Labor Day Raw Review

In typical Raw fashion, we kick off with the WWE US & World Champion, Seth Rollins. He goes over the usual stuff that he discusses and the crowd chants "boring" for a bit. Seth did a good job with this, telling them that as the champ, he can talk for as long as he wants. Sting appears on the Titantron with Seth's statue and dares him to come get it. Then Sheamus comes out to basically say that he MIGHT cash in at Night of Champions since Seth is working twice. That's it. After a commercial, Seth complains to Stephanie and Triple H appears. He says that Sheamus will face Randy Orton tonight (eww) and Seth will wrestle twice. This should have been covered in the first segment because our opening match had to go to a quick commercial due to this. That match was Paige vs. Sasha Banks. They had a good match a few weeks back but last week's 1:40 stuff sucked. This was better, but not as good as the their first match. Things went well until we got a shitty finish where Naomi distracted the referee and Sasha got a rollup for the win. At least Sasha won and Paige looked devastated at the loss. I think it'll lead to Paige turning on her team since she's struggled so much since joining them.

So one of my favorite things about actually watching Smackdown last week was seeing the Ascension join Stardust as the Cosmic Wasteland. What happens on Raw? The Ascension appear with no Stardust and get sent to job in under three minutes to Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Couldn't some other jobbers have done this? Was this dropped? Why can't creative just be consistent for once? I get that Reigns and Ambrose had to win but they should have had different opponents. Where was Fandango or Adam Rose or something? The Wyatts cut a post match promo about their upcoming Night of Champions match but this wasn't very good.

We get a horrible TMZ like video package for the Summer/Dolph/Rusev/Lana angle. Then, Seth Rollins' first match of the night is Champion vs. Champion against The Ryback, with zero build. These matches are good ideas on paper but are kind of lose/lose. Either one guy eats a clean pin or one guy wins in rather cheap fashion and either way, nobody gains anything. They had a decent little match and Seth worked well with Ryback and of course, we get a distraction finish from Sting, allowing Ryback to roll him up. So far, a pretty bad show. Then things got amazing as New Day ran into Seth backstage with their trombone. Edge and Christian showed up and Seth left. E&C busted out their kazoos against the trombone and Big E ate one of the kazoos. Then the Dudley Boyz showed up, saying that it's New Day vs. PTP next week for the belts and the winners face the Dudleys at Night of Champions. It was surreal to see E&C and the Dudleys on TV next to the New Day, there were kazoos and a trombone, it was silly and generally all around enjoyable. New Day continues to be the highlight of Raw each and every week.

The awful TMZ like video airs again for some godforsaken reason and Summer Rae comes to the ring. She calls out Rusev to apologize to him. She blamed Ziggler, but also seemed to get way into the idea of a naked Dolph. Rusev accepted her apology and called her submissive. Ziggler showed up and Rusev called him a bad boyfriend for not being at Lana's side, now that she's injured. Dolph superkicks him and Rusev scurries with Summer. Overall, this was pretty dull, but Rusev continues to be the only relatively enjoyable thing about this entire program.

Up next, it's match number 121 in the never ending series between Orton & Sheamus. As usual, they have a match that is technically fine, but it's just there. There isn't much effort and it isn't very good. Orton wins with an RKO. Why couldn't Cesaro, who needs the win a million times more than Orton, have beaten Sheamus on Smackdown? Did Orton need this? Then, because Orton was talking with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns backstage, the Wyatt Family show up to take him out to avoid him being Ambrose and Reigns' partner at Night of Champions. So they beat up Orton but Ambrose and Reigns don't care enough to show up and try to help him. They pulled their best "John Cena" and didn't help their friend.

The Dudley Boyz appeared next for a tag team match against Los Matadores. They worked a short match, which is good since Matadores are a team going nowhere. For some reason, a Matador randomly attacks El Torito, so the Dudleys come in and put him through a table. I'm pretty sure Torito will still be Los Matadores this Friday since creative can't keep something going. Speaking of things not continuing, remember that Cesaro push we seemed to be headed towards? Well, it doesn't seem like we are. The crowd popped for him as he faced the Miz. Now, Miz plays a great cowardly heel and isn't in the midst of a push, so this should be a win for Cesaro. Easy booking right? Wrong. Big Show shows up to ruin things, we get a fucking double countout, so Cesaro can't even roll inside and win by countout while Show chases Miz. Then, to top things off, Big Show knocks out Cesaro. Why? What the fuck was this? 

Team Bella shows up to cut a promo about the party that will take place after Nikki breaks the record. It will be a "Bellabration." Sheesh. This brings out Team PCB and Charlotte says that her title match has been moved up to next week, where she can stop Nikki from breaking the record. They brawl and she makes Nikki tap to the figure eight. This was short, to the point and built to the match next week. I do think that they should have the clock on the tron during the match and have it tick down, adding some tension to it. That could be really good.

The main event was New Day and Rollins facing John Cena and the Prime Time Players. This was a fun match. Xavier Woods may top my Fave Five this week, purely for his trombone antics at ringside. He made this a million times better than it actually was. I thought Seth would take the loss, but instead, they had Cena pin Kofi after an AA. That was a better idea and still sold Seth being upset at two losses. Sting then showed up on the tron and destroyed Seth's statue in a trash compactor. So, after last week's dreadful Raw we get another bad episode. The only good thing was the New Day. Everything else was either average, bad or flat out completely dumb. Creative's lack of direction or ability to keep something going really hurts this show on a weekly basis. At least there are two matches for next week's "Season Premiere" that should be fun, but this was a lifeless episode. 3/10

Fave Five 8/31/15-9/6/15

1) Team AAA: Similar to Zack Sabre Jr. topping my list recently, another tournament winner on the indies headlines it this time around. Chikara's King of Trios Tournament is usually a fun experience and the team representing AAA won the entire thing. Their unit consisted of Aero Star, Drago and Fenix. I don't watch much AAA, but during my time watching Lucha Underground, I really liked Drago and Fenix, so this is pretty cool. Not only did the trio go through some of the best Chikara has to offer, but they defeated the Bullet Club (AJ Styles and the Young Bucks) to become the first ever non-Chikara group to win the tournament. That is a pretty historic feat for the these three, especially considering the fact that the Bullet Club team they went over featured three of the bigger names on the independent scene.

