NWA TNA/Impact: Final Resolution 2007

NWA TNA/Impact: Final Resolution 2007

Orlando, FL - January 2007

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was Abyss, Hernandez and Homicide (the LAX) were the NWA Tag Team Champions, and the X-Division Champion was Christopher Daniels. 

Final Resolution 2007 kicks off with a Last Man Standing match between AJ Styles and Rhyno. AJ Styles had recently turned heel based on the commentary, but this crowd didn't seem to really hate on him too much - probably because he was consistently putting on great matches. This match didn't really live up to its gimmick as there wasn't really anything "hardcore" about it. Plus, with this stipulation, you had to pin your opponent first and then wait for a 10 count, which led to both guys taking "visual pins" from non-finishing moves. This would've been much better had it just been fought as a plain ol' wrestling match and they'd just let Rhyno get the W as the actual finish feels like a cop-out (Styles essentially quits the match and walks off, which leads to Rhyno piledriving him on the stage and then inadvertently putting himself through a table when he attempts to gore AJ through the tunnel). I have no doubt that had these two not been burdened with an awkward stipulation that didn't play to AJ's strengths and had been allowed to just work a 15-minute match it would've been considerably better than this. (2/5)

The X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels defended his title against Chris Sabin and Jerry Lynn in a match promoted as X-Division's "Past, Present, and Future" coming to blows. Usually, matches like this can be really fun spotfests, but for whatever reason, whether it was just the lack of chemistry or a lack of innovation or just the fact that these three characters don't really play off eachother well, this was underwhelming. Against AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, Daniels stood out in many ways - not as flashy as AJ, not as tough and powerful as Joe, but clever and crafty and capable of both technicality and high-flying. Here, there's no real juxtaposition between the competitors as all three have rather similar styles - a mix of technical wrestling and high-risk maneuvers, but none really had the explosivity or flash (though Sabin would get stronger in both tags and a singles over time). And so, these three guys put up a good match...but not a great match and certainly not a match on par with the best of the X-Division. (2.5/5)

The finals of the Paparazzi Championship Series is up next, a 10-minute "scored" match between Alex Shelley and Austin Starr (aka Austin Aries). I was surprised to learn the Kevin Nash/Alex Shelley partnership had only started 7-8 months earlier as I could've sworn they were doing brilliant taped segments as early as 2005. Whatever. The point is, Shelley and Nash were gold and I actually thought the Paparazzi Productions stuff got a bit watered down once they added ever other X-Division midcarder to it. Shelley and Austin have a good 10-minute match, but with that stipulation, it was clear that there was not going to be a winner. The judges are Bob Backlund, a Big Fat Oily Guy like the one that had been popping up on Raw (we'll get to why this is so stupid in a few paragraphs), and a dude in the mask they were calling Somalian Joe (get it? Because aside from the bad pun, I don't). After the bell rings, Backlund is the deciding vote and declares it a draw so Nash comes out and demands 5 more minutes. About a minute into the overtime, Shelley wins with a roll-up. The Nash/Shelley segments were funny because they were understated and clever and the cheap production value was charming, but this match and segment were a miss for me. 2-points for the action, no points for anything else. (2/5)

James Storm took on Petey Williams in a match pitting two former tag partners against eachother. I wasn't really paying attention to see why Storm attacking his former tag partner, Chris Harris, led to this match but it did. The real story was why Gail Kim was still Storm's valet after clearly siding with Harris too. Who cares, really. Decent enough action as Williams was a very talented, smooth worker who could make nearly anyone look halfway decent, including Storm, a guy that I never particularly saw anything super special in (especially as a singles worker). Storm gets the W through some heelishness and then handcuffs Williams to the corner. He looks to brain him with a beer bottle but gets stopped by Gail Kim. Jacqueline makes her TNA debut? Return? I'm not necessarily sure, but she shows up and her and Storm take Gail Kim out. At under 7 minutes, this didn't overstay its welcome, but it also didn't exceed my expectations for a run-of-the-mill, TV-quality TNA match. (2/5)

The next segment may be one of the worst things in TNA history. A bit of backstory here - Kip James (aka Billy Gunn) and BG James (The Road Dogg) had been cutting promos for weeks mocking the WWE, specifically their former DX stablemates Shawn Michaels and Triple H, who they referred by their non-kayfabe names because it was supposed to make their hatred seem "real." They "invaded" a WWE house show at one point. They showed up to Titan Tours. It was also nonsense that DX themselves had done roughly a decade earlier. They called themselves the "Voodoo Kin Mafia" so that their initials would match those of the WWE Chairman despite the name itself making no sense - neither guy practiced voodoo, they weren't brothers, and there was nothing mobster-esque about them. It was just three random words with those initials. A week or so before this show, they put up $1 million for DX to show up on PPV - a move that wasn't a parody of something DX did, but rather the same exact same thing Eric Bischoff had done in WCW (also about a decade earlier). And, just like in that instance, all it did was make the VKM (the Voodoo Kin Mafia, not Vince McMahon) look like total losers. And so, the VKM show up for their "fight" and proceed to run down the WWE...but not before admitting that they wished the best to Triple H, who had been injured recently. So, you'll mock these guys and "make it personal" for weeks and then when one of them gets legit hurt, its all "We love you, bro"? Ugh. Just awful. And the awfulness continues as BG James cuts a promo about how embarrassing it is that John Cena took an L to Kevin Federline. I'm not sure if he also made note of the Big Oily Guy that had been showing up on WWE TV for cheap laughs during this promo or if that was said a week or two earlier, but keep in mind - on this very show, TNA itself had brought out a Big Oily Guy for a cheap laugh. BG James sings a bar of "We're Not Gonna Take It" and tries his darndest to put over TNA as "the winner of the war" but absolutely no one could possibly buy it and it all comes off incredibly pathetic. Things go from terrible to even more terrible, though, when Christy Hemme shows up and proceeds to put on one of the worst acting jobs in pro-wrestling history, crying about how the women in DX's history (she mentions "Joanie Laurer" but forgets that there was also Tori, briefly) are ignored just like the ones backstage in TNA. Somehow Christy Hemme stating facts makes her the heel though and Kip James calls her a slut, which gets cheered. Its a bizarre, awful, backwards segment that ends with Hemme slapping Billy Gunn and BG holding him back from what I assume would've been male-on-female violence? Honestly, this was worse than WrestleCrap because WrestleCrap can be enjoyed. This was cringe-inducing awfulness that made me lose respect for everyone involved and anyone that allowed this to go on TV. Historically terrible. (-1)

Things get better, but not much better as Team 3D take on LAX (Hernandez and Homicide) for the NWA Tag Team Championships. This match was built up with an angle involving Brother Runt (Spike Dudley) getting beaten up by the LAX whilst wearing a Santa outfit and then becoming a drunk. I thought it was just a silly add-on to this feud, but (spoiler alert) Brother Runt ends up costing Team 3D the match when he drunkenly makes his way down to the ring and splashes Homicide, causing the ref to disqualify the would-be new champions. Its an awful finish, but its not like the match itself was very good. There are a few bright moments - Homicide's bumping into the guardrail from Bubba's punches, some nifty double-team work out of LAX - but I was a bit surprised to see that, despite being the company for over a year at this point, the Dudleys still looked a little awkward in the six-sided ring. And why was Bubba bleeding again? A real disappointment considering that I was expecting this to be at least average. (1/5)

I wouldn't call the next match an instant classic, but Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle in a 30-Minute Ironman Match is a very solid match and does adequately provide Joe and Angle the time needed to showcase their chemistry and skill. I really liked the psychology shown in the match too as both guys focused on locking each other in submission holds, forcing their opponent to submit before taking on too much damage. It was a smart story told and it was executed very well, though I do think this match would've benefitted from some sort of "swerve" to really make it more memorable instead of attempting to squeeze every bit of drama out of a rather straight-forward, simple concept. The entire 30 minutes is good as both guys were known for their execution and were very over, but this match just didn't get to that next level that would push it into all-time great territory. I'm not even sure it's "must see." (3.5/5)

Main event time - Sting vs. Abyss vs. Christian for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (TNA was still using the NWA Championships as their own) held by Abyss. There's a helpful pre-match video to explain how this bout came...about and with Angle having defeated Joe, he'll be challenging for the title at the next major pay-per-view. Before the match begins, Tyson Tomko is placed inside of a ringside cage to prevent him from interfering by TNA authority Jim Cornette. Sting comes out next and its wild to think that he was already 48 years old at this point and is still working today in 2023. Some of the hype around this match revolved around Abyss' "secret," but as I didn't watch TNA very much back then (or ever), I have no clue if that "secret" was ever revealed or what it was. A readthrough of his Wikipedia page explains that it eventually centered on Abyss's criminal past (he was sent to prison for shooting his father) and a bizarre relationship with his mother. Anyway...good action to start this as they waste no time and just start brawling right from the jump. Christian and Abyss have solid chemistry and get to show it off as Sting plays dead outside the ring after a bump on the floor. Abyss gets the visual pin after a Black Hole Slam but the referee is distracted by Tomko choking Sting out on the outside through the cage. Christian and Abyss are back in the ring, but Sting comes into the ring out of nowhere and hits the Death Drop on the champ! Abyss is eliminated but Abyss won't leave the ring, grabbing Sting by the throat. He doesn't hit the chokeslam, which upsets James Mitchell. Abyss makes his exit and Christian lands a missile dropkick for 2. Dueling "Let's Go Sting/Let's Go Christian" chants erupt in the Impact Zone. After some good back-and-forth, James Mitchell makes his way back down the aisle. Sting applies the Death Lock, but Mitchell unlocks the cage and Tomko is freed. Tomko slides in the ring and attacks Sting behind the ref's back, dropping him with a Torture Rack Slam (?). Abyss comes back down the aisle to take out Tomko and it is pandemonium! All the craziness allows Christian to grab the title...but Sting dodges and hits Captain Charisma with the Unprettier but only gets 2! Great false finish there. Christian clotheslines the referee inadvertently, this match maybe going one step too far into overbooked territory as Mitchell and Abyss end up back in the ring together. Sting applies the Death Lock to Mitchell and Abyss knocks him out in the back of the head with a chain. Christian hits the frog splash and pulls the referee over to make the count to become the new NWA Heavyweight Champion for what I believe to be his second reign. Fun, exciting match with lots of swerves and good some action, but I think this match would've been better with a little bit more time spent in the beginning doing some actual back-and-forth wrestling and not just rushing into all the false finishes and shenanigans. (3/5)

Earning a Kwang Score of 2.14-out-of-5, Final Resolution 2007 is a mostly bad show that narrowly escapes being firmly in DUDleyville territory thanks to its final two matches, both of which are above-average and feature excellent work out of Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, and Christian, specifically. There's not a single other match or moment on the show that I'd recommend seeing and at least one segment that is among the worst ever produced by any US wrestling promotion ever.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Survivor Series 2013

WWE Survivor Series 2013

Boston, Massachusetts - November 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Champion was Randy Orton, the World Heavyweight Champion was John Cena, Big E was the Intercontinental Champion, the United States Champion was Dean Ambrose, The Rhodes Brothers held the World Tag Team Championships, and AJ Lee was the Divas Champion.

After a surprisingly well-received welcome from Stephanie McMahon and Triple H (who were the company's top heels at the time), the show kicks off with a classic 5-on-5 Survivors match pitting The Rhodes Brothers, Rey Mysterio, and The Usos vs. The Shield and The Real Americans. This match featured a nice mix of talent, though The Shield were still relative newcomers and not quite the top-tier workers they would become, especially Reigns. The same is true of Cody and the Usos, but watching this 10 years later, it is remarkable just how much star power was featured here and that the only guy who doesn't work regularly these days is somehow...Jack Swagger? Anyway, Ambrose (Moxley) gets eliminated early which seems like a waste and I'm sure didn't make him too happy backstage. Cody gets lots of time to shine (including getting to cut a short promo on Zeb Colter before the match begins) but the crowd is way more into his brother. Rollins, Reigns, and Cesaro actually get face reactions at times - probably because their offense looks nifty, especially the Cesaro Swing. Eventually, the heels are down 5-on-2, but the booking of this match was clearly done to showcase Reigns - he eliminated 4-out-of-5 members of the opposing team - and he eventually outlasts everyone else, eliminating Rey Mysterio with a beautiful spear to get the final pin. I'm not a huge Survivors-style match fan, but this was good for what it was. Not "must see" or anything, but a solid 20 minutes of action. (3/5)

Next up - Big E defending the Intercontinental Championship against Curtis Axel. I was expecting a bit of a burial here as Big E was in the midst of a decent push and Curtis Axel was sinking down the roster fast now that Paul Heyman was no longer appearing at his side regularly. This match goes 7 minutes, but feels like 12 because the lack of crowd engagement and Big E not busting out some of his riskier, more wild offense like the spear to the floor. This wasn't terrible, but it felt heatless. Curtis Axel was a smooth enough worker, but there was no "It" factor to his persona so it might as well have been anyone in there. This didn't even feel Raw or SmackDown worthy - more like midcard of Superstars. (2/5)

Backstage, AJ Lee runs down her tag partners - which you know will now lead to them either turning on her or turning on eachother in the next contest: a 8-man Elimination match pitting the Total Divas (Brie and Nikki Bella, JoJo, Eva Marie, Natalya, Naomi, and Cameron) against the WWE's non-diva performers (AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Summer Rae, and Aksana). This is one of the worst matches ever - not because all the women are incompetent, but because they only get about 10 minutes of time, most of the women are eliminated after a single move has been done to them. It actually comes across as insulting to most of the women, though, when the numbers do whittle down, we do get at least 2-3 minutes of "action." This match was designed to present the women of Total Divas but it was done in such an unimpressive light that I couldn't believe any fan of that reality show would've been "wowed" by this match - if they'd even coughed up the $50 this PPV cost at the time. A half-point awarded because Nattie, AJ, and Brie noticeably gave a shit and there were a few fun moments (Summer Rae prancing around, Alicia Fox being Alicia Fox), but this was disrespectful to the women and the audience and Jerry Lawler made one too many pervy comments about Naomi's "Rear View" move. (0.5/5)

Before the veterans at the panel table could speak, Ryback showed up and issued an open challenge, which was answered by the returning Mark Henry. As someone - Lawler, I believe - noted, Henry had actually defeated Ryback at WrestleMania earlier in the year. I'm not a super Ryback supporter, but I remember thinking that this was a bad booking decision back then and still believe it was a bad booking decision now. And, on this night, they repeat the mistake. Ryback's Bully gimmick wasn't great, but it only would've worked if he had actually been able to score some big victories - and after losing the feud with CM Punk and basically getting dropped by Paul Heyman, taking an L to Mark Henry, a guy who wasn't exactly headed back to the top in 2013, did not do Ryback any favors. Maybe that was the point, though? To "punish" Ryback for his ego? Even if that were true, its a "cutting off your nose to spite your face" situation when you bury a guy that you seemingly have future plans for months and months and then blame him for not getting or staying over. Anyway, the match itself isn't terrible, but its not very interesting and feels like a looooong 4-and-a-half minutes, if that's possible. (1/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line in the next match as John Cena defends the gold in his hometown against Alberto Del Rio. These two had a decent match at the previous month's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view and, for better or worse, basically repeat it here with Del Rio taking a more commanding role and Cena spending more of the match selling an injured arm. They were given plenty of time - close to 20 minutes - but, at this point, neither guy was at the peak of their popularity as Cena had not yet gone into "super workrate" mode like he would with his US Championship Open Challenge and hadn't spruced up his gimmick at all by this point. Del Rio, meanwhile, was still seen (rather accurately) as a guy who was getting more of a "corporate" push rather than someone who was legitimately over as a heel (or a face, for that matter). The fact is, as we'd see in the main event, the WWE crowds at this point were mostly behind Daniel Bryan and anyone else fighting for World Championships was dealing with a little bit of a pushback, even if their storyline had nothing to do with Daniel Bryan. Nothing worth seeking out, but both guys worked hard and at least Cena's hometown crowd was more supportive of him than any other cities around this time (though there is still a prominent pair of "Cena Sucks" signs being displayed on the hard camera throughout the show). (3/5)

After a pretty fun WWE action figure sketch featuring R-Truth, Fandango, and John Laurenaitis, its time for the next bout - Daniel Bryan and CM Punk teaming up against Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Unlike the previous match, which felt long, this one went nearly 20 minutes but was really great throughout because of the chemistry between the combatants, the straightforward story, and the immense popularity of both Punk and Bryan. Plus, they kept all the wacky Bray Wyatt stuff to a minimum as the leader of the Family spent most of the match just sitting in a rocking chair on the outside, giving the full spotlight to his henchmen. Punk and Bryan did a ton of selling in this match, but they never "died" and they got huge responses for every comeback (no surprise there). This match was missing something - maybe higher stakes? maybe some sort of big table spot or crowd-brawling? - that kinda keeps it just in "good" territory and not great. (3/5)

Main event time - Randy Orton vs. The Big Show. I'm not going to go through the whole storyline here but, in a nutshell, Big Show had been kayfabe fired and then threatened to sue the company, which led to him getting reinstated and demanding a title shot in order to drop the lawsuit. Meanwhile, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon had been showing some lost confidence in their Corporate Champion, Randy Orton, including a brief pre-match segment with John Cena (that made him sorta look like a heel). The match itself is what one would expect - Orton sells big time for Big Show and Big Show gets a decent face response, but there are a smattering of clear "Daniel Bryan" chants whenever the match slows down. I don't think anyone expected Big Show to win this match and, despite Triple H promising that there would be no interference in any match tonight, he and Stephanie show up after Big Show lands the Knockout Punch, distracting the giant and allowing Orton to hit an RKO and then a punt to win the match. After the match, Cena comes down, holding his own World Championship to set up their Title vs. Title match at the next pay-per-view (if I'm not mistaken). The match was fine was for what it was, but nobody was expecting it to be great and it wasn't. Again, Cena showing up after Triple H and Stephanie essentially screwed Big Show made him look a bit like a heel, even in Boston. (2/5)

With a Kwang Score of 1.79-out-of-5, Survivor Series 2013 is nearly impossible to recommend. The best match is the opener and nothing else really stood out and there's not a single match on the card I'd consider "must see" - even if one was the world's biggest Cena or Orton or Daniel Bryan or CM Punk or Big Show fan. Looking back, I'm guessing that Vince believed bringing back Batista - who would return at the Rumble in January 2014 - would add some juice to the company and win back the crowds, but even that boost of star power would not be enough to overcome the clear and undeniable passion that the audiences had for Daniel Bryan. I don't buy the company line that Bryan was "always" pencilled-in to win the title at WrestleMania XXX as that would mean the company was willfully sacrificing a number of pay-per-views, essentially putting on shows that they knew the audiences would be indifferent or outright negative towards, just to get over Bryan's underdog story. 

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

WWE Hell in a Cell 2013

WWE Hell in a Cell 2013

Miami, FL - October 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE Championship was still vacant, while Alberto Del Rio held the World Heavyweight Championship. The Intercontinental Champion was Curtis Axel, the US Champion was Dean Ambrose, and the World Tag Team Champions were Goldust and Cody Rhodes. AJ Lee held the Divas Championship. 

Hell in a Cell kicks off with a helluva tag team match - The Rhodes Brothers vs. The Shield (Reigns and Rollins) vs. The Usos for the Rhodes' WWE Tag Team Championship belts. Cody, Goldust, Roman, and Seth had torn the house down at the previous month's Battleground PPV and adding the Usos, who were still relative newcomers and not revealed to be Roman's cousins on-screen yet, could've diluted the recipe. Fortunately, their addition allowed the two rival teams to put some new twists and turns into the match (as well as some awesome old-school Uso spots). Highlights included Goldust doing expert face-in-peril work, Cody hitting an insane superplex on Rollins onto the rest of the combatants, a ridiculous Uso Samoan Drop, and a wonderful closing sequence that saw Cody get the victory with a Cross Rhodes in convincing, clean fashion. A very strong opener, but a hair short of being "must see." (3.5/5)

After a commercial break, The Miz comes out to cut a promo about Bray Wyatt. Wyatt appears on the screen and then the lights go out and Miz is destroyed by Harper and Rowan. The crowd chants for Kane, who makes his first appearance since he was taken out by the Wyatts at SummerSlam. Perfectly fine segment.

Next up - Fandango and Summer Rae vs. Natalya and The Great Khali. Summer Rae was better than one might've expected, but that doesn't mean this match was particularly good - it just means that she somehow managed to only be the 3rd worst worker in this match. This went under 5 minutes but, at times, felt like it was running long. I'm guessing that has more to do with my general patience for Khali. Not bad, but not at all PPV worthy. (1.5/5)

Dean Ambrose defended his United States Championship against Big E in the next match. The New Day wasn't a thing yet and Big E had only come onto the main event scene sometime in 2012, but was in the midst of a sustained midcard push. This match starts out relatively strong with Big E showing off his power, but then things turn sour and the match slows down substantiall with the crowd audibly losing interest. At one point, Big E's eye gets cut and he's bleeding a ton, but because this was the PG era, its obvious that Ambrose, E, and the commentators need to downplay it - which is a shame because this match could've used that unintended accident to raise the stakes and really get the crowd behind the challenger. Ambrose takes the countout loss, which is a shit ending to a match that had glimmers of goodness. (2/5)

It is now time for the first of two Hell in a Cell matches - CM Punk vs. Ryback and Paul Heyman in a handicap match. Before the bout, Heyman cuts a promo as he gets raised onto the top of the cell by a treepicker. The crowd chants "Goldberg" at Ryback and then "Heyman Sucks" early in support of Punk, but it also seems like, at least to me, there is a palpable feeling that this was a bait-and-switch as Heyman is not involved in the match at all and just watches from the top of the cell. I wasn't expecting Heyman to get involved, but considering that Punk and Ryback don't necessarily have the best chemistry, it would've been good to throw him into the ring in some fashion just to provide distractions and to give the match more heat. And so, we get just another Punk/Ryback match, which isn't terrible but also isn't a pairing that tended to produce remarkable matches. Punk scores the clean win, but it feels pretty anticlimactic as Ryback, while booked strong, was not at Punk's level and not a wrestler that is particularly fun to watch in a 10+ minute match. Punk climbs to the top of the cell at the end and puts a whipping Heyman with a cane and then delivers the GTS. I think the crowd wanted to see a big Cell bump, but there was no way that was going to happen to Paul Heyman. Average at best. (2.5/5)

Los Matadores (aka The Colons under masks) took on The Real Americans (Cesaro and Swagger) in the next match. This felt like something you'd see on an episode of SmackDown around this time, not a pay-per-view match. El Torito was the most over part of Los Matadores' gimmick, but even he had a brief shelf-life. The Real Americans' shtick got decent heat from the crowd, but certainly hasn't aged well 10 years later when what was supposed to be an extremist gimmick seems to be the widely held beliefs of the Republican party. The action was fine as Cesaro is a ridiculously smooth and impressive worker and the Colons could always be counted on to deliver fast-paced offense and fly around the ring, but at a little over 5 minutes, there wasn't much of a story and the lack of involvement from Torito was a bit of a letdown. (2/5)

Next up - John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for Del Rio's World Heavyweight Championship. The story coming into this match was that Cena had been on the DL (disabled list, not down low) due to a torn triceps that looked like his elbow grew an elbow and was now making his return to face a guy whose finisher was the dreaded armbar (all kidding aside, Del Rio's cross-arm bar did look terrific and painful). Over the previous year, Vince had done everything he could to get Del Rio over and, to some extent, he was over as a major heel, but I'm not sure the connection with the audience ever really solidified. Having him defeat Cena here might've been that extra push he needed, but that's not what we got. These two had pretty good chemistry - not as good as Del Rio and Christian, but not far off - but this wasn't a match I'd go out of my way to see. Del Rio would end up in the upper midcard and then out of the company within the next year, seemingly no longer someone that Vince saw worthy of getting the super-preferred treatment he'd had when he came in. I found the finish to be a bit flat and wish Cena would've sold the arm damage more convincingly as it was a bit on-and-off throughout the match, especially after Del Rio applied the armbar (which should've been sold as absolute death). Above-average, but not that much above it. (3/5)

Main event time - Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the still-vacant WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell Match with Bryan's "mentor" Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee. In the build-up to this match, the WWE really spun the idea that Daniel Bryan was trained by Shawn Michaels when the truth is that while he did attend Michaels' wrestling school, the Heartbreak Kid was not really the day-to-day trainer and, when he did come in, would often be pilled out and half-asleep based on Bryan's memoir. Anyway...Both guys come out with a lot of energy in the early going, but keep things mostly in the ring for awhile, not utilizing the cage at all. After dropping him chest-first onto the top rope a few times, Orton sends Bryan into the cell wall off the apron and then into the steel steps. Orton sets up the steps against the cell and tries to whip Bryan into it, but Bryan reverses it and then bashes Orton head-first into the steps. He goes for a pin, but only gets 2, and then hits a series of Yes Kicks. Daniel Bryan's control stretch that follows is fabulous, just great looking kicks and strikes and repeated dives ultimately ending with Bryan taking one risk too many and going face-first into the cage himself. Orton crotches Bryan into the post and combos it with his patented inverted backbreaker. Back into the ring they go, where Orton sets up Bryan on the corner and delivers a series of headbutts. I'm not sure what Orton was going for, but Bryan manages to turn it into a sunset flip powerbomb! After trading blows, Bryan gains control, hits a flying clothesline and then another round of kicks and a hurricanrana off the top rope. Bryan goes for the Diving Headbutt and hits it for 2. Moments later, Bryan applies the Yes Lock, but Orton slips out of the ring to break the hold. Bryan smashes Orton into the cell wall, rubbing the back of his head against the steel before hitting him with a big dropkick. Bryan finds a chair and uses it to further punish the Viper. Bryan tosses a whole bunch more chairs into the ring as Michaels begs him to stop. Up to this point, all things considered, this has been a fairly dominant performance out of Bryan, with Orton bumping and selling big time for him. Orton catches Bryan as he goes for another chairshot and now its Orton's turn to use some weaponry. Orton's chairshots to Bryan's back look and sound terrifically violent. Orton arranges the chairs in a heap and sets up Bryan on the corner once more, seemingly going for a superplex. Bryan fights him off but Orton pulls out his footing and then brings him crashing down into the ring, though not exactly into the chairs (which sorts of ruins the spot). Triple H makes his way down to the ring and the crowd erupts into "Asshole" chants. Triple H starts barking at Shawn as Orton maintains control in the ring. Orton gets the visual pin, but its clear that Bryan saw that Shawn was distracted and knew he couldn't make the pin anyway. Orton comes out and argues with Shawn too. Back in the ring, Bryan goes for another Yes Lock but can't apply it. Orton hits the Rope-Hung DDT and goes for the RKO, but Bryan shoves him off and into HBK and the two knock heads. Daniel Bryan hits the Bicycle Knee and gets the pin, but there's no one to count it! Triple H is in the cage and he pulls Bryan off of Shawn. Bryan hits the Bicycle Kick to The Game to a huge pop, but Michaels hits him with the Sweet Chin Music! Shawn makes the count as Orton covers him but does not look happy about it. The next night, Michaels would explain that he did this because Bryan attacked Triple H and didn't respect his authority (or something along those lines?), but really, it didn't matter - this match was a massively disappointing one for many fans and a cursory Google Search yields lots and lots of angry posts and bad reviews for the show. Looking back on it years later, I actually liked this finish more than the screwy non-finish at the previous show, but its still not a good one. Orton did everything he could to make Bryan look great and, ignoring the overbooked and feel-bad finish, I thought this match was better and funner to watch than their last outing. Bryan got to dish out a ton of punishment, which is good to see, though I kinda wish the commentators would've talked up a bit more how much he actually controlled this one from beginning to end as Orton spent most of the match taking a beating. (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.57-out-of-5, Hell in a Cell 2013 is your run-of-the-mill WWE pay-per-view from this era, in good ways and bad. On the positive side, there are some great pairings and the action is good throughout. The Orton/Bryan match is great, barring the finish. The opener is really fun. Cena and Del Rio have a decent outing and the crumby Khali and Nattie tag is kept short. On the flipside, the conclusion of the main event is a gut punch and its near impossible to recommend a show that ends on such a sour note. Also, because this is a WWE show during a very PG era, both cell matches are tame affairs (though I'll give credit to Orton and Bryan for making up for the lack of hardcore spots by providing us a steady stream of wince-inducing kicks and chairshots to the back). 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Payback 2023

WWE Payback 2023

Pittsburgh, PA - September 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's 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 Unified Tag Team Champions were Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, the Smackdown Women's Champion was IYO Sky, the RAW Women's Champion was Rhea Ripley, and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. 

The show kicked off with Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus in a steel cage, a match that was promoted as the final fight to end a months-long feud. Both Lynch and Stratus put their bodies on the line with some big moves throughout the contest, including an absolutely devastating superplex that saw Stratus come crashing down all the way from the top of cage. I also really liked several "throwback" spots - Lynch hitting a double legdrop on Stratus as she bent backwards in her signature Matrix pose, Stratus executing Victoria's Widow's Peak finisher - and the fact that these two really utilized the steel cage itself as the match's major "weapon" instead of busting out kendo sticks and chairs and tables to try to get over the violence. A steel cage is enough and they showed how to work it properly here. Zoey Starks involvement was expected but I didn't necessarily "get" the post-match with Stratus as it seems like the audience was more than ready to cheer for Trish and send her off with a "Thank You Trish" chant while Zoey Starks seems like a more natural heel to me moving forward. I wouldn't go as far as Michael Cole went with calling this a Match of the Year contender (even in just the WWE) as there have been some really stellar contests this calendar year, but it might be up there if we're looking at just the Women's Division? A good, above-average match and the best match these two have had against each other, but nothing I'd necessarily consider "must see." (3.5/5)

John Cena came out as the host of Payback and announced he would be serving as the Special Guest Referee for The Miz vs. LA Knight. The Miz came out and tried to stop it and the two had a decent war-of-words before LA Knight made his way down to the ring. This match felt a little long to me and, while I don't think LA Knight is a bad worker or anything, I'm not sure this match played to his in-ring strengths. Also, with John Cena so heavily involved in the pre-match segment and the match itself, it felt like Knight got a bit outshined at times, like Cena had been thrown out there as a crutch because the match itself - which, again, felt at least 3-4 minutes too long - was unlikely to keep the crowd engaged for its duration. The Miz looked great out there and I loved how he milked the opening moments. I thought the finishing stretch was really strong too, even if the middle tended to drag at times. (2.5/5)

Next up - Rey Mysterio Jr. defending his United States Championship against Austin Theory. Austin Theory is one of my least favorite characters in the WWE right now, a guy that has incredible athletic gifts but has yet to really find his footing as a nasty, mean-spirited heel and often comes off as quite generic. Mysterio, meanwhile, continues to impress and execute in the ring, but I'm not a huge fan of the Latino World Order revival, a stable that feels a bit purposeless to me. Like, I get it, they're all Latino, but...is there something more here? Maybe its happening on the weekly TV (that I admittedly don't watch) but I'm still wondering who Escobar and Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro really are. Anyway, this wasn't a bad match at all, but it felt like filler and I don't think anyone in the arena believed Theory had much of a shot of winning this. (2.5/5)

A Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight followed as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn defended the titles against Finn Balor and Damien Priest of the Judgment Day stable. As this was a streetfight, this was chaos from the jump, all four men brawling outside the ring to start things off and wasting very little time busting out the weapons, specifically chairs and kendo sticks. I really liked Finn Balor's heel shtick with the iconic "terrible towel" as it got huge heat from the Steeler fans in attendance (of which there were many). I also dug Kevin Owens rocking a Terry Funk tank and performing a nice tribute spot by putting a trash can over Balor and nailing him with a bunch of kendo stick shots. As someone who hasn't been watching the weekly TV, I had no idea that KO and Zayn's feud had gotten "personal" enough to necessitate a match like this, but then again, who really cares when its a match as fun as this? The attention to detail is what sets a match like this apart from so many matches that are like this. Balor's heel work looked terrific, every swing Damien Priest took with a can or chair looked like it could maim, the "fun-loving" Sami Zayn was nowhere to be found, Kevin Owens sporting jeans and taped fists, the fact that Dom Mysterio didn't show up until too early or too late - and then the ridiculousness of Zayn and Owens transforming into Pittsburgh Penguins (with Owens sporting a crimson mask that I'm not sure was real?) to get one more huge pop out of the crowd, it was all not just well thought-out, but well-executed. When the big spots began to come out - a Blue Thunder Bomb on a bed of chairs, Priest hitting Zayn with an awesome suplex toss onto a bunch of opened chairs, Zayn's somersault senton off the Pre-Show Panel table, Owens launching himself off of the stands to hit a swanton on Dominik through a table (a spot that I'm not sure how Owens walked away from) - this match went from being very good to maybe the wildest match the WWE has seen in a few years. The closing minutes of this match were unreal and featured a well-timed false finish involving JD McDonough, followed by Owens hitting McDonough with a pop-up shove (I wouldn't call it a powerbomb) into the edge of the announce desk that looked like a career killer, and then the arrival of Rhea Ripley, who speared KO through the barricade. Zayn somehow survived a Coup De Gras attempt, connected with a Helluva Kick, but ultimately, a briefcase shot from Dom ended up leading to a victory for the baddies. They don't make wrestling matches much funner than that. My only reason for not going a "full 5" for this is based primarily on it veering a touch too far into "fan service" spotfest realm, which was undoubtedly crowd-pleasing but also a touch too cartoonish for my liking and the kind of thing that I'm not sure will "hold up" the same way a perfect top 1% match does as a timeless masterpiece. (4.5/5)

A Grayson Waller Effect segment followed, with Cody Rhodes appearing as Waller's guest. Cody Rhodes got in some good lines about how generic and predictable these sorts of segments are before shocking the audience by announcing that "Main Event" Jey Uso was back and now a RAW Superstar. I guess if you're heavily invested in the WWE's current storylines, this might've been something of a surprise, but as Waller himself noted, Uso has really only been "gone from the WWE" for around 2 weeks and nobody even believed he was gone from the company when he "quit" 2 weeks ago. As a segment, it was fine, and I prefer variety on my shows so I liked this more than I probably would've liked some filler match. No point awarded or subtracted.

Rhea Ripley defended the Women's World Championship (formerly the SmackDown Women's Championship, but then changed from that because Ripley was part of the RAW brand) against Raquel Rodriguez (or Gonzalez, as Corey Graves referred to her at one point) in the next match. Rodriguez has been mostly used as a tag wrestler since coming up to the main roster from NXT, but I thought she had some really shining moments in the Rumble back in January. Rodriguez didn't look perfect here - there was some noticeable telegraphing of moves and the layout itself featured a couple of transitions that read as "my turn/your turn" to me, but by the end of it, the physicality helped make this match feel like an absolute war even if the finish was never really in doubt. I didn't particularly like the ending as Ripley has been so good that I'm not sure why she'd need Dominik Mysterio's interference to beat someone like Gonzalez at this stage in her career. This match went a touch long to me, but it was still solid overall and no worse than average. (2.5/5)

Backstage, John Cena spoke with the new WWE Unified Tag Team Champions before we got down to our main event - Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I hate that they refer to Rollins as the "inaugural" World Heavyweight Champion when the company has had so many World titles - including one known as the World Heavyweight Championship (without the WWE in front) - over the years and there is nothing new or special about this one except that it was created out of whole cloth because Roman Reigns can't be toppled. Anyway...Nak was the underdog coming into this match, but there was at least a little speculation that he may capture the title or that the night would end with Damien Priest cashing in the MITB Briefcase and leaving with the gold instead. For the first time in awhile, Nakamura felt like a real main event-level star coming into this show and much of that credit might have to go to the video production department, who did a good job building this up with various hype videos over the past few weeks. Some good chain wrestling to start things off, with Rollins working on Nak's arm. I really liked Nak's taunting in the early going too - rubbing Seth's lower back freakishly before nailing his lower spine with a stiff kick. Rollins fought back, though, regaining control quickly to hit a suicide dive on the outside. Seth went for a pedigree but got back body dropped, which allowed Nakamura to target the lower back even more with strikes. Nak missed a knee strike in the corner and Rollins caught him with a beautiful senton and then another suicide dive to the barricade. I'm so glad that Rollins has seemingly dumped the "multiple dives in a row" spot, which I always found to be wholly lacking in psychology. Rollins went up to the top of the barricade and went for a splash, but Nak tossed him off and into the table instead, Rollins' lower back hitting a monitor real hard. I'm not sure the spot was planned that way, but it looked and sounded brutal. Back in the ring, Nakamura hit the running knee he had gone for earlier (good psychology there) before applying a camel clutch to further attack the champion's lower back. Rollins tried to fire back but got caught with a cool back-breaker-clothesline-type thing and then some "vintage" Nakamura knees. After some pin attempts, Nakamura applying a single-leg crab, but Rollins fought his way out as a portion of the crowd broke out into song to show their support. Up to the top rope they went and it seemed like Rollins was going to hit the superplex-into-a-Falcon-Arrow combo, but hit a top rope hurricanrana instead. After trading blows, Rollins hit a sling blade and then a giant frog splash for 2. Moments later, Rollins hit a great ripcord clothesline - another move I'm not sure I've seen him bust out too many times - for 2. At this point, things got a little sour as Rollins laid the melodrama on super thick, yelling at Nakamura for "making it personal" and "worrying his wife." Rollins missed a Curb Stomp and got locked in a sleeper, but elbowed his way out. Nak then nailed him with a flying knee to the jaw that looked razor sharp. Nak hit a simple-but-effective scoop slam and then a simple-but-effective suplex, continuing to work on Rollins' lower back with the most basic of slams. Nak got a little bit fancier with a snappy German Suplex while Rollins was hung on the 2nd rope, but only got 2 for it. Nak then called for his finisher, the Kinchasa, but Rollins stopped him in his tracks with a huge superkick. Rollins tried to knock Nakamura out, but Rollins applied an armbar and then a triangle choke, but Rollins wouldn't tap out or pass out - eventually powering his way out by lifting Nakamura up and dropping him with a sit-down bomb for 2. A good strike exchange followed, but it almost seemed like the crowd under-reacted to it just because, by this point, I assume most fans believed they were working towards the finish rather than "padding" the match with another minute or two of counters and forearms and enziguiris. Back to the corner they went, where Rollins got caught and then brought back down to the mat with a messy looking something-or-other before nailing him with a Kinchasa that didn't quite get captured by the commentary team. Nakamura looked to be setting up for an additional one, but got pulled back into brawling with Rollins. Nak went for a suplex on the apron, but Rollins countered and eventually got the Pedigree, but couldn't make the cover! Rollins went for a Curb Stomp but Nak caught him and we got another set of nifty counters before Rollins hit his finish for a respectable 3 count. This might be one of the best matches that I've seen from either guy. I liked that Rollins kept the overly flashy stuff to a minimum and that Nakamura controlled the tempo for most of the match, not letting things ever get too fast or too plodding. (4/5)

Overall, Payback 2023 over-delivered in many ways - the main event was arguably the best match that Rollins and Nakamura have had in several years, the Ripley/Rodriguez match was better than I expected considering Rodriguez' relative inexperience as a singles worker on the main roster, and the Unified Tag Team match was an absolute Match of the Year contender for the company. I didn't necessarily love the LA Knight/Miz match, but the live crowd sure did and that's usually what matters most in presenting a live TV show. With a Kwang Score of 3.25-out-of-5, this one sits firmly in the final rating zone of...

FINAL RATING - Watch It

ECW Hardcore Heaven 97'

ECW Hardcore Heaven 97'

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - August 1997

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the ECW World Champion was Sabu, the ECW Television Champion was Tazz, and the ECW Tag Team Champions were The Gangstas (Mustafa and New Jack). 

On paper, looking at this card, Hardcore Heaven 97' should've been a slam dunk for ECW. It featured many of the company's biggest stars and was wrestled in front of a hot Florida crowd of wrestling enthusiasts. The company had a working agreement with the WWE which meant there was even more "star power" on hand than usual. However, things didn't quite work out that way...

After an intro spiel from Joey Styles, Rick Rude shows up to introduce "the next ECW Television Champion" Chris Candido, who is challenging Taz. Rude gets sent to the back by ECW President Tod Gordon, who threatens to disqualify Candido if Rude stays at ringside. This was done to prevent Rude from having to get involved (he wasn't physically cleared to do much of anything at this point, though there was rumors that he was working to get cleared a few years later), but really seems antithetical to the "anything goes" non-rulebook of ECW. Anyway, Taz looks like a badass and allows Candido to slap him in the face and clothesline him just to show how tough he is. The problem with that is - while Taz does eventually go on offense, minutes later, he's right back into selling mode. Its just weird to start a match working like a no-selling Road Warrior circa 1987 and then, within a few minutes, actually selling the damage and working a somewhat lengthy back-and-forth technical wrestling match. Candido having his initial offense treated no sold didn't do him any favors, nor did it make Taz look like a badass because, ultimately, it did take Taz real effort and time to retain the title. There are audible "Boring" chants sprinkled between the pops for Taz's offense, but this was just not the right match to start the show. I think these two could have had a much better match if Taz had just worked this as if Candido was a real challenge from the very beginning and Joey Styles, on commentary, leaned into the idea that, when he was with "that other company," Candido was distracted by backstage politics and having to use a corny gimmick but that here in ECW, he was free to show that he was a world class wrestler. Underwhelming. (2/5)

Before the next match, a clip is shown of the Insane Clown Posse getting attacked by Sabu and Rob Van Dam from earlier in the show. I'm curious as to why they didn't just include this whole segment as part of the show itself because it definitely would've added some variety to the evening.

Next up - Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Spike Dudley. Dudley had upset Bigelow a few weeks prior on ECW TV so you knew that Bigelow was looking to murder him here. This is essentially a squash match, but because Bigelow is so awesome at working the crowd and Spike Dudley takes amazing bumps, its also one of the more entertaining stretches of wrestling on the show. This isn't "must watch," but its a fun 5-minutes and the crowd is wild for it. Above-average segment, though I'm not sure this is "The Best Squash Match Ever" as I saw one reviewer refer to it. (3/5)

Another clip is shown from earlier in the night, when The Sandman tried to save ICP and ended up getting taken out by RVD and Sabu. We're told that the Sandman was then taken to the hospital.

Rob Van Dam was working his "Mr. Monday Night" gimmick at this point, boasting about how he was the most in-demand wrestler in ECW and that it was only a matter of time before the WWE or WCW would sign him. RVD's opponent on this night is Al Snow, who is decked out in his Leif Cassidy/New Rockers gear. Styles puts Snow over big on commentary and the crowd is relatively respectful, though they're definitely more in the corner of Van Dam (and because Snow was representing the WWE, it makes for a bit of a heel/heel dynamic). The action is good, but isn't connected by a good enough narrative thread and the big spots don't feel connected to one another. There are some sloppy bits and miscommunications that, while not egregious, definitely make it seem like these two weren't on the same page about how this match should've gone. Snow seems to want to work a more standard, typical, back-and-forth match, but RVD was still a guy who seemed to want to go out and do nothing but crazy dives, spin kicks, and chair shots to keep the crowd engaged. By the time we get to the Van Terminator, it seems like the audience is exhausted and just wants things to end (basically booing that a very close nearfall wasn't actually a three count at one point). Another underwhelming match. (2/5)

After more talk about The Sandman (we now learn that he has commandeered the ambulance and is trying to drive it back to the arena to exact revenge on Sabu and RVD), we go to the ring for The Dudley Boys vs. PG-13. Before the match, Joel Gertner, accompanied to porn star Jenna Jameson, does one of his usual X-rated promos and explains that, with The Gangstas unable to make it to tonight's show (I believe the issue was that Mustafa had left ECW by this point and I'm not sure what the deal with New Jack was), PG-13 will be filling in. From a wrestling standpoint, they were much better hands than The Gangstas ever were and Jamie "JC Ice" Dundee get a nice pop for their pre-match promo to pull the crowd in. Unfortunately, The Dudleys just weren't a great team yet and PG-13 were also best in small doses as this match, after a good start and a crowd-pleasing moment that saw J.C Ice plant a kiss onto Jameson - this one gets dull and overly silly (at one point, PG-13 trick D-Von into applying an armbar onto his partner that is just too silly for me). There's also some bad camerawork as we miss Big Dick Dudley's double chokeslam (though I doubt it was executed very well anyway). The crowd is so much more focused on Jameson than anything that happens in the ring and, dare I say, this match could've benefitted from a table spot or two. The Dudleys eventually win with the 3-D. Not terrible, but not good. (2/5)

Jerry Lawler makes his way down the aisle and cuts a promo before his match with Tommy Dreamer. I'm sure the longtime super fans of Lawler enjoyed this as a "throwback" to his old Memphis brawls, but this was not entertaining to me as it was just a long, sloppy brawl that, while bloody, didn't actually feel "dangeous" or "wild." It was also overbooked beyond belief with multiple "lights go out and then turn back on to reveal _____" (in this case, there were three separate incidents featuring Rick Rude, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and finally, Sunny). The Roberts interference made the least amount of sense because he attacked both guys - which could've been a cool way to debut him had his interference led to the finish, but it didn't (which made him look like a joke despite getting a massive pop from the crowd). This went 20 minutes, which was longer than it had any right to be. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, though, so I'm not going to say it was a total misfire, it just wasn't the type of match I enjoy. (1.5/5)

Main event time - a three-way dance between ECW Champion Sabu, former ECW Champion Terry Funk, and former ECW Champion Shane Douglas. I'm not sure if the fans in attendance were made are of the on-going Sandman saga (the future Hak was shown arriving at the arena before the match began), but it was easy to predict that he would end up attacking Sabu and costing him the match. As was often the case in these sorts of matches, the fact that it is fought under elimination rules is completely ignored despite the logic being that the two heels should've been eager to cooperate to eliminate the babyface and then compete among themselves. The threeway part of this match was not as engaging to me as the final minutes - when the match became a one-on-one battle between Funk and Douglas. Without Sabu around, Funk and Douglas get to do some actual wrestling and, though Funk is clearly not as quick as he was 10 years prior, Douglas wasn't necessarily a lightning quick worker himself. There's some nice twists with Dory Funk showing up to neutralize Francine and then some very well-executed nearfalls off a Funk roll-up and a bunch of Belly-to-Belly suplexes. The actual finish, coming off yet another Belly-to-Belly, falls a little flat because I believe the audience expected something a bit "bigger," but I can understand wanting this to end with some realism. After the match, Douglas whips Funk with the gold belt to get extra heat, which comes in the form of "bullshit" chants. Joel Gertner comes into the ring with the Dudleys, who proceed to boot the boots to Funk. Gertner asks Douglas to drop the Triple Threat and form a "Triple Crown" with the Dudleys, which brings out Bigelow and Candido and then the whole lockerroom shows up to break the sides up and join the brawl themselves! The Rottens end up battling with the Dudleys in the ring, chairs in hand, which leads to the arrival/return of The Eliminators and New Jack! The phony crowd noise and the overdubbing of New Jack's WWE-produced entrance theme ruin the post-match angle, but credit where its due, all the craziness does allow the show to end on a much happier note than it would've had it ended with Funk's loss. (3/5)

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, Hardcore Heaven 97' is one of the better ECW pay-per-views thanks to an above-average main event and a really fun Bigelow/Dudley match and everything else - except Dreamer/Lawler - being at least in the realm of average. Plus, at this point, ECW's roster was about as "star-studded" as it would ever be, with Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Tazz, Sabu, Terry Funk, the Dudleys, Al Snow, and Shane Douglas all around. As I noted in the opening paragraph, it's a shame that all these elements don't really gel the way they should due to a handful of bad ideas - whether its starting the match with an awkward and poorly layed-out Tazz/Candido match, giving PG-13 and The Dudleys 10 minutes of time when 6-7 would've been more than enough, or the overbooking of the extra lengthy Dreamer/Lawler match. On paper, this show sounds much better than it turned out being.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE Battleground 2013

WWE Battleground 2013

Buffalo, New York - October 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Heavyweight Championship was vacant, but the World Heavyweight Champion was Alberto Del Rio. Curtis Axel held the Intercontinental Championship, Dean Ambrose was the United States Champion, AJ Lee was the Divas Champion, and The Shield (Rollins and Reigns) were the WWE World Tag Team Champions. 

The first ever Battleground pay-per-view kicks off with a hardcore match between Rob Van Dam and then-World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio. This match starts off relatively hot with RVD hitting a crowd-pleasing and well-executed tornado DDT onto the chair, but from there, it doesn't really build properly and the crowd - who are desperately chanting for tables from about minute two - only seems to pop for the big weapon shots and doesn't seem to bite on any of the near falls. Having now watched quite a ton of RVD matches in my life, I would argue that while Van Dam is incredibly agile, can be very fun to watch, and is capable of putting on absolutely awesome matches, he needs the right dance partner and Del Rio is sort of similar: capable of great matches, but not consistent and often seemed to struggle connecting with the audience as a heel or a face. I really liked the finish and wish we would've seen Del Rio work on RVD's match throughout the contest, a simple thread that could've allowed a real story to develop. I don't think anybody believed Van Dam had a shot at winning this. Average at best. (2.5/5) 

After a promo cutting down the Hispanic population in Buffalo and the visiting "maple-chugging" Canadian fans in attendance, The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Cesaro led by Uncle Zeb) take on the goofy babyface team of The Great Khali and Santino. You know you're not going to get a great match here and you definitely don't. Santino does most of the work for his team, as expected. The Great Khali has become less hated than he was during his various main event pushes, but people forget he wasn't entertaining in the lower midcard either. This match is all about the finish - which sees Cesaro deliver the Cesaro Swing onto Khali - and, to be fair, it is an incredible feat of strength that deserves a point for having happened. An extra half-point for everything else, which wasn't too offensive, and the match not going longer than it needed to. (1.5/5)

Next up - "Paul Heyman Guy" and reigning Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs. R-Truth. This match sucked and the crowd, which eventually broke into an audible "boring" chant, let them know it. R-Truth can be a very good, entertaining worker, but Curtis Axel brought about as much flavor to the ring as spreading water on white bread. This match only went 20 more seconds than the match that preceded it, but felt like they'd added 20 minutes because of how heatless this was. The execution of various moves was not the issue - there was just nothing special or remarkable and Heyman was a non-factor on the outside when he should've been much more involved (I'm guessing they were saving that involvement for the Ryback/Punk match later on the show). This was bad and the finish is so out of nowhere that I'm guessing Vince had given the ref the signal to "send em' home" before they were supposed to. A point for effort, I guess. (1/5)

The Divas Champion AJ Lee took on Brie Bella in the next contest. This was a weird time for women's wrestling in the WWE as the "Divas Era" was still going on, but a more and more vocal part of the audience wanted to see some actual competition and wrestling and personalities beyond "former model." For example, AJ Lee, despite being the heel, had much more crowd support because she was entertaining, not just as her "deranged psycho ex-girlfriend" character, but also because she could apply holds convincingly, took great bumps, and had a flashy arsenal (undeniably accented by her natural good looks, no doubt). AJ Lee mixed speedy, believable wrestling with charm and energy and a "Sk8er Girl" look that set her apart from the rest of the division and her calling out the Total Divas in late August 2013 (you can find the clip on YouTube) in a promo tagged "#PipeBombshell" drew far more cheers than it did boos. Anyway, all that backstage hubbub aside, this was fine for what it was but somehow not quite as good as the Brie/Nattie match from SummerSlam a month earlier. They got a decent amount of time to tell a story - just a minute less than the previous two matches - but nothing really jumped out at me. The biggest pops seemed to all come from AJ's prancing and Tamina choking out Nikki on the outside. Another match that was decent at best. (1.5/5)

The Rhodes Brothers took on The Shield's Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a match where the Rhodes were fighting to be re-instated into the WWE. Dusty is at ringside for the babyfaces, while Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) is there to lend support to his stablemates. This match has taken on somewhat of a mythic reputation and though I don't think it deserves that level of hype, it is an absolutely great match that is maybe just shy of all-time classic territory not because of any particular flaw, but because I think the match shines mostly because it is the type of simple, beautiful babyface/heels tag match that fans were robbed of for so long that it really only stands out in context. In other words, is this as good as the best Midnight Express/Rock n' Roll Express match? Is this is as good as the best New Day/Usos matches? I'm not sure this is a top 10 tag wrestling match ever, but I think it might land a spot in the top 25 thanks to incredible performances by Dustin and Cody (if anything, Rollins and Reigns are a bit generic here compared to what they would be a few years after this). (4/5)

Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston followed and I was surprised just how cold this match was as I was under the impression that Wyatt's initial run was much better received by live crowds. Here, the crowd is clearly not into this. I respect the decision to not job Kofi out and to have him almost win the match, but Bray Wyatt should've come out of this match looking much stronger after having needed interference from his "family" to beat Kane at SummerSlam. Some of Wyatt's offense was really good, but it was stretched out with just too much filler to really leave a lasting impression that Bray was a new evil force that was going to be darn near unbeatable. I liked the finishing sequence, but this match went too long and the crowd's disinterest was palpable around the 7-8 minute mark. (2/5)

CM Punk took on Ryback in the next match. The story was clear here - Ryback could overpower Punk and dominate him and it is clear that there was at least some direction in making Ryback look strong - but unlike Brock Lesnar, who was over with the crowd at SummerSlam and had a ton of credibility as a legit UFC Champion, Ryback felt like a real step down as an opponent for Punk and this was too one-sided for me. Punk certainly makes Ryback look strong and, to be fair, some of Ryback's offense is absolutely wicked, but this match needed more of CM Punk controlling the tempo and outsmarting an opponent who wasn't on his level. Why would a former World Champion be so ineffective against an "idiot monster" like Ryback? This match did nothing for Punk and the finish - which saw Punk win with a low blow - came off as a bit desperate. Not the worst match ever or anything, but a misfire from conception. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. Daniel Bryan is terrific in this match and Randy Orton brought his working boots, which isn't always the case. I like that this match felt like a major championship fight. Unlike their lackluster match at Night of Champions a month prior, this feels like more of a "Daniel Bryan Match" than an "Orton Match" as there is way more action and the majority of the match is wrestled more at Bryan's pace. At over 20 minutes, the match does feel like a real war - though I could see the argument that it should've maybe been fought a bit more wildly as, by this point, things had gone beyond just the championship and had become way more personal with Orton's taunting of Brie Bella. Unfortunately, a good-maybe-great match like this can really only hit that next level with a strong finish (or at least a memorable one) and this one...didn't even really end. The Big Show comes down, knocks out Bryan, knocks out a referee, and then knocks out Orton, the show coming to a close without a victor. I hate to be crass, but this was basically a "blue-ballsing" of the fans in attendance after 20 minutes of very good action that deserved a crescendo. Without that finish, this was hard work that ultimately led nowhere. Bummer. This would've probably been in the 3-3.5 range with even a half-decent finish, but without one, it falls into the realm of being forgettable. (2.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.19-out-of-5, Battleground 2013 is a disappointment and hard to recommend. The two main events - Punk/Ryback and Bryan/Orton - are underwhelming and average (at best). The rest of the card is more miss-than-hit with only the very strong Rhodes Brothers vs. The Shield match delivering the goods.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

WWE SummerSlam 2013

WWE SummerSlam 2013

Los Angeles, CA - August 2013

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was John Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion was Alberto Del Rio, the Intercontinental Champion was Curtis Axel, the United States Champion was Dean Ambrose, the WWE Tag Team Champions were Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and the Divas Champion was AJ Lee.

I remember really enjoying this pay-per-view when I watched the night of, so I was curious if it still held up 10 years later...

The show starts with The Miz welcoming the crowd to the show, hyping up tonight's double main event - CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena (with Triple H serving as the guest referee). Before he can announce he participants of the opening contest, Fandango and Summer Rae show up to cut him off, dancing around as was their gimmick.

We then get JoJo (announced as being from Total Divas) singing the national anthem. WCW did this better when they'd let Maxx Payne shred it out on his guitar.

Bray Wyatt has his debut match against Kane in the opener. While there are flames around the ring, this isn't necessarily an "Inferno" match because the flames are there to keep Bray's "brothers" - Luke Harper and Erick Rowan - out of the ring rather than as a means to end the match (a traditional Inferno match can only end when one competitor is lit on fire). I would've thought that Bray had already competed on Raw or at any another PPV by this point, but in hindsight, it makes a ton of sense to load this match up with literal "sizzle" to hide the fact that Wyatt, while certainly not terrible in the ring, was certainly nothing special. Also, at this point, there are some missing elements - the spiderwalk is nowhere to be seen, he was years away from adopting the Mandible Claw, and I'm not sure he was even busting out his uranage yet (though, even if he was, it'd be near impossible for him to apply it to Kane). Harper and Rowan eventually interfere, allowing Wyatt to hit the Sister Abigail and score the win. Not a very good debut and the post-match angle - which saw the future Bludgeon Brothers drop the steel steps on Kane's neck (but not really, they clearly slammed down on him with the part of the steps that would go around his neck and not onto it) was terribly shot and executed. If you're going to do a post-match angle like that, do something that at least looks cool. Heck, even an "abduction" would've worked better. (1.5/5)

Next up - Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes. Sandow had won the Money in the Bank Briefcase in June or July (I don't recall) by turning on Cody Rhodes, who had been his tag team partner. Rhodes was now the babyface, but was obviously not nearly as over as he is right now in 2023 when he's easily among the top 3 babyfaces on the roster. I forget what happened with Sandow and his briefcase, though I know his cash-in was unsuccessful and that, aside from being The Miz's stunt double, he went on to achieve very little in the WWE (or Impact, for that matter). This isn't a bad match, but feels like something you'd find on SmackDown rather than on a major PPV event as there's not a ton of fan interest. Better than the match before it, but that's not saying much. (2/5)

The World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio defends his title against Christian in the next bout. I've never been a big fan of ADR, but I'm a big Christian "peep" and, with seemingly every year that passes and more of his work I see, I only become a bigger admirer of his work. Here, he takes a crowd that seems maybe a bit bored with the show so far and pulls them, step-by-step, up to a fever pitch (and a well-earned "This is Awesome" chant before audiences would do that for nearly anything) as they built towards a very good finishing sequence. Hard-hitting, good back-and-forth that feels organically paced and not "your turn/my turn," Del Rio getting to show his toughness - this is a very good match that makes me wonder if it is Christian, not Mysterio or CM Punk or John Cena - that was his greatest WWE opponent in terms of delivering quality matches. Like a few other matches on Christian's resume, what jumped out at me when I looked at the match times was how much of a battle this felt like despite the match only going 12-and-a-half minutes. Good selling of the arm damage by Christian helped do that. A very good match that, given a few more minutes and maybe a little bit less of a predictable finish (Christian's odds of winning this were very low as Del Rio was going through yet another, arguably failed, major push to be seen as a true top guy) and this might've really been considered a classic. (3.5/5)

Brie Bella vs. Natalya followed. This was better than I thought it would be, considering that Brie Bella was the lesser of the two Bellas in terms of wrestling acumen (though, at this point, I'm not sure Nikki had really stepped up yet). The crowd gives absolutely no shit about this match, chanting for JBL, Michael Cole, and Jerry Lawler in the middle of it and then demanding tables at another point, clearly just trying to "pop" themselves. Bella and Nattie didn't put on a clinic or anything, but there were some good spots in this - specifically a great apron-pull from the heels on the outside that caused Nattie to take a nasty fall, a quality and well-executed Sharpshooter counter from Brie later on, and an impressive fireman's carry lift from Nattie. Compared to some of the Diva matches I've reviewed from years prior, this was not terrible at all and felt like a competitive, athletic contest without overstaying its welcome. (2.5/5)

One half of the show's double main event was next as CM Punk took on Brock Lesnar in a No DQ match billed as "The Best vs. The Beast." I remember watching this for the first time live and enjoying it, but being so caught up in the Daniel Bryan storyline that I didn't really appreciate just how good this was. Watching it a second time, I was much more focused, knowing that this match had taken on a reputation as arguably among the top 3-5 matches either guy ever had (which is saying a lot for guys this decorated, regardless of the various controversies that surround their careers). As others have written, what sets this match apart from the rest of Lesnar's post-2012 run is that he is incredibly giving throughout. Yes, he dominates for large stretches and puts a serious beating on Punk, but he also allows Punk multiple times to shine, show his toughness, and get is own strategy over, going for headshots via running knees, putting his own body on the line multiple times with dives and splashes, trying to soften the Beast with devastating kicks and submissions, basically just trying to outlast and survive Brock's onslaught long enough to wear him down and maybe score a lucky GTS. The strategy and story works because, though there was little doubt that Lesnar wasn't leaving with his arm raised, we do get a well-executed nearfall in which it is made fairly clear that Punk had him beat until Heyman's interference. From there, a match that had been - up to that point - just an absolute war of physicality with a few hardcore elements (use of the top of the table by Brock, steel steps, a chair) turns into more of the type of modern "blockbuster" match with heightened drama courtesy of Paul Heyman's repeated involvement, a handful of excellent false finishes, and some really nifty and cringe-inducing weapon usage that show that even if shots to the head are outlawed, Punk and Lesnar were willing to get creative to get over the viciousness of a simple steel folding chair. Its hard to find a real "flaw" in this match aside from the inevitable logic flaw that all wrestling matches, and especially No DQ matches, have: that no human could actually survive the beating they withstand for 30+ minutes in a "real" fight, that even a match like this, with so many punishing moves and hard hits, takes undeniable cooperation between its combatants. Yes, that's pro-wrestling. And this match is pro-wrestling at its finest and most brutal without sacrificing story, drama, or having to go to grotesque extremes. (5/5)

Kaitlyn and Dolph Ziggler took on AJ Lee and Big E in the next match-up. I wasn't watching WWE religiously back then, but I followed it enough to know the big names and the major storylines and I still have zero recollection of who Kaitlyn was. I also don't remember the specifics of the Ziggler/AJ Lee split and, based on audience reactions, I'm not sure even the crowd knew who to cheer for here as there doesn't seem to be crowd support for either team specifically. Still, this doesn't overstay its welcome and Big E looks much, much better than I remember him being this early in his run. Passable TV-quality match that served its purpose of bringing the crowd down a little after the previous match and getting them prepped for the main event. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Daniel Bryan challenging John Cena for the WWE Championship with Triple H as guest referee. This match is a bit polarizing - either you think it might be one of the best matches ever, a 5-star classic that shows just how good both Cena and Bryan could be at their peak, or you think it is just an 4-4.5-star match that is slightly imperfect due to a handful of near-botches and Cena not selling his elbow damage enough. What you find are many respectable wrestling fans or critics who don't think is a tremendous, must-see match and probably one of the top 10 WWE Championship matches in company history. I'm not going to go into too much detail about why I fall into the former category, but to me, this match is a masterpiece with nary an element or moment I don't love. I love that Triple H is a non-factor for the entire match aside from, as the commentators note, letting the two combatants clash and not trying to stop things when Cena looks like he might be injured. I like how Cena, at first, wants to try to outwrestle Bryan, but then ultimately choose to use his strength to try to ground the challenger. I love that Bryan is relying on his bread n' butter - strikes and submissions and some brilliant suplexes using leverage - but that he sometimes gets overexcited and ends up eating a Cena clothesline to stop his momentum. I like that this match doesn't feature any excessive weapons or table spots, but is mostly fought inside the ring with neither guy grabbing tights or holding onto a rope or inadvertently undoing a turnbuckle pad. I like that Cena doesn't tease any sort of real heel turn here, wrestling the match straight-up. I love that the match ends with the "creation" of a new, devastating finisher move for Daniel Bryan that immediately pops the crowd and feels believable as a means to put down one of the most decorated WWE wrestlers ever. I love how much the crowd is behind Bryan from beginning to end, that this match really does feel like a "Passing Of The Torch" moment. The only thing that saddens me a bit is that, as far as I remember, we never got to see these two guys try to top what they did here as their chemistry is undeniably great. It is rare that the same wrestling show features two Match of the Year candidates, but SummerSlam 2013 does. (5/5)

...And then we get the post-match. After Bryan celebrates his championship win, Randy Orton shows up - Money in the Bank briefcase in hand - and teases a cash-in before turning his back to the champion. Triple H then hits Bryan with a pedigree, allowing Orton to come in, make the pin, and leave the show with the WWE Championship. At the time, I hated this angle and wished, if it had to happen, it would've happend on Raw. Looking back, I do see why this angle happening at the end of the night made it a bigger deal, but I still disliked the storyline. Over the next few months, my disfavor for it would prove to be true as the company cooled off on Bryan considerably, having him continue to lose Championship matches to Orton, fall back into the midcard by December, briefly join the Wyatt Family, and not even be included as a participant in the 2014 Royal Rumble match before the crowd support became so overwhelming that they had to insert him into the WrestleMania XXX main event. The WWE stans will always say "That's how the story was supposed to go," but those of us who remember it vividly know that not to be true. No point awarded for the first major misstep in the booking of Daniel Bryan post-championship victory.

With an all-around Kwang Score of 3.14-out-of-5, the 2023 edition of SummerSlam is imperfect and certain matches fall a touch short - the Sandow/Rhodes match and the opener, most noticeably - but Cena/Bryan and Punk/Lesnar is an undeniably awesome combo of main event matches that absolutely deliver and the Christian/Del Rio match is arguably Del Rio's best singles outing in an uneven WWE career. Throw a better women's match on this show and you might have an all-timer, but for what it was, this was a strong show and worth checking out.

FINAL RATING - Watch It