winners are automatically. Why there’s a remix of their song I have no idea. Anyway, Animal is in shorts now and Sunny is in very little. LOUD LOD chant starts up. Everyone starts on the floor so it’s a big brawl to start. Savio goes out. There isn’t much to say here as everything is a big mess with 30 people in the ring to start.

Kurrgan comes out and eliminates the Truth Commission. Barry Windham comes out to get rid of Chainz and Bradshaw. Thankfully that clears up a bit of space here. D’lo and Henry are out. The Quebecers are out. This is going so fast that you can’t keep up with anything at all. The original Express is out. This is annoying beyond belief.

Castillo and Estrada are out. Headbangers are out. Henry is still in there even though his partner is out. I have no idea who is left. Henry is gone finally. Too Much is gone and Lawler is mad. Uh the Godwins, the DOA, the LOD, New Midnights and that’s it. We slow WAY down and this is just boring.

The DOA is finally out. We went from like two eliminations a minute to one in three minutes. Ok the DOA is still in. Now the Godwins are out as is DOA. The Godwins get their buckets to drill LOD, making it harder for the new Midnights to pick them up and toss them as the LOD are now dead weight. Animal goes under the ropes but Hawk hangs on. I think you know the ending here. The LOD clean house and almost stereo eliminations give the old guys the win.

Rating: D-. This was awful. The ending was known far before the match ended, the eliminations were awful as they went far too fast, and there were WAY too many people in the ring at once with 30 being in there at the beginning. This team went nowhere for the most part but anytime Sunny looks like that you can’t call it a failure at all.
Light Heavyweight Championship: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

This is the epitome of filler. No one ever knew what to do with these guys so it would be Taka vs. random opponent of the month. This whole title was just a waste and I don’t think anyone missed it when it was exiled to Metal. It was clearly a response to the Crusierweights, but the problem was simple: most of the good cruiserweights were taken already.

Aside from Taka, the WWF guys had no personality, no substance to them at all, and were just dull. There was absolutely no structure to the division whatsoever. See what I’m doing here? I’m typing this out so I don’t have to be bored to death by this match. Dang it I have to watch it I guess. There was zero transition here at all either as we just start the match. No entrance for Taka either.

They slap hands to start and here we go. This is very much like the Moolah Women’s Title defenses back in the 70s and early 80s. Asai moonsault by Aguila who is only 19. We head to the floor for the second time tonight as Taka hits a huge plancha to take down Aguila.

We go into the ring and the fans go into their seats. No one cares about these guys and it’s pretty clear. There’s a reason why this division bombed and I’ve gone into it already. We go to the floor for the third time in less than three minutes. Taka counters for a bit but gets caught by a top rope armdrag.

Aguila does some great flips and we’re on the floor one more time. Nice corkscrew plancha by Aguila takes Taka down as we’re doing high spot, rest, high spot, rest, lather rinse repeat. Moonsault by Aguila gets two. Middle rope splash gets knees for Taka and the champion is in trouble. Michinoku Driver and a moonsault miss but Taka gets a counter with a dropkick and the second attempt at the Driver ends this.

Rating: D+. The match was fine but at the same time, this was rather pointless. It’s the definition of filler as there was no reason to care about any character. Only Taka got any kind of extended camera time and when the challengers are all gone a week later, why in the world should I get interested? The division never worked and those are some reasons why.

We see some woman that had something to do with Bill Clinton interviewing the Rock. This is completely hilarious as Rock is the most egomaniacal person of all time, saying that all the major issues like homelessness aren’t important as long as his lawn is clean. He’s the judge and jury and is always a hung jury, if you smell what he’s cooking. If my memory is right, that’s the debut of that line. He makes sex jokes about interns and is absolutely hilarious.

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

This feud is a residual effect from Montreal. The time of HHH as leader of DX was on the horizon as was his face turn. That would lead to one of the best feuds of the late 90s between him and the Rock, culminating in an absolute war in the ladder match at Summerslam. Chris Warren and the DX Band play HHH to the ring. He’s champion here and Chyna will be handcuffed to Sgt. Slaughter, the commissioner, during the match.

We get a quick video of Owen’s bad ankle being destroyed by Chyna and losing the title to HHH as a result. Owen never got his big match with Shawn and was more or less buried and fed to HHH who moved on to bigger stuff. Owen was given the European Title after beating Goldust to keep him appeased but the writing was totally on the wall at that point.

Setting up the handcuffs takes FOREVER. Owen comes out and the fight is on in a hurry. Bret is actually mentioned here which is odd to hear indeed. Hurricanrana gets two. Owen was insane in the ring at times for someone his size. HHHHH gets in a shot to the knee and we hit the floor. Chyna tries to interfere but gets stopped cold by Slaughter.

Owen takes over again and we go back to the ring. Sharpshooter almost goes on but HHH rakes the eyes. Hart lowers his head and gets a facebuster because of it. Well if you do it that obviously you deserve to get a knee to the face. Crotch chop to Owen. Earl Hebner isn’t here tonight and is in intensive care for some reason. He’s watching Mania though, probably thinking of how to screw over Owen for a change.

Suplex by HHH gets no cover. Jerry screams at HHH to go for the ankle but it’s a Flair knee drop instead. DDT gets two. HHH finally goes after the ankle and the big beaked Canadian is screaming in pain. Owen’s nose is busted. More ankle work but Owen gets some shots in to take over a bit. He ducks a boot and slides HHH’s balls into the post. Get Stephanie stat!

Missile dropkick gets two as the ankle is ok enough for that I guess. Quick belly to belly gets two. Enziguri puts HHH down but it reinjures the ankle and down goes Owen. The delay allows HHH to kick out before the three. Rana is blocked into a powerbomb for two for HHH. Chyna keeps trying to interfere as Owen gets a cross body for two.

Pedigree is blocked into another Sharpshooter attempt but Owen manages to fall on the little Pedigrees again for two. Owen lowers his head again and almost gets caught in the Pedigree again. Instead it’s reversed into the Sharpshooter but Chyna is able to pull HHH to the ropes even with Sarge out there. That’s rather impressive. Chyna gets some white powder from somewhere (read as Waltman) and throws it in Slaughter’s eyes. A low blow to Owen lets HHH hit the Pedigree to end it.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty solid match but they needed a few more minutes. Also the cheating at the end made the Slaughter aspect completely pointless. It’s good but there’s just not enough there to warrant a higher grade. I liked it though as Owen and HHH were both good in the ring with HHH being a shell of what he would become.

Chyna beats up Slaughter post match to a big pop just because she can.

Apparently we have some technical difficulties as Vince should be checked for a heart attack. I didn’t notice anything.

We recap Sable vs. Mero with him being starved for attention while Sable became a star. He got Goldust and Luna to help him in some weird way. This was one of the weirder angles in the early Attitude Era which is saying a lot. Luna wanted to make Sable ugly and Mero defended her, bringing Goldie into it. This takes like three minutes to explain.

Marc Mero/Sable vs. Luna and Goldust

Oh he’s the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust here. I lay corrected. Mero is a boxer character here which mirrors his real life background. Goldie is of course dressed in a ridiculous outfit. Sable and Luna want to start us off. Sable is about as clueless as you could ask for. Remember that as I’ll get back to it later. Actually the guys start us off as the gender have to match here.

Off to the women as Sable gets a loud pop. Luna runs and the chase is on. Luna gets back in the ring and tags out so it’s back to the men. Mero backdrops Goldust and it’s off to Sable and Luna. Luna of course hides again like the heel she is so it’s back to Mero and Goldie again. You may notice Sable is doing NOTHING here.

Goldust gets a clothesline out of the corner to put Mero down and take over for a bit. Both guys go for cross bodies and it’s Goldust taking over again. The fans want Sable and I can’t say I blame them. She does look good here. Sable finally comes in to fight Luna and hammers away. She’s incredibly sloppy and fires “martial arts” kicks. Goldie gets drilled also and Luna is reeling.

She manages to get the tag off to Goldie so Sable hits him too. Mero beats on Goldust on the floor but can’t get a slingshot splash to come back in. Sable distracts the referee and Mero gets a low blow. TKO is countered into a DDT for two. Curtain call is reversed and Mero gets a running knee lift and a moonsault press for two. Top rope rana gets two and a rollup from heel miscommunication does the same.

TKO isn’t as crisp as it should be but Luna saves. Sable tags herself in and tries to pin Goldust. Luna misses a splash and Sable debuts her powerbomb to get two. See, for a big move like that it should END THE MATCH. Instead she ends it a few seconds later with a bad TKO.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here considering the star was Sable and Mero vs. Goldust was the core of this. While the did the lifting here, that still gives us the logical conclusion. Of course Sable gets the glory here by being told she’s such a great wrestler. This led to a somewhat sad story actually. After this match, Luna, a long since established veteran, claims that Sable refused to learn how to take bumps and would only get punched or slapped while Luna did all the work.

After the match, Sable was congratulated by everyone while Luna was left completely alone, with the exception of one person telling her she did well: Owen Hart. If you watch the match, you can see that Sable is completely clueless and is only able to do the two big moves that she knew. Other than that it’s all Luna. Also, Luna had always wanted to be the Women’s Champion, yet never got it because of Sable. A very sad story to me.

Jeff Jarrett and that woman from the Rock interview are presented to the crowd in a total waste of time. Oh and Tennessee Lee, the promoter of Jeff Jarrett, introduces them. He’s more famous as Colonel Robert Parker in WCW. Thank goodness the Nation of Domination’s music plays to hurry this along.