2) Ethan Carter III: Admittedly, it was a really slow week for the world of pro wrestling outside of Chikara. Ethan Carter III often gets overlooked when it comes to this list. He, like most TNA Champions, consistently defends his title and it's kind of taken for granted. This week, he retained the title against Matt Hardy. Not only was that a successful defense but he also won the services of Jeff Hardy in the process, making him his personal servant. There are a lot of things wrong with TNA, but EC3 remains the best part of the company. He is probably not going to be looked at when considering the guys who have had the best years because of how TNA is run, but EC3 continues to deliver each and every week.

3) Chad Gable and Jason Jordan: Outside of the New Day, there is no tag team that I like more right now than Chad Gable and Jason Jordan. Their matches have been solid, their promos have been fun and their finisher is simple, but I really like it. This week though, they had their breakout match of sorts. Main eventing NXT as part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic against Neville and Solomon Crowe, Jordan and Gable had probably my favorite match all week long. Gable is so enthralling to watch even when he's just working on the mat, while Jordan has the size and does some impressive things. They had a really good match, advanced in the tournament and honestly, should win the whole damn thing.

4) Bobby Roode: Despite the week being a relatively slow one, there was at least one title change. Just a few weeks after the former Justin Gabriel, PJ Black, won the King of the Mountain Championship in TNA, he lost it this week to Bobby Roode. I don't know much about the reasoning behind the King of the Mountain Championship or what it exactly means, but it is a title victory nonetheless. From what I've heard, this was a very good match, even better than the EC3/Matt Hardy one for the World Championship. The win also adds to Roode's very long list of accomplishments in TNA, as he's practically won everything that you could possibly win in the company.

5) Charlotte: It wasn't booked well and it was one of my least favorite things about Raw this past Monday, but Charlotte did win the Beat the Clock Challenge. The match that she won it in was pretty bad and only lasted 1:40, but she is still now the top contender to Nikki Bella and the Divas Championship. Not only this, but on Smackdown, she defeated Tamina and told Nikki that she is trying to get her title shot moved up to before Night of Champions, so she can try and prevent Nikki from breaking AJ Lee's record reign as Divas Champion. I get the feeling that Paige turns on her and stops that from happening, but still, Charlotte seems next in line.

Random Match Reviews: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Show: G1 Climax 23 Day Four
Date: 8/4/13
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Holy crap. I said that more times than I could count while watching this match. Coming in, I knew these are two dudes that hit very hard but I wasn't prepared for this. I watched on NJPW World with no entrances, so it started with the two men across from each other and a red hot crowd. Right from the bell, they just attack and proceed to spend the next 12 or so minutes just abusing each other. It's violent, it's stiff and it's everything you could want from a match between two badass dudes. There is zero downtime and the food I was eating got cold because I couldn't look away. Seeing both guys kick out at 1 at different times was just great. Knowing how legit their opponent is, both guys just throw any and everything in their arsenal to try and win and it's brilliant. I don't even really know any other words to describe this. Just go watch it. It'll be some of the best 12 minutes you've ever spent.

Match Time - 12:17 *****

Raw History: Episodes 11-12

Raw History

Episode #11

April 5th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in New York City, New York

Vince McMahon and Macho Man welcome the viewers to the show and I’m stoked at the lack of Rob Bartlett.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Virgil

Virgil works Bigelow’s arm in the early stages to “Virgil Sucks” chants. There goes those damn smark New York crowds. Virgil tries a dropkick to the knee or something but he just ends up laying under Bigelow. He tries a crucifix but Bigelow drops back and slams him. Vince McMahon reminds everyone that Lex Luger knocked out Bret Hart with his forearm before WrestleMania but this angle went absolutely nowhere. We are also told that Rob Bartlett is still in Las Vegas because he lost everything gambling. I really hope he’s gone for good. Bigelow is boring us as he works over Virgil. Virgil rallies but the crowd doesn’t care as he hits a missile dropkick. He tries a cross body but Bigelow wisely dodges and nails the headbutt to finish it.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 6:58

They tried to make this competitive but it was boring and the crowd wasn’t behind Virgil at all. *

Jerry Lawler comes out to make his in ring debut but as he berates the fans, they respond with “Burger King” chants. He gets upset and walks out. Cutting to the back, Mean Gene is with Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna. Mr. Fuji is somehow filing a complaint because Hulk Hogan beat Yokozuna in a match that wasn’t scheduled. YOU CHALLENGED HIM YOU IDIOT!

Bob Backlund vs. Kim Chee

This should be rough as its two guys that I’m not a fan of. Chee uses a cheap shot to gain the early advantage and Backlund seems like a terrible person to have on the roster as a plucky babyface. He gets two with a body slam and goes to a chin lock. Backlund ends up wrapping Chee into a strange roll up for the win.

Winner: Bob Backlund in 3:56

Boring. Kim Chee did all of the offense and then Backlund got a roll up. DUD.

Damien Damento vs. “Jumping” Jim Brunzell

I don’t understand this match. Rob Bartlett makes it worse by calling in and saying that he blew all of his money in Las Vegas and can’t make it back to Raw. Damento isn’t the kind of guy you want to see getting victories on TV and the Killer Bees were a thing of the past here. Brunzell gets a near fall with a small package and then another with a sunset flip. Vince sells the encore of WrestleMania and I’ve always wondered how well those encores sold. I believe I hear a smatter of “boring” chants and I’d have to agree. Brunzell hits a dropkick but Damento gets his foot on the ropes. Damento is instantly up and nails a neckbreaker before dropping a knee to win.

Winner: Damien Damento in 5:00

What the fuck was this doing on television and why did it last five minutes? Also, how do you win with a knee drop? Whatever. DUD.

Jerry Lawler goes to come out for his match again, but decides against it.

The Beverly Brothers vs. The Steiner Brothers

Scott and Bo start, with Scott gaining a clear upper hand. Bo then uses some underhanded tactics to even things up but a tag goes to the other Beverly. I still forget their names and can’t tell them apart. Rick and Scott work a short double team before Scott nails an overhead belly to belly for two. The Beverly Brothers, because they are heels, use a cheap shot to turn things back in their favor before the commercial. Vince calls Scott one of the strongest individuals in the WWF…if he only knew what Scott would become. Scott works as the face in trouble until a sloppy tilt a whirl slam. He makes the tag and Rick takes out Blake. Ah, so that’s the other Beverly’s name. Scott eventually is tagged back in for the Frankensteiner and it’s over.

Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 8:58

Decent tag team match. The Beverly Brothers were more competitive than I expected but the match was still kind of boring. *1/2

Jerry Lawler vs. Jim Powers

Is this some sort of special night where guys from the 80’s appear? Jim Powers attacks before the bell to make sure the match starts. Lawler gets a breather while having “Burger King” chants rain down on him. Lawler complains outside for a bit and when he gets in the ring, Powers takes control. King does a lot of stalling and this is dull but Jerry is drawing a TON of heat. Powers has been surprisingly strong throughout, getting most of the offense. Jerry jaws with Macho Man throughout and wins with the Piledriver.

Winner: Jerry Lawler in 6:47

Terrible. A lot of stalling from Jerry Lawler and Jim Powers isn’t engaging enough to interest me. DUD.

Jerry Lawler continues to badmouth Macho Man and the fans after his match.

Overall: 1.5/10; Horrible. Just not a good show. Coming off of a WrestleMania, no matter how disappointing that show is, should be kind of a big deal. Instead we got dull matches and barely any storyline development. No Bret Hart, no Mr. Perfect, no Lex Luger, no WWF Champion. All bad.

Raw History
Episode #12
April 12th, 1993 – Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York

The show opens with a shot of Money Inc. paying off the Beverly Brothers for scouting information about the Steiner Brothers. I appreciated this as it was a cool way to show off Money Inc.’s gimmick and wisely play up last week’s Steiners/Beverly Brothers match.

Vince McMahon, Macho Man and dammit, Rob Bartlett is back, are our commentary team. FRIAR FERGUSON DEBUTS TONIGHT!

IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Scott Steiner w/ Rick Steiner
This should prove to be interesting. IRS is one of the more dull workers that I can remember, while Scott was pretty great in the early 90’s. That’s exactly how this starts as IRS tries to work a methodical pace but just gets power slammed by Scott to a pop. Scott starts to work the arm and it strangely looks like IRS is smiling. Steiner gets a near fall with a suplex as IRS stalls outside. Being excellent heels, Ted Dibiase gets in a cheap shot on Scott outside, leading to a faceoff with Rick before commercial. Returning, IRS is the guy in charge. The “Irwin” chant bugs the hell out of me. It just makes the match seem even duller. Rob Bartlett goes to speak, only to be cut off instantly. IRS stupidly tries a top rope move that Vince wisely plays off as something the Beverly Brothers may have advised him off. It fails, leading to Scott’s offense. He is about to win when Ted Dibiase runs in and causes the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Scott Steiner in 12:30
Acceptable opening contest. The crowd was hot for Scott Steiner and it was two recognizable faces. It was rather dull, because that’s an IRS match for you, but still. *½

A brawl ensues, and the Beverly Brothers appear to join in, but they end up getting taken out too. Money Inc. ends up upsetting the Beverly Brothers, who challenge them, but the champs back down. I’m sorry, but I could never cheer the Beverly Brothers.

Tatanka vs. Von Krus
If you haven’t read my Raw History reviews before, you are probably unaware that Von Krus is Big Vito of WCW and later, WWE fame. Tatanka hits a monkey flip that Krus struggles to get over on. Tatanka is fresh off of beating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania, but not winning the title. Doink comes out to spray water at the kids at ringside. He leaves. Nothing more happens. Tatanka has done all of the offense here. He does his war dance offense and wins with the Samoan Drop in a match that went too long.

Winner: Tatanka in 3:59
Total squash, with a random Doink appearance and it went too long. Blah. SQUASH

We get the always classic WrestleMania Report, recapping the events from Las Vegas. Sean Mooney is hosting it. Rob Bartlett conducts an interview with Luna Vachon. For those unaware, Luna made her debut at WrestleMania, accompanying Shawn Michaels to the ring. She talks into the microphone with her trademark raspy voice. I never liked Luna, but she was different and that made her rather valuable. She calls out Sherri, leading to the crowd chanting for “Sherri.” Sherri is here and she comes down to greet Luna. They verbally spar before things get physical. She even takes out Bartlett, instantly making Sherri a favorite of mine. She FUCKING suplexes Luna on the outside. Some dudes wouldn’t even do that spot. Luna takes off her belt and whips her. I swear to you, this is better than most matches I’ve seen on these first few episodes of Raw. Sensational Sherri has her bra showing and Luna has her pants pulled down to reveal her underwear. Let’s be clear, this is A LOT of skin for 1993. It’s separated as we go to commercial. Coming back, Luna runs back out and attacks again.

Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Scotty 2 Hotty has to be the most consistent jobber I see that becomes something down the line. I’ve seen the Hardy Boyz here and there, but Taylor is always around. He tries a dropkick but is swatted like a fly. How much longer is Papa Shango around? As Shango works him over, Rob Bartlett stumbles back out with his clothes ripped. I guess he was in between the Luna/Sherri fight backstage. A shoulder breaker mercifully ends this.

Winner: Papa Shango in 2:24
Exactly what you would expect. SQUASH

Chris Duffy vs. Friar Ferguson
Friar Ferguson is the repackaged Bastion Booger. Or wait, he was Ferguson first. Whatever. Chris Duffy fails miserably on a piledriver attempt and eats a leg drop. During the match, a non-title match is announced for next week between Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers. Friar dancing mid-match, so a small hand from the crowd. Is he a heel? Friar even sticks Duffy’s head into his outfit. A “We want Bret” chant breaks out, and rightfully so since he hasn’t been seen since WrestleMania. Duffy has gotten in zero offense and loses when his sunset flip fails and Friar sits on him.

Winner: Friar Ferguson in 4:22
Another squash that lasted way too long. Who thought this was a good idea? SQUASH

Bret Hart has a special interview next week, as well a match involving Virgil. Vince might have said against who, but I missed it and don’t care enough to rewind. Money Inc. trash talks the Beverly Brothers backstage, when they show up and attack. A brawl ends the show. I still am not sure why it’s so “heated.”

Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. Another Raw with not much forward angle advancement. The Steiners moved closer to an eventual Tag Team Title shot, but the Beverly Brothers getting involved was useless. We still haven’t seen Bret Hart or the Undertaker since WrestleMania, and the former was just the WWF Champion. Instead we had to sit through Friar Ferguson.

Samckdown 9/3/15 Review

With a new work schedule, I should have the time to do one of these Smackdown Reports weekly now. We get off to my kind of start as the New Day show up with their hilarious signs, including one that says #Booty. Comedy. They cut a promo about how much tables need to be saved. "We wouldn't be where we are today without the support of good, hard working, tables." These guys are phenomenal. This brings out the Dudley Boyz, who remind the New Day of what they did to Xavier when they returned. The Prime Time Players show up, telling the Dudleys they need to earn their keep now that they're back. This leads to a tag match between the Dudleys and the PTP. The match is solid, New Day kills on commentary and the Dudley Boyz win. Fun stuff to open the show. This is what I would to see from Smackdown. If they insist on not putting important main event angle advancement, use it to allow the midcard and tag division to shine.

After the opener, Kofi Kingston runs in the ring to slap D-Von in the back of the head. That's it. He ran away after. While they celebrate backstage, they get word they face Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns tonight. Stardust comes out next for what looks like a match with Neville. However, the Ascension run out and attack Neville. Stardust calls them his cohorts and, after they hit the Fall of Man, he welcomes Neville to the "Cosmic Wasteland." I may not be the biggest Ascension fan but I love this. It gives them something to do and if Stardust is going to be a good supervillain, he needs henchmen. Next up, Cesaro faces Sheamus. These two had one of my favorite matches about a year ago at Night of Champions. This wasn't quite on that level, but it was still a good old fashioned hard hitting match. Sheamus won clean, which is fine since he's Mr. Money in the Bank, but Cesaro needs to rack up some wins soon. He has to have one of the worst win/loss records in the WWE. We then go to Miz TV, with Dolph Ziggler and Lana. Miz actually brings out Summer Rae, who blames Dolph for everything. Dolph and Lana show up as Dolph tries to explain what happened. Summer believes in continuity as she directs us to the tron for a video of Dolph and Summer kissing on Raw last year. Lana attacks Summer, they brawl and the segment ends. Pretty bad stuff here. The lack of Rusev, the best thing about this program, definitely showed.

There's a Bo Dallas/R-Truth match. It's short and kind of just there. They also recap Bo's trip to Suplex City recently. After a recap of the bad Beat the Clock stuff from Raw, Team PCB is interviewed until Team Bella interrupts. Charlotte tells Nikki that she put in a petition to get her shot before NIkki breaks the record for longest Divas Champion. Charlotte then competes against Tamina. Has Tamina won more than 10 matches in her career? Well, she loses here again as Team BAD continues to look like jokes and we need to drop the team thing in general. Going backstage again, Kevin Owens is interviewed. He brags about beating Cesaro twice before saying something along the lines of "it's feeding time" or "feed me more". I don't remember. It looks like we may get Owens/Ryback at Night of Champions.

Time for the main event, as the New Days takes on  two thirds of the former Shield. I felt like this was a solid main event, but considering the people involved, I thought I would enjoy it more. I'm glad the champions didn't straight up lose, as Xavier Woods jumped in to cause the disqualification. After the match, the faces take out New Day and call out the Wyatt Family. They appear on the tron and Bray cuts a promo to close things out. I rather enjoyed this episode of Smackdown. The New Day, Stardust and Cesaro/Sheamus stuff was good. The Bo Dallas, Miz TV and Divas stuff, not so much, but I liked that there was focus on the lesser feuds. Solid, fun episode. 6/10.

Random Match Reviews: Alex Shelley vs. Prince Devitt

Show: Best of the Super Juniors Finals
Date: 6/9/13
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Decided to give this a watch since I've become a fan of Finn Balor and have always loved Alex Shelley. The Bullet Club get evened out by Shelley having KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan and Hiroshi Tanahashi in his corner. I liked how they worked slow early and Devitt targeted an apparent injury from Shelley. The Bullet Club get in their cheap shots throughout, but it grows tiresome quickly. In the middle of the match, a massive brawl ensues between the sides, leading to them getting ejected. The idea in theory is great, but it takes far too long to execute, taking away from the match. Once it's down to the two men, it works well, with Shelley playing the resilient babyface. I do think that in the end, they overdo it on the near falls, having Shelley kick out of damn near everything before finally falling to a brainbuster. Really good match that had the potential to be so much more if it wasn't marred by interference and an overabundance of near falls in the end. 

Match Time - 18:25 ***¾

NXT Report 9/2/15

A short video opens the show, telling us that we are going to celebrate Dusty Rhodes with the start of the Tag Team Classic tonight.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: The Ascension vs. Baron Corbin and Rhyno

Many people may have forgotten, but the Ascension held the NXT Tag Team Titles for nearly a year and are over as fuck in Full Sail. Rhyno starts against Viktor, with Viktor busting out a rolling shoulder block. Tags to Corbin and Konnor, the bigger members of each team. To take Corbin down, the Ascension use a double shoulder block. The crowd “Yahs” with each stomp that Konnor does. “One more yah” chant but Corbin rolls away from the kick only to be sent back in and stomped. Finally, Corbin and Rhyno are able to gain some traction when Viktor takes the LOD Hawk spot and goes shoulder first into the ring post. Rhyno and Corbin work him over with some quick tags. Corbin hits a big Bossman slam but only gets two. Both guys make the tag and Konnor comes in rather hot. It’s interesting to see them working as faces. Konnor flapjacks Rhyno and they call for the Fall of Man but Corbin breaks it up. This allows Rhyno to Gore Konnor and win.

Winners: Baron Corbin and Rhyno in 5:36
Perfectly acceptable match here. They played to the crowd being into the Ascension, worked quickly and accomplished what they needed to. **1/2

Devin Taylor interviews another team in the Dusty Classic, Neville and Solomon Crowe. Neville puts over what Dusty meant to him and Crowe is excited about being partnered with someone as good as Neville. Neville seems weirded out by Crowe’s level of excitement.

An ad airs to promote the NXT UK tour in December.

A Nia Jax vignette is shown.

Alexa Bliss vs. Blue Pants

Blue Pants continues to be incredibly over. Alexa Bliss attacks right at the bell, firing away on Blue Pants. Alexa goes to work on the arm, stopping to try and humiliate her at every chance. Alexa talks smack in between nearly every move and hits a nice kick to the back at one point. Blue Pants starts to rally, getting two on a Northern lights suplex. She charges into the corner but misses and Alexa trips her up. She hits a backflip knee drop before climbing up top. Sparkle Splash hits to end things.

Winner: Alexa Bliss in 3:31
Alexa Bliss still needs tons of work when it comes to in ring ability, but she is nailing her bitchy role. Standard match from them. *

William Regal is talking backstage to Johnny Gargano and Toamasso Ciampa. Tyler Breeze interrupts and wants a partner for the Dusty Tag Team Classic. Regal says that Gargano and Ciampa are the hottest free agents. Next week, they will face Breeze and Bull Dempsey. Breeze is pissed about the partner but says that he will win regardless.

A recap is shown of Emma’s win in the fatal four way match last week. Emma is interviewed after the match, reminding everyone that the “Divas Revolution” started with her.

Apollo Crews vs. Martin Stone

Apollo Crews is already pretty over. Stone gets in some quick stuff but then Apollo hits a sweet dropkick and arm drag. Stone comes back with a nice clothesline and works a wear down hold. Crews hits an enziguri and a corner splash. His flying clothesline is impressive as this dude is absurdly athletic. He hits a gorilla press followed by a standing moonsault to win.

Winner: Apollo Crews in 2:57
The kind of squash match that I enjoy. Martin Stone didn’t look incompetent, but Crews got to get in his stuff. *1/2

Devin Taylor interviews Jason Jordan and Chad Gable about their match against Neville and Solomon Crowe. They are confident that they aren’t the underdogs.

After a commercial, Devin Taylor interviews Finn Balor about defending his title on the upcoming Texas shows. He looks forward to being there for the big shows in Texas. She then asks him about the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and introduces Finn’s partner, Samoa Joe. Joe wants to win and they shake on it.

Eva Marie vs. Billie Kay

Eva gets free of Billi quickly and blows a kiss so Billie just big boots her for two. Eva comes back with shoulder thrusts and gets two on a suplex. She goes to her rest hold with piss poor facial expressions again. Billie counters into a small package for two. Eva shoudler blocks her down and hits a senton for two. She goes back to the same hold but Billie fights back, hitting some clotheslines. She slam/suplexes Eva and the referee should have counted three because Eva didn’t kick out. instead, he stops and she just gets up. The crowd shits all over this. She just then hits her finish.

Winner: Eva Marie in 3:43
That was awful. The crowd wasn’t hating it but that botch was terrible. 1/4*

We see an interview with Enzo, Big Cass and the Hype Bros after their win last week. They put over the New York crowd and all seem weirded out by Mojo’s hypeness. They argue about where to hang out in NY.

Next week, the Lucha Dragons face Balor and Joe.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Chad Gable and Jason Jordan vs. Neville and Solomon Crowe

Chad Gable starts with Solomon Crowe and they go to the mat. That’s a mistake if you’re Crowe because Gable is awesome there. The fans chant for Neville as Crowe and Gable work. Neville tags to a pop and works over Gable. Jordan then gets tagged and goes to the mat with Neville. Neville goes into a string of offense and they send the heels outside for a commercial. Returning, Jordan hits a sweet belly to belly on Crowe, who is playing the face in peril. As Crowe is outside and being counted out, Jordan fans Gable with his towel, which is great. Crowe rolls back in at the count of eight. Neville looked a bit annoyed by this. Jordan and Gable working over Crowe is fun since Gable is one of those guys that works the mat but makes it entertaining as hell. Crowe finally makes the hot tag. Neville flies in and does some of his enthralling offense. He hits everything moving and sets for the Red Arrow. Gable pulls Jordan out to save him though. Neville just says fuck it and moonsaults onto Jordan followed by Crowe diving onto Gable. Neville springboards in but Jordan catches him and launches him in a flapjack variation. As Neville kicks Jordan, Crowe tags himself in and hits a running knee. His next move is countered into a sick belly to belly from Jordan. The tag to Gable and they nail their awesome finisher to advance.

Winners: Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in 9:40
A really fun tag team match here. Gable and Jordan has really meshed as a team and have future champs written over them. They’re like the World’s Greatest Tag Team, with more charisma. At least Gable is. The tension between Neville and Crowe was well played too. ***1/4

Beat the Clock Raw Review

To give us something different, Raw kicked off with an opening promo from Sting. It's cool to see Sting on Raw and he spoke with passion, giving the impression of a good promo. But to me, it wasn't. Instead of talking about how much he wanted to win the WWE Title, the only top title he's never held, he instead talked about the respect he gained for Triple H at WrestleMania, even though it was an atrocious match that saw nothing get resolved. He then proceeded to verbally blow Triple H, while putting down Seth Rollins and saying he's half the man HHH is. That's so weird. Why would you build the Seth/Sting program around Sting's newfound man love for Triple H? I understand that it may be building to a Seth/HHH rivalry but still, this is all so damn odd and not in a fun way.

Our opening contest was the SummerSlam rematch between Dolph Ziggler and Rusev. Similar to their match at the PPV, it's a good contest but nothing special. After almost fifteen minutes, things end when Ziggler gets close to a win, only for Summer Rae to jump on him and cause the DQ. This of course leads to a catfight between Lana and Summer Rae. The highlight of this was some Lama booty. After the match, Dolph is interviewed and goes to his locker room, only for Summer to sneak in after. Back to the ring, Team Bella is there and Nikki reveals a "Bella Tron" that will countdown to her becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion. The Beat the Clock challenge begins to determine her next challenger. Becky Lynch is up first and makes Alicia Fox tap out in 3:21. I've never been a fan of the Beat the Clock challenge. I mean, you get a shot simply because you won a match faster? Also, what if you lose? Does the person who beat you get nothing? Continuing the shit Ziggler/Rusev/Summer/Lana angle, as Ryback is being interviewed we see Summer run out of Dolph's room and he comes out in just a towel, nearly exposing himself. DRAMA! There hasn't been enough Rusev in this angle tonight and he's the best thing about it.

An Intercontinental Title match followed as Ryback defended the gold against Big Show. The Miz is commentary, making me wonder why this feud is still going. It didn't happen at Battleground due to Ryback's injury, wasn't really worth it at SummerSlam and should be over. They put in a good effort but nobody really cared about it. Ryback won after a distraction from the Miz. The Beat the Clock Challenge continued next as Charlotte took on Brie Bella. Brie tries to stall because I guess Nikki thinks Becky is an easier challenge than Charlotte. Charlotte wants none of that and handily beats Brie in 1:40. Yup. The girl that faced Stephanie McMahon in a high profile match last year, loses in under two minutes here.

Next, we got, you guessed it, another SummerSlam rematch as Kevin Owens faced Cesaro. Honestly, I think it's impossible for these two guys to have a bad match, especially against each other. I understand they're doing the double champion thing with Seth, but I still wish this program here was for the US Title. Kevin Owens wins a good match but something is missing from this for them to have that great standout match. Still, this singles match has been the highlight of the show by far. Backstage, Lana is upset that Summer saw Dolph naked. Girl, I can use Google and see you naked anytime I want, don't be mad. Next, it's time for the debut of Braun Strowman. Bray cuts a pre-match promo thanking Sister Abigail for him and hyping him up. He faced Dean Ambrose and pretty much kicked his ass for three minutes. To be fair, it wasn't like it made Dean look bad since even Roman Reigns got his ass kicked. Strowman won via DQ because he shoved Reigns at ringside, who shoved back. Braun then proceeded to pretty much kill the former Shield members with his submission move. This was also pretty well done considering it helped get the new Wyatt over. There's probably a countdown until Bray loses his next big match though.

Time for the final Beat the Clock match as Paige faced Sasha Banks. The only positive about this is that Sasha got the full entrance with her theme music. Paige hits the RamPaige early on but Team BAD pulls Sasha out of the ring, Paige brings her in but time expires. That's it. Charlotte really earned that title shot eh? Instead of giving us something meaningful, Sasha and Paige go for less than two minutes and the other matches were short too. It's like, because the Brooklyn crowd shit on the long match last week, they tried to do the opposite here but this didn't work either. Give us something to care about and stop shoving it down our throats that this is a DIVAS REVOLUTION. If you tell us that all of the time, it's not organic. Anyway, it would have been interesting if Sasha beat Paige here and, by virtue of her win over NIkki, made the upcoming title match a triple threat match. Also, Paige seemed frustrated and may eventually turn on her team.

I was expecting the Dudley Boyz to take on the New Day at a PPV, but it happened here. At least it was non-title, but it seems like a waste to give it away here. New Day cut another fantastic promo before the match, talking about how they want to save the tables. They even bring out the "last" table in the arena and it's in bubble wrap. Also, Xavier Woods has his hair out and it's glorious. The match itself was fun because the Dudleys are the Dudleys and everything New Day touches turns to gold. The Dudleys win and after the match, the Dudleys try to break the table but New Day escapes. The Prime Time Players were on commentary, making me believe we get a triple threat at the Night of Champions.

Seth Rollins came out to close the show and call out Sting. He mentions that he is just as good as Triple H, which brings out Stephanie. Sure, why not make yet another angle about Stephanie and Triple H? She is all pissed because the top guy thinks he's as good as her husband. Seth makes a good point and says that when Triple H was on top, he believed he was as good as Ric Flair. That shuts Steph up and again, instead of Sting, we get John Cena. He cuts the typical Cena promo where he calls his opponent all sorts of juvenile names, making him look bad. In the end, it's going to be Cena vs. Seth at NOC for the US Title, so Seth will pull double duty. Sting then finally appeared...to appear atop the stage and pose with Cena. Man, this episode of Raw sucked hard. The only thing that really stuck out as good to me was the Cesaro/Owens match, how good they made Strowman look and the New Day antics. Other than that, things were either bad (Ryback/Show, the Lana/Ziggler/Rusev/Summer angle) or straight up disappointing (Sting's stuff, the Beat the Clock). 2.5/10.

Fave Five 8/24/15-8/30/15

1) Zack Sabre Jr.: For a while now, I've heard a ton about Zack Sabre Jr. However, I haven't been able to see as much of him as I'd like. I did see his two matches with Roderick Strong this year and both were phenomenal. This weekend, Sabre won PWG's Battle of Los Angeles, defeating talents such as Ricochet, the awesome Pentagon Jr. and Marty Scurll before moving onto the finals where he then bested Chris Hero and "Speedball" Mike Bailey. As I said earlier, I haven't seen much from Sabre or PWG, but from what I've read, both Hero and Bailey have had great years for the company as well, so it was three great guys to have in the end. Sabre winning allows him to top the list this week and I could honestly see him being the guy to defeat Roderick Strong in their rubber match and win the PWG Championship. I also do realize that the image I used of him is from Evolve, but I was pressed for time.

2) The Dudley Boyz: While I'd consider most of Raw to be a fun show, it was the first hour that stole the show. The highlight, after New Day's trombone led rendition of "New York, New York", was the return of the Dudley Boyz. Bubba Ray and D-Von returned, beat up the Tag Team Champions, put Xavier Woods through a table and then went face to face with the former champions, the Prime Time Players. Adding to that, they went and won their return match against the Ascension on Smackdown. Not only was it amazing that they managed to keep this as a surprise in this day and age, but the return is a shot in the arm to the tag team division and the Dudley are not guys that are far past their prime, putting on good performances in recent years.

3) Sting: Even with the return of the Dudley Boyz, Sting appearing on Raw may have been the biggest news of the week. Without many major accomplishments or performances this week, I can put a guy like Sting here. To close out Raw, Sting made his return for the first time since WrestleMania season and targeted Seth Rollins. It was then announced on the WWE Network that Seth demanded a match with Sting at Night of Champions. Granted, I think the idea of Sting losing to Triple H at Mania, shaking his hand and then coming out just to get a shot isn't the best move, but I'm excited to see Seth face Sting and it should be a ton of fun.

            4) The New Day: People really need to understand just how entertained I am by the New Day each week. They've quickly gone from being just another tag team early in their run, to being must see television. The new two time Tag Team Champions successfully defeated the Lucha Dragons on Raw, after a phenomenal entrance that featured Xavier Woods playing the trombone, Big E and Kofi Kingston parodying "New York, New York", and the words "fleek" and "booty." They are magnificent. Then, they were involved in a high profile moment with the Dudley Boyz that has been talked about by pretty much everyone. To continue their run, they were again comical on Smackdown with #GiveTablesaChance and Booty signs to protest the return of the Dudleys. Also, if you haven't seen it yet, check out their interview with Michael Cole from wwe.com or the YouTube page. Comedy gold.

5) Jax Dane: Here we have a guy that I know next to nothing about, but he has to make the list because of his accomplishment this week. Jax Dane was able to wrestle the NWA Heavyweight Title from Hiroyoshi Tenzan. I saw Tenzen compete in the G1 Climax this year and he tried, but was pretty banged up and it affected his performances. Considering this, I think it makes sense to move the title to someone healthy. Judging by some research that I've done, he's had tons of success in NWA since debuting in 2012, winning the NWA Tag Team, North American and National Titles before his win of the big one. Granted, the NWA Title isn't as prestigious as it once was, but this is still a win worthy of making the list.

Raw History: Episodes 9-10

Raw History

Episode #9

March 15th, 1993 | Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York

So Monday Night Raw leaves the Manhattan Center for the very first time. They don’t go far as they’re still in New York, but in Poughkeepsie. Commentary is Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon and Rob Bartlett dressed as Vince McMahon. I fully expect Bartlett to annoy me but I absolutely adore the tandem of Heenan and Monsoon. The real Vince and Macho Man are accepting some award somewhere so they aren’t here.

Razor Ramon vs. Russ Greenberg
Russ Greenberg gets tossed around and hit with a fallaway slam before applying the abdominal stretch. Razor loved that move for some reason. It’s clear in this match that Razor is starting to become popular, which would lead to his face run soon. Razor ends it with the Razor’s Edge.

Winner: Razor Ramon in 3:02
Your basic good old fashioned squash. Razor looked good and had the crowd behind him. SQUASH

LA Gore vs. Typhoon
LA Gore looks absolutely ridiculous. Not only is he in strange ring gear, but he has a full mullet and mustache. He applies a headlock and smiles like it’s his first offensive maneuver. Bartlett is BEYOND annoying as Vince McMahon right now. Typhoon squashes Gore, literally, and wins.

Winner: Typhoon in 2:57
Another total squash. SQUASH

Bobby Heenan is in the ring as he is set to interview Harvey Whippleman and the Giant Gonzalez. Whippleman, I think I’m spelling that right, hypes up Gonzalez as a viable threat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Sure he is Harvey.

We then cut to a WrestleMania promo that totally hypes up Hulk Hogan over the WWF Title match. Not surprising at all.

Bob Backlund vs. Papa Shango
Two guys I don’t care about at all. Backlund works the arm at the start as Bartlett has reached all new levels of annoying. How Heenan and Gorilla had the strength to not knock him out is beyond me. I can’t even focus on the match and nether can commentary as Gorilla had to shout “STOP” at Bartlett. Shango uses the ropes for leverage on a rest hold and now I’m distracted by Mike Chioda’s mullet. Despite being dominated for the entire match, Backlund uses a small package to earn the win.

Winner: Bob Backlund in 6:58
From what I saw, this was your basic match. The crowd wasn’t that into it and neither guy did anything special. It was hard to concentrate due to the AWFUL commentary from Bartlett. *

The WrestleMania Report is brought to us by Gene Okerlund, who informs us that WrestleMania IX will be the “World’s Biggest Toga Party.” We get promos from Money Inc. and The Undertaker.

The Headshrinkers vs. The Nasty Boys
I have no idea where Afa is. The Nasty Boys and Headshrinkers trade double team work in the early stages. For not being the best workers, the Nast Boys have great chemistry and play to their strengths. The Headshrinkers end up in control, working over Saggs until a missed headbutt from Samu allows Knobbs to get the hot tag. He comes in on fire and takes down both opponents. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Things spill outside and all four guys brawl to the concession area. Fatu and Knobbs throw food on each other as the bell rings.

Double Countout in 9:01
Much like the Backlund/Shango match, this was basic stuff. The brawl to end was fun though. *3/4

Overall: 1/10; Poop. This episode totally blew. Nothing about it was good or relevant. Razor hasn’t even been booked for WrestleMania but got a squash. Typhoon is going nowhere, yet got a squash. Backlund/Shango was boring and the main event also has no relevance on WrestleMania. Bartlett was BEYOND TERRIBLE on commentary, the matches weren’t good and didn’t build towards WrestleMania at all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raw History

Episode #10

March 22nd, 1993 | Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

We return to the Manhattan Center with hopes that Raw can bounce back from its worst episode so far. An interesting note is that this episode clocks in at only 36 minutes, which is about ten minutes shorter than usual. Commentary is back to Vince McMahon, Macho Man and Rob Bartlett.

The Bushwackers vs. Damien Demento and Repo Man
The Bushwackers take a while to appear and it’s because they are up on the second deck of the crowd with the fans. It’s pretty cool but I have no clue how they were allowed to lick fans. Trademark Bushwackers shenanigans are in order with biting and taunting. Repo Man is in terrible shape. Demento and Repo Man work the heel stuff by distracting the ref and getting in cheap shots. Butch gets the mild tag and comes in to hit a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Things are awkward for a bit until the Bushwackers win.

Winners: The Bushwackers in 5:28
Dull and odd. The Bushwackers have terrible offense and Repo Man and Demento were not a real team so they had no chemistry. The heels seemed to mail it in too. DUD

Reno Riggins vs. Tatanka
Finally, a match that actually involves someone doing something at WrestleMania. Reno Riggins is wearing cheetah print trunks, white boots and no knee pads. It looks ridiculous. He locks in a sleeper hold but Tatanka breaks it quickly and chops him a bunch. A big powerslam and all Tatanka offense ends this.

Winner: Tatanka in 3:30
Basically all Tatanka. SQUASH

A short tribute to Andre the Giant is shown as he is going to be the first inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame.

Non-Title Match
Jess and John Armstrong vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc.
Are John and Jess members of the famous Armstrong wrestling family? No. I don’t expect this to last long. Bartlett has a second, smaller monitor and is flipping through channels to laugh at the “competition”. Money Inc. is dominating as one would expect. The Armstrongs have the jobber look down perfectly. IRS gets the pin in short time.

Winners: WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc. in 3:02
Another squash, but just like the Tatanka one, at least it involved people heading to WrestleMania. SQUASH

WrestleMania Report time and it’s brought to us by ICOPRO. YOU GOTTA WANT IT! No new news is given out here.

Doink vs. Kamala w/ Slick
Kamala not using Slick’s “Jive Soul Bro” theme is a travesty. Doink has a gift with him but it’s just for distraction. His green wig is more of a straight afro tonight and he quickly applies a submission. It’s awesome how methodical Doink was. He continues to work Kamala with slow holds for a while. Kamala chases Doink outside, who offers him the gift. Kamala opens the empty gift but the distraction allowed Doink to get in and win via Countout.

Winner via Countout: Doink in 5:59
The best match of the night but that’s not saying much. Doink is damn good but this wasn’t special. *3/4

Doink tries to attack Kamala with a chair after the match but is outsmarted and chased by the Ugandan Giant. After they leave, the fat ring girls are by commentary and one makes out with Rob Bartlett. Yuck. They hype up “The March to WrestleMania” this Sunday, which has a better card than most episodes of Raw. Macho Man vs. Yokozuna and The Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. 

Overall: 3.5/10; Not Good. It’s a step up from the previous week but it’s still not good. While the squashes made sense this week, it still wasn’t good wrestling. The opener was awful and, while the main event was decent, it wasn’t enough to save this show. I guess there is no Raw next week as episode 11 aired on 4/5/93 and WrestleMania is on 4/4, which means that WrestleMania IX is next!