Random Network Reviews: The Great American Bash 1997

The Great American Bash 1997
June 15th, 1997 - The MARK of the Quad Cities – Attendance: 9,613

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here, 1997 was the best year to be a wrestling fan. Smack dab in the middle of the Monday Night Wars, you had WCW leading the charge ratings wise with the red hot nWo angle, while the WWF was in the midst of the epic Austin/Hart rivalry and an underrated Undertaker run as WWF Champion. We land in the middle of that great year on the WCW side of things with the Great American Bash.

Typical mediocre looking video opens the show and it somehow tries to compare DDP’s career to America. So would that make the nWo an opposing country? Commentary is the Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes. I love how ridiculous these three are together so it should supply some great moments.

Respect Match
Psychosis w/ Sonny Ono vs. Ultimo Dragon
Mike Tenay joins commentary for this, because the regular commentary team didn’t know enough moves and the action was usually too quick for them. This is a respect match because Ono wants Psychosis to teach his former client, Dragon some respect. In the early goings, Dragon gets the better, forcing Psychosis to take breathers outside. The crowd is pretty hot for this. Psychosis spits at Dragon and they get into a bit of an awkward exchange before Psychosis nails him mid leap frog. It’s being hammered home that this is a different side of Psychosis. Dragon does his headstand spot in the corner before kicking Psychosis down and the crowd ERUPTS! Dragon hits a tilt-a-whirl back breaker and targets that part of the body. A snapmare takes Psychosis outside and Dragon goes to follow with a plancha but misses and holds his knee. Psychosis distracts the official, allowing Ono to kick Dragon a few times because apparently, he’s a martial arts expert. He drapes Dragon across the second rope and hits a guillotine leg drop. It’s a cool spot but I hate how phony it looks since Dragon has to literally hold himself in place for it. Outside, Ono goes to kick Dragon some more but gets caught. Dragon goes for a suplex as the crowd gets loud but Psychosis stops him. The rally begins by Dragon with some kicks and a handspring elbow. They do a goofy looking rollup spot but make up for it a bit as Dragon hits an Asai moonsault. Back inside, Dragon hits a Tombstone but only gets two. Psychosis comes back with a flying spinning heel kick and then does a suicide dive OVER THE TURNBUCKLE POST! That is a gangster way to do it. They trade near falls inside before Psychosis tries a top rope moonsault, only to be met with a dropkick! Dragon sets up his opponent on the top and snaps off the top rope hurricanrana. He goes for the Tiger Suplex but gets distracted by Ono. Psychosis no sells and takes forever to get up and dropkick Dragon, who waits for it like a moron. Schiavone gets credit for trying to cover this up. Ono gets on the apron and goes for a spin kick but hits Psychosis by mistake, leading right into the Dragon Sleeper! Somehow the kick doesn’t cause a DQ, and Psychosis taps out.

Winner: Ultimo Dragon in 14:21
Really good opener that had potential to be so much more. They botched a few things and had some awkward moments but the action was good. The lack of a DQ near the end was dumb, but again, both guys worked hard and the red hot crowd helped. ***3/4

Chris Benoit is chatting with fans online, but he’s not typing. There’s a nerdy kid typing what he says but by the sound of it, he’s going way slower than Benoit’s words. Poor fan isn’t getting his money’s worth.

Number One Contender’s Match
Harlem Heat w/ Sister Sherri vs. The Steiner Brothers
On his way to the ring, Booker T says “CAN YOU DIG IT SUCKA?” because some things never change. Also, the Steiners had awful music. Scott Steiner was nearing Big Poppa Pump levels of muscle. The bigger brothers start as Stevie Ray goes toe to toe with Scott. Harlem Heat is forced to rethink strategy outside with Sherri and their new plan is to go after Rick. He get the tag and powerslams Stevie. Booker runs in and eats the STEINERLINE! After more regrouping, Stevie Ray slows things with a full nelson. NOBODY HAS BROKEN THE MASTER LOCK OF STEVEIE RAY. Scott does however, but it leads nowhere. Scott tries to fly but misses so he gets hit with a Harlem sidekick after the SPINAROONIE! This has a strange feel to it since the faces are kind of dominating the heels. Stevie suplexes Rick outside, which Schiavone calls a powerslam. There goes that classic commentary I was talking about earlier. Booker and Rick go at it until Rick catches a kick and slams him. Rick makes the “hot” tag, even though he didn’t really take the beating. Scott comes in fresh and does his thing but a cover after a belly to belly is broken up. Rick and Stevie fight outside as Scott hits the Frankensteiner. Vincent runs in and hits a weak elbow on Booker, causing the disqualification.

Winners via disqualification: Harlem Heat in 12:01
Kind of dull and disappointing. It had a strange vibe to it and felt like the teams were kind of going through the motions. Also, the finish was stupid. So the nWo, who had the Tag Titles, don’t want to face the Steiners, which I get. However, that makes Harlem Heat look like a weak team. **

The Steiner Brothers beat up Vincent after the match. Even though the nWo is something like 800 wrestlers deep at this point, nobody comes to help him.

Hugh Morris vs. Konnan
Your name is Hugh Morris. What? Hugh Morris. What? Is that funny? Is that…humorous? What? As he comes out, he tells the camera “SHUCKY DUCKY” and I’ve come to the conclusion that is where Booker T stole the phrase from. Morris and Konnan start with fists as this is apparently a bitter and personal feud. Morris uses his power advantage in the beginning but Konnan fights back with his rolling clothesline. He goes to a headlock and shouts “VIVA MEXICO!” He gives up on that quickly and goes to a dropkick. Hugh Morris breaks free of a submission and launches Konnan into the steel steps. Something about WCW’s steps don’t sound nearly as rough as the WWE ones. Impressive spinning heel kick from Morris before he goes to a rest hold. Schiavone admits that he was wrong about this being a fight with not many wrestling holds. Morris and Konnan are like FUCK STORYTELLING, because they want to work a wrestling match rather than a fight. They continue to trade submissions with the highlight being Konnan pulling a Doink and uses the Stump Puller. They get into an awkward exchange that Brain tries to cover up by saying they’re exhausted. The crowd that was scoring hot during the opener, is now silent. Morris climbs up for No Laughing Matter but takes FOREVER. So long that Konnan telegraphs that he’s going to move, gets halfway up, lays back down for a few seconds, then gets up and pulls him down. Morris hits the buckle on the way down, which somehow knocks him out. Konnan applies the Tequila Sunrise and wins since Morris is out cold.

Winner: Konnan in 10:34
I don’t even know what I just watched. It was supposed to be a fight but ended up just being a boring match. The finish was poorly executed and it completely killed the crowd. DUD

Gene Okerlund pumps the WCW Hotline at 1-900-909-9900, saying that they have juicy news about someone they can’t mention on TV. I never called one of these so I wonder if they ever really had any legit news or if they were just blowing smoke up the fans’ asses. He brings out Public Enemy for an interview. They cut a promo that would have gotten over in ECW but the WCW fans were confused and lost. They did pop at the mention of their city name though. YAY, HE SAID THE QUAD CITIES! THAT’S WHERE WE LIVE!

Glacier vs. Wrath w/ Mortis and James Vandenberg
Oh my goodness, is this seriously on Pay-Per-View? Trying to capitalize on the popularity of Mortal Kombat, WCW came up with Wrath, Mortis and Glacier but it was all ridiculous. WCW reportedly spent a TON of money on Glacier, his entrance and his gear, which turned out to be a giant waste. Mortis is chained to a corner outside, so commentary mentions that if he goes to the corner, things could still be bad. Why not just ban Mortis from ringside? They try and work some karate in with Glacier barely connecting on a dropkick that takes Wrath outside. Tenay is back on commentary even though I don’t think this will have nearly the moves that the opener did. Vandenberg distracts but it leads nowhere as Glacier kicks Wrath. The fight stays outside as Wrath’s whip is countered into the steps. He goes HEADFIRST. Mortis is trying to break the handcuffs while Tenay tries to explain the backstory of Mortis and Glacier. It’s absurd. Inside, Wrath takes control with a sleeper of sorts. Glacier rallies but the crowd doesn’t care and he misses a cross body. Wrath jumps from the apron onto Glacier because he was an impressive big man dammit. I always liked him. He continues with a nice flying clothesline for two. He tries another high risk move but misses. This leads nowhere as Wrath hits a side slam. Schiavone stated earlier that these guys want to pin each other, but now says that Wrath doesn’t to pin Glacier. MAKE UP YOUR MIND MAN! Glacier nails a second rope suplex and Mortis gets on the apron. Glacier knocks him off but walks into a back suplex. Vandenberg throws a chain in the ring but COMPLETELY overshoots Wrath. Glacier picks it up and hits Wrath with it to win.

Winner: Glacier in 12:01
First of all, why did this get twelve minutes? Second, faces cheating is not usually a good thing. Third, despite Wrath’s best efforts, this wasn’t very good. It was nonsensical and Glacier just wasn’t good. *

Mortis gets out of the handcuffs and they gang up on Glacier. He gets handcuffed and tries to attack before magically realizing that he has been cuffed. They literally just jump him because the faces aren’t allowed to stand tall in WCW.

WCW Women’s Championship vs. Career
Akira Hokuto (c) w/ Sonny Ono vs. Madusa
WCW had a Women’s Title? Hokuto attacks instantly and does a hair mare before choking Madusa in the corner. Piledriver from Hokuto before she just blatantly steps on Madusa’s face. She forgets to sell anything that has happened as she connects with two dropkicks. She pulls a Curt Hennig with a running neck snap but Hokuto goes to pulling the hair. The crowd is not hot but they are way more into this than the last two matches. More choking from the champion as Lee Marshall, who joined commentary, mentions that both girls were trained by men. I feel like I haven’t heard Dusty speak in forever. Madusa hits some poor looking kicks and what has to be the fifth or sixth snapmare of the match. Double axe handle from the challenger but she seems to hurt her leg. Hokuto smartly hits a knee breaker, though it looked like crap. Hokuto locks in a surfboard that looks very painful. Despite the bad knee, Madusa hits a variation of Trish Stratus’ handstand hurricanrana, which I had no idea she did first. A powerbomb gets her two but the knee is still giving problems. Hokuto misses a top rope move and eats a German suplex but Ono pulls Madusa’s leg out from under her bridge. Madusa is selling the leg work much better than she was selling stuff earlier. She tries an atomic drop but collapses, so Hokuto drops her on her head and retains.

Winner and Still WCW Women’s Champion: Akira Hokuto in 11:41
That got a lot more time than I expected and was actually my second favorite match of the night. Madusa sold the emotions of her desperation well and the leg work was well done. Impressive. **1/2

Madusa cries in the ring while Bobby Heenan ridicules her. You have to love the Brain. The go to Gene Okerlund who tries to interview Madusa as she’s being helped out by a doctor and referee. He comes off as a total asshole who is like “do you think your knee is out for good? Does that even matter since your career is over?” Madusa slaps the microphone away from him and Gene is somehow surprised at this reaction. The crowd even chants “leave her alone.”

Death Match
Chris Benoit vs. Meng w/ Jimmy Hart
So, I’m curious about what exactly makes this a “death match”. Benoit jumps out and beats on Meng before he even gets into the ring. Once he gets him in the ring, he applies the Cripple Crossface but Meng powers out and nicely sits him atop the turnbuckle. They trade some stuff until Benoit suplexes Meng outside, but it comes off odd and I think Meng got caught on the top rope. Meng is fine as he gets Benoit down and the referee counts Benoit so I guess this is a Last Man Standing match. After a powerbomb from Meng, Benoit is down for about a count of eight. I can’t tell because Nick Patrick isn’t shouting the count and seems to be just waving his arms and not using his fingers. Dragon sleeper by Meng as Ultimo Dragon cries infringement in the back. Chops from Benoit seem to have no effect and Meng hits an impressive splash. He covers, like a dunce so Patrick has to tell him that’s not how you win. Benoit is up, they fight outside for a short while, and once back inside, and Benoit hits a German and bridges it. DO EITHER OF YOU KNOW THE RULES? Meng is up and eats another German. Benoit survives the Tongan Death Grip and the fight goes outside again where both men are just chopping each other. Meng slows things down inside until Benoit locks in the Crossface. Meng reaches the ropes and Benoit is told to break it, but why? This is a “Death Match”. There’s no disqualification. He gets the move back on two more times and the last time, Meng fights hard but fades out. They call for the bell, but I thought this could only end in a 10 count?

Winner: Chris Benoit in 14:59
Disappointing is the word I’d use for this. Benoit was great and Meng was an underrated tough guy but something about this didn’t click. **3/4

Despite winning, Chris Benoit does the stretcher job and Meng is just knocked out cold. It takes forever, but Meng now also does a stretcher job. As they go to Mean Gene, Meng falls off the stretcher and Gene tells the camera to catch it. Gene is a total dick tonight. He plugs the WCW Hotline again before an advertisement airs for Bash at the Beach. Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman will be there!

Kevin Greene vs. Steve “Mongo” McMichael w/ Debra McMichael
I expect this to suck hard. Kevin Greene charges the ring and takes him down before a three point stance leads to a clothesline. Mongo turns the tide and goes after the knee on the outside. He brings Greene over to his mom, who wasn’t mentioned before this and she hits Mongo with her purse. Why isn’t she ejected? Mongo gets right back in control inside the ring though, so there’s that. Every time that Greene gets some offense, Mongo jus turns things around. He puts his finger in Greene’s ear, and I never knew that a wet Willy was an offensive move. After forgetting about it, Mongo goes back to the knee. Green climbs to the top, so I guess his knee is fine, and he hits a diving shoulder block. They fight outside and Debra fakes an ankle injury but Greene doesn’t fall for it so she stops. That’s it. Nothing else comes from this. Inside, Greene misses a splash in the corner and Mongo clubs away on him. Even though he’s in control, Jeff Jarrett runs out with a briefcase and goes to hit Greene, but clocks Mongo instead. Greene covers and wins.

Winner: Kevin Greene in 9:21
So, I commend both guys for trying their best. The thing is, they had no business on a Pay-Per-View and even less business going nearly ten minutes. Neither guy is a true worker and this should have been a tag match with maybe Jeff Jarrett and another actual wrestler to help this. However, it was still better than Konnan/Morris earlier. 3/4*

Jeff Jarrett watches the 1-2-3 happen instead of helping Mongo so Debra comes out and yells at him. She would eventually get over it and manage Jeff in the WWF. Madusa is shown in the back and they talk about how she might need reconstructive surgery, which would keep her out about eight months. SHE IS RETIRED YOU CLOWNS! Tony Schiavone never ceases to amaze me.

WCW World Tag Team Championship
The Outsiders (c) w/ Syxx vs. Ric Flair and Roddy Piper
This was when the Wolfpac was just the Outsiders and Syxx before it became its own thing and ended up being stupid. Ric Flair starts hot and his chops cause the Outsiders to talk strategy with Syxx. Or Syxx and Hall are discussing where to get coke. Bad taste? Maybe. Flair bump in the corner and he walks the apron right into a Nash big boot. Flair gets sent into the ropes and clearly sets himself up to have his foot grabbed by Syxx, yet they still mistime it. Nash gets the tag and does basic Nash stuff like elbows in the corner and a side slam for two. Roddy Piper gets the hot tag and applies the Sleeper Hold that Hall sells TERRIBLY! He picks him up and crotches him on the top rope to break it. Syxx gets in a cheap kick on Piper, so Flair forgets the match and decides to light Syxx up with shots going up the ramp and to the back. Piper fights for his life but Nash just pounds on him. Piper tries to tag but realizes he’s alone. He still trash talks and tries to fight but it is futile. The Outsiders just end him.

Winners and still WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Outsiders in 10:02
Probably went a bit too long for the guys working. Piper was not good at this time and Hall and Nash were in full mail it in mode. Flair leaving was a dumb move too. *

Michael Buffer is out, which pisses me off because he sucks. He informs us that the main event will be contested under Lights Out rules. The lights in the arena go out but comes back on so I’m not sure what this means.

Falls Count Anywhere
DDP w/ Kimberly vs. Macho Man Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth
Kimberly comes out to the stage and while Randy Savage is watching, DDP comes from behind and starts the fight. He goes for the early Diamond Cutter, which I don’t like. Why would someone who wants his hand on Savage try and end this quickly? DDP actually does a plancha outside but his ribs are hurt. For those who don’t know, DDP had taped ribs for like six years. It’s the equivalent to Bob Orton’s arm injury. He even had them as part of his attire in WCW/NWO Revenge. The fight spills inside and out as they move through the crowd. Savage is taking a beating, being thrown into a wall and the rails. Savage turns things around when they get back to ringside, tossing DDP into steps. He throws powder into DDP’s eyes and then hits him with some foreign object. Savage exposes DDP’s ribs, like the tape is protecting it that much as the crowd chants for “Sting.” Savage chooses to lay out the referee and then piledrives him. WCW folks; taking ref bumps to the next level. Another ref comes out and is taken out too. The fight moves to the aisle, where Savage is still beating on Page. They move to a BBQ area, which I have no clue why it exists. It’s not like it was used for a segment earlier. DDP slams Savage through a picnic table and dumps charcoal on him. As they go back to the ring area, Savage goes for a piledriver on the concrete but Nick Patrick stops him. WHY? IT’S NO DQ! Savage agrees and he takes out Patrick. DDP lays him out with a chair while Dusty shouts to pin him so Heenan shouts “THERE IS NO REFEREE DUSTY!” He rolls him in the ring, even though this is falls count anywhere and gets hit with a low blow. Page doesn’t care because he counters a suplex into the Diamond Cutter. Scott Hall comes out but fails as DDP takes him down with a terrible looking and terribly sold atomic drop. Savage nails him with the title and then he eats an Outsider’s Edge. An elbow drop from Savage finishes this off.

Winner: Macho Man Randy Savage in 16:56
This was literally just a brawl and it was fine at being that. But was there a need for Savage to go over? Also, the crowd wanted to see Sting badly but you end the show like this? Not good.**1/2

Overall: 4/10; Weak. A surprising lack of the nWo gave me hope that this show would be good but it disappointed. The only standout match was the opener. Besides that, there was a solid women’s match, an underwhelming “death match” and a not bad main event. However, the ending was anti-climactic, the two tag matches sucked and let’s not even get started on Glacier/Wrath or the incredibly bad Konnan/Morris bout. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be No Mercy 2005!

Fave Five 5/25/15-5/31/15

1) Kevin Owens: Could there be any other top choice? Kevin Owens did something that only about five other guys in the company have done. He beat John Cena cleanly. And he did it in his main roster debut match. If you would have told me a year ago that Kevin Steen would have beaten Cena cleanly on a Pay-Per-View, I would have laughed at you. He attacked Cena on Monday, destroyed Solomon Crowe on Wednesday, cut a great promo on Thursday, got a bunch of new merchandise and beat Cena in one of my favorite matches of the year. All in one week. I expect Cena to get his win back at Money in the Bank, but damn this was an impressive week for the NXT Champion.

2) The New Day: Everyone seems to be split on the Tag Title Elimination Chamber match. I've seen some call it the best Chamber match ever and I've seen some call it one of the worst matches of 2015. I'm kind of in the middle as I enjoyed the chaotic clusterfuck. Once again, New Day was on their game. From being stuck in a pod together, to their tactics against Kalisto to actually retaining the belts, this was a big showing for them. Add in that they got involved in the Smackdown main event and Kofi Kingston is set for the Money in the Bank ladder match, it shows that New Day has been pleasantly thrust into the spotlight and are delivering.

3) Ryback: In recent memory, there is nobody that's been more over than Ryback and accomplished so little. That's not a slight on "The Big Guy", just a fact. That all changed at Elimination Chamber as he stepped inside the structure and won the vacant Intercontinental Title. After his run in 2012, I didn't expect it would take this long for him to win gold. While I thought the match was absolute shit, that doesn't take away from the accomplishment. Ryback finally gets to hold some gold and should get a solid run. This was the biggest win in his career and the feel good moment with Daniel Bryan handing the title over was nice. I may not be the biggest Ryback fan, but this was really cool to see.

4) Drew Galloway: It's very possible that Drew Galloway is the reigning king of the indies. Not only does he hold the Dragon Gate USA Title, but he also has the Evolve Championship. He successfully defended both this weekend at consecutive Evolve shows. At Evolve 43, he retained the DG USA title against Biff Busick before beating Roderick Strong with the Evolve Title on the line at Evolve 44. I've said it before but he is one of the shining examples of a guy that has done fantastic for himself after WWE let him go. I'd also put him up there with EC3 as the biggest missed boats in recent WWE history. The guy has everything you could want a performer. Charisma, size, strength, agility, skill...I could go on and on. I'm very happy that he's found success outside of the WWE, especially with TNA possibly going under. Drew Galloway is awesome and it's about time people recognized.

5) Dean Ambrose: I was tempted to put John Cena here, who deserves credit for his performance in putting over Kevin Owens. In the end, I went with Dean Ambrose. The guy won the main event of Elimination Chamber, albeit via disqualification. It wasn't just a disqualification win though. We got the dusty finish but it showed that Dean is just about to ready to win the title. The fans bought it and it looked right. It's still possible that he never actually wins the title for real, but it was a cool little moment. Not only did he beat Seth via DQ at Elimination Chamber but he also pinned him in a tag match on Raw. All in all, a solid week for the "Lunatic Fringe".

Raw San Antonio Review

As usual with episodes of Raw, we open with the Authority coming out to cut a promo. They whole group comes out and demand that Dean Ambose show up and return the WWE World Heavyweight Title. Instead they get Roman Reigns, who says Dean isn't here but Seth can have the title back if he faces Dean in a Ladder Match at Money in the Bank. Seth accepts after Reigns calls him the "worst WWE Champion" ever. In a cool moment, Seth lost his cool and said he didn't need anyone in the Authority, which was fantastic. That's the Seth Rollins I want. He stormed off and a pissed off Triple H put Reigns into a match with his MITB spot on the line. His opponent was King Barrett. I wouldn't really call that a challenge considering Barrett looks up at the lights so often. Reigns performed pretty well again but there was no drama here because we all knew the outcome. After the match, Reigns was informed that he'd have another match with his shot on the line against Mark Henry later.

Next, Ryback cut a short promo about winning the Intercontinental Championship and was scheduled to defend it against the Miz. If this was the case, why wasn't Miz just put in the Elimination Chamber last night? Anyway, the match never happened as Big Show returned and knocked out Miz before issuing a challenge to Ryback. The idea of Ryback/Show doesn't really interest me, but they did have a good match when I went to NXT in Columbus. I'm just not excited for it. Kevin Owens came out to cut a promo as commentary put over his win. Owens' promo was the best thing about the entire show. His ability to be a killer heel, while also coming off as a guy doing it for the right reasons is masterful. Those are the best kinds of villains. He talked about how he never got to be "Super Cena" for kids because he was out traveling the world to make a living and provide for his kid. John Cena interrupted and put over Owens' win but then went out and questioned his manhood. He also pointed out a kid with cancer in the crowd. I wasn't a fan of that. I know it was a special moment for that child but it came off odd to me. Regardless, this was the best thing about this whole episode. Kevin Owens feels real to me. His promos don't seem like he's an actor just reading a script. It feels like it's coming from the heart and that makes it a million times better.

In a preview of the upcoming Money in the Bank match, Dolph Ziggler faced Kofi Kingston. What is this, 2010? New Day also ran down San Antonio and how they brought a title here, not the Spurs. Ziggler won with a rollup so New Day attacked. The Prime Time Players show up and we get the Teddy Long special. A tag team match playa. The six man tag is fine but the star of it was Titus O'Neil, who looked like a complete beast. They won and I guess are next in line for a title shot. Side note, Lana was also atop the ramp watching. I don't know why she didn't just come to ringside.

I believe the last time we saw Mark Henry, he was a heel. He played a face in the Chamber though. He came out here to face Roman Reigns and guess what? He's a heel again. The match with Reigns wasn't very good but they protected Henry with a countout loss. Remember that. Reigns is then told he'll face Bray Wyatt later with his spot on the line again. Next, Nikki Bella accepted Paige's challenge for the Divas Title. They worked a pretty solid match, as these two have a chemistry that Paige never had with AJ Lee. Paige nearly won until Brie came out from under the ring dressed as Nikki and they pulled twin magic to retain. How fucking stupid was this? Aren't they faces? Or are they heels again? I thought we were past this when both girls got their own characters. And the referee saw that Brie didn't accompany Nikki to the ring, but magically appears dressed EXACTLY like Nikki at the end. And he doesn't question it. Absolutely stupid and atrocious booking. This was another shining example that creative gives zero fucks about the main roster Divas division. In another Money in the Bank preview, Randy Orton faced Sheamus. For the most part, their matches have never really clicked for me. They aren't bad, but not very good either and that was the case here. It ended via disqualification and Sheamus beat the shit out of Orton to stand tall. That worked fine as build, but could have been better.

Rusev was interviewed backstage and seemed sad but he then got angry and serious. We get told that Kevin Owens will host an NXT Title Open Challenge on Smackdown this week. For the first time in a while, I'm excited to watch Smackdown. Bo Dallas came out and said he wants to hurt Neville. Neville came out and beat him again. This was complete filler, but was the right move as it got a MITB guy an actual win while not hurting another MITB guy. In our main event, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt worked a solid match with the Authority around. If the Authority wants Reigns out, why not hit Wyatt and get Reigns DQed? Instead, a guy that has worked two matches already beat Bray Wyatt. Why not have Reigns beat Henry clean and have Bray lose via countout or something? There were so many different and better routes they could have gone here, but instead they went with the absolute worst one. After the match, the Authority surrounds the ring and Dean Ambrose's music hit to a THUNDEROUS ovation. He and Reigns fight off the Authority and that was a fine ending, but the Wyatt booking absolutely sucked hard. It was Divas division bad. As a whole, I was not a fan of this episode of Raw. The Ambrose stuff was fine and the Owens/Cena stuff was great. Everything else was either decent at best or awful like the Divas and Wyatt booking. After some good episodes, we're back to stuff that doesn't deliver. 4/10.

Elimination Chamber Review

So this show as a whole has been polarizing, but this match has especially been that way. I've seen it called one of the worst matches of the year and I've seen it called the best Elimination Chamber match in history. I'm not vehemently in either corner, but I did enjoy it. The idea of 13 people in one Chamber did make it a clusterfuck, but I thought it was really fun. Everybody worked hard to entertain. Hell, even El Torito was bumping for the short time he was around. Kalisto busted out some cool spots and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro were on point. My biggest gripe was that the Prime Time Players eliminated the crowd favorites, Kidd and Cesaro. That made it so the fans weren't really behind them to dethrone New Day. New Day would retain in just under 24 minutes. It went a tad too long but was still fun. ***1/2

Up next, we got the Divas Title match as Nikki Bella defended against Paige and Naomi. Now, Nikki has really good chemistry with Paige, while Naomi and Paige have decent chemistry and Naomi and Nikki have next to none. That made for an awkward match. You could hear them calling spots loudly, (mainly Paige), and Naomi was insanely sloppy. She nearly killed Paige on a tower of doom spot that they should not have done since there was one in the opener. Nikki wasn't really on her game either, making all of the girls responsible for this match not clicking. They tried some things but none of it really worked. Nikki retained in about six minutes. *

I don't know that I've ever seen a non-title match that was bigger than this. Early on, John Cena calls spots incredibly loud, but that dies off the longer we go on. We got the typical Kevin Owens methodical attack and Cena sold it rather well. Owens brought out everything from a Marc Mero springboard moonsault to a package piledriver variation that nearly had me jumping out of my seat. I do think there were a few too many near falls, especially with the popup powerbomb not working the first time. However, having Owens beat Cena clean is insane. He's only the third heel, behind Khali and Brock, to beat Cena straight up since he became the man. Kudos to both guys here for how hard they worked and how they made a star in Owens. Hopefully, Owens doesn't go the route of losing all of the rematches, but this was a big deal and a great 21 minute match. The best singles match on WWE PPV all year. ****1/2

To bring the crowd down after the high of the previous match, we got Neville and Bo Dallas. The two former NXT Champions got the chance to go one on one on a Pay-Per-View and were given time. I was surprised at this considering Neville beat Bo a few weeks ago in short order. However, with all of the leg work that had been done in recent weeks, it made sense that Neville looked a bit out of it. Bo was in control throughout, which is fine to help him look good, but it was kind of dull. It was hard to get into this following the previous match. Neville wins in about eight minutes but it was nothing to write home about. **

The injured Rusev was replaced by Mark Henry in the Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber match. This was insanely dull. Something about it just didn't click at all. In a cool little heel move, Sheamus used his chain to jam the Chamber door shut so he wouldn't have to come in on time and get extra rest. Unfortunately, the crowd couldn't tell and commentary did a poor job of explaining it. The crowd hasn't been very good all night but they are extra dead here because the match absolutely sucks. Easily the worst Chamber match in history. Ryback is able to eliminate Sheamus to win his first title at around the twenty-five minute mark. This lazy, poorly thought out and just flat. The Ryback moment was nice but the match sucked. 1/2*

I've loved nearly every single match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins so far. Thanks to the previous match killing my interest, I wasn't as into the beginning of this as I'd hoped. However, as things went on, I got more into this. Dean seriously needs to cut back on how many rebound lariats he does because I've grown to dislike the move. They made fans pop hard when Dean was announced as the winner in just over 21 minutes, only to pull out he dusty finish and have the referee go for the DQ. This is something the company doesn't use often but it can work. Dean still left with the title with Roman Reigns and they kind of seem to be building towards Reigns winning MITB and cashing in on Dean if he wins at that show. I could be totally wrong with Brock Lesnar coming back soon. Anyway, the match was good, but the finish does hurt the score a bit. ***1/4

Overall, I felt this was a decent show. As I stated earlier, people are split on the show. I've seen people call it shit and some say that it was the best show outside of WrestleMania this year. I rank it as a middle of the pack show. The opener and main event were both solid and fun, but the Owens/Cena match is easily the best match by far. The rest of the card was pretty bad, including the worst Chamber match I've ever seen. Three good matches, three bad ones. 6/10.

Elimination Chamber Predictions

A few weeks ago on Smackdown, Neville squashed Bo Dallas in like two minutes. Why should I think Dallas is any sort of threat to him on Pay-Per-View? I like Bo and have enjoyed the leg work during the buildup, but this is an easy win for Neville. I do hope that if Rusev is unfortunately unable to compete, this becomes a situation where the winner goes into the Chamber. Neville with the Red Arrow.

Winner: Neville

I really wish that we got qualifying matches or something here. It's better than just randomly picking teams. Let's get the obvious out of the way here. Los Matadores aren't winning. Honestly, the Ascension won't either thanks to their horrid main roster booking. The Prime Time Players are highly entertaining but I see them losing here. Maybe sometime down the line but not here. That leaves the top three teams in the division. I love Tyson Kidd and Cesaro and they are the best team in the company right now but they aren't winning the titles back yet. The Lucha Dragons are the popular pick as the hot new team who will impress in the Chamber. However, I'm going with the New Day. The incredibly fun and entertaining trio will retain via underhanded tactics.

Winners: The New Day

Nikki Bella has been really good in 2015. Not NXT girl good, but the best on the main roster. Her chemistry with Paige has produced good matches but the ones with Naomi have been lackluster. I honestly don't want to see her reign end here. Naomi isn't good enough to be deserving of ending it and while I'd love Paige to get an extended run with the title but I don't see it happening. Honestly, Charlotte should get called up and overthrow Nikki. That would be great if Nikki was still a heel but she turned face for no reason. I don't understand main roster creative sometimes. Anyway, I don't think she's earned it, but Naomi to win here.

Winner: Naomi

Seriously, how does R-Truth keep getting in these things? Also, with the report that Rusev may be out, I wonder what they do here. Regardless, I don't see him, R-Truth or Dolph Ziggler winning. Truth for obvious reasons and I see Rusev and Ziggler feuding over Lana for a bit. King Barrett is already king a five time Intercontinental Champion so I doubt that happens. Part of me would be okay with Ryback winning since he's the most over guy in recent memory to not win any sort of title. You know who that leaves don't you? Sheamus. The guy has won a ton in his career. US Title, WWE Title, World Heavyweight Title, Royal Rumble and King of the Ring. I sense he adds the IC Title to the list, solidifying his really good heel turn.

Winner: Sheamus

Despite a Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose match and two Elimination Chambers, there is nothing on the card more intriguing than this. For two weeks so far, Owens has looked legit in the eyes of main roster viewers. However, kicking Cena's ass leading into PPVs usually doesn't bode well for young talent. Hell, just facing Cena on PPV isn't usually good. Just ask Ryback, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Wade Barrett, etc. Who knows though? Maybe we get a CM Punk or Daniel Bryan situation and Cena loses. Honestly though, I think the best move is for neither guy to get pinned. Don't have the US Champion lose clean and don't have the NXT Champion lose his first main roster match. I think Owens hits the apron powerbomb or something and this ends in some sort of dusty finish.

Winner: John Cena via disqualification

When I first heard about the IC Title Elimination Chamber, I wanted it to headline. However, knowing now that the title match is between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, I'm all for this closing things out. They showed at SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell and various TV matches that they can absolutely deliver. Their chemistry is off the charts and I'm sure this will be another great match. Considering this show was a late addition and considering I don't think the WWE is ready to strap the rocket on Dean Ambrose just yet, Seth retains here. I actually don't see him dropping the strap until at least SummerSlam.

Smackdown 5/29/15 Review

Smackdown this week had some interesting news coming out of the spoilers this week.

Before we get to any of that though, Dean Ambrose opened the show with a promo. He talked about getting arrested on Raw and coming back because of what Seth Rollins did and his fans on the police force. He just says that he'll beat Seth's ass during their Raw tag team rematch. Stop me if you've seen that match a million times. Really basic stuff here. Our opening contest was a lumberjack match. Four of the teams in the Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber were outside as Tyson Kidd and Cesaro took on the Lucha Dragons. This was awesome and would be the best match of the night. Both teams are absolutely fantastic and it showed here. A distraction from Xavier Woods allowed the Dragons to win. Honestly, I would have main evented the show with this. Make the Tag Titles seem important rather than Reigns and Ambrose vs. Kane and Seth for 561st time.

Next up, King Barrett took on R-Truth. Guess what happened here? Barrett beat Truth. Just like how Truth lost in under a minute on Raw. Why the fuck is Truth in this Elimination Chamber match? From a kayfabe standpoint, what has he won to earn this? This spot should have gone to Neville or hell, even Randy Orton as he works back to the World Title. In another Chamber preview, Ryback took on Rusev. They started pretty well but then Rusev got injured, which was the interesting note out of the spoilers. That really hampered what they were doing and there are talks that he may have to miss the PPV. At least if they add someone new to the card, it will be relatively fresh, rather than the other guys who have all faced off already.

After losing to Tamina on Raw this past Monday, Paige faces Tamina's leader, Naomi. Naomi attempted to work the arm early. Has she been watching Nikki Bella? As in, a Diva that works the arm, but has no finisher that impacts that body part. Paige no sells it during her comeback and wins. This was too short for serious body part work and now both challengers for Nikki Bella's Divas Title on Sunday have lost this week. How does anyone consider this good booking? Why should I believe either girl will win when Naomi can't beat Paige and Paige couldn't even beat Tamina? It's lazy booking like this, along with lack of character development that makes this Divas division a chore to watch sometimes. I'm not asking for it to be on the levels of the NXT Divas, but can we please just pay some attention to it?

Michael Cole interviewed Kevin Owens in the ring. Owens was absolutely on point here. He talked about wrestling for 15 years and what he will do to John Cena. He talked of Cena's accomplishments but shit on his dumb shirts. Owens said that if he did what he did to Sami Zayn, who was his best friend, imagine what he'll do to Cena. Again, Owens was phenomenal here. In our main event, that nobody cared about, we get a DQ finish. New Day oddly gets involved but it all just leads to a big brawl. Seth Rollins lays out Dean Ambrose with the Pedigree to stand tall. Overall, not he best episode of Smackdown. Outside of the Kevin Owens promo and the opening tag match, this wasn't good at all. However, those were both really good segments so the show gets a middle of the pack score. 5/10.

Top Ten Thursday: Daniel Bryan WWE Matches

With the unfortunate recent news about Daniel Bryan's health and his possible retirement, I've been meaning to make this list, but have been pressed for time. The criteria is simple. I'm listing my top ten Daniel Bryan WWE matches. If I went into his Bryan Danielson stuff, this would be unbelievably hard. Instead, I'll focus on his WWE work, spanning 2010-2015. I'm not saying this is the definitive best or most important. Just my favorite. Some matches may be higher, but get a lower star rating from me just because I like them more. I'd live to give honorable mentions out to his match against Roman Reigns at Fast Lane and the WrestleMania Ladder match where he won the Intercontinental Championship.

10) Daniel Bryan runs the gauntlet; Raw 7/22/2013 - Hot off the heels of a fantastic run with Kane as Team Hell No, Daniel Bryan embarked on an interesting journey. He was out to prove that he wasn't the weak link in the unit. While that path eventually led him to the WWE Championship, one of the best stops on the road was this gauntlet match. First, Bryan bested Jack Swagger and he won by beating Ryback last. This doesn't make the list because of those guys. It does for the middle match, where Bryan faced Antonio Cesaro. Knowing their Ring of Honor history, I knew these two could put on a classic. They did just that, giving us one of the more memorable exchanges in recent Raw memory. Excellent stuff. **** (purely for the Cesaro/Bryan part)

9) Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton; Raw 6/24/13 - While I would grow tired of their matches by the end of 2013, this encounter between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton was phenomenal. As part of the whole "prove he's not the weak link" angle, Bryan tried to earn the respect of Orton. They would meet a few times, but this Street Fight was the blowoff for the time being. This is my favorite match they've had together. It was brutal, physical and most importantly, a major win for Bryan. Not only did he beat Orton, but he did so via submission. Making a face Orton submit is a big deal, and doing it via a Yes Lock with a kendo stick was pretty badass. ****

8) WWE United States Championship: The Miz (c) vs. Daniel Bryan; Night of Champions 2010 - The first of many big wins in the WWE career of Daniel Bryan came on this night. Their backstory was well done as Miz was Bryan's pro during Season One of NXT. Miz treated Bryan like shit before Bryan got fired. He was brought back at SummerSlam, but got eliminated in that match due to Miz. It all led to this match, which is still my favorite in the entire career of the Miz. I loved most of what happened in this match. From Miz being a perfect heel, to the Nigel McGuiness lite clothesline from Miz and of course, to Bryan actually winning the title. This was the perfect ending to their rivalry. ***3/4

7) World Heavyweight Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls: Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan; Extreme Rules 2012 - At WrestleMania 28, Daniel Bryan entered the event as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. His unsuccessful title defense against Sheamus lasted 18 seconds. It was disheartening though it changed his career forever. Before we realized that though, he got his rematch the following month in a 2 out of 3 falls match. This proved that if given time, Bryan and Sheamus could have an excellent match. Bryan gave up the first fall via disqualification before winning the second instantly via submission. He ultimately lost the entire thing, but this was a big showing that proved both guys could hang at the top of the card. ****1/4

6) TLC Match: Team Hell No and Ryback vs. the Shield; TLC 2012 - The Shield completely made the six man tag match their bitch during their run. At this point however, they hadn't even had an official match. Their first was against Team Hell No and Ryback in a TLC match and boy, was it great. While the bigger story is that it was the Shield's coming out party of sorts, I do have to commend Bryan for his efforts here. He bumped like crazy for the new guys and, while he wasn't the MVP of this contest, it's still one hell of a ride. There have been a lot of great TLC matches in history, but this is top five easily. ****1/4

5) WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan; Over the Limit 2012 - A few years before this, it would have been an insane thought to say that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan would compete for the WWE Title on a Pay-Per-View. However, that exact thing happened on this May night. While they weren't given the main event spot (because John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis was SUCH an important match), it was hands down the best match on the card. This was just two of the better pure wrestlers putting on a wrestling match. Not much in the way of nonsense and just an absolutely match to watch. ****1/4

4) WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan; WrestleMania XXX - Even if we never see Daniel Bryan wrestle again, I, and every Bryan fan, will always have WrestleMania XXX. It's even been called "YestleMania". The show was based around him, made all the more impressive by the fact that the original plan was a midcard match between Bryan and Sheamus. Instead, the fans forced the WWE's hand and Bryan was thrust into the main event. What followed was an overbooked masterpiece. I say that because often, overbooking can be awful. Here, it was done perfectly, resulting in the greatest moment in the career of Daniel Bryan as he stood tall with the gold to close the biggest show of the year. ***3/4

3) Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H; WrestleMania XXX - I told you it might as well be called "YestleMania". Before Daniel Bryan got into the main event and won the WWE World Heavyweight Title, he had to go through Triple H in the opening contest. These two went out and had the best singles match on the main roster in all of 2014. Hell, if it wasn't for Bret/Owen at WrestleMania X, this would be the best WrestleMania opener ever. Bryan's performance at this show is the greatest in WrestleMania history. Not only did he win two matches, but he had two fantastic outings. Excellent stuff all around. ****1/2

2) Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler; Bragging Rights 2010 - In 2015, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan are widely considered two of the best workers in all of professional wrestling. However, in 2010, Bryan was still fresh to a WWE audience and Dolph was a dastardly heel. With both guys holding the midcard titles of Raw and Smackdown, they were put to face off at the Bragging Rights Pay-Per-View as a part of the brands battling. Bryan and Ziggler went out and stole the show. It is widely forgotten and overlooked but I absolutely loved everything about this. It's one of my favorite matches of all-time. ****1/4

1) WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Daniel Bryan; SummerSlam 2013 - When it comes to big matches, there aren't many better than John Cena. When he goes up against one of my favorite, the atmosphere is insane. I remember being nervous and pumped for this in ways I can't describe. The only thing that rivals it is what I felt during Punk/Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. I wanted so badly for Bryan to win the WWE Title and beat THE MAN in the WWE. He did just that in a classic match and picked up the cleanest victory I can remember someone ever getting on Cena. It was an indescribable feeling that, while short lived, meant the world to me. ****1/4

Bash and Kevstaaa Wrestling Podcast: Vengeance 2003

Memorial Day Raw Review

After the yearly overly patriotic intro, we get our weekly Authority opening promo. Some things just never change huh? They run down Dean Ambrose and says he's no threat. Dean comes out, cracks some jokes and they tell him that he needs to sign the contract before his match is official. Roman Reigns came out to stand by his bro, leading Stephanie McMahon to do her best Teddy Long and book a tag team match playa. Ambrose and Reigns beat Kane and Seth Rollins when Dean pinned Seth. That's a dumb move. Dean already beat Seth a few weeks ago so there was no need for this. Just fucking pin Kane because he shouldn't be protected against your new top stars. The match was there but was nothing of note. Ambrose has until the end of the night to sign the contract. J&J Security give Ambrose shit backstage, so he attacks but ends up laying out a cameraman in the process.

Rusev comes out and he's Bulgarian again. See, he moved back home after splitting from Lana. He squashes R-Truth which was really dumb since Truth is going to be in the Elimination Chamber. Why make him look so bad? Rusev then called out Lana as we went to commercial. He came out before commercial, squashed Truth and is now technically entering his fourth segment. Lana comes out, Rusev acts like a 17 year emo boy and Lana nearly forgives him. Then, he wants her to say those three little words. His delivery on wanting her to say "I was wrong" instead of "I love you" was spot on. Lana gets pissed and they argue before she leaves. Dolph Ziggler appears atop the ramp to steal the show and Rusev's girlfriend as they kiss. Rusev delivered in this segment but it lasted too long.

Backstage, HHH goes into Dean Ambrose's locker room and has him arrested for assault. That damn soft cameraman. This is all so Dean can't sign the contract to make his title match official. In another Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber preview, Ryback beat King Barrett. Bad booking here again. Ryback shook off a rib injury to beat Barrett. Why should I care about Barrett if he just continues to lose? In the back, the Entourage cast meets Steph and Triple H. They make some Jeremy Piven SummerFest jokes and some Ronda Rousey/Steph jokes. Moving on, Stardust faces Neville. Neville is officially facing Bo Dallas at Elimination Chamber. I guess his two minute squash of Bo on Smackdown a while ago never happened. Stardust got into it with Stephen Amell at ringside. I'd love to see Amell get more involved. He's awesome as Arrow and is a big wrestling fan. Celebrity fans are the best guest stars because they actually have a great time. Neville wins, Dallas shows up and goes after his knee.

As if we haven't seen it enough lately, Sheamus took on Dolph Ziggler next. Sheamus works the knee, only for Dolph to not sell it and for them to forget about it. Lana came out to watch, so Rusev showed up to distract. His fourth segment by the way. The distraction let Sheamus win. Rusev then attacked Dolph. So, is the Chamber winner the best of the bunch of losers? Next, we get the midcard Champion that's actually booked well. John Cena comes out, puts over the crowd and his feud with Kevin Owens. Yea, it's the same weekly shit. This took far too long. The Entourage cast came out and brought out Zack Ryder for the Open Challenge. I'm fine with this as not every challenge has to be this major deal. The hometown fans loved seeing Ryder and the match was solid. Ryder even busted out the Killswitch and a 450 splash. Cena won, raised Ryder and the Entourage cast's hands and was then attacked by Owens. Owens again stomped on the US Title. Fine segment except for the overly long Cena promo to start.

Moving on to the WWE Divas, Tamina takes on Paige as Naomi and the Bellas are ringside. Guess how the booking goes here? If you guessed Paige, the woman getting the title shot this Sunday, won...then you would be completely wrong. Tamina won after help from Naomi for some ridiculous reason. Not a good match because Tamina isn't very good, but also terrible booking. For some reason, we get a 10 on 3 handicap match next. Poor New Day not only has to defend the titles against five teams this Sunday, but now they face everyone? At least this broke down into a brawl and nobody really took the loss. It was kept relatively short and built towards the Elimination Chamber match well. I just wish they were making the Chamber matches seem like a bigger deal.

Before our closing segment, we see some EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE that reveals Seth Rollins shoved the camerman into Dean Ambrose, causing Dean to strike him. The Authority show up to gloat about Dean being locked away and how Seth will now just get Elimination Chamber off. Roman Reigns runs out. He gets into a brawl with the Authority until the police wagon returns with Ambrose driving it. This is some Stone Cold shit right here. He and Reigns take everyone out and he signs the contract making the match official. So, this was a down Raw after three straight really solid episodes. It felt rather lazy. The booking was stupid in a lot of places and hurt the Intercontinental and Divas Title matches for this Sunday. I enjoy Rusev, but we had too much of him. I did enjoy the use of the Entourage cast. This is an example of how to correctly use guest hosts. They didn't do any lame segments, integrated themselves with the roster and didn't take away any time from the roster. As a go home show, this really didn't work. In no way am I more excited about Elimination Chamber than I was already. In fact, I may be less excited. Regardless, some of the show was enjoyable and some wasn't. I'd put this as a middle of the pack episode of Raw. 5/10.