NXT TakeOver: War Games Predictions

I know a lot of people have been disappointed with the use of Kassius Ohno in NXT, but I like him in the mentor role he’s in. He’s been working a lot of the young, inexperienced guys, like Lars, on live events. This will be the first real test for Lars and there aren’t many better to be in there with than Ohno. I think the match will be solid, and Lars will surprise many by winning in rather convincing fashion. It won’t be a squash, but Lars will look very impressive.

Winner: Lars Sullivan

This has been my favorite male program NXT has put on all year. Gargano/Ciampa would’ve probably been higher, but Ciampa’s injury put that on hold. The Velveteen Dream is an absolute blast, who completely nails his character. Aleister Black is a very good wrestler, who should be able to put on the best match of Dream’s young career. I don’t expect Dream to win at all, but I’d be totally happy if he did. I’m gonna say Black gets the win, but it’ll be Dream’s next step into becoming a star.

Winner: Aleister Black

This is the hardest match to predict by a wide margin. Nikki Cross is a great choice, because I feel she’s the most complete package among the NXT women. However, if she wins, SAnitY will have multiple titles, which I see as more of a heel stable trope. Peyton Royce would be an excellent candidate, as I could see her sharing the title with Billie Kay and their segments would be golden. She deserves this recognition. Ember Moon makes a good pick after coming up just short against Asuka multiple times. But, a loss here could send her frustration into heel turn territory, which is an interesting route for her. Kairi Sane is the least interesting pick to me, but after winning the Mae Young Classic, I could see her getting a big push. However, unlike Asuka, I think Sane works better as an underdog chasing the title, than as a dominant champion. My heart says Peyton, but I’m gonna say Ember finally does it.

Winner: Ember Moon

Along with Johnny Gargano, Andrade Almas is my favorite NXT wrestler. The dude is fantastic and the addition of Zelina Vega as a mouthpiece was just what he needed to make it to the next level. If I were booking, he’d absolutely win the NXT Championship here. But I’m not booking. Drew McIntyre will retain the title here and most likely lose it to Adam Cole. Yawn. Maybe Almas gets called up after this match, though I’m not sure he’d get much of a push there. Ah, well. This should be a pretty good outing.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

It’s still wild that I’m going to watch a WWE produced War Games match. And even crazier to think that the first WWE War Games features Roderick Strong, reDRagon, Eric Young and Adam Cole. 2017 is strange. I’m excited for this match because it’s historic, it should be bananas and I really like most of the guys involved. I believe the Undisputed Era has to win here. SAnitY have the Tag Titles, so they’ll be fine coming out of this regardless of the outcome. The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong aren’t a usual team, so they won’t have the chemistry of the other trios and that could cost them. Plus, Cole/O’Reilly/Fish came in as big deals and a win in this kind of match would fully establish them.

Winner: The Undisputed Era

RevPro/NJPW Global Wars UK Night One Review

RevPro Wrestling/NJPW Global Wars UK Night One
November 9th, 2017 | York Hall in Bethnal Green, Greater London

Ah, the now annual RPW/NJPW joint shows. Last year’s shows were very fun and I expect more of the same here, even if I haven’t been able to follow RevPro as much as I wanted to.

RevPro British Cruiserweight Championship: Josh Bodom [c] vs. BUSHI vs. Ryan Smile
BUSHI is a NEVER Openweight Six Man Champion, while Smile impressed me in the handful of matches I’ve seen him in. From what I’ve seen, Bodom has been a good heel in RevPro. BUSHI stayed back early, allowing the others to wear themselves out. He and Bodom eventually formed a small alliance that didn’t last long. They moved to high risk stuff, with Smile showcasing his awesome dive ability. He got hit a wild flurry of Bodom offense, but BUSHI made the save. The trio took part in a sunset flip/German suplex combination for one of the cooler spots of the match. In the end, BUSHI went to mist Smile, but caught Bodom instead. Smile added a springboard cutter and frog splash to win the title at 10:09. Good way to start the show. It was fast paced, they didn’t stick to any kind of formula and it was flat out fun. [***¼]

Gedo and Toru Yano vs. Legion of Lords
The Legion of Lords are lord Gideon Grey and No Fun Dunne. Looking at the guys in this match, you expect comedy and that’s what they gave us. Yano tricked his opponents before the match, using his DVD to throw powder in their eyes. Along with the DVD, there was use of a megaphone and a blast of spray by Gideon. Yano got to do his “BREAK” and turnbuckle spots, which the crowd loved. He and Gedo used duel low blows and rollups to win in 6:39. It was short, inoffensive and exactly what it needed to be. [**]

El Desperado vs. Matt Riddle
This is one of those matches I never knew I wanted, until it was announced. It was an overlooked match because Riddle faces Minoru Suzuki on night two. Riddle was in control for most of the match. He’d take Desperado down, hit his senton and deliver a variety of kicks and strikes. Desperado caught a strike and flipped Sabre off, only to get pulled into an armbar. Desperado went to work on Riddle’s leg, banging it off the ring post a bunch of times. There was a great spot where Desperado avoided one of Riddle’s signature kicks and locked him in the Stretch Muffler. Riddle made it to the ropes, but ate a big spear. Riddle came back with a brutal ripcord knee, Gotch Tombstone and the Bromission to pick up the win in 10:48. I enjoyed that a lot. Desperado did his job to soften Riddle up with a good game plan to take out his legs. Riddle was his awesome self and continues to shine in short matches. [***¼]

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Marty Scurll vs. Tetsuya Naito
The G1 Climax winner was wildly over. To be fair, so was Scurll. They were part of an awesome tag match at last year’s Global Wars UK. Naito mocked Marty early, as they both tried getting under the skin of the other. Scurll targeted Naito’s wrist. He had Naito’s number throughout, even countering Destino. Naito played the babyface here, even getting in some fire that reminded me of his pre-LIDJ days. Scurll started bringing out new offense to combat Naito’s rallies. Naito avoided the finger snap spot with an eye rake. We got a ref bump, giving Naito the visual win via dragon suplex. Marty attacked with the umbrella and used the Mouse Trap for a great near fall. BUSHI came out to distract Marty from using the Chicken Wing. He got taken out, but then the referee caught Marty’s feet on the ropes for a pin. Naito blocked an umbrella shot, hit a low blow and won with Destino in 15:22. I liked the battle of two rule breakers going at it. Naito played the early face, but went to what works late. Scurll had him well scouted, but couldn’t beat the master. [***½]

Yuji Nagata vs. Zack Gibson
Last year, BLUE JUSTICE wrestled Pete Dunne in a solid match. Gibson got to do one of his heat filled pre-match promos. Similar to the last match, we got arm work here. Gibson focused on Nagata’s arm, while Yuji responded by kicking at Zack’s taped shoulder. Gibson kept looking for the Shankly Gates at every turn. Nagata got to pop the crowd with an Exploder near fall and then his signature armbar, complete with eye roll. Gibson came close with the Helter Skelter. They traded strikes and Gibson finally got Shankly Gates, only for Nagata to slip out and win with the Backdrop Driver in 13:21. The fans added a lot here, as they loved Nagata. I liked both guys having similar plans of attack. Gibson’s obsession with the Shankly Gates ended up costing him, as the legend took advantage of his mistake to win. [***]

#CCK w/ Kid Lykos vs. Rocky Romero and YOSHI-HASHI
Romero and Tacos are an odd CHAOS pairing. They didn’t even come out together, as Rocky arrived to the Roppongi 3K theme. CCK against SHO and YOH sounds great. They had fun early, with Rocky trying to take on the much taller Chris Brookes. He used an eye poke to cut him down to size a bit. We got a lot of basic tag stuff to start, with everyone getting some shine. They all got to hit their usual stuff, like Brookes’ wet willy and Romero’s FOREVER clotheslines. Banks and Romero going at it was probably the best exchange of the match. Rocky got in trouble late, eating a flurry of offense for the finish. He took a Slice of Heaven, slingshot cutter and Kiwi Krusher at 11:27. This was solid, but nothing special. Romero was out there having fun, and I always enjoy some Travis Banks. [**¾]

Keith Lee vs. Tomohiro Ishii
From the moment I saw Keith Lee, this is the match I wanted most. The size difference was a sight to behold, but Ishii brought the fight to him with a slew of chops. It took just one from Lee to knock Ishii down. Lee would beat on Ishii, only for the “Stone Pitbull” to fire up. It clearly bewildered Lee that Ishii was this tough. Lee threw Ishii around like he weighed nothing. Things got wild from there, with Ishii countering a Spirit Bomb into a guillotine choke, then into a DDT and then eventually hitting the Brainbuster. It was an incredible thing to witness. Some of Lee’s offense was absolutely monstrous. He nearly threw Ishii through the roof on a chokeslam and Spirit Bomb. The near fall on the latter was nuts. Lee made the mistake of trying a moonsault and missed. He and Ishii both got big kickouts at one to huge reactions. Ishii picked up the win with a second Brainbuster after a hard fought 15:43. What a match. Dream matches don’t always live up to the hype, but this one did. It was hard hitting from start to finish and exactly the kind of match I want from these two. Ishii is one of the best underdogs in wrestling, while Lee is one of the best dominant bigs and it made for brilliance.[****½]

Hirooki Goto and Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki and RPW British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. w/ El Desperado
I love that Sabre brought his best friend, El Desperado, with him. The Suzuki/Goto battles early were about as effective as their dull feud in NJPW this year. Ospreay and Sabre had better exchanges, though not at the level of their best work. Ospreay played the face in peril and got beaten badly. It was so one-sided that Desperado had time to give Suzuki a shoulder rub at ringside. Suzuki laughed as Ospreay responded with strikes, before hitting a flurry of his own. Goto got the hot tag, but is so lame, he and Ospreay ended up in stereo sleeper holds. It eventually came down to Sabre and Ospreay, who had counter after counter ready for one another. Sabre got the obligatory Oscutter into a submission counter. On Ospreay’s next attempt, he successfully hit it for the win in 22:20. This was a good main event, but it never sniffed greatness. It felt long and the Goto/Suzuki stuff never quite worked for me. Suzuki kicking Ospreay’s ass was great and Sabre/Ospreay was fun. [***]

Overall: 7.5/10. Night one of Global Wars was a very fun show. Nothing on the card is bad, with the worse thing being a short comedy match. The three tag matches were the weakest parts of the show, yet they’re all solid. You get very different and fun outings in Naito/Scurll, Nagata/Gibson and Riddle/Desperado, while the opening three-way was enjoyable. Lee/Ishii is where this show is made and is an absolute must-see match. It’s one of my favorite matches all year.

Raw History: Episode #127 and Reliving Nitro: Episode #3

Raw History
Episode #127
September 18th, 1995 | Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio

Still going pre-taped from Canton. Just like the weird “NEXT WEEK ON RAW” clips we got last time, this starts with a guy saying “LAST WEEK ON RAW” leading to clips from the Bulldog/Razor match. The emphasis is on the Kid/Razor angle.

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon
Of course, during Kid’s entrance they take us back to Kid’s career making win over Razor Ramon two years ago. Fast start as Kid shows heel tendencies by attacking before Razor removes his jacket. It backfires because Razor ends up hitting him with a second rope fallaway slam for two. Razor just tosses Kid around and Kid is all about bumping big for him. He gets two on a Chokeslam as well. Kid comes back with a tope to the outside that earns him a near fall. He works a sleeper heading into the commercial and Razor breaks out of it as they return. That’s how you utilize a commercial break. As Razor makes the babyface comeback, they collide and it leads to a ref bump. These poor fans see Déjà vu when Dean Douglas runs out, splashes Razor off the top and sprints to the back. Kid enters the ring, drapes an arm over Razor and gets the three.

Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 7:11
Fine little match here that advanced two angles. One, Douglas/Razor and two, the tension between Kid and Razor. They worked at a good pace and it was an enjoyable match. **¾

An out of breath Dean Douglas takes us to his classroom for the Report Card. He gives Kid, himself and Razor grades that end up spelling out DEAN. He’s so clever.

Bob Holly and Savio Vega vs. Kama and Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
We see that Ted Dibiase got slopped by Henry O. Godwin on Superstars. Why is Tatanka still around? He and Kama struggle with the faces early on, unable to withstand their quick offense. Commentary really pushes the idea that Bob Holly is a hothead. Vega ends up as the face in peril. Holly does get agitated several times on the apron. It allows the heel to double team while the referee has to send Holly back. Hothead Holly gets the tag and scores on a missile dropkick. He tries a diving cross body but Kama catches him in an awkward powerslam spot. Unfortunately, Holly lands on his neck. It looks bad but it does the trick.

Winners: Kama and Tatanka in 5:50
Boring match, as expected from the Million Dollar Corporation. At least they made sure to build the “hothead” Holly stuff, so it worked in that sense. *¼

Razor Ramon responds to Dean Douglas and says that he’s going to “carve him up”.

Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. Brian Walsh
Footage is shown of Lafitte stealing Bret Hart’s glasses and jacket over the past few weeks. Speaking of Bret, he’s on the set of Lonesome Dove and calls in to say that he didn’t know pirates really existed. He sounds so unenthused about the program. Pierre gets in almost all of the offense, winning with Le Cannonball.

Winner: Jean-Pierre Lafitte in 3:19
Decent enough squash match to promote the upcoming Hart/Lafitte match.

Non-Title Match
WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Men on a Mission
Vince McMahon nearly creams himself at the sight of Yokozuna going face to face with Mabel. They even had the ring “reinforced” beforehand. As usual, Owen does most of the work for his guys. He has the advantage against Mo, since Mo is the worst. Mabel uses his size to pound away. Even though both teams are heels, Owen ends up playing the face in peril. Lawler tries to hype Men on a Mission as former Tag Champions even though they held them for a very short time. He makes the tag and we almost get the Mabel/Yokozuna battle. Yokozuna kicks Mo’s round ass for a while. Oddly enough, Vince calls this a Thursday edition of Raw, but the airdate is listed at 9/18, which was a Monday. Anyway, now Yokozuna and Mabel slug it out. Mabel wins out with a hideous leaping clothesline. I’m being very generous by saying he leaped. Following a distraction from Jim Cornette, Yokozuna hits the leg drop on Mo and Owen gets the cover.

Winners: Owen Hart and Yokozuna in 9:06
For the time it was given and the competitors involved (sans Owen Hart), I expected this to be terrible. It was much better than I thought it would be though. Still, that’s not saying a ton. **

Backstage, Diesel and Shawn Michaels guarantee that they’ll be Tag Team Champions again. When that’s done, the heels get promo time in the ring. Wisely, Jim Cornette handles the mic work. As you would expect from Jim, he is pretty great here at hyping the main event for this Sunday.

Overall: 5/10. A middle of the pack show. The main event was a spirited effort that over delivered and the opener was a fun sprint that advanced multiple angles. I wasn’t a fan of the Million Dollar Corporation tag, but at least the Lafitte squash built towards the PPV. Not a bad way to spend 45 minutes.

WCW Fall Brawl 1995 Results
I reviewed this show a while back so I’ll give results and my star ratings.

Johnny B. Badd def. Brian Pillman in 29:59 (****)
Sgt. Craig Pittman def. Cobra in 1:33 (DUD)
WCW Television Championship: Diamond Dallas Page def. Renegade (c) in 8:07 (*¼)
WCW World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat def. Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater (c) in 16:51 (DUD)
Arn Anderson def. Ric Flair in 23:05 (****)
War Games: Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Sting def. the Dungeon of Doom in 18:48 (¼*)


Reliving Nitro
Episode #3
September 18th, 1995 | Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee

We are just 24 hours removed from Fall Brawl, which was a mixed bag. Some horrible stuff but also two great matches. There are new Television and Tag Team Champions. Side note, at this point, in September of 1995, Hulk Hogan has been WCW Champion since July of 1994. Commentary is the usual Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Mongo combination.

To close out Fall Brawl, the Giant debuted and sent Hulk Hogan away in an ambulance. They go backstage where the Giant and the Taskmaster show up in an ambulance. Were they driving it all night? Giant cuts a promo but it’s so over the top and campy because he was still so very new to the business. They were billing him as Andre the Giant’s son at this point.

It’s supposed to be the Blue Bloods vs. the American Males in a number one contender’s match. During the Blue Bloods’ entrance, Harlem Heat attack them and decide they want to just put the titles on the line against the American Males because they are the best tag team around.

WCW World Tag Team Championship
Harlem Heat (c) w/ Sister Sherri vs. The American Males
They never fully specify if the titles are on the line because the commissioner isn’t in the building. It seems like they are, so I’ll just go with that. This starts like a brawl but quickly calms down. Nothing really happens until Booker nearly decapitates Riggs with a spin kick. During the match, Col. Robert Parker comes down. He made out with Sister Sherri last night. Sherri does a terrible job in falling off the apron right into his arms. Bagwell counters a slam and lands on top of Booker, upsetting them and stealing the win.

Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: The American Males in 4:43
If you want proof that anything could and would happen on Nitro, this is an early place to look. Harlem Heat was an established team but they drop the titles less than a night after winning them back. Not the best team to take the belts and not the best match. This was more about shock value. *

Mean BAH GAWD Gene is in the ring to introduce Ric Flair. He interviews him about facing Brian Pillman later tonight. Pillman cost Flair the match against Arn Anderson last night. Flair is unhappy that Arn brought an outsider into their feud. He promises to chop Pillman so hard that other former NFL players feel it.

Johnny B. Badd vs. Paul Orndorff
Orndorff has a new gimmick where he carries around a mirror and has awful theme music. Johnny B. Badd is apparently the number one contender for the US Title after a grueling half hour contest with Brian Pillman at Fall Brawl. The fans chant “Paula” at Mr. Wonderful. They don’t do much of interest outside of a Badd pescado. Orndorff counters a backdrop into a pin and somehow wins.

Winner: Paul Orndorff in 3:45
Why? Johnny B. Badd just became the top contender for the number two belt in the company. I get that Orndorff had a new gimmick but if they really wanted to get it over, there were others he could have gone over. *½

On the set of Baywatch, Randy Savage was working out when the Taskmaster attacked him and choked him with the barbell. Ric Flair randomly appears to save him. Everything about this was absurd. The fact that it was on Baywatch, the Taskmaster being on the beach and the Flair run in. It all leads to Randy Savage being interviewed by Mean Gene. Gene is earning those checks tonight. Savage says that he didn’t ask for Flair’s help, so thanks but no thanks. He focuses on Hogan, saying he’s a bad judge of character because he got hit with a cheap shot from Luger during Wargames. He predicts that Luger, Sting and Jimmy Hart will join the Dungeon of Doom. Luger comes out to confront him. Luger claims that Savage has a personal agenda of his own, leading them to almost coming to blows.

Footage airs from right before Fall Brawl last night. Hulk Hogan was being interviewed on his motorcycle when the Giant showed up in a monster truck and ran it over. Hogan beats on the car door while Giant laughs maniacally. They then show the end of the show, where the Giant snapped Hogan’s neck. How is he alive? Also, Mongo claims that he’s seen that neck snapping spot on the football field. Sure you did Mongo.

Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair
Both men exchange chops at the start before spilling outside. Flair is showing an aggression that fits the angle. Pillman, who was only starting to show heel tendencies in that match last night, is full on heel here. He uses the ropes for leverage and viciously attacks Flair’s arm. He even slams it on the guardrail a few times. Back inside, they trade stuff and Flair tries for the Figure Four. Pillman pulls him into an inside cradle for two. Flair finally manages to lock in the Figure Four and Pillman gives up.

Winner: Ric Flair in 5:24
I wish this got an unclean finish for a Pillman win. It would have helped Brian while also furthering the existing angle. Still, the match was solid for the time given. **½

Ric Flair gets on the microphone and says that next week, Arn Anderson will get his ass kicked.
As the show is about to go off of the air, Heenan says that something is going on in the back. Bischoff agrees, but instead of cutting to it, they promote Disco Inferno’s Nitro debut next week. Why?

Overall: 6/10. Even on weeks when the matches are disappointing, the show still manages to be entertaining. Outside of the terrible decision to have Orndorff beat Johnny B. Badd, everything moved quickly and had a purpose. They did the Tag Title switch was a cool surprise and I’m enjoying the Flair/Anderson/Pillman angle.

Kevin's Random Reviews: WWE WrestleMania XXIV

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 and Reliving Nitro: Episode #2

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.