Top Ten Thursday: Raw After WrestleMania Moments.

With WrestleMania out of the way, the focus turns to the night after. The WrestleMania after Raw has become a staple and seems to get bigger each year. Big angles, major debuts, come backs and so much more would go down on the yearly tradition. Recently, the crowds for the show have become more and more rabid. We're going to look at the best moments from the one night a year where you can almost guarantee something big going down. This is being written before the 2016 night after WrestleMania Raw so nothing from that show makes the list.

10. Mankind Debuts

I was torn on the last spot here. I could have gone with Sid turning on Shawn Michaels after WrestleMania XI, which was the first real big angle to take place on the post WrestleMania Raw, since it kick started babyface HBK for the next two years. Instead, I went with what took place one year later. One night after WrestleMania XII saw Michaels win the WWE Championship in an Ironman match against Bret Hart, Mankind made his debut. With the WWE falling behind WCW in the ratings (and about to get crushed), they looked to past stars like Ultimate Warrior and Jake Roberts to help. It didn’t. However, on this faithful night, the former Cactus Jack made his WWF debut and would prove to be a pivotal player in the WWE eventually besting WCW. He beat Bob Holly in a bit of a typical squash but his real impact came later in the night. He managed to not only attack the Undertaker in his debut, but lay him out like few others had done. It kick started a massive career and the first truly great Undertaker feud that I can recall. Before this feud, good Undertaker matches were few and far between but this was the start of some really good and consistent work. Mankind showing up marked the first massive debut on the post-Mania Raw.

9. The Two Man Power Trip

Unlike the Mankind debut, the ramifications of this event didn’t leave a lasting impact. Still, it was one of the coolest things that I remember watching as a kid. Growing up during the Attitude Era, I was a massive “Stone Cold” Steve Austin fan. With an older brother that would cheer for the heels sometimes, I found myself drawn to heels. So when Austin turned heel at the end of WrestleMania X-Seven, I thought it was cool. Looking back, it wasn’t the best move but I digress. Austin aligned himself with Vince McMahon, who helped him beat the Rock. The Rock wanted a rematch and coerced one out of Vince inside of a Steel Cage. Things seemed like they would be fair. They weren’t. Vince again cheated heavily and they beat up the Rock until Triple H showed up. A monster heel at the time, it seemed to some like Triple H, who had beaten Austin in a classic back in February, may turn face. Instead, he attacked the Rock, forming the Two Man Power Trip with Austin. Bitter rivals turned partners, they destroyed the Rock, writing him off to film the Mummy Returns. Austin and Triple H would go on to hold the WWE, Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles at once. One has to wonder if their impact would have greater had Triple H not tore his quad within the first two months of their run.

8. The “Anti-Diva” Arrives

Okay, I’ll admit that there’s a fair amount of bias involved here. This isn’t quite on the level of importance of the other two moments listed so far but I loved it. While AJ Lee held the Divas Championship for 295 days on the main roster, Paige was making waves as the first ever NXT Women’s Champion. The “Anti-Diva” character had loads of potential and, despite being just 21, she felt like the most ready of the NXT prospects at the time, especially since her rival, Emma, was already up. After AJ retained the title at WrestleMania XXX, she came out and cut a promo about being the Divas division all by herself. The now always molten hot post-WrestleMania Raw crowd erupted as Paige made her surprise debut to congratulate AJ. AJ, being the bitch character that she was, didn’t take too kindly to being interrupted and challenged Paige. Arrogance played a big part as she also put her title on the line. Within about two minutes, Paige nailed the Paige Turner and shocked the world to become the youngest Divas Champion ever. It was a great moment in front of the right crowd and I hoped that it would lead to a great feud between the two. Unfortunately, AJ left for a few months and when she returned, she and Paige never clicked in the ring, giving us a disappointing rivalry. I’ll still always have that debut moment though.

7. Who’s Next?

The greatest trilogy of matches in WrestleMania history (okay, there are only two but still) saw Steve Austin and the Rock go to war at WrestleMania 15, 17 and 19. While Austin won the first two, he lost the final encounter to his greatest rival at XIX. It turned out to be Austin’s last match as well. Able to brag that he’d beaten Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin at back to back WrestleManias, the Rock closed out Raw the night after WrestleMania XIX to say that he was done. In his words, there was nobody left to beat. Austin, Hogan, Triple H, Angle, Jericho and many others all fell to the Brahma Bull (though not Shawn Michaels or Brock Lesnar). Rock, already delivering a tremendous Hollywood heel character, basically said he was heading to go make movies. Then, a familiar theme played that fans hadn’t heard in about three years. On the Titantron, Bill Goldberg appeared for the first time in the WWE and shit was about to go down. He made it to the ring, told the Rock that he was next and delivered an awesome spear. The biggest homegrown WCW star of all-time was now in the WWE. Like the last two moments listed though, it ended in disappointment as the crowd completely rooted for the Rock in their feud and Goldberg lasted a lackluster year with the company.

6. A New D-Generation X

Shawn Michaels was the leader of D-Generation X when they originally formed. He, Triple H and Chyna took over many segments and were a massive part of the WWE television in late 1997 and early 1998. After dropping the WWE Title to Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV, Shawn was forced to retire due to serious back injuries. That could have left Triple H in limbo. Instead, he took advantage of the opening and set himself on a course to becoming a massive star. How did he do that you ask? There was no way that the red hot DX faction could just die there so Triple H brought back an old buddy to join him. The former 1-2-3 Kid and Syxx, returned as X-Pac and delivered a scathing promo on WCW, Eric Bischoff and even Hulk Hogan. It not only solidified that DX was still going to be a force to be reckoned with, but they had just as much edge without Shawn Michaels. If that wasn’t enough, the duo would go on to add the New Age Outlaws to the faction later in the night, which would go on to become the longest running variation of DX. It shot everyone involved into another tier of superstardom and was a key moment in Attitude Era history.

5. Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels Say Farewell

Retirement speeches in wrestling can be hard to sit through. Not because they’re bad or anything like that, but because we grow emotionally attached to the performers. Watching Edge and, more recently, Daniel Bryan announce their retirements were two of the hardest moments I’ve witnessed in wrestling. The goodbye speeches of Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels came on a bit of a happier note since they both got to choose when they were finished, unlike Edge and Bryan. Still, their goodbyes were certainly emotional. It was Shawn who beat Ric Flair and led to his retirement. The following night, Flair got the greatest sendoff ever as Triple H, who idolized him, showed up to say goodbye. Then, the floodgates opened as guys from Flair’s past all came out to bid him farewell. Ricky Steamboat, the Four Horsemen, Chris Jericho and many others got to say bye to a legend. Shawn Michaels’ was more relaxed as he waved goodbye to the fans after a speech and hugged Triple H atop the stage to close the show. Both of these moments were huge because it was two of the top five wrestlers in history going out on their terms and with their friends by their side.

4. “You Deserve It”

Again, this is more of a personal sentimental pick than one that would be considered historic. Daniel Bryan’s story of overcoming the odds, not only from a storyline perspective, but from a real life perspective, was incredible. He had to get past a lot of obstacles and it took the persistent fans of the WWE, constantly cheering for him, to get the WWE to change their stubborn ways. Daniel Bryan got a spot in the WrestleMania XXX main event and did the unthinkable. He beat Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton in one night to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Yea, he won the belt at SummerSlam and Night of Champions, but this was the culmination of months of frustration for the fans as well as the crowning moment for Bryan. He opened Raw the following night, in front of a jam packed crowd in New Orleans and was treated to a standing ovation. That would have been enough to be special but the sound of the fans chanting “you deserve it” so much that Bryan couldn’t even speak was indescribable. A guy that I watched in Ring of Honor back in 2006 had not only made it to the top, but did so to a point that the fans gave him a moment like this was something I’ll never forget.

3. The Beast is Back

While the post WrestleMania Raw was usually a time for rather big angles (the year prior to this saw the setup for Rock/Cena “Once in a Lifetime”), it was in 2012 that things seemed to pick up. That night featured an absurdly rabid crowd in Miami that popped for everything from Alberto Del Rio’s return to chanting for Daniel Bryan throughout the night following his 18 second loss. John Cena, fresh off of losing a massive match to the Rock, came out to close the show and wanted to speak to the Rock face to face. He called him out but instead, he got Brock Lesnar. Yes, the Brock Lesnar who dominated the WWE for two years and the Brock Lesnar that hadn’t been seen in eight. The reaction for Brock’s return was magic and having him confront Cena of all people was great. In a monumentally bad move, Cena offered a handshake, which led to him getting F5’ed. Brock had not only returned, but he made an immediate impact. His feud with Cena would be great, though the outcome of their first match was poorly handled (Cena winning was a dumb decision). They managed to fix it as Brock would go on to have the most dominant run in WWE history a few years later.

2. Dolph is Money

In present day, Dolph Ziggler is a very uninteresting midcarder with a strange fetish for dressing like he’s stuck in the 80’s. In 2013 though, he was red hot, coming off of a strong 2012 and held the Money in the Bank briefcase. WrestleMania 29 featured one of the lamest World Heavyweight Title matches in history as Alberto Del Rio retained against Jack Swagger. Even though the crowd liked Del Rio, they badly wanted Dolph. The night after Mania, they did another Del Rio/Swagger match. Del Rio retained again but had his ankle really worked on by Swagger. When “Here to Show the World” hit the speakers, the noise was deafening from the Brooklyn crowd. Dolph, AJ Lee and Big E came out as Dolph prepared to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Despite being a heel, the fans were 100% behind him. After a few minutes, Dolph countered the Cross Armbreaker, hit the Zig Zag and became the World Champion to one of the biggest pops I have ever heard. He got a concussion that ruined his title run and his career pretty much went down the tubes over the next few years but for one night, Dolph was the man and it was special.

1. Austin Chooses the Hard Way

For the second time on this list, I go to the 1998 post-WrestleMania Raw. While the formation of the new D-Generation X was huge, nothing topped this moment. The evil Mr. McMahon character was born at Survivor Series 1997 during the Montreal Screwjob and he had admitted, on screen, that he didn’t want Steve Austin as WWE Champion. Austin had even already given him the stunner. However, it was on this fateful night that the most important rivalry in WWE history was truly born. McMahon brought out Austin to present him with the new WWE Title but also to try and remind Austin that he was boss. He threatened him with a classic “easy way or the hard way” situation. Austin being Austin, clearly chose the hard way and delivered a stunner to Vince. It really set the Austin/McMahon feud off and when they were set to actually wrestle a few weeks later, Raw was able to beat Nitro in the ratings war for the first time in almost two years. The WWE never looked back, Austin was on the road to being the biggest star ever and history was forever changed.

Lucha Underground "El Jefe is Back" Review

The opening video package first shows the arrival of Mariposa, Marty Martinez's sister and their issues with the Mack and Sexy Star. Then we see Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc win back the Trios Titles. Lastly, they focus on Pentagon Jr.'s feud with Mil Muertes and the debut of Matanza Cueto. Dario returned with his brother, who went on win Aztec Warfare and the Lucha Underground Title.

"El Jefe" is in the ring to start the show, saying it's great to be back in the Temple. Starting next week, he'll be starting an all-new Trios Tournament. He also needs a new number one contender for Matanza. He is cut off by Pentagon Jr. to the crowd's liking. Pentagon says Matanza is champion because he wasn't in Aztec Warfare. Dario says he's not championship material. Pentagon grabs Dario by the throat and wants Matanza tonight. Dario shouts no so Pentagon gets set to break his arm, but Dario agrees and gives him a title match. The crowd ate this up.

The Crew def. Johnny Mundo and Taya in 4:39
This was interesting since both teams are heels. Although the Crew did walk out on Chavo two weeks ago so I don't know. Taya started to try and prove herself. She did alright and Mundo continued to play a total dick. He only wanted in after Taya had the upper hand and even tagged her hard in the back. They did build a mild tag for the Crew and in the middle of the match, we heard "I'M A MACHINE!" Cage came down the stairs, one week removed from having a cinder block broken over his head. Mundo backed away, leaving Taya alone. She ate the Crew's finisher, which is the Revival's Shatter Machine. This was a fine enough match that got a win for the Crew and also furthered the Mundo/Cage/Taya angle. **

We get an odd little video that sees Marty Martinez, seemingly at home, dressed like a bit of a snob. He tells a story about the "Moths" and their wealth or money and Aztec Gold. He said the the Moth tribe knew that the other tribes were jealous. Their secret weapon was Mariposa, who was the greatest warrior ever seen. This is intercut with Mariposa pretty much murdering some dudes in lucha masks and suits. The Mariposa mask was passed down over generations and the deadliest Mariposa of all now wears it, which is his sister. She's played by Cheerleader Melissa, so I instantly love her.

Cut to Black Lotus, standing guard outside of Dario's office, which seems to actually be backstage now. Catrina randomly appears. Dario thanks her for keeping the Temple going but he is the rightful owner. Catrina agrees that he might be the rightful owner, but Matanza isn't the rightful owner of the title. Dario says that her brother doesn't fear death. Dario says he has no beef with Catrina and that they have common enemies, so they should work together. Catrina says that when the time is right, Matazna will face death.

Trios Championship Elimination Match: Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc (c) def. The Disciples of Death w/ Catrina in 9:20
Similar to their match a few weeks ago, this saw the champion work very well together. Their evolution over the course of the history of Lucha Underground has been great. This time around, there were elimination style rules. Ivelisse was great while involved, but a distraction from Catrina saw her get eliminated at 2:30. That was fine since Ivelisse didn't look bad and the faces are usually at their best in these kind of matches with a disadvantage. Trece went out at 4:47. Siniestro nearly killed Angelico with sloppy double knees to eliminate him at 6:39, leaving Son of Havoc alone. He did a great springboard move where he double stomped off one onto another and got rid of Negro at 7:50. Catrina got involved again so Ivelisse came back and kicked her in the head. Havoc followed with back to back suicide dives and a shooting star press allowed them to retian. A fun tag match but I'll be glad to hopefully see the Disciples of Death gone. They aren't very good and new challengers should be fun for the champions. ***

Back to Dario's office. He sure has a lot of booze. He's with Rey Mysterio and says that he's starstruck. Rey says that he's here because of Dragon Azteca. Rey knows that Dragon Azteca is dead and believes Matanza killed him. Dario denies this, which is right since it was Black Lotus that ended him. He wants Rey and Dragon Azteca Jr. to compete in the Temple as long as they leave the past in the past.

Mariposa w/ Marty Martinez def. Sexy Star w/ The Mack in 1:24
I love the Mariposa/Marty pairing. Sexy Star was pretty frightened from the start, though Mack tried to motivate her. Sexy did her best to evade Mariposa but bumped into Marty outside, who rolled her inside. From there, it was pretty much all Mariposa. She did miss a moonsault but got back in control quickly. Mariposa ended her with a damn vertebreaker! They called it the Butterfly Effect. It worked as a squash to establish Mariposa. I wouldn't have used Sexy Star for the first time around though. Mariposa could have squashed Kobra Moon or something. NO RATING.

Post match, Marty and Mariposa also took out the Mack.

Lucha Underground Championship: Matanza (c) w/ Dario Cueto def. Pentagon Jr. in 3:57
It's a little thing but I love that Melissa Santos still announces Pentagon without enthusiasm. I also love the camera angle for his entrance. They hyped this up like it was a massive deal. Hell, it felt like a bigger deal than most of the upcoming WrestleMania card. Pentagon hit Matanza with a lot but he no sold most of it for the most part. He even got right up from a lungblower. The right went outside where Matanza just threw Pentagon around. . Inside, he hit the reverse powerslam, known as Wrath of the Gods, and won rather easily. Great hype and while the match wasn't very good, it sold Matazna so well. **1/2

Vampiro gets up from commentary for the first time this season, to check on Pentagon. He yells for someone to call for medics before Matanza kicks him in the face. He takes Pentagon outside and powerbombs him through the announce table. Pentagon is taken out on a stretcher while the fans chant "Cero Miedo".

Overall: 7/10. I felt like tonight was a good episode that built off of last week's incredible one. They introduced Mariposa in fantastic fashion, produced a fun Trios Championship match and really hammered home the Matanza is an unstoppable beast angle. For the first time ever, Pentagon looked beaten and I assume he'll have a comeback story. As always, Lucha Underground just knows how to tell a good story.

If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground here at Fubo.tv!

Raw 3/29/16 Review

The infamous gong went out and signaled that Raw was starting with the Undertaker. He went out and cut one of his typical basic promos about his yard and Shane McMahon resting in peace. It brought out Shane, who looked much better than when he initially returned. Shane is fighting to win, while Undertaker is fighting not lose according to Shane. Shane showed no fear and got in the ring and in Taker's face, saying that his legacy died two years ago when the streak broke. Cold blooded. They brawled and it led to the outside where Shane leveled Undertaker with monitors. He then climbed up top and put Taker through the table with his leap of faith elbow. It was an awesome moment with a molten hot Brooklyn crowd. They didn't waste a big spot either since you can't do this in the Cell on Sunday. As Shane headed up the ramp, Undertaker sat up and did the throat cut signal. The writing and story for this have been nonsensical but Taker and Shane have made it awesome at times. The opening contest saw Chris Jericho take on Zack Ryder. AJ Styles showed up beforehand to question why Jericho wouldn't accept his challenge for WrestleMania. As Jericho got near a win, Styles did the "Y2Jackass" chant, distracting him and giving Ryder the win. Jericho attacked Ryder instantly and then accepted Styles' challenge. Their feud was good for a while but the last few weeks have just been about distractions. Plus, while I'm excited for Styles' first Mania match, we've seen it three times already. It all just feels really lazy.

It was time to hype the Divas Title match. Sasha Banks beat Charlotte on Smackdown but now, it was Becky's turn to get a crack at Charlotte. I never liked this idea because all three girls should look strong heading into the match, not beating each other. Sasha Banks was on commentary. The match was decent and of course, saw Ric Flair cheat to help his daughter win. Ho hum. As promotion for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the Social Outcasts faced Kane and Big Show (aka Local Men). It never really got started and turned into a big brawl as all of the jobbers in the company showed up and joined. Kane and Show laid out Mark Henry and the Outcasts to stand tall. If one of them has to win, I hope it's Kane.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out to cut a promo next and it was a mixed bag. Triple H was mostly fine but Stephanie managed to find a way to shit on the entire roster, saying the rest of the Mania card means nothing. With promotion like that, thank god Mania is part of my WWE Network package. Reigns came out and they did the tired brawl segment before HHH left. Yawn. New Day came out and was over in a way that Reigns has only dreamed about. Kofi Kingston beat Alberto Del Rio in a match that was kind of just there. It wasn't bad but I've seen a combination of these teams go at it countless times so why should I care this time around? Post match, Jonathan Coachman returned, promoted Booty-O's and announced that SportsCenter is coming to Mania.

Joan Lunden is getting the Warrior Award, which was completely misrepresented when they discussed it. Whatever. Backstage, the Dudleys goaded Roman Reigns into a fight, only for HHH to attack him. As with the in ring segment, it was a pro-Triple H crowd. Kalisto faced Konnor next. Not a bad move since Konnor is a big guy, like Ryback, that can take a loss and he also knows how to work with Kalisto from their NXT days. Kalisto won, Ryback came out and just did a lot of "Feed Me More" before leaving. Fine idea for a match, lame way to handle the end. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar were out next. Heyman did his usual great build for the match. Dean Ambrose showed up with a wagon of weapons. He went under the ring and found more, putting them in the wagon and leaving. He never made eye contact with Brock. I liked the segment and was glad they didn't brawl since we've been there, done that with a lot of Mania hype.

To follow up a segment involving important people, we went to one that was the opposite. It's harsh but mostly true. Paige took on Emma, though I was extremely happy to see Emma back on Raw. Emma, Summer, Lana and Team BAD are known as Bad and Blonde. Emma won thanks to Lana and the heels had a five on four advantage. Eva Marie showed up to massive boos to become the final member of Team Total Divas. Her partners weren't even happy about it. Considering the Total Divas cast and Nikki Bella's injury as well as Mandy being too new, Eva made the most sense. It just won'y be any good since she remains the worst in the company.

The main event was a six man tag pitting Kevin Owens, Stardust and Miz against Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Sin Cara. It was a decent match but went far too long and the crowd took a shit on it. I blame the piss poor booking that hasn't given us a reason to care about the match. But hey, why write compelling stories when you can just put a bunch of guys in one match? Zayn pinned Owens to win, wasting the first decision between the two in a match that no one gave a fuck about. The final segment saw the Authority come back out to talk shit. Reigns again interrupted. They brought out the roster and did pull apart brawls. Nobody cared. They only popped for Reigns' big Undertaker like dive outside. Then went back to chanting "you still suck". If it wasn't for the dive, this may have topped last year's Brock/Roman tug of war over the belt.

I found last year's go home to Mania show (outside of the tug of war) to be pretty good. That wasn't the case here. Somehow, this build to Mania managed to be worse than last year's. The opening segment was dope enough to overcome the bad writing. The rest of the show sucked ass, managing to even make a usually loud Brooklyn crowd sit on their hands. Also, giving Reigns & Triple H three segments was a bad move. 4/10.

Fave Five 3/21/16-3/27/16

1) Matanza Cueto: This is one of the easiest choices I've ever made around here. In a relatively slow week, one thing stood above all and that was Lucha Underground's Aztec Warfare II. Like the first Aztec Warfare, this was a really fun match that took up the entire episode. After all twenty entrants came out, Dario Cueto showed up and took back his Temple. How did he do that? By debuting the monster that is his brother, Matanza Cueto. And boy was he a monster. He came in and immediately eliminated the reigning champion, Fenix. Matanza followed that up by dominating the rest of the way and eliminating everyone left, from Chavo Guerrero to Texano and finally to Rey Mysterio. Matanza is the new Lucha Underground Champion and did so in the most badass way possible.

2) Rey Mysterio: Another big moment to come during the fantastic Aztec Warfare match came right at the start. After Fenix entered at number one, Rey Mysterio was introduced as the second participant and the roof of the Temple nearly blew off. We as viewers have seen Msyterio in several scenes, but the believers in the Temple didn't. Seeing Rey was a total surprise and the pop for his arrival was incredible. Mysterio went on to eliminate a fair amount of people and last all the way until the end of Aztec Warfare before falling to Matanza. Rey not only lasted the entirety but he looked better than he did in the last few years of his WWE run even. Hopefully, Mysterio has a big season for Lucha Underground.

3) Los Ingobernables de Japon: Outside of Lucha Underground, it was indeed a slow week. In third place is the group of Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and BUSHI. They took on Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHi) in the main event of NJPW's Road to Invasion Attack in Korakuen Hall. As usual, Los Ingobernables was incredibly entertaining throughout and won a strong main event. They hyped Naito vs. Okada well and each guy played their part. BUSHI spitting the mist at Okada, incapacitating him so Naito can pin YOSHI-HASHI was crucial. Naito needs to win the belt at Invasion Attack. Personally, if he doesn't, it'll be the most disappointed I am in the outcome of a match since HHH beat CM Punk at Night of Champions 2011.

            4) Jeff Hardy: It's not often that I put TNA competitors on this list but sometimes they actually do deserve it. Granted it was a week that didn't feature tons of accomplishments, but still. This week on Impact, Jeff Hardy won a gauntlet match to earn a shot at the TNA Heavyweight Championship. I'm glad Matt isn't champion anymore because I was never a big fan of Jeff vs. Matt matches. Hardy vs. Drew Galloway sounds like it could be a somewhat fun TNA Title match. I don't see Jeff winning the belt again (although TNA has done dumber things) but a win over Jeff just months after beating Kurt Angle and now being champion could do wonders for Drew Galloway.

5) Asuka and Sasha Banks: I went with the rare tie for the final spot this week. First, Asuka won the main event of NXT this week, defeating Emma in a solid match. It wasn't quite on the level of their TakeOver: London match but still mostly delivered. On Smackdown, Sasha Banks bested Charlotte in a decent match. While it wasn't as good as Asuka/Emma, she joined a relatively small list of WWE Divas to pin Charlotte since she got called up to the main roster, gaining some momentum heading into her first ever WrestleMania.

PWG All-Star Weekend 11 Night One Review

PWG All-Star Weekend XI Night One
December 11th, 2015 | Reseda, California

Last year, I gave the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles a shot. I enjoyed it but didn’t find it to be the greatest tournament in the history of mankind, which upset some people. Today, I’m taking a look at PWG’s All-Star Weekend XI, which was a two night event. As noted before my last review of PWG, I don’t follow them religiously, but know enough about every competitor on the card that I won’t be lost or unaware.

Chuck Taylor def. Mark Andrews in 9:19
Both guys were very over with the PWG crowd. This was interesting because Chuck Taylor got to play the big man, which I’ve never seen him do before. He had fun with it, as did commentary, who said he was “wrestling like Kevin Nash”. He even did a powerbomb at one point. If you know Taylor, you know to expect some humor in his matches and we got a good chunk of that here. He busted out some surprisingly powerful moves, dominating at times. Andrews countered a suplex into a stunner, which always looks cool. Andrews showed off some of his incredible aerial skills but got caught in Taylor’s Awful Waffle. I found this to be a fun opening contest with just the right blend of comedy and wrestling, without overdoing any of it. Kudos to commentary for adding to the fun of it all. ***¼

Ricochet def. Marty Scurll in 16:36
Ricochet sported his Prince Puma tights and also donned a Santa hat before the bell, which Marty, known as the “Villain”, stomped on. There were some fun games early as Scurll nearly revealed that Ricochet is actually Prince Puma. Right from the start, both guys played to their strengths. Ricochet did his flippy stuff, while Scurll played the heel, doing things like biting Ricochet’s ear. After Ricochet hit the People’s Moonsault, Scurll mocked it but, as he said, he doesn’t do moonsault and instead stomped on him. He’s not just a villain by nickname. Ricochet went for a springboard cutter but Scurll caught him with a mid-air chicken wing that almost made me jump out of my seat. Ricochet escaped the chicken wing twice before winning with the Benadryller. Two for two in strong matches. Their styles are certainly different but they made it work and clicked really well together. ***¾

The Unbreakable F’n Machines def. The American Wolves in 21:58
For those unaware, the Unbreakable F’n Machines consist of Michael Elgin and Brian Cage. Something about them as a team is just cool to me. Elgin and both Wolves are making their returns to PWG. Davey started with Elgin as commentary touched on their storied past. Both teams, as the fans like to chant to Cage, got their shit in. The stuff they all did was good but something about it felt hollow. Like it was missing something but I can’t put my finger on it. Richards was great at busting out various submissions. Elgin and Cage did stereo dead lift superplex variations which was cool. The Unbreakable F’n Machines won after they combined to basically murder Edwards with a ton of moves. I didn’t like how long the match went. Elgin, and Cage for that matter, work better in compact matches rather than overly long ones. Where the last match felt like a swift 16 minutes, these 22 minutes felt like 35. **½

Sami Callihan def. Drew Gulak in 9:44
The reaction for the surprise return of Sami Callihan was pretty fantastic. Gulak was in the ring for something, Callihan showed up and kicked him in the face, kick starting the match and going on a flurry. Despite wrestling a style that I usually kind of like, Gulak has never worked for me. I also wouldn’t consider myself a fan of Callihan, so I honestly didn’t have high expectations for this. The match kind of seemed to be a bit of an extended squash. Gulak did get in his fair share of offense and even had Callihan in a compromising submission predicament but the outcome never really seemed in doubt. It took two Stretch Mufflers to gain Sami a win in his return. He got on the microphone afterwards and said that he was locked in a cage for two years but the “Callihan Death Machine” is back. Fine little match with the awesome moment of Callihan returning but that’s about it. **½

Trevor Lee def. Will Ospreay in 11:07
At first, neither guy stood out to me, but after seeing a few matches from each, they’ve grown on me. Ospreay more so, but Lee had that phenomenal 105 minute match. Lee attacked before the bell, taking after the influence of Super Dragon according to commentary. He was a great heel throughout, badmouthing fans, hitting hard and not doing the things the fans wanted. Ospreay made his babyface comeback and it was fun, but things really picked up for their finishing stretch. It might have been the best ending run of any match I saw in 2015 outside of NJPW. After a bunch of near falls, it seemed like Ospreay was on the verge on winning. Lee caught him in a seamless backflip powerbomb, followed by a small package driver for the win. It was shorter than expected as it seemed like they could have gone a bit longer and done more. However, this was still all kinds of awesome and was the best thing on the show so far. ****¼

Kenny Omega def. Mike Bailey in 20:51
Unlike the guys in the last match, these two have still really yet to grow on me, though Omega has been really good in 2016. The crowd was pumped as it was Omega’s return to PWG. Both guys have a ton of hype right now. They started off with some comedy antics, which I’d normally be against but it really felt like Omega was just having fun in his return. A plastic garbage can came into play and the referee got hit with it before Omega powerbombed Bailey on it. Chuck Taylor was obsessed with talking about Bailey’s bare feet throughout the match. There was an interesting fake chainsaw spot, which the crowd and commentators sold as if it was real. After the shenanigans, Omega focused on the knee with some solid work. The crowd bought into multiple Bailey flash pin near falls but Omega ended him with the One Winged Angel. I thought the comedy bits were gonna be something I hated but they were okay. It’s something you expect with PWG and Omega looked to be having fun. Bailey would be a far better underdog if he sold. Omega attacked the leg and Bailey missed endless knee drops but almost never sold it. That truly hurt the score for me. **¾

PWG Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (c) def. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in 15:32
Nick Jackson cut a promo before the match, saying they would go “Full Sail” on their opponent’s asses. So, yea Gargano and Ciampa work NXT, but what exactly does that mean? Anyway, they tried two superkicks before the match but had both caught by the challengers, who proceeded to take control in the early stages. It calmed down and saw the Bucks work over Gargano. The issue is that they’re heels but the fans like them a lot, while Gargano and Ciampa didn’t seem to be super popular. Due to that, the fans didn’t seem too invested in a lot of stuff. At one point, Nick had a chair and Gargano was way far away, but still tried to slingshot in right into the chair. He looked like a complete fool. Gargano had Matt in the Gargano Escape but Matt did just that and escaped, rolling through for a pin. This felt like a hollow version of most Young Bucks matches. If you love them, you’ll probably like this more than I did. **¾

PWG Championship: Roderick Strong (c) def. Matt Sydal in 19:58
Roderick Strong entered the match at around the one year mark of his title reign. These guys are very familiar with each other from their Generation Next days. I liked this pairing because I could watch Strong give out backbreakers all day and Sydal is small enough to take those bumps and have them look great. They started slow and built to a bigger finish but there was one glaring problem. The match lacked drama. Considering Strong’s classic with Zack Sabre Jr. earlier in the year and Sabre winning the BOLA, most people pegged him as the guy to dethrone Strong (and they were right). Nobody really bought Sydal as a guy who would win, making this come off more like a solid exhibition. They had some fun exchanges and Strong won after a sick kick and End of Heartache. Solid but unspectacular main event. ***¼

After the match, the Young Bucks hit the ring and superkicked Sydal out. Strong got on the mic and said he’ll face Zack Sabre on his own terms. Mike Bailey, Joey Ryan and Candice LaRae, who would be facing Mount Rushmore 2.0 in a Guerilla Warfare match on night two, hit the ring. They cleaned house until the lights went out. That signaled a Super Dragon arrival. BUT WAIT! He had a microphone and said “suck my dick” before he and the Bucks attacked. He revealed himself to be Adam Cole, making his return to PWG after a year away. He picked up Roddy’s title and handed it to him. Strong said he didn’t trust Cole, but still trusts the Bucks. Cole will be replacing Super Dragon on night two.

Overall: 6.5/10. There was certainly a fair amount to like on this show, but there was also some stuff I didn’t. Starting with the good, Lee/Ospreay is the one thing you should absolutely see on this show. They stole the show. There were other good matches, like the main event, opener and Scurll/Ricochet as well. I came away disappointed in the rest of the card though I thought the reactions for the two returns were great, especially Adam Cole’s. This was an easy watch for the most part and though I admittedly have not seen a ton of PWG, I have seen better from them.

Random Network Reviews: Spring Stampede 2000

Spring Stampede 2000
April 16th, 2000 | United Center in Chicago, Illinois | Attendance: 12,556

The venue that hosts this show, the United Center, is rather large. I always wondered why WWE doesn’t run there, but I’m sure they could have sold it out in 2000. WCW…not so much. Things were going so badly, that Vince Russo, head of creative, decided to hit the reset button. That’s right, every single champion was stripped of their titles and this show featured tournaments to determine new champions. It is a bold move for sure and showed just how desperate the company was getting. Obviously it didn’t really pay off, but let’s see if the show it at least entertaining.

The opening video package shows when Vince Russo announced the reboot. He went off on Ric Flair, calling him a piece of shit. I think the New Blood plan was good on paper, but having them as the heels came off in a bad way. Eric Bischoff turning on Hulk Hogan is also shown, as Bischoff drove a white hummer into a limo that Hogan was in. 

Then, Bischoff is pacing backstage because he’s worried since Hogan checked himself out of the hospital. For some reason, that sends us to a second video package, showing basically the same stuff we saw in the first. I don’t get it. Commentary includes Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson and Mark Madden. They run down the card, which I always hated because it kind of gives the show a slow start instead of going right into a match.

World Tag Team Championship Semi-Final
The Mamalukes w/ Disco Inferno vs. Team Package w/ Elizabeth vs. The Harris Brothers
Team Package is a strange damn name. They consist of Lex Luger and Ric Flair, the latter in street clothes. By street clothes, I mean a dress shirt and slacks. This is supposed to be a straight up tag match but Vince Russo shows up to add the Harris Brothers. He calls the Mamalukes rookies, which is odd since Vito had been working for nearly a decade by this point. Team Package takes a beating, and it’s odd to see the other two teams working together, since I reviewed a show from January where they were feuding. Team Package rallies a bit, but the numbers game hurts them. The two heel teams target Flair and give him a kicking. Flair climbs up top, as Skull hilariously looks at him like “really dude? That never works.” It doesn’t here either. They do the false hot tag spot, but Luger is probably happy he doesn’t have to work just yet. Disco gets in a cheap shot before two random large men take him away. The heel teams turn on each other, allowing the hot tag to Luger. 8-Ball climbs up and takes FOREVER. It’s so long that Luger even shrugs as he stands there, waiting to complete the spot. Luger wins this for his team with a Torture Rack.

Winners: Team Package in 6:16
This was a giant clusterfuck. I get the idea of Team Package being in trouble, but it was kind of a mess, so it actually fits in to WCW in this era. ½*

Mike Awesome gets interviews backstage and is beyond jacked up. It’s kind of irritating. Bam Bam Bigelow interrupts, leading to Awesome attacking him.

Jimmy Hart w/ Hail vs. Mancow w/ His Entourage
Who the hell thought this belonged in wrestling, let alone on a damn Pay-Per-View? The gist of this feud seems to be that Jimmy Hart says Mancow is a knockoff Howard Stern. Both guys talk before the match, but Mancow looks so uncomfortable doing so. He just repeats himself and says Chicago a few times. He attacks from behind, leading to a catfight of sorts. Hart hits a low blow as Mark Madden calls this “utter nonsense”. If Madden is embarrassed by a match, you know it’s dire. Hart actually comes off the top, but Mancow pulls the referee in the way. Hail enters the ring and he’s a big dude. He press slams him into the Entourage. Their names are Terd, Al Roker Jr. and the Brian the Wimpy Boy. Hart sends Hail away like an idiot, allowing Mancow to hit him with a chair and win.

Winner: Mancow in 2:46
The only good thing I can say about this, is that it was short. The fact that it was kept at under three minutes keeps it from being a dud, but just barely. ¼*

Billy Kidman comes out after the match to his awesome theme music. He attacks Jimmy Hart because of his feud with Hulk Hogan. So let me get this straight. Face Hulk Hogan is feuding with heel Billy Kidman, so he attacks heel Jimmy Hart, who is face Hogan’s manager. My head hurts.

WCW United States Championship Tournament Quarter Final
Scott Steiner vs. The Wall
For some reason, Scott Steiner comes out to the awful STEINERLINE theme song. That’s a worse decision than putting Mancow vs. Jimmy Hart on Pay-Per-View. Both guys are members of the New Blood, because seven of the eight guys in this Tournament are from that group. Steiner manhandles him, but Wall gets in some shots. Steiner hits a low blow that doesn’t cause a DQ. At least commentary addressed that earlier, saying that referees were told to be lenient with the rules. It’s not like usual WCW from this era where things happened with no explanation. The battle goes outside, where Wall gets a table. Steiner rakes Wall in the eyes, and puts the referee in front of him. Wall, temporarily blinded, chokeslams the ref through the table. A second ref appears to call for the DQ.

Winner via disqualification: Scott Steiner in 3:37
I get that the disqualification protected your big monster like character, but at this point, I believe Wall had suffered a fair amount of losses. Scott Steiner, who was set to be a World Champion later in the year, should have gone over him cleanly. The match itself was short and didn’t completely suck. *

Mean Gene interviews The Cat, who calls WCW the biggest redneck company in the world. Bigelow appears again to beat him down and take him out.

WCW United States Championship Tournament Quarter Final
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Mike Awesome
Mike Awesome debuted the previous Monday by taking out Kevin Nash, while he was still the ECW World Champion. This is his first official match for WCW. Bigelow runs in to replace Cat, which is somehow official. I guess they figured the impromptu nature would make Awesome feel more comfortable in his transition from ECW. The action starts outside where Awesome nails a pescado. He then gets whipped into the guardrail, and you can hear him tell the fans to move before he backdrops Bigelow into the audience. He then leaps over the guardrail to take him out. They’re doing a fine job showcasing how impressive Awesome really is. Bigelow gets in offense as the Cat appears and kicks him. He grabs a microphone to dance for the fans. This went from a decent match to completely absurd. Awesome stops the dancing with a clothesline. He hits the Awesome Splash to advance.

Winner: Mike Awesome in 3:20
What? So did the Bigelow near falls not really count? Was the Cat legal the whole time? Does anyone in WCW know any of this? Too much extra nonsense. Mike Awesome should have run through Bigelow to showcase how good he was. There was a lot of potential in that guy. *¼

After more worrying from Eric Bischoff in the back, Mean Gene interviews Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas. They put over the New Blood, though I seriously question how Shane Douglas is considered new blood.

World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas vs. Harlem Heat 2K w/ J. Biggs
J. Biggs is apparently Clarence Mason. I had no idea he went to WCW, though I loved him in WWE. Like pretty much every other match on this card, it starts with a brawl. Harlem Heat has the early advantage. Fat Ahmed Johnson hits a spinebuster on Buff and he yells in an extremely high pitched voice. He really needs a shirt. Buff gets two on a Vader Bomb. People need to not use the Mastodon’s move dammit. They do this double hot tag, but it’s been like two minutes only so there’s no build for it. Douglas gets the win for his team.

Winners: Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas in 2:47
These matches are seemingly getting shorter and shorter. Like I’ve been saying, these matches have been too short to get the dud rating, but they still aren’t any good. ½*

Mean Gene, earning checks, conducts another interview. He talks to Booker T, who says that he’s with the New Blood on the hope for opportunity, but he’s not really down with them. In other words, he’s like the only “young” face in the company.

WCW United States Championship Quarter Final
Booker T vs. Sting
With no shenanigans, this has potential to be match of the night. I don’t think either guy should be out in the first round, but it makes sense from the New Blood standpoint of wanting their guys in the finals. Booker shows his power early with a shoulder block but Sting hip tosses him. Sting hits a flurry that sends Booker outside. A cameraman gets taken out from an Irish whip outside. When they go back inside, Booker is in control with a knee drop. He moves to a chinlock to slow things down. Sting gets the fans behind him to rally but Booker stops that with a knee. He hits the Axe Kick but only gets two. The flapjack is followed by the SPINAROONIE. He tries another kick but Sting ducks and goes into a rally. He nails the Stinger Splash but goes to the well too much as the second attempt fails. Sting is able to counter a suplex into the Scorpion Death Drop to advance.

Winner: Sting in 6:35
Easily the match of the night, but I was still slightly disappointed. Both guys could go, but it was kept rather short. I wish they got a bit more time so this could go into the next gear. **¾

Post-match, Sting goes to leave but Booker T pulls him back in the ring to give him a fist bump. Mean Gene interviews Billy Kidman and Eric Bischoff. Bischoff is still worried about Hogan.

WCW United States Championship Quarter Final
Billy Kidman w/ Torrie Wilson vs. Vampiro
Looking at the bracket for the Tournament, the finals should be Sting vs. Billy Kidman with Kidman going over. Instead, it looks like the winner of this faces Sting in the next round. Early on, Vampire tries to powerbomb Kidman so he obviously doesn’t have this man scouted. Kidman counters with a hurricanrana. Kidman goes for ten punches in the corner but Vampiro counters into a powerbomb toss. Well, he shut me up. He tries again, but Kidman counters into the facebuster. Kidman goes into an offensive flurry. The problem is that the fans don’t know what to do because these guys are heels. Vampiro busts out a one handed chokeslam like he’s the Big Show or something for two. In the middle of the match, we see a car pull into the arena and out comes HULK HOGAN! He runs into the match, no selling for Kidman. He throws him outside of the ring and continues to pound on him. Hogan pretty much tries to murder Kidman with steel steps before using them as a platform to chokeslam him onto the announce table. I get that there are relaxed rules, but how is this not a DQ? Madden again states the obvious by asking, “what has this promotion become?” He rolls him inside for Vampiro to pin Kidman.

Winner: Vampiro in 8:24
This was going well until the Hulk Hogan appearance. I think this should have happened in the finals. There was no reason for Vampiro to go over Kidman. Plus the lack of a DQ call was a bit much. **¼

Eric Bischoff is scared as Hulk Hogan searches for him. Vince Russo leaves Bischoff alone to do something about this. Hogan easily finds Eric, but before he can do anything, security or cops come in to stop this. They pull their guns on Hogan to stop him.

WCW Hardcore Championship
Norman Smiley (c) vs. Terry Funk
Terry Taylor tells Terry Funk backstage that Norman Smiley is afraid to face him. Funk goes to catering to find Norman, where everyone stooges him out as being in the bathroom. When Funk finds him, he screams. “Screaming” Norman Smiley is one of the best things WCW ever did. Funk throws him around the catering area, but Smiley uses a trash ca to come back. They use some fun weapons like a Diet Coke and laptop as they fight backstage. Schiavone calls it a “slaptop” because he’s so funny. Smiley hilariously hangs like a bat from the pipes by the ceiling. The fight makes it to the arena. In the ring, Smiley does the Big Wiggle, but Funk whacks him with a chair. Dustin Rhodes appears to take out Funk with a piledriver. He goes to fly from the top but Funk gets the feet up to block it. Funk throws the ladder on top of Smiley and pins him.

Winner and New WCW Hardcore Champion: Terry Funk in 8:40
The hardcore division in WCW never really took off, but anything with “Screaming” Norman Smiley is entertaining. It was just two guys wailing on each other with ridiculous weapons and at the very least, this was fun. **

WCW United States Championship Semi-Final
Mike Awesome vs. Scott Steiner
There goes that damn STEINERLINE theme again. This should be a good battle of two powerhouses. Steiner dominates the early goings and does some push-ups. Awesome comes back in the ring with the slingshot shoulder block that pops the crowd. He was really athletic. A top rope flying clothesline gets two but Steiner turns the tide with a low blow. Steiner lays in some chops, but Awesome fires up and hits a springboard back elbow. The fans go nuts as Kevin Nash limps out and strikes Awesome in the back with a crutch. Steiner Recliner is applied and Awesome submits.

Winner: Scott Steiner in 3:13
That was way too short to be good. The stuff we got was actually pretty good and I think that with more time, it could have been something interesting. Instead, we get a short match with another pretty cheap finish. **

Backstage, Vince Russo is pissed as Dustin Rhodes for allowing Terry Funk to win the Hardcore Title. Russo fires him and says he was only worth anything as Goldust because it was Russo who created that character. SEE HOW BADASS WE ARE? WE TALK ABOUT THE OTHER COMPANIES! WE SHOOT!

WCW United States Championship Semi-Final
Sting vs. Vampiro
When it comes to WCW 2000, these two are kind of synonymous with each other. Sting charges the ring only to eat an ugly spinning heel kick. Sting no sells some shots and fires up. They brawl outside for a bit before Sting climbs to the top. He hits a pretty impressive splash for two. Sting misses a Stinger Splash into the guardrail. Mark Madden sees a basic kick to the back from Vampiro and calls it like Sweet Chin Music. Vampiro is now in the driver’s seat but Sting is resilient. I think they were going for a spot where Vampiro leaps from the top and Sting catches him in the Scorpion Death Lock but they mess it up and Sting just kind of swats him down. He then hits the Death Drop and makes Vampiro quit in the Death Lock.

Winner: Sting in 5:54
Two guys that would fight a ton in 2000 didn’t seem to have much chemistry. Both guys seemed to kind of mail it in. IT wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t very good either. *¾

DDP cuts a promo on Jeff Jarrett backstage because Mean Gene needed to keep earning that paycheck. Could you imagine if he got paid by the interview?

Shane Helms and Shannon Moore appear to perform 3 Count’s theme. There is a girl in the crowd who reacts like they are a real boy band. They perform the ENTIRE song and go to do it again before their opponents come out.

WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
Suicide Six Man Match
Chris Candido vs. Crowbar w/ Daffney vs. Lash LeRoux vs. Juventud Guerra vs. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea w/ Paisley vs. Shannon Moore w/ Shane Helms
Right off the bat, this seems like a big clusterfuck. They never specify, but I think the title is vacant. Crowbar gets two on a surprisingly nice Northern lights suplex. LeRoux gets to do offense, before Juvi hits the Juvi Driver. Basically, each guy is getting a chance to show off while someone else breaks up the pins. Daffney climbs up top for the Frankenscreamer, but catches Crowbar by mistake. LeRoux takes them out with an ugly dive outside. The Artist does the same, before Juvi does the same. In the coolest spot so far, Shane Helms launches Moore onto everyone. A wild David Flair appears to take out Helms. The Artist goes up top with Candido, who knocks him off and misses a headbutt. Paisley throws in a steel chair, but Tammy Sytch appears to knock the Artist off onto the chair, allowing Candido to win.

Winner and New WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Chris Candido in 5:10
That match gave me a headache. It was just nonstop nonsense. There was no structure or plan as it was just guys getting in offense. Even the dives outside weren’t really that good. Disappointing. *

Mean Gene interviews Jeff Jarrett, complete with Slapnuts guitar. Jarrett threatens to slap Gene’s liver spots off his face, making him my favorite in the main event.

World Tag Team Championship Finals
Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas vs. Team Package w/ Elizabeth
Throughout his entire career, Lex Luger was always miscast as a face, but this gimmick and theme make it EXTRA hard to cheer for him. Buff Bagwell gets worked over early by Luger’s basic offense. Shane Douglas made a career out of throwing verbal jabs at Ric Flair. Even to this day, they dislike each other. Flair gets in some short punches outside, but ends up as the face in peril. When Madden runs down Flair, Tony Schiavone straight up responds “BULLSHIT”. They’re cursing like this is an ECW show. They do the hot tag and Team Package looks like they may be rallying. Russo gets up from commentary to interfere, but Buff turns the tide. He mistakenly hits the Blockbuster on Douglas, leading Russo to pull Nick Patrick out of the ring. They get into a shoving match that just looks so awkward. Kronik runs in through the crowd, making their return, to take out Luger. Russo lays out Patrick, steals the ref shirt and counts the three.

Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: Buff Bagwell and Shane Douglas in 8:36
A lackluster effort all around. This is like, the definition of four guys seemingly mailing it in. Of course, it had to end with interference involved too. ¾*

WCW United States Championship Finals
Scott Steiner vs. Sting
Seriously, who thought he should use the STEINERLINE theme? Both guys receive pre-match backstage interviews by Mean Gene, but neither is really anything of note. Sting surprises me out of the gate with a dive outside but his top rope splash looks bad before Steiner gets the knees up. Steiner jaws with a lady at ringside after a gorilla press slam. Is she a freak? Steiner busts out a T-Bone like suplex but wastes time with another fan. Sting blocks a top rope belly-to-belly suplex, going into the comeback. He nails a Stinger Splash but his second sees the referee pulled in the way. He hits a third but when trying the fourth, Vampire comes up through the ring and pulls him down. Did Russo watch Undertaker do this to Diesel before booking this match? Vampiro brings Sting back up and he has blood on his mouth. Steiner applies the Steiner Recliner and the referee calls for the bell since Sting is passed out.

Winner and New WCW United States Champion: Scott Steiner in 5:38
Here’s another match tonight that had a lot of potential but wasn’t any good. Scott Steiner seemed to just want to kill time with the fans until the interference finish. Another match, another disappointment, another shoddy ending. *¾

WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Diamond Dallas Page w/ Kimberly vs. Jeff Jarrett
The “Chosen One” gimmick was actually really good. Both guys get overly long entrances from their locker rooms. Trying to sell how personal this match is, DDP is aggressive from the start. The action spills into the crowd, which is good. This isn’t just about the title, DDP wants revenge for what happened to Kimberly. When they finally make it back to the ring, Jarrett hits a second rope suplex. He gets a steel chair, laying into DDP’s midsection. DDP did have the worst case of injured ribs I’d ever seen. DDP brings out a sitout powerbomb for two as Eric Bischoff walks out. In a super heel move, Jarrett steals DDP’s book from a fan and rips it up. That’s cold. Kimberly gets involved, pulls Jeff by the hair but he shrugs it off. It does allow DDP the breathing room to turn things around. It doesn’t last long though as Jarrett puts him in the Figure Four. Kimberly grabs the guitar, but doesn’t do anything with it. DDP refuses to quit, so Jarrett lets go only to get rolled up a few times. Jarrett leaps from the second rope into a jawbreaker for two. Things slow for a moment when Jarrett applies a sleeper but DDP fights out and goes to a sleeper slam. Bischoff grabs the official as DDP hits the Diamond Cutter. Like a complete moron, he doesn’t pin and instead wants Kimberly to hit her with the guitar. Kimberly waffles DDP with the guitar and the Stroke finishes this.

Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Jarrett in 14:58
Both of these guys are capable workers and this was a perfectly acceptable match. It wasn’t great and of course, it was another “swerve”. Tony Schiavone is terrible at giving those away by saying the exact opposite. “BISCHOFF MUST BE HELPING DDP!” Well he wasn’t. Anyway, not a bad match. **½ 

Overall: 3.5/10; Not Good. Surprisingly, this is the highest score I’ve given WCW in 2000. Nothing on this show is must see at all, but I managed to see a near three star effort. With the exception of the Mancow/Hart match, everything is at the very least watchable. The fact that there are fourteen matches means that things move by rather quickly, which helps. There was potential here, but everything is so overdone by shenanigans that is ends up ruining it. My randomizer has chosen my next “Random Network Review” as Saturday Night’s Main Event from 11/2/85!