WWE Survivor Series 2023

WWE Survivor Series 2023

Chicago, IL - November 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Roman Reigns was the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Seth Rollins was the World Heavyweight Champion, the Intercontinental Champion was GUNTHER, the United States Champion was Logan Paul, the RAW Women's Champion was Rhea Ripley, the SmackDown Women's Champion was IYO Sky, the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Champions were The Judgment Day, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Chelsea Green and Piper Niven.

One of the most talked-about and hyped shows of the year, Survivor Series 2023 began with Team Belair taking on DMG CTRL in a War Games match. The WWE's versions of War Games are far tamer than the original brawls of the NWA and WCW, but that's not to say they don't get wild and tend to feature some crazy spots. This match, though, was a touch different because of all the histories being woven together as this match had more star power than any Women's War Games match I can recall. While ostensibly led by Bianca Belair, the big story coming into the match for Team Belair was whether or not Charlotte and Becky Lynch, sometimes friends/longtime rivals, could co-exist. Meanwhile, DMG CTRL also had potential fireworks in their future as Bayley has slowly been getting edged out of the squad by new member Kairi Sane. As the match wore on, those stories all got progressed in interesting ways without having any needless heel-or-face turns that would contradict the action. Bright moments included Kairi Sane delivering a wicked running forearm into the cage on a dazed Belair (or was it Becky?), an overall excellent performance out of Bayley (who started the match with Lynch but, unlike Lynch, never seemed to "disappear"), an excellent series of double teams by Lynch and Flair and then a big "moment" as the two embraced (whether it was "for real" or for the cameras, I'd be curious to know where these two are in terms of personal relationship as time tends to heal wounds), and IYO Sky launching herself off the top of the cage while wearing a trash can - which was a cool visual but a bit too convoluted to me. I really liked the finish too, as Bayley basically got destroyed by all 4 members of the opposing side. I'm guessing this will lead to her being dropped by everyone from DMG CTRL save for maybe Dakota Kai? Could this be how they reintroduce Sasha Banks? Regardless of where things are headed, I thought this was a real fun opener. (3.5/5)

GUNTHER defended his Intercontinental Championship in the next bout against The Miz. I liked the story going into this and the way the commentary played up the "Wrestler vs. Sports-Entertainer" aspect while still giving plenty of credit to The Miz for his various in-ring accomplishments. This was about one every might've expected - GUNTHER controlled much of the match, The Miz took a heck of a beating, and all of it worked. GUNTHER is a terrific worker whose offense always looks great, but sometimes one forgets just how good of a seller he is too. The Miz has never been the smoothest worker, but he's gotten better and better at the small stuff that often matters more - facial expressions, playing to the crowd, bumping and selling - and this match worked not because it was filled with a dazzling array of maneuvers or complicated sequences, but because they kept it simple. Not a match I'd revisit or consider a classic or anything, but not bad at all. (2.5/5)

I was less into the somewhat staid Santos Escobar vs. Dragon Lee match. What was weird about this match was that, while Escobar is the guy that the company is clearly pushing towards a big feud with Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee is also something of a newcomer who needed to shine. Because the match was fought 50/50 - and also because anyone who watches AEW has likely seen at least a half-dozen more outrageous and ridiculous lucha-style matches in the past month - neither guy really left much of an impression. There were good moments, to be sure, but I didn't get the feeling like Escobar was something truly special to behold and nothing Dragon Lee was really fresh or innovative. Underwhelming when it could've really been special had they maybe been given the marching orders to blow people away rather than just serve as filler? (2/5)

Zoey Stark challenged Rhea Ripley for the RAW Women's Championship next. Ripley shined - as usual - and had the crowd support behind her despite being the heel, but Stark's offense looked terrific and, while there were a few hiccups (the one glaring botch off the top, but also some awkward telegraphing and overacting by Starks), this felt like a big step up for her as a singles competitor. They lost the crowd at one point, moreso due to the match going a few minutes too long than for it not being particularly boring, but I liked the physicality quite a bit and Stark looked more confident and capable than most of the other NXT call-ups I've seen over the past few years, male or female. (3/5)

Main event time - with the babyface team of Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, and Sami Zayn still wondering if their 5th member, Randy Orton, would show up, they headed into battle against the The Judgment Day with Drew McIntyre. Rollins and Balor opened things up and, with Orton not yet appearing, the crowd started chanting for CM Punk around minute 3. JD McDonough came in second for his team and grabbed kendo sticks...which got a yawn out of me after seeing so many kendo sticks in the opener. Uso came in to a huge pop, the crowds went wild "yeeting" his offense, and McIntyre looked miserable waiting for the buzzer to go off so he could get some revenge against the ex-Bloodline member. Speaking of the Bloodline, Cole and Graves didn't talk too much about Roman on this show and I'm guessing the reason for that was not to remind folks that he wasn't on the show. When the buzzer sounded for the 3rd time (is my math right?), Priest came in, denying McIntyre the chance to get at Uso. Priest used a metal baton to gain control of the match, but the middle of this War Games was all about Sami Zayn, who had an incredible run after coming in 3rd for his team and taking out all of Judgment Day single-handedly. McIntyre came in next for his squad and hit a series of big maneuvers, at one point Alabama Slamming Rollins onto Zayn before isolating Jey Uso in the 2nd ring. Jey went toe-to-toe with Drew but got cut down by a neckbreaker and then flung into the cage wall. Cody came in next and pulled out a bullrope, which resulted in a fun spot where they used it to hit a low-blow on Balor. Dominik Mysterio came in last for his team and got a huge amount of boos from the Chicago crowd. Mysterio looked like he had things under control for a moment but soon enough the babyfaces all beat him down. I like that Mysterio was treated as the weak link, which made the idea that it was 5-on-4 but still relatively even make sense. As the clock ticked, the Chicago crowd started to chant for "Randy" but then changed gears to chanting for "CM Punk" instead. McIntyre and Priest hit triple chokeslams and then Mysterio, McDonough, and Finn all hit big top rope maneuvers in a neat sequence. With the clock winding down, Rhea Ripley ran down the aisle and attempted to cash-in the briefcase for Priest...until Randy Orton made his return, looking like a million bucks. Orton got a massive ovation, big enough to convince anyone that thought the crowd might reject him in favor of CM Punk, that their worries were unfounded. Orton powerslammed Mysterio and then JD before hitting his trademark Hangman DDT onto Balor. Orton, who looked massive here, stared down McIntyre, but his focus on Drew allowed the heels to regroup and beat him down in the corner. Rhodes, Rollins, Zayn, and Uso came fighting back, though, the match now basically being fought in the center of the ring. All 5 of the babyfaces hit Hangman DDTs on their opponents, which led Cole to describe the scene as "Vintage War Games" even though it was not at all that. Orton hit an RKO on Dom, Rollins std somebody, Cody hit the Cutter, Uso hit a splash on Drew, Zayn hit a Helluva - it was a symphony of babyface finishers that left JD as the last man standing for his team. JD climbed to the top of the cage but was sent down into an RKO by Rollins and Zayn in an absolutely awesome spot. Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes on Priest and this one was all over. This one had its ups-and-downs, but the final few minutes were really, really great, even if this was the furthest thing possible from what a classic War Games match was. (3.5/5)

And, from there, it seemed like the show had ended. The babyfaces celebrated in the ring together. The video highlights played. The WWE's copyright tag was shown on screen. Michael Cole signed off.

But as the camera zoomed out, the familiar sound of Living Colour blasted and out came CM Punk in a plain white tee-shirt and a fresh haircut. Punk looked towards the ring but didn't say much of anything. It was a goosebumps-inducing return, even if you knew it was coming (as I did after having his return spoiled earlier in the day via social media). (+1)

While the wrestling on this show was good overall and there were a handful of individual performers who really shined in the spotlight - Orton looked incredible in his return, Zayn stole the Men's War Game match for several minutes, Stark looked good, and Bayley once again proved that she might be the "glue" that has been holding together a somewhat-shaky WWE Women's Division for the past year - this show will likely be most remembered for the final 60 seconds of its near-3 hour runtime. With a respectable 3.10-out-of-5 Kwang Score, this show may not be worth checking out every minute of, but there's at least one "can't miss" moment worth checking out and a whole lot of other good action for fans of modern WWE.

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

WrestleMania II

WWE WrestleMania II

April 1986 - Uniondale, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Chicago, IL

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this 3-city event, the WWE World Champion was Hulk Hogan, the Intercontinental Champion was Randy Savage, the WWE Women's Champion was The Fabulous Moolah, and the WWE World Tag Team Champions were The Dream Team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine.

I've always avoided WrestleMania II - not just as an older viewer, but even as a younger one, based on the card alone. In the 90s, King Kong Bundy was a midcarder at best and not a very good worker so I had little interest in watching a pay-per-view with him in the main event. I had similar thoughts about George "The Animal" Steele based on his occasional appearances as a manager/"personality" - I saw him as nothing more than a hairy weirdo and had little interest in actually seeing what he could do in an actual match. Maybe I would've cared about Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T if I was alive and hip enough to know who Mr. T was. But I was born in 84' and, by the time I started following wrestling, The A-Team was a thing of the past and Mr. T was no longer the pop culture icon he once was. 

But I decided to finally watch the one WrestleMania I'd never seen - not even once in full - this year...

The show opens up with Ray Charles singing "America The Beautiful." Its not the best performance of the song, but it may be the most real. The audio is imperfect and Charles takes a few lines before he really feels like he's in the groove. Its really cool to here a soul legend find his footing a bit on live TV and then end up bringing the house down because of the emotion and even an air of pathos that he gives the song. As joyous as the song is, as much as it speaks to the beauty of America, as patriotic is, Charles' voice and delivery has that incredible quality of also making it clear that this song is also about striving to live up to an ideal that America - in terms of race and disability and class - has still not reached. Anyway, probably the most thought-provoking musical performance in the history of the WWE.

We're in New York City...actually Uniondale, in the Nassau Coliseum...for the first set of big WrestleMania matches, welcomed to the show by Vince McMahon, who introduces his co-host, actress Susan Saint James. The opening contest pits the semi-recently-turned-babyface "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff against Don Muraco. I'm not 100% sure but I believe that this was before Orndorff's spinal injury just because he looks fully ripped here (the injury caused his right arm to weaken and look noticeably smaller than his left). This isn't much of a match as it goes under 5 minutes and ends with a double countout (that draws "Bullshit" chants from the audience), but the little bit of action we do get is intense. This isn't the type of action that would blow a modern wrestling fan away, but check out how angry and explosive their collar-and-elbow tie-up is. Its too bad this match didn't amount to much because the crowd was into it. (1.5/5)

The Intercontinental Champion, "The Macho Man" Randy Savage, defends his title against George "The Animal" Steele in the next contest. While the title was on the line, the real story here was about Steele's obsession with Miss Elizabeth. There's not much "scientific wrestling" going on, but you gotta love Savage still finding a way to make this fast-paced and exciting despite how largely immobile and unathletic Steele was. What I wasn't as much of a fan of was the use of a bouquet of flowers as a weapon - too comic - and Steele getting to kick out of Savage's finisher for no reason. This match didn't go long enough to leave much of an impression aside from just how good Savage was at getting blood out of a stone. (1.5/5)

Jake "The Snake" Roberts is out next to take on George Wells. Wells was a journeyman wrestler in the 70s and 80s and I'm not sure if I'd ever reviewed one of his matches before. He actually gets quite a bit of offense in this match and, as they note on commentary, seems to be in control of the match and on the brink of winning before Jake turns the tides with an eye poke and hits the DDT in under 4 minutes. Not much of a match and not even all that much of a showcase for Roberts, but he does unleash Damian, which gets a big reaction. Another match that seems more like something you'd get on a random episode of TV than on a pay-per-view, but, to be fair, this was only the WWE's second pay-per-view so there's really no template yet for what these sorts of events should be. (1/5)

The Uniondale main event is next as Roddy Piper takes on Mr. T in a Boxing Match. This show is loaded with celebrities and this match may have the most of any - Cab Calloway is there, "Smokin'" Joe Frazier is one of T's cornermen, Daryl Dawkins is around, Joan Rivers is doing the announcing, and Herb (who I had to read about because his Burger King commercial appearances happened when I was a toddler) also makes an appearance for some reason. Oh, and J. Gordon Liddy is there too - which is crazy to think about just because its hard to imagine why a guy who had orchestrated a massive crime that shook the foundation of the country (borderline treason) became an 80s celebrity. Then again, Gennifer Flowers showed up on a future WrestleMania too and obviously Trump is in the WWE Hall of Fame too. Anyway, onto the action...I'm not sure how much of this match was planned or rehearsed or whatever because, ultimately, its pretty boring. They do a good job of making it unclear whether things are overtly "worked" or not - there are some rough-looking body shots and both guys go for haymakers but there is also a sense that they're not going "full bore" with any of their punches or actively trying to win. They're either two very good fake boxers or two very bad real boxers and it doesn't really matter which. I've never read a definitive story about the fight but supposedly Piper was pissed off that Mr. T missed what was supposed to be "the big punch" and had to sell a whiff by falling outside of the ring, but I didn't necessarily catch that and most viewers probably wouldn't have either. Piper's character work was terrific throughout the match, though - like Savage earlier on the show, Piper was so good and so larger-than-life and so hateable that he was able to turn a shitty scenario into something that was at least tolerable. I wish they would've actually "overbooked" this match a bit more instead of trying to present it as legitimate as they did, especially with the BS ending that saw Piper get disqualified by bodyslamming Mr. T despite the bout being fairly even. It would've made much more sense of Piper was clearly losing the fight, but he wasn't. Dave Meltzer famously gave this match -5 stars but this isn't even the worst match on the show, let alone one of the worst matches of all time. (1.5/5)

With the New York portion ended, we go to the Rosemont Horizon in suburban Chicago for the next few matches, kicking off with The Fabulous Moolah defending her WWE Women's Championship against Velvet McIntyre. I had no idea that McIntyre was so tall. A year earlier, WrestleMania had featured Wendi Richter regaining the title, but as she saw her star rise and wanted to actually get paid decent money, Vince and Moolah orchestrated what is now known as "The Original Screwjob" to get the title off of her in November 1984. Anyway, this is a total squash that doesn't seem to benefit anyway. I'm not sure if Moolah was supposed to be a babyface, but the crowd boos her. Velvet McIntyre actually looks like she could move and perform while Moolah was already 62 fucking years old. I guess I should award this match a point for going less than 3 minutes, but this is objectively terrible and McIntyre, even from the brief glimpse of her talent we get here, certainly seems like a much more capable wrestler that should've won. (1/5)

Another shit match follows as Nikolai Volkoff takes on Corporal Kirchner. Kirchner had an impressive look and natural charisma as he looked like a legitimate psycho. I've not seen a ton of Volkoff's matches but I've seen enough to know that he was not my cup of tea. Like the match that preceded it, this one only lasts a few minutes. The finish is also insanely stupid as Freddie Blassie basically tosses Kirchner his cane when Volkoff isn't in any position to catch it and Kirchner levels Volkoff with it to get the win. The crowd loved it because anti-Russian sentiment was still a thing in 1985 but this was bad. (0.5/5)

Dick Butkus, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and the "Where's The Beef?" Lady are all introduced prior to the next match - a 20-man Battle Royale featuring a ton of WWE superstars and a handful of NFL players. William "Refrigerator" Perry is the most recognizable name to me, but I'm not an NFL superfan. Ted Arcidi is in the match and I'm not sure I've ever seen a guy more ripped - and I doubt it was natural. Supposedly, he was the first man to bench press over 700 pounds, which is just insane. The big story in the match, though, seems to revolve around "Big" John Studd and his disrespect for the NFL players invading his turf, specifically NFL player Bill Fralic. Like most battle royals, especially back in the 80s and 90s, there's not a ton of good wrestling here but its fun to see all the stars and future stars in the ring - Andre the Giant is there, Haku is around, Pedro Morales and Bruno Sammartino are involved but not made to look particularly strong, and you've got both the Bees and the Hart Foundation in there too. I liked the showdown between Studd and Perry, though I would say that seeing "Big" John Studd going toe-to-toe with 6'5'' Fralic earlier in the broadcast made it clear that Studd was probably not the 6'10'' giant he was advertised as. Andre gets the victory after press-slamming Hart onto Neidhart to pop the crowd. (2/5)

Chicago's main event - and the first match to actually feature a real, genuine story and quality back-and-forth action - is next as The Dream Team of Brutus Beefcake and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The British Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were managed by Captain Lou Albano at this time, but Ozzy Osbourne is also at ringside for them. I remember reading, years ago, that Beefcake was supposed to be a stereotypical gay character, but I really didn't understand until I learned he was originally billed from San Francisco and gave deeper thought to his ring name. Compared to Adrian Adonis, who would appear later on this show, it wasn't nearly as overt and I'm not sure why a male stripper (which was also a part of his gimmick) would necessarily be gay. Regardless, this is the best match of the card up till this point by a wide margin. I've not been too kind to Greg Valentine in this blog, often calling his matches boring and his work a bit too methodical for my liking (aside from the Dog Collar Match against Piper at Starrcade 83', the vast majority of Valentine's matches that I've rated fell at average or below), but I may have to revise my opinion a bit and give some credit to him as a tag worker. In this context, his aggressive style and psychology are much better. Davey Boy and Dynamite were a great team and while Dynamite is considered the better work, Davey Boy might have looked even better in this contest. Beefcake is the weak link but because Valentine works the majority of the match for his team, its not like his few minutes spoil anything. Meltzer gave this 4-stars, which I think even he would probably take back now on re-watch, but, to be fair, this match was also light years beyond everything that came before it on this show and in most WWE broadcasts. Within a couple years, this wouldn't have been all that special, but for 1986? Sure, I can see this being considered something special. Its also worth noting that this match features a handful of spots that I would've been positive hadn't really been "invented" by this point, but lo and behold, here they are busting out some stuff that I figured wouldn't come into vogue for another few years (like the shoulder block into the post transition). (3.5/5)

Off to LA we go for the next portion of the show. Unlike the lively Chicago and Uniondale crowds, LA seems a little quiet and less crowded (at least for their opening contest). Elvira has joined the commentary booth and, of the three female guest commentators on this show, she's the best of the bunch just because she is paired with Ventura and the two have good chemistry (even if the sexual innuendos get to be a bit much). Ricky Steamboat takes on Hercules Hernandez in the next match and they make the most out of their 7-and-a-half minutes. I think the brilliance here is that Steamboat was such a great, smooth, and sympathetic worker and Hercules Hernandez did the "little things" right for a big man, especially at this point in his career (he'd move much slower and come off as much less passionate and driven in his later years). They keep things simple and straightforward and it pays off because the crowd is with them from beginning to end and the match never gets boring. One of the better matches on the card thus far. (2.5/5)

"Adorable" Adrian Adonis vs. Uncle Elmer followed. Uncle Elmer had a respectable career prior to joining the WWE in 1985. He also won Worst Wrestler of the Year that year from The Observer. This match goes 3 minutes, which is about all these two can muster. This wasn't good, but it wasn't long enough to be torturous and Adonis, despite his weight gain, could still move decently in the ring at this point. (1.5/5)

A tag team match pitting "Hoss" Funk and Terry Funk vs. The Junkyard Dog and Tito Santana is next. "Hoss" is Dory Funk Jr., by the way. This is a terrific little match, mostly because of just how stinkin' good Terry Funk is. He brings an edge to this match that exists nowhere else on the card and, though I'd have to fact-check it, I wondered if the table bump he takes (which the cameraman misses most of) was the first of its kind on WWE broadcast. I was shocked to read that this match is only hovering in the average range on Cagematch because this match is a ton of fun, doesn't overstay its welcome, and because its a tag match, you also get JYD shining in a way that sometimes he struggled to do in longer singles matches. The crowd was hot for this and, again, you really can't downplay Terry Funk's performance here as he is just bumping and selling like a madman while still getting his own offense over as fierce. Borderline "must see" but not quite there because, in some ways, this is a one-man show where everyone else is just alright (though, being "alright" probably makes this one of the best Junkyard Dog matches in his entire WWE run). (3.5/5)

Main event time - Hulk Hogan defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the man who injured his ribs, King Kong Bundy, in a steel cage match. I'm a sucker for Hogan's main events despite their predictability, but this is still a tough match to defend. Unlike his bout against Andre the following year, which was a tremendous spectacle, or his highly entertaining clashes with Savage and Warrior at WrestleManias V and VI, this is a house show main event promoted as something bigger and greater than it ever could be. Bobby Heenan adds a little, but not nearly enough, to a very basic match. Some credit should be given for Bundy getting some "color" to add credibility to the steel cage gimmick, something the WWE no longer does. This isn't a terrible match - just simple, straight-forward, and inoffensive. What helps is that the crowd was into it, Ventura is on commentary, and they stick to a formula without trying to add too much unnecessary drama or going overlong. (2.5/5)

 

Justifiably considered among the worst WrestleManias of all time, its impossible to recommend this to anyone but a WWE completist. The two tag matches are good and shine even brighter when compared to the rest of the matches on the card, but there are countless better matches involving the Bulldogs and the Funks, both in tag action and in singles. The main event isn't as awful as most say, but the Mr. T/Piper fight is underwhelming considering the star power and Piper's reputation as one of the best sports-entertainers of any era. With a Kwang Score of 1.88-out-of-5, this show actually beats out WrestleMania IV, though I wouldn't want to sit through either ever again.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

ECW Guilty As Charged 2001

ECW Guilty As Charged 2001

January 2001 - New York City, NY

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the ECW World Champion was Steve Corino, the ECW Television Champion was Rhyno, and the ECW World Tag Team Champion was Danny Doring and Roadkill.

The final ECW pay-per-view (at least, of its original incarnation) starts off with a video package highlighting the events of the previous show before cutting to the ring where Joey Styles and Joel Gertner welcome the audience. Gertner's X-rated monologue is as filthy as anything he'd ever said before as hype man for the Dudleys. 

Our opening contest is set to be Jerry Lynn and Cyrus vs. Joey Matthews and Christian York, however, Da Baldies show up and take out the babyfaces before the bell even rings, beating them up all over the ring. I'm not a big fan of Da Baldies, but they actually looked decent laying down the punishment without having to also include awful weapon spots. Could it be that these guys actually knew how to wrestle and were wasted in garbage brawls? Maybe? I was unaware that Jerry Lynn had turned heel in the month between this show and the previous one so its a bit jarring to see him as a villain all of a sudden. Cyrus ends up getting the pin and Lynn cuts a promo, calling himself "The Whole F'n Show" to mock Rob Van Dam, who he says is not in NYC tonight. We'll see about that....This was more of an angle than a match so its near impossible to rate as anything other than just your average segment, but I'm just not going to factor it into the score.

We get another video package (the typical pre-PPV music video) before heading back to the ring for our ECW World Tag Team Championship match - Danny Doring and Roadkill defending the gold against EZ Money and Julio Dinero of Confederate Currency. Doring and Roadkill were a good tag team, but this wasn't their best outing. Roadkill was super over with the ECW crowd by this point and they love seeing him perform his signature spots - the Amish Bomb and the flying double clothesline off the ropes. When people talk about a "What If...?" scenario regarding what could've happened if WCW stayed in business (but ECW closed), I could see Doring and Roadkill taking their act to WCW and, with the right booking, continuing to be quietly one of the best tag teams of their time. Its crazy to see EZ Money doing a Buckshot Lariat (Nova would also perform something close to one later on) when I must admit to being unfamiliar to the move prior to watching Hangman Page perform it in AEW. Nothing really special about this match, but it was fine for what it was. (2.5/5)

As is often the case during the early goings of an ECW event, this match segues into Nova vs. Chris Hamrick. Nova is sporting a new look and wrestling with much more intensity than ever before, but I don't really buy it. He's still Nova. Styles tries to put him over as a big badass on commentary, but I would've preferred if he had stuck to hyping Nova as the guy who innovates new moves and can bust out things that his opponents have never seen before. Cyrus describes Hamrick as a high-flyer and while he does have a nifty flying legdrop and some good speed for a guy his size, I'd consider him more of an "all-arounder." After a good back-and-forth bout, things get super overbooked as Chris Chetti shows up in a ref's shirt to screw over Nova. Lou E. Dangerously also shows up, which then causes Spike Dudley to show up as the equalizer. This leads to Nova getting the upperhand and hitting Hamrick with the Kryptonite Krunch to get the pinfall (counted by Spike Dudley). Its classic ECW for just about anyone to be able to make a count at any time and for matches to end and then re-start and for there to be a ton of interference...but it doesn't make it good. The company seemed to want to push Nova, so why not just give him the clean victory? Its hard to get behind Nova as a potential main event level babyface when he's unable to get clean victories over midcard guys like Hamrick. (2/5)

In a rematch from the previous show, Tommy Dreamer took on CW Anderson in an "I Quit" match next. I really enjoyed the match they had at Massacre on 34th Street, even calling it one of the best of Dreamer's career (if I'm not mistaken). This match doesn't quite reach the same level, but it is very good as Dreamer puts a hell of a beating on Anderson and Anderson bumps and sells like mad. I didn't love the inclusion of the Towel Boy and the goofy use of holiday presents (striking someone with a tin foil baking sheet is lame), but I loved the use of chairs by Dreamer. Dreamer eventually gets the win by hitting CW with a Death Valley Driver off the top rope through a table and then choking him out with the plastic part of the table. They shake hands after the match, which feels deserved in this case because both guys had gone through a hell of a match. Like Steve Corino, CW Anderson never really got a fair shot in any major wrestling promotion after the fall of ECW but was clearly among the best workers in the company at the end. While I wouldn't call this "essential viewing," it is still quite good and worth checking out if you're at all a fan of ECW. (3.5/5)

There's a backstage segment involving Francine, Corino, Jack Victory, Justin Credible, and, in a bit of a shocker - at least to me - Missy Hyatt. I liked that Hyatt and Jack Victory had a brief run-in together, a reference to the fact that they used to work together in NWA/WCW. ECW was ahead-of-the-curve on many things, including referencing former friendships and alliances from other promotions way before AEW made it one of their signatures. 

Back to the ring we go for a 3-way Tag Team match pitting The FBI vs. Tajiri and Whipwreck vs. Kid Kash and Super Crazy. With these six guys involved, you knew this was just going to be a huge spotfest and it did not disappoint in that regard. This is the type of match that wrestlers would emulate for years to come with lots of cool double team maneuvers and "stereo" submissions and great high-flying from Kash and Crazy. This is just pure fun and lets everyone involved get a chance to shine. Kash and Crazy are the first team eliminated, which makes some sense because as good as they were at performing their signature spots, the other two teams were just that much better. It really is a shame that none of these teams would get utilized in the WWE moving forward because the WWE could've had a hell of a tag team division in the years that followed with these guys and Doring & Roadkill too. A really fun match but not necessarily something I'd consider "must-see." (3/5)

Before the main event we get a promo from The Sandman and then, in the ring, a segment involving Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, and Dawn Marie. Swinger basically fires Dawn Marie and then brings out his new managerial team - The Blue Meanie and his real-life girlfriend, porn star Jasmin St. Clair. Balls Mahoney and Chilly Willy show up and it looks like we're going to get an impromptu tag match but Rhyno shows up and basically takes everyone out, including Dawn Marie (who gets gored) and Jasmin St. Clair, who takes a piledriver from the second rope. Overall, not a great segment, but damn, Rhyno came out of this looking like an absolute monster - or Man Beast? - and that's enough for me to give this a point. (+1)

Main event time - Steve Corino vs. The Sandman vs. Justin Credible in a Ladder Match for Corino's ECW World Championship. This is a violent and crazy match, as expected, with lots of nasty ladder spots. I'm not sure this match was designed to be as crazy as it was, but the ladders looked super flimsy and some of them were destroyed during the course of the match to the point that one had to wonder if they had to call an audible at times to deliver the planned spots. I liked how wild this was but didn't think the finish delivered what it needed to as Corino and Credible basically took themselves out of the match and allowed The Sandman to win in relatively unimpressive fashion. All three men took a ton of punishment and worked hard, but a better finish would've went a long way. (2/5)

From here, the show devolves into more chaos as Da Baldiez show up and start brawling with Corino and Credible. I'm not sure why Cyrus would be going after these two, but whatever. Rhyno shows up, berates the crowd, and then challenges The Sandman to an impromptu World Championship match, threatening The Sandman's family. 

Rhyno vs. The Sandman in an impromptu title match occurs and The Sandman gets a bit of protection as he kicks out of a gore through a table and then also a piledriver through a table before getting the 3-count after a second piledriver. Its hard to rate something like this because its more of an angle than a match so I'll just call it "average." It certainly wouldn't have been better if The Sandman and Rhyno had actually gone longer and Rhyno did come out of this all looking like a great monster heel. (2.5/5)

Rhyno and Cyrus celebrate in the ring and challenge anyone in the back to come out - which leads to the return of Rob Van Dam, who gets a massive pop. RVD was so over with this crowd - and probably with any and every ECW fan at the time - that it is reasonable to say that he probably could've supported the company on his back for a stretch if there was actually an avenue by which ECW could've survived. Sadly, that just wasn't the case. 

Van Dam gets in Rhyno's face but before their showdown can become an actual match, Jerry Lynn attacks and now its Van Dam vs. Lynn. These two had done battle countless times before and gone longer, but I must say, I liked the dynamic of this match better than any of their other encounters. Lynn was the heel and Van Dam was finally the face that fans were "allowed" to cheer whole-heartedly. This match goes a bit long, but the wrestling is intense and Rob Van Dam looks particularly energized and impressive. While this is definitely the "RVD show," Lynn gets in a sunset flip powerbomb into a chair and one of his trademark DDTs and I was momentarily wondering if maybe he might somehow get the upset win - not a small feat. Joel Gertner eventually shows up to prevent Cyrus from interfering and the match ends with an absolutely devastating Van Terminator. This match has its defenders and its critics and I'd tend to side with the former. While RVD and Lynn had some amazing matches in 99', Rob Van Dam was a much bigger star by 2001 - clearly ECW's most popular babyface - and Jerry Lynn now being in the heel role gave this match a much better dynamic as Van Dam's showboating and playing to the crowd added to the match instead of detracting from it. (3.5/5)

As a final ECW event, Guilty As Charged 2001 - and its 2.86-out-of-5 Kwang Score - isn't a great final chapter (for starters, it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger as Rhyno is new ECW World Champion, but won it under controversial conditions and then was saved from having to defend it against Rob Van Dam), but I could see the argument that the show's warts-and-all approach and ridiculously overbooked and convoluted final 40 minutes is exactly how ECW should end. But taking away the historical significance of this show, its important to note that there are actually some great matches here - RVD/Lynn is great fun, the tag triple threat is very good, and the Dreamer/CW Anderson "I Quit" match has been rightfully called the company's best final hardcore offering. 

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

NWA TNA: Destination X 2007

TNA Destination X 2007

March 2007 - Orlando, FL

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was Christian, the X-Division Champion was Chris Sabin, and the NWA World Tag Team Champions were LAX, Hernandez and Homicide.

Destination X starts off - like the previous pay-per-view (uh-oh) - with LAX taking on Team 3-D in a non-title "ghetto" street fight. I disliked their match from the last show and this was only a slight improvement. Much of that credit would go to "SuperMex" Hernandez, who delivers an awesome dive early on, and holds his own during the extended crowd brawls and the various false finishes towards the end of the match. I'd be curious to hear what Bubba and Devon would say about their work during this stretch; I don't think they were particularly motivated or inspired or eager to do anything but rest on their laurels and do garbage brawling. Neither guy was in "career shape" either, both basically sleepwalking through 80% of this. Johnny Rodz shows up and seeing a 65 year old man - who was also essentially a jobber during his WWWF/WWF heyday decades earlier - take out a whole crew of masked wrestlers is just too ridiculous. However, things do get noticeably better when Devon's brothers (not sure if that was in kayfabe or not) show up to even the odds and we get a whole bunch of wildness, including a top rope splash from Bubba that gets a huge pop and a series of good near falls. But, a good 5-6 minutes of a 15-minute match is still just only 1/3rd good. Then again, that's still better than their last match, plus anytime Alex Shelley is involved in something, it tends to be more watchable. (2.5/5)

This is followed by a Double Bullrope match pitting Jacqueline Moore and "Cowboy" James Storm against Petey Williams and Gail Kim. Chris Harris returned at the last pay-per-view so one would expect him to be involved here, but no, this is pretty straight-up. Kim spends most of the match punishing Moore on the outside of the ring which allows the in-ring action to be fought mostly between Storm and Williams. While this does make for better action, it also makes this much more straight-forward and arguably less creative than it could've been. For example, while I'm not usually a fan of male/female violence - especially when it is unearned - a little bit more interaction between Kim and Storm or Williams and Moore before the finish might've added some heat and made this feel "bigger." (1.5/5)

A Crossface Chicken Wing match between Austin (Aries) Starr and Senshi (Low Ki) followed. When Senshi first came to TNA, he was treated as a serious threat in the X-Division and a badass, but by this point, his stock had clearly fallen - I'm guessing because of his backstage attitude and ego. Going back and forth with Starr doesn't make Senshi look like a killer, which basically destroys his gimmick (and may explain why Senshi/Low Ki might've had a point when it came to believing he deserved better). This is a fine match but really nothing special and it doesn't effectively get either guy over. In a sense, its move for moves sake and too even and there's nothing particularly interesting about the way these characters bounce off eachother because Senshi is maybe too serious and Starr isn't silly enough. The inclusion of Bob Backlund also makes the whole thing read as undercard fodder. Again, the wrestling itself is undeniably crisp and full of sequences and maneuvers that were ahead of their time...but to what end? (2/5)

After some backstage stuff with AJ and Christy Hemme and whoever else, its time for the Voodoo Kin Mafia (aka the New Age Outlaws) to take on Hemme's mystery team...The Heartbreakers (Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli). This could've been good, but they decided against it. The Heartbreakers were not an established team (as far as I remember), but a strong showing here would've put them on the map. They're not a great team or anything, but neither were the Outlaws, whose act was incredibly tired at this point and has aged like mayonnaise in the sun in the years since. Thomas and Roselli were WWE rejects, but they're not horrible in the ring and maybe could've amounted to something if they'd been given an opportunity to do more than just job out to two guys that were still doing shtick from 10 years earlier. There's an awful "athletic cup" spot with Christy that is cringey and Lance Hoyt shows up for what should be a heel turn but surprisingly isn't. Not worthy of pay-per-view and barely worthy of TV. A 9-minute match that feels at least 3-4 minutes too long. (1/5)

In yet another rematch from Against All Odds, Jerry Lynn challenged Chris Sabin for the X-Division Championship in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match. This was the third rematch on the show and it wouldn't be the last. On one hand, long-term storylines and feuds with multiple chapters can be great, but I'm just not sure this feud had the legs it needed to carry on for months and months (Lynn and Sabin had also wrestled in a 3-way with Christopher Daniels at Final Resolution 2 months earlier). There were some very good spots in this match - Jerry Lynn's crossbody into the crowd was excellent, some of Sabin's signature offense - but I'm not a fan of Sabin's unnatural overacting cocky heel gimmick and Jerry Lynn, while a terrific wrestler, has never been someone I've connected with as a performer. The run-in ending doesn't make things any better as Christopher Daniels returns in a Sting mask, costs Lynn the match, and then takes out Sabin too. (2/5)

Our forth rematch is next as AJ Styles takes on Rhino in an Elevation X match (a scaffold match for fans of ol' school NWA). Scaffold matches are always a risky endeavor, not just for the talent involved but for the viewer. There's simply not that much can be done 30 feet in the air on a narrow strip of scaffolding that wouldn't result in someone potentially crippling themselves. And so, matches like these tend to be judged primarily on the heat from the crowd and the eventual finish because the actual action tends to be a bit slow and lackluster. This match benefitted from featuring AJ Styles, who was among the best high-flyers in the sport at the time, and Rhino, whose huge size and style made seeing him on top of a scaffold a sight to behold. The crowd was also very into this - its not every day you see a match like this and the audience treated it with respect, gasping at some of the teases that Styles and Rhino threw at them. I really liked AJ Styles' heel work here as he spit in Rhino's face and hit under the scaffold at one point, basically needling the Man Beast into losing his concentration and potentially falling to certain injury. AJ busts out the baby powder to try to blind Rhino, but ends up getting it thrown into his own face. I wish they would've done a wild spot here of a blinded AJ basically stumbling his way off the scaffold - which, again, could've meant paralysis but maybe AJ could've found a way to make it look good while still taking something of a protected bump? - but instead we see Rhino hit an underwhelming Gore and AJ, after hanging over the ring for a minute, eventually dropping to the ring. Again, a match like this has to be judged on its finish, which wasn't very memorable. Fine for what it was, but nothing worth seeking out. (2/5)

Next up - something of a dream match as Kurt Angle took on Scott Steiner. Both guys had respectable, legitimate wrestling backgrounds so I was expected to see some amateur-style wrestling to start things off even if the real story of the feud coming in was that Steiner felt slighted by Angle coming in and landing a bigger contract than him. Instead, this is wrestled a bit more conventionally - sure, there's loads of suplexes and Steiner gets in his signature taunts, but there are also noticeable gaffes (including a back suplex from Steiner that looks like it could've crippled the Gold Medalist). The finish is an absolute disaster, though, as Steiner and Angle end up in the corner for what looked like it was going to be a sunset flip powerbomb spot only for Angle to do the sunset flip, Steiner opting not to take the bump, but then falling back for a very weak-looking pin. I'm curious if they botched what was meant to somehow be a Frankensteiner? Or if Steiner just decided he didn't wan to take the sunset flip-powerbomb? I usually love when matches end with a move other than a finish because I dig the unpredictability, but this was ugly and the audience chanted "That Was Weak" to let it be known after the match. (2/5)

The crowd is not much kinder to the next match either as Sting takes on Abyss in a Last Rites match (the cheesiest version of a casket match possible). Despite Sting and Abyss having a physical match and Sting bleeding a gusher from a candlestick shot, the crowd abhors the lame "lowering of the casket" moment and chants "Fire Russo" instead of paying respect to the performers (there was also a "Boring" chant which is ridiculous; this match may have been bad, but it wasn't boring). The phony tombstones are a bad prop and the use of dry ice and changing the lighting of the match is not my cup of tea - not here, not for Bray Wyatt, not for Sin Cara, not really for anyone - but there's been so, so, so much worse over the years that I didn't find this all that offensive. I dug the chokeslam on the closed casket and, at one point, Sting took one of the phony tombstones and placed it on Abyss' head and bashed it with a bat, which was a cool visual. With a better finish, something actually hardcore and not involving the foam tombstones, I would have no problem calling this at least average and maybe even above it just for the effort, but for what it was, this was a weird mix of goofy and gory. (2/5)

Main event time - Samoa Joe challenging Christian for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This match had real "Big Fight Feel" as it was established that Christian would be going it alone (plus Samoa Joe got a special entrance featuring fire dancers). I'm a bit of a mark for both of these guys so I was into this one from beginning to end. Even admitting that, I don't see how anyone wouldn't call this the clear Match of the Night. While the finish was a bit overbooked with X-Division guys showing up to support Joe, a ref bump, a chair shot, a low blow, and then Christian winning with his feet on the rope, the back-and-forth between these two was very good and the crowd was more alive for this than any other match of the night, including the scaffold match. Its crazy to say this but I think these two could probably work an even better match now in 2024 - though it probably wouldn't be as physical. Joe is terrific as the clear should-be winner who controls much of the match and seems to have the champion beat at multiple points while Christian is equally brilliant at playing the crafty heel who uses every trick in the book to hold onto his title (without relying on Tomko or Steiner or AJ to help him). I must admit to biting on a few of the false finishes as I wasn't 100% sure who won this match (having not followed TNA very closely at any time but knowing that, at some point, Joe would eventually win the big one). As much as I enjoyed this match, I'm not sure it necessarily hits the "must watch" level, but it was close. (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.06-out-of-5, this is a sub-average show with only one match (the main event) that is worth checking out if you're a fan of TNA or of the wrestlers involved. The opener is decent but inessential and everything else is "mid" at best. The Voodoo Kin Mafia/Heartthrobs match would've been fast-forward material on a bad episode of Impact and the scaffold match is underwhelming. I could see some people digging Sting/Abyss just for the lunacy of it, but the crowd shits on most of it which kinda kills the fun. 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

November 2023 - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion was Roman Reigns, the World Heavyweight Champion was Seth Rollins, the Intercontinental Champion was GUNTHER, the United States Champion was Rey Mysterio, the Judgment Day held the RAW and the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, the RAW Women's Champion was Rhea Ripley, the SmackDown Women's Champion was IYO Sky, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Piper Niven and Chelsea Green. 

Seth Rollins defended his World Heavyweight Championship in the opening contest against Drew McIntyre. As Michael Cole noted on commentary, McIntyre has been in a bit of a 3-year rut, failing to win any major singles championship since his run as the WWE Champion during the pandemic of 2019-2020. According to rumor, part of the reason is because, during that time, McIntyre has been wishy-washy about signing a long-term contract, though I think the real reason is much simpler: Roman Reigns has had the most dominant run of any major superstar since Hulk Hogan, leaving little to no room for anyone else to really "break out" as a top, top guy. Regardless, this match was good but the result was never really in question and there was no face/heel dynamic to play off of. Some good nearfalls in the last third as Seth Rollins sold his damaged back but still managed to get the 100% clean victory. Where does McIntyre go from here? At this point, I expect him to turn heel but have zero interest in him joining the Judgment Day, which already has two fairly established heavy hitters in Balor and Damien Priest. Speaking of Priest, his post-match cash-in attempt got thwarted by Sami Zayn, a guy I would love to see get a more serious push going into the Rumble and WrestleMania. (3/5)

A Fatal Five-way for Rhea Ripley's RAW Women's Championship was next as she defended the gold against Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Zoey Stark. Like the opener, this wasn't bad, just not very suspenseful as Ripley was all-but-guaranteed to come out victorious. While Ripley is a heel, she was the most over act in the match by a country mile. Baszler has no momentum after the lackluster match with Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam in August and Rodriguez doesn't either after her failed attempt to beat Ripley months back. I can understand not wanting to "burn" a Ripley/Nia Jax one-on-one...but if that is the big match looming on the horizon, Jax should've had more of a spotlight. There were some cool moments with Baszler busting out a number of crafty submissions, but her overall credibility remains an issue compared to how dominant she came across in NXT years ago. (2.5/5)

The next match was arguably the least predictable of the evening as John Cena, who has somehow been winless in (I assume) televised singles match over the past 5 years, took on Solo Sikoa. On one hand, the fact that Cena was coming into this match on such a huge losing streak meant that he was "due" a victory. At the same time, however, the WWE is clearly building up Sikoa as a formidable monster and a victory over Cena would only solidify that. They told a simple-but-effective story from the start to the finish with Cena using his experience and craftiness to control the early going before Sikoa's power started wreaking havoc on Cena's strategy. I liked how they built the match around Sikoa's lethal Samoan Spike with Cena coming up with counter-after-counter until he finally got caught with a wild desperation spike in the final minutes. I was less enamored with Cena continuing to apply the sloppiest, loosest STF possible, but hey, that kinda goes with the territory these days. I would've liked to hear Cole and Barrett play up the fact that Cena was taken to his limit many years ago by Sikoa's uncle Umaga and that, 20 years ago, Cena even faced Solo's old man (Rikishi) on an episode of SmackDown. They don't seem to be hiding the fact that Cena is in the sunset of his career - in fact, Cena's age and deterioration was a key theme of the story - but didn't necessarily connect the dots with how much of a witness Solo has been to Cena's success, a run that saw him come out on top, again and again, against The Bloodline until Roman Reigns usurped him. I'm wondering if we get a rematch at WrestleMania, which would make sense to me. This wasn't a Match of the Year candidate or anything, but it was good for what it was and showed that even if Cena has lost a step in terms of speed and athleticism, he can still deliver in the story and character department as good as anyone. (3/5)

This segment was followed by The Miz bringing out a guy that looked like the Saudi Arabian version of Kevin James. They were interrupted by Grayson Waller. Whatever. This show was filled with propaganda for Saudi Arabia, its airline, and its various "entertainment spots." They forgot to mention that using marijuana will land you in prison and that alcohol consumption is strictly prohibited. The WWE is also opening a museum there - which I'm sure dozens and dozens of tourists from around the world will flock to. 

The match of the night followed as Rey Mysterio Jr. defended his United States Championship against Logan Paul. Mysterio is arguably among the top 10 babyfaces of all time and while he may not have all the speed and agility he had 20+ years ago, he still gets more mileage out of doing the simple stuff than many wrestlers can do today doing maneuvers that are way more complicated and risky. Mysterio is also a guy that has a real knack for elevating the talent he works with - I mean, how many guys have had their career-best match against Mysterio? Psicosis is an easy pick, but I'd also include Dean Malenko, Kane, Chavo Guerrero, maybe even Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and Dolph Ziggler too. And so Logan Paul may have had his easiest match yet - he wasn't just in there against an absolute pro, he was working against a guy whose specialty is making others, even guys with sizable gaps in their game, look incredible. Paul brought the goods, though - while he may not have taken as many high risks as he has done in the past, his mannerisms and aggressiveness remained. For the first time (maybe ever?), Paul got to show off his strength. I really wish they had kept the interference to a minimum in the other matches on this show as it took away from Escobar's involvement and the eventual finish, which saw Logan once again come away with the victory due to outside involvement and a pair of brass knucks. (3.5/5)

Back to the ring we go for the next contest - IYO Sky challenging Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Sky and Bianca have excellent chemistry but this match was met with mostly crickets. Belair's high energy and Sky's expert timing and execution were basically wasted on this crowd. In front of the right audience, this might have even been a "match of the night" candidate but there just wasn't enough energy to feed off of and the biggest spots of the match all fell a little flat. Given over 15 minutes, these two told a good back-and-forth story and I really liked the execution of the swerve in the finish as Kairi Sane made her return to the company by attacking Belair on the outside. Again, in front of a more invested audience - hey, maybe even one that actually views women as not being lesser - I think this would've felt special, the way their Backlash match really left an impression due to the passion of the crowd. (3/5)

Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Priest followed. This felt like a RAW main event or a house show match - not necessarily a bad thing, just missing a raison d'etre. Also, had Priest successfully cashed in earlier in the night, would that have made this a World Championship match? I've complained about other matches having fairly predictable outcomes, but will give them some credit here as I wasn't 100% sure how this would turn out. My money was on Cody just because Cody has been on a big roll as of late, especially on Premium Live Events. At the same time, Judgment Day has also had a ton of success and really needs victories to maintain their credibility, no different than Roman Reigns and the Bloodline. Plus, Cody is over enough that a loss here wouldn't have damaged him, especially if it came from outside interference. Rhodes and Priest had a good physical match, but not a very lengthy one; it seemed like this was put on the card to appease the audience by giving them a Cody appearance rather than to progress any storyline. The live crowd was more into this than the previous bout, but, at home, I wasn't nearly as enthralled. Ultimately, this match needed some sort of stakes to keep me captivated and the interference of Judgment Day and then Jey Uso felt by-the-numbers. Not bad and maybe even slightly above-average in terms of what was actually done between the bells, but ultimately, forgettable and meaningless. (2.5/5)

Main event time - LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The question here wasn't whether LA Knight would do the impossible - it was whether he'd be able to leave a strong enough impression to become a true "main event" level guy. Nobody can say that Reigns didn't allow Knight to look strong here, but this match suffered from not only a predictable end but an overreliance on what have become tropes of his entire reign. First, there was some involvement from Heyman on the outside, then it was Solo Sikoa making an appearance, and then, like clockwork, Jimmy Uso showed up too. Knight got to kick out of a Spear and nearly get the victory with his finishing move, but aside from what will likely be a feud with Logan Paul (which I predict will not be nearly as good as some might think and result in a very average match), I also just don't see LA Knight as having some big main event run in his future as long as Reigns is still around. Speaking of Reigns, he'd feel more dominant if they peppered in some more dominant wins during this reign. It was nice of him to "give" so much to LA Knight, but we're supposed to see Reigns as this unbeatable monster now and I'm not sure LA Knight really deserved to get as close to winning as they presented here. Paint-by-numbers main event. (2.5/5)

Earning a Kwang Score of 2.86-out-of-5, the latest edition of "WWE Blood Money" was a disposable, forgettable show. While none of the matches were actively bad, there also wasn't too much that left any sort of impression. If there was supposed to be a star-making moment for LA Knight in the main event, I missed it. The opener looked like it might've led to some much-needed character development for Drew McIntyre, but no such thing took place. The Solo/Cena match was good-not-great and the same could be said of both Women's Championship matches. The match of the night was Logan Paul/Rey Mysterio, but I wouldn't call it "must see." All in all, a bit of a glorified house show that the most rabid, current WWE fans would find enjoyable, but inessential viewing for anyone else and hardly the best entry point for the lapsed viewer.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Elimination Chamber 2014

WWE Elimination Chamber 2014

February 2014 - Minneapolis, MN

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Randy Orton was the recognized WWE and World Heavyweight Champion, the Intercontinental Championship was held by Big E, the United States Champion was Dean Ambrose, the New Age Outlaws were somehow the WWE Tag Team Champions, and AJ Lee held the Divas Championship. 

Elimination Chamber 2014 starts off with a match that deserved a more enthusiastic crowd as Big E defends his Intercontinental Championship against Jack Swagger in a physical match with plenty of great spots (almost all from Big E), including an awesome leapfrog early on, a spear into the steps that looked nasty, and, later, the signature spear through the ropes and onto the floor. What hurts this match most is that Big E's character was not yet fully defined while Swagger was actually beginning to get face pops for his "We The People" bit despite being a heel. There's a brief spell when they lose the crowd, but the action is good throughout and I love that this match was given the time needed to feel like a hard-fought victory for Big E. (3/5)

Bad News Barrett makes an announcement about how "Mother Russia" had more gold medals in the Winter Olympics and then we get a promo out of Daniel Bryan backstage after a video package recaps the punishment he'd endured at the hands of Kane over the previous few weeks. 

Back in the ring, The New Age Outlaws defended their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Usos. The Outlaws get a good reaction for their pre-match promo (no surprise there), but really had no business being presented as a top team in 2014. Ironically, Billy Gunn is much more interesting and fun to watch now a decade later. Maybe its because working with The Acclaimed (and his sons) is fresh and this was stale out of the box? I'm also not going to lie - I find Road Dogg insufferable and didn't think he was particularly great back in the 90s either. The Usos, like Big E, would grow to become much better, fuller characters. At this point, they were indistinguishable and not yet even known for delivering great matches. There are audible "CM Punk" chants around minute 6-7. I'm guessing the Outlaws were brought back not only as part of the Authority angle but also as a way to capitalize on nostalgia in the lead-up to the unveiling of the WWE Network (which launched the day after this show), but they would've been better in small doses and them having the titles almost seems like an insult considering how solid the rest of the tag team division had become by 2014 (with not only the Usos climbing the ranks but Rollins and Reigns, The Rhodes Brothers, The Real Americans, and, if I'm not mistaken, Los Conquistadors (The Colons) all around). (1.5/5)

At ringside, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL review how to use the WWE Network. Riveting stuff. 

Darren Young took on Titus O'Neill in the next bout. The former tag partners had broken up on SmackDown a month earlier, bringing about a feud that I don't remember at all. I always thought O'Neill was a solid hot tag but that Young was about as bland as bland gets. An audible "We Want Lesnar" chant breaks out in the first minute, which tells you how into this match the crowd was. Neither of these guys are great wrestlers and, without someone else in the ring to really carry the match, both get exposed here. Young, the better all-arounder, is less awkward than his opponent, but he's also less charismatic and interesting. Titus, meanwhile, has presence and there are moments - like when he slaps the shit out of Young's chest while applying an abdominal stretch - when he is very impressive, but he looks less so the longer the match goes and the more he needs to sell. His athleticism is undeniable and I can see the reasoning behind letting these guys go out and have the most competitive match possible, but by having such an even match, nobody was really elevated here. (2/5)

"Bad News" Barrett cuts another promo antagonizing the fans. We then go to the night's panel - The Miz, Mark Henry, and Rey Mysterio. They give their predictions for the night's Elimination Chamber match with all three in agreement that we will see a new champion crowned because Randy Orton has been on a cold streak.

The Shield took on The Wyatt Family in the next match, a battle that has been widely hailed as one of the best matches the WWE has produced in the past 20 years. I'm not sure I'd go quite as high on it...but I do think the context of the match is a bit lost on me. Watching this a decade (or close it) later, much of the mystique has dissipated. Beside the fact that two-out-of-six of the participants suffered tragic deaths, something that is hard not to think about, there is still a lingering sense that this match - a match that was supposed to be the genesis of years and years of great storylines built around both teams - ends up being arguably the peak of the Wyatt Family and the beginning of the end for the Shield. Though I do think The Shield's war with Evolution yielded some unbelievably great matches (in fact, I actually prefer their match at Extreme Rules 2014 more than this), I was not a fan of any subsequent reunion or the various other feuds and matches they had with one another in the years that followed. But, even ignoring these things, its also hard to appreciate this match for how action-packed and exciting it was when, in the years that followed, the WWE would go on to have multiple outstanding multi-man matches and AEW's use of six-man tags would push things even further. This match has an undeniably awesome atmosphere, the work is uniformly great and there are multiple elements that stand out - Rollins getting double-chokeslammed through a table is a fantastic spot, there's some great powerhouse stuff from Roman and Rowan, Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose's character work - but I do think this match was a bit overrated at the time just because, compared to what else was on this card, it stood out as special. Had I reviewed it at the time, I might've gone a bit higher, but in 2023, I'm only going with 4 stars. (4/5)

AJ Lee was supposed to defend her WWE Divas Champion against Natalya (I think? I forget), but defended it against Cameron of the Funkadactyls instead. Classic WWE there as Cameron was the more "conventional" beauty (read: lighter skinned and less curvy) but was seemingly less driven and less athletic than her fellow Funkadactly, Naomi, who ended up being a Women's Champion and having a very well-received run in TNA/Impact Wrestling. Anyway, this is about what you'd expect for a sub-4 minute match featuring a relatively untrained challenger going up against AJ Lee, who was good for her era but certainly not an all-time great or anything, and probably not even in the top 50 of any era if we included international talent. Tamina Snuka, who looks only a hair more coordinated than Cameron. This would've been worse if it would've went longer, but the placement of this match on the show tells you all you need to know about how much confidence the WWE had in their women's division at this point. A point awarded for Cameron's charisma (she may not have been a mat technician, but she did exude a good babyface personality) and AJ doing what she does to the best of her ability. (1/5)

Next up - Batista's singles return against Alberto Del Rio. This was an absolute mess from start to finish. Batista had returned at the Royal Rumble but had been met with a much more lukewarm reaction than anticipated as the crowd was fully behind Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and simply didn't want anyone else as the top babyface of the company at the time, even John Cena. Meanwhile, Del Rio was a bit of a lukewarm heel at this point. He'd been thoroughly vanquished by Cena in two consecutive PPVs and his title reign prior to that was flat so he was coming into this zero momentum. To try to get heat, Del Rio comes out in a neck brace and a cast and Jerry Lawler and pretends to be injured so he can sneak attack Batista. Jerry Lawler notes on commentary that he did the same trick on Bret Hart years earlier. He means 20 years earlier and while it was goofy then, the WWE product was goofier in general and Bret Hart was a beloved babyface and Jerry Lawler was a despised heel. In 2014, the WWE's main event scene was way more serious and had been more serious for decades, Batista was not over as a babyface, and Del Rio was getting "go away heat" and clearly unmotivated. And so, watching Del Rio dominate Batista through treachery doesn't garner boos, it gets mildly cheered while a segment of the audience alternates between chanting "Bootista" and "CM Punk" (also "Y2J" at one point). When Batista does make his comeback, its not very riveting because of how predictable it all is (the big transition is Del Rio running his shoulder into the post, which was just about the most overused momentum-flipper in history in 2014 and is even moreso 10 years later). This match goes 7 minutes but feels like 14 when it should've gone maybe 3-4 and felt like 2. The shits. (0/5)

Main event time - Randy Orton defending his WWE Championship against John Cena, Cesaro, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, and Christian in the Elimination Chamber. Cesaro and Sheamus started things off, these two showing off their undeniable chemistry. I don't recall if it was later this year or the following year that they'd end up having a series of big matches against eachother...Anyway, Daniel Bryan comes in third and is clearly the fan favorite. Bryan is selling a shoulder injury caused by Kane but he still gets to show off his toughness, speed, and ridiculously stiff kicks. Again, the chemistry with both Sheamus and Cesaro is on full display and its a shame that Bryan's eventual WWE Championship run was cut short by injury because both guys would've made strong TV opponents for Bryan later in the spring/summer (it is believed by most that the plan was for Bryan to drop the title to Lesnar at SummerSlam). Christian comes in at four and, kinda like Sheamus, his role in this match seemed to be to serve as "the glue" more than actually getting much spotlight for himself (which seems reserved for Bryan and, to a lesser degree, Cesaro). Things really pick up when Cena comes in as its clear now that we're headed towards some eliminations...though its not clear who and how will be the first to eat a pin. The best spot of the match might be soon upon Orton's entrance, though, as the heel hides in his cell and mocks Sheamus until the Celtic Warrior hits a nasty Brogue Kick through the cell wall. Its not pretty, but that's kind of the point. With everyone in the ring, we got a whole bunch of cool cut-offs and exchanges, including Cesaro doing the Swing to Orton, Christian eliminating Sheamus with a frog splash only to get struck with Bryan's flying knee to finish him off, and Cesaro managing to lift Cena and Bryan at the same time for a suplex. After Cesaro was finally finished off (after an impressive 30+ minutes in the ring), it was down to three and we got our first controversial finish as the Wyatts showed up and beat up on Cena (and Bryan to a lesser degree). The live crowd loved this and it was a nice way to build towards the Wyatt/Cena match that would take place at WrestleMania XXX. With all the drama going on, Kane also ended up in the pod, though his involvement in the final minutes was a little bit less well-received. If I'm not mistaken, the conventional wisdom at the time was that Bryan would somehow leave the Chamber with the title - but that Orton, through a rematch clause, would then insert himself into the Mania event to make it a 3-way with Batista. There were also many, many people who just thought the WWE was going to keep Bryan out of the main event of Mania altogether - myself included at times. Kane screwing Bryan out of a victory here seemed to point in that direction (and potentially a Kane/Bryan match at Mania that absolutely nobody wanted to see), which may help explain why the crowd was so disappointed with this chapter of the story. All in all, this was one of the better PG-versions of an Elimination Chamber, especially up to this point, but I think it has been surpassed more recently as the WWE got better and better and the wrestlers pushed the envelope more and more. (3.5/5)

I wouldn't call this a "one-match show" as the main event has some great moments and the opener is strong, but Elimination Chamber 2014 is mostly remembered for the epic Shield/Wyatt match and, unfortunately for the WWE, two horrible booking decisions (the finish to the Chamber match and everything that went into Batista's return). The Cameron/AJ Lee match and the aforementioned Batista bout are among the worst matches the company had put on in the 2010s and the Titus/Young and Tag Titles matches aren't all that much better. With a Kwang Score of 2.14-out-of-5, but at least one match that is arguably one of the top 5 best WWE six-mans of all time, this earns a.

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

ECW Massacre on 34th Street

ECW Massacre on 34th Street

December 2000 - New York, NY

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the ECW World Champion was Steve Corino, the World Tag Team Champions were the FBI (Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke), and the ECW Television Champion was Rhyno. 

The show kicks off with your typical ECW stuff - a backstage promo from ECW World Champion Steve Corino and then an in-ring segment featuring Joey Styles and Joel Gertner - before we get a tag team match pitting Joey Matthews and Christian York against the heel tandem of Simon Diamond and Swinger. Before the match, Dawn Marie shows up and announces that she will agree to manage whoever wins the match. That was a nice way to give this match some extra "pep" and some stakes, even if it reeked of lazy sexist/misogynistic booking whereby we, the audience, are meant to believe that female managers are automatic sex partners for whoever they manage? Anyway, these teams have good chemistry, put in a ton of effort, keep the pace brisk, and deliver a bunch of great tag team maneuvers and high-impact moves. The match and the teams involved are a bit too irrelevant - even in the context of ECW in 2000 - for this to be considered "must see," but it is above-average and a hot match to start the show. After the match, Dawn Marie (shockingly) doesn't join up with the babyfaces, but aligns herself with the heels. (3/5)

EZ Money vs. Balls Mahoney follows a promo from Rhyno. I wasn't expecting much of this, but Balls brought the goods, this match being much of a straight-up wrestling match than I thought it'd be. As Styles always notes on commentary, for a guy known for delivering chairshots and wild brawls, Mahoney could wrestle with the best of em' too (or at least the best of ECW's roster). I liked how Hot Commodity (EZ Money's stable with Elektra, Chris Hamrick, and Julio Dinero) all got involved and that it took a team effort to defeat Mahoney. Again, nothing I'd consider "must see," but an above-average match that exceeded my admittedly somewhat low expectations. (3/5)

Mahoney getting screwed leads to an impromptu match as Nova makes the save and then finds himself wrestling Julio Dinero. This might've been Nova's peak in terms of overness as the crowd was fully behind him and his always-innovative offense. This wasn't as good as either of the matches that came before it, but it was also an "impromptu" bout and didn't get as much time as either other bout. For what it was, it was fine. (2.5/5)

Next up - the ECW World Tag Team Champions Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke defend their titles against Danny Doring and Roadkill. The story coming into this match was that Doring and Roadkill were rumored to be leaving the company (personally, I don't remember anything about that) and promised that, if they did not win the titles, they would split up forever - which played into the rumors. I really liked the visual of seeing Roadkill standing up and being dwarfed by Big Sal Graziano, which is no small feat. Doring and Guido started things out for their respective teams, the Sicilian Shooter and the Dastardly One trading holds and showing off their respectable technical skills before making the tag to their partners. Mamaluke used his speed and agility to take the fight to Roadkill, but Roadkill was able to cut him off using his size advantage, eventually planting him into the ring with a sidewalk slam (affectionally dubbed the "Dirt Road Slam" by Styles). Out to the floor they went, where Roadkill and Sal did a bit of brawling before Mamaluke came flying out of the ring. Back in the ring, the heels took over, cutting the ring in half and working on Doring. Roadkill got the hot tag and took out both members of the FBI, powerbombing Tony Mamaluke before delivering an awesome springboard splash onto Big Sal on the outside. Doring looked to hit something off the top rope but Guido cut him off. Doring eventually brought Mamaluke down with some sort of fireman's carry-type move that look horrendous and drew a "That Move Sucked" chant. Doring looked to go for a pedigree but got smashed in the head by a title belt shot from Guido. Roadkill came back in but got caught in a double team submission. Doring made the save, superkicking Mamaluke off the apron and over the guardrail in a tremendous spot. That looked like it might've killed him. Roadkill caught Guido and hoisted him up for Doring to hit his legdrop and we got new tag champs! The crowd was really into Doring and Roadkill's victory. This wasn't perfect as there were a few questionable/"botchy" moments, but this was still really, really good and felt like a big moment, which was very rare for ECW at this time. Not quite "must see" or "should see," but I could see the argument for it. (3.5/5)

CW Anderson took on Tommy Dreamer in what was billed as an "old school grudge match" on commentary. Anderson spit in Dreamer's face before the match, which was a good set-up for the fight that followed. Dreamer was mega over with the Manhattan Center crowd (no surprise there). Anderson was a good opponent for Dreamer as he was a solid overall worker - sells well, offense looks impactful, knows how to tell put a match together. Dreamer is not a guy I rate very highly, but Anderson is a much better worker than I thought he was. I really liked the viciousness of CW's attack on the outside, targeting Dreamer's shoulder with assistance from a chair. Dreamer gets busted open and they fight their way into the crowd. Dreamer goes for a suplex on the floor, but Anderson counters it and then drags Dreamer back towards the ring. The Innovator of Violence retakes control briefly before Anderson cuts him off by attacking the shoulder again. Anderson applies an armbar but Dreamer reaches the ropes. CW continues to work on Dreamer's arm and puts a chair into the corner. Dreamer whips him into it and both men are suffering. CW looks to hit a bulldog onto a chair, but Dreamer counters it into an atomic drop and then launches himself off the second rope for an elbow drop. Dreamer uses the ring boy's towel to pull CW's face along the top rope in a bit of a goofy spot. CW then drags the ring boy himself into the ring and whips him into Dreamer. CW comes charging but the ring boy gets his feet up! Dreamer hits a Tornado DDT but only gets 2! I'm not a huge fan of the goofiness there (especially considering how intense and good this match was), but the crowd loved it. Lou E. Dangerously gets involved and Anderson hits a DDT. This brings out Paul E. Dangerously, who cracks Lou E. with a cell phone. Dreamer hits a Spiccoli Driver and this one is --- not over! Only a 2 count for that. Wow. Good false finish there. The match continues and CW hits a suplex before grabbing a chair. Anderson stacks up the chairs and goes charging into the corner, but crotches himself on the 2nd buckle. Dreamer hoists CW up onto the post and has him in a Tree of Woe. Dreamer places the chairs in front of CW's head and hits a running dropkick! That looked wicked. Dreamer hits a piledriver but doesn't go for the cover for some reason, opting instead to grab a table. He slides the table into the ring and hits Anderson with a sidewalk slam onto it. Anderson gets up and tosses a chair into Dreamer's skull. Didn't like the no-selling there. Anderson hits a superplex off the top rope onto th table but only gets 2. Anderson grabs another table and puts it into the corner. Dreamer hits a big neckbreaker to cut him off, though, and then sets up the table with the legs pointing outward. Dreamer looks to slam CW onto it, but CW reverses his momentum and ends up driving Dreamer onto the underside of the table! I must admit to not having seen that before. Anderson makes the cover and gets the victory, a bit of a shocker considering how established Dreamer was as a top guy in ECW. Like the previous bout, this never reached the level of being "must see," but it was very good and maybe even a career match for Tommy Dreamer. I wasn't a big fan of all the shenanigans that took place as these two didn't really need it. At the same time, I did enjoy the escalation of violence for the final third of the match and absolutely loved the finish. (3.5/5)

Rhyno defended his ECW Television Championship against Spike Dudley in the next match. This one was never going to be a lengthy battle of technical prowess, but that's not the point - sometimes you just want to see two guys bust out all their signature stuff, throw in a ton of high-risk and high impact weapon spots, and keep the violence coming. I really like how Spike brought the fight to Rhyno right from the start, trying to use his quickness and ingenuity to cut the big man's legs out and prevent him from hitting the Gore. The Manbeast is simply too tough, though, and when he dominates, he absolutely punishes his undersized opponent. There were some really cool moments throughout this contest including a ridiculous balcony dive from Spike Dudley that looks like it could've ended very, very badly. I'm a bit surprised that this match isn't really talked about as anything special as I found it to be a solid 10-minute match that served both characters/performers well. (3.5/5)

Mikey Whipreck and Tajiri took on Super Crazy and a mystery opponent - Kid Kash - in the next bout. These four have tremendous chemistry and, while I'm sure ECW fans at the time might have been a bit tired of seeing these guys work together, watching this match in isolation offers plenty of evidence of why Paul Heyman would book them in so, so, so many matches together. Tajiri and Whipwreck's double-team maneuvers are insanely good, though I don't think their "odd couple" alignment made enough sense outside of the ECW bubble for WCW or, more realistically, WWE to ever bring them in. That's a shame too because they were awesome. The teams get plenty of time - close to 20 minutes - and do a great job of escalating the violence and throwing in every high spot imaginable. Not everything is executed perfectly and there are some moments of glaringly obvious cooperation, but not enough to keep this from feeling like a competitive, physical battle and a hell of an entertaining match. The finish was terrific too as double stomps off the top rope (assisted by tables and chairs) were ultra rare back then, even in ECW. (4/5)

Main event time - Steve Corino defending his ECW World Championship against Jerry Lynn and Justin Credible in a 3-Way Dance. One month prior, Corino had won the title in a similar-style match - Double Jeopardy - which also involved The Sandman. I criticized that match for ending with a heel/heel final, noting that the booking seemed like it only got Corino halfway to being a fan favorite by not doing enough to make him sympathetic or to make Credible look like the corner-cutting cheat he should've been. Here, the match's layout puts even more of an emphasis on Corino's toughness, but makes the same mistake again. Credible grabs the microphone at one point and berates his opponents as he beats them down - a move that reeks of being straight-up lifted from a much more charismatic and over performer (The Rock). Francine is involved in the finish and ends up eating a great superkick out of Credible but while this might've worked to put more heat on Credible, Francine was so loathed that its more of a "just desserts" thing than a spot that makes us hate Credible more. He basically beats Lynn clean with the That's Incredible and we're back to what was once again basically a heel vs. slightly lesser heel match. The crowd chants for The Sandman, which is a shame because Corino was such a great worker at this time. Really, his bumping and selling throughout this match is so good that it's a shame that so much of the story and spotlight seemed to be built around Credible, the least over and least interesting worker of the three. In hindsight, it would've been cool if they had run this as just Lynn vs. Corino and seen what the fan reactions were. I'm guessing Lynn would've had more support initially...but Corino had a way of really getting the crowd behind him by the end of his matches as he took crazy punishment and kept fighting. The biggest spot of the match is ruined by poor camerawork as Credible and Corino make their way up to the balcony and Corino hangs off of it, only to get blasted by repeated cane shots that send him to the floor. We don't see him land (or what he landed on or how he landed), which is a shame because better footage would've probably made it a more memorable moment. Then they make their way back to the ring and Corino counters something to hit his finish for the win. Not a fitting ending for what was, at times, a serious, violent brawl. Your average ECW main event in that all three guys worked hard but the booking was highly questionable and things might've been better with a more simple set-up. (2.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 3.19-out-of-5, this may be the best overall ECW pay-per-view of all time despite happening near the very end of the company. Few would consider ECW's 2001 roster to be the best in the company's history, but a show like this proves that there was still enough talent in the locker room to put on a great show from beginning to end. Doring and Roadkill had come into their own as a babyface tag team. Tajiri could still be counted on to put on great matches. Steve Corino was awesome. CW Anderson had stepped up. While not the highest rated ECW pay-per-view on this site - that honor goes to Hardcore Heaven 99' - there is plenty to enjoy on this show, a late-era, slept-on delight that offers a little bit of everything that made ECW great, from hardcore brawling to lucha-style high-flying to old school wrestling anarchy.

FINAL RATING - Watch It