Here it is. Tonight marks the first WWE Pay-Per-View since I began my blog. So, it's time for my predictions. As a whole, I think this is a rather impressive card as I'm looking forward to six of the eight matches. That's a big number for a show that is kind of a throwaway in between Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.
On the Battleground Kickoff show, we get the Funkadactyls exploding! It's not a huge deal, but two of the Total Divas meet before the show officially begins. Now, Cameron has been doing fine in her heel role, but her ring work is still far from being where it needs to be and Naomi needs a bounce back win after losing at Money in the Bank.
Prediction: Naomi
Last month at Money in the Bank, these two teams opened the show and, if it wasn't for the Money in the Bank Ladder match, would've stolen the show. After a great 2013, the WWE Tag Team division is lacking again, but these are the two top teams. And what do you do with the top two teams? You give them a 2 out of 3 Falls match. It brings me back to the days of Demolition vs. The Hart Foundation at SummerSlam 1990. Back to the topic at hand, it might be time for the Wyatts to finally win the big one but I'll pick with my heart and choose The Usos. They are tag team wrestling right now.
Winners: The Usos
I went with my heart on the last one, but I'm not that stupid here. I would love to see Jack Swagger win and maybe get a decent push as a face. But, I don't see Rusev losing any time soon. He's going to stay undefeated until he runs into John Cena, Sheamus or Roman Reigns. And unfortunately for Swagger, he's none of those guys. At the very least, can I get a non-finish here so this can continue?
Winner: Rusev
Women's wrestling is something I'm a huge fan and supporter of and these are my two favorite Divas. The night after WrestleMania, we basically got a one move match and Paige wins. The night after Money in the Bank, we get another short match that AJ Lee wins. This is their first chance to have an actual match and I hope it delivers. I see AJ Lee winning, causing Paige to snap out of this "frenemies" thing and go all "NXT Anti-Diva" on everyone. Even if the turn doesn't happen tonight.
Winner: AJ Lee
Right off the bat, a good majority of these guys have zero chance. I'm looking at you Heath Slater, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Diego/Fernando, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, Great Khali, Titus O'Neill and Rybaxel. Basically, it's really between only a few possible people. I don't see guys like Kofi Kingston, Big E or RVD winning. Sheamus could unify the belts, but I don't want that. Bo Dallas would be a good choice, but he might not be ready. Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio are my two favorite choices to win because one, they would put on great matches consistently and two, they both could use the push. But in the end, the WWE is going to do their best to get Cesaro over.
Winner: Cesaro
This one is tough to call. I know that everyone is all "Jericho is only here to put Bray over" and that is true. But, does Chris Jericho need to lose the first match? In the end, Bray Wyatt will of course go over. I don't know if Bray can afford yet another big loss so quickly after John Cena killed him. In the end, I see a really good match and Jericho putting over the youngster here.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
There is no match on the card that I'm looking forward to more than this. My two favorite members of the The Shield collide. I've also been a Seth Rollins fan since his Tyler Black days in Ring of Honor and other indies. This is another tough call. On the one hand, I see Dean Ambrose winning because if their rematch at SummerSlam is for the briefcase, I doubt Seth will lose there. But, on the other hand, Dean might not be inclined to get his revenge just yet. I originally picked Dean to win, but I'm changing it to Seth because maybe the rematch won't be for the briefcase.
Winner: Seth Rollins
So remember how I said I'm only looking forward to six of the eight matches? Well the two I'm not excited about are the Naomi/Cameron match and this one. Don't get me wrong, it has potential to be a good Fatal Four Way, but if you think that John Cena isn't going to overcome the odds (yet again) to set up Brock Lesnar and Plan C, then you haven't been paying attention. Matches with totally obvious outcomes are boring. Some people think it's Roman Reigns' time but I disagree completely. The guy hasn't proven anything and it's time for Cena/Lesnar.
Winner: John Cena
So there you have it. Battleground Predictions. Until next time.
Follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaaa
Survivor Series 1995
November 19th, 1995 – USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland
1995 is generally considered one of the worst years in WWE history. From the underwhelming WrestleMania XI to the awful King of the Ring to the In Your House Pay-Per-View additions, which were hit or miss. Diesel reigned as WWF Champion throughout all of 1995 heading into this show. I'm a sucker for Survivor Series elimination matches and prefer when the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View has some of those. This one does and I felt like the WWF was just starting to turn a corner towards what would be a solid 1996 and an amazing 1997. That's getting a bit too far ahead of though, so let's focus on this show.
Talk about starting a show in a positive way for me! Mr. Perfect is introduced and he enters to his perfect theme, wearing a perfect suit. I guess he's on commentary but it's not said. Opening video package highlights the history between Bret Hart and Diesel. They had a good match at King of the Ring 1994 that Bret won and one at Royal Rumble 1995 where Diesel retained but there was a bunch of interference. Tonight's main event is no countout/no disqualification.
The Bodydonnas (Skip, Rad Radford, Tom Prichard & 1-2-3 Kid) w/ Ted Dibiase & Sunny vs. The Underdogs (Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly)
Marty and the team come out to the Rockers theme. Hakushi looks incredibly out of place. Sunny looks hot, but not as hot as she would be in 96-97. She introduces the team which includes LOUIE SPICOLI! Razor Ramon appears and wants his hands on the Kid. Kid was referee during a Razor/Sid match on Raw where Kid did the quickest fast count ever. Marty and Dr. Tom Prichard start with Marty gaining the upper hand. The crowd is surprisingly hot for this. Marty's offense still screams 1980's. Rad Radford is in now and in comes Holly. Holly hits a hurricanrana that Mr. Perfect appreciates, but admits is not perfect. Holly hits a sweet dropkick, slam and arm drag. Hakushi is tagged and he gets a big pop, and rightfully so. He eats a nicely executed spinebuster though before tagging in Sean Waltman who gets booed hard. He hits a frog splash for two. Shortly after, Skip and Holly are legal, and do about 15 leap frogs. Prichard misses an ugly moonsault and Holly climbs to the top. Cross body knocks off Prichard at 5:40. Skip runs in and rolls up Holly to eliminate him at 5:46.
Hakushi comes in and stops Skip's celebration. Skip gains control and hits a top rope hurricanrana. He celebrates for a moment and then collapses. The crowd is actually chanting “Barry!” Kid gets the tag and he and Hakushi do the best work of the match. Hakushi misses a springboard splash and Kid kicks him in the head. Radford comes in and pins by pulling the tights at 8:32. Barry enters and gets double teamed. They keep calling Barry a kid but I'm pretty sure that he's in his mid-30s here. Kid kicks him in the corner before tagging in Radford. Radford pounds away on Barry and could've gotten the three, but Skip tells him not to for some reason. Radford earns serious points with me when hits a Northern lights suplex. He starts to do jumping jacks and push ups, allowing Barry to roll him up at 11:49.
Skip gets the tag and the EPIC showdown between Barry and Skip is on! Barry hits a running knee, but Skip gets a blind tag from Kid who comes in, hits a running knee of his own and leg drops Barry. He gets a 1-2-3 with that at 12:47. Marty enters and does alright work with Skip. Jim Ross makes a Redskins joke but I don't get it because it's not 1995. Marty climbs to the top but Sunny shakes the ropes. Skip climbs up with him but Marty hits the BLONDE BOMBSHELL! Top rope powerbomb for those who didn't watch Chris Candido in ECW and that is more than enough to get rid of Skip at 15:25. Kid enters to massive heat and gets a near fall with a top rope leg drop. Kid climbs back up and misses a front flip. Marty is on the offensive as Sid appears to distract him. He snaps Marty's neck on the top rope, allowing Kid to win at 18:35.
Winners: The Bodydonnas; Sole Survivor: 1-2-3 KidGood opener although both teams were pretty much all jobbers except for the 1-2-3 Kid. It was painfully obvious who would survive, but it was fun getting there as everyone worked hard. ***
Razor Ramon is shown freaking out backstage because the 1-2-3 Kid won. He is throwing and breaking expensive televisions dammit!
Todd Pettengill is standing by with Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Jim Cornette, Mr. Fuji and Dean Douglas. Cornette calls Razor Ramon crazy and they all tell him to get serious and focus on their match tonight and not the 1-2-3 Kid. See, there's a Wild Card match later with heels and faces mixed together on teams.
Dok Hendrix pushes the Survivor Series 1995 shirt.
Alundra Blayze, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa & Chaparita Asari vs. Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Wantanabe & Lioness Asuka w/ Harvey Wippleman
I'm a fan of women's wrestling, but I swear I only know of three girls in this match. Asuka and Asari start and one of them hits a big Cesaro Swing. Blayze is in and she was a three time Women's Champion here. She tags Asari back in who does an insane corkscrew move off the top for two. German suplex from Blayze eliminates Asari at 1:42. Hasegawa enters and hits rolling butterflies, which is crazy to think about. She hits like five in a row! Wantanabe hits a big move off the top and gets a near fall. They don't even bother tagging. Aja Kong enters and kicks Hasegawa in the gut before hitting a backdrop driver to eliminate her at 3:57.
Asari is back in, but is no match for Kong. She eats a big second rope splash and is gone after 4:25. Inoue is in and is called one of the top stars in Japan. She works over Kong, who reverses a sunset flip and sits on her for three at 5:02. Blayze is all alone and I just sense a heroic comeback. Blayze starts it with a piledriver on Wantanabe that knocks her out at 6:31.
Big Bertha Faye enters and does some weird looking leg work. Kong enters and they try to squash Blayze but bump into each other, allowing Blayze to pin Bertha at 7:12. Kong and Blayze are left alone and get their spots mixed up, which causes some awkwardness. Blayze hits a standing moonsault but gets two. Kong gets back in the driver's seat and hits the back fist to win at10:01.
Winners: Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Wantanabe & Lioness Asuka; Sole Survivor: Aja KongMuch better than I expected as this might've been the most exciting women's match in the mid 90s. Blayze would leave to WCW and throw the title in the garbage shortly after. **3/4
I don't understand what the WWE was trying to accomplish with the fake Bill Clinton who was in the crowd. Stupid.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldust
I always thought that the “Beast from the East” was a badass nickname. This is the PPV debut of Goldust. Goldust takes so long with his entrance that his theme starts over. Goldust starts on the offensive and his attire is awful, thank goodness he changed it. Bam Bam busts out a dropkick that doesn't look as impressive as it did in the early 90's. Goldust clotheslines Bigelow to the outside and taunts. Goldust continues to be in control as he applies the DREADED FRONT FACE LOCK! He throws Bigelow outside again and it's a little upsetting that I can clearly see Goldust's junk in this attire. Bigelow hits a belly to back suplex, but misses a headbutt. Goldust applies another rest hold. Goldie hits a clothesline and drops a knee before applying a third rest hold. Bigelow powers out and gets some momentum with clotheslines and splashes but eats a bulldog right after to end this in 8:18.
Winner: GoldustGoldust was able to really draw heat early on but this was boring. Too many rest holds to enjoy. *1/2
More from the ridiculous fake Bill Clinton and he's with Bob Backlund now. He wants to be called Mr. Backlund by the President. Again, this was stupid. We then see a recap of Mabel beating The Undertaker at the awful King of the Ring 1995 Pay-Per-View. Yes, that actually happened. He also broke Undertaker's face with a leg drop and tonight is his return.
The Darkside (The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Fatu & Henry Godwin) w/ Paul Bearer vs. The Royals (King Mabel, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem & Hunter Hearst-Hemlsey) w/ Sir Mo
So, this is the night the Undertaker teamed with three lower mid-carders. Also, he debuted his badass mask here. Mabel's hair looks absurd. HHH and Fatu start and the whole face team is wearing Undertaker shirts. To think, in 2000 these two met in a 6 way Hell in a Cell. HHH goes for a Pedigree but gets scared of the Undertaker's face. Godwin gets tagged so HHH scurries to tag Lawler, who tags the future Kane. Who, in 1995, would think that there are four, possibly five future Hall of Famers (HHH, Taker, Lawler, Kane & possibly Rikishi) involved. HHH comes in after Yankem does the dirty work. Godwin works him over until Vega and Lawler enter. We get more boring offense between them and Yankem/Fatu. Mabel enters and Vince acts like this is supposed to be impressive. Old fashioned heel tactics allow them to work over Savio. Lawler spikes Savio with a piledriver, but showboats and only gets two. Lawler hits a second, but Savio pops up and tags Undertaker. Lawler is scared to death and nobody wants to tag in. Tombstone and Lawler is eliminated. Yankem enters and Undertaker Tombstones him as well to knock him off. HHH enters, in a preview of their three WrestleMania matches. He eats a chokeslam and also gets trounced. Mabel comes in and slams Taker before hitting a leg drop. He taunts like an idiot, Sir Mo jumps in and takes a beating as Mabel runs away and gets counted out at the 14:21 mark.
Winner: The Darkside; Survivors: The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Fatu & Henry GodwinIf the plan was for Undertaker to clean house, couldn't it have happened earlier? Instead we got the heels utilizing boring offense to dominate until then. Went too long. *1/2
The next Pay-Per-View is promoted, and the British Bulldog will face the winner of the WWF Championship match tonight. Bret Hart cuts a promo saying that Diesel can't compete with him. Diesel cuts one too saying that if the match goes 20 minutes, he might be at a disadvantage so he wants to end it quickly. Todd Pettengill interviews Sid and the Bulldog before the Wild Card match and Jim Cornette acts like he wasn't hanging with the other side earlier.
Wild Card Match
Team Michaels (Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, British Bulldog & Sycho Sid) w/ Ted Dibiase & Jim Cornette vs. Team Yokozuna (Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Dean Douglas & Razor Ramon)w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette
The Wild Card concept makes for a very cool dynamic like having Sid team with HBK months after giving him three powerbombs. Shawn and Owen start off, which should be great. They start with good wrestling and HBK skins the cats before bringing Owen outside. Cornette goes to hit him with the racket but HBK ducks and hits him in the butt with it. Owen snaps off a brilliant belly to belly before tagging the Franchise Dean Douglas. He hits a suplex before Michaels hits a flying forearm. Perfect says that he doesn't believe Shawn was hurt when he forfeit the IC Title to Dean and McMahon debunks that, but Perfect was right on the money actually from what I've heard. Moonsault from Michaels gets a near fall. Ahmed gets the tag and takes out everyone before trying to slam Yokozuna and failing. The heels work over the man from Pearl River for a bit. Razor even gets in on the action. Michaels gets the tag and Dean avoids Sweet Chin Music. Razor tells him to get back in and they have words. Razor levels Dean and Shawn rolls him up at 7:31.
Owen and the Bulldog tag in and both try to trick each other by double crossing one another. They have a fun little back and forth until Razor and Shawn get tagged. THE KLIQ EXPLODES! They do a sequence of moves that ends when Shawn takes the Razor's Edge. He doesn't get pinned though as Ahmed saves it. Sid comes in and beats down on the IC Champ. Double clothesline before Sid climbs to the top. Razor tosses him off for a near fall. Sid chokeslams him and tags Shawn. He wants Shawn to kick Razor, but Shawn is reluctant. He does it and Razor moves, so Shawn hits Sid by mistake. Shawn shrugs and doesn't care so Razor covers. Bulldog runs in and saves the move, but then leaves as Razor covers again and eliminates Sid at16:22. Weird spot. Sid is mad so he powerbombs Shawn and Bulldog slams Razor so both guys are down. Owen gets the tag and has a fun exchange with Michaels but Yokozuna gets tagged and slows things to a crawl. Shawn fights out and tags Ahmed, while Owen enters and takes a Pearl River Plunge at 20:49.
Razor comes in instantly and hits a bulldog. Razor connects with the Razor's Edge again, but Bulldog stops him from pinning. There was no tag and Tim White just lets it go. Sid and the 1-2-3 Kid come down the aisle to distract Razor. This allows Bulldog hit the Powerslam and get rid of Razor at 22:09. Yokozuna is now down 3-1, but comes close to equaling the three in pounds. He beats down on Michaels and sets up for the Banzai Drop but Shawn moves. Quick, cover! It's how Bret Hart won the WWF Title. Ahmed comes in and slams Yokozuna but Bulldog foolishly breaks up the cover. He gets taken out by Ahmed and HBK before Sweet Chin Music takes out Yokozuna and ends it at 27:26.
Winners: Team Michaels; Survivors: Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & British BulldogFun dynamic and there was almost never a dull moment. I had a lot of fun watching this. Bulldog celebrates with his team even though they just beat him up. Funny stuff. ***1/2
Back to fake Bill Clinton who has Sunny on his lap. He does a lot of perverted things with her and this is getting worse by the moment.
WWF Championship
Diesel (c) vs. Bret Hart
Their first two matches from King of the Ring '94 and Royal Rumble '95 are both really good. Both men decide to be badass and removing the turnbuckle padding on opposite corners. Being seven feet tall, Diesel beats on Bret at the beginning. Bret goes outside to regroup but Diesel follows. Bret gets dropped chest first on the guardrail before getting rolled back inside. Bret starts targeting the knee but Diesel just pulverizing him down. Back on the outside, Diesel gets a steel chair and uses it. Back inside, Diesel calls for the Jacknife as he plans to end it quickly. Bret manages to creatively block it by grabbing Diesel's leg. Bret bites Diesel and the crowd is for it surprisingly. Bret starts to focus on the legs because he is a wise technician. The Hitman busts out the figure four, which he used three times at the Rumble, but Diesel is too big to keep away from the ropes for long. He does it again here and pushes off a Sharpshooter attempt that sends Bret into the exposed buckle. He can't take advantage because his leg is damaged so Bret goes outside and gets a rope that he ties around the post. He goes inside and ties Diesel's foot to the corner. Bret gets a steel chair and viciously uses it on Diesel and his leg. This is like, a look into 1997 heel Bret and I love it. He bites off more than he can chew by climbing to the top and Diesel slams him off. The Champion gets untied and chokes Bret with the cord. Sidewalk slam keeps both men down for a few. Diesel hits a spot on the ropes and snake eyes. Bret reverses a second Snake Eyes and sends Diesel into the exposed buckle. He gets near falls with a clothesline, bulldog and Russian leg sweep. Clothesline sends Diesel outside and Bret misses a pescado to follow. When Bret tries to get back in, Diesel knocks him off the apron and through the announce table. This had to be one of the first announce table spots as the crowd is like “WHOA WHAT?” Diesel signals for the Jacknife again and Bret can't even stand. OR SO IT SEEMS! Bret was playing possum and pulls Diesel into a small package that ends things at 24:56.
Winner and New WWF Champion: Bret HartMan that was awesome. The best of their trilogy, both men were vicious and brutal. My favorite match from 1995. ****1/4
Diesel is not pleased as he hits Bret with the Jacknife after the match and beats on some referees.
Overall: 7.5/10; Very good. A rough 1995 highlighted by this show. Probably the best show of the year. We got a good start with the Survivor Series match and the women's match before a dull middle. However, things end with a bang as the final two matches are really good, especially the main event. Next on “Random Network Reviews” is WCW Souled Out 2000.
We've had two or three Smackdowns in a row that were impressive shows, so hopefully the last one before Battleground is good as well. Let's see. Dean Ambrose came to the ring to open the show, talking about getting taken out on Monday by the Authority. He once again asks "if that's all the Authority's got." He calls out Seth Rollins, who claims to not be medically cleared and instead we are going to get Ambrose/Kane again. Basically, Dean Ambrose can rock the microphone better than a good 95% of the current roster. I'm looking forward to Ambrose/Rollins more than any other Battleground match.
More Intercontinental Title Battle Royal mashups followed as Dolph "Mr. Steal Your Girl" Ziggler teamed with the United States Champion Sheamus to take on The Miz and Fandango. Miz's new Hollywood entrance is something I like, but he needs to drop the "Awesome" from it. It doesn't fit. His new video has clips of him on various shows like Lopez Tonight. We were treated to a good match that spanned a commercial break before Ziggler and Sheamus pulled out the win with a Zig Zag on Miz.
The Nikki Bella vs. the World storyline continues as she is a smoking special referee for a match between Alicia Fox and Eva Marie. This goes exactly as you would expect. The girls turn this into a Bella beat down because Brie took her ball and went home with it. There's also a report that the Alicia Fox tantrum character has been dropped, which I don't mind, it was irritating, but it did give her personality. Also, if this angle leads to Brie beating Stephanie, then how does Nikki get her revenge? Also, Eva Marie looks awful in everything that she does.
Goldust and Stardust had another odd backstage promo. I'm not sure what all of them mean because they like to talk in riddles, but Cody Rhodes has the mannerisms perfectly down. It's like, he watched enough of his brother growing up to be able to mimic him perfectly.
Chris Jericho met Luke Harper one on one for the very first time in a match that I was greatly looking forward to. Luke Harper happens to be my favorite in ring worker of the Wyatt Family and Jericho is, well, Jericho. The match was as good as I hoped for and Jericho managed to eke out a win. The rest of the Wyatt Family got involved after, but The Usos arrived to even the odds. Both of these matches should be awesome at Battleground and I'd love to see a Six Man Tag between these guys leading into SummerSlam.
Next, we were joined by the Real Americans, Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter. They discussed Monday's "Detente" and I must say that Swagger's shirt with the outline of his right hand covering his heart is excellent. After a hearty "WE THE PEOPLE", Rusev and Lana interrupt. They just say that Swagger will get crushed at Battleground and the fans chant "USA!" to end the segment. After some really fun interactions, this was a let down. So instead, here's a picture of Lana from her "Summer Vacation" photoshoot.
It sucks how irrelevant Alberto Del Rio has become. I was never a fan of his mic work at all, but the man can flat out go in the ring. I think he would make a good Intercontinental Champion. He could go on with the "Best International Superstar" in WWE history. We also get a rundown of who's in the Battle Royal and the rumors were correct, Adam Rose and Damian Sandow were removed. Boo. Anyway, Kofi Kingston is his opponent. We get the usual solid, but uninspired contest between the two and Del Rio picks up the win.
Fandango tries to get back Summer Rae and Layla but it fails. They even make fun of the man's dancing. Never fear, Bo Dallas is here! He is hilarious telling Fandango that with his fancy pants, he can get another girl in no time. In an HLA dream match, Summer Rae teams with her kissing partner, Layla to take on AJ Lee and Paige. The "Frenemies" angle is interesting for sure. Paige and AJ win after AJ tags herself in. Paige is not happy but in the end, they share a hug that I'd love to be a part of. Seriously, this Battleground card is really good. Of the eight matches, I'm looking forward to at least six. That's impressive for a Pay-per-View that's kind of a throwaway. Side note, when girls tap out to the Black Widow on AJ's rear end, it's delightful.
Main event time as Dean Ambrose looks for some revenge on Kane for costing him the Money in the Bank briefcase at the beginning of the month. Again, it was a solid but unspectacular match. Once Ambrose seemed poised for the win, Seth Rollins had to make himself known as he and Kane handled things and left Ambrose lying. I think it's telling how Smackdown can have two hours and have pretty much no build for the Battleground main event. But, Ambrose and Rollins were the focal point of the show, which is not a bad thing. Decent episode, but nothing special. However, it was entertaining and built towards the PPV which is all you can ask for sometimes.
Until next time, follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaa
No Way Out 2002
February 17th, 2002 – Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Royal Rumble 2002 was a very good way to start the new year. I remember WrestleMania X8 being good, not great and I, of course, remember this No Way Out show for the return of the nWo. I never agreed with the decision to bring them back as it was beaten to death in WCW, so doing it again in WWE was something I wasn't interested in. Still though, we had Chris Jericho as Undisputed Champion and some guys who were very good to great in the ring, so let's see if No Way Out can be another good show in 2002.
A familiar chord strikes as the nWo comes out to a massive pop. The entrance reminds me of the semi that Hollywood Hulk Hogan would eventually use to nearly kill The Rock. Kevin Nash is so cool because he uses terms like “heat” and “marks”. Scott Hall wants to share a drink with the boys but Nash advises against it. Hogan talks like a face as they all did and they just want a chance. I know that I normally am against promos to open Pay-Per-Views but it made sense here as the nWo was what everyone wanted to see.
Tag Team Turmoil
The APA d. Billy & Chuck, Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert, Christian & Lance Storm, The Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz in 16:39
Scotty and Albert start against the future UnAmericans. Scotty and Storm start until Albert gets the tag and slams Storm. Christian runs in and CESARO SWING! Albert bicycle kicks Storm but Christian breaks up the count. Scotty and Christian become the legal men and Scotty hits a superkick. Albert and Storm end up outside as Scotty gets ready to release his worm. Storm interrupts, allowing for the Unprettier and the 3 in 2:56. The Hardy Boyz are out next to a big pop. Storm and Christian stop the Hardys momentum and slow things down until Matt hits Christian with the EDDIE GILBERT hot shot. The Hardys are in control from there on and win with the Swanton in 3:15
The Dudley Boyz with Stacy Dudley are next in a match we've seen hundreds of times. Poetry in Motion works once, but the Hardys go to that well one too many times and it backfires. Dudleys in control now but Matt manages to hit a second rope leg drop. Double team move from the Hardys until Stacy gets involved. Lita takes her down as the crowd pops. Bubba Bomb to Matt before Lita takes out Bubba. Matt now reverses a D-Von move into a school boy and wins it after 4:40. The Dudleys decide that ain't cool and beat up the Hardys post match. Billy, Chuck and their fantastic theme song are out next. Jeff ate a 3D outside, so Matt is alone in the ring. He fights hard but can't beat two guys and he takes a pin in 1:10.
The last team to enter is the APA. They brawl for a bit until Billy and Chuck get the upper hand. They work over Faarooq in the corner for a while. Bradshaw eventually gets the hot tag and murders Billy with a vicious Clothesline from Hell in 4:10. I don't understand the booking here. Billy and Chuck were the team on the rise but they lose to an APA team that is past their prime. Regardless, the whole thing wasn't great. It didn't feel like it took 16 minutes which is a plus. **
Michael Cole is standing by with the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. He says that the minute the nWo gets out of line, he can see the locker room putting them in their place. The Undertaker interrupts him and is watching him, as part of the run towards their WrestleMania match.
Rob Van Dam d. Goldust in 11:08
I've always been a huge Goldust fan, and RVD was the man at this time so hopefully this is good. It's crazy to think that both of these guys are still active. No offense to Goldust, but this is a bit of a demotion for a guy who was red hot in 2001. Goldust attacks at the bell but RVD uses a kick from out of nowhere to turn the tide. Snapmare, spinning leg drop and ridiculous cartwheel back flip by RVD causes Goldust to regroup outside. Goldust pulls RVD out but ends up taking a spinning leg drop on the guardrail for his troubles. Goldust hits a bionic elbow and sends RVD back into the ring. Goldust hits Naomi's future REAR END for two. It obviously works better when you have a massive backside. Goldust puts RVD on the top, goes out to the steps and pulls back on RVD's face in a spot I've never seen before. He focuses on RVD's back and drops a knee on him. REST HOLD time! RVD creatively gets free and both guys are down. Spinning heel kick, monkey flip and flying kick from Van Dam, whose offense comes in bursts. Rolling Thunder gets him a near fall. He misses the Five Star and eats a DDT. RVD kicks out, so Goldie goes for the Curtain Call but RVD counters. Goldust misses a bulldog, take an enziguri and the Five Star Frog Splash to get the three. Solid little match. Surprised they got over ten minutes but they made it work. Nothing spectacular, but what it should've been. **3/4
Steve Austin is backstage with his “What?” shirt and he runs into the nWo. They seem to sarcastically say hello and offer him a six pack. Austin tosses the six pack and they let him walk on by. That was rude of Austin. I hear those nWo guys are super trustworthy.
Tag Team Championship
Tazz and Spike Dudley (c) d. Booker T and Test in 7:19 to retain the titles
Good god the tag team division was suffering. Tazz and Spike weigh a combined 398 pounds. That has to be a record. Test starts by abusing Tazz in the corner. Spike gets tagged and hits two dropkicks before countering a powerbomb from Test. Tazz punches Test into a rollup from Spike that gets, like, a seven count but the referee is distracted by Booker. Seriously. Booker and Test botch a double team move. Test and Booker now work over Spike for a while. It's basic heel tag team stuff. SPINAROONIE! Spike hits a weak looking DDT and makes the tag to Tazz. NAPOLEON RAMPAGE! It's what I've been waiting for. Tazz cleans house and Spike hits the Dudley Dog on Test. Tazz pins and gets a near fall before Test tries to get a pin with his feet on the ropes but the official catches him. He argues with the ref and gets put in the Tazzmission. Test taps out and Spike and Tazz somehow remain champions. Average match. Nothing bad, nothing too good. **
The Rock cuts a promo about how he's going to beat The Undertaker. He calls The Undertaker a dead man walking.
Brass Knuckles on a Pole for the Intercontinental Championship
William Regal (c) d. Edge in 10:22 to retain the title
William Regal has a new theme, which is so much better than the one he used the last two months. Things start outside as Edge is desperate to go into WrestleMania in Toronto as Intercontinental Champion. Inside, Edge hits a suplex and goes for the pole, but Regal stops him. They trade blows in the ring until Regal throws Edge on the apron and he nearly gets to the pole. Regal stops him again and they fight into the crowd. Back in, Edge hits a missile dropkick but ends up getting thrown onto the top rope. Regal puts on an abdominal stretch that makes sense since Edge has rib injuries. Regal uses the ropes for leverage. Edge breaks free and nearly gets the brass knuckles but Regal shoves him to the outside. Regal butterfly bombs him on the outside, but he has yet to climb. He puts Edge, who is bleeding from the mouth, in the Regal Stretch. Another butterfly bomb inside and he gets a near fall. I thought they couldn't “win” until after they got the brass knuckles. On the apron, Regal tries a third bomb but Edge reverses it into a botched hurricanrana. They struggle to get up and Regal gets the knuckles but takes a belly to back suplex off the top. Regal kicks away the brass knuckles but Edge hits an Edge-o-matic and Spear. He gets the knuckles from outside, but Regal sneaks a pair out from his trunks and knocks out Edge with them. Another disappointment between two guys I truly like. Not bad, the stipulation was odd. It made sense with the storyline, but not within the match. **1/2
Lillian Garcia interviews Kurt Angle, who is confident tonight because he is a gold medalist. He earned them and didn't get them out of a box of lucky freakin' charms.
The audio during the build up video for Rock vs. Undertaker gets terribly low.
The Rock d. The Undertaker in 17:28
The Rock sprints to the ring because this match is intense, or supposed to be at least. A fist fight starts this off and the Rock wins with a big clothesline. Man, I hate how Rocky throws his punches. Rock hits an ugly looking neckbreaker before Undertaker takes control. I feel like this could've been a big feud, but it was thrown on a rather filler PPV and quickly forgotten. Anyway, Undertaker works a plodding offense until they head outside and the announce table is open for business. Taker crotches Rock on the guardrail, then sits down and talks trash to him. The fight goes deep into the crowd as we've given up all hope of a countout finish. Back at ringside, Undertaker drops a big leg on the Rock while he lays on the apron. The Rock hasn't done anything in forever as Undertaker puts him in a bearhug. Rock fights out and hits a DDT. Undertaker stops the People's Elbow, but takes a low blow. More Taker offense as he hits a chokeslam but Rock kicks out. Undertaker throws the referee into the steel steps and goes to use a pipe but Flair shows up and stops him. Undertaker no sells and big boots Flair. Rock ducks the pipe, hits a spinebuster and tries the sharpshooter. Vince McMahon runs down and Rock levels him. Flair hits Undertaker with the pipe and the Rock is all “I'll take it” and hits the Rock Bottom. Decent brawl, but it went too long and was too one-sided for too long. Could've been better. **1/4
Mr. Perfect is at WWF New York and man, I still wish that we got Kurt Angle vs. Perfect at WrestleMania. He seems messed up and very drunk here, so maybe that's why we didn't get it. He makes fun of the customers.
The video package for Triple H/Angle shows the whole angle where Stephanie McMahon lied about being pregnant. Then Triple H knocked her down and her nipple showed. That's not part of the PPV.
Number One Contender's Match
Kurt Angle d. Triple H in 14:42
Stephanie McMahon is the extremely hot referee for this contest. I never liked when a WrestleMania title shot is one the line before WrestleMania. Anyway, Stephanie announces that she dropped Hemsley from her name. I'll never understand why a heel guest referee doesn't quick count everything, pull a Montreal Screwjob or call a quick DQ. She partially shuts me up by doing quick counts on two Angle rollups. Small “she's a crack whore” chant breaks out before it turns to “take your shirt off”. If she did, this PPV would easily be a 10/10. Early on, Angle misses a clothesline on Triple H and hits Stephanie with it. She falls to the outside. Stephanie is helped to the back as HHH hits a neckbreaker. Suicidal Tim White is out as Angle hits three Germans for a near fall. Triple H goes for a clothesline but gets caught in a belly to belly suplex. Angle gets a near fall, hits another, gets a near fall and hits a third for yet another two count. Sleeper hold from Angle and HHH eventually breaks it but doesn't get on the offensive. Angle goes for ten punches in the corner but is caught with a powerbomb. They get up at the count of nine and slug it out before HHH hits a high knee. Angle runs into a spinebuster for two. Angle makes HHH chase him outside and when he gets in, nails Tim White from behind. Angle hits the Angle Slam and Stephanie returns but she's too hurt to fast count so Hunter kicks out. Ankle Lock but HHH kicks off and Angle crushes Stephanie. DDT but there's still no referee. He tries to wake Tim up, which allows Angle to hit another German. He gets a chair, HHH ducks and hits the Pedigree. Tim White slowly gets in and counts but Stephanie drops an elbow on him and kicks him in the balls. HHH goes for the Pedigree on Stephanie but Angle takes him out with the chair and, after an Angle Slam, wins. Not as good as Royal Rumble 2001, but still solid work. Also, none of this mattered as HHH still went to the title match at Mania. **3/4
The nWo run into the Rock now and Hogan asks for a picture with him because Rock is Nick Hogan's favorite wrestler. He says something under his breath and The Rock goes off on the three of them. This is must see because Rock is hilarious in it. One of his comedic moments that stands the test of time.
Undisputed Championship
Chris Jericho (c) d. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 21:35 to retain the title
Austin and Jericho goes face to face at the bell and Jericho gives him the finger. Austin replies with one of his own and they lock up. Right hand by Jericho only gets a smile from Austin. Austin lights up Jericho's chest with chops. He rams Jericho's head into the corner, earning a “What?” from the fans each time. More chops as Austin is taking Jericho around the ring with them. Now chops from Jericho before failing on a top rope move. Austin clotheslines the Champion outside and continues to pound away out there. Things go up the the aisle as Austin throws Jericho into the truck a few times. Back in the ring Austin hits three second rope suplexes for a near fall. Austin is literally beating Jericho from pillar to post. Out of desperation, Jericho shoves Earl Hebner and hits a low blow. I've seen about a hundred chops in this match as Jericho fires away with some on Austin. He goes for the Walls of Jericho but Austin blocks it. Austin rallies back and we see the EDDIE GILBERT hot shot. Seriously, I never noticed how often that spot was used. Jericho side steps Austin and sends him outside. They brawl outside for a bit and Jericho misses the Lionsault inside. He puts Austin in a sleeper because it must REST HOLD TIME! Austin busts out and spinebusters Jericho before hitting a powerslam for two. Jericho reverses a whip and barely connects with the Lionsault so he does it again. He gets the Walls locked on but we all know that face Austin doesn't tap. Just ask Bret Hart. Jericho grabs the belt and accidentally hits the ref. Austin hits another spinebuster, this one on the belt but Austin kicks out. Jericho then counters the Stunner into the Breakdown on the belt but Austin kicks out now. The ref goes down from a clothesline and Austin makes Jericho tap to the Walls. He follows with a Stunner but out comes the nWo. Austin beats them down until the numbers game becomes too much. Jericho covers after the beatdown and retains. A pretty damn good match that gets its score bogged down due to it being yet another dirty finish. ***1/4
I don't understand why the nWo didn't attack Jericho too if they were here to “inject poison and kill the WWF”. Taking out the Champion would be kinda vital. Anyway, the nWo beat on Austin more and spray paint him.
Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. The definition of a filler show. It was clear that this was just to establish the nWo and kill time between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. A show with nothing under two stars and only one over three. Passable show with nothing being a necessary watch.
NXT opened with a tag team match. The main problem that NXT has suffered from is a lackluster tag team division. The divas on NXT get more shine than the ones on the main roster and there are singles stars, but the tag division has been The Ascension and nothing more. However, both the Vaudevillains and Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady have shown some potential. Not only that, but the Legionnaires interrupted to distract Big Cass and allow the Vaudevillains to win. Solid little match and tag team wrestling is heating up in NXT.
CJ Parker met Xavier Woods in the next match and one of my tweets appeared at the bottom of the screen for the third straight week. Giving myself a pat on the back here. The match was decent as I'm not a big fan of Parker's ring work, but he makes his character work which is important. Not much of note here but CJ Parker won.
Divas on NXT are easily one of highlights. Next week, it's announced that Summer Rae gets her Women's Championship match against Charlotte in the explosion of the BFFs. The seemingly forgotten BFF, Sasha Banks, was in action against the upstart Alexa Bliss. A few weeks ago, Bliss beat Banks and shortly before that, she upset former Divas Champion Alicia Fox during the Women's Title Tournament. Alexa blows glitter in her entrance the same way that Stardust blows stars. Sasha, is in my opinion, the best worker of the BFF group and she won here with her sick new submission move. Seriously good stuff.
Tyler Breeze was interviewed in awesome fashion backstage. He says that he hasn't rushed to his title shot because he injured his finger during a devastating hand modeling incident. Just great writing right there. They aired his music video once more and it's still pretty fantastic. Adam Rose defeated Jason Jordan in a return to NXT. They say that Jordan's partner, Tye Dillinger, who you may or may not remember as Gavin Spears from ECW in 2009, is injured. Adam Rose still hasn't done much to impress me in-ring wise, but I do think the character works. Added bonus, Jojo from Total Divas Season 1 was a rosebud and it's always fun spotting rosebuds you recognize.
Devin Taylor interviews Kalisto when he's interrupted by the Vaudevillains. They arrive to their theme and stay silent while Kalisto speaks. Funny stuff. He says he will get a partner to face them next week. Main event time as Sami Zayn went one on one with Tyson Kidd. I always knew this would be a great match and it was. Tyson Kidd does still struggle in his promos, but he's doing some fine work down in NXT. This is probably the happiest he's been in a long time. Meanwhile, I don't think Sami Zayn can have a bad match. He once again stole the show tonight and should have an extremely bright future. He would win a hard fought match in about 11 minutes with the Koji Clutch. Great main event.
After last week's episode not being great, NXT returned to form with a really good episode. The only way to follow up NXT for me, is to enjoy some of the endlessly adorable Renee Young on commentary during Superstars. The show opened with a match between two Total Divas, Naomi and Rosa Mendes. The WWE is going to give Mendes TV time heading into the new season of Total Divas, so prepare for some bad matches. This one wasn't terrible though and the right girl won as Naomi got some momentum before her match with Cameron on the Battleground kick off.
Because it's Superstars, it was filled with a lot of Raw and Main Event recaps to fill out the hour, since there are only two matches on Superstars. In the main event, Ryback and R-Truth went at it. Man, look at how far Ryback has fallen. At least he's gone on record saying that he's very happy with Curtis Axel and they're making the best of it by becoming an entertaining tag team. Another solid little match that Ryback won. Superstars was decent as I'd expect. There are no photos that I could really find for this match, so I leave you with some Sting because I'm about to pre-order WWE 2K15.
That's all for now folks. Follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaaa
