Match 1: Edge vs. Shawn Michaels
The established superstar in Shawn Michaels opens up the night against the up and coming superstar in Edge. Feels weird typing that out. It's interesting to see how their chemistry together here started. If you watch their matches in the years after this, they just gelled so nicely. However, it felt like a bit of a sluggish match for their standards. Then again, Edge hadn't established himself as one of the best wrestlers in the world just yet. They still did a fantastic job and the match was definitely a good one. Michaels, even in 2005, was a joy to watch. He perfectly spaces out his moves and lets Edge get in a good amount of offense. Edge eventually scored the win after getting some help from the ropes.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: Casket - Heidenreich vs. The Undertaker
Heidenreich hates caskets. And here we are. The Undertaker is his opponent and must put The Undertaker in the casket. I can't believe I'm watching this 11 years later for my review. Regardless, they centered the match around Heidenreich's fear of the damn casket. They had a pretty lackluster match going on and when Undertaker looked to be in complete control, Snitsky came to Heidenreich's aid. However, Kane emerged from the casket and fought Snitsky away. Meanwhile, Heidenreich pushes the casket away with ease. Funny considering the announcers just said the thing must weigh over 500 pounds. Undertaker would later hit a Tombstone and placed Heidenreich away in the casket. Wasn't as bad as I expected but don't get it twisted, I won't be watching this again any time soon.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: WWE Championship - JBL (c) vs. The Big Show vs. Kurt Angle
Sometimes, you need a cluster of a match and guess what, these guys delivered that with an exclamation point. Both JBL and Kurt Angle are nursing injuries from their encounter on SmackDown three days prior. The Big Show has the definitive advantage here but carnage basically breaks through between the three. Awesome spots from this triple threat match that saw Big Show fall through a table and JBL get slammed through the barricade at ringside. That's where the match began to end as Angle has Mark Jindak & Luther Reigns come out for assistance as they take out Big Show away from the equation. However, JBL is able to get back into the ring with help from his Cabinet where he lands a nasty Clothesline from Hell on Angle to retain the title. Great triple threat match that allows JBL to sneak away as the champion once again.
Winner: JBL
Rating: ***1/2
Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton
The heat between Triple H and Batista is nearing its boiling point. However, Triple H must put their beef aside and focus on Randy Orton as Evolution is banned from ringside for this match. Orton was booked as a chump following his 2004 title reign and while he lost the match here, I thought that he at least came off as a pretty strong challenger. Great wrestling from the first bell as Triple H reminds us how great he is at telling a story. Working on the leg of Orton and looking cerebral in doing his best to destroy Orton from moving at all. Things really heated up when the referee got knocked down and Triple H brought in his sledgehammer and looked to have a field day against Orton. Orton already looks like he had gotten the crap kicked out of him. However, Orton doesn't allow Triple H to use the sledgehammer but still gets hit with a Pedigree. Orton needs to reset after this loss, always an essential when someone is booked to early to become champion. Like I said, Randy Orton put up a worthy fight but he goes to the back of the line after this.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****1/4
Match 5: 2005 Royal Rumble
This was probably one of the best constructed Royal Rumble matches of all time. They started the match off with Eddie Guerrero taking on Chris Benoit before letting loose some jobbers so the focus was mainly on them. The Rumble is a perfect time to draw lines for feuds headed into WrestleMania and the perfect start for one came when Kurt Angle rushed towards the ring and delivered suplex after suplex. This was only before getting hit with a Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels. Angle rushed back into the ring, threw out Michaels, and beat the living daylights out of him as blood ran down the face of HBK. So awesome. There was never really a dull moment in this match and they were able to get their stories across. It was SmackDown vs. Raw at one point, it was Muhammad Hassan getting eliminated by all the competitors, and most importantly, it was a match that saw the dawn of a new era. Gone were Brock Lesnar, The Rock, and Stone Cold Austin. Instead, our final four guys consisted of Rey Mysterio, Edge, Batista, and John Cena. However, the SmackDown vs. Raw story intertwined in the very end as it came down to Batista and John Cena. Batista hoisted up Cena for a Batista Bomb but the two ended up falling out of the ring simultaneously. The Raw referees declared Batista the winner while the SmackDown referees declared Cena the winner. Nice touch. Mr. McMahon then came out to the ring and restarted the match where Batista quickly eliminated Cena. Epic win and an epic road for Batista to WrestleMania 21.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was one of the more memorable Royal Rumble events that have come about in the past 15 years or so. This show also had one of the better undercards aside from the Casket match with Triple H vs. Randy Orton being the focal point. The Royal Rumble match delivered on so many levels and also marked the start of a brand new era.
Rating: 8/10
Friday, December 25, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
WWE Bragging Rights 2009 Review
Match 1: Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights - John Morrison vs. The Miz
This is the first Bragging Rights PPV and it's one of the better PPV ideas the WWE has created. There will be three Raw vs. SmackDown matches and whichever brand to score two wins earns the big Bragging Rights trophy. The first match is between two former partners in a champion vs. champion bout. I really do wish they had saved this for a bigger stage but it does make sense to have it open the night here. Miz has come a very long way, his wrestling skills have seen a pretty hefty improvement over the past year and it shows here against Morrison. Good match that only suffered from time constraints and a faulty finish as Miz simply pushed Morrison off the top who was attempting his Starship Pain finisher. Despite that, Miz scores a point for Team Raw.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights - Team Raw (Melina, Kelly Kelly, & Gail Kim) vs. Team Smackdown (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, & Natalya)
The second match of the night is another Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights bout but this time around, it's with the lovely Divas. Really, what needs to be said here that hasn't been said about them before? A typical Divas match that saw lots of sluggish moves and a couple botches here and there as the commentators do their best to hype this match. Beth Phoenix hit Melina with her Glam Slam finish to secure the win. Bland PPV match, just another Divas match you would see on Raw.
Winners: Team SmackDown
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: World Heavyweight Championship - The Undertaker (c) vs. Batista vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
SmackDown's main event features four former champions going after each other for Undertaker's gold. This was an odd match, it never really felt like it got out of first gear and almost as if it was just one big cluster in the ring. Nobody had the advantage in the match, there was a nice blend of everybody getting close to scoring the win. However, CM Punk just seemed kind of there for the most part. The Undertaker is the champ and seems like is the one participating the most, Batista and Rey Mysterio have their encounter, and Punk never really seemed to fit in with the main eventers here. Batista cleans house in the ring before turning around to The Undertaker hitting a Tombstone on him for the victory. Afterwards, Josh Matthews interviews Mysterio in the ring about the match before Batista absolutely destroys Mysterio. One of the best heel turns you will ever see. The look of anger and intensity in Batista's face was superb. They teased his turn during the match and it culminated after with Batista beating the hell out of Mysterio. The match itself was good but it was too short and just never really clicked. But if there's one thing to take out of this match other than Punk is likely going down the card, it's that Batista belongs in the WWE as a heel.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights - Team Raw (D-Generation X, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, & Jack Swagger) vs. Team SmackDown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, & The Hart Dynasty)
This is the first Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights match in history and it reminds me very much of the famous main event of the 2005 Survivor Series. The main difference being that this one lacks that special feel to it. The one in 2005 felt like a legit feud, this one feels rather forced. The audience doesn't really have any brand allegiance and could really care less who walked out the "more superior brand." This is the deciding factor of the night as both brands have a tied score. This isn't an elimination match so the first to score the pin or submission scores the win for their squad. This was a pretty brief match as it takes into account the main event after this. Everybody gets their shots in until The Big Show hits a Chokeslam on Kofi Kingston followed by taking out Triple H. Chris Jericho is left to pin Kingston to score the win for his team. A rather predictable finish but it made sense considering how Jericho is pretty much brainwashing The Big Show. Jericho hilariously celebrates with his team and the trophy after the match. If we could get a count on how many times Show has turned on people, that would be great.
Winners: Team SmackDown
Rating: ***
Match 5: WWE Championship - Anything Goes Iron Man - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Just in case you guys haven't gotten enough of these guys facing each other, you get these two one more time in an Iron Man match for the full hour. Not only does anything go for this match, but Cena must leave Raw if he loses. Never heard that one before. Since we've pretty much seen everything from these two guys, they needed to pull as many tricks out of the hat as they could. They definitely did that and they definitely made the hour go by quickly. Every pin made sense and every pin was different from the other. Randy Orton tapped early on as soon as John Cena applied his STF, it was brilliant. They did a double pin where Cena landed his Attitude Adjustment as Orton slickly turned it into an RKO. They also got Legacy involved before Kofi Kingston chased them off with a steel chair as Kingston had a previous encounter with Cody Rhodes in the night. Let's not forget the wacky part where Orton looked to take out Cena with the pyro. It felt really corny but it definitely made for a memorable scene. Also cool to see how Cena bled a good amount after Orton drilled Cena in the top of his head with a microphone. I had my doubts about this match but they quickly turned them away pretty fast. They told a really great story throughout and especially with the second half. As time winded down, Orton had the advantage on the scoreboard and looked to play defense in order to protect his lead. However, Cena was having none of it and looked to regain the lead with limited time in his hands. Finally, Cena tied things up with a huge Attitude Adjustment through the announcers table. Cena wasn't able to score a second pin and decides to set up a table in the middle of the ring. That plan backfires as Orton rolled out of danger as Cena drove himself through the table. After a couple referee bumps, Cena is able to lock in the STF once more to get Orton to submit right in the nick of time to win the match, the rivalry, and the WWE Championship. Fantastic match that completely exceeded my expectations. These two never really have the best matches ever so to sit down and see them go at it for a full hour raised many questions for me. However, kudos to both guys on their amazing performances and making that hour go by as fast as possible.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I loved the concept of the show but it was executed pretty poorly. Fans don't seem to care which brand is more superior than the other and in turn, it didn't make things exciting for me to watch. The matches were pretty dull aside from the main event which definitely exceeded all expectations. While John Cena & Randy Orton were the stars of the show, Batista's heel turn may be the reason why I'll remember this event. One of the most remarkable heel turns I have ever seen. If there's any reason to check this show out, it's because of that and the main event.
Rating: 6/10
This is the first Bragging Rights PPV and it's one of the better PPV ideas the WWE has created. There will be three Raw vs. SmackDown matches and whichever brand to score two wins earns the big Bragging Rights trophy. The first match is between two former partners in a champion vs. champion bout. I really do wish they had saved this for a bigger stage but it does make sense to have it open the night here. Miz has come a very long way, his wrestling skills have seen a pretty hefty improvement over the past year and it shows here against Morrison. Good match that only suffered from time constraints and a faulty finish as Miz simply pushed Morrison off the top who was attempting his Starship Pain finisher. Despite that, Miz scores a point for Team Raw.
Winner: The Miz
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights - Team Raw (Melina, Kelly Kelly, & Gail Kim) vs. Team Smackdown (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, & Natalya)
The second match of the night is another Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights bout but this time around, it's with the lovely Divas. Really, what needs to be said here that hasn't been said about them before? A typical Divas match that saw lots of sluggish moves and a couple botches here and there as the commentators do their best to hype this match. Beth Phoenix hit Melina with her Glam Slam finish to secure the win. Bland PPV match, just another Divas match you would see on Raw.
Winners: Team SmackDown
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: World Heavyweight Championship - The Undertaker (c) vs. Batista vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
SmackDown's main event features four former champions going after each other for Undertaker's gold. This was an odd match, it never really felt like it got out of first gear and almost as if it was just one big cluster in the ring. Nobody had the advantage in the match, there was a nice blend of everybody getting close to scoring the win. However, CM Punk just seemed kind of there for the most part. The Undertaker is the champ and seems like is the one participating the most, Batista and Rey Mysterio have their encounter, and Punk never really seemed to fit in with the main eventers here. Batista cleans house in the ring before turning around to The Undertaker hitting a Tombstone on him for the victory. Afterwards, Josh Matthews interviews Mysterio in the ring about the match before Batista absolutely destroys Mysterio. One of the best heel turns you will ever see. The look of anger and intensity in Batista's face was superb. They teased his turn during the match and it culminated after with Batista beating the hell out of Mysterio. The match itself was good but it was too short and just never really clicked. But if there's one thing to take out of this match other than Punk is likely going down the card, it's that Batista belongs in the WWE as a heel.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights - Team Raw (D-Generation X, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, & Jack Swagger) vs. Team SmackDown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, & The Hart Dynasty)
This is the first Raw vs. SmackDown Bragging Rights match in history and it reminds me very much of the famous main event of the 2005 Survivor Series. The main difference being that this one lacks that special feel to it. The one in 2005 felt like a legit feud, this one feels rather forced. The audience doesn't really have any brand allegiance and could really care less who walked out the "more superior brand." This is the deciding factor of the night as both brands have a tied score. This isn't an elimination match so the first to score the pin or submission scores the win for their squad. This was a pretty brief match as it takes into account the main event after this. Everybody gets their shots in until The Big Show hits a Chokeslam on Kofi Kingston followed by taking out Triple H. Chris Jericho is left to pin Kingston to score the win for his team. A rather predictable finish but it made sense considering how Jericho is pretty much brainwashing The Big Show. Jericho hilariously celebrates with his team and the trophy after the match. If we could get a count on how many times Show has turned on people, that would be great.
Winners: Team SmackDown
Rating: ***
Match 5: WWE Championship - Anything Goes Iron Man - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Just in case you guys haven't gotten enough of these guys facing each other, you get these two one more time in an Iron Man match for the full hour. Not only does anything go for this match, but Cena must leave Raw if he loses. Never heard that one before. Since we've pretty much seen everything from these two guys, they needed to pull as many tricks out of the hat as they could. They definitely did that and they definitely made the hour go by quickly. Every pin made sense and every pin was different from the other. Randy Orton tapped early on as soon as John Cena applied his STF, it was brilliant. They did a double pin where Cena landed his Attitude Adjustment as Orton slickly turned it into an RKO. They also got Legacy involved before Kofi Kingston chased them off with a steel chair as Kingston had a previous encounter with Cody Rhodes in the night. Let's not forget the wacky part where Orton looked to take out Cena with the pyro. It felt really corny but it definitely made for a memorable scene. Also cool to see how Cena bled a good amount after Orton drilled Cena in the top of his head with a microphone. I had my doubts about this match but they quickly turned them away pretty fast. They told a really great story throughout and especially with the second half. As time winded down, Orton had the advantage on the scoreboard and looked to play defense in order to protect his lead. However, Cena was having none of it and looked to regain the lead with limited time in his hands. Finally, Cena tied things up with a huge Attitude Adjustment through the announcers table. Cena wasn't able to score a second pin and decides to set up a table in the middle of the ring. That plan backfires as Orton rolled out of danger as Cena drove himself through the table. After a couple referee bumps, Cena is able to lock in the STF once more to get Orton to submit right in the nick of time to win the match, the rivalry, and the WWE Championship. Fantastic match that completely exceeded my expectations. These two never really have the best matches ever so to sit down and see them go at it for a full hour raised many questions for me. However, kudos to both guys on their amazing performances and making that hour go by as fast as possible.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I loved the concept of the show but it was executed pretty poorly. Fans don't seem to care which brand is more superior than the other and in turn, it didn't make things exciting for me to watch. The matches were pretty dull aside from the main event which definitely exceeded all expectations. While John Cena & Randy Orton were the stars of the show, Batista's heel turn may be the reason why I'll remember this event. One of the most remarkable heel turns I have ever seen. If there's any reason to check this show out, it's because of that and the main event.
Rating: 6/10
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
WWE WrestleMania 31 Review
Match 1: Intercontinental Championship - Ladder - Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose vs. R-Truth
WrestleMania has a proud lineage of Ladder matches and this one kicks off the show under the California sun with Daniel Bryan being the first to enter. This is a great idea to have these guys find spots on the card but after seeing these types of matches done to death, they hardly get any more exciting than the last one. We've seen all these spots done before that even the crowd or the commentators don't really get too excited over things. I guess that really isn't so much the point as they are mainly just getting these guys on the card as they set up the rest of the night. The main spot came when Luke Harper drove Dean Ambrose through a ladder outside as both Ambrose and the ladder snapped in half. This was the beginning for Daniel Bryan to score the victory by taking out Dolph Ziggler on top of the ladder with a series of headbutts. Bryan ends WrestleMania XXX with a title victory and opens up 31 with another one.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This match definitely seemed to be the one that has been forgotten about on a pretty stacked card. Two guys who Triple H has taken under his win go at it on the grandest stage. Seth Rollins comes out to the fantastic pairing of Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury as Randy Orton walks alone. This match just reminds me of how good Orton is and how overlooked he is in the ring. So smooth, so smart and everything done at a fluid pace. They had a great feud coming into the night and everything carried over nicely here. They told a great story from the start to the finish, you felt the hate from the two and you felt the desperation from Rollins who pulled out every move in his arsenal. The ending was fantastic as J & J both got nailed with RKOs for their efforts while Rollins looked to hit a second Curb Stomp before getting it reversed into the sickest RKO I have ever seen. It was cool live and it was just as cool watching it on DVD. In any other occasion, I would be mad at Orton scoring the win over Rollins but since this is WrestleMania, the good guy gets the pass. Rollins loses but I'm sure he'll be a winner by the end of the night.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: Sting vs. Triple H
It's 1999 all over again as WCW's franchise player in Sting goes up against Triple H. Both guys come out to elaborate entrances that included Triple H coming out with a Terminator-themed entrance which definitely brought the crowd to its feet. I legit do not know where to start with this. They used all the smoke and mirrors they could to cover up Sting's limitations and quite honestly, it worked. Triple H is a genius and showed us once again that no matter the age or situation, he is ready to work with anyone to an unprecedented standard. Things picked up when Sting looked to make Triple H submit with his Scorpion Deathlock before D-Generation X's music hits and out comes the old squad. Sting is able to take care of them and even dive outside the ring and on top of them. This eventually led to nWo coming out as the two teams clash on the ramp. Carnage is breaking loose as Shawn Michaels enters the fray and hits a Sweet Chin Music on Sting! Sting is still able to kick out! The two teams step aside to watch the two superstars clash as Sting breaks Triple H's sledgehammer in half with his baseball bat! However, Triple H is still able to use half of the hammer and bashes Sting over the head with it to score the victory. Afterwards, the two teams face off with Triple H shaking Sting's hands over some animated words. Great match with more style than substance. Sometimes, a match like this is needed for a show like this and this was a perfect opportunity for it. Sting was able to finally have his WrestleMania debut but only at the expense of a loss to Triple H. Many didn't agree with Triple H going over but in my opinion, it made sense. Triple H is on television every week and needs to remind the audience that he indeed is the boss.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 4: Paige & AJ Lee vs. The Bella Twins
This is the bathroom break for the show as The Bella Twins face off against their foes in Paige & AJ Lee. AJ locks one of The Bella Twins in her Black Widow submission for the win. What else do you want me to say? The action was fine but nothing out of the ordinary. This also would end up being AJ's final month in the company. Alright.
Winners: Paige & AJ Lee
Rating: *
Match 5: United States Championship - Rusev (c) vs. John Cena
Rusev comes out to an incredible entrance, it almost makes me feel like I'm going back 30 years and watching a foreign heel make his grand entrance. John Cena was granted his rematch here at WrestleMania 31. It's still weird to see Cena not being in the marquee WrestleMania match. Last year with Bray Wyatt and here with Rusev for the lesser championship. I enjoyed with match, good action from the first bell to the last. Rusev is a great heel and Cena makes for the perfect pairing against him. Stiff and to the point with Lana being the wild card on the side. The crowd was awesome for this match as the Cena hate was loud and evident in the Bay Area. Lana gets on the ring apron where Rusev then inadvertently knocked her down which led to Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment on him for the win. Rusev hilariously screams at Lana after the match as Cena celebrates his first United States Championship victory since 2005. This match won't blow you away but it all made sense for WrestleMania. From the epic entrances to Cena defending the honor of his country.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Match 6: Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker
As the sun begins to set in Santa Clara, so do the lights as The Undertaker returns to the squared circle. This is his first appearance since his loss against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. Bray Wyatt pretty much has the opportunity of a lifetime here. Is there really anything bigger than going against The Undertaker at WrestleMania? The entrances were grand but the match itself left little left to be desired. Undertaker looked like a shell of himself and the two just weren't able to get over the hump and really grasp the audience's attention. Although seeing Wyatt kick out of a Tombstone was pretty damn sick and that's what really got things going. After that, Undertaker kicked out of a Sister Abigail and like that, the race was on. However, Undertaker was able to reverse a second Sister Abigail into a second Tombstone to get the win. A dull match but at least it got The Undertaker a win and at least it got Wyatt on a great spot on the card.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **3/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
This. Is. It. The sun is gone and it is time for the main event of the night. One of the biggest main events in WWE history. No Triple H, no John Cena, no Undertaker, no Randy Orton, it's Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. I recall watching this live and just seeing these two guys make their way to the ring. I felt the chills go up and down my body and I felt it again watching it on DVD. Lesnar looked dominant, suplexing Reigns all over the place and hitting a couple F5s early on. However, Reigns wouldn't let up and stayed alive. I should add that the shots they are trading against each other look stiff as hell. Reigns got leveled by Lesnar with a clothesline that sounded sick on the apron. Reigns was able to finally get Lesnar off his feet with a couple Superman Punches and a couple Spears. However, Lesnar would not give up and then bam, Seth Rollins' music hits and out he runs with his Money in the Bank briefcase. It is now a triple threat match. A Curb Stomp to Lesnar wasn't enough. His opportunity was seemingly slipping out of his hands. Lesnar had Rollins on his shoulders for an F5 before out of nowhere, Reigns drills him in half with a Spear! Rollin is able to hit a Curb Stomp on Reigns to capture the win and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship! The thrill of the Money in the Bank briefcase isn't so surprising as before. However, when done in a situation like this, there's no way I can argue against it. Rollins comes off as a slimy heel and in the end, he walks out with the gold. Normally not a fan of the heel ending a WrestleMania, but this year gets the exception. It sets up for years of great stories and quite honestly, it's the start of seeing The Shield reverends closing out WrestleManias.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
One of my personal favorite WrestleManias of all time. Aside from the Divas match, everything made sense and everything spelled out WrestleMania. Nothing, aside from the damn Divas, felt like a chore to watch and the main event closed the show off with a bang. Seth Rollins pulled off the heist of the century and while many questions were answered here, many more were made left to answer in the years to come.
Rating: 9.5/10
WrestleMania has a proud lineage of Ladder matches and this one kicks off the show under the California sun with Daniel Bryan being the first to enter. This is a great idea to have these guys find spots on the card but after seeing these types of matches done to death, they hardly get any more exciting than the last one. We've seen all these spots done before that even the crowd or the commentators don't really get too excited over things. I guess that really isn't so much the point as they are mainly just getting these guys on the card as they set up the rest of the night. The main spot came when Luke Harper drove Dean Ambrose through a ladder outside as both Ambrose and the ladder snapped in half. This was the beginning for Daniel Bryan to score the victory by taking out Dolph Ziggler on top of the ladder with a series of headbutts. Bryan ends WrestleMania XXX with a title victory and opens up 31 with another one.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This match definitely seemed to be the one that has been forgotten about on a pretty stacked card. Two guys who Triple H has taken under his win go at it on the grandest stage. Seth Rollins comes out to the fantastic pairing of Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury as Randy Orton walks alone. This match just reminds me of how good Orton is and how overlooked he is in the ring. So smooth, so smart and everything done at a fluid pace. They had a great feud coming into the night and everything carried over nicely here. They told a great story from the start to the finish, you felt the hate from the two and you felt the desperation from Rollins who pulled out every move in his arsenal. The ending was fantastic as J & J both got nailed with RKOs for their efforts while Rollins looked to hit a second Curb Stomp before getting it reversed into the sickest RKO I have ever seen. It was cool live and it was just as cool watching it on DVD. In any other occasion, I would be mad at Orton scoring the win over Rollins but since this is WrestleMania, the good guy gets the pass. Rollins loses but I'm sure he'll be a winner by the end of the night.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: Sting vs. Triple H
It's 1999 all over again as WCW's franchise player in Sting goes up against Triple H. Both guys come out to elaborate entrances that included Triple H coming out with a Terminator-themed entrance which definitely brought the crowd to its feet. I legit do not know where to start with this. They used all the smoke and mirrors they could to cover up Sting's limitations and quite honestly, it worked. Triple H is a genius and showed us once again that no matter the age or situation, he is ready to work with anyone to an unprecedented standard. Things picked up when Sting looked to make Triple H submit with his Scorpion Deathlock before D-Generation X's music hits and out comes the old squad. Sting is able to take care of them and even dive outside the ring and on top of them. This eventually led to nWo coming out as the two teams clash on the ramp. Carnage is breaking loose as Shawn Michaels enters the fray and hits a Sweet Chin Music on Sting! Sting is still able to kick out! The two teams step aside to watch the two superstars clash as Sting breaks Triple H's sledgehammer in half with his baseball bat! However, Triple H is still able to use half of the hammer and bashes Sting over the head with it to score the victory. Afterwards, the two teams face off with Triple H shaking Sting's hands over some animated words. Great match with more style than substance. Sometimes, a match like this is needed for a show like this and this was a perfect opportunity for it. Sting was able to finally have his WrestleMania debut but only at the expense of a loss to Triple H. Many didn't agree with Triple H going over but in my opinion, it made sense. Triple H is on television every week and needs to remind the audience that he indeed is the boss.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 4: Paige & AJ Lee vs. The Bella Twins
This is the bathroom break for the show as The Bella Twins face off against their foes in Paige & AJ Lee. AJ locks one of The Bella Twins in her Black Widow submission for the win. What else do you want me to say? The action was fine but nothing out of the ordinary. This also would end up being AJ's final month in the company. Alright.
Winners: Paige & AJ Lee
Rating: *
Match 5: United States Championship - Rusev (c) vs. John Cena
Rusev comes out to an incredible entrance, it almost makes me feel like I'm going back 30 years and watching a foreign heel make his grand entrance. John Cena was granted his rematch here at WrestleMania 31. It's still weird to see Cena not being in the marquee WrestleMania match. Last year with Bray Wyatt and here with Rusev for the lesser championship. I enjoyed with match, good action from the first bell to the last. Rusev is a great heel and Cena makes for the perfect pairing against him. Stiff and to the point with Lana being the wild card on the side. The crowd was awesome for this match as the Cena hate was loud and evident in the Bay Area. Lana gets on the ring apron where Rusev then inadvertently knocked her down which led to Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment on him for the win. Rusev hilariously screams at Lana after the match as Cena celebrates his first United States Championship victory since 2005. This match won't blow you away but it all made sense for WrestleMania. From the epic entrances to Cena defending the honor of his country.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Match 6: Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker
As the sun begins to set in Santa Clara, so do the lights as The Undertaker returns to the squared circle. This is his first appearance since his loss against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. Bray Wyatt pretty much has the opportunity of a lifetime here. Is there really anything bigger than going against The Undertaker at WrestleMania? The entrances were grand but the match itself left little left to be desired. Undertaker looked like a shell of himself and the two just weren't able to get over the hump and really grasp the audience's attention. Although seeing Wyatt kick out of a Tombstone was pretty damn sick and that's what really got things going. After that, Undertaker kicked out of a Sister Abigail and like that, the race was on. However, Undertaker was able to reverse a second Sister Abigail into a second Tombstone to get the win. A dull match but at least it got The Undertaker a win and at least it got Wyatt on a great spot on the card.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **3/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
This. Is. It. The sun is gone and it is time for the main event of the night. One of the biggest main events in WWE history. No Triple H, no John Cena, no Undertaker, no Randy Orton, it's Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. I recall watching this live and just seeing these two guys make their way to the ring. I felt the chills go up and down my body and I felt it again watching it on DVD. Lesnar looked dominant, suplexing Reigns all over the place and hitting a couple F5s early on. However, Reigns wouldn't let up and stayed alive. I should add that the shots they are trading against each other look stiff as hell. Reigns got leveled by Lesnar with a clothesline that sounded sick on the apron. Reigns was able to finally get Lesnar off his feet with a couple Superman Punches and a couple Spears. However, Lesnar would not give up and then bam, Seth Rollins' music hits and out he runs with his Money in the Bank briefcase. It is now a triple threat match. A Curb Stomp to Lesnar wasn't enough. His opportunity was seemingly slipping out of his hands. Lesnar had Rollins on his shoulders for an F5 before out of nowhere, Reigns drills him in half with a Spear! Rollin is able to hit a Curb Stomp on Reigns to capture the win and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship! The thrill of the Money in the Bank briefcase isn't so surprising as before. However, when done in a situation like this, there's no way I can argue against it. Rollins comes off as a slimy heel and in the end, he walks out with the gold. Normally not a fan of the heel ending a WrestleMania, but this year gets the exception. It sets up for years of great stories and quite honestly, it's the start of seeing The Shield reverends closing out WrestleManias.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
One of my personal favorite WrestleManias of all time. Aside from the Divas match, everything made sense and everything spelled out WrestleMania. Nothing, aside from the damn Divas, felt like a chore to watch and the main event closed the show off with a bang. Seth Rollins pulled off the heist of the century and while many questions were answered here, many more were made left to answer in the years to come.
Rating: 9.5/10
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
WWE Survivor Series 2015 Review
Match 1: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal - Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns
Live from Atlanta, GA, it's the November classic in Survivor Series! Roman Reigns pops open the night against Alberto Del Rio in the first semifinal match of the night for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Crowd is sided towards Del Rio and if I haven't already said it, I'll say it again. Del Rio looks to be in fantastic shape and to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing him hold two straps. Good match here that saw Del Rio focus on the shoulder of Reigns which had already been softened up by Cesaro on Monday Night Raw. Reigns definitely deserves more credit than what he gets, he wrestles a smart match and builds the match perfectly around his Spear. Del Rio is able to dodge Roman's first Spear but after missing a dive off the top rope, he turned around right into one as Reigns made the cover to win. Good opening contest as the hate for Reigns continues, people will never be pleased.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal - Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
Winner of this match meets Roman Reigns in the final for the belt. Crowd is pretty split between the two competitors as they gave us a really fun match to follow up the opener. They needed to be able to differentiate themselves from the last match and I feel like they made a nice changeover. Kevin Owens is brilliant when it comes to being a cocky heel. He was literally shouting throughout the entire match at Dean Ambrose, the referee, and even Michael Cole on commentary. Ambrose got in just as much offense in and did his normal routine of moves before hitting his Dirty Deeds DDT after reversing a Pop-Up Powerbomb for the second time to secure the win and a spot in the main event. Good match with a strong finish that protects Owens' finisher. This sets up a big main event between two Shield reverends.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***
Match 3: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Ryback, The Lucha Dragons & The Usos vs. The New Day, Sheamus & King Barrett
The New Day might just be the greatest thing ever. They come down to the ring with their cool entrance alongside Sheamus & King Barrett where they joke around about the city's teams before Sheamus takes over the microphone and says it's time to get jiggy with these posers. New Day's reaction was priceless. Anyway, it wouldn't be Survivor Series without a Traditional Survivor Series match so here we are. It's also a perfect opportunity to get these guys on the card. I always enjoy these matches and this one was no different. Good action filled with hilarious New Day antics that included Xavier Woods doing his best to not get his hair ruined. However, once Big E got eliminated, his teammates decided to help him to the back and completely forget the match. Sheamus had an amazing reaction when he saw that he had been left alone to fend for himself. Sheamus got in some offense but ultimately fell to Ryback and his team. Good match that blended speed, action, and comedy all in one.
Winners: Ryback, The Lucha Dragons & The Usos
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Divas Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
These two headlined the last edition of Monday Night Raw with their controversial contract signing. The commentators did their best to amp up the viewers for this match as the beef between the two has reached new heights. But let's be honest, WWE can't seem to get this Divas division going and therefore, it's hard to take anything seriously. The wrestling itself for this match was fine but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that made me understand why these two have so much beef with each other. Everything was kind of just there and the crowd was pretty bored with things as they were calling for Sasha Banks. Charlotte is able to hit her Figure Eight to get Paige to tap out. I applaud the WWE for taking steps into making the Divas division more important, but the execution just falls flat on its face.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: **
Match 5: Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze
Tyler Breeze recently made his debut on the main roster and finds himself on tonight's card against the established Dolph Ziggler. The action was fine as Breeze got in plenty of offense to make himself known on the PPV. Although it seemed like the commentators weren't really that familiar with Breeze, he still looked good here and scored the clean victory over Ziggler. Ziggler managed to also get in a lot of offense and still looked good in his loss. Just odd to see where his career has gone following his big win at last year's Survivor Series. With that being said, it looks like the company really likes what they see in Breeze.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
Rating: **3/4
Match 6: The Brothers of Destruction vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
Numbers can easily define the legend that is The Undertaker. 25 is the flavor of death for tonight. Survivor Series 2015 celebrates 25 years to the day that The Undertaker debuted on the WWE stage. Bray Wyatt gets to choose two members of his family to take on The Brothers of Destruction. He sends in Erick Rowan to the wolves where he receives a Double Chokeslam for his troubles. Wyatt decides to team with Luke Harper and have Braun Strowman stay in his corner. The Brothers are in control of the match until Strowman tosses Kane over the announce table. The tides seem to turn until Undertaker gets his retribution as he leads a Double Chokeslam to Strowman through the table with the help of Kane. Awesome. Back in the ring and once again, Wyatt looks to be in control. However, The Brothers both sit up simultaneously in the faces of Wyatt & Harper before delivering the final nail to the coffin. What a scene. Undertaker plants Harper with a Tombstone for the win. That was more show and more nostalgia than anything. And I loved it. I got chills watching that incredible entrance by The Undertaker and it literally felt like I was stepping back into my childhood watching this match. The Wyatt Family took the loss but let's be honest, facing The Brothers of Destruction on a PPV match is as good as anything.
Winners: The Brothers of Destruction
Rating: ***1/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final - Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns
Fittingly, this is tonight's main event. They debuted at Survivor Series three years ago and have established themselves as the top dogs of the company. I liked the dynamic of this match, two brothers beating the hell out of each other to secure what they want most. They looked bruised and battered from their last bouts and they did a fantastic job of selling the pain. Unfortunately, the Atlanta crowd wasn't all into the action or the two guys in the ring for that matter. Regardless, they still pulled out a fun match here with Roman Reigns finally hitting a sick Spear onto Dean Ambrose to score the win. The match made sense, they were tired from their last matches and thus, the match lasted less than ten minutes. The scene with both guys sitting and trading punches was really cool. Can't wait for The Shield to have that triple threat match. Confetti and fireworks go off as Reigns embraces the moment with Ambrose by his side. And then, out comes Triple H. The Game offers his hand to shake. However...
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sheamus
Roman Reigns delivers a Spear to Triple H right before turning around to a Brogue Kick from Sheamus! Sheamus is cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Reigns is able to kick out of the first one but a second one does the trick for Sheamus. Your new WWE World Heavyweight Champion is Sheamus! Very similar ending to Summerslam 2013 but it works for the situation and they did need a way for Sheamus to get rid of that briefcase. Would have been kind of cool to see Reigns still beat Sheamus but that really would have benefited nobody in that situation. Also, the audience now can get behind Reigns in a bigger way as he has been screwed out of the championship once again.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: n/a
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I liked the presentation of the show, focusing on the tournament and the silver anniversary of The Deadman while maintaining the Survivor Series feel to everything. The match quality definitely disappointed as nothing truly stood out aside from the ending. With Seth Rollins and John Cena both out of action, the landscape feels different. And I like it. However, with WrestleMania looming, so many questions have come about.
Rating: 6.25/10
Live from Atlanta, GA, it's the November classic in Survivor Series! Roman Reigns pops open the night against Alberto Del Rio in the first semifinal match of the night for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Crowd is sided towards Del Rio and if I haven't already said it, I'll say it again. Del Rio looks to be in fantastic shape and to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing him hold two straps. Good match here that saw Del Rio focus on the shoulder of Reigns which had already been softened up by Cesaro on Monday Night Raw. Reigns definitely deserves more credit than what he gets, he wrestles a smart match and builds the match perfectly around his Spear. Del Rio is able to dodge Roman's first Spear but after missing a dive off the top rope, he turned around right into one as Reigns made the cover to win. Good opening contest as the hate for Reigns continues, people will never be pleased.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal - Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens
Winner of this match meets Roman Reigns in the final for the belt. Crowd is pretty split between the two competitors as they gave us a really fun match to follow up the opener. They needed to be able to differentiate themselves from the last match and I feel like they made a nice changeover. Kevin Owens is brilliant when it comes to being a cocky heel. He was literally shouting throughout the entire match at Dean Ambrose, the referee, and even Michael Cole on commentary. Ambrose got in just as much offense in and did his normal routine of moves before hitting his Dirty Deeds DDT after reversing a Pop-Up Powerbomb for the second time to secure the win and a spot in the main event. Good match with a strong finish that protects Owens' finisher. This sets up a big main event between two Shield reverends.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ***
Match 3: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Ryback, The Lucha Dragons & The Usos vs. The New Day, Sheamus & King Barrett
The New Day might just be the greatest thing ever. They come down to the ring with their cool entrance alongside Sheamus & King Barrett where they joke around about the city's teams before Sheamus takes over the microphone and says it's time to get jiggy with these posers. New Day's reaction was priceless. Anyway, it wouldn't be Survivor Series without a Traditional Survivor Series match so here we are. It's also a perfect opportunity to get these guys on the card. I always enjoy these matches and this one was no different. Good action filled with hilarious New Day antics that included Xavier Woods doing his best to not get his hair ruined. However, once Big E got eliminated, his teammates decided to help him to the back and completely forget the match. Sheamus had an amazing reaction when he saw that he had been left alone to fend for himself. Sheamus got in some offense but ultimately fell to Ryback and his team. Good match that blended speed, action, and comedy all in one.
Winners: Ryback, The Lucha Dragons & The Usos
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Divas Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Paige
These two headlined the last edition of Monday Night Raw with their controversial contract signing. The commentators did their best to amp up the viewers for this match as the beef between the two has reached new heights. But let's be honest, WWE can't seem to get this Divas division going and therefore, it's hard to take anything seriously. The wrestling itself for this match was fine but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that made me understand why these two have so much beef with each other. Everything was kind of just there and the crowd was pretty bored with things as they were calling for Sasha Banks. Charlotte is able to hit her Figure Eight to get Paige to tap out. I applaud the WWE for taking steps into making the Divas division more important, but the execution just falls flat on its face.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: **
Match 5: Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze
Tyler Breeze recently made his debut on the main roster and finds himself on tonight's card against the established Dolph Ziggler. The action was fine as Breeze got in plenty of offense to make himself known on the PPV. Although it seemed like the commentators weren't really that familiar with Breeze, he still looked good here and scored the clean victory over Ziggler. Ziggler managed to also get in a lot of offense and still looked good in his loss. Just odd to see where his career has gone following his big win at last year's Survivor Series. With that being said, it looks like the company really likes what they see in Breeze.
Winner: Tyler Breeze
Rating: **3/4
Match 6: The Brothers of Destruction vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
Numbers can easily define the legend that is The Undertaker. 25 is the flavor of death for tonight. Survivor Series 2015 celebrates 25 years to the day that The Undertaker debuted on the WWE stage. Bray Wyatt gets to choose two members of his family to take on The Brothers of Destruction. He sends in Erick Rowan to the wolves where he receives a Double Chokeslam for his troubles. Wyatt decides to team with Luke Harper and have Braun Strowman stay in his corner. The Brothers are in control of the match until Strowman tosses Kane over the announce table. The tides seem to turn until Undertaker gets his retribution as he leads a Double Chokeslam to Strowman through the table with the help of Kane. Awesome. Back in the ring and once again, Wyatt looks to be in control. However, The Brothers both sit up simultaneously in the faces of Wyatt & Harper before delivering the final nail to the coffin. What a scene. Undertaker plants Harper with a Tombstone for the win. That was more show and more nostalgia than anything. And I loved it. I got chills watching that incredible entrance by The Undertaker and it literally felt like I was stepping back into my childhood watching this match. The Wyatt Family took the loss but let's be honest, facing The Brothers of Destruction on a PPV match is as good as anything.
Winners: The Brothers of Destruction
Rating: ***1/4
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final - Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns
Fittingly, this is tonight's main event. They debuted at Survivor Series three years ago and have established themselves as the top dogs of the company. I liked the dynamic of this match, two brothers beating the hell out of each other to secure what they want most. They looked bruised and battered from their last bouts and they did a fantastic job of selling the pain. Unfortunately, the Atlanta crowd wasn't all into the action or the two guys in the ring for that matter. Regardless, they still pulled out a fun match here with Roman Reigns finally hitting a sick Spear onto Dean Ambrose to score the win. The match made sense, they were tired from their last matches and thus, the match lasted less than ten minutes. The scene with both guys sitting and trading punches was really cool. Can't wait for The Shield to have that triple threat match. Confetti and fireworks go off as Reigns embraces the moment with Ambrose by his side. And then, out comes Triple H. The Game offers his hand to shake. However...
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: **3/4
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sheamus
Roman Reigns delivers a Spear to Triple H right before turning around to a Brogue Kick from Sheamus! Sheamus is cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. Reigns is able to kick out of the first one but a second one does the trick for Sheamus. Your new WWE World Heavyweight Champion is Sheamus! Very similar ending to Summerslam 2013 but it works for the situation and they did need a way for Sheamus to get rid of that briefcase. Would have been kind of cool to see Reigns still beat Sheamus but that really would have benefited nobody in that situation. Also, the audience now can get behind Reigns in a bigger way as he has been screwed out of the championship once again.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: n/a
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I liked the presentation of the show, focusing on the tournament and the silver anniversary of The Deadman while maintaining the Survivor Series feel to everything. The match quality definitely disappointed as nothing truly stood out aside from the ending. With Seth Rollins and John Cena both out of action, the landscape feels different. And I like it. However, with WrestleMania looming, so many questions have come about.
Rating: 6.25/10
Saturday, November 28, 2015
WWE TLC 2009 Review
Match 1: ECW Championship - Ladder - Christian (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
This is one of the better WWECW matches that you will find as Christian challenged Shelton Benjamin in this match in order to steal the show. Expectations were obviously high for this one and you have to feel bad for anyone that has to follow this match. I get that their objective was to both steal the show and win the gold, but it felt like this match was just spot after spot after spot. It certainly got the crowd going, but I found it hard to really sink my teeth into this match. They had some really athletic and innovative spots with the ladders as the crowd ate it up. Christian got a cut on his face after Benjamin dropped a ladder on his face which then made the trainers run out to delay the match as they fixed the cut. You guessed it, the crowd was not happy and it really slowed down the momentum the match had built. The end spot came when Christian had Benjamin prone on top of a ladder set up between the ring apron and the announce table where Christian splashed on Benjamin from the top rope and through the ladder. Christian then climbed the ladder to retain the belt. Good match that really didn't live up to the huge hype the internet had built for it. Still, it was lots of fun and a great way to open up the night.
Winner: Christian
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Intercontinental Championship - John Morrison (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
After Mr. McMahon came out on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown to declare Drew McIntyre as the chosen one, he faces John Morrison here for the Intercontinental Championship. The crowd hasn't yet adapted themselves to McIntyre as his generic entrance music and basic style of wrestling isn't necessarily the greatest thing to watch. Even still, he more than held his own against Morrison and I liked the match. He got in a significant amount of offense and he looked good. McIntyre poked Morrison in his eyes before hitting his DDT finisher for the win and secures his first taste of gold early on in his career. Even with a pretty dead crowd, I still enjoyed this match and it's pretty clear that the WWE had some big plans for McIntyre.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Rating: ***
Match 3: Women's Championship - Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James
This has to be one of the dumbest and most immature feuds in recent memory as both Michelle McCool & Layla tease Mickie James for being fat. James looks to be in great shape and also, this is just straight up stupid. Regardless, here we are as the two go at it for the Women's Championship. Just your basic Divas match until Layla tries to get involved before inadvertently eating a boot from McCool. James isn't able to take advantage and instead eats a boot from McCool, as well. McCool covers and retains. Crowd could care less.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: WWE Championship - Tables - John Cena (c) vs. Sheamus
Sheamus practically ran through the ECW roster within months before finally making his transition to the brighter lights of Monday Night Raw on October 26, 2009. After winning a battle royal, he earned a shot to face John Cena here for the company's richest prize. Cena comes out hot and looks more motivated than ever here. Sheamus definitely holds his ground and just looks like he belongs there. He's a smart and brash heel, trying his best to get away from Cena in some spots and throwing a table out of the ring when he looked to be in trouble. The match ended when the two were perched on the top rope as Cena fell off where he landed through a table set up in the middle. Whether or not Cena fell by himself or by Sheamus is irrelevant, Sheamus is the WWE Champion. After the match, the cameras get an amazing shot of the stunned fans across the arena as Cena takes home a piece of the broken table for the icing on the cake. This was a shock in 2009 and still remains a shock to me in 2015. It was a huge risk to put the gold on Sheamus but looking back, it ultimately worked out for the better. People always complain about Cena being on top forever and once we got a new guy on top, even more complaints came in. Awesome. Sheamus looked like a star here and in 2015, he still remains one of the company's biggest names. Sometimes, moments like these ones are the ones that truly make a star. The match was fairly short but it ultimately served its purpose and the point got across. It didn't need to go five more minutes because the story was really Cena letting his guard down and letting the new guy score the biggest win of his career out of absolutely nowhere.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship - Chairs - The Undertaker (c) vs. Batista
I'm not a fan of revisiting old feuds, especially when they ended theirs a couple years ago in a Hell in a Cell match. Still, Batista is now a completely different character and is a full-fledged heel. One of the best in the game, too. This match against The Undertaker felt very dry. I didn't feel the hate between the two like I could in 2007 and it just felt like a filler of a match. The chair shots weren't brutal, nothing felt new, and the crowd sucked to make matters worse. Batista looked to score the victory when he hit a low blow on The Undertaker before following it up with a chair shot to the head. He score the victory before Teddy Long came out and demanded that the match restarted. Undertaker hit Batista with the chair and nailed a Tombstone for the win. A pretty boring match between two guys who have great chemistry with each other but the ending made sense. Nobody had to eat the true loss and Batista has another reason to say why he got screwed over again.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **1/4
Match 6: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton
2009 marked the changing of Kofi Kingston's persona and it really got started with his feud against Randy Orton. Kofi had a marquee moment on an edition of Monday Night Raw in Madison Square Garden where he did his Boom Drop on Orton through a table which eventually led to a match here. Strong match here that saw the younger Kingston try to keep up with the veteran in Orton. Whenever Orton looked to be in trouble, he got right back into the fight with a dropkick or some sort of reversal. Basically, he was still on another level than Kingston and the story they told got across pretty well. Orton was able to nail Kingston with an RKO to win the match. However, Kingston walks away looking like a main player despite the loss.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 7: Unified Tag Team Championships - TLC - The Big Show & Chris Jericho (c) vs. D-Generation X
The veterans main event the night as Triple H & Shawn Michaels look to capture their first Tag Team Championships as D-Generation X. I'm praying for the crowd to be louder for this one but I was wrong. Either way, the match itself was good enough for me to not worry so much about that. You knew these guys wanted to be different from TLC matches from the past and they really did a fine job of doing that. Lots of innovative spots including The Big Show Chokeslamming Shawn Michaels through Triple H onto a table outside or the awesome ending scene of Michaels hitting a Sweet Chin Music on Big Show with Chris Jericho on Show's shoulders. Triple H then grabbed half of a broken ladder and held it up for Michaels to grab the gold from the top to send the fans home happy. I hate going back to the crowd but they really deterred me from truly sinking my teeth into the match. They had some cool spots but they couldn't even react accordingly. Still, an enjoyable TLC match and a proper way to end 2009 for WWE PPVs.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I remember watching this event in 2009 and being really disappointed. In 2015, I was hoping that maybe my perspective of this show would have changed. Unfortunately, it didn't. The crowd was terrible and nothing really stood out too much aside from Sheamus capturing the WWE Championship and maybe the main event. The matches were good but nothing that will set the world on fire and nothing I would really recommend anyone to go out of their way to watch. Nothing was bad, but nothing was spectacularly good.
Rating: 7/10
This is one of the better WWECW matches that you will find as Christian challenged Shelton Benjamin in this match in order to steal the show. Expectations were obviously high for this one and you have to feel bad for anyone that has to follow this match. I get that their objective was to both steal the show and win the gold, but it felt like this match was just spot after spot after spot. It certainly got the crowd going, but I found it hard to really sink my teeth into this match. They had some really athletic and innovative spots with the ladders as the crowd ate it up. Christian got a cut on his face after Benjamin dropped a ladder on his face which then made the trainers run out to delay the match as they fixed the cut. You guessed it, the crowd was not happy and it really slowed down the momentum the match had built. The end spot came when Christian had Benjamin prone on top of a ladder set up between the ring apron and the announce table where Christian splashed on Benjamin from the top rope and through the ladder. Christian then climbed the ladder to retain the belt. Good match that really didn't live up to the huge hype the internet had built for it. Still, it was lots of fun and a great way to open up the night.
Winner: Christian
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Intercontinental Championship - John Morrison (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
After Mr. McMahon came out on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown to declare Drew McIntyre as the chosen one, he faces John Morrison here for the Intercontinental Championship. The crowd hasn't yet adapted themselves to McIntyre as his generic entrance music and basic style of wrestling isn't necessarily the greatest thing to watch. Even still, he more than held his own against Morrison and I liked the match. He got in a significant amount of offense and he looked good. McIntyre poked Morrison in his eyes before hitting his DDT finisher for the win and secures his first taste of gold early on in his career. Even with a pretty dead crowd, I still enjoyed this match and it's pretty clear that the WWE had some big plans for McIntyre.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Rating: ***
Match 3: Women's Championship - Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James
This has to be one of the dumbest and most immature feuds in recent memory as both Michelle McCool & Layla tease Mickie James for being fat. James looks to be in great shape and also, this is just straight up stupid. Regardless, here we are as the two go at it for the Women's Championship. Just your basic Divas match until Layla tries to get involved before inadvertently eating a boot from McCool. James isn't able to take advantage and instead eats a boot from McCool, as well. McCool covers and retains. Crowd could care less.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: WWE Championship - Tables - John Cena (c) vs. Sheamus
Sheamus practically ran through the ECW roster within months before finally making his transition to the brighter lights of Monday Night Raw on October 26, 2009. After winning a battle royal, he earned a shot to face John Cena here for the company's richest prize. Cena comes out hot and looks more motivated than ever here. Sheamus definitely holds his ground and just looks like he belongs there. He's a smart and brash heel, trying his best to get away from Cena in some spots and throwing a table out of the ring when he looked to be in trouble. The match ended when the two were perched on the top rope as Cena fell off where he landed through a table set up in the middle. Whether or not Cena fell by himself or by Sheamus is irrelevant, Sheamus is the WWE Champion. After the match, the cameras get an amazing shot of the stunned fans across the arena as Cena takes home a piece of the broken table for the icing on the cake. This was a shock in 2009 and still remains a shock to me in 2015. It was a huge risk to put the gold on Sheamus but looking back, it ultimately worked out for the better. People always complain about Cena being on top forever and once we got a new guy on top, even more complaints came in. Awesome. Sheamus looked like a star here and in 2015, he still remains one of the company's biggest names. Sometimes, moments like these ones are the ones that truly make a star. The match was fairly short but it ultimately served its purpose and the point got across. It didn't need to go five more minutes because the story was really Cena letting his guard down and letting the new guy score the biggest win of his career out of absolutely nowhere.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship - Chairs - The Undertaker (c) vs. Batista
I'm not a fan of revisiting old feuds, especially when they ended theirs a couple years ago in a Hell in a Cell match. Still, Batista is now a completely different character and is a full-fledged heel. One of the best in the game, too. This match against The Undertaker felt very dry. I didn't feel the hate between the two like I could in 2007 and it just felt like a filler of a match. The chair shots weren't brutal, nothing felt new, and the crowd sucked to make matters worse. Batista looked to score the victory when he hit a low blow on The Undertaker before following it up with a chair shot to the head. He score the victory before Teddy Long came out and demanded that the match restarted. Undertaker hit Batista with the chair and nailed a Tombstone for the win. A pretty boring match between two guys who have great chemistry with each other but the ending made sense. Nobody had to eat the true loss and Batista has another reason to say why he got screwed over again.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **1/4
Match 6: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton
2009 marked the changing of Kofi Kingston's persona and it really got started with his feud against Randy Orton. Kofi had a marquee moment on an edition of Monday Night Raw in Madison Square Garden where he did his Boom Drop on Orton through a table which eventually led to a match here. Strong match here that saw the younger Kingston try to keep up with the veteran in Orton. Whenever Orton looked to be in trouble, he got right back into the fight with a dropkick or some sort of reversal. Basically, he was still on another level than Kingston and the story they told got across pretty well. Orton was able to nail Kingston with an RKO to win the match. However, Kingston walks away looking like a main player despite the loss.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 7: Unified Tag Team Championships - TLC - The Big Show & Chris Jericho (c) vs. D-Generation X
The veterans main event the night as Triple H & Shawn Michaels look to capture their first Tag Team Championships as D-Generation X. I'm praying for the crowd to be louder for this one but I was wrong. Either way, the match itself was good enough for me to not worry so much about that. You knew these guys wanted to be different from TLC matches from the past and they really did a fine job of doing that. Lots of innovative spots including The Big Show Chokeslamming Shawn Michaels through Triple H onto a table outside or the awesome ending scene of Michaels hitting a Sweet Chin Music on Big Show with Chris Jericho on Show's shoulders. Triple H then grabbed half of a broken ladder and held it up for Michaels to grab the gold from the top to send the fans home happy. I hate going back to the crowd but they really deterred me from truly sinking my teeth into the match. They had some cool spots but they couldn't even react accordingly. Still, an enjoyable TLC match and a proper way to end 2009 for WWE PPVs.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I remember watching this event in 2009 and being really disappointed. In 2015, I was hoping that maybe my perspective of this show would have changed. Unfortunately, it didn't. The crowd was terrible and nothing really stood out too much aside from Sheamus capturing the WWE Championship and maybe the main event. The matches were good but nothing that will set the world on fire and nothing I would really recommend anyone to go out of their way to watch. Nothing was bad, but nothing was spectacularly good.
Rating: 7/10
Friday, November 20, 2015
WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 Review
Match 1: WWE World Tag Team Championships - Elimination Chamber - The New Day (c) vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Los Matadores vs. Prime Time Players vs. The Ascension vs. Lucha Dragons
For this first time in Elimination Chamber history, the Tag Team Championships are on the line. This has all the makings to be a fun, fun mess. The champs get a definitive advantage in the match as all three members are allowed to compete and they enter the match last. We get two former NXT teams going at it to begin the match in Ascension against Lucha Dragons. Fun action throughout that did get a little odd at some points. Why exactly did one of the Lucha Dragons have to climb his way to the middle of the chamber? Why is Cesaro breaking up counts against other teams? I hate to dwell on that but it really made me scratch me head. There were some fun spots throughout the match but nothing that really stood out and lived up to the match's hyped billing. Prime Time Players had a prime opportunity to score a victory but The New Day scored the win and retained their titles. This match just had so much hype but did not live to its expectations. Simple as that. The eliminations did not seem important at all and they did not make much use of their surroundings. Easily one of the weakest Elimination Chamber matches in history.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **
Match 2: Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi vs. Paige
Finally switching things up in the Divas division with a triple threat match. Hey! At least we get something else other than our typical singles match that pretty much is a carbon copy every week. Some pretty decent action from the three but still sluggish in a lot of areas that it just made things difficult to really sink my teeth into. Bella retains the title as she hits her Rack Attack finisher for the win.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rating: *
Match 3: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
As I review Extreme Rules from 2014, I recall mentioning that it felt impossible to believe that The Shield defeated Evolution. The same can easily be said here, it feels impossible to believe that Mr. Wrestling is taking on John Cena on a PPV in his first WWE match. Kevin Owens made a huge debut on an edition of Raw when the NXT Champion answered John Cena's open invitational. Crowd is hot for this one and that includes Owens, who was only introduced to the WWE audience a few weeks ago. I had no doubt in my mind that this was the match to steal the show. I was right. Back and fourth match that had the crowd on the tips of their toes. WWE looks to be really behind Owens, especially considering how much offense he was able to put upon Cena who sold his moves accordingly. Owens even kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment! Owens managed to hit his Powerbomb and score the incredible victory over the face of the WWE. Triple H definitely likes this Owens guy. Awesome match that made me feel like I was watching ROH on a WWE scale. What an amazing story, an amazing journey. Truly living the dream, truly working his ass off, an inspiration to anyone who enjoys this sport. Let's see where the rest of this story takes us...
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ****1/4
Match 4: Bo Dallas vs. Neville
These guys definitely have their hands full as the vibe of the audience is completely different following the last match. Bo Dallas isn't the best guy to get a crowd on their feet but with Neville around, fun things are bound to happen. The commentators are quick to point out the NXT influence upon the show but quickly change the subject to random talk as the crowd and the match have been completely deflated. Even still, I enjoyed the action in the ring and do like Bo Dallas as a snarky heel. In the end, Neville hits his beautiful Red Arrow to score the easy victory. Decent match to separate the last match and the Elimination Chamber match after this.
Winner: Neville
Rating: **
Match 5: Intercontinental Championship - Elimination Chamber - Mark Henry vs. Sheamus vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. King Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler
This is the second Elimination Chamber match of the night and for the first time ever, this is for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Rusev was scheduled to take part in the match but due to injury, he is not in this match. That somewhat takes out a different layer to the match. Things start with both King Barrett and Dolph Ziggler with Barrett getting the better of the exchange. Crowd is completely dead for this match, WWE should reconsider coming back to this arena. Sheamus is the last person to enter the match but purposely jams the door with his cross necklace. Once he enters, he looks to be in control before the tides change. However, he remains in the final three with both Ryback and Dolph Ziggler. After Ziggler gets eliminated, it is down to Ryback and Sheamus. The two go at it before Ryback hits a Shell Shocked for the win. Nice exchange but Sheamus put some heavy damage on Ryback but Ryback hardly sold anything once he scored the pin. Afterwards, Daniel Bryan gets in the ring and congratulates The Ryback. Despite the terrible, terrible crowd, the match was good. But it lacked build and any real intrigue from the audience. The Chamber needs to have a better reason to take place, not just six guys beating up each other on a two weeks notice.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Two former Shield brothers collide as the richest prize in the business is on the line. Before the match, Triple H made it clear to Roman Reigns that any interference from him would lead to a disqualification. This was a fun roller coaster of a match, their chemistry together is simply off the charts. Seth Rollins was booked like a real champ here and didn't have to resort much to help from J & J Security or Kane who were all by his side. It's pretty amazing to see how the company has evolved, who would have thought that these two would be the main event of a special event a few years ago? This felt like they were wrestling their style of match on a WWE platform, it felt like I was watching a Ring of Honor match with all the counters and innovative spots. The ending saw Rollins pull the referee in the way of Dean Ambrose flying off the top rope. However, Ambrose was able to hit his Dirty Deeds DDT to score the win as another referee came to make the count. The call was overruled when the referee that was hit by Ambrose made the disqualification call. Ambrose wins by disqualification, Rollins retains. The look on the face of Rollins was absolutely priceless. Ambrose doesn't want to give up the belt and gets ambushed before Roman Reigns comes out to make the save as they both leave together through the crowd as Ambrose carries the belt with him. The ending felt more like an ending to Monday Night Raw more than anything. I'm not a fan of these types of finishes but if they were ever to pull off this type of finish, I guess this would be the match. Despite the wonky finish, I still really enjoyed this match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was a tough event to score. On one hand, you had a couple really good matches but on the other, it never really felt like a special event and with the crowd being really dead, it never seemed to get out of first gear. However, it wouldn't hurt for anyone to check out the Cena vs. Owens match or even the main event. It's just so hard to build a show like this in two weeks and to think that Money in the Bank is only two weeks away from this show is pretty staggering. It's a definite oversaturation of a product.
Rating: 6.25/10
For this first time in Elimination Chamber history, the Tag Team Championships are on the line. This has all the makings to be a fun, fun mess. The champs get a definitive advantage in the match as all three members are allowed to compete and they enter the match last. We get two former NXT teams going at it to begin the match in Ascension against Lucha Dragons. Fun action throughout that did get a little odd at some points. Why exactly did one of the Lucha Dragons have to climb his way to the middle of the chamber? Why is Cesaro breaking up counts against other teams? I hate to dwell on that but it really made me scratch me head. There were some fun spots throughout the match but nothing that really stood out and lived up to the match's hyped billing. Prime Time Players had a prime opportunity to score a victory but The New Day scored the win and retained their titles. This match just had so much hype but did not live to its expectations. Simple as that. The eliminations did not seem important at all and they did not make much use of their surroundings. Easily one of the weakest Elimination Chamber matches in history.
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **
Match 2: Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (c) vs. Naomi vs. Paige
Finally switching things up in the Divas division with a triple threat match. Hey! At least we get something else other than our typical singles match that pretty much is a carbon copy every week. Some pretty decent action from the three but still sluggish in a lot of areas that it just made things difficult to really sink my teeth into. Bella retains the title as she hits her Rack Attack finisher for the win.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rating: *
Match 3: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
As I review Extreme Rules from 2014, I recall mentioning that it felt impossible to believe that The Shield defeated Evolution. The same can easily be said here, it feels impossible to believe that Mr. Wrestling is taking on John Cena on a PPV in his first WWE match. Kevin Owens made a huge debut on an edition of Raw when the NXT Champion answered John Cena's open invitational. Crowd is hot for this one and that includes Owens, who was only introduced to the WWE audience a few weeks ago. I had no doubt in my mind that this was the match to steal the show. I was right. Back and fourth match that had the crowd on the tips of their toes. WWE looks to be really behind Owens, especially considering how much offense he was able to put upon Cena who sold his moves accordingly. Owens even kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment! Owens managed to hit his Powerbomb and score the incredible victory over the face of the WWE. Triple H definitely likes this Owens guy. Awesome match that made me feel like I was watching ROH on a WWE scale. What an amazing story, an amazing journey. Truly living the dream, truly working his ass off, an inspiration to anyone who enjoys this sport. Let's see where the rest of this story takes us...
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: ****1/4
Match 4: Bo Dallas vs. Neville
These guys definitely have their hands full as the vibe of the audience is completely different following the last match. Bo Dallas isn't the best guy to get a crowd on their feet but with Neville around, fun things are bound to happen. The commentators are quick to point out the NXT influence upon the show but quickly change the subject to random talk as the crowd and the match have been completely deflated. Even still, I enjoyed the action in the ring and do like Bo Dallas as a snarky heel. In the end, Neville hits his beautiful Red Arrow to score the easy victory. Decent match to separate the last match and the Elimination Chamber match after this.
Winner: Neville
Rating: **
Match 5: Intercontinental Championship - Elimination Chamber - Mark Henry vs. Sheamus vs. R-Truth vs. Ryback vs. King Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler
This is the second Elimination Chamber match of the night and for the first time ever, this is for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Rusev was scheduled to take part in the match but due to injury, he is not in this match. That somewhat takes out a different layer to the match. Things start with both King Barrett and Dolph Ziggler with Barrett getting the better of the exchange. Crowd is completely dead for this match, WWE should reconsider coming back to this arena. Sheamus is the last person to enter the match but purposely jams the door with his cross necklace. Once he enters, he looks to be in control before the tides change. However, he remains in the final three with both Ryback and Dolph Ziggler. After Ziggler gets eliminated, it is down to Ryback and Sheamus. The two go at it before Ryback hits a Shell Shocked for the win. Nice exchange but Sheamus put some heavy damage on Ryback but Ryback hardly sold anything once he scored the pin. Afterwards, Daniel Bryan gets in the ring and congratulates The Ryback. Despite the terrible, terrible crowd, the match was good. But it lacked build and any real intrigue from the audience. The Chamber needs to have a better reason to take place, not just six guys beating up each other on a two weeks notice.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Two former Shield brothers collide as the richest prize in the business is on the line. Before the match, Triple H made it clear to Roman Reigns that any interference from him would lead to a disqualification. This was a fun roller coaster of a match, their chemistry together is simply off the charts. Seth Rollins was booked like a real champ here and didn't have to resort much to help from J & J Security or Kane who were all by his side. It's pretty amazing to see how the company has evolved, who would have thought that these two would be the main event of a special event a few years ago? This felt like they were wrestling their style of match on a WWE platform, it felt like I was watching a Ring of Honor match with all the counters and innovative spots. The ending saw Rollins pull the referee in the way of Dean Ambrose flying off the top rope. However, Ambrose was able to hit his Dirty Deeds DDT to score the win as another referee came to make the count. The call was overruled when the referee that was hit by Ambrose made the disqualification call. Ambrose wins by disqualification, Rollins retains. The look on the face of Rollins was absolutely priceless. Ambrose doesn't want to give up the belt and gets ambushed before Roman Reigns comes out to make the save as they both leave together through the crowd as Ambrose carries the belt with him. The ending felt more like an ending to Monday Night Raw more than anything. I'm not a fan of these types of finishes but if they were ever to pull off this type of finish, I guess this would be the match. Despite the wonky finish, I still really enjoyed this match.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was a tough event to score. On one hand, you had a couple really good matches but on the other, it never really felt like a special event and with the crowd being really dead, it never seemed to get out of first gear. However, it wouldn't hurt for anyone to check out the Cena vs. Owens match or even the main event. It's just so hard to build a show like this in two weeks and to think that Money in the Bank is only two weeks away from this show is pretty staggering. It's a definite oversaturation of a product.
Rating: 6.25/10
Sunday, November 15, 2015
WWE Survivor Series 2007 Review
Match 1: ECW Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. John Morrison vs. The Miz
Somewhere along in my life, I feel like I have reviewed this match and maybe even this entire event. Nonetheless, here I am as I dive into 2007, my freshman year of high school and give you guys my thoughts on this show. This is one of my favorite WWECW matches of all time. It wasn't the best match from a technical standpoint but it delivered on so many different levels. This was the perfect spot for this match on the card, any other spot and this match would have gone completely forgotten. There was never a dull moment as John Morrison teamed with The Miz to eliminate CM Punk before they eventually threw the plans out the window and things turned into a legit triple threat match. They had some really creative spots and the Miami crowd was really into the action, a rarity in 2007 for most ECW Championship matches. Punk scored the win after hitting Miz with the GTS. Would have loved for this match to have gone a little bit longer but it was great for what it was. Punk finally scores another credible PPV win.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Mickie James (Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool & Kelly Kelly) vs. Team Beth Phoenix (Beth Phoenix, Jillian, Melina, Victoria & Layla)
This is the first Traditional Survivor Series match to feature ten Divas since 1997 and thankfully, it's a sudden death situation. Meaning, no eliminations as the first pin scores the win for the team. You get your typical Divas fun with everybody coming in at the very end to get in their offense as Mickie James was left alone in the ring with Melina. James plants a kiss on Melina and kicks her to score the win. Better than expected but what could you really say about a match that was this short?
Winners: Team Mickie James
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: World Tag Team Championships - Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (c) Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly
I always liked the pair of Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, it oddly worked and their gimmick was pretty over. The established champs took on the team of the veteran in Hardcore Holly and the rookie in Cody Rhodes. Just a basic tag team match that featured some slow action but more importantly, got both teams over with the audience. Cade & Murdoch continued to look like a well-oiled machine while the audience gets to know the new team of Rhodes & Holly. Murdoch scored the pin over Rhodes in a pretty cool flipping sit-out powerbomb. Holly looked disappointed in Rhodes afterwards but still gave him a pat on the side for his efforts.
Winners: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Triple H (Triple H, Kane, Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio) vs. Team Umaga (Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Finlay & Big Daddy V)
It is now 2015, count how many guys in this match are still in the WWE. Unfortunately, two of them have passed away. Matt Hardy was also scheduled to be in this match before MVP took him out on an edition of SmackDown which then made this match a 5 vs. 4 situation. Team Triple H found themselves in a pickle as Kane was eliminated first and soon after, so was Rey Mysterio via Umaga. It's down to Triple H & Jeff Hardy against the entire Team Umaga. One by one, Triple H & Hardy narrow it down until it is finally only Umaga remaining. Hardy hits his Swanton Bomb and seals the win for his team. This is what Survivor Series is all about, this was a great Tradition Survivor Series match that showcased the correlating feuds and got nearly everyone over pretty nicely. Sure, Triple H & Jeff Hardy eliminated the entire Team Umaga, it made sense to the story. The guys from Team Umaga looked like dominant heels and when it came down to it, the two main faces rose to the occasion and Hardy got the big rub. Got to love Survivor Series!
Winners: Team Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali
Vince McMahon tells Hornswoggle that he book him in a match against The Great Khali because Hornswoggle is a McMahon and must defy the odds. Shane McMahon makes an appearance to side with little Horny. Hornswoggle takes off his playful attire and looks ready to fight before Khali swats him away to the dismay of Shane. Finlay then runs out to make the save and beats down Khali as Vince is now the one to look in dismay. The McMahons walk away after as Vince has a subtle, yet pissed look in his face. Don't even know where to start with that. Why exactly did this have to be on PPV? At least it didn't eat up that much time.
Winner: n/a
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
I gave this match **** back in the day so let's see how that score holds up. If Shawn Michaels uses the Sweet Chin Music, he will be disqualified from the match and will no longer be able to challenge for the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. However, an Orton disqualification will lead to the title switching hands. Pretty odd stipulations but if anyone can make it work, it's HBK. Guess what, he made it work. The two were forced to build the match around these stipulations so there was more technical wrestling than what we are accustomed to seeing. The legendary Jim Ross was brilliant in making that aware to the audience. Michaels brought some fancy tricks out of the bag like the controversial sharpshooter, the controversial crossface, and the always controversial ankle lock. See the pattern here? Every different submission added a new layer and new dimension to the match and Orton looked like he had no counter for them. But ultimately, it was Michaels' instincts that led him to his downfall when he was ready to hit the Sweet Chin Music, he cocked it back and got nailed with an RKO. Orton then taunts Michaels afterwards before Michaels finally plants one on the jaw to Orton who sells it brilliantly. Great WWE Championship match and Orton gets a cool win over Michaels on a big stage in Survivor Series, even with the odd stipulations. The **** holds but it could have been more if they stretched it out a couple minutes or so.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ****
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - Hell in a Cell - Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker
2007's best and most epic rivalry comes to a conclusion inside Hell in a Cell. They each have a win under their belts along with two draws, this is the rubber match. Even in 2015, this match holds up as one of my personal favorites in Survivor Series history. You could feel the hate between the two and everything was spaced out perfectly. While the crowd could have been livelier, it didn't detract me from the action in the ring as both men were on the top of their games respectively. Everything action done was done with purpose, no wasted spots or motions from the two. They emphasized how brutal the structure was early on as the blood flowed hard. The Undertaker driving Batista's neck with a steel chair onto the steel steps and Batista smashing Undertaker's head in with the steel steps were both sights to be seen. Every fall felt like it could have been the legit finish and when Batista wasn't able to finish off Undertaker with a Batista Bomb through a table, things got even more interesting. Batista later kicked out of a Tombstone and when Undertaker hit another one, Edge appeared out of nowhere disguised as a cameraman. He hit a shocked Undertaker with the camera and then hit his famous Con-Chair-To before lifting Batista's lifeless body onto Undertaker's lifeless body where he forced the referee to make the count. Batista retains. Afterwards, Edge smashes Undertaker's face in with a steel chair to close out the night. What. A. War. An incredible end to their rivalry which ultimately got overshadowed by the return of Edge. While this match could have done without Edge, his return still added another layer to this contest. Regardless, this was the ultimate main event for the night and maybe even for the entire year.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Far and away one of my favorite Survivor Series shows of all time. There was no John Cena but the WWE had more than enough star power here to push it over the edge. From the opening match, to the Team Triple H vs. Team Umaga match, to the WWE Championship and to the main event, this was a great show and definitely one that tends to get overlooked.
Rating: 9/10
Somewhere along in my life, I feel like I have reviewed this match and maybe even this entire event. Nonetheless, here I am as I dive into 2007, my freshman year of high school and give you guys my thoughts on this show. This is one of my favorite WWECW matches of all time. It wasn't the best match from a technical standpoint but it delivered on so many different levels. This was the perfect spot for this match on the card, any other spot and this match would have gone completely forgotten. There was never a dull moment as John Morrison teamed with The Miz to eliminate CM Punk before they eventually threw the plans out the window and things turned into a legit triple threat match. They had some really creative spots and the Miami crowd was really into the action, a rarity in 2007 for most ECW Championship matches. Punk scored the win after hitting Miz with the GTS. Would have loved for this match to have gone a little bit longer but it was great for what it was. Punk finally scores another credible PPV win.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Mickie James (Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool & Kelly Kelly) vs. Team Beth Phoenix (Beth Phoenix, Jillian, Melina, Victoria & Layla)
This is the first Traditional Survivor Series match to feature ten Divas since 1997 and thankfully, it's a sudden death situation. Meaning, no eliminations as the first pin scores the win for the team. You get your typical Divas fun with everybody coming in at the very end to get in their offense as Mickie James was left alone in the ring with Melina. James plants a kiss on Melina and kicks her to score the win. Better than expected but what could you really say about a match that was this short?
Winners: Team Mickie James
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: World Tag Team Championships - Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (c) Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly
I always liked the pair of Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, it oddly worked and their gimmick was pretty over. The established champs took on the team of the veteran in Hardcore Holly and the rookie in Cody Rhodes. Just a basic tag team match that featured some slow action but more importantly, got both teams over with the audience. Cade & Murdoch continued to look like a well-oiled machine while the audience gets to know the new team of Rhodes & Holly. Murdoch scored the pin over Rhodes in a pretty cool flipping sit-out powerbomb. Holly looked disappointed in Rhodes afterwards but still gave him a pat on the side for his efforts.
Winners: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Triple H (Triple H, Kane, Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio) vs. Team Umaga (Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Finlay & Big Daddy V)
It is now 2015, count how many guys in this match are still in the WWE. Unfortunately, two of them have passed away. Matt Hardy was also scheduled to be in this match before MVP took him out on an edition of SmackDown which then made this match a 5 vs. 4 situation. Team Triple H found themselves in a pickle as Kane was eliminated first and soon after, so was Rey Mysterio via Umaga. It's down to Triple H & Jeff Hardy against the entire Team Umaga. One by one, Triple H & Hardy narrow it down until it is finally only Umaga remaining. Hardy hits his Swanton Bomb and seals the win for his team. This is what Survivor Series is all about, this was a great Tradition Survivor Series match that showcased the correlating feuds and got nearly everyone over pretty nicely. Sure, Triple H & Jeff Hardy eliminated the entire Team Umaga, it made sense to the story. The guys from Team Umaga looked like dominant heels and when it came down to it, the two main faces rose to the occasion and Hardy got the big rub. Got to love Survivor Series!
Winners: Team Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali
Vince McMahon tells Hornswoggle that he book him in a match against The Great Khali because Hornswoggle is a McMahon and must defy the odds. Shane McMahon makes an appearance to side with little Horny. Hornswoggle takes off his playful attire and looks ready to fight before Khali swats him away to the dismay of Shane. Finlay then runs out to make the save and beats down Khali as Vince is now the one to look in dismay. The McMahons walk away after as Vince has a subtle, yet pissed look in his face. Don't even know where to start with that. Why exactly did this have to be on PPV? At least it didn't eat up that much time.
Winner: n/a
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
I gave this match **** back in the day so let's see how that score holds up. If Shawn Michaels uses the Sweet Chin Music, he will be disqualified from the match and will no longer be able to challenge for the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. However, an Orton disqualification will lead to the title switching hands. Pretty odd stipulations but if anyone can make it work, it's HBK. Guess what, he made it work. The two were forced to build the match around these stipulations so there was more technical wrestling than what we are accustomed to seeing. The legendary Jim Ross was brilliant in making that aware to the audience. Michaels brought some fancy tricks out of the bag like the controversial sharpshooter, the controversial crossface, and the always controversial ankle lock. See the pattern here? Every different submission added a new layer and new dimension to the match and Orton looked like he had no counter for them. But ultimately, it was Michaels' instincts that led him to his downfall when he was ready to hit the Sweet Chin Music, he cocked it back and got nailed with an RKO. Orton then taunts Michaels afterwards before Michaels finally plants one on the jaw to Orton who sells it brilliantly. Great WWE Championship match and Orton gets a cool win over Michaels on a big stage in Survivor Series, even with the odd stipulations. The **** holds but it could have been more if they stretched it out a couple minutes or so.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ****
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - Hell in a Cell - Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker
2007's best and most epic rivalry comes to a conclusion inside Hell in a Cell. They each have a win under their belts along with two draws, this is the rubber match. Even in 2015, this match holds up as one of my personal favorites in Survivor Series history. You could feel the hate between the two and everything was spaced out perfectly. While the crowd could have been livelier, it didn't detract me from the action in the ring as both men were on the top of their games respectively. Everything action done was done with purpose, no wasted spots or motions from the two. They emphasized how brutal the structure was early on as the blood flowed hard. The Undertaker driving Batista's neck with a steel chair onto the steel steps and Batista smashing Undertaker's head in with the steel steps were both sights to be seen. Every fall felt like it could have been the legit finish and when Batista wasn't able to finish off Undertaker with a Batista Bomb through a table, things got even more interesting. Batista later kicked out of a Tombstone and when Undertaker hit another one, Edge appeared out of nowhere disguised as a cameraman. He hit a shocked Undertaker with the camera and then hit his famous Con-Chair-To before lifting Batista's lifeless body onto Undertaker's lifeless body where he forced the referee to make the count. Batista retains. Afterwards, Edge smashes Undertaker's face in with a steel chair to close out the night. What. A. War. An incredible end to their rivalry which ultimately got overshadowed by the return of Edge. While this match could have done without Edge, his return still added another layer to this contest. Regardless, this was the ultimate main event for the night and maybe even for the entire year.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Far and away one of my favorite Survivor Series shows of all time. There was no John Cena but the WWE had more than enough star power here to push it over the edge. From the opening match, to the Team Triple H vs. Team Umaga match, to the WWE Championship and to the main event, this was a great show and definitely one that tends to get overlooked.
Rating: 9/10
Sunday, November 8, 2015
WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 Review
Match 1: United States Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
As John Cena opens up the show, he is joined by a returning Zeb Colter. Colter introduces his opponent, Alberto Del Rio! The Los Angeles crowd loves this as Del Rio looks to be in fantastic shape and walks down to the ring with his classic theme song in the background. I've missed this guy. Michael Cole does a fantastic job of introducing Del Rio to the newer audience by reminiscing about his past accomplishments along with his finishing submission, the cross armbreaker which put both Rey Mysterio and Christian on the shelf. Really good exchanges from the two here with Del Rio looking like he hasn't lost a beat. Almost forgot how good this guy is as a heel, toying with the crowd with whatever chance he gets. He's so calculating and so full of himself. Cena looked to score the win with an Attitude Adjustment before Del Rio was able to escape and eventually hit Cena with a kick to the face for the clean win! Wow. Just wow. The fact that Del Rio is back was a headline in itself. But for him to win cleanly over John Cena? Speechless. As a Del Rio fan, I could not be more excited to have him back and cannot wait to see how the WWE books him in the upcoming months leading to WrestleMania. With that being said, it was a great match that really could have used a few more minutes. Is this the third time these guys are going up against each other at this event?
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Rating: ***
Match 2: Hell in a Cell - Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
Still not a fan of seeing a Hell in a Cell match so early on a card, especially when this feud doesn't really have the hot feud for it. But this is a new era and those days of bloody Hell in a Cell matches are behind us, something I still need to accept. It's difficult to really understand why two guys are engaging inside the cell when the offense is so limited. They used plenty of tables and kendo sticks and while it was a pretty cool scene, it was nothing really spectacular. I applaud them for trying to do some creative spots like the Spear through the table off the apron or setting up the sticks in the corner of the ring. However, I just wasn't able to truly feel the hate and the emotion that this feud was supposedly set over. Ending scene saw Roman Reigns drive Bray Wyatt through a kendo stick stuck in the corner before hitting a Spear for the victory.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ***1/2
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - The New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz look to hit double digits and win the gold over The New Day who don't have Xavier Woods at ringside. Although The Dudley Boyz have only recently made their return, but it feels like we've seen this bout countless times already. The crowd feels the same as they were pretty quiet throughout the contest. Action was good but nothing we haven't seen before and as much as I love The Dudley Boyz, their act is getting pretty old. Big E clobbers Bubba Ray with the trombone before Kofi Kingston is able to hit Trouble in Paradise for the win as they hold on to the gold for another day. The New Day is as over as it gets! And I love it!
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **
Match 4: Divas Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Nikki Bella
Nikki Bella attempts to restart another reign as champion against Charlotte Flair with anybody and everybody being banned from ringside. As much as the internet loves to hate on Nikki & Brie Bella, there is no denying how much they have improved in the ring. This match is a prime example of how good these girls can be when given the right time and stage to perform. While it wasn't fluid for the entirety of the match, they still managed to put on a great show with some minor miscues here and there. We even got to see a spectacular reversal from Charlotte off the top rope along with a sick Alabama Slam from Nikki on the ring apron. They even added some psychology to the match with Nikki working on Charlotte's back to help neutralize the Figure Eight. And guess what, it worked! Charlotte was unable to lock it in on her first attempt but after a second try, she was able to lock it in for the win. Great match, one of the better Divas matches you will come across.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Kane
While the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is on the line, as is the career of Corporate Kane. Personally, I've been really enjoying Kane's role in the suit and am pretty disappointed to see that role of his go away. I know, I am probably the only guy who will say that. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect from the two. Good action with a couple cool spots but nothing out of the ordinary or nothing we haven't seen from them before. This seems to be the flavor of WWE events. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the match because I did but there was no way I believed Kane would be the one to dethrone Seth Rollins and quite frankly, nobody in the crowd seemed excited to see this match. Rollins is able to land a couple slingshot knees to Kane's face along with a couple kicks to the face before hitting the Pedigree for the win. Still odd to see Rollins use that as his finisher. Regardless, the announcers hardly discussed how Corporate Kane is now relieved of his duties as they quickly put their focus elsewhere.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***
Match 6: Intercontinental Championship - Kevin Owens (c) vs. Ryback
Is anyone else tired of Ryback as much as I am? He gets his rematch for the Intercontinental Championship here against Kevin Owens and the crowd rallies for Owens to win throughout. I admire Ryback's ambition and love for the business but his character is so one-dimensional and repetitive. Owens is fresh and makes Ryback seem like a distant memory with his style of wrestling not really adapting well to today's audience. This match is a perfect example, the Los Angeles crowd was much hotter for Owens while they hardly even reacted to Ryback's moves or taunts. Owens lands a poke to the eye before hitting his finisher to retain in a very quick match before the main event.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: *1/2
Match 7: Hell in a Cell - Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
This is it, the ultimate culmination for one of WWE's biggest feuds in history. Brock Lesnar is undoubtedly The Undertaker's biggest foe and they finally clash one last time in the main event inside the confines of Hell in a Cell. Nobody in the business is better than letting the audience feel the intensity in the ring more than more so than these guys. Off the bat, they just went at it before bringing in the steel chair as Lesnar swung that thing like a madman. One of the shots he landed on Undertaker outside the ring looked so nasty, it was awesome. Lesnar got cut pretty badly when Undertaker shoved Lesnar into one of the posts, blood began to easily poor out of Lesnar's forehead as he most definitely got cut the hard way. A trainer was sent to the ring to check on Lesnar who quickly shoved the trainer away before hitting Undertaker with an F5. This is where the pace really picked up, some cool exchanges between the two before the ring mat was exposed to the wood beneath it as Lesnar hit a low blow and another F5 to secure the win. The Wyatt Family then came out and delivered another beating towards The Undertaker before carrying him out. Great main event match that really didn't exceed any expectations. Even still, the match was one of the more violent PG matches you will come across in 2015 with the right man getting the win. I understand that they want to build The Undertaker's next feud, but I feel like seeing The Wyatt Family beat down The Undertaker on the next night's Raw would have been better. I would rather have seen Undertaker walk to the back on his own terms while leaving the crowd in awe of what had just transpired. It's also really interesting to see where they go with Lesnar now as WrestleMania season approaches.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The conclusion to Brock Lesnar's Go to Hell Tour was a success. A great show that featured a couple great Hell in a Cell matches along with the return of Alberto Del Rio! Definitely one of WWE's better offerings in a long time. Check out the main event!
Rating: 8/10
As John Cena opens up the show, he is joined by a returning Zeb Colter. Colter introduces his opponent, Alberto Del Rio! The Los Angeles crowd loves this as Del Rio looks to be in fantastic shape and walks down to the ring with his classic theme song in the background. I've missed this guy. Michael Cole does a fantastic job of introducing Del Rio to the newer audience by reminiscing about his past accomplishments along with his finishing submission, the cross armbreaker which put both Rey Mysterio and Christian on the shelf. Really good exchanges from the two here with Del Rio looking like he hasn't lost a beat. Almost forgot how good this guy is as a heel, toying with the crowd with whatever chance he gets. He's so calculating and so full of himself. Cena looked to score the win with an Attitude Adjustment before Del Rio was able to escape and eventually hit Cena with a kick to the face for the clean win! Wow. Just wow. The fact that Del Rio is back was a headline in itself. But for him to win cleanly over John Cena? Speechless. As a Del Rio fan, I could not be more excited to have him back and cannot wait to see how the WWE books him in the upcoming months leading to WrestleMania. With that being said, it was a great match that really could have used a few more minutes. Is this the third time these guys are going up against each other at this event?
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Rating: ***
Match 2: Hell in a Cell - Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
Still not a fan of seeing a Hell in a Cell match so early on a card, especially when this feud doesn't really have the hot feud for it. But this is a new era and those days of bloody Hell in a Cell matches are behind us, something I still need to accept. It's difficult to really understand why two guys are engaging inside the cell when the offense is so limited. They used plenty of tables and kendo sticks and while it was a pretty cool scene, it was nothing really spectacular. I applaud them for trying to do some creative spots like the Spear through the table off the apron or setting up the sticks in the corner of the ring. However, I just wasn't able to truly feel the hate and the emotion that this feud was supposedly set over. Ending scene saw Roman Reigns drive Bray Wyatt through a kendo stick stuck in the corner before hitting a Spear for the victory.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ***1/2
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championships - The New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz
The Dudley Boyz look to hit double digits and win the gold over The New Day who don't have Xavier Woods at ringside. Although The Dudley Boyz have only recently made their return, but it feels like we've seen this bout countless times already. The crowd feels the same as they were pretty quiet throughout the contest. Action was good but nothing we haven't seen before and as much as I love The Dudley Boyz, their act is getting pretty old. Big E clobbers Bubba Ray with the trombone before Kofi Kingston is able to hit Trouble in Paradise for the win as they hold on to the gold for another day. The New Day is as over as it gets! And I love it!
Winners: The New Day
Rating: **
Match 4: Divas Championship - Charlotte (c) vs. Nikki Bella
Nikki Bella attempts to restart another reign as champion against Charlotte Flair with anybody and everybody being banned from ringside. As much as the internet loves to hate on Nikki & Brie Bella, there is no denying how much they have improved in the ring. This match is a prime example of how good these girls can be when given the right time and stage to perform. While it wasn't fluid for the entirety of the match, they still managed to put on a great show with some minor miscues here and there. We even got to see a spectacular reversal from Charlotte off the top rope along with a sick Alabama Slam from Nikki on the ring apron. They even added some psychology to the match with Nikki working on Charlotte's back to help neutralize the Figure Eight. And guess what, it worked! Charlotte was unable to lock it in on her first attempt but after a second try, she was able to lock it in for the win. Great match, one of the better Divas matches you will come across.
Winner: Charlotte
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Seth Rollins (c) vs. Kane
While the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is on the line, as is the career of Corporate Kane. Personally, I've been really enjoying Kane's role in the suit and am pretty disappointed to see that role of his go away. I know, I am probably the only guy who will say that. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect from the two. Good action with a couple cool spots but nothing out of the ordinary or nothing we haven't seen from them before. This seems to be the flavor of WWE events. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the match because I did but there was no way I believed Kane would be the one to dethrone Seth Rollins and quite frankly, nobody in the crowd seemed excited to see this match. Rollins is able to land a couple slingshot knees to Kane's face along with a couple kicks to the face before hitting the Pedigree for the win. Still odd to see Rollins use that as his finisher. Regardless, the announcers hardly discussed how Corporate Kane is now relieved of his duties as they quickly put their focus elsewhere.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***
Match 6: Intercontinental Championship - Kevin Owens (c) vs. Ryback
Is anyone else tired of Ryback as much as I am? He gets his rematch for the Intercontinental Championship here against Kevin Owens and the crowd rallies for Owens to win throughout. I admire Ryback's ambition and love for the business but his character is so one-dimensional and repetitive. Owens is fresh and makes Ryback seem like a distant memory with his style of wrestling not really adapting well to today's audience. This match is a perfect example, the Los Angeles crowd was much hotter for Owens while they hardly even reacted to Ryback's moves or taunts. Owens lands a poke to the eye before hitting his finisher to retain in a very quick match before the main event.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Rating: *1/2
Match 7: Hell in a Cell - Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
This is it, the ultimate culmination for one of WWE's biggest feuds in history. Brock Lesnar is undoubtedly The Undertaker's biggest foe and they finally clash one last time in the main event inside the confines of Hell in a Cell. Nobody in the business is better than letting the audience feel the intensity in the ring more than more so than these guys. Off the bat, they just went at it before bringing in the steel chair as Lesnar swung that thing like a madman. One of the shots he landed on Undertaker outside the ring looked so nasty, it was awesome. Lesnar got cut pretty badly when Undertaker shoved Lesnar into one of the posts, blood began to easily poor out of Lesnar's forehead as he most definitely got cut the hard way. A trainer was sent to the ring to check on Lesnar who quickly shoved the trainer away before hitting Undertaker with an F5. This is where the pace really picked up, some cool exchanges between the two before the ring mat was exposed to the wood beneath it as Lesnar hit a low blow and another F5 to secure the win. The Wyatt Family then came out and delivered another beating towards The Undertaker before carrying him out. Great main event match that really didn't exceed any expectations. Even still, the match was one of the more violent PG matches you will come across in 2015 with the right man getting the win. I understand that they want to build The Undertaker's next feud, but I feel like seeing The Wyatt Family beat down The Undertaker on the next night's Raw would have been better. I would rather have seen Undertaker walk to the back on his own terms while leaving the crowd in awe of what had just transpired. It's also really interesting to see where they go with Lesnar now as WrestleMania season approaches.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The conclusion to Brock Lesnar's Go to Hell Tour was a success. A great show that featured a couple great Hell in a Cell matches along with the return of Alberto Del Rio! Definitely one of WWE's better offerings in a long time. Check out the main event!
Rating: 8/10
Thursday, September 24, 2015
WWF Invasion 2001 Review
This is it. The famous Invasion feud that took place in 2001 made its arrival to PPV when Stone Cold Steve Austin led Team WWF against Team WCW/ECW in an ultimate match throughout an ultimate night of wars for company supremacy.
Match 1: Edge & Christian vs. Lance Storm & Mike Awesome
The first match of the WWF vs. WCW PPV features two top teams from each company. Edge & Christian face off against WCW's Lance Storm & Mike Awesome. Jim Ross on commentary is quick to note the Canadian flavor to the match. Action was pretty basic but definitely fun to watch, easy to forget how fundamentally sound Storm is. But Edge & Christian are as good as it gets for tag team wrestling. They really know how to build a match from a slower pace to a fast and frantic finish. Both teams get in a nice amount of offense before Christian hits a Spear on Mike Awesome as he was about to hit an Awesome Bomb on Edge. Good finish and a good match to start the show. They established the companies feuding early on, the referees being picked via coin toss, and took into account the crowd that was more partisan towards the WWF.
Winners: Edge & Christian
Rating: ***
Match 2: Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick
Mick Foley is the guest referee here as WWF's senior referee goes against WCW's senior official. What a weird match this was. Earl Hebner gets in more offense as the two just basically punch each other before their teams get involved. The WCW officials kicked Hebner when he was on the floor which led to Foley tossing them out. Back in the ring, Hebner hits an ugly Spear of sorts for the win. Foley then introduces Nick Patrick to Mr. Socko soon after. That was dumb, really dumb.
Winner: Earl Hebner
Rating: 1/4*
Match 3: APA vs. Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo
This is the second tag match of the night and it is between each company's tag champions. This felt more of a squash match than anything. It's almost as if WWF is making the whole show make WCW look like a completely inferior brand, imagine that. Some decent and quick action that saw Bradshaw hit Chuck Palumbo with a nice Clothesline from Hell to win the match and Team WWF is undefeated in the first three matches of the night.
Winners: APA
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Billy Kidman vs. X-Pac
This match features WWF's Light Heavyweight Champion taking on WCW's Cruiserweight Champion. They needed a match to get WCW back on the board and this was it. This match felt like a breath of fresh air for the night, faster and more fluid action from the two experienced wrestlers. Crowd was pretty split for this one and it made for a change of pace as the WWF-sided crowd finally wanted a WCW guy to score a win. Despite the crowd's disdain for X-Pac, he put on a good performance here with Kidman getting the advantage as he was able to hit his Shooting Star Press.
Winner: Billy Kidman
Rating: **1/2
Match 5: Raven vs. William Regal
After WCW gets on the board, Raven looks to make it two in a row as he is the first ECW representative. As you would expect and wouldn't expect, this was a slow-paced wrestling match that Willaim Regal has become famous for. And seeing him go against someone with a different style like Raven is really interesting to watch. Very methodical and very psychological wrestling which didn't seem to fare too well with the audience, but that's nothing new. Tazz runs out and drops Regal with a suplex as the referee was distracted which led to Raven hitting his finisher for the win. Two wins in a row for Team WCW/ECW.
Winner: Raven
Rating: *1/2
Match 6: Billy Gunn, The Big Show & Albert vs. Shawn Stasiak, Hugh Morrus & Chris Kanyon
Talk about a filler of a match. Just a forgettable match to simply get these guys on the card that saw Shawn Stasiak help score his team the win to even up the scoreboard. Basic match that led to the WWF guys laying waste to the WCW/ECW guys. Sign of things to come as a point is still added to the WCW/ECW side despite the result after the match.
Winners: Shawn Stasiak, Hugh Morrus & Chris Kanyon
Rating: *1/4
Match 7: Tazz vs. Tajiri
Always thought it was a shame the way the WWF treated Tazz, dude was so good. Loved his style and loved how it meshed here against Tajiri in this quick match. Crowd was definitely more into this match after the dull tag match before this with some sweet kicks and tosses from both guys. Tajiri spits out the green mist before landing a sweet Buzzsaw Kick to win the match for himself and the WWF.
Winner: Tajiri
Rating: **1/4
Match 8: Hardcore Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
This is the only match on the card with a title on the line as Rob Van Dam looks to take one of WWF's championships to the other side. This match unfortunately gets overlooked too much because of the main event but these two guys brought the goods here. They brought the fight around into the stands and pulled out some daring spots like RVD shoving Jeff Hardy off the ladder to the floor and RVD kicking a steel chair into Hardy's face that saw him fall off the stage. Hardy looked to seal the win with a Swanton Bomb before RVD reversed it and hit a Five Star Frog Splash as the Hardcore Championship was placed on Hardy's body for it. Sweet finish to a great match, definitely one of the few highlights of the night.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ***3/4
Match 9: Bra & Panties - Stacy Keibler & Torrie Wilson vs. Trish Stratus & Lita
Once again, Mick Foley has the unenviable task of being referee again as the four top female competitors go up against each other. This was the typical stupid fun you would expect as Jim Ross & Michael Cole do their best to make the match bearable aside from the ladies ripping their clothes off. Tris Stratus & Lita literally pull off the easy win as we head to the main event. What else do you want me to say?
Winners: Trish Stratus & Lita
Rating: 1/2*
Match 10: Inaugural Brawl - Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane & The Undertaker vs. D.D.P., Booker T, Rhyno & The Dudley Boyz
Wow, this is one of the most star-studded main events that I can remember. What I really loved about this match was the fact that everybody had a reason to win the match for their team. From Steve Austin simply standing up as the leader for Team WWF or The Undertaker looking to destroy D.D.P. for stalking his wife. To be upfront, I liked this match. But I feel like there were so many missed opportunities and only maybe until the finishing stretch did I actually feel like this was a war. It made sense to have Vince McMahon in the corner for Team WWF and Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman in the corner for Team WCW/ECW, but the constant focus on them become quite the annoyance. The action was fine but like I said, it was the finishing stretch that really defined this match. The table spots outside the ring were fun, Undertaker going after D.D.P. was cool, and the pop that Kurt Angle was receiving was incredible. Angle looked to wrap things up for Team WWF when he had Booker T tapping out to the Ankle Lock. But a previous referee bump was not in the line of sight. Austin then tossed the referee into the ring but Austin takes out Angle! The referee is in shock as Austin places Booker T upon Angle's body. A shocking moment as the Invasion story takes a drastic turn with Austin now representing Team WCW/ECW. The WWF referee showing remorse in making the count was such a nice touch. Great way to end the show and a great way to really kick out the big feud. Takes me back to watching this as a kid and being so shocked at Austin. Good times.
Winners:
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A very disappointing PPV start for the sport's biggest feud in history. They put all their eggs in one basket by focusing on the main event that the rest of the card just felt so poorly put together and so rushed. However, the show accomplished its main purpose in furthering the feud along with having Stone Cold Steve Austin turn to the dark side. Even still, it doesn't justify a bad card.
Rating: 5.25/10
Match 1: Edge & Christian vs. Lance Storm & Mike Awesome
The first match of the WWF vs. WCW PPV features two top teams from each company. Edge & Christian face off against WCW's Lance Storm & Mike Awesome. Jim Ross on commentary is quick to note the Canadian flavor to the match. Action was pretty basic but definitely fun to watch, easy to forget how fundamentally sound Storm is. But Edge & Christian are as good as it gets for tag team wrestling. They really know how to build a match from a slower pace to a fast and frantic finish. Both teams get in a nice amount of offense before Christian hits a Spear on Mike Awesome as he was about to hit an Awesome Bomb on Edge. Good finish and a good match to start the show. They established the companies feuding early on, the referees being picked via coin toss, and took into account the crowd that was more partisan towards the WWF.
Winners: Edge & Christian
Rating: ***
Match 2: Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick
Mick Foley is the guest referee here as WWF's senior referee goes against WCW's senior official. What a weird match this was. Earl Hebner gets in more offense as the two just basically punch each other before their teams get involved. The WCW officials kicked Hebner when he was on the floor which led to Foley tossing them out. Back in the ring, Hebner hits an ugly Spear of sorts for the win. Foley then introduces Nick Patrick to Mr. Socko soon after. That was dumb, really dumb.
Winner: Earl Hebner
Rating: 1/4*
Match 3: APA vs. Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo
This is the second tag match of the night and it is between each company's tag champions. This felt more of a squash match than anything. It's almost as if WWF is making the whole show make WCW look like a completely inferior brand, imagine that. Some decent and quick action that saw Bradshaw hit Chuck Palumbo with a nice Clothesline from Hell to win the match and Team WWF is undefeated in the first three matches of the night.
Winners: APA
Rating: *1/4
Match 4: Billy Kidman vs. X-Pac
This match features WWF's Light Heavyweight Champion taking on WCW's Cruiserweight Champion. They needed a match to get WCW back on the board and this was it. This match felt like a breath of fresh air for the night, faster and more fluid action from the two experienced wrestlers. Crowd was pretty split for this one and it made for a change of pace as the WWF-sided crowd finally wanted a WCW guy to score a win. Despite the crowd's disdain for X-Pac, he put on a good performance here with Kidman getting the advantage as he was able to hit his Shooting Star Press.
Winner: Billy Kidman
Rating: **1/2
Match 5: Raven vs. William Regal
After WCW gets on the board, Raven looks to make it two in a row as he is the first ECW representative. As you would expect and wouldn't expect, this was a slow-paced wrestling match that Willaim Regal has become famous for. And seeing him go against someone with a different style like Raven is really interesting to watch. Very methodical and very psychological wrestling which didn't seem to fare too well with the audience, but that's nothing new. Tazz runs out and drops Regal with a suplex as the referee was distracted which led to Raven hitting his finisher for the win. Two wins in a row for Team WCW/ECW.
Winner: Raven
Rating: *1/2
Match 6: Billy Gunn, The Big Show & Albert vs. Shawn Stasiak, Hugh Morrus & Chris Kanyon
Talk about a filler of a match. Just a forgettable match to simply get these guys on the card that saw Shawn Stasiak help score his team the win to even up the scoreboard. Basic match that led to the WWF guys laying waste to the WCW/ECW guys. Sign of things to come as a point is still added to the WCW/ECW side despite the result after the match.
Winners: Shawn Stasiak, Hugh Morrus & Chris Kanyon
Rating: *1/4
Match 7: Tazz vs. Tajiri
Always thought it was a shame the way the WWF treated Tazz, dude was so good. Loved his style and loved how it meshed here against Tajiri in this quick match. Crowd was definitely more into this match after the dull tag match before this with some sweet kicks and tosses from both guys. Tajiri spits out the green mist before landing a sweet Buzzsaw Kick to win the match for himself and the WWF.
Winner: Tajiri
Rating: **1/4
Match 8: Hardcore Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
This is the only match on the card with a title on the line as Rob Van Dam looks to take one of WWF's championships to the other side. This match unfortunately gets overlooked too much because of the main event but these two guys brought the goods here. They brought the fight around into the stands and pulled out some daring spots like RVD shoving Jeff Hardy off the ladder to the floor and RVD kicking a steel chair into Hardy's face that saw him fall off the stage. Hardy looked to seal the win with a Swanton Bomb before RVD reversed it and hit a Five Star Frog Splash as the Hardcore Championship was placed on Hardy's body for it. Sweet finish to a great match, definitely one of the few highlights of the night.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Rating: ***3/4
Match 9: Bra & Panties - Stacy Keibler & Torrie Wilson vs. Trish Stratus & Lita
Once again, Mick Foley has the unenviable task of being referee again as the four top female competitors go up against each other. This was the typical stupid fun you would expect as Jim Ross & Michael Cole do their best to make the match bearable aside from the ladies ripping their clothes off. Tris Stratus & Lita literally pull off the easy win as we head to the main event. What else do you want me to say?
Winners: Trish Stratus & Lita
Rating: 1/2*
Match 10: Inaugural Brawl - Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane & The Undertaker vs. D.D.P., Booker T, Rhyno & The Dudley Boyz
Wow, this is one of the most star-studded main events that I can remember. What I really loved about this match was the fact that everybody had a reason to win the match for their team. From Steve Austin simply standing up as the leader for Team WWF or The Undertaker looking to destroy D.D.P. for stalking his wife. To be upfront, I liked this match. But I feel like there were so many missed opportunities and only maybe until the finishing stretch did I actually feel like this was a war. It made sense to have Vince McMahon in the corner for Team WWF and Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman in the corner for Team WCW/ECW, but the constant focus on them become quite the annoyance. The action was fine but like I said, it was the finishing stretch that really defined this match. The table spots outside the ring were fun, Undertaker going after D.D.P. was cool, and the pop that Kurt Angle was receiving was incredible. Angle looked to wrap things up for Team WWF when he had Booker T tapping out to the Ankle Lock. But a previous referee bump was not in the line of sight. Austin then tossed the referee into the ring but Austin takes out Angle! The referee is in shock as Austin places Booker T upon Angle's body. A shocking moment as the Invasion story takes a drastic turn with Austin now representing Team WCW/ECW. The WWF referee showing remorse in making the count was such a nice touch. Great way to end the show and a great way to really kick out the big feud. Takes me back to watching this as a kid and being so shocked at Austin. Good times.
Winners:
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A very disappointing PPV start for the sport's biggest feud in history. They put all their eggs in one basket by focusing on the main event that the rest of the card just felt so poorly put together and so rushed. However, the show accomplished its main purpose in furthering the feud along with having Stone Cold Steve Austin turn to the dark side. Even still, it doesn't justify a bad card.
Rating: 5.25/10
Sunday, September 13, 2015
WWE Night of Champions 2009 Review
Match 1: Unified Tag Team Championships - Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
Before the match, Chris Jericho comes out and talks trash against his former partner in Edge and bashes him for being prone to injury. He then introduces his new partner, The Big Show. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase have a look of disbelief on their faces as their chances to make sure Legacy walks out with all the gold have dwindled. The Legacy team did a good job of keeping Big Show out of the match and singling out against Jericho. However, once Show got into the ring, it was a whole new match. Show came in to clean house and once he locked in his Colossal Clutch finisher, game over. Decent match but didn't come strong enough for the debut of Jericho's new teammate. However, after reading Jericho's The Best in the World book, everything made sense. He wanted to reinvigorate Show's career and make him look like a beast again. This match right here was the perfect start.
Winners: Chris Jericho & The Big Show
Rating: *3/4
Match 2: ECW Championship - Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Christian
This is Tommy Dreamer's "triumphant return" to Philadelphia as the ECW Champion where he defends his gold against Christian. I forgot how hilarious Matt Striker is as he totally exaggerates enormously to everything from the crowd responses to noting that the title has changed numerous times in the city. Regardless, I enjoyed this match. It sucks that they don't make the ECW Championship feel like a bigger deal but they still put on a good match as both guys got in an equal amount of offense. Nobody was in the driver's seat and the cool finish saw Dreamer reverse a Killswitch from Christian into a DDT before Christian reversed once more to hit his Killswitch. Good match, another strong ECW match for Christian's 2009 hot streak. It was pretty evident that Dreamer's title run was simply WWE's way of saying thanks. Good match but nothing to get too excited over.
Winner: Christian
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: United States Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Carlito vs. Jack Swagger vs. The Miz vs. Primo vs. MVP
Definitely like how they went for the six-man match instead of a singles match, keeps the show fresh considering there are so many title defenses. The hard part comes in keeping things interesting throughout the match and they did a fine job here. Primo is The Big Show's replacement and he played his role great as he had to also compete against his brother in Carlito. The match was fun but wasn't as chaotic and hectic as you would hoped for. But that isn't to say that this was a bad match because it far and away was not. Good pacing and some cool spots to get the crowd going. Ending came when Carlito hits his Back Stabber finisher on his brother until Kingston lands a Trouble in Paradise right after to retain the title.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ***
Match 4: Women's Championship - Michelle McCool (c) vs. Melina
Before the match even starts, Michelle McCool kicks Melina as she does her signature pose on the apron. This is their rematch from last month and things definitely seem more heated this time around. Everyone complains that the Divas need more time in the ring to develop better matches and they definitely got it here. But the match quality really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. With that being said, I am a fan of both these competitors and felt like they could have done more here. McCool gets a second win over Melina and retains the gold.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *1/2
Match 5: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
The rematch everybody wanted to see, right? If I had a dime for every time these guys faced off against each other on PPV. Revisiting this show, it's almost impossible for me to get excited to give this match another watch. Randy Orton continues to play the role as the wild card as John Cena and Triple H continue their beef with one another. While it admittedly was hard to really soak my teeth into the match, it didn't feel like a chore to watch. These three are definitely more than experienced with one another which made the fluidity cleaner and the match itself easier to watch. They also knew when to kick it into second gear. They took the fight out to the announce table outside where they continued back in the ring where both Cena and Triple H locked Orton in submissions at the same time. Orton taps as the referee wraps his arms around his head looking like a complete idiot and losing any credibility in this match. Finally, DiBiase & Rhodes come out for the save as Orton is able to hit an RKO on Cena to retain. That ending was ridiculous. Some may have thought it was clever but that just made the match lose all credibility and made both the referee look stupid and Orton look weak in the process. Orton retains but at a cost.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 6: Divas Championship - Maryse (c) vs. Mickie James
A second Divas match. The Philadelphia crowd is absolutely dead for this one. This was almost like watching a carbon copy of the Divas match earlier. Mickie James tries to get the crowd going by bringing out the hairspray but nobody cares as the referee then takes it away. Pointless to the max. James is able to hit her DDT finisher on Maryse to win the gold as the crowd mildly reacts accordingly.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: 1/2*
Match 7: Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
It's easy to forget how incredible SmackDown was in 2009 since it's always overshadowed from the 2003 version. But this feud was one of 2009's best from the blue brand. The new Dolph Ziggler looking to make a statement against the champ in Rey Mysterio. No complaints for Ziggler here, holding his own against the faster Mysterio and the two had some great exchanges and cool spots. Ziggler looked legit here. And if there was any doubt, Jim Ross is simply the best in the game. Nobody knows how to build a superstar like him. Constantly pointing out how good the younger Ziggler looks against the more experienced Mysterio. Really makes the viewer believe that a title change wouldn't be so surprising. The only real problem I had with this match was the finish. The 619 came out a little out of nowhere and little too fast. In a way, it made sense if you consider that Ziggler's inexperience quickly led him to lose the match. But Ziggler needed a match like this to really get him over and a better finish would have been nicer.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: World Heavyweight Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
Seemingly out of nowhere, this feud came in and swept the wrestling world by storm in 2009. Both guys were coming off an amazing 2008 and here they are in 2009, headlining PPVs. This is Jeff Hardy's rematch from The Bash where CM Punk kicked the referee in the back for the disqualification. This match was just hard for me to get into. As good as Jim Ross was (again) on commentary and doing his best to build the match, I felt like there should have been more. There needed to be more aggression and that wasn't really what we got here. But that isn't to say I didn't enjoy the match. The first few minutes were a bit slow but once it picked up, they brought the pretty quiet crowd back to life. Hardy failed to hit his Swanton Bomb twice while Punk was able to hit a GTS for a close count. Punk then grabbed his title and walked up the stage where Hardy attacked him from behind and finally nailed a Swanton Bomb for the win. Hardy was top dog of the company at the time and his win should have been celebrated better. Plus, the finish of Punk walking out was a bit odd but in the same odd way, it made sense. However, this only leads to a bigger and better rematch.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ***1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
One of WWE's weaker PPV outings. The concept of this PPV has potential but the execution here went south. Some matches were good but nothing too great and nothing really worth going out of the way to watch. The WWE Championship match was the same rehashed match we've seen for a long time and the ending was just ridiculous. The main event had so much more potential but again, the execution fell flat. This was Hardy's big redemption, shouldn't there have been a bigger deal? This show should have been so much better than what we got.
Rating: 6/10
Before the match, Chris Jericho comes out and talks trash against his former partner in Edge and bashes him for being prone to injury. He then introduces his new partner, The Big Show. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase have a look of disbelief on their faces as their chances to make sure Legacy walks out with all the gold have dwindled. The Legacy team did a good job of keeping Big Show out of the match and singling out against Jericho. However, once Show got into the ring, it was a whole new match. Show came in to clean house and once he locked in his Colossal Clutch finisher, game over. Decent match but didn't come strong enough for the debut of Jericho's new teammate. However, after reading Jericho's The Best in the World book, everything made sense. He wanted to reinvigorate Show's career and make him look like a beast again. This match right here was the perfect start.
Winners: Chris Jericho & The Big Show
Rating: *3/4
Match 2: ECW Championship - Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Christian
This is Tommy Dreamer's "triumphant return" to Philadelphia as the ECW Champion where he defends his gold against Christian. I forgot how hilarious Matt Striker is as he totally exaggerates enormously to everything from the crowd responses to noting that the title has changed numerous times in the city. Regardless, I enjoyed this match. It sucks that they don't make the ECW Championship feel like a bigger deal but they still put on a good match as both guys got in an equal amount of offense. Nobody was in the driver's seat and the cool finish saw Dreamer reverse a Killswitch from Christian into a DDT before Christian reversed once more to hit his Killswitch. Good match, another strong ECW match for Christian's 2009 hot streak. It was pretty evident that Dreamer's title run was simply WWE's way of saying thanks. Good match but nothing to get too excited over.
Winner: Christian
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: United States Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Carlito vs. Jack Swagger vs. The Miz vs. Primo vs. MVP
Definitely like how they went for the six-man match instead of a singles match, keeps the show fresh considering there are so many title defenses. The hard part comes in keeping things interesting throughout the match and they did a fine job here. Primo is The Big Show's replacement and he played his role great as he had to also compete against his brother in Carlito. The match was fun but wasn't as chaotic and hectic as you would hoped for. But that isn't to say that this was a bad match because it far and away was not. Good pacing and some cool spots to get the crowd going. Ending came when Carlito hits his Back Stabber finisher on his brother until Kingston lands a Trouble in Paradise right after to retain the title.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ***
Match 4: Women's Championship - Michelle McCool (c) vs. Melina
Before the match even starts, Michelle McCool kicks Melina as she does her signature pose on the apron. This is their rematch from last month and things definitely seem more heated this time around. Everyone complains that the Divas need more time in the ring to develop better matches and they definitely got it here. But the match quality really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. With that being said, I am a fan of both these competitors and felt like they could have done more here. McCool gets a second win over Melina and retains the gold.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *1/2
Match 5: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
The rematch everybody wanted to see, right? If I had a dime for every time these guys faced off against each other on PPV. Revisiting this show, it's almost impossible for me to get excited to give this match another watch. Randy Orton continues to play the role as the wild card as John Cena and Triple H continue their beef with one another. While it admittedly was hard to really soak my teeth into the match, it didn't feel like a chore to watch. These three are definitely more than experienced with one another which made the fluidity cleaner and the match itself easier to watch. They also knew when to kick it into second gear. They took the fight out to the announce table outside where they continued back in the ring where both Cena and Triple H locked Orton in submissions at the same time. Orton taps as the referee wraps his arms around his head looking like a complete idiot and losing any credibility in this match. Finally, DiBiase & Rhodes come out for the save as Orton is able to hit an RKO on Cena to retain. That ending was ridiculous. Some may have thought it was clever but that just made the match lose all credibility and made both the referee look stupid and Orton look weak in the process. Orton retains but at a cost.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 6: Divas Championship - Maryse (c) vs. Mickie James
A second Divas match. The Philadelphia crowd is absolutely dead for this one. This was almost like watching a carbon copy of the Divas match earlier. Mickie James tries to get the crowd going by bringing out the hairspray but nobody cares as the referee then takes it away. Pointless to the max. James is able to hit her DDT finisher on Maryse to win the gold as the crowd mildly reacts accordingly.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: 1/2*
Match 7: Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
It's easy to forget how incredible SmackDown was in 2009 since it's always overshadowed from the 2003 version. But this feud was one of 2009's best from the blue brand. The new Dolph Ziggler looking to make a statement against the champ in Rey Mysterio. No complaints for Ziggler here, holding his own against the faster Mysterio and the two had some great exchanges and cool spots. Ziggler looked legit here. And if there was any doubt, Jim Ross is simply the best in the game. Nobody knows how to build a superstar like him. Constantly pointing out how good the younger Ziggler looks against the more experienced Mysterio. Really makes the viewer believe that a title change wouldn't be so surprising. The only real problem I had with this match was the finish. The 619 came out a little out of nowhere and little too fast. In a way, it made sense if you consider that Ziggler's inexperience quickly led him to lose the match. But Ziggler needed a match like this to really get him over and a better finish would have been nicer.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: World Heavyweight Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
Seemingly out of nowhere, this feud came in and swept the wrestling world by storm in 2009. Both guys were coming off an amazing 2008 and here they are in 2009, headlining PPVs. This is Jeff Hardy's rematch from The Bash where CM Punk kicked the referee in the back for the disqualification. This match was just hard for me to get into. As good as Jim Ross was (again) on commentary and doing his best to build the match, I felt like there should have been more. There needed to be more aggression and that wasn't really what we got here. But that isn't to say I didn't enjoy the match. The first few minutes were a bit slow but once it picked up, they brought the pretty quiet crowd back to life. Hardy failed to hit his Swanton Bomb twice while Punk was able to hit a GTS for a close count. Punk then grabbed his title and walked up the stage where Hardy attacked him from behind and finally nailed a Swanton Bomb for the win. Hardy was top dog of the company at the time and his win should have been celebrated better. Plus, the finish of Punk walking out was a bit odd but in the same odd way, it made sense. However, this only leads to a bigger and better rematch.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ***1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
One of WWE's weaker PPV outings. The concept of this PPV has potential but the execution here went south. Some matches were good but nothing too great and nothing really worth going out of the way to watch. The WWE Championship match was the same rehashed match we've seen for a long time and the ending was just ridiculous. The main event had so much more potential but again, the execution fell flat. This was Hardy's big redemption, shouldn't there have been a bigger deal? This show should have been so much better than what we got.
Rating: 6/10
Monday, August 31, 2015
WWE Night of Champions 2008 Review
Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championships - John Morrison & The Miz (c) vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle
2008's hottest tag team in John Morrison & The Miz defend the gold against the father & son combination of Finlay & Hornswoggle. Yup, professional wrestling can be an odd and beautiful thing. While this seems like an odd match, it was definitely fun to watch. Hornswoggle was great in his role here. Finlay did his best to prevent him from entering the match but he could only try so hard. Once, Morrison & Miz got their chance to get their hands on Hornswoggle, Hornswoggle hilariously threw his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, ready for a fight. But for his guts, Morrison & Miz made him pay for it. Bullying him around, slapping him around, and finally putting the nail in the coffin when Morrison tossed Hornswoggle hard off the top rope to get the win. Nice opening match here, sometimes forget how great the team of Morrison & Miz were back in the day.
Winners: John Morrison & The Miz
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: United States Championship - Matt Hardy (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero
Really felt like we got a very premature ending to 2007's feud of the year with Matt Hardy vs. MVP. Either way, Hardy's title defense here against Chavo Guerrero was the second match of the night. Basic wrestling match here with lots of action on the ground which somewhat took the Dallas crowd out of things. Even still, the action was pretty basic and gradually picked up towards the end. It felt like a very old school way of wrestling but in 2008 and beyond, that style is seemingly dead to an extent. Hardy picks up the win here against Chavo and gets some assistance from the referee to walk to the back.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: ECW Championship - Kane (c) vs. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Funny fact, the titantron features banners for the championships and the ECW Championship is just the former Cruiserweight Championship with an ECW logo plastered on it. Good stuff. Also need to mention that Mike Adamle is on commentary. Again, good stuff. Kane seemingly gets hurt a few minutes into the match but once he got back in, the pace picked up and the crowd started to get into things a little bit more. Some fun action and enjoyable to see three huge guys in a triple threat that saw Mark Henry land a splash on Kane to pick up the win right after Kane hit a superplex on The Big Show. Cool to see Henry finally win some gold, he has always come off as one of the most underrated guys on the roster. Despite the awful commentary, that was a good ECW Championship match that definitely exceeded most expectations.
Winner: Mark Henry
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: World Tag Team Championships - Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly (c) vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Ted DiBiase comes out and says that his partner is on his way and should arrive within ten minutes. The referee doesn't care and starts the match without the arrival of DiBiase's partner. Cody Rhodes looks to start the match for his team but DiBiase calls in Hardcore Holly instead. Once Holly was inside, the obvious turn of Rhodes went down as he hit a DDT on Holly. Afterwards, DiBiase took out Holly once more to gain the win. Although obvious, that was a very fitting turn for Rhodes and the team of DiBiase & Rhodes shows promise.
Winners: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Intercontinental Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
Chris Jericho comes out and addresses the Texas audience by putting himself and putting down the hometown boy in Shawn Michaels who couldn't make the short trip to the show. Kofi Kingston comes out as the challenger. Kingston needed a match like this to boost his popularity. A strong match with an established star and one that will truly make him believable as a star. Jericho was leading the way for the better part of the match and looked dominant but Kingston wouldn't let up, very fluid and very much rising to the occasion here. But once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho, Shawn Michaels runs through the crowd and hits a Sweet Chin Music on Lance Cade who was watching the match ringside. Michaels climbs on the ring apron for the distraction where Jericho rams him off but once Jericho turned around, Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise for the win and the huge pop. Jericho pops Michaels in his injured eye after the match as Michaels was being helped to the back. Great match that helps Kingston as he scores his first big win in the WWE despite being overshadowed with Shawn Michaels. Jericho loses the title, but he is on to much bigger and better things. He didn't need that title with him.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Women's Championship - Mickie James (c) vs. Katie Lea Burchill
Always enjoyed Mickie James in the WWE, definitely one of the sexiest and toughest ones in the division. Katie Lea Burchill is accompanied with her brother who constantly screams at her ringside and looks pretty good here. She worked on Mickie's shoulder throughout the match and James did a great job of selling the injury. Not only that, but Burchill was great in her role of doing her best to incapacitate her through the injury. But James was able to hit her DDT finisher out of nowhere to score the win. Decent Divas match but per usual, nothing out of the ordinary.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. Batista
Fun fact, these two wrestled against each other for the same belt in the 2007 version of this event. That match was a Last Chance match, meaning that would have been their final match against each other. Funny how things work out. I loved the dynamic of this match. Sometimes, things don't have to make sense to make sense. Does that make any sense? No? Well, this match may make sense to that. Edge looked to be in control of the match for the better half of that match which somewhat bugged me. Shouldn't he be the slimy heel just trying to get away from an animal in Batista? But once Batista got his offense in, the action did pick up more. He was set to score the win when he his his Spinebuster but Vickie Guerrero came to the rescue. Edge then took out the referee as Vickie then announced a new referee, Chavo Guerrero. Batista then grabbed Vickie into the ring and tossed her out across La Familia. Good stuff. Edge then hits Batista over the head with the gold as Chavo then counted for the finish. Cluster of an ending that made sense for the situation, La Familia is politically trying to get Edge to win and they did everything in their power to have him retain the gold. And don't forget the finish, using the belt out of nowhere as he crushed Batista over the head with it. Slimy, sneaky and ultimately, smart. Edge.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. John Cena
I was one of the few that was always bummed these two didn't have their WrestleMania 22 rematch at another WrestleMania since I absolutely loved their first encounter. The build for this match has been remarkable, the videos throughout the show were a nice touch. There's an aura about this rematch that is hard to describe, two of the biggest stars in the business going at it for the richest prize. Solid wrestling from the start as Triple H looks to be in the driver's seat. Cena is seemingly underestimating The Game after their first bout. Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler both note that these two hardly make any mistakes and how true that statement is. Triple H won't let up, not wanting this match to end in the same result that their 2006 match did. The tides finally change when Cena tosses Triple H out of the ring as Triple H lands awkwardly on his knee. This allows Cena to try and score an advantage by focusing on The Cerebral Assassin's knee. The commentators do a fantastic job of noting Triple H's two quad injuries. Triple H reminds us why he is the best in the business, selling the injury to perfection. Hitting the Pedigree on Cena but not being able to cover Cena quickly due to his injury. Cena does his best to regain the momentum, hitting an FU and locking in an STFU to boot. However, Triple H is able to reverse the STFU into his own crossface as the crowd is rocking. Triple H hits a second Pedigree and this time around, Cena isn't able to get up. Triple H wins the rematch and both titles go to the blue brand. Another fantastic main event match from these two that goes forgotten as their previous bout overshadows this one dramatically. They would go on to have a wasted rubber match later in 2009 on an edition of Raw where Triple H once again won. Still, this was a great main event match to close out the PPV and add more exciting questions after the 2008 Draft. Too bad this match doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A good PPV outing from the WWE as the two main events delivered their advertisements with the WWE Championship match being the gem of the night. Triple H reminds us why he is the best technician in the ring and a genius at the psychology game. If you're going to get something out of this show, it's going to be the main event.
Rating: 7.5/10
2008's hottest tag team in John Morrison & The Miz defend the gold against the father & son combination of Finlay & Hornswoggle. Yup, professional wrestling can be an odd and beautiful thing. While this seems like an odd match, it was definitely fun to watch. Hornswoggle was great in his role here. Finlay did his best to prevent him from entering the match but he could only try so hard. Once, Morrison & Miz got their chance to get their hands on Hornswoggle, Hornswoggle hilariously threw his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, ready for a fight. But for his guts, Morrison & Miz made him pay for it. Bullying him around, slapping him around, and finally putting the nail in the coffin when Morrison tossed Hornswoggle hard off the top rope to get the win. Nice opening match here, sometimes forget how great the team of Morrison & Miz were back in the day.
Winners: John Morrison & The Miz
Rating: **1/2
Match 2: United States Championship - Matt Hardy (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero
Really felt like we got a very premature ending to 2007's feud of the year with Matt Hardy vs. MVP. Either way, Hardy's title defense here against Chavo Guerrero was the second match of the night. Basic wrestling match here with lots of action on the ground which somewhat took the Dallas crowd out of things. Even still, the action was pretty basic and gradually picked up towards the end. It felt like a very old school way of wrestling but in 2008 and beyond, that style is seemingly dead to an extent. Hardy picks up the win here against Chavo and gets some assistance from the referee to walk to the back.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: **1/4
Match 3: ECW Championship - Kane (c) vs. The Big Show vs. Mark Henry
Funny fact, the titantron features banners for the championships and the ECW Championship is just the former Cruiserweight Championship with an ECW logo plastered on it. Good stuff. Also need to mention that Mike Adamle is on commentary. Again, good stuff. Kane seemingly gets hurt a few minutes into the match but once he got back in, the pace picked up and the crowd started to get into things a little bit more. Some fun action and enjoyable to see three huge guys in a triple threat that saw Mark Henry land a splash on Kane to pick up the win right after Kane hit a superplex on The Big Show. Cool to see Henry finally win some gold, he has always come off as one of the most underrated guys on the roster. Despite the awful commentary, that was a good ECW Championship match that definitely exceeded most expectations.
Winner: Mark Henry
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: World Tag Team Championships - Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly (c) vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Ted DiBiase comes out and says that his partner is on his way and should arrive within ten minutes. The referee doesn't care and starts the match without the arrival of DiBiase's partner. Cody Rhodes looks to start the match for his team but DiBiase calls in Hardcore Holly instead. Once Holly was inside, the obvious turn of Rhodes went down as he hit a DDT on Holly. Afterwards, DiBiase took out Holly once more to gain the win. Although obvious, that was a very fitting turn for Rhodes and the team of DiBiase & Rhodes shows promise.
Winners: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Intercontinental Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
Chris Jericho comes out and addresses the Texas audience by putting himself and putting down the hometown boy in Shawn Michaels who couldn't make the short trip to the show. Kofi Kingston comes out as the challenger. Kingston needed a match like this to boost his popularity. A strong match with an established star and one that will truly make him believable as a star. Jericho was leading the way for the better part of the match and looked dominant but Kingston wouldn't let up, very fluid and very much rising to the occasion here. But once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho, Shawn Michaels runs through the crowd and hits a Sweet Chin Music on Lance Cade who was watching the match ringside. Michaels climbs on the ring apron for the distraction where Jericho rams him off but once Jericho turned around, Kingston hit a Trouble in Paradise for the win and the huge pop. Jericho pops Michaels in his injured eye after the match as Michaels was being helped to the back. Great match that helps Kingston as he scores his first big win in the WWE despite being overshadowed with Shawn Michaels. Jericho loses the title, but he is on to much bigger and better things. He didn't need that title with him.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Women's Championship - Mickie James (c) vs. Katie Lea Burchill
Always enjoyed Mickie James in the WWE, definitely one of the sexiest and toughest ones in the division. Katie Lea Burchill is accompanied with her brother who constantly screams at her ringside and looks pretty good here. She worked on Mickie's shoulder throughout the match and James did a great job of selling the injury. Not only that, but Burchill was great in her role of doing her best to incapacitate her through the injury. But James was able to hit her DDT finisher out of nowhere to score the win. Decent Divas match but per usual, nothing out of the ordinary.
Winner: Mickie James
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. Batista
Fun fact, these two wrestled against each other for the same belt in the 2007 version of this event. That match was a Last Chance match, meaning that would have been their final match against each other. Funny how things work out. I loved the dynamic of this match. Sometimes, things don't have to make sense to make sense. Does that make any sense? No? Well, this match may make sense to that. Edge looked to be in control of the match for the better half of that match which somewhat bugged me. Shouldn't he be the slimy heel just trying to get away from an animal in Batista? But once Batista got his offense in, the action did pick up more. He was set to score the win when he his his Spinebuster but Vickie Guerrero came to the rescue. Edge then took out the referee as Vickie then announced a new referee, Chavo Guerrero. Batista then grabbed Vickie into the ring and tossed her out across La Familia. Good stuff. Edge then hits Batista over the head with the gold as Chavo then counted for the finish. Cluster of an ending that made sense for the situation, La Familia is politically trying to get Edge to win and they did everything in their power to have him retain the gold. And don't forget the finish, using the belt out of nowhere as he crushed Batista over the head with it. Slimy, sneaky and ultimately, smart. Edge.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. John Cena
I was one of the few that was always bummed these two didn't have their WrestleMania 22 rematch at another WrestleMania since I absolutely loved their first encounter. The build for this match has been remarkable, the videos throughout the show were a nice touch. There's an aura about this rematch that is hard to describe, two of the biggest stars in the business going at it for the richest prize. Solid wrestling from the start as Triple H looks to be in the driver's seat. Cena is seemingly underestimating The Game after their first bout. Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler both note that these two hardly make any mistakes and how true that statement is. Triple H won't let up, not wanting this match to end in the same result that their 2006 match did. The tides finally change when Cena tosses Triple H out of the ring as Triple H lands awkwardly on his knee. This allows Cena to try and score an advantage by focusing on The Cerebral Assassin's knee. The commentators do a fantastic job of noting Triple H's two quad injuries. Triple H reminds us why he is the best in the business, selling the injury to perfection. Hitting the Pedigree on Cena but not being able to cover Cena quickly due to his injury. Cena does his best to regain the momentum, hitting an FU and locking in an STFU to boot. However, Triple H is able to reverse the STFU into his own crossface as the crowd is rocking. Triple H hits a second Pedigree and this time around, Cena isn't able to get up. Triple H wins the rematch and both titles go to the blue brand. Another fantastic main event match from these two that goes forgotten as their previous bout overshadows this one dramatically. They would go on to have a wasted rubber match later in 2009 on an edition of Raw where Triple H once again won. Still, this was a great main event match to close out the PPV and add more exciting questions after the 2008 Draft. Too bad this match doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A good PPV outing from the WWE as the two main events delivered their advertisements with the WWE Championship match being the gem of the night. Triple H reminds us why he is the best technician in the ring and a genius at the psychology game. If you're going to get something out of this show, it's going to be the main event.
Rating: 7.5/10
Saturday, August 22, 2015
WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015 Review
Match 1: Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
Seeing the legend that is Jushin "Thunder" Liger on a WWE stage is awesome. The reception he received was simply incredible. Tyler Breeze isn't a joke, this guy just looks like a star and his cool New York entrance proves it. Having these guys open up the show is perfect, Liger was able to get in his signature moves while Breeze was able to show his disrespect throughout the match. However, Liger would get in the last laugh, taking selfies with Breeze's props and finally hitting a Liger Bomb in a WWE ring to secure the win! Would have been cool to see Breeze get the win but either way, it was a damn good opener and the crowd was absolutely hot from the beginning to the finish.
Winner: Jushin "Thunder" Liger
Rating: ***
Match 2: NXT Tag Team Championships - Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillains
Before the match, Alexa Bliss gets on the microphone and puts over the champs until Blue Pants comes out to the delight of the crowd. This is my first time seeing both of these teams so excuse me if I'm a tad bit confused about all this. Both teams are really great here, adapting to the size of a huge audience and made each tag and each cover mean something. The Vaudevillains avoid a couple close calls and are able to hit their Whirling Dervish finishing move to gain the victory and the straps. Another good match that didn't blow me away, but really made me more hungry for the rest of the card. Fun stuff and cool to see these guys win the titles. They look like they made an odd gimmick special and run away with it because they just ran away from Brooklyn with gold.
Winners: The Vaudevillains
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
As impressive as Apollo Crews looks, he just seems to have that generic babyface gimmick. But boy, this guy is a stud in the ring. Tye Dillinger isn't no joke either. They weren't given much time on the card but for what they had, they made it work. This is also Crews' debut match on NXT so it made sense, they just needed him to go out and basically display his moveset and try to get over with the audience. He accomplished this task and made it look easy in the process. Crews hits a standing moonsault on Dillenger to pick up the win on his birthday. Really impressive finisher and looks like a force that the rest of the roster has to deal with it.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe
They showed an awesome video package of their feud and like the others, this is my first time seeing Baron Corbin. This guy looks legit and can cut a good promo, he has the perfect opponent in Samoa Joe. Corbin has a huge frame and looks a bit green in the ring but even still, he looked good here against the veteran Joe. Action was stiff but never got out of hand, good enough to please the audience and have a nice match. Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch for the third time after reversing a pin from Corbin to secure the win as Corbin passes out. Just a good strong-style match with lots of punches and hard hits with a very fitting finish. Corbin takes the loss but has the out for it considering he never actually tapped out. Interesting to see where they go with Corbin and Joe after this.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: NXT Women's Championship - Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
This is the first of two main events of the night and Stephanie McMahon came out beforehand to put over the women's division. Bayley seems like the second coming of AJ Lee, she has a really cool entrance and the crowd seems to like her. But the crowd loves Sasha Banks, including myself. She just looks, walks, and talks like a star. The Boss looked dominant throughout the match, toying with Bayley and showing her dominance with trash talking left and right. Banks even pulls off the wrapping around Bayley's injured hand before pinning the same hand between the ring steps and the apron where Banks kicks the steps with Bayley's hand lodged in between. Awesome. Before Bayley can have time to recover, Banks jumps out of the ring and lands atop of her. More awesome. Banks looks to be even in more control as she locks in her Bank Statement finisher and stomps on the hand of Bayley before Bayley reverses it into her own Bank Statement! Banks is able to get a rope break and continues to be in control soon after. However, Bayley turns the tides and hits a hurricanrana from the top before hitting a second Bayley to Belly to win! Unbelievable, what a match! Told a great story from the beginning, Banks the bully, her focus on Bayley's hand, the incredible finish. Banks then congratulates Bayley along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch afterwards. This is a fine line between ****3/4 and a perfect *****. It was tough, but I feel like the ***** is more fitting after a quick thought. There really weren't any flaws and from start to finish, they had me locked in. Whatever your rating is, watch this. You won't find a better match than that in any women's division in any company.
Winner: Bayley
Rating: *****
Match 6: NXT Championship - Ladder - Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Chills seeing Kevin Owens make his way down the ramp and shout at the top of his lungs in the middle of the ring. Even more chills when Finn Balor makes an awesome entrance down to the ring with the crowd behind his back. It's on. The main event. The NXT Championship. Owens is such a cool heel, sitting down and reclining on a chair while all of this goes down. Really, what can I say about this match? You already know it's going to be good. You already know they're going to tear the house down. The rematch from last month's The Beast in the East is an even bigger one, a ladder match in front of a full Barclays Center. Ladder matches tend to get repetitive but I felt like this one was and felt more special. It was two guys going balls out and trying to make a statement with some innovative spots like Balor's Coup de Grace off the top of the ladder or Owens falling hard on a ladder set horizontally from the corner of the ring and on another ladder. Both guys were stars in their own rights here, especially Owens. Owens is such a boisterous heel, constantly screaming at Balor and mocking the crowd. He was definitely making the most out of his main event slot. However, it was Balor who got the last laugh as he was able to grab the title hung up and secure the win. If that was Owens' graduation match from NXT, what a way to go out. Good stuff all around.
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Another strong NXT outing with two incredible main events. But aside from that, everything else was on point. From the production to the extremely hot crowd, two and a half hours went by in a hurry. This was my first real time checking out an NXT show and I was definitely not disappointed. Check this out.
Rating: 9/10
Seeing the legend that is Jushin "Thunder" Liger on a WWE stage is awesome. The reception he received was simply incredible. Tyler Breeze isn't a joke, this guy just looks like a star and his cool New York entrance proves it. Having these guys open up the show is perfect, Liger was able to get in his signature moves while Breeze was able to show his disrespect throughout the match. However, Liger would get in the last laugh, taking selfies with Breeze's props and finally hitting a Liger Bomb in a WWE ring to secure the win! Would have been cool to see Breeze get the win but either way, it was a damn good opener and the crowd was absolutely hot from the beginning to the finish.
Winner: Jushin "Thunder" Liger
Rating: ***
Match 2: NXT Tag Team Championships - Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillains
Before the match, Alexa Bliss gets on the microphone and puts over the champs until Blue Pants comes out to the delight of the crowd. This is my first time seeing both of these teams so excuse me if I'm a tad bit confused about all this. Both teams are really great here, adapting to the size of a huge audience and made each tag and each cover mean something. The Vaudevillains avoid a couple close calls and are able to hit their Whirling Dervish finishing move to gain the victory and the straps. Another good match that didn't blow me away, but really made me more hungry for the rest of the card. Fun stuff and cool to see these guys win the titles. They look like they made an odd gimmick special and run away with it because they just ran away from Brooklyn with gold.
Winners: The Vaudevillains
Rating: ***1/4
Match 3: Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
As impressive as Apollo Crews looks, he just seems to have that generic babyface gimmick. But boy, this guy is a stud in the ring. Tye Dillinger isn't no joke either. They weren't given much time on the card but for what they had, they made it work. This is also Crews' debut match on NXT so it made sense, they just needed him to go out and basically display his moveset and try to get over with the audience. He accomplished this task and made it look easy in the process. Crews hits a standing moonsault on Dillenger to pick up the win on his birthday. Really impressive finisher and looks like a force that the rest of the roster has to deal with it.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Rating: **1/4
Match 4: Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe
They showed an awesome video package of their feud and like the others, this is my first time seeing Baron Corbin. This guy looks legit and can cut a good promo, he has the perfect opponent in Samoa Joe. Corbin has a huge frame and looks a bit green in the ring but even still, he looked good here against the veteran Joe. Action was stiff but never got out of hand, good enough to please the audience and have a nice match. Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch for the third time after reversing a pin from Corbin to secure the win as Corbin passes out. Just a good strong-style match with lots of punches and hard hits with a very fitting finish. Corbin takes the loss but has the out for it considering he never actually tapped out. Interesting to see where they go with Corbin and Joe after this.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Rating: **3/4
Match 5: NXT Women's Championship - Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
This is the first of two main events of the night and Stephanie McMahon came out beforehand to put over the women's division. Bayley seems like the second coming of AJ Lee, she has a really cool entrance and the crowd seems to like her. But the crowd loves Sasha Banks, including myself. She just looks, walks, and talks like a star. The Boss looked dominant throughout the match, toying with Bayley and showing her dominance with trash talking left and right. Banks even pulls off the wrapping around Bayley's injured hand before pinning the same hand between the ring steps and the apron where Banks kicks the steps with Bayley's hand lodged in between. Awesome. Before Bayley can have time to recover, Banks jumps out of the ring and lands atop of her. More awesome. Banks looks to be even in more control as she locks in her Bank Statement finisher and stomps on the hand of Bayley before Bayley reverses it into her own Bank Statement! Banks is able to get a rope break and continues to be in control soon after. However, Bayley turns the tides and hits a hurricanrana from the top before hitting a second Bayley to Belly to win! Unbelievable, what a match! Told a great story from the beginning, Banks the bully, her focus on Bayley's hand, the incredible finish. Banks then congratulates Bayley along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch afterwards. This is a fine line between ****3/4 and a perfect *****. It was tough, but I feel like the ***** is more fitting after a quick thought. There really weren't any flaws and from start to finish, they had me locked in. Whatever your rating is, watch this. You won't find a better match than that in any women's division in any company.
Winner: Bayley
Rating: *****
Match 6: NXT Championship - Ladder - Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Chills seeing Kevin Owens make his way down the ramp and shout at the top of his lungs in the middle of the ring. Even more chills when Finn Balor makes an awesome entrance down to the ring with the crowd behind his back. It's on. The main event. The NXT Championship. Owens is such a cool heel, sitting down and reclining on a chair while all of this goes down. Really, what can I say about this match? You already know it's going to be good. You already know they're going to tear the house down. The rematch from last month's The Beast in the East is an even bigger one, a ladder match in front of a full Barclays Center. Ladder matches tend to get repetitive but I felt like this one was and felt more special. It was two guys going balls out and trying to make a statement with some innovative spots like Balor's Coup de Grace off the top of the ladder or Owens falling hard on a ladder set horizontally from the corner of the ring and on another ladder. Both guys were stars in their own rights here, especially Owens. Owens is such a boisterous heel, constantly screaming at Balor and mocking the crowd. He was definitely making the most out of his main event slot. However, it was Balor who got the last laugh as he was able to grab the title hung up and secure the win. If that was Owens' graduation match from NXT, what a way to go out. Good stuff all around.
Winner: Finn Balor
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Another strong NXT outing with two incredible main events. But aside from that, everything else was on point. From the production to the extremely hot crowd, two and a half hours went by in a hurry. This was my first real time checking out an NXT show and I was definitely not disappointed. Check this out.
Rating: 9/10
Thursday, August 6, 2015
WWE Summerslam 2006 Review
Match 1: Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
The opening contest of the night features two guys who are fighting for the same thing, the honor of Eddie Guerrero. They play videos before the match of the strong bonds these guys had with Eddie, really touching to watch and added another layer to the match to make things personal. The action was fine but nothing incredible, Rey Mysterio just had that insane chemistry against Eddie that he just can't find against Chavo. Nearing the end, Vickie Guerrero comes out and does her best to stop the match. She really just makes the match annoying more than anything else as all we can hear are her constant screams. She accidentally knocks Mysterio off the top rope as Chavo takes advantage and hits a Frog Splash for the win. Good match with a faulty finish. I understand that they wanted Vickie to cost Mysterio the match, but this just felt so odd.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: ECW Championship - Extreme Rules - The Big Show (c) vs. Sabu
This match is so WWE in 2006. Both Joey Styles & Tazz are doing their best to hype this match but I think deep down, they both know this is pretty ridiculous. This is the first time the ECW Championship has been defended on the Summerslam stage as The Big Show defends the gold against Sabu. This was a fun mess of a match. They couldn't do much here so they covered it up with table spots. And it actually worked. Sabu drove Big Show through two tables and the crowd responded nicely to them both. However, his little botch after running atop one of the tables was pretty hilarious. Sabu wanted to drive Show through another table but ran into a Chokeslam through it for Show to win and retain his belt. Surprisingly, this wasn't as painful as expected aside from Sabu's botch on the second table spot. Either way, decent Summerslam match but odd to have on the card considering there's another hardcore match on the show.
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: *1/2
Match 3: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Orton
This feels like last year all over again with Hulk Hogan being prominently featured on another Summerslam show. This time, it's against the young, brash Randy Orton. And this time, Hogan puts his opponent over. One of those things I just typed is true and it's not the latter. Crowd is hot for both guys and it's pretty split as tons of boos and cheers are ringing down for both guys. The match was pretty much what you would expect. There really isn't much to be said. It didn't really carry the same vibe or flow like his match last year against Shawn Michaels but Orton held his own and carried Hogan to a damn good match. Orton looked to score the win at one point by hitting his RKO until the referee discovered Hogan's foot was on the bottom rope. Hogan then Hulks up, points, kicks, and drops for the win. Having Orton go up against the biggest legend of all time makes sense, but he's definitely in a tight spot. There's no reason at all for Hogan to be going over guys like Shawn Michaels or Randy Orton. They actively compete on the roster while Hogan does not at all. A loss against either does not hurt Hogan's reputation whatsoever, but a loss for Michaels or Orton baffles the audience. Why are these guys losing to an old man? How am I supposed to believe these guys are legitimate main eventers? Sure, the argument can be made that Orton even being in the same match as Hogan is cool but to me, what really did any of this accomplish? Where does Orton even go from here? Plus, they didn't even let Orton drop Hogan after the match!
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: I Quit - Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair
After seeing Hulk Hogan back in the ring, we get to see Mick Foley and Ric Flair. What year is this? The two have had bad blood for years and there was tons of blood here. Foley scored advantage of the match as he brought out the barbed wire early on. They made it clear that their feud was finishing here. From Foley wrapping Mr. Socko in barbed wire to him cracking Flair against the face with a board of barbed wire, the blood was flowing. Oh, and don't forget the thumbtacks. But once Flair turned the tables towards his way, things never came back. Foley looked like a mess and Flair was taking advantage of it. Beating him down with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire before Melina comes out and throws in the white towel for Foley. The match continues after Flair denounces Melina being able to make the call. Flair then threatens to beat Melina which leads for Foley to quit. A pretty good and bloody match that told a great story, too. Just weird to see them settling the score in a 2006 match.
Winner: Ric Flair
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship - King Booker (c) vs. Batista
This is Batista's first World Heavyweight Championship bout since returning from injury. JBL lets us know that Batista has not competed in a contest of this magnitude for nine months so if there's anyway for Batista to win, it's to finish King Booker early or let the King's conditioning take over. These two had an off-screen altercation during a photo shoot which JBL teased about during the match. He was pretty locked in as a commentator here. They were having a stalemate of a match, nobody really picking up any advantages here and the crowd never really got into the action. Batista looked to score the win by hitting a Batista Bomb before Queen Sharmell jumped on top of Batista and the referee called for the bell. While it's pretty inarguable that they don't have the best chemistry ever, I personally enjoyed the ten minutes of action they gave us here. It leads to a bigger rematch down the road and anticipates more of Batista recapturing the gold.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: D-Generation X vs. Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon
This feud just won't go away. Before the bell tolls, The McMahons call out their goons in Mr. Kennedy, William Regal, & Finlay to take out DX. However, DX still gets the job done until The Big Show appears and runs rampant. He then landed a Chokeslam on Triple H through the announcers table. The McMahons then walk to the ring where they take out Shawn Michaels before Triple H does his best to mount a comeback. Umaga then comes out to the ring and hits a Samoan Spike on The Game and as he approaches Michaels, Kane comes out for the awesome save! I should note that The McMahons hilariously copied other famous tag teams by mocking their finishing moves. Anyway, the match still looks in favor for The McMahons but the tides turn when Shane McMahon wanted to hit his patented Coast to Coast on Triple H but was greeted by a Sweet Chin Music on the way down! Michaels then hits one on Vince McMahon as Triple H then landed a Pedigree following it. Never a dull moment, a regular tag match definitely wasn't the best route here and they probably figured as much. Through all the antics, they made it as entertaining as possible and the crowd ate it up. Good tag match here that definitely beat all expectations.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ***
Match 7: WWE Championship - Edge (c) vs. John Cena
The main event for the 2006 edition of Summerslam has John Cena looking to regain the WWE Championship from Edge in a match where if Edge gets disqualified, the title switches hands. The chemistry the two have here is just fantastic. For all the flack Cena gets, he does a great job of selling the match and his opponents. And don't forget about Edge, this is him at the top of his game. Telling a great story in the ring, trying to score the count out victory numerous times throughout the match, and his hilarious facial expressions when Lita hands him a chair or the belt to hit Cena with. The main problem I had with this match is the same one we tend to have with lots of Cena matches. Edge was in control for so much of the match, it was almost as if Cena's offense was strictly coming off of rebounds. This strategy works for him most of the time but Cena just had his dad slapped in the face by Edge, why isn't he rushing this guy? But through all that, the match was great and the finish was awesome. Lita slips Edge a pair of brass knuckles and off a distraction, Edge drills Cena in the back of the head with a thunderous shot that knocks Cena cold out. Cena did a great job of selling the shot and Jim Ross on commentary was nothing short of brilliant to boot. Edge celebrates with Lita as Cena looks on in disbelief. Great ending to the show and really cool to see the heel walk out of a Summerslam PPV as the champ.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Definitely one of the more disappointing Summerslams in recent memory. Hulk Hogan going over, the bland undercard matches, and a disqualification finish for the World Heavyweight Championship all left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, the last two matches were easy to watch but they didn't have enough firepower to save the show.
Rating: 6/10
The opening contest of the night features two guys who are fighting for the same thing, the honor of Eddie Guerrero. They play videos before the match of the strong bonds these guys had with Eddie, really touching to watch and added another layer to the match to make things personal. The action was fine but nothing incredible, Rey Mysterio just had that insane chemistry against Eddie that he just can't find against Chavo. Nearing the end, Vickie Guerrero comes out and does her best to stop the match. She really just makes the match annoying more than anything else as all we can hear are her constant screams. She accidentally knocks Mysterio off the top rope as Chavo takes advantage and hits a Frog Splash for the win. Good match with a faulty finish. I understand that they wanted Vickie to cost Mysterio the match, but this just felt so odd.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: ECW Championship - Extreme Rules - The Big Show (c) vs. Sabu
This match is so WWE in 2006. Both Joey Styles & Tazz are doing their best to hype this match but I think deep down, they both know this is pretty ridiculous. This is the first time the ECW Championship has been defended on the Summerslam stage as The Big Show defends the gold against Sabu. This was a fun mess of a match. They couldn't do much here so they covered it up with table spots. And it actually worked. Sabu drove Big Show through two tables and the crowd responded nicely to them both. However, his little botch after running atop one of the tables was pretty hilarious. Sabu wanted to drive Show through another table but ran into a Chokeslam through it for Show to win and retain his belt. Surprisingly, this wasn't as painful as expected aside from Sabu's botch on the second table spot. Either way, decent Summerslam match but odd to have on the card considering there's another hardcore match on the show.
Winner: The Big Show
Rating: *1/2
Match 3: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Orton
This feels like last year all over again with Hulk Hogan being prominently featured on another Summerslam show. This time, it's against the young, brash Randy Orton. And this time, Hogan puts his opponent over. One of those things I just typed is true and it's not the latter. Crowd is hot for both guys and it's pretty split as tons of boos and cheers are ringing down for both guys. The match was pretty much what you would expect. There really isn't much to be said. It didn't really carry the same vibe or flow like his match last year against Shawn Michaels but Orton held his own and carried Hogan to a damn good match. Orton looked to score the win at one point by hitting his RKO until the referee discovered Hogan's foot was on the bottom rope. Hogan then Hulks up, points, kicks, and drops for the win. Having Orton go up against the biggest legend of all time makes sense, but he's definitely in a tight spot. There's no reason at all for Hogan to be going over guys like Shawn Michaels or Randy Orton. They actively compete on the roster while Hogan does not at all. A loss against either does not hurt Hogan's reputation whatsoever, but a loss for Michaels or Orton baffles the audience. Why are these guys losing to an old man? How am I supposed to believe these guys are legitimate main eventers? Sure, the argument can be made that Orton even being in the same match as Hogan is cool but to me, what really did any of this accomplish? Where does Orton even go from here? Plus, they didn't even let Orton drop Hogan after the match!
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: **3/4
Match 4: I Quit - Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair
After seeing Hulk Hogan back in the ring, we get to see Mick Foley and Ric Flair. What year is this? The two have had bad blood for years and there was tons of blood here. Foley scored advantage of the match as he brought out the barbed wire early on. They made it clear that their feud was finishing here. From Foley wrapping Mr. Socko in barbed wire to him cracking Flair against the face with a board of barbed wire, the blood was flowing. Oh, and don't forget the thumbtacks. But once Flair turned the tables towards his way, things never came back. Foley looked like a mess and Flair was taking advantage of it. Beating him down with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire before Melina comes out and throws in the white towel for Foley. The match continues after Flair denounces Melina being able to make the call. Flair then threatens to beat Melina which leads for Foley to quit. A pretty good and bloody match that told a great story, too. Just weird to see them settling the score in a 2006 match.
Winner: Ric Flair
Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: World Heavyweight Championship - King Booker (c) vs. Batista
This is Batista's first World Heavyweight Championship bout since returning from injury. JBL lets us know that Batista has not competed in a contest of this magnitude for nine months so if there's anyway for Batista to win, it's to finish King Booker early or let the King's conditioning take over. These two had an off-screen altercation during a photo shoot which JBL teased about during the match. He was pretty locked in as a commentator here. They were having a stalemate of a match, nobody really picking up any advantages here and the crowd never really got into the action. Batista looked to score the win by hitting a Batista Bomb before Queen Sharmell jumped on top of Batista and the referee called for the bell. While it's pretty inarguable that they don't have the best chemistry ever, I personally enjoyed the ten minutes of action they gave us here. It leads to a bigger rematch down the road and anticipates more of Batista recapturing the gold.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: D-Generation X vs. Vince McMahon & Shane McMahon
This feud just won't go away. Before the bell tolls, The McMahons call out their goons in Mr. Kennedy, William Regal, & Finlay to take out DX. However, DX still gets the job done until The Big Show appears and runs rampant. He then landed a Chokeslam on Triple H through the announcers table. The McMahons then walk to the ring where they take out Shawn Michaels before Triple H does his best to mount a comeback. Umaga then comes out to the ring and hits a Samoan Spike on The Game and as he approaches Michaels, Kane comes out for the awesome save! I should note that The McMahons hilariously copied other famous tag teams by mocking their finishing moves. Anyway, the match still looks in favor for The McMahons but the tides turn when Shane McMahon wanted to hit his patented Coast to Coast on Triple H but was greeted by a Sweet Chin Music on the way down! Michaels then hits one on Vince McMahon as Triple H then landed a Pedigree following it. Never a dull moment, a regular tag match definitely wasn't the best route here and they probably figured as much. Through all the antics, they made it as entertaining as possible and the crowd ate it up. Good tag match here that definitely beat all expectations.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ***
Match 7: WWE Championship - Edge (c) vs. John Cena
The main event for the 2006 edition of Summerslam has John Cena looking to regain the WWE Championship from Edge in a match where if Edge gets disqualified, the title switches hands. The chemistry the two have here is just fantastic. For all the flack Cena gets, he does a great job of selling the match and his opponents. And don't forget about Edge, this is him at the top of his game. Telling a great story in the ring, trying to score the count out victory numerous times throughout the match, and his hilarious facial expressions when Lita hands him a chair or the belt to hit Cena with. The main problem I had with this match is the same one we tend to have with lots of Cena matches. Edge was in control for so much of the match, it was almost as if Cena's offense was strictly coming off of rebounds. This strategy works for him most of the time but Cena just had his dad slapped in the face by Edge, why isn't he rushing this guy? But through all that, the match was great and the finish was awesome. Lita slips Edge a pair of brass knuckles and off a distraction, Edge drills Cena in the back of the head with a thunderous shot that knocks Cena cold out. Cena did a great job of selling the shot and Jim Ross on commentary was nothing short of brilliant to boot. Edge celebrates with Lita as Cena looks on in disbelief. Great ending to the show and really cool to see the heel walk out of a Summerslam PPV as the champ.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Definitely one of the more disappointing Summerslams in recent memory. Hulk Hogan going over, the bland undercard matches, and a disqualification finish for the World Heavyweight Championship all left a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, the last two matches were easy to watch but they didn't have enough firepower to save the show.
Rating: 6/10
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