So, according to Tyler Breeze, tonight the era of the gorgeous one begins. Before we get to Tyler Breeze and his NXT Title shot, the number one contender's Tag Team Tournament must continue. Bull Dempsey and Mojo Rawley, also known as two guys I don't care much for opened things against the always tremendous Vaudevillains. Simon Gotch can supposedly bench 1000 pounds and I totally believe it. He is unbelievably entertaining. They win and advance when Aiden English pins Mojo following their finisher. Good stuff. In a move that everyone saw coming, Bull attacks Mojo after the match. Ugh, they're probably going to have a match at TakeOver. There were hilarious "Thank You Bull" chants for this.
Bayley takes on Sasha Banks to become the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship. Both of these girls would be a step up from Charlotte. These are my two favorite Divas on the NXT roster. Because they are both awesome, the match was really good and featured a lot of near falls. Right about here, my internet connection got all screwy and caused me to miss part of the match which upset me like you wouldn't believe. It comes back on just as Bayley gets the win. I'm okay with this and Bayley needs to win the belt at TakeOver. According to the replay, Sasha had her finisher locked in but Bayley picked up a pin anyway. Kept Sasha strong.
Time for the Luchadors! Kalisto and Sin Cara would compete in the Tag Team Tournament against Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake. I've heard good things about Blake but not much about Murphy. HuniCara isn't the best high flyer, so the fact that Kalisto can do the big flying moves while Cara does lesser things makes this work. Kalisto gets the win for his team as they move on. The Legionaries are interviewed backstage and they are upset about not being in the Tag Team Tournament. I'm not big on them, but they have a good point. I prefer them in the tournament to Bull & Mojo or Zayn & Rose.
Tyler Breeze and his amazing theme music hits as he comes out for the main event. The Champion comes out firing because he's tired of Breeze and his nonsense over the past few weeks. Before the first commercial break, Tyson Kidd came out to the commentary table. FACT. He gets called "Nattie's wife" by the fans. FACT. He doesn't talk on commentary and just scouts the match. FACT. I'm done with that now. Breeze rolled away from the Red Arrow and hit a gorgeous (pun intended) tornado DDT for two. We got a lot of counters and close calls in an awesome main event. Neville hits a suicide dive and Kidd gets very close to the action. For some reason, Neville kicks him in the mouth. He goes for the Red Arrow but Kidd takes him down and causes the disqualification. All three guys rumble until Sami Zayn comes out and takes out both Breeze and Kidd. A great episode of NXT tonight. 8.5/10.
If I have to watch Superstars to get my Emma fix weekly, then so be it. Emma could be such a bigger part of the Divas division if they promoted/built her dance better. It would get more over with the fans, especially the kids. She met Alicia Fox in a very good Divas match. They went back and forth and got a decent amount of time. Fox seemed to be doing a bit of her crazy character even though that was scrapped a while ago. I mean, I guess nobody really watches Superstars right? Emma would win via submission. The main event of Superstars featured another in the endless battle between Adam Rose and Fandango. Rose has replaced Santino as Fandango's lifelong rival. As always between them, this was nothing to write home about Rose wins but the lack of Summer Rae and Layla hurt this. 4/10, because the opening Divas match was at least solid.
Until next time, follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaaa
I've mentioned before that growing up, ECW was the coolest thing in the world for me. Heatwave 1998 was a show that I've fondly remembered and consider it the best ECW Pay-Per-View of all time. Now, from reviews that I've read in the past, this show has a mixed response. Some agree with me, and some say it's overrated. Now, it has been a while since I've seen it so it'll be interesting to see how it holds up and if my view on it changes.
Joey Styles, my favorite commentator or all time, opens the show as usual in the ring. He won't be alone tonight though as he will be joined in the booth by the ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas and Francine. Two things I want to point out. One, Francine is just wearing underwear and a sheer robe and two, Douglas was in the midst of the second longest arm injury of all time. Only “Cowboy” Bob Orton had a worse one, with Owen Hart in third.
Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible w/ Chastity, Jason & Nicole Bass Joey Styles on Bass, “we should call her Russia because she's so much bigger than Chyna.” Credible has his badass “got blood?” shirt. Lynn gets an early sunset flip and cross body for near falls. He gets caught for That's Incredible but counters it. Lynn sends him out with a head scissors and follows with a splash. Francine chimes in dynamite analysis on the match throughout. That was sarcasm by the way. The fans stop to pay attention to something besides the match for a few. Justin hits a powerbomb onto a steel chair for two. He throws Lynn outside, allowing Jason and Bass to beat on him. Back inside, Credible goes for a double axe handle but gets caught with an atomic drop and flapjack. Credible fights back with the Boss Man Slam for two. REST HOLD time as Credible applies a headlock. Lynn breaks out and we get a series of quick near falls before Lynn plants him with a tiger bomb. Top rope hurricanrana gets Lynn another near fall. Lynn gets caught in a mid air powerbomb but ends up hitting a DDT on a steel chair. Chastity puts Justin's foot on the rope when he gets pinned. Big spot time as Lynn hurricanranas Credible from the top through a table outside! Inside, Jason hits Lynn with a steel chair but ends up getting a tiger bomb. Bass attacks him but he low blows her hilariously. Chastity jumps in and takes a tombstone. Lynn places Credible on top and calls for a hurricanrana but gets hit with a low blow. Credible then steals the show with a second rope That's Incredible to end it.
