G1 Climax 23 Day Three
August 2nd, 2013 | Aichi, Japan
The second night of the tournament picked things up, so hopefully this show can continue the momentum. I’m going to try more of a recap style instead of a play-by-play review here and see how it goes.
Block B
Karl Anderson (4) vs. Kota Ibushi (4)
I was surprised to see this opening things as both guys are not only really good, but they’re leading their block. Karl Anderson held an early advantage with power and having a lot of Kota Ibushi’s moves well scouted. Anderson tried to put away Ibushi several times, but he was always resilient and ended up being able to hit moves that Anderson had avoided earlier in the match, like his moonsault to the outside. Ibushi continued to bust out some of his aerial offense. Anderson was ready for most and came close to winning after a running kick and powerbomb. They went into an exchange of strikes, which is common in most of these G1 matches, before Ibushi hit the Phoenix Splash and scored the pinfall.
Winner: Kota Ibushi (6) in 9:52
I found that to be a really enjoyable opening contest. It got the crowd going with two notable names and a good back and forth match. Anderson was good at having Ibushi scouted, while Ibushi was a great resilient babyface. Smart, compact and well done by both men. ***½
Block B
Shelton X Benjamin (2) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (4)
Here we have a guy that I like in Shelton Benjamin against one of my least favorite guys in Yujiro Takahashi. Takahashi did well in his role here, going outside to talk to the ladies he brought to ringside. Shelton went after him and then flirted for a bit too. Taka Michinoku had to remind Shelton that fun comes after the match. Inside, Shelton stayed in control, showing that he was still very athletic, while also being one of the stronger men in the tournament. Takahashi surprised me by hitting a suicide dive, which is more than he does in recent shows. They continued to go back and forth, with some of it being good, but some being a bit off. At one point, Shelton clearly whiffed on the dragon whip but made up for it with a nice blockbuster. Takahashi ended up taking his third straight with Tokyo Pimps.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (6) in 7:58
That was better than expected. While I still don’t think he’s that good, Takahashi was much more tolerable in 2013 than he has been in recent memory. The early stuff with the girls was fun and the end result was a decent showing. **¾
Block A
Prince Devitt (2) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2)
This is one of the matchups I was most looking forward to when I saw the blocks. Right off the bat, they played into the Devitt is small role, with Ishii just running him over. He just destroys him with some of the shots he hits. Like a smart, smaller heel, Devitt played the cat and mouse game, allowing Bad Luck Fale to take out Ishii outside. Again, I don’t mind the interference here since it makes sense given Devitt’s role in the tournament. There is a point where it’s clear the official could see and hear what Fale was doing, but he did a poor job of looking away. It just takes you out of the match. Ishii did a goddamn somersault onto both men outside which was nuts. Ishii continued to impress with a deadlift second rope suplex. Devitt is able to score on a Brainbuster before going up top and hitting the diving double foot stomp for a near that I totally bit on. They went with a ref bump and Devitt used a chair but still had to survive a lariat. Finally, it took a belt shot from Fale and two Bloody Sundays to win.
Winner: Prince Devitt (4) in 10:28
Okay, I know I said I didn’t mind the interference earlier but they ended up doing too much stuff here. A bunch of Fale, the ref bump and the chair was overdoing it. Outside of that, they had a really good match with some great false finishes. ***¼
Block B
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (0) vs. Minoru Suzuki (2)
They started this by doing their typical stuff. Tenzan got in the Mongolian chops and Suzuki did his rope armbar. Suzuki was his usual relentless heel self, as he threw Tenzan around outside. There are a lot of strikes thrown here, but none of them seem to have the impact that the best strike throwing matches have. To be fair, Suzuki’s shots seem much harder. Suzuki looked for the Gotch piledriver but Tenzan was ready with a counter. The highlight of the match comes when try reverse the Anaconda Vice to an armbar and back, which results in Tenzan just simply releasing the hold. Tenzan scored with a moonsault shortly after to get his first two points.
Winner: Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2) in 11:46
Yea, I liked almost none of that. None of what they did ended up being bad, but it was just so boring. Things picked up slightly near the end, but not enough to save it for me. *¾
Block B
Tetsuya Naito (0) vs. Yuji Nagata (4)
Man, you can tell that the “A” Block is the stacked one since the “B” Block keeps getting put early on in the card. Their early feeling out process is fun as Nagata stole Naito’s trademark eye taunt. As a response, Naito slapped Nagata shortly after, leading to a battle of them and then Nagata just taking every slap like it was nothing before unleashing some on Naito. That is kind of a trend for the match as old man Nagata takes Naito to the woodshed. Naito did his best to match Nagata’s strikes but he just kept firing up. Nagata hit a second rope exploder for two, which was pretty cool. Nagata ended up targeting the knee. There is another battle of strikes before Nagata hit the backdrop driver for two. Naito started a rally before picking up his first win of the tournament with the Stardust Press.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito (2) in 11:40
Considering the old man kicking the brash youngster’s ass stuff was so good, this got off to a great start. Then the ending stretch came. Naito had his leg worked on nearly all match long, only to forget to sell it during his comeback, which is always irritating to me. With some better selling, this would have ranked much higher. ***¼
Block A
Kazuchika Okada (0) vs. Lance Archer (4)
Coming into this, I did not expect these two to have the records they currently hold. Early on, Kazuchika Okada frustrated Lance Archer and dove out onto him. Archer has been booked like a pretty big monster heel though, so he turned that around and beat up Okada outside. Archer just continued the assault in the ring, making it look like the IWGP Heavyweight Champion was in grave danger of falling to a dreadful 0-3. Okada got in somewhat of a babyface rally before Archer stifled it. Surprisingly, he called for the Rainmaker and it wasn’t after the diving elbow. Okada tried the Red Ink submission and did a good job of showing ho tough it was against an opponent of Archer’s size. Archer came back with some big offense, nearly picking up what would be the biggest win of his singles career. Okada is able to persevere and score with the Rainmaker to finally get on the board.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (2) in 11:26
Lance Archer has kind of been one of the models of consistency in this tournament so far. All three of his matches have had very well done big man/little man dynamics. This was more of the same as he dominated at times but Okada, being the Champion, was able to outclass him and win out. ***¼
Block B
Shinsuke Nakamura (0) vs. Toru Yano (0)
These men are part of the same stable, Chaos. They opened with a feeling out process and it was kind of clear that this was going longer than most Toru Yano matches. They fought outside where Yano had no problems hitting his buddy with a steel chair which led to a countout tease. It’s a smart technique because Yano knows that he isn’t in Nakamura’s league and resorts to whatever possible to beat him. Nakamura started to come back with some of his signature stuff including the corner running knee lift. Yano being Yano, almost steals the win with some flash pins. He’s like, the master of the rollup. Yano avoided the Boma Ye and nearly stole the match again. Nakamura then wrapped it up with the Boma Ye.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (2) in 11:36
Whenever Toru Yano does actually have relatively lengthy matches with the top guys, they seem to work a good performance together. This was no different. Yano had to be extra smart and cunning against someone like Nakamura and it played off well as Nakamura had to fight from behind. ***
Block A
Satoshi Kojima (4) vs. Hirooki Goto (2)
These guys hold wins over Okada and Tanahashi in the tournament so far. Just by the way this started, I knew we were in for a manly fight as they just hammered away on each other. They managed to slow the pace a bit after the rapid start and gave us a countout tease following Kojima hitting an apron DDT. Goto got his mouth busted open at one point. Once back inside, they battled with slaps, which Kojima won out since Goto was clearly in some pain. Goto ends up doing that sunset flip bomb off the top but it doesn’t come off looking as good as it could have. Kojima just absolutely walloped him with a massive lariat to the back of the head and both men went down. As this winded down to the finish, it picked back up to the pace it started with, full of big shots and offensive bursts. Goto connected on Shouten Kai to score the victory.
Winner: Hirooki Goto (4) in 13:07
On a night filled with mostly good matches, this was probably the best so far. They started fast, slowed it at a smart time and then picked back up right as things were getting near the climax. It was hard hitting, featured some false finishes and just a really fun match. ***¾
Block A
Katsuyori Shibata (2) vs. Togi Makabe (2)
I’ve seen these two go at it before and it’s usually a good old fashioned fight. That seemed to be the case in the early goings here. They just kick, slap and lariat each other for most of the match. There literally isn’t that much to really comment on since it was just two guys beating each other up without using many wrestling moves until the end. Shibata hit a release German that Makabe got right up from to hit one of his own and then a lariat. Makabe went into his bag of tricks with a Death Valley Driver and powerbomb, but Shibata would survive. Shibata blocked another lariat and busted out the Go to Sleep. The Penalty Kick put the final nail in Makabe’s coffin.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata (4) in 7:23
Fine little match here but they’ve had better. The short burst should have worked better for them because they could have had a great, compact war, but it just never reached that level for me. It was good though it never reached anywhere near great. ***
Block A
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (2) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (0)
Yea, I was pretty sure who the winner of this would be from the moment I saw the card. In about a year, Smith would ruin Tanahashi’s chances at making the finals, beating him on the last day. They worked an early test of strength and played into the fact that Smith, like his daddy, is a powerful dude. They ran with the “Tanahashi is overmatched” stuff for most of the match. Smith has become quite good in that role and showed off some cool spots like a body slam on the edge of the guardrail. I like Tanahashi fighting from behind, but I was surprised to see Smith get so much offense. Tanahashi did what we’ve come to expect as his standard comeback and won with the High Fly Flow.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) in 14:35
Not quite as good as their match a year later but still a serviceable main event. Smith was very impressive as the powerful heel and Tanahashi is almost always a good babyface. The crowd was very into his rally, making this fun. ***½
Overall: 7/10. Like the first night of the tournament, this was a really solid wrestling show. Only one match on the card was bad and everything else was good. Nothing was must-see, but it’s a solid way to spend three or so hours, with some diverse matches which are mostly all entertaining.
Block A Standings
Hirooki Goto 4 points
Satoshi Kojima 4 points
Lance Archer 4 points
Prince Devitt 4 points
Katsuyori Shibata 4 points
Kazuchika Okada 2 points
Tomohiro Ishii 2 points
Hiroshi Tanahashi 2 points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 2 points
Togi Makabe 2 points
Block B Standings
Kota Ibushi 6 points
Yujiro Takahashi 6 points
Karl Anderson 4 points
Yuji Nagata 4 points
Shelton X Benjamin 2 points
Minoru Suzuki 2 points
Shinsuke Nakamura 2 points
Tetsuya Naito 2 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2 points
Toru Yano 0 points
Evolve 61
May 7th, 2016 | La Boom in Woodside, New York
The back half of this Evolve weekend that saw them debut some new acts in the wake of some established ones having to miss the shows. This is quite the historic show as it features two WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifiers. I liked the look of this show, but it wasn’t as nice as the Maryland one a day earlier.
Matt Riddle def. Lio Rush in 5:00
Everyone’s favorite “bro” Matt Riddle came out with the Evolve Championship. Lio Rush has quickly become known for his aerial ability but did well in staying with his accomplished mat wrestling opponent. He spliced in some of that athleticism before Riddle showed him who the boss was with rolling gutwrench suplexes. Rush got in a hopeful moment near the end, but missed the frog splash and was put into an armbar. The finish was a cool idea, but didn’t come off looking as well as it could have. The match was fine for what it needed to be. Riddle is the man and Rush, while good, couldn’t quite match him so soon. **½
Matt Riddle called out Timothy Thatcher for a future title shot and threw the Evolve Title overhead. Of course, Thatcher isn’t there, but Stokely Hathaway took the opportunity to show up and take the belt.
The Bravado Brothers def. Chris Dickinson and Ethan Page in 8:38
This was pretty much thrown together at the last minute thanks to an injury. Dickinson and Page are not a regular tag team. I saw Dickinson face Brian Cage in PWG earlier this year and it was better than expected. The Bravados were popular but got booed hard after doing a back rake. Seriously, that had to be the most heat for that move ever. Dickinson mostly ran wild, while the Bravados busted out their sweet double team offense. Page got a near fall after a top rope rana from Dickinson that forced one Bravado to land on the other. After some good back and forth, the Bravados took it home with a Gory special/STO combo to a fair amount of heat. Like the match before it, this was solid but unspectacular. I’ve enjoyed the Bravados’ recent appearances in Evolve, while the story of Ethan Page continues to work as he was really good as a babyface here. **¾
The Bravado Brothers got on the microphone after the match and were perplexed at the reaction to their win. One of them told the fans not to boo Page and Dickinson because they fought hard. He said that Team Tremendous robbed them because they should have gotten the first shot at the Evolve Tag Team Titles and not them. Dan Barry, one half of Team Tremendous, was in attendance as a fan. He got in the ring, made some jokes about the Bravados that came off as awkward, before saying Team Tremendous would accept a tag match against them. The Bravados respectfully accepted and shook hands, before attacking Barry. They laid him out with the Gory special/STO combo.
Before the next matches, Trevin Adams (WWM Ambassador) addressed the audience. He wanted them to be loud, but asked that they refrained from profanity and inappropriate things so that the match, or clips from it, could be seen on WWE’s YouTube channel and allow for more eyes on their product. The same thing was done before the qualifiers in PROGRESS.
WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match: TJP def. Fred Yehi in 13:49
Fred Yehi knocked over the Evolve cardboard cutout thing near the entrance. He wasn’t the only guy to bump into it throughout the night. No Stokely with TJP, which I liked. It felt like TJP was out to prove that he was the man, even without his manager. While working the mat early, TJP threw in a “dab”, which is part of why I like him so much. He does all of the good wrestling, but adds some flair to it. Man, I loved the progression of this match. It began with the two of them doing what Catch Point guys do best and that’s work the mat. As it went on, they tried bigger moves, leading to more excitement. TJP missed a frog splash and got caught in a fantastic Koji Clutch, but reached the ropes. Yehi also came very close on an Oklahoma roll and you believed he might have had it. TJP got the victory with a 450 splash in a match that is must see. Props to Yehi, who looked great in defeat. He did a lot of little things throughout this to keep it interesting, like his awesome stomps or making sure to grind his elbow during submissions. I’ve been a fan of TJP for a while now, especially recently, and am pumped for him to get this chance. Excellent counter wrestling leading to a great finish. They embraced after the match because that’s what Catch Point does. ****
WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match: Drew Gulak def. Tracy Williams in 17:54
Again, two Catch Point members got a big opportunity. Also, if you didn’t know, these guys currently hold the Evolve Tag Team Titles. Similar to the last match, this one started on the mat. I expected it to stay there much longer, but within minutes, Williams’ had already hit a dive to the outside. That stuck out to me and would continue to do so as Williams took risks throughout knowing the importance of this match. As things progressed, Gulak seemed to get motivated by the split crowd and his partner taking it to him. He got more aggressive and that allowed things to get more physical. He survived Williams’ crossface on more than one occasion before catching him in a fantastic dragon sleeper, complete with body scissors, to earn the win. Hands down, the best Gulak match I’ve ever seen. Hell, it was the best from both guys. If the Cruiserweight Classic is anything like this, we are in for a treat. A top notch blend of wrestling, hard hitting strikes and drama. ****¼
Marty Scurll def. Zack Sabre Jr. in 23:19
I first saw these two wrestle in the Battle of Los Angeles last year in a match that was overly long and disappointing. Thanks for their vast knowledge of one another, they wrestled to stalemates in the early stages. While I really like both guys, something about their matches together has never really clicked for me. Don’t get me wrong, this was good. They did a lot of counter grappling and worked very fluidly. I don’t know if I can put my finger on it but it was kind of just there. I did think this finally got really good in the final stretch as they pulled out a crazy series of rollups before beating each other up with uppercuts. For some reason, some of the early arm work was mostly forgotten about. Scurll caught Sabre in the Chicken Wing, finally managing to latch it on and make Sabre tap. It continued Sabre’s struggles. Since starting his “Best in the World” Series 3-0, I believe he’s 0-4. Solid match, but it never got great. ***¼
Ring announcer Joanna Roa informed everyone that Scurll has earned a shot at the Evolve Title when they return to Queens. Stokely Hathaway came out with the Evolve Title around his waist and called TJP the uncrowned champion. He said that he was rudely interrupted by Drew Gulak last night and called TJP a wrestling god. Gulak showed up, picked up the title off the ground and left without speaking. Scurll was confused by all of this but said that the hot potato with the belt will end when he wins it. Weird segment.
Johnny Gargano def. Drew Galloway via disqualification in 16:07
We were treated to more back and forth on the mic from both guys beforehand. They talked about the WWE partnership, as Galloway called Evolve and their fans “sheep”, while Gargano discussed the advantages of the partnership. As one would want from a program as heated as this, there was no fancy grappling. I liked that since it was different from the rest of the card. Galloway beat up Gargano, shouting “I TOLD YOU I WAS GONNA FUCK YOU UP” while doing so. There were some cool moments throughout, highlighted by a defiant Galloway flipping off Gargano, only for Gargano to spit in his face later on. After Gargano survived some of Galloway’s biggest shots, he applied the Gargano Escape. Ethan Carter III then made a surprise run in and attacked Gargano, causing the DQ. This was a good match that gave you the feeling that these two men really disliked each other. I know a lot of people won’t like the finish, but it more about the angle than the match. ***¼
I would recap the scathing promo from EC3 but I don’t think it would do it justice. He mentioned Bill Demott, NXT Redemption and several other things. It’s a good promo made great by EC3’s passion and delivery. You can just watch it here. TJP, Gulak and Page all ran out, with Page and a chair finally running them off and setting up some matches for upcoming Evolve shows. At Evolve 62, EC3 and Galloway will face Gargano and TJP (Page wanted to be Gargano’s partner, but knew Gargano couldn’t trust him and suggested TJP) and at Evolve 63, Galloway takes on Page in an Anything Goes match.
Overall: 7/10. Another Evolve show, another really good effort. While things got off to a bit of a slow start with a decent first two matches, the two Cruiserweight Classic qualifiers were outstanding. Seriously, two stellar matches from four of the best around. The last two matches are good but not great, however the closing angle is excellently handled. The appearance of EC3 was a great surprise that generated a lot of buzz and really set things up for the future.
Raw History
Episode #34
October 4th, 1993 | New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut
Intercontinental Battle Royal
Only a select few guys get an entrance. Unfortunately, Mr. Perfect isn’t one of them. Macho Man is last in and he goes right for Giant Gonzalez. He and everyone else eliminates the giant first. Nobody else goes out for a while as it is just guys trying to and failing. Diesel tosses out Mabel on his own in a preview of the 1995 SummerSlam main event. Razor dumps out IRS. Right before a commercial, Diesel is dumped by Mr. Perfect and when we return, Bob Backlund is eliminated. Action wise, there isn’t anything groundbreaking happening. Marty Jannetty goes out, but somehow MVP is still in this thing. Dumbass Tatanka charges Bigelow, who ducks and he’s gone. Good, keep him away from any belts. Bigelow is out as well, leaving Razor, Martel, MVP, Owen, the Quebecers, Savage and Adam Bomb. As I type that, Owen gets rid of MVP. After Owen is gone, the four heels turn their attention to Razor and Savage. Savage is able to make Adam Bomb go over, but then all of the heels, including Bomb, get rid of him. I would have much rather seen a Savage/Adam Bomb program instead of Savage/Crush. Razor is in trouble, being left alone with the Quebecers and Martel. As one would expect, Razor finds a slight opening to turn the tide after a few glimpses of false hope. He gets rid of both Quebecers to set the stage for the finals next week.
Winners: Razor Ramon and Rick Martel in 19:20
Your basic battle royal except for the fact that the ending is anti-climactic. Having Razor Ramon overcome the heels was a smart move, but making it so the final two guys meet next week felt like it was lacking. It seems unfinished. Also, the final two could have been better. Razor was built up for this but Martel feels random. Outside of that and some slowness early on, this was acceptable. **
The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette vs. Scott Thomas and Mark Taylor
When they made their debut, the Heavenly Bodies had a damn good squash. It’s more of the same here. They bust out some nice double teams, a delayed suplex and even a second rope spinebuster. Bobby Heenan spends the match discussing the Rock n’ Roll Express making their debut soon. Odd times for sure. Their finisher is odd though as Pritchard clotheslines Del Rey as he does a DDT. Surely you could find a better way to get the same result than to hit your partner.
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 3:38
The Heavenly Bodies have had better squash matches than any team not named the Steiners. *½
A clip from Superstars is shown where Doink and Bigelow kind of got into it because of Doink’s antics. Doink throws confetti at him and Bigelow threatens him. After he leaves, Luna tries to talk trash so Doink pours water on her. Bigelow comes back to fight but Doink continues to make him look like a joke.
Doink the Clown vs. Cory Student
Face Doink is not something I was really a fan of. Before the bell, he toys around with Bobby Heenan again. He goes to throw water but instead its popcorn. As Doink beats up his opponent, Heenan says he had 200 pounds of popcorn thrown on him, despite it being a tiny bucket. Doink wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink the Clown in 1:56
He’s had far better squashes. The face version didn’t speak to me. ½*
Bigelow and Luna come out to fight Doink but are stopped by security. Bigelow takes his anger out on Doink’s wagon.
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. I wasn’t a big fan of this episode. It was heavily dominated by one match, which actually wasn’t too bad but the rest wasn’t too great. The Heavenly Bodies were fine but the face Doink stuff was pretty blah.
Raw History
Episode #35
October 11th, 1993 | New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut
A quick recap of last week’s battle royal opens things. Commentary is the usual trio.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon vs. Rick Martel
Bobby Heenan still calls Razor Ramon “Desi Arnez.” They go through some exchanges until Razor busts out the fallaway slam early. Martel takes a breather outside but is still on the bad end when he gets back in. Martel starts to go after Razor’s back, which Vince calls a problem area, though we’ve never heard about that before. It makes sense since his finisher is the Boston crab, so you don’t need to make something like that up. They go through a series of near falls after Razor counters the Boston crab. Razor manages to shakes off the back work and hit the Razor’s Edge to become champion.
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon in 10:48
Solid effort from both guys. The match wasn’t a classic by any means but it was a good marquee match for this episode. The back work was wise throughout and the right guy went over.**½
The Headshrinkers vs. Tony Morrison and Sid Person
The Headshrinkers spend a fair amount of time doing nothing before getting ready to actually compete. When they do compete, Samu lazily throws Person around. Person ends up knocked out like PJ Walker a while back so they bring in Morrison and finish him with a splash.
Winners: The Headshrinkers in 3:47
Your generic squash with the exception of a good old fashioned jobber killing. That gives the score an extra boost. *
Owen Hart vs. Scott King
We are about a month away from the Owen Hart push starting at Survivor Series. Interestingly, I believe that Owen was ready to quit wrestling but a program with Bret pulled him back in. Owen looks motivated here, busting out a monkey flip, missile dropkick, German suplex, elbow and wins with a Northern lights suplex.
Winner: Owen Hart in 3:37
Well somebody certainly knows how to entertain in his squash matches. He used it to showcase his moveset and it was fun. *¾
Ludvig Borga is out for an interview with Vince McMahon. He starts by saying that USA stands for “U Stink America”. He badmouths America until Lex Luger, fresh off of choking against Yokozuna, comes out to defend his country. Anti-American gimmicks are absolutely lazy and usually suck hard. Macho Man is the best thing about this as he manages to make it sound exciting. Borga says they will fight on his terms, which causes Luger to freak out as Borga leaves.
Adam Bomb w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Ross Greenberg
Harvey Wippleman is now the manager of Adam Bomb after working a deal out with Johnny Polo. Bomb tosses Greenberg around a bit before showing off his athleticism with a standing dropkick. I still don’t get why Adam wasn’t pushed more. He slingshots in with a shoulder lock before ending things with the Adam Smasher.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:33
Another solid squash match here. Adam Bomb was an impressive specimen and he made sue that none of this was dull. *
The Rock n’ Roll Express vs. Duane Gill and Barry Hardy
It’s so strange seeing the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions on Raw. Is Barry a cousin of Jeff and Matt? Robert Gibson starts before tagging out and running a double team. The crowd seems to be enjoying them. Morton actually gets an early pin that doesn’t win this as it gets broken up. They win following a double dropkick.
Winners: The Rock n’ Roll Express in 1:54
Nothing special. The Rock n’ Roll Express’ offense was a bit too old school even for 1993. ½*
Overall: 6/10; Average. A decent episode here. The marquee match was solid and all of the squashes, outside of the last one, were enjoyable. About what I’ve come to expect from most episodes of Raw.
Raw History
Episode #36
October 18th, 1993 | Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York
In the cheesiest of fashion, Vince McMahon does a voiceover for images of significant summits in history. He then says that the biggest of them all happens tonight when Crush comes face to face with Randy Savage. Wow.
The Steiner Brothers vs. PJ Walker and Tony DeVito
Right at the start, Scott Steiner takes DeVito over. The Steiners and Headshrinkers have been competing for best jobber killers on Raw so far this year. Scott tries to win a full nelson suplex on DeVito. Rick wants his shot and throws Walker around before tagging in Scott for a dropkick. Commentary calls Walker by the name of Student. Scott points to Macho Man and does the fucking Screwdriver! Oh my god. They make DeVito tag in to finish him off.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 3:06
Seriously, that was fun. It gets bumped up an extra point because Scott did a screwdriver. Like, that was worth this episode alone. **
There is a hotline that you can call whether or not you want Shawn Michaels’ suspension lifted. Mr. Perfect and Diesel plead their cases for their sides.
IRS vs. Scott Taylor
IRS cuts a pre-match promo about the fans being tax cheats. Stop me if you’ve heard that before. For some reason it seems like he will be Razor Ramon’s first IC Title program. Yuck. Since it’s IRS and he doesn’t know how to be entertaining, he applies a chinlock in a squash match. He wins with the Write Off.
Winner: IRS in 3:30
IRS continues to have the most uninteresting squash matches ever. ¼*
Vince McMahon now takes us to a vignette introducing “Double J” Jeff Jarrett. He will be using the WWF to springboard his country music singing career.
We also see the camera awaiting the arrival of Crush, though it’s at an “emergency exit only” door. Once Crush turns heel, he breaks all of the rules.
Tatanka vs. Mike Sharpe
Before the match, footage is shown of Tatanka and Ludvig Borga getting into it on Superstars. While I don’t like Tatanka, I love me some Mike Sharpe. He goes right into the loud selling, stealing the show. Macho Man has done a great job all night in barely talking to build the tension for his issue with Crush. He even brings up his old friendship with Hulk Hogan and dares him to meet him face to face, calling him a backstabber. Tatanka stays undefeated with the Samoan drop.
Winner: Tatanka in 3:00
Pretty much every single Tatanka squash ever, made slightly better by Mike Sharpe’s selling technique. *
With Mean Gene Okerlund gone, we go to Joe Fowler, who I don’t remember, for the Survivor Series Report. He explains the Survivor Series concept, citing that for the reason why it sold out in under an hour with no matches announced. They announce the All-Americans (Lex Luger, Tatanka and the Steiner Brothers) vs. the Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga and the Quebecers) and the Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce and Keith Hart) vs. the King and his Knights (Jerry Lawler and mystery partners) as a double main event.
Crush has arrived!
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Dennis Diamond
Diamond has the 70’s pornstar look working for him. Bigelow gets all of the offense while the commentators focus on Crush and Savage. We also find out that 60% of the voters so far want HBK to stay suspended. So 3 out of 5? Bigelow wins with a diving headbutt.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 3:00
Better than the last Bigelow squash as it didn’t last too long. Still was rather dull though. ¾*
Bobby Heenan is in the ring to bring out Crush. Crush surprises many by appearing with Mr. Fuji. Crush says that Macho Man was a good friend but once he surpassed Savage, the Macho Man couldn’t handle it. That is one of the most delusional statements I’ve ever heard. He brings up the fact that Yokozuna crushed him with four Banzai drops and Macho man didn’t pull him out until after the fourth one. Macho Man gets in the ring, telling Crush that he’s making a mistake. He wants Crush to shake his hand, which Crush does, upsetting Fuji and Heenan. Of course, Crush decides to turn around and attack him in the aisle. Crush continues the assault, even causing Savage to bleed from the mouth. Yokozuna and Jim Cornette show up as well. Yokozuna hits a Banzai Drop to cap things.
Overall: 3/10; Poor. Outside of the fun Steiners opener and Mike Sharpe’s selling, I liked almost nothing about this. While the final segment came off about as good as one can expect, it’s hard to take Crush seriously in this angle.
Evolve 60
May 6th, 2016 | MCW Arena in Joppa, Maryland
Evolve ran their first shows in Maryland (at least I think so) over the course of two days for their Evolve 60 and 61 events. This was an interesting weekend as a lot of big names weren’t available (Callihan, Thatcher, etc.) and we even got a fancy new stage and ring canvas. I’m a sucker for a canvas with logos on it. The show looked very pretty.
Lio Rush def. Caleb Konley in 10:18
Rush is a home state boy here. He’s only been wrestling for a very short time, but is very good, especially evidenced by his excellent ROH World Title match against Jay Lethal about a month prior. He cut a short promo, putting over the Baltimore area beforehand. Konley, the clear heel, started aggressively. Konley was good here but most of my praise is going to Rush. He’s so fluid with everything he does, even when taking to the sky for his impressive aerial offense. He had the crowd firmly behind him and played the plucky underdog role well, doing a good job of bumping, selling and getting in hope spots. Lio overcame Konley’s bully offense and won with a frog splash after some really good back and forth. Exactly what I want from my opener. No real downtime, a hot crowd and two guys giving their all, while not overdoing it so some stuff could be saved for the guys later in the card. ***½
The Bravado Brothers def. the Devastation Corporation in 8:22
The Devastation Corporation are rather well known in CHIKARA, though this is my first exposure to them. I’ve seen the Bravado Brothers before, including as part of the Evolve Tag Team Title Tournament earlier in the year. It was the Evolve debut for the Devastation Corporation. Things got physical quickly and the teams brawled on the outside. The size advantage of the bigger Devastation Corporation came into play as they took control. The Bravados rallied and showed off impressive strength as they nailed a powerbomb/lungblower combo for a near fall. Blast McMassive missed a huge dive outside and fell to the Gentlemen’s Agreement. This was solid tag team wrestling and a good debut for the Corporation. ***
Matt Riddle def. Anthony Nese in 11:35
If you haven’t seen Matt Riddle yet, you need to. We got an interesting clash of styles here. Riddle loves the mat game, while Nese is quick and chose to showcase his athleticism here. I was glad because he hadn’t shown off enough of that in recent matches. Riddle’s personality shined through. He hit a springboard knee and you thought he was going to show off his own athleticism, only to slide out of the ring and slap Nese. He does the little things that put him over the top so well. Nese survived and countered the Kimura twice, the second with a suplex that got him a near fall. He countered it again, only for Riddle to counter that and put the submission back on, causing Nese to tap. A really good match that was better than I expected. Good back and forth that allowed both guys to look good. Nese was on his game and Riddle almost always delivers. My favorite Nese match since the one with TJ Perkins last year. ***½
Johnny Gargano def. Marty Scurll in 20:22
Scurll has been great in a lot of his recent work, including some excellent matches with Will Ospreay this year. Gargano is still considered the icon of WWN. The fans chanted “I enjoy this” as the two men exchanged holds on the mat. Scurll, being the villain that he’s so well known for, resorted to kicking Gargano when he couldn’t get the upper hand. I liked both guys going for their respective finishers early and talking shit to each other, about their countries after. Scurll began to soften up Gargano’s arm in preparation for the chicken wing, which was sold very well. Extra points to these two for it being their first match and managing to have seamless sequences to the point where you’d think they wrestled a ton. I never like people shouting the name of their move before doing it, so I was happy to see Gargano block the Chicken Wing each time Scurll was guilty of this. Their final few minutes were great. Gargano got out of Cattle Mutilation before nailing a lawn dart and making Scurll submit to the Gargano Escape. As I said, this was really fluid and crisp for two guys that aren’t used to each other. Scurll played the villain well, as usual, having a cheap shot ready for almost all of Gargano’s stuff. Just a really well executed pro wrestling match. ***¾
Johnny Gargano got on the microphone and said Evolve would be returning to Joppa, Maryland later in the year. He called out Drew Galloway to come face to face with him for the first time since Galloway turned on him. Galloway obliged and Gargano ran him down, saying that the Evolve/WWE partnership is good for wrestling. He also shot that Galloway blew his change with the WWE. Galloway responded with a cheat shot and beat on Gargano until Ethan Page made the save, leading to the next match.
Drew Galloway def. Ethan Page in 11:13
The reformation of Ethan Page continued here. He spent last year as the guy going after Gargano, but now defended the honor of his former friend against Galloway. Galloway was great as the aggressive monster heel again, shouting trash talk at Page throughout. I also enjoyed Page being resilient and doing his best to go blow for blow despite his size disadvantage. Their slap exchange near the end was just brutal at times. Galloway used a low blow behind the official’s back and the Future Shock to win. This accomplished everything it needed to. It mostly felt like a personal fight, showed that Page can be a solid babyface and got Galloway a win to further the bigger angle. ***
This time, it was Drew Galloway who grabbed a microphone. He said that he doesn’t need a machine behind him and that he didn’t blow it himself. Drew Galloway made Drew Galloway. He called everyone in the back, especially Gargano, pathetic for accepting the WWE into Evolve. He called them all hypocrites because they used to just talk about supporting indy wrestling. Drew said the WWE doesn’t deserve credit for anything in Evolve. He went for another Future Shock on Page but Gargano ran him off with a chair. Gargano still refused to help Page up and instead left on his own. Page seemed to break down into tears. He struggled to get up and leave, but did so on his own, to a round of applause.
Evolve Tag Team Championship: Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams (c) def. Fred Yehi and TJP w/ Stokely Hathaway in 17:13
All four men are part of the Catch Point stable. I love that these guys have no issues wrestling one another. It’s refreshing. Gulak showed up also carrying Timothy Thatcher’s Evolve Championship. Also, the following night on Evolve 61, these four would compete in Cruiserweight Classic Qualifiers, against their own partners. Hathaway got on the microphone beforehand and put over TJP as the star of Catch Point. Gulak had to cut him off, saying this is about competition and kicked him out. Cath Point is all about the mat wrestling, so you knew what you were getting coming into this. All four men worked the mat, adding in their little strong suits, like TJ’s flashiness or Gulak’s no nonsense approach. Some great back and forth in this one as it was done in a way to show that the Catch Point guys are very close in terms of skill. Outside of one spot just before the finish, everything was smooth. Gulak caught TJP in the dragon sleeper to retain. Once again, the Catch Point guys came to perform. ***¾
Drew Gulak cut a short promo, calling out Timothy Thatcher. He said that the Evolve Title was staying with Catch Point until he got the balls to give them a title shot. Matt Riddle made sure to come out with his Catch Point buddies and say that he would be the one to get the shot. If that happens, I pray Riddle and Thatcher find some chemistry.
Chris Hero def. Zack Sabre Jr. in 29:06
The rivalry continues! Hero has defeated Sabre on two separate occasions in Evolve, as he seems to be the hurdle that Sabre can’t quite overcome. I love their matches because Sabre really feels like an underdog. He’s small but so good that he always seems to be in control, except against Hero. They began with some technical wrestling that saw them bend each other in painful ways. Hero got tired of that and just started laying into Sabre, which has worked for him in the past. Both guys went after the arm. Hero’s work wasn’t as technical, but looked brutal. Sabre was great at pulling out the hope spots despite taking a beating. You felt his desperation. Any time Sabre seemed to take control, Hero was ready with an elbow that dizzied the Brit. “You may be their favorite, but you ain’t shit to me!” Hero’s trash talk was on point. Sabre survived some badass piledrivers, while throwing in pinning combinations in between that you believed would end it. Finally, the abuse from Hero became too much as Sabre succumbed to one of the sickest piledrivers I’ve ever seen. The fact that Sabre didn’t break his neck is a miracle. Of the three matches I’ve seen from these two, this was my favorite. Sabre just continues to throw everything at Hero and, even at his most desperate, is just unable to best him. When he finally does beat Hero, it’s going to feel incredibly earned. ****½
Overall: 8.5/10. Textbook Evolve. You get a spectacular match surrounded by a bunch of really good ones. Nothing on this card is bad as everything gets at least three stars. They advanced the Galloway/Gargano angle very well, introduced Lio Rush to solid fanfare and the Catch Point stuff was a lot of fun. The main event added another chapter to the great rivalry between Hero and Sabre, and is a must see match. Evolve continues to deliver and is probably the best booked company right now.
