WCW Sin 2001 Review

WCW Sin 2001 PPV 

Live From Indianapolis Indiana, where I am writing this today, we are going to look into the biggest events of WCW for 2001, since they were on their way out, and well, I wanted to review things overall. Let’s get into the action, and see how it all went down. WCW 2001, with all sorts of talent.

Chavo Guerrero Jr defeated Shane Helms in the WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match

This was a good opening match, featuring Chavo doing a lot more fast action, high flying work than he would do in WWE. Shane Helms was great here too, and as part of 3-Count, he really did well with fighting through a lot of different focused hits. There was some good back and forth here of course.

Reno defeated Big Vito

This was a good big man match. Lots of power moves, lots of back and forth, and in the end Reno go the win. It wasn’t a terrible match, but it was definitely one that was mostly a matter of big men, throwing big shots, and power moves. Fun for what it was.

The Jung Dragons defeated Evan Karagias and Jamie Noble

Man, this was fast, and quite fun to watch as well. It featured the young cruiserweight from the WCW call ups and it was fun to watch them go back and forth throughout the match. This was under 10 minutes, but it was fun to watch and the two threw out a lot of high spots, and classic small guy moves.

Team Canada defeated The Filthy Animals in a Penalty Box Match with Jim Duggan as a Ref

This was so much fun to watch, and I loved the concept of the Penalty Box, with Duggan calling it all down the middle. The guys really proved to be good workers, and I was even impressed with Konnan’s work here. Kidman and Mysterio were flying around the ring with Storm and Skipper, and Mike Awesome is a gem with this team. Major Gunns looked good, and I’m sure she’s as cold as ever since I recall hugging her in an XPW show.

Meng defeated Crowbar and Terry Funk in the WCW Hardcore Championship Match

This went immediately to the back and there was a lot of back and forth action here. It was a good match, with some great momentum here and there. I didn’t hate it, mind you, I thought that the guys put on an ok match with Funk throwing down some great shots against Meng and Crowbar for that matter. Meng would get the win, and took a lot of chair shots to the head, which were cringe worthy.

Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire defeated The Insiders in the WWE tag Team Match

This was a hard hitting match and was impressive if you ask me. Palumbo and O’Haire were good here and DDP was fighting like he had something to prove. Page and Nash worked well together, and the crowd was incredibly hot for this. The crowd was going nuts for each iteration of this match. I must also say that Tony Schiavone was great here with some great calls. When Kevin Nash got the hot tag, he took out both competitors, but out of the blue came out Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger, which prompted the new guys to win the tag team titles. Buff came in dressed up and had a pipe! This got a lot of heat, and it was a great match even if it ended with cheating. The crowd went nuts booing.

Shane Douglas defeated General E Rection for the US Championship in a Chain Match

This was a hard hitting, crazy match with Shane Douglas getting beat up a lot, but eventually would get a helping hand in knocking out E Section with a chain. This was a first blood chain match, and it ended with Douglas cheating and getting the win, which was one hell of a brawl overall. Good stuff here, and I enjoyed it. Hard hitting, the crowd was into it, and that’s always nice.

Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell defeated Goldberg and Sarge

This was one hell of a match folks. It had Goldberg getting a lot of attention first, then things started to go downhill as Luger and Bagwell would cheat to get the win. They would isolate Sarge then after a fan interaction that seemed to spray Goldberg with something, he got beat down from Buff and Luger and that was that. Good fight, nice work, and honestly, the crowd was into it, until Luger and Buff would get the win.

Scott Steiner defeated Sid Vicious, Jeff Jarrett, and a Mystery Opponent

The story of this match was that Ric Flair had a mystery man that was going to come down and beat up Scott Steiner. However, the bigger story was that Jeff Jarrett and Steiner were working together against Sid Vicious. Sid would break his leg in this match, and the WWE Network doesn’t show it, so make sure you look for the official release if you want to see the unedited version. The Mystery Opponent showed up and it was none other than Roadwarrior Animal! It was not half bad, but the match was rushed, and left the crowd a bit dead. It ended quickly, the credits rolled, and Steiner kept his title yet again.

Overall, I would give this a C rating for the overall matches and crowd. It wasn’t bad, or as terrible as people think, but it wasn’t amazing either. It had some good matches in the undercard, and lots of shenanigans, with a hot crowd. I didn’t hate it.

Combat Zone Wrestling Best of The Best 17 Results and Review

As promised, here we go, another event. This time around I’m looking at the recent Best of the Best Tournament from Combat Zone Wrestling. This occurred on April 14, 2018 and it was streamed on IPPV and other formats I’m sure. If you didn’t catch it and are interested in my opinions, here we go.

Combat Zone Wrestling Best of The Best 17 Results and Review

Matt Riddle defeated Curt Scallion and Wheeler Yuta

The first match was a triple threat match in which the King of Bros, Matt Riddle was able to take out two guys that weren’t measuring up. Curt Scallion and Wheeler Yuta were good, don’t get me wrong, and they put on a good match, but Riddle had their number and it was curtains for these guys when he finally got warmed up. A good opener for sure.

David Starr and Tessa Blanchard defeated Peter Avalon

Another triple threat match, and this time I was completely impressed by Tessa Blanchard’s performance. David Starr is growing on me, this is the third or fourth event that I’ve seen him wrestle on and was impressed with his timing. Blanchard should be in WWE, here timing is great too, and poor Peter Avalon lost this one, even though he gave it his best shot. Starr and Blanchard made him tap out, and the two would advance in the tournament.

Joe Gacy defeated Rich Swann, Brandon Kirk, and Joey Janela

There just is a lot of triple threat matches in this event, and why not? This match featured Joey Janela, the bad boy, Joe Gacy, Brandon Kirk and Rich Swann! That’s right, Rich Swann showed up and was dancing around, and I’m glad to see him back in wrestling. He was dancing and doing his normal thing, even in the ring. Janela, Gacy, and Kirk worked well together and Swann was stealing the show at times. I liked this back and forth match with lots of action, as you’d expect from the smaller guys in pro wrestling overall. I loved it. Gacy would get the win, and that was that, he’d move onto the later rounds of this tournament.

Zachary Wentz defeated Myron Reed and Trey Miguel

I didn’t really know much about Wentz here, but he was able to garner a victory against Reed and Miguel. Another good triple threat match, with not a lot to write about, just back and forth wrestling, some great stiff shots, and some nice top rope moves before Wentz got the win.

Zachary Wentz defeated Joe Gacy

Wentz moved forward with the tournament and wrestled Joe Gacy. This wasn’t too bad, and Wentz really showed up to perform, while Gacy was surprised by the onslaught that was garnered. Wentz through down some great options, and Gacy was mad when he lost, but Wentz just had a little more in the tank than Gacy did this time.

David Starr defeated Matt Riddle and Tessa Blanchard

One hell of a match here, and Riddle should’ve won if you asked me. Blanchard and Riddle teamed up at one point and were killing Starr. Starr was able to maneuver well enough, and eventually tied up Riddle into a pinning combination where his arms were locked and his back was down, so he got the pinfall. Blanchard again impressed me, Riddle is seriously good, and Starr is definitely deserving of the win here.

The REP defeated Storm of Entrails in a CZW Rules Match to retain the CZW Tag Team Championships

Not much to say here, just a normal hardcore match is what this turned into. A lot of blood, a lot of chair shots, and stiff hits to the dome. The Rep is an interesting tag team, while the other guys look like War Machine, and well, they did ok. This was a filler match, and while I appreciated the effort, it felt out of place during this pure wrestling tournament.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman defeated Rickey Shane Page to become the NEW CZW World Champion

I’ve never seen either one of these guys, but they put on a good enough match to make things move forward. It was slow starting, but over time, Friedman grew on me, and eventually would get the big win. It took a great deal of time to build this, but in the end, Friedman got the pinfall and that was that. Not a great match, but definitely a good overall championship match.

David Starr defeated Zachary Wentz to become Best of the Best 17 Champion

This was a great overall match and a fitting end to the tournament. Starr really put on a show and Wentz answered most of his offense, with great back and forth. Starr would eventually get the pinfall with one hell of a piledriver combination, and that was that. This was great, back and forth, high flying, submissions, strong style, and lots of great moments, although a bit much on the no-selling certain spots, but oh well, Starr won and really made the show great.

Overall, CZW Best of the Best 17 was a good night of wrestling, and while the crowd wasn’t huge, the matches were good, and everyone did a good job with putting together an entertaining showdown. I recommend checking this out if you can, and seeing what else CZW throws together.

WWE Monday Night Raw March 5, 2018 Results and Review This Is All They Got?

Elias with A Stellar Elbow Off The Top - Source WWE dot com

Another long one folks, it seemed like Raw took 3 to 9 hours to get through, and it wasn’t half bad, but it wasn’t half good either, right? There’s a lot to break down, and I’m sure the one million podcasts out there are going to talk about it, so I don’t have to. But I will discuss what went down with Monday Night Raw as you always expect from this blog that was established on Myspace then moved here in 2007.

WWE Monday Night Raw March 5, 2018 Results and Review

The opening segment was quite good with Kurt Angle calling out Triple H only to get Stephanie McMahon. That prompted Ronda Rousey to come out, and all hell broke loose when she tried to slap Kurt Angle. Triple H came out to stop things, and that led to a break down in communication after a while, and fisticuffs broke out. Angle got the better of Triple H, and as Triple H was moving out of the ring, Ronda grabbed Stephanie McMahon by the hair and delivered a Samoan drop on her! This of course comes after Ronda said that she would want to face Stephanie McMahon at Wrestlemania. Kurt Angle threw himself into the mix making it Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle versus Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a tag team match.

I really liked the segment and marked out huge for Ronda’s Samoan Drop! I’m a fan, and she’s amazing to me, I’d love to have a conversation with her someday.

Asuka defeated Nia Jax

One of the hardest hitting matches since Sid Vicious versus Chris Benoit for the WCW Title was featured here. Asuka took a serious beating for the most part, and Nia Jax was able to get the upper hand in nearly all of the match, with the sole exception of the ending. Asuka was able to wear down Nia Jax enough to strap on a nice submission on the arm, then an arm bar and made the big girl tap. However, Jax did everything to get out of it, including trying to drop Asuka on the mat with a powerbomb, and a buckle bomb, and she just couldn’t get out of it. She was left in the ring crying, and led to a segment backstage where she was crying some more, and I couldn’t hold it together. I can’t see a grown woman cry, I wanted to hug her. Good match, and Asuka wins again. Wow.

The Bar defeated The Revival

This was an interesting little match, and I do say little. The Revival came through with some nice moves here and there, but The Bar wasn’t going to let them get the win, they polished up their moves and eventually hit their finisher and buried the Revival. The Revival were just buried here, and that’s the end of the line for them if you ask me. What a lousy way to get called up to the main roster, jobber central.

John Cena defeated Goldust

This match wasn’t half bad, but it was setup to be a lot bigger. Goldust cut a long scathing promo on John Cena, and that setup a match. The two went back and forth, but honesty, it wasn’t held together well with the crowd. The crowd was quiet all night, and while this should’ve been better, it just wasn’t that great and Cena would eventually get his moves of doom and win the match, and that’s the end.

Bayley defeated Mandy Rose

This wasn’t to bad of a match, but I don’t get why Absolution keeps losing. They are supposed to be dominant, and yet they keep losing, and here we go again, losing to Bayley. Bayley was good, and after the match got a beat down from the girls of Absolution and was saved by Sasha Banks. Banks went in for a hug and Bayley refused! This was good, and pointed to the complexities of their friendship right now.

Braun Strowman defeated Elias in a Symphony of Destruction Match

This match featured a lot of musical instruments and falls count anywhere. It started with Elias playing the instruments and singing, then asking for an introduction of proper means. When the lights went out, he ran for it, and was trying to escape the arena, but couldn’t. Braun was holding his car hostage by lifting it up and that caused Elias to get out and run back to the arena. Strowman beat the snot out of Elias for the most part and then buried him under a piano and a large bass guitar, and that was that. Strowman wins again, Elias was left for dead.

Bray Wyatt defeated Rhyno

Wyatt buried Rhyno, and that was that. Not a good match at all. Remember when Rhyno and Heath Slater were over like crazy? Yeah, neither does the rest of the arena.

There was a promo with Matt Hardy declaring war at the Hardy Compound, which should be fun for a final deletion.

Finn Balor and Seth Rollins defeated The MIz and The Miztourage

After the Mizzie Awards went on, the two thorns in the side of Miz came through and were thrown into a match with the Miztourage and The Miz. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins were dominant throughout, although there were a few moments when The Miz outsmarted them. It was short lived because Balor and Rollins would throw down their finishers and eventually pick up the big win, and that was the end.

Paul Heyman did another promo.

This was boring. I am tired of Lesnar’s lazy ass, and Heyman doing the same old promo over and over again. Roman Reigns showed up, and that was the end of the show. What a lousy way to end things.

Raw wasn’t half bad, but like I said, it wasn’t half good either. My favorite moments were the Asuka versus Nia Jax match, and the Symphony of Destruction match, other than that, this was a boring road to Wrestlemania. Oh, and the opening, how can I forget that? Good stuff there too.

WWE Monday Night Raw September 4, 2017 Results and Review Still Too Long of A Show

The Big Show vs. Braun Strowman - SRC WWE.com 

WWE Monday Night Raw was live from Omaha, and while this is the HULU review, I can’t say that I was fully entertained by the condensed version. Why? There was a lot of filler. I could not believe how much filler was placed in the 90 minutes that the show ran. I now present to you the following run down of what I remember from the show, which I just watched this morning. I couldn’t sleep last night, and all I could think about was reviewing this, and posting reviews on other pages, etc. So here we go, the night of wrestling based on the HULU edition of WWE Monday Night Raw.

WWE Monday Night Raw September 5, 2017 Results and Review

John Cena defeated Jason Jordan

Jason Jordan has a lot of talent, I will not take that away from him. However, the people do not care for him, even though he put on a showcase with Cena. Cena is always interesting to watch, especially this late in his career. Jordan got close several times, but perhaps the best spot here was the rolling Northern Lights Suplex to Bridge and pin combination. How Cena kicked out of that one is insane, since it looked devastating. I loved it. Cena wins, of course, but wow, Jordan still can’t get over.

Roman Reigns showed up and tried to trash talk Cena, but was still lambasted by John Cena.

Cesaor and Sheamus defeated Slater and Rhyno

HULU did not show this.

The Miz defeated Jeff Hardy

Not a bad match, but far from the best that these two can throw together. Hardy loses clean here, even after the Miz’s friends and Matt Hardy were thrown out. Not much to say here, a good overall match, but not the best. It was quick and easy for The Miz to get this win, even though Hardy is still looking good out there.

Enzo Amore, Cedric Alexander and Gran Metalik defeated Noam Dar, Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak

HULU did not show this.

Bray Wyatt Showed Up For A Promo

This was dumb. Wyatt challenged Balor, at No Mercy. Ok. I still think Finn is lesser than Alex Wright.

Nia Jax and Emma defeated Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks

This was not a half bad match, but it was really the Nia Jax showcase. She was shown strong against Bliss and Banks, while Emma was getting a lot of the punishment from the unlikely pairing. Jax would get the final laugh, beating up everyone, and dropping people with her Samoan Drop. It was a fun little match, which will cause a 4-way for the title at No Mercy. This was ok at best, but it was entertaining enough.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins defeated The Club Sandwich Boys

HULU did not show this match.

Braun Strowman defeated The Big Show in a Steel Cage Match

This was a good overall match, with Strowman getting the big win. However, Show threw out some top rope moves, took a superplex, and finally a running power slam. Strowman looked strong in defeat, and then threw Show through the side of the cage. This wasn’t half bad, but it didn’t really impress me, since I know far too much about WWE has treated show when he came in. His run in WCW was great, with him doing missile dropkicks from the top rope.

Overall, Raw was in holiday mode. This was a boring night of wrestling, with a few highlights, but overall, it’s a throwaway show with a few good points. I liked the main event, and the women’s match, but that’s about it. I won’t remember this show for anything too crazy, that’s for sure.

WWE Monday Night Raw July 31, 2017 Results and Review The Backwards Showcase

Samoa Joe Looked Like A Chump - SRC wwe.com 

I finally am sitting down to review the show, and despite the fact that I don’t have many readers, It was important for me to get through this one. Why? Because I need something to vent my displeasure with how WWE Raw went down this week. I saw the HULU version, but it felt like it was 9 hours long, and despite the fact that the feed only has a select amount of information in the 90 minutes, it didn’t feel shorter for some reason. With that in mind, let’s consider what went down, and how I felt about it, because this is a site where I discuss pro wrestling from WWE, and well that’s about it.

WWE Monday Night Raw July 31, 2017 Results and Review

From the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, there was NO ECW chants that I recall, meaning the crowd is definitely not what they used to be, that’s for sure.

Kurt Angle came out only to get interrupted by Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. They said that they were going to quit if Lesnar lost at Summerslam. They aren’t going to lose, mind you.

The Hardy Boyz defeated The Club Sandwich Guys

Well, the Club are officially a bunch of nerds. They lose again, and while the Revival and the Club decided to try and beat up the Hardy’s they couldn’t get it done. Team Extreme once again buries the young talent, and that’s the end of that. I can only hope that they become broken.

Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander, and Akira Tozawa defeated TJP, Ariya Daivari, and Tony Nese

This was not on HULU

Jason Jordan on Miz TV

What a load of garbage. Jason Jordan gives an Angle Slam, I think, to the Miz into the Miztourage, and that was that. Jordan is not ready for this push.

Seth Rollins defeated Sheamus

This was a boring match, that led to Sheamus and Cesaro beating up Rollins. Dean Ambrose ran down to help him out. This made no sense. Ambrose said that he was going to go his own way, and Rollins would have to go his own way, but here he is saving the day for some reason. This makes absolutely no sense to me folks. Why would he do this? He shouldn’t care about Rollins, as it’s none of his business. But alas, he ran down, and the two tried to beat up the champions. This made no sense.

Finn Balor attacked Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt rambles on and on, and said that no one can beat him, etc. I don’t know who to cheer for here, the Wyatt character sucks, but you know what? Alex Wright 2.0 is worth checking out, so maybe he’ll do well in this feud.

Roman Reigns defeated Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman

Of course he did. I didn’t like this match at all, as Joe looked weak and so did Strowman. Strowman made quick work of Joe, and Reigns was able to get the big win after hitting Strowman with the steel steps. Joe really got booted here, from the start, making him look weak amidst the other guys. This should’ve been the main event, but alas, it wasn’t. This was a good television match, but man, I wish Joe didn’t look so much like a chump here.

Elias defeated Kalisto

This wasn’t shown on HULU

Bayley defeated Nia Jax via Count Out

This wasn’t shown on HULU

Big Cass defeated Big Show via Disqualification

This was a boring, terrible match. Big Cass has new boring music, Big Show got winded fast, and Enzo came out to try and beat up Cass, only to get booted and knocked out. Cass then got hit in the face with that knockout punch, and that was it. That’s your Raw.

This was a boring episode of Raw, with little to no action in my view. Yes, there were some good moments, like the Hardy’s getting the best of the other teams, and watching Rollins get beat up by Cesaro and Sheamus. However, nothing that happened on this show hyped me up for Summerslam, which is the main goal of Raw right now, right? Ugh, this was a boring, flat show with a lot of boring moments, including that terrible main event. Why would they put Cass and Show on last? It makes no sense. What a terrible night of pro wrestling, if you can call it that.

Reviewing The Punjabi Prison Matches of the Past and Predicting The Future

Batista vs. Great Khali Battled In One Hell of A Punjabi Prison Match

This Sunday at WWE Battleground Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton are going to be locked into a crazy match known as the Punjabi Prison match. The two will face off for the WWE Championship and while some fans may not remember the past matches, I remember them as I was not only an adult when they occurred, I was there live for one of them. I guess I’m old. Regardless, there were only two other times that this match took place, making the upcoming showdown the third time that the WWE has placed two competitors in this structure.

Ahead of this weekend’s matchup, I’ve decided to review the last two matches that occurred inside of this structure. Not only that, I’m going to predict the winner of the upcoming Punjabi Prison Match that will take place at WWE Battleground!

Not sure what a Punjabi Prison match is? Well, WWE.com , discusses the rules, in case you don’t remember them. It’s a mix between a traditional cage match, a thunder dome cage match, and other cage structures. However, the façade is covered in bamboo looking elements, with spikes, presenting on cool visual for this epic fight. Now, onto the reviews!

The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Punjabi Prison Match
The Great American Bash 2006

The Great American Bash from 2006 was a pretty cool event, and while I didn’t cover it at the time due to PPV’s costing $49.99 each month, I saw it later. The ECW Champion at the time took on The Undertaker in the first ever Punjabi Prison Match. However, it wasn’t supposed to be The Big Show. The Great Khali was NOT medically cleared at the time, as he had elevated liver enzymes, and didn’t even come back to television for some time. The match was supposed to be Undertaker and Khali, since Khali had manhandled the Undertaker prior to this showdown.

The match itself was unique, with a lot of cool visuals on PPV, and of course The Undertaker still in his prime working the Big Show. Even though the two were big men at the time, there were some great hard-hitting shots, and some great drama in this 20-minute bout. The Undertaker would get the win, and further the feud between him and Khali. I know, odd as that sounds. Khali would eventually lose to the Undertaker in on great match later on Smackdown. However, Big Show got the “L” on this one.

Overall, the match is probably only a 3-star match. However, a 20-minute bout on a PPV that you don’t’ remember, isn’t half bad.

Batista defeated The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison Match
No Mercy 2007

Ah, 2007, the year that I graduated college for the first time. This event was cost prohibited for me, unfortunately, but the show went on. Batista and The Great Khali were embroiled in a feud, with Batista claiming that he wasn’t afraid of the big man. The match was signed, and this match had a lot more memorable moments than the first Punjabi Prison match. In fact, if you remember, this match was only 15 minutes or so, but Batista was flying around the ring like a cruiserweight against Khali, and was earning his paycheck. Khali, even though he was lumbering, still put on a decent showing, but credit Batista for making this a memorable bout. Batista would get the win, but not without enduring some heavy blows from Khali. Personally, I don’t think Khali would’ve been able to match Batista’s athleticism in 2007, as the big man was starting to get some serious momentum in the WWE.

Overall, the match was about a 3-star match, simply because Khali was starting to get a little slow at this point.

Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship, Punjabi Prison Match)
WWE Battleground 2017

And now, we go to the future! What will go down between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton? Well, I’m going to have to agree with others like Sportsbettingdime.com , and am going to say that Jinder Mahal is going to get the 1-up against Randy Orton. Why? Well, if you read my coverage of WWE Payback, I literally thanked Jinder Mahal for interfering in the House of Horrors match. Why? Because Randy Orton bores me, and he is literally phoning it in. Mahal may be a bit new, but he’s got a lot more mileage to go versus Orton at this point. Plus, The Singh brothers are going to no doubt going to find a way to help Mahal yet again, and even though Mahal may take a beating, he is going to get out of this match the winner. He may be beaten, and even bloody, but Mahal is going to survive, and Orton is going to get thrown into a feud with literally anyone else on Smackdown right now.

My prediction for the Punjabi Prison match? Jinder “The Maharaja” Mahal!

WWE Payback 2017 Results and Review House of Horrors and Standard Booking

Brown Shoeman Kills Roman Reigns - SRC WWE.COM

WWE Payback was this weekend, and the highlight of the show for me was simple, drinking Indianapolis’s finest from Sun King Brewing. I had a Wee Mac and Pachanga, and didn’t go with the cream ale, although I still have one in the fridge. I also bought a digiorno, and found out that they have changed their formula, because it now sucks. Oh well.

WWE Payback 2017 Results

Enzo Amore and Big Cass def. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (Kickoff Match)
Chris Jericho def. United States Champion Kevin Owens
Austin Aries def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville by Disqualification
Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz def. Sheamus and Cesaro
Alexa Bliss def. Bayley to become the new Raw Women's Champion
Seth Rollins def. Samoa Joe
Bray Wyatt def. Randy Orton in a House of Horrors Match
Braun Strowman def. Roman Reigns

WWE Payback 2017 Review

I’m tired. I admit that. I am also late on this review. I have been dealing with a variety of issues, and am fighting to try and make this site a bit more robust, but sometimes I get burned out on not making any money and watching wrestling. Here are my thoughts on the show from San Jose, California.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass def. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (Kickoff Match)

The kick off match was fun, and got the crowd really into things moving forward. Enzo put on a great deal of offense against the Club Sandwich boys. Big Cass got the hot tag, laid waste, but Enzo really showed off that he has some great moves, and was able to harness enough power to win this match. This was a great opener in my view, and I was hoping that this feud was over, but guess what? It’s not.

Chris Jericho def. United States Champion Kevin Owens

Not one smart fan, podcast, or video channel picked Chris Jericho to defeat Kevin Owens. Owens and Jericho have some good chemistry. Jericho won with the Walls of Jericho after Owens’s hand was injured earlier in the match. This was a fine outing, but a bit boring considering it’s the U.S. Title.

Austin Aries def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville by Disqualification

Neville pulled the ref into Austin Aries, while in a submission move. This is the same idea that we saw with NXT Takeover, as Asuka did the same thing. Only this time, Neville was disqualified for doing it, and would cost Aries the title. This feud continues. I’m bored with Aries at this point, I don’t get it honestly.

Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz def. Sheamus and Cesaro

The Hardy Boyz won a hard hitting match. Sheamus and Cesaro put the boots to the Hardy’s but wow, stiff as hell. You can find slow motion hits on Youtube about this match, including Sheamus kicking Jeff unprotected in the face, knocking out his tooth. Matt Hardy was busted open the hard way, and it looked bad. Sheamus and Cesaro lose, and then turn heel after the fact. Oh well.

Alexa Bliss def. Bayley to become the new Raw Women's Champion

This was a solid match. Bayley was able to put on a showcase of her talent, but Bliss had her number nearly every time. Bayley was sent flying into a post head first, and Bliss capitalized. The psychology of this match was great, and enjoyed this greatly. Bliss is great, no doubt.

Seth Rollins def. Samoa Joe

A slow moving, illogical match. Rollins would sell that his knee hurt one minute, then he’s jumping off the top rope the next minute. I don’t understand the logic. I have a legit knee injury, and when I’m in pain, I’m dragging my leg to not put weight on it. Rollins seems to forget and remember that his leg is messed up, and it’s not acceptable. OH well.

Bray Wyatt def. Randy Orton in a House of Horrors Match

What the hell was this? Seriously, what the hell? Wyatt and Orton fought in an old house. Orton had a beard growing, walked into a house without a shirt on, and Wyatt attacked him. This was like a Hollywood movie rather than a wrestling match. Orton was left for dead after a refrigerator was thrown on him. A limo took Wyatt to the arena, and Orton showed up at the arena, and it looked like Wyatt was going to lose again. Jinder showed up with the Bollywood Boys and cost Orton the match, which got a lot of cheers, to be honest. Wyatt wins, thanks to Jinder Mahal.

Braun Strowman def. Roman Reigns

I honestly forgot that this match was going to be on. Brown Shoeman showed up and beat up Roman Reigns, simple as that. Reigns put on a show as usual, but he was heavily taped up, and it was obvious that he was going to get pummeled into oblivion. Strowman took out all of his weapons and eventually beat down Strowman enough to win the big match. Shoeman wins clean, and that was that.

Overall Payback 2017 was not that good. I spent a lot of time trying to stay awake, and while there were a few moments that I recall being good, the majority of it wasn’t that fun to watch. It was illogical, boring, and just tired. Oh well.

WWE 205 Live April 25, 2017 Results and Review The C Show At Best Comes Through

Austin Aries gives a beat down - SRC WWE.COM

They say that 205 Live is the most exciting hour of wrestling, but honestly, it’s more like 45 minutes of boredom. This night’s show was not good. It was bad. It was an absolute terrible showing if you ask me.

WWE 205 Live April 25, 2017 Results

Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa defeated Noam Dar and Brian Kendrick
Tony Nese defeated Mustafa Ali via Disqualification
Neville defeated Jack Gallagher

WWE 205 Live April 25, 2017 Review

Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa defeated Noam Dar and Brian Kendrick

Rich Swann’s entrance is one of my favorites. His enthusiasm for what he does is infections. If I am ever in the arena, I will be dancing along with him, because he is quite fun to watch. Akira Tozawa has also won me over. The two make a good team, and they were able to get the win over Noam Dar and Kendrick. This was a good flowing match, with fast paced shots, and great overall momentum. Nothing crazy, just pure wrestling action here, so for that, great job WWE.

Tony Nese defeated Mustafa Ali via Disqualification

I’m a fan of Tony Nese and Mustafa Ali, but I don’t need to see them wrestle every week. This moved the needle a bit towards the feud with Drew Gulak and Ali. Other than that, it was a somewhat boring match, with Ali and Nese going through their normal motions.

Neville defeated Jack Gallagher

Neville and Jack Gallagher did the same match you’ve already seen them do on PPV. This time, Neville would get the win with the Rings of Saturn, and never going too risky. Afterwards he beat up Gallagher, and that prompted Austin Aries to run out and beat him up.

This night was boring. There was a few great spots, but overall, it was not fun. The opening match was the best part of this show, and other than that, this is another forgettable night from the cruiserweights of WWE.

WCW Monday Nitro September 4, 1995 Results and Review The First Ever Nitro

The first ever WCW Monday Nitro aired in 1995. September 4, 1995 to be exact, and it would mark the show that would compete against WWF’s Monday Night Raw for years, and at one point beating it. In this new series, I’m going to go back and watch every single Nitro and review them from the beginning to the end. This is on conjunction to the current WWE product, and PPV reviews that I’m doing at random moments, because I’m a glutton.

WCW Monday Nitro premiered from The Mall of America in Minnesota. This was a one hour show that shoved a lot of wrestling, or at least it felt like a lot of wrestling into an hour, and with a few surprises, wasn’t half bad. Here is how it went down.

WCW Monday Nitro September 4, 1995 Results

Flyin Brian defeated Jushin Thunder Liger
Sting defeated Ric Flair via DQ (United States Title Match)
Hulk Hogan defeated Big Bubba Rogers (WCW World Heavyweight Title Match)

WCW Monday Nitro September 4, 1995 Review

Flyin Brian defeated Jushin Thunder Liger

The opening match was really cool. WCW had put this match on PPV and the two had wrestled in Japan a few times by this point, but it was nice to see them put on a quick match. The internet said it was only 6 minutes long, but I felt like it was longer. Brian Pillman is great here, and Liger is always fun to watch. The two went back and forth before Pillman picked up the big win. Great opener, showcasing the great cruiserweight division, before it was called such.

Sting defeated Ric Flair via DQ (United States Title Match)

Sting and Ric Flair wrestled a really good match, but was interrupted twice. The first interruption was from Lex Luger, as he would appear 1 day after he appeared on WWF television! The announce team acted like they didn’t know what was going on, and Luger said he wanted a title shot. After he left, Arn Anderson showed up and eventually got involved, beating up Ric Flair and causing the DQ. The two would meet at Fall Brawl 1995, where Pillman would cost Flair the match.

Scott Norton came out and demanded a title shot. Mongo got in his face, and eventually Macho Man came out and challenged him for next week.

Hulk Hogan defeated Big Bubba Rogers (WCW World Heavyweight Title Match)

Hulk Hogan and Big Bubba Rogers put on an ok match, with Hogan getting the win with his usual moves of doom. Rogers is so agile for a big man, it’s always fascinating to see him wrestle. Hogan and Rogers are no strangers to one another as you may recall Rogers was The Big Boss Man in WWF where he feuded with Hogan for years.

That was it. In 1 hour, the WCW product showed some of their biggest names, and it was just getting started. I liked it. I will have to go back and watch the first ever Monday Night Raw, but for now, here’s this quick review of the first ever Nitro, which wasn’t half bad. It flew by, and the matches were ok at best. Flair and Sting are always fun to watch, even if the match broke down into chaos. Pillman, what a talent, sad to know he’s gone.

WWE NXT March 30, 2017 Results and Review Phoning In The Show

WWE NXT is really hit or miss, and this week, it had everything shoved into a short span of time. It didn’t feel special at all, and you know what, maybe the whole show was phoned in. Let’s consider this show and then I’ll put up a review of the first ever WCW Nitro, then will be posting my predictions for Wrestlemania.

WWE NXT March 30, 2017 Results

Dash Wilder defeated Johnny Gargano and Akam in a Triple Threat Match
Heavy Machinery defeated Jonathan Ortagun and Mike Marshall
Asuka and Ember Moon signed a contract for Saturday’s Big Show
Kassius Ohno defeated Elias “The Drifter” Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT Match

WWE NXT March 30, 2017 Review

Dash Wilder defeated Johnny Gargano and Akam in a Triple Threat Match

The smartest play I’ve seen in wrestling in a long time. Dash Wilder ran to the ring after Akam and Gargano fought each other. The two battled each other, and eventually Wilder ran in and picked up the quick win. Wilder and his partner didn’t stay for the match, but only ran in at the end, smart move.

Heavy Machinery defeated Jonathan Ortagun and Mike Marshall

Looks like Disorderly Conduct from WCW is back. This was a jobber match.

Asuka and Ember Moon signed a contract for Saturday’s Big Show

Asuka’s English is horrible. I can’t wait to see her get booed out of the building or get the “WHAT” chants on the main roster.

Kassius Ohno defeated Elias “The Drifter” Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT Match

This was not a great match. Samson threw up a few good shots, but it was all Ohno here. Ohno’s outfit is not flattering, but the dude can go so well, that you ignore it. Samson wasn’t that great, but it looks like he’s going up to the main roster. I think he has an upside, he was able to go through some great offense, and get the crowd to hate him. Good stuff.

At the end of the day, this was a phoned in show. Kassius Ohno is fun to watch, and he did put on a good show with The Drifter. He also smashed a guitar at the end of the day. Great stuff there, but at the end of the day, it felt like it was phoned in to me.

WCW Starrcade 1996 Results and Review

WCW Starrcade 1996

Here we go, another review that I can guarantee is better on VHS than on the WWE Network. Regardless, here is my take on the event as it was. Today, we’re talking about WCW Starrcade 1996, and all of the ups and downs that occurred.

The event took place on December 29, 1996. I tweeted at Eric Bischoff about this event, and he tweeted me back, because I mentioned how great the opening match was. The attendance on this show was 9,030 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. This was the last PPV event for the 1996 year, and over on the WWF side, they had a crappy In Your House. Now, let’s see how well this event came through, with a few notes of interest.

WCW Starrcade 1996 Results

Ultimo Dragon defated Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight and J-Crown Championship
Akira Hokuto defeated Madusa for the WCW Women’s Championship
Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.
Jeff Jarrett defeated Chris Benoit in a NO DQ Match
The Outsiders defeted The Faces of Fear in the WCW World Tag Team Championship match
Eddie Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW United States Title
Lex Luger defeated The Giant
Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan

WCW Starrcade 1996 Review

Ultimo Dragon defeated Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight and J-Crown Championship

This match was a great example of how to turn on the heat in a Cruiserweight title match. Dragon was flying around the ring and Malenko was trying to stop him. Overall, he wasn’t able to get the Japanese and Lucha star to go down, and in the end, after around 20 minutes, this match was in the books with Dragon being the new champion.

Akira Hokuto defeated Madusa for the WCW Women’s Championship

Madusa was awesome, and didn’t get her dues, I think. Hokuto put on a show here, putting the boots to Madusa, and eventually getting the win. Madusa looked to be legit hurt in this match.

Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.

Talk about another classic, Jushin Thunder Liger and Rey Mysterio Jr. in their prime! This was a 15 minute match that was very much back and forth. There was a little confusion on the finish, but overall, this is an instant classic. This is a great example of how to throw down a cruiserweight match, just because. The crowd got into it with the escalation of moves.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Chris Benoit in a NO DQ Match

Not a great match. Didn’t really care for this one, but hey it was ok, I guess.

The Outsiders defeated The Faces of Fear in the WCW World Tag Team Championship match

The Outsiders put the boots to the Faces of Fear, and won this match in about 15 minutes. It wasn’t that good. Hall and Nash were not putting in a lot of work in these matches, and well it showed. There were a few moments of interest, but overall, this wasn’t a great showing for the tag titles.

Eddie Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW United States Title

You would think that these two guys would have more chemistry, but it wasn’t to be had, yet. This was a boring affair, with Eddie Guerrero getting the big win. I didn’t really think that these guys hit their stride until 1998, but hey, that’s just my two cents. \

Lex Luger defeated The Giant

No, Luger didn’t rack the Giant. This is the BIG SHOW, by the way, and he’s awesome. The Giant was awesome back then, and this match shows. Luger and Giant put on a good match, with Giant even getting a top rope move in. Great stuff from Luger, selling for Giant, and well, this was a fun match to watch.

Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan

The crowd went nuts for this match. It’s what you would expect from two 40 something year old men. Overall, a good brawl, but after about 15 minutes, Hogan was put to sleep. This wasn’t for the title, but the crowd went ballistic when Piper won by submission.

Overall, WCW Starrcade 1996 wasn’t a great PPV, but it had some solid performances. The cruiserweight matches are well worth watching, and the last two matches are a lot of fun overall. Sting was in the rafters, and well, that ended WCW’s 1996. A good year if you ask me, and this PPV was better than a lot of the WWF stuff that was going on, although it would flip.

I recommend buying WCW Starrcade 1996 on VHS here, instead of the WWE Network, as the Network has butchered the music, and edited the fans signs, and more.

WCW Superbrawl IX Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

VHS Cover of Superbrawl 9 From 1999

WCW wasn’t all doom and gloom. In 1999, they were reaching new heights before they crashed in the later part of the year. Meanwhile the WWF was doing the Austin vs. McMahon stuff, WCW was putting on some good matches, and great overall elements in their events. I recall seeing this live on PPV because I would get all of them, and I loved it at the time. I recently caught up with this on the network, but you know, it’s heavily edited for sound and run time. But that’s ok.

WCW Superbrawl IX took place in Oakland, California and there were 15,880 people in attendance. The crowd’s back then were quite big for WCW, despite what some Reddit idiots will tell you. That being said, let’s dive into this one.

WCW Superbrawl IX Results

Booker T defeated The Disco Inferno
Chris Jericho w/ Ralphus defeated Perry Saturn via countout
Billy Kidman defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. (WCW Cruiserweight Title Match)
Barry Windham and Curt Hennig defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (WCW Tag Team Title Match)
The Outsiders defeated Konnan and Rey Mysterio (Hair vs. Mask Match)
Scott Steiner defeated Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Television Title Match)
Scott Hall defeated Roddy Piper (U.S. Title Match)
Goldberg defeated Bam Bam Bigelow
Hollywood Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair (WCW World Heavyweight Title Match)

WCW Superbrawl IX Review

Booker T defeated The Disco Inferno

I don’t know why so many people crap on Disco, he actually could wrestle well. In this match he put Booker T through some great offense, but of course, Booker would get the big win with the Harlem Hangover. Watch for Booker to nearly decapitate Disco, though. All of his weight lands on Disco’s head, and it looks like he was completely knocked out. Good overall match.

Chris Jericho w/ Ralphus defeated Perry Saturn via countout

This was a weird transition for Saturn. He was wearing a dress, Jericho was between feuds, and this didn’t go anywhere. Jericho still had Ralphus, and he was close to being on his way out at this point.

Billy Kidman defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr. (WCW Cruiserweight Title Match)

Kidman, after leaving Raven’s flock was great. But this match wasn’t. Chavo’s wrestling skills were never quite on par with Eddie, until he got to the WWE and they were tagged together. Chavo was a lot smaller here too, but Kidman put him through 8 minutes of hell in this match. Kidman wins, enough said.

Barry Windham and Curt Hennig defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (WCW Tag Team Title Match)

Barry Windham and Curt Hennig were much bigger than the other guys, you know them. Malenko and Benoit did put the boots to the veterans, but it was the veterans going over in this match, with a big win, and through cheating as Windham used a belt to get a choke out and pinfall win. Not a bad series of matches, but definitely not the best that could’ve been done.

The Outsiders defeated Konnan and Rey Mysterio (Hair vs. Mask Match)

The Outsiders were way over with the crowd, but so were Konnan and Mysterio. This match was for Mysterio’s mask or Miss Elizabeth’s hair to get cut off. I never in my wildest dreams thought that Rey Mysterio would’ve lost his mask in this fashion, and from what I’ve heard, he fought against it but failed to convince management to let him keep it. Oh well, this match went on, and it wasn’t half bad. Konnan and Rey are hard workers, and the Outsiders did a tremendous job putting them over, even though they won in the end. Lex Luger was at ringside.

Scott Steiner defeated Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Television Title Match)

DDP put the boots to Steiner, but it was Steiner that ended up with the win. Steiner was so agile in this match, even doing a top rope frankensteiner that was picture perfect. DDP ended up getting locked into the Steiner Recliner, and that was that. Even at 14 minutes, this match had my attention, and the attention of the crowd, which was great. DDP would later go onto win the big title, but not quite yet.

Scott Hall defeated Roddy Piper (U.S. Title Match)

Roddy Piper was the United States Champion going into this match, and Scott Hall looked drunk. The bookers gave Hall the match here, even though he blatantly cheated, and it was obvious that he wasn’t all there. I didn’t really like this match, and Piper just seemed to go through the motions. Even the announce team was wondering what was wrong with Hall. Oh well. Bad match.

Goldberg defeated Bam Bam Bigelow

An underrated gem, and definitely one match to go out of your way to see. Bam Bam Bigelow had been invading WCW and beating up Goldberg from the crowd. WCW officials finally gave Bam Bam a match, and this match was insane. The crowd was way into it, and was going absolutely nuts for Goldberg. Bam Bam did NOT get squashed here. He put the boots to Bigelow, and this match ran over 11 minutes long. Goldberg was selling great, but in the end, Bigelow got 2 spears and a jackhammer for his trouble. Great match, and second only to the DDP Halloween Havoc match if you ask me.

Hollywood Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair (WCW World Heavyweight Title Match)

Despite the fact that these guys were aging, the crowd was all over it. I was into it, even after all of these years. Hogan threw Flair around as usual, and Flair got busted wide open. Flair was on a comeback, and it looked like he was going to pull off the title win, but alas, a masked man showed up. That masked man was David Flair! Flair and Torrie Wilson showed up and ruined Flair’s match up. This would be the second event in a row where a taser would come into play. Oh well.

Superbrawl 1999 wasn’t half bad. I liked it for the most part, and there were some good matches. The best match was the Goldberg versus Bigelow matchup, but Steiner’s performance is not to be missed. Aside from that, it’s an average PPV offering, with that classic WCW mix of matches.

I suggest that you pick up the WCW Superbrawl 1999 VHS instead of watching it on the network.

WWE Survivor Series November 20, 2016 Results and Review The Burial of Brock Lesnar

Buried!!!!

I was excited for this pay per view, and wanted to go to Toronto, but wasn’t able to get there. I saw this on the network with no major problems, and did not watch the pre-show. I wasn’t going to sit for 2 hours or 3 hours ahead of what I thought was going to be a 4 hour show. It wasn’t 4 hours, thankfully.

WWE Survivor Series November 20, 2016 Results and Review

TJ Perkins, Rich Swann & Noam Dar def. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari
Kane def. Luke Harper
Team Raw def. Team SmackDown LIVE in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Women’s Elimination Match
Intercontinental Champion The Miz def. Sami Zayn
Team Raw def. Team SmackDown LIVE in a 10-on-10 Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick def. Kalisto
Team SmackDown LIVE def. Team Raw in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Men’s Elimination Match
Goldberg def. Brock Lesnar

WWE Survivor Series November 20, 2016 Review

As I stated, I did not see the pre-show so I cannot comment on the first two matches that opened. Oh well.

Team Raw def. Team SmackDown LIVE in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Women’s Elimination Match

Team Raw’s women won a great overall women’s match, but the crowd was somewhat quiet. Nia Jax was the star here. The double suplex absolutely had me marking out. I loved it. Great stuff from them. Great overall match, lots of back and forth, lots of fighting. Raw won, after a length battle, and boom, the women’s revolution is back full circle to diva status opening the main show.

Match Rating: 3 out of 5

Intercontinental Champion The Miz def. Sami Zayn

The Miz and Zayn put on a halfway decent match, but it was mostly boring. I didn’t like it. I thought Zayn was supposed to win this, but nope. The Miz cheated, and that was that. Not a great match, not a bad match, but definitely a lot to be desired.

Match Rating: 2 out of 5

Team Raw def. Team SmackDown LIVE in a 10-on-10 Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match

Now this was a boring match. It was a boring moving tag match with a lot of boredom. However, the win was nice with Enzo and Cass putting on a major show. I loved that. It was great to see that, and the crowd popped, but other than that, it was somewhat forgettable to me.

Match Rating: 2 out of 5

WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick def. Kalisto

Kendrick and Kalisto put on a great match for a crowd that didn’t appreciate it. It was a fun match, no doubt, but Corbin ran in and messed things up. Kalisto is good, but not good enough to win here, and Kendrick keeps the guys on raw. Kendrick’s promo before the match was great.

Match Rating: 3 out of 5

Team SmackDown LIVE def. Team Raw in a 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Men’s Elimination Match

Great stuff. Great stuff all around. Styles and Ambrose pushed their feud, but alas, Roman remained strong. Roman remained STRONG all the way until the loss. Shane nearly dying from a concussion was insane, it’s time for him to go. Lots of action, a long match, and just a lot of fun. The Shield reunited for a moment, and the crowd was way into this match, great stuff.

Match Rating: 4 out of 5

Goldberg def. Brock Lesnar

No one called this. I loved it. An absolute burial! Goldberg hit 2 spears, and a jackhammer, and that was that. The crowd went insane, people were shocked, and that was the show! Great stuff, I loved it.

Match Rating: 4 out of 5

And that’s that. Not a great show, but lots of fun in the matches, etc. Good stuff. Ended early, made me hit the gym. Oh well.

WWF In Your House Degeneration X Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

WWF In Your House Degeneration X 1997 Results and Review 

Continuing my series of reviews of all things VHS versus the WWE network, I would like to present you with the December 1997 pay per view that the WWE put up against WCW Starrcade 1997. Now, you’ll have to remember that Starrcade 1997 was huge, it had 17,500 people at the MCI Center in Washington D.C. and it featured Hulk Hogan versus Sting for the World Title. This build up took 1 full year, that’s right, 1 year of Sting not wrestling at all, versus Hogan that was supposed to be absolutely scared of the guy. Now, that happened on December 28, 1997, meanwhile WWF put out In Your House on December 7, 1997. That card for comparison’s sake only drew 6,358! That’s right, compared to WCW drawing 17,500 people, that’s a big jump. So here we go, a review of WWF’s In Your House Degeneration X pay per view from 1997!

WWF In Your House Degeneration X Results and Review

So, in 1997 the WWF introduced a light heavyweight championship title, and they held a tournament. The names in this one were very diverse from Devon Storm to Flash Flanagan, to Eric Shelley (YES THAT ERIC SHELLEY). At the end of the day, the finals were held here in the first major match and they featured Taka Michinoku versus Brian Christopher. This had a lot of great jokes as Jerry Lawler wouldn’t admit that Christopher was his son. Great one liners and commentary from both Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler here.

Taka Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher for the light heavyweight championship

Great match here, 12 minutes of non stop action, with great back and forth. Taka won with the Michinoku driver, and it was the end for Brian until Too Cool made it big. I miss the lightweight heavyweight days.

Los Boricuas defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse

The DOA was a biker gang way before Aces and Eights or even Samcro was mentioned. The teams worked well, but in the end, it was Los Boricuas that got the win. Not a great match, but fun enough.

Butterbean defeated Mar Mero in a “Toughman Match”

A glorified, fixed boxing match, with Mero losing via disqualification. Mero is a legit golden gloves boxer, but this was a joke.

The New Age Outlaws defeated The Legion of Doom via disqualification

This was a ten minute match that had a lot of jokes involved with the younger guys getting the most of the LOD. Eventually, LOD got disqualified and buried on Raw the next night, moving forward. They would come back in 1998, but it didn’t matter, they were already tarnished.

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Triple H defeated Sgt. Slaughter in a Boot Camp Match

This was great. Triple H and Slaughter threw some haymakers, and Slaughter did not work soft at all. This was a heavy handed match and the two really put the boots to each other. Chyna got involved, but there was a great moment when Slaughter threw salt in her eyes and the crowd went into a frenzy. Triple H won, but by no means was this an easy match for him, Slaughter put on a show in his old age.

Jeff Jarrett defeated The Undertaker via Disqualification

Double J has a victory over the dead man? Yep! He won here when Kane showed up. Not much of a match.

Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock in an Intercontinental Championship Match

The nation of domination got involved, but Stone Cold drove into the arena in a F150 and beat the hell out of them, giving everyone stunners. Then The Rock and Stone Cold put on the most entertaining 5 minutes of your life. These two are amazing, and this was for the IC title. You have to remember that the next night Stone Cold threw the title over a bridge, which was great. This match was fast paced, only 5 minutes, but loads of entertainment in a short span.

Ken Shamrock defeated Shawn Michaels via disqualification

You’d be surprised how well Ken Shamrock worked here. Michaels can make anyone look good,but it takes two most often. This was great, I loved it. The DQ finish wasn’t bad, and it made Shamrock look like he could very well win the big one. He did get the intercontinental championship in 1998 and worked a program with The Rock, so that’s something. 18 minutes, but no clear winner.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

There were two major highlights in this show, and they only amount for around 22 minutes of wrestling and entertainment. The rest is forgettable. The original release is in fact unedited has better sound, better cuts, and lots of cussing from Stone Cold, including some back stage segments.

You can pick up the VHS edition of this if you’d like or you could watch it on the wwe network. Overall, though, this was a good show, but compared to Starrcade 1997, it was way worse.

WWE Smackdown 5/26/2016 Results and Review The End of Mixed Branding

I am delayed in reviewing, as I’m doing some routine marketing things to try and boost traffic for the site, and well I didn’t catch Smackdown until now. The opening alone made me not want to watch, Michael Cole interviewed Dean Ambrose about Money in The Bank ppv. I’m already bored.

WWE Smackdown 5/26/2016 Results and Review

Dean Ambrose mouthed off about how he is the most extreme, etc. This is the lunatic? No thanks. Somewhere, Brian Pillman is wishing he had another chance to come back to wrestling. Kevin Owens showed up to talk randomly about crap, then Sami Zayn comes out and talks about Wrestlemania and what not. 20 minutes of B.S. if you ask me.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Zack Ryder

Well, this was the end for Ryder. Alberto Del Rio picked up the win, even though Ryder in no way was completely buried outright. Ryder put some offense in, but it wasn’t meant to be, as Ryder got beat yet again. No one was surprised by this, no one.

Enzo and Cass challenged The Dudleys, but it won’t happen until Raw. Boring waste of time if you ask me.

Rusev defeated Kalisto

The end of the line for Kalisto, this was his rematch for the United States championship, and well, it was all over before it could get going. Ok match, but nothing grand, that’s all. Competitive match, none the less, Kalisto got beat.

After the match Titus O’neil showed up and challenged Rusev, which was fine, but eh, nothing special. I guess he’s next.

Natalya versus Dana Brooks

This match didn’t go very long. Charlotte interfered and caused a no-finish. Charlotte beats up Natalya, and that’s that? I guess that’s the end of the feud? I don’t know, don’t care, this diva’s revolution is nothing short of boring, sorry.

There are so many flashbacks to Raw that this show just drags on. I don’t like it.

Aj Styles interviewed, and well, he looked defeated, this is the end of the burial of Aj Styles if you ask me.

Tyler Breeze and Fandango defeated R Truth and Goldust (Golden Truth)

Minor match, nothing big. Boring if you ask me. Smackdown is not a great show, just saying.

Seth Rollins showed up, cut a limited promo and then left. Nothing big here. 

The Miz defeated Cesaro 

A great overall main event for Smackdown, as these two work well together. Cesaro's shoulder was worked on, and in the end, The Miz took him out thanks to a turnbuckle that was removed by Maryse. Overall, this was the best match of the night, and possibly of the week! Great fun, great match, nice to see this type of wrestling for the intercontinental championship. Soak it in, you won't see this in the brand split, I can't believe they are doing that. 

Overall Rating: 5 out of 10

Good matches, nope, good entertainment? Not really. This was a lousy show with a good main event, that's it. 

WWE Superstars 5/13/2016 Another Stardust Crews Match

WWE Superstars is an underrated show. Cesaro opens up this hour of wrestling, and you know what? I’m a fan of this type of show. Less talking, more wrestling.

WWE Superstars 5/13/2016 Results and Review

Cesaro defeated Bo Dallas

This match went as well as you’d expect for Bo Dallas. Dallas got beat by a flurry of Cesaro standards. Curtis Axel couldn’t help at ringside, and Dallas once again proves that he’s the leader of the Social Jobbers, as they lose quite a bit. Entertaining, but at the end of the day, not that grand.

Apollo Crews defeated Stardust

This was essentially the same match from WWE Main Event. Stardust focused on the arm of Apollo instead of the ribs, but it wasn’t effective. Crews did NOT steamroll Stardust, it was mostly Stardust getting all of the offense here, but Crews turned things around and got the big win. However, he did not beat Stardust with ease, it was an all out fight. Good match, too bad no one saw it.

Overall Rating: 5/10

Good wrestling, not great. I’m surprised that no podcasts are talking about the pure wrestling that happens on this show. The only downside is that they recap a LOT of RAW. It’s boring.

WWE Superstars 5/13/2016 Results

Cesaro defeated Bo Dallas
Apollo Crews defeated Startdust

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WWE NXT 5/11/2016 Results and Review Alex Riley’s Last WWE Match

The show opened up with Finn Balor, and much to the dismay of all the dirt sheets, he is NOT part of The Club, and he is not going to the main roster just yet. So all of you sites out there, including Smart Wrestling Fan Podcast, can go to hell. I’m not a fan of Balor, and I don’t think he’s ready for the main roster. I am not entertained by him, yet. He’s had a few good matches, but I do not feel that he’s that great, yet. Then again, I haven’t seen quite as much of his work as some others, but that’s just me.

Finn Balor got interrupted by The Drifter, Elias Sampson. Now, Jason Solomon of Solomonster Sounds Off thinks he sucks, but you know what? He’s wrong. The Drifter works. The interruption with the guitar, and the slow walk down to Finn worked very well. I loved it. It reminded me of the 1980s television show of the same name. This could work, done right. He got into the ring and got beat up for his trouble, Balor getting the cheers.

American Alpha defeated Two Jobbers

Yeah, Skylar and Holace were the two opponents, but you knew from the star that this was all about American Alpha getting the big win. Simply put it’s a classic move to have their power teams win against jobbers. American Alpha needs Kurt Angle, simple as that.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Alex Riley

This was Alex Riley’s last match in NXT before Jason Solomon of Solomonster Sounds Off got him fired. (I Kid, but the two had some words on Twitter, mainly Riley) Riley got little offense in this one and Shinsuke got paid quite a bit for just a small amount of work. Entertaining as it was, this was no competition, it was just a burial. Alex Riley is going to be out, and well, goodbye. Should’ve stayed on commentary like Graves. Shinsuke is great to watch, but I don’t know how he will fit into the main showcase, but for what this is, it’s great, good overall wrestler, but it’s just a matter of time before Roman Reigns buries him.

Alexa Bliss defeated Rachel Ellering

Rachel Ellering is the daughter of Paul Ellering. She was ok in this match. This was forgettable.

Finn Balor defeated The Drifter Elias Sampson

Once again, not impressed by Balor here. It was an ok match, but overtly, just standard WWE moves. Suicide dives, running leg drops, and just no psychology here. It was an ok match. It wasn’t great. It was entertaining enough, but overall, I don’t think Balor’s ready for the main roster, at least not as he was on this show. On the mic, he wasn’t great, he needs help. The promo he cuts after this match just wasn’t up to par with what you’d expect for the main roster, which isn’t saying much I guess. Oh well. Balor is going to turn into the demon and will fight Joe. Joe came out, I stopped caring.

Overall, this episode of NXT was fine. I just am not that invested in these characters or the wrestling that is pandering to the smart crowd. We’ll see what happens.

I’m tired of suicide dives in WWE. Every wrestler seems to do them, and that makes the move boring. Finn Balor’s athletic, but diving over the top rope onto Joe is just dry toast. I don’t care. I’ve seen the same thing 100 million times before, done by better wrestlers in their youth. Oh well. Ok show nothing great, and that was that.

A title match for June 8th 2016 was set between Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. Perhaps it will be the last match for Balor's NXT career. Image via wwe.com

WWE NXT 5/11/2016 Results Alex Riley’s Last WWE Match

American Alpha defeated Two Jobbers
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Alex Riley
Alexa Bliss defeated Rachel Ellering
Finn Balor defeated The Drifter Elias Sampson

WWE Main Event 5/3/2016 Results and Review Damien Sandow’s Second To Last Match

And away we go, more content, more reviews, more results, and more time wasted with WWE wrestling. People complain about the flagship shows, but maybe they should be watching these B shows, because WWE is putting on a showcase of talent. Here’s my thoughts on 5/3/2016 edition of WWE Main Event, and I’ll have a review of Superstars coming up soon.

Titus Oneil defeated Damien Sandow

Damien Sandow had a match on main event, and you know what? No dirt sheet mentioned this, or the fact that he was going to get fired, so people are idiots. If you pay attention to the commentary by The King, you’ll hear about how terrible Sandow is, but of course he is the heel announcer. This match would prove to be Damien Sandow’s last match with WWE, and you know what? The crowd wasn’t exactly going crazy for what he was doing in the ring. That being said, goodbye Sandow. Sandow lost after getting hit with Clash of the Titus, a sit out power bomb and pin combination. This was the end of Sandow, and well, you could tell. The crowd was dead for most of the match, so that’s the end of that.

Quick EDIT! DAMIEN SANDOW HAD ANOTHER MATCH, IT WAS ON SUPERSTARS! REVIEW PENDING

Apollo Crews defeated Victor of The Ascension

By the time this match occurred, I realized why people don’t really watch WWE Main Event. This is a side show of Raw, to be honest. Oh well, such is life, right? I didn’t expect much from this, but Apollo Crews is quite good, and again, he’s undefeated, and he is tearing through wrestlers. He had a little trouble here, but nothing too difficult. Another shorter match than I expected, but Apollo doesn’t need a ton of time to get through his move set.

Baron Corbin defeated Sin Cara

Not a bad match, but of course, you knew exactly what was going on. Corbin defeated Sin Cara and that was the end of days…wow what a pun! Corbin is growing on me, and Sin Cara should go back to lucha in Mexico, where they will appreciate him more. He’s lost here.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Stardust

Now this wasn’t half bad. Ziggler and Stardust put on a showcase of fast paced wrestling, and reversals. I’m surprised that this wasn’t on Raw. Stardust would end up losing after a superkick knocked him senseless. This was really fun to watch, and it’s a testament to the two’s work ethic. Too bad no one saw it.

WWE Main Event 5/3/2016 Results

Titus Oneil defeated Damien Sandow
Apollo Crews defeated Victor of The Ascension
Baron Corbin defeated Sin Cara
Dolph Ziggler defeated Stardust

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WWE Monday Night Raw 12/28/2015 Review Vince McMahon Goes To Jail

Once again, I had to fight myself to stay awake for this showcase. I am reviewing the Hulu edition while I still have Hulu, as I may not have it after January 6, but we will see what happens. That being said, this week’s Raw came through and well, it was a lot of…well…crap. I want to be optimistic, so maybe I shouldn’t dismiss it so fast, but let’s get into it and see what went down and why the end of 2015 for WWE is ending with a whimper instead of a bang.

Vince McMahon Goes To Jail

Up front, Vinnie Mac called out Roman Reigns, and that led to Stephanie McMahon coming out. This whole starting point went to start a storyline in which Vince McMahon was arrested by the police, and Stephanie was screaming about it, while her music played. Yes, the music was playing here. Oh man. Anyways, Roman Reigns stood tall as Vinnie Mac went to jail.

Neville defeated Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens lost this match in less than 20 seconds or so. This was a waste of talent. Afterwards Owens went nuts and beat up Neville around the ring. But who cares, right? This was a waste to me. I don’t think Owens needs to be established as a crazed, fighter, because we already know he’s good. What a waste of Neville and Owens.

Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch

Well, this was a surprise. It didn’t last long, but Lynch and Banks actually put on a good wrestling match. There were some slow spots, and it was obvious that they weren’t going to be allowed a lot of time. The rushed finish aside, this wasn’t half bad. Banks is such a good performer, and Banks, well she’s losing so much I smell a heel turn. This is ok, but nowhere near what you see in NXT.

Kalisto defeated Kofi Kingston

This was a fast paced match, as you’d expect. However, this is where I started to fall asleep. New Day did their thing on the mic, but the Lucha Dragons don’t have much personality, and despite their in ring work, it’s not as entertaining as WCW or ECW’s lucha division stuff. WWE just doesn’t know how to book good action within the scope of lucha style, so the mix kind of falls flat if you ask me.

Big E defeated Sin Cara

Screw it. Sin Cara sucks. He dislocated his shoulder and it looked like he was going to quit, like the other Sin Cara did. This was stupid. The shoulder aside, it seemed to be ok enough to finish the match, but still. This threw me out of the match. Big E is good, but come on, the whole “my shoulder!” thing just played terribly. WWE should fire Sin Cara, and Kalisto. They should get a better shake in Mexico. Man, I miss WCW and ECW right now.

Big Show Is the Number 1 Entrant in the Rumble, and I don’t care. I hate Big Slow.

Ryback defeated Big Show via count out

Who cares.

The League of Nations defeated Dean Ambrose and The Usos

I fell asleep on this one. I’m tired of six man tag team matches. How did the Usos win the slammy for the tag team of the year? I don’t know, this was just boring to me. Ambrose is ok, but man, the six man tag thing is just tiresome.

John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio via DQ

I’m so hoping for a John Cena heel turn that this match seemed boring to me. Then again, I didn’t see it, since I was passed out. Oh well.

That was the end of that. WWE really took a dump on any momentum they had last week to this week. Then again, they didn’t have momentum after the terrible Slammy Awards debacle. I am trying to be positive about wrestling, but with shows like this one, it’s very hard to do so.

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/28/2015 Results

Neville defeated Kevin Owens
Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch
Kalisto defeated Kofi Kingston
Big E defeated Sin Cara
Ryback defeated Big Show via count out
The League of Nations defeated Dean Ambrose and The Usos
John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio via DQ

Start Pro Wrestling Figures Collection On The Cheap With Bendems

WWF Bendems are becoming more and more rare

WWF bendems are a part of the lineage of toys and figures that the professional wrestling giant produced. These are not always seen the same way as other figures because they weren’t really “articulate”. These were smaller versions of the action figures that you’d come to purchase from WWE, but they were made of rubber. If you were a fan of WWF in the 1980s then you no doubt purchased the oversized wrestlers made of rubber, that were stuck in one position. Those got beat up fast. Now, these smaller versions are neat because they have full color, and are made of rubber. You can bend them into place, and they are really light weight. If you’re going to start a wrestling figure collection, I’d say start with WWF bendems.

There are several reasons why I say this, but there are two major ones that you may want to consider in regards to collecting WWF bendems. They are as follows:

They Are Becoming More and More Rare

Right now, you can still get these figures relatively cheap. If your goal is to start a collection of figures from pro wrestling, WWF bendems aren’t going to cause you to go broke. However, the prices and demand is rising exponentially. A lot of people bought these, and now many are selling them off. You owe it to yourself to pick some up right now before you spend your life savings trying to rebuy them all.

They Resell Very Well

I’ve sold a lot of WWF bendems in my day. I used to buy them at clearance prices and never open them. Today, you can find them online and they aren’t too expensive, but they resell very well. In fact, I was fortunate enough to sell a rare ring with Bret Hart, Undertaker, and others for over a few hundred dollars. Of course, this is rare, but I have been selling off my collection of crap for a long time.

All of this to say that if you’re going to collect figures, and aren’t really keen on oversized boxes, but still want a good display option, these are the best. With WWF bendems, you get the same quality, but with more “poseable” designs. I love them.

If you’re interested in picking up WWF bendems, you can buy some by clicking here and shopping online. I found some as low as a few bucks, so go for it. These are NOT WWE, they are WWF branded, so they will be rarer over time.