Raw History: #79-81

Raw History
Episode #79
September 26th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York

Our usual hosts handle things tonight.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
Well someone’s partnership with Ted Dibiase is already paying off. Just to show how much of a heel he is now, Tatanka attacks from behind. Razor turns the tide and sends him packing to talk strategy with Ted Dibiase. Once they go back inside, they do some uninspired work. It’s clear that Tatanka’s waistline was expanding. They start trading blows outside heading into a classic Raw commercial break. Isn’t it strange how the arena they ran in back in Lowell has the same name as this one? Inside, Tatanka comes very close to winning on a near fall that was probably a lot closer than planned. Tatanka pulls a page out of Razor’s book by utilizing an abdominal stretch with some assistance from Dibiase. Ted was so good as doing the little things to draw heat. They get caught and Razor starts to rally. He calls for the Razor’s Edge but Dibiase gets on the apron. Lex Luger comes down the aisle but Bigelow runs out and attacks him. Tatanka, like a moron, goes out and joins in, getting counted out.

Winner via countout and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon in 13:34
Honestly, this kind of felt like the definition of going through the motions. Tatanka seemed unsure of how to work as a heel for some of the match and it dragged for the most part. It picked up as Razor rallied but it wasn’t enough to save this. *¾

This past weekend on Superstars, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer cut a promo on Yokozuna. Undertaker and Yokozuna will be meeting on the Hart Attack Tour because in this era, television was used to promote house shows.

Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Rich Myers
You know, for a character that ultimately went nowhere, Kwang sure got a lot of TV time in 1994. Vince McMahon makes a long winded joke about the NFL and a three way trade between the Cardinals, ESPN and the WWF. Macho Man goes to the Cardinals, Phil Simms comes to commentary and ESPN gets Luke and Butch. I mean, I’d get rid of them too. Kwang wins with a spinning heel kick.

Winner: Kwang in 2:08
Ho hum. Vince’s commentary was better than the match.

The recently returned British Bulldog is the guest on the King’s Court. Jerry Lawler just makes non-stop terrible dog jokes. He’s the only one laughing at them. Well, Vince is at ringside, but it’s just so bad. Bulldog threatens him if he keeps it up and Jim Neidhart shows up. Neidhart says Bulldog isn’t a family member because he’s not one of the twelve Harts. That would be fine reasoning if, you know, Neidhart was one of the twelve Harts. His dumbass is related in the same way that Bulldog is. Neidhart issues a challenge and Bulldog accepts for next week. He talks a bit too much and promos are FAR from his strong point.

Next week, Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan take on Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon!

We get a recap of the well done Bob Backlund segment from last week.

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kenny David
Hey, it’s another jobber with two first names. Bob Backlund comes out during the match to bring a dictionary to Randy Savage so he could better “interpret his discourse with the plebeians”. Kid hits some fun little offense and uses a big leg drop to finish it.

Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:27
Typical stuff here.

A vignette airs for the return of King Kong Bundy. Not only does he absolutely suck, but this vignette is terrible too.

On Sunday October 23rd at noon Eastern, the WWF debuts Action Zone! I don’t remember this show as a kid, but it had some pretty good matches.

Non-Title Match
Diesel and Shawn Michaels vs. Bob Starr and Chris Kanyon
Yes it’s that Kanyon. Commentary also tells us that one of the Headshrinkers has quit. The Tag Team Champions toy with their opponents here, as Starr and Kanyon get in pretty much no offense. Randy Savage says that Diesel is practically the champions by himself. That’s the smell of the mega Diesel push getting ready to reach its peak soon. He wins it with the Jackknife.

Winners: Diesel and Shawn Michaels in 3:44
Completely one-sided as expected.

As the champions celebrate, the new Headshrinkers show up. Fatu is joined by Sionne and they send the champions packing. After a commercial, Capt. Lou Albano says that Samu ate some bad fish. No, seriously, that was the reasoning.

Overall: 3/10. Like a lot of episodes of Raw in the year 1994, this wasn’t very good. The marquee Intercontinental Title match was seriously lackluster but the last two squash matches were at least somewhat fun. The King’s Court was pretty bad too as it was filled with shit jokes.

Raw History
Episode #80
October 3rd, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York

Randy Savage and Vince McMahon are our hosts.

British Bulldog vs. Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart
A quick distraction from Owen Hart allows Jim Neidhart to take advantage. Owen: “He’s real strong but he’s dumb.” Bulldog doesn’t stay down long and they end up working a test of strength. Bulldog dropkicks to get out of it, showing his athleticism. Anvil works some chinlocks because that’s about the maximum effort he can put into a singles match. Owen pulls the top rope down on Bulldog, causing him to fall outside. This brings out Bret Hart to even the score, but Bulldog is selling a knee injury. Neidhart now pounds away on Bulldog for a while and goes to another staple of a guy that doesn’t put in much effort, the bearhug. Bulldog begins to rally and gets two on a clothesline. Owen talks smack when Bulldog ends up in trouble again. Anvil applies a camel clutch but Bulldog fights out. Bob Backlund shows up to talk trash to Bret, allowing Owen to enter and dropkick Bulldog.

Winner via disqualification: British Bulldog in 11:50
Not bad actually. Usually singles matches for Jim Neidhart are bad but he worked pretty well with Bulldog. It wasn’t a classic and had a few dull moments, but they did fine overall. **¼

Bret Hart enters and it becomes a family war as all four guys trade blows until Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart escape.

Doink vs. Barry Horowitz
Commentary spends the match discussing the EPIC Jerry Lawler/Doink feud. Yea, not even commentary is entertaining here. Doink wins in short order with the Whoopee Cushion, which now has sound effects included.

Winner: Doink in 2:33
Doink matches are considerably less interesting these days.

Another week, another Undertaker and Paul Bearer promo from Superstars. It’s again about Yokozuna and casket matches.

Jerry Lawler brings out Yokozuna for the King’s Court. He is accompanied by Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette. Cornette being here means this may be tolerable instead of dreadful. Cornette says that the rumors of Yokozuna being scared of the Undertaker is a bogus story. Lawler makes the mistake of saying casket, which starts to freak out Yokozuna.

Next week, Bam Bam Bigelow goes one on one with Lex Luger!

Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon
Did they get a time machine and pull Heidi Lee Morgan out of the 80s? Her attire and look just seems so outdated even in that time. She starts against Luna and scores an interesting near fall on a roll up. She ends up playing the face in peril. Bull does the bulk of the beatdown. When Morgan starts a small rally, it of course brings “USA” chants. Gotta love those evil foreigners. Macho Man says “call me crazy, but I’m attracted to Bull Nakano”. Vince McMahon indeed calls him crazy. Blayze gets the hot tag and beast the hell out of Luna. She tries a double suplex with Morgan on Bull, but Bull reverses it. Macho Man calls her strong and pretty, causing Vince to say she isn’t pretty. Wow, Vince really had an issue with her looks. A bridging German from Blayze on Luna nets her team the win.

Winners: Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan in 5:02
That was much different than the earlier match but I enjoyed them about the same for different reasons. This was rather fast paced and Bull Nakano is just so good to watch. **¼

Bob Backlund vs. Gary Scott
Bob Backlund has now adopted the haircut and blue robe look. Scott hits a quick arm drag and Macho Man gets excited. He shouldn’t. Backlund stretches the ham and egger before making him submit to the crossface chicken wing.

Winner: Bob Backlund in 2:25
About as enjoyable as you would expect. Backlund is much more fun as this nutcase character.

Bret Hart is interviewed about Bob Backlund. He says that he’s beaten Bob Backlund already so he feels he doesn’t deserve a WWF Title shot and he should go to the back of the line.

Overall: 5/10. An improvement on last week. The Neidhart/Bulldog match was decent and I thought the same about the women’s tag team match. Bob Backlund was even enjoyable. Doink and the poor King’s Court segment really hurt this show in the end.

Raw History
Episode #81
October 10th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York

We have our usual commentary team tonight.

Bam Bam Bigelow w/ The Million Dollar Corporation vs. Lex Luger
Vince speculates if Lex Luger will bring his own entourage, but I’m like 90% sure he has no friends. Well, he brings the American flag with him so there’s that. Like all heels, Bigelow attacks form behind following a distraction from Tatanka. He beats on Luger until the man made in the USA gets a short rally and sends him outside. Vince McMahon tells us that King Kong Bundy is the newest member of the Million Dollar Corporation. Commentary keeps making Christopher Columbus references. Bigelow turns things around and looks for the headbutt but misses. Luger knocks Nikolai Volkoff off the apron and scores two on Bigelow. King Kong Bundy waddles down to ringside. Luger lets go of a hold to protest this. Really Luger? The other three guys at ringside were okay but four is too much? After a commercial break, Mabel and Adam Bomb have come out to help watch Luger’s back. Bigelow is in control, scoring on a DDT for two. He hits a strange looking dropkick for another near fall. Dibiase calls Luger a loser at ringside and, judging by Luger’s record in big matches, he isn’t entirely wrong. Luger starts the comeback, complete with SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES! Tatanka tries to get involved but gets knocked off the apron by Bigelow accidentally. Luger rolls him up and snatches victory.

Winner: Lex Luger in 10:46
A solid match that was much better than expected. Bigelow and Luger both worked some slow points, but the finishing stretch was pretty well done and the fact that it didn’t end in a DQ or countout was cool. **½

Bigelow argues with Tatanka up the aisle until Ted Dibiase calms things down. Lex Luger celebrates like he won some big time match. He’s the king of major celebrations in strange situations.

Footage airs of Bob Backlund on the Heartbreak Hotel this past weekend on Superstars. Shawn Michaels says he and Diesel want to party with Backlund but Backlund declines because they aren’t on his level. Backlund uses big words that go over Shawn’s head and challenges Bret Hart to a WWF Title match.

Mabel vs. Reno Riggins
Did Mo die or something? I’m not complaining but he just disappeared. Reno Riggins gives it the old college try but it is a futile effort against someone of Mabel’s size. Mabel misses an elbow drop, giving people false hope that he’ll win. Mabel squashes those thoughts with a leg drop.

Winner: Mabel in 2:37
Pretty much every Mabel squash ever with a few misses from him.

We see clips of Macho Man at the Columbus Day parade.

Owen Hart w/ Jim Neidhart vs. John Crystal
Commentary hypes the fact that Owen Hart gets his last shot at Bret Hart’s WWF Title on the debut episode of Action Zone. Vince then starts talking about George Lucas writing three more Star Wars movies and suggests that Princess Leia will be played by Bull Nakano. Macho Man responds with “THAT’S AN OLD FLAME OF MINE!” Crystal gets in like one move and Owen dominates. The Sharpshooter ends it.

Winner: Owen Hart in 3:41
Fine for what it was. Owen Hart just did his thing for a while, which is usually good.

Our third straight week featuring an Undertaker casket promo from Superstars.

King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Mike Khoury
King Kong Bundy dominates and could win quickly but pulls Khoury up from the count. Bundy wins with a splash and wants the five count.

Winner: King Kong Bundy in 2:44
Boring. But now whenever I hear the “money” part of Dibiase’s theme, I just hear “Bundy” instead.

A clip airs from Superstars where Doink and Dink pranked Jerry Lawler and made him sit in a pie. This leads us to the King’s Court and Lawler brings out his guest, Queasy. For those who don’t remember, Queasy is one of the little people that teams with Lawler at the Survivor Series. This whole segment and feud is absolute garbage.

The New Headshrinkers w/ Afa and Capt. Lou Albano vs. Corey Student and JT Storm
Here we have the Raw debut of Sionne. Macho Man thinks this is the improved version of the Headshrinkers. They win in very short order after a Sionne kick.

Winners: The New Headshrinkers in 1:43
Not bad as it made the new Headshrinkers look pretty dominant.

Next week, Doink goes one on one with Jeff Jarrett.

Overall: 4.5/10. While the big matchup this week was better than last, the rest of the show kind of dragged. King Kong Bundy is someone I never like to have around and the King’s Court segment was one again atrocious.

WWE Elimination Chamber Review

WWE Elimination Chamber
February 12th, 2017 | Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona

Mojo Rawley def. Curt Hawkins in 8:13
A Kickoff match that I don’t think anyone cared about. Hawkins returned for no reason as he’s done nothing. However, they did better than I expected. Mojo brought a lot of fire and got a solid reaction. Hawkins was kind of just there. Mojo won with a tilt-a-whirl slam. It was worked like something you’d see on a live event, which was fine, but sometimes I want more from the Kickoff show. **

Becky Lynch def. Mickie James in 11:33
The first of three women’s matches on the show. I liked it as the opener because it was the best of those three on paper. The crowd was invested, which was good. Becky started hot, overwhelming the veteran. I liked that Mickie took a powder outside and once back in, she took over by using Becky’s own tactics against her, working the arm. I like that for Mickie’s character. Mickie dominated with that until they abandoned some of the arm work to trade stuff in the closing stretch. Becky won on a jackknife pin, which was a decent finish. It kept Mickie strong, though I would have had Becky get in a bit more offense so it didn’t look like a lucky win. Still, a good opener that was mostly worked in smart fashion. ***

Apollo Crews and Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler in 7:23
Originally I noted that a handicap match with the babyfaces having the advantage was a bad idea. I stand by that, which was why I appreciated Dolph Ziggler taking out Kalisto before the match. It allowed he and Apollo Crews to basically work a singles match. It wasn’t great. Lots of slow points. They haven’t given fans enough reason to care for Apollo and Dolph is bland as a heel. Kalisto limped out and hit a handspring kick before tagging Apollo to get the win. Dolph’s heel turn just leads to more losses. He got some heat back by Pillmanizing Apollo. **

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Turmoil Match: American Alpha (c) def. The Ascension, Breezango, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos and The Vaudevillains in 21:03
This started with Breezango against Slater and Rhyno. Breezango had some cool gear. They fell to Slater and Rhyno in a fun start and the Vaudevillains suffered the same fate. I’m pleasantly surprised the Vaudes lasted more than a minute. The Usos joined the fray and eliminated the former champions before the current champs came out. Usos/AA was the highlight of the match. AA eliminated them so the pissed off Usos attacked them. They left them for dead and made it easy pickings for the Ascension. However, the Ascension are a bunch of scrubs. AA weathered the storm and overcame the odds to retain. I liked that their comeback wasn’t too superman like. They only powered up for two spots and everything else was more hopeful. The match was fine but I wasn’t a fan of the booking. If AA was going to prove they were the best team, I’d have had them start and go the distance. Beat everyone to set up a new challenger coming in or pull something similar with the Usos anyway. It was just structured so oddly and the crowd didn’t care much. **¾

Natalya vs. Nikki Bella ended in a double countout at 13:18
Why? This feud has been garbage (the Carmella/Nikki one was miles better) but they’ve played it as heated with lots of attacks. Naturally, they grapple here. They should want to murder each other. This suffered from the same problem all Natalya matches do. She’s incredibly bland. Her heat segment involved her doing boring moves while yelling awkward things at Nikki and the crowd. She did the “you can’t see me” taunt more than she should have. It all just felt weird. I did like the small storytelling piece of Nikki trying to prove she could wrestle thought it was one of the only things to make sense. They did a shitty double countout finish to continue this god awful rivalry. Worst match on the show. At least Nikki showed her STF is better than Cena’s. *

Randy Orton def. Luke Harper in 17:12
Maybe I was more invested in this than most because I love Luke Harper. I dug most of this match. It started a bit slow but picked up on a Harper suicide dive. Harper got in a ton of offense, way more than I expected against Randy Orton. When Orton is motivated, he can flat out go, which felt like the case here. Harper brought some vicious strikes and Orton sold well for him. They had some great back and forth and several close calls that got the crowd into it by the end. Orton survived a sitout powerbomb spot and shortly after, nailed the RKO to win. A potential star making performance for Harper. He looked great in defeat, while Orton gains momentum before Mania. I’d still like to see Harper added to the Mania Title match. More on that in a bit though. ***¾

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Naomi def. Alexa Bliss (c) in 8:17
From what I’m seeing around various websites, most people liked this more than I did. It did blow their No Mercy match out of the water at least. Naomi looked better than usual, which she needed to because she’s largely unimpressive. Alexa is slightly better to me in the ring but neither stands out. They brought energy here and benefitted from being the shortest women’s match on the card. It allowed them to avoid dull heat segments and give us no real downtime, which was appreciated. Naomi won with the split legged moonsault in a decision I dislike. I don’t see the appeal in Naomi, while Bliss has done wonderful character work. Second best match of Naomi’s career if memory serves me right. **½

WWE World Championship Elimination Chamber: Bray Wyatt def. AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, John Cena (c) and The Miz in 34:25
The new Elimination Chamber had padded mats on the floor, which didn’t look great but allowed for more freedom. Nearly everything about this match worked. Even the entrances, especially Bray’s where he stopped to intimidate each person in the pod, were great. AJ and Cena started and that’s always a great idea. I won’t go into anything near play-by-play but highlight some things. This wasn’t your typical spot fest or car crash Chamber. Sure it had great spots but this was a well told story. They hit on everything they needed to. AJ and Cena reignited their excellent rivalry. Baron Corbin was a monster that even Cena had trouble with. Corbin was first out on a Dean Ambrose rollup and even that was well done because Corbin then attacked Ambrose. It should set up an IC Title feud. Miz, playing the smarmy heel perfectly, got the cheap pin on Dean. He then went into a string of Daniel Bryan based offense before falling to the AA. In a surprising moment, Cena went out next to a Sister Abigail, leaving AJ and Bray in the end. Heel vs. Heel and it was a fresh matchup. I LOVE IT MAGGLE! I was so glad they allowed AJ and Bray to go at it with some great back and forth. AJ came close on the springboard 450 so he went for the Phenomenal Forearm. Bray caught him into the Sister Abigail to capture the title. Like I said, they nailed all of this. The pacing was great and it never felt slow despite the length. They told the stories they had to and each guy in the match did exactly what they needed to. This was neck and neck with the original Chamber match for the best. I could see this score getting bumped up after a re-watch. ****½

Overall: 6/10. I’d say this was my least favorite Smackdown exclusive PPV since the split. That still doesn’t make it a bad show though. Most of the match were at least somewhat entertaining. Mojo/Hawkins was better than expected and the handicap match was fine. Nikki/Natalya was the shits, but I found myself pleasantly surprised with Alexa/Naomi. The turmoil match was fine despite odd booking, Becky/Mickie was strong and Harper/Orton delivered. The main event honestly feels like an all-time great gimmick match and is must-see.

WWE Elimination Chamber Predictions

Some people rejoiced when Dolph Ziggler turned heel. Not me. I've never bought into him as a heel. He only ever drew heat because of Vickie Guerrero. He was always more into "stealing the show" than being a heel. Anyway, he had a good second half of 2016 so there's some hope. Not in this match though, despite me being a fan of both Kalisto and Apollo Crews. Booking the heel to have the disadvantage in a handicap match is just dumb. It would have been better if Dolph took out Kalisto and Crews tried getting revenge for his little buddy. Instead, the babyfaces will have the advantage, which makes it tough to draw sympathy. I hope they can pull off something good, but I don't see it happening. Dolph wins via nefarious terms.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

This feud is pretty much just a shittier version of Carmella vs. Nikki. Carmella/Nikki was miles better than it had any right to be. I can't say the same here. Wooden acting and promos have surrounded some decent backstage brawling. I suspect the match will be okay. It's an interesting mix because Nattie has gotten by on people saying how good she is in the ring, while Nikki has gotten flack for the opposite. I think Nattie isn't quite that great and Nikki isn't that bad. Nikki should win this because she'll most likely be in a prominent role at WrestleMania. Natalya won't.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Honestly, I'd have saved this to be the WrestleMania Smackdown Women's Title match but I assume we get some kind of multi-woman match for each brand. Mickie and Becky sold the hell out of this match during the contract signing on Smackdown. it baffles me that Charlotte gets so much praise, when I feel like Becky has been MILES better over the past year. If Mickie is on her game like she was at TakeOver: Toronto, this could have show stealing potential. Mickie is 0-2 in tags since returning if I'm right and could use the win. Becky can survive a loss as the best babyface female around.

Winner: Mickie James

The best possible outcome, though it's unlikely, of Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble would be a Orton/Wyatt/Harper at WrestleMania. The thought of three good workers with history and a compelling story to tell fighting for the title would be great. I know Harper being involved would seem odd but it would make sense and I love Harper, so sue me. If I were choosing with my heart, I'd go with Harper to set up something interesting heading into WrestleMania. But I'm choosing with my brain. Randy Orton is Randy Orton. He'll win.

Winner: Randy Orton

Natalya is boring, but Naomi is right up there next to her in that category. In fact, they're the only two women currently on Smackdown who I don't care about. I've enjoyed some of the Carmella/James Ellsworth stuff, but after the performances she put on from a character standpoint during the Nikki feud, she deserves to be featured more. Naomi has never interested me outside of a fun entrance. Their match at No Mercy was complete garbage but with more time to plan, hopefully this one is better. It's Naomi, so I'm not expecting a ton and as much as I love Alexa, she isn't quite ready to carry someone. Alexa NEEDS to retain.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

Come on people. This one is easy. I thought they would go with a tag Elimination Chamber like 2015 considering the PPV and the amount of teams involved. A turmoil match could be fun though and we haven't had one in a while. All of these teams are relatively fine, especially in short bursts but the result is obvious. Nobody is ready to take the titles from American Alpha. I originally thought the Usos would be the team in between Slater & Rhyno and AA, but the Wyatts worked better there. AA retains and probably doesn't drop the titles until a new team arrives. The Revival perhaps?

Winners: American Alpha

I love Smackdown. They've had a short time to build this match but I'm intrigued. All six guys come across as main eventers and kudos to Smackdown for elevating The Miz and Baron Corbin. They've been among my favorite acts in the entire WWE since the brand split. We'll do process of elimination here. Corbin won't win because it's too soon for him. This is more about him having a great performance (like the match with AJ and Ziggler at the end of last year). I can't see Miz winning though if he did, I would be overjoyed. He's been one of the company MVPs for a long time. Dean Ambrose is the Intercontinental Champion, so he won't win. AJ Styles, as incredible as he is, just had a run and won't get another now. If they wanted him to enter Mania as champion he would have retained at the Rumble. It comes down to Bray Wyatt and John Cena. My money is on Bray. He can finally shed the feeling that he loses big matches and it sets up Orton/Wyatt at Mania. I much prefer their split be over the title and not some lame "Orton was infiltrating them and not really a member the whole time" thing. Cena gets a short reign but I suspect his record breaking 17th reign be a longer one.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

2017 Prediction Record: 3-5

2016 Prediction Record: 65-37

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka
February 11th, 2017 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,466

After a disappointing (to me at least) Sapporo event, the second half of the New Beginning shows is upon us. This one has a stronger card on paper and Osaka is always a hot crowd, which should only help things. The Osaka New Beginning shows have produced some classics in recent years (Naito/Ishii in 2014 and Ishii/Shibata in 2016 come to mind).

TAKA Michinoku def. Henare in 4:38
I had no clue TAKA’s theme was basically still his old WWF one. The injury to El Desperado caused some reshuffling but I’m okay with this because Henare should benefit from work with a veteran like TAKA. TAKA did his best to wear down his larger opponent and slapped on a crossface but Henare reached the ropes. Henare came back with a diving shoulder block for a near fall. TAKA played the youngster when he trapped his arms and legs in cradle to end it. Fine enough for the opener. It could have used another minute or two to get better though. **

TenKoji def. KUSHIDA and YOSHITATSU in 6:57
You have to feel bad for KUSHIDA considering his partner. YOSHI attacked before the bell, which is rather hypocritical from the “Bullet Club Hunter”. KUSHIDA didn’t take part in the attack. TenKoji played the underhanded game too when Tenzan dropped a knee in KUSHIDA’s groin. YOSHI got a mild tag to no reaction. His spinning heel kick looked worse than Tenzan’s did during his injured G1 25 run. It’s like Viscera levels of bad. Kojima entered and lit them up before winning with the lariat. Another decent match. TenKoji was a lot of fun. Again, not a fan of YOSHI’s performance. **¼

After the match, YOSHITATSU refused to shake hands and brawled with Kojima. I’m assume he returns from CMLL as a heel, hopefully one who performs better in the ring and drops the Triple H cosplay nonsense.

Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV and Yuji Nagata def. CHAOS (NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Gedo, Jado and YOSHI-HASHI) in 7:51
We’ve gotten a lot of Jado on recent shows and I don’t like it. He’s a shittier Gedo in almost every way. Speaking of Gedo, we got some of his hilarious shouting while Tiger Mask worked him over. I must say, the interactions between Liger and Goto were quite fun. Juice got a hot tag and went after Goto. They must be setting up a rematch between the two. Goto hit USHIGOROSHI and somewhere, Mauro Ranallo popped. Things broke down, leaving Juice with Jado. The former CJ Parker took care of that scrub, winning with pulp friction. Another slight uptick in quality on the show so far. Juice brought a lot of fire, Goto and Tacos were their usual selves and Gedo was funny. The only guys who didn’t do anything for me in this were Jado and Tiger Mask. **½

Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice) in 10:27
This is slightly different (Kanemaru instead of TAKA) from the Road to New Beginning match on 1/27. It was RPG Vice who got off to the hot start here. Suzuki beat up Okada outside, again focusing on the leg. The endgame to this better be Suzuki literally ripping Okada’s leg off and beating him over the head with it. That’s the only acceptable outcome. Minoru is such a bad dude, he put both RPG Vice in leg locks at the same time. Okada mostly sold the leg well here. He hit the dropkick but couldn’t follow up due to pain. I appreciate that and felt it was missing at times in their title match. CHAOS took over until that dirty Taichi went low. Suzuki tried putting Okada to sleep while Kanemaru pinned Romero. Good way to further Okada/Suzuki but the Jr. Tag Title picture isn’t interesting me at all. **¾

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi (c) in 12:15
We’ve reached the portion of the show dominated by LIDJ matches, which should be the jump in quality I’m looking for. Taguchi was dressed as EVIL again. LIDJ attacked early because that’s what heel stables do in NJPW. The faces turned it around and posed for the crowd. Taguchi ended up taking somewhat of a beating, even getting tied up like he was wrestling Jack Gallagher or something. It was interesting to see Taguchi’s ass be the focal point of their attack. Dropkicks and atomic drops galore. Tanahashi got the hot tag because, GO ACE! He ran wild until tagging Nakanishi, who used his power to his advantage. The champs worked a cool trio of submissions (ankle lock, cloverleaf and torture rack) which led to the Hercules cutter, only there was a ref bump. LIDJ hit a series of offense on Manabu but the pin was broken up. After hitting a cross body, Nakanishi had the mist spit at him. He fell into the dragon sleeper and tapped out. As expected, the best thing on the show so far. They made the right booking decision and gave us a fun match. The faces brought energy and entertainment, while the heels did their thing. I thought attacking Taguchi’s ass was smart and different. Down the stretch, they did a great job with false finishes without doing too many kickouts. ***¼

RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) def. Will Ospreay in 13:51
Ospreay holds the RPW British Cruiserweight Title here. Unlike the tag previews of this match, Will and Shibata didn’t go right at one another, instead staying completely still. Interesting as neither guy wanted to make the first mistake. They went with grappling early. It isn’t the strongest part of either man’s game but they both do it well enough. Ospreay missed his first two high risk moves but connected on two right after and stole “sit in the ring cross legged” taunt. Will targeted Shibata’s taped knee. He also did Shibata’s corner dropkick. BIG MISTAKE WILLY! He gave Shibata his hardest strikes but the champ shrugged it off and lit into him, finishing with the corner dropkick. Instead of the typical trading Germans spot, Ospreay landed on his feet on one. He went for a handspring kick but got caught into a German anyway. Outside, Will kicked Shibata’s head into the ring post, nearly resulting in a countout but Will powered up and carried Shibata inside. That wasn’t enough so Will pointed to Okada on commentary and called for the Rainmaker. It was blocked but he still caught Shibata with a spinning kick. He nailed the imploding 450 splash yet Shibata got his shoulder up. Will hit a spin kick only for Shibata to counter the Oscutter into the sleeper! Sleeper suplex and the PK ended young Ospreay. A fantastic match that exceeded my expectations. They got creative with their spots, making this just different enough from a lot of Shibata matches. Ospreay looked great taking a heavyweight to the limit, but his best shot wasn’t enough. Along with the first KUSHIDA match last year, this was the best Ospreay performance I’ve seen. Give me a rematch please. ****½

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) def. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka and Great Bash Heel in 12:31
Continuing the trend of Suzuki-Gun injuries, Lance Archer needs back surgery. So instead of Archer and Desperado, we have to watch Taichi and Iizuka. Yikes. Though it does make this slightly different from the last Nee Beginning show. Why book the same match on two straight shows? Because, Gedo. This started with a brawl outside before Yano did his best to avoid Iizuka. He tried tagging out but no one was having that shit. More brawling on the floor followed, killing time. Makabe ran through everyone for a bit before he and Ishii reignited their rivalry from 2015. Suzuki-Gun took control and Iizuka nailed Ishii with the iron claw gimmick. He tried it on Yano but accidentally hit Smith. Yano rolled up Iizuka to retain. Decent fun but nothing more. The one at the last New Beginning show was better. **½

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Dragon Lee in 18:23
Their match during Fantastica Mania last year got ****½ from me. There’s a star quality about Takahashi that no other junior, except maybe KUSHIDA, has. They worked the opening sequence at an absurd pace. Lee ended it with a tope suicida that came off like a headbutt. Takahashi superkicked Lee on the apron and delivered a great sunset flip bomb to the outside. Inside, Takahashi went after Lee’s mask. THE BASTARD! They continued to go to war, in and out of the ring, including Lee hitting an insane rana off the apron and a tope con hilo. Lee went for the double stomp off the top but Takahashi pulled off him with a belly to belly to the floor that nearly killed him. Lee answered back by catching a leaping Hiromu in a powerbomb on the floor. THEY’RE GONNA KILL EACH OTHER! After some more exchanges inside, Lee tried the apron rana again but Takahashi countered into a killer apron bomb. After hitting his insane senton spot, Takahashi found himself in trouble in a submission. He survived and we got a weak ref bump. Takahashi completely unmasked Lee, leading to an excellent near fall. They continued with huge near falls, including one a Takahashi destroyer that was among the best I’ve ever seen. Finally, he nailed a corner DVD and the time bomb to keep the title. That was exhausting. It was so different from everything else NJPW puts on in a great way. They told a story of two men who had an answer for everything the other did. They both went out and threw their all at the other to try and beat their rival. This was special. ****¾

Post-match, Ryusuke Taguchi entered the ring to congratulate Hiromu Takahashi. Takahashi didn’t care and tried to attack but ended up in the ankle lock. Taguchi/Takahashi is a good idea for the next defense. You hold off on the KUSHIDA rematch, Taguchi is popular and as he showed in the BOSJ finals last year, he can deliver if called upon. It would also work as a bit of a cool down for Takahashi who worked some wild matches since returning.

They ran an awesome video package where Michael Elgin spoke about dreaming of competing in Japan. 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Michael Elgin in 36:17
Tetsuya Naito has been so good since turning heel, it’s scary. Elgin lost the title to Naito in September and missed his rematch when Naito fractured something in Elgin’s face. Naito’s early stalling was cut off by a slingshot back elbow. Elgin had counters for Naito’s attacks and hit a somersault off the apron. He caught a Naito tope suicida into a suplex on the ramp in an awesome spot. To slow the pace and stop the wild Elgin, Naito went to the knee, which has also worked for him in their past matches. Elgin tried fighting through submissions. His comeback saw him nail modified versions of offense due to the knee. He murdered Naito with lariats, to the champ went back after the leg. Elgin had Naito scouted and showed flashes of power but would still fall victim to stuff because he didn’t have enough in the leg. Naito got caught leaping into a powerbomb for two. Again, Elgin’s power nearly helped him block a super rana but he couldn’t hold on and got hit with it anyway. Naito followed with a reverse rana for two. Elgin caught the disrespectful Naito with an apron air raid crash and then a dead lift falcon arrow. HE DID THE DEAL! Elgin did Naito’s taunt and hit a sick back fist and buckle bomb. Naito countered the Elgin Bomb by attacking the recently injured eye. Destino wasn’t enough and Elgin nailed a corner DVD. They fought outside where Elgin nailed an apron bomb and then a bonkers one into the guardrail. JESUS! On top of that, Naito kicked out of an Elgin Bomb inside. WTF! Naito countered burning hammer twice before eating a spinning back fist. He still came back with a rolling kick and corner Destino for another near fall. Another Destino was finally enough to keep Elgin down. Holy shit. Usually I prefer Elgin stay in his wheelhouse of 10-15 minutes, but with Naito he can go 30+ and be awesome. Their matches have gotten progressively better over time. Both guys delivered outstanding performances and everything they did made sense. The drama was well built and my only gripe would be a bit too many false finishes. Almost everything else worked here. Naito continues to amaze. ****½

Overall: 8/10. It should come as no surprise that the show centered more around Los Ingobernables is far better than the one last week. The first half of the show is nothing special but nothing there is bad. It mostly features relatively fun tag matches that helped build future matches. Once we got to the NEVER Tag Title match, things picked up. That was a fun match and the IWGP Tag Titles were decent. Shibata/Ospreay was out of this world and somehow the third best match on the card. Lee/Takahashi was one of the best Jr. Title matches I’ve ever seen and a step up from their already insane matches. Same goes for Naito/Elgin. They bested their past and put on an incredible main event.

Random Network Reviews: Fully Loaded 1999

Fully Loaded 1999
July 25th, 1999 | Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York | Attendance: 16,605

The Attitude Era was in full swing and business was booming for the WWF during this time period. This is the first PPV to air after the first live event I ever attended, which is pretty cool. This was a high stakes event with the main event being billed as the “End of an Era” and the show pulled in a 1.09 buyrate. This would be the second of three Fully Loaded Pay-Per-Views in history.

The intro video is weird but focuses on tonight possibly being the end for Mr. McMahon. The main event is “End of an Era” because if Steve Austin wins, Vince is gone from the company and if Undertaker wins, Austin can never have another title shot.

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. Footage airs from Heat shortly before this where Undertaker attacked Austin backstage and busted him open.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
One night earlier, Edge filled in for Ken Shamrock and faced Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title, defeating him to become champion in Toronto. Debra is basically not wearing anything tonight. The crowd wants puppies as the competitors feel each other out. Jarrett does the old heel tactic of walking out with the belt but its dumb here since he isn’t champion. I get that he wants to say “this is rightfully mine”, but he just looks like an idiot. He doesn’t actually leaves and returns to the ring, going after the knee when it looks like Edge tweaks it. He continues that focus and does his best to wear down Edge, while JR points out that it negates the quickness of Edge. Edge scores some flash pins as he starts a comeback. The lights go out as if a bloodbath is coming from the Brood, who recently kicked Edge out. When they come back on, Gangrel is laid out as his plan backfired. This does allow Jarrett to try and capitalize on the distraction. Edge still overcomes it and hits the Spear. Debra gets on the apron and uses the outfit she’s barely wearing to distract Edge. Jarrett hits Edge, which knocks Debra off the apron. Gangrel snaps Edge on the top rope, allowing Jarrett to score the pinfall.

Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Jeff Jarrett in 13:22
A solid match to open things up. I liked how Gangrel’s first interference attempt failed, which was a cool swerve. Yea there was some interference but it made sense within the angle and there was actually probably less than you’d expect in this area. A smartly worked match. ***

Steve Austin is done getting bandaged up and rushes out to the ring. He lays out Jeff Jarrett with a Stone Cold Stunner because he is in a foul mood. He’s so amped that he is bleeding again.

WWF Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz (c) and Michael Hayes vs. The Acolytes
Even though the titles are on the line, Michael Hayes could eat the pin and cost the Hardys the belts. The fight starts in the aisle after a backstage promo where Hayes comes off as a bit egotistical. The brawl continues outside where the Hardys bust out some cool dives onto the challengers. They are about three months away from REALLY breaking out. It’s a physical match as the Acolytes are just tossing the Hardys around. Things break down to a normal tag match. Bradshaw beats the hell out of Hayes, who is surprisingly able to bump pretty well. When Jeff comes in, he just takes a powerbomb, not proving to be much help. The Hardys are the ones to cheat, hitting Bradshaw with a cane, which is how they won the belts. Bradshaw is able to kick out somehow. Also, this was right in front of the official and no DQ was called. The Hardys go for Poetry in Motion but Bradshaw ANNIHILATES Jeff with a midair Clothesline from Hell. The pin gets broken up though, only to lead to Hayes being left alone. He takes a double powerbomb and we have new champions.

Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Acolytes in 9:32
Better than I thought it would be. Michael Hayes put in a good effort and the Hardys bumped like crazy for the Acolytes. The brawling was fun but when the match broke down it got a bit dull. Overall though, a good performance by both teams. **¾

WWF European Championship
Mideon (c) vs. D-Lo Brown
Before the match, D-Lo is interviewed about how he hasn’t held the European Title in nine months. About a month earlier, Mideon found the European Title in Shane McMahon’s duffel bag. Shane had retired it but allowed Mideon to have it. Brown is a solid hand but Mideon is pretty bad. Mideon sends him into the steel steps and takes control. Having the heel slow the pace and control the match makes sense in theory, but when the heel is Mideon, the execution is not going to be good. D-Lo makes a comeback that the crowd doesn’t care about and wins with the Lo Down.

Winner and New WWF European Champion: D-Lo Brown in 7:11
D-Lo Brown tried, but it’s damn near impossible to get a good match out of Mideon. This was just here to get the title onto someone with some actual credibility. Boring stuff since Mideon controlled most of it. ¾*

WWF Hardcore Championship
Al Snow (c) vs. Big Bossman
Al Snow looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks because a spike was driven though Head. I feel like these two had a feud that lasted through all of 1999. They start this match in the aisle and up by the entrance. Like a lot of hardcore matches from this era, they move backstage. Also like a lot of hardcore matches in the area, they just wail on each other with the most random of weapons, highlighted by Snow pouring hot coffee on Bossman. In a funny spot, Bossman finds the markers they use in the NFL to say that down it is. He finds one that says 4 and punt kicks Snow in the ribs. He tries to drive a golf cart into Snow but can’t get the vehicle to start so they ditch the spot. They go outside where Bossman nails a bulldog on the concrete. JR is stunned that wasn’t the finish. They even nearly get run over. Bossman hits Snow with a bottle and handcuffs him to a fence across the street. Snow is playing the deranged guy wanting more pain throughout this. Bossman lays him out with the nightstick and he puts his foot on Snow to pin the seated champion.

Winner and New WWF Hardcore Champion: Big Bossman in 10:11
While some of the things they did were pretty fun and creative, it was really just two guys beating the hell out of each other with random weapons. I appreciated them playing into the deranged Al Snow stuff, which made this a bit better. Not the worst way to spend ten minutes. **

Big Show vs. Kane
For some reason, Hardcore Holly is the special guest referee. Jim Ross says that both guys are in their twenties, which is incorrect. They work typical big man stuff with Holly continually stepping in and throwing his authority in the faces of the competitors. Honestly, neither Big Show nor Kane look very motivated and kind of plod through their offense. Holly keeps overstepping his boundaries. Kane hits a flying clothesline for the first impressive move of the match. Show then uses a chop block and Chokeslam for the pin as Holly counts fast.

Winner: Big Show in 8:13
Man that was absolutely dreadful. They didn’t do anything terribly or botch anything, but none of it was entertaining in the slightest. The Hardcore Holly story was something they didn’t do a bad job of telling, but again, it wasn’t an interesting story to tell. ¼*

Once the bell rings, X-Pac runs out to kick Hardcore Holly. The Undertaker runs out and Chokeslams X-Pac. Show and Undertaker put the boots to Kane. Undertaker leaves shortly after, but when he gets backstage, Steve Austin attacks and busts him open, evening the score from earlier tonight.

Iron Circle Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman
If you’re wondering what an Iron Circle match is, it’s just a parking lot brawl before it had that name. They are in street clothes and surrounded by cars, while various lower mid-carders and jobbers bang on the cars and honk horns. They brawl and Blackman tries to kill Shamrock with a chain only for Shamrock to dodge it. They do some okay spots with the cars until Shamrock chokes out Blackman with a chain.

Winner: Ken Shamrock in 4:19
A good idea that wasn’t greatly executed. While they didn’t do anything outwardly bad, nothing they did was really great and it was too short for anything to really get going. *½

Chyna and Mr. Ass vs. Road Dogg and X-Pac
Yup, this is a match for the rights to the DX name. Yes, Billy Gunn is literally known as Mr. Ass (nameplate, announcing and commentary). Yes, Billy and Chyna have matching attire that shows off their thongs. Jerry Lawler somehow tries to say that Billy and Chyna started DX so they deserve the name. JR is in way better form, wondering if Chyna and Bill ever confuse their trunks. The heels work over Road Dogg which is odd since I would assume X-Pac would take the beating. Not only is he the better seller and more sympathetic babyface, but he did just take a Chokeslam from the Undertaker. Wait, Dogg makes a quick mild tag and now X-Pac is taking the heat. That makes sense. The second hot tag comes and Chyna eats a Bronco Buster. There’s a sex tape joke in here somewhere. Billy gets left alone in the ring and is hit with a pumphandle slam to end it.

Winners: Road Dogg and X-Pac in 11:44
This wasn’t bad. They played the tag formula wisely but it was kind of just there and the crow was only really into the finish. I expected better from people with such knowledge of each other. **

Fully Loaded Strap Match
The Rock vs. Triple H
This is a number one contender’s match and it’s not the traditional “touch all four corners” strap match. The video package beforehand is pretty cool as it shows how their feud originally was about factions and the IC Title, but has graduated now. Rock mentions the curtain call in his pre-match promo which was interesting. Since its Falls Count Anywhere, they brawl on the outside. It features some Rock shenanigans like taking a picture of HHH with a fan’s camera. As they fight to the Spanish announce table, I see Savio Vega is on commentary. Highlight of the night. The fight goes into the crowd where they just continue to beat on each other. The strap comes into play when Rock uses it to pull HHH into a guardrail. Both guys get some near falls by the entrance. They make it back to the ring but Chyna comes out and distracts the referee after a Rock Bottom. HHH uses the strap to choke Rock for a bit, now having the advantage. HHH undoes his strap to get a chair but the Rock just ends up whipping him with it. Rock is near a win again only for Billy Gunn to come out and lay out the Rock with a club. Rock manages to still kick out. Rock again comes back and is near a win when Gunn gets involved. He eats a Rock Bottom for his troubles. Rock turns right into a Pedigree and Triple H wins.

Winner: Triple H in 19:21
These two have had some really great matches in the past. This isn’t one that I would classify as great though it was solid. There was certainly a lot of fighting in the crowd and aisle, which isn’t always the most interesting, but it made good use of the stipulation. It was pretty overbooked too and not in a good way. ***

WWF Championship First Blood Match
Steve Austin (c) vs. The Undertaker
The build for this looked pretty great as Undertaker kept busting Austin open, including Vince signing the contract in Austin’s blood. Vince McMahon joins commentary. This starts in the aisle during Austin’s entrance, which makes sense given how personal the feud has been. Like the last match, they brawl around ringside and in the crowd a bit. I appreciate how Undertaker just keeps punching Austin and trying to rip open the stitches. When Austin turns the tide, he attacks the knee, which is certainly odd in a match like this. Thanks to Austin’s bandage, it looks like he’s busted open numerous times as they fight through the crowd and around the ring. Undertaker gets tied up in the ring and Austin grabs a chair, so out comes Shane McMahon. Austin levels him with the chair, giving us a fantastic Vince reaction at ringside. Vince tries to get involved too, but is laid out for his troubles. Undertaker uses a chair on Austin’s back and looks to do more but X-Pac shows up and kicks the chair into his face. Austin uses this time to steal a TV camera from ringside and hits Undertaker with it. Undertaker is busted open and gets into a slugfest with Austin. He goes for the Tombstone but Earl Hebner sees the blood and calls for the bell.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: Steve Austin in 15:31
A pretty solid match. I remember thinking that these two never really had good matches, but the two that I’ve seen have been pretty good. Nothing great, but enjoyable stuff. It was a bit overbooked, though that kind of makes sense and it expected in this era. It was a fun brawl and most of what they did made sense. ***

Vince McMahon tries to attack Austin but eats a Stunner. Triple H runs out to attack Austin but the Rock shows up to take him out. Somehow Austin gets busted open now and brawls with the Undertaker while both men bleed. Austin ends the night with a goodbye Stunner on Vince.

Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. This was a very middle of the pack show. The best things on it were good at best and they opened the closed the show. Outside of the first two and last two matches, everything on this show is an easy skip, making it a hard show to recommend despite the big time main event. My next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Survivor Series 1990!