Smackdown 9/10/15 Review

The Wyatt Family come out to open Smackdown, cutting a promo on the attack they put on Randy Orton on Raw. They warned anyone who tried to align themselves with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. I guess the Wyatts miss the original Shield and don't want any knockoff versions. That's pretty much all they say. The opening contest is a Raw rematch between Cesaro and Miz. Unlike Raw, this one is actually competently booked as Cesaro gets the win. He also does so with the Sharpshooter, making me miss his tag team with Tyson Kidd even more. I like that Cesaro won, but like his win over Rusev, it came on Smackdown, so nobody will really remember it.

Continuing the old fashioned theme of Raw rematches, we now get Paige vs. Sasha Banks. Since getting the main roster call up, Sasha Banks is, as far as I can tell, unbeaten in singles matches. She's beaten Paige twice but was unable to win here, however, she also didn't lose. After nearly ten minutes of solid work, they brawled outside and it went to a no contest once their respective teammates joined in. The match itself wasn't bad, but I'm not sure what the plan here is. Anyway, moving on, not content with just giving us Raw recaps on Thursday nights, Smackdown basically just airs the Raw main event. It's like a good 80% of the match and the aftermath. Have they really gotten that lazy? Seth Rollins is then interviewed about what Sting did to his statue. He is pissed about it and threatens to make Sting pay at Night of Champions. Sheamus shows up to tease his cash in again because they have nothing else for Sheamus to really do. In our biggest match so far, the New Day takes on Reigns, Ambrose and Reigns' cousin, JImmy Uso. The match itself was fine stuff, as Jimmy looked happy to be back in action, but then the Wyatts showed up to ruin things. They took out Jimmy and then his partners went to save him but they disappeared. I think New Day won by countout, but they might have called a no contest. We get no word on exactly what the decision was either way. It was cool to see Jimmy back and New Day always delivers, while this built the Wyatts/Reigns and Ambrose stuff. This did what it had to.

After abandoning the Cosmic Wasteland so the Ascension could get squashed on Raw, their partnership with Stardust was back on here. They took on the Lucha Dragons with Stardust at ringside. It was another fine match and once Stardust distracted the Lucha Dragons, the Ascension capitalized to pick up a rare victory. Now please let this carry over to Raw. They go to attack but Neville runs out to make the save. Backstage, Renee Young interviews Nikki Bella about her match this Monday against Charlotte. Nikki calls Charlotte delusional and says that she will not stand in the way of history.

Our main event is, you guessed it, a rematch from Raw between Seth Rollins & Ryback. This time, there's a twist though as it is a Lumberjack match. Similar to their Raw match, this was solid but unspectacular. The lumberjacks all get into a big brawl except for Kevin Owens, who just watches like he doesn't have time for their shit. He then trips Ryback, allowing Seth to get the win. Overall, a decent episode of Smackdown. No real bad or useless matches, but nothing you need to go out of your way to see. Re-airing the Raw main event was just lazy also, but this wasn't a bad two hours, just a mediocre one. 5/10.

NXT Report

The show goes right into the opening video. We are told that the Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs. Lucha Dragons main event will air from Providence, Rhode Island and not Full Sail.

Carmella vs. Peyton Royce

Peyton Royce actually gets an entrance. They do a slight handshake at the start before moving to some mat work. Both girls get near falls and Carmella does a moonwalk. It’s actually pretty good. Peyton gets points from me for hitting a fisherman suplex for two. Peyton works a chinlock type move to wear down Carmella. Peyton runs into an elbow and Carmella hits a hurricanrana. Carmella goes into a flurry, pulling Peyton down for two after some shoulder thrusts. Peyton gets out of a wear down hold by backing Carmella into the corner and following in with some kicks. She comes off the second rope with a cross body for a near fall. Carmella then plants Peyton and makes her tap to her finisher.

Winner: Carmella in 5:04

Pretty solid little match here. I thought it would be a squash but they made sure that Peyton Royce got in a good chunk of offense. *3/4

Samoa Joe and Finn Balor get ready backstage and they tease Joe wanting the NXT Title.

Clips are shown from a recent NXT live event where Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady advanced in the Dusty Tag Team Classic against Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson also beat Tucker Knight and the Drifter, Elias Sampson.

