THE TOP 10 NETWORK MATCHES OF 2019

THE TOP 10 NETWORK MATCHES OF 2019

Another year, another list of my Top 10 WWE Network Matches of 2019...


HONORABLE MENTION:
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (Hell in a Cell 2019)
An historically terrible main event (that I actually thought was pretty good until the last 5 minutes) is what any fans who actually remember this show are going to remember...but Banks and Lynch's opening contest was terrific and Lynch's best title defense all year.

Finn Balor vs. Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble 2019)
This one didn't match the heights of Lesnar/Styles and Lesnar/Bryan (the Beast's last two must-see matches), but it was still a ton of fun, an all killer-no filler title bout that accomplished everything it needed to in under 10 minutes. 

Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair (NXT Takeover: New York)
An absolutely awesome match that showed how deep the WWE's women's division is. Well worth your time.


And onto the top 10...

10. Matt Riddle vs. Velveteen Dream 

(NXT Takeover: New York)

A strong showcase for two young, hungry, ultra-charismatic workers that was overshadowed or, at the very least, muted by being on a card loaded with crowd-pleasing matches (including the main event, which I was colder on than most). 

9. Women's War Games Match 

(NXT Takeover: War Games)

Though I had issues with the conclusion, which saw two babyfaces prevail in what had become a No DQ, handicap cage match (not to mention the way the gravity of the match was completely ignored at the next night's Survivor Series), this was still the best War Games match the WWE has produced. While the Men's Version contained more dangerous spots, this match did a much better job developing future storylines and putting the spotlight on individual talents.

8. WALTER vs. Pete Dunne 
(NXT Takeover: New York)

For many (myself included), this was the perfect introduction to the greatness that is WALTER, but credit should also go to Pete Dunne, one of the WWE's top prospects. According to rumor, WALTER is unlikely to ever get the prolonged mega-push on the main roster that he deserves (he has gone on record stating he has no desire to move to the US), so catching him on Takeover specials is the best chance to see him in front of a large, rabid crowd for now. The fact that WALTER won't be making weekly appearances on Monday or Friday nights is a double-edged sword. On one hand, he's fascinating to watch and is exactly the type of unique talent the company needs on their programming. On the other hand, by not appearing regularly, his matches are even most "must see." While not a true "debut match," this was likely the biggest live audience (watching at home and in the arena) WALTER has ever performed in front of and he lived up to the hype.

7. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey 
(WrestleMania XXXV)

Historical significance aside, the WrestleMania XXXV main event was the WWE's best "spectacle" match of the year. Thrilling from beginning to end, packed with physical exchanges, and capped off by a finish that left the door open for Ronda Rousey's eventual return without diminishing Becky Lynch's moment too much. Some audible spot-calling and an imperfect table spot (in a match that may not have even needed it) kept this from being as good as it might've been, but it was still in the upper tier of all-time WrestleMania main events.

6. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan 
(Royal Rumble 2019)

A month after having my No. 2 WWE Network Match of the Year at TLC 2018, Styles and Bryan put on an excellent sequel - though, like most sequels, it didn't quite live up to the original. Part of the blame could be placed on the match's placement (directly after Becky Lynch's unforgettable, crowd-pleasing Rumble victory), but the finish was also a bit flat as Erick Rowan made his return to (predictably) help Bryan retain his championship. 

5. The Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch 
(TLC 2019)

A somewhat controversial pick, The Kabuki Warriors vs. Flair and Lynch from this month's TLC show was undeniably sloppy and muddled. It also featured some questionable moments in which performers seemed to show little regard for their fellow combatants. It was stomach-churning at times. It was hard to watch. Kairi Sane was seriously concussed and the match continued. But in an era where so many matches feel overly choreographed and scripted to minimize gore while still featuring a half-dozen dives and snap suplexes that could cause all sorts of injury, the four women cut loose, went extreme, and put on a match was beautifully ugly. It eschewed safety and reminded me of the wild tags that Cactus Jack and the Nasty Boys put on in the mid-90s and did so proudly, the women seemingly eager to push the envelope and wrestle a match as brutal as any that came before it. It wasn't pretty and, like Mick Foley's fall from the Cell in 98' or all the craziness the Hardys, Dudleys, Edge and Christian put eachother through, it may have even been downright stupid to "perform" a match like this - but it also felt like a match with real consequences, real struggle, and real danger. 

4. Men's Elimination Chamber Match 
(Elimination Chamber 2019)

This match offered an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent interactions as it kicked off with Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe squaring off before peak-popularity Kofi Kingston joined in, followed by AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, and Randy Orton. With this mix of Superstars and all their shared histories, this Elimination Chamber made up for its lack of brutality with clever elimination sequences and a story that put a (well-deserved) spotlight on Kofi. 

3. Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus 
(SummerSlam 2019)

The WWE's talent pool is so deep that they shouldn't really need guys like The Undertaker, Goldberg, Triple H, and Batista around to pad their supercards. Still, they all showed up for at least one payday in 2019. The best return match of the year, though, was this one - probably because Trish Stratus had the most to prove. Even in her prime, Stratus was never considered a great worker and the women's division of the 2000s was given minimal opportunities to showcase their talent, treated as inconsequential, and, most shamefully, built almost entirely around sexist storylines. Here, though, Stratus got to silence her critics and symbolically stand up for her Divas Era peers.

And, in terms of opponents, there was no better choice than Charlotte Flair, the company's most consistently great and heat-getting female performer. The start of the match came off a bit too rehearsed for my liking, but this bout swiftly became one of the best matches of the year once Flair took over and went full heel mode, not only delivering her best performance of the year but also helping give Stratus the best match of her career.

2. Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler 
(NXT Takeover: Phoenix)

At NXT Takeover: Phoenix, Bianca Belair made a case for being the most underrated worker in the company, delivering a bad-ass babyface performance that highlighted her ridiculous strength, natural charisma, and toughness. Baszler, meanwhile, proved that she could deliver the goods even against talent as relatively inexperienced herself after having the benefit of being paired with battle-tested vets like Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae in 2018. A highly physical, highly emotional clash that felt more epic and meaningful than anything the men of NXT did in matches with twice the running time.

1. Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan 
(WrestleMania XXXV)

An easy pick for my Match of the Year. Kofi Kingston finally gets his moment and Daniel Bryan once again proves why he is a Top 10 all-time performer on the biggest show of the year. There were some imperfect sequences, but as I wrote in my original review, my favorite matches don't tend to be overly choreographed gymnastic routines - and this one wasn't. More than any singular spot or crazy stunt, this match worked because the sequences and escalation of moves and counters felt organic, like each guy came into the match with a strategy and the struggle was about which one was going to be able to execute their gameplan. It was an athletic contest with high stakes and the crowd was simply more invested in the outcome than in any other match the WWE presented in 2019. Instead of chanting "This Is Awesome," the crowd was focused solely on seeing a worthy hero defeat a despicable villain - a rarity for modern wrestling.

NWA/WCW Starrcade 87'

NWA/WCW Starrcade 87'

Chicago, IL - November 1987

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was Ron Garvin, the United States Champion was Lex Luger, the Television Champion was Nikita Koloff, and the Women's Champion was Debbie McCombs (though, she does not appear anywhere on this card). The NWA World Tag Team Champions were Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, while the US Tag Team Titles were held by The Midnight Express.

NWA Starrcade 87' begins with an establishing shot of the UIC Pavilion and music that sounds not unlike the beginning to the song "She's A Beauty" by The Tubes. Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross are looking dapper in tuxes and almost immediately send things to the ring for our opening contest - The Fabulous Freebirds and Sting vs. Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner, and Larry Zybysko (with Baby Doll). You gotta love the pre-match intros as Gilbert as announced from coming from "Every woman's dream" while Sting is announced as coming from "Every man's nightmare." To be honest, I was unaware that the Freebirds were ever babyfaces. Jim Ross notes that the arena is jam-packed, but you can see dozens of empty seats throughout the building. Steiner and Sting start things off, the Dog-Faced Gremlin looking a little different without the singlet. Sting is over huge despite looking green as gooseshit. The babyfaces clean house and the crowd erupts. As the Freebirds come in, Steiner takes a back body drop and then tags in Zybysko to try to change the pace. A "Larry Sucks" chant starts up and Garvin gets to work. Hayes comes in, does some paltry offense, and gets a big pop for his moonwalk. Eddie Gilbert comes in and the match slows down a bit, Gilbert hoping for a timeout. Hayes applies a wristlock and then tags the Stinger back in, the crowd popping huge. Sting delivers an ugly, ugly clothesline and then applies a basic wristlock before Gilbert slams him and escapes. Sting then performs a not-so-great arm drag on Steiner before tagging out to Garvin. The heels take control, beating down on Jimmy Garvin. Rick Steiner, who looks absolutely massive here, delivers an awesome powerslam at one point, but misses a splash in the corner and is forced to tag in the Living Legend, who applies an abdominal stretch. Garvin finally gets the hot tag to Sting, but he can't really capitalize and, when the ref's back is turned, Gilbert tosses him over the top rope (which would normally be a DQ at this time). Sting gets back in the ring, but the heels maintain control. Zybysko attempts a suplex and Sting counters. The crowd has definitely cooled down a bit, this much reaching its 12-minute and possibly going just too long after a fun first half. Rick Steiner applies a headlock, but Sting escapes by dropping to his knees and sending Steiner into the buckle. Zybysko comes in and Sting sends him into the opposite buckle with 2 minutes remaining. Sting tags in Hayes, but the match becomes a wild brawl with the faces taking everyone out. Hayes makes the cover, but Zybysko's got his leg on the rope. Hayes attempts a sleeper, but Gilbert breaks it up with one minute left. Rick Steiner comes in with absolutely no urgency and applies a bear hug, eventually turning it into a belly-to-belly suplex. Hayes kicks out, though, and Gilbert comes in. Hayes attempts a roll-up and then a sunset flip, but neither work as time runs out and the match is declared a draw with the heels and faces basically just giving up on the match and walking away from each other. The only guy who even sells disappointment is Zybysko. The match started out hot, meandered in the middle, and then ended the worst way possible. (2/5)

We've got a Champion vs. Champion next - the Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham challenging the UWF Champion, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Both guys are babyfaces here so the match begins with a handshake before the old school 'rasslin begins. Williams tries to deliver his multi-pump guerrilla press slam, but Windham escapes, using his speed to counter Williams' strength. We get some mat wrestling, Windham somehow holding his own against the very talented Williams. The crowd immediately turns on it, though, loud cat calls of "Boring!" getting picked up by the cameras. Back to the ring they go, the crowd unhappy that these two are wrestling a scientific match. I could understand the criticism if this was minute 6 or 7, but this is like minute 2. Williams applies a headlock and keeps it locked on as Windham tries to escape with a series of hip tosses. Were these fans expecting a bloodbath? They finally get a pop when Williams tries a leapfrog and Barry Windham essentially headbutts him in the crotch. Williams sells huge and the crowd boos as Windham refuses to capitalize and allows William to get back on his feet. Williams' selling is ridiculous and goes on for at least 30-40 seconds. Windham applies a headlock, but Williams counters it and these two go back to just a basic tie-up and some ropes running. Windham attempts a crossbody but Williams ducks and he goes flying over the top rope and onto the floor. And then we get one of the flattest finishes I've seen in a long time. When Windham returns to the ring, Williams rolls him up and gets the 3 count, essentially taking advantage in a way that Windham had not moments earlier. The crowd boos, which could be expected and is definitely deserved. I guess the best that can be said about this is that it is at least different. (1/5)

The Rock n' Roll Express take on United States Tag Team Champions, The Midnight Express, in a non-title Scaffold Match next. A year prior, the Midnight Express lost a scaffold match and Jim Cornette had injured both of his knees falling from the top so I'm curious if he was willing to take another fall a year later. Not only is Cornette in the corner of the Midnight Express, Big Bubba was still around at this point - though he'd be in the WWE by the end of the year, if I'm not mistaken. Before the match begins, Bubba attacks Ricky Morton, which leaves Gibson having to defend himself 2-on-1 at the top of the scaffold against Lane and Eaton. Rogers tries to make his way up the scaffold too, but Morton beats him off with Cornette's racket. Morton is finally on the scaffold, racket in hand, and he wails on Eaton. As is the case with most scaffold matches, the action isn't all that much more than punches, kicks, and stomps (and much of it is delivered from both knees), though Eaton does get bloodied and all four guys do some hanging at various points. JR notes that the worst thing that could happen to you in a match like this would be to lose sight and it made me wonder if anyone's ever thrown salt in someone's eyes during a scaffold match as that would've probably gotten a huge pop in the 80s. Eaton grabs the racket and he and Lane get to work on Ricky Morton, but when tries to use it on Gibson, Gibson strikes him with a loose part of the scaffold! That was actually a neat twist. Cornette tosses another racket up to the scaffold and Eaton catches it and goes to town on Gibson as Stan Lane hangs under the scaffold. Morton tries to knock him off and prevent him from getting back onto the scaffold, but in order to do so, Morton starts climbing down the side too and now both Lane and Morton are under the scaffold. Meanwhile, atop the scaffold, Gibson strikes Eaton with the racket and Eaton looks terribly dazed. Stan Lane drops from the scaffold but the camera misses it and Morton makes his way to the top to help his partner. Eaton gets stomped and punched to the edge of the scaffold and drops down as the crowd goes wild. Big Bubba Rogers makes his way up the scaffold too and he and Ricky Morton square off. Morton punches him in the balls and climbs down the scaffold. To add insult to injury, he puts on Big Bubba's jacket and hat. Not a great match - not even a good match, really - but scaffold matches are never good. What is shocking, though, is that if a match like this was held today, one would imagine that any number of wrestlers would actually take the fall on their back or chest-first rather than on their feet because of how high the bar has been raised in pro-wrestling in the past 30 years. (1.5/5)

Backstage, The Freebirds and Precious cut a promo about how great Starrcade is. Being unfamiliar with this era of the Freebirds, its odd to hear Garvin give such an earnest, babyface promo. Dr. Death shows up next and delivers a total mess of a promo about how Barry Windham didn't take advantage when he had a chance and a bunch of other mangled verbiage that had nothing to do with anything.

Terry Taylor makes his way down the aisle next, accompanied by Eddie Gilbert. His opponent is Nikita Koloff, still a babyface at this point but also still disliked by at least a little bit of the crowd because of his allegiance to the USSR. This is a UWF/NWA Television Championship unification match, with Taylor representing the UWF and Koloff repping the NWA. Its pretty amazing that, a year later, the WWE would raid so much of the NWA's talent - specifically Taylor and Bossman and, in late 88', Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson too (I'm also not sure when the Hebners would join the WWE either but I'm guessing it was around then). Anyway...Taylor tries to make this a wrestling match, but Koloff no sells all of his offense. Taylor eventually applies a wristlock, but Koloff counters it into an armbar. To their credit, the crowd is with them despite there not being a ton of action. The truth is, though obviously limited, Koloff had presence and credibility and that could (and still can) get you pretty far. It doesn't hurt that Taylor's bumping and selling is great and his facial expressions make it clear how worried he is about losing his title. Around the 7-minute mark, Taylor rolls to the outside and the match seems to have dipped considerably, but wisely they re-ignite the crowd by having Koloff slap the taste out of his mouth when he comes back in the ring and then deliver a huge back body drop for good measure. Can you imagine a modern WWE match keeping fans engaged for 10 minutes with literally 2 high spots? Taylor eventually gets an upperhand when Koloff runs into his feet, but Taylor only gets 2 despite putting his feet on the ropes for leverage. Koloff regains control and applies a half-nelson/hammerlock combo. Taylor is able to escape by putting his foot on the rope and then raking the eyes of the Russian. At this point, Taylor's offense finally seems to be having an effect, but every time Taylor might gain control, Koloff re-applies an arm submission. Taylor tries to mount a comeback with some headbutts and punches directly to Nikita's skull, but Koloff no sells those too and looks to be even angrier. Again, this is a simple, simple match - but its done well and the crowd is eating it all up and by the time you get to the 15 minute mark, it feels like a genuine war. Maybe most impressive is that Terry Taylor, despite not really getting in a ton of offense, manages to get the upperhand by simply outlasting Koloff's onslaught. Koloff, the larger, dominating wrestler, doesn't have the stamina and endurance and his fatigue is what ultimately gives Taylor the opportunity to take control (plus a little bit of help from Eddie Gilbert on the outside). After nearly losing via a figure four leglock (the move is finally broken when Hebner catches Gilbert giving leverage to Taylor), Koloff manages to not only get some revenge on Hot Stuff but also land his Russian Sickle on Terry Taylor for an absolutely dynamite finish that gets a massive pop from the crowd. Considering that the support for Koloff was somewhat muted at the start of this match, the fact that it ends with such a huge pop proves how good this was. Maybe not a match for everyone and maybe not a "must see," but definitely very good. (3.5/5)

NWA World Tag Team Champions, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson of the Four Horsemen, defend the straps against The Road Warriors in the next match. The Road Warriors' pop is deafening, as one might expect in Chicago. The match starts off hot with Arn Anderson getting press slammed in the first minute. A little later there is a great sequence that sees Tully trying to avoid a boot from Hawk only to get clotheslined instead. Blanchard tries to escape the match, but is sent back in by Animal and then chased down the aisle by Hawk. Tully attempts a splash from the top but Animal catches him mid-air and powerslams in another great spot. The Warriors were known for their no-selling, but what really works here is that they sell just enough for the heels to get some distance and make magic with cut-offs, bumping, and pinballing. It would be boring or repetitive by minute 5 if Tully and Arn weren't clever enough to add variations to each sequence, doing the little things to make their feeding into the Road Warriors different from the last time. The heels finally get a "leg up" when Hawk attempts a press slam on Tully and Arn kicks out his knee, Tully and Arn finally getting some meaningful offense in. Tully delivers a nasty chairshot to Hawk's knee that looks about as real as it gets. Double A then hits him with a DDT at the ten-minute mark. Tully attempts a figure four, but Hawk nearly counters it with an inside cradle. There's a noticeable gaffe when Anderson attempts another figure four and Hawk momentarily forgets to kick him off. Blanchard is finally able to sinch it in on their third attempt. I like that it took multiple attempts as it adds credibility to the struggle and the idea that a wrestling match isn't just guys taking turns delivering moves to each other. Hawk finally gets the hot tag to Animal, but its an imperfect sequence as the timing seems a bit off. Tommy Young ends up on the floor in the melee as the Road Warriors hit the heels with a double clothesline. They hit Anderson with the Doomsday Device and get a 3 right in the middle of the ring! But wait...it was Earl Hebner who made the count, but Tommy Young is waving off the finish as Tommy Young is arguing that Animal back-body dropped Anderson over the top rope, which is a DQ. The crowd absolutely hates the reversal, chanting "Bullshit" and booing the announcement. That was pretty great, though the BS ending does kind of hurt it as it seems like this could've been the big moment when the Warriors finally got the titles. (3.5/5)

Dusty Rhodes challenges Lex Luger for his United States Championship in a steel cage match next. Rhodes has also promised that, if he loses, he will not compete for 90 days - which is kind of an odd stipulation. I guess its more believable than a straight-up Retirement stipulation, but also way, way lower stakes. Luger is a Chicago native, but the crowd clearly favors longtime hero Dusty. The live crowd is invested in this much, but neither guy is a great technical worker and Luger isn't all that great a seller or bumper either. Rhodes gets a ton of mileage out of a very limited moveset, fan empathy, and getting color, but its still not enough to keep this interesting or exciting from beginning to end. There are enough little moments to keep this from being a total disappointment - Dusty's clever use of submissions early and focused work on Luger's arm, the struggle Luger has putting Dusty up for the rack (botched or not), the red hot finish - but there's not enough connective tissue and, at 16 and a half minutes, it just goes on too long. (2/5)

Main event time - Ric Flair challenging Ron Garvin for his NWA World Heavyweight Championship in an Anything Goes Cage Match. Garvin is, alongisde David Arquette and Vince McMahon, often cited as one of the worst World Champions ever, but, based on what I know/have seen (which is not necessarily all that much) about the NWA in the 80s, its not so much that Garvin wasn't a decent hand or not over but that he wasn't good enough and wasn't over enough. The reason Garvin was given the title, according to legend, is because the NWA wanted to re-crown Flair as champion at the biggest show of the year (a show that was historically up against Survivor Series 87') and Garvin was either the first choice or the first guy to agree to a limited run. Regardless, the match doesn't really have much heat to the start and there is an audible "Garvin Sucks" chant. Unlike the previous year's match against Nikita Koloff, Flair doesn't go overboard with his bumping and selling - which actually detracts the match a bit as Garvin's shine is just not all that impressive. Things pick up when Flair takes over and gets to work Ron's knee and the final third of the match, leading up to the finish, is quite strong (with a great callback to the way Garvin won the title months earlier). If only they had found a way to make the first half of the match more interesting, this would probably be cited more as an all-time great Flair title match. I wouldn't go as far as to call this a carry job as both guys end up bloody messes and Garvin's chest chops are rightfully the thing of legend, plus the finishing sequence is incredibly well-executed and needs both guys to have perfect timing to work the way it does. An above-average match, no doubt, but not an all-time classic to me. (3/5)


Starrcade 87' is, somewhat surprisingly, a show that looks better on paper than it actually is. You've got Sting, Luger, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, the Rock n' Roll Express, the Midnights, the Road Warriors, Tully and Arn all over this card! The star power on this show DWARFS the star power on Starrcade 86'. Unfortunately, despite featuring superior talent, much of the talent is wasted in poorly booked matches that work against the talents featured. Sticking the Rock n' Roll Express and the Midnight Express on a scaffold prevents them from putting on the mat classics they could perform in their sleep, while Dusty and Lex are forced to carry 15+ minutes. The opening match kicks the show off hot, but ends with one of the worst finishers I've seen this year. Windham/Williams is a disaster when it could've been exceptional. Koloff/Taylor is the only match that actually exceeds expectations and even that bout is likely to bore many modern fans. With a slightly sub-average Kwang Score of 2.36-out-of-5, I'm going with a...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE TLC 2019

WWE TLC 2019

Minneapolis, MN - December 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the Universal Champion was "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and  the WWE Champion was Brock Lesnar. The RAW Tag Team Championships were held by the Viking Raiders, while the SmackDown Tag Team Championships were held by The New Day. The RAW Women's Champion was Becky Lynch, while Bayley held the SmackDown Women's Championship. Finally, the 24/7 Champion was R-Truth, the United States Title was held by Rey Mysterio, and the Intercontinental Champion was Shinsuke Nakamura (though none of those titles were defended, nor were any of the NXT Championships).

TLC 2019 kicked off with The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) defending the Smackdown Tag Team Titles against The Revival in a Ladders Match. I was not super impressed with the last time these two teams fought on PPV, mostly because I've been so underwhelmed with their main roster run compared to the resume they built on NXT. On the other side of things, The New Day is a really tired act to me. "Kofimania" feels like a distant memory, a blip in his career between extended stints as the "happy go lucky" guy whose not a true main event player. Despite all that baggage, this was still a very good match - though, compared to their battles against Harper & Rowan years ago or the feud with The Usos, which at least felt like stepping stones to bigger and better things for all involved, this match felt a little bit like it was happening on a hamster wheel. There were some tremendous moments, no doubt, but it might just be that there is truly no tag team, not The Revival or even The AOP, that can bring back The New Day's magic in 2019. This match was definitely above average and good for what it was, but inessential viewing. (3/5)

Aleister Black took on Buddy Murphy in the next contest. I like how they're trying to keep Black's mystique strong as, against the right opponents (like Velveteen Dream back in NXT), he is very, very good and a great foil for some of the bigger personalities (for example, The Miz at his most obnoxious or Nakamura when he felt like the Next Big Thing). Buddy Murphy may not have been the perfect opponent, but this felt like his first serious showcase against an established heavyweight and he hit the ball out of the park, proving his toughness and showing off his dynamic offense. I think some critics would find fault in how even this match was - and that would be a valid criticism - but 2019 Pro-Wrestling is very different from the old days when "giving too much" was perceived as a major obstacle to a wrestler's success. It would also be a misread of Aleister Black's persona as, despite the Black Metal-inspired look, he is not The Next Undertaker or a kickboxing Road Warrior. It would also be a problem if the give-and-take and chemistry between these two wasn't there, but it absolutely was and because Black ended up with a busted nose, Murphy's offense came off as even more credible and damaging. This was a stiff, brutal match with some excellent sequences and while the crowd wasn't with them for every single moment - when Buddy Murphy tossed Black's jacket out of the ring and it landed on Jerry Lawler, the crowd erupted in a distracting "Jerry" chant - by the end, they were fully engaged. This was a sleeper Top 10 WWE Match of the Year to me, the best match Black has had since joining the main roster and the first Buddy Murphy match that has lived up to the hype surrounding his 205 Live run (which I completely missed). (3.5/5)

After a video package showing Seth Rollins' recent heel turn and alignment with The Authors of Pain, The Viking Raiders showed up to issue an Open Challenge for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Now, because of the pre-match video, one would think that the challengers would be the aforementioned AOP, but instead, Gallows and Anderson arrived - maybe the least interesting team possible (though, to be fair, its not like the WWE is loaded with legit tag teams at the moment). After the Black/Murphy match and the opening ladder match, these teams were going to have to bust out the best they had to keep the crowd happy and this match just wasn't it. On one hand, you might say that this was probably by design - but on the other hand, have Gallows and Anderson had a single great match since joining the WWE? I can't speak for the NJPW years, but in the WWE, they've been average at best. Gallows, in particular, was out of position for Ivar's backspring elbows and late to break up a pinfall soon after, which at least drew heat. I want to see Erik (Raymond Rowe) succeed because he's a native Clevelander, but I have the feeling that the only reason the Raiders got the win here was to set up their inevitable loss to the Authors of Pain sometime in the very near future. (2/5)

Roman Reigns took on Baron Corbin in a TLC Match next. I was expected this match to be later on in the show - possibly even in the main event slot - as it is SmackDown's top match. From what I've read online, the anti-Roman sentiment has decreased in recent times, probably because (a) he hasn't been overpushed (or really pushed at all) since coming back from cancer and (b) Baron Corbin is wholly unlikable and has been overpushed in contrast. Plus, with Corbin and his lackeys, Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, covering Reigns in dog food at one point, the crowd definitely wants to see Corbin get his ass kicked. Of course, for whatever reason, that is not quite what happened. Instead, we got a relatively back-and-forth brawl that underwhelmed with a bunch of spots that didn't register. At one point, the crowd was chanting "We Want Tables" despite the fact that, by this point, there had been at least 3-4 table spots. None of it mattered. There were mini-pops for this and mini-pops for that, but the match was formless and the one thing that the fans probably wanted to see - Corbin getting destroyed and maybe getting some dog food stuffed in his mouth - is the exact opposite of what happened. Instead, Ziggler showed up to superkick Reigns and then The Revival came out to beat Roman down even more. This went on for 4-5 minutes while not a single babyface came out to help him. What happened to his brief partnership with Daniel Bryan? Wasn't this match built around Reigns defending his status as a "locker room leader"? This match proved Baron Corbin right. Roman Reigns is friendless. Roman Reigns doesn't have the respect of the lockerroom. If he did, you would've seen guys like Chad Gable - whoops - Shorty G come out and try to even the score. And if that had happened, it would've been a great build-up for the Survivor Series...only that show happened last month. The match itself was average at best compared to other TLC matches, but the booking was woeful and inexcusable. There were rumors that Roman Reigns may be winning the Rumble this year, but this was not the way to build his momentum. Meanwhile, Corbin came out of this looking like the smartest man on Earth when I was under the impression that we're supposed to think he's a cheating, ugly doofus. An easy contender for Worst Match of the Year. (1/5)

The Universal Champion, Bray Wyatt, took on The Miz in the next match. Unlike some of Wyatt's recent feuds, which have been centered on The Fiend side of his persona, this storyline has been based more on the creepy Firefly Funhouse Bray, who has been playing all sorts of mental games with The Miz. If I'm not mistaken, this was Bray's first match as the "Friendly Bray" character and, even more than the debut of The Fiend, his entrance felt completely different than anything we've seen from him previously. And then, when the action began, the no-selling "Fiend Wyatt" was nowhere to be found as The Miz completely dominated him as Bray laughed. At one point, The Miz had Bray in what looked like a terribly painful wristlock and Wyatt laughed his way through it, eventually going to the arena floor and popping his shoulder back into place by ramming himself into the barricade. The Miz followed it up by tossing him around ringside, the crowd completely hushed. The Miz tried to run Wyatt through the timekeeper area, but Bray sidestepped him and hit him with a Sister Abigail on the floor, his first major offensive move. The Miz barely beat a countout and then got hit with a second Sister Abigail to end the match. Uh...what? Bray apologized after the match, but then on the screen, we saw an image of The Fiend. Bray looked up to it, said, "Okay, I'll do it," and then retrieved a giant mallet as the crowd began chanting "Let Him In." Before striking him with the mallet, though, the lights lowered and Bray began exclaiming, "He's here!" with elation. At this point, though, Daniel Bryan appeared out of nowhere and leveled Bray with his running knee to a huge ovation! Bryan connected with a series of Yes Kicks, receiving maybe the biggest crowd response he's had in years. Bryan's beatdown went a little long for me as he delivered some stomps to the face and then, right before he was able to strike Wyatt with the mallet, the lights went out and Bray was gone. It was an anticlimactic ending to a segment, the crowd's interest having petered out by the time it was all said and done. The best thing that could probably be said about this match and post-match angle was that it was interesting and different, though not necessarily great or "must see." (3/5)

Rusev sought revenge against Bobby Lashley in a Tables match next. The storyline behind this has been one of the more controversial angles the WWE has run in quite some time as it was revealed that Lana has been cheating on Rusev with "The Almighty" Bobby Lashley and, following their divorce, will be marrying the former ECW Champion. Its hard to say whether or not this storyline has been successful as critics seem to be pretty split, some loving the trashiness and others wondering why the WWE always seems to want to emasculate Rusev. The ratings have not been good, but that's nothing new, while, based on YouTube viewership, this is arguably the hottest storyline going. Regardless, I was very hopeful for this match as I'm a relatively big fan of both guys. Lashley has had some great bouts against Strowman and Balor this year, while Rusev has been, rather quietly, one of the top 10 in-ring performers in the company since his debut. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, this match was nothing special, a forgettable match that lacked the escalation of violence that Lashley and Strowman's Last Man Standing match and, because Rusev is actually the opposite of heartbroken over losing Lana, the feud doesn't even really make all that much sense. If he truly doesn't care about her, what are they even fighting over? People have been throwing the word "cuckold" around when describing this feud, but Rusev isn't fighting to "reclaim" Lana as much as he's just fighting to show he's tougher than Lashley - which makes it like 99.99% of every feud ever. Maybe this match would've had more drama if there were actually stakes, but at this point, with Rusev not even playing the brokenhearted, jealous ex-husband, there's really not all that much they can do to generate heat even with Lana's involvement. Also, its unclear why Lashley was given the W here when the crowd is rallying behind Rusev and this feud has run its course - which is actually a good thing because the sooner it wraps up, the sooner you can push both guys as potential Rumble winners or, barring that, challenging for Lesnar's title at the Rumble show itself. An underwheling match. (2/5)

Main event time - The Kabuki Warriors defending the Diva Tag Team Championships against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a TLC Match. This one reminded me of the Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan/Maxx Payne/Nasty Boys wars of 94', matches that are almost painful to watch because of the level of violence and, even more than that, the shocking number of moments when it seems like the competitors are taking no precaution at all for their opponents' well-being. At various times in this match, its obvious that the adrenaline pumping through all four women is high and they want to pop this crowd with the craziest, nastiest TLC match possible. It was an incredibly valiant effort, but, even before Kairi Sane suffered a concussion (which could've happened at any of ten different moments, but I tend to believe occurred when she seemed to have gotten tripped up by the apron attempting to splash both Lynch and Flair through a table), it seemed like the match was just a non-stop stream of risky moves performed with just a touch too much zeal. In my reviews, I tend to criticize the lack of urgency displayed in many modern matches. This match had urgency, but it was arguably misguided. Even the commentators noted how few attempts there were to actually win the match - everyone was too busy just leveling each other with any weapon they could find. And while Charlotte Flair certainly deserves a ton of criticism for manhandling (and viciously slapping) a clearly out-of-it Kairi Sane towards the end of the match, its important to note that almost immediately after she powerbombed the concussed Sane through a table, Asuka german-suplexed her on the arena floor. Sure, the floor has padding, but that's still a nasty, nasty bump (not to mention getting powerbombed through a table from the ring apron later on). Later, Becky Lynch would get in on the action by hitting a pair of Becksploders on Asuka into a stack of ladders, a move that didn't look all that good, but because Lynch didn't get much elevation and was probably somewhat exhausted after 20 minutes of brutality, could've easily resulted in Asuka getting sliced by the edge of a ladder or worse. By the time the end came, the audience was clearly unsure how to react. Its notable too that, despite the violence, there was no "This is Awesome" chant at any point - which may have been because so much of the match took place on the floor in front of the announce tables and not in the ring, where the live crowd could actually appreciate what the competitors were doing. When considering what to rate a match like this, though, I must admit that there is a part of me that does enjoy the queasy feeling that a match like this will give you. Is there something sickening about those squash matches the Steiners used to have where they took insane liberties and nearly paralyzed guys? What about the aforementioned Cactus Jack/Nasty Boys matches from 94'? There are moments in those matches where guys are being struck in the back of the head with chairs and shovels without any warning at all. What about the stiffness of Vader and Stan Hansen and others? If one is going to criticize the women for working "unsafely," it's equally wrong to speak highly of the men who did the same (or worse) in the 80s and 90s in other promotions. This match was Flair, Lynch, and the Kabuki Warriors showing how unhinged and violent they could get - and I, for one, was impressed and sickened and bought in to the tension and suspense. At times, it genuinely felt like these women were shooting on each other - and when's the last time you saw that on a WWE PPV? I always say that the difference between a very good match and a truly great match is whether or not you could consider a "must see." This match was a "must see," for better or worse. (4/5)


With a Kwang Score of 2.64-out-of-5, TLC 2019 was a hit-and-miss show, with some serious highs (the main event was a "must see" to fans of old school extreme wrestling and Black/Murphy was a very, very good) but also some incredible lows (the Reigns/Corbin match was one of the worst matches of the year and Gallows and Anderson might be the most insufferable tag team the WWE has on its current roster). As this show is impossible to recommend as a whole and the main event will likely turn off any viewers who want their wrestling clean and sanitized, I'm gonna give this a rating of...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

NWA Starrcade 86': The Skywalkers

WCW/NWA Starrcade 86': Night of the Sky Walkers

Greensboro, NC - November 1986

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Ric Flair was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the United States Champion was Nikita Koloff, the Television Title was held by Dusty Rhodes, and the Junior Heavyweight Championship was Denny Brown. The NWA World Tag Team Champions were the Rock n' Roll Express and the United States Tag Team Champions were Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev. 

After the traditional singing of the National Anthem, Starrcade 86' kicks off with a tag team match - Tim Horner and Nelson Royal vs. Don and Rocky Kernodle. I haven't seen much of any of these guys work and I'm not at all familiar with the storyline going into this match so, as one might expect, this one didn't grab me. There's good energy in the match and the crowd is hot, though, so there's really nothing to complain about in terms of the action. Kind of your standard, average match. (2.5/5)

Brad Armstrong takes on "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin next. Garvin was so much better back then compared to his years in the Freebirds in the early 90s. I love Precious, his valet, too - its amazing that in today's WWE there are so few women playing what is such a "slam dunk" easy, heat-getting role. Armstrong looks a little like Kenny Omega at this point. Lots of great back-and-forth wrestling, but also some uninspired stretches. Once the announcers mention that the match has reached minute 10, it becomes obvious that we're headed to a draw and that they're just dragging this out. Usually matches like this end with a highly suspenseful final 2-3 minutes, but that is not what we get here as the ending is predictable and Garvin inexplicably goes to the top rope for a splash with like 8 seconds remaining. I would've preferred the match end 3-4 minutes earlier, even with a BS cheap ending to give Garvin the win. (2/5)

The Barbarian and Pez "Shaska" Whatley square off against Hector Guerrero and Baron Von Raschke in the next match. The only thing good and worth seeing in this match is Hector Guerrero performing a dive to the outside, something that one didn't see too often in 1986. Von Raschke was passable in bloody brawls just a year or two before this, but he moves like molasses in this match and seems limited to just locking in his claw. At least it doesn't go too long? (1/5)

The Kansas Jayhawks challenge the United States Tag Team Champions, Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev, in a No DQ match for the titles next. The Kansas Jayhawks are Dutch Mantel (who looks a bit like "Dr. Death" Steve Williams here) and Bobby Jaggers, a guy who I had honestly never heard of but seems like an interesting character from his wikipedia page. Anyway, this match didn't grab me at all and despite it being a No DQ match, it wasn't nearly as violent as one might've expected from this era of NWA rasslin'. When the weapons do come out, specifically Krusher Kruschev's chain, it leads right into the finish with the heel Russians getting the victory. At least this match doesn't overstay its welcome? (1.5/5)

Pre-"Ravishing" Rick Rude faces Wahoo McDaniel in an Indian Strap Match next. Rude was 90% of the way there with his gimmick, but its obvious that the extra 10% that Vince McMahon (and Bobby Heenan) provided is what made him a mega-star. As Wahoo was very limited in what he could do aside from chest chops and Rude was, at least in this match, seemingly not super motivated to do the big-time, highly athletic bumping and selling that would later make him one of the most highly-regarded heels of his era, this match is a disappointment. Rude does a little bit of shtick, but its not yet crystallized. Considering how much guys like Steve Austin and Kevin Nash like to talk about Rude taking them under his wing in the early 90s, it would've been fascinating to hear him talk about the business and his own progression in the late 80s on the podcasts of today. Not a career highlight for Rude and I doubt its one for Wahoo either. (1.5/5)

Sam Houston defends his Central States Title against Australian heel "Superstar" Bill Dundee in the match that follows. Sam Houston is a technically proficient wrestler, but I just can't really get into his matches - kinda like Seth Rollins these days. Maybe if I was more familiar with Bill Dundee's character and history, I'd be more impressed with his work in this match but this match just didn't grab me and I didn't see any of the larger-than-life charisma that I thought Dundee was known for. The final few minutes are good, especially the finish, which saw the ref take a bump but not oversell it and actually catch Dundee attempting to use a weapon. Its a refreshing to see a ref not play blind and dead. (2/5)

Jimmy Valiant (with Big Mama) takes on Paul Jones (with Manny Fernandez) next in a Hair vs. Hair Match. This is more of a slow-moving fight than anything else, with Valiant and Jones sticking to just punches and stomps for the most part. Valiant ends up bleeding a gusher a minute in, allowing Jones gets some offense in (thanks to a foreign object). Valiant rallies, applies a scissor, and eventually knocks Jones unconscious. After the bell, Valiant and Mama shave Paul Jones' head and Manny Fernandez is brought down from the shark cage he had been locked inside of. Fernandez and Rude beat down Valiant, spike-DDTing him into a steel chair. Why doesn't anyone use that move nowadays? Rude and Fernandez cover Jones' head and escort him out of the ring as Wahoo McDaniel and Baron Von Raschke show up. The crowd was into it, but the match was nothing special and the post-match ordeal felt too long by at least 2-3 minutes. (1/5)

During the show's intermission, Bob Taylor pitches the 2nd Annual Bunkhouse Stampede show. We then cut to a video of Nelson Royal in front of a fire, telling a story about life in the bunkhouse. As he describes the Bunkhouse Stampede match, we see clips from the first Bunkhouse Stampede match, which was a weapons-loaded, bload-soaked battle royale that was won by Dusty Rhodes. One of the most surreal video promos I've ever seen. Total Nugget of Awesomeness. (+1)

The video vignettes continue as Bob Taylor hypes the 2nd Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup in Baltimore. The previous year's finale is shown in abbreviated form as well as the post-match celebration the Road Warriors had. People complain about all the filler on the WWE's PPVs, but this intermission has felt endless...

Back to the ring we go, though, for "Big" Bubba Rogers vs. Ron Garvin. Rogers is an interesting gimmick/character to me. At 6'8'' and 300+ pounds, Rogers (Ray Traylor) towered over most, but he also wore a suit, which always came off to me as weirdly professional for a badass southern ass kicker. Anyway, its remarkable how young Bubba looks here (he was 23) as I always envisioned him as a seasoned veteran, even just 3-4 years after this show. Its outright shocking and tragic to consider that he was still in his 30s when he had his last major run in the WWE and could've reasonably still been involved in the business, as a trainer, to this day (he passed away at age 41 in 2004). Anyway, Rogers no-sells a bunch of Garvin's offense and eventually sends Garvin out of the ring to recollect his thoughts. Garvin comes back in with a weapon and begins clobbering Rogers with big right hands (his famous "Hands of Stone") as the crowd goes crazy. Rogers goes to the floor this time and Cornette hands him a weapon, which is legal in this St. Louis Streetfight. Rogers retakes control and pulverizes Garvin with a roll of a nickels. The ref tries to count him out, but Garvin gets up at 8. As the Guardian Angel, Traylor would have two exceptional matches against Vader in 94' (95'?) that would allow him to show off his underrated agility, but this match is just a slugfest. Garvin uses a rope to choke and hogtie Bubba, but the big man won't stay down for long. Rogers applies a bearhug, which the crowd eats up, and Garvin is forced to fight his way out by using his bloody forehead. Garvin finally rocks Rogers with a strong enough right hand to send him all the way over the top rope (there's that Ray Traylor agility!), but Rogers makes his way back into the ring. Cornette screams for Bubba to fight back as he is once again sent to the floor. Garvin follows him out and Rogers regains control. Bubba goes to the top rope, but Garvin sends him off with a big press slam! Garvin goes for a pinfall - which I wasn't sure was necessary - and Bubba lifts him off (sending him directly onto referee Tommy Young). Garvin somehow hits Bubba Rogers with a piledriver and then Cornette whacks Garvin with his racket. Both men are out for a full 10 count, but Tommy Young refuses to make it a draw, announcing that the first man onto his feet is going to be named the winner. Cornette comes into the ring and gets sent out by Young to a huge ovation! Garvin is first up, but Rogers prevents Tommy Young from seeing him and Cornette clips Garvin in the back of his knee. Rogers then pulls himself up and is declared the winner as the crowd chants "Bullshit." The audience is just flat out irate about this finish. This was a nice little match with good performances from both men, a nice amount of violence, and a dramatic conclusion that didn't seem overbooked even though it had a bunch of twists to it. Easily the best thing on the show up to this point. (3/5)

Dusty Rhodes defends the Television Title against Tully Blanchard in a First Blood Match in the next contest. Dusty busts JJ Dillon open early with one of his signature elbows, showing just how dangerous this match is for Blanchard. The First Blood concept is ill-fitting for these two as Dusty can't match Tully's technical prowess and both guys are excellent sellers who, when sporting crimson masks, know how to build entire matches around the brutality and emotion of a violent, bloody brawl. Here, though, the minute the ref sees blood, the match will end, which is usually when a Dusty Rhodes match is just starting to get good. The referee goes down and misses Dusty busting Tully open only to wake up and see Rhodes bleeding after Blanchard hits him with a roll of quarters. Not exactly the most clever twist and the 6-or-so minutes of action before it are pretty unremarkable. (2/5)

The Road Warriors take on The Midnight Express in a Scaffold Match next. Like the previous bout, the stipulation does more harm than good as its obvious that nobody is very comfortable on the scaffold and neither team is able to perform any of their signature, better offense (or, in the case of the Midnight Express, take the big, exaggerated bumps that are their bread-and-butter against powerhouses like Hawk and Animal). The teams mostly brawl atop the scaffold and the Midnights do get some color to add even more suspense to the match. At one point, both teams are hanging from it and they engage in a game of chicken, which is pretty crazy. Eaton and Condrey end up dropping down from the scaffold, but this match is really most famous for Cornette dropping down from the scaffold and injuring both of his knees in the post-match insanity. Not really a great match, but certainly interesting and suspenseful and very much over with the live crowd, which is why they would run multiple scaffold matches over the next five years despite them not being all that great. (2.5/5)

A cage match for the NWA World Tag Team Championships is next - the reigning champs, The Rock n' Roll Express, defending the titles against Ole and Arn Anderson. I've seen this match hailed as an all-time classic, but I just don't get why this is worthy of such praise. Its not a bad match, its an above-average match, but I don't see it as the masterpiece that some do. To me, its a drawn-out, well-executed, only slightly modified version of a classic southern tag, with the heels maintaining control for the vast majority of the match and both Ricky and Robert playing the "face-in-peril" at different times (though, there really is no huge hot tag comeback). I think what people tend to like about this match is that it is a meat-and-potatoes offering, the Andersons working Gibson's leg and later Ricky Morton's arm, cutting off tags, and just doing all the little things right. While the cage does come into play a few times, I thought there'd be more emphasis on that element. Also, the finish is a bit underwhelming considering how dominant the Andersons are. Again, a very good classic tag match, but not something I'd consider "must see." (3/5)

After Ric Flair's glorious entrance, but before the match begins, we get a video package that is uncannily strange and funny. It is as Tim & Eric as anything I've ever seen in pro-wrestling and I'm not even sure how or why it exists as the live audience probably had no way of viewing it anyway. I'm guessing that the song that is used on The Network version is not the same one that was used in the original, but that's what makes it even more batshit insane. The video focuses on the back of a middle-aged woman followed by very poorly-shot clips of Magnum TA (I think?) running down the beach and a pelican flying. I'm not sure what this is supposed to make me feel. Is that Magnum's mom that he's running to? Why is the song about falling in love? I get that this was aired to pay tribute to Magnum TA, who was, according to rumor, slated to defeat Flair at this show had he not been involved in a terrible car accident that ended his career about a month earlier. (+1)

Main event time - Nikita Koloff comes out to challenge Flair for the gold and gets a noticeable amount of boos, his sudden face turn obviously not nearly as effective as it might've been had he fully dropped the Pro-USSR gimmick and had more time to win over the NWA fans. Flair unwisely tries to lock-up with Koloff early, who sends him to the mat with his superior strength. Flair then tries some chops in the corner, but those are ineffective too and he has to take a powder. Back to the ring he goes and back down to the mat, but when he springs up, he starts jawing - which is brilliant. Koloff hits Flair with a series of huge bodyslams and gets a big pop when he flexes for the crowd, though there is still a vocal contingent of Nature Boy supporters. Koloff applies a bearhug and Flair's selling is masterful, the agony coming out in moans and groans and distorted facial expressions. Flair finally gets some offense in with a vertical suplex, but Koloff no-sells it and Flair goes back to the arena floor. Soon after, Koloff ends up on the arena floor too but gets busted open on the scaffolding. Flair doesn't get too capitalize too much, though he does get a little bit of offense in and even manages to get Koloff in the figure four for awhile. Koloff gets the visual pin after a ref bump, but then when the replacement ref shows up, Koloff accidentally levels him with a nasty clothesline, the match now completely out of control. A melee ensues as all sorts of extras come rushing to the ring and Tommy Young tells Tony Schiavone that both men have been DQ'd. The pull-apart brawl is fun, but nothing revolutionary. Obviously they wanted to keep Koloff looking strong by not having him take a pinfall or submit, but the crowd is definitely unhappy about a double DQ finish in the main event. I've read some negative reviews of this match that really take Flair to task for essentially just pinballing himself around and not really working to tell a better story than the generic Babyface Monster vs. Cowardly Heel formula. I don't find it too offensive as, while I'm a bigger Koloff fan than most, I also don't think he was as strong or as natural a babyface as guys like Sting and Luger, who would end up wrestling better versions of this match to some degree. This is Flair "wrestling a broom" and, at this time in his career, that was still more entertaining than just about anything else on the card. (3/5)


With a Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, Starrcade 86' is tough to recommend as a whole. The best moments are the little moments of cheese sprinkled throughout - namely the Bunkhouse Stampede promo and the very-poorly-redubbed Magnum TA dedication video. The main event is a good-not-great Flair match, the Big Bubba match is a lot of fun, and the opener is alright but nothing to write home about. The World Tag Team Championship match is a favorite among old school wrestling fans, but I wasn't emotionally invested enough or blown away by it. There also fans that believe the Dusty/Tully match is a gem based on nothing more than JJ Dillon and Tully's over-the-top performances, but I expected better. Had Magnum TA been able to compete, I could see him and Flair having an all-time classic, but without him on the card and with Dusty and Tully keeping things so short, this show just never got more than just okay.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Bragging Rights 2009

WWE Bragging Rights 2009

Pittsburgh, PA - October 2009

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was Randy Orton, the World Heavyweight Champion was The Undertaker, and the Unified Tag Team Champions were Chris Jericho and the Big Show. The Women's Champion was Michelle McCool, while the Divas Championship was held by Melina. The United States Championship was held by The Miz, while the Intercontinental Championship was held by his former tag partner, John Morrison. Finally, the ECW Heavyweight Championship was held by Christian. 
WWE Bragging Rights 09' begins with a video package highlighting each brand and its own superstars before we get United States Champion The Miz (representing RAW) taking on his former partner Intercontinental Champion John Morrison. I thought The Miz already had his "I Came To Play" theme, but he was still rocking the unfitting thrash entrance song at this point. The build for this match featured multiple allusions to each guy wanting to prove they were the "Shawn Michaels" of the pair while the other was the "Marty Jannetty," which helps explain the "Mizzy Jannetty" sign in the front row. While The Miz still had some holes in his game, this match features some very, very good moments as these two had considerable chemistry and weren't afraid to put the boots to each other. The crowd bites on the nearfalls and react to the big spots and, at one point, there's even a very brief-but-audible "This is Awesome" chant. While I wouldn't go that far, this match definitely has me thinking that The Miz's in-ring work was more underrated than I thought back then. The finish is a bit out-of-nowhere, but that's not a bad thing as its clean without being super decisive. (3/5)

After a short video, R-Truth and Cody Rhodes run into each other backstage and have words. The Big Show arrives and basically chases him off, stating that Team RAW's actions will speak for themselves. 

Back to the ring we go for SmackDown Women's Champion Michelle McCool, Natalya, and Beth Pheonix vs. RAW Divas Champion Melina, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly. Kim and Pheonix start things off but they don't get many minutes before McCool comes in. What's immediately noticeable about this match is just how different it is called than a women's wrestling match of today, with many of Jerry Lawler's comments coming off as particularly onerous to my ears. The in-ring work isn't all that different from something you'd get today, though Kelly Kelly definitely would've benefited from some more training based on her work here. Considering she's probably the least capable worker of the whole bunch, its surprising that she was chosen to play the Ricky Morton role (especially considering that Gail Kim was right there). Melina gets the hot tag (no surprise there) and tries to take out all of Team RAW. She rolls up Pheonix, but Nattie distracts the ref. This allows Pheonix to gain control before a melee ensues. Pheonix and Melina seem to botch a spot in the corner before the Glamazon hits her finish to end the match. There was too much screaming in this, but this wasn't too bad for what it was. (2/5)

Backstage, Triple H and Shawn Michaels give a pep talk to their Team RAW teammates. Its not bad until the final minute, when it turns into a weird DX promo and they acknowledge the camera?

The Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next in a Fatal Fourway match against CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, and Batista next. I rewatched a Batista/Kennedy match not too long ago and was pleasantly surprised; Batista might actually be one of the more underrated main eventers of his era considering how much talk there was of his limitations at the time. As soon as the bell rings, Punk attacks Mysterio, which draws the ire of the other three and leads to him getting taken out on the outside. As is very common for these matches, the action is sadly always between just two guys, a trope that has never made sense as guys are left overselling when they should be fresh. That being said, matches like this also give us great moments because guys who might not usually get much time in the ring together and the action never really lets up (for example, CM Punk superplexing Undertaker early only to get hit by a Mysterio splash a split second after). While one would expect Mysterio and Punk to take the majority of bumps, it is remarkable how game Undertaker is to take punishment - not only does he eat a superplex, but he takes a Batista spinebuster like a champ a few minutes later. After taking a knee right to the noggin from Punk, Undertaker finally gets some big offense in by dropping him with a Last Ride, but this is the Deadman at his most human, staggering and selling throughout. Batista ends up delivering a Batista Bomb to the Phenom, but Mysterio breaks up the pin after being AWOL for minutes on end. This leads to dissension between the best friends, Batista pie-facing Mysterio to the floor in retalliation and ending up chokeslammed for his efforts. Taker goes for the cover, but he takes too long to get there and Batista gets a shoulder up. Taker looks to chokeslam him again but Batista counters and they up clotheslining eachother. CM Punk tries to pin both of them but fails and gets tossed back out of the ring by Batista. Mysterio tries a crossbody but gets thrown out of the ring and onto Punk on the outside. Taker then hits Batista with a Tombstone to steal the victory. I was expecting a bit more here as this one felt a little brief - but then again, better to want more of a good thing to have too much of a bad thing. (3.5/5)

After the match, Josh Matthews interviews Mysterio and Batista and, in a very predictable non-swerve, The Animal destroys Rey with a nasty clothesline. While the turn could be seen a mile away, Batista's speech before it is excellent and I like how Rey doesn't immediately get defensive or even all that pissed. Instead, he tells Dave to take it easy, trying to talk him down. Its a turn that, while predictable, doesn't come out of the blue and makes perfect sense in real time. Good stuff. (+1)

Team SmackDown vs. Team RAW is next - the Red Brand repped by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Mark Henry, and Jack Swagger, while the Blue Brand is made up of Kane, Chris Jericho, R-Truth, Matt Hardy, Finlay, Tyson Kidd, and DH Smith. One of the stories coming into this match was that Jericho and Big Show were the WWE Tag Team Champions at the time, but aside from that, the build-up was all about brand supremacy - the same BS that we still get 10 years later. Shawn Michaels plays the face-in-peril for a lengthy stretch early on and its fun to see him mix it up with guys like Finlay and Matt Hardy, guys he never had extended rivalries with. Michaels eventually makes the hot tag to Triple H who destroys the Hart Dynasty but gets shut down by a Kane chokeslam. Kidd makes the cover, but Triple H gets his shoulder up at 2. Jericho comes in and hits a bulldog, but misses on a Lionsault, affording Triple H the chance to tag in Kofi Kingston. At this time, Kingston was tagging regularly with Mark Henry, who had not yet entered his Hall of Pain era, which is one of those things I could've sworn had happened by this point but had not (he wouldn't get the World Heavyweight Title until 2011). Big Show comes in and turns on his team when he has a chance to help launch Kingston onto Jericho and then decks Triple H, giving the Blue Brand the victory. Why didn't Big Show turn earlier and save everyone the trouble? The finish doesn't make a ton of sense, but I still kinda like it as Big Show, hell, nobody in this match should really care all that much about "brand supremacy" when just about everyone's been on both brands at some point or another at this point. Plus, from a storyline perspective, it did help build up two potential rivals for JeriShow in Henry & Kofi and DX. Like the previous match, I also kinda dig that this one didn't run too long. (2.5/5)

Main event time - John Cena vs. Randy Orton in a 1-Hour Anything Goes Ironman Match. The pre-match video package is excellent for this as it really goes through most of their history and makes it clear that this is more than just a WWE Championship match, it is the final clash between two longtime rivals (even though this would not really be prove to be true). Orton was 29 years young at this time, looking a little thinner and smaller than he does now - though that may also be because, today, the average WWE Superstar is smaller than they were 10 years ago. Cena comes out to a generally positive review. While he's considerably more over now, the dueling "Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks" a distant memory, he wasn't nearly as controversial in 09' as he was in 06' and, in some ways, it wasn't unless he was up against "indie darlings" like Punk, Bryan, and Kevin Owens that he really drew much of the crowd's wrath. At the 5 minute mark, Cena locks Orton in an STF and Orton instantly taps - a nice bit of psychology. At the 10 minute mark, the Viper ties it up, playing possum and hitting Cena with an RKO when Cena attempts a 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Orton takes over from there, bashing Cena with a variety of weapons after sending him into the guardrail. Cena gets some color, which is surprising considering that 09' is definitely well within the "PG Era." Despite the blood, Cena rallies around the 16 minute mark - but when he attempts an Attitude Adjustment, Orton counters it into an RKO and both guys are rewarded a pin because they both had an arm over the other. Credit where its due, I'm not sure I'd seen that before in an Iron Man match. Orton tries to spear Cena in the corner, but Cena dodges and Orton hits the post. Cena then positions him on the top rope and hits a Super AA for 3 at the 20 minute mark. At this point, Legacy shows up and puts the boots to Cena during the "rest period." I think some would nitpick them not coming out sooner, but I kinda like the idea of Legacy not showing up until Orton was down and Orton recognizing that the element of surprise would be key and crucial. Orton ties things up after the beatdown, but Kofi KIngston shows up and runs off the Legacy before he can actually take the lead. Cena and Orton brawl their way towards the stage and we get a rigged mini-explosion followed by Orton sending Cena through a lightning grid - a spot that looked significantly cooler and more realistic. Orton covers and Cena is unable to kick out, selling the devastation. Orton then returns to the pyrotechnic table and sets off a number of fireworks - which doesn't quite make sense considering this is the last match of the night (so there shouldn't be all that many fireworks left to set off). By this point, Cena has crawled onto the stage. Orton strikes him with a chair and then Orton, like the maniacal villain he is, attempts to blow him up by setting off a number of fireworks - which Cena rolls away from. It might be the most dastardly, old school cartoon villain thing I've ever seen in wrestling (and I've seen a ton of wrestling). Its also remarkable that this is only halfway through the match as this is definitely the sort of thing that would qualify as a "death blow." As the match continues, there are no moments quite as inspired as this - but there are still some pretty nifty moments, including a hangman DDT from the apron onto the floor that gives Orton the 5-4 lead (after Cena had miraculously tied the match with an inside cradle), Orton trying to stall by putting huge distances between himself and Cena (which would've been an even more clever tactic for the last 5 minutes, rather than the last 20), and Cena mercilessly sending Orton through the timekeeper area. Down by 1, Cena gets a huge pop for giving Orton an Attitude Adjustment through a table to tie things up. Considering Cena had his fair share of boos when he came out, its really amazing how, over the course of this match, he is able to get over as the underdog enough for his comeback to get such a huge response. With 8 minutes left, Cena slides a table into the ring and then has to carry Orton from the wreckage into the ring, a very impressive show of strength that does betray the exhaustion that Cena should be selling. Cena tries to legdrop Orton through the table, but Orton moves and Cena goes crashing through it, the match still tied with just 4 minutes left. With 3 minutes left, Cena inadvertently knocks out the referee and then gets hit with an RKO! Another ref shows up, but Cena somehow kicks out due to the lapse in time. Orton takes out the second ref (Charles Robinson), which is kind of excusable considering that the match should arguably be 6-5. Orton goes for a punt, but Cena dodges and with less than a minute left, Cena locks in the STF! Orton taps as the clock winds down in a very dramatic ending. Overall, this felt like an absolute feud-ender and, for the most part, did actually serve that purpose. Even though they'd square off again on RAW 2 months later and, again, 2 months after that (not sure if these were dark matches or not, but I don't think they were), the fact is, they really didn't wrestle all that many times, 1-on-1, after their 2009 series. Still, like most Iron Man Matches, it is almost impossible to recommend devoting 60 minutes of your life to this one match. Its not necessarily slow at any point, there are some genuinely awesome moments, and while it throws realism out the window within the first 10 minutes, the story of the match makes relative sense and builds well. But 60 minutes is 60 minutes and a match has to be near flawless to feel like a "must watch" - which is my number one criteria for a 4-star match. (3.5/5)


I wasn't expecting to enjoy this show too much, but was pleasantly surprised by what the WWE produced here. The main event was imperfect, but very, very good - especially considering the stipulation, which demands a lot from the viewer. The Team SmackDown/Team RAW match was also better than I though it would be going in. While it lacked the crazy multi-man spots and finisher-spamming sequences that these matches are now practically guaranteed to have, we still got some interesting exchanges and, maybe best of all, the match didn't overstay its welcome or serve as just the lame "DX spotlight" that I feared it would be. The Fatal Fourway for the World Heavyweight Championship was also surprisingly brief and also quite good from beginning to end, capped off by a great heel turn out of Batista. The opener and the womens' match weren't anything too special, but didn't detract from the show either. With a Kwang Score of 3.10-out-of-5, Bragging Rights 2009 is actually one of the better main roster shows I've seen in quite awhile and not a bad way to spend a few hours if you're feeling nostalgic for this era. It certainly won't be everyone, but in my eyes, its aged better than I thought it would and kept me mostly engaged.

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