NXT & Superstars Report

Thursday nights on the WWE Network is the place to be. Starting with my favorite weekly wrestling program, NXT, the night is always fun. NXT kicked off with the number one contender, Tyler Breeze. He was in action against Angelo Dawkins. Those who know Dawkins know that this was generally a squash match. Breeze worked the tapings with an injured finger which might explain his recent short matches. After the match he announced that he's submitting his music video to the Oscars for Best Documentary, which got a "Thank You Tyler" chant. He talked trash about the NXT Champion, Adrian Neville, who came out and talked trash back, leading to him beating down the number one contender. It was pretty badass.

NXT Divas action followed, which is nearly always a good thing. Charlotte impressed me greatly at TakeOver, but since then, she's fallen back in my eyes. She would be facing one of my favorites since her days in SHIMMER, Becky Lynch. A few weeks ago, Becky made her debut with a weird Irish dancing gimmick but that has been scrapped. She now came out to some metal type music and it reminded me a lot of Seth Rollins when he was in NXT. The match itself was better than the disappointment that Charlotte and Summer Rae put on and Becky looked really good in defeat. NXT is off to a good start.

And here comes NXT taking a step down. The Ascension arrived and the talk was all about their 302 day reign as NXT Tag Team Champions. Not to take anything away from their reign but they've had no competition. I mean, even on the NXT Specials, they've beaten Too Cool on one and on the other they bested Kalisto and Ricardo Rodriguez. Not the most impressive list. And tonight, was yet another squash victory. The biggest news out of tonight's show was the announcement of a Number One Contender's Tag Team Tournament starting next week. This should be fun to help put a jolt into the Tag Team Division and I'd love to see Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillains win.

Of course, with NXT not having the best tag team division in the world they need some makeshift teams. Mojo Rawley and his general awfulness was interviewed backstage by Jojo. First off, I loved seeing Jojo. Second, he suggested they team up as Mojo Jojo. Best thing Mr. Rawley has ever done. Bull Dempsey decided they should team together but warned him not to mess things up. They teamed up against "The Mechanics." I seriously can't make that up. This was basically another squash that helped get the team of Mojo & Bull over for the tournament but I don't see their team being successful and it will lead to Bull destroying Mojo.

In the main event, Adam Rose faced Tyson Kidd. Not the best main event ever. This was the longest match that I've ever seen from Adam Rose and he continued to not be the most impressive. He did give Natalya a lollipop at ringside and when she took it, the fans played up the situation. Tyson went outside and threw it away. After a decent bout, Rose won with a small package. Yes, he's undefeated and has a streak but Bo Dallas and The Undertaker don't anymore. Tyson Kidd is pretty pissed as Natalya enters the ring while the fans chant "Nattie's Better." Ouch. Overall, this was a disappointing episode of NXT. I enjoyed the first two segments but everything after wasn't really interesting.

Onto Superstars, which featured Alberto Del Rio again, this time in the opener. He went toe to toe with Justin Gabriel in what turned out to be a very good match. Del Rio continues to give it his all in the ring, even on a night where he was on little watched Superstars and where he received a nasty cut over his eyes. He, of course, made Justin Gabriel tap to the Cross Armbreaker while Renee Young was delightful on commentary.

The tag team main event featured Zack Ryder and Sin Cara taking on SLATER GATOR! They even got a backstage segment that was pretty funny. SLATER GATOR is taking over and I'm okay with that. It's awesome that Heath will do everything in his power with the gimmicks and angles that he's given and this is no different. SLATER GATOR won here and are moving up the tag team ranks. A decent episode of Superstars as I do tend to skip over the recaps of the weekly action that is already recapped way too often throughout the week.

While this is not general news from the Network, it's about the Network. During the NXT tapings last night it was announced that the third NXT Special will air on the WWE Network live on September 11th. It's titled "TakeOver 2" and I'm excited. The NXT Specials have been some of my favorite shows and, while they announced the three title matches for that show, I won't spoil them here. The other big news is that there will be a new NXT General Manager announced soon. Fun stuff right?

Top Ten Thursday: Top Ten SummerSlams

Originally, I had planned on doing a list of the Top Ten Worst Matches in SummerSlam history, but a bit more research needs to be done there to weed out the worst. Instead, we're going with a much more positive Top Ten SummerSlam events. In the 25 year history of the show, we've seen some really great shows and it's time that we rank them. When it comes to Honorable Mentions I have to point out the 2003 edition. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle was just great. Also, the 1999 card surprised me with the great brawl between Test and Shane McMahon. 2005 were pretty solid as well.

10. SummerSlam 2011

Entering the 2011 SummerSlam, the Summer of Punk was hot. CM Punk had just won the WWE Championship in an epic match at Money in the Bank in Chicago the previous month and quit the WWE. He would, of course, return two weeks later after John Cena won a tournament to become "champion." Thus, a Champion vs. Champion match was booked with Triple H as the special referee. As always with Punk and Cena, this was excellent though it had a controversial finish. Never mind that the WWE botched Punk's momentum by having Kevin Nash appear and Alberto Del Rio cash in Money in the Bank on him, the show was still good. Randy Orton and Christian stole the show with a great Street Fight in which Orton regained his World Heavyweight Championship. Add in a fun six man tag opener and a solid bout between Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan and you've got a good show.

9. SummerSlam 2008

The hottest rivalry of the year 2008 had to be the one between Edge and The Undertaker. They met on multiple Pay-Per-Views including WrestleMania XXIV. However, they would headline SummerSlam as well but this time, inside of the Hell in a Cell. According to Edge, the WWE officially went PG hours before the show, so they had to change some things but it was still great. The Undertaker sent Edge to hell to close the show. Also on this show was the first ever match pitting John Cena against Batista. Two megastars with nearly identical rises to the top and their first meeting couldn't even main event. Batista won a really good match with a big powerbomb that injured Cena for a while. CM Punk defended the World Heavyweight Title against JBL in an underwhelming match and Triple H vs. Khali was poor as you'd expect but the angle between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels was great and the opener pitting MVP one on one with Jeff Hardy was also fun.

8. SummerSlam 2004

Being a HUGE Randy Orton fan at this time, I loved this show. Seeing him beat Chris Benoit straight up in a great wrestling match to become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history was awesome. I go through hot and cold streaks now of liking and disliking Orton, but at that time, this was perfect. Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero put on a rematch of their WrestleMania XX classic. It was, by no means, on that match's level but it was still really good. John Cena and Booker T had a solid bout, while The Undertaker and JBL gave me a decent show. Edge put the Intercontinental Title on the line against Chris Jericho and Batista in a fun little match even though he got booed heavily in his hometown, which turned out to be the catalyst for the Rated R Superstar.

7. SummerSlam 2009

I fondly remember this show as the culmination of an excellent rivalry between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. This was the feud that solidified CM Punk as a top player in the company. His victory in the TLC main event was great, as was the match, and the return of The Undertaker was cleverly done. However, another standout thing to me was that this was the first show to make me stand up and think "Dolph Ziggler is fantastic." He faced Rey Mysterio in a hot opener for the Intercontinental Championship, and while he lost, showed that he had tons of potential. D-Generation X reunited and faced Legacy in another great, underrated bout while Jeri-Show went against Cryme Tyme in a solid match. Yes, this had another mediocre showing from Randy Orton and John Cena, but the rest of the card makes up for it.

6. SummerSlam 1992

This might get some flak. Some people hold SummerSlam 1992 in very high esteem but I don't think it's that great of a show. Don't get me wrong, it's really good, but there have been better. Right off the bat, I must commend the venue. The 80,000+ seat Wembley Stadium was an excellent choice as I'm a sucker for an outdoor show. The Intercontinental Title headlined for the only time in SummerSlam history and Bret Hart and the British Bulldog made the most of it. They put on a 25 minute classic that I had on my top ten SummerSlam match list. The WWF Title match between Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior was also a great contest because those two always had awesome chemistry. The opening tag team match gets mixed reviews but I thought it was decent and the Shawn MIchaels/Rick Martel match was interesting and pretty fun actually.

5. SummerSlam 2001

"Bodies" by Drowning Pool will always be a favorite song of mine and it's mostly due to this show. Yes, the Invasion angle was poorly booked, but it did produce some good shows and this was probably the best. Kurt Angle and Steve Austin tore the house down with an intense WWF Title match that should have gone on last. Angle was sold as THE MAN until the WWF botched it by the end of the year. Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy had a great Ladder Match that helped make the Hardcore Title something of value, while Edge and Lance Storm opened the show with a great match for the Intercontinental Title. Chris Jericho vs. Rhyno and X-Pac vs. Tajiri were both good contests as there is only one real bad match and that's the Tag Team Title match between the Brothers of Destruction and Kanyon & DDP.

4. SummerSlam 2000

2000 was a banner year for the WWF. Pretty much every Pay-Per-View they put on from January until SummerSlam was must see television. It was one of the shows I first bought on DVD and that was mainly for the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Edge, Christian, the Dudleys and the Hardys all wowed me and to this day, I can still watch this anytime and enjoy the hell out of it. The main event featured The Rock defending the WWF Championship against Kurt Angle and Triple H in a Triple Threat match that was booked beautifully. The Angle/HHH/Stephanie love triangle was one of my favorite storylines ever. We got a 2 out of 3 falls match between Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. Think about that. 2, possibly 3 matches between two of the greatest of all time. Shane McMahon suffered his epic fall from the titantron against Steve Blackman here too. Memorable show for sure.

3. SummerSlam 1991

I've mentioned before that I used to rent certain shows from my local video store as a kid and this was right at the top of the list. Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title is one of my favorite matches of all time. I rank it higher than Bret/Bulldog as the greatest Intercontinental Title match in SummerSlam history. The Heaven and Hell theme was cool, though the "hell" part was poor. The Macho Man and Elizabeth wedding is a fond memory of mine and it's the first thing that my mom wanted to watch when she got the WWE Network. Yes, my mom watches wrestling. I loved the six man tag opener as well, and while this show has some negative aspects to it, it's a memorable one for me that couldn't be topped by many.

2. SummerSlam 2013

Yes, the most recent SummerSlam was one of the greatest ever. Let's start with the main event as Daniel Bryan became one of maybe two guys that I can remember beating John Cena cleanly. And it was for the WWE Title. It was an amazing moment for someone like me who has been a huge Bryan fan since 2006. I know Randy Orton came out after and cashed in Money in the Bank on him to spoil the moment, but we eventually got an even better at WrestleMania XXX, so it all worked out in the end. The best match of the show though was the Best vs. the Beast. Brock Lesnar's best match by far since his return in 2012 was his brutal contest with CM Punk. They went balls to the walls and had the kind of match that Brock should be having nearly every time out. Just great stuff. Bray Wyatt had his first match on the main roster but disappointed with Kane. That was fine because Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow had a good match, while Christian and Alberto Del Rio amazed me with a surprisingly excellent match. Even the two Divas matches and the Kickoff match between Dean Ambrose and Rob Van Dam were really good.

1. SummerSlam 2002

There is, literally, no other possible choice for number one. A stacked card from top to bottom. Let's begin with the opener, which was Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio. Talk about a hot start as we got one of the best openers of all-time and the best ever at a SummerSlam. Next, Chris Jericho and Ric Flair went on second. SECOND PEOPLE. It wasn't a great match but it was good. Edge and Eddie Guerrero, two more awesome competitors, went on third and had a great match. The Un-Americans, who I always liked, took on Booker T and Goldust, which is another favorite team of mine. Intercontinental Championship was on the line next when Rob Van Dam took on Chris Benoit. Another excellent bout between two of the best at the time. The Undertaker and Test wasn't very good but the two final matches were both incredible. Shawn Michaels returned for the firs time in over four years, and put on an amazing performance against Triple H in one of the best Street Fights of all time. Lastly, Brock Lesnar was solidified as the Next Big Thing when he bested The Rock in a great match. Overall, the card is stacked and it's one of the best Pay-Per-Views in WWE history.

Tuesday Night Network Recap

As always, we kick things off with Main Event, which is usually an exhilarating hour of wrestling television. After missing Raw for a "promotional tour", Dean Ambrose opened Main Event. He got right down to business and called out Seth Rollins, but of course, received no response. Ambrose's lunatic fringe character is something that he is absolutely nailing and I look forward to seeing it each week. He was answered by his opponent for later in the show, Alberto Del Rio. It's hard to take Del Rio seriously as a threat when he's a four time World Champion, who hasn't done anything relevant all year. Still though, he kicked Dean in his injured shoulder after talking smack and left to the back. Good little opening promo and the match should be good.

The WWE Tag Team Champions got the wrestling portion of the show kicked off against Rybaxel. I've stated before that I'm a big fan of the Usos and that Rybaxel has grown on me. I'm glad that the "tension" between Rybaxel hasn't shown up on screen because I do not want them to split. The match itself was good but the big story here was that Xavier Woods was on commentary while Kofi Kingston and Big E looked on. Xavier didn't explain much, choosing to say that when the time comes they will explain but they seem to have their sights on the Usos. Tag Team Title match at SummerSlam maybe? Oh, and the Usos won the match for those who are interested in wins and losses.

SLATER GATOR! Two weeks ago, I loved the random pairing of Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil that Heath named Slater Gator. Last night, they would team up again and even get a pre-match pre-taped promo. They faced another weird and random pairing of Zack Ryder and Tyson Kidd that Tom Phillips dubbed the "Dungeon Broskis." Tyson has been heeling it up on NXT so I wouldn't have paired him with Ryder here. However, we were treated to another good match and I can't believe it, but I heard a "Let's Go Titus" chant. That's never happened in the history of time before. An impressive powerslam off the top from Heath onto Tyson wrapped this one up and SLATER GATOR is now 1-1. I look forward to more from these guys.

It's main event time on Main Event! Alberto Del Rio and Dean Ambrose were given about thirteen minutes and made it work. It seems that no matter how bland the Del Rio character is, the man can go and gives it his all in the ring. I'd love to see him as part of a tag team or something so that he's not wasting away doing nothing. The contest ended in a disqualification when none other than Seth Rollins appeared. Ambrose forgoes the match and brawls with Seth outside. They continue to have the best feud in the WWE and when they finally meet in the ring, it's going to be something. 

So, following a very good edition of Main Event, WrestleMania Rewind aired and it showcased the Triangle Ladder Match from WrestleMania 2000. I enjoyed this episode as I was a fan of all three teams and I love this match. It was fun to go back and see it again and realize just how insane these six guys were. It was nice to see them mention how it catapulted those guys and they show Edge, Jeff Hardy and Christian win World Titles. Next week's episode will feature the Triple H vs. The Undertaker match from WrestleMania XXVII. Unfortunately, there was no new episode of the Countdown. It was supposed to be the Top Ten Hell in a Cell matches but instead they gave a rerun of Top Ten Finishing Moves. Odd. 

Oh well, until next time, follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaaa

Random Network Reviews: Survivor Series 1989

Survivor Series 1989
11/23/89 – Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois

Just a few months shy of the eventual epic showdown between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI, we stop at Survivor Series. Survivor Series is always a fun Pay-Per-View, especially one like this 1989 edition, which featured nothing but eight man tag matches. Not much else to discuss to let's get to it.

The show opens with a montage of Superstars saying what they're thankful for. Some are a waste but some are great. Mr. Perfect is thankful for being perfect, while Roddy Piper is thankful that he's not Ricky Rude. The Ultimate Warrior is thankful for something that I can't really make out.

The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, The Red Rooster and Tito Santana) vs. The Enforcers (Big Boss Man, Bad News Brown, Rick Martel and the Honky Tonk Man) w/ Jimmy Hart and Slick
Even though it's Boss Man's team, they come out to JIVE SOUL BRO! AND YOU ALWAYS LYING TO YOUR FRIENDS! Sorry, I get carried away with it's excellence. Honky and Chico Santana kick things off as Honky attacks him from behind. He was really out of shape. Chico uses a scoop slam and applies an ARMBAR. Honky gets free and tags Martel. Strike Force explodes. You know it's an 80's show when guys trade atomic drops. Boss Man gets the tag and Chico hits him with an armdrag. Tag to the BULL OF THE WOODS, as Dusty lays into his opposing captain. Bionic elbows galore and a tag to Beefcake. Honky gets tagged and misses a terrible looking fist drop, allowing Beefcake to get in offense, but a blind tag brings the Model back in. The ridiculous Red Rooster gets the tag and gets a pop for a back body drop. Knees to the face swing the momentum and the heels start to work over Rooster. Bad News Brown doesn't want a tag and hasn't been in the entire match. Rooster continues to be the face in peril but gets some near falls with roll ups. Hot tag to Chico who is on a roll. Unfortunately for Chico, Martel uses a handful of tights to eliminate him at 9:15.

The son of a plumber comes in and Sapphire is shown in the crowd before she was officially Sapphire. Dusty reaches into his bag of tricks and hits a dropkick. The Dream Team use quick tags to work over Martel, but he hits a backbreaker on the Rooster. Boss Man gets the tag and it's BEARHUG time. It's broken with an eye rake and Boss Man tags Bad News. He doesn't want to enter but Rooster brings him in the hard way. Bad News does get on the offensive and beats down Rooster, who is just getting destroyed the entire match. A double team fails when Boss Man nails Brown. This causes Bad News and Boss Man to come to blows as Bad News walks out for the countout elimination at 15:26. Boss Man tags Honky, who elbows Beefcake. Jesse Ventura points out that Honky's tights say “twist and shout.” Beefcake hits the HHH high knee and eliminates Honky at 17:24.

Martel enters and applies a headlock on Beefcake. Beefcake fights out and hits a sunset flip but Martel reverses. He uses the ropes for leverage but gets caught by the official, allowing Beefcake to finish the rollup and bump him at 20:13. Boss Man is all alone as he goes toe to toe with the Rooster. Boss Man Slam catches him and Rooster is gone after 21:00. Dusty and Beefcake wisely use quick tags and take on Boss Man. Dusty hits a cross body to my surprise and it ends.

Winners: The Dream Team; Survivors: Brutus Beefcake & Dusty Rhodes in 22:02
Solid little opener here. The crowd was into it, it didn't have much down time and kept my interest. Side note, I've never understood the appeal of Brutus Beefcake. ***

After the match, Boss Man and Slick beat on Dusty and Beefcake with the nightstick. Brutus gets the hedge clippers though and runs them off. In the back, Sean Mooney catches up with Boss Man and Slick, who say that Dusty deserved what he got. 

MEAN “BAH GAWD” GENE is with the 4x4's, consisting of Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Hercules and Ronnie Garvin. They all have 2x4s and speak about the match while Jim Duggan is cross eyed.

The 4x4's (Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Ronnie Garvin and Hercules) vs. The King's Court (Macho King, Canadian Earthquake, Dino Bravo and Greg Valentine) w/ Jimmy Hart and Queen Sherri
Bret Hart bobbing his head while running with a 2x4 is the highlight of this thing. Hercules starts with the Macho King and uses his power to rule this little back and forth. The Hammer gets the tag and hammers away on Hercules. See what I did there? Another 80's atomic drop. Bret gets the tag and excellently executes some offense. The faces continue to tag in and out, as Garvin fires away on the Hammer. Sleeper Hold from Garvin and Valentine reaches the ropes. Tag to Dino who uses an inverted atomic drop. Since Shawn Michaels retired in 2010, nobody does that anymore. The faces are dominating things until the Canadian Earthquake comes in and squashes Hercules, just like he would do at WrestleMania VI. Elimination comes at3:57. Earthquake tries to do the same to Duggan, but Bret wisely enters and takes out his legs. Shortly after, Garvin gets a near fall on Valentine before the Macho King comes in with a double axe handle. Quick tags from the King's Court as they work over Garvin. Hammer and Garvin have a chop war in the middle until Duggan gets a blind tag and takes out the Hammer with a clothesline at 7:32.

Garvin stomp all around Dino Bravo and the ones to the face just look brutal. Garvin seems to go for a Sharpshooter and gets raked in the eyes. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Macho King and Bret get tagged at the same time. Bret nails an inverted atomic drop before stomping him in the mid section. Macho King tags out and there goes my erection. Bret/Bravo doesn't have the same appeal. Fans chant “USA” now...if they only knew what Bret would be like in 1997. He tags Garvin who instantly gets eliminated at 11:17 via a side slam. Duggan rallies the crowd and wails away on Earthquake. Again, we get Bret and Macho tagged in and suddenly, I'm excited again. Bret headbutts him in the ribs before Duggan gets in a cheap shot. Macho gets tied in the ropes and Duggan continues to use cheap shots. Macho King gets free but misses a knee drop. Hitman hits the best backbreaker in wrestling history for a near fall. Bret is the only person who will pick someone up and do a small package. He misses a second rope elbow as Macho tags out. Bravo uses the bear hug and the heels bust out quick tags to beat down on the future WWF Champion. They make a mistake as Macho takes out Bravo and Bret gets the hot tag. Duggan runs roughshod over Macho King, but tags Bret right back in. That was a mistake as Macho King immediately gets Bravo in and Bret eats a shoulder breaker. Macho King gets the tag and hits the elbow to knock off Bret at 19:06. Duggan is in and does his best, hitting all three heels with various moves as the crowd is pumped. He even gets a double clothesline, but ends up on the ground from Earthquake. Duggan fights back, but Sherri pulls the top rope down on Duggan and he falls outside. Earthquake nails him, leading to the countout.

Winners: The King's Court; Survivors: Macho King, Dino Bravo & Earthquake in 23:25
Better than the opener, mainly thanks for the Macho King and Bret Hart being their awesome selves. The countout finish made sense and I dug this. ***1/2

Jim Duggan is not happy as he enters and hits Dino with the 2x4, as Jesse Ventura berates Gorilla Monsoon for condoning that behavior. 

The Genius is here with a Thanksgiving poem. It's dumb. 

The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Demolition and Jake Roberts) vs. The Million Dollar Team (Ted Dibiase, The Powers of Pain and Zeus) w/ Virgil and Mr. Fuji
Demolition looked badass, except for the chaps they rocked. It didn't work. Hogan spits at Deebo before the match because he's truly a heel at heart. Deebo demands Hogan at the start and it's No Holds Barred all over again. Deebo wins a shoving match. Hogan's punches and a HHH knee have zero effect on Deebo. Hogan rakes the eyes because again, he's a dirty fighter and hits a slam but Deebo is up instantly. He does the dreaded neck snap finisher and chokes Hogan. The referee tries to break it twice and keeps getting tossed by Deebo, leading to the disqualification at 3:21. Ted Dibiase enters and starts to work over Hogan. A boot from Hogan leads to the tag to Jake, who fires away on Dibiase. Ax comes in and clubs the holy hell out of Dibiase. He tags Smash and even more clubs are hit. Hogan gets tagged and triple team clubs as Ventura points out that Gorilla is biased when the faces cheat. Dibiase uses an elbow on Ax to desperately get the tag. The Warlord comes in and it's time for even more clubs. The Powers of Pain work power offense on Ax for a bit. Ax tries to rally but is tripped up by Mr. Fuji and pinned at 9:50.

Smash, Roberts and Hogan now take turns working over the Warlord. They were building towards Demolition vs. The Powers of Pain but I don't remember that match taking place. The Barbarian comes in and hits a flying clothesline on Smash to pin him at 13:42. Powers of Pain have now eliminated Demolition. See what I mean about building up a match? Jake enters and gets thrown around the ring by the Barbarian. The Warlord comes in and beats on Roberts too. Dibiase comes in and drops knees on Jake's back. The piledriver might have done the trick but Jake gets his foot on the ropes. Barbarian misses a flying headbutt, allowing the hot tag to the Hulkster! YOU KNOW IT'S A WRAP! He dominates once he comes in until the Powers of Pain decide to double tam him. They use a spike piledriver, but Earl Hebner disqualifies both of them at the 19:51 mark. What a poopy way to get rid of them. 

Dibiase slaps on the Million Dollar Dream and Hogan tries to pull hair. Hogan goes down and his hand might have dropped for the third time but Roberts breaks up the hold in the nick of time. Dibiase tries it again but Hogan gets free and tags Jake. Roberts calls for the DDT but Virgil gets on the apron. He brings Virgil in and hits the DDT but Dibiase drops a fist on him and covers with his feet on the ropes to make this one on one at 23:43. Dibiase goes right after Hogan and applies a headlock but Hogan fights out and they clothesline each other. They get up and Dibiase connects with a back drop that Hogan doesn't sell. He gets up and levels Dibiase, big boot, leg drop and that's all folks.

Winners: The Hulkamaniacs; Sole Survivor: Hulk Hogan in 27:32
Jesse Ventura makes a good point that Hogan wins because he pinned Dibiase and the rest of the team got disqualified. This was fun though and again, had no lulls. The Survivor Series matches tend to be pretty fast paced and this was enjoyable. ***

The Macho King steals the show with a promo in back, while Deebo looks on menacingly. MEAN BAH GAWD GENE is now with Hogan and Beefcake, who will face Macho & Deebo in an upcoming Steel Cage. Sherri, Macho and Deebo show up and a brawl ensues. 

Sean Mooney is standing by with the Rude Brood. He puts over his team, including the guy with the perfect record, Mr. Perfect. It's decent stuff. Rude steals the show by showing off his tights, which have his team on the front and the other team on his butt cheeks. Roddy's Rowdies cut a weird promo where they shout a lot and eat turkey.

Roddy's Rowdies (Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and The Bushwackers) vs. The Rude Brood (Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and The Fabulous Rougeaus) w/ The Genius and Jimmy Hart
Perfect and Luke begin, but a fast tag brings in Butch, who bites him. Piper tags and he bites Perfect. Snuka tags and does the same. Fun opening sequence that got a pop. Jacques gets the tag and front flips into the ring. He continues to show off and hugs his brother. His showboating costs him as Snuka hits a flying headbutt and his leap frog/chop combo. Snuka goes to the top and hits the Superfly Splash to eliminate Jacques in 4:01. Rude comes in and trades shots with Snuka but it ends up being Piper vs. Perfect for a while. Perfect takes a lot of offense from multiple team members before tagging in Raymond. He goes toe to toe with Piper, who gets a near fall with a rollup. Piper connects with a piledriver to eliminate Raymond at7:30. A not so fabulous showing for the Rougeaus.

Mr. Perfect comes back in as he works over Piper until Piper hits a slingshot. Tag to Butch who gets a near fall. Perfect continues to survive an onslaught of multiple tags as he is impressing me. Piper does a little Rick Rude dance before punching Perfect. Butch gets a tag and bites Perfect again, but gets rolled up at 10:46. Piper rolls up Perfect for two instantly. Tag in to Luke, who does some sloppy offense for two. Perfect gets the tag to Rude, who comes off the top only to get hit RIGHT IN THE BREAD BASKET! Luke bites Rude but gets hit with the Rude Awakening and is gone after 12:14. We get treated to some solid tag work between the four guys left, with Perfect and Rude working the best of the four. Snuka and Perfect do battle and we get DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. Both men make the tag and the crowd is stoked for Rude/Piper. Fist fight ensues that Piper wins and they spill to the outside. The war continues as both guys are counted out at 18:35. Perfect knows Snuka to the outside and tries to earn a countout win. As Snuka gets on the apron, he takes a suplex back inside. Snuka manages to get near falls but falls victim to the Perfect Plex. 

Winners: The Rude Brood; Sole Survivor: Mr. Perfect in 21:27
Another fun match, highlighted by Perfect and Rude. Love that Perfect got to be the sole survivor. ***1/4

Victory promo from the Rude Brood in the back before cutting to the Ultimate Warriors cutting a promo that was hard to understand.

The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, Andre The Giant, Haku and Arn Anderson) vs. The Ultimate Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, The Rockers and Jim Neidhart)
It's announced before the match that Bobby Heenan will wrestle instead of Tully Blanchard because Tully failed a drug test and was fired. They obviously don't make the drug test part known, they just say there is “tension in the Heenan Family”. A brawl breaks out before the Warrior arrives as Andre is beating down on Neidhart. Warrior charges the ring and goes right at Andre with clotheslines. He knocks him over the top and outside. Andre gets counted out at 0:27. Andre shouts things that barely make sense, but are still more legible than a Warrior promo. Neidhart and Haku battle in the corner until Double A comes in. Heenan looks pretty funny in his Andre singlet as the fans chant “weasel.” Neidhart eats a thrust kick from Haku and is gone after 3:32. Michaels comes in and Haku misses a headbutt, so he takes some a never ending stream of wrist locks and quick tags from the Rockers. They continue to work over Haku until they tag in the Warrior. He chops away at Haku before hitting a back drop. Soon after, Jannetty and Anderson are legal. Anderson and Haku beat up Jannetty and tag Heenan. He kicks Marty and runs back outside, tagging in Haku. After Haku gets him down, Heenan tags in, stomps on Marty and drops a knee on him to eliminate him at 8:53.

I just want to point out that Marty just got pinned by Bobby Heenan. Arn squares off with the Warrior and gets trapped in the third bear hug of the evening. He breaks it and tags Haku, who runs into the fourth bear hug. After that is broken, we get Shawn and Arn, which is just great. Shawn and Warrior are the only two left and rightfully so, it's two future Hall of Famers. Shawn comes off the top with a splash that only gets two on Anderson. He does get the cross body on Haku and gets the three after 12:54. Heenan gets in some shots on Michaels but Anderson does the majority of the work. After Shawn is thrown outside, Heenan teases a dive off the top, but decides against it. Sunset flip back in by Shawn gets two. Heenan gets the tag and once he gets hit, he runs and tags out. Shawn and Arn bump into each other and both men are down. Anderson Drop puts away Shawn at 15:47.

Warrior winds up and shoulder blocks Arn down three times, but on the fourth, Arn uses Warrior's momentum to send him outside. Heenan teases another dive. Heenan gets the tag and his offense has no effect on Warrior. Poor Arn has to work his ass off here. Gorilla Press and splash eliminates Arn at 18:19 and Heenan is beside himself. He takes an impressive bump on an Irish whip into the corner. Warrior hits his finisher and ends it.

Winners: The Ultimate Warriors; Sole Survivor: The Ultimate Warrior in 20:28
This was the WWF's first foray into seeing if The Ultimate Warrior could be a main eventer and this was a satisfying ending to the event. ***1/4

Overall: 8/10; Great. Holy hell that was a lot of fun. While none of these matches reach four stars, none clock it at under three stars. Everything is really good and the entire show is a lot of fun. The right people went over in nearly every match. Hopefully the next “Random Network Review” is just as fun and according to my randomizer, that show will be Bash at the Beach 1998.

Raw Report

Monday Night Raw emanated live from Houston, Texas last night. The biggest news coming out of last week was the announcement of the main event for SummerSlam, pitting John Cena against Brock Lesnar. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion kicked things off with one of his usual promos. He puts over Brock nearly just as good as Paul Heyman does but he's cut off by Heyman. Heyman puts over Brock and Cena does his usual "I FEAR NOTHING AND REGRET LESS" style promo. Surprisingly, Cesaro interrupts. He hugs Heyman and says that even though he fired Heyman, they're still friends and he won't let anyone insult him. He challenges Cena and that will be our opening contest. This segment lasted a LONG time.

A few months ago, Cesaro and John Cena had one of the better matches on Raw this year, so I had high hopes for this one. And they delivered. While the match started off a bit slow, it really picked up near the end. If Cesaro can figure out what to do with his character exactly, he could go places because he's awesome in the ring. However, he's been in a funk lately and it continues as he suffers a loss to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. No shame in that to be honest.

Before going to the next match, things cut backstage where Stephanie McMahon is still fuming about being arrested but she's also scared because she doesn't want to go back to jail. Randy Orton is also rightfully pissed that he still has yet to get a one on one WWE World Heavyweight Title rematch since losing the belt at WrestleMania. A reminder, he also didn't actually lose as Batista was the one who tapped. There's tension within the Authority. Paige comes out to the ring, doing her awkward skipping and says that she let her emotions get the better of her and she won't attack AJ Lee again. She still considers AJ a friend. This brings out the Divas Champion, who doesn't believe Paige. Paige makes the mistake of calling AJ crazy. AND THATS SOMETHING YOU JUST DONT DO. AJ attacks and we get a good little segment to help build the eventual Divas Title match at SummerSlam.

More promos as The Authority makes their way out to the ring. Triple H is pissed at the WWE Universe for laughing at Stephanie McMahon's misfortune last week. Stephanie plays the self defense card and says that every charge has been dropped except for the assault and battery charge. I had no clue there were other charges. She wants Brie Bella to show up tonight so they can fix the misunderstanding. A "jailbird" chant starts until Chris Jericho surprises us and comes out. Man, do I miss the Jericho/Stephanie dynamic. He sings the theme to Cops and gets the fans to join in before nearly calling Stephanie a filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom feeding, trash bag hoe, but Triple H stops him. He makes Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho for SummerSlam and Seth Rollins vs. Jericho for tonight. 

Six man tag team time! Rybaxel teamed with the Intercontinental Champion The Miz against Dolph Ziggler and the WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos. This was pretty solid and fun at the very least. In the back, the NATION...OF DOMINATION or whatever Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E are going to call themselves, are watching on a monitor. I wonder who they're scouting. Hmmm. Dolph picked up the victory for his team and things are looking like it's still heading towards Miz/Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam. I would like to see Bo Dallas involved, but a one on one match would be fine too. Miz continues to excel in his new role.

THE STREAK IS OVER! THE STREAK IS OVER! First, The Undertaker and now Bo Dallas. He is no longer 17-Bo as he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of R-Truth. Yes, I said R-Truth. Irrelevant R-Truth. But maybe Bo losing is a good thing as he attacked Truth after the match and still did a victory lap. It was a rather fun thing to happen and maybe it will lead to something better for Bo. I BOlieve, you should too.

Lana and Rusev come out now, which means that all eyes are on Lana. Also, all heat is on Lana. Nobody seems to care much for Rusev. She does her usual stuff of talking about Vladimir Putin which is still controversial in some people's eyes. She makes fun of Obama and George Bush until Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger interrupt of course. Zeb says all of the positive things about America, upsetting Lana. Swagger and Rusev brawl in a better brawl than their match from Battleground. It ends with both guys standing with their respective flags, which, despite being American and Russian flags, Jerry Lawler calls a "Mexican Standoff."

Damien Sandow comes out dressed in an astronaut suit. Adam Rose comes out and beats him in a few seconds. I don't know why. This was pointless. Moving on, we get Roman Reigns vs. Kane but instead, Randy Orton runs out and attacks Reigns. Kane appears and hits Reigns with a Chokeslam but leaves after. This allows Randy to beat the hell out of Roman, building towards their eventual match at SummerSlam. It was an impressive beatdown and Orton's "Viper" character seems to be back. It's an improvement over the "bitch" character that he played while WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the start of the year. Of course, after the commercial break we get a recap of what just happened because what's a Raw without recaps of everything, right?

The never ending saga between Fandango, Summer Rae and Layla continues as SummerLay whore themselves out to a Fandango opponent again. They come out dressed as matadores I guess with Diego and El Torito. We get another relatively quick match that ends with a Fandango loss. I wonder where this is heading, if anywhere. Maybe Fandango gets a new dancer? I hear that Eva Marie chick has a background in ballroom dancing. Also, El Torito gets a kiss from Summer Rae.

Stardust and Goldust cut yet another backstage promo. These are rather interesting and keep me entertained but I wanna see Cody Rhodes and Goldust wrestle dammit. Hurry up and put them in the ring again. That leads to some Divas tag team action as Natalya teams with Naomi against Alicia Fox and Cameron, who haven't become the new Funkadactyls like I suggested a few weeks ago. This was your basic Divas match but Noami surprised me by showing off a new submission move that forces Cameron to submit. So we have this move, AJ's Black Widow, Paige's PTO, Natalya's Sharpshooter, Emma's Emma-Lock and Sasha Banks' Boss Lock as submissions from the Divas division. I like.

The main event of the program was a dream match of mine as Seth Rollins faced Chris Jericho. I didn't expect a clean finish as I figured that the Wyatts or Dean Ambrose would interfere. After a good, but disappointing bout, sure enough, the Wyatts arrived on the scene. They beat up on Chris Jericho to help promote SummerSlam. It was what you'd expect it to be. Surprisingly there was no Dean Ambrose as he was on a "promotional tour". He did wrestle in the dark match and he will be on Main Event against Alberto Del Rio tomorrow so that's fun.

The last segment of the night was between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella. This was surprising because ladies don't often get the opportunity to close Raw. Stephanie admits that getting arrested humbled her and that she was wrong for taking out her anger on Nikki Bella. I hate Brie Bella promos because she has an awful voice and pretty poor acting skills. She wants a match with Stephanie at SummerSlam and nothing else or she won't drop the charges. Stephanie says that she hasn't had a match in over ten years and she's a mom now. Brie won't budge so Stephanie fake cries and accepts. She slaps the taste out of Brie's mouth and knocks her off the apron before saying that at SummerSlam, she will make Brie her bitch. OH SNAP! Brie gets up and they have a CATFIGHT that Joey Styles would approve of. Finlay, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble all rush out to break things up as Raw closes.

Well that show built towards SummerSlam pretty well. The matches, besides Cesaro/Cena, weren't that great but it did it's job by being entertaining and making me want to watch SummerSlam at least a little more. Until next time, follow me on Twitter @the_kevstaa.