WWE Payback
April 30th, 2017 | SAP Center in San Jose, California | Attendance: 13,694
Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
Anyone else realize Enzo and Cass are like, the perfect Kickoff Show team? Their opening spiel always gets the crowd pumped and it’s a good way to start a show. They had a Chinese food related theme to their stuff here. One thing that makes Enzo and Cass work so well is their big man/little man dynamic, which is great for tag formula. Here, Enzo took a beating, with the Club working on his arm. It was vicious work at times but a strange choice since arm work doesn’t typically come into play for the Club. Cass came in hot and did his thing before Enzo stole it by rolling up Gallows at 6:33. A fine little opener with some solid tag team formula. [**¼]
Onto the main card now.
WWE United States Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho
If Chris Jericho wins, he joins Smackdown. I enjoyed the hell out of their WrestleMania outing. This was just slightly below that match for me. Owens is so good at everything. He is one of the only guys in wrestling who can do typical heel things like stall or work rest holds and always have it be entertaining. I do feel this was a bit more intense than the Mania match times. Late in the match, Owens repeated the “one finger on the ropes” spot from Mania, which I thought was cool. Pissed off, Jericho attacked the hand and kicked the steel steps into it. Owens sold it like his hand was about to fall off. The injury was crucial because he couldn’t hit the Popup Powerbomb or extend the finger when put back in the Walls of Jericho. He had no choice but to tap out at 14:02. The result was a shock since Jericho is reportedly leaving soon, Owens has started the “New Face of America” stuff and the setup for Styles/Owens at Backlash. Still, I loved how the finger came into play and it was utilized in such a positive way to make for a smart finish. [***¼]
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries
I seem to be one of the only people to have gone **** on their Mania match but I loved it. This was nowhere near that level but still good. Austin Aries came into this with a plan and was one step ahead of Neville from the opening bell. The “King of the Cruiserweights” has been lightyears ahead of a lot of his opponents, dominating the division, but not here. Neville took over and things slowed a bit, only to pick up after a big bump off an Aries dropkick. Aries’ offense is great and the crowd responded to it well throughout. My favorite thing about their Mania match was the finish and I know most people didn’t care for this finish but I liked it too. Aries had a counter for Neville’s superplex, hitting a sunset flip bomb right into Last Chancery. Neville knew he was done, so he pulled the referee to break the hold, resulting in the DQ at 11:17. It’s a great way to continue the feud without Aries having to eat another loss. The story of him having Neville’s number was well told and their blowoff match should have a stipulation and might be their best outing yet. [***]
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
In the buildup, the Hardys beat their challengers in singles matches. I want to point out that the Hardys could’ve totally come in and relied on crowd reactions with minimal efforts in the ring. They haven’t done that yet as both worked hard here. Matt got busted open the hard way and Jeff bumped like a madman. He’s a great foe for brutes like Cesaro and Sheamus. He had his tooth knocked out during a heat segment after a brutal kick. The brutal nature of the challengers helped foreshadow things. The crowd was way into everything, which helped the match. Sheamus thought he had it won after a powerslam on Matt, but missed Jeff’s blind tag. Jeff broke up his pin with a Swanton Bomb and got the win at 12:42. Good old fashioned tag team wrestling where everything made sense and it had a hot crowd. Sheamus was sloppy at times, with hurt the quality a bit. [***¼]
Post-match, Sheamus and Cesaro raised the Hardys’ hands, only to attack them. It made sense given the respectful angle they’ve been playing up. Though I think they were just getting their groove as a face team, with the Revival on the shelf, Raw needed another heel duo.
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
Even the biggest Alexa Bliss fan can admit that she could still use some polishing needed in the ring. But man, that woman absolutely nails her character and mannerisms. They played to that strength as she talked trash and mocked Bayley and her hometown faithful while on the offensive. Alexa could do basic offense and have it work wonderfully due to the heat she was getting. Bayley sold everything well, helping the sympathy aspect here. Alexa being a bitch was the best way to go about this match. She did the little things to anger the ultimate babyface in Bayley, taking her off her game. As Bayley laid into her with more aggression than usual, it backfired and she was pulled into the corner, hitting her head on the ring post. Bliss then nailed a DDT to capture the title at 11:10. The DDT is a shit finish in 2017 but I respect that it made sense here with Bayley’s head injury. Alexa’s overconfidence nearly cost her at times but in the end, she took advantage of a situation and got the win. This was a study in character work as Alexa nailed it. She gets the distinction of being the first woman to hold the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Titles and I couldn’t be happier that she did it before Charlotte. Bayley’s best main roster match and Alexa’s best match ever. [***½]
The House of Horrors match started here and ended later. I’ll cover it all after this next match.
Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins
You know, this should’ve been an awesome rivalry. Joe and Rollins are interesting characters and it’s a high profile match but I honestly forgot they were feuding until the match started. It’s been so lackluster. Starting after the first half of the House of Horrors match didn’t help since the crowd was dead and unenthused after that awful showing. Obviously, Joe went after Seth’s injured knee and I must say, it was more interesting leg work than the HHH stuff at Mania. However, it suffered from match placement because a dead crowd who just witnessed that Bray/Orton shit was not interested in seeing some methodical leg work. Seth sold well, another thing I preferred to the HHH match, using just one leg to climb the ropes. I just never got into Seth’s comeback and it lacked some energy. I did like how the finish saw him lull Joe into a false sense of security as he countered the choke into a cradle to steal it at 15:54. This was good and psychologically sound, but it was missing something to make it great. It felt more like a Raw main event than a big PPV match. [***]
House of Horrors Match: Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Where to begin with this? The first half was pre-recorded stuff at some random house. Orton showed up in a limo with no shirt, jeans and elbow pads. Bray attacked him in the house, wearing a wife beater. About two minutes in and the internet was already filled with jokes and memes. Let me note that I can enjoy some good, trashy fun in wrestling. I LOVED the Final Deletion. This took itself too seriously, was poorly produced and Bray and Randy seemed so uninspired during the whole thing. They tried to make up for it with a creepy baby doll room and some horror aspects but it all fell flat. Bray dropped a fridge on Orton and got in the limo to go back to the arena. He arrived, out of breath despite a lengthy limo ride, and once he got in the ring, Orton magically appeared behind him. They did more lame brawling until the Bollywood Boyz and Jinder Mahal attacked Orton. Orton sent them packing, but Bray got the opening to hit Sister Abigail and “win” the feud at 18:55 or so. A steaming hot pile of shit. It wasn’t fun, was poorly produced, felt like a waste of time and did nothing for anyone involved. They somehow had a worse match than their shit Mania performance. It was the worst match I’ve seen in 2017 and I watch a fair amount of Jado matches. [-**]
Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns
Save me, Braun. I love Braun but I didn’t care much for their Fastlane match. Reigns was heavily bandaged and looked to be in awful health. This was typical WWE storytelling. Superman Reigns came in hurt and got his ass kicked. He brought out hope spots so commentary could say, “HOW IS ROMAN DOING THIS? WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM?” I thought Reigns’ selling was good but the story here was how Braun continues to entertain the hell out of everyone. Reigns tried one final rally but Braun was ready for the Superman Punch and went into hitting the powerslam. Roman kicked out but it wasn’t this aggressive kick out. It was like a last ditch effort similar to Sami Zayn against Kevin Owens at TakeOver: Rival. Another powerslam kept Roman down at 11:43. I enjoyed this as they told a good story and both guys got to look strong. Braun continues to be a monster, while Reigns never gives up like his name is John Cena. I commend the way WWE has handled Braun. [***½]
Braun was all, “I’M NOT FINISHED WIITH YOU YET!” and proceeded to murder Roman Reigns with the steep steps over and over. Reigns did the internal bleeding stuff backstage. Braun was still not done and charged at Roman by an ambulance. Reigns dodged it and Braun crashed through the door. Reigns slammed it on him and Braun left since the BIG DOG gotta get the final upper hand, even if it’s a small one.
Overall: 6.5/10. I’ll say this was the best Raw PPV since the brand split. They still don’t have a PPV match I’ve given at least **** yet but this was consistently strong. The show had good tag team wrestling (Kickoff and Tag Title matches), stuff with strong storytelling (Reigns/Braun and Jericho/Owens), bouts that were entertaining and furthered feuds (Joe/Rollins and Aries/Neville) and the best Raw Women’s Title match on PPV since Hell in a Cell. Lots of good, nothing great. The thing that hurt the show was the House of Horrors match as it was complete dog shit and my current worst match of the year.
Stop me if you've seen this match before. For what feels like the hundredth time already, we're getting this tag match. It doesn't inspire, doesn't sound too interesting and feels like they're just trying to get these guys on the card. I'll say Gallows and Anderson win because Enzo will get rag dolled and eat a pin since he's the most expendable guy in the match.
Winners: The Good Brothers
Something about WWE Samoa Joe hasn't fully clicked with me. He hasn't been at all bad and it's the best shape he's been in since his prime in TNA. However, a lot of his matches haven't been as good as I'd hoped. Outside of one Finn Balor match (Dallas) and one Sami Zayn match (2 Out of 3 Falls) everything has fallen just short. I sadly suspect more of the same here. I'm expecting a really good match but something that won't be great. I'd love to be wrong though. Anyway, I'm gonna say Joe wins here. Other than Sami and his tainted win over Roman Reigns, Joe hasn't really done anything. A win here would be good for him and Seth can get revenge later.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Since the brand split, I've firmly been a Team Smackdown guy. They've consistently been the better show and have elevated more stars. The one thing I feel Raw has absolutely excelled it is how they've handled Braun Strowman. Braun has been the best booked monster in a long time. He's entertaining as hell, everything he says or does just works and he's improved in the ring. He's had good matches with Zayn, Show and others. I'd say nobody has come further in the past two years, especially considering he came to the main roster with no time in NXT. Anyway, despite all that, Roman Reigns is Roman Reigns. He'll return and win.
Winner: Big Dog Gotta Eat
Man, I loved their match at WrestleMania but this feud has kind of fallen a bit flat since then. Even with the addition of TJ Perkins. On the one hand, I don't think Aries loses straight up again. On the other, I don't think Neville is quite done as champion. The title has changed hands frequently since it returned and Neville as a steady hand for the division is a good thing. So what do I think happens here? Aries picks up the win via disqualification thanks to shenanigans from TJ Perkins. Maybe it leads to Perkins/Neville/Aries at the next PPV or something.
Winner: Austin Aries via DQ
I absolutely think Alexa Bliss is the best choice for the top female heel on Raw. That's why I think they probably hotshotted this match too soon. I assumed Nia would become number one contender as a placeholder feud or even Mickie James. Mickie/Bayley would've been fun as a one-off feud since Bayley could say she looked up to Mickie and Mickie could put her over. I'd have saved Alexa/Bayley for a bigger feud and show. I do think the WWE is building towards Bayley/Sasha in the Barclays Center at SummerSlam like it's TakeOver two years ago. Alexa could win here and Bayley win it back but I say Bayley retains until then.
Winner: Bayley
The Hardy Boyz are a fun nostalgia act but I've personally never been a huge fan. I was always more of an Edge and Christian or Dudleys guy. Still, I liked their return since it was a legitimate cool moment and they're working a full time schedule. Whoever beats them should get a pretty good rub. Anyway, this has been strangely booked. The Hardys beat Sheamus and Cesaro, two good singles guys in their own rights, in singles matches. That usually means they won't get the better in the tag match but I can't see the Hardys losing.
Winners: The Hardy Boyz
I like that these guys are gonna be on different shows now. Their feud was excellently built and the payoff of the turn was perfect. The match at WrestleMania was really good and this should be more of the same. If Jericho wins, he also joins Smackdown. That's not gonna happen. They've planted the seeds for Kevin Owens' first real Smackdown feud with AJ Styles already and I suspect they main event Backlash in Chicago. That can't happen if Jericho is champion again. Plus, it's not like Jericho needs it.
Winner: Kevin Owens
What the hell is this? The WWE haven't explained this match at all and I don't expect good things. Orton and Wyatt were FAR better as partners than opponents. They shit the bed at WrestleMania, which I feel will be the case at Payback too. Weird shenanigans, wacky b movie horror antics and mediocre wrestling. With this being non-title, I get the sense Bray wins so he can have some momentum before jobbing to Finn Balor in his first real Raw rivalry.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
2017 Prediction Record: 22-14
2016 Prediction Record: 65-37
NJPW Wrestling Toyonokuni
April 29th, 2017 | Beppu B-Con Plaza in Beppu, Oita
The middle show of NJPW’s three big events this week. As I stated before the last one, this easily has the best card. When LIDJ headline a show, they tend to deliver and we’ve got Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL and Tetsuya Naito at the top of this one against one of the most fun wrestlers around (Ricochet), the ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi) and a fresh fiery babyface (Juice Robinson).
Hirai Kawato, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tomoyuki Oka vs. Katsuya Kitamura, Shota Umino and Tiger Mask IV
Today, I learned that his name is Shota, not Syota. Go figure. They ran this match at the 4/27 show. Like that match, the junior dads opened things. We got another taste of Oka against Kitamura, which was again fun. Everyone played the role you’d expect, from the dads to powerful Kitamura to Wildman Kawato. Oka put Umino in the young lion crab but he fought out. Oka hit a spinebuster and slapped it back on, making Umino submit at 7:28. Pretty similar to the match two days ago. The junior dads stayed back and let the lions do their thing, but it lacked some of the energy from the tag on 4/27. [**¼]
Non-Title Match: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Kanemaru lost the titles with Taichi at the last show. He got a new partner for this non-title affair. He was pissed and brawled with Rocky before the bell. I appreciate that it wasn’t the typical Suzuki-Gun match opening since it didn’t lead to a floor brawl or anything. After an energetic start, the match slowed thanks to some typical Suzuki-Gun antics. Desperado pulled the DREADED RING BELL from his boot. Someone took notes from Taichi. Beretta brought some of the energy back with a tope con hilo that took out both opponents. Desperado tried using a chair but failed. He ate double knees and Strong Zero to end it at 8:00. A fine undercard tag match to get the champions a win. I give RPG Vice credit for making these Suzuki-Gun guys watchable. [**½]
BUSHI and SANADA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and YOSHITATSU
Taguchi feels left out since his name isn’t all caps. TATSU is still in Triple H cosplay mode. Will it ever end? Also, why does he do it? LIDJ got control early as BUSHI choked TATSU with his shirt and SANADA tied Taguchi up in the ropes. The faces fought back behind Taguchi (and partially by using Taguchi’s behind). He made the mistake of leaving TATSU alone with SANADA though. We all know how that story ends. The Skull End made TATSU tap at 6:24. Man, YOSHITATSU can even drag down matches involving guys I really like. BUSHI and SANADA tried, even Taguchi put in effort but TATSU’s just bad. [**]
David Finlay and TenKoji vs. The Guerillas of Destiny and Yujiro Takahashi
They did the same match two days ago but with Chase Owens instead of Yujiro. In a nice turn of events, it was the face team who jumped the Bullet Club. Tama Tonga worked with a sleeve on his arm due to an injury yesterday. Kojima took a short heat for his guys, getting beat down in the Bullet Club corner. Tenzan eventually made the save and put Tonga in the Anaconda Vice. Yujiro made the save and match came down to Tanga and Finlay. Tanga got the win using a Rikishi Driver at 8:39. Slightly less inspired than the Chase Owens tag two days ago. That match had the Bullet Club mocking TenKoji, which was fun. This was less so. [**¼]
Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay and YOSHI-HASHI vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and TAKA Michinoku
Learning from the previous match, CHAOS jumped Suzuki-Gun before the bell rang. Goto was clearly yearning for revenge after losing his title at the last show. Either way, it still led to the Suzuki-Gun brawl around the ring. Suzuki and Goto focused on one another for the most part. I suspect they rematch their title match at Dominion. YOSHI got worked over for the most part, with Suzuki looking joyful at beating him up. Suzuki and Goto went at it again before it came down to TAKA and Ospreay. Ospreay hit his signature shit and picked up another win with the Oscutter at 9:26. A step up in quality for the show so far. Angry Goto was fun, YOSHI took a fine beating and Ospreay had a good finishing stretch. [***]
Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens and Kenny Omega vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano
Fale hit the ring announcer during his introduction. That oddly never gets old. This CHAOS team didn’t learn, getting jumped before the match. That led to Yano taking a beating for a while. Ishii came in and ran over Owens before going at it with Omega. Their New Japan Cup match ruled as have their interactions in the buildup to the rematch. We also got some limited back and forth with Fale and Okada, as expected. Okada ate some group offense for a bit but was left alone with Owens. He countered the Package Piledriver and hit a dropkick. Fale returned, looking for a Tombstone, but Ishii made the save. Okada nailed Fale with an impressive air raid crash like move before putting Owens away after a Tombstone and Rainmaker at 13:11. Good stuff to hype the upcoming matches. It was kept short enough with a good amount of action. The crowd was hot and Okada winning made sense since Fale has dominated these matches lately. [***]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ricochet
Takahashi has been one of, if not the best wrestler in 2017. Takahashi charged at the bell, so Ricochet met him with a big boot. He followed with a series of dives and offense, including a springboard 450 splash, nearly winning in a minute like Hiromu did against KUSHIDA. That set the tone for a wild match full of crazy action. Ricochet had the champ scouted, countering the sunset flip bomb to the outside with a rana and a top rope move into a super wheelbarrow slam of sorts. Takahashi responded with a brutal apron DVD but his next dive was caught into an awesome Northern lights suplex into a brainbuster. WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING? They traded blows inside, punctuated by a series of Germans from Hiromu. Ricochet went for the SSP but Takahashi got his knees up. He smelled blood, following with a belly to belly to the corner and the Time Bomb for a near fall. Ricochet survived a corner DVD and went into a flurry, capped with the Benadryller (he didn’t hit it cleanly) and it only got two. He made a crucial mistake, crashing and burning on the 630. Takahashi nailed a destroyer, corner DVD and another Time Bomb to retain at 16:29. Hiromu Takahashi is mental and I love every second of it. This was wild and as frantic as I hoped for. There’s a sense of urgency in Hiromu matches that I don’t get from other people. He’s had the best Jr. Title match in the Dome in a long time, an insane match with Dragon Lee, a more subdued but still great encounter with Taguchi, squashed KUSHIDA and now this. Hiromu is the best wrestler in 2017 so far. [****¼]
EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tanahashi took his annual first round New Japan Cup loss (Yano in 2015, Fale in 2016 and EVIL in 2017) and is out for revenge. That was clear as he took out EVIL during his entrance with a plancha. He held serve for a bit until EVIL turned the tide with his signature steel chair spot. EVIL remained in the driver’s seat for the most part, with Tanahashi getting in a hope spot here or there. They went back and forth, nearing the quality of their NJC match. That all changed when we got a ref bump and out came BUSHI and SANADA. BUSHI messed up and misted SANADA before Taguchi arrived and fought them to the back. Tanahashi nailed a dragon sleeper but the referee was still down. When he finally got up, EVIL took back over but never had enough to keep Tanahashi down. He rallied and won after two High Fly Flows at 18:46. Like I said, this was nearing their previous encounter but the interference and ref bump took me out of it. It wasn’t overdone too badly but I think it made EVIL look a bit weak and ultimately was unnecessary. [***¼]
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Juice Robinson
It’s the biggest match in Juice Robinson’s career. The video package before the match talked about how Juice has grown since arriving in NJPW and the pride he has in the company. Juice wanted to go but Naito was Naito and avoided contact. They got going on the outside, where Naito used the guardrail and dropkicks to weaken Juice’s leg. It looked quite violent and set up the knee bar. That knee became the focal point of everything Naito did. Juice sold the hell out of it, from limping to struggling with offense to clutching it after using it. Naito threw himself into everything Juice did, including big bumps on a ridiculous apron spinebuster and taking the cannonball into the guardrail. I didn’t like how Juice did a full sprint for that though, since the leg had bothered him so much to that point. Back inside, they traded blows only for Naito to go back to the knee. Juice fought like hell in the knee bar before finally reaching the ropes. Shortly after, Naito escaped Pulp Friction and hit a modified Destino. He hit a full Destino for a near fall that made everyone lose their minds. Juice countered his next attempt into a rollup for two. Naito got his own rollup but ran into a huge left hook from Juice. Juice tried Pulp Friction again only to have it countered into Destino and Naito retained at 26:42. That ruled. They both did everything in their power to make Juice look like a star. They had a great plan and told a simple, but effective story. Juice sold well and is so good at the plucky babyface character that it all worked. The finishing stretch was top notch as well. It’s a successful coming out party for Juice, who should have a fun G1 run. Meanwhile, Naito has had three singles matches in 2017 and all have been awesome. For all the talk about Okada's Heavyweight Title reign, I've preferred Naito's IC Title work. [****¼]
Post-match, Hiroshi Tanahashi showed up because he doesn’t like how Naito treats the IC Title. It looks like that’ll happen at Dominion. With that, Bucks/RPG Vice and the rumored Omega/Okada bout, Dominion sounds like it’ll be full of Wrestle Kingdom rematches.
Overall: 7/10. A step up from the 4/27 show. There’s not a bad match on the show, though a few of the early matches are easy skips. The second half of the show is where things pick up. You have a good CHAOS/Bullet Club tag and a solid but disappointing match involving Tanahashi and EVIL. The two title matches are killer though, with Naito and Hiromu reminding everyone why they’re the best things going in NJPW right now by a fair margin.
Spring Stampede 1997
April 6th, 1997 | Tupelo Coliseum in Tupelo, Mississippi | Attendance: 8,356
1997 will forever be remembered as one of the hottest and most important years in wrestling history. The WCW was riding high as, thanks to the nWo angle, and beating the WWF in the ratings war. Interestingly enough, this card seems to be something of a “B” show. Hulk Hogan and a few other main event guys are missing, while the Macho Man/DDP feud is thrust into the main event spotlight. This is the second Spring Stampede Pay-Per-View.
The show opens with a video that runs down the card. Honestly, it doesn’t sound too bad. Commentary is Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes.
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon
Ah, I love these cruiserweight opening contests on WCW shows. Mike Tenay joins commentary for this and discusses that they have split two PPV matches (both in 1996). They start with some mat work, playing off of the fact that they know each other well. Dragon hits the first big spots with a spinning rack drop, followed by a powerbomb right into an alley oop tat drops Rey on the top rope. He hits a SICK Liger Bomb an then a jumping tombstone. How are people later in the show supposed to do any offense later? Dragon continues to pick up Rey from pins, wanting to prove some sort of point. Commentary has no idea what the point is though. Dragon continues to stretch Rey. Rey finally knocks Dragon outside and somersaults out onto him. While this great action is going on, we go to a damn split screen of Lee Marshall trying to interview Kevin Nash, only to get Syxx instead. Seriously? You couldn’t do this after the match? Rey does the babyface comeback work during this until he gets dropkicked off the top and outside. Back inside though, Rey tries an Asai moonsault but Dragon dropkicks him in midair. Then he swings like him Cesaro. Dragon hits a top rope rana but Rey gets his foot on the bottom rope. There are some really close near falls until Rey springboards off the second rope with a rana for the win.
Winner: Rey Mysterio Jr. in 14:55
Great opener. I’ve seen all of their PPV matches and this was about on par with Hog Wild. The only issues I had with it was that no explanation was given for Ultimo not wanting to pin Rey early and the split screen stuff. A fast paced match between two guys with great chemistry. ***¾
Lee Marshall tries to interviews Kevin Nash again but gets held back. Then the Steiners show up and want to fight so badly that Scott has to be maced.
WCW Women’s Championship
Akira Hokuto (c) w/ Sonny Ono vs. Madusa
Instant “USA” chants. Madusa starts jabbing Hokuto in the corner like she’s the Undertaker or something. Hokuto quickly turns it around and goes for a pin after a body slam. Madusa bridges out of it impressively and goes into some of her offense. Hokuto kicks out of a cross body by just choking Madusa. HEEL! Sonny Ono gets involved by slapping Madusa while she’s in a submission. Madusa again nearly wins with a German. Ono gets on the apron and Madusa kicks him off. Madusa goes for a powerbomb but Luna Vachon runs out and kicks Madusa in the knee. This allows Hokuto to fall on top of Madusa and retain.
Winner and Still WCW Women’s Champion: Akira Hokuto in 5:13
Solidly worked match. Madusa was doing things that weren’t really the norm for any other American women in the era. I wish we got to see Akira do a bit more though. **¾
WCW Television Championship
Prince Iaukea (c) vs. Lord Steven Regal
Prince Iaukea gets close to ZERO reaction from the crowd. Both guys go through some exchanges of holds but none of it is particularly interesting. Usually, I can get into Regal’s style even if some people can’t, but it’s not working here. Commentary also seems to be focusing on everything but the match. I can’t blame them. Regal is stretching the champion, who is sloppy with most of his attempted offense. After Regal continues to twist Iaukea, he then randomly scores on a rollup.
Winner and Still WCW Television Champion: Prince Iaukea in 10:01
Whoever decided to give this ten minutes must not have known how the match would go down. I like Regal’s style, but nobody cared for Prince Iaukea and they sucked the energy out of the building. Just very dull. *¼
A pissed Steven Regal attacks Prince Iaukea after the match. Cutting to Mean Gene, he teases a Kliq coming to WCW. I’m pretty sure all Kliq members that would ever be in WCW were already there. Ric Flair is interviewed about his upcoming return.
Jeff Jarrett and Steve “Mongo” McMichael w/ Debra McMichael vs. Public Enemy
Kind of funny to think that Debra would again manage Jeff Jarrett in the WWF. They give us no backstory for this match so it seems very random. Mongo and Jarrett clean house within the first few minutes and both strut to a pop. Public Enemy regroup and work over Jarrett, causing him to take a breather outside. Commentary plays up the fact that Jarrett nearly walked out and is barely communicating with Mongo. They give us the terrible split screen effect again as Debra slaps Johnny Grunge a few times while Mongo tosses Rocco Rock around by the stage. Things calm down a bit and end up back in the ring, where Debra trips Rocco. Jarrett starts hitting dropkicks before Mongo breaks up a piledriver with an ugly clothesline. Rocco comes in with a briefcase and nails Jarrett in the back as he tries the Figure Four. Grunge lays in Figure Four position so his leg is on Jarrett’s and they count the three.
Winners: Public Enemy in 10:42
I have no idea what this match was. Almost nothing that happened made any sense and I came out more confused than I went in. The only thing I understood was that they wanted to show friction within the Horsemen, but the match was just so bad. ½*
As is usually the case with WCW, we got to Mean Gene once again. He interviews Harlem Heat and Sister Sherri about the Four Corners Match later. Sherri basically says that even if they end up facing each other, there is a plan for it. This is the infamous promo where Booker drops the N bomb. Classic.
WCW United States Championship
Dean Malenko (c) vs. Chris Benoit w/ Woman
Okay, this should pick things back up. They start with a feeling out process, with both men jockeying for position. Nothing they’re doing is groundbreaking, but it’s all very crisply done. Both guy are masters on the mat and it shows here. Things start to pick up when Benoit just lays into Dean with some loud chops. Benoit hits a big back suplex for two as things are starting to hit second gear. He stays in the driver’s seat, even stopping anything Dean tried. Dean tries a suplex but Benoit counters into an inverted one of his own. With both men down, Jacqueline shows up and starts laying into Woman. Jimmy Hart rushes out and past the catfight. Benoit hits the diving headbutt for two. Hart takes the US Title and goes to leave with it when Eddie Guerrero stops him. Eddie’s arm is in a sling. Dean gets on the apron and suplexes Benoit to the outside. With the referee looking at the ladies brawl, Arn Anderson shows up and levels Malenko. Now comes Kevin Sullivan who hits Benoit in the back with a kendo stick of some sort, finally resulting in a DQ.
Match ends in a No Contest at 17:56
I’ve seen these two do far better. The action was just starting to get really good when we got the overbooking galore. I mean, five different people running in is seriously too much. Disappointing, but a solid showing. ***
Kevin Sullivan, Jacqueline and Jimmy Hart now steal the US Title and put is on Eddie Guerrero’s shoulder while dragging him out. What the hell just happened?
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Kevin Nash (c) w/ Ted Dibiase and Syxx vs. Rick Steiner
Leave it to WCW to have the Tag Team Titles defended in a singles match. I feel like this happened more than once in the company. Nash clobbers on Rick while commentary talks about how unheard of this kind of match is. Rick gets two on a powerslam. Schiavone complains that Nick Patrick gave a slow count, since he’s with the nWo but it was actually a fair count. He does show how crooked he is when he turns his back to Syxx putting the boots to Rick. Nash connects on the Jackknife but Rick manages to kick out. He goes for it again but Rick just hits a low blow. Surprised that Patrick didn’t call for the bell. Bulldog by Rick though Patrick gives a slightly slow count so Nash kicks out. STEINERLINES! Syxx exposes the turnbuckle and Nash hits snake eyes. He continues the beating and Ted Dibiase gets in to say that’s enough. They argue and Ted leaves while Nash continues hitting snake eyes. Nash then pins him and it’s over, but even Nick Patrick wasn’t pleased with this.
Winner and Still WCW World Tag Team Champion: Kevin Nash in 10:20
The angle they were going for to cause dissension in the nWo made sense but it didn’t really come off well until the end. Everything leading up to the finish was relatively dull. *
The Giant and Lex Luger are interviewed about the upcoming match. Nothing they say is intriguing since neither is goo on the mic, though Giant would get much better as Big Show. Also, I feel like he joined the nWo a few months before but he’s already face again.
Number One Contender’s Four Corners Match
Booker T vs. The Giant vs. Lex Luger vs. Stevie Ray w/ Sister Sherri
Sherri comes out with both Harlem Heat members but I only wanted to list her once. Two men are allowed to be legal at once while the other two are on the apron. They work it like a normal tag match for the most part until Luger and Giant end up against each other. They fight for a bit before tagging in Harlem Heat to fight. Surprisingly, the crowd goes WILD for this. Unfortunately, the actual interaction is way less exciting. Outside of that interaction, it goes back to being a tag match of sorts, with Harlem Heat tagging each other and the same goes for the Giant and Luger. Schiavone talks about Luger drawing power from the fans more than anyone in the sport, which is laughable considering how badly miscast he always is as a babyface. They basically end up doing a hot tag to the Giant. He cleans house, then tags in Luger and steps aside so Luger can put Stevie Ray in the Torture Rack and get the title shot.
Winner: Lex Luger in 18:18
As noted several times, this was pretty much just a tag team match with only slight interaction of the teams facing each other. Neither team was lighting the world on fire with their matches at this time, so this was about as basic as it would get. By the way, Luger didn’t get the shot until August. **
No Disqualification Match
Diamond Dallas Page w/ Kimberly vs. Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth
They show Macho Man and Elizabeth walking backstage towards the ring. Savage kills it here, talking about a party later where he will invite 14-22 women. Elizabeth has no problem with this, causing Savage to get excited and say “SLIM JIMS FOR EVERYONE!” I can’t make this up. This happens to be DDP’s first foray into the main event and, judging by the buyrate for the show, it showed he was a legit player. They brawl from the start, which is what I like from this kind of match. It goes through the crowd and spills to the back. Back to the ringside area and Savage hides behind Kimberly before getting in a cheap shot. Savage throws DDP around outside and into the steel steps. Savage continues to stay in control until DDP rallies inside. He gets in some right hands and a big spinning clothesline. Savage hits a slam and looks to fly off the top with a ring bell. Kimberly snatches it from him but Savage is just like “I’ll just do the elbow anyway” though DDP gets his foot up to block. Even so, he still can’t officially get in the driver’s seat. When DDP kicks out again, Savage just piledrives the referee. The fans chant that they want Sting. Savage connects on the elbow and covers but he looks like an idiot since he just threw the referee out. Oh wait, here comes Nick Patrick. DDP busts out the Diamond Cutter from out of nowhere! He struggles to cover and Patrick takes a bit but counts the three.
Winner: Diamond Dallas Page in 15:37
Solid but unspectacular. They would go on to continue the feud and have better matches, but this was a good start. It came off as a personal battle and gave DDP a relatively big win in his first PPV main event. ***
Kevin Nash and the nWo show up. Nash plants Nick Patrick with the Jackknife. Savage tries to go after Kimberly but Eric Bischoff calms him down. OR SO WE THINK! The fans chant for Sting and Savage looks at the rafters but he’s not here. Savage shoves Bischoff leading to a pull apart brawl. The dissension of the nWo overshadows DDP’s big win.
Overall: 3.5/10; Not good. Well, this got off to a good start but really fell for the most part. After a strong opening contest, the rest of the show was below average. Even the solid matches, like Savage/DDP and Benoit/Malenko, were much less than I usually come to expect from those performers. There was some bad stuff outside of that, bringing the overall score even further down. Not a recommended event. Next time on “Random Network Reviews” will be The Wrestling Classic!
NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku
April 27th, 2017 | Hiroshima Green Arena in Hiroshima, Japan
This is the first of three big NJPW shows this week. The shows get progressively bigger, though the middle one has what looks like the best card on paper by a long shot. It’s New Japan’s thing of having a singles title headline each show. This one has the NEVER Title, the next one gets the Intercontinental and the last one gets the Heavyweight. Of note, Takashi Iizuka is off the tour with a fracture ankle.
Hirai Kawato, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tomoyuki Oka vs. Katsuya Kitamura, Syota Umino and Tiger Mask IV
The junior dads kicked this off against one another. I enjoy these matches because it really feels like a take your kids to work day. Wild Kawato came in and promptly got his ass kicked. He’s so good at it. Umino and Kitamura worked some quick tags on him before Tomoyuki got the tag. We got another small tease at he and Kitamura going at it. I swear that’s a future NJPW main event. Oka locked Umino in the crab and his partners held back the rest of the team. Umino fought and nearly escaped but got pulled to the middle of the ring, where he gave up at 8.32. Typical NJPW opener but made a bit more fun by the young lions getting all the shine and bringing energy. Liger and Tiger Mask really took a backseat. [**½]
El Desperado and TAKA Michinoku vs. Toru Yano and Will Ospreay
I never like to hear someone is hurt but Iizuka’s ankle injury made this a regular tag as Jado was pulled from it too and no Jado is always a good thing. Plus, Yano and Ospreay could be a wacky fun team. Desperado and Ospreay started and had some fun interactions. I got a kick out of Yano doing Ospreay’s signature pose with him. Once Yano got the tag, he got in all his shenanigans, which I mostly enjoy. He hit TAKA with a low blow and tagged Ospreay, who finished him with the Oscutter at 5:06. Short and to the point. They got their shit in and like I said, Yano was entertaining. Ospreay continues to win tags heading into the BOTSJ, which he won last year. [**¼]
Chase Owens and the Guerrillas of Destiny vs. David Finlay and TenKoji
This helps set up the three-way Tag Title match at Wrestling Dontaku involving the Guerrillas and TenKoji (as well as champions War Machine). Bullet Club did the pre-match attack to get us started. It quickly backfired as TenKoji took turns battering Tama Tonga. After some brawling outside, the most interesting part of the match happened. The Bullet Club guys stole Kojima’s trademark chops and offense. THOSE BASTARDS! Kojima came in and did it to all three of them. Tenzan grew tired of the Bullet Club’s shit and eventually put Owens down with the Anaconda Vice at 6:57. More fun than I expected. Owens and Finlay had some solid interactions and the Guerrillas stealing TenKoji’s stuff adds fuel to the upcoming title match. [**½]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Roppongi Vice
RPG Vice won a surprisingly good match at Wrestle Kingdom to become champions before dropping them to this dreadful team. As expected, we got the underhanded Taichi and Kanemaru stuff. Taichi’s lady got in a cheap shot, he went after the ring bell, they beat up RPG Vice outside, etc. You know the drill by now. El Desperado was also at ringside and got in some shots until Jado and Gedo showed up to even things out a bit. That signaled a turn of the tides. Beretta avoided some of Taichi’s attempts to cheat and Romero came in with his FOREVER clotheslines. The challengers nearly won it only for Taichi to pull the referee out before he counted three. The teams did a tower of doom spot, which I feel like I haven’t seen in NJPW for a while. They all went back and forth for a while until RPG Vice won back the titles with Strong Zero at 16:53. It went too long as the stuff down the stretch wasn’t as engaging as they probably hoped. Still, it was the best Taichi & Kanemaru match since their return to NJPW. The Gedo and Jado part made sense and the babyfaces overcoming the cheating was a good move. [**¾]
Post-match, Rocky Romero called out the Young Bucks for some reason. That’s stupid. You beat them at WK and took their titles. There’s nothing left to prove. Plus, that match is tired as hell. On the flip side, RPG Vice/Bucks for the thousandth time is preferable to Jado and Gedo against Taichi and Kanemaru so I should count myself somewhat lucky. Still, this division is in DIRE need of a facelift.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) vs. Juice Robinson, YOSHITATSU and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi
This previews Ricochet/Takahashi, EVIL/Tanahashi and Naito/Juice. Taguchi Japan was ready for LIDJ’s pre-match attack but still got beat up anyway. LIDJ looked to isolate TATSU because he’s a scrub but Taguchi was there to help. That led to BUSHI taking a bunch of attacks from the faces. He was supposed to be sent into Taguchi’s ass but TATSU got thrown instead. Taguchi celebrated since he didn’t see and ended up facing off with LIDJ. His attempt to call timeout did not work. He got worked until Ricochet was tagged and he, again, brought lots of energy and fun offense. The crowd ate it up. Tanahashi also got some shine before we got the big Juice/Naito showdown. Like he did in the build for the Elgin match, Naito focused on Juice’s knee. Naito blocked Pulp Friction, hit a tornado DDT and tagged SANADA. We got a wild series of offense from everyone before Juice and SANADA countered each other’s finisher. Juice hit a lariat and Pulp Friction to win at 12:31. This was a blast. Lots of fun and effort from mostly everyone involved. There was non-stop action, comedy spots, build for upcoming matches without giving too much away and Juice got momentum. I like it. [***½]
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI)
Here we have build for Omega/Ishii and Fale/Okada at Wrestling Dontaku. When Okada saw Fale was starting, he hopped in. Fale basically said, “Fuck you” and tagged out but still jumped Okada to give Yujiro an advantage. After a bit of that, Ishii got the tag and took the heat for his team. Though YOSHI is the weakest guy on the team, Ishii’s great at drawing sympathy. There was a particularly nasty spot where Ishii tried to counter an Omega rana into a powerbomb and just dropped him on his head. They cut off Ishii’s hot tag at every turn. Okada got the tag and did his thing before bringing YOSHI-HASHI in. While everyone else goes at it outside, Fale puts down YOSHI with the tombstone at 13:28, gaining even more momentum. I’d say this was fine but nowhere near the levels of the other tags involving the Wrestling Dontaku pairings in recent weeks. [**½]
NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki
This opened with a slow pace. They grappled a lot, trying to gain an advantage. It picked up when Suzuki went after the arm and the fight moved to the crowd, where he used a chair to his advantage. El Desperado also got in cheap shots. Goto beat the countout but was in serious trouble. Suzuki spent the next few minutes going after Goto’s arm. The champion would find a few hope spots, but it all came back to the arm. It helps that Zack Sabre Jr. worked something similar in his match with Goto, softening him up for the Suzuki-Gun leader. They progressed to trading forearms in the middle of the ring, with Suzuki getting the better until Goto pulled him to the mat. Goto escaped the sleeper and hit USHIGOROSHI! Mauro Ranallo made me pop for that move each time I see it. Goto beat up Desperado but Suzuki countered GTR. Suzuki held the referee, allowing Desperado to whack Goto with a steel chair. Suzuki then used a string of vicious strikes, a sleeper and the Gotch piledriver to win the title at 24:19. I wanted to like this a lot more. It felt like it dragged, Goto didn’t sell the arm down the stretch very much and the typical Suzuki-Gun interference bogged it down. I’ve been very disappointed in Minoru in 2017, which is a shame since I was so happy he was back. [**¾]
Overall: 5/10. One of the weaker NJPW shows I can remember. Even with this one having two title matches, I preferred the recent, lesser “Road to” shows. The main event disappointed and though the Jr. Tag Title match overachieved, it wasn’t enough. A completely skippable show as even the best match (LIDJ vs. Tanahashi and Lads) is something we’ve seen a bunch before. Still, nothing on the show is what I’d classify as outright bad so the show is a thumbs in the middle.
