ROH All-Star Extravaganza Review

Last night, Ring of Honor held All-Star Extravaganza live on Pay-Per-View from San Antonio. I got home a few minutes after it started, so I missed any opening video packages, but caught all of the matches. This review will be in the same recap vein of the Field of Honor review I did last month.

ROH World Television Championship: Jay Lethal (c) def. Bobby Fish in 14:04
This was the wisest choice for an opener, considering Jay Lethal had to also main event. Bobby Fish worked submissions, focusing on Lethal's leg. Lethal was aggressive, beating up Fish on the outside and wisely trying to leave with a countout victory. Fish continued to work the leg and submissions, while commentary even contemplated if Lethal should surrender the TV Title to preserve his World Title. That was a pretty good story to have throughout. Lethal retained after a rollup with a handful of tights. I felt like this was a strong opener that really played into hos desperate Lethal is. ***½

Silas Young def. Dalton Castle in 11:02
These two have been feuding for a while and have had some decent matches. It has been rather fun though and Dalton Castle is always enjoyable to watch. I particularly loved his performance at Field of Honor. This was the weakest match of the night but I wouldn't call it bad. Silas Young did a good job in showing how much he wanted to win, trying all sorts of things to win. He was finally able to do so and took Dalton's "boys" with him. This should lead to some really fun TV coming out of this. Decent enough. **½

The All-Night Express def. The Briscoes in 8:36
The Briscoes were scheduled to face a mystery team. After the Decade came out first to disappoint people and join commentary, the Romantic Touch showed up since he's been stalking the Briscoes. They beat him up and the lights go out before the letters ANX appeared on the tron. Kenny King and Rhett Titus appeared to a fun pop and worked a rather short but really solid match. Commentary continually put over the fact that ANX never lost the ROH World Tag Titles as they were stripped when King left ROH. They won following a doomsday blockbuster giving them momentum to join ROH's deep tag division. The Decade attacked the Briscoes after, but ANX made the save and shook the hands of their opponents. All in all, this was well done and I'm excited for more from the tag division. ***

No DQ Match: Moose def. Cedric Alexander 13:18
This was probably the most fun match of the night. The feud has lasted a while, featured Veda Scott turning and has seen Alexander knock out Moose with a wrench more than once so the fact that the match came off as very heated was perfect. They used the big spots like Moose front flipping onto a ladder very well. Veda was great throughout, looking fine while getting involved and bringing weapons into play. The finishing sequence was really cool as Alexander accidentally kicked Veda, got hit with the wrench and was then speared through a table by Moose. A really fun brawl here that should be the capper to this rivalry. I would also like to note that Moose has seemingly improved each time I've seen him. ***½

Match #3 in Best of Five: ACH def. Matt Sydal to take a 2-1 lead in 16:33
I think this match was perfectly placed on the card. Following a car crash like brawl, these two worked a completely different match, giving us a great change of pace. They started slow, building towards the bigger stuff. They played off of Matt Sydal being the veteran and trying to outsmart the hungry youngster in ACH. Sydal worked the leg, which ACH seemed to forget about during his comeback. He hit a 450 for the win in a good match that could have been great had he sold the leg more. Still, it was solidly worked and the series could do a fair amount for ACH's stock in ROH. ***½

ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Kingdom def. The Addiction (c) and The Young Bucks in 14:06
Maria Kanellis appeared and off came my pants. This was typical Young Bucks stuff as they got in all of their stuff. I don't like them, but I'd rather watch them in New Japan where I don't have to hear Steve Corino shout SUPERKICK every five seconds. The match was going decent enough until we got the big finisher rally with everyone hitting big moves. Maria got on the apron and Daniels decked her, so Michael Bennett charged and we got a ref bump. A man in a red mask came out, and is supposedly Chris Sabin, but he attacks the Addiction. He even hits Sabin's finisher. The Bucks hit their finish but Matt Taven blind tagged in and rolled up Matt I believe to steal the straps. I've grown tired of the Bucks style and the overbooking of the finish in this match just made this a whole lot of stuff I wasn't a fan of. While I was never big on the Kingdom, the heat they got for this was pretty great. My friend was there live and said the crowd LOATHED them by the end of the night. **½

No. 1 Contenders Match: AJ Styles def. Adam Cole, Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong in 14:35
Considering how much I love AJ Styles, this was one of the matches I was most excited to see. Early on, they did a good job of showcasing how much of a force Michael Elgin is. They worked at a hectic pace which was fun, but it did cause them to have a few hiccups and mess up a few spots. I totally bit on a near fall from Adam Cole following the destroyer. AJ Styles was able to score with the Styles Clash on Cole to pull this out. I was a bit surprised but happy with the result. While this was just barely my match of the night, I felt like it was missing something to make it great. Still, despite that, I felt like it was a really enjoyable time. ***¾

ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) def. Kyle O'Reilly in 14:00
Right from his entrance, we saw Jay Lethal limping, to sell the leg work from the opener. Early on, he sells it very well, changing up his offense at times because it effected him. However, he seems to forget it about it later when going for the Lethal Injection and things like that. It had a good idea behind it, but he needed to be more consistent with it. O'Reilly was a blast, applying various submissions, hitting the Nigel, a brainbuster and brutally stomping on Lethal. Truth Martini got involved, so Nigel McGuinness physically ejected him. Lethal tried to use the belt after another ref bump, but Bobby Fish showed up for the save. Then Donovan Dijak ran out and THEN Adam Cole ran out. Reilly was near the win but Cole turned on him with a superkick. Lethal Injection hit and Lethal retained. Outside of Lethal's lack of selling towards the end, this was going very well until the overbooked finish. Another good match that was kept from being great by something. ***½

Overall: 7/10. This show came off similar to Death Before Dishonor in that nearly everything was good, but nothing was great. Looking at the show, the only two matches I didn't give three stars to were Castle/Young and the Tag Titles. Everything else falls between three and just under four stars. The overbooking in some of the top matches hurt because, while that works in some situations, it was a bit much here. This was a good three hours of wrestling that could have been great with a bit more.

Smackdown 9/17/15 Review

The WWE and United States Champion Seth Rollins opens Smackdown because it's not enough that the heel has to open Raw every week. He brags about what he's going to do at Night of Champions, before mentioning tonight's main event. His partner tonight is Sheamus, who comes out to tease the Money in the Bank cash in again. He tries to make #RTH or Respect the Hawk a thing but I doubt it gets over. The opening contest features Becky Lynch and Paige against Naomi and Sasha Banks. As usual with these girls, the work is pretty fine. Naomi seems to be at her best when working alongside Sasha and she disappoints when in singles competition. She wins for her team here, rolling up Paige to continue Paige's losing streak. I suspect the heel turn coming rather soon.

We see a promo in the back from the Cosmic Wasteland about Night of Champions. I really happen to like this group. New Day is out next and cut a promo about saving the tables again. Seriously, the things that New Day does should not work at all but it always delivers. It's a testament to their chemistry and ability that they can talk about Mother Nature and trees and make it entertaining. They want the Dudleys to sign a petition to save the tables. It's on a clipboard, which Xavier Woods calls a "mini table". Kofi Kingston defeats D-Von Dudley with a cheap rollup. Time for Raw recaps as see highlights of the Rusev/Ziggler/Summer stuff. I still don't understand how Rusev is the heel in this feud? He's been the sympathetic character for sure. To continue the Raw recaps, we see footage of Nikki Bella setting the Divas Title record before they set up the BELLABRATION! They have 298 bottles of champagne, they name drop Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and it seems like Nikki is being a total bitch to her teammates. Next, we get a singles match between Big Show and Cesaro. Want to guess how this ends? It doesn't end with a Cesaro victory. It ends with a fucking Big Show win. Why? There is absolutely no logical reason for this. Cesaro beat Rusev on Raw, who actually has a match at NOC and couldn't really afford a loss, but he loses to Big Show is fucking hogging up a spot on the roster. This is so unfathomably dumb and they wonder why ratings are in the shitter.

Backstage, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns continue to tease their mystery partner for Night of Champions. They won't even tell Renee Young, despite her being infinitely adorable. Kevin Owens is out now for a match against Dolph Ziggler. Owens' entrance seems to just be far better in the intimate setting of NXT. With Owens and Ziggler being two guys that can go in the ring, this was a pretty solid showing from both guys but nothing out of this world. Owens continues to be one of the more entertaining things on the roster with his ability to draw heat and talk smack during matches. He goes for the apron powerbomb to end Ziggler but Ryback rushes out for the save, causing a disqualification. They brawl and Owens is able to escape up the ramp. Time for the BELLABRATION! Nikki expects a big crowd but, similar to the party AJ Lee threw when she was around, nobody shows. Team PCB shows up, despite not being invited. Becky Lynch is wearing three party hats because she's incredible. Charlotte tells her to prepare to be alone since she won't be with the Divas Title soon. "Party pooper" Adam Rose arrives to tell Nikki that her party sucks. Nikki wants to throw cake in his face but misses and the cake only catches Alicia Fox and Brie in the face. Funny little segment here, but Nikki Bella continues to be a very bad actress. To be fair, Charlotte's acting was bad throughout too.

We see Summer Rae come up to Dolph Ziggler to thank him for the gift on Monday. He says the gift is just a peace offering but then teases it could be more. RU RU IS GONNA BE PISSED! Main event time as Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns take on Sheamus and Seth Rollins. As you would expect, it was a decent match and the tension between Sheamus and Rollins was their downfall. It led to Sheamus eating a Superman punch and Dirty Deeds. Then the Wyatts appeared on screen to cut a promo. Decent little episode of Smackdown here. It didn't do much in the way of making me want to see NOC, but had some solid matches. Not the worst way to spend two hours as nothing was bad outside of the Cesaro/Big Show stuff and some of the Bellabration. 5.5/10.

NXT Report 9/16/15

Tyler Breeze comes out for the opening contest. Adam Rose is out with his new “party pooper” gimmick. He’s doing this because the WWE Universe took a poop on his party. Bull Dempsey comes out, getting “Bullfit” chants. He is here to beat Tyler “so bad”. Breeze says that being paired together last week was the only accident along with the day that Bull was born. Tyler says that he would fight Bull now but he’s about to compete. Rose calls Bull “tubby” and slaps him. Bull lays into him and takes him down with a body avalanche. Tyler attacks from behind and when Bull nearly turns things around, Tyler escapes.

Backstage, they try to get a word with Tyler about Bull challenging him. Tyler stops and answers with a selfie video, accepting a match for next week.

Tye Dillinger vs. Danny Burch

It’s interesting to see Tye Dillinger on the other side of one of these matches. They work some early back and forth, with Tye applying an interesting hold. He takes Burch over and shouts “TEN” before saying it again after a cartwheel. For some reason, he’s Danny Burch today but was Martin Stone for his past few appearances. Dillinger hits a nice clothesline and seems to be calling for the win. A Russian leg sweep and stomp follow. He brings the knee pad down and hits his finisher.

Winner: Tye Dillinger in 3:15
Your typical squash match. Nothing special but Tye got to be rather entertaining.

Baron Corbin and Rhyno are interviewed. They are asked if they’re worried about Gargano and Ciampa upsetting them. Rhyno isn’t and Corbin says that they are looking straight through them.

A vignette airs for Kana, who will be going by Asuka. She is here NEXT WEEK!

Apollo Crews vs. Solomon Crowe

They shake hands and have a short standoff as their history on the indies is discussed. Apollo goes for a second handshake but Crowe kicks it away. They start talking about how Crowe might be jealous. Apollo shows off his athleticism and nails a nice dropkick. Crews goes for a baseball slide but Crowe gets him wrapped up in the apron and just pounds away on him. Crowe works over Crews for a bit, with some vicious looking offense. Crews starts to fight back and Crowe runs into a loud kick. Crews goes into his comeback, hitting a sweet corner splash and big leaping clothesline. Crews hits the gorilla press and moonsault for the win.

Winner: Apollo Crews in 4:51
Hey, I thought that was pretty good and could have been much better if given more time. Crowe was more aggressive and it suited him far better than his bland face work. **

Backstage, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are itnerviewed about how their win wasn’t shocking and that they’ve earned their spots in NXT.

Devin Taylor interviews Dana Brooke and Emma, who requested this time. Emma says that they seem to be missing out from the fun of the new champion and the new Divas coming in. Playtime is over she says. Dana pats Devin on the head, which makes Emma laugh. She comes back and does it a few more times.

An Escalade it seems, pulls up to the arena. Out steps Sasha Banks.

We are given an update on the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. We are told that the Hype Bros advanced on a recent NXT live event. They will face Gabel and Jordan. The Vaudevillains also advanced over Blake and Murphy. Next week, in Texas, the Vaudevillains will face Dawson and Wilder. I think, I kind of looked away.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Baron Corbin and Rhyno vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

We get told that the Semi-Finals and Finals will both take place at the next TakeOver. Ciampa takes control over Rhyno, surprising him with his offense. They work a cool double team that sees Gargano stomp on Rhyno. He sends Corbin out and follows with a suicide dive. Rhyno gets sent out and Gargano hits a second one! Ciampa climbs up top and hits a body press onto both opponents. Corbin works with Ciampa and hits a MASSIVE Bossman slam. After a commercial, Corbin is still working over Ciampa. They tease the hot tag but Rhyno and Corbin prove to be tough to overcome. Corbin draws monster heat. Ciampa gets an opening after a missile dropkick. Both guys tag out and Gargano comes in hot. He hits a kick to the skull and a slingshot DDT for two. Gargano leaps over a Gore and kicks Corbin in the head, getting a VERY close two hat the fans bite on. He charges but is caught in End of Days. 1-2-3.

Winners: Baron Corbin and Rhyno in 8:03
Another solid tag team match in this tournament. Gargano once again was the more impressive guy on his team but they played the monster heels vs. resilient babyface stuff well. **3/4

Devin Taylor interviews the Vaudevillains about their match with the Mechanics. They say it would be an honor to win the Dusty Classic. BAMF interrupt and Alexa Bliss says that they are using their rematch clause next week.

A Nia Jax vignette is shown.

Non-Title Match: Bayley vs. Sara Dobson

Bayley goes through the crowd and celebrates with all of the fans. She also brings her biggest fan Izzy, into the ring with her, which is pretty great. Dobson starts with a headbutt and is in control for the first few seconds. She hits an interesting cartwheel knee drop for two. Dobson applies a guillotine choke like submission, getting in far more offense than expected. Bayley powers out and rungs her into the turnbuckle to break the hold. Bayley gets in some double axe handles and her corner elbow. Bayley to Belly hits and that’s a wrap.

Winner: Bayley in 2:28
A squash match that started surprisingly one-sided on the other side.

Bayley gets a microphone after the match. She can’t say much because Sasha Banks interrupts. She says that she came out to congratulate her. All that she’s been hearing is about how they stole the show at TakeOver and had a match of the year. It was also the greatest women’s match in company history. I agree completely with that. Sasha says that’s great but she didn’t come here to put on great matches, she came here to be the best. She claims that Bayley was only better than her for three seconds. Bayley says she has something to prove too, and will give her a rematch whenever she wants, even right now. Sasha wants to prove that she’s the best female wrestler in the company. She wants to do more than beat her, she wants to send a message. Bayley suggests a 2 out of 3 falls. That’s not good enough for Sasha. Fans chant “Ironwoman” and out comes William Regal. He announces that the rematch happens on October 7th at TakeOver in a 30 minute Ironwoman match! They will also main event the show. Sasha and Bayley shake hands and Sasha leaves Bayley to close the show.

Random Match Reviews: reDRagon vs. The Time Splitters

Championship: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title
Show: Power Struggle
Date: 11/8/14
Location: Osaka, Japan

I've said before that I truly believe the best tag team in wrestling currently is reDRagon. On the other side, you have one of my favorite wrestlers in Alex Shelley and his partner KUSHIDA, entering as the reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Other than those obvious reasons, I chose to watch this because they actually have a match coming up in a few weeks for those same belts. Before watching this, I saw their first match, which took place in August of 2014. The match was a bit of a disappointment and the Time Splitters retained. reDRagon returned with a force, winning the Super Junior Tag Team Tournament to earn another shot. 

That's where we enter here. This was the match I wanted between these teams. You see, a lot of the IWGP Jr. Tag matches I've seen (which isn't that many to be honest) are very spot heavy and, while that can be fun, it's not something I want all the time. Here, they tease the high spots multiple times. Both teams stop the other from getting in big spots, so when those finally do hit, they mean more and get a better reaction. The focus from KUSHIDA and O'Reilly on the arms of their opponents is great and really makes me wonder if their interactions here sparked some intrigue to give them a big singles match the following year. The finishing sequence is excellent as a furious run is needed to win.

Match Time - 17:29 ****¼

WWE Nitro Review

Before Raw started, we were given a tease that there would be a historic announcement. The Authority came out to make it at the start. They first go through the basics of telling us all about Night of Champions and stuff. Then, they make the announcement that Sting will compete on Raw for the first time ever. Against Big Show. Not sure if this is 2015 Raw or 1996 Nitro. Things take a turn for the positive as New Day is brought out to defend their belts. The Authority chooses to dance and clap with them. It was really amusing but it's another case of the Authority flipping between heel and face like they're the Bellas or something. Stephanie and Hunter are SO much better as heels, it baffles me that they just don't stick to heel. New Day's match against the Prime Time Players was solid but unspectacular. Xavier Woods' ringside antics were great as always and they retained before having a staredown with the Dudley Boyz. New Day continues to be the best thing in wrestling.

Backstage, Seth Rollins is worried about John Cena and Sheamus so the Authority put them in a match. I mean, they have to be trolling us right? It's like "you get Sting on Raw...but he's gonna face Big Show. You won't have to sit through Orton vs. Sheamus...but you get Cena vs. Sheamus." Anyway, our next match was Paige taking on Sasha Banks. Their matches have been aggressive, including one on Smackdown that didn't have a finish due to brawling. They start with a brawl here, which is good continuation. That's something we don't get everyday. Sasha once again made her tap, which she also did to Nikki Bella in a singles match, but she still doesn't have a title shot. Team BAD then beat down on Team PCB and Charlotte was nowhere to be seen since she was preparing for her title match later. Yup, Paige heel turn incoming.

Next, we get an edition of MizTV featuring the Wyatt Family as the guests this week. It was weird to say the least. Bray does threaten Miz, telling him that he wasn't safe there. Miz guaranteed that he wasn't going to be the mystery partner for Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. He also called the upcoming PPV "Hell in a Cell". Reigns and Ambrose show up and for some reason, Reigns did all the talking. They say they have a third partner, but that's it. We didn't see who and the Wyatts just disappeared. It's time for John Cena vs. Sheamus! At least it's been a while since we've seen this. They worked, went through the motions and Cena won. Nothing special and this was very "meh". The Ryback came out next and cut a promo on Kevin Owens for costing him his match on Smackdown. JBL talked over Ryback the whole time, which is so grating. Owens came out, traded barbs with the IC Champion and they ended up setting up a match for Night of Champions. I appreciate that we haven't seen the match beforehand, giving us something fresh. The promo picked up when Owens came out and they got to go back and forth. I don't hate the match at NOC and, while I don't hate Ryback, I think that Owens needs to win here. They need to give him a title since he should have won one back in July.

The Cosmic Wasteland is out as Stardust is scheduled to take on Neville. Neville had the Lucha Dragons with him. The match never gets started a they brawl and it sets up our Night of Champions Kickoff match. A video package airs where Nikki Bella tells us how much better she is than everyone. She came out for her match and once I saw Brie wearing matching attire, I knew what was coming. Nikki does her trademark work of the arm even though she has no finisher or signature move that targets it. Anyway, the match turns out to be better than expected and they do the "twin magic". Charlotte wins by beating Brie and we get the big celebration. BUT WAIT! It's revealed that it was Brie and Stephanie McMahon appears to announce the DQ finish. So, this "twin magic" worked at Money in the Bank, where they revealed it was Brie and not Nikki and the match continued where Nikki retained. Here, they just end the match via DQ. It's inconsistent, lazy and dumb. They'll have a rematch this Sunday.

                                                The next match had loads of potential as Cesaro took on a personal favorite, Rusev. The match goes less than four minutes and we get a distraction finish. Surprise, surprise. Ziggler comes out to give a gift to Summer and Cesaro rolls him up. Now, Rusev is on this Sunday's PPV and Cesaro isn't. Shouldn't Cesaro have won last week against Miz instead of being used to make Big Show look strong so he could lose here? Whatever. I still don't understand how Rusev is supposed to be the heel in this feud. He's been the sympathetic babyface the entire time.

THIS THURSDAY, COME ENJOY THE BELLABRATION. Yup, that's a thing. Time for the Nitro main event, which goes about two minutes before Seth Rollins caused the DQ John Cena came out for the save, leading to the Teddy Long special...a tag team match playa. Maybe it's not totally Nitro. It's like a Smackdown/Nitro hybrid. The faces win when Sting makes Seth tap out. Seriously? I get that Sting should look like a threat but just fucking beat the Big Show. Why they insist on protecting him 20 goddamn years after he debuted is insane. Here was the third straight week where Raw has lacked. I know that they usually sleepwalk through the fall and winter, but you would think that with Sting around, they'd be putting in an effort. Instead, the booking has been lazy, inconsistent and the show is a chore. It was better than the last two weeks but not by much. 4/10.

Fave Five 9/7/15-9/13/15

1) Jay Lethal: Much like last week, this was a pretty slow time for pro wrestling. However, one company provided excellent television this week and hat was Ring of Honor. Jay Lethal retained the ROH World Championship against Roderick Strong in the match of the week. They wrestled to an hour draw on ROH's last Pay-Per-View and I didn't love that match. This one was much better, with both guys going all out. I knew the result going in, but still bit on some near falls, especially on a sick kick from Strong. That is telling of how good the action was. Lethal retained here after retaining the Television Title last week against Hanson. Lethal has been doing the double champion thing for a bit longer and better than the WWE has had Seth Rollins doing so. Lethal deserves all of the praise he gets.

2) The Addiction: That episode of ROH TV I talked about; it had another pretty good match on it.The Addiction, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian, successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Titles against the most over hyped team in the world, the Young Bucks. I didn't love this match the way some others did, but still found it to be one of the better matches of the week. The Addiction continue to be pretty great and this was a good way to start the show this past week. It also set the stage for the Triple Threat title match coming at All-Star Extravaganza.

3) Finn Balor and Samoa Joe:  So far, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has honestly been better than expected. While Chad Gable and Jason Jordan stole the show last week, this time around it was two of the biggest names in NXT. Finn Balor and Samoa Joe were given the main event spot against former NXT Tag Team Champions, the Lucha Dragons. Not only did they work well as a team, but they picked up the win. To make things better, this match was treated like a big deal and was even taped before an episode of Smackdown, giving it the big arena feel. Joe and Balor came off looking great in this situation and really looked like stars.

            4) The Wolves: The only major title change in wrestling this week came in the TNA tag team division. After winning the titles for a fourth time after a really good best of five series, the Wolves' reign only lasted about a month. They would lose them to GFW's tag team of Brian Myers (the former Curt Hawkins) and Trevor Lee last week. This week, the Wolves got their rematch and won the titles right back. In reality, they only lost them for a day but it'll go down as a one week reign for the GFW duo. Despite the issues that TNA has, the Wolves continue to be one of their brighter spots and should be the team they build the division around. (Credit to: awesomebutternuggets for the gifs)

5) Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: The other match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic this week featured Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey losing to Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. It was pretty cool to see the crowd pop when they saw the names on the tron. The match itself was solid and gave Gargano and Ciampa a decent opportunity to show their stuff. I feel like Gargano was the more impressive of the two, but it was still solid for their first outing. I heard some reports that Gargano is still in talks with the company, but Ciampa rubbed some people the wrong way after complaining about getting stiffed. Unsure about that but either way, I would like to see both guys get signed to the company.

Raw History: Episodes 15-16

Episode #15

May 3rd, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

This week, Raw instantly opens with the theme of the Intercontinental Champion as Shawn Michaels will be defending the belt in our opening contest. For the second straight week, we have Vince McMahon, Macho Man and Bobby Heenan on commentary, which is great.

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Shawn Michaels (c) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

Jim Duggan is wearing a singlet, which is not a good look but something he probably should have worn during his 2007 run because I wouldn’t have to see his body. He starts a “USA” chant, which I will always find stupid when he’s facing an American. He starts hot, forcing Shawn Michaels to catch a breather outside. After a commercial break, Michaels has gained control and hits a double axe handle that Macho Man would be proud of. Shawn is very good at the little things that make him a better heel. After being knocked outside, Duggan gets hyped by more “USA” chants, but the apparently evil foreigner Shawn Michaels uses a rake to the eyes. He goes back to his third headlock of the match. Hacksaw rallies and does the old school ten punches in the corner before hitting a body slam. Man, his offense is basic as fuck huh? A big clothesline sends Michaels to the floor and he tries to leave but Duggan stops him. Like a moron though, he throws him into the crowd and Shawn is able to escape.

Winner via countout: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan in 11:06

I thought this was decent. You could tell they needed to go like 10 minutes as Shawn Michaels applied some rest holds. The finish was alright to set up a rematch. **¼

Jim Duggan gets on the microphone and says that it’s not right that he can beat Shawn Michaels up, but when the Champion runs away, he doesn’t win the belt. He issues a sit down strike, but is standing when we return.

Mean Gene bring us the King of the Ring Report! Bret Hart is the one seed, while everyone else has to qualify. Lex Luger qualified, while Mr. Perfect and Doink wrestled to a draw on Superstars. Also, Hulk Hogan will defend the WWF Championship against Yokozuna. He also reports that Jim Duggan has left the ring and is calling Jack Tunney. This week on Superstars, El Matador faces Razor Ramon in a qualifying match, and Duggan takes on Papa Shango.

Doink the Clown vs. Kamikaze Kid

Yes, Kamikaze Kid is Sean Waltman. Doink attacks at the bell and just dominates this completely. Vince McMahon is more interested in figuring out which of the multiple Doinks this is than calling the match. The Stump Puller forces Kid to submit.

Winner: Doink the Clown in 2:07

You know what this was. SQUASH

Bob Backlund vs. Dwayne Gill

Look at all of these recognizable jobbers today. Dwayne Gill would go on to compete in the Deadly Game Tournament for the WWF Title at Survivor Series 1998 and then be the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion. He fares much worse here. We are informed that Jim Duggan had success with Jack Tunney and gets a rematch next week in a Lumberjack Match! Gill gets in more offense than the Kid did at least. Backlund wins with another odd pinning combination.

Winner: Bob Backlund in 3:40

Not a squash, which surprised me. It wasn’t very good, but it was at least somewhat competitive. *½

Jim Duggan is brought back out. This is like the Jim Duggan Power Hour. They use this to inform the live crowd of next week’s match. Duggan claims that Shawn is pretty and wrestles well, but he can’t fight.

Another vignette for the Smoking Guns is shown. Before the next match, a legend is announced in Captain Lou Albano!

The Headshrinkers w/ Afa vs. Jim Bell and Tony Roy

Captain Lou Albano gets on commentary and they discuss him possibly managing the Headshrinkers. So Afa is chopped liver? They get in pretty much all of the offense here. We get told that Yokozuna will be a Lumberjack next week and he has issues with Jim Duggan. The Headshrinkers allow the other team to tag in and out because it doesn’t matter. They just keep pounding away. A double team piledriver is hit as Afa jumps around outside. Heenan and Albano are just going at it on commentary. A double Stroke, for you Jeff Jarrett fans is followed by a splash and it’s over.

Winners: The Headshrinkers in 5:41

Longer than I expected, though it was still pretty much a squash. However, it was important as Lou Albano discussed their ruthlessness. *¾

Kamala vs. Rich Myers

More information on the Lumberjack match as Mr. Perfect is going to be outside of the ring. Rich Myers offers a handshake but Kamala wants no part. He instead hits Myers with his rear end and slams him down. He splashes Myers and he does his whole, “I’m trying to pin him on his stomach and flip him over too much” gimmick. The crowd seems to like it. He figures it out and wins.

Winner: Kamala in 2:29

Basic squash. SQUASH

Bobby Heenan interviews Shawn Michaels backstage, but we are also informed of a King of the Ring Qualifying match next week between Bigelow and Typhoon. Shawn complains that it’s unfair but has something up his sleeve that he tells Bobby about in his ear.

Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. This wasn't the worst episode as it featured a decent Intercontinental Title match as well as some forward movement towards King of the Ring. The Headshrinkers match was okay and involved the Captain Lou Albano angle. However, there was a bit too much Jim Duggan. He appeared or was mentioned in nearly every single segment, which was too much.

Raw History
Episode #16
May 10th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

Raw opens with a clip from earlier tonight, at 7:02PM, as Shawn Michaels is interviewed by Lord Alfred Hayes. I didn’t know he was still employed. Suddenly, Mr. Perfect attacks and we have a big outdoor brawl! I’ve stood exactly where they’re fighting before, which is cool. Shawn gets slammed on the hood of a car and officials try to break them up. See, I think that Mr. Perfect was red hot in late ’92-early ’93 and should have been in the WWF Title picture but instead, is feuding with the Intercontinental Champion.

Once again, commentary is Vince McMahon, Macho Man and Bobby Heenan. I’m gonna stop pointing this out weekly unless there are changes to the booth.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon
Well, I honestly think the outcome to this is pretty foregone. They try shoulder blocking each other, but it’s like running into brick walls. Bigelow gets the upper hand with a slam and elbow, but misses a standing headbutt. He does end up hitting a nice suplex before being knocked outside. Typhoon follows, but falls for a classic heel tactic as Bigelow nails him when he tries to get back inside. He stops Typhoon from getting inside a few more times, before applying a chin lock of sorts. Surprisingly, this has lasted through a commercial break. It doesn’t last much longer though as a top rope headbutt gets Bigelow the W.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 5:23
Decent big man match. I didn’t expect a classic from Typhoon, but Bigelow continues to do very well. *½

PJ Walker vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji
At the bell, we are told that Yokozuna will face Kamala next week. PJ Walker is the future Aldo Montoya and Justin Credible. They actually lock up and Yokozuna just tosses him. He follows with a belly to belly, leg drop and corner splash. A chop leads to the Banzai Drop and this thing is over.

Winner: Yokozuna in 2:11
This was every other Yokozuna match on Raw. SQUASH

King of the Ring Report time! We are reminded of Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna and then told that Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger, Jim Duggan and Bigelow have all qualified. This weekend, the three spots are up when Mr. Perfect meets Doink in a rematch and Tatanka faces Giant Gonzalez. What do I have to do to get Wrestling Challenge on the WWE Network?

“Iron” Mike Sharpe vs. Mr. Perfect
I love Mr. Perfect, but he’s got his work cut out for him against “Canada’s Greatest Athlete.” There’s a fat ring girl in the ring, who gets “Bobby’s girl” chants and it looks like Perfect is gonna kiss her. Instead, he put his gum in her mouth. Yuck. Perfect dropkicks Sharpe and then fires off with some chops. Sharpe comes back with some of his own and they are just hammering away at each other. Perfect takes one strap down because he means business now. Bobby Heenan is channel surfing again, which is something you shouldn’t do when Mr. Perfect is wrestling. Sharpe ducks for a back body drop, but eats the Perfect Plex to end this.

Winner: Mr. Perfect in 4:38
A solid little match. Once again, Mr. Perfect doesn’t just do a straight squash and has a competitive match that’s fun. **

Cannonball Kid vs. Mr. Hughes w/ Harvey Wippleman
You know, I never understood why Mr. Hughes would get random pushes. No word is given on his random team up with Wippleman. Last week, we had the Kamikaze Kid and now he’s the Cannonball Kid. I sense another name coming soon; one that will stick. Hughes dominates and hits a big two handed Chokeslam that I would have used to win. Instead, he does a bit more offense before mercifully pinning him.

Winner: Mr. Hughes in 2:18
Totally one sided. SQUASH

An ad airs for All-American Wrestling, which is hosted by Mean Gene and Bobby Heenan. I miss weekend afternoon wrestling. The lumberjacks start to pour in as our main event is near. Before the match starts, Jim Duggan attacks Yokozuna, who broke Duggan’s ribs a few months back with multiple Banzai Drops. Mr. Fuji calms Yokozuna down though. Shawn Michaels comes out in street clothes and on crutches, but when Mr. Perfect comes for him, he runs, showing he’s faking.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Lumberjack Match
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
I believe this is the first ever gimmick match in the history of Raw. With Shawn Michaels in street clothes and being caught off guard, Jim Duggan is in the driver’s seat. Some atomic drops and an elbow get the challenger two. More “Shawn is Gay” chants. Duggan is doing his generic awesome that hasn’t evolved since his prime in the 80’s and Shawn has barely gotten in any offense. I also forgot to mention that every Lumberjack is wearing lumberjack flannels. Except for Yokozuna since there aren’t 600 pound lumberjacks and no shirt would fit him. They come into play when Duggan tosses him outside and he’s forced back in when he tries to run. After a commercial, Shawn takes his boot off and clocks Duggan with it, which sends him outside. The heels rolls him back in without attacking which is strange. Shawn is now working over Duggan for a bit as the crowd chants “USA” against an American again. Stupid. He does rally though and elevates Shawn on a big back body drop. For some reason, the crowd has chosen to do the Atlanta Brave Tomahawk Chop. Duggan’s three point stance tackle sends Shawn outside before another commercial. Vince McMahon mentions that we’re low on time. Bigelow gets on the apron, which distracts Duggan, allowing Shawn to nail him and send him outside by Yokozuna, who sits on him. When he’s rolled back in, Mr. Perfect has seen enough and he nails Shawn to cause the disqualification.

Winner via disqualification: Shawn Michaels in 13:09
They got a ton of time and this was solid. I think that Duggan was in control for too long considering his ability though. **¼ 

Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect brawl, which leads to all of the lumberjacks entering the ring and giving us a huge brawl. Jim Duggan clears the ring with his 2x4 though as we come to a close.

Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. You know, for the first time in a while, the show is on an upswing. We had three competitive matches here. The IC Title was a big main event for the time and was pretty well done, we had a King of the Ring Qualifying match and a Mr. Perfect appearance. Not a bad way to spend 45 minutes at all.

Random Match Reviews: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

Championship: X-Division
Show: Unbreakable
Date: 9/11/05
Location: Orlando, Florida

The first ever TNA Pay-Per-View that I ordered was Unbreakable. This was the main event, not the NWA World Title match. I had seen these guys before this but never together. They went out and headlined a show for the X Division Title, which had never happened before and I don't believe has happened since (not counting the Angle/Joe match for every title). The coolest thing about TNA when I first started watching was the X Division and this match is everything that was right about it.

You had three guys who were, and still are, bonafide stars. Each guy had their role in the match. Christopher Daniels came in as the heel, who had a chip on his shoulder as the longest reigning X Division Champion in history. AJ Styles was pretty much the franchise and the face of the X Division. Samoa Joe was the hottest thing in TNA, entering undefeated. I would like to point out that commentary was good here. Mike Tenay is usually pretty knowledgeable and while Don West can be grating, his excitement added something here. The same that I said about Don West could be said about the Impact Zone crowd.

The match itself is the definition of total nonstop action, pun intended. Everything is enjoyable starting with Daniels talking trash in the beginning and getting destroyed by both challengers. Styles is magnificent, showing why he was one of the best high flyers in the world. His springboard shooting star press and spiral tap were breathtaking to 15 year old Kevin. I loved how they came up with moves that involved all three guys, which I hadn't seen much of to this point. Joe came out looking like the unstoppable monster that he needed to, since he didn't eat the pin. Speaking of the pin, I absolutely loved the finish to this match. I remember watching it live and wondering what the hell would be enough to end this, so the fact that it came from out of nowhere and was a shock, was great. This is still the best match in TNA history to me. 

Lastly, despite all of TNA's mishandling of the three, it speaks volumes to their abilities that all three guys are still major players (Joe in NXT, Daniels is one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions and AJ Styles was IWGP Heavyweight Champion this year) ten years later.

Match Time - 22:50 *****

Smackdown 9/10/15 Review

The Wyatt Family come out to open Smackdown, cutting a promo on the attack they put on Randy Orton on Raw. They warned anyone who tried to align themselves with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. I guess the Wyatts miss the original Shield and don't want any knockoff versions. That's pretty much all they say. The opening contest is a Raw rematch between Cesaro and Miz. Unlike Raw, this one is actually competently booked as Cesaro gets the win. He also does so with the Sharpshooter, making me miss his tag team with Tyson Kidd even more. I like that Cesaro won, but like his win over Rusev, it came on Smackdown, so nobody will really remember it.

Continuing the old fashioned theme of Raw rematches, we now get Paige vs. Sasha Banks. Since getting the main roster call up, Sasha Banks is, as far as I can tell, unbeaten in singles matches. She's beaten Paige twice but was unable to win here, however, she also didn't lose. After nearly ten minutes of solid work, they brawled outside and it went to a no contest once their respective teammates joined in. The match itself wasn't bad, but I'm not sure what the plan here is. Anyway, moving on, not content with just giving us Raw recaps on Thursday nights, Smackdown basically just airs the Raw main event. It's like a good 80% of the match and the aftermath. Have they really gotten that lazy? Seth Rollins is then interviewed about what Sting did to his statue. He is pissed about it and threatens to make Sting pay at Night of Champions. Sheamus shows up to tease his cash in again because they have nothing else for Sheamus to really do. In our biggest match so far, the New Day takes on Reigns, Ambrose and Reigns' cousin, JImmy Uso. The match itself was fine stuff, as Jimmy looked happy to be back in action, but then the Wyatts showed up to ruin things. They took out Jimmy and then his partners went to save him but they disappeared. I think New Day won by countout, but they might have called a no contest. We get no word on exactly what the decision was either way. It was cool to see Jimmy back and New Day always delivers, while this built the Wyatts/Reigns and Ambrose stuff. This did what it had to.

After abandoning the Cosmic Wasteland so the Ascension could get squashed on Raw, their partnership with Stardust was back on here. They took on the Lucha Dragons with Stardust at ringside. It was another fine match and once Stardust distracted the Lucha Dragons, the Ascension capitalized to pick up a rare victory. Now please let this carry over to Raw. They go to attack but Neville runs out to make the save. Backstage, Renee Young interviews Nikki Bella about her match this Monday against Charlotte. Nikki calls Charlotte delusional and says that she will not stand in the way of history.

Our main event is, you guessed it, a rematch from Raw between Seth Rollins & Ryback. This time, there's a twist though as it is a Lumberjack match. Similar to their Raw match, this was solid but unspectacular. The lumberjacks all get into a big brawl except for Kevin Owens, who just watches like he doesn't have time for their shit. He then trips Ryback, allowing Seth to get the win. Overall, a decent episode of Smackdown. No real bad or useless matches, but nothing you need to go out of your way to see. Re-airing the Raw main event was just lazy also, but this wasn't a bad two hours, just a mediocre one. 5/10.

NXT Report

The show goes right into the opening video. We are told that the Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs. Lucha Dragons main event will air from Providence, Rhode Island and not Full Sail.

Carmella vs. Peyton Royce

Peyton Royce actually gets an entrance. They do a slight handshake at the start before moving to some mat work. Both girls get near falls and Carmella does a moonwalk. It’s actually pretty good. Peyton gets points from me for hitting a fisherman suplex for two. Peyton works a chinlock type move to wear down Carmella. Peyton runs into an elbow and Carmella hits a hurricanrana. Carmella goes into a flurry, pulling Peyton down for two after some shoulder thrusts. Peyton gets out of a wear down hold by backing Carmella into the corner and following in with some kicks. She comes off the second rope with a cross body for a near fall. Carmella then plants Peyton and makes her tap to her finisher.

Winner: Carmella in 5:04

Pretty solid little match here. I thought it would be a squash but they made sure that Peyton Royce got in a good chunk of offense. *3/4

Samoa Joe and Finn Balor get ready backstage and they tease Joe wanting the NXT Title.

Clips are shown from a recent NXT live event where Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady advanced in the Dusty Tag Team Classic against Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson also beat Tucker Knight and the Drifter, Elias Sampson.

A Nia Jax vignette is shown.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Bull Dempsey and Tyler Breeze vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

Bull Dempsey does Tyler Breeze’s corner taunt. Breeze and Ciampa start. Breeze takes him over and taunts but when Ciampa chops him, he tags out. A “Bull is gorgeous” chant breaks out. Ciampa stays in to face both Bull for a bit and Breeze for a bit. Gargano tags in and spears Breeze before rolling through with a kick and a jumping neckbreaker. He’s off to a good start. Tyler tags out again. Gagano tries to takes down Bull, but he’s too big, so Gargano goes with an enziguri instead. Ciampa comes in and hits a knee for two. After a commercial, we return to see Ciampa working a sleeper on Bull. Bull fights out and Gargano tags in. He dropkicks Tyler off the apron but is taken down by Bull. Bull looks to tag, but Tyler is on the floor. Punches with the fans chanting BULL for each, ending with the Dusty elbow. Tyler gets on the apron but Bull runs the ropes and knocks him off. Gargano and Ciampa go into an interesting team up roll up sequence to win.

Winners: Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in 6:21

Another decent match here. Johnny Gargano definitely looked better of the two new guys, but this was a solid start for them. Hopefully, they can stick around. **1/4

Tyler Breeze is pissed and takes it out on Bull Dempsey.

The Lucha Dragons cut a promo backstage. Most of it is in Spanish though Kalisto translates.

Dana Brooke gets interviewed and says that seeing Bayley win the NXT Title upset her because she’s beaten her before. She’s in action next.

There is a pretty cool Tye Dillinger vignette.

Billie Kay vs. Dana Brooke

Billie Kay gets an entrance making me happy since I love me some Jessie McKay. They lock up and Dana overpowers her and pats her on the head. Billie takes her over with a headlock and talks a bit of trash. They get to their feet and Dana applies a headlock before slamming Billie by her hair. She goes into a flurry of right hands. Dana does her handstand foot choke in the corner and hits a clothesline. Handstand knee drop goes right into a chinlock. She gets two on an elbow. Dana goes into a headscissors, even doing something similar to Carmella’s finisher. Billie rallies, hitting some cool offense and getting two on a big boot. Dana nails an enziguri gefore hitting her AA like finisher.

Winner: Dana Brooke in 5:21

Not as good or fun as the opening women’s match. Dana Brooke still needs tons of work, but she seems to be winning some people over. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce both showed loads of potential tonight though. 1/2*

Devin Taylor interviews Apollo Crews. He calls his fans the Apollo Nation, playing off of the Uhaa Nation name and says he’s gonna take over NXT.

A quick recap is shown of Bayley winning the NXT Women’s Championship in Brooklyn. They show Izzy, Bayley’s biggest fan, celebrating with her family at home. Then, Izzy and her family was invited to the Performance Center to welcome home Bayley. She was also allowed to do an entrance with Bayley. Bayley returns next week!

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs. The Lucha Dragons

Finn Balor starts with Sin Cara. The crowd is hot, chanting “NXT” and “this is awesome” right from the bell. They start with mat work until Finn hits a dropkick. Kalisto leaps in but is sent outside. Slingblade takes down Cara and Finn then hits a big kick that sends Cara out with Kalisto. He then runs off the ropes and dives onto both, getting the crowd going even more. Returning from commercial, Joe gets in offense but the tag comes back to Finn. He gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The Lucha Dragons work some quick double teams on Finn for a while. Finn makes a relatively hot tag and Joe does his thing. He kicks the shit out of Kalisto and squashes him with a senton. Cara comes back with an ugly tornado DDT but Finn breaks up the pin. Cara hits him with an Aasi moonsault. Joe goes for a Muscle Buster but Cara gets free only to eat a ton of strikes. Joe sends Cara into the ropes, Kalisto blind tags in and Cara suicide dives out onto Finn. Kalisto does some cool offense on Joe but then eats the STJoe. Joe hits Kalisto with a Muscle Buster and the Coup de Grace from Balor wins it.

Winners: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe in 8:29

Really fun tag match. Up there with last week’s main event as the best match of the tournament so far. Pretty non-stop in action and the big, hot crowd added something to it. ***1/4