WCW Great American Bash 98'

WCW Great American Bash 98'

Baltimore, MD - June 1998

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan is the WCW World Champion coming into tonight's show (having defeated Randy Savage for the strap), Goldberg is the United States Champion, Fit Finlay is the Television Champion, and the Cruiserweight Championship had been vacated. Sting and The Giant are the reigning WCW World Tag Team Champions, but as The Giant was in nWo Hollywood and Sting was in the Wolfpack, they'd compete on this show for control of the titles.

COMMENTARY: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T opens things up, the eighth and final match of their Best of 7 series (yes, there were actually eight matches in the series as Bret Hart had interfered in the seventh match and Benoit forfeited the contest). Very intense, hard-hitting action that unfurls beautifully and leads to the crowd rabidly cheering both guys' signature spots. Benoit throws himself into every move and bump, but what really struck me was just how much his character had finally caught up to his technicality. It takes time for a stoic character like Benoit to connect with the audience, but by this point, he's pretty fairly established as his own man outside of the Horsemen (who had been killed off or disbanded or something after Curt Hennig turned on them at Fall Brawl 97' almost 9 months earlier). Booker T, meanwhile, is even further along in terms of fan acceptance and appreciation (especially the crowd-pleasing Spinnarooni). The finish was a bit abrupt to me, though, keeping this from being a truly all-time great match. Its a "must watch," just not a "must watch immediately." (3.5/5)

Next up, Saturn taking on the thorn in Raven Flock's side, Kanyon. I was a big Mortis fan and found the re-debut of Kanyon at Slamboree to be one of the show's best moments so I came into this expecting, at the very least, a good match with at least a handful of creative sequences. I got the innovative sequences and cool spots - only they didn't add up to a good match. Structurally, this one is just confusing. Kidman and Company show up early (too early) and are sent to the back minutes later, turning the match into a 1-on-1 contest but, by giving the crowd "dessert first," forcing Kanyon and Saturn to return to Act 1 having already shown its hand a bit. Instead of bringing the audience down though and building them back up, they go to the high spot well and Saturn does a bizarre Sabu tribute act. Then, its restholds and some noticeably awkward (are these supposed to be innovative?) pin attempts. It is almost like the match was written on a deck of index cards and someone shuffled them before they started as, despite a surfeit of cool, rare moves (some even enhanced by a chair) and no less than three different Mortises (Mortisi?), an audible "Boring" chant breaks out at one point. With a running time at least 4 minutes beyond what it should be, this is a head-scratchingly, almost shockingly unfun watch. The post-match is solid, though. (2/5)

The vacated Cruiserweight Championship is on the line in the next match, a frustrating and confounding bout between former champion Chris Jericho and the man who willingly dropped the title to get him in the ring, Dean Malenko. While this overall feud was really well done and is fondly remembered, this match just didn't click for me at all (or for the crowd, who start out fairly hot but cool down rather quickly). Both guys work hard and bust out some of their best offense, but they almost needed to "dumb it down" even more as the crowd seems to just want a heated brawl over a personal issue more than a technically-proficient athletic contest. There's a goofy double countout spot that they should've been embarrassed to include in what was built up as a real grudge match. From here, things do get better, just as the match has finally won over the audience through a series of nearfalls and submissions, we get a screwy finish. Despite being shorter than the previous two matches, it almost feels longer. In what has already become a pattern on this show, there's a great post-match moment, though. (2/5)

Before the next match we get a pretty wacky Juventud Guerrera music video. Network Nugget. (+1)

Juventud Guerrera is in action as well, taking on the monstrous Reis of Raven's Flock. What ever happened to the former Yeti? This is less a match and more a gimmick, but its not ineffective or boring (at least at first). Reis is an atrocious worker, but it makes sense that they wouldn't run this angle with someone who actually had credibility or talent. The crowd comes alive for Juvi's low-blows and even pops for some of the more harebrained spots, but this match is at least 4 minutes too long with way too many blatant botches and sloppy moments to be considered even close to good. I forgot Van Hammer turned babyface after being in the Flock for a minute. (0.5/5)

The Guerreros clash next - Eddie vs. Chavo in the climax of their months-long storyline. Like Jericho/Malenko but better, this one still suffered from being overly flashy rather than just delivering a more straightforward story with a few less sequences. Despite Chavo delivering some of his sharpest looking offense ever (a tremendous somersault dive to the outside, a perfect springboard bulldog, an awesome tornado DDT) and Eddie's brilliance, the crowd tires and chants "Boring" or "Goldberg" at one time and then, very clearly, "We Want Flair!" a few minutes later. A better match than the crowd treated it and somewhat "epic," but the audience just did not want to come along for this ride. (2.5/5)

Booker T challenges for the WCW Television Championship next, taking on Finlay, in his second match of the night. As one would expect, this one is very physical and Finlay puts on an absolute classic vicious heel performance, his work so brutal and targeted that its impossible not to want to see Booker T prove his resilience. Unfortunately, as has been the case all the night, the crowd just doesn't care enough about the action or the performers to stay invested for the match's duration. Unlike Eddie/Chavo and Jericho/Malenko, though, this time the match isn't overly complicated or too flashy, so, its not like you can point to any boring spells and say "That's where they lost em'." I'm not sure its possible for the same guy to have two Match of the Nights on the same show, but if it is, Booker T did it on this night (though, this match doesn't quite measure up to the opening contest). A slightly sloppy finishing stretch can be overlooked considering that, in actuality, it does put over the idea that Booker T was wrestling his second grueling bout of the night. (3/5)

It's Goldberg time! The crowd comes alive huge for the United States Champion's showdown with the nWo's Konnan (seconded by both Hennig, the original challenger, and Rick Rude on the outside). This is Goldberg's 100th match and it starts off plenty similiar to most Goldberg matches, the former Falcon tossing the Wolfpack member to the mat. Goldberg applies a sloppy-looking headlock and then a clumsy leglock takedown before selling for maybe 10 seconds and hitting his spear and Jackhammer for the win. Konnan looks fatigued before the bell even rings so its actually nice to see him just get squashed to oblivion (and then beaten to a pulp even more in the post-match). At this point, I've watched a good deal of Konnan's work in WCW and while he may have a great mind for the business and better work in Mexico, as a WCW performer, he was average at best (and, like in this match, could actually be outright bad at doing even some of the simplest things). (1.5/5)

Bash at the Beach commercial. I miss the Cheatem days. 

Michael Buffer is in the ring for our next contest - Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper and Randy Savage. Piper and Hogan start things off, the Hulkster getting beaten down by his two longest-running rivals. As the match goes on, Piper ends up playing the face-in-peril and the Hitman comes in to do most of the heavy lifting after Hogan's initial stretch. Hart is the only one in this match that can move at a speed of 2 miles per hour it seems, but watching the bout, one has to admit that the crowd cares more about this contest than any match prior (aside from Goldberg's). At 12 minutes, this one doesn't overstay its welcome, but the performances are so overwhelmingly bad that its hard to enjoy this beyond the "Look at all these mega-stars in the same match!" novelty of it. Savage comes in for a hot tag, but like pissing in a blizzard, it cools almost instantly. The finish is decent and, at the very least, helps re-affirm Hart as a credible competitor. There's been worse main events in WCW history and I'm not sure what anyone was expecting out of these four in 1998, but it probably should've been better than this. (2/5)

The "post-match" match between Piper and Savage is surprisingly swerve-tastic as Hot Rod manages to kick out of the "unkick-out-able" elbow drop. As an angle, its an interesting wrinkle in the Piper/Savage feud, but both guys are so past their prime it is impossible to get excited about them actually getting 10+ minutes at a future PPV. I forget if it ever happens, but I'll find out soon enough as I venture further into WCW's final years. As this is less a match and more an angle, I'm going to just call it a half-point bonus. (+0.5)

Main event #2 time - Sting vs. The Giant for control of the WCW World Tag Team Championships. This match is almost like a peak into a bizarro world where Sting came to Starrcade 97' in great shape, won the title from Hogan handily, and then got to fend off over, credible challengers eager to take the strap off of him. The Giant is in his "smoking" gimmick - which is awesome. I love that The Giant's nicotine habit really bothered Sting so much. Sting, meanwhile, is sporting the red and black, but more importantly, looks to be back in the shape he was prior to his 12-months-of-inactivity Crow phase. Even shorter than the tag match, this one is no frills and all thrills, a welcome throwback to The Giant's rookie year when he was an absolute monster and Sting had to fight valiantly just to topple him. I'm not sure Vince McMahon ever booked The Giant as well as WCW did even at this point. While this one is too short to call "great," it is probably the most watchable and enjoyable match on the contest in terms of feeling like an important but also fun match (Booker T/Benoit is a better match on a technical basis, no doubt, but how "fun" is it as a whole?). One of the best under-8 minute matches I've seen in awhile. (3/5)


The Great American Bash 98's Kwang Score of 2.39-out-of-5 genuinely surprised me as this was a total slog to get to through. The opener and main event are the only parts of this show I'd recommend to anyone but an absolute WCW completist or Booker T mega-fan while the Guerreros bout and Jericho/Malenko are supremely disappointing considering the months-long build that led to them and the amount of time they got on the show (the same can almost be said for Saturn/Kanyon to a lesser degree). I mean, the sloppy, irrelevant Juventud Guerrera/Reis match actually runs longer than the main event! Meanwhile, Goldberg/Konnan and Savage/Piper run about the same time despite one being a United States Title Match and the other being essentially just a post-match angle. With only one match that I'd reluctantly call "close to great", this one earns a...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Elimination Chamber 2017

WWE Elimination Chamber 2017
Phoenix, Arizona - February 2017

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, John Cena is the WWE Champion (for the 16th time, no less), while Dean Ambrose holds the Intercontinental Championship. Alexa Bliss is the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions are Gable and Jordan, the American Alpha.

COMMENTATORS: Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga, JBL, and Tom Phillips 

The show begins with Becky Lynch taking on Mickie James. Commentary here was pretty woeful as JBL had to correct David Otunga on nearly every point he tried to make, essentially making Otunga sound like an idiot but also forgetting to react to anything that was actually happening in the match. Mat-based open with James really showing her experience though I would've liked her to bring out more of the heel "crazy stalker" persona that initially made her such a bright spot of the Divas division back in 06'. Execution and action are never going to be problems for Lynch and James, but the crowd quieted down in the middle stretch because, despite her credentials, James' (arguably controversial) character was absent. I'm also not sure the finish, which seemed pretty definitive to me, was necessary considering that these two did have good chemistry and the feud is fresh enough to run longer. Good, not great match. (3/5)

Next up - a handicap match pitting Dolph Ziggler against Apollo Crews and Kalisto. I loved the way Ziggler came out and attacked Kalisto straight away, tossing the luchador into the wall before the match could begin. Unfortunately, the next 8 or so minutes were miserable. Crews is a tremendous athlete but is so vanilla the audience has no choice but to reject him (which they did) while Ziggler is in the rough situation of consistently being more over as a face when he's supposed to be a heel than he is as a face when he's supposed to be a face (see Lex Luger in 1989 for another example of this phenomenon). There's a reason 2-on-1 matches where the "fan favorites" outnumber the heels are so rare and this match helped show why: there's nothing valiant or heroic about having the numbers advantage so the babyfaces don't really get to shine and the heel, just for putting up a bit of a fight, comes off as more heroic than he should. I always mark out for a "Pillmanizing" but this whole storyline needs to be reworked before I will care again. (1/5)

The SmackDown Tag Team Championships are on the line next in a Tag Team Turmoil Match, starting with the still-fairly popular Rhyno and Heath Slater going at it with the less appreciated Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango). The first round wraps up fairly quickly, though, credit where its due, Breezango had a fairly entertaining few minutes in there. The Vaudevillains arrived next and were met with a big splash from Slater as the crowd broke out into a "He's Got Kids!" chant like it was 2016. The faces made quick work of Gotch and English who probably deserve better but I say "probably" because they haven't been impressive enough for me to really know for sure. The Usos meandered their way down the aisle next looking like a Samoan version of the Wyatts. I understand that being heels means being less "fun," but couldn't they have just kept their ring gear and made it darker colors? Why are "street clothes" more heelish? Cuz its lazy? Jay Uso hit a nasty Samoan Drop at one point before Jimmy connected with a vicious superkick to snag a quick pinfall on the match's MVP up that point, Heath Slater. The reining champions, The American Alpha, arrived next and the teams came to blows in the aisle, furthering their feud. Gable and Jordan hit stereo germans before Gable launched himself off the top with a huge crossbody. As the action slowed down a bit, the crowd's enthusiasm petered out a bit with Jordan's hot tag drawing crickets. A crafty pinfall shocked the crowd and led to a nice beatdown from the Usos, cementing their status but also adding some much needed drama to the final round (which desperately needed it considering how little credible The Ascension have). Smart booking. The Ascension arrived but couldn't finish off the Alphas with Total Elimination on Jordan as Gable came in for the save. A few minutes later, thanks to Konnor's clumsiness, the champs retained, though, they obviously have unfinished business with the Usos. I went into this thinking it was going to be pretty terrible, but it actually was closer to average at times. Unfortunately, at other times, like when the Ascension were in the ring, it was less than that. (2/5)

After a video package hyping their feud, it was time for the pretty heated Nikki Bella vs. Natalya match, easily the first Total Divas tie-in bout to actually draw my (and many people's) interest. The repeated "John Will Never Marry You" line sounds like a huge spoiler that we're headed to a Very Bella Wedding after WrestleMania but part of me thinks that John Cena still has feet like ice when it comes to marriage. Nikki was sporting some Pheonix Suns-inspired garb, a nice touch. As soon as the bell rang, Natalya took control, showing off her wrestling prowess, though Nikki surprised her with a semi-decent armbreaker, forcing Natalya to bust out some straight-up shots to Nikki's face. Bella, eager to prove that she could hold her own on the mat, locked in a leglock and followed it up with a huge clothesline off the apron to the outside. Natalya played to the crowd a bunch to draw heat, though, despite her hard work, she doesn't have the natural heelishness of a Charlotte or even Nikki herself. Still, even if the action wasn't as crisply delivered, the crowd was fairly into things, especially for the bigger spots and nearfalls. Bonus point for Natalya calling Nikki a "bitch" multiple times and also needling her "Mama Bella" in the front row. I can't imagine that Vince will be happy with her for those comments, but who knows. I'm not sure the match needed to stretch for as long as it did, but its hard to knock the efforts of both performers, Nattie hitting a huge superplex at one point and Nikki delivering a pretty strong spinebuster too. The submission trading brought a smile to my face, especially considering that I'm not sure Nikki didn't lock in the STF better than her longtime boyfriend. On the outside, the intensity picked up even more leading to a crowd-deflating double countout, a non-finish that works just fine for me as, even more than Lynch/James, this feud has legs. In what became a pattern for the whole show, there was a great post-match spot with Bella hitting an awesome spear on the ramp before Nattie hightailed it out. (3.5/5)

Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper followed. The video package before this definitely helped set the stage for this match as I've definitely not been on-board for most of the Orton/Wyatts storyline. The match started a bit slow, as is usually the case when "Bore-ton" is around, but got considerably better as the match proceeded and Harper started to take command, not only on offense but with some spirited bumping (that bump on and off the announcer's table was terrific). The crowd's "This is Awesome" didn't feel wholly earned but, when you look at the rest of the card thus far, I can totally understand the audience desperately wanting to believe that this match was something special. Oddly, had the audience really rallied behind Harper and maybe started some sort of supportive chant, that actually would've made it a bit more memorable and "awesome." Whoduhthunk a hot crowd that "plays along" can actually improve a match? Excellent closing stretch, but not excellent enough to nudge this one into "Great" territory. (3.5/5)

Backstage, Nattie continues her attack on Nikki Bella. Cool with me.

The remarkably athletic Naomi makes her way down the aisle next to challenge the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, Alexa Bliss. You knew these two weren't going to tear the house down, but there were certain spots that were damn good, a credit to both the relative newcomer Bliss and Naomi, who, remember, came up in the WWE's farm system before it was cool or even expected for a woman to be a well-rounded worker capable of going 10 minutes in the ring. Both women have movesets that are character-based, which I like, and from the first bell to the second, there was no point when it didn't seem like they were both trying to win and take home a coveted championship. The final minutes were sloppy, but what a shocker of a finish! I'm looking forward to their rematch as this was a better than average match and a genuine "feel good" moment for the 8-year veteran. (3/5)

...and another Carmella and Ellsworth backstage sketch. I'm not against this act, but I wish they'd have come up with something a bit more clever for them to do on the show. Like, how about having 'Mella meet Ellsworth's chinless family or something? Just spitballing here...

Main event time - Styles vs. Cena vs. Ambrose vs. Wyatt vs. Corbin vs. The Miz in the Elimination Chamber. Styles and Cena start things off and the crowd is red hot for them, the dueling chants almost drowning out the commentators. After a great series, Ambrose comes in and the minutes they share were, to me, more exciting than any stretch in the 3-way dance they had from a few months ago. Wyatt comes in fourth in a somewhat surprising move and here's where the big spots and viciousness really kicked off, including an absolutely awesome Tower of Doom spot after John Cena fell from the second level of the cage onto the structure's "floor." Corbin was in next and looked like he belonged, dishing out punishment to all others. In one particularly great moment, Corbin hit his End of Days on Cena and, so excited that he had actually taken out the heaviest hitter on the block, ended up on the receiving end of an Ambrose dropkick for his troubles - a moment that was, intended or not, subtly brilliant (Corbin being too inexperienced and cocky to immediately go for the cover, but also being justifiably psyched by his accomplishment). The Miz was the last in and his inclusion allowed for Ambrose to eliminate Corbin in the best (and only) major storyline development in an otherwise very tight and title-focused match. Of all the competitors, The Miz had the fewest minutes and the least opportunities to shine, but made them count with his Daniel Bryan heat-baiting. If The Miz is being set up for a feud with Cena (as the rumors suggest), this match did not do much to point in that direction, which is unfortunate but understandable. Thanks to Corbin's post-match tantrum, The Awesome One eliminated Ambrose and the match was down to four. Cena took out Miz fairly handily (again, an odd decision if we're heading to a Cena & Nikki vs. The Mizanins match at Mania) and the match progressed into a somewhat rapid closing stretch. In a bit of a shocker, Cena went next, essentially leaving two heel "fan favorites" in the match - Styles and Wyatt. The match's MVP, Styles proved here that he, like bacon (I know, I know, super played out trope), makes everything better, helping keep the match exciting and fast-paced when Wyatt could've easily derailed this into overdramatic, elongated theatrics. If Styles is not being used in some major way for Mania, you can automatically deduct some points from that card because he is easily the best in-ring worker in the company. Overall, the best Elimination Chamber I've reviewed yet (admittedly, I've reviewed only 3) and a potential MOTY candidate. (4/5)


With a Kwang score of 2.86-out-of-5, Sunday's Elimination Chamber show doesn't score too high when you look at the numbers, but aside from the atrocious Ziggler/Crews/Kalisto match and the not-so-great Tag Team Title match, the rest of the card was consistently good and even great at times. SmackDown took a bold step in featuring three women's matches so prominently and I'd argue that both Bella/Nattie and Naomi/Bliss over-delivered while James/Lynch was not quite as great as I had hoped it would be (I had somewhat high expectations as a big fan of both). Orton/Harper teetered on greatness during its second half and the main event was, as I wrote in my summary, the best Elimination Chamber match I remember seeing - in no small part due to the bumping of AJ Styles, the energy of John Cena, and a clever layout that never got dull. When you think about how much "name" talent was in that main event, the rest of the card could have been an absolute debacle (see the first and only December to Dismember PPV for an example of how that could be), but smart booking and strong effort pushed most of the show into watchable territory.

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

WCW Halloween Havoc 89'

WCW Halloween Havoc 89': Settling the Score

Philadelphia, PA - October 1989

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Ric Flair is the reigning NWA/WCW World Champion, Lex Luger holds the United States Championship, The Great Muta is the Television Champion, and the World Tag Team Champions are The Fabulous Freebirds.

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

Halloween Havoc 89' kicks off with The Z-Man taking on Mike Rotundo. The Z-Man's debut a few weeks earlier at a Clash of the Champions show was one of my least favorite viewing experiences of the year and Rotundo is the textbook definition of a pedestrian worker so I did not enjoy this one at all. The wrestling wasn't bad, it just wasn't exciting and the Philadelphia crowd let them know it, booing both guys during their introductions, getting only mildly excited about any of the action, and then booing the finish. Below average not because the work wasn't good but because this was the opposite of a "hot opener." Extra half-point for Z-Man hocking a huge loogie at the tail end of the match. (1.5/5)

Bruno Sammartino is backstage. Cool.

A six-man tag match follows - Jim Cornette and his squadron of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and The Midnight Express taking on longtime rivals The Samoan SWAT Team and relative newcomer The Samoan Savage (with manager Sir Oliver Humperdink). The Savage is known more by his previous name, The Tonga Kid, but as I'm not super knowledgable of the Samoans of the 80s, I don't know too much about him. Before the match begins, the teams nearly come to blows on the outside, but the action does start in earnest soon after with Stan Lane and The Savage going out. The action spills outside again almost immediately and the crowd pops huge, obviously craving the hard-hitting action that the previous match lacked. Dr. Death is the MVP for his team, his offense so intense and explosive that the audience has no choice but to react. Speaking of reaction, when Eaton gets atomic dropped on the guardrail on the outside minutes later, the crowd gives the kind of reaction that your average table spot off a ladder wouldn't get in today's WWE - it really shows just how much audience expectations have changed over the years (and, to some degree, how hot a Philadelphia crowd could be in this era). Back in the ring, the Samoans beat down Eaton and Cornette works hard to get the crowd behind the Midnight Express member. Williams come in on the hot tag and cleans house with all sorts of big slams, the crowd exploding (even when Lane and the Savage botch a swinging neckbreaker/DDT spot). The biggest pop of the match might come, though, when Cornette nails Humperdink with his racket, which just goes to show how over Cornette was as a babyface despite years of working as a heel. Solid ending that furthers the rivalry which, based on crowd reactions, could've seemingly run forever without tiring out the audience. I'm not a huge fan of 6-mans, but this one was clearly better than average. (3/5)

Backstage, Terry Funk is with Gary Hart. Funk is looking lean and mean and promises to turn Ric Flair into fried chicken. Not long enough to be considered one of his classic promos, but still a pretty good 30 second spot.

"Wildfire" Tommy Rich makes his way out to a chorus of boos next. The Philadelphia crowd absolutely loathes him and he doesn't give them any reason to change their minds, screwing up a sunset flip on his opponent, The Cuban Assassin, a few minutes in. Rich actually looked fairly decent against Luger at the Clash  before this but here he, in the unforgiving light of a hostile crowd, the Wildfire looks burnt out. Restholds galore leading to an ugly looking finish that may have worked for Lou Thesz 50 years earlier, but doesn't work even in 1989. (0.5/5)

The NWA Tag Team Championships are on the line next- The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Dynamic Dudes. Jim Cornette comes down with the surfers to try to save them from getting booed out of the building, but it doesn't work too well as The Freebirds are mega-over. Unlike the prior bout, though, the "unexpected" reaction doesn't totally wreck the match as the Freebirds play to the crowd but still maintain their heel work style, dominating the babyfaces and getting in some sneaky cheap shots too (much to the crowd's delight). When the Dudes aren't woefully off-target with their double dropkicks, they actually have some decent double-team maneuvers and wisely stick to what was likely the gameplan going in - brief flurries of flashy offense and Shane Douglass selling. On paper, this match did not have me salivating, but it is far more fun and watchable than one might assume due to the crowd's big reactions and the Freebirds looking like they are having an absolute ball putting the boots to the ultra uncool Dudes. (3/5)

Next up - the debut of Doom, led by "Robin Green" who would become "Woman" but will always be remembered as Nancy Sullivan. Their opponents are Rick and Scott, The Steiner Brothers, who are the first baby faces since the Midnights to actually come out to cheers. What's interesting about this match is how excellent Ron Simmons is despite having only been in the business for a couple years. He bumps great and his offense is surprisingly swift and well-executed. The finish is somewhat predictable as one had to know going in that Woman would get involved and that WCW wasn't dumb enough (at this point) to have Doom get pinned in their debut. A much better, more explosive match than I expected, but not necessarily worth revisiting. (3/5)

The United States Championship is on the line next with Lex Luger defending against "Flyin'" Brian Pillman. Ross and Caudle really play up how inevitable Luger's dominance of the sport is and, at the time, it is hard to argue against them as Luger was not only incredibly over and incredibly impressive in terms of physique, but at 31 years of age, seemed like he was just beginning to peak in ability. Seemed is the key word there as, just five years later, Luger was not nearly as captivating a performer and his star power was in rapid decline in the WWE. I've seen some people call this a great match and while it is certainly no less than average, there are also times when Pillman's wristlock gets tedious and one wishes for just a more defined clash of styles. Instead, this is a straight-up wrestling match with little to no "flying" out of Brian and no through-line or method for Luger's offense. The best stretches are when Pillman is in the underdog role and Luger is dominating, but as its generally a 50/50 contest, the ex-Bengal doesn't really gain the support of the crowd who, at least at first, are much more willing to boo Luger than many of the previous heels on the show. By the end, though, Lex is the babyface and his victory earns a huge pop. Good, not great match that Meltzer rated just a quarter-star above where I put it. (3/5)

A big time showdown is next - The Road Warriors taking on The Skyscrapers in a battle of the behemoths. Like several other matches on this card, on paper, you may not expect much, but the LOD bring their workboots and if you've ever wondered why both the WWE and WCW were so eager to push Sid Vicious to the moon, this is a pretty good showcase as explanation. After some initial slop (two, count' em', two botched clothesline spots in the first few minutes), the match takes a giant step towards watchability when the Skyscrapers take over and Hawk gets to selling (which one might think he'd not be great at, even in 89'). Sid's offense not only looks devastating (his helicopter powerbomb is sick), but he's surprisingly agile here - kipping up at one point but also bumping quite well when the moments calls for it. Spivey may have been the more experienced of the pair, but his charisma level is noticeably lower than everyone else's in this match. Animal comes in for the hot tag and the crowd explodes as they pass the ten-minute mark - roughly 5 minutes beyond what I thought these teams could do and still have me interested. The ratings here are beginning to blur together, but credit must be given to matches that exceed expectations just by being slightly above average. (3/5)

Main event time - Ric Flair and Sting teaming up against The Great Muta and Terry Funk in an Electrified Thunderdome Cage Match! The rules are simple - no pins, no submissions, the match ending when Gary Hart or Ole Anderson, the designated "terminators" throw in the towel on behalf of their team. Bruno Sammaratino is serving as guest referee but does little to nothing until the final stretch, which is somewhat disappointing considering there are multiple times in the match where they could have really teased his involvement (ditto for Ole and Hart). The match begins fairly traditionally and, as the cage is a good few feet away, there's no real suspense until Sammaratino loses control (and makes no effort to regain it) and the straight-up brawling begins. There's no logical reason that the four men decide to start climbing the cage and brawling on it, but the crowd enjoys the spots. Aside from Funk's hand, there's a noticeable lack of blood. Some nicely placed weapons around the ring or under the ring would have really helped this match for me as it doesn't make much sense why the heels would come into this match and not try to wreak havoc with Funk's infamous branding iron (Muta doesn't even spit any mist into his opponents eyes!). Fun brawling in front of a hot crowd, but no real story. This seems like a wasted opportunity to do some real hellacious fighting, but the big spots are pretty cool (Sting diving off the cage wall with a crossbody, for example) and the crowd obviously went apeshit once the wheels came off and the match denigrated into pure violence. Dave Meltzer gave this 4 stars in the Observer, but I reserve that kind of score for a match I'd like to rewatch - this one I won't ever need to. (3.5/5)



With a Kwang score of 2.56-out-of-5, Halloween Havoc 89' is almost like the best Clash of the Champions that never happened. Not a single match sticks out as undeniably great, though fans of "vintage WCW" will find plenty to enjoy in the main event, US Title Match, and at least 2-3 of the multiple tag matches on the card. Less appealing are the opening contest and the awful Rich/Assassin match. As a true pay-per-view, Halloween Havoc 89' probably disappointed, but as a Network watch, its digestible and a fairly complete look at what the NWA was all about at the tail end of the decade. 


FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever

WWE Judgment Day 2003

WWE Judgment Day 2003

Charlotte, North Carolina - May 2003

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into Judgment Day 2003, the WWE Champion is Brock Lesnar, while Triple H holds the World Heavyweight Championship. Jazz is the Womens' Champion and Matt Hardy holds the Cruiserweight Championship, with both the US and IC Titles still vacant (though, the IC Title will be up for grabs on this show). Kane and Rob Van Dam hold the World Tag Team Titles, while Team Angle are the WWE Tag Team Champions.

COMMENTARY: SmackDown (Cole and Tazz), RAW (JR and Lawler)

The show starts on the right foot with the arrival of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the co-General Manager of RAW. Huge "What" chants as Austin starts listing where he won't be watching the action from, finally announcing that he'll be enjoying himself in his own personal Skybox. With the immortal words, "Let the beer drinking begin," Austin heads into the crowd and towards his seat. I'm not sure what the point of this was aside from popping the crowd, but its a smart one because, on paper, this show looks like it could get gruesome. (+1)

It's Basic Thuganomics time - John Cena cuts a pretty lame Mafia-inspired rhyme to welcome his tag team partners, the "FBI" (that's Full Blooded Italians), Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli (with Nunzio as their manager). Their opponents tonight are the odd couple trio of the Chris Benoit, Rhyno, and Brain "Spanky" Kendrick. Not much of a match here with Benoit wasted and much of the attention put on Kendrick (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this wouldn't rank as one of his shining moments either). Inoffensive but openers should be hotter than this. (2/5)

An Austin and Bischoff segment in the Skybox is followed by another tag match - Test and Scott Steiner taking on La Resistance, Sylvan Grenier and Rene Dupree. Its remarkable how mature Dupree looks considering he was 19 years old at the time. Crazy. Test looks like he's spending his weekends in one of those rejuvenation tanks from Empire Strikes Back only instead of "rejuvenation fluid" or whatever Luke was floating in, Test's tank is filled with liquid steroids. You know you're hitting the juice too hard when you're teaming with Scott Steiner and he looks more naturally fit than you. As for the match, its a skippable as one could/would imagine. Too short to be offensive, but man, this is the type of match that just makes you think - Did the WWE intentionally bring Steiner in to bury him or did they initially actually give half a shit? (1.5/5)

Hulk Ho - err, "Mr. America" is backstage with Gwegowy Helms. Corny. Then its Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri in the locker room with Josh Matthews looking absolutely ridiculous - like he's auditioning to play Guitarist #2 for a bio-pic about the band Crazy Town. Josh Matthews' outfit is amazing enough to earn a point. (+1)

Back in the ring, it's time for a Ladder Match - Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri vs. Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Team Angle controls early, connecting with a very cool two-man gut-buster on Eddie Guerrero. Tajiri and Eddie mistime a hope spot but it at least makes sense considering this is their first team-up. Tajiri knocks down the ladder with a convoluted handspring elbow, the kind of spot that just screams "This isn't really a fight." Despite a ladder already being in the ring, Eddie and Tajiri bring another one in and Eddie hits a beautiful (but utterly stupid) senton onto Charlie Haas smushed between them. Benjamin hits a nasty bodyslam on Guerrero into a ladder moments later and then, with help from Haas, hits an incredible leap-frog drop (for lack of a better descriptor) on Tajiri (who is lying on a ladder). Again, cool spot, but convoluted and a brazen laugh at the idea that these guys should be trying to actually win the match much more than they do. Guerrero hits a frog splash from the top of the ladder on Shelton Benjamin later on, though, at least in that instance Tazz tries to explain Eddie's motivation on commentary. Not two minutes later, Eddie hits (and nearly botches) a sunset flip powerbomb onto Haas and, with help from Tajiri and his green mist, we have new WWE Tag Team Champions. Had this been the opening contest, it may have worked better, but there were two many near-botches and not enough psychology or urgency for this to stand up as anything more than just a fun spotfest. More enjoyable than an average match, but not anything I'd recommend. (3/5)

Segments galore next - first, Austin and Bischoff drinking beer (mildly entertaining) and then Chris Jericho and Roddy Piper backstage. Piper makes a mockery of deaf culture, which is hard to watch but not surprising considering this is the WWE in 2003 and there was nothing "PC" about the operation at the time. The last segment is a video package highlighting the history of the Intercontinental Championship, which is returning tonight and being rewarded to the winner of the next match...

A 10-Man Battle Royale featuring 9 former champions and Booker T! "The Book" is definitely the most over babyface in the match, though Rob Van Dam and Kane have their supporters too. Val Venis returns to his original moniker here, a gimmick he'd utilize (without success) for the next 5 and a half years. Clever final four, with tag partners Goldust and Booker having to outlast their rivals Christian and Jericho. Absurd finish that angers the crowd and could be seen coming a mile away. I think the entrances for this match went longer than the actual contest. I'd call this a slightly below average battle royal. (2/5)

Alright, four matches in and I'd say only one has been even average (and, unsurprisingly, it featured Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri)...

Before the next contest, we see Sable and Torrie Wilson chatting it up in skimpy robes. Sable borrows oil from Torrie, rubs it on her leg and tells Torrie to try some because she's going to need it...which is why she brought it. Cole and Tazz take over on commentary and they do a "Tale of the Tape" (because fans should definitely be aware of these women' bra sizes) and then air a video building up the next segment - a Bikini Contest. Torrie Wilson dances behind a screen and is sung into the ring by Lillian Garcia as the crowd respectfully sits on their hands and waits patiently for the PG-13-rated "excitement" they'll be getting. Sable comes out second and, because her robe is wide open, the audience gets a full view of her and any suspense this segment might have had is cut in half. Tazz goes over the rules (because a bikini contest has more than you'd think). Sable takes off her robe first and the crowd pops as she grinds in one of the smallest bikinis in the history of swimwear. I've had strands of broccoli stuck in my teeth that could cover more. Torrie goes second and reveals a Playboy-inspired outfit that is considerably less trashy, but still plenty trashy. The crowd clearly pops for the heel (Sable) more, which makes sense because she's wearing dental floss, but then Torrie announces that she "wasn't quite finished" and reveals that she too is wearing a bikini that looks like its made of a single hair off an ear of corn. Intelligence-insulting, sexist, stupid - but at least it runs less than ten minutes in total (I didn't keep time, but I wouldn't say it "dragged"). That's good enough for a half-point. (0.5/5)

And the train of lame keeps rolling - Roddy Piper vs. "Mr. America" (Hulk Hogan) in a match 20 years in the making. According to Cagematch.net, this is the last time these two guys ever faced each other and serves as a sad reminder that the WWE has been wheeling out stars from a decade earlier for nostalgia sake and "marquee value" for a long, long time. As one might expect, this is pathetic through and through. Piper has looked better cosmetically, but its actually Hogan's star that has noticeably fallen here. 12 months removed from arguably his last great match (against The Rock at WrestleMania XVIII), the Hulkster is now sporting a ridiculous mask and patriotic colors, repackaged as a last ditch effort to keep him relevant but so beyond over-exposed that his aura is gone entirely. Zach Gowen makes his second appearance to begin a feud with Vince McMahon and, though its Gowen/McMahon wasn't going to sell any seats, their involvement is the only thing even remotely interesting in the entire set-up. I'm guessing this was a strong nominee for worst match of the year and a cursory search through ProFightDB reveals that, yes, Meltzer gave it the ol' DUD designation. (0/5)


The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next - Triple H defending against former best friend Kevin Nash. Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair come out too, but end up brawling to the back before the bell even rings as Nash tosses Helmsley around outside and hits him with big right hands. When Nash finally gets him in the ring, the bell sounds and we're off for one of the most unimaginative, unremarkable matches I've seen in a long time. Nash hits a huge back body drop on Triple H and a series of elbow drops and those stand as the biggest spots in the entire match. Helmsley sells everything Big Sexy hits him with like gunshots, but its not enough to make the match interesting or lend it any suspense. We get a ref bump around what feels like minute 5 and the match ends soon afterward in a screwy fashion that demands a rematch, but doesn't make it remotely appealing. You can't knock the layout of the match, but you can knock the entire notion that putting these two in the ring together, with Nash so far from even "carryable" and Triple H so obviously in cruise control mode, is a good idea in terms of giving the fans quality matches. The only point this one earns in this post-match as one just can't see Triple H getting powerbombed through a table enough. On any other show, this would be the worst match of the night. (1/5)


Back in the skybox, Eric Bischoff doesn't feel so well and ends up "puking" (just spitting out beer) on an unlucky female server and into the crowd. Ugh. I'm going to go ahead and deduct a half-point for all the skybox sketches because, when you add them all together, they really do hurt the show more than help. (-.0.5)

Back in the ring, Trish Stratus defends her WWE Women's Championship in a Fatal Fourway against Jacqueline, Jazz, and Victoria. Within the first minute, there's been more hard-hitting action in this match than in the previous two combined. Not the smoothest sequences on display here, but when the competitors are on the same page, things work (for example, Jazz and Trish have a good stretch building to a submission). The crowd doesn't seem to care at all about this until Stratus takes an absolutely nasty bump to the outside, easily the best spot in the past hour or so of this show. With the champ taken out of action by Victoria, the remaining three scramble for the gold and new champion is crowned. Too short to even be considered "good." (2/5)

Main event time - Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show in a Stretcher match. The storyline coming into this one is that Show has been bullying Rey Mysterio (he attached him to a stretcher and slammed him into a ringpost at Backlash) and Lesnar isn't going to stand for it. Lesnar and Show feuded roughly 6 months earlier, so this rivalry isn't very fresh, but the Stretcher stipulation was expected to help make things interesting. Lesnar comes in and immediately the stretcher is put to use, both guys using it to their advantage in and out of the ring. To his credit, Show is in pretty good shape here and making the match weapon-centric does allow for more creative and hard-hitting moments than a straight-up one-on-one match would. Like Triple H, Lesnar also knows that selling for Big Show is the key ingredient to making a good Big Show match and bounces around the ring accordingly, making the monster into a worthy challenger despite the fact that Show's credibility had gone up and down since the start of his WWE career five years earlier. In another wise choice, once the match spills towards the entrance way, they keep it there - which makes sense logically (why bring your opponent back to the ring when the object of the match is to carry them, on a stretcher, passed a yellow line in the entrance way) but also allows the huge metal backdrop to serve as a set piece for more carnage than your standard ring would allow. Things get a bit repetitive, but I'll take Show striking Lesnar with a huge plastic stretcher a four times over seeing these two attempt a scientific wrestling match. After taking the upperhand, Lesnar heads to the back (ostensibly to retrieve a large enough stretcher to carry Show) and Rey Mysterio arrives to exact some payback to a huge pop! Unfortunately for Mysterio, Show still has some fight in him. Before Show can hit his chokeslam, Lesnar shows up in a forklift and launches himself off of it with an unbelievable crossbody as the crowd explodes. Lesnar then lands a very impressive vertical suplex and follows it up with the F-5 before setting up a stretcher on the forklift. Unfortunately, watching Lesnar roll Show onto the forklift is a bit anti-climactic and really shows that there is no better finish in wrestling than a three-count, though, the visual of Lesnar bringing Show (lifted 15 feet high above the ground) is a cool one. Easily the match of the night thanks to a hot closing stretch, some good weapon usage, and the match being executed with more logic than the ladders bout. (3.5/5)


With a score of 1.89-out-of-5, Judgment Day 2003 nearly lays claim to the crown of being the worst wrestling show I've watched in the past 3 years. Saving it from that honor are a small number of things - my adoration for Steve Austin, Josh Matthews' dressed like he just walked off the set of Shasta McNasty, the main event's really, really good finishing stretch. It also helps that, for awhile there in the mid-90s, WCW was unapologetically booking Charlie Norris on their pay-per-view cards and the InVasion PPV happened because without those elements, this could easily be a contender for worst show ever. Still, there is just nothing on this card to worth watching and a great number of matches and segments worth actively avoiding. Easy grade:

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville