Monday Night Raw
Date: January 31, 2005
Location: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
Attendance: 9,200
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after the Royal Rumble and that means the Batista train is pulling away. Batista won the Royal Rumble last night and that puts him on the path to Wrestlemania. The question though is…well ok it’s not really a question about which champion he’ll face but how will they get there. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are HHH and Ric Flair to open things up. Flair talks about how HHH knows he’s the greatest no matter what anyone thinks. Shawn Michaels came around and people started saying that HHH was “arguably” the greatest that ever lived. After last night though, there is no doubt about who the greatest of all time really is. HHH says Orton wasn’t quite destined to be the greatest because HHH is destiny. He could talk about how great he is but everyone knows it already.

That wasn’t all that happened last night though because something special happened. It’s the kind of thing that people are going to talk about decades from now. Therefore, here is Batista, the winner of the Royal Rumble, rocking a suit. HHH brags about Batista winning the Rumble, throwing John Cena out three times just to make the point clear. He’s proud of Batista because this is what they talked about from the beginning.

At first Batista was a guy with muscles in a t-shirt but now he has Armani suits, a Rolex watch, a Mercedes-Benz and women. Greatness gravitates to greatness and he’s a product of HHH after all. At Wrestlemania, it will be HHH’s honor to defend the title against Batista. After a smile, Batista says he’s glad to hear what HHH thinks of him. Now, let’s hear what Batista thinks of HHH.

We cut to a JBL promo from last night with JBL saying Batista can come to Wrestlemania and take a beating from the champ. As good as Batista is, he is not in JBL’s league. HHH doesn’t like what JBL said and tells Foghorn Leghorn that all Batista would have to do to be WWE Champion is come face JBL. However, he is NOT going to Smackdown because they’re having their big match at Wrestlemania. Batista never got to say anything after JBL’s promo. The pieces continue to fall into place.

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Simon Dean

Benjamin is defending. Dean hammers away to start as JR talks about him being a sponsor of the show. How you quickly transition from sponsor to title contender isn’t clear. Shelton fights back but Simon gets caught pulling something out of his bag. With the referee taking that away, Dean gets the bag up to block a Stinger Splash for two. Not that it matters as the Dragon Whip retains the title in a hurry.

Post match Simon says the only reason that happened was Shelton uses the Simon System. That earns him an exploder suplex to send him down to the lowest of the lower card for good.

HHH yells at Eric Bischoff about who put up that JBL clip. It turns into a threat, which Bischoff doesn’t like.

Wrestlemania Recall: Butterbean kills Bart Gunn’s career dead and knocks the Brawl For All into the vault for good.

Christy Hemme shoots off a t-shirt gun but here’s Edge to cut her off. Edge doesn’t like Christy playing dumb like this but it can’t be that hard for her. He wants to see what kind of shirts they are so Christy shows him that it’s a Wrestlemania XXI shirt. Edge rants about how he dominated the Royal Rumble by eliminating the most people and coming down to the final three, all after beating Shawn Michaels. Christy is panicking as Edge yells so violence is threatened.

Cue Shawn to make the save but he also wants to talk about Edge being embarrassed. What is embarrassing is saying that Edge beat him last night. Then Kurt Angle threw him out and busted him open, so yeah, Shawn has some pent up frustration. Therefore, he needs to let some of that out tonight in San Jose. Shawn already has a tag match tonight but he’s willing to work twice in one night twice in a row. Edge says no so Shawn superkicks him. That’s one way to shut someone up.

Maven vs. Hurricane

Hurricane shrugs off some kicks to the ribs and takes him down with a shoulder. A headscissors is countered into a side slam (not bad) and Maven stays on the back with a running forearm. Hurricane fights out of a chinlock but misses the Blockbuster. Maven finishes with the yet to be named Backstabber. Not very good, but it’s clear they’re done with Maven anyway.

Maria and Candice find Gene Snitsky in the women’s locker room….and he likes their shoes.

We look at Kane and Snitsky interfering in the Heidenreich vs. Undertaker casket match from last night.

Bischoff demands that Coach find out who played the JBL video. Theodore Long comes in and Bischoff accuses him of playing the tape to steal Batista from Raw. That’s exactly right but he had nothing to do with the tape. Long has already made a lucrative offer to Batista to face either JBL or Big Show. It sounds to him like Batista is Smackdown bound. Holla holla holla.

Randy Orton and Stacy Keibler have a forced flirty conversation about Orton’s tag match. Orton has to do it because this is what he does. From a kayfabe perspective, why is Stacy there? She hasn’t wrestled a regular match since October, she isn’t managing anyone and she just kind of hangs around the show. At least Christy comes out and does some official stuff occasionally.

Tag Team Titles: Chris Jericho/Chris Benoit vs. La Resistance

La Resistance is defending. Jericho elbows Conway in the face to start but it’s too early for the Walls attempt. Benoit comes in for a nice reaction and gets elbowed down, allowing Grenier to come in and stomp away. A Crossface attempt is broken up with a cheap shot and Grenier cranks on Benoit’s neck. That’s broken up and Benoit hits an enziguri, allowing the tag off to Jericho.

Grenier comes in as well and Jericho orders him to “COME ON FRENCHIE!” A bulldog takes Martin down but the Lionsault misses. Everything breaks down and Jericho tries the Walls on Grenier but has to switch to Conway to cut off a belt shot. Benoit and Conway fight to the floor as Jericho gets the Walls but Conway comes back in for the save. That’s enough for the double DQ and the fans are rather annoyed.

Rating: D. The Tag Team Titles are dying a horrible death here as the champs are lame ducks but don’t really have anyone else to drop the titles to. That left Jericho and Benoit fighting at half speed (at most) so they didn’t blow the champs away and that doesn’t help anyone. They need to find someone fresh for the titles soon because this is just sad.

Chris Master is coming. Maybe he can make a new vignette during this long delay.

Here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari for their usual complaining, though this time Hassan can complain about last night. That is proof of the discrimination so tonight he wants to fight any American.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter shoves a ranting Daivari down before the bell and gets the cobra clutch in a hurry. A Daivari distraction breaks that up and Slaughter gets sent chest first into the buckle. Hassan fires off some knees to the ribs but Slaughter is back with the right hands. That’s about it though as the Downward Spiral into the camel clutch finishes Slaughter. Sounds like a Slaughter tribute from Hassan. That might be all he has at the moment too, as Hassan is floundering. What do you expect though when you have him beating Lawler, Val Venis, Hurricane and Slaughter?

Jericho and Benoit fire each other up with Jericho saying he wants the best from Benoit.

We get a Wrestlemania XXI promo, featuring Eugene as Forrest Gump. This was edited off of the Royal Rumble on the Network for some reason.

HHH seems worried when Ric Flair comes in. Maybe HHH wants to face Batista at Wrestlemania too much. Long has offered Batista a lot of money so why should HHH hold him back? If Batista won the WWE Title, they would run the entire industry.

Here’s Bischoff to announce that Raw is coming from Japan next week. Therefore, he has three special matches to announce: Benoit vs. Jericho in a submission match, William Regal/Tajiri vs. La Resistance for the Tag Team Titles and HHH vs. Edge for the World Title.

Randy Orton/Shawn Michaels vs. HHH/Ric Flair

Batista is here with Evolution. Orton slaps Flair in the face to start so Flair comes back with chops in the corner. It’s quickly off to Shawn vs. HHH with Flair’s distraction not working very well as Shawn hammers away in the corner. That means an atomic drop but Shawn is fine enough to shove HHH off the top. An elbow (into the “controversial” heart of HHH) connects and everything breaks down with Batista grabbing a chair and beating on the steps with it. That’s enough for an ejection but the Batista sneakily smiles as we go to a break.

Back with Flair and Shawn trading chops in the corner until the Flair Flop gives Shawn two. A cheap shot from HHH puts Shawn back in trouble and the spinebuster gets two. Flair’s choking in the corner gives HHH the same and the abdominal stretch goes on. Shawn gets out and slams Flair off the top though and the hot tag brings Orton in to clean house.

Flair dives at Orton to save HHH and the referee gets bumped. That means an RKO to Flair but Orton seems to be concussed again, just as he was last night. HHH loads up the Pedigree but eats the superkick, only to have Edge come in for a spear….which hits HHH by mistake. Orton slowly crawls over and pins HHH.

Rating: C. There’s something amazing about how HHH is willing to let Orton have a pin after cutting his title run off at the knees a few months ago. Orton shouldn’t have won last night of course, but my goodness this comes off as funny in a way. They even set up next week’s title match a little bit more in the process. Not bad here and at least it didn’t feel like filler.

We look back at Kane and Snitsky flying off the stage earlier this month.

Kane vs. Gene Snitsky

In a cage and Snitsky gets a jobber entrance. They’re both still taped up from the aforementioned fall and both block a trip into the cage. A double shoulder gives us a double knockdown but it’s Snitsky up first to ram Kane back first into the cage. It’s way too early to get out though so Snitsky punches Kane down again. Cue Trish Stratus in a neck brace as Kane pulls Snitsky off the ropes.

Kane gets halfway out of the door but gets pulled back in as well. This time it’s a gordbuster to plant Snitsky with Kane going down as well. Snitsky goes face first into the cage and there’s the top rope clothesline to drop him again. Trish tries to slam the door on Kane’s head but Kane is smart enough (duh) to see it coming and drags Trish inside.

Snitsky grazes him with a big boot for the save and a two count though, allowing Trish to get out. That’s not enough though as Snitsky goes out to the steps but stops and rips the door off the cage. Kane kicks it into his face though and wedges it into the corner. A good crotching sets up the chokeslam to finish Snitsky, thank goodness.

Rating: D-. Normally I would say “and that has to be it for this feud” but why should I believe that’s the case? They should have been done at New Year’s Revolution if not before and yet here we are. The match was terrible with both guys having chances to win and Trish adding nothing at all. This felt like a bad house show main event and I could go for more from the main event on the Raw after Royal Rumble.

Overall Rating: C-. This is one of those weird periods where everyone knows what is coming to the letter but we have to wait until we actually get there. That being said, aside from the Batista stuff, there wasn’t much to brag about on this show other than the matches mostly not overstaying their welcome. Things will get better when we reach the big moment but until then, it’s not the most thrilling time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 24, 2005
Location: Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the last Raw before the Royal Rumble and since it’s Batista’s match to win, he has to qualify tonight. Other than that, we should get more not too bad promos from Randy Orton and HHH before their World Title match on Sunday, which will be a lot worse than the buildup. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at Kane chokeslamming Gene Snitsky off the stage last week. The conversation they had on the ground is omitted.

Opening sequence.

Shawn Michaels/Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho vs. Edge/Christian/Tyson Tomko

Well if you insist. Shawn headlocks Christian to start and an early Edge distraction doesn’t work. Benoit comes in and slides between Christian’s legs but it’s off to Tomko. That’s fine with Benoit, who takes him into the corner for the chops and a tag to Jericho. Tomko keeps shoving him out of the corner so Jericho drop toeholds him and starts a little dance. Must be a Canadian thing.

The threat of the Walls makes everything break down and Christian gets launched over the top and onto his partners as we take a break. Back with Benoit in trouble as tends to be the case when you come back from a commercial. Benoit gets over for the tag to Shawn, who is quickly low bridged out to the floor. Christian’s neckbreaker gets two and Tomko drops a fast elbow.

The chinlock goes on (with Christian’s back to the camera, which changes….well very little actually) but Shawn fights up and hits a Thesz press. It’s still too early for the hot tag though as Edge is more than willing to come in with Shawn down. Christian goes over to yell at Jericho, drawing him in so the referee can’t see a small package.

Shawn gets in a double clothesline and they’re both down. The hot tag brings in Benoit for a barrage of suplexes, including one to Edge onto Christian. The rolling German suplexes drop Christian and it’s the Swan Dive into the Sharpshooter. Edge breaks that up in a hurry but Shawn superkicks Tomko into a rollup to give Benoit the pin.

Rating: C+. Nice match here with the right person taking the fall. We even got a few tastes of Edge vs. Shawn before their big match on Sunday for a nice bonus. The rest of the people don’t exactly matter as they’ll be in the Rumble, so this was almost all bonus stuff and it went quite well.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here’s Stacy Keibler for a chat. Jerry: “Wouldn’t you like to be her thigh master?” Apparently the Governor has declared today Jim Ross Day in Oklahoma and here’s Danny Hodge, who at 72 years old is able to jump over the top, to help celebrate it. We see a clip of the Jim Ross Day event, which really is a cool honor. Back in the arena, Stacy even throws in a kiss on the cheek. JR talks about how much he loves being from Oklahoma and how much he wishes his parents could be here, but he knows they’re watching.

Cue HHH and Ric Flair to interrupt though and I don’t see this ending well. HHH says this would bring a tear to a glass eye because Oklahoma is celebrating JR Day. HHH: “Are you guys that big a losers that you have nothing going on but JIM ROSS?” Flair talks about the Oklahoma Sooners getting crushed against USC earlier in the month and HHH busts out laughing.

HHH sends JR and Hodge packing, thankfully before Hodge can take him down and remove a variety of his limbs. Stacy gets to stay though as HHH grabs her wrist and hits on her. JR actually stands up to HHH because that’s what a man does. This might be a bit better of a John Wayne moment if he didn’t have lipstick on his cheek. HHH says if JR doesn’t leave, he’ll be sooner dead.

Flair hits him low so Hodge decks HHH in the jaw, setting up a double beatdown. Stacy gets dragged back to the middle of the ring because HHH wants a kiss. Actually he has a better idea and loads up a Pedigree, drawing out Randy Orton for the save. Thanks for coming when the announcer and 72 year old man were getting beaten down Randy. I just want to see more Danny Hodge looking awesome.

Post break HHH and Flair are in the back with HHH pulling up Candice Michelle’s skirt. They head into their locker room and find Batista, who didn’t see what just happened. HHH recaps everything but Batista doesn’t exactly seem impressed, mainly because Hodge is seventy years old and Keibler is tiny. Flair: “She loved it.” Batista changes the subject and says he’s getting in on that Royal Rumble qualifying match. HHH isn’t happy but Batista says that maybe HHH loses to Orton on Sunday. Then Batista can take it back at Wrestlemania and keep it in Evolution. Flair’s side eye glare at Batista is rather great here.

Post another break, William Regal comes in to see Eric Bischoff about a Royal Rumble spot. That’s not happening because Regal was a jerk last year about Eugene. Coach can have it instead. La Resistance comes in but so does Batista. For some reason La Resistance challenges Batista for the Rumble spot, apparently not being all that bright. Batista doesn’t think much of them and promises to stick the flag somewhere else.

Coach is in the ring and has a change made to the following Royal Rumble qualifying match. Now it’s an Over the Top Rope Challenge.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Viscera vs. Tajiri

Viscera shrugs off the mist and some kicks before throwing Tajiri out to win in less than thirty seconds.

We recap Kane chokeslamming Trish Stratus last week and the ensuing chokeslam off the stage to Gene Snitsky.

Tajiri is upset that he didn’t qualify for the Royal Rumble but Regal comes in with an idea about getting back at Bischoff. First though, Regal hits on Maria but gets shot down in a funny bit.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Batista vs. La Resistance

La Resistance doesn’t have to tag here so Batista breaks up the song. House is cleaned in a hurry but Batista misses a charge into the post. The fans get WAY behind Batista as he gets stomped down but Conway makes the mistake of slapping him in the face. That means a powerslam as HHH and Flair look on in fear. Grenier gets spinebustered onto Conway for the pin in a hurry. And that’s why the Tag Team Titles are worthless.

Post match Batista plant the flag between the two of them. Flair is impressed but HHH isn’t pleased. The official face turn is going to be massive.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Val Venis vs. Muhammad Hassan

Daivari rants at Venis during his entrance and Hassan gets in a cheap shot to take over from behind. That sets up the variety of kicking and stomping as Daivari continues to rant on the microphone. A backbreaker sets up a chinlock, with Daivari wanting Venis’ neck broken. Hassan gets in a slam to keep Venis down and it’s back to the chinlock with a knee in the back. Venis fights up and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but misses the Money Shot. The Downward Spiral gives Hassan the easy pin.

Rating: D-. Oh yeah Hassan is in trouble and there’s not much of a way around it. This was as lame of a match as you could get with Hassan having no heat and Daivari just being annoying in an attempt to get him some. It didn’t help that Hassan’s offense is as generic as you can get and the fans were falling asleep in less than five minutes.

HHH tells Batista that the final spot in the Royal Rumble is going to Ric Flair, though Flair isn’t sure about this one. HHH talks him into it though, saying Evolution is united.

Maven is in the ring and wants someone to put their Royal Rumble spot on the line.

Kane vs. Maven

Maven: “I DIDN’T MEAN YOU!” Hang on though as Kane is too banged up so Maven won’t do this to him. He issues the challenge again.

Maven vs. Kane vs. Gene Snitsky

The monsters are both heavily bandaged and Maven has to win to get in the Rumble. Maven is smart enough to let the two of them hit each other and then steals two on Snitsky. Kane clotheslines Snitsky down so Maven goes after Kane’s bad arm. That goes as well as you would expect as Kane shoves Maven away and hits the chokeslam to finish Snitsky. This was nothing.

Video on Randy Orton vs. HHH.

Recap of Steve Austin’s press conference, which was about him making movies for WWE Films.

Royal Rumble rundown, featuring both sets of commentators listing off matches.

Edge can’t wait for Sunday because he’s sat out the last two Wrestlemanias with a broken neck. Sunday, it’s time for him to beat Shawn Michaels and then win the Royal Rumble.

Chris Masters is still coming.

Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

Batista and HHH are here with Flair. It’s an energetic start for Flair as he runs Orton over with a shoulder. A poke to the eye and a chop have Orton in more trouble, meaning it’s time for the chops in the corner. Orton is right back with a backdrop and the fans….don’t really seem to care. Flair gets away and heads up top for exactly what you would expect to happen.

With nothing else working, HHH trips Orton but Batista gets ejected for it instead. Batista glares down at HHH, who can’t look him in the eye. We take a break and come back with Flair still in trouble and being knocked out to the floor. A suplex brings him back inside for two but HHH offers a distraction so Flair can get in a low blow (a common move for him tonight).

Flair hammers away at Orton’s bandaged head to bust him open again. The throat gets catapulted into the bottom rope but Orton gets fired up. The right hands and chops have no effect so Orton knocks him into the corner. HHH offers another distraction though and it’s a chop block to slow Orton down again.

The ref gets bumped though, allowing HHH to come in with a belt shot to the knee. Given how unimportant this match is, what took him so long? The Figure Four goes on and the blood is flowing until Orton turns it over. HHH pulls the referee out and it’s time to really work on the leg. A middle rope belt shot to the knee is blocked with a raised boot and it’s the RKO for the pin. The match hadn’t been thrown out yet?

Rating: D+. Not terrible but Orton couldn’t be more of a lame duck going into Sunday if his life depended on it. The fans have moved on and while that isn’t Orton’s fault (given how bad the last few months have gone for him, it’s completely expected), it’s also not a surprise whatsoever. Why in the world would I care about Orton’s title push when Batista is clearly the next big thing?

Overall Rating: D. Speaking of lame ducks, that’s exactly what this show was due to how well WWE has built up Batista. Aside from John Cena, there is no one with any chance of winning the Royal Rumble and sitting through a bunch of qualifying matches so we can see them have no chance on Sunday wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world. That being said, the build for Batista is one of the most underrated in years as they have hit it to perfection on every point. Getting through Sunday will help, but it wasn’t the easiest show to get through on the way there.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 29, 2004
Location: 1^st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 5,300
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re in week three of Team Orton running the show and in this case it’s Randy Orton himself in charge. His first order of business: HHH defending the World Title in a battle royal, which should all but guarantee a new champion. Now let’s see how our beloved champion gets to outsmart everyone this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Raw World Title: Battle Royal

Edge, Gene Snitsky, Ric Flair, Steven Richards, Tyson Tomko, Rob Conway, Sylvan Grenier, Jonathan Coachman, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Viscera, Rhyno, Eugene, Chris Benoit, Maven, Tajiri, Rosey, William Regal, Batista, Chris Jericho, Val Venis, HHH

The fight starts before Batista comes out, so we watch that in full and come back to everyone standing still again. Hold on though as here’s Vince McMahon to say that this isn’t happening due to reasons of anyone can win. Can you imagine someone like Steven Richards as the World Champion? It’s a #1 contenders match instead, but the winner will get their shot tonight so you’re still getting a title match.

Battle Royal

Edge, Gene Snitsky, Ric Flair, Steven Richards, Tyson Tomko, Rob Conway, Sylvan Grenier, Jonathan Coachman, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Viscera, Rhyno, Eugene, Chris Benoit, Maven, Tajiri, Rosey, William Regal, Batista, Chris Jericho, Val Venis

Everyone starts fighting as Edge chills on the steps without ever having gotten in. Hurricane dives at Viscera for some reason but since Viscera isn’t that bright, he can’t throw him out just yet. A bunch of people get together and toss Viscera, followed by Tajiri eliminating his own partner Rhyno. Tomko is out next and Maven gets rid of Grenier, only to get tossed by Eugene. Back from a break with Benoit and Edge chopping it out in the middle of the ring and Coach having eliminated himself rather than be chopped by Benoit again.

Regal and Rosey both go out at Snitsky’s hands, followed by Batista tossing Hurricane. That means a Snitsky vs. Batista showdown until everyone else breaks it up due to reasons of wrestling stupidity. Batista starts cleaning house, including tossing Eugene, Tajiri, Christian, Venis and Flair in just a few seconds. The fans are WAY into that as we take a break. Back again with Jericho dropkicking Snitsky out, leaving us with Jericho, Benoit, Richards, Edge, Benjamin and Batista.

Richards starts celebrating and gets beaten down to leave us with five. Shelton unloads on Edge in the corner as JR is on fire with the over the top call here. The stomping goes on a bit too long though and Edge sends Benjamin to the apron, setting up a spear for the elimination. Jericho charges at Batista and gets tossed, leaving Benoit to German suplex Edge. Benoit low bridges Batista out though and we’re down to the two Canadians. They both wind up on the apron and fall to the floor for the double elimination.

Rating: D+. So there’s the latest version of the double winner battle royal as we set up a likely triple threat match tonight. The match was far longer than it needed to be, though they got us down to a good collection of talent at the end. Having it come after a bait and switch certainly didn’t help either.

In the back, two referees both tell Randy Orton what they think they saw, which of course is a split decision. The referees leave and Vince comes in to tell Orton that it’s his call. Edge comes in to plead his case, offering Orton a title shot if he gets to face HHH tonight. Orton says he’ll think about it, which isn’t good enough for Edge. The boss leaves and Edge is furious.

Maven is annoyed that he hasn’t won anything in the last few weeks. Eugene comes in and asks for help putting his Tag Team Title on. That’s too far for Maven and Shelton Benjamin has to get between them. After four years of work, Maven doesn’t have anything and Eugene can’t even spell title. Eugene spells title so Maven goes after him, with William Regal breaking it up. Maven sits back down.

Candice Michelle stops Orton to ask if her new dress is appropriate. Orton approves, but here’s Benoit to demand the title shot tonight. Benoit would win the title if he had the chance and so he wants his chance. Orton promises to fix things.

Here’s Orton to fix things. Well in a minute as first he announces Regal/Eugene vs. La Resistance for the Tag Team Titles and Jerry Lawler (the birthday King) vs. Ric Flair. Other than that, we can have a triple threat match with Benoit and Edge challenging HHH for the title. I’ve heard worse ideas, though not many less interesting.

Lawler goes to get ready so Jonathan Coachman takes his place.

Lita/Victoria vs. Molly Holly/Trish Stratus

The villains jump them from behind and it’s Victoria getting suplexed down. Trish comes in to start kicking at the arm as the announcers go over HHH’s odds to retain the title. It’s back to Molly for a swinging neckbreaker as the back of Victoria’s trunks has torn, which is made even worse given how small they were in the first place. Molly cuts off the comeback with a kick to the ribs and it’s a stomping down in the corner.

The running seated dropkick gets two and a running elbow keeps Victoria away from Lita again. The Chick Kick is blocked and now it’s off to Lita, meaning Trish gets to panic. Lita can’t quite hit a running splash in the corner so it’s a snap suplex instead. A sleeper has Trish in trouble but Molly makes the save and sends Victoria outside. Molly gets knocked out as well though and it’s the snap DDT to finish Trish.

Rating: D+. This could have been a lot worse and the fans are wanting to see Lita take Trish’s head off when she gets the chance. It was a smart move to keep things short at Survivor Series, because the build wasn’t quite done just yet. That was some smart storytelling and they could get some extra mileage out of this story for a better result.

Muhammad Hassan and Daivari montage, with clips of their previous rants.

Ric Flair vs. Jerry Lawler

This is billed as a Legends Match. JR mentions Lawler’s resume and major title wins, which is a good thing to bring up every now and then. How many younger fans see Lawler as an old guy and not a wrestler? Lawler mocks the strut to start and gets shoved, so it’s a slap to Flair’s face. Flair gets knocked down and that’s another strut from Lawler. A slugout goes to Lawler and we get the required Flair Flop.

Flair gets in a cheap shot out of the corner and the comeback is on, including the knee drop. The comeback takes all of two seconds as Lawler elbows him in the face and hits the middle rope fist drop. As you probably saw coming though, Lawler bangs up his knee on the way down though and Flair is rather pleased. A chop block sets up the Figure Four with a grab of the ropes to make Lawler tap.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much to it but these two know how to do a paint by numbers match in their sleep. The fans are always going to react to Lawler because he’s one of the all time great performers and has forgotten more about working a crowd than most of the modern roster will ever know. Yeah they’re both old and the match was just a quick filler, but you can see the knowledge and talent on full display.

Melina has been signed as the newest Raw Diva and she hugs Orton for giving her the chance. Melina: “If there’s anything I can do to thank you for the favor, let me know.” Maria comes in as well and Orton has an idea. They won’t be wrestling, but they’ll be in the ring doing something.

Wrestlemania Recall: Benoit wins the title.

We get another Shelton Benjamin video, this time talking about all of the drug issues in his hometown. He was in the middle of firefights and got out as soon as he could. Eventually he found his way out through sports, which got him to college.

With the emotional story out of the way, here is Orton, flanked by Maria, Candice and Melina. Orton thinks we need more hot women though so here are Christy Hemme and Stacy Keibler. So why are they here? Lingerie fashion show. There isn’t much to say here as they all strip, they all look good, they dance rather close to Orton and they all get cheered. A group hug wraps it up.

Is this supposed to make us want to like Orton? The tall, handsome wrestler who gets to hit on the gorgeous women that he probably could get regularly? Orton added nothing to this segment and it could have been anyone running the thing to the same result. This was over ten minutes long, or longer than anything but the battle royal tonight. I get the appeal, but could you be a little more subtle with this stuff?

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. William Regal/Eugene

Regal and Eugene are defending. Eugene shoulders Conway down to start as we hear about the lingerie from the previous segment being auctioned off on WWE.com. As I shake my head, it’s Regal coming in and getting taken to the mat in a bit of a surprise. Eugene gets knocked off the apron and it’s time to Hulk Up, after a legal tag of course. House is cleaned but the crowd is dead after the previous segment. The airplane spin has Conway in trouble and the top rope ax handle gets two. Au Revoir is broken up and it’s a Stunner to finish Grenier.

Rating: D+. The wrestling was watchable for such a short match but the lack of a reaction was really noticeable. There’s only so much you can do when your crowd is dead after a segment like the previous one and there was nothing these guys could do. It’s almost like the fans came to a wrestling show to see wrestling and not a long segment that didn’t add anything to the show.

Post match Eugene brings the kids in to celebrate but Maven runs out and sends him into the steps.

Trish thinks Chris Jericho finds the face mask funny but Jericho thinks she looks great. He also finds it funny that she called Lita the walking Kiss of Death but tonight, the walking KOD beat the walking STD. Next week, Lita gets her title shot.

How to bid on lingerie!

Flair and Batista yell at each other over the battle royal. Good thing they waited an hour and a half to have this talk. HHH comes in to rant about the triple threat but both of them calm him down. Batista sounds a little tentative when he says he has HHH’s back.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Chris Benoit vs. Edge

HHH is defending. Benoit goes after Edge as the champ chills in the corner, watching as Edge knocks Benoit to the floor. Back in and HHH knocks Edge to the floor and whips Benoit chest first into the corner for a pair of twos. Edge comes in again and it’s time for Benoit to take over with some alternating chops. A double clothesline puts Edge and HHH on the floor, setting up a double dive to take them both down again as we take a break.

We come back with HHH down on the floor and Benoit putting Edge in the Sharpshooter. HHH’s save attempt is countered into the Crossface but here are Flair and Batista to make the save. Orton comes out to eject both of them, leaving HHH to hit a spinebuster for two on Edge. Benoit comes back in for the suplexes, setting up the Sharpshooter to Edge’s already banged up back.

Instead of immediately saving, HHH posts Orton first and then breaks things up. HHH gets taken down again and it’s more rolling German suplexes on Edge. Benoit goes up top but has to knock Edge away, giving us a ref bump. The chair is brought in but Orton takes it away from HHH and chairs him over the barricade. Edge is back up for the spear, which is countered into a Crossface with another referee running in. That’s reversed with a rollup that doesn’t break the hold, meaning he taps out at the same time the referee counts three for the double finish.

Rating: C+. There was good action but I rolled my eyes a bit at the match having the same kind of ending as the opener, even with the same people. I’m sure this will set up something else down the line, because that’s what this whole story has been since Survivor Series: a bunch of stuff that makes you wait until next time without giving you anything concrete.

The two referees and the two Canadians argue over who wins to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. A bunch of mostly bad wrestling with Orton offering nothing as the boss for the night makes this another weak show. At least something kind of happened in the main event, but we’re sorry because your definitive deal is on another episode. Benoit vs. Edge for the title is what makes sense and if you think that’s what we’re getting, you haven’t been paying enough attention.

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 22, 2004
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time to continue the Survivor Series fallout, this time with someone else running the show. Last week’s Maven Show is going to be hard to beat as Maven challenging for the title wasn’t fooling anyone. At least that’s out of the way now and we can stop pretending that Maven is anywhere near that level. Let’s get to it.

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

We open in the locker room with Shelton getting ready for his match when Trish Stratus comes in wearing a towel. She asks where he’s off to looking so pretty. That would be a six man tag because William Regal and Tajiri need him. Trish asks about her needs but Shelton thinks she’ll find someone else. An aghast Vince McMahon comes in and freaks out because it’s a woman in a towel. It’s scandalous because the moral fabric of America is being pulled apart by the sexual and racial overtones. Shelton: “EXCUSE ME?”

Vince: “Well Shelton, you may not realize this but you’re an African American. And everyone knows that African Americans are attracted to attractive white Canadian women with broken noses!” Vince goes on a rant about how this isn’t the NFL or the NBA where such actions could send Shelton into the audience in a violent rage. Shelton tells Vince to lighten up and the towel comes down as the Monday Night Football theme plays. Vince can’t kiss her because of the nose guard so he looks to the camera and asks if we’re ready for some wrestling.

So for those of you who weren’t watching American television in 2004, there was a Desperate Housewives vignette that aired before a Monday Night Football game, featuring Nicolette Sheridan and Terrell Owens doing the same thing. This was treated as the biggest disgrace in the history of television with people freaking out over a WOMAN IN A TOWEL (ok it was more her dropping the towel). It was stupid and completely overblown, though this opening has always been one of my favorites. Vince informing Shelton that he’s African American cracks me up every time as Shelton just looks lost.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Chris Benoit, who is in charge this week. He loves the idea of more wrestling and wants to simplify things tonight. There is a contract on his door and anyone who wanted a match tonight just had to sign up. Some people have already signed up so tonight it’s Maven vs. Gene Snitsky, Batista vs. Chris Jericho, Trish Stratus defending the Women’s Title against Lita and Molly Holly, and Jonathan Coachman against JR. We need a main event though and as luck would have it, there’s a steel cage above the ring. As you might have guessed, Benoit himself will be challenging HHH for the World Title inside that cage.

Maven vs. Gene Snitsky

Maven is still banged up but is fine enough to snap Snitsky’s throat across the top rope on his way in. A dropkick sends Snitsky out to the floor and seems to annoy him more than anything else. Snitsky pulls him down and crushes Maven’s head against the post for two as the announcers talk about how Maven should have joined Evolution last week (egads people let it go).

A half crab keeps Maven down and Snitsky slides him across the mat into the post. Maven can barely do that right as the slide is in slow motion. Snitsky misses a charge and Maven hits a high crossbody for two, followed by the top rope bulldog for the same. A big boot cuts Maven down though and it’s the pumphandle slam to give Snitsky the pin.

Rating: D. What else were you expecting? Neither of these two are worth much in the ring, though at least Snitsky beat him pretty decisively. It’s not working with Maven and WWE is right to move him back down the card where he belongs. Snitsky doesn’t have the highest ceiling in the world, but it’s a lot higher than Maven’s, at least right now.

HHH is panicking over the cage match but Batista says they have his back. That doesn’t work well because Batista has been screwing up left and right lately. Ric Flair tries to calm things down but HHH says the point of this team is to keep the title on him. HHH bets that Batista is losing tonight. They separate and things aren’t good.

Here’s Stacy Keibler to shoot t-shirts into the crowd. She pulls out a copy of the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD but that brings out Simon Dean to interrupt. He thinks the people need a DVD that they could actually use. It’s a Simon System DVD, which the people need to protect themselves around Thanksgiving. Women like Stacy are interested in men like him, because he’s actually in shape. Stacy says no because he looks in the mirror more than she does, which doesn’t sit well with him. Threats are made so here’s Hurricane for the save. Simon beats him down with the weightlifting belt so Rosey makes the real save.

Two women (Candace Michelle and Melina) are in the back talking about Batista and HHH when Batista and Flair (Flair: “Maybe later ladies.”) come by with Batista ranting about how he can beat Jericho and he’ll prove it tonight.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho stops an early charge in the corner with an elbow to the face but Batista runs him over without much effort. A running dropkick in the corner sets up a springboard dropkick to put Batista in trouble again. The high crossbody gets two but Batista is right back with a side slam. The Batista Bomb is countered into a rollup for two so Flair gets on the apron for the distraction. Batista gets in the spinebuster and ties Jericho in the Tree of Woe for a choke…and it’s a DQ at the five count.

Rating: D+. This was starting to get somewhere but they were smart to end it that way. Batista looks like the monster who was out to prove himself at all cost, which is exactly what they should have done. Jericho didn’t get squashed, but the point here was to make Batista look like the Animal and that’s what they did.

Post match Batista lays Jericho out with the big clothesline to the back of the head.

Post break, HHH sarcastically claps for Batista and asks for his $100. Batista doesn’t want to hear it because he walked out while HHH got carried out. HHH doesn’t like it because he wanted Batista to win. Batista has a million dollar body and a ten cent brain and if HHH needs to find a replacement, he’ll have no problem getting one. Flair is sent to talk to the livid Batista, but he tells HHH to back off.

Edge looks at a clip of him attacking Christian last week while shouting that it wasn’t his fault. He’s a lone wolf now and deserves a shot at the World Title, but Benoit is getting his own shot. Everyone knows he’s earned a shot so let’s take a poll of people in the back about whether Edge should get a shot at the title. Christy Hemme says no so Edge tells her to apologize to her mirror every morning. A production guy says no because he voted for Shawn Michaels at Taboo Tuesday. Edge is about to kill him so here’s Benoit to break it up. Edge storms off instead.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Jim Ross

Hang on though as Benoit pops up on screen to say that there has been a misunderstanding. See, Coach wrote JR on the signup sheet, which Benoit thought meant Just Rhyno.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Rhyno

Coach gets in a microphone shot and some right hands before the Gore finishes him in less than thirty seconds.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Molly Holly

Trish is defending in fallout from Lita getting beaten down by the two of them. The heel alliance starts early and they take turns choking Lita on the ropes. Lita slips out of a double suplex and grabs Trish’s mask. A double clothesline in the corner has Molly and Trish in more trouble but Trish is right back with a middle rope clothesline.

Lita gets in a quick rollup for two before hammering on the champ in the corner. Trish’s face is slammed into the mat but Molly throws Lita outside. The Molly Go Round connects with Lita diving back in for the save, followed by the hard DDT to Molly. Trish makes her own save and steals the pin to retain.

Rating: C. The match might have been a little sloppy and short, but they were showing an extra fire that you don’t often get from the women’s division of this era. Trish vs. Lita is building up rather well and as soon as Lita can keep her head on straight, she should be running through Trish for the title in a nice moment.

Post match Lita chokes Trish out and grabs at the mask again.

Flair tries to calm Batista down again as Batista gets his arm wrapped up, saying everyone goes through something like this. When HHH is ready to leave, Batista is ready to be the man. That’s not worth it to Batista, who is tired of waiting his turn. Flair: “I’VE BEEN TIRED FOR THIRTY TWO YEARS!” Flair doesn’t want this to turn into another Orton situation, but Batista says he wouldn’t regret it.

Video on Shelton Benjamin’s hometown, which included a lot of drug dealings and violence. Shelton got into trouble when he was in high school and was even a shoplifter who carried a gun with him to school. He got expelled, but he’s not proud of it. Rather random video, but these are effective most of the time, which was the case here.

Shelton Benjamin/William Regal/Eugene vs. La Resistance/Christian

Tyson Tomko is here with the villains. Regal gets taken into the wrong corner to start but Grenier is right back with a snapmare to take over. It’s off to Eugene for a headlock but he’s taken into the corner as well, allowing Christian to snap the back of his neck across the top rope. The choking begins and Conway makes it even worse by grabbing Eugene in a reverse chinlock (like a neckbreaker but with pulling instead of dropping).

Since it’s another chinlock, Eugene gets out without much effort and brings Shelton in to clean house. The top rope clothesline gets two on Conway with Tomko breaking up the cover. La Resistance hits a Hart Attack for two on Benjamin but Regal wrecks both of them. Eugene Stuns Conway into the exploder to give Benjamin the pin

Rating: C-. Completely watchable match here with the two feuds (Are these feuds?) being thrown into a single match for the sake of simplicity. Regal and Eugene are a fun team and while they’re not going to hold the titles very long, they’re a nice pickup every week. Benjamin on the other hand is looking like a star every time he’s out there.

Eugene brings the kids in for the post match dance.

Muhammad Hassan and Daivari complain about travel and threaten to beat respect into anyone who gets in his way.

Smackdown Rebound.

The cage is lowered.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Chris Benoit

HHH is defending inside a cage…or at least he would be if he was here. We cut to the back where Flair is freaking out at Batista, who he thinks has attacked HHH. Benoit runs to the back as Flair keeps blaming Batista. The doctors want an ambulance but Benoit comes in to say he’ll drag HHH’s unconscious body to the ring for the title match if he has to. Edge laughs at Benoit for losing a title shot so Benoit says Edge can take HHH’s place.

Chris Benoit vs. Edge

Inside a cage. Benoit starts swinging right away and takes Edge into the corner for the chops. A hard whip takes Benoit down though and Edge gets a chance to hammer away for a change. Edge starts going after the back so Benoit sends him face first into the cage. There’s a baseball slide to drive Edge into the cage as this is more about the violence so far than the win. Edge slips out of a Crossface attempt and sends Benoit shoulder first into the post.

Benoit is right back with a catapult into the buckle for two as JR compares this to being trained in the Dungeon. Something tells me there weren’t a lot of catapults into buckles in there. A good crotching slows Benoit down and Edge kicks away in the Tree of Woe. They collide in the corner as Batista is shown watching in the back. We come back from a break with Edge chinlocking a bloody Benoit.

With that not working so well, Edge hammers away with right hands and sends him into the cage again. It’s still too early to escape though as Benoit pulls him back down, sending Edge face first into the buckle. The rolling Germans are on with Benoit hitting five in a row this time. Now it’s Benoit’s chance to go up but Edge makes a save of his own.

Naturally he’s only going up for the Swan Dive for two, meaning it’s off to the Crossface. That’s broken up as well and Benoit goes into the cage, allowing Edge to return the favor on the earlier baseball slide. They fight over to the door, which is slammed onto Edge’s head. Since Edge isn’t that bright, he gets back up and spears Benoit…right out to the floor to give Benoit the win.

Rating: B-. Nice cage match but going from what was supposed to be a World Title match to this didn’t do it any favors. Edge messing up again and costing himself the big win will fuel his rage all the more, but does this really change anything? There’s no storyline advancement for this and Benoit winning is just a consolation prize.

Batista tells Flair he’s going to the ring and wants to see HHH out there. Flair needs to decide whose side he’s on.

Here’s Batista in the ring to say he’s not coming for the title (yet) because he wants HHH man to man right now. HHH comes to the ring against the doctor and Flair’s orders to go face to face with Batista…and then tells Batista well done because HHH IS SMARTER THAN YOU! HHH: “I’m a genius.”

They even pay off the doctor, who HHH says was worth every penny. HHH wasn’t going to fight in a cage because Benoit was running the shoe. He explains the entire play (which doesn’t have that many steps) and gives the MVP award to Batista. That was a performance worthy of an Academy Award (IT’S AN EMMY BECAUSE IT’S ON TELEVISION!!! STOP GETTING THAT WRONG!!!). HHH: “Or at least a Slammy!”

After posing with the title, HHH calls out the women but gets Randy Orton instead. He’s in charge next week, which doesn’t scare HHH because Orton can’t get a title match. Orton has two options for HHH: they face off one on one next week and if Orton wins, that stipulation is gone. HHH cuts him off before the second option is read and says no, so Orton goes with option #2: HHH defends the title in a battle royal. The roster comes out to the stage so the champ can panic to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The matches did get better as the show went on, but there is no hiding the fact that nothing is happening at the moment. We’ve literally gone two weeks and the biggest development is Regal and Eugene winning the Tag Team Titles. HHH has had to defend the title against Maven and tonight he gets to be the genius who keeps the title again. You know there are going to be shenanigans next week as well, because that’s what this show is all about anymore. Nothing happened on this show, and that seems to be by design.

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 15, 2004
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 5,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after Survivor Series and that means it’s time for Team Orton to take over the show for the next four weeks. Assuming it’s not Randy Orton’s week to be in charge, you can all but guarantee the boss for the week getting a World Title shot against HHH. Then repeat that for two of the next three weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

La Resistance is in the ring to open the show but here’s the still bandaged Maven to cut them off. He’s in charge tonight (at least they’re getting it out of the way) and has a few matches in mind. Edge and Christian will be teaming up to face Chris Benoit and Shelton Benjamin, JR will be facing Jonathan Coachman, and in a match close to Maven’s heart, Christy Hemme will face Stacy Keibler in a lingerie pillow fight. Oh and for the main event: Maven gets a World Title shot. As for La Resistance, they have a title defense right now.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Rhyno/Tajiri vs. William Regal/Eugene

La Resistance is defending and this is under elimination rules. Rhyno hiptosses Conway to start but gets forearmed in the face for his efforts. A suplex gets Rhyno out of trouble and it’s off to Tajiri for the first time. Eugene gets to come in to snapmare Tajiri down for one but the airplane spin is countered into a rolling sunset flip. Another exchange of rollups gets two each but Lawler would rather talk about the pillow fight.

Back from a quick break with Eugene riding Tajiri around like a horse before running around in a circle. Conway tags himself back in so Tajiri fires off some kicks to the champs. Grenier’s suplex gets two and let’s talk about that pillow fight some more. Rhyno comes back in for some shoulders but the Gore misses in the corner, allowing Conway to grab a rollup with Grenier holding the foot from the floor for the elimination.

We’re down to two and Eugene’s ram into the corner just wakes him up. The power of French Canadians bring him back down though as Lawler thinks Regal is named Steven. A Rock Bottom drops Grenier and the hot tag brings in Regal to elbow the champs in the face. Everything breaks down and Conway hits Grenier with the flag by mistake. The knee trembler from Regal sets up the People’s Elbow from Eugene for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C-. Pretty dull match for the most part but the feel good moment at the end was nice. The problem is that Eugene has lost so much fire over the last few months that it doesn’t have quite the same spark. This should have been the big finale for Eugene and then have Regal lose the fall when they drop the titles. As it is it’s fun, but otherwise it could have been a great moment.

Post match Eugene brings in some fans for some fun, with Regal being more than willing to get involved.

Post break Regal dedicates the win to his father and says they’ll bring prestige back to the titles. Cue Eugene to pour chocolate milk over Regal and Maria. Regal seems to like it on her and Eugene comes back in, seemingly impressed as well. Regal: “STOP IT! YOU’LL GO BLIND! I on the other hand don’t mind losing one eye.” And he leaves with Maria.

Maven hits on Candice Michelle (Has she debuted yet?) before going into his office where HHH is waiting. He offers Maven a spot on the team if he’ll drop the match but Maven turns him down. Maven has to be banged up tonight but he’s willing to fight anyway. That’s why HHH wants him on the team, because that beatdown from Snitsky never would have happened if he was part of Evolution.

Everyone around here hates HHH because he tells the truth. Tonight, it’s a long shot for Maven but he could take the sure thing. Maven isn’t sure this time to end this after nearly five minutes. That’s four and a half minutes more than HHH should spend worrying about Maven. Seriously: it’s just Maven. Why is HHH sweating him?

Lita vs. Molly Holly

Lita goes aggressive with some knees to the ribs to start and follows them up with some stomping. A snap suplex gets Molly out of trouble and she pulls at Lita’s face. Lita’s Russian legsweep gets two as Lawler talks about her being a rather unscrupulous woman. Lita has had it with the covers and grabs a sleeper….for a submission. You don’t see that too often.

Post match here’s Trish Stratus, with a nose guard, after having it broken last night. She wants to fight right now with an assist from Molly, who gets DDT’d before Trish can get to Lita. That earns Trish a shove in the mask and Lita smiles as Trish panics.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Jim Ross

Coach is rather pleased with this but here’s Maven, who has made a mistake. Here’s the real match.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Randy Orton

Coach tries to run (JR tripping him didn’t help) and gets caught hiding behind the barricade. Orton tosses him back in for a crotching on the rope, setting up a poke to the eye and an RKO for the pin. Short and harmless.

Edge isn’t happy that he has to team with Christian again because he should be facing HHH for the World Title. Christian doesn’t like that so Edge flips off the camera, which sends us to a graphic of the tag match. Middle fingers aren’t allowed?

Orton talks to Maven about the World Title shot, but Maven isn’t sure about joining the team. That’s not cool with Orton, who explains how bad it can be. Maven brings up all of the success Orton had on the team and that sounds good.

Edge/Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chris Benoit

Tomko is out with the Canadians. Christian jumps Benoit who is right back with the knee to the ribs as we cut to Edge for some reason. What’s with the cuts involving anything he does tonight? A double tag lets Edge hammer on Shelton and a clothesline keeps Benjamin down. Christian comes back in and makes the mistake of trying a monkey flip, allowing Shelton to stick the landing and snap off a powerslam.

It’s off to Benoit, who sends Edge running to the floor. Christian and Edge argue so it’s a double baseball slide to send them into the barricade and us to a break. It’s so strange to see Edge and Christian arguing. Brothers/friends/probably cousins at some point shouldn’t fight like that. Back with Edge working on Shelton’s arm with a cross armbreaker of all things, followed by a double hiptoss for two.

Christian stays on the arm for a bit until Edge’s assisted charge in the corner only hits the buckle. The Dragon Whip drops Edge and it’s off to Benoit as everything breaks down. Benoit German suplexes Christian and Edge spears Tomko by mistake. That means more German suplexes to Edge and an exploder from Shelton to Christian. The Swan Dive into the Crossface gives Benoit the tap.

Rating: B. Good action and the right finish here with Edge being protected and Benoit getting a win to keep him hot before he (likely) gets a World Title shot in a few weeks. If Raw has one strength right now, it’s being able to throw a wide range of people together for good tag matches and that’s what they did right here.

Post match Edge snaps again and beats up Christian.

Ric Flair comes in to see Maven and offers him a few ladies to help him with his decision. Maven doesn’t look sure.

Lawler and JR pitch aftershave.

Christy Hemme vs. Stacy Keibler

Lingerie pillow fight. They’re in lingerie, they hit each other with pillows and Christy wins. Why a bed was necessary in the ring isn’t clear. Why WWE had a bed on hand isn’t clear.

HHH and Batista admire the women and HHH makes fun of him for thinking. Batista doesn’t get the offer to Maven but thinks HHH might be scared. You don’t suggest that to HHH but he has a plan: who would you rather face for the World Title? If Maven wrestles for the title, the locker room will empty out to make him champion because he would be easy pickings. Makes sense actually. HHH makes fun of Batista’s intelligence again and there’s a future in that glare back.

Here’s Simon Dean, who thankfully has his customer in the ring this time. The customer is morbidly obese and in failing health (Dean’s words) so let’s start the Simon System. That begins with helping his nutrition, but he doesn’t like the Simon Bars. Dean is crushed, but here’s Rosey to interrupt. Dean doesn’t waste time here and calls Rosey fat so Rosey shoves a protein bar in Dean’s mouth. The customer gets pulled in and Dean hits Rosey in the head with a bottle of protein powder. We’ve spent three weeks on this to set up a feud with ROSEY?

Smackdown Rebound.

Jericho and Benoit come in to see Maven, making the girls leave. Maven still can’t make up his mind so Benoit asks how long he’s been wrestling. That would be three and a half years, which is a lot shorter than the eighteen years it took Benoit to get to the World Title. It’s not about the cars and the women because it can be about being World Champion.

Wrestlemania Recall: The Boyhood Dream has come true.

Muhammad Hassan introduces us to his uncle, who owns a store. Since 9/11, everything has changed and now he has to close up because no one will give him a chance. That won’t happen to Hassan, because he’ll beat the prejudice out of him. If necessary, he will lead a revolt against his own country. This is already going south and he hasn’t even debuted.

Here are Evolution to ask Maven for his decision. Maven has been thinking about it all night but has made up his mind.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Maven

Maven is challenging in case you’re a little slow this week. Batista and Flair get on the apron at the bell so here are Benoit and Jericho to even things up. A hiptoss and dropkick put HHH on the floor, thereby spending about half of Maven’s offense. Back in and Maven grabs the headlock so HHH drives him into the corner without much effort. Maven goes up, only to have Batista knock him off the ropes.

That’s an ejection so Flair shoves the referee and gets ejected as well. The jumping knee to the face kills Maven’s run and the spinebuster gets two, with Benoit and Jericho pulling the referee out. HHH glares at the Canadians, allowing Benoit to send him into the steps. The biased referee won’t eject Benoit and it’s a flying shoulder to take HHH down. A middle rope Blockbuster bulldog gets two so Benoit offers a distraction, allowing Jericho to hit a Lionsault.

That means a very delayed two and HHH has had it, setting up the Pedigree. Jericho puts Maven’s foot on the rope, which is FINALLY enough for an ejection. Benoit uses that distraction for a German suplex into the Swan Dive for another delayed two. Cue Edge to spear the referee by mistake so Jericho and Benoit beat down their fellow Canadian. It’s Batista and Flair coming in to clean house with Flair handing HHH the belt, but Orton runs in to knock HHH silly. Flair pulls the referee out at two though, drawing in Snitsky to beat up Orton. Snitsky kicks Maven in the face and another Pedigree retains the title.

Rating: D+. They did the only thing they could to make HHH vs. Maven watchable: they didn’t let us watch HHH vs. Maven. This was one puff of smoke and a mirror after another and that’s the exact way to go if the match has to take place. Now the good thing is that they didn’t try to make this anything serious. All night long they acted as if Maven was going to get his head handed to him and that’s what makes sense. They would have been nuts to try to make Maven a threat on his own and they didn’t try to, thank goodness.

Overall Rating: C-. Aside from helping Benoit and Jericho, I can’t picture Maven doing anything else in the main event scene and that’s the only call. He isn’t ready for this level and that’s become clear, so just let him go back to the lower midcard where he belongs. The Tag Team Title switch was cool, as was the tag match in the middle, but the rest of the show was just waiting to get Maven’s stuff done. Not bad, but just kind of a thing they did.

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

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

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

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Starrcade 1995
Date: December 27, 1995
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 8,200
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes

So again, we have a show without a ton of interesting matches on here. The World Cup was a pretty thrown together idea, but unfortunately it gives us the same problems that a lot of the late 80s/early 90s shows had: there’s no reason for most of these matches to be taking place other than for bragging rights, which is really all that the World Cup is good for. It’s been a problem before but hopefully things go a bit better this time. Let’s get to it.

The opening video sums up everything I just said plus listing off the seven matches in the World Cup.

The announcers welcome us to the show. The running gag of the show is that Heenan has been bought off by the Japanese boss but won’t admit it because he’s a weasel.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit is a name that a lot of non-wrestling fans are familiar with for some very terrible reasons. However, before all that happened, Benoit was a fantastic wrestler and one of the toughest and most intense guys you’ll ever see. Right around this time he had been made a member of the newly reformed Four Horsemen, so apparently Ric Flair thought pretty highly of him. This should be an excellent match.

Benoit gets caught in some quick armdrags and a dropkick to send him to the floor. There’s a baseball slide for good measure and a dive takes Benoit down again. Back in and Liger hits a quick rana and a fast Liger Kick (rolling front kick to the head) but Benoit comes right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The fans of course are completely behind Benoit, despite him normally being a heel. Liger counters a powerbomb into an armdrag and snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Benoit is great but Liger is WAY faster than he is here.

After Benoit is sent to the floor for a bit, he comes back inside and hits a snap suplex to take over. Another suplex puts Liger down and now we’re in Benoit’s world. Benoit hooks an elevated Boston Crab which would eventually become known as a Liontamer. Back up and Benoit hits a quick German suplex for two as Tony is snapping off the names of moves. This is very odd as Tony Schiavone would become one of the laziest announcers ever in about a year, barely being able to call anything properly.

Liger hooks Benoit up in a hold called the Surfboard, meaning Benoit is on the mat facing away from Liger as Liger interlocks their legs, rocks Benoit back and bends him upwards with all of Benoit’s limbs facing down. Basically he makes Benoit look like a four legged table with Benoit’s chest as the table top. Since that’s a very difficult hold to maintain, it’s off to a camel clutch on Benoit which keeps the punishment on the back.

Benoit stands up and drops Liger on his back before hitting a nearly botched superplex to put both guys down. Chris eventually gets up for a two count, only to be sent into the corner for another Liger Kick followed by a Liger Bomb (sitout powerbomb) for a two count. A brainbuster, one of Liger’s signature moves, gets another two, but Benoit pops up and hits a vicious clothesline to take over again.

Two rolling German suplex put Liger down and there’s a hard powerbomb for good measure. Benoit’s Swan Dive headbutt connects but here’s one of Benoit’s rivals Kevin Sullivan for a distraction. The distraction allows Liger to hit a standing hurricanrana for the pin out of nowhere and a 1-0 lead for New Japan.

Rating: B. Bad ending to a good match here as once Benoit got rolling he was going move for move with Liger. Jushin is one of the few foreign wrestlers that American fans almost always react to and this was no different. This was a solid match and probably the best opener Starrcade has ever had. Benoit would get MUCH better too.

New Japan – 1

WCW – 0

Eddie Guerrero is annoyed that Sullivan cost Benoit the match but he’s ready to represent WCW against Ohtani tonight.

Koji Kanemoto vs. Alex Wright

Kanemoto is the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion so Wright could be in a lot of trouble here. Also I should note that Sonny Onoo, the NJPW leader, is accompanying every one of the Japanese guys to the ring tonight. Kanemoto easily takes him to the mat with a leg trip and works on Wright’s knee. A spinning leg lock has Wright down but he fights up with an enziguri to take over. Off to the arm now with Alex cranking on an armbar.

A headscissors takes Koji down and a cross body puts both guys on the floor. Wright slides back in and hits a quick plancha onto Kanemoto before putting on a chinlock back inside. Kanemoto fights up and drills Alex with chops to take over. A spinwheel kick puts Wright back down so Koji puts him on the top rope to pound on his ribs a bit. Koji dropkicks him out to the floor and hits his own plancha to make up for the one he took earlier.

Wright fights back with a few uppercuts and Koji has to go to Sonny for some consultation. Back in and a Tiger suplex (double arm trap) suplex gets two but Koji pulls up after hitting a moonsault with no count. A German suplex, Wright’s finisher, gets two as does a slingshot splash. Kanemoto hits another kick to the face and both guys are down again.

A cross body out of the corner gets two for Wright but he walks into yet another kick to the face to put him down. Koji hits a spinning splash off the top rope for another near fall, but the next time he comes off the top, Wright catches him with a dropkick. A missile dropkick takes Kanemoto down and a superplex gets two. Koji shrugs it off and drops Alex face first onto the top rope before rolling Wright up for the pin.

Rating: D+. Koji never looked to be in any real danger here as he basically shrugged off all of Alex’s offense and took every big move that Wright could throw at him. To be fair though, Kanemoto is much more talented than Wright with far more experience. Wright would only get somewhat better than he was here, meaning this was never going to be an interesting match.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 0

Sonny has given Heenan a present with two flags in it.

In the back, Onoo says he wants to buy WCW.

Masahiro Chono vs. Lex Luger

You might remember Chono as the former NWA World Champion, meaning he’s one of the biggest stars New Japan has to offer. Jimmy Hart is with Luger and sings part of the Star Spangled Banner. That’s not the worst thing in the word as Jimmy was a singer in a real band called the Gents who toured with the Beach Boys back in the 1970s. Luger powers Chono down but gets caught by a forearm and the Mafia Kick (boot to the face) to send him out to the floor.

Luger chills on the floor for a bit as the stalling is on early. Back in and Luger sends him from corner to corner and adds a clothesline, only to have Chono catch him in a suplex. We hit a chinlock by Chono as this match continues to run slowly. Off to Chono’s STF submission hold, causing Heenan to be unsure of what to say.

Luger fights out of it with pure power, only to get caught in the face by another Mafia kick. Dusty, never one to phone in a commentary performance, goes on a huge rant about how it’s a kick to the face that has nothing to do with the mafia. Chono goes up top but jumps into an elbow to the face, allowing Luger to hook the Torture Rack for the win.

Rating: D. This was the first short match of the night and it didn’t do much of note. This match was mainly slow paced with neither guy looking particularly interested in being out there. To be fair though, you could make a case that Luger didn’t want to waste his energy because he had a shot at the world title later in the show.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 1

Sting isn’t pleased that Kensuke Sasaki beat him for the US Title in Japan a few months back. Tonight Sting gets to face him again but it’s just for bragging rights and pride. And that whole World Cup deal but why bring that up?

Johnny B. Badd vs. Masa Saito

This is just like Kanemoto vs. Wright minus Kanemoto’s speed and talent. Badd is TV Champion here with a woman called the Diamond Doll with him. Saito is a huge man that we’ve seen before and likes to hurt people. Before the match, Sonny goes on a big rant about the Doll being here so she calls him Hop-Sing (from Bonanza) and says women belong here. Saito easily takes him down with a heel trip and locks on a cobra clutch (modified chinlock).

Back up and they slug it out with Saito’s chops sounding much louder than anything Badd hits. Saito blocks a right hand before hitting him in the throat to take over again. Johnny is choked down on the ropes again as Johnny looks to be in completely over his head. Sonny gets in some choking and Saito hits a hard clothesline for two.

A side Russian legsweep gets the same but Badd comes back with a kneelift and a top rope sunset flip for two. Badd pounds away to almost no effect as Saito doesn’t seem to be all that interested in selling. Sonny gets on the apron and Badd goes after him, causing Saito to dump him over the top for a DQ.

Rating: D. As mentioned, Badd was in way over his head here but Saito wasn’t going to let anyone look good out there. He’s basically just a big guy who looks tough and won’t sell anything. The match was slow and boring too, as Badd pounded away but wasn’t getting anywhere, all leading to a lame ending. Nothing to see here.

Post match Saito goes after the Doll but Badd makes the save with a dropkick. He sends Saito to the floor and dives onto him, completely missing Saito who has to fall with no one touching him.

New Japan – 2

WCW – 2

Tony and Dusty yell at Heenan a bit more.

Luger poses a lot while Jimmy Hart yells at the Horsemen on Kevin Sullivan’s behalf. Lex is looking forward to the triangle match because he knows he can beat Savage. Also, he wants to go to the ring without Hart because this is a big one.

Otani vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie is still pretty new to WCW here but he’s been wrestling around the world for years. Otani is a very smug guy who gives a look that says “yeah, I’m better than you.” Eddie is ready to go but Otani stalls a lot before we get going. They hit the mat with Otani grabbing a quick armbar while pulling the hair a bit. Eddie rolls out and we hit another standoff as Guerrero can actually hang with Otani out there.

They both trip the other guy until Otani takes Eddie’s leg on the mat. Guerrero spins around and hooks a quick chinlock but Otani gets up and flips Guerrero down. Eddie comes back with a hurricanrana and Otani is sent to the floor. Back in and Eddie slams him down before hitting a quick slingshot hilo (headbutt to the ribs) for no cover. Off to a half crab by Guerrero but Otani crawls to the ropes. Eddie immediately picks him up and PLANTS him with a powerbomb for two.

A brainbuster gets two more for Eddie, but he stops to yell at Sonny, allowing Otani to hit a springboard missile dropkick. Guerrero is knocked to the floor so Otani hits a gorgeous springboard dive to take Eddie out again. Back in and Otani chokes away before hooking a chinlock. A wicked German suplex gets two on Eddie so Otani goes up, only to get caught in a big hurricanrana for two. Now Eddie hits another powerbomb for another near fall as the fans are starting to get into this.

Otani rolls through into an ankle lock but Eddie crawls over to the ropes for the break. Eddie sends him to the floor and then into the barricade as Guerrero is getting fired up. A BIG spinning springboard cross body takes Otani down but a suplex does the same to Guerrero. Another springboard missile dropkick puts Eddie down and Otani has a busted lip. He snaps off a rana on Guerrero for two but Eddie rolls through into a pinning combination of his own for a near fall, but Otani reverses the reversal into a sunset flip for the pin.

Rating: B+. Pretty awesome match here with the idea of two guys hitting everything they could think of on each other before a cradle was the solution to the win. They did a good job here of keeping both guys looking very strong as it wasn’t a big move that put Eddie down but rather a leverage move which came off a counter to another leverage move. They made both guys seem equal here which made for a very entertaining match.

Otani’s smug grin after the match is awesome.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 2

World Champion Randy Savage is ready for Tenzan and doesn’t care about the triangle match right now.

Tenzan vs. Randy Savage

Tenzan is primarily a tag team specialist but has a very fine singles career as well. Savage has a bad left arm coming in. They lock up to start with Savage taking it to the corner, only to be broken up by the referee. Tenzan chops him down and pounds him in the back before hooking a quick front facelock. Off to a nerve hold on the world champion followed by a jumping back elbow to send Savage to the apron. A big chop sends Savage to the outside as this has been all Tenzan so far.

Tenzan drops Savage throat first on the barricade before heading back inside for some forearms to the back. A Samoan Drop puts Savage down as we see legend Pedro Morales on Spanish commentary. Tenzan goes up top but misses a moonsault, allowing Savage to hit a clothesline to the back of the head. Savage drops him ribs first on the top rope before dropping his top rope elbow for the pin, tying the series.

Rating: D+. This is the normal formula for Savage at this point: get destroyed for the majority of the match, hit about two moves, then win with the flying elbow. Why they decided that was all the world champion should be able to do is beyond me, but that’s almost all Savage was allowed to do for months on end.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 3

Heenan is panicking.

Flair says the World Cup is cool but tonight is about him winning the world title.

Sting vs. Kensuke Sasaki

So yeah, the whole competition comes down to the US Champion defending the title he won from the American hero against said American hero who just happens to be the most popular guy in the company, winner take all. You could say this is cliched, but it’s you can’t say it isn’t the right way to get to the finals. To really hammer it home, Sting comes out carrying an American flag.

Sasaki attacks early and gets some quick control, only to have Sting fight back and hit a quick Stinger Splash. For some reason Sting tries another one but gets caught in a bulldog to put him right back down. Sasaki gloats a bit too much, allowing Sting to clothesline him out to the floor. Back in and Sting gets caught in a powerslam as the quick momentum changes continue. Sasaki knocks him down again and we stop to look at the Cup they’re fighting for.

The fans chant USA as Sasaki puts on an armbar before stomping away. Tony suggests that this is going to be a nationwide celebration when WCW wins. Sasaki puts Sting in a Scorpion Deathlock to embarrass him, only to have Sting power out of the hold. Sting comes back with a kick to the head to give himself a breather before escaping a powerslam. A clothesline sets up the Scorpion Deathlock and Sting wins the World Cup for WCW.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t terrible but again the idea of having someone get beaten down until they win with one Hail Mary move is pretty stupid. On the other hand though, there was no other way they could go than to have Sting beat Sasaki for the final victory in the series so it’s hard to complain there. The match wasn’t horrible by any means but it’s certainly nothing worth seeing.

New Japan – 3

WCW – 4

The WCW team comes in for a celebration followed by the trophy presentation. Heenan: “I have to give the Lexus back.”

We recap the triangle match. Macho Man won the title by winning World War 3, despite there being an alleged controversy which gave Hogan a potential claim to the title. This just has to be mentioned here because he’s Hogan and this is WCW. Luger returned to the company in September and demanded a title shot, Sting is Luger’s friend and has loyalties to both Hogan and Luger and Flair gets a shot just because he’s Flair.

Sting vs. Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair

This is a different kind of three way match as only two men are in at once and you have to tag in and out. It’s also one fall to a finish. Flair is the only fresh guy coming in. Sting and Flair start due to a pre match coin toss. Much like an old car, they stall to start with Flair being very tentative to get going. Flair hits a single chop and is taken down by a gorilla press and a clothesline for two. An early Scorpion Deathlock is escaped by Flair making the rope and it’s time for Flair to bail.

Back in and Flair grabs a hammerlock as Heenan implies Dusty is an uneducated country bumpkin. Sting is taken down and punched in the face before Flair starts pounding away in the corner. Off to the hammerlock on the mat again before Flair tries more chops, having no effect at all. Sting slams him down and pounds away in the corner as well, sending Flair to the outside.

They go inside again and Flair begs off and avoids a dropkick to put Sting down. Flair pounds Sting down again as this is going very slowly. That doesn’t mean it’s boring mind you, but rather very methodical. There’s a big difference between those two things. The referee is with Luger for some reason, allowing Flair to throw Sting over the top and out to the floor. Flair drops a knee on Sting’s head for five straight two counts before Sting no sells a suplex and pounds on Flair in the corner. Sting catches in a gorilla press and follows up with a superplex for a near fall of his own.

Luger comes in sans tag but Sting stares him back into the other corner. Sting turns his back on Luger so Lex tags in himself after ten minutes of Sting vs. Flair. Flair tries to bail but Luger pulls him back and shows him all the muscles. Ric charges into Luger and bounces off of his shoulder so Luger poses some more. There’s a gorilla press by Luger as Flair is being thrown all over the place by these power guys. Lex pounds away in the corner and we get the Flair Flop.

Flair comes right back with a thumb to the eye and it’s time to go after the knee. Ric goes after the knee as is his custom before alternating between chops and kicks to the knee. There’s the Figure Four on Luger but Flair, ever the overconfident schnook, slaps Luger in the face, angering Luger enough to turn the hold over. Flair bails to the apron but gets suplexed back inside for two. A slam off the top gets two for Luger and Flair’s chops have no effect. In a smart move, Flair tags in Sting to give us the battle of the best friends.

Luger and Sting shake hands to a lot of booing but Sting is ready to fight. Tony says these two last fought in Milwaukee at SuperBrawl II, prompting Heenan to say an historic line to Tony: “Is there anything you don’t know?” This sort of question will NEVER be made to Tony Schiavone again. Ever. Luger pounds Sting into the corner but Sting does the exact same thing to Luger before pounding him in the head. That’s not very friendly behavior.

Lex wants time out and comes back with some forearms to the back. A big clothesline takes Sting down as Luger has shifted from the face he was against Flair to a heel now against Sting. That’s something you don’t often see but it’s really cool to watch. Sting comes back with a slam but a middle rope splash hits Luger’s knees. A bunch of elbow drops have Sting in trouble for a few moments and Luger easily blocks a Deathlock.

Luger kicks Sting low in a VERY evil move and follows up with an atomic drop for good measure. As is Luger’s custom he loads up another of the same move, only to be rolled up for two. Sting suplexes Luger down and follows up with the bulldog for no cover. In a very smart move, Sting Irish whips Sting to the adjacent corner instead of the opposite because it would have allowed the fresh Flair to tag in. I love stuff like that.

There’s a Stinger Splash but second one misses, allowing Luger to hook the Rack. As Sting is lifted up though, the referee is kicked and knocked out. Flair nails Luger, sending him to the floor. Sting is thrown on top of Luger and the referee is up, allowing for a double countout to eliminate Luger and Sting, sending Flair to the title match.

Rating: A. This match ROCKED with three solid matches in one, along with some insanely good psychology and a brilliant ending with Flair sneaking in and stealing the win as only he could. This was a smart match, full of psychology which is something you almost never see anymore. If you haven’t seen this one before, do some research on their histories together and check it out.

The title match is immediately after the triangle match. Jimmy Hart comes out to manage Flair because that’s the kind of guy he is.

WCW World Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Michael Buffer (the “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet’s get ready to rumble!!!” guy) takes like five minutes to introduces the guys before we’re finally ready to go. Savage starts with a fast backslide for two and throws his shirt into Flair’s face. The champion pounds Flair in the face (why over complicate things?) as Paul Orndorff, who had his neck broken by the Horsemen, comes out into the aisle to watch. Flair goes for a quick Figure Four but Savage kicks him away.

Savage charges at Ric in the corner but gets sent out to the floor where Flair pounds him up against the barricade. Back in and Flair takes him down to the mat with a hammerlock, throwing his yellow and red boot onto the ropes for good measure. Flair stays on the bad arm before putting on a sleeper to stop a Savage comeback bid. Savage comes back with a belly to back suplex and pounds away with some clotheslines.

Jimmy Hart gets on the apron to distract the referee while throwing in his megaphone. Savage steals it away and blasts Flair in the head, busting it open. The top rope elbow hits but there’s no referee, so here are the Horsemen. The referee is taken down, Anderson hits Savage in the head with a foreign object, Flair gets the title back.

Rating: C-. This was the very abbreviated version of the Savage vs. Flair as they only had about nine minutes to work with here. It wasn’t terrible but at the same time, how much can you do in that amount of time in the main event of Starrcade? These two would trade the title back and forth a few times over the next few months and the matches would be much stronger.

Brian Pillman, one of the Horsemen, destroys Savage because Pillman is nuts. The Horsemen celebrate to end the show.

For some reason there was another match after the main event where One Man Gang won the US Title. Why it didn’t air and wasn’t mentioned isn’t explained but I’d assume time.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a tricky one to rate. There are nine matches on the card but anywhere from five to seven mean nothing (depending on your take), leaving you with the main events. Luckily, the triangle match is nearly half an hour long and is excellent, making it more than worth checking out. The problem at the end of the day was that none of this stuff meant much given what was coming in a few months, but we’ll get to that next year. This show is VERY different though and it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for a change of pace and a great match.

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 1, 2004
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

The big story this week is the locker room rising up against Evolution, who ran roughshod last week because Eric Bischoff was gone and they just decided they were in charge. Randy Orton isn’t allowed to challenge HHH for the World Title anymore, making me wonder who in the world is supposed to go after the belt. Odds are no one at the moment, meaning more HHH bragging time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at the locker room fighting back against Evolution last week, with a focus on Orton not getting to challenge HHH again because he lost to Ric Flair. No worries though as he hit HHH with an RKO to end the show.

Opening sequence.

Eugene vs. Gene Snitsky

Hardcore match with Snitsky wheeling out a baby carriage. In the back, William Regal explains a hardcore match to Eugene, who says he has to do this himself and stand on his own two feet. I don’t see this going well. The fans are behind Eugene as he slugs away with a broom handle to as much success as you would expect.

Snitsky is fine enough to hit him with a chain and pulls out a NO BABIES sign to blast Eugene again. A slam onto a sign keeps Eugene in trouble but he gets in a shot with the chair for a breather. Some leather strap shots to the back put Snitsky down as the fans are WAY into this. Snitsky shrugs it off though and it’s pumphandle slam onto a street sign for the pin.

Rating: D+. They’re keeping Snitsky short here and that’s the right idea. Let him be a monster and beat up the popular guys without overexposing him, which has worked for years and it’s working here. Eventually someone can slay the monster, but the longer they build him up, the better this is going to be.

Post match Snitsky loads up the chair around Eugene’s neck but Regal runs in with the brass knuckles for the save. The father figure role is working well for Regal, because you know he can back it up if he has to.

HHH says everyone attacked him last week because they’re jealous of him. They attacked the biggest star in WWE today and the guy bringing the people into those arenas (3,500 out of 18,000 in Milwaukee for Taboo Tuesday anyone?). He won’t be there tonight so let’s see how things go without the franchise player. There better be a hero’s welcome for him when he gets back next week.

New interviewer Maria Kanellis talks to Tajiri, who is glad HHH is gone because the locker room is sick of him. Batista and Ric Flair come in for the beatdown.

Here are Batista and Flair in the arena with Flair saying what happened to HHH last week was unacceptable. Like him or not, the fans all need to respect HHH because he is the World Champion. If you don’t treat him with respect, Batista has no problem with destroying the entire locker room.

This brings out Bischoff, who doesn’t want to hear anymore. He gets right to the point, annoying three matches for Survivor Series: Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Title, Trish Stratus defending the Women’s Title against Lita and Team HHH (HHH, Batista, Edge, Gene Snitsky) vs. Team Randy Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Maven). Flair doesn’t like his name being left off that team but Bischoff says it’s because of what happened last week. He wants to see the inmates run the asylum even more because he’s tired of having Flair try to boss people around.

Evolution didn’t come to his rescue at Taboo Tuesday so what has he gained by sucking up to them for two and a half years (as usual, Bischoff isn’t great on details). Therefore, he has an idea: he’s going on vacation for a month after Survivor Series and the winning team is going to get Raw for that time, with each member getting to be in charge for a week. Batista doesn’t find that to be fair because Benoit and Jericho would just give themselves title matches. That sounds like a threat so Bischoff says they better win at Survivor Series. So there’s your next six weeks and while it could be worse, I don’t buy Bischoff’s new style lasting.

Christian vs. Hurricane

Christian grabs a headlock takeover but here’s Edge less than ten seconds in. He’s back on Raw and has his book, which apparently includes a lot of material on Christian. The book is available tomorrow and you can read about his likes and dislikes, such as Peoria. The only problem is he wanted the last chapter to focus on his winning the vote at Taboo Tuesday and won the World Title. Don’t worry: he can have an epilogue in the paperback.

Edge goes to leave but sees the angry JR, who must want an autographed copy. We get to the match for once with Hurricane hitting a running neckbreaker for two. Hurricane gets the same off a high crossbody but gets sent into the post, setting up the Unprettier to give Christian the pin. More than half of the match was on Edge, which is a really questionable decision during a match featuring the #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title.

Post match Shelton Benjamin runs in to chase Christian off. Christian yells at Shelton for costing him the vote at Taboo Tuesday. He knows Shelton wants to fight but since Tomko is hurt, here’s a one night only problem solver: Viscera, giving Shelton a great “are you serious?” look. The double beatdown is on with Shelton taking a World’s Strongest Slam. Note that this is the same day that Test and A-Train were released. They see Viscera with more upside than A-Train?

Edge is happy to be back because he’s ready to defend the Tag Team Titles tonight. Since Benoit beat La Resistance on his own, tonight should be an easy title defense. Benoit comes up and Edge takes a title (with Sylvan Grenier’s nameplate still front and center), saying Benoit better watch his attitude or it’ll be another solo defense tonight.

Maven goes in to see Evolution because he didn’t like what happened to Tajiri earlier. Flair gets rather serious but Orton and Jericho come in as well and Evolution backs down.

Here’s Simon Dean live in person to give away a year’s supply of products. After insulting a woman, he calls in a fan with limited teeth….and that is the future Beer City Bruiser of Ring of Honor fame. I had no idea he had been around that long. Anyway Dean makes fun of his weight and the fan loses it, earning himself a beatdown.

Lawler has a thing called a Juicebox, a portable device that lets you watch video clips, look at photos and listen to MP3s. Oh those wacky 2004 flashes in the pans.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

Edge and Benoit are defending but there’s no Edge to start so Benoit has to go it alone again, though he’s fine enough to hit a backbreaker on Grenier. Conway gets in a neckbreaker to take over though and Benoit is in trouble. Cue Edge, with a full entrance, to distract Benoit even more and the beating continues. Benoit finally gets in a suplex for a breather but Edge walks out as we take a break.

Back with Edge on commentary and showing him the new book. Grenier cranks on a cravate as JR snaps as only he can at this level of disrespect. The comeback is on as we discuss Edge’s high school yearbook and neck surgery. Benoit snaps off a bunch of suplexes, including a few German versions to Conway. The Swan Dive connects and the Crossface goes on as Edge gets in to distract the referee, leaving Benoit to take Au Revoir to give La Resistance the titles back.

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t the point here of course, though Edge was hilarious on commentary as he’s kind of perfect for this role. It also makes sense to have him not care about the Tag Team Titles because, as he mentioned at Taboo Tuesday, he’s held them ten times before and it’s time for him to step up to the next level. We really, really need some new champions though as it feels like La Resistance has held the titles for years.

Post match Edge hits him with the belt (blood) and a spear, plus a Crossface to make Benoit tap. That was better than anything in the match.

Evolution comes in to Bischoff’s office and yells about the Survivor Series stipulation. He demands that Bischoff change things but that’s a no (you don’t have to ask Bischoff twice to screw Flair over). Bischoff doesn’t get why people want him to have so much power but he’ll use some of it tonight. We’re going to have a six man tag: Evolution vs. Jericho/Maven/Orton. HHH isn’t here but if he doesn’t show up, it can just be a handicap match.

Here’s the debuting Muhammad Hassan, who says he’s an Arab American and born right here in the United States. Since 9/11, he’s been stereotyped as a terrorist who blows things up. Now, please be respectful to him. He praises Allah and Khosrow Daivari, his manager, translates to Arabic. Right now, someone needs to pop up with a sign telling them to GO BACK! YOU’RE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO DO THIS!

Survivor Series rundown.

We look back at Viscera and Christian attacking Shelton Benjamin.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Viscera

Non-title and Benjamin has taped up ribs. Viscera goes straight for the ribs and takes the tape off, setting up the big fat splashes in the corner. The belly to belly suplex crushes the ribs again and a big elbow makes it even worse. Viscera tries a charge (work with me here) into the corner but gets drop toeholded into the middle buckle instead. For some reason Shelton tries the exploder and gets crushed for another near fall. With Christian cheering Viscera on from the stage, Shelton grabs a handful of face and hits the Dragon Whip for the fast pin.

Rating: F. They went with this over A-Train??? I know A-Train isn’t great but he’s a heck of a lot more mobile and versatile than Viscera, whose entire offense revolves around being 500lbs. The match was nothing with Benjamin hitting the finisher and Viscera looking like a turtle on his back.

Post match Christian comes in for the stomping and takes the exploder.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here’s Trish Stratus for a chat. She’s here to calm down her friends and family who have been panicking since they found out she’s facing Lita at Survivor Series. We see a video of Lita’s managing over the years, including her time with Essa Rios (Me when I was about twelve: “Rios is awesome. If he can get rid of that annoying redhead, he’ll be a lot better.”) who disappeared, the Hardys….who are gone as well (Trish, narrating: “TL-C you later.”) and the time with Kane where he got his throat crushed (Trish: “Ding dong the freak is dead!”) because Lita is the kiss of death.

Back in the arena, Trish talks about Lita being more than a walking kiss of death. She’s a loser too and at Survivor Series, she’ll lose the match just like she lost her baby. Cue Lita and Trish knows she’s screwed up. The beating is on in a hurry with Lita bouncing Trish’s head off the mat. Gail Kim comes in for the save and the beatdown is on, capped off by a Chick Kick to leave Lita laying. Trish is on fire at the moment and I want to see Lita take her head off so well done all around.

More voter registration stuff.

Maven/Randy Orton/Chris Jericho vs. Evolution

There’s no HHH but Maven is on the other team so is it really a handicap? Orton and Batista start things off with Batista charging into a boot in the corner and getting rolled up for two. Flair comes in and gets punched down as well, setting up the backdrop so Flair can get in the trademark screaming. It’s off to Jericho for the Walls, which he releases so we can have a three on one staredown of Batista before he can interfere.

We settle back down to Maven hitting a missile dropkick on Flair and it’s time to stare at Batista again. Jericho comes in to beat up Flair some more and even draws Batista in to distract the referee, meaning it’s a low blow to Ric. Batista finally gets smart by coming in and decking Jericho so he can drag Flair to the corner for the tag. The spinebuster gets two on Jericho and Flair is fine enough to start the chopping.

The running enziguri drops Flair to get Jericho out of trouble so it’s back to Orton vs. Batista. Yet another backdrop has Flair in trouble and there’s the powerslam to Batista for two. A double dropkick sends Batista outside so it’s time for Evolution to leave. HHH’s music hits though….and it’s Tajiri, spitting mist instead of water (which the camera misses). Batista gets thrown back inside and with Flair dropkicked to the floor, the parade of finishers begins. The RKO is enough to put Batista away for good.

Rating: D+. Well that certainly happened. It’s fairly clear that Batista and Flair aren’t as good as two former World Champions plus Maven with an assist from Tajiri. In case you were ever wondering about that, you now have your answer. Other than that, the only thing this match made me do is wonder why we never had a HHH vs. Jericho title match around this time. They had a lumberjack match a few weeks ago that barely lasted five minutes and was more about other things than their match. A one off title match, even on a low level pay per view, wouldn’t have been out of the question.

The good guys pose on the stage and Batista shoves Flair down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a weird one, but it’s a weird time in the company. It’s like they’re trying to change things up a little bit and see what else they can do, which is certainly a welcome move after all the weeks and months of repetitive material. There are new characters and stories, but they’re not particularly good character or stories so far.

Maven being there because of the Tough Enough show being on is I guess supposed to serve as proof that the winners go somewhere, but that’s not exactly helping the fans. I’ll take the new stuff over more of the old though, so we’ll call this an improvement without much of a shelf life.

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

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

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

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

Wrestlemania XXIV
Date: March 30, 2008
Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 74,365
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles, Tazz

So this was going to be Wrestlemania XXX but then I remembered I did that show last year so I picked one I remember being a lot of fun. It’s from one of the forgotten periods of the company’s history as things were mostly good, but this era really runs together for me. This show is well received and kind of a hidden gem though so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Jim Duggan, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Val Venis, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Jesse, Festus, Stevie Richards, Jamie Noble, Tommy Dreamer, Kofi Kingston, Brian Kendrick, Kane, Great Khali, Miz, Mark Henry, Deuce, Domino, Elijah Burke, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Chuck Palumbo, Snitsky

This show is so old it pre-dates Kickoff Shows. This is your usual get everyone on the card match, which would go completely off the rails years later. There is actually a prize as the winner gets an ECW Title shot later tonight. The brawl is on to start (as it should be) with Festus (Luke Gallows) throwing out Deuce N Domino without much trouble. Khali gets rid of Duggan (to a lot of booing) and Burke knocks out Richards.

Burke makes the eternal mistake of celebrating too much though and gets shoved out by Kane. You would think people would learn at some point. It’s Miz out next and the announcers talk about how cool it would be for young Kofi Kingston to get a title shot at Wrestlemania. Henry eliminates Moore and Yang and it’s Jesse following them out.

Festus is put out, meaning I don’t have to get him confused with Snitsky anymore. Kofi gets rid of Cade and Kendrick as the ring is clearing out a lot. Henry tosses Kofi onto the pile and Palumbo (He made it to 2008?) kicks Noble out. Actually Noble hangs on so Palumbo throws him out again, though this time Noble climbs onto the pile and stays on. I’m sure Kofi Kingston was watching that one.

Not that it matters as Khali gets rid of Noble and Palumbo but everyone gangs up to get rid of Khali. Snitsky gets rid of Holly and we’re down to Kane, Snitsky and Henry, meaning there were quite a few eliminations off camera. Henry eliminates Snitsky and we’re down to two. Kane has to escape a gorilla press and a big boot gets rid of Henry to give Kane the win.

Rating: D. They got in, they did their thing, they had the right winner and they got out in less than seven minutes. It’s not a good match or anything more than what it was supposed to be and that’s fine. Believe it or not you don’t need three matches before the show starts to warm the fans up. Something like this is a perfect choice and it worked just fine.

We get the big airplane flyover, which will nearly knock you off your feet in person.

John Legend sings America the Beautiful.

The opening video features wrestlers talking about how big Wrestlemania is and how much they want to steal the show. Remember when wrestling was about how you didn’t like someone or wanted the title and not to just get on a show or steal said show? It shifts into a talk about everything that can happen in a year, including title changes, injuries, or your boss saying your career was over the next time you lost. Tonight, everyone is going to steal the show.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

This is a Belfast Brawl, meaning street fight. It’s also part of a VERY long and complicated story as Vince McMahon was told that Hornswoggle was his son, which didn’t sit well with Finlay. JBL beat Hornswoggle up one night until it was eventually revealed that Finlay was really Hornswoggle’s dad. This is Finlay’s chance for revenge. Hornswoggle is here with Finlay because….well why wouldn’t he be?

Some forearms knock Finlay off the apron to start but he whips JBL into the steps and takes it inside for the opening bell. Finlay throws in the standard assortment of weapons, with JBL getting in a trashcan to the head. The alternating trashcan lid/cookie sheet shots to the head keep Finlay in trouble and it’s time for some steps. The piledriver onto said steps is blocked and this time it’s JBL taking the metal sheet shots. Hornswoggle comes in for a kendo stick shot, allowing Finlay to grab the club for a few swings to the jaw.

Since Finlay would rather have revenge (makes sense), he puts a trashcan on JBL’s face and grabs a table. You know, because we need tables. JBL gets back up so it’s a hard clothesline to knock him right back down. Since Finlay isn’t working so well for him, JBL goes outside and slaps Hornswoggle around, earning himself a beating from Finlay.

For some reason Finlay tries a suicide dive, which is knocked out of the air with a trashcan lid shot. JBL PELTS a trashcan at Hornswoggle but the Clothesline is broken up with another can. There’s the Regal Roll and JBL gets thrown through the table in the corner for two. Finlay takes a little too long picking up the steps though and gets them sent into his head. The Clothesline From JBL is good for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly watchable brawl and that’s all it needed to be. There was no need to put this on later in the night either as JBL winning was a bit deflating and you don’t want to kill the crowd off later in the show. Get it out of the way and let the fans have a fun garbage match. Smart opener and a good little warmup.

We go to host Kim Kardashian (just go with it) for an explanation about Money in the Bank. Mr. Kennedy comes in and gets in her face, which I’m sure is completely beneath her stellar career.

John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP

Money in the Bank with Kennedy technically defending, though that’s not really a thing in a match like this. Morrison is a Smackdown Tag Team Champion (with Miz), Shelton is in his awful Gold Rush period, MVP is US Champion and Jericho is Intercontinental Champion because of course he is.

Everyone but MVP goes to the floor for an early ladder with MVP being smart enough for one to be thrown in and then kick Morrison off the apron. MVP picks up the ladder and starts using it as a weapon but Jericho brings in his own and knocks MVP’s away. Morrison throws a smaller ladder at Jericho’s before taking it up top for a moonsault with the ladder to the floor. It’s rather early for something that insane but it looked great. Everyone but Jericho is down on the floor until Kennedy runs back in and sets a ladder up.

That’s broken up by Jericho, who for some reason catapults Kennedy onto the ladder so Morrison has to ride a ladder out of the corner to get up top for a save. Benjamin is back in with his own ladder and it’s a superplex from Kennedy to Morrison with Benjamin adding a sunset bomb for your second crazy spot of the match. Carlito shoves Shelton’s ladder over….so Shelton lands on the top rope and jumps right back, though the ladder breaks. Punk goes up with Kennedy making another save so Punk gives Shelton a GTS.

Carlito cleans house next and crushes MVP’s leg in a ladder. That earns Carlito a Dragon Whip so Shelton can climb but Carlito and Kennedy turn the ladder over, sending Shelton down through a ladder bridged between the apron and the ring. The stunned looks on Carlito and Kennedy’s faces make up for the clearly wooden ladder being broken. MVP shoves Kennedy, Carlito and Jericho down and it’s Morrison going up, with Jericho being right there for the Walls on top of the ladder (that always looks cool).

Jericho has to let go to stop Kennedy though, allowing Punk and Carlito to springboard in from either side. Punk and Kennedy go down so Carlito hits the Backstabber off the ladder to bring Jericho down. JR: “A WRESTLEMANIA BACKSTABBER!” MVP is all alone so he goes up, only to have Matt Hardy run in as a surprise for a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Jericho gets back up and knocks Morrison into the corner where he interlocks two ladders upside down into a V shape.

Carlito gets sent into one side, meaning a ladder is instantly stood up. Morrison climbs up but gets it shoved back down, crotching Morrison on the top with Punk taking a ladder to the head. Jericho climbs up and gets Carlito’s apple spit in his face. Kennedy shoves Carlito into a ladder in the corner with Punk making another save. There’s a Codebreaker with a ladder to Punk, who is up fast enough to shove Jericho off the ladder and pull down the briefcase for the win at 13:54.

Rating: A-. They didn’t go with drama here and instead went with the wild series of spots, one after another. One very smart thing they did here was to get rid of someone so they only had six. That seems to be the magic number for these things and it worked well here. Punk winning the briefcase was the smart move as he’s hot at the moment and someone who could use this as a springboard to the main event scene. Heck of a match and the spectacle that belongs on Wrestlemania.

Video on the Hall of Fame ceremony. This is way better than having everyone come out and get a big presentation. If nothing else for the sake of time.

Here’s Howard Finkel to introduce the Hall of Fame class:

Jack and Gerry Brisco (Jack should have been in years ago)

Gordon Solie (perfect choice in Florida)

Rocky Johnson

Peter Maivia

Eddie Graham (represented by Mike Graham, who probably invented Wrestlemania)

Mae Young (who has to be kept from stripping)

Ric Flair (Charlotte has short hair here and it’s REALLY weird to see her like that)

And yes, there were just seven inductees and no one lame. It’s like this can be well done without any jokes.

Snoop Dogg, the emcee of the Playboy match tonight, is a big Festus fan. Santino Marella comes in to interrupt and doesn’t like the idea of the Playboy match. Snoop rings a bell and sends Festus running after Santino. Mick Foley shows up and apparently is cool with Snoop.

Batista vs. Umaga

Smackdown vs. Raw with Teddy Long and William Regal (show bosses) at ringside. No story here other than a battle of brand supremacy and a few brawls. Some right hands to the head have little effect on Umaga so Batista shoulders him out to the floor for some more success. Back in and Umaga goes kind of aerial with a spinwheel kick and Batista is knocked outside this time. Some hard whips into the corner have Batista in trouble and an uppercut makes things worse.

The nerve hold goes on as the fans certainly seem to approve of Umaga. The middle rope headbutt misses but Batista’s back gives out on a slam attempt. We’re right back to the nerve hold before a Samoan drop gets two. Batista fights back with right hands and is loudly booed. He’s fine enough to block the Samoan Spike and Umaga’s charge goes into the post. The spinebuster sets up a Batista Bomb (with Batista falling down) for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: D. Well that certainly clears up which show is better. This was a lame power match that didn’t get much time, which might be the best solution in this case. Batista was in need of a freshening up at this point and Umaga was just the resident monster. It’s this year’s version of “get them on the show somehow” and they didn’t exactly click.

Tale of the Tape for Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show.

ECW Title: Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

ECW GM Armando Alejandro Estrada handles the introductions. Kane won a battle royal on the pre-show to earn this shot and comes in from the crowd to win here with a chokeslam in twelve seconds. Exactly what it needed to be, but please tell me Joey Styles and Tazz didn’t have to sit at ringside for everything before or after this match.

And now, Maria and Carlito with an ad about…..Wrestlemania?

Raven Symone is here because of a disabled kids’ charity.

We recap Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels with Flair’s career on the line. Late last year, Vince McMahon decided that Flair would have to retire the next time he lost (partially because Vince is Vince and partially because Flair said that he would never retire). Flair went on a long winning streak but asked to face Shawn at Wrestlemania. Shawn made it clear that he didn’t want to finish Flair’s career but would do what he had to do, even if it meant putting Flair down like Old Yeller. There was little hiding the fact that this was going to be Flair’s last match, but it was his chance to go out with one more classic.

Ric’s plan for tonight: to be the man.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Flair has the blue robe one more time and while I’m still a fan of the black and white one, I can’t help but smile at seeing the classic look again. Shawn shoulders him down to start and it’s clear that they’re going to have all the time they want here. They trade some hammerlocks with Shawn getting the better of it on the mat. That’s broken up as well and we get the first WOO.

The chops in the corner let Flair yell about Old Yeller but Shawn slaps him in the face and asks if that’s all he has. An exchange of chops in the corner goes to Flair (as it should) but Shawn elbows him in the jaw and goes up. This time Flair slams him off the top and goes up…..for a crossbody into a near fall! You would think that would get more of a reaction but he has to fail at an early Figure Four attempt.

Shawn kicks him to the floor and tries an Asai moonsault, which only hits the announcers’ table, with his ribs landing on the edge which doesn’t break (I’ve seen that many times and it draws a very real cringe). That’s only good for a nine count and Shawn can barely move because of the ribs. A belly to back suplex gives Flair two and he manages a delayed vertical for the same. Note: Charles Robinson (Little Naitch) is referee here and for some reason he’s in a Smackdown shirt. Yeah he’s a Smackdown referee, but you can’t just throw him in a Raw shirt for the occasion?

Flair’s neckbreaker gets two more but Shawn sends him outside. That means a moonsault to the floor which takes Flair out and bangs up the ribs even more. They chop it out back inside and it’s Shawn’s forearm into the nipup as the pace picks up a bit. A slam drops Flair and Shawn’s top rope elbow connects, meaning it’s time to Tune of the Band. Shawn can’t bring himself to do it though and Flair grabs the legs and slaps on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring.

The hold is turned over and they load up the bridge into the backslide….but Flair just can’t do it anymore so they go into a rollup instead. It’s time for the chop block and NOW the Figure Four is on for real. Shawn crawls to the rope so Flair stomps away some more until the referee drags him away. That’s enough of a delay for Shawn to hit Sweet Chin Music for a very close two and the fans go nuts on the kickout.

Shawn loads it up again but stops to tell Flair to get up. That means a low blow (again, you knew he was getting that in somehow) for two more and the fans really bought the near fall. To mix things up a bit, Shawn sweeps the legs and tries a reverse Figure Four (thank goodness it wasn’t a Sharpshooter) to send Flair bailing to the ropes this time.

A rollup with tights gets two and they chop it out from their knees. The chops bring them to their feet and Shawn hits another superkick to put Flair down. There’s no cover though as Shawn goes into the corner and Flair slowly gets up. Shawn says the now legendary I’m Sorry, I Love You and superkicks Flair one more time, this time for the pin at 20:34.

Rating: B+. I don’t remember truly liking this one before and that’s because there are different ways to look at it. It’s hard not to look at a match like this through the emotional lens but if you take that away (which you kind of have to given that Flair wound up wrestling again), it’s actually a heck of a match with all of the old Flair tropes thrown in. Those worked for so long because it’s a great formula that can work against anyone. When you add in Shawn’s second to none abilities, there was no way this wouldn’t be outstanding.

The problem though is that Flair just can’t do a lot of this stuff anymore. He’s trying as hard as he can and what he could still do was good, but seeing him not be able to bridge up anymore was rather sad because it’s something he’s done for so many years before. I don’t remember liking this match that much but it really is a strong one, even ignoring all the other things added to it.

Post match Shawn leaves the ring and a crying Flair gets to his feet for one of the best standing ovations you’ll ever see. This is more than deserved and while he should have retired a long time ago (you could argue all the way back in the 90s), he was far from embarrassing himself and someone as influential, successful and downright talented as he was should absolutely get this kind of a sendoff. And for those who are wondering why, this was originally going to close the show but Flair refused and insisted it go in the middle.

Smackdown World Champion Edge talks about sitting in the crowd at Wrestlemania VI as the biggest Hulkamaniac in Canada. Then Hulk Hogan lost, and Edge lost his innocence with it. Undertaker has been the conscience of WWE for years but tonight Edge is bringing a cold hard dose of reality to the fans. There’s probably a kid in the audience who believes that anything can happen, even 16-0. Tonight, Edge is taking that kid’s innocence and walking out as the new Phenom and still World Heavyweight Champion.

Pyro signals the start of the second half of the show.

Beth Phoenix/Melina vs. Maria/Ashley Massaro

This is the Playboy match with the rest of the women’s division as lumberjacks. Snoop Dogg is the master of ceremonies and of course he comes to the ring in a leopard print Mercedes golf cart. Snoop handles the introductions, but first throws in a couple of WOO’s in Flair’s honor. Santino is here with Beth and Melina as he doesn’t like Maria posing.

Ashley hurricanranas Beth to start and the fans are rather quiet. Some double teaming has Beth in more trouble but it’s off to Melina, who gets kneed by Maria. A lot of spinning around and screaming sets up a Bronco Buster (without the running start) to Melina. Ashley hits a middle rope X Factor but gets sent outside for a beating from the lumberjacks. We settle down to a bearhug from Beth before she puts Melina in an electric chair and flips her backwards into a moonsault.

Ashley kicks out at two and Maria dives in for the save a full second later, making things look even worse. And then the lights go out because everyone is sick of this match. A spotlight lets us see Maria kicking Beth in the head and reversing the Glam Slam into a bulldog for two. Everything breaks down and Maria dives onto Beth for two with Santino making the save. That brings Lawler to his feet to knock Santino down, leaving Beth to hit a fisherman’s buster to pin Maria at 5:59.

Rating: D-. Yeah what else were you expecting here? The wrestling was terrible and the villains had to tone it WAY down for this not to be a disaster. The fans didn’t care and they couldn’t even see parts of the match, though I don’t think they particularly cared. It just wasn’t good but it served its purposes of eye candy and a breather from the emotional moment.

Post match Santino poses with Melina and Beth but gets laid out by Snoop.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Randy Orton is champion, HHH is feuding with him for the title, and John Cena, who never lost the title, won the Royal Rumble in a shocking return after being stripped of the title due to injury.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. HHH

Orton is defending. Cena’s big introduction this year is via a high school marching band, which is a pretty cool idea. After Cena’s entrance, we get a poll on who will win with Cena getting 52% and Orton finishing dead last at 8%. HHH gets a regular entrance, though it includes one of my favorite Wrestlemania shots: the closeup and the camera swinging around to show the sheer size of the stadium with all the people. Orton belts HHH in the face to start so Cena bulldogs the champ and grabs a release fisherman’s suplex.

HHH is right back in with a sleeper to Orton, allowing Cena to try a double FU, though it’s way too early and they both slip off. Orton takes both of them down and alternates with the stomping a they’re certainly starting fast. A jumping knee to each gets two each for the sake of symmetry as the fans are actually into this, meaning they are in fact alive after the women’s match. Cena is up and puts Orton on top but gets caught in a Doomsday crossbody…which he rolls through anyway with HHH having to break up an FU.

A pair of clotheslines leave Orton as the only one on his feet so he grabs a hanging DDT to both of them at once for another pair of twos. The RKO to Cena is countered with Orton being knocked onto HHH and it’s a top rope Fameasser to the champ. It’s too early for the STFU (yes U) though as Orton bails to the floor and posts Cena to take over again. That’s enough for HHH to start in on Orton’s leg but he has to deal with Cena, allowing Orton to nail a quick RKO.

Cena is back up with the STFU and Orton has the hand up to tap, only to have HHH guide the hand down onto the rope instead. HHH sends Cena into the steps and continues the torture of Orton continues with an Indian Deathlock. Cena makes the save and sends HHH outside this time, setting up another STFU on Orton.

Back in and HHH can’t pull Cena off of Orton so he puts Cena in a Crossface for the break instead. That’s broken up as well and it’s a big time slugout between HHH and Cena. HHH walks into the flying shoulder and the Shuffle but the STFU is kicked away. The spinebuster plants Cena and HHH cuts Orton off before hitting the Pedigree on Cena….but Orton Punts HHH and pins Cena to retain at 14:09.

Rating: B. This was a tale of two matches with HHH and Cena having a Wrestlemania match and Orton running in and out as much as he could to mess with things. Orton just does not feel like he’s on this level (which has often been the case) and it was the case again here.

You could feel the crowd deflate when he won the match, which makes sense as a heel and it does make him feel more definitive as a champion, but it came off like we were waiting on some big moment and instead got Orton. Again. These title matches and reigns completely run together over the years and this is just another (good) match in a very long series.

Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Big Show returned at No Way Out after over a year off. Mayweather was at No Way Out as well and came over the barricade to hit some crazy fast punches to a kneeling Show, one of which broke his nose. Now we’re having the freakshow match, which could be highly entertaining. However, with that out of the way, eleven years after the angle, I still have no earthly idea who I’m supposed to cheer for. Is it the wrestler? Is is the loudmouthed guy who is in way over his head from a physical standpoint? Is it the guy who was attacked and wants revenge? Is it the guy who is one of the best fighters of all time? Why is this so complicated?

Anything goes here and you can win by pinfall, submission or knockout. Money rains down for Mayweather’s entrance and he has seven people with him. Mayweather is smart enough to dodge around to start and he peppers Show with some fast shows to the ribs. A right to the jaw makes Show mad and Mayweather punches him a few more times to make it even worse. Hang on though as we need to stop so Mayweather can have a drink from…..a jewel chalice?

Show beats on the entourage as the smoke and mirrors begin. Mayweather looks on as Show chops a bodyguard and starts dancing around again. A right hand is caught and Mayweather slips away before Show can stomp on it. Show sits him on top but that just lets Mayweather get in a much better right hand, setting up the required sleeper/choke on the back. Show finally realizes that Mayweather is the size of a teenager and throws him off, setting up the stomp on the hand. Mayweather’s manager: “YOU CAN’T BE DOING THAT!”

Mayweather takes the SHH chop in the corner and the pain is intense. Apparently Show can’t do that either and a side slam (which brings the fans to their feet) probably isn’t approved either. Show legdrops the arm and stands on the stomach and it’s time for the entourage to pull Mayweather out, saying they’re done because this isn’t what they signed up for.

They head back to the ring where one of the bodyguards chairs Show in the back. Mayweather gets in a few more shots and a low blow, followed by more chair shots to the head. One of the gloves comes off and Mayweather steals some brass knuckles from the down handler for the knockout win at 11:34.

Rating: B. Yeah this is still a blast. Confusing as I have no idea who to cheer for (seriously, try to figure that out), but it’s so much fun with all the wackiness that only makes sense in wrestling. Mayweather would be a much bigger heel today (and someone that WWE couldn’t afford) but what we got here was all kinds of entertaining and one of the most fun things on the show.

Wrestlemania ad, featuring Batista.

Kim Kardashian announces the attendance and sounds miserable again.

We recap Edge vs. Undertaker. The video starts with a look at the Streak, which morphs into a video of Edge costing Undertaker the title multiple times, including by cashing in Money in the Bank. Edge is going to make it 15-1 and it turns into the standard “I’ll break the Streak/the Streak will live on” video. In other words, another well done package.

Smackdown World Title: Undertaker vs. Edge

Undertaker is challenging and we’ve got druids with torches. Teddy Long wheels out Edge’s fiance Vickie Guerrero, who kisses him for luck in a story that felt like it would never die. Some early clotheslines put Edge on the floor and Undertaker gets in his Stunner over the top rope. The jumping clothesline (more like a shove here) gets two and it’s time for Old School, with Edge pulling him down, only to have Undertaker armdrag Edge down instead. I’ve never seen that otherwise and it’s rather out of place for Undertaker.

Edge avoids a charge though and Undertaker goes outside, with Edge knocking him into the barricade for a bonus. A swinging neckbreaker across the top rope has Undertaker in more trouble and a running shoulder in the corner makes it even worse. Edge goes up and gets knocked off the top, setting up a Taker Dive that doesn’t get as much of a reaction as you would expect.

There’s the apron legdrop (Coach calls it a dropkick) but Undertaker’s back is bothering him. It’s bad enough that he can’t hit the Last Ride, allowing Edge to boot him back to the floor. Back in and it’s a half crab to work on the weakened back, followed by Edge laying next to Undertaker and pulling on both legs at once. A rope is grabbed and that means it’s time to slug it out, which you don’t do against undertaker. Snake Eyes connects but the big boot is cut off by a dropkick for another near fall.

The chokeslam is countered into the Edgecution for two but another chokeslam connects just fine. Old School is broken up again with a crotching and it’s a top rope superplex for a delayed two. For some reason Edge hammers away in the corner so it’s the Last Ride…with Edge slipping out because he’s still several steps ahead of Undertaker. Another Last Ride attempt works this time (with Edge almost landing on his head) for two more as they’re trading bombs now.

The Tombstone is broken up and the Edge-O-Matic drops Undertaker. He’s fine enough to pop back up and FINALLY connect with Old School but Undertaker kicks the referee down by mistake. That means a spear to put Undertaker down but, like many great ones before him, Edge takes too long running his mouth and gets grabbed by the throat. Unlike many other great ones before him, Edge gets in a low blow and steals a camera (which he used at Survivor Series).

The running shot to the head connects but the referee falls to the floor. The camera cuts away from the situp for no apparent reason, followed by the Tombstone to Edge. Charles Robinson sprints down the crazy long ramp to count two after a funny sprint. Cue the Edgeheads (Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins) for a distraction but Undertaker gets rid of them, only to walk into a spear for two. The second spear connects but this time Undertaker pulls him into Hell’s Gate for the tap at 23:49.

Rating: A-. This is a forgotten classic that almost never gets the respect it deserves. Edge having all of the counters and making you believe that he could have just enough tricks up his sleeves to pull off the upset was a great story and the action more than lived up to the hype. This match never gets old, but it also never gets remembered, which is quite the shame as it’s awesome.

Undertaker poses and the long highlight package ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. Why don’t more people talk about this one? The only two bad matches are Batista vs. Umaga and the women’s tag and those don’t even combine for fifteen minutes. This is another well paced show (clocking in at less than three hours and fifty minutes) with one great match after another. I always have a good time with this one and if you tweak it just a bit, it’s on the all time list. Excellent show and worth another look if you haven’t checked it out lately.

Ratings Comparison

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: C+

Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison

Original: B

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

2019 Redo: A-

Batista vs. Umaga

Original: F+

2013 Redo: D-

2015 Redo: D-

2019 Redo: D

Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

2019 Redo: N/A

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

2019 Redo: B+

Beth Phoenix/Melina vs. Maria/Ashley

Original: F

2013 Redo: F+

2015 Redo: D-

2019 Redo: D

John Cena vs. HHH vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B

2019 Redo: B

Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show

Original: D-

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: B

2019 Redo: B

Edge vs. Undertaker

Original: A-

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: A-

2019 Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: C-

2013 Redo: A-

2015 Redo: A-

2019 Redo: A

Was I just in a really good mood or something this time?

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/31/583/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/02/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxiv-the-underrated-classic/

And the 2015 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/04/03/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxiv-2015-redo-one-woo-for-the-road/

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

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

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

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

Wrestlemania XXIV
Date: March 30, 2008
Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 74,365
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles, Tazz

We’re really entering into a different era around this time as Cena and Orton are steps ahead of everyone else and Edge is on the rise. This was an interesting time though as a lot of the people from the last few years are now firmly on top of the company, showing that you actually can rise up the ranks. If you’re a chosen one when you start of course. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Jim Duggan, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Val Venis, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Jesse, Festus, Stevie Richards, Jamie Noble, Tommy Dreamer, Kofi Kingston, Brian Kendrick, Kane, Great Khali, Miz, Mark Henry, Deuce, Domino, Elijah Burke, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Chuck Palumbo, Snitsky

There’s actually something on the line here as the winner gets an ECW Title shot during the regular show. Yang is a cowboy, Cody is Dusty’s son, Jesse is a country boy and his partner Festus is a vegetable until the bell rings, Kendrick is a high flier, Deuce and Domino are greasers (leather jackets, white shirts, slicked back hair like they’re from the 1950s), Miz is one half of the Smackdown Tag Team Champions and Palumbo is now a biker.

No Raw vs. Smackdown this year. Festus starts fast and throws out Deuce and Domino in the first minute. Khali gets rid of Duggan and Burke does the same to Richards. That earns Elijah a chokeslam to the floor from Kane. Miz is out a few seconds later but Cody is able to skin the cat to save himself. Henry backdrops Yang and Moore out at the same time. There goes Jesse, Murdoch, Festus, Kendrick and Cade in less than 45 seconds.

Kofi, Venis and Rhodes are gone in even less time, leaving us with Noble, Kane, Henry, Palumbo, Khali, Snitsky, Dreamer and Holly. Noble gets kicked to the floor and Khali chops Palumbo out a second later. Everyone left gets rid of Khali and Holly is out soon after. Dreamer follows him out and we’re down to Snitsky, Kane and Henry. Mark quickly throws out Snitsky but Kane kicks him in the head to win at 6:45.

Rating: D. That’s one of the fastest battle royals I’ve ever seen and I can barely tell you who was in it. Kane winning is a good choice as you can plug him into whatever you need and have him look good due to his size and power alone. At least this was short, which might have to do with it being streamed live on WWE.com. They might not have wanted it to go long in case something went wrong which makes thing easier on me.

We open with a military fly over which takes advantage of the unique venue.

John Legend sings America the Beautiful. There’s a big canopy over the ring for a pretty cool look. There are palm trees around the stadium for some atmosphere.

The opening video again focuses on Wrestlemania moments and how the entire year leads to this night. Flair caps it off by saying you never know when it could be your last. The second half of the video talks about how many things can happen in a year, which leads into the stories that are dominating this show.

Finlay vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

This is a Belfast Brawl, meaning street fight. This is part of a long story where Hornswoggle was revealed to be Vince’s illegitimate son so Vince tortured him with a bunch of matches he had no chance of winning. One such match was against Vince, but JBL (far slimmer after taking time off due to his back injury) beat Hornswoggle within an inch of his life instead. It was then revealed that Finlay was Hornswoggle’s father to make this especially personal.

Hornswoggle makes his big (work with me here) return and the fans are…..well it’s hard to say given how big the stadium is. They start brawling on the floor and it’s already time for some standard weapons. A string of trashcan lid and cookie sheet shots put Finlay down so JBL brings in some steps, only to have Finlay backdrop out of a powerbomb attempt. JBL kicks him in the face and grabs a garbage can, only to have Hornswoggle hit him in the back with a kendo stick to save his papa. The shillelagh to the head sends JBL outside and it’s table time.

Finlay loads one up in the corner but JBL slaps Hornswoggle, knocking him out cold. This was a good example of the weird way they treated Hornswoggle as he seemed to be a kid at times, despite having a beard and being in his early 20s. Finlay beats JBL up for the son abuse and loads up a suicide dive, only to go head first into a trashcan lid. To be fair that dive was going to be a foot short anyway.

JBL throws a trashcan at Hornswoggle because he knows how to be a great villain. Back in and Finlay hammers away with a trashcan lid and drives him through the table for two. Finlay loads up the steps but takes a kendo stick to the knees, driving his face into the steel. JBL’s Clothesline ends this at 8:37.

Rating: C+. I had a much better time with this than I probably should have but this was a fun match. JBL is an under appreciated heel as knows how to drive a crowd crazy and then takes a beating when he needs to. The Finlay story didn’t really go anywhere but it was cool to see someone as talented as he was getting a story for a change. Fun brawl too, though you would think Finlay goes over here.

Special guest host Kim Kardashian (just get through it) previews Money in the Bank until Mr. Kennedy comes in to say he’s going to win his second in a row. Kim looks terrified, because this is SO beneath the stuff on her shows.

John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. MVP vs. Chris Jericho

Money in the Bank. Morrison is Miz’s partner in the Smackdown Tag Team Champions, Shelton now wears gold and has yellow hair because he’s the gold standard (guess how well this went), MVP is US Champion (having won it the month after last year’s Wrestlemania) and Jericho, the Intercontinental Champion, came back in November. This would become a trend of the midcard titles not being defended at Wrestlemania.

Kennedy goes for a ladder before the bell but MVP pulls out a small ladder to clean house. Jericho knocks him down with a regular one so Morrison picks up the small ladder and throws it at Jericho to take over. In an awesome spot, Morrison takes the small ladder to the top and moonsaults down onto four people in a huge crash.

Kennedy goes up but Morrison rides another ladder out of the corner to land on the one in the middle. Kennedy loads up a superplex on Morrison but Shelton dives over the ladder to add a sunset bomb for a HUGE crash. Back up and Shelton tries the springboard onto the standing ladder but it topples over, leaving Punk to take Benjamin out with the GTS. Carlito has to deal with MVP by taking out his knee with another ladder. That’s a smart move that most people don’t think of for some reason.

Benjamin is back up with a spinwheel kick to drop Carlito but Kennedy and Carlito shove the ladder over, knocking Shelton through a ladder that was bridged between the apron and barricade ala Edge last year. Morrison and Jericho go up and John gets caught in the Walls on top of the ladder. Kennedy, Jericho and Punk climb at the same time but Carlito springboards onto the ladder as well. Not as high as Shelton got last year but it still looked good.

Kennedy pulls Punk down and Carlito gives Jericho a huge Backstabber to leave everyone down. MVP is left all alone but Matt Hardy makes his return through the crowd and takes him down with a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Morrison is put in the corner and a ladder is bridged over him, followed by the top of another ladder being wedged into the bottom rung of the first ladder, making a big V shape.

Morrison shoves the V forward and climbs the standing ladder thanks to the power of physics but the ladders are shoved down a few seconds later. Carlito goes up and spits apple in Jericho’s face, only to get pushed into another ladder in the corner. It’s Punk back in with the little ladder but Jericho takes him down with a Codebreaker onto the ladder. Punk gets back up in a hurry and both guys climb, only to have Punk trip Jericho, tying him into the rungs of the ladder and allowing Punk to win at 13:54.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as they had a bit more time, though again there were WAY too many people out there. Punk winning really was a big change of pace and a sign that there might be someone new coming up the ranks. The fans were behind him and he was getting over with pure hard work and a cool character. What more can you ask for than that?

Video of last night’s Hall of Fame ceremony with highlights of Rock inducting his father and grandfather and Flair’s induction.

Here’s the full Class of 2008 presentation for the live audience: the Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry), Gordon Solie (represented by his family), Rocky Johnson, Peter Maivia (represented his family), Eddie Graham (represented by his son Mike), Mae Young (who of course tries to strip until Mike Graham stops her) and Ric Flair (represented by his children, including future Divas Champion Charlotte). This was a VERY Championship Wrestling From Florida heavy show for a nice touch.

Snoop Dogg, the master of ceremonies for the Playboy match later tonight, is having a great time tonight. He’s found a friend in Festus because they like the same cars and movies. Santino Marella, still a villain, comes in to ask Snoopy where Charlie Brown is. Snoop isn’t interested and rings a bell to make Festus go nuts. Mick Foley comes in to say have a nice dizzle. Snoop came off as the most natural celebrity in years and someone who was actually enjoying himself.

Batista vs. Umaga

Battle for brand supremacy because that’s still a thing. Raw GM William Regal and Smackdown Assistant GM are in the ring for the entrance. As is his custom, Regal calls Umaga “Youmanga”. This is one heck of a drop for both guys as this is as much of a throwaway match as you can have on a show this big.

Batista hammers away and shoulders Umaga out to the floor for some Samoan shouting. Back in and Umaga simplifies things by kicking Batista in the face and splashing him for two. The slow stomping begins and we hit the nerve hold as the fans chant “OOO-OOO-UMAGA!” I think you can say Batista has lost a little bit in the last year or two.

Batista avoids a middle rope headbutt but his back gives out on a slam to give Umaga two more. Back to the nerve hold and the fans start up with that chant again. Umaga drags him to the corner but Batista gets to his feet and slugs away, drawing amazing boos. The Samoan Spike is blocked and Umaga goes head first into the post. Batista’s spinebuster sets up the Batista Bomb (with Batista falling down) for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: D-. Well that’s taken care of at least. They kept it short to help things out a bit but this was a waste of time. The fans clearly didn’t care because again, the brand supremacy thing is a bad idea. Why do I care if Raw or Smackdown is better, and above all else, how does this prove that one of them is better? It wasn’t even a good match as Umaga just beat him up for about five minutes and then Batista made his comeback with his finishers to win. Bad idea and lame match.

The announcers preview Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show in an anything goes match.

Mayweather and his entourage are ready.

We recap Kane winning the battle royal on the pre-show.

ECW Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Kane

Chavo is defending. Kane comes out of the crowd to sneak up on Chavo and it’s bell, chokeslam, pin and a new champion in 11 seconds.

Here’s a vignette of Maria and Carlito at dinner. A seagull attacks him and is probably beaten to death. Maria is disgusted as you would expect. This is a commercial for….the show we’re already watching. Ok then.

Actress Raven-Symone is here for Make-A-Wish. She gets in the ring, shouts about the kids here REALLY LOUDLY, and then leaves. Remember how calm and laid back Snoop Dogg was? That’s not what happened here.

We recap Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair. Shawn announced Ric as the first member of the Hall of Fame Class of2008 and Ric challenged him for a career ending match here. If Flair can’t beat Shawn, he doesn’t want to keep going. Shawn said he was bringing Flair his best but called Flair Old Yeller. That wasn’t cool with Flair, though this is 95% about respect. Like I said, pretty much everyone knows what’s happening here and there isn’t much of an effort to hide it. The video turns into a career highlight package on Flair, which is always cool to see.

Ric is asked about his game plan for tonight. Flair: “Game plan? To be the man.”

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Flair’s career is on the line. Shawn reaches for his hands but Ric pulls them away and slicks back his hair for the strut. We’re in for a greatest hits match here and that’s all it needs to be. They trade hammerlocks to start until both guys go to the mat. Back up and a hiptoss annoys Shawn so Flair shoves him and shouts “OLD YELLER HUH?” That earns him a slap to the face and a bloody lip as things get a bit rougher.

Shawn stops a charge with a raised boot in the corner, only to get slammed off the top. Ric goes up this time and actually hits the cross body. Lawler: “IT WORKED!” Once every twenty five years is fine. The Figure Four is broken up and Flair is kicked to the floor, only to sidestep an Asai moonsault, sending Shawn ribs first into the edge of the table. That landing made me cringe and legitimately cracked Shawn’s ribs.

A belly to back gets two for Flair and JR points out that Charles Robinson, a lifelong Flair mega fan (called Little Naitch back in WCW) is refereeing. What a thrill that must be for him. Flair gets two more off a butterfly suplex but Shawn grabs a swinging neckbreaker to get a breather. They go back to the floor and Shawn, ever the crazy one, actually tries a moonsault to the floor, which only bangs up his ribs even more.

Back in and the ribs give out again but Shawn goes up top for the elbow anyway. The Band is tuned up but Shawn can’t do it, allowing Flair to sweep the legs and put on the Figure Four to one of the best reactions of the night. The hold is reversed and broken so Shawn gets two off a sunset flip. It’s time to get into Flair’s wheelhouse with a chopblock and now we get the long Figure Four. Ric blocks a counter attempt but Shawn is in the ropes soon.

A superkick out of nowhere gets two and Shawn doesn’t think he can bring himself to do it again. Flair blocks another superkick with a low blow but Shawn comes right back with a reverse Figure Four of all things. Flair makes the ropes again but pokes Shawn in the eye just in case. They chop it out from their knees until Shawn scores with a superkick out of nowhere. No cover though as they both very slowly get up. Flair puts up his fist and says come on, setting up the line of “I’m sorry, I love you” before the third Sweet Chin Music ends Flair’s career at 20:25.

Rating: B-. This is a really tough one to grade as while it’s full of emotion, it’s really not all that great. The ending being obvious and both guys respecting each other made this more of a countdown until the big superkick to end it. It’s definitely good and the ending was as close to perfect as you could get (though I would have gone with a hot ending sequence where Shawn’s instincts take over and he wins with a rollup before realizing what he did because a wrestler is supposed to go for the win).

This led to the tear jerking retirement ceremony the next night which was worth every bit of this match. Finally, this was going to close the show but Flair said absolutely not because the show should be about the World Title. It’s very cool to see someone do something selfless like that, because this is a far more emotional moment than either of those matches. Flair was way past being past his prime so this was about as good as it was going to get, which is sad but a fact of life.

Flair gets the big emotional sendoff (with nothing from the announcers, a trait they need to relearn today), walks up the ramp, and takes one last bow.

Smackdown World Champion Edge talks about being in the crowd at Wrestlemania VI where his hero Hulk Hogan lost. That loss took away his innocence, but tonight he can’t wait to take away the innocence of all the Undertaker’s fans when he takes out their hero.

Here are some fireworks to bring the fans back to life.

Beth Phoenix/Melina vs. Maria/Ashley

This is the Playboy lumberjill match (Maria was the new cover girl) with Snoop Dogg as….I guess you would say host. Either way he comes out in a golf cart with the other Divas around him. Snoop does the introductions and Maria’s theme music “With Legs Like That” continues to be one of the catchiest songs WWE has ever had. Beth, a very strong and talented wrestler, is Women’s Champion and Melina has big feathers in her hands that make her look like a peacock. Maria’s ex-boyfriend Santino is with Beth and Melina because he doesn’t like her being in Playboy.

Beth and Ashley get things going with Beth tossing her around like it’s noting. Maria comes in to help on a double hiptoss and it’s just sad. Melina is sent to the floor and the lumberjills kind of beat her up before throwing her back inside. Ashley does a bad headscissors and something like a facebuster out of the corner. Melina sends her to the floor for a beating and it’s off to Beth for a bearhug.

In a unique move, Beth puts Melina on her shoulders and flips her back into a moonsault for two. Ashley kicked out but Maria dove in for the save anyway. Ignore the fact that she was two seconds later. Maria comes back in and there go the lights. I know the match is bad but that’s a bit drastic. We get a spotlight back as Maria “bulldogs” her way out of the Glam Slam (double chickenwing slam).

Everything breaks down and Ashley dives onto some lumberjacks, leaving Maria to come off the top with a clothesline. Santino breaks up the cover so Lawler goes over to break him up (They’ve been having issues since Santino stole Lawler’s Subway sandwich. Just go with it.). In the melee, Phoenix takes Maria out with a fisherman’s buster for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: D-. Same problems in a different year. At the end of the day, Ashley and Maria just are not very good in the ring because they’re models with almost no experience. The match did its job of calming the fans down while the fans were still emotional and gave a lot of them good looking women to stare at so it worked on that end but good grief the match was bad.

Post match Santino goes after Maria but Snoop makes the save and kisses Maria.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Orton is defending, HHH earned a title shot inside the Elimination Chamber and Cena returned WAY early from an injury to win the 2008 Royal Rumble. Cena lost his title shot at No Way Out 2008 but beat Orton in a match on Raw to get another shot.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. HHH

Orton is defending and Cena’s big entrance this year is a marching band and drum majorettes. We even get some big match intros. Orton grabs the belt and hits HHH to get it down to one on one early on. Cena takes over but HHH is back up to take Orton to the floor for a beating against the announcers’ table. Back in and HHH goes with a devastating sleeper, only to have Cena pick them both up at once for a double FU.

HHH slips off and kicks Cena low, leaving the champ to hit a backbreaker on HHH for two. They head up top but HHH pulls Cena off and gets him on his shoulders. Orton comes back with a high cross body, followed by his elevated DDT to both guys. He goes into the crouched position but the RKO to Cena is shrugged off with Orton landing on HHH. The top rope Fameasser looks to set up the STFU on the champ but Orton sends him into the post instead.

HHH gets back up and starts in on Orton’s knee but walks into a quick RKO. It’s Cena back in with the STFU on the champ but just like he did with Shawn four years ago, HHH grabs the arm to block the tap. The Indian Deathlock puts Orton in trouble again until Cena breaks it up and sends HHH over the corner. There’s another STFU on Randy until HHH makes yet another save by pulling the arms apart and putting HHH in the Crossface.

With Orton down, Cena wins a slugout against HHH and initiates his finishing sequence. The FU is countered into the Pedigree which is countered just as quickly. HHH comes back with a facebuster and spinebuster (that’s a lot of busting) but has to take Orton’s knee out again. Now the Pedigree connects but Orton runs in with the Punt (running kick to the head) to pin Cena at 14:10.

Rating: B. They kept it moving out there but there’s no way you could have these three put together a match that was going to live up to the expectations of having the three top stars on Raw together in one match. It’s still entertaining and the match flew by as they didn’t bother trying anything aside from hitting big move. That’s not the easiest style in the world to work but it was solid enough here. Good match, though it didn’t feel like a big time Wrestlemania match.

We recap Mayweather vs. Big Show. Mayweather was at No Way Out and jumped the barricade for a fight with Show, who got down on one knee to compensate for the height. Show laughed at him so Mayweather threw punches so fast that Big Show couldn’t even see them, breaking Show’s nose. A match was made with the fighter vs. the wrestler, though it’s really not clear who is good and who is bad. Mayweather is the small guy but he’s been a huge jerk the whole time. Show on the other hand has been a bully who is talking about defending wrestling’s honor. It was really confusing, though I think Mayweather is the good guy.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show

Anything goes. Money rains down during Mayweather’s entrance for a cool visual, even though it was done last year. They circle each other for most of the first minute until Mayweather gets in a body shot. Show is annoyed so Floyd gets in a few extended shots to the jaw. They head to the corner and Mayweather drinks water from a chalice. Show gets annoyed and decks part of Mayweather’s entourage as this is already falling apart.

Now the big man gets smart by trying to stomp on Mayweather’s hands. An attempt at a chokeslam is much dumber though as it puts Mayweather at eye level with him, allowing him to get in a right hand and sleeper. It works better than most wrestlers’ sleepers do on Show but he eventually flips Mayweather to the mat and stomps on the hand. There’s a BIG overhand chop in the corner and Show steps on Floyd’s back (Entourage member: “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”).

Show plants him with a side slam and steps on the ribs, followed by playing to the fans like the hero. Again, Show, as in the guy a foot and a half taller and THREE HUNDRED POUNDS heavier is the good guy? Floyd tries to leave but gets caught with ease because a beaten down boxer can’t outrun a giant. Back in and another entourage member breaks up a chokeslam, only to take it himself. Floyd gets the chair and chops Show down a bit, followed by a low blow. Three chair shots to the head put Show on one knee and some brass knuckles to the jaw gives Mayweather the knockout win at 11:40.

Rating: B. This is old school insanity that you can only get in wrestling. Mayweather was a big draw here and the match was so much fun. Of course the quality isn’t there but what are you expecting from these guys? There’s no way you can have this be a competitive match as Show would just have to get his hands on him once to win so there wasn’t much else they could do here. Fun stuff here if you remember that it’s a show and not a competitive match.

Another commercial for the show we’re on.

Kim Kardashian (I forgot she was here) comes out to announce the attendance and clearly doesn’t want to be there.

We recap Undertaker vs. Edge, which is fallout from the previous year where Edge used Money in the Bank to take the title from Undertaker but then got hurt for most of the second half of the year. Undertaker won the Elimination Chamber (one of two that year) to get a spot here. Edge wants to break the Streak as well as defend his title.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Undertaker

Edge is defending and here come the druids. Smackdown GM and Edge’s perpetually injured girlfriend Vickie Guerrero is wheeled out to the stage. Edge goes right after him to start but that’s just fine with Undertaker, who hammers away in the corner. Old School is broken up but Undertaker throws Edge back into the corner for more choking. A running jumping knee of all things smashes Edge in the face. He gets the better of it though as Undertaker crashes out to the floor and might have hurt his back and/or arm.

Edge stays in control with a swinging neckbreaker across the top rope, followed by a running shoulder in the ribs. They’re slowing things up a bit now and it fits the match better. Edge tries to go up top but gets shoved all the way down to the floor for a crash. Is it any wonder that he retired due to all of his injuries? The Taker Dive makes things even worse for Edge and Undertaker scores with the apron legdrop (called a dropkick by Coach, who never was a very good commentator).

Back in and Undertaker’s back won’t let him use the Last Ride so Edge knocks him to the floor and drops him back first across the barricade and right next to what looks like a pulled pork sandwich. The champ throws on a half crab and puts a knee in the back to make it even worse. The hold stays on for a good while but they keep struggling instead of just laying on the mat. That’s something you don’t see enough these days as holds are often spent just laying around. Undertaker trying to fight out of it isn’t the most interesting thing in the world but it’s showing effort instead of resting.

Edge loses a slugout and takes Snake Eyes but stops the big boot with a dropkick. The Impaler gets two but the spear hits knee, setting up a chokeslam for two. Old School is broken up as well and a top rope superplex gets two more for the champ. There are the required right hands in the corner to set up the Last Ride but Edge is smart enough to slip out and grab a neckbreaker for two.

Edge can’t counter another Last Ride though so he has to kick out instead. You don’t see that very often. We’re not done with the counters as the Tombstone is reversed into the Edge-O-Matic (reverse X-Factor). Undertaker kicks Edge in the face but tries a second one and takes out the referee by mistake. With no one watching (save for 74,000 people), Edge gets in a low blow and a shot with a camera.

No referee though so Edge tries a Tombstone and is of course reversed because EVERYONE (not named Kane) IS REVERSED. Another referee runs down the LONG ramp to count a very delayed two but here come Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder (the Edgeheads, some of Edge’s cronies) for a distraction, allowing Edge to hit the spear for two. The spear connects again but Edge poses too long, allowing Undertaker to pull him into Hell’s Gate (modified triangle choke) for the tap at 23:48.

Rating: A-. This is a forgotten classic which would be trumped by even better matches between the two later in the year. All of the counters were a great idea until Edge got just a bit too cocky until Undertaker caught him in something he couldn’t get out of. Great match here and Undertaker’s amazing Wrestlemania resume somehow gets even longer. Three World Titles is a great career and he’s done it at the same show. That’s nuts, especially when he’s been around over seventeen years at this point and is still having great matches.

A lot of fireworks and the highlight package wrap it up.

Overall Rating: A-. People only remember the Flair match here but it’s actually a heck of a show with only Batista vs. Umaga and the Divas being bad. There’s emotion, great action, a good Money in the Bank and a big title change to close it out. That’s a really good Wrestlemania but for some reason people don’t talk about this one too much. Like I said, the main event is a forgotten classic and you have a lot of other good stuff backing it up. Great show and one of the better ones of this era.

Ratings Comparison

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

Original: C+

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: C+

Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison

Original: B

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

Batista vs. Umaga

Original: F+

2013 Redo: D-

2015 Redo: D-

Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2015 Redo: N/A

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B-

Beth Phoenix/Melina vs. Maria/Ashley

Original: F

2013 Redo: F+

2015 Redo: D-

John Cena vs. HHH vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

2013 Redo: B

2015 Redo: B

Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show

Original: D-

2013 Redo: C+

2015 Redo: B

Edge vs. Undertaker

Original: A-

2013 Redo: A

2015 Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: C-

2013 Redo: A-

2015 Redo: A-

Dang that Mayweather vs. Show match got a nice bump.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/31/583/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/04/02/wrestlemania-count-up-wrestlemania-xxiv-the-underrated-classic/

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

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

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

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

Wrestlemania XXIV
Date: March 30, 2008
Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 74,365
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles, Tazz

We’re going outside for the first time in a long time for this one. It’s also the first time the show has been in Florida which is odd for some reason. Anyway the main events here are Undertaker challenging Edge for the title and Orton defending against HHH and Cena. As for HHH’s life mate Shawn, he’s facing Flair in what was pretty clearly going to be Flair’s last match. Let’s get to it.

John Legend sings America the Beautiful.

The set is awesome with palm trees everywhere and a big canopy.

As usual, the big names on tonight’s show talk about how important this night is to them. It’s a used formula, but it always works.

This transitions into a video about how so many things can change in a year. People can return, champions can fall and surprises can occur, but it all culminates here.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

This is a Belfast Brawl which means street fight. Finlay was revealed to be Hornswoggle’s dad and JBL beat up the tiny man as a favor to Vince. Tonight it’s about revenge. Horny comes out with Finlay to appeal to the kids. Finlay charges at the ring and gets drilled by a knee to the head. JBL pounds away on the floor but gets sent shoulder first into the steps. We head inside for the opening bell and Finlay slides right back out to find some trashcans.

As he gets back in though JBL CRACKS him with a can and picks up some cookie sheets. Now the steps are brought in but JBL can’t powerbomb Finlay onto them. Some cookie sheet shots to the head put JBL down for two but a big boot does the same to Finlay. JBL stops to yell at Horny, allowing for the shot with that Irish club that I can’t spell. Since this is a WWE hardcore style match, it’s table time.

The table is set up in the corner but Finlay picks up the steps instead. JBL bails to the floor and beats on Horny, only to be rammed into the announce table by Papa Horny for his efforts. A trashcan lid to the head stops Finlay and gets two back inside, allowing JBL to pick up a trashcan and LAUNCH IT at Horny. That looked great.

Speaking of trashcans, a shot to JBL breaks up the Clothesline and Finlay blasts him with a lid for good measure. JBL is sent through the table for two and the fans are pleased. Finlay picks up the steps but gets blasted in the knee by a kendo stick, allowing JBL to knock him out with the Clothesline for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was fine. The whole point of this was to have a power brawl with some basic weapons which is what we got. I’m really not sure on JBL winning as the fans were solidly behind Horny and Finlay, but at least the match was entertaining and there were some hard shots in there. Good stuff here.

Kim Kardashian is guest hostess. She wasn’t famous for the most part yet here. Kennedy pops in and says he’ll win MITB and Kardashian is a little disturbed. Well to be fair she disturbs a lot of people so everything is even.

CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito

Morrison is a tag champion and MVP is US Champion, having held it for nearly a year. Jericho is also Intercontinental Champion because what else is he supposed to do? Everyone goes after a ladder to start other than MVP who stays in the ring. Someone slides one in and MVP uses it to knock everyone down. Jericho brings in a big ladder and it’s time for a duel. MVP goes down and here’s Morrison to use his own ladder to send Jericho down.

In an awesome move, Morrison goes up top with the ladder and moonsaults down onto a bunch of guys at once. Kennedy uses the distraction to go up but Jericho makes the save. He tries a catapult on Kennedy but sends him onto the ladder by mistake. Morrison dives onto the ladder to stop Kennedy but Shelton climbs his own ladder to make it a three way race. Kennedy loads up a superplex on Morrison but Shelton jumps over both of them with a sunset flip to make it a Tower of Doom. Cool spot.

Carlito tries to shove Shelton off the ladder but he lands on the top rope on his feet. Shelton shoves the ladder at Carlito and tries to dive onto said ladder but it gives way. Punk stops Shelton from going up and hits the GTS but Kennedy stops him with the rolling fireman’s carry onto a ladder. MVP is back in now to kick Kennedy in the head but gets sent into a ladder by Carlito.

Shelton’s dragon whip CRACKS Carlito in the head but as he goes up, Kennedy and Carlito shove the ladder forward, sending Shelton over the top and through a ladder which was bridged between the ring and the barricade. Carlito and Kennedy go up but MVP breaks that up, only to be broken up by Morrison. Jericho breaks up Morrison’s attempt by putting him in the Walls on top of the ladder. Again, awesome. Kennedy tries to use the opening but Jericho throws John down and starts brawling.

Punk and Carlito dive at the ladders to make it a fourway with only Jericho lasting on top. Carlito comes back with the Backstabber off the ladder and everyone is down again. MVP goes up the ladder but here’s the returning Matt Hardy to stop him with a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Everyone is back in again and Jericho beats on all of them with the ladder. In a cool visual one ladder is jammed into the bottom of another, so as Morrison climbs the vertical (and unfolded) one, Jericho shoves it back into the corner and onto Punk.

Carlito and Jericho go up but Carlito spits apple in the face to break it up. Kennedy shoves Carlito off but gets hit in the ribs with a ladder by Punk. Jericho hits a Codebreaker with a ladder onto Punk to put everyone not named Jericho down. Punk goes up to stop Jericho but gets hit in the face by the briefcase. Punk climbs up again and knocks Jericho into the Tree of Woe with a shot to the head, allowing Punk to climb up and win the briefcase.

Rating: B. Good MITB here but as usual the high amount of people hurt it. Nothing here really stood out other than the Walls and Matt’s return, as you can only get so much out of the same spots we’ve seen before. It’s certainly good but it’s a step below some of the other stuff, and this would only get worse until we got some fresh blood in there. A power guy wouldn’t hurt either.

Orton, HHH and Cena are ready.

We look at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony from last night. The big deal of this was having Rock back to induct Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia, his father and grandfather. The headliner though was Ric Flair who of course had everyone in tears.

Fink comes out to do the live introductions of this year’s class. They include the Brisco Brothers, Gordon Solie (represented by his kids), Johnson and Maivia, Eddie Graham, Mae Young (who tries to strip) and Flair (represented by his children, including Reid who died about three days before this was written).

Snoop Dog is here to emcee the Playboy match later and apparently has a friend in Festus. Heel Santino Marella comes up to say that he’s going to be at the match later but Snoop rings the bell to send Festus into a rage. Mick Foley pops up for a cameo, complete with Snoop Sock.

Batista vs. Umaga

This is a Battle for Brand Supremacy with Batista on the blue team and Umaga on the red team. Seriously that’s the whole story here. Regal and Teddy are here as GM’s/motivators. Slugout to start followed by Umaga missing a charge into the corner. Batista sends him to the floor but once back inside Umaga takes Big Dave down with a spinwheel kick (decent one too). A big unbooted foot sends Batista to the floor and Umaga is in full control.

Umaga gets nowhere off a quick nerve hold and gets even worse off a missed swan dive. Batista can’t slam him down though and Umaga falls on top for two. A HARD kick to Batista’s back sets up another nerve hold to keep things slow. Back up and Batista walks into a Samoan Drop for another near fall. They fight up again and Batista gets up a boot in the corner to slow Umaga down. After blocking the Samoan Spike, Batista hits a spinebuster and the “Batista Bomb” (read as Batista picks him up and falls backwards to send Umaga to the mat) for the pin.

Rating: D-. This was AWFUL with Batista doing nothing and being booed for most of his comeback. I can’t say I blame the fans either as the match was just dull all around. How this makes Smackdown bigger than Raw is beyond me but that’s what WWE says so who am I to argue? Match sucked.

We look at the tale of the tape for Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather, the latter being about as tall as my grandmother.

We look at the battle royal from the preshow with Kane winning a shot at the ECW Title.

ECW Title: Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

In less time than it takes to type “in less time than it takes to type”, Kane chokeslams Chavo and pins him for the title. Match ran about 6 seconds.

Actress Raven Symone is here for some charity thing and SHOUTS ABOUT IT A LOT.

We recap Shawn vs. Flair. This was an odd build up as Vince said that the next match Flair lost would mean his retirement. This basically started Flair’s retirement tour as he held onto the title in upset after upset until he was all of a sudden on a roll. This led to Flair challenging Mr. Wrestlemania Shawn Michaels to a showdown at Wrestlemania, because if Flair can’t beat him he doesn’t want to keep going.

Flair was inducted into the Hall of Fame and it was made as clear as possible that Flair was going down to Shawn in Orlando. This led to a tear jerking video set to Leave the Memories Alone with a highlight reel of Flair’s career. The idea is that Shawn doesn’t want to do this but Flair wants Shawn to bring it.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get the advantage. A hip toss puts Shawn down and Ric shouts about being Old Yeller, which Shawn referenced to set this up. Shawn chops him hard and Flair’s lip is bleeding. They slug it out in the corner with Shawn taking over and going up top, only to be slammed down. Now Flair goes up and hits a cross body for two. Jerry: “IT ACTUALLY WORKED!”

Ric goes after the knee but Shawn kicks him to the floor. Shawn loads up an Asai Moonsault and hits table, landing square on the edge ribs first. That looked HORRIBLE and Shawn is in big trouble. Back in and a belly to back suplex gets two for Flair. Naitch stays on the ribs and hits a good looking suplex for two. Shawn comes back with a backdrop to send Flair to the floor and follows up with a moonsault which mostly hits floor.

Both guys make it back inside at nine and they chop it out. The forearm and nipup connect and Shawn starts slugging away. A slam sets up Shawn’s top rope elbow but it hurts his ribs in the process. Michaels tunes up the band but can’t bring himself to do it, allowing Flair to grab the Figure Four which is quickly broken. They fight to the mat and try Flair’s bridge up out of a pinfall into the backslide but Ric is just too old.

Instead it’s a sunset flip for two for Shawn but Flair takes out the knee with a chop block. The Figure Four is countered into an inside cradle for two. NOW the Figure Four goes on in the middle of the ring but Shawn finally rolls it over into the ropes. Back up and Shawn hits the superkick out of nowhere but the cover only gets two. Shawn tunes up the band again but gets kicked low for two.

Michaels comes back with a reverse Figure Four but Flair manages to crawl to the ropes. A quick rollup with a handful of trunks gets two for Flair and he fires off chop after chop. Out of nowhere Shawn superkicks Flair down but Michaels can’t cover. Flair slowly gets up and says bring it. Shawn looks at him, says “I’m sorry. I love you.” and superkicks Flair into retirement.

Rating: B. This is a hard one to grade. The match itself was entertaining, but it wasn’t supposed to be a competitive spectacle. This was designed to give Flair a great match to go out on and they almost did that. They made no secret about who was winning and that’s ok, but at the same time it was like delaying the inevitable. It was a good match to send him out on and the fans were happy to see the famous spots one more time.

Flair gets a well deserved standing ovation. This match should have closed the show and was going to, but Flair said no because the title match should close the show. Usually I would agree but in this case, Flair should have ended the show. Ric takes the long walk up the ramp to nonstop applause.

Edge talks about being a Hulkamaniac at Wrestlemania 6 and watching his hero losing. His innocence was lost that day but it’s ok. His life has come full circle because people rely on Undertaker to win at Wrestlemania. Tonight he’s taking everyone innocence by breaking the streak.

Maria/Ashley vs. Beth Phoenix/Melina

This is a Playboy lumberjill match with Snoop Dogg as master of ceremonies in a golf cart. Snoop of course comes out with all of the lumberjills because that’s what Snoop would do. Ashley is her usual self and Maria looks great. Also, her theme song continues to be ridiculously catchy. Oh and Beth is Women’s Champion and has Santino with her. Melina has uh….wings.

Ashley tries to fight Beth and is immediately thrown around. Maria tries a double hip toss with Ashley which goes as well as you would expect two talentless models to be able to do. Melina is thrown to the floor and beaten up by the good Divas and takes a bad Bronco Buster from Maria. Ashley gets a running start to climb to the middle ropes to punch Melina as this mess continues. Melina takes over and catapults Ashley into a bearhug by Beth.

Melina hits a moonsault off of Beth’s shoulders for two before we get a stupid trip from Ashley. Off to Maria for some kicks as the lights go out. They finally get a spotlight on as this continues to fall apart. Maria tries to counter the Glam Slam into a bulldog but can’t even do that right. Melina breaks up the pin and we get heel miscommunication. Maria hits a kind of top rope bulldog but Santino breaks up the pin. Lawler punches out Santino but Beth hits a fisherman’s buster for the pin on Maria.

Rating: F+. That’s ALL for Maria looking great. I forgot this match was a lumberjill match after about a minute and the rest of the girls couldn’t even be seen after that long. Maria was TERRIBLE here and she was the better worker on her team. This didn’t work at all and was the disaster to end all disasters for Divas matches.

Post match Snoop lays out Santino with a clothesline and makes out with Maria. I’ll give him this: he seemed to be having a blast out there.

We recap Orton vs. HHH vs. Cena. Orton won the title by forfeit at No Mercy and Cena is back from injury to reclaim the title that he never lost. HHH won the Elimination Chamber to get a shot as well.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. HHH vs. John Cena

Cena has a drumline playing him to the ring which is pretty awesome. After some big match intros we’re ready to go. Orton immediately blasts HHH with the belt but Cena takes the champion down with a bulldog before Orton can do any more damage. HHH pops back up and throws both guys to the floor before sending Orton into the announce table. Orton and HHH head back in with the champion being put in a sleeper. Cena comes back in and picks them BOTH up at the same time for an FU but both guys slip off the back. Orton’s backbreaker puts HHH down as does a shot to Cena to give the champion control again.

Randy takes turns pounding away on both guys, getting two off a knee drop to the Game. Orton starts getting uncharacteristic for himself by going up top, only to be stopped by Cena. John loads up a superplex but HHH pulls Cena onto his own shoulders so Orton can hit a top rope cross body for two. Cena stands up to try the FU on Orton but Randy slides into a cradle for two. HHH clotheslines Cena down but Orton clotheslines HHH to put HHH down.

It’s Orton standing tall again as he sends both guys to the apron for a double Elevated DDT which gets two on both challengers. An RKO to Cena is countered but he shoves Orton into HHH to put both guys down. Cena hits the Throwback (a flipping face first mat slam) and the top rope Fameasser to keep Randy down. He isn’t down enough for the STFU though and the champion rolls to the floor. Cena follows him and is sent into the post to slow things down again.

Orton and HHH fight it out in the ring with HHH taking out the champion’s knee. Cena comes back in to distract HHH but after the Game puts him down, Orton catches him with an RKO to put him right next to Cena. Orton kicks HHH to the floor but walks into the STFU in the middle of the ring. HHH makes a save at the last second and sends Cena into the floor to put him down on the floor.

Back in and HHH puts on an Indian Deathlock to follow up on the knee work he started earlier. Now it’s Cena back in to break up the hold and send HHH into the corner and out to the floor. Back to the STFU but HHH comes in for the save. The problem is that the save didn’t work, so HHH puts Cena in a Crossface while Cena has Orton in the STFU. Cena lets go of his hold but manages to crawl over to the ropes to break up the hold.

Orton rolls to the floor so HHH and Cena can slug it out in the middle of the ring. The fans boo Cena’s punches and cheer HHH’s, continuing a trend for whomever Cena is facing. Cena slams HHH down and hits the Shuffle but Cena’s FU is countered into a Pedigree attempt which is countered into an STFU attempt this HHH escapes. The spinebuster puts John down and there’s the Pedigree, but Orton comes back in with the Punt to HHH to knock him silly and Orton pins Cena to retain.

Rating: B. This was a fast paced match with all three guys working hard out there in front of a huge crowd. The back and forth stuff worked very well and it wasn’t clear who was going to win until the match was over. Orton getting beaten up and winning while stealing HHH’s pin is perfect for him, as well as giving him the big win on the big stage that he needed.

We recap Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather which is the big celebrity match of the night. Big Show was a bully to the much smaller Mayweather at No Way Out where Floyd legitimately broke Show’s nose with a right hand, setting up tonight’s No DQ match. The big question was who do we cheer for in this match? The bully or the guy who keeps running his mouth and brags about how no one can beat him? That question was never answered even after the match was over. Mayweather allegedly got $20 million for this one match. He’s a world champion boxer if you’re not a fan of his.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show

You can by pin, submission or knockout. Other than that anything goes. Floyd is in gloves which would seem to be a disadvantage for him but whatever. He bobs and weaves a lot before firing off some nice punches to Big Show. Mayweather stops for a drink from a chalice (seriously) and Show beats up Mayweather’s team a bit. Show grabs an incoming punch and tries to stomp on Floyd’s hand. Smart strategy.

Show lifts him up for a chokeslam but that lets Floyd get on even level with Show’s head. Some rights to the face stagger show but Mayweather tries to choke him out, which actually works for a bit. Show finally flips him over and steps on Floyd’s left hand. The guys on the floor FREAK and say that’s not allowed before Show chops Mayweather in the corner. Show stands on Floyd’s back before putting him down with a side slam.

A headbutt stops Floyd’s comeback bid and there’s an elbow drop for good measure. Mayweather tries to bail but Big Show chases the team down, beats them up, and throws Floyd back in the ring. Show loads up the chokeslam but a handler hits Show with a chair. He gets chokeslammed down but Mayweather gets the chair and blasts Show with it a few times. A low blow and three chair shots to the head sets up a brass knuckle right hand to Show’s jaw for the knockout (and Show was on his knees at 9).

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where all you can say is “well what else were you expecting?” Again though, who was I supposed to cheer for? The giant bully, or the loud bragging guy who used chairs and brass knuckles to win? Like I said, the story was head scratch inducing, but this was tremendous fun.

Wrestlemania is coming back to Houston next year.

Kim Kardashian announces the new attendance record: 74,635.

We get a video on the Streak which is interrupted by Edge’s theme music. Edge already beat Undertaker once by cashing in MITB last year and then costing him the title at Survivor Series. They’re trying to play up Streak vs. streak here but Edge lost in MITB last year.

Smackdown World Title: Undertaker vs. Edge

Edge has Teddy wheel out Vickie who is in a wheelchair as always. The Canadian is defending here. The champ pounds away to start but gets clotheslined out to the floor. Back in and Taker comes back with a Stunner onto the top rope to put Edge down. Taker slugs away but charges into a boot in the corner, only to come back with the jumping clothesline for two. Old School is countered but Taker rolls forward and armdrags Edge down.

Edge sends Taker over the corner by avoiding a big boot, possibly injuring Taker’s arm in the process. A spear sends Taker off the apron and into the barricade to work over the ribs a bit. Edge hits a hard baseball slide to send Taker back into the barricade as the match slows down a bit. With Undertaker on the apron, Edge hits a running neckbreaker to snap Undertaker’s neck across the top rope.

Back in and Edge pounds away even more before hitting a spear into the corner for no cover. Instead it’s a dropkick to put Taker down again and Edge goes up, only to be shoved down to the floor with a sick thud. There’s the Taker Dive to continue the Wrestlemania tradition. Taker drops the apron legdrop and heads back inside for the Last Ride but his back won’t let him use it.

They head outside again and Edge drops Taker back first onto the barricade, sending the big man into the crowd. Off to a half crab by Edge followed by a very modified Indian Deathlock which Undertaker kicks away. Back up and they slug it out with Taker getting control and the cheers from Undertaker. The challenger gets the better of it and hits a running clothesline in the corner. Make it a pair of them followed by snake eyes but the big boot is blocked for two by Edge.

The chokeslam is countered into the Impaler DDT for two. The second chokeslam attempt works but it only gets a near fall as well. Old School is broken up again and Edge pounds away in the corner but has to counter the Last Ride out of the corner with a neckbreaker for two. These counters are getting awesome. The Last Ride (more of a regular powerbomb here) hits but it only gets two. Edge counters the Tombstone into the Edge-O-Matic for ANOTHER close two. The fans aren’t buying Edge’s near falls.

Back up and Taker’s big boot hits the referee before Edge takes down the Dead Man. A low blow breaks up a chokeslam bid and Edge blasts Taker in the head with a camera. Taker sits up and like a dolt, Edge tries a Tombstone. Taker reverses into one of his own and here’s another referee running a LONG way down the aisle to count two. Cue Hawkins and Ryder (as in Curt and Zack, the Edgeheads) to distract Taker and let Edge hit the spear for two. NOW the fans are fired up about the kickout. Another spear connects but Taker grabs the Hell’s Gate submission out of nowhere and Edge taps away the title to make it 15-0.

Rating: A. I kept hearing about how great this match was and while I remember it being good, I don’t remember it being this good. It’s pretty safe to say that this is Edge’s best non-gimmick match ever and it’s one of his best ever period. Great match here and it would set up a series of solid gimmick matches between the two over the summer.

A lot of fireworks end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. There’s some very good stuff on here along with some historic stuff to go with it. The bad stuff is mostly short and the main event was very solid and better than I remember. I don’t know if I’d say it’s one of the best ever but it’s in the running for that list. Really fun show here which was better than I was expecting it to be.

Ratings Comparison

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison

Original: B

Redo: B

Batista vs. Umaga

Original: F+

Redo: D-

Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: A

Redo: B

Beth Phoenix/Melina vs. Maria/Ashley

Original: F

Redo: F+

John Cena vs. HHH vs. Randy Orton

Original: C+

Redo: B

Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show

Original: D-

Redo: C+

Edge vs. Undertaker

Original: A-

Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: A-

WOW I totally shortchanged this last time. It’s a great show and I said a C-? What was I on?

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/03/31/583/

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

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

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

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