NXT TakeOver: London Review

TakeOver: London kicked off with a match between Asuka and Emma. They were given nearly fifteen minutes and really did well with it. Emma played the cautious heel, knowing that Asuka is one bad chick. Emma's heat segment lasted a while, as she tried to take the hot crowd out of it. Asuka fought back, using multiple hip attacks, but then we got a ref bump. Normally that is groanworthy, but it made sense here as it allowed Emma and Dana to get in some underhanded tactics. They teased an actual loss for Asuka via DQ and then again when she made Emma tap behind the referee's back, only for Emma to roll her up. Asuka knocked her out with a kick to win a really good opener that proved to be the match of the night for me. Emma came off great in a loss. The NXT Women's Division is in good hands if the focus is put on Bayley, Emma and Asuka. ***1/2

The NXT Tag Team Championship match followed up and the fans were MOLTEN hot for it. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady have been the most over tag team in NXT by a mile, though Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are quickly catching up to them. Here, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands for this. There was an old school vibe to it. Dash and Dawson just get how to work a classic tag match, doing all of the little things to draw heat. They cut the ring in half on Enzo and even when Cass got the tag, they went to work on his bad leg, looking like smart champions. The false finish of Enzo and Cass winning just brought the fans to their feet. When Dash and Dawson won with a super Shatter Machine, the crowd was absolutely crushed. At this point, I don't think Enzo and Cass are ever going to win the belts. This was a good performance by both teams, making for another good Tag Title match on a TakeOver. ***

Two of the bigger stars in NXT right now, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin, did battle next. I'd like to start by saying that I obviously see big things in the future for Crews, but there's something about Corbin's new heel persona that is just clicking. The character he's playing seems to fit him much better, which makes sense if his Breaking Ground persona is how he actually is. The match itself was rather slow and lost the crowd at some points, but it had some good points. Crews did a fantastic job of selling, while Corbin was on point with the trash talk. A highlight was him shouting for Crews to "go back to Ring of Honor", even though Crews wasn't really known for that promotion. Corbin surprised me by winning cleanly, giving Crews his first pinfall loss. Outside of a near fall after Crews hit a moonsault, this seemed to lack drama. They worked fine until the finish but it was certainly missing something.It looks like Corbin is next in line for a big time NXT Title match, so the win here made sense. Crews should be fine and is absolutely a guy I'd peg as a future NXT Champion. The match itself was decent at best. **1/4

In the co-main event slot, Bayley faced Nia Jax in a match where a lot of pressure was on. 2015 has seen the best women's matches in company history, but with Becky, Sasha and Charlotte exiting for the main roster, Bayley has the task of leading unproven ladies like Alexa Bliss, Eva Marie and Nia Jax around. This was expertly booked. Knowing that Nia isn't accomplished in the ring, they just had her play the dominating heel, while Bayley was the ultimate underdog babyface. It worked well, though Nia still seems unsure of herself at times. It's clear that she still needs tons of work, but with time, could become a good monster heel for the division. They played on the fans' emotions, with Nia obliterating Bayley and nearly winning a few times. Bayley didn't go all SUPERBAYLEY, but found a smart way to turn things around, wearing down Nia with a guillotine choke before making her submit. I'd rather Nia pass out instead of tap out, but this was a smartly worked match that was about as good as it could have been. **3/4

With the show in London, Finn Balor's "Demon" character had an added dimension, playing off of Jack the Ripper. It was really fucking cool. As for the match itself, I've seen high praise, but I didn't feel that way. Technically, it was fine, with two really good workers going at it. However, something about it felt hollow. For a match that was built on a friend turning on his buddy, there wasn't much in the way of emotion here. It was just two guys working a solid match. That's fine, but I wanted more. They teased the Samoa Joe victory a few times before Finn was able to retain with the Coup de Grace. A pretty good match to close out the show, but ultimately underwhelming. ***1/4

Coming into the show, this was one of the weaker TakeOver cards ever and honestly, it was probably the weakest TakeOver in execution. It's the only NXT special where I didn't give out at least one **** rating. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine way to spend two hours, but it lacked something to make it special.

NXT TakeOver: London Predictions

Honestly, outside of the NXT Title match, this is what I'm looking forward to the most. These are two of the three best female workers in NXT and they should have a really good match. Emma has been absolutely nailing her new heel role, including the more vicious aspects she's shown in recent weeks. Asuka has been pretty must-see, showing off some incredible skills in her short time in NXT. Asuka has been booked as a dominant badass, and I don't see her losing just yet. Except a good to great outing from both women.

Winner: Asuka

I like both of these guys, I really do. Apollo Crews has the potential to be a future NXT and WWE Champion, while Baron Corbin has really grown over the past few months. The heel role really suits him and his in ring work has come a long way, delivering some solid performances. I expect a hard hitting match since this feud has been built pretty well. It'll be odd to see Corbin lose again after being so dominant for so long, but losses to Samoa Joe and Crews, two of the top guys, won't be so bad. Crews wins here because I don't see him taking his first pinfall loss until his next NXT Title match.

Winner: Apollo Crews

I don't understand the booking of NXT tag team division. At TakeOver: Brooklyn, you had the perfect opportunity to put the titles on the hottest team, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. They had just lost to BAMF because of Alexa and were insanely over in New York. Instead, the Vaudevillains won. Their reign was short and the belts were put on Dash and Dawson. Now, Enzo and Cass get a shot when Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are the hottest team in the division. Would they really have Dash and Dawson drop the titles already? Why have Cass and Enzo lose another big time TakeOver match? Unfortunately, that's what I see happening.

Winners: Dash and Dawson

2015 has been the year of phenomenal women's matches on NXT TakeOver specials. From the Fatal Four Way at Rival to the Ironman match at Respect, I've given every TakeOver women's match at least ****. I don't see that happening here. That's okay though. With three of the four horsewomen gone, there has to be some new women established. I would rather see Emma or Dana get this chance, but Nia Jax is interesting. I believe that Bayley can help her along well enough to a good, solid match. This is the match I'm split on. On the one hand, Bayley retaining makes the most sense. On the other, Bayley followed a similar path to Sami Zayn, who only held the NXT Title for a few months before dropping it. That could be what happens to Bayley. I'll go with my heart and pick Bayley to retain though.

Winner: Bayley

The arrival of Samoa Joe to NXT, after wasting away his prime years in TNA, didn't really interest me the way it did for a lot of other people. Since turning heel though, he seems to have turned it up a notch, though he's not on the level of Kevin Owens as a top heel in NXT. If they plan on bringing Finn Balor up to the main roster soon, Joe could be a good choice to run with the belt for a bit, before dropping it to a returning Hideo Itami. Two things make me go the other way. One, I don't see Finn getting called up soon and two, Joe has dominated this rivalry. Finn has to win to make up for that a bit.

Winner: Finn Balor

Top Five 12/7/15-12/13/15

1) The New Day: Guess who was the most over act at TLC? Once again, it was New Day. They kicked off the show and competed in the best match of the night. I'm actually planning a Top 100 Matches of 2015 list and, spoiler alert, this match knocked one off the list and joined in. It was a fantastic ladder match, probably the best of the a year that included many good to great ones (Ambrose/Rollins, Finn/Owens, Mania IC Title). The other teams certainly did their part, especially the Lucha Dragons, earning themselves a spot at the bottom of the list this week. Kofi Kingston got to retrieve the belts in his hometown, earning the New Day another successful defense of the belts and a win in a great match.

2) Dean Ambrose: I was completely against the idea of Kevin Owens dropping the Intercontinental Title already. I would have liked him to be booked like a dominant champion until a debuting Sami Zayn dethroned him. Still, if he had to lose to anyone, dropping the belt to Dean Ambrose was the way to go. The guy has been absurdly over since last summer, but lost feuds to Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt, while also failing to win the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania. Then he's been relegated to Roman Reigns' little buddy, but has managed to stay popular. Hopefully, this means we'll have a champion that makes the belt seem important, but it most likely won't. The match itself wasn't great, but it is a nice accomplishment for Ambrose.

3) Sheamus:  From what I could tell, the crowd in Boston wanted nothing to do with the main event of TLC. Sheamus and Roman Reigns has been a horribly booked mess. The crowd was shitting on the match, forcing the guys to seemingly try and up the ante, nearly killing each other for a reaction. Honestly, for the first two-thirds of this match, Sheamus looked great. He was a badass that kicked the face's ass in ways that he couldn't come close to in the weeks leading up to the show. He needed help in the end, but still managed to retain the belt in a pretty good match. The biggest complaint is that, once again, Sheamus and the WWE Title were a complete afterthought at the close of the show.

4) Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma: New Japan's World Tag League has dominated the month of December. Going in and looking at the teams involved, I figured Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma would come out as winners. The Finals were this week and it featured them against the the teams with the most points, Tetsuya Naito and EVIL, representing Los Ingobernables. I didn't catch all of the tournament, but was able to see the finals and thought it was a really solid match. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma won, and now earn an IWGP Tag Team Title shot at Wrestle Kingdom against Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows of the Bullet Club. It's a high profile match for a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and one of the most popular stars in the company.

5) The Lucha Dragons: The only people on the list here that did not pick up a win in their biggest match are the Lucha Dragons. On Raw, they did defeat the Tag Team Champions, the New Day before repeating that effort on Smackdown. However, at TLC, they competed in a Triangle Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles and came up short. The reason they make the list is because of their performance. The Lucha Dragons pulled out all of the stops, doing some insane spots. The biggest of which saw Kalisto hit Salida Del Sol off a ladder and through another one, in a spot that will most likely be replayed for years to come among the greatest and craziest spots in WWE history.

TLC 2015 Review

At basically the last minute, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were added to the Kickoff Show. They had Team BAD come out and do a "12 Days of Christmas" parody song that came off terribly. Sasha was super over with her hometown crowd but this piss poor promo killed them. They tried making them a female New Day, but the New Day stuff works because of the delivery of all three men. It failed with these girls. Sasha and Becky worked hard, but the match's rhythm got thrown off by an excessively long commercial break (on their own Network) and the dead crowd. These girls went from a great match at TakeOver: Unstoppable to working a heatless Pre-Show match. Commentary was also horrible, mistaking the Bank Statement and DIs-Arm-Her several times. Sasha won with the Bank Statement at 11:43. **1/2

Last year, TLC opened with Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper having a great ladder match. This year, another great ladder match kicked things off. The New defended their Tag Team Titles against the Usos and Lucha Dragons. Just like the year before, this stole the show. They worked a lot of the ladder matches spot that we're accustomed to early on, before building to some different and innovative ones. One highlight being Big E basically bench pressing the ladder from being trapped under it with the Lucha Dragons climbing. The biggest moment saw Kalisto hit a damn Salida Del Sol off a ladder and through another one. It was the sickest, more insane spot I saw all year long. Xavier Woods got involved, because it's "NO DQ", throwing the trombone at Kalisto and stopping him from winning. That allowed New Day to retrieve the straps at 17:56. Excellent opener that was probably the best ladder match in a year full of good ones. ****1/4

After an opener like that, you expect a cool down match and that's just what we were given. Rusev took on Ryback in a match that another last minute addition. I honestly don't get why I should boo Rusev. He's just a man that loves his country and his woman. He sounds like a swell guy to me. Ryback implied that Lana slept with Dolph Ziggler on Raw. I think it's clear that Rusev is the face. They did some stuff, but none of it was really interesting. They should have just beat the hell out of each other like two big men, but it didn't really work. Lana feigned an injury again, putting Rusev in control. Ryback survived a bit more offense but lost to the Accolade at 8:07. A nothing match. *1/2

Two talented guys met in another match that had next to no heat. Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger were given the Chairs match stipulation and did okay to work with it. They went after the chairs quickly and used them often. Swagger had a pretty cool spot here he put the ankle lock on while Del Rio's foot was trapped in a chair. The problem is, Swagger has been irrelevant for so long that nobody bought him as a legitimate threat. Del Rio beat John Cena clean, in seven minutes. Why would Swagger be able to dethrone him less than two months later. Del Rio won after 11:23 with a double stomp onto chairs. They worked hard but the crowd was dead, which is more of a blame on the build during this program. The fans had no reason to care. **1/4

The Wyatt Family took on Team ECW in a Tables match that I didn't care about in the least. The Wyatts have looked like jokes in big matches and Team ECW shouldn't be a thing in 2015. When it was about to start, I realized that I wanted it to be an annihilation like the Shield did to Kane and the New Age Outlaws at WrestleMania XXX. We nearly got a clean sweep but it wasn't really domination. Erick Rowan got eliminated because he's the clear weak link. Then the rest of the Wyatts sent Team ECW packing in a match that didn't really have much flow. It was pretty much a garbage, throwaway match to get the Wyatts a win on PPV. The win didn't even do anything for me since they always win these midcard PPV matches, but lose the big ones. It went 12:38 and I wish I could have most of that time back. *1/2

Considering the styles of both men, I'm very surprised they didn't get a specialty match. I thought their first match at Survivor Series was really strong but this left something to be desired. They worked in their signature stuff, with both guys getting their stuff in. A cool spot came when Kevin Owens did a second rope Finlay roll. Dean Ambrose hit the Dirty Deeds, but Owens got his finger on the bottom rope to break the pin. Then, Ambrose rolled through a Popup Powerbomb with a rana rollup to capture the title at 9:52. It felt very anti-climactic, not just as a finish, but as a match entirely. They are capable of much more and hopefully, their third match reaches great status. **3/4

The WWE Divas Title match was probably the worst booked thing coming into the show. Both girls have acted like complete heels, which is especially strange after Charlotte was supposedly a sympathetic babyface for the Reid comment. The stuff Paige and Charlotte did in the match wasn't particularly bad. However, the storytelling continues to be abysmal. That really ends up hurting the overall score. None of what they do makes a lick of sense so why should I give a damn? Paige looked like a total idiot by pinning Charlotte right by Ric and then being surprised when Ric put Charlotte's leg on the bottom rope. Charlotte then used an exposed turnbuckle to retain at 10:39. I don't even know what this was. I can watch wrestling in other languages that I understand more than the Divas division. *3/4

The main event had a tough task. They had to work a TLC match that the fans didn't want to see. The fans chanted for a bunch of other things, which had to bother the competitors. It looked like they tried to do extra stuff to get the fans into it, nearly killing each other with some big bumps. Reigns got close to winning before the League of Nations, sans Wade Barrett intervened. Reigns overcame that and still nearly won, but ate a Brogue Kick and Sheamus retained at 24:02. This was a fine match but the fact that the booking had been so bad going in that the crowd hated it, again hurt things. They worked hard but it ultimately didn't lead to anything great. ***1/4

After the match, an angry Roman Reigns attacked the League of Nations with a steel chair, again making them look like a bunch of chumps. Triple H and Stephanie tried to calm things down but Reigns attacked Triple H. He Superman punched him, powerbombed him on a table, elbowed him through the table and hit a Spear. The idea of badass Reigns is great, but the execution felt off to me. Triple H should have been the one to cost him the match and they shouldn't have had Stephanie there as a pleading wife, begging for mercy. Overall, the show was on the lesser scale of Pay-Per-Views his year, along with Extreme Rules, Royal Rumble and Fastlane. One great match and one or two decent ones surrounded by crap. 4.5/10.

TLC Predictions

You'll notice a trend here. A match that doesn't really make sense. Alberto Del Rio returned with Zeb Colter for reasons that were never really explained. We got told about MexAmerica very often but the point of it wasn't well explained and we never really got a backstory. Jack Swagger returned to question why Zeb would align himself with Del Rio. Is it simply because he's Mexican or because of their history? If they really wanted MexAmerica to be a thing, wouldn't Zeb have tried to get his former client involved? Anyway, this led to Swagger and Del Rio feuding, only for Del Rio to join the League of Nations and dump Zeb. So now two guys are having a match over Zeb Colter, and Zeb isn't in either guy's corner. Del Rio retains because it's Jack Swagger.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

When TNA can't let go of the ECW thing, it's dumb. When the WWE does it, it's still dumb. I was all for a Dudley Boyz return, even if their feud with New Day disappointed. Nothing about this really interests me. The Wyatts will win because they can beat unimportant people, but lose the big matches. This isn't a big match.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

Seriously, what the fuck is this feud? Heading into Survivor Series, Paige mentioned Reid Flair out of nowhere to try and build a personal rivalry. The match at the PPV did not follow the flow of what you'd expect a bitter feud to be. The next night, they had a more physical match and it looked like they were headed to a more personal PPV match. Suddenly, creative threw everything out the window. Becky Lynch was brought into play, but not in a logical way. The sympathetic face champion, who just defended the honor of her dead brother, randomly started being a dirty player like her dad (I mean, she uses everything else her dad does, but still). So, why should I root for Charlotte? Why should I cheer Paige? Why am I asking questions about a division that creative gives zero fucks about? Charlotte retains because Paige is gonna go to 0-6 on PPV/Network special Divas Title matches this year.

Winner: Charlotte

This should be a blast. The New Day have easily been the most entertaining thing on the main roster since the summer, while the Lucha Dragons are my second favorite active main roster tag team. The Usos are still good to have around for good matches and they're pretty over. I don't expect this to reach the levels of the old school triple threat ladder matches, but it should still honestly steal the show. I truly believe that the belts should stay on the New Day but I think the WWE is going to want faces with some belts. I also think that if the New Day have to drop the straps, it should be to the Lucha Dragons. What I think will happen though, is another Usos title reign.

Winners: The Usos

One of only two matches that I'm looking forward to. I was excited for the Survivor Series match, which turned out to be really good, but just shy of great. At first, I was surprised this wasn't given one of the stipulations. After thinking about it, I realized there is a lot of time in between TLC and the Royal Rumble. That means we can expect endless rematches between these two over the next few weeks of Raw and Smackdown. That being said, this should be another solid match between two guys that can't afford a loss. I'm holding out hope that Owens remains champion until he faces a debuting Sami Zayn leading to a match at WrestleMania.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Man, this is one unenthusiastic main event. They've had some okay matches on Raw in recent months, but nothing about this screams PPV headliner. To make an already unappealing WWE Title match even worse, the weeks leading up to this show have been atrocious. Sheamus gets a new stable and Roman Reigns lays them out. Then Reigns beats all four members via countout on Smackdown. Then on Raw, Reigns pinned Sheamus and, to top it all off, he then made Sheamus look like a joke in arguably the worst go home Raw closing segment of all time. It's like, you put this terrible dish in front of us, and instead of trying to make it more appetizing, you dropped it on the floor and made it even worse. If Sheamus wins, Reigns comes up short on the big stage again. If Reigns wins, Sheamus looks like even more of a joke than he already has. Contrary to what other "writers" will tell you, this is a lose/lose situation. I go with Sheamus because the WWE likes to job out the champion, then have him retain through nefarious terms.

Winner: Sheamus

2015 Prediction Record: 56-33

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

Random Network Reviews: Old School 3/6/97

Old School
March 16th, 1997 | Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York

Well, so far I’ve only reviewed one show from the WWE Network’s Old School Vault and it wasn’t very good. What I saw was a dull affair from 1991 where nobody seemed to put in any real effort. Hopefully, the results are different as I see one from one of, if not the best year in pro wrestling history, 1997. This also takes place in my favorite wrestling venue, Madison Square Garden.

The Old School Vault intro video is pretty damn cool. Commentary consists of Jim Ross and Jim Cornette so that should be good. They run down the card, which sounds pretty solid.

Flash Funk w/ the Funkettes vs. The Sultan w/ Bob Backlund and Iron Sheik
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but for those who don’t know, the Sultan is Hall of Famer Rikishi. Flash Funk’s theme plays and stops about four times. The Sultan is offended by Flash’s ridiculous gear, attacking him at the bell. Flash’s theme continues to play in the background. Someone fire the music guy. Flash fights back with some funky moves. Yea, I just did that. Sultan regroups outside and I thought Flash would dive out but he just waits patiently. He stupidly falls for a test of strength but does use his athleticism to get the upper hand. Sultan fires back with a superkick. Sultan gets in more offense before Flash hits a nice splash for two. He goes back up with a 360 leg drop but Sheiky Baby distracts the referee. He goes up again but comes down on Bob Backlund outside. When he goes back in, he tries a hurricanrana but Sultan catches him with a powerbomb. He turns over into the camel clutch and that’s a wrap.

Winner: The Sultan in 7:41
Better than I expected it to be. When I saw Sultan go outside and we got no dive from Flash, I thought they were just going to kill time. Instead, they worked pretty hard and this was decent.**

The Godwins vs. The New Blackjacks
Like the previous match, we get an attack before the bell. The Blackjacks are the heels. The Godwins try a double team and it is super awkward. Henry is supposed to slam Phineas onto Bradshaw, but Phineas sets too early and just strangely hugs Henry. Hank gets two with a suplex. Windham, the veteran on the team, hits a low blow behind the official’s back, turning the tide. During this, commentary hypes the upcoming Four Team Elimination Tag match at WrestleMania. These two teams, Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon and the Headbangers go at it. Sounds like it will suck. Windham hits a nice back suplex for a near fall as they work heat on Phineas because he sucks so hard. Things break down as everyone is in the ring. The Blackjacks misfire on a double team, allowing Henry to slam Bradshaw from the top. He hits a belly to belly suplex for two, while Phineas and Windham brawl outside. He then hits the Slop Drop, but Windham and Bradshaw pull of twin magic after a double axe handle to win.

Winners: The New Blackjacks in 8:09
Went a bit too long for not being very good. Also, how does that finish work when the teammates don’t even look alike? *¼

Dok Hendrix is in the ring and introduces Bret Hart, who has an upcoming Steel Cage match against Sycho Sid. They discuss Bret being on his way to a fifth WWF Title, which was such a huge deal back then. Now, five World Titles is nothing. They promote the upcoming I Quit match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin as well, which would be arguably the best match in WrestleMania history.

Aldo Montoya vs. Crush w/ the Nation of Domination
Why god why? I didn’t even know Aldo Montoya was still even around at this point. The first move of this thing is a damn sleeper hold from Aldo. It’s quickly broken and Aldo hits a much better cross body. Crush does nothing until hitting the Heart Punch and winning.

Winner: Crush in 1:46
Thank goodness this was kept short. Inoffensive. *

The Nation put the boots to Aldo Montoya because they like the Portuguese as little as they like the white man. Ahmed Johnson and his 2x4 run out for the save and he chases off the Nation. We go to what seems like a commercial and when we return, Ahmed is calmly walking out to his theme for a match.

Ahmed Johnson vs. Savio Vega w/ the Nation of Domination
We are taken to footage from Madison Square Garden two months prior where Ahmed Johnson teamed with Savio Vega against Faarooq and Crush. Savio turned on Ahmed that night. Everyone who just ran off walks back out now. Why? Savio cuts a promo before the match and it is fucking awful. Ahmed fakes like he’s joining the Nation but attacks instead. Ahmed starts hot but Savio ends up taking over because Ahmed is the epitome of a hot tag guy. His style doesn’t allow for him to get in much in a match that goes over five minutes. They go to a commercial, since this was broadcast on MSG Network in New York, and when they come back, Savio has a sleeper applied. Ahmed and his wedgie begin to Hulk Up but a missed scissors kick allows Savio to kick him. Crush goes to use the 2x4 but it backfires as Ahmed hits both him and Savio. A spinebuster and Pearl River Plunge follow. The Nation jumps in to cause the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Ahmed Johnson in 6:47
Painfully dull and worthless. Well, it did advance the Ahmed Johnson/Nation feud but it was pretty damn boring. ½*

Faarooq comes out to join in on this beat down, whipping Ahmed Johnson like a government mule.

WWF Tag Team Championship
British Bulldog and Owen Hart (c) vs. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon
British Bulldog is also the current European Champion. Doug Furnas and Owen Hart start with a cool wrestling exchange. Both teams go back and forth for a while, which is fine since all four men are talented workers. I don’t think that Owen and Bulldog get enough credit for good they were as a team. Owen miscues and dropkicks Bulldog off the apron, as they were building towards a split that ended up never happening. After a commercial, the faces are working over Owen. Lafon rolls up Bulldog at one point but Owen distracts the referee. He did all of the little things to be a great heel, while still having an entertaining ring style. Owen gets the tag and nails Lafon with the Enziguri of death for two. Lafon plays the face in peril for a good chunk of time here. Furnas gets the hot tag and suplexes the hell out of Bulldog. He busts out a sweet hurricanrana but Owen breaks the pin. Furnas goes for another suplex, but Owen trips him up and holds the leg, allowing Bulldog to get the three.

Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: British Bulldog and Owen Hart in 11:20
Best match of the night so far. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it featured good tag formula and everyone seemed to actually work hard. Four talented guys who know what they’re doing out there and had the crowd involved. ***

Time for another promo as Ken Shamrock, the special referee in the Submission match at WrestleMania 13 gets interviewed. Or I guess not. After hyping that, we go to a backstage promo with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna. Hunter really stuck to the basics here.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Rocky Maivia (c) vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna
I reviewed their match a month prior at In Your House: Final Four for a podcast a while back and it was extremely basic. Their early spots are done to showcase Rocky’s agility as he nips up, leap frogs and snaps off a decent dropkick. As Hunter takes advantage, we go to commercial and Hunter gets a near fall. As I said with his promo, Hunter, at this point in his career, was really doing the very least he could as a heel. You could see that he truly was a student of the game as he utilized all of the little cheap heat things he could. Chyna assists him on an abdominal stretch at one point, though they get caught. Rocky gets knocked outside as Chyna goes to do something but Earl Hebner again catches her. Rocky begins to rally though some fans are chanting “boring”. They do somewhat pop for Rocky’s float over DDT. He goes up top to connect with the cross body but Chyna pulls him off of the pin. Hunter connects on the Pedigree but Goldust runs in to cause a DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 12:45
Like their other matches in this era, this was very standard stuff. Hunter wasn’t very exciting as a heel here and Rocky wasn’t lighting the world on fire as a face. **

Goldust continues the assault until Chyna gets in his face. Marlena runs in and jumps on Chyna’s back until officials break it up. Her top breaks but nothing is seen. After a commercial, Sunny is brought out. She was at a point where she was doing a lot of nothing but was too popular to not be featured. She models a shirt and seems like she’s going to take it off but she doesn’t. She ring announces the next match and is the worst at it.

Faarooq w/ the Nation of Domination vs. Goldust w/ Marlena
Before the bell, Faarooq cuts a promo saying that he won’t wrestle a fairy. Times were certainly different in 1997 weren’t they? Goldust attacks him anyway and we get a slugfest. Goldust barely gets in any offense and it’s boring as hell. Faarooq hits his finisher and wins even though Goldust’s foot is on the ropes.

Winner: Faarooq in 5:23
It’s like nothing happened but it lasted five minutes. This was awful. DUD

Dok Hendrix interviews the WWF Champion, Sycho Sid. He says that he would beat Bret Hart eight days out of the week, before turning his attention to Undertaker. Sid stumbles through this entire thing and it is a fantastic watch.

Casket Match
Undertaker vs. Vader w/ Paul Bearer
Even though Vader’s momentum was stalled in 1996 when Shawn Michaels refused to put him over, he did beat Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. With Undertaker being the top contender for the WWF Title, Vader has a claim to a title shot after if he wins. They trade blows at the bell before Undertaker clotheslines him down. They also had good big man brawls. Undertaker sends Vader outside and he hits the casket on his way out. Undertaker gets a chair and whacks Vader in the back as they go to commercial. Returning, Vader is pounding away as we’re told that Paul Bearer hit Undertaker with the urn. Jim Ross wisely brings up how hot Vader has been after Final Four, in which he had a phenomenal performance. Vader goes to leap from the second rope but Taker catches him with a body slam. He follows with a Chokeslam and the Tombstone. As Undertaker opens the casket, Mankind pops out and puts him in the Mandible Claw. It’s the same spot they ran like ten months prior when Undertaker faced Goldust. Undertaker is placed in the casket and the lid shuts.

Winner: Vader in 5:16
Surprisingly result here and way shorter than I expected. Since it was short, it never dragged and the two big men always work well together. This wasn’t up there with their best, but still pretty solid. **½

Undertaker comes right out and beats up Mankind. Vader doesn’t give a damn as he leaves Mankind to take a beating. Undertaker puts Mankind in the casket and sends the fans home happy.

Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. For a house show, this was pretty good. A lot of the Old School Vault shows tend to feature a ton of guys phoning it in because it’s an untelevised event. Granted, there were some stinkers here but the show moved by quickly and nothing overstayed its welcome. The Tag Team Title match was damn good but everything else only ranged from bad to average. Next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Armageddon 2004!

Top Ten Thursday: Current NXT Performers

Today, we look at my top ten current NXT performers. This list is based on a few different things. One, they have to currently be part of the NXT roster. Two, if you are injured, you are not included (that mainly means Hideo Itami). Lastly, the criteria to choose the ten consists of overall ability and potential for star power in the future.

10. Dana Brooke and Emma

We start the list with a duo of girls that I never expected to click but just work so well. When she debuted in NXT, Dana Brooke was pretty awful. She didn’t seem to know what her character was supposed to be and she was incredibly green in the ring. Meanwhile, Emma is someone that I’ve always liked, but the heel turn was something she absolutely needed. Pairing them together has worked out so much better than expected. Dana has grown into her role, is now serviceable in the ring and is one of the better Divas on the microphone. Emma has really been clicking as of late in her aggressive role heading into the feud with Asuka, improving on promos and has always been really solid in the ring. They’re become a very enjoyable part of the weekly NXT shows and there is potential for a future on the main roster. Dana and Emma play the mean girl role better than the Bella Twins and I could see them filling that slot if or when the Bella Twins are done with wrestling.

9. Baron Corbin 

Similar to Dana Brooke, Baron Corbin came in and didn’t impress much. He was only given very short squash matches that would barely last thirty seconds. It wasn’t until I saw him live in Cleveland and Columbus against Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze that I really started to see something. The fans gave him shit and he just seemed to love the boos. I knew there was a really good heel somewhere in there, which he has been able to bring out lately. The gimmick of a guy that didn’t need the indies and has had successful runs in other endeavors is pretty great. I think they should have gone further with it and had him target guys that were big on the independent scene. Granted he has faced Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews recently, but I still think it would have been sweet if he went after them because of their indy darling status. He is still very much a work in progress in the ring and on the microphone, so while there is potential, there’s still a ways to go.

8. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

 It baffles me that this team has yet to hold the NXT Tag Team Titles. In a division that has mostly been the weak point of NXT, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady have somehow never won the top prize. This is being written before their match at TakeOver: London, where they could very win the titles and make what I’m saying somewhat of a moot point. Not only are they insanely over (just check out the NXT episode from Brooklyn where they were more over than anyone not named Finn, Kevin, Sasha or Bayley), but they’ve improved in the ring. Enzo was among the worst in-ring performers that NXT had a while back though he’s since upped his game. That especially stood out to me at TakeOver: Unstoppable back in May. Carmella has gone from sidekick that nobody liked to one of the more popular females on the roster, while adding something to the duo. With their opening promo, they give off a New Age Outlaws vibe. Honestly, if they can be even half as over as the Outlaws on the main roster, then there is serious money to be made with them. I don’t see either guy as a singles star, so the team should stay together for a long time.

7. Samoa Joe

 Some people are going to find this to be a very low slot for a guy like Samoa Joe. Believe me, I was 100% into Samoa Joe when I first saw him in 2005. The dude was something different and had an aura about him that nobody even came close to matching in the era. Unfortunately, Joe wasted the best years of his career working for TNA. Now, I’m not someone who hates TNA completely, but their handling of Joe was mostly piss poor and it ruined him. By the time he left and signed with NXT, he was just another guy. Now, his heel turn in NXT has seemed to reignite him and lit a fire under his ass, but I just can’t get behind him. It’s like, he’s trying to be the badass that Kevin Owens was back in NXT, but is doing it on a lesser scale in a less impactful way. While I would like to see him on the main roster for some of the matches (especially one against his buddy John Cena), it seems like his deal really only has him working NXT. Combine that with his age and the potential factor takes a big hit. Still, it is pretty cool to see Joe in a WWE ring.

6. Asuka

 Her signing was made out to be a massive deal, with William Regal even calling her the greatest talent NXT had ever inked. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the woman is pretty great. From her debut match against Dana Brooke, it was clear that she was something different. She’ll bust out an armbar from out of nowhere, kick the hell out of her opponent and mock them, all within a minute. Some of her mannerisms aren’t my favorite, but it’s something she can work on. Her in ring work is above pretty much every girl in NXT, so not much work has to be done there. The biggest thing that I think will hold her back is her nationality. Historically, most Japanese Superstars haven’t fared too well in the WWE, partially due to a language barrier. I unfortunately see the same thing happening to Hideo Itami if he gets the main roster call. Personally, I’d pair Asuka with a mouthpiece. Maybe as the first Paul Heyman girl? Have her run over Divas like she’s a female Brock? Just throwing random ideas out but you get the picture.

5. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

 Chad Gable is really good. Like, scary good. He just gets it. The dude has a blend of charisma and technical skill that I haven’t seen come together so effortlessly since Kurt Angle. Jason Jordan was someone that was going absolutely nowhere until he showed up. Now, that’s not because Jordan is lacking skills. Jordan was just missing something and nothing that was done for him had clicked. His chemistry with Gable is off the charts though and they’ve quickly become my favorite team to watch wrestle in all of the WWE. Honestly, outside of reDRagon and New Day, they’re my favorite tag team in the world. On a recent episode of Breaking Ground, Jordan stated that he wanted them to be THE team in the WWE. He wants them to be the ones called if they need a great wrestling match, an entertaining outing and everything in between. That’s absolutely what they should be. Gable and Jordan should be multi-time WWE Tag Team Champions in the near future.

4. Apollo Crews

 After the signing of the “NXT Five”, there weren’t many guys left on the indies that stood out to me. Sure there was Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, Timothy Thatcher and a few others, but it’s a smaller list than it was a few years ago. The former Uhaa Nation might be the biggest pickup since the likes of Owens, Zayn, Balor, Neville and Itami. While Samoa Joe had the bigger name coming in, the sky is the limit for Apollo Crews. He just seems to have it all. He has a look that Vince McMahon and higher ups love, built similar to a Bobby Lashley, while also having the freakish athleticism, wrestling ability and indy background that a lot of the diehard fans love. Win/win. He’s only been in NXT less than four months, but already has two wins on TakeOver shows (again, this is being written before the London show) and has wrestled against Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. Even though his promo work hasn’t wowed anyone, he’s believable and does relatively fine in that department. If he can step up his game in that department, we could very well be looking at the first fully African-American WWE Champion.

3. Bayley

I’m not sure how legit the report was, but a few months ago, I read that Bayley’s “I’m a Hugger” shirt was the best-selling Diva shirt in all of WWE. She wasn’t beating the Bellas or Paige in total merchandise sales, since those girls have about a thousand things on WWE Shop, but the shirt itself was beating their shirts. While Bayley is on in NXT. If the WWE plays their cards right, they are sitting on a gold mine in Bayley. Adults like Bayley because she’s really good in the ring and she reminds a lot of us of our childhood love for pro wrestling. Children like her for many obvious reasons. Honestly, it’s hard to not love the girl. She is already making tons of waves while in NXT, so more exposure could do her wonders. This is all if the main roster handles her right. Keep Bayley similar to how she is now and you’ve got a star. She could very well be the female John Cena in terms of her appeal as a babyface. She’s gotten much more comfortable in talking roles, meaning that she could advance as a public speaker for the company down the line. Simply put, Bayley is money.

2. Finn Balor

 The current NXT Champion was one of the few guys that I pegged as a star almost instantly. Before his debut in NXT, I had never seen Prince Devitt’s work. Obviously, I’ve gone back and done so, but something about Finn Balor just screamed star. Then I saw him debut the paint at TakeOver: R-Evolution and I was sold. Everything about the guy is just so different and it works. No, he’s not the best on the microphone, but neither was a guy named Jeff Hardy and he was the most over guy of the past decade not named John Cena or Daniel Bryan. Finn can connect with people in different ways. Women seem to love him because he’s attractive, men seem to love him because he’s great in the ring and children seem to love him because he’s really cool. He’s made it clear that he isn’t in any rush to make the main roster, instead wanting to be the face of NXT. That’s fine, but you have to think that Triple H knows there is a potential megastar in Finn Balor and they’ll want to squeeze every last cent out of him. If Finn Balor gets the call up, and of course is handled right, watch out.

1. Sami Zayn

 While I didn’t count Hideo Itami because he’s on the shelf, I included Sami Zayn since he’s already  had return vignettes and is scheduled to work the UK Tour, which should have happened by the time this article runs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more natural babyface than Sami Zayn. While John Cena is the clean cut, white meat babyface of the current era, he’s nowhere near as likable as Sami. I don’t even think Daniel Bryan is. Notice how I’ve said that a lot of these guys/girls have potential on the main roster if handled correctly. Sami is one guy that I think will become a star regardless. He’s going to have a Daniel Bryan like effect on the crowd. There’s just something about Sami that infects the fans with joy. If he’s mishandled, the fans will want more because you just have to love Sami Zayn. He has it all. The fantastic wrestling skills, the ability to connect with the fans, a great way of drawing emotion and sympathy from the fans, the facial expressions and mannerisms to be a top babyface and even his promo work is really solid and believable. Barring any more injuries, there is no way in my mind that Sami doesn’t become a star. He’s that good.