WWE Royal Rumble 1996

WWE Royal Rumble '96

Fresno, CA - January 1996

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Bret Hart is the WWE (then WWF) Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was Razor Ramon, and the WWE Tag Team Champions were The Smoking Gunns. 

Royal Rumble 96' starts off with a surprisingly decent match between Jeff Jarrett and Ahmed Johnson. I've seen a fair amount of Ahmed Johnson matches before, but I really do not recall him ever going to the air as much as he does in this match - first with a great crossbody plancha onto Jarrett on the outside and then, moments later, a ridiculous attempt at a 450. This leads to a figure four from Jarrett, but Ahmed counters it and sends Double J to the floor - where he swiftly retrieves his acoustic guitar and gets himself DQ'd for bashing it over Johnson's head. This extended the Jarrett/Johnson feud effectively, but I do think the WWE was in desperate need of the kick-in-the-ass that WCW would give it in the months to come as this was basically just a repeat of what happened at the previous In Your House pay-per-view. Putting feuds on auto-pilot is not a new problem for Vince and this finish shows it. These two had chemistry and Johnson was over enough to get people invested in this feud, but because they hadn't spiced things up at all, it would die off well before WrestleMania. (2/5)

The Bodydonnas (with Sunny) take on The Smoking Gunns next with the Gunns defending their WWE Tag Team Championships. The WWE tag team division might have been at its absolute lowest point here - The Smoking Gunns were not interesting or over, The Bodydonnas gimmick was lame and relied entirely on Sunny for its relevancy, and everyone else in the division (I think the Headbangers were already floating around as were The Godwinns) were even less over. Oddly enough, looking at a roster site, it seems like The Bushwhackers were still on the roster (working as ambassadors, I believe) but they might as well have given them the titles. Any way, this one goes a little over 10 minutes and while it doesn't drag at any point, its instantly forgettable filler that barely furthers the Billy Gunn/Sunny flirtation storyline this was built around. I think the eventual payoff was that Sunny would join the Gunns and this all led to the debut of "Cloudy," but I think my brain has purposefully tried to forget all this stuff because it was so cartoonish and awful. (1.5/5)

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line next - Goldust challenging Razor Ramon. Unlike the previous bout, this match had a fantastic build-up because, unlike the Smoking Gunns or the Bodydonnas, Goldust was an outstanding, original, and interesting character and Razor Ramon was the perfect foil for him. When Goldust comes out, he is joined by the debuting Marlena (his real-life wife Terri Runnels, though she had not yet been "revealed" as any of these things and wouldn't be for at least a year or two). Goldust's performance is at a 10, though he would take it to an 11 by the end of the year and through 97'. Vince's shock and disgust dominates the commentary, while Perfect plays the heel and talks about how clever Goldust's mind games are. Sprinkled throughout this match are some quality exchanges - this is definitely a step up from the previous bout - but Razor Ramon/Scott Hall remains one of those guys that has been sometimes overrated as a in-ring worker and this match is another example of having better highlights than being actually engaging from beginning to end. A few edits here and there, including a more rushed, urgent delivery of the finish (which is bogged down by Tim White moving like molasses to make the count after The Kid's run-in) and this would be a stronger, more memorable match. (2/5)

Its Rumble time! Hunter Hearst Helmsley (not yet Triple H) starts things off against his longtime rival Henry O. Godwinn. Helmsley would have a tremendous showing in this match, lasting well over 40 minutes when it was all said and done - but not getting any signature eliminations, which kind of defeats the purpose. Bob Backlund and Jerry Lawler are in next, which makes the Billionaire Ted skit that aired a few minutes before this even more cringey. I mean, say what one may about building your company around 80s stars in 1996, but Backlund and Lawler's prime years were the friggin' 70s, Jake Roberts is featured rather heavily in the match, and Dory Funk Jr. (who competes in the Rumble for some godforsaken reason) was 55 but looked at least a decade older than that and was way, way, way less known to casual viewers than Savage and Hogan. Speaking of unknowns, this Rumble also features The Headhunters, Doug Gilbert, and Takoa Omori - all complete unknowns in the WWE that, if I'm not mistaken, never appeared again, only appeared again once, or only on house shows. The most notable debut in this match, though, was "The Ringmaster" - aka Steve Austin - who comes in and immediately makes an impact, eliminating Bob Holly, but, more importantly, showing a mean streak and an urgency that can't be ignored (and isn't by Curt Hennig on commentary). The last quarter of this match is built entirely around Shawn Michaels, though - Shawn Michaels getting nearly eliminated, Vince McMahon worrying about whether Shawn Michaels has been eliminated, Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart attacking Shawn Michaels...Its tedious and overwrought and the finish is predictable, though its undeniable that Michaels is the most over babyface in the match. I guess it could've been even more melodramatic had they had him start the match at the Number One spot? The only other guy that has a decent showing - aside from Vader (who gets a spotlight in the middle of the match as an absolute monster but doesn't get to hang till the end) - is Diesel, who comes in at #22 and gets a respectable 5 eliminations (as well as getting to be the 2nd man last standing). The finish itself is not everyone's cup of tea as it is executed incredibly quickly, the equivalent of a flash pin really, but I like the immediacy of it, the way they don't waste their time with a Diesel/Michaels showdown or having Shawn have to overcome the odds against a bunch of oversized heels. Better keep it short and sweet than pile on even more melodrama, if you ask me. If the roster had had greater depth, this would've been your average Rumble - but because the entrants list is so sub-average, its sub-average as a whole. (2/5)

Main event time - Bret Hart defending the WWE (then WWF) Championship against The Undertaker. I liked the pre-match angle - Diesel and Undertaker coming to blows as Undertaker made his trademark entrance - quite a bit as it almost foreshadowed the change in the Undertaker's character that would come many years later. A wrestler actually treating the Undertaker like a human - not a mythical monster whose arrival can't be interrupted, whose mere presence causes worry and fear - was almost unheard of at the time. Sure, the Giant Gonzalez and Jake Roberts and others would sneak attack Undertaker, but that's not what Diesel does here. What Diesel does is walk right up and talk to him like a man, like just another guy in the locker room. That subtle distinction is why Kevin Nash exuded cool in 96'-97'; Kevin Nash didn't just not show fear, he showed no reverence for the Old Guard or anyone's "mystique" (aside from, of course, "Hollywood" Hogan, though even that alliance was clearly built around a kayfabe mutually-beneficial villainous partnership, not necessarily Hall and Nash serving as Hogan's underlings). Onto the match itself...If the Nash/Taker pre-match angle sets the tone that this is going to be a different kind of Undertaker match, Bret's work pushes it even further into that new territory as the Undertaker is pulled out of the ditch of one-dimensional, cartoonish Zombie vs. Monster matches and actually forced to work an honest-to-god professional wrestling title fight. As others have noted, a year or so after this, the Deadman would be even further along in his transition to being a reliable main event performer, able to hold his own in more substantial matches against the likes of Shawn Michaels and Austin and Goldust and eventually Triple H (and obviously Mankind and Bret) in 97' and 98'. This match isn't as good as SummerSlam 97' or Ground Zero or the Casket Match against Michaels at the 98' Rumble or his eventual top shelf stuff against Kurt Angle, Edge, Batista, and others in the 00s, but it may be the first match he had that showed that having matches that were emotional rollercoasters, built around actual athleticism and *gasp* vulnerability (and not sit-ups and smoke and mirrors) could be in the cards for him. As other reviewers have noted, Bret may have had a really shitty kayfabe 96', but he had not lost a step at all and shows some brilliant shades of grey in his approach to this match. Shawn Michaels really should've been more thankful for how Bret subtly added some heel traits to his persona as, by this point, he was no longer the plucky underdog who automatically assumed crowd support (ceding that territory to Shawn); he was the crafty fighting champion who wasn't afraid to maybe let the circumstances dictate what needed to be done to retain his title. He wasn't just fighting from underneath anymore. He wasn't just trying to outwrestle his opponents. By this point, the Bret persona was a guy with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Bret goes after the Undertaker's legs and brings the match to the mat and while the results do not always make for the most riveting contest, we're talking about the Hitman here - he still finds a number of ways to infuse life into the match, especially as we go into the closing stretch and Taker gets unmasked (which draws a huge reaction). Bret is never able to lock in the Sharpshooter, which I think protects him a bit, though I also think its noticeable that after the Deadman hits his Tombstone, there is a notable 2-3 second gap before he goes for the cover that shouldn't be there. Before the ref can count three, Diesel shows up and gets the match thrown out, costing the Undertaker the title. Diesel flips him the bird and we've got a clear-cut path to their showdown at WrestleMania (though Bret would defend the title against Nash at the next month's In Your House show). I've read some reviewers' takes who consider this boring, I've read some reviews that consider this Undertaker's first good match, but I fall somewhere in the middle. I really like the Diesel involvement that bookends things, but I also dig Bret's performance and the Undertaker showing vulnerability. I wouldn't consider this a "must watch" as both guys have so many considerably better matches on their resume, but this is still easily an above average outing that clearly the best match of the show. (3/5)

Royal Rumble 96' isn't a dud, but with a Kwang Score of just 2.1-out-of-5, this is not a show worth a re-watch unless you're, like me, trying to attain some sort of WWE Completist Merit Badge. The Rumble itself is one of the weakest I've seen and the second half is built entirely around Michaels, taking away any real shock at his victory. Jarrett/Johnson is better than it should be but still sub-average thanks to the non-finish, the Tag Title Match is boring, and while Goldust and Razor have a few inspired moments, their match runs long and never enters the proverbial "second gear." 

KWANG RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Royal Rumble 2014

WWE Royal Rumble 2014

Pittsburg, PA - January 2014

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Randy Orton was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion coming into this show, while the Intercontinental Champion was Big E and the United States Champion was Dean Ambrose. The Rhodes Brothers were the reigning World Tag Team Champions at the time and AJ Lee was the Divas Champion.

The 2014 Royal Rumble is one of the more "notorious" shows in WWE PPV history, but I must admit to having never actually seen it...until now.

The show kicks off with the hottest opener possible - Daniel Bryan, arguably at his peak of popularity, taking on Bray Wyatt. A very well-received match not only from the live crowd, but also online as this one remains arguably Wyatt's career match. At the time, Wyatt had mostly been steamrolling through the usual suspects - Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder - with his most notable feud being his first one with Kane. In this match, he actually had to go as this match exceeds the 20-minute mark. Fortunately, Bryan is brilliant here and delivers the kind of underdog performance that had made him the most popular babyface the company had seen in at least a decade. What is seen in this match - and not as much in the Bray Wyatt matches that would come later - is just how vulnerable Wyatt is. There's no magical powers here. No worms projected on the mat. Bryan fights from beneath for most of it, but its not like he doesn't get any offense in - in fact, some of the offense he gets in is absolutely brutal and Bray Wyatt sells it without getting cartoonish. I can fully understand why the WWE would take the Wyatt character further into the "otherworldly" territory and I'll readily admit that I enjoyed his feud with Cena in the months to come, but this is still the best wrestling match he's ever had (even if it isn't the best sports-entertainment match he's ever had). The finish is a disappointing one for the live crowd, but it doesn't necessarily kill the crowd as, at this point in the show, it was still believed that Bryan would appear in the Rumble later on and that this match and Wyatt's victory was serving a valuable purpose, namely to build Wyatt up for an impending match with John Cena or The Undertaker at WrestleMania and possibly also position him as the number one contender after WrestleMania (when Bryan would presumably be the Undisputed Champion). Bray Wyatt's career match, a tremendous babyface performance from Bryan, a hot crowd. Great, must-see match. (4/5)

The next "match" is more angle than "match" - Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show. Unlike the first match, which has aged quite well, this segment deserved to get a much more negative reaction than it did at the time. In January 2014, Brock Lesnar was coming off something like the opposite of his legendary rookie year, losing to John Cena in his big return match and then going 2-1 against Triple H. His match against CM Punk at SummerSlam 2013 was excellent, but it wasn't the dominant performance that Lesnar needed to really re-establish himself as the top guy in the WWE. That moment would come at WrestleMania XXX and, with that knowledge in mind, its weird to see him essentially play a corner-cutting heel against The Big Show, a guy who was over a decade removed from any sense of being an undefeatable Giant. Brock Lesnar shouldn't need a pre-match chair attack to beat him but that's what he does, drilling him with multiple chair shots before the bell rings. Show gets one good shot in, but Lesnar recovers and then does a stupendous F5, carrying Show around for a good 5-10 seconds before dropping him. Its such a ridiculous show of strength that had he just hit that move and not used the chair, it still would've been a believable, credible finish that would've protected Big Show because, hey, there's no way Big Show would've been prepped for getting lifted and dropped that quickly. After the "match," Lesnar continues his assault. I wonder if this all wouldn't have gone over even better if this angle had been done with Kane as a not-so-subtle allusion to Lesnar's Mania opponent. Regardless, the F-5 is enough to make this segment interesting, but it goes a touch long and the chair shots are needless. (1.5/5)

Randy Orton defends the inified WWE World Heavyweight Championship (that's quite a mouthful) against John Cena next. The history of this match is sorta interesting. In December, Cena was named the number one contender for...I don't remember...but when the match was announced, Daniel Bryan was in the ring and the crowd overwhelmingly cheered for him to be in Cena's stop (which Cena readily acknowledged). Cena and Orton had a TLC match at the show of the same name but couldn't wrest the title away from Orton. For some reason, Cena was named the number one contender again and again Daniel Bryan's fan base booed and hissed. So, coming into this match, both Cena and Orton are treated like heels and no matter how hard they work, the audience won't root for either guy. Now, fans booing Cena wasn't all that uncommon in 2014...or 2013...or 2012...or really any time after 2005, but here, the difference is that the audience isn't cheering for his opponent either and even the dependable "high pitched" fans (kids) are atypically inaudible. This isn't a 50/50 crowd. This isn't a 40/60 or a 30/70 crowd. This is a vehemently anti-both of these guys crowd and, because of it, the match that Orton and Cena put together comes off as even worse than it actually was. They clearly wanted to have an epic match with lots of finisher teasing, finisher stealing, and finisher kickouts, but its almost like trying to feed someone an overloaded, Meat Lover's pizza from Domino's 30 minutes after you've just had an authentic, oven-fired pizza from the Campania region of Italy. Now, 90% of the time, nobody is going to turn down the pie from Domino's...unless you just got treated to a world-class pizza whipped up by a true master of the culinary art. The Daniel Bryan/Bray Wyatt match was a simple, violent story told extremely well. This match came off as "video game" wrestling in comparison. In front of a different audience, on a different card, maybe this would be regarded as Orton and Cena's lost classic - but it just doesn't work in this context. (2/5)

Main event time - the 2014 edition of the Royal Rumble. CM Punk starts things off against Seth Rollins, which seemed like a bone thrown to the "indie fans" as, in the days and weeks leading up to this, everybody and their mother wanted Daniel Bryan to be included in the match and to win the thing (and would settle for nothing less). I'm not sure if the crowd noise has been lowered on the Network version but the audience's booing is not quite as loud and in-your-face as I had thought it would be. As other reviewers have noted, this match had some good, interesting moments - Kofi leaping off the barricade onto the apron in his annual "near elimination" spot, the debut (?) of Rusev, Dean Ambrose nearly eliminating Roman Reigns - but also quite a few sour notes. Obviously, the crowd wanted Daniel Bryan in this match and there are plenty of examples where wrestlers have appeared on the main card and in the Rumble, but what made things worse was that there were also some "troll" entrants and guys that the audience was just 100% indifferent to (The Usos, Sandow, and The Great Khali). And while JBL and El Torito's appearance were good for a laugh, these "moments" would be better remembered if the match had ended in a way that pleased the crowd. Instead, they're remembered as "wasted" entrants, comic relief in a match that the fans, this year especially, desperately wanted to be treated as a serious piece of storyline progression (the way it had been for Austin in the Attitude Era). Ultimately, the overall booking of this match ruined it more than any single element and it all comes to a head in the final minutes. Rey Mysterio gets booed. CM Punk is positioned as the "fan favorite" - but because the fans want Daniel Bryan, they don't really get behind him. Batista gets booed from the minute he hits the ring. Roman Reigns gets a great spotlight - no doubt - but I highly doubt he would've actually popped the crowd much if he had somehow won the Rumble. The fans wanted one thing and Vince simply refused to give it to them. This isn't the worst Rumble of all time, but I'd still rate it below-average in that it isn't a very interesting one and, aside from Roman Reigns, nobody really comes out of it looking like a bigger star than they went in. Plus, the number of interesting plot developments leading into WrestleMania were basically nil unless one counts some of the tag team interactions. (1.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, Royal Rumble 2014 is the rare show that is best enjoyed by turning it off after the first match. Both title matches are disappointments for very different reasons and the Rumble itself is one of the most anti-climactic, deflating matches one could ever watch, a tone deaf misfire that had many fans questioning if Vince McMahon had officially cut ties with reality. Saved by one of the best Rumble singles matches in history, the rest of this show is more interesting than good. In this sense, it isn't a complete bore and could maybe even make a fun drinking game, but as far as being entertained? Look elsewhere.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

ROH Greatest Rivalries DVD

Ring of Honor: Greatest Rivalries

Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are back to welcome viewers for this collection of matches, sending us to our first match out of July 2003 - CM Punk vs. Raven in a Dog Collar Match. Punk tries to change the stipulation before the bell rings, but Raven won't have any of it and Punk eventually attaches the collar to himself. Raven controls early, busting Punk open early and delivering a pair of russian leg sweeps into the barricade. Back in the ring, Raven attempts to whip Punk into a table but the Straight Edger reverses it and Raven ends up going through the plywood. Punk hits a neckbreaker and then gets a little innovative, wrapping the chain around his knee and dropping it on Raven's head. Onto the floor they go and now its Punk's turn to send Raven into the barricade. Into the crowd they go and now we've got chairs involved. The brawling in the crowd really makes this feel like a throwback to ECW. Raven ends up posing at the top of the bleachers and Punk yanks him down before whipping him with the heavy chain. Punk brings a garbage can back to the ringside area and drops it on Raven before sending him back into the ring. Punk grabs a mic and calls Raven an "old timer," asking him if he's had enough before hitting him with a suplex and an enziguiri. Punk goes to the top rope, but Raven pulls him down. Punk eggs him on and Raven explodes with a series of huge clotheslines in a wild sequence. Raven sets up a chair and hits his trademark drop toe hold-into-a-chair but only gets 2 with it. Raven goes for a chairshot but Punk dodges and the ref eats it instead. Raven hits the Evenflow but there's no ref to make the count! Colt Cabana shows up instead and delivers a low blow and then an Evenflow DDT on the chair to give CM Punk the win. (3.5/5)

Homicide challenges Samoa Joe for the ROH World Championship in the next bout from Death Before Dishonor II (July 2004). Homicide is backed up by manager Julius Smokes and a large segment of the crowd, though Joe has his fair share of fans in Milwaukee too. A minute into the match, Rocky Romero, Low Ki, and Julius Smokes are all ejected from ringside, allowing Samoa Joe to have a fair defense and leading to a "Na Na Hey Hey" sing-along from the crowd. Joe's offense early on is nothing flashy, but the crowd adores it and there's plenty to admire in the precision, the calculated strikes, the way Joe makes the simple stuff look fresh and exciting. In 2004, Joe's back-to-basics style was revelatory and its still cool today to see him craft a story built on grit. Homicide has to rely more on character as his offense, especially early on, leaves much to be desired and is almost extensively boots, rakes, and headbutts. The first big spot of the match comes when Homicide hits a guillotine leg drop across the apron, but Joe doesn't stay down and strikes back with even more hard slaps to the face and chest. Out of the ring they go and Joe whips Homicide gets sent into the barricade. The crowd wants the Ole Kick but Joe puts Homicide back into the ring for another series of strikes. Homicide manages to reverse the momentum, hitting a beautiful knee drop from the top rope onto the back of Joe's neck. Joe stumbles to the outside moments later and Homicide calls for a tope but fakes out the fans instead and flips them the bird. Joe strikes him with a kick to the head and now its time for the Ole Kick. Homicide sees it coming and Joe ends on the chair instead. Homicide goes for the Ole Kick himself, but Joe catches him with a belly-to-belly on the floor. This time Joe wastes no time and connects with an Ole Kick that sends Homicide's head into the barricade. Joe follows it up with a double stomp onto Homicide's recovering body and then tosses him back into the ring. In the minutes that follow, we get some nearfalls and the pace quickens a bit as Joe starts trying to end things, delivering slams and throws a plenty. Just as it seems like Homicide is done, he hits a back elbow and follows it up with some neckbreakers and an attempted piledriver that doesn't quite work out. Homicide tries a lariat but Joe stays standing, withstanding another before falling to the third for a 2 count. Homicide tries another but ends up walking into a series of slaps and chops and then a nasty cobra clutch back suplex for another nearfall. Homicide goes to the top but Joe catches him in the Muscle Buster for the - no! Homicide kicks out. The crowd chants "Holy Shit" in shock and watching it myself I was shocked too as that move is usually a game-ender. Joe hits an Island Driver but only gets 2 again. After hitting him with more boots, Joe applies the Rear Naked Choke and Homicide is out. This was good, but not great. Some of the set-ups were a touch too telegraphed for me, like these two were playing a Greatest Hits set instead of something more nuanced. The post-match beatdown and Homicide's promo is classic heel stuff but adds nothing on a DVD like this except extra minutes. (3/5)

Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles with Mick Foley as the Ringside Enforcer (given this role to neutralize Prince Nana on the outside) is next from September 2005. Rave goes right after his ex-mentor, but AJ comes right back with some fiery offense. There's no referee for this match because it is being fought under the stipulation that a winner can only be declared if they hit their finish - the Styles Clash or Jimmy Rave's version of it (the Rave Clash). Styles goes for the Clash early but Rave crawls out to the outside. I like Styles' intensity - this is the type of no-nonsense tone that fans wanted to see him bring to his feud with Samoa Joe years ago. The commentators note that this was Foley's final night in Ring of Honor, but don't mention that he was probably already gearing up for a return to the WWE in 2006 where he'd add a pair of great matches to his resume against Edge and then, teaming with Edge, against Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer. A mysterious run-in causes a shift in the match and Rave takes over, eliciting a loud "Die Jimmy Die" chant. Rave hits a nice reverse suplex to maintain control but gets momentarily distracted by an un-PG comment from Foley on the house mic. To the outside they go where Rave sends Styles into the barricade repeatedly. They fight up to the entrance and Rave attempts a Rave Clash but Styles counters with a back drop. Back in the ring, Rave crotches Styles on the top rope and looks to be fully in control. Rave looks to try the Clash again, but AJ counters with an eziguiri. Both guys attempt German Suplex and we get a nice sequence that ends with a headscissors takedown and then into yet another stunning sequence of counters and suplexes ending in Rave's Gonorrhea move. Rave grabs a table (which is legal in this match) and slides it into the table with help from Nana. I really like Styles' attention to detail here. Obviously they're building to a table spot, but Styles doesn't just let it happen, trying to prevent Rave from positioning the thing at every turn. Styles and Rave again trade suplex attempts, neither guy giving up anything easy. This match feels and looks tiring, like a genuine fight, each sequence transitioning seamlessly into the next and feeling organic. They end up on the top rope, teasing something big and both men end up crashing through nearby table in a heap. Simple but effective stuff. This is the opposite of "my move/your move" bullshit. Styles goes for a piledriver back in the ring, but Rave escapes and hits a nasty knee strike to the face. He sets up a chair and attempts a brainbuster on it, but AJ counters it and drops him chest-first onto it the chair instead. That's gotta hurt. Styles sets up the table but out comes a gaggle of masked wrestlers! Foley neutralizes them but gets hit from behind by Prince Nana. Rave lands a vicious lariat  and is the last man standing. Rave sets AJ up in the corner for a superplex through the table but AJ won't budge and instead turns it into a Styles Clash through the table! Holy Shit! This one is over. And to add a cherry on top, Mick Foley hits the DDT on the steel chair to Prince Nana! Mick Foley goes on to cut a promo praising the company. That was a fantastic match. Top, top shelf. (4.5/5)

I was not super pumped about this next - The Briscoes vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong from August 2006 in Liverpool, England for Aries and Strong's Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles. Long ago I heard that the Briscoes were not the greatest human beings and their views on LBGTQ lifestyles and support for the Confederate flag (Jay would eventually feature it on his custom Ring of Honor World Championship) only bolster that view. Meanwhile, based on podcast interviews and some of his questionable antics, its just hard to root for Austin Aries. Granted, that might be kind of the point of Austin Aries in 2021 - a guy that blurs the line between being a real life asshole and an on-screen heel that fans want to see get beat up - but it doesn't necessarily work when you go back to a match like this (where he is, if I'm not mistaken, clearly positioned as a babyface). Despite not being a huge fan of the politics or personalities of 3 out of 4 competitors, though, you can't really knock the work. This is a crisp, physical, athletic, exciting match. This is a smorgasboard of expertly-timed, devastating moves. Guys flip and fly into and over each other, get suplexed and slammed every which way, and even get double-stomped in the face. The crowd is very, very into the proceedings, rooting on both teams and counting along for every near fall down the stretch. A loud "This is Awesome" chant breaks out around minute 15, stopped only a series of "Awws!" as Strong and Aries deliver a series of insane dropkicks and we get another two near falls. A well-deserved "ROH" chant breaks out after a Briscoe dive and it seems like things might over after a Spike Jay Killer, but the fight continues, Aries and Mark Biscoe ending up on the entrance ramp. A springboard Doomsday Device - an awesome move - only gets 2 soon after, but when they try it again, Aries and Strong counter with their own tandem offense to get the W. This one really won me over after being a bit indifferent at the start. (4/5)

BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs in a steel cage match from March 2007 follows. After some brawling on the outside, Whitmer and Jacobs get inside the cage and Jacobs ends up being sent into the walls a number of times. A chair gets put to use soon after, Whitmer using it to add some extra damage to a dropkick and a spinebuster. After front face-dropping Whitmer into the chair, Jacobs gets handed a railroad spike - but Whitmer has one too and they end up busting eachother open simultaneously. The crowd pops HUGE for Whitmer and Jacobs stabbing eachother in the head and becoming bloody messes. Whitmer hits a Buckle Bomb followed by a running kick. This match feels like it skipped some steps, going from a relatively standard opening to an insane amount of violence within moments. A staff member hands Whitmer a barbwire baseball bat, but Jacobs stops him and ends up driving it into Whitmer's head and side himself. Jacobs uses the bat to tear into the arm of Whitmer as the crowd chants "You Sick Fuck" in unison. Jacobs grabs the spikes and jabs them into Whitmer, who is now sporting a crimson arm to match his face. Jacobs sets up a chair in the corner but is in no rush to send Whitmer into it, instead just continuing to grind the spike into Jacobs. Whitmer mounts a comeback and Jacobs goes head-first into the chair before eating an Exploder. Whitmer takes over on offense, bashing Jacobs with the barbwire bat before delivering an absolutely nasty brainbuster onto the chair that gets 2.8 and a "Holy Shit" chant. Whitmer can't maintain control, though, and Jacobs regains control, hitting him with a back splash from the top rope for a 2 count of his own. Whitmer comes back, though, hitting a series of german suplexes and a powerbomb for 2. A table gets brought ringside as Whitmer undoes the top turnbuckle pad. Both men end up on the top rope and Whitmer attempts a powerbomb only to be head-scissored to the center of the ring. Jacobs goes for the Acid Drop but Whitmer counters it into a tombstone piledriver! Lacey comes into the ring and Whitmer piledrives her too in a bit of a nod to ECW. Whitmer goes to the top of the cage and attempts a frog splash, but Jacobs rolls out of the way and ends up hitting his Acid Drop-like maneuver (the Contra Code) for another nearfall. Jacobs demands the table to be slid into the ring and sets it up near the corner. Jacobs climbs to the top of the cage but Whitmer follows him up, only to get beat backen down to the mat. Whitmer ends up back on the table, allowing Jacobs to go back to the top of the cage to deliver a backsplash through the table for the victory. I didn't love the finish, but this was a solid steel cage match and one that would please any fan of blood-and-guts 'rassling. (3.5/5)

Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries from November 2007 is next up. The crowd is SUPER psyched for this, chanting from the very moment it starts for both guys. This was the culmination of a Best of 3 series pitting the two company "aces" against each other to find out who the number one contender for the RoH World Championship would be (Nigel McGuinness was the champion at the time). Unlike the previous contest, this is a straight-up technical wrestling match, but its no less hard-hitting than anything else on this disc, even if it does feature considerably more actual wrestling holds. Danielson is in super-serious "shooter" mode here, a style that he rarely worked once he came to the WWE even when facing guys of a similar size to Aries or smaller. The final 6-7 minutes of this match are phenomenal - each counter and cut-off throws sweat into the air, both guys' execution of every strike and suplex is impeccable, and I love the way they transition through a number of complicated sequences without ever making it feel overtly choreographed. This could've easily gone another 5-10 minutes and been an unforgettable match, but they kept things under 20 minutes and trimmed any fat that a longer runtime might've had. As close to a "must see" match as possible without being necessarily "must see," even if you're a huge Danielson fan. (3.5/5)

From April 2006 in Dayton, Ohio, this next match is one of the bouts from the extended CZW/ROH feud, this match pitting Samoa Joe against Necro Butcher...or at least that's how things start until Super Dragon and Nate Webb show up to help Butcher out, only for Ace Webb and Colt Cabana to even the sides. There's no commentary for the first few minutes of this match, so it feels more like a wild fight than an actual "match." Claudio Castignoli comes out, the future multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion having turned on ROH prior to this show. Despite having a broken neck, BJ Whitmer shows up with a chair in hands and tries to even the sides (as Samoa Joe had been tied up). Adam Pearce joins the fray, this brawl looking more and more like a Royal Rumble. Even after sending the CZW squad to the ground, the Ring of Honor crew aren't done, continuing the brawl on the arena floor and into the crowd. Its hard to rate a match like this because its so formless, so loose, so void of any tangible story beyond watching guys get bashed by and into all sorts of furniture. Miraculously, there's almost no blood spilled. Equally miraculous is watching BJ Whitmer wrestle with a "broken neck." When Necro Butcher goes for a pin in the middle of the ring, it feels "off" just because a wild brawl doesn't seem like it would or could end just because somebody has their shoulders down for three seconds. The best spot of the match is an absolutely perfect table spot that sends Cabana into the table off of a Castignoli uppercut. Wow. Back in the ring, Claudio sets up Whitmer for what would've been a career-ending chair spot, but Steele makes the save and the brawl continues on the floor. After a vicious chairshot from Super Dragon to Whitmer, Ace Steele delivers a superplex on the Butcher off the bleachers onto the arena floor that gets a "Holy Shit!" chant. Back in the ring, again Castignoli has Whitmer positioned with his head on the chair. Dragon looks to go to the top, but Cabana momentarily makes the save. Dragon fights him off, though, and Whitmer takes a DOUBLE STOMP on a chair from Dragon! What should've been a match-ender (maybe even a career-ender) is slightly tarnished by having Castignoli hit a Muscle Buster to get the W. Was a bit of a hat-on-a-hat ending there as Whitmer taking the double stomp was as definitive an ending as one could've ever wanted or written and the crowd reacted accordingly. (3/5)

Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens for the FIP Title from the Final Battle 2007 show in December of that year. That last sentence is features two things I must admit to knowing little about - Erick Stevens and the FIP Title. Let's start with Stevens - he was a decorated indie guy based out of Florida, trained by Strong, that never got a big break in TNA or WWE. However, he did have some big victories in his day and mixed it up with a real Who's Who of top guys on the indie scene during the 2000s. The championship their competing over is the Full Impact Pro World Heavyweight Championship, the top title of the Full Impact Pro company, which was based in Florida and started in 2003. The FIP Championship had quite a lineage already at this point, its first champion being Homicide (he defeated CM Punk in a tournament final) followed by Bryan Danielson and then Roderick Strong, who was in the midst of a 365+ day reign at the time of this match. Anyway...If you're like me, you might believe Roderick Strong is the quintessential "vanilla midget," a guy that will dazzle you with his arsenal of moves, incredible dives, and pinpoint accuracy but doesn't have enough natural charisma to truly get over. This match might convince you otherwise, though, as it is a stunning showcase of everything he can do - including drawing heat and even getting a lit bit hardcore (his delivery of a Gibson Driver on the entrance ramp popped me watching alone in my living room). Stevens, meanwhile, comes across as equally void of character at first - but the heart and fire he ends up showing as the match wears on won me over (and seemingly won over any of his doubters in the Manhatten crowd that night). By the time you get to the finish, you feel like you've truly seen a World Heavyweight Championship match, a battle between two never-say-die athletes that take the sport of pro-wrestling very, very seriously. I'm not sure this match is for everyone - if you like over-the-top characters and pageantry, this match isn't where you should look - but this match feels so real and the performance is so passionate that it is far more than just an exhibition of "movez." (4/5)

WWE Night of Champions 2013

WWE Night of Champions 2013

Detroit, MI - September 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Randy Orton was the WWE Champion while Alberto Del Rio held the World Heavyweight Championship coming into this show. The United States Title was held by Dean Ambrose, the Intercontinental Title was held by Curtis Axel, and the Divas Champion was AJ Lee. Finally, the WWE Tag Team Champions were The Shield's Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Night of Champions 2013 begins with a bit of table-setting as the WWE's COO, Triple H, comes out and announces that tonight's WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan will be held with no interference. I've never seen this show before but I'm guessing that, yes, in fact, there will be some sort of bullshit interference. Before Triple H leaves, Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel show up. Heyman begs to be taken out of tonight's handicap match against CM Punk, but Triple H refuses, noting that Heyman doesn't even need to tag in, that he can let Curtis Axel do all the work...if he trusts Curtis Axel can take care of CM Punk. Heyman doesn't look so sure but accepts that answer only for Axel to jump in and bring up how he, on the first night he became a "Paul Heyman Guy," actually beat Triple H (by countout, I believe). Taking umbrage with that fact, Triple H announces that Curtis Axel will now defend his Intercontinental Championship against the first guy he comes across backstage...

And that guy is Kofi Kingston! These two get plenty of time to put on a good match and it is a good enough opener...but after the initial pop for Kofi, the match definitely loses the crowd's interest. At this point, Kofi was a wrestler on a hamster wheel, incapable of moving up the card, not "new and exciting" or a truly beloved wrestler. Axel, meanwhile, was a solid worker and showed moments of character but strikes me as a guy who came through the business at the wrong time for the wrong company. Because this match had no build, the audience doesn't get behind Kofi much even on the nearfalls. When Axel finally does hit his finisher to get the win, it only gets a mild reaction. This is one of those things where putting Axel with Heyman actually ended up doing more damage to his character than it helped. Yes, he got to have a good manager (arguably the best of the past 20 years), but he was also booked as a guy who didn't really pose a threat to anyone and had to go close to 15 minutes just to defeat Kofi Kingston, who was, at the time, considered a lifetime midcarder. So, is Axel actually a credible, talented 3rd Generation star or is just a tomato can that Heyman uses to stave off his own enemies? (2/5)

A forgettable Fatal Fourway Followed - AJ Lee defending the Divas Championship against Brie Bella, Naomi, and Natalya. This was not good and the commentators made no attempt to make it seem good. At one point, Naomi laid on top of Brie Bella for upwards of 8 seconds, both women's shoulders on the mat, and the referee didn't even bother to make a count - which was noted repeatedly by Cole. This led to a Natalya "double Sharpshooter" that AJ Lee broke up to get the win in well under 5 minutes. This was the kind of match that makes you feel sorry for the women involved because there's no way they didn't know how much it sucked but went out and did their job anyway. (0/5)

The World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio, defended his title against Rob Van Dam next. One would imagine that RVD would've been mega over considering he was wrestling in front of something like a hometown crowd, but he gets much bigger responses in places like Phillie and NYC than he did here. Kinda odd. Speaking of muted reactions, I'll continue to point to Del Rio as a guy that the WWE pushed into a spot that he just wasn't ready for as he doesn't come across as a main event heel here. They had plenty of time to deliver a good match and they obviously worked hard, but this match just never really hooked me or even the live crowd. The post-match action got a much bigger reaction than any of the nearfalls as I believe everyone and their mother knew that Del Rio wasn't dropping the belt. (2.5/5)

The Miz vs. Fandango is next and this match just dies an almost immediate death. The crowd is into Fandango's entrance music a little bit, but beyond that, it is crickets and the occasional chant for tables. I think this match could've won the crowd over if they had bothered to involve Summer Rae, who was the most over performer in the match it seemed. The Miz had zero support as a babyface and the figure four was an awful finisher for him. Why didn't he just keep the Skull Crushing Finale? A match that is worse than the sum of its parts. (0.5/5)

One of the more anticipated bouts of the evening - CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman in a No Disqualification Handicap Elimination match - follows. The crowd so clearly wants this to be a legendary ass-kicking but they can't get out of their own way, chanting "Boring" and "We Want Tables" to the point that both Punk and Axel look a bit thrown and perturbed. The match isn't actually boring, but it is undeniably hamstrung by having to be "PG" and Punk not being allowed to actually deliver the ass-kicking that he has promised. In hindsight, the pay-off should've been all about something that Punk could deliver, like promising to choke out Heyman or promising to embarrass him in some way, but by practically guaranteeing bloodshed, there was simply no way this was going to work. Plus, of all the guys who should be getting two spotlight matches a night, Curtis Axel is a weird choice and the crowd treats his minutes as perfunctory, clearly just eager to see him get taken out so that Punk can get Heyman alone. Punk wants to give these fans a story built around kendo sticks and a chair in the corner and Heyman being a coward, but this crowd just wants table destruction and blood and nothing else...and when they don't get it, they audibly complain. Eventually, Punk does Heyman alone and does beat down on him a bit but before he can deliver the coup de grace - a kendo stick to the face - Ryback shows up and spears him through a table (to a huge "Goldberg" chant). Again, you almost feel bad for Punk and Heyman and even Ryback here as this was intended to be a major angle but the crowd basically just mocked it. Then again, the WWE sorta walked into this as Ryback had been de-fanged over the prior 3 months, famously losing to Mark Henry at WrestleMania 29 for no apparent reason and then turning heel just to get squashed by John Cena at successive PPVs in the spring. A disappointment that is only salvaged by the performance of Punk and Heyman, who carry it into average range but no higher. (2.5/5)

Dolph Ziggler challenged Dean Ambrose for Ambrose's United States Championship next. This is another match that doesn't benefit at all from 8 years of hindsight. The crowd doesn't really get behind Ziggler all that much and Ambrose is milquetoast, not yet giving off even a fraction of the charisma and character he would in the ensuing years. At the time, there were rumors that Ziggler was basically being punished for getting cheered against Del Rio, who the company inexplicably believed could get over as a babyface. Whether that was true or not, Ziggler was now a babyface but had lost his feud with Del Rio, which cooled him considerably. Ambrose and The Shield, meanwhile, were dominating the midcard but weren't necessarily doing much more than that - and, in fact, wouldn't really be featured in a major way until after WrestleMania XXX. And so, this match just kinda happens. Ambrose gets the clean win, which does give him some credibility, but it still seems like a lost opportunity to actually tell a story and get Ambrose and the Shield more over as heels. A perfectly fine match, but nothing worth revisiting and the crowd is mostly indifferent. (2.5/5)

One might be surprised, but in front of this crowd, The Prime Time Players were one of the most over acts on this card. They challenged Ambrose's Shield buddies - Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns - for the WWE Tag Team Championships next. I'm not sure if the crowd was just eager for a tag team match or hopeful that the Players might somehow score the victory (again, at this point, The Shield had been cycled down the card a bit) and they would see a title change, but they're solidly behind Titus and Darren Young. Unfortunately, the match underwhelms and Rollins and Reigns don't show much of the star power or attention-grabbing charisma that would make them top-of-the-card talent just a little under 2 years later. In fact, the announcers mostly praise Titus O'Neill and, honestly, its not hard to see why. The guy had tremendous size, natural charisma, and was a great hot tag. Anyway, another so-so match, but nothing special. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Daniel Bryan challenging Randy Orton for the WWE Championship and the right to call himself "The Face of the WWE." I'm not going to waste too much time delving into the back story between these two, but its worth noting that - up till this point - one could argue that the WWE had done a good job of developing Bryan's role as the chasing babyface and Orton's role as The Corporate Champion. Unfortunately, instead of giving Bryan a series of obstacles to overcome on successive PPVs, they jumped right to a rematch with Orton - which made sense because of "rematch clause" bullshit or whatever, but also meant that the WWE was now stuck in the corner of having to devise a way to not bury their hottest babyface in at least a decade but also not necessarily end the storyline prematurely. In that sense, the match suffers a bit from the audience expecting something screwy all along (this is likely why Triple H made the announcement he did at the start of the show - to ensure the fans that they would, in fact, get a title match and not an overbooked schmoz). Would this have been better with a million run-ins? With Big Show making his way down the aisle and leaving fans wondering what role he would play? Or if Cody Rhodes, who had been fired, made a shocking appearance to screw over his former mentor? We get a Bryan/Orton match and because Bryan is so over and so good and Orton is so easy to loathe, the crowd is more engaged for it than anything on the show - even the Punk/Heyman beatdown - but it wouldn't even rank in the top 30 Daniel Bryan matches in the WWE or probably the top 100 of his career. Its just not a riveting, exciting match. Orton works slowly and methodically, but not interestingly. And then we get to the finish - a fast count by the referee Scott Armstrong straight out of the WCW/nWo playbook only this time its the referee helping the babyfaces. The intention was to give the crowd a feel-good win, but its unearned and while the live crowd is very enthusiastic for his victory, on re-watch, the commentary team not noting it and Bryan celebrating so righteously despite the obvious fast count is not a good look. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 1.94-out-of-5, Night of Champions 2013 is hard to recommend. No match lives up to its expectations, none outperform them, and some of them just have no place on a pay-per-view that, in 2013, would've cost you $40+ to purchase. Hell, even for $9.99 this show would've been a major disappointment and the crowd's general disinterest isn't undeserved. There's also a wee bit of false advertising too - from the relative nonexistence of real brutality in the CM Punk match/post-match to Triple H's guarantee of no shenanigans in the main event (only for there to *shocker* be shenanigans) to just the inherent promise of good, quality matches involving RVD, Del Rio, Ambrose, and Ziggler. I'm not sure if there was a stomach bug going around or the pacing of the show itself is too blame but even these otherwise typically solid performers seem "off" on this show, unable to muster the charisma and character to sell these mostly meaningless, inconsequential contests. There are shows with lower scores all over this blog, but are there any that feature the same number of really talented performers?

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Elimination Chamber 2021

WWE Elimination Chamber 2021

The Thunderdome, St. Petersburg, FL - February 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this match, the Universal Champion was Roman Reigns, the WWE Champion was Drew McIntyre, the United States Champion was Bobby Lashley, and the Intercontinental Champion was Big E. The RAW Women's Champion was Asuka, the SmackDown Women's Champion was Sasha Banks, the RAW Tag Titles were held by The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin), while the SmackDown Tag Titles were in the possession of Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode (aka the Dirty Dawgs). Finally, Bad Bunny was the 24/7 Champion and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. 

Elimination Chamber 2021 kicked off with, well, one of the night's two Elimination Chamber matches - SmackDown superstars Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso doing battle in the structure. I would consider this one of the best editions of the Chamber since the WWE went full "PG," thanks in large part to the work of the two men that started things off - Bryan and Cesaro. Is Daniel Bryan the best Elimination Chamber worker of all time? I kinda feel like he has a claim to it, especially considering that he's won 2 of them (if not 3?). Cesaro had a tremendous showing as well in this match, tapping Corbin with the Sharpshooter after giving him his trademark swing. I also really liked Jey Uso's work in this match - slamming the Chamber entrance door on Kevin Owens and then superkicking the heck out of him until he was basically rendered unconscious. Paired up with the way Uso spoiled what looked to be a potential Cesaro elimination of Daniel Bryan and Uso came out of this match looking like a tremendous thorn in the side of anyone who dares take on Roman Reigns. The comparison may not be apt quite yet, but continued booking like this and Jey Uso is going to live up to being the Double A to Roman's Nature Boy and that relationship made for many years of great TV. I would be remiss not to mention that Sami Zayn was an excellent heel here too - funny but not so funny that you forget he can dish out punishment. Really, the only weak link was Baron Corbin - but credit to whoever booked this because he was the first guy out and, aside from Jey, this felt a bit like a reunion of Ring of Honor/Pro Wrestling Guerrilla guys going out there and just having an absolute ball beating the hell out of each other. I've got no problem calling this one of the first must-see matches of the year just because you really can't go wrong when you've got Bryan, Cesaro, Owens, and Zayn all putting on performances where their motivations were clear, their characters are well-defined, and their history and interlocking stories are elaborated on by adequate commentary. (4/5)

Immediately after this match, Roman Reigns showed up and defended his Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan. This was the exact type of squash one would expect and because this title defense was more of an angle than anything, I'm not going to rate it. After defeating Bryan in under 2 minutes - which made complete logical sense - Edge showed up and speared Reigns, effectively kickstarting their WrestleMania feud. I wonder how a live crowd would have reacted to this. I'm guessing it would've been a positive reaction but you never know...it's possible they could've turned on it a bit as Daniel Bryan remains as beloved a wrestler as anyone and there does seem to be something in the air with Cesaro.

Bobby Lashley was supposed to defend his United States Championship against Keith Lee in the next match, but because of injury or Covid or some other unknown reason, a number one contender's match was held during the pre-show and somehow John Morrison and Matt Riddle both won. Regardless, Lashley was made to look like an absolute monster - which is a good thing - and it took the combined effort of Morrison and Riddle to inflict any sort of damage on him. I liked the fact that this match told that story, told it well, and had enough fireworks to keep me engaged from bell-to-bell. Morrison has always been more flash than substance to me so a match like this is how I like to see him used. I'm not a fan of Matt Riddle as a person, but as a worker, he undoubtedly puts intensity into what he does. MVP was his usual brilliant self on the outside, jawing with JoMo and getting his crutch taken away (which led to the finish). I'm not sure where they go from here; Lashley seems ready for a push back into the title hunt so getting the US Title off of him makes sense, but it also would seem silly for him not to want some measure of revenge on Morrison and Riddle after not really losing the title here.  Any which way, they have me at least a little intrigued - which is kind of the point - and I liked this match more than I expected going into it. (3.5/5)

The Women's Tag Team Championships were on the line next with Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defending their gold against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. This was a fine-not-great match and I definitely like Nia Jax in tags considerably better than I do in singles (though I'm not as "down" on her as others). I didn't expect Banks and Belair to win the titles so I wasn't as surprised by the finish as much as I was surprised that it revolved around Carmella's sommelier Reginald, a character that I find to be about as interesting as white bread. Why does the WWE seem to shoo away any would-be great manager after a couple months, letting talented mouthpieces and seconds go without hesitation, and then work so hard to try to get rather unremarkable characters like Reginald over? Seems like if Carmella needed a puppy dog lackey or Sasha needed an obsessed fan, you could use someone with a touch more charisma. Perfectly reasonable match. (2.5/5)

The RAW brand Elimination Chamber match was next - Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton starting things off in a match that also featuring Kofi Kingston (who inexplicably taunted Orton's quads viciously as he entered the Chamber), Sheamus, AJ Styles, and the WWE Champion himself, Drew McIntyre. I don't usually like when a champion has to defend their title in an Elimination Chamber as it doesn't quite make sense, but credit to the WWE for making things feel truly "random" and having McIntyre come in third and just start kicking ass, a nice way to solidify his status as a strong, world-beating, fighting champion. I also like the structure of this match and how it compared to the one earlier in the show. That match, aside from Corbin's early dismissal, featured 5-out-of-6 performers all working different parts of the ring for a lengthy stretch, while this was one was built mostly around 3-man competition. First, it was Hardy/Orton/Drew, then, when Kofi came in and got a somewhat-shocking elimination on Randy, it became built around Kofi/Hardy/Drew (and AJ Styles, who entered the match early). At a certain point, AJ seemed to "disappear" from the match, and by the time he got back involved in a major way, Sheamus had also joined and eliminated Kofi with a Brogue Kick. Hardy got some momentum soon after, but ended up eating a Claymore to get eliminated and we were back down to 3 within just a few minutes. This three-man stretch - McIntyre, Sheamus, and AJ - was the best of the part of the match as these guys worked terrificly together and had me longing for a potential full-blown triangle match between them on a big stage (not just a throwaway Raw where it will probably happen if it hasn't already). The finishing sequence was fantastic too, with Sheamus delivering a Brogue Kick to Drew that looked like it might end the match only to get hit with a Phenomenal Forearm from AJ to get eliminated himself. AJ then went back to the top for another one, but got Claymore'd in mid-air from McIntyre to give him a hard-earned, credible victory that also didn't bury AJ or Sheamus. While not as good as the first Chamber match on the show, this one was well-paced and featured solid work out of the champion, Styles, and Sheamus especially. (3/5)

Before the show ended, though, Bobby Lashley showed up and destroyed McIntyre, allowing The Miz to then come in and capture the WWE Championship, his first major title win in 10 years. I'm a big Miz fan - especially when he's a heel, especially when he plays the "spoiler" - but this title win was a bit too "outta nowhere" to me and seems like an unnecessary hiccup in what could've been a more straightforward build towards Lashley/McIntyre. Had The Miz not spent the past couple months in comparatively "sillier" storylines, had him and Morrison actually been positioned as an important, relevant tag team, if Drew McIntyre hadn't of already dropping his title in the midst of what should've been a dominant run, I'd have been much happier with The Miz getting his hands on the belt, but this felt like a suprise-for-suprise's sake moment. Well executed, but still not nearly as exciting as I believe Vince thought it would be.

All in all, I enjoyed Elimination Chamber 2021 quite a bit. The show moved briskly between matches and there weren't any out-and-out awful matches, with even the least interesting bout - the Women's Tag Team Championship - being at least an average match. With a Kwang Score of 3.25-out-of-5, this will probably stand as one of the best WWE shows of the year, digestible and enjoyable from beginning to end.

FINAL RATING - Watch It

NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day

NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day

Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, FL - February 2014

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the NXT Champion is Finn Balor, the North American Champion is Johnny Gargano, the NXT Women's Champion is Io Shirai, and the NXT Tag Team Champion are Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.

After a short music video entitled "NXT, Will You Be My Valentine?" by Josiah Williams, it was time for Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai to take on Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the finals of the Women's Dusty Tag Classic. Before the match begun, we learned that Wade Barrett listened or at least knew who My Bloody Valentine was which is neat. Gonzalez started things out for her team and got to show off a few power moves, but definitely looked the "greenest" of any of the competitors involved in this match, including some telegraphed moments. Things got better when Kai came in and Ember Moon got to show off her impressive and stiff offense. The layout of this match was a bit weird - with Kai playing the heel-in-peril for a little while and the babyfaces bending the rules a little bit to prevent her from making a tag. When Gonzalez came back in, she hit a series of fallaway slams on Moon and then one for good measure on Shotzi, a considerable show of strength. Blackheart struck back with some direct-to-the-face slaps, but after an attempt at a hurricanrana, Shotzi got powerbombed into the barrier wall in a great spot. Back in the ring, Ember Moon took a ton more punishment, but caught a break when Gonzalez inadvertently hit Kai with a clothesline. Moon hit her finisher, but Kai distracted the referee before he could make the count. Blackheart came back into the match and hit Gonzalez with a missile dropkick, but Moon still couldn't keep her down for 3. Blackheart then got tagged in and cleaned house but couldn't get the victory. Shotzi attempted a weird reverse something-or-other from the top rope on Gonzalez before taking out Dakota Kai with a much better looking dive through the middle rope (and Moon's legs). Moon and Shotzi hit a series of big offensive moves but still couldn't keep Gonzalez down. They then hit an INSANE Doomsday Crossbody on Kai on the outside that looked like it might've knocked Kai out cold. Moon applied a submission to Gonzalez and it looked like the match might be over - until Kai came in and booted her in the mush! Blackheart and Kai went at it in the ring and Kai hit her Kairopractor move to get another 2 count. Dang. Moon went for a tornado DDT on Gonzalez but got lifted and sent to the ramp in a great bump (followed by another one as Gonzalez shoved Moon off the entranceway). As Gonzalez came back in the ring, though, Blackheart caught her with a nasty strike, but ultimately, Blackheart ended up chokeslammed by Raquel and covered by both women to end it. This match didn't have me hooked at first, but by the end, it was really, really good. A very strong opener, nearly a must-see. (3.5/5)

Next up - Johnny Gargano defending the NXT North American Championship against KUSHIDA. I liked the twist during the opening as Gargano and his Way followers made their way towards the ring only for Austin Theory to seemingly get kidnapped by Dexter Loomis? It was a clever way to explain away Gargano's posse not being at his side for this match (as Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell went searching for Theory). KUSHIDA and Gargano started things off with some mat wrestling, a style we hadn't seen much of in the opener. From here, we got an outstanding sequence of counters and reversals before Gargano finally put KUSHIDA down by sending him into the steps. Gargano attempted a suplex on the outside, but KUSHIDA countered it with one of his own and then applied an arm bar on the floor. KUSHIDA controlled for a little while, but Gargano cut him off with a nifty reverse neckbreaker in the ropes. Gargano sold the damage to his left arm brilliantly and I loved the fact that he then went after KUSHIDA's arm in retaliation. This led to yet another dazzling sequence of pinfalls and counters, a stretch that I would typically call out for being overly choreographed but here - well, it was a thing of a beauty and actually looked organic somehow. The war raged on and we got a whole slew of awesome moments from KUSHIDA, including a vicious german suplex, a ridiculous arm-behind-your-back suplex, and a nice variation on running a guy shoulder-first into the post on the apron. Gargano wouldn't stay down, though, coming back with his own dazzling offense (including a spinning front superplex and a tornado DDT for a nearfall). KUSHIDA attempted his patented back elbow, but Gargano caught him into the Gargano Lock. KUSHIDA was able to counter out of it, applying the Kimura. We got another series of crazy counters leading a superkick from Gargano, but KUSHIDA came back with a strike ofis own before getting lawn-darted into the corner. Wow. I'm not sure this isn't the best Gargano match since his instant classic with Andrade Almas several years ago. KUSHIDA hit a chickenwing suplex into the corner, though, both guys showing tremendous fatigue. To the top rope they went where KUSHIDA flipped Gargano onto the mat with a belly-to-belly-into-an-armbar! Gargano looked like he might tap, but Gargano somehow managed to get his feet to the ropes - but KUSHIDA won't let go! Gargano rolled out of the ring, but KUSHIDA would not let go until Gargano started ramming him back-first into the apron and the barrier. Gargano rolled onto the entrance ramp, but KUSHIDA came running at him and delivered a ridiculous kick to his left arm! KUSHIDA attempted another submission, but Gargano escaped and hit him with a tornado DDT on the ramp soon after and then another back in the ring to get the 100% clean win. (4/5)

The Men's Dusty Tag Classic Finals followed - The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) vs. MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee). MSK are relative newcomers to NXT, joining the company after a meteoric rise in Impact Wrestling under the name of The Rascalz. I like that this year's finals are between two actual teams rather than a pairing of singles stars as the NXT tag division used to be strong enough to main event Takeovers and really never recovered after the Authors of Pain and the Revival got called up and #DIY broke up. The GYV are your back-to-basics, cut-the-ring-in-half heel tag team while MSK are young high-flyers and, when you pair two teams that are as good as what they do as these, the results are never going to be less than good. After a respectable face-in-peril stretch, Wes Lee got the hot tag and exploded with strikes, flips, and a huge dive over the ring post. MSK really came across as a team that should've skipped NXT altogether as they have a definite "it" factor and feel like the type of team that add some much needed vitality to either one of the main roster's tag divisions. The GYV rely mostly on technical wrestling and teamwork, but that's not to say they don't have some nifty offense themselves - specifically Drake's 450. As the match wore on, both teams started hitting all sorts of tandem maneuvers and high-flying moves, including a Doomsday Device on the floor that should've led to the finish because of how brutal it was. Instead, the heels ended up being unable to put Nash Carter down and Lee made the save, ultimately leading to a feel good ending. This was a really, really good match, but I didn't love the ending as it felt like the Doomsday Device on the floor should've been a match-ender. (3.5/5)

The NXT Women's Championship was up for grabs next - Io Shirai defending the title against Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm. This match suffered from a lack of strong personalities or at least personalities that seem strong to me (an admittedly irregular viewer). There was some cool moments in this match - Shirai delivering a ridiculous crossbody from the top of a lightning beam, Mercedes Martinez showing off some power moves - but I couldn't get invested in the plot. As good as Shirai is, I'm still not sure I get much of her personality and getting lost in the shuffle of multi-person matches doesn't help. Ditto for Toni Storm, who seems like a hodge-podge of a bunch of different, more remarkable women on the roster. Martinez is the "new kid on the block," but, if I'm not mistaken, the most experienced woman in NXT and maybe even the whole company. Being a veteran can be used as a core component of one's gimmick, but because the WWE doesn't really acknowledge any companies outside of their own (except when they do - like they did for Asuka and Kairi Sane), Martinez doesn't seem like someone that the division can be built around either. And so, while this was definitely an above-average match, it didn't feel like an important match or one that has me particularly excited about the division. A good match for good matches' sake with good wrestlers who I still couldn't really describe in terms of specific character traits. (3/5)

Main event time - Finn Balor vs. Pete Dunne for Balor's NXT Championship. I like Pete Dunne. I like Finn Balor. I didn't love this match. The action and wrestling was intense, hard-hitting, and well-executed but this one, to me, felt like exactly what goes wrong when you decide to headline a show with what was essentially a heel/heel match. Is Balor a 100% villain? Maybe not as much as he was several months ago...but he's definitely not an underdog that fans want to get behind for his story (like Kyle O'Reilly), he's definetly not the smiley guy who fights for what's right (like Keith Lee), and he's definitely not the fresh, new "dark" hero who also tended to fight for what was right (like Aleister Black). He's a tweener. Pete Dunne, meanwhile, was a really promising babyface for a good stretch, but turned heel when he joined Pat McAfee's lazily-named Kings of NXT group in October and has stayed in that role ever since. Who was I meant to be rooting for in this match? A few months ago, I wanted Balor to lose to O'Reilly. Now I want him to beat Dunne, though? Or am I supposed to cheer for Dunne because he's not gotten his chance to shine despite having lost to Adam Cole cleanly at Survivor Series 2019? In terms of the physicality and the exchanges, this match offered much of what the O'Reilly/Balor match offered months ago, but it forgot that what set that match apart was a clear story built around O'Reilly's emergence as a guy who didn't need the Undisputed Era behind him, who had toiled for years to get his shot, who took the NXT Champion to his limit. That match had heart. This match just didn't. Speaking of O'Reilly, he was arguably the best part of this match and he only had a cameo. While Pete Dunne's clean loss is going to be very, very hard for him to recover him - at least in my eyes - Kyle O'Reilly's respectful treatment of Finn Balor and Adam Cole's incredibly negative reaction to it (a superkick to the chin) was the kind of angle that firmly cemented O'Reilly as not only a still-viable, still-deserving number one contender for Balor's NXT Championship, but a sympathetic babyface who will clearly have to overcome a fairly big obstacle - his former allies in Undisputed Era - to achieve his dream. How Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish play into this is still in the air, though they don't have to get too fancy because O'Reilly has been shining recently and is clearly the brand's best bet to be the next guy on top. This is the kind of match that, come December, people will go gaga over but that I will have likely forgotten about by then because of the lack of emotional resonancy. (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 3.5-out-of-5, NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day was another solid offering from NXT - arguably one of the better shows they've put out in quite awhile - though only the KUSHIDA/Gargano really match was what I would consider a potential Top 10 Match of the Year nomimee (which, for some, would be blasphemy). The weakest match of the night was the Women's Champion Match, but not for lack of effort, while the opening bout exceeded my expectations thanks to strong performances out of Dakota Kai and Ember Moon. I didn't love the main event or the finals of the Male Dusty Classic as much as others around the web - some of whom heaped 4+ stars on those bouts - but I'll readily admit to being a bit cooler on the Grizzled Young Veterans than many and, as I wrote above, not necessarily intrigued by the heel/tweener dynamic between Dunne and Balor. NXT has become a bit of a divisive brand at this point, one that almost guarantees to satisfy fans of workrate-intensive wrestling, will definitely impress non-regular viewers with innovative sequences and stunning execution, but has slowly lost its appeal to me personally as the roster has thinned out, certain performers seem stuck in place, and the shows have become almost uniformly built around having good matches for good matches' sake (instead of developing intriguing stories and characters).

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

WWE Royal Rumble 2021

WWE Royal Rumble 2021

The Thunderdome, St. Petersburg, FL - January 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Drew McIntyre is the WWE Champion and Roman Reigns is the Universal Champion. The United States Champion is Bobby Lashley and the Intercontinental Champion is Big E. The SmackDown Tag Team Champions are The New Day, while The Street Profits hold the RAW Tag Team Championships. The Women's Tag Team Champions are Charlotte and Asuka (who is also the RAW Women's Champion), while Sasha Banks holds the SmackDown Women's Championship. 

After a video package hyping tonight's Royal Rumble matches, somewhat surprisingly, the show kicked off with Drew McIntyre defending his WWE Championship against Goldberg. After even more video packages, McIntyre finally made his way to the ring and it was time for our opening contest. McIntyre burst out of the gates with a headbutt and spear before both guys went to the outside. The match had not officially begun at this point, as Goldberg retalliated with a spear through the barricade on the outside. Goldberg waited back in the ring while McIntyre sold the damage. When the bell finally rang, Drew blocked a Spear attempt and then hit a Claymore, but only got 2. Wow. Why? Drew went for another but missed and Goldberg caught him with a Spear! Instead of making the cover, Goldberg hit another! Drew kicked out of 2 spears, though! Goldberg hit the Jackhammer...but again Drew kicked out! Goldberg prepped for another Spear, but McIntyre dodged and connected with a Claymore, this time getting the W. My favorite McIntyre matches have had some interesting back-and-forth and clashes of styles. This match offered none of it. It was a finishers-only affair and, sadly, a predictable one at that, not dissimilar to the awful match that Drew had against Lesnar at last year's WrestleMania. Maybe in front of a live audience this one would've been more suspenseful and the audience might have "bitten" on some of the nearfalls, but in this context, I was unimpressed. I'll award some points for the right man winning, McIntyre's kickouts (which were well-timed), and Goldberg at least not botching any moves. (1.5/5)

Sasha Banks defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella next. I dug that match at TLC last month so I was excited for this. Banks goes for the Banks Statement early on, but Carmella blocks and rolls to the outside. Carmella's "sommelier," Reggie, gets involved early, serving as a stepladder for a Carmella clothesline on the outside. Back in the ring, Carmella applied a nifty headscissors tarantula-esque maneuver, showing off a bit of submission technique. Mella is an interesting worker to think about as, 15 years ago, she'd arguably be in the top 1% of wrestlers in the division but, in 2021, she's probably not even in the top 10 if you count the NXT roster. Just goes to show how high the bar has been raised in the past 6-7 years.  Reginald got sent back to the lockerroom, but the distraction allowed Carmella to capitalize and hit an INSANE dive through the middle rope that looked like it might've broken her neck! Mella went for a cover, but only got 2. Man, that move just looked absolutely brutal. Banks regained control, but Carmella didn't stay down long, eventually locking in her own Cone of Silence submission. Some good back-and-forth followed including a strong superkick sequence out of Carmella that looked like it might end the match but only got 2.9. Carmella tried to drag her into the ring, but Banks caught her and applied the Banks Statement, tapping out the challenger in a bit of a flat ending. This was good, but not as good as their match the previous month. Still, a strong showing out of Carmella and the right woman won. (2.5/5)

The Women's Royal Rumble was next. Reviewing these things can sometimes be a little bit tough so I'll just note some highlights (and lowlights). Bayley and Naomi started things off with Biance Belair coming in soon after (followed by Billie Kaye). I liked that Belair, Naomi, and Bayley all got some spotlight moments - though Bayley's elimination not being picked up by the cameras and not being a "big spot" bothered me as she was putting on a great performance and her getting tossed by Belair should've been treated like a game-changer in this match. I also really liked the way Billie Kaye was given a bit of a spotlight here too. Her trying to "buddy up" with various entrants before finally finding a friend in Jillian Hall was fun without detracting from the seriousness of the match. Speaking of fun, I'm a bit of an Alicia Fox mark so I didn't her winning the 24/7 Championship in the Women's Royal Rumble - but I wish she'd been allowed to keep the thing. I get that its kind of R-Truth's gimmick, but Fox is great too. Ruby Riott, Rhea Rhipley, Torrie Wilson, and Nikki Cross - who looks to be in the best shape of her career - all came in and delivered the goods. Wilson was the biggest shocker in that regards because she wasn't particularly known for her physicality (but landed a nice suplex at one point). I liked Charlotte's mean streak after seeing her father escort Lacey Evans down the aisle. Blending in but not shining in this match were Shotzi Blackheart, Mickie James, and Mandy Rose. To further her gimmick and heel run, why Carmella was given an opportunity in this match despite losing her title match to Sasha Banks earlier. Naomi had a ridiculous spot where she landed on her back and then used Belair's hair to help her get back in the ring, resulting in a ridiculous exchange on the apron. Lana returned in what would only be a shocking moment if one really, really cared deeply about the midcard of RAW's women's division. What made little sense to me was that they brought Lana back in a position that didn't allow her to immediately go face-to-face against Nia Jax. Alexa Bliss came in at #27 to Bray Wyatt's children's show theme music. After a little bit of dominance, Bliss got beaten down...only to tease a "transformation" before getting dumped out of the ring by Rhea Rhipley. Ember Moon came in next, a reliable hand but not a very exciting entrant only because she was treated like such an afterthought during her last main roster run. Jax came in second-to-last and her and Baszler went to work together, eliminating a number of talents and having an interesting exchange with Tamina before going after each other (with Jax eventually tossing Baszler). I love the poor sportsmanship of Baszler and Jax coming back (after Jax had been eliminated by Lana) into the ring and just destroying people for the sake of it. The final three were Belair, Rhipley, and Charlotte, all three being rather worthy of a win (with Charlotte being the clear favorite). I really liked Flair's elimination - she put in a terrific performance in this match, every bit the star. With the pressure on, Rhipley and Belair delivered a strong final stretch to the match including some dangerous near-eliminations, but there were also a handful of half-speed moves and a bit of a telegraphed ending (with Rhipley noticeably "jumping" to help Bianca deliver the clothesline that sent her over the top). That being said, this is ultra nitpicky stuff and, for the most part, this Rumble absolutely delivered and, at least to me, ended in a deserved feel-good moment. A strong Rumble, but maybe not an all-time classic. (3.5/5)

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match followed. This one would not be everyone's cup of tea - I mean, in terms of pure, actual wrestling, there just wasn't much of it - but the big spots worked for me. Kevin Owens nearly getting run over with a golf cart did come across as violent. The various table spots, including Owens doing a somesault senton off a forklift, "popped" me. Unfortunately, what was a pretty good - maybe even borderline "must see" - Last Man Standing match will likely always be remembered for the botched finish, which saw Reigns get handcuffed to the bottom of a stage light and, after brilliantly pulling the ref face-first into the edge of the structure, being unable to break free despite assistance from Paul Heyman. Clearly they had issues with the handcuffs and it was clear as day that the referee had no choice but to "buy time" by simply stopping his count for no apparent reason. It was a glaring gaffe that wasn't helped at all by the immediate finish that came after it as Kevin Owens, who had to oversell the damage he'd suffered despite being in full control moments earlier to explain why he didn't just attack Paul Heyman, got locked into Reigns' guillotine and rendered unconscious. I would've totally bought that finish if the moments that had come before hadn't been so, so painfully botched. Which does call to question - why was this match, which at times felt very "cinematic" and that it may not have been 100% live, not afforded the benefit of being pre-taped like so many of the more complicated matches and segments we've seen over the past year? I'm guessing they assumed they could this pull match off and, for the most part, they absolutely did (though Reigns' fake blood coming from a non-existent cut was also obvious), but the finish will keep this one from ever being worth revisiting or recommending. (2.5/5)

Main event time - the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble! Like I did for the women's edition, I'll just note the highlights and lowlights. Edge and Orton started things off with Sami Zayn coming in 3rd. I enjoyed the interplay between Zayn, Ali, and Orton, especially Orton eventually turning on his "friends" and delivering a series of RKOs. Soon after, Edge attacked Orton's knee with a chair and the Viper was taken out of the match. Lame. I really dislike shenanigans in my Rumbles except when they play into a major storyline. This time around it just felt like a way to "protect" Orton or not force him to work 45 minutes or give us the false finish we eventually got. Just not half as clever as someone probably thought it was in 2021. The big surprises of the match were Christian, Carlito (who looked a Puerto Rican Scott Putski), The Hurricane (who had a nice comedy spot with Big E and Lashley), and the return of Seth Rollins. Speaking of Lashley and Big E, I liked that they both got some moments to shine, as did Braun Strowman, who came in #30. Daniel Bryan was generally "hidden" in the match until the near end, when, while dealing with Matt Riddle, he was unceremoniously eliminated by Rollins. Of any guys on the roster, I think the 2 I would be interested in seeing him work the least at WrestleMania would be Rollins and Riddle for very, very different reasons (one is far too hit-and-miss for my liking and the other seems like the worst kind of "bro"). All through the match, Edge hug in and, to his credit, sold some near-eliminations throughout. The finish was not going to be popular with everyone, but I didn't have a problem with it as much as I kinda wish they had maybe swapped Edge's number with #5 or #6. The way the Rumble is now operated, "going the distance" has just never mattered less when there are shenanigans and 90-second entrances and guys constantly sliding out of the ring by going under the ropes to get a breather or allow for the guys in the ring to prep for a "big spot." Orton eventually did make his way into the ring and seemed to have the match won, but Edge basically just used his momentum against him and ended up tossing him to get the W. Not an all-time great Rumble and I have no problem calling the women's edition the better version on this show, but this was still no worse than average. (2.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.5-out-of-5, Royal Rumble 21' wasn't a homerun or a strikeout. I enjoyed the Women's Royal Rumble match best, but the Banks/Carmella got plenty of praise on the internet and, if you're an Edgehead, you'll likely enjoy the Men's Rumble quite a bit. The Goldberg/McIntyre match was further proof that Goldberg really does not belong anywhere near the title scene and should only be used sparingly to destroy jobbers that can suffer a loss. The Roman Reigns/Owens match will, unfortunately, be remembered most for the botched finish, but I was engaged and entertained by all the "stunts" the match featured so I wasn't extra harsh in my grading. 

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