Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best
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Yeah, the Demolition/Powers of Pain double turn didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, especially the execution of it. Powers of Pain were babyfaces then they suddenly align themselves with Fuji mid-match and won the match. Other than helping out Fuji they did nothing that would make them heels. So do we cheer for the fact that they won or boo them?
And I hade to look this up, the fact Jim Brunzell was on the Beefcake/Warrior team I was wondering what ever happened to the Killer Bees. Apparently they were quietly split up a few months earlier. Neither man was supposed to be at Survivor Series originally but Brunzell was brought in as a replacement for Junkyard Dog, Blair was brought in to replace Don Muraco on the Jake Roberts/Jim Duggan team but was later fired and replaced by Scott Casey. On another note, this was the final appearance of The British Bulldogs as a team and Dynamite Kid as an individual as both Bulldogs quit the WWF after this.
And I hade to look this up, the fact Jim Brunzell was on the Beefcake/Warrior team I was wondering what ever happened to the Killer Bees. Apparently they were quietly split up a few months earlier. Neither man was supposed to be at Survivor Series originally but Brunzell was brought in as a replacement for Junkyard Dog, Blair was brought in to replace Don Muraco on the Jake Roberts/Jim Duggan team but was later fired and replaced by Scott Casey. On another note, this was the final appearance of The British Bulldogs as a team and Dynamite Kid as an individual as both Bulldogs quit the WWF after this.
WrestleMania VII
Match 1: The Rockers def. Haku & The Barbarian (10:41)
The night starts off with a very good match. A nice battle of speed vs power. And early on in the match, The Rockers keep the powerful team on their toes with double teams. Really liked when The Rockers are doing their usual double hip toss, double elbow, double superkick spot, The Barbarian just bowls over them both. Haku has Marty in a powerbomb position, and Barbarian jumps in, grabs Marty by the hair and drops him throat first on the top rope. From there, Haku and Barbarian wear down Jannetty and isolate him from Shawn. And they do this for a while so that unfortunately slows the match down, but it makes them go even more crazy for Shawn Michaels. Barbarian counters a dive from Jannetty into a powerslam and makes the mistake of trying a diving headbutt. Marty tags in Shawn, who takes on both men at the same time pretty much. We get a fast paced finish with the Rockers sending Barbarian to the outside. Jannetty hits Haku with a dropkick from the top rope and Shawn ends the match with a crossbody to Haku to win the opener at WrestleMania.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Texas Tornado def. Dino Bravo (3:11)
Actually kind of a sad match when you think about it. This match happened in 1991 and both men would be gone by 1994. Dino jumps Kerry as soon as he gets in the ring and takes the fight to him immediately. Not a bad match actually for 3 minutes. Just a fight that’s over quickly. Kerry kicks out of Dino’s side slam, Dino comes off the ropes and Kerry catches him in the claw, before spinning and knocking him out with a punch to the head.
My Rating: **
Match 3: British Bulldog def. The Warlord (8:15)
Weird fact for you. Bulldog and Warlord had the longest feud of this entire year because holy hell. They fought each other on every PPV WWF put out this year. They crossed paths in the Rumble, fought one on one here, the 6-man tag at SummerSlam, a great Survivor Series Match and again one on one at This Tuesday in Texas. Although this match was much better than that one, even though it still isn’t good. Warlord was using the Full Nelson at this point, and was Chris Masters before Chris Masters ever came to WWE, because he does an interview and says “nobody’s ever broken out of my Full Nelson. So of course, the match hinges on that. Not a great match, but its okay enough. What was great about this match was how Bulldog, despite being just as strong (if not stronger) than Warlord, he was much, much more athletic and this actually did a good job of proving that point. Warlord slaps the Full Nelson on Bulldog and has it in (kinda) for about a good minute and a half before Bulldog breaks the hold and hits the running Powerslam to win the match.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Nasty Boys def. The Hart Foundation (c) (12:10)
I know that Bret was about to get his singles push, but at the time I would’ve been like “how tf did The Nasty Boys win?” Like, the Hart Foundation looked so much better by comparison in this match. The match is decent though, so I can’t give it too much shit. The Nasty Boys soon find themselves in control of the match, clotheslining Bret along the top rope and then wears him down, keeping him away from the big man. Neidhart gets the tag, but the referee was distracted by Knobbs, so they drag Bret away. They whip him into the corner and Sags whips Knobbs into the corner, which Bret moves out of the way of and clotheslines Sags to the mat. Now Bret makes the tag in view of the referee and Neidhart. Neidhart turns the tide for his team. He body slams both men before picking Sags up and tossing him into his own partner. Bret and Neidhart go for the Hart Attack, but Neidhart goes to chase Sags around the ring. In a genuine 3 stooges spot, Bret whips Knobbs off the ropes, Bret ducks and at the same time Knobbs runs over him, Sags gets in the 2 partners collide with each other. The Foundation hit Knobbs with the Hart Attack and looks like they have the match won, but the referee is busy trying to get Bret out of the ring that he doesn’t see Jimmy Hart throw Sags his megaphone and Sags hits Neidhart in the back of the head with it. Knobbs covers Neidhart and we have new Tag Champs. So now Bret can go on to do bigger and better things.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: Blindfold Match - Jake Roberts def. Rick Martel (8:34)
I’ll give credit to the 2 men in the match, I think that they did the very best they could with a stipulation like this. Really thought this was the best match they could possibly have in this situation. But it still sucks. I wasn’t a fan of the Marco Polo match. I did like that Roberts used the crowd to help find Martel. Whenever he would point at Martel, the crowd would cheer, telling him to go in the direction he’s pointing. Martel eventually finds the bag with Damien inside and backs off immediately, freaking out, I did like that. But other than those 2 things, I thought this was stupid. Jake eventually hits the DDT to win the match. Let’s move on.
My Rating: *
Match 6: The Undertaker def. Jimmy Snuka (4:20)
Every good story has to start somewhere. The Undertaker’s first WrestleMania marks Undertaker’s first victim of the streak. Kinda crazy how this match has become history with hindsight. Really, this match is about building up Taker as an unstoppable monster. This man beat on Snuka for the full match. This is quite literally a squash match. Snuka gets a few bodyshots in, and a headbutt, but it has no effect on The Deadman. Snuka springboards off the ropes and Undertaker catches him, and puts him in a Tombstone position, dropping Snuka to win the match and his first match at WrestleMania.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Career Ending Match - Ultimate Warrior def. Randy Savage (20:48)
Wow, this is storytelling at is finest. This is one of those matches that remind me of why I’m a pro wrestling fan. An amazing match and an amazing moment after the match. Now I debated on whether or not this match deserved a 5 star rating, and I don’t think it did. And I’ll explain why. As far the match goes, this was a battle of brains vs brawns. Warrior may had the power but Savage was working smart and had Sherri on the outside to help him. So Warrior was at the disadvantage. Warrior overpowered Savage and Savage realizes pretty quickly, he has to be smart about this. Sherri accidentally hits Savage in the head with her heel, but Warrior makes the mistake of trying to chase Sherri instead of pinning Savage. And when Warrior makes it back in the ring, Savage drops Warrior on the top rope, hangs him up by leaping over the ropes. He body slams Warrior and then proceeds to drop 5 elbows on him from the top rope in succession. This is where my problems with the match come in. I thought 5 elbows was too much. Because Warrior still kicks out after that. 2? Fine. 3? More annoying but I’ll take it. But 5?! Macho Man hit his finisher 5 times and still lost? What’s Warrior’s overall in this game because that’s crazy. But to be fair, they did sell the insanity of it happening. And it’s not like it was the usual way Warrior kicks out, he barely gets his shoulder up and Savage sells it beautifully with his face. Warrior slowly begins to get up and lays Savage out with clothesline after clothesline. He press slams him and hits the big splash. 1, 2… Savage kicks out now! Warrior looks to the referee like “what?” and then looks to the sky talking to his “warriors” or something. I thought that was goofy. Warrior steps onto the apron and Savage knocks him off the apron. Sherri drapes Warrior’s throat over the guardrail and Savage leaps off with an elbow to drop Warrior’s throat on it, but Warrior dodges and Savage hits the guardrail instead! Warrior tosses Savage back in the ring, gives his 3 shoulder tackles and places a foot on Savage’s chest to win the match. Despite my grievences, this was an amazing match. Definitely Warrior’s best match of his whole career!
My Rating: ****3/4
So after the match is over, Warrior leaves. Sherri begins to attack Savage, literally kicking the man while he’s down. The man just lost his career. But he would have a savior in the form of Elizabeth, who watched the match from the crowd. She goes over the rail and runs to the ring. She pulls Sherri off Savage and throws her out, then tries to help Savage up, who tries to reject her help at first, not knowing its her. He gets back up and nearly strikes her. He sees Elizabeth and is like “what are you doing here?” He sees Sherri on the outside screaming at him and he soon realizes what happened. And he embraces Elizabeth in the ring, the crowd goes wild. For my money, the best babyface turn of all time. He holds the ropes open for Elizabeth and lets her leave before he stands in the ring and takes a moment to drink it all in. We know now that this wasn’t Savage’s retirement match. (If you know what his actual last match was, you might wish it was) But I heard that Savage actually planned on this being his retirement match. It wasn’t just a gimmick. So it really makes the moment more special as he looks out at the crowd and says “goodbye.”
Match 8: Koji Kitao & Genichiro Tenryu def. Demolition (4:44)
No longer the Ax and the Smasher. Now it was just the Smasher and the Crusher. Yeah, Demolition was pretty much done at this point. Crazy to think that Tenryu has a Mania Match under his belt, even if it was a pretty shitty one. Yeah, I didn’t like this. The crowd was pretty much burnt out from the last match. Demolition isolated Kitao from his corner, but Kitao reaches Tenryu, but he only gets a few shots in before Demolition beat up him too. Demolition go for their backbreaker/elbow drop finish, but Kitao pushes Crush off the top rope and Tenryu puts Smash away with a Tiger Bomb. Not a good display of the japanese talents.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 9: Intercontinental Championship Match - Big Boss Man def. Mr. Perfect (c) via DQ (10:47)
This match was okay, but I know it could’ve been better. Boss Man was actually a decent wrestler at this point and Mr. Perfect, well he’s Perfect isn’t he. This man wrestled a classic with Bret Hart with a broken back after all. Boss Man turned the match into a brawl. And Perfect sells all of Boss Man’s punches and shots like crazy. Boss Man swings Perfect by his hair early in the match. Boss Man just overwhelms Perfect at first. But Perfect takes control of the match, looks like he’s targeting Boss Man’s neck. But Boss Man starts fighting back sooner than later. He throws Perfect into one of the ring posts by his hair. Boss Man however makes the mistake of going after Bobby Heenan, not focusing enough on Perfect, who throws Boss Man into the ring steps from behind. Heenan takes the opportunity to give Boss Man a few stomps, but who comes to the ring? None other than Andre the Giant, looking larger than ever. He grabs the Intercontinental Title, and they take a long time just to get to this spot. Heenan argues with the referee over Andre even being there. Perfect goes over to Andre, who hits Perfect in the head with the title. But Boss Man is down too, so the referee definitely should’ve known Andre did something there. Boss Man is the first man to recover and goes to finish Perfect, but Haku and The Barbarian run down, attack Boss Man and cause the DQ finish. Andre helps Boss Man fight off the two attackers while Perfect and Heenan retreat with the IC Title. Boss Man celebrates when they announce him as the winner like an idiot.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 10: Earthquake def. Greg Valentine (3:14)
As you can expect from the time, there wasn’t a whole lot to this match. I did like how they tried to make Greg look like a tough man. Earthquake is mainly the one in control of the match, but Valentine lays into him with chops and elbows to the head that actually staggers the big guy. Jimmy Hart distracts Valentine, who gets chopped and thrown to the mat and then Earthquake takes a run and just sits on this man’s chest to beat him.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 11: The Legion of Doom def. Power & Glory (0:59)
Quick, simple match. Power and Glory jump LOD at the start and they just fight up to the point when Animal picks Paul Roma up on his shoulders and Hawk jumps off the top rope with a clothesline. LOD squashes Power and Glory. Let’s move on.
Match 12: Virgil def. Ted DiBiase via countout (7:41)
Roddy Piper comes down to the ring on crutches and is gonna be in the corner of Virgil. This match was nowhere near as good as the match they had at SummerSlam later that year. The match starts out okay, Virgil jukes and jives, laying DiBiase out on his ass a whole lot. But soon, DiBiase turns the match around and starts wearing down Virgil, it’s ahhh boring. DiBiase sends Virgil outside wearing Piper is seated. DiBiase tosses Virgil back in and pushes Piper over. DiBiase gets back in the ring. Virgil reverses an irish whip and Piper pulls the top rope down with one of his crutches, causing DiBiase to fly over the ropes. DiBiase now has his focus on Piper and is out for so long that he gets counted out so Virgil is declared the winner. But he doesn’t look like a winner as DiBiase gets back in and puts Virgil in the Million Dollar Dream as Virgil goes to check on Piper. Piper gets in the ring to help his friend, but doesn’t see Sherri come down. She jumps Piper from behind and the two begin ganging on Piper. DiBiase attacks Piper’s knee with his crutch until Virgil gets back up and chases them off. Virgil won the match, but not the war.
My Rating: **1/4
Match 13: The Mountie def. Tito Santana (1:21)
Now probably because they realized they were running out of time, I bet this match got cut short. To sum it up, Tito beats up the Mountie, Jimmy Hart hands The Mountie his stun gun, Hart distracts the referee so Mountie can taze Tito. Mountie covers him and wins. Collect your paychecks boys.
Main Event: WWF Championship Match - Hulk Hogan def. Sgt. Slaughter (c) (20:26)
So you guys may be surprised to hear this match wasn’t as bad as it sounds. But it's not good either. Certainly not good enough for 20 minutes. I kid you not though guys. The first 10 minutes of the match is Hogan beating the shit out of Slaughter. Think of SummerSlam 2014 when Brock whooped Cena's ass the whole. I thought that's where this was going. The first 10 minutes are just that one sided. Only when Hogan decides to go to the top rope does Slaughter start come back. He uses a chair twice in full view of the referee, but the ref was feeling lenient, which I wouldn't wanna end WrestleMania like that either. The match starts to get dumb in the last 10 minutes. Because during this time, Slaughter starts working Hogan's back, which isn’t so dumb, but he puts Hogan in the Boston Crab, right next to the ropes. All Hogan has to do to escape is touch the rope with is right in front of his face. Here's where I facepalmed. Then it gets even dumber because Slaughter is pinning Hogan, and Gen. Adnan decides now is the perfect time to get on the apron and argue with the referee. Meanwhile Slaughter has Hogan down for like a 20 count. Even larger facepalm. Adnan does it again, probably mistimed it, so Slaughter can go back out, grab a chair and bust Hogan open with it. Slaughter punches at that wound and puts Hogan in the Camel Clutch. He eventually lets go, thinking Hogan is out, he goes out and grabs the Iranian flag and lays it over Hogan as he pins him. Hogan kicks out, rips the flag in half. Does his whole spiel. Big boot, leg drop. It's over. Hogan wins as literally 95% of people probably saw coming.
My Rating: **1/2
Cagematch Rating: 6.13
My Rating: 7.5/10
An odd WrestleMania to rate. Cause there are some points at this show which are really great. Savage and Warrior plus the post match moment specifically. From match 1 to match 7, with the exception of the blindfold match, the show was enjoyable. After that it just started to drag. But definitely one of the best WrestleManias out of the first 10.
Match 1: The Rockers def. Haku & The Barbarian (10:41)
The night starts off with a very good match. A nice battle of speed vs power. And early on in the match, The Rockers keep the powerful team on their toes with double teams. Really liked when The Rockers are doing their usual double hip toss, double elbow, double superkick spot, The Barbarian just bowls over them both. Haku has Marty in a powerbomb position, and Barbarian jumps in, grabs Marty by the hair and drops him throat first on the top rope. From there, Haku and Barbarian wear down Jannetty and isolate him from Shawn. And they do this for a while so that unfortunately slows the match down, but it makes them go even more crazy for Shawn Michaels. Barbarian counters a dive from Jannetty into a powerslam and makes the mistake of trying a diving headbutt. Marty tags in Shawn, who takes on both men at the same time pretty much. We get a fast paced finish with the Rockers sending Barbarian to the outside. Jannetty hits Haku with a dropkick from the top rope and Shawn ends the match with a crossbody to Haku to win the opener at WrestleMania.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 2: Texas Tornado def. Dino Bravo (3:11)
Actually kind of a sad match when you think about it. This match happened in 1991 and both men would be gone by 1994. Dino jumps Kerry as soon as he gets in the ring and takes the fight to him immediately. Not a bad match actually for 3 minutes. Just a fight that’s over quickly. Kerry kicks out of Dino’s side slam, Dino comes off the ropes and Kerry catches him in the claw, before spinning and knocking him out with a punch to the head.
My Rating: **
Match 3: British Bulldog def. The Warlord (8:15)
Weird fact for you. Bulldog and Warlord had the longest feud of this entire year because holy hell. They fought each other on every PPV WWF put out this year. They crossed paths in the Rumble, fought one on one here, the 6-man tag at SummerSlam, a great Survivor Series Match and again one on one at This Tuesday in Texas. Although this match was much better than that one, even though it still isn’t good. Warlord was using the Full Nelson at this point, and was Chris Masters before Chris Masters ever came to WWE, because he does an interview and says “nobody’s ever broken out of my Full Nelson. So of course, the match hinges on that. Not a great match, but its okay enough. What was great about this match was how Bulldog, despite being just as strong (if not stronger) than Warlord, he was much, much more athletic and this actually did a good job of proving that point. Warlord slaps the Full Nelson on Bulldog and has it in (kinda) for about a good minute and a half before Bulldog breaks the hold and hits the running Powerslam to win the match.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Nasty Boys def. The Hart Foundation (c) (12:10)
I know that Bret was about to get his singles push, but at the time I would’ve been like “how tf did The Nasty Boys win?” Like, the Hart Foundation looked so much better by comparison in this match. The match is decent though, so I can’t give it too much shit. The Nasty Boys soon find themselves in control of the match, clotheslining Bret along the top rope and then wears him down, keeping him away from the big man. Neidhart gets the tag, but the referee was distracted by Knobbs, so they drag Bret away. They whip him into the corner and Sags whips Knobbs into the corner, which Bret moves out of the way of and clotheslines Sags to the mat. Now Bret makes the tag in view of the referee and Neidhart. Neidhart turns the tide for his team. He body slams both men before picking Sags up and tossing him into his own partner. Bret and Neidhart go for the Hart Attack, but Neidhart goes to chase Sags around the ring. In a genuine 3 stooges spot, Bret whips Knobbs off the ropes, Bret ducks and at the same time Knobbs runs over him, Sags gets in the 2 partners collide with each other. The Foundation hit Knobbs with the Hart Attack and looks like they have the match won, but the referee is busy trying to get Bret out of the ring that he doesn’t see Jimmy Hart throw Sags his megaphone and Sags hits Neidhart in the back of the head with it. Knobbs covers Neidhart and we have new Tag Champs. So now Bret can go on to do bigger and better things.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 5: Blindfold Match - Jake Roberts def. Rick Martel (8:34)
I’ll give credit to the 2 men in the match, I think that they did the very best they could with a stipulation like this. Really thought this was the best match they could possibly have in this situation. But it still sucks. I wasn’t a fan of the Marco Polo match. I did like that Roberts used the crowd to help find Martel. Whenever he would point at Martel, the crowd would cheer, telling him to go in the direction he’s pointing. Martel eventually finds the bag with Damien inside and backs off immediately, freaking out, I did like that. But other than those 2 things, I thought this was stupid. Jake eventually hits the DDT to win the match. Let’s move on.
My Rating: *
Match 6: The Undertaker def. Jimmy Snuka (4:20)
Every good story has to start somewhere. The Undertaker’s first WrestleMania marks Undertaker’s first victim of the streak. Kinda crazy how this match has become history with hindsight. Really, this match is about building up Taker as an unstoppable monster. This man beat on Snuka for the full match. This is quite literally a squash match. Snuka gets a few bodyshots in, and a headbutt, but it has no effect on The Deadman. Snuka springboards off the ropes and Undertaker catches him, and puts him in a Tombstone position, dropping Snuka to win the match and his first match at WrestleMania.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Career Ending Match - Ultimate Warrior def. Randy Savage (20:48)
Wow, this is storytelling at is finest. This is one of those matches that remind me of why I’m a pro wrestling fan. An amazing match and an amazing moment after the match. Now I debated on whether or not this match deserved a 5 star rating, and I don’t think it did. And I’ll explain why. As far the match goes, this was a battle of brains vs brawns. Warrior may had the power but Savage was working smart and had Sherri on the outside to help him. So Warrior was at the disadvantage. Warrior overpowered Savage and Savage realizes pretty quickly, he has to be smart about this. Sherri accidentally hits Savage in the head with her heel, but Warrior makes the mistake of trying to chase Sherri instead of pinning Savage. And when Warrior makes it back in the ring, Savage drops Warrior on the top rope, hangs him up by leaping over the ropes. He body slams Warrior and then proceeds to drop 5 elbows on him from the top rope in succession. This is where my problems with the match come in. I thought 5 elbows was too much. Because Warrior still kicks out after that. 2? Fine. 3? More annoying but I’ll take it. But 5?! Macho Man hit his finisher 5 times and still lost? What’s Warrior’s overall in this game because that’s crazy. But to be fair, they did sell the insanity of it happening. And it’s not like it was the usual way Warrior kicks out, he barely gets his shoulder up and Savage sells it beautifully with his face. Warrior slowly begins to get up and lays Savage out with clothesline after clothesline. He press slams him and hits the big splash. 1, 2… Savage kicks out now! Warrior looks to the referee like “what?” and then looks to the sky talking to his “warriors” or something. I thought that was goofy. Warrior steps onto the apron and Savage knocks him off the apron. Sherri drapes Warrior’s throat over the guardrail and Savage leaps off with an elbow to drop Warrior’s throat on it, but Warrior dodges and Savage hits the guardrail instead! Warrior tosses Savage back in the ring, gives his 3 shoulder tackles and places a foot on Savage’s chest to win the match. Despite my grievences, this was an amazing match. Definitely Warrior’s best match of his whole career!
My Rating: ****3/4
So after the match is over, Warrior leaves. Sherri begins to attack Savage, literally kicking the man while he’s down. The man just lost his career. But he would have a savior in the form of Elizabeth, who watched the match from the crowd. She goes over the rail and runs to the ring. She pulls Sherri off Savage and throws her out, then tries to help Savage up, who tries to reject her help at first, not knowing its her. He gets back up and nearly strikes her. He sees Elizabeth and is like “what are you doing here?” He sees Sherri on the outside screaming at him and he soon realizes what happened. And he embraces Elizabeth in the ring, the crowd goes wild. For my money, the best babyface turn of all time. He holds the ropes open for Elizabeth and lets her leave before he stands in the ring and takes a moment to drink it all in. We know now that this wasn’t Savage’s retirement match. (If you know what his actual last match was, you might wish it was) But I heard that Savage actually planned on this being his retirement match. It wasn’t just a gimmick. So it really makes the moment more special as he looks out at the crowd and says “goodbye.”
Match 8: Koji Kitao & Genichiro Tenryu def. Demolition (4:44)
No longer the Ax and the Smasher. Now it was just the Smasher and the Crusher. Yeah, Demolition was pretty much done at this point. Crazy to think that Tenryu has a Mania Match under his belt, even if it was a pretty shitty one. Yeah, I didn’t like this. The crowd was pretty much burnt out from the last match. Demolition isolated Kitao from his corner, but Kitao reaches Tenryu, but he only gets a few shots in before Demolition beat up him too. Demolition go for their backbreaker/elbow drop finish, but Kitao pushes Crush off the top rope and Tenryu puts Smash away with a Tiger Bomb. Not a good display of the japanese talents.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 9: Intercontinental Championship Match - Big Boss Man def. Mr. Perfect (c) via DQ (10:47)
This match was okay, but I know it could’ve been better. Boss Man was actually a decent wrestler at this point and Mr. Perfect, well he’s Perfect isn’t he. This man wrestled a classic with Bret Hart with a broken back after all. Boss Man turned the match into a brawl. And Perfect sells all of Boss Man’s punches and shots like crazy. Boss Man swings Perfect by his hair early in the match. Boss Man just overwhelms Perfect at first. But Perfect takes control of the match, looks like he’s targeting Boss Man’s neck. But Boss Man starts fighting back sooner than later. He throws Perfect into one of the ring posts by his hair. Boss Man however makes the mistake of going after Bobby Heenan, not focusing enough on Perfect, who throws Boss Man into the ring steps from behind. Heenan takes the opportunity to give Boss Man a few stomps, but who comes to the ring? None other than Andre the Giant, looking larger than ever. He grabs the Intercontinental Title, and they take a long time just to get to this spot. Heenan argues with the referee over Andre even being there. Perfect goes over to Andre, who hits Perfect in the head with the title. But Boss Man is down too, so the referee definitely should’ve known Andre did something there. Boss Man is the first man to recover and goes to finish Perfect, but Haku and The Barbarian run down, attack Boss Man and cause the DQ finish. Andre helps Boss Man fight off the two attackers while Perfect and Heenan retreat with the IC Title. Boss Man celebrates when they announce him as the winner like an idiot.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 10: Earthquake def. Greg Valentine (3:14)
As you can expect from the time, there wasn’t a whole lot to this match. I did like how they tried to make Greg look like a tough man. Earthquake is mainly the one in control of the match, but Valentine lays into him with chops and elbows to the head that actually staggers the big guy. Jimmy Hart distracts Valentine, who gets chopped and thrown to the mat and then Earthquake takes a run and just sits on this man’s chest to beat him.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 11: The Legion of Doom def. Power & Glory (0:59)
Quick, simple match. Power and Glory jump LOD at the start and they just fight up to the point when Animal picks Paul Roma up on his shoulders and Hawk jumps off the top rope with a clothesline. LOD squashes Power and Glory. Let’s move on.
Match 12: Virgil def. Ted DiBiase via countout (7:41)
Roddy Piper comes down to the ring on crutches and is gonna be in the corner of Virgil. This match was nowhere near as good as the match they had at SummerSlam later that year. The match starts out okay, Virgil jukes and jives, laying DiBiase out on his ass a whole lot. But soon, DiBiase turns the match around and starts wearing down Virgil, it’s ahhh boring. DiBiase sends Virgil outside wearing Piper is seated. DiBiase tosses Virgil back in and pushes Piper over. DiBiase gets back in the ring. Virgil reverses an irish whip and Piper pulls the top rope down with one of his crutches, causing DiBiase to fly over the ropes. DiBiase now has his focus on Piper and is out for so long that he gets counted out so Virgil is declared the winner. But he doesn’t look like a winner as DiBiase gets back in and puts Virgil in the Million Dollar Dream as Virgil goes to check on Piper. Piper gets in the ring to help his friend, but doesn’t see Sherri come down. She jumps Piper from behind and the two begin ganging on Piper. DiBiase attacks Piper’s knee with his crutch until Virgil gets back up and chases them off. Virgil won the match, but not the war.
My Rating: **1/4
Match 13: The Mountie def. Tito Santana (1:21)
Now probably because they realized they were running out of time, I bet this match got cut short. To sum it up, Tito beats up the Mountie, Jimmy Hart hands The Mountie his stun gun, Hart distracts the referee so Mountie can taze Tito. Mountie covers him and wins. Collect your paychecks boys.
Main Event: WWF Championship Match - Hulk Hogan def. Sgt. Slaughter (c) (20:26)
So you guys may be surprised to hear this match wasn’t as bad as it sounds. But it's not good either. Certainly not good enough for 20 minutes. I kid you not though guys. The first 10 minutes of the match is Hogan beating the shit out of Slaughter. Think of SummerSlam 2014 when Brock whooped Cena's ass the whole. I thought that's where this was going. The first 10 minutes are just that one sided. Only when Hogan decides to go to the top rope does Slaughter start come back. He uses a chair twice in full view of the referee, but the ref was feeling lenient, which I wouldn't wanna end WrestleMania like that either. The match starts to get dumb in the last 10 minutes. Because during this time, Slaughter starts working Hogan's back, which isn’t so dumb, but he puts Hogan in the Boston Crab, right next to the ropes. All Hogan has to do to escape is touch the rope with is right in front of his face. Here's where I facepalmed. Then it gets even dumber because Slaughter is pinning Hogan, and Gen. Adnan decides now is the perfect time to get on the apron and argue with the referee. Meanwhile Slaughter has Hogan down for like a 20 count. Even larger facepalm. Adnan does it again, probably mistimed it, so Slaughter can go back out, grab a chair and bust Hogan open with it. Slaughter punches at that wound and puts Hogan in the Camel Clutch. He eventually lets go, thinking Hogan is out, he goes out and grabs the Iranian flag and lays it over Hogan as he pins him. Hogan kicks out, rips the flag in half. Does his whole spiel. Big boot, leg drop. It's over. Hogan wins as literally 95% of people probably saw coming.
My Rating: **1/2
Cagematch Rating: 6.13
My Rating: 7.5/10
An odd WrestleMania to rate. Cause there are some points at this show which are really great. Savage and Warrior plus the post match moment specifically. From match 1 to match 7, with the exception of the blindfold match, the show was enjoyable. After that it just started to drag. But definitely one of the best WrestleManias out of the first 10.
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I still gotta watch Mania 35 at some point lol. Imma have to dedicate a whole day off to watching that cause I could watch 2 Lord of the Rings movies in the same amount of time it takes to watch that show
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This is a big time nostalgia show for me. The culmination of the first year I was a wrestling fan. I loved the Warrior-Savage match. They had fought each other a few times over the years in one-off matches which were all good. They also fought in a cage match the night after Royal Rumble that year, which was good, and again at Summerslam '92 also in a good match.
I would rate the Blindfold Match a 0 at best. Maybe even negative stars. I thought it was dumb AF. It's not that difficult to tell that they can actually see somewhat out of the blindfolds. Also, I could be wrong but I think they were still doing intermissions in the middle of the show which in this case was probably after Warrior vs Savage which helps explain the lack of interest in Demolition's match. That and the fans didn't know who the Japanese guys were.
I would rate the Blindfold Match a 0 at best. Maybe even negative stars. I thought it was dumb AF. It's not that difficult to tell that they can actually see somewhat out of the blindfolds. Also, I could be wrong but I think they were still doing intermissions in the middle of the show which in this case was probably after Warrior vs Savage which helps explain the lack of interest in Demolition's match. That and the fans didn't know who the Japanese guys were.
Super Showdown 2018
Match 1: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match - The New Day (Kofi & Xavier) (c) def. The Bar (9:40)
I was expecting a little bit better. But I don’t know, I feel like they didn’t do anything special in this match. Early in the match, Kofi flies over the ropes into the arms of The Bar who caught him. Sheamus lets go to catch Xavier who flew off the ring apron. Sheamus slams Xavier back first into the ring post while Cesaro slammed Kofi, ribs first into it, wrapping him around the post. Cesaro and Sheamus begin to keep Kofi away from his corner, isolating him from Woods. And they manage to do it for awhile. Xavier eventually gets the tag. He comes in, deals some damage, but a backbreaker from Sheamus shuts him down. Sheamus tags in Cesaro. Sheamus tosses Woods into an uppercut from Cesaro. Cesaro swings Woods and puts him in the Sharpshooter. But Kofi comes in and saves him. Kofi hits Sheamus with a Trouble in Paradise on the outside. Xavier tags Kofi, gives Cesaro a backstabber and holds him there, so Kofi can drop from the top rope and double stomp Cesaro to win the match.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 2: SmackDown Women’s Championship Match - Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (c) via DQ (10:50)
Remember when they tried to make us cheer for Charlotte over Becky? What a weird time this was. Charlotte was very much the Roman Reigns of the Women’s division at this point, while Becky had been overlooked time and time again. And they made Becky the heel. Odd choice. But it did go on to start one of the most successful and biggest runs for Becky. Becky starts out pretty aggressively, she attacks Charlotte’s legs and to town on her shoulder. Nearly pulls Charlotte out on her head to the outside. But Charlotte eventually gets going and attacks Becky’s knee. So good wrestling, but I wasn’t feeling this match for most of it. Charlotte turns Becky inside out with a Spear. Charlotte puts her in the Boston Crab, and Becky reaches the ropes to escape. Then decides it is time to leave and grabs her title, trying to leave with it. Charlotte goes after her and throws her back inside, putting her in the Figure 8, but as Becky is in the hold, she reaches for her title and hits Charlotte in the hip with it to escape and retain by DQ. Okay match, but I know these 2 can do better.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 3: John Cena & Bobby Lashley def. Elias & Kevin Owens (10:05)
Remember that one time John Cena debuted a new finisher and only used it once? Like one of the key points I remember during the build to this match was that John Cena planned on debuting a new finisher. And boy oh boy did it suck in the funniest way possible. Lashley quite literally does all of the work. He fights with both men. Cena gets knocked off the apron by Elias. Lashley picks Elias up on his shoulders and Owens superkicks him. They start wearing Lashley down and keep him away from Cena. But inevitably, Cena gets tagged in. He Elias his patented 5 moves of doom, and then crosses his arms like he’s Black Panther, he back fists Elias and pins him as Michael Cole goes “The 6th move of doom!” Wowwwww. That’s actually unbelievable.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 4: The IIconics def. Asuka & Naomi (5:45)
Nice to give the IIconics a win in their home country. And any time I get to see Peyton Royce on screen is a joy. Glad they didn’t pin Asuka lol. IIconics pretty much get their asses whooped the whole match, but they get the win in the end. Naomi goes to springboard, but Billie pulls her down, face first onto the apron. Billie Kay and Asuka are on the outside and Asuka goes to throw her into the barricade, but Billie turns around and throws Asuka in instead. She comes back in and holds Naomi up like a wheelbarrow so Peyton can knee her in the side of the head. The IIconics win.
My Rating: **
Match 5: WWE Championship No DQ, No Countout Match - AJ Styles (c) def. Samoa Joe (23:45)
The show may have gotten off to a slow start, but the next 4 matches, with the exception of one are all awesome. With this match being my match of the night! This match had a slow pace but what it lacked there they made up for in story and psychology. The fight starts outside the ring. Joe meets AJ on the entrance way and the fight begins. AJ was on a mission to hurt Joe, but that’s easier said than done. Joe shows off his power advantage and beats the hell out of AJ. He bloodies AJ’s mouth with a clothesline that flipped him onto his stomach. Joe eventually goes outside to grab a steel chair, but AJ dropkicks it into Joe’s face. But AJ makes the mistake of trying to leap off said chair into Joe in a corner, and Joe counters with a uranagi onto the chair. Joe goes out and grabs a table and sets it up near the corner. He places AJ on the top rope and goes to superplex him through it. But AJ slides through his legs and picks him up on his shoulders and drops him through the table, knee first and Joe starts favoring his knee, and the referee checks on him. Joe says “it popped.” AJ just calmly walks over, pushes the referee back and starts going after that knee. He tries to put Joe in the Calf Crusher, but Joe reaches back and puts Styles in the Coquina Clutch! But Styles escapes by rolling outside. He gives Joe a kick to the head from outside before hopping back on the apron and hitting a springboard 450 to Joe’s bad knee. AJ sets up a Phenomenal Forearm, but when he goes for it, Joe sidesteps and puts AJ in the Coquina Clutch again! AJ tries to fight Joe off. And still with the hold locked in, Joe throws Styles over his head! Samoa Joe goes for the Muscle Buster, but his knee gives out and Styles uses that as a chance to roll Joe up from behind, but Joe tries to counter that into the Coquina. But Styles reverses into the Calf Crusher and Joe taps out. At the time I watched this match, I was sure that Joe was winning. (And I think he should’ve won) So to me, this was a surprise win. A really great match though that doesn’t feel as long as it is.
My Rating: ****
Match 6: Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins def. The Riott Squad (10:05)
“We’re thinking about calling them the Riot Squad. What do you think Vince?” “Give them an extra t.” “What?” “I want riot to have an extra t on it dammit.” “Why?” Anyway, how can I sum up this match? The Bella Twins are the ones mostly in it. Moreso Nikki than Brie. So Nikki is in it more than her teammates. Ronda doesn’t get tagged in until the end. The Riot with 2 Ts Squad isolate Nikki from her corner. They try their hardest to stop Ronda from getting the tag cause you fucking would wouldn’t ya. Ronda eventually gets tagged in though and she basically fights the whole RiOtT Squad by herself. Nikki throws Ruby into the barricade, but Liv Morgan takes out Brie. Liv and Sarah both get tossed to the mat by Ronda and Ronda puts both girls in an armbar to win the match. What a dumb finish.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Cruiserweight Championship Match - Buddy Murphy def. Cedric Alexander (c) (10:35)
13 minutes shorter than AJ vs Joe, but in 10 minutes, these 2 put on a hell of a match. A great sprint to showcase what the cruiserweights were all about. And it being in Buddy’s home country just makes this that much sweeter. They also make sure to mention that Cedric hadn’t been pinned in over a year. So that was another interesting thing coming into this match. Buddy tries to shake Cedric’s hand… Cedric’s hesitant… He tries to shake his hand, and Buddy takes his hand away, flinging some of the water off his head into Cedric’s direction as a sign of disrespect and then knees Cedric in the face right at the get go. It’s such a shame they did pretty much nothing with him. I think Murphy could’ve been a main eventer. Murphy gets the match off to a quick pace, and dives over the ropes on Cedric. But the match turns around in Cedric’s favor when he counters Murphy on the top rope and drops him on the mat with a Michinoku Driver! The match is fast paced and both men throw kicks and knees each other’s way. Murphy drops Cedric with a powerbomb out of the ropes and Cedric kicks out. Cedric hits a standing Spansh Fly on Murphy. Murphy kicks out, and Cedric right away throws Murphy up into the Lum-Bar Check. But Murphy kicks out! Cedric springboards off the top rope and Murphy catches him with a knee and hits Murphy’s Law to pin Cedric 1, 2, 3. Murphy’s the new champ in his home country.
My Rating: ****
Match 8: The Shield def. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler (19:40)
And the hits keep on coming. I thought this match ruled. I don’t know how it doesn’t get more love. Right away, they ask the question if Dean Ambrose is cool with the Shield, teasing the turn here on this night. The match starts off as a fight right away. The Shield try to put Braun through the announce table before the match even starts. But Dolph and Drew save him. Toss Dean and Roman aside and throw Seth back in the ring. And as the bell rings, the heel team just isolate Seth and keep him away from his corner. Making him really work for that hot tag. Drew McIntyre in particular is a menace in this match. Which, things don’t change do they? Drew holds Seth up by his hair and goes “come on Seth. Your brothers are right there!” They really tease us with this hot tag. Seth buckle bombs Dolph into the corner. Drew tags himself in. He goes to powerbomb Seth, who reverses into a hurricanrana into Braun, who tags himself in and runs over, knocks Roman and Dean off the apron and then bowls down Seth. He goes to the top rope and jumps off, but Seth moves out of the way. Ambrose is back on the apron and for the first time in the match, Seth tags out and Ambrose goes through a nice sequence with Dolph and McIntyre, before Roman gets back on the apron. Dean tags him in and Roman cleans Drew’s clock. He sets up Drew for a Superman Punch, but Drew dodges and Roman accidentally hits Ambrose who was standing on the apron. Chaos ensues as we come down towards the end. Seth comes back inside to lay out with Dolph. Roman saves Seth from taking an Alabama Slam. Roman and Seth are alone in the ring and their opponents surround them on three different sides, and who would come up on the fourth side, none other than Dean Ambrose. And it makes you wonder, what’s this man about to do. Dean looks at Dolph, looks at Drew, looks at Braun and nods before he gets in… runs between Roman and Seth and dropkicks Braun off the apron before hitting him with a suicide dive. Dolph gets laid out again and The Shield prepare to triple Powerbomb Drew, but Braun saves him with a tackle to all 3 Shield members as they have Drew up. Braun runs over Roman and Seth on the outside while Dolph hits Dean with a Zig Zag on the inside. But Dean kicks out and Braun yells to Dolph “throw him outside, I’ll run his ass over!” And Braun goes to do just that, but from offscreen, Roman Spears Braun through the barricade! Dolph superkicks Dean and drags him back inside. And they prepare to finish him with a Zig Zag/Claymore double team, but Seth comes back in and superkicks Drew over the ropes, allowing Dean to counter Dolph and give him Dirty Deeds to win the match. What a match and what a finish!
My Rating: ****
Match 9: WWE Championship #1 Contenders Match - Daniel Bryan def. The Miz (2:25)
I watched this show as it was happening. So I thought, 3 banger matches and we’re about to get a 4th? This is a great show. Bryan comes into this match with hurt ribs and Miz attacks those immediately. Bryan fights back with kicks. He goes for the running knee, but Miz hits his own for a 2 count. Miz picks Bryan back up going for a Skull Crushing Finale, but Bryan reverses it into a small package and wins… wait. He won? That’s it? It was so sudden. So quick that nobody even popped for it when the 3 was counted. It took the audience until Bryan’s music hit to actually react. I was like “oh… that’s disappointing.” I was expecting another awesome match, and it was over like that. But now that I think about, I really wonder if the reason this match was so short was because of the main event…
Main Event: No Disqualification Match - Triple H def. The Undertaker (27:35)
“Sorry guys, you were gonna go longer, but we needed to cut your time for the old men.” At the time, I was pissed this match was happening. Because I didn’t see a need for it. Michael Cole at the end of the match says “The rivalry is finally over.” And I couldn’t help but go, “I thought it was over with the “END of an Era.” Like what reason did these 2 have to fight each other. Aside from WWE wanting to sell out a stadium? Whatever. Despite all that, I do think that this match, for what it was, was decent. They did some good stuff in the match. But jesus christ it didn’t need to go almost 30 minutes. Triple H had Shawn Michaels in his corner and Undertaker had Kane in his… Almost as if they were setting something up… Anyway. It’s announced before the bell rings that this is now a No DQ Match. And thank god, because I don’t think I could’ve watched these 2 have a regular match for near half an hour at this point in their careers. HHH and Shawn set up a table on the outside that doesn’t get used until halfway through the match. I did like how they went into the crowd. Almost felt like a call back to their match at Mania 17. Shawn Michaels superkicks Kane onto the table on the outside and HHH drops an elbow through him. Undertaker hits a Tombstone on HHH. But HHH kicks out and Undertaker all huffed up about it, knocks out the referee. He then wraps a steel chair around HHH’s neck, but Shawn can’t stand for that and gets in. Taker knocks him down, and HHH gets out of the chair, dropping Undertaker with a Spinebuster and then a Pedigree. Undertaker kicks out when the second referee is in the ring. HHH wraps the chair around Taker’s neck now and comes off the second rope onto the chair. HHH covers him, but Kane pulls that referee out of the ring. As the match goes on, Shawn hands Triple H a sledgehammer and Kane hands Taker a steel chair, and I thought, “this must be the end of the match.” HHH slams the sledgehammer into the chair back into Taker’s face… and that’s not the end of the match. Still holding the Sledgehammer, Undertaker puts HHH in the Hell’s Gate, which is a callback to their Mania 27 match. Kane comes in and tries to Chokeslam Shawn, Shawn kicks him in the gonads. Undertaker throws Shawn out of the ring. He gives HHH a weak Chokeslam and goes for the Tombstone, but Shawn saves him with a Superkick. But Undertaker recovers pretty much right away and puts Shawn into a Tombstone position. HHH hits him with the sledgehammer. Shawn gives Taker another Superkick into the Pedigree. A callback to their last Mania match. HHH pins Undertaker 1, 2, 3 after a long fucking match. But I’m not gonna sit here and say that there weren’t some things they did in this match that I didn’t think were good. It felt like an old western showdown and I liked the call backs to each of their matches they had at WrestleMania. It’s just, they tried to put on an epic and instead put on a meh. Hey, compared to what this match was setting up, this was a classic as far as I’m concerned. After the match is over, all four men raise each other’s hands. And then Undertaker Tombstones HHH, before they take Shawn outside and chokeslam him through the announce table. All to set up… that dreaded Crown Jewel Match… Jesus Christ, what were they thinking?
My Rating: ***
Cagematch Rating: 6.16
My Rating: 8/10
You can’t exactly complain a whole lot when the show gives you 3 awesome matches. But you can complain about the first hour being boring at best. Thankfully, those matches were short. I didn’t like how they put the WWE Title Match in the middle of the show. I didn’t expect it to main event the show, but at the very least, have it second to last. They gave the Australians a win in their home country so that was cool at least. I think the main reason for my rating is that during that 4 match period, I found myself really enjoying the show. That 6-women tag was over quick at least. And despite the main event being pretty boring (and lame in the fact that it was even happening), It was pretty decent still.
Match 1: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match - The New Day (Kofi & Xavier) (c) def. The Bar (9:40)
I was expecting a little bit better. But I don’t know, I feel like they didn’t do anything special in this match. Early in the match, Kofi flies over the ropes into the arms of The Bar who caught him. Sheamus lets go to catch Xavier who flew off the ring apron. Sheamus slams Xavier back first into the ring post while Cesaro slammed Kofi, ribs first into it, wrapping him around the post. Cesaro and Sheamus begin to keep Kofi away from his corner, isolating him from Woods. And they manage to do it for awhile. Xavier eventually gets the tag. He comes in, deals some damage, but a backbreaker from Sheamus shuts him down. Sheamus tags in Cesaro. Sheamus tosses Woods into an uppercut from Cesaro. Cesaro swings Woods and puts him in the Sharpshooter. But Kofi comes in and saves him. Kofi hits Sheamus with a Trouble in Paradise on the outside. Xavier tags Kofi, gives Cesaro a backstabber and holds him there, so Kofi can drop from the top rope and double stomp Cesaro to win the match.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 2: SmackDown Women’s Championship Match - Charlotte Flair def. Becky Lynch (c) via DQ (10:50)
Remember when they tried to make us cheer for Charlotte over Becky? What a weird time this was. Charlotte was very much the Roman Reigns of the Women’s division at this point, while Becky had been overlooked time and time again. And they made Becky the heel. Odd choice. But it did go on to start one of the most successful and biggest runs for Becky. Becky starts out pretty aggressively, she attacks Charlotte’s legs and to town on her shoulder. Nearly pulls Charlotte out on her head to the outside. But Charlotte eventually gets going and attacks Becky’s knee. So good wrestling, but I wasn’t feeling this match for most of it. Charlotte turns Becky inside out with a Spear. Charlotte puts her in the Boston Crab, and Becky reaches the ropes to escape. Then decides it is time to leave and grabs her title, trying to leave with it. Charlotte goes after her and throws her back inside, putting her in the Figure 8, but as Becky is in the hold, she reaches for her title and hits Charlotte in the hip with it to escape and retain by DQ. Okay match, but I know these 2 can do better.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 3: John Cena & Bobby Lashley def. Elias & Kevin Owens (10:05)
Remember that one time John Cena debuted a new finisher and only used it once? Like one of the key points I remember during the build to this match was that John Cena planned on debuting a new finisher. And boy oh boy did it suck in the funniest way possible. Lashley quite literally does all of the work. He fights with both men. Cena gets knocked off the apron by Elias. Lashley picks Elias up on his shoulders and Owens superkicks him. They start wearing Lashley down and keep him away from Cena. But inevitably, Cena gets tagged in. He Elias his patented 5 moves of doom, and then crosses his arms like he’s Black Panther, he back fists Elias and pins him as Michael Cole goes “The 6th move of doom!” Wowwwww. That’s actually unbelievable.
My Rating: *1/2
Match 4: The IIconics def. Asuka & Naomi (5:45)
Nice to give the IIconics a win in their home country. And any time I get to see Peyton Royce on screen is a joy. Glad they didn’t pin Asuka lol. IIconics pretty much get their asses whooped the whole match, but they get the win in the end. Naomi goes to springboard, but Billie pulls her down, face first onto the apron. Billie Kay and Asuka are on the outside and Asuka goes to throw her into the barricade, but Billie turns around and throws Asuka in instead. She comes back in and holds Naomi up like a wheelbarrow so Peyton can knee her in the side of the head. The IIconics win.
My Rating: **
Match 5: WWE Championship No DQ, No Countout Match - AJ Styles (c) def. Samoa Joe (23:45)
The show may have gotten off to a slow start, but the next 4 matches, with the exception of one are all awesome. With this match being my match of the night! This match had a slow pace but what it lacked there they made up for in story and psychology. The fight starts outside the ring. Joe meets AJ on the entrance way and the fight begins. AJ was on a mission to hurt Joe, but that’s easier said than done. Joe shows off his power advantage and beats the hell out of AJ. He bloodies AJ’s mouth with a clothesline that flipped him onto his stomach. Joe eventually goes outside to grab a steel chair, but AJ dropkicks it into Joe’s face. But AJ makes the mistake of trying to leap off said chair into Joe in a corner, and Joe counters with a uranagi onto the chair. Joe goes out and grabs a table and sets it up near the corner. He places AJ on the top rope and goes to superplex him through it. But AJ slides through his legs and picks him up on his shoulders and drops him through the table, knee first and Joe starts favoring his knee, and the referee checks on him. Joe says “it popped.” AJ just calmly walks over, pushes the referee back and starts going after that knee. He tries to put Joe in the Calf Crusher, but Joe reaches back and puts Styles in the Coquina Clutch! But Styles escapes by rolling outside. He gives Joe a kick to the head from outside before hopping back on the apron and hitting a springboard 450 to Joe’s bad knee. AJ sets up a Phenomenal Forearm, but when he goes for it, Joe sidesteps and puts AJ in the Coquina Clutch again! AJ tries to fight Joe off. And still with the hold locked in, Joe throws Styles over his head! Samoa Joe goes for the Muscle Buster, but his knee gives out and Styles uses that as a chance to roll Joe up from behind, but Joe tries to counter that into the Coquina. But Styles reverses into the Calf Crusher and Joe taps out. At the time I watched this match, I was sure that Joe was winning. (And I think he should’ve won) So to me, this was a surprise win. A really great match though that doesn’t feel as long as it is.
My Rating: ****
Match 6: Ronda Rousey & The Bella Twins def. The Riott Squad (10:05)
“We’re thinking about calling them the Riot Squad. What do you think Vince?” “Give them an extra t.” “What?” “I want riot to have an extra t on it dammit.” “Why?” Anyway, how can I sum up this match? The Bella Twins are the ones mostly in it. Moreso Nikki than Brie. So Nikki is in it more than her teammates. Ronda doesn’t get tagged in until the end. The Riot with 2 Ts Squad isolate Nikki from her corner. They try their hardest to stop Ronda from getting the tag cause you fucking would wouldn’t ya. Ronda eventually gets tagged in though and she basically fights the whole RiOtT Squad by herself. Nikki throws Ruby into the barricade, but Liv Morgan takes out Brie. Liv and Sarah both get tossed to the mat by Ronda and Ronda puts both girls in an armbar to win the match. What a dumb finish.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 7: Cruiserweight Championship Match - Buddy Murphy def. Cedric Alexander (c) (10:35)
13 minutes shorter than AJ vs Joe, but in 10 minutes, these 2 put on a hell of a match. A great sprint to showcase what the cruiserweights were all about. And it being in Buddy’s home country just makes this that much sweeter. They also make sure to mention that Cedric hadn’t been pinned in over a year. So that was another interesting thing coming into this match. Buddy tries to shake Cedric’s hand… Cedric’s hesitant… He tries to shake his hand, and Buddy takes his hand away, flinging some of the water off his head into Cedric’s direction as a sign of disrespect and then knees Cedric in the face right at the get go. It’s such a shame they did pretty much nothing with him. I think Murphy could’ve been a main eventer. Murphy gets the match off to a quick pace, and dives over the ropes on Cedric. But the match turns around in Cedric’s favor when he counters Murphy on the top rope and drops him on the mat with a Michinoku Driver! The match is fast paced and both men throw kicks and knees each other’s way. Murphy drops Cedric with a powerbomb out of the ropes and Cedric kicks out. Cedric hits a standing Spansh Fly on Murphy. Murphy kicks out, and Cedric right away throws Murphy up into the Lum-Bar Check. But Murphy kicks out! Cedric springboards off the top rope and Murphy catches him with a knee and hits Murphy’s Law to pin Cedric 1, 2, 3. Murphy’s the new champ in his home country.
My Rating: ****
Match 8: The Shield def. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler (19:40)
And the hits keep on coming. I thought this match ruled. I don’t know how it doesn’t get more love. Right away, they ask the question if Dean Ambrose is cool with the Shield, teasing the turn here on this night. The match starts off as a fight right away. The Shield try to put Braun through the announce table before the match even starts. But Dolph and Drew save him. Toss Dean and Roman aside and throw Seth back in the ring. And as the bell rings, the heel team just isolate Seth and keep him away from his corner. Making him really work for that hot tag. Drew McIntyre in particular is a menace in this match. Which, things don’t change do they? Drew holds Seth up by his hair and goes “come on Seth. Your brothers are right there!” They really tease us with this hot tag. Seth buckle bombs Dolph into the corner. Drew tags himself in. He goes to powerbomb Seth, who reverses into a hurricanrana into Braun, who tags himself in and runs over, knocks Roman and Dean off the apron and then bowls down Seth. He goes to the top rope and jumps off, but Seth moves out of the way. Ambrose is back on the apron and for the first time in the match, Seth tags out and Ambrose goes through a nice sequence with Dolph and McIntyre, before Roman gets back on the apron. Dean tags him in and Roman cleans Drew’s clock. He sets up Drew for a Superman Punch, but Drew dodges and Roman accidentally hits Ambrose who was standing on the apron. Chaos ensues as we come down towards the end. Seth comes back inside to lay out with Dolph. Roman saves Seth from taking an Alabama Slam. Roman and Seth are alone in the ring and their opponents surround them on three different sides, and who would come up on the fourth side, none other than Dean Ambrose. And it makes you wonder, what’s this man about to do. Dean looks at Dolph, looks at Drew, looks at Braun and nods before he gets in… runs between Roman and Seth and dropkicks Braun off the apron before hitting him with a suicide dive. Dolph gets laid out again and The Shield prepare to triple Powerbomb Drew, but Braun saves him with a tackle to all 3 Shield members as they have Drew up. Braun runs over Roman and Seth on the outside while Dolph hits Dean with a Zig Zag on the inside. But Dean kicks out and Braun yells to Dolph “throw him outside, I’ll run his ass over!” And Braun goes to do just that, but from offscreen, Roman Spears Braun through the barricade! Dolph superkicks Dean and drags him back inside. And they prepare to finish him with a Zig Zag/Claymore double team, but Seth comes back in and superkicks Drew over the ropes, allowing Dean to counter Dolph and give him Dirty Deeds to win the match. What a match and what a finish!
My Rating: ****
Match 9: WWE Championship #1 Contenders Match - Daniel Bryan def. The Miz (2:25)
I watched this show as it was happening. So I thought, 3 banger matches and we’re about to get a 4th? This is a great show. Bryan comes into this match with hurt ribs and Miz attacks those immediately. Bryan fights back with kicks. He goes for the running knee, but Miz hits his own for a 2 count. Miz picks Bryan back up going for a Skull Crushing Finale, but Bryan reverses it into a small package and wins… wait. He won? That’s it? It was so sudden. So quick that nobody even popped for it when the 3 was counted. It took the audience until Bryan’s music hit to actually react. I was like “oh… that’s disappointing.” I was expecting another awesome match, and it was over like that. But now that I think about, I really wonder if the reason this match was so short was because of the main event…
Main Event: No Disqualification Match - Triple H def. The Undertaker (27:35)
“Sorry guys, you were gonna go longer, but we needed to cut your time for the old men.” At the time, I was pissed this match was happening. Because I didn’t see a need for it. Michael Cole at the end of the match says “The rivalry is finally over.” And I couldn’t help but go, “I thought it was over with the “END of an Era.” Like what reason did these 2 have to fight each other. Aside from WWE wanting to sell out a stadium? Whatever. Despite all that, I do think that this match, for what it was, was decent. They did some good stuff in the match. But jesus christ it didn’t need to go almost 30 minutes. Triple H had Shawn Michaels in his corner and Undertaker had Kane in his… Almost as if they were setting something up… Anyway. It’s announced before the bell rings that this is now a No DQ Match. And thank god, because I don’t think I could’ve watched these 2 have a regular match for near half an hour at this point in their careers. HHH and Shawn set up a table on the outside that doesn’t get used until halfway through the match. I did like how they went into the crowd. Almost felt like a call back to their match at Mania 17. Shawn Michaels superkicks Kane onto the table on the outside and HHH drops an elbow through him. Undertaker hits a Tombstone on HHH. But HHH kicks out and Undertaker all huffed up about it, knocks out the referee. He then wraps a steel chair around HHH’s neck, but Shawn can’t stand for that and gets in. Taker knocks him down, and HHH gets out of the chair, dropping Undertaker with a Spinebuster and then a Pedigree. Undertaker kicks out when the second referee is in the ring. HHH wraps the chair around Taker’s neck now and comes off the second rope onto the chair. HHH covers him, but Kane pulls that referee out of the ring. As the match goes on, Shawn hands Triple H a sledgehammer and Kane hands Taker a steel chair, and I thought, “this must be the end of the match.” HHH slams the sledgehammer into the chair back into Taker’s face… and that’s not the end of the match. Still holding the Sledgehammer, Undertaker puts HHH in the Hell’s Gate, which is a callback to their Mania 27 match. Kane comes in and tries to Chokeslam Shawn, Shawn kicks him in the gonads. Undertaker throws Shawn out of the ring. He gives HHH a weak Chokeslam and goes for the Tombstone, but Shawn saves him with a Superkick. But Undertaker recovers pretty much right away and puts Shawn into a Tombstone position. HHH hits him with the sledgehammer. Shawn gives Taker another Superkick into the Pedigree. A callback to their last Mania match. HHH pins Undertaker 1, 2, 3 after a long fucking match. But I’m not gonna sit here and say that there weren’t some things they did in this match that I didn’t think were good. It felt like an old western showdown and I liked the call backs to each of their matches they had at WrestleMania. It’s just, they tried to put on an epic and instead put on a meh. Hey, compared to what this match was setting up, this was a classic as far as I’m concerned. After the match is over, all four men raise each other’s hands. And then Undertaker Tombstones HHH, before they take Shawn outside and chokeslam him through the announce table. All to set up… that dreaded Crown Jewel Match… Jesus Christ, what were they thinking?
My Rating: ***
Cagematch Rating: 6.16
My Rating: 8/10
You can’t exactly complain a whole lot when the show gives you 3 awesome matches. But you can complain about the first hour being boring at best. Thankfully, those matches were short. I didn’t like how they put the WWE Title Match in the middle of the show. I didn’t expect it to main event the show, but at the very least, have it second to last. They gave the Australians a win in their home country so that was cool at least. I think the main reason for my rating is that during that 4 match period, I found myself really enjoying the show. That 6-women tag was over quick at least. And despite the main event being pretty boring (and lame in the fact that it was even happening), It was pretty decent still.
WrestleMania 2000
Match 1: Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan def. The Godfather & D’Lo Brown (9:08)
The way the show starts is actually kinda funny because they have Jim Ross welcoming us to WrestleMania and then it cuts to Godfather and D’Lo in the ring with the hoes. Meaning they cut something out. Probably for copyright reasons. Probably one of the worst (if not the worst) opener in WrestleMania history. This is not how you get the show off to a hot start. The coolest part of the match was Bull Buchanan running and leaping to the top rope and jumping off. This man was more athletic than we all remember him being. But it’s such a boring match. Bull and Boss Man isolate D’Lo away from his corner. D’Lo eventually gets the tag to Godfather who is in there long enough to hit some punches and a ho train and tag back out to D’Lo. D’Lo is about to go off the top rope, but gets shoved off by Buchanan. Godfather is taken out outside by Buchanan. Boss Man hits the side slam on the inside and Bull hits a leg drop from the top rope to pin D’Lo.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 2: Hardcore Championship Battle Royal - Hardcore Holly won by pinning Crash Holly (“15:00”)
Wow this match is a mess. In both a good way and a bad way. This match had a pretty low rating on cagematch, but I enjoyed the chaos of this for a bit there. For anyone who’s confused, this isn’t your typical wrestling battle royal. You pin the champion, you become the champion and have to stay the champion until the end of the time limit. Which was 15 minutes. This was fun to watch, but the entire thing gets old after a bit. 10 minutes would’ve probably been better for this. Tazz pins Crash in 20 seconds and gets beat by Viscera in like another 30 seconds. So we’ve had 2 title changes before the first minute is up. The whole match is just guys slamming shit over each other’s heads for 15 minutes basically. Viscera hangs onto the title until The APA double team him. They stack Kaientai on top of Viscera and Funaki is announced as the new champion. And Taka immediately turns on him. Funaki, now the target of everyone, gets chased backstage where we have 3 more title changes. Pete Gas gets bloodied up and his own blood stains that nice sweater of his. Tazz pins him to become the champion again until he’s pinned by Crash with 40 seconds left on the clock. Crash celebrates too early though and Tazz puts him in the Katahajime and Crash hangs on until the moment Hardcore gets in with a jar of candy and smashes it over Crash’s head. He pins Crash and the referee… stops the count before 3. And Howard Finkel very confused announces “your Hardcore Champion… Hardcore Holly?” Now the reason for this confusing ending is because right at the 4 second mark… the timer stops. It stops for half a second, but that half second is enough to completely fuck up this ending, because Crash was supposed to win.
My Rating: ***
Match 3: T&A def. Head Cheese (Al Snow & Steve Blackman) (7:04)
When I was looking up images to use for this match in place of a graphic, I laughed for like 5 minutes at this picture so I couldn’t not pick it. I say that, but I didn’t find anything about this match. When you already have a match not even worth a full star and then have a match somehow worse than that, you know you’re in for a bad show. Every time it looks like this match might pick up some traction, they gotta cut to Chester McCheesington (yes that’s his name) trying to molest Trish on the outside for some reason. Steve Blackman looks like he’s gonna put Albert away, but he has to keep Chester in line outside. Test throws Snow over the barricade. Albert press slams Steve to the mat and Test hits an elbow to win the match. And then Snow and Blackman beat up Chester after the match, as they should. Pervert.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Triangle Ladder Match - Edge & Christian def. The Dudley Boyz (c) & The Hardy Boyz (23:30)
And here to save the show, its the greatest tag team feud of all time. This is probably a hot take, and maybe my mind will change once I watch their SummerSlam and Mania 17 matches, but out of their PPV trilogy, this is my favorite! From start to finish, you are treated to one of the exciting matches of all time! These guys kill themselves for this match! With matches like this, there’s no reason any of them should still be wrestling. I can’t recall every single spot so allow me to run through some of the most memorable ones to me. Jeff Hardy goes for a 450 splash onto Bubba, who he had laid out on a ladder, but Bubba moves out of the way, and Jeff crashes into the ladder. The Hardyz hit Bubba Ray with a legdrop, splash combo from the top of 2 ladders. Christian leaps off a ladder in the ring onto Matt Hardy and Bubba Ray on the outside. Edge and Christian hit D-Von with a double superplex from the top of a ladder. All 6 men end up on a ladder on the inside. Jeff and Christian get pushed over and fall to the outside! That fucking hurt I know. Edge and Matt get crotched on the top rope and only the Dudleys remain in the ring. They squash Christian between 2 ladders and give Edge a 3D before Bubba shoves D-Von and yells at him to “GET THE TABLES!” They set up 2 ladders in the ring and make a platform between it by propping a table onto them. The Hardys stop them and now the Dudleys decide that these men must die. D-Von sets Jeff on a table inside and leaps off a ladder, attempting to splash him through it. But Jeff moves and D-Von goes through it. And then Bubba powerbombs Matt off the announce table through a table set up in from of it. Bubba grabs another ladder at the front of the ring and Jeff runs along the barricade, going to leap off it and Bubba just throws it right at him! And then Bubba decides it’d be a great idea for him to set up a massive ladder in the entrance way and a table just below it. He drags Jeff by his hair up to the table, only for Christian to save him with a ring bell. He clocks Bubba with it, and Jeff throws Christian into the barricade, before throwing his shirt off (much to the delight of the ladies) and climbs the ladder and Swantons Bubba through the table! They’re out for the finish. Matt takes D-Von out with a Twist of Fate and climbs the ladder in the ring, standing on the makeshift platform with Christian, he has his hands on the titles, and then Edge comes up behind him and shoves him off! Matt crashes through another table just below them and Edge takes the titles down. That. Was. Awesome.
My Rating: *****
Match 5: Cat Fight with Val Venis as Special Referee - Terri def. The Kat (2:24)
The only one on one match on the match is also the worst match. Yeah, somehow the two tag team matches from earlier wasn’t the worst match of the show. They’re damn lucky the Ladder Match was so good! I feel like just talking about this match is gonna make me cringe. The way they win this match is by throwing their opponent to the outside. The Kat throws Terri out twice, but Mae Young (who’s in Kat’s corner by the way) keeps distracting Val so he doesn’t see it. Mae is so horny that she can’t keep her clothes on for 3 minutes for The Kat to win. The match ends with Moolah throwing The Kat out of the ring and helping Terri back in. Val sees this and Terri is declared the winner. What an awful match. This Mania sucks man!
My Rating: DUD
Match 6: Chyna & Too Cool def. The Radicalz (9:38)
An okay match. I’ll take an average match over a terrible one anyday though. The story going into this is that Eddie wants to get into Chyna’s pants. You could say Eddie wants her to be his Mami… anyway. But whenever Chyna gets tagged in, Eddie runs away. The Radicalz beat on Grandmaster and Scotty for a good portion of the match. But Scotty does get the Worm in and hits on both Saturn and Malenko. Chyna gets tagged in again and Eddie runs from her. She takes on both Saturn and Malenko at the same time, and gives them a double low blow with the ref’s back turned. This match ends with Too Cool fighting with Saturn and Malenko, leaving Chyna and Eddie in the ring. Chyna powerbombs Eddie and then grabs his crotch (which probably should’ve been a DQ) and press slams him. Then hits a sleeper neckbreaker combo to get the win. So Chyna wins the match, but apparently when she grabbed Eddie’s dick, he must have been packin’ cause I’m pretty sure she became his Mami on Raw the very next night.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match - Chris Benoit def. Kurt Angle (c) & Chris Jericho (8:13)
Match 8: European Championship Triple Threat Match - Chris Jericho def. Kurt Angle (c) & Chris Benoit (5:39)
I kinda liked this concept. 2 different matches between the same guys for 2 different belts I think was a pretty sweet idea. And you can’t go wrong with these three. If this was Kurt Angle from a year later, I bet this match would’ve been even better. To be honest with you guys, there isn’t much to take away from the first match, despite it being longer. It’s just a good old fashioned wrestling match… with 3 people. The thing I remember most was when Jericho went to the top rope, Benoit shoved him off into the announce table. Kurt Angle puts Jericho in the Crossface Chickenwing, but Benoit saves the match and throws Kurt over the barricade, before hitting a Diving Headbutt on Jericho to win the first match and take the IC Title. But then immediately, Benoit goes to pin Jericho again, but Angle makes the save. The second match is when you go “we might have something here.” It’s a shame it only lasts 5 minutes though. Angle goes for a moonsault and as you probably already guessed, he missed. Seriously, did he ever hit that moonsault? It’s like the Ric Flair top rope gag. The referee gets bumped and Benoit gets Jericho into a Crossface. Jericho taps out which and Benoit realizes there’s no referee. Jericho gets Benoit into a Walls of Jericho and Benoit taps out. Angle gets back in with one of the titles and hits Jericho with it. The referee recovers and Benoit stops Angle from pinning Jericho and goes for another Diving Headbutt on Kurt, but Kurt moves out of the way and Jericho takes advantage by hitting the Lionsault and pins Benoit to win the European Title. Angle walks in with 2 titles and leaves with 0.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 9: Kane & Rikishi def. X-Pac & Road Dogg (4:00)
Pac and Road Dogg try to get the jump on their opponents right away, but it basically does nothing. Rikishi tries to stinkface Tori a minute into the match, but Pac and Road Dogg save her. There is really almost nothing to this match. Pac and Road Dogg get a few shots in. Pac gets to do the bronco buster. Kane and Rikishi start powering them around the ring. Rikishi tries to do the stinkface to X-Pac. But Pac gets saved by Tori. Rikishi lays Road Dogg out with a superkick. Paul Bearer throws Tori into the ring and Kane grabs her by the throat and pushes her into the corner so Rikishi can finally do the Stinkface. And Kane puts X-Pac down with a Tombstone to win the match. So then after the match, Too Cool run down, as well as a guy in a chicken costume that JR and King think is Pete Rose. The chicken dances with Too Cool. Kane grabs the chicken and Pete Rose comes into the ring with a bat and tries to hit Kane from behind. Rikishi takes it out of his hands and Kane turns around, and Chokeslams Pete Rose before Rikishi drags him into the corner and stinkfaces him too.
My Rating: **
Main Event: WWF Championship Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match - Triple H (c) def. The Rock, Mick Foley & Big Show (38:00)
As you lovely readers probably know, this match is only a 4-Way so they could do the “A McMahon in each corner” gimmick. You had Vince with The Rock, Stephanie with Triple H, Shane with Big Show and Linda with Foley. First off, it should’ve been Triple H vs The Rock and that’s it. Secondly, The Rock should’ve won. There’s no reason they couldn’t have the match that they had at Backlash here instead. Big Show starts off as the dominant male in the match, tossing around his 3 opponents. But he’s eliminated in less than 5 minutes. Foley slams a chair into his back and then The Rock hits him with a Rock Bottom to eliminate him. Big Show was out early but I bet that main event paycheck was pretty sweet. Triple H tries to form an alliance with both Foley and The Rock. Foley says no way, but Rock nods his head and HHH turns his back to him. Big mistake because Rock knocks HHH down then stomps his ass out with Foley. But strangely enough, the tide turns on The Rock because HHH and Foley start double teaming him now. HHH lays Rock out on an announce table and motions to Foley to drop an elbow through the table. But Foley doesn’t jump far enough and just hits the front of the table. So HHH starts to freak out and is like “Fuck, now I gotta save the spot.” So he drops 2 elbows onto The Rock to break the table. HHH throws Foley back in the ring and drops him with 1 Pedigree that Foley kicks out of. HHH goes outside and grabs a chair and wails Foley in the head with it before dropping him with another Pedigree onto the chair. Now this next 20 minutes is confusing when you get to the ending and I’ll explain why in a bit. But yep, after Foley was taken out, this match went on for another 20 minutes and it was going alright. Rock and HHH brawled around ringside. There were steel steps, steel chairs, suplex through the other announce table. Vince eventually starts going after HHH throws him back in the ring. And then Shane comes down to attack Vince. Shane busts Vince open with a monitor and nails him in the head with a chair. This is like 3 whole minutes of The Rock and HHH doing nothing by the way, the camera is focused on Shane and Vince. So Vince is taken to the back and Shane stays at ringside for some reason. The Rock hits HHH with a Rock Bottom and is too weak to cover. Convoluted and absolutely weak finish to this match. Vince runs back down to knock Shane out of the ring and picks up the chair in the ring. He teases hitting HHH, but turns and hits The Rock instead. HHH covers Rock and Rock kicks out. So Vince hits The Rock again with the chair and this time, its enough for HHH to pin him for the 3 count. Stephanie, HHH and Shane are all surprised by Vince’s actions so they at least didn’t know what his plan was. But why didn’t Vince just do this when Foley was eliminated? Why did he allow The Rock to whoop HHH’s ass and why did he attack HHH? And this crowd is so pissed because they’re pelting the ring with drinks at this point. And once The Rock realizes what happened, he becomes furious and goes on a tear. He Rock Bottoms Shane. He Rock Bottoms Vince, and after getting a slap from Stephanie, he Rock Bottoms her too. He knocks HHH back down before he hits the People’s Elbow on Stephanie. A weak ending to an even weaker WrestleMania.
My Rating: ***
Cagematch Rating: 6.17
My Rating: 4.5/10
The Ladder Match and to a lesser extent the 2 Fall Triple Threat are what saves this show from being rated lower. I love that Ladder Match so much that I was willing to cut this show some slack and, yes, I consider 4.5 cutting it some slack because this WrestleMania was fucking terrible. Actually unbelievable to me its taken so long to get to this show.
Match 1: Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanan def. The Godfather & D’Lo Brown (9:08)
The way the show starts is actually kinda funny because they have Jim Ross welcoming us to WrestleMania and then it cuts to Godfather and D’Lo in the ring with the hoes. Meaning they cut something out. Probably for copyright reasons. Probably one of the worst (if not the worst) opener in WrestleMania history. This is not how you get the show off to a hot start. The coolest part of the match was Bull Buchanan running and leaping to the top rope and jumping off. This man was more athletic than we all remember him being. But it’s such a boring match. Bull and Boss Man isolate D’Lo away from his corner. D’Lo eventually gets the tag to Godfather who is in there long enough to hit some punches and a ho train and tag back out to D’Lo. D’Lo is about to go off the top rope, but gets shoved off by Buchanan. Godfather is taken out outside by Buchanan. Boss Man hits the side slam on the inside and Bull hits a leg drop from the top rope to pin D’Lo.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 2: Hardcore Championship Battle Royal - Hardcore Holly won by pinning Crash Holly (“15:00”)
Wow this match is a mess. In both a good way and a bad way. This match had a pretty low rating on cagematch, but I enjoyed the chaos of this for a bit there. For anyone who’s confused, this isn’t your typical wrestling battle royal. You pin the champion, you become the champion and have to stay the champion until the end of the time limit. Which was 15 minutes. This was fun to watch, but the entire thing gets old after a bit. 10 minutes would’ve probably been better for this. Tazz pins Crash in 20 seconds and gets beat by Viscera in like another 30 seconds. So we’ve had 2 title changes before the first minute is up. The whole match is just guys slamming shit over each other’s heads for 15 minutes basically. Viscera hangs onto the title until The APA double team him. They stack Kaientai on top of Viscera and Funaki is announced as the new champion. And Taka immediately turns on him. Funaki, now the target of everyone, gets chased backstage where we have 3 more title changes. Pete Gas gets bloodied up and his own blood stains that nice sweater of his. Tazz pins him to become the champion again until he’s pinned by Crash with 40 seconds left on the clock. Crash celebrates too early though and Tazz puts him in the Katahajime and Crash hangs on until the moment Hardcore gets in with a jar of candy and smashes it over Crash’s head. He pins Crash and the referee… stops the count before 3. And Howard Finkel very confused announces “your Hardcore Champion… Hardcore Holly?” Now the reason for this confusing ending is because right at the 4 second mark… the timer stops. It stops for half a second, but that half second is enough to completely fuck up this ending, because Crash was supposed to win.
My Rating: ***
Match 3: T&A def. Head Cheese (Al Snow & Steve Blackman) (7:04)
When I was looking up images to use for this match in place of a graphic, I laughed for like 5 minutes at this picture so I couldn’t not pick it. I say that, but I didn’t find anything about this match. When you already have a match not even worth a full star and then have a match somehow worse than that, you know you’re in for a bad show. Every time it looks like this match might pick up some traction, they gotta cut to Chester McCheesington (yes that’s his name) trying to molest Trish on the outside for some reason. Steve Blackman looks like he’s gonna put Albert away, but he has to keep Chester in line outside. Test throws Snow over the barricade. Albert press slams Steve to the mat and Test hits an elbow to win the match. And then Snow and Blackman beat up Chester after the match, as they should. Pervert.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Triangle Ladder Match - Edge & Christian def. The Dudley Boyz (c) & The Hardy Boyz (23:30)
And here to save the show, its the greatest tag team feud of all time. This is probably a hot take, and maybe my mind will change once I watch their SummerSlam and Mania 17 matches, but out of their PPV trilogy, this is my favorite! From start to finish, you are treated to one of the exciting matches of all time! These guys kill themselves for this match! With matches like this, there’s no reason any of them should still be wrestling. I can’t recall every single spot so allow me to run through some of the most memorable ones to me. Jeff Hardy goes for a 450 splash onto Bubba, who he had laid out on a ladder, but Bubba moves out of the way, and Jeff crashes into the ladder. The Hardyz hit Bubba Ray with a legdrop, splash combo from the top of 2 ladders. Christian leaps off a ladder in the ring onto Matt Hardy and Bubba Ray on the outside. Edge and Christian hit D-Von with a double superplex from the top of a ladder. All 6 men end up on a ladder on the inside. Jeff and Christian get pushed over and fall to the outside! That fucking hurt I know. Edge and Matt get crotched on the top rope and only the Dudleys remain in the ring. They squash Christian between 2 ladders and give Edge a 3D before Bubba shoves D-Von and yells at him to “GET THE TABLES!” They set up 2 ladders in the ring and make a platform between it by propping a table onto them. The Hardys stop them and now the Dudleys decide that these men must die. D-Von sets Jeff on a table inside and leaps off a ladder, attempting to splash him through it. But Jeff moves and D-Von goes through it. And then Bubba powerbombs Matt off the announce table through a table set up in from of it. Bubba grabs another ladder at the front of the ring and Jeff runs along the barricade, going to leap off it and Bubba just throws it right at him! And then Bubba decides it’d be a great idea for him to set up a massive ladder in the entrance way and a table just below it. He drags Jeff by his hair up to the table, only for Christian to save him with a ring bell. He clocks Bubba with it, and Jeff throws Christian into the barricade, before throwing his shirt off (much to the delight of the ladies) and climbs the ladder and Swantons Bubba through the table! They’re out for the finish. Matt takes D-Von out with a Twist of Fate and climbs the ladder in the ring, standing on the makeshift platform with Christian, he has his hands on the titles, and then Edge comes up behind him and shoves him off! Matt crashes through another table just below them and Edge takes the titles down. That. Was. Awesome.
My Rating: *****
Match 5: Cat Fight with Val Venis as Special Referee - Terri def. The Kat (2:24)
The only one on one match on the match is also the worst match. Yeah, somehow the two tag team matches from earlier wasn’t the worst match of the show. They’re damn lucky the Ladder Match was so good! I feel like just talking about this match is gonna make me cringe. The way they win this match is by throwing their opponent to the outside. The Kat throws Terri out twice, but Mae Young (who’s in Kat’s corner by the way) keeps distracting Val so he doesn’t see it. Mae is so horny that she can’t keep her clothes on for 3 minutes for The Kat to win. The match ends with Moolah throwing The Kat out of the ring and helping Terri back in. Val sees this and Terri is declared the winner. What an awful match. This Mania sucks man!
My Rating: DUD
Match 6: Chyna & Too Cool def. The Radicalz (9:38)
An okay match. I’ll take an average match over a terrible one anyday though. The story going into this is that Eddie wants to get into Chyna’s pants. You could say Eddie wants her to be his Mami… anyway. But whenever Chyna gets tagged in, Eddie runs away. The Radicalz beat on Grandmaster and Scotty for a good portion of the match. But Scotty does get the Worm in and hits on both Saturn and Malenko. Chyna gets tagged in again and Eddie runs from her. She takes on both Saturn and Malenko at the same time, and gives them a double low blow with the ref’s back turned. This match ends with Too Cool fighting with Saturn and Malenko, leaving Chyna and Eddie in the ring. Chyna powerbombs Eddie and then grabs his crotch (which probably should’ve been a DQ) and press slams him. Then hits a sleeper neckbreaker combo to get the win. So Chyna wins the match, but apparently when she grabbed Eddie’s dick, he must have been packin’ cause I’m pretty sure she became his Mami on Raw the very next night.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match - Chris Benoit def. Kurt Angle (c) & Chris Jericho (8:13)
Match 8: European Championship Triple Threat Match - Chris Jericho def. Kurt Angle (c) & Chris Benoit (5:39)
I kinda liked this concept. 2 different matches between the same guys for 2 different belts I think was a pretty sweet idea. And you can’t go wrong with these three. If this was Kurt Angle from a year later, I bet this match would’ve been even better. To be honest with you guys, there isn’t much to take away from the first match, despite it being longer. It’s just a good old fashioned wrestling match… with 3 people. The thing I remember most was when Jericho went to the top rope, Benoit shoved him off into the announce table. Kurt Angle puts Jericho in the Crossface Chickenwing, but Benoit saves the match and throws Kurt over the barricade, before hitting a Diving Headbutt on Jericho to win the first match and take the IC Title. But then immediately, Benoit goes to pin Jericho again, but Angle makes the save. The second match is when you go “we might have something here.” It’s a shame it only lasts 5 minutes though. Angle goes for a moonsault and as you probably already guessed, he missed. Seriously, did he ever hit that moonsault? It’s like the Ric Flair top rope gag. The referee gets bumped and Benoit gets Jericho into a Crossface. Jericho taps out which and Benoit realizes there’s no referee. Jericho gets Benoit into a Walls of Jericho and Benoit taps out. Angle gets back in with one of the titles and hits Jericho with it. The referee recovers and Benoit stops Angle from pinning Jericho and goes for another Diving Headbutt on Kurt, but Kurt moves out of the way and Jericho takes advantage by hitting the Lionsault and pins Benoit to win the European Title. Angle walks in with 2 titles and leaves with 0.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 9: Kane & Rikishi def. X-Pac & Road Dogg (4:00)
Pac and Road Dogg try to get the jump on their opponents right away, but it basically does nothing. Rikishi tries to stinkface Tori a minute into the match, but Pac and Road Dogg save her. There is really almost nothing to this match. Pac and Road Dogg get a few shots in. Pac gets to do the bronco buster. Kane and Rikishi start powering them around the ring. Rikishi tries to do the stinkface to X-Pac. But Pac gets saved by Tori. Rikishi lays Road Dogg out with a superkick. Paul Bearer throws Tori into the ring and Kane grabs her by the throat and pushes her into the corner so Rikishi can finally do the Stinkface. And Kane puts X-Pac down with a Tombstone to win the match. So then after the match, Too Cool run down, as well as a guy in a chicken costume that JR and King think is Pete Rose. The chicken dances with Too Cool. Kane grabs the chicken and Pete Rose comes into the ring with a bat and tries to hit Kane from behind. Rikishi takes it out of his hands and Kane turns around, and Chokeslams Pete Rose before Rikishi drags him into the corner and stinkfaces him too.
My Rating: **
Main Event: WWF Championship Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match - Triple H (c) def. The Rock, Mick Foley & Big Show (38:00)
As you lovely readers probably know, this match is only a 4-Way so they could do the “A McMahon in each corner” gimmick. You had Vince with The Rock, Stephanie with Triple H, Shane with Big Show and Linda with Foley. First off, it should’ve been Triple H vs The Rock and that’s it. Secondly, The Rock should’ve won. There’s no reason they couldn’t have the match that they had at Backlash here instead. Big Show starts off as the dominant male in the match, tossing around his 3 opponents. But he’s eliminated in less than 5 minutes. Foley slams a chair into his back and then The Rock hits him with a Rock Bottom to eliminate him. Big Show was out early but I bet that main event paycheck was pretty sweet. Triple H tries to form an alliance with both Foley and The Rock. Foley says no way, but Rock nods his head and HHH turns his back to him. Big mistake because Rock knocks HHH down then stomps his ass out with Foley. But strangely enough, the tide turns on The Rock because HHH and Foley start double teaming him now. HHH lays Rock out on an announce table and motions to Foley to drop an elbow through the table. But Foley doesn’t jump far enough and just hits the front of the table. So HHH starts to freak out and is like “Fuck, now I gotta save the spot.” So he drops 2 elbows onto The Rock to break the table. HHH throws Foley back in the ring and drops him with 1 Pedigree that Foley kicks out of. HHH goes outside and grabs a chair and wails Foley in the head with it before dropping him with another Pedigree onto the chair. Now this next 20 minutes is confusing when you get to the ending and I’ll explain why in a bit. But yep, after Foley was taken out, this match went on for another 20 minutes and it was going alright. Rock and HHH brawled around ringside. There were steel steps, steel chairs, suplex through the other announce table. Vince eventually starts going after HHH throws him back in the ring. And then Shane comes down to attack Vince. Shane busts Vince open with a monitor and nails him in the head with a chair. This is like 3 whole minutes of The Rock and HHH doing nothing by the way, the camera is focused on Shane and Vince. So Vince is taken to the back and Shane stays at ringside for some reason. The Rock hits HHH with a Rock Bottom and is too weak to cover. Convoluted and absolutely weak finish to this match. Vince runs back down to knock Shane out of the ring and picks up the chair in the ring. He teases hitting HHH, but turns and hits The Rock instead. HHH covers Rock and Rock kicks out. So Vince hits The Rock again with the chair and this time, its enough for HHH to pin him for the 3 count. Stephanie, HHH and Shane are all surprised by Vince’s actions so they at least didn’t know what his plan was. But why didn’t Vince just do this when Foley was eliminated? Why did he allow The Rock to whoop HHH’s ass and why did he attack HHH? And this crowd is so pissed because they’re pelting the ring with drinks at this point. And once The Rock realizes what happened, he becomes furious and goes on a tear. He Rock Bottoms Shane. He Rock Bottoms Vince, and after getting a slap from Stephanie, he Rock Bottoms her too. He knocks HHH back down before he hits the People’s Elbow on Stephanie. A weak ending to an even weaker WrestleMania.
My Rating: ***
Cagematch Rating: 6.17
My Rating: 4.5/10
The Ladder Match and to a lesser extent the 2 Fall Triple Threat are what saves this show from being rated lower. I love that Ladder Match so much that I was willing to cut this show some slack and, yes, I consider 4.5 cutting it some slack because this WrestleMania was fucking terrible. Actually unbelievable to me its taken so long to get to this show.
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At the time, I was a big fan of the logo. It's was very millennial. WWE would come to regret that logo two years later. I still own DVDs that say "restlemania". Rapper Ice-T escorted Godfather & D-Lo to the ring and performed a rap that was what was edited out. I'm not a fan of rap but even this was dull by rap standards. He just said "Pimpin' ain't, pimpin' ain't easy man" over and over.
I've heard that there was originally a plan to make the Hardcore Match 15 competitors and it would include Ivory as one of the extras. She was briefly involved in the Hardcore title storyline a few weeks earlier. I'm not sure why she was pulled or who the other absent competitor was.
With the I-C/European title match Angle lost both titles without being pinned or made to submit. If I recall he was managed by Bob Backlund at the time and it was Backlund who put him in this match and Angle was none too pleased with Backlund afterwards. I also remember hearing that the reason the European title went second was because Jericho, the babyface, was booked to win and they wanted the babyface to be final winner at the end of the match. Jericho would lose the title to Eddie Guerrero the next night on Raw and go on to feud with Benoit over the I-C title.
I'm 100% with you that the main event should have been Rock vs Triple H and Rock should have won. This was actually the first time in WrestleMania history that a heel walked out as champion at the end of the night. That wouldn't happen again (at least as far as final match goes) WrestleMania 27 and The Miz.
I've heard that there was originally a plan to make the Hardcore Match 15 competitors and it would include Ivory as one of the extras. She was briefly involved in the Hardcore title storyline a few weeks earlier. I'm not sure why she was pulled or who the other absent competitor was.
With the I-C/European title match Angle lost both titles without being pinned or made to submit. If I recall he was managed by Bob Backlund at the time and it was Backlund who put him in this match and Angle was none too pleased with Backlund afterwards. I also remember hearing that the reason the European title went second was because Jericho, the babyface, was booked to win and they wanted the babyface to be final winner at the end of the match. Jericho would lose the title to Eddie Guerrero the next night on Raw and go on to feud with Benoit over the I-C title.
I'm 100% with you that the main event should have been Rock vs Triple H and Rock should have won. This was actually the first time in WrestleMania history that a heel walked out as champion at the end of the night. That wouldn't happen again (at least as far as final match goes) WrestleMania 27 and The Miz.
SummerSlam 1999
Match 1: Intercontinental & European Championship Match - Jeff Jarrett def. D’Lo Brown (c) (7:27)
One of the lesser exciting matches of the card, but I thought this was pretty decent for what it was. I don’t recall being that bored during the match, which is impressive since its a Jeff Jarrett match. D’Lo 2 belts also was pretty sweet. I liked that. Before the match begins, Jeff sends Debra to the back and Debra comes back out with D’Lo. It’s a pretty even match with both of them getting their moves in before the end, including a scary powerbomb from D’Lo. Debra gets on the apron to distract the referee and it wouldn’t be a Jeff Jarrett match without a guitar getting involved. While Jarrett berates Debra, Mark Henry runs in and takes the guitar out of Jarrett’s hands.. And knocks out D’Lo! SWERRRRRRRRRRVE! Jarrett turns around the referee chooses to ignore the broken guitar pieces in the ring and counts the pin. D’Lo 2 belts was nice while it lasted.
My Rating: ***
Match 2: WWF Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match - The Acolytes won by last eliminating The Hollys (16:13)
Edge and Christian were the highlight of this match. I think they deserved to win it here. The match starts with the 2 of them against The Hardys now managed by Gangrel in the New Brood. And these teams get us off to an awesome start. The chemistry these 4 had with each other was just spectacular. There is a sick as hell spot where Edge and Jeff are running along opposite barricades until they meet at the entrance way where Edge leaps off and hits a Spear on Jeff! That was spot of the night for me. Edge and Christian defeat the Hardys and out comes Mideon and Viscera. And thankfully, they aren’t in there for very long. Viscera goes to splash Edge in the corner, but Edge pulls Mideon into Viscera’s way. Edge and Christian take Viscera out of the ring and Edge spears Mideon to advance. And then up next its Droz and Albert. They dispatch of them as well with Edge hitting Albert with the Downward Spiral. Then the Acolytes come out pretty much at the same time that the 3 count happens and just Edge and Christian. The match really starts to slow down here Edge and Christian nearly beat the Acolytes too, but they’re too much for E&C and are eliminated after a Clothesline From Hell to Christian. Then The Hollys are last and these two could have had it if they weren’t absolute morons. I cannot figure out why they started fighting, but it costs them. Bob straight up throws Crash out of the way allows The Acolytes to put him down. The Acolytes win.
My Rating: ***1/4
Then after this match, we have Road Dogg come out and challenge the winner of the Hardcore Title Match on Raw the next night and he cringely spells it out. Then Road Dogg is interrupted by Chris Jericho who comes out and says “Holy shit, this show sucks.” He tells Road Dogg than nobody cares about him and after he talks for a few more minutes, Road Dogg gives the worst response I’ve ever heard. He says “Hey Chris… W-w-why don’t you… sh-shut up bitch.” OHHHHHHHHHH! And then he makes it worse by saying “My mommy cares about me.” What? If I responded the same way to anyone, I would get clowned on so hard. Tells Chris to suck it before he decides to get on commentary for the next match.
Match 3: Hardcore Championship Match - Al Snow def. Big Boss Man (c) (7:27)
Al Snow jumps Boss Man during his entrance and Road Dogg decides that he ain’t gonna do commentary from the table, he’s gonna get up close and personal with the action. So Snow and Boss Man fight while Road Dogg follows them occasionally says something. Okay, I think its time I admit that I love these Hardcore Title Matches where they would just fight to the back. I don’t wanna watch it for 20 minutes, but for 10 minutes or less, I love a Hardcore Title Match. Boss Man at one point throws a propane tank at Al Snow! They take the fight across the street and go into a bar where the fight ends. Al Snow grabs a urine cake and shoves it in Boss Man’s face (ew). Boss Man smashes a bottle over Snow’s head and this whole time I’m surprised that no one’s taken a shot at Road Dogg yet. Well Boss Man pie faces him and Road Dogg responds by slamming his nightstick into his back. The finishing move to this match is Al Snow htting Boss Man in the balls with 2 billiard balls and that’s how he wins.
My Rating: ***
Match 4: Women’s Championship Match - Ivory (c) def. Tori (4:08)
I guess every show needs at least one bad match…I guess. This uh… this made me cringe. Like they try to do something here but they really botch the hell out of this match. Tori moreso then Ivory. Ivory wears down Tori. Tori starts making a comeback, but oh man that finish… Tori tries to pull off a sunset flip… and does it, but that’s clearly not what was supposed to happen because they do the exact same spot but this time, Ivory’s ass drops on Tori’s chest and Ivory says “fuck it” and just pins her very poorly. She retains and then tries to unclip Tori’s top because it wouldn’t be a women’s match or segment without some weird lewdidty. Tori is saved by Luna, who chases Ivory to the back.
My Rating: DUD
Match 5: Lion’s Den Weapons Match - Ken Shamrock def. Steve Blackman (9:06)
Another match I liked watching. Not something that I could’ve watched for another 10 minutes, but they made this feel realistic. This was just a brawl between these 2. There’s a couple canes hanging up above them so they’re going up for those later. Blackman pulls out a pair of nunchucks and immediately puts them to use, hitting Ken in the knee and the torso. Shamrock winds up throwing those out of the cage This match is just a brawl all the way through. Shamrock goes up to grab a singapore cane, but Blackman is the first to use it. He takes Ken’s knee’s out, hits him in the torso, slams it in his head, which sends Shamrock on his back. Now the confusing thing about this match is its ending. They made it sound like Blackman could win by leaving the cage, but Shamrock doesn’t do that. Blackman throws a sick kick, but Shamrock ducks it and hits a belly to belly. Then grabs the cane and now he gets to use it on Blackman. Ken hits Blackman in the face with it, and then the bell is rung. I’m assuming this means the referee declared Blackman was out, but I don’t know how he could determine that without going into the cage.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Love Her or Leave Her Street Fight - Test def. Shane McMahon (12:04)
Who would’ve thought that Shane McMahon of all people would be the one to bring Test’s best match out of him. Seriously, I thought this was a damn good match. So the stipulation to this match is that if Shane wins, Test will leave Stephanie. Its also important to note that in the build up, Test took out the Mean Street Posse… or so he thought, because before the match starts, the Posse stroll down, all wearing a cast or neckbrace and take a seat on a conveniently placed couch in the crowd. Okay… So this is clearly a set up. The fight is on and early in the match, Test presses Shane above his head and throws him into the Posse on the couch. The Posse attack Test back right here… and the fact that these 3 “injured” men are jumping Test gets no reaction… okay, interesting. Shane tries to do the Spiral Tap at one point! Like what are you doing man?! Test dodges that and Shane lands on his knees. The Posse get involved again, and NOW JR reacts. They were doing this earlier and you didn’t say anything Jim. Try to keep up. The Posse set Test up on the announce table and Shane dives off the top rope with an elbow! The Posse throw Shane and Test back in and Shane covers Test, who kicks out. Test is now fighting off 4 different men. Until Patterson and Brisco go down to take out 2 of them, which was probably the biggest pop of their careers honestly. And this crowd is another thing that makes this match, with every kickout from Test, the crowd pops for it. They are behind him. Test big boots a chair into Joey Abs’ face. He hits Shane with a Pumphandle Slam and then drops an elbow from the top to win the match. Stephanie runs out to hug her man… And man, did they do this man dirty.
My Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Undertaker & Big Show def. Kane & X-Pac (c) (12:01)
An underrated match I think. I’m still not sure what made Undertaker and Big Show wanna team up, but god damn did they look intimidating walking out together. If there’s one thing Vince Russo did right with his time in WWF, it was the team of Kane and X-Pac. I love them as a tag team and I love the fact X-Pac let Kane know what it was like to have a friend. For obvious reasons, Kane and Pac were the underdogs going into this match. And maybe thats the reason I liked this match so much, because even though I knew who was winning already, I was invested. Kane winds up being the one who gets the isolation treatment, he’s beaten down by Undertaker and Big Show. After Kane and Undertaker knock each other down with a double clothesline, Kane makes the hot tag to X-Pac. Pac goes wild for a bit, he gets gooseled by Big Show, but behind the referee’s back, X-Pac low blows the big man. Kane comes in to drop Big Show in the corner while X-Pac pushes Taker into the ring post outside. X-Pac gives Big Show the Bronco Buster. But unfortunately for them, Kane is taken out on the outside by Taker. Big Show chokeslams X-Pac and places a foot on his chest. But X-Pac kicks out and a pissed off Undertaker says "tag me in." He gets in and gives X-Pac the Tombstone and there’s new Tag Team Champs.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: Kiss My Ass Match - The Rock def. Billy Gunn (10:12)
Now its time for the other bad match on the show. Not only is this match a snoozefest because there was absolutely no chance The Rock was losing this. But Billy brings out a big woman with him. And he says when The Rock loses, he’s not gonna kiss his ass, The Rock’s gonna kiss hers. Spoiler alert, Billy kisses it instead, but I’m sure that goes without saying. They brawl up the entrance way, which bugs me cause I don’t think this is No DQ. Now The Rock doesn’t squash Billy, Billy actually puts up a decent fight, but come on. This entire match too, all JR and King can talk about is the woman at ringside. The whole time, I can just see and hear Vince in their ear going “yeah, talk about how fat she is.” Billy hits a Fameasser and instead of going for the cover. He brings the woman into the ring and lifts up her dress… I feel dirty just typing this out. Billy tries to make Rock kiss her ass but I already told you how that goes. The ass gets kissed before the match is even over. None of this makes sense. The Rock hits the Rock Bottom and a People’s Elbow to beat Billy.
My Rating: *1/2
Main Event: WWF Championship Triple Threat Match with Jesse Ventura as Special Referee - Mankind def. Steve Austin (c) & Triple H (16:23)
So now its time for the main event. Its important to note that Jesse Ventura went to all 3 men during the night and told them basically that he won’t take any shit. He tells HHH that Chyna better stay out of the match and when Chyna interferes, Jesse makes good on his word and sends her back. He tells Mankind that if he hits anyone with a chair, he won’t count the pinfall, and he makes good on his word there too. He tells Austin… And Austin’s already walking away. Anyway, I really liked this match. I find it pretty underrated to be honest. But I shouldn’t be shocked, the chemistry these 3 had among each other was amazing. Austin and Mankind double team HHH at the start, but Austin turns on Mankind and sends him outside before going back to fighting HHH. But while Jesse is dealing with Chyna and Mankind at the front of the ring, HHH takes a chair to Austin’s knees. And that’s gonna be the story with Austin throughout the match is his knees are going to take some damage. They all brawl into the crowd and come back to the ring. HHH goes for a Pedigree on Austin, who reverses it and catapults him into Foley. HHH falls to the outside and Austin hits Mankind with a Stunner. HHH stops the count with a chair to Austin’s back and Jesse confronts him “What is that bullshit?” He says. HHH blows Jesse off and hits Mankind in the head with the chair now. He covers him and Jesse refuses to count the pin. HHH gets in Ventura’s face and then Shane runs down to argue with Jesse too. Shane eats a Stunner from Austin before Ventura throws Shane over the top rope. What follows that is a great sequence between the three. Austin and HHH knock each other down with a double clothesline. Mankind puts Mr. Socko down Austin’s mouth and puts the other one down HHH. They each kick Mankind in the nuts and HHH sets him up for the Pedigree. Austin stops that and drops HHH with a Stunner. The match gets saved by Mankind and while Austin fights with him, HHH recovers and drops Austin with the Pedigree. He covers Austin and Mankind saves the match again, picks Austin up and drops him with a Double Arm DDT. And Mankind pins Austin to win? I bet nobody had placed their bets on Mankind going into this show, I’m sure everyone either thought Austin would retain or HHH would win the big one. But Mankind wins. Good for him. But its after this match when you realize that his win here was to forward the feud between HHH and Austin. Because after the match, an angry HHH grabs a chair and slams it into Austin’s knees. Over and over and over and over again! Not gonna lie, I think this was a great way to end the show. A great match, an upset win, and a main event feud set up. If I ordered this show, I’d probably be tuning into Raw the next night.
My Rating: ****
Cagematch Rating: 6.17
My Rating: 8/10
Honestly, a low key underrated PPV. Not a whole lot of people talk about SummerSlam ‘99. But then again, I also don’t see a lot of people bashing it either. If it wasn’t for the two terrible matches on this card, I’d probably go higher with it. And I can’t say that aside from 3 in particular, any of the matches really stand out to me. But I mostly had fun watching this. 8/10 from me.
Match 1: Intercontinental & European Championship Match - Jeff Jarrett def. D’Lo Brown (c) (7:27)
One of the lesser exciting matches of the card, but I thought this was pretty decent for what it was. I don’t recall being that bored during the match, which is impressive since its a Jeff Jarrett match. D’Lo 2 belts also was pretty sweet. I liked that. Before the match begins, Jeff sends Debra to the back and Debra comes back out with D’Lo. It’s a pretty even match with both of them getting their moves in before the end, including a scary powerbomb from D’Lo. Debra gets on the apron to distract the referee and it wouldn’t be a Jeff Jarrett match without a guitar getting involved. While Jarrett berates Debra, Mark Henry runs in and takes the guitar out of Jarrett’s hands.. And knocks out D’Lo! SWERRRRRRRRRRVE! Jarrett turns around the referee chooses to ignore the broken guitar pieces in the ring and counts the pin. D’Lo 2 belts was nice while it lasted.
My Rating: ***
Match 2: WWF Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match - The Acolytes won by last eliminating The Hollys (16:13)
Edge and Christian were the highlight of this match. I think they deserved to win it here. The match starts with the 2 of them against The Hardys now managed by Gangrel in the New Brood. And these teams get us off to an awesome start. The chemistry these 4 had with each other was just spectacular. There is a sick as hell spot where Edge and Jeff are running along opposite barricades until they meet at the entrance way where Edge leaps off and hits a Spear on Jeff! That was spot of the night for me. Edge and Christian defeat the Hardys and out comes Mideon and Viscera. And thankfully, they aren’t in there for very long. Viscera goes to splash Edge in the corner, but Edge pulls Mideon into Viscera’s way. Edge and Christian take Viscera out of the ring and Edge spears Mideon to advance. And then up next its Droz and Albert. They dispatch of them as well with Edge hitting Albert with the Downward Spiral. Then the Acolytes come out pretty much at the same time that the 3 count happens and just Edge and Christian. The match really starts to slow down here Edge and Christian nearly beat the Acolytes too, but they’re too much for E&C and are eliminated after a Clothesline From Hell to Christian. Then The Hollys are last and these two could have had it if they weren’t absolute morons. I cannot figure out why they started fighting, but it costs them. Bob straight up throws Crash out of the way allows The Acolytes to put him down. The Acolytes win.
My Rating: ***1/4
Then after this match, we have Road Dogg come out and challenge the winner of the Hardcore Title Match on Raw the next night and he cringely spells it out. Then Road Dogg is interrupted by Chris Jericho who comes out and says “Holy shit, this show sucks.” He tells Road Dogg than nobody cares about him and after he talks for a few more minutes, Road Dogg gives the worst response I’ve ever heard. He says “Hey Chris… W-w-why don’t you… sh-shut up bitch.” OHHHHHHHHHH! And then he makes it worse by saying “My mommy cares about me.” What? If I responded the same way to anyone, I would get clowned on so hard. Tells Chris to suck it before he decides to get on commentary for the next match.
Match 3: Hardcore Championship Match - Al Snow def. Big Boss Man (c) (7:27)
Al Snow jumps Boss Man during his entrance and Road Dogg decides that he ain’t gonna do commentary from the table, he’s gonna get up close and personal with the action. So Snow and Boss Man fight while Road Dogg follows them occasionally says something. Okay, I think its time I admit that I love these Hardcore Title Matches where they would just fight to the back. I don’t wanna watch it for 20 minutes, but for 10 minutes or less, I love a Hardcore Title Match. Boss Man at one point throws a propane tank at Al Snow! They take the fight across the street and go into a bar where the fight ends. Al Snow grabs a urine cake and shoves it in Boss Man’s face (ew). Boss Man smashes a bottle over Snow’s head and this whole time I’m surprised that no one’s taken a shot at Road Dogg yet. Well Boss Man pie faces him and Road Dogg responds by slamming his nightstick into his back. The finishing move to this match is Al Snow htting Boss Man in the balls with 2 billiard balls and that’s how he wins.
My Rating: ***
Match 4: Women’s Championship Match - Ivory (c) def. Tori (4:08)
I guess every show needs at least one bad match…I guess. This uh… this made me cringe. Like they try to do something here but they really botch the hell out of this match. Tori moreso then Ivory. Ivory wears down Tori. Tori starts making a comeback, but oh man that finish… Tori tries to pull off a sunset flip… and does it, but that’s clearly not what was supposed to happen because they do the exact same spot but this time, Ivory’s ass drops on Tori’s chest and Ivory says “fuck it” and just pins her very poorly. She retains and then tries to unclip Tori’s top because it wouldn’t be a women’s match or segment without some weird lewdidty. Tori is saved by Luna, who chases Ivory to the back.
My Rating: DUD
Match 5: Lion’s Den Weapons Match - Ken Shamrock def. Steve Blackman (9:06)
Another match I liked watching. Not something that I could’ve watched for another 10 minutes, but they made this feel realistic. This was just a brawl between these 2. There’s a couple canes hanging up above them so they’re going up for those later. Blackman pulls out a pair of nunchucks and immediately puts them to use, hitting Ken in the knee and the torso. Shamrock winds up throwing those out of the cage This match is just a brawl all the way through. Shamrock goes up to grab a singapore cane, but Blackman is the first to use it. He takes Ken’s knee’s out, hits him in the torso, slams it in his head, which sends Shamrock on his back. Now the confusing thing about this match is its ending. They made it sound like Blackman could win by leaving the cage, but Shamrock doesn’t do that. Blackman throws a sick kick, but Shamrock ducks it and hits a belly to belly. Then grabs the cane and now he gets to use it on Blackman. Ken hits Blackman in the face with it, and then the bell is rung. I’m assuming this means the referee declared Blackman was out, but I don’t know how he could determine that without going into the cage.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 6: Love Her or Leave Her Street Fight - Test def. Shane McMahon (12:04)
Who would’ve thought that Shane McMahon of all people would be the one to bring Test’s best match out of him. Seriously, I thought this was a damn good match. So the stipulation to this match is that if Shane wins, Test will leave Stephanie. Its also important to note that in the build up, Test took out the Mean Street Posse… or so he thought, because before the match starts, the Posse stroll down, all wearing a cast or neckbrace and take a seat on a conveniently placed couch in the crowd. Okay… So this is clearly a set up. The fight is on and early in the match, Test presses Shane above his head and throws him into the Posse on the couch. The Posse attack Test back right here… and the fact that these 3 “injured” men are jumping Test gets no reaction… okay, interesting. Shane tries to do the Spiral Tap at one point! Like what are you doing man?! Test dodges that and Shane lands on his knees. The Posse get involved again, and NOW JR reacts. They were doing this earlier and you didn’t say anything Jim. Try to keep up. The Posse set Test up on the announce table and Shane dives off the top rope with an elbow! The Posse throw Shane and Test back in and Shane covers Test, who kicks out. Test is now fighting off 4 different men. Until Patterson and Brisco go down to take out 2 of them, which was probably the biggest pop of their careers honestly. And this crowd is another thing that makes this match, with every kickout from Test, the crowd pops for it. They are behind him. Test big boots a chair into Joey Abs’ face. He hits Shane with a Pumphandle Slam and then drops an elbow from the top to win the match. Stephanie runs out to hug her man… And man, did they do this man dirty.
My Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Undertaker & Big Show def. Kane & X-Pac (c) (12:01)
An underrated match I think. I’m still not sure what made Undertaker and Big Show wanna team up, but god damn did they look intimidating walking out together. If there’s one thing Vince Russo did right with his time in WWF, it was the team of Kane and X-Pac. I love them as a tag team and I love the fact X-Pac let Kane know what it was like to have a friend. For obvious reasons, Kane and Pac were the underdogs going into this match. And maybe thats the reason I liked this match so much, because even though I knew who was winning already, I was invested. Kane winds up being the one who gets the isolation treatment, he’s beaten down by Undertaker and Big Show. After Kane and Undertaker knock each other down with a double clothesline, Kane makes the hot tag to X-Pac. Pac goes wild for a bit, he gets gooseled by Big Show, but behind the referee’s back, X-Pac low blows the big man. Kane comes in to drop Big Show in the corner while X-Pac pushes Taker into the ring post outside. X-Pac gives Big Show the Bronco Buster. But unfortunately for them, Kane is taken out on the outside by Taker. Big Show chokeslams X-Pac and places a foot on his chest. But X-Pac kicks out and a pissed off Undertaker says "tag me in." He gets in and gives X-Pac the Tombstone and there’s new Tag Team Champs.
My Rating: ***1/2
Match 8: Kiss My Ass Match - The Rock def. Billy Gunn (10:12)
Now its time for the other bad match on the show. Not only is this match a snoozefest because there was absolutely no chance The Rock was losing this. But Billy brings out a big woman with him. And he says when The Rock loses, he’s not gonna kiss his ass, The Rock’s gonna kiss hers. Spoiler alert, Billy kisses it instead, but I’m sure that goes without saying. They brawl up the entrance way, which bugs me cause I don’t think this is No DQ. Now The Rock doesn’t squash Billy, Billy actually puts up a decent fight, but come on. This entire match too, all JR and King can talk about is the woman at ringside. The whole time, I can just see and hear Vince in their ear going “yeah, talk about how fat she is.” Billy hits a Fameasser and instead of going for the cover. He brings the woman into the ring and lifts up her dress… I feel dirty just typing this out. Billy tries to make Rock kiss her ass but I already told you how that goes. The ass gets kissed before the match is even over. None of this makes sense. The Rock hits the Rock Bottom and a People’s Elbow to beat Billy.
My Rating: *1/2
Main Event: WWF Championship Triple Threat Match with Jesse Ventura as Special Referee - Mankind def. Steve Austin (c) & Triple H (16:23)
So now its time for the main event. Its important to note that Jesse Ventura went to all 3 men during the night and told them basically that he won’t take any shit. He tells HHH that Chyna better stay out of the match and when Chyna interferes, Jesse makes good on his word and sends her back. He tells Mankind that if he hits anyone with a chair, he won’t count the pinfall, and he makes good on his word there too. He tells Austin… And Austin’s already walking away. Anyway, I really liked this match. I find it pretty underrated to be honest. But I shouldn’t be shocked, the chemistry these 3 had among each other was amazing. Austin and Mankind double team HHH at the start, but Austin turns on Mankind and sends him outside before going back to fighting HHH. But while Jesse is dealing with Chyna and Mankind at the front of the ring, HHH takes a chair to Austin’s knees. And that’s gonna be the story with Austin throughout the match is his knees are going to take some damage. They all brawl into the crowd and come back to the ring. HHH goes for a Pedigree on Austin, who reverses it and catapults him into Foley. HHH falls to the outside and Austin hits Mankind with a Stunner. HHH stops the count with a chair to Austin’s back and Jesse confronts him “What is that bullshit?” He says. HHH blows Jesse off and hits Mankind in the head with the chair now. He covers him and Jesse refuses to count the pin. HHH gets in Ventura’s face and then Shane runs down to argue with Jesse too. Shane eats a Stunner from Austin before Ventura throws Shane over the top rope. What follows that is a great sequence between the three. Austin and HHH knock each other down with a double clothesline. Mankind puts Mr. Socko down Austin’s mouth and puts the other one down HHH. They each kick Mankind in the nuts and HHH sets him up for the Pedigree. Austin stops that and drops HHH with a Stunner. The match gets saved by Mankind and while Austin fights with him, HHH recovers and drops Austin with the Pedigree. He covers Austin and Mankind saves the match again, picks Austin up and drops him with a Double Arm DDT. And Mankind pins Austin to win? I bet nobody had placed their bets on Mankind going into this show, I’m sure everyone either thought Austin would retain or HHH would win the big one. But Mankind wins. Good for him. But its after this match when you realize that his win here was to forward the feud between HHH and Austin. Because after the match, an angry HHH grabs a chair and slams it into Austin’s knees. Over and over and over and over again! Not gonna lie, I think this was a great way to end the show. A great match, an upset win, and a main event feud set up. If I ordered this show, I’d probably be tuning into Raw the next night.
My Rating: ****
Cagematch Rating: 6.17
My Rating: 8/10
Honestly, a low key underrated PPV. Not a whole lot of people talk about SummerSlam ‘99. But then again, I also don’t see a lot of people bashing it either. If it wasn’t for the two terrible matches on this card, I’d probably go higher with it. And I can’t say that aside from 3 in particular, any of the matches really stand out to me. But I mostly had fun watching this. 8/10 from me.
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WrestleMania 36 Night 2
Match 1: NXT Women’s Championship Match - Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley (c) (20:27)
I think this really needs to be talked about. Because I still don’t understand the thought process behind Charlotte winning here. I had heard the rumor that the reason was because WWE wanted to give NXT a rating bump on TV. But if I were to do that, the person I wouldn’t choose is Charlotte, because if people were sick of her on the main roster, why would they wanna watch her on NXT? It’s a shame the result is the only thing people remember here because this was a great match. Fascinating enough, I think this show was helped by the fact there was no crowd. Because the way Rhea screams whenever Charlotte goes after her knee really helps. The one thing I didn’t like was how much Charlotte schooled her. It’s not Brock/Cena levels of squash, but Charlotte really has the advantage throughout the whole match. Once she goes after Rhea’s knee, it becomes an uphill battle for Rhea that she can’t quite overcome. Rhea has to fight through the pain in order to have a chance but every time she starts to make any sort of comeback, Charlotte goes back to the knee. Eventually, Charlotte puts Rhea in the Figure 8 and forces Ripley to tap out. So this great match sadly comes to an end with Charlotte winning yet another title she didn't need. But you know what, we can all look back on this match and smile knowing that Rhea got her revenge 3 years later in a much better match.
My Rating: ****
Match 2: Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley (7:16)
This was still at the point where they had Lashley and Lana as an onscreen couple, so she was at ringside for this match. This match was like a throwback to early WrestleManias… because it has no build up and is just filler. Did this match have any sort of build up to it whatsoever? Because I don’t believe it did. Lashley pretty much dominates almost the whole match. Black just gets absolutely tossed around by Lashley. Black starts to come back from the beating when Lashley tries for a Spear, and Black kicks him in the face. Black hits a moonsault on the outside. Bobby just continues to beat up Black and picks him up for the Dominator, but Lana gets on the apron and for some reason goes “No, spear him!” Lashley obliges, winks to Lana and sets up a Spear, which turns out to be a mistake because he runs right into the Black Mass from Black. This ending would indicate the end was near for Lashley and Lana’s relationship which thank god. I’ll never forgive them for what they did to my boy Rusev.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 3: Otis def. Dolph Ziggler (8:10)
I feel like I’m the only person who looks back on this story fondly. The soap opera bullshit normally got me rolling my eyes. But I think its the fact its about Otis and Mandy Rose. Now Otis isn’t exactly… he’s no Ryan Reynolds, lets be honest here. But the fact that Mandy Rose was reciprocating? A bombshell like her? I wanted Otis to get the girl so bad. Hell yeah, brother! You get that baddie! This match was actually okay too. It wasn’t good or anything, but these 2 put on a decent match all things considered. Ziggler hits Otis with a superkick pretty early in the match and starts to wear Otis down. But Otis starts to come back from the rest holds and hits all his moves pretty much. He goes to hit the Caterpillar, but Sonya Deville gets on the apron to distract the referee and Dolph gets up and low blows Otis. Then Mandy Rose’s music hits and she comes down to throw Deville into the steps before getting in the ring and low blowing Dolph behind the referee’s back. Otis then hits the Caterpillar elbow to win the match. The only I wish from this is that this happened with an audience. God the pop for Mandy low blowing Dolph and siding with Otis would’ve been huge.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Last Man Standing Match - Edge def. Randy Orton (36:41)
36 minutes and 41 seconds… that’s how long this match was… And God dammit, if it isn’t the most disappointing WrestleMania match in history, I don’t know what is. Not worst, just disappointing. Because aside from the Rumble Match, this was Edge’s first match since retiring and at WrestleMania nonetheless. I tried to like this match. I really did. But it’s so long! And all they do is punch each other and walk around the building! Seeing what the performance center looked like was kinda cool and that’s the most positive thing I can say about this match unfortunately. For the first 25 minutes, its some of the most boring shit I’ve ever witnessed. Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips doing golf commentary the whole match doesn’t help either. Edge hits an elbow on Orton through a table… that’s something. The two wind up on the roof of a production truck. Orton goes for a Punt, and Edge gets up and hits a Spear. Orton gets up, and Edge goes for another spear, but gets caught with an RKO. Orton gets off the production truck and grabs 2 steel chairs. And plans to give Edge another conchairto. But Edge puts Orton in a sleeper. Edge tells the referee “don’t you fucking count” and then starts… crying? Like he’s that kid about to put down Old Yeller. He gives Orton the conchairto and allows the referee to count Orton out to 10. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t a fan of this ending. I understand, Orton is Edge’s former friend and the ending of a friendship is sad… but Orton also RKO’d Edge’s wife… Fuck this guy, if I’m Edge, I’m giving him like 3 conchairtos! Like I said, I tried to like this match… but this was too long and too slow paced with not enough happening to carry it.
My Rating: **
Match 5: Raw Tag Team Championship Match - The Street Profits (c) def. Angel Garza & Austin Theory (6:20)
Okay, as a filler match. But I also couldn’t care about it at the time so I sure as hell don’t care about it now. Montez just shouts “WRESTLEMANIA” repeatedly. He wouldn’t stop saying it. Profits start off hot, but Garza gives Dawkins a superkick on the outside and the match is in their favor until Montez gets the hot tag, and dives over the ropes onto Theory and Dawkins (because that makes sense). Garza dives next and hits Montez. Dawkins pounces Garza out of the ring. Theory hits his finish and covers Dawkins. But Montez springboards off the ropes and frog splashes Theory’s back. Dawkins then covers Theory and the Profits retain. Then after the match, Garza and Theory jump the Profits and Zelina Vega even gets into superkick Montez. But who would make the save? None other than Bianca Belair. Ford’s wife. She gives Zelina the KOD and celebrates with Ford and Dawkins before we cut.
My Rating: **
Match 6: SmackDown Women’s Championship Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match - Bayley (c) def. Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi & Tamina (19:20)
An okay match, my only problem is how long it went with how little it offered in ring wise. Which seems to be a running theme on this show. They give us a Team BAD (remember them) staredown a few minutes in. Tamina dominates her opponents so eventually, they all start to team up against her. Bayley hits an elbow, Sasha hits a frog splash, Lacey hits a moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and they all pile on top of her (which I feel like wasn’t necessary) to eliminate her. Bayley throws Lacey into the steel steps on the outside and takes her out for a bit. Naomi has to fight off both Bayley and Sasha for a few minutes but she’s eventually eliminated by Sasha’s bank statement. Leaving us with Bayley, Sasha and Lacey, who sells her right arm. Bayley and Sasha double team Lacey, but Lacey gives herself a chance by pulling Sasha into a knee from Bayley. Sasha comes back and gets in Bayley's face. But while they're talking, Lacey throws a punch at Bayley, who catches her fist and turns her toward Sasha. And Lacey winds up knocking Sasha out with the Women's Right. We're down to Bayley and Lacey. They go at it for a while longer. Lacey hits a moonsault from the top rope on Bayley, who kicks out. And at the end here, Sasha runs back out and gives Lacey a backstabber, which allows Bayley to give her the Rose Plant and retain her title.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Firefly Funhouse Match - The Fiend def. John Cena (13:48)
Now this was unlike a normal wrestling match and I can’t say there was much fighting so I don’t think I can rate it like I did the Boneyard Match because this felt more like a long segment than it did a match. But I must say that I think this is John Cena’s best WrestleMania Match! This was pure entertainment at its finest. And I loved every second of this. The little references and metaphors behind everything they did here! Bray Wyatt comes on screen and says that John Cena is about to face his most dangerous opponent yet… himself! He goes through a door which reads “Abandon all hope, ye who exit here." And then next thing we know, John Cena is in the funhouse. Rambling rabbit pops up and tells John Bray went through the door. And Cena follows… and as Cena stands in the dark, a little Vince McMahon puppet pops up wearing devil horns which is appropriate. And then we cut to Bray standing in a ring and issuing an "open challenge." And then Cena steps into frame wearing the gear he debuted in with SmackDown fist behind him. Bray asks him the same question that Kurt Angle asked John that night and John answers with "ruthless aggression!" And tries to slap Bray several times, but Bray dodges and Cena keeps trying to slap Bray. And one of the lines that Bray says here is very interesting. “I guess I can see why you almost got fired right?” And that’s true. In 2002, Cena was close to being fired and his rapper gimmick was what saved his job. Then after this bit they play us an 80s intro to Saturday Night’s Main Event which also happens to feature Mercy the Buzzard. And then Muscle Man Bray cuts a cocaine induced promo about how juiced his tag team partner Johnny Largemeat is. Then Cena comes into the shot doing reps with a couple dumbbells and like Bray, cuts another cocaine induced promo before he stops and just rapidly lifting those dumbbells up and down, making Abby the Witch’s jaw drop. To the point where his arms go limp and Bray asks him the question “what ya gonna do when you realize that egomania has been running wild on you?” Then next we have John Cena being thrown into a different scene wearing a jersey, a backwards cap, wearing his ol Word Life knucks. He gets in the ring and raps on Bray. But Bray then talks and he basically says that John Cena backstabbed everyone on his way to the top and gives him a chance to make it right, telling him the floor is his… and Cena responds by pulling a bag of peanuts out and says “all you get is deez nuts up in your face.” He goes to attack Bray, but Bray vanishes and reappears behind Cena wrapping a chain around his fist. Cena turns around and Bray knocks Cena to the mat. And Bray reminisces their first WrestleMania match where Cena defeated him. And Bray says its time to rewrite his story. He dances with Cena around the ring and puts him in position for Sister Abigail. But in typical Super Cena fashion, he escapes and Bray says “we both know that’s not enough to end it superman.” And then grabs a chair. “But this is.” Bray gets on his knees and tells John that 6 years ago, he made the wrong choice. Because if you recall in the match at Mania 30, Cena held a chair in his hands and had the chance to knock Bray’s brains out with it. Bray screams at Cena to “FIX IT!” And Cena swings the chair at Bray’s head, but Bray is gone once again! And then we move on to Bray standing in the ring where a jacket and wearing an nWo shirt before he introduces the “coolest man to ever walk the face of the wrestling earth… JOHN CENA!!!” And Cena walks out holding the WCW Championship spray painted nWo, wearing the shirt. And then we cut to the Vince puppet which says… “This is such good shit!” Which still makes me lose my shit. Cena too sweets Bray before he apparently realizes what he’s doing and just snaps! And in my head canon, this is when John Cena turns heel. For this short 30 seconds, we see a heel John Cena as he tackles Bray, mounts him and punches him repeatedly as Bray tries to cover up! The puppets of the funhouse try to shout at Cena to stop before we cut to Huskus, the one who Cena was beating up. And I believe here, this was a reference to Cena’s worst time, the early 2010s where he would beat every threat put in front of him and halted pushes and took the spotlight from other wrestlers. Husky Harris was so far down the food chain at that point while the king John Cena sat comfortably at the top. And in this moment, Cena stops his attack, he looks at his hands like he’s disgusted with himself… And in Cena’s darkest moment, we get a shot of the Fiend popping up over Cena’s shoulder, ready and willing to put Cena out of his misery… Cena turns around and Bray puts the mandible claw on him before he puts him in the Sister Abigail position, and we hear John’s voice. A promo he cut weeks before plays over it and he says “This WrestleMania will accomplish what should’ve happened 6 years ago. Ending the existence of the most overhyped, overvalued, overprivileged WWE superstar in history.” And its at this moment where you realize that he wasn’t wrong… but its Cena himself! The Fiend hits Sister Abigail and puts the mandible claw back on Cena as Funhouse Bray counts the pinfall. The Fiend stands up and spreads his arms before Cena vanishes from the screen… And it ends on Bray saying “Let Me In!” This… This was art! This was cinema! In my opinion, this match was a showcase of why Cena is one of the greatest of all time and why Bray should’ve been one of the greatest of all time!
Main Event: WWE Championship Match - Drew McIntyre def. Brock Lesnar (c) (4:35)
Man… I really feel for Drew. Not only did he have to follow the Funhouse match, but his crowning achievement was in front of nobody. Also, what the hell. A WrestleMania main event under 5 minutes? I guess I should’ve expected Brock to phone it in. Drew hits Brock with a Claymore out of the gate. Brock kicks out. Drew sets him up for another one, but Brock sidesteps and picks Drew up, throwing him around with german suplexes. Before he hits Drew with an F5. Drew kicks out at 1. Brock picks Drew up again and hits another F5. Drew kicks out again. Drew hits Brock with another Claymore before he sets up for a third one and yells at Brock and says “LOOK AT ME!” Which was admittedly pretty badass. Drew drops Brock with a third Claymore and pins him to win the WWE Title… What an underwhelming WrestleMania.
My Rating: **
Cagematch Rating: 6.18
My Rating: 5.5/10
Now you might expect with how much I glazed the Funhouse Match that I would give this a higher rating… But the flaws here CANNOT be ignored. The Funhouse match is the one and only match on Night 2 to go off without a hitch. That opener was great, but did Charlotte really need to win that match? That Last Man Standing Match… ooh, don’t even get me going again on that. And this was out of WWE’s control, but Drew McIntyre’s crowning moment… was in front of no fans… That ending is both happy and depressing at the same time. Drew deserved to be champion, but there was nowhere there to cheer for him. No crowd to tell him he deserved it. And maybe if he did it in a banger of a match, that would’ve made it a little better. But of course, if Brock doesn’t feel like working, he won’t. I thought Night 1 was the better of the 2 nights
Match 1: NXT Women’s Championship Match - Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley (c) (20:27)
I think this really needs to be talked about. Because I still don’t understand the thought process behind Charlotte winning here. I had heard the rumor that the reason was because WWE wanted to give NXT a rating bump on TV. But if I were to do that, the person I wouldn’t choose is Charlotte, because if people were sick of her on the main roster, why would they wanna watch her on NXT? It’s a shame the result is the only thing people remember here because this was a great match. Fascinating enough, I think this show was helped by the fact there was no crowd. Because the way Rhea screams whenever Charlotte goes after her knee really helps. The one thing I didn’t like was how much Charlotte schooled her. It’s not Brock/Cena levels of squash, but Charlotte really has the advantage throughout the whole match. Once she goes after Rhea’s knee, it becomes an uphill battle for Rhea that she can’t quite overcome. Rhea has to fight through the pain in order to have a chance but every time she starts to make any sort of comeback, Charlotte goes back to the knee. Eventually, Charlotte puts Rhea in the Figure 8 and forces Ripley to tap out. So this great match sadly comes to an end with Charlotte winning yet another title she didn't need. But you know what, we can all look back on this match and smile knowing that Rhea got her revenge 3 years later in a much better match.
My Rating: ****
Match 2: Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley (7:16)
This was still at the point where they had Lashley and Lana as an onscreen couple, so she was at ringside for this match. This match was like a throwback to early WrestleManias… because it has no build up and is just filler. Did this match have any sort of build up to it whatsoever? Because I don’t believe it did. Lashley pretty much dominates almost the whole match. Black just gets absolutely tossed around by Lashley. Black starts to come back from the beating when Lashley tries for a Spear, and Black kicks him in the face. Black hits a moonsault on the outside. Bobby just continues to beat up Black and picks him up for the Dominator, but Lana gets on the apron and for some reason goes “No, spear him!” Lashley obliges, winks to Lana and sets up a Spear, which turns out to be a mistake because he runs right into the Black Mass from Black. This ending would indicate the end was near for Lashley and Lana’s relationship which thank god. I’ll never forgive them for what they did to my boy Rusev.
My Rating: **1/2
Match 3: Otis def. Dolph Ziggler (8:10)
I feel like I’m the only person who looks back on this story fondly. The soap opera bullshit normally got me rolling my eyes. But I think its the fact its about Otis and Mandy Rose. Now Otis isn’t exactly… he’s no Ryan Reynolds, lets be honest here. But the fact that Mandy Rose was reciprocating? A bombshell like her? I wanted Otis to get the girl so bad. Hell yeah, brother! You get that baddie! This match was actually okay too. It wasn’t good or anything, but these 2 put on a decent match all things considered. Ziggler hits Otis with a superkick pretty early in the match and starts to wear Otis down. But Otis starts to come back from the rest holds and hits all his moves pretty much. He goes to hit the Caterpillar, but Sonya Deville gets on the apron to distract the referee and Dolph gets up and low blows Otis. Then Mandy Rose’s music hits and she comes down to throw Deville into the steps before getting in the ring and low blowing Dolph behind the referee’s back. Otis then hits the Caterpillar elbow to win the match. The only I wish from this is that this happened with an audience. God the pop for Mandy low blowing Dolph and siding with Otis would’ve been huge.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 4: Last Man Standing Match - Edge def. Randy Orton (36:41)
36 minutes and 41 seconds… that’s how long this match was… And God dammit, if it isn’t the most disappointing WrestleMania match in history, I don’t know what is. Not worst, just disappointing. Because aside from the Rumble Match, this was Edge’s first match since retiring and at WrestleMania nonetheless. I tried to like this match. I really did. But it’s so long! And all they do is punch each other and walk around the building! Seeing what the performance center looked like was kinda cool and that’s the most positive thing I can say about this match unfortunately. For the first 25 minutes, its some of the most boring shit I’ve ever witnessed. Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips doing golf commentary the whole match doesn’t help either. Edge hits an elbow on Orton through a table… that’s something. The two wind up on the roof of a production truck. Orton goes for a Punt, and Edge gets up and hits a Spear. Orton gets up, and Edge goes for another spear, but gets caught with an RKO. Orton gets off the production truck and grabs 2 steel chairs. And plans to give Edge another conchairto. But Edge puts Orton in a sleeper. Edge tells the referee “don’t you fucking count” and then starts… crying? Like he’s that kid about to put down Old Yeller. He gives Orton the conchairto and allows the referee to count Orton out to 10. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t a fan of this ending. I understand, Orton is Edge’s former friend and the ending of a friendship is sad… but Orton also RKO’d Edge’s wife… Fuck this guy, if I’m Edge, I’m giving him like 3 conchairtos! Like I said, I tried to like this match… but this was too long and too slow paced with not enough happening to carry it.
My Rating: **
Match 5: Raw Tag Team Championship Match - The Street Profits (c) def. Angel Garza & Austin Theory (6:20)
Okay, as a filler match. But I also couldn’t care about it at the time so I sure as hell don’t care about it now. Montez just shouts “WRESTLEMANIA” repeatedly. He wouldn’t stop saying it. Profits start off hot, but Garza gives Dawkins a superkick on the outside and the match is in their favor until Montez gets the hot tag, and dives over the ropes onto Theory and Dawkins (because that makes sense). Garza dives next and hits Montez. Dawkins pounces Garza out of the ring. Theory hits his finish and covers Dawkins. But Montez springboards off the ropes and frog splashes Theory’s back. Dawkins then covers Theory and the Profits retain. Then after the match, Garza and Theory jump the Profits and Zelina Vega even gets into superkick Montez. But who would make the save? None other than Bianca Belair. Ford’s wife. She gives Zelina the KOD and celebrates with Ford and Dawkins before we cut.
My Rating: **
Match 6: SmackDown Women’s Championship Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match - Bayley (c) def. Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi & Tamina (19:20)
An okay match, my only problem is how long it went with how little it offered in ring wise. Which seems to be a running theme on this show. They give us a Team BAD (remember them) staredown a few minutes in. Tamina dominates her opponents so eventually, they all start to team up against her. Bayley hits an elbow, Sasha hits a frog splash, Lacey hits a moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and they all pile on top of her (which I feel like wasn’t necessary) to eliminate her. Bayley throws Lacey into the steel steps on the outside and takes her out for a bit. Naomi has to fight off both Bayley and Sasha for a few minutes but she’s eventually eliminated by Sasha’s bank statement. Leaving us with Bayley, Sasha and Lacey, who sells her right arm. Bayley and Sasha double team Lacey, but Lacey gives herself a chance by pulling Sasha into a knee from Bayley. Sasha comes back and gets in Bayley's face. But while they're talking, Lacey throws a punch at Bayley, who catches her fist and turns her toward Sasha. And Lacey winds up knocking Sasha out with the Women's Right. We're down to Bayley and Lacey. They go at it for a while longer. Lacey hits a moonsault from the top rope on Bayley, who kicks out. And at the end here, Sasha runs back out and gives Lacey a backstabber, which allows Bayley to give her the Rose Plant and retain her title.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Firefly Funhouse Match - The Fiend def. John Cena (13:48)
Now this was unlike a normal wrestling match and I can’t say there was much fighting so I don’t think I can rate it like I did the Boneyard Match because this felt more like a long segment than it did a match. But I must say that I think this is John Cena’s best WrestleMania Match! This was pure entertainment at its finest. And I loved every second of this. The little references and metaphors behind everything they did here! Bray Wyatt comes on screen and says that John Cena is about to face his most dangerous opponent yet… himself! He goes through a door which reads “Abandon all hope, ye who exit here." And then next thing we know, John Cena is in the funhouse. Rambling rabbit pops up and tells John Bray went through the door. And Cena follows… and as Cena stands in the dark, a little Vince McMahon puppet pops up wearing devil horns which is appropriate. And then we cut to Bray standing in a ring and issuing an "open challenge." And then Cena steps into frame wearing the gear he debuted in with SmackDown fist behind him. Bray asks him the same question that Kurt Angle asked John that night and John answers with "ruthless aggression!" And tries to slap Bray several times, but Bray dodges and Cena keeps trying to slap Bray. And one of the lines that Bray says here is very interesting. “I guess I can see why you almost got fired right?” And that’s true. In 2002, Cena was close to being fired and his rapper gimmick was what saved his job. Then after this bit they play us an 80s intro to Saturday Night’s Main Event which also happens to feature Mercy the Buzzard. And then Muscle Man Bray cuts a cocaine induced promo about how juiced his tag team partner Johnny Largemeat is. Then Cena comes into the shot doing reps with a couple dumbbells and like Bray, cuts another cocaine induced promo before he stops and just rapidly lifting those dumbbells up and down, making Abby the Witch’s jaw drop. To the point where his arms go limp and Bray asks him the question “what ya gonna do when you realize that egomania has been running wild on you?” Then next we have John Cena being thrown into a different scene wearing a jersey, a backwards cap, wearing his ol Word Life knucks. He gets in the ring and raps on Bray. But Bray then talks and he basically says that John Cena backstabbed everyone on his way to the top and gives him a chance to make it right, telling him the floor is his… and Cena responds by pulling a bag of peanuts out and says “all you get is deez nuts up in your face.” He goes to attack Bray, but Bray vanishes and reappears behind Cena wrapping a chain around his fist. Cena turns around and Bray knocks Cena to the mat. And Bray reminisces their first WrestleMania match where Cena defeated him. And Bray says its time to rewrite his story. He dances with Cena around the ring and puts him in position for Sister Abigail. But in typical Super Cena fashion, he escapes and Bray says “we both know that’s not enough to end it superman.” And then grabs a chair. “But this is.” Bray gets on his knees and tells John that 6 years ago, he made the wrong choice. Because if you recall in the match at Mania 30, Cena held a chair in his hands and had the chance to knock Bray’s brains out with it. Bray screams at Cena to “FIX IT!” And Cena swings the chair at Bray’s head, but Bray is gone once again! And then we move on to Bray standing in the ring where a jacket and wearing an nWo shirt before he introduces the “coolest man to ever walk the face of the wrestling earth… JOHN CENA!!!” And Cena walks out holding the WCW Championship spray painted nWo, wearing the shirt. And then we cut to the Vince puppet which says… “This is such good shit!” Which still makes me lose my shit. Cena too sweets Bray before he apparently realizes what he’s doing and just snaps! And in my head canon, this is when John Cena turns heel. For this short 30 seconds, we see a heel John Cena as he tackles Bray, mounts him and punches him repeatedly as Bray tries to cover up! The puppets of the funhouse try to shout at Cena to stop before we cut to Huskus, the one who Cena was beating up. And I believe here, this was a reference to Cena’s worst time, the early 2010s where he would beat every threat put in front of him and halted pushes and took the spotlight from other wrestlers. Husky Harris was so far down the food chain at that point while the king John Cena sat comfortably at the top. And in this moment, Cena stops his attack, he looks at his hands like he’s disgusted with himself… And in Cena’s darkest moment, we get a shot of the Fiend popping up over Cena’s shoulder, ready and willing to put Cena out of his misery… Cena turns around and Bray puts the mandible claw on him before he puts him in the Sister Abigail position, and we hear John’s voice. A promo he cut weeks before plays over it and he says “This WrestleMania will accomplish what should’ve happened 6 years ago. Ending the existence of the most overhyped, overvalued, overprivileged WWE superstar in history.” And its at this moment where you realize that he wasn’t wrong… but its Cena himself! The Fiend hits Sister Abigail and puts the mandible claw back on Cena as Funhouse Bray counts the pinfall. The Fiend stands up and spreads his arms before Cena vanishes from the screen… And it ends on Bray saying “Let Me In!” This… This was art! This was cinema! In my opinion, this match was a showcase of why Cena is one of the greatest of all time and why Bray should’ve been one of the greatest of all time!
Main Event: WWE Championship Match - Drew McIntyre def. Brock Lesnar (c) (4:35)
Man… I really feel for Drew. Not only did he have to follow the Funhouse match, but his crowning achievement was in front of nobody. Also, what the hell. A WrestleMania main event under 5 minutes? I guess I should’ve expected Brock to phone it in. Drew hits Brock with a Claymore out of the gate. Brock kicks out. Drew sets him up for another one, but Brock sidesteps and picks Drew up, throwing him around with german suplexes. Before he hits Drew with an F5. Drew kicks out at 1. Brock picks Drew up again and hits another F5. Drew kicks out again. Drew hits Brock with another Claymore before he sets up for a third one and yells at Brock and says “LOOK AT ME!” Which was admittedly pretty badass. Drew drops Brock with a third Claymore and pins him to win the WWE Title… What an underwhelming WrestleMania.
My Rating: **
Cagematch Rating: 6.18
My Rating: 5.5/10
Now you might expect with how much I glazed the Funhouse Match that I would give this a higher rating… But the flaws here CANNOT be ignored. The Funhouse match is the one and only match on Night 2 to go off without a hitch. That opener was great, but did Charlotte really need to win that match? That Last Man Standing Match… ooh, don’t even get me going again on that. And this was out of WWE’s control, but Drew McIntyre’s crowning moment… was in front of no fans… That ending is both happy and depressing at the same time. Drew deserved to be champion, but there was nowhere there to cheer for him. No crowd to tell him he deserved it. And maybe if he did it in a banger of a match, that would’ve made it a little better. But of course, if Brock doesn’t feel like working, he won’t. I thought Night 1 was the better of the 2 nights
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InVasion
Right away I have to say, I love the set for the show. Kinda like AEW, they have separate entrances for both WWF and Alliance wrestlers, I thought that was pretty cool.
Match 1: Edge & Christian def. Lance Storm & Mike Awesome (10:10)
A decent opener to begin a bad PPV. Edge and Christian start hot as the babyfaces usually do, Edge throws Storm over the top rope onto Awesome. Christian botches a dive to the outside though, but thankfully they catch him. But then the match soon becomes one where Storm and Awesome wear Christian down and keep him away from Edge, particularly his ribs. Awesome sets Christian up on the top rope, looks like he’s going for the Awesome Bomb, but Christian backdrops Awesome over and to the mat. Christian makes the hot tag to Edge who turns the match around for them. Storm leaps over a Spear, but Awesome takes it instead. Storm hits Edge with the Superkick, but Christian saves Edge and both he and Storm wind up outside. Edge kicks out when Awesome covers him. Awesome sets up Edge for the Awesome Bomb, but Christian comes in and gives him a Spear. Edge falls into the cover and WWF gets the first win of the night.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: Singles Match with Mick Foley as Special Referee - Earl Hebner def. Nick Patrick (2:48)
Whose idea was this? Because they should probably be executed. The only reason I didn’t give this a DUD is because watching Earl Hebner try to wrestle at least made me laugh. The way he flops into the cover really should be studied by all the young whipper snappers. Nick Patrick kicks Earl out of the ring and the WCW referees start to gang up on him. Mick sends them to the back and Nick Patrick tries to argue with him over and then Earl Hebner hits… I’m guessing what’s supposed to be a Spear but it was hard to tell because he just shoulder tackles him and pins him to win the match. Then after the match, Foley puts the Mandible Claw on Patrick.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 3: WWF Tag Team Champions The APA def. WCW Tag Team Champions Chuck Palumbo & Sean O’Haire (6:48)
A boring match that felt longer than it was. Palumbo and O’Haire try to brawl with The APA. That doesn’t go so well for them. But the young heels take over and start working over Faarooq in their corner. A boring match, where there isn’t much to say about it. Faarooq is able to finally make the hot tag after dropping O’Haire with a spinebuster. Bradshaw comes in, he cleans house and he drops Palumbo with a Clothesline From Hell to win the match.
My Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman def. Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac (7:07)
Better than the last couple of matches, but could've been better I think. The X-Pac heat was real here. He couldn't do anything without getting booed like crazy. These two managed to have an okay match. Kidman runs at Pac and winds up flying over the top rope. X-Pac flies over the ropes and onto Kidman, and gloats as the crowd rains boos on him. Pac wears Kidman down for most of the match, its pretty boring. X-Pac goes for a powerbomb, but Kidman reverses it into a facebuster. Kidman comes off the top rope and gets reversed into the X-Factor! Pac goes for the Bronco Buster, but Kidman gets his foot up into Pac's dick which should've been a DQ. Kidman goes up to hit the Shooting Star to win the match.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 5: Raven def. William Regal (6:35)
I don't know what happened here. I wasn’t expecting a classic by any means but this was severely uncoordinated. I guess these just didn't have the chemistry. There's several spots during the match that could've been executed better. A slippery, sloppy match you wouldn't expect from these two. There's a boring chant at one point. While the referee is checking on Raven, Tazz runs down and suplexes Regal. Raven gets back and hits the DDT to win it for ECWCW.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 6: Chris Kanyon, Hugh Morrus & Shawn Stasiak def. Albert, Big Show & Billy Gunn (4:20)
I had forgotten completely that Albert was the Intercontinental Champion at one time. That doesn’t seem real to me. If you want the break down of this match, the WWF guys make these guys look like such pushovers. Yeah, what a threat ECWCW is. (Rolls eyes) Albert, Big Show and Billy each press slams their opponents at the same time, that was a good spot. The WCW guys get a few shots in. I don’t think Big Show got tagged in once during this match. The match ends with Stasiak hitting a reverse DDT on Billy and team WCW win. Except they don't, because the WWF guys beat them up after the match. You're not really convincing me that WCW is credible threat here.
My Rating: *3/4
Match 7: Tajiri def. Tazz (5:30)
What could've been a good match that ended up being a lot of nothing. It starts out promising but it just turns into Tazz throwing Tajiri around and wearing him down with holds. Tajiri gets the Tarantula on Tazz which makes the crowd pop big. The match has a nice finish too. Tazz goes to pick Tajiri up by his head, but with the referee not looking, Tajiri green mists Tazz and hits the Buzzsaw Kick to take the win.
My Rating: **
Match 8: Hardcore Championship Match - Rob Van Dam def. Jeff Hardy (c) (12:40)
Finally! Something actually worth watching on this show! Yeah, this match ruled. RVD is extremely over too. Like, he's in the ring with Jeff Hardy and they're still cheering him over Jeff. The first several minutes are fast paced, with each man showing how flippy and innovative they are. But the fight inevitably ends up outside with Jeff hitting a sunset flip onto the floor. Jeff sets up a ladder in front of the ring with RVD still on the floor. But Van Dam recovers and goes back in the ring and pushes the ladder over! And it's not like this is a small ladder. This ladder had to be 20 feet high and Jeff fell down with it from the top of it! RVD grabs a chair and goes back to use it on Jeff. But Jeff gets it himself and slams it into RVD's back, forcing him up the ramp. Now to point out how this set looks, there's 2 different walkways which merge into the one going down the ring with a giant hole in the middle separating them. I say that before Jeff lifts the chair and Van Dam kicks it back in his face, causing Jeff to fall into the hole! The match ends in the ring with a bleeding Jeff missing the Swanton as RVD gets his knees up. RVD hits a Five Star to win in his WWF PPV debut! I loved this!
My Rating: ****1/4
Match 9: Bra & Panties Match with Mick Foley as Special Referee - Lita & Trish Stratus def. Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler (5:03)
As per tradition, the best match has to be followed by the worst match. In kayfabe, Mick is a pervert and only refereed the referee match was so he could referee this match. And listen… 4 of the hottest women in wrestling ever I think we can agree. But I won't be rating it higher just because Torrie has a nice ass. Lita and Trish basically gotta carry this match cause Torrie and Stacy weren't really wrestlers. Torrie is the first to lose a piece of clothing… I feel like a weirdo just typing this. Then Lita, then Trish, I think? Fuck it. Trish and Lita get to keep their pants and Torrie and Stacy don't. Trish nearly falls into the hole on the stage btw.
My Rating: DUD
Main Event: Inaugural Brawl - Booker T, DDP, Rhyno & The Dudley Boyz def. Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho & The Brothers of Destruction (29:05)
This whole WCW and ECW team up made absolutely no sense. Because I'm pretty sure those companies hated each other. You know what makes even less sense? The end of this match. The fight starts before the bell rings outside because Undertaker jumps DDP (who deserved WAY WAY WAY better than what they gave him) before he makes it to the ring. Austin runs down and throws Rhyno in to start the match. And this is a war! It's so much a war that they have to tag each other in and out. For a match titled "inaugural brawl." It ain't much of brawl. Matter of fact its very formulaic. A member of Team WWF gets rolling, they get halted and worked over until they tag another guy in just to do the same thing. Did this match need to go 30 minutes just for that. It's not bad but it gets old after a while. But it does begin to get very good towards the end. Undertaker takes DDP through the crowd, they're not seen again the rest of the match. Kane puts D-Von through an announce table. Bubba and Rhyno suplex him through the other. Jericho comes off the apron and puts Rhyno through a table draped on the barricade. Vince slides the WWF Title in the ring but Shane gets in and grabs it first and clocks Vince with it. Kurt and Booker T are the legal men and after Kurt dispatches of Bubba and Shane, Angle gets Booker in the Ankle Lock. Only for Austin to come in, boot Angle in the head and drop him with a stunner… This "invasion" was doomed from the start. My god, this was stupid. Anyway, Booker covers Angle and wins with Austin's music playing.
My Rating: ***1/2
Cagematch Rating: 6.19
My Rating: 4.5/10
Out of 10 matches, when you only have 2 that come out worth watching, that's a bad PPV. The opener was okay but after that, we just go downhill. RVD vs Hardy was definitely match of the night. And maybe if that main event lived up to its name and didn't end the night on a wet fart, maybe that could've been a great match. I honestly think Austin's betrayal here was a worse booking decision than turning him heel at WrestleMania 17. Because for one, what sense does it make for him to switch teams like that? 2, it just showed how little faith Vince had in guys like Booker T and DDP. How are we supposed to take them seriously when you needed to have your biggest star jump ship just to make them look credible. Absolute joke.
Right away I have to say, I love the set for the show. Kinda like AEW, they have separate entrances for both WWF and Alliance wrestlers, I thought that was pretty cool.
Match 1: Edge & Christian def. Lance Storm & Mike Awesome (10:10)
A decent opener to begin a bad PPV. Edge and Christian start hot as the babyfaces usually do, Edge throws Storm over the top rope onto Awesome. Christian botches a dive to the outside though, but thankfully they catch him. But then the match soon becomes one where Storm and Awesome wear Christian down and keep him away from Edge, particularly his ribs. Awesome sets Christian up on the top rope, looks like he’s going for the Awesome Bomb, but Christian backdrops Awesome over and to the mat. Christian makes the hot tag to Edge who turns the match around for them. Storm leaps over a Spear, but Awesome takes it instead. Storm hits Edge with the Superkick, but Christian saves Edge and both he and Storm wind up outside. Edge kicks out when Awesome covers him. Awesome sets up Edge for the Awesome Bomb, but Christian comes in and gives him a Spear. Edge falls into the cover and WWF gets the first win of the night.
My Rating: ***1/4
Match 2: Singles Match with Mick Foley as Special Referee - Earl Hebner def. Nick Patrick (2:48)
Whose idea was this? Because they should probably be executed. The only reason I didn’t give this a DUD is because watching Earl Hebner try to wrestle at least made me laugh. The way he flops into the cover really should be studied by all the young whipper snappers. Nick Patrick kicks Earl out of the ring and the WCW referees start to gang up on him. Mick sends them to the back and Nick Patrick tries to argue with him over and then Earl Hebner hits… I’m guessing what’s supposed to be a Spear but it was hard to tell because he just shoulder tackles him and pins him to win the match. Then after the match, Foley puts the Mandible Claw on Patrick.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 3: WWF Tag Team Champions The APA def. WCW Tag Team Champions Chuck Palumbo & Sean O’Haire (6:48)
A boring match that felt longer than it was. Palumbo and O’Haire try to brawl with The APA. That doesn’t go so well for them. But the young heels take over and start working over Faarooq in their corner. A boring match, where there isn’t much to say about it. Faarooq is able to finally make the hot tag after dropping O’Haire with a spinebuster. Bradshaw comes in, he cleans house and he drops Palumbo with a Clothesline From Hell to win the match.
My Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman def. Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac (7:07)
Better than the last couple of matches, but could've been better I think. The X-Pac heat was real here. He couldn't do anything without getting booed like crazy. These two managed to have an okay match. Kidman runs at Pac and winds up flying over the top rope. X-Pac flies over the ropes and onto Kidman, and gloats as the crowd rains boos on him. Pac wears Kidman down for most of the match, its pretty boring. X-Pac goes for a powerbomb, but Kidman reverses it into a facebuster. Kidman comes off the top rope and gets reversed into the X-Factor! Pac goes for the Bronco Buster, but Kidman gets his foot up into Pac's dick which should've been a DQ. Kidman goes up to hit the Shooting Star to win the match.
My Rating: **3/4
Match 5: Raven def. William Regal (6:35)
I don't know what happened here. I wasn’t expecting a classic by any means but this was severely uncoordinated. I guess these just didn't have the chemistry. There's several spots during the match that could've been executed better. A slippery, sloppy match you wouldn't expect from these two. There's a boring chant at one point. While the referee is checking on Raven, Tazz runs down and suplexes Regal. Raven gets back and hits the DDT to win it for ECWCW.
My Rating: 1/2*
Match 6: Chris Kanyon, Hugh Morrus & Shawn Stasiak def. Albert, Big Show & Billy Gunn (4:20)
I had forgotten completely that Albert was the Intercontinental Champion at one time. That doesn’t seem real to me. If you want the break down of this match, the WWF guys make these guys look like such pushovers. Yeah, what a threat ECWCW is. (Rolls eyes) Albert, Big Show and Billy each press slams their opponents at the same time, that was a good spot. The WCW guys get a few shots in. I don’t think Big Show got tagged in once during this match. The match ends with Stasiak hitting a reverse DDT on Billy and team WCW win. Except they don't, because the WWF guys beat them up after the match. You're not really convincing me that WCW is credible threat here.
My Rating: *3/4
Match 7: Tajiri def. Tazz (5:30)
What could've been a good match that ended up being a lot of nothing. It starts out promising but it just turns into Tazz throwing Tajiri around and wearing him down with holds. Tajiri gets the Tarantula on Tazz which makes the crowd pop big. The match has a nice finish too. Tazz goes to pick Tajiri up by his head, but with the referee not looking, Tajiri green mists Tazz and hits the Buzzsaw Kick to take the win.
My Rating: **
Match 8: Hardcore Championship Match - Rob Van Dam def. Jeff Hardy (c) (12:40)
Finally! Something actually worth watching on this show! Yeah, this match ruled. RVD is extremely over too. Like, he's in the ring with Jeff Hardy and they're still cheering him over Jeff. The first several minutes are fast paced, with each man showing how flippy and innovative they are. But the fight inevitably ends up outside with Jeff hitting a sunset flip onto the floor. Jeff sets up a ladder in front of the ring with RVD still on the floor. But Van Dam recovers and goes back in the ring and pushes the ladder over! And it's not like this is a small ladder. This ladder had to be 20 feet high and Jeff fell down with it from the top of it! RVD grabs a chair and goes back to use it on Jeff. But Jeff gets it himself and slams it into RVD's back, forcing him up the ramp. Now to point out how this set looks, there's 2 different walkways which merge into the one going down the ring with a giant hole in the middle separating them. I say that before Jeff lifts the chair and Van Dam kicks it back in his face, causing Jeff to fall into the hole! The match ends in the ring with a bleeding Jeff missing the Swanton as RVD gets his knees up. RVD hits a Five Star to win in his WWF PPV debut! I loved this!
My Rating: ****1/4
Match 9: Bra & Panties Match with Mick Foley as Special Referee - Lita & Trish Stratus def. Torrie Wilson & Stacy Keibler (5:03)
As per tradition, the best match has to be followed by the worst match. In kayfabe, Mick is a pervert and only refereed the referee match was so he could referee this match. And listen… 4 of the hottest women in wrestling ever I think we can agree. But I won't be rating it higher just because Torrie has a nice ass. Lita and Trish basically gotta carry this match cause Torrie and Stacy weren't really wrestlers. Torrie is the first to lose a piece of clothing… I feel like a weirdo just typing this. Then Lita, then Trish, I think? Fuck it. Trish and Lita get to keep their pants and Torrie and Stacy don't. Trish nearly falls into the hole on the stage btw.
My Rating: DUD
Main Event: Inaugural Brawl - Booker T, DDP, Rhyno & The Dudley Boyz def. Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho & The Brothers of Destruction (29:05)
This whole WCW and ECW team up made absolutely no sense. Because I'm pretty sure those companies hated each other. You know what makes even less sense? The end of this match. The fight starts before the bell rings outside because Undertaker jumps DDP (who deserved WAY WAY WAY better than what they gave him) before he makes it to the ring. Austin runs down and throws Rhyno in to start the match. And this is a war! It's so much a war that they have to tag each other in and out. For a match titled "inaugural brawl." It ain't much of brawl. Matter of fact its very formulaic. A member of Team WWF gets rolling, they get halted and worked over until they tag another guy in just to do the same thing. Did this match need to go 30 minutes just for that. It's not bad but it gets old after a while. But it does begin to get very good towards the end. Undertaker takes DDP through the crowd, they're not seen again the rest of the match. Kane puts D-Von through an announce table. Bubba and Rhyno suplex him through the other. Jericho comes off the apron and puts Rhyno through a table draped on the barricade. Vince slides the WWF Title in the ring but Shane gets in and grabs it first and clocks Vince with it. Kurt and Booker T are the legal men and after Kurt dispatches of Bubba and Shane, Angle gets Booker in the Ankle Lock. Only for Austin to come in, boot Angle in the head and drop him with a stunner… This "invasion" was doomed from the start. My god, this was stupid. Anyway, Booker covers Angle and wins with Austin's music playing.
My Rating: ***1/2
Cagematch Rating: 6.19
My Rating: 4.5/10
Out of 10 matches, when you only have 2 that come out worth watching, that's a bad PPV. The opener was okay but after that, we just go downhill. RVD vs Hardy was definitely match of the night. And maybe if that main event lived up to its name and didn't end the night on a wet fart, maybe that could've been a great match. I honestly think Austin's betrayal here was a worse booking decision than turning him heel at WrestleMania 17. Because for one, what sense does it make for him to switch teams like that? 2, it just showed how little faith Vince had in guys like Booker T and DDP. How are we supposed to take them seriously when you needed to have your biggest star jump ship just to make them look credible. Absolute joke.
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