Raw History
Episode #61
May 2nd, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
Hey, it’s a live episode! Macho Man and Vince McMahon are your hosts.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Quebecers (c) w/ Johnny Polo vs. The Headshrinkers w/ Afa and Capt. Lou Albano
The Headshrinkers did nothing but add Albano to turn face. They start hot and Fatu nearly picks up the win within a few minutes. The Quebecers have some miscommunications that allow the Headshrinkers to send them packing to regroup. The crowd is on fire. The champions decide to walk out on the match and, in classic Earl Hebner fashion, he makes up a rule on the spot that the titles can change hands on a countout. I hate when Hebner does this. They go to commercial when the Quebecers return but the Headshrinkers continue to stay in control until Jacques gets in a cheap shot. Fatu then flip sells a clothesline from Pierre. They now work a heat segment on Fatu for a bit but even when the hot tag comes to Samu, he ends up in trouble. Jacques hits a piledriver and they call for the Quebec Crash but miss. Polo gets on the apron but is taken care of by Albano and Afa. The champions miscommunicate and Pierre nails Jacques by mistake. The Headshrinkers then hit a double team Stroke on Jacques, followed by a Fatu splash that wins them the straps.
Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Headshrinkers in 12:54
The Quebecers put on good tag matches for the past few months and this was no different. It actually kind of felt too similar to some of their other matches but the hot crowd and title change added to this. It may have gone a bit too long as well. **¾
Hey, it’s our first King of the Ring Report! Todd Pettengill just hypes the show and runs down the rules of the tournament but doesn’t have much in the way of actual news yet. IRS will be facing Scott Steiner in a qualifying match as well as one between Kwang and Razor Ramon.
Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Derrick Domino
Vince McMahon HAMMERS it home that Tatanka is more aggressive than ever after what IRS did to him. Despite being more aggressive, Domino actually gets in a bit of offense. It’s only there so Tatanka can make the babyface comeback.
Winner: Tatanka in 5:19
Far too long to be an enjoyable squash. I was not a fan of this.
We go to the King’s Court, featuring Jerry Lawler throwing verbal jabs at Piper’s Pit and Roddy Piper himself. He brings out the NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION, Diesel! Diesel won the title on Superstars a few days before. They mention that Shawn Michaels isn’t there because he sacrificed himself during the match. Diesel stumbles over his words a bit, saying that he and Shawn are the best duo since Batman and Robin. In a big moment, Diesel is asked what’s next and he says that while the IC Title is nice, he wants the WWF Title.
Various people say they’ve seen the Undertaker. Everyone from a firefighter to a child saying that Undertaker was going down a slide all have supposedly sighted him.
Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Scott Taylor and Mike Davis
Yup, this is a handicap match. Yokozuna takes his time but dominates. He wins with a Banzai Drop on the two men, who are stacked on top of each other.
Winner: Yokozuna in 4:21
Another ho-hum squash. It lasted too long for the people involved.
Yokozuna continues the assault until Earthquake waddles out to make the save. Great, because this is a program I want to see. Earthquake then challenges Yokozuna to a match.
Overall: 5/10. The big Tag Team Title match was pretty good and that’s usually the sign of a show getting a good score. I also happened to like the Diesel interview, which equals about half of the episode. The other half was rough though as the squash matches took up far too much time and featured unentertaining people.
Raw History
Episode #62
May 9th, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
Vince McMahon and Macho Man hype up the possibility of Earthquake vs. Yokozuna. Yay.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Razor Ramon
Razor Ramon is looking to bounce back after losing the Intercontinental Title last week. They trade some early holds and then Razor busts out chops and a hip toss o take control. Razor stays in control and then Kwang hits a heel kick and spits mist into the air. Doesn’t he realize that mist would be more effective if spit at someone instead of into the air? They go back and forth for a bit and, while the crowd is into Razor, the match has been average at best. Back to poorly timed breaks as we go to commercial in the middle of a damn near fall. Seriously? Razor hits a huge rock bottom for two. He goes for the Razor’s Edge but is too tired to hit it. After Kwang misses a heel kick, the Razor’s Edge hits this time and he qualifies, joining IRS.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 9:44
Decent match here. Nothing about it was special but it served its purpose and was competitive, even if the outcome was never in doubt. **
Todd Pettengill brings us the King of the Ring Report! Next week on Raw, Bigelow faces Thurman Plugg in a qualifying match. He then announces that Roddy Piper will face Jerry Lawler at the King of the Ring. Roddy was rocking a sweet beard in the video they show. He is phenomenal in these promos too.
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ray Roy
Ray Roy drew the short straw when it comes to jobber names. He nearly scores an upset on a rollup but then eats a kick. Randy Savage says “talk about martial arts. Kwang and Crush must be hanging together.” I honestly feel like he was trolling the show at times. Now that the false finish is over, Crush dominates and ends it with the heart punch.
Winner: Crush in 3:56
Typical squash match here. Nearly went on too long but it stopped just before it got exhausting.
We get a new Duke Droese vignette.
Footage is shown from Superstars where Doink humiliated Dink with a pie to the face and silly string. Doink was then revealed to actually be Jeff Jarrett dressed up.
Doink w/ Dink vs. Mike Terrace
Doink nearly folds Terrace in half on a leg sweep. Dink gets involved but it is somehow not a disqualification. It’s all annoying. Jeff Jarrett calls in to put down Doink. Doink wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink in 2:38
The usual 1994 annoying Doink squash.
The King’s Court is back with Yokozuna, which means Jim Cornette is the one talking. They hype the potential of a Yokozuna/Earthquake match. It will happen but only if it’s a sumo wrestling match. Yokozuna is sweating badly and looks blown up despite just standing there.
More false Undertaker sightings and this one is from someone who claims that he saw Undertaker sleeping in the trash. No dude, they asked about Undertaker, not Duke Droese.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Mike Bell
During this match, we hear that Earthquake has accepted the sumo wrestling challenge. Mabel plods through his offense, hitting a leg drop to highlight things. He hits a slam for the three.
Winner: Mabel in 2:27
This is about what I want from my Mabel squashes. Keep them short. That made this acceptable.
Jerry Lawler interviews Earthquake who accepts the sumo match and it will happen next week.
Overall: 3/10. Not one of the better episodes. The opening match was fine and the squashes were short, but featured three wrestlers that I just do not enjoy. The King’s Court continues to be pretty bad, though at least Jim Cornette was somewhat entertaining.
Raw History
Episode #63
May 16th, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
A hype video airs for tonight’s SUMO MATCH!
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Thurman Plugg
It’s so ridiculous to hear commentary call him “Sparky” all match long. He does an impressive dropkick that sends Bigelow to the outside. Bigelow comes back in and takes charge, getting two on the ghetto blaster. He just continues to pound away on Plugg, who continues to play the plucky babyface. I don’t think he has a televised loss just yet. He avoids a Bigelow corner splash, giving him an opening to hit a bulldog. A Luna distraction allowed Bigelow to qualify following a slingshot splash that looked putrid.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 6:29
Similar to last week’s qualifying match, this was your average match. Both guys are solid hands and it made for a watchable match that was shorter than expected. **
Our new King of the Ring Report brings us the news that Bret Hart will be defending the WWF Championship against the Intercontinental Champion Diesel. According to the bracket, IRS will face Mabel in the first round and Razor Ramon will take on Bigelow. Soon, Lex Luger faces Jeff Jarrett in a qualifier.
Diesel vs. Mike Moraldo
Randy Savage says that “futuristically speaking, Diesel could be the next WWF Champion.” I mean, it’s true but it’s a strange way to put it. This is all Diesel, as expected. Not only is he a monster in size but he’s also on the road to a title shot, so you know he isn’t going to look bad.
Winner: Diesel in 3:12
Decent enough squash. Diesel wins in short order and looks good while doing so.
Ugh, another King’s Court. He cuts a promo about Roddy Piper that is pretty terrible before a commercial. Returning, Ted Dibiase is in the ring with Nikolai Volkoff. King announces that the broke Volkoff is there because Ted Dibiase has purchased his services. Volkoff admits that he hates Dibiase but has to work for him because he needs to support his family. I mean, if I was Dibiase, I would have purchased someone better in 1994. Ted makes him put on new trunks that say “property of the Million Dollar Man.” I get what they were trying to do here but the crowd didn’t care enough for Volkoff to buy into the sympathy card.
Owen Hart vs. Tony Roy
We had Ray Roy last week. I wonder if they’re related. Owen kills it here, just going through fun offense like a gutwrench suplex and talks so much trash throughout. He wins with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Owen Hart in 2:19
Why does Owen get two minute squashes but guys like Mabel get five? Anyway, this was fun as Owen continues to be one of the MVP’s of 1994.
Owen Hart beats up Tony Roy after the match.
Next week, Owen hart meets Earthquake in a KOTR Qualifying match.
Sumo Match
Earthquake vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette
I don’t know exactly how a sumo match is supposed to go but they do a lot of staring at each other and nearly starting, but deciding not to. They talk about how Earthquake was 24-0 in his sumo career. Savage gets in a great line about how both guys are covered in sweat and haven’t touched each other yet. After like five or six minutes of pretty boring stuff, Earthquake knocks Yokozuna outside.
Winner: Earthquake
This was supposed to lead to a big feud through the summer but Earthquake gets hurt soon and it never happens. The match was Akebono/Big Show levels of bad. Nobody really wanted to see this attraction. DUD
Overall: 3/10. The main event was horrible, but the other three matches were decent. The KOTR qualifier was short and to the point, while the two squashes were fine. However, the King’s Court continues to be dire each week.
The first two Aztec Warfare matches have gotten ****1/4 and ****1/2 from me. For those unaware, it is a Royal Rumble style match with pinfall or submission eliminations and anything goes.
This week's episode starts with Dario Cueto walking backstage but he's stopped by Johnny Mundo. Mundo guarantees to win, holding the Lucha Underground and Gift of the Gods Championship. Taya is recording because she's making a documentary on him. Mundo says that in the event he doesn't win tonight, he's cashing in his GOTG Title shot next week. He also reveals that he's entering the match at number twelve. He says that he can beat Matanza so Dario takes the number twelve paper, rips it in half and says that he'll enter at number two, while Matanza is one.
Aztec Warfare III for the Lucha Underground Championship
No surprise but Lucha Underground Champion Matanza Cueto is first. Dario tells Melissa Santos that even though Sexy Star is supposed to be second, it's Johnny Mundo now. RING THE BELL! Mundo finds himself in trouble for the entire interval. Son of Havoc is in at #3 to a big pop. Matanza eats several near falls but is never in real danger. Jeremiah Crane (Sami Callihan) draws #4. Both of Ivelisse's flames are in already. He goes right after Tanzie and all three men kick him to the point where he gets sent outside. They do a pretty cool spot where Havoc pops Mundo up into a spear from Crane. CERO MIEDO! Pentagon Dark is here at #5! He comes in hot, kicking everyone moving. He and Matanza go at it in a reminder of Ultima Lucha Dos. At #6 it's PJ Black. He and Mundo work together obviously. Mariposa draws #7 while Matanza and Pentagon continue to go to war outside. Mariposa poses for too long and gets hit with the Crane Driller. Matanza German suplexes Crane to eliminate him at 7:36. Mariposa tries to flirt with Tanzie but he chokeslams her and she's gone at 8:11. That's the 11th straight elimination for Matanza dating back to Aztec Warfare II. At #8, it's Rey Mysterio Jr., who was the runner-up to Matanza last season. We don't get Rey vs. Matanza though as Rey gets attacked by Worldwide Underground. When Rey escapes them, he goes at it with Pentagon and the crowd eats it up. Drawing #9, it's Dr. Wagner Jr., complete with Famous B and Brenda. Things move quickly and #10 is Marty Martinez!
Marty impresses quickly, including a sweet plancha that takes out Matanza. The champion is quickly up though and sends Marty into the wall. Jack Evans is in at #11 to join Mundo and Black. They all jump SOH and eliminate him at 12:55. Sexy Star is here at #12 and she goes straight for the Worldwide Underground. Ricky Mandel returns at #13 and nobody really cares. Evans is being aggressive with Sexy, while Pentagon and Wagner work over Rey outside. Pentagon greets Mandel with a package piledriver. He then goes to break Rick's arm but four Japanese women show up and attack him. She swing him around the ring and deliver several kicks. One of them is Black Lotus and one of them hits a SICK Canadian Destroyer. Mundo pins Pentagon to get rid of him at 15:41. The crowd is disappointed but their attack came off well despite seeming random. Mandel gets eliminated around 15:48. Mascarita Sagrada is out at #15. Sagrada goes after Matanza in a fun attempt but is quickly gone at 16:25. At #16, it's time for Famous B. That dude is money with everything he does. He hugs Rey and gives him his card. "423..." Rey grabs him and is all like "619". That gets rid of Famous B at 17:43. Marty saves WU but then attacks them. He gets eliminated by Rey at 18:32 just before The Mack shows up at #16. The awesomely sleazy Joey Ryan is out at #17 and handcuffs himself to the rail on the steps. Last year he cuffed himself outside but Matanza ripped him free. Sexy and Mack are going at it with WU. Mil Muertes is out at #18 and Joey instantly regrets his decision. Mil rips the handcuffs off the steel and brings him inside. At 21:27, Mil and Matanza both eliminate Ryan and Wagner and come face to face. They had some wars in season two. They have a hoss battle outside while Kobra Moon enters at #19. She just walks over and sits on the announce table. Matanza gets tossed over chairs. Mack tuns Evans inside to send him packing at 22:43. WI loses another member when Black takes a popup stunner at 23:01. Sexy helped out with the pin. Drago comes in at #20.
HE goes after Kobra Moon, who had an interaction with him backstage recently. Matanza piledrives Mil outside, while Drago uses his dope pinning combination to eliminate Moon at 24:01. Matanza then murders him at 24:28. The final six are Mil, Matanza, Rey, Mack, Sexy and Mundo. Rey and Matanza go at it in the ring. When Matanza seems to have the upper hand, Mundo hits him with a shining wizard and Mil spears him. Sexy is next with a Codebreaker and Mack takes him out with a stunner. Mundo follows with a springboard kick and then Rey hits 619. He goes for a second but Matanza catches him. Rey uses Code Red to eliminate Matanza at 26:53, guaranteeing us a new champion. The crowd is floored by the elimination. Matanza is PISSED and takes out Rey with the Wrath of the Gods. He goes nuts outside and even shoves Dario on his ass. Mundo steals the pin on Rey to eliminate him at 28:38. Black and Evans are back to help Mundo beat up Sexy while Rey does a stretcher job outside. In an awesome moment, ANGELICO IS BACK! He's up on top of Dario's office and does another sick dive off of it to take out the Worldwide Underground. Sexy crawls over and pins Mundo at 31:00. Mil pretty much kills Mack with a Flatliner to eliminate him at 32:15.
We're down to Sexy Star and Mil Muertes. Sexy comes out firing but her offense doesn't have much impact on Sexy. Mil doesn't just try to win, as he brings a chair and table into play. Sexy counters a chokeslam into a DDT on the chair. She then delivers several chair shots to the skull for a near fall. Mil lines her up for a spear through the table but Sexy dodges and he goes through it. She rolls him up for two. Mil rocks her with a right hand and sets up another table. He brings her to the top for a mega chokeslam. She fights free and shoves him off and through it. Sexy comes off the top with a double stomp and gets the three and the title.
Winner and NEW Lucha Underground Champion: Sexy Star in 36:53
For the third straight season, Aztec Warfare delivers. The match moved at a great pace and didn't have any real downtime. There was the continuation of angles (Worldwide Underground, Sexy & Mack pairing, Rey vs. Matanza and Angelico's return), new stories set up (Matanza shoving Dario, Pentagon's new rivels) and the culmination of a long build for Sexy Star. I'd still put the first two Aztec Warfares ahead of it though. ****
Overall: 8/10. Lucha Underground is three for three in Aztec Warfare episodes. While I would rank this behind the first two, it's still a great episode that accomplished a lot. We got a new champion, feuds continued and several new things were set up for the future. Thumbs up.
If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!
NJPW Wrestling World in Singapore
November 15th, 2016 | Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Center in Singapore
This isn’t one of NJPW’s bigger events and I like that it looks and feels different. A cool video of the roster airs, ending with LIDJ, Bullet Club and Chaos before it ran down the card for this show.
Juice Robinson def. David Finlay in 8:04
Both of these guys have done young lion duty but have moved above it for the most part. Finlay is one third of the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions and Juice has done well in bigger singles matches. Juice enjoyed a power advantage, so Finlay countered with speed. Juice was hitting pretty hard as evidenced by Finlay being beet red within a few minutes. Juice is good at getting the crowd to come alive, which helped. Finlay busted out a nice spear and German suplex for a near fall. After some solid back and forth, Juice won with a jumping Killswitch. Both guys have improved vastly in 2016 and seeing them in a singles match was fun. Good way to start the show. (***)
Roppongi Vice def. Jushin Thunder Liger and Ryusuke Taguchi in 10:06
I love Liger’s theme. Roppongi Vice are getting a shot at the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in a totally uninteresting match. The duos had some fun with the fans in the early goings. RPG Vice kept it going, taking water breaks while beating up Liger. It backfired and caused Rocky to shove Beretta. The arguing was back. Taguchi got a hot tag and came in with ass attacks galore. Liger eventually got the tag again but ate double knees. RPG Vice then won with the Dudebuster. This was the fun tag I expected. The crowd was hot, everyone had a good time and the right team won. (**¼)
Non-Title Match: IWGP Tag Team Champions The Guerillas of Destiny def. Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii in 11:58
With Gedo being the only junior heavyweight in this match, it was clear that he’d eat the pin. The fire that we saw from the Guerillas at Power Struggle (in easily their best match) wasn’t as evident here. They did take joy in beating up Gedo and did a good job in cutting the ring in half. Ishii’s hot tag went well and he ran over the champions. As expected though, Gedo fell in the end. This was basic and what I figured we’d get. Ishii keeps failing with partners until he and Goto most likely win the World Tag League and dethrone Haku’s kids at WK11. (**)
Hirooki Goto def. Tomoaki Honma in 11:01
Usually, a match like this gets reserved for the G1 Climax. Random singles matches don’t often get put on these kinds of shows. I really liked their match in the G1 Climax in 2015. Goto wore down Honma for the first segment of the match. Honma began to rally and hit the lesser versions of Kokeshi. Honma nailed a blockbuster but of course, he missed the big Kokeshi. They traded blows until Goto hit ushigiroshi and won with the GTR. There wasn’t anything really wrong with the match, it just felt like it was way off the mark of what they are capable of. Honma was incredible during his two G1 runs in 2014 and 2015 but since then, I just can’t get into him. His matches are usually good but never even sniff great. (**¾)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA and Togi Makabe def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 14:04
LIDJ shirts were everywhere. Tanahashi shouted Naito’s name, demanding to start against him. Naito teased it, but let his stablemates take over. KUSHIDA and BUSHI got to have a heated exchange. Their feud is over but they still really don’t like each other. SANADA was good here but Makabe didn’t really seem to care. It felt like he was taking the night off. Tanahashi and Naito gave us a preview of their upcoming Wrestle Kingdom bout. Tanahashi got the win for his team with High Fly Flow on BUSHI. Outside of Makabe, everyone’s interactions were pretty enjoyable and we got a preview of WK 11. LIDJ continue to be awesome. (***¼)
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI def. Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi in 12:18
I still think that “loose explosion” is a weird thing to have on your shirt and on the ass of your pants. YOSHI-HASHI is an odd dude though. This was your standard tag match involving these guys. YOSHI brought some fire, Yujiro sucked the life out of it and we got a small preview of Okada vs. Omega in the Dome. That of course meant that at times, this was good and at others, it fell flat. Okada and Omega had a nice little back and forth where both guys avoided the finisher of the other. Takahashi was less lucky, falling to the Rainmaker. I’d say this did the job it had to. I’m no Omega fan, but I feel bad that while Okada gets to team with Ishii, Goto and YOSHI, he gets stuck with the garbage that is the Bullet Club. (**½)
NEVER Openweight Championship: RPW British Heavyweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata def. EVIL (c) in 16:25
In the G1 Climax and at Power Struggle, EVIL defeated Shibata. Shibata won the British Heavyweight Title at the NJPW/Rev Pro joint Global Wars event last week. Like everything these two have done so far, this was hard hitting from the start. They traded stuff and neither man got a clear advantage for most of the match. Shibata survived the NJPW countout tease and things really got going. They fired up and went right after each other. They got up from suplexes and EVIL just leveled Shibata with lariats. EVIL got in trouble when put in the sleeper so he backed Shibata into the referee in the corner. That bump allowed EVIL to use steel chairs like he did at Power Struggle. Shibata survived and used EVIL’s own STO on him. He then used a sleeper, which included a suplex, and the Penalty Kick to regain the title. The crowd erupted for the title change. This was great. They had a hot crowd, worked a match that fit their style and it was slightly better than the previous two. Not sure about swapping the titles since it accomplished nothing, but Shibata should have always entered the Dome with the NEVER Title. (****)
Overall: 6.5/10. Considering the fact that this isn’t a marquee NJPW event, I got just about what I expected from it, which was a relatively solid show. It only had seven matches and if you cut out intermission, it was less than two and a half hours. You get some fun matches and an especially strong finish with a great main event. Shibata won’t ever be booked like Gedo’s favorites but he’s among the top three performers (with Naito and Ishii) in the company in 2016.
1) Mil Muertes: At Ulitma Lucha at the end of season one of Lucha Underground, Mil Muertes dethroned Prince Puma to become the second ever champion of the promotion. Puma had some struggles is season two and was pushed towards targeting Mil in season three by Vampiro. Puma beat him a few weeks back and this week they had the rubber match. Mil Muertes entered 0-2 in Grave Consequences matches but finally got a win in one here. He defeated Puma to win the rivalry and commentary sold it like it was the end for Prince Puma. If so, it becomes an even bigger win for Muertes as he would have ended one of the top stars in Lucha Underground.
2) Becky Lynch: For all the hoopla about Sasha Banks and Charlotte main eventing things, I preferred this feud. The match between Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch this week felt like a bigger deal. It was scheduled for No Mercy but got pushed back because of Becky's injury. They finally had their match a month later and it delivered. It was the best match of Alexa's career but saw Becky retain the title. However, there was controversy since Alexa's foot was on the bottom rope when she tapped out. Still, it was a successful defense for Becky, which was the right call since Becky should continue to be the face of the Smackdown women.
3) Fred Yehi and Tracy Williams: Evolve hosted two shows this week and these Catch Point members had successful weekends. First, at Evolve 72, Fred Yehi beat Jason Kincaid and Tracy Williams upped that in a big way by defeating Chris Hero later on. Hero doesn't lose often in Evolve and has beaten some top names (Riddle, Thatcher, Rhodes, Sabre) recently. Then, at Evolve 73, they won the main event against the Gatekeepers, new WWE signees Tony Nese and Drew Gulak, and the Evolve Tag Team Champions DUSTIN and Drew Galloway. This earned Williams his second Evolve Tag Title and Yehi's first.
4) Sami Zayn: After besting Kevin Owens in a classic at Battleground, WWE has had nothing for Sami Zayn. He was stuck in a meaningless tag match at SummerSlam, lost to Chris Jericho at Night of Champions and was completely off of the Hell in a Cell card. However, this past week on Raw, Sami picked up a rare win over Rusev (only John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and maybe one or two others have pinned Tong Po). That win earned Sami a shot at Dolph Ziggler and the WWE Intercontinental Title at Survivor Series. If Sami wins, he can bring the championship over to Monday nights.
5) Eddie Edwards: Again successfully defended the TNA Heavyweight Championship.
5) TNA Victory Road 2011: I'm only including events that I've seen here and I wanted to spread the love (or disdain rather) to multiple promotions. There were some strong candidates here but in the end, I had to include TNA on the list. I debated between a few shows but ultimately chose this infamous event. This is the one where Jeff Hardy showed up for the main event drugged out of his mind and Sting beat him in about 90 seconds because of this. That would be enough but the rest of the card is rough. The Knockouts Tag Title is sloppy and has one of the worst looking finishes ever, full of botches. Mr. Anderson and RVD go to a double countout where the fans chanted "Restart the match", which was dueled back with loud "No" responses. Hernandez and Matt Morgan had a first blood that ended in the most ridiculous fashion. The cameraman gets a close up of Hernandez blading and then he pouts food coloring on Morgan. The referee sees Hernandez's blood first, then turns to see Morgan's fake blood and declares Hernandez the victor. What? There is an entire episode of Botchamania dedicated to it if you want to check that out.
4) ECW December to Dismember 2006: With split PPVs declining in 2006, this event pretty much ended them. The ECW brand was already failing because it was nothing like the ECW that people loved. While the brand would eventually become highly enjoyable, at this time, it barely even had a roster. It scored 90,000 buys, which is the lowest in history outside of the Network era. Part of that was because ECW sucked and part was because the WWE held a PPV exactly one week earlier. That's asking a lot of people to spend a lot of money close together. Before Christmas. Anyway, onto the actual show, which blew. The tag opener was fine but involved nobody from the ECW brand. Then, the ECW matches were shit. Tommy Dreamer vs. Daivari? Balls Mahoney vs. Matt Striker? The FBI vs. Burke and Terkay? Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly vs. Kevin Thorn and Ariel? There are no words for this. The main event was the Extreme Elimination Chamber, which actually wasn't awful. However, they took Sabu out of the match, someone who the crowd was hot for, and replaced him with Hardcore Holly. Paul Heyman wanted CM Punk to win this thing and eliminate the champion, Big Show, quickly, but instead, was the first one gone. To cap things, Bobby Lashley won the title and got this over the top celebration that the fans and viewers wanted no part of.
3) WCW Uncensored 1996: I only recently watched this event and my goodness, it falls off a cliff. The first two matches are decent to good. Everything after is god awful. Col. Robert Parker beats Madusa in an awful match, showing that Madusa should never have left the WWF. The Booty Man, who always sucked regardless of gimmick, but this was the worst, beat DDP in a terribly long "I Quit Wrestling" match. I should have quit watching. The Giant went over Loch Ness (remember him?) in short order before things got even uglier. Someone told Sting and Booker T that they had to wrestle the Road Warriors in a Chicago Street Fight, even though the show was in Mississippi, for 30 minutes and it made all four guys not give a damn. Everyone was so enthused and none of them seemed to care. It was lethargic. To end the show, we get the most ridiculous main event I've ever witnessed. Hulk Hogan and Macho Man enter the Doomsday Cage. It's a big ass cage that the two men have to work through against EIGHT opponents. They reach different levels of the cage, make it to the ring and then back to the cage. None of it made sense. The two biggest opponents didn't show up until late in the match, half the thing happened away from the cage, they use frying pans of all things in the finish and the WCW Champion, Ric Flair, eats a random pin at the end.
2) WWF King of the Ring 1995: In terms of missed opportunities, this Pay-Per-View basically takes the cake. While other Pay-Per-Views are flat out bad, this one is bad and features the most confusing booking of them all. So, the WWF in 1995 wasn't doing too hot when it came to top level performers. That's understandable. However, if we look at the top stars we'll find Diesel (who was WWF Champion) and I can think of eight guys that could have been in the tournament. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Razor Ramon, Jeff Jarrett (IC Champion), British Bulldog, Owen Hart. That's 7 and you could throw in Sid or Bam Bam to make a good KOTR. Instead, Bret was wasted in a dumb feud with the awful Jerry Lawler, Razor may have been hurt but was a manager for Savio Vega and Jarrett managed his lesser sidekick, Roadie, in the tourney. Bulldog and Owen? They wrestled to a draw in the qualifiers and were left off the show. HBK wrestled to a first round draw with Kama of all people while the Undertaker jobbed to fucking Mabel. With at least enough talent to make a decent tournament, we had to sit through FOUR Savio Vega matches and a Mabel win. Plus, the main event tag match pitting Sid and Tatanka against Diesel and Bigelow was terrible and drawn out. It's like they booked this show while drunk.
1) WCW Souled Out 2000: This is often overlooked on lists of worst Pay-Per-Views ever but I can't fathom why. It is absolutely atrocious in every conceivable way. I reviewed it here. Read that when you're done here. There are 12 matches and none are able to crack ** with a Saturn/Kidman match coming the close at *3/4. Four of the matches get DUD ratings and it's just all bad. Dean Malenko loses the opener by exiting the ring. Seriously. They debut their version of the Hell in a Cell (Caged Heat) and waste it on Kidman vs. the Wall in a match that I gave 1/4*. Vampiro, David Flair and Crowbar try to one down each other in a putrid triple threat match. The worst thing of the night was seeing the terrible Jim Ross parody, Oklahoma, take on Madusa for the Cruiserweight Title in a match that saw Oklahoma retain and involved BBQ sauce. Seriously, there are no redeeming qualities about this show.
Fastlane 2015
February 22nd, 2015 | FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee | Attendance: 13,416
Coming off of the heels of one of their most negatively received Pay-Per-Views in history, the WWE was looking to turn things around at this event. One month prior, their Royal Rumble ended with Roman Reigns winning and receiving an incredibly negative response from the live crowd. It ruined his moment and the fans basically hijacked the entire Rumble match. Here, we have the first ever Fastlane event, which replaced Elimination Chamber and would set the stage for WrestleMania. Unlike a lot of PPVs from the Network era, this one does not have a Kickoff match.
For being the WWE in 2015, this is a rather disappointing opening video package.
Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback
The face team here were all fired for their roles against the Authority at Survivor Series. This is a diet version of that match. The crowd is pretty hot for Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, and the Authority are the most hated heels, so this is a good choice to open things. Commentary tries to put Show over by saying nobody can go toe to toe with him. Lawler suggests Brock Lesnar and JBL claims he would love to see that. Dude, it just happened a year ago and Brock murdered him. Rowan plays the face in peril, which is a problem because he’s the one the fans care least about. That’s not a good way to build sympathy. Ryback is rightfully the guy to get the hot tag and does some of his impressive power offense. He eventually gets stalled by the Authority and Dolph enters. He gets close to a win but is knocked out by Big Show, allowing Kane to win it.
Winners: Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins in 13:01
With Erick Rowan playing the face in peril, the mostly dead crowd was even quieter than really dead. The match itself was decent but the finish was atrocious. The man who came back from down 3 on 1 at Survivor Series gets pinned and it’s not even by the guy that was the next big star, it was by Kane of all people. **¼
The Authority beat up their opponents after the match until Randy Orton returns. Like a bad face, he’s late as hell in making the save. He comes back in his gear, which I’ve always hated. Why would he be in his ring attire? That doesn’t make any sense.
Goldust vs. Stardust
The late Dusty Rhodes has a heart to heart with Goldust before the match. If you’re looking for an amazing match, this wasn’t it but I think there was some good storytelling. It starts with them exchanging moves but when Goldust gets the upper hand, we start to see more of Stardust shine though. He goes deeper into character and his expressions do a good job of showing his frustrations. There’s a cool spot where they each drop to the mat for an uppercut like strike. Cody shouting “who’s your favorite?” as he beats up his brother was well done. Stardust goes for his finish, but Goldust counters into a crucifix. The referee only counts two but then calls for the bell.
Winner: Goldust in 8:56
While I thought they tried to tell a good story, the actual in ring action left something to be desired. The dead crowd didn’t help a match that was relatively dull and had a terrible finish. Cody Rhodes’ ability to completely lose himself in his gimmick is the highlight of this match. **¼
We get a recap of the homemade videos from Jon Stewart and Seth Rollins during their mini-feud.
Backstage, Stardust attacks Goldust in front of Dusty. When Dusty shouts “Cody”, Stardust goes nuts. He says that Cody, the breakout star of Legacy, the Intercontinental Champion, dashing, the Prince Cody…is dead and he blames Dusty for sticking him with him Goldust.
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) w/ Naomi vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro w/ Natalya
The fact that Cesaro and Tyson Kidd were a thrown together team but managed to mesh incredibly well together, is a thing of beauty. The challengers, being fantastic wrestlers, pick a body part and work it. They choose Jimmy’s knee and do everything to it well. From a half crab to Cesaro doing a one legged swing. Jey gets the hot tag but ends up in trouble when Cesaro hits his dead life superplex right into Kidd nailing an elbow. Great tag team work here. Kidd tries the Sharpshooter but it is countered. WE GET US SOME FLYING USOS MAGGLE! A creative spot comes when an Uso pulls Kidd’s leg from the apron into a Samoan drop into the barricade. Inside, things break down with a Sharpshooter and superkick before Cesaro and Jimmy or Jey fall outside. Kidd uses a kick to Jimmy’s leg to set up his finisher and win the straps.
Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions: Tyson Kidd and Cesaro in 9:34
Really good old fashioned tag team wrestling here. They went out and had a no nonsense match that was just straight up enjoyable. The leg work made sense and actually played into the finish, the outcome was kind of unexpected and it just worked. A few more minutes to build stuff and this could have been great. ***½
I’m not a fan of long promos on Pay-Per-Views but that’s what we get here. Triple H comes out, “meaning business” because he has a leather jacket on. He calls out Sting after running down WCW, even though their feud “wasn’t about WCW”. Sting comes out and Triple H wants to keep his legacy alive with merchandise sales, which is a dumb offer since WWE Shop was already selling a ton of Sting stuff. Thigs get physical, HHH goes for the sledgehammer but Sting has the bat. He points to the WrestleMania logo before planting HHH with a Scorpion Death Drop. That is how the WWE set up the TERRIBLE Sting/Triple H match at Mania.
WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella (c) w/ Brie Bella vs. Paige
Fun fact; I met Paige at Comic-Con the night before this show and she was one of the nicest and coolest wrestlers I’ve ever met. Surprisingly, this is the first PPV meeting between these two, despite the fact that they had a never-ending rivalry. Paige attacked quickly since the Bellas made her life hell in recent weeks. Nikki turned it around and threw her into the guardrail. Nikki is trying to bust out the big offense, showing off an Alabama Slam for two. They botch a rollup into the turnbuckle, which came off looking really bad. Nikki then hits a big powerbomb but that only gets two also. Paige comes back, looking for the PTO but Nikki reaches the ropes. She then retains after a rollup with a handful of tights.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: Nikki Bella in 5:35
Outside of the rollup botch, this was a well-executed match. Of all of the Divas on the main roster, Paige and Nikki probably have the best chemistry. My biggest issue with the match was that it was so short and they tried to cram a lot into it, as well as the cheap finish. **½
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Between the Fall of 2014 and early 2015, Dean Ambrose’s booking was absolutely baffling. Here, we have a shining example. The guy is over like crazy and attacks Barrett early. In recent weeks, Barrett had been dodging him, so this made sense. Barrett knocks Dean off the top to take control, getting in some shots to Dean’s ribs. He’s in control until Dean does his variation of Nigel McGuinness’ rebound lariat, but on the outside. Dean comes close with a small package and looks to be on the verge of victory. Ambrose kicks out of Wasteland and dodges the Bull Hammer before coming back with a loud rebound lariat. Barrett escapes Dirty Deeds and tries to leave but eats a suicide dive. Here goes that baffling Ambrose booking as he attacks Barrett and the referee calls the match because he doesn’t stop at the five count.
Winner via disqualification: Bad News Barrett in 8:03
When I first saw this show, I gave this match a better score but I take that back now. They worked at a decent pace for the time but this felt like something that belonged on a Smackdown, rather than a PPV. The booking of Dean Ambrose was also dumb and this finish was not what the crowd wanted. *¾
We now get what we think is the Undertaker, but when the casket brought to ringside is opened, it is Bray Wyatt. He cuts a promo about resurrecting the “Deadman” and becoming the new “Face of Fear.” This was long and while Bray is interesting, this was just another promo to build towards a WrestleMania match. Not exactly what I want to see on my Pay-Per-Views.
WWE United States Championship
Rusev (c) w/ Lana vs. John Cena
Neither guy is really able to grab the upper hand through the early stages of his match. When Rusev finally does get in the driver’s seat, he picks Cena apart. I would like to commend Lana at ringside, as she is great at her facial expressions throughout this entire thing. Rusev begins to grow frustrated when he can’t put Cena away, making me question if he’s ever watched a Cena match before. HE FEARS NOTHING AND REGRETS LESS! He goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, telling Lana that she can’t see him. Rusev blocks the AA and hits some big offense for two, including a spinning slam and jumping kick. Cena hits the AA eventually but Rusev joins the now long list of people to kick out of it. Remember when doing so was a big deal? Rusev powerbombs Cena and puts on the Accolade. Cena, being Cena, powers out until Lana enters the ring. The referee pulls her out and helps her out of the ring. With him distracted, Rusev kicks Cena in the dick, then the face and then puts the Accolade back on. Cena is out like a light.
Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: Rusev in 18:42
This was one of those situations where these are two guys who just never really clicked in the ring. They would have three more singles matches on PPV and none would be better than this, which wasn’t great. Rusev did a fine job in his first big time PPV showing and it only got really good near the end. ***
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns
The winner of this match gets the “prize” of facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Commentary hammers home the idea that while Bryan is the better wrester, Reigns is the better brawler. Funnily, JBL says that if add wrestling ability and brawling together, you get Brock. Makes sense. Bryan tries some of his submission holds but Reigns powers out, and Bryan’s reaction to this is great. Like, he realizes what happened but is also ready to adjust. They continue to trade blows and it’s power against technical skill still. Reigns even busts out some offense that I haven’t seen him use since and didn’t see before. Bryan avoids a Superman punch with a kick to the mid-section. This wisely brings in the hernia injury that took Reigns out of action for three months. Bryan attacks that injury and Reigns sells it very well. Bryan hits a suicide dive, but goes to the well too often as Reigns catches his next attempt with a belly to belly suplex. After Reigns misses and hits the steps, they tease a double countout. Bryan kicks out of a superman punch and then counters the Spear with a small package in a brilliant reverse. Reigns kicks out of the running knee, which Cole says is the first time it happened, but I’m pretty sure Randy Orton did it at Mania. Bryan goes into his kicks but Reigns catches one so he slaps him and goes to the Yes Lock. Reigns survives it and then powerbombs out of another submission. With both guys on the mat they go into a series of strikes that Bryan wins with kicks. He goes for another running knee, but is met with a Spear that ends this.
Winner: Roman Reigns in 20:10
This was the type of star making performance that Roman Reigns needed to have before winning the Royal Rumble to avoid that backlash. I loved this match. They played the power vs. technical stuff extremely well. It wasn’t like Reigns dominated and Bryan rallied either or vice versa. Neither guy gained a true upper hand and both had to go through a lot. The hernia injury coming into play was masterful and I like that they didn’t overdo the false finishes like a lot of big WWE matches. Bryan gave Reigns the rub that he needed and this did exactly what it needed to. ****¼
After the match, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns shake hands.
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. I wanted to like this show more. The main event is fantastic and the Tag Team Title match is worth checking out for sure. Rusev/Cena is their best outing, but still nothing you need to see. My biggest issues with this show were the fact that we had a lot of lame finishes (IC Title, Divas Title, US Title), disappointing matches (opener & Dust Brothers), too many promos and it just came off as a giant commercial for WrestleMania. This could have been an episode of Raw instead of a PPV. Up next, “Random Network Reviews” has me look at Superbrawl 2000!
