WWE WrestleMania XXIV
March 30th, 2008 | Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida | Attendance: 74,635
This was one of those WrestleMania events that featured a fair amount of celebrity involvement. It came during a fun time for me in wrestling. I was way into what was going on around this time, from Edge and Randy Orton being champions to the Ric Flair retirement angle to CM Punk’s rise on ECW and more. This would be the first WrestleMania filmed in HD and went on be the first show I ever purchased on Blu-Ray. It was obviously the 24th WrestleMania in history, the second outdoor one and the first held in Florida. There was some worry about potential rain with this being the second outdoor Mania, but luckily, there were no weather issues.
Jon Legend performs “America the Beautiful” to open the show. Following that, they go into a pretty great opening video package.
Belfast Brawl
Finlay w/ Hornswoggle vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield
This rivalry stemmed from Hornswoggle being revealed as Vince McMahon’s son. JBL destroyed the little guy in front of Finlay inside of a Steel Cage before announcing that Hornswoggle is actually Finlay’s dad. Before the bell rings, JBL attacks Finlay and they brawl on the outside. Almost instantly, garbage cans and kendo sticks come into play. Not content with those weapons, JBL also brings in the steel steps but ends up taking a backdrop off of them. JBL tries to use the shillelagh but Hornswoggle steals it from him. That opens the door for Finlay to wail away on him. JBL now has welts on his back. Finlay gets a table and sets it up in the corner. JBL knocks him down and goes after Hornswoggle, which angers Finlay who slams his head on the announce table a ton. Things go back into the ring where JBL lays into Finlay with a trash can. He then launches one outside onto an unsuspecting Hornswoggle. It’s such a tremendous heel move. Finlay sends JBL through the table in the corner, only getting a two count. Finlay attempts to use the stairs but JBL nails him with a kendo stick in the knee. He comes off the ropes with the Clothesline from Hell to defeat Finlay.
Winner: John “Bradshaw” Layfield in 8:36
Better than I expected it to be. Neither guy was really lighting the world on fire with their ring work at the time, so making it a Belfast Brawl was a smart call. They got to have a fun brawl that involved weapons and had the crowd invested. A solid opener. ***
They go backstage to a celebrity correspondent, Kim Kardashian. She looks SO different and SO much better here, before all of the plastic surgery. She says the Money in the Bank match is coming up when Mr. Kennedy interrupts. He says he’s going to win it for the second straight year and yells in her face. I enjoyed it.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin
Originally, Jeff Hardy was scheduled for this match and was a heavy favorite before getting suspended. With him out, the door was open for almost anyone to win. The bell rings and everyone goes after ladders outside. MVP keeps everyone at bay with a small ladder, so Jericho brings in a big one and takes him down. John Morrison takes the small ladder and does a moonsault off the top while holding it, taking out about four opponents. Inside, they try to slingshot Kennedy into the ladder but he just ends up climbing it. He fights with Morrison until Shelton sets up a ladder next to them. He comes off with a sunset flip on Kennedy, who superplexes Morrison off the top of the ladder. Honestly, that’s one of the cooler Money in the Bank spots I’ve ever seen. We see more of Shelton’s athleticism though the ladder breaks on a spot, causing him to crash. Punk ends up hitting him with the GTS before taking the Green Bay Plunge onto a ladder. Carlito takes out MVP’s leg and gets hit with the dragon whip kick from Benjamin. Shelton climbs but has the ladder tilted forward, sending him somersaulting through a ladder set up across the apron and guardrail. He’s done for the match after that in one of the most insane spots you could imagine. The spots keep coming as Jericho puts Morrison in the Walls of Jericho across the top of a ladder. While he and Kennedy fight on two ladders for the briefcase Carlito and Punk springboard onto the ladder to join them. All four men end up down, highlighted by Carlito hitting a damn Backstabber on Jericho off of the ladder. MVP is alone and has the win in hand when Matt Hardy runs in from the crowd. He’s been in the midst of a near year-long feud with MVP and was out injured. Matt hits Twist of Fate off the ladder, ending MVP’s chances of winning. They try another fancy spot with the ladder, which doesn’t really cooperate. It ends with Morrison falling off and Punk taking the ladder right to the shoulder. Carlito knocks Jericho off the ladder by spitting an apple at him. Kennedy shoves him off and Punk takes him out with a small ladder before taking a Codebreaker into the ladder. Jericho goes up and is in position to win but a desperate Punk tenaciously ascends the ladder. They fight up top and the recently returned Jericho hits him with the swinging briefcase. Just when you think it’s over, Punk wisely pulls Jericho’s leg through the rungs, leaving him hanging upside down and allowing Punk to pull it down.
Winner: CM Punk in 13:54
That was honestly one of the favorite Money in the Bank matches ever. They’ve become a staple of the WWE and almost always deliver a good to great match. This was easily in the upper echelon. Tons of great spots, no downtime, a hot crowd and lots of talent. If the ladders would have cooperated on some of their ideas better, this could have been even better. I probably scored this higher than a lot of people. Oh well, I loved it. ****¼
The inductees to the Hall of Fame for 2008 all come out to the stage. Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie, Peter Maivia and Ric Flair, who is wrestling later, have representatives, while Mae Young, Rocky Johnson, Jack and Jerry Briscoe are there as well.
This is followed by an odd segment involving Snoop Dogg, Festus, Santino Marella and Mick Foley. Yea, that is certainly a strange combo.
Battle of the Brands
Batista vs. Umaga
Batista is representing Teddy Long and Smackdown, while Umaga is there for Raw and William Regal. Regal calls him “YOUMANGA” of course. Batista went from a classic against the Undertaker for the World Title a year prior to this. When the match starts, they just go at it like two big men would. Batista takes a pretty big bump off the apron following an Umaga kick. Umaga wears down Batista’s back but the problem is, none of it really comes across as interesting. Umaga tries a sweet, long range headbutt but misses. Batista tries to slam him and his back goes out. Batista weathers more offense from Umaga and starts rallying. Somehow, despite the back being worked on, Batista pulls out a spinebuster and Batista Bomb, winning the match for Smackdown. At least the Batista Bomb was somewhat crooked, making it look realistic.
Winner: Batista in 7:06
I wanted to like this so much more. These are two of my favorite bigger guys to watch but they just didn’t seem to have their hearts in this. Especially Batista. It came off like they weren’t too thrilled with their position on the show and it showed in their work. *½
ECW Championship
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Kane
Kane won a battle royal on the Pre-Show to earn this show. It is the first and only time the ECW Title would be defended at WrestleMania. Chavo comes out first and Kane shows behind him. The bell rings, Chavo runs into a Chokeslam and that’s all she wrote.
Winner and New ECW Champion: Kane in 0:10
They tried to pass this off as eight seconds but I have it at ten. Can’t really rank this. At least they moved the title to someone that was over and a fun addition to the ECW roster at the time. NO RATING
Raven Symone is in the ring to promote the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Nice little celebrity involvement there. Kept it short and sweet.
Career Threatening Match
Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
For months, Ric Flair had been staving off retirement by beating all comers after Vince McMahon told him he’d be forced to retire if he lost his next match. The pageantry of Flair’s entrance is stunning. A feeling out process starts things off, with each guy trying to gain an early upper hand. Flair gets in control and shouts “OLD YELLER HUH?”, which is what Shawn called him a few weeks prior. Shawn just slaps him in retaliation before they get into an exchange of loud chops. In a great reversal of roles, Flair slams Shawn from the top and then blocks Shawn from doing the same. Flair comes off with a flying cross body that gets a pop. They move outside where Shawn tries an Asai moonsault but misses and crashes stomach first onto the announce table. The sound of it was pretty sickening. Flair is busting it all out tonight, getting two on a stalling vertical suplex. Shawn takes to the air again, this time doing a moonsault off the top and to the outside, connecting this time around. They tease a double countout, which would result in the end of Flair’s career. They go at it inside the ring and Shawn hits the big flying elbow. Shawn tunes up the band but stops himself because he can’t pull the trigger. That frees up Flair to trip him up and lock in the Figure Four as the crowd goes wild. Shawn turns it over and survives but takes his trademark corner bump. Classic Flair as he goes to the chop block. The Figure Four is locked back in but again, Michaels is able to survive. Flair ends up walking right into Sweet Chin Music but Shawn is too hurt to initially cover and Flair kicks out. Shawn calls for Sweet Chin Music again, screaming for Shawn to get up. Flair takes long so Shawn picks him up from behind and Flair delivers a low blow that the referee misses. Classic. Shawn trips up Flair and applies his inverted Figure Four. Flair withstands it and rolls up Shawn for two. They go into a battle of chops that Flair is winning, so Shawn just delivers a huge superkick. Shawn pulls himself up and looks to tune up the band but stops. He mouths “I’m sorry, I love you” to Flair when he gets up and ends his career with Sweet Chin Music.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 20:23
Pitch perfect storytelling. There aren’t many matches you’ll find with as much emotion as this one. Ric Flair put on his working boots and had the best match of the final few years of his career, doing things he usually wouldn’t. Michaels was as great in a big match as always. As great as it could have possibly been. ****
Shawn Michaels immediately grabs Ric Flair’s head, presumably to say something and leaves. Ric Flair gets emotional as he is given a standing ovation and shows love to his family at ringside.
Todd Grisham interviews Edge, who says that the pathetic fans count on the Undertaker to win at WrestleMania but he’ll slap them in the face with reality.
Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill Match
Ashley Massaro and Maria Kanellis vs. WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix and Melina w/ Santino Marella
The rest of the poor Divas roster were the Lumberjills, while Snoop Dogg was the host or something. They all walked to the ring while he drove some kind of pimped out golf cart. Among the Lumberjills, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Maryse and Layla may look the best tonight. The story here is that Maria got the Playboy pictorial, which her boyfriend Santino hated. That led Maria to team with former Playboy cover girl Ashley. Ashley and Maria try and double team Beth because she’s so strong. Melina is the first one tossed outside and gets beat up by the ladies outside. Almost everything the babyface team does looks bad from Maria’s bronco buster to Ashley’s cross body and bumping. The double team done by the heels looks bad too. The lights end up going out during the match and a spotlight is used to focus on the match. Maria ends up close to winning but Santino pulls her off of a pin. Jerry Lawler gets up and lays him out. Beth plants Maria with a fisherman buster and wins.
Winners: Beth Phoenix and Melina in 5:56
Beth Phoenix and Melina tried but Maria and Ashley are just not good at all. That all caused this to be horrible and not interesting in the slightest. ¼*
Snoop Dogg is next in line to punch Santino’s lights out. Then he makes out with Maria.
WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
During 2007, both John Cena and Triple H were on the shelf with major injuries and this is kind of their redemption story. Cena gets his theme played to the ring by a marching band. 52% of the fans pick Cena to win, 40% have Triple H and a measly 8% say Orton retains. This starts like a brawl, with everyone going at it in and around the ring. Once things calm down in the ring, they do a tower of doom like spot where Orton hits a cross body on Cena, who was on Triple H’s shoulders. Orton continues to hold serve with a double rope hung DDT for near falls. He continues to use his cunningness to outsmart the babyfaces. He strikes with the RKO, stopping Triple H’s momentum. However, he gets put in Cena’s hideous STFU but Triple H breaks it and tries an Indian deathlock variation only for Cena to stop it. Cena goes back to the submission so Triple H puts him in a crossface to break it. This leads to Cena and HHH going at it and countering each other a bunch. HHH wins out by hitting the Pedigree. He covers but Orton runs in and punts him in the skull to break it up. Orton pins Cena and shocked everyone by retaining.
Winner and Still WWE Champion: Randy Orton in 14:08
A fun Triple Threat match between three solid guys. They would rematch it a little over a year later but this was better. Randy Orton did enough that he looked like a credible champion and the finish made him look really smart. This was before they would run this kind of finish into the ground. ***¼
No Disqualification
Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather
Wisely, Floyd Mayweather bobs and weaves, avoiding contact with his larger opponent before firing off some rapid body shots. Mayweather avoids Show punches and lays in some of his own shots. He gets cockier with each successful blow. He stops to get a drink from a chalice so Big Show pretty much murders the member of his entourage who served him. Show finally catches him but ends up with Mayweather on his back, choking him out. Show gets free and stomps on Mayweather’s hand. It’s time for Show to dominate as he just stands on Mayweather and slams him around. Before Big Show can do more damage, Floyd’s entourage pulls him away and they try to leave. Future Nexus member Michael Tarver is there. Show lays them all out and brings Floyd back. He goes for the Chokeslam but an entourage member hits him with a chair. He gets chokeslammed for his troubles. Now Floyd has the chair and he whacks Show all over with it. Big Show tries another Chokeslam only to get kicked in the nuts. More chair shots to the head that dent the chair but Show won’t fall down. He’s on his knees and Mayweather gets brass knuckles from a fallen member. He lays out Show with one right hand and the referee counts him out.
Winner: Floyd Mayweather in 11:35
A very wisely booked spectacle here. Easily one of the better celebrity matches in WWE history. Whoever laid this out deserved a raise. They made sure that Mayweather stayed “unbeaten” and looked smart, while Big Show kept his credibility due to the interference and the fact that he barely stood up in the end. ***
World Heavyweight Championship
Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker
Edge actually gets to come out last. Neither man has ever been pinned at WrestleMania. Edge is not intimidated, shoving Undertaker right as he does the throat cut signal. They go through some good back and forth to start including Edge countering Old School, only for Undertaker to counter back with an arm drag. Edge seems to be well prepared, having an answer for everything Undertaker does. His game plan is to negate a lot of Undertaker’s key stuff and stay in control. The first really big spot comes when Undertaker does his signature dive over the top rope. Things stay outside as Edge backdrops Undertaker onto the guardrail. Inside, Edge works a modified single leg crab, wearing down his challenger. Undertaker counters and they get into a slugfest, which Undertaker of course wins. He hits Snake Eyes but Edge comes right back with a dropkick. He then counters the Chokeslam into the Edgecution for two. Undertaker hits the Chokeslam this time, but only gets two. Edge goes for the ten corner punches but Undertaker counters for Last Ride. Edge again has a counter ready, slipping free and nailing a neckbreaker. Regardless, he still takes his Last Ride but manages to get a shoulder up. More back and forth leads to shenanigans as Undertaker inadvertently big boots the referee. Edge takes him down and talks smack until Undertaker grabs him by the throat. Edge low blows him to break the grip. In a callback to Survivor Series, Edge lays out Undertaker with a TV camera. Undertaker starts getting back up so Edge mocks his taunt and tries a tombstone. Undertaker counters into his own. Charles Robinson makes the lengthy run from the back to count but Edge kicks out. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder run out only for Undertaker to Chokeslam Ryder onto Hawkins. Edge hits the Spear for a near fall. He follows with a second Spear but before he can cover, Undertaker grabs him into the Hell’s Gates submission. Edge fights valiantly before tapping out.
Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker in 23:49
Outside of his classics with Shawn Michaels the two years after this, I’d say this was easily the best Undertaker WrestleMania match. Edge looked like a million bucks, coming off as a smart villain that had a great game plan. They kept the interference to a minimum and gave us a mostly clean finish that was also original. Tons of counters and callbacks to their rivalry really added to this. One of the best main events in WrestleMania history. ****½
Overall: 9/10; Incredible. A spectacular WrestleMania that ranks among the best ever. Outside of the Playboy and Battle of the Brand matches, everything on this card delivers. There’s something for everyone. Like fun brawls? Catch the opener. Want a great spotfest? Watch Money in the Bank. If you like emotion filled stories, there’s HBK/Flair. You also get great celebrity involvement, a solid triple threat and one absolutely classic main event. Next time on “Kevin's Random Reviews”, I take a long look at WWF Invasion!
Raw History
Episode #126
September 11th, 1995 | Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio
For the first time ever, Raw and Nitro go head to head on September 11th, 1995. The Monday Night Wars have begun. I will be reviewing these shows and seeing which one proves to be better each week. The Nitro premiere beat every episode of Raw in 1995 by a fair margin.
A recap airs from SummerSlam, mainly focusing on the Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon Ladder match. The two big matches for tonight, British Bulldog vs. Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels vs. Sid are hyped on the “Season Premiere”. Finally, Raw has a new intro video. It certainly has some odd music behind it but the rest of the video has the right idea. The song literally has a guy seductively singing “I like it raw”.
Oh no. After seeing how great everything WCW did last week was, the WWF opts to start with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon in front of a horrible green screen.
British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. Razor Ramon
It’s officially been three whole weeks since Bulldog turned heel. He’s sporting a new haircut to go along with the heel turn. Like any heel in this era, Bulldog gets sent outside and has to regroup with his manager. Bulldog does his sweet stalling vertical, but doesn’t hold it long enough to get a pop. Smart heel work. He does press slam Razor which is rather impressive. Razor starts to rally following a commercial break. Commentary plugs the upcoming Razor/Dean Douglas feud that started at SummerSlam. We get a ref bump just before Razor hits the Razor’s Edge. With no referee, Dean Douglas shows up and comes off the top with an elbow to the back of Razor’s head. The 1-2-3 Kid rushes out to even it up but gets slingshot suplexed immediately by Dean. Running powerslam from Bulldog connects and Kid comes off the top with a splash. Bulldog moves and Kid lands on Razor. The now awake referee calls for the bell.
Winner via disqualification: British Bulldog in 7:12
Outside of one or two big moves, this felt like a house show match but at least the crowd was hot. **
British Bulldog and Jim Cornette put boots to both Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid after the match. When they leave, a commercial comes and then Vince is interviewing Razor and Kid. I don’t get to enjoy or understand this segment because the always awful Jerry Lawler is talking over the entire damn segment. He’s not even saying anything relevant, he’s just being annoying. I catch enough to know that Kid is tired of being treated like a kid and says that Razor cost him a match last week. He’s tired of not getting respect and challenges Razor to a match next week. Kid says he will beat him to earn respect. After Kid leaves, Razor says that he made the Kid famous and agrees to the match.
Next week, Yokozuna and Owen Hart take on Men on a Mission.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Brooklyn Brawler and Rad Radford
I’m pretty sure Radford finds himself on PPV in a few months. For those unaware, Radford is Louie Spicoli. This goes the way you’d expect. Commentary doesn’t care about it, focusing on People Magazine instead. Sidewinder ends the Brawler.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 2:47
The Smoking Gunns last about another year but already feel stale at this point.
Another Goldust vignette airs. He’s wearing a golden top hat this time around.
Isaac Yankem DDS vs. Scott Taylor
Before the match, a quick recap is shown of the bad countout finish to Yankem vs. Bret Hart at SummerSlam. Both of these guys would play prominent roles on Raw in about five years, under different characters. Hell, Kane would be around for more than twenty more. Yankem dominates, trying to get some heat back after losing his debut by countout. He wins with the DDS (DDT).
Winner: Isaac Yankem in 2:15
Fine enough big man squash.
Todd Pettengill brings us the In Your House Report. I wonder when they stop doing these. The next Pay-Per-View is on September 24th. The third In Your House card is starting to take shape. The main event of In Your House: Triple Header will see WWF Champion Diesel and Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels taking on Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. EVERY TITLE IS ON THE LINE! Razor Ramon goes one on one with Dean Douglas, as well as Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte. Yes, since wrestling for the title at Royal Rumble, Bret has been wasted on Bob Backlund, Hakushi (though the match was awesome), Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and now Jean-Pierre (though that match ends up rocking too). Bam Bam Bigelow takes on the British Bulldog and lastly, Savio Vega goes up against Waylon Mercy.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase
Wisely, this starts with Shawn Michaels playing a cat and mouse game with his larger opponent. He bobs and weaves to avoid getting caught. Shawn skins the cat and nails a dropkick but when things pick up again, Sid takes control. He sends Shawn outside and stupidly tries to take the countout win. I hate when heels do that in a title match. There’s no point. Out of a commercial, Sid is working a bearhug. Sid calls for the Powerbomb but Shawn counters with a backdrop. This is unheard of to Jerry Lawler. Time for the HBK babyface fire. He ducks a clothesline and fires off three superkicks, one to the gut and two to the face for the clean victory.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 7:24
Hey, that was surprisingly good. It didn’t reach the level that their Survivor Series 1996 does but it worked very well and both guys played to their strengths. **¾
Vince McMahon has an orgasm at ringside as Shawn Michaels strips to celebrate. After a commercial, things go backstage where Shawn meets up with Diesel. Dok Hendrix interviews them about the Triple Header match. Shawn shouts a bunch in his promo, saying that he’s righting all of the wrongs in his career, including them vacating the Tag Team Titles last year. Diesel keeps it simple, saying they are “two dudes with attitude” and “two chaps with straps”.
They do a weird preview of next week, showing clips of the upcoming Kid/Razor match. Thank god they scrap that quickly.
Overall: 5.5/10. This was a relatively fine episode. I thought the main event was solid enough and, while the opener was slow and disappointing, it at least moved things along nicely and furthered some angles. It was the middle of the show, featuring mediocre squash matches that hurt. Points to the WWF for hyping the upcoming PPV after so much time off.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #2
September 11th, 1995 | James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida
Of course, Nitro is live. Eric Bischoff, Mongo and Bobby Heenan are in the booth again. The official Nitro set debuts here. Bischoff hypes the main event as the “Match of the Century”. I mean, it’s a big match but whoa. They recap Luger’s confrontation with Hogan from last week. They then inform us that Vader is AWOL and is off of Hogan’s team at Fall Brawl. Vader would never show up on a Nitro and heads to WWF in the next few months.
Alex Wright vs. Sabu
Sabu is making his debut and comes out to La Parka’s future theme. They start fast and Sabu quickly sends Wright outside, following with a baseball slide and front flip. Sabu opens a chair outside and tries to leap off of it but crashes into the guardrail. It’s Wright turn to shine a bit, hitting a missile dropkick. Bischoff starts discussing shows from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling was a very different place in 1995. Wright now nails a superplex before Sabu comes back with a springboard leg lariat. Wright hits a German for two shortly before Sabu wins with a victory roll. Sabu isn’t content, continuing the assault outside. He splashes Wright through the table and the decision gets reversed.
Winner via disqualification: Alex Wright in 3:59
Knowing they had four minutes, both guys tried to cram a ton of stuff into that time. They did a fine job with that and Sabu was actually not in botch mode for once. Interesting debut. **½
Mean BAH GAWD Gene is in the ring and introduces Ric Flair. Flair is in complete shout mode, bringing up memories of the Four Horsemen and hypes Luger/Hogan. Lex Luger walks out, tells Flair that he hasn’t changed a bit and then just walks back out. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT? At least we got to see some dude in the crowd change the “W” part of he and his friends’ WCW sign sideways so it says ECW.
They give a small plug to Fall Brawl. Hogan’s team is down a member, now only featuring himself, Savage and Sting. They could have probably faced the Dungeon of Doom down a man and still dominated. Also, Ric Flair faces Arn Anderson.
Non-Title Match
WCW United States Champion Sting vs. VK Wallstreet
Yup, one week in and Wallstreet already has a name change. VK. LIKE VINCENT KENNEDY. GET IT? While Sting makes his entrance, Bischoff infamously spoils the Raw results for the evening since that show is pre-taped. Mongo also disses them, joking that the show is named after uncooked eggs. Sting looks motivated here but Wallstreet, even in his debut, is the same old boring ass IRS that I remember. Sting makes a rally and wins with a cross body.
Winner: Sting in 4:15
Normally, I’d be disappointed in a new guy jobbing in his debut in less than five minutes. However, it’s just Mike Rotunda. He can lose until the end of time. No wait, that means I would have to watch him for that long. *½
This Saturday, see Renegade vs. Max Muscle, Big Bubba vs. Dave Sullivan and the debut of Disco Inferno!
Randy Savage vs. Scott Norton
This came about because of their altercation last Monday. Norton attacks during Savage’s entrance. He shouts some trash talk to Mongo at the booth. Savage comes off the top with a double axe handle to the outside. Norton relentlessly goes after the lower back. Bischoff sells that Savage’s back is hurt pretty well. Norton powerbombs Savage for two. Savage continues to take a beat for a bit, making Norton look like a monster. Norton brings Savage in from the apron with a damn DDT. He goes up top, where Savage catches him and stops him. The former Earthquake, now Shark, runs out. Bischoff calls him Avalanche (another of his failed gimmicks). Savage sends Norton into him and Shark/Avalanche falls on Norton’s legs. Savage hits the elbow and, with Shark on his legs, Norton can’t kick out.
Winner: Randy Savage in 5:40
Overall, I rather enjoyed this. Scott Norton looked like a beast and Savage sold everything pretty well. The interference came off stupid, hurting the score. **¼
The rest of the Dungeon of Doom show up but Randy Savage escapes. Scott Norton gets in Shark’s face but nothing happens.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Lex Luger
They basically have a battle of who’s jock is bigger, trying to outshine each other. Hogan hits a suplex but Luger no sells and pops right up. Luger gets one of his own and Hogan is instantly up. Hogan’s too much and causes Luger to bail. “Let’s face it, Luger isn’t used to this level of competition” says Bischoff. Ouch. He adds to it by saying the WWF Champion, Diesel, couldn’t make it past the midcard in WCW. He is not holding anything back. Luger applies the Torture Rack but Hogan stops the referee from ringing the bell. Luger lets go of the hold thinking he won because he’s an idiot. It’s that kind of stupidity that led to him failing in the WWF. Luger covers, Hogan kicks out and Hulks up. Hogan hits the Leg Drop but the Dungeon of Doom run in to cause the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Hulk Hogan in 5:28
Acceptable match that is what you would expect from these two. They mostly played to their strengths and kept it short. **
The Dungeon of Doom completely ignore Lex Luger and beat on Hogan only. Sting and Randy Savage run in to make the save and get rid of the Dungeon like they’re nothing. After a commercial break, Mean Gene is in the ring with the babyfaces. Hogan wants to know why the Dungeon of Doom didn’t attack Luger. Savage is with Hogan in questioning Luger. Sting, as always, backs up his buddy. Sting wants Luger to replace Vader but Savage is against teaming up with the unknown. Savage now questions why the Dungeon also left Sting and Jimmy Hart alone. Hart is appalled at these accusations. Hogan is the deciding vote and puts Luger on the team. Luger only accepts if Hogan will give him another title shot down the line.
Overall: 5.5/10. Nowhere near the level of the fantastic premiere but still a decent episode. One thing is clear so far and that’s the fact that Nitro is hellbent on moving along quickly. Things happen at rapid fire and even on a show like this where the matches aren’t very good, the show remains entertaining.
WWF Rock Bottom
December 13th, 1998 | General Motors Palace in Vancouver, British Columbia | Attendance: 20,042
This was one of the most profitable years in WWF history. Closing it out, you had the Rock as the new Corporate Champion, getting a Pay-Per-View named after him (though thinking about it, the December PPV in 1996 was named after Vader even though he didn’t compete on it and the December 1997 PPV was named after DX). Though it is named after him, he doesn’t even headline the show, with that distinction going to the Buried Alive match between Steve Austin and the Undertaker. This show produced the lowest buyrate of 1998. It is the first and only show under this name.
Things open with the Rock cutting a promo somewhere in the arena. He says that every In Your House from here on out will be named after him, including “Rock Solid” and “Laying the Smackdown”. At least he got a TV show out of the latter.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. It’s Cole’s first PPV.
D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry w/ PMS vs. The Godfather and Val Venis w/ the Hoes
Venis and the Godfather are kind of a perfect match. Godfather rewards his hoes by giving them Val Venis for the whole night. D-Lo and Val, who had a pretty lengthy opener at SummerSlam a few months earlier, start things off. Michael Cole questions the use of D-Lo’s chest protector since the injury happened over eight months earlier. D-Lo’s chest is up there with DDP’s ribs and Bob Orton’s arm for longest injuries. Val starts taking the heat segment. D-Lo misses the Lo Down, opening the door for Val. Cole calls it the Sky High proving he sucked even back then. He also calls the Godfather a “master of martial arts.” Godfather gets the hot tag but doesn’t do much of note. He and Val double suplex Henry while the hoes argue with PMS. While Godfather tries to calm things down, Jacqueline slides in and exposes Val’s thong. That distraction allows Henry to knock him down and hit a splash to win.
Winners: D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry in 5:56
Not much to really discuss here. They seemed to work a house show like tag team match while waiting for the interference finish. *
They go through backstage segments rather quickly, so much so that I’m only going to discuss them if they’re important. Mankind attacked the Rock on Heat, but Rock still will defend the belt.
The Headbangers vs. The Oddities w/ Giant Silva and Luna
Wait. Why is this on Pay-Per-View? The Oddities are represented by Kurrgan and Golga. Golga is the former Earthquake for anyone that didn’t know. They plod through their offense while the crowd sits in complete silence. The Headbangers end up working a “heat” on Kurrgan. It’s hard to buy considering Kurrgan’s size and the fact that the crowd is dead. After some very uninspired stuff, Mosh catches Golga with am ugly cross body after a blind tag and they steal it.
Winners: The Headbangers in 6:52
I just don’t see why this had to be on Pay-Per-View at all. The crowd didn’t care, the guys involved didn’t seem to care and neither did commentary. The only person who looked like they wanted to be there was Luna. DUD
Owen Hart vs. Steve Blackman
The pop for Owen Hart is pretty insane. Owen was brought out of “retirement” by Blackman. He was in “retirement” after “breaking” Dan Severn’s neck. He attacks quickly to the crowd’s liking. Blackman turns it around and works a bow and arrow shortly. Both guys trade offense, with neither grabbing a real upper hand. Owen takes a breather outside, leading Blackman to take him out with a baseball slide. They oddly still work this match as if the crowd is against Owen. He does the rest holds and Blackman makes the comebacks, but it gets the opposite reaction they want. Owen gets two on an enziguri. He locks in the dragon sleeper, which gets the crowd to their feet, but Blackman slips free. Blackman then puts Owen in the Sharpshooter, garnering massive heat. He reaches the ropes to a big pop. Owen exits the ring and decides to walk out on the match, getting counted out.
Winner via countout: Steve Blackman in 10:28
Man, I wish this didn’t end the way it did. The match was going along fine until that finish. It wasn’t great, but it was entertaining. **½
The Brood vs. The J.O.B. Squad
The Brood is still in its infancy at this point. The J.O.B. Squad is represented by Scorpio, Bob Holly and Al Snow. Outside of Holly, who is debuting his Hardcore Holly hairdo, nobody in this match has really been with the company for long. The Brood seems to show a bit more chemistry. I always think Gangrel has a busted lip but it’s just his trademark fake blood. The Brood isolate Snow in the corner. Once he gets free and makes the tag, the match breaks down and everyone gets involved. Scorpio ends Christian over and outside, but misses a tope. Christian, not to be outdone, misses a diving headbutt. Snow hits him with Head, though it looked weak. Gangrel takes him out, before Holly goes after him. Scorpio comes off the top with a sick moonsault leg drop. Edge breaks up the count before leaping off of Gangrel’s back and onto the other JOB Squad members outside. Christian is left alone with Scorpio, hitting the future Unprettier for the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Brood in 9:08
Hey, that was better than expected. It was a neat little tag team match. It started a bit slow and didn’t really pick up until everyone got involved. Those final few minutes were pretty fun. **½
Striptease Match
Goldust vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
The rules are, if Jarrett wins, Goldust has to strip for the fans. If Goldust wins, Debra has to strip. They trade some early back and forth that seems uninspired. Jarrett seems to go after the left arm, hitting a single arm DDT. It’s interesting to hear Jerry Lawler, the heel, side with the babyface because he wants to see Debra strip. It’s probably the real start of his annoying “puppies” gimmick for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the prospect of tits, the fans are firmly behind Goldust, helping out a relatively dull affair. Debra nearly uses the guitar at one point but almost hits Jarrett with it accidentally. She distracts the referee after Goldust hits the Curtain Call. The fans are eating all of this up. As Goldust sets up for Shattered Dreams, Debra enters to distract him but as she’s taken out, he hits the move behind the referee’s back. Now, while Jarrett is being counted out, Debra lays out Goldust with the guitar. Jarrett slides in and hits the Stroke for the three count. BUT WAIT! New Commissioner Shawn Michaels strolls out. He congratulates Jarrett and sends him to the back. With Jarrett gone, he awards the match to Goldust via disqualification.
Winner via disqualification: Goldust in 8:02
The match itself is pretty basic. They are two guys that know what they’re doing though and they realized that they could let the heat from the crowd carry them. It did the job and made this slightly better than it actually was. **¼
Debra is now forced to strip. She seems to enjoy herself more as it goes further. Shawn Michaels even brings out money for her. Before she can remove her bra though, the Blue Blazer and Jeff Jarrett show up to cover her up.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. WWF Hardcore Champion Big Bossman and WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock w/ Shawn Michaels
So Shawn Michaels goes from babyface in one segment to heel in the next. The Outlaws, outside of Owen Hart, are the most over guys on the show so far. Bossman plays the powerhouse but finds himself in trouble against the well-oiled machine that is the Tag Team Champions. Classic Road Dogg as he goes all Shake, Rattle and Roll on Shamrock. Shamrock, probably embarrassed at taking that move, rolls him into an ankle lock but it’s quickly broken up. Shortly after this, the four men would split off into two separate singles feuds. It breaks down into Road Dogg taking the heat. Bossman is great at toying with him and being a real dick. The heat on Road Dogg lasts for a fair amount of time. Billy wakes up the crowd by shouting “YOU SUCK” across the ring. I’m not sure who it was directed at. Billy gets the hot tag and nearly wins, but Michaels pulls the referee out of the ring. That opens the door for Bossman to hit Billy with the nightstick. Shamrock covers but only gets two. Shawn tried to cheat again, but Billy rolls through the pin and they retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws in 17:04
If this went about 10-12 minutes, it would have worked much better. Giving them seventeen was far too much. Bossman and Shamrock did an acceptable job but a lot of their stuff was dull and seemed to drag. Certainly a case of less is more because this went on for far too long. *¾
Throughout the night, Vince McMahon and Mankind were in a meeting in the boiler room. Before the match, they spend time going over whether or not Mick Foley actually quit in the finals of the tournament at Survivor Series a month earlier.
WWF Champion
The Rock (c) w/ Shane and Vince McMahon vs. Mankind
Here we have the second meeting between these two out of four straight on PPV. That’s not including the televised matches (ladder, the night Foley wins the title & Halftime Heat) that they got out of this rivalry. Rock attacks from behind and the brawl is on. Mankind uses steel steps on the outside to help his cause. Vince gets on the microphone, saying that Mankind is on the verge of getting counted out, which opens the door for the Rock. Mankind takes a bump from the second rope onto the floor outside. The thud sound it makes is sickening. Rock does his signature trash talk on commentary during the match. Lawler kisses Rock’s ass all night and asks for a high five but gets denied and it’s glorious. The fight moves back inside where the Rock picks up a near fall. Mankind begins to rally and drops a leg onto Rock’s groin. Vince pops up wanting the DQ. Mankind prevents it by laying out the referee with the piledriver. He also takes out the timekeeper. Rock attacks and Shane tries to hit Mankind with the title. Mankind ducks and Rock gets leveled. A second referee shows up but Rock kicks out. Vince and Shane’s reactions are perfect. Mankind brings out Mr. Socko and puts Rock in the Mandible Claw. Rock passes out and the crowd goes wild. BUT WAIT! Vince gets on the microphone and admits that Mankind won the match, but says you can only win the title if you actually submit, which the Rock didn’t do.
Winner: Mankind in 13:34
This didn’t reach the limits of their 1999 bouts. Still, it was a fun sprint between two guys with growing chemistry. A lot of people dislike the finish but I’m not one of them. It made perfect sense since Mankind constantly said that he never quit at Survivor Series. Having Vince turn the tables on him was excellent and it set up their I Quit match at the next PPV. Sometimes it’s all about advancing the story, which was done expertly here. ***
Obviously, Mankind isn’t happy about that result and starts attacking Mr. McMahon. Shane hits him with a chair, which has no effect and he gets Socko too. He is finally pulled away when Ken Shamrock and the Big Bossman make the save.
Buried Alive Match
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
If Austin loses, he can’t enter the Royal Rumble next month. This is the second ever Buried Alive match. Due to the personal nature of the rivalry, the fight starts in the aisle. They do a ton of brawling in the aisle and around the ring. Undertaker is in control as they make it up to the grave and trade blows. The fight continues, bouncing around the arena from the entrance to the ring and everywhere in between. It’s hard to really discuss what they’re doing since it’s just a bunch of punches, kicks and throwing each other into stuff. Undertaker hits a Chokeslam in the ring and takes Austin to the grave. He nearly buries him but Austin escapes and hits him with some sort of can. Austin nails the Stunner and dump a wheel barrow full of dirt onto Taker. Austin leaves to the back for some reason. Undertaker gets out and hides, waiting for Austin with a shovel. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupts in the grave. Kane comes out from the grave ad goes at it with his brother. Undertaker nearly gets a Tombstone on him but stops because he sees something in the entrance. It’s Austin driving a backhoe. Kane Tombstones Undertaker, which the camera misses. He rolls Taker into the grave and Austin has the backhoe drop a ton of dirt onto him, winning.
Winner: Steve Austin in 21:30
These two have never really had great matches together. Some are good and most are pretty bad actually. This was possibly the worst and started a string of mediocre at best performances from the two for the most part. Undertaker was battling nagging injuries, this dragged on for too long and was mostly dull. ¾*
Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. Considering how successful the year of 1998 was for the WWF, it kind of sucks to see the PPV side end on such a whimper. Outside of the WWF Title match, nothing on this show is really any good. There are two decent matches hidden in there but this is an easy skip. Even the main event, which the WWF was mostly nailing at the time, is an abysmal waste of time. Up next on“Kevin's Random Reviews” will be WWF WrestleMania XXIV!
