WCW Slamboree 98'

WCW Slamboree 98'

Worcester, Massachusetts - May 1998

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: The WCW World Heavyweight Champion is Hulk Hogan (he defeated Randy Savage for the title on the Nitro after Spring Stampede) while Goldberg holds the United States Championship. The World Tag Team Champions are still The Outsiders, while the Cruiserweight Championship is held by Chris Jericho. Fit Finlay is the Television Champion.

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay

Slamboree begins with a recap of Eric Bischoff's taunting of Vince McMahon and invitation for him to show up tonight. WCW head of security Doug Dillinger is waiting outside the arena, but so far, no sign of Vinnie Mac. 

The World Television Championship is on the line next - champion Fit Finlay defending the strap against Chris Benoit. Benoit and Finlay shove each other to start things up, the crowd firmly behind the Crippler and engaged for the duration of the match. Very physical, but not necessarily as captivating as one might expect, especially when you consider the reputations of these guys. The issue might be that, as good as they are, the story they tell is essentially Finlay working over Benoit's upper body and that just doesn't scream "Awesome!" the way having Finlay and Benoit just clobber each other until one of them has a broken nose would. Benoit doesn't look too smart at the finish, but I like that, even before the surprise appearance of his rival, Finlay had been somewhat in control. Logical match with a logical ending, but definitely a touch below "should watch" and even further away from "must watch." (3/5)

Lex Luger vs. Brian Adams is next. As shitty as one might expect. Brian Adams botches a piledriver to make sure the match goes from just not being good to actively sucking. I'm not a massive Luger fan, but he's underrated in the sense that, against the right opponent in the right setting, he can actually hold his own somewhat. Awful match that at goes 5 seconds past 5 minutes and at least 3 and a half minutes past when it should've ended. (0/5)

Chris Jericho interrupts Dave Penzer to announce tonight's contestants for a Cruiserweight Battle Royale (the winner receiving a shot at Jericho's title immediately after). Jericho's introductions are ridiculous, especially his lines about Johnny Swinger and Lenny Lane. Pretty weak battle royale, with everyone essentially eliminated the same exact way, prone on the top rope and dropkicked over. The fun of the match comes at the tail end, when we get the big reveal that the winner, Ciclope, is really (duh-duh-DUH) Dean Malenko. For the sake of the review, I'm going to attach the match that follows to the score - Malenko extracting some long due revenge on Jericho and the commentators actually doing a nice job of building up just how emotional this match is. The crowd is really hot for this too, which helps lift an actually sub-average match to a much higher level than it would normally be. Maybe the storyline-peak of the Cruiserweight division. (3/5)

As the cage lowers in the arena, Tony Schiavone segues us to the Vinnie Cam. We see a white limo arrive and Doug Dillinger approaches the door, but it is not revealed whose in there. Schiavone makes a snide remark about Jim Ross. 

The Bowery Death Match is upon us - Diamond Dallas Page vs. Raven in a no-holds-barred, weapons-heavy cage match. On paper, this should be an insanely brutal match, but it starts off relatively slow and kinda stays there, Page and Raven utilizing the bull rope and bashing each other with lunch trays and garbage cans but never really getting anywhere as far as story or suspense. There's also a ton of lying around as the match can only be won by a 10 Count - hence, Raven and Page getting "visually pinned" multiple times for 5-6 seconds after hitting what counts as "big moves." The only things good about this match are the Diamond Cutter that Page hits and the post-match angle featuring the return of Mortis (aka Chris Kanyon) one of my favorite in-ring workers. The chair shot he delivers to Raven is the best spot of the whole 15 minute stretch. (1.5/5)

Before the next match, we see various camera shots of the arena entrance and empty hallways as the fruitless and tiresome "Watch Out" for Vinnie Mac continues. 

Back in the ring, Eddie Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon happens. The crowd gives absolutely nothing to these two, the match falling flat from the bell. From a technical perspective, Guerrero and Dragon execute everything they do flawlessly, but they can't hook the crowd and Guerrero, despite a strong effort, just doesn't draw any heat (which is surprising considering how over the Chavo/Eddie storyline was at the previous month's show). At one point, a morbidly obese man takes his shirt off in the second row and the entire arena blows up. It is almost sad to watch Guerrero and Dragon try to so hard and achieve so little. (1/5)

After another peak at Vince McMahon's dressing room (which is labeled with the puzzling phrase "The Reason for Ratings"), we're back in the ring for the United States Championship fight - Goldberg defending against Raven's Flock member Saturn. In a pre-match interview earlier in the show, Saturn stated that he'd be going into this match alone and wanted to keep it 1-on-1 so he could prove it was "his time." Goldberg dominates early, but eventually falls prey to veteran cut-offs, the exact way his matches should've been going as he climbed up the ranks and took on guys with more experience. Saturn never comes off as Goldberg's equal (the champion shrugs off most of the challenger's blows), but that would've been silly so it absolutely works. I'd call this an average match - which is actually a bit of compliment when you consider so many of Goldberg's appearances were just squash matches. (2.5/5)

Streetfight time! Michael Buffer welcomes the two most powerful men in professional wrestling - first, after a lengthy, lengthy introduction, "The Man Who Fired the First Shot" Eric Bischoff. Buffer then welcomes Vincent K. McMahon - who isn't in the arena. Buffer announces McMahon's name again but he's still not there. What a stupid segment. Bischoff grabs the mic and the ref states that they'll have to count out McMahon. Bischoff asks for the audience to help and the crowd boos. What was the hope here? More heat on Bischoff? If so, it works - but it also counterproductively paints Vince and the WWE being above the challenge. Silly stuff, but bizarrely entertaining enough throughout the night to give the show an extra point. (+1)

Our first of two "featured bouts" is next - freshly heel-turned Bret Hart vs. Randy Savage with Roddy Piper as special guest referee. The storyline coming into this match is that, weeks prior, Hart helped secure Hulk Hogan the WCW World Championship on Nitro (joining nWo Hollywood in the process). Much more of a back-and-forth brawl than one might've predicted, Savage's offense has whittled away into jabs at this point, but when Hart does take control, he goes straight for Macho's knee in order to weaken him for the Sharpshooter. Compared to what he'd been doing in WCW previously as a face, seeing him back to working heel is surprisingly good - Hart had mastered the art in 97' versus Austin and the Undertaker and here, against someone as popular as Savage, he's far more engaging than he was as a face against Curt Hennig and Flair. Hart hits a delicious piledriver and than makes a cocky cover before arguing with Hot Rod and the fans for a minute. Workers of today would be wise to watch Hart work as a villain - he does an excellent job of getting across the idea that, at any point, he can win this match, but is too distracted by the fans, by Piper, by his own arrogant attitude that he makes mistakes leading to brief Savage comebacks. Bret locks in the Sharpshooter, but Savage somehow reverses it as Elizabeth shows up. Piper tells her to get out of the ring, which makes Macho irate. Low blow from Hart and then a ref bump, the match devolving into new levels of overbooking. Hogan shows up and the fix is in, Savage tapping to the Sharpshooter. Not a great match, but definitely not bad or even average. Hart was misused by WCW many times and ways, but this particular match was not one of them. (3/5)


Main event time - the World Tag Team Championships on the line with The Outsiders defending the straps against Sting and (freshly heel-turned) The Giant. Hall and Nash arrive first with Dusty Rhodes and conduct a survey. The Giant arrives sporting a black-and-white nWo shirt to the nWo theme while Sting gets his own entrance (as he had yet to show allegiance to either side of the New World Order). This is another one of those WCW main event matches that is much funner to talk about than it is to actually watch. Its a pretty fascinating scenario we have and the audience is respectably game for it. Nash is mega-over as a face after recently jacknifing Hulk Hogan. Sting is over as a face is teamed with The Giant, who is getting booed heavily. Scott Hall, who'd been off TV for a month, gets a warm welcome back but falls into that tweener category - the fans cheer his schtick while still rooting for Sting to take him out when they're duking it out. Speaking of Sting, this is one of his better matches in months as he keeps the energy up for every one of his stretches. Show and Nash always had great chemistry and their minutes together get great reactions too. There's a loud "Let's Go Wolfpack" chant at one point that really should've clued somebody in to call an audible and not go through with the heel turn finish. The crowd was ready to cheer The Outsiders (especially Nash), so splitting them immediately upon Hall's return was just rushed booking. (3/5)


With a Kwang score of 2.25-out-of-5, this is WCW's worst pay-per-view since their last, always-terrible World War 3 show almost half a year earlier. Before then, you'd have to go all the way back to Road Wild 97' to find a show worth watching less than this one. That being said, the show isn't a total dud. The Cruiserweight Battle Royal-into-Malenko/Jericho match is a great 30 minutes of wrestling, maybe even the best storyline-driven moment in the history of the division. DDP/Raven disappoints, but Mortis's re-debut is awesome. Savage/Hart and the main event aren't great matches, but they're interesting. The Bischoff/McMahon hype is Wrestlecrap, but there's a place for it in the genre and it certainly helps give historical context to the booking (or over-booking) that WCW was becoming known for at this time. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

MY FAVORITE NETWORK MATCHES OF 2016

The WWE Network's 

Ten Best Matches of 2016 

Last year, I ranked my favorite ten matches from the WWE Network and thought it'd be fun to do the same again. With some further ado, my list...


Honorable Mentions:

- Kalisto vs. Baron Corbin (TLC 2016): The best Chairs match ever? Maybe. But also just a really, really good Big vs. Little match. Corbin and Kalisto needed to wow the crowd after pretty quiet summers and did. 

- Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Battleground 2016): I described this as a "very strong match...but not the best they've ever put on." I stand by that summation, though, I may be underselling just how fun a match this was. One of the most emotionally-charged matches in a year with a fair number of great lengthy rivalries.


And now...The Top Ten:




10. TIE - AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose - Backlash 2016 & TLC 2016 

In 2014, Dean Ambrose was one of my favorite wrestlers and I wasn't alone. After the Shield's dissolution, despite being the most natural heel of the group, he'd become a breakout babyface. He was anti-authority like Austin. He was unpredictable like Piper. His offense was wild like Terry Funk's. With Seth Rollins, he produced the best lumberjack match ever at that year's SummerSlam. A star should've been born.

But it wasn't. He started 2015 in a hokey rivalry with Bray Wyatt then landed in a overcrowded Intercontinental Championship storyline for WrestleMania 31. He meandered back to feuding with the Wyatts tfor months after as his edge softened and his once chaotic offense became as mundane as everyone else's. 

At the start of this year, the Lunatic Fringe was irrelevant. An unimaginative, disappointing match with Brock Lesnar, a guaranteed hot ticket 18 months earlier, didn't help. Ambrose was rewarded the WWE Championship over the summer to help kickstart the newly-independent SmackDown brand, but his stinker against Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam certainly didn't inspire much confidence that the Blue Brand's main event picture would produce any classics.

Enter AJ Styles: the best and most consistent active wrestler in the WWE today. While maybe not the draw that Cena or Lesnar is, Styles has made up for the gap in marquee value by consistently delivering excellent matches since debuting in January. At September's Backlash show, Styles challenged Ambrose for the strap and took the lead in-ring, serving as the athletic, more technically-minded foil to the off-the-cuff brawler. The juxtaposition served both well and Ambrose seemed to be having fun for the first time in years. Their Backlash match saved his 2016.

Their TLC match in December was just as terrific. Again, a majority of the credit should probably go to Styles for the ridiculous daredevil spots he employed, but Ambrose deserves some praise too. Jettisoning a majority of his signature spots (I don't recall a rebound lariat in the whole 30-minute match), Ambrose stuck with tried-and-true weapon shots and his own brand of high-risk/high-rewarded offense to try to win back the title, showing there is some premeditation going on behind the lunacy. The finish won't age well, but the match was great fun and probably the best stipulation match Ambrose has had since his show-stealing lumberjack match in 2014.





9. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe - NXT Takeover: Dallas 

The first of two matches from the NXT Takeover: Dallas show to grace the top 10, Balor/Joe is two old pros wrestling without a net, creating an excellent match in unexpected circumstances. Within the first two minutes, Joe suffers a nasty gash above his eye and the crowd has every reason to worry - blood stoppages have become a necessary evil of the WWE's PG Era and, in at least one awful, awful case this year, have even been intentionally used to end matches. Joe getting bloodied in minute two was a worst case scenario moment for fans expecting an epic. 

They made it work, though. Referee Drake Younger (no stranger to juice after years wrestling for ECW-inspired promotions like Insanity Pro and Combat Zone Wrestling) stopped the match multiple times, but Joe and Balor wove the pauses into the narrative expertly. Joe especially used the real-life frustration of having his momentum curtailed to ramp up his intensity while Balor showed the inverse emotion, his confidence visibly shaken with the realization that even a gruesome head wound wouldn't deter the Samoan Submission Machine. In a fitting touch, the finish harkened back to another quintessential battle fondly remembered for its "color" - Bret Hart and Roddy Piper's classic from WrestleMania VIII.

8. AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns - Payback

I devoted several paragraphs above to Dean Ambrose and the same attention must be paid to Roman Reigns. Beloved as the Shield's brooding powerhouse, Reigns would suffer a tremendous "smart" fan backlash in the build-ups to both WrestleManias XXXI and XXXII, his move-set ridiculed for its simplicity, his promos lambasted for their corniness, and his credibility challenged because he'd not paid his dues like the Daniel Bryans and Kevin Owenses of the world. Along the way, questionable booking tainted nearly every one of his major victories. 

But like John Cena before him, Roman Reigns has slowly won over many of his critics. His match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXXI showed he had grit. He followed it with a better-than-it-ought've-been brawl against Big Show at Extreme Rules 2015 and then had my #6 Match of the Year last year against Sheamus at TLC. This year, he held his own in a solid triple threat against his former Shield partners at BattleGround 2016 and put over Finn Balor in one of the better TV matches of the year. If Reigns is getting "carried," as the haters want to believe, he's being carried by a wide variety of guys in a wide variety of situations.

That isn't to say that Reigns doesn't benefit from having a world-class opponent to challenge him - as he did at Payback - but who doesn't? The incredible chemistry that Reigns and AJ share can't be explained away so easily. While the false finishes and inconclusive conclusion to this match will keep it off some people's list, the bulk of the contest was excellent. Styles, like Daniel Bryan at FastLane 2015, sculpted a match that didn't needlessly pull Reigns out of his wheelhouse while still providing enough twists and turns to create an epic encounter. Reigns and Styles both came out of this one looking like maybe the only two guys not named Cena or Lesnar that deserve to be called main eventers. Its too bad this match will be woefully mislabeled as a "Styles carry job" without giving proper credit to Reigns' subtle, borderline heel work or the "big fight feel" that only he and very few others can bring.





7. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch - WrestleMania XXXII

WrestleMania XXXII was a death march. Shane McMahon and the Undertaker had the worst match of the year. Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose had the most disappointing match of the year. Chris Jericho and AJ Styles had a match I'd call forgettable if it wasn't so memorably mis-booked. Triple H vs. Roman Reigns might've been good, but I don't remember as it ran around midnight. Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and the Rock were there... to shit on the current roster. 

WrestleMania ceased being a "wrestling-based" show a long time ago but this year's edition didn't even get the "entertainment" half of "sports-entertainment" right.

Except, of course, for one match - the WWE Womens' Championship bout. For 20 minutes, fans were treated to a triple threat that delivered on every level. There was glitz and glamour fitting of the WrestleMania name in Ric Flair and Snoop Dogg's guest spots. There were nostalgic nods to Manias past with Banks' Guerrero-inspired entrance and attire. There was darn good wrestling with each competitor given time to shine. Loaded with an insane number of high spots, this was a trip to the fireworks store with a torch in hand, the lone bright spot on an otherwise historically bad WrestleMania.





6. Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT Takeover: Toronto

Joe/Nakamura II is what a major championship match should look and feel like. Clear hero, clear villain. Intent to do harm behind every strike. Physicality from bell to bell. Urgency. A challenger who has done his homework and a champion who is being pushed to new limits. The template is simple and could be used to describe any number of classics, from the Flair/Steamboat masterpieces of 89' to Shawn Michaels' underrated string of title defenses during his first World Title run. What makes this match truly great, though, is the minutiae added by the specific characters.


Samoa Joe proved his toughness at April's Takeover: Dallas show, but here he upped the intensity by jawing at Nak from before the bell, channeling The Rock circa 98'. When match begins proper, he is relentless with his attack, bringing the fight to the King of Strong Style much more aggressively than in their first encounter. There's no time wasted with "feeling eachother out," the brutality beginning the instant the fight goes outside the ring. There are some gasp-inducing spots throughout the match and Nakamura gets to look vulnerable for the first time in his WWE run, giving this match the much-needed drama that their first lacked. The controversial finish prevents this from landing further up my list, but as a fan of both guys, the end didn't leave me at all disappointed.





5. The Revival vs. Gargano and Ciampa - NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II 

There are many reasons to love this match, but at least two of mine are almost wholly unrelated to anything that actually happened in this match. 

One: Johnny Gargano, the 29 year-old Cleveland native who I remember watching in the early 00s for the now-defunct Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. Yes, Dolph Ziggler was born in Cleveland and The Miz in nearby Parma, but neither is really from here. The Miz is from The Real World. Ziggler will always be linked to collegiate competition at Kent State, 40 miles from downtown. 

Gargano, on the other hand, began his pro-wrestling career in smoke-filled gymnasiums like Turners' Hall, tucked away in the blue collar Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. 

He wrestled on cards featuring regional "stars" like Hitler-heiling brawler The BasketNazi and the morbidly obese Canadian Badboy (who I think was probably from Lorain in retrospect). 

When CAPW dissolved, he helped launch local fed Absolute Intense Wrestling, giving the upstart some much-needed credibility in its earliest days. Fellow Cleveland indie stalwarts Matt "M-Dogg 20" Cross and Gregory Iron served as groomsmen at his wedding. Plus, if the wrestling thing doesn't pan out, he can still fall back on the family catering business that operates over on West 25th.

Other WWE stars have been born in Cleveland, but Gargano is the first really from Cleveland. I'm a Cleveland homer and he's our guy.

Two - Steve Austin, and more specifically, his podcast (the best wrestling-based one out there), and his emphatic praise of this match. Austin has raved about many specific matches and workers on his show over the years. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair are name-checked weekly, for example, but his glowing review of this particular match was different.

Austin, like 90% of fans watching, probably expected a good match when the bell rang, but an all-time classic? No one saw it coming. Hearing Austin mark out about it on his show mirrored my own enthusiasm (and the enthusiasm of countless other "serious" wrestling fans). Was Austin lurking at wrestling nerd hubs like WrestlingClassics and ProWrestlingOnly all along? The question no longer seemed preposterous. Austin loving this match was like finding out that he agrees Tusk is better than Rumours. 

Again - this is all tangential to what actually happened in the match, but whatever. The match is a classic "Southern tag" laid out brilliantly, engaging the audience through sound fundamentals and storytelling. By living up to their motto - No Flips, Just Fists - the Revival masterfully manipulate the crowd into supporting the more dynamic (but relatively unknown) challengers. Via a bounty of ref distractions and cut-offs, blind tags and just enough (but not too many) big spots, the teams raise the suspense until they're getting huge reactions from Wrestling 101 sequences. A star-making match for both teams and one that "students of the game" will dissect for years to come at the developmental camp.  





4. Asuka vs. Bayley - NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II 

Bayley came into her first match with Asuka at NXT Takeover: Dallas with confidence. She had bested Sasha Banks definitively in consecutive Takeover specials and enjoyed a well-earned victory lap around the UK before submitting the monster Nia Jax last winter. In the first quarter of 2016, her winning streak continued with wins over Emma, Eva Marie, and Alexa Bliss. Bayley was on top of the world with only one challenger left - Asuka.

Its easy to reduce Asuka as the "female Shinsuke Nakamura." They're both from Japan. They both have unforgettable entrances. They're both known for hard-hitting strikes and strange mannerisms. They're both "must see" performers, every one of their matches presented as a big deal. 

Nakamura is undeniably influenced by the King of Pop, though, while Asuka's persona is not as easily pinned down. Her outfit is Ultimate Warrior meets Steven Tyler mic stand. Her spine-chilling facial expressions Basic Instinct-meets-The Terminator (so kinda like T3). She enjoys drawing blood of her opponents and doesn't mind tasting her own. She's not a hero or villain - she's a merciless bad ass.

Four months for their showdown in Brooklyn, Bayley had no answer for the unflinching Asuka's vicious strikes. Having barely survived their first encounter, attempting to regain her title seemed like a suicide mission and Bayley plays up the insecurity early on with great character work. Back in the underdog role, its impossible not to feel for the former champ as she tries to go toe-to-toe with Asuka, determined to muster up a mean streak that will match what comes terrifyingly natural to the champ. As I wrote in August, "Call it outright theft from Japan and its storied 'fighting spirit' matches, but [Bailey's] stubborn refusal to stay down came through perfectly...it [is] impossible not to get emotionally invested in her cause." Needless to say, a tremendous match ensues that not only cements Asuka as an unstoppable monster, but reaffirms why Bayley might be the best babyface in the entire company, man or woman.





3. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte - Hell in a Cell 2016 

In my review of August's overall awful SummerSlam, the little bit of praise I did give out went to Sasha Banks and Charlotte for the risks they took wrestling the match of the night while still leaving enough on the table to make subsequent showdowns "must see" events. 

This past October, they delivered one such classic, making history by not only competing in the first ever womens' Hell in a Cell match, but also becoming the first two women to headline a WWE pay-per-view. 

Historical significance aside, this match wouldn't have ranked so highly if it wasn't the best cage match of the year. Earlier on the same show, Owens/Rollins traded signature moves ad nauseum in a suspense-less encounter while Roman Reigns and Rusev had a solid street fight with the cell serving as mere backdrop. 

If not every sequence was wholly original (the opening drama was a hokey throwback to more extreme versions), the athleticism, speed, and daredevil spirit on display made up for it, Banks and Charlotte producing a Hell in a Cell match unlike any the WWE has ever done. This was the dream Hell in a Cell match that we never got to see out of a Jeff Hardy or Rey Mysterio, workers that, like Banks and Charlotte, wouldn't view the stationary cage walls as hindrances but would cleverly use them to show off their agility. It was a much-needed change-up from the usual brawling we get in these matches and they successfully did it without betraying the "blood feud" seriousness of the match. In a year full of show-stealing performances from these two (including a strong Ironman Match at December's Roadblock: End of the Line show), this was their pinnacle performance.





2. The Revival vs. Gargano and Ciampa - NXT Takeover: Toronto 


Sometimes the "best match of the year" is not the Best Match of the Year. 

A few short months after their star-making match at Takeover: Brooklyn II, The Revival and #DIY put on a near-flawless follow-up (I scored it a rare 5-out-of-5) at Takeover: Toronto. In a year when countless undeserving matches drew "This is Awesome" chants because of the amount of innovative spots shoehorned into them, this match earned the chant the right way - expert pacing, good vs. evil storytelling, and clever sequences that both harkened back to their previous (also excellent) match and added fresh ideas to the mix. If their Brooklyn bout was the unexpected gem on a stacked card (think Rockers/Orient Express from Royal Rumble 91'), this was their Rock n' Roll Express vs. Midnight Express moment, the fans expecting greatness and then getting more of it than they knew possible.

Now, that isn't to say that this match was a simple trip down memory lane,  shtick, nothing more than a nostalgic retelling of a fantasy Brainbusters/Hart Foundation match. Neither #DIY or The Revival are a mere tribute act - its just been so long since any teams have put together matches this good without the aid of furniture and ladders. The lack of bells-and-whistles is so pronounced it just can't be described without invoking the true golden era of tag team wrestling.

So what prevents this almost unassailable classic from being my pick for Match of the Year? 

Again, we have to look a little outside of what happened between bells. 

If execution was all that mattered, this match would have no equal this calendar year. What this match lacked, however, was the sense that, when it was over, a sea change had occurred. This may have been the perfect wrestling match, but it was only that - a wrestling match. It wasn't a bellwether of a new dawn for return-to-roots 'rassling. 

#DIY and The Revival have bright futures, no doubt, but looking at whose holding the tag titles right now on SmackDown and RAW, a tag renaissance is not on the horizon. This match will go down as these teams' artistic peak. Impatient crowds and even more impatient producers guarantee it. As much as I look forward to what these four men will do once they are called up (and there's no way they won't all have some very good-to-great matches one day), I'm realistic about how rare the circumstances were that produced this kind of match.  

The same can't be said about my Match of the Year. The Revival, Gargano, and Ciampa broke away from the pack in 2016, but Shinsuke Nakamura showed us the future of American pro-wrestling...

1. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT Takeover: Dallas 

On April 1st, 2016, Shinsuke Nakamura debuted in the WWE and from that day on, he's basically been all I can talk about when I talk about modern wrestling. If 2017 is the year that Nakamura gets brought up to the main roster, he will likely dominate my conversations for another year. 

In 25+ years as a wrestling fan, there are maybe a dozen guys I can recall seeing early on in their careers and saying "He's going to be huge one day." Steve Austin in 91'-92' WCW comes to mind. Chris Jericho in 98'. Obviously, Kurt Angle had "it" from the first minute he debuted. CM Punk in Ring of Honor. Nakamura is the next name on that list. 

Technically speaking, Nakamura is a 15-year veteran and already an established draw in his home country, but to most US fans, when Nakamura finally does pop up on RAW or SmackDown, he'll be a rookie, a relative unknown with a reputation of greatness but no real credits to his name. "Yeah, yeah, he's main-evented shows in front of 50,000 at the Tokyo Dome, but how many Battlegrounds has he been in?" they'll ask. "He's too odd," they'll say. 

Any perception that Nakamura "won't work" in the WWE was blasted away on April 1st, 2016, though. His ascent is undeniable. He is the first Next Big Thing since Brock Lesnar.

If this seems hyperbolic, watch this match (or watch it again).

If not every move is executed flawlessly, if the longterm selling of damaged limbs is brushed aside at times, if some of the spots seem just a touch telegraphed, it doesn't detract from the match's enjoyability or significance. This was the "must see" wrestling match of 2016 and it is wrestled that way. Even on re-watch, goosebumps are guaranteed. How many other wrestling matches can one name that have that kind of lasting feel? 10? 20 maybe? There certainly weren't any other in 2016. 

While the story focuses (deservedly) on the debut of Nakamura, its worth mentioning how impeccable a selection Sami Zayn was as his inaugural opponent. As we'd see in his subsequent, disappointing match against Austin Aries at Takeover: The End a few months later, as special an attraction as Nakamura is, it takes two to create an all-time great match. Zayn will never match Nakamura in the intangible "It" department, but his more subtle, low-key performance, especially at the start of the match, is equally brilliant. 

For the first time in his NXT run, Zayn doesn't have full crowd support. The audience doesn't boo him, but they're firmly backing Nakamura, the debuting rock star. An impatient, less confident worker might take the opportunity to inject heelishness into their offense to steer into the curve and tell a basic heel/face story. Sami doesn't break, though. He remains laser-focused, staring down his opponent with fierce determination to defeat the near-mythical Nakamura, even if it spoils the fun of everyone in the room. He doesn't change who he is just because his supporters have a new toy they like more.  

As much as it pains me to write it, the crowd itself is an integral part of the match's greatness too. I've been critical of "smark" fans on this blog and for good reason. These metaphorical children of the ECW Arena greaseballs and their workrate-is-all attitude are loathsome. En masse, they like to show their "insider knowledge" by sabotaging segments, rooting for heels and booing faces until nobody can get over as either, and "What?-ing" promos because "'Memba Stone Cold?". Most irritatingly, their Pavlovian response to finisher-spamming and 300-pounders busting out lucha moves is "This is Awesome," even when it clearly isn't. 

In this match, their hooting and hollering is impossible to ignore - but, like The Grinch hearing the Whos' singing on Christmas - I can't help but smile when they start that stupid, stupid "Fight Forever" chant. Maybe because, for once, it feels organic...even if it is the absolute dumbest "meta" chant to ever exist. And, so, in this rare instance, I'm willing to begrudgingly acknowledge that the atmosphere provided by this collection of wrestling dweebs benefits the presentation.

For 20 minutes, Zayn and Nakamura destroy each other in a ballet of spellbinding acts of quickness and precision culminating in moments of unmatched brutality. Nakamura's use simple knee strikes to full damaging effect is remarkable and Zayn does the same with his haymaker clotheslines and eventual delivery of his signature offense. It may be common in other locales, but in the WWE, in 2016, building a match around super-stiff forearms to the mush is almost unheard of and, to my knowledge, has never been done so well. One doesn't have to suspend their disbelief to enjoy this match - it legitimately looks like these two are beating the crap out of each other, a descriptor that no other match on this list warrants. 

Easily the best match of 2016 and a harbinger for Nakamura's inevitable rise to superstardom. 

WWE Backlash 2003

WWE Backlash 2003

Worcester, Massachusetts - April 2003

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Brock Lesnar is the WWE World Champion while Triple H holds the World Heavyweight Championship on RAW at the start of this show. Trish Stratus holds the Womens' Championship and Matt Hardy is the Cruiserweight Champion, while the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championships remain inactive (having been unified way back in October 2002 at the No Mercy show). The WWE Tag Team Champions are Team Angle, while RAW's Kane and Rob Van Dam hold the World Tag Team Championships. 

COMMENTARY: Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman (RAW), Tazz and Cole (SmackDown)

Backlash 2003 kicks off with the WWE Tag Team Champions, Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) defending the straps against Los Guerreros, Chavo and Eddie. By this point, Los Guerreros had perfected their "Lie, Cheat, Steal" gimmicks, adding schtick to every second of the match, whether it was tagging themselves in (even when unnecessary), using the tag rope to choke out their opponent, or causing countless ref distractions. Haas and Benjamin, as would be the case for most of their respective WWE runs, are impressive athletes and even show off some dazzling teamwork - but they struggle to even match a tenth of the character that their opponents have and what could be a really hot opener suffers a little bit because of it. (3/5)

Backstage, Test flirts awkwardly with Torrie Wilson and plants one on her. Yuck.

Back in the ring - Roddy Piper's protege Sean O'Haire vs. Rikishi. Absolute shit match. O'Haire has a good look, but is a non-athletic athletic type, everything he does looking less smooth than the last maneuver he tried. The reactions Rikishi draws are ghosts of louder ones from 4 years earlier. Roddy Piper is around, but he overplays things so much it really makes his WCW run in the 90s look like a career peak in comparison. Half-point for not extending beyond 5 minutes. (0.5/5)

Sable introduces herself to Stacy Keibler backstage and tells her that she caught Keibler's boyfriend, Test, kissing Keibler's BFF, Torrie Wilson. I'd say that this is the type of garbage soap opera writing that, thankfully, the WWE doesn't produce too much of these days - but every storyline Lana's been involved in since her debut has had the similar stench of lazy writing. 

Rob Van Dam and Kane defend their World Tag Team Championships against The Dudley Boys next, though, the deck is stacked against them as heel authority figure Chief Morley is the referee. As was fairly typical for their matches around this time, the Dudleys draw heat mostly by not giving the fans what they want - tables - while the babyfaces pop em' with signature offense. Has any wrestler been in more "unlikely duo" teams than Kane? A somewhat surprising number of inventive, cool spots here out of both teams make things a bit less tedious than I expected and, after a miscommunication with Morley and surprise appearance by Lance Storm, the match explodes into the best kind of chaos. Solid finish too. (2.5/5)

The Keibler/Wilson drama continues when Stacy confronts her friend. A catfight ensues and for some reason the camera lingers on the scene for a comically long time. The "acting" here is laughably bad. (-1)

Teddy Long accompanies Jazz down the aisle for her match against the reigning Womens' Champion Trish Stratus, the females attempting to somehow lift the reputation of the entire female roster through their work. Like their match at the previous month's WrestleMania, Jazz and Trish dish out considerably more sophisticated offense than what one might've assumed in the Era of the Hair Toss. At one point, Stratus attempts her classic head scissors in the corner and Jazz reverses it into a nasty half-crab back on the mat (which eventually morphs into Stratus strapping on the STF after a nifty series of counters). Jazz hits a huge dropkick that wakes up the largely disinterested crowd, but Stratus is able to connect with a telegraphed Stratusfaction for two. Dirty tactics lead to the final result and this feud continues. Not a great match, but O'Haire should probably still take notes. (2/5)


The Big Show takes on Rey Mysterio next. This isn't too great of a match, but the post-match is absolutely brilliant. Exactly as one might expect, Show uses his size to capture the W after Mysterio hits a flurry of offense that almost makes it seem like he can overcome the odds. Again, bonus half-point for the post-match angle, which is just an incredible visual. (3/5)

Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Ric Flair are backstage with Lillian Garcia. They proceed to deliver one of the most awkwardly poor promos I've seen recently - honestly, this is like subtraction by addition, each guy almost seeming to forget what their old reliable catchphrases are and deciding to just stumble through gibberish instead. So poor that Garcia attempts to abandon ship but Triple H mistakenly brings her back to "wrap things up" with more nonsense. Terrible promo. (-1)

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, folks! This is the first PPV meeting of these two, Cena not yet at that true main event level (he'd get there a little under two years later). Cena comes in sporting Yankees attire and raps to antagonize the crowd - it is crazy to think that a Massachusetts crowd has ever booed Cena, but here's the proof. Lesnar takes control early on, press slamming Cena and then clotheslining him out of the ring (where he proceeds to toss him against the announce table). The Doctor of Thuganomics is able to reverse Lesnar's momentum, though, whipping him into the steps and then targeting a wound above the Beast's eye. Cena continues to control for a lengthy stretch, keeping the pressure on the fading champion with a legdrop against the ropes and then by applying a full body scissors as the New England crowd slowly begins to chant for the challenger. Lesnar, a freak of strength, is able to stand up with Cena on his back, ramming into the corner three times until he releases him. There's some miscommunications in the next sequence, but Lesnar keeps the momentum going by simply lifting Cena up and slamming into the mat - an easy fix when you have that kind of brute strength. Cena catches Lesnar with some surprising near falls, but Lesnar rallies back with another double-leg into the corner. Cena reaches for his chain, but gets caught in an F-5 for his trouble. A good showing for a young Cena and an equally strong performance out of Lesnar, but not a "must see" match like some of their other higher profile bouts. (3.5/5)

A lengthy nu-metal soundtracked video package hypes our next match - Chris Jericho, Triple H, and Ric Flair vs. Booker T, Shawn Michaels, and Kevin Nash. Everyone gets their own entrance with Nash getting the biggest pyro display due to him being positioned as the fresh, new challenger for Triple H's World Championship. Nash was 44 years old at the time and coming off an injury that had put him out for 9 months, so, y'know, this was a great idea. Michaels and Jericho start things off before Nash comes in to take out all the heels. Things get more "workrate-y" when Booker and Jericho get some extended time in the ring together, all leading to Shawn Michaels getting the hot tag against a surprisingly spry Ric Flair (age 54). Triple H comes in and gets to work on Michaels' knee with Flair following up with some of his patented offense. The Heartbreak Kid eventually makes the tag to Nash, who comes in and, as he did earlier, basically stands still and allows the heels to run into his fists and boots. Nash hits a snake eyes' and follows it up with a sidewalk slam, but his pin attempt is broke up by the Nature Boy. Nash is finally taken off his feet by a Jericho dropkick from the top rope and we've got a melee on our hands. The Spinnerooni shows up as Booker and Y2J duke it out on the outside. Back in the ring, Flair and Michaels come to blows while Triple H and Nash start brawling up the aisle. Michaels starts tuning up the band but Jericho hits him with a bulldog and Flair locks in the figure four. Jericho adds insult to injury by hitting a Lionsault on him too, but none of them are the legal men so it doesn't matter. Nash comes in to make the save, but the ref is sent to the floor for his troubles. He hits the Jacknife on Jericho, but Triple H rocks him with the sledgehammer for the win. Not a "must see" match, but worthy of being a RAW main event, with Flair, Jericho, and Booker T all showing considerable fire at times. Triple H and Michaels take the night off a bit and Nash's weaknesses are wisely covered up. Smartly worked match. (3/5)

Main event time - The Rock vs. Goldberg. Its surprising how little "play" this match got over the course of the night. Before the match begins, The Rock cuts a somewhat weird promo sans any catchphrases, calling Goldberg a "whisker-biscuit bitch" at one point and noting that the only thing he hasn't done is "make a white baby." Despite being fairly over as a heel, he has at least a third of the crowd on his side coming in. Goldberg gets his usual entrance, the camera following him from backstage. The match begins with Rock refusing to get into the ring and lock up, the "Goldberg" chants beginning to drown out the small "Rocky" ones. After some jawing back and forth, the bell finally rings and the match begins, Goldberg outpowering The Rock early and sending him to the mat. They lock up a second time and, again, the Rock is tossed (this time all the way to the arena floor). The Rock's overselling is bordering on Shawn Michaels-level. Goldberg hits a Rock Bottom just a few minutes in (which makes so little sense) and then gets ready for the Spear (which does) - but the Rock sidesteps and Goldberg hits the post, the crowd roaring in support of the Great One. The Rock locks in a Sharpshooter because this match, in the span of 6 minutes, is already in finisher mode, I guess, and Rock sees no reason to target Goldberg's damaged shoulder? The Rock sets up for the Rock Bottom, but Goldberg launches himself into the Brahma Bull with an unexpected spear. Goldberg can't make the cover, though, his shoulder too hurt. Rock is up first but walks into a series of fists, a shoulder block, and a powerslam. The layout of this match is just weird. The Rock takes control with a spinebuster and then lands the Rock Bottom for 2 and 4/5ths - again, the a loud portion of the crowd boos. Rock hits another big spinebuster and connects with a People's Elbow again for two (and again, there's a sizable negative response). As the Rock tries to figure out how to finish things, Goldberg gets up and hits a huge spear! Rock milks his recovery for all its worth and gets hit with another vicious spear and then, the icing on the cake, a Jackhammer for the W. Goldberg's victory gets a pop, but this match was just too weird and almost too favorable towards The Rock, whose mix of stooging and signature offense was practically designed to make sure he was the focus. Weird bout, but at least more entertaining than your average match. (3/5)


With a Kwang score of 2.05-out-of-5, Backlash 2003 is one of the weaker shows I've reviewed in some time. With more lows than highs, the show is tolerable throughout but never really that much better than that. Rock/Goldberg is a somewhat enjoyable oddity more than its a "good" match. All three tag bouts are solid, but skippable. The best match of the night is Cena/Lesnar, largely because Lesnar gets opened up early and its fun to watch Cena work as a heel using non-signature offense with 2016 eyes. Aside from that, though, a pretty piss poor show, with O'Haire/Rikishi being one of the worst matches I've seen this year.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Roadblock: End of the Line

WWE Roadblock: End of the Line

Pittsburgh, PA - December 2016

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Kevin Owens holds RAW's Universal Championship, Roman Reigns is the reigning United States Champion, and Sasha Banks is the RAW Women's Champion. Rich Swann is the Cruiserweight Champion while The New Day are in the midst of the record-setting reign as the WWE World Tag Team Champions. 

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves

The second Roadblock of 2016 began with the World Tag Team Titles on the line - The New Day defending against Sheamus and Cesaro. After some early dominance by the challengers, Big E hit his spear to the outside on Sheamus and then landed his big splash back in the ring. Sheamus was able to regain control, though, putting E down with a Cesaro-assisted Celtic Cross. Cesaro went on a minor flurry, but a miscommunication and some interference from Xavier Woods led to a nearfall for the champs. Back and forth things went, neither team capable of putting away their opponents (even a ridiculously impressive powerbomb set-up into a Neutralizer from Cesaro couldn't do it). And then, in one of the most disappointing finishes I can recall, the 483-day reign of the New Day came to a close - Sheamus and Cesaro fooling the champs with a "false tag" leading to a roll-up. Considering how much went into the reign of New Day, ending it this way (even if it is the right time) to this particular team is an odd decision. A typical New Day match - not much build or drama, just signature spot after signature spot. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Kevin Owens gives Chris Jericho a holiday scarf. Jericho tosses it into his face. Their friendship remains icy.

Back in the ring, Sami Zayn makes his way down the aisle for his 10-minute challenge match against Braun Strowman. As expected, Strowman dominates, tossing Zayn around like a rag doll and hitting him with some vicious clubbing blows and clotheslines. Around minute 5, Strowman has the opportunity to wrap it up but decides against it, allowing Zayn to stagger around the ring some more as the audience watches in relative quiet. Around minute 7, Foley makes his way down the aisle with a white towel in his hand and Strowman tosses him to the outside. A small "Let Him Fight" chant is audible as Zayn pulls on Foley's jacket and tells him not to throw in the towel. With the clock winding down, Strowman tells the RAW Co-GM that Zayn's blood is on his hands but then falls prey to some to wise Zayn maneuvering, the big man hurling himself into the barricade, through the timekeeper's area, and into a post back in the ring. With 20 seconds left, Strowman hurls Zayn out of the ring and, miraculously, Zayn survives the count! Zayn hits his big kick and "wins" the challenge, leaving Strowman irate in the ring. This one needed some sort of post-match angle to cap it off as it ended with a bit limp. I'm not opposed to this rivalry continuing as it is certainly helping define Zayn's underdog character and serving as a good showcase for Strowman. Again, a post-match angle of some kind would've lifted this one higher than just average for me. (2.5/5)

A lengthy video promo hypes the next match - Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins. The crowd is somewhat split on these two, which certainly doesn't help the match build heat. Blatant spot-calling around in the corner around minute two leading to Rollins hitting his big knee on the outside. Jericho hides behind the ref and rakes the eyes, but he can't get the crowd to turn on him no matter what heel tactic he uses. Jericho applies a pretty loose chinlock and the crowd doesn't bother clapping Rollins up. Minutes later, the Architect takes control and delivers some trademark offense - of Finn Balor and Nigel McGuiness, but whatever. Rollins then telegraphs his knee off the top rope and Jericho catches him into the Walls. These two are working hard, but running in place - Rollins can't draw sympathy and no matter what Jericho does (and he's tried a bit of everything), he's still got 60% of the audience behind him. The first nifty moment of the match occurs around minute 12, Jericho countering a Pedigree attempt into a roll-up and then Walls of Jericho. Rollins is able to survive and hit a frog splash, though - a should-be victory broken up by a distraction from Kevin Owens on the outside of the ring. Y2J doesn't take kindly to Owens getting involved, though, the distraction ultimately leading to the finish. A solid last few minutes save what was a very dull match. (2/5)

The WWE Cruiserweight Championship is on the line next - TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann in a triple threat for Swann's title. Austin Aries is on commentary for this one, noting that he's happy Swann is keeping the title warm until he decides to be champ. Technically, all three men are proficient performers, but none dazzle, their offense really paling in comparison to the kind of aerial innovation the WCW cruisers, particularly the luchadores, busted out 20 years ago. It doesn't help that Perkins and Swann are generic babyfaces without discernible traits beyond not taking shortcuts and smiling during their entrances. Credit goes to an unexpected finish, but this was house show filler match helped, at least somewhat, by a post-match angle that at least gave us a fresh story for the division. Unsurprisingly, Neville's heel turn was met with a "Thank You Neville" chant because Swann and TJP had zero crowd support. (1.5/5)

Owens is backstage again, apologizing to Jericho's door. We'll see where this goes...

30 Ironman Match time - Sasha Banks defending her Womens' Championship against Charlotte. The first third featured straight back-and-forth wrestling, Banks nearly locking in the Banks Statement but Flair narrowly escaping. At minute 7, Banks applied a sleeper, but Charlotte used her strength to counter with a back drop. The fight went outside, the setting where so many of the best moments of this rivalry have occurred but for the most part, the entire match was kept inside the squared circle - a change of pace, but not necessarily one that the crowd was happy with. Sasha locked in a nasty-looking straightjacket before connecting with a flurry of forearms and a dropkick. It was nice to see Sasha hit a flying crossbody through the ropes instead of the injury-risking suicide dives she'd made her calling card, especially when you consider the stipulation of this particular contest and how counter-logical it would be for her to put her body on the line with things at 0-0. Banks let her guard down for a moment too long and Charlotte capitalized, kicking out the leg of Sasha and causing her to hit the steel steps on the outside in a tide-turning spot. Charlotte showed why she might be the best heel on the RAW roster for the next several minutes, her offense deliberate and cold enough to not elicit cheers, but still impressive and devastating enough to have that "wow" factor. Great nearfall after an excellent leg scissors sequence too. Sasha's first comeback didn't have the crowd behind it, though, as the match enter minute 18 without a fall. We got a kickout from the first Natural Selection, but Charlotte would take the lead with a second one (this time from the top rope) around the 20 minute mark. Shocking tie-maker pinning combo out of Banks with 8 minutes left and then Banks applied a nasty-looking Banks Statement to take the lead, the audience finally woken up. The last 3-4 minutes were excellent, though, the crowd still seemed a bit indifferent or, at the very least, far less invested than the audiences were for some of their better matches this year. Lillian Garcia botched her announcement of Flair tying the match, the match continuing to sudden death. The "hard way" blood out of Sasha's nose (?) in the overtime really added to the drama but I'm not sure this match measured up to the upper-tier stuff they've done at previous shows, including at Hell in a Cell. A liver crowd might have helped, but the layout of the match was also a bit questionable, with Banks, the babyface, wrestling "on defense" for the final stretch when it may have been better to have her working to tie things up. Still, good work that bordered on greatness at times (especially the last 5-6 minutes). (3.5/5)

A video package highlighting the friendship of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho airs before our main event - Kevin Owens defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. As I don't watch RAW routinely, I haven't seen these two wrestle too many times before, giving this match some novelty for me at least even if most of the audience had seen some of the same spots before. I definitely enjoy Owens in this type of match more than the spotfests he had with Owens and Cena, but I still wouldn't call it a great match - just one with a clearer story and exchanges of momentum that actually made sense. Some good sequences toward the end, though, the predictability of the interference from Jericho kept the audience from biting on the near falls. The post-match beatdown would've gotten over bigger if Reigns and Rollins working together was novel - but it's not. Above-average match, but not that far above average. (3/5)


A few weeks ago, the SmackDown brand took a card full of rematches and exceeded expectations with the aid of stipulation matches and title changes that felt deserved. Roadblock was the RAW brand's version, almost an exact mirror show down to the Tag and Womens' Championships changing hands. Unfortunately, none of the four guys in RAW's main event scene are as fun to watch as AJ Styles or as over in their role as The Miz. Still, Roadblock was more watchable than its somewhat lowly 2.5-out-of-5 score would indicate. The Cruisers match wasn't great, but it was also kept short and at least pointed to the future of the division. Rollins/Jericho was more of a slog, but at least featured a strong closing. The Womens' Championship bout, as has become tradition for the RAW brand Network events, was the match of the night. Not quite a dud thanks to a good match order, respectable effort from everyone on the show, and a very solid Ironman match that took up 30+ minutes.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WCW Clash of the Champions VII: Guts and Glory!

Clash of the Champions VII - Guts and Glory!

Fort Bragg, NC - June 1989

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Despite injury, Ric Flair is still the reigning WCW World Champion, Lex Luger holds the United States Championship, and Sting is the TV Champ. The US Tag Team Championships are held by Rick Steiner and Eddie Gilbert, though, by this point, Rick had begun tagging with his brother Scott more and more. The NWA World Tag Team Championships, though, are vacant and new champions will be crowned tonight.

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

The 7th Clash of the Champions was taped in front of a rowdy military crowd, adding some reverence to the performance of the "Star-Spangled Banner" that opens the show. From there we get the first contest of the night - The Dynamic Dudes taking on The Fabulous Freebirds in a match to decide who will advance in the NWA World Tag Team Titles tournament. Jimmy "Jam" Garvin makes his first appearance as a Freebird. The crowd is hot for this, though, more anti-Freebird than pro-Dude. At under 8 minutes, this one is pretty fast-paced (a positive), but doesn't leave much of an impression either. (2/5)

Real life ex-military man Ranger Ross comes out next, his opponent, an overweight, masked man known as The Terrorist (aka Jack Victory), waiting in the ring for him. Ross is incredibly over with his fellow Air Force buds, the chant of "Ranger!" early on particularly heartwarming. Ross was not a good wrestler, but he seems like a nice enough dude. This "match" going under 2 minutes is the only thing about it worth rewarding. (0.5/5)

Speaking of Jack Victory, he's featured in the commercial that follows: a very late 80s/early 90s ad for the WCW Hotline. Paul Dangerously is also featured. I can't believe they made even a cent off of the hotline, but considering how long they (and the WWE) used them, I'm guessing somebody somewhere was calling. (+1)

Back in the ring, Jim Ross welcomes The Great Muta and his manager, Gary Hart. Hart talks down the American public and Muta's rival, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. The purpose of this segment was to offer a demonstration of the stipulation match that Muta wanted for his match with Gilbert (a dragon shai match? I'm not exactly sure what this is or if that's even what they were calling it), but as Hart spews vitriol, Hot Stuff shows up to toss a fire ball. Unfortunately for Gilbert, the blaze hits one of the two jobbers in the ring instead and Muta escapes unharmed. Cool stuff. (+1)

One of the worst matches I've seen in awhile is next - The Ding Dongs vs. Cougar Jay and George South. Where to start when describing this lously 4 minutes of 'rasslin'....the Ding Dongs were a pair of masked guys in bright orange bodysuits (think The Conquistadors only the color of parking cones) that rang jingle bells during their matches because, well, its never explained. The crowd absolutely despises them but don't bother cheering their jobber opponents either (because they too suck). This is their debut I believe too, which had to have pissed off WCW head Jim Herd at the time because they were infamously his idea. While the Dongs don't botch every move, they also don't execute anything very well - which shouldn't have been surprising when you consider the guys under the hoods were career jobbers, not workers who had spent years building up good-looking offense. Awful stuff that isn't even as funny as it should be in that "so bad-it's good" way. (0/5)

The World Tag Team Title tournament continues with the mega-popular Midnight Express taking on the Samoan SWAT Team. Cornette and Dangerously both get some mic time before the match begins, the crowd whipped into a tremendous frenzy. A crazed fan gets into the ring for a split second but is tossed out as Cornette sings the praises of the Midnights. Like the previous few matches, this one offers very little to get excited by, The Road Warriors making an appearance around minute 5 to lead to a screwjob finish. (1.5/5)

Steve Williams and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy of the Freebirds square off. Its a real shame that this one ends in a double count-out because the action we do get to see between these two is all kinds of awesome. Williams is in incredible shape, Gordy is such a natural monster, and when these two collide, you can see teeth getting knocked loose and bruises forming with each strike. Less than a year later, they'd form the Miracle Violence Connection. Really violent brawling that is too much of a tease to be considered a great match on its own. (2/5)

The next segment is incredible - in that it is so bad, you just have to see it. Norman the Lunatic (managed by Teddy Long and escorted by a full team of orderlies) debuts, squashing the much fitter Mike Justice in under a minute. If Norman had even a single cool wrestling move, the squash and presumed push would make sense - but his offense consists of forearms, a clothesline, and a shoulder block in the corner. The post-match and JR's commentary put the segment over the top, though, as one of the best things I've seen in months. FIVE STAR SEGMENT. (5/5)

This is followed by yet another ultra-cool segment, a video promo hyping Flyin' Brian. 

The Freebirds cut an inconsequential promo before our next bout - The Steiner Brothers (with Missy Hyatt) taking on The Varsity Club (Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotunda). Scott Steiner is noticeably green here, definitely the "odd man out" compared to everyone else in the ring, who've all been working together for years by this point (if I'm not mistaken). The crowd absolutely hates the Varsity Club, making the match much more fun to watch than the actual "action" does. Some good suplexes here and there and, though I'm still not going to go overboard with my praise for the guy, Rotunda is particularly good here - much better than I recall him looking in his IRS run a few years later or any of his nWo-era work. (2/5)

Sting defends his TV Championship next against "Wild" Bill Irwin, the future Goon of my childhood. Sting has the crowd's support, not only from the kids who accompany him down the aisle but from the adults who chant "Sting!" loudly a few minutes in. Irwin connects with a huge spinebuster, but lazily gloats instead of furthering his offense. He eats a Stinger Splash and gets rolled up. Pretty weak stuff. (1/5)

Scott "Gator" Hall promo! This is unbelievably stupid. Basically, it's just Hall poking a gator with a stick spliced with some unimpressive moves (crossbody, bulldog headlock). So stupid its definitely worth watching. (+1)


Jim Ross stands outside the home of Ric Flair, who welcomes into his home with a neck brace on and slick Lakers shirt. They sit down for an interview and Flair describes his rehabilitation. He says he's made enough money for "two lifetimes," which is worthy of a spit take considering his money woes years later, and then furthers the kayfabe by explaining that Funk's attack at Wrestle War was more damaging than the PLANE CRASH that legitimately broke his back a decade earlier. Ross explains that the NWA has waived the "30 day" rule that would've forced Flair to defend his World Championship, but Flair announces that he will make his decision regarding either relinquishing the title or returning to wrestling on July 1st. Flair then tells Funk not to sleep well at night because, whether it will be a month from now or a year from now, he'll be knocking at his door. 

And here we go with another explanation of the Triple Crown King of the Hill match that will be wrestled on The Great American Bash tour. I could watch these ads a hundred more times and still don't think I'd be able to explain who, why, or how these matches were developed or executed and for what real purpose.

Back at Fort Bragg, The Freebirds make their way down the aisle to take on the uber-popular Midnight Express in the finals of the NWA World Tag Team Championships. Dangerously shows up early and attacks Cornette before the match begins, startling Eaton and Stan Lane. This is almost a great match wrestled in fast forward for these two teams - everyone's work is crisp and dynamic and the crowd eats up everything they serve, but things come off as so rushed that things that should be huge dramatic turns (the few near-falls, Gordy's interference) don't click the way they should, the crowd more surprised by the abrupt ending than anything. Still, I'd sooner re-watch an abbreviated Freebirds/Midnights match than almost anything tag match we get on RAW most weeks. (2.5/5)

Main event time - the despised Terry Funk taking on Ricky Steamboat in a match with Funk's Number One Contendership basically on the line (despite Funk being ranked #10 at this point). Both guys are in incredible shape for this, Funk returning here after a multi-year hiatus from an NWA ring. Like his series against Flair in the preceding months, Steamboat is fire in this match - while there is less variety in his offense, its still super crisp and his selling is equally on point. The fun of a Terry Funk match is often its unpredictability and this one is no different, the Funker bumping in and out of the ring in clever almost-roundabout ways that add flavor to a match that, from a technical standpoint, doesn't offer very much. Still, the size of the personas and the clash in ring styles makes it an engaging viewing (especially for those, like me, checking this out for the first time). Very surprising finish considering how obvious the impending Funk/Flair showdown is benefitted by a straightforward but intriguing post-match angle involving the number 2 contender (and United States Champion), Lex Luger. Not a "must see" match, but a cool example of storyline progression that leaves all parties involved with clear foci for future matches. Good-not-great stuff that somehow earned 4-and-a-quarter stars from Dave Meltzer. (3.5/5)


Like the slightly-pre-Hogan shows from 1994, Clash of the Champions VII is an interesting watch that lags at times, but also features some really fun moments. The main event and Tag Team Championship tournament finale are "great pieces of business" as Jim Ross might call them, cleverly pointing to future matches that are now "must see" attractions. The Steve Williams/Terry Gordy brawl is almost tragic, though - the brawling is superb but cut off far too short. Then there's the debuts of The Ding Dongs and Norman the Lunatic, a pair of the worst gimmicks ever presented in front of a wrestling audience, paying or otherwise. At the time, them appearing on the card was probably a huge disappointment - but in 2016, I can watch this stuff and laugh (which is how the future Bastion Booger scored a 5-point rating despite having one of the worst matches I've ever seen). There's also some nifty promos and video packages to keep things moving, though, overall, the 2-hour show certainly feels at least twice that length during certain patches. With an overall Kwang score of 2.3-out-of-5, this show lands squarely in the range of...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver