We open with a recap of Punk vs. Rock as the champion is apparently here tonight. We also talk about the Chamber match.

Orton and Henry have a staredown in the back, which leads us to this.

Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton

Before the match, we get a video on Henry and the newly reopened Hall of Pain. Henry shoves him into the corner to start but Orton comes back with enough shots to the head to send Mark into the corner and out to the floor. Back in and Henry headbutts Orton down but the splash misses. Randy pounds away in the corner some more but gets sent to the outside.

We take a break and come back with Orton fighting out of a nerve hold. Back up and Henry immediately knocks him back down with a standing clothesline for two. Back to the nerve hold for a bit but Orton avoids a charge in the corner. A clothesline puts Henry down but Mark hits one of his own to take over again.

Post break Henry takes a microphone from Matt Striker and says the Hall of Pain is open for business again.

We recap Shield vs. Cena/Ryback/Sheamus on Sunday.

Tamina Snuka vs. Layla

We get part of Rock vs. Punk from Raw where Punk stole the belt.

3MB vs. Brodus Clay/Tensai

Fandango is still coming.

Cody Rhodes vs. The Miz

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger

Another rematch from Monday here and Swagger has the Tea Party guy with him here. Jack beats him down to start and counters the double knees in the corner with ease. A hard whip into the corner keeps Ryder down but Zack hits a quick flapjack to get a breather. The Broski Boot misses in the corner and Swagger wraps the knee around the post. Back in and the gutwrench powerbomb sets up the Patriot Act for the submission at 3:20.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Big Show vs. Chris Jericho

Show rushes him into the corner but misses a chop. Jericho pounds away but is immediately knocked out to the floor with a single shot from the giant. As they come back in, Jericho hits a dropkick to buy himself a few seconds of rest. They head to the floor again and Show LAUNCHES Chris over the announce table in a great looking spot. Back in and Show hits some knee lifts to the chest and a slam before going to the middle rope on the inside. The Canadian finally gets in some offense and heads up, only to jump to the floor while hitting a guillotine on Show.

Alberto comes out to stare down Big Show to end things.

Results

Mark Henry b. Randy Orton via DQ

Tamina Snuka b. Layla – Superfly Splash

Brodus Clay/Tensai b. 3MB – Splash to Mahal

The Miz b. Cody Rhodes – Figure Four Leg Lock

Jack Swagger b. Zack Ryder – Patriot Act

Big Show b. Chris Jericho – WMD

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

This is one of those guys you’ve likely only heard of once in awhile, but he’s well worth looking into more.  Rocca was a BIG star back in the 50s and if I remember right, at times he was the #1 draw in wrestling at the time.  He was the guy that Buddy Rogers “beat” in a “tournament final” in Rio de Janeiro for the first WWF Title, obviously making him a big deal at the time.  Rocca was a high flier before there was such a thing as a high flier to be.  On top of all that:

That’s him beating up SUPERMAN.

In case you didn’t get it, Rocca belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Ernie Ladd

Ernie Ladd was a big power guy who was mainly a heel who worked in the WWWF in the 70s.  After watching some of his stuff, I can definitively, without a doubt or question, declare that Ladd was completely and utterly…..not bad.  That’s Ernie Ladd in a nutshell: he’s not bad.  Ladd was a heel who was built up for other faces to take down, kind of like Mark Henry before he went on his path of rage a year or two ago.  As for being in the Hall of Fame, no he doesn’t belong.

George Steele

Steele allegedly is in the Hall of Fame because Stephanie McMahon was a fan of his as a kid.  Other than that, I can’t think of a legitimate reason to put him in the Hall of Fame.  Steele was a crazy monster heel for awhile before becoming a face in 1984.  After that he was a goofy face for the rest of his career and did nothing of note.  There’s no reason for Steele to be in the Hall of Fame, but he’s certainly a fun character and I have nothing bad to say about him.  He’s just not in the elite class that is supposed to be in a Hall of Fame.

Ivan Putski

This is another name that just does not go with the term “Hall of Famer” when you think about it.  Putski was a Polish fan favorite and that’s about the extent of what he’s known for in wrestling.  He and Tito Santana held the tag titles in the late 70s and that’s about all he ever accomplished of note.  There isn’t much else to say here and in case you’re kind of thick, Putski is a no vote.

The Fabulous Moolah

This is one of those names that doesn’t need much of an explanation at all.  She’s the freaking Fabulous Moolah!  Of course she belongs in the Hall of Fame!  In case you’re a young whippersnapper, we’ll go with this: Moolah held the Women’s Title for over 26 years (technically).  If that doesn’t sum up why she’s in the Hall of Fame, nothing is going to.  This is an even bigger layup than Rocca, which is saying a lot.

The Grand Wizard

This is another one of those names that you don’t hear much about but you really should.  The Wizard was an incredibly hated heel manager who managed two world champions (Billy Graham and Stan Stasiak) as well as the first two IC Champions (Patterson and Patera) among many other big names.  He died in 1983 before the Golden Era hit, so there isn’t much video of him to go on.  Based on what I’ve seen and heard, Wizard was indeed an awesome manager and would rank right up there with Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan if he had been around to be seen with them.  Wizard should certainly be in, but again I’m not sure if he should have gone in this early.

Pedro Morales

This is another guy you might not have seen much of but I’ve always been a fan of the guy.  You constantly hear about people being a triple crown champion today, but Morales was the first man to ever accomplish that, and he would be the only man to do it for nearly 12 years.  Think about that.  The IC Title debuted in 1979 and until 1991, only Pedro Morales won all three titles.  He held the WWF and Intercontinental Titles for over a year each, which has only been matched by Randy Savage.  If you’re in that kind of company, you belong in the Hall of Fame.  Morales is an easy yes.

This was a stronger class on top but tomorrow we hit the class that stopped the Hall of Fame for nearly ten years.

We’re still back in the days of holding this thing at the Mariott and it isn’t even associated with Wrestlemania yet.

This is the first entry where you kind of scratch your head.  Skaaland had a nice career but at the end of the day, he’s most famous as the manager of Bob Backlund and the man that threw in the towel to give the WWF Title to the Iron Shiek.  Other than that though, he was kind of just another guy.  The only difference between him and all the other guys: he owned a stake in the Capitol Wrestling Corporation alongside Vince McMahon Sr.  Skaaland in the Hall of Fame is something I can accept, but not in the second class ever.

Bobo Brazil

Now we’re getting somewhere.  Bobo Brazil was the first big time black wrestler in America and was a top star for years.  He was the first black man to “win” the NWA Title although the title change isn’t recognized.  His biggest fame was in Big Time Wrestling in Detroit where he had a legendary feud with the Sheik but he wrestled everywhere, including on the famous Black Saturday show in 1984.  Bobo doesn’t belong in the WWF Hall of Fame, but he does belong in a professional wrestling Hall of Fame for sure.

Buddy Rogers

If you want to talk about someone innovative, look no further than Rogers.  He was basically the original Ric Flair, down to the long time on top, the blonde hair, the strut, and he invented the Figure Four.  Rogers was also the first man to win both the NWA and the WWWF World Title, as he was the first man to win the latter.  Granted he lost the WWWF Title in about 45 seconds, but that’s beyond the point.  Rogers definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Chief Jay Strongbow

This is another questionable one although Strongbow has a better resume than Skaaland.  Jay won titles all over the country and wrestled for the better part of forty years.  He wasn’t the best worker in the world but he was popular for most of his career and had a ton of title matches all over the country.  Strongbow fits into the same mold as Skaaland as he probably has a case for being in the Hall of Fame, but not before a lot of other people.

Classy Freddie Blassie

Blassie is another guy who fits into the category of “take away the WWF part and he’s a lock”.  He was a top heel in Los Angeles as well as other parts of the country and even had mainstream appeal, appearing on the top rated Dick Van Dyke Show in a cameo.  Blassie was a top heel manager in the WWF in the 70s and 80s as well which is where a lot of people probably remember him best.  He was also a legend in Japan and allegedly had a match with Rikidozan (the Hulk Hogan of Japan) that was so intense that fans watching on TV had heart attacks.  This is as much of a layup as we’re getting in this class.

Gorilla Monsoon

I may be incorrect on that last statement on Blassie.  Monsoon is the embodiment of nostalgia for a WWF fan.  Monsoon was by far most famous as a commentator in the 80s where he was the voice of the WWF on the first eight Wrestlemanias.  He and Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan were the best commentary teams of all time, bar none.  He later became President of the WWF which was an appointment I don’t think anyone was complaining about.  On top of all that, he was a big star back in the 60s and 70s so he had the credibility to back up his post in ring career stuff.  Also, he was one of the original owners of the CWC along with Skaaland.  Easy yes vote here.

James Dudley

Now for the white (or black in this case) elephant in the room.  This is pretty easily the weakest entry of the early days of the Hall of Fame and probably the lamest member of the Hall of Fame ever.  Dudley is allegedly in the Hall of Fame for being the first black man to run a major arena in America, but the common sense version is that he was Vince Sr.’s personal bodyguard and limo driver.  To the best of my knowledge, his only appearance on camera was as Bobo Brazil’s manager.  There’s no way he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

For the early days, this is actually a pretty solid class with one major outlier.

We open with a recap of the tournament thus far.

Opening sequence.

Mike Dalton vs. Axl Keagan

Alex Riley vs. Corey Graves

The mat is black here for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the match is happening for a specific reason as Graves attacked Riley after a tag tournament match two weeks ago. Riley starts fast and sends Graves into the corner early on before slamming him down. Graves suckers him in though and fires off a kick to the knee to slow Riley down. Regal: “Sometimes a boot to the face can work wonders.”

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Summer Rae vs. Paige

Sasha Banks gets another love note and will meet her secret admirer next week.

NXT Tag Titles: Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey

Luke mixes things up by switching over to a front facelock before Rowan comes in for a bearhug. Grey finally fights out of the corner and avoids an elbow drop to make the tag to Neville. Things immediately speed up and a jumping DDT gets two on Harper. Neville loads up a springboard kick but jumps into a kick to the face from Harper.

Grey makes a diving save at two and things settle down a bit. Neville escapes a belly to back suplex but gets splashed in the corner. The monsters collide in the corner and Adrian kicks Harper in the face, setting up the corkscrew shooting star for the pin and the titles at 11:54 shown of 18:54.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going and the middle dragged a bit, but the little guy vs. big guy formula here was working like a charm. Grey makes a fine punching bag and Neville has enough stuff to make a convincing comeback to set up the big finish. This was the perfect way to give us a first set of champions and the match worked really well. Good stuff here.

Dusty comes out to present the champions with their titles.

Results

Corey Graves b. Alex Riley – 13^th Step

Summer Rae b. Paige – Spinwheel Kick

Adrian Neville/Oliver Grey b. Wyatt Family – Corkscrew Shooting Star Press to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

To put it simply, he’s the reason the Hall of Fame was established.  Andre really was larger than life and the biggest draw for the company until Hogan showed up.  He was a huge (pun intended) star in the territory days and he would rotate around the country, never overstaying his welcome.  This was also required because he can only beat up everyone in the territory for so long. Of course his biggest match ever was at Wrestlemania 3 in the biggest match of all time, but his glory days were in the 70s and early 80s when Andre was arguably the top star in the world.

He embodies the larger than life characters that guys like Undertaker and Big Show try to emulate today.  When Vince created the Undertaker character, he wasn’t trying to make the new Hogan.  He was trying to make the new Andre: a character the fans would be in awe of and would hardly ever lose.  Andre belongs in any Hall of Fame and was the perfect choice to start the Hall off with.

The guy behind me was cheering for all his heroes, booing the villains, and clearly was an expert on what was going on.  He didn’t need to know that Barrett had no chance of winning, he didn’t need to know what spots were coming, he didn’t need to rate the match.  He was having fun with what he was doing and had paid his money to see a show.  There’s not a thing wrong with that and I felt kind of jealous actually.

The new (well old now) house show set does help things a lot.  it’s nothing great or flashy but it makes things feel a lot more special than just walking through a black curtain.  There are two mini trons and a big X which has the theme of the wrestler (i.e. Sheamus’ is green, Del Rio is red, white and green etc) and a mini ramp.  It’s a BIG upgrade and makes things look a lot better.

We were told to tweet our pick of the stipulation for the main event: No DQ or 2/3 falls.  No DQ was up about 80 to 20 when they stopped showing the results.

We got the standard videos from WWE: Wrestlemania Reading Challenge, Saturday Morning Slam, WWE App etc.

The main shirts I saw were Cena and Rock with a few Rybacks throughout the arena.  Mainly Cena though.

Kofi Kingston vs. Heath Slater

The crowd was white hot all night and this was no exception.  My theory of Kofi as the modern day Tito Santana continues to grow.  Kofi was INSANELY over and looked great all match.  The crowd booed Slater but it was nothing compared to the pop for Kingston.  It was a pretty basic match with Kofi working on the arm until the other 3MB members distracted him.  There was a funny spot where Kofi did the air guitar and hip shake which got a good reaction from the crowd.  In a very impressive move, Kofi hit a dropkick and from where we were sitting, Kofi’s entire body was above the ropes.  That’s INSANE when you think about it.

The big spot of the match was Kofi kicking Slater down and using him as a stepping stone to hit a big dive onto 3MB.  Mahal and McIntyre were thrown out after about five minutes and Slater started taking over.  Slater beat on Kofi with some basic stuff and hit a pretty sweet neckbreaker for two.  Kofi made his comeback and hit the Boom Drop but Trouble in Paradise missed.  Slater went up and jumped into Trouble in Paradise for the pin at about 12:00.

Rating: C+. The ratings will be shorter than usual here.  This was a great choice for an opener and the fans loved Kofi.  The main thing here was that the match was kind of slow at times, but that’s more than forgivable.  This was probably the second or third best match of the night.

Aksana vs. Alicia Fox

This ran about NINE minutes and the crowd started filing in.  My entire notes about the match: Aksana sucks, Alicia isn’t bad, ax kick hits back for pin (for Fox).

Rating: D-. The match sucks and it’s ALL on Aksana, who looked lost doing anything of note.

Chimmel was plugging the Twitter thing again when Shield interrupted him.  They talked about Orton and Sheamus being brought to justice tonight and get in a great line: “It’s Evolution or Extinction.”  That line is ten years too late and it’s awesome.

Fandango vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Yep, I got to see Fandango, and he’s still Johnny Curtis.  No one cared about Fandango, like at all.  he had some chick that was dancing with him during his entrance but she went to the back for the match.  Both guys danced a bit with Tatsu doing the Rick Rude hip swivel.  Fandango was very generic with his stuff and came off like any guy from NXT.  That’s the problem with the gimmick: it has nothing interesting at all to it and there’s zero reason whatsoever to boo him.  He’s just a guy who dances.  We have no idea if he’s a good guy, a bad guy, or anything about him at all.  Anyway the generic heel (assuming that’s what he was) broke up a springboard attempt by Tatsu and hit a spinning downward spiral for the pin at about 6:40.

Rating:  D. If this is any indication of what’s coming, Fandango isn’t going to last long.  There’s no reason to care about him and while it was clear he’s a heel, there’s no reason to know that other than he’s fighting Yoshi Tatsu.  I don’t remember him cheating, I don’t remember him acting arrogant, I don’t remember him doing anything evil.  He just dances, and I guess that makes him bad?

Wade Barrett says he’ll win the main event and the world title.

Randy Orton/Sheamus vs. Shield

Handicap match here.  Orton and Sheamus got by far the biggest pops of the night respectively.  This was a brawl to start after Shield came through the curtain instead.  It was about what you would expect from this kind of a match.  In one funny bit, Rollins was in trouble and Orton stopped the other two before they came in.  During the distraction, Sheamus choked Rollins in the corner and shrugged at the fans as if to say “it’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.”  Rollins got beaten down to start, Sheamus got beaten down for a bit, and Orton got the hot tag.  Orton hit his usual stuff and loaded up the RKO but the other Shield guys came in for the DQ at about 11:00.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match but a clean ending would have been nice.  it wouldn’t have been smart, but it would have been nice.  You certainly can’t have Shield losing in a 3-2 match and expect them to beat Ryback, Cena and Sheamus at the same time.  Anyway, fun match and the fans were going nuts for Orton.  Sheamus had his fans too and was very over, but Orton’s pop for the hot tag was insane.

Post match Sheamus Brogue Kicked a chair into I think Rollins’ face and it was RKO’s and Brogue Kicks all around.  The heroes went around high fiving everyone and signing a bunch of stuff.  THat went on for probably close to ten minutes.

15 minute intermission.

Sin Cara/Great Khali vs. 3MB

That’s a pretty odd tag team on the face side.  This was about what you would expect: Khali started and cleaned house, Cara got tagged in and got beaten down, Horny beat up Heath Slater, hot tag to Khali and the Plunge ends Mahal at a time that I forgot to check.  It was less than ten minutes for sure though.

Rating: C-. This was fine.  The main thing to note was how Sin Cara botched the one main high flying move he has still: the spinning armdrag out of the corner.  Basically he didn’t rotate enough and McIntyre wound up on top of him instead of falling over.

Cara seemed to be favoring his shoulder post match but it didn’t seem that bad.

Conor O’Brien vs. Brodus Clay

Conor is from NXT and is the only member left of Ascension.  He got to do his full entrnace minus the lights and with the big coat.  It didn’t do much for the crowd but for NXT fans it was awesome.  he needs a partner though. O’Brian cut a promo about not being happy and says he’ll destroy our hero and then rise.  This would prove to be incorrect as Conor did next to nothing significant and Brodus came back with his usual to win with the splash at 5:40.

Rating: D+. This was short but decent all thigns considered.  O’Brian needs the full entrance for the character to work and it looks stupid in the light.  Clay and the Funkadactyls (who now have pom poms) danced a lot.

Tony CHimmel dances with Brodus and company post match, holding his heart after the fact.  Funny stuff.

The fans vote for No DQ.

Smackdown World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Wade Barrett

BIG pop for Del Rio after Barrett said he hated Louisville and said the crowd clearly wanted barbarism by picking a No DQ match. Barrett stalls for a long time to start which suckers Del Rio in.  He pounds on Alberto for a bit and then gets kicked a few times.  Barrett goes to the floor and tries to walk out with the belts, only to be stopped by Ricardo.  Wade chased him around and Del Rio hit a sweet baseball slide to stop Barrett cold.

Barrett brought in a kendo stick and accidentally tapped the referee int he head with it before laying out Del Rio.  That got two and Del Rio came back again, only to get beaten down by a chair.  He went shoulder first into the psot to give Wade two but Del Rio came back with some LAME kendo stick shots.  The Winds of Change got a two count as did the Backstabber out of the corner.  Del Rio brought in a table but got sent into a chair int he corner.  Ricardo distracted Del Rio and a bulldog put Barrett through the table to retain the title at about 17:30.

Rating: B. Definitely the match of the night here with the fans being WAY into Del Rio’s comebacks.  Barrett looekd good in a match he had no chance of winning here which is a good sign for him.  The match worked quite well and Del Rio continues to be on a roll.  The table was a nice touch and something you don’t see much anymore.  Good stuff here.

Del Rio signed some autographs to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As you can see, the biggest problem with this show was the lack of star power.  After Orton, Sheamus and Del Rio, things drop WAY off.  The show was definitely fun and entertaining enough for the price ($15 each) and we had a great time, but it was nothing I’ll remember in a week or so.  Raw had a show at the same time in Missouri which had Punk, Ryback, Jericho, Ziggler and every other major star I’m forgetting.  Anyway, good stuff here and it was a fun, although forgettable experience.

Simplistic Yet Brilliant

Bret Hart vs. Hakushi
In Your House • May 14, 1995

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Shawn Michaels
In Your House • July 23, 1995

Hey Yo

Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon vs. Dean Douglas
In Your House • October 22, 1995

Arkansas Hog Pen Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Henry O. Godwinn
In Your House • December 17, 1995

A Sloppy Masterpiece?

WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog
In Your House • December 17, 1995

Disc 2

Memories Flooding Back

No Holds Barred Match for the WWE Championship
Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel
In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies • April 28, 1996

WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind
In Your House: Mind Games • September 22, 1996

That’s Why They Play The Game

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
In Your House: Buried Alive • October 20, 1996

Buried Alive Match
The Undertaker vs. Mankind
In Your House: Buried Alive • October 20, 1996

Crowning a New Champion

Four Corners Match for the Vacant WWE Championship
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart vs. Vader vs. The Undertaker
In Your House: Final Four • February 16, 1997

Disc 3

Back in the Saddle

10-Man Tag Team Match
The Hart Foundation vs. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust & The Legion of Doom
In Your House: Canadian Stampede • July 6, 1997

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
Ground Zero: In Your House • September 7, 1997

A Slobberknocker

Non-Sanctioned 8-Man Tag Team Match
Stone Cold Steven Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie vs. HHH, The New Age Outlaws & Savio Vega
No Way Out of Texas: In Your House • February 15, 1998

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Undertaker vs. Mankind & Kane
Fully Loaded: In Your House • July 26, 1998

Intercontinental Championship Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Mankind
Judgment Day: In Your House • October 18, 1998

Victory at All Costs

Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship
The Rock vs. Mankind
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre • February 14, 1999

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Blu-ray Exclusives

Todd Pettengill Outtakes

In Your House Sweepstakes Winner

#1 Contenders Match
Bret Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
In Your House: Revenge of the ‘Taker • April 20, 1997

Match to crown first WWE Light Heavyweight Champion
Taka Michinoku vs. Brian Christopher
D-Generation X: In Your House • December 7, 1997

WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Ken Shamrock
D-Generation X: In Your House • December 7, 1997

D’Lo Brown vs. X-Pac
Fully Loaded: In Your House • July 26, 1998