Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

[Jarf]

First off, welcome back, I hope your friend is doing okay.

I've been known to watch this show on Valentine's Day, though this year I opted for the Best of Hell in a Cell DVD instead. I thought the Hardcore Match was quite entertaining overall with an enjoyable finish. The I-C title match, while not great I think deserves a better rating than what you gave it. And I've said this numerous times before on multiple platforms but one thing about WWF's booking at the time I don't understand is that they had a feud going with Billy Gunn, Ken Shamrock, and Val Venis (and later Goldust also) over the I-C title and Ryan Shamrock, while at the same time Road Dogg, Al Snow, and Bob Holly were feuding over the Hardcore title setting up two big title matches for WrestleMania. But then, they go and have Road Dogg win the I-C title and Billy Gunn win the Hardcore title and put those two in each other's matches at WrestleMania. WHY???!!!! Road Dogg had no involvement with Ryan Shamrock and Gunn had no reason to be feuding with Snow and Holly. It makes no sense.

I loved the two main event matches. The Rock vs Mankind ending was another swerve to set up the rematch the next night on Raw in which Big Show would cost Mankind the match setting up their match at WrestleMania. The Austin vs McMahon match was the best of Vince's career, and I would give it a 4-star rating. To me, Austin's quest to win back the WWF title was the best build up to a WrestleMania match ever with six whole months put into it with Austin getting fired, rehired, put into the World title tournament at Survivor Series, getting screwed by Shane McMahon, getting screwed at the Royal Rumble, then FINALLY winning the opportunity to face the champion at WrestleMania where he wins the belt back.

My friend seems to be doing okay. Thankfully it looks like thyroid cancer which is one of the easier cancers to beat. But his mom also told me it's slightly aggressive.

 

[Crocker]

Glad to hear your friend is doing better.

One thing I’d like to point out is the Ken Shamrock/Ryan real life romance didn’t start until well after this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jarf]

Bad Blood 2003

Before I talk about any matches I’m just going to go through the redneck triathlon between Stone Cold and Eric Bischoff. This thing takes up most of this show so I figured I should talk about it… I guess. It’s basically three contests the 2 will have throughout the night. The first is a burping contest that makes me question why I like wrestling. Austin wins that. Later on in the show is a pie eating contest. They go out to the ring and when I say they’re eating pie, I don’t mean cherry, or pumpkin pie… Fuck it, no point in sugarcoating it. Pussy. Pussy is what they’re supposed to eat. So I hear this and think there’s no way they’re gonna do that in the ring so I’m wondering what the hell is about to happen… So Austin brings Mae Young out, (should’ve seen that coming) Mae Young gives Bischoff a Bronco Buster which counts as him eating her pie (I hate that I had to type that out). Austin stuns Mae, forfeiting the 2nd round.

Round 3 is a singing contest at first… But because neither of them can sing for shit, Austin spins the wheel again but stops it on hog pen. So Austin comes out, beats the hell out of Bischoff and tosses him into the conveniently set up hog pen below the stage, scaring the shit out of those poor baby pigs. So Austin wins the Redneck Triathlon, and now that I’ve gotten all that out of the way, I can talk about the matches.

Match 1: Rodney Mack & Christopher Nowinski def. The Dudley Boyz (7:08)

Well… this was a match alright. I do think its funny how the two guys whose gimmick was racist black guys recruited the whitest man they could possibly find. But anyway, this match wasn’t anything special. The Dudleys basically have to carry their opponents as they’re still green as hell and mess up a few spots. Mack and Nowinski wear down D-Von for a couple minutes, but D-Von eventually tags in Bubba, and they begin coming back, hitting the WASSUUUUUP on Rodney. Bubba tells D-Von to get the tables, but Teddy Long gets on the apron and distracts D-Von. Rodney takes D-Von out of the ring and while the ref is looking at them, Nowinski comes back in with the metal protective face mask and hits Bubba with it to win the match.

My Rating: *3/4

Match 2: Winner gets Stacy Keibler’s managerial services - Scott Steiner def. Test (6:27)

Botchy. That’s the best way I can describe this match. This match was very botchy. The match even starts with one, maybe. The camera doesn’t really capture it but I’m pretty sure Steiner trips off the apron trying to jump off onto Test. But Test takes control after pulling Stacy in front of him and then hits Scott on the outside. Then Test starts wearing down Steiner… Oh boy, very exciting. Test later comes off the top rope and Steiner catches and throws him over his head… Very sloppily. The match begins to pick up, but it’s not that great still. Stacy gets on the apron and Test grabs her. Steiner tries to attack Test from behind, but Test dodges and Scott avoids hitting Stacy, but turns around into a Big Boot. But Steiner kicks out. Test then goes outside to grab a chair, and Test goes to use it, but Scott dodges and the chair hits the ropes and bounces back into Test’s face. Scott hits a Downward Spiral to win the match.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - Booker T def. Christian (c) via DQ (7:53)

Wow, the booking for Booker T in 2003 was truly atrocious wasn’t it. This man constantly was getting fucked up the butt wasn’t he? This show was in Houston, Texas. Booker T’s hometown. Let that sink in. This show was in Booker T’s hometown. This was a solid match honestly, these two were cooking for a few minutes. Booker started out with the advantage, but Christian’s craftiness allows him to take get some momentum. From there, it’s pretty back and forth, and Christian even hits the Book End for a 2 count. Booker hangs Christian up on the top rope and then hits a top rope dropkick for a 2. Then Christian goes out, grabs his title and attempts to leave with it. The referee grabs a mic and says that if Christian doesn’t come back to the ring, he’ll lose the Intercontinental Title. I wasn’t aware that the referee had the power to make that decision but okay. Christian runs back to the ring but he ends up hitting Booker with the title and the referee DQ’s him, but allows him to keep his title. The referee will let him keep it on a DQ but not a countout I guess. He was just really pissed that Christian was forcing him to count to ten I guess. In all seriousness, what the fuck is this finish? Booker wins the title like 2 weeks later anyway, so why not just do it here and give him the title win in his hometown? Like what did Booker do to piss Vince off in 2003?

My Rating: ***

Match 4: World Tag Team Championship Match - La Resistance def. Kane & Rob Van Dam (c) (5:48)

This match wasn’t anything special. La Resistance play the boring heels who try to wear their opponents down and Kane and Van Dam get their shit in basically. That’s pretty much the match. RVD makes the tag to Kane after a couple minutes and Kane tosses them around. He tags RVD back in who tosses them both over the ropes. He goes to dive on them but Kane grabs La Resistance by the throats and steps in RVD’s path like a dummy. Then La Resistance hit some sort of “WHAT A MANEUVER” to get the win.

My Rating: **

Match 5: Goldberg def. Chris Jericho (11:00)

Solid match but it sort of shows off Goldberg’s weakness to be honest. Which isn’t good. They had Goldberg work a match over 10 minutes. But whatever. Goldberg starts off beating the lights out of Jericho. But Goldberg makes a mistake and tries to Spear Jericho through the barricade with his left shoulder. So obviously, Goldberg sells his right shoulder the rest of the match. Oops. Jericho goes after Goldberg’s shoulder and weakens the big man. There’s is a cool spot where Jericho comes off the second rope and Goldberg leaps and kicks Jericho in the chest. Jericho hits the Lionsault but Goldberg kicks out. But Goldberg comes back and hits a weak Spear on Jericho and sells the arm. Goldberg picks Jericho back up, but Jericho pokes the ref in the eye and hits a low blow before putting Goldberg in the Walls of Jericho. Goldberg powers out of it and hits another Spear and then a Jackhammer to get the win.

My Rating: ***

Match 6: Ric Flair def. Shawn Michaels (14:19)

This was a solid match and they were selling the hell out of this as being a huge dream match. The only problem was that Flair wasn’t the wrestler he used to be so it sadly wasn’t going to deliver on the hype they were giving it. Still, this was decent. Shawn plays with Flair in the early parts of the match until Flair chop blocks Shawn and works over his legs and applies the Figure 4. Shawn manages to escape and then starts making a comeback. And even uses the Figure 4 on Flair. Flair escapes after a thumb to the eye. Shawn picks Flair up on the top rope and hits a superplex from the top rope. Then Shawn goes outside and gets a table out from under the ring and sits it up outside the ring. He brings Flair outside and sets him on it, laying him down. Then hilariously, Randy Orton comes from the crowd. Shawn superkicks him, crowd doesn’t react at all and JR and King don’t even know who it is until 20 seconds later. That made me laugh harder than anything Austin and Bischoff did through the whole night. So then Shawn comes off the top rope and splashes Flair through the table. Shawn tosses Flair back in the ring and as a last gasp, Flair low blows Shawn and the referee both after they both tried to run a train on Ric for some reason. But Shawn gets up and beats on Flair and hits the superkick, but then Orton comes in with a steel chair, swings it into Shawn’s face and pulls Flair on top of Shawn. The referee recovers and counts the pin. Ric wins.

My Rating: ***1/4

Main Event: World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell Match with Mick Foley as Special Referee - Triple H (c) def. Kevin Nash (21:02)

Pretty damn good Cell match actually. I was expecting this to suck, but this was actually pretty good. The pace is super slow and the story isn't really compelling enough to carry it through that unfortunately, but I think the stuff they did in this match is what a Cell match should be. Brutal. Nash beats on HHH for a lot of the first few minutes, but Triple H turns it around by getting a toolbox out from under the ring. He grabs a hammer and hits Nash in the knee with it, bringing the big man to a knee and then hits him in the head with it. Nash is busted open after that. Triple H also grabs a screwdriver and drives it into the head of Nash. But after Triple H grabs a Barbed Wire 2x4, Nash boots him and grabs himself. He swings it at HHH and now the Game is busted open. After getting punished for a bit by Nash, HHH rolls out of the ring and grabs a wooden crate and hits Nash in the head with it. Triple H gets into it with Foley and hits him. He grabs a steel chair and hits Mick in the head with it. HHH waits for Nash to get up, but Foley gets up first and stuffs Mr. Socko in HHH’s mouth. But HHH kicks Foley in the dick. Foley goes to the apron and HHH pushes Nash into Foley who falls off into the Cell wall. Nash hits the Jackknife on HHH and Foley comes back in and counts the pin. HHH kicks out though. Triple H grabs a sledgehammer he got earlier and hits Nash in the head with it, before hitting a Pedigree on Nash. Foley reluctantly counts the pin and HHH retains. So even though the slow pace of the match brings it down a couple notches, its still enjoyable and has a nice final few minutes.

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.84

My Rating: 5.5/10

Much like the last show, the first half of the show really drags it down and to be honest, so does the whole redneck triathlon shit. I love Stone Cold, but not even he could make that good. But the latter half of the show brings it up a few notches.

It’s oddly appropriate that the next PPV is a show where The Rock basically stole the WrestleMania main event from someone more deserving of it considering how the past month has gone. Are you ready? Time for Royal Rumble 2013.

 

[Skyefire]

I have to rewatch that HIAC match. A lot of people list that as a bad one but I recall thinking it wasn't so bad. The first few matches, ugh. Two jobbers beating one of the greatest tag teams of all time followed by a match for Stacy Keibler’s "managerial services". Sounds pretty rough, and yes I know the famous Hardyz vs E&C Ladder Match was for Terri Runnel's "Managerial services", but that doesn't make it any better. Since this was a Raw PPV I assume Jerry Lawler was on commentary. Was he all excited of Stacy's "services" the way he was with Terri a few years earlier? With Booker and Christian, what can I say, Vince loves having the babyface get screwed in their hometown. It's supposed to help get the heel over as a heel. And what no tractor pull or monster truck race with the Redneck Triathlon?

 

[Jarf]

I have to rewatch that HIAC match. A lot of people list that as a bad one but I recall thinking it wasn't so bad. The first few matches, ugh. Two jobbers beating one of the greatest tag teams of all time followed by a match for Stacy Keibler’s "managerial services". Sounds pretty rough, and yes I know the famous Hardyz vs E&C Ladder Match was for Terri Runnel's "Managerial services", but that doesn't make it any better. Since this was a Raw PPV I assume Jerry Lawler was on commentary. Was he all excited of Stacy's "services" the way he was with Terri a few years earlier? With Booker and Christian, what can I say, Vince loves having the babyface get screwed in their hometown. It's supposed to help get the heel over as a heel. And what no tractor pull or monster truck race with the Redneck Triathlon?

The cagematch rating for the Cell match was fairly high. It had like a 7.14 rating I think. Lawler was... sort of toned down during the Stacy match actually. I don't really remember too many lines that made me roll my eyes. And nope, none of the actual fun redneck stuff. Just dumb humor that Vince probably find hilarious.

 

[Jarf]

Royal Rumble 2013

Such an insane show to watch honestly when you look at the chain of events that’s happened in the last few months.

Match 1: World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match - Alberto Del Rio (c) def. Big Show (16:57)

The second Last Man Standing match these two had in three weeks. Now I’m one of those people who loves Last Man Standing matches. I know. Sue me. Yeah, the pace may be slow, but you can make these matches feel big and dramatic after a huge spot. That’s the problem with this match is that it had 2 big spots in addition to being slow paced. Big Show dominates most of it. Del Rio spends most of the match on his back or getting his ass whooped. They end up at the entrance way with all the stage sets. They had big set ups hanging from the ceiling and Big Show chokeslams Del Rio off one through a table. Del Rio gets back up and go back to the ring. Big Show pounds on Del Rio some more before Ricardo hits Big Show from behind and Big Show flings him into the barricade. Then he tries spearing Del Rio through the barricade, but misses and goes through it himself. Del Rio then picks up the steps and hits Big Show with it, then slams his arm with a chair into the steps. Big Show gets back in the ring and Del Rio puts Big Show in the Cross Armbreaker, and while that’s happening, Ricardo uses half a roll of duct tape to tape Big Show’s feet to the bottom rope, keeping him down for ten.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 2: WWE Tag Team Championship Match - Team Hell No (c) def. Team Rhodes Scholars (9:24)

This was around the time Cody was rocking the pervert moustache and I couldn’t stop picturing American Nightmare Cody with the same moustache. Anyway, I’d put this match on the same level as the last one. Okay match, but it’s nothing special. Bryan and Kane work together and have the advantage early on with one spot being Bryan hitting a suicide dive on both men on the outside. They soon take over and wear down Bryan, isolating him from Kane. Bryan is eventually able to reach him and Kane turns the match around, tossing both challengers around and hitting a diving clothesline on Cody. He goosles both men however. Bryan makes a blind tag and Kane gets hit with a double suplex. Sandow, thinking Kane is still the legal man, covers him, but gets up and turns into a missle dropkick from Bryan. Kane hits a chokeslam on Cody and Bryan puts Sandow in the Yes Lock. Team Hell No win.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Royal Rumble Match - John Cena won by last eliminating Ryback (55:04)

I remember this rumble being a lot better when I first watched it, but its still a solid Rumble. The match begins with Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho, who makes his surprise return. They last all the way to the end make a few eliminations between them along the way. Santino comes in at number 5, and attempts to eliminate the first 4 entrants and eliminates precisely none. (The other 2 were Cody and Kofi if you were wondering) This first bit of the match is kinda nothing to watch. Sheamus comes in at number 11 and hammers everyone, eliminating Titus O’Neil and David Otunga in the process. This middle portion is pretty boring but it does have Kofi using JBL’s chair as a pogo stick to get back in the ring… only to be eliminated a second later by Cody. Cena comes out at number 19 and takes on 5 people at once… Super Cena everybody! This last stretch is decent but again, not a whole lot stands out aside from Kane holding Bryan in his arms like a lover after Bryan gets flung out of the ring and lands in his arms. Ryback is number 30 and cleans house. Until we get down to the final 6. Cena, Ryback, Ziggler, Jericho, Orton and Sheamus. And this final stretch is actually pretty good. Jericho is the first to go out after a superkick from Ziggler. Orton gives the remaining competitors an RKO aside from Ryback who he gives a draping DDT to. Ryback shoves Orton off an RKO and clotheslines him over the ropes. Ziggler is finally eliminated after a good performance by Sheamus. The three remaining go at it. Cena is knocked down after a Meathook clothesline and Sheamus is knocked out after Ryback counters a Brogue Kick and tosses him over his shoulder. So now its down to Cena and Ryback. Which is an insane sentence to say in hindsight. Like, it’s actually crazy that we once thought Ryback could’ve main evented WrestleMania. They don’t do a whole lot, but Cena tries to knock Ryback out cold with the STF. Ryback recovers however and hits a Thesz press from the ropes and then picks Cena up on his shoulder. Running towards the ropes, but Cena drops behind him and lifts Ryback over to win the Royal Rumble. And I called it right here that it was gonna be Cena vs Rock at WrestleMania…

My Rating: ***

Main Event: WWE Championship Match - The Rock def. CM Punk (c) (23:17)

Now before I say anything else. We all look back on this and think, “CM Punk should’ve won” “The Rock had no right to take that spot from him.” And I agree with that… BUT… The Rock was HEAVILY cheered during this match and pretty much at every show he was at and they cheered basically everything he did. Does that necessarily mean he should’ve won? No, not really. After all, Punk was a heel, so if he beats The Rock, that’ll give him more heat. I’m just saying, lets not pretend that the people (most of them at least) weren’t completely behind The Rock. So now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can say that this match was pretty damn good. Not great, but a very good main event match. This match had a big fight feel to it as well. How could it not? Oh, and the stipulation heading into this match is that if the Shield interferes, CM Punk will be stripped of his championship. The match starts out like a brawl that spills to the outside, but Punk takes control after a brief distraction from Heyman and begins targeting Rock’s ribs. But Punk tweaks his knee on a drop kick on a springboard dropkick and now the Rock has a weakness to exploit. Rock attempts to put Punk in the Sharpshooter, but Punk pulls Rock and rolls him onto the mat and puts him in the Anaconda Vice. The Rock reverses it into a pinning position and hits a DDT, then puts Punk in the Sharpshooter. Punk reaches the ropes and they go back outside where The Rock places Punk on the spanish announce table and attempts a Rock Bottom, but the table gives way before he can hit it. After Rock gets back in the ring to break the count, he comes back out to hit Punk with a Rock Bottom on the floor! He throws Punk back in the ring and covers him, but Punk kicks out. So then Rock goes for the People’s Elbow but then the lights go out. It’s pitch black and The Shield attack The Rock and triple powerbomb him through the english announce table. Which was really dangerous to do in pitch black when you think about it. So then the lights come back on and Rock is laid out on the remains of the table with the Shield nowhere in sight. Punk comes out and throws Rock in the ring and pins him 1, 2, 3. After a few minutes of celebration, Vince McFreak’s music hits and he gets ready to strip Punk of the title, but then The Rock gets on the mic and says “you don’t take it from him, I am.” Then demands them to restart the match. To which Vince permits. Rock comes back in the ring and Punk immediately goes on the attack. But The Rock hits a Spinebuster, then a People’s Elbow and Punk’s record setting title reign comes to an end…

My Rating: ***3/4

Cagematch Rating: 5.85

My Rating: 4.5/10

So most of this show is pretty boring. The first two matches were okay, but they weren’t anything worth watching. The Rumble Match was mid. The main event was at least good and I can’t say people didn’t go home unhappy as the guy they were cheering won. But I think this show is horrible in hindsight. Because this to me, as I was watching the main event, I realized was probably the point that set the stage for Vince to ruin his company for the next 8 years bringing in part timers and old men to come in and beat their full time roster for their titles. Because like I said before, The Rock was clearly the fan favorite. Punk was booed pretty heavily while The Rock was cheered heavily.

Up next… The show with the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever on it… I bet you’ve already figured it out but for courtesy sake, Backlash 2020!

 

[Skyefire]

You could say that Cena vs Rock II was Cena's way of finishing the story

Imagine if 1998 WWE decided to turn Marc Mero babyface and give him a big push because they thought fans were cheering for him, but they were really cheering for Sable. That's basically what you've got with Del Rio. Ricardo was the one who was really over with the fans. I, too, really love Last Man Standing Matches, but the finish of this match was basically a cheap copy of Cena vs Batista in 2010, which I also disliked. It's one of those letter of the law vs spirit of the law things. That's one of the things that made Rock vs Mankind so great was that they beat the hell out of each other until neither one could get up.

 

[Jarf]

Backlash 2020

Before I begin the review, I have to start with what the hell Peacock? Cutting off the show halfway through the main event. The fuck.

Match 1: Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match - Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross & The IIconics (8:50)

Wow, what a clusterfuck of an opener this was. Bayley and Sasha had to carry most of this match. Most of the spots seemed uncoordinated and sloppy. And at times, they didn’t look like they knew what to do. A couple stand offs between all 6 early and a few near falls. Nikki tags in Alexa Bliss who goes buck wild on her opponents, which doesn’t really fit her style. But seeing her hit leaping Lou Thesz presses on everyone was kinda fun at least. One spot I remember is Sasha and Alexa standing on the apron and Peyton crossbody’s between the ropes and to both women to the other competitors on the floor. With the finish, Alexa hits Twisted Bliss on Peyton, but Sasha comes back in and rolls Alexa up in a pin to retain their titles.

My Rating: *1/2

Match 2: Sheamus def. Jeff Hardy (16:50)

Oh look, another storyline that plays on someone’s real life personal problems. Fuck this man. I’ll choose not to talk about that and talk about this match instead. It’s nothing special but still pretty decent match between them. Most of the match is spent with Sheamus on top and beating the hell out of Jeff. Which is perfect because Jeff is good at fighting from underneath. My biggest complaint is probably the length of the match. Sheamus kicks the shit out of Hardy and Hardy makes brief comebacks here and there and Sheamus would knock him right back down. But late into the match, Jeff hits a Twist of Fate and follows it with a Swanton Bomb. But Sheamus puts his foot on the bottom rope to stop the count. Sheamus rolls outside and Jeff rolls out as well. He leaps up and runs along the barricade, but as he leaps off, Sheamus Brogue Kicks him out of the air, tosses him back in and hits another Brogue Kick to win the match.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 3: Raw Women’s Championship Match - Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax ended in a double countout (8:25)

What the hell man… This isn’t the worst thing they’ve ever booked. Not even close. But it’s oh so very stupid. This is Asuka’s first defense of the title. And logic would dictate that if she’s not losing the title, she should… well win in her first defense. Nah, that would make too much sense. Nia Jax is the powerhouse and uses her power to toss and bully Asuka around. Asuka stays in it with her athleticism and her submission ability. Eventually, they spill to the outside and waste time out there just long enough for the referee to count them both out. Like what was the point in this? I assume this led to a rematch between the two on Raw where Asuka beat her clean right? But if that’s the case, why not just do that here? Because again, that would make too much sense.

My Rating: **

Match 4: Universal Championship 2-on-1 Handicap Match - Braun Strowman (c) def. The Miz & John Morrison (7:20)

The stipulation is that whoever can pin Braun becomes the champion, but Braun spends a lot of this match beating the crap out of his challengers as you would expect. He shrugs off whatever they do until Morrison hits a springboard kick to Braun off the apron. Miz kicks him back through the ropes and Morrison dives out on him. They double team Braun for a few minutes. Braun makes a brief comeback before he does what he usually does. Run shoulder first in the ring post. Miz hits an assisted Skull Crushing Finale thanks to Morrison springboarding and kicking Braun in the back. Morrison covers Braun, but Miz pulls him off. Miz apologizes and throws Morrison back on, but Braun kicks out, tossing Morrison through the ropes. He gets up and chokeslams Miz before knocking Morrison out of the air with a punch and hitting a Powerslam on Morrison to retain.

My Rating: **

Match 5: WWE Championship Match - Drew McIntyre (c) def. Bobby Lashley (13:15)

This was around the time Lashley was starting to be managed by MVP. Lashley attacks Drew before the match even begins, putting him in the Hurt Lock before the bell can ring. Once a million referees come out and pry Bobby off him, the ref makes sure Drew is good to go before ringing the bell. Best match on the show so far. This was pretty enjoyable. This showed they had chemistry but I don’t think any of us expected them to meet again for the same title at WrestleMania the next year. Lashley beat on Drew early on in the match thanks to the attack beforehand. But Drew gets a rhythm going and from there the match is pretty even. This two just beat each other up in a very nice hoss fight. Some counters and moves I wasn’t expecting them to pull out. Lashley puts Drew in the crossface, but Drew counters it into a Tombstone position, but Lashley reverses that into an ankle lock. Drew escapes and reverse a Spear into a Kimura lock. Lashley ends up hitting the Spear, but McIntyre kicks out. Lana ends up coming out because I guess that was still a thing at this point. And legitimately, I have no idea why she went out there. Because Lashley is easily distracted, he focuses on Lana, and gets shoved into her by Drew. Lashley turns around into a Claymore and Drew retains in a dumb finish to a very good match.

My Rating: ***3/4

So up next is supposed to be the Street Profits against the Viking Raiders. But… they end up fighting backstage and I’m not going to go over everything that happened here, because holy shit was it a lot that I really don’t feel is necessary to mention. There were bowling balls, chicken drums, ninjas on bikes and lizard monster from the dumpster?

Main Event: ThE gReAtEsT wReStLiNg MaTcH eVeR - Randy Orton def. Edge (44:45)

Can I just say that I hate whenever WWE taglines something with a subjective opinion. This is an example. You can’t just tagline a match the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, especially before it even happens! Just putting that out there, it bothers me. The PPV just ended on Peacock halfway through so I had to find the rest of the match online and watch it with spanish commentary. Which isn’t so bad because they were way more into it than the english commentary. So greatest wrestling match ever, this was not. However, I still consider this a classic match. This was a fantastic match between them. And even if it was edited around, who cares, it’s still amazing. But holy shit, is it long. But I loved the story in the early going where Edge was unsure if he still had it. But once he found his mojo, this was back and forth throughout the entire match with plenty of sweet counters along the way. Eventually after so long, they’ve pretty well exhausted their own arsenal aside from their finishers, so they start borrowing from other wrestlers. Three amigos attempted by Orton, but reversed by Edge who hits all 3 suplexes. Edge uses the crossface, which Orton manages to escape and reverse into an Olympic Slam which I imagine was an homage to Angle and Benoit’s old classics. They trade chops at some point, and light each other up. This is the point where this match really starts getting good. Edge goes for a Spear, but Orton leaps over him and goes for an RKO, but Edge stops in his tracks and as Orton is turned around, Edge hits the Killswitch for a 2 count. Orton hangs Edge up on the top rope and hits the Pedigree for a 2 count. But when Edge gets up he hits a Rock Bottom on Orton for a 2. Edge tries to put Orton away with several rollups, and after the third attempt, Orton gets up and hits the RKO for a 2. Orton is in disbelief. Orton backs into a corner and takes a run for the Punt, but Edge meets him halfway and hits a Spear! And for good measure, hits another Spear. And after 2 spears in a row, Orton still kicks out! Orton reverses an Irish Whip, and Edge bounces leaps on and then off the second rope into another RKO which he kicks out of. Orton is fucking flabbergasted. Edge puts Orton in some version of the Cobra Clutch, but Orton low blows Edge and hits the Punt Kick to win the match after 44 gyatt damn minutes. Greatest wrestling match ever? Nope. Great wrestling match in general. Abso-fucking-lutely!

My Rating: ****1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.85

My Rating: 7/10

So this show was better than I thought it would be. It still has its share of stupid and/or boring bullshit on it. But that stuff is at least short. And as dumb as the whole Profits/Raiders was… I found myself enjoying it. And between a decent match, a damn good one and a classic main event, I don’t think it deserves so much hate even though they made it clear this show was about one match.

So we’re sticking with 2020 and only going back a couple months. Night 1 of the WrestleMania with no crowd.

 

[Skyefire]

The Edge vs Orton match is the only one I remember and the only one I can name as taking place. I agree that it wasn't the greatest ever but it was great. Edge is my second favorite of all time behind Sting and it was great to see him in WWE in 2020. I remember either two nights before or the week after on Smackdown Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles clashed for the I-C title and it was believed that the reason that match took place on free TV and not PPV was because they didn't want it to outshine the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever".

I really thought Miz and Morrison in 2020-21 just weren't as good as a team as their first run. It just felt like they were comic relief a lot of times. WWE did a lot of stupid shit during the pandemic. Zombie lumberjacks, swamp fight, eye for an eye match, Firefly Funhouse Match, so yeah, the Street Profits and Viking Raiders fight fits right in with that.

 

[Jarf]

The Edge vs Orton match is the only one I remember and the only one I can name as taking place. I agree that it wasn't the greatest ever but it was great. Edge is my second favorite of all time behind Sting and it was great to see him in WWE in 2020. I remember either two nights before or the week after on Smackdown Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles clashed for the I-C title and it was believed that the reason that match took place on free TV and not PPV was because they didn't want it to outshine the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever".

I really thought Miz and Morrison in 2020-21 just weren't as good as a team as their first run. It just felt like they were comic relief a lot of times. WWE did a lot of stupid shit during the pandemic. Zombie lumberjacks, swamp fight, eye for an eye match, Firefly Funhouse Match, so yeah, the Street Profits and Viking Raiders fight fits right in with that.

And it's a good thing because AJ and Bryan's match on SmackDown was better.

And I will have no Firefly Funhouse slander on my thread haha.

 

[Jarf]

WrestleMania 36 Night 1

This show just might have the single coolest opening of any WrestleMania. No, any PPV or PLE WWE has ever done and then this is the show we get. A WrestleMania in a small building with no audience. Damn…

Match 1: Women’s Tag Team Championship Match - Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. The Kabuki Warriors (c) (15:02)

A decent opening match here that probably didn’t need to go so long, but it’s whatever. Asuka and Kairi are in control for a lot of the match, and they would taunt absolutely nobody because there are no fans there which was just weird. Asuka and Kairi are cocky and confident and isolate Alexa from her corner. But Nikki gets tagged in eventually and turns the tide for her team. Nikki hits the Nikki Crossbody (no I won’t be taking questions) on Kairi. Asuka gets tagged in and Nikki hits her with the Spinning Neckbreaker, and covers her but Kairi hits the In-Sane Elbow that definitely was not edited in to break it up. Asuka gets Nikki in the Asuka Lock, but it’s broken up by Alexa with a Twisted Bliss, then Bliss gets speared out of her boots by Kairi. Kabuki Warriors hit a version of the Doomsday Device where Asuka picks Nikki up for a powerbomb and Kairi comes off the top rope with an elbow to Nikki into the powerbomb from Asuka. But Nikki kicks out of that. Asuka tags Kairi back in, but Asuka gets taken out of the ring by Nikki, who hits a Neckbreaker on Kairi, then tags in Bliss who hits Twisted Bliss to pin Kairi.

My Rating: ***

Match 2: Elias def. King Corbin (8:54)

In all honesty, even if there was an audience here, I don’t think they would’ve much of a difference for this match anyway. Nothing screams WrestleMania to me like Elias vs Baron Corbin. There is at least a meme-worthy moment before the match where the single guitar strum sounds off followed by Corbin’s shocked face to absolute silence just made me lose my shit with laughter. Anyway, I think the cagematch rating is a little harsh. It isn’t the worst match in the world. But it’s still boring as fuck and a match with absolutely zero interest. It’s competently worked though. Elias cracks his guitar over Corbin’s back before the match can start and goes on the attack early on Corbin. But Corbin takes control of the match after dropping Elias on the top rope and he begins to wear him down… And you know how that goes when Corbin gets to wear down somebody. Snoozefest. Elias of course starts to make the comeback and the match actually starts to get alright from here. Corbin tries to cheat by putting a foot on the rope, but the referee catches him in the act and Elias rolls him up from behind and grabs the tights to win the match.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 3: Raw Women’s Championship Match - Becky Lynch (c) def. Shayna Baszler (8:30)

What the hell happened here? Why did Vince give up on Shayna so quickly? What more can you ask for from her? She could wrestle, she could talk, a legitimate badass. Like… What the fuck. Because they only have 8 and a half minutes, they go all out right away, brawling and skipping the collar and elbow stuff. The fight spills out to the floor a couple times. I remember one big spot from Becky when she manhandle slams Shayna on the apron. The rest is all Shayna just outwrestling and overpowering Becks. Shayna picked Becky up from the floor and slammed her into the announce table twice. Chokes her out on the apron. Just picking the Man apart. Shayna brings Becky back in the ring and gets her in the Kirifuda Clutch, but Becky rolls back on the mat, pinning Shayna’s shoulders to the mat cause Shayna wouldn’t let go of the hold. Dumb finish. Anticlimactic. And as someone who likes Shayna Baszler, disappointing because I knew they had virtually no plans for her after this.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 4: Intercontinental Championship Match - Sami Zayn (c) def. Daniel Bryan (9:18)

The disappointment doesn’t stop there because shit! This very easily could’ve been match of the night. No, the weekend! That’s what my expectation was, I was expecting this to steal the show. There is no reason that a match between Zayn and Bryan should be bad unless one of them is injured or there’s some dumb as shit booking involved. And since neither of them were injured, it happens to be the latter. Zayn plays with Bryan by getting out of the ring whenever Bryan tries to do anything, making him chase him outside, but Cesaro and Shinsuke step in front of Bryan whenever he tries something. Drew Gulak dives on them and throws both over the barricade, which was enough to take them out until the end of the match. Bryan chases Sami up the ramp and brings him into the ring and begins to beat the shit out of him. That’s not so bad but Sami gets 2 moves on Bryan this whole match, the rest of it is Bryan beating the piss out of him. It makes Sami look like a bad wrestler when he isn’t and it’s stupid! Cesaro and Shinsuke eventually come back and attack Gulak. Bryan dives on them and goes to the top rope, and Sami kicks him in the face as he dives and that’s enough to beat him. So Sami looks like a bad wrestler by getting his ass kicked the whole match and Bryan looks weak by losing to a single kick. Who wrote this shit?

My Rating: **

Match 5: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match - John Morrison (c) def. Kofi Kingston & Jimmy Uso (18:32)

I assume the original plan was to have a three way tag ladder match until the world stopped running. So they took a representative from each team and put them in the match instead. And boy this was a fun watch. After an underwhelming WrestleMania so far, this match needed to be good and it was. This was pure athleticism on display. It really starts to pick up after Kofi springboards to Morrison who was standing on a ladder and Kofi hits a hurricanrana to John off the ladder! Sick spot. On the outside, Jimmy tries to pull a Jeff Hardy and walk along the barricade and Kofi tosses a ladder at him and knocks him. Kofi bridges a ladder between the barricade and the ring and puts Jimmy on, then goes to the top rope, but Morrison on the outsider of the ring, tightropes to Kofi’s corner and hits a Spanish Fly! The same ladder gets bridged between the second rope and the ladder standing in the ring. Jimmy flings Kofi face face into it. Morrison ducks under while Jimmy rolls over it to the other side. Morrison leaps onto that ladder and eats a superkick from Jimmy. Jimmy climbs a ladder in the corner, but Morrison gets up and tips it over, sending Jimmy to the floor outside and definitely not a crash mat. Really cool finish to this match too. With all 3 standing on a ladder, they each grab the thing holding the titles, so the titles have been retrieved but by all 3. Morrison grabs the titles and Kofi and Jimmy headbutt Morrison, who falls onto the ladder bridged, but he unclips the titles in the process and brings them down with him. Really fun match to watch with a really creative finish! Loved it!

My Rating: ****

Match 6: No DQ Match - Kevin Owens def. Seth Rollins (15:20)

It’s not a No DQ Match at first, its just a regular match, but the first half of the match is really good. These two work extremely well together as you can expect. Seth tries for the Curb Stomp pretty early, but Owens avoids it every time. It’s pretty back and forth. Seth backdrops Kevin on the apron after an attempted powerbomb. Then hits a Falcon Arrow on the apron. They counter each other’s offense pretty well. Owens hitting a DDT that spikes Seth after an attempted Curb Stomp again. Seth hits a kick on Kevin. Kevin bounces off the ropes with a hard clothesline. Seth throws Owens into the corner with a buckle bomb and then hits a superkick. He runs the ropes and Kevin hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb on Rollins. Seth kicks out and then retreats outside. Kevin follows him and gets hit with the ring bell calling for a DQ. Seth doesn’t care and laughs, trying to walk away, but Owens grabs a mic (which he probably didn’t need really) and calls Seth a little bitch, calling him back to the ring so they can finish this. He calls for No DQ’s. Which I guess is granted because the match restarts and now there’s no DQ’s. Seth comes back to beat the hell out of KO. He beats him with a steel chair and the steps. Owens though gives Seth a taste of his own medicine and hits Seth with the ring bell. He lays Seth on the announce table and climbs the massive WrestleMania logo behind commentary and elbows Seth through the table! Once KO gets back up, he picks Seth back up and tosses him in the ring to hit him with a Stunner to win the match.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 7: Universal Championship Match - Braun Strowman def. Goldberg (c) (2:13)

I can't believe the Fiend's title reign was sacrificed for this… and yeah I know Roman vs Goldberg was the plan, but that wouldn't have been much better anyway. They really just go from point A to point B and waste no time. Goldberg hits 3 Spears, and then tries to Jackhammer Braun, buy Braun picks Goldberg up for a Powerslam, and then 3 more to win the title 3 years too late. I really don't think a rating is warranted here.

Main Event: Boneyard Match - The Undertaker def. AJ Styles (18:18)

I wonder if you told TNA fans in 2005 that one day, AJ Styles would main event WrestleMania with the Undertaker if they would’ve believed it. Especially in a match like this. Never again do I want to go back to another pandemic but I would be lying if they didn't use it to do something awesome and different. I loved this. For those who don't remember, they fought in a graveyard in what was the first cinematic match WWE did during the pandemic. Undertaker beats the crap out of AJ at first and puts in the grave, but Taker is called over by Gallows and Anderson, and a bunch of hooded figures (one of them probably being Solo Sikoa cause he loves wearing hoodies) step out from behind and Taker fights them all off. He beats Gallows and Anderson as well, but then AJ comes from behind and breaks a tombstone over Taker's back. Then beats him up while talking shit about him and his wife. AJ breaks the shovel over Taker's back and he falls into the grave. And what this match is mainly remembered for and became a meme-worthy moment was when AJ sits on the backhoe and Undertaker appears behind him! Undertaker chases AJ up to the broken down building. AJ climbs up the ladder onto the roof, where Taker follows. Undertaker knocks AJ down and Gallows and Anderson try to come to the rescue, but Taker tosses Gallows off the roof while Taker gives Karl the Tombstone on the roof. Then turns back to AJ and says "it's just you and I AJ." Taker goosels AJ and chokeslams him off the roof into the broken down wooden fence on the ground. From here it's pretty much over. Undertaker picks AJ up on his shoulder and carries him to the grave. AJ begs Taker not to bury him but Undertaker goosels him and decides to let him go at first… and some people may look at this part and think Taker was fucking with him. But I interpreted it as Taker legitimately taking pity on AJ at first because he turns and starts to walk but stops as if he's thinking about something. Then turns around and boots AJ into the grave. Undertaker hops on the backhoe and fills the grave with dirt. Don't think the amount there was really enough to bury a person but I'll take it because I loved this. And the extra cherry on top with AJ's gloved hand sticking out from the dirt. And AJ dies at WrestleMania… nah he was totally fine. And Undertaker hops back on his bike and rides off into the night as Metallica plays. And to me, that's a nice way to end Undertaker's legendary career.

My Rating: ****1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.85

My Rating: 7/10

This show got off to a pretty rough start, but that Ladder Match really saved the show and reignites interest, then follows that up with KO vs Seth Rollins, which you can't go wrong with that. Braun vs Goldberg was there but at least it was short and then… that Boneyard Match. That main event was awesome. And was a good way to send off The Undertaker. So even though there was no audience and that in turn made it the most depressing Mania of all time, the latter half of the show is a good watch.

It's kinda fitting in a way how we're going from the first pandemic era show to the last with Hell in a Cell 2021.

 

[Skyefire]

The Tag title match was indeed supposed to be all teams, but if I recall there was something preventing one of the three guys from competing I'm not sure which one. They would do a straight three-way match with the other three on Smackdown a few weeks later with Big E coming out on top to win the belts for New Day.

Both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship matches combined lasted less that 10 minutes. Sure Goldberg isn't a guy who can go 20 minutes and Brock never chooses to go 20 minutes, but still.

And, Undertaker's career should have ended in the ring with a grand WrestleMania Deadman entrance and exit. Yeah, the match was entertaining, and I do consider that to be a match (unlike the Firefly Funhouse segment), but still it doesn't make sense.

 

[Jarf]

The Tag title match was indeed supposed to be all teams, but if I recall there was something preventing one of the three guys from competing I'm not sure which one. They would do a straight three-way match with the other three on Smackdown a few weeks later with Big E coming out on top to win the belts for New Day.

Both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship matches combined lasted less that 10 minutes. Sure Goldberg isn't a guy who can go 20 minutes and Brock never chooses to go 20 minutes, but still.

And, Undertaker's career should have ended in the ring with a grand WrestleMania Deadman entrance and exit. Yeah, the match was entertaining, and I do consider that to be a match (unlike the Firefly Funhouse segment), but still it doesn't make sense.

I understand what you're saying about Undertaker. But as great as AJ is, I'm not sure he could've carried Undertaker to a match that Taker would've been proud to hang his hat on. And let's face it, that's the only way Undertaker would’ve retired is with a performance he was proud of. And I'd rather not see him beat himself to death trying to find that last match he was happy with.

 

[Crocker]

The Tag title match was indeed supposed to be all teams, but if I recall there was something preventing one of the three guys from competing I'm not sure which one. They would do a straight three-way match with the other three on Smackdown a few weeks later with Big E coming out on top to win the belts for New Day.

Both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship matches combined lasted less that 10 minutes. Sure Goldberg isn't a guy who can go 20 minutes and Brock never chooses to go 20 minutes, but still.

And, Undertaker's career should have ended in the ring with a grand WrestleMania Deadman entrance and exit. Yeah, the match was entertaining, and I do consider that to be a match (unlike the Firefly Funhouse segment), but still it doesn't make sense.

If I remember rightly it was The Miz who was ill what got the tag match changed, this also caused Roman to go on his hiatus.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jarf]

Hell in a Cell 2021

I’ve never seen a show be so good and so bad at the same time.

Match 1: SmackDown Women’s Championship Hell in a Cell Match - Bianca Belair (c) def. Bayley (19:45)

So let me get this straight… Bianca wanted to fight Bayley… because Bayley laughed at her? That is the most childish fucking thing I’ve ever heard. But anyway, this was a pretty good match even if it’s not a good representation of Hell in a Cell. (Welcome to post-Ruthless Aggression Hell in a Cell I guess) There was some creativity here with Bayley tying up Bianca’s hair to the ropes to a chair. And even tries to weaken her shoulder, trying to take away Bianca’s power. They just toss each other around the cage, beat each other with kendo sticks (the signature weapon of everyone at this point) and chairs. Bayley brings a small ladder into it and traps Bianca between the two sides of the ladder and hits the Roseplant for a 2 count. While the rest of the match doesn’t represent the Cell very well, the finish is freaking sick. Bianca places the ladder on top of Bayley in the ring, but Bayley rolls over and Bianca lands on his feet after leaping for the top rope, then runs back over to hit a standing senton onto Bayley still laying on the ladder. Then sets the ladder back up on its side in the ring, picking Bayley up for the KOD and dropping her on the ladder! Bianca retains. So while it’s not great, it’s still a good way to open the show.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: Seth Rollins def. Cesaro (16:15)

Wow. I expected this to be good. But this was awesome. I guess the fact nobody remembers it the reason it caught me off guard. This match was great. These 2 worked extremely well here. Seth jumps Cesaro during the entrance to start fighting outside, they get in the ring and Seth leaps into the loving arms of Cesaro for a body slam and Cesaro beats him up in the first few minutes, but Seth soon takes the advantage and starts wearing down Cesaro. But soon enough, Cesaro starts making the comeback with a flurry of punches and uppercuts. And from here, it’s even. They seemingly pull out every move in their arsenal minus any high flying from Seth. Cesaro of course, gets to swing Seth around the ring. Cesaro then puts the Sharpshooter on Seth and just as Seth is about to reach the ropes, Cesaro transitions it into a Crossface. Once again, as Seth is reaching for the ropes, Cesaro gets the Sharpshooter back on. Seth reaches again for the ropes, but Cesaro reaches back and grabs Seth’s hand. He turns Seth over on his back and stops his hand into the mat a few times. Then drags him back in the center of the ring, attempting a swing, but Seth reaches up and catches Cesaro in a small package to steal the win. What a match.

My Rating: ****

Match 3: Alexa Bliss def. Shayna Baszler (6:57)

They really packed in all the things I hate in this one match. It still irks me that they just gave the Fiend gimmick to Alexa. And as if that wasn’t bad enough. You have Shayna Baszler, legitimate badass, afraid of a fucking doll. Then to add the fecal cherry on top of this shit pie, you have Alexa Bliss… possessing Shayna and Nia in this match? Oh yeah, Nia Jax and Reginald are there. There’s a bit at the end where Alexa locks eyes with Nia… then raises her arm, Nia mimics here. So Alexa is puppeteering Nia, then makes her slap Reginald and then… scream? Okay, weird. Shayna tries to put Alexa in the Kirifuda, but Alexa gets out and jabs Shayna in the throat, then a DDT to win and Twisted Bliss… There’s a good reason that Bray didn’t trust Vince to properly handle his character and this shit is the reason why.

My Rating: DUD

Match 4: Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens (12:41)

I don’t know why but I couldn’t for the life of me get into this. I like these guys and I like watching them wrestle each other. But I couldn’t get into it. Still a solid match but I think this is one of the weakest matches they’ve had together. I think Owens might’ve jammed his shoulder on an outside dive from Sami. They have a story coming into it that Kevin has a bad throat to start the match after Friday night. It starts to get good in the final few minutes of the match. They get into a big slap fight on the mat and these are the pettiest slaps ever and I can’t help but love that shit. Sami starts bleeding from the mouth. Sami kicks Owens in the back of the head, and Owens lands throat first on the bottom rope. And when Kevin gets up, Sami hits him with a Helluva Kick to win the match.

My Rating: ***

Match 5: Raw Women’s Championship Match - Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley (c) via DQ (14:09)

It’s a shame because this match was actually pretty decent, but it’s hindered by the stupid ass finish. It’s back and forth for the most part with Charlotte playing the smarmy heel and Rhea being… well Rhea. Even here, Rhea had “star” written all over her. Rhea kicks out of Natural Selection, Charlotte takes a hell of a bump on a german suplex. Charlotte attempts a moonsault, but Rhea rolls out of the way, but Charlotte lands on her feet and moonsaults again, this time hitting her. Rhea hits a superplex from the top rope which was a sick superplex actually. Rhea hits the Riptide, but Charlotte’s too close to the ropes, and gets her foot on it. But Charlotte starts attacking Rhea’s knee. She hits her with a Spear and then puts her in the Figure 4. Rhea is able to escape though by rolling to the outside. Charlotte lets go. And if you were to take a guess the reason Rhea was disqualified here, what would it be? If its hitting Charlotte with the announce table cover, you’d be right. And that’d be okay if that didn’t happen all the time! Literally, people hit each other with that thing all the time and nobody gets disqualified for it. But the one time Rhea does it, suddenly it isn’t okay? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Rhea hits another Riptide on Charlotte in the ring and leaves with her title looking all cocky and snarky even though she’s supposed to be the babyface here. But she gets herself DQ’d like a coward and then leaves proudly. And I have to wonder if this was so they could turn Charlotte face and then Rhea heel, which never happens and good thing too because the crowd would’ve still cheered Rhea and booed Charlotte.

My Rating: ***

Main Event: WWE Championship Hell in a Cell Match - Bobby Lashley (c) def. Drew McIntyre (25:45)

Ending the show with a god damn great hoss fight. From their Backlash match that I watched recently, I expected good things from this and I wasn’t disappointed… aside from the ending, but we’ll get to that. Lashley takes a fucking awful bump early in the match. McIntyre hits an overhead suplex into the cage and Lashley just falls on the ground on his dome. They also set up two tables in different parts of the outside for 2 spots that don’t occur until we’re closing in on the end. These two just beat the hell out of each other and it’s a fun watch. Drew McIntyre picks up a chair and swings at Lashley, but Bobby ducks and moves behind Drew. Drew accidentally cracks the referee in the head with the chair, but he still has Lashley’s number and hits a Future Shock DDT and then a Claymore. The second referee comes in and makes the count, but MVP pulls him out of the ring and they lock MVP in the cell while he’s not locking, allowing McIntyre to beat him up and hit the Claymore, taking him down for a few minutes. First table spot of the match is when Lashley gets Drew in the Hurt Lock, and Drew backs up and both men go through the table leaning against the cell. Drew throws him back in the ring, and wails on him with a chair, then goes for another Claymore, but Lashley drops down and Drew hits nothing but air. He rolls onto the apron and Lashley chokeslams him through the table set up on the outside. Lashley throws Drew back in and goes for another Spear, but Drew dodges and backslides Bobby. Lashley kicks out but Drew transitions into another Future Shock. Drew sets up for another Claymore, but MVP from the outside, grabs Drew’s foot, allowing Lashley to roll him up from behind and win the match… Soooo… Stupid finish. There is no reason somebody who looks as powerful as Bobby Lashley does should need help winning in such a pathetic way. You really couldn’t let him win with a Spear? Come on. It isn’t the worst, but I just had to say that.

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 5.85

My Rating: 6.5/10

In-ring wise, this show was great. It didn’t have any classic, blow your mind, balls to the walls, matches or anything. But every match (apart from that… atrocity) was decent to great. But here in lies the issue with this era of WWE. For every show with great wrestling, they had to sprinkle some terrible booking in there just so you didn’t go to sleep completely satisfied with what you watched. This show already started with a handicap because aside from one match, every match on the card was a rematch that absolutely nobody asked for. Seth and Cesaro to me at least felt like the only feud with a reason for continuing. And the only match that wasn’t a rematch was the shitty Alexa/Shayna “ooh look so spooky” match. I wanted to give this show a higher rating but the booking behind this whole show was atrocious.

We can finally leave the Pandemic era for now and go back to simpler times… Well maybe simple is the wrong word. It’s time to Rumble again with Royal Rumble 1998.