WCW Fall Brawl 2000

WCW Fall Brawl 2000

Buffalo, NY - September 2000

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Kevin Nash was enjoying his 5th WCW World Championship reign (somehow), Lance Storm was the United States Champion, Elix Skipper held the Cruiserweight Championship, and Norman Smiley was the Hardcore Champion. The World Tag Team Champions are Juventud Guerrera and Rey Mysterio.

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, and Mark Madden

Fall Brawl 2000 kicks off with Kwee Wee (with Paisley, aka Sharmell) challenging Elix Skipper (with Major Gunns) for his WCW Cruiserweight Championship. It is somewhat remarkable how much WCW's roster changed between the start of 2000 and now the fall of the year. Gone are the recognizable stars like Sid and Lex Luger and midcarders like Brian Knobbs and Bam Bam Bigelow, replaced by several guys making their WCW PPV debut - including these two in the opener. On the negative side, having un-established guys on your PPV makes the show seem a bit low rent -especially compared to the cards the WWE were putting on, where everyone from the bottom of the card to the top was relatively over  (WWE's Unforgiven show from this same month features no less than 18 current or future WWE Hall of Famers). On the positive side, Skipper and Kwee Wee could actually go and while their gimmicks were one-dimensional, they were working their asses off. I'm not sure why WCW opted to start their show with what was essentially a heel/heel match, but whatever, as far as sheer athleticism goes, this is the best WCW match I've seen in some time. Both guys hit their moves with plenty of impact, lending this match a real feeling of competition. Unfortunately, whoever was booking at this point (I'm not sure if Vince Russo was still around or not but Bischoff was gone) opted to give this one the same finish of the past dozen or so WCW pay-per-view matches: a screwy one. Mike Sanders, also making his debut on the show, hits Kwee Wee with a wiffle ball bat to the knee, allowing Skipper to retain the title in a little bit over the 10-minute mark. Not a bad opener at all, though I do wish it had ended cleanly and that the crowd had a reason to care - which is difficult when both guys are playing unlikable characters. (2.5/5)

Next up, The Misfits in Action take on 3-Count in a six-man tag match. I was very pleasantly surprised with this. Representing the MIA are Chavo Guerrero, Corporal Cajun (Lash Leroux), and A-Wol (The Wall), who was not setting the world afire as a singles wrestler but is much more tolerable in this role. The best part of this match, though, is that its 3-Count who actually get to dominate and control for extended stretches. Karagias, Moore, and Helms could bump, but their offense isn't too shabby either and its nice to see them get opportunities to shine. I liked the double-team maneuvers both sides displayed, though its clear that Moore, Helms, and Chavo are the glue holding this together. Everyone else puts in good efforts, though, especially The Wall, who has a great moment of shine early when he hits a guerrilla press-into-a-spinebuster, but then lets the heels put him through a table later on. Without going back through my records, I'm willing to wager this is the best match the Misfits in Action, in any form, had in their entire endless run in WCW. This match also shows how much the WWE dropped the ball when they brought Helms and Moore in as they could have easily revived the 3 Count gimmick (which was so gloriously corny it could've drawn mega heat with the WWE machine behind it). Sadly, according to wikipedia, Karagias suffered a severe concussion early in his WWE run and was released within 9 months of it (without ever wrestling a match on WWE TV), but maybe they could've kept him on as a manager? Or replaced him with someone like Jamie Noble? Anyway, a surprisingly solid second match in a row on a WCW pay-per-view. What is this? 1997? (2.5/5)

KroNik take on The Harris Boys in a First Blood/Chain match. As one would expect, this is just a straight-up brawl, but unfortunately, not a very good one. Part of the problem is that while all four of these guys are probably legitimately tough, no one wants to sell and, unlike the Nasty Boys' classic garbage brawls with Foley in 94' or even the Steiner/Mike Awesome match from the previous WCW pay-per-view, there's nothing original or exciting here. As Bret Hart might say, the goal of a pro-wrestling match is to make the fans think you're hurting the other guy - not to actually do it. Here, they're probably hurting each other for real, but its happening in such a boring way that its not entertaining. If you're gonna destroy yourself and your opponent for the crowd, you gotta go full bore. Despite this being a stipulation match where even the loser comes out looking tough, there's a ref bump and a bullshit finish when one of the Harris (despite bleeding) is able to open up a wound on Brian Adams, giving The twins the win. After the match, Adams and Bryan Clarke beat up a referee or two to "get their heat back." Instead of worrying about their credibility, they should've worried about getting over with the crowd because nobody in the arena gave a lick about this match. (1/5)

Lance Storm defends the WCW United Stat...err, Canadian Championship against General Rection in the next contest. Storm cuts a good promo before the match, but the real story here revolves around how this is Rection's biggest opportunity ever. For the first time in a long while, the commentators do a really nice job telling the story of how hard Hugh Morrus worked to get from the undercard up to a United States Championship opportunity. Too bad his ring name was a dick joke so no matter how "serious" this match is, he still comes off as a comedy character (the M.I.A's bizarre Motown/Blues Brothers theme song doesn't help either). The other key element is that, as Storm had been using his Canadian brethren (like Jacques Rougeau) to help him retain the title in previous defenses, Rection evened the playing field by bringing back wrestling's biggest patriotic star ever - "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Anybody that had been watching WCW knew where this was likely to lead, but there was still at least a little bit of doubt over whether Russo would actually pull the trigger. I mean, had he not seen how ineffective the last dozen "swerve" heel turns he tried had been? The flopped Goldberg turn? How short-sighted and ultimately pointless turning Kidman was? The way Kevin Nash's heel turn a few weeks prior barely registered? Anyway...Storm was/is good enough that this match is a huge improvement from the previous one and Rection, had he actually just stayed with the Hugh Morrus moniker and not been the leader of one of the worst stables of all-time could've actually had my support and empathy. By 2000, though, any of his potential as a likable performer had been completely zapped. The match only goes 6 minutes before Jim Duggan turns heel and helps Lance Storm, stripping off his tee-shirt to reveal a Canadian one. If Duggan wasn't the 50th heel turn that year, this could've maybe worked, but because he turned heel in a company where everyone turned heel, it came off as exactly what it was - a sad, desperate attempt to "shock" the audience. (1.5/5)

What happened to Mike Sanders? Also, what the hell was going on with "Mean" Gene by 2000? Okerlund was always known for making little mocking asides and, at times, standing up to heels like Bobby Heenan and Flair and others, but over the past few months, he's so antagonistic, I'm not sure if the audience is supposed to even like him anyway. Sanders cuts the kind of promo that reminds me of Mr. Kennedy...and just like Mr. Kennedy, makes me ponder what exactly stood in his way from being at least a "top midcard" guy beyond just not having friends in the right places. 

The next match is a 12-man tag - The Filthy Animals and Company (Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, Disco Inferno, Konnan, Big Vito, and Paul Orndorff) taking on The Natural Born Thrillers (the aforementioned Mike Sanders, Mark Jindrak, Sean O'Haire, Chuck Palumbo, Shawn Stasiak, Reno, and Johnny The Bull). As you might imagine just by reading the previous sentence, this match is super overloaded. As you might not expect, its not out-and-out terrible as Mysterio and Juvi were solid, Konnan gets eliminated first, and though none of them were fully polished workers, at least four of the Thrillers (Sanders, Jindrak, Johnny The Bull, and O'Haire) had charisma and/or a handful of impressive moves, which is really all you need in a match like this. Also, the booking isn't even bad as there's a bit of a story to the match with Disco Inferno ending up on the other Animals' shit list after accidentally knocking into K-Dawg (and causing his elimination) and Reno eliminating Big Vito, which not only built on their feud but also, justifiably or not, helped push the idea that the Natural Born Thrillers were a real threatening group. Juventud comes in, but the Thrillers continue to dominate, eliminating him minutes later. Finally Orndorff comes in and the babyfaces start to turn the tide, Mr. Wonderful eliminating Johnny The Bull with his patended piledriver. I'm not sure Orndorff should've eliminated anyone when none of the other babyfaces were able to, but whatever, he main evented WrestleMania. Unfortunately, the match falls apart soon after as Orndorff suffers a stinger when he attempts another piledriver on Jindrak. Orndorff is unable to move from the mat so Mysterio comes in and tries to complete the match, but it is futile because Orndorff is laying, essentially paralyzed from the neck down, in the center of the ring. The commentators and the heels are shocked and no longer keeping kayfabe, Mysterio is calling things on the fly with guys who have about 9 months of training under their belt, EMTs arrive and work to get Orndorff out of the ring - its just a bad scene. The referee finally calls in a No Contest despite the fact that the Thrillers were up 5-to-2 (really 5-1 considering Orndorff wasn't able to continue the match). Had this wrapped up like it was supposed to (I'm assuming the Thrillers would've won), I think this match would've been considered a high point of the show - which isn't to say this is a Must Watch bout, but its much better than it really had any right to be. It runs a touch long, but there are enough good spotlight moments to make it an above average match. (3/5)

