G1 Climax Night One
July 17th, 2017 | Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Hokkaido, Sapporo | Attendance: 6,189
It’s here. The highly anticipated G1 Climax is back. I’ve seen every G1 since 2013 (I’d rank them 24, 26, 23, 25) and they’re usually full of great matches and lots of drama. Like I did last year and with the Best of the Super Juniors, I’ll only be reviewing the tournament matches, with a few exceptions. For example, some undercard tags this year are honestly intriguing and I’ll check a few out.
Jushin Thunder Liger and TenKoji def. David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Michael Elgin in 7:48
El Desperado, NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki and Taichi def. Chase Owens, Kenny Omega and Tama Tonga in 7:04
Jado and Toru Yano def. Gedo and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in 7:49
BUSHI and SANADA vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi
Night one and I’m already reviewing a non-G1 match. Despite the tournament matchups, this is one of my most anticipated matches on the tour. The best stable in wrestling (by a wide, wide margin) going at it. Also, this match went on before the Okada tag I posted the results to. EVIL and SANADA started by circling each other and you almost worried they’d pull a Taichi & TAKA and not touch each other. Then SANADA went right for the Skull End. From there, it was a good back tag. Hiromu took the heat until he snapped off a belly to belly in the corner on SANADA. EVIL came in hot and did his thing. The final stretch moved at a wild pace until EVIL made BUSHI submit to a modified chicken wing at 6:52. Oh, a new submission for EVIL. Fun match with fast paced action and four of the best out there. You know your stable rules when BUSHI is the weakest link and he’s awesome. [***¼]
The group all put their fists together after the match, showing things are still cool. EVIL and SANADA did have a staredown though, as they meet on night two.
A Block: YOSHI-HASHI [0] vs. Yuji Nagata [0]
It’s the beginning of Nagata’s final G1 Climax run! Both men finished with six points last year. They started with mat work before moving outside. A bit of floor brawling is a G1 staple. YOSHI targeted the back and had control, but got too cocky. He disrespectfully slapped Nagata, who gave him a “DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO THE FUCK I AM?” look, before kicking the hell out of him. This is what happens when you piss off your dad. YOSHI came back with the swanton and applied the Butterfly Lock. Nagata survived and did his trademark armbar, but YOSHI also withstood it. Commentary did a good job selling how YOSHI may have wanted to tap to preserve his arm for the rest of the tournament. They battled back and forth, with HASHI kicking out of a saito suplex. He finally hit Karma, which also beat Omega in last year’s opener, to win after a grueling 16:26. Great way to start the tournament. Second best G1 opener (behind Ishii/Tenzan) of the past few years. They told a great story and Nagata gave it his all, but just couldn’t get past his younger opponent. Reminiscent of Liger in the BOTSJ. Better than their ***¼ match last year. [***¾]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [0] vs. Togi Makabe [0]
Easily the most uninteresting match tonight. Can you believe this was a Wrestle Kingdom match a few years ago? They’ve also met in the last two G1s (**½ and **¾). They had the expected hoss fight, brawling through the crowd for a bit. Makabe got in a trademark “FUCK YOU” before eating a Samoan drop for two. Makabe escaped the Bad Luck Fall a few times. He went for the King Kong Knee Drop, but Fale caught him with a Tongan Death Grip like move. He hit the Grenade and got the two points at 9:25. About what I expected from these two. Decent hard hitting stuff, but nothing to write home about. Makabe was mildly motivated here, so he brought some effort. [**½]
A Block: Hirooki Goto [0] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [0]
In 2015, they had one of the best matches of the tournament (****½) and their match last year was damn good (***½), but not on that level. This got off to the right start, as they just charged at each other and delivered big blows. They had some great exchanges of vicious strikes and running the ropes to see who would hit a lariat. Goto won out in that regard. Speaking of lariats, we got an exchange of them where neither man would fall down until Goto finally hit one hard enough. Ishii used headbutts to stop Goto’s momentum, but it ended up hurting him too. Goto targeted the head with some of his offense, which was different and I liked it. Ishii refused to die, as always. At one point, they just hammered each other with forearms in a war. Ishii kicked out at one and dared Goto to bring more. Goto knocked him loopy, hit a kick to the chest and two GTRs to win at 13:43. Wow. This was a goddamn war, which is just what I want from these two. Who could outlast the other? That’s what this was built around. No bullshit or fluff here. Just two bad motherfuckers doing what they do best. [****]
A Block: IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [0]
Sabre’s G1 debut and it’s against THE GOD. Kevin Kelly noted that the best time to draw Tanahashi is night one, where he traditionally hasn’t done well. Tanahashi still had his arm wrapped up. Right from the start, Sabre took Tanahashi to the mat with relative ease. That was a great way to showcase how good he is on the mat to unfamiliar fans. After a bit of mat work, Tanahashi may have gotten too cocky. He stopped to do his air guitar taunt and almost immediately after, Sabre caught a senton attempt into an armbar. Tana reached the ropes, but now Sabre had a target. The joint manipulation here was great, as was Tanahashi’s selling. Tanahashi’s comeback saw him quicken the pace and target the leg with dragon screws and the Texas Cloverleaf. Tana hit one High Fly Flow, but Sabre got his knees up on the second (after a Desperado distraction) and locked in a sick looking submission. In a great moment, he ripped the tape from Tana’s arm and Tana had no choice but to tap out at 17:18. I loved that this wasn’t CWC Sabre, who did submissions for the sake of it, this was all done with a purpose and he was a great asshole. Like he did on night one with SANADA last year, Tana put over someone in a big way to start this year’s tourney. Perfect booking for Sabre’s G1 debut. Great work, top notch selling, a hot crowd and a big win for Sabre. I’m thinking they top this if we get a rematch for the IC Title.[****¼]
Post-match, Sabre posed with the Intercontinental Title.
A Block: Kota Ibushi [0] vs. Tetsuya Naito [0]
I know we have Okada, Tana, Nakamura, Shibata, Ishii, etc., but these two have been my favorite Japanese wrestlers for years. It’s great having Ibushi back. These two had three matches between 2013 and 2015 (****, **** and ***¾), with only the last one coming after Naito’s heel turn. Ibushi was having none of Naito’s antics, leveling him from behind after he avoided a grapple. Naito went to work on Ibushi’s neck, which has been injured in the past. He sure loves taking bumps on it though, for those who remember him taking a Burning Hammer in the CWC last year. A great moment came when Ibushi had Naito’s corner dropkick scouted, so Naito used a rare sweep to get him in the corner and hit the dropkick to the back of the neck. Ibushi retaliated with brutal kicks and a sick fucking lariat. They fought up top, where Naito hit a goddamn super reverse rana, continuing the neck work for a near fall. Ibushi countered Destino with a wild lawn dart into the corner. It was Ibushi’s turn for a close call after his dead lift apron German. Both men were exhausted, but Ibushi dug deep for a Pele kick before hitting FUCKING MIDDLE ROPE PILEDRIVER! Are you serious? Naito somehow kicked out. Naito weathered a storm of strikes and nailed a running Destino for another crazy near fall. A second one was enough to end Ibushi at 24:41. Holy shit. That was incredible. The fans were heavily invested in everything and they loved Naito, making for a great atmosphere. The neck work was magnificent, with both men doing the little things to make this special. They didn’t go the overdone finisher kickout route, with only one such instance. Maybe I’m coming off the high of seeing it live and it featuring my two favorites, but fuck that was outstanding. This is the first match I’m giving this score to in 2017. [*****]
Overall: 9.5/10. A spectacular start to this tournament. This had everything you could want. The LIDJ tag was wild fun, but the tournament shined. Nagata/YOSHI told a great story of the veteran who gave it his all. Fale/Makabe was a solid hoss fight. Goto/Ishii was two men going to war in a strong style battle. Tanahashi/Sabre solidified the latter, with a tremendous battle on the mat. Ibushi/Naito is my current MOTY and an absolute must see outing. Wow.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 2 (1-0) | EVIL | 0 (0-0) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-0) | Juice Robinson | 0 (0-0) |
| Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-0) | Kazuchika Okada | 0 (0-0) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-0) | Kenny Omega | 0 (0-0) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-0) | Michael Elgin | 0 (0-0) |
| Kota Ibushi | 0 (0-1) | Minoru Suzuki | 0 (0-0) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 0 (0-1) | SANADA | 0 (0-0) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 0 (0-1) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-0) |
| Togi Makabe | 0 (0-1) | Tama Tonga | 0 (0-0) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-1) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-0) |
Survivor Series 2011
November 20th, 2011 | Madison Square Garden in New York, New York | Attendance: 16,749
2011 was not the best year for the WWE. The product was, for the most part, very disappointing and in a strange time period. The best thing about the year was the infamous “pipebomb” from CM Punk. He would win the WWE Title and lose it within a month, setting up some frustrating months but he would get his first one on one shot at the belt again here in the world’s most famous arena. This show was also a few months before WrestleMania 28 featuring the first ever battle between the Rock and John Cena. They would team up here, giving us our first Rock match since 2004. It is the 25th Survivor Series, taking place in the arena where the best two Survivor Series events took place.
Commentary is Michael Cole, Booker T and Jerry Lawler. John Laurinaitis comes out first to say it’s the 10th anniversary of him working for the WWE.
WWE United States Championship
Dolph Ziggler (c) w/ Vickie Guerrero vs. John Morrison
The crowd wants no part of this match because at this time, they were ALL IN on the Zack Ryder “revolution”. Not giving him the obvious title shot in his hometown is still baffling. At least commentary doesn’t try to ignore the chants. Dolph takes Morrison down to the mat, knowing he has the upper hand there. Morrison sends him outside and hits a corkscrew plancha, using his advantage. Vickie pays dividends, distracting Morrison and allowing Dolph to strike with a neckbreaker. Commentary argues about Dolph’s arrogance while he taunts and works over Morrison. Dolph nails a nice reverse body slam for two. Vickie’s voice is one of the worst things ever. Ziggler also gets two on a rollup with tights. Morrison hits a springboard kick, which I’m sure doesn’t make Cody Rhodes too happy in the back. Vickie saves Dolph from a sleeper and is ejected to the crowd’s liking. Both gets rack up the near falls now ending with Dolph getting one on a Fameasser. Morrison tries the Starship Pain but Dolph gets his knees up and ends up hitting the Zig Zag to retain.
Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: Dolph Ziggler in 10:37
Despite the crowd not being into this early on, they worked hard to overcome the Ryder chants. Dolph Ziggler is scheduled to compete again later but held nothing back here. This was a good choice to open as they didn’t overdo anything, got the crowd going and worked well together. ***¼
After the match, Vickie Guerrero returns and Dolph Ziggler cuts a promo about people having to follow that. Zack Ryder shows up to a major pop but gets jumped before he can do anything. He turns it around and sends Ziggler packing. The fans kind of get what they want.
WWE Divas Championship Lumberjill Match
Beth Phoenix (c) w/ Natalya vs. Eve Torres
There are a bunch of Lumberjills around the ring including future Divas Champions Nikki Bella, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn as well as Maxine, who would find success in Lucha Underground. Eve won a battle royal to earn this shot. Like most Beth Phoenix matches, this quickly follows the power vs. speed battle. Eve does her booty pop but Beth escapes before the moonsault. She gets rolled back in like nothing and Eve finishes off the moonsault. Cole calls Eve a ju-jitsu expert, which seems untrue. They do some stuff where Eve hits some quick offense. Lawler says that he thinks Beth and Natalya are jealous of the Barbie looks of the other Divas. What a dick. Cole correctly says that’s not the case. Eve avoids the Glam Slam and puts on a triangle head scissors that I never expected from her. They go into some pin exchanges before fighting to the top. Beth hooks Eve and plants her with a top rope Glam Slam and wins.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix in 4:34
Yea, it’s going to be hard for another match on this show to have a better finish. The match leading up to the finish wasn’t very good though. This was all about getting to the finish, which again, was great and made the crowd pop hard. *¾
There’s a backstage segment between CM Punk and David Otunga. Nothing of real note happens here. It cuts to a promo from the Rock, which is overly long as always. It involved singing and all of that jazz.
Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Hunico and Jack Swagger) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan Sheamus and Sin Cara)
Cody Rhodes is pretty much the most over guy on his team. That Intercontinental Title looked damn good on him. For some reason, Kingston’s partner, Evan Bourne, isn’t on the team. Kofi and Ziggler start, which is a pairing I’ve seen more times than I can count. Within a few seconds, Orton gets the tag and lays out Ziggler with the RKO, eliminating him at 1:32. Team Barrett regroup and run in, but end up in trouble. Kofi and Cara go to stereo dives, but Cara barely gets height and botches, injuring himself in the process. “We want Ryder” chants. Due to the injury, he is just announced as eliminated at 3:44. When things get going again, Mason Ryan overpowers Cody for a bit. Kingston ends up working Barrett and they do the double clothesline spot. Dual tags bring in Ryan and Hunico. You know how this goes. Ryan just destroys him until Cody makes a blind tag. Beautiful Disaster and Cross Rhodes sends Ryan packing after 8:52. Sheamus and Cody now go at it, with Sheamus beating the hell out of him at times. Hunico tries his luck but doesn’t fare well. Cole brings up Shawn Michaels for some reason and says he was part of one of the greatest moments in WWE history at Survivor Series 1997. It’s weird to hear that talked about in a positive light. Kingston gets a hot tag and Boom Drops Barrett. The numbers advantage comes into play, leading to Kingston getting hit with the Wasteland and going home at 14:06. Orton and Barrett go at it now, which is the main rivalry coming in.
Booker T calls Hunico the “ace in the hole”. Has he never seen Hunico compete? He does get at least one near fall on Orton. Orton takes the heat from all of the heels before making a hot tag to Sheamus. He cleans house, on the road to a Royal Rumble win in two months. He just obliterates Swagger with knee strikes on the ropes, not listening to the official’s count, resulting in a disqualification at 18:30. Orton is now all alone. A frustrated Sheamus Brogue Kicks Swagger, allowing Orton to pin him for the 1-2-3 at the 19:33 mark. Orton starts doing his FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, planting Rhodes with the rope hung DDT. VINTAGE ORTON! Hunico springboards in right into the RKO, getting rid of him at 21:38. Barrett sneaks in only to get hit with a backbreaker. Orton looks for the RKO on Barrett, but catches Cody with one as he tries to get involved. Barrett uses the opening for the Wasteland and picks up the win.
Winners: Team Barrett (Survivors: Wade Barrett & Cody Rhodes) in 22:09
It’s hard to have a bad Survivor Series match, especially with solid talent like you had in this one. I thought they were going to go the route of the super babyface comeback, but was pleasantly surprised that they went a different way. The match moves along quickly, protects the right people and is enjoyable. Good stuff. ***¼
Alberto Del Rio flirts with the Bella Twins until John Laurinaitis comes in to cock block. He wants to make sure Del Rio is focused and El Patron says that he is.
World Heavyweight Championship
Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show
At Vengeance, these two broke the ring with a superplex, stealing a Big Show/Brock Lesnar spot from Smackdown nearly a decade earlier. The ring is apparently reinforced here. They do a lot of stalling early on. Show is the first one to take Henry down, leading to a rope break. They start going back and forth but nothing is really happening. It’s a lot of just holding each other and none of it is even slightly interesting. The crowd is very dead for this. They finally wake up but it’s only to chant for Daniel Bryan. Henry hits the World’s Strongest Slam for two. The fight slowly moves outside where Henry spears Show through the guardrail. That spot would mean a lot more if it wasn’t so overused by the WWE. Show barely beats the count and the crowd is sad. He climbs up and gets a pop for hitting a top rope elbow. Henry kicks out and then just low blows Show to retain.
Winner via disqualification: Big Show in 13:04
Okay, who decided to give these two this much time? They had a surprisingly decent encounter at Money in the Bank a few months earlier but this was one of their worst matches. It dragged on, feeling even longer than the actual time it ran and was incredibly dull outside of the elbow. ¼*
After the match, Mark Henry tries to splash a chair on Show’s leg but Big Show avoids it and knocks him out. This set up another rematch. The fans want Daniel Bryan but he doesn’t show. Show then destroys Henry’s leg with a chair.
Miz and R-Truth interrupt a Wade Barrett interview in the back. R-Truth is incredible in this. I absolutely love insane Truth.
WWE Championship
Alberto Del Rio (c) w/ Ricardo Rodriguez vs. CM Punk
Since Alberto Del Rio gets Ricardo Rodriguez as his own personal ring announcer, CM Punk has Howard Finkel do his in a cool moment. “We want ice cream” chants start this. Punk is absurdly over. He looks for the Anaconda Vice early, trying to score a win as quickly as possible. Punk was already in Del Rio’s head with the ring announcer stuff and he causes Del Rio to take a powder but follows with a suicide dive. Ricardo Rodriguez pays off, goading Punk to chase him. Del Rio dropkicks him and takes control. He targets Punk’s arm, which is usually when Del Rio matches are at their best. Punk moves away from the mat work and starts reeling off strikes to turn the tide. He gets two on a swinging neckbreaker. Punk signals for the GTS but Del Rio is ready and avoids it. Del Rio now goes after the arm, trying for the Cross Armbreaker. Punk ends up in a positon on the top rope but Del Rio is ready for the elbow and crotches him, following with a big kick to the left arm. Punk still manages to get him down and hits the elbow for two. That gets a “Randy Savage” chant. Punk tries the GTS but Del Rio slips free and ducks a kick before locking in the Cross Armbreaker. However, Punk reaches the ropes with his feet. He attempts another GTS but is shoved off into Ricardo on the apron, who he kicks. Del Rio rolls him up for two but eats a kick for two. Punk takes the shoulder that went up and locks in the Anaconda Vice leading to Del Rio tapping out.
Winner and New WWE Champion: CM Punk in 17:15
Really solid match between both men. They told a great story of Punk trying to get in Del Rio’s head, only for Del Rio to have an answer for the GTS on every occasion. Finally, Del Rio made a crucial mistake, leaving his arm lingering and forgetting about the Anaconda Vice, leading to his downfall. ***¾
CM Punk gets a nice little celebration with the fans, including jumping into them and enjoying the victory. This would Kickstart his glorious 434 day reign.
The Awesome Truth vs. John Cena and The Rock
Miz and Truth rap their “You Suck” entrance theme, which is always fun. Rock starts with Miz and the crowd is hot. Miz looks to have tanned enough to be darker than the Rock. Right off the bat, Rock shows off some quickness and looks to not have much ring rust. While Awesome Truth regroup outside, Rock glares at Cena. Truth shouts that he wants in and Rock is all like “JUST BRING IT”. Rock does a damn fisherman suplex but the referee misses the pin because Cena ran in to knock Miz off the apron. Cena comes in and takes out Truth, trying to one up Rock. The New York fans chant “you still suck.” Cena goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but does the “you can’t see me” to Rock instead of his opponent. Cena now starts to take the heat. None of the work done is groundbreaking and it’s really hard to get into. Like, nobody buys Awesome Truth as a threat so it’s hard to buy into the heat. He gets some hope spots and they do the typical tag stuff. Rock gets the hot tag and does his awful Sharpshooter. Truth breaks it up with Paydirt (I know he calls it something different but I’ll go with Shelton’s name for it). Cena takes Truth outside and Rock is quickly back up, hitting a spinebuster on Miz. He follows with the People’s Elbow and wins.
Winners: John Cena and The Rock in 21:31
Outside of the appeal of seeing John Cena and the Rock team up, this was a very standard tag team match. Nothing they did was special and it was all very basic. I did enjoy seeing Cena and Rock try to one up each other, but that ended quickly and it just became your typical tag. The heat segment was okay and it could have been better if we could buy the heels as threats. **¾
John Cena is content with letting the Rock celebrate, but Rock calls him back into the ring. They do the dueling poses for the fans thing, which Rock clearly wins. Rock then plants him with a Rock Bottom to close the show.
Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. As with a lot of WWE pay-per-views in recent memory, this was a very middle of the pack event. There were some good things (the opener, WWE Title match and Survivor Series tag), some bad (World Title and Divas Title), while the main event was average. Nothing really stood out about this show. Outside of wanting to see the start of Punk’s incredible title reign or the Rock’s first match in a few years, this is an easy skip. Our next “Random Network Review” is going to be Hardcore Heaven 1995!
Raw History
Episode #100
February 27th, 1995 | Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia
It’s the historic 100th episode of Raw! Vince McMahon hypes that we will hear from Lawrence Taylor. His co-host tonight is Jim Cornette.
We go to pre-taped words from Lex Luger about his match tonight and entire feud with Tatanka. It’s been such a drag.
Lex Luger w/ Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
Chief Jay Strongbow is with Luger because Tatanka attacked him recently. “He’s three days older than dirt” – Cornette on Strongbow. Luger is aggressive, attacking quickly. SCREAMING CLOTHESLINE! Tatanka retreats and gets on the offensive inside. Luger no sells some stuff and starts the rally. Tatanka pulls him by the tights, sending him to the outside. Tatanka starts to put the boots to Luger, dominating him through a commercial break. Cornette says he was doing a war dance on Luger. He’s on fire tonight so far. Tatanka works a bearhug, which I thought was only reserved for the bigger heels. Luger breaks out and they exchange some shots. Luger sells chops, but walks away from them like they don’t hurt. Luger applies the sleeper hold, which is a Chief Jay Strongbow special. Tatanka gets out though, showing Luger didn’t learn the move properly. Tatanka goes after Strongbow outside, taking off his headdress. Strongbow chops him, but the referee doesn’t see. Back inside, Luger starts to take it to Tatanka. Tatanka gets pissed and chooses to walk out. Luger, like all babyfaces, meets him in the aisle and pummels him. Luger brings him back in and nails a powerslam. He continues to beat Tatanka from pillar to post. Dibiase distracts Luger, allowing Tatanka to leave for real this time.
Winner via countout: Lex Luger in 12:54
Better than I expected, but still nothing to write home about. It was strange to see them do the fake countout spot only to end with a countout anyway. Certainly odd. **
Footage from Superstars is shown. There was a twenty man battle royal. Jerry Lawler went over, but landed on one foot. He hopped around the ring until Bret Hart messed with him and stepped on his foot. We did not see who the winner was.
Owen Hart vs. Larry Santo
Commentary talks about Owen looking for a partner to get a Tag Team Title shot against the Smoking Gunns. Jim Cornette continues to ace the show tonight, saying Larry Santo is related to El Santo. He does get in some offense, but it’s mostly Owen. A missile dropkick and Sharpshooter put away Santo.
Winner: Owen Hart in 3:47
Fine squash match from Owen Hart here.
Vince McMahon tells us that there have been rumors that Lawrence Taylor will face Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania. They interview LT and remind us what happened at the Royal Rumble. LT admits that he wasn’t there to badmouth Bigelow. He says that if he was ready for it, he would have reacted differently. He never got pushed around like that in the NFL and seeing the video over and over bothers him. Cornette insinuates that Taylor is scared. They cut to Bigelow, who is also on the hookup. He puts over the New Generation, which is odd being a heel. He also makes a weird I Dream of Genie reference before challenging Taylor. Taylor promises to be at the Harley Davidson Café for the Mania press conference tomorrow.
Doink the Clown w/ Dink vs. Bob Cook
Doink works the arm a bit before Dink comes in and steps on Cook. For some reason this isn’t a disqualification. He continues to focus on the arm and wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink in 3:31
Nothing of real note here. Typical Doink stuff at this point.
A recap of the Royal Rumble is shown where Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog entered at numbers one and two. They lasted until the end, where Shawn surprised the world and eliminated Bulldog to win. That battle royal on Superstars that I mentioned earlier was won by the Bulldog. Next Monday, Michaels meets Bulldog one on one.
Kama vs. Ken Raper
Oh my god, his name is Raper. Kama kicks ass while I continue laughing at his Too Much theme. Cornette suggests that competition for Kama would be Mantaur. Kama shouts to the camera that he wants more competition. He hits a belly-to-belly before winning with the STF.
Winner: Kama in 3:38
Like his debut squash, this wasn’t anything special. I’ve seen nothing impressive from Kama.
Vince gets a word with British Bulldog who says that it will take more than both Shawn Michaels and Sid to overcome him next week.
Overall: 3/10. With them making a somewhat big deal about the 2nd anniversary episode, they decided not to do anything for episode 100. The Luger/Tatanka match is decent at best, while the rest of the show is kind of filler. At least there was some forward movement with the LT angle.
Raw History
Episode #101
March 6th, 1995 | Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia
Damn these big tapings blocks. We’ll be hearing some stuff from the WrestleMania press conference at some point tonight. There’s a new opening video but it’s the same tired theme song.
British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels w/ Sid
Vince McMahon continues to try and convince us that Bulldog is somehow the rightful Royal Rumble winner. Bulldog gets the quick upper hand, causing Michaels to take a powder. Once back in, he starts to get in offense until he misses a corner splash. Bulldog unleashes arm drags and clotheslines him over the top. Inside again, Bulldog works over Michaels. Shawn targets the arm of Bulldog, working a submission on it. They go to commercial while the hold is applied and when they return, Bulldog powers out by lifting Shawn high in the air. Shawn starts takin big corner bumps now. Bulldog just kicks Shawn’s ass with a bunch of moves, including a big suplex. Shawn desperately sends Bulldog to the mat outside, catching a breather and helping to turn the tide. Shawn is in the driver’s seat. He ends up applying a sleeper hold and Sid pulls the ropes away from Bulldog’s reach. He breaks free with a back suplex leading into the second commercial break. Returning, Bulldog gets close to winning with some clotheslines and a big gorilla press slam that crotches Shawn on the top rope. Shawn ducks a move, causing Bulldog to fall outside where Sid gets in a cheap shot. Bulldog rolls back in, survives a small package but falls victim to Sweet Chin Music.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 15:44
They were given time and made sure to use it correctly. It was slow at times, but I came out mostly entertained. Even though he cheated, I was glad to see a definitive finish to the match. Shawn was absolutely a fast rising star while Bulldog was a reliable act but not going anywhere at the moment. ***¼
WrestleMania Report time! We get some recaps from the press conference and words from both HBK and Diesel. They also hype the now official Bigelow/LT match.
Bob Backlund vs. Buck Quartermaine
We get informed that Bret Hart and Bob Backlund will meet in a Survivor Series rematch at WrestleMania. It’ll be an I Quit match. This feud was reborn out of nowhere and really showed that Bret was going to waste most of 1995 in the mid-card. Backlund toys with Buck, making this last way too long. Backlund wins with the chicken wing.
Winner: Bob Backlund in 5:16
Far too long for this kind of match. Shave off two or three minutes and it would have been an easier watch.
In the previous match, Vince also announces the epic King Kong Bundy/Undertaker match at WrestleMania. Yuck. Next week though, we get the renewal of the Bret Hart/Jerry Lawler rivalry as they meet one on one.
Duke Droese vs. Steven Dunn w/ Harvey Wippleman
Duke’s nameplate just says “the Dumpster”. Jerry Lawler calls in during the match, calling Bret Hart a racist. This is seriously a dumb angle. Duke wins a boring affair with the Trash Compactor.
Winner: Duke Droese in 3:55
Nothing Duke Droese does ever interests me. Maybe with a better gimmick I would have liked him more. Probably not though.
Steven Dunn tries to attack Duke with the trash can after the match, but continues to get his ass kicked. In the trash that fell out of the garbage, Duke finds a $100 bill.
A weird NYPD Blue parody with Paul Bearer and Mr. Fuji is shown to promote Nick Turturro’s appearance at WrestleMania.
Overall: 5/10. I can’t give the show a bad score when almost the entire first half is spent on a pretty good match. It was a pretty big win for Shawn Michaels heading into his Mania match. They hyped Mania pretty well even though the squash matches were boring. Not a terrible way to spend 45 minutes.
Raw History
Episode #102
March 13th, 1995 | Memorial Auditorium in Stockton, California
Hey, a live show! The Bret Hart/Jerry Lawler feud is recapped, going back to King of the Ring 1993.
The Headshrinkers vs. Jacob and Eli Blu w/ Uncle Zebekiah
How did the Headshrinkers go from two managers and the Tag Team Titles to no belts or managers? As a reminder, this is Fatu and Sionne. The Headshrinkers should be done soon, leading to “Make a Difference” Fatu. They start hot though, but Sionne gets tagged and gets beat up. The Blu brothers get in some cheap shots on the outside. Sionne takes the heat for a while, though nothing the heels do is any good. They go to commercial in the middle of a pin attempt too. They were terrible at timing these things back then. Jacob and Eli Blu do some Twin Magic to stay in control. Sionne snaps off a powerslam and its hot tag to Fatu time. He comes in hitting everything and even dances after no selling some stuff. It’s a precursor to Rikishi. All four men end up fighting outside, leading to a double countout.
Double countout in 7:08
Absolutely basic. It was a paint by numbers tag team match with nothing really interesting outside of Fatu’s work happening. *
Lawrence Taylor is going to bring multiple NFL players with him to WrestleMania. Steve “Mongo” McMichael cuts a promo about Kama, who is now apparently in the Million Dollar Corporation. Mongo will be there next week. Then the Million Dollar Corporation cut a promo on the NFL players, making terrible football related puns. Ernie Ladd is also interviewed about the match.
Non-Title Match
WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/ The Roadie vs. Barry Horowitz
Oh yea, it’s 1995, the year of the Horowitz push. He even gets a pre-match interview about his winless record. He uses some flash pins to try and get a win, causing Jarrett to take a breather. Even when Jarrett gets back in, Horowitz shows some life, hitting a hip toss and leg drop. Jarrett goes after the knee and works it until he makes Barry submit to the Figure Four.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 4:38
More competitive than I thought it would be. You could see them planting the seeds for the small Barry push.
Todd Pettengill brings us the WrestleMania Report. The only real noteworthy news is that Salt n’ Pepa will be at WrestleMania and the two new matches announced. The Smoking Gunns will face Owen Hart and a mystery partner for the Tag Team Titles, while Razor Ramon gets his rematch at Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title. Also, yesterday on Action Zone, Men on a Mission lost to the Gunns and turned heel.
Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler w/ WWF Women’s Champion Bull Nakano
Bull Nakano is with Jerry Lawler because Bret is racist against Asians apparently. Lawler attacks before Bret can get his jacket off, but Bret quickly turns it around on him. Bob Backlund is in the crowd watching things. Then Hakushi shows up in the aisle. It’s like, a rogue of midcard baddies. Lawler gets in some offense but then Bret stars the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Lawler ends up outside and Nakano grabs Bret. Somehow, that isn’t a DQ. She accidentally hits Lawler too, with no bell called. Lawler slides in the ring while Nakano holds Bret’s leg, causing the countout.
Winner via countout: Jerry Lawler in 6:36
This whole thing feels very unfocused. Bret is involved in like, five feuds and this match seemed like two veterans going through the motions. *¾
Bret Hart beats up Jerry Lawler and sent him packing after the match.
Barry Horowitz wants a rematch. Jeff Jarrett agrees and offers an Intercontinental Title shot because he’s so confident. Jeff signs but before Barry can do so, Bob Backlund runs out and puts him in the Crossface Chicken Wing. He then signs it, meaning we get Jarrett/Backlund for some reason.
Overall: 2.5/10. Another pretty dull episode of Raw. I’m trying to focus on the match quality and the overall build towards something else. Match quality wise, this wasn’t very good, with the two big matches both being pretty bad. In the scheme of building things, it set up Bret’s eventual feud with Hakushi and Lawler, but did nothing for Backlund/Hart. Most of this was filler.
