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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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NXT Takeover Review Series: NXT Arrival

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special new series I’m starting, beginning with this review. NXT recently celebrated 5 years under its current format, having previously been utilized as a Tuesday evening TV show showcasing select FCW stars. In its past format, NXT saw the main roster debut of such stars as Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Ryback, AJ Lee, and Bray Wyatt. Since replacing FCW as the developmental territory of WWE, however, NXT has turned out a large amount of stars. A cursory look of both Raw and Smackdown’s rosters yields a great number of wrestlers who spent time in NXT. In addition, NXT has developed a reputation of being an attractive place for wrestlers to work, with a chance at making it to the main roster luring in such big indy names as ReDRagon, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Tommy End, and many others. And that’s just within the last year or so. NXT has truly come into its own since launching in 2012, and one can probably point to the launch of the WWE Network and subsequent live NXT Special just days after launching. Today, I’ll be going back and reviewing that very show, thus kicking off a series where I’ll be reviewing every NXT Takeover special ever done. So, without further ado, let’s get into the review!

We get a crazy little opening with the lights dimmed and mood music playing, as Triple H asks if we’re ready. He says “This is NXT,” and the show gets underway. We’re live from Full Sail University, and the fans are already hot for the show. Triple H says the next generation has arrived, as we get our opening video package. After that, it’s Sami Zayn out first for opening match. I gotta say, it’s jarring seeing him come out to something that’s not his current theme. We’re welcomed by our commentators for tonight, Byron Saxton, William Regal, and Tom Phillips with a goofy haircut. Out next is Cesaro, and we’ve got our opening match.

CESARO DEF. SAMI ZAYN BY PINFALL VIA NEUTRALIZER:

Great, great match. Cesaro was incredible as the powerhouse heel, and Sami Zayn played the role of the injured, yet determined underdog as good as anybody else. Just a fantastic match, and one where Zayn is just as well off by losing as he would by winning. **** 1/4.

Post-match, Cesaro exits the ring as Sami reflects on his loss. Halfway up the ramp, Cesaro stops, goes back into the ring, and approaches Zayn. They exchange glances for a bit, before Cesaro lifts Sami to his feet, and pulls him in for a hug. The two embrace in a show of respect, as the crowd gives their approval. Cesaro leaves, as the crowd give Sami a standing ovation and chants “Ole.” Excellent way to start off the show.

We get a vignette for future Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Mojo Rawley. Out comes CJ Parker, who has recently found success in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Juice Robinson. Out next is the Hype Man himself, as we get ready for our second match:

MOJO RAWLEY DEF. CJ PARKER BY PINFALL VIA HYPERDRIVE:

Too short to really amount to much. Rawley’s probably best in small doses, anyhow. Parker actually looked pretty decent as a heel. * 1/4.

We get a vignette for Emma, and I have no idea what her gimmick is. She dances? She’s weird? She plays with bubbles? Jesus, and people call Bayley a female Eugene. We get another vignette, this one for the NXT Tag Team Champions The Ascension. Wow, those were the days. Out they come for an open challenge for their titles. Who should answer it but Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay. Too Cool! I’m a little saddened that they’re using “Turn it Up,” which I consider to be the inferior Too Cool theme, but what can you do? Also, Scotty 2 Hotty’s bald, which is also kind of a dampener. It’s just not the same without his McDonald’s fries-looking hair:

THE ASCENSION DEF. TOO COOL BY PINFALL VIA FALL OF MAN TO RETAIN THE NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS:

One-sided affair here, which basically served to showcase The Ascension. Not a lot to speak of, to be honest. * 1/4.

We see Paige backstage, before getting a vignette for here. Wow, to think this was only three years ago. How things have changed. She talks about being the opposite of the prototypical Diva, and what it means to be champion. I would make a joke about the Women’s Title Belt, but I’d like to think this blog is a little more dignified. We then see Ric Flair and Charlotte taking in the show from ringside, when out comes Stephanie McMahon. If a woman in WWE makes history and Stephanie McMahon isn’t there to attach herself to it, did it ever really happen? The fans chant “you still got it,” presumably towards her figure, and she proclaims she never lost it. Gag. She talks about how they’re making history by being part of the first live program on the WWE Network, and does the spiel of how she’s proud of the women’s division for showing women can do what men can do, but better. I’m all for feminism and everything, but I think it would be a little more meaningful if we got to hear Paige or Emma say this kind of thing. Oh, well. She introduces the two competitors as the next generation of WWE Divas, and Emma comes out to her awful, awful theme. She got this opportunity in a “dance battle,” which kind of reflects poorly on how the women are being regarded. William Regal is seen dancing to her music, and they mention she’s beaten two former Divas since becoming #1 Contender. To think she’d be released just 5 months later for stealing an IPad case. I mean, they brought her back, but she’s really done a whole lot of nothing the last three years. Out next is the champion, Paige. Stephanie shakes the hands of both competitors, as this match gets underway:

PAIGE DEF. EMMA BY SUBMISSION VIA SCORPION CROSSLOCK TO RETAIN THE NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP:

OK Women’s match that at least had the crowd’s attention the whole time. I personally found this to be largely dull, with Emma dominating a good portion of the match. There were some cool moments, such as Emma hitting a Powerbomb on Paige, or Paige breaking out the Scorpion Crosslock for the win, but it falls below most NXT Women’s Title match standards, and probably some of AJ Lee’s title matches on the main roster, as well. **.

Post-match, the two briefly hug it out, as Paige celebrates her successful title defense. We cut backstage to Adrian Neville preparing for the main event, a ladder match for the NXT Championship held by Bo Dallas. What a time that was. We get a video package around Neville, and I really have to commend them for going out of their way to introduce newer viewers to the stars of NXT, a must with the launch of the WWE Network. It’s no wonder NXT caught on the way it did after it was given a platform like this.

After a commercial for the NXT TV show, the camera cuts to Pat Patterson and Dusty Rhodes watching in the crowd. The “Somebody Call My Momma” music plays, as Xavier Woods comes out. That used to be his theme?! Out next is Tyler Breeze, as I guess we’re getting a cooldown match before the main event:

TYLER BREEZE VS. XAVIER WOODS WENT TO A NO CONTEST WHEN ALEXANDER RUSEV INTERFERED:

Well, so much for that. Rusev comes out, beats the shit out of both guys, and puts Woods in the Accolade, as Lana puts Rusev over. Her accent definitely improved over time. Rusev then gets on the mic and cuts a promo in Bulgarian and poses as his music hits.

We then see Bo Dallas backstage preparing for the main event. They play a video package for Dallas, and, say what you will about him, the man has a great sense of humor. I’ve even enjoyed seeing him as part of the Miztourage. Cut back to the audience as we see Larry Zbyszko and Steve Keirn watching from ringside. The star power’s sort of hitting a point of diminishing returns right now. We then get a video package for how the ladder match came to be, before cutting back to the ring, lights dimmed and ladders all over the place. Out comes Shawn Michaels, NXT Title belt in hand, as he heads to the ring. Michaels cuts a promo saying he’s proud to be here tonight, as the fans chant stuff like “one more match” and “H-B-Shizzle.” I don’t even know. Michaels finally has to ask them to stop, as he talks about his history with ladder matches, as he plugs his Mr. Wrestlemania DVD and talks about how he has to put his kids through college. Michaels finally gets serious, as he puts over both men in the main event, and says only one of them will walk out with the title and step into greatness. Adrian Neville’s music hits, and out comes the challenger to a nice ovation. Out next is Bo Dallas, as we get formal introductions. As the title is raised both men stare each other down, as our main event is underway:

ADRIAN NEVILLE DEF. BO DALLAS IN A LADDER MATCH TO WIN THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP:

Very fun, well-paced work between these two. I’ve never seen Bo work quite the way he did in this match, as he did everything he could to wear Neville down and stop him from getting to the title above the ring. This match didn’t really have a whole lot that you’ve never seen in a Ladder Match before, but it served as an entertaining, satisfying main event match. *** 1/2.

Post-match, Neville celebrates atop the ladder with the title, as steam comes down from the ceiling. He continues to celebrate, as John Cena is shown in the crowd, giving Neville a standing ovation. Arrival goes off the air, as the announcers tell us this is a new beginning for NXT.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I’m really not sure how to precisely describe this show. As someone who’s seen most of the Takeover specials over the last few years, this felt a bit different from how those feel. The pacing wasn’t all there. Not every match felt like it was one of consequence. Obviously, the talent pool shifted to one that featured more experienced wrestlers from across the world. As a first taste of NXT, however, this wasn’t all that bad. Both the opener and main event delivered in their own ways, and I would actually recommend going out of your way to watch the opener, by all means. Everything else in between ranges from passable to skippable. Overall, I’d give it a mild recommendation, with a strong suggestion to watch the opener, main event, and perhaps the Women’s match as well. Everything else is better off being passed over.

Well, that’s the first installment of what I hope will be a very rewarding series. In addition to reviewing more NXT specials, I’m also looking at a few other ideas for posts, so I’ll probably put something up within the next week or so detailing exactly what I intend to review over the next few months. Until then, stay tuned for more updates, and enjoy.

#nxt #wwe #2014

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Observer Award Mid-Year Predictions

Hey, everyone. Today’s post is one I’ve been thinking about doing for years, actually; one of the things I look forward to every January, behind the Rumble and Tokyo Dome shows, is the release of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, as decided by readers of the publication at the end of every calendar year. Much like the Oscars for instance, I enjoy being able to sit down and guess the winners, as well as look back in history and reflect on, or even dispute, winners in the past. With 2017 already half-way over and then some, I figured now was as good a time as any to try and predict who at this stage would be primed to win each award come January.

I will say, first off, that 2017 has been of the weaker years I can recall for both wrestling and MMA, at least in the past few years. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty enjoyable wrestling from companies like NJPW, PWG, and other companies around the world. Even WWE has had some things going for it. But wrestling in general just seemed much more exciting to me the last few years then it does at this moment. As for MMA, I think most can agree this has been a pretty off year for UFC, without their previous draws McGregor and Rousey along, as well as a number of strange, often boneheaded moves from Dana White. That said, let’s get into the predictions:

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Gotta go with Okada on this one. I think some people would probably put Omega, but I actually think he was more deserving last year. Okada has been having a title reign like few others have had, with several successful defenses and numerous high-rated matches. If anyone deserves it, it’s him.

MOST VALUABLE MMA FIGHTER: As I said, it’s been sort of an odd year for UFC in terms of star power. I’d be inclined to say Tyron Woodley, though I’m not sure how many people really buy shows for him, plus his style is pretty controversial. Cormier could be an option, given his defeat of Rumble Johnson, and his part in the highest buyrate of the year with Jon Jones. My gut tells me depending on what happens with him the rest of the year, however, Jon Jones is probably the safe choice.

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: This one has always kind of vexed me. I understand the Wrestler of the Year category covers a variety of qualities not necessarily related to workrate, but this almost seems like a cross between that award and Technical Wrestler of the Year. In any case, I’d probably go with Okada once again, but I wouldn’t mind if Omega got the nod, either. I understand Styles has won the award the last two years, as well as Wrestler of the Year, but I just don’t think he’s had nearly the number of great performances this year as he did before to warrant the win at this point.

MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: Again, not sure how this really differs much from Most Valuable. I’m really not sure who would stand out from this year, but I’d personally go with Mighty Mouse, or maybe Joanna Jedrzejczyk, just because they’ve had more successful defenses.

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: Well, Jon Jones should probably get some consideration, given that he managed to pull the highest buyrate of the year for UFC. It’s probably a lock for Conor McGregor though, given the upcoming superfight with Mayweather.

FEUD OF THE YEAR: In a year where UFC hasn’t really had that must see rivalry, save Jones/Cormier, which seemed to be more centered around Jones redeeming himself than any beef between the two, it’s anyone’s game in wrestling, to be honest. Strowman vs. Reigns comes to mind as a possibility, at least from the WWE side of things. I’d personally say either Omega vs. Okada, or Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito would be the best choices, with the latter getting an advantage due to their legendary matches this year.

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: It’s an award that’s been dominated by the Young Bucks for three years in a row, so there’s always that. I would personally go with Cesaro and Sheamus, at least in terms of how much they’ve entertained me and continued to improve as a team. I think The Hardy Boyz probably have the best chance of anyone not named the Young Bucks, however, and seeing as they managed to wrestle in TNA, ROH, and WWE, as well as hold titles in each company within a matter of months, it’s really not that out there.

MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER: Braun Strowman, hands down. At least in terms of perception, I’ve never seen anyone turn a corner quite like this. I can remember people were furious at the idea of him wrestling Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32. To go from that to being heralded as the future of the company is quite an achievement.

BEST ON INTERVIEWS: Probably another easy one for McGregor, even though the media tour with Mayweather kind of went over like a wet fart. There’s just no one great talker in wrestling that stands head and shoulders above anyone else. I’d say John Cena and Kevin Owens are probably the best in WWE, but I think both have had better years.

MOST CHARISMATIC: There’s a potential for Nakamura here, though I’m not sure how many people would agree with that perception. I should probably just save face and pick McGregor again.

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: I think Marty Scurll honestly deserves some consideration. It’s been Zack Sabre Jr. since 2014, however, and with his appearances in NJPW and EVOLVE, as well as the various other companies he works for, the exposure he gets gives him a huge edge.

BEST BRAWLER: I’m not even sure. Kevin Owens? Samoa Joe? Reigns? Perhaps Strowman? I haven’t really kept up with Tomohiro Ishii enough to know if he deserves a fourth win or not, but I’d think he’d still be at the top of people’s list.

BEST FLYING WRESTLER: Hiromu Takahashi has had some outstanding performances this year from his time as Junior Heavyweight Champion, so he’d probably be my first choice. There’s also guys like Dragon Lee and Lio Rush breaking through at such a young age. Will Ospreay won last year, but I think he’s sort of cooled off since then. Neville’s reign as Cruiserweight Champion makes him a tempting choice, but he seems to be subverting a lot of the highflying stuff, so I really wouldn’t go with him. Probably just gonna stick with Takahashi.

MOST OVERRATED: Hoo boy. My gut tells me Reigns is a lock, but there’s always Jinder Mahal, as well. If I had to pick one, I’d say Jinder, just because people have at least acknowledged that Reigns is a solid in-ring talent, just not one they want to see as the next Cena. Jinder’s just kind of an angry looking guy who’s done about as well as one would expect him to do in his position, but realistically probably should’ve never been near the WWE Championship. Baron Corbin is also a possibility, as is Randy Orton, whose dogging of another title reign probably should be the nail in the coffin, but won’t be.

MOST UNDERRATED: I know a lot of people will probably pick Cesaro, but I’d probably have to go with poor Luke Harper, who’s barely featured on TV despite some strong reactions earlier this year. As far as NJPW goes, I personally feel Sanada, and most of the LIJ guys in general are kind of underrated, though they certainly work well as a faction, so it’s hard to say.

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR: New Japan. Not even close.

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW: Probably NJPW again, maybe NXT. Raw’s getting better, but I think being three hours probably still hurts it’s chances.

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: Omega/Okada. Take your pick. I personally preferred their first match to their second, but it did get a higher star rating from Meltzer, so that may sway some voters. There’s been other solid matches from other companies, but I just don’t see anything touching those New Japan matches.

MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR: I really wouldn’t know, to be honest. I’d probably have to defer to more devoted fans on this, since I’ve only really kept up with PPV’s.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: I’ve been hearing good things about Katsuya Kitamura, a really jacked-up dude from NJPW who just started wrestling in March. If he gets more exposure as the year goes on, he’d probably be a safe choice. I don’t know, this award seems to be one that’s really dried up as far as many prospects go. There’s just so much wrestling to follow, that unless you’re someone like Matt Riddle who gets around on the scene, it’s just too hard to find any new stand outs.

BEST NON-WRESTLER: I guess Kurt Angle? Paul Heyman’s kind of hit the point of diminishing returns for me, so I don’t know that I’d really pick him.

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: Corey Graves would probably be the only shoe-in as far as wrestling goes. Mauro just hasn’t been around much, and I’m not sure anyone would be too willing to write in someone like Michael Cole or Tom Phillips, who are just kind of there to do basic announcing. I’d actually make Joe Rogan my choice, as he hasn’t really lost a step since losing Mike Goldberg as a co-commentator.

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: JBL has earned enough malice that he’ll probably get the nod. Some might even choose JR or Josh Barnett for their performances in the G1 USA Special, but JBL seems like a far more likely choice.

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW: Wrestle Kingdom 11 or Dominion. I actually haven’t seen much of Dominion beyond the main event, so I guess I’d have to go with Wrestle Kingdom by default. Just a stacked card. The last four matches alone would make this an easy show of the year in any year.

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW: I didn’t hate Battleground nearly as much as everyone else seemed to, but that seems to be the most likely candidate thus far. I’d personally go with Fastlane or Extreme Rules, or even Money in the Bank as my least favorite shows this year, but Battleground will probably get the nod.

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER: If I had to guess, I’d say either the Rainmaker or the One-Winged Angel. The mystique around both moves, particularly in Okada and Omega’s matches together, has been something to see.

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC: This has always been a strange award to me. I’ve alternated between being amused by this award, and being in favor of scrapping it. This year, it doesn’t really seem like there’s much of a clear-cut winner, unless I’m mistaken. Jinder’s title reign may very well qualify, although I guess time will tell with that one. I’d bring up the JBL/Ranallo thing, although they really didn’t publicize that much, save JBL’s comments on “Bring it to the Table.” I guess TNA’s insistence on retaining ownership of the “Broken” gimmick is probably the one I can point to as most angering to fans and wrestlers (they didn’t exactly endear themselves to a lot of people by sending a legal letter to cable providers shortly before ROH’s Anniversary Show featuring the Hardys,) so I’ll just stick with that.

WORST TELEVISION SHOW: Raw, Smackdown, Impact, take your pick. As best I can tell, each have a good chance of winning. 205 Live also has a lot of negative feelings surrounding it, but I’m not sure it’ll really snowball into being declared the outright worst wrestling show out there right now.

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR: Some have put forth the House of Horrors Match as a possibility. Really, you could probably go with both Orton/Wyatt matches. The Punjabi Prison from Battleground is probably the most likely candidate given that despite being good by Punjabi Prison standards, the match still had the atmosphere of a graveyard, a rarity in today’s environment, particularly in Philadelphia.

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR: Orton and Wyatt, if I had to guess. Orton and Jinder’s feud has mostly suffered from being boring. Orton and Wyatt’s feud had the distinction of producing bad matches, and being stupid at the same time. Not a great combination.

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR: TNA, which would give the distinction of winning worst promotion of the year every year from 2007 to 2017. That’s 3/5 of their lifespan, I should point out.

BEST BOOKER: Gedo. The man knows how to build up his roster, as well as put on attractive match-ups. Nobody else has really been doing that as well as he has this year.

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: Naoki Sugabayashi, the chairman of New Japan Pro Wrestling. I’d just like to say that I would be strongly opposed to Dana White receiving the nod this year. Not only has UFC been in a slump throughout the year, but it’s become apparent that Dana White is starting to lose whatever magic touch he had in the past decade. From the attempted sabotage of Demetrious Johnson and the entire Flyweight in the midst of Johnson approaching the most title defenses in UFC history, to the establishment and subsequent bungling of the Women’s Featherweight Championship, a title clearly meant to showcase known drug offender Cristiane Justino, White has shown a seeming ineptitude in attempting to capture lightning in a bottle as he has many times before. That, coupled with UFC’s downturn in business, should be enough to dissuade votes for Dana White. Time will tell I suppose, but that’s just how I feel.

BEST GIMMICK: Marty Scurll or Tetsuya Naito, both of whom I feel deserved consideration for last year’s awards, seem to be the frontrunners as of now, at least from what I’ve seen. I’d personally go with Naito, simply because the Los Ingobernables faction has continued to move a ton of merchandise, making Naito an indispensable member of the New Japan roster after years of attempted pushes.

WORST GIMMICK: My personal choice would probably be Mike and Maria Kannellis, though that’s mainly due to my personal distaste for anything Mike Bennett related. In reality, it’s tough to say. There’s several possibilities, including Jinder and Bray Wyatt, although I personally feel the gimmicks are less of a problem than the handling of them.

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK: I really wouldn’t know. Although I recently read a fantastic book entitled “Lion’s Pride: the Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling,” a quick look tells me that book came out in 2015. I know both AJ Lee and Justin Roberts came out with autobiographies this year. I seem to remember AJ’s being described as powerful, though mostly focusing on her upbringing as opposed to her career, whereas Roberts’ came out around the time of the JBL/Mauro Ranallo controversy, and added fuel to the fire with stories of JBL bullying others in the company during Roberts’ tenure. Since the latter probably has more value to the average wrestling fan, I’d be inclined to go with that one.

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD: With DVD’s starting to become a less prevalent medium in general, I’d have to think this award may be tweaked or abandoned at some point in the future. In any case, I’ve heard very good things about Kevin Owens’ recent DVD release, so I suppose I’d have to go with that one by default.

Well, there you have it; my mid-year picks for the Wrestling Observer Awards for this year. It should be interesting to revisit these at the end of the year, and in particular when the awards actually come out. Until then, hope you enjoyed this feature, and I will continue brainstorming new ideas for posts in the future.

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Rebooking Wrestlemania IX

Well, as promised, here it is: a rebooking of Wrestlemania IX. Now, to start off with, I will say that Wrestlemania IX was not the worst wrestling show I’ve ever seen. I’ve had much less fun watching other shows in the past. At the very least, 2 or 3 matches on Wrestlemania IX entertained me, which some shows have failed to in the past. However, as far as Wrestlemanias go, this was not an easy one to watch. Ever since I started watching through 1993 again, I’ve gathered my thoughts on what happened here at Wrestlemania, and I’ve tried to come up with card that might be even marginally better on paper. So, here it is.

Firstly, there are a few matches on here that I wouldn’t change, at least as far as the lineup goes. Finishes are an entirely different ballpark. For instance, I really don’t think there’s any need to change the Steiners vs. Headshrinkers match. That match ended up being my personal favorite on the show, and, in general, didn’t really suffer from any noticeable flaws, in-ring or booking wise. Doink the Clown and Crush was also fine for what it was. It wasn’t a very good match, but, to be honest, I wouldn’t really expect it to be. The main thing here is watching someone try to get revenge on the evil clown and coming up short due to shenanigans. Nothing wrong with that. Money Inc. vs. The Mega-Maniacs could also probably stay, but believe me, there would be a new finish. Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez? Fine. If they’re that desperate to have a circus match with Undertaker, by all means. But, again, the finish need not suck just because the in-ring work does. And, finally, Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. As a match, I thought it was perfectly fine. It was obvious that Yokozuna was the direction the company was going in, due mostly to the fact that they were moving away from a steroid scandal, and he was a 500 Ib. Samoan man. So, in trying to stay realistic, I’ll forego throwing something together, like Perfect or Savage vs. Bret. Either of those match-ups would no doubt be superior in-ring products. But pitting two faces against one another in the main event is rarely a great idea, especially when considering the future direction of the company. It’s why the rumored Hogan vs. Bret match at Summerslam could’ve been a potential headache. More on that later.

So, overall, it may not look like we’re changing a whole lot about the card. But, as we go down the list, I think some of the changes will become apparent. Let’s actually start off with the dark match. Now, this normally wouldn’t matter, but in this instance, I’d like to switch some talent around. Specifically, I’d swap out Tito Santana, who defeated Papa Shango in the dark match, and replace him with Bob Backlund, with Santana taking Backlund’s place on the main card against Razor Ramon. I’ve talked before about how Bob Backlund during this time was an anomaly in the WWF; on the one hand, he was one of the longest reigning champions in company history, making a comeback at age 43, and still in amazing shape. At the same time, it’s now 1993. The wrestling landscape has changed, particularly the WWF, which now features such cartoonish gimmicks as Doink the Clown, Papa Shango, and even Yokozuna, to an extent. And in the midst of it is good old Bob Backlund, whose in-ring style and appearance have remained in a time capsule-like state of being. Backlund’s first Wrestlemania may have been a pressing matter to some, though probably not many. But does it really need to be on the main card? By pitting Backlund against Shango prior to the show, you can give him a nice, easy win that doesn’t hurt Shango (if that was a priority,) and potentially starts the show off nicely for the live crowd. Tito Santana, meanwhile, would probably make for a much better opponent for Razor Ramon, whose growing popularity was becoming evident, even during his snoozer with Backlund.

Next, let’s talk about the Intercontinental Title match. I asked the question several times in reviewing Wrestlemania IX, and I’ll ask it here: why put together a title match where you don’t want the challenger to lose, but you don’t necessarily want them to win the title either? As good as Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka was, the finish was pretty questionable, particularly for the opening match. If you really want to continue both Michaels’ title reign and Tatanka’s undefeated streak, why not just make two separate matches? In examining the roster at the time, one name that comes to mind as someone for Tatanka to beat would be Bam Bam Bigelow. Though Bam Bam may be just a notch below Michaels in terms of his position on the card, he’s still above Tatanka’s previous opponents. Not only that, but as both an in-ring talent and a name in the business, he brings a credibility that only a few others on the heel roster would bring. Michaels, on the other hand, would more than likely be in need of a credible opponent to put him over and help him grow into a more seasoned heel. Considering his history with the Intercontinental Title in the prior years, as well as his popularity at the time, Mr. Perfect would make, well, perfect sense as an opponent for Michaels. They may have ended up having a match at Summerslam that year, but Wrestlemania would no doubt be the next best place, if not the best.

With the Steiners vs. Headshrinkers and Doink vs. Crush matches left untouched, as well as Razor vs. Backlund changed to Razor vs. Santana, let’s get into the big one: Money Inc. vs. The Mega-Maniacs. Now, an obvious fix for this match would be to take the Tag Titles out of the equation, a step they could reach a number of ways. Maybe Money Inc. loses the titles to the Steiner Brothers, which they eventually would anyway, shortly before the event. Maybe they’re stripped of the titles due to their actions against Brutus Beefcake, necessitating a match to determine new Tag Team Champions occurring at Wrestlemania. By eliminating the Tag Team Titles from the mix, there’s now a clear path to the Mega-Maniacs getting a clean victory over the dastardly heels. But if the Tag Team Titles are an absolutely necessary part of the equation, and Money Inc. cannot lose them, then why not pin Beefcake? After all, in storyline, Beefcake had a debilitating facial injury that required the use of a facemask. That doesn’t seem like an easy out? Money Inc. even took off the mask during the course of the match, leaving Beefcake’s face exposed, and giving ample opportunity for the heels to try and do some more damage. I’m really not sure if this was ever an option that was considered. It could very well be that Hogan didn’t want either himself or Beefcake to be pinned. But what’s the real harm in continuing the chase, even if Hogan moves on to the WWF Title and Beefcake has to find another partner to help avenge his loss?

In trying to find a new opponent for Lex Luger, I had a pretty hard time. My first thought had been Owen Hart, if nothing more than to tie in to the attack on Bret Hart prior to Wrestlemania. Unfortunately, a quick search of ThehistoryofWWE.com reveals that Owen was gone from late March to early May, perhaps indicating an injury, or just some time off. I suppose Koko B. Ware would be another option, but with Wrestlemania already having timing problems as is (Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kamala was cut during the event, due to the opening ceremony and IC Title match running long), maybe Luger doesn’t need a match at Wrestlemania. That may sound weird, but think about it. You already have Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, and Yokozuna as your top heels. Lex is in a weird enough position as it is, with his feud with Perfect basically being inherited from Bobby Heenan. Maybe he can have a segment of some sort. Have him come out in a way that fits the wacky Roman theme (we’re not even going to try and change that). Have him brag about laying the WWF Champion out. Have him make a promise to become the new King of the Ring at the new June PPV, King of the Ring. This gives you a number of directions, not the least of which would be having Bret chase Luger after Wrestlemania as a means of keeping him away from the WWF Championship for the time being. It also saves us having to see an awkward stumble fest, like the one against Mr. Perfect.

In a perfect world, Giant Gonzalez vs. The Undertaker would never have been booked in the first place. With the model of Undertaker feuds being “Taker vs. big scary foreign heel,” however, it’s pretty hard to move away from it. The fact is that once you take Giant Gonzalez’s height out of consideration, you’re left with a rather atrocious worker, someone who will no doubt be exposed in a feud that goes on for months. So having a non-finish as an excuse to do a match at Summerslam, nearly 5 months after Wrestlemania, is not what I would’ve done. Hell, Royal Rumble to Wrestlemania wasn’t nearly as long, and they very nearly exposed Gonzalez in that time. Undertaker is a special attraction at this point in his career. The man has beaten Hulk Hogan, is a former WWF Champion, and, in most instances, would probably be the biggest babyface on any given card. There’s really no reason why he can’t go over on the biggest show of the year, especially when delaying a satisfying finish would lead to a rematch of a match where Taker can hardly do a thing with the guy. Maybe Taker can’t hit the Tombstone on Gonzalez, but he’s had different ways of finishing guys off before. Even a body slam, similar to what he did with King Kong Bundy, would suffice. But chloroform has absolutely no place in the finish of a Wrestlemania marquee match.

Lastly, we get to the main event of Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. The match itself gives me very little to complain about. You could argue that the salt in the eyes of Bret Hart was perhaps unnecessary, but it at least gives him an out to losing the title he had defended on so many occasions in the months prior. The post-match, however, which is probably the biggest complaint most have regarding the show, is in desperate need of changing. In this scenario, let’s keep Hulk Hogan involved in the storyline. As jarring as it was seeing him insert himself into the WWF Title picture just after failing to capture the Tag Team Titles, let’s just go with it. After all, it’s 1993. Business has gone down drastically since Hogan left in 1992. Even before then, the trend was negative. If even for a short amount of time, Hogan could have a positive effect on buyrates, especially for that brand new June PPV, King of the Ring. Even if Hogan is going to be gone come the end of the year, it makes sense to do at least one big match with him on PPV before he departs. So have him come to Bret’s aid, have him lay down the challenge to Yokozuna, and have it accepted. For King of the Ring. The show may not go off the air with Hogan as WWF Champion, but if he’s not going to be around to defend it on house shows or TV, then why bother putting it on him in the first place? Instead, you can have Hogan hit his Axe Bomber clothesline to take the big man off his feet, have him hit the leg drop, and maybe even symbolically cover him. But the title should stay on Yokozuna by all means, ideally until Wrestlemania X. Maybe 350 days is a long time for a heel to hold the title in 1993 WWF, but with Hogan on his way out, a need to build Bret Hart up so that he can truly become a main event face, and a need for a champion who’s obviously not on steroids, Yokozuna is the answer. Having him built up to lose to Bret at the next Wrestlemania would be a much better way to put over the Hitman then having him go over a reluctant Hulk Hogan at Summerslam, possibly alienating casual fans in the process.

With those changes made, the card looks something like this:

DARK MATCH: Bob Backlund def. Papa Shango by Pinfall/Submission (whichever).

1. Tatanka def. Bam Bam Bigelow by Pinfall.

2. The Steiners def. The Headshrinkers by Pinfall.

3. Shawn Michaels def. Mr. Perfect by Pinfall to retain the Intercontinental Championship.

4. Doink the Clown def. Crush by Pinfall.

5. Razor Ramon def. Tito Santana by Pinfall.

6. Money Inc. def. The Mega-Maniacs by Pinfall to retain the Tag Team Championships.

7. The Undertaker def. Giant Gonzalez by Pinfall.

---Lex Luger Segment---

8. Yokozuna def. Bret Hart by Pinfall to win the WWF Championship.

---Hulk Hogan challenges Yokozuna for King of the Ring, takes him out, poses to end the show and send fans home happy---

So, there you have it. It’s by no means a perfect card, but given the state of the roster at the time, I feel it’s at least a slight improvement. As I said before, I’m really not someone who’s able to sit down and try to outbook wrestling companies. But given the notoriety of this show, I thought it might be worth giving my own ideas to improve the card.

Next time, we’ll get right back into reviewing Raw, as it’s the very first show since Wrestlemania IX. Stay tuned.

#wwf #wwe #1993 #wrestlemania

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Wrestlemania IX Review

Hello, folks. Just a friendly reminder that sometime soon, I’ll be posting a follow-up to this review, in which I analyze the card and discuss some changes I think would have improved this show even marginally. Until then, let’s get right into the review!

We get a short intro, before going to our host Gorilla Monsoon, who, true to his word, is wearing a toga. Monsoon introduces us to the newest addition to the announce team, Jim Ross. Yes, it’s the debut of Good Ol’ JR in the WWF. Unfortunately, JR is sans cowboy hat this time around, but he too is wearing a toga. Ross throws us over to Howard Finkel, who today will be known as “Finkus Maximus.” Maximus introduces us to Caesar and Cleopatra, making their return from the Royal Rumble on an elephant. Out next is Randy Savage, coming out on a sedan, being fed grapes. Kinda wish it had been Slim Jims. Savage gets a huge pop, and I’m sad that he’s not actually wrestling tonight. Out next is Bobby Heenan, riding backwards on a camel, and looking absolutely terrified. Heenan complains that he was supposed to be the one on the sedan, with the virgins feeding him grapes. Alrighty then. With the commentators now gathered, we get the entrance of Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels, flanked by Luna Vachon in her WWF debut. Out next is Tatanka with a hatchet. Tatanka circles Michaels with the hatchet, as I fear we may see a murder live on PPV. Out to second Tatanka is Michaels’ former manager Sherri, as our opening match gets underway:

TATANKA DEF. SHAWN MICHAELS BY COUNT-OUT, WITH SHAWN RETAINING THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP:

Good way to kick off the show. Michaels was working very hard here, and Tatanka looked the best he ever had up to this point. The finish, of course, is definitely the elephant in the room. Obviously, the company didn’t want to end Tatanka’s winning streak too soon. At the same time, I guess they decided either that it was too soon to end Shawn’s reign as IC Champion, or they didn’t think Tatanka needed the belt. Either scenario begs the question of why the match was even set up in the first place, given the circumstances. On it’s own merits, however, the match was solid. ***.

Post-match, Luna jumps Sherri, but is scared away by the noble stereotype, who checks on Sherri, and helps her away from ringside. Afterwards, we cut to an interview conducted by Mean Gene, whose toga is thankfully much more modest than he had implied it to be. Mean Gene welcomes his guest, the Steiner Brothers. Scott cuts quite possibly the most coherent promo of his career, and Rick promises to make Julius Caesar proud. Cut back to the ring, as the Headshrinkers and Afa are already awaiting their opponents. Out next are The Steiners, as we get our next match:

THE STEINER BROTHERS DEF. THE HEADSHRINKERS BY PINFALL VIA FRANKENSTEINER:

Very fun, hard hitting match between these two teams. I actually liked this a little bit better than the opener, and, in fact, I’d go so far as to say this was one of the most underrated Wrestlemania matches I can think of, at least as far as ones that don’t really get talked much about. Just a solid tag team match, and a great follow-up to the opener. *** 1/4.

Cut back to Mean Gene and a statue of Caesar dressed up like Doink the Clown. Interesting. Mean Gene claims Doink desecrated the statue, and runs down Doink’s evil deeds, to which Doink laughs uproariously. I’m really loving Doink as these shows go on. Doink, in a heavy-handed instance of foreshadowing, warns that Crush may be seeing “double vision” by the end of the night. Out comes Crush for this grudge match. Out next is Doink, with an umbrella, for some reason. He really should’ve come out on a unicycle, or with some hyenas, or something. Doink squirts Crush with his flower, causing a chase to start the match:

DOINK THE CLOWN DEF. CRUSH BY PINFALL VIA PROSTHETIC ARM SHOT:

Kind of a standard, somewhat boring match, until the amazingly cartoonish finish, which saw a second Doink emerge with a prosthetic arm while the real Doink was about to be put in a Kona Crush. The two Doinks ganged up on Crush with the arm, did the Groucho Marx mirror gag, and both burst into laughter, before Doink pinned Crush. Enjoyably wacky finish to an otherwise forgettable match. * 3/4.

Post-match, another referee runs out and informs the ref of the second Doink. They check under the ring, to no avail. Cut to Todd Pettengill in the crowd, as he polls some Japanese cameramen about whether or not there were two Doinks. They babble about Yokozuna and laugh, much to Pettengill’s disappointment. Waste of time. Razor Ramon’s music hits, as The Bad Guy makes his way to the ring. Out next is Bob Backlund, for his very first Wrestlemania match.

RAZOR RAMON DEF. BOB BACKLUND BY PINFALL VIA INSIDE CRADLE:

Short, boring mismatch between these two. I’ve touched on Backlund being out of his element here, and I would point to this match as an example of why. Razor took all sorts of bumps for Backlund, and it didn’t really come off as believable. The finish didn’t really do either of them any favors, either. For what it’s worth, there were some pretty loud “Razor” chants at the beginning of the match, so make of that what you will. 3/4 *.

Back to Mean Gene, as he’s interviewing the Tag Team Champions, Money Inc. We get a look at how the feud between these two and the Mega-Maniacs all started. DiBiase says it’s time to put up or shut up, calling Las Vegas their backyard, and IRS threatens to take Beefcake’s protective mask and further injure his face. They also insinuate that Hulk Hogan’s conspicuous black eye here was caused by them, specifically that they paid some goons to rough him up coming out of the gym. Do they think I’m stupid or something? I’ve seen Hogan survive much worse bodily harm in Mr. Nanny. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Out come the champions for our co-main event. Out next are the Mega-Maniacs, and Hogan is sporting quite a nasty shiner, indeed.

MONEY INC. DEF. THE MEGA-MANIACS BY DQ TO RETAIN THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:

So, here was the finish: the referee was down. Beefcake and IRS were both down. They tagged in their respective partners, and Hogan used the facemask of Beefcake, which had been ripped off during the match, on the heels. Hogan and Beefcake then pinned their opponents at the same time. Jimmy Hart, who comes off as rather Scrappy Doo-ish in his newfound babyface role, then turned his jacket inside out to reveal zebra stripes, and counted the pin. Hogan and Beefcake, like colossal buffoons, celebrated with the tag team titles, as if that actually counted as a win, until a real referee came down and disqualified the Mega-Maniacs, probably for that bout of idiocy, to which Hogan and Beefcake were incredulous. What an awful finish to an otherwise average tag team match. Again, we must ask the question: why book a match, a title match no less, wherein the challenger cannot, under any circumstances, lose the match, when you have no intention of changing the belts? This was far worse than the Michaels/Tatanka deal. That one reeked of desperation. This one reeked of bullshit; they really couldn’t pin Beefcake? The man who went in with a known injury that could very well have been exploited? This was infuriating, but I can’t really slag the match too much. **. On a side note, it looks like Hogan won’t be leaving Wrestlemania IX with gold. Too bad he won’t be given another opportunity to win a title tonight, because I think he’d do it in record time.

Post-match, Jimmy Hart throws the ref out of the ring, and the Mega-Maniacs celebrate by opening up Money Inc’s briefcase and throwing money to the crowd. Ugh. We get another interview with Todd Pettengill, this time with Natalie Cole, daughter of the Jazz great Nat King Cole, and the CEO of Caesar’s Palace, Dan Reichartz. Neither of them really contribute much. We then get a Mean Gene interview with Mr. Perfect, ahead of his match with Lex Luger. Okerlund points out how many people Luger has knocked out with his forearm, including WWF Champion Bret Hart at a brunch earlier that day. Mr. Perfect stumbles a bit over his promo, and goes to the ring. Out first is Lex Luger, with his long posing routine, this time incorporating four mirrors with sparklers on them. Well, that’s new. Out next is Mr. Perfect to a huge reaction.

LEX LUGER DEF. MR. PERFECT BY PINFALL VIA BACKSLIDE:

Well, this was a little disappointing. I’ve generally enjoyed watching Mr. Perfect wrestle on some of these episodes of Raw so far, so I was expecting a solid match, even though I’m really not a fan of Luger’s work so far. For whatever reason, these two just didn’t click at all. I won’t lay the blame entirely on Lex; I just don’t think these two had a particularly good chemistry in this match. * 1/2.

Post-match, Luger hits Perfect with the forearm, knocking Perfect out. Shortly after, Perfect goes after Luger to the back. Finding Luger talking to Shawn Michaels, Perfect starts brawling with the Narcissist, until Michaels attacks him from behind. I guess he really doesn’t like having his conversations interrupted. Michaels continues the beatdown, until officials pull the two apart. Back to ringside, as Heenan and Savage argue about what they just saw, leading to Savage standing up threateningly to a huge pop. Man, it’s too bad Vince didn’t want him to wrestle at this time. Ross sends it to Gorilla Monsoon, as he hypes up Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez and Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, still to come. Giant Gonzalez is out next. Oh lord, no. Gonzalez is still wearing the stupid air-brushed muscle suit. They couldn’t give him tights, or a loincloth, or something other than that? Out next is The Undertaker, on a funeral chariot, with a vulture. If Taker did shoot interviews, I’d be very interested to hear if he had any problems with the bird. Speaking of problems, here comes this match!

THE UNDERTAKER DEF. GIANT GONZALEZ BY DQ:

Wowie, was this bad. If I had to choose between The Great Khali and Giant Gonzalez which one is a worse wrestler, I’d have to go with Gonzalez, if for no other reason than his selling. The dude sold like a shambling zombie most of the match, and his offense was just as putrid. The finish, which infamously featured Gonzalez use a chloroform-soaked rag on Taker, was just as insulting, as the list of awful finishes from this show continues to grow. Bad stuff. Probably the worst Streak match I’ve ever seen in my life. -**.

Post-match, a group of officials checked on Undertaker, which lead to Gonzalez chokeslamming one. Taker is stretchered out, as the crowd begins chanting for Hogan. Oh, you’ll have to wait a few minutes for him, folks. Suddenly, the gong rings, as Taker comes back out to Gonzalez’s dismay. Taker goes after him in the ring, as Paul Bearer attempts to restrain him. Gonzalez is then lead out by security, as Undertaker is announced as the winner by DQ. JR promises that the war between these two is far from over. Stick around, folks!

We go back to Mean Gene once again, as we see Yokozuna’s defeat of Jim Duggan, as well as a contract signing between Yoko and Bret, which ended with another Banzai Drop. Gene acknowledges that the odds-makers are betting on Yokozuna to win the match. Well, give them a prize. Gene then asks Hulk Hogan for his thoughts on the main event. Hogan rambles about Bret Hart, as well as his and Brutus Beefcake’s injuries at the hands of Money Inc. Hogan warns Bret to watch out for Yokozuna, as he assures him that he and his Hulkamaniacs are on his side. Hogan then issues a challenge to either Bret or “the Jap.” Lovely. Anyway, the challenge is laid out; the winner of the WWF Championship match tonight will face Hulk Hogan at some point. Perhaps before the show goes off the air, even. Gene then takes us to Todd Pettengill, who accosts some fans, including two frat boys who are probably having the time of their lives, getting to wear togas out in public, drinking beer, and watching some rather poor wrestling. Out first is Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji. Out next is the champion, as our main event begins.

YOKOZUNA DEF. BRET HART BY PINFALL VIA SALT TO WIN THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP:

Considering this was Yokozuna’s first major PPV match, I have to say, I did not think this was bad. There’s only so much these two can do with each other, and I feel like what they did was probably the best it could be. Bret’s certainly capable of better matches, but, for what it was, a pretty decent match. ** 1/2.

But wait, it’s not over yet! As soon as Yokozuna stands up, in comes Hulk Hogan, outraged at Bret’s title loss. Hogan checks on Bret, when Mr. Fuji grabs a mic and challenges Hogan to a match with Yokozuna. Uh-oh. Hogan is about to walk away with Bret, but he freezes when Fuji offers to put the WWF Title on the line. Bret tells Hogan to go for it, in a moment that he may or may not be bitter about today. Hogan, being the noble hero he is, accepts the challenge against the tired fat man, and here we go:

HULK HOGAN DEF. YOKOZUNA BY PINFALL VIA LEG DROP TO WIN THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP:

Essentially, Yoko tries to grab Hogan as soon he enters, trying to hold him back so Fuji can throw salt in the Hulkster’s eyes. Hogan ducks the salt, however, as it strikes Yokozuna. Hogan then takes down Fuji, hits Yokozuna with a clothesline not unlike his finisher in Japan, and nails the leg drop to score the quick victory. Many others have said it before, but, yeah, this left a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t know if this was the plan all along. If not, the question must be asked for the third time tonight, why make a title match where you don’t really want the challenger to become champion? They may not have ever had a heel walk out of Wrestlemania as champion before, but there’s different ways to send the crowd home happy. This reeked of desperation, much like the previous finishes. I should mention that this was the last WWF Title match for quite some time. The next title match would be Hogan dropping the title 70 days later at King of the Ring, but we’ll get to that when we get to it. Stupid, stupid stuff, but not really worth rating, to be honest.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I will concede that I’ve never seen the earliest Wrestlemanias, some of which may be worse than this show. I’ve also never seen Wrestlemania XI, which seems to go hand-in-hand with this show as among the worst Wrestlemanias. I have seen Wrestlemanias 27 and 32, which some consider to be among the worst. But of all the Manias I’ve seen, this was by far the worst. Bad finishes, bad matches, bad booking all around, and a headscratchingly strange aesthetic to the production made for a rather unenjoyable viewing experience. I will say, the first two matches are definitely worth seeing. Maybe even Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart, I suppose. But as a whole, I’d have to give this show a thumbs down. Watch it for historical purposes if you must, but be aware that a long stretch of tedium and boredom await you.

