Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

[Jarf]

No Way Out 2012

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship Match - Sheamus (c) def. Dolph Ziggler (15:10)

An underrated gem right here. We start the night with a pretty good World Heavyweight Title match. This crowd was thoroughly behind Ziggler in this match. This match starts with Sheamus beating Ziggler around the ring and the outside, but Ziggler takes control by pulling Sheamus into the turnbuckle chest first. Ziggler is able to ground Sheamus for a little bit, but Sheamus gets back into the match he puts Dolph through the ringer. Every time Sheamus attempts a big move, Ziggler counters it into something else. Sheamus goes to the top rope and Dolph hits a facebuster from the top and Sheamus kicks out of that. Dolph tries to put Sheamus in the sleeper hold, but Sheamus twists Ziggler’s body into position so he can hit White Noise. Then he finishes things with a Brogue Kick to retain.

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 2: Tuxedo Match - Santino Marella def. Ricardo Rodriguez (4:25)

I won’t lie, Santino makes this entertaining enough to be enjoyable. But thank fuck it didn’t go any longer than it did. Santino’s facial expression when Ricardo rips his tuxedo gets a chuckle out of me. For those who don’t know what a Tuxedo Match is, it’s an evening gown match for men. Ricardo takes one of Santino’s shoes off and reveals he has a cobra sock underneath it. Santino gets up and kicks Ricardo in the chest with it, then takes his pants off to win the match. Bonafide comedy match that wasn’t very comedic, but Santino is entertaining.

My Rating: *

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - Christian (c) def. Cody Rhodes (11:30)

Our second underrated gem of the night. Another really good back and forth kind of match. Cody has a lot of Christian’s offense scouted much like how Ziggler wore down Sheamus earlier. It begins to pick up towards the end after Christian hits a frankensteiner off the top rope. Pretty surprising moment is when they let Cody kick out of Christian’s Killswitch. The ending sequence is nice where Cody goes for a disaster kick, but Christian ducks and then he hits the Spear to retain.

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 4: WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Fatal 4-Way Match - Prime Time Players def. Primo & Epico, Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel & The Usos (9:30)

It was at this point in the show where I was starting to wonder why this event is rated so low, because so far, it’s been pretty decent. This match wasn’t on the same level as the opener and the previous match, but it’s an exciting 9 and a half minutes. Lots of high flying from 3 of the 4 teams. The Usos hit a double suicide dive on 3 men on the outside. Tyson Kidd hits a frankensteiner on Primo onto everyone standing in a group on the outside. Darren Young and Primo are the legal men towards the end. Darren hits the gutbuster on Primo and Epico tries to run in to stop it, but their manager who I can’t remember the name of stops him and joins up with the Prime Time Players. They all attack Primo and Epico after the match.

My Rating: ***1/4

Triple H comes out after that and cuts a long winded promo before he gets to point of why he’s out there. He challenges Brock Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam.

Match 5: Divas Championship Match - Layla (c) def. Beth Phoenix (6:54)

I don’t really have a problem with this match. It’s just unexciting and uneventful. Layla taunts and dances with Beth’s headgear which is a gifable moment really. Beth tries to use her power to dominate Layla, but Layla has her number and counters her at every turn. Layla beats Beth with a version of a neckbreaker to get the win.

My Rating: *3/4

Match 6: Sin Cara def. Hunico (5:47)

An eh match. It’s Sin Cara’s first match since Survivor Series. For a lot of this match, Hunico grounds Sin Cara. There’s some solid action, but this is just a filler match. Sin Cara wins with some sort of hurricanrana thing…

My Rating: **

Match 7: WWE Championship Triple Threat Match - CM Punk (c) def. Daniel Bryan & Kane (18:19)

A great match that gets forgotten about for 2 reasons I think. One because it’s sandwiched in the middle of two even better Punk vs Bryan matches that I can’t wait to watch later in the series. Two, because it’s overshadowed by the love square storyline where AJ was trying to bone all 3 guys. Thankfully the AJ part of this story doesn’t come into play until the end and they just let these 3 have a match. And what a match it was. Punk and Bryan do their thing which is good wrestilng while Kane plays the part of the powerhouse. Punk and Bryan team up momentarily on Kane. Bryan double dropkicks Punk and Kane from the top rope and then hits them both with the Yes kicks. There’s a spot where Kane picks Bryan up on his shoulders in an electric chair position. Punk springboards off the ropes and clotheslines Bryan off Kane’s shoulders like its a Doomsday Device. Some time passes by before Bryan kicks Punk in the head and then puts him in the Yes Lock. Punk reverses it into a pin, forcing Bryan to let go. Then Punk manages to hit Bryan with a GTS and he goes for the cover, but Kane pulls Bryan outside and he’s gonna be down for the rest of the match while Punk and Kane fight in the ring. Kane grabs Punk by the throat and hits a Chokeslam that Punk kicks out of and Kane flips his lid over it. But at the end, Punk pushes Kane into AJ who came out and got on the apron. Perfectly timed spot too as Punk pushed Kane half a second before AJ gets on the apron. Kane gets distracted by AJ on the outside and that allows Punk to get him up and put him to sleep to continue his legendary reign. Kane picks up AJ bridal style and AJ looks back at Punk and gives him a smile.

My Rating: ****

Match 8: 2-on-1 Handicap Match - Ryback def. Dan Delaney & John Silver I mean Rob Grymes (1:35)

Sometimes I like to watch old jobber matches to see if I can recognize the jobbers. One of the people that Ryback squashes here most people will know him as John Silver. Anyway what can I say other than Ryback crushes them and beats them with a double Shell Shock before he stacks them on top of each other to pin them.

Main Event: Steel Cage Match - John Cena def. Big Show (19:22)

I see people complain so much about how many times Cena has fought Randy Orton. I never see anyone complain about the amount of times Cena has fought Big Show and that is shocking. Because I feel like I’ve seen these 2 wrestle each other a thousand times and a thousand times it was never good! And to make this match even worse, it goes nearly 20 minutes! It’s just long and plodding and lot of Big Show tossing Cena around into the cage. That’s all this is. There are two things about this match that are good. Cena whenever he rocks Big Show a little bit, he goes to escape the cage, which is smart. But Big Show stops him and then it’s a few more minutes of plodding just to drag this match on. Cena tries to get out of the door but John Laurinaitis goes over to lock the cage door because the stipulation here is that if Cena wins, Vince will fire Laurinaitis as GM. Vince goes over to unlock the door, but Laurinaitis pushes Vince into the door which slams into Cena’s face. Big Show knocks out the referee in the ring after Cena moves out of the way, but then he knocks Cena out a moment later. Then he taunts to the crowd for a minute before he tries to walk out the door, but he’s stopped by Brodus Clay guarding it with a chair. A bunch of babyfaces run out to stop Show from climbing over the top, including poor Zack Ryder who got himself over just under a year ago. Fuck you for getting over without Vince’s permission, Zack. Big Show tries to go over the top, but Kofi Kingston runs out and kicks Big Show to the mat and now its a race between Cena and Big Show to see who gets out first. Cena drops to the floor first and wins as literally everyone expected! Yayyyyyyyy! Cena picks Laurinaitis up in an AA, but before he drops him Vince tells him he’s fired, then Cena drops Johnny through a table with an AA. Long, plodding main event to get to a result we all saw coming. Laaaaaaame.

My Rating: **

Cagematch Rating: 4.80

My Rating: 7/10

I think a lot of people are basing their ratings off the main event and yes that should be taken into account, but lets not forget that a lot of the undercard was really good. The bullshit was kept to a minimum up until the end. And really I’d say my biggest criticism is that the Triple Threat didn’t main event. Punk was such an effective heel later in the year because he was right in the fact that he was being disrespected as the champion. The undercard is what brings it up to a 7.5 at least, but the main event drops it to a 7. The Cagematch rating is unfair in my opinion.

Up next we have another In Your House event. Rock Bottom 1998 where the show was named after The Rock, but he somehow didn’t even main event which is funny to me.

 

[Chris]

I absolutely love that poster lmao

 

[Jarf]

I absolutely love that poster lmao

It's one of my favorites lol

 

[Jarf]

In Your House 26: Rock Bottom

Match 1: Mark Henry & D’Lo Brown def. Val Venis & The Godfather (5:56)

There can’t be too many more Val Venis matches that I have to watch right? I’m getting so sick of seeing this clown. It makes it worse that he opens almost every PPV he’s on it seems. This match stunk. D’Lo and Mark are escorted to the ring by Terri and Jacqueline and they come into play for the finish. There really isn’t much to say about this match so I’ll get right to the finish. The hoes argue with Terri outside the ring and this grabs the attention of the referee and and Godfather. Jacqueline gets in the ring, pantses Val, revealing a thong underneath and Mark beats him with a clothesline and a splash to win.

My Rating: *1/4

Match 2: The Headbangers def. The Oddities (Kurrgan & Golga) (6:52)

Now the Oddities were a fun group. They were really over with the crowd, but they were atrocious wrestlers. This match stunk. The one cool thing about this is Golga, throws a couple dropkicks for being a big guy. But most of this is so boring and really dull. I can’t remember which Headbanger it was but one comes off the top rope with a diving shoulder to Golga.

My Rating: *

Match 3: Steve Blackman def. Owen Hart via countout (10:28)

Okay match, but nothing really good. It’s pretty back and forth but uneventful. Steve Blackman is in control in the early part of the match with his martial arts. But Owen uses agility and wrestling ability to wear down Blackman. Blackman is able to get Owen in the Sharpshooter and Owen crawls to the ropes to force a break. Then he decides he’s gettin outta here and walks away. Blackman goes out to fight him but quickly runs back in to avoid getting counted out.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 4: The Brood def. The JOB Squad (Al Snow, Bob Holly & Scorpio) (9:08)

Another okay match, but again, nothing to write home about. This PPV feels more like an episode of Raw. The Brood spend a lot of the match isolating Al from his corner. But Al is able to make the hot tag to Scorpio, who goes buck wild on The Brood and a big fight breaks out between all 6 men. Al Snow gives Christian head behind the ref’s back. Scorpio hits a moonsault legdrop on Christian. He backflips off the ropes and lands a legdrop on Christian. Edge breaks up the pin and Edge jumps off Gangrel’s back onto Al and Holly on the outside while Christian hits Scorpio with an Unprettier to win.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 5: Striptease Match - Goldust def. Jeff Jarrett via DQ (8:02)

I watched this match and I wonder how the Attitude Era was the peak of wrestling. If it weren’t for the main event scene during this era, this company would’ve been in the toilet. Let me explain the rules to this… If Jarrett wins, Goldust has to strip, which nobody wants to see. If Goldust wins, Debra has to strip. That’s one way to get the people to cheer the babyface I guess. This match is really boring. Jarrett wears down Goldust for a lot of the match until Goldust fights back and he kicks Jarrett in the dick while the referee is distracted by Debra, but while the referee is counting out Jarrett, Debra gets in and hits Goldust with the guitar before Jeff gets back in and hits the Stroke for the 3 count. But before Jeff can celebrate, Commissioner Shawn Michaels comes down, tells Jarrett to head to the back and makes Debra stay. Shawn reverses the decision and makes Debra take her clothes off while Shawn gets super horny. Before her boobies can be revealed, Jeff and the Blue Blazer come out and cover her body up.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 6: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The New Age Outlaws (c) def. Ken Shamrock & Big Boss Man (17:04)

Everything worth talking about in this match could’ve been done in 6 minutes. Which means there’s 11 minutes of boring shit! This match just drags and drags and drags. Holllllly shit! The match starts out decently, but when Road Dogg gets tagged in, Ken and Boss Man just isolate him from Billy for such an agonizingly long time! Finally after 20 years have passed, Road Dogg finally makes the tag to Billy. Billy goes buck wild on Ken and Boss Man, but Shawn Michaels distracts the referee on the outside while Boss Man hits Billy with the nightstick and the referee counts the pin, but Billy kicks out. Billy goes for a suplex on Shamrock, but Shawn grabs his ankle and Billy reverses Ken offscreen into a small package and the Outlaws retain.

My Rating: *1/4

Match 7: WWF Championship Match - Mankind def. The Rock (c) via referee’s decision (13:32)

Finally a good match on this lame ass PPV. Mankind hits The Rock with the steel steps, which would normally be a DQ, except for this time I guess. Vince makes sure to tell the ref to DQ Mankind for any legitimate reason… So basically, do his job. Mankind goes to the second rope and looks like he’s gonna drop an elbow on Rock to the outside, but Shane jumps up and holds his ankle, while The Rock grabs onto Mankind’s wrist and yanks him down to the floor with a splat. The Rock grabs Michael Cole’s headset and talks shit to Mick on commentary which I loved about heel Rock. He takes a drink of water and spits it in Mick’s face. They get back in the ring and Mick eventually leg drops Rock in the dick and Vince tells the ref to DQ Mankind. But Mankind goes nuts and spike piledrives the ref. Then he goes outside and attacks the time keeper. When Mick gets back in the ring, he gets a Rock Bottom, but with no referee, Rock tells Shane to get the belt and hit Mick with it. But Mick ducks under Shane and The Rock gets hit instead. Another referee runs down while Mick has Rock covered and The Rock kicks out. Mankind hits a Double Arm DDT, then pulls out Socko and stuffs it in The Rock’s mouth and the referee calls for the bell, saying The Rock is passed out, but he gets up half a minute later. But Mankind is the champion… Sike. Vince grabs a mic and says that since The Rock didn’t get pinned or submitted, he retains the title. Mick snaps and puts Socko down Vince’s mouth, then he goes after Shane. Patterson and Brisco run down and Mick knocks their lights out next. But Shamrock and Boss Man run down and they beat down Mick, with The Rock joining in. Vince screws Mankind out of the title.

My Rating: ***1/2

Main Event: Buried Alive Match - Steve Austin def. The Undertaker (21:30)

When you think about it, Buried Alive Matches make no fucking sense. Why would a company sanction a match where someone has to buried alive? Anyway, I wasn’t a fan of this. It wasn’t bad, but it’s pretty slow and falls apart at the end. This is mainly just a brawl but it’s not chaotic enough to be fun, they walk back and forth between the ring and the grave. They fight near the grave and go back to the ring, then back to the grave. Undertaker hits Austin with a Chokeslam on Austin the ring and he drags him up to the grave. Eventually Austin hits Undertaker with a gas canister and then Stuns him into the grave. Austin runs to the back while Undertaker crawls out of the grave. And then for some reason, an explosion goes off in the grave. Then Kane pops out from the grave and I still don’t know where the hell he came from. He fights with Taker around the grave. Undertaker hits him in the penis and then picks him up for a Tombstone, but he gets distracted by something offscreen and Kane slides off the back and hits a Tombstone on Taker into the grave. Austin drives a backo into the arena and he makes somebody else get in it and drop the dirt onto Taker in the grave. And he’s buried alive I guess. And Austin wins.

My Rating: **3/4

Cagematch Rating: 4.82

My Rating: 3/10

What a lame fucking PPV this was. Most Attitude Era PPVs had an underwhelming undercard, but most of them also have at least something worth watching. Not a damn thing worth watching on this show, apart from the WWF Title match, but then the guy who wins doesn’t actually win. And the main event doesn’t live up to the hype. You can take away absolutely nothing from this show.

Man Survivor Series has a rough reputation. Up next is Survivor Series 1989 brother.

 

[Jarf]

Survivor Series 1989

Match 1: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana & Red Rooster) def. The Enforcers (Big Boss Man, Rick Martel, Bad News Brown & Honky Tonk Man) (22:02)

This match starts off okay enough, but you can feel it really slow down towards the end. 9 minutes go by before the first elimination and it’s Tito Santana by Rick Martel, who turned on Santana earlier in the year. Bad News Brown was feeling real lazy this night I guess because he only gets in when Boss Man tags his chest and forces him to get in. They attempt to double team Beefcake, but Brutus dodges and Boss Man hits Bad News. And because it’s wrestling, Bad News is an idiot and thinks he did it on purpose and leaves. The next elimination is Honky Tonk Man by Brutus who eliminates Martel after a few more minutes. Leaving Boss Man against 3 guys. Boss Man eliminates Red Rooster with a slam. Dusty gets tagged in and he goes wild on Boss Man and eliminates him to win the match. Boss Man attacks Dusty and Brutus with the nightstick after the match. He handcuffs Dusty to the ropes and beats on him with the nightstick.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 2: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - The King’s Court (Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, Canadian Earthquake & Greg Valentine) def. The 4x4s (Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Ronnie Garvin & Hercules) (23:25)

