Reviewing every WWE PPV in order from worst to best

[Jarf]

Royal Rumble 1998

Match 1: Vader def. The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust (7:47)

What a weird time it was for Dustin Rhodes at this time. Luna is at ringside with Goldust. This is just a match where they go through the motions, point A to point B. Vader is a very big strong man and Goldust… Is a gimp. Not a whole lot to talk about with this match. Vader makes one attempt a Vader bomb, but Luna distracts the referee so Goldust can low blow him. But Vader sits right on Goldust after an attempted sunset flip, so Vader drags Goldust to the corner, but Luna hops on his back. But Vader goes up anyway and drops on Goldust with Luna on his back. Vader gets the win.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 2: 6-Man Tag Team Match with Sunny as Special Referee - Max Mini, Mosaic & Nova def. El Torito, Battalion & Tarantula (7:49)

Sunny adds nothing as the special referee, she’s only there so people can look at her. Also, midget lucha wrestling here. It starts off exciting at first, and some of the stuff they do here is extremely impressive and fun to watch, but they just keep doing it. It never really progresses into like… an actual match, it really just feels like I’m watching acrobatics after a while. It also looks as if they’ve never worked a tag match before because they come in and get their shit in and then tag out so the other guys take a turn. There is one spot where each dives to the outside one after the other. Max Mini gets El Torito in a leverage pin to win the match.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - The Rock (c) def. Ken Shamrock via DQ (10:53)

Decent match here. Rock and Shamrock worked together a shitload of times during 1998. Shamrock kicks the hell out of Rocky at first, but Rock hotshots Ken on the top rope and begins to wear him down. This is probably one of the first times Rock used the float over DDT because JR and King popped hard for it. Soon enough though, Shamrock begins to fight back and get in the zone (Autozone). Kama and D’Lo Brown run down and Shamrock knocks them off the ring and D’Lo’s foot happens to get caught in the top and bottom rope. As the referee is occupied with them, The Rock pulls out a pair of knucks and hits Shamrock with them. Then he stuffs the knucks into Shamrock’s trunks and covers him. But Ken tosses Rock off him and hits a Belly to Belly to pin Rock 1, 2, 3. But as Ken is celebrating, Rock tells the referee to check his trunks. The ref grazes Ken’s crotch and goes “what is that?” Which made me laugh extremely hard. “What’s this thing in your pants and why is it hard?” Anyway, Ken takes the knucks out and the ref thinks he used them on The Rock, so the ref reverses the decision. Rock leaves with his title before shit hits the fan and it does. Ken belly to bellys the ref and puts him in the ankle lock.

My Rating: ***

Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Legion of Doom def. The New Age Outlaws (c) via DQ (7:56)

Did any match these teams had together ever have an actual finish aside from the one where the Outlaws won the Tag Titles for the first time? Also, 2 DQ finishes in a row. Such spectacular booking, (even though I think the one for the last match was well executed) This is apparently the Road Warriors return match. Animal comes in with a bad back and the Outlaws try to jump LOD before the bell rings but get their asses handed to them. But the Outlaws begin to wear down and beat on Animal, particularly his back. But Animal makes the hot tag to Hawk who turns things around for a short time. Animal comes back in and Hawk gets handcuffed to one of the turnbuckles on the outside, making Animal having to fend for himself. He’s about to pin Billy, but Road Dogg comes in and hits Animal in the back with a chair, causing the DQ. They beat on Animal for a bit until Hawk breaks the cuffs off and runs inside to chase the Outlaws off.

My Rating: **1/2

Match 5: Royal Rumble Match - Steve Austin won by last eliminating The Rock (55:47)

This Rumble was only going to be won by one person. But even though it had a predictable winner, this Rumble was really enjoyable. Cactus Jack and Terry Funk are numbers 1 and 2 and they start the rumble with some headshots with a chair. The Rock is number 4 and he takes a beating from the 2 psychos. The ring starts filling up with jobbers unfortunately including 8-Ball who my stepdad referred to as Stone Cold’s cousin, Luke Warm. Owen Hart gets jumped from behind by Jeff Jarrett which was odd because I don’t think they were feuding at the time. D’Lo Brown makes his way out and I think him and The Rock are going to work together, but no, they start fighting each other, really driving home the “every man for himself” aspect of the match. Mankind comes out at number 16 I think and eliminates Terry, who eliminated Cactus Jack earlier. This middle portion is pretty boring really. Mark Henry handles the Big Johnson… that is all. Stone Cold’s entrant finally comes and they all stand in the ring and wait for him. But Austin comes out from the crowd, he eliminates Marc Mero and everyone tries to gang up on him, but then stop. When Vader comes out at number 30, we start getting rapid fire eliminations. With the amount of people in the ring, you have guys just tossing each other over one after the other until we get down to 4. Stone Cold, The Rock, Faarooq and Dude Love. Stone Cold and Dude Love work together at first, but then turn on each other. Dude Love gets eliminated by Faarooq who then tries to throw Austin out, but The Rock gets Faarooq up and over and out himself. Leaving us down Austin and Rocky. Austin makes an attempt to toss The Rock out, but Rock hangs on. Austin turns back around and hits a Stunner on Rock before throwing him out of the ring to win the Rumble for the 2nd year in a row.

My Rating: ***1/2

Main Event: WWF Championship Casket Match - Shawn Michaels (c) def. The Undertaker (20:37)

Good stuff here which is what you can expect whenever these 2 get to work together. And these 2 didn’t even like each other at this point and still put on a match this good. This is also the match where Shawn suffered the back injury that cost him 4 years of his career. He gets back dropped out of the ring over the casket, and his tail bone hits the edge of it. Undertaker beats the hell out of Shawn early, but Shawn throws some powder in Taker’s face, temporarily blinding him. After a moonsault, Shawn takes the advantage and starts beating on Taker with steel steps and a steel chair. Triple H is also there and hits Taker over the back with a crutch. Shawn seemingly has it won after a superkick, and he rolls Undertaker towards the casket. Shawn stands over Undertaker in the casket, his feet on either side of it. Undertaker reaches up, grabs Shawn by the junk and tosses him back in the ring that way which was extremely silly but I’ll take it. Undertaker begins to make a comeback but after missing a leaping clothesline, he falls back into the casket. Shawn goes up top and hits an elbow drop on Taker still in the casket and the lid gets shut for some reason. Shawn goes to climb out, but Undertaker grabs him by the ankle and tries to pull him back in. Both men get back in the ring and Undertaker hits Shawn with the best Chokeslam I’ve ever seen in my life. He picks him up on his shoulder and hits a Tombstone into the casket. And just when Undertaker is about to win the match, The New Age Outlaws and Los Boricuas run out and attack him. But here comes Kane to make the rescue (oh yeah, they had seemingly “reconciled” in the build up to this match) So Kane fends off Undertaker’s attackers… and then attacks him himself. Who could have foreseen this, not Jim Ross I guess. But Kane chokeslams Undertaker into the casket allowing HBK to shut the lid. The weird thing is though, DX’s music doesn’t play when Shawn wins. They run off, while Kane and Paul Bearer lock the casket and bring it up towards the entrance. Kane grabs an axe, chops a hole through the top, pours gasoline over the casket and lights it ablaze. Kane gets on one knee in front of the casket, and holds his arm out just like Undertaker which ends the show with a cool visual and Jim Ross screaming “THE CASKET’S ON FIRE!”

My Rating: ****

Cagematch Rating: 5.86

My Rating: 8/10

I thought this show was pretty good. All the boring matches were kept short so you didn’t need to sit through them long. And with the first 4 matches being so short, we don’t need to wait long for the Rumble Match which wasn’t great but certainly enjoyable. Then to boot, we have a great main event to end the show along with the sweet visual of Kane kneeling in front of the burning casket, to set up the long anticipated match between him and Undertaker at WrestleMania. 5.86 is pretty harsh to this show.

Alright, next is another Royal Rumble but it’ll also be the first show I’ve had to review that came after I started doing this. Royal Rumble 2024.

 

[Jarf]

Royal Rumble 2024

Match 1: Royal Rumble Match - Bayley won by last eliminating Liv Morgan (1:05:03)

Really fun Rumble match, even though I don’t really think it’s the best match of the night, but still really good. The night starts off hot right away with our first surprise entrant being Naomi at number 2. Bayley is number 3 and is the MVP of this entire night… well, aside from R-Truth. Second surprise entrant of the night, TNA Women’s Champion, Jordynne Grace, which was pretty sick. Asuka and Kairi Sane come in eventually and they work together with Bayley, But they get eliminated, leaving Bayley on her own the rest of the match. Jordynne Grace is eliminated after a while by Bianca after a KOD on the ring apron which was a sick elimination. Chelsea Green is another highlight of this match. After Nia Jax gets in, Nia and Piper Niven (accidentally) squash Chelsea several times. Piper tries to revive her, but they do her no favors. Piper and Nia run at each other and squash Chelsea between them, and she just falls flat to the mat. Nia picks Piper up and throws her onto Chelsea. And Naomi springboards off the middle rope and kicks Nia, causing her turn back and fall onto Chelsea again. One of my favorite bits of this match really. Becky Lynch comes out at number 21 and goes toe to toe with everyone in the ring and puts Chelsea out of her misery by eliminating her. R-Truth comes out during Valhalla’s entrance and when he gets in the ring, he looks around confused before Nia tosses him out. And he’s still confused after he gets thrown out. Adam Pearce has to come out and explain to him it’s the “WOMEN’S” Royal Rumble. We get 2 NXT entrancts towards the end with Roxanne Perez at 27 and Tiffany Stratton at 29. Jade Cargill is number 28 and commentary loses their minds. She goes up against Nia Jax and effortlessly picks her up in a fireman’s carry, drops her and then picks her up again over the top rope. Number 30 is Liv Morgan who I didn’t realize I missed so much until she came back. Our final 8 is Bayley, Becky, Liv, Jade, Bianca, Tiffy, Naomi and Roxanne, which is a pretty stacked lineup really. Tiffy eliminates Roxanne. Jade tosses Becky over onto the apron. She flings Naomi into Becky, eliminating her and then tosses Naomi onto the floor. The bit of this match that stands out to me more than anything else is when Tiffany is holding onto Bianca’s long braid in order to stay in the match! Bayley kicks Bianca to the floor, sending Tiffany with her, leaving us with her, Liv and Jade. All 3 women end up on the apron and Liv hits Jade with an Ob-Livion, sending her to the floor, but when she did that, Bayley rolls back in the ring and kicks Liv to the floor below. Bayley really deserved this and I can’t wait for her vs Iyo at WrestleMania!

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 2: Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way Match - Roman Reigns (c) def. Randy Orton, AJ Styles & LA Knight (19:29)

I still think it should’ve been Roman vs Orton one on one for the story they had going on. Adding AJ and Knight in there felt unnecessary, but with the talent involved, I can’t complain too much. Now I’ve seen a lot of people say they hated this match, but the crowd seemed to like it. It got a “this is awesome” chant. So where do I stand on this? I actually think this was the best match of the night. Was it spectacular? Not at all, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. Orton, Styles and Knight all gang up on Roman at first, but they soon start to fight amongst each other. LA Knight gets a flurry going on his opponents in one spot where he gets the upper hand on all of them. And he shows off how athletic he is when he leaps up to the top rope so he can hit a superplex on Styles. He hits the BFT on Roman and AJ falls into the pin which breaks it up. AJ takes out Orton and Knight and hits Roman with the Styles Clash and for the second time in the match, Roman is saved by someone breaking the pin. Orton comes in and gives Knight the draping DDT and as AJ is going for the Phenomenal Forearm, Orton catches him and hits the RKO. He turns Knight around and gives him an RKO too. Roman tries for a superman punch but Orton reverses that into an RKO. He covers Roman, but the man who really loves the hoodie reveal, Solo Sikoa pulls the referee out because it’s a Roman Reigns title match and we can’t have one without it. Diet Umaga hits the Samoan Spike on Orton and LA and stacks LA on top of Orton. and then takes a running start at AJ sitting against the barricade. But AJ dodges and Solo goes through it. Once Roman comes to, he looks up to see AJ and gets hit with the Forearm, and Roman falls on top of Orton and Knight. AJ tries to pin all of them, but they through their shoulders up. AJ wails on Roman and Knight both with a chair and goes to attack Orton with it, but Orton thumbs him in the eye and tosses him out of the ring. Orton turns around into a Spear from Roman. LA tries to hit the BFT, but Roman throws him into the ropes where AJ was attempting a springboard. Roman superman punches Knight before Spearing Styles to retain the title again. I really have no idea what people’s problem with this match was. This was enjoyable. I feel like it has something to do with Roman winning again, but if you really thought he was losing the title before Mania, you were fooling yourselves.

My Rating: ***3/4

Match 3: United States Championship Match - Logan Paul (c) def. Kevin Owens via DQ (14:00)

My first show involving Logan Paul. And I absolutely hate… how good he is. He’s so fucking good! Legitimately, he hasn’t had a bad match yet. I hate it. Anyway, as you can already guess from my previous statement, I thought this was another really good match. It is funny to watch KO kick the shit out of him at first. But Paul goes after Kevin’s bad hand and dives on him from the inside. He goes to work on Owens’ hand. But KO starts to make the comeback and attempts a swanton, but Paul gets the knees up. Then attempts one himself and misses. Logan hangs Owens up on the top rope and hits a buckshot lariat, a frog splash and KO kicks out. He gets Owens on the top rope and tries to superplex him off and yells to Corey Graves saying “you said nobody can suplex Kevin Owens, watch this.” It doesn’t work and Owens hits the Fisherman Buster from there. Logan takes his glove off and after an attempted pop-up powerbomb which Logan lands on the other side of KO on his feet, Logan nails KO with a punch that Owens kicks out of. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller run down and Theory passes Paul some knucks while the ref isn’t looking. Paul goes for the punch, but KO catches his arm, takes his knucks off him and uses them himself. But as he covers Logan, the referee notices the knucks on Owens’ hand and disqualifies him. So out of rage, he takes Paul of the ring and powerbombs him through the announce table.

My Rating: ***1/2

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match - Cody Rhodes won by last eliminating CM Punk (1:08:11)

The first 2 entrants in the match are Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. What a weird coincidence. But I’m cool with it. I love the running gag throughout the match that Jimmy tries to make friends with everyone in the match only for them to beat him up. Andrade is the first surprise entrant in the match at number 4 and he lasts a decent amount of time. We also get Carmelo Hayes at number 5. Dominik is number 9 and he also lasts a pretty long time. Not a whole lot to talk about in this time. Cody Rhodes comes out at number 15 and eliminates his recent rival, Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Theory. Gunther comes out at 18 and chops the shit out of everyone and tosses out Kofi Kingston, who I guess gets no more special spots anymore. Bron Breakker is number 20 and proves exactly why he is the future. This dude is intense and I can’t wait to see more of him in the future. This dude pulled on the top rope so hard it actually made a sound. That doesn’t happen when people springboard off of it! He throws Jimmy Uso, Finn Balor and Omos out of the match, but gets eliminated by Dominik. But he spears the hell out of JD McDonagh on the outside. R-Truth comes out next and tosses JD in only for him to immediately get eliminated. And R-Truth gets on the apron and waits for Dominik to tag him in. Dominik escapes Gunther’s sleeper hold and gets the hot tag to R-Truth, who hits Gunther with his trademark 5 moves of doom! Damian Priest comes in and ruins all our fun by tossing Truth out. Boooooo! Boo this man! CM Punk is number 27 and becomes the guy to finally eliminate Dominik. Drew McIntyre is number 29 and goes after everybody, but he eats a superkick from Jey, who goes at it with Gunther. Gunther eliminates Jey and makes sure he’s out before number 30 can make it out. Number 30 is Sami Zayn, who, judging by the reaction from the IWC, people were expecting Okada or MJF or fucking Spider-Man (Imma cut a promo on the IWC in a little bit here) We come down to our final 6 which is Cody, Punk, Gunther, Drew, Zayn and Priest. Sami eliminates Priest but gets thrown over by Drew a moment later. Drew and Gunther beat on Punk and Cody respectively. Drew gets in Punk’s face and tells him “I’m your leader now kid” which was great, but then a moment later, Punk picks Drew up and takes him out of the ring. Then Cody eliminates Gunther a minute or 2 later. Leaving us with Cody and Punk. And this ending… drags on. Like, they didn’t need to drag this ending out like they did. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but still. They hit their finishers on each other and Punk attempts another one, but Cody catches his knee and then throws Punk out to win the Rumble again, which I’m just now realizing. Last show was the last time someone won back to back rumbles and now I’m watching the show where Cody achieves the feat too. And if you’re wondering why many of us were pissed when they took Cody out and let The Rock in, it’s the moment when Cody points right at Roman. And there is no mistaking who he’s fucking pointing at because they cut to Roman’s disgruntled face several times!

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.86

My Rating: 8.5/10

I couldn’t believe the reaction that this show was getting after it was over. Legitimately I thought the rumble matches were both good. Not great, but good. The 2 title matches. Also good. And if your problem is that you thought the matches were bad, that’s perfectly valid, you’re entitled to feel that way even though I strongly disagree. However, one complaint I kept seeing which drove me up the wall was the “lack of surprises.” Believe it or not, WWE isn’t able to sign everybody under the fucking sun. It’s okay to want those surprises. But if you were expecting Okada, MJF, Mercedes Mono or AJ Lee to be there, you have nobody to blame but yourself for your own disappointment. YOU expected too much. This show was perfectly fine. Every match was very enjoyable even if none of them were classics.

I’m all Rumbled out guys. But now we can go back to… fuck, 1996. Next show will be In Your House: Best Friends, Better Enemies.

 

[Jarf]

In Your House 7: Best Friends, Better Enemies

Match 1: Owen Hart & British Bulldog def. Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson (13:47)

Originally supposed to be a one on one match between Bulldog and Roberts but it becomes a tag team match because… I actually don’t know. Roberts makes Cornette faint with his big long snake. Ahmed comes out and now its a Tag Match. Bulldog spends most of this match avoiding Ahmed. Up until the end, whenever Ahmed is in, Owen is in. Bulldog comes in to save Owen at one point when Ahmed starts losing his mind. Jake gets worn down by Owen and Bulldog until Jake makes the hot tag to Ahmed, who finally gets his hands on Davey Boy. He hits him with like 3 moves and then… tags Jake back in. Jake hasn’t even been on the apron for a full minute yet. Ahmed bullies Owen on the outside while Bulldog and Jake go at it inside and Bulldog gets the win for his team after a Powerslam.

My Rating: **

Match 2: Intercontinental Championship Match - Ultimate Warrior def. Goldust (c) via countout (7:43)

This was one of the most pointless matches I’ve ever witnessed. Warrior does his entrance and Goldust refuses to get in the ring with him. And if this is the finish they were gonna do, I’d prefer it if they just get it out of the way. Don’t fucking do nothing for 7 minutes! And when I say nothing, I actually mean nothing! Goldust should’ve been counted out 25 different times in this match! Because he doesn’t get in the ring for forever. Warrior sits in Goldust’s director’s chair and smokes Marlena’s cigar in the ring. Goldust grabs a mic and tells the crowd to shut up or he’s gonna come out there and kiss every one of them… Okay. Pretty sure there are kids in the crowd ya weirdo. Goldust eventually gets in and Warrior helps him get his robe on and lets him sit in his director’s chair. Vince asks on commentary “what is going on?” Good fucking question. Warrior burns Goldust’s hand with a cigar and clotheslines Goldust out of the chair and runs away with his title. There’s no match pretty much. Oh, Goldust also brought a bodyguard to the ring and he gets his ass kicked by Warrior after the match.

My Rating: DUD

Match 3: Vader def. Razor Ramon (14:49)

Actually a pretty decent match between these two. Razor was actually a good opponent to stick in there with Vader. Popular and established talent for Vader to dominate. Vader goes after Ramon’s ribs and just beats the crap out of him. Razor isn’t helpless though and he fights back against Vader. He actually gives Vader a run for his money. Vader goes to the ropes I think 4 times in this match and it never works. Razor powerslams Vader from off the ropes. Vader goes for the Vader bomb, but Razor tries to get him in the Razor’s Edge, but he can’t do it. Vader once again goes for the top rope and Razor again stops him, getting him on his shoulders for an electric chair drop. Razor tries to set up for the Razor’s Edge again, but Vader back drops him over and then sits his ass on him and that’s the finish which was kinda anticlimactic but whatever.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship Match - The Bodydonnas (c) def. The Godwinns (7:17)

The Godwinns are The Bushwhackers of the new generation era. Every time they’re in a match, I groan and roll my eyes. Phineas has a crush on Sunny so that’ll come into play in the match at the end. The Godwinns beat up the Bodydonnas at first. But one of them (couldn’t tell ya which) dropped the ropes on Phineas and wear him down. It’s very boring. Phineas makes the tag to Henry, who turns the tide for his team. Sunny comes down however with a signed photo of herself, saying “to PIG” and some other shit I don’t remember. Phineas takes it and Henry is distracted by this whole thing, as is the referee. So while all that’s going down, Zip switches places with Zip on the mat. When Henry picks Zip back up, he small packages Henry to retain their titles.

My Rating: *3/4

Main Event: WWF Championship No Holds Barred Match - Shawn Michaels (c) def. Diesel (17:53)

This. Was. Fantastic! The power and viciousness of Diesel paired well with Shawn’s resilience and athletic skill. I love that Shawn didn’t bother with the pomp and circumstance, he marches to the ring, a scowl on his face and leaps in and the fight is on. Which is what ya do when you hate someone and can’t wait to get your hands on them, not the minute long staredowns we’re accustomed to. Shawn’s athletic skill gives him the upper hand early but when Diesel turns it around, he beats the hell out of Shawn. Diesel chokes the referee with his wrist tape and then takes the referee’s on belt off and whips Shawn with it. Then he wraps the belt around Shawn’s neck and hangs him over the apron from in the ring. He grabs a chair and wails it over Shawn’s back. Shawn gets knocked out of the ring after repeated shots to the head by Diesel. Diesel follows him outside and Jackknifes him through the announce table! Diesel grabs the WWF Title, takes it into the ring with him and tries to have the referee put it around his waist, which is such a dick move. As Shawn starts to get up, he gets this look on his face that says “oh its on now.” He grabs a fire extinguisher from under the ring and blows it in Diesel’s face, jumps back in the ring, hitting punches and a flying forearm. He grabs one of the chairs at ringside and nails Diesel in the face and back with it! Diesel knocks Shawn back down with a boot and picks him up for another Jackknife, but Shawn avoids it, he punches the hell out of Diesel from on his shoulders. He hits the elbow and attempts a Superkick, but Diesel catches his foot and clotheslines him. Diesel grabs Mad Dog Vachon who was sitting in the front row and pulls his prosthetic leg off! And he plans to use it on Shawn, but Shawn low blows him and hits Diesel with it himself before putting the finishes touches on him with Sweet Chin Music. What a fucking banger!

My Rating: ****1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.86

My Rating: 5/10

Another forgettable In Your House, but it wasn’t god awful. Vader vs Razor was a decent match but the real story of this show is that main event. Absolutely awesome match and a great way to begin Shawn’s title reign. Maybe Kevin Nash’s best match of his whole career. It loses some points for the shitty matches though. Looking at you Warrior and Goldust!

Fun fact, this next show took place on my 13th birthday! Night of Champions 2011.

 

[Chris]

Love that main event

 

[Skyefire]

Wow, you've been busy the last few days.

Royal Rumble '98 is a personal favorite of mine. It was the first wrestling video tape I ever owned. Fun Rumble match (gotta love the three faces of Foley appearing). If I recall there was a phantom entrance which Jerry Lawler claimed Austin had been taken out. Sunny being the special referee for the midgets match was something promotions had done for years. Special referees for midget matches at some point getting in the middle of things. Interesting fact, Max Mini, Tarantula, and Torito faced off as part of a tag team match during the Free For All at the 1997 Royal Rumble Match. Max was Mascarita Sagrada Jr., Tarantula was Mini Mankind, and Torito was Mini Vader. The casket match was awesome. The hordes of guys interfering was something that was done four years earlier at the Royal Rumble when Undertaker faced Yokozuna, though this was done with a twist by adding Kane to the mix. And, much like 1994, Undertaker seemingly died in this match.

This year's Royal Rumble. I had been wondering what you were going to do with shows that happened since you started your reviews. It was great to see Naomi return. I kinda think the reason she was given the number two spot was so that she can have her big glow-in-the-dark entrance for her first match back. It wouldn't be the first time WWE had a superstar enter at the start so they can have their big entrance. The women's match showed the lack of stardom in the women's division. The women get one or two token matches per night on TV and rarely get a serious storyline that doesn't involve the men or a championship. There's little opportunity to create new stars. It was great to see one of my favorite women get her first Royal Rumble Match win, though. The finish of Kevin Owens vs Logan Paul was like something out of the 80's. Or maybe something Eddie Guerrero would do. I actually was quite excited for Cody winning especially since that meant CM Skunk not winning.

Good Friends, Better Enemies. Another one hit wonder. The main event was great. It helps that the two were great friends so they had great chemistry together and knew how to have a good match with each other. One of the first main events to be dubbed as No Holds Barred. This was Shawn going over the great former champion to help elevate him.

 

[Jarf]

Wow, you've been busy the last few days.

Royal Rumble '98 is a personal favorite of mine. It was the first wrestling video tape I ever owned. Fun Rumble match (gotta love the three faces of Foley appearing). If I recall there was a phantom entrance which Jerry Lawler claimed Austin had been taken out. Sunny being the special referee for the midgets match was something promotions had done for years. Special referees for midget matches at some point getting in the middle of things. Interesting fact, Max Mini, Tarantula, and Torito faced off as part of a tag team match during the Free For All at the 1997 Royal Rumble Match. Max was Mascarita Sagrada Jr., Tarantula was Mini Mankind, and Torito was Mini Vader. The casket match was awesome. The hordes of guys interfering was something that was done four years earlier at the Royal Rumble when Undertaker faced Yokozuna, though this was done with a twist by adding Kane to the mix. And, much like 1994, Undertaker seemingly died in this match.

This year's Royal Rumble. I had been wondering what you were going to do with shows that happened since you started your reviews. It was great to see Naomi return. I kinda think the reason she was given the number two spot was so that she can have her big glow-in-the-dark entrance for her first match back. It wouldn't be the first time WWE had a superstar enter at the start so they can have their big entrance. The women's match showed the lack of stardom in the women's division. The women get one or two token matches per night on TV and rarely get a serious storyline that doesn't involve the men or a championship. There's little opportunity to create new stars. It was great to see one of my favorite women get her first Royal Rumble Match win, though. The finish of Kevin Owens vs Logan Paul was like something out of the 80's. Or maybe something Eddie Guerrero would do. I actually was quite excited for Cody winning especially since that meant CM Skunk not winning.

Good Friends, Better Enemies. Another one hit wonder. The main event was great. It helps that the two were great friends so they had great chemistry together and knew how to have a good match with each other. One of the first main events to be dubbed as No Holds Barred. This was Shawn going over the great former champion to help elevate him.

Thankfully every show that's happened since I started doing this has been high quality so most of them have a high rating. But if one that happens later happens to get a rating lower than any of the shows I've watched, I'll review that one next.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I have to admit, this is a masterpiece. Sort of like the Sistine Chapel of wrestling reviews.

 

[Jarf]

I have to admit, this is a masterpiece. Sort of like the Sistine Chapel of wrestling reviews.

That means a lot. I need a reason to keep it going because I still have so much to watch and shits been rough lately. So to know it's being read is motivation.

 

[Jacob Fox]

That means a lot. I need a reason to keep it going because I still have so much to watch and shits been rough lately. So to know it's being read is motivation.

I have definitely been reading it. I will comment more often to let you know.

 

[Jarf]

Night of Champions 2011

Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championship Match - AirBoom (c) def. Awesome Truth via DQ (10:02)

Appropriately timed considering there’s talk of Miz and R-Truth getting a Tag Team Title Match at WrestleMania. Starting the show off with a hot opener really. AirBoom fly around the ring to disorient their challengers early, but Miz and Truth soon take the advantage and isolate the smaller man of their opponents, Evan Bourne. The way Evan gets the hot tag to Kofi is super sweet. He reverses a Skull Crushing Finale into a rollup which he leaps out of into Kofi’s hand and Kofi. He nearly has the match won with SOS, but Miz kicks out. While the referee’s back is turned, Evan claps his hands to make it sound like he was tagged in and hits a meteora on Miz for a close 2. Miz tries to argue with the referee over it but Bourne takes him down and attempts a Shooting Star Press, but Miz rolls out of the way and hits a DDT on Bourne, and the referee doesn’t see him tag Truth in, so the referee forces Truth to get out. But Miz in the ring hits a Skull Crushing Finale on Bourne. However, the referee argues with Truth on the apron for some reason and when he finally turns around and counts the pin, Evan kicks out at 1. Miz starts to argue with the referee and eventually shoves him to the mat, causing the ref to call for the DQ. Miz shoves the referee into the corner and Truth pulls him back. Truth, being the kind man that he is, helps the referee up and slaps him back down

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 2: Intercontinental Championship Match - Cody Rhodes (c) def. Ted DiBiase (9:48)

Ted is aggressive at first, but Cody takes the advantage and starts to wear down his old tag partner. He was also still wearing his protective mask over his face so he uses that as a weapon and the referee has no problem with that I guess. This match wasn’t special, not a whole lot to remember. Ted makes a comeback and hits a Bryan Danielson knee and a spinebuster and when Cody attempts a disaster kick for the 2nd time, Ted dropkicks him out of the air. He puts Cody up on the top rope and gets flung off by DiBiase who then goes after Cody’s mask and manages to rip it off. He plans on using it as a weapon, but Cody ducks the swing and rolls Ted up to retain his title.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 3: United States Championship Fatal 4-Way Match - Dolph Ziggler (c) def. Jack Swagger, John Morrison & Alex Riley (8:12)

Only 8 minutes but they packed as much as they could into it, which made for an exciting match. They all start the fight immediately after the bell and hit all their moves. This was before Swagger became a client for Vickie but she saves the match for both men by placing Swagger’s foot on the rope as Riley is pinning him. Dolph dropkicks A-Rhy out of the ring but gets hit with a springboard kick from Morrison. Morrison picks Dolph up on the top rope, but gets hung upside in the tree of woe. Riley leaps onto the second rope and tries for a superplex on Dolph, but Morrison sits up from his position and germans Riley off the top rope, but Ziggler remains on the top rope. Swagger comes back in and leaps on the second rope now and flings Dolph overhead. Morrison comes back in and takes out Swagger and Riley both. He tries for a Starship Pain on Riley, but Riley gets the knees up and Dolph comes back in to put Morrison in the Sleeper Hold while Swagger runs in to put Riley in the Ankle Lock. Morrison eventually rolls out of Dolph’s grip out of the ring and Riley kicks Jack off him into Dolph. Riley hits a leaping DDT and looks to have the match won but Swagger kicks out and gets Riley back in the ankle lock. Morrison attempts the leaping kick to Swagger, but he ducks and hits the Gutwrench Powerbomb on Morrison. But Dolph runs back in, shoves Swagger away and covers Morrison himself to get the win.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship Match - Mark Henry def. Randy Orton (c) (13:13)

Just pure domination from Mark Henry in this match. He puts Orton through hell here. This match isn’t anything special and it is pretty slow but they really try to sell Henry as this dominating force and this goes a long way in helping that because of how much he is on Orton in this match. Orton tries to attack Henry’s legs, but he doesn’t get a lot of offense in this match. Henry beats on Orton for so long, that you start to think “okay so Orton is definitely winning this match.” But nope. Henry hits 1 World’s Strongest Slam that Orton kicks out of, and Orton does manage to hit the draping DDT. But I love that Orton went for the cover after that move, because he doesn’t wanna take any chances with Henry any longer. But Henry of course kicks out. But Orton gets too close and Henry kicks Orton’s leg out with one kick and now Orton is on one bad leg. Orton pulls himself up with Henry’s singlet and looks him in the face. He tries to catch Henry off guard with an RKO, but Henry flings Orton off and hits another World’s Strongest Slam to win the World Heavyweight Title! And began… honestly a disappointing title run, but still, this was pretty cool in the moment.

My Rating: ***

Match 5: Divas Championship Match - Kelly Kelly (c) def. Beth Phoenix (6:24)

Honestly, they should’ve known Beth wasn’t gonna win because they were in her hometown for this event. And what kinda loser wins in their hometown am I right guys? Dare I say, Beth manages to make Kelly Kelly almost look good? This match wasn’t that bad. The crowd was firmly behind Beth as you can imagine. Beth dominates this match and carries Kelly to an okay match, even hitting a superplex which I don’t think they were doing a whole lot of in the women’s matches. Sadly, Beth doesn’t get the win in her hometown because she picks Kelly up for a powerbomb, but Kelly flips over and pins Beth in a sunset flip pin.

My Rating: **3/4

Match 6: WWE Championship Match - John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio (c) (17:26)

This match wasn’t so bad. Decent match between them. But not something I needed to watch for 17 minutes. Ricardo gets ejected from ringside a few minutes into the match after tripping up Cena and from there its one on one. Del Rio goes after pretty much everything on Cena. Arm, kidneys, legs, peni- Okay maybe not that. Cena is able to turn the match around after Del Rio flings himself through the middle rope after Cena dodged him. Seriously, did Del Rio ever hit that move or did he just miss every time. Cena suplexes him back in the ring and hits his 5 moves of doom apart from the AA, because Del Rio slides off the back and hits a backstabber. Del Rio hits some more of the classics like his enziguri to Cena who was on the top rope. After a senton off the top rope, Del Rio sets Cena up for the Cross Armbreaker, but Cena stops him from putting it on and powers Del Rio up and drops him on the mat. He picks Del Rio up for an AA. Ricardo runs back down but Cena stops whatever he planned on doing and throws him into the ring post before running back over and putting the STF on Del Rio, and for once, it actually looks like it hurts. Del Rio hangs on for a while, but he’s eventually forced to tap out and status quo is maintained.

My Rating: ***1/4

Main Event: No DQ Match - Triple H def. CM Punk (24:01)

Disappointing main event. Not because it was bad but because it was going so well until the very end there. Also, there’s no point in having HHH go over here other than he gets to keep his job, but if that’s the case, that never should’ve been a stipulation to begin with. This entire storyline was complicated as fuck and almost 13 years later, I still don’t know what they were trying to do with this. Punk jumps HHH from behind just before HHH can spit on the crowd and the match is under way. They try destroying one of the announce tables immediately. HHH flings Punk's knees into the ring post a few times trying to soften him up. They brawl into the crowd and back to the ring. Punk sets a chair up the top right corner but gets thrown into ribs first. HHH smashes Punk's knee against the ring post with a chair. But Punk kicks HHH in the head, laying him out on the spanish table and hits an elbow through the table! He picks HHH back up into the ring, but now is when the match turns into a mess. Miz and Truth run down and attack both men. HHH gets a Skull Crushing Finale while Punk gets a what a maneuver. They place Punk on top of HHH, but the Game kicks out. So Miz and Truth bully the referee. That POS, John Laurinaitis comes out and berate Miz and Truth. Punk and HHH get up and take them out. Then HHH hits Punk with a Pedigree. But at the request of Laurinaitis, the new referee tries to wake up the original referee. Fuck. There is so much at the end here. Punk gets a GTS on HHH, but Truth pulls Punk out which makes no sense as he wants Punk to win. Punk hits Truth with a GTS and comes back in to get another Pedigree, which kicks out of. Moments later, Kevin Nash comes through the crowd and beats up both HHH and Punk. Punk gets a Jackknife and Nash eats a sledgehammer. HHH comes back in to hit Punk with yet another Pedigree and after legitimately taking 5 finishers from 3 different people, Punk is beaten. What a fucking mess this match became at the end.

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.88

My Rating: 7/10

On the plus side, this show didn't have any bad matches but on the other hand, they were all around the same range as each other, with none in particular being a standout apart from the main event. And that main event could've been one of the best matches of that year if they hadn't overbooked it so hard. It was on its way to being great. This show is mainly remembered for being Mark Henry's triumphant moment, which was the best part of the event.

Next up… A PERFECT STORM… I guess. It's SummerSlam 2012.

 

[Skyefire]

I think Mark Henry's title win was WWE's way of saying "Thank you for staying with the company all these years, here's a World Title." Until reading this not only did I not know that Cody Rhodes vs Ted DiBiase happened on this show, I didn't even know DiBiase was still with WWE at the time let alone in a position to get an I-C Title Match on PPV. I remember late 2010 he had a run with Maryse (I think) as his manager and he had the Million Dollar Belt, but other than that I don't remember anything from him after the breakup of Legacy. If Beth Phoenix was facing Kelly Kelly, wouldn't than mean Phoenix is the heel? Heel's don't (necessarily) lose in their hometowns, only babyfaces. And what is up with Beth Phoenix getting pinned by Kelly Kelly on a sunset flip? Way to make her look weak.

 

[Jarf]

I think Mark Henry's title win was WWE's way of saying "Thank you for staying with the company all these years, here's a World Title." Until reading this not only did I not know that Cody Rhodes vs Ted DiBiase happened on this show, I didn't even know DiBiase was still with WWE at the time let alone in a position to get an I-C Title Match on PPV. I remember late 2010 he had a run with Maryse (I think) as his manager and he had the Million Dollar Belt, but other than that I don't remember anything from him after the breakup of Legacy. If Beth Phoenix was facing Kelly Kelly, wouldn't than mean Phoenix is the heel? Heel's don't (necessarily) lose in their hometowns, only babyfaces. And what is up with Beth Phoenix getting pinned by Kelly Kelly on a sunset flip? Way to make her look weak.

Yeah, Kelly, didn't even have Beth's shoulders pinned with her legs either

 

[Jacob Fox]

Yeah, Kelly, didn't even have Beth's shoulders pinned with her legs either

Yeah that was a very bad ending to the match.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I should add: another great review. Keep up the good work

 

[Jarf]

SummerSlam 2012

Match 1: Chris Jericho def. Dolph Ziggler (13:04)

Really good match to start the night. The story here is that Jericho has been in a slump all year… which yeah, he didn’t win a single PPV match in 2012 aside from this one. Jericho also comes into this match with hurt ribs after Dolph attacked him on SmackDown. So that’s what Dolph goes after. Jericho has to fight through the pain to come back after Dolph wore him down. Jericho’s first attempt a Walls of Jericho fails as Dolph flings him off and Dolph gets Jericho in the Sleeper Hold, leaping on his back and wrapping his legs around Jericho. But Jericho backs up in the corner to get Dolph off him. Jericho manages to hit a hurricanrana from the top rope but hurts his ribs in the process. Jericho manages to hit a bulldog and attempts a Lionsault, but Dolph gets his knees up and hits the Zig Zag for a 2 count. But when Jericho recovers, he hits Dolph with a Codebreaker, but Dolph ends up rolling to the outside of the ring so Jericho can’t take advantage. Jericho goes out to throw Dolph back in, but Vickie Guerrero grabs Jericho’s foot to stop him from getting in the ring, allowing Dolph to roll him up for a close 2 count. Dolph runs at Chris and rams his shoulder into the steel post and Jericho puts Dolph in the Liontamer to make him tap out.

My Rating: ***1/2

Match 2: Daniel Bryan def. Kane (8:02)

Ah, planting the seeds for one of my favorite oddball tag teams of all time. As you can expect, Kane plays the powerhouse while Bryan plays the cagey technician to survive. Kane gets all his moves in and Bryan has to play smart to fight back. He slaps Kane, which causes him to lose his temper and pound on Bryan in the corner. But Bryan drop toe holds Kane into the second turnbuckle and Bryan kicks it up into his head. Still on both knees, Bryan tries to get Kane in position for the No Lock as it was called at this point. But Kane flings him off, but Bryan is still in control and kicks Kane in the head before going up top and attempts a flying headbutt, but Kane catches him by the throat, stands back up and hits the Chokeslam. Kane, still pissed about that slap, picks Bryan up for a Tombstone which Bryan reverses into a small package to upset Kane. Then Bryan gets out of there as quickly as he can and Kane marches backstage, flinging whatever he can find and tosses Josh Matthews off screen into something.

My Rating: ***

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match - The Miz (c) def. Rey Mysterio (9:07)

Another actually solid match from this show. Rey uses his high flying to his advantage, but Miz soon takes control after flinging Rey into the barricade. Miz wears down Rey for a lot of the match and he would shut down whatever comeback Rey would try to mount. But Rey’s luck would soon turn after a seated senton on Miz and hitting a hurricanrana into the middle rope. Rey hits a 619 and attempts a Frog Splash from the top rope, but Miz simply sits up and Rey crashes to the mat. Miz then tries a Skull Crushing Finale, but Rey reverses that into a pin by rolling through Miz’s legs, but Miz kicks out. Rey takes a run at Miz, but Miz flings him over his head and Rey’s face hits the top turnbuckle, allowing Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale this time and retain.

My Rating: ***

Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship Match - Sheamus (c) def. Alberto Del Rio (11:17)

Ah, the feud that never ended in 2012. This had to have been the 15th time Sheamus beat Del Rio. Honestly, this match was also pretty decent. The one problem I have with it is the repetitiveness of this feud. It kinda starts being a fight, where Sheamus kicks the shit out of Del Rio around the ring, but Del Rio being crafty finds a way to get back into the match. Early in the match, the turnbuckle pad gets taken off the top rope. Sheamus misses a Brogue Kick which causes him to fall over the ropes and Del Rio runs and kicks Sheamus’ legs out from underneath him, causing him to crash to the floor. Del Rio mocks Sheamus’ brogue chant and goes for a Brogue himself but Sheamus shuts that down. But Del Rio gets the Cross Armbreaker on Sheamus, breaks the hold by picking Del Rio up from that position and dropping him on the mat. Sheamus tries to hit the 10 punches in the corner, but Del Rio drops down and Sheamus’ face hits the exposed turnbuckle. Del Rio hits an enziguri and almost has the match won there. He gets so pissed, he slaps Ricardo and brings him into the ring, but as Ricardo is being taken out by the referee, he takes his boot off and accidentally overshoots over Del Rio and the boot is caught by Sheamus who uses it against Del Rio and then hits a backbreaker. Sheamus pins Del Rio, who gets his foot on the bottom rope, but Sheamus takes it off before the ref can see it and Sheamus retains. And because we didn’t get a clean finish, these 2 were gonna fight again.

My Rating: ***1/4

Match 5: WWE Tag Team Championship Match - R-Truth & Kofi Kingston (c) def. The Prime Time Players (7:06)

Kinda boring, not gonna lie. And usually Kofi has pretty decent matches, but not this one. It doesn’t help that it feels pretty heatless. People loved the Little Jimmy stuff though I guess. Truth starts the match but soon tags in Kofi who flies around and disorients the Players. But Darren distracts Kofi on the floor and Titus barrels over him. They were Kofi down until he can make the tag to Truth. While Truth deals with Darren Young on the inside. Kofi springboards off the ropes onto Titus on the outside while Darren rolls Truth up from behind. Truth kicks out and hits a paydirt (I hope I got it right) on Darren to win the match for his team.

My Rating: **1/4

Match 6: WWE Championship Triple Threat Match - CM Punk (c) def. John Cena & Big Show (12:36)

If you take out the Big Show and just have it be Punk vs Cena, this match would’ve definitely ruled, but nah they had to shoehorn him in there I guess. And the match suffers for it. Because a lot of this match is Big Show kicking the other two’s asses at an extremely slow, lumbering pace which makes it feel like I’m watching it in slow motion. Cena and Punk never really work together aside from the one time they tried to double suplex Big Show. But that didn’t work. There is only one standout spot in that time that Big Show spent dominating the match. That’s where CM Punk dived through the rope, only to be caught by Big Show and flung back into the ropes. Punk hangs Big Show up on the top rope and Cena back drops him. He tries the five knuckle shuffle, but Punk clotheslines him and flings him out of the ring. Then he climbs up to the top and hits an elbow. And finally, this match is going somewhere. Punk hits a trifecta of knees into the corner and Cena hits his legdrop from the top rope and then Punk and Cena put on double submission moves on Big Show that don’t look like hurts him all that much. But Big Show taps anyway and the bell is rung with a winner unclear. AJ Lee (who was Raw GM at the time) skips down to the ring and says to restart the match. Cena and Punk both turn around into Big Show who chokeslams them both and covers them both. They obviously kick out. Big Show goes for the KO punch on Cena, who ducks and picks Big Show up and hits an AA, but Punk grabs Cena and throws him out of the ring and makes the cover himself. Punk retains.

My Rating: **1/2

Main Event: No DQ Match - Brock Lesnar def. Triple H (18:44)

HHH’s last match with his long, wet locks of hair. Brock spends much of this match putting the Kimura lock on Triple H, like I lost count how many times he put it on. After Triple H sends Brock out of the ring twice, Brock takes his gloves off and tackles HHH to the mat, nailing him with one good shot to the back of the head. And from there, Brock beats the hell out of HHH. Brock weakens HHH’s arm a lot during the match and Triple H gets a good shot on Brock, cause a little blood trickles out of Brock’s nose but it does pretty much nothing. Triple H finally turns things around when he grabs Brock by the shorts and pulls him into the announce table gut first and Triple H goes after that, repeated shots to Brock’s stomach. Both men get back in the ring and Triple H targets that big ol gut. Triple H puts Brock on a front facelock and knees Brock about 12 times in the stomach. Triple H hits a Spinebuster and tries a Pedigree, but Brock counters into an F5 position, but Triple H escapes and then manages to hit the Pedigree which Brock kicks out of. Brock low blows HHH and hits the F5 then but Triple H kicks out of it. Brock gets the Kimura Lock back on HHH, who escapes by giving Brock several hard shots to the kidney. Triple H hits another Pedigree and tries covering Brock. But Brock shifts position, wraps his arms around Triple H’s and his legs around him in the Kimura again. This time, Triple H taps out and then has a fake retirement moment there.

My Rating: ***1/2

Cagematch Rating: 5.88

My Rating: 6/10

No downright terrible matches, only boring ones. The opener and the main event were definitely the best matches of the night. But even though most of the matches were alright, I can’t say I had fun watching this show. I even watched this show live and I still couldn’t remember anything from it. It’s okay, but I wouldn’t say its worth paying 60 bucks for. The last show at least had a pretty memorable moment with Mark Henry achieving that championship status, so that was at least cool. With this show, I wouldn’t really go out of my way to watch it.

Next time, the fans decide the stipulations and matches. Cyber Sunday 2007.