The first two Aztec Warfare matches have gotten ****1/4 and ****1/2 from me. For those unaware, it is a Royal Rumble style match with pinfall or submission eliminations and anything goes.
This week's episode starts with Dario Cueto walking backstage but he's stopped by Johnny Mundo. Mundo guarantees to win, holding the Lucha Underground and Gift of the Gods Championship. Taya is recording because she's making a documentary on him. Mundo says that in the event he doesn't win tonight, he's cashing in his GOTG Title shot next week. He also reveals that he's entering the match at number twelve. He says that he can beat Matanza so Dario takes the number twelve paper, rips it in half and says that he'll enter at number two, while Matanza is one.
Aztec Warfare III for the Lucha Underground Championship
No surprise but Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto is first. Dario tells Melissa Santos that even though Sexy Star is supposed to be second, it's Johnny Mundo now. RING THE BELL! Mundo finds himself in trouble for the entire interval. Son of Havoc is in at #3 to a big pop. Matanza eats several near falls but is never in real danger. Jeremiah Crane (Sami Callihan) draws #4. Both of Ivelisse's flames are in already. He goes right after Tanzie and all three men kick him to the point where he gets sent outside. They do a pretty cool spot where Havoc pops Mundo up into a spear from Crane. CERO MIEDO! Pentagon Dark is here at #5! He comes in hot, kicking everyone moving. He and Matanza go at it in a reminder of Ultima Lucha Dos. At #6 it's PJ Black. He and Mundo work together obviously. Mariposa draws #7 while Matanza and Pentagon continue to go to war outside. Mariposa poses for too long and gets hit with the Crane Driller. Matanza German suplexes Crane to eliminate him at 7:36. Mariposa tries to flirt with Tanzie but he chokeslams her and she's gone at 8:11. That's the 11th straight elimination for Matanza dating back to Aztec Warfare II. At #8, it's Rey Mysterio Jr., who was the runner-up to Matanza last season. We don't get Rey vs. Matanza though as Rey gets attacked by Worldwide Underground. When Rey escapes them, he goes at it with Pentagon and the crowd eats it up. Drawing #9, it's Dr. Wagner Jr., complete with Famous B and Brenda. Things move quickly and #10 is Marty Martinez!
Marty impresses quickly, including a sweet plancha that takes out Matanza. The champion is quickly up though and sends Marty into the wall. Jack Evans is in at #11 to join Mundo and Black. They all jump SOH and eliminate him at 12:55. Sexy Star is here at #12 and she goes straight for the Worldwide Underground. Ricky Mandel returns at #13 and nobody really cares. Evans is being aggressive with Sexy, while Pentagon and Wagner work over Rey outside. Pentagon greets Mandel with a package piledriver. He then goes to break Rick's arm but four Japanese women show up and attack him. She swing him around the ring and deliver several kicks. One of them is Black Lotus and one of them hits a SICK Canadian Destroyer. Mundo pins Pentagon to get rid of him at 15:41. The crowd is disappointed but their attack came off well despite seeming random. Mandel gets eliminated around 15:48. Mascarita Sagrada is out at #15. Sagrada goes after Matanza in a fun attempt but is quickly gone at 16:25. At #16, it's time for Famous B. That dude is money with everything he does. He hugs Rey and gives him his card. "423..." Rey grabs him and is all like "619". That gets rid of Famous B at 17:43. Marty saves WU but then attacks them. He gets eliminated by Rey at 18:32 just before The Mack shows up at #16. The awesomely sleazy Joey Ryan is out at #17 and handcuffs himself to the rail on the steps. Last year he cuffed himself outside but Matanza ripped him free. Sexy and Mack are going at it with WU. Mil Muertes is out at #18 and Joey instantly regrets his decision. Mil rips the handcuffs off the steel and brings him inside. At 21:27, Mil and Matanza both eliminate Ryan and Wagner and come face to face. They had some wars in season two. They have a hoss battle outside while Kobra Moon enters at #19. She just walks over and sits on the announce table. Matanza gets tossed over chairs. Mack tuns Evans inside to send him packing at 22:43. WI loses another member when Black takes a popup stunner at 23:01. Sexy helped out with the pin. Drago comes in at #20.
HE goes after Kobra Moon, who had an interaction with him backstage recently. Matanza piledrives Mil outside, while Drago uses his dope pinning combination to eliminate Moon at 24:01. Matanza then murders him at 24:28. The final six are Mil, Matanza, Rey, Mack, Sexy and Mundo. Rey and Matanza go at it in the ring. When Matanza seems to have the upper hand, Mundo hits him with a shining wizard and Mil spears him. Sexy is next with a Codebreaker and Mack takes him out with a stunner. Mundo follows with a springboard kick and then Rey hits 619. He goes for a second but Matanza catches him. Rey uses Code Red to eliminate Matanza at 26:53, guaranteeing us a new champion. The crowd is floored by the elimination. Matanza is PISSED and takes out Rey with the Wrath of the Gods. He goes nuts outside and even shoves Dario on his ass. Mundo steals the pin on Rey to eliminate him at 28:38. Black and Evans are back to help Mundo beat up Sexy while Rey does a stretcher job outside. In an awesome moment, ANGELICO IS BACK! He's up on top of Dario's office and does another sick dive off of it to take out the Worldwide Underground. Sexy crawls over and pins Mundo at 31:00. Mil pretty much kills Mack with a Flatliner to eliminate him at 32:15.
We're down to Sexy Star and Mil Muertes. Sexy comes out firing but her offense doesn't have much impact on Sexy. Mil doesn't just try to win, as he brings a chair and table into play. Sexy counters a chokeslam into a DDT on the chair. She then delivers several chair shots to the skull for a near fall. Mil lines her up for a spear through the table but Sexy dodges and he goes through it. She rolls him up for two. Mil rocks her with a right hand and sets up another table. He brings her to the top for a mega chokeslam. She fights free and shoves him off and through it. Sexy comes off the top with a double stomp and gets the three and the title.
Winner and NEW Lucha Underground Champion: Sexy Star in 36:53
For the third straight season, Aztec Warfare delivers. The match moved at a great pace and didn't have any real downtime. There was the continuation of angles (Worldwide Underground, Sexy & Mack pairing, Rey vs. Matanza and Angelico's return), new stories set up (Matanza shoving Dario, Pentagon's new rivels) and the culmination of a long build for Sexy Star. I'd still put the first two Aztec Warfares ahead of it though. ****
Overall: 8/10. Lucha Underground is three for three in Aztec Warfare episodes. While I would rank this behind the first two, it's still a great episode that accomplished a lot. We got a new champion, feuds continued and several new things were set up for the future. Thumbs up.
If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
NJPW Wrestling World in Singapore Review
November 15th, 2016 | Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Center in Singapore
This isn’t one of NJPW’s bigger events and I like that it looks and feels different. A cool video of the roster airs, ending with LIDJ, Bullet Club and Chaos before it ran down the card for this show.
Juice Robinson def. David Finlay in 8:04
Both of these guys have done young lion duty but have moved above it for the most part. Finlay is one third of the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions and Juice has done well in bigger singles matches. Juice enjoyed a power advantage, so Finlay countered with speed. Juice was hitting pretty hard as evidenced by Finlay being beet red within a few minutes. Juice is good at getting the crowd to come alive, which helped. Finlay busted out a nice spear and German suplex for a near fall. After some solid back and forth, Juice won with a jumping Killswitch. Both guys have improved vastly in 2016 and seeing them in a singles match was fun. Good way to start the show. (***)
Roppongi Vice def. Jushin Thunder Liger and Ryusuke Taguchi in 10:06
I love Liger’s theme. Roppongi Vice are getting a shot at the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in a totally uninteresting match. The duos had some fun with the fans in the early goings. RPG Vice kept it going, taking water breaks while beating up Liger. It backfired and caused Rocky to shove Beretta. The arguing was back. Taguchi got a hot tag and came in with ass attacks galore. Liger eventually got the tag again but ate double knees. RPG Vice then won with the Dudebuster. This was the fun tag I expected. The crowd was hot, everyone had a good time and the right team won. (**¼)
Non-Title Match: IWGP Tag Team Champions The Guerillas of Destiny def. Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii in 11:58
With Gedo being the only junior heavyweight in this match, it was clear that he’d eat the pin. The fire that we saw from the Guerillas at Power Struggle (in easily their best match) wasn’t as evident here. They did take joy in beating up Gedo and did a good job in cutting the ring in half. Ishii’s hot tag went well and he ran over the champions. As expected though, Gedo fell in the end. This was basic and what I figured we’d get. Ishii keeps failing with partners until he and Goto most likely win the World Tag League and dethrone Haku’s kids at WK11. (**)
Hirooki Goto def. Tomoaki Honma in 11:01
Usually, a match like this gets reserved for the G1 Climax. Random singles matches don’t often get put on these kinds of shows. I really liked their match in the G1 Climax in 2015. Goto wore down Honma for the first segment of the match. Honma began to rally and hit the lesser versions of Kokeshi. Honma nailed a blockbuster but of course, he missed the big Kokeshi. They traded blows until Goto hit ushigiroshi and won with the GTR. There wasn’t anything really wrong with the match, it just felt like it was way off the mark of what they are capable of. Honma was incredible during his two G1 runs in 2014 and 2015 but since then, I just can’t get into him. His matches are usually good but never even sniff great. (**¾)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA and Togi Makabe def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 14:04
LIDJ shirts were everywhere. Tanahashi shouted Naito’s name, demanding to start against him. Naito teased it, but let his stablemates take over. KUSHIDA and BUSHI got to have a heated exchange. Their feud is over but they still really don’t like each other. SANADA was good here but Makabe didn’t really seem to care. It felt like he was taking the night off. Tanahashi and Naito gave us a preview of their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom bout. Tanahashi got the win for his team with High Fly Flow on BUSHI. Outside of Makabe, everyone’s interactions were pretty enjoyable and we got a preview of WK 11. LIDJ continue to be awesome. (***¼)
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI def. Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi in 12:18
I still think that “loose explosion” is a weird thing to have on your shirt and on the ass of your pants. YOSHI-HASHI is an odd dude though. This was your standard tag match involving these guys. YOSHI brought some fire, Yujiro sucked the life out of it and we got a small preview of Okada vs. Omega in the Dome. That of course meant that at times, this was good and at others, it fell flat. Okada and Omega had a nice little back and forth where both guys avoided the finisher of the other. Takahashi was less lucky, falling to the Rainmaker. I’d say this did the job it had to. I’m no Omega fan, but I feel bad that while Okada gets to team with Ishii, Goto and YOSHI, he gets stuck with the garbage that is the Bullet Club. (**½)
NEVER Openweight Championship: RPW British Heavyweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata def. EVIL (c) in 16:25
In the G1 Climax and at Power Struggle, EVIL defeated Shibata. Shibata won the British Heavyweight Title at the NJPW/Rev Pro joint Global Wars event last week. Like everything these two have done so far, this was hard hitting from the start. They traded stuff and neither man got a clear advantage for most of the match. Shibata survived the NJPW countout tease and things really got going. They fired up and went right after each other. They got up from suplexes and EVIL just leveled Shibata with lariats. EVIL got in trouble when put in the sleeper so he backed Shibata into the referee in the corner. That bump allowed EVIL to use steel chairs like he did at Power Struggle. Shibata survived and used EVIL’s own STO on him. He then used a sleeper, which included a suplex, and the Penalty Kick to regain the title. The crowd erupted for the title change. This was great. They had a hot crowd, worked a match that fit their style and it was slightly better than the previous two. Not sure about swapping the titles since it accomplished nothing, but Shibata should have always entered the Dome with the NEVER Title. (****)
Overall: 6.5/10. Considering the fact that this isn’t a marquee NJPW event, I got just about what I expected from it, which was a relatively solid show. It only had seven matches and if you cut out intermission, it was less than two and a half hours. You get some fun matches and an especially strong finish with a great main event. Shibata won’t ever be booked like Gedo’s favorites but he’s among the top three performers (with Naito and Ishii) in the company in 2016.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Fave Five 11/7/16-11/13/16
2) Becky Lynch: For all the hoopla about Sasha Banks and Charlotte main eventing things, I preferred this feud. The match between Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch this week felt like a bigger deal. It was scheduled for No Mercy but got pushed back because of Becky's injury. They finally had their match a month later and it delivered. It was the best match of Alexa's career but saw Becky retain the title. However, there was controversy since Alexa's foot was on the bottom rope when she tapped out. Still, it was a successful defense for Becky, which was the right call since Becky should continue to be the face of the Smackdown women.
4) Sami Zayn: After besting Kevin Owens in a classic at Battleground, WWE has had nothing for Sami Zayn. He was stuck in a meaningless tag match at SummerSlam, lost to Chris Jericho at Night of Champions and was completely off of the Hell in a Cell card. However, this past week on Raw, Sami picked up a rare win over Rusev (only John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and maybe one or two others have pinned Tong Po). That win earned Sami a shot at Dolph Ziggler and the WWE Intercontinental Title at Survivor Series. If Sami wins, he can bring the championship over to Monday nights.5) Eddie Edwards: Again successfully defended the TNA Heavyweight Championship.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Top Five Worst Major Shows
4) ECW December to Dismember 2006: With split PPVs declining in 2006, this event pretty much ended them. The ECW brand was already failing because it was nothing like the ECW that people loved. While the brand would eventually become highly enjoyable, at this time, it barely even had a roster. It scored 90,000 buys, which is the lowest in history outside of the Network era. Part of that was because ECW sucked and part was because the WWE held a PPV exactly one week earlier. That's asking a lot of people to spend a lot of money close together. Before Christmas. Anyway, onto the actual show, which blew. The tag opener was fine but involved nobody from the ECW brand. Then, the ECW matches were shit. Tommy Dreamer vs. Daivari? Balls Mahoney vs. Matt Striker? The FBI vs. Burke and Terkay? Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly vs. Kevin Thorn and Ariel? There are no words for this. The main event was the Extreme Elimination Chamber, which actually wasn't awful. However, they took Sabu out of the match, someone who the crowd was hot for, and replaced him with Hardcore Holly. Paul Heyman wanted CM Punk to win this thing and eliminate the champion, Big Show, quickly, but instead, was the first one gone. To cap things, Bobby Lashley won the title and got this over the top celebration that the fans and viewers wanted no part of.
2) WWF King of the Ring 1995: In terms of missed opportunities, this Pay-Per-View basically takes the cake. While other Pay-Per-Views are flat out bad, this one is bad and features the most confusing booking of them all. So, the WWF in 1995 wasn't doing too hot when it came to top level performers. That's understandable. However, if we look at the top stars we'll find Diesel (who was WWF Champion) and I can think of eight guys that could have been in the tournament. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Razor Ramon, Jeff Jarrett (IC Champion), British Bulldog, Owen Hart. That's 7 and you could throw in Sid or Bam Bam to make a good KOTR. Instead, Bret was wasted in a dumb feud with the awful Jerry Lawler, Razor may have been hurt but was a manager for Savio Vega and Jarrett managed his lesser sidekick, Roadie, in the tourney. Bulldog and Owen? They wrestled to a draw in the qualifiers and were left off the show. HBK wrestled to a first round draw with Kama of all people while the Undertaker jobbed to fucking Mabel. With at least enough talent to make a decent tournament, we had to sit through FOUR Savio Vega matches and a Mabel win. Plus, the main event tag match pitting Sid and Tatanka against Diesel and Bigelow was terrible and drawn out. It's like they booked this show while drunk.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Random Network Reviews: Fastlane 2015
February 22nd, 2015 | FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee | Attendance: 13,416
Coming off of the heels of one of their most negatively received Pay-Per-Views in history, the WWE was looking to turn things around at this event. One month prior, their Royal Rumble ended with Roman Reigns winning and receiving an incredibly negative response from the live crowd. It ruined his moment and the fans basically hijacked the entire Rumble match. Here, we have the first ever Fastlane event, which replaced Elimination Chamber and would set the stage for WrestleMania. Unlike a lot of PPVs from the Network era, this one does not have a Kickoff match.
For being the WWE in 2015, this is a rather disappointing opening video package.
Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback
The face team here were all fired for their roles against the Authority at Survivor Series. This is a diet version of that match. The crowd is pretty hot for Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, and the Authority are the most hated heels, so this is a good choice to open things. Commentary tries to put Show over by saying nobody can go toe to toe with him. Lawler suggests Brock Lesnar and JBL claims he would love to see that. Dude, it just happened a year ago and Brock murdered him. Rowan plays the face in peril, which is a problem because he’s the one the fans care least about. That’s not a good way to build sympathy. Ryback is rightfully the guy to get the hot tag and does some of his impressive power offense. He eventually gets stalled by the Authority and Dolph enters. He gets close to a win but is knocked out by Big Show, allowing Kane to win it.
Winners: Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins in 13:01
With Erick Rowan playing the face in peril, the mostly dead crowd was even quieter than really dead. The match itself was decent but the finish was atrocious. The man who came back from down 3 on 1 at Survivor Series gets pinned and it’s not even by the guy that was the next big star, it was by Kane of all people. **¼
The Authority beat up their opponents after the match until Randy Orton returns. Like a bad face, he’s late as hell in making the save. He comes back in his gear, which I’ve always hated. Why would he be in his ring attire? That doesn’t make any sense.
Goldust vs. Stardust
The late Dusty Rhodes has a heart to heart with Goldust before the match. If you’re looking for an amazing match, this wasn’t it but I think there was some good storytelling. It starts with them exchanging moves but when Goldust gets the upper hand, we start to see more of Stardust shine though. He goes deeper into character and his expressions do a good job of showing his frustrations. There’s a cool spot where they each drop to the mat for an uppercut like strike. Cody shouting “who’s your favorite?” as he beats up his brother was well done. Stardust goes for his finish, but Goldust counters into a crucifix. The referee only counts two but then calls for the bell.
Winner: Goldust in 8:56
While I thought they tried to tell a good story, the actual in ring action left something to be desired. The dead crowd didn’t help a match that was relatively dull and had a terrible finish. Cody Rhodes’ ability to completely lose himself in his gimmick is the highlight of this match. **¼
We get a recap of the homemade videos from Jon Stewart and Seth Rollins during their mini-feud.
Backstage, Stardust attacks Goldust in front of Dusty. When Dusty shouts “Cody”, Stardust goes nuts. He says that Cody, the breakout star of Legacy, the Intercontinental Champion, dashing, the Prince Cody…is dead and he blames Dusty for sticking him with him Goldust.
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) w/ Naomi vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro w/ Natalya
The fact that Cesaro and Tyson Kidd were a thrown together team but managed to mesh incredibly well together, is a thing of beauty. The challengers, being fantastic wrestlers, pick a body part and work it. They choose Jimmy’s knee and do everything to it well. From a half crab to Cesaro doing a one legged swing. Jey gets the hot tag but ends up in trouble when Cesaro hits his dead life superplex right into Kidd nailing an elbow. Great tag team work here. Kidd tries the Sharpshooter but it is countered. WE GET US SOME FLYING USOS MAGGLE! A creative spot comes when an Uso pulls Kidd’s leg from the apron into a Samoan drop into the barricade. Inside, things break down with a Sharpshooter and superkick before Cesaro and Jimmy or Jey fall outside. Kidd uses a kick to Jimmy’s leg to set up his finisher and win the straps.
Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in 9:34
Really good old fashioned tag team wrestling here. They went out and had a no nonsense match that was just straight up enjoyable. The leg work made sense and actually played into the finish, the outcome was kind of unexpected and it just worked. A few more minutes to build stuff and this could have been great. ***½
I’m not a fan of long promos on Pay-Per-Views but that’s what we get here. Triple H comes out, “meaning business” because he has a leather jacket on. He calls out Sting after running down WCW, even though their feud “wasn’t about WCW”. Sting comes out and Triple H wants to keep his legacy alive with merchandise sales, which is a dumb offer since WWE Shop was already selling a ton of Sting stuff. Thigs get physical, HHH goes for the sledgehammer but Sting has the bat. He points to the WrestleMania logo before planting HHH with a Scorpion Death Drop. That is how the WWE set up the TERRIBLE Sting/Triple H match at Mania.
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella (c) w/ Brie Bella vs. Paige
Fun fact; I met Paige at Comic-Con the night before this show and she was one of the nicest and coolest wrestlers I’ve ever met. Surprisingly, this is the first PPV meeting between these two, despite the fact that they had a never-ending rivalry. Paige attacked quickly since the Bellas made her life hell in recent weeks. Nikki turned it around and threw her into the guardrail. Nikki is trying to bust out the big offense, showing off an Alabama Slam for two. They botch a rollup into the turnbuckle, which came off looking really bad. Nikki then hits a big powerbomb but that only gets two also. Paige comes back, looking for the PTO but Nikki reaches the ropes. She then retains after a rollup with a handful of tights.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: Nikki Bella in 5:35
Outside of the rollup botch, this was a well-executed match. Of all of the Divas on the main roster, Paige and Nikki probably have the best chemistry. My biggest issue with the match was that it was so short and they tried to cram a lot into it, as well as the cheap finish. **½
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Between the Fall of 2014 and early 2015, Dean Ambrose’s booking was absolutely baffling. Here, we have a shining example. The guy is over like crazy and attacks Barrett early. In recent weeks, Barrett had been dodging him, so this made sense. Barrett knocks Dean off the top to take control, getting in some shots to Dean’s ribs. He’s in control until Dean does his variation of Nigel McGuinness’ rebound lariat, but on the outside. Dean comes close with a small package and looks to be on the verge of victory. Ambrose kicks out of Wasteland and dodges the Bull Hammer before coming back with a loud rebound lariat. Barrett escapes Dirty Deeds and tries to leave but eats a suicide dive. Here goes that baffling Ambrose booking as he attacks Barrett and the referee calls the match because he doesn’t stop at the five count.
Winner via disqualification: Bad News Barrett in 8:03
When I first saw this show, I gave this match a better score but I take that back now. They worked at a decent pace for the time but this felt like something that belonged on a Smackdown, rather than a PPV. The booking of Dean Ambrose was also dumb and this finish was not what the crowd wanted. *¾
We now get what we think is the Undertaker, but when the casket brought to ringside is opened, it is Bray Wyatt. He cuts a promo about resurrecting the “Deadman” and becoming the new “Face of Fear.” This was long and while Bray is interesting, this was just another promo to build towards a WrestleMania match. Not exactly what I want to see on my Pay-Per-Views.
WWE United States Championship
Rusev (c) w/ Lana vs. John Cena
Neither guy is really able to grab the upper hand through the early stages of his match. When Rusev finally does get in the driver’s seat, he picks Cena apart. I would like to commend Lana at ringside, as she is great at her facial expressions throughout this entire thing. Rusev begins to grow frustrated when he can’t put Cena away, making me question if he’s ever watched a Cena match before. HE FEARS NOTHING AND REGRETS LESS! He goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, telling Lana that she can’t see him. Rusev blocks the AA and hits some big offense for two, including a spinning slam and jumping kick. Cena hits the AA eventually but Rusev joins the now long list of people to kick out of it. Remember when doing so was a big deal? Rusev powerbombs Cena and puts on the Accolade. Cena, being Cena, powers out until Lana enters the ring. The referee pulls her out and helps her out of the ring. With him distracted, Rusev kicks Cena in the dick, then the face and then puts the Accolade back on. Cena is out like a light.
Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: Rusev in 18:42
This was one of those situations where these are two guys who just never really clicked in the ring. They would have three more singles matches on PPV and none would be better than this, which wasn’t great. Rusev did a fine job in his first big time PPV showing and it only got really good near the end. ***
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns
The winner of this match gets the “prize” of facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Commentary hammers home the idea that while Bryan is the better wrester, Reigns is the better brawler. Funnily, JBL says that if add wrestling ability and brawling together, you get Brock. Makes sense. Bryan tries some of his submission holds but Reigns powers out, and Bryan’s reaction to this is great. Like, he realizes what happened but is also ready to adjust. They continue to trade blows and it’s power against technical skill still. Reigns even busts out some offense that I haven’t seen him use since and didn’t see before. Bryan avoids a Superman punch with a kick to the mid-section. This wisely brings in the hernia injury that took Reigns out of action for three months. Bryan attacks that injury and Reigns sells it very well. Bryan hits a suicide dive, but goes to the well too often as Reigns catches his next attempt with a belly to belly suplex. After Reigns misses and hits the steps, they tease a double countout. Bryan kicks out of a superman punch and then counters the Spear with a small package in a brilliant reverse. Reigns kicks out of the running knee, which Cole says is the first time it happened, but I’m pretty sure Randy Orton did it at Mania. Bryan goes into his kicks but Reigns catches one so he slaps him and goes to the Yes Lock. Reigns survives it and then powerbombs out of another submission. With both guys on the mat they go into a series of strikes that Bryan wins with kicks. He goes for another running knee, but is met with a Spear that ends this.
Winner: Roman Reigns in 20:10
This was the type of star making performance that Roman Reigns needed to have before winning the Royal Rumble to avoid that backlash. I loved this match. They played the power vs. technical stuff extremely well. It wasn’t like Reigns dominated and Bryan rallied either or vice versa. Neither guy gained a true upper hand and both had to go through a lot. The hernia injury coming into play was masterful and I like that they didn’t overdo the false finishes like a lot of big WWE matches. Bryan gave Reigns the rub that he needed and this did exactly what it needed to. ****¼
After the match, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns shake hands.
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. I wanted to like this show more. The main event is fantastic and the Tag Team Title match is worth checking out for sure. Rusev/Cena is their best outing, but still nothing you need to see. My biggest issues with this show were the fact that we had a lot of lame finishes (IC Title, Divas Title, US Title), disappointing matches (opener & Dust Brothers), too many promos and it just came off as a giant commercial for WrestleMania. This could have been an episode of Raw instead of a PPV. Up next, “Random Network Reviews” has me look at Superbrawl 2000!
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Raw History: Episodes #58-60
Episode #58
April 11th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Things start with the Bushwhackers, MOM and the Smoking Gunns pleading their cases for people to vote for them to get Tag Team Title shots. Vince McMahon asks Macho Man who he votes for when it comes to the Tag Team Title match. When he says himself, Vince says that he has to be on commentary. Savage is all like “WHOOPDEDOOBIGDEAL ANOTHER ACCOLADE FOR THE MACHO MAN”. The sarcasm in his voice was obvious, but I feel like there was a fair amount of truth to what he said.
Also, I will no longer be rating squash matches. Only the matches featuring two actual Superstars.
Diesel w/ Shawn Michaels vs. Virgil
Vince McMahon always hypes Virgil like he’s some sort of threat. Diesel is in complete control in the early stages of this match. He seems to be stalling, making this match last longer than it needs to. Macho Man craps on Vince’s theory that Virgil will be a threat when he says that Virgil has already surpassed his expectations. Virgil rallies from a bearhug and gets a near fall. Diesel finally puts him out of his misery with a Jackknife.
Winner: Diesel in 5:22
This lasted far too long. It was an extended squash that got drawn out to be far too long. ½*
Jerry Lawler is brought out on his big throne. Among the men carrying him out are Barry Hardy and D-Lo Brown. It’s time for the King’s Court, which always sucks. He falls out of the chair and crashes to the floor. Lawler complains about people laughing at him before bringing out his guest, Lex Luger. Luger laughs at him and disses him before Lawler starts to question him about the allegations against Mr. Perfect. Lawler even shows him the footage that proves Mr. Perfect did nothing wrong but he still acts like Perfect is some criminal. He wants him in the ring soon.
Thurman Plugg vs. Barry Horowitz
I feel like these two ended up teaming up the following year. During the match, Mr. Perfect calls in and says that Lex Luger is still wrong. Savage calls him a coward. Savage at least admits that Perfect was legally right, but he claims he was morally wrong somehow. Plugg wins with in a nothing squash match.
Winner: Thurman Plugg in N/A
I don’t have the time for this as my stream kept cutting in and out and it was getting annoying to time this. Standard squash though.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Quebecers (c) w/ Johnny Polo vs. Men on a Mission w/ Oscar
Dammit fans. You voted wrong. The champions try to attack before the bell but it quickly backfires and the challengers throw them around. MOM continues to be in control though Mabel is too fat to get out of the ring quick enough, so Earl Hebner has to send him out, causing him to miss a pin. Mo is going to be our face in peril as usual. It’s all rather dull. Mabel gets the mild tag and plods through his offense. When things turn around, both teams tease near falls and play some tricks on each other. Polo gets in some cheap shots on Mo, causing Mabel to slam him outside. This allows the Quebecers to hit Mo with their finish and retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Quebecers in 9:46
The Quebecers are normally a safe bet for a good match but it’s almost impossible against Men on a Mission. Still, this might have been the best performance by the challengers. *¼
Next week, Bret Hart takes on Kwang!
IRS is in the ring to tell Tatanka to pay the taxes on his headdress. That’s it, that’s the only reason he got in the ring.
Overall: 2/10. Man the in-ring stuff tonight was bad. When Men on a Mission is in the best match of the night, you know you have a problem. At least they did a good job in setting up the eventual Luger/Perfect match that they thought would happen, but it did come on the awful King’s Court.
Raw History
Episode #59
April 18th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
The show opens with another shot of Jerry Lawler falling last week. I feel like Vince found this much funnier than most. Macho Man again throws his name out for competition again but Vince gives zero fucks.
Non-Title Match
Bret Hart vs. Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman
Kwang attacks from behind before the bell, which reminds me that this used to happen a ton back then. He lays into Bret with some bad looking KARATE before Bret turns it into a wrestling match and takes control. They fight outside and Kwang misses a kick, hitting the post instead. Vince shouts like this is some insane spot but it isn’t. As Kwang works over Bret, Owen Hart calls in. Kwang locks in the nerve hold, which is what you should do during the commercial break, not when you return. Owen makes a good point that he beat Bret on Bret’s best day since Bret would go on to win the gold. With the call over, Bret goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM and Kwang submits to the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Bret Hart in 6:56
Solid little match here. Bret Hart has had better ones on Raw, but this was fine. Seeing the WWF Champion compete was a rare treat in this era and Bret always delivered something pretty good at worst. **½
Jeff Jarrett vs. PJ Walker
IT’S A BATTLE OF TWO FUTURE WORLD CHAMPIONS! Granted that would be in WCW and ECW in 2000, but still. While Jeff Jarrett goes through his offense, Vince and Savage discuss a bunch of other things, including Roseanne. Vince loved to talk about her didn’t he? The match is all Jarrett except for a small near fall from Walker. Jarrett wins with the DDT.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 4:01
Standard Jeff Jarrett squash. A bit dull and featured some stalling.
Capt. Lou Albano demands an answer about the Tag Team Title shot the Headshrinkers want.
The Steiner Brothers vs. Barry Hardy and Mike Khoury
Wait, what? I thought the Steiner Brothers were done by this time. Oh well, they are on their way out which is unfortunate as they were a highlight in 1993. A good chunk of this match features Scott beating the hell out of both jobbers. Vince suggests that the Steiners should get a manager or a coach. Vince points out the fact that Scott is being a bit rough tonight. Vince then forgets to discuss the match and goes off to talking about everything else he could possibly think of. Scott officially murders Khoury with the Screwdriver.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 5:14
Longer than I would have usually liked, but the Steiner Brothers always entertain with their need to mercilessly destroy ham and eggers.
A vignette airs for Duke “The Dumpster Droese. Oh no.
Speaking of “oh no”, it’s time for the King’s Court. His guest tonight is Alundra Blayze. This should be putrid as Lawler is awful and Blayze was always a god awful promo. She calls Lawler Humpty Dumpty because of his HILARIOUS, FUNNIEST THING IN WWF HISTORY, fall last week. She calls this show a cheap knockoff of Piper’s Pit. Lawler shrugs it off and asks her where her belt is. She insinuates that Jerry stole it. Jerry denies and brings out Luna Vachon. She is now accused of stealing the belt, but she denies despite being insane. Alundra challenges her now, which Savage considers a catfight. Despite challenging her, Alundra walks off. So, do we never find out where her belt went?
Next week, Jeff Jarrett faces Razor Ramon!
Earthquake vs. Mike Bell
All night long, Vince has been pumping the house show circuit and the upcoming WrestleMania Revenge Tour. Times were certainly different back then. He says that you can see Earthquake vs. Yokozuna on the tour, which would make me sell my ticket. This is all Earthquake.
Winner: Earthquake in 3:54
Earthquake had no business being around in 1994. He wasn’t putting on good performances at all.
We get a recap from Superstars where IRS beat up Tatanka after a loss to Kwang. He attacked him with the headdress and sets up what has potential to be the worst feud ever.
IRS vs. Major Yates
Really? Major Yates? IRS does IRS things, which is all incredibly boring stuff. He literally does nothing that is even remotely entertaining. He wins with the “penalty” which is an STF.
Winner: IRS in 3:34
IRS is boring. That is all.
Overall: 3/10. The marquee matchup was decent, so the show doesn’t get an awful score. However, the squash matches were all pretty dull and the King’s Court was the usual trash that it is. Jerry Lawler is one of the worst possible hosts for a talk show. Add in that Blayze and Luna aren’t great as guests and that segment was a recipe for disaster.
Raw History
Episode #60
April 25th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Non-Title Match
Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett starts in the driver’s seat while Vince continues to plug the WrestleMania Revenge Tour non-stop. Razor catches him with a fallaway slam to the outside and we get a split screen replay. Macho Man sells this like it’s the most cutting edge thing in history. Jarrett turns things back around and works a chinlock on Razor. Razor starts to rally and we go to commercial. Seriously? Who set this up? You go to commercial during the rest hold and allow us to enjoy the comeback. It’s not hard. Jarrett works a sleeper, giving Razor a shot at a second babyface comeback. After Jarrett pulls down the ropes and Razor falls out, Shawn Michaels comes down to badmouth him. Razor nails him and goes in for offense on Jarrett. Shawn gets on the apron and is brought in the hard way. He sets him up for the Razor’s Edge but Diesel saves him and bit boots Razor.
Winner via disqualification: Razor Ramon in 9:39
Jeff Jarrett was given his first big TV match and did fairly well. He drew some good heat and the crowd was pretty into this. Razors comebacks were fun but the mistiming of the commercial breaks hurt this score a bit. **½
Diesel now hits Razor Ramon with two Jackknifes, hyping their upcoming Intercontinental Title match.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Tony DeVito
During this one sided affair, President Jack Tunney calls in. He will be launching an investigation into what Shawn Michaels, Diesel and Jeff Jarrett just did but also announces that the Headshrinkers will get their Tag Team Title shot next week. Bigelow wins via headbutt.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:16
Bigelow got in his stuff while we were given news. Basic.
Johnny Polo and the Quebecers freak out backstage about the title match. Polo is freaking out more as the Quebecers toughen up and say they’ll take care of their challengers.
The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette vs. John Paul and Jason Headings
More news on commentary from Vince McMahon, who tells us that last week’s Raw was the highest rated in history. The Bodies do a nice double superkick before Del Ray this a nice powerbomb. They continue to dominate until Del Rey wins with a moonsault. Also, has he always been missing a tooth?
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 4:55
Better than the last squash. The Heavenly Bodies tend to bust out some fun offense from time to time, making this better than the average squash.
Time for another King’s Court. His guest is Nikolai Volkoff who has fallen on hard times. King makes fun of him for this and Nikolai says that he is proud to be an American, who is honest and hardworking, so he won’t beg King for a job. He then just goes back to his seat. Nobody cared.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Duane Gill
X-PAC VS. GILLBERG! Gill actually is able to get some offense in, which makes sense considering Kid is best when playing somewhat of an underdog. He goes into his fast paced offense, using those “educated feet”. He wins after a spinning heel kick.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:11
Similar to Owen Hart, Kid always has fun squashes. This was another.
THE UNDERTAKER HAS BEEN SPOTTED! WHERE YOU ASK? At a deli, ordering a sub. Yup.
Owen Hart vs. Rich Myers
Hey, speaking of Owen Hart and his fun squash matches, let’s see if he proves me right here. The fans chant “we want Bret”, which angers Owen and causes his offense to be rather aggressive. Owen wins with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Owen Hart in 3:23
He kind of proved me right. This wasn’t that much fun, but an aggressive Owen was interesting to see to say the least.
To close the show, Johnny Polo and Lou Albano get into an argument at ringside. Savage ends up holding Polo so Albano can strike him. I really feel like Savage looked for any excuse to get physical. He wanted to compete badly.
Overall: 5/10. The best episode in this batch. The Razor/Jarrett match was solid and the squashes were pretty much all decent and didn’t overstay their welcome. The King’s Court continues to drag the scores of these shows down by being awful.
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