- My 360 has decided to stop reading Madden 13 and as it's 2am TV is horrendous and TruTV aren't airing Conan, at all this week it seems and I only started watching it wednesday it's Devil's Dinner Party all over again. I got this last monday and have already watched around half of it however I have been ill all week so this is the first clear headed review also my first in a while.
LL Cool J, who I assume is culturally relevant again, talks us through Mania moments of past in the opening video.
IC Title - Ladder Match - Wade Barrett (c) Vs. Ambrose Vs. Bryan Vs. Ziggler Vs. Stardust Vs. Harper Vs. R-Truth
It'd be nice to think WWE had created a 7-Way feud revolving around Wade and the IC Title, say he cheated to beat the 6 others in one-on-ones over the past month or two but I think it's a case of let's throw a ladder match in there and make it the IC Title, yeah yeah that saves us booking something meaningful good job boys. Stardust looks like Mister Sinister. Asai butt bump by Stardust then some others get dumped or jump over the top rope and Ambrose elbow drops off a ladder onto them. Bryan dropkicks Stardust into a ladder but Harper then hits him with it. Ziggler superkicks Bryan from San Fran to San Juan. Something new as Wade breaks off a rung and hits Stardust with it. Now we get something done in seemingly every multi-man ladder match the put a ladder over head and twirl spot but R-Truth ends it with a Scissor Kick on Harper. We get a Holy Shit chant and no doubt each other will pat themselves on the back due to that as Wade superplexes Stardust off a ladder. Harper powerbombs Ambrose over the top through a ladder. Wade Bullhammers various people. Bryan and Ziggler exchange headbutts atop the ladder then Bryan wins the IC Title. **1/2 - Don't much care for spot fests especially the ones of the present day where spots are generally rehashed from older matches I mean how many times have people gone through ladders now? Didn't it start at least 8 years ago w/ Jeff and Edge. I like psychology in my matches and they are, understandably, non-existent in ladder matches. (Man Flu has left me sofa-ridden the past few days and I have rewatched this PPV and **1/2 seems a tad harsh, I think my dislike of Bryan, due to fans, played a part in this rating and that's unprofessional even for an amateur when the pain in my head subsides I'll give this a proper look back)
Randy Orton Vs. Seth Rollins (w/ J & J Security - Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble)
Rollins is current MITB holder. Video depicts Rollins as similar to Orton from his Evolution days, though I doubt he's as much as a headache for management as Orton was. Dropkick right to Rollins mush but he avoids an RKO by going ringside. Double Draping DDT wipes out J & J. Cole says it's 16:20 so is it 00:20 UK time? Rollins may of watched TNA pre-match as he does Mic-Check. Orton is fighting back, turns a Curb Stomp into a powerslam. Rollins avoids DDT and sends Orton ringside where he asai moonsaults but almost does a Shawn Michaels as his back hits the table hard, the announcers make a note of it. Seth Rollins rolls through a crossbody for 2 but is soon hit with a Draping DDT. RKO gets 2 then J & J eat RKOs allowing Seth to hit Curb Stomp for a 2 of his own. Nice finish as Curb Stomp is countered with an RKO. *** - Technically sound and proficient if unspectacular overall, like the SA Spurs, I wasn't drawn in to it as much as i'd of liked to of been despite the beautiful finish. (Love having Orton go over though given what happens later as it makes a ready made challenger)
Sting Vs. HHH
Don't get me wrong I understand how big Sting being on a WWE card, no less WrestleMania, is as I was a fan during the WCW days albeit the latter ones (I feel I should explain why I was a fan of latter day WCW given its rep, Channel 5 showed it so I watched it, I think it was on a friday night, I used to buy figures from Brewsters, I really liked Crowbar if Iremember rightly) but not until watching the pre-match video did it really hit me just how big this is, though some say Sting is the last big WCWer to appear for WWE I counter that with Disco Inferno ain't appeared yet (I think anyway). Now I have already watched this match so let me state here that I hate the commentary throughout this one as we get constant WCW digs in, ignoring the fact that WCW had a spell of being dominant over the WWF but what really irks me is that JBL bangs on so much you'd think he himself helped put WCW out of business even though in reality nobody paid to see The Acolytes kind of like if Adam Morrison took credit for the 2 NBA Titles Lakers won during his tenure as a Laker. The crowd here may be bigger than all of the people who saw Sting in TNA combined, HHH has a Terminator style entrance and now I want to watch Judgment Day. Kind of fitting Charles Robinson is the ref (As he was a WCWer). Sting throws his first dropkick since around 1995 earning a 'you still got it' chant which is kind of like Ali coming back doing a shuffle and earning a YSGI chant. Sting no sells a facebuster as HHH has memories of WM 12 then he goes ringside to avoid a Deathlock. Sting misses a Stinger Splash at ringside then soon HHH gets a 2 after a knee drop following a vertical suplex, another 2 follows after a spinebuster. Scorpion Deathlock is applied and this brings out DX, minus one prominent member .... Chyna, oh and that Shawn guy, but Sting fights them off then avoids Pedigree which sends HHH ringside and Sting dives onto DX. Pedigree only gets a 2 count, HHH gets his sledgehammer but nWo are here (Everytime I watch this, multiple times recently as I'm to ill to change the disc .... and lazy, I smile when nWo come out, a true moment though would've been nWo music hits and Adams, Norton and Vincent come out .... and then the main three), I kind of want X-Pac to morph into Syxx, Scorpion Death Drop gets 2, that should've been the finish for me. Deathlock is reapplied as Hogan removes the Sledgehammer from the ring. HBK takes a break from killing animals to Sweet Chin Music Sting, maybe he heard the word Scorpion and agreed to show (Anti-Hunter mode engage!). Billy Gunn gives HHH the Sledgehammer but Scott Hall hands Sting his Ballbat which he uses to break the Sledgehammer in half, so in modern Roshambo Baseball Bat beats Sledgehammer. Disappointing finish which takes the wind out of the matches sails as HHH hits a charging Sting with the head of the Sledgehammer for the 3 count. *** - Bittersweet for me, I got into wrestling around 99/00 so was around for WCW and did love the nWo/DX stuff which I honestly never thought i'd see let alone Sting at WrestleMania but that ending is disheartening as HHH screws another WCWer at 'Mania, we get it WWE won and you're the alpha male but do you need to stop a happy ending Hunter? The match was a good WWE style match a type that Hunter excels at. Tack on a better ending and the rating would go up.
Maria Menounos interviews Daniel Bryan but they get interrupted by various ex-IC Champions - Pat Patterson, sad times as Roddy Piper appears and as of writing he passed away 3 days ago, Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair and Bret Hart, they do YES chant and Ron Simmons appears with a DAMN as he wasn't IC Champion, did laugh when Naitch chopped Ricky as I don't think Steamboat expected it.
Musical interlude time, I know Travis Barker but have no idea who the other two are as I generally avoid today's music when possible, the lady looks like the girl who dies in season 1 of Orange Is The New Black. (Still not got round to Season 2 yet or finding out who these two were)
AJ Lee/Paige Vs. Bella Twins
Is Paige meant to be one of them annoying 'look at my jet black hair gosh aren't I against society' girls? AJ looks bored and during the Bellas entrance 90s Lawler returns. AJ is knocked off the apron and Paige gets isolated, Arizona-Slam gets 2, AJ is still prone at ringside, oh wait she's up and then down again. JBL says great teams always beat great individuals and I sigh contently remembering
the Detroit Pistons of 2004. Paige hits the Bellas but AJ is down again. Good lord AJ is up and tags in. AJ gets 2 off a messy DDT then uses Black Widow to earn the win. ** - Didn't care much for it but do appreciate Tag Psychology so boosted for that reason.
Annual bit where HOFers or people representing them appear on stage, Nash gets headline spot. Advert plays for WWE 15 and even there HHH is burying Sting.
US Title - Rusev (c) (w/ Lana) Vs. John Cena
Rusev enters on a tank. Always felt that when a European holds the US Title it should revert to the old European Title. Rusev beat Cena at Fast Lane via passout. This is the generic American Vs. Foreign heel. Not much love for Cena on the west coast. Nice gutwrench suplex gets Rusev 2. Rusev is on top so much so that he takes time to wave the Russian flag. Cena does his shoulderblocks, suplex routine but AA is avoided as is STFU. Rusev goes all Abyss hitting the Blackhole Slam for 2. Cena hits his usual sloppy top rope leg drop. AA is again avoided. Budapest Slam gets Rusev another 2 count. Cena avoids a stomp and applies STFU so Lana throws one of her heels at the ref, she's a true heel. Rusev hits a crackers Diving Headbutt evoking memories of Benoit at the 03 Rumble. Rusev may hold the record for most 2s on Cena. 10 years into his main event career Cena adds a new move to his repertoire by hitting a springboard Stunner, that was nice. Rusev hits a wheel barrow inverted slam then applies Accolade and of course Cena stands up then is fully recovered and locks in STFU. Lanas distraction backfires and Cena hits AA for the US Title. *** - Enjoyable at times but
Cenas sudden recoveries grew tiresome, after all these years I just can't let them slide, for example Rusev dominates 80% of the match then Cena still stands in The Accolade. WWE should've had Putin do a run-in i'm sure he would have. (Oh my god I have the pun of the century .... Cena beats a Russian, man you must me Putin-me on!!)
WrestleMania 32 or WrestleMania Dallas Cowboys Star is being held in .... Dallas. Freebirds have to be inducted right. (I believe they were as well)
We go to WrestleMania Panel - Renee Young, Booker-T, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton. We get pre-show results as Kidd/Cesaro retained the Tag Titles and Big Show won Andre The Giant battle royale, wasn't Show billed as Andres son for a time in WCW?
Well this next segment can be described as a waste of time, worst Mania segment ever (A tad dramatic but upon further viewing I still hate it). Stephanie and HHH come out, Steph in face like fashion announces the attendance. They ramble on about WrestleMania and HHH beating Sting, yawn. Here's The Rock, who'd of guessed in 2004 that Rock would make 5 Mania appearances in a row. Eventually it continues, HHH says he remembers beating Rock throughout their careers, actually in terms of PPV I have 2-2-1 though can't remember OTE 99 and Rebellion 99 winners. Shane O'Mac chant and honestly an appearance by Shane-O would save this for me. Rock goes ringside and gets Ronda Rousey. What the hell are the Four Horsewomen? Rita Flair, Annie Anderson, Sally Blanchard and Brenda Windham? (I still don't know who they are) Anyway Ronda judo throws HHH to end it. Could of been saved had Stephanie took a bump as that's what it was building to.
Bray Wyatt Vs. Undertaker
This match is that pointless there's no video for it, not been a less interesting Taker Mania match since 2006 Vs. Mark Henry. Wyatt takes a day and an age getting to the ring so I dread to think how long Taker will take. JBL says 21-1 is greatest record in sports not true 72-10 (Since been surpassed but NBA have me hating GSW so I will refuse to acknowledge them), 16-0 or UCLA's 60s/70s NCAA is the best for me. Bray runs his mouth off then runs into a big boot. Geriatric School connects as does the apron leg drop, watching Deadman is like watching a band play old big hits. Weird bit at ringside as Wyatt runs into the steps taking a Foley bump as UT was sprawled by the ringpost it looked ridiculous. Back in Bray avoids Hells Gate and soon hits a Book-End type move and a senton for 2. Chokeslam out of a Sister Abigail attempt. Tombstone gets 2, suppose some would call that "giving the rub". Sister Abigail gets 2. Good moment as Crab Walk meets Sit Up. Sister Abigail is avoided and Tombstone gets the 3 count. ** - People disliked Brock/UT regardless of the result but I think it was better than this. Still trying to figure out why this match happened and the argument of "giving the rub" is rendered worthless as why not go whole hog and take the loss now the streak is over? (Does Wyatt ever win the big matches?)
WWE World Title - Brock Lesnar (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) Vs. Roman Reigns
Coming in Reigns is pretty much the uncrowned Champion ala Bobby Roode at BFG 2011, say what happened there? No-one brings the big match intensity like Brock does, WWE would've been a much less interesting place without him from 2012 onwards. Reigns seems to heavily push a spectator during his crowd entrance. I think only maybe Cena could've been the other person after Brock to
be able to give Reigns a main event feel here. German and F-5 right off the bat and Brock doesn't even go for the cover, release fisherman suplex then Brock no sells clotheslines and germans Reigns causing Reigns to smile. Nice back suplex not only reminds me of Dr. Death but also leads to the great 'Suplex City Bitch' line, all hail Brock Lesnar. We Are Not Worthy. Roman gets a punch in but is germaned for having the cheek to do that. Brock hits multiple knees then sends Reigns into the crowd barrier. Crowd boos as Reigns fights back but Brock grabs his leg through the ropes and just smacks him to the floor, replay shows one of Reigns knees has cut Brock but just like Nelson Muntz it will simply make Brock stronger. Brock belly-to-bellys Reigns from the apron into the ring earning a 8 chant as it's the eighth suplex. F5 gets 2. The gloves are off for real as Brock removes his and proceeds to slap Reigns. Two germans and an F-5 get 2. Ringside Brock is bounced off the ringpost and is now busted, no obvious signs of blading either. Weird seeing Brock gloveless. Superman Punch rocks Lesnar, a second gets him onto one knee, he seemingly avoids another until Reigns breaks up a german hits a third Superman Punch then a Spear followed by another Spear gets 2 to a pop, that's akin to my MK experience Vs. Shao Kahn where I fire off great combos and he still survives (Where as the Cena/Brock from SummerSlam is akin to my MK2 experiences Vs. Kintaro, no prizes for guessing who I am in that scenario). Wait why's Chioda wearing gloves? Reigns jumps for a fourth Superman Punch but Brock catches him and hits an F-5, Seth Rollins comes out cashing in MITB and making this a triple threat, alert fans may of realised something was going to happen as Michael Cole said 'Who Can Capitalise' as Brock and Roman were down. Curb Stomp to Brock then when he goes for another Brock catches him and sets up F-5 but Reigns Spears Brock and Curb Stomp to Reigns gets the 3 count for Seth as WrestleMania ends with a new Champion. **** - Love watching Brock throw someone around and that was fun but I really liked it from the moment Brock got busted to the end as Romans flurry upped the intensity. I do understand if some didn't like the layout but I personally did enjoy it as it also told a story of Reigns being in over his head.
18.5 / 35 - Only two matches that I didn't really care for - Divas Tag and UT/Bray the rest are solid if unspectacular at least until the top liner. The show is good overall but I can't say it holds up with other Manias in terms of having a classic on them as I don't think in the future years people will look back on any of the ones here like we do Savage/Steamboat 28 yrs ago, Savage/Warrior 24 yrs ago, Stone Cold/Bret 18 yrs ago or the HBK/Taker back-to-backs of 5 and 6 yrs ago.
Thumbs Up for WrestleMania 31 just don't expect to be blown away by anything bar the audacity of HHH winning oh and fast forward the music and Rock/HHH segment. (Whilst I still stick to it not having one of THE Mania matches on it I do think it surpassed expectations and is an enjoyable watch)
Monday, 10 August 2015
Friday, 22 May 2015
Judgment Day 2000
- May 21st 2000 from Louisville, Kentucky.
- Attendance: 16,827
- Buys: 420,000
Opening video is good as it details things that happen over a 60 minute period.
Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian Vs. Too Cool, Rikishi
The Five Second Pose here is the one I always think of and it's the Jug Band one. Edge and Christian are like so totally the Tag Champions. The Champions are hit by running corner butt bumps but Kurt bails before being hit. Too Cool are dominant so far as fans chant for Rikishi. Christian does a mock dance so Kishi drops him. Crowd are on their feet as Scotty signals for The Worm but Angle clotheslines him and gets 2 off a suplex. Hot tag to Kishi and Kurt gets the Stink Face. Edge mocks The Worm so Scotty bulldogs him and hits The Worm. Rikishi Driver is attempted but Christian rings Kishis bell with the ringbell but GrandMaster Sexay hits the Tennessee Jam/Hip Hop Drop on Edge for the 3 count at 9:45. ***1/2 - Real good opener with a white hot crowd. Great start to Judgment Day 2000.
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (c) (w/ Chyna) Vs. Perry Saturn Vs. Dean Malenko
Malenko is Light-Heavyweight Champion. Dean and Perry do a Demolition Decapitation move. Eddie low blows the pair, double spring hurricanrana to Dean. Tornado DDT to Perry gets a 2 count. Perry has Eddie in electric chair then dumps him on the rope thus croching Dean. Gutbuster off the top to Eduardo by Malenko. Saturn steals both mens finishers, he must've saved up Four SMACKDOWN! Icons, then he is brainbustered. Saturn germans Dean who back suplexes Eddie. Dean grabs flowers off Chyna but she trips him and he hits the flowers leading to Eddie rolling him up for the 3 count at 7:55. The flowers are revealed to of had a lead pipe in them. **1/2 - Adequate three way here, Eddie would go onto bigger and better things whilst the other two would be pretty much phased out soon after.
Replay of Gerald Brisco pinning a sleeping Crash Holly on SMACKDOWN! to win the Hardcore Title and now Gerry is a nervous wreck.
FCA - Shane McMahon Vs. The Big Show
Show has an alternative rap version of his theme. Shane jumps out onto Big Show but is caught and is soon slammed onto the steps and over the ropes. Show is 100% on top and here's Bossman, quick for 10 Pat Points which PPV did they have a WWF Title match on? JR calls a Chokeslam a powerbomb. T&a come out with chairs but Show dumps them then throws Trish onto them. Shane is crawling up the ramp but Show throws him into the set. Test, Albert and Bull Buchanan all attack Show, he's now down and Shane pushes a speaker onto his leg then finishes him with a cinder block off the bonce, I believe Karl Gotch debuted that particular maneuver in 1951. (7:11) ** Match was average as to cover for Shane being Shane they had the others brawl with Show, a true face would've been booked to overcome the odds unless this was an injury angle then fair enough.
HHH and HBK converse backstage, hmmmmmm.
IC Title - Submission Match - Chris Jericho Vs. Chris Benoit (c)
Hardcore Holly attacked Benoit's knee on SMACKDOWN! as WWF aired the clip will it p[lay into the match? Jericho's hair is like WCW Cactus Jack. Bulldog is proceeded by chops and an armbar, Benoit gets out of it with a shoulderbreaker, part of me was hoping for a Tombstone. Benoit leg whips out of a Walls attempt. Val Venis or Venice as my sister say is shown looking on. Jericho seemingly forgets the stips as he goes for a pin after a double underhook backbreaker. Jericho hits a turnbuckle shoulder first and soon Benoit an armbar style move which makes sense. Chops are traded until Benoit hits a snap suplex, cross armbreaker is applied by Chris .... Benoit. A turnbuckle was exposed earlier and now Benoit hits it knee first allowing Jericho some offence. Crowd seems to have gone silent until Jericho uses Benoit knee brace as a weapon. Walls Of Jericho is applied over the top rope. Multiple germans by Benoit. Jericho attempts the Walls but Benoit hits him with the knee brace and locks in the Crossface and Jericho passes out, uhhh. ***1/2 - It was good but the pass out ending feels like a cop out and slightly irritates me.
Rock tells HBK he better call the match down the middle
Tables Match - Road Dogg/X-Pac Vs. Dudleyz
Buh Buh was going through a tableising woman period. Slightly weird as although it's a table match they still do tags. There's the obligatory X-Pac sucks chant. Wasssup connects to Pac and Dogg so they take a hike but Dudz catch them in the aisle. D-Von is soon stuck in the heels corner. Dudz make a tag but ref doesn't see it. Buh Buh is now and cleans house then gets wood, three to be exact, he sets two tables up in the corner. D-Von is Pump Handle Slammed through a table by Road Dogg (2-1) but the score is tied soon as X-Pac is Powerbombed through one by Buh Buh (1-1). Dogg and Buh Buh call a truce to hiptoss the ref through a table. Road Dogg is 3D'd through a table but the ref is out. Buh Buh tries to put Tori through a table but gerald Brisco stops him. X-Factor through the table wins it for DX. ** is the highest I can go here. Would of been better as a brawl rather than a regular tag, why tag in a match with No DQ?
The creepy girl video plays and ends with 'His Judgment Day is here'
WWF Championship - Iron Man - S/Ref- HBL - The Rock (c) Vs. HHH
What the hell is HBK wearing? McMahons are with Hunter but he orders them to the back.
First Fall - Punches and lock ups are traded. Rock gets 2 off a roll up so Hunter bails ringside. Slow start so far but that's to be expected as they'll go an hour. Rock Bottom out of nowhere gets Rock the first fall at 10:53ish. (1-0)
Second Fall - Jerry makes a good point as he says Rock is almost 2-0 up as a draw keeps him the title. HHH hits some offence on the outside but back in Rock gets 2 off a suplex. Nice psycology by Rock as he targets the knee then applies a Figure Four, I like that, Rock gets a few 2s when HHHs shoulders hit the mat. They fight in the crowd as per every WWF main since 1998 it seems. Back in and HHH levels the score with a Pedigree at 25:27ish (1-1)
Third Fall - HHH kind of does a small package for the 3 count at 26:25ish that may seem weird but I think it's done as Rock selling the effects of the Pedigree, which is a nice touch. (1-2)
Fourth Fall - Fighting by the entrance way and HHH hits a suplex in the aisle, Rock responds with a back suplex and this is now officially Rocks longest match, I'm trying to remember if Cactus/HHH surpassed the 30 min mark. Facebuster then a piledriver gets HHH another 3 (1-3).
Fifth Fall - Rock has a short burst but HHH elbows him for 2. Rock breaks out the La Magistral for 2. HHH applies a sleeper using ropes for leverage but HBK catches him. Rock messes up a Floatover DDT maybe from fatigue but does get 3 at 40:50ish (2-3).
Sixth Fall - HHH hits Rock with a chair for the DQ. (3-3)
Seventh Fall - HHH pins Rock who hasn't recovered from the chair shot, that's brilliant having HHH sacrifice a fall to hurt Rock in the long run I love that, (3-4)
Eight Fall - Rock is out from a sleeper giving HHH another fall and showing how great he was sacrificing a fall by DQ, the cerebral assassin goes 3-5 up with 47:33 gone.
Ninth Fall - HHH and HBK are having a domestic. Rock superplexes HHH for a 2 count. HHH goes for a Rock Bottom on announce table but it backfires as Rock Pedgirees HHH but the table doesn't break. HHH is counted out at 56:08 (4-5)/
Tenth Fall - McMahons are here. HHH avoids another countout at 9.5. DDT by Rock then he bops Vince and Shane. People's Elbow gets 3 at 58:02. (5-5)
Eleventh Fall - HBK drops the McMahons but is then knocked off the apron so DX attack Rock as the creepy girls video plays. Undertaker rides out to a pop which rises with every punch, boot and Chokeslam he dishes out, it backfires for Rock though as HBK sees UT Chokeslam HHH and then Tombstone him and calls for the DQ giving HHH the title with a score of 5-6. ****1/2 - Possibly the most NWA 80s match the WWF have broadcast. Some of the booking was brilliant - HHHs DQ and the stuff that followed that for example. The overbooked ending does detract from it a bit and didn't lead to UT/Rock for some reason but like the Mind Games match the ending doesn't ruin what preceded it, great match.
18 / 30 - Cracking showing here from the Federation. The opener was white hot and good in its own right, the submissions match was very good but the Chris' were let down by the ending and the main event was spectacular, who thought Rocky and to a lesser extent HHH could go 58 minutes and still captivate the audience. Thumbs right up here like Mr. Fantastics thumbs.
- Attendance: 16,827
- Buys: 420,000
Opening video is good as it details things that happen over a 60 minute period.
Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian Vs. Too Cool, Rikishi
The Five Second Pose here is the one I always think of and it's the Jug Band one. Edge and Christian are like so totally the Tag Champions. The Champions are hit by running corner butt bumps but Kurt bails before being hit. Too Cool are dominant so far as fans chant for Rikishi. Christian does a mock dance so Kishi drops him. Crowd are on their feet as Scotty signals for The Worm but Angle clotheslines him and gets 2 off a suplex. Hot tag to Kishi and Kurt gets the Stink Face. Edge mocks The Worm so Scotty bulldogs him and hits The Worm. Rikishi Driver is attempted but Christian rings Kishis bell with the ringbell but GrandMaster Sexay hits the Tennessee Jam/Hip Hop Drop on Edge for the 3 count at 9:45. ***1/2 - Real good opener with a white hot crowd. Great start to Judgment Day 2000.
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (c) (w/ Chyna) Vs. Perry Saturn Vs. Dean Malenko
Malenko is Light-Heavyweight Champion. Dean and Perry do a Demolition Decapitation move. Eddie low blows the pair, double spring hurricanrana to Dean. Tornado DDT to Perry gets a 2 count. Perry has Eddie in electric chair then dumps him on the rope thus croching Dean. Gutbuster off the top to Eduardo by Malenko. Saturn steals both mens finishers, he must've saved up Four SMACKDOWN! Icons, then he is brainbustered. Saturn germans Dean who back suplexes Eddie. Dean grabs flowers off Chyna but she trips him and he hits the flowers leading to Eddie rolling him up for the 3 count at 7:55. The flowers are revealed to of had a lead pipe in them. **1/2 - Adequate three way here, Eddie would go onto bigger and better things whilst the other two would be pretty much phased out soon after.
Replay of Gerald Brisco pinning a sleeping Crash Holly on SMACKDOWN! to win the Hardcore Title and now Gerry is a nervous wreck.
FCA - Shane McMahon Vs. The Big Show
Show has an alternative rap version of his theme. Shane jumps out onto Big Show but is caught and is soon slammed onto the steps and over the ropes. Show is 100% on top and here's Bossman, quick for 10 Pat Points which PPV did they have a WWF Title match on? JR calls a Chokeslam a powerbomb. T&a come out with chairs but Show dumps them then throws Trish onto them. Shane is crawling up the ramp but Show throws him into the set. Test, Albert and Bull Buchanan all attack Show, he's now down and Shane pushes a speaker onto his leg then finishes him with a cinder block off the bonce, I believe Karl Gotch debuted that particular maneuver in 1951. (7:11) ** Match was average as to cover for Shane being Shane they had the others brawl with Show, a true face would've been booked to overcome the odds unless this was an injury angle then fair enough.
HHH and HBK converse backstage, hmmmmmm.
IC Title - Submission Match - Chris Jericho Vs. Chris Benoit (c)
Hardcore Holly attacked Benoit's knee on SMACKDOWN! as WWF aired the clip will it p[lay into the match? Jericho's hair is like WCW Cactus Jack. Bulldog is proceeded by chops and an armbar, Benoit gets out of it with a shoulderbreaker, part of me was hoping for a Tombstone. Benoit leg whips out of a Walls attempt. Val Venis or Venice as my sister say is shown looking on. Jericho seemingly forgets the stips as he goes for a pin after a double underhook backbreaker. Jericho hits a turnbuckle shoulder first and soon Benoit an armbar style move which makes sense. Chops are traded until Benoit hits a snap suplex, cross armbreaker is applied by Chris .... Benoit. A turnbuckle was exposed earlier and now Benoit hits it knee first allowing Jericho some offence. Crowd seems to have gone silent until Jericho uses Benoit knee brace as a weapon. Walls Of Jericho is applied over the top rope. Multiple germans by Benoit. Jericho attempts the Walls but Benoit hits him with the knee brace and locks in the Crossface and Jericho passes out, uhhh. ***1/2 - It was good but the pass out ending feels like a cop out and slightly irritates me.
Rock tells HBK he better call the match down the middle
Tables Match - Road Dogg/X-Pac Vs. Dudleyz
Buh Buh was going through a tableising woman period. Slightly weird as although it's a table match they still do tags. There's the obligatory X-Pac sucks chant. Wasssup connects to Pac and Dogg so they take a hike but Dudz catch them in the aisle. D-Von is soon stuck in the heels corner. Dudz make a tag but ref doesn't see it. Buh Buh is now and cleans house then gets wood, three to be exact, he sets two tables up in the corner. D-Von is Pump Handle Slammed through a table by Road Dogg (2-1) but the score is tied soon as X-Pac is Powerbombed through one by Buh Buh (1-1). Dogg and Buh Buh call a truce to hiptoss the ref through a table. Road Dogg is 3D'd through a table but the ref is out. Buh Buh tries to put Tori through a table but gerald Brisco stops him. X-Factor through the table wins it for DX. ** is the highest I can go here. Would of been better as a brawl rather than a regular tag, why tag in a match with No DQ?
The creepy girl video plays and ends with 'His Judgment Day is here'
WWF Championship - Iron Man - S/Ref- HBL - The Rock (c) Vs. HHH
What the hell is HBK wearing? McMahons are with Hunter but he orders them to the back.
First Fall - Punches and lock ups are traded. Rock gets 2 off a roll up so Hunter bails ringside. Slow start so far but that's to be expected as they'll go an hour. Rock Bottom out of nowhere gets Rock the first fall at 10:53ish. (1-0)
Second Fall - Jerry makes a good point as he says Rock is almost 2-0 up as a draw keeps him the title. HHH hits some offence on the outside but back in Rock gets 2 off a suplex. Nice psycology by Rock as he targets the knee then applies a Figure Four, I like that, Rock gets a few 2s when HHHs shoulders hit the mat. They fight in the crowd as per every WWF main since 1998 it seems. Back in and HHH levels the score with a Pedigree at 25:27ish (1-1)
Third Fall - HHH kind of does a small package for the 3 count at 26:25ish that may seem weird but I think it's done as Rock selling the effects of the Pedigree, which is a nice touch. (1-2)
Fourth Fall - Fighting by the entrance way and HHH hits a suplex in the aisle, Rock responds with a back suplex and this is now officially Rocks longest match, I'm trying to remember if Cactus/HHH surpassed the 30 min mark. Facebuster then a piledriver gets HHH another 3 (1-3).
Fifth Fall - Rock has a short burst but HHH elbows him for 2. Rock breaks out the La Magistral for 2. HHH applies a sleeper using ropes for leverage but HBK catches him. Rock messes up a Floatover DDT maybe from fatigue but does get 3 at 40:50ish (2-3).
Sixth Fall - HHH hits Rock with a chair for the DQ. (3-3)
Seventh Fall - HHH pins Rock who hasn't recovered from the chair shot, that's brilliant having HHH sacrifice a fall to hurt Rock in the long run I love that, (3-4)
Eight Fall - Rock is out from a sleeper giving HHH another fall and showing how great he was sacrificing a fall by DQ, the cerebral assassin goes 3-5 up with 47:33 gone.
Ninth Fall - HHH and HBK are having a domestic. Rock superplexes HHH for a 2 count. HHH goes for a Rock Bottom on announce table but it backfires as Rock Pedgirees HHH but the table doesn't break. HHH is counted out at 56:08 (4-5)/
Tenth Fall - McMahons are here. HHH avoids another countout at 9.5. DDT by Rock then he bops Vince and Shane. People's Elbow gets 3 at 58:02. (5-5)
Eleventh Fall - HBK drops the McMahons but is then knocked off the apron so DX attack Rock as the creepy girls video plays. Undertaker rides out to a pop which rises with every punch, boot and Chokeslam he dishes out, it backfires for Rock though as HBK sees UT Chokeslam HHH and then Tombstone him and calls for the DQ giving HHH the title with a score of 5-6. ****1/2 - Possibly the most NWA 80s match the WWF have broadcast. Some of the booking was brilliant - HHHs DQ and the stuff that followed that for example. The overbooked ending does detract from it a bit and didn't lead to UT/Rock for some reason but like the Mind Games match the ending doesn't ruin what preceded it, great match.
18 / 30 - Cracking showing here from the Federation. The opener was white hot and good in its own right, the submissions match was very good but the Chris' were let down by the ending and the main event was spectacular, who thought Rocky and to a lesser extent HHH could go 58 minutes and still captivate the audience. Thumbs right up here like Mr. Fantastics thumbs.
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
WrestleMania 17
- Houston we have a problem ........ I may not have enough *'s to pass around! (I think I may of ripped that from JD Dunn or Scott Keith)
- 1st April, 2001 from Houston, Texas
- Attendance: 67,925
- 1st April, 2001 from Houston, Texas
- Attendance: 67,925
- Buys: 1,040,000
Opening video is pretty good and highlights big 'Mania moments.
IC Title - Chris Jericho (c) Vs. William Regal
Heyman and JR on commentary as King was gone from WWF (quit when they firednhis wife Miss Kitty, quite a ballsy move to be fair). Regal is the commissioner. Flying forearm and punches by Jericho then a crossbody over the top is almost overshot. Regal works over Jerichos shoulder. JR says UK has this on Sky Sports 1 and I bet any amount of money this would've gotten huge buys on Box Office (I wonder hsow many buys WWF missed out on in the UK market by not having Rumble 2000, Invasion et al on PPV). Jericho is thrown into an exposed turnbuckle. Regal gets a 2 count off a double underhook from the top rope. Jericho's shoulder gives out during a Walls attempt. Regal Stretch but Y2J gets a rope break. Bulldog, suplex and Lionsault gets Jericho the 3 count at 7:06. **1/2 - Well that was out of nowhere, boosted 1/2 as Jericho sold the shoulder.
Shane O'Mac is here then we see Bradshaw banging on about Texas.
RTC (Venis/Goodfather/Buchanan) Vs. Tazz/Acolytes (w/ Jacqueline)
Venis, Taz fight then Jacquelien DDTs Stevie Richards. Tazz is isolated and Val does his knees into side russian leg sweep, as his gimmick is slightly changed he should do different moves. Bradshaw cleans house. Bradshaw is double powerbombed but about five seconds later beats Goodfather via Clothesline From Hell at 3:52. * - Had the brief, tag psychology with Tazz being isolated but if this card wasn't in Texas I highly doubt it would've made the show.
Hardcore Title - Raven (c) Vs. Kane Vs. Big Show
JR says Kane may be the future of the WWF also Big Show has unlimited potential, this could be used as an argument in the is JR overrated debate (more non-sensical than over rated though I do prefer NWA/WCW JR to the WWF/E one who spouts cliches ad nauseum). They fight through the crowd then into the back where Kane is choked with a hose. Raven is tossed through a window, Kane is put through a door then Kane and Show go through a wall, I hope Tommy Walsh isn't watching this destruction. Raven crashes a golf cart then Kane follows in a cart with a referee as a passenger, Kane's a good guy at heart, he mows down Ravens leg, may be he isn't after all. At the entranceway now as Show has Raven up in a press slam but Kane boots him and both fall off the stage then Kane comes off with a leg drop for 3 at 9:16. ** - I didn't care for it that much but Kane in a golf cart is worthy of a boost.
Kurt tells Edge and Christian that he never officially tapped to Benoit.
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (w/ Saturn) Vs. Test (c)
Sadly neither of these guys are longer with us. Saturn's hat is a ***** affair in my book. Test wins a punch off then gets 2 from a gut wrench powerbomb. Test blocks a top rope hurricanrana by holding onto the top rope. Test gets his leg twisted in the rope and Eddie has to free him to a minor cheer and now he's working the leg. Uh the leg work was for nothing as Test does a Tilt-a-Whirl slam and Powerbomb. Perry Saturn and then Dean Malenko get involved and Eddie wins via belt shot of all things at 8:05 but more important than the belt Eddie gets to wear Saturn's hat. *** - Actually a good match here, slightly annoyed at Test not selling the leg but for once i'll let is slide.
Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit
If I remember right this is where the PPV kicks into higher gear. Kurt cuts a promo as he comes down the ramp 'lose the freakin' cowboy hats you're not seven years old'. Kurt wins an amateur wrestle off. Paul says Benoit was an undefeated WCW Champion which whilst true is slightly misleading in that he bailed from WCW soon after winning the title (Did he even appear on Nitro with it?). More mat wrestling and Benoit almost gets a Crossface. Kurt gets a cheapshot in and takes control soon fires off a couple of belly-to-bellys. The camera goes up at one point and man the Astrodome is huge. Benoit hits two germans but a third is countered to an Ankle Lock which Benoit transitions into his own Ankle Lock but Kurt turns that into a pin then applies a Crossface of his own. Ref Bump! Kurt taps to Crossface but the ref is down. Angle Slam gets a 2 count then Kurt goes for a moonsault, in my pad it says the Holly arm breaker and I didn't know what the hell I was on about, but Benoit gets his knees up. Diving Headbutt only gets Benoit 2. Kurt hits a low blow then a roll up for the 3 count at 14:02. **** - I used to hate amateur style matches as a kid but now I respect and like them and generally can't stand hardcore matches that I used to love, I've lost me sense of identity! Oh yeah the match was awesome bar the cheapish ending but i'll let it sliiiiiiiiiiiiide due to the quality beforehand.
Kamala trashes Regals office then Benoit makes Angle tap backstage, WWF should've taped that over the ending of the match, i'm sure no-one would've noticed the different setting.
Womens Title - Chyna Vs. Ivory (c)
This match is not rateable under my rules as it's sub 3 mins. The best bit JR 'maybe we could call that a Chyna-line, or maybe not' Heyman 'Let's stick with maybe not', Chyna won with a Press Slam.
Street Fight - S/Ref - Mick Foley - Vince McMahon (w/ Steph) V Shane McMahon
Imagine if this was Vince Vs. Bischoff (should've booked that to mock WCW more and say they booked the match WCW couldn't deliver on at Slamboree). Vince was ready to buy WCW but Shane bought it instead, Shane shouts out to his WCW homies(/jobbers) in attendance. Has a ref ever got an entrance between the wrestlers ones before? Foley was Commish until Vincenzo fired him in December. Vince hits punches but Shane then spears him, Vinnie must've potatoed Shane-O as his eye is swollen. Sign shots by Shane then a clothesline off the barricade. The Spanish Announcers have their work place trashed for the 100th PPV in a row, TV monitor shot sparks Vincent out but Shane misses his elbow from the top as Steph moves Vince. Trish Stratus wheels down Linda McMahon, Vince was having an affair with trish or something kind of like he is WWF's Flair. Trish slaps Vince to a pop then chases Steph up the aisle leading to a B-Move style fall from Steph. Vinnie Mac hits Mick with a chair, seems to hit him in the back of the head or at least partly, he places Linda in the ring and puts her in a chair. Vincent Kennedy McMahon goes to hit Shane but Linda stands up to a pop, she's WWF's version of Spike! She low blows VKM then Foley gets shots in thus raising the pop. Shane ends it in quite spectacular fashion with a Trash Can assisted Van-Terminator, Rob Van Who? 14:12. **** - This is kind of what the WWF did best in that we got an overbooked but entertaining spectacle where the heel got his comeuppance. Some may think overrated but I stand by it also as of now Vince is my WWF/E Konnan in that I'll try to use a different version of his name in his matches.
WWF Tag Titles - TLC II - Edge/Christian Vs. Hardyz Vs. Dudleyz (c)
Speaking of overbooked spectacles. I think JR says E&C won at No Mercy '99 but that's wrong. This is classed as TLC II as the term TLC wasn't used for WrestleMania 16. Edge and Christian are quadruple teamed to start. Hardyz and Dudz are taken out by a ladder then Jeff is drop toe holded onto a chair. Dudz have a ladder but get hit by a MLB slide. legdrop and splash combo to Christian then Edge is hit with the Wassssup headbutt. 'D-Von get the tables!!!!!' Edge is put on a table and Jeff is powerbombed through him. All six guys climb ladders in the ring then fall off them, Christian takes a particularly brutal fall as he goes right to ringside. Spike Dudley runs in and Acid Drops Christian through a table. Rhyno comes down and takes out Dudleyz and Gores Matt through a table. Spike knocks Rhyno into a ladder knocking Edge off, speaking of knocking Edge off, Lita's here and almost kills Spike with a chair shot, she removes her top and is 3Dd. Rhyno and Spike are placed on tables and Jeff Swantons them both, well he barely clips Rhyno as Spike takes the brunt of it. D-Von and Christian hang from the belts then they come back down to ground level the hard way. Jeff uses ladders like stepping stones and is now hanging from the belts and this leads to one of wrestling's most famous moves as Edge Spears Jeff as he hangs from the titles. Rhyno dumps Matt and Buh Buh off a ladder through a stack of tables on the outside. Rhyno lifts Christian up a ladder and to the belts. **** - Pretty good spot fest but not as good as I remembered, this may sound ridiculous in the context of a TLC match but with the other three people getting involved it almost felt like overkill. Kind of like having a good night out with mates then when you are sober and think back about it the night wasn't that good after all. Anyone else now want a beer? I think I prefer SummerSlam 2000s TLC. (I do prefer the 1st one indeed)
Highlights of Axxess.
Gimmick Battle Royal
Under the Patrick Doesn't Review Battle Royals act of 2013 I can't give this a score but I'll tell you the participants - The Bushwhackers, Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese, Iron Sheik, Earthquake, The Goon, Doink The Clown, Kamala, Repo Man - Gene: 'About five years ago he got my mother-in-law' Bobby 'About four years ago everyone got your mother-in-law', Jim Cornette, Nikolai Volkoff - his music reminds me of the Sonic 2 level on the plane, Michael 'PS' Hayes - Badstreet theme alone is worth *****, One Man Gang, Gobbly Gooker - Hector Guerrero is under the outfit tonight I believe, Tugboat, Hillbilly Jim, Brother Love, Sgt. Slaughter. Iron Sheik won it as he can't actually go over the top rope. I made a note during BL's entrance re the Bobby Roode contract fiasco of a few years ago so that gives some idea of when I did this review. Earthquake and Tugboat may be better remembered as Golga and Typhoon respectively (I doubt Golga is more remembered than Earthquake and I loved The Oddities).
Mark Calaway Vs. Triple-H
Basic angle here 'I've between everyone' 'You ain't beat me' 'let's get it on' though not how Marvin Gaye meant. Will Terra Ryzing end Mean Mark Callous' Mania streak? (No but some guy in developmental will) Starts on the outside. Powerslam by the Dead Biker but he misses an elbow. HHH pulls Taker off the top to counter old school. Mike Chioda and HHH have a shove off. Ref Bump! after only six minutes as HHH is slingshotted into him. Chokeslam only gets 2 so Taker attacks the ref. Fighting through the crowd and now I think they're at the hard camera station, HHH is Chokeslammed off the structure then Taker does an elbow off it, we see that they seemed to land on a bouncy castle it had that much give. They are now back in the ring where Mike Chioda is still out, what a seller. HHH tries a Tombstone but Taker counters and hits his own, quite notable as he rarely used it at this point. Last Ride is attempted but HHH takes a Sledgehammer up with him and cracks UT with it for a 2 count and a 2002 Christian fir from Hunter, Sledge hammer must be the most Suspension Of Disbelief killing weapon in wrestling even above Halls taser. Then we get the usual Last Ride ending where Takers opponent does the 10 Corner Punches and he Last Rides them. (18:17) ***1/2 - It was enjoyable but my question is did HHH and the match structure help hide Takers weaknesses as he was bad for awhile upon his 2000 return or did UT up his game as he faced The Game?
WWF Title - Stone Cold Vs. The Rock (c)
Austin won the Rumble and Rock won the title from Angle at No Way Out. Pretty darn good video set to that 'My Way or the Highway' song. Stone Cold gets a pop that may still be reverberating around Houston. The match is made No DQ. Thesz Press and elbow by Steve then Rock hits a neckbreaker. They fight in the crowd then back to the ring as Austin is in control. Wahey Earl trips over the ring steps, Rock is cut from a ringbell shot. Austin does something that isn't a punch and that alone may shatter the space time continuum, as a neckbreaker gets 2. Austin is bounced off an exposed turnbuckle and hit with a ringbell, we now have a double juicer. Stunner is blocked and Sharp Shooter *WrestleMania 13* is applied but Austin gets a rope break, it's No DQ so why should Rock break it? Rock counters Million Dollar Dream *WrestleMania 8* for 2. Stunner by Rock gets 2 and here's Vincenzo. Peoples Elbow but Vince pulls Rock off Austin, Rock gives chase but is Austin Bottomed for 2. Vince hits Rock with a chair for 2. Stone Cold ends it with 18 chair shots after a Stunner gets 2 and the chair shots finally put Rock away at 28:06. Vince and Steve drink beers as Vince turns face! oh no sorry Austin goes heel as he's cheered in hindsight everyone, including the people involved I believe, thinks this was the wrong way to go. **** - Very good WWF style main event, however personally I do think it drags towards the ending and would've been better had we cut to the ending after Vince breaks the Rocks pin when he comes out. This I think is generally placed near the top of Mania matches but I don't agree with that.
28 / 45 - That's a real good score believe me. The first part is pretty poor but from Eddie/Test onwards all is good to very good, the fact three of matches are **** makes this a easy thumbs up. The card had something for most people - the wrestling from Ben/Ang, car crash spot fest - TLC, WWF style matches - Vince/Shane and Rock/Austin.
I do think the main event is over rated in general and is not the best Wrestle Mania main event let alone match but overall the PPV is very, very good.
Easy Thumbs UP here.
Shane O'Mac is here then we see Bradshaw banging on about Texas.
RTC (Venis/Goodfather/Buchanan) Vs. Tazz/Acolytes (w/ Jacqueline)
Venis, Taz fight then Jacquelien DDTs Stevie Richards. Tazz is isolated and Val does his knees into side russian leg sweep, as his gimmick is slightly changed he should do different moves. Bradshaw cleans house. Bradshaw is double powerbombed but about five seconds later beats Goodfather via Clothesline From Hell at 3:52. * - Had the brief, tag psychology with Tazz being isolated but if this card wasn't in Texas I highly doubt it would've made the show.
Hardcore Title - Raven (c) Vs. Kane Vs. Big Show
JR says Kane may be the future of the WWF also Big Show has unlimited potential, this could be used as an argument in the is JR overrated debate (more non-sensical than over rated though I do prefer NWA/WCW JR to the WWF/E one who spouts cliches ad nauseum). They fight through the crowd then into the back where Kane is choked with a hose. Raven is tossed through a window, Kane is put through a door then Kane and Show go through a wall, I hope Tommy Walsh isn't watching this destruction. Raven crashes a golf cart then Kane follows in a cart with a referee as a passenger, Kane's a good guy at heart, he mows down Ravens leg, may be he isn't after all. At the entranceway now as Show has Raven up in a press slam but Kane boots him and both fall off the stage then Kane comes off with a leg drop for 3 at 9:16. ** - I didn't care for it that much but Kane in a golf cart is worthy of a boost.
Kurt tells Edge and Christian that he never officially tapped to Benoit.
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (w/ Saturn) Vs. Test (c)
Sadly neither of these guys are longer with us. Saturn's hat is a ***** affair in my book. Test wins a punch off then gets 2 from a gut wrench powerbomb. Test blocks a top rope hurricanrana by holding onto the top rope. Test gets his leg twisted in the rope and Eddie has to free him to a minor cheer and now he's working the leg. Uh the leg work was for nothing as Test does a Tilt-a-Whirl slam and Powerbomb. Perry Saturn and then Dean Malenko get involved and Eddie wins via belt shot of all things at 8:05 but more important than the belt Eddie gets to wear Saturn's hat. *** - Actually a good match here, slightly annoyed at Test not selling the leg but for once i'll let is slide.
Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit
If I remember right this is where the PPV kicks into higher gear. Kurt cuts a promo as he comes down the ramp 'lose the freakin' cowboy hats you're not seven years old'. Kurt wins an amateur wrestle off. Paul says Benoit was an undefeated WCW Champion which whilst true is slightly misleading in that he bailed from WCW soon after winning the title (Did he even appear on Nitro with it?). More mat wrestling and Benoit almost gets a Crossface. Kurt gets a cheapshot in and takes control soon fires off a couple of belly-to-bellys. The camera goes up at one point and man the Astrodome is huge. Benoit hits two germans but a third is countered to an Ankle Lock which Benoit transitions into his own Ankle Lock but Kurt turns that into a pin then applies a Crossface of his own. Ref Bump! Kurt taps to Crossface but the ref is down. Angle Slam gets a 2 count then Kurt goes for a moonsault, in my pad it says the Holly arm breaker and I didn't know what the hell I was on about, but Benoit gets his knees up. Diving Headbutt only gets Benoit 2. Kurt hits a low blow then a roll up for the 3 count at 14:02. **** - I used to hate amateur style matches as a kid but now I respect and like them and generally can't stand hardcore matches that I used to love, I've lost me sense of identity! Oh yeah the match was awesome bar the cheapish ending but i'll let it sliiiiiiiiiiiiide due to the quality beforehand.
Kamala trashes Regals office then Benoit makes Angle tap backstage, WWF should've taped that over the ending of the match, i'm sure no-one would've noticed the different setting.
Womens Title - Chyna Vs. Ivory (c)
This match is not rateable under my rules as it's sub 3 mins. The best bit JR 'maybe we could call that a Chyna-line, or maybe not' Heyman 'Let's stick with maybe not', Chyna won with a Press Slam.
Street Fight - S/Ref - Mick Foley - Vince McMahon (w/ Steph) V Shane McMahon
Imagine if this was Vince Vs. Bischoff (should've booked that to mock WCW more and say they booked the match WCW couldn't deliver on at Slamboree). Vince was ready to buy WCW but Shane bought it instead, Shane shouts out to his WCW homies(/jobbers) in attendance. Has a ref ever got an entrance between the wrestlers ones before? Foley was Commish until Vincenzo fired him in December. Vince hits punches but Shane then spears him, Vinnie must've potatoed Shane-O as his eye is swollen. Sign shots by Shane then a clothesline off the barricade. The Spanish Announcers have their work place trashed for the 100th PPV in a row, TV monitor shot sparks Vincent out but Shane misses his elbow from the top as Steph moves Vince. Trish Stratus wheels down Linda McMahon, Vince was having an affair with trish or something kind of like he is WWF's Flair. Trish slaps Vince to a pop then chases Steph up the aisle leading to a B-Move style fall from Steph. Vinnie Mac hits Mick with a chair, seems to hit him in the back of the head or at least partly, he places Linda in the ring and puts her in a chair. Vincent Kennedy McMahon goes to hit Shane but Linda stands up to a pop, she's WWF's version of Spike! She low blows VKM then Foley gets shots in thus raising the pop. Shane ends it in quite spectacular fashion with a Trash Can assisted Van-Terminator, Rob Van Who? 14:12. **** - This is kind of what the WWF did best in that we got an overbooked but entertaining spectacle where the heel got his comeuppance. Some may think overrated but I stand by it also as of now Vince is my WWF/E Konnan in that I'll try to use a different version of his name in his matches.
WWF Tag Titles - TLC II - Edge/Christian Vs. Hardyz Vs. Dudleyz (c)
Speaking of overbooked spectacles. I think JR says E&C won at No Mercy '99 but that's wrong. This is classed as TLC II as the term TLC wasn't used for WrestleMania 16. Edge and Christian are quadruple teamed to start. Hardyz and Dudz are taken out by a ladder then Jeff is drop toe holded onto a chair. Dudz have a ladder but get hit by a MLB slide. legdrop and splash combo to Christian then Edge is hit with the Wassssup headbutt. 'D-Von get the tables!!!!!' Edge is put on a table and Jeff is powerbombed through him. All six guys climb ladders in the ring then fall off them, Christian takes a particularly brutal fall as he goes right to ringside. Spike Dudley runs in and Acid Drops Christian through a table. Rhyno comes down and takes out Dudleyz and Gores Matt through a table. Spike knocks Rhyno into a ladder knocking Edge off, speaking of knocking Edge off, Lita's here and almost kills Spike with a chair shot, she removes her top and is 3Dd. Rhyno and Spike are placed on tables and Jeff Swantons them both, well he barely clips Rhyno as Spike takes the brunt of it. D-Von and Christian hang from the belts then they come back down to ground level the hard way. Jeff uses ladders like stepping stones and is now hanging from the belts and this leads to one of wrestling's most famous moves as Edge Spears Jeff as he hangs from the titles. Rhyno dumps Matt and Buh Buh off a ladder through a stack of tables on the outside. Rhyno lifts Christian up a ladder and to the belts. **** - Pretty good spot fest but not as good as I remembered, this may sound ridiculous in the context of a TLC match but with the other three people getting involved it almost felt like overkill. Kind of like having a good night out with mates then when you are sober and think back about it the night wasn't that good after all. Anyone else now want a beer? I think I prefer SummerSlam 2000s TLC. (I do prefer the 1st one indeed)
Highlights of Axxess.
Gimmick Battle Royal
Under the Patrick Doesn't Review Battle Royals act of 2013 I can't give this a score but I'll tell you the participants - The Bushwhackers, Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese, Iron Sheik, Earthquake, The Goon, Doink The Clown, Kamala, Repo Man - Gene: 'About five years ago he got my mother-in-law' Bobby 'About four years ago everyone got your mother-in-law', Jim Cornette, Nikolai Volkoff - his music reminds me of the Sonic 2 level on the plane, Michael 'PS' Hayes - Badstreet theme alone is worth *****, One Man Gang, Gobbly Gooker - Hector Guerrero is under the outfit tonight I believe, Tugboat, Hillbilly Jim, Brother Love, Sgt. Slaughter. Iron Sheik won it as he can't actually go over the top rope. I made a note during BL's entrance re the Bobby Roode contract fiasco of a few years ago so that gives some idea of when I did this review. Earthquake and Tugboat may be better remembered as Golga and Typhoon respectively (I doubt Golga is more remembered than Earthquake and I loved The Oddities).
Mark Calaway Vs. Triple-H
Basic angle here 'I've between everyone' 'You ain't beat me' 'let's get it on' though not how Marvin Gaye meant. Will Terra Ryzing end Mean Mark Callous' Mania streak? (No but some guy in developmental will) Starts on the outside. Powerslam by the Dead Biker but he misses an elbow. HHH pulls Taker off the top to counter old school. Mike Chioda and HHH have a shove off. Ref Bump! after only six minutes as HHH is slingshotted into him. Chokeslam only gets 2 so Taker attacks the ref. Fighting through the crowd and now I think they're at the hard camera station, HHH is Chokeslammed off the structure then Taker does an elbow off it, we see that they seemed to land on a bouncy castle it had that much give. They are now back in the ring where Mike Chioda is still out, what a seller. HHH tries a Tombstone but Taker counters and hits his own, quite notable as he rarely used it at this point. Last Ride is attempted but HHH takes a Sledgehammer up with him and cracks UT with it for a 2 count and a 2002 Christian fir from Hunter, Sledge hammer must be the most Suspension Of Disbelief killing weapon in wrestling even above Halls taser. Then we get the usual Last Ride ending where Takers opponent does the 10 Corner Punches and he Last Rides them. (18:17) ***1/2 - It was enjoyable but my question is did HHH and the match structure help hide Takers weaknesses as he was bad for awhile upon his 2000 return or did UT up his game as he faced The Game?
WWF Title - Stone Cold Vs. The Rock (c)
Austin won the Rumble and Rock won the title from Angle at No Way Out. Pretty darn good video set to that 'My Way or the Highway' song. Stone Cold gets a pop that may still be reverberating around Houston. The match is made No DQ. Thesz Press and elbow by Steve then Rock hits a neckbreaker. They fight in the crowd then back to the ring as Austin is in control. Wahey Earl trips over the ring steps, Rock is cut from a ringbell shot. Austin does something that isn't a punch and that alone may shatter the space time continuum, as a neckbreaker gets 2. Austin is bounced off an exposed turnbuckle and hit with a ringbell, we now have a double juicer. Stunner is blocked and Sharp Shooter *WrestleMania 13* is applied but Austin gets a rope break, it's No DQ so why should Rock break it? Rock counters Million Dollar Dream *WrestleMania 8* for 2. Stunner by Rock gets 2 and here's Vincenzo. Peoples Elbow but Vince pulls Rock off Austin, Rock gives chase but is Austin Bottomed for 2. Vince hits Rock with a chair for 2. Stone Cold ends it with 18 chair shots after a Stunner gets 2 and the chair shots finally put Rock away at 28:06. Vince and Steve drink beers as Vince turns face! oh no sorry Austin goes heel as he's cheered in hindsight everyone, including the people involved I believe, thinks this was the wrong way to go. **** - Very good WWF style main event, however personally I do think it drags towards the ending and would've been better had we cut to the ending after Vince breaks the Rocks pin when he comes out. This I think is generally placed near the top of Mania matches but I don't agree with that.
28 / 45 - That's a real good score believe me. The first part is pretty poor but from Eddie/Test onwards all is good to very good, the fact three of matches are **** makes this a easy thumbs up. The card had something for most people - the wrestling from Ben/Ang, car crash spot fest - TLC, WWF style matches - Vince/Shane and Rock/Austin.
I do think the main event is over rated in general and is not the best Wrestle Mania main event let alone match but overall the PPV is very, very good.
Easy Thumbs UP here.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
King Of The Ring 1998
- June 28th 1998, Pittsburgh, PA.
Attendance: 17,087
Buyrate: 1.10
Opening video is about Kane/Austin, Kane says he'll set himself aflame if he loses (Sounds like something younger me would of said if on a PS1 losing streak)and some little known Mankind/Taker match. No mention of the tourney which this PPV lends its name to.
Headbangers/TAKA Vs. Kaientai
Lawler calls him TAKA Michi-no clue, which got a titter from me. Thrasher hits a tilt-a-whirl then a powerslam for 2 on Teioh. Togo and Funaki double team TAKA who is isolated. Heel miscommunication as Funaki floors Togo. Headbangers flapjack TAKA onto Funaki and Michinoku Driver ends it. ** - Not bad, not great just a crowd warmer.
Sable introduces McMahon and The Stooges, that sounds like a 50s/60s rock 'n' roll band. Pat Patterson grabs her derriere so she slaps him. Vince tells us to expect disappointment.
Semi-Final - Ken Shamrock Vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee)
Name drop time, I recently met Jeff Jarrett (at Wales Comic Con, also met RVD). Ken def. Mark Henry and Jeff beat Marc Mero to get here. This is the 'ain't I great' Jeff as SummerSlam was two months away (At that show he gets his hair shaved by X-Pac, who i'll meet in November, and from then on was the Jarrett we still see today attire wise). Suplex gets Ken an early 2, but Jeff soon takes control. Ringside now where Jeff is bounced off the barricade and whipped into the ring steps. Tennessee trips Ken so Jeff works the leg for a figure four but Kn fights back and decides to not sell the leg. Hurricanrana basically spikes Jeff and Ankle Lock finishes it. ** - Meh, annoyed at Ken for not selling the leg.
Semi-Final - The Rock Vs. Dan Severn
Talk about clash of styles. Rock def. HHH and Dan def. Owen to get here. If you've never seen Dan then picture a butch Freddie Mercury. Dan uses amateur wrestling to take down Rocky, i'm surprised he hasn't been booed out of the building for doing wrestling. Ends when D-Lo Brown, with his chest protector, hits a Frog Splash on Dan. *1/2 (Didn't mix at all, bigger question is why didn't I write that here at the time - comments in brackets are later add-ons)
S/Ref - Jerry Lawler - Too Much Vs. Al Snow/Head
Snow wins and he gets a meeting with Vince, because he just managed to get a PPV match without one. 'The Head don't lie down for nobody', 'you boys are going to get head like you never had before'. Lawler keeps his crown on to ref. King blocks a Snow punch so Brian Christopher, Kings son, hits Al. Jerry counts slow after Al hits a powerbomb on Brian. Too Much double up on Al but Al hits Scott Taylor with a wheel barrow suplex but then he is bulldogged by Brian. Snow tags Head to cheers. Stupid ending which does get a laugh from me for its stupidness, King gets a bottle of Head and Shoulders and Brian puts Head on it, so it has shoulders get it? then gets the 3 count. * - Well that was certainly something, Too Much would be reinvented as Too Cool and believe it or not would be WWF Tag Team Champions eventually, now you know.
X-Pac (w/ Chyna) Vs. Owen Hart
Part of DX/Nation feud. Nation started as a militant black group and now their best wrestler is a caucasian from Calgary. Quick start. Owen gets 2 off a heel kick. I think they try to do a bit where X-Pac kneels behind Owen to trip him up but they don't quite work it right. Nice fisherman and a gut wrench both get Owen a 2 count. X-Pac is whipped ringside and goes right over the ringbell area. Bronco Buster connects. X-Pac gets crotched up top and falls ringside where he's splashed by Henry. Vader comes out and attacks Henry and slips, Chyna sneaks in DDTs Owen allowing X-Pac a 3 count. **1/2 - Best match so far but the busy overbooked ending annoyed me, Owen goes from HBK-HHH-X-Pac and still doesn't get a W, he did enough jobs to Hunter to at least get a W over X-Pac. (Not a shot at X-Pac by any means but give Owen something WWF)
WWF Tag Titles - NAO (c) Vs. Midnight Express
This is the Bob Holly, Bart Gunn combo (so a joke basically). Smoking Gunns explode. We get the usual Outlaw match where Dogg plays face in peril. Gunn tags in and cleans house. Jim Cornette stops Gunn hitting a piledriver via a belt shot then Chyna low blows him. Double hotshot finishes Holly. **1/2 - Basic formulaic tag match.
KOTR Final - Ken Shamrock Vs. The Rock
Ken and Rock met for the 1,024th time of 1998. European Champion HHH is on commentary and gets a dig in at WCW. Rock goes ringside after he's booted. Chyna is on spanish commentary as HHH says he's bi many things but lingual isn't one. HHH spits water in Rocks face. Back in Ken blocks a suplex and hits his own for a 2 count. Rock controls the match around ringside then gets a DDT for 2 back in the ring. Chinlock applied, Peoples Elbow gets 2 then another chinlock is applied. JR says Too Much/Snow set wrestling back 20 years. Floatover DDT gets Rock another 2. Rock is locked in the Ankle Lock and King Ken is crowned and this time Ken is not DQd post match. *** - Got better when nearfalls kicked in, i'd say this was their best match together, at least one-on-one. In shock as Ken beat Rock and wasn't DQd post match. Did nothing in the long run, or short run in Ken's case.
Hell In A Cell - Undertaker Vs. Mankind
Attendance: 17,087
Buyrate: 1.10
Opening video is about Kane/Austin, Kane says he'll set himself aflame if he loses (Sounds like something younger me would of said if on a PS1 losing streak)and some little known Mankind/Taker match. No mention of the tourney which this PPV lends its name to.
Headbangers/TAKA Vs. Kaientai
Lawler calls him TAKA Michi-no clue, which got a titter from me. Thrasher hits a tilt-a-whirl then a powerslam for 2 on Teioh. Togo and Funaki double team TAKA who is isolated. Heel miscommunication as Funaki floors Togo. Headbangers flapjack TAKA onto Funaki and Michinoku Driver ends it. ** - Not bad, not great just a crowd warmer.
Sable introduces McMahon and The Stooges, that sounds like a 50s/60s rock 'n' roll band. Pat Patterson grabs her derriere so she slaps him. Vince tells us to expect disappointment.
Semi-Final - Ken Shamrock Vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Tennessee Lee)
Name drop time, I recently met Jeff Jarrett (at Wales Comic Con, also met RVD). Ken def. Mark Henry and Jeff beat Marc Mero to get here. This is the 'ain't I great' Jeff as SummerSlam was two months away (At that show he gets his hair shaved by X-Pac, who i'll meet in November, and from then on was the Jarrett we still see today attire wise). Suplex gets Ken an early 2, but Jeff soon takes control. Ringside now where Jeff is bounced off the barricade and whipped into the ring steps. Tennessee trips Ken so Jeff works the leg for a figure four but Kn fights back and decides to not sell the leg. Hurricanrana basically spikes Jeff and Ankle Lock finishes it. ** - Meh, annoyed at Ken for not selling the leg.
Semi-Final - The Rock Vs. Dan Severn
Talk about clash of styles. Rock def. HHH and Dan def. Owen to get here. If you've never seen Dan then picture a butch Freddie Mercury. Dan uses amateur wrestling to take down Rocky, i'm surprised he hasn't been booed out of the building for doing wrestling. Ends when D-Lo Brown, with his chest protector, hits a Frog Splash on Dan. *1/2 (Didn't mix at all, bigger question is why didn't I write that here at the time - comments in brackets are later add-ons)
S/Ref - Jerry Lawler - Too Much Vs. Al Snow/Head
Snow wins and he gets a meeting with Vince, because he just managed to get a PPV match without one. 'The Head don't lie down for nobody', 'you boys are going to get head like you never had before'. Lawler keeps his crown on to ref. King blocks a Snow punch so Brian Christopher, Kings son, hits Al. Jerry counts slow after Al hits a powerbomb on Brian. Too Much double up on Al but Al hits Scott Taylor with a wheel barrow suplex but then he is bulldogged by Brian. Snow tags Head to cheers. Stupid ending which does get a laugh from me for its stupidness, King gets a bottle of Head and Shoulders and Brian puts Head on it, so it has shoulders get it? then gets the 3 count. * - Well that was certainly something, Too Much would be reinvented as Too Cool and believe it or not would be WWF Tag Team Champions eventually, now you know.
X-Pac (w/ Chyna) Vs. Owen Hart
Part of DX/Nation feud. Nation started as a militant black group and now their best wrestler is a caucasian from Calgary. Quick start. Owen gets 2 off a heel kick. I think they try to do a bit where X-Pac kneels behind Owen to trip him up but they don't quite work it right. Nice fisherman and a gut wrench both get Owen a 2 count. X-Pac is whipped ringside and goes right over the ringbell area. Bronco Buster connects. X-Pac gets crotched up top and falls ringside where he's splashed by Henry. Vader comes out and attacks Henry and slips, Chyna sneaks in DDTs Owen allowing X-Pac a 3 count. **1/2 - Best match so far but the busy overbooked ending annoyed me, Owen goes from HBK-HHH-X-Pac and still doesn't get a W, he did enough jobs to Hunter to at least get a W over X-Pac. (Not a shot at X-Pac by any means but give Owen something WWF)
WWF Tag Titles - NAO (c) Vs. Midnight Express
This is the Bob Holly, Bart Gunn combo (so a joke basically). Smoking Gunns explode. We get the usual Outlaw match where Dogg plays face in peril. Gunn tags in and cleans house. Jim Cornette stops Gunn hitting a piledriver via a belt shot then Chyna low blows him. Double hotshot finishes Holly. **1/2 - Basic formulaic tag match.
KOTR Final - Ken Shamrock Vs. The Rock
Ken and Rock met for the 1,024th time of 1998. European Champion HHH is on commentary and gets a dig in at WCW. Rock goes ringside after he's booted. Chyna is on spanish commentary as HHH says he's bi many things but lingual isn't one. HHH spits water in Rocks face. Back in Ken blocks a suplex and hits his own for a 2 count. Rock controls the match around ringside then gets a DDT for 2 back in the ring. Chinlock applied, Peoples Elbow gets 2 then another chinlock is applied. JR says Too Much/Snow set wrestling back 20 years. Floatover DDT gets Rock another 2. Rock is locked in the Ankle Lock and King Ken is crowned and this time Ken is not DQd post match. *** - Got better when nearfalls kicked in, i'd say this was their best match together, at least one-on-one. In shock as Ken beat Rock and wasn't DQd post match. Did nothing in the long run, or short run in Ken's case.
Hell In A Cell - Undertaker Vs. Mankind
(This match was reviewed already when I did Mick Foleys Greatest Hits and Misses so shall be pasted from there) Most famous match ever? Mankind is on top of the cell to start which kind of shows how ca-razy! this is gonna be. Chair shots on the roof by Mankind then Taker just thinks screw this and launches Mick off of the cell down through the Spanish Announce Table, my favorite angle is the cameraman on the floor where you see Mankind coming down. JR: 'My god almighty that killed him, as god as my witness he is broken in half' (Don't why he said that as I didn't witness JR at that time, #GodComplex). Match grinds to a halt as Mick gets medical attention but he gets off the stretcher on the aisle and climbs up, his shoulder seems to be dislocated or something as his arm is almost hanging in a way, he lasts on the top for about 30 seconds before Undertaker 'Chokeslams' him through the roof and Mick kind of SPLATS on the mat which had little to no give in it (Thank god it wasn't a true Chokeslam or Mankind may of been even more hurt). Terry Funk eats a chokeslam to bide time. Mankind is up but when Taker punches him he kind of crumbles to the mat, he manages to crotch Taker when he goes Old School then we get the awesome visual of Mick smiling with something sticking out of his nose. Taker suicide dives into the cell and is now cut. Back in ring now as Mankind gets 2 from a piledriver onto a chair then he gets a bag from ringside which he empties to reveal thumb tacks. tombstone is avoided via a Mandible Claw but Taker falls back so Foley lands on the tacs, Chokeslam then a Tombstone mercifully end the match. ***1/2 - Match itself was 2 or 2 1/2 but I boosted it up for the bumps. I class this as the same as Andre/Hogan and Rock/Hogan in that they aren't good but from a spectacle standpoint I think every fan should see them once.
WWF Title - First Blood - Kane Vs. Stone Cold (c)
Kane beat Taker to get this shot, I believe Masked Kane's only win over the Deadman. This is part of the Vince-Mankind-Taker-Kane-Austin stuff that carried WWF through the summer. Odds are stacked as Kane has double sleeved attire and of course just so happens to be masked. The Cell gets lowered and Austin is whipped into it a few times. Cell then raises with Kane seesawed on the bottom of the door. Fighting at the entranceway now where Kane counters a piledriver and a suplex, Kane's been on top so far. Back in-ring Kane is bounced off an exposed turnbuckle, hey i've just spotted the pink shirt guy who seemingly attends all WWF/E PPVs, not that there's anything wrong with that. Earl Hebner gets squashed between Austin and the barricade, Mankind comes out but he is Stunnered as is Kane. Undertaker comes out and cracks Austin with a chair though it seemed he was aiming for Mankind. Austin is busted from the chair shot and Kane is declared the winner and starts his fantastic one day reign. Exclusive post match footage, oooooooooh, shows Austin Stunnering Mankind and Briscoe so fans in attendance can go home happy .... if people in Pittsburgh can even be happy that is. (Letting my sports team, hatred creep in there, though pittsburgh does sound dull and depressing)
** - Eh, not much style or substance more to keep angle going than be a credible main event in its own right.
20 / 45 - Dragged down by Too Much Vs. Al/Head and Rock/Severn but the rest ranged from passable to good so I'll say thumbs in the middle. The big selling point though must've been seen by my mother, my dog and clown (This morning I heard that David Bowie passed away on 10/01/16, RIP good sir and thank you for the music). Kens KOTR win led to nothing though as Rock, HHH and Mankind breezed past him in the title picture and Kane's Title reign ended the next night via Stone Cold so some of what happened actually was pointless. Thumbs in the middle as stated.
** - Eh, not much style or substance more to keep angle going than be a credible main event in its own right.
20 / 45 - Dragged down by Too Much Vs. Al/Head and Rock/Severn but the rest ranged from passable to good so I'll say thumbs in the middle. The big selling point though must've been seen by my mother, my dog and clown (This morning I heard that David Bowie passed away on 10/01/16, RIP good sir and thank you for the music). Kens KOTR win led to nothing though as Rock, HHH and Mankind breezed past him in the title picture and Kane's Title reign ended the next night via Stone Cold so some of what happened actually was pointless. Thumbs in the middle as stated.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Royal Rumble 2004
- January 25th, 2004 from Philadelphia, PA.
- Attendance: 17,289
- Buys: 500,000
(This review is done in a style that I don't think I've used before or since, maybe I'll return to it one day but for now this is the only one I am aware of that isn't a move-for-move type of review and more a general overview of my thoughts)
- Having just reviewed Survivor Series 2003 I had intended to do Armageddon 2003 then carry on from there in order however I can't find Armageddon DVD, maybe it left in shame?, so I've gone straight to the 04 Rumble but at A'ddon Evolution did a Horsemen and claimed all the Gold (Bat/Ric = Tag, Orton = IC and HHH = WHC).
World Tag Titles - Tables Match - Batista/Flair (c) Vs. Dudleyz
Dudleyz had the Tag Titles at Armageddon after winning a Turmoil match but then Batista and Flair were entered as a surprise and won the Titles. This match is short and not very good, the only notable thing was when Flair was about to be 3Dd but Jonathon Coachman distracted Bubba and Batista Spine bustered D-Von through a table. Match went about 5 minutes and finish was out of nowhere earning it *1/2
John Cena is interviewed by Josh Matthews who looks like a flamboyant hair dresser but RVD interrupts.
CruiserWeight Title - Rey Mysterio (c) Vs. Jamie Noble (w/ a blind Nidia)
This is even shorter than the previous match, which gives me the feeling HHH/HBK is going to go about an hour to try over shadow the Rumble itself. They did more than the previous match though, it ended when Nidia accidentally tripped Noble leaving him easy prey for the 619, Rey wins. *1/2.
Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chavo Guerrero (w/ Chavo Guerrero. sr)
This match was a disappointment as whilst it got more time than the rest it lacked the intensity it needed. This was not only a Tag split up scenario but also a family feud but as stated you wouldn't know it was. Nothing much happened really and the ending was out of nowhere as Eddy suddenly hit Frog Splash for the 3 count, post match he beats up both Chavos. At this point in the review my hand started shaking and I couldnt write properly but I soldiered on even though my writing is nearly unreadbale. I'd of preferred a brawl style match. **
Benoit chats to Josh Matthews until Evolution appear, Flair says Benoit is the greatest technical wrestler today but tonight is all about Evolution.
WWE Title - Brock Lesnar (c) Vs. Hardcore Holly
Lesnar broke Hollys neck in 2002 so now Holly gets a Title Shot. Match sucks basically as it goes around 8 minutes and 4 of those are Lesnar holding Holly on the mat in a waistlock, as if a Harcore Holly match wasn't bad enough. Alabama Slam hits by Holly but he soon walks into an F-5 as Lesnar retains. This undercard has just been all wrong so far tonight. Most interesting thing about this - it was Lesnars last win on a WWE PPV until SummerSlam 2012 over HHH. *1/2
World Heavyweight Title - Last Man Standing - HHH (c) Vs. HBK
Unless this is HBK/Taker level quality I will hate this undercard. I hope it isn't big move - 9 count - big move - 9 count etc. from the off. HBK does an over exaggerated bump off a face buster. Wahey Fink is hit by the table cover when HHH removes it, fans boo when no-one goes through the announce table. HBK goes for his springboard crossbody but puts himself through the S-A-T and blades, why from that? Now we've entered dramatic count time as HBK is busted, woah HHH looks like Greg Valentine. Chairshot by HBK bust HHH as we've entered double juice territory, you see some people seem to think blood automatically makes a match much better, this is the counter point to that argument. HBK does his usual routine following a forearm but he misses the Sweet Chin Music as he gets low blowed. Pedigree doesn't get HHH the win then Sweet Chin Music gets .... a damn draw, it's a DRAW! the crowd rightfully boo that ending which is nothing more than a damn cop out, uh I hate this undercard it's been booked badly. Docked points for ending but honestly wasn't that great anyway. **1/2
Bischoff and Heyman come out because enough time hasn't already been wasted and here's Sheriff Austin who Stunners the pair. Austin being the guy who was fired from WWE in November 2003.
Royal Rumble Match
That guy is #1 and Orton is #2, but in all seriousness I can separate Benoit wrestler form murderer so I'll use his name from here on in. Nice touch as Tazz and JR are handling announcing duties (It's a mix of the RAW and SMACKDOWN! announcers is what that means). Benoit is on top as Mark Henry enters at #3. Kind of funny watching this now as Orton def. benoit for his 1st WHC Title and Henry drf. orton for his 1st, imagine if you'd been told that in 2004. Tajiri is #4 and there's no way he and Henry had the same time between numbers. Rolling germans to Tajiri. #5 is Bradshaw but he's quickly dumped by Benoit. Just 5 months later Bradshaw would be WWE Champion. #6 is Rhyno and soon Tajiri, Mark Henry are both eliminated. #7 is Matt Hardy who avoids being eliminated by Benoit. #8 is Scott Steiner who casually clotheslines people then hits suplexes. #9 is Matt Morgan as the Rumble slows down a bit in ring wise. #10 is Hurricane but Morgan no sells his stuff then throws him out, Hurricane looked hurt on the landing. #11 is Booker-T who faces off w/ Steiner, they had the last WCW Title match on WCW TV. Few eliminations so far but #12 is Kane so that may change. Steiner got eliminated during Kane's entrance by Booker. Kane cleans everybody's clock but as #13 enters Undertakers dong goes off allowing Booker to eliminate a shocked Kane, Spike Dudley comes out but doesn't make it to the ring as Kane attacks him. #14 is Rikishi. Rhyno is eliminated by Benoit via back drop. Benoit has 3 of the 7 eliminations so far. #15 is Rene Dupree who eliminates Matt Hardy but turns into a Rikishi Super Kick and Rene Dupree is gone from the Rumble. #16 is A-Train and Matt Morgan misses a corner boot allowing Benoit to eliminate him. Randy Orton eliminates both Rikishi and Booker-T in quick succession. #17 is Shelton Benjamin as Benoit eliminates A-Train and Orton eliminates Benjamin leaving just the original 2 in the ring. #18 is Earnest 'The Cat' Miller, isn't that Brodus Clays theme?, who dances with his announcer but Orton eliminates Miller Benoit went to eliminate his mate but threw off the guys afro wig, that was funny. #19 is Angle who fights with Benoit as Orton rests. #20 is Rico but he is soon RKOd and eliminated. For #21 we go backstage as Test is lay out, oh no! Stone Cold tells the guy who did it to enter the Rumble, this being the Stone Cold who was 'fired' from WWE at Survivor Series 2003, it turns out to be Mick Foley so Orton does the heel special - rabbit caught in headlights look, they fight and a Cactus Clothesline eliminates both Foley and Orton, they fight ringside where agents try to break it, Foley KOs Finlay w/ the ringsteps but Orton cracks Mick with a chair. #23 is Nunzio who is Mandible Clawed but not eliminated like Spike and sits at ringside so hasn't officially entered the match. Angle germans Christian and Benoit as #24 is Big Show who beats people down. #25 is Jericho who teams with Christian to beat down Angle in the corner. Everyone tries to eliminate Show but fail. #26 is Charlie Haas and Christian is eliminated by Jericho, what are friends for? #27 is Billy Gunn, there's my pick folks Fame Assers all round. Now remember #27 has produced the most winners up to this point (it may still now but this PPV is a decade old). #28 enters and it is ..... John Cena and he brings Nunzio into the ring. #29 is RVD. Kurt Angle gets FUd. The final man in at #30 is Goldberg he Spears Show and Gunn then eliminates Haas, then hits the Ultimate Spear and sends Nunzio from Philly to Tijuana, that's right folks from North American to Mexico. Nunzio and Gunn are eliminated by Goldberg so no 27 winner this year. Jackhammer is set up on Show but here's Brock Lesnar who F5s Goldberg leaving him easy prey for Angle to eliminate Goldberg. 5 men fail to eliminate Big Show then they take turns doing their moves to him. Show eliminates Cena whos knee goes more or less 90' on impact, that looked bad I think it's on the Dont Try This At Home or at least it was. Van Dam is caught in a monkey flip and eliminated by Big Show, how RVD expected to flip Show in the first place I dont know maybe he was in the clouds. Jericho goes all Rick Steiner and hits a top rope bulldog but is soon ChokeSlammed out by Show, bye-bye Jericho. Benoit is ChokeSlammed then Kurt hits Angle Slams on both Big Show and Benoit. Ankle Lock to Show but he uses the ropes to throw Angle out as we are down to the Final Two. Now I dont know if this is the intention but Benoit is left with a man who 5 people failed to eliminate as a team, how can he do it? Well he counters a Chokeslam to a front face lock and manages to choke Big Show who goes out over the top as Benoit is hooked on the rope, Benoit goes NY to Cali! Arguably the best ever Rumble, certainly a Top 3, i'm judging by match quality so going ***** however I understand if some cant watch this anymore. Benoit also had most eliminations with 6.
14 / 30 - A PPV of Jekyll and Hyde quality as the undercard is pretty bad - two of them were mismanaged time wise, one was an insult for a WWE Title match on PPV, another lacked intensity it needed and the WHC ended in a draw however if you think a Rumble PPV depends on the Rumble itself then i'd recommend this PPV just fast foward the rest of it.
- Attendance: 17,289
- Buys: 500,000
(This review is done in a style that I don't think I've used before or since, maybe I'll return to it one day but for now this is the only one I am aware of that isn't a move-for-move type of review and more a general overview of my thoughts)
- Having just reviewed Survivor Series 2003 I had intended to do Armageddon 2003 then carry on from there in order however I can't find Armageddon DVD, maybe it left in shame?, so I've gone straight to the 04 Rumble but at A'ddon Evolution did a Horsemen and claimed all the Gold (Bat/Ric = Tag, Orton = IC and HHH = WHC).
World Tag Titles - Tables Match - Batista/Flair (c) Vs. Dudleyz
Dudleyz had the Tag Titles at Armageddon after winning a Turmoil match but then Batista and Flair were entered as a surprise and won the Titles. This match is short and not very good, the only notable thing was when Flair was about to be 3Dd but Jonathon Coachman distracted Bubba and Batista Spine bustered D-Von through a table. Match went about 5 minutes and finish was out of nowhere earning it *1/2
John Cena is interviewed by Josh Matthews who looks like a flamboyant hair dresser but RVD interrupts.
CruiserWeight Title - Rey Mysterio (c) Vs. Jamie Noble (w/ a blind Nidia)
This is even shorter than the previous match, which gives me the feeling HHH/HBK is going to go about an hour to try over shadow the Rumble itself. They did more than the previous match though, it ended when Nidia accidentally tripped Noble leaving him easy prey for the 619, Rey wins. *1/2.
Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chavo Guerrero (w/ Chavo Guerrero. sr)
This match was a disappointment as whilst it got more time than the rest it lacked the intensity it needed. This was not only a Tag split up scenario but also a family feud but as stated you wouldn't know it was. Nothing much happened really and the ending was out of nowhere as Eddy suddenly hit Frog Splash for the 3 count, post match he beats up both Chavos. At this point in the review my hand started shaking and I couldnt write properly but I soldiered on even though my writing is nearly unreadbale. I'd of preferred a brawl style match. **
Benoit chats to Josh Matthews until Evolution appear, Flair says Benoit is the greatest technical wrestler today but tonight is all about Evolution.
WWE Title - Brock Lesnar (c) Vs. Hardcore Holly
Lesnar broke Hollys neck in 2002 so now Holly gets a Title Shot. Match sucks basically as it goes around 8 minutes and 4 of those are Lesnar holding Holly on the mat in a waistlock, as if a Harcore Holly match wasn't bad enough. Alabama Slam hits by Holly but he soon walks into an F-5 as Lesnar retains. This undercard has just been all wrong so far tonight. Most interesting thing about this - it was Lesnars last win on a WWE PPV until SummerSlam 2012 over HHH. *1/2
World Heavyweight Title - Last Man Standing - HHH (c) Vs. HBK
Unless this is HBK/Taker level quality I will hate this undercard. I hope it isn't big move - 9 count - big move - 9 count etc. from the off. HBK does an over exaggerated bump off a face buster. Wahey Fink is hit by the table cover when HHH removes it, fans boo when no-one goes through the announce table. HBK goes for his springboard crossbody but puts himself through the S-A-T and blades, why from that? Now we've entered dramatic count time as HBK is busted, woah HHH looks like Greg Valentine. Chairshot by HBK bust HHH as we've entered double juice territory, you see some people seem to think blood automatically makes a match much better, this is the counter point to that argument. HBK does his usual routine following a forearm but he misses the Sweet Chin Music as he gets low blowed. Pedigree doesn't get HHH the win then Sweet Chin Music gets .... a damn draw, it's a DRAW! the crowd rightfully boo that ending which is nothing more than a damn cop out, uh I hate this undercard it's been booked badly. Docked points for ending but honestly wasn't that great anyway. **1/2
Bischoff and Heyman come out because enough time hasn't already been wasted and here's Sheriff Austin who Stunners the pair. Austin being the guy who was fired from WWE in November 2003.
Royal Rumble Match
That guy is #1 and Orton is #2, but in all seriousness I can separate Benoit wrestler form murderer so I'll use his name from here on in. Nice touch as Tazz and JR are handling announcing duties (It's a mix of the RAW and SMACKDOWN! announcers is what that means). Benoit is on top as Mark Henry enters at #3. Kind of funny watching this now as Orton def. benoit for his 1st WHC Title and Henry drf. orton for his 1st, imagine if you'd been told that in 2004. Tajiri is #4 and there's no way he and Henry had the same time between numbers. Rolling germans to Tajiri. #5 is Bradshaw but he's quickly dumped by Benoit. Just 5 months later Bradshaw would be WWE Champion. #6 is Rhyno and soon Tajiri, Mark Henry are both eliminated. #7 is Matt Hardy who avoids being eliminated by Benoit. #8 is Scott Steiner who casually clotheslines people then hits suplexes. #9 is Matt Morgan as the Rumble slows down a bit in ring wise. #10 is Hurricane but Morgan no sells his stuff then throws him out, Hurricane looked hurt on the landing. #11 is Booker-T who faces off w/ Steiner, they had the last WCW Title match on WCW TV. Few eliminations so far but #12 is Kane so that may change. Steiner got eliminated during Kane's entrance by Booker. Kane cleans everybody's clock but as #13 enters Undertakers dong goes off allowing Booker to eliminate a shocked Kane, Spike Dudley comes out but doesn't make it to the ring as Kane attacks him. #14 is Rikishi. Rhyno is eliminated by Benoit via back drop. Benoit has 3 of the 7 eliminations so far. #15 is Rene Dupree who eliminates Matt Hardy but turns into a Rikishi Super Kick and Rene Dupree is gone from the Rumble. #16 is A-Train and Matt Morgan misses a corner boot allowing Benoit to eliminate him. Randy Orton eliminates both Rikishi and Booker-T in quick succession. #17 is Shelton Benjamin as Benoit eliminates A-Train and Orton eliminates Benjamin leaving just the original 2 in the ring. #18 is Earnest 'The Cat' Miller, isn't that Brodus Clays theme?, who dances with his announcer but Orton eliminates Miller Benoit went to eliminate his mate but threw off the guys afro wig, that was funny. #19 is Angle who fights with Benoit as Orton rests. #20 is Rico but he is soon RKOd and eliminated. For #21 we go backstage as Test is lay out, oh no! Stone Cold tells the guy who did it to enter the Rumble, this being the Stone Cold who was 'fired' from WWE at Survivor Series 2003, it turns out to be Mick Foley so Orton does the heel special - rabbit caught in headlights look, they fight and a Cactus Clothesline eliminates both Foley and Orton, they fight ringside where agents try to break it, Foley KOs Finlay w/ the ringsteps but Orton cracks Mick with a chair. #23 is Nunzio who is Mandible Clawed but not eliminated like Spike and sits at ringside so hasn't officially entered the match. Angle germans Christian and Benoit as #24 is Big Show who beats people down. #25 is Jericho who teams with Christian to beat down Angle in the corner. Everyone tries to eliminate Show but fail. #26 is Charlie Haas and Christian is eliminated by Jericho, what are friends for? #27 is Billy Gunn, there's my pick folks Fame Assers all round. Now remember #27 has produced the most winners up to this point (it may still now but this PPV is a decade old). #28 enters and it is ..... John Cena and he brings Nunzio into the ring. #29 is RVD. Kurt Angle gets FUd. The final man in at #30 is Goldberg he Spears Show and Gunn then eliminates Haas, then hits the Ultimate Spear and sends Nunzio from Philly to Tijuana, that's right folks from North American to Mexico. Nunzio and Gunn are eliminated by Goldberg so no 27 winner this year. Jackhammer is set up on Show but here's Brock Lesnar who F5s Goldberg leaving him easy prey for Angle to eliminate Goldberg. 5 men fail to eliminate Big Show then they take turns doing their moves to him. Show eliminates Cena whos knee goes more or less 90' on impact, that looked bad I think it's on the Dont Try This At Home or at least it was. Van Dam is caught in a monkey flip and eliminated by Big Show, how RVD expected to flip Show in the first place I dont know maybe he was in the clouds. Jericho goes all Rick Steiner and hits a top rope bulldog but is soon ChokeSlammed out by Show, bye-bye Jericho. Benoit is ChokeSlammed then Kurt hits Angle Slams on both Big Show and Benoit. Ankle Lock to Show but he uses the ropes to throw Angle out as we are down to the Final Two. Now I dont know if this is the intention but Benoit is left with a man who 5 people failed to eliminate as a team, how can he do it? Well he counters a Chokeslam to a front face lock and manages to choke Big Show who goes out over the top as Benoit is hooked on the rope, Benoit goes NY to Cali! Arguably the best ever Rumble, certainly a Top 3, i'm judging by match quality so going ***** however I understand if some cant watch this anymore. Benoit also had most eliminations with 6.
14 / 30 - A PPV of Jekyll and Hyde quality as the undercard is pretty bad - two of them were mismanaged time wise, one was an insult for a WWE Title match on PPV, another lacked intensity it needed and the WHC ended in a draw however if you think a Rumble PPV depends on the Rumble itself then i'd recommend this PPV just fast foward the rest of it.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Backlash 2000
- My first review since becoming Douglas Nelson. Honestly in 2014 my WWE interest has waned (It's now Feb 2016 and it still has recovered yet) and I haven't done a review since October, it was a live HIAC 2013 from a pub, but what a PPV to make a return on, I'm honestly surprised I haven't already done this PPV. (Disclaimer, it's not that interesting) Interesting tidbit time - I intended to stay up to watch this on Channel 4 but only woke halfway through in time for Big Show/Angle, I was 10 years old and it was a school night.
Can Rock overcome the McMahon-Helmsley regime? Will Austin show up to help him? Hmm as this PPV was 14 years ago you probably know the answer but lets not ruin it for First Timers.
- April 2000 from Washington, DC.
- Attendance: 19,101
WWF Tag Titles - Edge/Christian (c) Vs. Road Dogg/X-Pac (w/ Tori)
Debra 'handles' ring announcing duties. Say there's a kid in school who has Digimon Cards and he's cool for awhile but then one day kids come along with Yu-Gi-Oh cards and the Digi guy is no longer relevant well that's pretty much Outlaws/DX when Hardyz and co. flourished in late '99. 'X-Pac Sucks' chant but he proves he doesn't suck he instead spits which is what he does at Edge then leaves the ring. DX control Christian via double teaming him behind the refs back (Old school tag stuff that I do admire). Edge tags in but ref doesn't see it allowing more DX double team. Dogg applies a chinlock probably to allow him recovery time from being booted in the back. Double reverse DDT by Christian and a hot tag to Edge, a powerbomb gets 2 on X-Pac. Road Dogg avoids Unprettier but is Speared. Heel miscommunication as X-Pac cracks Tori. X-Factor to Edge but Christian hits X-Pac with the ring bell and Edge/Christian retain the gold, X-Pac is busted. ***1/2 - Good hot opener, sound tag psychology as well by DX.
Light Heavyweight Title - Dean Malenko (c) Vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Firstly how can you be a Light-Heavyweight? It's like being billed as a tall midget. Scotty starts better getting a couple of early 2s. Scotty goes for a bulldog but is clotheslined hard as Dean starts to take control. This is how hot WWF was I mean can you imagine Scott Taylor getting a title shot on PPV in 98 and being .... liked! Dean is going for the knee, psychology time though it'll only matter if Scotty sells it. This is becoming a cruiserweight version of Flair/Luger from Starrcade '88. Enziguri stops Deans onslaught for about 30 seconds. S2H gets 2s off of a roll up, a backslide and an inside cradle. Worm Time as crowd pop and Scotty seemingly forgets Deans leg work. Finish is certainly memorable as Dean finishes Scotty with a DDT off the top rope. yeah you read that right, DC goes 'Woaaaaah'. - ***1/2 - Scotty 2 Hotty in a near 4 **** match am I high? No just impressed, bit irritated the leg work was ignored but THAT finish picks up a 1/2 on its own. Great start to Backlash so far. (Watched Backlash multiple times last night and that impressed i'm bumping it to ****)
Acolytes Vs. Bull Buchanan/Big Bossman
Well all good things must come to an end. It's not bad from a botching standpoint, though it's hard to botch punches and shoulder blocks, but I found this one slightly boring as I rarely like power matches and that's what we get here, of course APA cant job clean so Bossman cracks Bradshaw with a nightstick and Bull gets 3 with a Scissors Kick off the top rope. *1/2 (Forgot to note how ridiculous the finish was, Bossman hits Bradshaw w/ nightstick then Bradshaw stumbles to t'other side of the ring and moves himself in just the right position for Bulls finish)
Hardyz agree it's every man for himself in cordial fashion where as hardcore slaps Crash upside the head in their dressing room.
Hardcore Title - Crash Holly (c) Vs. Hardcore Holly Vs. Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy Vs. Tazz Vs. Saturn
Only way this ends is if Crash beats an opponent or someone pins Crash. Matt and Crash climb a pendulum thing, it's part of the entrance set, where Crash hangs upside down after being kicked. 'Holy Shit' chant when Matt dives off said structure onto everyone else. Hardcore is strolling around ringside when Matt cracks him with a trashcan lid. Crash may as well adopt the last name 'Test Dummy' as he's been banged around from the start. Hardcore Falcon Arrows him onto a chair, pop when a ladder appears. Swanton by Jeff off the ladder but the Hardyz stop each other getting the pin. Tazzmission to Crash but Perry cracks him with a STOP sign and Crash pins Tazz to retain the Hardcore Title. **1/2 - Not bad by any means but nothing real special either. If you like seeing Crash get knocked around willy-to-that-nilly then you'll probably love this. (Bumped to *** as it's actually harmless fun and it keeps the action generally to the ring unlike most Hardcore matches which stumble from one area to another)
Big Show Vs. Kurt Angle
Show was going through a phase of impersonating people, including one where he was Scottish Bastard or whatever from Austin Powers as this was in a Tag Title match Kurt Angle was pissed and so here we are. Wait that's not Big Show it's .... The Showster!! I'll have 'Real American' stuck in my head for weeks now (and I don't mind a jolt). He cuts a promo with Dude said a lot, he actually does a pretty good Hulk impression on the mic. Show Hulks Up from the start but Angle kicks out of the Legdrop!! Angle does some leg work but is soon Chokeslammed for the 3 count. ** - As comedy matches go this is probably the best, it gets the ** based on entertainment. Show squashed Angle here then lost to Shane O'Mac at the next PPV of course Angle would beat Shane at KOTR 2001. #TediousLink.
Dudleyz Vs. T&A (w/ Trish Stratus)
Dudleyz were going through a powerbombing women through tables phase, but like a teens anger phase it'd soon pass, however they wanted Trish to get tableised but she used her, ahem 'charms' to avoid it. Test should've been bigger in my mind as I still stand by my belief that Test should've faced HHH at Armageddon as you could still have the Steph turn. Lilian Garcia hides behind the ref in a nice touch to the Dudleyz angle. Bubba chases Trish ringside but runs into Test. Strategy now by Dudleyz as Albert is isolated from his corner. They hit the 'Wassssup' did that ever get an official name? Corner splash, big boot combo by T&A as now D-Von is being isolated. 'Tables' chant in DC. We get the ref didn't see a tag spot, I think that's been used in all tag matches tonight (authors note: I review PPVs in blocks as I find it hard to watch something for 21/2 hrs so don't remember every detail of other matches. Authors Note Note: We did). Sitout powerbomb gets Albert 2 as now Bubba's in kicking some booty. Suplex/neckbreaker combo gets 2 on Test, it was a version of 3D. All in fighting now then Dudleyz call for 3D but Trish distracts Bubba enabling Test to Big Boot him for the 3 count. Post match T&A get 3Dd as Trish is cornered, she tries to kiss her way free but Bubba has become resistant, kind of like Doomsday, and Trish is powerbombed through a table. ** - Perfectly acceptable tag match I've bumped it for the tag psychology and Trish taking the Table Bump.
An Ambulance whisks Trish away as Eddie Guerrero and Chyna pull up from the prom and are informed that Eddie has to wrestle next so he drives to the ring as it's time for ....
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (c) (w/ Chyna) Vs. Essa Rios (w/ Lita)
Eddie and Essa had teamed a couple of times but to the surprise of no-one Lita kept screwing up so now the two men go to war. Eddie is wrestling in dress pants, part of me wanted him to wrestle in the tux as that'd be awesome, does keep the bowtie on though. Remember Aguila who wrestled at 'Mania 14 well that was Essa Rios. A man from Guadalajara Vs. an El Paso guy for the European Title. Nice back suplex by Eduardo who is working Essas arm. We miss something in-ring as camera is on Chyna. Essa misses a dive tor ringside as Eddie slaps him down. Back in now as Essa arm drags out of a Gory Bomb then monkey flips Eddy into the ropes. Fighting ringside now as Lita heads up top but Chyna pushes her into the announce table. Asai moonsault by Essa but he hits more Announce Table than Eddie, still impressive though. More highflying as Essa sentons over the turnbuckle onto Eddie. Back in as Essa misses a moonsault and is finished with an air plane spin into a neckbreaker. Eddie retains the European Title. **1/2 - Some moves were impressive but there wasn't much linking them nor was there a story to the match but by no means boring or anything.
We get words from HHH, Vince and Benoit or ####### if you prefer.
Intercontinental Title - Chris Benoit (c) Vs. Chris Jericho
Chris Vs. Chris, Canadian Vs. Canadian, No Longer Rated Vs. Over Rated. IC was again the workers belt after being past around willy-to-that-nilly in '99. They exchange slaps, pinning predicaments and chops early. Rolling germans by Benoit, he goes for a tope when Jericho is ringside but Y2J moves and Benoit almost lands on his head. Jericho is whipped to ring steps but he jumps over them however Benoit dropkicks them into his legs. Benoit is on top now, gets 2 off a snap suplex. Abdominal stretch applied .... last time someone submitted to that was 1932, that joke had some dust on it. Lionsault connects but he cant capitalize, matches like these want me to not see people trained WWE style wrestling needs variety man, part of the reason ROH holds no interest for me. Benoit counters a top rope back suplex into a crossbody. Jericho hits his double powerbomb for 2 but is soon locked in Crossface, got to say Crossface is my favorite submission as it actually looks intense and painful. Y2J broke the Crossface via rope break then counters a second Crossface into the Walls but Benoit gets a rope break of his own. Ref Bump! as Jericho wipes out Tim White. Jericho is hit with the IC Title but then we get a lame DQ ending as Jericho uses IC Belt to block Diving Headbutt, Benoit retains. **** - Used to hate matches like these but these days I really like technical matches, they stood out especially on WWF cards. Really good match though the DQ ending is a bit uuhhhh inducing, though understandable in terms of continuing feud.
WWF Title - Special Ref- Shane McMahon - Triple-H (c) (w/ Vince, Steph) Vs. The Rock
Talk about having the deck stacked against you. Linda McMahon put Stone Cold in Rocks corner but he's not here tonight. Interesting tidbit Shane McMahon was ref at last years Backlash. Vince McMahon says many people bought todays program but that looks like WWF Magazine that he's holding and that the card is subject to change, no Austin. Rock avoids an early Pedigree attempt but when he's dumped ringside Vince pushes him into the ringpost. High knee gets Hunter 2 as he is on top to start. Chinlock is applied, notice no chin locks in Benoit/Jericho, Rock does start a fightback but HHH cuts it off. Vince interferes again when he hits Rock with the WWF Title which gets a fast 2 count. Rock takes control of the match at ringside but back in HHH hits a facebuster but walks into a DDT however Shane refuses to count. High spot of the match now as they go ringside when HHH attempts a Pedigree on Spanish Announce Table however Rock reverses into a Rock Bottom which Shane tries to stop so Rock Rock Bottoms them together through the table, Shane got squashed like a bug and Vinces face is a picture. After a recovery period HHH hits a Pedigree but there's no ref wait here's .... The Stooges in ref attire, they attack Rock when he kicks out. Vince cracks Rock with a chair as the numbers game takes advantage, Pedigree is set up but wait .... *Glass Smashes and DC erupts, I think the pop he gets can still be heard today* Austin's here chair shots to all HHH and his allies (bar Steph) the ones to Gerald Brisco and Shane McMahon are brain rattling. HHH is know easy prey for a Spine buster and Peoples Elbow .... Rock is WWF Champion! ****1/2 - For me this is the ultimate WWF style main event, crowd were hot through out, heels got their comeuppance what more could you want. (Taken from my twitter - Watched this PPV on a loop last night as didn't have energy to get up and change DVD and i've seen this PPV a gazillion times as it's fantastic but only yesterday in my Man Flu haze did I realize how similar HHH/Rock was to Dude/Austin from OTE 98, one big difference is that the odds were stacked Vs. the Champion at OTE but the whole biased ref and Vincenzo and stooges making appearances was the same. For me the better match was HHH/Rock BUT I have a high opinion of the Dude/Austin one as well.)
27 / 45 - Very good PPV here, one of WWF/Es best ever. Best four matches were the first and last two and with only one match I call poor you cant complain. I reviewed this off my Tagged Classics DVD which is no longer available bar e-bay. Catch this on WWE Network if you can.
4.5 pts over .500 might not seem much but that's actually very good.
Can Rock overcome the McMahon-Helmsley regime? Will Austin show up to help him? Hmm as this PPV was 14 years ago you probably know the answer but lets not ruin it for First Timers.
- April 2000 from Washington, DC.
- Attendance: 19,101
WWF Tag Titles - Edge/Christian (c) Vs. Road Dogg/X-Pac (w/ Tori)
Debra 'handles' ring announcing duties. Say there's a kid in school who has Digimon Cards and he's cool for awhile but then one day kids come along with Yu-Gi-Oh cards and the Digi guy is no longer relevant well that's pretty much Outlaws/DX when Hardyz and co. flourished in late '99. 'X-Pac Sucks' chant but he proves he doesn't suck he instead spits which is what he does at Edge then leaves the ring. DX control Christian via double teaming him behind the refs back (Old school tag stuff that I do admire). Edge tags in but ref doesn't see it allowing more DX double team. Dogg applies a chinlock probably to allow him recovery time from being booted in the back. Double reverse DDT by Christian and a hot tag to Edge, a powerbomb gets 2 on X-Pac. Road Dogg avoids Unprettier but is Speared. Heel miscommunication as X-Pac cracks Tori. X-Factor to Edge but Christian hits X-Pac with the ring bell and Edge/Christian retain the gold, X-Pac is busted. ***1/2 - Good hot opener, sound tag psychology as well by DX.
Light Heavyweight Title - Dean Malenko (c) Vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Firstly how can you be a Light-Heavyweight? It's like being billed as a tall midget. Scotty starts better getting a couple of early 2s. Scotty goes for a bulldog but is clotheslined hard as Dean starts to take control. This is how hot WWF was I mean can you imagine Scott Taylor getting a title shot on PPV in 98 and being .... liked! Dean is going for the knee, psychology time though it'll only matter if Scotty sells it. This is becoming a cruiserweight version of Flair/Luger from Starrcade '88. Enziguri stops Deans onslaught for about 30 seconds. S2H gets 2s off of a roll up, a backslide and an inside cradle. Worm Time as crowd pop and Scotty seemingly forgets Deans leg work. Finish is certainly memorable as Dean finishes Scotty with a DDT off the top rope. yeah you read that right, DC goes 'Woaaaaah'. - ***1/2 - Scotty 2 Hotty in a near 4 **** match am I high? No just impressed, bit irritated the leg work was ignored but THAT finish picks up a 1/2 on its own. Great start to Backlash so far. (Watched Backlash multiple times last night and that impressed i'm bumping it to ****)
Acolytes Vs. Bull Buchanan/Big Bossman
Well all good things must come to an end. It's not bad from a botching standpoint, though it's hard to botch punches and shoulder blocks, but I found this one slightly boring as I rarely like power matches and that's what we get here, of course APA cant job clean so Bossman cracks Bradshaw with a nightstick and Bull gets 3 with a Scissors Kick off the top rope. *1/2 (Forgot to note how ridiculous the finish was, Bossman hits Bradshaw w/ nightstick then Bradshaw stumbles to t'other side of the ring and moves himself in just the right position for Bulls finish)
Hardyz agree it's every man for himself in cordial fashion where as hardcore slaps Crash upside the head in their dressing room.
Hardcore Title - Crash Holly (c) Vs. Hardcore Holly Vs. Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy Vs. Tazz Vs. Saturn
Only way this ends is if Crash beats an opponent or someone pins Crash. Matt and Crash climb a pendulum thing, it's part of the entrance set, where Crash hangs upside down after being kicked. 'Holy Shit' chant when Matt dives off said structure onto everyone else. Hardcore is strolling around ringside when Matt cracks him with a trashcan lid. Crash may as well adopt the last name 'Test Dummy' as he's been banged around from the start. Hardcore Falcon Arrows him onto a chair, pop when a ladder appears. Swanton by Jeff off the ladder but the Hardyz stop each other getting the pin. Tazzmission to Crash but Perry cracks him with a STOP sign and Crash pins Tazz to retain the Hardcore Title. **1/2 - Not bad by any means but nothing real special either. If you like seeing Crash get knocked around willy-to-that-nilly then you'll probably love this. (Bumped to *** as it's actually harmless fun and it keeps the action generally to the ring unlike most Hardcore matches which stumble from one area to another)
Big Show Vs. Kurt Angle
Show was going through a phase of impersonating people, including one where he was Scottish Bastard or whatever from Austin Powers as this was in a Tag Title match Kurt Angle was pissed and so here we are. Wait that's not Big Show it's .... The Showster!! I'll have 'Real American' stuck in my head for weeks now (and I don't mind a jolt). He cuts a promo with Dude said a lot, he actually does a pretty good Hulk impression on the mic. Show Hulks Up from the start but Angle kicks out of the Legdrop!! Angle does some leg work but is soon Chokeslammed for the 3 count. ** - As comedy matches go this is probably the best, it gets the ** based on entertainment. Show squashed Angle here then lost to Shane O'Mac at the next PPV of course Angle would beat Shane at KOTR 2001. #TediousLink.
Dudleyz Vs. T&A (w/ Trish Stratus)
Dudleyz were going through a powerbombing women through tables phase, but like a teens anger phase it'd soon pass, however they wanted Trish to get tableised but she used her, ahem 'charms' to avoid it. Test should've been bigger in my mind as I still stand by my belief that Test should've faced HHH at Armageddon as you could still have the Steph turn. Lilian Garcia hides behind the ref in a nice touch to the Dudleyz angle. Bubba chases Trish ringside but runs into Test. Strategy now by Dudleyz as Albert is isolated from his corner. They hit the 'Wassssup' did that ever get an official name? Corner splash, big boot combo by T&A as now D-Von is being isolated. 'Tables' chant in DC. We get the ref didn't see a tag spot, I think that's been used in all tag matches tonight (authors note: I review PPVs in blocks as I find it hard to watch something for 21/2 hrs so don't remember every detail of other matches. Authors Note Note: We did). Sitout powerbomb gets Albert 2 as now Bubba's in kicking some booty. Suplex/neckbreaker combo gets 2 on Test, it was a version of 3D. All in fighting now then Dudleyz call for 3D but Trish distracts Bubba enabling Test to Big Boot him for the 3 count. Post match T&A get 3Dd as Trish is cornered, she tries to kiss her way free but Bubba has become resistant, kind of like Doomsday, and Trish is powerbombed through a table. ** - Perfectly acceptable tag match I've bumped it for the tag psychology and Trish taking the Table Bump.
An Ambulance whisks Trish away as Eddie Guerrero and Chyna pull up from the prom and are informed that Eddie has to wrestle next so he drives to the ring as it's time for ....
European Title - Eddie Guerrero (c) (w/ Chyna) Vs. Essa Rios (w/ Lita)
Eddie and Essa had teamed a couple of times but to the surprise of no-one Lita kept screwing up so now the two men go to war. Eddie is wrestling in dress pants, part of me wanted him to wrestle in the tux as that'd be awesome, does keep the bowtie on though. Remember Aguila who wrestled at 'Mania 14 well that was Essa Rios. A man from Guadalajara Vs. an El Paso guy for the European Title. Nice back suplex by Eduardo who is working Essas arm. We miss something in-ring as camera is on Chyna. Essa misses a dive tor ringside as Eddie slaps him down. Back in now as Essa arm drags out of a Gory Bomb then monkey flips Eddy into the ropes. Fighting ringside now as Lita heads up top but Chyna pushes her into the announce table. Asai moonsault by Essa but he hits more Announce Table than Eddie, still impressive though. More highflying as Essa sentons over the turnbuckle onto Eddie. Back in as Essa misses a moonsault and is finished with an air plane spin into a neckbreaker. Eddie retains the European Title. **1/2 - Some moves were impressive but there wasn't much linking them nor was there a story to the match but by no means boring or anything.
We get words from HHH, Vince and Benoit or ####### if you prefer.
Intercontinental Title - Chris Benoit (c) Vs. Chris Jericho
Chris Vs. Chris, Canadian Vs. Canadian, No Longer Rated Vs. Over Rated. IC was again the workers belt after being past around willy-to-that-nilly in '99. They exchange slaps, pinning predicaments and chops early. Rolling germans by Benoit, he goes for a tope when Jericho is ringside but Y2J moves and Benoit almost lands on his head. Jericho is whipped to ring steps but he jumps over them however Benoit dropkicks them into his legs. Benoit is on top now, gets 2 off a snap suplex. Abdominal stretch applied .... last time someone submitted to that was 1932, that joke had some dust on it. Lionsault connects but he cant capitalize, matches like these want me to not see people trained WWE style wrestling needs variety man, part of the reason ROH holds no interest for me. Benoit counters a top rope back suplex into a crossbody. Jericho hits his double powerbomb for 2 but is soon locked in Crossface, got to say Crossface is my favorite submission as it actually looks intense and painful. Y2J broke the Crossface via rope break then counters a second Crossface into the Walls but Benoit gets a rope break of his own. Ref Bump! as Jericho wipes out Tim White. Jericho is hit with the IC Title but then we get a lame DQ ending as Jericho uses IC Belt to block Diving Headbutt, Benoit retains. **** - Used to hate matches like these but these days I really like technical matches, they stood out especially on WWF cards. Really good match though the DQ ending is a bit uuhhhh inducing, though understandable in terms of continuing feud.
WWF Title - Special Ref- Shane McMahon - Triple-H (c) (w/ Vince, Steph) Vs. The Rock
Talk about having the deck stacked against you. Linda McMahon put Stone Cold in Rocks corner but he's not here tonight. Interesting tidbit Shane McMahon was ref at last years Backlash. Vince McMahon says many people bought todays program but that looks like WWF Magazine that he's holding and that the card is subject to change, no Austin. Rock avoids an early Pedigree attempt but when he's dumped ringside Vince pushes him into the ringpost. High knee gets Hunter 2 as he is on top to start. Chinlock is applied, notice no chin locks in Benoit/Jericho, Rock does start a fightback but HHH cuts it off. Vince interferes again when he hits Rock with the WWF Title which gets a fast 2 count. Rock takes control of the match at ringside but back in HHH hits a facebuster but walks into a DDT however Shane refuses to count. High spot of the match now as they go ringside when HHH attempts a Pedigree on Spanish Announce Table however Rock reverses into a Rock Bottom which Shane tries to stop so Rock Rock Bottoms them together through the table, Shane got squashed like a bug and Vinces face is a picture. After a recovery period HHH hits a Pedigree but there's no ref wait here's .... The Stooges in ref attire, they attack Rock when he kicks out. Vince cracks Rock with a chair as the numbers game takes advantage, Pedigree is set up but wait .... *Glass Smashes and DC erupts, I think the pop he gets can still be heard today* Austin's here chair shots to all HHH and his allies (bar Steph) the ones to Gerald Brisco and Shane McMahon are brain rattling. HHH is know easy prey for a Spine buster and Peoples Elbow .... Rock is WWF Champion! ****1/2 - For me this is the ultimate WWF style main event, crowd were hot through out, heels got their comeuppance what more could you want. (Taken from my twitter - Watched this PPV on a loop last night as didn't have energy to get up and change DVD and i've seen this PPV a gazillion times as it's fantastic but only yesterday in my Man Flu haze did I realize how similar HHH/Rock was to Dude/Austin from OTE 98, one big difference is that the odds were stacked Vs. the Champion at OTE but the whole biased ref and Vincenzo and stooges making appearances was the same. For me the better match was HHH/Rock BUT I have a high opinion of the Dude/Austin one as well.)
27 / 45 - Very good PPV here, one of WWF/Es best ever. Best four matches were the first and last two and with only one match I call poor you cant complain. I reviewed this off my Tagged Classics DVD which is no longer available bar e-bay. Catch this on WWE Network if you can.
4.5 pts over .500 might not seem much but that's actually very good.
Saturday, 5 October 2013
King Of The Ring 1999
- Austin faces McMahons to see who can climb the corporate ladder and attain full control of WWF, the DX split is involved in KOTR as Chyna attempts to become Queen Of The Ring and Corporate Champ faces former Corporate Champion as Taker faces Rock.
- June 27th, 1999. Greensboro, North Carolina
- Attendance - 19,761
- Buyrate - 1.13
We see Shamrock beating up Shane McMahon on HeAt then Blackman attacking him and causing 'internal' injuries.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Hardcore Holly Vs. X-Pac
Holly at the time had problems with Big Show whilst X-Pac was involved in the face DX Vs. heel DX. Nothing much happens reallly and it only goes around 4 minutes, lame ending aswell as Hardcore uses a chair for a blatant DQ. Post Match - Holly attacks X-Pacs neck. *1/2 - Not a good start, X-Pac though really was injured coming into the PPV.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Big Show Vs. Kane
This really was the Brian Knobbs (pits), Kane busted out his enziguri. Ref Bump! as Show boots Korderas, Hardcore comes out with a chair but Kane Chokeslams him, so there was one high point then. Kane grabs Show around the throat, for a Chokeslam you ask, well no he just chokes him for what feels like forever then a chairshot finishes Big Show and Kane advances to the Semis. 1/2 - Awful match, the choke lasted forever leading to a long drawn out sucky ending. Why book a match this way? (I should note that Hardcore was feuding with Kane and Show at the time to show he belonged with the heavyweights or something, paying a Show a cool mil a year to feud with Hardcore, money well spent there)
KOTR 1/4 Final - Billy Gunn Vs. Ken Shamrock
Remember Ken has internal injuries coming in thanks to Blackman who he was feuding with after his stint in The Union (20 Pat Points to anyone who can remember the other members without using google). Gunn was involved in something stupid, besides this tournament, on RAW is WAR Gunn teamed with Acolytes to face X-Pac/Kane/Road Dogg and he agreed to put the Tag belts on the line, even though he wasn't a champion (That is so WCW), he pinned X-Pac and claimed one of the Tag Belts, repeat after me .... Russo. Gunn's all over him until Ken attempts an Ankle Lock but then Gunn's on top again. Kicks to the midsection by Gunn make sense. The ref ends the match when Ken goes for a hurricanrana and is powerbombed, he's bleeding with internal injuries. *1/2 - 3 Matches in and 3 bad endings. Why were WWF trying to protect Shamrock in a loss, all he was doing was a Blackman feud for godsake.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Road Dogg Vs. Chyna (w/ HHH)
Story is Road Dogg doesn't want to hit a woman, even though he isn't facing one, so the match is dragged out. HHH did get involved at times to earn his PPV cheque, he placed Chynas foot on the ropes when she was in a sleeper. Ref Bump! as Chyna knocks into him when Road Dogg kicks out of a roll up. HBK is in da house, he pulls HHH off the apron and ejects him from ringside as Road Dogg has decided he will hit Chyna now. Chyna lowblows Dogg but he no sells it and she is hurt, has he balls of steel? Well no he was just wearing a cup, nice continuity from HeAt where she lowblowed him. Pump Handle Slam gets Dogg 3. ** - Match was dragged out due to the storyline but i've bumped it 1/2 as crowd did make some noise when Dogg started fighting back and I like a loud crowd. Also JR says Chyna and Doggy Style, little did he know how right he'd be one day. (Psychic JR is a gimmick that would've drawn money .... 1 cent in fact)
Hardyz Vs. Edge/Christian
Edge and Christian were in Brood with Gangrel at this time and Hardyz were with Michael Hayes, repeat after me Badstreet, Cameron NC. Christian gets stomped in Hardyz corner. Poetry In Motion connects. Christian goes to DDT Matt but is hit with a belly-to-belly as Matt blocks the DDT. Edge's in now and kicking some heavy duty booty he Spears Matt and Michael Hayes then debuts the Spear to block Poetry In Motion. Gangrel balls' up and spits blood in Edges eyes by accident leaving him easy prey for a Twist Of Fate, Hardyz win. **1/2 - Feeling generous as it's the first competent match of the night. This was probably the match the bookers etc. cared about the least as well.
Undertaker asks Michael Cole what happens if you rip the balls off a bull? Cole looks at the cameras and says 'find out next week on Animal Farm with Mark Callaway.'
Vince is in-ring now and says Shane can't compete, HBK comes out and says the match is on then Vince reveals that yes the match will happen but he'll have a suitable replacement.
1/2 Final - Billy Gunn Vs. Kane
Gunn is scared to enter and i'm scared to watch. Kane's on top but it's just punches in and around the ring, he picks up the steps but Gunn dropkicks him. JR asks Lawler about legal rights to the name 'King', i'm guessing that's a reference to the 80s thing where 'King' Lawler tried to sue WWF over the use of 'King'. Fameasser is avoided with a powerslam. Ringside Gunn grabs a chair but Big Show strolls out and takes it from him then decides to hit Kane himself allowing Gunn a 3 count. Ref was down but I didn't see him go down, imaginary ref bumps now for gods sake. * - I don't know what to say anymore without repeating myself. Check any of the match notes from the 1/4 finals and stick them here. (Gunn goes through via injury caused by Blackman and Big Show KOing Kane this could've been built as heel gets comeuppance in the final)
1/2 Final - Road Dogg Vs. X-Pac
Face DX collides, interesting tidbit this isn't their only PPV match, they would face off at SummerSlam 2000 in a subpar 5 minute match which X-Pac won. Funnily enough this is a subpar 5 minute match that X-Pac wins. He's wincing prematch with his neck. Back drop, snapmare and leg drop gets X-Pac a 2. Dogg does his dancing but X-Pac ducks the last punch then Dogg ducks a spin kick, I like that as it's like I know what you'll do before you do it', so there's one thing from this PPV I like, oh also Holly getting Chokeslammed. Road Dogg avoids Bronco Buster, X-Pac avoids Pump Handle Slam and hits an X-Factor for 3. ** - Short but they did more in the time they got than the rest of the KOTR matches combined.
WWF Title - Undertaker (c) (w/ Paul Bearer) Vs. The Rock
Rock won a 3 way over Corporate Ministry duo 'Taker and HHH to earn this shot after Chyna screwed up. Man I love this version of Takers theme, if your keeping score Likes - 3 Dislikes - Innumerable so far. Right off the bat we get a Ref Bump! as Undertaker clobbers the ref for no reason, that was very WCWish, Rock Bottom by Rock but Paul Bearer hits the second ref for another Ref Bump! that must be a record. Fighting down the entranceway now as that was required for Title matches in 1999 of course. Back in Rock crotches Taker to avoid Old School then spits water in his eyes, maybe it should've been HolyWater. Fighting through the crowd now as that was required in every WWF Title match of the late 90s. Back ringside and Rock swings a chair but Taker blocks it with the ringbell, like a new version of Rock, Paper, Scissors then Bearer throws his shoe into the game by hitting Rock with it, so - Bell > Chair > Shoe > Rock. DDT gets Taker 2. Rock fights out of a chinlock but then he's booted and chinlocked again. Rock avoids a Tombstone and gets his own 2 off a DDT. Ref Bump!! as Rock is whipped into him. Peoples Elbow connects but there's no ref. Bearer has an ether soaked rag but Rock uses it on Taker however this draws out HHH who Pedigrees Rock leaving him easy prey for a Tombstone by Undertaker for 3. *1/2 - Started dragging near the end, they just didn't click for my liking. It was the cliched WWF Title match, ref bump, fighting through crowd etc. If you like them then you might like this but I dont. Tidbit Time - I believe this Taker reign is the most watched ever ratings wise.
We go backstage and see HHH being removed by orders of HBK as Vince says he was his partner tonight 'No shit sherlock' is HBKs reply, then Vince phones a replacement.
KOTR Final - Billy Gunn Vs. X-Pac
As X-Pac's injured there could be a fairytale babyface fighting the odds win. Gunn attacks from the off and soon gets 2 off a bulldog. Dreaded chinlock is applied, though sarcasm aside it does make sense with X-Pacs neck. Fameasser gets 2 for Gunn and X-Factor gets 2 for Pac. Gunn gets crotched up top as X-Pac shouts 'come on you motherfucker' so Gunn responds with a Fameasser from the middle rope for 3. ** - Probably the best match of the tournament but that's really not saying much at all. This KOTR win nor the subsequent Rock feud did anything for Billy Gunn and he was put back in Outlaws in September as WWF gave up on his heel run. (and fans would pretty much give up on Outlaws soon after due to emergence of E&C/Hardyz then later the Dudleyz)
Ladder Match For Control Of WWF - Stone Cold Vs. Vince and Shane McMahon
Jesus stick with me here, well Vince was face and seemed to be on Austins side after Undertaker started tormenting the McMahons, he kidnapped Stephanie at Backlash and tried to marry her but Vince got Stone Cold to save her, turned out Shane McMahon was behind and he helped Taker win the WWF Title at Over The Edge from Austin in a match Vince was ref for as well, then it came out that Taker was working for a higher power, who for a laugh should've been RVD work out why, anyway the HP turned out to be Vince McMahon who shouted it was me all along Austin upon his reveal, but Austin knew that as he'd revealed himself to Austin the week prior, the whole thing was stupid and too thought out is my point (Another thing WCWish). Austin was made CEO by Linda McMahon which is why we're here tonight. Steve Blackman is Vinces partner until GTV reveals Shane is fine and HBK makes him wrestle tonight. Austin would get revenge on Blackman by Stunnering him at Unforgiven 2000, geez way to hold a grudge baldy. The entrance way has about 10 ladders set up then say 10 more lay across them making a little roof. Austin batters the McMahons, Shane climbs the makeshift ladder thing but Austin punches him down off them. Now McMahons are thrown into some of the set up ladders then Austin pulls a chain and they all fall on the McMahons. Ringside now and Austin coems off a ladder elbowing Shane through the Spanish Announce Table then Vince tips Austin onto JR/Kings table but it doesn't break. In ring now as the ladder is down so Shane gets on Vinces shoulders but Austin stops them winning. Stunners for the McMahons now Steve climbs the ladder unopposed but the greatest mystery in WWF history unfolds as the briefcase is raised from Austins grasp, now some say it was Bossman but that was never officially revealed. Shane tips the ladder when Vicne and Steve are on it then climbs the ladder and claims the briefcase. *1/2 - If this match happened today but with Cena there'd be uproar. Austin would have the last laugh, of course, as on RAW the next night he'd reveal he signed himself a new contract and gave himself a title shot that night, which he won Vs. Undertaker and that match I believe is the highest match/segment/quarter in WWF history.
15.5 / 50 - God this sucked 10 matches and only one got **1/2, and that may not even be worth that to be honest may of just looked **1/2 compared to the rest. Billy's win led to nothing, HHH challenged WWF Champion to a match but that led to nothing as Austin won the belt the next night. Thankfully the next PPV Fully Loaded was better, for starters there wasn't 3 Billy Gunn matches. Austin still got his way as on RAW he revealed he added a stip to his contract earning him a title shot, Vince who won CEO here was fired after Fully Loaded only to return anyway, I believe thanks to Stone Cold. Avoid this one. (Editors Note - This may of set the record for ref bumps on PPV as well which would of made some semblance of sense had the ref strike been at the next PPV but it was 3 PPVs away) Arguably worst WWF/E PPV ever.
- June 27th, 1999. Greensboro, North Carolina
- Attendance - 19,761
- Buyrate - 1.13
We see Shamrock beating up Shane McMahon on HeAt then Blackman attacking him and causing 'internal' injuries.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Hardcore Holly Vs. X-Pac
Holly at the time had problems with Big Show whilst X-Pac was involved in the face DX Vs. heel DX. Nothing much happens reallly and it only goes around 4 minutes, lame ending aswell as Hardcore uses a chair for a blatant DQ. Post Match - Holly attacks X-Pacs neck. *1/2 - Not a good start, X-Pac though really was injured coming into the PPV.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Big Show Vs. Kane
This really was the Brian Knobbs (pits), Kane busted out his enziguri. Ref Bump! as Show boots Korderas, Hardcore comes out with a chair but Kane Chokeslams him, so there was one high point then. Kane grabs Show around the throat, for a Chokeslam you ask, well no he just chokes him for what feels like forever then a chairshot finishes Big Show and Kane advances to the Semis. 1/2 - Awful match, the choke lasted forever leading to a long drawn out sucky ending. Why book a match this way? (I should note that Hardcore was feuding with Kane and Show at the time to show he belonged with the heavyweights or something, paying a Show a cool mil a year to feud with Hardcore, money well spent there)
KOTR 1/4 Final - Billy Gunn Vs. Ken Shamrock
Remember Ken has internal injuries coming in thanks to Blackman who he was feuding with after his stint in The Union (20 Pat Points to anyone who can remember the other members without using google). Gunn was involved in something stupid, besides this tournament, on RAW is WAR Gunn teamed with Acolytes to face X-Pac/Kane/Road Dogg and he agreed to put the Tag belts on the line, even though he wasn't a champion (That is so WCW), he pinned X-Pac and claimed one of the Tag Belts, repeat after me .... Russo. Gunn's all over him until Ken attempts an Ankle Lock but then Gunn's on top again. Kicks to the midsection by Gunn make sense. The ref ends the match when Ken goes for a hurricanrana and is powerbombed, he's bleeding with internal injuries. *1/2 - 3 Matches in and 3 bad endings. Why were WWF trying to protect Shamrock in a loss, all he was doing was a Blackman feud for godsake.
KOTR 1/4 Final - Road Dogg Vs. Chyna (w/ HHH)
Story is Road Dogg doesn't want to hit a woman, even though he isn't facing one, so the match is dragged out. HHH did get involved at times to earn his PPV cheque, he placed Chynas foot on the ropes when she was in a sleeper. Ref Bump! as Chyna knocks into him when Road Dogg kicks out of a roll up. HBK is in da house, he pulls HHH off the apron and ejects him from ringside as Road Dogg has decided he will hit Chyna now. Chyna lowblows Dogg but he no sells it and she is hurt, has he balls of steel? Well no he was just wearing a cup, nice continuity from HeAt where she lowblowed him. Pump Handle Slam gets Dogg 3. ** - Match was dragged out due to the storyline but i've bumped it 1/2 as crowd did make some noise when Dogg started fighting back and I like a loud crowd. Also JR says Chyna and Doggy Style, little did he know how right he'd be one day. (Psychic JR is a gimmick that would've drawn money .... 1 cent in fact)
Hardyz Vs. Edge/Christian
Edge and Christian were in Brood with Gangrel at this time and Hardyz were with Michael Hayes, repeat after me Badstreet, Cameron NC. Christian gets stomped in Hardyz corner. Poetry In Motion connects. Christian goes to DDT Matt but is hit with a belly-to-belly as Matt blocks the DDT. Edge's in now and kicking some heavy duty booty he Spears Matt and Michael Hayes then debuts the Spear to block Poetry In Motion. Gangrel balls' up and spits blood in Edges eyes by accident leaving him easy prey for a Twist Of Fate, Hardyz win. **1/2 - Feeling generous as it's the first competent match of the night. This was probably the match the bookers etc. cared about the least as well.
Undertaker asks Michael Cole what happens if you rip the balls off a bull? Cole looks at the cameras and says 'find out next week on Animal Farm with Mark Callaway.'
Vince is in-ring now and says Shane can't compete, HBK comes out and says the match is on then Vince reveals that yes the match will happen but he'll have a suitable replacement.
1/2 Final - Billy Gunn Vs. Kane
Gunn is scared to enter and i'm scared to watch. Kane's on top but it's just punches in and around the ring, he picks up the steps but Gunn dropkicks him. JR asks Lawler about legal rights to the name 'King', i'm guessing that's a reference to the 80s thing where 'King' Lawler tried to sue WWF over the use of 'King'. Fameasser is avoided with a powerslam. Ringside Gunn grabs a chair but Big Show strolls out and takes it from him then decides to hit Kane himself allowing Gunn a 3 count. Ref was down but I didn't see him go down, imaginary ref bumps now for gods sake. * - I don't know what to say anymore without repeating myself. Check any of the match notes from the 1/4 finals and stick them here. (Gunn goes through via injury caused by Blackman and Big Show KOing Kane this could've been built as heel gets comeuppance in the final)
1/2 Final - Road Dogg Vs. X-Pac
Face DX collides, interesting tidbit this isn't their only PPV match, they would face off at SummerSlam 2000 in a subpar 5 minute match which X-Pac won. Funnily enough this is a subpar 5 minute match that X-Pac wins. He's wincing prematch with his neck. Back drop, snapmare and leg drop gets X-Pac a 2. Dogg does his dancing but X-Pac ducks the last punch then Dogg ducks a spin kick, I like that as it's like I know what you'll do before you do it', so there's one thing from this PPV I like, oh also Holly getting Chokeslammed. Road Dogg avoids Bronco Buster, X-Pac avoids Pump Handle Slam and hits an X-Factor for 3. ** - Short but they did more in the time they got than the rest of the KOTR matches combined.
WWF Title - Undertaker (c) (w/ Paul Bearer) Vs. The Rock
Rock won a 3 way over Corporate Ministry duo 'Taker and HHH to earn this shot after Chyna screwed up. Man I love this version of Takers theme, if your keeping score Likes - 3 Dislikes - Innumerable so far. Right off the bat we get a Ref Bump! as Undertaker clobbers the ref for no reason, that was very WCWish, Rock Bottom by Rock but Paul Bearer hits the second ref for another Ref Bump! that must be a record. Fighting down the entranceway now as that was required for Title matches in 1999 of course. Back in Rock crotches Taker to avoid Old School then spits water in his eyes, maybe it should've been HolyWater. Fighting through the crowd now as that was required in every WWF Title match of the late 90s. Back ringside and Rock swings a chair but Taker blocks it with the ringbell, like a new version of Rock, Paper, Scissors then Bearer throws his shoe into the game by hitting Rock with it, so - Bell > Chair > Shoe > Rock. DDT gets Taker 2. Rock fights out of a chinlock but then he's booted and chinlocked again. Rock avoids a Tombstone and gets his own 2 off a DDT. Ref Bump!! as Rock is whipped into him. Peoples Elbow connects but there's no ref. Bearer has an ether soaked rag but Rock uses it on Taker however this draws out HHH who Pedigrees Rock leaving him easy prey for a Tombstone by Undertaker for 3. *1/2 - Started dragging near the end, they just didn't click for my liking. It was the cliched WWF Title match, ref bump, fighting through crowd etc. If you like them then you might like this but I dont. Tidbit Time - I believe this Taker reign is the most watched ever ratings wise.
We go backstage and see HHH being removed by orders of HBK as Vince says he was his partner tonight 'No shit sherlock' is HBKs reply, then Vince phones a replacement.
KOTR Final - Billy Gunn Vs. X-Pac
As X-Pac's injured there could be a fairytale babyface fighting the odds win. Gunn attacks from the off and soon gets 2 off a bulldog. Dreaded chinlock is applied, though sarcasm aside it does make sense with X-Pacs neck. Fameasser gets 2 for Gunn and X-Factor gets 2 for Pac. Gunn gets crotched up top as X-Pac shouts 'come on you motherfucker' so Gunn responds with a Fameasser from the middle rope for 3. ** - Probably the best match of the tournament but that's really not saying much at all. This KOTR win nor the subsequent Rock feud did anything for Billy Gunn and he was put back in Outlaws in September as WWF gave up on his heel run. (and fans would pretty much give up on Outlaws soon after due to emergence of E&C/Hardyz then later the Dudleyz)
Ladder Match For Control Of WWF - Stone Cold Vs. Vince and Shane McMahon
Jesus stick with me here, well Vince was face and seemed to be on Austins side after Undertaker started tormenting the McMahons, he kidnapped Stephanie at Backlash and tried to marry her but Vince got Stone Cold to save her, turned out Shane McMahon was behind and he helped Taker win the WWF Title at Over The Edge from Austin in a match Vince was ref for as well, then it came out that Taker was working for a higher power, who for a laugh should've been RVD work out why, anyway the HP turned out to be Vince McMahon who shouted it was me all along Austin upon his reveal, but Austin knew that as he'd revealed himself to Austin the week prior, the whole thing was stupid and too thought out is my point (Another thing WCWish). Austin was made CEO by Linda McMahon which is why we're here tonight. Steve Blackman is Vinces partner until GTV reveals Shane is fine and HBK makes him wrestle tonight. Austin would get revenge on Blackman by Stunnering him at Unforgiven 2000, geez way to hold a grudge baldy. The entrance way has about 10 ladders set up then say 10 more lay across them making a little roof. Austin batters the McMahons, Shane climbs the makeshift ladder thing but Austin punches him down off them. Now McMahons are thrown into some of the set up ladders then Austin pulls a chain and they all fall on the McMahons. Ringside now and Austin coems off a ladder elbowing Shane through the Spanish Announce Table then Vince tips Austin onto JR/Kings table but it doesn't break. In ring now as the ladder is down so Shane gets on Vinces shoulders but Austin stops them winning. Stunners for the McMahons now Steve climbs the ladder unopposed but the greatest mystery in WWF history unfolds as the briefcase is raised from Austins grasp, now some say it was Bossman but that was never officially revealed. Shane tips the ladder when Vicne and Steve are on it then climbs the ladder and claims the briefcase. *1/2 - If this match happened today but with Cena there'd be uproar. Austin would have the last laugh, of course, as on RAW the next night he'd reveal he signed himself a new contract and gave himself a title shot that night, which he won Vs. Undertaker and that match I believe is the highest match/segment/quarter in WWF history.
15.5 / 50 - God this sucked 10 matches and only one got **1/2, and that may not even be worth that to be honest may of just looked **1/2 compared to the rest. Billy's win led to nothing, HHH challenged WWF Champion to a match but that led to nothing as Austin won the belt the next night. Thankfully the next PPV Fully Loaded was better, for starters there wasn't 3 Billy Gunn matches. Austin still got his way as on RAW he revealed he added a stip to his contract earning him a title shot, Vince who won CEO here was fired after Fully Loaded only to return anyway, I believe thanks to Stone Cold. Avoid this one. (Editors Note - This may of set the record for ref bumps on PPV as well which would of made some semblance of sense had the ref strike been at the next PPV but it was 3 PPVs away) Arguably worst WWF/E PPV ever.
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