WWE Night of Champions 2011

WWE Night of Champions 2011

Buffalo, NY - September 2011

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Alberto Del Rio was the WWE Champion, the World Heavyweight Champion was Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes was the Intercontinental Champion, and the US Champion was Dolph Ziggler. Finally, the WWWE Tag Team Champions were Air Boom and the Women's Champion was Kelly Kelly.

The draw of this show was its main event - CM Punk vs. Triple H - but a case could be made that even though the WWE bungled their Summer of Punk storyline, there were also quite a few other really good storylines going on that fans were excited about, including the formation of Awesome Truth, who challenge Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) in the opening contest. The Miz would become a more dependable in-ring worker in due time but he's not terrible here and the crowd certainly hates him. Kofi and Bourne were a solid team too and the fans are definitely behind them. I like the little twists they added to this match as it was Air Boom who actually ended up bending the rules a bit to try to hold onto their Tag Team Championships and it was the heels who got screwed (this played into their on-going storyline about being the victims of a conspiracy). A perfectly fine opener with a surprising ending as I'm guessing Awesome Truth were favored to win the titles here. (2.5/5)

The Intercontinental Champion, Cody Rhodes, defends the title against his former partner, Ted DiBiase Jr., next. Its interesting to watch this 11 years later knowing that DiBiase would fizzle out not too long after this and that Rhodes would be the one who not only enjoyed a lengthy career but ended up helping start the most successful non-WWE wrestling promotion of the past 25 years. Anyway, considering how much these two worked together, one would expect them to have remarkable chemistry, but this match never enters a second gear. Rhodes was the better, more fluid worker and maybe this would've worked if DiBiase had more support from the crowd, but this was just kinda there. Not a terrible match, just not one that drew me (or the live crowd) in. (2/5)

Christian came out next and cut a promo that was then interrupted by Sheamus. Christian is one of my all-time faves and this was part of his excellent heel run. I'm tempted to give it a +1, but not tempted enough to do it.

Dolph Ziggler defended the United States Championship in a 4-way match involving John Morrison, Jack Swagger, and Alex Riley. Morrison was the most over babyface in the match, though Alex Riley had some support too and was definitely fresher. I'm not surprised that Morrison left the company at the end of 2011 as he really had hit a wall (and, sadly, even when he returned to the company in 2019, Vince seemingly had no desire or interest in pushing him as anything more than a midcarder). Jack Swagger had already been the World Heavyweight Champion by this point, but his most memorable main event run was still a little bit of a ways away (even if he never actually regained a major championship during it). This is the window of time when Swagger still seemed like he could be a big deal but watching this in retrospect makes it clear that he, like a Mr. Kennedy, was never really all that great aside from having some undeniable presence and charisma. Ziggler is the glue that holds this match together and I like Vickie's involvement and the teasing of the Ziggler/Vickie split. Lots of action in a match that only went 8-9 minutes. (2.5/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next as Randy Orton defends against Mark Henry. The build-up to this match was all about Mark Henry's winning streak and his desire to finally prove he can "win the big one." Orton was a babyface, but was a cool babyface and didn't really pander to the crowd one bit. This match has a bit of a reputation as being one of the best WWE Matches of the Year and it absolutely delivers, especially if you're at all into "old school" matches that are more based on storytelling and physicality than lots of wild moves or triple-fast sequences. I love how much Orton gives Henry in terms of selling and this might be Orton's best work ever as a babyface fighting from underneath and actually looking vulnerable, an understandable rarity in his lengthy career. Henry, to his credit, puts on arguably the best performance of his career, something that I might imagine stems from knowing that, on this night, he was going to finally be rewarded for his years of effort and that he needed to live up to his new status as the company's resident monster after years of seeing that role given to guys like Kane and Big Show. This is Henry's night and he knows it and is at his most vicious because of it. A match like this could've been all about whether Orton could hit the RKO and it is partially that...but its also about Henry's emotion and focus and whether he is going to actually be able to live up to the moment and when he doesn't get the W with his first World's Strongest Slam, that disappointment is tangible. Just a wonderful match that has aged very well and is absolutely worth checking out if you've ever wondered what the big deal about Henry's "Hall of Pain" run was. (4/5)

In a very surprising turn of events, Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly follow this up with a surprisingly strong match themselves, or at least a match that exceeded any expectations one might've ever had. Phoenix is clearly in the driver's seat, but its not like Kelly didn't have a job to do. In fact, its Kelly's agility and speed that really made this work. "Carry job" or not, its Kelly who executes a solid tarantula on the ropes, takes a hell of a superplex, and then holds her own in a finishing sequence that could've been a disaster. While the match only goes 6 and a half minutes, it is spirited and well-fought from beginning to end and the finish is an upset that not only made Kelly Kelly look like she was actually a formidable talent, but kept Phoenix looking strong-but-overconfident, the Glamazon arguably underestimating Kelly from the very start. (3/5)

The WWE Champion, Alberto Del Rio, defended his title against John Cena next. This was an important match for Del Rio as he had been pushed strongly since joining the WWE's main roster in 2010. While CM Punk was easily the hottest wrestler the company had at the time, Vince was driven to make Del Rio, who had been a fairly big investment, a star. Like the main event (we'll get to it), there were quite a few commentators who feared that this match would curtail Del Rio's chances of being a true top guy and while I wouldn't say that Del Rio was "buried" here, the fact that he wrestles a lengthy, relatively clean match with Cena and loses was not "star-making" booking. Cena makes Del Rio look good, but after the excellent match he had with Punk at Money in the Bank, its clear that the same chemistry and magic isn't there. As was the case throughout the summer of 2011, Del Rio's push just couldn't come out from under the shadow of Punk's organic rise to stardom. Del Rio and Cena get plenty of time and there are some good moments because, as despicable as Del Rio might be as a person, the guy was - at one time - a very capable worker...but this match just didn't deliver what it needed to to cement Del Rio as a main eventer. (3/5)

Main event time - CM Punk vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification match where, if Punk wins, Triple H has to step down from being the company's COO. This is around the time when the "Summer of Punk" storyline became a complete mess that was no longer about CM Punk at all and more about Triple H wanting to maintain his control of the company as John Laurenaitis and Kevin Nash seemed to be plotting against him. Maybe they did because in 2011 Triple H, Kevin Nash, and John Laurenaitis were selling tons of merch? Or getting huge responses for live crowd? Oh? Neither of those things was true? This is the kind of match that works partially because Punk and Triple H clearly had legitimate heat with one another and there is a stiffness to this that serves the stipulation well. There is also a constant upping of the ante, not just in terms of violence, but in the pace as neither Punk or Triple H want to look weak or slow. This match kicks off with brawling and they just don't stop for 20+ minutes. What hurts this match is the added stipulation and the unfortunate inevitability of a screwy finish. Punk should've won here - that is an almost inarguable fact - but Triple H losing his job was seemingly a storyline that Vince (or whoever was in his ear) did not feel like exploring. Its a shame too because, in hindsight, they ended up basically doing the angle anyway just a few weeks later as John Laurenaitis became the RAW GM and Triple H was demoted. There's your proof that Vince's issues with longterm booking didn't just magically start in 2016 or 2018 or 2014. Anyway...The Miz and R-Truth get involved and try to screw Triple H, but after initially being saved by an uncooperative ref, Triple H kicks out. Miz and Truth argue with the ref, beat him up, and then get booted out of the ring leading to Triple H hitting the Pedigree and getting a long visual pin on CM Punk. If you're keeping score at home, Triple H has now kicked out of the Skull-Crushing Finale and has now pinned CM Punk. Laurenaitis comes out and things get even messier as another ref shows up and while Punk does hit the GTS and seemingly have Triple H beat and, moments later, kicks out of a second Pedigree, ultimately it is CM Punk who eats a Kevin Nash powerbomb and a third Pedigree to lose the match. As a match, this starts out red hot but then loses steam as it becomes less and less about CM Punk and more and more about the Awesome Truth angle, the Laurenaitis/Triple H power struggle, and Kevin Nash playing spoiler. (3.5/5)

The summer of 2011 was a good time to be a WWE fan due to the red hot CM Punk angle, Christian and Mark Henry's main event heel runs on SmackDown, and talents like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and others coming into their own. With a Kwang Score of 2.93-out-of-5, Night of Champions 2011 is a show worth checking out if you may have been...uh...checking out on WWE programming around this time. 

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

WWE WrestleMania IV

WWE WrestleMania IV

Atlantic City, NJ - March 1998

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Championship was vacant, while Honky Tonk Man was the Intercontinental Champion and Strike Force (Rick Martel and Tito Santana) were the Tag Team Champions. Sensational Sherri was the Women's Champion, though I'm not sure how often she was actually defending the title on TV and, after dropping the title to Rockin' Robin later in 88', the title was essentially "forgotten" for 3+ years.

Considered by many to be among the worst WrestleManias ever, I opted to re-watch this one just because I don't think I'd seen it more than maybe once or twice over the years...

A 20-Battle Royale kicks off the show. The sole memorable part of this is the finish, which sees Bret Hart (who was a heel at the time) and Bad News Brown momentarily team up only for Brown to screw the Hitman over. Brown and Hart were both "Stampede guys" but unless I missed it, nobody brings that up on commentary. The Hart Foundation would be a much, much bigger in the years to come, but this still feels like a bit of a spotlight for Bret as it almost would've made sense for the reverse to happen (Bret screws Bad News and then Brown destroys the trophy). A battle royal that lasts less than 10 minutes is obviously not a great one...(1.5/5)

The WWE Championship tournament begins "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase taking on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. These two had history dating back to the territories so they have good chemistry, plus they keep it short and "sprinty" with Duggan doing lots of moving and DiBiase bumping big. The finish comes due to interference caused by Andre the Giant, who was aligned with Dibiase. If I'd had the pen, I would've had Andre's interference lead to DiBiase applying the Million Dollar Dream instead of winning with a fist drop, but whatever. (2.5/5)

After some words from Brutus Beefcake, Don "The Rock" Muraco takes on Dino Bravo in another tournament match. This is the sort of match that makes this show feel like more of a glorified house show than a WrestleMania. Then again, maybe that's because I'm watching this in 2022 and neither Muraco or Bravo were big stars when I started watching in 91'. Anyway, they get roughly the same amount of time as DiBiase and Duggan did, but because neither work a particularly interesting style or build a very interesting story, this feels like it could've been half as long and still be dull. The finish is also a cop out as Muraco doesn't even get the clean W, which would've at least given him credibility in the second round and maybe made it feel like he actually stood a chance to win the thing. (0.5/5)

Bob Uecker interviews The Honky Tonk Man and continues his search for Vanna White (which is just about as 80s as an 80s sentence can get) before the tournament continues with Ricky Steamboat taking on Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. I'm not sure what Steamboat's situation was at this point, but he would be back in the NWA by 89' and, according to wikipedia, left the company shortly after this show. Valentine and Steamboat have good chemistry (I'm guessing they worked together in the NWA) and, as always, Steamboat was just so good that even a rather forgettable 10-minute match like this stands out even more when its surrounded by mediocre matches. Also, credit to Steamboat for making Valentine look like a killer at times (even if the finish isn't 100% clean). (3/5)

After another backstage interview segment with the British Bulldogs (and Matilda), we're back to the ring for Randy Savage vs. Butch Reed. As we'd see over the course of the evening, most of Savage's matches are ones in which the heel almost completely dominates him until he gets in a flurry of offense and somehow hits his elbow drop. This is exactly that. I can understand not wanting Savage to have to go through a bunch of long-winded matches to keep the audience hot for him over the course of a 4-hour show, but if that's the intention, why not let him start off the night with a nice quick win that actually showcases him as a guy who can outsmart any opponent at any time? Like Steamboat, Reed would be out of the company soon after this so I doubt they had some big storyline they needed to protect him for anyway. (1.5/5)

One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow is up next. One Man Gang gets the countout victory in under 3 minutes. Again, I understand the booking to keep Bigelow strong, but One Man Gang getting a definitive victory would've made him seem like a bigger deal as the tournament went on as the heavy favorites were likely Hogan and Andre. (1/5)

Hogan cuts a wild promo before the next bout. Its a pretty classic one, maybe even one of the more memorable moments from this entire show.

"Ravishing" Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts is next. This was before they had an extended feud involving Jake Roberts' wife which is a bit odd because this match isn't really that great and maybe should've been a warning that while the promos and storyline was going to draw heat, the matches themselves might be pretty underwhelming. Rude would really shine in 89' and 90' working with Warrior as he was such an expressive bumper, but Roberts' offense didn't really allow him to do that. Rude tries to build suspense (I think?) by constantly going back to a chinlock, but it really just drags this match into tediousness. As could be expected, whenever Jake Roberts teased a DDT, the crowd got excited, but there just weren't enough of those moments to outweigh all the stalling. Of all the matches on this show that should've gone 15 minutes, this wasn't the one I'd have gone with. The crowd is not into this, letting the wrestlers hear it with audible "boring' chants at one point. (1/5)

The Ultimate Warrior makes his WrestleMania debut against Hercules next. This is a much more even match than I thought it'd be as Hercules is basically presented as an equal to the Warrior. Warrior had debuted in the fall of 87' and wasn't nearly as over as he'd become. I'm curious what it was that eventually got him so hot, but I'm willing to guess that it was the addition of more color to his look, his bonkers promos, and, of course, his trademark entrance. A match that is more historically important (?) than actually good and certainly not worth seeking out. Just a few months later, Warrior would win the Intercontinental Championship but you really wouldn't think that based on this. (1/5)

A long hype video sets the stage for Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant in the opening match of the tournament's 2nd round. Because Hogan and Andre were the previous World Champions, they had a bye in the first round, but instead of having them face off at the end of the second round, they actually start it (which still seems weird to me as a viewer). I'm guessing Vince thought it was better to have Hogan and Andre on the show earlier than later as, after this, the show does deflate a bit. Andre does not look great here and, a year later, would be used almost entirely in tag matches. Hogan has a ton of fire, his selling is passionate, and he plays to the crowd as well as ever...but this is just an absolute "nothing" match that seems designed primarily to cool down both guys so that Savage/DiBiase can get the spotlight. Its a wise booking decision, for sure, but it also means purposefully nose-diving a show and not delivering a true rematch to WrestleMania III's main event. (1/5)

Don Muraco vs. Ted DiBiase is next. I like the finish here as DiBiase gets the clean win in a little under 6 minutes. If Muraco had come into this match booked stronger, I think this match would've had more heat, but alas, it was fairly predictable that DiBiase was going to get the W. Inoffensive but forgettable. (1.5/5)

Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage follows and, like Savage's first match, he basically just eats a ton of offense until he miraculously makes a comeback. The good thing about that is that Savage was a great seller and Valentine's elbows and strikes are nasty. I wouldn't call this a Match of the Night nominee, but it is easily the best in-ring action since, well, Valentine's last match. Maybe I've got to admit that Greg Valentine was more dependable and solid in-ring than I initially thought... (2/5) 

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line next as Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake challenges The Honky Tonk Man. Beefcake would challenge for the Intercontinental Championship a whole bunch of times over the next few months and then again in 89' (against Rick Rude) and in 90' (when Mr. Perfect held the title), but never actually win the thing - which is remarkable just because I can't really think of another guy, in any era, who perennially challenged for a major title on multiple big shows and never actually got his moment. Anyway...neither of these guys is a particularly great worker, though they were both over and their larger-than-life characters was enough for this to be in the average range. They didn't go too long and Jimmy Hart got involved (and lost a bit of hair) too. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Andre the Giant nearly pops Bob Uecker's head off his shoulders in a memorable segment.

The Islanders and Bobby Heenan squared off against The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware in the next contest. I'm guessing the Islanders and the Bulldogs could've torn the house down if they'd been wrestling a straight-up physical battle (and if Dynamite Kid were still the worker he'd been a few years earlier), but for whatever reason, this was not that kind of match and really underwhelmed. Bobby Heenan is wearing a goofy dog catcher suit, but we don't even get a pay-off of having Matilda chase him around. Even the should-be feel-good ending doesn't happen and Koko has to take the L, which seems like an odd booking decision considering the Islanders went on to do absolutely nothing (and The Tonga Kid left the company a short time after this show) and there was no reason to protect Heenan. (1.5/5)

The tournament continues as Randy Savage takes on the One Man Gang. This match doesn't even go 5 minutes and is pretty one-sided with One Man Gang on offense for most of it. Savage has flurries here and there, but the only purpose this match serves is to further emphasize just how much damage Savage has already suffered going into the finals (which he manages to get to when the Gang inexplicably opts to try to cheat to win even though he was in control for most of the match). I would've liked to see Savage and Gang actually have a real match as One Man Gang wasn't too bad of a big man and Savage was great at ping-ponging around for bigger guys at this point in his career. (1/5)

Demolition challenge Strike Force for the World Tag Team Championships next. Not much struck out at me watching this aside from Martel being the best worker and Demolition Smash being much bigger than he would appear in later years as Repo Man and even later as the Blacktop Bully. As was typical for this era, the heels have to cheat to win. Nothing worth seeking out here unless you're a Demolition obsessive. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase for the vacant WWE Championship. With Savage having already wrestled 3 matches, it would've made some sense for him to come into this looking really bruised and battered...but he doesn't. It also would've made sense for DiBiase, who is well rested, to control early without needing help from Andre the Giant on the outside, but that doesn't happen either. Instead, this match is really all about Andre's interference and the eventual return of Hulk Hogan to "even the odds" and essentially cheat on the Macho Man's behalf. Macho Man's victory gets a big reaction from the audience and the crowd was more engaged here then at any other time, but this was barely suspenseful as it was very clear, even to the in-person audience at the time, that Hogan was going to be involved. I would've preferred seeing Hogan and Andre brawl in the aisle and for maybe Liz to be the one to help secure the gold for Savage by thwarting interference by Virgil or something. One of the weakest Mania main events ever. (2.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 1.59-out-of-5, WrestleMania IV is not a show that even the biggest 80s wrestling fan would find themselves watching more than once. Despite the show being built around Andre, Savage, Hogan, and DiBiase, none of them have "career nights" here. The rest of the card is a bit of a blur with very short, unremarkable matches. Roberts/Rude is a real disappointment as is Hogan/Andre and Savage/One Man Gang, but the potential for a fun battle of power wrestlers in Warrior/Hercules also doesn't come to fruition the way it may have a year or so later when Warrior was more over.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE WrestleMania XII

WWE WrestleMania XII

Anaheim, CA - March 1996

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Bret Hart was the WWE Champion, Goldust was the Intercontinental Champion, and the World Tag Team Championships were vacant due an injury to Bart Gunn. 

WrestleMania XII is a show I've tended to avoid reviewing/rewatching over the years mostly because of its main event. But as I've made my way through a ton of the mid-90s WWE shows, it was time I forced myself to check this show out again as a whole. Here goes...

The show starts off with a six-man tag - Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ahmed Johnson, and Yokozuna taking on Camp Cornette's Vader, British Bulldog, and Owen Hart. Owen is the standout performer in this match, just absolutely killing it every second he's in the ring. Yokozuna looks and moves exactly like how one would expect a 600 pound man to move. Jake Roberts doesn't look much better. So, really, this is a match carried by the overness of the wrestlers involved and the crowd's general enthusiasm for being at a WrestleMania. There is a stipulation in place that if the faces win, Yoko gets 5 minutes alone with Cornette, which would suggest that the babyfaces had to win here...but they don't. Instead, we get all sorts of chaos before Vader lands his Vader Bomb on Jake to get the W. I'm not even sure Roberts or Vader were the legal men either. A good enough opener that showed just how important Owen (and to a lesser degree Bulldog) was to keeping the in-ring product from being complete garbage in the mid-90s. Vader gets to shine a bit too, but placing him in a six-man in the opener of WrestleMania still feels like maybe not the best showcase for a guy that needed to be pushed even stronger upon joining the WWE (as he had, undeniably, had some of his credibility taken away jobbing to Hogan in WCW on his way out). (2.5/5)

From here we go to the first part of the infamous Goldust/Roddy Piper "Backlot Brawl" match. Piper looks badass waiting for Goldust to arrive in the backlot of a Hollywood studio and the Bizarre One pulls in an all-gold Cadillac, which is equally sick. From here, things get less cool as Goldust and Piper brawl in a fashion not dissimilar but far less cinematic than what Hot Rod did in They Live. Goldust ends up back in the Caddy and tries to run over Piper in a ridiculous stunt. The scene ends with Piper jumping into a white Ford Bronco...

We're then back to the ring for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega. I was surprised that Austin was already going by "Stone Cold" as I didn't think he'd picked up that nickname until a couple months after this (I thought he was billed as "The Million Dollar Champion" primarily during this span). They get 10 minutes but this match feels a little longer, dragging a bit as the crowd isn't super into it. I've come to see Vega as a better brawler and performer than I thought he was as a kid, but I still can't say I'm a superfan of him or anything. Austin is Austin, but all the pieces and parts weren't clicking yet and he was clearly still finding his footing in a new environment. Not a bad match, just not a particularly good one either. (2/5)

The Ultimate Warrior made his much-anticipated (but ultimately very brief) return next, squashing Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a match that went under 2 minutes. While this could never be considered a high point in either guy's career, the crowd is definitely into it and Warrior did at least look incredible. Its a shame that Warrior, at this point, had veered so, so far from actually caring about the pro-wrestling business and had no interest in actually becoming a good performer as, if he had put in the time and dedication that Sting did (and maybe set his aside his ego), there could've/would've been some real fun in seeing Warrior face guys like Vader and Austin or do babyface/babyface matches against Ahmed Johnson, Shawn Michaels, or Bret Hart. Oh well. (1/5)

We now get more of the "punchline" from the Goldust/Piper brawl earlier as their high-speed chase proves to be just footage from OJ's low-speed chase from 1994, which was, yes, almost a full 2 years earlier. 

Back in the ring, Diesel takes on The Undertaker in a Battle of the Big Men. At the time, The Undertaker being undefeated at WrestleMania wasn't a "thing" and, because Nash was in the midst of negotiating with Vince (but leaning towards leaving), its possible that Vince offered to let him go over (though that's never really been confirmed). Anyway...this match starts off with some awesome offense out of Taker, but things slow down when Diesel takes over. I also don't like how Diesel's dominance is stretched out with playing to the crowd and generic heel gloating. This sort of arrogance would've made sense if Diesel was just your average dumb big man, but I always liked that Nash played his role as not that and actually had some brains behind the brawn. In this match, the arrogance is just too much when, during the build, Diesel may have been confident about his chances to beat the Deadman, but he also respected that the Undertaker couldn't be treated lightly. Once Diesel has the Undertaker hurt, he is comically overconfident. It just plays as a bit of a cop-out compared to the intense back-and-forth that starts the match and makes this one seem like it might actually tell a more engaging story than the rather formulaic Babyface Shine/Heel Heat/Babyface Comeback narrative. Now, that's not to say there aren't some cool moments - especially out of Nash, who delivers two beautiful Jacknifes on the Phenom - but this was underwhelming even if, up till then, it was probably one of Taker's best Mania matches yet. (3/5)

At this point, Roddy Piper and Goldust end up in the ring to wrap-up their night-long segment. The big shocking reveal is that Goldust is wearing women's lingerie. At the time, this was scandalous and established further how "bizarre" the Bizarre One was. Once again the crowd pop bigged for it too, though one has to wonder what the kids in the audience thought of all this nonsense. This was the kind of stuff that Bret Hart wasn't a huge fan of, I'm guessing, but as we would see in the months and years to come, clearly the WWE was going to have to "shake things up" a bit as WCW sharpened its own tone and grew darker with the creation of the nWo. Anyway, as a storyline running through the whole show, this was a mixed bag. It started off kinda cool and then got progressively sillier and then ended with a weird punchline that seemed too "adult" compared to the rest of the show. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Shawn Michaels challenging Bret Hart for the WWE Championship in a 60-minute Ironman match. Like several of Bret's most famous matches (and to a lesser extent Shawn's), this is one that many fans either like (or at least respect as a "genre exercise") or absolutely loathe (and believe to be either masturbatory or needlessly detached, a match that Bret designed to show he could go an hour rather than designing a match that should go an hour. Its interesting to think if this match would've been received better if there was no stipulation at all and they just went 60+ minutes with the very same finish, but I kinda doubt it. The pacing issues that make this one not work are there regardless. Early on, the extended mat work makes sense to build tension, but as the match goes on, every time it seems like they're going to kick this into the next gear, they slow things back down. For a match built up around guys trying to score as many pinfalls as possible on their opponents, the nearfalls and finisher teases are limited. In later interviews, Bret revealed that he believed the match should've been broken up by pinfalls, that they could've had a very similar finish (an overtime ending with a Sweet Chin Music) with each guy scoring 1 or 2 pins during the hour but that Vince's vision was to have it go 0-0 until the end. Theoretically, this should've built up the suspense until a thrilling final 5-10 minutes, but the journey to get there has been so unremarkable that it just doesn't match the hype. Now, there are individual moments sprinkled throughout this match that are thrilling. Michaels takes some great bumps to the outside that wake the crowd up and there's a great superkick spot on the outside to the timekeeper. Bret hits his signature spots with gusto, the Excellence of Execution living up to his name, but I would've liked to see both guys dip into their heel bag of tricks a little - even if the audience might've turned on one or the other or both - as another way to lively things up. Ultimately, that's the largest failure of the match: it just never escapes the shadow of what it could've been, should've been, or would've been. (2/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2-out-of-5, WrestleMania XII is not one of the better Manias that the WWE has produced. In some ways, they had the pieces to make for a very good show. Vega and Austin would go on to have a pretty solid strap match some months after this. The main event is a disappointment considering the workers involved, but the stipulation did them no favors and, according to Bret, the bad decision to end the match 0-0 (before the "overtime") that was made by Vince ended up leading to a match that feels aimless when it should feel urgent. Vader, Piper, Goldust...they're all on this card and while none are used especially poorly, none are used in the best possible way either. Even Diesel/Undertaker, which is arguably much better than it would sound on paper, has its shortcomings despite being the Match of the Night. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Judgment Day 2007

WWE Judgment Day 2007

St. Louis, MO - May 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was John Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion was Edge, and the ECW Champion was Vince McMahon. Yup. The Intercontinental Champion was Santino Marella, the United States Champion was Chris Benoit, and the Women's Champion was Melina. The WWE Tag Team Champions were Deuce and Domino, who I don't recall ever being champions or even being around in 2007 (I mistakenly believed they were around in 05'/06'). Finally, the Hardys were the World Tag Team Champions on the RAW brand.

Ric Flair vs. Carlito kicks off the show. Flair was 58 at this time and moved like it. These two went 15+ minutes, which was just too long. At the time, Carlito was viewed as a guy with potential to be a main event-level talent but also had the reputation of being a bit lazy - which was also kind of his gimmick. I can't really speak on Carlito's work ethic, but I'd argue that being paired with a 58-year old Flair (who would have his WWE retirement match a year later) didn't allow him to showcase his speed and agility anyway. Not the worst match of all time, but not one I enjoyed very much either. (1.5/5)

The ECW World Championship is on the line next as Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga take on Bobby Lashley in a handicap match. At this point in time, Vince was the ECW Champion somehow. This was a really short and fun "match" that basically saw Lashley manhandle and obliterate Shane and Umaga as Vince watched on in horror. Umaga was somewhat protected too, which might be hard to believe if you just looked at the result of Lashley defeating 3 guys in under 2 minutes. After the match, Lashley celebrated with the title but...Umaga attacked and Vince grabbed the title, stating that in order for the belt to change hands, Vince would've needed to be pinned (which he wasn't). Its hard to rate something like this, but for what it was, it was entertaining enough and, by keeping it nice and short, there is little to really criticize. (2.5/5)

The next match was also a continuation of a storyline that seemed to be over at WrestleMania  - CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke. Their feud had something to do with Elijah Burke representing "The New Breed" and CM Punk, despite being a newcomer in the WWE, still aligning himself with the Old School ECW babyfaces. Anyway, like the opener, Punk and Burke get plenty of time, going close to 20 minutes. Unlike the opener, Punk and Burke try to work a quality, physical back-and-forth match (but don't quite have the chemistry to really pull it off). While I liked the believable nearfalls in its final minutes, I'm not sure they needed this amount of time and the audience isn't fully on-board for the match's duration. The crowd's meh attitude might have to do with Punk and Burke not being major stars, but they also don't have the kind of chemistry for two guys who worked with each other extensively (Punk once said that Burke was his least favorite opponent). Not a bad match, but a touch too long, and not the "hidden gem" that I was hoping for when I saw this bout listed on the card. (2.5/5)

After a backstage attack earlier in the show, Shawn Michaels was in no shape to perform, selling a concussion, against Randy Orton so this was barely a match (though the bell did ring and, for at least the first minute or so, it seemed like Michaels may have some sort of miraculous recovery and wrestle a full match). I believe the reasoning behind having this "non-match" was to give Michaels a storyline reason to disappear as he underwent knee surgery. After the ref ends the match, Orton hits Shawn with an RKO and then his wife, Rebecca, shows up, crying. Orton leaves and Michaels is carried out on a stretcher. I think Michaels sought revenge when he returned months later at Survivor Series 2007 (actually, a quick Wikipedia dive revealed that Michaels returned weeks earlier and actually fought Orton at Cyber Sunday too). Hard to rate something like this, but I'm not as big of a fan of Michaels' overselling as others so...(1/5)

The World Tag Team Championships were on the line next with The Hardys defending against Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade. They get plenty of time, the match running 15 minutes or so, and there are some really good spots, but this didn't hold my attention from beginning to end. I think the issue is that, theoretically, Murdoch and Cade are the kind of tag team I should really like - an aggressive, more technically-proficient version of Southern Justice maybe - but there's something missing in the presentation and I never really "buy" these two as being a cohesive team. As usual with matches like this, the finishing stretch is electric and boosts this one from "average" into "good" territory. (3/5)

The World Heavyweight Champion, Edge, defended against Batista next. I wasn't expecting much out of this match, but it was worked nice and tight, and I liked both guys' urgency. I'm not a huge Edge fan, but I like how focused he is on Batista's knee and he bumps well when he needs to. At this point, Edge wasn't over-the-top with his facial expressions either which, depending on your taste, can either be a plus or a negative. There was a cool nearfall at the end after a big spear from the Animal, but he was unable to hit the Batista Bomb and Edge was able to eke out a victory via a roll-up. Not necessarily a decisive finish, but one that kept Edge's credibility intact as a worthy top heel for the Blue Brand. (3/5)

MVP challenged Chris Benoit for his United States Championship next in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Benoit had been champion for over half a year at this point but his title reign was kind of a blur to me aside from this months-long rivalry with MVP. Benoit and MVP worked very well together because MVP could not only mat wrestle, but he was equally tough and not afraid to trade strikes with the Crippler. Watching Benoit matches is always a little weird, especially from this year, as Benoit would kill his son, wife, and himself just a month later. I was expecting this match to go a good 15-20 minutes as the World Heavyweight Championship match had been fairly short and the main event (Cena/Khali) was certainly not going to go too long, but MVP got two straight victories in just a little over 12 minutes. (3/5)

Main event time - John Cena defending the WWE Championship against The Great Khali. This match had a bit of a reputation at the time as being shockingly great and maybe even Khali's best match and though I wouldn't call this a "classic" or anything really close to it, Cena's performance here is top notch as he bumps and sells and makes Khali look tremendous. This is Cena doing Hulk Hogan essentially, the Superman character having to face someone even bigger and stronger than he is. It is a simple story but done effectively. The audience is fully into this, but the audience is also full of younger fans who idolized Cena. This is about as good a match as one could possibly have with Khali and, in that sense, it does get close to being a "should/must watch." (3.5/5) 

With a Kwang Score of 2.50-out-of-5, Judgment Day 2007 starts off a bit slow with a not-so-great match between Flair and Carlito followed by an underwhelming McMahon/Lashley match, but picks up towards the end as the Hardys match, Batista/Edge, MVP/Benoit, and Cena/Khali are all above average matches (though none are what I'd consider "excellent" or "must watch"). 

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

WWE Elimination Chamber 2022

WWE Elimination Chamber 2022

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - February 2022

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was Bobby Lashley while the Universal Champion was Roman Reigns. Charlotte Flair held the Smackdown Women's Championship, Becky Lynch held the RAW Women's Championship, The Usos were the SmackDown Tag Champs, Carmella and Zelina Vega were the Women's Tag Team Champions, and the RAW Tag Team Championships were held by Alpha Academy (Gable and Otis). Finally, Damien Priest was the US Champion and Sami Zayn was the Intercontinental Champion.

I don't typically review the Saudi Arabia shows that the WWE puts on as, at least initially, they seemed to exist almost "outside of cannon." However, this show was a bit different as it would help set the table for WrestleMania.

Kicking off the show, Roman Reigns defended his Universal Championship against Goldberg in a match hyped as "The Match We Were Supposed To Get Years Ago." This was about as good as one might've expected - meaning not very good at all. Reigns has put on some great performances over the past year, but he didn't seem fully invested in this and Goldberg has really lost whatever aura he still might've had 5 years ago. Reigns will go down as the only man to defeat Goldberg by submission (I think?) which was the only unpredictable element of a fairly ho-hum match that will hopefully be Goldberg's last. (2/5)

The Women's Elimination Chamber to find the number one contender for Becky Lynch's RAW Women's Championship next and featured Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Nikki ASH, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and the returning Alexa Bliss. There was some really stiff moments in this match, including a nasty bump early on from Liv Morgan onto the steel chamber floor. Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair were the clear stars, though, and I'm thinking there's still a decent chance that Ripley will find her way into the Mania championship match. I'm still not a fan of the Nikki ASH gimmick and Alexa Bliss still doing the schizophrenic mentally unstable gimmick without Bray Wyatt around seems ill-fitting. I almost wonder if the WWE shouldn't have used Bliss's legit injury to write off the gimmick entirely as I'm just not sure there's anywhere left for this character to go. As other reviewers noted, this wasn't anything revolutionary or particularly special, but it was solid, well-paced, and the right amount of physical. (3/5)

Ronda Rousey and Naomi teamed up against Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville in the next match. Rousey wrestled with one arm tied behind her back (as she had claimed she could defeat Deville this way), which led to Flair and Deville focusing on her left arm. Rousey did not look as explosive and energetic as she did a couple years back, though a bit of ring rust is to be expected and, again, she was working one with only one arm in a tag context (not something she did much of in her first run with the company). This felt a bit slow and overly long despite only being 9-10 minutes. This is not the type of match that will make Rousey's many detractors eager to see her as the star of the division for the next few months (if not longer). (1.5/5)

Madcap Moss vs. Drew McIntyre in a Falls Count Anywhere match was next. I said it about their match a couple months ago that this feels like a demotion for McIntyre more than a promotion for Moss (and Corbin), neither of whom seem like future main eventers of any kind right now. McIntyre, meanwhile, was headlining WrestleManias not too long ago but now seems to be stuck in the upper midcard, firmly a few steps down from not only Reigns and Brock, but Rollins and Lashley too. Anyway...Moss and Corbin beat down Drew to start the match and get the early advantage, but Drew rallied fairly quickly with a stiff clothesline and then another one to send Moss to the outside. McIntyre hit some chops and a big headbutt, but Corbin struck again only to get chased to the back. McIntyre slammed Moss against the picture wall and then attempted a powerbomb off the stage - wow, I must say, this match was much more action-packed and wild than I had expected (though I must admit to not being aware of the stipulation until the match began). Moss hit a fallaway slam on the ramp and continued his onslaught before sending Drew back into the ring. Moss went for something off the ropes but Drew flipped him with a hiptoss that Moss bumped huge for. McIntyre hit an overhead suplex and went for a splash in the corner, but Moss caught him - only to get reverse wheel-barrowed directly on the top of his head! That was insane and I can't believe Moss didn't get paralyzed. The match went on as Moss seemed to be okay, good enough to even take a couple more slams. At the very least, I wonder if Moss didn't suffer a concussion as he did not look good in the minutes after (though, considering he's actually a pretty good seller, he may have been okay). McIntyre looked for the spear through the barricade, but Corbin caught him with a chair to the back and then he and Moss sent Drew through it instead for a 2 count. Again, when you look this ineffective, its hard to see you as a main event-level act. Moss continued to sell the damage of the match as McIntyre climbed into the ring. Why wasn't Corbin attacking more if this was No DQ? That logic never sits right when you Corbin around for the entirety of the match and only picking and choosing when to interfere. McIntyre managed to hit a superplex, but only got 2. That move used to mean something, though, to be fair, that was over two decades ago. Moss and McIntyre traded blows back-and-forth and Moss went for the slide only for McIntyre to hit his patented DDT. McIntyre grabbed his sword and hit a Claymore with it in hand to get the W. This match started hot, featured some really good bumps and selling out of Moss, but then fell off the cliff in the end as all logic was thrown away and the good work they'd done earlier is cancelled out. (2.5/5)

Lita took on Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship after yet another commercial break. Becky's heel turn has been a mixed bag to me as, while Becky is perfectly capable of drawing heat with her arrogance and ridiculous outfits, she's still Becky Lynch and she's still so charismatic that its hard not to root for her (and the Saudi crowd felt so too, giving her a very favorable pop upon her entrance). Lita was never a world class worker and she certainly didn't look any better here than in years past, though Lynch bumped and sold like crazy for her, doing everything necessary to keep this match on the rails. There was some telegraphing by Lita, Becky was noticeably (and sometimes audibly) leading the dance, and none of the sequences measuring up to what Becky has done with the likes of Charlotte or Asuka, but this was still very watchable and the crowd was into it from beginning to end. In Lita's time, this match might've been considered good - maybe even something resembling "great" compared to the other women's wrestling in the WWE at the time - but for what we're used to now, this was average-at-best, with too much spot calling, too many sequences that got stuck in molasses, too much "collaboration." I wouldn't quite call this a "Becky carry job," but at times it felt that way (for example, Lynch basically doing a somersault off the top turnbuckle for what was supposed to be a Lita head scissors). Becky hit her Manhandle chokeslam but only got 2, causing her to lose her cool. Lita used Lynch's temper tantrum to regroup and hit a Twist of Fate and then a moonsault for 2. Then, for no particular reason, Lita brought Lynch up in an awkward front headlock position only to eat another Manhandle. This was many fans' pick for the Match of the Night, but I found this too flawed to be considered anything beyond just average with maybe an extra half-point earned for the obvious emotion and the crowd's undeniable investment. (3/5)

This match was followed by the first of what will likely be many videos hyping the induction of The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame. It was bound to happen one day and I guess it's better for it to happen before Taker's reputation gets dragged through the mud anymore. While Taker remains beloved by many, there has been an undeniable-if-still-slight "softening" of fan support for him in recent years, mostly due to Taker's political leanings and pro-police stance, but also because its becoming increasingly clear that Taker's reputation as the "locker room leader" coincided with a very, very toxic working environment. 

The Usos jumped their opponents, The Viking Raiders, before their match even started, essentially cancelling out the match itself. I'm not going to "rate" the segment/angle as the show likely benefited from having this bout cut. Then again, why go through the trouble of spending even a few minutes promoting a match for a PPV and then cancel it? I mean, what used up the time that was originally allotted for them? The Taker video? Lita's post-match farewell to the Saudi fans? 

Main event time - Riddle vs. Austin Theory vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles in an Elimination Chamber. The Elimination Chamber match from the infamous ECW pay-per-view, December to Dismember, is often considered the worst Chamber match ever, but this might've given it a real run for its money. Theory and Rollins started things off with Rollins doing his bizarre "dancing to music no one else hears" is good stuff to me, mostly because its weird and different and Rollins, for too long and in too many iterations, seemed to lack any real unique qualities to make me care about him as a heel or face. I don't see anything really special in Theory. Lashley got taken out early due to a kayfabe concussion (a fake injury that irks me just because wrestlers do suffer - and sometimes hide - real concussions all the time) but is reportedly actually taking some time off to deal with shoulder/neck damage dating back to his match against Lesnar at the Rumble. Speaking of Lesnar, he came in last and destroyed every one else in the match in short order, eventually even F5ing Theory off of a pod and onto the chamber floor. Aside from that, this was not only a tame a Elimination Chamber bout but it did absolutely nothing for anyone other than Lesnar, who once again came out of this looking like the only guy we should remotely care about. Even if you're a Lesnar superfan - and, at times, I might even admit to being one myself - this was a lackluster main event. (1/5)

With a not-so-hot Kwang Score of 2.17-out-of-5, not a single match I'd consider "must see," and arguably one of the weakest Elimination Chamber matches ever as the main event, this show is impossible to recommend (even to a modern WWE fan).

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

TNA Bound for Glory 2009

TNA Bound for Glory 2009

Orange County, CA - October 2009

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the TNA World Champion was AJ Styles, the X-Division Champion was The Amazing Red, the TNA Knockouts Champion was ODB, and the Legends Champion was Kevin Nash. On the tag side of things, the TNA Tag Team Champions were Booker T and Scott Steiner while the Knockout Tag Team Champions were Sarita and Taylor Wilde.

Bound for Glory 2009 kicks off with Zakk Wylde of Ozzy and other metal bands fame playing the national anthem. I enjoy legit guitar shredding as much as anyone, but I still wish this had been Man Mountain Rock doing it instead. 

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns, make their way down the aisle for tonight's Ultimate X Match. They're joined by Suicide (I believe Frankie Kazarian?), Homicide, Christopher Daniels, and the X Division Champion, Amazing Red. As expected, this match was all about the crazy spots and sequences and we got plenty of them - a cannonball to the outside by Homicide, the Guns delivering an airplane spin/dropkick combo, an awesome springboard dropkick from Suicide onto Red as he hung on the cables - and one that absolutely looked like a career-ender with Christopher Daniels taking a ridiculous bump off the cables and nearly landing directly on his head. Unfortunately, there were too many telegraphed/logic-defying set-ups for me, an unfortunate element that often finds its way into matches like this and was impossible not to notice. As "busy" as this was, there were also lagging moments and times when participants essentially "disappeared" to give the spotlight to other wrestlers despite not necessarily taking the kind of bump that would keep them on the mat for minutes on end. All in all, a solid opener that the crowd was very into but I wouldn't consider "must see" despite the admirable efforts of the combatants. (3/5)

The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne along with Lacey Von Erich) are backstage, hyping their match tonight. We then hear from their opponents, Taylor Wilde and Sarita, the reigning Knockout Tag Team Champions. There's some pre-match shenanigans involving the referees and Von Erich that are a bit icky. This match seems like it could've and should've went a tad longer, but I'm guessing the amount of time it took to take down the Ultimate X structure took some minutes away from this. Sarita was the best worker in the match based on what we got here, but this just didn't go long enough to let anyone really shine or to tell an interesting back-and-forth story. (1.5/5)

One of the major storylines coming into this show revolved around the rivalry between The World Elite and the Main Event Mafia, but in the next match, Kevin Nash (the TNA Legends Champions) and World Elite leader Eric Young had come to an agreement to combine their forces to take our Hernandez. As expected, Nash and Young play nice early on, cutting off Hernandez any time it seems like he might be getting some momentum. Young and Nash make a pretty good team, get some heat, and Hernandez's comebacks get great reactions, this match exceeding my expectations. This match may not feature any particularly amazing spots or sequences, but it tells an interesting story and everyone involved works hard and executes what they need to, including Nash, who may have been years removed from his peak but was still capable of delivering what he needed to. I liked the finish too, which saw Eric Young ram Hernandez head-first into Nash's groin as he prepared to deliver the Jackknife powerbomb. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Beer Money, TNA Tag Team Champions Booker T and Scott Steiner, and the IWGP Tag Team Champions, The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams) are all arguing before coming to somewhat of an agreement about how they'll need to team up to take out Team 3-D in the Full Metal Mayhem match that follows. Team 3-D get taken out early and left on the outside as the Brits and Beer Money duke it out in the ring. Steiner delivers a series of big suplexes and we get some cool double-team maneuvers from Beer Money early in the match. Booker T ends up getting taken out of the match on a stretcher, though I missed what exactly caused his kayfabe injury. Team 3-D come back in, chairs and tables in hand, and take out everyone else before putting Williams through a table. With all of their opponents beaten down, Team 3-D unwisely chooses to set up 3 tables in the ring rather than climb to get the championships. They chokeslam both members of Beer Money through two of the tables but get nailed with chairs by Steiner soon after. Steiner climbs up a ladder but gets powerbombed through a table and the Dudleys are back in control...only for Rhyno to show up and take both of them out too. The British Invasion come in and beat down D-Von but are stopped from grabbing the titles by Beer Money. Storm and Roode deliver on a double suplex on Magnus off the top of the ladder but it did not look pretty at all. Beer Money spend too much time gloating, allowing Magnus to get back up and take Roode out with a chair. Magnus climbs to the top of a ladder, but Storm climbs on the opposite side, sprays beer in his face, and hits an insane sunset flip powerbomb. Wow, that did look good. Its now Williams' and Roode's turn to fight atop the ladder. Roode looks like he might have it won but Big Rob Terry shows up and press slams Roode from the ladder through a table on the outside. Great bump there. Terry helps Doug Williams grabs the titles, the British Invasion going home with both the TNA Tag Team Championships and the IWGP Tag Team Championships too. This had some good spots and I liked Steiner's performance, but there have been much better versions of this sort of bout that didn't need to over-rely on shenanigans like Booker T getting taken out or Rhyno and Rob Terry showing up. A fun match, but not essential viewing. (3/5)

ODB defends her TNA Knockouts Championship against Tara and Awesome Kong next. Tara's entrance music is among the worst themes ever. All three of these women can go and were considered among the best female workers in the US at the time. There's a terrific spot early on when Tara applies the tarantula to ODB only for Awesome Kong to hit ODB with a splash. This is followed by a moonsault from Tara onto both of her opponents in the ring (why does that move always have to happen to the floor?). When Tara spills to the outside, she gets into some tussle with what appears to be a fan as both Kong and ODB essentially stop working the match and Tara goes backstage. The bizarre incident hushes the crow and Kong and ODB are left to wrestle each other and attempt to regain the fan's attention. ODB brings them back into the match with an impressive samoan drop on Kong but can't maintain control. Tara makes her way back to the ring, but almost immediately gets shut down by Kong. Tara now has the fans cheering her name as Kong hits a huge splash on ODB in the ring for 2. Kong delivers a nasty chokeslam on Tara and then kicks her back out of the ring. I like the logic here of Kong constantly beating Tara to the outside so that she can essentially turn the match into a 1-on-1 situation against ODB. Kong hits her finish but ODB kicks out at 2.99! Kong's second, Raisha Saeed, shows up and slides an (unwanted) chair into the ring and it ends up costing Kong the match as ODB counters a powerbomb into a facebuster. I'm guessing this was the finish the entire time, but am still curious what sequences were sacrificed for the Tara "fan attack" angle (which was supposed to lead to some sort of Tara feud with Kim Couture, whether in TNA or in a legit MMA fight, but never led anywhere). (3/5)

Backstage, Matt Morgan cuts a promo about his opponent tonight - Kurt Angle. Morgan cuts a promo about being college-educated and not some moronic giant, but this promo doesn't really make a great case for him.

Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley in a Submission match is next. I wish this would've happened when Joe was still as credible as he'd been a few years earlier and Lashley was as seasoned as he'd be a few years later as this is something of a "dream match" just not at the time it actually happened. The TNA crowd is firmly behind Joe, but Lashley shows off some great athleticism early on and matches Joe's technical skill too, clearly surprising the anti-WWE portion of the fans. Earl Hebner "accidentally" gets struck with a kick which allows Joe to take a shortcut and gain control, popping the crowd with a suicide dive on the outside. Back in the ring, Joe maintains control, eventually landing his snap bodyslam before applying an armbar. Lashley wrestles out, though, the crowd booing every bit of offense that Lashley does. Joe delivers some of his trademark jabs, but Lashley counters with a chokeslam and then a T-Bone suplex. Lashley goes for a clothesline in the corner but Joe drops him with a sideslam of his own and then another high-angle uranage! That doesn't end the match, though, as Lashley manages to deliver a painful-looking sweep and then apply a choke in the middle of the ring to win by referee's decision (as Joe looks like he's lost conciousness). Wow. That was a sudden end to a match that was pretty good but needed some more time and a less out-of-nowhere ending to be considered really good. At the time, Lashley getting the clean W was a really questionable booking decision as it was a wildly unpopular...but, in hindsight, Lashley needed wins like this to not just justify his contract (which I'm guessing was fairly sizable compared to other TNA wrestlers), but also because Lashley did prove to be worthy of such a push and would eventually become one of TNA's best main eventers years down the road. (3/5)

Mick Foley cuts a promo to hype his match against Abyss next. Foley essentially turned heel for this program, calling out Abyss as a cheap imitation. This is a Monster's Ball match (Abyss's signature), which is essentially just a hardcore match that all but guarantees lots of blood and gore. "Dr." Stevie Richards is the guest referee, hand selected by Foley. As Abyss comes down the aisle, Foley strikes with a barbwire bat and Foley gets a warm response from a loud portion of the audience. Foley hits a swinging neckbreaker on the stage and follows it up by climbing up a lighting rig. Abyss follows him up and the two do some brawling with Abyss eventually taking a back bump through the stage (garnering a "Holy Shit" chant from the audience). Foley doesn't stop the beating there, though, delivering a barbwire bat-assisted elbow drop onto Abyss on the floor. Richards pleads to him to just accept the victory as Foley gets cheered, but Abyss climbs through the ramp and delivers a devastating clothesline to Mick. Abyss grabs a trash can full of weapons and then tosses Foley into it too. Abyss sets up  a barbwire board on the outside of the ring and climbs in, rocking Foley with some garbage can shots to the head. Abyss brings a barbwire board into the ring and attempts to chokeslam Foley onto it, but instead ends up eating a DDT into the board himself. Foley then uses the bat to grate Abyss' face (and give him time to do some likely blading). Abyss is a bloody mess now and takes some boots to the head on the mat before Foley sets to whip him into the barbwire. Abyss reverses it and Foley goes into the board, but then Abyss splashes into it too. We get a cool barbwire board "sandwich" spot, but this only gets a 2. For 2009, this was very hardcore compared to what the WWE was doing. Foley dumps out a bunch of thumbtacks - which were supposed to be "banned" - and Abyss is stopped from chokeslamming Foley into them by Richards. Abyss then hits a huge Shock Treatment Backbreaker to take Richards out of the equation. Daffney came out and snuck Foley a tazer, leading to a ridiculous spot involving some silly pyrotechnics, but only got 2 from it. Foley pulled out Mr. Socko and wrapped his fist in wire but Abyss dropped him into the wire board with a drop toe hold. Daffney took a chokeslam off the post through a barbwire board on the outside which got a huge reaction and then Richards came in swinging, attacking Abyss only to eat a Black Hole Slam into the tacks! Abyss then hit Foley with a chokeslam onto the board to get the W. This was good, violent fun, but obviously not as gory and horrific as it may have been in a different time and setting. In fact, the hardest bump might've been the one Daffney took from the ring through a board on the outside. (3/5)

Kurt Angle takes on Matt Morgan in a match billed as "Wrestling's Best vs. Wrestling's Future." At the time, Morgan really did seem like he was going to be a bigger star and was rumored to have returned to the WWE (where he started his career) in 2012/2013. This match is a good encapsulation of why that didn't necessarily happen,though, as despite putting in a tremendous effort and working probably the best match I've ever seen him work, Angle left with the W. To be fair, Angle did everything he could to make Morgan shine, but Morgan needed to win this match to take that next step. Still, its hard to argue that Angle shouldn't have won this match. For starters, he was the much bigger star and, though I do think he's overrated (his long-term selling is atrocious and this match has multiple instances of him going from selling damage to effortlessly throwing suplexes within 1-2 seconds). Second, as we'd see in the main event, this show already had a "Passing of the Torch" at the top of the show. Anyway, this was a good-not-great match on a show that was loaded with good-not-great matches. (3/5)

Main event time - Sting vs. AJ Styles. Slap a better finishing sequence on this match and I might've gone 4.5 stars on this. This is just a really smartly-worked, excellently-executed "Past vs. Present" match and, at least from what I've seen, might even be a Top 10 Sting match as AJ is just that good and Sting plays his role perfectly, at times in awe of AJ but also generally keeping up with the "youngster" (AJ was in his early 30s at the time). There are some really good spots in this match, enough that I even popped audibly in my living room. Great missed splashes into the guardrail, a really nifty sequence built around Sting's Scorpion Death Drop, an awesome Stinger Splash in the corner,  AJ Styles bringing the goods with a stiff Pele Kick and then a springboard splash to get the clean win. The post-match moment is pretty heartwarming too even knowing that this would be very far from Sting's last match (at the time of this writing, he's still working tag matches in AEW). The best match on the show, even without any real bells or whistles. (4/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.89-out-of-5, Bound for Glory 2009 was a fairly strong show featuring more than a few good, fun matches  and a great main event. What the score doesn't necessarily speak to is the respectable amount of variety too. There's high-flying galore in the X-Division match, lots of crazy spots in the Tag Team Championship and Monster's Ball matches, expert storytelling in Styles/Sting,and nice, physical big man wrestling in Joe/Lashley. 

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