A Nia Jax vignette is shown.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Bull Dempsey and Tyler Breeze vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

Bull Dempsey does Tyler Breeze’s corner taunt. Breeze and Ciampa start. Breeze takes him over and taunts but when Ciampa chops him, he tags out. A “Bull is gorgeous” chant breaks out. Ciampa stays in to face both Bull for a bit and Breeze for a bit. Gargano tags in and spears Breeze before rolling through with a kick and a jumping neckbreaker. He’s off to a good start. Tyler tags out again. Gagano tries to takes down Bull, but he’s too big, so Gargano goes with an enziguri instead. Ciampa comes in and hits a knee for two. After a commercial, we return to see Ciampa working a sleeper on Bull. Bull fights out and Gargano tags in. He dropkicks Tyler off the apron but is taken down by Bull. Bull looks to tag, but Tyler is on the floor. Punches with the fans chanting BULL for each, ending with the Dusty elbow. Tyler gets on the apron but Bull runs the ropes and knocks him off. Gargano and Ciampa go into an interesting team up roll up sequence to win.

Winners: Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in 6:21

Another decent match here. Johnny Gargano definitely looked better of the two new guys, but this was a solid start for them. Hopefully, they can stick around. **1/4

Tyler Breeze is pissed and takes it out on Bull Dempsey.

The Lucha Dragons cut a promo backstage. Most of it is in Spanish though Kalisto translates.

Dana Brooke gets interviewed and says that seeing Bayley win the NXT Title upset her because she’s beaten her before. She’s in action next.

There is a pretty cool Tye Dillinger vignette.

Billie Kay vs. Dana Brooke

Billie Kay gets an entrance making me happy since I love me some Jessie McKay. They lock up and Dana overpowers her and pats her on the head. Billie takes her over with a headlock and talks a bit of trash. They get to their feet and Dana applies a headlock before slamming Billie by her hair. She goes into a flurry of right hands. Dana does her handstand foot choke in the corner and hits a clothesline. Handstand knee drop goes right into a chinlock. She gets two on an elbow. Dana goes into a headscissors, even doing something similar to Carmella’s finisher. Billie rallies, hitting some cool offense and getting two on a big boot. Dana nails an enziguri gefore hitting her AA like finisher.

Winner: Dana Brooke in 5:21

Not as good or fun as the opening women’s match. Dana Brooke still needs tons of work, but she seems to be winning some people over. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce both showed loads of potential tonight though. 1/2*

Devin Taylor interviews Apollo Crews. He calls his fans the Apollo Nation, playing off of the Uhaa Nation name and says he’s gonna take over NXT.

A quick recap is shown of Bayley winning the NXT Women’s Championship in Brooklyn. They show Izzy, Bayley’s biggest fan, celebrating with her family at home. Then, Izzy and her family was invited to the Performance Center to welcome home Bayley. She was also allowed to do an entrance with Bayley. Bayley returns next week!

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs. The Lucha Dragons

Finn Balor starts with Sin Cara. The crowd is hot, chanting “NXT” and “this is awesome” right from the bell. They start with mat work until Finn hits a dropkick. Kalisto leaps in but is sent outside. Slingblade takes down Cara and Finn then hits a big kick that sends Cara out with Kalisto. He then runs off the ropes and dives onto both, getting the crowd going even more. Returning from commercial, Joe gets in offense but the tag comes back to Finn. He gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The Lucha Dragons work some quick double teams on Finn for a while. Finn makes a relatively hot tag and Joe does his thing. He kicks the shit out of Kalisto and squashes him with a senton. Cara comes back with an ugly tornado DDT but Finn breaks up the pin. Cara hits him with an Aasi moonsault. Joe goes for a Muscle Buster but Cara gets free only to eat a ton of strikes. Joe sends Cara into the ropes, Kalisto blind tags in and Cara suicide dives out onto Finn. Kalisto does some cool offense on Joe but then eats the STJoe. Joe hits Kalisto with a Muscle Buster and the Coup de Grace from Balor wins it.

Winners: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe in 8:29

Really fun tag match. Up there with last week’s main event as the best match of the tournament so far. Pretty non-stop in action and the big, hot crowd added something to it. ***1/4

Raw History: Episodes 13-14

Raw History

Episode #13

April 19th, 1993 – Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York

Money Inc. is shown on a side close-up saying that the Beverly Brothers are ungrateful. The Beverly Brothers also do one, claiming they will bankrupt Money Inc. Two teams that I don’t particularly enjoy watching, challenging each other.

Razor Ramon vs. VirgilIt never fails to amuse me to hear how excited Vince McMahon gets for Virgil of all people. They open with some basic wrestling as Vince gushes over how Razor “oozes machismo.” Virgil gets two with a small package, which is the same way that Razor beat Bob Backlund the last time we saw him, at WrestleMania IX. Razor stops in his tracks to avoid a dropkick and he puts the boots to Virgil. He applies an abdominal stretch and I will admit that Razor probably had the best looking one of all time. Virgil attempts a rally and hits a second rope clothesline, but the crowd isn’t buying this. He misses his next move leading to the Razor’s Edge.

Winner: Razor Ramon in 7:13While this took longer than it should have, it wasn’t bad. Razor Ramon picks up more momentum and, for some reason, Virgil looked decent. **
The Giant Gonzalez w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. LA GoreYou wish that you could have a mustache like LA Gore. He is outside of the ring at the bell, so Gonzalez pulls him inside. I don’t expect this to last long. He does a clothesline and a terrible looking kick. He wins with a Chokeslam.

Winner: The Giant Gonzalez in 1:18Completely one sided. SQUASH.
A pre-taped promo from Luna Vachon airs. She says a bunch of stuff about “evil” and such, with her incredibly deep and raspy voice. She sounds like a 65 year old dude who smoked his entire life. Clips are also shown of their brawl last week. 

Art Thomas vs. TatankaDo we really need another Tatanka match? He just won last week. Art Thomas attacks at the bell as Vince McMahon claims that the person who defeats Tatanka will be famous. Well that person, spoiler alert, would be Ludvig Borga, so you were wrong Vince. Tatanka gets on the offensive though Thomas dodges an elbow. Tatanka starts to get hyped up and does his rain dance thing in between moves. Samoan Drop hits to end this thing.

Winner: Tatanka in 2:30Another relative squash. I’d be more okay with this if we didn’t just see Tatanka do this last week. SQUASH. 
Non-Title Match
The Beverly Brothers vs. WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc.Before the bell, IRS says he’s not giving any of the tax cheats in the arena an extension on their taxes. I always thought this made for an odd tag team. The rich guy and the tax man shouldn’t be pals. We get yet another attack before the bell and it’s odd that Vince blatantly says “I don’t think the crowd cares who wins this one.” Well, I get that they’re both heels, but this is a terrible plan. Ted and Beverly #1 start and do some of the most basic offense possible. The Beverly Brothers are in control, cutting the ring in half on Ted Dibiase. That’s odd because I would assume they want the crowd to cheer more for the brothers. IRS gets the tag and the crowd doesn’t care. More basic and boring stuff. Earlier, the referee didn’t see the Money Inc. tag and made IRS go back out, but now, he just takes Ted’s word for it. The Beverly Brothers are working better as a team, until a miscue leads one to hit the other and Dibiase rolls up one of them to win. 

Winners: Money Inc. in 10:56Incredibly dull. Two heel tag teams that nobody likes and they actually tried to work tag formula, which failed hard. Terrible match. DUD.
Vince McMahon is in the ring to bring out the former WWF Champion, Bret Hart. Bret says that he was the underdog at WrestleMania and he’s been one before so it didn’t bother him. He claims that he’s not done because he’s lost titles before and come back, which he will do once again. Bret says the number one guy on his hit list is the Narcissist though I don’t think this feud went anywhere.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Phil ApolloDespite Phil Apollo applying a headlock early, Bigelow wastes no time in taking down Apollo. He misses a splash, but as Apollo tries a dropkick he just swats him like a fly. As Bigelow beats him down, Doink is out to mess with fans. Bigelow does more offense, but seems to just be killing time. He hits the diving headbutt and this is over.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 4:40An extended squash. Bigelow was killing time. SQUASH.
Because he’s a heel, Bigelow nails his finisher one more time on poor Phil Apollo. Friar Ferguson walks out to the ring and checks on Apollo. He tells Bigelow not to attack anymore. He gets in Bigelow’s face and this show really just ended with fucking Friar Ferguson.

Overall: 3/10; Poor. Man, these post WrestleMania Raws have been a rough watch. At least this one had Bret Hart and we got wins for guys who need it like Razor Ramon and Bigelow. That tag team match sucked hard and killed my interest. If that wasn’t enough, Friar Ferguson is a focal point again, making me even more disappointed.

Raw History

Episode #14

April 19th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

Vince McMahon, Macho Man and FUCK YES, Bobby Heenan are the commentary team tonight. They hype up a big match between Lex Luger and Crush tonight.

Damian Demento vs. Mr. PerfectYes, Damian Demento is still billed from “the Outer Reaches of your Mind.” I guess his WWF paychecks weren’t enough for him to move yet. His haircut is dreadful too, so he hasn’t been spending his money there either. Some leap frogs from Perfect and a dropkick forced Damian to regroup and talk to himself outside. Perfect gets knocked outside shortly after and takes out a cameraman by accident. Demento is getting in way more offense than I expected. I always just knew him as the guy Undertaker beat in the first Raw main event, but I’m surprised that he’s still around. Time for Perfect to get in his offense, with a high knee and his neck snap. He gets his knees up on a Demento splash and wins with the Perfect Plex.

Winner: Mr. Perfect in 4:56Solid little opener. In no way was this a great match, but Damian Demento looked decent and Mr. Perfect got in all of his signature stuff. **
Commentary informs us that Mr. Perfect is heading towards a WWF Intercontinental Title shot. I had no clue. We move to a clip of a kid who won an essay contest or something. She reads her essay, saying there’s no hope with dope. I had no idea where this was going until the FUCKING Undertaker randomly appears and says “there’s no hope with dope.” I nearly burst out laughing.

Bobby Heenan claims that he has it on good authority that a couple in the crowd is going to get engaged tonight, but he will make sure the girl says no.

Crush vs. The NarcissistVince McMahon tells us about the DREADED metal plate in Lex Luger’s forearm. Crush has, quite possibly, the greatest/worst mullet in history. I don’t expect a clean finish as both guys are relative stars during this time period. After Crush overpowers Luger, which he’s not used to, the woman who is going to be proposed to is shown. There’s another ugly woman behind her and Vince asks Bobby which is which, leading him to respond with “BOTH. SHE’S TWO HEADED.” I love the Brain. A test of strength ends when Crush gorilla press slams Luger. The crowd is hype for this, brudda. Vince tries to tell us that we can see the protrusion of Luger’s metal plate. Sure. We go to commercial and Crush is still kicking ass, with a belly to belly suplex. Luger does knock Crush outside and drives his back into the ring post. Inside, Luger gets two with a powerslam. This has been better than I expected. Crush comes back with a series of suplexes before applying the Coconut or Kona Crush or whatever it’s called. Luger is fading quickly but when Doink appears in the rafters, Crush stupidly breaks the hold. BUT WAIT! There’s two Doinks in the rafters! Luger levels Crush with an elbow that takes him outside and he’s counted out.

Winner via countout: The Narcissist in 10:47That was much better than I expected. Crush looked better than he usually does and I can’t remember any good Lex Luger matches, so this surprised me. **¾
An ad appears for King of the Ring, which I’m looking forward to getting to. Qualifying matches being on Superstars next weekend as Mr. Perfect takes on Doink on Superstars and Bob Backlund faces Lex Luger on Wrestling Challenge.

Mr. Hughes vs. Jason KnightOh crap. It’s the “sexiest man alive” Jason from ECW fame. Mr. Hughes drops him like a bad habit instantly. In the middle of the match, Bobby Heenan is actually flipping through channels. He laughs at the Braves before catching the “Baby Got Back” video and his reaction is great. Almost anything is better than a Mr. Hughes match. The squash is over with a slam.

Winner: Mr. Hughes in 2:08
Totally one sided. SQUASH 
A vignette airs for the Smoking Guns because they’ll be debuting soon. Cut to Vince McMahon in the ring as he introduces the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels. He badmouths New York City and Vince McMahon talks about “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan wanting a title shot. “Shawn is gay” chants bust out which shocked me for 1993. They bring up Lex Luger brawling with Mr. Perfect backstage at WrestleMania IX, which reminds me of why Perfect has a title shot coming. Shawn messes up a Sesame Street joke and Mr. Perfect shows up for a fight, but referees are holding him back. Shawn gets in a cheap shot and runs as Perfect gives chase.

We are taken to clips from Superstars where Bam Bam Bigelow was bullying Sherri until Tatanka came out and dropkicked him. Tatanka then came out to wrestle his match but was attacked and knocked unconscious by Bigelow, who then cut some of Tatanka’s trademark hair.

Typhoon vs. Von KrusThis is seriously going on last? Von Krus hammers away at the start, but it has no effect. Jim Duggan calls in because he gets an Intercontinental Title shot next week. It is his first shot at a title. Von Krus is actually getting some offense in. Typhoon splashes him to end this.

Winner: Typhoon in 2:37Despite Von Krus doing some stuff, this was a squash. SQUASH 
Bobby Heenan gets up and goes to the couple he’s been talking about all night. The man asks and Bobby Heenan nearly ruins it by being rather funny. She says yes and cries as we go to commercial.

Overall: 6/10; Average. The first show in a while that I enjoyed but it should have been structured better. Mr. Perfect’s win opening was great, but Crush/Luger should have gone on last. It was a good match and featured two big stars. Instead, we get to useless squashes the rest of the way. Or at least end the show with the Shawn Michaels interview, which at least built towards Shawn’s defense next week and his eventual clash with Mr. Perfect.

Labor Day Raw Review

In typical Raw fashion, we kick off with the WWE US & World Champion, Seth Rollins. He goes over the usual stuff that he discusses and the crowd chants "boring" for a bit. Seth did a good job with this, telling them that as the champ, he can talk for as long as he wants. Sting appears on the Titantron with Seth's statue and dares him to come get it. Then Sheamus comes out to basically say that he MIGHT cash in at Night of Champions since Seth is working twice. That's it. After a commercial, Seth complains to Stephanie and Triple H appears. He says that Sheamus will face Randy Orton tonight (eww) and Seth will wrestle twice. This should have been covered in the first segment because our opening match had to go to a quick commercial due to this. That match was Paige vs. Sasha Banks. They had a good match a few weeks back but last week's 1:40 stuff sucked. This was better, but not as good as the their first match. Things went well until we got a shitty finish where Naomi distracted the referee and Sasha got a rollup for the win. At least Sasha won and Paige looked devastated at the loss. I think it'll lead to Paige turning on her team since she's struggled so much since joining them.

So one of my favorite things about actually watching Smackdown last week was seeing the Ascension join Stardust as the Cosmic Wasteland. What happens on Raw? The Ascension appear with no Stardust and get sent to job in under three minutes to Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Couldn't some other jobbers have done this? Was this dropped? Why can't creative just be consistent for once? I get that Reigns and Ambrose had to win but they should have had different opponents. Where was Fandango or Adam Rose or something? The Wyatts cut a post match promo about their upcoming Night of Champions match but this wasn't very good.

We get a horrible TMZ like video package for the Summer/Dolph/Rusev/Lana angle. Then, Seth Rollins' first match of the night is Champion vs. Champion against The Ryback, with zero build. These matches are good ideas on paper but are kind of lose/lose. Either one guy eats a clean pin or one guy wins in rather cheap fashion and either way, nobody gains anything. They had a decent little match and Seth worked well with Ryback and of course, we get a distraction finish from Sting, allowing Ryback to roll him up. So far, a pretty bad show. Then things got amazing as New Day ran into Seth backstage with their trombone. Edge and Christian showed up and Seth left. E&C busted out their kazoos against the trombone and Big E ate one of the kazoos. Then the Dudley Boyz showed up, saying that it's New Day vs. PTP next week for the belts and the winners face the Dudleys at Night of Champions. It was surreal to see E&C and the Dudleys on TV next to the New Day, there were kazoos and a trombone, it was silly and generally all around enjoyable. New Day continues to be the highlight of Raw each and every week.

The awful TMZ like video airs again for some godforsaken reason and Summer Rae comes to the ring. She calls out Rusev to apologize to him. She blamed Ziggler, but also seemed to get way into the idea of a naked Dolph. Rusev accepted her apology and called her submissive. Ziggler showed up and Rusev called him a bad boyfriend for not being at Lana's side, now that she's injured. Dolph superkicks him and Rusev scurries with Summer. Overall, this was pretty dull, but Rusev continues to be the only relatively enjoyable thing about this entire program.

Up next, it's match number 121 in the never ending series between Orton & Sheamus. As usual, they have a match that is technically fine, but it's just there. There isn't much effort and it isn't very good. Orton wins with an RKO. Why couldn't Cesaro, who needs the win a million times more than Orton, have beaten Sheamus on Smackdown? Did Orton need this? Then, because Orton was talking with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns backstage, the Wyatt Family show up to take him out to avoid him being Ambrose and Reigns' partner at Night of Champions. So they beat up Orton but Ambrose and Reigns don't care enough to show up and try to help him. They pulled their best "John Cena" and didn't help their friend.

The Dudley Boyz appeared next for a tag team match against Los Matadores. They worked a short match, which is good since Matadores are a team going nowhere. For some reason, a Matador randomly attacks El Torito, so the Dudleys come in and put him through a table. I'm pretty sure Torito will still be Los Matadores this Friday since creative can't keep something going. Speaking of things not continuing, remember that Cesaro push we seemed to be headed towards? Well, it doesn't seem like we are. The crowd popped for him as he faced the Miz. Now, Miz plays a great cowardly heel and isn't in the midst of a push, so this should be a win for Cesaro. Easy booking right? Wrong. Big Show shows up to ruin things, we get a fucking double countout, so Cesaro can't even roll inside and win by countout while Show chases Miz. Then, to top things off, Big Show knocks out Cesaro. Why? What the fuck was this? 

Team Bella shows up to cut a promo about the party that will take place after Nikki breaks the record. It will be a "Bellabration." Sheesh. This brings out Team PCB and Charlotte says that her title match has been moved up to next week, where she can stop Nikki from breaking the record. They brawl and she makes Nikki tap to the figure eight. This was short, to the point and built to the match next week. I do think that they should have the clock on the tron during the match and have it tick down, adding some tension to it. That could be really good.

The main event was New Day and Rollins facing John Cena and the Prime Time Players. This was a fun match. Xavier Woods may top my Fave Five this week, purely for his trombone antics at ringside. He made this a million times better than it actually was. I thought Seth would take the loss, but instead, they had Cena pin Kofi after an AA. That was a better idea and still sold Seth being upset at two losses. Sting then showed up on the tron and destroyed Seth's statue in a trash compactor. So, after last week's dreadful Raw we get another bad episode. The only good thing was the New Day. Everything else was either average, bad or flat out completely dumb. Creative's lack of direction or ability to keep something going really hurts this show on a weekly basis. At least there are two matches for next week's "Season Premiere" that should be fun, but this was a lifeless episode. 3/10

Fave Five 8/31/15-9/6/15

1) Team AAA: Similar to Zack Sabre Jr. topping my list recently, another tournament winner on the indies headlines it this time around. Chikara's King of Trios Tournament is usually a fun experience and the team representing AAA won the entire thing. Their unit consisted of Aero Star, Drago and Fenix. I don't watch much AAA, but during my time watching Lucha Underground, I really liked Drago and Fenix, so this is pretty cool. Not only did the trio go through some of the best Chikara has to offer, but they defeated the Bullet Club (AJ Styles and the Young Bucks) to become the first ever non-Chikara group to win the tournament. That is a pretty historic feat for the these three, especially considering the fact that the Bullet Club team they went over featured three of the bigger names on the independent scene.

2) Ethan Carter III: Admittedly, it was a really slow week for the world of pro wrestling outside of Chikara. Ethan Carter III often gets overlooked when it comes to this list. He, like most TNA Champions, consistently defends his title and it's kind of taken for granted. This week, he retained the title against Matt Hardy. Not only was that a successful defense but he also won the services of Jeff Hardy in the process, making him his personal servant. There are a lot of things wrong with TNA, but EC3 remains the best part of the company. He is probably not going to be looked at when considering the guys who have had the best years because of how TNA is run, but EC3 continues to deliver each and every week.

3) Chad Gable and Jason Jordan: Outside of the New Day, there is no tag team that I like more right now than Chad Gable and Jason Jordan. Their matches have been solid, their promos have been fun and their finisher is simple, but I really like it. This week though, they had their breakout match of sorts. Main eventing NXT as part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic against Neville and Solomon Crowe, Jordan and Gable had probably my favorite match all week long. Gable is so enthralling to watch even when he's just working on the mat, while Jordan has the size and does some impressive things. They had a really good match, advanced in the tournament and honestly, should win the whole damn thing.

4) Bobby Roode: Despite the week being a relatively slow one, there was at least one title change. Just a few weeks after the former Justin Gabriel, PJ Black, won the King of the Mountain Championship in TNA, he lost it this week to Bobby Roode. I don't know much about the reasoning behind the King of the Mountain Championship or what it exactly means, but it is a title victory nonetheless. From what I've heard, this was a very good match, even better than the EC3/Matt Hardy one for the World Championship. The win also adds to Roode's very long list of accomplishments in TNA, as he's practically won everything that you could possibly win in the company.

5) Charlotte: It wasn't booked well and it was one of my least favorite things about Raw this past Monday, but Charlotte did win the Beat the Clock Challenge. The match that she won it in was pretty bad and only lasted 1:40, but she is still now the top contender to Nikki Bella and the Divas Championship. Not only this, but on Smackdown, she defeated Tamina and told Nikki that she is trying to get her title shot moved up to before Night of Champions, so she can try and prevent Nikki from breaking AJ Lee's record reign as Divas Champion. I get the feeling that Paige turns on her and stops that from happening, but still, Charlotte seems next in line.

Random Match Reviews: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Show: G1 Climax 23 Day Four
Date: 8/4/13
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Holy crap. I said that more times than I could count while watching this match. Coming in, I knew these are two dudes that hit very hard but I wasn't prepared for this. I watched on NJPW World with no entrances, so it started with the two men across from each other and a red hot crowd. Right from the bell, they just attack and proceed to spend the next 12 or so minutes just abusing each other. It's violent, it's stiff and it's everything you could want from a match between two badass dudes. There is zero downtime and the food I was eating got cold because I couldn't look away. Seeing both guys kick out at 1 at different times was just great. Knowing how legit their opponent is, both guys just throw any and everything in their arsenal to try and win and it's brilliant. I don't even really know any other words to describe this. Just go watch it. It'll be some of the best 12 minutes you've ever spent.

Match Time - 12:17 *****

Raw History: Episodes 11-12

Raw History

Episode #11

April 5th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in New York City, New York

Vince McMahon and Macho Man welcome the viewers to the show and I’m stoked at the lack of Rob Bartlett.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Virgil

Virgil works Bigelow’s arm in the early stages to “Virgil Sucks” chants. There goes those damn smark New York crowds. Virgil tries a dropkick to the knee or something but he just ends up laying under Bigelow. He tries a crucifix but Bigelow drops back and slams him. Vince McMahon reminds everyone that Lex Luger knocked out Bret Hart with his forearm before WrestleMania but this angle went absolutely nowhere. We are also told that Rob Bartlett is still in Las Vegas because he lost everything gambling. I really hope he’s gone for good. Bigelow is boring us as he works over Virgil. Virgil rallies but the crowd doesn’t care as he hits a missile dropkick. He tries a cross body but Bigelow wisely dodges and nails the headbutt to finish it.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 6:58

They tried to make this competitive but it was boring and the crowd wasn’t behind Virgil at all. *

Jerry Lawler comes out to make his in ring debut but as he berates the fans, they respond with “Burger King” chants. He gets upset and walks out. Cutting to the back, Mean Gene is with Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna. Mr. Fuji is somehow filing a complaint because Hulk Hogan beat Yokozuna in a match that wasn’t scheduled. YOU CHALLENGED HIM YOU IDIOT!

Bob Backlund vs. Kim Chee

This should be rough as its two guys that I’m not a fan of. Chee uses a cheap shot to gain the early advantage and Backlund seems like a terrible person to have on the roster as a plucky babyface. He gets two with a body slam and goes to a chin lock. Backlund ends up wrapping Chee into a strange roll up for the win.

Winner: Bob Backlund in 3:56

Boring. Kim Chee did all of the offense and then Backlund got a roll up. DUD.

Damien Damento vs. “Jumping” Jim Brunzell

I don’t understand this match. Rob Bartlett makes it worse by calling in and saying that he blew all of his money in Las Vegas and can’t make it back to Raw. Damento isn’t the kind of guy you want to see getting victories on TV and the Killer Bees were a thing of the past here. Brunzell gets a near fall with a small package and then another with a sunset flip. Vince sells the encore of WrestleMania and I’ve always wondered how well those encores sold. I believe I hear a smatter of “boring” chants and I’d have to agree. Brunzell hits a dropkick but Damento gets his foot on the ropes. Damento is instantly up and nails a neckbreaker before dropping a knee to win.

Winner: Damien Damento in 5:00

What the fuck was this doing on television and why did it last five minutes? Also, how do you win with a knee drop? Whatever. DUD.

Jerry Lawler goes to come out for his match again, but decides against it.

The Beverly Brothers vs. The Steiner Brothers

Scott and Bo start, with Scott gaining a clear upper hand. Bo then uses some underhanded tactics to even things up but a tag goes to the other Beverly. I still forget their names and can’t tell them apart. Rick and Scott work a short double team before Scott nails an overhead belly to belly for two. The Beverly Brothers, because they are heels, use a cheap shot to turn things back in their favor before the commercial. Vince calls Scott one of the strongest individuals in the WWF…if he only knew what Scott would become. Scott works as the face in trouble until a sloppy tilt a whirl slam. He makes the tag and Rick takes out Blake. Ah, so that’s the other Beverly’s name. Scott eventually is tagged back in for the Frankensteiner and it’s over.

Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 8:58

Decent tag team match. The Beverly Brothers were more competitive than I expected but the match was still kind of boring. *1/2

Jerry Lawler vs. Jim Powers

Is this some sort of special night where guys from the 80’s appear? Jim Powers attacks before the bell to make sure the match starts. Lawler gets a breather while having “Burger King” chants rain down on him. Lawler complains outside for a bit and when he gets in the ring, Powers takes control. King does a lot of stalling and this is dull but Jerry is drawing a TON of heat. Powers has been surprisingly strong throughout, getting most of the offense. Jerry jaws with Macho Man throughout and wins with the Piledriver.

Winner: Jerry Lawler in 6:47

Terrible. A lot of stalling from Jerry Lawler and Jim Powers isn’t engaging enough to interest me. DUD.

Jerry Lawler continues to badmouth Macho Man and the fans after his match.

Overall: 1.5/10; Horrible. Just not a good show. Coming off of a WrestleMania, no matter how disappointing that show is, should be kind of a big deal. Instead we got dull matches and barely any storyline development. No Bret Hart, no Mr. Perfect, no Lex Luger, no WWF Champion. All bad.

Raw History
Episode #12
April 12th, 1993 – Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York

The show opens with a shot of Money Inc. paying off the Beverly Brothers for scouting information about the Steiner Brothers. I appreciated this as it was a cool way to show off Money Inc.’s gimmick and wisely play up last week’s Steiners/Beverly Brothers match.

Vince McMahon, Macho Man and dammit, Rob Bartlett is back, are our commentary team. FRIAR FERGUSON DEBUTS TONIGHT!

IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Scott Steiner w/ Rick Steiner
This should prove to be interesting. IRS is one of the more dull workers that I can remember, while Scott was pretty great in the early 90’s. That’s exactly how this starts as IRS tries to work a methodical pace but just gets power slammed by Scott to a pop. Scott starts to work the arm and it strangely looks like IRS is smiling. Steiner gets a near fall with a suplex as IRS stalls outside. Being excellent heels, Ted Dibiase gets in a cheap shot on Scott outside, leading to a faceoff with Rick before commercial. Returning, IRS is the guy in charge. The “Irwin” chant bugs the hell out of me. It just makes the match seem even duller. Rob Bartlett goes to speak, only to be cut off instantly. IRS stupidly tries a top rope move that Vince wisely plays off as something the Beverly Brothers may have advised him off. It fails, leading to Scott’s offense. He is about to win when Ted Dibiase runs in and causes the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Scott Steiner in 12:30
Acceptable opening contest. The crowd was hot for Scott Steiner and it was two recognizable faces. It was rather dull, because that’s an IRS match for you, but still. *½

A brawl ensues, and the Beverly Brothers appear to join in, but they end up getting taken out too. Money Inc. ends up upsetting the Beverly Brothers, who challenge them, but the champs back down. I’m sorry, but I could never cheer the Beverly Brothers.

Tatanka vs. Von Krus
If you haven’t read my Raw History reviews before, you are probably unaware that Von Krus is Big Vito of WCW and later, WWE fame. Tatanka hits a monkey flip that Krus struggles to get over on. Tatanka is fresh off of beating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania, but not winning the title. Doink comes out to spray water at the kids at ringside. He leaves. Nothing more happens. Tatanka has done all of the offense here. He does his war dance offense and wins with the Samoan Drop in a match that went too long.

Winner: Tatanka in 3:59
Total squash, with a random Doink appearance and it went too long. Blah. SQUASH

We get the always classic WrestleMania Report, recapping the events from Las Vegas. Sean Mooney is hosting it. Rob Bartlett conducts an interview with Luna Vachon. For those unaware, Luna made her debut at WrestleMania, accompanying Shawn Michaels to the ring. She talks into the microphone with her trademark raspy voice. I never liked Luna, but she was different and that made her rather valuable. She calls out Sherri, leading to the crowd chanting for “Sherri.” Sherri is here and she comes down to greet Luna. They verbally spar before things get physical. She even takes out Bartlett, instantly making Sherri a favorite of mine. She FUCKING suplexes Luna on the outside. Some dudes wouldn’t even do that spot. Luna takes off her belt and whips her. I swear to you, this is better than most matches I’ve seen on these first few episodes of Raw. Sensational Sherri has her bra showing and Luna has her pants pulled down to reveal her underwear. Let’s be clear, this is A LOT of skin for 1993. It’s separated as we go to commercial. Coming back, Luna runs back out and attacks again.

Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Scotty 2 Hotty has to be the most consistent jobber I see that becomes something down the line. I’ve seen the Hardy Boyz here and there, but Taylor is always around. He tries a dropkick but is swatted like a fly. How much longer is Papa Shango around? As Shango works him over, Rob Bartlett stumbles back out with his clothes ripped. I guess he was in between the Luna/Sherri fight backstage. A shoulder breaker mercifully ends this.

Winner: Papa Shango in 2:24
Exactly what you would expect. SQUASH

Chris Duffy vs. Friar Ferguson
Friar Ferguson is the repackaged Bastion Booger. Or wait, he was Ferguson first. Whatever. Chris Duffy fails miserably on a piledriver attempt and eats a leg drop. During the match, a non-title match is announced for next week between Money Inc. and the Beverly Brothers. Friar dancing mid-match, so a small hand from the crowd. Is he a heel? Friar even sticks Duffy’s head into his outfit. A “We want Bret” chant breaks out, and rightfully so since he hasn’t been seen since WrestleMania. Duffy has gotten in zero offense and loses when his sunset flip fails and Friar sits on him.

Winner: Friar Ferguson in 4:22
Another squash that lasted way too long. Who thought this was a good idea? SQUASH

Bret Hart has a special interview next week, as well a match involving Virgil. Vince might have said against who, but I missed it and don’t care enough to rewind. Money Inc. trash talks the Beverly Brothers backstage, when they show up and attack. A brawl ends the show. I still am not sure why it’s so “heated.”

Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. Another Raw with not much forward angle advancement. The Steiners moved closer to an eventual Tag Team Title shot, but the Beverly Brothers getting involved was useless. We still haven’t seen Bret Hart or the Undertaker since WrestleMania, and the former was just the WWF Champion. Instead we had to sit through Friar Ferguson.