Winner: Justin Credible in 14:36 Good opener. You could tell that they had wrestled a lot by their chemistry. This was spot after spot but it was fun and the finish was great. ***
Chris Candido w/ Tammy Lynn Sytch vs. Lance Storm This was the return of Tammy Sytch to ECW. Since Candido is sporting Rick Steiner like headgear after an ear injury, he runs around the ring barking which is a nice touch. They give each other clean breaks early on before showing off their athleticism. Chops galore earn “Woos” from the crowd, which I'm sure eats away at Douglas who is quiet through all of this. Storm removes the headgear to expose his surgically repaired ear. Candido dives outside and takes out Storm. Surfboard in the ring works until Storm dropkicks out of it. Tammy trips up Storm but it does nothing because he still gets to Candido. He chases Tammy, which allows Candido to hit the third tiger bomb of the night. British Bulldog like stalling vertical suplex from the former Skip. Storm fights back to get a near fall with a super kick but Candido connects with a neckbreaker. Candido impresses again with a powerslam for two leading Tammy to tell the referee that he sucks. Storm suplexes Candido from in the ring to the outside and you just hear a sick thud as he hits the concrete. Storm springboards out onto him but I'm still in awe of the sound of the suplex. Back inside we get a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Gorilla Monsoon would be proud. Storm hits a superplex and climbs to the top right after with a diving spinning heel kick for two. Storm springboards from the apron and Candido totally telegraphs a powerslam counter. Tammy gives Candido powder but Storm knocks it into his face. Tammy gets in and knocks Storm onto his crotch on the top. The referee and Tammy get into a shoving match, causing Tammy's top to come down. Candido climbs to the top and hits the Blonde Bombshell, which is an impressive top rope powerbomb to win.
Winner: Chris Candido in 11:01 Another good match with another good finish. I don't know how I feel about back to back top rope finishers, but I enjoy both guys and this match. ***1/4
Joey takes us to an incident in the parking lot earlier where New Jack got into a fight with Jack Victory, who he was scheduled to wrestle tonight. The match is canceled for some reason, but I'm not mad about it. We cut to a promo with Bill Alfonso, Rob Van Dam and Sabu. RVD, as always, calls himself three quarters of the Tag Team Champions. Yes, RVD is a double champion here. RVD sneezes the word Hakushi, because Jinsei Shinzaki is Hakushi. RVD had the biggest ego in the world in ECW.
Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome I love the matches these two put on. Awesome shows how agile he is with a flying back elbow in the beginning. Awesome catches Tanaka mid leap frog with a belly to belly before hitting a slingshot shoulder block before Hernandez and Sheamus made it cool. Awesome flies over the top like Undertaker which is impressive. Tanaka is a MAN who gets up instantly from a release German suplex. Tanaka runs to the entrance and back before leveling Awesome with a steel chair. Outside they have a sword fight with chairs that Tanaka wins with a shot to the back. Awesome backdrops Tanaka into the front row and then decides to springboard fro the ring into the crowd. This is not a man ladies and gentlemen. They go back to the ring and we get a sitout Awesome Bomb that only gets two. HAVE YOU NOT BEEN WATCHING THIS SHOW? NORMAL POWERBOMBS DONT WIN MATCHES! Awesome Splash from the top only gets two again. Awesome gets a chair and hits Tanaka twice, but he gets up nearly instantly before getting the chair dented on his head for the third shot! He kicks out though. Running release Awesome Bomb is hit and he sets up a table outside. Awesome leaps of the top with a giant chair shot but doesn't cover. He goes for the Awesome Bomb through the the table, but Tanaka wriggles free and powerbombs Awesome through it! OH MY GOD! Awesome kicks out though. Tanaka hits the Roaring Elbow but Awesome kicks out. Tanaka hits a tornado DDT onto two steel chairs to finally earn the win.
Winner: Masato Tanaka in 11:49 Just like all of their other matches, this was badass. Two guys just beating the hell out of each other and it works beautifully. ***1/2
Taz cuts a promo in the back saying that his FTW Title is the only one that means something. Not Austin, not Goldberg and not Mike Tyson. The Taz character is easily one of Paul Heyman's greatest creations. Cut to a Dudleys promo next as Bubba Ray makes it a religious like promo. Good stuff.