Well, that’s for all now. Stay tuned, as next time I go over a few changes I would’ve made to the card to improve it, even a little bit. Until next time.

#wwf #wwe #wrestlemania #wrestling #1993

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 3/22/93 Review

Well, this is it, everyone. The last episode of Raw before the big stinker itself: Wrestlemania 9! After sifting through weeks of Raw and watching the card come together, I’ve gotten it in my head that following my review of Wrestlemania IX, which shouldn’t be too much longer after this, I’ll be making a post with my ideas for improving the show. I’m usually not too fond of armchair booking, per se. I usually do it in terms of predicting where the booking might go and comparing it to my own predictions, but I just don’t have it in me to pull out booking ideas as a WhatCulture-esque “I could do it better” game. That said, Wrestlemania IX to this day has a reputation of being one of the worst, if not the single worst Wrestlemania of all time, and I think outside of large scale angles like The Invasion, would probably be a common target for rebooking. So, expect to see those two posts in the near future. But, for now, let’s get right into it; the go-home show for Wrestlemania!

Raw starts with the intro and goes right into introducing our commentators for the night, Savage, Bartlett, and McMahon. After Bartlett’s tedious imitation of McMahon last week, I’m weirdly relieved to see the genuine article here at ringside. We’re back at the Manhattan Center, as they run down the card, which reads like any other mediocre episode of Raw from this time. Excitement! The Bushwhackers music hits for what I believe is their debut on Raw. Already in the ring is the awesome tag team of Damien Demento and Repo Man. After some delay, the Bushwhackers are seen parading around the balcony. Back from the break, as the Bushwhackers are still in the crowd, albeit in the lower level. They climb in the ring, and one of them plants a kiss on the larger ring girl, who seems to be a recurring character on Raw.

THE BUSHWHACKERS DEF. DAMIEN DEMENTO AND REPO MAN BY PINFALL VIA BATTERING RAM:

Yuck. Awful, awful match. I’m aware of The Bushwhackers’ reputation as violent heels, but they were just abysmal here. Lots of biting, lots of deliberately missed spots, and just general goofiness that wasn’t even entertaining enough to laugh at. At least Demento and Repo Man tried. 1/4 *.

After the match, Vince speculates that we may be seeing more of The Bushwhackers in the future, which I take as a threat. After the break, out comes Tatanka, for what feels like his ten thousandth match in the Manhattan Center. He’s squaring off against Reno Riggins, a longtime jobber best known for his work in Memphis in the 90’s:

TATANKA DEF. RENO RIGGINS BY PINFALL VIA SAMOAN DROP:

Your usual Tatanka squash. I’m not sure if the crowd’s just getting jaded on Raw in general, but they were deathly silent for this match. Maybe it’s a condemnation of Tatanka, or maybe they’ve just seen it all at this point. I know I feel that way watching Tatanka on Raw.

After the match, Vince McMahon announces that a WWF Hall of Fame was recently formed, and the first inductee is none other than the recently deceased Andre the Giant. We get a nice video package highlighting Andre’s career in the WWF, officially signaling his induction. The story of Andre the Giant is absolutely extraordinary, and he’s honestly one of my favorite wrestlers to just read about. Classy tribute to the Eight Wonder of the World. After the break, out comes the Tag Team Champions Money Inc., as they get ready to face the team of Scott Rich and Jeff Armstrong. Before the match, IRS warns the crowd that the tax deadline is drawing near, advising them not to cheat on their taxes. I adore the one-track nature of IRS:

MONEY INC. DEF. SCOTT RICH AND JEFF ARMSTRONG BY PINFALL VIA CLOTHESLINE:

Short, one-sided squash. I was actually very distracted here, as they cut to Rob Bartlett switching through channels at ringside during the match. Well, that’s a nice idea to plant into the viewer’s head. Actually, if I were watching live, I would probably just stick with the program, just so I could be doing the opposite of Rob Bartlett. Have I mentioned he sucks lately? Because he does. He really, really does.

We get the last Wrestlemania IX Report, as they hammer home the big matches, as well as the thrilling “toga party” aspect of the event. Gosh, I wonder why people don’t look on this show so fondly. I should also mention that Mean Gene claimed his toga had less material than a piece of dental floss, so I would not be surprised if people were scared away from buying the show just from that one statement. After that, we get a plug for the main event, Kamala vs. Doink the Clown. Dear God. Out comes a newly afroed Doink, holding a present once again. Out next is Kamala with Reverend Slick:

KAMALA AND DOINK WRESTLED TO A DOUBLE COUNTOUT:

A sideshow main event that really didn’t do much to entertain. The finish came when Kamala started chasing Doink around the ring, until Doink offered him the present, which turned out to be empty. They awarded the match to Doink, I guess because he got in the ring first, but I believe both men were counted out at the same time, as they were both outside when the bell rang. Doesn’t matter much, the match sucked regardless. 1/2 *.

Post-match, Kamala chases Doink once again, but this time, Doink crawls under the ring. Kamala follows suit, but Doink emerges on the other side, steals Howard Finkel’s chair, and hits Kamala in the head with it as he tries to emerge. Holy shit, Doink the Clown is actually a pretty great heel. Kamala eventually emerges from another side of the ring, sneaks up behind Doink, and chases him to the back with the chair.

After a few commercials, we cut back to ringside, as the commentators are surrounded by 3 large ring girls. Vince McMahon announces Rob Bartlett as the winner of the 1993 Spam Eating Contest. I’m not going to touch that one. Vince refers to the ring girls as members of Bartlett’s fan club, possibly the sole members, one of whom proceeds to make out with Bartlett. Wow, if you thought Mauro Ranallo was mistreated, wait until you see this segment. It’s becoming more and more clear that they want Bartlett out with each passing week. The feeling is mutual on my end. They plug a USA Special that serves as the true go-home show to Wrestlemania, with Savage vs. Yokozuna, and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The Undertaker. That sounds awesome, but I don’t believe it’s up on the Network right now. I should probably just stick with Raw and PPV’s for now, anyways. Raw goes off the air with Savage denying Bartlett a handshake, and Vince plugging the Rob Bartlett fan club. Gripping stuff.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I thought that last week’s Raw was perhaps the worst episode I’d seen to date. I’d like to apologize for that hasty statement, as I now sincerely believe that this episode was even worse. I guess I can excuse the lack of proper build to Wrestlemania by acknowledging that they had a USA special a week before the show to do that. But that doesn’t excuse the half-assed matches and the insufferable Rob Bartlett segments. I was actually a little miffed that the Manhattan Center crowd was appearing to grow jaded, but now I think I get it. Week in and week out, meaningless squashes, half-hearted angles, and stupid comedy. Thumbs down for this miserable episode of Raw.

Up next, it’s a review that I’ve been personally anticipating for weeks now; Wrestlemania IX!

#wwf #wwe #raw #1993 #wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 3/15/93 Review

We start off with a shot of the crowd at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, as this is the first Raw to emanate from outside the Manhattan Center. We’re greeted by our commentators tonight, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and “Not Vince McMahon,” played by the incomparable, incompetent Rob Bartlett. Heenan insists that this really is Vince McMahon, as Bartlett bobs around like McMahon. Monsoon explains that a blizzard in the New York area has necessitated this shift in venues, and that “all the superstars who can be here will be here.” Time will tell what the depth of the talent here tonight will be, I suppose. Bobby Heenan plugs an interview tonight with Giant Gonzalez, which sounds like a laugh and half, and the match-ups of Bob Backlund vs. Papa Shango, and the Nasty Boys vs. the Headshrinkers is announced. Gorilla talks about how Vince will be accepting an award at a leukemia awards dinner, and we’re lead into the intro by a rather poor imitation of McMahon by, well, Not Vince McMahon. Following the intro, out comes Razor Ramon for our opening contest against a jobber.

RAZOR RAMON DEF. ROSS GREENBERG BY PINFALL VIA RAZOR’S EDGE:

Decent squash match that saw Razor humiliate the poor guy at one point by slapping him around. During the match, they announced that Razor would face Bob Backlund at Wrestlemania. Yikes. Rob Bartlett also continued doing his rather annoying Vince McMahon imitation, garbling his words and referring to random body parts as the *blank* area. He didn’t even say “what a maneuver,” or “damnit?” What a scrub.

After a commercial break, Typhoon is out next for his match with L.A. Gore. A more clever man than myself could probably think of something those initials stand for, so I won’t even try.

TYPHOON DEF. L.A. GORE BY PINFALL VIA BIG SPLASH:

Even shorter match than the first. Typhoon is not very good, and since I know we’re a few months away from the Shockmaster fiasco in WCW, I’m kind of wondering how much longer he stuck around here in the WWF. Maybe this is the last we’ll see of him for now.

Following the commercial, Bobby Heenan is seen arguing with a production member, as they cut to an ICOPRO and Hasbro commercial, before returning to a befuddled Heenan. Heenan welcomes the man who laid out The Undertaker, Giant Gonzalez. Out comes Gonzalez, with his David Cross lookalike manager, Harvey Wippleman. Wippleman brags about how great Giant Gonzalez is, and bemoans the fact that everyone he’s scheduled to face has backed out of fighting him. Heenan reminds Wippleman that Taker has threatened to put Gonzalez in a giant-sized coffin, and Wippleman scoffs, saying that when Gonzalez gets done with him, Taker will need a coffin for both himself and Paul Bearer. He and Heenan talk about how Wippleman could kick Paul Bearer’s ass, as Heenan then asks Gonzalez directly what his plans are for The Undertaker. A sweaty Gonzalez proclaims that he has a “giant surprise” for Undertaker. Oh my. Gonzalez poses in his dumb muscle suit as the interview concludes.

We get a vignette on Hulk Hogan’s return at Wrestlemania IX, while also plugging Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna. So they really were running with the co-main event idea, I guess. I wonder if they could find a way to blend the two together somehow? Cut back to the ring, as Papa Shango comes out for his match with Bob Backlund. I do not have a good feeling about this. Out next is Bob Backlund to a rather tame reaction, as this match gets underway:

BOB BACKLUND DEF. PAPA SHANGO BY PINFALL VIA SMALL PACKAGE:

Dull, dull stuff here. Finish saw Backlund pin Shango out of nowhere with the small package, after Shango had dominated most of the match. Shango’s no good, and Backlund is really starting to stick out like a sore thumb on a roster with guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Mr. Perfect, who could probably do a better job of putting this together. * 1/4.

We get a Wrestlemania Report with Mean Gene, who announces that the “world’s largest toga party” will be taking place at Wrestlemania. He claims that everyone, from Gorilla Monsoon, to himself, to the cameramen, will be wearing togas. This was a selling point? He plugs Hart vs. Yokozuna, as we get footage of Yoko putting a post-match beatdown on a jobber on Superstars. He also plugs Money Inc. vs. the Mega-Maniacs, as we get a promo from Money Inc. We get a promo from Undertaker and Paul Bearer regarding Taker’s match against Giant Gonzalez. Back from the break, as out come The Nasty Boys for the main event. They both plant a couple of passionate kisses on a larger ring girl, before The Headshrinkers make their way out:

THE NASTY BOYS AND THE HEADSHRINKERS FOUGHT TO A DOUBLE COUNTOUT:

Average tag team match that quickly broke down, and lead to the finish, which saw both teams brawl outside, towards a concession area, where they hit each other with stuff and sprayed mustard all over each other, as well. The crowd was really into this, even though it didn’t really have a proper conclusion. * 3/4.

After the match, we get a video package detailing all the charity work done by the WWF. After that, it’s back to ringside, as they plug Raw being back in the Manhattan Center next week, with Money Inc. in action, as well Doink the Clown vs. Kamala, and Tatanka and The Bushwackers. Raw ends with Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon threatening to make a snowman out of Bartlett.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Well, this was a bit of a tough one to sit through. As usual, the commentary was thrown off by the progressively insipid antics of Rob Bartlett, whose days are hopefully numbered behind the desk. It didn’t help that the in-ring action was subpar, even by the middling standards of your average Raw from this time period. At the very least, we got two new Wrestlemania matches announced, as The Steiners vs. The Headshrinkers was confirmed, along with Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund. Still, there’s really nothing to recommend from this show, and, in fact, there are a few things on here that I would probably avoid watching at any time. Skip this show by all means; even if you’re watching these in order for fun, I really can’t commend watching this show. Trust me, whatever you do with that one hour saved will be better than watching this.

#wwf #wwe #raw #pro wrestling #1993

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 3/8/93 Review

Raw starts with a Mega-Maniacs promo, as Hogan accepts Money Inc.’s challenge for Wrestlemania IX, with the Tag Team Titles on the line. Jimmy Hart gloats that he knows all of Money Inc.’s strengths and weaknesses as their former manager, while Brutus Beefcake talks about customizing his and Hogan’s motorcycles to accommodate the Tag Team Title belts. Sounds like a good way to damage those belts. I bet Stan Hansen would approve. Hogan claims that they’ve been training to the song “Getting to Know You,” from the “The King and I,” and Hogan teases a surprise for them, before they send it off to the Raw intro.

Post-intro, we go to ringside, where the commentators are gathered. Rob Bartlett is not in-character, but he does kind of look like Paul Heyman, as he’s wearing a black suit and a Wrestlemania IX baseball cap. Wonder where I can get one of those? Y’know, purely ironically. They go down the feature matches tonight, as we start off with Money Inc. vs. Virgil and Tito Santana. The latter two come out to the goofiest entrance theme I’ve ever heard, as someone holds up a sign that reads “Virgil-Loser.” Doesn’t quite pack the punch that “Wrestling Superstar” does, now does it? Out come the champions for this non-title match. Before the match begins, IRS says that the tax cheats in the audience will have to pay up, thanks to Mr. Clinton. Good to know:

MONEY INC. DEF. VIRGIL AND TITO SANTANA BY PINFALL VIA BACKDROP:

Totally fine tag team match that was at it’s best when Santana and DiBiase were in there. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. Still, not a bad match at all. **.

After the match, we’re shown Tatanka’s two non-title wins over Shawn Michaels, including in a six-man tag from Raw two weeks ago, leading into Tatanka’s title shot against Michaels at Wrestlemania IX. Vince talks about the match when, all of a sudden, out comes a man dressed like Hugh Hefner as a sea captain. We’re informed this man is Rick Martel, who faces Mr. Perfect later tonight. Martel ushers the ring girl out, taking her sign and parading with it as we go to commercial. Alrighty then. Back from commercial, and out comes Tatanka for his match against a rather pudgy jobber.

TATANKA DEF. PHIL APOLLO BY PINFALL VIA SAMOAN DROP:

Standard squash match. Tatanka looked a little more agile then he had in past matches. During the match, Shawn Michaels called in to talk about their match. The sound quality was much better than his last one, but I believe he said “I’ve got news for you” no less than 80 times. Good segment to build to their Wrestlemania match-up.

Cut to a Wrestlemania Report, as Mean Gene confirms the tag team match between Money Inc. and the Mega-Maniacs for the Tag Team Titles, calling it one half of a “double main event.” I think they were really banking on Hulk Hogan’s return match leading to more buyrates. For what it’s worth, the buyrate was higher than the previous two Wrestlemania numbers, but not one to write home about, either. We then get promos from both Bret Hart and Yokozuna ahead of their WWF Title match. We then get some hype for the Undertaker/Giant Gonzalez match, as Taker and Paul Bearer cut a spooky promo. Back to the ring, as Rick Martel accosts another ring girl and steals her sign. Am I in “Groundhog’s Day” or something? Vince plugs a Papa Shango match when we return from commercial. Oh, goodie. Out comes the wacky voodoo man, as we get our next match-up:

PAPA SHANGO DEF. MIKE EDWARDS BY PINFALL VIA SHOULDERBREAKER:

Standard squash match here. It amazes me that this was just the first of many tries to get Charles Wright over under a wacky gimmick. Thankfully, they found one that stuck with him, because he’s not all that good in the ring.

After a commercial, we get right into another match, as out comes Bob Backlund in his ring jacket, with no entrance music. Rob Bartlett refers to Backlund as “Opie Taylor,” which is a great way to make your white bread veteran who hasn’t changed his look in over a decade look like a total dweeb. Right as I type this, someone in the crowd holds up a “Bob Backlund is a dork” sign, which just shows perception is key.

BOB BACKLUND DEF TONY DEMORO BY PINFALL VIA DOUBLE UNDERHOOK SUPLEX:

Just a showcase for Backlund’s technical prowess. The problem with Backlund is that the comeback storyline can only do so much for someone with as little personality as Backlund usually displays. Even the jobber he beat showed more charisma then Backlund, and while some people were very supportive of Backlund, there were also quite a few people just sitting there in silence, which is not a good sign.

Cut to backstage, as Bartlett interviews Rick Martel. Martel runs down Bartlett’s fashion sense and talks about how he has class and no one else does. He then promises to show Mr. Perfect that he’s the best wrestler there is. After commercial, out comes the Model for the main event. Out next is Mr. Perfect, as this battle of two former AWA World Champions commences:

MR. PERFECT DEF. RICK MARTEL BY PINFALL VIA PERFECTPLEX:

Long, somewhat dull match that started to pick up a bit near the end. The match actually went through two commercial breaks, with the finish occurring during a commercial break. * 3/4.

Post-match, Mr. Perfect leads the two ring girls who Martel scared away out to the ring and poses with them on his arms. They plug Razor Ramon, Kamala, and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon for next week’s episode of Raw. The latter two do not appear to occur, by the way. Raw goes off the air with Mr. Perfect holding the ropes open for the ring girls to exit from.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I don’t know how many more times I’m going to have to summarize Raw as a “middle of the road show,” but I hope that changes soon. Don’t get me wrong, the show has definitely had worse episodes, but outside of rare occasions, like Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake both reappearing on Raw, it seems like the highlights of these last few shows has been seeing the build-up to Wrestlemania, and every now and then a decent match that doesn’t really exceed expectations. I guess to summarize, Raw has felt very redundant for a few episodes, and I’m hoping that it picks up soon.

#raw #wwf #wwe #pro wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 3/1/93 Review

We get a cold open for Raw, as WWF Champion Bret Hart’s music hits. In the ring is Fatu of the Headshrinkers with Afa of the Wild Samoans as his second. Out comes the champion, as we’re welcomed by our commentators, Vince McMahon, Randy Savage… and Elvis. Yes, Rob Bartlett is calling this match “in character.” I use the phrase loosely, because most of his dialogue consists of him asking questions and responding with “wow, man” when given an answer. This is the kind of thing that would get laughed out of a high school drama class, and it’s on a show that’s supposed to be cutting edge. He’s also dressed as Elvis, so I’m just praying to God it doesn’t last this entire show.

WWF CHAMPION BRET HART DEF. FATU TO RETAIN THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP BY SUBMISSION VIA SHARPSHOOTER:

Fun opening match that saw Fatu dominate the Hitman, thanks mainly to the help of Afa and his Headshrinkers partner Samu, until Bret was able to turn it around, incapacitate all 3 men, and get Fatu in the Sharpshooter for the quick submission. Not the greatest Bret Hart match you’ll see, but an enjoyable one, and one that saw the future Rikishi put on an impressive performance as the monster heel. ** 3/4.

Back to ringside as McMahon sends us to the Wrestlemania report, but not before subjecting us to Elvis eating a hot dog and popcorn live on camera. Anyways, Mean Gene informs us that Money Inc. challenged the newly formed Mega-Maniacs to a match for Wrestlemania, one which the Maniacs have yet to respond to. He also informs us that a limited number of seats are available, although I believe they were still giving out a few tickets the day of the show. He runs down the card so far, and announces Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka for the Intercontinental Championship, and Mr. Perfect vs. Lex Luger. Lastly, Mean Gene throws some shade at Randy Savage’s gear, and we get a weird exchange between them. It’s off to commercial, as they plug Doink the Clown vs. Koko B. Ware. Back from commercial, we get an interview from Crush, live in Hawaii. He complains how cold the temperature is at 75 degrees, before threatening to crush Doink’s head like a coconut at Wrestlemania. Out comes Doink to a shockingly loud reaction. Like I said, it was only a matter of time before Doink was turned face. And ruined. Doink comes out with a wrapped present, and offers it to fans at ringside before pulling it away. Dick move there, Doink. Out next is Koko B. Ware, as we get our next match:

DOINK THE CLOWN DEF. KOKO B. WARE BY SUBMISSION VIA STUMP PULLER:

Quick match that saw Doink apply various submissions and work over the leg, leading to the finish.

Post-match, Elvis invites Doink to ringside, as Doink brings the package along with him. Elvis babbles about the circus and eating, before Doink reveals what’s in the box; a tiny pie in it’s own little tin. With Elvis distracted, Doink then pulls out a full-sized pie and throws it in Elvis’ face. Elvis doesn’t seem too upset by this. What a strange episode this has been. Vince plugs an interview with Money Inc. as we get thrown to commercials.

Back from break, as Vince McMahon welcomes the Tag Team Champions to the ring. Ted DiBiase starts by bringing up an article about James Robinson, the former head of American Express who had recently been forced to step down at the time. He bemoans the measly $730,000 a year in retirement money that will be given to him, as well as over a million dollars in severance pay and a 3.5 million dollar non-compete payment. He then gets on topic, as he thanks Hulk Hogan for taking Jimmy Hart away from them and points out that Hogan’s been in Hollywood for almost a year, insinuating that he’s gone soft. IRS is then asked about his attack on Brutus Beefcake, as IRS calls it a wake-up call, and threatens to do it to Hulk Hogan as well. He then lifts up his briefcase, or “beefcase” as he calls it, revealing a picture of Hogan taped to the side. DiBiase asks the crowd if they should put their titles on the line against the Maniacs at Wrestlemania and makes the challenge official for the tag team titles. We get a commercial, and out comes Lex Luger for his match against PJ Walker, better known as Justin Credible. Elvis comments that he enjoys seeing Luger “make his boobies dance.” Anyway, on to the match.

LEX LUGER DEF. PJ WALKER BY PINFALL VIA FOREARM SMASH:

Boring squash that saw Luger pin Walker with his pinky. During the match, Bobby Heenan called in, weirdly insisting that Elvis was really George Steinbrenner, former owner of the Yankees.

Following the match, Luger brings Walker up to a mirror at ringside and run down his physique before posing. Luger has not exactly been a beacon of entertainment since his debut. We get a plug for The Steiner Brothers in action up next as we head to commercial. Back from the break, as the Steiners come out for the last match of the evening. They also announce that the Steiners will face the Headshrinkers at Wrestlemania IX.

THE STEINER BROTHERS DEF. DUANE GILL AND BARRY HARDY BY PINFALL VIA FRANKENSTEINER:

Another fun squash, with the Steiners continuing to look impressive.

We cut to ringside one last time as Vince McMahon thanks Elvis for joining them, and invites him back next week. Dear God, no. Vince plugs Money Inc. vs. Virgil and Tito Santana, and Mr. Perfect vs. Rick Martel for next week’s episode as Raw goes off the air with Savage throwing a bucket of popcorn at Elvis.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was far from the worst episode of Raw I’ve seen. The opening and closing matches were both enjoyable, and the Money Inc. interview was pretty decent. Even Rob Bartlett’s Elvis imitation just kind of became part of the background after a while, though Bartlett is definitely wearing thinner and thinner each week. Unfortunately, there’s really nothing must-see on this episode. On the flipside, there’s nothing that stands out as terrible, either. Overall, a pretty middle of the road episode of Raw, one that’s not worth going out of your way to see, but one I wouldn’t warn you from watching either.

#wwf #wwe #raw #pro wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 2/22/93 Review

Raw starts off with a most unpleasant sight, as Rob Bartlett welcomes us. At least he shaved off that stupid-looking mustache. Bartlett welcomes us to Raw, as the “Hogan” chants are already underway.

Following the intro, we’re welcomed by the commentators, as they run down the show. Savage confirms that Hogan will be on the show, and Bartlett announces that Undertaker will also be here. Wow, what a stacked night. We get the “Bam Bam!” music, as Bam Bam Bigelow comes out to face Scott Taylor, the future Scotty 2 Hotty.

BAM BAM BIGELOW DEF. SCOTT TAYLOR BY PINFALL VIA DIVING HEADBUTT:

Quick encounter that could actually make for a wacky trivia note. I mean, Bam Bam Bigelow wrestling Scotty 2 Hotty in 1993? Kinda out there. I’d also be remiss if I did not point out that during the match, Rob Bartlett treated us to his best imitation of Curly from the Three Stooges. Of course, despite being his best, it was completely pointless and embarrassing. Such is life for young Mr. Bartlett.

We cut to a pre-recorded interview, as Vince McMahon is sitting down with Hulk Hogan, decked out in an ICOPRO t-shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. The man knows fashion. Vince asks Hogan what the future of Hulkamania is, as Hogan explains that watching his Hulkamaniacs carry on without him has inspired him. He then briefly touches on the steroid scandal, without actually using the word, and tackles what he calls the “tabloid terrorism” that he feels has permeated society. He kind of rambles on about how being a Hulkamaniac is good, and adds a fifth demandment for Hulkamaniacs: believe in Hulk Hogan. Well, he may be a self-absorbed pathological liar, but at least he’s fun to listen to.

Back to the ring, as the Beverly Brothers are already there. Their partner, the Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels is out next, with his now classic rendition of “Sexy Boy” making it’s debut as his entrance theme. Out next are The Nasty Boys, followed by Tatanka, as this six-man tag team match gets underway:

TATANKA AND THE NASTY BOYS DEF. SHAWN MICHAELS AND THE BEVERLY BROTHERS BY PINFALL VIA VICTORY ROLL:

Decent tag match that actually got a surprising amount of time, going through a commercial break at one point. Finish saw The Nastys clear the ring of the Beverlys, with Shawn looking to work over Tatanka, until Tatanka surprised him with the victory roll for the pin. Tatanka now has 2 wins over Michaels heading into their Intercontinental Title match at Wrestlemania IX. ** 1/4.

After a commercial for Wrestlemania, we cut back to the ringside as the commentators discuss Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna in the main event. Vince then sends us outside to Sean Mooney, standing with a crowd of people clamoring for Hulk Hogan’s return tonight. It’s back to commercial, as they plug Crush vs. Terry Taylor next. Back to action, as Crush makes his way out for his match with Taylor, who’s waiting in the ring.

CRUSH DEF. TERRY TAYLOR BY SUBMISSION VIA KONA CLUTCH:

Short match that showcased Crush en route to his grudge match with Doink the Clown. Seems like a weird combination of words at the end there. I should also note that Vince McMahon made an off-handed remark about Hulk Hogan possibly being appointed by Bill Clinton as head of the physical fitness department, which leads to another Shitty Rob Bartlett Imitation ©, as he pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, outraged at Hulk supposedly taking his job. I don’t care what anyone says; the fact that Vince McMahon not only employed this man on his brand-new TV show, but also sat by his side each week indicates that he has a kindness in his heart wasted on this dipshit.

We get a replay from last week of the attack on Brutus Beefcake at the hands of Money Inc. This leads into the next segment, a live interview with Hulk Hogan. Hogan comes out to a rousing ovation, as the interview is underway. Hogan plays to the crowd for a bit, before condemning the actions of Money Inc. Hogan lets everyone know that Brutus Beefcake is alright, but Hogan is still incensed by the attack. He express his gratitude towards two people: God, and Jimmy Hart, who stood up to his clients last week and prevented a second attack. Hogan confirms he’s back in the WWF, with his first order of business being to take revenge on Money Inc. Hogan then welcomes out Brutus Beefcake, whose nose is bandaged from his attack the previous week. Beefcake says last week’s attack was a wake-up call. He also thanks God and Jimmy Hart, and Hogan brings Hart out as his new manager. Jimmy calls this a dream come true, and states that he believes Beefcake and Hogan will go down as the greatest tag team of all time. Swing and a miss there, bud. Hart says every morning, he’ll eat his vitamins, and he advises Money Inc. to start saying their prayers. Hulk Hogan coins the group the Mega-Maniacs, and asks Jimmy Hart to get them matches with IRS and Ted DiBiase to conclude the interview. Hogan rips his shirt off as we go to commercial.

Back from commercials, as The Undertaker makes his entrance to a nice reaction. In the ring is his opponent, Skinner, as the next match starts, but does not conclude. No, seriously. They go to commercial once again, and the show ends with the two on the outside, as Vince McMahon promises the result next week, as well as a WWF Title match between Bret Hart and one of the Headshrinkers, and that’s it for Raw. Methinks the interview may have gone a little long.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Well, this was certainly a milestone episode. The show was obviously centered around the returning Hogan who, for all his negative qualities, is definitely an engaging promo. I’m not sure how well this Mega-Maniacs thing is going to pan out, but it seemed to get over with the crowd, which is a plus. As far as in-ring action goes, the six-man tag team match is alright, but not one you need to go out of your way to see. Overall, I’d probably give this episode a mild recommendation. Hogan came off as probably the biggest star there’s been on Raw thus far, and I’d say that adds a little to the appeal of this episode.

#wwf #wwe #raw #pro wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 2/15/93 Review

Hello, everyone. Before getting started with the review, I should acknowledge that I didn’t really rate any of the matches from last week’s Raw. That’s because, in all honesty, pretty much all of them were either squashes, or just showcase matches that really don’t warrant a rating. In the future, I’m thinking that as far as Raw matches go, the ones that are either built up, given ample time, or even both, will be the ones that I’ll go out of my way to rate. As an example from tonight’s show, given that it’s the main event featuring two relatively high-level names that stemmed from last week’s show, Brutus Beefcake vs. Ted DiBiase will be given a rating, but Yokozuna vs. random jobber will not. Also, I don’t think I’ll be rating battle royales in the future, as I feel they’re sort of in their own category. With that out of the way, let’s get to the review!

Raw opens up with Brutus Beefcake promising to show Ted DiBiase that he’s ready to be back in action. Ted DiBiase promises to take out Beefcake tonight, as Jimmy Hart once again tries to talk him out of it. Is the Mouth of the South going soft on us?

Cut to ringside as Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and It run down the show for tonight. Randy Savage is fairly confident that Brutus Beefcake will prevail tonight, as he has the unstoppable duo of God and Hulk Hogan watching over him tonight. I never realized just how dogmatic Hulkamania could be. Then again, he is always telling us to say our prayers. Vince McMahon briefly teases Fartknocker McDumstache entering the battle royal tonight, but he says he doesn’t want to soil his suit. That works fine for me; I don’t want him soiling this show. Anyway, out come the Steiner Brothers for their tag team match against Glenn Ruth and Bobby Who, the former of whom would later find success as Headbanger Thrasher in the Attitude Era.

THE STEINER BROTHERS DEF. GLEN RUTH AND BOBBY WHO BY PINFALL VIA AIDED BULLDOG:

Short, simple tag team match. I haven’t seen any of the Steiner Brothers’ work from New Japan or WCW, so I’m sure I’m missing out greatly, but they’ve really impressed me in watching through 1993 thus far. During the match, Randy Savage’s microphone went out, but, weirdly, his voice could still be heard, almost as if through a filter or something.

We get a Wrestlemania Report, as one of the worst-regarded Wrestlemania cards in history is starting to take shape. Tickets are apparently still on sale at this point, which doesn’t seem like a good sign to me. The main event is slated to be Bret Hart defending the WWF Championship against Yokozuna, should he remain champion (spoiler: he did.) They also confirm Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez. Hoo boy. Lastly, it’s Doink the Clown vs. Crush. Yeah, this is not much of a barnburner they’re selling here. After the report, we’re back to the ring, where some Japanese women with flowers have assembled. Out comes Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji, for his squash of the week.

YOKOZUNA DEF. ROSS GREENBERG BY PINFALL VIA BONZAI DROP:

Just another Yokozuna squash match. I have to say, Yokozuna has also been impressing me, as he does what little he’s able to very well. It would probably easier to take Yokozuna more seriously if a certain dipshit radio guy on commentary didn’t joke about his ass and eating people every week, but small steps. During the match, they recap how Jim Duggan knocked Yokozuna off his feet, but ended up being defeated by the 500 pound Samoan sumo. Also, during the post-match, Savage got fed up of waiting for a new mic, so he just stole Bartlett’s instead. Yay!

We get another report, this time from Lord Alfred Hayes, recapping the match with Jim Duggan and Yokozuna. Duggan did, in fact, knock Yoko off his feet, to a huge pop, but then started celebrating with the flag. In the hubbub, Yoko tossed a bucketful of salt in Duggan’s face, before hitting a pair of Bonzai Drops, with the second one occurring with an American flag draped over Duggan’s face. Yeah, I’m sure that went over well. We then get a short promo from Mr. Fuji, while Yokozuna shouts “yosh!” I can see why they ended up bringing Jim Cornette in.

Back to ringside, as Vince tells us that the participants of the 16-man battle royale threatened to back out of the match after hearing Giant Gonzalez would be in it. Thus, Gonzalez will not be in the match. We get another clip from Superstars, as Giant Gonzalez manhandles noted jobber Louie Spicolli in a 3-on-1 handicap match, causing Spicolli’s partners to run away in terror with him. Gonzalez is sort of getting exposed here, but whatever. After a series of commercials, it’s on to the battle royale!

RAZOR RAMON WON THE 16-MAN BATTLE ROYALE:

During the match, Kamala and his former handler Kim Chee were participants, with Chee avoiding Kamala until he was on the verge of elimination. After helping to eliminate the Ugandan Giant alongside Typhoon, Chee was then attacked and eliminated by Kamala, who ended up chasing him throughout the building. Match itself was kind of a clusterfuck, though not an unenjoyable one, until Giant Gonzalez staggered out to the ring and tossed Tatanka and Tito Santana out of the ring, giving Razor the victory. Whatever they need to do to build up to that circus of a match with Undertaker, I guess.

After commercial, we get Ted DiBiase entering the ring, alongside Jimmy Hart. Out next is Brutus Beefcake, to a respectful ovation, as he gets ready for his first match in years:

BRUTUS BEEFCAKE DEF. TED DIBIASE BY DQ AFTER IRS INTERFERED:

Short match that saw Beefcake dominate DiBiase for the majority of the match, while avoiding shots to his surgically repaired face. After a few minutes, IRS ended up hitting ringside with his briefcase, which he whacked Beefcake in the back with for the DQ. Not much to it. * 1/4.

Post-match, Money Inc. does a beatdown on Beefcake, before setting him up to get in the face with the briefcase. Jimmy Hart tries to intervene, but IRS shoves him aside and hits Beefcake square in the face with it. Hart checks on Beefcake, as the heels prepare to hit Beefcake once again with the briefcase. Jimmy Hart stands up to them, however, and they leave the ring cackling. Beefcake, who’s been holding his face since getting hit, is then stretchered out, as a shot of the blood-stained mat is shown. After a commercial interruption, we get word from backstage that Beefcake is doing ok. No major damage, other than “a broken nose, or whatever.” Uh-huh. McMahon confirms Money Inc. will be back on the next episode of Raw, and teases that Hulk Hogan may come back to avenge his friend. They also confirm 6 man tag match with Tatanka and the Nasty Boys teaming up to face Shawn Michaels and the Beverly Brothers, as Raw goes off the air.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I’d say this show was something of a mixed bag. None of it was particularly bad, and, in fact, I actually enjoyed the main event angle, as well as the battle royale, save the wacky finish with Gonzalez. The first half of the show, however, doesn’t really rise above being more than standard Raw fare for the time. If you were to watch this show, I’d say it would be wise to just skip the first 20 minutes or so, and check out the battle royale and main event. A better show than last week’s, at least, and it feels like things are starting to pick up as we get closer to Wrestlemania IX.

#wwf #wwe #raw #pro wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 2/1/93 Review

Raw starts off with the opening sequence, followed by some stereotypical war cries. That can only mean Tatanka! Already in the ring is Damien Demento, whose greatest feats so far are losing to Undertaker in the main event of the first Raw, and being in the 1993 Royal Rumble. Thus begins our opening match:

TATANKA DEF. DAMIEN DEMENTO BY PINFALL VIA SAMOAN DROP:

Very standard TV match that’s really not worth rating. Tatanka looked perfectly fine here, and was fairly over. Demento had the Baron Corbin gimmick of talking incessantly throughout the match, and I believe one thing he kept mumbling was “the Indian will suffer.” Yikes. I should also point out that near the end of the match, there were some noticeable “we want Flair” chants. Oh, those New Yorkers and their wacky little chants.

We cut to a clip from a Madison Square Garden house show the previous Friday, done for the “Headlock on Hunger” promotion. WWF Champion Bret Hart is seen carrying a comically large check made out to the Red Cross to the ring and presenting on behalf of everyone in the WWF.

Cut to the ring, as Vince McMahon introduces “one of the all-time greats in the WWF, Brutus Beefcake.” The generosity of that description is staggering, but the people are very supportive of Beefcake, making his in-ring return after having his facial skeleton devastated in a parasailing accident. Beefcake announces his intent to return to in-ring action. Vince expresses his concern due to Beefcake having his face reconstructed, a very valid concern, at that. Beefcake explains that before his accident, his parents had died within a short time of each other, and his wife had divorced him. Then the accident happened. Beefcake claims he was at the end of his rope, when his best friend Hulk Hogan reached out to him. Beefcake describes how Hogan was there during his surgery, and even while he was getting his bandages removed. Beefcake credits Hogan with inspiring his comeback, and says he’ll take on all comers. A decent interview segment here. I’m not really sure how much of it was authentic and how much of it was kayfabe, but Beefcake’s delivery was pretty convincing, and people seemed to react positively to Hogan being mentioned.

We’re back to the ring where a couple of big hosses are on the apron and a ring girl is walking about holding a sign that says “Raw and Order,” and “Steak tartare is Raw.” Growing pains, everyone. Out comes Koko B. Ware and Owen Hart, High Energy, for this tag team match.

HIGH ENERGY DEF. SKULL VON KRUSH AND “IRON” MIKE SHARPE BY PINFALL VIA AIDED DROPKICK:

Short match that showcased High Energy’s, well, high energy. I think this may have been one of their last matches as a team, however, as Cagematch.Net lists their last match being at a house show against the Headshrinkers in early March.

Back to ringside, as Vince plugs our feature match-up, Typhoon vs. Doink the Clown. Thrilling. We get a clip of Doink hitting Crush with a prosthetic arm, which caused him to miss out on the Royal Rumble match, though Vince says he will return sometime in the next few weeks. Out first is Doink, and I’ve got to say, I love his scary circus heel theme song. Out next is Typhoon, as we get to our feature match.

DOINK THE CLOWN DEF. TYPHOON BY PINFALL VIA FLYING CLOTHESLINE AND PULLING THE TIGHTS:

Pretty one-sided match in Doink’s favor. Amusingly, people are starting to cheer Doink, and I’m sure in turning him face, the WWF wouldn’t do anything too cartoonish and ridiculo….

Well, so much for that. No cool heel Doink for those guys.

We get a commercial for WWF Mania, and a plug by noted dweeb Todd Pettengill, who advertise Giant Gonzalez will be on the show. Back to the ring, as Howard Finkel mentions the recent passing of Andre the Giant. A 10-bell salute starts, as various pictures of Andre throughout his career are shown. I believe this was one of the first 10-bell salutes done on TV. A classy move by the company who would later go on to honor Andre by making him the first member of the Hall of Fame, among other tributes. After a few commercials, Royal Rumble winner Yokozuna comes out for his match against Bobby DeVito.

YOKOZUNA DEF. BOBBY DEVITO BY PINFALL VIA BONZAI DROP:

Very short match that saw Yoko bounce around the poor guy. During the match, they did the insufferable phone call gimmick mid-match, with Jim Duggan calling in to discuss his upcoming match with Yokozuna. Duggan, who at times sounded like a drunk Barney Rubble, repeatedly referred to his opponent as “Yakazuma,” and kept cutting in and out, promising to knock Yakazuma off his feet. I really hope they drop this stupid-ass call-in idea very soon, as the quality of these call-ins is not something that reflects well on what’s supposed to be a cutting edge new wrestling show.

Vince McMahon welcomes the WWF Tag Team Champions, Money Inc. to ringside. DiBiase runs down Brutus Beefcake for putting out an open challenge, as he and IRS flip a coin to decide who will face the Barber. DiBiase wins the coin flip, and out comes their manager Jimmy Hart, wearing a sweet airbrushed jacket. Jimmy chastises them for wasting their time on Beefcake, but DiBiase dismisses his concerns, and promises to reinjure Beefcake, saying he knows just where to target him. IRS then cuts a promo on how Beefcake is no better than the crowd for not paying his taxes due to his doctor’s bills. I really do love the one-dimensional, tax-based promos from IRS, and I’m already begging for another one next week. Jimmy leads them to the back, as it seems there’s trouble in paradise for Money Inc.

Back to the ring, as a large ring is set up in the middle of the ring. Lex Luger comes out and poses in front of the mirror. Oh, cool. I guess the WBF is back. For some reason, a rather large ring girl enters the ring, and Lex starts pitching a fit. Back from commercial, and Luger is continuing to scream. We get a vignette with Steve Jordan, a former tight-end from my Minnesota Vikings. Jordan introduces us to the “perfect passer,” Mr. Perfect, who throws some passes, including one which he ends up catching himself. We get back to action, as Luger takes on Jason Knight, better known as simply Jason in ECW.

LEX LUGER DEF. JASON KNIGHT BY PINFALL VIA LARIAT AND PINKY:

Yes, Luger does in fact pin Knight with just his pinky after a very short match. During the match, they announced that Brutus Beefcake vs. Ted DiBiase has been made official for the following episode of Raw.

Post-match, Luger does a short Giant Swing on an unconscious Knight. Back from commercial, as Vince reminds us that Raw will not air on February 8th due to the pressing matter of the Westminster Dog Show. Oh yeah, I forgot that was ever a thing. Vince plugs a 16-man battle royal and DiBiase vs. Beefcake for the February 15th episode of Raw, and teases Rob Bartlett, who’s been bitching about getting a nickname and an action figure throughout the show, as an entrant. Dear God, no.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

When the feature attraction of this show is Doink the Clown vs. Typhoon, there’s really not much to expect here. Amazingly, they managed to fit 5 matches and two interview segments in here, but the show doesn’t really amount to much on it’s own. The one thing worth checking out might be the Brutus Beefcake promo, as he did have some pretty good delivery, and did lead to the Hulkster’s brief 93 run in the WWF. Otherwise, I’d recommend skipping this show.

#wwf #wwe #wrestling #raw

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Raw 1/25/93 Review

Raw starts off with Sean Mooney standing on the outside of the venue, waiting for the Repo Man. Repo pulls up in a tow truck and says tonight, he’ll repossess Randy Savage’s career, just like he repossessed his hat. Maybe it was his manic energy, or his face mask, but part of me expected to hear Repo Man just start screaming “robble robble” into the mic and take off to the nearest McDonald’s.

We get the opening video for Raw, and we are greeted inside the Manhattan Center by Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and professional wet fart Rob Bartlett. They run down the show tonight, including the main event of Ric Flair vs. Mr. Perfect, with the loser leaving the WWF. Out comes the Repo Man, Macho’s hat in his hands. As he plays to the crowd, Savage attacks him from behind, and Bartlett treats us to a shitty Macho Man imitation. Well, it’s not actually that bad, but I’m really not in the mood to hear anything coming from Bartlett’s mouth.

RANDY SAVAGE DEF. REPO MAN BY PINFALL VIA ELBOW DROP TO WIN HIS HAT BACK, I GUESS:

Totally fine TV match that saw both competitors go back and forth, with Repo getting the heat a few times before falling victim to the elbow drop. After the match, Savage dumped Repo Man to the outside and teased hitting another elbow drop before reclaiming his hat. **.

After returning from commercial, we get a promo for Wrestlemania IX, proudly proclaiming that they’ll be emanating from an elite casino in a rising entertainment capital. They fail to mention, of course, that the show will actually emanate from said casino’s parking lot, but why get caught up in details? Kamala makes his way to the ring for a match with the Brooklyn Brawler, who’s already in there.

KAMALA DEF. BROOKLYN BRAWLER BY PINFALL VIA BIG SPLASH:

Just a standard squash match. They did this weird thing where I guess Kamala forgot how to pin someone, so he hit the splash and kept rolling poor Brooklyn Brawler around until he finally got it right. Not really worth rating, in all honesty. Reverend Slick, who accompanied Kamala to ringside, thanks the people for opening their heart to Kamala, saying that in return, Kamala will open their heart to them. He warns Kim Chee and Harvey Whippleman to stay away from Kamala, lest he eat them or something.

We get a Royal Rumble Report with Mean Gene, who recaps all the happenings from the PPV, as he confirms that Yokozuna will face the WWF Champion with the title on the line at Wrestlemania. An IcoPro commercial with Bret Hart is then shown, and I wonder why it is they never show these guys actually taking the supplements in the commercials. That gets followed up with an always classic Slim Jim commercial with Macho Man, who I miss more and more as I watch these shows. Finally, it’s main event time, as Ric Flair makes his way to the ring for this Loser Leaves Town match. We’re only 23 minutes in to a 44 minute broadcast, folks. Out next is Mr. Perfect, and this match is on.

MR. PERFECT DEF. RIC FLAIR IN A LOSER LEAVES TOWN MATCH BY PINFALL VIA PERFECT-PLEX:

Fantastic match that went nearly 20 minutes and saw Mr. Perfect busted open about halfway through. What, Flair’s last match in the WWF for 9 years, and he’s not the one who bleeds? Just an exciting affair that saw both men go from mat work, to brawling, to everything in between. Flair played the cheating heel to Perfect’s defiant babyface, and it resulted in perhaps the first great match in Raw history. ****.

Heenan is belligerent as Mr. Perfect celebrates his victory. Raw goes off the air as Vince McMahon plugs Typhoon vs. Doink the Clown for next week’s episode of Raw. Oh, fun.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

There’s really only one big talking point from this show, and it’s one well worth talking about. In an era where on any given week, guys like Seth Rollins, AJ Styles and others can go out and have an excellent match in the midst of a 3 hours, Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair might not seem all that special. But the fact that it was a significantly longer match than most other matches on WWF TV at the time, and of a quality one would expect from a PPV bout makes this match stand out as an historical main event. I would strongly recommend checking this match out, even if it means sitting through the first half of the show (although they’re kind enough to give you time markers to avoid that). Even Rob Bartlett was on his best behavior, and hardly said a word throughout the main event. Overall, it’s hard to not give a show like this one a thumbs-up.

Tune in next time as we get into February of 1993, with February 1st edition of Raw.

#wwf #wwe #raw #wrestling

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scheduledfor1fall · 7 years

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Royal Rumble 1993 Review

Hello, everyone. After a (very) prolonged absence from the blog, I’ve finally decided to go back to reviewing some old WWE Network content, continuing from where I left off in 1993. I’ll be sticking with the more accessible, shorter reviews of matches, with an addition of personal star ratings. I should note that given the various styles of wrestling out there, even those seen in WWE, there really isn’t meant to be a thorough consistency to my ratings across all matches. For instance, I may genuinely enjoy Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit from the 2003 Royal Rumble more than I would Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio from Halloween Havoc 1997, and still give them both 5 stars. Ratings, in my mind, are not only subjective to an individual’s tastes, but also relative to the match. It may seem like my ratings are more similar in style to someone like Roger Ebert, who made no secret that his 4 star rated movie reviews were relative to the movie itself, rather than Dave Meltzer, who I believe rated Omega vs. Okada from WrestleKingdom 6 stars due to his belief that rating it 5 stars would be equivalent to saying the match was on par with a match like John Cena vs. CM Punk from Money in the Bank 2011. With all that out of the way, let’s get on with the review of the 1993 Royal Rumble!

Right of the bat, we start with a shot the crowd, live in Sacramento, California, and are welcomed by Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. I’m very grateful they stuck with these two for PPV commentary, as opposed to the peanut gallery on Raw. Out come the Beverly Brothers to signal our opening contest, and my god, do they have some of the most gaudy purple capes I’ve ever seen in my life. Out next are the Steiner Brothers, and, as always, I get a chuckle out of seeing a young Scott Steiner. I’ve got to say, if nothing else, the Big Poppa Pump look definitely made him look like more of a standout attraction.

RICK AND SCOTT STEINER DEF. BLAKE AND BEAU BEVERLY BY PINFALL VIA FRANKENSTEINER:

Not a blowaway match or anything like that. Just a perfectly decent showcase match for the Steiners, who did a great job of playing both dominant faces and faces in peril. The Beverlys did a perfectly good job of playing the underhanded heels, and this made for a fine start to the show. I should also note that after the match, they did a replay entitled “The Brain Scan,” which came off as a really low-rent John Madden analysis by Heenan, complete with some of the worst chalk marking you’ll see this side of a hopscotch game. I mean, it was funny, but not something I’d probably put on PPV. ** 1/2 stars.

We go to a video package detailing Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty’s history with each other, starting from their time as the Rockers, to the infamous Barbershop segment, all the way to Jannetty’s return, which sees him accidentally break a mirror over Sherri’s head. Sherri comes out first to a pretty lukewarm reaction. You’d think people would feel more sympathy for a woman who had a fucking mirror broken over her skull. She’ll be in a neutral corner for this match. Out next is Marty Jannetty, to the old Rockers song. Shawn’s out next to the so bad it’s good version of “Sexy Boy,” as sung by Sherri. I’d be remiss if I did not point out the powder blue strap Michaels has on the IC title. Better than yellow, I suppose, but still pretty icky.

SHAWN MICHAELS DEF. MARTY JANNETTY BY PINFALL VIA HIGH HEEL SHOT AND SWEET CHIN MUSIC TO RETAIN THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE:

Really good stuff here. The story of the match was Michaels working over the injured left shoulder of Jannetty, until the tides turned once Sherri slapped Michaels across the face. From there Jannetty kept throwing different moves Michaels’ way, with Michaels kicking out of each one. The finish came when Michaels elbowed the referee, allowing Sherri to intervene once again, attempting to hit Michaels with her heel while Jannetty restrained him with a full nelson. Cue Michaels ducking the hit, much like he did with the mirror, followed by a Sweet Chin Music for the win. These two would go on to have better matches than this one, and obviously Shawn’s best days were yet to come at this point. But for a follow-up match to an angle filmed a year prior, this holds up as a pretty fun match. *** 3/4 stars.

After the match, we see Mean Gene try to interview a distraught Sherri, which includes him shouting at her “Damn it! Sherri, you are hysterical!” The more I see of Mean Gene, the less I see him as a kind uncle type, and more of a drunk, mad at the world uncle type. Michaels shows up to confront Sherri, but is attacked by Jannetty from behind, causing a pull-apart fight between the two. What was the immediate follow-up to this, you may wonder? If you guessed “Jannetty gets fired due to drug/alcohol problems,” give yourself a pat on the back, because that is exactly what happened. Supposedly, he was released due to rumors stating that he was under the influence during the match. Jannetty for his part blames Michaels for starting the rumor, while an Observer from the time points out that Jannetty had been on probation for an arrest the month prior, making the decision to fire him easier. In any case, this would not be the last match between these two, nor would it be the last time Jannetty was fired shortly after his return.

We cut to Heenan and Monsoon doing their “belligerent old men arguing at a family reunion” routine over what we’ve just seen, and then to the next entrance, as Bam Bam Bigelow comes out. Out next is Big Boss Man, as we get ready for our clash of the hosses here.

BAM BAM BIGELOW DEF. BIG BOSS MAN BY PINFALL VIA DIVING HEADBUTT.

On paper, this match sounds rather promising. Many people are aware of how gifted Bam Bam Bigelow was as an athlete, and Big Boss Man is probably just a notch below him in terms of talented big men in the business. Unfortunately, whatever expectations I had were dashed by this match. For one, Boss Man did not look like he was at his physical best here. Just in the way he moved and sold, it seemed like he was probably a bit out of shape at this point. At one point, Boss Man landed on the outside, supposedly hurting his back, which lead to several segments of heat based around Bam Bam working over Boss Man’s back with various holds and headbutts. These parts of the match were really dull, and unfortunately made up a good chunk of the match. At another point in their careers, this match may have been slightly better, but Boss Man was just not at his peak here, and it lead to a dull affair. * 1/4.

We get a clip of Razor Ramon attacking Owen Hart backstage, leading up to his WWF Title match against Bret Hart here tonight. We then get an interview from the previous night from him, during which he promises to add Bret’s gold to his own collection, referring to his jewelry. Amusingly, there’s a Kings game going on in the background, as this was recorded in the arena the day before. A quick Google search shows that they beat my Minnesota Timberwolves that day. God, does it suck to try and follow basketball as a Minnesotan. We get the introductions as Ramon comes out to some impressive heat. We then get an interview with Mean Gene talking to Bret. Bret promises to defend his family’s honor and make Razor pay for what he’s done. Bret’s out next to a pretty big reaction. They show Stu and Helen Hart at ringside, and I kind of wonder how many times the WWF flew them out for these shows. Guess we’ll see as we progress through the years.

BRET HART DEF. RAZOR RAMON BY SUBMISSION VIA SHARPSHOOTER TO RETAIN THE WWF TITLE:

Fun, well-paced match here, that saw Razor work over the ribcage of Bret and overpower him with his height advantage, while Bret tried to wear him down, culminating in an awesome exchange which saw Bret go for an unsuccessful Victory Roll type move, only to turn it into the Sharpshooter for the win. Probably not really on the level of some of Hall’s best matches, and certainly not Bret’s, but a fun, often overlooked title match nonetheless. *** 1/2.

Cut to Bobby Heenan standing in front of a black curtain, preparing to unveil Narcissus to the world. I hate to sound like a dick, but every time Heenan says “Narcissus,” his lisp seems to render it “Narthiththith,” which I found to be kind of amusing. Anyway, the curtain is cast aside, and we get… Lex Luger! Luger basically does the Chris Masters kneeling routine, before posing in front of a huge tri-mirror, all while Heenan gives him a pep talk. Heenan name drops Mr. Perfect, before Luger cuts a promo about how he plans to make the other wrestlers bow down to him, including Mr. Perfect. This Narcissist gimmick is pretty much death, and the crowd seemed to agree, as they made very little noise during this segment, even when his name was revealed. I could make a joke here about Vince McMahon or the WBF, but I’ll take the high road on this and just say that this boring, shambling segment could be a sign of things to come with Luger down the road.

Howard Finkel introduces “Caesar and Cleopatra,” a tie-in to the upcoming Wrestlemania IX PPV at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Boy, wait until we get to that one. The Caesar guy invites us to join them at Wrestlemania, and reminds us that the Rumble winner will get a shot at Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IX. The guy was actually not that bad, but Jesus, did this come off as corny. Back to Howard Finkel, as we get our first entrant, Ric Flair! Heenan reminds us that Flair had won the Rumble the previous year by coming in at #3. #2 is Bob Backlund, to a very tepid reaction.

YOKOZUNA WON THE 1993 ROYAL RUMBLE TO EARN A WWF CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA IX:

Some quick notes throughout the match:

-Backlund ended up setting the longevity record at 1 Hour, 1 Minute, and 10 Seconds, a record that stood until I believe 2004, when Chris Benoit broke it en route to winning the match. At first, Backlund came off like an antiquated, goofy old babyface, especially compared to Ric Flair, with whom he started the match. As time went on, however, the crowd seemed to be genuinely behind Backlund, cheering every time he escaped elimination, and booing loudly when he was eliminated near the end of the Rumble. Backlund’s success as a babyface in this era was dubious at best, but he deserves a lot of credit for getting a reaction despite lying there most of the match.

-Jerry Lawler made what I believe was his in-ring debut in the WWF by entering this match at #7. He would eliminate Max Moon, before being eliminated himself by Mr. Perfect.

-Genichiro Tenryu, who had wrestled at Wrestlemania VII, and was the owner of SWS, a Japanese wrestling promotion which would occasionally co-promote with WWF, made the first of his two Royal Rumble appearances here.

-Giant Gonzalez, best known for his insane height of 7’7, debuted here, eliminating The Undertaker, despite not being a participant in the Rumble himself. I suppose this was a pretty par for the course mid 90’s “Undertaker feuds with and slays the giant” feud starter, but it came off as pretty silly, thanks in part to Gonzalez’s stupid air-brushed muscle and hair bodysuit. I’m not saying he should have been put in a loincloth or anything like that, but was there anything wrong with the athletic shorts he wore in WCW? Why the hair? Why any of this?

-Carlos Colon, the father of Carlito and Primo, as well as the uncle of Epico, appeared here, and, yes, Gorilla Monsoon did indeed refer to him as a “youngster.” Seeing as Colon was approaching 45 by this point, I would assume Monsoon was being facetious, but WWE.Com also refers to him as a youngster in the description of a clip of him in the Rumble. I suppose compared to Monsoon himself, or even the work of Michelangelo, Carlos Colon probably would qualify as a youngster.

-The finish saw Yokozuna missing a running splash into the corner on Savage, causing him to fall. Savage then followed up with an elbow drop before inexplicably going for a pinfall on Yoko. Yoko then tossed him over the top rope to win the match and become the first man to earn a shot at the WWF Champion at Wrestlemania by virtue of winning the Rumble. Caesar and Cleopatra returned to congratulate Yoko, and I honestly think it would’ve been funny if he just leg-dropped Caesar right there.

Though it accomplished the task of making Yokozuna look like a world-beater deserving of the main event at Wrestlemania, this had to be one of the dullest Rumbles I can recall seeing. A lot of laying around, goofy characters and relatively unknown guest stars made for a pretty hit and miss match. I’m not really sure I can give this a star rating, but it would probably be on the lower end of the spectrum if I had to.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

It’s tough for me to dismiss this entire show. After all, both title matches delivered in their own ways, and the opener was decent enough. But as a whole, the show felt like just a very middle of the road production; nothing to condemn too harshly, but nothing that I can really stand up and say “go out of your way to see this immediately.” As good as Michaels vs. Jannetty was, they’ve truthfully had better matches, and there are certainly better Bret Hart matches from this time. Overall, if you’re going through and watching every Royal Rumble, or every show from 93 like I am, it’s not all that bad. But for casual viewing purposes, this would probably be a show worth skipping.

That’s it for now. Next time, we’ll delve into the first Raw review on the blog in over a year and a half. Will it be enjoyable? Will the build to Wrestlemania continue? Who will win the loser leaves town match- Mr. Perfect or Ric Flair? Will Rob Bartlett be an annoying dipshit? Stick around to find out the answers to these questions, and many more.

#wwf #wwe #1993 #wrestling #royal rumble

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scheduledfor1fall · 8 years

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putting in your two weeks notice like

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scheduledfor1fall · 9 years

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Retro Raw Review: The Repo Man Cometh. 1/18/1993

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another installment of the Retro Raw Review! Last week, we saw the debut of Raw, including the likes of Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, The Undertaker, and professional shitlord Rob Bartlett. This week, we’ve been promised Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect in action in two separate matches, and an interview with then WWF Champion Bret Hart. So, without further ado, let’s do the timewarp again, and sink our teeth into the uncut, uncooked, uncensored thrill ride known as Monday Night Raw!

Raw opens without an intro, as we see our commentators, Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Rob Bartlett at ringside. Savage is wearing the dopest jacket I think I’ve ever seen in my life, while Bartlett is wearing sunglasses indoors, the mark of a true douche. He holds up a picture of Bobby Heenan and says “fight the real enemy,” as he tears it to pieces. Uncomfortable, to say the least. Suddenly, Randy Savage is attacked from behind by a an odd Hamburglar-like figure known as the Repo Man. Repo takes Savage’s hat, because, I don’t know, Savage didn’t pay the mandatory headwear tax, or something. A few fans chant “Repo,” as the other commentators help Savage to his feet. And now, we get the wacky opening. Better late than never, I guess. Generic music plays as we come back, and out comes the former Red Rooster, Terry Taylor. Savage, we’re informed, has left his position at commentary to track down Repo Man. Out next is Mr. Perfect. Fun fact: the gimmick of Mr. Perfect was supposed to go to Taylor, but he turned it down, and it went to Curt Hennig instead. Why he declined that gimmick and not the Red Rooster, I’ll never know. Also, I seem to remember this match was advertised last week as Perfect vs. Papa Shango. Guess it’s not too big a loss, though.

