WWE SummerSlam 92'

WWE SummerSlam 92'

London, England - August 1992

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, "The Macho Man" Randy Savage was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Bret Hart was the Intercontinental Champion, and the WWE Tag Team Championships were held by the Natural Disasters. 

I've probably been SummerSlam 92' a half-dozen times over the years, but I've never reviewed it, so here goes...

Right out of the gate, I'm giving this a Network Nugget of Awesomeness point for the pre-show video package just because there's a young British boy who declares that the British Bulldog will be winning the main event tonight...whether he likes it or not! Obviously, the Bulldog would very much like to win tonight's match, but I'm sure this set off a light bulb in a young Vince Russo's mind to come up with a wacky stipulation match in which both guys were trying to lose. (+1)

The in-ring action kicks off with The Legion of Doom vs. Money Inc. The Road Warriors' entrance into Wembley is an awesome moment. Some good selling out of Hawk at times (despite him reportedly being super fucked up on Placidyls) and the crowd is hot for the LOD, but this is not my cup of tea. Among Road Warrior superfans, this match has something of a reputation as it was the last appearance of Hawk and Animal in the WWE for several years and supposedly caused their year-long split. I read one review that says that Hawk botched the finish, but I'm curious if DiBiase and Shyster just didn't want to take the Doomsday Device considering Hawk's level of inebriation and their own age. This goes 12 minutes but feels closer to 20 because of the lengthy heel heat segment. Oh, and the Legion of Doom had a ventriloquist dummy as a mascot at this point for no apparent reason. Not as bad some reviewers make it out to be - this is your basic tag match and Money Inc. know enough underhanded tactics to give the match structure - but certainly not anywhere close to the level of the tag openers that teams like the Rockers and the Orient Express had put on in the years before this. (2/5)

Backstage, Ric Flair plays up the mystery over which corner Mr. Perfect will be in during the WWE Championship match. I've always been curious why Flair didn't compete on this show. It really seems like he would've had some natural opponents in Roddy Piper (a guy that would've gotten quite a response at Wembley), Sid (if he was still around), even someone like Tito Santana could've made sense...

Nailz squashes Virgil in the next bout in under 5 minutes. By this point, Virgil was a glorified jobber, but he was a passionate one and could still get sympathy and cheers from the general WWE audience of 1992. Nailz, on the other hand, was a newcomer with a decidely short shelf-life as his gimmick really only made sense matched up against Big Bossman. Nailz dominates, looking like an absolute monster in the process. I also liked his finisher at the end as it looked legitimately dangerous. I know its faint praise and this match did not belong on any sort of pay-per-view, but this wasn't boring, didn't overstay its welcome, and was designed to get Nailz over as much as possible. (1.5/5)

Rick Martel vs. Shawn Michaels was next. I really liked the story that built to this as it was a rare heel/heel match as both villains were essentially competing for The Sensational Sherri, who was Michaels' manager but had also been a little flirty with Rick Martel in the weeks building up to this match. The crowd was into this, though, because the performances carried the story and there was also an underlying generational clash going on as Martel was the crafty veteran and Michaels was the cocky young star. Because of this dynamic, Martel is able to slide into a pseudo-face role and the audience is game for it. Lots of good mirror work. Lots of good - admittedly hokey - "fake-outs" where one guy seems like he's going to break the No Hitting In The Face rule. There's a silly sequence in which their rolling pin attempts lead to both guys mooning the packed stadium. The finish is wonderful too, though I'm not sure I understand the referee not DQing Michaels the minute he decks Martel in the face. Sherri fakes a fainting and Michaels and Martel fight over her till they get to the back until Martel realizes that he's been getting played. I don't recall if Martel turned face after this, but I don't think so - if I'm not mistaken he ended up feuding with Tatanka - which would've been difficult for him as he was so good at getting heat and the crowd loathed his arrogant Model gimmick. This is a fun match more than a great match, but back then, both were sort of rarities as the WWE's in-ring action often leaned heavily into boring restholds and muscle freaks who got gassed after 3 minutes. (3/5)

After some words from the Nasty Boys, The Natural Disasters defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Beverly Brothers. This was better than the LOD/Money Inc. match, though its not some hidden classic or anything. The Brothers are better bumpers and sellers at this point than Money Inc. were and the Disasters were natural monsters. This has a very straight-forward story, but its not boring like the opener, which felt considerably longer and dragged at times. (2.5/5)

Crush vs. The Repo Man follows. This was pretty bad. Crush didn't have much charisma, though his booking in 92' makes it clear that Vince thought he could be a big deal. At 4 minutes, this doesn't overstay its welcome, but there's nothing interesting about it. At least Nailz had that cool chokehold finish and Virgil was charismatic in his own way. (0.5/5)

The WWE Championship is on the line in the next match as Randy Savage defends against The Ultimate Warrior. Their match at WrestleMania VII is rightfully considered a classic and arguably the best match of Warrior's entire career, but this one gets less consideration. The storyline isn't as good and there's no big emotional ending, but the dynamic is different and special for its time as it wasn't super often that you'd have a big Face vs. Face match with the company's top heels, Perfect and Flair, on the periphery. I was surprised at how much better this match was than I remembered it being. The first 2/3rds, before Perfect and Flair show up and things get a bit overstuffed with "swerves" and ref bumps, are a really strong back-and-forth between two guys with great chemistry. There's a reason Savage is considered such a good worker and it is fully on display here as he does a fantastic job threading the needle between heel and face work, doing whatever it takes to win but stopping short of outright cheating or cutting corners. They don't mention it on commentary, but, at one point, he refuses to take a count-out victory and, if you're familiar with their Mania match, it almost feels like a callback to Warrior's victory there as Savage doesn't just want to retain the gold, he wants to prove he can actually beat the man that (technically) retired him 15 months earlier. Warrior was not known for his varied moveset or endurance, but he was still very over and his big right hands look great and he does everything he needs to over the course of a match that goes well over 20 minutes. The ending is too muddled (and I found the post-match to be overwrought and too saccharine), but with a tighter, more satisfying finish, this would probably be as beloved as their first match. Not quite "must watch" but almost there. (3.5/5)

Kamala vs. The Undertaker follows. The Undertaker gets a grand entrance that runs longer than the match itself, which goes less than 4 minutes. I wrote in my review of their follow-up match at Survivor Series 92' that, if they'd been allowed to have an outright brawl, a hard-hitting slobberknocker, they showed enough chemistry to warrant getting 8-10 minutes of ring time. Seeing this match, though, I understand Vince's apprehension because these two mesh like oil and water and there is zero sign of them being able to work together for any meaningful amount of time based on the little we see. Taker gets the win by DQ when Kamala's handlers get involved - which is silly because they have such little effect on the Deadman. This doesn't go long enough to be considered a terrible match, but there's not even a glimmer of fun to be had here aside from seeing Taker arrive at Wembley on the back of a hearse. (0.5/5)

Main event time - The British Bulldog challenging Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship in his home country. Is this a carry job caused by the Bulldog being out of shape and drugged/hung-over like Bret claims in his book? If true, is it the all-time best carry job? Or was this really just a straight-up great match where Bulldog held his own against Bret delivering one of his best ever performances? Does it really matter how this match came to be? At the end of the day, this is a classic deserving of its stature and legend. Bret is a master here, subtly (and then not-so-subtly) working heel so that Bulldog can shine and get that underdog support at Wembley. One could criticize portions of the match for featuring too many "restholds," but that is a misnomer in a match like this, built around technical wrestling from the very start and building up to the big slams and throws over time. Unlike Piper/Hart from WrestleMania VIII, another excellent bout, this one is not a battle between a Brawler and Technician, nor is it played as Bret having to overcome Bulldog's raw power. Davey Boy shows off his own agility early on in with a dizzying counter to an armbar and consistently tries to get the best of Bret with crucifixes and other pinning combos. I also really like the "botches" (if they can even be called that), which add realism to the match much better than if everything looked perfect. For example, at one point Bret flings himself to the outside and comes down on Bulldog, viciously cranking his neck in the process. Minutes later, Davey Boy tries to powerslam Bret and ends up dumping him into the ropes and Bret's spill is equally as nasty as he gets tied up in the middle and bottom ropes. The finishing stretch is excellent too and the Bulldog's final pin is arguably among the most historic in WWE history, on par with Bret's win over Piper a few months prior. There's no question that this match is "must watch" and I'm willing to even put it into masterpiece territory thanks to the production and emotion behind it, as well as its historical significance. (4.5/5)

With a not-so-hot Kwang Score of just 2.38-out-of-5, as a whole, SummerSlam 92' is not a show that is worth watching all-the-way-through. The Nailz and Crush squash matches would be below average on an episode of Superstars and have no place on this card except to fill time. The opening contest is a disappointment considering the level of talent and the Road Warriors' undeniable mystique. Martel/Michaels is fun, the WWE Championship match is quite good and generally underrated, and the main event is a "must watch" for any real pro-wrestling fan, though, enough to make this a...

FINAL RATING - Watch It...Without Remote in Hand

TNA Turning Point 2007

TNA Turning Point 2007

Orlando, FL - December 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this event, the TNA World Champion was Kurt Angle, Jay Lethal was the X-Division Champion, AJ Styles and Tomko were the TNA World Tag Team Champions, and Gail Kim was the Knockouts Champion. 

Turning Point 2007 begins with a six-man tables match pitting "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and the Motor City Machine Guns against Team 3D and Johnny Devine. It was fairly obvious from the mere inclusion of Johnny Devine in this match as to who would be getting put through a table, but the action that leads there is perfectly fine. The Guns have some great double-team maneuvers and they do a wonderful job bumping and selling for Team 3D, especially Devon. The match goes much longer than I expected, but it never gets boring and they don't waste too much time getting to the table spots - which don't always get executed perfectly (there is at least one fairly noticeable botch in which Alex Shelley essentially gets shoved into and through a table but the ref and commentators ignore it) - which are plentiful despite the match being designed to end with just one table spot. I still think the Black Machismo gimmick was too one-note and did nothing for Jay Lethal, but that's just me. Not bad at all. (2.5/5)

Another tag match follows as ODB and Roxxi Laveaux take on Angelina Love and Velvet Skye. Too much comedy, too much raunchiness, too little Angelina Love, who was, to my eyes, the most exciting worker of the bunch. I never really got what made ODB so special aside from her trailer trash gimmick, which felt thin and, for lack of better word, trashy in 2007 and still feels that way now. I was a bit surprised to read, over on Cagematch, how highly speak of Laveaux because, based on this match and the handful of other appearances I've seen of her, I don't see what makes her "one of the most underrated wrestlers in TNA history." There are probably fans who like this sort of match, but I'm not one of them. (1/5)

Next up - Eric Young vs. James Storm. Storm's whole gimmick at this point was being a proud beer drinker, while Eric Young was coming out of a lengthy program with Bobby Roode. Young had embarrassed Storm by defeating him in a drinking contest, which led to this match. These two have good chemistry and are both very skilled workers and I liked Jacqueline's involvement on the outside. Still, there was just something "off" about this for me, like they wrestled the match a bit too "straight" considering that the build-up was kind of cartoonish and full of prop comedy. This match could've actually used some of the "looser" feel of the previous match as it was fought like a serious, back-and-forth wrestling contest rather than a match between two guys whose only really conflict was over who could drink more alcohol. (2/5)

The Feast or Fired Match was next - a super-gimmicky multi-man briefcase-on-a-pole match that was really more about telling a story than offering anything resembling good wrestling. You can't go into a match like this expecting to be blown away by the action, but this was lazily booked without any real highlights or storyline progression. At 12 minutes, this didn't overstay its welcome, which is about the best thing you can say about it. Also, because the reveals of the contents of the briefcases doesn't happen until the next episode of Impact, it feels a bit more like an advertisement for the next show rather than a match or segment that deserves to be on pay-per-view. I don't recall who ended up getting fired from this match, but I don't think it was BG James despite being the most deserving after the god-awful VKM/Christy Hemme feud, maybe the worst storyline I've covered in the past few years. (1.5/5)

Awesome Kong challenged Gail Kim for the TNA Knockouts Championship in the next bout. This was a great match. It doesn't go super long, but they make every minute count and Gail Kim puts on a tremendous babyface performance against the monstrous Kong. The finish leaves things unresolved, which is not a good thing, but these two obviously had the kind of chemistry that makes doing a "one-and-done" feud silly. The crowd is also hotter for this than probably any women's match in TNA history and most certainly more than 90% women's matches that were going on in the WWE at the time (especially after Stratus' retirement that year). I was really impressed by how big the reaction was for Kong getting knocked off of her feet, which Don West claimed was the first time ever. True or not, it got that kind of response, a testament to how well this match was worked. A very good match that is worth one's time. (4/5)

After some more nonsense building up to the main event, its time for the Match of 10,000 Tacks - Rellik and Black Reign vs. Abyss and, subbing for Rhyno, Raven. Rellik was played by former WWE/WCW wrestler Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli. This was a bloody, violent, ECW-style brawl but felt tedious at times and didn't hold my attention for its 15-minute duration. I'm not sure why they opted to give this match that much time when they knew it would be so "one note" and that, at this point, Dustin Rhodes was in horrendous shape. Raven had had some good moments - his feud with CM Punk in Ring of Honor being a highlight from just 4 years prior - but he was aging fast and his role here was a bit player when he's always been much better in stories and angles that he could really sink his teeth into. This match was built to lead-up to a big thumbtack spot, but it really wasn't anything we hadn't seen before as Black Reign (who is covered, head-to-toe in a latex suit) went through a table with tacks on it and then, minutes later, Rellik got Black Home Slam'd into a bunch of tacks in the ring to end the match. Not terrible, but not worth digging up. (2/5)

Robert Roode teamed up with Christian to take on Booker T and Kaz in the next contest. Booker T had come into TNA just a few weeks earlier and still seemed motivated here, though he'd gain a pretty bad reputation for phoning it in as the years went on. Kaz and Roode are clearly meant to "get a rub" from being in the ring with Booker and Christian, but the teams just feel a little random. Kaz goes all out in this match, trying and succeeding to steal it with his energy and high-flying, but it doesn't necessarily make for a great tag dynamic with Booker, who is overshadowed in what should be a big match for him. The lack of chemistry is also felt between Roode and Christian. The match goes close to 20 minutes and everyone works hard, but this match needed to feature more character work and tension, none of which was explored until the post-match when Christian and Roode almost came to blows. Again, the in-ring work, especially out of Kaz, is top notch and the TNA crowd wanted to love this match...but it just didn't tell a rich enough story to make it memorable or worth checking out. (3/5)

Main event time - before the match can begin, after the arrival of The Angle Alliance (Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, and Tyson Tomko) and Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe shows up and cuts a "worked shoot" promo on Scott Hall no-showing the event. According to Nash, Big Daddy Cool slapped Samoa Joe in the face after the show for going too far with his "shoot" and Joe, recognizing that responding in kind would probably result in him getting fired (with little chance of getting to the WWE due to Nash being close with Triple H) didn't fight back. In Hall's stead, Joe brings out...Eric Young. There's no doubt that Eric Young, in 2007, was 10000% a better worker than Scott Hall, but when it comes to The Outsiders, even a decade past their WCW peak, there's always going to be interest in what they do - even if it was sure to be very little and potentially even a massive trainwreck considering Hall's addiction at the time. Anyway...this is not very good and feels very lackluster as a main event. Cagematch says the match goes 16 minutes, but I'm guessing at least a third of that is the Joe pre-match promo. Joe and Styles get a little bit of spotlight and I like Joe teasing that he won't help Kevin Nash when's in the Ankle Lock, but there's really nothing else that happens in this match that makes it feel any different than a random main event from Impact. The fact is, even if Hall had made the show, there were no stakes and therefor very little drama to draw from. (1/5)

With an overall Kwang Rating 2.13-out-of-5, Turning Point 2007 is a sub-par show even for TNA's arguably low standard. If you love Eric Young, this is your show, but for everyone other wrestling fan on the planet, there is only one match worth seeking out - Kim vs. Kong - and even that one suffers a bit from an inconclusive finish.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

AEW Revolution 2024

AEW Revolution 2024

Greensboro, NC - March 2024

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was Samoa Joe, the AEW TNT Champion was Christian Cage, the AEW Tag Team Champions were Darby Allin and Sting, Toni Storm was the AEW Women's Champion, the TBS Champion was Julia Hart, the Trios Champions were Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed, and the Continental Champion was Eddie Kingston.

Opening things up, Christian defends the AEW TNT Championship against Daniel Garcia. I'm a Daniel Garcia fan, but an even bigger Christian fan, so I was looking forward to this match and not quite sure which way it would end up. Would Adam Copeland cost Christian the title? Would Garcia finally get that big W? They had a surprisingly even match with both guys working their ass off for nearly 20 minutes. The final third of this match was much more exciting than the initial two-thirds as we got Nick Wayne, Killswitch (Luchasaurus), and Matt Menard all getting involved and then some excellent near-falls. Still, whether its the fact that Garcia is just a better heel than face, or the fact that this bout just went a few minutes too long, this was not the show-stealing match that I thought this could've been and almost felt like it was missing some of the big drama that we got in the build. No Copeland. No "Con-Chair-To." A little underwhelming. (3/5)

Next up - Bryan Danielson challenging Eddie Kingston for the AEW Continental Championship. This ended up being a somewhat controversial match. Danielson beat the living hell out of Kingston over the course of 20 minutes, leveling him with ridiculously stiff kicks, torturing his right arm and hand, and even dropping him with his finisher at one point...but Eddie wouldn't stay down and would rally at just the right moment to connect with his own stiff chops and strikes and power moves. This sort of match is not for everyone, especially if you're not a fan of Kingston, a polarizing figure based on his sloppy appearance as much as his sometimes sloppy wrestling. Then again, the live crowd was with them for the entire thing and the story they told perfectly matched what their rivalry has been all about: Danielson refusing to respect Kingston for who he is. Personally, I'm a big enough fan of both guys to have enjoyed this quite a bit, but I did feel the finish came a bit out of nowhere and lacked the right amount of "oomph" to really make it work. Plus, as others have pointed out, the story being told here - of Kingston refusing to die so he can earn the respect of his opponent - seems a bit like well-trodden territory by now, even if Danielson is the best possible foil for him in that context. A good match, but not one I'd necessarily recommend or even want to watch again. (3/5)

The 8-Man Scramble match followed featuring Chris Jericho, Dante Martin, Magnus of CMLL, Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Powerhouse Hobbs, Wardlow, and HOOK. The live crowd seemed to enjoy this one more than I did watching from home, chanting "Meat!" at various points in the early going when the heaviest hitters were in the ring. I hate to say it because I'm a fan of his work, but Dante Martin had some noticeable gaffes in moments that were clearly designed to spotlight him. Call it ring rust or nerves or just a bad day at the office, but Martin did not come out of this looking like the next big thing. Similarly, Magnus and Archer felt like they were just kinda "there" as filler participants. I liked the teasing of an uneasy alliance-potential rivalry between HOOK and Jericho. Jericho has a tendency to latch onto rising stars, but in this case, I'm not opposed to it just because HOOK hasn't had a ton of direction - aside from the lukewarm feud with Brian Cage - since his showdown with Samoa Joe several weeks ago. Wardlow eventually got the win, which is the right booking move, though I'm personally much higher on Hobbs. Still, if Tony Khan has any hopes of Wardlow being a standout potential main eventer, he had to win here. Not a terrible Scramble match, but nothing really special. (2.5/5)

The AEW International Championship was on the line next as Roderick Strong challenged Orange Cassidy. I'm a fan of both guys, but am ice cold on the Undisputed Kingdom storyline and stable. Still, you knew you were going to get a good-to-great match here because both guys are fantastic and exceptionally smooth in-ring workers. I was curious what role the rest of the "UK" would play and if we'd get a heel turn from Cassidy's "best friend" Trent Barretta, but this was fought as a straight-up one-on-one contest built around an awesome spot that saw Roderick Strong gutwrench powerbomb Cassidy onto the top turnbuckle. From there, the Messiah of the Backbreaker continued to target Cassidy's back and narrowly avoided getting pinned after Cassidy struck him with an Orange Punch and a Beach Break near the ropes. Strong connected with his End of Heartache finisher after Cassidy missed another Orange Punch attempt to win the match 100% clean. A very good match but, because OC had such a tremendous 2023, I wouldn't consider this among his best defenses. After Strong's buddies came out to congratulate, Kyle O'Reilly made his return, shaking Roddy's hand but not putting on an Undisputed Kingdom shirt. (3/5)

A tag team grudge match followed as FTR took on Moxley and Claudio Castignoli of the Blackpool Combat Club. They had a phenomenal match on Collision (I think it was?) several weeks back that went to a time limit draw, necessitating this match. I'm not sure this match was quite as good as that first encounter - and it definitely wasn't as good as the FTR match against Jay White and Juice Robinson last summer - but it was still a very physical, very good match that got better as it went on. Dax ended up sporting a crimson mask, which added to the intensity of the match and eventually led to a finish that saw the referee award the contest to Mox when Dax seemingly passed out in a Rear Naked Choke. I really liked the variety of double-team maneuvers that both teams displayed and the crowd's engagement, but I wouldn't put this quite at "must see" level. (3.5/5)

The AEW Women's Championship match followed as "Timeless" Toni Storm defended the title against relative AEW newcomer Deonna Purrazzo. The crowd seemed deflated for the first 2/3rds of this match, but Storm and Purrazzo didn't necessarily show the same level of chemistry and energy as the participants in the matches before them either. Storm and Purrazzo were always going to have a rough night on a stacked card like this where every match had the potential to steal the show and their storyline feels a little tossed together. Purrazzo isn't super over with anyone but the biggest wrestling fans who have followed her career elsewhere, while Toni Storm's gimmick - as fun as it is - has also cast something of a shadow over the division as she's become, by a very wide margin, the biggest and arguably only major star in the division now that Britt Baker has fallen off the face of the Earth and Thunder Rosa has come back only to be immediately lost in the shuffle. The first match of the night that was sub-average. (2/5)

Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita was next. This wasn't Ospreay's AEW debut, but this was his first as bona fide, signed AEW talent. I'm not someone who is super familiar with Ospreay aside from his appearances on AEW TV and his uncanny highlight reel so seeing him work a full match was a treat. Takeshita was incredible in this too, almost to the point of overshadowing Ospreay, which would seem impossible. As Tony noted on commentary, Ospreay's speed and force is remarkable to watch even when doing the "simple" stuff like running the ropes. There were 2-3 sequences in this match that defied logic, which usually isn't my cup of tea, but seeing it performed so flawlessly is undeniably captivating and did elicit an audible "pop" from me as I watched. What can I say? I may like a more traditional style in general, but when you've been watching pro-wrestling for 30+ years and two guys show you something you've never seen before, that is still a special feeling. The brainbuster that Takeshita delivered onto Ospreay in the corner was a legit WTF, holy shit moment and one that I'm sure had TK nervously wondering if one of his biggest investments in years was now heading to the DL. Not to be outdone, though, Ospreay hit Takeshita with a Tiger Driver 91', maybe the most cringe-inducing move in wrestling history. (Knowing that Ospreay/Danielson is likely coming down the pike, I pray that Danielson has the temerity and reasonableness to not take such an unnecessary risk.) Don Callis promised a "match of the decade"-quality match and, if you're a fan of this style - as Dave Meltzer must be - I think this would rank highly for you. To me, the missing factor was the story as this was, on paper, a heel/heel match between two members of the loathsome Don Callis family. When it was all said and done, we didn't get a big turn or any sort of storyline progression. This was "great wrestling for great wrestling's sake" albeit at the highest level possible. A "should watch/must watch"-level match in terms of execution and athleticism, for sure, but not a masterpiece of pro-wrestling drama. (4/5)

Next up - Samoa Joe defending his AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page in a triple threat match. This was my match of the night. Samoa Joe was amazing in the early minutes, controlling the action because Strickland and Page were too focused on each other and not the reigning champion. Also, just a note - in a night filled with guys doing the whole "hold your guys head down and lightly knee him in the head," Samoa Joe was the only dude who did it with any sort of force or impact and it looked much better than everyone else's version. This was paced really well as they knew the audience would be a little burnt out after the previous match and opted to wait till the final third before they really went "all in" with nearfalls and finishers and Page going overboard by attacking two referees. By that point, the crowd was fully, fully into things and booing the hell out of Page for all his heel stuff. I'll also give credit to TK here as they could've easily had Page disqualified and ended things with a non-finish but, instead, allowed the match to continue despite all the "schmozzing," ending with a somewhat "straight" finish as Page submitted in the Coquina Clutch, either because he really was losing consciousness or because he simply refused to allow Swerve any more chances to win the title (and knew that, by giving Joe the victory, he'd be effectively preventing Swerve from winning the match too). An action-packed 20 minutes with the sort of psychology and storytelling that the previous match didn't feature. (4/5)

Main event times - it's STIIIIIING's final match as he pairs up with Darby Allin to take on The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Before the match began, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair were welcomed to ringside. I was expecting to see Lex Luger, personally, but he wasn't allowed to be shown on-screen due to a WWE Legends Contract. A pre-match video showed a bunch of Sting's career highlights, including a few still photos from his WCW days that I'm guessing were the property of Bill Apter (and, thus, were allowed to be shown?). For all the talk about the WWE possibly not allowing AEW to show any footage that they owned, I haven't heard many folks talk about the dearth of TNA footage. Considering AEW and TNA briefly worked together, it surprised me that there was little to no mention of his very successful and memorable run there...ANYWAY, Sting's sons came out in his nWo Wolfpack and original "Surfer" Sting attire as part of Sting's entrance and they, along with Darby, spent the first few minutes of the match taking out the Young Bucks with a series of big Stinger Splashes in the corner. The crowd was obviously red hot for all of this as the EVPs got their deserved comeuppance. Some ridiculous spots in this match, including Darby Allin diving from a ladder inside the ring through a sheet of glass on the floor. We also saw Sting eat a ton of superkicks and go through multiple tables (and a pane of glass too). At one point, Ric Flair tried to prevent the Young Bucks from inflicting any more punishment on Sting but he ate a double superkick too. Every time they went for the cover, though, Sting would kick out and, at one point, flat-out "no sell" some of their offense. Personally, I didn't love that booking as - even in his retirement match,  especially in his retirement match - a 64 year old shouldn't be shrugging off the finishing moves of a team hailed as the best on the planet. Instead, I would've liked to the Bucks hit all those gratuitous moves but then either get "greedy" and waste time or get their pin attempts cut off by Flair and Steamboat and eventually Darby too, giving Sting the time to get a second wind. But, hey, this match wasn't really about logic and the Bucks have always been an "acquired taste" in terms of pushing the boundaries of credibility in order to give the audience a whole bunch of ridiculous "moments" and memorable spots. Meltzer almost gave this a full 5 stars, which is absurd to me just because this was so much more of a "spectacle" than a great match. (3.5/5)

With a very strong 3.17-out-of-5 rating - which is actually on the low end compared to some of the reviews of this show that I saw online - AEW Revolution 2024 was the type of show that has made me more likely to shell out the big bucks for their next offering, which should be the goal of any wrestling promotion putting on a major pay-per-view show. Then again, I had some good luck watching this not-so-legally on a website where you can watch pro wrestling. Not that I would co-sign that method. Anyway...with at least two matches that I'd consider must-see and a main event that closed the book on what of pro-wrestling's most inspiring and important careers (especially in the world of non-WWE American wrestling), this was a very strong showing for AEW. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It

TNA No Surrender 2007

TNA No Surrender 2007

Orlando, FL - September 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Kurt Angle was the TNA World Champion, the TNA X-Division, and one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions (with Sting). 

Kurt Angle and Sting defended the TNA World Tag Team Championships against "Pacman" Jones and Ron Killings in the opening contest of the show. As I mentioned in the review of the last TNA PPV (Hard Justice), Jones was a huge signing by TNA but was not permitted to have any physical contact, which threw a massive wrench in whatever TNA seemingly had planned for him originally. And so really this is 2-on-1 match with Jones refusing to wrestling/running away from his opponents. It gets heat - which is a good thing - but unless TNA had figured out a work-aound for Jones not being allowed to take any bumps, what good is it if he can't eventually get his comeuppance? Karen Angle shows up and gets in the face of Sting and then feigns being struck by him, which eventually leads to Angle attacking his own partner and Pacman getting the pinfall (which we don't actually see on camera because either the production didn't catch it or because they weren't allowed to him having physical contact with a wrestler). This isn't the worst angle I've ever seen, but knowing the corner they were booking themselves into, I might still consider it one of the dumbest angles I've ever seen. (1/5)

What is it with James Storm and his knack for redeeming himself from awful matches by having an undeniably strong one on the next pay-per-view against the same opponent? This time around, Storm pulls it off with Rhyno after the two had a lame "Barroom Brawl" match the previous month. This one starts off more like a genuine ECW brawl with Rhyno and Storm fighting throughout the Impact Zone before the bell even rings. From there, they have a solid back-and-forth built around signature maneuvers and table spots, delivering a solid, physical 10-minute war. Rhyno gets the feel-good win, but the post-match is botched as Rhyno can't get the mini-keg to work when he tries to give Storm a Budweiser enema (which would've been awful to watch anyway). Rhyno hits a Gore on Jacqueline for good measure, which I'm not sure was planned or improvised but feels like maybe it was done because the keg thing didn't pan out. I wouldn't call this a great match, but it was noticeably better than the "Barroom Brawl," which was an unnecessary gimmick when you can just let these two guys go out and beat the crud out of eachother (as they did here). (3/5)

Kaz vs. Bobby Roode followed. The in-ring action was executed well, the transitions were good, Roode is a fine heel and Kaz did good babyface work...but this still felt a little heatless until the final few minutes. These two guys get hyped as future main eventers on commentary, but their characters were either generic (in the case of Roode at the time) or vague to the point of nonexistence (Kaz). Their feud was based on Roode's mistreatment of Ms. Brooks and Kaz and her becoming increasingly friendly, which did add drama to this match and played into the finish (as Roode attempted to use a chain to win the match but saw his plan thwarted by his manager). Not a bad match, but not one that struck me as "PPV worthy." (2.5/5)

The TNA X-Division Championship was on the line next as Kurt Angle defended the title against Jay "Black Machismo" Lethal. I'm not a fan of Lethal's Macho Man-aping gimmick - not because he did a bad impression, but because the more he did it, the less we saw of who Jay Lethal really was. Before the match, Kevin Nash tells Lethal to take a dive and what could've and should've been a moment for Lethal to "break character" and speak from the heart is...not. What makes things worse is that this match is very good. Angle's suplexes look absolutely devastating and I love how he works on Lethal's back and neck throughout the contest. Angle's performance is not for everyone as this is a clear cut example of his "go-go-go" style of non-stop action (which, y'know, is what TNA prided itself on, right?), but it worked for me here because it really felt like he was testing Lethal, pushing the youngster to really prove if he could hang with arguably the most technically-proficient wrestler (debatable) and biggest star in the company (less debatable). The match only goes 12-and-a-half minutes but it feels like a hard-fought battle and the near-falls are fantastic. Again, the only thing that would really push this into "must watch," to me, would be if this was more of a Jay Lethal vs. Kurt Angle match rather than being a Black Machismo vs. Kurt Angle match. (3.5/5)

I wasn't expecting much out of the next match - Chris Harris vs. Black Reign - as their "match" at the previous show was just a total squash with Dustin bloodying Harris for a few minutes until a gaggle of X-Division guys came out to stop him (with Sonjay Dutt unable to hide a massive smile on his face despite the seriousness of the assault). I wouldn't say Dustin proved he still had "it" here as he was moving slow and he was still years away from busting out anything resembling the agility he has shockingly showcased over the past decade, but Harris brought the fire and the energy and Rhodes did his job of cutting him off. Plus, by going under 6 minutes, it never gets boring. The finish is a bit out of nowhere and doesn't live up to the No Disqualification stipulation as Hebner prevents Rhodes from stabbing Harris, even though, technically, wouldn't that be legal? Still, I'm just glad they kept it as fast-paced as possible and didn't overstay their welcome. (2.5/5)

A pseudo-Royal Rumble match follows, hyped as a 10-team Gauntlet Match but wrestled under the same type of rules as the WWE's January classic (with entrants coming in every 60 seconds). This one starts out fairly hot as AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, former Tag Team Champions in the early days of TNA, start things off before Homicide shows up. I wish they'd have found a way to let these guys work 3-4 minutes on their own because it would've been stupendous based on the little bit of time they get together before Sabin and Havok (Johnny Devine) join the fray. From here, due to the nature of the match, things get a little crowded and a pattern sets in as the latest entrant comes in, does his signature stuff, gets cut off, rinse and repeat. We finally get a big man at #7 as Brother Devon shows up (followed soon after by Brother Ray at #9). Raven comes in #10 and I really wanted to see him and Team 3D have a "moment," but I guess whoever laid out the match had no interest in an ECW nostalgia pop? Team 3D have a dominant run, making some eliminations and cutting down the herd. BG James shows up, Sonjay Dutt comes in, Tomko comes in...nothing really important or interesting happens until Lance Hoyt arrives and dumps Elix Skipper to the floor in what looked like it could've been some sort of botch that nearly injured Skipper. Kip James comes in at #19, followed by Eric Young at #20. Young ends up hanging till the final three before the final two are AJ Styles, who made it through from the very start of the match, and Alex Shelley...and thus, the match morphs into AJ Styles and Tyson Tomko (who had been eliminated earlier) against Shelley and Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns. I wish these two teams had been given more time because their work against each other is quite good. I'm surprised to type it, but Tyson Tomko was actually not that bad based on his performance here and the match he had against Abyss at the previous PPV. All in all, this was a solid 25 minutes of action and I liked that they let AJ Styles shine throughout and also made the Guns look like a big deal. At this point in TNA, these guys were very much the highlights of the show in-ring while teams like the Voodoo Kin Mafia were almost embarrassing comparatively (both in-ring and with their lame WWE-spoofing "comedy" segments"). (3/5)

Next up - Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe. Over 15 years later, these guys are still among the best workers in the US. I was expecting this to be a terrific contest, but the DQ finish really bummed me out. The previous 14 minutes were good but a bit one-sided as Joe really took the fight to Christian and dominated for the majority of the contest. I would've liked to see Christian use his crafty veteran knowledge to control more of the match rather than playing the chickenshit heel, but, to be fair, Joe's gimmick has always worked best when he's allowed to have matches like this where he is comes across as a bad ass and Christian bumped and sold well for him. This one never got to the "higher gear," though, that would've made it feel like Joe had lost all control and needed to attack the refs. The post-match provided some cool visuals as Joe hung Christian over the top rope by a tee-shirt wrapped around his neck and then got put in his place by Matt Morgan, who was serving as Jim Cornette's enforcer and did have undeniable size and presence. (3/5)

