IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #38
Date: January 11, 2019
Location: Scottish Rite Temple, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re still down in Miami and it’s time for a fairly big show. This time around we have Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in a Singapore cane match, which should be a win for Pillman, assuming there is any form of sanity left in the world. Other than that, the build towards Super Fight continues, which should mean more Tom Lawlor vs. Low Ki. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Lawlor outside of Promociones Dorado’s office where Salina de la Renta and Sami Callihan are arguing over a bounty. Apparently she wants Sami to take Lawlor out tonight, which Tom hears. I’ll take that over the camera inexplicably being in the room instead.

Opening sequence.

Low Ki says he’s been undefeated in MLW for fifteen years and has run through everyone in front of him. He’s not going to lose anytime soon because one day he’ll retire as the greatest champion ever.

Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann

Swann doesn’t seem to think much of the fans, which is quite the abrupt heel turn. Lee takes over with an early front facelock as we hear about him being on a reality show. An exchange of armdrags goes to a standoff and the pace picks up in a hurry with an exchange of trips into an exchange of one counts. Not bad for about two minutes, meaning it’s a nice exchange rate. The offer of a test of strength turns into Swann dancing, which at least ties into his norm.

Swann flips over him and hits a dropkick before dusting himself off a bit. Some chops in the corner let Swann swagger a bit until Lee knocks him outside. Lee strikes a quick pose ala Andrade Cien Almas so Swann pounds him down back inside. With Swann favoring his wrist, he goes with kicks to the ribs instead to keep Lee down. Lee gets sat on top and it’s time to go after the mask, because of course that’s what you do.

That’s enough for Lee to come back and hit a slingshot dropkick in the corner and pick up the pace. A sliding knee to the face gets two but Swann kicks him in the ribs and hits a running flip Fameasser of all things. Lee snaps off a reverse hurricanrana but Swann pops up and kicks the heck out of his jaw for the double knockdown. There’s another kick to the head to rock Lee but the Phoenix Splash misses, setting up the Dragon Driver to give Lee the pin at 10:53.

Rating: B-. Swann’s random heel turn aside, it’s a good opener with Lee getting to show off. This company certainly does love its luchadors and they’re entertaining, though at some point you have to have some people beat them instead of giving them win after win like this. It’s what got Ring of Honor in trouble with New Japan and that’s not a good thing.

Sami Callihan is looking for Tom Lawlor and yells at Ace Romero for not knowing where he is.

Brian Pillman Jr. hits his cane against a wall and says that’s the sound it made when it hit Kevin Sullivan’s head. Pillman is tired of old men telling him to get off his lawn because it’s Pillman’s lawn now. Dreamer keeps hanging on too long and it’s time for Pillman to use weapons just like Dreamer does. Tonight, Pillman is taking him out. We can only hope.

Video on Lawlor vs. Low Ki at Super Fight.

Lawlor runs into Team Filthy teammate Fred Yehi and tells him to tell Callihan that he’s warming up in a side room by the kitchen.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Singapore Cane match, meaning the canes are legal. Pillman’s (who is smart enough to wear multiple layers of clothing to block some of the pain) first swing is blocked so it’s time for the pain to begin. A swinging neckbreaker takes Pillman down and Dreamer sends him outside. Dreamer borrows a beer from a fan and spits it in Pillman’s face so we can hit that ECW chant. They head into the crowd with Dreamer ripping off one of Pillman’s shirts to find another one as the logic is certainly there.

Dreamer gets crotched on the barricade and superkicked though as Pillman gets in his first offense. Pillman stays smart by caning Dreamer’s hands, followed by a middle rope cane shot to the head. Some finger bending keeps Dreamer in trouble so Pillman grabs the regular cane. The intelligence goes flying out the window as Pillman goes up top while Dreamer is holding a cane of his own.

Dreamer comes back with the Flip Flop and Fly as the announcers get into a debate over who exploits someone more: Dreamer with Dusty Rhodes of Pillman Jr. with Pillman. I’ll let you figure out why that doesn’t really work as Dreamer bends him over a chair and gets in a cane shot to the exposed back. A drop toehold sends Dreamer into the chair and it’s time for more caning. Of course that fires Dreamer up enough to make the comeback with cane shots of his own. A cutter gets two but Pillman is right back with a low blow into a swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: D+. Nothing that we haven’t seen done better in other brawls but it’s good to see Pillman get the win on his own. Dreamer putting someone over is fine in theory but when he keeps doing it over and over again, it doesn’t quite have much of an impact. Nothing great here but at least the right person won.

Yehi tells Callihan where Lawlor is and gets a box knocked out of his hands.

Mance Warner is coming.

We look back at Konnan’s recent assaults, which may have caused Pentagon to lose to Teddy Hart.

Super Fight Control Center. New matches: Ace Romero vs. Simon Gotch II, Rey Horus vs. Aerostar and Mance Warner’s debut. Apparently it’s much anticipated, even though I don’t remember the name being mentioned until two minutes ago.

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi

Low Ki is defending. It’s a grapple off to start with Yehi taking him into the corner but getting caught in an armbar over the top. That’s broken up and we reset in a hurry. Yehi blasts him with a shot to the face and takes the champ down to work on the leg. That’s broken up so Yehi sends him into the corner for a breather. Some shots to the foot and leg have Low Ki in trouble and a quick cradle gets two. Low Ki knocks him down with a hard shot though and a really painful looking top rope double stomp to the back finishes Yehi at 4:29. I still don’t know how they can do that without some severe injuries.

Rating: C-. This was fun while it lasted but it didn’t have the time to go anywhere. Giving Low Ki a win before the title match is a good idea as Lawlor has been so hot lately that you have to give him something to even things out. Yehi is good, though he’s been away for so long that the win didn’t mean as much as it would have before.

Callihan, carrying a hammer, goes to find Lawlor and heads into a side room. A fight is heard and Lawlor comes out with the hammer, which has some blood on it. Lawlor licks the blood off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The rise of Lawlor continues and it’s all but time to wrap everything up with the big title change at Super Fight. Having him take out Callihan to end the show is a good idea and there doing some rather solid stuff up and down the card. The middleweights continue to go well and I’m wanting to see where some of these stories go. That’s a good place to be as we head into a major show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #33
Date: November 30, 2018
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini

We’re still in Chicago after last week’s explosion from Shane Strickland. That seems to be his final night for the company, but the question now is where do things go from here. The Miami shows should cover them for most of the time until the big February show, but until then we’ve got some time left to fill. Let’s get to it.

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

Salina de la Renta is rubbing some rocks together and speaking a different language. Her fingers are bleeding and she licks the blood while saying LA Park. So is she a witch now?

Opening sequence.

There will be a live version of Fusion on December 14 from Miami. Cool.

Here’s Simon Gotch for his Prize Fight Challenge, but first he talks about having a lot of filthy history around here. To be the best you need funds though, so tonight it’s $10,000 on the line against anyone filthy enough to take the money from him.

Simon Gotch vs. Ariel Dominguez

Dominguez is about as big as Rey Mysterio. Gotch wastes no time in throwing him down and lays in some forearms in the corner. A buckle bomb doesn’t quite work as Dominguez isn’t big enough to reach the corner. The cradle piledriver finishes Dominguez at 1:26.

Post match Gotch shoves the money in Dominguez’s mouth and gives him another piledriver. How Ted DiBiase of him.

We look back at MJF jumping Kotto Brazil last week. Kotto has promised to be ready for Miami.

MJF says there won’t be a ladder match in Miami, because he’s better than that. He is NOT afraid of heights but he’s not going to do the match because it’s not worth his time. Like the interviewer.

Tommy Dreamer was excited to fight Brian Pillman Jr. because he knew his dad. Now though, he has to teach a skinny jeaned millennial (ERG) some respect, because he’d rather fight than insult people on those podcasts that everyone has. I heard a similar promo on Eli Drake on this week’s Impact. Moral of the story: STOP HAVING TOMMY DREAMER AS A FEATURED PERFORMER!

Stokely Hathaway likes domination and is here to take MLW to new heights. Whoever he manages, they will right the wrongs of MLW.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Dreamer works on a wristlock to start and Pillman bails tot he corner like he probably should. That’s enough for a standoff and Dreamer’s chop just seems to annoy Pillman. The snap jabs have some more luck and there’s the Flip Flop and Fly. They head outside so Dreamer can spit beer in his face but takes too long trying to hammer in the corner, allowing Pillman to superkick him in the leg.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Pillman lets it go and drops an elbow. The conversation stays on Pillman and the Harts turning on Kevin Sullivan, with Tony comparing it to Larry Zbyszko and Bruno Sammartino. I don’t think it’s that severe just yet. Dreamer gets two off a cutter but gets chopped hard, which seems to hurt Dreamer’s neck. Pillman grabs the cane but the referee takes it away, allowing Dreamer to hit a low blow for the pin at 6:34.

Rating: D. My head hurts again. The match wasn’t the worst but I’m so sick of seeing Dreamer anywhere, let alone pinning anyone. They had a story here and it helped a bit, but my goodness this is the second time in a week I’ve seen Dreamer in a big match. Are there no other veterans available? Or a veteran who can talk about more than legends and hardcore?

Post match Dreamer raises his hand, and gets taken down by a neckbreaker because Pillman is a villain. Pillman unloads on him with the cane and here’s Teddy Hart to raise Pillman’s hand. Teddy leaves and Pillman adds another neckbreaker. Good. Now take some time off TV. Like seventeen years or so.

Konnan says there’s bad blood in the title match but his boys will be ready.

Tom Lawlor calls Gotch a liar who wasn’t really family. Gotch chose the short term over the long term and he won’t be able to use that money and the gold watch because Lawlor is going to break every one of his fingers.

Miami control center. Added to the first night: Teddy Hart vs. Pentagon, Rush vs. Shane Strickland (well that’s a surprise), Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann, DJZ vs. El Hijo De LA Park and Andrew Everett vs. Dezmond Xavier.

For the live show on December 14: Dreamer vs. Pillman Jr. in a Singapore Cane match, Rush vs. Rich Swann, Ace Romero vs. Barrington Hughes, Dragon Lee vs. DJZ and Low Ki vs. Konnan (I’m still curious about that one) and MJF vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Kotto Brazil vs. Jason Cade vs. Andrew Everett in a five way ladder match for the Middleweight Title. I kind of want to see the show, save for the Dreamer match because somehow Dreamer is getting a match on a featured show.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. LA Park/El Hijo De LA Park

The Parks are challenging and have Salina de la Renta with them while the champs have Konnan. This is under “Mexican” rules, which means tornado. The slugout is on to start with the champs getting kicked in the face to cut them off. Hijo takes Fenix outside for a crotching on the barricade, followed by a broken piece of table to the head (I guess Mexican rules mean no DQ). Some chair shots, including using one for a crotching (egads man), keep Fenix in trouble.

Park chairs Pentagon in the head and Fenix gets the same as the skeletons are in full control. To keep things even, Pentagon gets crotched against the post, with Fenix taking a THIRD crotching a few seconds later. Somehow Fenix is fine enough to hit a double Lethal Injection, followed by Pentagon’s back to back Sling Blades. The champs nail some running dives over the top, with Fenix banging his elbow up in the process. Back in and the champs whip Hijo with Park’s belt, followed by a 619 into the wheelbarrow splash for two.

Park tries to come in as well and eats a pair of superkicks for his efforts. With nothing else working, Park backdrops his son to the apron, allowing him to come back in for some stereo tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. That means stereo suicide dives from the skeletons as the fans are WAY into this one. Everyone misses something from the top though and things slow down a good bit. Fenix tries his springboard hurricanrana but gets caught in a top rope Spanish Fly for two, even as Park spears Pentagon down.

A hanging double stomp to the back knocks Fenix silly on the floor as his very rough night continues. Hijo makes the mistake of trying his luck with Pentagon, earning himself a suplex into the corner. That means a showdown between Park and Pentagon, which I don’t think means as much as they think it does. They chop it out until Park gets two off a clothesline. Pentagon is fine enough to kick Park’s leg out and hits the top rope double stomp for two.

Fenix finally gets back up and casually sidesteps a dropkick from Hijo. A rolling cutter puts Hijo down but he jumps onto Fenix’s back, spins around a bit, and pulls Fenix into a Canadian Destroyer for two. The Black Fire Driver gets the same on Hijo and it’s Pentagon coming back in with a chair to Hijo’s back. Park is fine enough to take out Pentagon’s knee though and a basement dropkick gets two.

The Backstabber out of the cover gives Pentagon the same but the dive is broken up by Hijo’s chair to the head. Fenix comes back in and kicks away at Hijo but gets sent outside for a twisting Asai moonsault. Park headbutts Pentagon down and the delayed cover gets two. Back up and Pentagon kicks Park low, leaving Hijo to take the spike Fear factor. Fenix hits a big flip dive through the ropes onto Park and flies into the crowd as Pentagon retains the titles at 21:08.

Rating: B-. Well that was long. I’m not sure how epic the skeletons are as a team but Park was doing well enough, overly large stomach aside. Other than that, you have the small Hijo who is fine but nothing special. It’s cool to have brothers vs. a father and son, though that’s about all this has going for it. Not bad, but nothing I’m going to remember as anything great.

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty flat show here as they seem to be holding the fort until we get to Miami. That’s not the worst idea in the world and this week certainly wasn’t terrible, but it’s also not thrilling. The main event is the best part by far, but even that’s not a great match. The Miami cards are looking good though and that’s what matters at the moment.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 29, 2018
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gaming Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re getting closer and closer to Homecoming and that could mean some interesting build as the final few weeks remain. Considering the last two episodes of the year are going to be Best Of shows, there’s only so much time remaining to really make things going. Hopefully the company figures that out and starts pushing things. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at a little bit of everything around here, which is something that they do very well. It makes extra sense after last week’s nothing show too.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Lucha Bros

Swann and Fenix start things off and go with some grappling, only to have the flip into a standoff. Fenix flips across the ring but Swann flips over him for the second standoff in a row. With nothing having happened, we’ll go off to Mack vs. Pentagon for some Lucha Underground flavor. Pentagon throws up CERO MIEDO but Mack gets in his face too. We finally get to some offense as they slug it out but a four way knockdown ensues without much effort.

Mack kicks Pentagon in the face again and snaps off a hurricanrana. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault set up Swann’s middle rope 450 but Fenix is right back with a double Lethal Injection. Pentagon follows that up with a pair of Sling Blades and it’s the What’s Up Double stomp to Swann, which still looks painful. Swann is fine enough to break up Fenix’s springboard, leaving Mack to Pounce Pentagon to the floor. The running flip dive has Pentagon in more trouble but it’s time for Swann and Fenix to hit their own dives.

Back from a break with Mack chopping Fenix down and then for a change, Mack chops Fenix down. Fenix goes with a spinning kick to the face but Swann breaks up something off the top. Pentagon isn’t having that though as it’s the spike Fear Factor onto the apron to crush Swann. Back in and a springboard headbutt sets up the wheelbarrow flip splash to finish Mack at 15:41.

Rating: B. The Bros are great of course but egads Mack and Swann have been killing it as a team. They compliment each other so well and Mack is as talented and charismatic of a guy as they’ve had on the roster in a long time now. The tag division is starting to get somewhere and either of these teams would be fine for some challengers, even though it’s clear that we’re getting LAX vs. the Lucha Bros in the most awesome match in like forever.

Post match here’s LAX minus Konnan to congratulate the Lucha Bros on the win. They’ve already beaten the best teams in the world, but now they want the Lucha Bros. The match is set for Homecoming.

Next week: qualifying matches for Ultimate X at Homecoming.

Video on Brian Cage, who is ready to finally get his chance to be on top.

LAX comes in to see Konnan, who isn’t cool with them making that announcement. He’s worried about the personal issues that have flared up in the past when we try to have dream matches. Konnan has to do something now and leaves.

Katarina vs. Jordynne Grace

They grapple a bit to start with the much bigger Grace winning the power battle. The whip spinebuster gets two but it’s too early for the bearhug. Katarina gets in some shots in the corner and puts on the reverse chinlock to little avail. The fireman’s carry just isn’t happening so Katarina switches to the top rope DDT for two. A heck of a Pounce sends Katarina flying and hits some running knees in the corner. There’s a Vader Bomb and the bearhug makes Katarina tap at 6:10.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse but, again, they don’t seem eager to push Grace as the unstoppable monster that she could be. She’s a different kind of talent but for some reason they won’t let her just go crazy out there. It’s not like Katarina has much going or her, so just let her get beaten up like a ragdoll out there.

KM and Fallah Bahh have lost their money gambling because they’re not all that bright. Scarlett Bordeaux shows up and says a lot of people are trying to get her attention.

Classic Moment of the Week: Low Ki wins Ultimate X last August.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie.

A referee comes in to see Tessa and tells her that she can’t beat up referees. Yeah whatever.

Tommy Dreamer, now in a Superstar Billy Graham shirt because he hasn’t paid homage to enough legends yet, talks about how Eli Drake is everything he hates about people today. Drake is an entitled millennial you see and tries to be the Rock and Steve Austin. Yes TOMMY DREAMER just said someone is trying to be someone else. Drake lost the title and has just been mediocre since then and he’s not ending Dreamer’s career. Dreamer is done when he says he is.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rae Lyn

Rae ducks behind her and dances to start so Taya hits a forearm in the corner. That earns her a middle rope dropkick to give Rae two but Taya is right back with the running hip attack in the corner. Rae slips out of the Road to Valhalla and dances some more, earning herself a curb stomp and a modified STF for the tap at 2:45. Good idea to add a new move to her arsenal as she can only ride the Road to Valhalla for so long.

Post match Tessa runs in and beats Taya down. The referee from earlier comes in for the save and gets punched in the face. More referees come in and get beaten up….so GAIL KIM makes the save, because OF COURSE SHE FREAKING DOES!

Video on Johnny Impact being ready to defend the title against anyone, including Cage.

Killer Kross again offers his assistance to Impact but gets turned down. That’s not cool with Kross.

Rascalz vs. Chris Bey/Mike Sydal

The Rascalz are a trio with Trey Miguel, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz with Miguel sitting out this time. Dezmond headlocks Sydal to start and flips away from some early shots to the ribs. Sydal has no idea where Dezmond is and it’s off to Wentz for some yelling. Bey comes in and gets yelled at, followed by a Bronco Buster.

Some rapid fire kicks and a double stomp have Sydal in more trouble and there are the stereo suicide dives, which you had to know were coming. Back in and some kicks put Sydal down before Wentz does a standing moonsault….from about a foot away from Sydal’s feet. Not that it matters as Xavier shoves him over so the moonsault hits the chest for the pin at 3:09. That’s certainly a unique finisher and it looked rather cool.

Rating: C. This was a good looking debut for the Rascalz, who had some great chemistry and some sweet offense. You can always have room for another high flying team like this, especially when they’re a little bit different than the Lucha Bros or LAX. Throw in the option of Miguel for a little change of pace later on and you have a good act here.

Kiera Hogan doesn’t believe that Allie is fully evil because Allie didn’t attack her when she had the chance. Allie can fight this.

Eddie Edwards is in a mental hospital with Alisha Edwards saying she had no choice. The doctor comes in and says the medicine Eddie is on takes some time to work. Alisha and the doctor leave and we come back to Moose coming in to see Eddie. Moose even has a book, called Anything Is Possible: The Eddie Edwards Story. He wants to know why all the important parts are missing. Like Eddie abandoning Moose or Alisha walking out on him. The book is a fraud…and that’s it.

We look back at Alisha having Eddie committed. Shouldn’t that have come first?

Eli Drake says his issues aren’t with hardcore wrestling. Apparently he touched a nerve in Tommy Dreamer and tonight, Dreamer is going to the retirement home.

Matt Sydal talks to Ethan Page about how his path to success keeps messing up. Page tries to calm him down but Sydal wants to show him the path to the X-Division Title. Next week: they’ll meet in an Ultimate X qualifying match.

Eli Drake vs. Tommy Dreamer

They circle each other for a long time, likely as Dreamer needs a bit of a breather from walking down to the ring. Drake shoulders him down and more circling ensues. Dreamer can’t get anywhere with a wristlock so Drake talks a lot of trash. A cutter sends Drake to the floor…and he takes the countout. Actually hang on as we’re restarting this as a No DQ match. Wouldn’t No Countout make more sense here?

Anyway we’re back with Dreamer spitting water in Drake’s face on the stage. Dreamer grabs the trashcan full of weapons and hits him with a box of donuts, of course stopping for a bite. Drake gets drenched with some water, which only seems to wake him up as he suplexed Dreamer onto the ramp. A catapult sends Dreamer’s throat first into the bottom rope and a jumping neckbreaker gets two. The chair is set up for the drop toehold for two on Dreamer so Drake picks the chair up.

A middle rope chair shot is blocked by a raised boot but the Dreamer DDT is countered with a leg trip to send Dreamer into the chair again. The DDT connects for two a few seconds later but Drake hits him low and nails the Gravy Train….for two? Egads man why is Tommy Dreamer kicking out of a former World Champion’s finisher? With nothing else working, Drake puts a chair around Dreamer’s neck and hits the chair with an oar for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: D-. I’ve complained about Tommy Dreamer wrestling at this level and with the same stories over and over again so we’ll look at Drake here. I still find him to be one of the best and most talented people on the entire roster and he should be doing something other than this. Hopefully he gets to beat Abyss at Homecoming and move on to something more important and better, rather than beating up Dreamer in main events.

Post match Drake goes to the back and finds a present addressed to him. He opens the card and finds a message which freaks him out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show was entertaining enough and the strong opener balanced out the dreadful main event. They’re getting closer to having a solid pay per view card, though again the main event scene isn’t the most thrilling in the world. It often comes off as an afterthought and that gets a little annoying over time. These videos don’t do much and the lack of any kind of personal issue doesn’t help either. The rest of the show is looking fine, but it’s missing that spark. Anyway, fine show this week, but nothing really worth seeing.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Wheelbarrow splash to Mack

Jordynne Grace b. Katarina – Bearhug

Taya Valkyrie b. Rae Lyn – STF

Rascalz b. Mike Sydal/Chris Bey – Standing moonsault to Sydal

Eli Drake b. Tommy Dreamer – Drake wrapped a chair around Dreamer’s neck and hit it with an oar

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Fusion #29
Date: November 2, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Matt Striker, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to get back to the regular shows this week after last week’s Halloween special. Things could be a little more interesting this time around as the Hart Foundation is back, which should make for a rather different kind of show. Fightland is coming up soon enough too so we should get some build towards the big show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at Shane Strickland vs. Tom Lawlor with Low Ki costing Shane the win. Lawlor said he would cash in his World Title shot in February, so Sami Callihan attacked him at a media event while Low Ki watched. As usual with MLW: simple story, but it makes sense and leads to matches I wouldn’t mind seeing.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Konnan for a chat. After sucking up to the crowd, Konnan says a witch named Salina de la Renta kept Pentagon and Rey Fenix from being here so here are Salina and Ricky Martinez to cut him off. Salina isn’t happy with Konnan for stealing her talent so she’s had them deported back to Mexico. Konnan refers to Martinez as Ricky Vega, which doesn’t sit well with him. That’s not cool with Martinez, who Konnan calls an Amish gnome Duck Dynasty reject. Anyway it’s time for a match with Konnan bringing in Martinez’s opponent.

Ricky Martinez vs. Puma King

I’ve heard of King before so this could be interesting. Puma runs him over a few times before rolling into the corner for an enziguri to the floor. That means the dive to take Martinez down again, followed by a high crossbody for two. The expected Salina interference lets Martinez kick the ropes for a low blow and there are the Madison Rayne crotch thrusts to drive Puma into the mat.

Martinez is bleeding from the nose and Puma superkicking him makes things even worse. It doesn’t seem to matter that much though as Martinez hits a Backstabber as Striker explains that a broken nose can mess with your vision. Now isn’t that better than him making insider references and talking about how much people hate him?

The Alberto top rope double stomp (I’m looking forward to that going away) is countered with a superplex and a top rope seated dropkick (that’s a new one) gives Puma two. Martinez is right back up with a super Codebreaker (the Plasma Crunch, an awesome name) for two of his own. They head up again but Martinez’s superplex is countered into a superbomb, followed by la majistral for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C. I liked this one more than I was expecting with both guys looking good and King getting in a very nice debut. Martinez is little more than a bodyguard but he did well here too with some nice power stuff. Every now and then it’s a lot of fun to have a surprisingly good match and that’s what we got here.

Tommy Dreamer, now in a Randy Savage shirt, says he’s ready to show that he’s still the king of extreme, no matter what Brody King thinks. King has no idea what it takes to really be hardcore but Dreamer has seen the fans through the blood in his eyes, making him get up.

Stokely Hathaway is back at Fightland.

Jason Cade doesn’t think it’s fair that he and Jimmy Yuta are both getting the Middleweight Title shot when he already beat Yuta. Fair point.

Yuta is ready to win the title.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman isn’t happy with the lack of respect around here. He’s cool with letting Yuta and Cade beat each other up and then pin both of them.

Brody King vs. Tommy Dreamer

The much bigger King shoulders him down to start as we hear about Dreamer’s litany of injuries. Dreamer’s right hands don’t have much effect so they head outside (What took them so long?) with Dreamer being thrown into the barricade. Back in and they chop it out with Brody getting the better of it, including a Vader Bomb for two. The front facelock doesn’t last long and King misses the middle rope moonsault to make things even worse.

Back up and they forearm each other a lot until Dreamer snaps off a cutter for two. A swinging Rock Bottom gives King two and Dreamer’s DDT gets the same, albeit with a foot on the ropes for the save this time. With the wrestling not working, Dreamer grabs the cheese grater. The referee picks now to wipe his eyes so it’s a low blow to slow Dreamer down, setting up a piledriver to give King the pin at 7:42.

Rating: D. I’ve made my thoughts on Dreamer clear over the years but at least this wasn’t Dreamer getting a big win or a big push and only consisted of hearing about his injuries again. I can more than live with him in this role, though it was still nothing all that worthwhile. King is good for a role, but I’m not sure how much he can do in matches like this.

We look at the media day attack again.

Lawlor says he’s been beaten down but not beaten. Salina must be scared if she’s sending Callihan after him and all he wants is to get his hands on Low Ki. The gold is the goal, but Low Ki can be the first treasure on the way there.

Fightland rundown, including Callihan vs. Lawlor in a street fight. The show now features about ten matches, most of which we’ll see on TV later.

Callihan thinks Lawlor is stupid for wanting a fight. Anyone else Callihan has set his sights on has gone away and Lawlor will be no different. Lawlor may be an MMA fighter but Callihan can run him over with a car.

Hart Foundation vs. ACH/Marko Stunt/Rich Swann

Stunt is a small guy who is probably shorter than Rey Mysterio. Pillman and ACH start things off as Striker talks about Pillman’s pretty solid training so far. A neckbreaker and spinning shot to the neck have ACH in trouble so he snaps off a dropkick to send Pillman away. Hart comes in (complete with the awesome face) and starts flipping around with Swann. A dropkick puts Hart down for a second but he picks up the pace and snaps off a good looking powerslam.

Stunt comes in and uses Swann as a launchpad for a Codebreaker to Hart, only to dance into the massive (by comparison) Smith. For some reason Stunt tries a slam, earning himself a torture rack. In an impressive power display, Smith launches Stunt at Swann and ACH (I know Stunt is small, but that’s still impressive) and dropkicks him in the back to put all three down. The nip up back to his feet is just a bonus. Hart isn’t cool with this waiting around and moonsaults down onto everyone in a crazy good looking dive.

Back in and Smith slams Stunt down like a toy and puts a boot on the chest for two. An assisted Canadian Destroyer plants Stunt and a top rope moonsault (from the middle of the rope instead of the corner) from Hart crushes him again. Hart makes it even worse with a snapdragon that flips Stunt over in a nasty crash.

Pillman gets two off a Michinoku Driver but Stunt slips out of a suplex and brings in ACH. See, that’s the kind of escape that makes sense because the Harts weren’t really looking to finish him (either not covering or arrogant covers) and Stunt finally tagged almost by accident. That makes the Harts looks careless and doesn’t go too far beyond being realistic. Much better than you get in situations like this a lot of the time.

ACH makes the mistake of going after the illegal Hart and gets dropkicked off the apron. The ensuing double teaming doesn’t last long as ACH rolls over for the tag to Swann for a double Lethal Injection. Swann and ACH hit stereo dives but Stunt’s Asai moonsault is caught in midair and Smith drives him back first into the post. You don’t do that to Swann’s partner so he superkicks the heck out of Smith, followed by a very high frog splash for two on Pillman.

Hart hits a top rope DDT on ACH, leaving Smith to put Stunt on his shoulders for a DOOMSDAY CANADIAN DESTROYER (that actually made my jaw drop). Open Hart Surgery (Spinal Tap) crushes what used to be Stunt….for two as Swann makes the save. Swann kicks Swann and Smith down, followed by the middle rope 450 with Pillman making a save of his own. There are too many Harts though and it’s a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo to finish Swann at 12:14.

Rating: B-. Oh they messed up that ending. The Doomsday Destroyer was one of the coolest moves I’ve seen in a very long time and there was zero reason for the save from Swann. You have Stunt there to take a beating and almost nothing more, so why in the world would you have Swann take the pin here? On the positive side, the Harts continue to be outstanding and one of my favorite things about the roster. It’s a good match with an incredible spot (that looked clean too) but dang they should have gone home a minute earlier.

Overall Rating: C. This is the same kind of show they had a few weeks ago and it worked here too. They weren’t focusing on the main event stories here but they treated what we saw as important. How often do you see shows like this treated as nothing, therefore making everything look bad by comparison? It’s an easy show to watch and I had a good time watching it, especially the main event.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #22
Date: September 14, 2018
Location: War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini

And then, WarGames. I’ll give MLW a lot of points for not wasting time in getting to something like this. They’ve built up some characters and a feud so they’re hitting the ground running with what they have. That’s better than wasting time on matches that people don’t want to see when you can do something big like this to make an impact. Or it’s wasting a huge match early on. Let’s get to it.

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

The ten people involved tonight all talk about being ready for war. Sami Callihan says his team is going to hurt Shane Strickland and his team because this isn’t about wrestling anymore.

Shane says his team is ready to be the angels to Sami’s demons. John Hennigan says they seem like douchebags instead of demons. The rest of the team is better too, with Tommy Dreamer citing Martin Luther King of all people. I really don’t think he’s like WarGames Tommy.

Opening sequence.

The double cage is being constructed. That never gets old.

Salina de la Renta and Low Ki yell at reporters in Spanish and don’t seem impressed when they run into Dreamer.

We look at the Hart Foundation attacking Kevin Sullivan two weeks back.

The Hart Foundation knows they won’t be suspended because that’s MLW is a bunch of cowards. You can’t stop them and the fans are already talking. The family has taken a lot over the years and they’re not going to take it anymore. They’ve been fined lately, but they’re ready to make more money to pay it off. Brian Pillman Jr. talks about the media lying to you because the Hart Foundation is now the cash cow. Pillman’s smile is perfect.

Fury Road rundown.

The construction continues and there are weapons included inside. You really don’t need those in WarGames. There is also no roof, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Team Callihan vs. Team Strickland

Shane Strickland, Tommy Dreamer, John Hennigan, Barrington Hughes, Kotto Brazil

Sami Callihan, Sawyer Fulton, Leon Scott, Abyss, Jimmy Havoc

WarGames, featuring the classic rules. One wrestler from each team will fight for five minutes. After that there is a coin toss with the winning team getting to send in its second man for two minutes. When those two minutes are up, the team that lost even things up. Two more minutes go by and the team that won the toss goes up 3-2. You alternate every two minutes until all ten are in and then it’s first submission wins.

Brazil and Fulton start as apparently Team Strickland won the coin toss. Um, what? The heels are always supposed to win that thing. They better have a good idea of how to get out of this. Brazil is tired of waiting and dropkicks Fulton through the door and through a table to get things going but Fulton catches him coming off the top once they get inside. Some running elbows in the corner have Fulton in some trouble until he throws Kotto into the cage.

Kotto gets LAUNCHED from one ring to the other and there’s a missile dropkick to rock him again. With the pain increasing, Brazil spits in his face and gets tossed into the cage wall for his efforts. Kotto gets his face rubbed against the cage with Fulton talking trash about how no one is going to save him. They manage to get the timing right (almost no one can pull that off) and it’s Hennigan in to make it 2-1.

A standoff lets Hennigan forearm Fulton in the face and Brazil gets up to really start the double teaming. Brazil gets thrown into the corner but Hennigan dives onto Fulton to take over again. Jimmy Havoc (with Hawk face paint0 is in fourth to tie things up and he goes straight to the paper cut on both of Hennigan’s hands. Brazil’s face gets cut and this is actually far main painful than it might sound. Havoc holds up a sign so Fulton can throw him face first into it and there’s a stop sign to Hennigan’s back.

Strickland is in next but Callihan attacks him from behind and tosses him onto (not through) a table. Callihan slams the cage door on Hennigan’s head and gets in the cage to make it 3-2, giving us the way around the coin toss. Kind of an unnecessary detail but not the worst idea. Hennigan gets sent through a table and Fulton drops Callihan onto him for bad measure. A running Razor’s Edge into the cage makes things even worse for Brazil and it’s Dreamer in next, of course complete with a trashcan full of weapons.

Dreamer cleans house and the TOMMY DREAMER chants start up, which make sense in a town ECW ran back in the day. Hennigan is back up to slug away at Fulton and Havoc is busted open (well duh). Now it’s Scott coming in to “even” things up and the weapons have Team Strickland in even more trouble. Hennigan gets caught in a trashcan and pummeled with sticks but Brazil suplexes Havoc as Hughes is in for Team Strickland. He can barely make it through the ropes before getting into a fight with Scott.

Havoc hits Hughes in the head with a wet floor sign and gets glared at for his efforts. Callihan’s stop sign to the head works a lot better as we’re told that Strickland is done for the night. The other good guys get up and take over with Brazil even having time to enjoy some water. Abyss finishes Team Callihan and the Match Beyond begins, meaning submissions are now legal. The monster cleans house until Dreamer hammers away with the Flip Flop and Fly, earning himself a Black Hole Slam.

Hughes and Abyss have the big staredown until everyone gets up for the big brawl. Brazil gets up top for the BIG corkscrew dive, though the camera cuts to a wide shot for some reason. They show a regular version on the replay so I’m not sure I get that one. Havoc takes a Canadian Destroyer and Brazil cranks on a reverse Rings of Saturn, leading to a double Human Centipede of submissions.

That’s broken up as well and it’s Hughes splashing Abyss in the corner. Abyss is right back with a clothesline to knock Hughes down for the first time ever. Scott sends himself through a table (CRUNCH) but Hennigan gets dropped by a Rainmaker. Callihan tells Abyss to get the tacks but Brazil bites his hand to escape a chokeslam.

An Asai DDT (a running Salida Del Sol) sends Abyss into the tacks instead, leaving Callihan to accidentally take a Rainmaker. Dreamer adds a cutter and it’s barbed wire time. Brazil and Dreamer wrap barbed wire around Hughes and I don’t see this ending well. The splash “hits” Fulton’s back and a regular splash makes things worse. Hughes and Brazil wrap the wire around Fulton’s face for the tap at 30:45.

Rating: B. This was about all you could ask for in a WarGames match and I’m assuming Strickland was actually injured or it’s a good angle to keep things going for a future match. They came up with a good way to use Hughes here as there’s not much someone his size can do. The rest of the guys did fine and the right person took the fall, so there isn’t much to complain about here. They had a good level of violence and nothing really dragged, though having the captain out did lower the stakes a good deal.

The winners leave and Callihan and company blame Havoc for the loss. A big beatdown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The angle at the end and the recaps from earlier in the night helped this a bit and the show was a lot of fun overall. There’s something about WarGames that makes it feel that much more special and that’s exactly what we got here. Good show with the one match being all that mattered, which is pretty hard to pull off actually.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #19
Date: August 24, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schaivone

We should be running out of matches from the New York tapings but tonight we’ve got something big. This week it’s Fenix and Pentagon Jr. defending the Tag Team Titles against ACH and Rich Swann. That should be a heck of a match, even though Swann and ACH lost to the Hart Foundation last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap last week’s Dojo Fight with Tom Lawlor defeating Parrow but having to save his trainer Seth Petruzelli.

Lawlor swears vengeance. Tonight the Dirty Blonds face Team Filthy and next week, Lawlor will send Colonel Parker’s stud Jake Hager to the glue factory.

Opening sequence.

The Stud Stable is really not happy with Parrow. Colonel Parker is proud of the rest of his team though. Hager is ready for Lawlor next week.

Dirty Blonds vs. Team Filthy

That would be Fred Yehi/Simon Gotch for the ones in need of bathing. Yehi starts with Patrick and knocks him around with little to no effort. It’s off to Brien, who gets kicked into a good looking belly to back suplex as the early control continues. A neck snap across the top rope puts Gotch down though and it’s Scott coming in to hammer him upside the head. Yehi gets suckered in so a double suplex can drop Gotch. The referee is yelling at Brien so Lawlor hits Patrick in the back with a chair, which he throws to Parrow. Gotch grabs a small package for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: D. Nothing to the match due to the time, but it does keep the feud going. That being said, I’m not sure why the feud is continuing. I don’t remember the Stable winning a single match in the story yet, which makes me wonder why it’s still going. At least the better team is winning, though it’s not like the Stable is horrible or getting squashed.

ACH and Rich Swann complain about the heat but they’re ready to be Tag Team Champions.

Tommy Dreamer is ready for WarGames and goes over the history of some of his career in Florida. WarGames has been around before the Elimination Chamber or Hell in a Cell and you lay it all on the line out there. He’s ready for Sami Callihan, who has done everything imaginable to him before. Dreamer’s idol Dusty Rhodes (who invented WarGames) is going to have the best seat in the house when Dreamer becomes the Innovator of Violence in his first WarGames. Good stuff.

Matt Striker goes over the rules of WarGames and plugs the rest of the card. I’m looking forward to that show.

Ricky Martinez vs. ???

Martinez is Salina de la Renta’s (sweet goodness this week) newest client. The unnamed jobber bows to Martinez to start but has his kick to the head shrugged off. A backbreaker sets up a belly to back faceplant to give Martinez the pin at 1:01. It was a little sloppy, but that’s how you make someone look like a star.

Video on Low Ki vs. John Hennigan from last week.

Low Ki says he told us so and he’s accepting challengers from anywhere, including a Club or from the Underground.

Clip of Team Strickland getting jumped last week.

Sami Callihan doesn’t care about Dreamer being on the team because he’s ready to do whatever it takes.

Abyss promises to bring the violence to WarGames. That’s why you bring him in.

We look back at the opening match.

Lawlor wants his World Title match but can only see the Stud Stable. He wants Hager next week and the match has been set.

Salina, now in a different outfit, has no comment on the lawsuit from Fenix and Pentagon Jr. Low Ki is going to make short work of Fenix because no one is going to cut his plans short. The interviewer being intimidated by Salina continues to be a good little story.

Tag Team Titles: ACH/Rich Swann vs. Lucha Bros

Fenix and Pentagon are defending. Pentagon and Fenix handle their own introductions because luchadors introduce luchadors. The champs get knocked to the floor to the start and Swann declares himself the best in the world. He and ACH take their time getting ready to dive though and Fenix rolls back in for a double cutter. A powerbomb/top rope double stomp DESTROYS Swann for two as a suicide dive sends ACH into a bunch of chairs in the crowd.

Back in and Swann’s chest is ripped apart by some chops, followed by a running kick to the leg. Fenix puts on the chinlock to keep Swann in trouble as the announcers debate whether Konnan made up all the issues with Salina to steal her talent. ACH comes in and gets kicked in the leg again, followed by the big chop against the ropes. A springboard headbutt (looked like it was going to be a springboard hurricanrana but Fenix pulled up) rocks ACH instead but he’s right back with a sliding kick to Fenix’s head.

ACH slingshots down onto Pentagon and a Rock Bottom backbreaker into a snap German suplex gets two on Fenix. The champs are right back up though as Swann gets on the apron to see ACH send them into each other. Swann comes in with a hurricanrana to Fenix and a superkick to Pentagon. Fenix gets caught on top and Swann hurricanranas him onto Pentagon for two as it’s time to get fired up.

Stereo tiger bombs get two on the Bros but Pentagon is back up with a Sling Blade. The Codebreaker into the top rope double stomp has Swann down and ACH gets superkicked out of the air. ACH is fine enough to send the champs together and fireman’s carry them both at a time. Fenix slips off so ACH throws Pentagon onto him before collapsing. Swann and Pentagon set up the big showdown and slug it out but the Pentagon Driver (good one) is only good for two.

Somehow Fenix is back up and rolls into a cutter for two on ACH, only to have Swann hit a quick middle rope 450 for the same. Everyone is spent so they shout a lot and chop around in a circle until everyone is down again. Fenix and ACH forearm it out and Swann knocks Pentagon down with one shot. Stereo handspring cutters from ACH and Fenix both miss and it’s another group knockdown. ACH gets caught on top but he catches Fenix on top just as quickly. Swann goes after him and gets sunset bombed back down. ACH is knocked outside and it’s the spike Fear Factor to retain the titles at 16:18.

Rating: B+. This was all about four guys beating each other up and doing a bunch of flips and kicks in the process. That’s all it needed to be too and I had a blast watching them do these painful looking things to each other. There was no logical way to put the titles on Swann and ACH after last week’s loss but egads they made it a fun match on the way. Really good stuff here and a ton of fun.

Quick video on LA Park, who will face Pentagon at WarGames.

Overall Rating: C+. The rest of the show wasn’t great but the main event eats up about a third of the time and that’s all awesome stuff. Other than that though, things are looking up towards WarGames and I’m actually looking forward to the show. Just keep things going strong as we get closer to the big show and build it up well, which is all you can hope for with a wrestling show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Final Battle 2017
Date: December 15, 2017
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the biggest show of the year for Ring of Honor and the card is actually not too bad. The main event is Dalton Castle challenging Cody for the World Title with another big match in the form of Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers in a street fight. You know, to check off the ECW box on the card. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how this was the greatest year in ROH history. I’m thinking no on that one. It’s your standard hype video with the narrator saying things like “great debuts” and “major changes” with clips of such things being shown. Not bad, but nothing that hasn’t been done far better before.

The production gets a major upgrade tonight with fire shooting up on the stage and a square lighting fixture above the ring with some LED signs. It looks very good, albeit a little out of place around here. Still good though.

The announcers hype up some of the big matches. We just did this in the opening video.

Will Ospreay vs. Matt Taven

This is your required “here’s a New Japan guy” match that has no storyline behind it. Ospreay kicks him in the face to start and hits a big flip dive over the top onto the other members of the Kingdom. Taven is right back up with a big dive of his own though as they’re starting very fast.

Back in and Taven flips out of a hurricanrana but gets armdragged into a dropkick to send him outside. Ospreay teases a dive but instead backflips into his signature pose to pop the crowd even more. The Kingdom offers a distraction so Taven can take over. Cabana: “Ospreay is great but notably kind of dumb.” Vinny Marseglia SWINGS AN AX at Ospreay’s leg, allowing Taven to dropkick him down.

The beatdown is on and Taven adds a hard knee to the face for two. Ospreay kicks him in the head again and gets two off a running shooting star. Taven reverses a hurricanrana into a Liontamer of all things, drawing a Y2J chant. A rope is grabbed and Taven shouts to the camera that he better be on Jericho’s cruise. Ospreay speeds things up a bit and gets behind Taven but still manages to superkick him in the jaw.

One heck of a superkick puts Taven on the floor and Ospreay runs the corner for a springboard shooting star onto the rest of the Kingdom. Taven is right back in with a kick to the face but his frog splash hits knees. The Oscutter is countered straight into the Climax to give Taven the sudden pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. While little more than a flipping and kicking match, this was a great choice for an opener. Ospreay is one of the best high fliers in the company and he got to show off in front of the fans, who ate up everything he was doing out there. I’m still not getting the point of Taven but it makes sense to have him win here as he’s around a lot more often than Ospreay.

We recap the Addiction vs. War Machine. War Machine had the Tag Team Titles won when Addiction interfered and cost them the match. The monsters wanted revenge but accidentally took out a fan, earning Ray Rowe a suspension. While he was gone, Addiction cut off part of Hanson’s beard. You know what kind of revenge that warrants.

War Machine vs. Addiction

It’s a brawl to start with War Machine winning the brawl on the floor but Hanson’s clothesline train is cut off in short order. Rowe comes in for a save as this isn’t exactly going to have a lot of tagging. Some fans try to start a JOHN CENA SUCKS chant but seem to be promptly shouted down. Good. Rowe t-bone suplexes the heck out of Kazarian but Daniels trips him up to take over.

We actually get to the tag stuff with Daniels choking Rowe in the corner, followed by Kazarian’s springboard legdrop. Addiction fires off a string of springboard dives to keep Rowe in trouble. The double teaming doesn’t quite work though as Rowe Rock Bottoms Daniels onto Kazarian. Hanson comes back in off the hot tag to clean house and Addiction is stacked up in the corner for a quick pounding.

A double Bronco Buster (that’s a new one) sets up a German suplex/middle rope clothesline combo. Kazarian gets in a Backstabber on Rowe and an Unprettier is good for two. Celebrity Rehab gets the same and a Downward Spiral takes Hanson down as well. He’s right back up with a double Tajiri handspring elbow though and it’s Fallout to end Daniels at 9:35.

Rating: C. This was a well built match and War Machine winning was the right call. Addiction isn’t a team that really ever needs to win anything else and putting teams like War Machine over is a great use for them. War Machine should get back to the title hunt soon, though I could see WWE coming after them one day in the near future.

We recap Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal. Scurll got to pick his opponent and wanted to face someone he saw as one of the best villains in Ring of Honor history. Lethal doesn’t want to go back to the dark side but Scurll has him getting closer to being villainous all over again.

Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal

Scurll, in all white here, isn’t defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Marty wins a technical sequence to start and grabs a wristlock. A clean break against the ropes keeps the mind games high. Lethal armdrags him down but Marty rolls straight into a bird pose. The cartwheel into a basement dropkick rocks Scurll but he’s still able to stomp on Jay’s fingers.

Jay’s elbow gets stomped as well, only to come back with a hard whip to send Marty into the barricade. Someone throws a streamer into the ring and the fans are all over him. Again, good. A springboard dropkick has Marty in trouble again, followed by a single suicide dive. Back in and Marty suplexes him into the corner before going right back to the arm. They slug it out until a Lethal Combination gives Lethal a delayed two.

It’s off to a torture rack of all things (Cabana: “Can we call that the Lethal Express?”) with Lethal rolling forward for two more. Marty is up first and catches Jay with a tornado DDT on the floor. That’s fine with Lethal, who hits a cutter off the apron to take Scurll right back down. It doesn’t seem to have much effect as Marty grabs the chickenwing, only to have Lethal reverse into a rollup for an escape. The ref is bumped (makes sense this time around) so Marty grabs a chair for the Eddie Guerrero treatment.

Jay is one step ahead of him though, wrapping the chair around his own head and dropping down to the mat. The referee says keep it going so Scurll grabs a brainbuster onto the knee for a near fall. A Figure Four is quickly broken up so Marty grabs the umbrella. The referee takes it away so Marty pulls out a second one to knock Jay silly. That and a piledriver are only good for two so Jay kicks him low, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:53.

Rating: B+. I really like both of these guys and it was cool to see them play up a story like this. That being said, this feels like a start to the story and I wouldn’t be complaining about seeing them do some more of this. I don’t think Lethal needs to turn heel, but an edge to his character would be nice. Scurll pinning Lethal in the future would be nice too.

The Motor City Machine Guns say no one is on their level, which is why they’re here.

The Best Friends disagree, albeit in multiple takes.

Tag Team Titles: Best Friends vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Guns are defending. Sabin and Chuckie start things off and the fans still don’t seem to care about the Guns. An armdrag into an armbar sets up the Friends’ Two Dog Night but Shelley blocks the big hug. Shelley does a Rick Rude hip swivel and sends the Friends outside, where we get that hug. Eh Bryan and Kane did it better.

The Guns hit back to back kicks and knees to the head to take over. Back in and Sabin stands on Barretta’s crotch in the corner, followed by the face to the crotch spots. The Guns even hug to hammer home the joke. At least they seem to be embracing (no pun intended) the heel roles here. Barretta ducks a kick that goes onto Shelley’s head instead, followed by a tornado DDT to Sabin.

The hot tag brings in Chuckie to clean house and that means another hug. Yes it’s funny, we get it. Back in and the Dude Buster is broken up, but so is the rollup from the Guns. Skull and Bones gets two on Barretta, followed by Strong Zero for the same on Shelley. The Friends try another double team but Sabin rolls Chuckie up for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. I know this isn’t the most popular opinion in the world but I really can’t stand the Guns anymore. Their matches are basically signs that say these things were all rehearsed and planned out beforehand and I never buy the idea that they’re having a spontaneous match. The Best Friends aren’t much better with the constant hugging (I know it gets a reaction but maybe they should have something else), making this one of those matches I had to get through rather than enjoy.

We recap the TV Title match. Kenny King is a fighting champion and is ready to defend against anyone. So how about defending against three people at once?

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

King is defending and it’s elimination rules. Martinez comes out of a coffin and has what appears to be his legion behind him. Young and King start things off with the champ stopping for a quick dance after a shoulder. It’s off to Martinez, who grabs a headlock of all things. That’s not exactly what a monster should be doing. King can’t do much with Martinez so Taylor tags himself in for the big showdown.

Everything breaks down with Silas diving over the top onto Taylor. King dives onto both of them so of course it’s Martinez hitting his own springboard flip dive onto the pile. Back in and Martinez takes King down with a top rope spinwheel kick, putting all four down on the mat. King and Martinez kick each other in the face but Taylor catches the champ in a spinning sitout piledriver.

For some reason no one covers King with Taylor instead hitting a running Death Valley Driver to send Martinez into the corner. Taylor gets crotched on top and King manages a Royal Flush, followed by Martinez’s springboard twisting swanton to get rid of Shane at 9:07. Martinez elbows the other two in the corner but gets knocked outside in short order.

King and Young beat on the monster outside and it’s a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for good measure. Back in and the Royal Flush plants Martinez but Young hits King with a beer bottle for the elimination at 12:58. The chokeslam gives Martinez two but Beer City Bruiser makes a save. They fight to the floor again with Young winning the brawl and kicking away back inside. Back in and some knees to the ribs set up Misery to give Young the title at 17:24 in a rather sudden finish.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why this match is getting the really harsh reactions it’s been receiving. Yeah it was bad but you would think it was one of the worst matches ever or something. The match was a bit of a mess, but what else were you expecting? Matches involving tags that break down into wild brawls are kind of ROH’s thing and that’s what you had here. Young winning is the right call and I have no idea what else you would have expected here.

We recap Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers. Bully and the Briscoes were partners but they turned on and injured him at Death Before Dishonor. Ray has teased retiring but was suddenly fine enough for this fight. Fellow ECW alum Tommy Dreamer is with him for the sake of nostalgia, though it does fit for what they’re doing.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer

Street fight with the ECW guys coming in through the crowd. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with the Brothers in early trouble. Dreamer hits a flip dive off the apron onto Jay and Mark is already bleeding a bit. Bully crossbodies both of them off the apron but Jay posts him to get a breather. Jay’s good looking suicide dive takes Bully down again and it’s time for some chairs. All four wind up with one though and it’s time for the dueling.

They switch to kendo sticks instead with Bully and Dreamer pulling out plastic lightsabers. You know, for part of the match where taking place out of such EXTREME hatred. A kitchen sink is brought in and Dreamer is told to get the tables. The Briscoes fight up and clean house again, this time busting Ray open. We’ve got a ladder now too and you know this isn’t going to end well. It’s cheese grater time and Bully’s cut is a lot worse in a hurry. Maybe they shouldn’t have spent as much time with the lightsabers.

Ray knocks Mark down and blocks the Jay Driller, only to get chaired in the head. Jay takes too long getting a table though and Bully kicks it away, followed by a reverse 3D. The Death Valley Driver off the apron and through a table takes care of Mark. Bully’s middle rope splash drives Jay through a table…and let’s have some fire. The fluid is poured on the table but the Briscoes are back up with a 3D onto the table (didn’t break). Mark adds a Froggy Bow for the pin at 16:17.

Rating: C. I really could go the rest of my life without another ECW tribute. It’s annoying enough to have this be a New Japan holding pen half the time but do we really need the ECW stuff too? I know it’s asking a lot to have ROH find its own identity again but it would be nice if they would try. The match itself was the brawl you would expect and really that’s all it needed to be. Again, the right guy won too and that’s always a perk. The ECW stuff was a little heavy handed but at least the build to this was good. It still should have been Bully vs. Jay though.

Video on the Top Five moments in Final Battle history. There’s no need for this but it only takes about two minutes. Austin Aries FINALLY ending Samoa Joe’s World Title reign is #1.

Ian brings out the Women of Honor because we’ll be having a Women’s Title tournament starting in late January. It’s a nice idea but the division has been filler at best so far. A title might help them though.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page are ready to defend the Six Man Titles.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks/Adam Page vs. Flip Gordon/Titan/Dragon Lee

The Bucks and Page are defending, Titan and Lee are basically guest stars and Scorpio Sky is on commentary. Lee and Nick start things off and immediately go to the mat for a technical sequence. Nick is up first and walks the corner for a wristdrag before a double dropkick goes nowhere. Titan and Page come in with the masked man grabbing a headscissors before it’s off to Matt vs. Flip.

Gordon still won’t shake hands though and Matt isn’t happy. Flip…uh, flips around a lot and it’s six straight stereo dropkicks before all six come in for a dropkick at the same time for a not terrible spot. Things settle down with the challengers working on Matt’s arm until Page comes in for a dropsault. Page moonsaults down onto all three of them and Matt hits a running flip dive from the ramp onto all five.

Back in and Page stomps on Titan until a legwhip takes him down. Flip comes back in and nips away from a series of superkicks. A springboard double Blockbuster cuts the Bucks down and a springboard flip dive takes them down again. Flip’s running shooting star gets two on Page but Nick has to scratch the superkick itch. A springboard DDT plants Lee onto the apron, leaving Flip to escape the Rite of Passage.

Matt superkicks Nick by mistake and Titan’s suplex into a sitout powerbomb gets two. That’s about it for the Bucks being in trouble though (might be a record for them around here) as more flip dives and a shooting star Indytaker plants Lee onto the floor. Gordon chops at everyone but gets triple superkicked. The Indytaker Rite of Passage to Titan and Gordon retains the titles at 15:14.

Rating: B-. As usual, the Bucks are a lot more entertaining when they’re not just throwing a bunch of superkicks. Unfortunately and also as usual, there was no question about who was winning here. The Six Man Titles are still completely worthless and odds are we’ll have to have another team thrown together to get another title match set up. Entertaining match, assuming you can handle the Bucks being around even longer.

Post match Sky and the Addiction come in to beat on Gordon and hold up the titles.

We recap the main event. Dalton Castle has been a wrestler for a long time, even if Cody doesn’t respect him. That’s the story of the whole thing: Castle has been fighting for as long as he’s been here while Cody thinks he deserves everything being handed to him. It’s a good story, even if they’re recycling the same videos we saw on TV in recent weeks.

ROH World Title: Cody vs. Dalton Castle

Cody, now with bleach blond hair, is defending and has Brandi in his corner. Castle comes out with a fleet of Boys, which is really what he should do here. It’s a cool entrance, which fits him quite well. Castle shoves a kick away to start and an armbar sends Cody bailing to the ropes. A chase around the ring allows Brandi to grab Castle’s foot and a DDT gives Cody his first offense.

The Alabama Slam gets two and it’s time for a shoving match with the referee. Cody takes him outside and throws him into the ramp steps, followed by a powerbomb through the timekeeper’s table. Brandi isn’t done as she goes up, despite being in a long, tight dress, and dives onto the Boys. That means a triple ejection and we’re down to one on one. Cody stops for some pushups but the delay allows Castle to slug him down into the corner. A suplex drops the champ as well and Castle pulls him face first into the post for a bonus. Blood is draw, which is probably why the hair has been bleached.

Cody comes back with a Disaster Kick but the ref gets bumped. Naturally it’s right before Castle gets that arm hold of his on to make Cody tap. Back up and Cross Rhodes gets two, followed by the Disaster Kick. Cody tries one too many charges though and gets caught in the Bang A Rang for the pin and the title at 12;55.

Rating: C. So….that’s it? After spending nearly half a year as champion, Cody just loses the title in less than fifteen minutes? As stunned as I am that they actually put the title on Castle, it’s cool to see them go with someone new. Castle is one of the only homegrown stars they have around here and giving him the title, even if it’s for a short reign, is a smart move. Just do it in a better match next time.

Castle celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show wasn’t bad but aside from Lethal vs. Scurll, nothing stands out on it. I like that they’re going with less outside talent for a change and focused more on storytelling, but this was missing the big blowaway moment. Castle winning is the closest thing they had to one but Castle is more of a feel good deal than a game changer. It all depends on where they go from here and it’s a fine show, though I wasn’t as impressed as I was hoping to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 22, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re less than a month away from Final Battle and, for the first time in forever, Ring of Honor feels like they’re on a roll. The last few weeks have been incredibly entertaining with some great promos to set up some of the bigger matches at the pay per view. It’s hard to say what you’re going to get around here but hopefully the last two weeks are a good indication. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jay White vs. Matt Taven

In theory this is one of White’s last matches with ROH before heading back to New Japan. Taven punches him at the bell and we start in a hurry. White is right back with a forearm into a Muta Lock (kind of early) to send Taven scurrying over to the ropes. They head outside with Taven getting caught in a heck of a suicide dive as we take a break.

Back with White uppercutting away and hitting a brainbuster from the floor to the apron. That looked like a heck of a bump but of course Taven is right back in and kicking out of a Saito suplex. Taven’s spinning kick to the face sets up a missed Lionsault and Jay grabs a DDT for no cover. The Kiwi Crusher is loaded up but White has to stop due to a spitting Vinny Marseglia. A spinning Rock Bottom gives Jay two instead but Marseglia offers another distraction, setting up a Super Climax to give Taven the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C. I still don’t care for the Kingdom but they’re a lot easier to deal with when they’re not talking. Taven is the best of the three in the ring though one of the more annoying talkers around. Just let them be a trio instead of constantly whining or sounding like nitwits and they’ll be fine. That’s probably it for White, which is a shame as he’s become one of the more entertaining guys on the roster. His feud with Punishment Martinez was good and I hope he comes back here again at some point.

White gets beaten down post match.

Flip Gordon recruits Coast to Coast to help him fight the Bullet Club next week. They need a fourth man.

Shane Taylor vs. Cheeseburger

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. The winner goes on to the TV Title match at Final Battle. Taylor talks a lot of trash and shoves Cheeseburger down as we wait on the inevitable. Cheeseburger’s sleeper doesn’t work but some palm strikes stagger the big man. Taylor runs him over without much effort and a right hand puts Cheeseburger away at 2:27. Can we please get rid of Cheeseburger already? The joke isn’t funny anymore and it’s more embarrassing than anything else.

Post match the Dawgs come out with some coins to buy off Taylor but he pours them over Will Ferrara’s head. PLEASE tell me we’re not in for Cheeseburger/Taylor as a team.

We recap Mark Briscoe injuring his elbow and his brother costing him the TV Title match last week.

Silas Young is ready to beat Jonathan Gresham and become #1 contender to the TV Title.

Scorpio Sky joins Gordon’s team.

Adam Page vs. Dalton Castle

Cody is on commentary and freaks out as Dalton dives outside onto Page at the bell. Page gets sent hard into the barricade and it’s all Castle to start. Back in and Castle loads up another dive but does his strut again, sending us to a break. We come back with Page sending him into the barricade and moonsaulting down to the floor onto Castle. A catapult sends Dalton throat first into the top rope as this is a fight instead of a match.

Cabana calls Page Adam Cole by mistake as they head back inside for some SD Jones references. Back in again with Castle suplexing him down a few times and getting all fired up, especially at Cody. We come back with a second break with Page flipping out of a German suplex and scoring with a superkick.

The Bang-a-Rang connects but Cody dives out of his chair to pull the referee outside. Castle gives chase and runs right into a shooting star off the apron. The Rite of Passage is countered though and Page is set into Cody, setting up a seated armbar with a choke to make Page tap at 12:37.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Page the more I like him as he’s turned into quite the scrappy guy. That’s rather impressive when you consider how worthless he was just a few years ago. He’s fine for the guy you send out to soften up bigger stars, even if he rarely wins a match like this one. Good enough stuff here and it helps advance Cody vs. Dalton ahead of their match in New York.

Cody and Page beat Castle down post match.

We recap Bully Ray’s injury and possible retirement at the hands of Jay Briscoe. Things have intensified since then but it looks like Ray may be done. Tommy Dreamer came in to speak on Ray’s behalf and Jay’s brother Mark seems to be against him too.

Here’s Bully to say he’s very proud of what he accomplished here in the ECW Arena but he’s every bit as proud of ROH. He has a few comments to read and pulls out a piece of paper….complete with the old Bubba Ray glasses. But eh, who needs a script. It’s time to walk away, but first he wants to say how proud he is of this company. ROH COO Joe Koff gets in the ring to say the company loves him.

Cue Jay Briscoe to ask if Ray is really going out like this. Jay knocks Bully’s hat off and Koff actually shoves him away, only to have Jay deck Bully. Tommy Dreamer comes in as Velvet Sky (Ray’s real life girlfriend) comes out to check on him. Mark Briscoe is here as well….and he kicks Dreamer low to turn full heel. A 3D to Bully ends the show. I’m still digging the heck out of this story and while I would have gone with Bully vs. Jay, this works very well too.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re getting hot at the right time and that’s one of the most important things there is to do. The big Bully/Dreamer vs. Briscoes story is doing good things for me and the World Title feud is solid as well, despite Castle not being the most serious character in the world. I want to see Final Battle, and that’s a lot more than I would have expected to be saying.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 26, 2002
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re past Summerslam and that means a lot of things have changed. To begin with, Shawn Michaels shocked the world and beat HHH in one heck of a street fight. Other than that, Brock Lesnar is the new WWE World Champion but is exclusively signed to Smackdown. It’s not clear if that’s going to mean we need something new around here for HHH to likely dominate. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Eric Bischoff to open up “his” Monday Night Raw. Tonight we’re going to combine the Hardcore Title with the Intercontinental Title which is probably best for everyone. On top of that, we’re going to have a special Lifetime Achievement Award for a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

As for right now though, Bischoff brings out Brock and Heyman for a chat. The fans are happy when Lesnar comes out but cut Paul off with the ROCKY chants. Heyman finally gets to talk and says every legacy before Lesnar’s doesn’t matter, including Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. Enough of that though as Paul goes into a glorious rant about how no one believed him when he promised that Lesnar would do all this. Lesnar brags about being twenty five years old….and here’s HHH to Shawn’s music because THIS NEEDS TO BE ABOUT HIM.

That’s the last time you’ll ever hear Shawn’s horrible music because HHH has gotten rid of him for good. As for right now though, Lesnar only has that title because HHH softened Rock up for him. HHH wants a title shot but here’s Undertaker to cut them both off. Undertaker wants the first shot at the young pup and the fight is on. Lesnar gets knocked to the floor but HHH is allowed to leave mostly unscathed. WAY too much non-Lesnar here but we all need more HHH in our lives.

Booker T. vs. Christian

After what looks like a quickly fixed lighting problem, Booker hammers away until a reverse DDT onto the knee puts him down. A chinlock sets up some choking until Booker pops up with the spinning sunset flip out of the corner for two. Goldust and Lance Storm get in a fight (of course) and it’s the scissors kick for the pin on Christian.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here to keep the Tag Team Title feud going, though I’m not sure what they’re waiting on at this point. It’s not like the Un-Americans are all that interesting as heels or champions so just let them lose the belts already to an interesting team. Booker is getting hotter and hotter every week, which almost guarantees his imminent destruction.

The WWE was in New York for the Smackdown Your Vote campaign.

Test has plans for the American flag tonight. This isn’t likely to end well.

Bubba Ray Dudley/Spike Dudley vs. Christopher Nowinski/William Regal

The villains have Molly Holly in their corner due to one heck of a horribly acted segment between Chris and Molly. Bubba side slams Chris to start and Spike adds a top rope stomp (that always looks so painful) for no cover. Chris pops back up and distracts the referee so Spike can get crotched against the post. The beating doesn’t last long as Spike gets up and tags Bubba so everything can break down. What’s Up hits Molly and it’s table time. That goes nowhere so it’s the Bubba Bomb to end Regal.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here as I didn’t know this story was still going. Are we really supposed to be interested in Nowinski wanting to sleep with Molly? It’s the start of a character at least but Nowinski really isn’t the most interesting guy in the world no matter what. At least it’s better than making fun of Molly’s weight.

Post match Nowinski saves Molly from the table.

Bischoff tells the guest to come out when Eric says.

Molly thanks Chris and offers to help him if need be.

Apparently that would be after the break as Bischoff brings out Jimmy Snuka. Highlight package, Bischoff cuts him off, 3 Minute Warning, JR is aghast. Chris Jericho comes out and puts Snuka in the Walls of Jericho and tells the has been to get out of the ring. Who would guess that we would see something similar at Wrestlemania one day? Jericho shows us some clips from last night and claims that he made Flair tap out. Since Fozzy’s concert was cut off last week, Jericho belts out his own version of New York, New York.

Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

Jericho knocks him around to start until Jeff gets in a dropkick of his own to take over for a bit. Lawler talks about a tuxedo vs. evening gown match later tonight as Jeff sends Jericho outside for a big dive off the top. The dive off the apron is countered into a powerslam (cool looking spot) and Jericho starts choking with Jeff’s shirt.

A missed dropkick has Jeff in even more trouble (it might help if he did something other than throw dropkicks) so we hit the abdominal stretch. This isn’t exactly burning up the mat so far. When the hold goes nowhere, Jericho heads up top but gets dropkicked out of the air. Even that’s not enough to pop the crowd very strongly but the Whisper in the Wind does a bit better. The Swanton is good for two as Jericho grabs the rope. Jericho grabs the Walls and Hardy grabs the rope, only to have Jericho refuse to break for the DQ.

Rating: D+. These two are capable of doing so much better and I’m not sure why they were this dull here. I don’t know if Jeff is just done or if Jericho’s stuff with the submissions isn’t working but I don’t know how you go from good last night to a near disaster just a day later. Maybe it’s a bad night but this was a big disappointment.

Brock doesn’t care who wins tonight.

Test wants to burn the American flag. After a break, here are the Un-Americans with Test carrying a blowtorch. Kane’s pyro goes off but Booker and Goldust make the save instead. The Texans are cleaned out and it’s Kane (with a new half mask) coming in for the real save. So we owe one to Spain. Make that two as we get a Kane-A-Rooni.

Intercontinental Title: Tommy Dreamer vs. Rob Van Dam

Officially this is a unification match but the Hardcore Title is done no matter what so I guess it’s not on the line. This is however under hardcore rules so Dreamer has a bit of an advantage. They shake hands and we’re ready to go. We actually start with some technical stuff until Dreamer dropkicks him in the face to take over.

It’s time for the first kendo stick and a White Russian legsweep gets two on Rob. They head outside with a ladder being bridged between the ring and the barricade. Dreamer hits a quick spinebuster but can’t suplex Rob onto the ladder. Instead Van Dam shoves him face first into the ladder, setting up a kick off the ladder for two.

Back in and the DDT gives Dreamer two, followed by a middle rope elbow which only hits the ladder. Rolling Thunder onto the ladder onto Dreamer and Rob crotches him for a bonus. The dropkick drives a chair into Dreamer’s face and the Five Star gets rid of the Hardcore Title for good.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match actually and it’s nice to see the division go out on a nice note instead of 18 people who never do anything else hitting a single weapon shot for a pin. I’m no Dreamer fan but it’s cool to see him having a good match in his element like this, even if he had no chance of winning.

Lillian Garcia vs. Howard Finkel

The winner is permanent ring announcer. It’s a tuxedo/evening gown match, meaning whoever is stripped first loses. Stacy Keibler comes out to keep an eye on Trish so Howard says she’s interfering with something in his trousers. JR: “Howard may get aroused!” Thankfully the fans boo this out of the building until Trish and Stacy object to Howard insulting blondes. Fink is stripped and Lillian wins. As you might expect, that just makes the fans hate the match even more.

HHH vs. Undertaker

The winner gets Lesnar at some point in the future. HHH jumps Undertaker as he gets off the bike and we’re ready to go in a hurry. They get inside with an early Pedigree attempt being blocked so Undertaker can hammer away in the corner. Old School gets two but HHH hits a jumping knee to the head. The very slow beating continues and we hit a HHH chinlock.

That shifts over to a sleeper in case we were going too fast for you. Back up and Undertaker hits him in the head a few times but the ref gets bumped. One of the worst big boots I’ve ever see (there was a good six inches between the boot and HHH’s face) sets up a chokeslam but here’s Lesnar for a distraction. HHH gets in a low blow and, after a belt shot from Lesnar, the pin and the title shot.

Rating: D. Boring match of course but that’s what you have to expect when two older guys get to be the focus instead of the new World Champion. This was really weak stuff from two guys who should be more than capable of doing something better. Lesnar felt like an afterthought here, which has been the case all night long.

Oh look: it’s Stephanie, who is all happy because she’s never allowed to lose any face. Lesnar is officially signed to Smackdown and the title is coming with him. So now she can change the rules of the Brand Split. Stephanie to Eric: “How do my peaches taste now?”

Overall Rating: D-. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen two shows on back to back nights be such polar opposites. Last night was all about energy and entertainment while tonight was all about HHH vs. Undertaker and Stephanie vs. Bischoff with Lesnar being little more than a plot device in either. The best thing on the show was Dreamer vs. Van Dam while the rest was spent on stuff they knew wasn’t going to be interesting while having almost no focus on anything that mattered. In other words, it’s back to what Raw has been doing in recent months.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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ECW on TNN
Date: September 1, 2000
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

After last week, I’m really not sure what to expect from this show. This promotion goes from a fun wrestling show to some insane clip show with a bunch of wrestling that wasn’t very good to set up an angle that we’ve seen before. The next pay per view is in just over a month and I have no idea we’re going to see on the way there. Let’s get to it.

We see the end of Tajiri/Mikey Whipwreck advancing to the finals of the Tag Team Title tournament.

Opening sequence.

Joey and Joel are in the ring and the big arena does actually look cool. Joel does his rhyme about various escapades in each of the boroughs before Steve Corino comes out, flanked by Billy Corgan playing New York, New York on his guitar. I’m not sure how old school the Smashing Pumpkins were in 2000 but it’s better than Limp Bizkit.

Corino is the new #1 contender (What about Jerry?) and refuses to apologize for cheating to pin New Jack, Dusty Rhodes and Tommy Dreamer. He’s not going to apologize either when he pins Justin Credible. Cue Lou E. Dangerously and WHEN DID HE BECOME JUSTIN’S MANAGER? He’s not Justin’s manager? Well he certainly acts like him and that doesn’t help because this company makes no sense half the time with all the people running around doing random promos to advance the overall angles.

Lou yells about wanting to beat Corgan up and wants the title shot at Anarchy Rulz. A fight is about to break out when Justin Credible “sneaks” (read as Corino clearly looks over his shoulder to see him coming in) in and canes Corino. Corgan actually chokes Justin with the cane until Lou hits him in the back of the head with the phone. Lou says that’s a message from the Network. Ok so he works for the Network and not Justin? Really I’m not sure at this point and I don’t particularly care either.

Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter-Finals: Rhino/Justin Credible vs. Sandman/Chilly Willy

The winners get Jerry Lynn/Tommy Dreamer. A table is brought in less than ten seconds in but Sandman cleans house with the cane. Rhino shrugs them off and Gores Sandman through the table for two, followed by the piledriver to advance Credible and Rhino in less than two minutes. Did Willy stop for a taco?

Tag Team Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Simon and Swinger vs. Roadkill/Danny Doring

Roadkill starts fast with a powerslam on Simon but CW pulls Doring to the floor because almost every heel is part of a stable. A double Downward Spiral gets two on Doring but he grabs a double Bareback (Those names get annoying.) and makes the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Roadkill is thrown through a table, only to have Anderson hit Simon by mistake. Not that it matters as the Problem Solver puts Doring away and send Simon and Swinger to the finals.

Rating: D+. As much of a mess as most of ECW was at the end, they did have a good tag division going. Unfortunately we barely saw most of it as the matches were either clipped or had nothing on the line because of the ridiculous four month waiting period. Four weeks is a long time to not have champions but from April to September is unthinkable.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Tommy Dreamer/Jerry Lynn vs. Rhino/Justin Credible

Joined in progress with separate brawls in the crowd. They’re nice enough to come back to the ring with Jerry dropping Justin but having to spank Francine instead of going for the pin. The Gore takes Dreamer out and there’s a piledriver through the table. Little Spike Dudley comes in with an Acid Drop to Rhino and the cradle piledriver puts Justin away to send Dreamer/Lynn to the finals.

Rating: D. As usual, WAY too much going on to keep track of anything here and that gets annoying in a hurry. Why do so many matches have to go into the crowd in a wild brawl or have so many people interfering? Would a straight match every now and then, especially when we’re coming up on a title shot, be too much to ask for?

Tag Team Titles: Tommy Dreamer/Jerry Lynn vs. Simon and Swinger vs. Tajiri/Mikey Whipwreck

The titles are vacant coming in and this is elimination rules. The Sinister Minister is the only manager present and Dreamer is in a neck brace. Tajiri, Lynn and Simon start things off with Simon sitting back while the other two start fast. Everyone tags out and the new three stare at each other for a bit.

Swinger stops to pose and gets put down by the physique-phobic Dreamer and Whipwreck. Everyone fights to the floor (of course) and Dreamer actually kicks Tajiri for a change of pace. Lynn takes Simon back inside for a bow and arrow hold. All six get inside again and it’s time for double Tarantulas with Lynn and Mikey being stretched.

They’re fine enough for stereo tornado DDT’s for stereo two’s on Simon and Swinger. Cue CW Anderson to hit Dreamer with something made of metal, setting up the Problem Solver for the elimination. The locker room comes out to watch as Tajiri mists Simon, setting up a Whippersnapper for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C-. This is the kind of match that I normally don’t care for but at least it gives us something. Tajiri and Whipwreck are still a new team but at least they’re a team instead of two people just thrown together for the sake of being thrown together. They’re fine as the new champions, especially since they’ll defend the titles against a strong tag division.

Everyone celebrates with the new champions.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s like they were trying to show a tournament in one night but didn’t have enough time. It was kind of confusing when they went from one round to the other and some brackets would have helped a lot. The finals being shown in full was the right move though and while I would have gone with Simon and Swinger, at least the titles aren’t vacant like they’ve been since a few weeks after Wrestlemania.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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