MR. PERFECT DEFEATS TERRY TAYLOR BY PINFALL AFTER THE PERFECT PLEX.

This match was a great deal of fun. I’m amazed at how well Perfect worked as a face, considering he was usually a heel in his WWF career, and Taylor did a good job in this match, as well. A couple of things of note happened during this match. First of all, Savage came back, a little disgruntled at not finding Repo Man. Second, Bobby Heenan called in to the show, and it wasn’t a bad Rob Bartlett imitation, either. They actually had his voice. He insulted Bartlett and generally heeled it up. Lastly, throughout the match, there were fans chanting “We want Flair,” since he and Perfect were in a feud, I suppose. They end up getting their wish, as Flair comes out in the middle of the match, and assaults Perfect while the ref’s back is turned. A lot going on, but still a pretty solid segment. As a side note, I believe this match marked Vince’s first ever “What a maneuver” on Raw, as he called a spinebuster by Terry Taylor. History, right there.

After the match, we get a few commercials, including a short ICOPRO commercial with Bret Hart, and a Slim Jim commercial with Randy Savage.

We come back to Vince McMahon in the ring. He asks us to welcome his guest, the WWF Champion, Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Much like last week’s interview with Razor Ramon, I’m amazed to see how young Bret looks here. Bret expresses his disgust towards Razor for targeting his family, calling Razor scum, which causes a few people to boo. Bret promises that at the Royal Rumble, he will be showing Razor a less technical side of him, and that he will beat him down. Bret’s greatest strength is admittedly not his interview skills, but this promo he cut was alright. I’m actually sort of looking forward to seeing his match with Razor at the Royal Rumble. More on that in the next installment.

We cut to a promo for Headlock on Hunger featuring Paul Bearer and The Undertaker, with Taker saying no one should starve to death. Y’know, it’s really odd to see such a serious and grim topic as starvation in Somalia being discussed by a fat mortician and a cowboy zombie, but their heart is in the right place. Savage plugs the MSG show for the charity, as we get another match. Marty Jannetty makes his way to the ring, as we cut to a commercial. When we come back, the match is in progress.

MARTY JANNETTY DEFEATS GLEN RUTH BY PINFALL AFTER THE ROCKER DROPPER.

A pretty standard jobber match. During the match, Shawn Michaels called in to talk about his match with Jannetty at the Royal Rumble. I don’t know how many people reading this have ever watched CatDog, but he kind of sounded like that mentally challenged member of the Greasers from that show when he talked over the phone. Other than that, this match really didn’t do much for me.

We get a commercial for the Royal Rumble, which segues into a replay of Doink the Clown attacking Crush with a fake arm from WWF Superstars. Vince calls Doink an “alleged clown,” which kind of bothers me, because Doink really is a clown. His name is Doink the fucking Clown. I don’t know why this upset me so much, but it did. We then get a plug for WWF Mania, which they bill as being 100% caffeine free. OK, then. Vince then takes it Sean Mooney outside the building. I’d like to think they made him stand there for a week until tonight. Mooney interviews Repo Man, who puts on Savage’s hat. Sadly, no one can pull of those hats, except for Savage, and Jay Lethal to a lesser extent. Repo Man claims Savage was late on the payments to his hat, so I guess I was half-right. Repo Man threatens to take out Savage again, and the two verbally spar, as we cut to the Royal Rumble report, hosted by Gene Okerlund.

Okerlund plugs the Royal Rumble PPV, including the WWF title match. We get a brief interview from Razor Ramon, as he promises to capture the title from Bret Hart. Okerlund plugs the competitors thus far, which are The Undertaker, The Berzerker, IRS, Yokozuna, Mr. Perfect, Typhoon, Repo Man, Ric Flair, Papa Shango, and Ted DiBiase. He then goes over the Michaels/Jannetty match for the Intercontinental Championship, with Sherri in one of their corners. This was pretty fun, and a pretty good idea, actually. If there’s anyone who can get away with such blatant shilling, it’s Mean Gene Okerlund.

Vince welcomes us back, and takes us back to Sean Mooney, as Randy Savage runs around in his garish attire looking for Repo Man. If it were almost any other city, Savage’s appearance would probably be mocked, but it’s New York City, so he gets a free pass. We then get an entrance from “El Matador” Tito Santana. Out next is Ric Flair, with Savage rejoining the commentary as we get our main event for the evening.

RIC FLAIR VS. TITO SANTANA WENT TO A NO-CONTEST WHEN MR. PERFECT ATTACKED FLAIR.

A very fun match that ended somewhat abruptly when Mr. Perfect and Flair started brawling on the outside. Not as long as the opening match, but, in my opinion, it was actually a little better. During the match, Vince confirmed on commentary that Savage and Repo would meet on the next episode of Raw. Yippee.

We come back from commercial, as the brawl continues. Flair eventually makes his way to the commentators, as he commandeers Vince’s microphone, challenging Perfect to a Loser Leaves Town match for the next week’s Raw. Mr. Perfect comes out as Flair exits, and accepts the challenge. Raw goes off the air, as Repo Man tows Rob Bartlett’s car, which he’d been worried about all night. Sometimes, bad things happen to bad comedians.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

A lot of why I enjoyed last week’s show was the novelty of it. After all, it was the first-ever episode of Raw. That said, I really feel like this show was just a little better; There seemed to be more of a focus, which was to not only build up the Royal Rumble, but also the following episode of Raw. I’m not really sure how I feel about all the Repo Man segments. I thought they were a little goofy, but, that aside, there wasn’t much to dislike about this show. Even Rob Bartlett was particularly mellow compared to his embarrassing antics from the previous week. The solid performances from Flair and Perfect certainly helped the flow of the show. Overall, a solid go-home show for the PPV, and a slightly improved Raw from the first episode.

#wwf #wwe #wrestling #raw #ric flair #bret hart #90s #1993 #randy savage

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scheduledfor1fall · 9 years

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Retro Raw Review: The very first episode, 1/11/1993

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the very first Retro Review of Monday Night Raw, where I look back at every episode of Raw starting from the very beginning here. A couple things to note quickly: First of all, I’ve decided to change the review style up a little bit. Before, I would recap most of the moves done in matches, and most of what was said in promos and vignettes. For an easier reading experience, I’m going to keep these recaps to a minimum, and give you the gist of what happens. Next, in addition to old episodes of Raw, I’ll also be reviewing the PPV’s they lead up to. So, for instance, with the first episode of Raw airing in January 1993, I’ll also be reviewing the Royal Rumble PPV from that year in chronological order. I’m not sure yet how this will affect the 2001 PPV review series I was working on, but, since there’s few Raws posted from that year, I probably won’t give it much priority for the moment. Anyways, enjoy the review, and prepare to get taken back to the very first episode of Monday Night Raw!

We’re greeted with a shot of New York City, and a welcome from resident WWF dweeb interviewer, Sean Mooney. Mooney is outside the Manhattan Center, where the first episode of Raw is being held. Eventually, Bobby Heenan walks up to the door, but is stopped by Mooney, who informs Heenan he’s been replaced as a commentator by Rob Bartlett. Who’s Rob Bartlett, you ask? Just you wait. Heenan wants to buy a ticket, but Mooney says they’re sold out. The two argue as we get the very first Monday Night Raw introduction. Everything about it, from the wacky music, to the flashing graphics, just screams 90‘s.

We’re greeted by Vince McMahon to Monday Night Raw, as a siren blares (?) and the crowd is on their feet. McMahon is joined on commentary by Macho Man Randy Savage, and, of course, Rob Bartlett. All you really need to know about Bartlett is that his Wikipedia page describes him as a comedian twice, both times using quotation marks. Ouch. He’s also an “impressionist.” A bad one at that, as we’ll see later on. Why he was on the announce team, I have no idea, but we’ll roll with it. Vince plugs a match with the Steiner Brothers, and an interview with Razor Ramon for later that night. Rob Bartlett is excited for Koko B. Ware vs. Yokozuma. No, that’s not a spelling error, that’s actually what he called Yokozuna. He obnoxiously talks about Yokozuna’s “diaper,” before he’s mercifully interrupted by Savage, who plugs Damien Demento vs. The Undertaker for that night. Koko B. Ware comes out for the opening match, sans parrot, sadly. Out next is Yokozuma, who Bartlett refers to as a “big-butted Oriental.” Moving on, then.

YOKOZUNA W/MR. FUJI DEFEATS KOKO B. WARE BY PINFALL

Basically a squash match, with Yokozuna pushing Koko around, and hitting a Bonzai Drop for the pin. Yokozuna doesn’t often get credit for how agile he was, considering his enormous size, and he was also not too terrible of a worker, either. Certainly leagues above Giant Gonzalez or Great Khali. Ware did a fine job putting Yokozuna over here, and this made for a pretty fun start to the show.

We get a commercial for the 1993 Royal Rumble, which will feature a WWF Championship match between the Champion, Bret Hart, and the challenger, Razor Ramon. After that, it’s back to the show, as a girl walks around the ring holding a Raw sign, like a ring girl in boxing. Vince then throws us to a pretape featuring Bobby Heenan about the soon to debut Narcissus. Heenan taunts Mr. Perfect, saying Narcissus is even more perfect than him, and promises to unveil him at the Royal Rumble. The bell rings, as the Steiner Brothers come to the ring, with their opponents, the Executioners, already in the ring. It’s so weird seeing Scott Steiner before his Big Poppa Pump gimmick.

THE STEINER BROTHERS DEFEAT THE EXECUTIONERS BY PINFALL

Scott ends up getting the pin with a team Bulldog on one of the Executioners in a pretty basic tag team match. The main thing going on in this match was that Doink the Clown, who Bartlett called “Dork the Clown”, was running around in the crowd. I’m not entirely sure why, but this was fine for what it was.

We then get another segment with Sean Mooney outside the building. Apparently, security has detained a woman claiming to be Rob Bartlett’s aunt outside the building. She’s, of course, revealed to be Bobby Heenan in drag. Heenan begs to be let in the building, and, up next, it’s an interview with Razor Ramon.

We come back from commercial, as Razor enters the ring. Again, it’s so odd to see Scott Hall looking so young. He looks as if this was himself from 32 years ago, instead of 22. Vince McMahon, acting as interviewer, asks Ramon if he’s ready to face Bret Hart at the Royal Rumble for the WWF Championship. Razor basically says yes, and Vince points out that Razor has only just debuted, while Bret Hart has been around for almost 9 years. Razor promises to win the title after only 8 months in the company, and Vince asks him why he injured Bret’s brother, Owen Hart. We get a replay of the attack, as Razor says squashing Owen like a “caca-roach” was fun, and that there’s nothing Bret can do about it. Razor closes by threatening to take Bret’s title away from him. A pretty good interview segment, though it’s weird to hear Hall speaking with that fake Cuban accent.

Savage then plugs a Madison Square Garden house show for the Somalia Relief Fund, as we cut away to a Tatanka interview about the Headlock on Hunger charity. After that, it’s back to the ring for an Intercontinental Title Match. The challenger, Max Moon, is out first. I’m not sure, but I don’t think this was Konnan portraying him. Out next is the Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels, with his slightly grating theme song sung by Sherri Martel.

SHAWN MICHAELS DEFEATS MAX MOON BY PINFALL TO RETAIN THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Shawn got the win with a Superkick and a Belly to Back suplex in a good match-up. This got quite a bit of time compared to the rest of the show, and even went through a commercial break. That’s the good news. The bad news is there was a bit of goofiness involving Doink the Clown again, this time showing up by the entrance ramp and ringside. Right as this was going on, Vince suddenly informed us that WWF President Jack Tunney had attempted to pardon Mike Tyson for, well, rape, and that Tyson was live on the phone to commentate Raw. Tyson wasn’t, in fact, and we were treated to a poor, nasally rendition of Tyson’s voice by Rob Bartlett, who’s proving to be less than worthless in his role here, thus far. When Randy Savage has to say out loud “That’s Mike Tyson” during the imitation, the imitation is probably not very good. It’s too bad this all had to happen during this match, because this was pretty fun otherwise.

After a commercial for WWF Mania, we get a Royal Rumble report with the one and only Mean Gene Okerlund. This was actually a pretty cool feature, as we got to see what the matches were, and even some interviews from participants in them.

We then cut to Sean Mooney again, this time showing a line of people waiting to get tickets for the next Raw show. A vaguely Jewish looking man with a beard walks up, claiming to be the uncle of Rob Bartlett. You know what that means. Heenan is unmasked again, as a woman in line looks disgusted and shakes her head. You know what would have been awesome is if they hired someone who looked like Bobby Heenan in a disguise to go in and get turned away, only to show Heenan entering in the same shot. Maybe it’s just me, but that would be hilarious. Vince plugs tickets for the next few Raws. We then get a recap showing Kamala turning face on Superstars by saving Reverend Slick. After that, it cuts to the ring, where Damien Demento is in the ring awaiting The Undertaker, who comes to the ring with Paul Bearer.

THE UNDERTAKER W/PAUL BEARER DEFEATS DAMIEN DEMENTO BY PINFALL

Though decidedly not as good as the HBK match, this was still pretty decent by Undertaker vs. random Hoss standards. As a plus, the fans were definitely into Undertaker, maybe more so than any other wrestler on tonight’s show. Vince also plugs Mr. Perfect vs. Papa Shango, Ric Flair vs. El Matador, and an interview with Bret Hart for next week’s Raw. He also says Mia Farrow will face Woody Allen in a Steel Cage match, and they even put up a graphic for it. Something tells me they might not follow through on that one.

We then cut to Vince interviewing Doink the Clown about how he likes to make children cry instead of laugh. I’ve got to admit, that’s kind of a funny gimmick. Crush then comes out to confront Doink, and threatens to cripple Doink. There’s then a chase that ends with Crush getting in the ring, and Doink refusing to get in. It’s then back outside, as Bobby Heenan is finally allowed into the building to conclude Raw.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It’s definitely a different kind of Wrestling TV show then I’m used to. The wrestling was largely good, and the segments with Bobby Heenan were actually pretty funny. That said, the show is not without problems, and Rob Bartlett is definitely high on that list. The dude just does not give a shit about wrestling, and seems intent on getting himself over with stupid jokes and imitations. Vince and Savage are better, but they don’t often contribute to the actual match in progress itself, instead choosing to humor Rob. The stuff with Doink also ate up some time, and I definitely didn’t need to see him three times on the same show. That said, the show itself was only an hour long, which is much easier to digest then a three hour Raw, and the good mostly outweighs the bad on here. I’d definitely recommend watching this show, if nothing else for historical purposes. There’s no matches I’d go out of my way to watch again, but watching the very first episode of a now 1000+ episode show was definitely an eye-opening experience on how the business has changed in the past few decades.

#raw #wwf #wwe #undertaker #shawn michaels #randy savage #1993 #90s #wrestling

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