ECW World Tag Team Championship Rob Van Dam and Sabu (c) w/ Bill Alfonso vs. Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki I'm going to call him Hakushi for the duration of this match. I also don't get why they don't just dub over RVD's ECW theme with “One of a Kind”. Lots of showboating from RVD, angry stares from Sabu and whistle blowing from Alfonso in the early stages. RVD and Hayabusa have a “who's more athletic” competition but they botch some stuff. Hakushi comes in and completely upstages any Undertaker Old School ever by walking halfway around the ring on the rope. Sabu gets the tag and comes in hot but quickly cools off with some slow offense. Hayabusa gets the tag and they promote a history between these two as Sabu dropkicks the knee and hits the Arabian Press. Hayabusa causes Sabu to take a breather outside. Sabu applies the camel clutch on Hayabusa leading to RVD doing a pointless back flip before dropkicking Hayabusa. Hakushi doesn't like RVD showboating so he springboard dropkicks him. Hayabusa baseball slides Sabu outside and nails the Asai moonsault. As things spill into the crowd, Sabu dives out onto them. RVD puts Hakushi in a bow and arrow as Sabu comes off the top with a chair shot to the ribs. Hayabusa breaks the count and we get double team moves on RVD including a springboard swanton, followed by a springboard knee drop and then a moonsault. The spots are out again tonight. Superkick/German suplex isn't enough to put away Sabu. Sabu hits a top rope hurricanrana on Hakushi and it's instantly followed by RVD leaping from out of the screen with a twisting frog splash. The height he got on it is absurd. The pin is broken, leading to Hayabusa hitting the 450 splash but Sabu breaks that pin. Tag team Rolling Thunder hits and it was always cool as a team move. Sabu puts Hakushi in a Boston crab as RVD hits a top rope leg drop for two. A table is brought into the ring and psychology is useless because these dudes get stuck just standing around at times. Hayabusa ends up crotched on the top and eats a big Van Daminator. Sabu gets a splinter from the table and goes down like a ton of bricks, which is funny considering how tough he is. Hakushi catches a chair stupidly and eats a Van Daminator. DID YOU NOT SCOUT BEFOREHAND? Hayabusa and Hakushi are laid head to head on a table when Sabu and RVD hit double leg drops off the top, through the table to finish it.
Winners and Still ECW World Tag Team Champions: Rob Van Dam and Sabu in 20:51 As a kid, this was one of my favorite matches ever. It's not as great as I remember it, but it's a fun spotfest that continues this show's strong run so far. ***
FTW Championship Taz (c) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow Bigelow is introduced as the “self proclaimed Taz killer” which is badass. The very first move is a powerbomb from Bigelow and it's got to be like the 25th powerbomb of the evening. Taz is all like NAPOLOEON RAMPAGE because he eats the powerbomb and gets right up like Masato Tanaka before they fight out onto the aisle. Taz kicks Bigelow into the crowd and goes to splash him but gets caught. Taz must have smoked with RVD before the show to try something like that. The fight goes deeper into the crowd for a while. Tazplex gets hit on the concrete near the entrance. They finally get back into the ring and Bigelow hits another powerbomb. Instead of trying to pin Taz, he sets up a table in the corner and throws Taz headfirst through it. He takes the broken table to the other corner and sets it up again. Taz fights back and we get a t-bone Tazplex through that table. Things now spill to the aisle again as we are reminded that falls count anywhere. Bigelow attempts a T-Bone suplex into the crowd, but Taz counters into a tornado DDT that sends both men THROUGH THE AISLE! Shane Douglas is all like “they're dead!” As both men are dying under the aisle and on the concrete, you can hear a guy going “ECW! ECW!” in a weird voice. Bigelow is first out of the wreckage as he stumbles towards the ring. NAPOLEON RAMPAGE because Taz gets up and he's pissed. He chases down Bigelow and locks on the Tazmission! Bigelow clearly reaches for the ropes but it's called a tap out.
Winner and Still FTW Champion: Taz in 13:21 The worst match of the night so far, but that doesn't mean that it was bad. This was a fun brawl with a big spot to end it that one upped their previous bout. **3/4
Taz gets a microphone and tells Shane “Beat me if you can...survive if I let you.” I've got to give it to Taz, that was a sweet catchphrase. We get a short video package starting from when the Dudleys broke Beulah McGillicutty's neck with a 3D. Joey Styles gets all enthusiastic about his hatred for THOSE DAMN DUDLEYS.
The Dudley Boyz and their entourage come out as Joel Gertner steals the show. “Hotter than a heatwave and harder than Chinese algebra” is followed by “I always leave them sore, yet they keep coming back for more.” Great stuff. He also introduces Sign Guy Dudley as the “quiet behind the riot and the innovator of silence.”
Dudleyville Street Fight The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray, D-Von & Big Dick) w/ Joel Gertner, Sign Guy Dudley & Jeff Jones vs. The Sandman, Spike Dudley & Tommy Dreamer Sandman busted himself open with a beer can before the match begins. Even though this is billed as having no rules, we start with actual tagging and such. We get a loud “Spike” chant as he comes in to a bigger pop than he'd get anywhere else. Boring start to this street fight as we're just getting normal wrestling. Man, Bubba has really slimmed down over the years. Spike counters a Bubba Bomb into a hurricanrana before Sandman strikes Bubba with a beer. WEAPONS! We finally get some outside action as things are starting to turn into more of a fight. We get a FrankenSander before the Sandman sets up a ladder in the ring. Spike climbs it and dives off onto his big brothers and Tommy at ringside. Soon after, Bubba puts a ladder on Tommy and hits a second rope senton on it. Acid Drop from Little Spike Dudley turns the tide. Sign Guy comes in and gets put in the figure four with his hurt leg. Jeff Jones comes in and piledrives his Beulah blow up doll, so Tommy piledrives him. The three Dudleys and Gertner are put in trees of woe in each corner. The three faces and the referee all deliver baseball slides to them. Yes, the referee too. To be fair, he only hit Gertner, who badmouthed him before the match. Big Dick plants Tommy on a ladder and puts Spike through a table. Bubba tries a splash on Tommy but misses and catches the ladder. Tommy DDTs him on the ladder and it's over.
Winners: The Sandman, Spike Dudley & Tommy Dreamer in 14:26 Again, a fun brawl but the last two matches of this show were the worst on it. It was still enjoyable. **1/2
Jack Victory arrives and stops Tommy's celebration with a guitar shot. This, of course, brings out New Jack and an even bigger brawl ensues. Victory takes a guitar shot and things are more interesting than they were during the main event. The show closes with the four faces posing, the Sandman, Tommy and Jack on top of ladders and Spike at the bottom.
Overall: 8/10; Great. The best ECW Pay-Per-View of all-time is what this show stays being in my memory. Despite the fact that the last two matches are the worst, they're both entertaining and fun brawls. The undercard featured good wrestling and good brawling. I recommend this as a fun way to spend nearly three hours. My next "Random Network Review" is going to be Clash of the Champions: Dixie Dynamite.
Quick note, this is the first time that I'm writing the review as I watch the show. Good old Main Event kicks off with the WWE Tag Team Champions, The Usos. On Raw, they issued an open challenge for tonight. They cut a promo, bring up old tag teams and you could tell that they were big fans growing up. They mention the WWE Network and the fans stupidly chant $9.99. Rybaxel arrives to answer the challenge and entertain me even though they don't say much. Suddenly, RVD's theme hits to my surprise. Who's his partner? Sabu? Even Ryback points it out by calling him a big dummy who stole his singlet.HILARIOUS! RVD introduces his partner as Sheamus and Corporate Kane comes out to make the Triple Threat match for tonight.
After the Brock Lesnar and John Cena promo is shown again, Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins comes out next. Kofi Kingston will be his opponent because the New Nation of Domination of whatever has seemingly been dropped. The announcers decided to remind us a bunch of times that Dean Ambrose chose a Lumberjack match for SummerSlam, in what may be the biggest disappointment of the Dean Ambrose face turn. Anyway, after a good match, Rollins hit a Buckle Bomb and Blackout to win.
The stunning Renee Young is backstage with RVD and Sheamus. She asks about them being a team and we find out that Sheamus was the one who approached RVD. So, I know hte tag team division is struggling, but did we have to get Sheamus and RVD? Why no Stardust and Goldust? Anyway, much like the other match tonight, this was given a good amount of time. Both went over ten minutes and both were good. The triple threat rules made this chaotic and everybody got a chance to shine. The Usos continue their great reign as Champions when RVD eats a splash and is down for the count. Good episode tonight, I just wish that we got One More Christian, no that I'm quoting Christian or anything. 7/10.
WrestleMania Rewind aired next and it focused on the first WrestleMania battle between two of the greatest of all time, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The documentary portion of this was good although this was my least anticipated of the Rock/Austin trilogy. I enjoyed this episode though and I can't wait to see the episode based on their WrestleMania X-7 and XIX matches. X-7 was probably the most money main event they've ever done and XIX was unique because of the Rock's character and it being Austin's last match. I would love to hear reactions to that.
The last part of Tuesday night on the WWE Network was once again, not the WWE Countdown. Instead it was a Beyond the Ring of Brock Lesnar's "Here Comes the Pain" DVD documentary. I've never seen this before and unfortunately, I was unable to catch it here but I will most likely watch it over the weekend. Regardless, I had fun watching Main Event and WrestleMania Rewind and isn't having fun the best part about the WWE Network? Until next time folks, same Stone Cold time, same Stone Cold channel. Follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaaa.
Last night's Raw began with Paul Heyman and his client Brock Lesnar. Heyman spoke about Brock, John Cena and SummerSlam as Lesnar sported a variation of his shirt that said "Eat, Sleep, Conquer, John Cena". Heyman claims that he sells us on big events and to be honest, he does. If he was plugging the WWE Network for $9.99 all night, I wouldn't be as annoyed and that's purely because it's Heyman. Side note, I watched the "Lades and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman" DVD and it's outstanding. Go see it if you haven't. Paul Heyman then rapped. Yes, he rapped like John Cena in 2003 and it was glorious. He says they're leaving to dinner and will be back by the end of the night. Money segment, purely because Heyman is gold.
Corporate Kane made his triumphant return next. So, in his Kane career he has gone from masked to unmasked back to masked then corporate then demon and now corporate again. Whatever. Hopefully this keeps him away from WWE World Title matches now. He announces that Roman Reigns will be facing Rybaxel in a handicap match. I tweeted out that I enjoyed 2012 Ryback more than 2014 Reigns. Something about Reigns is just not clicking with me the way that it should. Ryback was actually doing his thing against Reigns but they would end up getting disqualified. Reigns would still beat up his opponents and cut another of the "same old, same old" promos as Renee Young interviews him.
Randy Orton tells Uncle Kane that he will end Roman Reigns at SummerSlam but tonight he has to face Sheamus. This will be about the 277th time that we see this match so that'll be fun. Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins went one on one with Rob Van Dam. I'm sure everybody agrees that in RVD's prime, this would be a bit of a dream match. However, it was just alright here tonight. They might as well call him Job Van Dam. I know, I know, I have the best jokes. Seth Rollins telegraphed this next part but it was still cool. You see, the ramp had big gifts and presents on them for Hulk Hogan's birthday. Dean Ambrose busts out from one of the gifts and attacks Seth Rollins, again getting one of, if not the biggest pop of the current roster.
The best heel in the business, besides maybe Paul Heyman, joined us next in Stephanie McMahon. She introduced Daniel Bryan's therapist Megan, who says that while Daniel and Brie Bella are good people, Daniel had an affair with her. Oh man, this screamed Claire Lynch so bad that she was actually trending on Twitter last night. For those who don't know, just youtube search Claire Lynch TNA. She makes Brie Bella look like Meryl Streep. Brie comes out to confront her and slaps the girl before applying a not so great looking Yes Lock. Stephanie says they don't have to wait until SummerSlam and they should finish this tonight. This segment blew. There was no need to add this as it wasn't done well and came out poorly. Sometimes, less is more folks.
Time for a WWE television rematch. I swear, we don't get enough of these. Enough with the sarcasm, Jack Swagger and Cesaro put on a good match here. They are two of the better workers on the roster and they were arguably the most talented tag team on the roster when they were together. I have to commend Cesaro for continuing to do his best in the ring considering his lack of push. Following the match, Zeb Colter goes all "We The People" but gets cut off by the Russian flag, Rusev and Lana. It was more of the same with these two, but unlike the Brie/Stephanie segment, it wasn't god awful, so it didn't hurt the build for SummerSlam.
What followed was a sit down interview between Michael Cole, Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho. Bray instantly throws out Cole, which was a wise decision. Bray's promo work is still pretty badass with his "I hate every damn thing that this planted has created. Including me." Good stuff. It was not bad, though the angles that it was shot in looked funny. Both men can go on the mic and it was acceptable but something about this feud isn't exciting. I'm not really looking forward to their match as the feud and buildup has been lackluster. Hopefully, it's the opposite of John Cena/Bray Wyatt, where the build was good but the matches sucked. I'm all for being surprised at SummerSlam. This promo could've been amazing if it was Jericho's straight man gimmick from 2008-2010.
So, AJ Lee, my favorite Diva, would face Eva Marie, my second least favorite Diva in a non-title match. Paige, my second favorite Diva, appeared to skip around the ring and distract AJ after about 30 seconds. Eva rolled AJ up and won and I hate everything in life. This hurts more than R-Truth beating Bo Dallas. Paige apologizes to AJ in the form of a poem and it was rather enjoyable, just too similar to Heyman's rap from earlier. The best thing about this was a tie between Paige telling AJ that she loves her and AJ sitting CM Punk style in the middle of the ring. Then, after Paige skipped off, AJ beat the hell out of Eva to make all of us happy.
John Cena is out now to discuss the SummerSlam match. He does a good job of selling it, but with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman in the midst of the longest dinner in history, it was just Cena. He can't captivate a crowd in the same way that Heyman can. He gets his points across and it's decent but nothing special. Things take a real turn for the worse as Brie Bella comes out for her match with Stephanie McMahon. Brie has the balls to wear kick pads like she's legit, but I do like that her gear is similar to Daniel Bryan's now. Stephanie appears and not in wrestling gear. She decides to extract some revenge and have Brie arrested just like she was a few weeks back. If Brie makes bail, she'll see her at SummerSlam. Again, not a great segment, but better than the stuff from earlier.
THE ONE MAN BAND BABAY! Heath Slater, hot off of two straight wins, one against Seth Rollins last Monday and one as a member of Slater Gator on Main Event, comes out to face Dolph Ziggler. Thanks to a distraction from The Miz, Dolph chased him up the ramp and got counted out. THE SLATER WINNING STREAK CONTINUES! I enjoy Heath, but Dolph and AJ should've won going into SummerSlam, but now they both lose. Dolph gets some revenge on Heath post match but it doesn't make up for the loss. Even if it's just a countout loss.
Time for the main event and it's never ending barrage of matches between Sheamus and Randy Orton. Back when Sheamus was the heel on Smackdown and Orton was the face, Orton had Sheamus' number, beating him constantly. I always said it was funny how Sheamus would beat John Cena, Cena owned Orton and Orton dominated Sheamus. Anyway, this was decent because both guys can work and Orton won. Sheamus has been a good United States Champion and him being off of SummerSlam baffles me. Nothing from Roman Reigns either who I expected to come out and brawl with Randy. Also of note, Randy now wears tape around his hand, which looks cool.
The final segment of the night would be Hulk Hogan's birthday celebration. This should've been exclusive to the WWE Network post show as it did nothing to build SummerSlam. The roster was on the stage, while Jimmy Hart and MEAN BAH GAWD GENE were in the ring. The WWE, being experts in video packages, showed an awesome one for Hogan. Hogan thanked everyone but was cut off by Paul Orndorff, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Hogan turned heel like it was 1996 as he ripped off the red and yellow to reveal an nWo shirt. Nash sung happy birthday but then BRRROOOCK LESSSNARRR interrupted and things got real. He said he was to beat up some citizens until John Cena ran down. Brock left, which was wise because I don't want them to touch until SummerSlam and the show closed. Overall, Raw gets was a disappointment again and earns a 5/10.
On the Raw Backstage Pass, Hulk Hogan's cake was brought to the ring by SLATER GATOR, but they argue and the cake ends up on Titus O'Neill. He throws cake at Slater and this was strange. They bring out a second cake with candles that said 9.99! I can't make this up. Hogan thanks everyone. There was a special on Brock Lesnar and John Cena that aired on the WWE Network following this, but I wasn't able to catch it. I plan on watching it within the next few days and may do a short review for everyone.
Vengeance 2002 July 21st, 2002 – Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan – Attendance: 12,000
At the start of July, The Undertaker surprised me and many others by putting on a great title match against Jeff Hardy on Raw. It was one of my favorite Ladder matches ever. He would have to defend the title at Vengeance in a Triple Threat match against The Rock and Kurt Angle, with the winner facing Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Brock was still in a small feud with the man he beat to win the King of the Ring, Rob Van Dam and Edge was teaming with his childhood hero. Vince McMahon had taken back full control of the WWE, but thought the brands should stay split and appointed General Managers in Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon. Also, some guy named John Cena was about to have his first ever Pay-Per-View match. Things were starting to take a turn for the better in 2002 and I'm excited to get to those points.
The opening video is based off of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction which is odd for this time. Michael Cole and Tazz are calling the first half of the show, while Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler will close things.
Tag Team Tables Match Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley vs. Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero This is Chris Benoit's first Pay-Per-View match in over a year. Strangely enough, we get an actual tag match with legal men and everything. I thought Tables matches were tornado style. Eddie and Benoit wrestle circles around their competition in the early goings and, I just noticed, the Radicalz match tonight. Benoit nails a German suplex on Bubba Ray although this is starting slowly. For some reason, Bubba is playing the face in peril, so I guess Spike will get the hot tag. They finally go for a table and Spike hits a somersault onto Eddie. The Radicalz hit a double second rope suplex on Bubba, but Spike moved the table out of the way. Benoit and Guerrero are dominating. Bubba now intercepts Spike as he's about to go through the table. I have a bad feeling about the result of this. Spike hits the WASSUP headbutt as he is a small, white D-Von tonight. Bubba goes for a second rope senton but Benoit moves and Bubba breaks the table. It's not an offensive move though, so it doesn't count, although that's basically how Sheamus won his first WWE Title. Spike counters a suplex and hits the Dudley Dog through a table on Eddie, eliminating him. Spike goes for it on Benoit but it gets blocked and he gets gorilla pressed from the inside through a table on the outside because Benoit is a boss. Bubba Ray completes the win by hitting a Bubba Bomb on Benoit through the table.
Winners: Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley in 14:59 I don't know why the Dudleys had to go over, but Benoit and Guerrero dominated. That helped the match along, but this wasn't great. **1/2
Jonathan Coachman interviews Eric Bischoff, who is proud of his Raw guys who just performed. He is trying hard to sign free agent Triple H, but I have no idea why he's a free agent. Look Eric, the dude's wife is running Smackdown. She can offer more than you bro. I'll ignore that they were at each other's throats and divorcing like two months ago.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Jamie Noble (c) w/ Nidia vs. Billy Kidman It's JAMIE NOBLE BOY! Collar and elbow tie up actually takes them out of the ring and once they're back inside, we get several near falls. Noble regroups outside as Nidia cheers him on. Kidman owns the first few sequences until Noble uses a Nidia distraction to work him over. Noble targets the arm and Kidman can't do a move because it hurts. Look at the selling. He rallies with a hurricanrana and dropkick before hitting what I can only describe as an Attitude Adjustment/Go to Sleep combination for two. Seriously, it was badass. Noble goes back to the arm with a Fujiwara armbar but Kidman makes it to the ropes. They both end up on the top, and Kidman hits a second rope Sky High. YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE! That will forever be a D-Lo move. Kidman goes for the Shooting Star Press, but Noble rolls out of the way. Noble hits a beautiful Tiger Bomb and keeps his belt.
Winner and Still Cruiserweight Champion: Jamie Noble in 7:34 Good cruiserweight match, as both guys know what they're doing. Kidman sold the arm work well and the finish was sweet. ***
Marc Lloyd is backstage with Kurt Angle, who is offended that he's not the favorite. Paul Heyman interrupts with Brock Lesnar and interesting that this would be the WrestleMania XIX main event. They shake hands and how cool is it that this would be one of the best rivalries of all time.
European Championship Jeff Hardy (c) vs. William Regal Regal cried when he lost the belt two weeks prior and, bless him, he did whatever the company asked of him. Jeff is in his strange phase of wearing glow in the dark stuff and he has short green hair. Jeff poses like an idiot and gets slapped in the early stages. Regal is very aggressive and keeps trying to get quick pins. He misses an ugly knee drop and Jeff gets on the offensive. Regal has Jeff's barricade attack scouted and he hits R2 in time to counter. Jeff don't care as he hits Whisper in the Wind. He follows with an enziguri and leg drop before climbing up top for the Swanton Bomb. Regal gets his knees up, which has to hurt, and then nails an interesting backbreaker. Jeff counters a move and wins with a school boy.
Winner and Still European Champion: Jeff Hardy in 4:16 Decent but short. If they would've gotten more time, I think it had potential. However, they got a good amount of stuff done in the four minutes. **1/4
William Regal cries again as he just can't seem to be the champion of his home. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan congratulate Jeff hardy backstage. When he leaves, Hogan and Flair paint a picture where Hogan does the ugliest Swanton Bomb in history. They also discuss the new General Managers.
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena The Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho experiment is over and he's back to the mid-card. John Cena has what must be the most generic theme music ever. Jericho gets a chair and goes for Cena before the match but he ducks and hits Jericho with it. Why did he do that? Because he has RUTHLESS AGGRESSION! The bell rings inside and Cena continues to handle things until Jericho needs a breather. Time for the EDDIE GILBERT hot shot from Jericho, because that's like, something that seems to happen on every show. Jericho goes to expose the turnbuckle, but is stopped by the referee so Cena gets a near fall. Jericho does his little two step dance, which is still awesome. Jericho hits the Breakdown and climbs to the top. “IM THE KING OF THE WORLD”. He shouts that which allows Cena to hit a second rope suplex. The best spot of the match happens when Cena jumps at Jericho and he meets him with a dropkick in mid-air. Cena catches a leaping Jericho with a belly to belly for two shortly after. Lionsault misses and Cena goes for a rollup but gets it reversed for two. Jericho goes for the Walls but Cena pulls him into a pin and gets the three.
Winner: John Cena in 6:21 Here is the first case of John Cena overcome the odds. What a trend this would begin. Regardless, for his first Pay-Per-View match, this was good, although Jericho did most of the carrying. I liked this and wished it was a bit longer. **3/4
Eric Bischoff is still waiting outside of Stephanie McMahon's office when her lawyer or something enters with legal documents. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler come out because it's their turn to commentate.
Intercontinental Championship Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman As usual, RVD is sporting some sweet attire. Brock begins by tossing RVD around, but the Intercontinental Champion wisely targets the big man's legs with kicks. That doesn't last long as he ends up back in control anyway. Brock misses a big clothesline and ends up outside. RVD dives out and sends Brock into the post. He goes for a moonsault but Brock catches him and absolutely plants him with a STIFF powerslam on the mat. I mean STIFF. Giant backbreakers from the challenger. RVD hits a step over enziguri before kicking Lesnar in the head so hard that Heyman shouts “GODDAMN” at ringside. RVD goes for a monkey flip but Brock just tosses him outside. Brock applies a side bear hug inside to slow the pace significantly. RVD manages to fight out and hit a guillotine leg drop before going to the top. He leaps off and kicks Brock in the face. Rolling Thunder connects but can't get him the three. RVD goes for the Five Star but Brock grabs him and goes for the F5. RVD counters into a tornado DDT as business just picked up. Five Star is hit and Heyman pulls the referee out causing the disqualification.
Winner via disqualification and Still Intercontinental Champion: Rob Van Dam in 9:38 Not terrible for what it was but Brock would do much better down the line. **1/2
Charles Robinson beats up Paul Heyman after the match, while RVD takes down Brock. He gets a chair and calls for the Van Terminator, but Heyman grabs his leg. This allows Lesnar to catch RVD and do bad things. Stephanie McMahon leaves her office and looks pissed. Bischoff laughs and says that he knows Triple H didn't sign with Smackdown. Stephanie says “he signed” and walks off. Triple H exits and Bischoff yells at him until HHH admits what he signed was his divorce papers.
No Disqualification Big Show vs. Booker T It's WCW! Show starts in control with his power until Booker actually does an enziguri. It looks as lame as it sounds. Show chops the black off of Booker's chest a few times. Things spill outside and Show runs into the ring post. It's time for the poor Spanish announce table to be destroyed. Booker hits Show with one of the monitors and it actually looked good. Show is bent over one table, so Booker climbs on the other, runs off and hits a Scissors Kick through it. I have to admit, that was pretty damn sweet. I really dug that spot. Back inside, Booker is still firing away on Show but gets caught for a Chokeslam. He blocks it with a low blow and hits a second Scissors Kick. Booker goes to the top and actually pulls out the Houston/Harlem Hangover for, what I believe, was the first time in the WWE to win.
Winner: Booker T in 6:12 Things started slow but once they went outside, I started to enjoy this. The Scissors Kick table spot was great and I appreciated the effort to use the Harlem Hangover. **1/4
Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie are at “The World” and Torrie says that she won the Golden Thong Award there last time. I remember that and she was deserving. A few months later, these two would engage in some HLA.
Triple H comes out because it's time for him to decide whether he will be a part of Raw or Smackdown. Before he can even speak, Bischoff comes and pleads his case with the whole “it's business, not personal” with us. He offers a movie and sneaker deal for some reason. Stephanie comes out and brings up how Bischoff gave HHH no credit and badmouthed him during his WCW run. Triple H makes some bad jokes and chooses the devil he knows in Stephanie. Shawn Michaels comes to interrupt. He wants to remind HHH of their friendship. He all but says they should reform DV and make Bischoff's life on Raw hell. He decides to choose Shawn over Stephanie, a choice I would never make. Bischoff tells Stephanie that the difference between them is that he has testicles, which the crowd takes as some sort of insult, and Stephanie uses the “Women's Special Slap” from WWF No Mercy to take him down.
Marc Lloyd interviews Rikishi about Triple H joining Raw. He says that Trips leaving hurts the young guys in the locker room. Weird promo. Terri Runnels goes to interview Booker T and Goldust about Triple H. Another weird segment, but this one was funny.
WWE Tag Team Championship Edge & “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan vs. The Un-Americans Maybe I'm alone in this, but I enjoyed the Un-Americans. Hogan and Christian start, which must be a dream for Christian. Hogan shoves him and Christian oversells it. Hogan hits them with the, to quote Gorilla Monsoon, DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Edge comes in and it looks like he'll be the face in peril for a while. That lasts for a bit until Hogan comes in and dominates. Big Boot on Storm followed by one for Christian, but he ducks and hits a reverse DDT. Hogan powers out and again, Christian oversells. HULKING UP TIME! Christian is no match for this. Big boot connects this time and the Leg Drop is hit but Storm breaks up the pin. Thumb to the eye from Christian before they use heel tactics to take down Hogan. Weird to see Hogan needing to make the hot tag, but he does and Edge comes in on fire. He goes for a Spear on Storm, but he leaps over and Edge takes out the referee. Edgecution hits but there's no referee! Test comes down and attacks Hogan. TEST! TEST! THIS IS A TEST! Big boot on Edge and Storm covers as the referee counts but Edge kicks out. Rikishi comes down and fights Test to the back. Edge counters a whip and hits Storm with the Spear. Jericho, who is also an Un-American I guess, shows up and hits Edge with a Tag Team Title, allowing Storm to get the pin.
Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions: The Un-Americans in 10:00 Fun little tag team match and the interference actually made sense except for the Jericho run in. **1/2
Eric Bischoff comes up to Kurt Angle, sucks up and wants him on Raw. Stephanie McMahon is interviewed and says that Bischoff campaigning is fine because she's in contact with every Raw superstar and will rip the “heart” out of Raw.
WWE Undisputed Championship The Undertaker (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock If The Rock wins, he becomes the first seven time Champion in WWE history. Rock and Taker go face to face and Angle gets pissed that they're not paying attention to him. This hilariously leads to a double beating. Angle catches Rock with a German suplex and I must say that his red, white and blue camo attire is great. A belly to belly suplex sends Rock reeling before he hits yet another. Things spill outside where Angle clotheslines the Rock, only to run into one from Booger Red. Back inside, Taker hits a big sidewalk slam on Rock for two. Rock surprises everyone by hitting Undertaker with an impressive chokeslam. Angle breaks up the pin and Rock continues to steal finishers by putting on the Ankle Lock. Kurt gets out and hits a Rock Bottom. This is getting crazy. Taker blocks the Angle Slam and hits Angle it! These guys must have some serious stored finishers. Angle gets sent outside and Rock hits a spinebuster. It's People's Elbow time but Angle pulls him out before he can cover and tries to get the pin on his own but Taker kicks out. SOUPBONES in the corner for Angle. They go back outside and Taker continues to wail away on Kurt. Rock is up and spits water in Taker's face but ends up down again. Angle is busted open from hitting the ring post as Taker hits the guillotine leg drop on the apron. Time for the Champion to go OLD SCHOOL but Rock breaks up the pin. He fires away with right hands but eats a DDT for two. Angle has grabbed a chair but gets volleyed back and forth by his opponents with right hands. Taker and Rock block each other's finishers and the referee ends up knocked down. Angle cold cocks Taker with the chair and hits Rock with the Angle Slam! He's too hurt to cover in time though. Both men end up kicking out. Rock gets a take down on Angle and applies the Sharpshooter but Taker big boots him. Last Ride on the Rock and he covers but Angle breaks the count by putting Taker in the Ankle Lock! Taker rolls forward to counter and it's Last Ride time for Kurt but he latches on a Triangle Choke. Taker tapped to it on a recent Smackdown but he counters with a powerbomb. Angle don't care as he locks the hold back on! Rock now breaks the hold and goes for the Rock Bottom but Angle counters it into the Ankle Lock somehow. Rock counters into a rollup for two. Angle runs into a chokeslam and Taker runs into a Rock Bottom but he kicks out! Angle rolls up Rock for a very close near fall and then hits Taker with the Angle Slam. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN but Rock hits him with a Rock Bottom and it's over just before Undertaker can break the pin.
Winner and New WWE Undisputed Champion: The Rock in 19:35 Well, that's the match of the year in 2002 up to this point. That was one of the best damn Triple Threat matches I've ever witnessed. It was my first time watching it since it aired live and it had me on the edge of my seat. Excellent stuff. ****1/2
Overall: 7.5/10; Very Good. The main event is must see for sure. The Cruiserweight Title match is good and while nothing else reaches three stars, nothing is under two stars. In other words, it's a solid night highlighted by an awesome main event and I recommend you go out and see this show.