This was a good one. Best match of the night. Hercules is the first man eliminated after he gets squashed by Earthquake. Valentine and Ronnie chop the shit out of each other, that was pretty cool. But Ronnie makes the tag to Duggan, and Valentine runs into a clothesline that eliminates him. Bret and Savage get in their together and as you can expect, they mix well together. Garvin goes next after being eliminated by Dino. The match begins to slow down because the heels isolate Bret from his corner. Bret is eventually eliminated after an Elbow Drop from Savage. Duggan is the last man for his team and he puts up a valiant effort, but they drop the ropes on him and he gets counted out. Then he gets in the ring and starts beating them with a 2x4.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 3: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts & Demolition) def. The Million Dollar Team (Ted DiBiase, Zeus & The Powers of Pain) (27:32)

Good lord, this dragged the hell on. Zeus is eliminated first by disqualification. He makes Hogan look like a punk ass bitch. None of Hogan’s offense has any effect on him. Zeus chokes Hogan and he shoves the referee when he tries to stop. Some time passes before Ax is eliminated after being tripped by Mr. Fuji on the outside. Smash is eliminated next. Now its 3 on 2. Roberts and DiBiase are fighting on the outside and meanwhile Warlord and Barbarian hit Hogan with a spike piledriver. And that somehow calls for a disqualification. Both members of Powers of Pain are out. So DiBiase is now the only man left for his team. Hogan tags Roberts in and he’s gonna be down for the next several minutes. Roberts and DiBiase go at it for a while before Virgil runs out and distracts Roberts. Roberts hits Virgil with a DDT but he’s knocked down by DiBiase from behind, and he’s eliminated. Leaving it to DiBiase and Hogan. They go at it for a few minutes to drag this on. Come on, we all know Hogan’s winning, you can’t fool me. Hogan eventually hulks up. He hits the punches, the irish whip, the big boot and the leg drop to be the sole survivor. And then he poses for several days.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 4: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - Rude’s Brood (Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect & The Fabulous Rougeaus) def. Roddy’s Rowdies (Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka & The Bushwhackers) (21:27)

An okay match, but once again, it goes too long. The Bushwhackers fucking suck in the ring. They have 3 moves. Punch, clothesline and bite. They bite Mr. Perfect about 15 fucking times. Snuka eliminates Jacques Rougeau first with a Superfly Splash. A few more minutes pass by before Piper hits Raymond with a Piledriver to eliminate him. So Rude and Perfect have to come back. The underdog heels. Perfect rolls up Butch from behind because he’s a fucking idiot and plays to the crowd. Luke is next and he gets eliminated after a Rude Awakening. So now we’re back to an even playing field. Perfect and Rude isolate Snuka from Piper for a while. Snuka hits a flying headbutt on Perfect. Perfect tags Rude and he tries to stop Snuka, but Piper gets tagged in and in the best part of this match, these two start beating the crap out of each other. They brawl to the outside and they both get counted out, but continue fighting anyway. After a few more minutes, Perfect eliminates Snuka with the Perfect Plex.

My Rating: **3/4

Main Event: Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination Match - The Ultimate Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart & The Rockers) def. The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, Andre the Giant, Haku & Arn Anderson) (20:28)

Going out with a snoozer. This was not a good match. Tully Blanchard was supposed to be in the place of Heenan, but they give us legit no explanation as to why Heenan is in this match. Even commentary doesn’t know. The teams begin fighting before Warrior gets to the ring. Warrior gets in and the bell rings. Warrior clotheslines Andre over the top rope and the referee counts Andre out. So Haku and Anderson are going to be doing all the work for their team. Haku kicks Neidhart in the back of the head to eliminate him. Some time passes by before another elimination is made. Haku and Anderson double team Jannetty their corner and weaken him. Heenan gets tagged in and he covers Jannetty, eliminating him. Then he immediately tags back out. Haku is next to go after Warrior tosses Shawn off the turnbuckle for a splash on Haku. Because Arn is the only wrestler left on his team, he’s getting increasingly irritated that he has to do all the work. Anderson is able to eliminate Shawn with a Spinebuster. But it’s pretty much over at this point. Warrior gets in and he goes nuts on Arn. He does the military press and drop and the splash on presses on him to eliminate him. Now it’s Warrior and Heenan. Warrior bumps the non-wrestler around the ring. Heenan tries to run away, which I can’t blame him for. Warrior’s definitely coked up as fuck. Warrior hits the shoulder tackle on Heenan and follows it with a Splash and that’s the match.

My Rating: *1/2

Cagematch Rating: 4.82

My Rating: 4/10

Wrestling fans were so easy to please back in the 80s. So I understand the concept of this show at the time was just to put on exciting Tag Team Matches. But the matches aren’t very good apart from one. All these matches and teams feel randomly thrown together as well. They’re setting up Hogan and Beefcake vs Savage and Zeus in a Steel Cage the next month. So why weren’t they all in the same match on this show? It’s very confusing. The lack of story and the lack of setup makes it very hard to give a shit about any of these matches.

Up next is the very last King of the Ring PPV. King of the Ring 2002.

 

[Chris]

I have a soft spot for those early Survivor Series PPVs but it was always funny to me how much better one or 2 undercard matches would be compared to the main matches doing the exact same gimmick

But I love how much of the roster got to work even if they had some quick eliminations

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Legit love this thread for the in depth reviews. Doing good work my friend

 

[Jarf]

Legit love this thread for the in depth reviews. Doing good work my friend

I really appreciate that because I've still got so much to watch. Knowing they're being read and appreciated makes it easier haha

 

[Canadian Dragon]

yeah and Ill esp never go watch wrestling this old or bad like...ever so it's really informative to read this stuff and read a fair assessment on why things were bad and with added context. we also have much too few review threads in general so this is quite refreshing

 

[Chris]

I've said this already but your format is perfect for me. I've seen most of these so I can skim at times but anything I don't remember you write just enough for me to visualize what happened without it being too long of a read

 

[Canadian Dragon]

I've said this already but your format is perfect for me. I've seen most of these so I can skim at times but anything I don't remember you write just enough for me to visualize what happened without it being too long of a read

and might I add, it's also not mean spirited which I also find refreshing

 

[Jarf]

King of the Ring 2002

Match 1: King of the Ring Semi-Final Match - Rob Van Dam def. Chris Jericho (14:31)

The perfect way to start the show. I always loved watching RVD and Jericho wrestle each other. They had such good chemistry. It starts fast paced as these two try to get the better of each other. It’s a real back and forth match almost all the way through. Jericho hits a throwaway German suplex where RVD lands on the back of his head which was gross. Jericho takes the turnbuckle pad off at some point and later in the match, he rams Van Dam’s head into it and rolls him up, but RVD kicks out. Jericho hits a running bulldog followed by an attempted Lionsault, but RVD moves and hits him with a spinning heel kick, and then goes for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but Jericho dodges it, and then he hits the Lionsault. RVD kicks out! RVD goes for a hurricanrana, but Jericho reverses it into the Walls of Jericho! But RVD is too close to the ropes and he grabs it. Jericho gets crotched on the top rope and he drops to the mat and Van Dam ends it with the 5 Star and advances to the finals! Hell of a match!

My Rating: ****

Match 2: King of the Ring Semi-Final Match - Brock Lesnar def. Test (8:12)

I liked this match to be honest. It’s a very nice hoss fight. Test goes for the Big Boot early, but Brock retreats to Paul Heyman on the outside. Heyman tells Brock to avoid the boot at any costs. Brock manhandles Test, but Test gets his shots in too. He hits the Pumphandle Slam and Brock kicks out. And he’s able to hit the boot and Paul Heyman loses his shit on the outside, but Brock kicks out again. Test goes to the corner and sets up another big boot, but Heyman distracts him and that allows Brock to grab Test up and he hits the F5 to get the win.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 3: Cruiserweight Championship Match - Jamie Noble def. The Hurricane (c) (11:58)

Another good match. So far, I don’t think this show is as bad as it’s rating makes it look. Noble wears down Hurricane in the early part of the match. Noble comes out with Nidia and the crowd starts a “she’s a crackwhore” chant… real classy. Hurricane fights back eventually, and he suplexes Noble over the top rope and it’s a miracle Noble doesn’t break his ankle on this spot because his leg catches on the apron on the suplex. Hurricane dives on Noble on the outside. Nidia kisses Hurricane and that distracts him so Noble can hit a baseball slide. They go to the top rope and Noble attempts a superplex from there, but Hurricane reverses it and hits a swinging neckbreaker from there. He hits Noble with a Chokeslam for a close 2 count. He goes back to the top rope, but Noble crotches him and he falls off. Noble then hits a powerbomb on Hurricane and covers him near the ropes. Hurricane’s foot falls on the bottom rope but Nidia pushes it off and Jamie Noble is the new Cruiserweight Champion.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: Ric Flair def. Eddie Guerrero (17:00)

This match was pretty decent, but it’s pretty slow. Both guys show good character work in this match and use good strategy. Eddie mocks Flair in the early parts of the match. But Flair lights Eddie up with chops, forcing Eddie to rethink his strategy. Eddie goes after Flair’s leg and he puts him in his own Figure 4. But Flair doesn’t stay down for long. He goes after Eddie’s legs in turn and he puts him in the Figure 4. Chris Benoit makes his way down and Flair gets knocked to the outside and Benoit puts the Crossface on him. The referee goes outside to reprimand Benoit, and while that’s happening. Bubba Ray runs in from behind and hits Eddie with a Bubba Bomb. Flair crawls back in the ring and covers Eddie for the win. This match does go too long I think, but it’s decent.

My Rating: ***

Match 5: Women’s Championship Match - Molly Holly def. Trish Stratus (c) (5:05)

Not much to write home about, but they pack an okay match in 5 minutes. Molly attacks Trish before she can get her belt off. She works over her arm and drop toe holds her throat first into the bottom rope. They go to the outside and Molly irish whips Trish over the barricade. She throws Trish back in the ring, but as Molly gets on the apron, Trish Chick Kicks her off the apron. Once they’re both back in the ring, Trish puts up more of a fight. Molly attempts a Molly Go Round, but Trish dodges it so Molly lands on her ass. Trish rolls Molly up from behind, but Molly continues rolling and pins Trish.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 6: Kurt Angle def. Hulk Hogan (12:05)

Here we have another decent match with a pretty surprising end. Kurt does an interview before the match and says “What has Hulk Hogan ever done to be a real american hero?” “He’s a real american hero because Vince McMahon told him to be a real american hero.” Like, where is the lie in that whole thing. He ends it by saying he’s going to make Hulk Hogan tap out. And at the time, people watching this were probably like “yeah okay.” Hogan pretty much throws Angle around in the early parts and pretty much flexes. But Kurt turns things around and wears down Hogan. He manages to hit the Angle Slam, but Hogan kicks out of that. Then he starts to hulk up. He hits the punches and the big boot, and it’s important to note that this was a month after Angle loses his hair, so he’s wearing this horrible toupee held down by wrestling headgear. Hogan rips the headgear revealing Angle’s chrome dome. Angle says he’s done with this shit and goes to leave. But he becomes infuriated after Hogan puts the hair on his head and poses with it on. Angle runs down with a steel chair and he goes to hit Hogan, but Hogan moves and Angle hits the ropes and the chair bounces back in his face. Hogan hits the boot and he goes for the Atomic Legdrop, but Angle catches his leg on the drop, and puts Hogan in the Ankle Lock! That’s one of my favorite things about Kurt Angle matches is when he’d find ways to put the Ankle Lock on. Hogan is in the hold for a while, and he tries everything to get Angle off. He reaches the ropes twice, but Angle just drags him back to the center. Hogan tries to kick Angle off him, but Angle has a vice grip on his ankle. Eventually, Hogan hands slaps the mat. He only slaps it 3 times, but this is a big moment for Kurt Angle. How many people can say they made Hulk Hogan tap out? He might be the only one.

My Rating: ***

Match 7: King of the Ring Final Match - Brock Lesnar def. Rob Van Dam (5:36)

Now this King of the Ring actually has some stakes to it. The winner goes to SummerSlam to challenge for the Undisputed Title. It’s funny how you can make something feel bigger when you actually add some stakes. Okay match, it only goes 5 and a half minutes which is fine. Both men had matches already in the night so nobody would’ve looked bad for losing so quickly. Especially in the case of Rob because Brock fucking manhandles him. He tosses RVD around like he’s a child. RVD gets his shots in too. He has to use his speed to throw Brock off. And he manages to hit a 5 Star Frog Splash on the next big thing. But Heyman gets on the apron, it distracts Rob and Heyman hangs RVD up on the top rope. But it almost backfires because Rob falls backward on top of Brock. But luckily for Heyman, Brock kicks out. RVD hits Heyman with a baseball slide on the outside and then goes for a crossbody, but Brock catches him and hits the F5 to secure himself a title match at SummerSlam.

My Rating: **1/2

Main Event: Undisputed Championship Match - The Undertaker (c) def. Triple H (23:00)

Now, we get to the only part of this show that’s bad… Because holy balls this was the slowest main event. It feels like they didn’t have quite enough planned out to fill in 23 minutes. It’s made even worse because Paul Heyman is out there on commentary, and all he can talk about is Brock Lesnar. They start out with some brawling which is nice, but it soon descends into just punching and clotheslining. Nothing interesting in the slightest. The tone of this match also doesn’t fit the feud because in the video package, these two seemed intent on destroying the other, so this really should’ve been No Holds Barred or something. Undertaker takes the turnbuckle pad off, but he’s the one who hits it. That’s the most interesting thing that happens in the first half of the match. The referee gets knocked down. HHH and Taker both hit a clothesline on the other, and that’s when The Rock comes out. He chases Heyman off commentary and he gets on instead. Undertaker and HHH go outside. Taker kicks The Rock in the head and grabs the chair he was sitting on. But The Rock gets back up and lays the smackdown on Taker. Then he picks the chair up and attempts to hit Taker, but he hits Triple H instead and that opens the game up. Taker knocks down The Rock and he rolls HHH back in the ring. And he hits a Last Ride, but there’s no referee to count the pin, so The Rock gets in and hits Undertaker with a Rock Bottom and The Rock goes up the ramp. Triple H, very, very, very, very, very, slowly reaches over to get his arm across Taker, the referee very slowly makes his way over and Undertaker kicks out. Then they take 2 minutes to get back up and Triple H hits the Pedigree on Taker, but the referee is down still, so Triple H tries to get him up, but Taker comes to and low blows Triple H before he rolls him up from behind so the referee can very slowly count the pin. Wow, this match is even worse than I remember it being. Like they really dragged this shitshow on towards the end. The Rock comes back down and he hits Taker with a Spinebuster and then the People’s Elbow. Triple H gets back up and hits The Rock with a Pedigree in retaliation for the chair shot earlier. Then Taker gets back up and hits Triple H with a Chokeslam and the shows over. Terrible main event.

My Rating: *1/2

Cagematch Rating: 4.82

My Rating: 7/10

Much like No Way Out 2012, this show has a pretty good undercard with a bad main event. This show’s undercard was better than that show’s, but this show’s main event was worse than that show’s. So they’re pretty much on the same wavelength for me. I’ll give this show a slight edge over No Way Out though, because this show feels like it’s advancing a story with Brock Lesnar. Kurt Angle looks great after the way he beats Hogan. I think this show is rated so low simply for that main event because everything else ranges from decent to great. As a whole, I think this show was pretty good.

I got another King of the Ring, this time from the year 2000.

 

[Chris]

That was a show I'd reviewed and remembered thinking it has to have been the least bad "worst show" I'd ever seen lol at worst parts were just boring and yeah the main event def went on way too long but other than that it was fine lol

 

[Jarf]

That was a show I'd reviewed and remembered thinking it has to have been the least bad "worst show" I'd ever seen lol at worst parts were just boring and yeah the main event def went on way too long but other than that it was fine lol

Most of it I was just wondering what's wrong with this show?

 

[Chris]

Most of it I was just wondering what's wrong with this show?

Other than the main event, I'm thinking maybe at the time people weren't sold on Brock and his super push annoyed them? But by SummerSlam that def wasn't an issue