1) Pete Dunne: A major title win this past week saw the "Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne capture the PROGRESS Championship. An injury to Mark Haskins caused him to vacate the title. There were qualifying matches throughout Chapter 39 to earn a title shot to end the show. The PROGRESS Tag Team Champions, British Strong Style, which consists of Dunne and Trent Seven, retained their belts early on and gained spots in the main event. In that main event, which also featured Matt Riddle, Jimmy Havoc, TK Cooper, Travis Banks and Sebastian, Dunne got help from a returning Tyler Bate to lastly eliminate Havoc. The win came as a shock to many and Dunne is now a double champion for PROGRESS.
2) Johnny Mundo: There was one other major championship victory during the past week of wrestling. The reign of Sexy Star only lasted one week. After taking the Gift of the Gods Championship from her earlier this year, Johnny Mundo used that to get a title shot and took the Lucha Underground Championship from Sexy Star as well. What a dick! Admittedly, this wasn't anywhere near the best match of the week. Both of their matches have lacked in quality but this is still the biggest accomplishment for Mundo since leaving the WWE. When he won, Matt Striker said that since the first episode of the series, you just knew Mundo would one day be champion. That proved to be very true as Mundo is finally at the top of the Temple.
3) Kevin Owens: Enough about guys winning titles. Time to focus on someone who retained his. WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens main evented Raw in a really good title defense against Seth Rollins. Their series of matches have not quite reached great levels and this didn't either, but it was much better than their Clash of Champions match and I think I liked it more than the Hell in a Cell one. They fought around the arena in a No DQ match and just when Seth might have had things won, Chris Jericho interfered in a Sin Cara mask. That allowed Owens to retain and move into a feud where he'll get to look inferior against Roman Reigns.
4) James Ellsworth: Sure, the WWE has run the James Ellsworth stuff into the ground as they tend to do. However, the guy keeps getting a strong reaction and while he isn't a great wrestler, his acting skills are pretty strong. He got over in a way that most guys on the roster weren't able to. This week, he got his third win over AJ Styles (though he has never looked superior to the top champion, unlike when Kevin Owens loses on Raw). This was a ladder match that saw Ellsworth earn a Smackdown contract and he'll officially be sticking around. It wasn't a great match but it did what it needed to and had the crowd way invested.
5) American Alpha: Won a tag team turmoil match.
Raw History
Episode #64
May 23rd, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
We get told that during the WrestleMania Revenge Tour, Yokozuna and Crush took out Earthquake. That means that Earthquake cannot compete against Owen Hart in the King of the Ring Qualifying Match tonight. Vince McMahon and Macho Man are our hosts.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Doink the Clown vs. Owen Hart
This would have had a ton of potential if it was Matt Osburne. Owen attacks quickly and holds serve. When Doink sends him outside, Dink comes in to celebrate. Owen tells the camera that he has to deal with two and a half clowns, counting the referee. He chases Dink around the ring, allowing Doink to get in a clothesline. When Owen takes back over, commentary does a good job in explaining that Owen badly wants to win the tournament because Bret did it last year. It goes from technical to a bit of a brawl with the men trading shots. As Doink seems to pick up steam, Jeff Jarrett shows up and steals Dink. Owen rolls up to Doink to qualify.
Winner: Owen Hart in 8:30
Hey, look at Canadian Country helping each other. They’d be Tag Team Champions in five years. The match was like a lot of what I’ve seen on Raw in 1994 so far. Solid, but unspectacular. **
King of the Ring Report time! IRS will face Mabel in the first round, while Razor Ramon takes on Bigelow. Jeff Jarrett qualified over Lex Luger, who has fallen hard and Owen just qualified. Jimmy Del Ray faces Tatanka and the 1-2-3 Kid takes on Adam Bomb in the final to qualifiers. They also announce that the Headshrinkers will defend the Tag Team Titles against Crush and Yokozuna. Todd then bills Jerry Lawler vs. Roddy Piper as the “match of the century.”
Duke Droese vs. Barry Horowitz
IT’S THE RAW DEBUT OF THE DUMPSTER! Honestly, I feel like Horowitz is the superior worker. Duke does a tiny leap over a flat Barry and Vince is like “LOOK AT THE AGILITY!” Barry gets in some arm work, but Duke puts him down with a jumping elbow.
Winner: Duke Droese in 3:00
Duke’s first showing on Raw wasn’t the most impressive of squashes.
Time for highlights from the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. They had celebrities and everything on hand.
IRS vs. Gary Sabaugh
Before the match, IRS cuts the same tired promo he’s been cutting for years at this point. He is incredibly sweaty about 15 seconds into the match. Since he’s IRS and he can never do anything of interest, he applies a chinlock during a squash. Vince compares Shaq to Luger on commentary somehow. He wins with the Write Off.
Winner: IRS in 4:16
Too much time for an IRS squash. He’s quite possibly the most boring wrestler that I have ever seen.
Footage airs from Superstars, when Crush attacked Lex Luger during his KOTR Qualifier. The referee started counting Luger out and had he just laid there and lost, it would have been okay. Instead, he gets up and goes after Luger, getting eliminated from qualifying because he was too stupid to leap back into the ring.
Ugh, it’s King’s Court time. His guest is Lex Luger and Jerry Lawler spends time calling him a choke artist. I mean, Jerry isn’t wrong. Lawler reveals that Luger supposedly attacked him from behind in the city and Crush’s arm is in a sling. Crush appears in a bootleg looking sling. It looks like he took his bedsheets and just used that. Crush’s promo is pretty bad as he messes up several words. Luger clotheslines him outside and it is revealed that nothing is wrong with Crush’s arm.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy has a flattop haircut that does not suit him. Ted Dibiase joins commentary to say that he is trying to communicate with the Undertaker. Matt sells decently for him but you know this is about Volkoff. He uses the Boston Crab to win.
Winner: Nikolai Volkoff in 2:32
Better than the IRS squash but still nothing worth checking out.
Jerry Lawler announces that his guest next week on the King’s Court will be the WWF Champion Bret Hart!
Overall: 3.5/10. These Raw episodes have kind of hit a plateau. I’ve given the same score three straight weeks. The marquee match is always decent at best and the rest of the show is either bad or barely watchable. That was the case here again.
Raw History
Episode #65
May 30th, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
The show opens with a recap of each person that has qualified for the King of the Ring. We see that the 1-2-3 Ki became the 7th person to do so on Superstars.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow
Vince literally gives ZERO reason for why the change was made here. He’s just like “Jimmy Del Rey was scheduled but now it’s Crush.” Vince says that Crush also has the Tag Team Title match at KOTR, which meant that if he qualified, he could wrestle four times in one night. That would be atrocious. Crush dominates the early stages and has on the dreaded bearhug after a commercial. They fight outside after Strongbow chops Fuji and it leads to a double countout.
Double Countout in 7:08
Two of the worst people to watch since Raw started are given a match and they, as expected, put on a bad match. ½*
Vince McMahon calls the double countout “the worst thing that could happen.” Really? I’d rather someone get a bye than see one of those two in there. They continue to brawl after the match.
Todd Pettengill brings us the King of the Ring Report. His shirt is absolutely ridiculous. We get a promo from Roddy Piper who talks about how tough his neighborhood is. Owen Hart also chimes in to say that he should get a bye because Tatanka and Crush both got counted out. A year later, he and British Bulldog would fight to a double countout and neither man would get another shot in the tournament.
Ted Dibiase is shown in a funeral parlor (no, not the Paul Bearer talk show). He says that the Undertaker will soon be his property again.
1-2-3 Kid vs. George South
As noted earlier, this past weekend, 1-2-3 Kid qualified for the King of the Ring. Kwang accidentally spit mist into Adam Bomb’s eyes, leading to the win. Kid goes through some of his fun offense. Interestingly, Kid wins with the La Magistral cradle. Macho Man calls 1-2-3 Kid his new favorite wrestler.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 2:33
As usual, Kid has an entertaining squash match that is given far too little time. Fine stuff though.
King’s Court time. Jerry Lawler goes through the same tired jokes he’s used on the Hart Family because he has no new material and hasn’t since the 90’s. Bret Hart comes out and Lawler continues to say nonsense. He brings up his attack on Bret after last year’s King of the Ring, leading Bret to prepare to fight. Lawler brings out his other guests for tonight, Diesel and Shawn Michaels. Diesel makes a remark about giving Bret the VIP treatment, which is very intense pain. Was that the best they could think of? HBK distracts Bret, allowing Diesel to hit him and nail the Jackknife. The three heels all stomp on Bret until officials show up.
The Smoking Guns vs. Austin Steele and Reno Riggins
Commentary spends the match advertising for the USA Network and discussing the Crush/Tatanka controversy. Vince acts like Owen Hart only wrestling two matches on the KOTR PPV is a big deal when Bigelow did that last year. The Guns dominate this match as expected.
Winners: The Smoking Guns in 3:19
Standard stuff here.
Todd Pettengill informs us that Jack Tunney has made a decision. Next week, we get a Crush/Tatanka rematch (oh joy) and it will be a Lumberjack match.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Chris Hammerick
The future “Confederate Currency” of ECW is doing the job tonight. Jarrett talks smack to Macho Man beforehand, which, coupled with their issues a few weeks back, makes me feel like there may have been plans for a program. Jarrett goes through all of his offense, which isn’t very exciting and never has been. He wins with a figure four.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 3:53
Man, Jeff Jarrett is kind of boring. Not IRS bad but nowhere near Owen or 1-2-3 Kid levels of interesting.
Jerry Lawler informs everyone that his guest next week will be a Scottish man in a kilt with a “Hot Rod” shirt.
Overall: 2.5/10. The actual in-ring stuff was pretty horrible this week. Outside of the short 1-2-3 Kid match everything was kind of just there. The Crush/Tatanka match was pitiful and now we get a damn rematch next week. The only good thing about this episode was the King’s Court surprisingly. Lawler’s jokes were bad but at least it built the WWF Title match well.
Raw History
Episode #66
June 6th, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow
Oh my god. These poor Youngstown fans had to sit through this match twice in one taping. Good lord. Everyone nearly fights to start but Earl Hebner calms things down. The heels surprisingly don’t really beat on Tatanka when he goes outside. Maybe one cheap shot but that’s it. They fight through a commercial break and do nothing of interest. This is honestly one of the most boring matches I could think of. They are just wearing each other down with dull offense. Oh goodness, they go through a SECOND commercial break. Vince again hypes the possibility of four Crush matches on the PPV, showing that he wants nobody to purchase it. A big fight breaks out outside, where Lex Luger runs out and lays out Crush with the BIONIC FOREARM OF DOOM! Tatanka covers Crush and qualifies.
Winner: Tatanka in 17:09
Seriously? This takes up the majority of the show. This was BEYOND boring and one of the worst things Raw has done this year. Just all around terrible. DUD
King of the Ring Report time! There isn’t really any news of note, but there are some pretty out there Roddy Piper promos.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. John Paul
Nothing of note really happens in here, except that Vince calls Luna the Wilma Flintstone of the WWF. Macho Man says he liked Betty more. Bigelow dominates and wins with an ugly splash.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:49
Typical Bigelow squash. He got to do some decent stuff and looked alright in doing so.
Jerry Lawler is out for the King’s Court. He teases bringing out Roddy Piper but it’s an impersonator. A skinny kid who is nailing the Piper impersonation for sure. Lawler throws insults and makes the skinny kid kiss his feet and crawl out of the ring on his hands and knees. It was a good idea but Lawler is pretty dire to watch at times.
Razor Ramon vs. Keith Davis
The jobber doesn’t sound familiar right? He looks familiar though because it’s Jeff Hardy. He leaps right into a fallaway slam. Jeff/Keith bumps pretty well as Razor wins with a Razor’s Edge.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 4:04
Fun to see Jeff Hardy. He made for a good jobber because he could bump around for the star.
Somewhere strange, Paul Bearer claims that Ted Dibiase will not be able to produce the Undertaker. Back to the arena, Ted Dibiase shows up and promises to produce the Undertaker this weekend on Superstars.
Overall: 1/10. The big match of the evening outright sucked. Whoever thought to give those two nearly twenty minutes should have been fired. The rest of the show wasn’t much better and this was all flat out horrible.
Superbrawl 2000
February 20th, 2000 | Cow Palace in San Francisco, California | Attendance: 8,569
As noted before, WCW in 2000 was one of the worst things in history. I’ve reviewed three shows from this year and have given them scores of 4, 2.5 and 0. Yes a zero. That was the previous month’s Souled Out, which would be the last show for the group that would defect to the WWE and become the Radicalz. They would do a huge rating in their debut while WCW continued to fall further and further behind. WCW was definitely in major trouble and their resolution? Bring Hulk Hogan back. This would be the 10th of 11 Superbrawl events.
Oh my god, the video package hypes Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk. How is this the year 2000? Anyway, since WCW has no clue how to start a Pay-Per-View, we instantly go backstage to Mean Gene. Jeff Jarrett comes out and says that he took out Kevin Nash, so he’s back in control. Commentary is Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Mark Madden. They run down most of the card, and the poor live crowd is probably already dead since they see nothing going on right now.
Still no match as we get highlights of a tournament to determine a new Cruiserweight Champion after Oklahoma gave up the gold. Somehow, of all of the cruiserweights in the world, they ended up with these two.
WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea w/ Paisley vs. Lash LeRoux
Before the bell, Lash LeRoux slaps Paisley on the ass. Someone is not gonna like that SUCKA! They allow her to get a shot back, but there’s no DQ called. Things are sloppy quickly with them messing up some near falls and an Irish whip. It seems like Paisley is going to cheat but she literally just slaps Lash on his boot. I don’t think that’s going to have an effect on him. Prince beats on Lash outside for a bit but they go back in soon. Lash goes into his comeback but the crowd gives zero fucks. Paisley is on the apron nearly the whole time, like she’s a tag partner or something. Lash tries for an ugly top rope rana but Prince holds on and he crashes. He nails a diving DDT to win the gold.
Winner and New WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: TAFKA Prince Iaukea in 5:46
Well, the crowd did not care about that at all. I don’t blame them though as neither guy really did anything to earn their applause. This was sloppy, didn’t make much sense and had little to no heat. It’s better than last month’s Madusa/Oklahoma title match but a far cry from the division’s heyday. ½*
Backstage, Normal Smiley gets his ribs taped up before we cut to an interview with Brian Knobbs. He’s in Dudleys like attire but is hype for his upcoming match. There is also a door labeled PRIVATE that commentary speculates about.
WCW Hardcore Championship
Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Brian Knobbs
Along with Brutus Beefcake, Brian Knobbs is one of the biggest beneficiaries of being Hulk Hogan’s friend. He has no right having a job in 2000. Fit Finlay, Knobbs’ mentor despite them being about the same age, helps distract Bigelow. They fight backstage and I’m not sure on the timeline, but this may have been how they had the idea for WCW Backstage Assault! Finlay gets involved but Knobbs wants to do it on his own. They fight back to the ring where Knobbs goes through a table in the corner. Bigelow hits Greetings from Asbury Park but wants to do more so he goes up top with a chair. Instead of using it, he throws it at Finlay and Knobbs is up. Knobbs hits him with a poor looking trash can lid shot and wins back the title.
Winner and New WCW Hardcore Champion: Brian Knobbs in 4:44
Wait, why is Brian Knobbs still winning singles matches, let along singles titles? The WWF’s hardcore division wasn’t amazing, but it was at least fun. This sucked in nearly every imaginable way. Where the hell is Screaming Norman Smiley to save this? ¼*
We see the outsides of Scott Hall’s and Sid’s locker rooms. Their security teams say that nobody is allowed into the rooms in some of the most wooden acting scenes I’ve ever seen. John Morrison looks more comfortable speaking on camera than these guys.
3 Count vs. Norman Smiley
Normal Smiley is fantastic and starts the match hot, but falls victim to being down 3 on 1. Tony Schiavone points out that 3 Count isn’t targeting the injured ribs of Smiley. Is it really a good idea to call that out? CESARO SWING from Smiley! Big wiggle time! That alone is going to earn this match the highest score on the card so far. Norman goes for the Norman Conquest (cross face chicken wing) but it’s broken up. 3 Count then beat on him until they win.
Winners: 3 Count in 4:06
This wasn’t good, but was comical at times, which made me enjoy it more than anything else on the card so far. Normal Smiley and 3 Count were two of a limited number of acts that I liked in this era but didn’t click well against each other. *
KISS Demon vs. The Wall
They have the audacity to bill this as a “special main event”. Seriously? When the Wall doesn’t show, Demon goes to find him and is attacked from behind. Wall is dressed like a giant Right to Censor member. The fight moves to the ring but it’s clear that nobody cares. They plod around the ring, just hitting awful looking offense on each other while the crowd chants “boring.” It’s not a good sign to hear that being chanted two minutes into a match. Demon slams Wall from the top and nearly breaks his neck. Wall still gets up and Chokeslams Demon from the top to end this.
Winner: The Wall in 3:37
How can a match that goes less than four minutes manage to drag on and feel super long? This sucked and had zero redeeming qualities. Absolute trash. DUD
Leather Jacket on a Pole Match
Big Al vs. Tank Abbott
Who the fuck is Big Al? Apparently, he was Tank’s bodyguard. Why did a bad dude like Tank need one of those? Al stole Tank’s leather jacket or something to lead to this. For some reason, they tie their hands together with a belt. It just looks like they are holding hands. Al knocks him out and then just stalls. Tank is out for a long time so this just goes on for too long. Tank gets up, places Al on the top, knocks him off and grabs the jacket. What the fuck?
Winner: Tank Abbott in 4:34
Why? This was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I don’t really give out negative stars but man, I was close to doing it for the first time here. DUD
After the match, I’m pretty sure Tank Abbott tries to murder Big Al. He takes a knife out, puts it to his throat and says “I could fucking kill you right now”. The camera cuts away instantly and Tony Schiavone tries to play it off as if he was going to cut Big Al’s facial hair.
Big T w/ J. Biggs and Stevie Ray vs. Booker
Booker lost the “T” and this is for the name “Harlem Heat”. Booker gets some terrible theme music since he can’t use the Harlem Heat one. Big T has gained a ton of weight since his time as Ahmed Johnson. Booker changing his look is actually for the best because the Harlem Heat attire looked ridiculous at times. Booker gets in shots on both Big T and Stevie Ray. He hits his signature offense, including the Scissors Kick, and goes up top. He nails a missile dropkick and the referee counts but the lights go out. IS IT SABU? THE UNDERTAKER? Nope, it’s a random black dude on the apron. The distraction allows Ahmed to hit an ugly Pearl River Plunge for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Big T in 5:23
Oh my, is there going to be a good match on this show? Big T was in terrible shape and it made for a bad match. I feel so bad for Booker. He deserved the World Title runs later in the year after dealing with this. ½*
Billy Kidman w/ Torrie Wilson vs. Vampiro
Billy Kidman’s WCW theme was excellent. They start quickly until Vampiro hits a backbreaker. He makes the mistake of trying to powerbomb Kidman. YOU CAN’T DO THAT! Kidman reverses with a rana to the outside. Vampiro comes back with a scary looking second rope gutwrench suplex for two. He tries to powerbomb Kidman again, which fails again. Torrie gets on the apron and just stands there, completely telegraphing that she would be knocked off the apron. She gets back up, stopping Vampiro from using a chair. Kidman dropkicks it into his face but it looks like shit. Inside, they again mess up a spot when Vampiro goes for a flying kick and botch it. Mark Madden claims next year, they’ll meet for the US Title and 2 years from here, it’ll be for the World Title. That didn’t quite work out for WCW. Vampiro shuts me up by actually hitting two powerbombs! They go up for another top rope move and both it as Kidman just kind of pulls him down to the mat for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Billy Kidman in 7:20
I wanted to like this so much more since they were two of the more enjoyable acts in WCW during this timeframe. They had some really good ideas and worked hard, but they botched three or four big spots that really hurt this score. However, it is still the match of the night. **
Backstage, Sid steps out of his dressing room and just shouts at this security guards. It’s a highlight of the show.
Sicilian Stretcher Match
Big Vito and Johnny the Bull w/ Disco Inferno vs. Crowbar and David Flair w/ Daffney
All four men just brawl at the bell. Disco doesn’t bother to manage his team, instead choosing to commentate. Daffney gets involved, hitting a hurricanrana that brings Disco in. She quickly sprays him in the eyes with something. A table gets brought in and Crowbar takes a powerbomb through it. Disco no sells the mace or whatever and is back on commentary. Oh wait, he’s at least saying he can’t see as he misses a nice leg drop from Johnny the Bull. David Flair gets taped to the stretcher and carted off to the back, leaving Crowbar alone. He ends up on a table and Vito splashes him through it on the outside. Crowbar is taken away, but not before they tape and gag Daffney to a wheelchair. That ends things.
Winner: Big Vito and Johnny the Bull in 11:22
They tried to make this a chaotic brawl that was a ton of fun but instead it fell kind of flat. I mean, it was chaotic and they did brawl, but it was more of a mess than anything. *¾
Ernest Miller is out and he supposedly has James Brown with him. Hilariously, even though his music is dubbed over, you can still partially hear it in the background. He runs down the fans before a fake James Brown dances out to the ring. The Maestro comes out to complain about this which brings out the real James Brown. Wait, so why bring out the fake one? Maestro faints and James dances with Ernest. I’m not sure why this was needed.
Texas Deathmatch
Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk w/ Dustin Rhodes
They mention that Terry Funk’s dad once had a four hour Deathmatch. Jesus. When Funk causes Flair to regroup, Mark Madden questions the legality of his taped fists. It’s a Deathmatch dude. Things grow in physicality, with suplexes on the outside and a guardrail spot. Flair’s selling of “OH SHIT” as he takes a suplex is great. Funk covers him for three, and now Flair gets a count of ten to get to his feet. I don’t think the fans fully understand the rules. Flair gets up and goes after the knee, making Funk submit to the Figure Four. He answers the ten count. Funk gets three on a piledriver on the outside. As if he knows Flair will get up, he brings a table into play. Funk actually gets a microphone, asking Flair if he quits, in a callback to a classic they had in 1989. He piledrives him THROUGH A TABLE! Flair somehow is up from that and pulls Funk through table shortly after for three. Funk is unable to get up from that.
Winner: Ric Flair in 15:40
Considering I saw a piledriver though a table, that was one hell of an anti-climactic finish. They told a pretty good story, building to the bigger spots and calling back to their history, so kudos there. The crowd was incredibly dead throughout though, which killed some of what they did. **
Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger w/ Miss Elizabeth
I believe this was the main event of the second ever Nitro. This is part of Hogan returning because the young guys are taking the main event spots, even though Luger has been a main event layer for a decade or so. He pounds on Luger relentlessly inside and outside of the ring. Luger gets on the offensive for maybe two minutes before Hogan starts using his cast as a weapon. Hogan was always such a heel. Elizabeth tries to use a bat but Jimmy Hart appears to take it from her. Hogan Hulks up, to which Mark Madden says we’ve seen “millions of times”. Instead of going for the Leg Drop, Hogan wants a belt from Jimmy, allowing Luger to low blow him. It was right in front of the official, but it is ignored. Then Jimmy Hart hits Luger in the back with his cast and Hogan wins with the Leg Drop.
Winner: Hulk Hogan in 8:09
As you would expect between these two, this wasn’t very good. I get the idea that Hogan just wanted to beat Luger up, which was fine, but it all just came off as boring. Plus, the finish was strange. ¾*
Ric Flair runs out as he and Luger double team Hulk Hogan. That is, until Sting appears! He cleans house and it all happens really fast. Sting’s appearance is one of the few things the fans have been hype for.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Sid Vicious (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall
Jeff Jarrett is the reigning US Champion. He is also introduced as a five time World Champion. That’s nuts considering he only won four in WCW and all came after this show. Hall attacks Jarrett before Sid even shows up, but when he does, he dominates quickly. Sid nearly wins with a double Chokeslam and then Jarrett hits him with the belt for two. The crowd gives next to no reaction for these things. Jarrett just decides to start beating up referees because he has a friend that’s an official, Slick Johnson. He shows up as the FIFTH referee. Hall hits the Outsider’s Edge but Johnson doesn’t count the three. Jarrett comes close to winning but Roddy Piper shows up in a referee’s shirt to stop him from winning. Sid Chokeslams Jarrett and powerbombs Hall to retain.
Winner and Still WCW Champion: Sid Vicious in 7:41
Classic WCW overbooking reigned over this match. However, with it being so short, that meant things moves relatively quickly and it stopped things from being boring. It still wasn’t a good main event by any means, but it being short was a positive. *¾
Overall: 1/10; Poop. This was better than the atrocity that was Souled Out the prior month, but JUST barely. I mean, this is awful. Only two matches reach two stars and that’s the ceiling for this show. Before the Vampiro/Kidman match, this was in worst show in history territory. The second half proved to be bad but not pitifully bad so that saved it from a zero. The next “Random Network Review”is scheduled to be Armageddon 2005!
Rev Pro Global Wars UK Night Two
November 11th, 2016 | Walthamstow Assembly Hall in London, England
Night one of Global Wars was pretty great. Night two stands out as a card with some very interesting matches (Hero/Shibata and the LIDJ tag stick our mostly). Again, this show is NJPW vs. Rev Pro. This is also Rev Pro’s first time running in this great looking venue.
Non-Title Match: RPW British Tag Team Champions Charlie Garrett and Joel Redman def. BUSHI and NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL via disqualification in 9:44
The champions are in pretty great shape. I feel like Vince McMahon would love them. LIDJ went straight for heel tactics with BUSHI getting a cheap shot on Garrett. BUSHI ran into trouble since he’s the smallest guy in the match. LIDJ continued to cheat when EVIL wrapped a chair on Redman, which led to them working the heat on him. They cut off the hot tag several times before Garrett got it. His run was pretty great as he showed off his athleticism with a moonsault and tope con hilo. When it looked like LIDJ was on the verge of a loss, BUSHI hit a low blow and spit the mist, resulting in the DQ. A result like this can feel like a cop out, but it protected both teams and fit LIDJ’s personalities. The match itself was pretty fun. **¾
Drew Galloway came out to address the fans. He was scheduled for this show but had to miss it due to injury. He put over UK wrestling and how it is hotter than it has ever been right now and how upset he was that he had to miss this show.
Josh Bodom def. Tomoaki Honma in 10:35
I first saw Bodom in his WWE CWC Qualifying match. He and Galloway had some heated words on Drew’s way out. Galloway was scheduled to face Honma here. As expected, Honma missed Kokeshi early. Bodom took over and made sure to taunt and draw heat during all of it. Honma finally connected on Kokeshi on his third attempt and got two on a blockbuster. Honma went up and missed the big top rope Kokeshi which led to his downfall. He did slap on a submission and fire up, but Bodom uses a low blow and buster piledriver to win. These two were a solid pairing since Bodom is a good dick heel and Honma fought from behind, which is what he does so well. **¾
Yuji Nagata def. Trent Seven in 10:50
For the first time tonight, the crowd erupts and it’s for Nagata. Nagata had some fun with the fans singing “Seven Nation Army” and with Seven’s mustache. They traded chops and strikes, which Nagata got the better of. Shoutout to commentary for mentioning that Nagata was part of the WCW/NWO Revenge game roster. Seven chopped the ring post when Nagata ducked and Nagata’s reaction was priceless. Nagata nailed a big exploder and then won with his trademark armbar. A lot of fun here. Nagata looked to be having the time of his life and when they actually went toe to toe, both guys delivered. I came away very impressed by Seven. ***½
After the match, Dave Mastiff showed up and attacked Seven.
Non-Title Match: RPW British Cruiserweight Champion Will Ospreay def. Jushin Thunder Liger in 9:49
During the BOTSJ, these two met in an underwhelming match. Ospreay’s theme played only to stop and Liger’s theme started back up. He came out dressed in CTU Liger gear (basically Liger’s gear but in black). They played right into that, doing a lot of mirror image spots. Ospreay got to portray more of a heel here since he was playing Dark Liger. Liger continued the comedy stuff, bringing the PWG thumb in the ass spot. Some of the fans didn’t seem to fully get it at first. Liger got two on a Liger Bomb, before Ospreay hit the Oscutter. Instead of winning with that, he brought out the shooting star press, which Liger innovated. A good comedy match with some strong serious points and it added variety to the show. I dug the mirror stuff. ***
Tomohiro Ishii def. Pete Dunne in 12:25
Dunne didn’t wow me against Nagata (he is awesome though), but this is Tomohiro Ishii he’s facing. Ishii always rules. Unlike night one, Ishii enjoyed a size advantage here. Dunne hit Ishii but Ishii hit just a little harder. Dunne busted out a sweet rebound German but Ishii got up instantly like it had no effect on him. Ishii also popped right up from a superplex, which really took Dunne off of his game. Ishii did one back and Dunne wasn’t able to pop up. Dunne managed to survive some of Ishii’s stuff but remained overwhelmed. He even hit his tombstone only for Ishii to kick out at one. Dunne used a low blow so Ishii’s CHAOS stablemate, Will Ospreay, showed up to distract him. Ospreay and Dunne have had issues for a while from what I recall. Ishii came back with a low blow and brainbuster to win. They told a great story of Dunne throwing everything at Ishii but it still not being enough. Dunne looked great in defeat, I just wasn’t a fan of the finish at all. ***½
Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. LDRS of the New School (Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr.) in 18:43
Man, I came in excited for the two final matches. The negative response continued for Sabre. LIDJ did their usual mind games when Naito started the match only to tag out instead of competing. Scurll answered back with the same thing because, villain. SANADA got worked over with quick tags and arm work until Naito tripped up Sabre and the tide turned. LIDJ took over after some brawling outside. Sabre got beat up for a bit and made the tag to Scurll. Scurll actually ran a babyface fire style hot tag. This was the most face I think I’ve ever seen him work. Naito was way cocky and taunted Scurll, so Scurll grabbed his hand. Naito laughed at it, obviously unaware of Scurll’s tendency to snap fingers, which is exactly what happened. The LDRS hit a brainbuster/penalty kick combo that nearly won it but Naito kicked out. The LDRS also did a great stereo submissions spot with an armbar and chicken wing but that wasn’t enough either. It came down to Naito and Sabre, who had a great back and forth. Sabre desperately didn’t want to lose again but fell to Destino. This ruled. I really like all four guys and they meshed so well together. Different personalities and styles, yet it all came together harmoniously. One of my favorite tag matches all year long. ****¼
Post-match, Naito attacked referee Chris Roberts before leaving. Marty Scurll got on the microphone and stated that it is traditional for a wrestler to wear blue when he leaves a territory and he’s wearing blue tonight. He mentioned that Sabre is taking more US dates next year and his own signing of an exclusive deal with ROH. It was an emotional promo and the two men embraced. However, Scurll kicked Sabre low and laughed, ensuring that he’s always the villain. Honestly though, I would have liked it to be the other way around. Sabre hasn’t been getting cheered anyway so why not have him mess up a nice moment and run with it?
RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) def. Chris Hero in 13:18
If I could see Chris Hero wrestle two guys from NJPW it would be Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata. Thank you Rev Pro. Hero got introduced as having held titles everywhere except for the UK. Like Hero vs. Ishii, I just wanted to see these two go to war and they delivered. They worked the mat early but quickly went to striking. Hero tried to bully Shibata but learned that was a mistake when Shibata slapped the taste out of his mouth. Hero’s reaction to the slap was perfect. Shibata shrugged off some of Hero’s most vicious strikes and even demanded more. Hero used Shibata’s momentum against him at one point, causing Shibata to run into a knee. He followed with a piledriver for two and Shibata turned the kick out into a sleeper hold. Hero struggled and had to survive a German before breaking free, hitting an elbow and another piledriver. Shibata kicked out and got the sleeper back on, wearing Hero down enough to win with the penalty kick. I loved this. They wrestled Shibata’s style and it worked so well. I winced at the strikes several times, which is just what I wanted. It felt like a battle between two of the best out there and had a special aura from the crowd. ****¼
After the match, Hero bowed to Shibata and the two men shook hands.
Overall: 8/10. Another great Global Wars show. While it started slower than night and featured more low blows than any other show I can recall, nothing on the card was bad. Everything was fun and you got a variety of things. Comedy, stiff strikes, mat wrestling, great tag work, dream combinations and an awesome main event. The final two matches delivered in spades and are must see.
After a recap of Aztec Warfare III, we get more "white rabbit" vignettes. It seems to focus on three men, one of them being Paul London dressed similarly to the Mad Hatter. He says "El Bunny" will lead them.
Lucha Underground Trios Championship: Aerostar, Drago and Fenix (c) def. The Rabbit Tribe (Mala Suerte, Saltador and Paul London) in 5:43
Saltador looks cool, but the jury is out on Suerte. London really brings a leader vibe to the role. His attire is very interesting. The Rabbit Tribe starts hot and London gets to show off his charisma. Once things calm down to a more standard trios match, it becomes more of an even battle. I can't really rate this since my feed cut out and I missed the finish. I saw the outcome though.
After the match, Kobra Moon appeared and shouted at Drago. She promised that soon, he will bow to his queen. She made sure to hiss afterwards.
Returning, The Mack comes up to Sexy Star in the back and can't believe that she won the title. He says the title should be his and then says he's joking and hugs her. He wants to be in her corner to make sure no shenanigans go down when she defends the title against Johnny Mundo tonight. She declines because she wants to show the world that her winning was no fluke. Apparently, Mack completely understands Spanish.
Dante Fox def. Killshot in 8:07
This has backstory considering Fox was apparently left in a warzone by Killshot. Killshot didn't seem to want to have the match but Fox shoves him to start. From there on, they just went right at it and both guys showed off some impressive athleticism. Fox nailed the expressions throughout, looking at Killshot with hatred. At one point, they went into an insane back and forth where Killshot hit a rolling cutter in an awesome spot. Fox escaped an armbar but got hit with an apron DVD. Killshot followed with a top rope double stomp for a very close near fall. Fox came back and nailed a jumping springboard seated Spanish Fly. Yes, exactly that. He then hit the Fox Catcher for the win. This was an awesome sprint. They went balls to the walls and this was an absolute blast. This feud should continue and bring more excitement. ***3/4
Johnny Mundo enters Dario Cueto's office and it amounts to each guy thinking the other is a prick. Mundo is upset at Angelico for interfering in Aztec Warfare and filed a restraining order against him.
Dario met up with Black Lotus and she wants Pentagon Dark. So does the Black Lotus Triad. Dario was impressed with their attack last week. He books Pentagon against them in a gauntlet match next week. Win or lose, Pentagon will have to face all four of them.
Lucha Underground Championship: Johnny Mundo def. Sexy Star (c) in 11:07
This was Mundo cashing in his Gift of the Gods Championship. Mundo went for quick pin attempts and they traded submission attempts. Sexy again played the underdog who was overmatched. For all that they about her being a strong woman, she always seems overmatched. Mundo took to wearing her down. Sexy began the babyface rally and was on the verge of a win. They fought outside and Mundo stole a crutch from a fan. Sexy took it from him but when she tried to help the fan, the fan laid her out with brass knuckles. Mundo rolled her inside and won the title after hitting the End of the World. The fan was in a mask and revealed herself to be Taya. Typical match from them. It was better than their GOTG Title match but still not great. I appreciated that their was less interference but it still fell mostly flat for me. Mundo as champion is pretty cool though. **1/4
Overall: 6/10. A pretty average episode this week. The Rabbit Tribe seems really cool but I wouldn't have put them in a title match here. They should have won their first match and established themselves. The main event lacked but the title change was welcome. The real reason to check this episode out was Fox/Killshot. It was a lot of fun and I expect there's more to come.
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!
