WWE Unforgiven 2007

WWE Unforgiven 2007

Memphis, TN - September 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the World Heavyweight Champion was The Great Khali, the WWE Champion was John Cena, the ECW Champion was CM Punk, the Intercontinental Champion was Jeff Hardy, the United States Champion was MVP, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Matt Hardy and MVP, the World Tag Team Champions were Cade & Murdoch, and the Women's Champion was Candice Michelle. 

CM Punk defends his ECW Championship against Elijah Burke in our opening contest. Memphis is fairly solidly behind Punk, though he was still relatively unknown to much of the WWE audience and certainly not nearly as popular as he'd become. In the last of match of theirs I reviewed, I noted that Punk and Elijah were paired up together for awhile and that, years later, Punk said that Burke was his worst opponent ever. Be that as it may, Punk and Burke had decent enough chemistry when they were on the same page and this is a better match than the one they'd had at Judgment Day a few months earlier, but I'm still going to go in the "average" range for points. Unlike that Judgment Day match, which went close to 20 minutes, they only get 12 here so they maximize their time and don't get overly fancy. This is just a hard-hitting, competitive match and that's all it needed to be. I wouldn't liked a more definitive finish. (2.5/5)

The "odd couple" of MVP and Matt Hardy defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against Deuce and Domino next. This match is starts out fun, with Hardy and MVP really playing up their rivalry (which was one of the Blue Brand's centerpiece storylines at this point), and then gets dull thanks to Deuce and Domino's control segment, but picks back up a little as they build towards the finish and put the attention back on the champs' one-upmanship. At under 10 minutes it really has no time to drag but Deuce and Domino certainly don't shine here either and its always shocking to hear that they actually lasted close to a full year in the company after their initial run and championship reign. Nothing worth checking out, but not terrible. (2.5/5)

Triple H took on Carlito in a match where Carlito was allowed to use any weapon he wanted and Triple H was not. So guess who won? This was part of Triple H's big comeback series (he had quite a few of those during his career) leading to him getting back into both RAW and SmackDown's World Title scenes by the end of the year. Carlito is an interesting victim as he was a much hotter character a couple years before this but also could have potentially been heated back up if he'd been made to look at all credible. Instead, even with the advantage of getting to use whatever he wanted as a weapon, Carlito is made to look impotent by losing this match cleanly in about 10 minutes, Triple H barely showing any signs of fear or vulnerability. This wasn't a total squash, but the stipulation was completely unnecessary. (1.5/5)

Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix for the WWE Women's Title followed. The story coming into this match was that Phoenix was the dominant heel and was on an absolute tear through the roster and Michelle, despite being the champion, was the underdog. The match barely lasts 8 minutes and those minutes see Phoenix completely overwhelm her opponent until the last 3 seconds when Michelle wins with a roll-up out of nowhere. Phoenix would win the title a month later, so this was basically done just to extend their feud another month (they fought at SummerSlam 2007 too). Not a bad 8 minutes, but felt very much like a "throwaway" bout. (1/5)

The World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali defended his title against Rey Mysterio and Batista in a triple threat next. Like the previous match, this one went about 8 minutes, but it was a more dramatic and more interesting 8 minutes in front of an audience that was much more invested. I like how this match was laid out - Batista and Rey teaming up to take out Khali early and keeping the pressure on him, Khali getting in a bit of offense to show that he's not just going to lie down, and then Rey Mysterio eventually hitting some of his signature moves before Batista essentially "steals" the match by hitting Rey with a Batista Bomb onto Khali and then tossing him aside so he can deliver a spinebuster onto Khali for the win. There's no wasted time, no over-booking, no unnecessary misdirects. Batista comes out looking strong (as he needed to and should've been), Mysterio was there to provide the needed movement and excitement that Khali couldn't, and The Great Khali was pretty much sent down to the upper midcard/midcard for the rest of his WWE run, Vince McMahon having used up all his credibility by this point. Not a match I would go out of my way to see, even if you're the biggest Batista fan, but effective and efficient. (2.5/5)

The World Tag Team Champions, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, competed next. Their challengers - Paul London and Brian Kendrick, a team I could've sworn had a name but that the WWE rarely promoted (I looked it up: they wanted to be called The Hooliganz). The crowd is cold for this as neither team was very memorable or engaging (and I say this as someone who really liked Kendrick at various other times in his career before I heard he either was a Holocaust denier or at least believed that Holocaust denial would be an interesting gimmick). This match had some good stretches - basically when the Hooliganz are getting their "shit" in - and some boring stretches (anytime Lance Cade is in control). I would've liked to see the Hooliganz win this as Cade and Murdoch, despite a lengthy run in the company, never got over and London and Kendrick at least brought the potential of some cool spots and energy to their matches. This was nothing special and felt like a TV match at best, essentially used as filler to cool off the crowd between the two World Championship matches. (1.5/5)

John Cena vs. Randy Orton for Cena's WWE Championship was next, these two having feuded quite extensively in the months before this match. Cena is in "super serious" mode as Orton had punted his father on RAW a couple weeks (maybe just one week?) before the event. Cena goes right after him with big rights and lefts, which makes a ton more sense than this match starting with a lock-up. Unfortunately, instead of keeping the pressure on, Cena backs off and the match swiftly becomes much less of a wild brawl than it probably could've/should've been. To the outside they go and Cena puts his shoe across Orton's neck in a cool visual. Back in the ring, Cena attempts an STF but Orton slips away only to end up staggering on the floor. Cena tosses him back in the ring but Orton cuts him off with an uppercut as he re-enters the ring. Orton gets some offense in but Cena regains control. Orton is able to gain the upperhand and applies a headlock. Cena and Orton work the hold completely with Cena eventually using his strength to escape it. Cena rallies again, beating Orton down in the corner and sending the ref back until the referee has no choice but to award the match to Orton by DQ. Wow. The match only lasted 8 minutes and while I like Cena's urgency, that had to have been a letdown for the fans in attendance. After the match, Orton goes to punt Cena Sr. but Cena makes the save and applies an STF on the floor, allowing his father to deliver a punt of his own. For what this was, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't what I'd call a good match. (2.5/5)

Main event time - The Undertaker returning to the WWE to take on Mark Henry, who had put him out of action a couple months before this. The Undertaker gets a grand entrance as this is more about spectacle than action. Taker strikes first, bringing the big right hands to Henry and working him into the corner. Cue the "best pure striker in the business" line. Taker hits a Stinger Splash but gets caught on the second one, brought into the corner by the pre-Hall of Pain Henry. Having watched several of Taker's matches in the 90s over the past few years, I'll give some credit to Henry here as he brings more energy and has a more impressive power game than some of the other giants that Taker used to slay. For example, Henry hits a superplex early, a move that a guy like Kama or Yoko would've never done in 95'. Of course, wrestling's changed since 95' but...Anyway, Taker rallies soon after but Henry doesn't cuts him off and whips him to the ropes. Taker goes for an improbable back body drop, but Henry stops short and kicks him in the chest. Taker clotheslines over the top and they brawl around the ring for a bit. Again, this may seem unspectacular - and it is - but the crowd is into it enough and we're not getting bearhugs or a complete squash. Henry rams Taker back-first into the apron and then sends him back into the ring for more punishment and a 2 count after a clothesline. Henry hits a splash in the center of the ring but only gets 2. He hits another but again only gets 2. Henry gets frustrated and tries for a third but Taker rolls out of harm's way. Taker staggers to his feet and the two behemoths trade blows. Taker wins the fight and tries to come off the ropes with a clothesline but Henry catches him and delivers an awkward Rock Bottom-esque move. It looked ugly but I like when a move doesn't look perfect and really seems to come from some struggle. This ain't ballet after all. Henry hits a scoop slam and then another splash. I'll go ahead a say it - this has exceeded my expectations and has been much more hard-hitting than I expected, with Henry getting in enough offense to make it work as something more than just the expected squash. Taker fights back and hits a series of big clotheslines in the corner before going into his signature stuff - the Old School, a chokeslam that looked way, way better than it really had any right to, and then, after a brief bearhug spot (I knew we couldn't go the whole match without one), a Last Ride when Mark Henry inexplicably positioned himself in the corner for one. Not a match that will change your life, but more action than I expected when it started with Henry really shining too. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.13-out-of-5, Unforgiven 2007 has a surprisingly better score than I would think it actually deserves. There's only one better-than-average match on the show and its far from "must see" while the biggest stars - Cena, Orton, Batista, Rey - all do solid but middle-of-the-road work. The opener between Punk and Burke is better than the match they'd had at Judgment Day but still wouldn't make a list of the top 50 or probably even 100 CM Punk matches ever. 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE No Way Out 2012

WWE No Way Out 2012

East Rutherford, NJ - June 2012

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was CM Punk, the World Heavyweight Champion was Sheamus, the Intercontinental Champion was Christian, the United States Champion was Santino, and the World Tag Team Champions were Kofi Kingston & R-Truth. The Divas Champion was Layla.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler for Sheamus' World Heavyweight Championship kicked off the show. Its a little weird watching a match like this 10 years later as Sheamus has become an elder statesman and midcard fixture while Ziggler is basically still the exact same character in the exact same spot (very occasional main eventer but mostly just an afterthought who can be counted to deliver good matches) as he was here. That being said, the crowd on this show had no such foresight and were pretty into this match (and Ziggler specifically as, by this point, he had built up quite a fan base who felt he was essentially being "held down" after years of delivering good-to-great work). Sheamus, meanwhile, was in his least successful babyface run but was slowly but surely winning over crowds with his own solid in-ring performances. Sheamus had to overcome a fair amount of internet haters - myself included at times - who saw him as nothing more than just a "muscle guy" (and Triple H workout buddy) but if you look at his work since debuting in ECW, he had had quite a few decent matches by this point with guys like Goldust and Christian (and they weren't "carry jobs" either). Anyway, a good enough opener but nothing I'd go out of my way to see necessarily especially because I'm sure these two have probably wrestled on TV over a hundred times by this point. (3/5)

Next up - Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez in a Tuxedo Match. Yeah. This is about as good as one would expect, which is not very. This went under 5 minutes and still seemed longer than it should've been. Santino was somehow the United States Champion at this time but still had trouble just destroying a ring announcer? I get that he's a comedy character, but keep in mind, he held the title for over 5+ months. This was something that would've made sense on TV maybe but even children would've found this moronic and bland. A half-point because this didn't go too long and I can think of even worse matches I've seen, though there aren't many. (0.5/5)

Cody Rhodes challenged Christian for his Intercontinental Championship in the next match. This is another one that's a little weird to watch in 2022 as Cody Rhodes has only recently returned to the WWE after spearheading the inception of AEW and Christian is working in AEW as part-time wrestler/most-of-the-time manager after being essentially denied the opportunity to perform in that role in the WWE. Even back then I remember thinking Rhodes was a better in-ring worker than most believed him to be, though I do think he struggled to connect with live audiences from bell-to-bell until he got onto the indies and was able to develop his skills in front of smaller crowds. Christian, meanwhile, is just a great, great worker and could absolutely still go at this point (and was back to working as a babyface after his career-best run as a heel in 2011). The crowd wasn't super into this, but I found it to be quite good, arguably Rhodes' best singles match up till this point. The major thing that hurts this match is that Rhodes really hadn't found his best heel persona yet and Christian, who had done masterful work as a heel a year earlier, was in an ill-fitting babyface role as "The Guy Fighting For Edge's Legacy," which made him seem like he was still stuck in Edge's shadow rather than as a top star in his own right. (3/5)

A Fatal Fourway Tag to find the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships was up next featuring The Usos, Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel, The Prime Time Players, and Epico and Primo. There are some cool spots in this match, but the Usos were not yet a truly great team and Kidd would eventually find a much better partner in Cesaro. The Prime Time Players were the team getting pushed, but even their act wasn't quite there (they had much better matches a few years later during their second run as a team). Epico and Primo were talented, but lacked personality. All this makes for a match that showcases good athleticism and action, but nothing that really engaged me. Abraham Washington turns on Epico and Primo in the end to help the Players win. A couple months later, Washington made an inappropriate joke about Kobe Bryant being a rapist and got fired for it. Still, I really wonder how long he would've lasted considering the average lifespan of a manager in modern WWE. (2.5/5)

Triple H cut a promo in the ring to build up to his match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2012. I don't think I've ever seen that show. Maybe I'll review it sometime...

Layla defended her WWE Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix in the next match. This one doesn't get much time but is considerably better than I'm guessing most fans would think as Layla was never known for being a particularly great in-ring worker. I wouldn't call this a "carry job" but her and Phoenix have good chemistry and Layla does a really nice job at "fighting from underneath," holding her own against a much stronger opponent. The finish was a genuine surprise too as Layla got the clean W, though I'm not sure it was as "earned" as it could've been. The match only goes 7 minutes, but the 7 minutes are action-packed and they manage to get the crowd engaged in a feud that, to my knowledge, had very little build on TV. (2.5/5)

Sin Cara vs. Hunico followed. Sin Cara has to be one the biggest flops in WWE history if you consider how big of a star he was in Mexico. This match is a great example of why that flop happened. When Cara wrestles, the lighting changes in the building, which would make sense if he was wrestling in a style that was light years ahead of everyone else...but Cara didn't and the lighting only drew attention to how underwhelming the "biggest star in Mexico" was. His opponent, Hunico, is actually more impressive than Cara, but he's far from awe-inspiring himself and the match they wrestle draws crickets from the audience. Whereas Rey Mysterio, Psicosis, and Juventud Guerrera would perform feats of aerial awesomeness with speeds unheard of in the US in the 90s, Cara and Hunico wrestle at a pace that doesn't seem any faster or more impressive than what Cody and Christian or Sheamus and Ziggler were doing earlier on the show. This isn't a PPV worthy match and it might not even be a TV worthy match. (1/5)

CM Punk defends his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan and Kane in a triple threat match next. I was expecting this one to be pretty good considering Punk and Bryan had fantastic chemistry and were both over with the crowd, but this exceeded my expectations and might actually be in the top 3-4 Kane matches I've ever seen. From the opening bell, Punk and Bryan are on fire, but the aforementioned Big Red Monster holds his own quite well and seems extra motivated to keep up with the two "indie darlings." What I liked most about this match was how fluid it was with very few noticeable moments or stretches where you might ponder why one of the three was out of the ring for an exorbitant amount of time. Too often in multi-mans you can catch glimpses of a competitor "sleeping" on the floor for no real reason, overselling a basic move usually, but neither Punk or Bryan was ever out of the mix too long and Kane worked well as the lumbering giant who had the power to take out either guy but whose size also made him vulnerable to speedier attacks. I'm on the fence about whether I'd call this a "must watch" as, ultimately, this was a fairly inconsequential title defense for Punk and despite the crowd being hot from beginning to end, I'm not sure it was ever in question who was going to leave with the belt. On the other hand, Bryan and Punk are so great here and even Kane holds his own enough to make this something worth seeking out if you're a big fan of any of the three. (3.5/5)

Ryback squashed two jobbers - Dan Delaney and Rob Grymes (AEW's John Silver) - next. The crowd shat all over this with "Goldberg" chants for almost the entire duration. This was the definition of filler. Ryback hit the Shell Shock on both guys at the same time which was undeniably impressive, but this audience wanted nothing to do with this segment. (1/5)

Main event time - John Cena vs. The Big Show in a steel cage match. The build-up to this match revolved around Vince McMahon wanting to fire GM John Laurenaitis but stopping because...Big Show cut him off in a promo? It made very little sense and resulted in the added stipulation that Big Show is essentially fighting for Laurenaitis' job. Considering how extensively these two worked with each other over the years, there's nothing really fresh about this match-up, Big Show dominating early and Cena selling the punishment for minutes on end. Things pick up a little when Cena gets some offense in, Big Show eventually cutting him off with a reverse powerbomb. Big Show lands a Vader Bomb for 2 and attempts a chokeslam from the top rope but Cena escapes. Show then walks along the top rope and goes for an elbow drop, but Cena rolls away. Big Show tries to crawl out of the ring, but Cena prevents him from making the exit. Cena rallies a bit but can't get the pin. As Cena tries to escape, Laurenaitis and McMahon fight over the door, the Chairman accidentally slamming it on Cena's head. Big Show hits a chokeslam but only gets 2 for what would've been a believable finish. Big Show goes for his knockout punch but ends up decking the referee and then hitting with one too. With everyone knocked out, Big Show looks like he has a clear path to victory but instead of exiting the cage, he just gloats. Big Showmakes his way towards the cell door but is stopped by...Brodus Clay. Then Santino and Alex Riley and Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston show up too, Big Show getting "screwed" by a whole slew of lower midcarders. Cena then pulls his way towards the door using the bottom rope, nearly escaping but not before delivering his Attitude Adjustment to Big Show and getting the visual pin. Cena climbs out to get the W and hits an AA on Laurenaitis after McMahon fires him. 
 What a horrendous and goofy finish to a show. (1.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.05-out-of-5, No Way Out 2012 isn't as bad as some might make it out to be. Both World Championship matches are above average, Cody/Christian is pretty good, and the Divas Championship and tag team match are fine if unremarkable. What sinks this show are the main event, needless Santino and Ryback matches, and the poor Sin Cara/Hunico match, all representative of what is considered a low point for the company, an era before Lesnar ended The Streak and really become the company's centerpiece, before The Shield, before the rise of Daniel Bryan and the exciting emergence of The Four Horsewomen, Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor from NXT. With only one match worth checking out - but certainly not essential viewing - this show is a...

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Vengeance 2007: Night of Champions

WWE Vengeance 2007: Night of Champions

Houston, TX - June 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, John Cena was the WWE Heavyweight Champion, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship was vacant, and Edge was the World Heavyweight Champion. Melina was the Women's Champion, the US Champion was MVP, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Deuce & Domino, the World Tag Team Champions were Cade & Murdoch, the Intercontinental Champion was Santino, and the Cruiserweight Champion was Chavo Guerrero.

The Hardys vs. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the heels' World Tag Team Championships kicked off the show. These teams had good chemistry, though Cade and Murdoch never quite got over the way they could've/should've. Their ladder match at the One Night Stand show a few weeks ago was more memorable than this, which isn't much of a shocker considering the Hardys were often at their best when they had weapons at their disposal. This match only got around 10 minutes and was kinda "just there." (2.5/5)

The next match didn't get much longer, but felt like it did (and not in a good way) as Chavo Guerrero defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Jimmy Wang Yang. This is as good an example as any of how the WWE could never seem to make their cruiser division work as, when one watches this, its hard not to think that the competitors are holding things back a bit to wrestle a style that is more of Vince's vision than the all-out, spot-fest style that would've helped differentiate things. Instead, Chavo works as the typical methodical heel and Yang, while undeniably skilled and smooth, isn't flashy enough to make you feel like you're seeing anything remarkable. The live audience doesn't seem to care too much and, though I'm no expert on SmackDown in 2007, I doubt there was much to the build for this one either. Its also possible that Chavo may have been a bit distracted coming into this match considering what we'd soon learn about what his friend Chris Benoit was up to that weekend... (1.5/5)

Speaking of Chris Benoit, he was supposed to be in this next match but did not show up and so we got Johnny Nitro in his place, taking on CM Punk for the vacant ECW Championship. Supposedly, Benoit was slated to win the championship. There is a notable "We Want Benoit" chant that springs up early, though Nitro and Punk put the effort in to win them over and, by the end, the audience is fully engaged. The match only goes 8 minute and I'm not sure they shouldn't have changed things up as Nitro's victory came off pretty flat. Plus, Punk may not have been as over as Benoit (or even the previous champ Bobby Lashley) but he had undeniable "it factor." Another decent but not-too-memorable match. (2.5/5)

Umaga destroyed Santino Marella but got too carried away and found himself disqualified in the next "match." Lazy, bad booking/writing here. Marella winning the title in fluke fashion could've been interesting if they had an actual story beyond "fan-turned-wrestler wins title." Instead, they muddied the waters a bit by making him not just a random fan but a guy who had been training to be a wrestler too. So...was he good enough to be in the WWE or not? A legit wrestler or just a guy off the street? Here, he's booked as helpless and in way over his head and there's no reason why any fans would cheer him. Umaga comes off impressive (and would win the title back not too long after this), sure, but would've looked even stronger if he'd just won the title rather than get himself disqualified for ignoring the ref's count. (1/5)

I was not a big fan of their match at the Royal Rumble in 2008, awarding it only 1.5-out-of-5 points, but Ric Flair and MVP put on a good match here. Unlike their Rumble match months later, this one isn't all about Flair working for sympathy and then making a miraculous comeback. Flair doesn't get much offense and what he does do is pretty limited to just chest chops, chop blocks, and a back body drop here or there, but its enough to make it seem like he might actually be able to pull an upset over MVP, whose offense is nothing to sneeze at. The finish here is the most noticeable difference from the Rumble bout as MVP gets in a sneaky eye poke before hitting his finisher to get the relatively clean and decisive win. Flair doesn't have a ton of matches from beyond 1998 that are worth checking out, let alone beyond 2005, but this was solid. (2.5/5)

This is as good a time as any to note that, throughout this whole show, the commentary teams, backstage segments, and video packages are all focused on the Vince McMahon Limo Explosion, one of the greatest dropped-and-never-mentioned-again storylines in pro-wrestling history. As an artifact from that abandoned storyline, this show is going to earn an extra point from me...(+1)

The next match was...well...Deuce and Domino vs. Sgt. Slaughter and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (aka Deuce's dad, though this is not acknowledged by the commentary team and I'm not sure even most fans were aware of the connection). As one would imagine, this is pretty woeful stuff. Deuce and Domino's gimmick was basically "What if Sha Na Na were a tag team?" and the only way Slaughter and Snuka were "over" was "over the hill." In 2002-2003, the WWE had gone a bit overboard with the nostalgia, bringing back Hogan and Piper and others and, in 2005, even gave Piper and Flair a short run with the Tag Titles. But, in 2007, there was absolutely nothing left to get out of "one night returns" from two guys who were past their prime in the early 90s. A star for this not going too long. (1/5)

Edge defended his World Heavyweight Championship next in what was billed as a "Last Chance" match for his challenger, Batista. This is a match that works more because of how over the feud was than because there's anything particularly great about it. Batista was a very popular babyface and people despised Edge and the stipulation - as silly as it may seem - did give the match a ton of suspense. The logic may not hold up, but at least there was a reason why Edge didn't just go for the DQ or count-out win/loss within the first few minutes (as this would've allowed him to retain his title). Instead, because Edge is able to gain an advantage and damage Batista's shoulder after withstanding the Animal's initial flurry of offense, it does stand to reason that he may actually beat Batista fair and square. Of course, as the match continues and Edge can't get the W, he does eventually cost himself the match in true heel fashion...only to have Teddy Long restart things. This "twist" was to be expected and could've been how a rematch could've taken shape as Edge had successfully ended the match with the title still in his grasp, but instead of getting a semi-clean Batista pinfall victory from here, the Animal ends up only winning by countout (after hitting a Batista Bomb on the outside of the ring and then failing to roll Edge back into the squared circle). Its a pretty dumb babyface move to finish off your opponent on the outside when you fully know that you must win by pinfall or submission, but hey, Batista was never booked as particularly smart. All in all, a good match and maybe one of Edge's better ones without the benefit of lots of "toys" as Michael Cole would call them. (3/5)

Melina vs. Candice Michelle followed in a very forgettable sub-5 minute match that ended with Candice Michelle becoming the new WWE Women's Champion. I'm pretty sure she was awarded the title because she'd agreed to do Playboy. To her credit, according to wikipedia, Michelle had spent considerable time improving her in-ring skills in preparation for what was a months-long push, but Michelle never got super over. She'd end up dropping the title to Beth Phoenix a few months after this, getting injured during their feud, needing to leave for 14 weeks, then getting injured again fairly quickly after making her return. Anyway...not much to say about this match aside from it being a step up from their mud wrestling match a few weeks earlier. (1/5)

Main event time - John Cena defending the WWE Championship in a 5-Pack Challenge featuring King Booker, Mick Foley, Bobby Lashley, and Randy Orton. The WWE would eventually get really, really good at producing these multi-man clusterfucks, but they weren't quite there yet. The star power is there and, from the very beginning, there's lots of action and some fun spots - a huge Bobby Lashley splash in the opening minutes, Cena hitting the former ECW Champion with an FU through a table, Foley getting a huge pop for Mr. Socko and a couple nods to his brutal classic with Randy Orton in 04' (?) - but this still feels very "thrown together," shallow, and lacking in real substance. Going in, very few people believed Cena was dropping the title (and certainly not to the mostly-retired Foley or the still on-the-rise-but-not-yet-fully-proven Lashley), though I guess, in hindsight, they could've put the title on Orton here. But its Orton who fades into the background the most while the vets - Booker and Foley - get more than their fair share of the spotlight. A fun enough match, but nothing worth seeking out. (3/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.11-out-of-5, Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007 barely squeaks into passable territory thanks to a decent main event, an Edge/Batista match that exceeded my admittedly low expectations, and a slight bump that the show earns due to its "curio appeal." 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022

WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022

Providence, Rhode Island - May 2022

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Roman Reigns was the WWE Champion and Universal Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was Ricochet (who did not appear on the show), the US Champion was Theory (no longer Austin Theory and also not appearing here), the RAW Women's Champion was Bianca Belair, the SmackDown Women's Champion was Charlotte, the RAW Tag Team Champions were RKBro and the SmackDown Tag Team Champions were the Usos. Naomi and Sasha Banks were the Womens' Tag Team Champions and did not appear on this show, walking out on the company just a few weeks after this show. 

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins kicked off the show. I was not as big a fan of their Mania match as others, noting in my review that I believed they told the wrong story with Rollins showing absolutely no "unpreparedness" despite Cody Rhodes being a mystery opponent. Yet this is exactly what the build-up to this rematch was. Rhodes and Rollins have undeniable chemistry and both are too technically competent to ever be considered truly bad workers, but this was basically just more of the same thing that we got at WrestleMania with no fresh wrinkles or interesting twists aside from Rhodes pulling the tights to get the W (which is just kinda heelish in modern wrestling). (3/5)

Omos vs. Bobby Lashley followed and pleasantly surprised me. Lashley was a fantastic babyface here and Omos, despite being a one-dimensional worker at this point, is undeniably an imposing physical specimen. I was less than impressed with their Mania match but they kept things simple here and Omos' presentation benefited from having MVP on the outside calling the shots for him. The workrate fanatics probably hated this match, but I liked that it told a simple story well and felt different than the match that came before it, something you don't always get when your roster is loaded with guys that can "do it all" except really have a definitive in-ring character, something that Lashley and Omos have naturally. (3/5)

Edge vs. AJ Styles was up next, a third rematch from WrestleMania. This was maybe slightly better than their WrestleMania marathon (which went 25+ compared to this going "just" 15), but again, most of that credit should go to AJ Style's selling. I liked some of Edge's heel work early, specifically Edge working to take off one of the corner buckle pads, but it didn't seem to really lead anywhere (unless I missed it). Instead, this was about Edge going after AJ's shoulder once again, targeting that area with a bunch of offense that AJ sold beautifully. Unfortunately, there were also glaring moments when AJ opted to deliver a crowd-pleasing high spot rather than consistently selling the damage, including delivering a Styles Clash for a nearfall. Its these sorts of moments that really keep me from considering this match - or their Mania match - even close to a "classic." The finish came when Edge's protege, Damian Priest, showed up and caused a bit of a distraction that ultimately led to another mysterious protege arriving and helping Edge win. That protege turned out to be Rhea Ripley, which is a fun addition but not necessarily a huge shocker since - if I'm not mistaken - Ripley was leaning towards the heel side of things anyway? Regardless, it'll be interesting to see where the Judgment Day stable goes and if this will propel Ripley into a feud with Bianca Belair. (3/5)

Charlotte Flair defended her SmackDown Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey in an "I Quit" match next. Flair and Rousey beat the hell out of each other from beginning to end, but whether its lack of preparedness, Rousey being overly confident in her skills, or Charlotte's disinterest in really building a match from beginning to end, it really does feel to me like Rousey has taken a step backwards from her first run. There was intensity, sure - but there wasn't the story that I would've liked to have seen. Like their Mania match, there's an inherent heel/heel quality to a match like this that means the only thing they can do is try to wow the audience with brutality and that is what they essentially did...but because this is WWE in 2022, you're not going to get the blood that would've really pushed this one over the edge. Instead, it was a garbage brawl with kendo sticks and brawling in the crowd and chair-assisted submissions and eventually Rousey locked in an MMA submission and "broke" Charlotte's arm. There was too much missing here for me to call it "must see." (3/5)

Baron Corbin took on Madcap Moss in a match that went 10 full minutes but almost felt longer than Flair/Rousey because of the way it was worked - which was systematic and a bit more "old school," but not in a fun enough way for me. Moss has some skill, no doubt, but his gimmick and wrestling attire are putrid. Corbin also has some skill and has had a handful of fleeting moments when it seems like he could break out as something more than he is - but he lacks the intangibles to get there even when he does have a good gimmick going. This was my least favorite match of the night and felt like something that wouldn't even main event a TV show. something you can't really say about any other match on this show (even Lashley/Omos could potentially close out Raw with the right stipulation in place). If every other match on this show up till this point under-delivered but was still better than average, this under-delivered and didn't even meet the threshold of average. (2/5)

Main event time - Drew McIntyre and RKBro vs. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and the Usos). While there were no stakes, the crowd was super into this, McIntyre came off like a big star, and the action was strong from beginning to end. This felt like the type of match these six guys have probably done at countless house shows over the past 3 months and I was shocked to learn that wasn't the case as this was so smooth and paced so well that, by the end, the fact there was nothing tangible on the line meant nothing. I loved the way Reigns was presented here - the Big Dog really coming across as the one guy who the babyfaces weren't going to get their hands on easily until they could neutralize the Usos. Matt Riddle's problematic past will always rub me the wrong way and prevent me from ever being fully on his bandwagon but I can't deny his talents and how much he's grown as a worker under Orton's tutelage, especially his selling. Speaking of Orton, while the Viper had his ups-and-downs over the years in terms of consistently delivering great performances, his nasty habit of relying on headlocks has been jettisoned almost entirely now that he's working tags and he's a much funner wrestler to watch now because of it. He's also incredibly over so his moments with Reigns felt just as big as Drew's. I wouldn't call this "must see," but it was the clear match of the night. (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.92-out-of-5, WrestleMania Backlash 2022 was yet another WWE pay-per-view that featured solid wrestling throughout but nothing quite spectacular, nothing that could be considered a Match of the Year contender, nothing I would consider "must see." If you're a fan of the current WWE roster, you wouldn't be disappointed by the star power on display here, but if you watched WrestleMania a month prior, this show would also be completely inessential viewing. That's why, despite a better-than-average Kwang Score, I'd still call this... 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Judgment Day 2000

WWE Judgment Day 2000

Louisville, KY - May 2000

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, the WWE World Champion was The Rock, the Intercontinental Champion was Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero was the European Champion, Edge and Christian were the Tag Team Champions, Stephanie McMahon was (somehow) the Women's Champion, Dean Malenko was the Light Heavyweight Champion, and Gerald Brisco was the Hardcore Champion.

After some backstage nonsense, Judgment Day 2000 kicks off with Kurt Angle, Edge, and Christian taking on Rikishi and Too Cool. We get some top notch Angle/Edge/Christian comedy before the match, the kind of stuff that I really liked when I was 16. 22 years later, I didn't find it nearly as funny or clever, but hey, context matters and the live crowd not only eats it all up but pop huge for Rikishi and Too Cool coming in and running roughshod to start things off. This match isn't one that I would necessarily revisit or call "must watch," but it absolutely sets the right tone of the show and the live crowd is into it from beginning to end. There's not necessarily great wrestling on display, but the pace is brisk, the comedy spots work, and there's some really nice transitions. The ending is a bit clunky and some have theorized that it was botched, but I'm not so sure about that. Regardless, a really good 10-minute opener. (3/5)

Backstage, Shawn Michaels, who will be the guest referee for tonight's main event is interviewed. Shawn Michaels being Triple H's buddy and having "heat" with The Rock is brought up a bunch on this show. Another running storyline throughout the evening is Gerald Brisco being the Hardcore Champion, which was basically the same thing as the 24/7 Championship by this time. 

Back to the ring we go for Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn vs. Dean Malenko in a triple threat match for the WWE European Championship. On paper this should've been a banger, but I think the issue here is that Saturn and Malenko always felt a little "off" in WWE while Eddie was still getting comfortable in a much bigger, more "sports entertainment" role than he had ever had to fill in WCW. The action is good - how could it not be? - but the crowd never really got into it and the involvement of Chyna didn't add anything. Maybe they were working a bit too fast? Maybe Guerrero being a babyface but teamed with Chyna, who was also a babyface but not necessarily likeable, was the issue? This was a disappointment in that the ingredients were there for a great match (even if they were only given 10 minutes), but the end result was just average. (2.5/5)

Gerald Brisco goes into hiding in the bathroom trying to protect his Hardcore Championship. Sure.

Shane McMahon took on Big Show next in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Shane McMahon had performed some crazy stunts in his previous matches, so there was a high expectation for him to get chokeslammed off of something or to do some crazy table spot...and nothing like that happens. Instead, Shane has all sorts of henchmen come out to save him from a beating and eventually defeats Big Show with a ridiculous concrete block to the head. This was the kind of goofy nonsense that WWE thought was entertaining, but ultimately seemed to undermine Big Show's value as a credible, serious top guy. (1/5)

After another backstage segment with Gerald Brisco, its time for Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit in a Submission Match. This is a stiff contest and I like that they are clearly targeting limbs, shoulders, and lower backs to weaken their opponent into tapping out. For a 13-minute match, it feels like a real war...but I've never particularly liked Benoit as a heel and Jericho I prefer as a heel. At the time, this was considered a great match, but I think it falls just slightly short of that territory. I didn't particularly like the finish either as we'd seen the "babyface passes out but doesn't tap" ending a bunch of times by 2000 and we've seen it a bunch of times since then. I like that Benoit's cheap shot with the knee brace played into the finish as it showed he wasn't above cutting corners to get the W (though, because the match was basically no DQ, it didn't really count as cheating). Again, that part of his arsenal was rarely explored when he was a heel - which is why I found his character to always work better as a face - while Jericho was never above doing something sneaky to win a match or make his opponents look foolish (heel or face). (3.5/5)

A Tables match between The Dudley Boyz and DegenerationX (X-Pac and Road Dogg) follows. The Tables match that the Dudleys had with the Hardys at the Royal Rumble is a bit of a hidden gem, a really excellent action-packed spotfest that is often overshadowed by the TLC matches with Edge and Christian. This is not that. If one was curious where the idea of "X-Pac heat" might've come from, this would be a clear example of DX coming across as behind the times and unable to mesh well with the new brand of tag teams and their more hardcore, weapons-heavy approach to tag wrestling. And so what we get here is the Dudleys trying to work a traditional tag match with the added bonus of tables...and it just doesn't work. To top it all off, there's an overbooked finish to give DX the win. (2/5)

Main event time - Triple H challenging The Rock for the WWE Championship in a 60-Minute Ironman Match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. After just watching the Michaels/Hart Ironman Match from WrestleMania XII and reading more than a few reviews asserting that this was a much, much better version, I was half-excited and half-skeptical (mostly because I've never been a huge Triple H fan). This lived up to the hype, though, and in slightly unexpected ways. For starters, one would think that this match would've been all about Triple H punishing The Rock and trying to keep the pace slow, but its The Rock who controls much of the first 10 minutes, eventually scoring the first pinfall with a Rock Bottom. From there, The Rock goes after Triple H's knee and while Triple H sells the damage well at this point in the match, I do wish it had played more into the pins later on - which it doesn't. Regardless, after attempting to force the Game to tap with a figure four, Triple H hits a pedigree out of nowhere and ties things up 1-1. (Again, its a small flaw, but wouldn't the Pedigree also hurt Triple H as he's basically doing double knee drops to the mat to execute the move?) Anyway, if Triple H's selling of knee damage is imperfect, The Rock's selling of the Pedigree more than made up for it as he sells the move like it straight-up concussed him and Triple H capitalizes by going up 2-1 almost immediately after with an inside cradle. This is when the match shifts and goes into an extended brawl through the crowd and up the entrance way. This would have been out-of-place at WrestleMania XII, but by 2000, this makes total sense as a way to fill up time in an Ironman Match. In fact, in most WWE main events around this time, we would've got this sort of thing much, much earlier in the match. Back in the ring, Triple H goes up 3-1 with a piledriver, a move he didn't bust out often (kudos to The Rock for also delivering some moves that we normally didn't see out him, which is, again, something that didn't really stand out in Hart/Michaels). The Rock eventually rallies enough to hit a tornado DDT for 3 and it feels earned to me. We then get another element that we didn't see at WrestleMania XII and that's a bit of...err...gamesmanship out of Triple H as he attacks The Rock with a chair just so he can push the score up 4-3 (after ceding a DQ loss to Rock). This match just refuses to be boring, which is the biggest knock against Hart/Michaels. With the match entering its final stretch, Triple H goes up 5-3 with a sleeper, a move that is treated with the respect it deserves in an Ironman match. At his point, The Rock's fatigue has made him vulnerable to it so I'm glad its effective. From here, things get a bit wonky as Triple H needlessly  goes to the top rope to do god knows what. At least when Ric Flair did it, one could always point to his first World Championship win but Triple H has literally never done a top rope move. This allows The Rock to come back and dish out more punishment, the match spilling to the outside where The Rock hits a nasty pedigree on Triple H on a table (that should've but doesn't break). This gives The Rock a count-out victory with roughly 10 minutes to go and changes the score to 5-4. The McMahons show up at this point, but The Rock slays them all (Vince takes a pretty horrific bump on the outside) and its time for the People's Elbow. Kudos to The Rock and Triple H for making it 57 minutes into a match without having to go to even a People's Elbow tease. The Rock hits it and we've got a tied game with barely any time on the clock! DX show up and the McMahons are still around causing chaos and then we hear some ominous children singing and...and...and...its The Undertaker in biker form! This was the first appearance of BikerTaker as he became known as and the crowd is going wild for him. He clears the ring for The Rock but also goes after Triple H, hitting him with a chokeslam and a Tombstone as the clock expires. Due to his interference, Michaels rewards a post-match DQ win to Triple H and we've got a new WWE Champion. If this isn't the best Ironman Match in WWE history, I'm not sure what tops it. At the very least, this is one of the most bell-to-bell exciting ones as it has everything one could possibly want or expect out of a Triple H/Rock match (even if that means some psychology and long-term selling are jettisoned in favor of "pyrotechnics" and shenanigans). (4.5/5)

Though its Kwang Score of 2.75-out-of-5 may seem a touch low, Judgment Day 2000 is a solid show featuring an excellent main event, a strong Benoit/Jericho match, and a fun opener. The DX/Dudleys tag match is a miss and the Shane McMahon/Big Show match is not nearly as wild as it could've and should've been, but the rest of the show holds up well (something that can't always be said about WWE pay-per-views from the early 00s). 

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

TNA Victory Road 2010

TNA Victory Road 2010

Orlando, FL - July 2010

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion was Rob Van Dam, the X-Division Champion was Doug Williams, the Knockouts Champion was Madison Rayne, the Global Champion was "Big" Rob Terry, the World Tag Team Titles were vacant, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were The Beautiful People (Lacey Von Erich, Velvet Skye, and Madison Rayne fighting under Freebird rules).

Victory Road 2010 begins with a video package about Abyss before we get our opening contest - an Ultimate X Submission match for the X-DIvision Championship between Brian Kendrick and Doug Williams. I was a big fan of Kendrick until semi-recently when I learned about some of his abhorrent views. As a wrestler, though, Kendrick is a smooth worker and he and Williams have undeniable chemistry. After some impressive mat-based submission wrestling, we get our first big bump when Williams hits a super back suplex from the top turnbuckle. Moments later, both men try to climb the rigging to get the belt and Kendrick ends up dropping to the floor. Williams pulls some gloves out of his pants and slaps Kendrick around with them. Unable to get Kendrick back in the ring, Williams is then forced to do some climbing. As Williams makes his way towards the middle, Kendrick climbs as well and ends up on Williams back, both men taking a not-so-great landing into the middle of the ring. Williams locks in a choke and Kendrick is completely out. A good physical match, but maybe didn't live up to the "Ultimate X" gimmick enough as this was really more of a submission match than anything with the big bumps from the rig coming off as "tacked on." (2.5/5)

A video package explains the circumstances that led to this next match - Brother Ray vs. D-Von vs. Jesse Neal. When the match starts, D-Von is shown locked backstage, seemingly prevented from coming into the match by Brother Ray (who wanted to beat down Jesse Neal without D-Von's interference). The crowd is actually into this more than I thought they'd be, chanting "Let's Go Jesse!" as Ray dominates in the ring. After a couple minutes, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, Stevie Richards, and Raven show up in the stands to a loud "ECW" chant. The distraction allows Neal to strike with a spear, but he's cut off with a back elbow. Ray grabs a chair and Shannon Moore runs out but this only allows Ray to hit Neal with the chair anyway. D-Von shows up and he and Ray have a staredown before coming to blows. Neal gets up and goes for a spear, but ends up catching D-Von with it. Brother Ray hits the Bubba Bomb on a shocked Neal to get the W. There were enough bells and whistles to make this work and the crowd's enthusiasm helped too. (2.5/5)

Angelina Love challenges for the Knockouts Championship next, taking on Madison Rayne, who was either still in the Beautiful People or was on friendly terms with them at this point (after being kicked out of the group a couple months earlier). Rayne's flesh-colored outfit is...something. Anyway, good physicality in this match and a terrific chair spot that saw Love kick the steel into Rayne's face. At this point, a woman in a full bodysuit and motorcycle helmet rode to ringside and attacked Love on the outside of the ring (and then threw down the ref for good measure). The referee called for the bell, but in a shocking twist, Love was awarded the Knockouts Championship anyway because the interference was believed to be by the Beautiful People (even though it wasn't clear who was under the helmet). What a messy way to get from Point A to Point B. I understand that the goal was to further a storyline, but these two were working a decent match before the shenanigans came into play. Just a terrible "finish" if one can even call it that. (1.5/5)

After a promo for Mr. Anderson, we get a tag match with AJ Styles and Kazarian taking on a mystery tag team revealed to be...TNA Global Champion, "The Freak" Rob Terry and Samoa Joe. As noted on commentary, the story coming into this match was that Styles and Kaz were trying to impress Ric Flair so they could become part of his new stable, Fortune (which I believe was spelled "Fourtune"). Anyway...Joe's the most over guy in the match and gets a huge reaction for everything he does, the crowd erupting into a "Joe's Gonna Kill You" chant when he gets tagged in. There's some real good crowd-pleasing spots in this match - AJ taking an awesome bump to the outside off a Terry hiptoss, Joe hitting a suicide dive to the outside on both heels, AJ hitting a Pele Kick only to run into a nasty uranage in the corner, Rob Terry's ridiculous guerilla press and fallaway slams. As Joe looks to end the match with the Musclebuster, Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuinness) shows up and the heels are able to take advantage and get the W in a strong, entertaining match. Maybe too inconsequential to be considered "must see," but this was the clear match of the night up to this point. (3/5)

After a backstage interview with Abyss, Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan go to battle in a steel cage. After a brief flurry of offense from SuperMex, Morgan takes control and starts sending his former tag partner into the steel. The crowd really despises Morgan and he basks in the hate. Morgan wastes a ton of time playing to the crowd, though, which allows Hernandez time to recover. We get a cool spot when Hernandez tries to climb up the buckle and Morgan nails him with a big boot that sends him into the cage wall. Morgan basically has the match won, but as he goes to exit through the door, he turns back around to inflict more damage on Hernandez (who is now trickling blood out of a cut in his forehead). Morgan scrapes Hernandez' head across the cage and then boots him into once more. This has been too one-sided for me and really needed some hope spots sprinkled in to give a reason as to why Morgan wouldn't just take the W and want to actually punish Hernandez. Hernandez basically hulks up out of nowhere, hitting Morgan with a series of big clotheslines and then a big shoulder block. Hernandez attempts a powerbomb but couldn't get Morgan up. Morgan regains control but only temporarily and, again, Hernandez attempts the powerbomb but both men crumble back to the mat. Hernandez climbs to the top of the cage and now he has the opportunity to win the match but instead attempts a splash...only for Morgan to move out of the way! Dang. That had to hurt. Morgan busts out some handcuffs and cuffs Hernandez to the top rope. Morgan taunts him and then goes to the climb the cage, but Hernandez breaks the cuff and dives through the door to get the W but nearly concusses himself. That was a really dumb finish. Why not just have Hernandez land the splash and win that way? There was no need for the cuffs at all. There were moments that were good here, but there were too many glaring flaws to call this good. (1.5/5)

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is backstage with Christy Hemme to cut a promo before his match against Jay Lethal. At this point, Flair could still cut a dynamite promo, though it would largely be up to Lethal to see if he could get some passable out of him in the ring. This feud was built around Lethal's imitations of Flair and the Nature Boy taking offense. As silly as it may sound, the crowd was very into this from the start, "woo"-ing everything they see in the early minutes. Speaking of the early minutes, Lethal controls the start of this match and Flair takes some good bumps, including a clothesline over the top and a pair of dropkicks. Flair counters with a thumb to the eye to slow the pace before delivering some chops in the corner. Lethal comes back with some chops of his own and we get the Flair Flop. Lethal connects for the superplex and then goes back to the top to see if he can land a moonsault, but Flair rolls out of the way and then gets to work on Lethal's knee. A split 50/50 chant starts up. Flair applies the Figure Four and Lethal looks to be in trouble, especially as 'Naitch starts using the ropes for leverage. Hebner catches Flair, though, and the hold gets broken, giving Lethal the opportunity to attempt a roll-up for 2. Instead of re-applying the hold, Flair continues working on Lethal in the corner with chops. Lethal fights back, though, and the two trde shots until Lethal catches him with a flying forearm and then a handspring back elbow. Flair begs off but Lethal keeps coming at him. Flair sends Lethal to the corner and Jay does the patented corner spot in a clever moment. Lethal comes back in and grabs hold of Flair's tights, revealing the Nature Boy's ass. Flair attempts a sleeper but Lethal escapes in the corner and lands a crossbody and then a Vader Bomb onto Flair's knees. Now its Lethal's turn to work on Flair's knee and apply a Figure Four. Flair taps and we've got a clean win for Jay Lethal. This, obviously, was never going to measure up to Flair's last great match (vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24), but its not necessarily Flair that disappoints here. As good as Lethal is at keeping the match moving, the lack of long-term selling was very noticeable to me and led to a finish that felt rush and unearned. Had Lethal done more to show that Flair's rather good attack on his knees was actually effective, this would've felt more like a real story than just a rush through signature spots. (2.5/5)

Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machine Guns for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championships is next. As anyone who is familiar with these two teams would guess, the action in this match just absolutely rules and only the overbooked, somewhat sloppy last few minutes prevents this from maybe being a Match of the Year candidate or at least worthy of inclusion on an Honorable Mention list. The MCMG are mega-over with the live crowd and were fighting for their first championship win (which added some emotional weight to this match). Beer Money, meanwhile, were great "bases" for the high-flying Guns. This match really reminded of the best stuff that FTR and #DIY years later, just countless brilliant double-team maneuvers. Unfortunately, as noted earlier, the ending sequence is just too flawed for me. First, Storm and Sabin unwisely park themselves in front of the hard camera, clearly waiting for an exchange between Roode and Shelley to finish before they jump into the ring for a double pin false finish. Then, when the match is restarted, it only lasts another 40-60 seconds as the Guns get the clean W anyway. Why even do the double pin? Or, if you are going to do it, why not have both pins just kickout and then move into the actual finish? This match proves you don't need gimmicks or tables or ladders to deliver an excellent, thrilling match and then, for no apparent reason, they get all screwy with the finish to muddy things up. (3.5/5)

Kurt Angle had started his quest to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and had promised to go after all 10 of the Top 10 ranked wrestlers. On this night, he went up against "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero. Dinero is the underdog, but Angle comes into this match very focused and respectful of his talents. This one was all about the back-and-forth and the workrate as these two looked to wow the fans with the amount of swift exchanges, counters, and suplexes they could dish out. Unfortunately, to deliver this type of match, both Angle and Dinero have to go from 0 to 100 at times, ignoring long-term selling and miraculously popping up from would-be finishes. Angle, in particular, goes a bit "too big" at times, feigning death before kicking out with maybe too much gusto at 2.9 on multiple occasions. Dinero, on the other hand, exudes confidence late in the match and it works against the potential character growth we could've seen. What could've been turning point for Dinero is just a lost opportunity to make him a relatable underdog who knows he's up against the odds. The finish comes when Angle not only hits his Olympic Slam but applies the Ankle Lock as well and, though the victory was hard fought, the story coming out of this is that Angle is one step closer to achieving his goal. Its kind of a shame because Dinero, even in a loss, could've came out of this with a more interesting trajectory had he and Angle worked this just a tad slower, with more emphasis on selling the fatigue, and, in the case of Dinero, allowing that vulnerability to come out as the match wore on and he realized he was up against an undeniable Wrestling Machine. (3/5)

The main event is next as Rob Van Dam defends the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss, Mr. Anderson, and Jeff Hardy. The crowd is fairly split between RVD, Anderson, and Hardy, who would end up having the worst night of his career about a year after this. Anderson doesn't get much credit as a worker, but I like his psychology here, taking every opportunity he can to get a sneaky pin on anyone he can so that he can secure the championship. Van Dam and Hardy are not in the best shape of their careers here, though they're still more than capable of hitting their signature dives, moonsaults, and splashes. Abyss is basically a non-factor for the first 5-6 minutes, spending almost all of his time on the outside until he comes in for the requisite Tower of Doom spot. Abyss calls for a chokeslam but RVD rallies and hits all sorts of big spin kicks to take everyone out until Kennedy shoves him off the top rope and onto the floor. This causes the crowd to erupt into a "Let's Go Assholes!" chant, but its Hardy and Abyss who are on their feet and doing battle. Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind on Abyss but Anderson breaks up the pin and the match continues. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam but, again, Anderson breaks up the pin. Anderson and Hardy go at it in the middle of the ring as their opponents recoup on the outside with Anderson almost hitting the Mic Drop only to get struck with the Twist of Fate after a nice exchange of counters. Hardy goes for the Swanton but now its Abyss who plays spoiler and hits the chokeslam. Abyss goes for the cover but RVD breaks it up with a 5-Star Frog Splash and manages to cover Anderson to win the match and retain his championship. Not a "must see" match or anything, but still fun. I think the audience expected a touch more violence, specifically a big table spot or two considering you've got RVD, Abyss, and Jeff Hardy all in the same match. (3/5)

Earning a Kwang Score of 2.56-out-of-5, Victory Road 2010 is not a great show, but I did enjoy the variety presented and the Tag Team Championship match and main event both delivering what they needed to (though neither is necessarily worth seeking out). 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE WrestleMania XXXVIII

WWE WrestleMania XXXVIII

Arlington, TX - April 2022

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into the show, Brock Lesnar was the WWE Champion, Roman Reigns was the Universal Champion, Ricochet was the Intercontinental Champion, RK-Bro was the RAW Tag Team Champion, Finn Balor was the US Champion, Becky Lynch was the RAW Women's Champion, Charlotte was the SmackDown Women's Champion, the Usos were the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Carmella and Zelina.

After a country singer I've never heard of sang "America the Beautiful" and the Dallas Cowboys danced to "Thunderstruck," it was finally time for our opening contest of Night #1 - The Usos defending the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Nakamura and Rick Boogz. Nakamura started things off for the face team as the Usos worked to cut the ring in half. Boogz came in for a hot tag and got to show off some his insane strength, hitting a big vertical suplex on Jey Uso after dropping to a knee and then, moments later, nearly landing a double Samoan drop on the, err, Samoans. Boogz tagged out and Nakamura hit a splash to maintain control but the Usos regained control and got a 2 count after an Uso splash. It looked like the babyfaces might make a comeback, but the Usos kept the pressure on, Jimmy hitting a brilliant superkick while Jey held Nak's hair and then both Usos teaming up to hit their finish, the 1-D, to get the clean W. The right team won as the Usos really are in the discussion for being one of the best tag teams in WWE history (or at least the past 20 years). (2.5/5)

Drew McIntyre vs. "Happy" Corbin was next. This match and all the pre-match discussion centered on Corbin, which just goes to show how irrelevant McIntyre feels after a rather ho-hum 2021. In the ring, though, McIntyre still brought the energy and excitement, popping the crowd huge with a somersault splash to the stadium floor that nobody his size should be performing. McIntyre missed the Claymore, though, and Corbin was able to hit the End of Days for a great nearfall (as Cole noted on commentary, it may have been the first time anyone has ever kicked out of the End of the Days). McIntyre hit a DDT and then the Claymore to end the match decisively. For what this was, it was good and, again, the right man won. (2.5/5)

The first of the weekend's "celebrity" matches followed as The Miz and Logan Paul took on The Mysterios. I really loved Dominik and Rey's outfits with Rey rocking gear inspired by the Mexican flag and Dom wearing gear that not only represented the US but almost came across as Eddie-influenced (Guerrero wore a sick US flag jacket at the When Worlds Collide PPV in 94'). Not to be outdone, Logan Paul came out wearing the most expensive Pokemon card in the world around his neck, which is a brilliant bit of heeling. The wrestling itself was solid, throughout - which is unsurprising considering Rey and Miz's experience level, Dominik's steady improvement over the past couple years, and Logan Paul clearly coming in having "put in the work." Though I doubt the WWE could afford to really hire him, Logan Paul looked more than competent, not just by delivering some fancy moves - a blockbuster here, a powerslam there - but "the little things" like playing to the hard camera, breaking up a tag, and "disappearing" at the right time (a WWE trope that can't be unseen in multi-man matches but is clearly the type of thing Vince and Kevin Dunn coach their wrestlers to do). Paul got a huge reaction for hitting the Three Amigos and then got even more mileage out of it by hitting a frog splash. Again, Logan's heeling was remarkable and the finishing sequence got a huge reaction as the heels somehow pulled out the victory. This match exceeded my expectations and I loved the post-match work by The Miz as he hit Paul with the Skull Crushing Finale to "out-heel" one of the biggest jerks on the planet. A very, very good match, borderline "must see." (3.5/5)

A very strong Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair match followed with Lynch defending the RAW Women's Championship. Coming into this match, Lynch had guaranteed that these two would steal the show and I'm not sure they didn't (though there was some stiff competition). Lynch and Belair have great chemistry and this was an all-out back-and-forth war that featured both women pulling out every move they may have in their arsenal. I got a little nervous at the outset of the match as Lynch and Belair both went for their finishers, fearing that this match would be a "bomb-throwing" contest, but things got much, much better once they got away from all the SummerSlam flashback business and created a match that stood on its own. I've been somewhat lukewarm on Lynch's heel work - I still think there is something too naturally likeable about her for this role to really work - and I would've liked to see her try a few more crafty, corner-cutting moves to try to steal the victory (especially as the match went on), but Belair is so over and so hard to root against that I still found myself pulling for her even as an admitted Becky Lynch fan. I'm not surprised that I've seen people call this the Match of the Night and maybe even a Match of the Year candidate, though I think I kinda preferred the Belair/Sasha Banks match from last year a touch more. Still, an excellent contest that is well worth watching if you're a fan of WWE, either woman, or just women's wrestling in general. (4/5)

Cody Rhodes returned to the WWE after 6 years away (and also helping to start the biggest rival company the WWE has had in 20+ years, but I'll be like the commentators and not mention that) to take on Seth Rollins next. Like the match before it, Rhodes and Rollins were given 20 minutes to tell their story. Unlike the match before it, this was completely unwarranted and made for a match that, while loaded with kickouts and counters and even some fun callbacks to Rhodes' Stardust character and both guys history - on-screen and off -  with Triple H, felt like it was being wrestled entirely for the "internet" and not for the audience or for the benefit of future stories. Cody's return felt huge - no doubt - but it also seemed a bit spoiled by him having his finisher kicked out of and for Seth Rollins, who could have actually sold being unprepared for Rhodes, treating the return with a laugh and then proceeding to wrestle as if he knew who his opponent was going to be all along. I've written it countless times before but Seth Rollins is a guy who can do everything and anything in the ring...except actually tell the story that needs to be told. Instead, we get Crossfit Jesus wrestling the same kind of self-conscious epic that we've seen him do countless times before. In some instances - vs. Cena, vs. Mox, vs. Reigns - it absolutely works. Here, it felt a bit like Rollins wanting to inexplicably make a point about the WWE being a place where you can still find "real" wrestling like what AEW promotes instead of actually telling the story which should've been told, one of a returning star coming in and making a statement. There's an old saying in showbiz that you want to leave the audience wanting more, but Rhodes and Rollins did the opposite and I found it to come off as more egotistical than impressive, especially considering that there really was no storyline reason for this match aside from Rollins wanting a match and Vince opting to just give him one with a mystery man. Now, it'd be impossible to call a match like this outright bad...but it still felt like the wrong match to have, at the wrong place in the card, and for the wrong reasons. (3/5)

Night 1 continued with the SmackDown Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair, defending her title against Ronda Rousey. This was one of the more controversial matches of the night and, based on reactions on social media and the wrestling sites I frequent, the reaction was mostly negative...though not for any particular reason, really. At this point, Charlotte has become one of the least popular performers in all of wrestling, arguably the most despised on-screen character since the heyday of Triple H hate in the mid-2000s. Rousey, meanwhile, came across as entitled and almost antagonistic towards wrestling fans after her last run in the company, going as far as to call WWE fan "ungrateful idiots" in 2021. While Rousey still gets some cheers when she appears - mostly because she still does come across as a huge star - this match was maybe the most genuinely, real life heel/heel match in WWE history. Fortunately, wrestling in a huge stadium in Dallas effectively curtailed any sense of the crowd "hijacking" the match the way they did Goldberg/Lesnar at WrestleMania XX, but I'd also argue that the match itself, physical and violent, was good enough to keep any potential negativity at bay. This wasn't the "trainwreck" that some envisioned, but it also didn't have the unpredictable "anything can happen" vibe that their Survivor Series match had years ago. For better or worse, this was Flair and Rousey having a match built around submissions and takedowns and some of Flair's characteristically sloppy, trolling offense (there's no way Flair doesn't know what fans think of her moonsault) and if you disliked it, well, that may have been by design. Or maybe this was somehow designed to get Rousey over as a face? I'm not sure...but what I do know is that is that I was invested in it and did question who was going to win, the match absolutely having the Big Fight Feel that these two didn't get enough credit for delivering on. As for the finish, I'm not sure the right woman won, but I'm curious where things go from here. (3.5/5)

From there, it was time for the night's "main event" - an episode of the The Kevin Owens Show that eventually turned into a "real match" against Steve Austin. I thought the KO Show part of the segment dragged a bit as Austin basically just sat back and listened to Owens get more and more heat from the Texas crowd. Of course, the crowd was so molten hot for the segment that the anticipation and suspense never dissipated even though I kinda wish Austin had gotten in a few more verbal jabs himself before accepting Owens' challenge for an impromptu No DQ match. I'm guessing Austin didn't want to hype a return match knowing that he would be unable to work a standard bout or a "main event caliber" one (especially in 2022, when the athleticism put on my even your average heavyweight is way beyond what it was 20 years ago), but to his credit, Austin didn't just hit Owens with a few boots and a Stunner - they actually brawled all around the ring, into the crowd, and up the ramp, with Austin even taking an absolutely insane suplex on the concrete (just to prove he could? It was crazy). Owens may have "oversold" a few things here and there, but unlike when HBK did it for Hogan, this was clearly out of hero worship and not because he was remotely trying to upstage Stone Cold. Austin showed some ring rust - who wouldn't after 16 years? - which made the "You've Still Got It" chants a bit corny as this wasn't remotely his best work in any way, with even his body language and facial expressions paling in comparison to the intensity that he could be counted on even at his most broken down. But did it work for this show? For the live audience? For the fans sitting at home craving one last match out of the Texas Rattlesnake? Sure. My expectation was the same ol' segment we got out of Austin for years - come in, stun a McMahon or some other heel, drink some beers, leave - and this clearly surpassed that, over-delivering partly because the WWE didn't oversell anything. The opposite would be true the next night. I'm not going to go "must see" with this, but it was almost there. (3.5/5)

After another rendition of "America The Beautiful" and another video narrated by Mark Wahlberg, Night #2 began with the RAW Tag Team Champions, RK-Bro, defending the titles against Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) and The Street Profits. Six dependable workers in the ring out there to essentially just have some fun, this was a good match even if it was a little "heatless" and a perfectly fine opener. I like the Gable and Otis and act but don't see the main event potential in Gable simply due to his height. As with any major Orton PPV match, you knew this wouldn't end until someone ate a crazy RKO and we got two of them (one delivered by Matt Riddle) to wrap up the match. A fun opener, but nothing more. During the post match, Gable Stevenson showed up and got into it with Chad Gable, eventually hitting him with a german suplex after being "shuuushed." Typing this out made me think that once Stevenson actually joins the main roster, Chad Gable is going to have his name changed. (3/5)

Lashley vs. Omos followed. This wasn't the worst match of the entire WrestleMania or even of Night #2 but it was clear the WWE booked themselves into a corner in more way than one here. Lashley couldn't afford another loss after his quasi-feud with Lesnar (which felt more like just "background" for the Reigns/Lesnar rivalry) but Omos couldn't really afford a loss either this early in his career. The right decision was made to give Lashley the W as, ultimately, he's already proven time and time again to be a capital-S Superstar while Omos hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, but to be fair, Omos is a 27-year old monster with only 3 years under his belt and was tasked with having a featured match on WrestleMania. As I've written before, the WWE's roster is so stacked with experienced talent (and AEW's is not much different) that you could throw two darts at a roster printout and you'd still likely be guaranteed a good-to-great match. Unfortunately, this also means that guys like Omos stick out as particularly aloof and clumsy, stilted, and out of step because he's essentially a "Single A" player on a major league team. Anyway, the match itself wasn't terrible, but it was noticeably a step down from everything on the previous night's show.  (2/5)

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn was next, a PG version of a "death match" featuring lots of bells and whistles, some of Knoxville's Jackass cast mates, and two awesome Helluva Kicks to Knox and Wee Man (the second one was enough to bump the match up a half-point by itself). I was not expecting much out of this match and even questioned the notion of putting Knoxville and Zayn together during the build. Their chemistry during the comedy segments was never the issue - Zayn is gold and Knoxville has always been the most effortlessly charming and likable of the Jackass crew - but I questioned whether it wouldn't have been wiser to pair Knoxville up with someone like Sheamus or Lashley or some other legitimate monster who could toss him around and really put him in the kind of danger he puts himself into in the Jackass movies. I mean, this is a guy whose taken punches from Butterbean, been gored by wild animals, and been kicked in the balls more times than any human male should be. What was Sami Zayn gonna do to make this match feel "dangerous"? In the end, they didn't have to answer that question because they went the other way with it. This was just straight-up fun. Some of the props looked weak and the finishing "stunt" was the most glaring fail of the whole match, but Knoxville-as-Bugs and Zayn-as-Fudd overcame whatever "offensiveness to 'real' wrestling" one might have through sheer lunacy. No, this wasn't Steamboat/Flair, but this audience wasn't expecting nor did it want what would've been a pitiful attempt at a "real wrestling match." Just straight-up fun and arguably the best match of Night #2. (3.5/5)

Carmella and "Queen" Zelina Vega defended their Women's Tag Team Championships against Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, Naomi and Sasha Banks, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler in the next match. For being a "thrown together"/"get everyone on the card" match, this was better and got more time than I expected it to get. Extra credit is awarded here because, despite the titles really not meaning all that much, the urgency, action, and emotion made this feel like a much bigger deal than it was. I'm not sure the right team won - Ripley and Morgan seem like a more natural and interesting pairing than Banks and Naomi to me - but Banks and Naomi were easily the biggest stars of the match so the decision to put the titles on them makes plenty of sense. (2.5/5)

In what has become a tiresome pattern, Edge went long, battling AJ Styles for 25+ minutes in a good-not-great match that only proved what we already knew: AJ Styles is outstanding. This match built to its big moments, but it took time to get to each one (arguably too much time). The physicality was there and it did absolutely feel like Edge and Styles had been through war by the end...which made the Damien Priest finish all that more deflating and disappointing. A truly great match is worthy of a re-watch, worthy of telling your friends about, worthy of consideration for a Year-End Best Of list. This fell way short of every single one of those criteria despite the effort put in and AJ's masterful bumping and selling. A cleaner finish (with AJ winning, mind you) might've nudged this up for me. (3/5)

Ridge Holland/Sheamus vs. The New Day wrestled for 2-3 minutes for no apparent reason after having their match bumped from Night 1. What can one say about a 2-3 minute match? It was inoffensive and I'll give some credit for the amount of action they squeezed into the brief time, but there's something icky about seeing Ridge Holland out there that will be tough to shake for me and, even if Big E hadn't been injured, this feels like a "TV feud" and not one worthy of a WrestleMania spotlight. I guess the reunion of the New Day might've felt like a big deal...if they ever actually split up, which never really seemed like the case. (1/5) 

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory was next. I've gone on record multiple times with my lack of enthusiasm and interest in Austin Theory (now just going by "Theory" because Vince hates first names, by the way) and I mistakenly believed Pat McAfee was unworthy of a WrestleMania match, but I can't deny how over this match was with the live crowd. McAfee got a HUGE response for his entrance and every big spot delivered, something I would've never imagined possible for a guy whose just a commentator. I guess not watching the weekly TV has made me miss McAfee getting over to a Jesse Ventura level? Theory doing the job was to be expected, but I don't see it doing much for his credibility. After McAfee got the win, Vince McMahon entered the ring and challenged McAfee to an impromptu match, defeating him after a Theory-assisted beatdown. This signaled the arrival of Steve Austin, who delivered such an awful Stunner to Vince that all Stone Cold could do was laugh. From there, we got the expected "beer bash" with McAfee ending with Austin delivering another Stunner to cap things off. Nothing here was "must see," but it was all fun, which sorta feels like the best way to summarize the entirety of both nights (save for maybe the Lynch/Belair match, which was the strongest match of the 2-day event). (3/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a match that was billed as the biggest WrestleMania match ever and had the highest stakes possible as both men put their respective championships on the line. This wasn't the disaster that their Mania match a few years ago was, but it also wasn't the homerun that their first meeting was. It didn't exactly land in the middle either as, despite a very solid build, this match lacked any real gravitas or drama. Lesnar was ostensibly the face (having been backstabbed by Paul Heyman), but we didn't get any sort of Lesnar/Heyman moment that would've likely drawn a huge reaction and added a much-needed new flavor to the mix. Instead, we got the suplexes and Superman Punches and spears that everyone expected without any new wrinkles or interesting twists. While I found Rhodes/Rollins and Styles/Edge to go too long, this match seemed too short by at least a few minutes, the "epic" that was hyped never actually feeling all that epic. We've seen Reigns have countless better matches over the past two years and, while Lesnar's formula has grown tiresome, we've seen that he's still capable of far more memorable and motivated performances over the years (namely against Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, and even Finn Balor). This was Reigns and Lesnar on auto-pilot and was a real flat ending to the show. (2/5)

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.83-out-of-5, WrestleMania XXXVIII had more good than bad to offer across two nights. While the Reigns/Lesnar match was disappointing (though not as bad as their last Mania match, which was historically terrible), Lynch/Belair was terrific, the Knoxville/Zayn and Owens/Austin matches were fun, and McAfee/Theory over-delivered. While some fans loved Rhodes/Rollins and Edge/AJ, I found Flair/Rousey more riveting and deserving of its runtime. Overall, this show won't go down as one of the all-time great Manias (mostly because the main event of Night 2 was such a letdown), but splitting up the show into two separate events has certainly made it more watchable and both nights had highlights worth checking out.

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