Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

[Jarf]

WrestleMania V

This is probably going to be one of my worst reviews ever, because there was 14 matches on this show and almost all of them were the fuckin’ same.

Match 1: Hercules def. King Haku (6:57)

Start off with this match… which was okay. Hercules starts overpowering Haku, but after a distraction from Heenan on the outside, Haku takes control. There is one spot that stands out which was Hercules, diving off the top rope, and catching a side kick from Haku but other than that, nothing really special. Haku misses a dive from the top rope and Hercules drops him with a back suplex to win the match.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 2: The Twin Towers def. The Rockers (8:02)

The Rockers get more offense in this match than I expected them to. They start off trying to frustrate their bigger opponents and trying to wear them down, and it’s going well until Jannetty gets bowled over by Boss Man. They crush Jannetty for a few minutes until Shawn gets back in and turns the tide temporarily. They go for a double dropkick from the top rope. But they mess it up because Jannetty kicks Boss Man to the ground and Shawn kicks solid air. Jannetty gets sent out of the ring, while Shawn comes off the top and gets caught in a powerbomb from Boss Man. Akeem comes back in and hits a splash on Shawn to win.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Ted DiBiase vs. Brutus Beefcake ended in a double countout (10:01)

Welp, it’s a Beefcake match. Now this is what I mean by every match feeling the same. This goes pretty much the same way the opener did. Babyface is rocking early, manager involvement, heel wears down the babyface. The only thing that makes this worse is that it’s longer and slower, and there’s also not a thing that stands out in this match. Beefcake chases Virgil outside the ring and DiBiase follows him, and they brawl to a countout.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 4: The Bushwhackers def. The Fabulous Rougeaus (9:10)

Oof, this was awful. Even for the 80s style, The Bushwhackers sucked. The Rougeaus isolate one of them for a while, and the Bushwhacker bumps like a tree falling in the woods. The Rougeaus celebrate before the match is even over and it costs them. The Bushwhackers do their headbutt ram spot and they take the win in a shitty match.

My Rating: DUD

Match 5: Mr. Perfect def. The Blue Blazer (5:38)

So strange how they gave this match only 5 minutes when they gave the Bushwhackers almost 10. For how short this was, it was exciting. They filled in the match with some amazing stuff. Perfect tries to psyche Owen out early with some slaps but Owen slaps him back. Owen comes off the top rope, but Perfect gets his knees him and wears down Owen. But Owen fights back. These 2 show good chemistry. Owen tries to win it with a crucifix pin, but Perfect kicks out and hits a Perfect Plex to win the match.

My Rating: ***

Match 6: WWF Tag Team Championship 3-on-2 Handicap Match - Demolition (c) def. The Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji (8:20)

Okay, here we go again. You know the drill, hot babyface start, heel wear down, then take it home. Ax makes the mistake of trying to attack Fuji, and then Barbarian and Warlord take him down and wear him out, until Smash gets in there and turns the tide. But he gets knocked down, and the heels make the worst mistake that they could’ve, which was tag in Fuji. Warlord holds Smash in place, and Fuji tries to throw salt in his eyes, but Smash dodges it because this spot never works. Demolition hit their finisher which I’m not sure ever had a name on Fuji to retain their titles which they won at the previous WrestleMania.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 7: Dino Bravo def. Ronnie Garvin (3:06)

They bring out Jimmy Snuka for literally no reason before the match starts. Legit, Dino and Ronnie are in the ring already and then Snuka comes out just to pose and then leave. Dino uses his power advantage to wear down Ronnie, but then Ronnie comes back and proceeds to whip his ass until the finish which was just a side slam by Dino.

My Rating: **

Match 8: The Brain Busters def. Strike Force (9:17)

This is where the Martel heel turn happens. The match starts off great actually. Strike Force are working together. There’s a cool spot where Martel is stuck in the heel corner and he’s walloping them with strikes to escape. Strike Force put Arn and Tully in dueling Figure 4s. Things fall apart for Santana because he accidentally hits Martel with a Forearm and because it’s wrestling and everyone is an idiot, he thinks he did it on purpose I guess. Lolz. The Busters wear down Santana for some time until Santana tries to tag Martel, who gets off and walks away. The Busters put Santana away with a Spike Piledriver. So solid match, but not great.

My Rating: ***

Okay, this next segment made absolutely no sense, which is why I think it’s a testament of how great Roddy Piper was that he was able to make this entertaining. It’s a Piper’s Pit segment with Brother Love and something Downey Jr.. No, not Iron Man. There’s really not much to talk about here, because I couldn’t follow most of it. But Piper has a mic and he’s roasting people so that’s good enough for me. It ends with him blowing a fire extinguisher in Downey’s face because he had a lit cigarette.

Match 9: Singles Match with Big John Studd as Special Referee - Jake Roberts def. Andre the Giant via DQ (9:44)

John Studd has to be the most unremarkable Rumble winner ever. He wins it and then referees a match at Mania. Also, John Studd is the OG Red Shoes. This match actually has a unique start. Heenan must have taken the turnbuckle pad off, because as soon as Jake gets in the ring, Andre rams his head into it. Other than that, this match isn’t special. Andre wears down Jake for a while. Jake rams Andre’s face into the exposed turnbuckle and brings Andre to his knees with some punches. While Jake grabs his sack filled with snake, Andre attacks John Studd, and DiBiase runs down to grab the sack from Jake. Jake chases them and goes after them while Andre chokes Studd in the ring. It’s a mess. Jake throws Damien in the ring and Andre runs away while Studd calls for the DQ.

My Rating: *

Match 10: The Hart Foundation def. Greg Valentine & Honky Tonk Man (7:40)

Solid match, but again. Nothing special. The Hart Foundation starts hot, Honky and Greg wear down Bret. You know how this goes at this point. Bret makes the hot tag to Neidhart who takes both heels down with shoulder tackles and dropkicks, impressive for a man of his size. The finish is kinda cool with Neidhart chasing Jimmy Hart around the ring and grabbing his megaphone. He tosses it to Bret in the ring who hits Honky with it with the referee’s back turned and The Hart Foundation are the winners.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 11: Intercontinental Championship Match - Rick Rude def. Ultimate Warrior (c) (9:36)

Rick Rude was one of Warrior’s best opponents. He takes some nasty back bumps to make Warrior look good. Warrior overwhelms Rude at first, but Rude takes control and starts wearing down Warrior. But Warrior starts to pump with gas from the rocket engine and the stars of the little Warriormaniacs or whatever the fuck he said in his promos. Warrior tries for a suplex from the apron to the inside, but Rude turns midway and lands on top of Warrior while Heenan grabs Warrior’s foot and prevents him from kicking out, not sure how it would do that but hey, Rude is the champ.

My Rating: ***

Match 12: Jim Duggan vs. Bad News Brown ended in a double DQ (3:49)

I’d expect this to suck, and it’s nothing great for 3 and a half minutes, but I love a brawling match and that’s pretty much what this was. I’ve certainly seen better though, but I’ll take it over the boring rest spot show I’ve seen so far. Bad News brings a chair into the ring cause he says “fuck this” while Duggan gets his 2x4 and take a swing at each other, which is what causes the DQ finish. And if I cared about this match at all, I might be annoyed.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 13: Red Rooster def. Bobby Heenan (0:32)

Heenan runs into the ring post on the inside and falls on his back and Rooster covers him. Not really much to say about this match.

Main Event: WWF Championship Match - Hulk Hogan def. Randy Savage (c) (17:54)

The Mega Powers explode all over each other! Oh, shit, sorry, that was the original tagline. The Mega Powers Explode! And Miss Elizabeth comes down to watch them explode… Anyway. This seems to be very divisive. Some people thought it was great, some thought it was boring. I’m leaning towards the former. I think it’s in the running for Hogan’s best match. Ironically, the only part of this match I hated was… the finish… We’ll get to that in a second though. Savage realizes pretty quickly he's gonna have to outsmart and outmaneuver Hogan and that's exactly what he does. He leaves and re-enters the ring several times to frustrate Hogan enough so he would chase him. Imma be honest with you guys here, Savage carries this whole match pretty much. Hogan gets cut above his eye, and Savage tries to open it up even more. Savage eventually sends Elizabeth to the back and as he comes back, he just has this craziness in his eyes that was great. Savage then attacks Hogan's throat and hits an Elbow Drop on Hogan… which he kicks out pretty much at 2 prompting me to say "oh fuck off." Now I don't think anybody expected Savage to win this, but to lose in this was is downright insulting. Savage beats Hogan's for most of this match, only for Hogan to Hulk up, and legdrop him to win. I hate Hogan so muuuuuuuch!

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 5.27

My Rating: 5.5/10

The main event saves the show even if the end pisses me off. Had some solid matches on the undercard but nearly every match feels the same and this show is 3 ½ hours long. But for what it's worth, which isn't much, it is the best Mania I've watched so far.

Now we're going back to England for Rebellion 2000.

 

[Chris]

And absolutely dreadful show

 

[Skyefire]

A number of years ago, possibly before WWE Network, Walmart would sell many, if not every WrestleMania on DVD to promote that year's show and this was one I bought one time. While it's not great, I find it to be watchable. Odd how they alternate between singles and tag team matches for like the first half of the show.

Many of these matches were glorified TV matches, but especially Mr. Perfect vs Blue Blazer. As great of a wrestler as Owen was, Blue Blazer was still a glorified jobber and thus, not a long match.

I looked it up and Bad News Brown had a total of 9 WWF PPV Matches in his career. He won his first two, including the WrestleMania IV Battle Royal, but that's all. Even when he was in the Survivor Series his teams didn't win. But, he was never pinned or made to submit on PPV. Only DQs and Countouts.

Everybody mocks Red Rooster, and yes, it's a dumb character, but I argue that it got Terry Taylor a somewhat high-profile match at WrestleMania and and that's better than he would have gotten without the gimmick.

 

[Skyefire]

Also, regarding Jimmy Snuka, while it was kind of a disservice to Dino Bravo and Ron Garvin, that was his first WWF TV appearance since 1985. And it was way more deserving than Jesse Ventura's introduction.

 

[Jarf]

Rebellion 2000

The first thing to open the show is a promo from Commissioner Mick Foley and Debra making the main event, which is a fatal 4-way, a No DQ, No Countout match… Okay. Kurt Angle, the WWF Champion who has to defend his title in said 4-way is not happy.

Match 1: Triple Threat Elimination Tables Match - The Dudley Boyz def. Edge & Christian & T&A (9:55)

And we start off with a pet peeve of mine. No DQ Tag matches with TAGS. Why? What is the point of it being No DQ at that point! Despite that, this manages to be a solid opener. Edge and Christian mainly keep to themselves while The Dudleyz duke it out with T&A. Albert puts Bubba on the top rope and is about to put him through a table, but Edge and Christian run in and powerbomb Albert through the table, eliminating them. E&C have the advantage for most of the match. D-Von makes the hot tag to Bubba. There is one entertaining spot I wanna talk about where E&C attempt the WASSUUUUUUP headbutt on Bubba, but Bubba victory rolls Christian, and D-Von pushes Edge off the top and into Christian’s crotch. The match ends with a 3D on Christian through the table.

My Rating: ***

Match 2: Women’s Championship Match - Ivory (c) def. Lita (2:57)

Short but sweet. Lita has Ivory on the ropes for almost the whole thing other than a minute of Ivory working over Lita, but Lita hits a Twist of Fate and suicide dives on Stevie Richards on the outside. Lita sunset flips over Ivory into the ring, and Ivory drops to her knees while Stevie grabs her hands for leverage. Ivory retains.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 3: Hardcore Championship Match - Steve Blackman (c) def. Perry Saturn (6:02)

So weird, because nobody runs out to try to 24/7 the title away. These 2 just have a match, and it’s a pretty good match too. They wail on each other whatever they can find. They really go all out with the trash cans and the cookie sheets and the chairs and whatnot. There’s not a lot that stands out too much, but I remember enjoying it. Perry dives through the ropes only to get hit in the head with a cookie sheet. Perry blows a fire extinguisher on Blackman. I honestly feel like Attitude Era Hardcore Title matches are underrated. They were almost never 5 or even 4 star classics but they served their purpose. Blackman bicycle kicks a sheet into Perry’s face to get the 3 count.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: European Championship Match - Crash Holly def. William Regal (c) (4:59)

My god they wanted England to boo Regal. Which makes sense, he is a heel, but by god those promos were trash. Can’t say it didn’t work though. Man, if they wanted to make Regal look like as big of a nerd as possible, mission accomplished. Let me break this down. Regal whoops Crash’s ass for 4 minutes, pins him, only after the 3 count does the referee realize Crash’s foot was on the ropes. Then while the referee is distracted after restarting the match, Molly Holly hits Regal with a dropkick from the top rope and that’s what Crash beats him with. Then Regal beats them both up after the match and takes the European Title out with him.

My Rating: *

Match 5: Chyna & Billy Gunn def. The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero & Dean Malenko) (7:26)

They play a video package for this and Eddie calls Chyna ‘Mami’. They really are Dom and Rhea! Although I’ll say if the story ends with Dominik cheating on Rhea, that’ll make Dominik, in kayfabe, the dumbest wrestler ever. Anyway, Billy and Chyna have a hot start, but soon it becomes a match where Eddie and Dean isolate Chyna from her corner. Chyna makes the hot tag to Billy. There’s some near falls, but it ends with Billy hitting a Fameasser on Malenko to win the match. Even though this is ultimately all about Chyna and Eddie. So Chyna doesn’t pin the guy who cheated on her. That’s just weird to me.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 6: Kane def. Chris Jericho (8:06)

The coffee feud. Jericho tries to take the fight to Kane early, but Kane soon takes control and tosses Jericho around. Jericho eventually fights back after hitting Kane with a dropkick after an attempted flying clothesline. Jericho tries to put Kane in the Walls of Jericho, but with the long legs of Kane and power disadvantage, can’t get him to roll over. Jericho hits a bulldog though and tries for a Lionsault, but Kane gets his knees up and then he Chokeslams Jericho to win the match. But as Kane is going up the ramp, Jericho chases him and hits him in the back with a steel chair and puts him in the Walls of Jericho on the stage.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 7: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - Right to Censor (Bull Buchanan & The Goodfather) (c) def. The Hardy Boyz (8:08)

The Hardyz throw off the bigger guys early with high flying, but after they ram Matt into the ring post, they start working over his shoulder. But Matt makes the hot tag to Jeff, who comes in to turn the tide, and The Hardyz use their special double team moves. Matt hits Bull with a Twist of Fate, and Jeff follows that with a Swanton Bomb. But Matt goes to attack Goodfather and the referee tries to separate them. But behind them, notorious piece of shit, Val Venis dives off the top and hits a splash on Jeff. Bull reaches an arm across Jeff’s chest for the 3 count.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 8: The Undertaker def. Chris Benoit (12:18)

The Radicalz jump Undertaker before the match and take out his leg, and JR goes “that was premeditated.” Which I can’t believe he figured out so quickly. He should be a detective. Then to make this funnier. They replay it right after it happens. Just in case ya forgot what happened just 30 seconds ago. Lol. This is a match I’m surprised we didn’t get more often. This was a solid match. The story is simple but it’s pretty good. Benoit works over Undertaker’s leg of course. Whenever Taker tries to mount some offense, Benoit goes to the leg. Undertaker attacks Benoit’s leg in response, but Benoit is mostly in control of this match which is surprising. You can tell they were really high on him at this point, because Undertaker wins this match with a Small Package. How many times did that happen? Not very often.

My Rating: ***1/4

Main Event: WWF Championship Fatal 4-Way Match - Kurt Angle (c) def. Steve Austin, The Rock & Rikishi (8:51)

All night, Kurt Angle has been trying to recruit people to help him win this match. He went to Benoit and he went to Edge and Christian, just kissing their asses. That becomes important later. The match starts with Rock and Austin dominating, they take the fight to Kurt and Rikishi early. Eventually, we get down to Rock and Austin in the ring and they do the “stare at each other so the crowd can cheer” spot. They go at it and Austin hits a Stunner on Rock, which gets broken up. Austin stomps a mudhole on Angle in the corner, but the Rock recovers, and when Austin turns around, he gets a Rock Bottom. Rikishi pulls the referee out of the ring to save the match. Edge and Christian and The Radicalz eventually run down to attack Austin and Rock, while in the ring, Angle hits an Angle Slam on Rikishi to retain his title. Austin and Rock work together to dispose of The Radicalz. Austin tries to share a cold one with Rock, who is reluctant, but after Austin asks the crowd to give him a hell yeah if they wanna see him have a beer with the great one, Rock accepts, because he is the people’s champion after all.

My Rating: ***1/4

Cagematch Rating: 5.28

My Rating: 3.5/10

Some solid matches on the show, but none really worth seeing apart from maybe Taker vs Benoit just for how rarely that match happened. This is just a house show. And some of these matches have no reason to take place. Pretty much the only match you can make an argument for happening is the Chyna match. Ultimately pointless show.

Now it’s time to go back to the worst decade for the Royal Rumble. It’s Royal Rumble 2014.

 

[Jarf]

Royal Rumble 2014

Match 1: Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan (21:35)

Starting the show is one of the best matches to ever open a WWE PPV. This was awesome! Over the years, I’ve seen some people give the garbage take that Bray Wyatt couldn’t wrestle. And I always point them to this match. Harper and Rowan get sent to the back early by the referee, and Bray tells them that he doesn’t need them to fight this war for him. Then Bray turns around and gets dived on by Bryan. Bryan was so over at this time. It didn’t matter who it was he was in the ring against, he wasn’t getting booed. Bryan works over Bray’s legs, while Bray works over Bryan’s head and neck. Bray is vicious in this match, but Bryan won’t stay down for long. He starts to get his come back in, and hits a spinning DDT from the apron, then he follows that up with a running dropkick to Bray at the barricade. Then he follows that up with a dropkick from the top rope, the yes kicks, and then the running dropkicks in the corner. But Bray comes out of the corner and turns Bryan inside out! Bray goes for Sister Abigail, but Bryan reverses it into a rollup, which Bray kicks out of. Then Bryan brings Bray down to apply the Yes Lock, but before he can lock it in, Bray bites Bryan’s hand and lays into him with forearms. The end of this match is awesome. Bryan is setting up the running knee, but Bray rolls out of the ring to escape. Bryan tries to suicide dive onto him, but Bray catches him and hits Sister Abigail on the barricade! Then Bray picks Bryan’s body up like a he was a toddler and puts him back in the ring, to hit another Sister Abigail to win the match. Amazing opener to start the show off.

My Rating: ****1/4

Match 2: Brock Lesnar def. Big Show (2:02)

When Brock gets in the ring, he immediately tackles Big Show to the ground and lays into him with punches, then Paul Heyman tosses him a chair, which Brock uses to destroy the Big Show. Brock breaks that chair and Heyman tosses him another one which Brock uses to again lay into Big Show. The referee eventually rings the bell, but Brock still runs at Big Show with the chair, but Show punches Brock in the face which staggers him out of the ring. Big Show tosses Brock around outside the ring before throwing him back in and going for a second KO punch, but Brock ducks and picks him up on his shoulders for an F5. Then the beatings continue after the match. Brock wears out 2 more chairs on Big Show.

Match 3: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - Randy Orton (c) def. John Cena (20:54)

Controversial take, this match was really damn good. The only reason it gets shit on is because nobody wanted this match and they wanted Daniel Bryan, which is fair, but it’s a shame that this match gets the shaft for it because despite all that, these 2 managed to put on a show. And some people think that the crowd hindered this match, truthfully, I think it helped it a little, because it gave Orton a reason to get more and more annoyed and pissed off so he taunts the crowd, giving Cena the perfect opportunity to turn the match around. It’s pretty back and forth from now on. Cena hits an AA on Orton, who kicks out. Cena picks him up and gets dropped with an RKO, and kicks out. I’m also a sucker for finisher steals, and Orton uses the STF and AA on Cena, while Cena retaliates and uses the RKO on Orton. At the end of this match, Cena has Orton in the STF, but then the lights go out, and The Wyatt Family are standing on the apron. Cena attacks them, allowing Orton to hit the RKO on a distracted Cena to retain. Then the Wyatts beat down Cena afterward, ending with a Sister Abigail.

My Rating: ***3/4

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match - Batista won by last eliminating Roman Reigns (55:05)

Oof, this is where things fall apart. Admittedly, I think this Rumble was going pretty well at first. It’s an interesting Rumble to watch as well when you think of where mostly everyone in this match has since gone and is at now. Starting off with CM Punk and Seth Rollins, and what would ironically be, the last match CM Punk had in WWE… for now at least. Rusev gets to look like a beast before he’s on the main roster. The Shield eventually are all in the ring together, and they get CM Punk alone, and then Sheamus makes his return to wreck their shit. Sheamus truly is underrated. He’s no technical master, but he brings an enjoyable intensity to every match. Cesaro eventually comes in when he does, he swings gets jumped by Seth and Dean, but he uppercuts Dean to the ground, and swings Seth around for what has to be a minute. Things don’t start to fall apart until Batista comes out and the boos start to rain down. And they only get worse when Rey Mysterio comes out at 30, and he gets booed into the next century because he isn’t Daniel Bryan. And yeah, Bryan absolutely should’ve been the obvious choice to win. But Vince is too tone deaf. Roman dumps his fellow Shieldmates and Cesaro out at the same time, leaving us down to 4. CM Punk is eliminated by grandpa Kane, who Chokeslams Punk through a table so hard, he’s never seen again. Roman eliminates Sheamus to break Kane’s record of most eliminations in a single rumble. And I saw some people saying, after the 2015 Rumble, that Roman got a great reaction at the rumble the year before. It’s an important distinction to make that they weren’t rooting for Roman, they were rooting against Batista. But Batista throws Roman out and they rain down boos upon this man. But the good thing about this reaction is that they can only do better the next year… Right? This match was going pretty well in the first half, but the ending kinda brings it down.

My Rating: ***

Cagematch Rating: 5.29

My Rating: 7.5/10

Okay, I feel like I’m going to get judged for my rating. Yes, Daniel Bryan absolutely should’ve won this Royal Rumble. And yes, they were giving us a rematch that nobody asked for with Cena vs Orton. But despite all that, this show was pretty enjoyable. That opener was stellar. Cena and Orton actually had a good match and the rumble… was a rumble. Is it fair to rate an entire show for a bad ending? No. You should take it into account, but don’t let it affect the overall quality.

I feel like a real American, because next up is The Great American Bash 2006. Although with my elevated liver enzymes, I don’t know when I’ll get to it. (If you haven’t seen this PPV, you won’t get that joke probably)

 

[Jarf]

With that, my 100th PPV has been watched and reviewed, so I thought it was time to post the updated ranking of every show I've watched on a new page.

1. Royal Rumble 2024 (8.5/10)
2. No Mercy 2006 (8.5/10)
3. Cyber Sunday 2007 (8/10)
4. Fastlane 2021 (8/10)
5. Royal Rumble 1998 (8/10)
6. No Mercy 2005 (8/10)
7. In Your House 10: Mind Games (8/10)
8. Vengeance 2006 (8/10)
9. Extreme Rules 2015 (8/10)
10. WrestleMania 32 (8/10)
11. Clash of Champions 2017 (7.5/10)
12. Clash of Champions 2019 (7.5/10)
13. Backlash 2003 (7.5/10)
14. Elimination Chamber 2012 (7.5/10)
15. Greatest Royal Rumble (7.5/10)
16. Royal Rumble 2014 (7.5/10)
17. Survivor Series 2021 (7.5/10)
18. The Great American Bash 2007 (7.5/10)
19. The Great American Bash 2006 (7.5/10)
20. WrestleMania 36 Night 1 (7/10)
21. Backlash 2020 (7/10)
22. Hell in a Cell 2009 (7/10)
23. King of the Ring 2002 (7/10)
24. Extreme Rules 2017 (7/10)
25. King of the Ring 1997 (7/10)
26. Judgment Day 2006 (7/10)
27. Night of Champions 2011 (7/10)
28. No Way Out 2012 (7/10)
29. Hell in a Cell 2021 (6.5/10)
30. In Your House 3: Triple Header (6.5/10)
31. Crown Jewel 2019 (6.5/10)
32. Night of Champions 2013 (6.5/10)
33. Capitol Punishment (6.5/10)
34. Survivor Series 2000 (6.5/10)
35. SummerSlam 1989 (6/10)
36. WrestleMania 12 (6/10)
37. Battleground 2013 (6/10)
38. New Year's Revolution 2007 (6/10)
39. TLC 2014 (6/10)
40. New Year's Revolution 2006 (6/10)
41. SummerSlam 2012 (6/10)
42. Insurrextion 2001 (6/10)
43. In Your House 25: Judgment Day (6/10)
44. Judgment Day 2007 (6/10)
45. SummerSlam 2021 (5.5/10)
46. Rebellion 2002 (5.5/10)
47. WrestleMania 5 (5.5/10)
48. In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks (5.5/10)
49. Armageddon 1999 (5.5/10)
50. WrestleMania 29 (5.5/10)
51. In Your House 8: Beware of Dog (5.5/10)
52. No Way Out 2007 (5.5/10)
53. Over the Limit 2010 (5.5/10)
54. Taboo Tuesday 2004 (5.5/10)
55. SummerSlam 2017 (5.5/10)
56. In Your House 27: St. Valentine's Day Massacre (5.5/10)
57. Roadblock: End of the Line (5.5/10)
58. No Way Out 2005 (5.5/10)
59. Fastlane 2016 (5.5/10)
60. In Your House 23: Fully Loaded (5.5/10)
61. In Your House 21: Unforgiven (5.5/10)
62. Bad Blood 2003 (5.5/10)
63. Insurrextion 2002 (5.5/10)
64. WrestleMania 27 (5.5/10)
65. Cyber Sunday 2006 (5.5/10)
66. Judgment Day 2003 (5/10)
67. Survivor Series 2015 (5/10)
68. Hell in a Cell 2019 (5/10)
69. Money in the Bank 2017 (5/10)
70. In Your House 7: Best Friends, Better Enemies (5/10)
71. No Way Out 2003 (5/10)
72. Battleground 2014 (5/10)
73. Royal Rumble 1999 (5/10)
74. SummerSlam 1995 (5/10)
75. Backlash 2002 (5/10)
76. In Your House 22: Over the Edge (5/10)
77. Survivor Series 1994 (5/10)
78. Hell in a Cell 2012 (5/10)
79. SummerSlam 1988 (5/10)
80. Elimination Chamber 2018 (5/10)
81. In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings (5/10)
82. Royal Rumble 2022 (5/10)
83. Royal Rumble 2013 (4.5/10)
84. King of the Ring 2000 (4.5/10)
85. In Your House 6: Rage in a Cage (4.5/10)
86. Fastlane 2015 (4.5/10)
87. Hell in a Cell 2013 (4.5/10)
88. Royal Rumble 1990 (4.5/10)
89. WrestleMania 1 (4.5/10)
90. In Your House 17: Ground Zero (4.5/10)
91. In Your House 20: No Way Out of Texas (4.5/10)
92. Payback 2020 (4.5/10)
93. Backlash 2017 (4.5/10)
94. Royal Rumble 2012 (4.5/10)
95. Fastlane 2017 (4.5/10)
96. WrestleMania 15 (4.5/10)
97. SummerSlam 2010 (4.5/10)
98. In Your House 9: International Incident (4.5/10)
99. Royal Rumble 2015 (4/10)
100. Royal Rumble 2006 (4/10)
101. Survivor Series 2010 (4/10)
102. Armageddon 2004 (4/10)
103. No Way Out 2002 (4/10)
104. TLC 2019 (4/10)
105. SummerSlam 2007 (4/10)
106. Bragging Rights 2010 (4/10)
107. In Your House 24: Breakdown (4/10)
108. SummerSlam 1996 (4/10)
109. Survivor Series 1997 (4/10)
110. Survivor Series 2008 (4/10)
111. In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell (4/10)
112. Survivor Series 1991 (4/10)
113. Rebellion 1999 (4/10)
114. Capital Carnage (4/10)
115. Survivor Series 1989 (4/10)
116. SummerSlam 1993 (4/10)
117. In Your House 12: It's Time (4/10)
118. Survivor Series 2013 (4/10)
119. In Your House: The Premiere (4/10)
120. Survivor Series 2006 (4/10)
121. WrestleMania 2 (4/10)
122. Battleground 2017 (3.5/10)
123. Insurrextion 2000 (3.5/10)
124. Over the Limit 2011 (3.5/10)
125. Judgment Day 2004 (3.5/10)
126. Rebellion 2000 (3.5/10)
127. Survivor Series 1993 (3.5/10)
128. Unforgiven 1999 (3.5/10)
129. Royal Rumble 1996 (3.5/10)
130. King of the Ring 1999 (3/10)
131. Vengeance 2007: Night of Champions (3/10)
132. Royal Rumble 1989 (3/10)
133. This Tuesday in Texas (3/10)
134. In Your House 4: The Great White North (3/10)
135. The Great American Bash 2004 (3/10)
136. Backlash 2018 (3/10)
137. In Your House 26: Rock Bottom (3/10)
138. Survivor Series 1990 (3/10)
139. Extreme Rules 2018 (3/10)
140. Unforgiven 2007 (3/10)
141. Crown Jewel 2018 (2.5/10)
142. The Great American Bash 2005 (2.5/10)
143. New Years Revolution 2005 (2.5/10)
144. SummerSlam 1990 (2.5/10)
145. Insurrextion 2003 (2.5/10)
146. WrestleMania 4 (2.5/10)
147. In Your House 19: D-Generation X (2.5/10)
148. WrestleMania 9 (2/10)
149. No Mercy 1999 (UK) (2/10)
150. Survivor Series 1999 (2/10)
151. Super Showdown 2019 (2/10)
152. Super Showdown 2020 (1.5/10)
153. Elimination Chamber 2022 (1.5/10)
154. WrestleMania 11 (1.5/10)
155. King of the Ring 1995 (1/10)
156. The Wrestling Classic (1/10)
157. December to Dismember 2006 (1/10)

 

[Canadian Dragon]

2018 and2019 were a putrid years according to this data, which reinforces my feelings about the company at the time

 

[Skyefire]

Now, you just need a show that will rank above Fully Loaded and one that will rank below Fully Loaded and above WrestleMania 27 so that IYH 23 will be #23 on the list and WM 27 will rank #27.

 

[Jarf]

The Great American Bash 2006

4 words. Card subject to change.

Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championship Match - Paul London & Brian Kendrick (c) def. The Pitbulls (13:40)

There’s a reason London and Kendrick were Tag Champs for nearly a year, it’s because they consistently put on performances like this. For those who don’t remember, this version of The Pitbulls was Kid Kash and Jamie Noble. Hell of an opener here, very good tag team action. London and Kendrick are the faster of the 2 teams and they use that to their advantage, at one point hitting a double suicide dive on their opponents. But the match turns in the Pitbulls favor when London tries to skin the cat, but Noble dropkicks London in the gut, causing him to splat on the floor. They isolate London for a few minutes, but London eventually makes the tag to Kendrick after flipping over and landing on his feet on an attempted back drop. Kendrick and London pick up the pace until the end when Kendrick sunset flips over Kash from the top rope. London does a flip kick to Kash, who falls back in a pin. Very good way to start this show. I think this match actually could’ve been helped if it went a little longer, but I can’t complain too much.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: United States Championship Match - Finlay (c) def. William Regal (14:00)

Teddy Long comes out to announce that Bobby Lashley can’t wrestle because of elevated enzymes. Lashley comes out, dressed to compete, but he gets sent away. This was originally going to be a triple threat, so Long orders Finlay and Regal to fight each other causing JBL to go one of his unhinged tyrades that I didn’t realize he did so often back in these days. He really toned down later in his career. This is a weird match, because you got 2 legit tough guys beating the crap out of each other, but they’re also heels so they wanted to keep the crowd invested with some comedy sprinkled in I guess? I’m not so sure. Hornswoggle continually gets involved throughout the thing, which Regal sells beautifully because nobody did over the top facial expressions like Regal. Hornswoggle takes Regal’s boot off, and it comes into play in the finish where Regal grabs Finlay’s shillelagh (I hate that I have to look up how to spell that every time I review a Finlay match). But the ref takes it away, but behind their back, Hornswoggle tosses Finlay Regal’s boot and Finlay hits Regal with it to retain.

My Rating: ***

Match 3: Gregory Helms def. Matt Hardy (11:45)

Gregory was the Cruiserweight Champion at the time, so I’m not sure why these guys were feuding. Maybe it shows they were pretty high on Helms at this point, I’m not sure. It’s a back and forth match, but a lot to talk about other than a few spots. Helms hits a swinging neckbreaker from the top rope. Then later off that same corner, Hardy hits a perfect moonsault on a standing Helms. Matt kicks out of the shining wizard. In the finish to this match, Hardy is giving Helms the 10 punches in the corner, but Helms drops Hardy face first on the turnbuckle, and Helms rolls up Hardy, grabbing the tights (or the pants in this case) to win the match.

My Rating: ***

Before the next match, Khali baits Undertaker into an ambush from Big Show. The next match is supposed to Khali vs Undertaker in a Punjabi Prison. And it’s a damn shame, cause that sure sounds like it would be fun to watch, definitely. But Teddy takes Khali out and puts Big Show in as punishment for the ambush. In real life, the reason Khali was taken out was for the same reason that Lashley was taken out of his match.

Match 4: Punjabi Prison Match - The Undertaker def. Big Show (21:47)

What a boring piece of shit this was. Thank fuck WWE have only done 3 Punjabi Prison Matches, that means I only have to watch 1 more. For 21 minutes, they only have a few spots worth talking about, and that is really bad. Still better than the first one I watched though. The first 2 doors are opened and shut with both guys still inside. Undertaker gets out through the 3rd, Big Show gets out through the 4th. But Show tosses Undertaker back in just before it shuts. So now Taker has to get out over the top. Both guys are bleeding at this point. And towards the end, Khali and Daivari make their way through the crowd for some reason to try and get in. Undertaker hits a crossbody on Big Show and they burst through the cage together. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but first one to get out of the cage wins right? So wouldn’t that mean Big Show is the winner? Whatever, I don’t care enough to question it too much, because this match sucked.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 5: Fatal 4-Way Bra & Panties Match - Ashley Massaro def. Kristal, Jillian Hall & Michelle McCool (5:25)

And the suckage continues. I went into this expecting it to be elimination rules, because it would only make sense. But Jillian helps Ashley win by holding Kristal’s legs, while Ashley rips her top off so Kristal has been stripped to her bra and panties and Ashley is the winner and I go “oh”. I didn’t realize it was first strip to a finish. And because every babyface diva was canonically an exhibitionist, Jillian and Ashley strip each other down before leaving.

My Rating: 1/2*

Match 6: Mr. Kennedy def. Batista via DQ (8:45)

Batista was supposed to face Mark Henry here, but sexual chocolate went down with an injury. So now Batista gets Kennedy. Batista is pretty agitated that he doesn’t get Mark so he takes it out on Kennedy. Batista opens Kennedy up, and weirdly enough, Kennedy bleeds worse than either Taker or Big Show earlier. Batista beats the piss out of Kennedy. Kennedy gets his brief comeback in where he boringly wears down Batista. But Batista comes back, and pounds Kennedy in the corner and puts his boot right on his throat. The referee tries to bring Batista out, but Batista refuses so the referee DQ’s him. Batista doesn’t seem to really give a shit though, and he picks Kennedy up and drops him with 3 spinebusters before polishing him off with a Batista Bomb.

My Rating: **1/2

Main Event: World Heavyweight Championship Match - King Booker def. Rey Mysterio (c) (16:57)

A criminally underrated match if you ask me. Nobody seems to remember this, but I thought this was a great match. It may be just because this was around the time I got into wrestling, so it has some nostalgia for me. Booker shows he’s been scouting Rey, because he reverses a lot of his offense. I remember early in the match, Rey bounces off the second rope into an attempted moonsault, but lands on his feet after Booker ducks under it, and Booker side kicks Rey’s head off. Rey starts to make a comeback, and he kicks Booker into the second rope. Booker is able to avoid the 1st 619, but Booker ducks it, but gets a kick to the back of his head for his trouble. Rey tries it again, but he’s tripped by Sharmell. The referee throws Sharmell out to make it even. The referee ends up getting bumped, and during that time, Rey finally hits the 619, and a Splash, but there’s no referee. Booker low blows Rey and hits the Book End, then goes to the outside to grab a chair. He takes a swing at Rey, who ducks and dropkicks the chair back into Booker’s face. The chair ends up sliding outside, and then Chavo runs out… and hits Rey in the head with it. Now as an adult, you can see this turn coming, but I was 7 at the time and I was absolutely heartbroken. And you can hear a hush fall over the crowd as Chavo leaves. And Michael Cole, for all the shit that he gets, is great here. He’s yelling for somebody to come stop this, as Booker covers Rey and the referee slides back in. King Booker is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Long live the king!

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 5.32

My Rating: 7.5/10

Underrated show. True, it has it’s share of shit, but even so, that’s a small portion of the show, even if the longest match on the card is apart of that. Most of the matches on this show ranged from solid to great. The Punjabi Prison is really the only thing that holds this show back. That and the fact that a lot of this card had to change due to reasons that wasn’t their fault.

I don’t think I’ll have as much fun on the next show however… This show made me question why I still watched this fucking company to be totally honest… Where one of the worst WWE Title reigns in history began. Backlash 2017…

 

[Skyefire]

I don't remember a whole lot from mid-2000's Smackdown, but I remember it seemed like every time Kendrick & London wrestled a non-title match, they lost, just to set up a title match which they won. The next one is one that holds a special place in my heart personally (no matter how bad it was).

 

[Jarf]

I don't remember a whole lot from mid-2000's Smackdown, but I remember it seemed like every time Kendrick & London wrestled a non-title match, they lost, just to set up a title match which they won. The next one is one that holds a special place in my heart personally (no matter how bad it was).

That basically sums up their title reign

 

[Jarf]

Backlash 2017

Let’s get this over with…

Match 1: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Dolph Ziggler (15:50)

Nakamura seems to be going through a career resurgence as of late, but if they had just booked him right to begin with, that wouldn’t be a problem. Dolph was not a bad guy to make his debut against. This was a good opener to start the show, but not really a good showcase of how talented Nakamura is. Nakamura plays mind games with Dolph early, but Ziggler takes control and wears down Nakamura for a while. There’s some sweet spots in there. Ziggler attempts a superkick, Nakamura dodges it, and goes for a kick of his own, but Ziggler dodges and hits a Zig Zag for a 2 count. Nakamura starts building momentum and he hits a Kinshasa to finish Dolph off. Good opener.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match - The Usos (c) def. The Fashion Police (9:15)

Alright, the Fashion Files was awesome. Fandango makes his way out with the janitor who I guess is gonna be filling in for Breeze until he gets out there. Jey Uso superkicks the janitor and goes for an Uso Splash, but the janitor continues to roll out of the way every time. Every time Jey goes up, the janitor rolls to the other side like a log. The janitor tags in Fandango, but while he’s going at it with Uso, somebody’s grandma gets on the apron, and waits for the tag, but grandma’s got hops because she hits a dropkick. Eventually, Tyler makes his way out and gets in the match for the first time and we go from a comedy match to an actually pretty good match. Tyler tries to dive on the Usos from the apron, and gets dumped over the barricade, but Dango does a senton over the ropes onto the Usos, he throws one of them back in, and goes to the top rope, but the other Use holds onto Dango’s leg, allowing the one in the ring to superkick him. Dango falls to the apron and takes the pin.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 3: Sami Zayn def. Baron Corbin (14:35)

Oh look, it’s the bane of my existence, Baron Corbin. At least he’s the Lone Wolf here. I’ll take Lone Wolf Corbin over any gimmick he’s had since then. Corbin tries to bully Zayn early, but Zayn keeps him on the ropes. Corbin doesn’t turn the tide until he whips Zayn into the buckle, and starts working over Sami’s back. From there, the match becomes pretty boring. Zayn stays in it while Corbin just beats on him for a while. Sami sidesteps Corbin who goes out of the ring and comes back in, in the corner. Sami takes advantage and hits a Helluva Kick to beat Corbin.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 4: The Welcoming Committee (yes that was their actual name) (Natalya, Carmella & Tamina) def. Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch (10:05)

Nothing special. It’s pretty basic and not really anything. It follows a very basic formula. Somebody from the babyface team is in. Is rocking for a bit, until they get worked over by the heels. Becky starts first, then Charlotte, then Naomi, until Becky gets tagged back in. The faces all get their shit in, but the match is ended after Nattie makes Becky tap out to the Sharpshooter. This sure was a match.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 5: United States Championship Match - Kevin Owens (c) def. AJ Styles via countout (21:10)

As expected going into this show, this was the showstealer even with the bad finish. The first half of the match was pretty basic. Rest holds and such. But the latter half is when they started rocking. One interesting thing that happened is a similar spot to one that happened in the Rey/Booker match I watched, where AJ flips back on the ropes, Kevin dodges and superkicks AJ. AJ attempts a Styles Clash off the apron, but Kevin escapes and throws AJ’s right leg in the ring post, and then from there, he works over AJ’s leg. Later when Styles goes for the Phenomenal Forearm, his leg gives out and he collapses to the mat. Owens starts to slap AJ and says “it’s my title.” One slap turns AJ around, and AJ responds with a pele kick. AJ puts Owens up on the top rope, which was a mistake, because Kevin hits the Fisherman from the top rope, but AJ kicks out. They end up going outside the ring, and AJ goes for a Styles Clash on the announce table, but Kevin escapes and AJ’s whole leg falls in the hole in the table. KO gets back in the ring and AJ gets counted out. What a bad finish to a great match.

My Rating: ****

Match 6: Luke Harper def. Erick Rowan (9:00)

I thought this was the sleeper match of the card. And I still believe that, because it could’ve been better if they just let these 2 big guys beat the dog shit out of each other. Rowan dominates the first half of the match, tossing Harper around like a sack of shit and… rest holds. But Rowan goes for a splash from the top, but Harper moves out of the way. From that point, its even. Harper wins the match with a botched Discus Clothesline. Harper ends up bumping Rowan’s chest and wins. I still think Harper should’ve been a main eventer by this point, but whatever.

My Rating: **

Main Event: WWE Championship Match - Jinder Mahal def. Randy Orton (c) (15:45)

Alright… This is what you guys have been waiting for right? Fuck. I remember the dread I felt going into this, I was so scared. I’m not going to pretend that this was a bad match, because I don’t think it was. It was alright, but its so basic because Jinder has a basic moveset and shouldn’t have been having matches over 10 minutes. Orton jumps Mahal before the match too, so that basically means Orton is taking Jinder seriously, which makes the fact he loses even worse. Now if they had given Jinder a convincing push 6 months into advance before this, I wouldn’t have had as much of a problem with it, but all of a sudden, we were supposed to take Jinder seriously. Jinder rams Orton’s shoulder into the LED board on the ring, and works over his shoulder for a while. Orton starts to comeback, dropping Jinder on the announce table, and hitting a superplex from the top rope. First distraction from the Singhs lets Jinder throw Orton into the ring post, before he throws Orton back in, for Jinder to run into an RKO. And Jinder no sells it. The Singhs have to pull Jinder out of the ring to save him, but Jinder pretty much sits up as he’s being dragged. He just no sold the RKO and you wanna put your belt on this guy? Orton then decides he’s going to murder the Singhs. And he does just that. He hits them with a draping DDT in the ring, before Jinder sneaks up from behind to hit the Khallas to become the new WWE Champion…

My Rating: **1/2

I remember how pissed I was at the end of this show. I’m all for making new stars and all, but most new stars have, you know, some wins under their belt before they get a main event push. This wouldn’t have been as bad if they had treated it as the absurd situation that it was, but instead, they pretended that Jinder had been this guy for years. And I know that JBL got pretty much the same treatment in 2004. The difference is, JBL hadn’t been a jobber for his whole career. He was in the APA and even when he lost, he still had been whooping people’s ass for years. But you know what pissed me off more than anything else. Is that this made Orton a transitional champion. Who did Orton beat to win that title? Bray Wyatt! So you’re telling me that we missed out on a Bray Wyatt WWE Title run… FOR JINDER MAHAL?! Are you fucking serious?!

Cagematch Rating: 5.36

My Rating: 4.5/10

The opener was nice. Tag Title match was comedic. Great US Title match with a bad finish. But when it comes to bad finishes, nothing compares to Jinder Mahal holding up the WWE Title… Well, until Hell in a Cell 2019 that is.

Now that I got that headache out of the way, it’s time to move on to another headache, because it’s the first Saudi Show. The (not so) Greatest Royal Rumble.

 

[Chris]

Lmao reviewing that 50 man rumble is gonna be hilarious

 

[Jarf]

Lmao reviewing that 50 man rumble is gonna be hilarious

There's also a bunch of matches on the undercard so this show is gonna take 500 years to finish...