WCW's bookers/creative department made lots of mistakes over the years. One that they made over and over again was promoting scaffold matches. Has there ever been a good one? Maybe in ECW? I must admit to having not seen all of the scaffold matches the NWA promoted over the years, but the one I watched most recently - featuring Steve Austin and PN News if I'm not mistaken - was god awful. This one is a mixed tag scaffold match - Billy Kidman and Madusa taking on Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson. This time, the scaffold is assembled over the stage, which foreshadows the fact that someone is going to be taking a major stunt fall (and considering Billy Kidman was the only legit high flyer in the match, it was obvious he'd be the one to do it) that would probably cause death if performed onto the unforgiving mat of the ring. Despite the scaffold seeming a bit broader than the ones the company used in the 80s and 90s, Kidman and Douglas still don't do much beyond throw some punches and try not to die. Torrie Wilson and Madusa's "brawling" is even weaker. Madusa gets sent crashing to the stage floor from halfway down a ladder, while Kidman takes a huge bump through the stage itself less than a minute later, the whole match ending before it even hits the 5-minute mark. Considering Paul Orndorff was nearly paralyzed less than 15 minutes before this match takes place, the stunt falls here are especially lame. (1/5)

Before the next match, we get a pre-taped segment involving Mike Tenay and David Flair, who has basically lost his mind after learning that he is not the father of Stacy Keibler's unborn baby (who I thought she had miscarried at the last month's PPV?!?). Anyway, this segment is awful...awful-ly great! David Flair couldn't wrestle, couldn't cut a serious promo, and was a horrid actor too, but the set-up here is just great as Mike Tenay arrives to find Flair living in filth. When the mailman arrives, David Flair attacks him and it is so corny and stupid that its impossible not to laugh at the absurdity of this entire angle. The best part of this show and its not even close. (+1)

Back to the ring we go for Sting vs. The Great Muta vs. Vampiro in a three-way dance (that starts out more like a 2-on-1) with Insane Clown Posse taking over the commentary duties. Sting had some surprisingly good performances in 99', but this feud with Vampiro has not yielded the quality matches that I (maybe naively) believed it would. Muta and Sting have history dating back to the 80s, but none of that old chemistry comes through here. To make matters worse, ICP are unbelievably annoying and unfunny on commentary and, to make matters even worser, Mark Madden sticks by to share his thoughts too and laugh at all of ICP's dumb one liners. When ICP aren't providing amateur-level commentary on the action, they promote their own wrestling company - Juggalo Championship Wrestling (Vampiro was their World Champion) - which, based on their work calling this one match, I can't imagine anybody wanting to watch with the volume on. This match goes a bit longer than the previous match - about 15 seconds longer - which is maybe the best thing about it. The commentary is so bad that this deserves no points. (0/5)

Mike Awesome took on Jeff Jarrett next. Mike Awesome was fully into his "That 70s Guy" gimmick, which was total unmarketable horseshit. When Awesome debuted he had buzz and, in the right context, was really enjoyable (see his stiffer-than-concrete match against Scott Steiner at the PPV before this) and could've gotten over as a no-nonsense ass-kicker. Instead, he was saddled with this gimmick and, on this night, Gary Coleman as a sidekick. Coleman isn't the only guest star in this match as Jeff Jarrett opens up the contest by ripping apart the Buffalo Bills at ringside. Like the recent RAW moment where Elias got mega-heat by mentioning the departure of the SuperSonics in Seattle, the crowd really lets loose on Jarrett. Again, imagine this same scenario with Mike Awesome as the bad-ass character he was in ECW and you'd have something special. Unfortunately, the segment and match just come across as incredibly overbooked and, for some reason, its Jarrett who ends up as the most sympathetic character in the mess as he ultimately loses after multiple powerbombs, run-ins from Gary Coleman and the Buffalo Bills, and Sting as well. Whoever laid out this match was probably thinking that Jarrett needed to be kept strong as he was, for better or worse (well, worse), the most reliable "top heel" the company had. But Jarrett wasn't over to that level, reliability be damned. Goofiness and overbooking prevent this from being recommended, but its not the worst match on the show, so, there's that? (2.5/5)


In the match I might have been looking forward to most - out of morbid curiosity - was up next: Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner. The design of this match and feud seemed to be try to resurrect Goldberg as the unstoppable monster babyface in an effort to erase all the damage he had suffered after Starrcade 98' - close to two full years earlier. At the same time, Steiner was arguably the most over guy in WCW, heel or face, so he needed to come out of this strong too. Poor commentary and a bit of a sluggish pace hurt this match, but move for move, its actually a smartly worked match with Goldberg delivering a number of impressive power moves and going after Steiner's face (he's wearing a mask to avoid injury) and Big Poppa Pump jumping back-and-forth between is overconfident meathead act and the crafty veteran heel who knows he can't overpower Goldberg like he would anyone else. At one point, Goldberg reverses a piledriver attempt into a powerslam and, minutes later, catches Steiner off the top rope and hits him with a bodyslam - just absolutely crazy strength spots considering Steiner's size. At the 10-minute mark, things get a little crazy with Steiner grabbing a chair and his valet Midajah showing up with a steel pipe. This is a No DQ bout so Steiner is able to clobber Goldberg with the chair on the outside and then strike him in the ribs with it back in the ring after putting him into a tree-of-woe position. Its then Steiner's time to hit some impressive throws. Goldberg escapes a full nelson attempt while Steiner reaches for the pipe. Goldberg hits a spear and then looks to set up Steiner for the Jackhammer but...but...but Vince Russo hits him with a baseball bat. Steiner makes the cover but Goldberg kicks out at 2. Steiner sends Goldberg out of the ring and puts him through a half-standing table in a weak spot. Steiner sends him back into the ring and locks in the Steiner Recliner (kinda), but Goldberg muscles out of it and ends up dropping Steiner onto the top rope (kinda). Steiner continues to control, though, before Goldberg fights him off the top rope. Russo and Midajah strike again as not a single babyface comes out to try to help him. Steiner hits a nasty belly-to-belly from the top rope that nearly cripples Goldberg before applying the Recliner for a second time. Again Goldberg is able to fight his way out of it as Russo stares in disbelief. Steiner goes to grab a chair but Goldberg is ready for him when he returns and ends up dropping him with a swinging neckbreaker. Goldberg is about to hit a spear when Russo comes, only to get choked out (much to the crowd's delight). Steiner grabs the pipe and hits Goldberg straight to the head with it, knocking him unconscious. Steiner applies the Recliner a third time and the ref calls it. I wouldn't have minded a finish similar to this - Steiner cheats his way to victory, Goldberg never truly taps out - but Vince Russo's involvement was so self-serving and lame. What Russo didn't seem to understand about the success of the Mr. McMahon character (and, to a lesser extent, Eric Bischoff) was that Vince was charismatic as well as unlikable. Vince Russo is just unlikable. There are bits and pieces of a great match here, but there are also nuggets of shit sprinkled in too. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Kevin Nash challenging Booker T for the WCW World Championship, err - whoops, actually, because Russo had the book, Kevin Nash had defeated Booker T for the title on TV in the build-up to this match so its actually Booker T challenging Kevin Nash for the title in this cage match. This era of wresting was full of dumb "hot potato" title changes, but WCW did it even more and even worse than the WWE (the WWE World Championship changed hands 11 times in 99'). Nash and Booker T work hard and its obvious Nash wants to make Booker look good, but Nash was never a mechanic and Booker T, while solid, wasn't a Michaels/Hart/Benoit-level guy who had the ability to carry someone else to a great match. Nash does a respectable blade job after going into the cage. I'm not sure he meant to cut himself so deeply, but he sliced himself pretty well. Booker ends up hitting his Bookend finisher to win his second championship in a predictable ending. I like the idea of having Booker cement his status as a top guy by going through the "old guard," but I'm not sure this was a main event-caliber match as Steiner/Goldberg, for all its nonsense and Russo appearances, felt like the "bigger" and less predictable match. (1.5/5)


With a Kwang Score of 1.85-out-of-5, Fall Brawl 2000 is actually one of the better WCW of this year, largely thanks to the effort of the hungrier guys on the roster - namely Scott Steiner, the participants in the elimination match, Kwee Wee, and the ever-underrated 3 Count. There are still plenty of stinkers on this card and the commentary and production values across the whole show make it hard to watch at times, but there are also brief moments when it might be argued that WCW could've been saved even as late as this point. Steiner was over. Goldberg, in the right context, was still a bruiser that could pop the crowd. Booker T was over and established and, against the right opponent, felt like someone worth getting behind. Jeff Jarrett was a great role player, though I'm not sure his role should've been as the top heel in the company when Steiner was so much better at it. Jarrett being in the mix made sense, I just don't think he should've been at the center of it. Unfortunately, WCW had bungled the promising careers of Mike Awesome, Kidman, Vampiro so badly with unnecessary face/heel turns and gimmick tweaks in 99' and 2000 that they would've needed total repackaging, but there were at least one or two blue chippers in the Natural Born Thrillas stable and Rey Mysterio was on the payroll too. When people think back to WCW's 2000 roster, there's a sense that it was depleted, but the truth is, there was really a decent amount of raw talent stuck with some of the worst gimmicks and storylines in the history of the industry. Recommended to only the biggest WCW fans curious about what a decent (but not good or great) PPV from 2000 looks like.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE SummerSlam 2018

WWE SummerSlam 2018

Brooklyn, NY - August 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Brock Lesnar was the Universal Champion, AJ Styles was the WWE Champion, The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) held the RAW Tag Titles, while The Bludgeon Brothers held the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. Dolph Ziggler was the Intercontinental Champion, Nakamura was the United States Champion, Alexa Bliss held the RAW Women's Champion, and Carmella was the SmackDown Women's Champion.

COMMENTATORS: Graves, Coachman (RAW), Cole (RAW), Saxton (SD), Phillips (SD)

Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler was our kickoff match and while this was no less than good, it didn't stand out compared to any of the other matches they've had in 2018. At one point Coachman noted "Many people thought this match could steal the show" right as Ziggler applied a headlock and you could practically hear Corey Graves' eyes roll. The last 5-6 minutes saved this match for me as they ramped up the urgency and intensity. It didn't hurt that Rollins got cut a little too, the arrival of blood finally giving this feud the flavor it has been lacking since the very first time they locked up: unpredictability. (3/5)

The SmackDown Tag Team Championships were on the line next as The Bludgeon Brothers defended against The New Day. I was really surprised to read later that this match went close to 10 minutes because it felt like just 6-7. I'm a Harper fan and, based on his interview on the Edge & Christian Podcast, he seems happy in his current role, working with The New Day, Usos, and The Bar...but their act is noticeably colder than their days as Bray Wyatt's henchmen and I wonder if the problem is that the WWE has done a piss-poor job building up credible teams aside from the ones mentioned earlier in this (run-on) sentence. There was nothing new or exciting in this match aside from some of Big E's impressive displays of power. Nothing memorable here. (2/5)

One of the big shockers of the evening was how the next match, Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman, played out. I'm not a super Owens fan, but what happened to the strategy and gameplan that he had against Goldberg? Owens should be smart enough not to get squashed in under 2 minutes. Fortunately, wins/losses don't matter anymore so I don't think Owens is "buried forever," but this result and the match's brevity did him no favors and didn't really raise Braun's stock that much higher either because Owens had been presented as not much of a threat anyway. Also, just to put my booking hat on for a sec, I know Sami Zayn is injured for the rest of 2018, but this would've been a good opportunity to give Owens another little buddy (Ellsworth maybe?) to help him outsmart Strowman (or at least attempt to). Owens has proven to be even more entertaining when paired up with a buddy and, with the right finish, faulty interference could've been that "out" that would let Owens maintain a little cred after a loss. (1/5)

Charlotte and Becky Lynch challenged Carmella for her SmackDown Women's Championship in the next bout. I expected Becky to get a larger pop at the start of the match. I also expected Carmella to be a step behind, but this was easily her best match yet. She has improved enough to carry her own in a multi-man and, considering how often these sort of matches happen, that will get her pretty far (I particularly liked some of her spot-on superkicks). This match didn't feature as many of the crazy spots as the Lynch/Banks/Flair match from a few Manias ago, but I still found it entertaining from bell-to-bell. As much as the crowd wanted to see it, I'm not sure Becky needed the win here, especially if this is the next part of a major storyline between her and Charlotte. The post-match was, as expected,a  bit confounding. The crowd was clearly in Becky's corner as she beat down Charlotte and while I haven't watched the SmackDown episode from Tuesday, I'm guessing that large segments of the crowd will continue to support Becky no matter what she does. Will the impending Becky/Charlotte feud still work with Becky as the heel? Yeah, it will, because she's a good worker. But who wants a steak from Golden Corral when you've got one from Peter Luger's right there for the taking? Charlotte is the better heel, Becky is the beloved babyface, why swim against the current? (3/5)

AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe in the next contest. There was a big "TNA" chant to start the match, a nod to these two's shared history. While Steve Austin and Wade Keller criticized Styles and Joe for starting the match with some basic, hold-for-hold wrestling (noting that the storyline around this match should've inspired Styles to want to rip Joe's head off from the start), I disagree with that assessment. While the commentators could've painted the picture better, I was okay with Styles actively trying to rein in his wildest impulses and not let Joe "get in his head," knowing that in a brawl situation, Joe would be able to overpower him. As the match went on, the intensity picked up and Styles put on yet another "Best Wrestler on the Planet" performance, fearlessly bumping in and out of the ring. Samoa Joe may not be as quick as he once was, but his offense is still more devastating than 90% of the roster. This was a super physical match that peaked with AJ getting cut open and Samoa Joe grabbing a mic and telling Styles' wife and child that "Daddy won't be coming home" but reassuring them that he could step into the role. This inspired Styles to tackle Joe off the table and through the timekeeper's wall in what was one of the best spots of the entire weekend. Styles then went after him with a chair before eventually being talked down by his signature other and crying daughter. It was an incredibly emotional finale to the match and both Joe and Styles shined in the aftermath, playing their roles perfectly. What makes a match "must see"? Does it require a definitive ending? Of course not. A key part of pro-wrestling is building to the next match and this had me very excited about the future of this rivalry. (4/5)

 The next two segments were filler. First, Elias did his usual schtick but his guitar broke before he could play his song. Were we meant to believe Lashley was behind this? Seemed like a waste of time. Then, The Miz had a backstage moment with his former Miztourage, now the RAW Tag Team Champions, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, The B-Team. The Miztourage turned on The Miz back in late March, but they're "dumb goofs" gimmick is unoriginal, uninspired, and unfunny. Bring back The Fashion Police. 

Another match from the Blue Brand followed: The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan in a grudge match years in the making. I was surprised that the crowd wasn't 100% behind Bryan, a sizable portion of the crowd cheering for The Miz. It wasn't Sid/Michaels from Survivor Series 96' or anything and I'd argue its more of a sign of The Miz finally getting the respect and acceptance from the "hardcore" fans that he earned years ago rather than any sort of D-Bry backlash. I enjoyed the hell out of this match as there were so many small moments of brilliance. I loved Daniel Bryan starting the match with his fist in the air, making it 100% clear that this match wasn't necessarily about winning or losing - it was about punching The Miz in the face repeatedly. The Miz stealing Bryan's Yes Kicks was nothing new, but how about that surfboard? Later, The Miz hit an absolutely nasty clothesline off the top rope, a move that may be basic, but was delivered with such force it was remarkable. Throughout the match, the intensity and animosity was so clear that every moment mattered. While the live crowd didn't seem to be as captivated as I was at home, I also didn't watch this match in one 4+ hour marathon session and I'd wager that future viewers (or re-viewers) will enjoy this match more than the Brooklyn audience seemed to. Bryan's control segments felt cathartic in a way that is incredibly rare in the modern WWE, this match almost reminding me of the kind of meaningful, big match bouts that happened up and down the card back in the 80s and early 90s, when the heel might somehow steal the victory (as Miz did here), but he didn't escape without catching a real ass-kicking (see the Dusty Rhodes/Ted DiBiase feud from 90'/91' for another example). Bryan slapping the shit out of Miz and then hitting him with a stiff Yes Kick right to the chest was excellent, as was The Miz delivering a series of It Kicks to Bryan only for the American Dragon to work his way from his knees to a stand in defiance of the pain. The final minutes were great too, with a nice sequence built around Bryan kicking one of the posts with all his might and Miz locking in a figure four. Eventually, Miz ended up on the outside where his wife helped him screw over Bryan in yet another nod to the old school storytelling this whole match was built around. This match felt timeless, a straight-up fight between two guys that the audience fully believes hate each other. The best match of the weekend and maybe the year.  (4.5/5)

After a commercial for a Triple H/Undertaker match coming from the WWE's Australian Network Special, Finn Balor squashed Baron Corbin in under 3 minutes. Balor was his "Demon" character, which I thought was supposed to be saved for real important feuds? The crowd popped big for his entrance and his victory, but this still felt a bit unnecessary and if you were fast-forwarding through the show and missed it, you didn't miss anything. Point-and-a-half rewarded because the right guy one the match (I guess?) and Balor's entrance was entertaining. (1.5/5)

Jeff Hardy challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship next. This felt like the match we should've got a month ago (when Orton screwed Hardy out of the title and the WWE screwed fans out of a match they were actually excited for). I've read some reviewers call this the best match Nakamura has had for months, but I wouldn't go that far - then again, I'm higher on the series with AJ than most. I liked Nakamura and Hardy taunting each other and Hardy did a great job of making Nakamura's offense look devastating. Say what one may about Hardy's track record, he seemed to understand his role here better than Ziggler or Corbin or whoever did when Nakamura first got the call up and, despite loads of hype, was stuck wrestling 50/50 matches at the most crucial point of his WWE career. This was a good, not great match. I'm not necessarily sure what Randy Orton's cameo was meant to accomplish aside from pointing to an inevitable triple threat math between these three - a match that I'm about as excited for as my next visit to the dentist. Hardy and Nakamura have some good chemistry, but Orton's style, pace, and gimmick seems like an odd flavor to add to the mix. (3/5)

