Random Network Reviews: Old School 3/6/97

Old School
March 16th, 1997 | Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York

Well, so far I’ve only reviewed one show from the WWE Network’s Old School Vault and it wasn’t very good. What I saw was a dull affair from 1991 where nobody seemed to put in any real effort. Hopefully, the results are different as I see one from one of, if not the best year in pro wrestling history, 1997. This also takes place in my favorite wrestling venue, Madison Square Garden.

The Old School Vault intro video is pretty damn cool. Commentary consists of Jim Ross and Jim Cornette so that should be good. They run down the card, which sounds pretty solid.

Flash Funk w/ the Funkettes vs. The Sultan w/ Bob Backlund and Iron Sheik
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but for those who don’t know, the Sultan is Hall of Famer Rikishi. Flash Funk’s theme plays and stops about four times. The Sultan is offended by Flash’s ridiculous gear, attacking him at the bell. Flash’s theme continues to play in the background. Someone fire the music guy. Flash fights back with some funky moves. Yea, I just did that. Sultan regroups outside and I thought Flash would dive out but he just waits patiently. He stupidly falls for a test of strength but does use his athleticism to get the upper hand. Sultan fires back with a superkick. Sultan gets in more offense before Flash hits a nice splash for two. He goes back up with a 360 leg drop but Sheiky Baby distracts the referee. He goes up again but comes down on Bob Backlund outside. When he goes back in, he tries a hurricanrana but Sultan catches him with a powerbomb. He turns over into the camel clutch and that’s a wrap.

Winner: The Sultan in 7:41
Better than I expected it to be. When I saw Sultan go outside and we got no dive from Flash, I thought they were just going to kill time. Instead, they worked pretty hard and this was decent.**

The Godwins vs. The New Blackjacks
Like the previous match, we get an attack before the bell. The Blackjacks are the heels. The Godwins try a double team and it is super awkward. Henry is supposed to slam Phineas onto Bradshaw, but Phineas sets too early and just strangely hugs Henry. Hank gets two with a suplex. Windham, the veteran on the team, hits a low blow behind the official’s back, turning the tide. During this, commentary hypes the upcoming Four Team Elimination Tag match at WrestleMania. These two teams, Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon and the Headbangers go at it. Sounds like it will suck. Windham hits a nice back suplex for a near fall as they work heat on Phineas because he sucks so hard. Things break down as everyone is in the ring. The Blackjacks misfire on a double team, allowing Henry to slam Bradshaw from the top. He hits a belly to belly suplex for two, while Phineas and Windham brawl outside. He then hits the Slop Drop, but Windham and Bradshaw pull of twin magic after a double axe handle to win.

Winners: The New Blackjacks in 8:09
Went a bit too long for not being very good. Also, how does that finish work when the teammates don’t even look alike? *¼

Dok Hendrix is in the ring and introduces Bret Hart, who has an upcoming Steel Cage match against Sycho Sid. They discuss Bret being on his way to a fifth WWF Title, which was such a huge deal back then. Now, five World Titles is nothing. They promote the upcoming I Quit match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin as well, which would be arguably the best match in WrestleMania history.

Aldo Montoya vs. Crush w/ the Nation of Domination
Why god why? I didn’t even know Aldo Montoya was still even around at this point. The first move of this thing is a damn sleeper hold from Aldo. It’s quickly broken and Aldo hits a much better cross body. Crush does nothing until hitting the Heart Punch and winning.

Winner: Crush in 1:46
Thank goodness this was kept short. Inoffensive. *

The Nation put the boots to Aldo Montoya because they like the Portuguese as little as they like the white man. Ahmed Johnson and his 2x4 run out for the save and he chases off the Nation. We go to what seems like a commercial and when we return, Ahmed is calmly walking out to his theme for a match.

Ahmed Johnson vs. Savio Vega w/ the Nation of Domination
We are taken to footage from Madison Square Garden two months prior where Ahmed Johnson teamed with Savio Vega against Faarooq and Crush. Savio turned on Ahmed that night. Everyone who just ran off walks back out now. Why? Savio cuts a promo before the match and it is fucking awful. Ahmed fakes like he’s joining the Nation but attacks instead. Ahmed starts hot but Savio ends up taking over because Ahmed is the epitome of a hot tag guy. His style doesn’t allow for him to get in much in a match that goes over five minutes. They go to a commercial, since this was broadcast on MSG Network in New York, and when they come back, Savio has a sleeper applied. Ahmed and his wedgie begin to Hulk Up but a missed scissors kick allows Savio to kick him. Crush goes to use the 2x4 but it backfires as Ahmed hits both him and Savio. A spinebuster and Pearl River Plunge follow. The Nation jumps in to cause the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Ahmed Johnson in 6:47
Painfully dull and worthless. Well, it did advance the Ahmed Johnson/Nation feud but it was pretty damn boring. ½*

Faarooq comes out to join in on this beat down, whipping Ahmed Johnson like a government mule.

WWF Tag Team Championship
British Bulldog and Owen Hart (c) vs. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon
British Bulldog is also the current European Champion. Doug Furnas and Owen Hart start with a cool wrestling exchange. Both teams go back and forth for a while, which is fine since all four men are talented workers. I don’t think that Owen and Bulldog get enough credit for good they were as a team. Owen miscues and dropkicks Bulldog off the apron, as they were building towards a split that ended up never happening. After a commercial, the faces are working over Owen. Lafon rolls up Bulldog at one point but Owen distracts the referee. He did all of the little things to be a great heel, while still having an entertaining ring style. Owen gets the tag and nails Lafon with the Enziguri of death for two. Lafon plays the face in peril for a good chunk of time here. Furnas gets the hot tag and suplexes the hell out of Bulldog. He busts out a sweet hurricanrana but Owen breaks the pin. Furnas goes for another suplex, but Owen trips him up and holds the leg, allowing Bulldog to get the three.

Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: British Bulldog and Owen Hart in 11:20
Best match of the night so far. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it featured good tag formula and everyone seemed to actually work hard. Four talented guys who know what they’re doing out there and had the crowd involved. ***

Time for another promo as Ken Shamrock, the special referee in the Submission match at WrestleMania 13 gets interviewed. Or I guess not. After hyping that, we go to a backstage promo with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. Hunter really stuck to the basics here.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Rocky Maivia (c) vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna
I reviewed their match a month prior at In Your House: Final Four for a podcast a while back and it was extremely basic. Their early spots are done to showcase Rocky’s agility as he nips up, leap frogs and snaps off a decent dropkick. As Hunter takes advantage, we go to commercial and Hunter gets a near fall. As I said with his promo, Hunter, at this point in his career, was really doing the very least he could as a heel. You could see that he truly was a student of the game as he utilized all of the little cheap heat things he could. Chyna assists him on an abdominal stretch at one point, though they get caught. Rocky gets knocked outside as Chyna goes to do something but Earl Hebner again catches her. Rocky begins to rally though some fans are chanting “boring”. They do somewhat pop for Rocky’s float over DDT. He goes up top to connect with the cross body but Chyna pulls him off of the pin. Hunter connects on the Pedigree but Goldust runs in to cause a DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 12:45
Like their other matches in this era, this was very standard stuff. Hunter wasn’t very exciting as a heel here and Rocky wasn’t lighting the world on fire as a face. **

Goldust continues the assault until Chyna gets in his face. Marlena runs in and jumps on Chyna’s back until officials break it up. Her top breaks but nothing is seen. After a commercial, Sunny is brought out. She was at a point where she was doing a lot of nothing but was too popular to not be featured. She models a shirt and seems like she’s going to take it off but she doesn’t. She ring announces the next match and is the worst at it.

Faarooq w/ the Nation of Domination vs. Goldust w/ Marlena
Before the bell, Faarooq cuts a promo saying that he won’t wrestle a fairy. Times were certainly different in 1997 weren’t they? Goldust attacks him anyway and we get a slugfest. Goldust barely gets in any offense and it’s boring as hell. Faarooq hits his finisher and wins even though Goldust’s foot is on the ropes.

Winner: Faarooq in 5:23
It’s like nothing happened but it lasted five minutes. This was awful. DUD

Dok Hendrix interviews the WWF Champion, Sycho Sid. He says that he would beat Bret Hart eight days out of the week, before turning his attention to Undertaker. Sid stumbles through this entire thing and it is a fantastic watch.

Casket Match
Undertaker vs. Vader w/ Paul Bearer
Even though Vader’s momentum was stalled in 1996 when Shawn Michaels refused to put him over, he did beat Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. With Undertaker being the top contender for the WWF Title, Vader has a claim to a title shot after if he wins. They trade blows at the bell before Undertaker clotheslines him down. They also had good big man brawls. Undertaker sends Vader outside and he hits the casket on his way out. Undertaker gets a chair and whacks Vader in the back as they go to commercial. Returning, Vader is pounding away as we’re told that Paul Bearer hit Undertaker with the urn. Jim Ross wisely brings up how hot Vader has been after Final Four, in which he had a phenomenal performance. Vader goes to leap from the second rope but Taker catches him with a body slam. He follows with a Chokeslam and the Tombstone. As Undertaker opens the casket, Mankind pops out and puts him in the Mandible Claw. It’s the same spot they ran like ten months prior when Undertaker faced Goldust. Undertaker is placed in the casket and the lid shuts.

Winner: Vader in 5:16
Surprisingly result here and way shorter than I expected. Since it was short, it never dragged and the two big men always work well together. This wasn’t up there with their best, but still pretty solid. **½

Undertaker comes right out and beats up Mankind. Vader doesn’t give a damn as he leaves Mankind to take a beating. Undertaker puts Mankind in the casket and sends the fans home happy.

Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. For a house show, this was pretty good. A lot of the Old School Vault shows tend to feature a ton of guys phoning it in because it’s an untelevised event. Granted, there were some stinkers here but the show moved by quickly and nothing overstayed its welcome. The Tag Team Title match was damn good but everything else only ranged from bad to average. Next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Armageddon 2004!

Top Ten Thursday: Current NXT Performers

Today, we look at my top ten current NXT performers. This list is based on a few different things. One, they have to currently be part of the NXT roster. Two, if you are injured, you are not included (that mainly means Hideo Itami). Lastly, the criteria to choose the ten consists of overall ability and potential for star power in the future.

10. Dana Brooke and Emma

We start the list with a duo of girls that I never expected to click but just work so well. When she debuted in NXT, Dana Brooke was pretty awful. She didn’t seem to know what her character was supposed to be and she was incredibly green in the ring. Meanwhile, Emma is someone that I’ve always liked, but the heel turn was something she absolutely needed. Pairing them together has worked out so much better than expected. Dana has grown into her role, is now serviceable in the ring and is one of the better Divas on the microphone. Emma has really been clicking as of late in her aggressive role heading into the feud with Asuka, improving on promos and has always been really solid in the ring. They’re become a very enjoyable part of the weekly NXT shows and there is potential for a future on the main roster. Dana and Emma play the mean girl role better than the Bella Twins and I could see them filling that slot if or when the Bella Twins are done with wrestling.

9. Baron Corbin 

Similar to Dana Brooke, Baron Corbin came in and didn’t impress much. He was only given very short squash matches that would barely last thirty seconds. It wasn’t until I saw him live in Cleveland and Columbus against Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze that I really started to see something. The fans gave him shit and he just seemed to love the boos. I knew there was a really good heel somewhere in there, which he has been able to bring out lately. The gimmick of a guy that didn’t need the indies and has had successful runs in other endeavors is pretty great. I think they should have gone further with it and had him target guys that were big on the independent scene. Granted he has faced Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews recently, but I still think it would have been sweet if he went after them because of their indy darling status. He is still very much a work in progress in the ring and on the microphone, so while there is potential, there’s still a ways to go.

8. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

 It baffles me that this team has yet to hold the NXT Tag Team Titles. In a division that has mostly been the weak point of NXT, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady have somehow never won the top prize. This is being written before their match at TakeOver: London, where they could very win the titles and make what I’m saying somewhat of a moot point. Not only are they insanely over (just check out the NXT episode from Brooklyn where they were more over than anyone not named Finn, Kevin, Sasha or Bayley), but they’ve improved in the ring. Enzo was among the worst in-ring performers that NXT had a while back though he’s since upped his game. That especially stood out to me at TakeOver: Unstoppable back in May. Carmella has gone from sidekick that nobody liked to one of the more popular females on the roster, while adding something to the duo. With their opening promo, they give off a New Age Outlaws vibe. Honestly, if they can be even half as over as the Outlaws on the main roster, then there is serious money to be made with them. I don’t see either guy as a singles star, so the team should stay together for a long time.

7. Samoa Joe

 Some people are going to find this to be a very low slot for a guy like Samoa Joe. Believe me, I was 100% into Samoa Joe when I first saw him in 2005. The dude was something different and had an aura about him that nobody even came close to matching in the era. Unfortunately, Joe wasted the best years of his career working for TNA. Now, I’m not someone who hates TNA completely, but their handling of Joe was mostly piss poor and it ruined him. By the time he left and signed with NXT, he was just another guy. Now, his heel turn in NXT has seemed to reignite him and lit a fire under his ass, but I just can’t get behind him. It’s like, he’s trying to be the badass that Kevin Owens was back in NXT, but is doing it on a lesser scale in a less impactful way. While I would like to see him on the main roster for some of the matches (especially one against his buddy John Cena), it seems like his deal really only has him working NXT. Combine that with his age and the potential factor takes a big hit. Still, it is pretty cool to see Joe in a WWE ring.

6. Asuka

 Her signing was made out to be a massive deal, with William Regal even calling her the greatest talent NXT had ever inked. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the woman is pretty great. From her debut match against Dana Brooke, it was clear that she was something different. She’ll bust out an armbar from out of nowhere, kick the hell out of her opponent and mock them, all within a minute. Some of her mannerisms aren’t my favorite, but it’s something she can work on. Her in ring work is above pretty much every girl in NXT, so not much work has to be done there. The biggest thing that I think will hold her back is her nationality. Historically, most Japanese Superstars haven’t fared too well in the WWE, partially due to a language barrier. I unfortunately see the same thing happening to Hideo Itami if he gets the main roster call. Personally, I’d pair Asuka with a mouthpiece. Maybe as the first Paul Heyman girl? Have her run over Divas like she’s a female Brock? Just throwing random ideas out but you get the picture.

5. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

 Chad Gable is really good. Like, scary good. He just gets it. The dude has a blend of charisma and technical skill that I haven’t seen come together so effortlessly since Kurt Angle. Jason Jordan was someone that was going absolutely nowhere until he showed up. Now, that’s not because Jordan is lacking skills. Jordan was just missing something and nothing that was done for him had clicked. His chemistry with Gable is off the charts though and they’ve quickly become my favorite team to watch wrestle in all of the WWE. Honestly, outside of reDRagon and New Day, they’re my favorite tag team in the world. On a recent episode of Breaking Ground, Jordan stated that he wanted them to be THE team in the WWE. He wants them to be the ones called if they need a great wrestling match, an entertaining outing and everything in between. That’s absolutely what they should be. Gable and Jordan should be multi-time WWE Tag Team Champions in the near future.

4. Apollo Crews

 After the signing of the “NXT Five”, there weren’t many guys left on the indies that stood out to me. Sure there was Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, Timothy Thatcher and a few others, but it’s a smaller list than it was a few years ago. The former Uhaa Nation might be the biggest pickup since the likes of Owens, Zayn, Balor, Neville and Itami. While Samoa Joe had the bigger name coming in, the sky is the limit for Apollo Crews. He just seems to have it all. He has a look that Vince McMahon and higher ups love, built similar to a Bobby Lashley, while also having the freakish athleticism, wrestling ability and indy background that a lot of the diehard fans love. Win/win. He’s only been in NXT less than four months, but already has two wins on TakeOver shows (again, this is being written before the London show) and has wrestled against Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. Even though his promo work hasn’t wowed anyone, he’s believable and does relatively fine in that department. If he can step up his game in that department, we could very well be looking at the first fully African-American WWE Champion.

3. Bayley

I’m not sure how legit the report was, but a few months ago, I read that Bayley’s “I’m a Hugger” shirt was the best-selling Diva shirt in all of WWE. She wasn’t beating the Bellas or Paige in total merchandise sales, since those girls have about a thousand things on WWE Shop, but the shirt itself was beating their shirts. While Bayley is on in NXT. If the WWE plays their cards right, they are sitting on a gold mine in Bayley. Adults like Bayley because she’s really good in the ring and she reminds a lot of us of our childhood love for pro wrestling. Children like her for many obvious reasons. Honestly, it’s hard to not love the girl. She is already making tons of waves while in NXT, so more exposure could do her wonders. This is all if the main roster handles her right. Keep Bayley similar to how she is now and you’ve got a star. She could very well be the female John Cena in terms of her appeal as a babyface. She’s gotten much more comfortable in talking roles, meaning that she could advance as a public speaker for the company down the line. Simply put, Bayley is money.

2. Finn Balor

 The current NXT Champion was one of the few guys that I pegged as a star almost instantly. Before his debut in NXT, I had never seen Prince Devitt’s work. Obviously, I’ve gone back and done so, but something about Finn Balor just screamed star. Then I saw him debut the paint at TakeOver: R-Evolution and I was sold. Everything about the guy is just so different and it works. No, he’s not the best on the microphone, but neither was a guy named Jeff Hardy and he was the most over guy of the past decade not named John Cena or Daniel Bryan. Finn can connect with people in different ways. Women seem to love him because he’s attractive, men seem to love him because he’s great in the ring and children seem to love him because he’s really cool. He’s made it clear that he isn’t in any rush to make the main roster, instead wanting to be the face of NXT. That’s fine, but you have to think that Triple H knows there is a potential megastar in Finn Balor and they’ll want to squeeze every last cent out of him. If Finn Balor gets the call up, and of course is handled right, watch out.

1. Sami Zayn

 While I didn’t count Hideo Itami because he’s on the shelf, I included Sami Zayn since he’s already  had return vignettes and is scheduled to work the UK Tour, which should have happened by the time this article runs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more natural babyface than Sami Zayn. While John Cena is the clean cut, white meat babyface of the current era, he’s nowhere near as likable as Sami. I don’t even think Daniel Bryan is. Notice how I’ve said that a lot of these guys/girls have potential on the main roster if handled correctly. Sami is one guy that I think will become a star regardless. He’s going to have a Daniel Bryan like effect on the crowd. There’s just something about Sami that infects the fans with joy. If he’s mishandled, the fans will want more because you just have to love Sami Zayn. He has it all. The fantastic wrestling skills, the ability to connect with the fans, a great way of drawing emotion and sympathy from the fans, the facial expressions and mannerisms to be a top babyface and even his promo work is really solid and believable. Barring any more injuries, there is no way in my mind that Sami doesn’t become a star. He’s that good.

Raw History: Episodes 25-26

Raw History
Episode #25
July 12th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York – Attendance: 1,000

We are now a quarter of the way through less than a tenth of the total episodes in Raw history. Sheesh. This was recorded after last week’s live episode.

WWF Championship
Yokozuna (c) w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Crush
I always like it when the WWF Title is defended on Raw, but Crush is not a good choice since he sucks. Since Raw is a place where anything can happen, the fans are pumped. They even sing parts of the National Anthem, which is probably my favorite patriotic chant ever. They do the whole “Yokozuna is too big to be knocked down” stuff for a while, so Crush goes to a corner splash. Vince calls it WHATAMANUEVER! The once hot crowd now dies as Yokozuna moves to a nerve hold but the commercial break is expertly timed. Scratch that, Yokozuna goes back to the nerve hold because it’s the only rest hold he knows. Crush rallies and gets two on a flying shoulder block. This once rabid crowd has died because both guys are pretty awful. Fuji nails Crush in the back with the flag leading to Yokozuna hitting the Banzai Drop.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: Yokozuna in 11:08
This was as boring as I expected. Two bad wrestlers had a bad match. To kill this red hot crowd is a damn shame. ¼*

Yokozuna continues to hit more Banzai Drops on Crush because even he’s offended by his awfulness. Tatanka tries to make the save but gets laid out. Jobbers come to make the save but they get stopped too. Macho Man finally gets in pull Crush out of harm’s way. He’ll come to regret that when they feud next year. Spoiler alert. Crush does a stretcher job, which just makes me hope he’s gone for a while.

The Headshrinkers w/ Afa vs. Aaron Ferguson and PJ Walker
Good for Walker as he’s back to PH after being BJ recently. There’s an “Afa” chant. They drop Walker on his head on a flapjack that nearly killed him. Samu follows with a vicious clothesline. To hype themselves up, the Headshrinkers headbutt each other. They roll the dead Walker to the corner and bring Ferguson in. Bobby Heenan steals the show by saying that Walker could star in Weekend at Bernie’s III. Commentary completely confuses the names of both guys. I seriously think Walker is dead. A splash finishes off Ferguson.

Winners: The Headshrinkers in 3:20
Well goddamn. That was up there with some of the best jobber killings I have ever witnessed. That made this enjoyable. **¼

An ad airs for the Intercontinental Title rematch next week between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty.

Tatanka vs. The Brooklyn Brawler
Tatanka is the biggest TV hog the WWF had at the time. I’m so sick of seeing his matches. The Brawler has been part of the WWF for what has to be like 30 years. Commentary pretty much ignores the match to discuss Yokozuna. Tatanka works the arm until Brawler actually gets in some offense. He chokes Tatanka with his shirt but this is getting WAY more time than it deserves. Tatanka does his little rally and wins with the Samoan Drop.

Winner: Tatanka in 7:09
Boring. I see enough of Tatanka that I can live without a seven minute match against a jobber. His style continues to bore me. ¾*

Before the next match, footage airs of kids hyping Lex Luger. One kid doesn’t shut up and rambles. It sucks.

Mr. Hughes w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Tony DeVito
Tony DeVito is a chubby fella, so it helps that he shed weight during his run with Da Baldies in ECW. Someone walks out with a reef that says “Rest in Peace”. Gee, I wonder who’s behind this. Hughes does a bunch of punches as DeVito puts in more effort bumping then Hughes does in his offense. When he wins with the Bossman Slam, Vince claims that move is reminiscent of the Undertaker. Does he even watch matches?

Winner: Mr. Hughes in 1:52
Mr. Hughes is so awful to watch. I hate his squash matches. ¼*

Mean Gene brings us the SummerSlam Report. The biggest match signed so far is Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler. Way to waste your top guy. Lex Luger is petitioning for a title shot as well. Not much here.

Another MOM promo airs. It’s worse than the first one but the shots of the “hood” make me reminisce about my childhood.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. Scott Amanti
I don’t get the Adam Bomb/Johnny Polo pairing at all. Scott Amanti is tiny, especially compared to Bomb. Bomb throws him around and wins this with a powerbomb, which is an aptly named finisher for him.

Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:14
Better than the Mr. Hughes match but disappointing because I wanted Adam to kill Amanti like the Headshrinkers did to their jobbers earlier. *¼

Next week, we get the King’s Court, which is my least favorite Talk Show segment in wrestling history. However, we also get Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty.

Overall: 2/10; Terrible. Raw has a trend (that will be more evident as time goes on), where it’s a big time match followed by squashes. We kind of get that here but the marquee match sucked hard. The jobber matches weren’t very good either but the Headshrinkers at least had fun in their match. Not one of the better episodes so far.

Raw History
Episode #26
July 19th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York – Attendance: 1200

Back to Raw being live this week. We start with shots of the ridiculous Lex Express. After the opening video, Vince McMahon hypes up the debut of MOM tonight. Yuck.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) w/ Diesel vs. Marty Jannetty
We see footage of Marty Jannetty returning to win the title from Shawn Michaels in this very building nine weeks ago. The crowd is stoked at the prospect of lightning striking twice here. The competitors feed that as Marty counters everything and gets multiple quick near falls that the crowd eats up. After a breather, Shawn gets back in and they work a standoff that’s a precursor to the stuff that we love on the indies. When Shawn misses the Superkick he gets frustrated again. Marty hits a DDT and seems to win but Shawn’s foot is on the ropes. He celebrates with the title even though Bobby Heenan points out the mistake. Vince McMahon just orgasms all over that. During the commercial, the match restarts. Jannetty goes to a sleeper but Shawn gets out and they do a double shoulder block spot. Returning from commercial, Shawn nails a double axe handle before going to the chin lock. I feel like the chin lock should have come during the break. There’s a “Womp there it is” chant going on. Oh, the 90’s. Marty hits a big elbow for two. Shawn tries a powerbomb but Jannetty counters into a hurricanrana for a VERY close near fall. Shawn comes back with a cross body that Marty rolls through for two again. Marty tries a cross body of his own but misses and crashes and burns over and outside. Diesel rolls him inside and Shawn gets the three.

Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 14:20
Really good stuff. Not up to par with their match nine months earlier but I enjoy their chemistry. The finish was a bit anti-climactic though. ***½

Vince McMahon introduces Money Inc. for an interview. They promote their upcoming rematch for the WWF Tag Team Titles while IRS calls people tax cheats. He has just one line and he runs it into the ground. They switch gears to badmouth Razor Ramon, who has now completed his face turn. They offer him a job shining their shoes and such. “Rich mang and tax mang.” I love his terrible Spanish Accent. Ted Dibiase slaps him with money, leading to Razor knocking them out. After Razor leaves, Dibiase challenges the 1-2-3 Kid.

Men on a Mission vs. Rich Myers and Hank Harris
Hearing Vince McMahon get excited for this awful team and their ridiculous outfits is cringe worthy. Also, Oscar somehow thinks that “one” and “mission” rhyme. This is all Men on a Mission but they aren’t very interesting. Mabel squashes one of them to win.

Winners: Men on a Mission in 1:45
For a squash, this wasn’t entertaining in the least. This team sucks and I know we’re going to see a lot of them over time. DUD

SummerSlam Report: Mean Gene dances to the Men on a Mission theme and it’s so bad it’s good. Added to the card, is a WrestleMania IX rematch between the Giant Gonzalez and the Undertaker in a Rest in Peace match. No, we have no clue what that stipulation means.

We now go to a video package for the RIDICULOUS Lex Express, complete with ICOPRO logo. It’s so over the top, I can’t stand it.

Bastion Booger vs. Scott Despres
Bastion Booger clotheslines his opponent before sitting on him. He has quite possibly the worst attire in history. Booger wins in quick and lame fashion.

Winner: Bastion Booger in 1:01
Another dull squash by a terrible wrestler. DUD

An ad for next week shows us that Bam Bam Bigelow will be taking on Bret Hart. Hey, their King of the Ring match ruled, so I’m all for this. We now go to the King’s Court with his guest, Tiny Tim. Mind you, Tiny Tim is from the 60’s. Way to be topical WWF. He’s known for his very high pitched singing while he plays his ukulele. Jerry Lawler gets cheap heat and destroys the ukulele while Tiny Tim cries. Oh my god this was completely pointless.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Chris Duffy
Chris Duffy’s attire is atrocious. He is wearing a black one strap singlet but the butt and knee pads are flower patterned. Kid unloads on him with kicks and gets his stuff in. Money Inc. shows up to scout him, leading to Razor Ramon coming over the guardrail to even the odds. Kid wins in relatively quick order.

Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 2:10
Basic jobber stuff but a bit more enjoyable than usual since Kid is actually entertaining. *½

After the match, the 1-2-3 Kid can’t choose which side to go to since he obviously doesn’t like Money Inc. but still has issues with Razor Ramon so he just leaves through the crowd. Razor and Ted nearly get into it before things come to a close.

Overall: 4.5/10; Below Average. Things got off to such a good start with the hot Intercontinental Title match but fell hard after that. The Tiny Tim segment was horrible and didn’t achieve a single thing while being dreadful to watch. Men on a Mission and Bastion Booger both suck hard so their stuff was intolerable. The Razor/Money Inc. build was solid though.

Top Five 11/30/15-12/6/15

1) Tetsuya Naito and EVIL: Boy, it's been a really slow week hasn't it? New Japan's World Tag League is still going on and is probably the biggest thing currently happening. The finals are set and on one side, the duo representing Los Ingobernables are in. Tetsuya Naito and EVIL not only made the finals, but they pretty much dominated until the end, finishing with ten points, more than anyone else. They also bested their rivals, Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto in one of the better tournament matches. I don't see them winning since I think they have something else planned for Wrestle Kingdom, but they still deserve the top spot this week.

            2) Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma: As noted, the finals of the World Tag League are coming up shortly.The other team in the finals of the World Tag League is Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. There has certainly been a lot of controversy surrounding Honma in the past week with the domestic abuse allegations but New Japan hasn't seemed to change their booking plans. Makabe and Honma continue to rack up the wins and they are honestly my picks to win the whole thing. If Honma isn't getting in any trouble, then having him and Makabe win the Tag Titles at WK10 makes sense. Makabe is still a big name and Honma is absurdly over. They've had a good tournament run.

3) Samoa Joe: In a pretty lame week of WWE television, the standout match was between Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa in the main event of NXT. Since joining NXT, I've been very "meh" on Joe. He's a bit past his prime and wasted his best years in TNA. In NXT so far he's been good but certainly not great. The heel turns seems to have motivated him a bit and it shined brightest against Ciampa this week. The match only went about seven minutes but it was balls to the wall and hard hitting. Joe won, gaining momentum heading into his NXT Title match at TakeOver: London in a bit over a week.

                                        4) The New Day: For a long time, the New Day has been the best part of the main roster WWE programming. This week, they opened Raw with a pretty good segment featuring Sheamus. They joined commentary later on and then closed the show alongside the League of Nations. They may not have had a great match this week, but being put on Raw so often shows how the WWE knows that New Day is golden. On Smackdown, New Day got a really solid win when they defeated the Usos and Dean Ambrose in a six man tag. 

5) Chad Gable and Jason Jordan: The best tag team in NXT is easily Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, even if the champions are Dash and Dawson. Last time out, they beat the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, the Ascension. This week, Gable and Jordan bested another unit of former NXT Tag Team Champions, the Vaudevillains. It wasn't a particularly long match but it was solid and once again showed off the dynamic chemistry between Gable and Jordan. There is something very special about this duo and they are just an absolute joy to watch. I expect to see them on this list a lot in 2016.