Intercontinental Title: The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

This was an interesting little feud here. Shamrock was built up to be this fighting machine that had Rock’s number. Recently, Rock had gotten under Farooq’s, the leader of the Nation, skin, claiming that he, the Rock, was the reason for the group’s success. Four members of the Nation including the Rock are at ringside to face Shamrock. God that woman’s voice is annoying. Flowers is doing the announcing if you didn’t get that.

Shamrock really was sweet at what he did. He knew how to fight and he made sure you knew it. While never a great wrestler, he was completely legit and it made him that much more impressive sounding. Rock’s heritage is explained for the ten thousandth time, without it once being explained why his last name was Maivia and his father’s last name was Johnson.

It’s so weird because I’m watching Raw leading up to this as well as this show today so it’s kind of intriguing to see every little bit that set this up. Shamrock had been owning Rock recently and had let Rock get a clean chairshot which would get them fired today. Also Rock hit Farrooq with a chair for no apparent reason.

Shamrock sprints to the ring and it’s on. Rock ducks a lot of punches but gets kicked in the head to take him down. If Rock gets disqualified he loses the title. After some brawling on the floor it’s back in the ring and all Shamrock. The Nation interferes a bit to give Rock control as he sends Shamrock into the steps.

People’s Elbow isn’t quite of the people yet but it’s still good for two. Shamrock is up quickly, likely because it’s just an elbow. Rock is sent to the floor one more time and Shamrock grabs a chair. He shoves the referee down and Rock gets a BIG chair shot to the head for two. That was absolutely sick and is a great example of why those can be a bad thing. Shamrock does his usual stuff, grabs the ankle lock (yes, KEN SHAMROCK brought it to American pro wrestling, not Kurt Angle) for the quick tap to win the title!

Rating: C+. This was very quick but it did the job it was supposed to. Shamrock looked like an animal here and he massacred Rock with relative ease. When it was one on one Rock was completely overmatched and had to cheat to get anything going. The quick tap out was nice also.

Post match the Nation attacks and Shamrock fights them all off. Shamrock grabs the ankle lock again as Farrooq comes down. He looks at Rock and just walks away, more or less turning face. Shamrock grabs the hold again as referees and officials come down. They get their beatings too and Rock is taken out on a stretcher.

Shamrock’s eyes are FREAKY. Due to the beatings, the decision is reversed and Rock keeps the title. He goes after Rock and beats on him even more. Rock wouldn’t lose the title until August at Summerslam and Shamrock wouldn’t get it until October.

The WWF guys say they’re real athletes, which is true.

There’s a gate record tonight as there has never been a more lucrative event in this city. I find that hard to believe with Patriot games or Red Sox games.

Tag Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Ago Outlaws

The backstory here is simple. Jack was feuding with the Outlaws and got tired of getting beaten up, so he got his friend Charlie, a.k.a. Terry Funk to help him. Eventually the Outlaws threw them in a dumpster and threw them off the stage. This match for the tag titles is the result of that act. It’s dumpster match which means you have to put both guys in the dumpster.

Road Dogg is getting the entrance there but doesn’t quite have it yet since they’re not in DX yet. There’s a dumpster at ringside. This is far more of a brawl than a match as you would expect. They hit the floor immediately and the beating is on. It’s Cactus vs. Road Dogg and Funk vs. Gunn. Cactus tries a flip at Road Dogg but bounces off the dumpster instead.

The Outlaws are in control early and manage to get Funk into the dumpster. Roadie hits a Russian Leg Sweep to ram Cactus’ head into the dumpster. That was SICK. The Outlaws slam the lids of the dumpster on the back of the heads of their challengers. Cactus is in the dumpster while Funk is abused. Both challengers are in now and Gunn celebrates but Cactus gets up and gets a double Mandible Claw. They couldn’t shut the lid so the match isn’t over.

Funk pops out of the dumpster with a cookie sheet to hammer away some more. Cactus and Funk take turns giving neckbreakers to Road Dogg as this is a total brawl. Cactus Elbow with a cookie sheet to Gunn on the floor. He looks for more toys and finds a ladder. Oh dear. Cactus and Billy climb it for no apparent reason and get launched into the dumpster.

They both get out but Funk is powerbombed into it by Billy. The Outlaws take Cactus to the back and we don’t have a camera there so we see some replays. Ah there’s a shot in the back with Cactus falling into everything. After being thrown into some massive soda bottles, Cactus finds a chair to even the odds. He puts both Outlaws on a forklift which Funk commandeers to put them in a dumpster to win the titles.

Rating: C+. Hard one to grade here as it was a total mess to say the least. That being said, the challengers worked themselves to death out there and it’s not like the Outlaws ever wrestled anyway. The ending would come into play the next night on raw as the Outlaws would get the decision overturned because they were put into the wrong dumpster. Later that night, the company just happened to have a steel cage handy so the titles were on the line in a cage match. DX interfered, giving the titles to the Outlaws, who finally joined DX.

Now we get to the real stuff on this card. This whole show was built around two matches: the WWF Title match, and this one right here. In what might have been the best booked “silly” feud of all time, the Undertaker was set to do battle with his brother Kane. My God this was built up perfectly. Sit back, because this is a long backstory.

After Paul Bearer betrayed Taker at Summerslam 96, Taker was going after him. Midway through the previous year when Taker was WWF Champion, he feuded with Mankind, managed by Bearer. During that feud, Bearer mentioned the name Kane. This drove Taker insane as he kept trying to cover up what this name meant. Finally Bearer revealed that it was Taker’s brother, and that Taker attempted to kill him.

This led to Bearer eventually saying that when Taker’s parents were killed in a fire, the Undertaker was the person that started the fire in an attempt to kill his parents. What wasn’t known was that his brother was in the house with them. Taker says that it was an accident and that he tried to rescue them but firefighters held him back. Bearer would go on to reveal that he was in fact Kane’s father.

This results in one of the worst beatings ever recorded on WWF television, but it ends with Paul saying that it’s the truth and that Kane told him, because Kane was still alive. Apparently Paul rescued him from the fire and cared for him for the last 20 years, which was unknown to Taker.

This was all revealed over a several month long period of time. Finally, in August, Taker was facing Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell in a Cell match. Shawn gets one of the worst beatings of all time, but as Taker signals for the Tombstone, the lights go out and we hear organ music. An explosion goes off and a 7ft giant walks through the curtain, accompanied by Paul Bearer.

Taker is stunned as this man rips the door to the cage off and tombstones Taker, allowing Shawn to pin him. There was one key to this whole thing that made it work to me: for probably 3 months, you only heard about Kane. Until the night of the Cell match, you never saw him.

You didn’t know what he looked like, you didn’t know how he dressed, you didn’t know how big he was. You knew absolutely nothing at all but what you heard. All you knew was he was the Undertaker’s brother. After all the buildup you got about him, no matter what he looked like when you finally saw him, he was going to be awesome. That my friends, is how you build up a character.

Anyway, Kane of course wants to fight his brother. In the interest of ratings, Taker says no way. Kane begins just destroying people left and right, including two brothers named Matt and Jeff. They never did anything after that I don’t think. Kane would randomly run in and beat people up, all while begging the Undertaker to fight him.

He would come to the ring and beat up his brother, but Taker kept insisting he couldn’t fight his own flesh and blood. Kane punched him one night and raised him hand to do it again, but Taker blocked it. The crowd went nuts over him simply raising him arm. Taker didn’t fight back though and got beaten up again.

Finally, Taker and Shawn were feuding again, leading up to the Rumble. HHH kept interfering, but one night, out of absolutely nowhere, Kane helped his brother. That Sunday at the Rumble, Taker was gang attacked and Kane came out. However, he beat up his brother and shut him in the casket, costing him the match. Kane then locked it shut and set it on fire.

However, after this occurred, it was revealed that the casket was empty, prompting Paul Bearer to be absolutely terrified, knowing that Taker was still alive somewhere. Kane continued to ravage the company, until one night on Raw, the arena was covered by a blue light, and druids brought out a body on a pedestal. A bolt of lightning hit it, and the man on it rose up, revealing himself to be the Undertaker himself.

In a completely over the top yet still amazing promo, the Deadman said he will gain his revenge on his little brother, accepting his challenge for Wrestlemania. The next week on Raw, Kane was in the ring having called out his brother, yet instead Taker appeared on top of the titantron, talking about how Kane would feel his wrath. Taker then threw a lightning bolt at the stage, igniting a coffin that was standing up. Inside was an effigy of Kane, that began burning.

And that finally leads us to this. The video on the PPV took over five minutes so you know this was a long story.
Kane vs. The Undertaker

Before the match, Pete Rose appears, insulting Boston. Kane then comes out and tombstones Pete Rose, starting a three year running joke feud between the two which was rather funny in my eyes. This was kind of funny but went on too long. Rose sounds drunk too. Also, was there a need to make Kane a face for 8 seconds like that? Anyway, JR puts it just right: as Taker is about to appear, JR says, “This ovation will be not of this world.” He couldn’t’ have been more correct.

The fans all have their lighters out, they’re going crazy, Taker has a line of druids all holding up torches which he walks under, the lightning, the thunder, the smoke, and Taker dressed in his demonic attire. It was absolutely amazing looking and finally the pair face off in the middle of the ring. This is still the best entrance of his I’ve ever seen. This match might have the best build up I’ve ever seen, which is covering a lot of ground.

Taker’s offense is no sold to start which is going to be something you read a lot in this review. Kane launches him into the corner but Taker keeps moving. Almost all Taker so far. Short clothesline by Kane but Taker pops up. Kane gets him in a Tombstone position but rams him into the buckle instead. You have to remember this is maybe the fifth match Kane had in this gimmick, at least two of which had been squashes. This isn’t something he’s used to yet.

Kane takes over and we slow things WAY down. These two seem incapable of having a good match for some reason. Taker winds up on Kane’s shoulders so Kane shoves him face first into the mat. Well kind of as it didn’t go like it was supposed to but you get the idea.

Out to the floor now as Taker is dropped across the railing. Kane drops the steps on Taker’s back as Bearer has the referee. The steps make a big sound and hit the referee in the leg, yet somehow the referee doesn’t call a DQ. Makes sense right? Taker is apparently trying to get Kane to punch himself out. Chokeslam gets two as Kane pulls his brother up.

We hit the chinlock. Now let’s time this as it goes on for FAR too long overall. Yet again we get the beginning of the Streak wrong, saying it started at Mania 8 instead of 7. Minute and a half on this particular chinlock until Taker breaks it up. A clothesline puts the more successful one down and it’s back to the chinlock. Just a minute this time as Taker lifts Kane up and puts him on the apron.

A big boot finally puts Kane on the floor. Taker dives over the ropes but Kane casually steps to the side and lets Taker crash into the table. Top rope clothesline puts Taker down again for two. You ever notice that everyone manhandles Taker better than the previous guy he fought?

Out of nowhere Taker grabs a Tombstone but Kane reverses into one of his own for a long two count. The crowd is barely alive for this by the way. Taker starts firing punches in and a big shot takes Kane down. Big boot is blocked so Taker has to settle for the Chokeslam. Taker gets the Tombstone but KANE KICKS OUT. This was unheard of as I don’t think that had ever been done.

Kane pops up so Taker has to hit a second Tombstone which AGAIN only gets two. Bearer is clutching his chest as he curses Undertaker. Taker goes up and hits a top rope clothesline to put Kane down one more time. The THIRD Tombstone finally gets the pin as he hooks a leg and Kane kicked out at about 3.1.

Rating: D+. While not great from a technical standpoint, this match’s build up was out of this world. A fine example of the hype carrying a match rather than the in ring work. The streak is beginning to mean something now as it reaches 7-0, although I don’t think that’s mentioned for another three years. The match itself more or less sucked, but the buildup was there and enough to make it passable. Cut about 5 minutes out of this and it goes WAY up.

Kane beats up Taker with a chair post match including a Tombstone on it.

We recap Austin vs. Shawn. Basically there’s not much build up here. Austin won the Rumble and got the title shot. On Raw one night, Vince had Mike Tyson show up as a guest, but Austin got in his face, flipping him off and starting a fight. This is what planted the seeds for the Austin vs. McMahon war that went on for nearly two years. Tyson is named the enforcer referee for the title match, but joins DX in between. It was his involvement with Austin that is credited with putting the WWF over the top of WCW, so in the end this was a great move.
WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

If you didn’t get that, Mike Tyson is a guest referee and allegedly in Michaels’ pocket. Yep Austin is over. Austin and Tyson immediately get in each other’s faces. Tyson is actually the outside referee here which is probably better. He grabs at Austin’s foot just after the bell. As JR says, it don’t get no bigger than this. Austin flips Shawn off as we’re waiting around a bit before we get going.

Shawn scores with some fast punches and then runs like an intelligent lad. Here comes Austin though and we get the Heart Break reveal. Austin goes for the knee, I guess trying to get rid of Sweet Chin Music. Shawn, with his tights still pulled down, gets backdropped onto DX on the floor.

HHH jumps Austin on the floor but the referee doesn’t disqualify Shawn due to it being too easy of a way out. HHH and Chyna are sent to the back to a huge pop. Austin beats up HHH by the band area because he can. Shawn drills him with a clothesline for hurting his life partner though as this is your standard Attitude Era brawl.

Back in the ring Shawn gets caught coming off the top and here comes Austin again. Flair flip in the corner and Shawn is more or less dead. Atomic drop gets two for the bald one. Austin knocks him off the apron and Shawn’s head smacks into the table. That looked sick. Austin hammers away and the elbow gets two.

We hit the chinlock as it’s clear Shawn is far weaker than he usually would be. Shawn fights back though and it’s time for the ring post. Austin pulls Shawn in and Shawn’s head rams the post instead. Nice and simple counter there. We hit the floor and Austin is sent into the crowd via a backdrop. Shawn pops him in the head with the bell which the referee didn’t see. Tyson did though and is like “I want a new rubber duckie. I’ll name it Albert and I can bite his head off in the tub!”

Back in the ring with Shawn dominating completely. He hammers away on Austin while Tyson cheers Shawn on. Shawn flips off the crowd and limps around the ring. Austin gets a kind of spear and hammers away. Shawn goes flying to the floor again and his back must just be dead. He gets the leg of Austin around the post though to reestablish his dominance.

Shawn works on the knee for a good while as he’s trying to take away the Stunner I guess. That makes sense. According to JR that’s what he’s doing at least. Austin gets knocked into the table by Shawn and Tyson throws him back in. Here’s the Figure Four from Shawn as he channels his inner other old crippled dude.

The hold goes on for a good while but Austin reverses and Shawn lets it go. Austin catapults him into the post for two and it’s time for a sleeper from Shawn. Naturally the referee is bumped (with Shawn’s back going into his face that is) and Austin hammers away. Shawn gets the forearm (minus the jump but I can accept that) and nips up.

Top rope elbow looks to kill Austin but there’s no striped shirt wearing referee. Shawn starts to tune up the band as his face looks horrible from the pain in his back. Austin ducks the kick, Shawn blocks the Stunner, Austin catches the kick, Stunner, Tyson slides in and Austin wins his first title! JR: “The Austin Era has begun.” Perfect description. Tyson puts on an Austin shirt and knocks Shawn the heck out to end the show.

Rating: B+. We all pretty much knew who was going to win here, but we watched to see how Tyson would play in and how Austin would do it. Looking back now and knowing how much pain Shawn was in because of his back, this match goes way up in impressiveness for me.

You can tell when Shawn is selling and when he’s in real pain and it’s good to see that despite Shawn being a complete jerk backstage, he would go out and perform despite the pain he was in. I don’t care how big of a jerk he was, that takes guts. This match pretty much comes down to who is going to hit their big move first.

The match itself is much better than I remember it being. That’s not saying much because I, like most people, barely remember it. We all know the ending and the buildup, but that’s about it. Good, underrated match.

Overall Rating: B+. If there’s ever been a show where the torch was completely passed, you’re looking at it. Austin winning the title finally is as about as important of an event as you can possibly have in company history. It launched the WWF ahead of WCW in the war, although that wouldn’t be official for a few more weeks, and it was also the last time Shawn would wrestle for nearly 5 years.

However, even with the Taker match, the solid work elsewhere and only two bad matches, you really do have an all around solid show. It’s not great, but it’s certainly worth checking out. Skip the Light Heavyweight match and about five minutes of Taker/Kane and you’ll love the rest of it in theory.

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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Dynamite – May 27, 2020: There’s The Headliner

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: May 27, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and that means it’s time to start getting ready for the summer. I’m not sure what that is going to mean as AEW takes its time to get to their next pay per views. We do have Fyter Fest though, and that should give us a goal for the next few weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Double Or Nothing.

The Inner Circle is upset over their loss and have to get rid of this box of Stadium Stampede winner shirts. Hang on though as it’s a little more than that. Santana got a deal from his buddy Carlos and opens the back of a truck, showing crate after crate of shirts. Jericho is distraught in a funny bit.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a preview of what is going down tonight.

Matt Hardy and the Elite are ready for their match but Hangman Page wants to go get a drink. Kenny Omega joins him, so Matt is ready to team with the Bucks on his own. They wouldn’t mind an older version of him, so Matt turns into the Team Extreme version. Actually can he go a little older than that? Matt becomes….I guess late 90s version and asks if they’re ready to be spot monkeys.

Matt Hardy/Young Bucks vs. Joey Janela/Private Party

The Bucks waste no time in starting with the flips and dives on Marc Quen early on. Janela comes in and gets caught with a splash/double enziguri in the corner but Nick is sent hard to the floor. Back in and Nick is sent hard to the floor. That means we get the abdominal stretch back inside, meaning the Wilbur Snyder references are on. Nick manages to send Janela to the floor but superkicks Butcher by mistake.

The fight is on and JR takes a completely necessary shot at WWE for mentioning the Plexiglas in front of their wrestler fans. Back in and the hot tag brings in Hardy for the Side Effect on Kassidy. A double DDT plants Private Party and there’s another Side Effect to Janela. Everything breaks down and Private Party hits the big double flip dive. Quen comes up holding his knee but Kassidy slingshots in with a Downward Spiral (which didn’t land right and looked like Matt gave him a Side Effect) for two. The Bucks come back in and More Bang For Your Buck finishes Kassidy at 9:53.

Rating: C. Yeah it was another all over the place tag match, but it would be nice to have things slow down for once. AEW has some amazing tag teams but they rely so much on these insane tag matches. Maybe slow things down a bit and have a standard match instead of going all out like this. You can do these matches on a regular basis, but not an all time basis.

Post match, Hardy helps the injured Quen to the back in a nice moment. Butcher and Blade run in to beat down the Young Bucks but FTR (the Revival) drive in with their truck for the save. A spike piledriver plants Blade and FTR shows respect to the Bucks. It’s cool that they’re there, but they better tear the house down.

Brian Cage vs. Lee Johnson

Jon Moxley is on commentary and Taz is here with Cage. Splash in the corner, powerbomb, Drill Claw in 1:13.

Post match Taz promises that Cage is going to take Moxley’s heart at Fyter Fest. Moxley better bring his grit, because he’s only surviving if Cage lets him.

It’s time for Britt Baker’s Rules Of Being A Role Model, with Tony Schiavone having to operate the pointer. The third rule is all about Britt: Don’t Hurt The Role Model. She claims a conspiracy has led her to having a broken tibia, and we look at the various conspirators. They would be the wrestlers involved in the match last week (Britt: “Kris Stadtlander, you being an alien is a crock of s***!”), and now we need a chart.

Everything leads back to Aubrey Edwards, who is here for every bad thing that happens to her. Baker: “When my nose was broken, Aubrey Edwards was somewhere!” Baker will be back at All Out. Hopefully she gets to stay on TV, because this was great stuff, as usual. Just give us more Baker either way.

The Inner Circle is ready for their pep rally tonight when Orange Cassidy walks in and out. Jericho: “Did he really just do that?”

Christi Jaymes vs. Hikaru Shida

Non-title. Shida takes Jaymes up against the ropes but Jaymes shoves her back a bit and dances. Shida is invited to dance as well but Jaymes kicks her leg out as a result. That’s too far for Shida, who grabs her by the hair, only to have Jaymes do the same. A backbreaker finally slows Jaymes down and we hit the one armed camel clutch. Jaymes gets out and hits Shida in the face for two, only to miss a Lionsault. The running knee to the face sets up a running knee to the back of the head to give Shida two. The Falcon Arrow finishes Jaymes at 5:20.

Rating: C-. What the heck was that? Shida slayed the beast on Saturday and then takes five minutes to go 50/50 with someone with one match experience around here? This was a great way to make Jaymes look important, but it made Shida sweat when she should have been taking a victory lap. It’s ok to have more than one squash in a row and AEW would be well served to learn that. This made Jaymes look like a star and Shida like someone who had to survive against someone beneath her. That’s not exactly a great way to present the new champion.

We look at Cody winning the first TNT Title. Cody talks about Tom Brady being his favorite quarterback and it’s not because he was from the northeast. Cody: “I don’t think I’ll ever be welcome back in Connecticut.” It’s because Brady wasn’t the first pick and neither was Cody. When Tony Khan wanted to start the best bell to bell company in the world and he was the fourth or fifth pick.

Cody talks about how Dustin got all the Dusty genes (we cut to Brandi and Dustin watching at ringside and Brandi having to get QT Marshall’s attention away from Allie) but he will outwork anyone. That’s why every week, it’s an open challenge for the title. Wrestling is without its greatest asset at the moment but the fans have never dropped them. So follow him.

Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc vs. SCU

The winners get a title shot next week, Penelope Ford is here with Sabian/Havoc, it’s Scorpio Sky/Kazarian for SCU and it’s a brawl before the bell. We settle down to Sky working over Havoc’s arm and Kazarian dropping a knee onto it for a bonus. Kazarian gets two off an O’Connor roll but Havoc kicks him into a boot from Sabian to take over. A catapult sends Kazarian into an eye poke as the villains take over. Havoc goes after the eyes as we take a break.

Back with Kazarian still in trouble until he can slingshot into a roll over to Sky. A rolling cutter sets up a dragon sleeper on Sabian with Havoc making a fast save. Sabian’s top rope double stomp gets two on Sky but Kazarian comes back in for an assisted swinging DDT for two of his own. Ford breaks up SCULater though and it’s the dropkick/Michinoku Driver combination to Sky for the pin at 12:02.

Rating: C. Just a match here but I can go with them trying someone new in the title scene. Given that the titles haven’t been defended in three months, it would be nice to see the titles actually on the line for once. I can’t imagine Havoc and Sabian actually win, but throw in the right amount of interference and we might be getting somewhere.

MJF is ready to win the battle royal because he’s awesome. Wardlow will be in there with him as his insurance policy. Wardlow: “But…”. MJF: “BUT NOTHING!!!!” Just ribbing of course.

Battle Royal

Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Wardlow, Colt Cabana, Luther, Marko Stunt, Luchasaurus, Christopher Daniels, Orange Cassidy, Sonny Kiss, Jungle Boy, Peter Avalon

The winner gets a shot at Cody next week (despite the open challenge making this match a little unnecessary). Cassidy isn’t in the ring when the bell rings so here are Santana and Ortiz to jump him from behind. It’s the usual brawl to start as MJF sits on the top to hide behind Wardlow. Luther throws Stunt to start and gets kicked in the face by Luchasaurus.

Stunt tries to go after Luchasaurus as Kiss kicks MJF in the face. Wardlow dumps Kiss (who JR seemed to refer to as “she” twice) and MJF goes outside to beat Kiss up some more. Cabana hits the Flying Apple on Billy, who dumps Cabana out without much effort. That’s enough for Cabana to take a flier from the Dark Order at ringside as we take a break.

Back with Stunt hurricanranaing Daniels out and promptly being tossed out by Wardlow. We’re down to Wardlow, Luchasaurus, Gunn, Jungle Boy and MJF. The monsters slug it out but MJF goes after Luchasaurus’ leg. Gunn breaks that up and slugs it out with Luchasaurus, until MJF and Wardlow dump both of them.

Cassidy rolls in because he was never eliminated so MJF busts out the ring. It hits Wardlow by mistake and Jungle Boy eliminates MJF. Cassidy and Jungle Boy get rid of Wardlow and we’re down to two. Boy sends him over the top but Cassidy skins the cat and comes back in for some Superman punches. A rebound clothesline takes Cassidy down and a running hurricanrana gives Boy the win at 11:15.

Rating: C-. Battle royals are always a little rough but I like the pick for the win here. As usual, if you do a battle royal properly, you can set up more matches at the same time other than just for the winner, so hopefully they make that happen here. The action wasn’t all that great here, but it could have been a lot worse.

Video on Stadium Stampede.

It’s time for the pep rally, with cheerleaders and a drum band. Vickie Guerrero (“Get your earplugs ready”) comes out as an extra cheerleader to introduce the Inner Circle. Chris Jericho promises that the Inner Circle will rise like five sexy phoenixes. This is all for the fans so everyone gets a Stadium Stampede shirt! The fans start throwing the shirts back and Sammy, on a crutch, has to calm things down. They may not have won, but they participated, so everyone gets a trophy! Jericho: “Mine says king of dad jokes.” Sammy: “Well there’s a pandemic going on so it’s hard to find trophies.”

Santana has some chopped cheese for Ortiz, some Vick’s vapor rub for Sammy (Santana: “My abuela says that heals anything.” Jericho: “My abuela says that too.”), some discount boots for Jake Hager, and a picture of Mark Anthony for Jericho. That works for Chris, because that’s his hero. Sammy gets the Hit Me Up mobile scooter, and Ortiz gets some headphones to stop the ringing in his ears. Hager….has written a poem, about how great the Inner Circle is. He’ll choke anyone who doesn’t like them and he wants to run the Elite over with his Tesla.

This goes into a crazed rant about how he wants to murder the Elite, with Jericho having to cut him off. Hager: “The end.” Jericho: “….good stuff.” Sammy asks Jericho what he wants, which would be Mike Tyson’s head on a platter. Jericho remembers what Tyson did to him in January 2010 on a Monday night so it’s time for revenge. Sammy couldn’t get Tyson’s head on a platter, but he’s got a CHEESE PLATTER, plus a little bit of the bubbly. Actually the cheese has been eaten and the bubbly has been consumed.

Cue Tyson with his vast entourage (including some MMA fighters), carrying the bubbly bottles. Jericho yells at Tyson for turning on him but Tyson says he deserved it for being a sucker. An apology is demanded but Tyson takes off his shirt. There’s the shove and the pull apart brawl is on. The locker room comes in for the save and everyone has to pull them apart to end the show. Jericho vs. Tyson is a headliner match, though it’s going to be an absolute freak show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was a little shaky, though they advanced some stuff that they needed to cover. What matters here is setting things up for the future while also dealing with the fallout. You can see the top half of Fyter Fest (whenever that is taking place) from here and the card isn’t looking bad. I’m not wild on some of the wrestling here, but that’s not as important as the future booking and storytelling, both of which were good enough to carry the night. Couple that with the very pep rally and it was a pretty good show.

Results

Matt Hardy/Young Bucks b. Joey Janela/Private Party – More Bang For Your Buck to Kassidy

Brian Cage b. Lee Johnson – Drill Claw

Hikaru Shida b. Christi Jaymes – Falcon Arrow

Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc b. SCU – Dropkick/Michinoku Driver combination to Sky

Jungle Boy won a battle royal last eliminating Orange Cassidy

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

Wrestlemania Count-Up – Wrestlemania XVI (2015): Where It All Begins. Again.

IMG Credit: WWE

Wrestlemania XIV
Date: March 29, 1998
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,028
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Tag Team Battle Royal

Kevin Kelly and Honky Tonk Man tell us to CALL THE HOTLINE!

Clips of various media appearances that took place in Boston over the recent days. This would become a Wrestlemania tradition and always made the show feel more important.

Light Heavyweight Title: Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

European Title: HHH vs. Owen Hart

Marc Mero/Sable vs. Luna/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust

Mero celebrates like he got the pin in a perfect character move.

Intercontinental Title: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock

Tag Team Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws

In Your House XXI ad.

Undertaker vs. Kane

Bearer comes in for some cheap shots, allowing Kane to lay Undertaker out with a chair and another Tombstone. Kane and Bearer leave but Undertaker sits up again.

WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D

2015 Redo: D+

Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila

Original: D+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

HHH vs. Owen Hart

Original: B-

2013 Redo: D+

2015 Redo: B

Marc Mero/Sable vs. The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust/Luna Vachon

Original: C

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: C

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

New Age Outlaws vs. Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C

2015 Redo: B

Kane vs. Undertaker

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C-

2015 Redo: D+

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B+

2015 Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B

That’s a lot more all over the place than usual, even by my standards.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/21/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-14-everything-changes-forever/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/03/23/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xiv-the-austin-era-has-begun/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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