After announcing that Impact would be going 2-hour, it was main event time - Kurt Angle defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss. I wasn't necessarily expecting much out of this match as Abyss is known most for his hardcore matches and Angle had already wrestled twice on this evening. Had they done 10-12 minutes and ended things with some sort of "schmoz," that probably would've been sufficient...but Abyss and Angle brought out their best and delivered a near-20 minute battle that was smartly worked (as it was built around Angle having to cutdown his opponent and weaken him for the Ankle Lock). I wouldn't call this "must see" but it was above-average and a better match than I expected it to be. The post-match drew "Fire Russo!" chants as Abyss was dragged into the ring by a mysterious hand. I don't know who that hand belong to, maybe Black Reign based on Abyss' next couple months of feuds? A solid match with a surprisingly clean finish that made it clear that, despite losing twice earlier in the night, Angle was still "the man." (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5, TNA's No Surrender 2007 is a solid albeit unremarkable show. The main event is, like several other matches on this show, good but not great. Christian/Joe is underwhelming and has a weak finish. The Tag Team Gauntlet match is funner than I expected it to be, but then fizzles out too quickly once we get to the finals - a surprisingly great few minutes of AJ & Tomko vs. The Motor City Machine Guns. Angle vs. Lethal is a very strong match, the closest thing to a "must watch," but missed the mark with me due to Lethal leaning too far into the Savage cosplay when the match could've been all about Jay Lethal finally winning as Jay Lethal. With no single match that I'd consider truly great and most people's mileage varying on TNA, this one gets a...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth

WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth

Perth, Australia - February 2024

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Universal Champion was still Roman Reigns, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was Seth Rollins, the Intercontinental Champion was GUNTHER, the United States Champion was Logan Paul, the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions were The Judgment Day, the RAW Women's Champion was Rhea Ripley, the SmackDown Women's Champion was IYO SKY and the Women's Tag Team Champions were The Kabuki Warriors.

Elimination Chamber: Perth kicked off with the Women's Elimination Chamber match between Bianca Belair, Raquel Rodriguez, relative newcomer Tiffany Stratton, Liv Morgan (who got one of the bigger pops of all the participants), and the two women who started the match: Naomi and Becky Lynch. We got some decent, but weirdly slow, grappling to start things off. I didn't mind the trading of nearfalls and exhibition-style opening, but I've also grown accustom to PG-rated cage matches over the years. Tiffany Stratton came in next and immediately impressed the crowd with some serious gymnastic-inspired offense. A great series of sequences followed with everyone getting some shine. Liv Morgan came in next and went right after Stratton. Morgan slamming Stratton into the cell walls was a tremendous visual and credit to Stratton for taking those bumps with gusto. Morgan was over with the crowd and was wrestling with a ton of spirit, clearly motivated to maximize this opportunity and maybe remind the folks in the back that, at one point, she seemed like a potential major player in the division. Lynch nailed Stratton with a nasty pumphandle slam on the Chamber floor and then applied a Disarmher  through the cage in a great visual. Stratton recovered quickly enough to eliminate Naomi minutes later and Raquel came in next. Like Morgan, Rodriguez was out for awhile due to injury but had some momentum last year. Belair was the last entrant and, like everyone else, went right at it with Stratton. Belair might have the reputation for needing her matches and sequences to be "scripted," but the results speak for themselves and she came in and really pushed the match to the next gear, hitting Raquel with an excellent tornado DDT on the Chamber floor after some exchanges with Lynch and Stratton. We saw Liv hit a senton off the top of a pod and then Stratton and Lynch do some brawling atop it, leading to Lynch getting pushed off rather awkwardly and then Stratton hitting a front-flip splash onto Belair, Raquel, and Lynch to a massive pop. Stratton looked to hit her finisher on Liv back in the ring, but Morgan cut her off and eliminated her - which actually drew some boos from the crowd, though I doubt that was the plan. We got another great spot as Raquel powerbombed Belair from the Chamber floor into the ring. Lynch applied the Disarmher to her but Raquel wouldn't submit. After hitting a ridiculous double power-bomb on Lynch and Liv, Raquel was eliminated by Belair to a somewhat muted response. Again, part of the issue might've been that Raquel had just come off a really impressive streak of maneuvers before she was eliminated. The next few minutes were a bit unremarkable until Morgan hit a sunset flip powerbomb that looked absolutely BRUTAL on Belair. Had it not been for Belair's ridiculous neck muscles, I'm guessing she'd be out for months. Minutes later, Belair somehow hit a 450 on Lynch, but Becky got her knees up at the last second. Belair attempted KOD but Morgan countered with a jawbreaker and then hit a Codebreaker on Lynch, showing that she could hang with both former champs. Belair went for a KOD on Lynch but Becky escaped, allowing Morgan to roll up the EST for a 3 - only for Lynch to hit her with the Manhandle Slam and eliminate Morgan! Great closing sequence there. Really strong match that started a bit slow but built up well to some very cool spots and felt like it pushed Stratton and Morgan as real stars to watch in 2024. (3.5/5)

After a whole bunch of commercials, it was time for the WWE Tag Team Championship bout between Judgement Day (Balor and Priest) and the New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate). Before the match began, Dom Mysterio got on the mic and got almost completely drowned out by boos. Bate and Dunne are incredible workers, undersized but very good at adding just enough flair and panache to their moves to give them personality. The heels slowed things down after the babyface shine and Bate played the face-in-peril. Dunne got the hot tag and took it to Balor before landing a moonsault to the outside onto both champions. Bate came back in but so did Priest and the Money In The Bank holder regained control. Balor came back in and stomped on Bate for awhile, but Bate fought back and got Priest up for the airplane spin, dizzying him for close to a full minute. Dunne came in and landed the Bitter End on Balor but Dom pulled Finn's under the bottom rope to prevent the three. The referee ejected Mysterio from ringside and the crowd sang him the traditional exit theme for such an occasion - "Hey Hey Hey Goodbye." As Dom made his exit, Balor hit Dunne with a serious of his signature dropkicks and then attempted a Cous De Gras but couldn't connect. The NCR hit the Double Tyler Driver but only got 2 due to Priest breaking it up. The action continued and was good until Priest had a horrendous botch off of a Tyler Bate head-scissors. Ugly stuff there. The crowd was still into things, for sure, especially as Bate and Dunne regained control and hit a double inverted AA on Priest. Priest fought back, though, and hit a double South of Heaven chokeslam off the middle rope before Finn Balor finished Dunne off with a Cous De Gras. This was fine, slightly above-average even, but the finish was never really in question. (3/5)

Next up - a talk show segment: The Grayson Waller Effect with Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. This was a lengthy, lengthy, lengthy segment with close to 10 minutes spent on entrances alone. Cody challenged The Rock to a 1-on-1 match that I don't expect to happen, especially not prior to WrestleMania and Seth Rollins said he had his back. Austin Theory did some of The Rock's shtick, which was awful, not funny, and did nothing for Theory except make him look like even more of a loser. This was a sub-SmackDown segment.

After another lengthy break, it was time for the Men's Elimination Chamber Match featuring United States Champion Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley (selling an injury at the hands of Karrion Kross), Kevin Owens, and the two men that kicked things off - Drew McIntyre and LA Knight. Knight was over with the Aussies, but I'm still not sold on the guy as I just don't see what makes him special as an in-ring performer. Knight took the fight to Drew, bashing his head into Owens' pod repeatedly. Speaking of KO, he came in at #3 and attacked both guys, chokeslamming Knight and hitting him with a standing senton for 2. McIntyre went for a superplex but couldn't pull it off, eventually eating a frog splash for his efforts. Lashley came in at #4, another guy, like Owens, who is consistently great but had zero chance of winning just based on where he's been falling on the card over the past year. I loved Lashley and Drew getting some time in the ring together as the two have great chemistry after working together a whole bunch over the past 8 years. With still no eliminations, Randy Orton came in at number five. Orton has clearly been having fun on this latest run and his work with Kevin Owens had me wondering why I can't recall these two having a real, significant program together considering how long they've been in the same company. Orton hit a draping DDT on Owens on the Chamber floor and sold the damage expertly while Lashley and McIntyre worked on each other in the middle of the ring. Knight hit a DDT onto McIntyre on the floor as well but then got dropped with a back suplex by Orton, who, once again, sold the damage to his own back after hitting the move. Paul came in last but Owens was waiting for him, locking himself into the pod (which Paul had scribbled on like a bored high schooler in a great bit of heeling) so that he could beat down on the US Champion. Paul being in a match like this takes him from his "special" status, but he's also proven to be good enough that he wasn't at all out of place. Lashley drove Owens through a pod wall with a terrific Irish Whip and then speared Paul through the opposite one to a huge pop. Wow. That might've been the spot of the night and I love Lashley selling the damage to his injured forearm as well. McIntyre caught him with a Claymore and rolled him into the ring. McIntyre hit him with a second Claymore back in the ring to eliminate Lashley and then got back into it with LA Knight. Knight looked like he might've been able to eliminate Drew moments later, but Styles somehow got into the Chamber and attacked him with a chair. As Corey Graves noted on commentary, we saw something similar with Logan Paul last year. Styles hit Knight with a Styles Clash on the chair, which was admittedly nifty. McIntyre draped his arm over Knight to eliminate him officially and we were down to 4. On the Chamber floor, Owens and Paul went back at it, with Owens destroying Paul and then cannonballing McIntyre and Orton on the inside. He nearly eliminated the Viper with a senton off the top but only got 2. He went for one on Drew but McIntyre got his knees up and we were back to a four-man lay-around. Drew attempted a Claymore but Owens caught him with a powerbomb and then hit a Stunner on Paul! Orton went for an RKO but got superkicked - only for Orton to hit the RKO when Owens went for a pop-up powerbomb! Orton made the cover and Owens was out of the match. As Orton and Drew did some brawling in the middle of the ring, Paul climbed atop one of the pods and launched himself onto Drew with a huge crossbody. Paul busted out the brass knuckles and gloated - only to eat an RKO out of nowhere in a terrific bit of pro-wrestling production! Terrific elimination there. McIntyre and Orton did some good work in the closing minutes - like McIntyre and Lashley, they have undeniable chemistry from years of working together - but I'm not sure a single person in Perth or anywhere else in the world believed Orton was going to win this match. McIntyre called for the Claymore after hitting Orton with a big spinebuster, but Orton crumbled to the mat before he could get up. Orton was playing possum, though, and hit McIntyre with an RKO! Before Orton could make the cover, though, Logan Paul decked him with the brass knucks and McIntyre got the pin. To me, this was not a great ending for Drew, who really could've and should've won without Paul's interference. Overall, though, this was a solid Chamber match with some very good moments out of Lashley, Logan Paul, Kevin Owens, and Orton. (3/5)

Main event time - Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax for Ripley's RAW Women's Championship. The crowd was obviously fully behind Ripley here, it being her home country, and she gave a fantastic babyface performance - though more than just some of the credit should go to Nia Jax, who may have had a career performance here. Unlike Zelina Vega's match in Puerto Rico earlier this year (or really any of the matches at that show), though, this production and sheer magnitude of the massive arena detracted from it a bit - at least for me. Whether it was the mic'ing of the crowd, the way the sound traveled out of the arena, or the card just being a little burnt out after two Elimination Chamber matches, this one didn't quite get to that "next level" that would push it into "must see" category for me. The finish was never in question and nor was the character work; as mentioned earlier, Ripley was clearly working as the babyface here, but because she didn't show even a touch of the badass heel character that has made her arguably the most interesting woman on the roster, the match seemed a bit ho-hum. Maybe an appearance by Dom would've helped? A crowd-pleasing match for those in attendance and the Ripley superfans, but not a modern classic or anything. (3/5)

Elimination Chamber: Perth earned a very respectable 3.12-out-of-5 Kwang Score...but sometimes the numbers can be deceiving. Every match was good, but no match was truly great (the Women's Match, thanks particularly to Tiffany Stratton's performance and a great finishing sequence, came closest). The Cody/Seth/Grayson Waller segment was unremarkble aside from Cody challenging The Rock in the vaguest way possible, a thread that I'm very skeptical about actually leading to a 1-on-1 match. The main event gave Ripley her big hometown victory, but they missed an opportunity to spice things up by having Becky Lynch - in what would've garnered huge heel heat, no doubt - make some sort of post-match appearance to build towards WrestleMania (even a shot of her watching from backstage would've been sufficient really). No Bayley? Boo. The Rock and Roman not appearing was expected, but unless they worked the pre-show, not having either of the Usos also gave the impression that this show was lacking in starpower and relevancy. Pick the parts you are most interested in, skip the rest.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

WWE WrestleMania VIII

WWE WrestleMania VIII

Indianapolis, IN - April 1992

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Ric Flair was the WWE World Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was Roddy Piper, and the World Tag Team Champions were Money Inc. (Ted Dibiase and Irwin R. Schyster). 

WrestleMania VIII, like the 1992 Royal Rumble, is a show I've probably seen a dozen times before (though probably not a single time in the past 25 years). After Reba McEntire sings "America The Beautiful," we get our opening contest - Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana. Michaels had semi-recently turned heel and now had Sherri Martel as his manager. I love her version of his entrance music. Santana was wrestling under the El Matador gimmick. Not the hottest opener they could've chosen and I wish Michaels got a more definitive win here as Santana wasn't going anywhere and Michaels was being touted as "The Wrestler of the 90s." There are some moments when you can see how good Michaels was going to be as a heel as he takes some spectacular bumps and sells really well. Santana delivers some good offense after a slow start. This wasn't bad, but it could've been better. (2/5)

Next up - a terrific promo from the Legion of Doom and the debuting "Precious" Paul Ellering. When I was a kid, I really didn't know all that much about the LOD's pre-WWE run aside from them being on the cover of the old NWA/WCW Nintendo game. I certainly didn't know about Paul Ellering. I like how Bobby Heenan, without really mentioning the competition (which was verboten in WWE at the time), makes a huge deal about Ellering showing up. A great segment. (+1)

Speaking of great segments, we get a word from Jake "The Snake" Roberts and then a recap of his attack on The Undertaker in a Funeral Parlor segment on Superstars some weeks earlier before their match. I forgot that Roberts DDT'd Paul Bearer. I'm not sure when Jake Roberts went from being dependable in the ring, able to carry a match with his charisma and ring psychology, to being a bit of a bore. The Undertaker was far from the most dynamic worker at this point in his career as he was still doing a very minimalist "wrestling zombie" character and hadn't rounded out his arsenal with the Old School or the crazy plancha or any of the MMA-inspired strikes and submissions. Still, while this isn't a very good match in terms of action, the crowd is enthralled by it and Roberts does put Undertaker big time by letting him sit up from two DDTs. Taker eventually wins with a Tombstone on the outside, though I wish he would've been allowed to peel back the mat and do it on the concrete as that would've been a much cooler visual (I'm guessing if that idea was pitched by Jake, Vince would've rejected it for being too violent anyway). Another not-so-great match as Roberts was not nearly as spry as he once was and Taker moved like his legs were stuck in molasses. (2/5)

After a classic interview backstage, Roddy Piper defends his first and only singles championship in the WWE against Bret Hart. I've seen this get called Piper's best-ever singles match and I'm hard-pressed to think of a better one that I've seen, especially in terms of straight-up singes matches (and not stipulation bouts). Bret Hart had one of my favorite matches ever against Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 91' roughy 7-8 months before this, but watching this (and having watched SummerSlam 91' semi-recently), this might actually be the better match just because of the incredible, emotional story being played out and Bret getting a whole bunch of color. Piper was never a great in-ring technician so its fun to see him actually try to outwrestle Bret eary before the match just becomes a back-and-forth slugfest. You could expect Piper to wrestle a little "dirty," but its important to note that its actually the Hitman who I felt worked a little heel first by playing possum and feigning an injury. If Jake Roberts coudn't necessarily use his charisma and superstar persona to get the prior match to work, this is an example of how one could do it as Piper puts in a wonderful performance that tells a beautiful story about integrity, self-respect, and, in the end, passing the torch to the next generation. Also, that finish. It has been copied and redone countless times over the years, but it has never been more excellently-executed. To me, this is a masterpiece that gets better with every viewing because there are so many minor details that make it special. (5/5)

Another cool moment follows as Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon conduct a satellite interview with the WBF's latest talent acquisition - Lex Luger. I don't recall and am not going to research what exactly happened with Luger and why he was brought in for the WBF originally rather than to wrestle, but I do know that he was injured at one point and may have had a no-compete clause after leaving WCW. Regardless, he's definitely a heel in this interview, really vainglorious and already working his Narcissist gimmick a good 8-9 months before he'd have his in-ring debut in January 93'. 

Back to the ring we go for an 8-man "breather" match pitting the babyface crew of Virgil, The Big Bossman, Jim Duggan, and Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Nasty Boys, Repo Man, and The Mountie. This wasn't much of a match, but there was some fun moments - specifically a nutshot by The Bossman when The Repo Man is working his back and The Bossman turns over and Repo drops himself right into his fist. Ray Combs (of Family Feud fame) also has a funny appearance running down the heels in his pre-match introduction. Fun for what it was and it didn't eat up too much time. Perfectly acceptable. (2/5)

The next 30-40 minutes are excellent sports-entertainment as we get a pre-match promo from Ric Flair hyping his WWE Championship defense against Randy Savage. The build for this match was terrific and built not just around Flair being the WWE World Champion, but also his claims of having dated Miss Elizabeth before she got with Macho. Speaking of Macho Man, he is super, super over with the live crowd, which is unsurprising as his face turn and feud with Jake Roberts in 91' made for much better television and a more riveting story than anything Hulk Hogan did that year. This isn't as nuanced a story as Piper/Hart, but this feels like a big, personal title fight in its own right and Savage puts on a great babyface performance, letting Flair control the first third, having his big fiery comeback for the next third, and then letting Elizabeth and Mr. Perfect do their thing for the final stretch. This is not on the level of the more athletic-based Flair/Steamboat matches or as wild as the Flair/Funk match from a few years prior, but Flair does get some "color" and does bust out all his classic spots at one point or another. I've seen people pick apart Hebner's referee work (as well as the involvement of various "suits") as Perfect gets away with murder while Elizabeth is seemingly being kept out of the fray despite also being Savage's manager (and thus being allowed at ringside). I think that's nit-picky and ignores the story of this match and the unspoken idea that its not the WWE officials who are keeping Elizabeth in the back, it's Savage who doesn't want her anywhere near the nefarious heels, justifiably concerned that she could end up in harms' way (which is exactly what happens during the post-match). Perfect wasn't allowed to take any bumps due to an injury and a Lloyds of London insurance deal he'd made, but I think they hide it well. Shane McMahon makes a cameo. If you include the post-match promos cut by both men, it all makes for an incredible presentation. This isn't either guy's best match, maybe not even in either guy's top 5 or 10, but it is an iconic match for a reason and the feud itself is a career highlight for everyone involved, including Heenan and Perfect. (4.5/5)

After a video package airs hyping the other half of tonight's co-main event, it is time for another "breather" match as Tatanka takes on "The Model" Rick Martel. Before the match, there was a group of Native Americans performing in the ring. I'm not a big Tatanka fan, but Martel could still "go" at this time and they have a decent match here. Heenan makes some tasteless jokes on commentary, but what else would one expect? This doesn't eat up too much time, but I would've figured they'd have given Tatanka a more definitive victory considering he was the young rising star and Martel wasn't really up to all that much. Martel would actually go on to a cool feud over Sensational Sherri with Shawn Michaels that summer and then have another feud with Tatanka (built around Martel stealing feathers from Tatanka's head dress), lasting in the company for another 2 years. Anyway, another acceptable bit of wrestling here, though not as good as the 8-man just because Tatanka isn't a very good worker. (1.5/5)

After some words from both teams, it is time for the WWE Tag Team Championship match as Money Inc. defend the straps against The Natural Disasters. I don't recall the exact change of events that led to Jimmy Hart leaving the Disasters and joining up with DiBiase and IRS, but that's the backstory. Anytime Tenta and DiBiase are in the ring, things are good, while things are less good when Typhoon and IRS are. DiBiase does an expert job selling how powerful 'Quake is, but the audience doesn't really seem super invested in this match. I also don't know why they didn't have the Legion of Doom come out and stop Money Inc. from walking out on the match (accepting a countout loss to keep the titles), which seems like something that would've been totally in-character for LOD and for the WWE at the time (when all babyfaces were unified against all the heels despite any previous rivalry). The Disasters didn't need to regain the titles here - its clear that Hawk and Animal were the far more over babyface team - but this finish was not good and they didn't get their hands on Jimmy Hart, which would've at least been a moral victory. This was better than I expected because I'm not a fan of Rotunda at all and everyone - including Typhoon (who takes a great spill to the outside over the ropes) - worked hard, even if the ending was flat, but this was still sub-par. (1.5/5)

After some hype for the main event, Owen Hart defeats Skinner in under 3 minutes. Steve Keirn was a good worker and the Skinner gimmick wasn't all that terrible (and, considering Keirn's connection to Florida, make some sense), but they get no time to show what they can do and the audience was already fairly cooled off after the previous contest. Owen would go on to form a forgettable team with Koko B. Ware and the Skinner character was a Saturday morning undercard guy until he left. Meaningless match that doesn't even allow Owen to showcase his aerial skills. A half-point for not being boring, I guess? (0.5/5)

Main event time - Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice. This is a paint-by-numbers Hulk Hogan main event in nearly every way, except that Vince and Hulk threw every trick they could into it to make it feel like a big deal. First, in the build-up, they teased that this would be Hogan's retirement match (it wasn't and was never going to be). Second, they had Sid pulverize countless opponents in the weeks before this match. To their credit, Sid did come in with a ton of legitimacy and looked about as intimidating and powerful as he ever had. Finally, they designed a match that would see Sid showcase his power and his potential as "the next Hulk Hogan." Overall, I thought Sid did a solid job as a cartoonishly evil foil for the Hulkster, the facial expressions he busted out looking equally as over-the-top as those of Hogan. The wrestling itself is bad, though, as Hogan doesn't bust out much more than a clothesline and big right hands while Sid can't get him up for the chokeslam. The powerbomb looks great, but Hogan kicking out and going right into the "Hulk Up" routine was very old hat by this point. Sid's mid-match promo should've come after the powerbomb, which would've allowed Hogan to kick out and then do his usual shtick without burying Sid's finish. Speaking of finishes, whether this was mistimed, poorly executed, or some sort of political compromise, it is an all-time bad one. We get a DQ for no apparent reason when Harvey Wippelman get's on the apron, a referee call that hadn't been made in countless matches earlier in the night with much lower stakes and much more involvement from managers/valets, and then Papa Shango making his way down the aisle for some unknown reason (it's not like Shango was feuding with Hogan or teaming with Sid at this time). The return of the Ultimate Warrior is a cool moment, but that's about the only thing that's good about the last few minutes of the match. When it's all over, Sid seems like a much lesser foe than he did coming into the match and Hogan has had none of the character development that they seemed to be leading towards with the build-up. The Warrior coming back and Hogan endorsing him was cool...but had already been done two years prior. The enthusiasm of the crowd for the whole ordeal carries this from being bad to decent. (2.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.5-out-of-5, WrestleMania VIII may seem like just an average show and though I'll readily admit there's a nostalgia factor at play here, this still might be one of my favorite WrestleManias ever. Piper/Hart and Savage/Flair are among the best matches of the decade and would still probably rank among the top 50 matches the WWE ever produced. Sid/Hogan isn't a good match, but the Warrior's return is a good moment. Sprinkled throughout the show are good promos - from the Road Warriors, from Lex Luger, from Sid and Savage and Flair and Bret and even Ray Combs - and even the bad matches are kept relatively short. A fun albeit imperfect show and worth checking out most of.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

TNA Hard Justice 2007

TNA Hard Justice 2007

Orlando, FL - August 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion was Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe was the X-Division Champion, and both guys were the TNA World Tag Team Champions.

I wasn't able to find Victory Road 2007 on YouTube, so I'm skipping that one and heading right to the next TNA pay-per-view event: this one...

Hard Justice begins with an X-Division-based tag team match as The Motor City Machine Guns take on former X-Division Champion Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt with the team of Triple X (Christopher Daniels and Senshi) rounding out the triangle match. Two months earlier, Daniels was feuding with Sting and now he was right back to being just another guy in the X-Division. As I've written about before, both TNA's bookers/producers and Daniels himself have reason to own the failure of the gimmick he was working here. As the commentators note, this is a super fast-paced match...but that doesn't make it good. They get plenty of time and the final few minutes do pick things up quite a bit from a match that felt a little meh, but this was unmemorable for the most part despite all three teams busting out seemingly every move in their arsenal. (2.5/5)

After some backstage stuff, its time for Raven vs. Kaz. This match gets a little over a third of the time that the previous match received but I daresay it was better and more interesting. Raven wasn't in the prime of his career here, but he still knew how to build a match - especially a match like the one here that was wild from the beginning and involved two his flunkies taking a bunch of the big bumps (in this case, "Havok" and "Martyr," aka Matt "Michael Shane" Bentley and Johnny Devine. Kaz's wrestling is solid here, though he would become even better as the years progressed, including when he donned the Suicide mask a year or so later. I also find it a little funny that Kaz, who wrestled briefly for the WWE when they were seemingly contemplating revamping their cruiserweight division, would actually be considered only a somewhat smaller-than-average heavyweight now as he stands 6'1 and weighs 210 lbs according to Wikipedia (for sake of comparison, that puts him basically at the same stats as Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston and not too far off from Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins). Anyway, this entertained me because Raven builds his matches around stories and not just high spots and wildly-intricate sequences. (3/5)

The storyline leading up to the next match is...not good. James Storm was a beer-drinking redneck, a gimmick well-established by this point. His opponent, Rhyno, revealed in an interview with Mike Tenay that he was a recovering alcoholic, which is why when Storm doused him with beer, the Man Beast "snapped." I'm not a fan of alcoholism-related content in my wrestling not because it touches a nerve or is something I think should be considered "off limits" - though, in probably should be - but because I can't recall a single time in wrestling history when it has been treated respectfully, creatively, or well. And so Storm and Rhino have a "barroom brawl" that is just your classic ECW-style brawl, only with more "booze" and beer being slung than in a Sandman match. At one point, Rhino takes a sip of beer and the commentators essentially turn on him - claiming that this single beer is enough to turn him into an unfocused, sloppy mess. Its heavy-handed and, while I'm no doctor or scientist and I'm sure it is medically possible for a serious, chronic alcoholic to be inebriated after one drink due to serious kidney or liver issues, Rhyno was never portrayed as such. This would've been much more fun if they had just made it a straight-up Number One's Contender match or something along those lines instead of trying to make it "personal." At over 10 minutes, it also runs just a tad too long for such a thin concept. (1.5/5)

Homicide saves the day in the next match as his team with "Super Mex" Hernandez (aka the Latin American Exchange) take on The Voodoo Kin Mafia (aka the New Age Outlaws). The crowd chants "DX Rejects" at the very start, which had to hurt Billy...err, Kip James, and BG James (formerly known as the Road Dogg). They then break into a "187" chant in support of Homicide, who is definitely the strongest worker of the bunch. The VKM are backed up by Roxxi Laveaux, a valet I don't remember at all. The match goes under 6 minutes and the heels get a cheap, dirty win to prolong this feud. It's not terrible because it doesn't go long enough to be terrible and it is clear that the VKM knew the crowd was fully behind their opposition and didn't do too much annoying shtick, really letting the babyfaces shine for the majority of the sub-6 minute contest. (1.5/5)

Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young is next in a match billed as Ultimate Humiliation (the loser will be tarred-and-feathered). These two had been feuding for months by this point, but their in-ring work together was routinely good and Eric Young had gotten over with the TNA faithful as an underdog babyface. Roode, meanwhile, was coming into his own as a cocky heel who was deliberate and methodical in the ring. This bout isn't quite as good as their Slammiversary bout - which was more emotional as it had less silly stakes - but the in-ring action might've been a touch better as it was also a more condensed match and the finish wasn't as predictable. Despite losing, Young does not end up tarred-and-feathered because Gail Kim prevents it. This leads to Bobby Roode accidentally hitting Traci Brooks with a big right hand, an act of male-on-female violence that gets glossed over a little and not treated as all that big of a deal in order to get to the much-less-controversial act of Young pouring a little bit of "tar" (chocolate syrup?) on her and then a handful of feathers. (2.5/5)

The next match was more of a "mauling" than a match as Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes' latest alter-ego) bloodied and beat down Chris Harris in under 5 minutes. As far as introducing a new character, this was alright and one could never argue they didn't make Rhodes look as strong as possible in his new persona. The problem is that Rhodes, at this point in his career, was not in the best ring shape, was still wearing gear heavily-indebted to his Goldust persona, and this wasn't enough of a reinvention (or at least one that was interesting enough). I'm a big fan of Dustin, but won't defend some of his lesser ideas and this was one of them, a character that was meant to be spooky but wasn't, a concept that was supposed to be original but felt like something we'd seen before and better (arguably by Dustin himself in the WWE). This is more of an "angle" than a match, but I commend Harris for doing everything he needed to do to try to get this over. It doesn't help that Sonjay Dutt, who runs out at the end to protect Harris, is smiling the whole time like an idiot. I hope he got chewed out backstage for that. (1.5/5)

A bit of a tag team dream match followed as The Steiner Brothers took on Team 3-D. This match was supposed to happen months earlier, but Scott Steiner suffered an injury that caused this bout to be cancelled. At the previous pay-per-view, which was unavailable on YouTube, The Steiners cost Team 3-D a chance at winning both the TNA World Championship and the X-Division Championship. I was not expecting much out of this match as Bubba Ray was not in great shape (I liked that he took a crack at the Steiners being "out of shape" in his pre-match promo) and their matches against LAX from earlier in the year weren't all that great, plus Scott Steiner had also only been so-so (his match with Kurt Angle earlier in the year was especially disappointing) and was coming off an injury. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much this worked despite my misgivings. I was not a fan of the way Team 3-D were heeling it up earlier, backing off and acting cowardly, but that's heel shtick for you and its wrestling 101 (I would've preferred they had given this match a bit more gravitas and done something more akin to the acclaimed Steiners vs. Luger & Sting match from roughly 15 years earlier, a battle between two teams that refused to back down). The crowd ate it up, though, and the Steiners were clearly the favored team with the live crowd so it made total sense for Team 3-D to play the shitheels. I liked that when Team 3-D gained the advantage, they went right to attacking Scott Steiner's scarred rib cage. Smart heeling there. Speaking of Scott Steiner, his Frankensteiner from the corner on D-Von looked terrific and earned the "That Was Awesome!" chant that followed. Plus, the match only went 11 minutes, not overstaying its welcome in the slightest. This wasn't the epic battle that these teams could've pulled off 10 years earlier, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I believe many fans would've expected out of two teams that were several years past their prime. (3/5)

Mike Tenay is in the ring for our next segment - the TNA debut of Adam "Pacman" Jones. Jones was a young, controversial NFL player who was suspended in his 2nd year in the league for various off-court incidents - fights, disorderly conduct, public intox, a shooting case in Las Vegas over NBA All Star Weekend. While suspended from the NFL, Jones got signed by TNA but...was not allowed to have any physical contact or wrestle due to a decree by the Tennessee Titans. Thank god, he was a good promo. Oh. Wait. He wasn't. He wasn't a good promo at all. Well, at least he looked intimidating. Say what? He was only 5'10? And weighed under 200 pounds? And had no real "It" factor aside from his rap sheet? Ron Killings comes out and gets cheered because the Tennessee fans loathed Jones for all the bad publicity he brought to the Titans. I'll give credit to TNA as they make it clear that Jones is not allowed to be touched as they could've tried to do a bait-and-switch thing with him. Oh, that would happen later? Great. This is easily one of TNA's biggest fumbles.

The next match is one of those classic overwrought TNA stipulation matches as its time for the first-ever Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, a.k.a a six-man First Blood cage match that must end in a pinfall between Christian's Coalition (Christian, AJ Styles, and Tomko) and the babyface trio of Sting, Abyss, and Andrew "The Punisher" Martin, who had made his TNA debut a few weeks prior (and was as 'roided out as he'd ever be). It is unreal seeing the former Test here and learning he was only in his early 30s because he looked like a grizzled, freakish monster. I was also surprised to learn that this was his first and only match in TNA as I would've thought he'd have stuck around at least a few months longer. I hate to speak ill of the dead - especially someone like Test who has one of my favorite "under-the-radar"/hidden gems against Lesnar from a King of the Ring tournament a few years before this - but Martin does not come across as a very big deal here. To be fair, nothing really stands out about this match overall. AJ takes some good bumps, as expected. Tomko and Abyss have some good exchanges that make it clear that the match they had two months prior was not a fluke and that they actually do have great chemistry. Christian's heel work is terrific. Sting gets to play the hero at certain points, but, as crazy as it is to say in 2024 when he's actually one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions (and deserves to be), his role is pretty minimal and he's kept out of the fray for minutes on end. This isn't a bad match, really, but it isn't very good and the stipulation actively works against it. A six-man cage match shouldn't also need a literal guarantee that multiple guys are going to bleed. These guys could've worked the exact same match without the First Blood-then-a-pinfall stipulation and it would feel much less like they were checking boxes and working through an overly-scripted performance. Sloppy due to bad production, bad camera work, and a dumb format. Oh, and, at one point, they cut to the back to show that Pacman Jones has been attacked and needs to be stretchered out of the arena. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle in a Winner Takes All The Gold match for every single title in TNA (Angle's TNA World Championship and IWGP Championship and Joe's X-Division Championship and TNA World Tag Team Titles). This match is a mixed bag. The storyline coming into this was that Angle, now thoroughly a heel, was going through a rough patch with his wife, Karen Angle (who had shown up with her new boyfriend). Throughout the evening, Angle had been going nuts over Karen showing up with a new man and there was one particular scene with "Dr." Kevin Nash that popped me. He comes out to this match looking extra glum, nearly teary-eyed, and I must say, Angle's acting was surprisingly good. Joe, meanwhile, comes out with a grand entrance, backed up by a foursome of Samoan slap dancers. All the work in the ring between Angle and Joe is terrific, but there is an equal amount of emphasis - on commentary, via camera work, whenever Angle goes to the outside - on Karen Angle and her boyfriend drinking champagne and smooching at ringside. I can understand the opinion that Angle and Joe needed to spice things up for this match after having multiple contests against each other over the previous year. But isn't that why this one was for every single title? Was that not enough of a draw? Joe and Angle do enough, especially in the closing minutes, to make this better than average and easily the best match on the show and I will admit, having not followed TNA at the time and not remembering where this storyline went, I was fooled by the finish (until it actually was executed and Karen's poor acting and timing made it clear that the swerve was coming)...but it is still considerably lesser than any of the other matches they've had together that I've seen. (3/5)

Tallying up the Kwang Score, I was a bit surprised at how not bad this show scored (a not-so-terrible 2.22-out-of-5). This show was widely panned when it happened as many fans were the opposite of receptive to Adam "Pacman" Jones joining the company (and not even being able to be involved in any physical action), the Russo-rific booking of the main event (and Samoa Joe being made to look foolish), the continued awfulness of the Voodoo Kin Mafia, and the shrug-inducing "reveal" of the Black Reign character. Still, there are some good moments on this show. TNA's best workers and performers - Angle and Joe, Christian and AJ, Homicide, the X-Division stars in the opening contest - all shine when they're on-screen. The Steiners/Team 3-D match isn't as bad as it could be. Raven and Kaz put together a good, exciting, and interesting match that stands out. This show is not the complete debacle that some have painted it as.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver