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
Thursday, September 24, 2015
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
Thursday, July 30, 2015
WWE Summerslam 2005 Review
Match 1: United States Championship - Orlando Jordan (c) vs. Chris Benoit
The opening contest for the 18th annual Summerslam is for the United States Championship as Orlando Jordan defends the gold against Chris Benoit. The match starts and within the first minute, Benoit locks in his Crippler Crossface and submits Jordan. Crowd pops big, that was pretty damn cool! I'm sure lots question a title match being so short but I dig having an unexpected finish like this and the fans did, too.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Rating: n/a
Match 2: Edge vs. Matt Hardy
We all know the story here with Lita being the fuel added to the fire between these two guys. This is pretty much the first marquee match of the stacked show. Off the gate, the two throw huge blows and the gates have been opened. Lita watches on as the two beat the hell out of each other before Edge drops Hardy on the ringpost. Hardy is bleeding and he is bleeding bad. Edge doesn't stop and continues to lay it on Hardy before the referee finally calls off the match. This was more of an angle than a match so I can't really give it a star rating but it worked. Got the point across that they're going to need a cage or something to finish this.
Winner: Edge
Rating: n/a
Match 3: Ladder - Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
The soap opera stories continue for the night as the winner of this match gets the custody of Dominick. Through this ridiculous story, this was far and away one of the best ladder matches that I have ever seen. This match often gets remembered for the time Vickie Guerrero didn't come out to the ring in time while Eddie was pulling on the briefcase. This is unfortunate because this match was spectacular. They were going at one pace and it was full speed ahead. They spaced out their big moves perfectly and had some of the most innovative spots I have ever seen. Not to mention that they landed them all smoothly and the crowd reacted big time for every single one. The finish came when Vickie pushed Eddie off the ladder allowing Rey Mysterio to climb to the top as Vickie held down Eddie. A disappointing finish but considering how much of a soap opera this feud was, it made sense. But even still, it would have been cool to see a better ending with Mysterio being able to score the win without any assistance. One of my personal favorite ladder matches that everybody should check out, ignore the soap opera story and just enjoy the match.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****1/2
Match 4: Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
This is going to be fun. They have a no time limit rule going on and it looks as if Kurt Angle is just here to have his way with Eugene. This crowd is absolutely hot for Angle, cheering all the suplexes he drops on Eugene but they're pretty hot for Eugene, too. Angle hits the Angle Slam within three minutes into the match and makes Eugene submit with the Ankle Lock. Afterwards, Angle places a steel chair in the middle of the ring where he stands on it. He then demands for the referee to place his gold medal around his neck. Awesome. An odd spot for Angle to be in at a Summerslam but it's also another short match for the night as they're likely saving time up for the main events.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Rating: 3/4*
Match 5: The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
The rematch from WrestleMania 21 as Randy Orton looks to avenge his loss against The Deadman. I loved their encounter and WrestleMania and this one should be a worthy follower. There's nobody in the WWE, past or present, like The Undertaker. For all the recognition he gets for his gimmick and ambiance, he's just as amazing in the ring. Orton made sure to focus on Undertaker's leg early on and Undertaker sold it as perfect as you can imagine. Tazz also did a fantastic job on commentary selling the injury as Undertaker was visibly limping around the entire way through. Cool finish for the match when an apparent fan ran into the ring as Undertaker held him back. Security rushed out and pulled the fan out as Orton capitalized on the situation and hit an RKO for the win. Orton then revealed it was his father disguised as the fan afterwards. This gives Orton a big victory and sets up a bigger rematch down the line.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Chris Jericho
This whole notion that John Cena is a thug is just plain ridiculous, nobody believes it. Either way, his match here against Chris Jericho should be a good one. Crowd is absolutely rocking, this is Cena's early stages as the face of the company and the hate is unreal. The crowd was begging for him to lose and it's funny to think that they believed Jericho really had a chance at making Cena submit. Watching this now, it was really just a typical Cena match but it still holds up in 2015. Good action and Jericho was fantastic in his role as a heel. They got a few cool spots in and a great finish with Cena landing his FU finisher out of nowhere to retain the gold. Like I said, this was almost like a foundational John Cena match and it worked here. Cena needed a strong title defense on a big PPV and this was definitely it.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - No Disqualification - Batista (c) vs. JBL
After switching brands from Raw to Smackdown, Batista needed a big heel to face off against after conquering Triple H. JBL was the perfect choice. They start the match hot and take it out on the stage before the match really even begins. They finally bring it back when Batista speared JBL through a barricade. Inside the ring, they gave us a stiff contest that Batista quickly put JBL away from an awesome Batista Bomb on the steel steps in the middle of the ring that have off a loud thud to score the win. Batista then ripped up a JBL bill after the win, that was a nice finishing touch. Good match for what it was worth but it still didn't live up to any expectations. They were in a weird spot, acting as the bridge from the two bigger matches on the card. The WWE Championship match along with the main event didn't have any stipulations added so they needed to differentiate themselves from those ones and this was the perfect way to do so. Having the no disqualification match in between fit nicely and with the time they had, I thought they gave us a pretty good match with a sick ending.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **1/2
Match 8: Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels
From what I can recall, there really hasn't been a match in the past ten years that was perfectly built more than this one right here. Shawn Michaels proved to us again that he certainly is the best performer in the ring and out of the ring both as a heel or babyface. The antics, the promos, and everything else in between leading to this match was simply amazing. There was an atmosphere in the arena for this match that was unprecedented. The electricity in the house was off the charts, Michaels finally finds out if he can beat the legendary face of the company, Hulk Hogan. This match is notorious for Michaels selling the crap out of everything Hogan did to him, it was hilarious and I'll admit, it spoke volumes of how good Michaels is in the ring. Jim Ross, who was also amazing in his role on commentary, kept repeating how Hogan was bigger and stronger than Michaels so it almost made sense that Michaels would roll across the ring after a punch to the head from Hogan. Ross also mentioned that it this was going to be a longer match, then the "younger" Michaels would easily have the advantage due to his conditioning. Blood always makes these types of matches better and there was buckets pouring out of the head of Hogan. They pulled out all the smoke and mirrors for this one. Hogan had a crimson mask going and Michaels looked relentless. But after hitting a Sweet Chin Music, Hogan wouldn't go down and was able to hit his Leg Drop for the win. Should also mention that Michaels danced around the ring after Hogan hit a big boot before the finish. The two shake hands after the match, you can guess how Michaels felt about losing to Hogan on this one. Either way, this was more of Michaels proving why he is the best in the game more than anything else. They pulled out all the smoke and mirrors to cover Hogan's limited skills and it worked. Perfectly timed moves that all had some sort of effect and in turn, it made every close finish matter that much more. I really wish they would have done a rematch down the line but politics likely got in the way of things. Regardless, that was a Summerslam main event for the ages. It wasn't the best in-ring match ever but the hype, the electricity, and the magnitude it had on the company at the time all stand out.
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A pretty average Summerslam (aside from the Ladder match) until it finally hit the main event, basically the match the entire show was circled around. It's no wonder why this show ranks up there as one of the highest purchased PPV shows of all time as the main event was hyped amazingly. Safe to say, the main event delivered and if you haven't checked it out, then you're missing out.
Rating: 7/10
The opening contest for the 18th annual Summerslam is for the United States Championship as Orlando Jordan defends the gold against Chris Benoit. The match starts and within the first minute, Benoit locks in his Crippler Crossface and submits Jordan. Crowd pops big, that was pretty damn cool! I'm sure lots question a title match being so short but I dig having an unexpected finish like this and the fans did, too.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Rating: n/a
Match 2: Edge vs. Matt Hardy
We all know the story here with Lita being the fuel added to the fire between these two guys. This is pretty much the first marquee match of the stacked show. Off the gate, the two throw huge blows and the gates have been opened. Lita watches on as the two beat the hell out of each other before Edge drops Hardy on the ringpost. Hardy is bleeding and he is bleeding bad. Edge doesn't stop and continues to lay it on Hardy before the referee finally calls off the match. This was more of an angle than a match so I can't really give it a star rating but it worked. Got the point across that they're going to need a cage or something to finish this.
Winner: Edge
Rating: n/a
Match 3: Ladder - Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
The soap opera stories continue for the night as the winner of this match gets the custody of Dominick. Through this ridiculous story, this was far and away one of the best ladder matches that I have ever seen. This match often gets remembered for the time Vickie Guerrero didn't come out to the ring in time while Eddie was pulling on the briefcase. This is unfortunate because this match was spectacular. They were going at one pace and it was full speed ahead. They spaced out their big moves perfectly and had some of the most innovative spots I have ever seen. Not to mention that they landed them all smoothly and the crowd reacted big time for every single one. The finish came when Vickie pushed Eddie off the ladder allowing Rey Mysterio to climb to the top as Vickie held down Eddie. A disappointing finish but considering how much of a soap opera this feud was, it made sense. But even still, it would have been cool to see a better ending with Mysterio being able to score the win without any assistance. One of my personal favorite ladder matches that everybody should check out, ignore the soap opera story and just enjoy the match.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****1/2
Match 4: Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
This is going to be fun. They have a no time limit rule going on and it looks as if Kurt Angle is just here to have his way with Eugene. This crowd is absolutely hot for Angle, cheering all the suplexes he drops on Eugene but they're pretty hot for Eugene, too. Angle hits the Angle Slam within three minutes into the match and makes Eugene submit with the Ankle Lock. Afterwards, Angle places a steel chair in the middle of the ring where he stands on it. He then demands for the referee to place his gold medal around his neck. Awesome. An odd spot for Angle to be in at a Summerslam but it's also another short match for the night as they're likely saving time up for the main events.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Rating: 3/4*
Match 5: The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
The rematch from WrestleMania 21 as Randy Orton looks to avenge his loss against The Deadman. I loved their encounter and WrestleMania and this one should be a worthy follower. There's nobody in the WWE, past or present, like The Undertaker. For all the recognition he gets for his gimmick and ambiance, he's just as amazing in the ring. Orton made sure to focus on Undertaker's leg early on and Undertaker sold it as perfect as you can imagine. Tazz also did a fantastic job on commentary selling the injury as Undertaker was visibly limping around the entire way through. Cool finish for the match when an apparent fan ran into the ring as Undertaker held him back. Security rushed out and pulled the fan out as Orton capitalized on the situation and hit an RKO for the win. Orton then revealed it was his father disguised as the fan afterwards. This gives Orton a big victory and sets up a bigger rematch down the line.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: WWE Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Chris Jericho
This whole notion that John Cena is a thug is just plain ridiculous, nobody believes it. Either way, his match here against Chris Jericho should be a good one. Crowd is absolutely rocking, this is Cena's early stages as the face of the company and the hate is unreal. The crowd was begging for him to lose and it's funny to think that they believed Jericho really had a chance at making Cena submit. Watching this now, it was really just a typical Cena match but it still holds up in 2015. Good action and Jericho was fantastic in his role as a heel. They got a few cool spots in and a great finish with Cena landing his FU finisher out of nowhere to retain the gold. Like I said, this was almost like a foundational John Cena match and it worked here. Cena needed a strong title defense on a big PPV and this was definitely it.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - No Disqualification - Batista (c) vs. JBL
After switching brands from Raw to Smackdown, Batista needed a big heel to face off against after conquering Triple H. JBL was the perfect choice. They start the match hot and take it out on the stage before the match really even begins. They finally bring it back when Batista speared JBL through a barricade. Inside the ring, they gave us a stiff contest that Batista quickly put JBL away from an awesome Batista Bomb on the steel steps in the middle of the ring that have off a loud thud to score the win. Batista then ripped up a JBL bill after the win, that was a nice finishing touch. Good match for what it was worth but it still didn't live up to any expectations. They were in a weird spot, acting as the bridge from the two bigger matches on the card. The WWE Championship match along with the main event didn't have any stipulations added so they needed to differentiate themselves from those ones and this was the perfect way to do so. Having the no disqualification match in between fit nicely and with the time they had, I thought they gave us a pretty good match with a sick ending.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **1/2
Match 8: Hulk Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels
From what I can recall, there really hasn't been a match in the past ten years that was perfectly built more than this one right here. Shawn Michaels proved to us again that he certainly is the best performer in the ring and out of the ring both as a heel or babyface. The antics, the promos, and everything else in between leading to this match was simply amazing. There was an atmosphere in the arena for this match that was unprecedented. The electricity in the house was off the charts, Michaels finally finds out if he can beat the legendary face of the company, Hulk Hogan. This match is notorious for Michaels selling the crap out of everything Hogan did to him, it was hilarious and I'll admit, it spoke volumes of how good Michaels is in the ring. Jim Ross, who was also amazing in his role on commentary, kept repeating how Hogan was bigger and stronger than Michaels so it almost made sense that Michaels would roll across the ring after a punch to the head from Hogan. Ross also mentioned that it this was going to be a longer match, then the "younger" Michaels would easily have the advantage due to his conditioning. Blood always makes these types of matches better and there was buckets pouring out of the head of Hogan. They pulled out all the smoke and mirrors for this one. Hogan had a crimson mask going and Michaels looked relentless. But after hitting a Sweet Chin Music, Hogan wouldn't go down and was able to hit his Leg Drop for the win. Should also mention that Michaels danced around the ring after Hogan hit a big boot before the finish. The two shake hands after the match, you can guess how Michaels felt about losing to Hogan on this one. Either way, this was more of Michaels proving why he is the best in the game more than anything else. They pulled out all the smoke and mirrors to cover Hogan's limited skills and it worked. Perfectly timed moves that all had some sort of effect and in turn, it made every close finish matter that much more. I really wish they would have done a rematch down the line but politics likely got in the way of things. Regardless, that was a Summerslam main event for the ages. It wasn't the best in-ring match ever but the hype, the electricity, and the magnitude it had on the company at the time all stand out.
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Rating: ****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A pretty average Summerslam (aside from the Ladder match) until it finally hit the main event, basically the match the entire show was circled around. It's no wonder why this show ranks up there as one of the highest purchased PPV shows of all time as the main event was hyped amazingly. Safe to say, the main event delivered and if you haven't checked it out, then you're missing out.
Rating: 7/10
Monday, July 27, 2015
WWE Summerslam 2014 Review
Match 1: Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Live from Hollywood, it is Summerslam 2014 and Mr. Hollywood himself is ready to open the show. The Miz comes out first and puts himself over while putting down the Lakers. Los Angeles crowd is loving Ziggler as he looks to capture his second Intercontinental Championship. Miz does his best to avoid shots to the face in order to save the moneymaker and nearly scores the win in a nice back and fourth match but Ziggler got the best of him to get the big win as the crowd popped big for the win. Nice opening contest to set the mood. Not too long, not too short, and nicely paced.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: Divas Championship - AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige
This is Paige's rematch after AJ beat her for the title on an episode of Monday Night Raw. They do some weird hair pulling in the beginning of the match as they wrestle a decent match for five or so minutes until AJ locks in her Black Widow finisher. Paige nicely reverses into her modified DDT and scores the win. She then kisses an unconscious AJ after the match as she celebrates her second Divas Championship. Nothing different from their other matches but it was cool to see the crowd pop nicely for the finish.
Winner: Paige
Rating: *
Match 3: Flag - Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Every Summerslam should have a Flag match! Okay, maybe not. But I am a sucker for America vs. any other country feuds. Before the bell tolls, Swagger locks in his Patriot Lock on Rusev and injures Rusev's ankle in the process. The match still goes on and Rusev does a great job of selling the injury as it became difficult for him to lock in his Accolade submission until the very end where he locked it in completely as Swagger passed out. Zeb Colter then receives a kick from Rusev afterwards for good measure. The Russian national anthem then plays as the Russian flag is raised behind the ring as Rusev celebrates in front of an unconscious Swagger. Good stuff.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **1/2
Match 4: Lumberjack - Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
They did not get to beat the hell out of each other at Battleground so they get to do it here in a Lumberjack match at the Staples Center. Chaotic from the start as the two straight throw punches at one another and the entire arena can feel the pressure boiling. This definitely was not your typical Lumberjack match. This was much, much better than what we normally see. Ambrose likes to do unique things and this is a perfect example. The suplex out of the ring onto the lumberjacks, Ambrose punching his way through the lumberjacks, running on the announce tables to dive onto Rollins. Ambrose is a loose cannon, no pun intended. They even take the fight way into the seats where Kane finally comes out and screams at the lumberjacks to get them back into the ring. Rollins tries to escape but the babyface lumberjacks carry him back into the ring where Ambrose dives onto everybody! He then hits Rollins with a Curb Stomp but Kane attacks Ambrose which allows for all the lumberjacks to enter the ring as a huge melee erupts. Rollins then nails Ambrose with the Money in the Bank briefcase and scores the victory. Awesome stuff from these two and the crowd was definitely hot for this one. Good fun leading into the second half of the show.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho
I love Chris Jericho but I think his time for more serious feuds has concluded. His feud with Bray Wyatt has been good but nothing else. It lacks the fire and emotion the two are trying to build. The match here resembled my thoughts of their feud, it lacked that fire and that extra step. The crowd could not invest their troubles into the match after being fried out from the last bout. This felt like more of a match to kick off their feud rather than one that has been built for weeks. The action was fine but nothing spectacular or anything noteworthy. They did their normal routines as Wyatt was able to score the victory after hitting a Sister Abigail outside followed by hitting one inside the ring.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
Feels weird to see Stephanie McMahon back in the squared circle but I am all for it! This feud has been really odd but like I said, I am all for having Stephanie back in the ring for the first time in over ten years. For being out of the ring for so long, Stephanie never really showed any ring rust. Then again, her and Brie Bella had a pretty basic match from the start to the finish. Triple H and Nikki Bella both came out during the match as Triple H pulled out the referee before Brie hit a sliding kick to Triple H. Nikki then came into the ring where she dropped Brie in the middle of the ring for Stephanie to pick up the bones. The crowd loved the turn and loved seeing Stephanie in the ring. Match was fine but nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary.
Winner: Stephanie McMahon
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns needs that one big match to really elevate him into the main event scene and one against Randy Orton on the company's second biggest show of the year is perfect. Many argue that this match went on too long for their liking but I liked it. Reigns needs a lengthy match in the spotlight so he can get used to these types of matches. I never felt like this match dragged at all, they spaced out all their moves nicely with no real wasted motion throughout. Things really started to pick up later on which saw Orton slickly reverse a Spear from Reigns into a powerslam. He then turned a Superman Punch a couple minutes later into a RKO which caught everybody off guard. It's almost as if we know the RKO is coming but at the same time, we don't. Reigns managed to kick out as the crowd is going nuts before Reigns hits a Spear and covers Orton for the win. Definitely a huge win for Reigns but begs the question of where Orton is going after this. Either way, great match that sets up the main event of the night.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
This is it, the huge rematch from a couple years back. The difference here is that this is for the richest prize in the industry and Brock Lesnar is coming off a victory against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX. With that being said, the Los Angeles crowd is hyped for both Lesnar and this match. They set the pace fast early on as a slug fest ignites between the two which led to Lesnar hitting an F5 within the opening minute. How cool would it have been to have Lesnar win right then and there? Either way, this was foreshadowing for the rest of the match. Lesnar basically tossed Cena around with ease, suplex after suplex after suplex. Cena did show some signs of life as he was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on Lesnar only for Lesnar to sit right back up like The Undertaker and laugh at the face of Cena. Lesnar continued his onslaught and once Cena was able to see an opening, he locked in the STF. But Lesnar quickly countered and landed another F5 for the convincing win. This was almost like a glorified squash match. But I loved it. People get so caught up with the action in the ring that they forget that this is all entertainment and nobody does it better than these two along with Paul Heyman. They established their story early on with the F5 and it carried on from there with the commentators continuously hyping Lesnar to the moon. Should be interesting to see Lesnar as champ.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Another great installment to the Summerslam legacy with a very fluid pace from the start to the finish. The biggest highlight of the night goes to the main event as Lesnar's legend still grows with a huge win over Cena in what was a fitting way to cap off the summer's biggest show.
Rating: 8/10
Live from Hollywood, it is Summerslam 2014 and Mr. Hollywood himself is ready to open the show. The Miz comes out first and puts himself over while putting down the Lakers. Los Angeles crowd is loving Ziggler as he looks to capture his second Intercontinental Championship. Miz does his best to avoid shots to the face in order to save the moneymaker and nearly scores the win in a nice back and fourth match but Ziggler got the best of him to get the big win as the crowd popped big for the win. Nice opening contest to set the mood. Not too long, not too short, and nicely paced.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: **1/4
Match 2: Divas Championship - AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige
This is Paige's rematch after AJ beat her for the title on an episode of Monday Night Raw. They do some weird hair pulling in the beginning of the match as they wrestle a decent match for five or so minutes until AJ locks in her Black Widow finisher. Paige nicely reverses into her modified DDT and scores the win. She then kisses an unconscious AJ after the match as she celebrates her second Divas Championship. Nothing different from their other matches but it was cool to see the crowd pop nicely for the finish.
Winner: Paige
Rating: *
Match 3: Flag - Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Every Summerslam should have a Flag match! Okay, maybe not. But I am a sucker for America vs. any other country feuds. Before the bell tolls, Swagger locks in his Patriot Lock on Rusev and injures Rusev's ankle in the process. The match still goes on and Rusev does a great job of selling the injury as it became difficult for him to lock in his Accolade submission until the very end where he locked it in completely as Swagger passed out. Zeb Colter then receives a kick from Rusev afterwards for good measure. The Russian national anthem then plays as the Russian flag is raised behind the ring as Rusev celebrates in front of an unconscious Swagger. Good stuff.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **1/2
Match 4: Lumberjack - Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
They did not get to beat the hell out of each other at Battleground so they get to do it here in a Lumberjack match at the Staples Center. Chaotic from the start as the two straight throw punches at one another and the entire arena can feel the pressure boiling. This definitely was not your typical Lumberjack match. This was much, much better than what we normally see. Ambrose likes to do unique things and this is a perfect example. The suplex out of the ring onto the lumberjacks, Ambrose punching his way through the lumberjacks, running on the announce tables to dive onto Rollins. Ambrose is a loose cannon, no pun intended. They even take the fight way into the seats where Kane finally comes out and screams at the lumberjacks to get them back into the ring. Rollins tries to escape but the babyface lumberjacks carry him back into the ring where Ambrose dives onto everybody! He then hits Rollins with a Curb Stomp but Kane attacks Ambrose which allows for all the lumberjacks to enter the ring as a huge melee erupts. Rollins then nails Ambrose with the Money in the Bank briefcase and scores the victory. Awesome stuff from these two and the crowd was definitely hot for this one. Good fun leading into the second half of the show.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rating: ***3/4
Match 5: Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho
I love Chris Jericho but I think his time for more serious feuds has concluded. His feud with Bray Wyatt has been good but nothing else. It lacks the fire and emotion the two are trying to build. The match here resembled my thoughts of their feud, it lacked that fire and that extra step. The crowd could not invest their troubles into the match after being fried out from the last bout. This felt like more of a match to kick off their feud rather than one that has been built for weeks. The action was fine but nothing spectacular or anything noteworthy. They did their normal routines as Wyatt was able to score the victory after hitting a Sister Abigail outside followed by hitting one inside the ring.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Rating: **1/2
Match 6: Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon
Feels weird to see Stephanie McMahon back in the squared circle but I am all for it! This feud has been really odd but like I said, I am all for having Stephanie back in the ring for the first time in over ten years. For being out of the ring for so long, Stephanie never really showed any ring rust. Then again, her and Brie Bella had a pretty basic match from the start to the finish. Triple H and Nikki Bella both came out during the match as Triple H pulled out the referee before Brie hit a sliding kick to Triple H. Nikki then came into the ring where she dropped Brie in the middle of the ring for Stephanie to pick up the bones. The crowd loved the turn and loved seeing Stephanie in the ring. Match was fine but nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary.
Winner: Stephanie McMahon
Rating: *3/4
Match 7: Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns needs that one big match to really elevate him into the main event scene and one against Randy Orton on the company's second biggest show of the year is perfect. Many argue that this match went on too long for their liking but I liked it. Reigns needs a lengthy match in the spotlight so he can get used to these types of matches. I never felt like this match dragged at all, they spaced out all their moves nicely with no real wasted motion throughout. Things really started to pick up later on which saw Orton slickly reverse a Spear from Reigns into a powerslam. He then turned a Superman Punch a couple minutes later into a RKO which caught everybody off guard. It's almost as if we know the RKO is coming but at the same time, we don't. Reigns managed to kick out as the crowd is going nuts before Reigns hits a Spear and covers Orton for the win. Definitely a huge win for Reigns but begs the question of where Orton is going after this. Either way, great match that sets up the main event of the night.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Rating: ****
Match 8: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
This is it, the huge rematch from a couple years back. The difference here is that this is for the richest prize in the industry and Brock Lesnar is coming off a victory against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX. With that being said, the Los Angeles crowd is hyped for both Lesnar and this match. They set the pace fast early on as a slug fest ignites between the two which led to Lesnar hitting an F5 within the opening minute. How cool would it have been to have Lesnar win right then and there? Either way, this was foreshadowing for the rest of the match. Lesnar basically tossed Cena around with ease, suplex after suplex after suplex. Cena did show some signs of life as he was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment on Lesnar only for Lesnar to sit right back up like The Undertaker and laugh at the face of Cena. Lesnar continued his onslaught and once Cena was able to see an opening, he locked in the STF. But Lesnar quickly countered and landed another F5 for the convincing win. This was almost like a glorified squash match. But I loved it. People get so caught up with the action in the ring that they forget that this is all entertainment and nobody does it better than these two along with Paul Heyman. They established their story early on with the F5 and it carried on from there with the commentators continuously hyping Lesnar to the moon. Should be interesting to see Lesnar as champ.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Rating: ***1/2
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Another great installment to the Summerslam legacy with a very fluid pace from the start to the finish. The biggest highlight of the night goes to the main event as Lesnar's legend still grows with a huge win over Cena in what was a fitting way to cap off the summer's biggest show.
Rating: 8/10
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