WWE Survivor Series 1999

WWE Survivor Series 99'

November 1999 - Detroit, MI

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Champion was Triple H, the Intercontinental Champion was Chyna, the European Champion was The British Bulldog, The Big Bossman was the Hardcore Champion, Ivory was the Women's Champion, Duane "Gillberg" Gill was the Light Heavyweight Champion, and the World Tag Team Champions were the New Age Outlaws.

After a video package hyping tonight's main event - or, at least what fans believed the main event would be - an old school Survivors match is what we get to kick things off: The Godfather, D'Lo Brown, and The Headbangers taking on The Acolytes and The Dudley Boys. I don't believe the Dudleys had been in the WWE very long at this point, so they're clearly spotlighted even in a losing effort. With the talent involved, this wasn't going to be a good match, but its passable because they keep it moving and things never grind to a halt. The Godfather was much more over in Detroit - and, truthfully, basically anywhere and everywhere - than he was with me sitting at home as, even at age 15, I thought his gimmick was one-note, low brow sexist fluff...plus, at the end of the day, we're still talking about Kama/Papa Shango here only now he got to do even less in the ring. My own distaste for the Godfather gimmick aside, this really isn't too bad of an opener. I was a bit surprised that the Dudleys didn't get over, but this did build the upcoming rivalry between the Dudleys and the Acolytes that would run for several months on-and-off (if I'm not mistaken). (2.5/5)

Kurt Angle has his debut match against Sean Stasiak next. The pre-match video package for Angle is excellent stuff and reminds me why it was so clear that this guy was going to be absolutely despised - there's just something so insincere and unlikable about him simply just stating facts about his success. I was surprised that Angle's first opponent was Stasiak, not exactly know as a super-worker and maybe only a few short years ahead of Angle in terms of in-ring experience by this point. The crowd chanted "Let's Go Red Wings" at one point, clearly not at all into watching Angle and Stasiak mat wrestle. At one point, Angle stops the match to grab a mic and tell the fans to stop booing him. Angle eventually finishes Stasiak off with the Olympic Slam, but this was more back-and-forth than I remember it being as Stasiak got plenty of offense in. This wasn't a good match, but it was an important one in WWE history and was a big deal when it happened. Within a few weeks of this, Angle became one of the hottest characters in the sport and, to this day, I don't think there's any wrestler who truly had a better rookie year - not Brock, not Rousey, not anyone. (2/5)

Another (meaningless) Survivors match follows - Val Venis, Mark Henry, Gangrel, and Steve Blackman vs. The British Bulldog and the Mean Street Posse. I completely forgot that the Bulldog was ever even remotely associated with Shane's Posse and definitely thought Gangrel was out of the company by this point (he somehow stayed in the company till 01' and then was re-hired but never used in the mid-00s???). Anyway, the Mean Street Posse are all awful and this is years before Mark Henry was even halfway-decent himself. Steve Blackman always came off as awkward in the ring to me and Bulldog had zero credibility at this point after his worthless WCW run. This wasn't the worst match on this card, which is a problem because really nothing on a pay-per-view should even be this bad. (0.5/5)

Things go from bad to outright horrendous as we get an "instant elimination" 4-on-4 battle between Mae Young, The Fabulous Moolah, Tori and Debra and their opponents, Ivory, Terri Runnels, Jacqueline, and Luna. This is a trainwreck and, watching it, I just felt bad for most everyone involved. Terri and Debra weren't trained wrestlers and had no business being in the ring. Tori, Luna, Jacqueline, and Ivory were trained wrestlers but none were ever really given the opportunity to do anything resembling the type of action we get from women's wrestlers today. Moolah and Mae were both in their 80s by this point, right? They were brought out just for Lawler to make dinosaur jokes or gross sex jokes. Awful, unfunny, somehow more boring than anything under 5 minutes should be. (0/5)

XPac vs. Kane is next - a match I wasn't particularly excited for but what was pleasantly surprised by...for at least the first few minutes. XPac attacks before the bell rings, which kicks the match off in the right gear. Maybe because he knew he only had to put in about 6 minutes of work, Kane moves much faster than he usually did, taking a big bump from the top rope to the outside early on and eating a bunch of XPac's stiff kicks to the chest. He clotheslines the post, but ultimately regains control over his much smaller opponent until the Road Dogg comes in and prevents him from getting the 3 off of a chokeslam. It is at this point that the match turns into a schmozz and Triple H shows up and clocks Kane with the WWE Championship to cause the DQ. Torrie runs down the aisle but ends up getting kicked in the face by XPac. That draws a huge reaction. For what this was, I was entertained. Short, sweet, all good stuff, nothing unnecessary or slow. Knowing what we know now about this show, though, I have to wonder whether they should've maybe added a minute or two to this match because the action was good and, at other times, things really seemed to drag as the performers had to fill time. (3/5)

Backstage, The Rock and Triple H come to blows for no real reason...or at least none that had presented itself yet...

Back in the ring, Big Show went 1-on-4 against Big Bossman, Prince Albert, Viscera, and Mideon. Show had been feuding with Bossman, a rivalry that, on paper, sounds like it would've been absolutely awful but was actually one of the more entertaining storylines going on at the time due to Bossman's incredible heel work and the depths he'd go to terrorize the World's Largest Athlete. Extra half-point for re-airing the segments when Bossman read his condolence card about Big Show's father and then showed up at the funeral, dragging the casket off by hooking it up to his car. Big Show was set to have the Blue Meanie and Kaientai as his partners, but he destroyed them in the locker room before the match because he wanted to take out the heels all by himself. Once the bell rang, Show destroyed 3-out-of-4 of his opponents in remarkably quick fashion and got big pops for all his work, but Big Bossman ran off before he got the same. This has to be the shortest Survivors match in history, right? It went less than 2 minutes and Big Show looked dominant in it, which served its purpose. (1.5/5)

Backstage, Steve Austin is about to give an interview when Triple H shows up and they start brawling too. What was Triple H's gameplan here? Anger the two guys he's fighting later on just as a mind game? Austin chases Triple H t the parking lot but can't find him. And then, in one of the most memorable angles in Attitude Era history, Austin gets hit by a car! The announcers treat it super serious and the next 5-10 minutes are spent watching Austin get attended to by a bunch of EMS workers, Jim Ross, and all the McMahons. 

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line as Chris Jericho challenges Chyna (who was seconded by Miss Kitty). Chyna was the babyface, but Jericho has a noticeable and very loud segment of the audience backing him. In some ways, Chyna became a victim of her own success as, against certain heels, the crowds loved to root for her...until the act became repetitive and Chyna's mystique evaporated from her limitations as a wrestler and a promo became more and more obvious. To make matters worse for Chyna, Jericho, even as a heel, was beloved by many "smart" fans who believed him to be one of the most entertaining wrestlers on the roster and basically got babyface reactions from his very first night. With all that stacked against them, though, Jericho clearly wanted to prove he could carry Chyna to the best match of her career through sheer force of will and, while I'd have to watch a bunch more Chyna matches than I really want to to be 100% positive, he probably succeeded here. Jericho dominates on offense, but he's also a bit of a bastard, calling Chyna a "bitch" and really laying in some of his kicks. Its a much more physical contest than I expected and it ends up making Chyna a sympathetic figure - not a role she played much. Jericho's treatment of Miss Kitty also draws some good heat as Jericho really did everything he could to make himself come across as a bully. This match goes a few minutes over 10 but felt like a real war and a high-stakes match (not only because it was for the Intercontinental Championship but because Jericho had also claimed that, if he lost, he'd get a sex change). The finish didn't look too great, but Chyna's victory felt earned nonetheless and because she struck him with a low blow before hitting the pedigree from the top rope, Jericho didn't lose credibility by getting pinned. (3/5)

Backstage, Triple H and XPac explain to the McMahons that they were not behind Austin's attack (it would eventually be revealed that, actually, Triple H was behind it, but whatever). Triple H asks for reassurance that tonight's match is now 1-on-1 between him and The Rock.

In the ring, Too Cool and The Hollys take on Edge & Christian and The Hardys in a Survivors match. I forgot that during the Terri Invitational, both Edge & Christian and the Hardys were babyface acts, but I guess they were? I also thought the Hollys were babyfaces because Crash was so funny. Maybe they eventually became babyfaces? I also could've sworn that Too Cool were a "thing" as early as 97'/98', but, based on the commentary, their act had only just begun to be highlighted and they were still ostensibly months away from having Rikishi at their side? This match was just confusing as all hell in terms of understanding where the characters were. It was also surprising to hear this match not get very big reactions because the talents involved, a year later, were some of the most popular acts in the company. A match like this does help explain why that is, though - these guys put on a fireworks display with some of the sequences and spots here. Matt Hardy takes a NASTY sunset flip powerbomb on the floor that should've been treated like death the same way Austin getting hit by a car was. Jeff Hardy hits a 450 splash at one point and gets back body dropped over the top onto a bunch of guys on the floor too. The weakest offensive move might be Edge's spears, but everything else that is executed in this match is good-to-great. There's a bit of a lull in the match and, again, the crowd is just not there for these guys at this point, but the ingredients were certainly all there and its not surprising that, positioned properly, these teams and acts all got over with the crowds in time. From a sheer workrate perspective, this is the best match of the night, but the crowd indifference and a bit of an awkward stretch - were they possibly told to buy some time and didn't know exactly what to do to fill in the dots? - before the final eliminations prevent this from being the clear match of the night. (2.5/5)

The New Age Outlaws defended their WWE Tag Team Championships against Mick Foley and Al Snow in the next bout. The Outlaws were heels, but their catchphrases were still so over that the crowd cheered for them during their entrance, shouting along with all of Road Dogg's lines (except when he said he was going to shtup their mothers "doggystyle"). On the babyface side of things, Mick Foley had been shuffled down the card a bit after winning the SummerSlam main event (and the WWE Champinship), but with Austin out for the foreseeable future, he'd be shuffled right back up to the top by January. Al Snow had achieved his 15-minutes of national fame (or notoriety) when his action figure had been pulled off the shelves by Walmart for featuring what they perceived as a "decapitated head" (it was actually very obviously a mannequin head). I enjoyed the Outlaws/Foley match from SummerSlam 98' but this match offers none of those hardcore thrills, which is a shame because just making this a straight-up wrestling match means that its pretty dull and forgettable. Its laughable to hear JR and Lawler talk about the Outlaws being arguably the best tag team in WWE history when as soon as the bell rang, you could hear a cricket shit on a cotton ball. Not a good match at all. (1/5)

Main event time - The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Steve Austin's last minute replacement...The Big Show! The Big Show had not had a very strong run in the WWE up to this point, but this was an opportunity to give him a much-needed push in the right direction. Unfortunately, the WWE audience didn't get behind him to the level they needed to as a babyface. I wonder who else they considered for this spot or if they considered anybody else? Their choices were pretty slim. In hindsight, Test was there and actively involved in a feud with Triple H at the time (not that he was a main event level guy) and I could see Kane getting involved if they wanted to end the night with another big schmozz, but the Undertaker was nursing an injury (he wouldn't return full time for another 5-6 months), Kurt Angle wasn't established yet, and Chris Jericho was still locked in a separate feud with Chyna. Really, the only choice was Big Show. And the match itself isn't all that bad - in fact, its probably better than you remember it if you were a WWE fan at the time. It is very much a wild Attitude Era brawl, the action spilling outside of the ring fairly quickly and then all sorts of overbooking with the McMahons leading to the finish, but its physical and up-tempo for all of it. The Rock and Triple H take some serious bumps onto the floor and there's plenty of table wreckage to enjoy too. Both Rock and Triple H also did what was needed to put over Big Show as a huge threat and legit monster...though Big Show himself looked a bit uncomfortable and awkward in spots, which is unsurprising considering he was still just 3-4 years into his career at this point and his struggles to find his footing in the company had been widely publicized in the nascent "IWC." The Rock was the most over performer in the match and the crowd clearly wanted him to leave with the title, but with Austin out, its understandable why him not capturing the title was needed so that you could have him chase the title into WrestleMania. The Big Show's tearful post-match celebration felt forced and unnatural and the crowd didn't seem to care about it. Not a good way to end the night and another misstep in the booking of Big Show, who should've held the title high like a badass instead of an overemotional, sobbing softie. (2.5/5)

With only one real match in the above-average range (the X-Pac/Kane match is more of an angle anyway) and the crowd not caring about the only other really good bout (the Hardys/E&C/Hollys/Too Cool spotfest), Survivor Series 99' was a mess of a show that can't blame all its faults on Stone Cold's injury. Would the show have likely ended better with the advertised main event? Undoubtedly. Replacing Austin just wasn't possible. But the rest of this card is overloaded with matches that just aren't very good and, in most cases, feature talents who weren't very good wrestlers - including the Mean Street Posse, The Godfather, an over-the-hill Bulldog, a not-yet-ready-for-primetime Mark Henry, Ministry B-teamers like Mideon and Viscera, and most everyone involved in the Women's Survivors match. Then you also had certain acts that, while popular, really couldn't be depended on delivering great matches, such as the Outlaws. As a whole, this show felt like a bunch of episodes of RAW crammed together and not even good episodes of RAW at that. Somehow, though, this show eked by a 1.85-out-of-5 on the Kwang Scale when, before I crunched the numbers, I expected it to be closer to 1.5.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

ECW November to Remember 99'

ECW November to Remember 99'

November 1999 - Buffalo, NY

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the ECW World Heavyweight Champion was Mike Awesome, Rob Van Dam was the ECW Television Champion, and the ECW World Tag Team Champions were Raven and Tommy Dreamer.

The show kicks off with Joey Styles, Cyrus, and then Joel Gertner arguing in the ring before Tazz shows up to a split pop (some fans cheering and some chanting "You Sold Out"). To be honest, I thought Tazz had left the company by this point, but he was still hanging around ECW and was set to put Rob Van Dam over on this show. Tazz gets in Styles' face for calling him a cheap shot artist and then asks if he wants to fight him. The crowd chants "Fuck Him Up, Joey," but Styles obviously won't take him up on it. Tazz goes after Gertner next, calling him "Fat Shit" and then, as he tries to leave the ring, locking him in the Tazzmission for a few seconds. 

Simon Diamond cuts a promo in the ring, backed up by "his Dick" (Dick Hertz), when his opponent, Jazz, shows up. Jazz slaps Simon and delivers a Facebuster, but before she can pin him, Hertz picks her up and slams her to the mat. This brings out "The Giant Killer" Spike Dudley. On commentary, over the past few shows, they built up Simon Diamond as being a "blue chipper," but he loses here in under 4 minutes. I'm not sure if it was planned or "hard way," but Diamond ends up busted open and bleeding a whole ton. This was a nothing match. (0.5/5)

The FBI show up and take out Spike Dudley, which leads to Nova vs. Little Guido. Given some time and maybe a recap of their back story, I would've probably been into seeing this...but we get neither as this goes less than 5 minutes. I know that having a string of matches sequenced really tightly together was one of ECW's trademarks and set the show apart and, at times, could be very, very entertaining...but this feels more like a waste of talent as some of the folks involved were capable of delivering good matches. After Nova gets the victory, Guido and Big Sal take him out, which leads to the return of Chris Chetti. Chetti takes out the FBI, but then gets destroyed by Danny Doring and Roadkill immediately after. I guess its impressive to feature 6 guys in a single 10 minute stretch, but nobody shined here or got enough time to really show their talent. All of this should be fast-forwarded through. (1/5)

Finally - a real match follows: Jerry Lynn vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy. This was a really impressive match featuring some terrific sequences. Though the psychology is not always sound - Tajiri breaks up a couple pins, which makes no sense considering the stipulation - even those mistakes can be explained away as all three men wanting to prove that they're the absolute best and not wanting to cut any corners. As I wrote earlier, there are some awesome moments here that are captured beautifully - or as close to "beautiful" as any ECW match can get - including an awesome splash from Lynn into the crowd and a Super Crazy moonsault off the balcony. Still, its Tajiri who is the heel glue holding this match together and I kinda wish this had just been a Jerry Lynn/Tajiri match as they would've torn the house down. Super Crazy is great and all, but ECW really needed to establish some sort of hierarchy of stars and Lynn and Tajiri were right there, doing terrific work, but kinda stuck on a midcard hamster wheel because they weren't traditional "stars." I wouldn't call this "must see," but its definitely the best thing on this card up to this point. (3/5)

After a video recap of Angel from Da Baldies staple-gunning New Jack's eye, its time for the next match - the aforementioned Baldies vs. New Jack, Axl Rotten, and Balls Mahoney. If you're expecting good wrestling, this match has none to offer...but what makes it worse is that it doesn't even have very good brawling. The only weapon shot that came off great was New Jack slamming a vacuum cleaner into one of the Da Baldies' groins and everything else is just slop. Oh, there's also New Jack doing his trademark stage dive, this time delivering a splash from atop a basketball backboard. I was shocked to learn that one of the Baldies was PN News as I remember PN being much heavier in WCW. Anyway, this was pretty atrocious save for the New Jack dive and the vacuum cleaner shot. (0.5/5)

Sabu vs. Chris Candido was our next contest. I haven't seen enough of Candido's work to pinpoint when his "prime" was, but he was very good in this match and on the previous couple shows. This is also one of the better beginning-to-end performances that I've seen out of Sabu, at least until the last third of the match or so when things get convoluted and psychology gets thrown out the window. As is par for the course we get some huge spots out of Sabu and some interference from Tammy and the crowd is very much into everything. At close to 20 minutes, they maybe got too much time, but I didn't think this dragged at any point as much as things just got a bit sloppy (I loathed the execution of the final guillotine leg drop spot from Sabu after Candido blatantly positioned himself after saving Tammy). I wouldn't call this a "must see" match, but it's quite good. (3.5/5)

