WWE Badd Blood 97'

WWE Badd Blood 97' 

St. Louis, Missouri - October 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Bret Hart is the WWF Champion, the Intercontinental Championship has been vacated (a new champion will be crowned on tonight's show), and The Headbangers are the recognized WWE World Tag Team Champions.

COMMENTATORS: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Ross

When we last left the WWE, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were waging war against each other, brawling to a No Contest finish at the Ground Zero pay-per-view while Bret Hart, the WWE Champion, was feuding with one of the least over challengers to ever get a shot at the big one, Del "The Patriot" Wilkes. Steve Austin, injured at SummerSlam, was still raising hell, while Brian Pillman and Goldust were in the midst of a scandalous feud over the services of Terri "Marlena" Runnels.

When Badd Blood kicks off, Vince notes that Brian Pillman had passed away that afternoon but doesn't go into too much detail (this would wait till the next night's RAW episode). JR and Lawler help him transition to tonight's first bout, The Nation of Domination vs. The Legion of Doom in a handicap match. Ken Shamrock had originally been penciled in to compete with the Road Warriors, but the WWE was selling Shamrock's internal injuries strong. D'Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa, and Rocky "Not Yet The Rock" Johnson represent the NOD, using the numbers game to their advantage. The St. Louis crowd is alive and rocking for this, popping huge for the Warriors' offense, especially Hawk's late in the match hot tag. By not overstaying its welcome and thanks to a 97' crowd that had obviously not tired of the LOD as much as history tries to tell us was the case, this was a pretty good opener. (2.5/5)

After a hotline commercial from Sunny and Michael "Dok Hendrix" Hayes, Vince McMahon notifies fans that, in place of the scheduled Dude Love/Brian Pillman match, we will now be getting Mosaic and Tarantula vs. Max Mini and Nova, a battle of "minis." As expected, the crowd is somewhat dead for this but do audibly laugh, groan, and cheer for the broad comedy and high-flying spots. Nova botches a whole bunch of spots while McMahon, fairly late in the proceedings, finally explains why there have been no tags (the match is being fought under traditional "Mexican" wrestling rules).  The finish, as sloppy as many of the other sequences, underwhelms a crowd that had already moved on. (0.5/5)

Sunny makes her way down the aisle to introduce tonight's World Tag Team Championship match, welcoming the challengers, The Godwinns (with Uncle Cletus, aka T.L Hopper aka "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony), and then the reigning titleholders, Mosh and Thrasher, The Headbangers. McMahon tries his best to put over the Headbangers as counterculture heroes, but it is obvious by how small their applause is that they were not remotely popular with the audience. The Headbangers' work here is atrocious, Phineas nearly paralyzed by a particularly poorly-executed double back-body drop. As the match goes on, the teams do end up on the same page, but it still doesn't make for a good match at any point. Half-point credit for smart booking as the 'Bangers just weren't a capable enough team to hold the titles. (0.5/5)

Before we get to our next contest, we get an extended video package hyping Steve Austin and his recent run-ins with authority figures like Vince McMahon, Sgt. Slaughter, and even Jerry Lawler. Its an excellent video package that summarizes Austin's rise to infamy in 97'.

This is followed by an absolute BOREFEST of a ceremony in which Jim Ross hands plaques to some of St. Louis' most cherished wrestling figures from yesteryear - namely Gene Kiniski, Harley Race, Dory Funk, Terry Funk, Sam Mushnick, and Lou Thesz. Lest you think this was a "thrown together" idea, there are video packages for each honoree (meaning that this boring, unremarkable segment was planned all along). People, like myself, paid real money to order these pay-per-views and this is the crap WWE was throwing at the wall in the fall of 97'. (-1)

The vacant Intercontinental Championship is on the line next - Farooq challenging Owen Hart. Steve Austin makes his way down the aisle to not only hand over the title but to also serve as guest commentator. Austin's involvement makes this a passable match for the lucky viewers at home that got to hear and see his interactions with McMahon, Lawler, and the other announce teams, but the in-ring action is absolutely heatless (which is not surprising considering both guys are heels). Obviously needing to make up some time, this one stretches for longer than it should. A solid, intriguing ending is the only thing that boosts this one even close to average. (2/5)

In a funny way, the next match suffers for featuring too much hard work. Bret Hart and The British Bulldog square off against The Patriot and Vader in a Flag Match (that can, for some reason or other, also be decided by pinfall or submission) that exceeds expectations, but also exceeds the patience of the audience, going what feels like at least 30 minutes (it actually goes 25). Vader and Bulldog always had an odd chemistry that is on display again here, while Bret Hart's heel work brought heat into a match that didn't seem to have much going for it on paper. In fact, at one point, McMahon himself interjects on commentary that the match is "a lot more fun" than he expected. Unfortunately, the positives are outweighed by the negatives - the confusing booking that negates the flag stipulation, the fact that the match stretches well beyond the 12-15 minutes it should have been, the occasional mistiming or poor selling. You could edit this match into a 4-5 minute music video that would make it seem like an absolute gem, but as a whole, its actually a bit of a chore to get through. (2/5)

Main event time (and it couldn't come any sooner) - Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell with the winner going on to face champion Bret Hart at Survivor Series. Like at the previous month's Ground Zero show, Undertaker dominates the early going, tossing Michaels into the cage with ease and dishing out as much punishment as possible. When Michaels does take control, he instantly begins to use everything he can to even the score, including some high-flying and the steel stairs, driving them into the back of the Phenom on the outside. After initially struggling to get him up, Michaels then hits a nasty piledriver on the Undertaker on the exposed steps. Minutes later, the Showstopper has a chair in hand and you almost get the sense that the match is building towards its finish considering that the chair had been such a key item in the storyline building to this bout. The Deadman won't stay down, though, and the match continues, with Shawn Michaels eventually getting tossed out of the ring and into a cameraman (who he then attacks). The cleverness of this part of the match can not be oversold - it is sheer brilliance. Earlier in the match, various shots had been shaken up or hindered by the competitors, making Michaels' attack on the cameraman come off as believably motivated, not just a random attack on an innocent bystander. This leads to Sgt. Slaughter making his way down the aisle to help the cameraman out of the ring and, in a shocking turn of events, Taker and HBK ending up outside of the cage. Michaels' gets busted open from a catapult into the cell wall and then eats steel again (and again) from a pair of battering rams. Had the match ended here (or within a few minutes of their brawling outside the cage), you'd have a contender for one of the better cage matches ever...but, instead, they take the match to, literally, another level by finding their way on top of the cage. Michaels takes a terrifying a back body drop on the cage as the crowd gasps, absolutely losing their minds at what they are witnessing. Again, one can not oversell how tremendous the scene is, especially once Taker hits him with a press slam and, in one of the most legendary falls in WWE history, Michaels finds himself crashing through a table from halfway down the cage. In a world where Mick Foley doesn't exist, Shawn Michaels' bump is the one fans would associate with the Hell in a Cell. Back in the ring, Michaels, a bloody mess, gets chokeslammed from the top rope in a spot that is more symbolically awesome than visually devastating before taking the kind of chairshot that you just don't get in the WWE post-Benoit. With the match all but won, the Undertaker having secured his rematch for the WWE World Championship shot, we get one of the most iconic debuts in the history of wrestling to close out the show. It is a tremendous moment that, at the time, seemed a bit corny, but now, 20 years later, thanks to hindsight and the fact that Kane would eventually live up to his own pre-debut mythology, serves the match quite well. (4.5/5)


While I may no longer view the main event as the best cage match ever, I'll also admit that, having watched it more than a dozen times, the more shocking elements don't have my jaw dropping the way it used to (or certainly did when I was a 13 year old kid). Though Hart/Austin from WrestleMania 13 stands as the year's best match, the inaugural Hell in a Cell is a close second and quite possibly the best match the Undertaker had been involved in up to that point in his career (an argument might be made for it being Shawn's too). As an overall show, though, Badd Blood is tedious, boring, and forgettable. Its Kwang-o-Meter score of 1.83-out-of-5 nudges it just .02 points above WCW Starrcade 94' and only .06 or so above all-time crapfests like WWE Rebellion 2002 and SuperBrawl V. The epitome of a "one match card"...but boy is that one match special (so special that I can't bear to put this in the DUDleyville category).

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

Random RAW 'Rasslin Matches

Monday Night RAW - July 25th, 2016

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

General Manager Stephanie McMahon and Commissioner Mick Foley promised a rebirth of the WWE Monday Night RAW brand following last week's Draft and, while I wouldn't call this episode an extreme makeover, it was nice to see the WWE at least try some of the suggestions fans have been making for years now (most notably, a new announce team, a return to "jobber" matches, new faces in the main event scene, and longer matches built around legitimate stakes). 

I'm not going to review every segment on the show because to do so would be Horrorscope (y'know, the epitome of Overkill), but there were a few bouts worth seeking out...

Cesaro vs. Rusev vs. Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens was one of two fourway matches on the show, the winner of each going on to wrestle in the main event. This also served as Balor's debut and, while I've been somewhat lukewarm on his NXT work, this match showed to me what was missing with this guy - the audience. In the smaller settings, Balor's over-the-top offense and fire can almost come off as him trying too hard, but like Apollo Crews, when you take that same performance and put it on a grander stage, everything he does make more sense (look no further than his Slingblade clothesline, a move that typically elicits a yawn from me but was a perfect set-up for his finisher here). While Balor's victory certainly put him in the spotlight, that's not to say that Cesaro, Rusev, and Owens didn't have some terrific moments themselves. Cesaro was able to connect with some sharp uppercuts to all three men in the corners and showed his insane strength by deadlifting Rusev into a vertical suplex at one point. Rusev and Owens teamed up momentarily, providing the match a unique sequence right when it needed a "hook" to keep viewers engaged and leading to them getting some stiff shots in at each other as well. Strong finishing stretch as well. Expect to see this match making more than a few people's Best TV Matches of the Year List come December. (3.5/5)

Elsewhere on the show...

The WWE Womens' Championship was on the line with Charlotte defending her title against Sasha Banks just one night after Banks and Bayley defeated her and Dana Brooke at Battleground. Prominently positioned at the 10:00 PM spot, I'm hoping that, if the rating wasn't as strong as it should be, the WWE considers the fact that the match wasn't promoted remotely as much as a major title match should be. As for the in-ring action, Banks and Charlotte started things off with some fairly straightforward wrestling before Banks went right for the Backstabber-Straightjacket combo, an impressive sequence of offense captured well in one of the handful of new camera angles used on the show. Banks then connected with a swift dropkick and then double knees to Charlotte on the outside, the Nature Girl (why isn't that a thing?) taking two stiff bumps to the arena floor. Back on offense, Charlotte hit Sasha with a boot right into the barrier before taunting her with her championship belt. Some Eddie Guerrero-esque trickery from Banks led to Dana Brooke getting sent backstage (and the match's first commercial break). Later, Banks would land her patented double knee drive in the corner but it was not enough to put away Charlotte who was able to regain control with a textbook neckbreaker. Moments later, Banks nearly broke her neck with a crossbody through the ropes and onto the arena floor but Charlotte just wouldn't stay down. Not to be outdone in the "Why Do This On RAW?" category, Charlotte hit a moonsault from the top rope to the outside of the ring (earning a "Holy Shit" chant from the Pittsburgh crowd). As impressive as these maneuvers were, both were undersold and the pace never slowed to accommodate the selling that should've been taking place. Within a minute, Charlotte would have Sasha locked in a figure four, a sequence that should've been built up a bit more. Fortunately, the women did take their time with the actual finish, teasing the audience at first and then delivering an emotionally-rewarding, heated ending. Had this match occurred at SummerSlam, had this match been plugged in as the night's main event, had this match gone just an extra 3 minutes based on Sasha and Charlotte just selling a touch more after every big spot, I'd be calling it a Top 10 Match of the year...but alas, even the crowd's chants of "You Deserve It" and Bank's understated victory speech were not enough to nudge this one into being more than just a very good match/moment. (3.5/5)

James Ellsworth made his WWE debut, taking on the monstrous Braun Strowman. This was not quite as awesome as the Sid Justice squashes of yesteryear, but hey, there aren't many things on Earth as awesome as a Sid Justice squash match. 

Main event time - Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns with the winner going onto SummerSlam to take on Seth Rollins for the WWE's new Universal Championship. I'm not a big fan of the name for this new championship but at least understand the logic behind it - when (not if) RAW and SmackDown's major titles are merged, the WWE Universal Championship does at least make some sense. Anyway, Reigns dominated early, tossing Balor all around and shaking off some of the Demon's initial strikes. It is interesting to see Reigns work as something noticeably less than a babyface, no longer adding any sly grins to the camera between his spots or trying to pop the crowd with Batista-like roars. During the commercial break, Finn went after Reigns leg but Roman continued to stick to his strategy of grounding Balor and using his strength and size to his advantage. Reigns hit his undeniably impressive roll-up-into-a-sitout-powerbomb but Balor kicked out at two. He then called for his Superman Punch to a very mild reaction, missing it and eventually eating a huge running knee to the noggin on the outside. Balor struck next with a double-stomp to the back of Reigns' head, but it wasn't enough to close things out, Reigns showing remarkable resilience before getting hit with a slingblade. Balor seemed to have things wrapped up but ran square into a Superman Punch. Even this wouldn't be the end, though, as Balor kicked out at two-and-a-half. From here, we saw a pair of powerbombs, more near falls, and what can only be described as the Making of One Star and the Fall of Another. Very strong one-on-one contest that has me fairly excited to see what these two could do on a larger stage with something more personal at stake. (3.5/5)

Yeah, I gave every match an equal rating...but that just shows that evaluating wrestling matches is no science, that matches can be good or bad for a number of reasons, that no two "great" matches are the same. The fourway earned its score by featuring a number of fun spots, never slowing down, and introducing a new character without devoting its entire runtime to putting him over. Conversely, the Womens' Championship Match lost points for never slowing down, but benefitted by being wrestled with serious purpose, the opposite "fun." The athleticism and emotion on display elevated it above average. Finally, in the main event, Reigns put on one of his most nuanced performances yet, which is almost ironic because it was the closest thing to a "return to Shield mode" we've seen in years. Balor got to "fight from underneath" for the first time in his WWE career (even in his matches with Samoa Joe, he always seemed like an equal despite the size difference) and was excellent in the role. The character work, paired with some genuinely great strikes out of the Demon and Reigns' selling (which I've put over as his most overlooked strength) made it one of the better TV matches of the year. If the WWE can keep this level of quality up, we may be in for one of the best years RAW has ever produced.

WWE Battleground 2016

WWE Battleground 2016

Washington, D.C - July 2016

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Dean Ambrose is the WWE World Champion, Rusev holds the United States Title, The Miz is the Intercontinental Champion, Charlotte is the reigning WWE Womens' Champion, and The New Day remain the company's World Tag Team Champions. 

COMMENTARY: Michael Cole, JBL, and Byron Saxton

Kicking off the show, Charlotte and her BFF, Dana Brooke, made their way down the aisle to take on Sasha Banks and her mystery tag partner, Bayley, who comes out to one of the loudest pops I've ever heard a womens' wrestler receive. Charlotte and Brooke go right on the attack, though, getting the best of the debuting former NXT Womens' Champ before Sasha Banks is able to get the tag and get some (imperfect) offense in. From here, the match goes through a somewhat stereotypical layout, plenty of back and forth with the heels cutting off the faces by slowing down the match and Bayley playing face-in-peril for a stretch to build up to a Sasha hot tag that gets the crowd on their feet. Really good work throughout with lots of "little things" to keep the audience engaged. With a solid finish that points to the expected SummerSlam Womens' Title match, this was a very solid opener that showed that the chemistry between the NXT grads has survived on the main roster. (3/5)

A lengthy video package prefaced our next battle, The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family. Michael Cole notes that they are the longest running WWE World Tag Team Champions in history...which is true if you look at those very specific titles, which have only been around since 2002. If you include the original WWE World Tag Team Titles or the NWA/WCW World Tag Team Championships, they're still close to the top, just not in the number one spot (for example, Demolition held the titles for over 450 days in the 80s). The Wyatts dominate early, using their size and strength to keep Kofi on the mat, but eventually Kingston is able to make the tag to Big E and New Day get in some big offense. The match's pace picks up big time here, the signature offense of both teams on full display and one can really tell how much keeping these teams in tact over the past few years has led to them developing expert timing for their most complex sequences. Like the opener, a definitive conclusion caps off a match that told a logical story and featured all the expected thrills and spills. (3/5)

Rusev defended his United States Championship against Zack Ryder next. The outcome of this one was fairly predictable considering Ryder was recently drafted SmackDown and Rusev was, at the time of the match, RAW's lone male titleholder. As one may have expected, this match had less heat than the previous two, neither guy coming into the show on much of a roll. Ryder hit a big missile dropkick off the barricade and followed it up with a Rough Ryder, but Rusev cleverly countered Ryder's Exclamation Point and was able to lock in a deep Accolade to seal the victory. Mojo Rawley makes his main roster debut in the post-match, but it seemed a bit non-essential here, more of a way to introduce him as Ryder's tag partner than as a singles competitor. Watching so much WCW in 97' has really made me happy to see so many clean, decisive finishes. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Seth Rollins is with Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon, claiming that he will take the WWE World Championship back to RAW tonight. 

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens was next, a match billed as the culmination of their months-long feud. I'll believe that when they're kept apart from each other for longer than 3 weeks, something I doubt will happen now that they're both on the RAW brand. Solid back-and-forth leading to an absolutely insane duplex on the apron by Zayn, the crowd breaking into a "This is Awesome" chant soon after. A few minutes later, Owens got to pay him back by countering Zayn's through-the-ropes DDT with a super kick, a cannonball in the corner, and then a well-executed frog splash. This led to a brilliant sequence of signature offense and reversals, a standing ovation from the crowd and a loud "Yes" chant. The final minutes gave us one of the best finishes I can recall seeing in a long time, almost even touching on the classic "I Love You" spot between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 in a weird way. Very strong match, but not necessarily the best or most innovative one they've ever put on. (4/5)

Becky Lynch challenged Natalya next, their animosity based on the way Natalya turned on Lynch in her feud with Womens' Champion Charlotte. Solid match between these two with Natalya showcasing her experience in terms of technicality and ring awareness, but not necessarily shining in the heel role, relying on generic heel showboating rather than coming up with anything that really stands out as "quintessential Natalya." Hopefully, her heel character will shape up more over the new few months. Becky Lynch was more than passable in her underdog role here, continuing her streak of strong pay-per-view efforts over the past few months. While not as recommended as the opener, this was a more serious, legitimate contest than practically any non-title womens' match that existed in the decade before it. (2.5/5)

Ho-hum Miz/Darren Young match. Forgettable bout that showed that, while both guys have made stupendous improvements over the years from where they started, neither is capable yet of piecing together a fully realized, well-paced battle that will sustain the crowd's interest. Bob Backlund and Maryse's involvement added an extra (necessary) element to the match, but still not enough to make this anything better than material to fast forward through. (1.5/5)

A video package highlights John Cena's on-going feud with The Club as a prelude to our next bout - Enzo and Big Cass and (the aforementioned) John Cena taking on AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Before the match even started, this one earned an extra bonus point just for Enzo's ridiculously sick promo. The comparisons to the New Age Outlaws are actually an insult to Enzo and Cass at this point - their shtick, while still full of catchphrases, is adaptable in a way that Road Dogg and Billy's never was. More of a TV main event than a pay-per-view match in some regards, Enzo is a sharp face-in-peril and, obviously, whenever Cena or AJ Styles were involved, the match was at its best, but Gallows, Anderson, and Cass are no slouches and the crowd was engaged throughout. The pre-match promo might have been most the "must see" portion of the entire contest, but the match itself was no worse than average. (3.5/5)

Chris Jericho hosts a long, fairly predictable Highlight Reel segment with guest - the returning Randy Orton. Orton looked more excited to be in front of the live crowd than he typically does in these sorts of segments, but he's never been a natural face, has never looked good pandering to the audience, and, while articulate, doesn't really stir emotions the way the best mic workers do. He got in one good line about his opponent at SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar, but aside from that, this wasn't worth the time it was allotted. 

Main event time - before the participants can make their arrival, Stephanie McMahon, Mick Foley, Shane McMahon, and Daniel Bryan each get their own entrance. Ugh. The past 20-30 minutes of this pay-per-view have been actionless. Finally it was time for our WWE World Championship match - Dean Ambrose defending against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a triple threat match. The usual "These 2 Fight then These 2 Fight" triangle match, though, that's not to say it didn't have its great moments featuring all three competitors, including some fun brawling in the timekeeper's area, Rollins flying into the screen with a splash on Ambrose at one point, and Reigns dishing out a pair of Superman Punches (soon after there was an incredible sequence where all three men hit signature strikes and each ended up on the mat to pay for it). The loudest pop of the match may have been when Ambrose and Rollins turned their attention unto Reigns, powerbombing him through an announce table. At this point, the drama of the match built wonderfully, near-falls turning into other near-falls, Reigns getting the opportunity to showcase his strength while Rollins and Ambrose showed off their quickness and agility in equal measure. An entertaining bout with a somewhat unexpected finish put this show to bed by pleasing the crowd, something I was thinking the WWE had gotten away from too much over the years. Similar to the Zayn/Owens match from earlier in the evening, this one started off in good range and ended up great. (3.5/5)

With a pretty solid 2.94-out-of-5 score, Battleground 2016 may not have offered the peaks of last month's Money in the Bank (Cena/Styles, Rollins/Reigns, and the MITB Briefcase match all delivered), but it still ranks fairly highly when compared to other WWE Network specials of the 7 months (we'll leave the NXT Specials out of this conversation). What might be most commendable about the show is that, even compared to Money in the Bank, Battleground is clearly a "filler show," a concept that's only 2-3 years old plugged into the WWE's annual post-WrestleMania doldrums. Unlike Extreme Rules or TLC or Hell in a Cell, this show couldn't rely on elaborate set pieces and weapon usage to keep the audience engaged and, to the credit of the performers, I found it more exciting because of the limitation. Most matches ended cleanly, ref bumps were kept to a minimum (I'm not even sure there was a single one in the entire show), and even the "blood feud" matches (like New Day/Wyatts or Zayn/Owens) got their mileage out of character development and emotion (Xavier's interactions with Bray Wyatt, Zayn nursing Owens' head before finishing him off) rather than cartoonish props. This, of course, made the eventual table-smashing and chair shots of the main event more meaningful. With only one truly dull match, Battleground 2016 has me curious about where this brand extension will be taking us...

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

WCW Halloween Havoc 97'

WCW Halloween Havoc 97'

Las Vegas, Nevada - October 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan holds the WCW World Championship coming into tonight's show, the United States Champion is Curt Hennig, the Disco Inferno is the Television Champion, and Eddie Guerrero holds the Cruiserweight Championship. At this point, the Steiner Brothers were recognized as the WCW World Tag Team Champions, having defeated the Outsiders on an episode of Monday Nitro earlier that month.

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes, with Mike Tenay

In a nice touch of continuity, Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the show and reminds the fans that it was in this very arena, on this very pay-per-view a year prior, when Roddy Piper made his WCW debut to confront "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. A year later, they will square off for the third time in 12 months, this time in a cage.

Opening things up we get Yugi Nagata, with Sonny Onoo, taking on The Ultimo Dragon. Nagata is impressive here, using his size and strength advantage to slow down Dragon and control the tempo. Compared to 96', when Ultimo was working as the ultra-innovative heel, the Master of the Asai Moonsault has been on a roll fighting from underneath, ably getting his signature offense in as counters and "hope spots" without "spamming" the match with choreography and set-ups the way he seemed to as a villain. Very solid opener that, despite featuring two international talents, gets rowdy reactions from the crowd. (2.5/5)

Chris Jericho vs. Gedo is next, Gedo making his WCW debut here. Highly physical match with Dusty and Heenan praising Gedo for his toughness and Tenay doing a great job on commentary to detail their history, there is at least one nasty botch (Jericho bizarrely attempts a top-rope Frankensteiner and nearly breaks his own neck doing so) but the rest of the match is interesting enough to maintain the crowd's attention. Imperfect but interesting. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Debra McMichael and Mongo McMichael get into an argument. What's noteworthy here is that, by this point, Jeff Jarrett (who Debra had been managing) had hightailed it back to WWE, eventually leading a stable of NWA old-timers with Jim Cornette and, if I recall correctly, the Rock n' Roll Express.

The Cruiserweight Championship is on the line next - Eddie Guerrero defending against Rey Mysterio Jr. Over the years this match has taken on mythic status and deservedly so - this might be one of the most perfect matches ever performed, every spot executed with quickness and accuracy. Every move you think you've seen before is performed here with a fresh twist, moonsaults turning into corkscrews, planchas turning into hurricanranas, vicious powerbombs into seemingly-unkickoutable pinfalls. Eddie's reversals are as awe-inspiring as Mysterio's, each guy pushing themselves to new levels of creativity and the audience gasping and cheering in equal measure throughout. The only complaint one could have about this match is that it almost goes by too quickly. One of, if not the, best cruiserweight matches of all time. (4.5/5)

Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan announce that Hogan will not wrestle tonight unless WCW can guarantee that Sting does not make an appearance. The Hulkster is at his delusional best here, calling Sting a coward, threatening to beat up Piper at his home, claiming that the fans will be running JJ Dillon out of WCW - his words may not make 100% sense, he may seem lost at times, but the feeling behind the promo is great. (+1)

Mongo McMichael makes his way down the aisle for his bout against Debra McMichael's latest talent acquisition...Alex Wright. An interesting mish-mash of styles here, Wright showing off his sound technical background while McMichael tries to keep up and do his damage with big right hands and bodyslams. They botch a piledriver spot (why Wright would believe he could lift Mongo is beyond me) and then we get the a run-in that leads to the most poorly executed ref distraction spot I've ever seen. What is incredible about the ending and post-match is that, without a doubt, Goldberg is positioned as a heel, stealing Mongo's Super Bowl Ring and teasing an uneasy alliance with Debra, but the crowd cheers for him anyway. The match isn't as bad as it could be, but the finish is laughable. Again, like Jericho/Gedo, I'm going to give this one points despite its flubs because I'll take interesting and imperfect over a boring, predictable, well-executed match any day. (2/5)

Macho Man is backstage with Elizabeth. Not as great as Hogan's promo, but still enjoyable simply because when is Macho Man spouting nonsense not fun?

The WCW Television Championship is not on the line next - the champion Disco Inferno not defending against Jacqueline as WCW and the Nevada Sports Commission have declared this an "unsanctioned" intergender match. I'm a bit of Disco mark, so I enjoyed this probably more than most did and would, Disco doing a nice job of getting over how awkward this match is for him, but also how scared he is of actually getting physical with his opponent. This leads to nuclear heat for every actual strike or counter in the first half of the match. Inferno takes every opportunity to retreat until he finally decides to simply walk away from the fight (to no avail, of course) and the match then stumbles a bit, overstaying its welcome and repeating itself in uncreative ways until Jacqueline finally lands a big offensive maneuver to pop the crowd again. Feel-good ending that I don't feel hurt Inferno too much only because, throughout the bout, its obvious that he's not actively trying to win the match anyway. (2/5)

The United States Champion, Curt Hennig, arrives wearing a sleeveless Nature Boy robe, the ultimate show of disrespect towards his one-time friend and opponent, Ric Flair. Flair comes in with a head full of steam and Hennig gets tossed around for a little bit, trying to escape the crazed Nature Boy. When Perfect does get the upperhand, he immediately goes after Flair's knee, trying to hobble his one-time mentor. Hennig eventually goes after Flair's head, trying to reaggravate the injury he inflicted at Fall Brawl. The commentators play up this idea, but its unclear how much this is recognized by the audience as Hennig, fairly swiftly, goes back to targeting Naitch's knee. The match goes on and there are some noticeably ugly spots, including a lame catapult on the outside, but Hennig's expert selling and Flair's overness counterbalance some of the more questionable sequences. The finish seems abrupt and a bit anticlimactic. (2/5)

On the ramp, JJ Dillon announces that tonight's main event will go on as he is personally guaranteeing that Sting will not be showing up. Bischoff comes out and this overly complicated storyline continues as Sleazy E announces that, if Sting shows up, the nWo is going to "get Nitro."

Moving on, special guest referee "The Living Legend" Larry Zybysko makes his way down the aisle for the night's next big showdown, Scott Hall of the nWo taking on WCW muscleman Lex Luger. Syxx has accompanied Hall to keep things "even" and, surprisingly, isn't banned from ringside within the first few minutes as Hall is able to break down Luger and lock in a lengthy (boring) submission (that's ultimately reversed). Zybysko, for the most part, calls things down the middle at the start of the bout even after Hall tosses a toothpick into his eye. After hitting his fallaway slam, Hall applies a sleeper, the match in desperate need of anything but that. Luger's comeback gets a good reaction, but that's a credit to the overness of the characters involved and the storyline that built to this match rather than anything these two have actually done since the bell rang. Hall eventually goes after Zybysko but gets back-body dropped out of the ring for his troubles, leading Bischoff to come out and get involved himself. The match continues, the crowd now fully engaged thanks to all the extraneous action, and the clusterfuckery continues for the next several minutes, deflating and re-inflating the crowd in a bizarre effort to keep everyone looking tough, building to one of Starrcade's major matches. While the match itself is well short of good, nWo fans (like myself) will still find parts enjoyable, especially the closing 90 seconds. (2/5)

A post-apocalyptic commercial for World War 3 (Part 3?) airs, hyping the show's main event, a 60-man battle royale.

Falls count anywhere in our next match - Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Savage. I'm a bit of a mark for both of these guys and really love every match they had against each other leading up to this. From the get-go, these two unload a variety of offense on each other, brawling in the ring and out of it. Page goes for the Diamond Cutter early, but Macho escapes and the match continues with both guys, somewhat surprisingly, hitting high-risk high-flying maneuvers to the outside. Fighting their way into the crowd, we get a cameo from Raven's Flock as well as an overzealous fan who, for some reason, takes his shirt off as he watches Savage attack his opponent. In a great sequence, Page and Savage fight on the Halloween Havoc stage, the weapon usage sending Dusty Rhodes into hysterics. After some spots with the stairs and a camera, Miss Elizabeth gets involved (which leads to Kimberly Page getting involved) and the crowd goes (justifiably) insane. Meanwhile, in the ring, Page and Savage sell exhaustion and injury expertly, Page hitting several of his signature spots but struggling to apply the Diamond Cutter. In a great parallel, Savage, back on offense, can't hit his elbow at first, too tired to fully extend himself. As the match goes on into extra innings, the Diamond Cutter teases get increasingly complex and dramatic, but, unfortunately, the conclusion itself is the opposite, an uncreative cop-out that WCW had used and overused multiple times by this point. A stronger ending would've nudged this one up another half-point easy. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Roddy Piper vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan in a non-title steel cage match. Hogan arrives without the WCW World Championship as Hot Rod had stolen it. Its interesting to think about how, over in WWE Land, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels would essentially redefine the modern cage match with the first Hell in a Cell this same month while Piper and Hogan put on one of the more forgettable cage matches in history. In both cases, though, the structure of the cage itself was different than usual - the WWE creating the infamous Cell and WCW opting to bring back the wobbly, ugly "Supercage" for some bizarre reason. Hogan immediately tries to climb out, but Piper won't let him, whipping him with his belt and then biting him. The crowd is enthused at first, but as the match goes on, it becomes clear just how limited and tired these two are, the match existing as nothing more than a series of low blows, eye pokes, poorly-executed atomic drops, and Three Stooges-esque horseplay. It is unclear how this match would end as neither guy goes for a pinfall, there is no ref, and while they both make attempts to climb the cage, early on they escape it in a way that would seemingly end the match (if escape was the way to end it). Like the previous bout, we get the appearance of an impostor Sting (in this case, actually four impostors), but at least in this case, it makes storyline sense as Hogan and Sting were on a collision course headed to Starrcade. To their credit, Piper and Hogan show some bravery by duking it out at the top of the cage, taking some stiff belt shots, and, in Hogan's case, even getting a little color. Half point for Randy Savage's ridiculously stupid late-match involvement (I believe the spot he attempts here ended up causing him an injury he'd never fully recover from) and the post-match shenanigans, which are wholly bizarre and produced perfectly to make you wonder what's "real" and what's not. (0.5/5)



Scoring a not-so-great 2.5-out-of-5, Halloween Havoc 97' is a mixed sack of trick-or-treat items. On the plus side, you have arguably the best match WCW produced all year - Guerrero vs. Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Championship. Gedo/Jericho is "warts and all" interesting and the Jacqueline/Inferno match, while it goes at least 3 minutes too long, has some fun moments. On the negative side, the main event is a trainwreck and the clusterfuck finishes of each of the nWo bouts are downright insulting. If one is curious about how WCW could go from being the industry leader to out of business in less than 3 years, this show is a crash course in crappy booking, especially as it concerns to the last two matches, both of which were won by the wrong guy.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

NXT #344 - Balor vs. Nakamura

NXT #344

Orlando, Florida - July 2015

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Samoa Joe holds the NXT Championship, The Revival are the Tag Team Champions, and Asuka is the NXT Womens' Champion.

COMMENTARY: Tom Phillips and Corey Graves

I don't usually review single episodes of wrestling TV, but it was impossible to watch this particular show and not want to write a bit about it. 

After a video package hyping tonight's main event, Samoa Joe makes his way down the aisle with the title over his shoulder. Joe proceeds to cut a promo cutting down both Nakamura and Finn Balor, showing he's not afraid of either challenger. Rhyno arrives and challenges Joe, but the champion laughs him off. 

Bailey vs. Nia Jax is announced for next week, as is an American Alpha/Authors of Pain bout and Joe/Rhyno. I may have to review that show too as I'm a fairly big fan of half of each match.

Triple H, Tye Dillinger, Neville, and others share their thoughts tonight's main event, noting how Balor and Nakamura have similar backgrounds as stars in Japan. Finn and Nakamura discuss their friendship as well, giving a lot of emotional weight to the match. 

Finn Balor arrives first to a respectable amount of cheers, but the chants for his opponent start up the second his music switches off. Nakamura gets the more extravagant entrance, though, honestly, you can take away the music and the strobe lights and he is still so charismatic that it's impossible not to have your eyes glued to this guy. In one of my biggest pet peeves of modern wrestling, a "This is Awesome" chant breaks out before we even get the ring introductions, a sure-tell sign that the audience was already ready to call this a Match of the Year even if it was a 20-minute headlock followed by a roll-up and that there would be an abundance of "smart" chants (for example, "Both These Guys!"). Balor tries to keep Nakamura on the mat to start things off, but after trading some signature gestures, the two friends start dishing out some stiff shots. Nakamura lands a vicious guillotine knee to the back of Finn's head and just when this match is heating up, we inexplicably go to not one but two commercials. Ugh. We come back in time to see Balor get the upperhand and retake control, eventually typing up Nak's knee in the ropes and striking it with his own, a sick move. Balor gets even more heinous with a surfboard and a leg whip, continuing to go after The King of Strong Style's legs. Shinsuke fires up, though, no-selling the leg damage, which is unfortunate as the match really could've benefitted from the drama. After Balor hits a stunning kick to the face on the apron, we cut to another unnecessary commercial (this time for Scott Hall's new DVD and the Cruiserweight Tournament). When we come back, Balor hits a double stomp to the back of Nakamura's head, a move that probably would've seemed more sensational had the TV audience had the opportunity to see it in full context. Balor straps on a grapevine and, now, Nakamura is selling the leg big time, though, he miraculously locks in a sick armbar that Balor is only able to escape via a rope break. Nakamura drives his knees into Balor but gets a bit too cocky, walking into a enziguri followed by Balor's Reverse 1916, a move I've definitely not seen enough of. He follows it up with a sling blade, but Nakamura is able to connect with his Kinshasa finish. A "Fight Forever" chant begins when Balor won't stay down and then we get one of the nastiest Double Stomps I've ever seen, a physics-defying counter. The final stretch is a spectacular series of big moves, cementing the victor as the undisputed number one contender for Samoa Joe's NXT Championship. (4/5)

While I wouldn't call this a Match of the Year Contender, I can see it ending up on my top ten list, probably not too many slots below Nakamura's amazing debut at NXT Takeover Dallas. Worth checking out if you're new to NXT and want to know what the big fuss is about these two particular performers.

WWE In Your House: Ground Zero

WWE In Your House: Ground Zero

Louisville, Kentucky - September 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Bret Hart is the WWE World Champion coming into tonight's show, Steve Austin is still recognized the Intercontinental Champion (but was severely injured at SummerSlam), the European Championship is held by the British Bulldog, and the WWF World Tag Team Champions are Dude Love and Steve Austin (again, injury would prevent them from defending the titles on the show). 

COMMENTARY: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Ross

Today, we have a bit of an historic In Your House edition to review, Ground Zero being the first of the specials to run 3 hours (rather than 2). The show kicks off with a review of SummerSlam's outcome and Shawn Michaels' official heel turn as the man who cost The Undertaker his World Championship. Noticeably absent from the build is any mention of the actual titleholder, Bret Hart, whose position at the top of the company was, both on-screen and off, was a bit rocky (it is around this time that Vince and Hart had engaged in some tense re-negotiating of a lucrative 20-year contract Hart had signed some months earlier).

A video package brings us to our opening contest - Goldust taking on Brian Pillman, who had mocked the Bizarre One by telling him that Dakota, Dustin's real-life daughter, was actually his lovechild. The last time these two tangoed, Pillman ended up having to wear a dress, but this time, he put his career on the line against the managerial services of Terri "Marlena" Runnels. Rhodes goes right after the Loose Cannon before the bell, unloading on him with everything he's got. Unlike their match at the previous month's SummerSlam, this one has good heat and a number of well-received high spots, including a huge suplex on the steel ramp. Pillman eventually gets the upper hand and Goldie puts just as much energy into his bumping and selling as his opponent had. Goldust gets the upperhand back and launches Pillman into the guardrail from the top rope and, minutes later, lands his Curtain Call finish but is unable to capitalize due to a ref bump. Marlena tries to make the save, but one can guess how that ends up. Solid opener that the crowd enjoyed and improved on their previous match considerably. (3/5)

Scott Putski makes his WWE pay-per-view debut to take on Brian Christopher, who King denies is his son (though, it was widely known at the time). A "Jerry's Kid" chant breaks out early as Putski gets in some textbook offense - rights and lefts, a hiptoss, a decent dropkick. Christopher does most of the work, hitting a big german duplex and then following it up with a nice splash to the outside of the ring. Putski seemingly injures his knee on the outside, leading the referee to award the match to Too Sexy in a lackluster match that made Putski look like a wuss. In an interview years later, Putski explained that his injury was real and that when he healed, he was told the company had nothing for him. While he did show up months later in WCW, I'm guessing this is the only time we'll be featuring one of his matches at Kwang The Blog. A somewhat interesting match due to the participants involved, but not worth seeking out in any way. (1/5)

A video package, spliced in with some words from the particpants serves as hype for our next match - Farooq vs. Crush vs. Savio Vega in a showdown of gang leaders. Fairly predictable triangle bout with guys taking turns getting their spots on and loads and loads of broken pinfalls. Crush gets the most crowd support from the Louisville crowd which makes the finish a touch confusing. I think there were some boring chants at various points, but this wasn't too offensive. Still, well below average even if there was some effort on display. (1.5/5)

Cause Stone Cold Says So VHS commercial.

El Torito (the original) makes his way down the aisle to take on the 83-pounder Max Mini. The duo perform a tremendous lucha match, though, Lawler can't be bothered not to just racistly shit on it. The crowd is, unsurprisingly, interested in only the biggest spots and don't react to much of the heat segment or Mini's penchant for wristlocks. The broad comedy in the middle of the bout makes no sense but wins the crowd back over momentarily (El Torito's offense hushes them rapidly). Several amazing spots separated by some slow sections that the crowd was bored by. The finish doesn't live up to any of the brighter moments from earlier (Torito's stiff powerbomb and big boot, Mini's Asai Moonsault). A notch above filler. (2.5/5)

A video package replays Austin's injury at SummerSlam followed by Commissioner Sergeant Slaughter's ridiculous segment demanding Austin to turn in his World Tag Team Championship. We're then in the ring with Ross and Slaughter, joined soon after by the other half of the World Champs, Dude Love. Steve Austin comes out to a massive pop - remember, he'd suffered a major stinger not a month earlier - and proceeds to absolutely own the crowd (and the Commish). We then get one of the most badass moments in Austin's history. NNofA. (+1)

Owen Hart and the British Bulldog are backstage with Dok Hendrix. They make their feelings known about Austin.

A Fatal 4-Way is next, the WWE Tag Team Championships on the line in a bout featuring The Headshrinkers, The Godwinns, The Legion of Doom, and the previous champs, The British Bulldog and Owen Hart. Nothing remotely interesting happens for the first 10 minutes, Owen Hart finally getting in for a big press slam that wakes the crowd up. A loud "LOD" chant breaks out as the Godwinns put the boots to Animal. Thrasher hits an ugly Mosh-assisted dive to the outside and the next minutes that follow are just as sloppy. There's a huge, noticeable botch as the match winds down, but it doesn't impact the timing and excellence of the finish, a somewhat-anticipated run-in that sets the crowd on fire. That moment alone scores a point, but man, what a slog to get to it. (2/5)

Another commercial for Austin's video and we see the new champions celebrating with their fans.

A video package chronicles the arrival of Del "The Patriot" Wilkes, who has to have set a record for fastest rise from complete unknown to challenging for the WWE Championship on pay-per-view ever. The video includes ample footage of his college football days and experiences in Japan, but absolutely no mention of his WCW run (or even his work in GWF), which at least a portion of the audience might have remembered. The audio is horrendous for the whole package too for some reason. Odd stuff.

Bret Hart defends his WWE Championship against The Patriot next, the Hitman at an early advantage in this relatively heatless bout. Wilkes has a decent repertoire of clotheslines and dropkicks, but its painfully obvious from the first few minutes how out of place he is in such a big spotlight, how shallow the depth chart was to necessitate thrusting such an unproven talent into a World Title program based entirely on his one-dimensional gimmick. This one isn't as bad as it is lazy and derivative, the involvement of the British Bulldog and Vader and, later, a ref bump, serving as all-too-obvious attempts to add heat and intrigue to a match whose finish was never in doubt. As the match wears on, things just get more tedious, though, credit should go to Hart and Wilkes for actually filling the time with action and not shortchanging the live audience. Extra half-point for the post-match beatdown, more vicious than any other part of the match. (2/5)

After a promo from the Hitman, we get a video recap of the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker feud, and then a very brief, very seemingly "battling demons" Shawn Michaels delivering some lines about how he's going to take out the Undertaker because...he can.

Main event time - As Shawn Michaels makes his way down the aisle, he's pelted with a mix of garbage and cries of ecstasy from the crowd. His opponent, The Undertaker, gets a much better reaction and, upon entering the ring, immediately pops the crowd by basically ending the match before it has even begun. Sgt. Slaughter arrives to make sure it will continue, but Taker doesn't care a bit, attacking HBK up the ramp. Michaels' overselling would be annoying if it weren't for the fact that the bumps he's taking are genuinely stiff and almost suicidal, putting his body through all sorts of unnecessary pain. Honestly, there are some Foley-esque bumps here that, again, while cartoonish, are undeniably entertaining and put over the mythos of the Undertaker better than maybe anyone had ever done before. As the match wears on, the crowd's enthusiasm dies down a bit, though, this is to be expected with an opening stretch as hot as this. The arrival of DX further quiets things as the Deadman is finally outmatched after dominating almost the entirety of the contest. A second referee gets bumped and it is almost as if the audience is more shocked than anything, unaware how to react at what should be, at the very least, the second or third justifiable Disqualification. The bell does not ring, though, and the "match" continues into a pretty much unnecessary third act that culminates in a clearing of the lockerroom. Undertaker shows off his own athleticism in the final moments, giving the crowd something special instead of leaving them with the lasting image of a "cop out" finish, but as a whole, its an entertaining 15 minutes of action, a great chapter in their rivalry but far from a definitive battle. Worth watching, especially if you're someone who believes their only gems were the first Hell in a Cell match and their WrestleMania clashes. (4/5)




Ground Zero is an interesting show, but not a particularly good one. In 1997, the WWE was throwing shit at the wall and seeing what would stick and this show exemplifies the new approach. Sexualized storylines? You get Goldust and Pillman fighting over Terri Runnels in the opener. You wanna see some race wars? Try a triple threat match between pseudo-neo-nazi bikers, stereotypical Puerto Rican thugs, and Nation of Islam-inspired militants for size. If that doesn't work, well, why not blatantly rip-off WCW's hot cruiserweight division? They give you Guerrero and Jericho, we give you Scott Pustki and Brian Christopher. The Hart Foundation's war on America was getting stale, so they introduced us to a challenger we'd never seen before - Del Wilkes the Patriot. And how about a main event that isn't a main event, where the basic rules of pro-wrestling are tossed out the window within the first 30 seconds? It wasn't quite "The Attitude Era" yet, but Steve Austin gets CHEERED for stunning babyfaces! Impossible to recommend, but fun to discuss, Ground Zero earns a decent score of 2.43-out-of-5 thanks to the heroic efforts (and multiple appearances) of Steve Austin and a unique main event.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver


...and just because it's fun trivia, here are some other shows that received the exact same score (or within .01 of it):

* WCW Clash of the Champions XXXV
* WCW World War III 96'
* WWE Extreme Rules 2015
* WCW UnCensored 95'
* WWE Roadblock

WCW Fall Brawl 97'

WCW Fall Brawl 97'

Winston-Salem, North Carolina - September 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan is the WCW World Champion, the Outsiders hold the WCW Tag Team Championships, "Mongo" McMichaels is the reigning US Champion, Alex Wright is the Television Champion, and Chris Jericho holds the Cruiserweight Championship.

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan with Larry Zybykso and Mike Tenay


Fall Brawl 97' opens up with a Cruiserweight Title Match - Chris Jericho defending against Eddie Guerrero in a rematch from Clash of the Champions the previous month. An improvement on the aforementioned match, Jericho and Guerrero put on a match featuring a ton of innovative, highly technical spots. The amount of high spots is dazzling and while the psychology and drama may be lacking a bit, it is impossible to ignore the effort that these two put in to try to get the crowd into it. Guerrero is particularly excellent here as a heel, though, I do wish his newfound love of rule-breaking figured into the finish more. Meltzer gave this nearly 4 stars when he reviewed it 20 years ago, but I was a touch more into it than he was, mesmerized by the sheer number of "never seen it before" maneuvers. (4/5) 

The Steiner Brothers vs. Harlem Heat is next. This is the type of match that, even if I wasn't supremely sick of the Harlem Heat team and the Steiner Brothers after spending the past three years seeing them wrestle the same exact match over and over, I still would find hard to enjoy. Sure, they hit each other with stiff shots and watching Scott and Rick dish out their suplexes isn't the most unimpressive sight, but as neither team has been able to usurp the WCW World Tag Team Champions in their nearly year-long reign (or had it been a full year by this point?), its hard to care about them in a Number One Contenders' match. Filler. (1/5)

In another return match from Clash of the Champions, Alex Wright defends his WCW Television Championship against Ultimo Dragon. Wright is considerably better as a heel than a face and I'm not sure the opposite isn't true about Dragon either. Wright controls the majority of the match, which allows for some suspense and, like their bout at CotC, makes Dragon's impressive variety of high-flying and technicality that much more impressive. There are a hair too many telegraphed exchanges, but there are also a few specific bright spots - Dragon chopping and round housing Wright out of the ring, Wright countering a Dragon splash with a dropkick to the gut, an incredible powerbomb spot from the corner by Dragon. Like the opener, the finish, while clean and believable, is almost lackluster by not actually having Wright's heel character play into it. (3.5/5)

Backstage, "Mean" Gene's hotline shilling is interrupted by a group of nWo b-teamers (Kennan, Buff, and Syxx) walking by him and busting into one of the locker rooms. When Gene opens up the door, it is revealed that they have beaten down Curt Hennig.

Jeff Jarrett makes his way down the aisle for his match with Dean Malenko. At Road Wild, Malenko was left high and dry by Jarrett in their tag match against the Horsemen, so this match isn't as random as some might think. Plus, the winner of this one will get a shot at McMichaels' United States Championship (which he'd won from Jarrett a few weeks earlier), so the stakes are high. Jarrett does his usual heel shtick to start the match, but when the actual wrestling begins, he shows that he can keep up with the Man of a 1000 Moves. While the pace is slower than Guerrero/Jericho and there's less high-flying than even Wright/Dragon, what makes this match special is Jarrett's strong character work and the way that, through selling and facial expressions and the building of suspense, the crowd is considerably more engaged than in either of the previous matches. There's nothing in this match you haven't seen before, but both guys work smartly and make the little things they do meaningful. It is a "less is more" match that pulls you in through brilliant turns of the tide, quality near falls, and respectable psychology and character work. A quality finish that is adequately built-up throughout the match. Wrestling done right. (4/5)

Kevin Nash, Buff Bagel, Syxx, and Kennan cut a promo backstage about their upcoming match. Nothing special.

Wrath and Mortis make their way down the aisle for their bout against the respected veteran team of Meng and The Barbarian, aka The Faces of Fear. What's somewhat interesting here is that this is essentially a heel/heel match-up, the Faces of Fear technically "tweeners," but I'd argue lean more on the bad side than the good. Considerably better than the Steiners/Heat match due to the freshness of the pairing and the fact that Barbarian has got to be one of the strongest dudes in wrestling, powerbombing his way through his Mortal Kombat-inspired opponents. With help from James Vandenberg, Mortis and Wrath gain control and while Wrath is sometimes awkward to watch, Mortis' creativity makes their domination of Barbarian (whose selling is actually pretty great too) interesting. By the time Meng comes in for the hot tag, the crowd is fully behind the Faces of Fear and pop huge for his offense and his no selling. The finish isn't perfectly executed (and, to be sure, there are at least three or four other botched moments or awkward set-ups), but the spirit of it is pitch perfect. On paper, this would seem like a match to skip, but on a lesser card, it's a Match of the Night contender with some great spots in it, including an astonishing double-team superplex. (3.5/5)

The Horsemen are backstage sans Curt Hennig. After some words from Benoit and Mongo, Ric Flair cuts an awesome promo that hypes up his teammates and puts the nWo on notice.

Scott Norton makes his way down the aisle for a match against The Giant who, oddly, had no entrance music at this time (unless it was simply taken out in post-production for some reason). The build for this match is that Norton is the nWo's resident monster, the only guy with enough brute strength to pose a threat to the big man (aside from Nash, who'd powerbombed The Giant some months prior). Like the previous bout (though not to the same extent), this match is considerably better than one might think - The Giant wrestling with passion and showing just how well-rounded he'd actually become as a worker and Norton obviously working to make the most of the most high-profile bout of his WCW career to my knowledge. With an impressive and well-received finish, this is yet another better-than-average bout for this card. (3/5)

Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger take on "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Scott Hall of the nWo, the night's third Clash of the Champions rematch. Unlike that match, the WCW World Tag Team Titles are not on the line this time, though. The crowd is hot and the work is quite good - Luger and Page showing tremendous energy, Hall selling like a used car salesman, and Savage using every dirty tactic he can to give his team an advantage. Zybysko's commentary adds to the match by playing up his personal animosity towards The Bad Guy too. Luger gets caught between the two rings while Page gets tossed from one to the other repeatedly, the match devolving into a beatdown until even the referee is no longer safe. Scott Hall's character work for the final 3-4 minutes is tremendous, villainy straight from the Karate Kid playbook, but the finish itself doesn't make a lick of sense. Still, thanks to a passionate crowd and even more passionate commentary, fired-up work out of all the participants, and solid storytelling, it works. (3/5)

Halloween Havoc commercial featuring Randy Savage.

Michael Buffer introduces our main event and the cage comes down - it's War Games Time! The nWo arrive first, followed by their opponents (sans Curt Hennig) led by Ric Flair. Buff Bagwell and Chris Benoit start things off, Bagwell showboating a bit before the Wolverine goes right after him, tossing him into the cage and showing how vicious he can get by suplexing him into the cage as well. A short "We Want Sting" chant starts up, the fans obviously believing that it will be the Stinger who will be replacing Hennig, a not-so-wild idea. Bagwell takes control and ends up back body dropping Benoit into the cage in a good spot while Konnan wins a coin toss to be the match's next entrant. The heels have the advantage but Benoit keeps fighting, getting some quality shots in until Konnan delivers a DDT to put them in the driver's seat with a minute until Mongo McMichael gets to jump in. Another two minutes pass and Syxx comes in, but Benoit continues to show his resiliency and brutality, the Horsemen maintaining relative control until the numbers game is finally too much for them. Ric Flair comes in to a huge reaction and proceeds to go after Syxx, whose been ping-ponging himself into the cage. Kevin Nash arrives, the final member of his team, and dishes out some sick punishment, hitting Flair with a sidewalk slam, bodyslammbing Benoit into the cage, and then going after Mongo as the crowd chants "We Want Sting." Curt Hennig, who had made his way down the aisle with his arm in a sling prior to Flair's entrance, comes in as the final man and Buffer announces that the "games have begun." Henna reveals that his arm was not injured and proceeds to pull out a pair of handcuffs, decking Mongo and then leading a multi-man beatdown on Flair, turning heel as the crowd boos in shock. Benoit and McMichael are handcuffed to the cage while Flair is mercilessly ripped apart. Nash grabs a mic and asks Benoit if they'll surrender, to which Benoit spits in his face (a great touch). Flair gets powerbombed but the Horsemen refuse to quit, the crowd popping each time they tell off the nWo. In a disgusting, ultra-violent spot, Hennig drags Flair to the corner of the ring and puts his head between the doors. Mongo quits on behalf of his team, but Hennig slams the door anyway. While far from the best War Games match ever, I found it has enough solid action, crowd interest, and character-defining moments to be significantly better than average. (3.5/5)



As I haven't seen many WCW pay-per-views post-Starrcade 97' (and what I recall from that show isn't necessarily great), if you were to tell me that Fall Brawl 97' was the last great WCW event, I'd probably believe you. With a solid score of 3.19-out-of-5 on the ol' Kwang-o-Meter, Fall Brawl 97' ranks fairly highly when compared to the rest of WCW's offering from that year, nearly eclipsing UnCensored 97's scores of 3.29. Aside from the nearly unwatchable Steiners/Harlem Heat match, every other bout is good-to-great, several delivering far better action than one would surmise on paper (Mortis and Wrath vs. the Faces of Fear and Giant/Norton immediately come to mind). Jarrett/Malenko is an unheralded gem of classic wrestling while Jericho/Guerrero is an excellent opener. The main event and the tag match that come before it are not going to be everyone's cup of tea, especially if they're massive Horsemen fans or are sick of screwy finishes, but nWo enthusiasts will have no such problem. With only one match not recommended, I'm going to make this show the lowest rated show to ever score a...

FINAL RATING - Watch It All

WCW Clash of the Champions XXXV

Clash of the Champions XXXV
Nashville, Tennessee - August 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan is WCW World Champion, the United States Championship is held by Jeff Jarrett, the Television Champion is the Ultimo Dragon, the Cruiserweight Champion is "The Lionheart" Chris Jericho, and the Outsiders are the reigning WCW World Tag Team Champions.

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan

Clash of the Champions XXXV opens with a recap of the J.J Dillon/Sting angle, where WCW's top official demanded that the Stinger finally announce his intentions. On an episode of Nitro, The Franchise didn't speak, but he did show up and point to the countless signs demanding Sting get a crack at the Hulkster. It's a nice video package that points to the direction the company was heading now that Lex Luger had had his brief run with the title ended at Road Wild.

The United States Championship is on the line in the opening match - Jeff Jarrett defending against the man whose wife he stole, Mongo McMichael. I enjoyed the Jarrett & Malenko vs. McMichael & Benoit match from Road Wild, mostly because of how good the character work was - Jarrett doing everything he could to avoid actually having to wrestle McMichael and Mongo looking like he was seeing red from the first minute of the match. Somehow, what we get here is a bungled opportunity to continue to tell the same dramatic story, Jarrett doing some good shtick to begin with but Mongo wrestling the match with the same passion he'd wrestled countless others before instead of taking his intensity to the level the feud demanded. The inexplicable involvement of Eddie Guerrero (at least I don't recall there being much explanation and the commentators don't help) further waters down what could've and should've been a serious grudge match that involved Debra McMichael more. (1.5/5)

"Mean" Gene Overland welcomes Alex Wright for a heel promo. "Das Wunderkind" is fantastic here, showing more charisma in this 60 second interview than pretty much every one of his other matches combined. After a quick commercial break, we come back and get some words out of TBS' Paul Gilmartin, host of Dinner and a Movie, the network's long-running cooking-themed movie show. Did you know it ran until 2011? I didn't, though, like most Dinner and a Movie fans, the show kinda lost me when they Annabelle Gurwitch left. Anyway, Network Nugget of Awesomeness point awarded for these two segments. (+1)

Raven wrestles his WCW debut match (if you forget his run as Scotty Flamingo in 92'-93') against his "groupie" Stevie Richards next. Before the match can start, Raven makes it a No DQ bout, a not-so-subtle nod to the character's ECW roots and the character's reputation as a rule-breaking ne'er-do-well. Richards gets minimal offense in (a statement I feel could be made for about 90% of Richards' matches) and Raven comes out of it looking like a bully, so, the objective is met even if the match itself isn't worth tracking down. (2/5)

A commercial for the WCW Power Plant airs followed by a video package chronicling the history of Ultimo Dragon (no longer known as "Ultimate" Dragon) to hype his upcoming match against Alex Wright. We then come to tonight's Television Title match-up, Ultimo Dragon vs. Alex Wright. This might be the best Wright match I've reviewed on my site and it is remarkable how much more character he brings as heel compared to his very vanilla babyface work. Similarly, Dragon, who tended to just throw move-after-move at the audience when he worked as a dominating heel, is more interesting having to make comebacks and use his technical skills and high-flying as hope spots. What hurts the match is its length. There's a number of good sequences and both guys execute beautifully...but as the match wears on, things almost get tedious. A quality finish wraps it up, but this match needed an editor. (2/5)

Chris Jericho defends his WCW Cruiserweight Championship against Eddie Guerrero next. I expected to enjoy this match more than I did, though, its easy to see that this is really just a "Chapter 1" to a rivalry and not designed to be a definitive battle between the two. Guerrero is finally a heel (and does a good job of showing it in not only his changed appearance, but also in how he carries himself in the ring) while Jericho is still stuck in his generic good guy role. Shorter than the previous match (a good thing), but less interesting in terms of mat work and maneuvers. (2/5)

Several months ago, I wrote about a "lucha rules" multi-man match that I adored on the last Clash of the Champions special. That match featured Chris Jericho and Konnan, but what I remembered most about it was the work of La Parka, the figure whose presence, more than even Jericho and K-Dawg, was really needed to make the next match special. Instead, it's a pretty unremarkable 8-man pitting Psicosis, the Villainos, and Silver King vs. Super Calo, Juventud Guerrera, Lizmark Jr., and Hector Garza. While the participants get adequate opportunities to hit their signature high spots, the crowd is mostly indifferent and the spots seem inconsequential, not built up to generate any sort of suspense. Another sub-average match for a show that, on paper, seemed like it could've been considerably more enjoyable. (1.5/5)

The next segment isn't just a Nugget of Network Awesomeness, it is one of the best wrestling-related things I've seen in months - Paul Gilmartin and the chef from Dinner and a Movie turning heel on "Mean" Gene, joining the nWo (with an extra special appearance from Randy Savage), and proceeding to cower in fear once their fun is spoiled by WCW's popular avenger, Diamond Dallas Page. Calling it "WrestleCrap" would be an insult to the brilliance of this segment. (+1) 

Ric Flair teams up with Curt Hennig to take on Syxx and Konnan next. At well under 10 minutes, this is more of a set-up for the upcoming Fall Brawl show than an actual wrestling match. Still, credit should be given to Hennig here who shines in a difficult role when you consider his storyline going into (and the eventual outcome of) the War Games match ahead. (2/5)

Main event time - Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger taking on Scott Hall and Randy Savage in an impromptu WCW World Tag Team Championship match. I'm on the fence regarding Kevin Nash's pre-match declaration that the titles would be on the line. On the one hand, it adds some suspense to the match and, like The Freebirds or the New Day today, isn't a completely unheard-of concept. On the other hand, it makes absolutely no sense why Nash would put the straps up when the nWo has had to continually cheat and deceive just to hold onto them. Still, the raised stakes seem to get the crowd even more engaged in the match's story, DDP playing the face-in-peril as Hall and Savage attack his ribs. Luger's eventual hot tag is thrilling and, while the finish is dangerously close to the same turn of events that fans had seen in the previous match, it is much better executed here and effectively makes the Diamond Cutter look like the most devastating finisher in wrestling. Wrestling aficionados may not agree, but this is easily the match of the night to me. (3/5)

After a quick commercial break, the nWo (sans Hollywood Hogan) make their way down the aisle to celebrate their one year anniversary (though, to be sure, the timeline is a bit off as the nWo technically formed, at the earliest in May 96' [when Hall debuted] and, at very latest, in July 1996 [when Hogan turned heel at Bash at the Beach]). Like many of the nWo's best moments, what Bischoff and WCW produces here is spectacular, sheets and sheets of nWo propaganda covering the crowd as the Outsiders and their ilk get garbage thrown at them in the ring. It is the kind of scene that the WWE has frankly never had the guts to produce, even at the respective peaks of their own heel factions like the Hart Foundation, the Corporate Ministry, or the Nexus. The nWo's birthday bash is spoiled, however, by the appearance of Sting in the rafters, staring ominously at the villains with a vulture on his arm and a small child's voice reciting a bizarre lyric about vengeance and justice. The lights go out (for almost an inordinate amount of time) and when they come back on, the vulture is on the ropes and the nWo are justifiably terrified. Like the Dinner and a Movie scene, calling this "WrestleCrap" would be an insult to the awesomeness of the moment, a segment that illustrates just how hot the Sting/nWo feud was in the fall of 96' and how restraint, patience, and a dedication to aura above all else can create brilliant drama. Yet another bonus point awarded. (+1)


Clash of the Champions XXXV will not win you over with its wrestling. This would seem untrue just by looking at the assortment of talents involved: Jericho, Ultimo Dragon, Eddie Guerrero,  Juventus Guerrero, Psicosis, Jarrett and Syxx in their prime, Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger at their most over, Scott Hall sober and motivated, the list goes on. But, aside from the slightly-better-than-average main event, not a single match is worth digging up. So how did this show manage to snag a passable 2.43-out-of-5 on the Kwang-o-Meter? The pre-match, post-match, and between match segments are just that damn entertaining. For certain fans, watching Paul Gilmartin turn heel and sitting through arguably irrelevant video packages would hinder a show, but in this instance, they're highlights. The final 5 minutes may not feature any actual "wrestling," but they're better "sports-entertainment" than anything we've seen the WWE produce this calendar year. If you're not into that aspect of the genre, this Clash ain't for you...but if you are, these 2 hours won't disappoint.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver