And WWE is really, really good at them. Like this one.
This is a video looking at a variety of show introductions from over the years. There’s a little bit of everything in here, including random stuff like Jakked and Tuesday Night Titans. If nothing else, this shows you just how good WWE was/is at putting these things together, because they know how important it is to start the shows hot. Oh and WWE knows some awesome theme songs to set to a show.
Sometimes, you just know you’re seeing something special. That was the case in 1997 when the WWF was in some real trouble. WCW was beating them from one side of the Monday Night Wars to the other but help was on the way. The stars of the past, present and future were coming together and there wasn’t much that could be done to stop them. The year was far from perfect though with some bad ideas, but the stuff that worked is about as good as it ever got.
In this book, I’ll be looking at all fifty two episodes of Monday Night Raw from 1997 as I try to find out what worked and didn’t over the course of the entire year. Each one will be broken down match by match and segment by segment. Included will be analysis and ratings for the shows to see why the year is remembered so poorly.
The book runs about 345 pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $10.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.
You can pick up the book from Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.
And from the UK Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.
Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “KB Raw 1997” and it should be the first thing to come up.
Also you can still get any of my previous books on the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 and the first half of 2014, Smackdown 2003, Monday Nitro from 1995-1999, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania, WWE Grab Bag and Clash of the Champions, NXT Volumes I, II and III at my author’s page here.
I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.
KB
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: November 19, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young
It’s night three in Los Angeles and we’re on the side that won. Last night at Survivor Series, Raw completely swept Smackdown in the battle for brand supremacy. Therefore, you can expect a heck of a lot of bragging this week, which likely means Stephanie time. We’re less than a month away from TLC, while likely means no Brock time. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Strowman has a deal as well: if he beats Corbin, he gets Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble. Strowman is in and it’s a TLC match at TLC. Corbin thinks that’s a horrible idea for Strowman but he’s going to have Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a handicap match tonight. Stephanie doesn’t like it so she adds Corbin, Balor and Elias to make it a six man. This has been your “Stephanie is all powerful and last night’s match meant nothing at all” moment.
Baron Corbin/Bobby Lashley/Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman/Finn Balor/Elias
Elimination rules. Before we’re ready to go, Elias has something to sing. He talks about how the universal truth of what WWE stands for and then plays a nice little song. Corbin starts with Corbin and of course tags out to McIntyre before it can go anywhere. Drew’s should doesn’t work so he goes to the eyes, only to get shouldered down. Balor comes in and gets kicked in the face to the floor as we take a break.
Back with no eliminations and McIntyre getting two off a suplex to Balor. Lashley adds a running shoulder in the corner and it’s off to the chinlock. Corbin cuts off the hot tag attempt with a Deep Six and it’s back to Lashley for the hard whip into the corner. Balor finally kicks him away and makes the hot tag off to Elias. House is cleaned but Balor tags himself back in and hits the big flip dive onto Lashley. The Coup de Grace is broken up though and it’s the Claymore for the first elimination at 12:14.
We take another break and come back with Elias getting stomped in the corner, setting up the armbar with a beard grab. Back up and Elias can’t fight out of the corner as Corbin whips him hard into the corner. That means the chinlock, which is at least a third of Corbin’s offense. Drew knocks Strowman off the apron so Elias has no one to tag after hitting the jumping knee. A top rope elbow gets two with Lashley making the save. Lio Rush annoys Elias so Lashley spears him down for a countout at 20:54.
Back from another break with Strowman in more trouble as Lashley shoulders him in the ribs. Strowman fights up from Corbin’s chinlock and runs Lashley over on the floor. The powerslam gets two on Corbin but McIntyre hits Strowman with a chair for the DQ at 27:50. More chairs to the ribs knock Strowman to the floor and Lashley adds a spear. Strowman gets up again and eats a Claymore as I’m assuming the match was thrown out somewhere in there.
Rating: D+. The ending actually annoyed me because we went thirty minutes to get to the injury angle. There was a grand total of no reason to let this go on so long and the lack of an ending was typical WWE nonsense. Just get to the injury angle and stop spending so much time on average at best wrestling that is just there to fill in part of the show.
They send Strowman into the steps and Corbin gets in some more chair shots. Lashley holds Strowman’s arm with a belt and Corbin crushes his arm with the steps. We’ll say the match was thrown out with McIntyre being DQ’d, because Heaven forbid WWE TELL US THE MATCH IS OVER or something like that. It’s just too much effort to say “the referee has disqualified Lashley and Corbin”. The villains leave and Strowman gets up while holding his arm.
We look back at Dean Ambrose burning his Shield vest last week.
Here’s Seth Rollins for a chat. Today is six years to the day of the Shield debuting in WWE and the three of them ran this place. Rollins is looking forward to facing Dean Ambrose at TLC because Ambrose can’t run away anymore. It’s going to be the two of them one on one for the Intercontinental Title.
Last week Dean said he’s been this guy the entire time. Rollins learned more about Dean from the WWE Chronicle on the Network than he has anywhere else. He didn’t know Dean had a horrible infection because Dean never told him or answered when Seth calls. Rollins is feeling highly aggressive tonight right now so Dean can come out here for a fight. Dean pops up on screen to say Seth doesn’t get what he wants that easily.
The Shield has done more harm than good because while everyone loved them no one knew what it was like when the cameras turned off. They were rotten to the corner and what they did will come back around on them in different ways. Look at Roman. For what he did, he has to answer to the man upstairs. What’s worse though is Rollins has to answer to Ambrose. The camera pans out to show Dean backstage and Rollins says come find him. Dean continues to be a great jerk and that’s what he needs to be.
Cole asks Renee what’s going on and she doesn’t agree with it, but he was on the shelf for a long time.
Rollins goes to find Ambrose and beats up some security guards who don’t like being asked where Dean is. Well that was rather rude of them.
Graves thinks Renee knows more than she’s letting on and she’s visibly annoyed.
Lars Sullivan is coming.
Sasha Banks/Bayley vs. Nia Jax/Tamina
Alexa Bliss is on commentary. Banks hammers away at Nia to start as Bliss doesn’t like being called out for stabbing her friends in the back. Apparently Banks and Bayley don’t even like Renee, who seems rather surprised. Bayley, in what looks like a Bob Sparkplug Holly tribute outfit, comes in for the running elbow in the corner. Tamina gets kneed down in the corner and stereo dropkicks through the ropes have the monsters in trouble as we take a break.
Back from a break with Bayley hitting a jawbreaker on Nia and bringing Banks back in. That earns her a knock to the floor and it’s Banks’ turn to fear for her life by facing Nia. Tamina adds the running hip attack in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Back up and some running knees drop Tamina and it’s off to Bayley, who walks into a heck of a superkick. Bayley slugs away though and hits a Thesz press, followed by a high crossbody for two. The comeback is cut off by Nia’s right hand and Banks is knocked off the apron, leaving Bayley to take the Samoan drop for the pin at 11:12.
Rating: D. I can’t wait for Rousey to beat Jax and get us on to ANYONE else but Nia and Tamina being the boring, dominant pair. Also, you have to love WWE being all serious and worried about concussions and then pushes the heck out of someone who caused a concussion by being reckless. I’m sure that makes Becky feel great.
Charly Caruso is trying to interview someone when Ambrose pops up on a video screen and says he’s still waiting on Rollins.
Post break, Rollins goes through the same door Dean went through and finds another door with BURN IT DOWN painted on. It’s locked though, and Seth is frustrated.
We go from that to reminding you that Drake Maverick had some issues last night with controlling his bodily functions.
At catering, people made fun of Maverick. It’s every bad pun you can imagine and Drake storms off.
Revival vs. Lucha House Party
This is under Lucha House rules, meaning all three members of the House Party can compete. Kalisto kicks Wilder down to start and the planking splash connects. Dorado comes in with a springboard dropkick but Dawson takes him down. He makes the mistake of throwing the pinata to the floor though and it’s back to Metalik. The pinata is brought back in for the rope walk elbow but Wilder gets up. Instead they throw the pinata to the floor, leaving Dorado to kick Wilder in the head. The shooting star finishes Wilder at 2:54. This was about as dumb of a thing as I’ve seen in years.