The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was on the line as Mike Awesome defended the gold against long-time rival and perpetual opponent Masato Tanaka. These two had so many matches against eachother over the years that there are very few that stand out (even to the most die-hard ECW fans). I liked this one because it felt like a "greatest hits" in front of a crowd that, by this point, fully saw these guys as deserving main event-level talents (as compared to the matches they had a year earlier). Hard-hitting strikes from Tanaka always work for me, Awesome's high-flying is always impressive, the powerbombs, the chairs...its all here and its all executed well. This may not be head-and-shoulders above any of their matches together, but this could arguably be the "go-to" match to see just because of the stakes and the environment. (4/5)

Rob Van Dam defended the ECW Television Championship against Tazz in the next bout. The build for this was interesting because everyone knew was Tazz was heading to the WWE (he'd debuted at the Rumble in January), but he was basically threatening to take RVD's title with him. It was also something of a consolation prize for longtime ECW fans as Rob Van Dam had clearly become the biggest star in the promotion by this point and absolutely should've been the one to dethrone Tazz, but for whatever reason, Heyman wanted to keep RVD separate from the World Championship scene and, in a very real sense, ended up with the TV Championship being the much more credible title. This is a good match - at times, maybe even great - but the finish is never really in question as this match was designed for Tazz to "pass the torch." It would've been a much bigger deal if Tazz hadn't already done a big "farewell match"-type thing at Anarchy Rulz. A hard-hitting match that shows that, in a better context with a less predictable result, they really could've had an all-time great ECW match. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Rhino and the Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) vs. ECW's trio of hardcore icons, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Raven. The Sandman was making his in-ring return to ECW on this show after a not-so-hot run in WCW as "Hak." I'm not sure why this was the main event rather than RVD/Tazz match or even the World Championship match, but I'm guessing Paul E. thought that this match had more star power and appeal for the longtime ECW viewer. Anyway...this was more an actual match, with actual tags (at least at the start), than the wild kitchen-sink brawl I was expecting. This match was all about whether Dreamer, Raven, and Sandman could get along, but unlike in the WWE, the wrestlers had such layered histories with each other that it actually worked and made for some fun moments. The heels take advantage of the turmoil between the faces, at one point delivering a three-man super-powerbomb on Sandman for a 2 count. The match devolves into a series of big signature moves and collisions before ending before we even get to the 10-minute mark. I liked the finishing sequence, but wish Storm or Rhino got the pin rather than Justin Credible, who was still getting a monster push despite the company having better heels in Candido and, by this point, Steve Corino too. This kinda felt like a TV match, but the atmosphere lifted it and it did continue the rivalries that Raven had with both Sandman and Dreamer. (2/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, November to Remember 99' is saved by a really strong Awesome/Tanaka match and a bit of a hidden gem in Tazz vs. Rob Van Dam, as well as one of the better Sabu matches that I've seen. These three bouts are strong enough to lift up a show that is weighed down by an unfunny opening stretch, a surprisingly underwhelming Nova/Little Guido match (considering that these two were among ECW's better in-ring performers), and a hardcore brawl that was largely forgettable save for two cool moments out of New Jack. Recommended to only the biggest ECW hardcore fans.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Elimination Chamber 2023

WWE Elimination Chamber 2023

Montreal, Quebec, CA - February 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Roman Reigns was both the Universal and WWE Champion, the Usos were the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Charlotte Flair was the SmackDown Women's Champion, Bianca Belair held the RAW Women's Championship, the United States Champion was Austin Theory, the Intercontinental Champion was GUNTHER, and the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions were Damage CTRL.

One of the most anticipated pay-per-views of the past few years (at least), Elimination Chamber 2023 kicked off with the Women's Elimination Chamber match: Asuka, Liv Morgan, Carmella, Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez, and Nikki Cross. Raquel had an excellent showing in the Royal Rumble in January, but Asuka came into this as the favorite due to her experience and star power. Morgan and Natalya started things off, with Nattie getting a bit of extra love from the Montreal crowd. I really liked the early physicality and use of the structure by Nattie and Liv to start things off, both women taking some good-looking bumps into the cell and cage walls. Raquel came in third and dominated the other two using her strength. At one point, Rodriguez looked like she might hit an Alabama Slam on Nattie onto the Chamber floor, but was stopped by a crossbody from Morgan. Nattie looked to apply a Sharpshooter, but it led to a sequence of counters building up to Nikki Cross joining the match. Cross came in and went right to work on the other three, slingshotting Liv into the corner of a cell and ramming Nattie's head into the cage. Nikki climbed atop Carmella's pod and hit a huge crossbody on the other three women and, for the first time in a long time, it actually looked like a legit move and not an overtly staged fall-and-catch. Carmella came in next and went for a series of covers, but to no avail. Carmella hid back in her pod to avoid Nikki, but ended up having to escape once Rodriguez grabbed Nikki and rammed her through the cell wall in a terrific spot. This led to Nikki's elimination as Carmella hid in another pod and Liv Morgan tried to climb her away out of harm's away as Rodriguez went on a spree. In the ring, Raquel went for a huge superplex, but Nattie slipped under and went for a powerbomb. Raquel didn't see it coming as Morgan came flying down from the pod for a sunset flip that got a huge pop from the crowd. Carmella went for a cover, but Raquel kicked out as Asuka came in and went right for Carmella. A loud "Asuka's Gonna Kill You" chant erupted as she thoroughly destroyed Carmella. An Asuka/Raquel showdown followed, the crowd clearly behind the Empress. Morgan came flying with a missile dropkick and then got into it with Nattie only to get hit by a Carmella superkick. She got locked in a Sharpshooter but wouldn't tap, but things got worse as Asuka applied an armbar. Liv wouldn't tap, but did "fade away." That was an unnecessary thing as Liv wouldn't have looked bad tapping to a double submission. Moments later, Nattie got eliminated by Carmella and we were down to three. Asuka and Mella double-teamed Raquel and eliminated her with their tandem offense. Carmella hit a surprise superkick on Asuka and nearly eliminated her, but Asuka kicked out. We got a decent pinning sequence between Asuka and Carmella, but Mella got caught in the Asuka Lock and quickly gave up. This match started out relatively hot, had some good spots in it, but then felt uninspired towards the end as the final 3-4 minutes were just a flurry of eliminations. A decent enough Elimination Chamber match, but certainly not one that people will remember for years to come. (3/5)

Next up - Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar. This match, despite being the second bout on the card, still had "big fight feel." Both guys were in tremendous shape for this and came out with big offense right from the get go, Lashley connecting with two spears before attempting to lock in the Hurt Lock. Lesnar resisted, though, countering it into an F-5, but only getting 2 on the cover. Remember when that move was insta-death? That's the problem with building a match entirely around finishers. Lesnar hit a second F-5, but again Lashley kicked out. Ugh. The crowd wanted one more and Lesnar went to oblige but Lashley escaped and hit a spear off the ropes. Lashley went to apply his finish again, this time securing it and bringing Lesnar nearly to his knees. Lesnar tried to power out, but Lashley held on. Lesnar reared back with a donkey kick to the balls, getting himself disqualified but breaking the hold. That was a real disappointment of a match. Lesnar hit an F-5 on the ref, popping the crowd. He then delivered an F-5 to Lashley in the ring and one on the outside through a table. This crowd was so hot that Lesnar could get away with an even lazier performance and still have them popping everything he did, but I really wish they had actually delivered a legitimate match with back-and-forth action and not just some finisher spamming leading to a DQ. (1.5/5)

The Judgment Day's Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley took on the team of Edge and Beth Phoenix in the next bout, the babyfaces getting an unsurprisingly big reaction from the Canadian crowd. Balor and Edge started things off, but only sparred a few moments before Phoenix and Ripley locked up. They traded some stiff clotheslines and then did a classic test of strength as the audience chanted "Fuck You Dominik." Out of the ring they went, Phoenix sending Rhea into the steps with force. Phoenix looked to be going for a moonsault, but Dom interfered and the heels gained the upperhand. Dom went running to the back, eliciting a "Na Na Na Hey Hey" response from the crowd until Dom came back out to jeers. The amount of heat Dom got here distracted from the match going on, but the big spots and shifts in momentum kept the fans engaged when they needed to be to get the story across. Phoenix as the face-in-peril was not what I expected out of this match, but it also allowed Ripley the chance to shine in the spotlight the way she needs as Charlotte's big challenger at Mania. Phoenix hit a huge superplex at one point, but it took just as much out of her as it did Rhea. Phoenix made the hot tag to Edge who locked Balor in the Edgecator as Phoenix did the same. The heels looked like they may tap, but Dom distracted the ref. Dom slipped brass knuckles to Ripley, who knocked Edge out. Edge looked to be done as the ref counted 1...2...and then, in a woeful bit of timing, should've counted 3 but had to wait for Beth to break up the pin. Eesh. That was a horrid mistiming that deflated the crowd a bit. They won them back with a double powerbomb spot that saw both women take out their male opponents. On the outside, Rhea looked to smash Phoenix's head with a chair onto the steps, but the Glamazon escape and hit her finish onto the arena floor as Edge hit his Edgecution DDT in the ring! Edge splashed Dom on the outside and then went for a spear, but Balor caught him with a slingblade. Balor looked to go for a dropkick but Edge caught him with a spear and then hit a double-team maneuver to get the clean W. This was alot of fun and I actually felt a little bad for Beth as that one mistimed nearfall marred an otherwise very good match. The crowd nudged this one up a half-point. (3/5)

The Men's Elimination Chamber for the United States Championship was next with Austin Theory putting his title up against Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Montez Ford, and Damien Priest. Rollins and Gargano got to start things off and I liked Corey Graves mentioning that this was their first encounter in a WWE ring but that they had done some work together in Cleveland (shoutout to AIW!). Reed came in at #3 to break up the wrestling-based portion of the match and got to show off his admirable strength. The crowd was very much into everything Rollins did from beginning to end (with one notable exception), but I like that this match was laid out to highlight everyone involved as, in terms of star power, Rollins was the only real capital-S Superstar of the bunch (even Austin Theory seems significantly "cooler" than he was some months back, which is not a complaint). The crowd was very into this, breaking out into multiple "This is Awesome" chants, but I didn't find this to be that much better than the Women's version that opened the show. There was some cool spots - Montez doing a huge splash from the top of the cage, a cool moment between Gargano and Rollins sitting atop a pod, Bronson Reed pancaking Priest into a cell wall - but there was nothing here that we haven't seen before and, in terms of character development, I'm not sure anybody came out of this match truly shining brighter than they went into it. The biggest head-scratcher was the elimination of Montez Ford, who took a Curb Stomp from Rollins and, after getting pinned by Theory, remained on the mat motionless as the ref called for help. Ford sold the injury - which, based on the minutes that followed, seemed to be in kayfabe - like a champ and the crowd definitely bought it at first (Rollins and Theory helped "sell" the moment by sneakily rolling out of the way and allowing Ford to be carried off). But, when the match restarted, there was a notable dip in crowd enthusiasm for Rollins, who looked to finish off Theory only for Logan Paul to spring into the ring through the open Chamber door and connect with a Buckshot Lariat and then a Curb Stomp of his own to help Theory retain. I get that Rollins stomping Ford helped put over the Curb Stomp as a lethal maneuver (which put an exclamation point on Logan Paul using it minutes later), but in the long-term, if we're headed to a possible Montez Ford/Austin Theory rivalry - which would probably serve both quite well - they really should've put the heat on Theory and not on Seth. It was a sour note in a match that was carried more by the crowd's enthusiasm than any sort of engaging, interesting through line. (3/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed Universal WWE Championship against Sami Zayn in front of Zayn's hometown Montreal crowd. This was basically at 4-stars before the bell rang as the crowd went absolutely BONKERS from beginning to end, serenading Reigns with multiple "Fuck You Roman" chants throughout. Reigns and Zayn didn't necessarily put on a wrestling clinic, but there was enough "meat" between big moments and the story they told was pitch perfect as Reigns dominated the majority of the match while Zayn refused to stay down, wrestling with all of his heart and capitalizing on some huge breaks with a number of tide-turning Helluva Kicks. I also really liked how much Reigns (and Zayn) involved Sami's family as it legit felt like a throwback to Bret Hart's babyface work in the 90s, when you could always count on a Hart or two getting messed with whenever they were anywhere close to Calgary. We eventually got to the predictable ref bump, a lengthy visual pin for Sami Zayn, and the arrival of Jimmy Uso. Even his interference wasn't enough for Reigns to get the W and after another ref bump, it was Paul Heyman who inserted himself into the match, giving Reigns a chair. Before Roman could put it to use, though, Jey Uso showed up to a huge pop. Jey Uso didn't make his intentions clear, though, as he didn't attack Reigns or Zayn, a cliffhanger plot point that was a genuine surprise after weeks of fans believing that this show would make it very clear where his allegiance was. Sami accidentally hit Jey with a spear which led to the actual finish, a dagger to the heart of the Montreal crowd as Reigns connected with his own spear to end the match. During the post-match, Kevin Owens made his (expected) return, clearing the ring and helping Zayn land one last Helluva Kick on Roman. Unfortunately, though, even as the crowd clearly wanted it, we did not get a full reunion between the two longtime friends and rivals, a missed opportunity to send the crowd home with one last positive enduring memory. It was a rare instance of WWE restraint that I disagreed with as this audience, for how hot it was all night, deserved to have that scene play out. A must-see match because of how intense the crowd was, but this did not live up to the Match of the Year expectations despite great efforts and performances out of both Sami and Roman. (4/5)

Comparisons to Money in the Bank 2011 were common in the build-up to this show, but where that show actually delivered the big title change it teased (and an excellent, exciting undercard featuring a terrific Christian/Orton match), this show suffered from a noticeable lack of star power - where was Becky? Bianca? Charlotte? GUNTHER? Cody? - and some underwhelming matches, specifically the shallow Lashley/Lesnar match (is the WWE ever going to just let these two guys actually go and have a "real" match?) and the ultimately meaningless Men's Elimination Chamber, a match that went 40 minutes only to establish that, yes, Logan Paul will face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. The main event could've been one for the ages, even with Reigns' getting the cheap win, but suffered a bit from not offering any real moment or story-furthering plot point. Few were looking for the match to end the Bloodline saga and even fewer should've expected Reigns to drop the title here, but why not give us the Owens/Zayn embrace that we all wanted to see? Why not pull the trigger on Jey choosing his family over his ethics? With a Kwang Rating of 2.9-out-of-5, though, Elimination Chamber 2023 shouldn't be considered an all-time great show, but the Montreal crowd might've been an all-time great audience and their engagement was enough to make this whole show a breeze to sit through and enjoy.

FINAL RATING - Watch It

ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999

ECW Anarchy Rulz 99'

Chicago, IL - September 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Tazz was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Rob Van Dam held the ECW World Television Championship, and the unlikely duo of Tommy Dreamer and Raven were the ECW World Tag Team Champions.

Before the show, Masato Tanaka gets interviewed on his way into the arena. He is interrupted by Judge Jeff Jones so Tanaka throws him into a parked car. 

In the arena, Joey Styles and Cyrus welcome the Chicago crowd to the show before we get our opening contest - Jerry Lynn vs. Lance Storm. The crowd goes crazy for Storm's valet, Dawn Marie, loudly chanting for her to bare her breasts. Lynn comes out with taped ribs because...he always did. Lynn and Storm were two guys that were known for being excellent technical wrestlers but not exactly interesting characters and this match suffers a bit from that lack of the "extra something" that even some of ECW's lesser wrestlers had. There is at least one breathtaking sequence in this and I absolutely loved Lynn's pop-up mule kick to Storm's testicles, but this went a tad too long and they lose the crowd at one point and don't really get them back (this would be around the second time they chant for Dawn Marie to lower her top). The finish comes a bit out of nowhere, but at least its clean. (3/5)

Simon Diamond came out and was hyped a bit by Styles and Cyrus as a guy that had a bright future. Well, they don't get them all right. Diamond's "Simon Says" promo was decent, but he was nothing special in the ring based on what we saw here. He says that no man is willing to tag up with him - which is a weird thing to gloat about - so out comes Jazz, who initially gets destroyed not by Diamond but by Diamond's buddy, ex-wrestler Tom Marquez. This "match" goes less than a minute before we get the real bout - Diamond and Tony Devito taking on Nova and Chris Chetti. Chris Chetti gets injured in the early going, which makes a sloppy mess of a match/segment even more sloppy. I guess the show was called Anarchy Rulz so this should've been expected. Tony Devito botches a urinage and the crowd erupts into a "You Fucked Up" chant. Roadkill and Danny Doring show up to end whatever this was supposed to be and then Da Baldies show up for good measure too. This all leads to the arrival of New Jack, who wipes everyone out with a bunch of weapons. This was near-impossible to follow and even harder to enjoy. When ECW did chaos well, it could be riveting to watch, but this was boring and not fun to watch. (0/5)

Things go much, much better in the next match - Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy in a triple threat match. This isn't an all-time classic, but for its time, it grabbed many fans' attention and these three would consistently be booked together for years to come because they could be relied upon to deliver the goods in the midcard. There are some really fun and clever exchanges throughout this match that push it a step above being just a "spotfest." Super Crazy is the only face in the match, but Tajiri and Little Guido have such good offense that they earn some pops for their work too. While one could argue that Tajiri and Super Crazy's first few matches in ECW together felt like "exhibition" bouts, by this point, they are established enough in their roles that this does feel much more competitive and heated. The crowd loved everything they did and, 20+ years later, there are still some things in this match that will pop even the most jaded fan. This is a "squeaker" must-watch match, especially for younger or newer fans who might be curious as to why ECW is still talked about today as a place where great wrestling happened, not just hardcore brawling. (4/5)

I'm no fan of Justin Credible and Sabu, as much as I love the character and respect the man, is undeniably hit-or-miss (as his gimmick may have also dictated). Here, though, Sabu and Justin Credible just so happen to click and end up delivering a surprisingly strong match that plays to both of their strengths. Credible takes a hell of a beating and while Sabu is his usual sloppy self, in this context it kinda works because he was not coming to "win" the match, but rather to inflict as much punishment onto Credible as he could. The match is bloody and violent and there are loads of tables broken, but there's also just enough actual wrestling (and most of it is decently enough executed) for this to be more than just a wild brawl. Plus, they kept a decent pace and didn't bother with too much lying around (which is something that Sabu is not always great at). (3/5)

The ECW World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next Tazz was set to defend the title against Masato Tanaka, who was the reigning FMW World Champion in Japan. The cat was out of the bag regarding Tazz's impending departure to the WWE so the Chicago crowd greets him with jeers and "You Sold Out"/"Fuck You Tazz" chants. Its really a bit half-hearted, though, as most of the "smart" fans recognized how much Tazz had given to ECW and that he had hung on with ECW for as long as anyone could expect a top talent to (by this point, Raven, Sabu, Sandman, Stevie Richards, the Dudleys, and countless others had already left...and some had even come back.) Before the match can begin, Mike Awesome shows up and he is inserted into the match per Tazz's demand. From here, Awesome and Tanaka start brawling before deciding to turn their attention on Tazz. Tazz gets a little bit of offense in, but ultimately falls to both guy's finishers, ending his reign and ECW tenure in under 3 minutes. In terms of match quality, I would've liked to see Tanaka and Tazz go at it 1-on-1, but I fully understand the booking decision (even if this was a great opportunity to establish Tanaka as "The Man"). Tanaka and Awesome proceed to have an abbreviated version of the matches they'd had in ECW (and I guess FMW?) in the months before this. Awesome and Tanaka could deliver huge chair shots, power bombs, and dives that would pop the crowd, but there's nothing "new" or "fresh" here to make it stand out as a different war than the ones they'd waged before. This one doesn't crack the "must see" line for me, but was entertaining and felt like a big ECW moment...even if that ECW "moment" might actually be the moment that ECW ended. An extra half-point for the post-match and Tazz's send-off as the Chicago crowd ends up cheering the guy. (3.5/5)

A video package highlights the years-long rivalry between Tommy Dreamer and Raven. Joel Gertner then welcomes Tommy Dreamer to the ring. Dreamer cuts a promo about...well, the same stuff he always did. This brings out Steve Corino, Rhyno, and Jack Victory. After Dreamer fights Rhyno (and Corino), Raven shows up and we get an impromptu ECW World Tag Team Championship match that doesn't last very long. The babyfaces finish off the heels with dueling DDTs to retain the titles and then, for no real reason, the radio shock jock Mancow shows up. This is more of a "segment" than a match, but whatever it is, I found it kinda lame. Corino and Rhyno gained nothing from this segment and the Dreamer and Raven storyline, which was showcased before the match, wasn't progressed in any sort of interesting way. Just filler. (1.5/5)

Main event time - The scheduled final match was set to be Rob Van Dam defending the ECW Television Championship against Johnny Smith...but before that match can happen, Axl Rotten comes out and cuts a promo challenging Mike Awesome, which leads to the Impact Players (Lance Storm, Justin Credible, Jason, and Dawn Marie) showing up and cutting him off. This then leads to Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney coming down to help Rotten out as they run the heels off. If there was any question as to how much talent ECW had lost in the previous years, this segment really highlights the considerable drop in star power that Heyman and ECW had to deal with in 99' and into 2000. After running the heels off, Rotten announces that RVD's new opponent will be Mahoney, who, as dependable and popular as he was, just wasn't a guy that could or should be main eventing a PPV. Van Dam comes out and is mega over with the crowd, as one would expect in 99'. Mahoney and Van Dam go on to have a good match that pleases the crowd and features one of the most insane spots ever when the Whole F'n Show performs an absolutely insane somersault dive from the top rope into the crowd. I'm not sure what's more impressive: the fact that he was able to get the distance he gets or the fact that he didn't break his neck performing a move that could've went sideways any one of a million ways. The camera angle doesn't really capture how Balls was able to catch him, but RVD owed him his life with that one. Speaking of Balls, his offense looks good for maybe the first 70-80% of the match, but this one clearly pushed him to his limit. I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing either as the Balls character wasn't built for 15+ minute matches that involved this many twists and turns and shifts in momentum. The crowd went home happy as RVD got the W after taking a serious ass-kicking. (3/5)

Considered by some to be one of the best ECW pay-per-views of all time - or at least of the company's original pre-WWE run - I was a bit surprised by how flat some of this show was for me. The ECW World Tag Team title match and the Simon Diamond/Jazz/Nova/Chetti segment and "match" didn't do anything for me, with Raven and Dreamer's work being particularly uninspired. The main event was fine, arguably better than I expected it would be, but didn't feel like a true pay-per-view main event caliber match. This show is probably most remembered for the Tazz/Tanaka/Awesome match and while its essential viewing for any true ECW or 90's wrestling fan, the Tanaka/Awesome portion of the bout (which makes up the bulk of it) is really just the same sort of stuff they had done previously (only with much higher stakes). With a respectable Kwang Score of 2.57-out-of-5, this show definitely captures the unpredictable and uneven spirit of ECW, for better or sometimes worse.

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

WWE Royal Rumble 2023

WWE Royal Rumble 2023

San Antonio, TX - January 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Roman Reigns was still in the midst of his historic reign as both WWE and Universal Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was GUNTHER, the US Champion was Austin Theory, the Usos held both the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships, the RAW Womens' Champion was Bianca Belair, the SmackDown Women's Champion was Charlotte Flair, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Damage CTRL's Dakota Kai and IO Sky). 

In a huge surprise, the 2023 Royal Rumble kicked off with the 2023 Men's Royal Rumble. Right from the start this was an excellent edition of the annual royale as Pat McAfee made his somewhat-of-a-surprise return to the announce table (McAfee had been hosting College Gameday, but with the college football season over, his return to WWE was predicted by many). Gunther and Sheamus started the match as #1 and #2 respectively and both men put in terrific showings. What really stood out to me about this match was how smartly it was booked, paced, and worked. There was just so much to love spread throughout this match - the Lesnar/Gunther staredown leading to Brock getting tossed by Lashley in shocking fashion, the Sheamus/McIntyre double elimination, seeing Karrion Kross get deservedly treated like a jobber, Logan Paul showing up at 29, he and Ricochet delivering unreal springboard clotheslines to each other, and drawing huge heat by eliminating Seth Rollins, a brilliant few seconds of straight-up amateur wrestling between Xavier Woods and Chad Gable, Edge and Beth Phoenix returning to exact revenge on Judgment Day...this match gave us storyline progression and highlighted everyone that needed to be highlighted. While it may have been short on surprise entrants, it wasn't short on big moments, which is really what a match like this is all about. Also, bonus points for treating Karrion Kross like a jobber (deservedly). In a match that was so loaded with talent, Kross stood out as particularly boring and dull for the few short minutes he was in the match. Similarly, I'm not sure what was up with Santos Escobar, but he looked almost immediately lost and awkward and seemed to botch every spot he was supposed to deliver. The best Royal Rumble match in at least a decade. (4/5)

LA Knight took on Bray Wyatt in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match next. As most would expect, Bray's entrance was a tremendous bit of production, though Wyatt's look on this evening was more minimal and straight-forward than ever, the Eater of Worlds coming out in all-black attire and zombie-like makeup sans any mask. Once the match began, it wasn't so much a "pitch black" match as a college dorm room "black light" match, the ropes and ring apron glowing neon (along with Knight's bright green trunks and Wyatt's body and face paint. It was a unique look, but ultimately, the wrestling itself was going to have to do very heavy lifting to make this work...and Wyatt nor Knight were capable enough. Knight hit a flying clothesline off the barricade and through a table that was inexplicably filled with neon shrapnel in one of the better moments, but it was no match for Wyatt and his Sister Abigail finish a few short minutes later. This one didn't overstay its welcome, but I don't think we'll be seeing another Pitch Black match anytime soon. During the post-match, Wyatt altered his appearance and then no sold a bunch of kendo stick shots before locking in the Mandible Claw on a nearby stage. Uncle Howdy then appeared atop a scaffolding and dove onto Knight, crashing through the stage, which then erupted into flames for no apparent reason. Here's hoping that's the end of the Uncle Howdy character? This was ridiculous, but not in a ridiculously fun way. This was just shallow nonsense. (1.5/5)

Alexa Bliss challenged Bianca Belair for the RAW Women's Championship in the next bout. As Uncle Howdy had seemingly just stage-dived into the depths of hell, I was curious how much hocus pocus would happen in this match or if they'd just have a straight-up match. Belair and Alexa had a lengthy match on RAW some weeks back that I liked better than this. This match was particularly hampered by some questionable submission attempts by Alexa and a couple of overly choreographed sequences that came across a tad awkward. The finish was one such sequence, coming out of nowhere as Alexa attempted a lazy Sister Abigail that got reversed into a KOD in a very flat ending. After the bell rang, a video popped up on the tron once again teasing Bliss's return to her Wyatt-possessed Lilly-toting gimmick. They need to shit or get off the pot with this turn as they have teased it for what feels like several months at this point. A very underwhelming match from two performers that I usually enjoy. (1.5/5)

The 2023 Womens' Royal Rumble followed with Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan coming in at #1 and #2. Unlike the Men's Rumble, which didn't need to rely on surprise entrants and dramatic twists to keep the crowd engaged, the Women's edition definitely could've used some big returns and a shocking turn of event or two. Piper Niven and Nia Jax returned and Michelle McCool competed, but none felt like a truly big deal. Asuka debuted her new face paint, but its going to take more than that to really put her back where she was 4-5 years ago. Damage CTRL were once again shown to be relatively impotent, a heel trio that can dish out punishment but can't actually win when the stakes are at their highest. Ripley's victory was widely predicted and while it is undoubtedly deserved after a stellar 2022, I sorta wish they had called an audible and had Raquel Rodriquez get the victory as she was the match's babyface MVP. (2/5)

Main event time - Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns for the unified WWE and Universal Championships. While Owens and Reigns were the competitors for this match, much of the attention in the Alamadome was on the Honorary Uso Sami Zayn from the very start, the crowd erupting into a "Sami Uso" chant before the bell even rang. Reigns and Owens have had a number of matches over the years and while few believed Owens had any chance of winning, they both really laid in their strikes and hit a whole slew of big maneuvers to make this match come across as particularly violent and special. Owens hit two terrific frog splashes but botched what appeared to be an attempt at a moonsault at one point, slipping on a rope. To me, that sort of misstep can actually add to a match as it shows the risk in a "high risk" maneuver and, because Owens and Reigns are pros, they were able to work through the turbulence and keep the audience's attention. While the bulk of the match was maybe in the "very good" range, things got great once Reigns shoved KO into the ref and Sami Zayn and Paul Heyman got involved. The drama and story - and violence - from here was just A+ pro-wrestling. I loved Reigns' spear through the barricade, a spot that we've seen dozens of times but that doesn't always look good as it did here, and Owens took two very, very nasty back bumps into the steel steps that I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone take before (though I'm sure somebody somewhere's done it). Sami's facial expressions were brilliant as Reigns finished off his one-time best friend and things only got more intense and captivating from there as the Bloodline tortured Owens mercilessly in the post-match until Sami Zayn, with 50,000+ fans cheering him on, attempted to make the save by striking Reigns in the back with a chairshot. Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa took Zayn out, but Jey Uso refused to join in, turning his back on the Bloodline and walking backstage on his own. Reigns finished Zayn off with a series of big chair shots as the crowd chanted "Fuck You Roman," a moment of heel heat that deserves to be remembered for years and years to come. In a time when people question whether one can draw that kind of nuclear heat through a wrestling storyline - especially one that isn't meta in the slightest way - the Bloodline story and this post-match angle really stand out as being one of the best long-running stories in not just the past few years, but WWE history. The match itself wasn't necessarily a masterpiece or even as good as some of Roman's other matches over the past few years, but the finish was unbelievably sick and the post-match was absolutely great. (4/5)

After one of the best Royal Rumble matches in company history, this show took a real nosedive, recovering during the final stretch of the main event and then ending in one of the best WWE segments in close to a decade. Skip everything after Cody Rhodes' win and before Roman Reigns' entrance and you won't be disappointed one bit, but the Belair/Bliss and Bray Wyatt matches were awful and the Women's Royal Rumble was very disappointing. With a Kwang Rating of 2.6-out-of-5, this show earns a...

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

WWE Unforgiven 2000

WWE Unforgiven 2000

Philadelphia, PA - September 2000

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Champion was The Rock, the Intercontinental Champion was Eddie Guerrero, the European Champion was Al Snow, the Hardcore Champion was Steve Blackman, Dean Malenko was the Light Heavyweight Champion, Lita was the Women's Champion, and Edge and Christian held the WWE Tag Team Championships.

The show kicks off with The Right To Censor (Steven Richards, Val Venis, The Goodfather, and Bull Buchanan) taking on The Dudleys and The APA in an 8-man tag. Nothing too interesting or exciting here, but the Philly crowd was into it. Val Venis is noticeably the only one wearing white pants instead of black - which makes me think that he was probably looking for a way to stand out in the group after seeming to be on the brink of a major push just a year or two prior. Venis, like Billy Gunn, had size and look, but the porn star gimmick was impossible for him to break free from and, in the RTC, he was just a body. The only other notable thing is how nasty Bradshaw strikes Richards with a kick to the back towards the end. Its an unprofessional, overly stiff kick and served no real purpose beyond Bradshaw just being a bully. The Dudleys were really good at opening up pay-per-views, but the crowd was mostly interested in tables and chanted for them within the first minute. A passable match, nothing too special but also inoffensive aside from Bradshaw being a prick. (2/5)

Backstage, Kevin Kelly is awaiting the arrival of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The story of the show was all about the solving of the "mystery driver" angle that had started at Survivor Series 1999 when Stone Cold was struck by a truck. 

Tazz had debuted at the Royal Rumble in January of 2000 but hadn't found much success in the WWE for a variety of reasons that have been rumored over the years. He had come in as a face, but then got injured and, when he came back, started attacking babyfaces. Jerry Lawler had always been a vocal hater of ECW so this made for a natural conflict and opportunity to put Tazz over as a despicable heel. This is a strap match, but can also be ended via submission and pinfall for some reason. Its crazy to think that Lawler continued to wrestle for 20 years beyond this point. Tazz no sells a bunch of Lawler's piledrivers, which I found to be gratuitous and unnecessary. This match should've been Tazz just absolutley destroying Lawler in under a minute, choking him out quickly and then tagging the four corners. They could've done that without also sacrificing Lawler's finisher. Raven shows up towards the end to help Tazz for some reason and Raven's appearance is the best part of the match/segment because the crowd goes crazy. I forget whether or not it was well-known that Raven was coming into the WWE, but this was a terrific debut in hindsight. This wasn't as terrible as some reviewers rated it over at Cagematch, but it certainly isn't good either. (1.5/5)

Next up, another match that seems to be designed to pop the Philly crowd...but then isn't? The WWE Hardcore Champion Steve Blackman defended his gold in a Hardcore Invitational against Al Snow (who, because he was the European Champion, came out with a pizza), Crash Holly, Test, Funaki, and Saturn. This was your basic hardcore garbagefest but definitely leaned more into comedy than the wild brawls of ECW's heyday. I liked how this one had a 10-minute time limit, but kinda wish they had kept the clock on the screen to add to the suspense as, without it, the viewer just kinda had to guess how much time was left for most of the match. This wasn't too bad and (obviously) didn't go too long, but it wasn't "must see" or anything. (1.5/5)

Backstage, Kurt Angle has his first on-screen run-in with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. This is a great segment, though I can definitely see how having Austin take out Angle so quickly and easily could be considered some sort of "burial" for a future World Champion. That's the thing about Angle in his rookie year, though - he wasn't the world-beater that people tend to think he was when they look at his accolades. Dude got punked a ton that year and his naivete and inexperience was part of his gimmick. Sadly, things don't necessarily click with Austin's other segments on this night. (+1)

Chris Jericho and X-Pac have a good-but-sloppy match next. Jericho may have been knocked loopy at some point or was just not in the zone, but there's some really questionable kickouts sprinkled throughout this match that are noticeable enough that JR has to cover for at least one of them on commentary. This match feels cold at times despite the work being the best that the show had to offer up to this point. It goes 9 minutes but feels longer than that because of the amount of big spots they threw into it. This was the best bout of the night up till this point, but still wouldn't make it anywhere near either guy's top 20 or 30 list. (2/5)

Backstage, Kurt Angle is informed by Mick Foley, who will be serving as the special guest referee in the Angle/HHH match, that his bout is now going to be No Disqualification.

Austin walks into The Rock's locker room. The crowd pops big seeing these two stars shaking hands, but this feels like a lost opportunity to tease more tension between the two - especially as The Rock did benefit from Austin getting run of over and is the reigning WWE Champion coming into tonight's show. 

Back to the ring we go for Edge & Christian vs. The Hardys in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE World Tag Team Championships. This is a weird match because it feels like they're promoting it as the final battle between these two teams after at least a year or two of them feuding almost non-stop...but the feud didn't really end here as these two teams (and the Dudleys) would end up putting on a sequel to their TLC match at WrestleMania XVI at WrestleMania XVII. Also, the layout of the match is outright confusing as Jeff Hardy basically gets eliminated/halfway wins the match within the first couple minutes and the commentators make their confusion known as to whether or not Jeff is allowed back into the match or if he is required to stay on the outside (as one way to win the match is to escape the cage). Its one of those times where I'm guessing Matt Hardy - known for being "the brains" behind many of his team's stipulation matches over the years - got a bit too clever and forgot that great matches don't necessarily need to be innovative or different to be great. Jeff tries to get back in, but Edge and Christian want to maintain their advantage. Jeff takes out the ref - which, even in a cagematch, seems like it would warrant a DQ? - and then idiotically slides in a chair, which gets captured the heels. Its 2-on-1 but Hardy valiantly fights back and escapes a Con-Chair-To attempt, the tide now turning as Jeff Hardy climbs the cage and hits a Whisper in the Wind onto Edge (and Matt). During the fracas, Christian had ended up outside of the cage, but he gets taken out by a hurricanrana from Lita. Edge climbs the cage, but the Hardys follow him up and deliver a Con-Chair-To of their own...which would be a huge, crazy cool spot if it wasn't immediately tarnished by Edge inexplicably falling backwards into the ring in a clearly choreographed/staged manner. I'm not sure if it would've looked better if Edge had just somehow slunken across the top of the cage or whatever, but his fall defies the physics of the double chairshot in a noticeable way. As negative as this review sounds, the story - while muddled to hell - is still fun and engaging. Matt Hardy bleeds a gusher. Edge and Christian's teamwork is wonderful at times. They pack a ton of action into a little over 10 minutes and the crowd is into every second of it. To call this match "unsuccessful" would be denying the fact that this match did work for the audience in attendance that night and, if you could overlook the glaring flaws highlighted above, both teams (and Lita) shined here. (3/5)

The Intercontinental Champion, Eddie Guerrero, defends his title against Rikishi in the next match. There were two storylines dovetailing here a bit as Rikishi had been chasing the Intercontinental Championship for a while and Guerrero was going through rocky times with his former co-champion/manager/girlfriend Chyna (who had just been announced as the next WWE Superstar to pose for Playboy). I wrote about the Guerrero/Chyna relationship in my review of the pay-per-view before this (or was it two before this?), noting how good of a duo they could've been as evil heels, completely forgetting where this angle went - which was kinda nowhere as it was revealed Eddie had cheated on Chyna and then they feuded and it was just the same story that we had seen before (and one that noticeably made Chyna look "unwanted" in a way that I don't think Vince would've ever booked Trish or Lita to be). Anyway...there's more character work here than actual wrestling and I'll go on record as saying that it has always been hard for me to buy Rikishi's "serious" runs due to his ring attire and signature moves. The ending is interesting as Rikishi attacks Chyna for getting involved in the match and preventing him from winning the championship. The audience isn't sure how to react, which makes sense because it is completely out of character. I'm guessing this was done to foreshadow Rikishi's heel turn in the coming weeks...but why even do that? Also, when Rikishi did turn heel, I'm not even sure he changed his ring attire or stopped doing the Stinkface, which is just awful, awful producing/booking/whatever. This was more like a TV match than a PPV match, but it did provide some variety to the event and Eddie was entertaining as usual. (2.5/5)

Triple H takes on Kurt Angle in a grudge match next. This doesn't quite live up to the promise of the storyline - which saw Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon become close friends much to Triple H's chagrin. At the time, much of the blame got heaped onto Triple H as Angle was the hot new talent (and an instant "smart fan" darling) and the Triple H/Stephanie McMahon pairing had arguably run its course by this point. Watching the match, Triple H doesn't show nearly enough anger and brutality, basically working this match as the cool, confident heel he had always been despite this being far more "personal" than any match he'd had before. Despite the match being No DQ and featuring Mick Foley, this is fought "straight up," which seems like a lost opportunity. Similarly, because of how established Triple H was (and how over Angle was with his naive dope gimmick), the crowd is into this match but popping more for the big spots and signature moves than clearly in the corner of one guy over the other. The match goes 15+ minutes and is engaging from beginning to end, but not necessarily "great," with the coolest moment being an awesome suplex from one table through the other. The finish comes when Triple H demands that Stephanie choose which side she is going to take and she kicks Angle in the balls. Its a definitive decision and moment, but there's little to no suspense to it because Stephanie had been cheering Triple H the whole match and showed no real trepidation. Another lost opportunity that seems to have been designed to make it clear that Stephanie would never leave her man - and while that may be true in real life, in a storyline, its uninteresting. Instead of making this match 50% brawling and 50% wrestling, I think they should've built the match around Triple H trying to take Angle out with merciless use of weapons or by lacerating him (back then, getting "color" was no issue) and then Angle turning the tide and being equally unrelenting to Triple H until Triple H managed to score the W with Steph's help. Then, in the sequel, they could've hyped up how Angle had lost in a fight but that he was the better wrestler, and they could've built the next match around wrestling. This would've been a flip of the usual, but it would've given a distinct flavor to the matches themselves. A match that is rightfully forgotten. (3/5)

Shane McMahon makes his way down the aisle and reveals that Steve Blackman was the man who tried to run over Stone Cold. Nobody buys it, but I do like how McMahon was trying to get revenge on Blackman for shoving him off the Titantron at SummerSlam. Austin comes out and stuns Blackman, which is kind of a heelish move but Austin was all about the "DTA" so it makes sense and the crowd pops for it. Shane is happy, but ends up getting stunned 3 times himself as Austin has a beer bash to pop the crowd. This was a fine return and the Philly crowd loved it, but didn't feel like anything new or fresh, which is probably what predicated Vince wanting to turn him heel at WrestleMania XVII. 

Main event time - The Rock defending the WWE Championship against Chris Benoit, The Undertaker, and Kane in a Fatal Fourway. This is smartly laid out, but The Undertaker, despite taking some months off earlier in the year, does not move very well and his segments with Benoit and Kane are noticeably worked at a slower speed than what Benoit and The Rock were capable of. Speaking of Benoit, he gets yet another cheap "victory" that gets overturned by Commissioner Foley in a repeat of what happened at the previous pay-per-view. The Rock is the most over act in the match by a country mile and eventually gets the clean W by hitting Benoit with a Rock Bottom while Kane, idiotically, prevents The Undertaker from stopping the pinfall - which would've given him the opportunity to win the championship. That's just dumb booking. Not a bad main event, but nothing special. (3/5)

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.44-out-of-5, this show had promise on paper but underdelivered throughout. Angle/Triple H were given the time to have an impact, but told a story that didn't jive with the match's build. The main event was fun, but uncreative and ended with a finish that made Kane look like an idiot and didn't help Benoit much either. Austin's return could've been used to put another interesting twist into his storyline, but as we'd soon find out, Vince hadn't really thought through the angle and it would only get worse from here. The Tag Title match is probably the best of the night but is marred a bit by the confusing "elimination/half-victory" of Jeff Hardy in the early going. This is the kind of show that, watching back, I'm not surprised left me cold on the product and eventually led to me taking 3-4 years off of wrestling entirely. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

ECW Heat Wave 99'

ECW Heatwave 99'

Dayton, OH - July 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the ECW World Heavyweight Champion was Taz, the ECW Television Champion was Rob Van Dam, and the ECW World Tag Team Champions were The Dudley Boyz.

The show kicks off with Taz cutting a promo about his title defense against Yoshihiro Tajiri and then a word from Danny Doring, who is backed up by Roadkill and...Lita? Nova and Chris Chetti chime in too, followed by Jason (who takes a break from greasing himself up to cut a barely audible promo), the Dudley Boys, the heel squadron of Steve Corino, Tajiri, Jack Victory, and Rhyno, the Impact Players (Lance Storm, Justin Credible, and Dawn Marie), a notably wooden Jerry Lynn, and then the Whole F'N Show himself, Rob Van Dam (who is interrupted by Sabu). I really liked this pre-show package and wish ECW had done it on previous pay-per-views as it was not just unique, but it really set the table for all the major matches on the show. (+1)

In the ring, Joey Styles welcomes the very amped-up Dayton crowd to the show and receives a loud, boisterous "Joey" chant. 

Danny Doring and Roadkill make their way down the aisle with Lita in tow (I'm not sure what her name was in ECW as Doring just refers to her as "the lady"). Doring gets on the mic and the crowd erupts into a loud "Shut the Fuck Up" chant. Very classy, Dayton. Doring talks about Lita, describing her as chaste, and the crowd chants "She's Got Herpes." Doring tells her he loves her and then asks her to marry him. She says yes and then asks for a ring as the crowd chants "She's a Crackwhore." which Doring finds and places on her figure as Nova and Chris Chetti make their way down the aisle - with Chetti wearing a bizarre magician outfit. Nova comes to the ring and after an initial offensive flurry falls prey to the 2-on-1 after Chetti gets taken out on the ramp. Roadkill hits a big move off the top rope that draws a pop as Nova plays face-in-peril. Doring comes in with a springboard elbow of his own, but Nova makes a comeback with an inverted swinging neckbreaker (basically a Cross Rhodes). Nova makes the tag and Chetti comes in, hitting a scissor kick and then a high angle body slam. Nova comes in and hits a Stunner/DDT combo, showing off some of his offensive innovation. Chetti hits a wild move of his own not too long after: a monkey-flip into a double clothesline! Damn, that's one that would still draw a big pop today 20 years later. Chetti hits a double springboard moonsault for another huge pop but doesn't make the cover, grabbing the mic instead to gloat and then calling for the DJ to hit the music so he can dance. He entices Lita to get into the ring and they grind in the middle of the ring until Nova breaks it up. Chetti hits her with his Amityville Horror - a nifty fireman's into a pile driver - as Nova grabs Doring and hits him with the Kryptonite Krunch! Chetti hits his finish on Roadkill somehow and then the babyfaces hit their combined finish for the win in a very fun, action-packed match that was really enjoyable from the pre-match promo all the way through to the end. I daresay that this is almost "must watch" just because of how good of a job they do establishing everyone's characters and roles and playing to the crowd. Its the simple things done right, but with the ECW edge. This is a bunch of benchwarmers somehow hitting a grand slam when I think everyone involved would've been happy with just a single or a double. (3.5/5)

A clip plays of Taz challenging Tajiri to challenge him and then getting interrupted by Steve Corino, who was backed up by Rhyno and Jack Victory. Corino was great at getting heel heat and Tajiri's heel turn here was well-executed. 

"The Sexiest Man on Earth" Jason comes down the aisle for an intergender match against future WWE star Jazz. Jazz does some impressive stuff, but Jason's cooperativeness is noticeable at times. This is a more legitimate, competitive wrestling match than I suspected it would be considering that, in most instances in the 90s, intergender matches were usually filled with comedy spots and lots of stalling. Jason hits Jazz with real offense - a dropkick here, an elbow drop there - but Jazz doesn't stay down, which really puts over her toughness but doesn't help out Jason's credibility at all. The live crowd was into it and exploded when Jazz started grabbing chairs, setting one up on Jason's crotch and then smashing it with another chair in a logic-defying spot. Jason basically no-sells it and hits Jazz with an enziguiri before calling for a powerbomb. Jazz escapes, though, and hits Jason with an X-Factor into a steel chair to get the win. I'll give credit to them not doing a comedy-based match, but this suffered from a lack of logic, noticeable cooperation between the competitors, and Jason not adequately selling what should've been the biggest spot of the match. They had the ingredients to make this special, but it wasn't laid out or executed properly. (1.5/5)

After some back-and-forth between Joey Styles and Cyrus, its time for some cruiserweight action as Little Guido takes on Super Crazy. Big Sal E. Graziano is introduced - which elicits a "You Fat Fuck" chant. Before the match begins, Joey Styles goes extra on hyping up Little Guido's credentials, noting that he competed in Japan's UWFi promotion and was trained by Billy Robinson and is known for his "shoot" style. At this point, Heyman was in need of credible talent and I fully get why they needed to establish Guido's toughness, but sometimes less is more (especially when Guido was more than capable enough to get all of this across through just his in-ring work). Anyway...this match is great. Unlike the Super Crazy/Tajiri matches from the PPVs before this, here you have an established heel that the audience loves to rile up taking on a guy that they knew had the goods to not just kick Guido's ass, but do it with inventive high-risk maneuvers. Its a great recipe for a cruiser match and its a shame this match isn't praised more. I haven't seen enough of Little Guido's work to call this a "career" match for him, but he's in the spotlight for much of this contest and he's excellent in the role. I also love the little bit of action that Guido's (literal) heavy, Sal Graziano, gets to do as the crowd goes wild for it and it works wonderfully in establishing even more how tough Super Crazy is. This match goes a little over 10 minutes and is entertaining from beginning to end and while not everything is perfectly executed, I love the struggle and the sense that this is a real competition and fight. Maybe not a "must watch" match, but if you've never caught this one, you won't be disappointed in the least with it. (3.5/5)

The ECW World Tag Team Championships are up for grabs, but before The Dudleys make their defense, they cut a scathing promo about the fans in Dayton and draw mega heat. At one point, Bubba gets in the face of a female fan in the front row and it is really on another level of heat-seeking. You can see there are some young fans in the audience, but the Dudleys do not temper their promo at all as it is absolutely filthy. Their opponents tonight are Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley, who had been rivals to the Dudleys for years and years by this point. Lots of blood and brawling over the arena with Dudley eventually flying off a balcony. Balls and Dudley trade merciless chair shots in the ring. Its funny to say, but the finish for this was a touch too "cutesy" for me and it would've been better if they had just went with Balls and Spike getting the initial post-finishers pinfall rather than using that spot as a false finish and then ultimately ending things with a tacked-on double rollup. After the match, Bubba and D-Von beat down on the babyfaces, cutting short any sort of victory celebration, and attempt to powerbomb them through flaming tables. I say "attempt" because Bubba can't get Balls high enough and he basically just drops him on his head (it probably wasn't wise to call for such a major spot after spending the past 25 minutes not only brawling all over the arena, but also getting winded by nearly instigating a riot before the match). New Jack eventually runs down to make the save to add even more craziness to this.The least entertaining part of this half hour might have been the match itself despite it featuring lots and lots of classic ECW violence, but the rest of this was so wild that one can't look away from it. (3/5)

Tommy Dreamer makes his way down the aisle with Francine in tow. Tommy cuts a heartfelt promo about how much he loves ECW - as usual - and teases that he could be forced to hang up the boots due to injury. Before he can announce his retirement, Steve Corino marches out and cuts him off. Corino was very good on the mic and could've been a bigger star in WCW (had it lasted) or WWE (had it not been incredibly crowded with high level talent in the late 90s/early 00s). Things get "shooty" as Corino talks about how Dreamer should lay down for him and "put him over" before he retires, but Dreamer refuses. They start duking it out and somehow Francine gets a pinfall over Corino! Corino's back-up, Jack Victory, Rhyno, and Tajiri jump in. Dreamer gets put into the Tarantula, which leads to Tazz showing up for his title defense against the Japanese Buzzsaw. I like how ECW pay-per-views would sometimes have segments lead into matches or matches lead into other matches as it was a unique layout. Tazz controls much of this match, which made sense as Tajiri had not really been established as a main event-level, World Heavyweight Championship-caliber challenger. This is as good an example of Tazz's "bad-assed-ness" as any other match I can think of because Tajiri is more than willing to take a ton of punishment and he's an excellent wrestler in his own right who knows how to sell and let things breathe more than, say, Sabu or Sandman or whoever else does. The finish is crazy as, after taking out the rest of Corino's crew of henchmen and chasing Corino himself to the back, Tazz grabs a bunch of barbwire and applies a Tazmission on Tajiri on the ramp that leaves Tajiri bleeding like a stuck pig. They keep the camera wide so you don't really see the maneuver itself as much as the aftermath, but that makes it seem even wilder. This isn't a great match or anything, but its a fun 10 minutes of near non-stop action and the crowd is hot for it. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Rob Van Dam and rival Jerry Lynn take on The Impact Players, Justin Credible and Lance Storm. One might wonder a tag match that (a) wasn't for the ECW World Tag Team Champions and (b) didn't involve the ECW World Heavyweight Champion would be the main event, but by this point, Rob Van Dam was the most over babyface act in the company (despite actually being a heel). This is a really fun match as you get all of the RVD craziness and undeniably convoluted spots, but also some outright solid wrestling from Lynn and Storm. Sabu makes a run-in towards the end and puts Credible through a table to steal Van Dam's thunder. Then, in the post-match, RVD ends up getting into it with both Sabu and Lynn. Not an essential or "career" match for anyone, but still above-average. (3/5)

With a respectable Kwang Score of 3-out-of-5, there's no wonder why Heatwave 99' is rarely considered an all-time great ECW show, but it deserves some reappraisal (or maybe its just the Ohio homer in me). The crowd is red hot from beginning to end despite a card that doesn't necessarily look great on paper. What made this enjoyable for me was the consistency. Even if no match was truly "must see," there was also only one truly terrible match (Jason vs. Jazz), a quality that few other ECW shows, especially in the 98'-2000 years had. The opening tag match overachieves, Little Guido/Super Crazy is very strong, and the main event delivers too. Even without the bonus point I tacked on at the start of the show, this show would've scored one of the highest ratings that any ECW pay-per-view has earned since I started watching them a few months back. 

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