WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

Philadelphia, PA - February 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Universal Champion is Bill Goldberg, the WWE Champion is Brock Lesnar, the United States title is held by Andrade, the Intercontinental Champion is Braun Strowman, the SmackDown Women's Champion is Bayley, and Becky Lynch is the RAW Women's Champion. The RAW Tag Team Champions are the Street Profits, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions are The Miz and John Morrison, and The Kabuki Warriors are the recognized Women's Tag Team Champions.

On paper, the card for the 2020 Elimination Chamber looked...light. No Roman Reigns. No Brock Lesnar. No Bray Wyatt. No Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Bayley, or Sasha Banks. No Bobby Lashley or Drew McIntyre or Kevin Owens. If you thought the newly returned John Cena or WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg would be there, you'd be wrong on that too. This wasn't a B-level PPV, it was a C-level show with a huge set piece hanging from the rafters. Oddly, though, it is often when the WWE doesn't try to overload its card that you end up with a surprisingly solid show. The biggest question leading into this show wasn't who would win any given match - none were of real consequence - but rather whether the participants would overachieve and keep the notoriously rowdy Philly crowd happy.

The show opened up with the biggest bone that the company could throw to the ECW/RoH pro-wrestling die-hards: Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak. As one would expect, these two kept things on the mat, trading submissions and suplexes and even taking some heinous bumps to the outside. It was an intense, physical contest that told the simple story of Gulak trying to prove himself against the best technical wrestler of his generation. Unfortunately, the match paled in comparison to Bryan's more historic, more emotional battles. Gulak's arsenal was excellent and Bryan did his best to make him look like a million bucks, but at the end of the day, this story works much better when the underdog is a babyface that we want to see "go the distance" against the more established star. Look no further than what AEW has accomplished with Darby Allin to see the difference. Allin has been riding a huge wave of popularity by standing toe-to-toe with not only AEW's top heels, but also by proving his mettle against company posterboy Cody Rhodes. Gulak proved he was tough and talented, but I didn't find myself liking him any more after the match than I did before. Bryan's clean win was the right call to make as he continues to be the company's best utility player, but when it was all said and done, no matter how good this match was, I was still far more eager to learn who Bryan will be wrestling at WrestleMania as opposed to whether or not Gulak ever gets another PPV match. I know some will call this a great match because of the technicality and Bryan's unselfishness, but this was a "Good Match for Good's Sake" if I've ever seen one and, personally, I'd rather see Bryan involved in actual storylines that are based on emotion and character, not just (admittedly terrific) grappling skills. (3/5)

Next up - the United States Champion Andrade defended his gold against Humberto Carillo. This match has been months in the making (according to the commentary and video package), but because I don't watch the weekly TV, I wasn't super interested in this match. While I really liked Andrade in NXT, I've been less impressed with his main roster run - mostly because he hasn't been given any sort of push. Against Johnny Gargano and Drew McIntyre and Roderick Strong, Andrade proved he could mix it up with a variety of opponents as he climbed the ladder, but since joining the main roster in 2018, he's been on-and-off TV and rarely given any sort of spotlight. This match was a step in the right direction as it allowed Andrade to solidify his US Title reign and gave him a decisive victory over a worker he has strong chemistry with. Unfortunately, despite his competency between the ropes, I'm just not a Carillo fan. Nothing about him screams "star" to me and, as we would find in the next match, he's probably not even among the top 5 best luchadores on the roster. This was certainly better-than-average with some nice callbacks to the genesis of this feud (which originated after Andrade dropped Carillo with a DDT [I think?] on the exposed concrete), plus the live crowd was definitely into it by the end, but I wouldn't call this a homerun. Here's hoping Andrade moves onto a feud against someone with a bit more personality. (3/5)

The first of two Elimination Chamber matches was next - The Miz and John Morrison putting the SmackDown Tag Team Championships on the line against Heavy Machinery, The New Day (Kofi and Big E), Roode and Ziggler, The Usos, and Lucha House Party. The match began with The Usos and The New Day, which was definitely the safest way to smart the match in terms of setting a pace and tone, but also the least creative. Things got much more interesting once Lucha House Party entered the match and, within minutes, attempted to steal the match with a variety of high-flying moves and at least one absolutely bonkers stunt by Lince Durado that saw him attempt to spring-board onto the Chamber's unforgiving, uncompromising wall and nearly demolish his own groin. The spot got a huge reaction from the crowd, even if it was a botch. The Miz and John Morrison were in next and occupied a strange position. Technically, they're heels, but like most anybody that returns after a lengthy hiatus, John Morrison is treated like a babyface and The Miz has inexplicably been flipped a half-dozen times in half as many years despite consistently being at his best when he's allowed to be a straight-up arrogant prick. Next in were the most over tag team in the whole match - Heavy Machinery. I'm not as high on these guys as others, but Otis has undeniable magnetism and this match finally allowed me to see how good Tucker could be - not only with his surprising agility (at one point he did a front-flip off of one of the pods to a huge pop), but also his character work and chemistry with Otis. Speaking of Otis, the less "comedy" he does the better in my eyes. The Caterpillar might pop the kiddies, but it's the type of gimmicky move that's been done to death. Even Cena stopped doing the 5 Knuckle Shuffle in every match. Here, Otis had his single best performance. His stalking of Ziggler (they're currently feuding over the hand of Mandy Rose) was intense and passionate and felt real and the audience reacted accordingly. Roode and Ziggler (especially) played their roles perfectly, showing ass and acting like cowards and drawing a ton of heat. The interactions between those two teams stole the match (despite Durado hitting an astounding shooting star press from the roof of the Chamber), which made the eventual finish a bit of a downer. Once these two teams (and the New Day) were eliminated, it came down to two teams that the audience wasn't/isn't sure how to respond to. Are the Usos heels or faces these days? I already wrote about the weird space The Miz and Morrison exist in. The pinning combination that the Miz and Morrison used to end the match was a thing of beauty, but it still wasn't enough for the champs not to feel overshadowed by Otis's departure (he essentially cost his team the match by charging through a chamber pod and onto the arena floor, leading to Tucker's elimination), Lince Dorada's crazy high-flying, and the heel work of Roode & Ziggler. Not a "must watch," but definitely a fun match. (3.5/5)

After a brief word from Nattie Neidhart, AJ Styles took on Aleister Black in a No DQ Match. This one started a little slow but got good quickly once AJ introduced a kendo stick into the mix. Styles wisely kept the pace deliberate in the early going, wisely not rushing things for a live crowd that was undoubtedly a little spent after the previous match. Black worked to set-up a table but sold leg damage the whole time, which made AJ's chair shots to Black's back and leg even more grimace-inducing. Between the big weapon strikes, Styles and Black both nailed some insane kicks and strikes too. Still, the crowd only seemed to care for individual moments with long stretches of relative silence between, a sure sign of a somewhat burnt out crowd. Even when Styles and Black start delivering their signature offense (and more) in rapid succession, the crowd barely came alive - which is a shame because both guys put on the best performances they've had in at least a year each (at least based on what I saw from them in 2019). My biggest issues with the match were its length (it did run a little long), the filthy finish, and the fact that, as the match wore on, the stipulation became less and less a part of the story, both guys opting to just use their normal offense rather than take advantage of all the "toys" at ringside. Still, put this match in front of a hotter crowd and find a way to keep The Good Brothers out of the proceedings and I'm not sure it isn't a Match of the Year candidate (though, the Undertaker's eventual arrival was an undeniably cool moment that popped the crowd huge). I'm not sure how Styles getting destroyed by Taker at two consecutive major shows (and taking the L here after an absolutely nasty Black Mass) is heating him up to challenge the Deadman, but whatever. (3/5)

The RAW Tag Team Championships were on the line next match, The Street Profits defending the gold against Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. If the crowd was comatose for the previous match, they were D-E-A-D for this. Part of the problem was that the match was overshadowed by The Undertaker's appearance, but its important to remember that last year around this time, Seth Rollins was being positioned as a true main event level act. The indifference to this match from the Philly crowd suggested that the Monday Night Messiah gimmick is not connecting with the audience or drawing much heat. The Street Profits, meanwhile, feel like a "fun team" but not one that draws sympathy from the crowd very well, an update of Cryme Tyme but without the energy change of a Shad Gaspard hot tag. The action was particularly bad, but I can't remember a single moment aside from the out-of-nowhere appearance by The Viking Raiders and Kevin Owens eventually showing up to throw popcorn in Rollins face (which led to the best spot of the match - Seth getting pounced into the barrier by a rag doll). I'm expecting that this is all leading to an Owens/Rollins 1-on-1 match, which leaves Murphy out cold, while the AOP/Raiders/Profits will probably feud among themselves for the RAW Tag Team Titles, a feud that will probably be heatless because not a single one of these teams really seems all that over. This is hamster wheel booking at its worst, nobody gaining any sort of momentum or developing new elements to their characters. I was amazed to learn the match only ran 19 minutes when it felt like at least 25. I wouldn't recommend this to even the biggest Rollins fan. (1.5/5)

Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro challenged Braun Strowman for his Intercontinental Championship in a 3-on-1 handicap match. I was expected Strowman to somehow survive this, so I was pleasantly surprised by the finish - which saw Zayn orchestrate his first IC title win. This match was the antithesis of the bout that came before it. The heels did heel things to draw heat and keep the crowd engaged. Braun Strowman, who, at one point seemed like a surefire can't miss top guy, showed he still has some presence and ability to draw in the live crowd - not by hamming it up or being goofy, but by using his power and playing his role (the angry monster) in a believable way. Did Strowman look a little stupid for agreeing to this match without reading the contract? For his tunnel-vision and the poor judgment he showed by going after Zayn and not paying enough attention to Nak and Cesaro? Sure...but the Ultimate Warrior wasn't a brainiac, Sting got fooled by Ric Flair countless times, and Braun Strowman's gimmick isn't that he's a Cerebral Assassin, its that he's a one-man wrecking machine that can literally tear apart any guy on the roster as long as he gets his hands on them. Of course, the chemistry between Zayn and Strowman shouldn't be surprising. While the commentary team have failed to bring it up, Zayn was Strowman's first major feud. Unlike the previous match, this one didn't drag either, keeping the audience's attention for its full 9 minute run-time. While this wasn't a Match of the Year contender or anything, it felt like the kind of sprint the audience needed to get re-engaged in the show. (2.5/5)

Main event time - the Women's Elimination Chamber match to decide who will face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XXXVII. Competing in this bout were three former teammates - Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan - as well as the two most dominant women in NXT history - Asuka and Shayna Baszler - and, rounding things out, Natalya. As one could've predicted, Natalya and Riott, two of the more experienced grapplers of the bunch (Riott's been working for nearly 10 years now), started things off and tried their best to win over the crowd with stiff shots and lots of pained grunts. Sarah Logan came in next and delivered an awesome running knee strike into Natalya that sent her into one of the pod walls. It was painful looking and stiff and got a huge, well-deserved response. This wouldn't be the only strong strike by Logan as she hit a knee to Natalya's face that also looked deadly. After the obligatory tower of doom spot, Shayna Baszler came in and the match became nothing more than a spotlight for the former NXT Women's Champion. Baszler came in and swiftly destroyed Riott, Logan, and even Nattie (who some might've thought would've gotten the opportunity to get a little more offense in). Baszler's dominance wasn't shocking, but what was surprising was the production team's bizarre decision to have her gloat in the ring for extended stretches instead of "working" the Chamber clock (the actual time between entrances in this and the first match were not all exactly 5 minutes by my watch). Left to just walk around the ring, Baszler seemed to run out of new ways to goad the crowd, expending way more energy than a cocky heel should. When Morgan eventually came in, Baszler destroyed her relatively quickly too, though not before swinging her by her legs into the pod wall in arguably the most vile, hardcore spot of the whole night. After dispatching Morgan (who got a huge babyface response), Baszler and Asuka spent a prolonged time jawing at each other through the glass before Asuka finally got released and we got a very brief "match" between the two. Asuka got to get some offense in, but it was still disappointing to see her have to put over Baszler so strong when she has, especially over the last few months, stepped up her game and re-established herself as the top 2 or 3 female in the company. The commentary team tried to push a (kayfabe?) shoulder injury as much as possible, but it was still somewhat disappointing to see her in the unenviable position of being slaughtered by Baszler in under 10 minutes. As a way to heat up Baszler, the match was a success and I do credit the women for trying to fit as many big, hard-hitting spots into the match as possible, but this still felt like more of an angle than a quality match. (3/5)


Despite a thin card on paper, Elimination Chamber 2020 was a modest success, effectively getting Shayna Baszler over as new top heel of the RAW Women's division, furthering the Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins storyline (which I couldn't care less about, but whatever), giving Sami Zayn a much-deserved spotlight, and adding some fuel to the AJ Styles/Undertaker feud in advance of WrestleMania XXXVI. And, if you were into some really good wrestling action, Gulak/Bryan, Styles/Black, and the Tag Team Elimination Chamber match were all good-to-great. With a Kwang Score of 2.43, I wouldn't call this a great show overall, but it had its moments...

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

NWA/WCW Starrcade 88': True Gritt

NWA/WCW Starrcade 88': True Gritt

Norfolk, VA - December 1988

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Ric Flair was enjoying his SIXTH reign as the World Heavyweight Champion, the United States Champion was Barry Windham, the Television Title was held by Mike Rotunda, the Road Warriors held the NWA World Tag Team Championships and the United States Tag Team Champions were The Fantastics. 

Starrcade 88' opens up with the United States Tag Team Champions, The Fantastics, taking on the Varsity Club's Kevin Sullivan and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. I have not seen many Fantastics matches but was definitely impressed with their tag team work. They kinda reminded me of The Rockers, a natural babyface tag team who could deliver good tandem moves and get sympathy. Dr. Death got a huge pop for his signature multi-press slam, but by the end, the crowd seemed to definitely be behind the babyfaces. Williams and Sullivan were very aggressive, their stiffness adding serious intensity and making Fulton and Rogers even more sympathetic. The match was a little bit too long for me but the crowd was into it. I also didn't care for the finish too much as it was too telegraphed after a match that felt, up until then, very "real" and organic. I'm sure there are some people who absolutely love this match, but I found it to be in that average/slightly above average range. (2.5/5)

Next up - Paul E. Dangerously's Midnight Express vs. Jim Cornette's Midnight Express. Its fun to see Cornette in babyface mode - his energy level is just off the hook, almost Ultimate Warrior-level. The crowd is red hot, which is unsurprising as Cornette's Midnight Express were such a great tag team for such a long time that the audience had realized just how talented they were and, when they stopped outwardly trying to trick and deceive babyfaces at every chance, were very easy to cheer. Its something that we see happen all the time with "cool heels" today or "indie heels" (think Kevin Owens or Randy Orton), but back then it wasn't as common because, well, the lines between face and heel were more defined and the booking and match layouts played within those boundaries. This match has lots of quick tags, some great Dangerously/Cornette stuff, and some good ol' rasslin' out of Eaton and Condrey especially - though the OG Midnights hold their own too. My biggest gripe was just the length - at 17+ minutes, this match didn't leave me wanting more. The pace was so frantic and wild at the beginning that, by minute 11-12, it feels a bit repetitive and even "phoned in," like the competitors and performers knew the feud was so hot that they could milk every moment which almost made the thing a bit bloated. Too much of a good thing, maybe? Its just one of those matches that should've and could've been an all-time classic, but doesn't get there at any time despite having all the time in the world to get there. (3.5/5)

After some words from the Varsity Club, we have another tag match - Ivan Koloff & The Junkyard Dog vs. The Russian Assassins. If the first match was average (or slight above that due to the Fantastics selling and Dr. Death being an absolute beast) and the second tag match of the night was a near-classic, this one is just a bunch of slop. JYD is over enough to keep the crowd interested, but this is definitely one of those matches that, when you watch with modern eyes, is just nothing special at all. Unlike JYD's matches with Rick Rude or Ric Flair from the 80s and early 90s, where the Dog at least had very colorful, strong foils to work against, here he's got to carry two nobodies in masks. Again, Koloff and JYD were big enough stars at this point for the crowd not to completely turn on things, but from bell-to-bell, there is very little to be impressed by. Its a 7 minute match that feels like it goes at least 12. (1/5)

Next up - Mike Rotunda defending the NWA Television Championship against his former Varsity Club stablemate, Rick Steiner. This one got 3.5 stars from the Observer back in the day and I can understand why - Steiner and Rotunda are/were legit grapplers, the crowd is absolutely hot for it, and the finish was a feel-good moment. Plus, Steiner's clotheslines are just forefingers-to-mouth mwah, super stiff and impactful and real. Unfortunately, I didn't watch this "in the moment" when the Steiner/Varsity Club was red hot and this match was the culmination of a months-long feud. I watched this cold and felt it was a bit tedious, not an uncommon adjective for a Mike Rotunda match. Plus, by this point, the NWA had had so many TV Titles match go the full 20-minute time limit that by minute 15, it was fairly obvious that we were either going to get a non-finish or that we wouldn't get one for another 4:57. There is a bit of a shocking moment when the time limit expires and the referee restarts the match after freeing Kevin Sullivan from his cage, so at least they give some variation on the formula, but still, if they had made this a 15-minute match and done the same finish, maybe it would've had more urgency? As it is, minutes 3-19 just don't seem all that different, even if Steiner's big clotheslines look like they might take Rotunda's head off. A hot finish does not a good match make. (1.5/5)


Bam Bam Bigelow challenges Barry Windham for his United States Championship in the next match. This one is a bit weird because Windham was a Horseman, which would make one believe he was the heel, but Bigelow, despite being a babyface in the WWF in 87' and upon debuting in WCW, just isn't nearly as over with the crowd as one might expect. I think there's just something about Bigelow's look that made him a natural heel, PLUS Windham actually takes the brunt of the offense in the early going, meaning that he's the one drawing sympathy from the Virginia crowd - who may have also seen Bigelow as a "WWF Guy" and Windham as the NWA's resident monster. The first two-thirds of the match are not great as these two just can't seem to find a rhythm. Towards the end, Bigelow inexplicably allows Windham out of a would-be pinfall victory, something that looks like a miscue but is played up on commentary as just a flat-out act of cockiness. In other words, the opposite of what a babyface should do. Bigelow goes to the top rope and misses his big splash and Windham rallies, the crowd in full support of the Horseman. If this was designed to be a double-turn, it would've gone down as one of the all-time great ones, but I don't think it was. Windham ends up winning via countout - another bizarre twist in an overall odd match that might even be worth if a view...if it wasn't at least 5-6 minutes too long. Another disappointing bout. (1.5/5)

The NWA World Tag Team Championships are on the line next with The Road Warriors defending the titles against Dusty Rhodes and Sting. Again, my lack of knowledge of the storyline building up to this match kind of blurred things for me and probably made it less special because, reading up on it, the Warriors turn on Dusty Rhodes was a huge deal at the time. Unfortunately, as attention-grabbing as it was, the Norfolk crowd is still split and Dusty gets the smallest pop of anyone in the match. As one would expect, this is a wild, fast-paced brawl with lots of big signature spots out of all four men. There's also a ton of no-selling because everyone involved was kind of known for shrugging off moves and firing up rather than actually bumping or registering damage. Still, at least it isn't boring - which is more than I can say for the previous match, which had no real reason to stretch beyond 15 minutes. This match, on the other hand, would've been something special if they had developed some sort of finish and not the BS disqualification that ends things after 10 minutes. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Lex Luger challenging "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This is Ric Flair in 88', in Norfolk, against a mega-over Lex Luger at a time when Luger was still hungry, motivated, and probably more willing than ever to get led through a match rather than play any "get my shit in" politics or nervous about how he would look in a loss. In other words, the recipe is right for an all-time classic and this match is that. While I'm not going to rate it as high as Flair's masterpieces against Steamboat and Funk from around this same era (which are flawless affairs), it is not that far from it. Some reviewers have called it the textbook "Flair vs. Power Wrestler" match and that's both a knock against it for being prototypical and formulaic and also a compliment to how successful the formula was (Flair  relied on it for years and years to come, including against Hulk Hogan in 94'). That summary also is a bit of a disservice to Luger, who gets a ton of mileage out of his intensity, emotions, and underrated ability to believably go from selling knee damage to no-selling anything based on adrenaline. Its easy to see, watching this match, why Luger was slated to be The Next Big Thing. This match is smoother than their WrestleWar 90' match, but also stretches a bit longer and I wasn't a huge fan of Luger's long dominant stretch at the start. Fortunately, Flair is brilliant throughout, even if his strategy - which involves a lot of stalling, taunting, and cowardice - doesn't necessarily make for a non-stop, action-packed match. The finish of the match is what put things over the top for me and nudges it into rarefied territory. With Flair reeling, Luger attempts a Torture Rack but the damage to the knee (at one point Flair was even able to use a chair on it behind the ref's back - which played beautifully to the extra stip that, if Flair was DQ'd, he would lose the title) is too much and Flair ends up covering him with extra leverage from the ropes! It is an unclean, classic heel finish - but, unlike many of the big matches that feature dirty finishes from NWA in the 80s, it wasn't overbooked with run-ins and extra bullshit! It is just Flair straight-up outsmarting Luger and the ref and leaving with the gold. (4.5/5)



With a Kwang Score of 2.42-out-of-5, Starrcade 88' is a two-match show - but the two matches are, arguably, two of the best bouts of the decade. I'm not as high on the Midnights vs. Midnights match as others, but I also didn't live through the feud growing up, meaning I was considerably less emotionally invested as the fans in the building (who went absolutely insane for nearly every second of the match). I enjoyed the main event considerably more, likely because of the undeniable awesomeness of Ric Flair in the late 80s. Anyone seeking a Ric Flair showcase but wary of actually sitting down for a 40-60 minute epic against Ricky Steamboat should look no further than this match, which is considerably better than Flair's matches against Dusty Rhodes (and, I'd argue, better than the Starrcade 83' match against Harley Race). Speaking of Dusty Rhodes, his tag match (with Sting) against the Road Warriors is fun for what it is, but really nothing else on this show is worth checking out.

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

NXT Takeover: Portland

NXT Takeover: Portland

Portland, OR - February 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Adam Cole was the NXT Champion, the North American Championship was held by Keith Lee, and the NXT Women's Champion is Rhea Rhipley. The NXT Tag Team Champions were The Undisputed Era, while the Cruiserweight Champonship was held by Jordan Devlin (who I, admittedly, could not pick out of a lineup with a gun to my head). 

After an annoying and unnecessary performance from I Disagree, Keith Lee defended his NXT North American Championship against longtime rival Dominik Dijakovic. The rivalry between these two began even before they were in NXT so you had to know that they would absolutely kill it on their biggest showcase yet. This was an easy Match of the Year candidate, Lee and Dijakovic both delivering the goods. Lee is a mega-star waiting to happen, a 300-pound monster that is inexplicably easy to get behind as a vulnerable babyface. It is a strange mix that strikes me as almost Hulk Hogan-esque at times, his fiery comebacks just the right level of over-the-top hokeyness. Dijakovic's strikes are brutal, but what was most surprising about him was his daredevil high-flying. I'm not usually a fan of 7-footers taking to the air and I'd hate to see Dijakovic overdo it, but in this match it worked because Dijakovic and Lee's history dictated that each guy was going to have come up with the biggest, most innovative offense of their careers to get the victory. My only gripe was the finish, which seemed just a touch out-of-nowhere after so many better sequences - including a devastating pounce from Lee that sent Dijakovic neck-first into the second turnbuckle, Dijakovic performing a somersault senton from the top rope to a seated Lee on the outside, and a bevy of clotheslines that would make JBL cringe. (4/5)

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox competed next in a Street Fight. Before the bell could even ring, Kai was on the attack, but Nox took control soon after. They didn't waste anytime getting to the weapons either, the crowd very happy to see Nox pull out a table within the first 2 minutes. Like the previous match, what really stuck out was the chemistry between these two as they went all-out trying to steal the show. Early on, Nox hit an insane german suplex on Kai into a trash can. Kai and Nox then traded more offense on the apron before taking the action back into the ring where Nox attempted to end Kai with a running kick on a chair. Kai escaped, though, and ended up delivering a kick of her own that sent the chair into Nox's face. Out of the ring, Kai duct-taped Nox to the bottom rope and then destroyed her with a series of big boots to the face. Like the Kabuki Warriors/Lynch & Charlotte match from TLC in December, this match was not brutal "for a women's match," it was brutal and violent and riveting, period. After hitting a Shining Wizard that looked like it could've ended the match, Nox opted to grab a table to deliver more punishment, putting the chair around Kai's neck. Nox went to the top rope to try to end Kai's career, but before she could come off the top, Raquel Gonzalez made her debut, sending Nox into the table with a double chokeslam! As the table didn't break, Nox looked like she might've straight up died. Kai made the cover and Gonzalez got back into the ring to raise her arm in victory. It was a somewhat perplexing debut as Kai played it like she had no idea who Gonzalez was or why she had interfered, but it has me intrigued about where this angle is going. I don't think this one will crack my Top 5 of the year, but I could see it landing somewhere in the Top 10 - especially as I become less and less enthralled with the matches we see from the main roster. (4/5)

Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano took place next. The genesis of this match was actually several months ago when Balor turned heel on the WWE Universe and attacked Gargano. Unfortunately, Gargano suffered a legit injury that kept these two from squaring off at the previous Takeover show (and ultimately led to Balor facing Matt Riddle instead, I believe). Despite being the heel, Balor got a sizable pop from the Portland audience. Balor and Gargano traded grappling maneuvers early, which was a nice way to differentiate this from the matches that came before it. There was a duel "Johnny Wrestling/Let's Go Finn" chant which is a bit disappointing as Balor has definitely tweaked his character to be more heelish and less likable, even adapting his entrance to be less showy. Another minor detail I enjoyed was Gargano's trunks and boots, the black-and-red palette a clear reference to Balor's Demon character (almost as if to say that Gargano has assumed Balor's mantle of being NXT's all-time greatest performer). The tightly-packed sequences got a little looser once the two made their way into the floor and Balor took over. Balor working at a deliberate half-speed is still a faster pace than the wrestling I grew up with, but its a noticeable change for him and I appreciate it. I also liked the attention to limbwork by both guys as Gargano sought to prepare Balor for the Gargano Escape as Balor worked to go after Johnny Wrestling's historically vulnerable knee by delivering a very painful-looking leg screw on the top rope and then a stomp-to-the-back-of-the-knee minutes later. Balor eventually applied a deathlock that Gargano fought out of by delivering some nasty strikes to Finn's face, the crowd once again erupting into dueling chants. After a flurry of offense, Gargano attempted a tope to the outside - pausing momentarily to shake out his leg (a nice attention to detail I feel like we rarely see out of guys like Adam Cole or Seth Rollins) - but Balor blocked it only to get rammed into the steps. Gargano followed it up with a somersault splash to the floor and a then a slingshot spear for 2. I wish he actually had some Ws with that move as it was impossible to bite on that nearfall despite the impact. Gargano attempted a powerslam, but after a series of reversals, got drilled to the mat for another nearfall that was never going to end the match (it also didn't help that Gargano looked like he was just waiting to kickout at 2 when he could've raised a shoulder at 1). Moments later, Gargano attempted a slingshot DDT, but Balor escaped - only to get lawn darted into the corner! That move should be a game-ender, but Balor quickly recovered and we got a series of kicks and counters resulting in another nearfall. Gargano and Balor started duking it out on the apron, only for Gargano to attempt another slingshot spear. Balor countered it and attempted a Coup De Gras across the top rope, but Gargano moved in the nick of the time and delivered the slingshot DDT for 2. Again, the execution and impact was there, but the match had become a formulaic string of bomb-throwing signature offense, each sequence foreshadowing (or telegraphing) the next big spot. Now, that's not to say there weren't some great spots - including Gargano hitting a double-dropkick on Balor into the guardrail - but even Gargano's decision to bring the announcer's table into the match was lifted entirely from Gargano's previous feuds with Ciampa and Cole, where things had gotten so personal that Gargano had to question his own ethical limits. Gargano wrestling 20-minute epics has become his shtick, a gimmick just as easy to get tired of as being a wrestling plumber or ex-convict. The live crowd clearly adored this match and I enjoyed the first third of this match quite a bit, with extra nods to Balor's subtle heel work and the execution throughout...but by the end of, this felt a like a brand new rerun. (3.5/5)

Bianca Belair challenged Rhea Rhipley for the NXT Women's Championship in the next match. I'm a bigger Belair fan than Rhipley fan, but I'm not blind to the fact that Rhipley is the more polished and popular worker and that this match was mostly about solidifying her relatively short reign. That being said, Belair was not without her fans and while I know they've often sided her with the heels, she is so naturally charismatic and good at selling that she has a much brighter future as a babyface than she does as a heel. While I thought Belair's match against Shayna Baszler told a better story (partially because Baszler is/was so over as a despicable heel that Belair being the underdog was bought wholesale by the audience), this was still an excellent showing for both women and the NXT women's division as a whole. Going back to 2016, the division has been built around huge, larger-than-life figures like Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and Shayna Baszler with definable, credible selling points to the audience. Rhipley and Belair didn't have built-in audiences to support their push or this match, but they knocked it out of the park anyway. There were some nasty spots - including Rhipley getting back-body-dropped out of the ring and looking like she might've broken both ankles on her landing - and some very hard hits, but they also didn't overdo it with nearfalls or put together too many needless, overtly choreographed sequences. This match felt like a competition and even some of the rockier moments came off as organic rather than botches. A very, very good match with a nice post-match moment from Charlotte Flair to build up to WrestleMania. (3.5/5)

The NXT Tag Team Championships were on the line next as Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly defended the straps against the Broserweights - Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne. Before the match, Riddle led the crowd in a little tongue twister. I've seen some call it stupid and others call it funny and I guess I'm in the middle. It wasn't Richard Pryor in 76', but on this show - which had not really had any humor up to this point or very many backstage segments - I thought it was a nice break from the seriousness of the action and the live crowd ate it up. As Riddle and Dunne had their fun, Fish and O'Reilly sprinted down the aisle and the two teams brawled for a little while before the match even started. From there, this was everything one would've expected - both good and bad. There were some great double-team maneuvers, some absolutely nasty kicks and stomps and knees to the head, and the crowd was insanely into it from beginning to end. On the flip side, there were also stretches that were so loaded with moves that nobody bothered to register or sell long enough for it to matter. At one point, Kyle O'Reilly took two consecutive fall-to-the-ropes-bounce-back-into-eating-another-strike spots, which came off as just too cartoonish for me. Still, an undeniably good match that those invested in NXT liked even more due to its "feel good" ending. Personally, I don't think Riddle and Dunne have the same underdog, fan favorite appeal as, say, Bayley did in 2015, but few ever have so I can see why this would be considered a "big moment" to an NXT die-hard even if I didn't get misty-eyed or anything. I'm also not sure if I might've liked this even more if it had been the opener and Lee/Dijakovic had been in this slot - the fact is, by this point in the show, we'd seen some really, really good wrestling and this one didn't offer anything all that different than what came before it. Not a "must see" match to me, but close. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Tommaso Ciampa challenging Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. I've been vocal about my distaste for Cole and I've always found Ciampa to be a much better heel than face so I was not super excited about this match but I must admit that I enjoyed it more than the overly dramatic Cole/Gargano series. The pace of this wasn't quite as non-stop as the previous bout, but I still feel like this was just too fast with too little long-term selling. I loved the sequences and spots where Cole targeted Ciampa's surgically-repaired neck and that theme absolutely connected with the crowd, who gasped audibly when Cole delivered a reverse wheelbarrow suplex on Ciampa into the edge of an announce table. Unfortunately, by the time Cole got around to targeting the neck with submissions and his finishing move - The Last Shot - that thread was all but forgotten and Ciampa looked no worse for wear than he had at any other point in the match. To me, this would've been a far more interesting match if Ciampa had wrestled most of it from so far underneath that things were 90-10, almost reminiscent of the Lesnar/Cena slaughter at SummerSlam 2015, when Cena was just absolutely decimated but at least got to kickout of a couple german suplexes. Here, Ciampa suffered the kind of damage that should've and could've literally paralyzed him...but still got to land all his big offense and, at one point, take out the entire Undisputed Era single-handed. Like I've said for every major Cole match of the past year, its impossible to just call this match "average" because, in terms of execution and precision and crowd response, there was nothing "average" here. Still, nothing here felt fresh or different or made me any more interested in the NXT title picture - which, at one point, featured a far more varied group of champions and challengers, including innovative, colorful high-flyers (Balor and Andrade), heavyweight badasses (Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens), and stiff strikers (Shinsuke Nakamura and Aleister Black). Cole, Ciampa, and Gargano are phenomenal talents - but their matches blur together even if that big blur is objectively action-packed and loaded with insane bumps. Speaking of Gargano, his heel turn was the worst part of an otherwise well-crafted show, just an absolute creative dead-end that has rightfully been criticized widely by fans online. The first time Gargano turned heel it yielded very little in terms of great matches or character work and I don't expect anything better from it a year or two later. (3/5)


I've written it countless times about the main roster - that the talent level is so high that it has basically become like the old wrestling sim Extreme Warfare: Revenge with the difficulty level set at "Easy." You can map out the names of every roster on any of the three rosters, throw two darts, and potentially get a 5-star match. Unfortunately, while the talent level is high, all three bands have suffered from stagnated "creative," a lack of fresh feuds and storylines, the errant belief that the "perfect show" is one where every match is an epic and every performer should be trying to "steal the show" at all times. This show benefited tremendously from featuring a handful of performers who haven't yet been overexposed - namely Keith Lee, Tegan Nox, and Dakota Kai - but the main event, Gargano/Balor, and even the NXT Tag Team Championship match felt like the product of a computer algorithm designed to randomly generate "great matches." Based on the crowd responses, it was clear that the live audience was on the edge of their seat for most every match, but watching it at home, I almost felt fatigued by the go-go-go style of nearly every match. With a Kwang Score of 3.58-out-of-5, this will still probably stand as the best WWE/NXT show of the year match-for-match. Again, the level of action and insane wrestling is very high. Still, I miss the variety and pacing of a show that ebbs-and-flows rather than one where one arguably gets "too much of a good thing." Or maybe I'm just getting old.

FINAL RATING - Watch It

WWE Royal Rumble 2020

WWE Royal Rumble 2020

Houston, TX - January 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE Championship was held by Brock Lesnar, while the Universal Championship was held by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. The Intercontinental Champion was Shinsuke Nakamure, the US Champion was Andrade "Cien" Almas, the 24/7 Champion was Mojo Rawley, the RAW Women's Champion was Becky Lynch, and the SmackDown Women's Champion was Bayley. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The New Day, while the RAW Tag Team titles were held by Seth Rollins and Murphy. 

Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin was the opener for this year's edition of the Royal Rumble. This was a Falls Count Anywhere match and they didn't waste any time exploiting that stipulation, brawling all over the baseball stadium, including on the dugout towards the end. This wasn't a terrible match and the live crowd was definitely popping for the big moves - but watching on TV, it just didn't pop off the screen. In fact, I'd rate it considerably lower than the Bobby Lashley/Braun Strowman match from a couple months back, which seemed just a touch more unpredictable and, because the performers were certainly hoping their efforts might nudge them closer to a legit main event push, felt more urgent and meaningful. These two have been feuding for months and the output just hasn't been good enough to make me sit back and want to see this match - especially a 30-minute version. Roode, Ziggler, and the Usos made cameos, but that was too be expected. The most shocking thing about the match was the finish, which saw Reigns get a clean, decisive win. Here's hoping that this signals the end of this feud and the "Baron Corbin As Top Heel" experiment - but there's nothing the WWE has done over the past year that would make me think that was the case. Not a bad match and maybe even a better match that I'm giving it credit for, but I wasn't blown away by any moment of it and thought it overstayed its welcome by a good 4-5 minutes. (2.5/5)

I was definitely surprised to see the Women's Royal Rumble as the second match of the show. Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair started things off and both went on to have some exceptional moments.  Bliss's run was particularly nice considering that, since suffering a series of injuries (and concussions?), she's been noticeably de-pushed despite remaining very over and, arguably, one of the more beloved babyfaces not named Becky Lynch. Belair, meanwhile, got to showcase her strength by eliminating a ton of other competitors. Her match against Shayna Baszler in 2019 was one of my absolute favorites of the year so I was glad to see her get some spotlight. Other great moments included Mandy Rose being rescued by Otis, some nice main roster "debuts" in Chelsea Green and Mercedes Martinez, and the unexpected return of Naomi, who got a nice "welcome back" pop from the Houston crowd. Unfortunately, Naomi, who came in with a full head of steam and executed an awesome near-elimination leap from the steps onto the barricade, wasted too much time just standing on an announce table and not re-entering the match for me. I also didn't like seeing "Santina" in the match - at this point, with Women's Wrestling and the Women's Championship scenes being more intriguing and exciting than anything the men are doing - there's just no need to make "call backs" to when men in drag were deemed better options to win women's battle royals than actual women. Thankfully, Santina eliminating himself seemed to suggest that there was a bit of "meta-commentary" going on there. Still, Santina's spot could've gone to any number of women who were not featured - including, most notably, Sasha Banks and, to a lesser extent, Nia Jax, who many expected to return at the show. Speaking of talent that were expected to return, it was heavily rumored all over the internet that Ronda Rousey would likely be returning at the Rumble and winning the thing - and while I was hoping for that outcome, to me, its silly to criticize a Royal Rumble match for who was not in it (especially when there was absolutely no indication that Rousey would be in the match). Now, that's not always the case. In 2014, the WWE seemed to go out of their way to keep things murky about Daniel Bryan appearing the Rumble (he didn't, despite wrestling earlier on the show, and the crowd famously turned on the match). With Rousey being off-screen for so long, it was always just a rumor - and not even one the WWE really acknowledged as a possibility. ANYWAY...by the time we got to our final 3 - Baszler, Pheonix, and Charlotte - I was pulling for Baszler, but confident that Charlotte would get the nod. If anything, though, it strikes me that this actually looks like an even more likely clue that Rousey will be back sooner than later. Last year, Flair was the spoiler that inserted herself into the Becky/Rousey match and, this year, I'm guessing it will be Rousey in that role. Its not how I would book things (I personally think Rousey/Lynch in a 1-on-1 match is the better option), I'm not surprised that Charlotte has once again found herself in the winner's circle and potential closing match of a WrestleMania. All in all, a good-not-great Rumble that fans will be overly harsh on because they've grown a bit tired of Charlotte's favorable booking and were "robbed" of a big surprise they actually had no reason to expect was coming their way. (3/5)

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship followed. I liked the pre-match character work out of Bayley, but this match just did not seem to capture the crowd, which is a shame because it wasn't terrible. In my estimation, the big issue here is that SmackDown and RAW have both been ice cold for months now and, sadly, that means that the majority of the characters and feuds on these shows are also ice cold. Bayley's heel turn should've been a big story in 2019 and Bayley has definitely worked hard to change up her look and even some of her in-ring style to match the new persona - but 2 + 2 is just not adding up to 4 and I think it has much to do with the context. Evans, meanwhile, should be an easy-to-root-for babyface, but she's too freshly turned to have the crowd truly behind her. Here's hoping the WWE reshuffles the deck heading into WrestleMania as there are some better options to challenge Bayley - namely workers like Bliss, Nikki Cross, and some of the other women featured in the Rumble who got much stronger reactions than either Bayley or Evans did in this match. And, again, where was Sasha Banks? An average match that came off even lower than that due to a tepid crowd. (1.5/5)

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defended his WWE Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan in a Strap Match next. This was not your usual strap match - where a winner is declared when a wrestler tags all four corners - but it wasn't your standard singles contest either as both Bryan and Wyatt used the strap to constantly up the ante and deliver the brutality. As has become standard, Daniel Bryan worked a minor miracle in bringing the crowd from a little bit of a lull to a frenzy. Wyatt, to his credit, cut off Bryan with some basic-but-well-executed monster moves. While I wouldn't call this Wyatt's best match ever (I'm partial to the Wyatt/Shield six-mans and even some of Bray's battles with Cena and Reigns), it was a definite improvement from the bouts he put on with Seth Rollins a couple months back. My biggest gripe was the finish. While I understand the reasoning behind keeping The Fiend as strong, I still expected something a little bit more dramatic than the "outta nowhere" result that basically saw Daniel Bryan walk into a finish that, and I'm admittedly being a bit nitpicky here, didn't even play into the strap situation (which they had actually done a nice job of making a focal point of the match for most of the match). I don't see this one cracking my Top 10 of the year come December, but it wasn't terrible. (3/5)

The RAW Women's Championship was next - Becky Lynch defending the title against Asuka. Like some of the other singles matches on this show, this one was given ample time and the pre-match video did a nice job of going through their rivalry. Also like the previous match on the show, this one was good - but not truly great or "must-see." As over as Becky Lynch is, she's still not the same caliber worker as Charlotte or even Sasha Banks, her moves not super smooth, her timing not super precise. What Lynch (and Bayley, at her babyface best) is able to do is get sympathy and fire-up with the best of em' and it was in these moments that she shined. Asuka was her usual self and took at least one absolutely nasty bump - a belly-flop from the apron onto the arena floor - but I would've liked to see a little bit more treachery from her and her Kabuki Warrior teammate. The match's final third heaped on the dramatics as Becky Lynch took a devastating kick to the head and the referee nearly called her out of the match. It was an interesting and mildly tone-deaf "swerve" considering that, just last month, Kairi Sane suffered a legitimate concussion (not to mention the injury suffered by Desmond Wolfe the night before on the Worlds Collide show). What saved things was the actual finish, which saw Becky Lynch counter Asuka's mist attack by straight-up kicking her in the gut and then locking her up in the Disarmer. (3/5)

Main event time - the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble! A couple weeks back, Brock Lesnar announced that he would be entering #1 and would proceed to toss out 29 other men - and he almost did just that, eliminating over a dozen guys (and most of them in rapid sequence). I read some live bloggers' takes and they just didn't "get it." The minute Lesnar announced that this was his plan, you had to know that this is exactly what would happen for at least the first 6-7 entrants. And, honestly, I was entertained by Lesnar's dominance. Brock Lesnar is currently the single biggest star on the roster - male or female - and he should dominate. Plus, it wasn't like there wasn't some inventive and clever twists on Lesnar steamrolling through dudes. One could argue that guys like Shelton Benjamin and Big E were made to look foolish or unimpressive (and they undoubtedly were), but Keith Lee got some time to shine, MVP's return put a smile on my face, and seeing Kofi and Rey team-up to try to take out the Beast was a solid bookend to their 2019 feuds with him. When Lesnar finally did go - eliminated via Claymore by eventual Rumble winner, Drew McIntyre, it felt like a big deal and a star-making moment. I'm far from the biggest Drew McIntyre fan and I remain a HUGE skeptic on his long-term main event potential (heel or face), but this was definitely a good first step in re-establishing him as a top guy after absolute dogshit runs as sidekick to Dolph Ziggler and Shane McMahon. Elsewhere in the Rumble, we saw the return of the Rated-R Superstar, Edge, which was a big shocker despite prevalent rumors that he'd be coming back dating back to at least November. The crowd loved seeing him and it was nice to see him actually last awhile in the Rumble (making it into the final 3), unlike John Morrison and MVP (who were tossed out by Lesnar like complete nobodies). I would've liked to see a little bit more storyline advancement in this match; the Royal Rumble match is one of the rare opportunities to the WWE has each year where they are almost guaranteed to have millions of eyeballs on their product for a full hour. Why not kickstart more big angles beyond just what is happening with the WrestleMania main event (and, this year, Edge vs. Orton)? Coming out of the Rumble, the Owens & Joe vs. Rollins & Company feud isn't really any hotter, nor is anything involving Rey/Andrade/Carillo/Garza (a storyline that has seemingly been thrust into overdrive on RAW). For whatever reason, the Lashley/Rusev feud was kept off the show entirely - which is bonkers considering how prominent it has been featured on TV. I know Mania is months away, but the Rumble gives the WWE its best possible chance to develop interesting new storylines for their biggest show of the year and this one just didn't deliver. Still, from beginning to end, thanks to some brilliant work out of Lesnar for the first half of the match, it was undeniably entertaining and the finish did give us something fresh and exciting. Better than average, but not an all-time classic. (3/5)


The 2020 Royal Rumble was a solid, but not great show, as reflected by its right-near-the-middle Kwang Score of 2.67-out-of-5. While the Men's Royal Rumble started off hot, Lesnar's elimination ended up being its peak with nothing interesting or intriguing after it. The Women's Rumble was fine, but because the previous two editions involved huge twists - the debut of Ronda Rousey and an injured Becky Lynch forcing her way into the match - the fact that this was a more straight-forward edition made it seem less remarkable. The Bryan/Wyatt feud wasn't a Match of the Year candidate, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Ditto for the Corbin/Reigns opener. I didn't love the overbooking in Asuka/Lynch, but the match was still better than average. All in all, not a show I see myself ever re-watching, but I don't think I'd say that about anything the WWE has put on over the past 2-3 years. 

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

WWE Survivor Series 1998: Deadly Game

WWE Survivor Series 98': Deadly Game

St. Louis, MO - November 1998

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE World Championship was vacant, the Intercontinental Championship was held by Ken Shamrock, the European Champion was X-Pac, Christian was the Light Heavyweight Champion, Mankind was the Hardcore Champion (though I'm not sure how often that title was even being defended at this point), and the Women's Championship was held by Jacqueline. The New Age Outlaws were the WWE World Tag Team Champions.

This show probably deserves more of a backstory than I can necessarily give it - its been a long, long time since 1998. In the summer of that year, Steve Austin was at his babyface peak and had been feuding extensively with The Undertaker, Kane, Mankind, and, more than anyone else, Vince McMahon. Throughout the summer and early fall, McMahon worked tirelessly to wrest the WWE Championship from Austin (which he'd won by defeating and essentially retiring Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV), stacking the odds against him at every subsequent PPV. Eventually, this led to the WWE Championship being vacated and put up in a one-night-tournament at Survivor Series (hence the subtitle "Deadly Game"). Going into the show, I remember knowing that Austin would somehow get screwed - I mean, he wasn't going to go into WrestleMania XV as the champion - but there was definitely question about who would win the title? Austin was coming off a lengthy rivalry with The Undertaker, so he seemed improbable. They'd built up Ken Shamrock by giving him the King of the Ring win in the spring and then the Intercontinental Championship...but he never really got over to the extent he needed to to be a legit WrestleMania main eventer. Mankind had "gone corporate" in the build to the show, but was an obvious red herring. According to JR's commentary, Triple H was recuperating from knee surgery - though I'm not sure if that was kayfabe or not. People talk about the WWE being overloaded with talent during the Attitude Era, but its important to remember that, for most of 98', the battle with WCW was still raging and guys like Triple H and The Rock weren't main eventers yet. It really wasn't until at least a year later, with the arrival of guys like Big Show, Jericho, and the meteoric rise of Kurt Angle (as well as the envelope-pushing Edge & Christian/Hardys feud of late 99' and January 2000 arrival of the Radicalz) that the WWE's depth chart became deeper than WCW's. In late 98', WCW's roster was inarguably stronger than the WWE's - and this show's match listing makes that clear.



To start things off, Mankind makes his way down the aisle (in a suit and tie) to face a Mystery Opponent. The crowd chants "HBK!" but instead Vince gives a grand introduction to...Duane Gill. Mankind makes quick work of Gill who actually got a mini-push after this - as "Gillberg," a Goldberg spoof. This was more angle than match, so I'm not going to be too harsh in my rating. (2/5)

Jeff Jarrett comes out with Debra for his tournament match against Al Snow. Jarrett and Snow bring intensity and a quick pace to this match, but its not like either was going to end up the World Champion by the end of the night so its really just filler. Inoffensive match with a runtime under 5 minutes. (2/5)

Steve Austin takes on The Big Bossman next. Austin is mega-over. Bossman's all-black SWAT team look makes him look slim, but it also makes him less imposing. I mean, for awhile there, Bossman could've been considered a super heavyweight, but he doesn't look all that much bigger than Austin when they go toe-to-toe. Like the opener, this one is more angle than match as they brawl for a little bit until Bossman purposefully gets himself DQ'd by attacking Austin with his nightstick. (2/5)

X-Pac takes on "The Man's Man" William Regal next. Finally, an actual match with actual wrestling holds! While this was the first genuinely competitive match of the night, Pac and Regal just don't click - which is surprising considering they're two of the most talented technical wrestlers the WWE had on its roster at the time. Regal was fantastic in 94'/95', but I think he was battling personal demons at this time and seems lifeless and unmotivated. Considering this is the first true match of the show and what these two could've accomplished, I was disappointed with what we got. The ending feels particularly weird because it makes it seem like X-Pac retreated from the fight when usually the heel is made to look cowardly. (1/5)

The Intercontinental Champion, Ken Shamrock, takes on Goldust in the next match of the tournament. The crowd is as dead for this as they were for the last match (very), but I liked this one a touch more - likely because I've become a big Dustin Rhodes mark. At this point, Goldust was technically babyface but the act - which had been "retired" for a little while before getting revived a few weeks before this show - was no longer hot. Shamrock, meanwhile, had gotten a fairly substantial push in 98' but the pieces never clicked the right way to get him over as a top guy (which was definitely the intention when he came in from the UFC). Anyway, better than the previous match, but still not very good. (1.5/5)

The Rock makes his way down the aisle for his tournament match. The Rock never "officially" turned babyface, but was mega-over at this point just because of how charismatic he was. His opponent is supposed to be Triple H, but because the DX leader is rehabbing from an injury, Brisco and Patterson announce his replacement - The Big Bossman. Bossman gets rolled up in less than 5 seconds, much to the delight of the audience, and The Rock advances. Again, more angle than match, but the crowd doesn't seem to mind that this show has had barely any wrestling on it. (2/5)

The Undertaker faces Kane in the next tournament match. Like The Rock, Kane was a quasi-babyface at this point - not yet tagging with X-Pac, but in a sympathetic position after being betrayed by Paul Bearer at the previous month's Judgment Day show. I don't recall any particularly great Taker/Kane matches, but in most of the reviews I read for this show, the writer noted that this was one of the worst bouts they ever had (and I'd have to agree). Part of the problem is that, as its a tournament match, there aren't the bells-and-whistles that these two characters need when facing each other. The Undertaker wasn't a wrestling zombie in 98', but he also was close to a decade away from incorporating MMA-inspired submissions and showing off his athleticism the way he would starting in 06' or so. Kane is, to me, one of the most overrated big men ever, a guy who wrestled for decades but doesn't have a single all-time great match anywhere on his resume. The Undertaker wins with interference from Bearer around the 8 minute mark. It could've been worse and gone 10. (1/5)

Mankind takes on Al Snow in the second round of the tournament. I'm not sure if it was explained earlier that Mankind's matches were no DQ, but there's some blatant weapon use in the second match and the ref doesn't really bother counting either guy out (when, in the first round, X-Pac and Regal's match nearly ended with a double countout I think?). This is probably the best match of the night so far just because Mankind's passion and intensity was so evident. And why wouldn't it have been? After a star-making performance at King of the Ring that year, he was more over than he'd ever been and was clearly set for a strong run against Vince McMahon. Snow also seems to appreciate getting a little bit of spotlight, though, like every match in this tournament thus far, its really all about furthering the night's main storyline - of Vince manipulating outcomes to make sure Austin and The Rock did not become WWE Champion - rather than actually delivering quality matches or building up midcarders like Snow. (2/5)

The next tournament bout is The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock. These two wrestled a ton of times in 98' but neither was much of a ring general yet (or ever?) so I don't recall them putting on too many classics. The Rock was a charisma bomb so the crowd is fully into this match and Shamrock is perfectly fine playing the intense shootfighter - basically himself. The best part of this match is the finishing stretch, which sees The Big Bossman making his return to ringside to ostensibly give Shamrock the assist. Instead, though, The Rock intercepts the Bossman's nightstick pass and ends up clocking Shamrock over the skull with it to get the victory. Because of the expert timing, it comes off 100% believable that Bossman was trying to exact revenge on The Rock - and not secretly in kahoots with him (sorry for the spoiler). Good action with a great finish makes this my match of the night so far. (2.5/5)

The first non-tournament match on the card is next - Sable challenging Jacqueline for the WWE Women's Championship. The Women's Championship had been abandoned in 94'-95' (with Alundra Blayze/Madusa famously throwing it in a dumpster on an episode of Nitro), but was revived in September as an additional prop for this feud - which was really about Sable's on-screen separation from "Marvelous" Marc Mero. I was expecting this to be a woeful match, but it was surprisingly solid - not great, not even average, but much better than one might expect considering that Sable, to my knowledge, was untrained and had probably less than 5 singles matches under her belt at this point. She's helped tremendously by having Mero and Jacqueline bumping for her, especially Mero (who impressively and selflessly helped his wife execute a Sablebomb on the arena floor). It was a team effort to make this work (and that team included Shane McMahon as the ref) but they pulled it off. Again, not good, but not the disaster it could've and arguably should've been. (2/5)

Mankind takes on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the next match of the tournament. When people talk about Austin's all-time great opponents, the names that always come up are Bret Hart and The Rock, but I love the chemistry he had with Mick Foley. Against Foley, Austin would bring out his best southern brawling self, nothing but fists and stomps and back-body drops on the floor and physicality. Austin and Foley just look like two guys that were 100% on the same page in the ring against each other, Foley perfectly happy tip-toeing the line between being a nasty, brutal heel and a total coward. The finish sees Shane McMahon turn heel because no McMahon can ever stay face for long. I don't remember all the mini-details from the Austin/McMahon saga so I'm not sure why Shane McMahon, who had just prevented Austin from being fired by kayfabe signing him to a new contract behind his father's back, would turn on him, but I also don't recall it being a huge shocker. Anyway, this is the best match of the night up to this point and its not even close. (3/5)

In the next match, The Undertaker takes on The Rock. This one is not as good as the match that comes before it, but it is at least interesting to watch as we're talking about two of the biggest WWE stars ever, though not necessarily a pairing that had many famous matches. In fact, I had to look up whether they had a PPV match against each other on any other show and found that they did and I reviewed one of them - No Way Out 2002. About that encounter, I wrote in 2015 that I was shocked that they didn't have a lengthy feud in the late 90s (they did wrestle at King of the Ring 99', a show that kinda looks worthy of a rewatch on paper) but that the match did not live up to my expectations. This one even less so as its a tournament match and The Undertaker wasn't moving too great at this point in his career. If I'm not mistaken, The Undertaker was wrestling most of 98' with lingering injuries, which explains his sluggishness. Like most every match in this tournament, we don't get a clean winner as Kane shows up and takes out both men, getting The Undertaker disqualified so that he can't win the title. If I didn't know better, I would've sworn this was a set-up for another Kane/Taker match at WrestleMania XV, but actually, over the next few weeks, The Undertaker began assembling his Ministry of Darkness and feuding with the Corporation while Kane had his own feud with the Corporation and aligned himself with DX. All this storyline progression stuff is way more interesting to think about than watching this match, which was nothing special. (1.5/5)

The WWE World Tag Team Champions, The New Age Outlaws, defend the straps in a triangle tag match against The Headbangers and D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry next. One would think that after a bunch of brief, run-in heavy singles matches that a tag match would freshen up the show, but this match is just so terrible that it has the opposite effect. The problem here is that not one of these six guys is an interesting enough in-ring worker to carry things - it is a hodge-podge of average-to-below-average workers and while the Outlaws' catch phrases were over, they were never a captivating team between bells. The Headbangers look noticeably out of place in the context of late 98', a gimmick that might have been slightly interesting had it been done in 94', but was the opposite of edgy in 98'. The match goes 10 minutes but feels like twice that. An absolute bore from beginning to end. A year later, the WWE would actually have a bit of a tag team renaissance with the arrival/rise of the Dudleys, The Hardy Boys, and Edge & Christian. (0/5)

Main event time - The Rock vs. Mankind for the vacant WWE Championship. Easily the best match on the entire show, this one isn't as brutal as their Royal Rumble 99' match nor is it as unique as their Halftime Heat match, but it is still very, very good, a match where everything just works. It is also, to my knowledge, the only Rock/Mankind PPV match where, technically, Foley is the heel and The Rock is the babyface (scratch that - these two wrestled at In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell in 97'). Foley is definitely the MVP here, as the veteran it was likely him who was setting the pace and orchestrating the match's flow, but its also noticeable how much better The Rock looks against a guy that was actually game for stealing the show (something I'm not sure The Undertaker was particularly interested in or that Ken Shamrock was able to do on his best day). The wrestling on this show is so uniformly poor that the excitement, suspense, and physicality these two produce astounds. The finish is a repeat of the Montreal Screwjob and while this would become an overused trope sooner than later, its use here was, at the time, an effective way to check many boxes. Plus, with Steve Austin showing up to close out the show, its not like the audience wasn't still given something to cheer for when all was said and done. These days, it often feels like the "troll job" is the point while, in this instance, the Montreal re-enactment was just a small piece of a larger angle that saw the crowning of a new Corporate Champion, the continuance of Mankind's separate storyline with Vince, and Austin's hunt for the Championship he never really lost. A very good match, some good post-match minutes. I wouldn't necessarily call it all a "must watch," but its as close as you get on this card. (3.5/5)



With a Kwang Score of 1.86-out-of-5, Survivor Series 98': Deadly Game is not going to please fans looking for a well-rounded show with great wrestling on it, fun gimmicks, and a variety of talent on display. However, the show isn't without its nostalgic charms. Vince McMahon was at top form here. Steve Austin, Kane, and Mankind were all at (storyline-wise) fascinating parts of their career, especially the latter two, who were caught somewhere between face and heel. The Rock's performance across three matches is exceptional and shows just how prepared he was to become the company's top heel. The Sable match is a pleasant surprise in that its not a complete turd. Plus, every match except the awful tag match and the awesome main event, has a fairly brief run time, making the show easy to watch and hard to get totally bored with. Unlike other shows, where one might "cherry pick" the best matches, this show, even during its worst times, kind of needs to be viewed as a whole because of the way the show is structured around one central story arc. If you're at all curious about reliving that story - or experiencing it for the first time - you might find yourself enjoying this more than the Kwang Score would indicate.


FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE: In Your House: Season's Beatings

WWE In Your House: Season's Beatings

Hershey, PA - December 1995

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Bret "The Hitman" Hart is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Razor Ramon holds the Intercontinental Championships, and the WWE Tag Team Champions are The Smoking Gunns. 

I'm going to go ahead and reward this a point right from the jump for an excellent pre-show video narrated by Todd Pettengill followed by a ridiculous CGI clip of the In Your House logo's house getting hit by snowballs.  (+1)

In the opening match, The Kid and Sid of the Million Dollar Corporation team up to take on Razor Ramon and The Kid's ex-tag partner, Marty Jannetty. Before the match, as Razor Ramon makes his way down the aisle, he is leered at by Goldust, who had debuted via vignettes just a couple months before this. What's interesting is that they're clearly building up to the feud with Razor, but at this point, Ramon was still fully locked into a program with 1-2-3 Kid. Its smart multi-level booking. The match begins with a good back-and-forth between Jannetty and The Kid, with the future X-Pac eventually making a tag to Sid (who levels Ramon with a clothesline). As this show was in Hershey, roughly 90 miles from Philly, Sid gets a sizable pop (especially from the fans in the front row sporting ECW merch). Razor takes a beating for a little bit before we get a double-clothesline spot that puts both guys on the mat. Jannetty and The Kid come back in and things speed up, the ex-Rocker now in control. As Jannetty applies a cobra clutch, Todd Pettengill interviews Goldust in the crowd, who proceeds to describe Razor in some extra flattering terms. Sid comes in and Jannetty gets bodyslammed from the top rope on a crossbody attempt. Kid comes back in and hits him with a frog splash, the heels in full control. Jannetty eventually gets a hot tag to Razor and Ramon levels Sid with some big right hands before hitting The Kid with his fallaway slam. Ramon attempts a Razor's Edge, but Sid counters it with a back body drop. Ramon ends up hitting Sid with a bulldog headlock from the top to get the W and nearly gets The Kid with a Razor's Edge after the bell, but Sid pulls him out in the nick of time. Not a bad match at all. (2.5/5)

"Nature Boy" Buddy Landell is announced as the next combatant (to no response), but before he makes his entrance, Jerry Lawler steps into the ring and welcomes noneother than "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, who had been gone from the WWE for five months. I'm not exactly sure why he had taken the time off (according to wikipedia, he had gone back to the USWA for a stint). Lawler presents Jarrett with a framed "Gold CD" award for selling half a million copies of his debut album, Ain't I Great. Jarrett announces that he'll have a second album coming out before announcing that he will also be entering the 1996 Royal Rumble. For some reason, Dean Douglas comes out next (with Landell still nowhere to be seen) for a match against Ahmed Johnson. Douglas announces that he is still sidelined with a back injury so...out comes Buddy Landell, Dean's graduate student, after all. This would've been a kind-of cool moment if they hadn't spoiled the surprise before the Lawler/Jarrett segment. Anyway, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how this one is going to go. Ahmed no-sells Landell's attempts at offense and then swiftly brings him to the mat with an ugly spinebuster and then the Pearl River Plunge for the W in less than a minute. After the match, Lawler attempts to get an interview with Johnson but really just so he and Jarrett, who was on commentary, can get some cheap heat by mocking him. Johnson grabs the mic and calls Jarrett a fake and an "'Achy Breaky Heart' Wannabe." As Johnson threatens The King, Jarrett takes him out with the award and then bashes him head-first into a steel chair. This whole segment/match was just too poorly executed to be considered even average, even with Jarrett's post-match beat down being pretty good (until Johnson decided to just no-sell that too). This whole segment/match/segment was a mess from beginning to end when, with a little bit of ending and planning, it could've been good-to-great. (1/5)

Todd Pettengill talks to Razor Ramon backstage and hands him the golden love letter than Goldust had him deliver. Ramon storms off, presumably in search of The Bizarre One.

Here we go - its time for tonight's Hog Pen Match! Hillbilly JIm comes out first, followed by Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H), who, if I'm not mistaken, had not yet been joined by Sable or Chyna (who, I think, debuted sometime in late 96'?). His opponent is Henry O. Godwinn, aka Shanghai Pierce. The story behind his Shanghai Pierce persona in WCW is funny as, according to legend, Dusty Rhodes put him under a mask because he felt like he was too handsome to be a believable heel. Uh? Really? I mean, he's not an outright ugly dude or anything, but I wouldn't call him a movie star either - and, obviously, Vince didn't have any problem bringing him in as a pig farmer. Godwinn brings a bucket of slop with him to the ring and after dumping most of it on an innocent bystander, ties up Helmsley in the ropes and rubs some of it into his face. Hillbilly Jim, who is in incredible shape here, is the guest referee - but he's super bias and blatantly seems to be helping Godwinn, which makes Helmsley somewhat sympathetic (especially as Helmsley doesn't really take any shorcuts and comes off as the more talented wrestler). The live crowd is definitely behind Godwinn, though, cheering him on as he carries Hunter towards the hog pen (where there are a number of actual hogs just milling around). Helmsley sends Godwinn into the wall of the pen, which gets a good reaction, and nearly gets back-body dropped into it after attempting a Pedigree to another pop. As cartoonish as this is, one would have to admit that the crowd is actually into it. Unfortunately, instead of staying by the pen, they go back into the ring, which seems unnecessary as I'm not sure anyone really wanted to see these two have a genuine wrestling match. Triple H pinballs around, taking some big bumps into the corner, obviously channeling his chief inspirations Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. Godwinn attempts a Slop Drop on the outside, but Helmsley counters it by grabbing the nearby guardrail and Godwinn ends up hitting the floor himself. Helmsley tries to whip him into the pen, but Godwinn counters and Helmsley takes an awesome bump into the pen wall. Godwinn hits a Slop Drop and this one looks like it could be over. Considering how much of a disaster this match could've been, one has to give credit to Triple H for his performance here. Godwinn tries to clothesline Helmsley into the pen, but Helmsley back body drops him into the pen to win the match! After the match, though, Hunter gets press slammed into the mud as Hillbilly Jim's plays and the crowd goes wild. What's most crazy, though, is that Helmsley's back has been sliced open from the bump he took into the pen wall. How he didn't end up with hepatitis, I have no idea. This was surprisingly good and maybe even one of the better Triple H performances I've seen in years. (3/5)

A Royal Rumble commercial airs next, followed by a video package highlighting the return of the heel Big Daddy Cool, Diesel. This is all a prelude to his match against Owen Hart. Diesel gets a face pop - which makes sense as his heel turn wasn't fully established and Owen had been a villain forever. Plus, Diesel's entrance was still enhanced by fireworks. I wonder if, by this point, Nash was already thinking about heading to WCW? Anyway, Nash controls early, at one point launching Owen from the second rope with a single hand that sends Hart neck-first into the middle of the ring in a terrifically gruesome bump. Wow. It looked like it could've crippled him. Aside from Diesel pivoting into a "neutral" character, Owen Hart had been proudly taking credit for Shawn Michaels being injured. In actuality, if I'm not mistaken, Michaels had suffered a concussion after getting beaten viciously outside a bar by some marines in October and, because he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome and Vince was hoping he'd clean up, McMahon gave Shawn some weeks off. Of course, Diesel trying to get revenge for Shawn was a babyface move, but as the roster was pretty thin around this time, I'm guessing they decided to just run this match anyway. Owen rallies with a spinning heel kick followed by a dropkick from the top before getting to work on Diesel's leg. I'm guessing these two wrestled dozens of times over the years, so its not surprising that they have good chemistry. After hitting Owen with a big boot, Diesel puts him down with a Jacknife Powerbomb but instead of taking the obvious 3 count, Diesel stops pinning him at the count of 2. The ref tries to stop him from performing another Jacknife, but Diesel shoves him and hits him with one anyway! Diesel gets DQ'd for shoving the referee, but the crowd clearly loves it. Plus, as Diesel leaves the ring, he slaps fives with the fans - which, again, is a very babyface-ish thing to do. Its kinda neat to see that, even as early as December 95', Nash seemed to realize that being a "cool heel" was going to get over huge. Not a bad match, not a great match, but definitely interesting. (2.5/5)

Savio Vega and Santa Clause pass out toys by ringside as The Million Dollar Man cuts a promo in the ring. DiBiase tells Vega that even he has a price, challenging him to come into the ring as Jerry Lawler spews some super racist jokes on commentary. Vega grabs the microphone and says that he does believe in Santa Clause and Lawler continues to make racist jokes. Santa attacks Vega, though! I'll admit, I did not see that coming at all. That segment was shameful, but was also subversive and, aside from the blatant racism, entertaining. 

A video highlights the build-up for our next contest - The Undertaker vs. King Mabel in a Casket Match. These two had been feuding for a few months by this point, all based on Mabel crushing Taker's face and then stealing the melted-down-urn-turned-RUN DMC-sized chain from Paul Bearer (after Taker had just won it back from Kama). This match is exactly what one might expect - there's not too much action and aside from a decent belly-to-belly out of Mabel, there are very few big slams or high spots. We don't even get an Old School. It also features some of the dumbest heel work ever when Big Mo heaves Taker into the Casket and celebrates with Mabel but forgot to close the casket. On the plus side, the match has no downtime as Taker and Mabel keep things moving and don't try to make this more epic or self-important than it needs to be. It may be the shortest Casket Match in history and that's actually a compliment as Mabel just wasn't a good enough performer to work multiple false finishes and keep things interesting. Not as bad as it would seem on paper. (2/5)

Main event time - Bret Hart defending the WWE Championship against his brother-in-law, The British Bulldog. This match had an interesting build as the story was Bret was winless against Davey Boy with much emphasis placed on their main event match at SummerSlam 92'. There are some key differences for this one, though - first, the Bulldog is coming in as a full-blown villain, managed by Jim Cornette and supported by Bret's sister, Diana. Second, they're wrestling in front of a considerably colder crowd, with an audible chant for "ECW" during the opening minutes as Hart and Bulldog trade holds and put on a not-so-interesting wrestling match. Things heat up considerably after Cornette interferes and Hart starts to sell and fight from underneath. I'm guessing it was always in the plan to "get color" to heat up this match, but when Bret cuts himself and a huge pool of blood collects on the mat outside of the ring, the indifferent fans in the front rows erupt in a "He's Hardcore!" chant and the match goes into a second gear. Wearing a crimson mask, Bret continues to fight from underneath, his hope spots now carrying much more emotional weight. From here, we get a number of terrific moments, including Bulldog taking a nasty bump out of the corner and literally bouncing off the mat on his head, a superplex, a powerslam on the floor, and Bulldog get crotched on the guardrail to a loud gasp from the audience. Plus the obligatory callback to the SummerSlam roll-up finish. Speaking of finishes, I didn't love this one as it came a bit out of nowhere. That being said, it did make some sense as the story here was that these two are so evenly matched that it always comes down to a clever pin combo (in this case, a magistral). Back in 95', Dave Meltzer gave this match nearly 5 stars, one of the highest ratings for any WWE match ever up to that point. Watching it 20+ years later, it doesn't hold up as a near-masterpiece - the first third of the match is nothing special, Bret attempts the Sharpshooter once and building up to his finisher seems like its never part of his strategy (which is odd), and the finish is kind of tacked-on. The match feels like a war and it goes a full 20 minutes, but it kinda needed an extra 2-3 with a more riveting finish to make it an all-time classic. That being said, it is still a very, very good match and a "must see" for any Bret or WWE New Generation Era fan. (4/5)


In Your House: Season's Beatings is the rare WWE PPV that works not because it is loaded with great matches, but because it is tightly-packed with purposeful matches and, aside from the awful and overbooked Lawler/Jarrett/Ahmed Johnson/Dean Douglass/Buddy Landell segment/match (see how many /s I needed to use to describe it?), nearly every character featured is either given some character progression or satisfactorily protected in a loss. Take Sid in the opener, for example. Sure, his team loses clean - but the big man doesn't eat a powerbomb and comes out of the match as much a monster as ever (its also worth nothing that the 1-2-3 Kid doesn't take the Razor's Edge either). Mabel is buried and Dean Douglas is made to look like an idiot - but its in service to the pushing of Undertaker (who was set to challenge for the title at the Royal Rumble) and Ahmed Johnson, who was being positioned for a huge run in 96'. Even the Hog Pen match, as goofy as it is, was able to accomplish the two things it needed to: keep Helmsley undefeated and also give Godwinn the moral victory by having the snob fall on his ass a bunch of times in pig shit. None of the matches were just there with no purpose or stakes - every match felt like it was important to the competitors involved. The Kwang Rating of 2.67-out-of-5 seems low to me when I think of how watchable this 2-hour show was. 

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