SummerSlam 2015 Review

With SummerSlam being four hours long, everything made the actual main card. The show opened with Sheamus vs. Randy Orton, just like Battleground did last year. I made the "oil and water" comparison between these two but they surprised me with a strong showing last month. Tonight, they were back to their usual disappointing performance. The match wasn't awful but basically, like two minutes in, I was ready for it to end. It's just hard to care about their matches, especially when they fail to deliver. Orton hit a pretty great RKO but Sheamus rolled out of the ring to avoid the pin. That honestly would have been a good finish. Instead, it ended with Sheamus hitting two Brogue Kicks after 12 minutes. I like that the MITB holder won clean, but it all felt very mediocre. **1/2

There is honestly no act in the WWE more entertaining right now than the New Day. Similar to Bayley at TakeOver, they wore white and gold. Kofi Kingston sung before the match, which was excellent. The match itself was a clusterfuck but dammit, it was absolutely fun. Xavier Woods had me in stitches with his ringside antics. There were a lot of big spots here, like Big E splashing Darren Young on the apron, Woods nearly killing Torito and Titus O'Neil taking out everyone. Granted, there were some botches like Sin Cara's dive outside being met with a dropkick. Still though, New Day stole the pin after about 11 and a half minutes. Their celebration was the stuff of legend. They are absolutely the right choice to have the belts again because there is no tag team more over right now than them. While the build up to the match was lackluster and lazy, the match itself was enjoyable and I had a good time, which is all I can ask for. ***1/4

Up next, Rusev took on Dolph Ziggler and Rusev was sporting a new jacket for the show. As expected, the match they worked was decent. Both guys are usually solid in the ring and that was the case here. However, it was hard to get into any of it because you just knew that Lana and Summer Rae had to get involved. Any false finish before that just couldn't be bought. Lana and Summer got into it outside and Ziggler superkicked Rusev onto the announce table. This led to a dumb double countout finish after 12 minutes. After the match, Rusev and Ziggler fought, leading to Summer and Lana fighting, meaning the feud continues. This was bad booking. Rusev should have won here and then, Ziggler and Lana could win the eventual mixed tag where Lana would pin Summer. Lana stays over, the faces win out and Rusev never has to lose while looking strong. The finish hurts the score here. **1/2

The team of King Barrett and Stardust took on the Red Arrow, Neville and the Green Arrow, Stephen Amell. Amell wore the green hoodie, but wrestled in basketball shorts, stealing Kevin Owen's look. Amell showed off some impressive athleticism throughout, but they built to the hot tag to Neville, which caused Amell to have to sell. He wasn't very good at that. Still, he did well and looked like he was having a good time. He dove from the top onto his opponents before Neville scored the win with the Red Arrow. This would go for just under 8 minutes and did what I expected it to. Neville and Stardust looked good, Amell showed off his athleticism and Barrett ate the pin. This was fine for what it was. **1/4

Due to Ryback's staph infection, his match against Show and Miz didn't happen last month. Honestly, that should have been a sign that this match didn't need to take place. Alas, it does now. They seemed to try and start the match at a fast pace, which I appreciated, but it's not what works for them. Ryback kind of hit the Shell Shock on Big Show, which is always rather impressive. However, I didn't like the finish. Show knocked out Miz and then Ryback just took him out and pinned Miz. That steal the finish ending is their go to finish in multi-man matches and it's overdone. It works even less when your giant face champion does it. He should have looked rather dominant and this probably means we get another Show/Ryback match. **

It was time for diet war as the remnants of the Shield took on the remnants of the Wyatt Family. They hyped this as a war and they did their best to sell that. It started hot and pretty much never slowed down. There were bodies flying everywhere, it was chaotic and entertaining. That's basically what this needed to be. It clearly wasn't on the level of the original Shield/Wyatts match last year, but I enjoyed it. Reigns was taken out early and got "Roman's Sleeping" chants. He eventually got the hot tag and was booed. I mean, he got booed, but I don't understand it anymore. He's not being shoved down our throats as much anymore and the guy has been delivering on most Pay-Per-Views. I'm still not someone who goes out my way to root for him, but I'm also not gonna boo him. Anyway, he spears Bray Wyatt to win after 11 minutes. Pinning Bray made sense if this was the end, but Michael Cole made sure to tell us that this wasn't over. Eh, it was a good brawl and probably the best thing so far. ***1/4

Surprisingly, the big Title for Title match between Seth Rollins & John Cena went on now. Due to Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker, I knew this wouldn't headline but didn't expect it here. It seemed like Seth was trying his best to steal the show, going out of his way to bust out the big moves. A diving double stomp in the corner, three suicide dives in a row, a superplex rolled into a falcon arrow and things like that. I've seen some people say this was MOTY level but it never reached that for me. I was ready to give it about four stars, but then the finish came. We got a ref bump and Jon Stewart, the host of SummerSlam, ran out with a chair. He telegraphed what he was going to do badly. He debated between both guys before finally hitting Cena with the chair. This allowed Seth to hit a Pedigree on the chair and win the United States Title in just under 20 minutes. While I enjoyed the match overall, and it was the best of the night, it wasn't a classic. WWE now has the heel double champion that ROH has, but he didn't do it cleanly. I didn't expect him to, but this Jon Stewart ending was pretty dumb. Still though, Seth is a double champion and I can't be mad about that. ***3/4

The DIVAS REVOLUTION match was on next. Did you know that there is a DIVAS REVOLUTION happening Maggle? Stephanie McMahon started the DIVAS REVOLUTION! With the plugs out of the way, I can discuss the match. They tried early on, bringing out the big dives outside. That part was fine, highlighted by Sasha Banks and Naomi doing somersaults. However, team BAD was gone after six minutes. The woman who stole the entire weekend, Sasha Banks, was nothing in this, working for about 30 seconds. Then, Team Bella bored us with some work before Becky Lynch eventually came in and got the win in 15 minutes. This was another case of "just give the girls time and people will care." It's not just about getting 15 minutes, it's what you do with it. This was nearly the complete opposite of Bayley/Sasha. It just never clicked and was a colossal disappointment. Hopefully, this dumb three team thing is over soon. *3/4

In our next match, Kevin Owens faced Cesaro in a match of two guys that shouldn't lose. That makes things tough but I expected both guys to deliver. That's exactly what they did. I felt like the match was really good, but slightly disappointing. Part of what hurt it is, is that they weren't fighting for anything. The match felt like it was kind of just there. I still say this should have been for the US Title if we had to get Seth vs. Cena on this event. Regardless, they worked well and Owens picked up the win after 14 minutes with the Popup Powerbomb. Again, good match that could have been better with higher stakes. ***1/2

In our main event, Brock Lesnar took on the Undertaker. Brock attacked during Taker's entrance, showing that this was absolutely going to be the fight it needed to be. Brock got busted open and Undertaker took an F5 through the table. The best part about this was Brock laughing only for Taker to sit up and do a HILARIOUS laugh back at him. Show stealing. They bested their poor WrestleMania XXX showing and were on their way to a match that was better than I expected. Then the shit finish came. Brock had Taker in the Kimura and the bell rang. The timekeeper saw Taker tap out but because of Charles Robinson's poor position, he missed it. As they talked about this, Undertaker went to his new finish, the Dick Shot, and then put Brock in the Hell's Gate. Brock flipped him off and passed out, giving Taker the win. I said from the start that this match shouldn't happen, and if it did, Brock should win. Instead, they end the second biggest show of the year with a shoddy finish. ***1/4

Overall, I felt that the show was better than I thought it would be, though that might be because I had some seriously low expectations. Nothing on the show was truly awful to me, but nothing was really great in my eyes. The finishes to Rusev/Ziggler, Brock/Taker and Seth/Cena were not very good and hurt the overall feeling of both matches. I'd say, like most WWE events this year, this was a middle of the pack show. 6/10.

SummerSlam Predictions

A prime example of the WWE's lazy booking can be found here. Instead of putting in the effort that it takes to book a competent Tag Team Title program, they just throw darts at team names on the wall and put them in a multi-team match. They did at WrestleMania and they're doing it here again. It's basically just been the three teams trading wins and losses while the champions do commentary. New Day is easily the best thing in the tag team division and should honestly win back the titles. That's what I'm going to pick here.

Winners: The New Day

Remember when Kevin Owens beat John Cena cleanly and everyone thought things were going to be amazing for him? Well, that win over Cena now looks like a complete fluke and he's now in a SummerSlam match that is sure to be good but kind of pointless. How much cooler would this be if Owens, you know, had the US Title? Anyway, I can totally see Owens losing for obvious reasons, but I've picked a lot of faces so far so I'm going with him. The fans will stay behind Cesaro if he loses in a good effort and that's what I see happening here. Should be the match of the night.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Heading to Battleground, I called these two the "oil and water" of the WWE. Both guys are good in their own right, but they almost never produce good matches. Outside of a Hell in a Cell match in 2010 and the Battleground match that turned out pretty good, I like none of their stuff. This should move to the Kickoff show or something. It's tempting me to rip my eyes out. I'll pick Sheamus here since the MITB winner gets jobbed out but wins once in a while and his current record against Orton has to be something like 6-119.

Winner: Sheamus

Remember that amazing Shield vs. Wyatt Family match at Elimination Chamber last year? Well, at SummerSlam this year, we get a diet version of it. I may be down on it but this has potential to be somewhat fun. A lot of people seem to be expecting the Dean Ambrose heel turn and part of me sees it too, but I'm going to pick it. Luke Harper is best suited to eat the pinfall here and I see that happening. Maybe Dean turns a bit later on in the feud.

Winner: Diet Shield

Man, this match just seems like it will suck. The fact that it couldn't happen at Battleground should have been a sign that it shouldn't happen period. But the WWE is sticking to their guns and giving it to us here. Miz is an extremely good heel, but he's had multiple runs with the belt within the past year or so. Big Show is always a possibility, but I have no desire to see that. I get the feeling that Ryback retains since he hasn't been able to have a good reign. Hopefully it turns around after this feud.

Winner: Ryback

Obviously the John Cena program did much more harm than it did good for Rusev. However, he has been far more entertaining in his new role. Honestly, along with Sasha Banks, Stardust and New Day, I look forward to Rusev segments more than anything else on Raw each week. Dolph Ziggler returning makes me feel like it will be a feel good story, but I've picked a ton of faces so far. Not only that, but Rusev has still only been pinned by two guys and I don't think that number grows here. Expect Ziggler and Lana to win the eventual mixed tag though.

Winner: Rusev

This is the right kind of celebrity involvement. You have someone who is a legit fan and is in phenomenal shape. I'm sure he can do whatever bumps are required of him and he should put his all into this considering how much he loves wrestling. Pairing the Green Arrow with the guy who does the Red Arrow makes sense, but King Barrett felt so out of place. Then, they did the Cosmic King thing and I was sold. This is the type of feud that you just enjoy and don't take too seriously. The celebrity wins here.

Winner: Neville and Stephen Amell

 I'm a massive Sasha Banks fan and I love Becky Lynch as well. I'm glad to see them getting a chance to shine but I'm still unsold on this whole thing. Giving them more time and saying "#DivasRevolution" 15 times per match doesn't actually make it a Divas Revolution. There needs to be more defined roles, better character development and for fucks sake, can someone tell the Bella Twins that they are heels? Don't do Daniel Bryan style kicks and try to rally the crowd. Anyway, this could either be fun or a clusterfuck. Either way, I get the feeling that Team PCB wins here. They are the clear faces and, with a heel Divas Champion, someone from that team needs to be next in line. I suspect it's Charlotte.

Winners: Team PCB

The booking of this SummerSlam is all wrong to me. I really wish that John Cena was having a big United States Title match away from the WWE Title picture. It's been refreshing to have him out of the title picture. What's going to happen at the end of this? Will the US Title go away or will they have the winner defend both? Part of me thinks that Seth Rollins will win to even the score after tapping out a few weeks ago but the other part of me is sticking to my guns and sticking to what I said earlier this year. I'm not picking against Cena until he loses one of these big feuds. It's why I picked him all three times in the feud with Owens, the last three times he faced Rusev and why I'm going with him here.

Winner: John Cena

 I think this is a terrible booking decision. Yes, you have the star power that you want on a big show like this, but everything about this feud, outside of the big brawl, has sucked. Brock Lesnar owns the Undertaker so now Undertaker has come back and is pretty much grumpy that he can't beat Brock. So what does he do? He costs him the WWE Title and kicks him in the dick. That sounds really in character for the Deadman. Also, regardless of the outcome, it's bad. If Undertaker loses, what was the point of him coming back here? If Brock loses, what was the point of him ending the streak and killing everything in his path over the last year? He can murder John Cena, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, but when he faces a 50 year old dick kicker, he just loses? Bad decision all around. I say Undertaker wins since Brock has mentioned that he wanted to repay guys like him and Rock for putting him over.

Winner: The Undertaker

2015 Prediction Record: 34-23
2014 Prediction Record: 22-18 (Only five PPVs)

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn Review

According to the WWE Universe Twitter account there are 15,000+ on hand and, from what I’ve read, they were red hot for the stuff they’ve already taped. The Pre-Show panel is Renee Young, Corey Graves, Lita, her cleavage and Byron Saxton. From the looks of it, the pre-show is not live. The fans chanted “Full Sail Sucks” to the tune of the “New Day Rocks” chants. There is an exceptional Bayley/Sasha video package. They also tease Lita being the woman to help the Vaudevillains tonight. Finn Balor arrives with Neville and is greeted by Cesaro.

Triple H revealed on Twitter that NXT debuts in the UK in December.

The official show begins with Triple H talking in the ring. He talks about the growth of NXT and how the future is now. He throws his arms up and the lights come up to reveal the largest crowd in NXT history.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Tyler Breeze

Tyler Breeze gets another big entrance with runway models set to a New York theme. He gets a loud pop. Jushin Liger gets “Liger” chants from the start. Breeze knocks him down with a shoulder block and poses on the corner. Liger takes him down and then does Tyler’s corner pose to a loud pop. Tyler charges but gets taken down into a modified surfboard stretch. Tyler gets free but Liger just puts him in a different variation. He monkey flips Breeze, who sells it like John Morrison. Liger takes the selfie stick and takes a poses with it. He lights up Breeze with chops so Tyler goes to remove the mask. He hits the Supermodel kick for two. They mention that Tyler is 1-3 at TakeOver events. He gets two on a leg drop. Tyler connects on a modified lungblower More “Full Sail Sucks” chants now. Liger breaks free of a front face lock but shows the effects of it. He comes out with a rolling kick and tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He climbs up but Breeze gets his knees up. Breeze gets a near fall on a crucifix. Breeze gets in some kicks in the corner, but as the referee pulls him back, he just shouts at him. Liger knocks him down and he rolls outside. Liger hits a somersault from the apron and does the Hulkamania pose. Back inside Liger scores with the Liger Bomb and wins.

Winner: Jushin “Thunder” Liger in 8:38

Really solid opener. They looked like they had a lot of fun out there, they didn’t overdo anything and it was crisp for the most part. ***1/2

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac are in the front row.

Bayley is shown getting ready, with Dusty Rhodes polka dots on her headband. Becky Lynch and Charlotte come up to wish her luck.

A Nia Jax vignette airs.

NXT Tag Team Championship: Blake and Murphy w/ Alexa Bliss vs. The Vaudevillains

The Vaudevillains are out with trenchcoats and top hats. They are pretty over. Their attire is blue and Blake is now wearing trunks. BAMF in general are wearing red and gold. Alexa gets on the mic to say that the Vaudevillains couldn’t find anyone to help. A “We Want Blue Pants” chant starts and she comes out to a massive pop. Simon Gotch starts against Blake. “Blue Pants City” chant. Gotch does some of his fun offense and kicks Blake to the grown before rolling into an armbar. Aiden English gets the tag and continues to work the arm. He manages to double arm drag both of the champions before applying an arm wringer on Murphy. English continues to hit everything moving until Blake pulls him off the apron. The champs cut the ring in half on English now. None of what they do is that impressive, just some wear down holds and basic double teams. They then do a double neckbreaker for two. English manages to get them to bump into each other and make the hot tag. His diving tag is super over dramatic. Gotch busts out his fun, unique offense. THE STRAP IS DOWN! He hits some forearms and dodges from Blake that hits Murphy. English gets tagged back in as they set up a double team, but Murphy gets free and crotches English up top. His superplex is blocked, so Blake joins him, but Gotch powerbombs both of them. English hits the swanton for a very close near fall. Alexa gets on the apron and is chased by Blue Pants. They fight inside , allowing Murphy to send English outside and roll up Gotch for two. They score with the Whirling Dervish to win.

Winners and New NXT Tag Team Champions: The Vaudevillains in 10:14

Much better than I expected since neither team has been able to really deliver great matches on TakeOvers. Granted, it was good, not great, but still a lot of fun. Enjoyable stuff here. ***1/4

Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger

Tye Dillinger has a 10 shaved into his head. The crowd is pumped for Apollo Crews. Tye gets out of the corner and does a cartwheel before flashing ten fingers a bunch. Crews does some flips to get free and does his own “ten” taunt. He then hits a nice dropkick. He tries a springboard but eats a dropkick. Tye pats himself on the back. Tye wears him down and then hits a superkick for two. He’s getting in more offense than I expected. Crews catches the second superkick and hits a jumping kick of his own. He follows with a big corner splash and jumping clothesline. Crews scores with a gorilla press and a beautiful standing moonsault to end things.

Winner: Apollo Crews in 4:40

Tye Dillinger got much more offense than I expected. Still, this accomplished the goal of getting Apollo Crews over. Could have been better, but Crews impressed. **

William Regal announces the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. It will be a massive tag team tournament in Dusty’s honor that starts on 9/2 and ends on 10/7.

Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe goes for the rear naked choke early but Baron Corbin slips out to rest outside. Joe dares him to come back in. Joe hits an elbow and jumping kick in the corner before a dropkick knocks Corbin outside. Joe follows with the elbow suicida but Baron meets him with a forearm. Inside Joe ducks a punch and gets in some shots before rolling into a pin. That gets two and he moves right into a half crab. He then transitions to a crossface but Corbin reaches the ropes. Baron sends Joe outside and goes to the apron but Joe trips him up and tosses him into the guardrail. They go back inside and Baron locks in a heel hook. Commentary does a good job in selling the hold. Joe hits him with a big shot but Baron catches him in a Bossman slam like move for two. He misses a move in the corner but hits Joe with a superkick, only for Joe to retaliate with a kick of his own. Both men are down. Joe hits a series of strikes but Corbin blocks a big one and throws his own. They just trade shots which is exactly what I wanted from these two. Joe looks for the Muscle Buster but Baron fights him off and hits a big boot. He follows with a suplex variation for a near fall. Baron is drawing major heat and playing them up. He tries the End of Days but Joe ducks and tries the choke. Baron counters with a snapmare and hits a chokebomb. Joe kicks out turning it into the rear naked choke. Corbin passes out.

Winner: Samoa Joe in 10:21

Started out slow but really picked up near the end. They started getting stiff and it worked well doing the job it was meant to. **1/2

Baron Corbin is up right after the bell, seemingly arguing that he didn’t pass out.

Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Kana, Naomi and Tamina are all in the front row.

Stephanie McMahon comes out to put over the NXT women’s division and NXT itself. They then play the awesome video package for Bayley/Sasha.

NXT Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley

Sasha Banks rides up in a car with security. Security even lifts her into the ring. Sasha is sporting Spider-Man inspired attire. She trash talks to start so Bayley takes her down and they brawl. Bayley hits a back elbow and clothesline for two. Dueling chants from the crowd, which is red hot. Sasha drives Bayley into the top turnbuckle but she HULKS UP and puts Sasha in the tree of woe. She springboards off the bottom rope for an elbow for two. “Sash’a ratche” “No she’s not” chants. Bayley springboards into an arm drag, causing Sasha to rest outside. Either her lipstick is smeared or she cut her lip. Bayley charges outside hitting her corner baseball slide. Sasha comes back with a knee but misses her trademark corner knee drop. She pulls Bayley to the top and kicks her in the knee, knocking her outside. Sasha taunts her and then rubs her face in the mat. She then does Bayley’s back elbow, taunts her again and just straight up slaps her. Sasha works a neck wrench for a bit before changing into a straight jacket choke. They move to the corner, where Bayley hits some strikes. Sasha survives them and Bayley again is ready for the knee drop. She catches her but Sasha just uses her legs to send her right back in the corner. She puts Bayley on the top rope this time and hits the double knees from up there for two. Sasha shouts that Bayley is pathetic but she fights back with some shots. She then hits a drop toe hold and doesn’t do her fun spinning move, instead just pounding away on Sasha. Outside, Sasha rips the tape off of Bayley’s injured hand. She slams it into the steel steps, stomps on it and places it between the steps and apron before kicking the steps into Bayley’s hand. As Bayley gets up, Sasha somersaults out onto Bayley! Inside, Sasha is only able to get two and seems frustrated. She just slaps Bayley again, and runs up the ropes holding Bayley’s hand. She tries to bring it over the top but falls outside. It looked awkward. Sasha gets inside and they blows. Bayley hits a series of axe handles and a shoulder thrust. She then hits a back elbow and suplexes Sasha into the corner. Bayley goes for the finish but Sasha blocks it by dropping to a knee. Bayley goes for a rollup but rolls through for a German. Sasha again blocks it and plants her, locking in the Bank Statement! Bayley gets near the ropes to Sasha stomps on the broken hand. She rolsl through and Bayley counters into her own Bank Statement! Sasha is able to reach the ropes. Bayley goes after Sasha but eats a kick. She then pulls Sasha up right into the Belly to Bayley but Sasha kicks out. Bayley goes to pick up the limp Sasha again, putting her in the corner. She seems to be looking for a super Belly to Bayley but Sasha fights her off. Bayley leaps back up with a forearm. She gets up for a super rana but Sasha holds on and Bayley lands in rough fashion. Sasha leaps down with double knees but Bayley again kicks out. Sasha sets Bayley up top but she elbows her off. Sasha comes back with shots and Bayley hits elbows again. She goes all the up with a SUPER REVERSE RANA! Bayley tightens the hairband and Bayley to Belly wins the belt.

Winner and New NXT Women’s Champion: Bayley in 18:15

An absolutely incredible match. Every single TakeOver, I can’t picture the girls topping themselves but they did it again here. The storytelling, the selling, the emotion, the atmosphere. Everything about this was incredible. Again, they bust out the best women’s match I’ve ever seen. Yea, I’m giving it the perfect score and I don’t even care. *****

Becky Lynch and Charlotte come out to hug Bayley. Sasha Banks gets up and hugs her too. All four women embrace for what may be the final time in NXT history.

NXT Championship Ladder Match: Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens

As Finn Balor makes his grand entrance, Kevin Owens is sitting outside incredibly unimpressed. Kevin Owens talks smack and shoves Balor before going after the ladder. Finn pulls him back and hits a dropkick. He follows with some running chops in the corners. Owens takes control, throwing Balor around and nailing the cannonball. The crowd chants “Ole” and Owens taunts them by holding his arm in fake pain. Balor takes advantage with a slingblade. They go after the ladder, with Finn knocking Owens over on the ramp. They have a tug of war over it at ringside with Owens winning by shoving Finn into the apron. He sandwiches Finn between the apron and ladder. He charges but slows down and just punches Finn. He’s such a fucking heel. Finn comes back with a shot and they brawl into the crowd. Owens goes for a powerbomb but Finn backdrops him over the railing only to leap into Owens’ arms. He slams him into the rail and tosses him across the announce table. Owens removes the cover and throws it at Finn before mocking Finn. He pulls a ladder out from under the ring but Finn dropkicks it into him. Finn then hits his beautiful front flip dive to wipe out Owens. He starts to climb the ladder but Owens gets in and prevents him from making it to the top before sending him into the ladder. He tries to throw it into Balor but he ducks and hits the Pele. Finn then heads in for the dropkick but is met with a clothesline. Owens drives the ladder into Finn’s ribs. He slams Finn on the ladder and hits a senton. He opens the ladder on it’s side and looks to kill Finn with a powerbomb but gets backdropped onto it. Owens tries to come back but misses the cannonball into the ladder. Finn lays into him with a corner dropkick and nails the Coup de Grace. Finn gets near the belt but Owens pulls him down into a powerbomb! Owens starts the slow climb but Finn tilts the ladder back, sending Owens crashing into the corner. He pulls Finn out and tries the apron bomb but Finn blocks it and kicks him. He then leaps from the apron with the Coup de Grace and Owens moves. He then hits the apron bomb but falls out as well. That basically killed Sami Zayn and John Cena. Owens climbs to the top, but Finn is up and knocks over the ladder. Owens lays him out with a big kick. Finn tries getting up, and Owens just tells him to stay down. Finn doesn’t listen and is hit with another superkick. Owens continues to talk trash and beat on him. He sets up a ladder in between the rung of an open ladder and the bottom turnbuckle. He climbs up and wants to superplex Finn through it but Finn blocks. Owens headbutts him. He tries again but Finn fights him off. He then slams Owens head into the top of the ladder and he falls onto the other ladder. The way Owens bounces is all kinds of bad. The ladder is off center and he isn’t close enough to the belt. Owens tries but is kicked off. Finn still isn’t close enough but sees a downed Owens and hits a super Coup de Grace. Now, he moves the ladder to the middle and retrieves the gold.

Winner and Still NXT Champion: Finn Balor in 21:37

Considering the level of the women’s match, these two had one insanely tough act to follow. It started slow but built towards a really great finish that had me on the edge of my seat. On the level of their Japan match and the best ladder match I’ve seen this year. ****1/4

Originally, I gave this a perfect score coming off of the high of that incredible Women's Title match. Instead, I'll give the show a 9/10. They went 25 minutes over their run time and delivered completely. The opener was fun and used Liger well and the Tag Team Title match was better than it had any right to be. Apollo Crews debut was a solid showcase and Corbin/Joe was a decent hoss match. The final two matches stole the show though. Sasha/Bayley is my new MOTY and this is coming from someone who watched the entire G1 and every WWE show this year. The main event couldn't quite follow it but this delivered big time. After some disappointing NXT shows, they rebounded big time here. Best special since R-Evolution.

TakeOver: Brooklyn Preditions

While I like the idea of this match, I do feel that it's a bit of a letdown after the hype that Samoa Joe came in with. I think he's suffering from the injury bug hurting NXT and people getting called up. It seems like a rushed program. With that being said, I'm actually rooting for Baron Corbin here. I love him as a heel and he's impressed me when I've seen him at live events. However, I can't see Samoa Joe coming in and losing to Baron, despite how much I'd like it.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Probably the most interesting match on the card. Just seeing Jushin "Thunder" Liger on WWE television would be good enough but facing Tyler Breeze should make this fun. Liger has shown on recent ROH appearances that he can still go despite being over 50. Tyler is someone that I feel should get called up soon or they should put the NXT Title on him. Outside of that, he's done everything on the brand and it's sink or swim time. As for the match, part of me can't see Liger coming in to lose, but there are a lot of faces I'm picking and Breeze could use a nice win on a TakeOver. I'm going with Prince Pretty.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Similar to Tyler Breeze, it's sink or swim time for the Vaudevillains. While I would have preferred to see Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in this mach somehow, if the Vaudevillains don't win here, what do they do? Job? The idea of them bringing in a female should be fun, especially if she plays off the "manly" gimmick and is "womanly". I could see Gionna fitting that role since she's in very good shape. Blake and Murphy have grown on my since winning the belts, but it's about time they drop them. They'll still be entertaining because the addition of Alexa Bliss has done wonders for them.

Winners: The Vaudevillains

There is no match on this card that I'm more invested in. Sasha Banks is my absolute favorite wrestler in the world and I'm always looking forward to her TakeOver matches than anyone else's. Had it not been for the recent call to the main roster, I honestly think they should have gone with Becky/Sasha II in maybe a 2 out of 3 falls match or something. It was that good at Unstoppable. Instead, Bayley gets to have her moment. It will be nice to see and I'm sure the match itself will deliver. Despite my undying love for Sasha, with her on the main roster now, this is Bayley's time 

Winner: Bayley

When this match was first announced, I wasn't very interested. They've already had two matches and the one in Japan was really good. I would have preferred this rematch be on an NXT taping since I couldn't see Kevin Owens winning the belt while being on the main roster. He also should be the United States Champion right now but I digress. What has gotten me interested in the ladder match stipulation. At least it will be something different between the two and has potential to be great. Still, I can't help but feel like the outcome isn't in doubt. Finn Balor retains while Owens works the main roster midcard.

Winner: Finn Balor

Top 10 G1 Climax 25 Matches

After hearing all of the buzz about last year's G1 Climax, I wanted to make sure I saw as much of this year's as possible. I made the decision to watch the entire tournament using NJPW World and I don't regret it. Now that it's over, I'll be going back and watching last year's, but I wanted to rank the top ten matches I saw this year. I really enjoyed a vast majority of the G1 so this is a difficult task.

10. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito (Night Three)

I was very close to picking Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi here but I give this one the slight edge. Two guys that I came out of this tournament really loving were Katsuyori Shibata and Tetsuya Naito and for completely different reasons. Shibata is an absolute beast. His hard hitting style is enthralling to watch. Naito on the other hand, had recently turned heel after a trip to CMLL, where he joined Los Ingobernables. His attitude and gimmick was an absolute joy to watch throughout. Here, early on in the tournament, these two wrestled a back and forth match. Naito, being the absolute dick that he is, decide to try and slap around Shibata, which I learned is a bad idea. Shibata retaliated with some big shots before winning after the sleeper hold/penalty kick combination. ****

9. Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Night One)

Right out of the gate, the G1 Climax got a great match on night one. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi took the main event slot and made sure to give the fans a match to remember. A buddy of mine was asked to try and explain these two guys to someone who only watches WWE. His comparison was to look at it as if John Cena (Tanahashi) was facing Cesaro (Ibushi). Considering Tanahashi has been the top dog for a while, we've heard the Cena comparisons a lot. The Ibushi one for Cesaro makes some sense since Ibushi is deceptively strong like a Cesaro, while also being a freakishly good athlete. There was a level of intensity in this that I didn't expect, especially since I had heard some talk about Tanahashi taking it easy this year. He came out on night one and showed that he was ready to deliver in the G1. He won following the High Fly Flow to cap night one on the road to winning the entire thing. ****

8. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (Night Sixteen)

I had to include the night that HONMAMANIA ran wild. In the 2014 G1 Cilmax, Tomoaki Honma went winless and started this year's tournament the same way. He entered night 16, the second to last match for him, going up against Tomohiro Ishii. Earlier this year, at New Beginnings, these two had a match that many gave five stars to. On a Block that featured IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura, they were given the main event slot and absolutely delivered. It was slightly below their New Beginnings match but the drama of Honma trying to get the win added to it. It was hard hitting and had a fantastic atmosphere before Honma was finally able to pick up his first G1 win. The place went absolutely ballistic and deservedly so. ****¼

7. AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Night Seventeen)

On the final night for the A Block, AJ Styles met Hiroshi Tanahashi and the stakes were as high as they could be. Both guys entered tied for the lead with 12 points, so the A Block was on the line. These are two of the three guys that have been IWGP Heavyweight Champion since 2011. AJ Styles has been my favorite wrestler since 2005 and I love that his move to NJPW has rejuvenated him. Both guys traded low blows out of desperation and Styles nearly won with the Calf Killer, which actually got built up well throughout the tournament. It went nearly 30 minutes but they did very well with it. Both guys countered the other's finishers and the final few minutes of this were pretty frantic. Styles has had some great closing stretches in his matches that I've seen this year. In the end, Tanahashi was able to pick up the victory in a match that ha an absolute main event and big fight feel. ****¼

6. Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Night Fourteen)

In the early days of the G1 Climax, I enjoyed the A Block more than the B Block. Maybe it was due to the B Block getting those weird single camera, no commentary shows or because the A Block had guys I really liked (Styles, Ibushi, Naito, Shibata etc.). However, the B Block would surpass them after a few shows because of matches like this one. Tomohiro Ishii and the IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto went to war in the night fourteen main event. This was two guys beating the holy hell out of each other for seventeen minutes and I loved it. The red hot crowd at Korakuen Hall added to a lot of the later nights in the tournament, including right here. There were great near falls, obvious stiff work and some good selling from both guys. Again, since I am only just starting to really get into NJPW, these are two guys that I hadn't really seen before this year, but I was completely into this. Goto was able to pick up the win in a must see match. ****¼

5. Michael Elgin vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Night Eighteen)

When it was first announced that Michael Elgin would be in the G1 Climax, you could practically hear the entire world groan in unison. Elgin is a pretty polarizing figure to say the least. However, from his first G1 match, where he was made to look like a beast against IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada, Elgin delivered. I can't think of a bad match that he had at all during the tournament and he saved his best for this show against Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii was pretty underrated throughout this, as he delivered consistently as well. Like a lot of Ishii matches I've seen, this was two guys just going to war with each other. Again, the hot crowd added to this. Elgin really got over during the G1 and it showed here. I never expected to love this the way that I did, but man, this was breathtaking. Ishii won, but Elgin came out looking amazing and I'm sure he will be welcomed back to NJPW with open arms. ****½

4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Night Eighteen)

Much like AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on night seventeen, this would main event the eighteenth night and give us our B Block winner. Kazuchika Okada entered with 14 points and Shinsuke Nakamura entered with 12. This would also be a rematch of the G1 Finals last year, which was won by Okada. Again, I have to commend the crowd, which was hot throughout. Nakamura is someone that I've really come to enjoy in 2015, but the elbow injury that he suffered early in the G1 caused a lot of his performances to be lacking. It was clear early on in this match though, that he was feeling much better. It was like I was watching a different performer. Due to his popularity, Okada got a chance to play more of a heel role, which I like him much more in. He comes off as such a douche in an entertaining way. After an absolutely exciting back and forth match, Nakamura countered the Rainmaker into an arm bar in beautiful fashion. Okada submitted, setting the stage for our finals. ****½

3. AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi (Night Five)

This is a shining example of why I was really into the A Block early on in the tournament. I first saw Kota Ibushi in 2008 when he made some appearances for Ring of Honor and I obviously stated earlier that AJ Styles is my favorite wrestler. Ibushi won the New Japan Cup and chose to face Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Title earlier in the year at Invasion Attack. I enjoyed that match but felt it went a bit too long for the work they did. Here, they stayed under twenty minutes and delivered a better match for it. Styles is a much smarter worker now than ever before and he played a great heel throughout this. Again, the finishing stretch here was magnificent. After a series of counters and Ibushi surviving Bloody Sunday, he won with the Phoenix Splash. This proved to be one of his biggest singles wins so far and was the best match of the first few days here. ****½

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Finals)

To close out a tournament like this, the Finals should definitely deliver and this one did. Now, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura have met several times in the past. However, here I am again showing how new I am to the company, I have only seen them wrestle once before. When I first signed up for the world, I watched their match at Invasion Attack 2014. That one was great but I found this to be better. They were given more than a half hour and built to their climax. The leg work was well one throughout, they had a ton of close call near falls that the electric crowd bit on and everything was well done. I've seen a lot of people give it the full five star treatment, but I didn't. I asked about it and a lot of people mentioned that they played upon their past matches, which is something I always appreciate. However, having not seen many of their previous encounters, I overlooked these. Also, there was talk of how dramatic the final few minutes were and they were, but I had been spoiled of the result beforehand unfortunately, which took some of that away from me. I do feel like I may have gone with the perfect score if those two things weren't the case. Still, this is a must see match that is absolutely fantastic. Tanahashi won to become the G125 winner. ****¾

1. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi (Night Seven)

I loved every single thing about this match. Kota Ibushi and Katsuyori Shibata were two of my favorite people to watch in the tournament, even though both guys unfortunately were less impressive down the stretch, losing some matches I would have liked to see them win. On this night though, they stole the show. They each hit each other incredibly hard, showed off some mat work and put everything together to make this the best match possible. Shibata won an absolutely blistering match with the sleeper hold/penalty kick combo. Seriously, this is required viewing and if you haven't seen it yet, go find a way to do so right this second. It's honestly hard for me to put everything about this match into words, since I loved it so much and have watched it multiple times. It is, hands down, the best under fifteen minute match I have ever seen. ****¾

Raw 8/17/15 Review

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon opening Raw with a promo is really nothing new. What was new was that this was an even bigger waste of time than normal. They literally just ran down some of the SummerSlam card, while announcing like three things for tonight. It's basically like they had 15 minutes to fill and just said, let's go do a SummerSlan infomercial. This led straight into our opener, which pit Randy Orton and Cesaro against Kevin Owens and Sheamus. A fine idea and a relatively fine match but Orton just pins Sheamus with an RKO. Okay. So why should there even be an Orton/Sheamus match at SummerSlam? This should have ended via disqualification or something to not give away a potential SummerSlam finish. That's just poor booking.

They hype an "Undertaker Speaks" segment, but he can't be arsed to come out so it's a backstage one. The promo itself was fine, but man, he looks pretty horrible in his current state. In another example of "there's no reason to watch Smackdown", Roman Reigns faced Luke Harper in a rematch. They were given a fair amount of time and worked through the commercial. Dean Ambrose was alright on commentary, and he took Byron Saxton's chair to give to Bray Wyatt, but he didn't join them. Byron being forced to stand during parts of Raw is becoming a cool running joke. Reigns rallied to overcome the odds and won. Similar to the opener, you now just gave away another pinfall between two guys facing off at the PPV.

With hour two now beginning, it was time for another match in the Divas rivalry. The Bexcellent (yea, I did that) Becky Lynch took on the atrocious Tamina Snuka. It's like, Tamina was only kind of bad and then she got hurt, only to return as one of the absolute worst girls on the roster. I appreciate that they kept it short since Tamina is so bad. Becky made her tap out to win her first singles Raw match. I like that Becky is getting more shine because she's been used less than Charlotte or Sasha Banks so far. For the third or so straight week, Rusev took on Mark Henry next. Rusev won again and Lana, who was on commentary, entered the ring and challenged Summer Rae to fight. She bitch slapped her before calling Rusev in. This led to Dolph Ziggler's return, which the crowd popped for. We also saw Lana bust out a high kick on Summer. Dolph kicked Rusev as well, sending them packing. After a commercial, he challenged Rusev for SummerSlam. Overall, this was a good segment. The crowd reacted better than expected for Dolph, Lana's kick looked good and Rusev continued to be good at everything.

We get told that ESPN is going to broadcast SportsCenter live from the Barclays Center on Sunday, hosted by the Coach. That's kind of cool. Ryback faced Miz in a non-title match, while Big Show was on commentary. They hyped a straight to DVD film that Show has coming out so Miz wisely attacked his acting career on the stick. Show was fine on commentary, but Ryback pretty much destroyed Miz easily. This has been the story for a while now, so why should he even be in the Intercontinental Title match on Sunday. Lazy booking again. Ryback should have squashed someone not on the SummerSlam card, while Miz and Show argued on commentary. Moving on to start hour three, John Cena and Seth Rollins did their contract signing. Seth comes out first and kills on the mic. He says that Cena isn't Superman, he's a villain holding the WWE hostage for a decade. Just excellent stuff. Cena came out and, while I'm glad he wasn't joking around like he normally does, he completely shit on Seth. He called out everything about his title reign and basically said that if Seth doesn't win on Sunday, then he's a joke who doesn't matter. I honestly hate that because now, if Cena wins, Seth does indeed look like a joke. Also, if Cena wins, does it matter? He just called his opponent a joke, so it's a hollow win. I've come to enjoy a fair amount of Cena's work, but his promos still give me issues, especially when he does something like this.

An eight man tag followed, involving the teams in the Tag Title match at SummerSlam. New Day was the only team to get an entrance and they cut a fun little promo. The focus wasn't on the match and was more on El Torito and Xavier Woods at ringside. Kalisto won for his team & the PTP with a rana on a Matador. This was very blah. An excellent video package aired to hype the Stephen Amell/Neville vs. Barrett/Stardust match. Stardust and Barrett cut a promo in the back, where Stardust gave Barrett a "cosmic cape". Stardust is fantastic in this role. Our main event followed as it was Champion vs. Champion, when Sasha Banks faced Nikki Bella, even though Sasha never wears her belt. This should have been promoted much better and made to be a big deal. A match like this would be MASSIVE on NXT because it would be built right. In a decent but disappointing match, Sasha made Nikki tap out. I marked out and while it's a big win, it could have meant so much more if it was handled properly.

Paul Heyman introduced Brock Lesnar for his homecoming and hyped the match for Sunday. Brock gets a massive pop and then Heyman starts singing, which was all kinds of awesome. Unlike Cena earlier, Heyman's promo is masterful at putting over both Undertaker and Brock. Taker appears and kicked Brock in the balls again. I hope he understands that if he does that at SummerSlam, he'll get disqualified. This was basically a repeat of Battleground. I didn't care for it then and I don't care for it now. The fans booed Undertaker hard in the final segment. All in all, this episode felt like it was just there. I didn't really get hyped for SummerSlam, the booking was lazy and the close to the show was disappointing. There was so much more that could have been done with this episode. 4.5/10.

Top Five 8/10/15-8/16/15

1) Hiroshi Tanahashi: Honestly, there really couldn't be another choice. I didn't want Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the G1 Climax, but that's exactly what happened and his final two performances may have been his best. With the A Block on the line, he faced AJ Styles and they went on to have a very good match. I don't think it was a match of the year candidate like a lot of people did, but still great stuff. The next night, he got the pin in a really fun ten men tag team match while the B Block was decided. Then, in the finals of the G1, he took on Shinsuke Nakamura. These two went for over thirty minutes in a legit MOTY candidate. Both guys put on one hell of a performance and Tanahashi got the victory. We are now set for the Okada/Tanahashi rematch at the Tokyo Dome early next year. I wanted Nakamura to win, but Tanahashi killed it here.

2) Shinsuke Nakamura:  Obviously, had Shinsuke Nakamura won the G1, he would have topped the list. Instead, he has to settle for second but he still had a very impressive week. I'll start by going with his least impressive performance, which came in a win against Satoshi Kojima on the 12th. Then, he faced Kazuchika Okada on the last night before the finals. With Okada having 14 points and Nakamura having 12, he needed the win to win the block and he did. They had a great match (top 10 in the year for me) and Nakamura was able to make the IWGP Champion submit. Despite winning his block, Nakamura didn't have the best G1 and that may have had something to do with his injured elbow. That looked like a thing of the past in his last two matches, both of which were excellent.

3) reDRagon:  For a while now, I've considered reDRagon the best tag team in the world. On the G1 Climax Finals show, they defeated the most overrated team in pro wrestling (at least in my eyes), the Young Bucks to win back the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles. I couldn't have been happier to see this considering how good Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly are. I honestly get the sense they'll be doing more singles stuff soon in ROH, so it'll be nice to see them work as a team in NJPW for a bit longer. Hopefully, it's a good reign since these titles seem to change hands so often.

              4) Bayley: For the second straight week, Bayley makes the list by stealing the show on an episode of NXT. She is the only person to make my list and not do something in NJPW. Her match against Becky Lynch not only closed out NXT, but was possibly the best WWE match of the week. Similar to her bout against Charlotte last week, it was a very good back and forth contest won by Bayley. So not only has she recently become the second woman to pin Charlotte, but she has now beaten Becky as well, who is on the main roster. This made her the number one contender for the NXT Women's Title, which she'll most likely win at TakeOver: Brooklyn. It should be a special moment in front of the largest crowd in NXT history.

5) KUSHIDA: It was tough to pick a final person this week. There was Tomoaki Honma, who finally got his first G1 win. There was Michael Elgin, who put on a great match against another possible candidate, Tomohiro Ishii. Instead, I went with KUSHIDA. I've been a fan of the guy for a while and this isn't his first appearance on the list this year. First, he and Ricochet stole the show in a very fun ten man tag the night before the G1 Finals. Then, on the night of the finals, KUSHIDA successfully defended his IWPG Jr. Heavyweight Title against Ricochet in a good match. Hopefully he holds the belt until Wrestle Kingdom 10 and I get KUSHIDA vs. Alex Shelley. I can dream can't I?

Raw History Episodes 5-6

Raw History

Episode #5

February 15th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

We continue the Road to WrestleMania IX with the fifth episode of Monday Night Raw!

Things open with Brutus Beefcake cutting a short promo about his return. It then cuts to Ted Dibiase cutting one back on him while Jimmy Hart is worried. Commentary is once again Vince McMahon, Macho Man and Rob Bartlett. Two jobbers are already in the ring for the opener.

Bobby Who and Glen Ruth vs. The Steiner Brothers
Yup. The dude's name is actually Bobby Who. I'm not sure which jobber is which but one starts with Scott and eats a full nelson suplex. It's actually very pretty. Rick gets the tag, causing the fans to bark and jobber #2 enters. Ah, according to Vince, this is Bobby Who. He doesn't fare much better. Rick decides to apply a rest hold for some strange reason and Who reaches the ropes. Rick hits a clothesline and tags Scott in. Tiger suplex followed by the top rope bulldog ends it.

Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 3:32
Just done to get the Steiner Brothers over. Basic stuff. *

Mean Gene brings us the WrestleMania Report, reminding us for the 100th time that it's going down in Las Vegas. Along with Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, more matches are announced. First up, The Undertaker will take on the Giant Gonzalez. Also, Crush goes one on one with Doink the Clown.

Ross Greenberg vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji
This is the third Yokozuna match in five episodes of Raw. They keep doing this thing on commentary where Macho Man's headset is messed up so all we hear are weird sound bytes of him complaining. It's strange since we saw Macho Man at ringside at the start of the show. Anyway, Yokozuna hits a big belly to belly suplex and a leg drop before polishing off Ross with the Banzai Drop.

Winner: Yokozuna in 2:01
Another Yokozuna match where he gets all of the offense. SQUASH

Time for a Special Report, hosted by Lord Alfred Hayes. He talks about “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan becoming the first man to knock Yokozuna off of his feet in singles competition on Superstars this week. Like an idiot, Duggan celebrated like he won the match, allowing Yokozuna to throw salt in his eyes. Two Banzai Drops later, Duggan was stretchered out.

Commentary states that the Giant Gonzalez said he wanted in the Battle Royal tonight, causing the rest of the participants to say they would not compete if that's the case. More Superstars clips are shown, this one of the Giant Gonzalez winning a three on one handicap match.

Sixteen Man Battle Royal
There is no mentioning of who is in the Battle Royal as it's just a big cluster. Shawn Michaels stays outside for a bit to let everyone else fight. Kim Chee continually exits under the bottom rope to avoid Kamala. I also see El Matador, Owen Hart, Tatanka, Skinner, Terry Taylor, Koko B. Ware, Damien Damento, Typhoon, Bob Backlund and Razor Ramon. Koko is first out via a Shawn Michaels back body drop. Kim Chee continues to avoid Kamala as we get a lot of near eliminations. Typhoon knocks out Skinner with a SHOCKING clothesline. Kamala dumps out Damento as well. Owen Hart jumps on the Berzerker's back but gets flipped over and out. Kamala is on fire as he kicks Berzerker out before battling with Typhoon. Kim Chee decides to get involved as he helps Typhoon get another SHOCKING elimination on Kamala. The Ugandan Giant gets back in and tosses out Kim Chee, forcing him to flee through the crowd and up in the balcony. We get our final SHOCK of the night as Shawn Michaels rids the ring of Typhoon. The final four are El Matador, Tatanka, Razor and Michaels. The first signs of the Kliq can be seen as Razor and Shawn decide to team up. This battle royal is made better because Bartlett's headset is busted now, so he's silent and Macho Man is calling the action. The match breaks down into tag stuff until Shawn gets dumped out. The Giant Gonzalez shows up from the back and is bored with the match so he eliminates Tatanka and El Matador on his own. Razor slid under the bottom rope when he came out, so once he leaves, Razor gets back in and is announced as the victor.

Winner: Razor Ramon in 15:03
Your typical battle royal. Lots of punches, kicks and stalls. I also don't like battle royals with nothing on the line. At least someone awful didn't win. **

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs. Ted Dibiase w/ Jimmy Hart
Commentary really plays up how concerned they are about Beefcake's return. I wouldn't be concerned since every single time Dibiase tries to lock up, Beefcake instead chooses to strut. Jimmy Hart can be heard shouting “he's quick, he's fast, watch out.” This makes no sense as Beefcake is in no way fast. He reels off a few right hands that send Dibiase to the outside. Dibiase gets in and tries to smash Beefcake's face into the corner but it's blocked and Dibiase goes in. A side headlock is applied, because Beefcake's offense sucks as IRS strolls to ringside. As Beefcake gets sent into the ropes, IRS smashes him with his briefcase in the back.

Winner via disqualification: Brutus Beefcake in 4:26
That was boring. Beefcake sucks but at least it was short. *

Money Inc. continue to pound away on Brutus Beefcake as Jimmy Hart pleads with them to stop. IRS shoves Hart to the ground and levels Beefcake in the face. It's funny because Beefcake was held by Dibiase for like four full minutes and didn't counter or move at all. He sells it like his face has been broken again as Hart checks on him. As Beefcake is taken out, some clearly fake looking blood stains are in the ring.

Overall: 4/10; Weak. The Road to WrestleMania IX continues on with a second straight disappointing episode. We got another Yokozuna squash and the battle royal was different in a good way. However, any show that has Brutus Beefcake in the main event is going to suffer. They're building the stories relatively well heading into WrestleMania IX but that's two straight episodes that I was not a fan of.

Raw History

Episode #6

February 22nd, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

The show open with Rob Bartlett doing a play on SNL by saying “LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT'S MONDAY NIGHT RAW!” He still sucks. Vince McMahon and Macho Man join him on commentary as they hype the card for tonight. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Taylor
The future Scotty 2 Hotty seems like he's here to do the job to Bam Bam Bigelow. Instantly, Bam Bam shoulder blocks Taylor to the mat hard twice. Bam Bam continues to overpower and work him over as commentary just continues to plug Hulk Hogan's appearance later tonight. Seriously, they mention it like 14 times. A big backbreaker followed by the flying headbutt is enough but Bam Bam drops two more headbutts to finish it.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 3:01
Impressive showing for Bam Bam and the final headbutts were impressive. SQUASH

An interview with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan is shown, discussing the future of Hulkamania. Hogan talks about mistakes that he's made but that he's ready to return. 

Six Man Tag Team Match
The Beverly Brothers and Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka and The Nasty Boys
Commentary discusses how Tatanka defeated Shawn Michaels in a non-title contest. Tatanka attacks at the bell and everyone goes at it until Tatanka back body drops Shawn outside. Bartlett calls it the coolest thing he's ever seen. As things cool down, the Nasty Boys give the Beverly Brothers a double pit stop. Things turn around as Shawn gets the tag and they work basic heel tactics on Brian Knobbs. Knobbs rallies and Tatanka gets the tag, so Shawn tags out. The faces begin to work over Beau, aka Beverly #1. We go to commercial and Bartlett says that they stopped during commercial only to resume as the broadcast came back. The heels have begun to beat up on Knobbs as the Beverly Brothers use the World's Greatest Tag Team's finisher, which is rather embarrassing as I love them and hate the Beverly Brothers. The fans won't stop chanting “nasty” but it's not helping Knobbs much. He finally makes the hot tag to Tatanka who takes out Michaels. He gets a very close near fall as they announce that Michaels defends against Tatanka at WrestleMania. Beau breaks up another pin attempt but the Nasty Boys get involved and knock them outside. This allows Tatanka to score a second straight pin over HBK with a rollup!

Winners: Tatanka and The Nasty Boys in 15:02
Pretty basic tag team match. Nothing of note really happened but I did enjoy Tatanka and Shawn's interactions. Maybe their match at WrestleMania will be really good. **1/4

Sean Mooney is outside to promote more of the Hulk Hogan appearance.

Crush vs. “Terrific” Terry Taylor
They begin with smack talk and Crush shoves Terry Taylor to the mat with force. Taylor fights back with a snap mare on the top rope. Oh goodness, Vince McMahon gets a “phone call” and it's Bartlett doing a sad Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation. I hate these things. Taylor applies a chinlock but Crush uses the power of Hawaii to fight out brudda. Crush hits a few moves and then does the coconut crush or whatever it was called for the win.

Winner: Crush in 3:46
Another nothing match. Crush never really impressed me. *

We get a recap of the brutal assault on Brutus Beefcake last week. Vince McMahon is now in the ring and he brings out Hulk Hogan to a big pop, much better than Beefcake's last week. He rambles until he brings out Beefcake. He's sporting fake bruises and tape on his nose as he rambles. If anyone ever benefited more from being Hogan's friend than Brutus, please point it out to me. They introduce their new manager, Jimmy Hart, who has turned his back on Money Inc! They lay down a challenge for Money Inc and call themselves the Mega Maniacs. 

Skinner vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Skinner attacks at the bell and there is like, less than a minute left on the show. Skinner chokes The Undertaker outside the ring as Vince McMahon begins to sign off saying that we will see the conclusion of the match next week along with a WWF Title match.

Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. I thought it was nice to see a fifteen minute match on the card, though I wish it was something better than the six man tag that we got. The Hulk Hogan promo was the typical stuff he'd do but it got the crowd pumped. I strongly dislike ending a show in the middle of the match but what can you do?