Smackdown
Date: April 12, 2001
Location: First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 14,626
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

This was another request for reasons I don’t exactly remember. We are freshly off Wrestlemania X7 and the big story is the Two Man Power Trip (all four of them) are running roughshod over the company. That is going to create some issues and it is time for someone to fight back. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Vince McMahon apologizing to Linda McMahon on Raw, only for Linda to say she wanted a divorce. Like that marriage could ever fall apart. Lita called what Linda did inspiring and got put in a six person tag, teaming with the Hardys against HHH/Steve Austin/Stephanie McMahon. Lita pinned Stephanie and destruction ensued as a result. Austin beating on Lita with a chair and giving her a Stunner are limited to still shots.

Opening sequence.

Here are HHH and Stephanie to get things going, with Steve Austin joining them. HHH talks about how things were pretty great just about a month ago, with The Rock and Chris Jericho as champions and Mick Foley as Commissioner. Now things have changed though, as The Rock is gone and they have taken the titles, just like they wanted to. The Hardys and Lita tried to stand in their way and look what happened.

Everywhere HHH goes or in “the dirt sheets”, he keeps hearing about how they went too far with Lita. The heck with that, because they will tell you when they crossed the line. HHH is that d*** good, Austin is that d*** cold and they are that d*** unstoppable. Eh not sure about that catchphrase. Austin is tired of all the same questions and talks about attacking the Rock at Wrestlemania because he wanted to.

Then Jim Ross asked why Austin did what he did but Austin is tired of Ross riding his coattails. He did it because he could and no one was there to stop him. Then the Hardys tried to do something about it and look what happened. Beating Lita with a chair was the best feeling he has had in a long time and there is no one back there who can stop them. Austin talks about how he could have done that to anyone in the audience but here is Jeff Hardy to lay out all three of them with a chair (Twist of Fate for Stephanie). It was a good, evil promo, but the Hardys felt WAY below these two and it was showing.

Post break, HHH storms into William Regal’s office and demands Jeff Hardy tonight, no matter what it takes.

Spike Dudley vs. Albert

The Dudley Boyz and the rest of X Factor are here and this is the fallout from Albert taking out Spike in a tag match on Raw. Spike forearms away to start and is dropped with a single shot to the face. Albert throws him across the ring (with a great Spike sell) and then drops him face first for the big crash. Spike avoids a charge but gets crotched on top to cut him off. Somehow Spike manages to knock him off the top though and a top rope double stomp connects. The Dudley Dog gets two as everyone starts fighting on the floor. Albert shrugs it off and hits the pump kick for the pin at 2:46.

Post match the Dudleys give Albert What’s Up. The table is loaded up but X-Pac takes out D-Von, followed by a double superkick to Bubba. Spike goes through the table.

Debra is looking for Jim Ross.

Don’t Try This At Home.

William Regal tells Jeff Hardy that he has an Intercontinental Title shot against HHH tonight (works for him) but if he ever besmirches (yes BESMIRCHES) Stephanie McMahon again, he will never get another title shot. Jeff leaves and Big Show comes in, demanding Undertaker and Kane tonight. Regal makes the match, with Show getting to pick any tag team he wants for a handicap match.

Crash Holly isn’t worried about Rhino, who Gores him into a steel door.

Debra comes in to see Jim Ross, who is fine with her being here despite what her husband did to him. She apologizes for what Steve Austin did and insists that she wasn’t involved. Ross knows that because he knows what kind of a person Debra is and knows she wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Austin comes in and accuses him of flirting with Debra before throwing him out (of his own dressing room). Debra isn’t sure what to do but Austins says they’re leaving now. They leave during the break.

Stephanie McMahon is annoyed at Jeff Hardy breaking her earring so HHH says he’ll take care of this. The match is officially dedicated to Stephanie and threatens the trainer. Stephanie: “Go get em Hunter. I love you.” The whiny voice made that as perfect as it could have been.

Women’s Title: Chyna vs. Ivory

Chyna is defending and Ivory has Steven Richards with her. Ivory tries to go up but gets slammed down for the early crash. Chyna’s handspring elbow misses though and Ivory grabs a bulldog. The chinlock stays on the neck (which is still banged up from earlier in the year) but Chyna powers up without much trouble. Richards gets involved by pulling Chyna to the floor for a clothesline though and Ivory gets a VERY delayed one. Chyna comes back with a suplex and some clotheslines as Ivory is getting ragdolled here. The gorilla press drop retains the title at 3:53.

Rating: C. This was somehow more competitive than their Wrestlemania match but it showed the problem with Chyna as champion: no one was going to be able to give her any serious challenge. Ivory was hardly a slouch and she got crushed here, which would happen with anyone. Chyna wouldn’t be long for the company, and it would take Trish Stratus of all people to save the division.

Post match Richards goes after Chyna and gets laid out for his efforts.

Big Show tries to get the APA to team with him tonight. That’s not happening, so Show accuses the APA of being scared. They’re just too busy though and tell him to shut the door as he goes.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho say they aren’t rocket scientists so they know William Regal is coming for revenge. Benoit says let’s go with it.

Edge And Christian/William Regal/Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho

Benoit and Jericho charge right in and Benoit suplexes Edge, setting up a Lionsault from Jericho. With the other villains cut off, Benoit adds the Swan Dive for two with Christian making the save. We settle down to Regal stomping on Benoit and it’s off to Angle for more of the same.

Angle gets in a German suplex but Benoit northern lights suplexes Christian as commentary ignores the match to talk about Hardy vs. HHH. Benoit gets over to Jericho for the tag to pick up the pace and we get back to back Walls and Crossfaces on various villains. That takes a bit too long though and Angle Angle Slams Jericho for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on in this one but it was more of an angle than a competitive match. The bigger deal here was making Regal, and presumably Vince McMahon and pals, look evil so that the Canadian Chrises would have someone to fight. Moving them up into the main event scene is not a bad idea and putting them in spots like this, where they held their own for a bit, is only going to make that push feel more warranted.

Post match Regal and Angle go after them again, only to get pulled into various submissions to make them tap.

Test wishes Jeff Hardy luck, as he wishes he could have done that to Stephanie more than once.

We recap Linda McMahon asking Vince for a divorce on Raw. This at least seems to be different than the opening video.

Rhyno vs. Hardcore Holly

This is over Rhyno attacking the other Hollys. They waste no time in starting the brawl until Rhyno charges into a boot in the corner. The fight goes to the mat before they get up and chop it out. Holly gets in his hanging kick to the ribs and they brawl into the corner again. Rhyno fights out of the corner but the Gore hits both of them. Cue Molly Holly with a trashcan so Hardcore can send Rhyno running. Apparently Rhyno was disqualified when he Gored the referee, so ignoring the lack of a bell, we’ll say it ended around 2:10.

Big Show asks Grandmaster Sexay and Steve Blackman to team with him tonight. Blackman has his nunchucks and Show thinks better of it.

Albert is the guest host at WWF New York. Not that we actually see him, but that’s what commentary tells us.

Jeff Hardy would love to be the Intercontinental Champion, but tonight is about payback and revenge.

The Right To Censor recruits Test, but he’s good on not having to give up everything and dress like them. He will take a match with Val Venis though.

Big Show settles for Kai En Tai. Apparently they think he’s Godzilla.

King Of The Ring sold out in four hours.

Big Show/Kai En Tai vs. Brothers Of Destruction

Funaki starts for the team but Undertaker wants Show. Instead it’s Kane coming in to beat up Taka but Funaki grabs the leg. Show tags himself in and hits a clothesline but Kane sits up, so we’ll have Funaki pulled in by Show instead. With Show leaving, it’s a double chokeslam to Kai En Tai. Kane tries his own Last Ride but just drops Funaki behind him instead. Undertaker shows him the proper method on Taka as Show is furious. Kane hits a better Last Ride to pin Funaki at 2:55. This was goofy fun.

Long video on the XFL playoffs.

Val Venis vs. Test

The Right To Censor is here with Venis, who jumps Test to start. They slug it out until Godfather trips Test up, allowing the RTC to hammer away from the floor. Venis chokes away and cranks on both arms at once to keep Test down. That doesn’t last long as Test is back up with a tilt-a-whirl slam, only for Venis to send him outside. Back in and Test hits the pumphandle slam so Godfather offers a distraction. Richards superkicks Venis by mistake and here is Raven, who the RTC tried to recruit on Raw, to give Richards a DDT. The big boot finishes Venis at 3:28.

Rating: C+. For a match between Test and Val Venis, they certainly put a lot in there. That’s a nice thing to see as it was a bit of a throwback to the Attitude Era style, which can work well in small doses. The RTC isn’t long for the world, and to be fair there wasn’t much else for them to do anyway. Not a great match, but it was fun while it lasted.

Post match the RTC gets in a big brawl of their own, with referees not being able to break it up.

We get another recap of what led to Jeff Hardy getting an Intercontinental Title shot.

Intercontinental Title: HHH vs. Jeff Hardy

HHH is defending and they’re both alone for a change. The early slugout goes to HHH, who knocks Hardy outside. Back in and hardy hits the legdrop between the legs into the basement dropkick before hammering away in the corner. HHH shoves him out for the big crash but the Whisper In The Wind gives Hardy two. A missed charge sends Hardy back to the floor, where he’s fine enough to send HHH into the steps.

The dive off the barricade is cut off with a powerslam out of the air, only for Hardy to get up…and get powerslammed out of the air again. Might want to try something different there chum. Back in and the jumping knee cuts Hardy off again but this time HHH would rather hammer away than cover. A hard whip into the corner drops Hardy again and HHH grabs a sleeper (more like an awkward hug really).

Hardy jawbreaks his way to freedom and…well one of them grabs a legsweep. Hardy goes up so HHH throws the referee into the ropes for the break, albeit not a DQ due to reasons of convenience. The referee gets shoved down but here is Matt Hardy (not supposed to be here) to chair HHH in the head. One heck of a Swanton gives Jeff the pin and the title in a huge upset at 8:07.

Rating: B-. This was mostly a HHH squash with a screwy ending but dang the fans went nuts when Hardy won. It was the first sign that there might be something to Jeff on his own, but it was also quite the surprise as you do not see a major heel faction lose so soon. That’s an interesting way to go, even if HHH would get the title back the next week. Granted there was something a bit bigger waiting on HHH and Austin later on in the form of Undertaker and Kane, but for now, good surprise here.

Overall Rating: B-. While I’m not big on the Austin heel run, it’s quite the fun flashback as you can see the incredible talent pool that the WWF had available. The amazing thing is that it would get even better in about two months with the Invasion and…ok so it didn’t exactly work out. This wasn’t some classic show, but it was interesting to see where the company was going in the fallout of Wrestlemania, especially with Rock gone. I’ll be back around this era one day and it was fun to look back at it again.

 

 

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Royal Rumble 2002
Date: January 20, 2002
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 12,915
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is a show that is rather fondly remembered by some but I don’t recall it being anything special. Maybe it holds up better over time, which has certainly been the case before. The big appeal is the return of HHH, who is back in the ring after about eight months away following the famous quadriceps injury. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at some classic Royal Rumble endings. This transitions into a look at HHH returning. In case you thought they were hiding the obvious winner, they aren’t trying in the slightest.

Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boyz vs. Spike Dudley/Tazz

The Dudleys, with Stacy Keibler, are challenging and they jump the champs to start. The reverse 3D drops Tazz on the floor, leaving Spike, in a neck brace, on his own. Another reverse 3D hits Spike inside and there’s another neckbreaker to put him down again. A suplex makes it even worse as Tazz is on the apron.

Spike slips out of another suplex and hits the Dudley Dog but D-Von cuts off a tag. One heck of a double flapjack (JR mentions the Midnight Express) sets up a middle Swan Dive from D-Von and the Dudleys clothesline each other by mistake. Tazz comes in o clean house with the suplexes but stops to Tazmission Stacy. Spike gets thrown over the top for a nasty crash to the floor, leaving Tazz to get the Tazmission on D-Von to retain at 5:07.

Rating: C. This is one of those instances where they were trying to do something different and I get the thinking, but Spike and Tazz as the best tag team around just didn’t work very well. They were certainly trying and there was a story here, but it this could have been on any given Raw and felt as unimportant. Points for trying, though it didn’t click.

We recap Edge defending the Intercontinental Title against William Regal, who has bee using the brass knuckles. Edge fought back with a chair to break his nose, so now it’s time to fight for good.

Edge has his chair and is ready to fight the Devil, who is going to get burned.

Intercontinental Title: Edge vs. William Regal

Edge is defending. We get the old weapons check on Regal…and the referee finds the brass knuckles. You don’t see that very often. I mean, it happens every time I watch this match but that’s probably just an odds thing. Edge starts fast and hammers away as Lawler thinks the referee planted the brass knuckles in Regal’s trunks. Regal comes back with a shot to the face to take over and adds some jumping knees to the face.

The cross arm choke has Edge in more trouble but he suplexes his way to…well not freedom as Regal holds on and hits a tiger bomb for two. They head to the apron where Edge grabs a DDT onto the apron for a rather delayed two, despite his legs being underneath the ropes. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown, followed by Edge grabbing a suplex for two more. Regal shows him how to do a much better suplex so Edge nails a hard clothesline.

A quick Regal Stretch has Edge in trouble, sending him over to the ropes. Naturally Edge grabs the same hold and of course Regal goes right back to the ropes for a break of his own. A top rope spinwheel kick (that always looks good) connects but Regal pulls out even more brass knuckles (How did the referee not notice those?). The spear takes out the referee by mistake and Regal knocks Edge cold for the title at 9:45.

Rating: C+. This was a bit better than the opener but it still felt like something that could have been on a regular television show. The stuff with the brass knuckles was a nice touch though, with Regal being the kind of person to have multiple weapons just in case. Edge would be on his way to some far bigger and better things going forward, not the least of which would be a nice shampoo commercial.

Post match Regal brags about being blessed with the Power Of The Punch. JR: “He’s a liar!”

Women’s Title: Jazz vs. Trish Stratus

Stratus, with a bad hand, is defending and Jacqueline is guest referee. Jazz starts fast and fires off a backdrop, setting up a splash (JR: “Right on the purple puppies!” Lawler: “Hey, that’s my line! Right on the purple puppies!”) for two. Another knockdown lets Jazz start in on the hand but it’s time to argue with Jacqueline. Some shoving ensues and Jacqueline counts a VERY slow two off a rollup. A quick Stratusfaction gives Stratus two but Jazz is back with a DDT for the same. Back up and Jazz charges into a boot in the corner, setting up a bulldog to give Stratus the retaining pin at 3:43.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much Jacqueline added here as she was little more than a familiar face who didn’t really do anything for the ending. Maybe it’s a way to give Stratus a chance, but it wasn’t exactly a good match and felt like it could have been on TV. In other words, it was the women’s division in 2002.

Ric Flair’s family is here for his street fight.

We recap Vince McMahon vs. Ric Flair. Back in November, Flair debuted as the new co-owner of the WWF, leading to a not so great business relationship. They hate each other so they’re having a street fight. Naturally Vince dressed up as Flair because that’s one of his favorite deals. Then he beat Flair up with a pipe a bunch of times. This is WAY longer of a recap than this match probably needs.

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

Street fight. They circle each other to start and Vince shoves him down, meaning it’s time to pose. Flair goes for the grappling to take over but gets taken into the corner for some shots to various places. They go outside with McMahon bending a KEEP OFF sign over Flair’s head. Some trashcan shots have Flair busted open as this has been pretty much all Vince so far.

The beating continues with Vince grabbing a camera to take a picture of the bloody Flair but Flair’s daughter takes it away. Back inside and Vince starts in on the leg with some cranking before the required Figure Four. With that broken up, Vince grabs the lead pipe but Flair hits him low for the needed breather.

Flair knocks him outside and gets in a monitor shot to the head to bust Vince open. The beating takes Vince around the ring to Flair’s daughter, who takes pictures with the camera from earlier (nice touch). There’s another low blow and now Flair has the pipe. The big shot to the head sets up the Figure Four and Vince gives up at 14:58.

Rating: B. This was a match where they didn’t go anywhere away from the most basic route and that’s what it should have been. Vince attacked him to start and tried to humiliate him, only for Flair to fight back and do the exact same things to him. Flair then beat him with a wrestling hold because he’s the better man and the fans got behind him throughout. It’s a match that Flair can do in his sleep and it worked well here. Good stuff and by far the best part of the show so far.

Nick Patrick has no idea what he thought of the William Regal title win but Stephanie McMahon comes in. She dismisses Patrick and promises that HHH will destroy everyone. It’s a shame Steve Austin’s wife Debra won’t be there, but Austin pops up behind her for the WHAT treatment (when it was still new). With Stephanie gone, Austin does a lot of WHATing about winning the Royal Rumble.

We recap Chris Jericho defending the WWF Title against the Rock. They had been feuding before Jericho won the title and now they’re doing it again after he won. Rock has made it clear that he’s taking Jericho seriously because this isn’t a joke. Then he said “tick tock, tick tock” a bunch.

WWF Title: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock

Jericho is defending and talks trash to start, meaning the beating is on in a hurry. The Samoan drop gives Rock an early two so Jericho bails out to the floor. Back in and the flying forearm takes Rock down but he avoids a charge into the post. Jericho is fine enough to hit the spinwheel kick for two and of course he complains about the count. The arrogant cover gets two and the missile dropkick connects for the same.

We hit the chinlock for a good while before Jericho goes up, only to get caught by some right hands. A superplex brings Jericho back down and they both need a breather. Back up and Rock hammers away, with his belly to belly throw getting two. Jericho is right back with the bulldog into a pair of Lionsaults for two but dives into the Sharpshooter.

Cue Lance Storm for a distraction as Jericho is tapping, leaving Rock to have to fight off an invading Christian. Jericho’s Rock Bottom gets two as the other Canadians are ejected but a counterfeit People’s Elbow is broken up. They fight out to the floor and Rock hits a heck of a Rock Bottom through the announcers’ table for a huge crash. Back in and Jericho countering another Rock Bottom into the Walls, sending Rock over to the ropes.

The referee gets bumped and there’s a belt shot for two, with another referee running in for the count (If he saw the ref bump, how did he not see the belt shot ten seconds later?). Rock grabs a DDT but the new referee (Nick Patrick, who was screwy earlier in the Regal match) won’t count, earning himself a Rock Bottom. The spinebuster and Rock Bottom get…nothing as there’s no referee. Well Rock brought that on himself. Jericho hits him low and sends him into an exposed buckle for a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin to retain at 18:49.

Rating: B+. Jericho was reaching a new level at this point and having long form pay per view matches with people on the Rock’s level was only going to help that. It had a lot of shenanigans at the end, but what matters is Jericho beat someone that important. Jericho was needing to make it last while it could though, as the major stars were on their way. Rock was in a weird place too, as he was so huge at this point that he needed something special and going after the title really didn’t feel that important. At least not here. Anyway, rather good match here as these two work together very well.

Don’t try this at home.

Shawn Michaels, in a very Texas shirt, is at WWF New York and loved the McMahon vs. Flair match. He’s got the Undertaker or Steve Austin in the Royal Rumble.

We recap the Royal Rumble, which is HHH’s to win by about a hundred miles, with Steve Austin, Undertaker and Kurt Angle as the other best options….but it’s going to be HHH. They really didn’t even bother trying to hide it, which sometimes can’t be avoided.

Royal Rumble

Two minute intervals with Rikishi in at #1 and the returning Goldust in at #2. The ring is mostly covered in gold confetti as Goldust hammers away, only to be knocked to the apron. This lets commentary explain the rules again, which is perfectly fine and a good way to get fans refreshed before things get crazy. Rikishi knocks him down into the corner and here is Big Boss Man in at #3 to get knocked into the corner as well. A running clothesline turns Rikishi inside out and the slow brawling ensues until Bradshaw is in at #4.

The Stinkface has Boss Man in trouble and that’s the first elimination. Bradshaw powerbombs Goldust and it’s Lance Storm in at #5. The lack of anything interesting continues as it’s just low level people hitting each other without much urgency. Al Snow is in at #6 to pick up the pace a bit (let that one sink in for a bit) and the Clothesline From Bradshaw knocks Storm silly (but not out).

Billy Gunn is in at #7 and is quickly booted in the face by Bradshaw. Snow and Storm fight to the apron with Storm being superkicked out, which is somehow the most exciting part of the match about ten minutes in. Goldust dumps Bradshaw and it’s the Undertaker in at #8 to likely clear out more than a few people. Undertaker cleans house and knocks out everyone else in the ring without much trouble, leaving him standing alone (the fans like it).

Matt Hardy is in at #9 and it goes about as well as you would expect, only for Lita (who Undertaker recently attacked) to dive in for a distraction. A low blow lets Matt get in a running neckbreaker but Undertaker slugs him away. Undertaker loads up a suplex but Jeff Hardy is in at #10 for the save and we get a Team Xtreme beatdown. With Lita on the floor, Undertaker fights back, only to get caught in the Twist Of Fate/Swanton. Poetry In Motion is a bad idea though as Jeff is thrown out, leaving Matt to take the Last Ride, setting up the easy elimination.

Undertaker is left alone and it’s Maven, from Tough Enough, in at #11 (unfortunately with his rather awesome song missing). Undertaker goes after Lita again though and the Hardys come in to jump him. The sore losers are thrown out again….and Maven eliminates Undertaker with a dropkick. This marks the all time high point of Maven’s career and is immediately followed by an absolute massacre, as Undertaker completely wrecks him, including a nasty chair shot to the head.

Maven is thrown back inside as Scotty 2 Hotty is in at #12 and is punched in the face on the way to the ring. The bloody Maven is thrown over the top for an elimination as the destruction continues. Undertaker knocks him through the crowd and into the concession area, where the bloody Maven (as Christian is in at #13) is sent through a popcorn machine. Christian lays over the top as Scotty finally gets in, which is a heck of a lot better than waiting around for someone else to enter.

Diamond Dallas Page is in at #14 and goes after Christian but gets superkicked to the floor (not out). That leaves Scotty to give Christian the Worm…and then get thrown out by Page. Chuck is in at #15 as we’re back to the lack of top level stars. Chuck and Page slug it out (and do better than you might expect) as the Godfather, now the owner of an escort service is back at #16.

This means bringing out twelve women for his entrance, including a lot of dancing (JR: “Well he did give me a coupon earlier today…” Lawler: “HE’S GOT COUPONS!”) as we just stop watching the match. Page is eliminated off camera as Godfather goes back for more dancing. Godfather finally gets in and is promptly beaten down as Albert (the Hip Hop Hippo) is in at #17.

The villains fight up and knock out Albert and then Godfather, as this is still managing to stay slow. Perry Saturn is in at #18 and it’s more of the same generic brawling. We’re desperately needing someone to come in and spice things up….and Steve Austin is in at #19. Yeah that works, with Austin clearing the ring with three straight eliminations.

That doesn’t leave him anything to do, so he throws Christian and Chuck back in for another Stunner and toss over the top each. That’s the kind of thing Austin would do and it made him feel like so much more of a star because he was doing something extra other than just sitting around waiting. Val Venis (also returning) is in at #20 and actually takes over for a bit, which isn’t likely to last long. Indeed it doesn’t as Austin fights up, only to be jumped by Test, who is in at #21.

Austin fights up and eliminates them like they’re Val Venis and Test against Steve Austin in the Royal Rumble. That leaves Austin alone…and HHH is in at #22 for the mega showdown. They stare each other down and eventually slug it out until Hurricane is in at #23, as a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown. Hurricane tries a double chokeslam, giving us a funny look between Austin and HHH before they throw him out.

Faarooq is in at #24 and gets in a few shots before being tossed out as well. HHH and Austin get to fight some more and it’s the returning (we have a theme) Mr. Perfect in at #25 to quite the reaction. Perfect wisely takes his time getting in before going after Austin and punching HHH down. Things slow again until Kurt Angle is in at #26, with the fans knowing they’re in for some bigger stuff now.

For some reason Austin saves HHH from Angle, earning himself an overhead belly to belly. Big Show is in at #27 but the double chokeslam is broken up. Show fights back and tries a gorilla press on Angle, with HHH making the save. JR tries to explain that HHH feels Show is a bigger threat than Angle and….eh I guess I can take that. Show cleans house and chokeslams HHH but it’s Kane in at #28.

We get the big power showdown and Kane dumps Show, only to walk into a Stunner, allowing Angle to throw Kane out as well. Rob Van Dam is in at #29 with a Five Star to Angle and kicks to various people. Rolling Thunder hits Austin but HHH is back with a Pedigree, leaving everyone down. Booker T. is in at #30, giving us a final grouping of Austin, HHH, Perfect, Van Dam, Angle and Booker, who tosses Van Dam with no trouble.

The Spinarooni ensues…and so does a Stunner to get rid of Booker in about thirty seconds. Angle Angle Slams HHH and then rolls the German suplexes, only for Austin to get in a low blow. Austin is sent out to the apron but fights back…and is tossed by Angle and Perfect in something of a surprise exit.

We’re down to three and the beating continues on the floor. That doesn’t work for Austin, who comes back in with chair shots for everyone before leaving himself. Perfect is up with the PerfectPlex and Hennig necksnap to Angle, only for HHH to throw Perfect out. HHH takes Angle down and hammers away before getting in some choking. A backdrop sends HHH to the apron but he’s right back in with a facebuster and clothesline for the win at 1:09:25.

Rating: C+. I couldn’t get into this one for the most part, as there were just so many parts of low level names doing the bare minimum. It had some good parts, like the Undertaker vs. the Hardys, Maven’s destruction, HHH vs. Austin and most of Austin’s shenanigans, but those were feeling really far apart at times. It’s certainly not the worst Rumble, but HHH was the clear winner throughout and that made for a long stretch until we got to the ending.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show that needed one more good match as the first three were just passable at best. The Flair vs. McMahon and Jericho vs. Rock matches were both worth a look and the Rumble was ok enough, but there just wasn’t much that stood out. The Rumble needed another viable winner, and with Undertaker out early and Austin just past his prime, it wasn’t there. Not a bad show at all, but there are far better options.

Ratings Comparison

Spike Dudley/Tazz vs. Billy and Chuck

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

William Regal vs. Edge

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C+

Trish Stratus vs. Jazz

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C-

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

Original: D+
2013 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B

Chris Jericho vs. The Rock

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Royal Rumble

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
2013 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B-

So most of the matches were lower but the overall rating was the same every time. In case you need any more proof that I used to be really bad at my job, here you go. The first three matches aren’t very good but they’re not as bad as I had said before.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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NXT
Date: December 31, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the last wrestling show of the year (at least around here) and we also have one week to go before New Year’s evil, which has already been set up and now we get to see where things are going. Most of the matches are ready to go and now we are likely in for one more week of building things up. Let’s get to it.

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

Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice

Vice starts fast and pulls her into a chinlock, which is reversed into an armbar. Back up and Vice fires off the kicks, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. We take a break and come back with Vice hitting Two Amigos but taking too long to dance, allowing Jordan to do the dance and take her down instead. Back up and Jordan flips into a choke but manages to get to the ropes. Cue Cora Jade for a distraction though and Jordan gets a bridging rollup for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. This was another good example of a match that was hurt by the break in the middle, as probably 40% of it was in the commercial. Other than that, it was Vice doing her strikes and Jordan escaping with gymnastics. I’m not sold on Jordan as a villain yet but I’ll take it over her being rather dull on the other side.

Post match Jade unloads on both of them with the kendo stick but Stephanie Vaquer makes the save. Vice accidentally elbows Vaquer in the face when Jade ducks and panic ensues.

It’s time for the NXT Awards, with Oba Femi vs. Josh Briggs vs. Dijak at Stand & Deliver winning Match Of The Year. Briggs is the only one who gets to talk, but he does thank everyone who “feasted their eyes” on the match.

Video on Giulia, who wants to join the list of NXT Women’s Champions.

Moment Of The Year is…Joe Hendry in NXT. Hendry is grateful and teases another appearance, right before an ad for Raw on Netflix.

Cedric Alexander isn’t happy with Ethan Page attacking Je’Von Evans. A match seems to be set for New Year’s Evil but here is Page to taunt Alexander, triggering a brawl. We’ll do it right now.

Cedric Alexander vs. Ethan Page

Joined in progress with Alexander hammering away before hitting a pair of dropkicks. Another running dropkick to the back of the head gets two and Page is sent outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Page hits his own dropkick for two, setting up the chinlock. Alexander fights up and strikes away, setting up a Michinoku Driver for two of his own. Page pops back up with a big boot into a Twist Of Fate for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C. Page isn’t about to lose to someone on the level of Alexander and thankfully they didn’t waste a lot of time getting there. Page took out Evans a few weeks ago and needed a win to back it up, which is what he got here. It wasn’t anything great and it didn’t need to be, as Page looking more like his old self was the point.

Post match Page crushes Alexander’s hand in a tool box.

Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee seem to like what Shawn Spears is telling them. Hank and Tank need partners.

Shotzi/Gigi Dolin vs. Meta Four vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter knocks Dolin to the ropes, where Legend tags herself in and puts Dolin on the apron. It’s quickly off to Jackson to suplex Shotzi. Everything breaks down and some running shots have Jackson in more trouble. Carter comes back in for a running boot to put Shotzi on the floor, with Carter and Chance’s dives taking out everyone else. We take a break and come back with Dolin striking away at Legend before Carter comes back in with a basement superkick.

The Keg Stand gets two on Legend with a bunch of people making the save. A belly to back moonsault hits Jackson’s raised knees as everything breaks down. Shotzi tries a dive and lands ON HER HEAD but thankfully she’s up fast enough to get take out by a dive from Jackson. Cue Fatal Influence for a distraction though, allowing Meta Four to hit a wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter combination to finish Dolin at 11:24.

Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it was kind of all over the place with people just doing stuff until even more people interfered to give Meta Four the win. The good thing here is that Shotzi is ok, as that was an absolutely terrifying landing. She was right back up though and I’m not sure how she managed to make that happen without a bad case of broken neck.

Post match the Unholy Union pops up on screen to challenge the Meta Four to a match with title implications.

Lola Vice tries to apologize to Stephanie Vaquer, who is not having it. Kelani Jordan comes in to mock them and everyone has to be pulled apart. Cora Jade is watching when Ava comes in to put her in a four way #1 contenders match next week for a shot at the Women’s North American Title.

Ava is in her office with William Regal, Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey. Apparently the rules aren’t clear if the Heritage Cup can change hands via DQ. Therefore, next week, King vs. Dempsey for the Cup, one fall, sudden death. Regal is having nothing to do with this. There are like five rules for the Cup. How is that not clear? It took them a week to figure this out?

The Tag Team Of The Year is Nathan Frazer and Axiom. Yes, the team who have dominated the tag division and won the titles twice while holding them for over half of the year are in fact the winners.

Frazer and Axiom wouldn’t have it any other way but OTM comes in to say they’re coming for the belts.

Zaria and Sol Ruca are ready.

Sol Ruca vs. Izzi Dame

Zaria is here too. Ruca takes her down with a headlock to start before voiding a charge to send Dame shoulder first into the post. Back up and Dame takes her out of the corner as Shawn Spears is watching from the platform. Ruca fights up with some springboard shoulders and a running X Factor. Dame rolls outside and has to avoid Ruca’s moonsault, which hits Zaria instead. Back up and Dame boots her in the face, setting up a Sky High for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. This was more about Ruca and Zaria than anything else and I’m not even sure why they’re having issues. At the same time, Spears being involved isn’t exactly making it more interesting, but this hasn’t been the most thrilling show so far. At least Dame got a win for a change after not exactly doing much for a good while.

Hank and Tank might have a partner for tonight: Andre Chase.

The Female Superstar Of The Year is Roxanne Perez. Again: the woman who dominated the title scene winning is hardly a shock.

Perez isn’t surprised. Neither am I.

Hank And Tank/Andre Chase vs. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee

Chase is looking rather unkempt and is in street clothes. The villains jump them to start and Hank gets caught in the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s off to Tank, who is whipped into the corner by Igwe. Everything breaks down and Chase hits a top rope flip dive onto Igwe and DuPont as we take a break.

Back with Hank still in trouble and getting caught with a pop up World’s Strongest Slam. Lee grabs a guillotine choke and a pop up double stomp hits Hank again. Hank fights out and brings in Tank for the house cleaning but quickly hands it off to Chase. Igwe gets knocked down and Chase loads up the spelling stomps but brings Hank back in instead before walking out. That leaves Hank to get hit in the ace, setting up a Stunner to give Igwe the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C. Here we have a storytelling match as Chase is back but can’t do it without it being Chase U. That’s going to create some issues going forward and those should be interesting, but for now this was a bunch of people with nothing else going on having a math where Chase was involved. You can get by with that on occasion, though this show hasn’t exactly been must see so far.

Ashante Thee Adonis calls Karmen Petrovic about New Year’s Eve but gets voicemail, saying he’ll spend it alone if he can’t spend it with her. Nikkita Lyons comes up to invite him to a party but he turns her down.

Shawn Spears praises Izzi Dame but gets turned down. The D’Angelo Family comes in before anything can happen, so Spears implies he’s coming for D’Angelo. With Spears gone, D’Angelo tells the Family to take him out.

Kale Dixon asks Andre Chase about the next semester, but Chase says Chase U is dead. Well that’s a sad way to end the year.

New Year’s Evil rundown.

It’s time to announce the Male Superstar Of The Year but Oba Femi interrupts before anyone is named. Femi says the award doesn’t matter because it’s just a popularity contest. He goes on about how he’s going to win the title because “I am the captain now.” Cue Trick Williams to interrupt, saying he needs to dig deep to retain next week.

Williams calls Femi “Old Beatable Oba”, which is true because otherwise it would be title vs. title. How long is Femi going to leave when he loses this time? Eddy Thorpe runs in to send them into each other and breaks the trophy over Femi’s head. Thorpe holds up the title to end the show. So I guess Femi won, but I don’t think it was ever made clear.

Overall Rating: C-. And that might be generous. This was the definition of a show where they knew it didn’t matter because of the holiday and next week being the big show. The wrestling was mediocre at best and most of the awards were obvious rather than having any drama. Not a good show here, and one of the weaker NXT’s that I can remember in a pretty long time.

Results
Kelani Jordan b. Lola Vice – Bridging rollup
Ethan Page b. Cedric Alexander – Twist Of Fate
Meta Four b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance and Shotzi/Gigi Dolin – Wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter combination to Dolin
Izzi Dame b. Sol Ruca – Sky High
Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee b. Hank And Tank/Andre Chase – Stunner to Hank

 

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NXT
Date: December 24, 2024
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s Christmas Eve and yes we are indeed having a regular NXT rather than some kind of Best Of show or something more traditional like that. We are two weeks away from New Year’s Evil and last week’s main event saw Eddy Thorpe and Trick Williams go to a draw for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s title match, plus the fallout after the show with the match being ruled a draw so Trick Williams retains.

Cora Jade vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer takes her down to start before flipping Jade out of the corner. A quick rollup gets two and Vaquer suplexes her into a figure four necklock. That’s broken up and Vaquer hits a dropkick but Jade Backstabs her out of the corner as we take an early break. Back with Vaquer fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a belly to back suplex. Eat Defeat sends Jade into the corner for some running knees, followed by something like a standing STF. Jade breaks that up but gets caught in the package backbreaker to give Vaquer the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C. Vaquer is still one of the stronger names in the division and having her go over someone with the status of Jade makes sense. Jade is someone who feels like she is best used as someone’s lackey and that might be her ceiling. She has talent, but I’m not sure if it is going to be used with her as a solo star of any kind.

Post match Kelani Jordan runs in with a kendo stick to go after Jade but Vaquer pulls Jordan off.

The D’Angelo Family want the Tag Team Titles, with Stacks promising to beat the other teams’ faces in like his mother beat up Santa Claus with a broom one Christmas night.

William Regal offers to be in Lexis King’s corner for the Heritage Cup match. Regal has the brass knuckles and that’s an oooo moment.

Heritage Cup: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

King, with William Regal, is challenging. Round One begins with some grappling as King rolls him up for two. A dropkick misses as Booker says King needs to believe in himself like Neo in the Matrix. Dempsey pulls him into an armbar but gets hiptossed down for one. Lexis reverses a cravate into a headlock as the round ends.

Round Two begins with King jumping him in the corner and chops away. A gutwrench suplex drops King for two and King wrestles him down again. Dempsey stays on the back with a half crab but King gets out again. A superkick out of the corner sets up a super sunset flip for two on Dempsey, leaving King frustrated. Dempsey pulls him into something like a bow and arrow as the round ends.

Round Three begins…and ends during a break so we come back with Round Four beginning with King hitting a clothesline. A backbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock. Some chops into the corner set up a northern lights suplex for two on Dempsey and they trade shots to the face. Regal tries to send in the brass knuckles but King says no, earning himself a shot from Regal to knock him cold. Dempsey picks up the knuckles…and the referee calls it a DQ win for King at 2:53 of the round and 13:32 overall, making King the champion.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of ending that should set up a “did he or didn’t he” ending and it should work well. King has been teasing going the right way but then wins the Cup in something less than a fair way. I like the idea of paying something off on the whole story, though I’m not sure how long this is going to last.

OTM is ready to get the Tag Team Title shot.

We look at Ethan Page injuring Je’Von Evans last week.

Kelani Jordan yells at Stephanie Vaquer but Lola Vice breaks it up. Jordan calls both of them out for always interfering and wants them out of her face.

Unholy Union vs. Fatal Influence

Fallon Henley is here with Fatal Influence. Nyx and Dawn start things off with Dawn shoving her out of the corner. A dropkick has Dawn over to the corner for the tag off to Jayne, who gets chopped by Fyre. Nyx is back in with a running kick to the chest as Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are watching in the crowd. Dawn comes back in for a running knee as Shotzi, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin come out.

We take a break and come back with Dawn being whipped into the corner so Jayne can kick her in the face. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Nyx gets two off a PerfectPlex (Vic: “The plex wasn’t perfect enough!”). Dawn kicks her way out of trouble and hands it off to Fyre as Carter and Chance are now at ringside. Fyre cleans house with a bunch of kicks and a gordbuster as everything breaks down. Fyre and Jayne headbutt each other own as a fight breaks out at ringside. Dolin uses the distraction to shove Jayne off the top so the Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination can give Dawn the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C. This felt like it was designed to set up some big team match down the line, which isn’t the most thrilling thing but there are so many women in NXT that they have to do something like this here. Fatal Influence being in trouble when the numbers are even (or worse) makes sense as the numbers game has been their thing since their inception. The match wasn’t anything great, but it is probably a step in a bigger story.

The No Quarter Catch Crew is ready for the #1 contenders match.

Izzi Dame interrupts Sol Ruca and Zaria but Shawn Spears and company cut them off. Dame tells them to leave her alone.

Dion Lennox vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

Adonis punches him down to start and hammers away against the ropes. Nikkita Lyons comes out to watch as Lennox reveres a neckbreaker into a backslide for two. An elbow to the ace gives Adonis two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Lennox slugs away, setting up a spinebuster and powerslam for two, with Lyons putting the foot on the ropes. Lennox is so annoyed that he gets rolled up for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C-. The problem with this match comes down to one thing: the story isn’t interesting. I get the whole idea they’re going for but it’s really hard to care about anything going on. It feels like this story that has been going on for months now and I still have no reason to care about anyone involved. That makes a not so good match even harder to care about and that was an issue here.

Hang And Tank are ready for the four way tag match.

Shotzi, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin run into Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. The Meta Four come in to mock them all.

We get a profile on Roxanne Perez, who brags about her accomplishments and how she has overcome various issues. Maybe only people like Simone Biles and Caitlyn Clark can understand her greatness. She’s ready for Giulia in two weeks. Somehow I don’t see that happening.

Lexis King is happy with his win and cuts off the interviewer before she can ask about William Regal.

Ethan Page is happy with what he did to Je’Von Evans last week. He found his smile by taking Evans’.

D’Angelo Family vs. OTM vs. Hank And Tank vs. No Quarter Catch Crew

For a Tag Team Title shot and it’s tornado rules. Hank and Tank swing Christmas trees to start but get blasted by a fire extinguisher. Nima cleans house with a chair but gets it dropkicked into his chest. OTM beat up Hank and Tank with presents as Santa is watching from ringside. Crusifino comes in with a bowling ball to hit Hank low in the corner but Stacks gets powerbombed through a table of cookies.

We take a break and come back with Crusifino being tied up so the Crew can wreck people with kendo sticks. The Family comes back in to choke them with the sticks but OTM make the save. A table is put up in the corner with Borne sailing through it in a big crash. Hank and Tank hit dives onto the floor but here are Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont to brawl with them to the back. This lets Tony D’Angelo slip the Family some candy cane crowbars. A Shatter Machine connects for the Family but Santa lays out D’Angelo. OTM hits the assisted Alabama Slam to pin Crusifino at 12:41.

Rating: C+. There was so much going on here that it was hard to keep track of everything, but there is nothing wrong with getting a fresh team involved in the title picture. Teams like OTM have been around for months without getting much of anywhere so this is better than anything else they have been doing. It was a wild brawl with a theme going on and while there was a lot going on, it could have been worse.

Santa is….Ridge Holland.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat but Oba Femi cuts him off. Eddy Thorpe cuts them both off, saying Williams escaped instead of beating him. Femi says it’s time to move on to him but Thorpe isn’t having that. Williams makes it a triple threat match and Femi isn’t happy. Thorpe tries to say something but gets shut down by Femi. Ava comes out to make the match official, laving the brawl to be on. Femi wrecks Williams but Thorpe escapes to end the show. That’s a lame way out, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are saving Williams vs. Femi for Stand & Deliver.

Overall Rating: C+. This was more of a show that was designed to move things forward for later on, which makes sense as it was a show of fresh content on Christmas Eve. There is likely going to be a big chunk of the audience missing so putting much of note on here would have been a waste of time. It’s not a bad show, but it’s also not one that feels overly important, which is often worse.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b. Cora Jade – Package backbreaker
Lexis King b. Charlie Dempsey via DQ when William Regal interfered
Unholy Union b. Fatal Influence – Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination to Jayne
Ashante Thee Adonis b. Dion Lennox – Rollup
OTM b. Hank And Tank, No Quarter Catch Crew and D’Angelo Family – Assisted Alabama Slam to Crusifino

 

 

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Survivor Series 2007
Date: November 18, 2007
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 12,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross, Tazz, Joey Styles

It is pretty rare when you have a true one match card but that is what we have here, as Batista is defending the Smackdown World Title against the Undertaker inside the Cell. There might be a few other things going on here, but that has been treated as the be all and end all of the show, as it should be. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of the Survivor Series before we move on to this year’s preview.

ECW World Title: Miz vs. John Morrison vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and for the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to him as champion. It’s a brawl to start with Punk getting double teamed down into the corner. Morrison catapults Punk into the corner but he comes out with a middle rope crossbody. Punk knocks Miz to the floor but the springboard clothesline is broken up to put Punk down again. Miz breaks up Punk’s springboard with a shot to the floor though and it’s a camel clutch to Punk.

That means Morrison comes in for the save, setting up a backbreaker into a neckbreaker to drop Punk again. A suplex from the apron gets two on Miz but he is right back with a running corner clothesline. Punk is back in with a hurricanrana to send Morrison into Miz for a powerbomb and a near fall. The running knee in the corner sets up the corner bulldog to give Punk two on Miz and a double underhook backbreaker onto the knee gets the same. Morrison is back up to go after Miz, only to be sent outside. That leaves Punk to GTS Miz and retain.

Rating: C+. Miz and Morrison’s rise continues as the two of them have become rather dependable on ECW, and now elsewhere. It makes sense to give them the Tag Team Titles and now we should be seeing even more of them. This was a good way to get the show going as Punk has to work to retain and Miz and Morrison have come far enough that they didn’t seem like cannon fodder.

We look at MVP turning on Matt Hardy, costing the two of them the Tag Team Titles.

MVP says Matt will not be wrestling tonight because he can’t walk. He is tired of being Matt’s latest crutch and he is better than any of his opponents tonight.

Beth Phoenix/Melina/Jillian Hall/Layla/Victoria vs. Kelly Kelly/Michelle McCool/Mickie James/Maria/Torrie Wilson

One fall to a finish rather than elimination rules. Michelle suplexes Victoria to start and then kicks her in the face for two. Torrie comes in and gets swung into the side slam, only to come back with a suplex. It’s off to Jillian vs. Kelly, with the latter grabbing a rollup for two of her own. Phoenix comes in and plants Maria but a missed charge allows the hot tag to James to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mickie hits the Long Kiss Goodnight to finish Melina.

Rating: D+. What else were you expecting here? It was a bunch of the good women vs. the bad women and there is only so much you’re going to get from a match like that. They didn’t have time to do anything and given some of the skill levels of the women involved, that is not a bad idea. The positive sign is that the women are making progress, but a lot of them still aren’t ready to be in a match like this. Leave this thing to Raw.

William Regal and Coach are ready to see Hornswoggle get crushed by Great Khali.

Randy Orton is ready to disappoint everyone and break the Heart Break Kid.

Shawn Michaels wants revenge. And the title.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes

Holly and Rhodes are challenging. Rhodes and Cade start things off with Cade grabbing a hiptoss for some early celebrating. A sunset flip gives Cody one and the headlock goes on. That just earns Cody a backbreaker to cut him off so it’s off to Murdoch for a change. Cody takes him into the corner and it’s Holly coming in to forearm away. The hanging kick to the low abdomen has Cade in trouble and the champs need a breather on the floor.

Back in and it’s an atomic drop into a running boot to Holly’s face as Murdoch takes over again. Cade atomic drops Murdoch into a legdrop on Cody for two more and we’re off to the chinlock. Holly suplexes his way out of trouble but Cade is right there with a clothesline. The second atomic drop/legdrop misses though and it’s Cody coming in to very little reaction to clean house. Everything breaks down and Murdoch Code Reds Cody to retain.

Rating: C-. This would have been fine on any given Raw, meaning it was a pretty disappointing pay per view match. Cade and Murdoch are fine as champions and Rhodes and Holly are getting there as a veteran/rookie team, but they aren’t ready for this kind of a match on pay per view. It was far from bad, but this match was sent out there to die and I think WWE knew that was going to happen.

Team HHH, which is down a man due to Matt Hardy’s knee injury, is ready for Team Umaga. Rey Mysterio talks about being an underdog, but that has never been Kane’s thing. Kane brings up the Katie Vick incident (and goes into details). Then Jeff Hardy reminds HHH of the time he put Jeff in the hospital. HHH: “Uh, my bad.” HHH says this is the night when they can come together and do something terrible, so let’s go do it.

Team Umaga vs. Team HHH

Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, Big Daddy V, MVP
HHH, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is here with Big Daddy V. Rey and Kennedy get things going and it’s an early exchange of arm cranking. A running headscissors takes Kennedy down and a Code Red gives Rey two (so based on the previous match, Trevor Murdoch is better at Code Redding than Rey Mysterio). Hardy comes in and gets blasted by Kennedy so MVP comes in for a front facelock.

It’s off to V and the big beatdown ensues, only to have Hardy dive over for the tag to Kane. V belly to belly suplexes him down but Kane is right back up with a top rope clothesline. That doesn’t seem to bother V though as he hits a pair of drops (Samoan and elbow) for the elimination. HHH comes in to slug away on V but a clothesline puts him straight down. Umaga comes in with a belly to belly of his own but misses the middle rope headbutt.

That means Rey can come back in and the basement dropkick gets a quick two. The 619 into the springboard seated senton for two more but the springboard crossbody is countered into a wicked release Rock Bottom. The Samoan Spike gets rid of Rey and it’s 5-2. Kennedy tags himself in for some reason and misses a charge into the corner. Hardy misses the slingshot dropkick in the corner though and it’s MVP coming in with a chinlock. MVP misses a running kick though and the Twist of Fate gives Hardy a fast elimination.

HHH comes back in for a clothesline on Kennedy and the spinebuster follows. V comes in for the save but elbows Kennedy by mistake, allowing HHH to steal the pin. That doesn’t work for V, who pulls HHH outside and posts Hardy for a bonus. Back in and a double DDT plants V and HHH evens it up at 2-2.

Finlay starts dropping elbows on HHH before dropping some elbows on HHH. Back up and HHH makes it over for the tag without much effort and Hardy comes in with the slingshot dropkick in the corner. The Whisper in the Wind hit Finlay and the mule kick hits Umaga, allowing HHH to come back in. There’s the spinebuster to Finlay and the Pedigree leaves us with HHH/Hardy vs. Umaga. HHH avoids the running hip attack in the corner and it’s the Pedigree into the Swanton for the final pin.

Rating: B-. Not one of the all time classic Survivor Series matches but they set up HHH and Hardy as a pair of buzzsaws to run through the rest of the team. The HHH vs. Umaga feud has been pretty much decided multiple times now so the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. This was more or less the Raw main event and it could have been worse, but I could have gone for a lot better for the one elimination match on the show.

We get a preview of Batista vs. Undertaker with a look at their Cell match in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Why Batista is wearing a Tag Team Title to the ring isn’t clear.

Vince McMahon sits down with Hornswoggle to explain why he made the match with Great Khali for tonight. Some people think that it is because Vince hates him, but it is really because he wants Hornswoggle to rise up like the McMahons do. Vince has been an underdog against Time Warner and the US government and he won. Now go win against Great Khali.

Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle

Shane McMahon comes out to introduce Vince McMahon and then Hornswoggle for some family flavor. We even get an old school explanation of the rules as the fans want Shaquille O’Neal (in the front row) to help Hornswoggle, but Vince grabs the mic and says he doesn’t care what the fans want. Hornswoggle kicks the knee and then dropkicks Runjin Singh through the ropes. The green mist sets up some right hands but Khali chases Hornswoggle off. The distraction lets Hornswoggle grab the shillelagh but Vince takes it away. Khali loads up the Vice Grip, only to have Finlay come in for the DQ.

Rating: D. What is there to say about something like this? The match was a segment instead of anything competitive and that is all it was ever going to be. At the end of the day, the Hornswoggle/Vince story has run out of steam and adding Finlay into the mix isn’t likely to make things that much better. Maybe they can shift things around, but Vince needs to be on to something else.

Post match Finlay destroys Khali with the shillelagh and a low blow, allowing Hornswoggle to escape.

Wrestlemania XXIV is in Orlando.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels for the Raw World Title. Michaels came back in September and went after Orton, who had put him on the shelf. Orton kept getting superkicked but got disqualified last month. Now Michaels wants revenge but can’t use the superkick. If he does, the match is instantly over, but if Orton tries to get disqualified, he loses the title.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Michaels is challenging and we even get a weapons check. Feeling out process with Michaels grabbing a cravate of all things to start. Orton can’t even slam his way out of the cravate but he can drive Shawn into the corner for some right hands. Michaels is right back with a choke on the back before switching to a front facelock as you can feel the anger and hatred here.

Back up and Orton is sent outside, with Shawn hitting an Asai moonsault to take him down. They get back inside with Shawn grabbing a…..wait for it…..Sharpshooter. Orton makes the rope and gets in a poke to the eye, setting up the hanging DDT for two. Shawn fights up and slugs it out, setting up the forearm. More right hands have Orton in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick for two.

Some slams give Michaels a breather and the top rope elbow looks to set up Sweet Chin Music. That’s a head fake though and they trade some rollups for two each. Michaels grabs a Crossface instead but Orton gets a foot on the rope. The backbreaker cuts Michaels off again but he counters the Punt into an ankle lock of all things. The grapevine goes on in the middle, only to have Orton kick his way to freedom. Michaels’ Figure Four attempt is countered with a kick into the post so he teases the superkick but gets RKOed to retain Orton’s title.

Rating: B. Pretty good here, but the amount of stipulations they had going on made it a little difficult to believe that they were going to change the title here. Shawn not using the superkick at the end looked a bit awkward though and the ending only worked so well. They had a good match otherwise though, which has to be expected when it’s Shawn vs. Orton getting time.

Post match Orton talks trash to Shawn and gets superkicked.

SAVE US!

The Cell is lowered.

We recap Batista vs. Undertaker for Batista’s Smackdown World Title. They’ve fought several times this year and Batista finally beat him for the first time last month. Now it’s the big final showdown inside the Cell.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Undertaker

Batista is defending inside the Cell. They start fast with Batista hitting a hard clothesline but having to elbow his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Undertaker punches him into the corner and hits Snake Eyes into the running big boot. The chair is brought in but Batista spears him down. Undertaker’s clothesline gets two this time and they head outside with Undertaker hammering away.

A face rake against the Cell sets up a chair to the throat has Batista in a lot of trouble so Undertaker chairs him in the ribs for two. Old School is countered into a spinebuster (that was cool) for a delayed two and it’s time to slug it out again. Batista’s running powerslam gets two and they head outside with Undertaker getting blasted with a clothesline. Undertaker is fine enough to whip him into the steps and now a chair to the head has Batista busted open.

Old School is broken up again and Batista hits a superplex but Undertaker pulls him into the triangle choke. Since we’re in the Cell, the rope breaks the hold (erg) and they head outside again. This time Batista hits him in the face with the steps and now Undertaker is busted open too. Back in and a chokeslam gives Undertaker two but the Tombstone is countered into another spinebuster for another near fall.

It’s table time, with Batista tossing him through it for two more. The Batista Bomb onto the steps is countered into a backdrop onto the steps. Undertaker plants him with the chokeslam for two, followed by another onto the steps….and a cameraman breaks it up. That’s because the cameraman is Edge, who cameras Undertaker in the head. A Conchairto on the steps knocks Undertaker silly and Edge puts Batista (who saw nothing) on top to retain.

Rating: B+. These two beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war, with the Edge interference being a great surprise to give them a back door out of the match. What mattered here is they kept things high impact here, which is exactly what these two do best. Let them go in there and hit all their power stuff until one of them can’t get up, which granted was due to some help in this case. You can all but guarantee the triple threat next month and that is a fresh way to go, so nicely done.

Post match, Edge takes Undertaker down again and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main events carry the show, but there is a really big gap between the top of the card and everything else. Even the third biggest match on the show doesn’t feel that important as the whole show was built around Batista vs. Undertaker. The show was a fun enough watch, but outside of the main event, it doesn’t feel like a lot of this matters in the long run.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

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Survivor Series 2001
Date: November 18, 2001
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 10,142
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

European Title: Christian vs. Al Snow

Rating: C-. This is one of those shows where anything but the main event means nothing, which makes the first hour and a half of the show pretty uninteresting to sit through. This match was fine but it could have been on Smackdown on any given week. Snow and Christian are both good hands so a good match is really nothing shocking at all.

William Regal vs. Tajiri

Regal powerbombs him again post match. Torrie (looking GREAT in a purple top and leather pants) comes out to check on Tajiri, only to get powerbombed as well.

We recap Edge vs. Test. These two are both midcard champions after the seemingly dozens of never ending midcard title changes going on at this point. Edge is US Champion, Test is IC Champion, tonight only one belt survives.

Intercontinental Title/US Title: Edge vs. Test

They fight over control to start with Edge taking over via a series of forearms to the head. Test powers him down and goes after the ribs with a wide ranging selection of stomps. We head to the floor with Edge being dropped across the barricade to further the attack on the ribs. Back in and Edge hits a dropkick to take over before we head outside again. Back in quickly and a swinging neckbreaker gets two for Edge.

Test drops Edge onto the top rope ribs first to reinjure him and the taller of the blonde Canadian champions takes over again. Test puts on a chinlock as the match slows down again. Edge fights up and avoids a corner charge before hitting a middle rope missile dropkick for two. A middle rope cross body misses though and Test puts him on the top rope.

A cage is lowered.

WCW Tag Titles/WWF Tag Titles: Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys

Jeff is taken out on a stretcher.

Mick Foley is at WWF New York and admits that his job (WWF Commissioner) means nothing.

Scotty 2 Hotty is about to be in the Immunity Battle Royal but Test beats him up to take his spot.

Immunity Battle Royal

Test, Billy Gunn, Bradshaw, Farrooq, Lance Storm, Billy Kidman, Diamond Dallas Page, Albert, Tazz, Perry Saturn, Raven, Chuck Palumbo, Crash Holly, Justin Credible, Shawn Stasiak, Steven Richards, Tommy Dreamer, The Hurricane, Spike Dudley, Hugh Morrus, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Funaki

Sacrifice video by Creed.

Vince looks at Team WWF and gives them a pep talk, bringing up names like Dr. Jerry Graham, Peter Maivia, Gorilla Monsoon (pop) and Andre the Giant (BIG pop). He understands he might be looking at a group of losers, and if that happens no one will ever forgive them. After listening to that speech, I want to go fight three WWF guys and one guy each from ECW and WCW!

We recap the main event which has been summed up pretty well already. Vince was replaced by Big Show and Rock and Jericho are having major issues. Rock is WCW champion and Austin is WWF Champion. This really does feel like a huge match. The video is set to Control by Puddle of Mudd which is a good song.

Basically Vince said that he was tired of all of the InVasion (I think a lot of us were at this point) and offered one winner take all match with the losing organization going out of business. Angle joined the Alliance after the announcement but Vince says Austin is coming back to the WWF, giving the Alliance reason to be concerned. Austin stunned Angle on TV recently to further that idea.

Team WWF vs. Team Alliance

The Rock, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Undertaker, Kane

Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon

Everyone gets individual entrances so it takes forever to get to the start of the match. As those are going on, a few things to notice here: Team Alliance has one of the biggest WWF superstars ever, a guy that at this point had only wrestled in the WWF, a WCW guy, an ECW guy, and the then heir to the WWF throne.

Angle gets thrown around but eventually slips behind Kane and hits a German Suplex for two. Kane comes back with a side slam and the top rope clothesline for two of his own as Shane saves again. Off to the Dead Man who pounds away but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Booker to get the tag. Taker immediately drops Booker and hits a legdrop, but Shane breaks up his fifth near fall of the match.

Booker stomps on Rock but Rocky comes back with right hands. A side kick takes Rock right back down but Rock does the same with a DDT for two. Booker charges into a Samoan Drop for two as Austin makes the save. Rock whips Booker into Angle and grabs a rollup to eliminate Mr. T, making it 3-2.

Everyone celebrates and Vince comes out for the big dramatic pose, because this whole storyline was all about Vince and his kids remember.

Ratings Comparison

Christian vs. Al Snow

Original: C+

Redo: C-

William Regal vs. Tajiri

Original: C

Redo: N/A

Edge vs. Test

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys

Original: B+

Redo: B-

Battle Royal

Original: N/A

Redo: C-

Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Jacqueline vs. Ivory vs. Mighty Molly vs. Jazz

Original: D+

Redo: D

Team WWF vs. Team Alliance

Original: B

Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: C+

Redo: B+

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/10/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2001-the-end-of-the-alliance-thank-goodness/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

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

Survivor Series 2000
Date: November 19, 2000
Location: Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 18,602
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s old school time and as luck would have it, we’re going with something from one of the best eras the company has ever had. Steve Austin is back from his neck surgery and going after the mastermind behind his attack with another match against HHH. At the same time, we have the Rock vs. Rikishi, who famously did it for da Rock. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at HHH being the mastermind, which was the best thing they could have done after the big question mark of picking Rikishi. See, back then they saw when something wasn’t working and FIXED THEIR MISTAKE. I know that’s a foreign concept these days but it really did happen back in the day.

See how easy it can be to give what would be an otherwise ice cold match a backstory? And how weird it is for the faces to be in the bottom right hand corner of the ring? How did WWE even manage to have a designated face and heel corner in modern times? Crash’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air so Blackman dropkicks him in the back for a save. Trish comes in but kicks Albert low by mistake, allowing Crash to bring Molly in.

The chase gives us a double tag to Crash and Test with a hurricanrana giving Crash two. Test’s pumphandle slam is broken up as Crash rams him into Albert and it’s off to Molly to beat up Trish. Test pulls Molly down by the hair but she is fine enough to suplex Trish with ease. Crash has to save Molly from a gorilla press but Trish grabs the middle rope bulldog for two. Back up and Molly hits a middle rope sunset flip to put Trish away at 5:03 with Lawler losing his mind as she nearly falls out of her top.

Rating: C-. Today this would have been a Kickoff Show match but that doesn’t mean it was bad. Instead what we had was a match that didn’t overstay its welcome and had a fast enough pace that it still worked. Molly was the best choice for the pin and it’s not like Trish getting pinned is going to hurt her. The more I watch Molly the more impressed I am with her as she can do so many different things. Here she’s almost the All American girl and she would be doing her chaste stuff just over a year later before becoming kind of a hybrid. That takes talent, which she certainly has.

Kurt Angle comes up to Edge and Christian in the back but they have their own match tonight and can’t help Angle against Undertaker. Oh and Christian ate some bad chili and came down with mono. Angle: “You guys with your crazy antics.” He just wanted them to go out and celebrate, as long as he can find non-alcoholic beer.

Earlier today, Low Down and Tiger Ali Singh weren’t on the security entry list. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Radicalz vs. Billy Gunn/Chyna/K-Kwik/Road Dogg

Survivor Series match and it’s so bizarre to see R-Truth here nineteen years ago in a different enough character. Gunn and Chyna may have a bit of romance going on but it isn’t clear. Terri is here with the Radicalz, Malenko is Light Heavyweight Champion and Eddie is Intercontinental Champion. Gunn hammers on Saturn to start and it’s Chyna coming in for a double suplex.

A powerslam gives Chyna two but the handspring elbow is countered into a waistlock. You don’t do that to Chyna, who kicks Saturn low, knocks Eddie off the apron and hits a DDT on Saturn. Everything breaks down and Eddie hits Chyna with the Intercontinental Title for the pin at 2:33.

That takes away a lot of the fans’ interest in the match, even as Dogg gets beaten up for a change. Eddie starts in on the knee so it’s time to talk about the World Title match instead of what’s going on here. Dogg catches Eddie on top with a superplex, allowing the tag off to Gunn. The tilt-a-whirl slam and sleeper drop get rid of Eddie at 6:01 to even things up as WWE keeps trying to make the Gunn singles push a thing.

Malenko and Kwik come in with the latter flipping around but getting driven into the corner for a tag to Benoit. A headscissors takes Benoit down but it’s a heck of a bridging German suplex to get rid of Kwik at 7:19. Dogg comes in and gets beaten up in the corner as well as Lawler tries to figure out why JR is talking about an accordion. Malenko gets two off a suplex but Dogg hits Saturn in the head to get a breather.

Saturn is right back with the northern lights suplex to get rid of Dogg, leaving us with Saturn/Benoit/Malenko vs. Gunn. The Radicalz waste no time in beating Gunn down in the corner and a cheap shot from Saturn makes it even worse. Saturn misses a superkick on the floor and hits Benoit by mistake (or he got close at least with a camera cut making the save), leaving Malenko to take the Fameasser for the pin at 10:58.

The Jackhammer gets two on Saturn but Benoit slams Gunn down and drops the Swan Dive for his own two. Gunn fights back with an elbow to the face and Benoit gets knocked to the apron. That means a suplex back inside but Saturn pulls the leg and holds it down to give Benoit the pin at 12:41.

Rating: D+. Pretty uninspired match here but the Radicalz winning was the only way to go. The team had been around for a long time now and it would be ridiculous to have them lose to the remnants of DX. The match wasn’t even any good with the Radicalz easily picking the team apart, mainly because it was the former Outlaws, Chyna and R-Truth.

Rock wouldn’t talk to Lilian Garcia as he arrived.

Chris Jericho thought is issues with Kane started over some spilled coffee but it is more complicated than that. It is about a man who looks in the mirror and sees the evil monster inside. Jericho is talking about himself though and he’s ready to prove that to Kane.

We recap Kane vs. Jericho, the latter of whom spilled coffee on Kane and made a reference to burning. Kane wasn’t happy and started torturing Jericho, including throwing him through a window and chokeslamming him onto the announcers’ table.

Kane vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho has a bad back coming in from the attacks. They slug it out to start with Kane getting the better of it as the Y2J chants start up. The dropkick puts Kane on the floor and the dive barely connects as Jericho’s foot gets caught on the rope. The springboard dropkick knocks Kane back to the floor as it’s a lot of getting in the shots that he can so far. Back in and Kane drops him face first onto the mat as we hit the monster stretch.

A belly to back suplex is countered and Jericho hammers away, only to get his head clotheslined off. Jericho gets choked over Kane’s back and the announcers continue to do a good job of selling the David vs. Goliath aspect here. A turnbuckle pad comes off and Kane goes to send Jericho face first into the steel (because Jericho is handsome and Kane hates anyone who isn’t a freak) but a raised foot is enough for the block. Instead Kane sends him to the floor and into various things, which is what monsters tend to do.

Back in and Jericho crotches him on top, gets shoved down, but still manages to dropkick Kane out of the air. A basement dropkick sets up a missile dropkick for two and the Walls go on. The rope is grabbed after a long stretch that didn’t have a lot of drama, mainly because Jericho was barely cranking on the thing. Jericho pulls him back and tries again but gets kicked in the face this time. The bulldog into the Lionsault (with Kane having to scoot over about a foot and a half) is blocked with a grab of the throat though and there’s the chokeslam for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C. The ending would have been better had Kane not been so out of place at first but the rest wasn’t exactly great. For some reason I never got into this one and it just didn’t have that much drama. I do like Kane winning as it gives us a reason to keep things going, and this is the kind of thing that can go on for a bit.

Terri comes in to see the Radicalz and tells them that HHH is in the building and he’ll meet with them later. Laughter ensues.

European Title: William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly

Regal is defending in a match that was set up on Heat. Before the match, Regal mocks the Florida fans for not being able to elect a new President or understand something as basic as manners. Holly’s music cuts him off and I don’t think that counts as good manners either. Holly starts fast and hammers away but Regal goes with the wrestling by turning it into a lockup.

Regal pulls him chest first into the middle buckle and starts cranking on the arm, which had been broken earlier in the year and kept Holly on the shelf. Holly gets sent face first into the mat with a wristlock and Regal kneels down onto the arm again. A cross armbreaker keeps Holly in trouble until he manages a crossbody for a breather. Holly gets his arms tied in the ropes but manages to get free and knock Regal down. Sick of the wrestling thing, Holly grabs the title and hits Regal in the head for the DQ at 5:47.

Rating: D+. This felt like it was thrown in to fill time and odds are that is what they were doing. Holly got beaten up the entire time and then got disqualified in the end, which felt like more of a heel move than anything else. Just not very interesting of a match and it didn’t seem important either.

Trish comes in to see Angle and offers her, ahem, assistance tonight. He appreciates it but she can tell Test and Albert that he’s got Undertaker tonight. Kurt: “See you later!”

We recap the Rock vs. Rikishi. Last year, Rikishi ran over Steve Austin and accused Rock of telling him to do it. That wasn’t true though, with Rikishi saying that he did it for Rock because people like them weren’t going to get a shot in this company. Rock beat him up so Rikishi, with the help of real mastermind HHH, crushed Rock’s chest with a sledgehammer.

Rock vs. Rikishi

Rock has a bad chest coming in and charges in to hammer away. The Samoan drop (more like a backdrop) lets Rock grab a chair but the referee pulls it away, allowing Rikishi to superkick him down. Rock’s right hands don’t get him very far as Rikishi slams him right back down to take over again. Rikishi gets sent outside and his head goes into the steps….which shouldn’t hurt him.

It doesn’t seem to be that bad and Rikishi is back with a ram into the timekeeper’s bell. The ref gets bumped (of course) so it’s time to grab the sledgehammer. Since Rikishi is a bad villain (like, a really bad one), he takes so long that Rock can hit a Rock Bottom for a very delayed two. A headbutt to the chest puts Rock down and another one to the head has him rolling around in pain.

There’s another Samoa drop and Rikishi sits on his chest for two. Rikishi crushes him in the corner and gets in the Stinkface, which is the kind of embarrassment you don’t get from Rock too often. The hard clothesline turns Rikishi inside out and there’s a spinebuster, which only hurts the chest again. He’s fine enough to hit the People’s Elbow for the very delayed pin at 11:19.

Rating: C. Thank goodness, as having Rikishi beat the Rock would have been as ridiculous as having Rikishi be the big bad in a major storyline. This was as good as it was going to be and even then it was just a simple injury story. Rikishi is not believable in this spot and that is painfully obvious. At least he lost here, but it isn’t making this any less of a head scratcher.

Post match Rikishi superkicks him again and hits FOUR Banzai Drops. So yeah this is going to continue. Lucky us.

Raven is at WWF New York.

Steve Austin arrives. Dude it’s an hour and twenty minutes into the show. That’s bad even for you.

HHH and the Radicalz aren’t concerned so here’s Commissioner Mick Foley to say the Radicalz are banned from ringside and the match is now No DQ. HHH still doesn’t seem to mind.

Women’s Title: Ivory vs. Lita

Ivory, as part of the Right to Censor, is defending. Lita throws her down to start and the beatdown is on in a hurry. They get sloppy early on with Ivory shoving her away as Lawler talks about Lita’s underwear. Lita gets choked down in the corner as her eye is busted open BAD. More right hands keep Lita in trouble until she snaps off a headscissors for a breather.

Cue Steven Richards as Ivory is sent outside, meaning Lita gets to dive onto both of them. A high crossbody gets two on Ivory but Richards pulls her away from the Litasault. Somehow that isn’t a DQ, even with the referee looking right at her. The distraction lets Ivory grab the title but Lita suplexes her down. Now the Litasault hits the belt and Ivory retains at 4:56.

Rating: D+. They packed a lot into this one and that eye cut was nasty but it was a pretty weak effort, as was often the case around this era. The biggest problem is trying to put in so much stuff into a five minute match, as there is only so much you can cram into so little time before it stops working. That was the case here and it showed pretty badly.

Post match Lita is a bloody mess and has to be helped out.

Rock is pretty banged up.

Jericho jumps Kane in the back with a chair and drives him into a steel door. Various weapons are used until referees pull Jericho off.

We recap Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title. Angle has been the greatest rookie in company history and Undertaker won a four way match to become #1 contender. Undertaker doesn’t think much of a nitwit like Angle, who isn’t laying down for anyone.

Undertaker talks about debuting here ten years ago and tonight, Angle takes his Last Ride.

WWF Title: Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

Undertaker is challenging. Before the match, Angle talks about how this is his anniversary so the fans can vote on their favorite rookie year moment. Angle even lists them off until Undertaker’s entrance cuts him off for a tried and true idea. With Angle bailing, Undertaker holds up the title to get in Kurt’s head in a hurry. Undertaker grabs a chair so Angle hides behind the referee like a great coward.

That’s fine with Undertaker, who throws the chair to Angle….who uses it before the bell to take over early on. Angle stomps him down in the corner but you don’t do that to Undertaker, who switches places with him and hammers away. The big leg gets two and an elbow is good for the same, though the second one sees Undertaker pull him up. Old School connects as the fans are happy, though I can’t get around Undertaker’s near camouflage pants.

Angle snaps off the first suplex and Undertaker rolls to the floor, only to catch a diving Angle and drive him into the post. Back in and the big boot misses in the corner, which tends to be the case more often than not. The leg gets bent around the ropes as Angle is a lot more comfortable with the slower pace. Undertaker pulls him down into the Fujiwara armbar but cue Edge and Christian to distract the referee as Angle taps.

The distractions allow Angle to get up and take him back down by the leg, meaning it’s time to lay down and crank a bit. That’s broken up as well so Undertaker goes outside and beats up the Canadians, followed by a chokeslam for two on Angle. The champ is right back up and goes after the knee again, which does at least take Undertaker down for a bit. Angle grabs the Figure Four but gets it turned over for the break.

Undertaker gets two off a powerslam but Angle takes the leg again and Figure Fours it around the post for a bit. The leg is fine enough for Snake Eyes to get two and they’re both down again. A quick low blow (with the referee looking at them) doesn’t have much effect as Undertaker tries the Tombstone with Angle getting out to the apron. Angle tries to crawl underneath the ring but gets pulled back out for the Last Ride. That’s good for two….because the referee is counting the wrong man. That would be Kurt’s brother Eric, allowing Kurt to run back in and roll Undertaker up with tights for the pin at 16:03.

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as the leg stuff kept going but Undertaker kept getting back up without selling the thing. The ending was creative enough (or at least fresh) and that’s better than the selection of stupid finishes they could have used. Just not the best chemistry here and Undertaker never felt like he was in danger of taking a regular fall, which took away any drama they could have had.

Post match Kurt jumps in his car and gets out.

Video on the XFL cheerleaders. Like that’ll have any shelf life.

Edge and Christian/Right To Censor vs. Dudley Boyz/Hardy Boyz

Survivor Series again and Goodfather/Bull Buchanan, with Val Venis, are Tag Team Champions. Buchanan and Bubba start things off with nothing of note happening so it’s off to Goodfather to shoulder D-Von down instead. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s a quadruple DDT to plant the villains. The Hardys pull off their shirts to reveal Dudley camouflage but it takes too long, allowing Edge to hit the Edge O Matic to get rid of Matt at 3:58.

D-Von clotheslines Edge and Christian down but a Buchanan distraction sets up the Unprettier to get rid of D-Von at 5:08. Bubba comes in for a heck of a backdrop on Christian and it’s Jeff coming in. That goes better for Christian, who whips him ribs first into the post. Buchanan comes in and gets to stomp away, only to miss a charge so Bubba cane come back in and clean house.

Edge spears Buchanan by mistake and Bubba pins Bull at 7:32. The Bubba Bomb hits Edge and Christian splashes him by mistake to give Bubba another pin at 8:00. So it’s Bubba/Jeff vs. Christian/Goodfather in a bizarre tag match. The Death Valley Driver lets Goodfather get rid of Bubba at 8:42. Jeff is back up and takes Christian down for the Swanton and the pin at 9:34. Goodfather misses a splash in the corner though and Venis clotheslines him by mistake, allowing Jeff to steal the final pin at 10:05.

Rating: D. Oh this didn’t work as it needed about twice as long. They were flying through everything at once and nothing had a chance to make any kind of an impact. Jeff didn’t feel like he won as much as he was the only one they didn’t have time to eliminate. These eight are capable of WAY better but there is only so much that you can do in ten minutes with seven eliminations.

Post match the Right To Censor comes in to destroy Jeff but the Dudleys come in for the save. RTC is put through some tables for the big moment. They really needed to do this here instead of giving the match the extra time? I do miss Bubba’s trance for putting people through tables though.

HHH tells the Radicalz that they know what to do.

We recap HHH vs. Steve Austin. Rikishi ran Austin over last year but Austin came back and beat Rikishi up. Since it was Rikishi vs. Steve Austin, it was clear that someone had to be Rikishi’s boss, which of course was revealed as HHH. JR being stunned that the top heel in the company being the top heel in the story isn’t his best moment. Now it’s about revenge.

Steve Austin vs. HHH

No DQ and the Radicalz are banned from ringside. Austin goes straight to the slugging (as you may have guessed) and sends HHH head first into the buckle. A knee to the ribs sets up more shots to the face before Austin starts going after HHH’s bad back. The Thesz press and middle finger elbow send HHH outside as there is no point in trying for a cover yet. They fight up to the entrance with Austin picking up a piece scaffolding but getting punched back down.

The fight goes backstage for a bit before coming back to the entrance where Austin gets in a suplex. Back to ringside with both guys going into the steps and Austin stomps away at the timekeeper’s area. There’s a monitor shot to the head, followed by Austin picking up the cooler….but thinking twice about it because that’s what Austin does. Austin stomps away to leave a bloody HHH laying, meaning it’s time for a beer.

The empty can goes upside HHH’s busted head and it’s time to go inside again for a lot of punching. HHH’s low blow slows things down a bit and a neckbreaker takes him down. HHH crushes Austin’s head against the post and gets two off a clothesline. Austin grabs a spinebuster but misses the middle rope elbow. It’s back to the floor and a Pedigree attempt on the steps is countered with a backdrop through the announcers’ table.

Agents and referees try to break it up so Austin gets up and chases Benoit outside. HHH is out there as well but we’ve lost Austin so HHH is hiding in a car. Benoit goes off to find Austin and it’s HHH doing a near voiceover, saying we need to finish this. Cue Austin in a forklift to pick HHH’s car up and drop it down (HHH: “HOLY S***!”) to end the show. We’ll say the match ended at about 25:00.

Rating: B+. They did exactly what they should have done here and didn’t try to do anything else. This was all about violence and Austin getting some aggression out because HHH tried to kill him. Austin even had the big moment near the end with the Pillmanizing of the neck. This went well and outside of the ending with the car, it was a heck of a brawl with HHH not getting squashed, as he shouldn’t have.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event helped a lot but this just wasn’t a very good show. It was all about the one big match, Undertaker vs. Angle with a screwy finish and then the just ok Rock vs. Rikishi match. Things were in a weird place here with Austin and Rock now fighting over the top spot and it is clear that Rock took a step down at least for tonight. Rikishi being in one of the bigger matches on a major show is hardly a believable spot and this show just does not hold up, outside of the main event.

Ratings Comparison

Original: D+

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: C-

The Radicalz vs. Team Chyna

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C

2019 Redo: D+

Kane vs. Chris Jericho

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: C

William Regal vs. Hardcore Holly

Original: D-

2012 Redo: D-

2019 Redo: D+

The Rock vs. Rikishi

Original: B

2012 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: C

Ivory vs. Lita

Original: D+

2012 Redo: D

2019 Redo: D+

Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C+

2019 Redo: D+

Team Dudley Boys vs. Team Edge and Christian

Original: C-

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Steve Austin vs. HHH

Original: D-

2012 Redo: B-

2019 Redo: B+

Overall Rating:

Original: D+

2012 Redo: C-

2019 Redo: D+

Dang I’m all over the place with this one but yeah it’s not a great show by any stretch.

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

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/24/survivor-series-2000-i-never-remember-this-show/

And the 2012 Redo:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/07/survivor-series-count-up-2000-no-selling-a-car-crash/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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NXT
Date: November 6, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re in the ECW Arena and that is the main focal point of the show. The show is also featuring a bunch of ECW guest stars, which you might want to take or leave. The main event is Bubba Ray Dudley teaming with Trick Williams to face Ethan Page and Ridge Holland. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening sequence is set to the old ECW theme, which works rather well.

Lola Vice vs. Jaida Parker

Hardcore match with Dawn Marie as guest referee. Parker jumps her to start and grabs a chair but Vice knocks it into her face with the spinning backfist. They go to the floor where Vice grabs a table but takes too long, allowing Parker to knock her down. Some chairs are thrown in but Parker’s big swing hits the corner, allowing Vice to get in another knockdown as we take a break.

Back with a bunch of weapons in the ring, including a bunch of ladders. Parker plants her with a spinebuster and puts her on the ladder for the big Tear Drop from the standing ladder for two. More weapons are brought in but Parker takes too much time and gets kendo sticked down.

Vice puts her in a trashcan for the running hip attack and a near fall but Parker throws a trashcan at her. Back in and Vice gets in some more kendo stick shots, only to get sideslammed onto a chair. A running elbow sends Vice into the ladder for two so breaks a BRICK over her head. That’s only good for two (of course) so Parker hits the Hipnotic for the pin at 14:47.

Rating: C. As usual in modern hardcore style matches, there were far too many weapons and it brought the match down. Throw in A BRICK to the head being a near fall and it was more than a bit much to take. Marie didn’t add a thing whatsoever either and the whole thing felt like a match for the live crowd, despite it not being entirely thought out.

Ethan Page and Ridge Holland are ready to take out Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley.

Kelani Jordan is stretching with Rob Van Dam, who gives her a pep talk. Jordan leaves and Wes Lee jumps Van Dam with a chair.

The FBI met the D’Angelo Family and apparently Tony Mamaluke has gotten Rizzo a match with Nikkita Lyons next week. As for tonight, Nunzio gets a North American Title shot.

Apparently referees will be more lenient for the rest of the night.

Je’Von Evans vs. Wes Lee

Evans starts fast but his springboard cutter is countered. A rollup gives Evans two but Lee knocks him to the floor for a 619 around the post. Lee manages a brainbuster onto the steps and we take an early break. Back with Evans snapping off a top rope super hurricanrana and hitting a spinning slam. The top rope spinning splash misses though and Lee scores with the Cardiac Kick for two.

Lee grabs a chair but the referee takes it away, allowing Evans to come back with a running cutter. The top rope cutter connects, with Lee rolling out to the floor. Evans’ dive is sent crashing over the announcers’ table so Lee grabs a chair, only to be cut off by Rob Van Dam. Evans hits a springboard cutter into…what was supposed to be a Five Star frog splash (which was left so short that Evans’ knees hit the mat first) for the pin at 12:27.

Rating: C+. I cannot get into Evans and this wasn’t helping. I’m not sure how many cutters you need to use in a single match but Evans was flirting with the maximum allowed. Lee taking a loss, even with interference, isn’t the most appealing thing either here, especially to such a horrible looking finisher.

Ava doesn’t have time for Eddy Thorpe but promises to make it up.

Here are Ava and her lackeys for a special announcement. That would be the return of Deadline, which will take place on December 7. Robert Stone talks about how much better New York and Boston fans are than Philadelphia fans. Then the lights go out and Rhyno pops in for a Gore.

Kelani Jordan and company exchange pep talks before the ten woman tag. The big announcement here is that Jordan speaks Spanish, but here are Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson to brag about going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer aren’t impressed.

Ethan Page/Ridge Holland vs. Trick Williams/Bubba Ray Dudley

Williams and Holland start things off but Holland shoves Ray on the apron. Ray comes in and gets shouldered down by Holland, leaving him a bit surprised. A wristlock goes a bit better for Ray and it’s off to Williams for some arm cranking of his own. Page gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and the villains take over, only for Williams to slip out of a double neckbreaker. Ray comes back in to clean house and Page and Holland are knocked to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ray getting crotched against the post and Holland grabbing an armbar. Ray fights out of trouble and brings Williams back in to pick up the pace, including a flapjack to Holland. A Rock Bottom gives Williams two with Page making the save. The Trick Shot is loaded up but Holland reverses into a rollup for the pin at 10:18.

Rating: B-. The ending is a fine way to go and makes sense over having Dudley take the pin. Holland as the next challenger makes sense and now we get to see a likely title match at Deadline. Odds are this is it for Ray, which I’ll take over having him feud with either Page or Holland.

Post match the beatdown is on but Bubba makes the save. We get the What’s Up and then it’s time to GET THE TABLES. Hold on though because here is D-Von Dudley with the table, with Page going through it.

Dion Lennox comes up to Ashante Thee Adonis and asks about him going from woman to woman. Karmen Petrovic comes in to ask about the other woman Adonis was with last week. Adonis isn’t interested but does remember that last week was her birthday. That’s enough to win Petrovic over. Again, with Lennox looking surprised in the background.

Roxanne Perez and company are ready to beat up the newcomers.

North American Title: Tony D’Angelo vs. Nunzio

D’Angelo, with his family, is defending and Tony Mamaluke is here with Nunzio. D’Angelo starts fast and sends him outside, where a clothesline hits Mamaluke. A belly to belly suplex plants Nunzio and D’Angelo puts him on top but Nunzio dropkicks his way out of trouble. The Sicilian Slice gives Nunzio two but a crow bar shot is caught by the referee. The spinebuster (with Nunzio crossing himself) retains the title at 2:18. That’s what it should have been.

Post match respect is shown.

Shawn Spears tells Brooks Jensen to be ready for next week.

William Regal gives Lexis King a pep talk after last week’s loss. King leaves and the No Quarter Cat Crew comes in. Charlie Dempsey says King couldn’t get the job done, with Regal saying King isn’t his father’s son. Dempsey asks if he’s his father’s son, but Regal suggests the team go after the Tag Team Titles instead.

Nikkita Lyons promises to take out everyone and win gold.

Nathan Frazier and Axiom are told about a meeting with the tag division next week where the new challengers will be determined. Axiom thinks that’s a great way to scout everyone at once but Frazier sees it as a week off.

Fatal Influence/Cora Jade/Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia/Zaria/Kelani Jordan/Jordynne Grace/Stephanie Vaquer

Jordan armdrags and dropkicks Henley to start and it’s off to Vaquer for a springboard crossbody. Nyx comes in and gets caught with a 619, setting up a double elbow to give Giulia two. It’s off to Perez, who gets caught with an overhead belly to belly suplex. A shot from the apron slow Giulia down though and Perez hits a running dropkick against the ropes.

Zaria comes in for the tease of a powerbomb but all ten get in for the shouting and brawling. The villains are sent to the floor and Jordan hits a big moonsault as we take a break. Back with Jordan being sent outside, where Nyx takes out Giulia and Vaquer with a dive. Jordan fights up back inside but Henley breaks up a tag attempt. Not that it matters as it’s a diving tag off to Grace to clean house.

A Vader Bomb hits Jade for two and Zaria and Grace’s double powerbomb gets two more. We hit the parade of knockdowns until everyone is down, as Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend come out. More dives take them out as well and it’s off to Perez. Zaria spears Grace by mistake but pops back up with the F5 to pin Perez at 15:04.

Rating: B-. It was a fairly wild match, though I’m not sure why I was supposed to believe that the villains had any real chance to win. The other team has no weak links and it was them mainly steamrolling Perez and company, save for a few brief spots. Evan Zaria spearing Grace didn’t make much of a difference. That being said, it was a fun spectacle and that’s what it needed to be.

Overall Rating: B-. The big appeal here was ECW and if you weren’t a fan, it isn’t going to work out so well. Most of the stuff was harmless enough and they didn’t get a big focus at the end. D-Von was a nice surprise and the non-ECW stuff was good enough. This wasn’t a great show, but you can see a lot of what is being set up for Deadline in about a month. Things will be back to normal next week, but for now, it could have been worse.

Results
Jaida Parker b. Lola Vice – Hipnotic
Je’Von Evans b. Wes Lee – Frog splash
Ridge Holland/Ethan Page b. Bubba Ray Dudley/Trick Williams – Rollup to Williams
Tony D’Angelo b. Nunzio – Spinebuster
Giulia/Zaria/Kelani Jordan/Jordynne Grace/Stephanie Vaquer b. Fatal Influence/Cora Jade/Roxanne Perez – F5 to Perez

 

 

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NXT
Date: October 29, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and the big story is wee seem to be heading for a mini ECW reunion when the show heads to Philadelphia next week. Odds are that means we get some hype for the show this week, as Bubba Ray Dudley does not seem happy with Ridge Holland for attacking NXT Champion Trick Williams to end Sunday’s show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Halloween Havoc if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Halloween Havoc but it’s interrupted by Tatum Paxley shoving a casket to the ring.

Tatum Paxley vs. Wendy Choo

Casket match with Paxley bringing a casket and Choo bringing a bed. Paxley starts fast with a dropkick to stagger Choo as commentary says the first casket match was between Undertaker and Kamala in 1992, showing commentary doesn’t know the difference between Casket and Coffin. Choo gets a trashcan wrapped around her head for some stick shots, followed by something like a reverse Angle Slam back inside. Back up and Choo puts her in a trashcan for a dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Paxley being hiptossed into a dollhouse but Paxley uses the pillow to avoid the casket being closed. Choo pulls out a pillow full of Legos and a full nelson slam plants Paxley in a rather painful way. Paxley still won’t be slammed inside so they both crash in with the lid closing. A fire extinguisher blast to the face sends Choo onto her bed and Paxley puts her into the casket for the win at 10:10.

Rating: C. This felt like something that belonged on the Halloween Havoc Kickoff Show more than here, but I do like Paxley getting a win. That and anything involving Choo and this dumb sleep/pillow/bed thing taking a step down. I’m still not sure what the heck Choo is supposed to be about but I also can’t bring myself to be remotely interested.

Now we get the Halloween Havoc recap.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat. Williams went into the Devil’s Playground at NXT and he’s still your NXT Champion. Ridge Holland attacked him after the match though and that’s why he owes Bubba Ray Dudley a thank you. Cue Bubba, who says he did what he did because Holland was disrespectful. Bubba was watching Holland get involved and wondered where everyone was, but none of them came out because of that title.

Williams needs to have eyes in the back of his head, which Williams understands, but he wants revenge. What he wants is a tag match with the two of them against Holland and Ethan Page in the ECW Arena next week. Ray says he’s known Williams for about three minutes and the juices are already flowing. He’s ready to bring out the tye dye and puts on the glasses, but then he says no. I heartily approve of this decision.

Ava is in the back with Rob Van Dam, who says if Bubba doesn’t want to do it, he will. Ava says she’d love to have him on the show and will think of something for him to do. Kelani Jordan comes in and wants the North American Title back. Nikkita Lyons comes in to say Jordan is at the back of the line, which doesn’t work for Jordan.

Shawn Spears and Brooks Jensen play Tony D’Angelo a voicemail from someone not happy with how this has been going. They’ll deal with D’Angelo next week. Commentary confirms that was Nunzio on the phone, meaning we’re likely getting the FBI. Sure.

Heritage Cup: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

King is challenging and has William Regal in his corner. Round one begins with a bit of a slow start before they trade rollups for two each. Dempsey fires off some knees to the face but Dempsey hits a spinning high crossbody for two. A rollup (ala his father Brian Pillman) gets the same but Dempsey grabs a bridging butterfly suplex for the pin at 2:24.

Round two begins with Dempsey elbowing him in the face and grabbing a cravate to crank away. Back up and Dempsey sends him over the top, with King hurting his knee on the apron. We take a break and come back with the clocking having been paused for the commercial (erg). King’s belly to back suplex into a superkick drops Dempsey as the round ends.

Round three begins with Dempsey going after the bad knee and a fisherman’s suplex gets two. A half crab stays on the leg but King fights back, only for the knee to go out again. Regal tries to slip him the brass knuckles but King says no, allowing Dempsey to grab a German suplex for the pin to retain at 2:55 of the round and 13:34 overall.

Rating: C. This was another step in the evolution o King into a nice guy, but at the same time it’s also another loss on a large pile of them. At some point he has to win some bigger matches, which could still come, but he also has to do something that stands out a bit more. I didn’t see it here, even with Regal in his corner.

Video on Lola Vice vs. Jaida Parker.

Zaria vs. Brinley Reece

Zaria shoulders Reece down and lifts her up by the arm or some pain. Reece’s clothesline doesn’t work as it’s a spear into an F5 to give Zaria the pin at 2:48. Total destruction.

Post match Fatal Influence pops up to mock Zaria but here are Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade to do the same. Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer run in to even things out a bit (some may say they’re already ahead) but Jordynne Grace (from TNA) runs in to officially wreck the villains.

Post break, a ten woman tag has been set up.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kelani Jordan

Jordan snaps off an armdrag to start and hits a running dropkick. A basement crossbody gets two on Lyons before they pull each other into the splits. Lyons sends her hard into the corner but Jordan fights up with some running forearms. Those are cut off but here is Rizzo for a distraction, allowing Jordan to pull Lyons down. One Of A Kind finishes Lyons off at 4:04.

Rating: C. I can certainly go for Lyons not getting close to a title, as she loses what little appeal she has every time she’s on the show. Rizzo going after Lyons could be interesting as Rizzo has done well enough when she is given the chance. Jordan is likely going to either go after Fatal Influence again or go after the Women’s Title.

Post match Rizzo runs in to beat Lyons down and they brawl to the back.

Here is Ethan Page for a chat but Ridge Holland cuts him off in a hurry. Holland says everyone is sick and tired of Page but Holland will be taking the NXT Title from Trick Williams. Bully Ray made the right call by turning down the offer of a tag match but here is Ray to interrupt.

Ray has learned a lot about Holland in the last 48 hours, who has commanded the conversation on Busted Open Radio. He’s impressed by Holland’s rugby background and ability to come back after serious injuries so quickly. Ray doesn’t like disrespect but isn’t going to be wrestling again. Holland isn’t surprised because Ray is just a radio host and is overrated, just like ECW. The beating is on but Trick Williams makes the save. The tag match is on.

This was a good example of what has kept me from caring about the whole story. Ray talked about being half of the greatest tag team ever and while the Dudleys were great, Ray on his own is just kind of there. He’s dragged down a lot of shows he’s been on in recent years and it’s hard to care about him again just because they’re going to a certain arena. At least it’s likely to be done next week though.

Stephanie Vaquer and company are ready for the big ten woman tag next week. Rhea Ripley comes in and tells them to blow the roof off.

Jaida Parker is ready to take out Lola Vice and Dawn Marie better stay out of her way.

Judgment Day is here…and Rhea Ripley has been attacked.

Tag Team Titles: Nathan Frazier/Axiom vs. Cedric Alexander/Je’Von Evans

Frazier and Axiom are defending. Alexander works on Axiom’s arm to start but gets armdragged without much effort. Frazier and Evans come in to trade missed kicks and flips but Alexander comes in of a blind tag for a running dropkick. Frazier knocks Alexander into the corner so Axiom holds out his hand for a tag but Frazier would rather stomp away.

Back up and Frazier is sent outside, with Evans and Alexander hitting dives as we take a break. We come back with Alexander hitting a fireman’s carry kick to the head to Axiom and Evans comes back in. A springboard clothesline gets two on Frazier and Evans makes Axiom DDT Frazier for two. Evans’ powerbomb gets two with Frazier making the save.

A double springboard cutter gives Evans two on Axiom, who is right back with a super Spanish Fly to Alexander. Frazier’s phoenix splash gets two but Evans makes the save while also hitting a step up cutter on Axiom. Cue Wes Lee to brawl with Evans to the back, leaving Alexander to hit a Michinoku Driver. Not that it matters as the brainbuster/superkick combination finishes Alexander to retain at 14:55.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much the same thing Axiom and Frazier have done for months now: bicker a lot leading up to the match, have some issues during the match, win to retain anyway, stat the whole thing over. They’re going to split up someday and neither of them are going to come out looking good because this story has been going on way too long. That being said, I’m not sure who else there is to take the titles, but find something new for them already.

Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans are brawling in the back when Ava and Rob Van Dam come in. The fight is broken up, with Van Dam saying he knows what he wants to do next week. I’m going to assume it’s another special referee and if so, egads find something else to do already.

Overall Rating: C. I was not feeling this one at all, as there is a bunch of stuff that I feel like we have to get through before we can get to something better. This includes the Frazier/Axiom stuff and the ECW nostalgia, which thankfully should only last a week. Just not the most appealing show here, but hopefully it picks up when we get done with the latest reminder that ECW was supposed to be far better than it really was.

Results
Tatum Paxley b. Wendy Choo – Paxley shut Choo in the casket
Charlie Dempsey b. Lexis King 2-0
Zaria b. Brinley Reece – F5
Kelani Jordan b. Nikkita Lyons – One Of A Kind
Nathan Frazier/Axiom b. Cedric Alexander/Je’Von Evans – Brainbuster/superkick combination to Alexander

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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

 

Summerslam 2009
Date: August 23, 2009
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17,129
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Todd Grisham, Matt Striker, Josh Matthews

The opening video is set up like a movie theater, but DX takes it over by making shadow puppets on the screen. Shawn wins by putting up Abraham Lincoln. They finally break the projector but Shawn says he can fix it. He turns it into a DX highlight video but breaks the camera one more time.

Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rey is defending after a long but awesome feud with Jericho. Ziggler pounds him down into the corner before getting two off a powerslam. Dolph throws him over his shoulders to the top but Rey bounces off with a moonsault press for two. Out to the floor and a cameraman is taken out via I think a hurricanrana. Back in and Ziggler catches (kind of) a rana off the top in a buckle bomb for two to take over.

Rating: B+. Excellent opener here with Ziggler being able to go move for move with one of the best high fliers of all time. It was clear that Dolph was going to be a big deal and this was a great example of why. Rey was on fire at this point but he would be derailed by a Wellness violation a few weeks later, forcing him to drop the title to John Morrison.

Jack Swagger vs. MVP

MVP jumps over Swagger in the corner and hits a quick clothesline for two to start. Swagger rolls to the floor to avoid the Ballin Elbow, only to be caught by a suicide dive. Back in and Swagger gets in some shots to the ribs to take over followed by a forearm to the back. MVP counters another shot with an elbow to the face, only to get caught in an abdominal stretch.

Luke Perry is here.

Video on celebrities guest hosting Raw. Did we really have to relive this stupid idea?

Tag Titles: Chris Jericho/Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme

Kane vs. Great Khali

Slash, Robert Patrick and Maria Menunos are here.

Legacy vs. D-Generation X

DX comes in on a tank, trailing behind a bunch of soldiers on an Army jeep. Ok points for an AWESOME entrance. HHH starts with DiBiase as Ted fires off right hands in the corner. They have even less effect than you would expect so HHH suplexes him down and drops a knee for two. Off to Cody who walks into the high knee to the face from the Game and slaps Shawn as a result. Shawn gets the tag to a big pop but gets slapped again after running the ropes a bit.

ECW Title: Christian vs. William Regal

Christian is defending. Remember Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry going 32 seconds last week? This is a quarter of that as Christian grabs the Killswitch as Regal is taking his robe off for the pin to retain.

Video on the Summerslam festivities in Los Angeles.

We recap Orton vs. Cena. Orton has dominated the year and Cena is the latest guy to try to take the title. Not much here but do these two really need a backstory?

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Orton is defending. Cena takes him down with a front facelock but Orton counters into a hammerlock. Randy takes him into the corner and kicks at the ribs a bit, cuing a Cena comeback with rights and lefts. Orton comes back with an elbow to the face and his VERY slow stomping. This is the main criticism of Orton around this time: he wrestled in slow motion and it makes for very dull matches. The big knee drop to the chest gets two.

Cena gets in another shot and pops up top for the Fameasser, good for two. Orton grabs the ropes to block the FU and a double clothesline puts them both down. They slug it out with Cena taking over and speeding things up, but Orton shoves the referee for the LAME DQ. To be fair though it was the first fast paced thing he did all match.

Smackdown World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk

Back up and Hardy loads up Poetry in Motion but Punk drops him onto the open chair to take over. A series of ladder shots to the back have Hardy in big trouble. Punk sends him to the floor and hits a suicide dive but misses a chair shot. Hardy sends him into the post and gets in a chair shot to the elbow to take over. This is a slower paced match so far which is usually the best way to go about TLC matches. Now Poetry In Motion hits against the barricade and Punk is in trouble.

Hardy loads up a table next to the ring and this Punk in the head with part of the announce table and a monitor. A chair shot puts Punk down again as Hardy is in full control. Jeff sets up the big ladder and hits an INSANE Swanton Bomb through Punk through the announce table. That looked NUTS but the crash was great. Both guys are checked on as the stretcher is brought out. Hardy is taken out but Punk is crawling towards the ladder. Jeff gets off the stretcher and goes after Punk, only to be kicked off the ladder in another big crash, giving Punk the title.

Ratings Comparison

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: A-

Redo: B+

Jack Swagger vs. MVP

Original: C

Redo: D

Chris Jericho/Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme

Original: D+

Redo: C-

Kane vs. Great Khali

Original: D+

Redo: D-

D-Generation X vs. Legacy

Original: A

Redo: B+

William Regal vs. Christian

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Original: B-

Redo: D

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy

Original: A

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: B

The Cena vs. Orton match carries or sinks this show depending on how you look at it.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/12/history-of-summerslam-count-up-2009-punk-in-another-main-event-3/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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