WWE SummerSlam 95'

WWE SummerSlam 95'

Pittsburgh, PA - August 1995

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Champion was Diesel, the Intercontinental Champion was Shawn Michaels, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Yokozuna and Owen Hart, and the Women's Champion was Alundra Blayze.

SummerSlam 95' kicks off with a strong opener - The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi. Waltman had had a series of strong matches since joining the WWE in 93' and this is another one that deserves mention as Hakushi is equally game to dazzle the crowd. Highlights included an insane handspring dive onto the arena floor from Hakushi and a cool frog splash out of the Kid. I would've preferred a stronger finish rather than the counter-into-a-side slam that ends up giving Hakushi the win, but this was still an above average bout. (3/5)

Unfortunately, the show comes to a bit of a dead halt as Hunter Hearst Helmsley takes on Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly. The Bob Holly name never really added up to me as, if I remember correctly, he was originally just called "Sparky Plugg" (which would explain why there are two gs in Plugg), but then just went by his real name anyway. Regardless of all the name changes, he was just not over at all and the future Triple H wasn't over either. The crowd is dead for this because of that reason even though Helmsley and Holly try their best. There's just no chemistry between them and Helmsley, at this point in his career, wasn't a captivating in-ring performer and needed more interesting, more physical workers to pinball off of (as he'd eventually find in not only Foley but also Henry Godwinn in their underrated series). (1/5)

The Smoking Gunns took on The Blu Brothers in another stinker on this show. I'm guessing the idea here was to rebuild the Gunns after dropping the tag titles against Yoko and Owen at WrestleMania, but the Blu Brothers (Harris Twins) are boring workers and the Gunns weren't very entertaining either. The best thing that can be said about this dull match was that it only went 5 minutes or so but this really had no place being on a pay-per-view card, especially as the next couple bouts went quite long. (0.5/5)

The next match is one of the more memorable feuds from this era of WWE history - Barry Horowitz vs. Skip (with Sunny at his side). The build to this match was all about Barry Horowitz shocking the world by defeating Skip and then "going the distance" in a 10-minute time limit rematch. As Skip was never going to be a major heel, its not like losing to Horowitz was going to crush his credibility, though, at the same time, it never makes much sense to introduce a character just so he can lose to a jobber. Unfortunately, the WWE had also basically just run a similar storyline with the 1-2-3 Kid (who famously upset Razor Ramon on an episode of Raw) and was in desperate need of credible midcard heels who could actually get a reaction from the crowd - something Helmsley couldn't do yet - and Candido and Sunny could (plus, with Hakushi essentially turning babyface in this match and Jeff Jarrett leaving the company a month prior, the WWE's heel ranks were thinning rapidly). Horowitz is also just not that interesting of a worker while Skip and Sunny were a good act that could've been an interesting challenge for Michaels rather than just relegated to the lower midcard. Anyway, the match itself isn't too bad, but it goes a bit long to me. The crowd is into it, though, so I won't grade it too harshly. I'm not sure why this needed to go longer than 10 minutes when you don't even get a clean finish. (2.5/5)

The WWE Women's Championship is on the line next with Alundra Blayze defending the title against Bertha Faye. If the Barry Horowitz/Skip storyline is remembered as "feel good," this would be the exact opposite as Blayze puts over Bertha Faye, aka Rhonda Singh, aka the Monster Ripper, who was treated like a total joke rather than as the vicious monster she once was. Granted, Singh had let herself go by this time in her career and the WWE was never going to let her do the type of wrestling she had done in Puerto Rico and Japan, but if you're going to bring in someone who specializes in the viciousness that Singh was capable of, you really need to go all the way with it. Instead, Faye and Harvey Wippelman are a mean-spirited, unfunny comedy act and Blayze is essentially squashed in under 5 minutes. Another disappointing contest and its amazing that they got less time than the Gunns/Blu Brothers match or the Helmsley/Holly match, neither of which even had a storyline going into them as far as I could tell. (1/5)

The Undertaker vs. Kama in a Casket Match is next. The story coming into this match is that Kama had stolen the urn and melted it down into a gold chain that he wore around his neck and then, subsequently, attacked one of the Undertaker's fans (known as the Creatures of the Night). I'm not sure why this match goes close to 20 minutes, but the fact that it does makes this match very, very strange, almost like the Undertaker wanted to prove that he could put on a lengthier match with more back-and-forth action or wanted to (admirably) prove he could get Kama over as a legit monster. Unfortunately, Kama's booking prior to this really hurt that story from being told no matter how dominant he looks at times here. In the months before this match took place, instead of building up Kama with decisive victories over top talent, he was crushing jobbers but losing tag team matches and, at the King of the Ring, went to a time limit draw with Shawn Michaels when a victory would've been a tremendous boon. It also didn't help that, by this point, the Million Dollar Corporation no longer resembled anything close to a major threat (despite them basically dominating the top heel position for over a year, headlining both SummerSlam 94' and WrestleMania XI), giving this match a stale vibe despite it being surprisingly good. The crowd is very much into this, at least for most of it, and the Undertaker does bump and sell for his real-life buddy even if the finish itself is never really in question. There are some cool visual moments too, including a spot where both men end up in the casket and Kama escapes only to get dragged back in by the Deadman. The Undertaker also busts out a chokeslam and manages to get Kama up for the Tombstone, both impressive feats of strength. Still, this match could've used 2-3 less hope spot/cut-off moments as going 15+ minutes didn't play to either guy's strengths. (2.5/5)

If you didn't get enough of the Lawler/Bret Hart feud in 93', the WWE basically re-ran it in 1995 only with Lawler's evil dentist, Isaac Yankem DDS, in place of Lawler himself (or Doink depending on how you look at it). Like so much of what Bret and Taker had to endure, the failure of this match has a ton more do with the nauseating gimmicks and lame storyline than it does with what we actually get in the ring. Bret doesn't get a great match out of Yankem like he did with Nash - but its also hard to discount the effect of the lame evil dentist gimmick on the overall presentation. Bret works hard and while Glen Jacobs would have much greater success as Kane in the years that followed, its not like he's woefully terrible here. In fact, he's kinda just like Kane always is - a bit too bland for my liking. I'm not sure where Vince thought he could go with an evil dentist character but Yankem somehow made it another 9+ months with this act despite how paper thin and stupid it was. Lawler gets involved and the match eventually gets thrown out because Vince thought it was worth protecting Yankem even though Bret Hart was a multi-time former WWE Champion. Like the match that precedes it, this one goes a bit too long for me. (2.5/5)

If there's any match on this show that has a reputation for being worth checking out, it is definitely the next one up - Shawn Michaels defending against Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship in a sequel to their WrestleMania X classic. There are many who believe this is the superior ladder match compared to their first, though the original will always have that distinction of being the company's "first" (even if it wasn't) kinda like how the second TLC match is technically better than the first with bigger spots and more twists and turns but the first is the one that gets name-checked more. The key difference in this match, aside from Michaels coming in as champion, is that while Ramon wasn't technically a heel, Vince was clearly positioning Michaels as the company's next top babyface, going ga-ga over him on commentary so much that even before Michaels was given that top spot one could predict a bit of a backlash (which reached its apex at the Survivor Series 96' show). Like he worked against Jarrett at the previous month's In Your House show, Michaels takes a huge and dangerous bump over the post and onto the floor, the kind of thing that you just did not see happening in the WWE or anywhere (and still don't see too often) and proceeds to pinball for Razor throughout. Unlike that match, though, it feels a bit more earned here because of the size difference. Speaking of Razor, his subtle heel work is brilliant here and, as other reviewers have noted, I like how there are multiple nods to the more famous spots from their first ladder match sprinkled throughout the match (including Shawn missing the big splash from the top of the ladder that he hit at Mania). Ramon works on Shawn's knee every chance he gets so the audience is naturally inclined to start rooting for Shawn even more as the underdog (even if his pre-match prancing and preening is remarkably too arrogant and cocky for a babyface in hindsight). A second ladder gets brought into the match, but they really don't do much with this new element, or at least nothing like what future wrestlers would do when multiple ladders started appearing. The first of two "botches" happens when Shawn delivers a poorly-executed superkick on Hall as he climbed the ladder. One would imagine this was supposed to be a big spot but ended up lacking the right "oomph" because, well, its probably damn near impossible to hit a great-looking Sweet Chin Music when you're trying to also balance on a ladder. Moments later, Razor ends up spilled on the outside and Shawn tries to retrieve the title but slips. Whoops. He climbs back up and gets the W around the 25-minute mark. Overall, a very, very good match, one of Hall's best performances, but not quite at the transcendent level that some fans claim it to be due to the predictable finish (which is telegraphed throughout the match by Vince's commentary and Razor working to get booed so that Michaels' victory is more crowd-pleasing). (4/5)

Main event time - Diesel defending the WWE Championship against Mabel. Coming after a match like Shawn/Razor, one has to consider that Vince was already planting the seeds for Diesel to get turned-on (not "turned on") by the fans as this match is just as boring as one would imagine. Kudos to Kevin Nash for working as hard as he could to give some excitement to this match by hitting a plancha early on, but Mabel's offense is weak and Diesel couldn't even get him up for what should've been a big bodyslam spot. Luger does a run-in and there's teasing of a Luger/Diesel issue, but Lex ends up helping Diesel and the match ends with a shoulder block. Bad in multiple ways. This would end up being Luger's last appearance in the WWE. I understand that Luger flopped in 94', but in 95', a heel turn could've made him relevant in a way tagging with Davey Boy clearly couldn't and wouldn't. In the end, Bulldog got that spot and while he was a better technician than Luger, he wasn't as big a name. (1/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.0-out-of-5, SummerSlam 95' is only barely saved from being one of the worst WWE pay-per-views ever by a very strong ladder match and the magic of Bret Hart and The Undertaker, who take should-be guaranteed stinkers and make them quite watchable. Unfortunately, these matches also run at least 4-5 minutes longer than they should - as does the Horowitz/Skip match. Throughout the show, the crowd is undeniably hot, enough to explain why Vince was booking this style of show with ludicrous, one-dimensional characters that could only appeal to children. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Survivor Series 94'

WWE Survivor Series 94'

San Antonio, TX - November 1994

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Bret Hart was the WWE Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was Razor Ramon, and Diesel and Shawn Michaels were the WWE World Tag Team Champions. Bull Nakano was the WWE Women's Champion, having defeated Alundra Blayze just a few days before at an event in Japan. 

Survivor Series 94' kicks off with The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon, The 1-2-3 Kid, The British Bulldog, and the Headshrinkers) taking on The Teamsters (Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett, Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart). This match could've and should've been great, but because its used primarily - maybe even exclusively - to build up Diesel as the next WWF Champion and further his storyline with Shawn Michaels (the two would split soon after this and face eachother at WrestleMania XI), most of the talent in this match, namely the 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart, Jarrett, and a very over Bulldog, are underutlized. There's also some really silly shenanigans going on with the Headshrinkers beyond the fact that The Barbarian had been renamed Sione (his actual name) and was being treated like an entirely new wrestler despite maybe being on TV regularly from roughly 1988 through 1992 and then, in WCW, was also prominently featured under this name. No, the Headshrinkers were having issues with their boots that caused them to not be able to perform to their best ability. After Diesel eliminates nearly the entire babyface side single-handedly, Razor Ramon is left to fend for himself but an errant superkick causes dissension among the heels that leads to them walking out on the match. This match could've furthered some other interesting storylines, but this is all about Diesel and Michaels and that's a bit of a shame considering how much heat the Owen/Bulldog segment got and that guys like The Kid and Jarrett arguably deserved to be highlighted at this point in their WWE runs. (1.5/5)

Next up - Jerry "The King" Lawler and his team of wrestling little people vs. Doink and his team of little people in clown gear. This was supposed to be a comedy match but there was nothing funny about and, even in the 90s, when I would've been 10, I doubt I would've found much enjoyment in this sort of thing. A straight-up Jerry Lawler/Doink match would've been much, much better as both guys could actually work and then they could've utilized Doink's sidekick Dink in an interesting way. Instead, this was a "one note match" and that one note was sour. And it somehow went 16 minutes. I guess the little bit of Doink action keeps it from being a zero, but this was just not good. (0.5/5)

The WWE World Champion Bret Hart defends against Bob Backlund in a "Throw In The Towel" match next with British Bulldog serving as Bret's second and Owen Hart as Backlund's. This, like the Bret/Owen match from SummerSlam a few months prior, is a weird one to review and somewhat "notorious" in certain circles. Older fans tend to really dig this one, especially if they were old enough to understand the Backlund character and maybe even had seen him work in the late 70s and 80s. Fans like myself, who were just 10 years when this storyline happened, didn't have much knowledge of Backlund and mostly just felt like he was an old doofus. Then there's the issue that Backlund feels oddly "thrown in" to the ongoing Hart drama and the fact that this match ends up being almost the last chapter of their feud (though Bret and Owen would wrestle in a No Holds Barred match on RAW in March 95', one would think Bret would've wanted vengeance much sooner against Owen). Fans of technical wrestling, counters, and a grinding pace will enjoy this match, but at 30+ minutes and with a very, very, very long closing angle (it feels like Bret is locked in the chickenwing as Owen pleads for his parents to throw in the title for a good 10 minutes), its understandable why modern fans may not dig this nearly as much. If the SummerSlam cage match is a "must see once" type match, this is something slightly underneath it (and Dave Meltzer, in his original review, was even less glowing, giving this match just 2 stars). The live crowd is into this, no doubt, but that's mostly because of how over Bret is and how much Owen was hated. Ultimately, Backlund was a transitional champion anyway, which also rubbed me the wrong way as a kid. There are some excellent sequences in here, including the nasty bump Bulldog takes into the steps that incapacitates him, but I wouldn't consider this "Must See" even if that would be blasphemy to some longtime fans. (3.5/5)

The Million Dollar Team of Tatanka, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, and The Heavenly Bodies took on Lex Luger, Mabel, Adam Bomb, and The Smoking Gunns next. Somewhere in here there was a good match to be had, but this was just tedious. Part of the problem is that they kicked things off with Luger and Tatanka, arguably the two guys that the fans wanted to see square off most, which caused the match to peak right out of the gate. Mabel got some shine here but was still a year away from his brief monster push, eliminating one of the Heavenly Bodies before getting counted out. Bigelow eliminated Adam Bomb, a guy whose gimmick I always thought was cool but was destined to lifetime midcarderdom (at least before his own brief monster push in WCW in 2000 or so?). Speaking of Bigelow, its unclear if he was already pencilled-in to main event WrestleMania but looking back, if he was, one would've thought Vince would've let him dominate this match even more. The heels went up 3-2 and then eventually 3-1 with Lex Luger as the sole survivor for his team. Its really hard to think of someone who fell off from being a SummerSlam and WrestleMania main eventer to a complete nobody more than Luger from 94' to 95'. Here, he doesn't even get the big hero victory that one might think he'd get, taking the L to Bundy. Maybe Bundy was the original choice to face Lawrence Taylor and Vince realized that match would be a disaster? Who knows. This wasn't good. (1/5)

Main event time - The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna in a Casket Match with special guest ringside enforcer Chuck Norris. Taker and Yoko's match at the Royal Rumble some 10 months earlier is widely regarded as a horrendous affair, but I gave it an "average" rating of 2.5-out-of-5 stars because I found it to be the "funnest 15 minutes on the show," wacky and silly and entertaining on a show that featured such hum-drum matches as Tatanka/Bigelow and Ramon/IRS. Unfortunately, Chuck Norris shows about as much emotion and interest in the proceedings as Robocop did at that one WCW pay-per-view. The Undertaker and Yokozuna had decent chemistry, but Yokozuna was no longer the monster heel he'd been a year earlier having now been beaten by Bret Hart. To be fair, the WWE kept Yoko strong in the months, rarely having him lose and usually by DQ or count-out, but the aura was mostly gone and never came back. The Deadman, meanwhile, was as popular as ever after taking several months off earlier in the year. Norris's eventual involvement is a real letdown but I'll give some credit to Yoko and Taker as they go much longer than they arguably had any reason to and attempted some big spots. This isn't a total disaster or anything but its not good and I'm not surprised it would be quite awhile before either guy was back to wrestling in the main event. (1.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 1.6-out-of-5, Survivor Series 94' is difficult to recommend. The best match on the card is Backlund/Hart, but its also a divisive match, one that many fans and reviewers have called dull and boring and overly long in the past. Bret and Backlund's technical prowess - especially compared to the rest of the card - stands out as unique but doesn't quite measure up to "must see" level, preventing this show from really even being in High Risk Maneuver. 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE WrestleMania XI

WWE WrestleMania XI

Hartford, CT - April 1995

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Diesel was the WWE Champion coming into the show, Jeff Jarrett was the Intercontinental Champion, and the Smoking Gunns were the WWE Tag Team Champions. Bull Nakano was the Women's Champion but did not appear on the show.

Some have called WrestleMania XI the worst Mania ever and a quick look at the card is really all you need to see to understand why. Of course, WrestleMania IX has a similar reputation but, while that show didn't feature a single "must see" match, there were some entertaining angles that played out on the show and some good performances out of Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, and Doink (Matt Borne), as well as a Headshrinkers/Steiner Brothers that, if you squint, really does resemble the type of hard-hitting action these teams delivered in the NWA/WCW years prior. Of course, WrestleMania IX also features one of Hulk Hogan's most notorious and hated moments of spotlight-hogging and an abysmal Giant Gonzalez/Undertaker match. 

WrestleMania XI opens with Lex Luger and The British Bulldog taking on The Blu Brothers (aka the Harris Twins with long hair). The purpose of this match was to kickstart the show with a pair of beloved babyfaces wrestling a standard tag match against a pair of unlikable heels...but this just feels like a match you'd see on an average episode of Raw from around this time and is definitely a waste of star power. This match goes just under 7 minutes but feels longer because its tedious. The most notable moment of the match might be how little is made of Luger hitting one of the Blu Brothers with his flying forearm, which, a year or so prior, was treated like a gunshot finisher and was the basis of a major storyline. The fact that Luger doesn't get the pin either really makes it clear how little Vince saw in him at this point. How could anyone ever blame for Lex for leaving the company when he had gone from a SummerSlam and WrestleMania main eventer to jerking the curtain in a meaningless tag match? (1.5/5)

Next up - Jeff Jarrett vs. Razor Ramon for Jarrett's Intercontinental Championship. After years of watching wrestling and offering critiques of thousands of matches, I'm just gonna say it: Scott Hall's overness and ability was about 90% charisma and 10% in-ring talent. The guy was undeniably cool and, paired against the right opponent, could put on a good match...but paired against an average worker or even a slightly-above average worker like Jeff Jarrett, well, more often than not you get a dull, slow contest. This is that. People would likely call this "good for 95'," but look over at some of the matches WCW was offering around this time or ECW and this pales in comparison to what guys like Austin, Johnny B. Badd, Pillman, and Regal were doing around that same time (let alone what Flair and Savage were offering in the main event). Its not that they don't work hard, its more that nothing they do seems fresh or even truly heated. Is it possible that Ramon was sour that he wasn't going over for the belt? Is it that Jarrett's style never really did click in the WWE? Whatever the case, the result is the same: a forgettable, average match with glimmers of goodness that are almost immediately forgotten with the deflating finish. (2.5/5)

We head backstage next for a continuation of the "Where's Pamela Anderson?" story that runs through the whole evening. At the time, Anderson was the super duper popular star of Baywatch and had not yet had her sex tape stolen and distributed. Jenny McCarthy is also there but is basically playing second fiddle to Anderson, which was maybe a recurring theme of her career in the 90s? Jonathan Taylor Thomas is also there, Nick Turturro is serving as a backstage interview...really, this whole scene is about as dated as any WrestleMania ever and that includes the one where Snooki wrestled.

Back in the ring, The Undertaker takes on King Kong Bundy. The storyline going into this match is just a continuation of the Deadman's feud with the Million Dollar Man, who had stolen the urn. As expected, this match is a plodding, boring affair and doesn't last long. It would be a few more years before the Undertaker would start getting paired up with guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart and Mick Foley who could actually work good 10+ minute matches with him. During the match, Undertaker regains the urn and then unwisely gives to Paul Bearer (who gets it stolen from him by Kama, who gets on the mic and says he's going to melt it down into a chain, which is what he'd do to build up his own forgettable, meaningless match with Undertaker at SummerSlam if I'm not mistaken). Undertaker doesn't hit the Tombstone because Bundy was too big so he wins with a clothesline in under 7 minutes. The Undertaker has had quite a few duds in his WrestleMania career but this is rightfully considered maybe the worst of them all. (0.5/5)

The next match was built up around Owen Hart having a "mystery tag team partner." I'm not sure if there was hype that it would be Jim Neidhart or somebody else, but in hindsight, it makes 100% sense that Yokozuna would end up getting that spot as he was clearly on his way down the card and definitely not in peak physical shape but still credible enough to be used prominently in a limited role. Plus, with Owen and Cornette as mouthpieces, Yoko would be and was really protected. Their opponents are the WWF World Tag Team Champions, the Smoking Gunns, who would somewhat surprisingly hang on in the company as a team for years and years to come, all the way into 1996. Granted, that may not seem like a long time, but considering they debuted in 93' and how one-dimensional the gimmick was, its impressive they made it 3+ years (while teams like the Road Warriors and Nasty Boys would rarely stick around in one company for that long). Anyway, not much to say about this match beyond that it's all about building up Yokozuna as a monster who, with Owen and Cornette at his side, is now basically unstoppable in the tag division. Owen is obviously the most impressive in-ring worker in this match and looks like he's having fun in there with Yoko as his partner. In the time since Owen's tragic death, there's always been lots of talk about how he "deserved better" or should have been a World Champion due to his talent, but part of his talent was that he was also irreplaceable as the glue that could hold together just about any match and be slotted in to make others look good. Here he has clearly been positioned to do the heavy lifting and while that may not have come with the glamour (or paycheck) of being a serious top singles heel, its important to recognize how integral he was on this roster in the mid-90s and, aside from his brother and Shawn Michaels, might have been a company MVP. A passable match but nothing to go out of your way to see. (1.5/5)

Speaking of Bret Hart, it's time for his match against Bob Backlund, an "I Quit" Match no less. Supposedly this was the first of its kind in the WWE, though there have been multiple "I Quit" matches in the NWA before this and most of them were far more brutal and violent than this one - which is more like a submission match. In his book, Bret called this one of the worst matches of his career and considering he's an expert on he subject, he's probably right. That being said, I'd ease up on myself if I were him. Was this as good as their match at Survivor Series? No...but compared to some of the "action" that the WWE was putting on at this time, this was still decent. Roddy Piper is annoying and unnecessary as the referee (I'm not sure what role Piper could've and should've played on this show because he doesn't fit in anywhere, but this wasn't it), but the actual layout of the match and some of the sequences are good if a bit pedestrian. The match doesn't overstay its welcome either, which would've made it way worse. (2.5/5)

The WWE Champion Diesel defends the title against Shawn Michaels next. This match had a months-long build based on Diesel and Shawn's partnership over much of 94' and then Michaels getting jealous of the big man once he became champion in November/December of that year. Michaels had taken on Sid as his new bodyguard and their on-again/off-again relationship would come to a head years later at Survivor Series 96'. While this isn't as good as the match they'd have roughly a year later at In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies, it is still the clear match of the night by a wide margin and an excellent showcase match for Michaels, who bumps like a pinball for Diesel throughout the contest. It has been written and said by Bret and others that Shawn "goes into business for himself" a little here by trying to upstage Nash and make the match all about himself but its hard to blame or shame Michaels for what was clearly his biggest opportunity to put himself into the main event. While Michaels had fought for the WWE Championship before - at Survivor Series 92' - he had spent the next few years in the Intercontinental Title scene while guys like Bob Backlund, Jerry Lawler, and Yokozuna, who Shawn rightfully believed he could outwork at that time, were booked at a level above him. Here, Michaels does everything he can to make this the Match of the Night and he succeeds to the point that, by the end, even some of the crowd is clearly behind him (though I wonder if that's also because there are just some outwardly "heel" fans that can heard throughout the show, including in the main event). I wouldn't call this a "must see" match, but its pretty close. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow in a match that resembles a lumberjack bout due to the involvement of various NFL stars and Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Corporation. Pat Patterson is the referee, which makes total sense considering LT's lack of experience. Speaking of LT, he starts the match by clotheslining Bigelow out of the ring and follows it up with a decent bulldog and then a series of stiff forearms and a hiptoss. After the two sides nearly come to blows on the outside, Bigelow takes control in the ring. LT is a surprisingly decent seller, though this match comes to a grinding halt once Bigelow applies a boston crab and then a leglock. I'm guessing they felt like having a main event run under 10 minutes would've been disappointing, but in this era, you couldn't stretch things with table spots and multiple run-ins like they would today. LT eventually hits a big back suplex but Bigelow cuts him off again with a double axehandle and then some headbutts and a leg drop. Bigelow goes to the top rope and lands his signature twisting splash but lands incorrectly on his knee, preventing him from making the cover. Back up to their feet they go and LT hits a miserable looking half-piledriver-type-move for 2. Bigelow hits a spinning heel kick and is essentially burying his own offense here as he can't put away LT despite connecting with some of his best offense, including a headbutt off the top rope. After hitting the headbutt, Bigelow gets 2 and there's an audible boo from the kickout as I'm guessing there were at least a few fans who thought this main event was an embarassment. LT hits a series of big forearms and finishes Bigelow off with one from the second rope to get the W. This match started out alright but then devolved and made Bigelow look too weak by the end. Considering the legal trouble that Taylor would find himself in over the next few years (even up to the morning that I'm writing this review as LT was just nabbed for not registering as a sex offender), this main event has not aged well. (1.5/5)

There have been worse WWE pay-per-views over the years, but is there any worse WrestleMania? I'm not sure there is (though the first two Manias aren't exactly full of great matches). With a low Kwang Score of 1.92-out-of-5, WrestleMania XI is the lowest rated WrestleMania I've reviewed and while WrestleMania XX scored a lousy 1.96, at least that show offered a strong main event, a "train wreck" moments in the Brock Lesnar/Goldberg match, and felt star-studded with Foley, The Rock, Jericho, and Flair all around, plus a good atmosphere in Madison Square Garden. The WWE's roster at this point was paper thin, this show taking place in Hartford makes it feel lesser than any other Mania I can recall, and while Shawn/Diesel is a strong title match, nothing else on this card is remotely "must see." 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE In Your House #10: Mind Games

WWE In Your House #10: Mind Games

Philadelphia, PA - September 1996

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE Champion was Shawn Michaels, the Intercontinental Champion was vacant (due to Ahmed Johnson being injured mid-reign), and the WWE Tag Team Champions were The Smoking Gunns.

September 96' was an interesting time in the WWE, mostly because it was a much more interesting time in WCW. By this point, the New World Order angle was the hottest thing in all of pro-wrestling (at least in the US) and so McMahon was forced to get a bit more creative and start shifting his show into more of an "adult" space. The change to "The Attitude Era" didn't happen overnight, but as early as this show, things were changing in noticeable ways...

For example, during our opening contest, Savio Vega vs. Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw in a Caribbean Strap Match, we get the surprise appearance of ECW's The Sandman (who spits beer in Vega's face) and the acknowledgement of their presence by Vince as an "outlaw local promotion." There had been ECW chants during WWE shows in Philadelphia before, but to acknowledge the company on a WWE PPV was definitely something new. It also seemingly pissed off Bradshaw, who held a grudge against the company for years to come. As for the match...it's not as good as the Austin/Vega one from a few months earlier, and at 7 minutes, it doesn't really tell a full story, but the action we do get is hard-hitting and physical, more violent than most anything the WWE had produced over the previous 9 months (save for Mankind's outings). Unfortunately, the finish is a repeat of the one from Vega/Austin, which is just lazy booking/producing. (2/5)

In the back, the backs of "Diesel" and "Razor Ramon" are shown beating up Savio Vega from afar. This was part of the awful angle where Jim Ross brought back a fake "Diesel" and a fake "Razor Ramon" so that Vince could prove a point about how he had created those characters and that Nash and Hall were just two lucky "actors" playing those roles. It might be the dumbest angle in WWE history, really, as it backfired 100% and just made WWE look even lamer. 

Back to the ring we go for Jim Cornette vs. Jose Lothario. This is barely a match as Lothario just whips his ass in under a minute. There wasn't much of a story to this match beyond Cornette's stable of heels feuding with Shawn Michaels and Lothario being Shawn's mentor (though, as we'd see at Survivor Series 96', at the time, I don't think Shawn necessarily wanted an old man walking down the aisle with him). A half-point for this not going a second too long. (0.5/5)

Brian Pillman makes his way down the aisle, welcomes Owen Hart, and then "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, all three piling on and verbally destroying Bret Hart. Austin had been having good segments before this on TV and PPV, but this is one of the more memorable ones - and deservedly so. He spews his famous line about "adding an S in front of Hitman" during this promo and once again challenges Bret. This would lead to their Survivor Series classic. (+1)

In a somewhat interesting rarity, especially for this era, we get a heel/heel match as The Smoking Gunns (with Sunny) defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against Owen Hart and the British Bulldog. Bulldog and Owen actually get a bit of a face response, mostly because I think the Philly crowd respected their talent and would never have gotten behind a cartoonish gimmick team like the Gunns. On commentary, Mr. Perfect tries to hype this as being a great technical wrestling contest and, to be sure, there is far more actual wrestling in this one match than in the previous two combined. Still, it's just an average match with maybe a slightly above-average finish and at least one good nearfall towards the end. The right team won as Hart and Bulldog were much more reliable hands and added credibility to the titles. Sunny basically turns on her team after they lose, but if I recall correctly, this doesn't lead to a Bart Gunn/Billy Gunn feud like one would suspect. I think they actually disappeared from the scene instead, with Billy showing up as Rock-a-Billy a few months later. (2.5/5)

Jerry "The King" Lawler made his way down the aisle, hurling insults at his opponent, the debuting Mark Henry. Vince made it clear that Henry was untrained as a wrestler, but that if he got his hands on Lawler, he could use his strength to rip the King apart. It came off as him apologizing for what he knew would be a very one-note match, though, to his credit, Lawler, works hard to make Henry look good, gamely getting himself tossed into a guardrail with a sickening thud. Its a tremendous bump. Henry won with a backbreaker submission after 5 minutes. This was better than I thought it would be, but still not something worth checking out really. After the match, the New Rockers run in to attack Henry for no real reason and then Hunter Hearst Helmsley also shows up - inexplicably - to try to attack Henry only to get press-slammed out of the ring. I'm guessing they did this to establish that all the heels were jealous of Mark Henry? It didn't make sense to me. (2/5)

Next up - The Undertaker vs. Goldust. A month earlier, Paul Bearer had turned on the Undertaker and aligned himself with Mankind and I must say, it is kinda noticeable that the Undertaker seems almost "incomplete" here without Bearer at his side. Taker's own presence and charisma would eventually make it not such an uncommon sight but, at the time, it was weird. There's an Undertaker/Goldust match from a different PPV - I think it was In Your House #8: Beware of Dog - that I really liked but I was less impressed with their match at In Your House #9 and this one isn't that hot either. The match as billed as a "Final Curtain" match, meaning it must end by pinfall, which seems backwards because their first match was a Casket Match. Goldust attacks early and the Undertaker shows some vulnerability, even getting slapped by Marlena. Things get hokey when Marlena blinds Taker with "gold dust" from her purse and the Deadman sells that he's been blinded only for Goldust to not really capitalize all that much. For some reason, despite this match needing to end by pinfall (making it No DQ/No Countout by default), they didn't spend much time out of the ring or use any weaponry. I found that to be a missed opportunity as, while Taker and Goldust did more actual wrestling than brawling, this crowd probably would've appreciated something wilder and chaotic and Dustin Rhodes, at his best, was very capable of that. (2/5)

Main event time - Shawn Michaels defending his WWE Championship against Mankind. Mankind starts out in control, striking HBK with a series of strikes, a back body drop, and then the first major spot of the match - a clothesline that  takes both men over the top rope and onto the floor. Foley then kicks Michaels into the guardrail and uncovers the floor only to get caught underneath the padding and stomped by Michaels. Michaels immediately hits a crossbody on Mankind onto the floor! Michaels follows it up by sending Mankind skull-first into the floor in a horrific bump. Damn, this match has gone barely 2 minutes and we've already seem some nasty spots. Back in the ring and Michaels hits some rights and then a clothesline, the pace not letting up at all. Michaels delivers a scoop slam and then goes to the top rope to hit his trademark elbow. He calls for the Sweet Chin Music but Mankind dodges it by going to the floor. Bearer and Foley regroup on the outside and the two competitors trade blows in the corner and then end up brawling on the mat. Michaels attempts a neckbreaker but Foley falls back and grapevines him, attempting the Mandible Claw. Great hard fought, legitimate-looking exchange there with Michaels showing no restraint. Mankind gets up, though, and delivers a devastating right hand that Michaels sells perfectly. Mankind sends Michaels back to the outside and rearranges a table, but MIchaels dives over it! Shawn then hits one of the more legendary spots of the match, a suplex on the floor that sends Foley's leg right into the steel steps! Wow. That was brutal. Mankind barely sells it, though, and makes his way onto the apron. Michaels chop-blocks him and Foley ends up on top of the casket left at ringside from the previous match. Michaels continues to work on the knee and now Foley sells the heck out of it, falling into the corner. Michaels loses his cool momentarily and Mankind takes advantage, striking back. Mankind goes for a boot, but Michaels catches his leg and delivers a leg twist before applying the figure four. Good refereeing by Hebner as Mankind nearly gets pinned. Mankind rolls over and Michaels releases the hold, both men struggling to make it to their feet. Mankind sends him to the ropes and Michaels comes back with a dropkick to the knee and continues his attack on the knee. For some reason some fans can be heard chanting "Boring," which is just bizarre considering how action-packed this match has been with not even a single rest hold. Another great spot follows soon after as Mankind hits a surprise stun gun on Michaels that HBK sells perfectly. Mankind drives a pencil into his own knee on the outside and it seems to have energized him as he chokes Michaels on the bottom rope and then slams his headfirst into the casket. Michaels gets back in the ring but Mankind is in full control, eventually even hitting the running thigh in the corner, a move far ahead of its time. Mankind drives Michael's head into the canvas repeatedly but Michaels cuts him off with a back suplex. Mankind recovers quickly, though, and hits a headbutt and then a stomp. Michaels gets a second wind but succumbs to a big irish whip into the corner. Michaels hits a series of elbow drops on Michaels as he hangs in the corner, the champion taking a serious beating. Mankind hits a leg drop on Michaels as he lies facedown in the center of the ring and then eats another pair of stomps, the second one sending Michaels back over the top rope. Mankind goes for another running thigh into Michaels, but Shawn moves out of the way, sending Foley into the steps. Michaels follows it up with a drop toe hold into the steps and rolls back in the ring. Michaels attempts a suplex on the apron, but Mankind counters. Michaels lands on his feet on the apron and Mankind looks to drive him into the post, but Michaels dodges and its Foley who hits the post. Back into the ring and the breakneck pace continues as they go into another brilliant exchange of cut-offs and counters, ending with Foley caught in the ropes by his neck! Holy shit! Michaels approaches and Mankind manages to apply the Mandible Claw before Mankind slips through the ropes and goes to the floor. Back on the floor, Foley applies the Claw, but Michaels counters by driving him into the guardrail. Michaels grabs a chair, Foley punches him but catches the steel, and then HBK uses it on Mankind's knee and hand! Back in the ring, Michaels continues his attack on Mankind's hand, biting his fingers and stomping them on the mat. This is as vicious as Michaels has ever been, heel, face, any era. Michaels takes Mankind to the edge of the ring and uses the ropes to help him stomp on Foley's hand repeatedly! Michaels gets into it with Hebner, allowing Mankind to recover. Michaels comes running at him and Mankind back body drops him back onto the floor! Foley hits the big elbow drop on the floor and breaks the count. Foley comes back and hits a swinging neckbreaker on the floor, Shawn looking to be in serious trouble. As Michaels gets back in the ring, Mankind hits him with a leg drop and then a double-arm DDT...but only gets 2.9! Mankind then delivers a piledriver and, again, he only gets 2.5! Mankind applies another two pin attempts but can't get the W, pulling out his own hair in frustration. Mankind  then grabs some chairs, heaving them into the ring only for Hebner to toss them back out. Mankind opens up the casket and tries to roll Shawn into it, but Shawn fights back! Shawn hits the flying forearm and is all revved up! Michaels with the scoop slam and then a crossbody for 2! Michaels goes back to the top rope, but Foley grabs the ropes, crotching him on the top turnbuckle. Mankind climbs up the ropes too, looking to back suplex him into the table, but both men end up going through as Michaels ends up on top of him! Yet another fantastic spot. Mankind grabs a chair as Bearer distracts the referee. Mankind goes to the top with the chair, but Michaels catches him with a Sweet Chin Music in the corner! Michaels looks to have the match run but Vader runs in! Michaels fights off Vader as Bearer then strikes Michaels with the urn! Sid runs down and he and Vader get into it! The bell keeps ringing as Mankind gets to his feet and applies the Mandible Claw! Mankind looks to roll Michaels into the casket, but The Undertaker emerges! This match deserved a clean finish, but the booking here was actually really smart as Michaels won by DQ, Mankind was protected, and they set up some intriguing storylines going forward with Mankind and Undertaker continuing their feud, Sid and Vader igniting theirs, and Shawn Michaels proving that he could survive the most brutal match of his career. An absolute classic and arguably one of the top 5 WWE Matches of the 90s and maybe even of all time. (5/5)

This show's unremarkable Kwang Score of 2.5-out-of-5 might leave you thinking that Mind Games was a forgettable, middling show unworthy of a first watch let alone repeat viewings. While the show does start off with a series of stinkers, things pick up nicely after the Pillman and Owen segment, with the World Tag Team Title Match being at least interesting, Henry/Lawler serving its purpose, and the Undertaker/Goldust match (while not as good as their bout from a few months earlier) isn't outright offensive or anything. What makes this show worth checking out, though, is the main event, arguably a Top 10 WWE Match of All Time (which covers a TON of ground). As this match had no sequel and both guys' career trajectories were so different in the years after, it is a match unlike any other on either guy's resume. This match alone has made Mind Games something of a classic as its mere existence on this card somehow elevates the whole show and proved that the WWE might stand a chance against the juggernaut that WCW had become at this time.

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

WWE No Mercy 2005

WWE No Mercy 2005

Houston, TX - October 2005

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's SmackDown-only show, the World Heavyweight Champion was Batista, the United States Champion was Chris Benoit, the Cruiserweight Champion was Nunzio, and the WWE Tag Team Champions were the Road Warriors (Animal and Heidenreich). The Women's Champion was Trish Stratus, but she was exclusive to RAW.

No Mercy 2005 kicks off with a 6-person intergender tag match pitting MNM (with Melina) against the team of Christy Hemme, Road Warrior Animal, and Heidenreich, who was a pseudo-Warrior at the time. Heidenreich wouldn't last much longer with the company, getting the axe just a few months later. Him and Animal were actually the WWE Tag Team Champions at the time, which just shows how deep (or, rather, shallow) the talent pool was in the division at the time. An inoffensive match built mostly around the nostalgia pop of seeing Christy Hemme hit the Doomsday Device on Melina. Respect for them actually performing the move considering that it's a fairly dangerous one for relatively untrained wrestlers to attempt performing. I was still surprised by the outcome as MNM were clearly the team with the brighter future and Melina had more star power than Hemme (who hits one of the all time worst hurricanranas I think I've ever seen), but the crowd absolutely loves the end anyway. (2/5)

Simon Dean made his way down the aisle next with a plate of cheeseburgers in his hands. He berates the Houston crowd for being fat, lazy slobs and says that if he loses tonight, he'll personally eat 20 double cheeseburgers. Of course, his opponent, Bobby Lashley, destroys him in under 2 minutes. As much as some wrestling nerds would love to claim that the Simon Dean character was degrading or embarrassing for the ECW alum, the superhero character he did under the name of Nova and the one-note bWo "Hollywood" Nova gimmicks showcased even less of his character and ability. At least as "Simon Dean," Mike Bucci got mic time and steady TV work and while it was never going to bring him to the top of the company, I kinda like the way the gimmick was a throwback to some of the sillier gimmicks of the mid-90s, complete with him riding a segway and shilling The Simon System. Anyway, this is inoffensive and ultimately leads to awkward backstage segments where Lashley, who was very, very green at this point, forcing Dean to eat the cheeseburgers against his will. Fine for what it is, but not necessarily PPV worthy. (2/5)

The Houston crowd has been given two big babyface wins so you just know that they won't get to see their hometown boy Booker T get the W in the next match - a four corners bout for Chris Benoit's United States Championship also featuring the woefully underutilized Christian (he'd leave the company at the end of the month) and the just plain woeful Orlando Jordan. Matches with Benoit are always a bit rough to watch, mostly because of how his life ended but also because, over time, Benoit's hard-hitting, suplex-and-submission heavy style has become less impressive as countless wrestlers have imitated and arguably bettered what he did. They tried to tell the story of Booker T being the fan favorite and getting "cut out" of the finishing stretch, but I wish they would have laid it on even thicker and made it so he had the match fully won himself rather than just "clearing the way" for Benoit to apply the Sharpshooter. There was good action throughout this bout, but the through-line of the match wasn't apparent for me to feel like it was anything more than "good match for good match's sake" filler. (2.5/5)

Mr. Kennedy makes his PPV debut next, taking on Hardcore Holly. I'm willing to wager that Holly did not step into this match enthusiastically as, based on his book, if I'm not mistaken, this was around the time when he was fairly fed up with being tagged a "midcarder for life" while guys like JBL and Mark Henry got big pushes. As for Kennedy, he walked like Austin, talked like The Rock, and had a catchphrase like the Road Dogg, but in the ring, he was only better than the third one (which isn't saying much as Road Dogg was never a great worker). Kennedy and Holly actually go close to 10 minutes and Holly gets to show his toughness throughout, getting in more than enough offense. Kennedy's offense, meanwhile, is unremarkable and he had not yet developed the Mic Check, a reverse Rock Bottom (natch) as his finisher (instead using a rolling senton). This was another inoffensive, but not quite PPV-quality match. After the match, Holly refused medical attention, which felt tacked-on and unnecessary, but led to the arrival of Sylvan Grenier, who beat down Holly again. Yeah, I'm guessing ol' Sparky Plugg was not happy about having to job to one rookie and then get beaten down by another greenhorn. (2.5/5)

After some more backstage segments, JBL (with Jillian Hall and her disgusting facial growth) took on Rey Mysterio. This might be a JBL career match and I'm going to go ahead and put much of that credit on Rey Mysterio being an excellent opponent for him, bringing the fun and the movement and speed that JBL couldn't. This is a clash-of-styles match with JBL working to slow things down and crush Mysterio and Rey constantly bringing the tempo up, striking with high-flying moves. There was some cool spots too - a bulldog by Mysterio, a fallaway slam on the floor, and a really good believable ending with JBL hitting the Clothesline from Hell to get the win. This also went the right amount of time, clocking in at a few minutes over 10, which was enough to make it feel like a real battle between two veterans without ever getting dull. (3.5/5)

For the first time ever, The Undertaker competed in a handicap Casket Match, taking on both Randy and "Cowboy" Bob Orton. This was a continuation of a long-running feud between Taker and Orton that stretched all the way back to WrestleMania and really put Orton on the map as a top heel. This match starts out a bit slow with the Ortons using their numbers advantage to cut off the Deadman every time he may be in control. The Ortons eventually hit a double-superplex, a move made famous by senior. Things pick up once "Cowboy" Bob brings out the fire extinguisher and the match becomes much more chaotic. Some good bomb-throwing too as Orton hit some of his signature offense, Taker hit the Last Ride, and Bob spent multiple minutes in the casket. I like how the last few minutes were fairly unpredictable too as I went into the match thinking there was no way that Taker was going to lose, but the Ortons ended up getting what was essentially a 100% clean win (with help from a chair and the extinguisher) in what was a war of a match. I wouldn't consider this an all-time great match or anything, but it exceeded my expectations. (3/5)

After the match, Orton set the casket on fire, which was a cool image.

The Cruiserweight Championship is on the line next with Nunzio defending against Juventud Guerrera. In ECW or even WCW this might've been a good opener, but this is designed to be filler/a bathroom break and is treated as such by the live crowd. Tazz tries his best to hype up this match and the importance of the Cruiserweight Championship, but there was just nothing these two guys could do to get the crowd back after seeing the Undertaker get (kayface) burned alive. Its also worth noting that Juventud, who had been a pretty spectacular performance 7-8 years earlier in WCW, wasn't as exciting a performer in 2005 - not just because he was taking less risks, but because, by this point, the cruiserweight style had become less unique. Juvi wins the title and the Mexicools celebrate. Not bad, but just kinda there, with the audience indifference dragging it down another half-point. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Eddie Guerrero challenging Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. The story coming into this match is that Eddie has had a change of heart and is no longer the sneaky, cheating heel that he was in the Rey feud but, of course, nobody trusts him, including Batista, who had a history of getting stabbed in the back dating...err, back...to his Evolution days. Batista was the babyface, but a large portion of the Houston crowd is clearly in Eddie's corner because he was so entertaining. This match was more about the character dynamic than the actual wrestling, but you have to give credit where its due as Guerrero knew that having a technical-based or lucha-type match with The Animal was not going to work and that the crowd was much more interested in the suspense around whether Eddie would try to cheat anyway. Early on, Eddie nearly goes for a chair, but sets it down, which got a big reaction. Eddie still managed to gain control with a brilliant frog splash onto Batista's back for 2. That move set the stage for Eddie to attack Big Dave's lower back and keep the pressure on with a half crab. Moments later, again, Eddie looked like he may take a shortcut by using the tag rope to choke out Batista but opted not too. Then it was an errant ref bump that Eddie didn't take advantage of. Some good nearfalls followed as Batista continued to sell the back and couldn't manage to land the Batista Bomb. Batista did connect with a devastating spinebuster, which was something of a secondary finisher for him, for 2. Eddie was able to counter an elbow drop and hit the Three Amigos, which was very impressive. Eddie went back to the top, but Batista dodged whatever he was going for and hit a spinebuster to get the win. This match could've been something special if it had maybe gone an extra minute or two with Eddie doing another tease that he may cheat and Batista actually hitting his Batista Bomb. Heck, from a storyline perspective, it may have been cool to see Batista get DQ'd here as a way to build towards the next match. Unfortunately, this would be Eddie's last pay-per-view match and it just ended with a thud. Better than average thanks to the work of Guerrero and some good selling by Batista, but nothing I'd go out of my way to see and definitely not a match that would make either guy's Top 10. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.43-out-of-5, No Mercy 2005 is not a show I'd recommend to anyone, full stop. There's not a single match on this show that is worth checking out, though I guess an argument could be made that the Rey/JBL match is one of JBL's better ones. If you're looking for a great Eddie match, you won't find it here. If you're a Randy Orton stan, the guy's probably worked a couple hundred matches that are better than this one and at least 1-2 better ones against the Undertaker. These kinds of shows are a great example of why the brand split idea was always a risky idea. I mean, I like Simon Dean as much as the next guy (which is probably not that much), but he's not a "PPV worthy" talent. The opening match would be filler on an episode of SmackDown so what's it doing here? Whatever the opposite of a "stacked card" is, this show is that. There are enough "moments" to keep this from DUDleyville territory, but not by much.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE King of the Ring 1999

WWE King of the Ring 99'

Greensboro, NC - June 1999

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, The Undertaker was the WWE World Champion, Jeff Jarrett was the Intercontinental Champion, Mideon was (somehow) the European Champion, Al Snow was the Hardcore Champion, Ivory was the Women's Champion, and The Acolytes were the World Tag Team Champions. (Duane Gill was recognized as the Light Heavyweight Champion, but hadn't defended the title on WWE TV since December of 98' according to Cagematch). 

I most definitely caught this show live when it happened, but its been awhile and I needed something to watch while I jogged on my treadmill so...

After a lengthy video recapping the latest state of affairs between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin, a feud that was now full into its 2nd year, we get Hardcore Holly vs. X-Pac. If I'm not mistaken, Vince Russo was still in charge so this tournament is more about storyline progression than putting on great matches (like Bret in 93') or establishing a new superstar (like 94', 96', or 97'). Holly and Waltman try to deliver something good by working stiffly and not wasting any time, but they also only get 3 minutes before the bell is rung as Holly has gotten himself DQ'd for using a chair. In the Attitude Era, this was not only acceptable but had become the norm, which means nobody was invested in this tournament at all and winning it meant nothing because, to be crowned King, your path was likely littered with schmozz endings and DQs. (1/5)

Kane vs. Big Show is next. I was surprised how fun this started out as Kane really went out of his way to make Big Show look like not just his equal, but actually the even stronger monster. Unfortunately, after a promising start, the match swiftly turns into the drizzling shits as a ref bump leads to a Hardcore Holly run-in (this, by the way, marks his third segment on the show as he was interviewed backstage by Terry Taylor prior to this match) and then a god awful stretch where Kane applies a choke on Show that seems to go much, much longer than it was ever intended to (maybe there was a ref botch or something?). Eventually, Kane opts to just bash Show with a chair in order to advance in the tournament. I guess this was supposed to protect Big Show, but because this match fell apart so awkwardly and terribly, neither guy benefitted one bit. (1/5)

"Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn takes on Ken Shamrock next. At WrestleMania a few months prior, DX had split as Triple H and Chyna (and Gunn, later, IIRC) turned heel, leaving X-Pac and Road Dogg as babyfaces. Shamrock, meanwhile, was in his own storyline feud with the McMahons and had been attacked by Steve Blackman (at Vince's behest, I believe) on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show, causing him to the come to the ring (after taking out a bunch of EMTs) with blood already dripping out of his mouth. Again, the emphasis of this match is on the shenanigans that happened earlier in the show and not at all on Billy Gunn. Ken Shamrock being a nutcase was one of my friends' favorite things about the WWE, but it was definitely more about laughing at his ridiculous delivery and overacting more than it was actually thinking he was cool. After a few minutes and Shamrock coughing up more blood, Teddy Long stops the match and awards it to Billy Gunn. That's 2 non-finishes and a screwy finish if you're keeping score at home. This gets a half-point just because Shamrock is so ridiculous here. (0.5/5)

Backstage, Chyna cuts a promo before her match with Road Dogg. Chyna cut a promo before the match about growing up and wanting to be a princess, but now wanting to be the first Queen of the Ring. In hindsight, I think they should've went with her as the winner as she was way more over than the person who got the nod instead. This match should've been a somewhat big deal as there was plenty of history between Road Dogg and Chyna and they do get a touch more time, but because we're talking about Road Dogg and Chyna, that's not necessarily a good thing. Road Dogg always worked better for me as a tag wrestler or a bumping manager because nothing he does looks at all tough. Chyna, meanwhile, always came across to me as stiff and robotic in the ring, though she at least looked intimidating. Triple H is on the outside, playing second fiddle for the last time in his career really as he'd be fully thrust into the main event by the end of the summer (and would be cheating on real-life girlfriend Chyna with the boss's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, by the end of the year if I'm not mistaken). Because of his interference, Triple H is ejected by the commissioner, Shawn Michaels. If I recall correctly, he was brought in on TV in 99' basically just because WWE was paying him all along, but he does not look too excited to be on TV and was still a drug addict at this point. There's a decent finish in this match as Chyna attempts a low blow but Road Dogg came prepared with a cup and gets the win with his pump handle slam. As other reviewers have noted, this might actually be the best match of the night so far, but that still doesn't make it good. (1.5/5)

Edge and Christian (still with Gangrel) take on The Hardys (with Michael "P.S" Hayes as their manager) next. These two teams go out and actually have to accomplish something and get over and you can see it in the effort they put into this brief match (the runtime is less than 5 minutes), loading this with as much high-impact and speedy offense as they possibly can, including a nifty moment when Jeff Hardy goes for the Air Hardy and gets driven to the mat with a spear from Edge instead. This is really just a teaser for when they would start stealing the show in the fall and then blow people away with a triangle ladder match at WrestleMania 2000 featuring the Dudley Boys. (2/5)

Before the next match, Vince McMahon cuts a promo and attempts to cancel tonight's match with Austin, but Shawn Michaels nixes that idea. McMahon then explains that he wasn't going to cancel the match after all - he was just going to find a suitable replacement. Its a bit confusing and feels unnecessary anyway as this could've been a backstage segment. This entire show feels more like an episode of RAW than something worth paying $50 to see.

Mr. Ass takes on Kane next. Another nothing match with a screwy finish as Big Show clocks Kane in the head with a chair to give Gunn the win. The WWE ratings were super high at this time for their TV shows and they were selling out arenas worldwide, but its also worth noting that much of this popularity was delivered on the shoulders of a handful of giants that got over HUGE in 98', namely Steve Austin and Vince McMahon and then Mankind and The Rock. The "crash TV" style without these characters resulted in crap like this tournament and, in WCW, drove the company's ratings and credibility into the ground. (1/5)

X-Pac vs. The Road Dogg is the other half of the semi-finals. Road Dogg vs. Gunn for the crown would've made more storyline sense, but also would've meant that the Road Dogg wrestled three matches on a show and even Vince Russo, who famously couldn't care less about the in-ring product, probably recognized that that was an awful idea. So X-Pac wins in under 4 minutes instead. (1/5)

The WWE Championship is on the line next as The Rock challenged the The Undertaker. This match had a bizarre overbooked start (surprise surprise) as Taker took out the ref but then got Rock Bottom'ed and ate a visual pin, which popped the crowd but also made The Undertaker look very weak. That sort of spot would've worked great against a cowardly heel - even a Triple H - but against the Undertaker, it was just too gimmicky. Like most of the Attitude Era main events of the time, many minutes were spent out of the ring, brawling up the aisleway and using chairs and whatnot to keep the crowd engaged. Eventually, there was a rag of ether and then a Triple H run-in that cost The Rock his match. The crowd enjoyed this way more than I did watching it 20+ years later, which is why I want to give this a sub-average score but can't deny that The Rock was so over that even a sub-average match out of him was enough to pop 20,000 plus fans and keep them at the edge of their seat from overbooked beginning to overbooked end. I believe the Undertaker was working through quite a few injuries at this point in his career, desperately needing time off but also not wanting to miss out on the biggest paydays of his career against such strong babyfaces as The Rock and Austin. (2.5/5)

The Finals of the King of the Ring tournament are next as "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn faces X-Pac. I read that X-Pac was injured coming into the show, which makes it a bit surprising that they'd have him wrestle in three matches on the show, but then again, when your only alternative is the Road Dogg, you're kinda stuck. Of course, a Gunn/Road Dogg finals would've seemed natural considering their history but...yeah...it would've sucked even worse than this match. Cheers to X-Pac for working hard to produce something good, but the Billy Gunn singles run was DOA (and I'm not talking about Skull and 8Ball). After Gunn wins the match in 5 minutes, with a top rope Fameasser (which could've felt like a big deal if it actually been built up after a "classic" Fameasser didn't do the job), he doesn't even get a coronation moment...which just goes to show how little anybody in the back cared at all about this tournament, its "prestige," or Gunn himself. (1.5/5)

Multiple backstage segments on this show have revolved around the main event (with "Stone Cold" himself never appearing on-screen), including one before the last match where Shawn Michaels banished Triple H from the building for interfering in the WWE Title match, thus eliminating Vince's top choice for a replacement tag partner for Shane. So, instead, Vince McMahon makes his way down the aisle and announces Steve Blackman as his partner. Of course, that plan is also ruined by Shawn Michaels, who sees on a GDTV/GTV feed (look it up if you're unfamiliar with this aborted gimmick), that Shane McMahon is actually 100% healthy and is fully capable of tagging with his old man against Steve Austin for control of the WWE. Speaking of Austin, he comes in and gets a mega-pop as expected, running roughshod over the McMahons after they try to walk out (a move by the McMahons that makes absolutely no sense considering that they'd then be essentially forfeiting a match that has the highest possible stakes for them). Austin gets a big pop when he pulls Shane crotch-first into the post but this buys time for Vince to recover on the outside and the McMahons gain control by beating down the Rattlesnake 2-on-1. Austin fights back, though, and sends Shane into the steps before beating down Vince in the aisleway. Shane makes his way over and ends up on top of the ladder-made set. Austin follows him up and Shane comes down, though its not captured very well on camera. Austin sends the McMahons through the various ladders, eventually causing the whole thing to collapse in a cool visual that the crowd gives a huge reaction to (though, on camera, its clear that the McMahons weren't really crushed all that much). Austin brings a ladder into the ring in order to retrieve the briefcase but the McMahons ends up chasing him down, only to get knocked around with the ladder some more. Austin shoves Shane onto the Spanish Announce Table and sets up a ladder, coming down onto him with his trademark elbow in a spot I'm honestly surprised Stone Cold did (and I was even more surprised when he climbed back up on the ladder and ending up getting sent into a table himself by Vince). Vince sets up the ladder in the middle of the ring but he can't reach the briefcase. Austin stops him with a low blow and then pulls Vince over the ladder, ramming his head into the steel rungs before pulling him onto the arena floor. Shane comes in but he gets cut off too, stomped out in the corner. Austin uses the ladder to continue to punish both McMahons and looks to have the match sewn up, with Shane in particular taking a hell of a beating. Austin sets up the ladder and climbs to the top, but Vince dumps the ladder and Austin goes down. I like how Vince and Shane try to win the match without using a ladder next and Austin bringing them both down in a heap. I can understand that moments like these are maybe a touch too comedic but the McMahons doing Three Stooges bits always got a huge reaction. Austin climbs atop the ladder but, inexplicably, the briefcase is pulled up closer to the ceiling. Among my friends, there was always a question as to "Who Raised the Briefcase?" but its clear now the intention was never to really answer that question, just to make it clear that the McMahons were able to "pull strings" and have company employees do their bidding. In all the confusion, Shane McMahon retrieves the briefcase and the McMahons have regained control of the WWE. There's not much a "match" here, but there are some fun moments and the crowd is absolutely into it. I wouldn't consider this a highlight of Austin's run when he had so many better matches and moments. (3/5)

With a pretty woeful Kwang Score of 1.5-out-of-5, King of the Ring 99' is a dreadful show only somewhat salvaged by a "good enough" main event, a decent World Championship match between The Rock and The Undertaker (mostly due to a hot crowd), and a tag team bout that shows off the chemistry between Hardys and Edge & Christian and is a textbook definition of "maximizing your minutes." The King of the Ring tournament itself has to be in contention for the worst versions ever, though it does have some stiff competition in the 95' version that saw Mabel get the crown. Recommended to only the most ardent supporters of Vince Russo...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Survivor Series 2005

WWE Survivor Series 2005

Detroit, MI - November 2005

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this event, the World Heavyweight Champion was Batista and the WWE Champion was John Cena. Kane and Big Show were the World Tag Team Champions, while MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny "Nitro" Morrison) were the WWE Tag Team Champions. The Intercontinental Champion was Ric Flair and the United States Champion was vacant. Finally, the Cruiserweight Champion was Juventud Guerrera and the Women's Champion was Trish Stratus.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T opens up the show, the first match (?) in their Best of Seven series. Booker's real-life wife, Sharmell, was now his manager and they had great chemistry, though it wouldn't peak until Booker became King Booker the next year (my favorite singles run of his). This is one of those matches, like much of Benoit's output in the last few years of his life, I'd point to as being better-remembered that it actually was. Benoit was consistently good, could execute as well as anyone, and never half-assed anything...but it didn't always make for thrilling matches. Here, he and Booker have a good contest, but it seems almost pedestrian and rote at times, a really good version of a paint-by-numbers match that both guys, with their experience and chemistry, could have without really thinking about it. The best part, to me, was the finish, just because it introduced the concept that Booker was turning fully heel as he has to cheat to get the W. (2.5/5)

Before the next match, there was a segment in which Vince McMahon used the n-word. Yeah. That one. It is edited out of the Peacock version. Interestingly, there seems to be some other moments that were edited out of the Peacock version as the Benoit/Booker match also has some weird "blackout" moments. Maybe they had something to do with the verbiage being used to describe Benoit?

Back in the ring, Melina takes on Trish Stratus in an inter-promotional match. This match was not as technically crisp as the opener, but I daresay that I enjoyed it more. In terms of in-ring skill, this was around the time when many US fans, unversed in joshi wrestling or aware of what was happening on the indies in the 00s, considered Stratus to be the best women's wrestler in the world and maybe in WWE history. This match, while under 7 minutes, is a good example of why that argument could be made. Stratus brings tremendous spirit into every move and there are some good counters and reversals, even if at times it feels a bit overly choreographed. Trish's superfan (Mickie James) gets involved a bit, but their feud didn't really start up until a few weeks after this, building to a tremendous WrestleMania match in 2006. (2.5/5)

One of the more memorable matches of the night follows - Triple H vs. Ric Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing Match (Flair was the Intercontinental Champion). This feud was all about Triple H wanting to put the Nature Boy out of his misery, but Flair, who was 55 or 56 at the time, refused to retire. Triple H attacks Flair early and they brawl into the crowd, setting a hardcore tone to this match even before the bell could be rung. After moving back into the ring for a bit, Hunter grabs a screwdriver. Before he can even use it, Flair does a blade job and is bleeding all over the place. Triple H maintains control until he grabs a microphone, allowing Flair to catch him with a low blow. There was a time when the low blow wasn't Flair's most effective transition spot but that was at least 7-8 years before this match. Triple H sets up Flair for a pedigree on the announce table but Flair back body drops him through the Spanish table instead. Back in the ring they go and Triple H attempts another pedigree but Flair cuts him off with another low blow. Flair takes control of the match here and while his offense isn't exactly innovative, technical, or impressive, it is very much spirited and the crowd eats it up as he basically targets The Game's balls and legs. Flair gets the "visual pin" by applying the figure four with Triple H tapping out (which in this match means nothing). From here things went back-and-forth and we got some near-finishes as Triple H hit a pedigree to put Flair down for 8 and both guys used the steel steps to their advantage. Even after two more pedigrees, Flair wouldn't stay down, defiantly flipping the bird at his one-time best friend. At this point, Triple H grabbed his trusty sledgehammer and used it on Flair's back to get the win after a nearly 30-minute match. Some people really love this match and it is a bloody, violent brawl...but its also close to 30 minutes and a bit "one note." In a sense, it is the exact match one would expect these two guys to put on without a single original spot or truly suspenseful moment. Its for that reason I can't go a full 4 stars on this as, even if you're a huge fan of this era of Flair, he went on to have an equally brutal match with Foley not too long after this and, of course, a much more emotional match against Shawn Michaels a few years later. (3.5/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next as John Cena defends the title against Kurt Angle. The story coming into this match is that Cena has the deck stacked against him with Angle hiring his own personal referee, Daivari, and Eric Bischoff hoping to get the title off Cena. What's maybe most interesting about this match - aside from the crowd being split 50/50, which isn't all that interesting for this era of Cena's run - but that this match is solidly an Angle match more than a "Cena match." Cena makes a cover early on that Daivari doesn't even bother counting and then, moments later, Angle applies the Ankle Lock but Daivari doesn't immediately call for the bell (which seems like what he would and could do, though I can understand the WWE not wanting to just rehash the Montreal Screwjob for the millionth time). Ignoring that lack of internal logic, I like that this match does lean in to the stipulation - with Cena almost getting himself DQ'd only for Angle to prevent it and then a whole slew of ref bumps that prove that, even with the ref in his pocket, Angle's anger issues (say that 5 times fast) and inability to maintain his composure are what has caused his undoing. Cena would get much better - his offense is milquetoast here - and he even seems to shrink a bit in the spotlight, something that wouldn't be the case a year later, but Angle's performance is enough to carry this match into good territory and keep the crowd engaged. I can fully understand that many critics would consider this match overbooked (and it is), but that's kind of the point too. (3/5)

Teddy Long takes on Eric Bischoff in a Battle of the GMs. Bischoff probably hated having to be made to look like a chump despite being an actual accomplished martial artist. This match and segment goes close to a full 10 minutes, which is about 7 too long. The Boogeyman shows up. I guess that earn it a half-point? (0.5/5)

Main event time - Team RAW (Shawn Michaels, Chris Masters, Carlito, Kane, and Big Show) vs. Team SmackDown (Batista, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, JBL and Bobby Lashley). Looking back at this match, it really does seem like SmackDown was the stacked roster with each of its members being a former or future World Champion and likely Hall of Famer. Meanwhile, two-out-of-five members of RAW's team were basically total flops who never got closer to the main event scene than this match. Some people regard this match as a bit of a hidden gem (Meltzer gave it 3.5 stars in the Observer and it has a solid 7.78 rating on Cagematch), but I wouldn't and won't go that far in singing its praises. What this match gets right is that it treats its biggest stars as stars. Nearly everybody has a chance to shine, though Mysterio and Michaels are the clear MVPs. I really liked the way guys like Big Show and Kane had to be put down through rapid-fire execution of multiple finishers rather than just having them eat a single big move from just one opponent. While I do tend to prefer big multi-man matches having some sort of car crash element, whether it be a big table spot or a match devolving into a melee that reaches all the way to the entranceway, this one's strength is in its simple story and quality execution, especially Shawn's stunning Sweet Chin Music elimination of an airborne Rey Mysterio, easily the best spot of the entire night. Speaking of Michaels, his detractors will likely see his ability to almost win a 3-on-1 match as yet another example of HBK being booked as a superman and while that usually would bother me, it worked here for a couple reasons, namely that Mysterio has always been portrayed as "beatable" by just about anybody at any time, JBL has also always been portrayed as a guy that is a formidable opponent but can be outsmarted (here he's eliminated when he unwisely opts to grab a chair and ends up getting it kicked into his own face), and, in the end, Michaels does fall prey to Randy Orton, who was on hot streak and had the deadliest finisher in the game (and arguably still does). After the match, Orton is hoisted upon the shoulders of various SmackDown heels, but his victory party is interrupted by The Undertaker who does come in and destroy a half dozen or so guys without breaking a sweat. Undertaker's return gets a huge ovation (there was even a chant for him earlier in the match) and he does look badass, but its still not enough for me to consider this a "must watch: match. (3/5)

I can see the argument that Survivor Series 2005 is a great show marred by one terrible match - Long vs. Bischoff - and the fact that 15 minutes of the event may be considered unwatchable due to the presence of Chris Benoit. But to me, the main event is overrated by Shawn Michaels superfans and the WWE Championship match is underwhelming (with the aforementioned Benoit match not being all that special even if you are comfortable watching his work). The match of the night is the 30-minute brawl between Triple H and Ric Flair and even that isn't something I'd consider "must see" or would find myself wanting to revisit. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Extreme Rules 2021

WWE Extreme Rules 2021

Columbus, OH - September 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was Big E, the World Heavyweight Champion was Roman Reigns, the Intercontinental Champion was "King" Shinsuke Nakamura, the United States Champion was Damian Priest, the RAW Tag Team Champions were RK-Bro, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The Usos, the RAW Women's Champion was Charlotte Flair, and the SmackDown Women's Champion was Becky Lynch.

The Columbus crowd was psyched for the opening contest - The New Day vs. Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos. This match got plenty of time and Big E was made to look strong, but as we'd see in the next match, this one seemed to go from being just a "hot opener" to a match that seemed to run a bit too long, with too many false finishes. The live crowd was with them, though, so this match can't be seen as anything below "good," plus there were sprinklings of future rivalries in AJ/Big E and even a potential split between Styles and Omos if they are drafted separately this Friday. A good, solid opener, if a bit overcooked. (3/5)

Street Profits challenged The Usos next for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. To me, the err in this match came down to show layout. After a lengthy 6-man tag, it felt like "more of the same" with another tag match placed immediately after. Though the crowd was hot at the start, it seemed to cool considerably and, at one point, voiced a demand for tables. Considering this show was called "Extreme Rules," that shouldn't have been a surprise. Fortunately, Montez Ford's aerial skills were enough to recharge the audience, but like the opener, the match went a touch too long and featured a few too many false finishes for me. By the time they got to the end, the Usos' offense looked particularly sloppy too as they barely connected on a double superkick or their double splash finish. I'm not sure where this feud goes from here as the Profits have now lost decisively and were already on Raw not too long ago so I doubt they'll be re-drafted. Could they be getting split? If so, pray for Dawson as he seems like Jannetty of the duo. (2.5/5)

Charlotte Flair defended the RAW Women's Championship against hometown gal Alexa Bliss next. I'm a bigger fan of Bliss than most, though even I've been turned off by her new gimmick (and how long it's been running, even after the departure of Bray Wyatt). I'm not a fan of "hocus pocus" in my wrestling, but I also hate inconsistency, so this match was a bit "Damned If You Do/Damned If You Don't" for me. On one hand, I like both Flair and Bliss as in-ring performers so the fact that this was basically a straight-up match meant that I got to see them do the things that I like about them. On the other hand, its wildly inconsistent for Bliss to have special powers some weeks and no special powers the next. It also didn't help that Bliss, like so many babyfaces (and she was the clear babyface here), had to do the clean job in front of her hometown, a move that obviously deflated the audience and then was made doubly bad by having her thrown some sort of weird post-match tantrum involving what I believe was a faulty throat lozenge meant to turn into foam. Overall, a not bad match that was really tainted with a bad post-match angle and an abandonment of what the "new Alexa Bliss" character was supposed to be. (1.5/5)

The United States Championship was on the line next as Damien Priest defended against both Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. In terms of beginning-to-end action, smart booking, satisfactory finishes, and having just the right amount of time, this match delivered and it certainly was the best match of the night up till this point. Jeff Hardy remains immensely popular, almost to the point of being underrated in terms of the energy and excitement he can bring to a PPV show just by being there, and here was a match where his involvement definitely helped keep the crowd's energy level up when there is still some question as to how over Damien Priest really is. Speaking of Damien Priest, he's probably the biggest success story that NXT has had in years (along with Bianca and the Street Profits), and unsurprisingly, its because he's been treated like a big deal since his debut, immediately booked into a strong position and a major storyline (as Bad Bunny's buddy) rather than just being saddled with guys that the audience doesn't regard as serious players (for example, Dolph Ziggler). Which brings us to Sheamus, another guy who I'd argue is a bit underrated in an entirely different way than Hardy. While Hardy is the eternally popular "fuck up," Sheamus is the consummate heel pro, reliable for a hard-hitting match at any time and very skilled at making his opponents look great without ever sacrificing his own credibility. I'm not sure there's another major title run in Sheamus' career and he definitely suffers a bit from his longevity and the fact that he's already fought and feuded with nearly everybody, but as a gatekeeper, he's in the conversation as being one of the best the WWE has ever had at that position. (3/5)

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch for Lynch's SmackDown Women's Championship was next. Despite being the heel, Lynch had at least 50% of Columbus rooting for her. I think part of that comes from the fact that PPV crowds tend to contain a fair number of fans that don't necessarily follow the storylines week-to-week and may not know that Lynch has been a not-so-subtle villain since SummerSlam. With the crowd 50/50, Belair and Lynch put on a strong match that felt competitive and serious, a match that showcased everything it needed to by re-establishing what Becky Lynch does in the ring (which is a little bit of everything but mostly she carries herself as tough, resilient, and crafty) and that Belair is every bit a"top tier" wrestler, powerful and quick and agile, someone who does seem like they're on the same level as the rest of the "4 Horsewomen." Belair and Lynch made up for the time they didn't get at SummerSlam, working a lengthy match with some really cool moments, including Belair countering a Disarmher by lifting Lynch off the ground (quite a feat after working hard for close to 20 minutes). Some fans really disliked the finish and joked about how a show called "Extreme Rules" having a match end in a DQ is lame, but the only real Extreme Rules match on the show was the main event and I personally like the continuity of not only Sasha Banks wanting to be the one to win her title back from Bianca, but also attacking Lynch, which does seem like a reasonable way to possibly nudge Lynch back into the tweener/"gray area" cocky babyface role that made her so popular to begin with. The only way it could've been better, at least to me, would've been if Bayley was at her side, though I guess one would have to forget that Bayley and Sasha had their own huge split and probably shouldn't be booked as best buddies again after how huge that feud was. Regardless, this was a really good match, though just a hair short of being "must see" to me. (3.5/5)

Main event time - "The Demon" Finn Balor challenging Roman Reigns for Reigns' Universal Championship in an Extreme Rules contest. The hype for this match was all about Balor wrestling as the "undefeated" "Demon" (even though the Demon was defeated in NXT). They started things off with some actual wrestling, Finn's makeup looking a bit like the Boogeyman of 15 years ago. Within the first minute, the fact that they referred to "The Demon" as "The Demon" and didn't interchange it with "Finn" or "Balor" or "Finn Balor" got super annoying. Reigns went to the outside early and grabbed a kendo stick, but Balor surprised him with a super kendo stick that combined 3-4 different sticks. Reigns' facial expression when he saw it was priceless and kudos to him for taking some shots from it. Balor dropped it quickly though and allowed Reigns to regain control as the crowd started demanding tables. Balor trapped Reigns in the apron and hit him with an awesome running kick to the face before grabbing a table. Of course, Reigns stopped him with a Superman Punch and then denied the fans what they wanted, sliding the table back under the ring and telling the fans there wouldn't be any splintered wood tonight. Reigns then grabbed a chair and went after Balor's midsection before doing some more gloating. Reigns went for another swing, but Balor caught him and hit him with a double stomp with Reigns holding the chair in a cool spot. Balor went after him on the floor, sending him into the barricade before grabbing hold of a table to a huge pop. Balor slid the table into the ring, but Reigns caught him with the Driveby! Reigns tossed Balor over the barricade and then, in a brilliant move, asked Paul Heyman for a mask before he went into the crowd! That is funny. Reigns tossed Balor around the Kickoff Show area, even attempting a Rock Bottom on the desk at one point. Balor fought out, though, eventually landing a huge crossbody off the table and through another table. Balor chopped and shoved Reigns back into the ring and tried to set up the table that was lying there. Reigns tried to stop him but Balor fought him off and set it up only to get chokeslammed through it for a 2 count. This led to a deserved "This is Awesome" chant, a crowd response I typically find cloying and often unearned. Reigns went for another Superman Punch but Balor dodged it and connected with a Pele Kick only for Reigns to spring back with a Superman Punch anyway for another great near fall. Reigns went for his spear, but Balor caught him with a Sling Blade only for Reigns to end up hitting him with a Spear for 2.9 as Balor delivered a big low blow on the kickout! The crowd bit on that one hard. Balor hit a dropkick that sent Reigns to the outside and then went to the air, hitting a splash to the outside and the Coup De Grace...only for the Usos to pull him off at 2.9! The Usos hit the double superkick against the barricade and grabbed another table, the crowd erupting with heat. The Usos attempted a double slam on Balor but the Demon fought them off, eventually sending Jey Uso through the announce table with a powerbomb. Not a millisecond later, though, Reigns hit Balor with a ridiculous spear through the barricade that brought on a massive "Holy Shit!" chant. Wow. That was an incredible sequence. Unfortunately, this is when the match turned to ridiculous hokey bullshit as the lights turned red and the Demon sprung up, no selling the damage and grabbing a chair. He went hard after Reigns and even caught him with a double dropkick that sent Reigns through another table! As Balor's music played, the Demon climbed to the top rope and went for another Coup De Gras, but this time, the ring exploded and Balor landed awkwardly, tweaking his knee and leaving him vulnerable to a spear from Reigns to end the match. What a silly shit ending that basically buried the Demon character as being unbeatable aside from by fault ring-making. Sadly, everything up till that moment was really, really good, so good that this match would/will still probably make my Year End List due to the tremendous performance by Reigns and the excellent series of near falls that preceded the match's demise into bullshit. (4/5)

Extreme Rules 2021 will probably go down as the most controversial WWE pay-per-view of the year due to the finish of the main event (and, to a lesser degree, the way Alexa Bliss seemed to be written off TV), but with a Kwang Score of 2.92-out-of-5, I'd say it was mostly good wrestling with surprisingly flat finishes. Lynch/Belair, for example, was very good but the end result was designed to further a storyline and reintroduce Sasha Banks rather than deliver a definitive ending. The main event was spectacular until its final few moments. I think the SmackDown Tag Team Titles match suffered from card placement more than anything. If you have the time for it and you're not totally sick of "hamster wheel" wrestling, this show has plenty to offer.

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