WWE This Tuesday In Texas

WWE This Tuesday in Texas

San Antonio, TX - December 1991

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE Champion was The Undertaker, Bret Hart was the Intercontinental Champion, and the WWE Tag Team Champions were the Legion of Doom.

This Tuesday In Texas is both notorious and relatively unknown, an oft-forgotten show that actually has all the makings of a great show: a red hot San Antonio crowd, a match billed as a feud-ender between Jake Roberts and the Macho Man, and a rematch for the World Championship between The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan less than a week after Taker won the title (in tainted fashion) at Survivor Series 91'. Plus, Ric Flair and Bret Hart!

But this show, which came at a budgeted price of $12.99 and, yes, occurred on a Tuesday night, wasn't built up for months and months like the other PPVs of the era, nor was it even a "full" show, clocking in well under 2 hours compared to the 2.5/3 hours that were the norm around this time. So is this "experimental" event worth watching? 

The show kicks off with Bret Hart defending the Intercontinental Championship against Skinner (aka Steve Keirn, an 80s journeyman who was most famous for being one half of The Fabulous Ones tag team). I was surprised at the lack of chemistry between Skinner and the Hitman. I think the problem here is that Keirn, a solid all-arounder, is working with a gimmick that doesn't necessarily lend itself to the type of fast-paced, technical wrestling that Bret Hart was building his reputation on. When Skinner does try to match actual holds or does something athletic - even just a leap frog or an abdominal stretch - it clashes with his presentation as an alligator-hunting hillbilly from the Everglades. Bret, meanwhile, stood out during this time because he was wrestling in a style that was high-impact and knew that having a match with a healthy amount of back-and-forth would get the crowd behind him, make his opponent look strong, and give the crowd something a bit more suspenseful and unpredictable than what Hogan was doing in the main event. Unfortunately, this has the unintended effect of making Bret look like he's struggling to beat a guy that the audience viewed as a job guy (and not a very interesting one at that). This is a decent opener, but it would've been better with at least a couple of minutes shaved off. (2.5/5)

After both men cut some pre-match promos, its time for one of the night's main events - even if it isn't billed as such - Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts with Roberts' snake barred from ringside. I criticized the fact that Savage and Roberts, despite being in the same arena and both cutting promos on the show, didn't attack each other at Survivor Series, but they make up for it here. Savage jumps Roberts as he's making his way down the aisle - great psychology there for a blood feud - and Jake is forced to hit him with a low blow. More good psychology as Roberts goes after Savage's damaged and bandaged arm (where his snake had bit him a few weeks prior). I like how multiple times during the match, there are near collisions and heated moments with Hebner as it really shows just how little these two care about "rules" at this point. Roberts tries for the DDT but gets shoved into the corner and Savage, in under 7 minutes, hits the elbow drop from the top rope to end the match, which is a touch disappointing but, again, the psychology makes sense. Roberts is an old school heel and he's just been caught with Savage's most deadly move so it makes sense that it would keep him down for a 3 count...but not "kill" him. After the match, Savage tries to extract more revenge with weaponry but Roberts, maybe wisely allowing Mach to believe he has "ended" the match and has Roberts beat, catches him with the DDT and then another DDT! Brilliant! Savage is now in serious trouble and Roberts grabs a bag from under the ring, telling the camera man that he promised to keep the snake away from the corner (but not under the ring). He comes into the ring with the bag as Miss Elizabeth runs down the aisle in tears. It should go without mentioning that the crowd is absolutely LOSING THEIR MINDS during all of this. The piece de resistance comes when Roberts, after continued to bark out his disrespect towards her husband, Roberts pulls Liz up off the mat and slaps her in the face. The level of controversy this had in the WWE in 1991 when the company was 1000% geared towards children really can't be understated, though, it should be noted that such male-on-female violence wasn't totally rare (just ask Sherri Martel). Still, Elizabeth and Sherri were basically nasty spitfire (who deserves to get tossed around or atomic dropped). After slapping Elizabeth, Roberts finally leaves the ring and the crowd is booing like crazy. The match doesn't go very long, but if you include the angle, this is arguably the most violent, risky storyline the WWE produced until the Pillman Gun Angle many years later. (4/5)

Before the next match, Jake goes to the back and cuts yet another insanely good promo. This one is so undeniably sinister that its going to get a bonus half-point (with Savage's promo later on in the show rounding it up to a full point). (+1)

The British Bulldog vs. The Warlord follows. These two fought multiple times, all year long, so its not surprising that they have decent enough timing and chemistry with each other. Unfortunately, you're still stuck with two powerhouses that are forced to fill up 10+ minutes of ring time and just aren't the right opponents to have a match that long. Bulldog might be juiced beyond belief but he still hits some impressive moves in this - a dropkick here, a crossbody to the outside there, a sunset flip, y'know, stuff that a powerhouse wrestler wouldn't normally do. The Warlord sticks to the basics, eventually locking in - or nearly locking in (as Gorilla repeatedly notes on commentary) - a full nelson that goes too long. Bulldog eventually gets the pin with a crucifix. I'm not sure if Bulldog was using the running powerslam for his finisher yet or if his finisher was supposed to be a stalling vertical suplex, but either would've been a better, more definitive finish (especially as Bulldog would be getting a bit of a push in 92'). This wasn't too bad, but it didn't need to be over 10 minutes. (2/5)

After the aforementioned promo from Macho Man, we get another filler match - Virgil and Tito Santana vs. Ted DiBiase and The Repo Man. On the plus side, the live crowds were still very, very much into seeing Virgil get his hands on Ted DiBiase. Nowadays, after feuding with each other for 2-3 months, Virgil would've turned heel and they'd be back to teaming with each other or they'd be partners in some bullshit "brand supremacy" match. Back then, though, allegiances and backstory meant way more so you'd never see Virgil not go after DiBiase like a madman...and the crowd responded in kind. The Repo Man and Tito are along for the ride. I've heard rumors that Tito was actually considered as a potential World Champion at one point, but matches like this make it clear where on the totem pole he stood - and it wasn't anywhere close to the top (especially in a company where you already had younger stars like Undertaker, Bret, and Shawn Michaels positioned as main eventers a year later). This is an inoffensive match, but its not worth anyone's time. (1/5)

After some final words from the Hulkster, its main event time - The Undertaker defending his WWE (then WWF) World Championship against Hulk Hogan. Their Survivor Series match was nothing special, but there was at least novelty to it. This is basically the same exact match minus the novelty, a rerun that features not a single new wrinkle. In fact, some of the little moments that made their first match fun - Hulk dumping the casket that Taker brought to the ring, the Undertaker trying to choke the life out of Hogan with a cable cord, Taker hitting Hulk with not one but two tombstone piledrivers - are absent and in there place is just more of the same unremarkable "offense" save for Taker at least hitting the Old School (and getting arm-dragged back into the ring on another attempt). Flair eventually makes his way down the aisle, which defeats the whole purpose of banning him from ringside because there aren't even any referees sent out to stop him. He gets in Tunney's face for some reason and Hogan, again, attacks him from behind with a chair for no apparent reason. There's a bunch more shenanigans that happen, but in the end, Paul Bearer strikes the Deadman with the urn, Hogan gets a hold of it and throws the ashes into Taker's eyes, and before you know it, we've got a new World Champion, which sends the crowd home happy. From a storytelling perspective, I can understand what they were going for as this does further the feud between Flair and Hogan - but that feud never really went anywhere and, honestly, the Undertaker should've probably had a better showing at the Royal Rumble himself (he barely had any eliminations - compared to Flair's 5, Sid's 6, and Hogan's 4 - before he was turned face for WrestleMania VIII). What doesn't make sense is why Flair would have such an easy time coming to the ring considering his involvement is what started all this mess. (2.5/5)

This Tuesday in Texas is one of those shows that any true fan of that era should probably see - at least in parts. In terms of in-ring action, there's nothing that will blow anyone's mind, though the 7-minutes of brawling that Savage and Roberts bust out is great for what it is. What makes this show a "should watch" is how fascinating it is as a historical document, how different 1992 might've looked if this show had been the success Vince McMahon was hoping for. In a weird way, this show - and the Saturday Night's Main Event episode that would air in January 92' - seemed to prematurely end a bunch of the WWE's major storylines just when one would think they'd be heating them up for WrestleMania. Instead, this, a match that is more angle than match, is the highest profile Roberts/Macho Man of their feud. While the conclusion of the event ends with Flair, Hogan, and the Undertaker all with rightful claims to be at least number one contender's for the World Championship, their storylines would splinter off completely after the Rumble. Earlier on this show, in an un-aired match, Piper and Flair fought, another feud that would've absolutely warranted a "real" PPV showdown that is basically wrapped up once Piper wins the Intercontinental Championship from The Mountie - and becomes the target of the former champion, Bret Hart. With a Kwang Score of 2.6-out-of-5, which some would consider fairly generous, This Tuesday in Texas is a show that barely hovers above "watchable" for lengthy stretches, but if you're as big a fan of this era of wrestling as I am, if you want to see why Jake Roberts is revered as one of the best characters of all time, if you're just looking for a show that doesn't overstay its welcome, I'd recommend checking this out and give it a...

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

WWE Survivor Series 91'

WWE Survivor Series 91'

Detroit, MI - November 1991

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE Champion was Hulk Hogan, the Intercontinental Champion was Bret Hart, and the Legion of Doom were the WWE World Tag Team Champions.

Survivor Series 91' is a show near-if-not-dear to my heart. I don't 100% remember if my brothers and I were able to convince my parents to order the previous year's show on PPV or if we caught WrestleMania VII live (or if we just rented it a hundred times that year from the video store at Cedar Center), but I do know with 100% certainty that we watched Survivor Series 91' on pay-per-view. We had no choice. It was Hulk Hogan's Gravest Challenge and the Hulkster needed his legion of Hulkamaniacs in his corner now more than ever before.

The actual buyrate shows that many, many Hulkamaniacs opted to not make the purchase. Maybe out of fear that they would end up witnessing the death of Hulkamania? Sure. That sounds right.

It couldn't possibly be because, by the fall of 91', the WWE was in a downturn that they wouldn't recover from until the rise of Steve Austin a half-decade or so later. 

This show, despite being built around the macabre concept of the literal death of Hulkamania, can thus be seen as actually Vince's true final attempt to save Hulkamania. In the Undertaker, who had gone undefeated (more or less) for the past year, Vince had built up a new monster unlike any before - more cartoonish, yes, but also more sinister - and Vince further broke from tradition by promoting a WWE Championship match on the card, something that had never done before at a Survivor Series show (and only once at a SummerSlam). 

What might've been Vince's biggest error in the build-up to this show was that he inexplicably pulled the co-main event off the card just a week before the show, opting to run the legendary angle of Jake Roberts siccing his snake, Damien, onto Randy Savage on TV and kayfabe suspending Roberts and forbidding Savage from competing. Savage and Roberts' 1-on-1 bout would end up being the top draw for This Tuesday in Texas, a companion PPV held less than a week after Survivor Series 91', but it was a costly gamble that, in hindsight, seems like a very bad one too. 

Consider the buyrates. Survivor Series 91' did a weak 300k purchases, down 100k from the previous year's show, but still in the same ballpark as the previous years and 50k more than what the 92' buyrate would be. The under-promoted This Tuesday in Texas PPV? A measly 100-150k purchases based on estimates (these numbers were never officially released)...at a discounted price of $13 (compared to the $30 that Survivor Series cost). So, there is a chance that, say, 25-50k fans who might have purchased Survivor Series at full price were turned off by Savage and Roberts (a mega-hot feud at the time) not wrestling on the show and thus decided to skip Survivor Series and spend half the money to get the match they cared about more. In a sense, they skipped the turkey and went right for the pie. Or maybe that 300k was really the "ceiling" for a non-WrestleMania show at this time? Its not like the Royal Rumble that followed, arguably one of the greatest wrestling pay-per-views of all time, did that much better...

Anyway, enough history, let's get to the action...

The show begins with an absolutely loaded Survivors Match - Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, The Mountie, and The Warlord taking on Roddy Piper, Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart, Virgil (who was still very over with the live crowd), and Davey Boy Smith. Flair had debuted just a couple months before this show and was claiming to be the real World's Champion (he comes to the ring with a blurred-out championship belt) and was already in a heated feud with Roddy Piper. Bret was feuding with The Mountie (and would drop the Intercontinental Title to him not too long after this event), Virgil and Ted DiBiase had faced off at WrestleMania VII and then again at SummerSlam so they had plenty of history to draw on, and Davey Boy Smith and the Warlord had also wrestled at the previous Mania and then again at SummerSlam in a six-man. With all these intertwining feuds, the crowd is red hot no matter who is in the ring, though I could see the argument that having Flair make his WWE PPV debut in the opening match featuring seven other wrestlers might not have been the best way to spotlight him as the company's new top heel. Onto the action - this one is loaded with it. Lots of signature spots and crowd-pleasing fun here with Sherri (who was now managing DiBiase) getting involved early and getting kissed by Piper. Hart gets some shine early on, head-bumping Flair and causing him to do his signature flop (which looks like it confuses the Hitman a little despite it being a quintessential part of the Nature Boy's act). Piper comes in and goes right after Flair, garnering another huge crowd response. Bulldog comes in and press slams him for another big pop before he's able to tag in Warlord. Warlord and Bulldog squaring off always got a reaction (at least until they were forced to actually, y'know, wrestle and not just trade power spots) and a multi-man match is the perfect place for it. The Mountie comes in a few minutes later and the Bulldog catches him with a powerslam for a should-be pin, but when everyone jumps into the ring, Flair strikes him with a knee off the rope and the Bulldog gets pinned. Piper takes over the faces but gets beaten down and has to tag in Virgil, who gets his spotlight moment against Ted DiBiase. There's continued confusion once Warlord comes back in and applies a full nelson to Virgil, gets struck in the back by Bret, and then pinned by Piper (despite Roddy not being the legal man). This would irk me if it wasn't a somewhat subtle presage of the eventual finish as the commentators note that the referee has really lost control in the ring. Virgil ends up applying the Million Dollar Hold (sleeper) on DiBiase for yet another big pop from the Detroit crowd, Flair and Piper go at it once again, and before you know it, Bret and the Mountie are also in the ring. The action is so out of control that the referee calls for the bell and disqualifies everyone who wasn't the legal man (so everyone except Flair and Piper, I believe) and refused to leave the ring during the melee (which means Piper gets the heave-ho too!). This makes Flair the sole survivor, which pleases Bobby Heenan to no end. I rarely see this match listed as one of the best Survivors matches ever (or even of the 80s or 90s), but the crowd is red hot for it, the star power is there, and you get lots of "moments" in here. On the negative side, the finish is an undeniable cop-out intended to keep everyone strong (except Bulldog and Warlord, I guess). I'd still consider this above-average, especially compared to some of the weak Survivors matches that happened on previous shows. (3.5/5)

Randy Savage comes out for an interview and gets joined by Miss Elizabeth, who says she will be in Texas on Tuesday for This Tuesday in Texas too. 

Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, Texas Tornado, and Tito Santana take on Col. Mustafa (Iron Sheik), The Berzerker, Skinner, and Hercules next. Not much good to say about this match aside from The Berzerker's performance, which is incredible. His bumping is stupendous and he comes across as a legit wildman, even if the gimmick is one-note and Bruiser-lite. Hercules looks incredibly jacked here, roided up to the point he looks almost inhuman. Texas Tornado doesn't get much time in the ring - in fact, I'm not sure he ever gets tagged into what amounts to a squash match for the faces. Total filler, but one point awarded for the Norseman. (1/5)

Jake Roberts comes out for an interview next to plug This Tuesday in Texas yet again. It doesn't make sense that Roberts and Savage are in the same building and that Savage lets Roberts talk shit without attacking him. 

After a video recapping the build-up, it's time for the WWE Championship match - Hulk Hogan defending against The Undertaker. As I wrote about in the intro, Hogan had conquered every monster and villain the WWE had on its roster by this point and, while they hadn't faced each other since Hogan "passed the torch" to him at WrestleMania VI, Hogan had also taken back the top guy spot from the Ultimate Warrior. But the cracks in Hogan's act were showing and, even during this match, there's a small portion of the audience that audibly cheers The Undertaker. In terms of action, you get what you get with this. Is it as good as the matches Hogan against Savage and Warrior a few years prior? Nope, but then again, few matches are. This is Hogan-by-the-numbers against an Undertaker that was still 100% in "Wrestling Zombie" mode, showing no weakness, no vulnerability, but also no real offense or any of the surprising agility that would later become his trademark. So while you may not get much in terms of innovative offense or impressive feats of athleticism, what you do get is sports-entertainment with a heavy emphasis on the latter half of that duo. From the start, Hogan is raring to go, toppling the casket that the Deadman and Bearer brought to ringside, and the vast majority of the crowd is in his corner, rooting him on from the start and never letting up for long. We get some choking and some failed shoulder tackles from Hogan and then Taker hits the Tombstone Piledriver...but Hogan no sells it to a huge pop and goes into his Hulking Up routine. Hogan has all the momentum but here comes the screwjob as Bearer distracts and Flair makes his way down the aisle. Its not clear what Flair was coming for - to steal the belt? - but Hogan goes after him on the outside of the ring anyway. Hogan gets back in the ring, Bearer trips him up when he attempts his patented leg drop, and the referee turns to scold him, which allows Taker to recover and get Hogan up for another Tombstone. This time, though, Flair slides a chair into the ring and Taker delivers the Tombstone onto the chair! Taker makes the cover and the crowd actually pops for the title change, probably just because it was such a shocking moment. I'd consider this above-average just because of the elements on display - a hot crowd, Hogan and Undertaker playing their respective characters to a T, the screwy-but-shocking finish, Heenan and Monsoon's commentary - adding up to be more than the sum of their parts. (3/5)

Backstage, Roddy Piper cuts a promo and then Flair and Perfect get on the mic too. Flair's promo is great, maybe one of the best ones he cut during this WWE run. After hearing from the Natural Disasters and Jack Tunney, who announces a rematch for the title at This Tuesday in Texas, its time to head back to the ring for...

The Bushwhackers and The Rockers vs. The Beverly Brothers and The Nasty Boys in a Survivors Match. This one starts out slow but eventually builds to a really hot ending. I wish they'd have shaved a couple minutes off the front-end as The Bushwhackers aren't very fun to watch and the Nasty Boys weren't too great either. Fortunately, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty are around to deliver all the fast-paced action, innovative-for-the-time offense that one might want, with Michaels working especially hard as the face-in-peril for a stretch. When the match becomes The Rockers vs. The Nasty Boys and The Beverlys, the crowd is woken back up and Michaels steals the match, flying off the apron and taking spectacular bumps. When he makes the hot tag to Jannetty, Marty gets some great offense in, but the Rockers can't turn the tide. Shawn is eventually eliminated and blames Marty for it, the Rockers' split being teased but not yet delivered. Michaels walks out and Gorilla mistakenly notes that he wasn't actually eliminated even though he was. Jannetty now has to fend for himself and while he puts up a valiant effort, including a visual pin on one of the Nasties that the ref misses, he eventually falls prey to the numbers game. This match went 20+ minutes, but could've been really, really good if they had condensed it down to 15 or 16. Most reviews that I read hated this match, but I thought Shawn did enough to save it and get the Rockers' storyline across. (2.5/5)

Main event time - The Natural Disasters and IRS vs. The Legion of Doom and The Big Bossman. Imagine thinking you're going to get Jake Roberts and Randy Savage at the top of the card, at the peak of their feud, and getting this instead? Having this match close out the show feels like a "house show" move as I'm guessing Vince didn't want to end the show with Hogan losing the title without having time to also plug Tuesday in Texas for the hundredth time. Bossman and IRS start things off before Quake and Hawk come in. As long as Tenta or Bossman are in the ring, I'm guessing this will be watchable as IRS, Typhoon, and the Road Warriors are generally incapable of doing anything that will surprise or impress me. Of course, Bossman gets eliminated first, which means its up to the Legion of Doom, who are very over with the live crowd. The Disasters team up on Animal in the corner. Tenta continues to pound him before tagging in IRS. Ottman comes in and applies a bear hug before shoving him into the corner. Animal is able to hit a clothesline and then tag in Hawk. With the ref trying to keep Animal in his corner, Earthquake tosses the briefcase to IRS, but IRS strikes Typhoon! Hawk makes the cover and it's 2-2. Not only that, Quake is PISSED and LEAVES with Typhoon! I guess that counts as a face turn? IRS is now left with the Road Warriors, but what should be 2-3 more minutes of action is dragged out a bit as Rotunda actually gains the upperhand and beats down on Hawk a bit. IRS applies a headlock, nearly putting Hawk (and me) to sleep. When Hawk mounts a comeback, IRS heads to the back...but is stopped by Bossman. Ugh. This match is dragging for no good reason and doesn't even end with a Doomsday Device (probably because IRS was wise enough not to agree to take it.) This went on too long after the Disasters left and the match wasn't very good before they left either. (0.5/5)

Backstage, Sean Mooney plugs This Tuesday in Texas again. We then cut back to the announcer's table where Monsoon and Heenan plug it as well before sending things to Gene Okerlund, who has found the Undertaker and Paul Bearer in the "bowels of Joe Louis Arena." The Undertaker says that Hulkamania died tonight and Tuesday will be the burial. Okay.

With a Kwang Score of 2-out-of-5, Survivor Series 91' is a below average show salvaged by featuring a handful of great and legendary moments, including Hogan's unexpected title loss, Flair winning the opening contest, and some enjoyable promos out of Savage, Jake Roberts, the Nature Boy, and the Hulkster. With Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, the Road Warriors, and Bossman all featured too, the star power is enough to lift this from being unwatchable, though if you're looking for a show from this era that is actually worth watching, skip ahead to the 92' Rumble, which has all the same stars and Sid and the best commentator work of all-time from Bobby Heenan. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Survivor Series 90'

WWE Survivor Series 90'

Hartford, CT - November 1990

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the Ultimate Warrior was the WWE World Champion, Mr. Perfect was enjoying his second run with the Intercontinental Championship, and the World Tag Team Champions were The Hart Foundation.

Its been many a year since I saw this pay-per-view, though, if my memory serves correct, I watched this live when I was just 6 years old.

The show kicks off with The Ultimate Warrior, Legion of Doom, and Texas Tornado taking on Mr. Perfect and all three members of Demolition (Ax, Smash, and Crush). The Ultimate Warrior was the WWE World Champion at the time, but by this point, I believe McMahon was already looking for a way to have him drop the title as, and I could be wrong, business fell a little bit once Hogan was moved out of the main event. The Legion of Doom were relative newcomers to the WWE but were already being positioned as the future WWE World Tag Team Champions on commentary. This was Bill "Ax" Eadie's last match in the WWE as he was being prepped to take a backstage role (due to health issues) but ended up just being released (and wrestling in Japan and on the independent scene for another 20+ years). Speaking of Ax, he's the first man eliminated. The rest of Demolition and the Road Warriors are eliminated after another couple of minutes of unremarkable action as the ref gets caught in the scruff and DQ's both sides. This was likely done to protect Demolition and build towards what should've been a big money match with the Road Warriors...but as has been chronicled and discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, Vince was so dead-set on not giving any credibility to the NWA that he barely ever booked any of the "dream matches" that he could've in the early 90s (for example, keeping Demolition/LOD on TV and barely ever having them work with the Hart Foundation or The Rockers). This leaves Mr. Perfect alone with Texas Tornado and Ultimate Warrior. He manages to eliminate Tornado after a Perfect-Plex, but even after dropping the Warrior head-first onto an exposed turnbuckle and delivering a Perfect-Plex immediately after, the Warrior won't stay down and eventually gets the W with a flying shoulder tackle. The crowd was as revved up for this as one would expect when you consider the star power of the babyface side, but that doesn't make this a great match or anything. I wasn't bored by it, but I wouldn't look here for great character work or technical wrestling. (2/5)

The next match is all about the reveal of team captain Ted DiBiase's mystery man - The Undertaker (who is partnered up with Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine, aka "Rhythm & Blues) to take on The Hart Foundation, Dusty Rhodes, and Koko B. Ware. Rhodes had been feuding with Ted DiBiase for close to a year by this point (if not longer?), but would be out of the company after January's Royal Rumble. This is a more interesting match than a good match because we have The Undertaker debuting and destroying Koko B. Ware (and Gorilla Monsoon refering to Taker's piledriver as a "tombstone" despite this being his debut match) and then, not too long after, pinning Dusty Rhodes with a flying clothesline off the top rope (which, had this happened in the NWA anytime in the 80s, would've been a huge, huge deal but is glossed over here), Bret Hart getting some shine as the match progresses years before he would be a top guy, and Ted DiBiase  getting one of his last truly significant, spotlight victories as a singles competitor after a hell-of-a-run in the 80s. Like the rest of the matches on the card, this one doesn't run long enough to lose your attention at any point either (the whole show clocks in something like 2.5 hours, which is basically the length of a pre-show these days). (3/5)

The Survivors Matches continue with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, and The Rockers taking on "The Model" Rick Martel, The Warlord, and Power & Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules). If you had looked at this card and seen the star power in some of these other matches, you would've never thought that this match would get the amount of time it does. Up to this point, this is the clear "match of the night" in terms of action, storytelling, and psychology. The build-up for this match was all about the underrated Roberts/Martel feud (which saw Rick Martel spray Roberts in the eyes with his "Arrogance" perfume) and would eventually lead to a Blindfold Match at WrestleMania VII. The crowd goes wild any time it looks like The Snake might get his hands on The Model. The Rockers and Power and Glory get to showcase some great-for-the-time (well, great for any time really) tag team maneuvers that Piper goes insane for. Jannetty is the first man eliminated when Warlord hits him with a devastating power slam. The Warlord was never anything more than a lower midcard guy, but credit where its due, he had a good look and he what he did well enough. Michaels comes in and gets beaten down for a spell, further drawing the fans into the match. Snuka comes in to a very respectable reaction - something that remained true for him for years whenever he'd make his random appearances in the WWE during the mid-90s. He gets eliminated by Martel, though, and its now a 4-on-2 situation. Michaels is the next to go when Power and Glory deliver an AWESOME double-team move where Hercules delivers a superplex only for Roman to come off the top with a splash. Michaels bumping and selling during this match were "Flair-esque" and really stood out on this show. Like the previous bout, one has to wonder if Vince saw Michaels', Bret's, and Taker's performance and knew that they would basically be the flagbearers in a few short years. Jake ends up hitting the DDT on The Warlord, but the ref gets distracted and Martel rushes in with the perfume bottle. He tries to spray it in Roberts' eyes, but The Snake blocks it and chases him out of the ring (and is subsequently counted out). Because it was given time and the performers all worked well together, this was great fun. (3.5/5)

Hulk Hogan, Tugboat, Jim Duggan, and The Big Bossman took on Earthquake, Haku, Dino Bravo, and The Barbarian. Haku was out first, followed by Jim Duggan, who got DQ'd for using the 2x4. Dino Bravo gets taken out from an inside cradle by Hogan. Who said the Hulkster only knew 3 moves? The best spot of the match happens not too long after as Earthquake comes in and goes at it with Big Bossman. Bossman flies from the top rope with a clothesline but Quake catches him and looks to bring him down with a slam only for Hogan to interfere. The Barbarian jumps in the fray and when the smoke clears, Earthquake has eliminated the man from Cobb County. Its now 2-on-2 and Tugboat has yet to enter the match. When he does come in, he and Earthquake end up brawling to the back, eliminating eachother via count-out. After some perfunctory action, Hulk does his usual Hulk Up routine - I'm surprised they didn't save that for the finale - and gets the W over Barbarian. No shock there. Hogan is over enough to keep the crowd into this match, Duggan gets to go after Jimmy Hart with a 2x4, and Earthquake gets at least a little bit of shine, but there's nothing special here to see. (1.5/5)

Randy Savage comes out to cut a promo and its a doozy. I like how Savage plants the seeds for his eventual Retirement Match at WrestleMania VII, stating that after he beats the Ultimate Warrior to take back the World Championship, he might just pack it in. 

Savage's awesome promo ability is juxtaposed with the arrival of Sgt. Slaughter, who had just begun his heel run as an Iraqi Sympathizer, and was now backed-up by manager General Adnan and teaming here with fellow anti-American heels Boris Zukhov and The Orient Express (Akio Sata and Hawaiian-born Pat Tanaka). Their opponents are Nikolai Volkoff, Tito Santana, and The Bushwhackers, or basically a team of undercard babyfaces that seemed to have no chance of winning. Before the match, Slaughter cuts an absolutely abysmal promo to get even more heat from the crowd and also bore the hell out of anyone viewing at home. It really is just an awful, awful promo. When the action starts, things don't get any better. Santana eliminates Zukhov in under a minute and then Sato is eliminated by Bushwhacker Butch soon after. Tanaka gets the outs soon after and Slaughter is left all alone. Now here's where things get interesting because Slaughter, I'm guessing, was already being penciled-in for a major heel run against Warrior and Hogan for as long as the conflict between the US and Iraq continued. But instead of really shining, he is completely exposed here as not only an awful worker, but not a great strategist (seeing as his entire team was eliminated in something like 5 minutes). While Slaughter does manage to score three eliminations, they are so pathetic and pitiful to watch, its amazing that Vince decided to go forward with Slaughter as the next WWE Champion when they could've easily had Slaughter "brainwash" a younger, better, more impressive wrestler and have him wrestle in the main event of WrestleMania VII. I guess Slaughter had the name recognition? The experience? The finish comes when Slaughter gets DQ'd. Really bad stuff all around. (0/5)

Speaking of really bad stuff, the Gobbeldy Gooker hatches out of the giant mystery egg and immediately gets booed. This segment goes on and on and is just atrocious. It is particularly hard to listen to Roddy Piper feign excitement, clearly getting told what to say by Vince McMahon backstage and trying to make a chocolate sundae out of 2 scoops of dogshit. I'm not sure what's worse - the Gobbeldy Gooker's reveal or everything Sgt. Slaughter did on this show.

After yet another round of pre-match promos, its main event time - Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Tito Santana vs. Ted DiBiase, "The Model" Rick Martel, The Warlord, and Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules). The story coming into this match is that the babyfaces are out-manned 5-to-3 and there is the lingering question about whether Hogan and Warrior can get along, mentioned by Ted DiBiase but never really played-up on commentary because, back in the early 90s, it went without saying that all the good guys got along and the heels were evil but greedy and untrustworthy. The Warlord gets pinned in under a minute in almost identical fashion as how Tito Santana caught Boris Zhukov. I'd give credit to Vince and Tito (and Pat Patterson?) for this being a "call back," but I'm not sure this was intentional as much as the marching orders were to get some of these guys out of the ring as quickly as possible before the fans realize just how little they could actually do in the ring. Santana doesn't last too much longer himself, eliminated by DiBiase. DiBiase was set to challenge Warrior for the title the next night on TV so I guess there might have been some chance they would do a big angle on this show and make it look like DiBiase might actually be the next WWE Champion? No? Not at all? Okay. Hogan bulldozes through Roma and the cowardly Martel ends up running to the back rather than face Warrior and Hogan (despite the heels still being up 3-on-2 at this point). Hogan drops the leg on DiBiase to finish him off and then tags in Warrior to hit his flying shoulder block and big splash on Hercules to wrap this match up in under 10 minutes. People wax poetic about the "old days" of wrestling but a match like this is a good example of just how predictable, boring, and uninspired the matches could be and that's without mentioning things like "workrate" and realism and athleticism. (1/5)

For fans of late 80s/early 90s nostalgia, Survivor Series 90' might seem like it could be a great viewing experience, but most of the matches are sub-average and the most talented workers on the card - Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, The Rockers, Bret Hart, and Mr. Perfect - spend most of the evening making the muscle freaks look good rather than actually showcasing their own agility, speed, and technical skills. There are some great moments sprinkled throughout the show - the debut of the Undertaker, the surprisingly sweet teamwork of Power and Glory, the aforementioned spotlight moments for Hart and Michaels - but there's also some of the worst "action" I've seen in at least a couple years as well (Sgt. Slaighter) as some really poor non-wrestling segments (Sgt. Slaughter again and the Gobbeldy Gooker). If you're looking for a fun show that features a near-identical cast of stars, WrestleMania VI features an all-time classic main event, a very good DiBiase/Roberts match, and some fun stuff in Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire taking on Savage and Sherri, as well as some "Mania moments" with Andre's last WWE match and Piper coming out in half-blackface. The wrestling isn't great on this show, but because so few matches go longer than 5-6 minutes, it never gets boring either. With a Kwang Score of 1.83-out-of-5, this one is a...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Extreme Rules 2013

WWE Extreme Rules 2013

St.Louis, MO - May 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was John Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion was Dolph Ziggler, the Intercontinental Champion was Wade Barrett, and the United States Champion was Kofi Kingston. The Divas Champion was Kaitlyn and the WWE Tag Team Champions were Kane and Daniel Bryan. 

Extreme Rules 2013 starts with a rematch from WrestleMania - Chris Jericho vs. Fandango. I was surprised how good Jericho and Fandango worked together at WrestleMania XXIX, but didn't expect much here. By this point, Fandango had an official "dance partner" (valet) in Summer Rae, who ends up getting the bulk of the attention from the commentators. Fandango's theme song had gotten over pretty big in the weeks after Mania, but by this point, the audience had mostly moved on. Again, Fandango and Jericho show off some good chemistry and, had the WWE found a way to make Fandango a more well-rounded character, its not hard to envision him being a successful midcard act. Unfortunately, they never really bothered to do anything with him after this until they teamed him with Tyler Breeze and let them do the Fashion Police stuff (which was also surprisingly great). I wouldn't consider this a great match or even as fun as their Mania match, but its still a solid opener that further pushes the idea that Johnny Curtis had more to offer than what the WWE ultimately did (and continues to do) with him. (2.5/5)

Dean Ambrose challenges Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship next. If you're Kofi Kingston, you had to see the writing on the wall after not even being featured at WrestleMania. The booking of this match is sorta interesting just because The Shield had, up till this point, still been booked as a package deal but were now wrestling an increasing amount of singles and tag matches. So, instead of being an unstoppable unit, we have Dean Ambrose coming across as quite beatable at times - which is both good and bad. On the one hand, it allows Ambrose and Kingston to put on a competitive match that makes Kingston look like a worthy champion, but, on the other hand, it keeps Ambrose from feeling like a legit top singles guy in a company that desperately needed legit top singles guys. While Ambrose would go on to have a lengthy run with the United States Championship (and ended a rather lengthy run that Kofi had had), it still wasn't a super credible or relevant championship and Ambrose doesn't come across as nearly as big of a deal as he would later become. Another good-not-great match. (2.5/5)

At the inaugural Extreme Rules show, every single match was a stipulation match but the WWE showed some restraint for this edition and the next match is the first "specialty" match of the night - Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a Strap Match. I wrote about it in my WrestleMania XXIX review, but this was a weird time for "upper midcarders" as the WWE desperately needed top guys, but wouldn't go all the way with anyone. So, Mark Henry basically kills off any remaining mystique that Ryback had at the previous month's Mania show but then loses to Sheamus here in under 10 minutes so that Sheamus could...do nothing of real consequence for several months. To be fair, the match itself isn't that bad; Sheamus actually innovates a little with some of his attempts to touch all 4 corners. The crowd is into it too. Still, this never feels like a "great" match, just a good one, a clear example of how the "extreme rules" tag doesn't necessarily work when you're simultaneously offering a PG or PG-13 product. You would never confuse this match with what Vega and Austin did a decade-plus earlier or what a strap match meant in the 80s. Good for what it is, I guess, but nothing worth seeking out. (2.5/5)

The next match is a continuation of a somewhat confusing turn of events that Dolph Ziggler briefly win the World Heavyweight Championship (on the Raw after WrestleMania XXIX) only to essentially have to drop the title a few weeks later - and miss what was going to be a 3-way match at Extreme Rules - due to a concussion injury that was caused by Jack Swagger. So, instead, its Del Rio vs. Swagger here in a match to decide who the Number One Contender is. This is an "I Quit" Match between two guys with legit amateur credentials and a history against eachother but just no real spark. Del Rio was supposed to be the babyface, but never really caught on the way a top babyface should (I'd argue he never really caught on as a top heel either). Swagger was a midcard talent with a midcard gimmick thrust into a main event position on SmackDown at a time when Raw was being dominated by Cena, The Rock, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and the Undertaker. Their feud just felt paltry by comparison and this match doesn't make much of a case for it being an "overlooked gem" either. Like their Mania match, Del Rio and Swagger work hard and do a lot, but none of it grabbed my attention and I'm not even sure anything they could've done would - that's how little I cared about these characters. The most interesting part of this match is the finish, which sees Del Rio lose after the referee mistakenly believes his manager throws in the towel for him, only for a second referee to come down the aisle and reverse the decision (thus allowing Del Rio to lock in the armbreaker to make Swagger submit). I can understand why the company thought a finish like this would make Del Rio look even more heroic (as he withstands quite a bit of punishment from Swagger's ankle lock), but its so overwrought that I just wanted the match to end. An extra half-point deducted because of Mike Chioda asking if someone wanted to quit within the first minute of the match and not stopping from then on. (2/5)

The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) challenge Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a "Tornado Tag" match next (this means there's no tags and everyone is legal at all times). This stipulation works against both teams as Kane and Daniel Bryan can't do a real face-in-peril stretch or build to a hot tag and The Shield can't get any heat by cutting the ring in half or doing things behind the ref's back. This match also gets well under 10 minutes, the match so short and the ending so abrupt that one has to wonder if the purpose of this match - and its layout - was to simply get the titles onto the Shield as quickly as possible so that they could begin Daniel Bryan's singles push. A really forgettable ending to an undeniably successful tag run for Kane and Bryan. The action in this match is good enough to make it the Match of the Night up to this point in the show. (3/5)

Randy Orton vs. Big Show in an "Extreme Rules" Match follows. Usually these type of matches end up with guys fighting all over the arena, destroying furniture as they go, but this was as tame a Last Man Standing match as I've ever seen (probably because they were explicitly told not to upstage Cena and Ryback's Last Man Standing match). There's some use of a kendo stick and Big Show goes through a ladder on a missed Vader Bomb attempt, but what makes this match work is Orton, in front of a hometown crowd, does a masterful job of being the David to Big Show's Goliath, selling for Show like a babyface should but also hitting his own offense with lots of fire. Orton has a tendency to step up his game in St. Louis and the crowd's pop for him is the biggest of the night. Big Show gets to kick out of the RKO, which was still a very protected finish, but ends up getting the W after a punt. I wouldn't quite call this an all-time great match, but it might actually belong on a shortlist of underrated Big Show or Randy Orton bouts, especially from this era (when neither guy was necessarily at their peak). (3.5/5)

The WWE Championship is on the line next in a Last Man Standing Match - John Cena defending against the newly-turned-heel Ryback. Much of Ryback's momentum had been lost once his undefeated streak ended and then was inexplicably booked to lose to Mark Henry at WrestleMania a month before this. Ryback and Cena don't have the best chemistry, though I'm not sure Cena is sandbagging as much as he's just not the world's best bumper and Ryback has always shined best when he's just been able to muscle through jobbers ala Scott Steiner. At the start of the match, Cena having an injured leg is sold on commentary but its not like Ryback targets the limb much. The first big spot occurs when Cena gets put through a table in the corner, which draws a great reaction from the crowd. Cena wasn't as polarizing a figure in 2013 he was in 2006, but unlike in his feuds with Punk or, later this summer, Daniel Bryan, Cena's opponent isn't all that popular with the crowd either. Cena and Ryback both get to hit their signature moves, including some powerbombs and spears and whatnot, but its Cena who seems to be reeling, taking 8-9 seconds to answer the ref's count. Things pick up a bit when they head out of the ring and Cena spears Ryback through the barricade. Its nothing new, but it looks impactful and the crowd likes it. They make their way to the stage for the closing stretch, which sees Ryback tackle Cena through the lighting wall. The match is called a draw at this point because neither guy can answer the 10 count, and the announcers treat it like Owen Hart's death. I think you can point to this ending as the end of any chance that Ryback had of being a top guy - heel or face - especially as Ryback is clearly the first man on his feet and should've been declared the winner and new champion (and probably would've got a massive pop for it, even as the heel in the match). Not a very creative LMS match with a crap finish to boot. I've actually read some glowing reviews of this as a strong "power sprint" that gets enough mileage out of just 4-5 big spots, but this felt like something I'd seen before done better. (2/5)

Main event time - Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H in a cage match. Like their WrestleMania match, I went into this not expecting much but, damn, Lesnar and Triple H delivered here. Shawn Michaels isn't around to help The Game, but Paul Heyman is much more actively involved and Lesnar puts on a terrific performance, selling knee damage from early in the contest up until the very end. Lesnar has his fans and his detractors and I'm definitely the former and this match is as solid an example as any of how captivating a performer he is. The match begins with Triple H jumping Lesnar before the bell, something different out of The Game, who usually has to have his big entrance and doesn't need to take advantage of their opponent. Its a small detail but it not only starts the match hot, but also helps define Triple H as something of an underdog going in, a guy that knows that, in a straight-up fight, he's up against a superior fighter. The story plays out that way too as Lesnar is hampered by damage caused when Triple H dodges a high knee and the Beast goes into the cage wall. From there, even as Triple H kicks out of an F5, the commentators (and Lesnar's selling) makes it clear that he's not 100% but still dangerous. In other situations, this might make Lesnar the sympathetic figure in the match, but because Triple H never actually dominates the match or gets cocky and arrogant and starts doing crotch chops and what nots - and because Lesnar continually cuts him off when he does seem like he might take over (as he does when Triple H initially grabs his trusty sledgehammer) - the face/heel dynamic works. Had this been their only match, I think I would rate it even higher, but because this comes after WrestleMania and how predictable that outcome was, this one is equally predictable the other way. Had they delivered this match at Mania, with this outcome, it would've been considered a HUGE moment for Lesnar - arguably the perfect stepping stone to what he'd accomplish the next year. Instead, Lesnar wins here with a finish that may have been Heyman-assisted but still seemed well-earned considering how much punishment he took to his knee. I wouldn't consider this an all-time classic like the commentators hype it up as, but it was no worse than good and maybe even worth checking out if you're a big Lesnar or, somehow, Triple H fan. (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5, Extreme Rules 2013 is a good-not-great show with at least two above average matches in the main event and the somewhat surprisingly strong Orton/Big Show match. Mileage will vary for Ryback/Cena as I can see some fans, especially those that haven't seen this type of match with these types of spots a hundred times before, enjoying it. The opener is in a similar boat as enjoyment does hinge a bit on your patience for Chris Jericho clearly trying to make a point about his ability to "carry" a less-experienced opponent through a complex back-and-forth match. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE WrestleMania Backlash

WWE WrestleMania Backlash

Thunderdome, Orlando, FL - May 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this event, Bobby Lashley was the WWE Champion, Roman Reigns was the Universal Champion, Apollo Crews was the Intercontinental Champion, Sheamus held the US Champion, the RAW Women's Champion was Rhea Ripley, the SmackDown Women's Champion was Bianca Belair, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Tamina and Natalya. The RAW Tag Team Champions were AJ Styles and Omos and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The Dirty Dawgs, Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode.

The name of this pay-per-vi..err...Network Spec....um...Peacock Exclusive (?) is stupid. Anyway, the show kicked off with a video narrated by Dave Batista, who is promoting his role in the Netflix film Army of the Dead. According to reports, Netflix paid the WWE upwards of $1 million to promote the film and have zombies appear on this show.

The RAW Women's Championship threat match between Charlotte, Asuka, and Rhea Ripley was the opener. This was a weird match in that the only true babyface was Asuka, but she was also the least likely to win, which made it hard to really get behind her if you've been following this storyline. I like Ripley better as a cocky badass than as an ill-fitting babyface, but that's partially because, when she was a tough babyface, the WWE inexplicably cut off her momentum by having her to lose to Charlotte at WrestleMania last year. They seem to be trying to course correct  by having her not only hang in there with two of the most decorated and credible women on the roster, but actually get the clean W too. Unfortunately, this ended with Ripley gloating and Charlotte promising revenge and I'm not sure who exactly I'm supposed to be cheering for. This is particularly dangerous for Ripley because Flair being a Flair has sometimes led to certain crowds, especially live in-person ones, giving her face reactions when she busts out chest chops or Woos or struts or even just goes berserk on her opponent (like she did against Ronda Rousey years ago). This wasn't a terrible match, but it wasn't as good as one might've expected considering the talent involved. Sadly, I feel like I've been writing that sentence alot these days... (3/5)

After some hype for tonight's Universal Championship match and a backstage segment involving The Miz and John Morrison, it was time for SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Dirty Dawgs (Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler) to drop the titles to Rey and Dominik Mysterio. I phrase it that way because The Dirty Dawgs' title reign has been "TV only" since January, the team having received barely any mention or acknowledgement on the bigger shows. Meanwhile, Rey and Dominik were looking to make history in this match by becoming the first father-and-son tag team (in WWE history, but not world history) to win the gold together. Dominik was attacked during the pre-show, which made this a 2-on-1 match for the bulk of its minutes. Of course, when your face-in-peril is Rey Mysterio Jr., arguably a top 5 all-time babyface, even if he's lost a step, you're still likely to get at least a handful of great moments. This wasn't a match I'd be eager to re-watch, but for what it was, it worked (even if Dominik rejoining the match late and getting the pin for his team was predictable). An extra half-point for Mysterio delivering an awesome baseball slide-into-a-sunset flip powerbomb on the floor that looked like it should've knocked Ziggler through the barricade wall. (3/5)

Backstage, John Morrison knocked on the door of tonight's special Lumberjacks to reveal...zombies. Yup. A tie-in to Army of the Dead.

Cut to to the arrival of Jimmy Uso, who got in the face of his brother Jey to remind him that they should be focused on their own goals - not Roman's. This is the best storyline going in the WWE and, arguably, the best storyline they've had since the Sasha/Bayley feud of 2020. 

The Miz, accompanied by John Morrison, made his way down the aisle for his LumberZombie match against Damien Priest. Before the match began, the commentators reminded us - one more time - that this match was brought to us by Army of the Dead. This was a pseudo-rematch from WrestleMania, where Priest and Bad Bunny defeated Miz and JoMo but because it doesn't have Bad Bunny involved, it feels like a RAW match...until the zombies arrived. The commentators bailed out of fear and Miz slid into the ring as the Thunderdome transformed into somewhere out of Mortal Kombat II. I'll give some credit to Miz - and Priest too - for selling for the zombies and trying to have fun with this ludicrous set-up, including a moment when Miz and Priest teamed up to combat the zombies before continuing their match  and a great post-match visual of the zombies descending upon The Miz (and Morrison on the outside), seemingly eating them alive. If this leads to Miz and Morrison eventually coming back as zombie-fied versions of themselves, that would be the kind of craziness that I actually like in my wrestling. Its hard to rate a match like this, but I'm going to go with "average" just because, even if the action was disjointed and not super smooth (there were certain spots that were noticeably telegraphed and felt like they are almost being executed in slo-mo), this match was different and bizarre and sometimes that's what a wrestling show needs. (2.5/5)

The SmackDown Women's Championship was on the line next as Bianca Belair defended her recently-won championship against the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion in history: Bayley. Bayley had given an interview not too long before this show that she was a bit perturbed about not having a spotlight match at WrestleMania after the 2020 she had, but she more than made up for it in this match. I really liked the Banks/Belair match from WrestleMania, but this may have nearly topped it as there was a clear face/heel dynamic at play and Bayley has proven to be an incredible heel (note the brilliant detail by Bayley of shaving the phrase "Be-loser" into her hair for this match). An extra half-point for Bayley delivering an awesome front suplex on the steel steps, a move that will probably be aped four dozen times in the next 3 weeks of WWE TV but felt 100% fresh in this context because it was delivered by the right performer at the right time of a hard-fought high stakes match. I can see some viewers feeling like things were a bit too back-and-forth, but I thought the trading of momentum worked because Bayley's strategy seemed to be to grind things out with knee strikes and snap suplexes and the occasional submission, while Belair knew that her best chance of winning was to utilize her strength advantage and athleticism. The finish came after Bayley looked like she might steal the victory with an eye rake out and a genius braid-as-a-ripcord Belly-to-Bayley but Bianca somehow managed to kick out of (a decision that I wish they hadn't necessarily done because I do like finishers to be somewhat sacred game-enders). Bianca then got a not-so-great-looking pin using her braid to hook Bayley's legs to retain. Because Belair didn't quite hook Bayley's legs as tightly as she should've and Bayley looked like she kicked out (as the braid gave way), it was a messy ending to an otherwise very good match. I think I said it about the Mania match, but if this doesn't lead to a Hair vs. Hair match, I'm not sure what the WWE is thinking. (3.5/5)

The WWE Universal Champion Bobby Lashley defended his championship against Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman in the next contest. The build-up for this felt like subtraction by addition to me, maybe something more fitting of a show entitled WrestleMania Backwash and not WrestleMania Backlash. Having beaten McIntyre at the biggest stage of the year (even if it was somewhat dirty), Lashley was due for a new challenger in my eyes, McIntyre might've been best served with a quick vacation or a move to the Blue Brand, and Braun Strowman practically needed a full rebuild after the lackluster Shane McMahon feud. It just feels like Lashley was cooled down by still working with two guys that are as cold as they are. Still, even if I wasn't sold on the background of this match, I gotta give credit where its due and say that these three men put together a strong match benefitted from non-stop action and power moves and never felt too gimmicky. Drew and Bobby hit a stalling vertical suplex on Braun that popped me (as did a Michinoku Driver on Braun by Drew later on). I miss the strong evil monster that Braun used to be and am hoping that that version of Braun Strowman comes back, but like with Big Show, once you've dumbed down the character and made him feel like just another guy, its hard to rebuild him with just a fresh coat of paint or by pairing him with a manager. Lashley was eventually taken out of the match when he was sent crashing through a stage wall, a spot that we've seen before, but still worked for me - especially as Lashley sold it for minutes on end and, back in the ring, it really did feel like McIntyre might get the sneaky win (which would've possibly been an interesting way to subtly shift McIntye into a more heel mode and Lashley into a babyface ass-kicker spot). Other reviewers have been less kind, fairly assessing this as your typical "monsters break furniture" match, but I think the pieces and parts all worked in this (though I wouldn't consider it at the same level of the Samoa Joe/Braun/Lesnar/Reigns match of a few summers ago). I enjoyed it. (3.5/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro. Reigns has been absolutely killing it on TV since turning heel this past summer while Cesaro has been on a bit of a roll himself, finally getting a big World Championship on a major show (though one that was not held in front of a crowd and is one of the "lesser" annual events). As could be expected, this match was terrific, starting out with your standard "feeling eachother out" stuff before delving into a story built around Cesaro suffering arm damage that will prevent him from fully executing his strength-based offense. Reigns' targeting of Cesaro's arm was "old school" without feeling old hat and I think, had this been in front of a live crowd, Cesaro's hope spots and brief comebacks would've got major reactions. While the ending was never really in question, taking away much of the suspense that a great match would typically have, the performances by both men were so on-point that this will probably make my annual End-of-the-Year Top 10 List. (4/5)

After the match, Jey Uso showed up to hit Cesaro with an additional superkick and then Seth Rollins appeared to...further attack Cesaro. I'm not sure what the point of having Cesaro get destroyed after the match was supposed to accomplish aside from re-insert him into a feud with Rollins that never really ended but sorta did end at WrestleMania. I would've liked to see another babyface come out and make the save to position themselves as not only supportive of Cesaro, but a potential next challenger for Reigns. (For example, wouldn't this have been a great moment for Keith Lee to return? Or for someone like McIntyre to signal that they're coming to SmackDown?)

All in all, WrestleMania Backlash delivered the goods. The main event was fantastic. Belair/Bayley was very good, marred slightly by its botched finish. The SmackDown Tag Team Match was probably the most entertaining thing Bobby Roode has been involved in since his NXT days. The Universal Championship match was fun and, as silly as it was, the Zombiejack match was at least an attempt to offer something wholly different from what usually fills up the midcard. The most underwhelming match on the show was arguably the opener but even that was above-average. With a very solid Kwang Score of 3.25-out-of-5, I'd say...

FINAL RATING - Watch It

The Predictable Rise But Unexpected Fall of Braun Strowman

 

The Predictable Rise But Unexpected Fall of Braun Strowman

Former WWE Universal Champion, WrestleMania headliner, and legitimately gigantic human being Braun Strowman was released from the WWE on June 2nd, 2021.

He wasn’t the only wrestler the company released that day, but he was the most well-known and maybe the most controversial. Last March, with indie wrestling promotions rapidly cancelling shows with no clue when or if they’d ever re-open, Strowman callously tweeted that wrestlers seeking fan support through GoFundMe pages should change professions, defending his words by bringing up his own pathway to a WWE contract, forgetting that, aside from being blessed with absurd genetics that brought him to the attention of WWE scouts before he’d received even a day of training, he also wasn’t up against a global pandemic. It was a bad look for a guy that many fans believe didn’t pay his dues.

This isn’t really true, though. Strowman may not have spent years in a New Japan dojo or logged thousands of miles on the indie circuit, but he wasn’t plucked out of high school and handed a World Title either. In fact, his actual list of WWE championships is shockingly low in an era where there are close to a dozen different championships, with most changing hands fairly regularly.

Strowman spent his early 20s trying to make it in football before finding success in Strongman competitions, winning the Arnold Amateur Championship in 2012. His accomplishments in strength sports put him on the WWE’s radar but his success in pro wrestling was never guaranteed. The WWE has hired (and fired) plenty of “should’ve-beens” over the years -  from the Giant Gonzalez to Nathan Jones to all sorts of bodybuilders, mixed martial artists, and second generation prospects.  

Strowman might have had the most inborn potential of any top recruit in company history, though. He may not have had the height of a Nathan Jones or Gonzalez, he was bigger, younger, more moldable, and American. His lack of training could be fixed in the WWE’s state-of-the-art developmental system. His lack of experience meant McMahon needn’t worry about Strowman playing hardball in negotiations or weighing too many other options. By Strowman’s own admission, he didn’t really have all that many other options anyway. Winning Strongmen competitions isn’t as lucrative as one might think.

And so Braun Strowman went to work for the WWE in 2013, spending roughly 2 years hidden in the background of NXT lest in-the-know fans spoil what was likely to be a huge reaction to his debut. According to Strowman, this is when his dues were paid as the 6’8’’ Monster with the “can’t miss look” was constantly challenged to prove his devotion to the business.

In the summer of 2015, Strowman debuted as part of the Wyatt Family, an interesting spot in light of the fact that the stable already featured two massive wrestlers in Erick Rowan and Luke Harper (not to mention the team’s leader, Bray Wyatt, 6’3 and over 300 pounds at the time). 5 months later, Strowman had an impressive showing at the 2016 Royal Rumble before getting eliminated by Brock Lesnar, McMahon planting seeds for a future rivalry.

Over the next year, Strowman would be split off from the Wyatt Family and given a solid singles run on RAW. His feud with Sami Zayn deftly played up the idea that Strowman was a “McMahon pet project,” undeserving of his roster spot compared to Zayn, the brave underdog and beloved indie darling. 

While Strowman dominated the feud in terms of win/loss records, Zayn benefited from being positioned as an undersized competitor willing to do battle with a man of Braun’s, err, brawn. As much as his detractors may have ignored it, through 2016 and well into 2017, Strowman routinely played the dummy, falling prey to count-outs and disqualifications and the pesky rules of Dumpster matches and Beat the Clock challenges. Strowman was booked strong, for sure, but not unbeatable. 

Most wrestling critics gave Strowman mixed reviews in what was essentially his rookie year. On one hand, no one could ever confuse his technical prowess for Daniel Bryan’s nor could his bumping and selling ever be described as Hennig-esque, but compared to what other big men like Mark Henry or Kevin Nash were doing as greenhorns, Strowman showed tremendous promise. And if his moveset was limited, why would a man with Strowman’s might need to do much more than clobber and powerslam a Sin Cara or Curtis Axel? 

Around this time, Strowman appeared on Steve Austin’s not-yet-WWE-produced Broken Skull podcast. He came off as well-spoken, motivated, funny, and humble. He admitted to being a wrestling fan mostly during the Attitude Era, when wrestling was at arguably its mainstream peak. Of course, being “only” an Attitude Era fan is the type of statement that doesn’t sit well with the more passionate wrestling fans of the internet, the ones who believe the best wrestlers must be lifelong “students of the game” with deep knowledge of not only the WWE and WCW, but All Japan, New Japan, lucha libre, and the territories of the 70s. For those fans, Strowman would always be Vince McMahon’s hand-picked future star and with that came an automatic resentment. This is nothing new. When Sheamus was first getting pushed in the company, reports leaked that he was training with Triple H and the association made him the target of a backlash too. Still, in his talk with Austin, Braun came off as hard-working and dedicated and Austin’s enthusiasm for him came across as almost a full endorsement.

In the build-up to WrestleMania XXXIII, Strowman began his long-running rivalry with Roman Reigns, suffering his first pinfall loss to The Big Dog at March’s Fastlane pay-per-view. The loss was widely criticized as a not-so-subtle attempt to get Reigns’ babyface act over after a year of mixed reactions. Unfortunately, short-sighted booking led to Braun, who should’ve been practically unbeatable in battle royals, coming up short at the annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal too. As would plague him his entire career, unflattering comparisons to Big Show and Mark Henry reared their heads. Strowman had become another “Unstoppable Giant” who seemed to get stopped all the time.

As 2017 progressed, Strowman was reheated, to the point that he became one of the most over talents on the roster. He fought in the main event of SummerSlam and then, in his biggest singles match to date, against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at September’s No Mercy pay-per-view. In my Kwang The Blog review of the show, I wrote:

“...there's something to be said for striking when the iron is hot and the iron may never be hotter for Strowman than right now…[Losing] so decisively after a single F5 certainly didn't help Strowman's credibility and it will take some work to rebuild him to make him a reasonable [challenger] for Lesnar in the future.”

I heaped further praise onto Strowman, closing my review by calling him “one of RAW’s most consistently entertaining performers.” I was not alone in my assessment either as Strowman, like many monster heels before him, was slowly morphing into a babyface, winning over live crowds without making any major changes to his character. Like watching Godzilla destroy skyscrapers, more and more fans were excited to see what wreckage Strowman would cause each week.

Critically, his matches against Roman Reigns at the Great Balls of Fire and Payback shows were very well-received, the former earning a respectable 3.75 stars in Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer and the latter a better-than-average 3.25. As Meltzer has a reputation for favoring matches with high workrates, complex sequences, and innovative moves over “sports-entertainment” matches that often rely on set pieces and eschew any sense of realism, the fact that he would rate these matches so highly could be read as a tacit admittance that what Braun brought to the table may not be good wrestling, but it was still good fun. And, truthfully, what could be funner than one wrestler loading his opponent into an ambulance and then driving into another huge truck at top speed?

At the 2018 Royal Rumble, Strowman again challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship (with Kane thrown into the mix in a triple threat match), but few expected him to capture the title. It was here that Strowman and Lesnar would have their most notorious altercation, though, as Strowman caught Lesnar in the head with a stiff knee (more like an upper thigh) and Lesnar retaliated with a devastating combo of un-pulled punches. 

The internet buzzed with gossip about the incident, many fans assuming that Strowman’s off-the-mark knee, accidental or not, was going to cost him any chance of ever getting a victory over The Beast. While the cause-and-effect theorizing may not be wholly accurate, the next and final time Lesnar and Strowman did battle, at the notorious Crown Jewel PPV for the vacant Universal Championship later in the year, Lesnar left with the title.

But between the Rumble and that match, Strowman’s on-screen character would go through a 180, the one-time merciless behemoth becoming a full-fledged fan favorite. At WrestleMania XXIV, he won the RAW Tag Team Championships with a 10 year-old boy as his teammate. This was character softening to a level that even Hulk Hogan and John Cena, at the peak of their crowd-pleasing cloyish character arcs, never reached. The angle was almost universally panned.

On his podcast, for example, Steve Austin not only voiced the displeasure that many fans felt in seeing an excellent tag team in Sheamus and Cesaro drop the titles to a singles wrestler and a prepubescent, but also alluded to unease about Strowman losing the “brutal force killer” edge of his persona. The traits that had made Strowman “must see” were being whittled away with each cutesy segment he was forced to smile through.

As ill-fitting as his new babyface act may have been, though, the shift led to the biggest victories of his career. In April, at The Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, Strowman bested Reigns’ Royal Rumble elimination record by tossing 13 fellow combatants on his way to victory. In June, he won the Men’s Money in the Bank Briefcase, granting him a title shot whenever he pleased.  

As big as these wins were, Strowman’s momentum continued to be halted at random times. He suffered televised losses to Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal and, at October’s Hell in a Cell, lost again to then-Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While few of these losses were clean, the message being sent was that Strowman remained unable to win “the big one.” After the aforementioned loss to Lesnar at Crown Jewel, Strowman moved onto an unremarkable but lengthy feud with Baron Corbin that was broken up by a month-long stretch to nurse an elbow injury. 

In 2019, Strowman won the Andre the Giant Battle at WrestleMania XXXV, a feat that could’ve put him back on the path towards the main event but has never been used as such. Strowman soon moved onto a series of matches with Bobby Lashley, a “can’t miss” prospect who, after a strong push in the mid-00s to late 00s, left the WWE, and returned only to spend even more years in upper midcard purgatory before finally winning his first major World Championship - a whopping 16 years after his debut.

While the feud with Lashley didn’t really raise his profile, it at least allowed him - and Lashley- to put on matches that played to both their (literal) strengths. These were not mat classics, but they worked at re-establishing what both guys brought to the table. 

After being left off the SummerSlam 2019 card, Strowman challenged Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at September’s Clash of the Champions show. Somewhat surprisingly, by the end of the bout, Strowman had most of the Chicago crowd behind him. Unfortunately, any momentum he may have had coming out of the match was thwarted by its finish (which saw “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt attack Rollins, signaling that their program would be at the top of the card for the next few months). Strowman’s connection to the live crowd, despite how often he was “cooled off,” would be somewhat of a recurring theme. Months later, at the 2019 Survivor Series, his elimination from a Team RAW/Team SmackDown/Team NXT match drew one of the loudest negative reactions of the night.

In the fall of 2019, Strowman was featured prominently in a feud with Tyson Fury, the world-renowned boxer who had made an attention-grabbing appearance on the inaugural episode of SmackDown on FOX. The image of Fury, who stands 6’9’’ and close to 300 pounds, squaring off against Strowman from that show and, days later, of the two in a pull-apart brawl from Raw, made headlines across the mainstream sports world.

Unfortunately, the match - a co-main event along with Lesnar taking on UFC rival Cain Velasquez - happened to occur at the most notorious event on the WWE’s yearly calendar, Crown Jewel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When the WWE started holding events in Saudi Arabia in 2014, these house shows generally flew under the radar of wrestling writers and political pundits. In 2018, though, starting with The Greatest Royal Rumble, the shows took on a grandiosity that surpassed even WrestleMania and were much more heavily promoted on the WWE’s TV shows. The added attention brought with it considerable scorn due to the country’s history of human rights violations, harsh punishment of homosexuals, and lack of equal treatment for women. After the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, not just wrestling fans were criticizing the McMahon’s dealings with Saudi Royal Family either. Politicians, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, voiced their disapproval too.

While names like John Cena, Kevin Owens, and Daniel Bryan refused to participate, Strowman continued to prove his willingness to do whatever the company asked of him, from tagging with a pre-teen to taking a countout loss to Fury in a publicity stunt match that drew nothing but negative publicity. 

In January 2020, Strowman would finally win his first major singles championship, taking the Intercontinental Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura on an episode of SmackDown. For the typical wrestler with just 5 years experience, such a win could be seen as a huge milestone. For Strowman, though, it felt like a step down, a title that he should’ve been above contending for.

Strowman’s run with the title was short-lived. Just a month or so after capturing the title he dropped it to not one but three wrestlers - Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Nakamura - in a handicap match at the Elimination Chamber event. In my blog I wrote, “Strowman…showed he still has some presence and ability to draw in the live crowd - not by hamming it up or being goofy, but by using his power and playing his role (the angry monster) in a believable way.” Again, Strowman’s biggest flaw seemed to be the lack of direction for his character.

When Roman Reigns left the WWE in March of 2020 due to concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, Strowman was quickly slotted in to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania XXXVI. There would win his first and only Universal Championship, but it was hardly a crowning moment. There was no live crowd. There was barely any real storyline build-up for the match. Goldberg looked every bit his 53 years of age. The match was nothing more than spears, a failed Jackhammer attempt, and then Strowman delivering a series of powerslams. I described the match as “absolute shit” in my review of the show.

Through the spring and summer of 2020, Strowman feuded with his former mentor, Bray Wyatt, leading to a cinematic Swamp Fight at July’s Extreme Rules: The Horror Show event. Filmed like a cheap mid-00s slasher flick, the “match” was noticeably less fun than the acid trippy Firefly Funhouse and the outrageous Graveyard matches from WrestleMania. Strowman would drop the Universal Championship to Wyatt at SummerSlam, falling prey to a chokeslam and a pair of Sister Abigails on the exposed boards of the ring.

After losing a triple threat for the title involving Roman Reigns at Payback, Strowman was featured on the short-lived RAW Underground experiment. Like everyone else showcased on this “show-within-a-show,” it didn’t lead anywhere. Strowman would be kayfabe “suspended” at the end of the year for attacking RAW Authority Figure Adam Pearce in a prelude to his eventual and wholly unremarkable feud with Shane McMahon in the build to WrestleMania XXXVII.

Which brings us to Strowman’s unceremonious release this past week. Looking at his career as a whole, despite headlining a WrestleMania, multiple SummerSlams, and several other major events, it still seems like a case of unreached potential. There is an adage among modern wrestling fans that says Vince McMahon wouldn’t know what to do with Andre the Giant if he walked into the company today. With his handling of Braun, this may now be proven as fact.

This still doesn’t answer the question of why Strowman was released, though. While his contract may have been expensive, we’re still talking about a one-of-a-kind talent, one of the last remaining true big men in wrestling. Weight issues and injuries never really plagued him. He was a “company man,” willing to trust in McMahon’s vision at the expense of his own brand and credibility. 

Most disheartening, though, is that this faith in McMahon’s support seemed to go beyond business. In a WWE-produced documentary released in late 2020, Strowman described dealing with depression and insecurity. While he would later talk about some of these statements, emphasizing that the depression was caused by tumult in his personal life rather than anything he was going through at work, his words in the documentary suggest the multiple start-and-stop pushes he’d received over caused him serious anxiety. He concludes that having man-to-man discussions with Vince helped assuage his fears, but in hindsight, McMahon’s reassuring words about having Braun around “for the long haul” proved to be nothing more than lip service.

As of this writing, Braun Strowman’s future remains unknown. Some have posited, based on comments Braun has made over the years, that he is not interested in working anywhere but the WWE. Of course, Chris Jericho said the same thing for years. These are the kind of statements people make when they assume they have a job for as long as they want it. The WWE is a family after all...until the family remembers it’s really a business.

Should Strowman choose to continue his career outside the WWE, the independent wrestling scene, as well as the international market, is as strong as it could possibly be following a global pandemic. The man who scouted Strowman, Mark Henry, was recently signed by AEW and, it goes without saying, Strowman remains every bit as physically imposing now in 2021 as he was seven years ago. If he were to go to AEW, for example, he would dwarf every one of the resident “big men” there, from Wardlow to Hobbs to Luchasaurus. His name value shouldn’t be underestimated either. Strowman was as close to being a top star as the WWE has produced this decade, but close to being a top star is as far as they wanted him to go. Even a giant can be kept under a ceiling.