The RAW Women's Championship was on the line in the next match - Alexa Bliss defending the title against Ronda Rousey. This was essentially a total squash, but a much more entertaining and heated one than Balor/Corbin or Strowman/Owens. Those matches felt one-sided to the detriment of the talent involved - Owens is supposed to be smart, Corbin has a distinct size advantage - while this was more like peak-era Goldberg where nobody is safe from Rousey, especially a featherweight like Bliss, once she is in her "zone." This wasn't a match of the night showing, but kudos to Bliss for some of the bumps she took and also to whatever agent came up with the idea of having Rousey literally "call her spots." If part of your gimmick is telling your opponent you're about to judo throw their ass, you really can't knock it as telegraphy. More entertaining than your average match. (3/5)

Main event time - Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns. Before the match started, we got a lengthy, lengthy, lengthy video package and then a lengthy, lengthy, lengthy intro from Paul Heyman before Braun Strowman arrived and announced that he would be cashing in his briefcase immediately after the math. This was real clever booking as Lesnar and Reigns both got more boos than cheers (at one point there was even a "You Both Suck" chant). Unlike their WrestleMania match from early this year, which had a fantastic start, this one was just spears, Superman Punches, two suplexes, and not much else. As much as fans may be sick of Brock Lesnar, its worth noting that his bumping is still so damn good and spirited that he instantly reminds you why he was once considered an elite-level performer (and may still deserve that sort of recognition). After a few minutes Reigns collided with Strowman and then Lesnar F-5'ed him on the outside (and also tossed his Money In The Briefcase all the way to the stage), signaling that tonight would not end with a cash-in. Reigns then hit Lesnar with one more spear and pinned him cleanly in the middle of the ring. Whoopdee doo. Years of build shouldn't result in a match this lazy and instantly forgettable. A point-and-a-half rewarded for Lesnar's bumping, the "big fight feel" and crowd reactions, and the WWE finally pulling the trigger. This match was like cracking open a can of soda only to realize all the carbonation is already gone. (1.5/5)


As has become the norm for near-every WWE Network Special/pay-per-view (especially the 4+ hour ones), SummerSlam 2018 was a bit of a mixed bag with some good, some bad, and lots of filler. The best matches of the night - Styles/Joe and Bryan/Miz - will likely land on my annual Top 10 Network Matches of the Year list and several other bouts were above-average if not "must see." On the negative side, the main event was "all sizzle and no steak" as Good Ol' JR might put it, a match years in the making that will be more remembered for the brilliant Braun Strowman "swerve" that Vince McMahon engineered to ensure the crowd didn't abandon the show entirely rather than anything Roman or Lesnar did. Finn Balor's return as The Demon popped the live crowd but elicited a yawn from me. The Bludgeon Brothers/New Day match was instantly forgettable and did little to make me excited for SmackDown's tag division. Maybe instead of having the War Machine attack the Undisputed Era on Saturday's NXT show, they should've just had them pull that move on Harper and Rowan? As a whole, with its 2.65-out-of-5 Kwang Score, the show was comparable to WrestleMania XXXIV in that it was a whole ton better than the past couple of editions. 

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

WCW Halloween Havoc 2000

WCW Halloween Havoc 2000

Las Vegas, NV - October 2000

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Booker T is the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Lance Storm holds the United States Title, Mike Sanders is the Cruiserweight Champion, and Reno holds the Hardcore Champion. The WCW World Tag Team Champions are Jindrak and O'Haire. 

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, and Stevie Ray

There was a time when Halloween Havoc was arguably WCW's SummerSlam or Royal Rumble, a show that wasn't quite at the level of WrestleMania (that would be Starrcade), but was only one rung below, a highly-anticipated, major event unlike any other in the entire sport. Of all the PPV names and brands that WWE could and should lift from WCW today, Halloween Havoc is the easy first choice, its theme singular enough to feel special but broad enough to be recycled annually.

Since its inception in 1989, there were great editions (90' and 96') and some really not-so-great editions (94' and 99'), with some stellar matches (Guerrero vs. Mysterio from 97') and some of the worst matches ever (Kevin Sullivan vs. "Evad" Sullivan). How would the final edition go? Would it at least have one match that was as good as DDP/Badd from 95'? Or a segment as awesome as Roddy Piper's debut at the tail end of the 96' edition? 

The show begins with the WCW World Tag Team Titles on the line in a triple threat match with Jindrak and O'Haire defending against The Boogie Knights (Alex Wright and Disco Inferno) and the Filthy Animals' Mysterio and Kidman. There's enough talent in the ring to make this match no worse than average as this one is wrestled at a brisk space and there are lots of cool spots. The crowd seems to want ladders and tables like they were getting with the Hardys and The Dudleys in WWE at the time, but kudos to the 6 men here for keeping it relatively straight and just delivering good sequences. This isn't a revolutionary match or anything and Jindrak and O'Haire, despite some good offense, still don't have anything going for them gimmick-wise or in terms of personality. Meanwhile Wright and Disco have become such straight characters that their charm is wasted too. After the champs retain, the rest of the Natural Born Thrillers come to the ring and attack The Filthy Animals (including Konnan, who was commentary) before being saved by The Wall. Not a bad opener. (2.5/5)

The aforementioned The Wall stays in the ring and challenges the reigning WCW Hardcore Champion Reno next. This was an improvement on some of the lamer hardcore matches that WCW had put on in 2000, many of which were cartoonish and repetitive and took place backstage. Still, like in the opener, part of the problem is that neither The Wall nor Reno have actual gimmicks or personalities, which is particularly a shame in the case of The Wall because, by this point, he'd actually been a part of some of "The New WCW"'s more spectacular moments - chokeslamming David Flair through a stack of tables and Crowbar off of a huge scaffold at one point. Reno had less of a resume, but looked like a Mortal Kombat character (something that had helped Mortis stand out years earlier). The Wall had put on some pounds since his debut, which made him look like a poor man's Sandman despite him probably being a better worker. The spots here are not very good, likely because The Wall doesn't actually have the power to hoist up Reno the way he did smaller guys like Kidman. Also, the finish and post-match makes no sense and Stevie Ray actually points it out on commentary. When Stevie Ray is poking holes in the storyline presented on-screen, that's a problem. Again, this is an improvement on some of the more recent Hardcore Title matches that WCW had put on PPV because some of those were absolutely dreadful and this one only sucks. (1/5)

And, for the third match in a row, we have another variation of the "gang wars" that dominated WCW's midcard at the time - Palumbo and Stasiak of the Natural Born Thrillers stable taking on Lt. Loco and General Rection of the Misfits in Action stable. You'd have to be the biggest Chavo Guerrero fan on the planet to go out of your way to watch this match. Its not bad, its just not good or PPV worthy - though I'm not sure WCW as a whole was "PPV worthy" in October 2000. On commentary, Schiavone, Madden, and Stevie Ray put most of the attention on the miscommunications and fractured relationship of The Perfect Event with Madden emphasizing just how much better Palumbo is than Stasiak. He's not wrong, but its kind of like saying diarrhea is better than explosive diarrhea. The crowd doesn't care at all about this and nor did I. (1/5)

Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson team up to take on Tygress and Konnan next. Before the match starts, Douglas cuts a promo and its made clear that Konnan was injured earlier in the night. Tygress comes out and tries to take on both of them on her own, which shows some guts and gets a respectable response because of it. When the numbers game is too much, Konnan shows up and after selling the damage he suffered earlier for maybe 30-40 seconds, he springs up and acts like he was never injured at all, hitting his trademark rolling clothesline and then some considerably less impressive moves. This match features at least two unnecessary false finishes and would've been more tolerable with 2-3 minutes shaved off - though I will readily admit that I took many of the Russo Era PPVs to task for featuring so many sub-5 minute matches. So what's worse - decent matches that run too long or bad matches that are at least kept short? I'm not sure, but this match isn't worth your time and a transcript of Mark Madden's awful jokes during it could likely be used as Exhibit A for him being one of the worst commentators in pro-wrestling history. (1.5/5)

Buff Bagwell took on David Flair in a "Who's Your Daddy?" match (really a First Blood match with a dumb name). This might be David Flair's best match, which is kind of crazy considering that Bagwell hasn't had a decent match in what feels like years. What works here (and didn't work in most every other David Flair match) is that this one is wrestled with some actual psychology and there's a decent story to the match, specifically that Buff Bagwell treats Flair like a non-challenge and David Flair is treating this like the most important fight of his life. That contrast means that Bagwell's gloating and comedy work makes sense here as he treats the lunatic Flair like a nuisance rather than a legit threat. Flair leans heavily into his old man's bag of tricks, but again, in this paternity-centered context, it works more than in the past, when David seemed to be mocking his father rather than  naturally channeling him. The difference is crucial because David Flair isn't a good athlete or legit tough guy and should've never been treated like a threat to anybody and yet he, for whatever reason, was at times (and I'd say the same for Shane O-Mac). David Flair slices himself pretty good at the end and then we get the return of Lex Luger, who (unsurprisingly) turns on Bagwell. This is treated like a huge twist, but wasn't Luger affiliated with Ric Flair and not Bagwell before his departure? I feel like Bagwell and Luger may have even been feuding before Luger left - and boom, a cursory search on Cagematch reveals I'm right. They actually wrestled for the WCW World Tag Team Championships at Spring Stampede 2000 as part of the Millionaire's Club/New Blood storyline and, even after that, had a match against each other on Thunder so, yeah, Luger "turning on" Bagwell didn't really make sense storyline-wise. Oh well, this was still better than I expected it to be because I expected it to be complete horseshit. (2/5)

The Commissionership of WCW is on the line next in a Kickboxing Match between legitimate kickboxer Ernest "The Cat" Miller and Mike Sanders. Sanders reminds me of a slightly smaller Ken Kennedy as he has some natural charisma but for whatever reason never reached his full potential. Miller dominates this one (as he should) with Sanders doing a great job of making The Cat's blows look legit. Shane Douglas shows up and ends up helping Sanders win by countout - but because so many matches have ended with some sort of bullshit interference, it means nothing. While its not entirely clear why Douglas would want to help Sanders and the Natural Born Thrillers (aside from them all being heels), its also not an interesting turn of events so I don't really care what the reason is/would be. Points awarded for the kickboxing aspect of this match being treated somewhat seriously, but this is still not anything to seek out. (1.5/5)

In yet another disappointing match, "That 70s Guy" Mike Awesome takes on Vampiro next. The overbooking begins before the match even begins as Mike Awesome inexplicably puts the title shot he has on Nitro the next night on the line. In kayfabe, its not explained why he would do that. In non-kayfabe, one wonders, if this match was to be a Number One Contender's match, why didn't the writers just book it that way weeks earlier to promote it as such? Awesome is still solid in the ring, but Vampiro's clumsiness has officially surpassed his overness by this point. At his peak, Vampiro's look and character made him one of the company's most promising future stars, but his sloppiness can't be ignored (and might be the reason he was given zero runs in the WWE). Mike Awesome ends up winning the match with a not-so-hot Awesomebomb from the top rope, which makes him putting the title shot on the line dumber in retrospect. Like, what purpose did adding that wrinkle serve aside from making it clear that Vampiro is an idiot for goading Awesome into putting the title shot on the line and not having a plan to cheat him out of it? This was sub-average because the transitions were mostly non-existent and nearly everything Vampiro did, including his bumping, looked drunken. Very little chemistry between these two. (1/5)

Backstage, Hugh G. Rection cuts a passionate promo about wanting to win back Major Gunns and take the United States Title from Lance Storm (who will also have Jim Duggan on his side) in this handicap match for the strap. Rection's promo is delivered with plenty of gusto, almost enough to make one forget that his ring name is a lame dick joke, he's trying to win back the rights to a legit porn star, and that the Misfits in Action have the single-worst theme song in the history of wrestling. Honestly, I actually feel for Rection a little bit because he wasn't fighting an uphill battle, he was wrestling out of a 30-foot pit lined with barbed-wired Wrestlecrap. Fortunately, for this match, he's got Lance Storm as one of his opponents and Storm was arguably (along with 3-Count) the best part of WCW at the end of 2000, a heat magnet doing a simple gimmick but doing it right. Duggan's heel turn felt forced, but its undeniable that it pissed off live crowds too. The action in this match isn't anything to write home about, but its light years more spirited and better-executed than anything we've seen for the past hour. Because this is WCW, they mistime the ending as Elix Skipper of Team Canada shows up to help Storm and Duggan (who don't need his help and have things well under coSntrol) but gets taken out by Major Gunns (who had been forced to join Team Canada months earlier). Major Gunns "turn" distracts Storm and Rection is able to win the title from Duggan, furthering this storyline. This match wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. (2.5/5)

Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting follows, a match that I'd argue is "above average" just because of the insane plot of it. Basically, in the build-up to this bout, Jarrett had come out dressed as "Surfer" Sting and lambasted the Stinger for being a "has been," a guy that had been the "Face of WCW" but no longer deserved to be considered "The Franchise." When the match begins, its a straight-up affair, but soon, various "Stings" show up, each one dressed like a different era of Sting's career. Now, its not like these Fake Stings come out and perform great moves or that the Stinger himself ups his level of intensity or workrate with each new challenge, but it does make this way more entertaining than a typical Jarrett/Sting match likely would be. Its the kind of match you just know that Vince Russo had probably pitched a dozen times for The Undertaker but that Vince knew would come out so ridiculous that it would be laughable. McMahon was right - this is a ridiculous concept for a match - but it works because Jarrett is the kind of cocky-and-corny heel that would believe these shenanigans to be clever and Sting's costumes really did define the different eras of his career. I'm not sure any other two characters could pull this off. I mean, Triple H would be too serious to pull this crap with Taker. You'd never see Randy Orton try this with Kane. But Jarrett and Sting? It feels right for both guys. My biggest gripe was with the finish as Sting's no-selling is tiresome after seeing him take out a half-dozen guys, including one who nails him with a guitar. The right guy wins the match - I just wish they would've gotten there in a way that made Jarrett look more credible and didn't needlessly protect Sting, a guy that had been so inconsistently booked over the years that treating him like a Superman didn't make a ton of sense in 2000. (3/5)

Booker T cuts a promo backstage announcing that he's going to give Goldberg more time to be medically cleared and will defend the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in the next match (instead of the main event) against Scott Steiner, who is none-too-pleased with this change in schedule. Steiner is a lunatic here and very believable in the role. This isn't a great technical match or anything, but you can clearly see why Steiner was being pushed as the top heel at this point: He got great reactions and excelled as an old school heel, a bully who was unafraid to spit at fans and tell them to fuck off (and I don't think any of these guys were plants either). I read a review that criticized the action for being disjointed, which is true, but the lack of polish and telegraphing is part of this match (and Steiner's) charm as an in-ring competitor. Steiner's matches feel like fights and Booker T does a fine job selling for him. These two had a weird chemistry that resulted in a match that is the opposite of seamless but is more hard-hitting and "real" than anything else on the card. For the first time of the night, Stevie Ray's commentary isn't useless too. Unfortunately, the finish makes absolutely no sense as Steiner goes on a rampage, uses a steel pipe (and doesn't get instantly DQ'ed?), and then attacks all the referees that come down the aisle. I'm not sure if the commentators knew that this was going to be the result because they seem very hesitant to actually call for the bell - almost as if they're wondering (like I was) if Vince Russo was going to show up in a ref shirt and screw Booker T out of the title. That doesn't end up happening which is a good thing and, somehow, a bad thing too. Steiner was over and a great heel and probably should've won the title here to build towards a showdown with Goldberg at Starrcade, so you kind of need him to leave with the title. Having him screw Booker out of the title would theoretically keep Booker T over and maybe draw him some sympathy. On the other hand, every angle and character Vince Russo touched in WCW turned to shit. So Booker retains but gets the crap kicked out of him in the process and Steiner leaves looking a maniac (but also not a smart one as had no real reason to throw the match away). With a stronger 2-3 minutes at the end, this could've been a Match of the Night candidate. (2/5)

Main event time - Goldberg vs. KroNik. I never knew Brian Adams actually wrestled in the last match of the night on a wrestling PPV that wasn't a battle royale. Now I know and I'm kind of disgusted by it. Bryan Clarke, the other half of KroNik, was palatable in his initial run as Wrath and even when they were giving a brief push in 99' (I think?), but together, these two are just a bad imitation of the Road Warriors, no-selling their opponents offense and hitting clumsy (though undeniably impressive) power moves. The storyline leading up to this match was that Goldberg was possibly wrestling with a concussion or some sort of shoulder injury and I'm not sure if he's doing a really great job acting like he's concussed/injured or if he was legitimately suffering from an injury or ailment. At times in this match Goldberg looks like he's wincing in pain and does not want to be anywhere near the ring. I'm guessing he's not enjoying the stiffness of his opponents or the layout of the match - which involves a spear through the table that forces Goldberg to basically put his head through a wooden board. Goldberg wins this, but not handily, pinning both guys separately and building his winning streak to 14-0. This felt like a Nitro match (and not even a Nitro main event). Having Goldberg resurrect his undefeated streak was a curious booking idea, but it wasn't horrendous. I mean, if it works once whose to say it wouldn't work again? Well, just about everyone. The initial Goldberg push may not have been totally above board, but it stretched on long enough and was treated seriously enough to make it work. Here, they were clearly desperate to reset Goldberg and wanted to make fans forget just how dreadful the booking of his character had been for the past 2 years. Having him squash KroNik wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't an interesting idea or one that anyone would pay to see on PPV (in fact, the source I found online indicates that less than 100k purchase the event, the lowest-performing Havoc of all time). (1/5)


With a Kwang Score of 1.72-out-of-5, Halloween Havoc 2000 is another dingy show in a series of uninspired shows from WCW in 2000. On the plus side, Vince Russo nor Eric Bishoff show up to "change the landscape of wrestling forever" or try any other sort of desperate plea for ratings. On the negative side, a straightforward WCW show in 2000 made it clear why Russo and Bischoff felt the need to try radical swerves and "crash TV." WCW's roster wasn't necessarily thin, but the best talents - Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman, DDP, Kanyon, Mike Awesome, 3 Count - had been booked into oblivion and the never-ending stable wars between the Misfits in Action, the Filthy Animals, and the Natural Born Thrillers meant that a bunch more talent was just spinning their tires with no opportunity to break out. At the top of the card, the company was trying to cement certain guys as main eventers - namely Jarrett, Booker T, and Steiner - but none could really compete with the star power the WWE had at the time. As good as Steiner was, for example, his act was still just a throwback at this point while the WWE's "shades of grey" characters were in full swing (and were routinely putting on crowd-pleasing matches). To some people, the single match I rated as above-average is actually one of the worst ever, so its hard to recommend even if you're a fan of crappy wrestling kitsch like myself.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Evolution

WWE Evolution

Long Island, NY - October 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the RAW Women's Champion was Ronda Rousey, while Becky Lynch held the SmackDown Women's Championship. The NXT Women's Champion, meanwhile, was Kairi Sane.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, Renee Young, and Beth Pheonix

The show began with Stephanie McMahon's narration, but thankfully segued quickly to the words of Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and the Bellas (among others), the women who deserve the most credit for the Renaissance of women's wrestling, all hyping tonight's historic event. We then cut to a ripping guitar solo and performance by Lzzy Hale (of Halestorm) and Nina Strauss. I would've liked to see some in-ring highlights spliced into the performance but whatever, it was fine.

Opening up the show was our RAW brand tag, Trish Stratus and Lita teaming up to take on Mickie James and Alicia Fox (subbing in for Alexa Bliss, who cut a promo knocking the babyfaces for their age). I'm not sure if the cosplay idea came through (the heels were sporting Wizard of Oz-inspired garb), but it didn't matter - the crowd was enthused for this show and willing to overlook the fact that the Aggression Era talents were moving more than a touch slower and with less finesse than in their prime. The James/Stratus showdown drew a great reaction and it was particularly fun to see them deliver the kind of sequences they did during their feud in 06' - when the sloppiness or telegraphed transitions didn't matter because they were going for it at a time when that just didn't happen. Lita, the least polished worker of the bunch, did a better job playing the face-in-peril than she did getting the shine, eating some particularly brutal kicks from James. The faces ended up back with the upper hand not too long after, Lita hitting her big moonsault and Stratus delivering the Stratusfaction and a Trish Kick. I was a bit surprised how little Alexa Bliss was involved in this match as it was rumored that this feud would continue beyond this show, with Lita and Trish potentially teaming up at  one of the next big shows, but there were really no signs of that based on what happened here. Not a great match, but a good enough opener. (2.5/5)

The Bellas were interviewed backstage (and booed by the live crowd). Nikki dedicated her match against Ronda Rousey to her Rousey's mother, naming her an honorary member of the Bella Army. The Bellas are so much better as heels.

The 20-Woman Battle Royale was next, a future WWE Women's Championship match on the line. Among the competitors were a number of former stars including Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, and Alundra "Madusa" Blayze. Without the element of surprise that helped make the first women's Royal Rumble so much fun, this was just your average battle royal - though there some nice spotlight moments for The Ilconics, Carmella, Nia Jax, and, most encouragingly, Ember Moon (who has done little of note since being brought up to the Raw brand earlier this year). The aforementioned McCool, Maria Kanellis, and Ivory got a few moments to shine too, but none of the ex-stars seemed like they had a real chance of winning - which is kind of a missed opportunity because that could've been a fun way to go with this match, especially if you would've had Layla around. I'm also not sure why they didn't throw an NXT talent in there (as they did at the Rumble). The competitors brought their best to this match, but it was largely uninspired in the layout. Inoffensive, but nothing special. (2/5)

The finals of the Mae Young Classic followed with Io Shirai taking on Toni Storm. The commentators and video production crew did a great job of selling these two as "can't miss" future mega-stars, though, let's recall, they did the same for Asuka and she was basically a non-factor in the royal and hasn't been pushed as anything special since Mania season. This was the best match of the night up to this point, but it was clear that much of the live audience was unfamiliar with either competitor and weren't emotionally invested in the outcome - which was confounded by the fact that this was a straight-up babyface/babyface presentation, a battle of two athletes who respect each other and weren't going to cut corners to attain the prize. Thehe big spots were merciless and brutal and drew great reactions but it was clear during the flat post-match celebration that the audience had not been on the same journey as the participants (not even bothering to give Storm the same "You Deserve It" chant that they gave Nia Jax less than 20 minutes earlier). On a technical level, this was better than the opener, but it was far from the "show stealer" that many desired this to be. (3/5)

A six-woman tag match followed as Natalya, Sasha Banks, and Bayley teamed up to take The Riott Squad - Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan. As I haven't been following Raw for months, I didn't really know what to expect here. Ruby Riott was featured well enough last year against Charlotte, but the other two haven't really had the same PPV exposure as singles competitors. This match was a pleasant change as Morgan and Logan came out of this looking vicious, even in a losing effort (a booking decision I'm not sure I stand behind as the Squad should be booked as being practically unbeatable as a unit). It was also nice to see a crowd actually respond in a major way to Bayley and Banks, the two performers who might deserve the most credit for the groundswell of internet and "smart fan"support that led to the WWE Women's Revolution years ago. There were some incredible moments in this, including an awesome shine segment from Bayley that ended with her going to the well one too many times and getting dropkicked ribs-first into the corner post. I've seen hundreds, probably even thousands, of corner spots in my lifetime, but it was one of the best executed (and best sold) versions of it that I can recall. Not all was as good as that, though - Banks attempted a front-flip cannonball move onto the Riott Squad, got caught awkwardly, and then thrust into the barricade in a great spot that was just slightly off in execution. Then, Bayley saved her from a splash from the top rope by lying on top of her in a move that was meant to show how much the two have reconciled but came off as corny. I mean, instead of diving on Banks to protect her from the blow, why not shove your opponent off the top rope? These hiccups aside, the finish was a crowd pleaser, but as I mentioned above, I don't agree with it. As deserving of credit as the babyfaces were for what they've all contributed to the genre of women's wrestling in the WWE, there was likely more mileage in them losing this match than there is with them having their hands raised. All in all, a better-than-average match, but not that much better. (3/5)

The NXT Women's Champion Kairi Sane defended her title against Shayna Baszler next. I liked their match from a few months back, but I found this one to be even better - just an incredibly physical match with great striking, Baszler applying submissions that looked like they were legitimately debilitating, and the crowd actually buying into the face/heel dynamic. I also liked that they were light on the false finishes, this match standing as an epic but not over-relying on non-stop finisher spamming. Instead, the biggest spots of the match seem to come in transitions, not the "my turn/your turn" style that was once (and arguably still is) the template for WWE main events. Kairi Sane's gimmick may still rub people the wrong way, but I enjoy the sheer "Japan-ness" of it. This gimmick doesn't make sense to me and that's okay. I thought it was a Final Fantasy-meets-Sailor Moon thing, but as Michael Cole explained, she actually is a sailor. Whatever the case, if you're going to deliver the best top rope-to-the-floor splash of the year, I'm going to root for you. Baszler, meanwhile, is almost as Miz-level of heelishness now. She is thoroughly unlikable. I love how she plays by the rules - technically - but not in the spirit of fairness. For example, the move where she bends her opponent's hand back and then stomps on the elbow? There may be nothing in the rules against, but intentionally injuring your opponent? "Its just not done" as they say. Baszler doesn't care though. She's from the world of MMA, where breaking your opponent's nose and jaw isn't a workplace accident, it's the goal of the game. Here, without asking, Baszler's like-minded posse jumped in and made the Queen of Spades (a nickname they really really should consider changing) even more despicable. This was a great pro-wrestling match and maybe even a candidate for my annual Top 10 WWE Matches of the Year column. (3.5/5)

Next up, the SmackDown Women's Championship Match with Becky Lynch defending against Charlotte. The crowd was 100% behind Lynch (not a surprise). I was vociferous opponent of keeping Charlotte "face," but by this point in the storyline, I'm just hoping the WWE stops tinkering altogether and just lets these women "do them." Tonight was a great example of what that would look like as Charlotte, the unpopular "face," got great heat just doing her usual shtick while Lynch got big pops even as she "worked heel," grabbing at weapons left and right and maybe most importantly, not playing the "dumb good guy." There was so much in this match that I enjoyed - Becky dishing out some super stiff kendo shots early, Charlotte delivering a back suplex onto an ECW-style bed of chairs, and the late-game psychology of Ms. Flair attacking Becky's knee with the ladder to soften her up for the Figure 8. Speaking of the Figure 8, I recall seeing the move for the first time in 2014 or so and adoring it and I remain its biggest fan. Does Charlotte adding a bridge to the move actually make it more painful for her opponent? Does it really add to her leverage? I'm not sure - but what I do know is that it symbolizes a raising of the stakes and an "upping of the ante" and when her opponent is someone like Becky, who knows how to sell that added drama, it makes for a great moment. Into the crowd they went and like Austin and The Rock in their prime, they didn't just go out and stagger around aimlessly, they found a way to make this "filler" stretch entertaining via a heated exchange of chest chops and punches. They returned ringside and the table-smashing ensued, Lynch and Charlotte finally allowed to perform the spots and use the props that they'd probably been prevented using in the past because they were reserved for "the boys." While I've seen plenty of folks knocking Mike Chioda's referee work, and it was very distracting at points, I wasn't so appalled by it that I couldn't enjoy the effort and moments that Lynch and Charlotte put into this. I mean, how can anyone really shit on a match that ends with a top rope powerbomb through a table on the floor? (4/5)

Main event time - Ronda Rousey defending the RAW Women's Championship against Nikki Bella. Like the previous bout, this match had a "big fight feel," largely due to Rousey still feeling a bit like a big deal (though, not as big as when she debuted last January) and Nikki Bella, despite her inauspicious start, growing into being one of the best all-around performers in the division, a competitor who isn't going to outwrestle anyone, but will get her character over and get mileage out of doing the little things right. Brie Bella, meanwhile, is not as adept a competitor, but has quietly improved as a manager/sidekick both as a face - with Daniel Bryan - and with her sister. Nikki's control segment was pretty great too, Brie getting involved to keep Rousey at a disadvantage and Nikki infusing basic offense with the right amount of heeling (the headscissors into a push-up routine) and viciousness (Nikki ramming Rousey head-first into the post). Hell, they nailed an abdominal stretch segment too and Rousey continues to demonstrate skills beyond her years - her selling really on-point as Nikki managed to dominate a lengthy stretch of the bout. Rousey's comeback didn't make 100% sense, but it doesn't matter the same way "Hulking Up" didn't matter as long as it felt deserved - and after all that Nikki and Brie tried to do to her, it felt absolutely deserved to see Rousey go into Beast Mode and just toss Nikki around the ring. There were some obvious moments of spot-calling and cooperation, but there were also unexpected/perfectly executed transitions - including an Alabama Slam and Rousey connecting with some sort of small package off the top rope that looked devastating. A very, very good main event and a nice feather in the cap for Nikki Bella, who now has quite a few matches on her resume that rank among the best the WWE's division has ever had. (3.5/5)



With a Kwang Score of 3.07-out-of-5, the first women-only WWE PPV was a good/borderline great show. When the event was announced, I was confident that it could be the best WWE show of the year and while I'm not sure it earned that recognition - even in a down year like 2018 - the performers don't deserve any of that blame. The legs of this show were cut out weeks ago when they opted to relegate some of their bigger name talent, like Nia Jax, Asuka, and Carmella, to a meaningless battle royal, when they chose to build the show around a Rousey/Bella feud that exceeded expectations but still drew loads of criticism from fans craving something bigger for Rousey, when they limited the mainstream appeal of their own show by so prominently featuring NXT talent over their own main roster call-ups like Ember Moon. For all these faults in the planning and promotion of this show, the show still worked because while this was treated like a "lesser" show, the performers treated it like their WrestleMania and that enthusiasm shined through (even if the barrage of video packages made this point at least five times too many by the end of the night).

I've always categorized a 4-star match as being a "must watch" or, at the very least, a "should watch," a match that leaves a mark on you after you've viewed it, one worth talking about after. Lynch/Charlotte earned that distinction by very likely being the most hardcore match the WWE will ever allow two women to perform. Beyond even that, though, it felt like the perfect encapsulation of the months-long feud these two have been engaged in, the singular match that represents the entire story of this rivalry. With the crowd refusing to play along with the heel/face dynamic the company clearly wanted them to buy into, Flair and Lynch have had the difficult task of forging ahead by eschewing the good guy/bad guy labels and making this a clash where both sides can be seen as faces and heels. Lynch is no longer insulting the crowd, but her attempts to literally walk out on her title defenses isn't heroic. Charlotte's run as a babyface hasn't been great, but here, knowing the crowd isn't going to back her no matter what she does (and she took some seriously sympathetic bumps in this match), she wisely brought back the fierceness and focus that we'd see in her matches with Sasha Banks years ago. Charlotte doesn't do "happy go lucky" babyface well - few do - but like her old man, she shouldn't need to change everything about her act to be well-received by the fans. Nothing smells worse than desperation and Charlotte's attempts to court the audience have been hard to watch. In this match, she didn't bother and kept her intensity and intentions on winning back a championship and, lo and behold, the confidence and character that deserves to be the centerpiece of the division returned.

The main event wasn't quite as great, but it exceeded my (and many others') expectations. If this was Nikki Bella's swan song, she's leaving on one of the best matches of her career. Calling Rousey the best rookie in WWE history would be going too far, but she's considerably better in the ring than she has any right to be. Plenty of world class athletes have stumbled in the spotlight, but Rousey is delivering with less and less crutches. Reviewers claiming this match was nothing more than another "smoke and mirrors" act should be reminded that all wrestling falls into that category. I don't doubt that, in time, Rousey will be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone on the roster, including more polished workers like Sasha Banks or Asuka, but just like a true WWE male star needs to be able to put on a good match with anyone from AJ Styles to Baron Corbin, what Rousey and Bella executed was incredibly impressive. For a rookie and a "bikini model who can't work," their match was my second favorite bout of the night on a card that featured a large number of great workers.

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

WWE Hell in a Cell 2018

WWE Hell in a Cell 2018

San Antonio, TX - September 2018

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the Universal Champion was Roman Reigns while AJ Styles held the WWE Championship. Seth Rollins was the Intercontinental Champion and Nakamura was the US Champ. The RAW Tag Team Champions were Ziggler and McIntyre. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions were the New Day. The RAW Women's Championship was held by Ronda Rousey and the SmackDown Women's Champion was Charlotte Flair. 

COMMENTATORS: Saxton (SD), Phillips (SD), Cole (RAW), Young (RAW), Graves (both)

In the opening contest, Jeff Hardy took on Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell Match. Years ago, the big gimmick matches would happen closer to the main event, but when you've got two of them on one show, its easy to understand why the WWE would opt to put as much time as possible between them. Orton came out to a big pop, which was a bit surprising considering he's "heel"-ier now than he's been in years and he's up against a pretty beloved babyface. The build-up to this match, at least off-screen, was all about what ridiculously extreme bump Hardy would attempt in this setting. Hardy pulled out weapons early, but they were used against him just as much as he was able to use them. The first big Hardy spot came with an Air Sabu into the cell wall that got a "Delete!" chant. A minute or so later, though, Orton was back in control, hitting a superplex for 2. The pace could never be described as frenetic, but they did a nice job establishing the brutality from the very start so it didn't feel like either guy was overselling as much as it might've had they wrestled a similar bout without the cell stipulation. Hardy set up a ladder upside down on the outside and attempted to suplex Orton into it, but ended up getting front-suplexed into the supports of the ladder chest first in a nasty spot I'm not sure I've seen too many times before. Orton continued his assault with a series of chair shots to the back and then a number of belt whips. Orton then set up Hardy in the middle of the ladder and brought his neck through a rung, stomping on the ladder. Orton applied a headlock (for no apparent reason really) that allowed Hardy to rally. Jeff attempted a Twist of Fate but Orton sent him to the ropes and countered with a trademark powerslam. The next sequence was one of the most stomach-churning moments I've seen in years as Orton busted out a screwdriver, inserted it into Hardy's elongated earlobe and twisted it around. This seemed like the kind of circus trick that probably didn't hurt Hardy at all, but looked like it was the most painful thing ever. Hardy escaped with a low blow, but his comeback was brief as Orton blocked a Swanton attempt and then hit his hangman DDT. At this point, Orton's back was cut open, possibly from the cage or one of Hardy's chair shots. Orton called for the RKO, but Hardy countered with a Twist of Fate and then set up a steel chair over the Viper's body. On his third attempt, Hardy hit the Swanton on the chair, but only got 2. As Orton rolled around, the camera also showed that a sizable chunk of his leg had been sliced off too. As Orton writhed in pain, Hardy set up all sorts of ladders and placed Orton on a table. He then climbed atop a mini-ladder, realized he couldn't leapfrog over the taller ladder, and opted instead to swing from the cell's ceiling and attempt a splash through Orton. Unfortunately for Hardy, Orton had rolled off the table and Hardy fell through it himself. Though this match was designed to make Hardy the sympathetic figure, Orton's legitimate injuries here were the real story (at least until the finish). Overall, I thought this match delivered what it was supposed to and I loved the extra bit of heeling by Orton at the end, demanding the ref make the count even after it was clear Hardy needed medical attention. I wouldn't call it "must see" necessarily, but it was pretty darn close and still recommended - especially if you've got a soft spot for either of these notoriously inconsistent performers. (3.5/5)

The SmackDown Women's Championship was up for grabs next - Charlotte Flair defending the gold against Becky Lynch. As most pundits predicted, Lynch came out to a warm reception from the crowd despite her being positioned as the heel in this feud (and a noticeable reduction in her pre-match routine). Flair got a bit of a chilly response in comparison. Quality mat exchanges to start, though they did get a little tripped up at one point before getting back on the same page. Lynch took control as Flair ran shoulder-first into a turnbuckle, a very tired trope but salvaged by the fact that Becky's control stretch over the next few minutes was very solid, all of her offense wisely focused on attacking Flair's arm for her Disarmer finish. Throughout her attack the crowd remained in her corner too, loudly chanting "Let's Go Becky!" at various times. Charlotte put on a strong performance herself, though, showing off her impressive strength by escaping an armbar attempt with a massive powerbomb. This match wasn't flawless, but the crowd was fully engaged (though probably not the way Vince wanted), the chemistry was undeniable, and there were a handful of "little things" that made this one thoroughly enjoyable (including the "out of nowhere," crowd-pleasing finish). It will be interesting to see where this storyline goes. I'm hoping they use this opportunity to do a bit of a course correction and reshuffling of the characters because Charlotte is getting great natural heel heat and Lynch is everything Roman Reigns should be, a "cool" babyface that actually comes off as cool. Imperfect, but very good and maybe a sneak-in for a Top 10 WWE Match of the Year. (3.5/5)

The RAW Tag Team Championships were on the line next with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defending against Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. I'm not sure this was as technically good as some of the matches Rollins and Ambrose had against The Bar last year, but it felt more heated and Dean Ambrose, in particular, seemed considerably more over with the crowd last night than he did during his run as SmackDown's top babyface a few years back. I liked seeing Ziggler and McIntyre actually use some cheap heel tactics to maintain an advantage and build to an Ambrose hot tag, but Rollins has a tendency to re-insert himself into the match too soon after, which kind of hurts the story for me. There were some very good sequences here, but I still see these teams as two pairs of singles guys - which was once "the norm" but now, with the rise of really unified teams like The New Day, Usos, and, before them, Cesaro and Kidd and The Revival in NXT, I'm just not as invested in their pursuit of the Tag Team Championships. This felt like a grudge match between two teams rather than a title match, which is what they seemed to be going for and what they delivered. It was good, maybe even great, but not "must see" and certainly doesn't make me any more interested in the impending 6-man match they have against The Shield at the Australian Super Show coming up. (3/5)

AJ Styles defended the WWE World Championship next against his nemesis, Samoa Joe. I really, really dug their SummerSlam match but was apprehensive about what they would do to top it. Here, Styles went all out from the jump and was absolutely merciless with his stiff knees and forearms. Joe seemed inspired to dish it as good as he took it, delivering a number of jaw-dropping kicks of his own. Their SummerSlam match was criticized for not feeling too much like a "wrestling match" instead of a legit fight, but I didn't mind that aspect. This one made up for it, both guys showing relentless effort and an utter disdain for each other. The crowd was significantly hotter for this too, appreciating this match more than the burnt out Brooklyn crowd seemed to in August. Unfortunately, it seemed like all the extra hard-hitting spots were almost designed to make up for the finish - an ugly, unnecessary "double finish" that saw Samoa Joe get cleanly and clearly pinned but complain, post-match, that AJ Styles tapped (which, based on a camera view, he did). Not only has this sort of finish been done before (and better), but it once again seemed to oddly "off" in a rivalry that has been so incredibly personal. To make matters worse, it will put AJ in the not-so-great position of having to admit that he did, in fact, tap out to Joe. That's not a great position to be in if you're supposed to be the top babyface of your brand and you're the World Champion. Still, shave off the last 3 seconds of this match, and you have a very good bout that proved Styles and Joe have plenty left to give. (3.5/5)

A mixed tag match pitting real-life couple Miz and Maryse against real-life couple Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella followed. I really enjoyed the Miz/Bryan match from SummerSlam and while this one was not as good, Miz and Bryan's chemistry is so undeniable that they were able to carry this solidly into "good" territory. When it finally came time for Brie and Maryse to get involved, they were (wisely) used sparingly and Miz and Bryan even stayed on the periphery engaging each other to make sure the action never really lulled. The finish was a bit sloppy and not nearly as surprising as some other reviewers have made it out to be. Miz stole a victory at SummerSlam and now he and his wife have gripped another one. I expect Daniel Bryan to get his big moment when the stakes are even higher. (2.5/5)

Ronda Rousey defended her RAW Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss in the next contest. Rousey's appearances may not have the same "big fight feel" that, say, Lesnar has, but its not too far from removed from it. There was a portion of the crowd clearly cheering for Bliss, but Bliss is one of the stronger booked characters in the company - not unlike The Miz, a guy who has managed to garner good favor with an audience that spent the better part of a decade loathing the guy. The story of the match was Alexa Bliss going after Rousey's kayfabe injured ribs, hitting her with a bunch of kicks and applying an abdominal stretch multiple times. Rousey hit a number of big power moves, some of which looked a little sloppy, but lack of complete finesse only adds to the danger and realism to me. Unlike a Charlotte Flair or Becky Lynch, Rousey is a rookie in the world of pro-wrestling, a piece of coal that shouldn't be moving or executing like a diamond just yet. What she lacks in finesse, though, she makes up for with grit, determination, and an arsenal of maneuvers she's carried over from her run as the baddest woman on the planet for UFC. I liked the involvement of Mickie James and Alicia Fox on behalf of Bliss (and continue to contend that James would've been the best first choice for Rousey to feud with) and predict that Natalya coming to her defense is all leading to a turn. A good-not-great match with Rousey even seeming to win over the crowd with her continued efforts and inspired offense. (3/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman in a Hell in a Cell match. Mick Foley served as the guest referee for this match, a nod to the 20th Anniversary of his classic Hell in a Cell bout with the Undertaker. Romans got a mixed response while Strowman got straight-up cheered. No surprise there. I enjoyed the matches these guys had in the past and this one measured up - though I do think the stipulation worked against them here as we seen an abundant amount of cage matches this year (including one at SummerSlam where Kevin Owens took a HUGE bump off the roof of one by Strowman's hands) and there's really no chance of a match like this ending until a ridiculous spot is performed. At one point, Foley basically made a 3-count and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not as Strowman got in his face about it (which led to a comeback from Reigns and the introduction of a table). Strowman regained control with the aid of the steel steps, but eventually got speared through the table for 2. Again, these would probably all register as big spots in any other match, but in a Hell in a Cell, with guys getting tossed off the top of them annually, it felt like lazy foreplay. At this point, Ziggler and McIntyre showed up - though it wasn't 100% clear to do what - which triggered the arrival of Reigns' Shield buddies. Up to the top of the cage they went to duke it out and the crowd began chanting "This is Awesome," a sentiment I couldn't agree with less. Ziggler and Rollins ended up on the side of the cage, bashing each other into the cage before both falling through the announce tables in a spot that I swear Ambrose and Rollins did years ago. All the while Reigns and Strowman were "passed out" despite the fact that the spot that put them in that condition only got a 2 count. Whatever. Thankfully, Brock Lesnar showed up to wrap this mess up, beating down both Reigns and Strowman with shards of the table and then hitting them with the F5 as the crowd chanted "Suplex City." A No Contest finish for a Hell in a Cell match? The guy the WWE just spent months painting as a dude who couldn't care less about the WWE coming in and destroying the top two RAW monsters? Um..okay...why not? I was less bothered by that then by the way the match devolved once Ambrose, Ziggler, etc. showed up. There were some good spots in the first half  and I was surprised by Lesnar's return, but this was not a match I'd ever revisit - which is a shame because we know that Reigns and Strowman can deliver when their matches aren't overbooked to death. Also, having Lesnar leave the ring in such a dominant fashion was a questionable booking move considering how much credibility Strowman and Reigns have lost over the past year. (2.5/5)


Hell in a Cell 2018 started out fairly strong with a better-than-I-expected Cell match between Orton and Hardy, followed it up with a crowd-pleasing Becky Lynch/Charlotte match, and then continued to deliver nothing below "good" with the RAW Tag Titles match, WWE Title match, and Rousey's defense. Where things fell apart was in the main event, a match that could've capped off the show perfectly just by having Reigns and Strowman lay waste to each other until one guy just couldn't kick out. Instead, we saw two pairs of teams run in and take the spotlight from them, all building to a "been there-done that" table bump that will be forgotten by the end of the week (and also helped erase any memory of Kevin Owens' bump from August). With a Kwang Score of 3.07-out-of-5, on the whole this show delivered, but where it could have possibly been an all-time great WWE PPV, the overbooked main event kept it from reaching that upper echelon.

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