We look back at Charlotte attacking Ronda Rousey last night.
Here’s Rousey for a chat. She knows she’s defending the title against Nia Jax at TLC and knows how dangerous Jax is. Just look at what happened to Becky’s face. At TLC, Nia is tapping out and then the next chapter of Rousey is being written. She’s not out here to get sympathy because that’s not what a champion does. A champion is ready to fight at all times or they step aside.
The fans chant for Becky but Rousey says this is her worst day. She wants to defend the title right now though because she’s a champion. Cue Corbin to say that title defense isn’t happening and Rousey isn’t happy. She’s never backed out of a fight and that’s why she’s the baddest b**** on the planet. Go find an opponent right now, unless Corbin wants to fight her instead. Corbin goes to find her a challenger.
Raw Women’s Title: Mickie James vs. Ronda Rousey
Rousey is defending. Mickie goes after Rousey’s bruised ribs and then hits her in the face. It’s off to a chinlock but Rousey fights up and hits three straight Piper’s Pits. The armbar makes Mickie tap at 2:21.
Video on Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar from last night.
Survivor Series 2019 is in Chicago.
AOP vs. Chad Gable/Bobby Roode
Non-title. Akam wrestles Gable to the mat to start and a BIG knee to the face keeps Gable in trouble. There’s a spinebuster to keep Gable down but the armbar over the ropes puts Rezar in trouble. The hot tag brings in Roode to clean house, including the Blockbuster to Akam. Gable comes back in and hits a top rope sunset flip for the pin at 3:20.
Rating: D. Oh come on. Let me make sure I have this straight: you bring up two monsters like the AOP, don’t use them for a few months, make them the Tag Team Champions almost at random, and then have their manager turn into a comedy joke that results in them losing clean to Chad Gable and Bobby Roode, all for the sake of pushing a toilet humor joke? I’m so glad I spend time watching this show every week and get this for my efforts.
Ambrose is waiting on Rollins and is already sick of people complaining over him mentioning Roman. This isn’t about Roman because it’s about the bond between brothers being broken. If Rollins finds him tonight, he’ll break him too. Dean smells something bad and thinks it’s Rollins’ fear. Apparently it’s the people of Los Angeles. And so much for this new character.
The B-Team shills merchandise.
Rollins leaves because Dean doesn’t want to find him.
Natalya vs. Ruby Riott
Natalya takes her down to start and hammers away but the rest of the Squad offers a distraction, allowing Riott to take over as we take a break. Back with Ruby holding a guillotine choke and then cutting off a comeback attempt. Natalya slams her off the top and hits the discus lariat but has to deal with Sarah Logan. The Sharpshooter goes on but Liv Morgan makes the save behind the referee’s back. That’s enough for the rollup but Natalya reverses into one of her own for the pin at 8:14.
Rating: D+. How bad is it that this feud over broken sunglasses is more interesting and better done than so many of the other stories on the show as of late? It’s certainly an improvement over the AOP/Drake Maverick nonsense and it doesn’t involve brand supremacy. No it’s not good, but it has a point and feels a little emotional so I’ll take what I can get.
We look back at Strowman being attacked earlier. Strowman has a shattered elbow.
Overall Rating: D. This show was pulling back and forth all night long. Some of the Dean vs. Seth stuff was good and the Rousey promo worked, but my goodness it’s hard to defend stuff like the Maverick jokes and Ambrose complaining about a smell. It doesn’t help when Survivor Series really does feel like the most worthless show ever, as even the big storyline about Corbin and Strowman has been moved to the next pay per view. It’s like the show was trying to work but every few minutes, something stupid would drag it right back down. At least Stephanie was kept to one segment, which is better than I was expecting.
Results
Baron Corbin/Drew McIntyre/Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman/Finn Balor/Elias went to a no contest
Nia Jax/Tamina b. Bayley/Sasha Banks – Samoan drop to Bayley
Lucha House Party b. Revival – Shooting star press to Wilder
Ronda Rousey b. Mickie James – Armbar
Chad Gable/Bobby Roode b. AOP – Top rope sunset flip to Rezar
Natalya b. Ruby Riott – Rollup
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Heck, even put the champs in with the RAW/SD Champion vs. Champion matches.
Allow me to quote known wrestling aficionado Marty McFly here:
NO! NO PLEASE GOD NO!
This would be a disaster for multiple reasons.
1. Look at what happened to Smackdown last night at Survivor Series, with a men’s team full of former World Champions. Raw swept them and the one match that Smackdown did win was said to not count because apparently WWE can’t even book one side winning all of the matches properly. Now you want to bring in the minor leaguers and expect WWE to treat them with any kind of dignity?
2. I’m going to go on a limb and say Vince doesn’t watch a lot of NXT. I can picture him watching the NXT people invade and think that either A, they’re way too small, or B, wondering if they weigh 205lbs.
3. NXT exists in its own world. If you try to move them into another world, it’s not going to fit as well. It didn’t work when WCW wrestlers came to WWE and it’s not going to work here either. The announcers won’t know the stories well enough and a lot of what works so well, mainly the smaller, more intimate atmosphere of Full Sail and the long form storytelling, would be completely lost.
4. The commentary would butcher these people. Mauro, Nigel and even Percy treat the wrestling in front of them as the most important thing in the world. That’s how it should be, but the WWE announcers would be all about the Raw vs. Smackdown stuff with Graves doing his usual stuff (which can work in the right circumstances) and overshadowing the matches.
5. Enough with the Brand Supremacy. NXT wrestlers have some rather personal issues and asking them to work together would throw those out the window. Can you imagine Black, Ciampa and Gargano having to be on the same team right now?
That’s also assuming they’re not crushed like grapes and treated like imbeciles who don’t deserve to share the ring with Shane McMahon. Keep the NXT people FAR away from the main roster where they can be safe.
We’re finally here and odds are the lineups for the matches have changed another 194 times since Tuesday. It’s another year focused on Brand Supremacy and things are changing every day for the sake of…I have no idea really. This time there are seven brand vs. brand matches and a lonesome Cruiserweight Title match (the only title match on the whole show), the latter of which you would expect to be on the Kickoff Show so the whole show could be built around one concept. You know, because that’s how you do a show like this. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Monday Raw Tag Teams vs. SmackDown Live Tag Teams
Raw: Bobby Roode/Chad Gable (captains), Revival, Lucha House Party, B-Team, Ascension
SmackDown: Usos (captains), New Day, Sanity, Good Brothers, Colons
For some reason this is on the Kickoff Show, with the likely reason of allowing the entrances to not eat up such a ridiculous amount of time. At the moment this is the only Kickoff Show match and I can’t imagine that winding up being the case. These teams were literally thrown together over the course of the week and show how low the division is at the moment. How many of these teams really stand out at all?
I’ll take the SmackDown Live teams, just due to the amount of talent they have. The Usos and New Day alone could probably take out the five red teams (you know the show shirts will be out in full force) in short order so I’m hoping that everyone at least gets a chance to have some ring time somewhere in there. This isn’t exactly a match that interests me for the most part and that seems to be the case for the company as well.
Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown Live) vs. Seth Rollins (Monday Night Raw)
Yes indeed Nakamura still is the United States Champion and on Monday will have the longest title reign in over three years. I mean, he almost never defends the thing and is lucky to show up on TV more often than not, but he’s still the champion. Rollins on the other hand is one of the top names on his show and someone who is likely going to be pushed as one of the biggest stars in the company now that Roman Reigns is gone.
This is probably the easiest pick of the night as Dean Ambrose is all but guaranteed to interfere here and cost Rollins the match, which is exactly what he should be doing. Nakamura has nothing going on at the moment and it would make sense for him to win here, if nothing else just to give him anything to do. Rollins is destined for the big fight with Ambrose and unfortunately what should be a WrestleMania match is going to be a case of sitting around waiting on interference.
AOP (Monday Night Raw) vs. The Bar (SmackDown Live)
Speaking of champions who you forget have the titles, we have the Bar. I know they’re on TV almost every week, but it’s not like this reign is any different than any of their others, which is the case with almost all of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in recent years. Wins and losses, even for the titles, mean very little for them and I think you know where this is going.
AOP wins here as the fresh champions who shouldn’t be losing for a long time to come. They’re better, more entertaining and just flat out dominant. There’s no reason to have them lose to the Bar, who are lucky enough to win half of their matches. You need to give Monday Night Raw a win or two here and there and this is one of their best chances to get on the scoreboard.
Brock Lesnar (Monday Night Raw) vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown Live)
Here’s a great example of the card changing at the last minute. Allegedly Bryan won the SmackDown World Title on Tuesday so AJ Styles wouldn’t have to lose to Lesnar two years in a row. You know, because taking the title off of him makes infinitely more sense than having him lose a non-title match via countout or something like that. This is the dream match that people have been wanting to see, though I can’t imagine it actually working out the way people were expecting. Especially not after Bryan’s heel turn.
Of course Lesnar wins here, because Lesnar is allowed to destroy everyone on the show not named Reigns. Why this is the case is beyond me, but it does look like we’re coming up on Bryan losing to Lesnar a mere five days after becoming World Champion. It happened last year to Styles and it’s happening to Bryan this year. And the title will continue to mean even less for some reason and WWE will seemingly not understand why.
Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy(c) vs. Mustafa Ali
We’ll take a break just after the halfway point with a match that should be getting more attention than it’s currently receiving. Murphy won the title from Cedric Alexander in his home country of Australia back at Super Show-Down and now it’s Ali getting another chance to FINALLY win the title. Ali has been chasing the thing since WrestleMania earlier this year and has become the heart and soul of 205 Live.
I’m going with the title change here, as Murphy is fine for a champion but doesn’t need to hold it. He’s the biggest and strongest guy on the 205 Live roster and Ali has been chasing the title for far too long now. Ali deserves to win it on the big stage and Survivor Series in Los Angeles would certainly qualify as a big stage. It’s long overdue and winning it here would feel like an important moment, especially if it’s on the main card instead of the Kickoff Show for a change.
Monday Night Raw Women vs. SmackDown Live Women
Monday Night Raw: Nia Jax, Tamina, Mickie James, Natalya, Ruby Riott
SmackDown Live: Carmella, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, ???
Now we’ll get to the deeper part of this with the score at 2-2. I’m not sure what to expect here but the interesting point is the mystery partner. While I’d like for the partner to be a debuting Shayna Baszler (Paige would still have some connections down in NXT for it to make some sense), odds are it’s going to be Mandy Rose. After what Rose said last week on SmackDown Live, there’s a good chance her team will turn on her for the elimination and put them at a disadvantage.
That disadvantage should be enough for the Raw women to win here. If nothing else, who are we to question the powers of Tamina? Asuka can take a countout or DQ elimination and the rest are pretty much interchangeable. I’ll go with Jax and Tamina as the sole survivors as they need to keep Jax strong for her upcoming title match against Ronda Rousey, which is pretty much the only story in the division at the moment. Raw wins here and takes the lead for the first time all night.
Ronda Rousey (Monday Night Raw) vs. Charlotte (SmackDown Live)
And you thought WrestleMania was in April. This is another match that could be taking place on a huge stage but instead we’re getting it here because Jax doesn’t know how to throw a proper punch and knocked Lynch onto the injured list. Rousey is undefeated but Charlotte has a history of ending undefeated streaks after she beat Asuka earlier this year. Again though, there’s a reason this one should go one specific way.
That way is Lynch, who is either going to hit Rousey with a chair to cost her the match or come out onto the stage for a distraction so Charlotte can beat her. Either way, it makes sense for Rousey to lose here, both to set up an eventual Rousey vs. Lynch match (likely at WrestleMania and possibly even in the main event) and to keep the score even because….I’m not even going to bother doing it again. But yeah, Charlotte wins due to Lynch’s interference.
Monday Night Raw Men vs. SmackDown Live Men
Monday Night Raw: Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley
SmackDown Live: The Miz (captain), Shane McMahon, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy
While I don’t think this main events the show, you can forget about what makes sense for the sake of keeping the score even. I’m not sure where to go with this one either as you have Monday Night Raw on a two year winning streak, which should mean SmackDown Live picks up a win for the sake of a surprise. However, that might mean suggesting that Monday Night Raw isn’t the most awesome thing ever and I don’t know if WWE can live with that.
As little as it makes sense given the lineups, I’ll go with the blue guys picking up the win. Baron Corbin will find a way to accidentally get rid of Strowman and you can pencil in McMahon to get at least one fluke win in there somewhere. It doesn’t make sense given who is on the shows, but SmackDown Live winning makes a lot more sense than a third straight Monday Night Raw win.
Overall Thoughts
I’ve spent more than enough time complaining about the battle for Brand Supremacy but my goodness it’s completely taken over the show this year with six of the seven main card shows focusing on it. The show could be fun with some elimination matches and as long as they keep the battling McMahons to a minimum, things should be ok. What worries me the most is some stupid booking decisions in the name of keeping the score even, but I’ve long since given up on Survivor Series being a show that is meant to help long term storytelling.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 14, 2004
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
We’re past Bad Blood and Chris Benoit is still Raw World Champion. At the same time though, Shawn Michaels vs. HHH had the most epic finish to the most incredible, long running rivalry involving Shawn Michaels and HHH this year. Like really, the best thing ever and nothing will ever approach them. Let’s get to it.
Kane comes in to see Eric Bischoff to start. Bischoff thought Kane’s performance against Chris Benoit was good but they’ve had to name a new #1 contender. Kane isn’t happy but agrees to be a professional. The office is swiftly destroyed.
Opening sequence.
Jim Ross is in the ring to open things up and promises EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE from last night’s Cell match, because it just needs to keep going. As for now though, we need to bring out Shawn and HHH to officially end the rivalry. Leave it to these two to need a closing ceremony. They’re both rather banged up and looking rather serious and stare each other down. JR says last night’s match will be remembered for generations to come but now it needs to end. They need to shake hands and move on with their lives (preach it brother).
Both guys are tentative but here’s Bischoff to cut them off with an announcement about the new #1 contender. Kane cuts that off though and kicks Shawn in the face before turning to HHH. As usual, HHH bails in time, leaving Kane to kick Shawn again. That’s not enough though as he Pillmanizes Shawn’s throat, drawing blood from the mouth. That should get rid of Shawn for a long time, which might be best for everyone involved.
Post break and Shawn is still getting medical treatment with JR just a step above the Owen Hart voice. Shawn gets oxygen and is taken out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, as we’re nearly half an hour into the show.
Trish Stratus/Tyson Tomko vs. Lita/Matt Hardy
We get team facts this week, including that Matt and Lita are not morning people but do like margaritas. The women start things off with Trish taking over off a headlock takeover. Back up and the Matrish ducks a clothesline so Lita elbows her in the face for two. So what if a champion almost got pinned? We need to talk about Shawn and HHH NEARLY SHAKING HANDS!!!
The men come in with Tomko not being able to catch a diving Hardy. Tomko forearms him in the back of the head for two and it’s off to the chinlock. That goes as long as you would expect so Matt reverses a powerslam into a tornado DDT. Trish tags herself back in and gets clotheslined by Lita as the pace picks up. An enziguri drops Trish again as everything breaks down. Matt hits a good looking dive onto Tomko, leaving Lita to DDT Trish for the pin.
Rating: D. Another not great match and another instance of the champion losing the night after she wins the title. I’m not sure how smart that is, but given the state of the women’s division at the moment, it’s not like there are many people with any real value. Tomko continues to look fine as a power guy, but not being able to catch Matt didn’t do him any favors.
HHH comes in to see Bischoff and wishes Shawn good health. As for the important part though, HHH should be #1 contender after winning last night. Bischoff doesn’t think so just yet, because HHH needs to beat Eugene next week. Dang it they were doing so well. HHH seems pleased.
La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey
Non-title flag match, on Flag Day. This time though it’s just a regular match with the winners having their flag raised and their national anthem played. Rosey and Grenier start things off with the big man sending him into the corner for a leg lariat from Hurricane. That means a striking of the pose but Grenier picks him up for a double hot shot.
Conway comes in for the short form chinlock and Hurricane fights up in short order. The Blockbuster connects and it’s back to Rosey for the house cleaning. Rosey blasts them both with clotheslines as everything breaks down. Hurricane gets posted so Hurricane grabs a suplex on Grenier but Conway trios the leg for the Bobby Heenan finish to give Grenier the pin.
Rating: D. Short and to the point here as the French guys get another win, which should be the case in a regular match. It would have been one thing if this had been the capture the flag version but you don’t want the champs losing so soon. You know, like Trish did in the previous match.
The Canadian anthem plays, though it sounds like the short form.
Video on the Diva Search, including the explanation of a fan vote. Egads please get it over with fast.
A nervous Lita goes into the bathroom with a pregnancy test.
It’s Highlight Reel time with special guest Eugene, accompanied by William Regal. Eugene uses the set like a maze and holds his microphone upside down. Jericho says he and Eugene are both sexy beasts and Eugene is a bit embarrassed. It turns out that Eugene is a Jericho fan and his favorite moment is when he relieved himself in Regal’s tea. Eugene: “I did the same thing last week.” Regal’s response is as annoyed/hilarious as you would expect.
On to more serious things, Eugene is excited about getting to face HHH. Jericho says enjoy it while you can because HHH doesn’t like anyone and only cares about himself. The only reason Bischoff made the match was so HHH could beat him up and end his career. This brings out Evolution and Randy Orton has a present. HHH insists that they’re all his friends and Jericho is a mean liar. HHH is the biggest friend he has because he’s bigger than the Rock and Chris Benoit.
That brings us to the present: a HHH hat, a HHH shirt (goes on over the jacket) and an autographed picture from HHH. Finally, there’s an Evolution shirt and HHH has Eugene sign it for him. We even get a cameraman to take a photo with Eugene and HHH (HHH: “On three you’re gonna say Pedigree.”). There’s no attack, as instead HHH talks about how Jericho and Regal have been lying to Eugene. If they do it again, come tell HHH and he’ll take care of it. HHH talks up their match and says he knows he’ll have a great time.
Eugene and Regal leave so Jericho glares at HHH. Jericho knows what’s up and is going to be the first in line when Eugene beats him next week. HHH denies everything and promises to win tonight’s elimination match. Then he’s getting the title back, because he deserves it and Jericho knows that.
There’s a lot here and most of it is good. First of all, Eugene plays this character to perfection. You actually buy that there’s something wrong with him and it’s turned into one of the best played characters WWE has had in a long time. Then there’s HHH, who was nailing the condescending jerk who has things exactly where he wants them and knows it. As a bonus, Regal was great with his sneering as he and Jericho know exactly what’s going on but don’t want to crush Eugene.
That being said, I’m not so sure about having Eugene dealing with Evolution. I know he’s one of the hottest things in the company right now, but part of the reason is he’s a fun character and not someone to be taken seriously. I could see something like a match with Flair, who is the one member of the team that can absorb loss after loss. The rest though, especially HHH, is a big step up for him and it’s running a very big risk.
Stacy Keibler asks to borrow Lita’s elbow pads and the very nervous Lita admits that she’s pregnant. Of course Stacy is happy and says she and Matt will be great parents. Lita doesn’t her to tell anyone because she’s going to tell Matt tonight. Remember how many great things there were in the previous segment? Reverse all of that here.
Stacy Keibler/Nidia vs. Molly Holly/Gail Kim
In a rather selfish move, JR and Lawler talk about Lita being pregnant. Dude did you not hear her talking to Stacy on live television in front of millions of people? She didn’t want anyone to know yet! Nidia armdrags Gail down to start and a dropkick sends her into the corner for the tag off to Molly. A surprisingly good counter gets Nidia out of a wristlock but Molly takes her down and cranks on the arm. Stacy comes in for her variety of leg based offense and a slap, all while looking as unnatural as possible.
The front facelock goes on and the referee doesn’t see the tag to Nidia. He does see the tag to Gail, as Lawler can’t believe anyone would miss anything in a match involving four women. Gail works on the leg with a really unique leglock where she puts on something like a Figure Four but bridges up the legs look like an arch. Nidia makes a quick save so it’s back to Molly for a double clothesline. With Nidia knocks down, Gail puts on a Brock Lock with a headscissors to make Stacy tap.
Rating: D. Gail’s submissions were rather nice and that’s definitely a better style for her than the basic stuff she’s been doing. Stacy….just no. She’s not good in the ring and looks completely lost out there aside from kicking people in the ribs. She manages to make Torrie Wilson look skilled. That’s a really low bar to set but she’s pulled it off.
Smackdown Rebound.
Long video on the Cell match. My goodness Wrestlemania didn’t get this much coverage.
Somewhere around here, a five minute preview of the Joe Schmo Show aired. While that was taking place, Tajiri defeated A-Train.
We recap everything Kane has done tonight, including wrecking Shawn’s throat.
Evolution vs. Chris Benoit/Edge/Chris Jericho
That would be Batista/Randy Orton/Ric Flair (with HHH at ringside) and this is under elimination rules. Orton and Jericho start things off with Randy being taken to the mat for an early bow and arrow. Flair comes in to work on a hammerlock and drive Jericho into the corner for some shots to the back. It’s off to Batista for a powerslam as the picking apart of Jericho continues. Lawler keeps babbling on about HHH being Eugene’s friend, to the point where JR shouts about tapping out and says maybe HHH is, just to shut Lawler up.
Jericho gets over for the tag off to Edge, meaning the required backdrop to Flair. A clothesline puts Flair on the floor and a double dropkick does the same to Batista as we take a break. Back with Benoit getting out of trouble with some chops to Flair. Edge comes in so Flair is waiting on him with a thumb to the eye to take over again. A clothesline has Flair screaming about his neck and Edge makes it worse with some right hands in the corner. Benoit and Batista come in for the exchange of chops until Batista plants him with the spinebuster.
It’s back to Orton for a forearm to the neck as JR talks about Orton bragging today. He was even bragging about it on a CELL PHONE. Now you know it’s serious. Flair puts on an armbar, followed by Batista getting two off a suplex as the alternating continues. The beating goes on for so long that the announcers start recapping the show and talking about the Wright Brothers. Benoit kicks Batista away and brings Jericho back in for a failed Walls attempt.
The big clothesline takes Jericho down as well as the Canadians just can’t get much going here. Jericho gets in the enziguri though and everything breaks down. Edge’s spear and the Swanton sets up the Lionsault gets rid of Batista. Flair comes in next and kicks Jericho in the ribs as the fans give Batista the Goodbye Song. It’s quickly off to Orton for a rather aggressive chinlock with Lawler being way too happy with the cranking.
Jericho fights up and brings Edge back in but he charges into a raised boot. He’s fine enough to superplex Orton but HHH breaks up the spear. Flair goes up but gets slammed right back down, allowing the latest hot tag to Jericho. That means the running forearm as everything breaks down again. Jericho gets the Walls on Flair but HHH offers a distraction, meaning it’s the RKO to give Flair the pin, tying things up. Back from a break with Orton chopping Benoit as JR thanks the network for letting them stay on the air late.
Flair comes in and loses a strike off to Benoit (well duh) and takes a few shots from Edge as well, giving us the Flair Flop. The classic poke to the eye lets Orton come back in for another chinlock. JR is even talking about the angles of the chinlock, making me think Orton might use a few too many chinlocks. Edge fights up and hits a spinwheel kick as JR is way too happy to talk about how late the show is going. Benoit comes in again to exchange chops with Flair, followed by the rolling German suplexes.
Without a tag, Orton comes in as well, earning himself a German suplex of his own. It’s another tag to Edge to clean house (it must be the cleanest house in the world after all this) and a spear hits Flair. Unfortunately a low blow and the RKO hit Edge, giving Orton the pin to make it 2-1.
Actually scratch that as a quick Crossface makes Flair tap and it’s Benoit vs. Orton. Benoit is spent so Orton comes in and unloads with forearms to the chest but Benoit turns it into a slugout instead. More rolling German suplexes are blocked by elbows to the head….and the referee gets bumped. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter but has to German suplex HHH. Now the Sharpshooter is enough to make Orton tap for the win.
Rating: A-. Now this worked. So often you’ll get a match that is just long instead of good but in this case you had both. These guys beat each other up and it really did feel like it was about survival by the end. Evolution vs. Canada N Pals is one of the best things to happen to this show in a long time and this was another great example. Really strong main event here and Benoit winning in the end is a great call.
Overall Rating: B. This worked very well for the most part with the long main event taking up about a fourth of the show and the Highlight Reel taking up even more time. The rest of the show, mainly meaning the Lita drama and that kind of weird tag match (You already have Trish vs. Lita for the title. Did we need to spend the time on Gail and Molly?), wasn’t worth seeing but the good stuff here was really good.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: November 12, 2018
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young
It’s the Stephanie Show this week. That’s the entirety of the official Raw preview: a photo of Stephanie with a promise of her addressing the World Cup controversy. I’m sure this will include discussions of how disappointed she is with everyone and how Raw must be the most ridiculous adjective filled show that only Stephanie can be proud of because only WWE seems to care about this battle for brand supremacy which was only first mentioned a few weeks back and won’t be mentioned again a week after Survivor Series. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Veterans Day video. Nothing wrong with that.
Tag Team Battle Royal
Lucha House Party, Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Ascension, B-Team, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Revival
Strowman has a seat in the ring and says he’s tired of waiting for the Acting General Manager Baron Corbin (Stephanie has been rubbing off on him)….and here’s Stephanie to interrupt. She talks about Shane McMahon disrespecting the locker room by declaring himself the best in the world. Braun gets up and yells that he doesn’t care about Shane or representing Raw.
Stephanie screeches about how he better care, just like the rest of the roster. That’s not happening because he’s tired of being treated like a meat castle. Get Corbin out here right now. Stephanie has a proposition: represent Raw and win the men’s match and he can have whatever he wants. Like, trains! Strowman wants a Universal Title match with Brock Lesnar, but first he wants Corbin.
Stephanie says done, but Braun wants to pick the stipulations. He also wants Corbin to sign a waver so he can’t get in trouble. That might take some more time but Stephanie seems cool with it. All she asks is to have Strowman not lay a hand on Corbin to prove he’s a proud member of the Raw roster.
Cue Ronda Rousey with Stephanie trying to introduce her but getting the microphone taken out of her hand. Ronda has been waiting for a challenge and Becky Lynch can do that. Now it’s Baron Corbin coming out for a pep talk but Ronda flips him over and leaves. Strowman is waiting on Corbin, but doesn’t touch him. He’ll be waiting after Survivor Series though.
This could have been worse as Stephanie was kept to a minimum, but it’s not doing much better about having the ridiculous focus on Raw vs. Smackdown. It’s not an interesting story and we’ve been here several years in a row now. Strowman wanting Corbin and then Lesnar again is fine, but just do those matches with regular elimination tags instead of this forced brand vs. brand stuff.
Ember Moon vs. Tamina Snuka
Nia Jax is in Tamina’s corner. Tamina throws her into the corner to start but Ember is right back with kicks to the leg. A sliding basement Downward Spiral sends Tamina outside. Ember follows but gets distracted by Jax, allowing Tamina to run her over. Back from a break with Ember fighting out of a chinlock and diving onto Jax….and bouncing off of her. The springboard crossbody gets two on Tamina but Jax offers another distraction. Tamina superkicks Ember down and hits the Superfly Splash for the pin at 8:35.
Rating: D. I kept writing Nia instead of Tamina because they’re basically the same person. They look similar, they wrestle the same powerful style and they’re even family. Now for some reason, WWE finds this more interesting than Ember, who they took the time to develop and build up in NXT. Why bring her up at all if you’re not going to use her for anything more than cannon fodder?
We look back at the Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins story, including the AOP taking the Tag Team Titles from Rollins last week and getting beaten down by Ambrose after the match.
Here’s Rollins for an in-ring interview with Corey Graves. Rollins wants to know what’s up with Ambrose, but Dean isn’t man enough to come out here and face him. Ambrose pops up on screen in front of a car with a burning barrel next to it. Dean says maybe he’s doing this because Rollins treated him like a joke for too long.
See, Dean was the same guy all along and maybe one day his brothers can forgive him. Nah that’s not true, because Dean used to think that the Shield was stronger together. The truth is the Shield made him weak so he pours gas over the Shield vest. Ambrose: “Burn it down.” He throws it into the barrel and Rollins is even angrier. It’s nice to have a reason from Dean and the symbolism was great, but if Dean doesn’t win the feud, none of this really matters.
We look back at Drew McIntyre soundly beating Kurt Angle last week with the ankle lock.
Here’s Angle…..’s music with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre actually coming out instead. Drew says they came here to take over and wants to know if the fans believe him now. First they broke the Shield and then he broke Angle. Last week Drew broke him down and then Angle started crying. Drew has never been so disgusted and he’s not allowing any more nostalgia acts on this show (make your own Ziggler jokes) but here’s Finn Balor to interrupt.
Balor says Drew crossed the line last week but Drew cuts him off to say dignity isn’t a right reserved for all. Last week, Drew kicked Finn’s head off because Balor is the problem with wrestling today. It’s all about emotion to him so go cry to the Balor Club. Balor says he’s been dealing with bullies for his whole life so let’s do it right now. Drew says deal, but it can be against Dolph instead. Balor seems happy but Drew headbutts him down before the bell.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor
Balor is staggered but says ring the bell anyway. Ziggler knocks him down without much effort and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Balor gets in an enziguri from the apron but gets crotched going for the Coup de Grace. Cole declares this as Ziggler taking over as we take a break.
We come back with Balor kicking him in the head for a double knockdown. A quick double stomp gives Balor two but Dolph is right back with the Fameasser. Balor fights up again and sends Dolph outside for the big flip dive onto both of them, only to miss the Coup de Grace. Ziggler grabs a rollup but gets reversed into a second rollup to give Balor the pin at 12:15.
Rating: C-. I got more out of this match than I got out of all the Balor vs. Bobby Lashley matches combined. The trilogy of matches served no apparent purpose other than to fill time, didn’t advance either guy and offered no emotion from either of them. This match, while not exactly a classic, had a purpose, told a story, and made Balor look impressive for fighting from behind while setting up another match. That’s actual booking, rather than just throwing matches out there.
Post break Stephanie puts Balor on the team and gives him, Ziggler and McIntyre a pep talk about how they need to destroy Smackdown, including her brother Shane (WE KNOW WHO YOUR BROTHER IS! STOP ACTING LIKE NO ONE KNOWS HIS NAME!).
We look back at Becky Lynch calling out Ronda Rousey last week on Smackdown.
Rousey wasn’t mocking Becky last week and lists off a bunch of things that Becky learned while she was learning armbars. Becky is so hypersensitive that she’s the millennial man with skinny jeans and avocado toast. Ronda isn’t Charlotte and Becky isn’t Oliver Twist. Her fans have been here with her every single week and she didn’t change the definition of “fight like a girl” so the face of the women’s revolution could call herself the man. Nia and Tamina (ERG) come in and wish her luck. Great intensity from Ronda here, though pretty clearly reading from a script.
Survivor Series rundown.
Tag Team Battle Royal
Lucha House Party, Bobby Roode/Chad Gable, Ascension, B-Team, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Revival
Yes they’re actually doing this AGAIN because WE NEED CAPTAINS BLAST IT! Slater gets tossed out early, meaning Rhyno has to leave as well. Kalisto saves Lince Dorado, who pulls Scott Dawson to the apron with him. Gran Metalik gets rid of the Revival but Ascension gets rid of the luchadors. There goes the B Team as well, leaving us with the Ascension and Roode/Gable. A neckbreaker/moonsault combination hits Viktor but Konnor makes the save. Not that it matters as Gable pulls Konnor over the top for the win at 3:08.
Rating: D-. What kind of a battle royal is barely three minutes long. That would be a good one in case you weren’t paying enough attention. I’ve ranted enough about how stupid it is to have these captain spots when it’s all just a part of the battle for brand supremacy anyway. Gable and Roode are fine as a team and they win one of the most meaningless awards ever. Good for them.
Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for a chat. Heyman gets in his usual start and says Strowman deserves congratulations. At Crown Jewel, Strowman proved that he is an ALMOST unbeatable monster when it took five F5’s to put him down. Further congratulations to Strowman for getting back into the title picture after such a loss.
Congratulations are also in order to the Smackdown locker room for avoiding the beating that is coming to AJ Styles this Sunday. Heyman recaps AJ’s loss to Lesnar last year and makes a Hotel California reference (Heyman: “For those of you who don’t get the reference, go home and Google it b******.”). There is no one on Raw, Smackdown, NXT or in the UFC who can hang with Lesnar and no one he wants to beat up more than AJ. That’s why this Sunday, Lesnar will show that he’s the champion of champions.
Heyman is about to call that a spoiler but Jinder Mahal of all people interrupts. Last year, Mahal was focused on facing Lesnar and it cost him the WWE Championship. Mahal has a mantra for Lesnar, and Brock is actually willing to let him come in and say it. Lesnar to Heyman: “You should really hear this. After all, you’re Jewish.” Mahal explains shanti and the required beating cuts him off, with the Singh Brothers taking the most devastating German suplexes I’ve ever seen. Brock throws one of them over the top at Jinder but the Singh bounces off of him. That earns Mahal an F5 for improper catching technique.
Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Elias
Before the match, Lio Rush talks about how perfect Lashley’s physique is and we get some poses, including the double glutes. Thankfully Elias cuts them off but he’s making a phone call. Elias introduces himself and tells child protective services that Lashley has kidnapped a child and is forcing him to point out various muscles. He was even bent over in front of the child! The authorities need to get here soon because Lashley and Rush have a tendency to make people fall asleep in a hurry. Lashley wants to fight so Elias says he sucks and heads to the ring.
We’re joined in progress with Elias fighting out of a chinlock and sending Lashley to the floor for a knee from the apron. Lashley sends him into the post though and Rush grabs Elias’ leg for the countout at 2:11. Well at least he didn’t take a clean fall this soon into his face turn.
Post match Elias grabs Rush and sends a charging Lashley into the post. Rush tries to run but gets thrown onto Elias for his efforts.
Here’s Alexa Bliss, flanked by Mickie James, Tamina and Nia, to announce the captains of the Raw women’s team. Bliss talks about the great team she’s put together, which includes Natalya who is off channeling her aggression to use on Sunday. That leaves one open spot (I had forgotten Alexa wasn’t in the match because she’s in the ring, since WE MUST HAVE A CAPTAIN WHO ISN’T EVEN IN THE MATCH!) so the winner of the following match gets the final roster spot.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
Banks goes for an early rollup and knees Bayley in the head to knock her off the apron. The Meteora gets two but Bayley elbows Sasha off the apron this time. Sasha sends her into the post though and hits the running Meteora to drive Bayley head first into it again. The third Meteora only hits post though and they’re both down.
Bayley is right back up with a Bayley to Belly on the apron (find a new place to fight) as we take a break. Back with Bayley’s top rope elbow hitting knees (apparently Bayley’s elbow is less effective than a cabinet door because Sasha’s knee is fine) so the Bank Statement goes on, drawing in Tamina and Jax for the double DQ at 8:32.
Rating: D+. The violence was good but egads I’m sick of these endings with the double DQ’s. Granted that might just be because Tamina has been in three different segments tonight and I just want this show to end. This was fun while it lasted with the Bayley to Belly looking great, but the ending was lame, which isn’t exactly surprising.
Post match Bliss laughs it off and introduces Ruby Riott as the final pick. The Riott Squad comes out but we cut to the back where Becky Lynch has Rousey in the Disarm-Her. She lets it go and comes to the ring, where the Smackdown women (complete with Charlotte, who is suddenly fine with everything from Tuesday, and Mandy Rose/the Iconics, who aren’t on the team in the first place) come in for the big brawl.
Ronda comes in but her arm is done. Becky, who looks to have a broken nose, grabs a chair and hits her in the arm again as the Smackdown women destroy everyone. Another chair to the arm has Rousey in trouble as Bliss watches on from the ramp. A long staredown between Rousey and Becky (the blood on her face adds a lot)….doesn’t end the show.
We cut to the back where Stephanie is yelling at Corbin over what just happened. She’s still yelling as we cut back to a furious Rousey to end the show. The big brawl was really good and Becky looked like a STAR, but closing on Stephanie yelling took the life out of what was an otherwise great closing segment.
Overall Rating: D. I’m really torn on this one as there’s some good stuff included (the closing segment, Ambrose/Rollins, McIntyre looking to have completely eclipsed Ziggler, Ronda’s fire and Lesnar wrecking Mahal and company) but then there’s nearly EVERYTHING else, which almost completely focused on either Stephanie, Tamina (I still need someone to tell me what WWE sees in her) or this obsession with having captains who pick the teams for Survivor Series.
I’ve been watching wrestling since the late 1980s and I’ve been a WWF/E fan for that entire time. Out of every show they do, Survivor Series was my favorite for a long time. I know it doesn’t matter as much compared to Wrestlemania or the Royal Rumble, but I’ve always liked that team concept and taking all these feuds that have been going on and piling them together into one match where you get some fun combinations.
Now though, WWE has taken that away. There’s no personal feud between the two brands and the focus is all on the show’s bosses. The feuds are now on the teams themselves and we get some invasion angle to set up the matches. The fun part of it is gone and now it’s all about Raw vs. Smackdown and brand supremacy and picking captains who sometime are and sometimes aren’t on the team. That’s all the last two weeks are going to be while Stephanie yells about how important this is to Raw and makes everyone feel beneath her.
I’ve been a wrestling fan for a long time and this is one of the first times where I’ve ever felt like what they’re doing isn’t for me. I used to look forward to Survivor Series every year and now I can’t wait for it to be over so we can move on to something I’ll probably like a lot more. Survivor Series used to be fun and now it’s just a show where they can get in as many buzzwords as they can while making sure the wrestlers look as unimportant as they can. Thanks for that WWE. It took 30 years but you finally took the fun away from my favorite show.
Results
Tag Team Battle Royal went to a no contest when Braun Strowman interfered
Tamina Snuka b. Ember Moon – Superfly Splash
Finn Balor b. Dolph Ziggler – Rollup
Chad Gable/Bobby Roode won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Ascension
Bobby Lashley b. Elias via countout
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks went to a double DQ when Nia Jax and Tamina interfered
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: March 28, 1994
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette
We’re still in the aftermath of Wrestlemania X and things almost have to be better this time around than they were last week. Granted I’ve said that before but it hasn’t been the case yet. The big match for the week is Lex Luger vs. Rick Martel so my hopes aren’t exactly at their highest. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Earlier today, Ted DiBiase bought some front row seats from fans for $100 each. Not the worst deal in the world when you’re a third of the way through the tapings.
Opening sequence.
Rick Martel vs. Lex Luger
Cornette goes into a rant about his microphone not working, somehow making that entertaining as well. Martel starts by hiding in the corner with Cornette saying that Luger is such a typical American. The threat of a right hand sends Martel running again (Dude, not in the face!) so Liger goes with a hiptoss instead, this time with Martel bailing to the floor. We look at the commentary table and it turns out that DiBiase is sitting behind them, counting his money of course. That’s the kind of thing that made him work so well and still does all these years later.
Lex’s headlock takeover as Cornette goes into a rant about how awesome the University of Louisville basketball team is this year. Well to be fair he’s supposed to be a heel. Martel fights up and is almost immediately headlocked right back down. Back up again and Martel gets knocked outside as we take a break. We come back with Martel getting in some kicks to the ribs in the corner and scoring off a clothesline.
The chinlock goes on because we haven’t spent enough time in a hold on the mat. Thankfully it doesn’t last as long….and Martel puts it right back on. Well of course he does. A snap off the ropes sets up the third chinlock as Vince says Cornette should have been the guest referee at Wrestlemania. That might have been even more perfect, just for the comedy alone.
Martel finally goes up but dives into a shot to the ribs. Luger tries a dropkick (!) but Martel grabs the rope and Luger crashes, mainly because HE HAS NO BUSINESS TRYING A DROPKICK. A suplex doesn’t get Luger very far due to his back so he goes with the right hands instead. The powerslam sets up the Rack to finish Martel.
Rating: D-. I know older wrestlers say there’s too much action today but then you have matches like this, with nearly half of the action on TV being spent in headlocks and chinlocks. You can call it psychology or whatever you want, but that’s not interesting to see or advancing any kind of a story. It’s laying on the mat and acting like it’s worthwhile. Once every now and then is fine but over and over is ridiculous.
Owen Hart says he can beat anyone.
Owen Hart vs. Mike Freeman
Yeah I’d say he’s included on that anyone list. The fans want Bret but we cut to DiBiase saying everyone has a price. Tonight he bought these three seats, but he’s got some surprises coming in the next few weeks. Back in the ring, Owen finally chokes Freeman on the ropes a bit and throws him down by the hair. That’s rather heelish of him.
Vince compares Wrestlemania to the Super Bowl and the boxing pay per views (ok fair enough in some cases) and Owen takes him down by the arm. A dropkick keeps Freeman in trouble as they’re taking their time with the squash here. Freeman charges into a boot in the corner and the Sharpshooter finishes him off.
Rating: D. A bit longer than it needed to be but the point was getting Owen on the show, which is the right idea after he beat Bret so recently. Just keeping him on TV makes sense, as you can tell he’s going to be in the World Title picture rather soon. Freeman was a pretty lame jobber though, as he was just kind of there without putting up even a token opposition. At least put in some effort.
Doink the Clown vs. Eric Cody
Doink squirts DiBiase with a flower on his way to the ring for a funny reaction. Cody is sent outside to start as this whole wrestling things seems to frustrate him. Cornette goes on an anti-New York rant as Vince wishes Reba McIntyre a happy birthday. Somehow they talk about her singing a song about Wrestlemania but don’t mention her singing America the Beautiful back at Wrestlemania VIII.
Doink pulls Cody down by the arm and Dink runs in to step on Cody’s chest. Cornette: “I can whip any midget and anyone under the age of 12!” Cody isn’t happy (as he shouldn’t be, as most clowns aren’t funny) so Doink takes the unhappy man down into an armbar. The Whoopee Cushion puts him out of his misery.
Rating: D. Face Doink was just such a mess as they went with the comedy instead of something interesting. To be fair though, you kind of knew that was where they were going at some point. Cornette was hilarious here though, with him going into the ranting and raving as only he could do. Well he and Bobby Heenan but that goes without saying.
Cornette brings in the Quebecers and Johnny Polo for a chat. Last week they were challenged by Captain Lou Albano….and here he is pretty soon after the champs arrive. Jacques: “What do you want Captain Crunch?” The challenge is accepted and Albano has a team. He leaves and comes back with the Headshrinkers and Afa, sending Johnny into a frenzy. Johnny: “Not those guys! They could beat us!”
The Quebecers were thinking more along the line of Men on a Mission or the Bushwhackers and Albano threatens them with the wrath of Jack Tunney if they don’t accept. More on this later, but the Headshrinkers are a good team so this should be fine. If nothing else, I’d pay to hear Polo and Albano yell at each other for ten minutes a week.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Black Phantom
The Phantom is masked and would be better known as Gangrel. Kid works a headlock to start but gets hiptossed for a break. The announcers talk about Rush Limbaugh’s salary as Kid snapmares him down for the running legdrop. The spinwheel kick gets two and the top rope spinning crossbody finishes the Phantom in a hurry.
Crush vs. Ray Hudson
Nikolai Volkoff is in the front row in his brown suit. Cornette spends the time quoting the Rolling Stones as Crush slowly chops away. A neck snap and a superkick allow Crush to strike some martial arts poses. There’s a gorilla press and a knee drop for the pin. For Crush that is.
Rating: D. Another boring squash in a series of them after Wrestlemania. Crush’s martial arts poses were the most entertaining things about the match, assuming you don’t include the Stones stuff. After the Savage loss, there wasn’t much left for Crush to do as he was really just a big lackey.
A highlight package takes us out. Did something just go short?
Overall Rating: D-. Egads they’re in a bad funk as the only good thing to be seen was Owen winning to continue his momentum. In theory they’re just waiting for the big stuff to happen but that doesn’t seem to be the case anytime soon. I’m guess Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon are just getting a night off after the big ladder match, but you can really feel their absences.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: March 21, 1994
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage
It’s the night after Wrestlemania X and that means Bret Hart is the WWF World Champion again but his brother Owen is waiting on him. Owen pinned Bret completely clean last night, setting him up as the almost automatic #1 contender to the title. That could make for a very fun spring and summer so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Vince and Randy run down some of the card, including a Bret appearance. As it should be on the night after Wrestlemania.
Quebecers vs. Bushwhackers
Non-title and the first match after Wrestlemania. You know, because reasons. The Bushwhackers jump them while Johnny Polo is still conducting the theme song, giving us the required funny face. There’s a little too much whacking going on though as the Quebecers jump them from behind, only to have the Bushwhackers bite them on the pants. A pair of double clotheslines puts Jacques on the floor and Pierre down as we’re still waiting on any kind of tag match to break out.
Butch hits Luke by mistake as Vince apologizes for the ten man tag being cut due to time last night. Pierre hits Polo by mistake as well as things finally start to settle down to Butch headlocking Jacques. Luke comes in to do the same and it’s off to a quickly broken chinlock. A tag brings in Pierre, who gets pulled down in all of a few seconds so we take a break.
Rating: D-. I was a big Bushwhackers fan back in the day but my goodness this was a chore to sit through. It’s kind of hard to get interested in one of their matches in 1994, especially against the Tag Team Champions. The ending wasn’t even anything special and it felt like it went on forever. The tag division was such a mess at this point and the Bushwhackers being the best option is all the proof you need.
Post match Polo says they can beat anyone so Captain Lou Albano comes out to issue a challenge for the titles from a mystery team. Sure, why not. Oh come on Johnny, act as smart as you are.
IRS gives us some reasons why people are tax cheats, such as they like to watch the national debt rise.
Tatanka vs. Chris Hamrick
Hamrick is semi-famous from the last few months of ECW. The announcers waste no time on getting into the news jokes of the week. Tatanka backdrops Hamrick to start and sends him into the corner for some chops. Hamrick gets sent outside for a crash and then gets pulled back in. Make up your mind Tatanka.
A suplex and powerslam connect as Vince talks about Michael Jordan playing baseball. Tatanka works on the arm because this just hasn’t gone on long enough yet. Some right hands give Hamrick some hope until he misses a charge in the corner, meaning it’s time to hit the warpath. The Papoose To Go finally finishes Hamrick.
Rating: D. Well, at least it was a little bit shorter. Tatanka seems to be ready for a push around this point, which is a little surprising after he already lost his undefeated streak last year. This was a pretty dull match and the commentators’ jokes didn’t exactly make things any better. But what else were they supposed to talk about?
Wrestlemania Report, again looking at the celebrities and the upcoming reairing.
Diesel vs. Ken Lucia
Joined in progress with Diesel hitting a flying clothesline (a big spot for him) and putting on a neck crank. The good looking side slam plants Lucia and it’s a Jackknife for the pin with one foot on the chest. Total squash, as it should have been.
Next week: Lex Luger vs. Rick Martel. Egads it’s almost hard to watch how far Luger fell.
Here’s Bret Hart for his first chat as champion. Vince recaps how he won the title and Bret admits that things didn’t start well yesterday but they certainly ended great. He’ll fight anyone, anywhere anytime, including Yokozuna. Ever the buzzkill, Vince brings up the loss to Owen but Bret has no excuses. It was just one match but Owen won it fair and square. Things are a bit different now because Bret has the title, which sounds like he’s up for a rematch.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Koko B. Ware
Normally I’d make fun of this for being the post Wrestlemania main event but they’re both in the Hall of Fame. An early hiptoss puts Koko down and Jeff is able to have a rest on the top. The fear of Koko flapping his arms (like a bird you see) sends Jeff bailing out to the floor. Back in and Jeff is smart enough (he is known to point at his head) to avoid a charge in the corner and a dropkick has Koko in more trouble. A suplex and clothesline drop Koko again but he avoids a middle rope elbow and starts the comeback. Koko hits an elbow for two and is almost immediately DDT’d for the pin.
Rating: D. Well what else were you expecting? Jarrett was hardly interesting in the first place and now you put him in there against Koko B. Ware? The country music thing wasn’t working and I think everyone knew it but that didn’t stop them from running with the exact same idea for YEARS. Oddly enough, it never actually worked. Who would have seen that coming?
Post match Jarrett gets in Jarrett’s face and it’s almost time to fight, complete with Savage waving his fists around like an 1890s boxing parody. Randy grabs for his foot and then gets inside for some right hands, sending Jeff running. Koko’s music plays and it’s so odd to see Randy celebrating to that song.
Ads for WWF Greetings On Call, where a wrestler can call and say something like Happy Birthday, Get Well or something similar. A video version of that could make a rather tidy sum today.
A quick preview of next week’s show wraps us up.
Overall Rating: F+. So the best things about this were…..I guess Diesel’s squash and Bret’s promo? If that’s all you have going for you on what should be on a pretty eventful show, you’re kind of in trouble. I know the Raw after Wrestlemania wasn’t quite the big thing that it would become but egads man. Could you give us something other than the Bushwhackers, Koko B. Ware and Michael Jordan jokes?
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: March 7, 1994
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase
We’re coming up on Wrestlemania X and that means things are starting to come together. The Hart Brothers are still at it but Bret and Lex Luger are both after the WWF World Title. It’s one of the best pay per views ever so it should be interesting to see to see how we get there. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick recap of Randy Savage vs. Crush, the latter of whom teams up with Owen Hart to face the Smoking Gunns.
Opening sequence.
Ted DiBiase comes out for commentary and we run down the card.
Smoking Gunns vs. Crush/Owen Hart
They’re starting big this week. The fans are all over the villains here, so at least they’re doing their jobs. Nikolai Volkoff is in the front row as part of a story that would get rather dumb, mainly because it involves Volkoff in 1994. Owen goes outside to break some Bret Hart glasses and we’re ready to go. Bart and Owen exchange shoves and a hiptoss takes Hart down. It’s already off to Crush, who is greeted by the USA chants because the fans aren’t that bright.
Some shots to the back just send Bart up top for a spinning high crossbody and the tag brings in Billy. Crush, likely annoyed at….whatever is likely annoying him at the moment, throws Billy into the corner and hands it off to Owen. Just like earlier, this doesn’t go quite so well until a cheap shot from the apron lets him get in a suplex. The fans want Bret (I thought they were all about the USA) but have to settle for Crush hammering away at Billy in the corner as he ignores a tag request from Owen.
A side slam gets two and now it’s off to Owen for the always good looking missile dropkick as we take a break. Back with the hot tag bringing Bart back in for the backdrop on Owen and a right hand on Crush. Bart’s powerslam gets two as everything breaks down. Crush chop blocks Bart to break up what looks like a powerbomb and Owens slaps on the Sharpshooter for the win.
Rating: C. Not a bad match at all here as two of the biggest heels in the company at the moment get to beat a good team to really make them look better. The Gunns were scheduled for a ten man tag at Wrestlemania but really, it’s not like the match was going to mean anything in the first place. This was fine for what it needed to accomplish
Post match Owen asks Crush to save a little piece of Bret during their match at Sunday’s March to Wrestlemania. Crush says okey dokey.
It’s time for the Wrestlemania Report with Todd Pettengill with a focus on the celebrities. The matches get some attention as well, though I’m not sure why Todd thinks the mixed tag is mysterious.
Virgil vs. Jeff Jarrett
DiBiase isn’t exactly happy to see Virgil, who chases Jarrett into the ropes to start. A shoulder works a bit better for Jarrett but he gets taken down into a hammerlock. An armdrag sets up another hammerlock as the announcers make fun of the White House communications director. Virgil hits an atomic drop, which Vince calls a reverse piledriver. As I try to figure that out, Jeff grabs a DDT for the sudden pin.
Rating: D. Nothing to see here, though listening to DiBiase rip on Virgil three years after their split is still funny. Jarrett was still figuring things out at the moment in the WWF, which he never really pulled off. Virgil has to be about done with the company, though who would notice if he was gone?
Jeff Jarrett is on the cover of a country music magazine so Vince accuses DiBiase and Jarrett of being involved in fraud. Ok then.
The President of the Hair Club for Men is the official Wrestlemania hair consultant so we see what Mr. Fuji would look like with hair. Clara Peller was a better celebrity than this.
Doink the Clown vs. Mike Sharpe
Sharpe chases after Dink to start and gets kicked down. A shoulder lets Sharpe point at his head so Doink dropkicks him to scramble said huge brains. Some choking on the ropes slow Dink down as Vince manages to go on with one sentence about Wrestlemania for about a minute straight. The Whoopee Cushion (top rope seated senton) finishes Sharpe.
Chief Jay Strongbow and Chief Wahoo McDaniel and an actual Native American chief are in the ring to present Tatanka with an actual headdress. It’s kind of a cool moment and Tatanka gives a nice speech about respecting his ancestors and the men next to him. Strongbow says he’s proud of him and McDaniel (not McDaniels) says full steam ahead as Tatanka is actually crying as he has the headdress put on.
IRS vs. Mark Thomas
Before the match, IRS says Tatanka owes a gift tax on that headdress. Thomas has been around here before and is jacked. Vince takes this opportunity to talk about Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott and various other baseball stories. I don’t know if Vince wants to be a talk show host or what but this is really stupid. IRS takes him down with a snapmare but misses a charge into the corner so Thomas can roll him up for two.
That’s about it for Thomas’ offense as IRS slaps on an abdominal stretch. DiBiase: “I taught him everything I know.” IRS grabs the ropes, making DiBiase affirm that he did in fact teach IRS everything he knows. Now it’s time to work on the leg for a bit, followed by the jumping clothesline to finish Thomas. IRS is drenched in sweat after the match, likely because he wrestles in business attire.
Rating: D-. What else were you expecting here? IRS just wasn’t that good in the ring (fine, but not good) and watching him work a squash isn’t the most interesting thing in the world. At least they didn’t stay out there that long and beating someone who looked like Thomas was better than the usual schlubs that served as jobbers a lot of the time.
Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies come out to rant about how Japanese cars are better than American cars to hype up Jimmy Del Ray vs. Lex Luger at the March to Wrestlemania. Speaking of Wrestlemania, Luger is only going to wrestle once at Wrestlemania and he’s losing to Yokozuna. As for Sunday and Del Ray, Cornette: “Luger, he’s going to hit you from so many different directions that you’re going to think you’re in a pinball machine and he just got an extra ball.” WHERE DOES HE COME UP WITH THIS STUFF???
Overall Rating: C-. The featured match being watchable is about as good as you can get around here and the rest of the show was only somewhat bad. Wrestlemania X is a special show and the build to it feels a little different as well. This wasn’t a great show and could have used more Bret, but at least what we got was pretty acceptable.
I’m not doing March to Wrestlemania and there’s no show on March 14 so the next episode is March 21.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: