Best Wrestling Match Ever Tourney

[Mikey2Dope]

Match 1: Johnny B. Badd vs Brian Pillman - Fall Brawl 95 VS The Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn vs Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels vs Shark Boy & Jason Cross vs Johnny Storm & Chris Sabin vs XXX – TNA 4/9/2003
Match 2: Juventud Guererra vs Blitzkrieg – Spring Stampede 1999 VS Team WWF vs Team Alliance – Survivor Series 2001
Match 3: Kevin Sullivan vs Chris Benoit – Falls Count Anywhere – Great American Bash 96 VS AJ Styles vs Raven – TNA 8/27/03
Match 4: WGTT vs The Filthy Animals – Vengenance 2003 VS Jushin Thunder Liger vs The Pegasus Kid – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
Match 5: Chris Sabin vs Frankie Kazarian – TNA 6/25/03 VS Low-Ki vs Spanky vs Doug Williams vs Christopher Daniels – Crowning A Champion 02
Match 6: Shawn Michaels vs The British Bulldog – Euro Title Match – One Night Only VS Steve Austin vs Bret Hart – Wrestlemania 13
Match 7: Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon – Ladder Match – Wrestlemania 10 VS Shane McMahon vs The Big Show Last Man Standing – Backlash 2001
Match 8: RVD vs Randy Orton – IC Title – Armageddon 03 VS E&C vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz – TLC – SummerSlam 00
Match 9: Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit – Owen Hart Tribute Match VS The Steiner Brothers vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka – WrestleWar 92
Match 10: Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi 6/9/95 VS Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles – TNA 2/19/03
Match 11: Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – SummerSlam 2002 VS 2 Cold Scorpio vs Shane Douglas vs Chris Jericho vs Pitbull #2 – Heatwave 96
Match 12: RVD vs Jerry Lynn – ECW on TNN 9/10/99 VS E&C vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz – TLC #2 – Wrestlemania X-7
Match 13: Chris Benoit vs William Regal – Brian Pillman Memorial Show VS Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat – BATB 94
Match 14: Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat – Beach Blast 92 VS Eddie Guerrero & Art Barr vs Hijo Del Santo & Octagon – When Worlds Collide 94
Match 15: Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect – KOTR 93 VS Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka – Heatwave 98
Match 16: Chris Benoit vs Steve Austin – Smackdown 5/31/01 VS Ron Killings vs AJ Styles vs Chris Harris vs Raven – TNA 5/19/04
Match 17: Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper IC Title – Mania 8 VS Kane & Hurricane vs Bubba Rey & Spike vs RVD & Jeff Hardy vs Jericho & Christain – TLC #4
Match 18: Hulk Hogan vs The Big Boss Man – SNME Cage Match VS Saturn & Raven vs Dean Malenko & Chris Benoit – Spring Stampede 1999
Match 19: The Hart Foundation,The Dream Team,The Islanders & Demolition vs Strike Force,The Young Stallions,The British Bulldogs,The Rougeau Brother & The Killer Bees – Survivor Series 87 VS Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – 2/3 Falls Armageddon 02
Match 20: The Rockers vs The Brainbusters – 2/3 Falls SNME VS Jeff Jarrett vs Ron Killings vs Chris Harris vs Raven – TNA 6/2/04
Match 21: Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA – I Quit Match – Starrcade 85 VS Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell No Mercy 02
Match 22: The Four Horseman vs The Road Warriors,Dusty Rhodes,Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering – War Games 87 VS Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho vs Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz – TLC #3
Match 23: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – Wrestlemania 10 VS Mr. Perfect vs The Texas Tornado – SummerSlam 1990
Match 24: The Great Sasuke vs Chris Benoit – Super J-Cup 94 VS The Naturals vs America’s Most Wanted – TNA 7/21/04
Match 25: Chris Benoit vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 20 VS The Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn vs XXX – TNA 4/16/03
Match 26: Hulk Hogan vs The Rock – Wrestlemania 18 VS Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas vs The Hollywood Blondes – Clash of the Champions 22
Match 27: RVD vs Christian – IC Title Ladder Match on Raw VS DDP vs Chris Benoit vs Raven – Uncensored 98
Match 28: Paul London vs AJ Styles – Night of the Grudges 03 VS Mikey Whipwreck & Tajiri vs The FBI – 8/2000
Match 29: Jeff Hardy vs RVD – Ladder Match – Summerslam 01 VS DDP vs Goldberg – Halloween Havoc 98
Match 30: Low-Ki vs AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn – TNA 8/7/02 VS Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa – 6/3/94
Match 31: Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon – Street Fight – King of the Ring 01 VS The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz – Cage Match – Survivor Series 01
Match 32: Hiro Hase vs The Great Muta – 12/14/92 VS Gran Hamada, The Great Sasuke & Masato Yakushiji v. Men’s Teioh, Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku – Barely Legal 97
Match 33: Ric Flair vs Terry Funk – Great American Bash 89 VS Shane McMahon vs Steve Blackman – Hardcore Match – Summerslam 00
Match 34: Bret Hart,Owen Hart,The British Bulldog,Brian Pillman & Jim Neidhart vs Steve Austin,Ken Shamrock,Goldust & The Legion of Doom – Canadian Stampede VS AJ Styles vs Abyss – TNA 11/19/03
Match 35: Scramble Cage – Main Event Spectacles 03 VS AJ Styles vs Psichosis vs Low-Ki vs Jerry Lynn – TNA 6/26/02
Match 36: Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle – Vengeance 2001 VS Triple H vs The Rock – Iron Man Match – Judgement Day 00
Match 37: Jushin Thunder Liger vs Brian Pillman – Superbrawl II VS Austin Aries vs American Dragon- Testing The Limit 04
Match 38: The Great Sasuke vs Jushin Thunder Liger – Super J-Cup 94 VS Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa – 6/8/90
Match 39: Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – 30 Minute Submission Match – Backlash 2001 VS Chris Sabin vs Michael Shane vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels – TNA 1/7/04
Match 40: The Quebecers vs The Steiner Brothers – “Quebec Province Rules” VS Cactus Jack vs Triple H – Street Fight – Royal Rumble 00
Match 41: Cactus Jack vs Sting – Beach Blast 92 VS Billy Kidman vs Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera – Starrcade 98
Match 42: The Rock vs Kurt Angle vs Triple H – Summerslam 00 VS Ric Flair vs Lex Luger – WrestleWar 90
Match 43: Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin - King of the Ring 97 VS The Rock vs Chris Jericho – No Mercy 2001
Match 44: Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance – War Games – Wrestlewar 92 VS Royal Rumble 2003
Match 45: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi – 1/20/97 VS Samoa Joe vs American Dragon – ROH 10/2/04
Match 46:Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs The Steiner Brothers – Wrestlefest 94 VS Christian vs Edge – Ladder Match – No Mercy 01
Match 47: Lance Storm vs Jerry Lynn – Anarchy Rulz 99 VS Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit – 2/3 Falls – Summerslam 00
Match 48: The Rock vs Chris Jericho – Vengeance 01 VS Edge vs Kurt Angle – Smackdown Cage Match 2002
Match 49: Justin Credible vs Shane Douglas – CyberSlam 99 VS Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Ground Zero
Match 50: Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid vs Shawn Michaels & Diesel – Raw VS Raven vs AJ Styles – TNA 3/19/03
Match 51: Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels – Iron Man Match – Wrestlemania 12 VS Royal Rumble 2004
Match 52: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell – Bad Blood 97 VS RVD vs Bam Bam Bigelow – ECW TV Title
Match 53: Cactus Jack vs Vader – Halloween Havoc 93 VS Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson – Cage Match
Match 54: Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr. – Halloween Havoc 97 VS Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior – Wrestlemania 6
Match 55: Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack – Backlash 04 VS The Iron Shiek vs Sgt. Slaughter – Boot Camp Match
Match 56: Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Raven & Saturn vs Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr – Slamboree 99 VS Vader vs Antonio Inoki – 1/4/96
Match 57: Steve Austin vs Bret Hart – Survivor Series 96 VS Steve Austin vs Chris Jericho – Vengeance 01
Match 58: Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – Wrestlemania 16 VS The Ultimate Warrior vs The Macho Man – Wrestlemania 7
Match 59: Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson – Fall Brawl 95 VS Taka Michinoku vs Triple H – Monday Night Raw
Match 60: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – Chi-Town Rumble 89 VS Tajiri vs Super Crazy – Guilty As Charged 99
Match 61: Chris Benoit vs Al Snow – Double Tables VS The Steiner Brothers vs Sting & Lex Luger – Superbrawl 1
Match 62: Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinjiro Otani – 3/17/96 VS Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle – Wrestlemania 19
Match 63: Shawn Michaels vs Marty Janetty – Monday Night Raw VS Vince McMahon vs Hulk Hogan
Match 64: Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect – Loser Leaves Town VS Sting vs Rick Rude – Clash of the Champions 21
Match 65: Triple H vs The Rock – Ladder Match – Summerslam 98 VS Team AAA vs Team NWA – 2/11/04
Match 66: Low-Ki vs American Dragon – Round Robin Challenge 02 VS Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera – Nitro 9/14/98
Match 67: Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr. – World War III 96 VS AJ Styles vs Jeff Jarrett – TNA 4/21/04
Match 68: Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – Royal Rumble 03 VS Royal Rumble 2001
Match 69: Shawn Michaels vs Sid – Survivor Series 96 VS Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Sabin – Super X 2003
Match 70: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin – Monday Night Raw – May 97 VS Bret Hart vs Steve Austin – IYH: Revenge of the Taker
Match 71: Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - Wrestlemania 19 VS Eddie Guererro vs Dean Malenko – Hostile City Showdown 95
Match 72: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – Cage Match – Summerslam 94 VS Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guererra – Big Ass Extreme Bash 96
Match 73: Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels – Ladder Match VS Steve Austin vs Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit – King of the Ring 01
Match 74: The Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne – Spring Stampede 94 VS Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko – Uncensored 97
Match 75: Edge vs Eddie Guererro – Ladder Match – Smackdown VS Ric Flair vs Terry Funk – I Quit – Clash of the Champions 9
Match 76: Steve Austin vs RVD vs Kurt Angle – No Mercy 01 VS Sting vs Vader – Starrcade 92
Match 77: E&C vs The Hardy Boyz – Ladder Match – No Mercy 00 VS Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka – November To Remember 99
Match 78: Jeff Hardy vs RDV – Hardcore Championship – Invasion 01 VS AJ Styles vs Syxx Pac – TNA 10/23/02
Match 79: Steve Austin vs The Rock – Wrestlemania X-7 VS Eddie Guerrero vs JBL - Bullrope Match - GAB 2004
Match 80: AJ Styles vs Jeff Jarrett vs Raven – TNA 6/11/03 VS Ric Flair vs Barry Windham – World Wide Wrestling
Match 81: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit – Wrestlemania X-7 VS DDP vs Sting – Nitro 4/26/99
Match 82: The Pit Bulls vs Raven & Stevie Richards – 2/3 Falls Dog Collar Match VS The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz – Tables Match – Royal Rumble 2000
Match 83: Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko – Hog Wild 96 VS Jeff Jarrett vs Ron Killings – TNA 11/20/02
Match 84: Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog – Summerslam 1992 VS AJ Styles vs Low-Ki – TNA 8/13/03
Match 85: RVD vs Jerry Lynn – Hardcore Heaven 99 VS Shawn Michaels vs Ted Dibiase
Match 86: Ric Flair vs Randy Savage – Wrestlemania 8 VS Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio Jr. – Great American Bash 96
Match 87: Royal Rumble 1992 VS Royal Rumble 95
Match 88: Owen Hart vs The British Bulldog – Monday Night Raw – 2/26/97 VS The Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan – Slamboree 94
Match 89: Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen – 7/29/03 VS Triple H vs Mankind - Canadian Stampede 97
Match 90: Chris Benoit vs RVD – Summerslam 02 VS Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle – Summerslam 01
Match 91: Kenti Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada – 6/12/98 VS Nobuhiko Takada vs Vader – UWF 4/20/95
Match 92: Chris Benoit vs DDP – Superbrawl 98 VS The Hart Foundation vs The Brainbusters – Summerslam 89
Match 93: The Rock N Roll Express vs Ole & Arn Anderson VS The Midnight Express vs The Southern Boys – Great American Bash 90
Match 94: Jeff Jarrett vs Raven – TNA 4/30/03 VS The Dudley Boyz vs E&C vs The Hardy Boyz – Triangle Ladder Match – Wrestlemania 16
Match 95: Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect – Summerslam 91 VS Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit – Cage Match – Monday Night Raw
Match 96: Shinjiro Otani vs Eddie Guererro – Starrcade 95 VS Royal Rumble 2002
Match 97: Chris Jericho vs Triple H – Last Man Standing – Fully Loaded 00 VS The Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku – Canadian Stampede 97
Match 98: The Filth Animals vs Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo – Greed 01 VS 2 Cold Scorpio vs Sabu - TV Title - Cyberslam 1996
Match 99: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Psichosis – 2/3 Falls VS The Rock vs Chris Benoit – Fully Loaded 00
Match 100: Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair – WrestleWar 89 VS Steve Austin vs The Rock – Wrestlemania 19
Match 101: Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko – Superbrawl 92 VS Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Kurt Angle – Sumerslam 02
Match 102: Mankind vs Shawn Michaels – Mind Games VS Wild Pegasus vs Black Tiger – 6/11/96
Match 103: CM Punk vs Samoa Joe – ROH World Title Classic II 10/16/04 VS Paul London vs The American Dragon – ROH Epic Encounter 03
Match 104: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Psichosis – Bash at the Beach 96 VS AJ Styles vs Abyss – TNA 3/17/04
Match 105: The Midnight Express vs The Fantastics – Clash of the Champions 1 VS Sting vs The Great Muta – Great American Bash 89
Match 106: Shawn Michaels vs Diesel – No Holds Barred – Good Friends Better Enemies VS Lex Luger vs Ricky Steamboat – Great American Bash 89
Match 107: Scotty 2 Hotty vs Dean Malenko – Backlash 00 VS Bret Hart vs Ric Flair – WWF Title Match Saskatoon
Match 108: Triple H vs The Rock – Backlash 00 VS Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – Clash of the Champions 6
Match 109: Vader vs Ric Flair – Starrcade 93 VS Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko vs Perry Saturn – Judgement Day 00
Match 110: Ric Flair,Barry Windham,Sid Vicious & Larry Zbyszko vs Sting,Brian Pillman & The Steiner Brothers – WrestleWar 91 VS Steve Austin vs The Rock – Backlash 99
Match 111: Samoa Joe vs Jay Briscoe – At Our Best 04 VS Harley Race vs Ric Flair – Cage Match – Starrcade 83
Match 112: Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit – No Mercy 02 VS Sting vs Vader – Great American Bash 92
Match 113: Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson vs Barry Windham & Lex Luger – Clash of the Champions 1 VS Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon – Ladder Match – Summerslam 95
Match 114: Eddie Guerrero vs Essa Rios – Backlash 00 VS Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero – Armageddon 02
Match 115: Steve Austin vs Dude Love – Over The Edge 98 VS Steve Austin vs Dude Love – Unforgiven 98
Match 116: Raven vs Chris Benoit – Souled Out 98 VS Ken Shamrock vs Owen Hart – Lion’s Den Match – Summerslam 98
Match 117: Mankind vs The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell – King of the Ring 98 VS Cactus Jack vs Triple H – Hell In A Cell – No Way Out 00
Match 118: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit – Unforgiven 02 VS Triple H vs Chris Benoit – No Mercy 00
Match 119: Bret Hart vs Tiger Mask VS Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage – Wrestlemania 5
Match 120: Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – Spring Stampede 94 VS Bret Hart vs The Undertaker – One Night Only
Match 121: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit – Backlash 01 VS Diesel vs Bret Hart – Survivor Series 95
Match 122: The Ultimate Warrior vs The Macho Man - Summerslam 92 VS Keiji Mutoh vs Masahiro Chono – G1 Climax 91
Match 123: Steve Austin vs Triple H - 2/3 Falls - No Way Out 01 VS Psichosis vs Rey Mysterio Jr. - Mexican Death Match - November To Remember 95
Match 124: Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk v. Raven & Cactus Jack VS The Hollywood Blondes v. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson - 2/3 Falls
Match 125: Jeff Jarrett vs Shawn Michaels - In Your House II VS The Rockers vs The Orient Express - Royal Rumble 1991
Match 126: Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog - In Your House 5 VS Jean-Pierre Lafitte v. Bret Hart - In Your House III
Match 127: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - Champions Carnival 1995 Finals VS Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle - Wrestlemania 21
Match 128: William Regal vs Chris Benoit - Velocity VS Money in the Bank: Edge v. Chris Benoit v. Chris Jericho v. Shelton Benjamin v. Christian v. Kane - Wrestlemania 21

[brodeurnumber1]

Bret Hart vs Owen Hart- Wrestlemania X
Bret Hart vs British Bulldog- Summerslam '92
Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin- Wrestlemania 13
Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels- Wrestlemania 12
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart- Summerslam '94
Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon- Wrestlemania X
Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit- Royal Rumble '03
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock- Wrestlemania X7
Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat- Clash of the Champions 6
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle- Summerslam '01
Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit- Backlash '01
Royal Rumble 2001(it was just too fun to not be on here)

I'll think of more later, but my head is blank right now.

[starcat]

i do appologize that im not gonna be able to give the dates and events of these matches...truthfully after all these years alot of them run together.... but i'll give it a shot... the problem is some of these were on tv such as saturday nights main events and stuff....

randy machoman savage vs. rick steamboat...wm3
randy savage vs. hulk hogan wm 5
rockers vs. hart foundation snme
demolition vs. strikeforce...
hulk hogan vs. big boss man... steelcage... snme
brutus the barber beefcake vs. outlaw ronbass... a haircut and spurs to the head...
jake the snake roberts vs. rick rude
kerry vonerich vs. mr. perfect... summerslam 91 or 92
123 kid vs. bret hart... televised match, but awesome none the less
demolition vs. powers of pain w/ mr. fugi oh how i loved the demos
demolition vs. the british bulldogs... televised i think
the red rooster vs. the brooklyn brawler... a guilty pleasure match
the rock n roll express vs. the midnight express... scaffold match
the original survivor series match with all the tagteams teaming.....
rick flair vs. rick steamboat...the match where flair won the title back and terry funk beat the shit out of him that night... putting him in the hospital with a slipped disk... in 89 or 90
shawn michaels vs. mankind... the one on the hbk dvd
hhh (dx days) vs. the rock on raw.... hhh kept whippin his ass, and everytime he would start to pin, hed lift him up and yell not done yet, though stupid cause it cost him to lose the match... but enjoyable anyway

ive tried to not repeat any,like my 2 favorite, hbk vs hart, and hart vs. stonecole... but if i have repeated im sorry

[jackson13]

Just wanna say, dont start this tourney yet. I'm off to bed here because I have to get up for work in the A.M., and wont have time to post my matches until after work tommorow, which will be around 2 pm (eastern time). Thanks.

[Frank the Tank]

I'm not too found of this tourney happening because some of my faves will probably get crushed. But, what the hell:

Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa 6/3/94
Steve Austin vs Bret Hart at Survivor Series 96
Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair at Chi-Town Rumble 89 (The other two are mentioned, so why not this one to complete the trilogy)
CM Punk vs Samoa Joe at ROH World Title Classic II 10/16/04 (I was their for this one!!!)
Chris Benoit vs Steve Austin Smackdown 5/31/01
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada 1/20/97
Paul London vs American Dragon ROH Epic Encounter 03
Cactus Jack vs Triple H at Royal Rumble 00
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect at King Of The Ring 93 (Pretty much the basis for the Angle/Benoit match at WM X-7 with both guy wanting to prove who was the better technical wrestler. And with 5 minutes of pure wrestling one upmanship, then Hennig getting frusterated and playing heel)
Chris Benoit vs Great Sasuke at Super J-Cup 94
Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit Nitro 10/4/99
Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi 6/9/95
Vader vs Sting at Superbrawl 93
Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr. at Halloween Havoc 97
Samoa Joe vs American Dragon at ROH Midnight Express Reunion 10/2/04
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Vader - UWF 4/20/95 (For people who think Vader is a generic big man brawler, this match will shut you up as he and Takada have a fucking submission showdown here)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa 6/8/90
Eddie Guerrero/Art Barr vs El Hijo Del Santo/Octagon When Worlds Collide 94 (It's on the Eddie DVD)

[jackson13]

A day late, but thats what happens when your busy.

These are all off the top of my head and based off of the PPV's I own.


HBK vs. Bret Hart - Mania XII
Austin vs. Bret Hart - Mania X13
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Beniot - Cage Match, Raw 2001
Edge vs. Kurt Angle - Cage Match, Smackdown! 2002
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - Cage Match 1994
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - Mania X
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - IC Title Ladder Match - Mania X
Randy Orton vs. Cactus Jack - IC Title Hardcore Match - Backlash 2004
Chris Beniot vs. HBK vs. HHH - Triple Threat Championship - Backlash 2004
2004 Royal Rumble
Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton - IC Title Armageddon 2003
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho - Mania XIX
Austin vs. Rock - Mania XIX
Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan - Mania XIX
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle - Mania XIX
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Beniot - Championship Match - Royal Rumble 2003
Chris Beniot vs. Eddie Guerrero - Armageddon 2002
HBK vs. HHH - 2 out of 3 falls Heavyweight Title - Armageddon 2002
Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle and Chris Beniot - Tag Team Championships - No Mercy 2002
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker - Hell in a Cell - No Mercy 2002
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Beniot - Unforgiven 2002
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle - Summerslam 2002
Chris Beniot vs. RVD - IC Title - Summerslam 2002
HBK vs. HHH - Non-Sanctioned - Summerslam 2002
2002 Royal Rumble
The Rock vs. Chris Jericho - World Championship - Vengeance 2001
Austin vs. Kurt Angle - WWF Championship - Vengeance 2001
Austin vs. Chris Jerico - Match to determine Undisputed Champion - Vengeance 2001
Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz - Cage Match - WCW/WWF Tag Team Unification - Survivor Series 2001
Team WWF vs. Team Alliance - Survivor Series 2001
Christian vs. Edge - IC Title Ladder Match - No Mercy 2001
The Rock vs. Chris Jericho - WCW Championship - No Mercy 2001
Austin vs. RVD. vs. Kurt Angle - WWF Championship Triple Threat - No Mercy 2001
Jeff Hardy vs. RVD - Hardcore Championship Ladder Match - Summerslam 2001
Austin vs. Kurt Angle - WWF Championship - Summerslam 2001
Jeff Hardy vs. RVD - Hardcore Championship - InVasion
Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon - Street Fight - King of the Ring 2001
Austin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Beniot - Triple Threat Title Match - King of the Ring 2001
Chris Beniot vs. Kurt Angle - 30 Minute Submission Match - Backlash 2001
Shane McMahon vs. Big Show - Last Man Standing - Backlash 2001
Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman - Hardcore Title - Summerslam 2000
Edge & Christian vs. Dudleyz. vs. Hardyz - T.L.C. Tag Championship - Summerslam 2000
Chris Jericho vs. Chris Beniot - 2 out of 3 falls - Summerslam 2000
The Rock vs. HHH vs. Kurt Angle - Triple Threat Championship Match - Summerslam 2000
Dudlezy vs. Hardyz vs. E&C - Triangle Ladder Match Tag Championship - Mania 16
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Beniot - 2 Fall Triple Threat IC and Euro Title Match - Mania 16
Austin vs. Rock - Mania XSEVEN
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Beniot - Mania XSEVEN
E&C vs. Hardyz. vs. Dudleyz - T.L.C. II Tag Title Match - Mania XSEVEN
T.L.C.3 - Smackdown (forgot the date)
T.L.C. 4 - Raw (forgot the date)
RVD. vs. Christian - IC Title Ladder Match - Raw September 2003

[goldfingerz]

Hogan/Warrior 2!

[TheAxeGrinder]

Steamboat Vs. Flair (pretty much all of 'em)
Hogan Vs. Rock WM X8
Mankind Vs. Undertaker Hell In A Cell '97

[Raw Chili]

hmmmm....this is a toughie, in no order........

Austin vs. Hart from Survivor Series 97 and Mania 13
Flair vs. Randy Savage from Mania 8
Perfect vs. Hart from Summerslam 91
Hart vs. Benoit on Nitro the Owen Tribute match
Benoit vs. HBK vs. HHH, Mania 20, great match and benoit won, woooo
Benoit vs. Angle Rumble 03
Mankind vs. HBK from IYH: Mind Games
Cactus Jack vs. Vader from Halloween Havoc 93, fun brawl
Strap match between Vader and the Stinger Superbrawl 3
Vader vs. Flair Starrcade 93, good stuff
Bret vs. Owen Mania 10 and Summerslam 94
1992 Royal Rumble Ric Flair one man show
Fall Brawl 92 Sting and co vs. The Dangerous Alliance
Superbrawl 1 Steiners vs. Stinger and Luger
Jericho vs. Rock No Mercy 01, Jericho wins the belt in a highly underrated match
HBK vs. Ramon ladder mania 10
The main event of Canadian Stampead with Bret/Owen/Davey/Neidhart/PIllman vs. Austin/Shamrock/Goldust/L.O.D was a good time

all i can think of at the moment

also.........a big fan of early 98 WCW Raven/Benoit/DDP feuding......

Raven vs. Benoit at Souled Out 98 ruled
Benoit vs. DDP at Superbrawl was a good time
DDP vs. Benoit vs. Raven also ruled at Uncensored March 98 for the U.S title
and maybe a guilty pleasure of sorts but i also think a fine match but DDP was a part of Goldberg's best match ever at Halloween Havoc 98, thanks to the fact that DDP likes to plan shit out before matches but the match was still a good time.

[starcat]

kerry von erich vs. rick flair... the david von erich memorial match
honkytonk man vs. ultimate warrior ss 88
roddy piper vs. bad news brown

[Mikey2Dope]

Edge vs Eddie Guererro - SD Ladder Match
Malenko & Benoit vs Raven & Saturn - Spring Stampede 1999
Juventud vs Blitzkrieg - Spring Stampede 1999
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Psichosis - Bash At The Beach 1996
Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio Jr. - Great American Bash 1996
Kevin Sullivan vs Chris Benoit - Falls Count Anywhere Great American Bash 1996
Cactus Jack vs Sting - Beach Blast 1992
Jushin Thunder Liger vs Brian Pillman - Superbrawl II
Bret & Owen Hart vs The Steiner Brothers - Wrestlefest 1994
Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan - Slamboree 1994
Nasty Boys vs Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne - Spring Stampede 1994
Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon - Ladder Match SummerSlam 1995
Janetty vs Michaels – RAW IC Title Match
Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid vs HBK & Diesel – Monday Night Raw
The Quebecers vs The Steiner Brothers – "Quebec Rules" Tag Team Title Match (HUGE guilty pleasure of mine)


I'll think of more. I'll hopefully have this tourney up soon but don't be surprised if it's not till next week sometime.

[Mikey2Dope]

Double Post

[Mikey2Dope]

I've updated the matches so far in the first post but I would like some more ECW , WCW & TNA. If you got any more faves shoot away.

[Frank the Tank]

BTW, you got Steamboat/Flair CTR listed twice

NWA/WCW:

Midnight Express vs Southern Boys - Great American Bash 1990
The Four Horsemen vs Road Warriors, Dusty, Nikita, Ellering - War Games: The Match Beyond at Great American Bash 1987
Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko - Hog Wild 96
Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson - Fall Brawl 95
Johnny B. Badd vs Brian Pillman - Fall Brawl 95
Shinjiro Otani vs Eddie Guerrero - Starrcade 95
Horsemen vs Sting/Pillman/Steiners - WrestleWar 91
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Psicosis - Bash At The Beach 96
Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat - Beach Blast 92
Sting vs Cactus Jack - Beach Blast 92
Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr. - World War III 96
Sting vs Vader - Starrcade 92
Billy Kidman vs Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera - Starrcade 98
Ric Flair vs Lex Luger - WrestleWar 90
Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera - Nitro 9/14/98
Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko - Uncensored 97
Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat - Bash At The Beach 94
Windham and Rhodes vs Austin and Zbyszko - SuperBrawl 92
DDP vs Sting - Nitro 4/26/99
Benoit and Malenko vs Raven and Saturn vs Rey and Kidman - Slamboree 99
Sting vs Rick Rude - COTC 21
Filthy Animals vs Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo - Greed 2001

ECW:

Chris Benoit vs Al Snow - Double Tables 95
Kaientai vs Sasuke/Hamada/Yakushiji - Barely Legal 97
2 Cold Scorpio vs Shane Douglas vs Chris Jericho vs Pitbull 2 - Heatwave 96
Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko - Hostile City Showdown 95
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera - Big Ass Extreme Bash 96
Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - Heatwave 98
Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - November To Remember 99
Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn - ECW ON TNN 9/10/99
Lance Storm vs Jerry Lynn - Anarchy Rulz 99
Mikey and Tajiri vs FBI - Aug 00
Tajiri vs Super Crazy - Guilty As Charged 99
Justin Credible vs Shane Douglas - CyberSlam 99 (Seriously, this match rocked)

NWA-TNA:

Juventud Guerrera vs Teddy Hart - Super X 2003
Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Sabin - Super X 2003
AJ Styles vs Psicosis vs Low-Ki vs Jerry Lynn - 6/26/02
Low-Ki vs AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn - 8/7/02
AJ Styles vs Syxx-Pac - 10/23/02 (Waltman busted ass here)
Jeff Jarrett vs Ron Killings - 11/20/02
Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles - 2/19/03
Raven vs AJ Styles - 3/19/03
Red and Lynn vs XXX vs Cross and Shark vs Storm and Sabin - 4/9/03
Red and Lynn vs XXX - 4/16/03
Jeff Jarrett vs Raven - 4/30/03
AJ Styles vs Jeff Jarrett vs Raven - 6/11/03
Chris Sabin vs Frankie Kazarian - 6/25/03
AJ Styles vs Low-Ki - 8/13/03
AJ Styles vs Raven - 8/27/03
AJ Styles vs Abyss - 11/19/03
Chris Sabin vs Michael Shane vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels - 1/7/04
Team AAA vs Team NWA - 2/11/04
AJ Styles vs Abyss - 3/17/04
AJ Styles vs Jeff Jarrett - 4/21/04
Ron Killings vs AJ Styles vs Chris Harris vs Raven - 5/19/04
Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles vs Ron Killings vs Chris Harris vs Raven - 6/2/04
The Naturals vs America's Most Wanted - 7/21/04

More Japan stuff:

Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke - Super J-Cup 94
Wild Pegusus vs Black Tiger - 6/11/96
Jushin Liger vs Shinjiro Otani - 3/17/96
Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono - G1 Climax 91
Vader vs Antonio Inoki - 1/4/96
Hiro Hase vs Great Muta - 12/14/92
Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada - 6/12/98
Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen - 7/29/93

More ROH stuff:

Low-Ki vs American Dragon - Round Robin Challenge 02
Paul London vs AJ Styles - Night Of The Grudges 03
Austin Aries vs American Dragon - Testing The Limit 04
Low-Ki vs Spanky vs Doug Williams vs Christopher Daniels - Crowning A Champion 02
Samoa Joe vs Jay Briscoe - At Our Best 04
Scramble Cage - Main Event Spectacles 03

More WWF/WWE Stuff:

WGTT vs Filthy Animals - Vengeance 03
Owen Hart vs Davey Boy Smith - Raw 2/26/97
Owen and Bulldog vs HBK and Austin - Raw May 97

[Mikey2Dope]

Thanks Frank! Ok that's 236 matches there I believe so I'll start making matches soon. I'll probably end up just picking them from a hat because it'd be a pain in the ass otherwise.

[Mikey2Dope]

Awite finally done the matches. If you guys see any matches missing throughout the first round don't hesitate to tell me. Although he's not the most popular person around the easiest place to find match reviews/write-ups is Scotty Keith so I'll be using his.

Match 1:

Johnny B. Badd vs Brian Pillman - Fall Brawl 95

Opening match: Brian Pillman v. Johnny B. Badd. Badd's character
seems have to gotten all the gay out of his system by this point, with
the exception of the Badd Blaster, the confetti-shooting gun he still
brought with him from time to time. Winner of this thing gets a shot at
Sting's US title at some indeterminate point in the future. Pillman
gets a small heel pop, despite his sickeningly babyface "California
Brian" gimmick that he was stuck with at the time. Badd was literally
improving daily by this point. Longish feeling out period to start with
not much going on. Headlock, armdrag, etc. Match gets moving about 8
minutes in, as Badd works Pillman's leg, causing a shoving match to
erupt and Pillman to dust off the old heel persona from the Hollywood
Blonds days. Pillman starts running like a coward and cheating, drawing
mad heel heat from the crowd. Badd gets the slingshot legdrop for two.
We get the double KO spot, with Pillman recovering first and hitting a
cheap headbutt to take Badd down and get more heel heat. I'm in awe of Pillman's in-ring heel turn as we watch. Badd gets tossed, but suplexes Pillman to the floor and hits a pescado (dive over the top to the
floor). Nice. Back in the ring, and Badd tries to come off the top,
but gets dropkicked in mid-air by Pillman. Badd gets a powerbomb for
two. Badd counters Pillman's finisher, the tornado DDT, by shoving him
to the mat for two. Pillman with a russian legsweep into an armlock
submission move as time winds down. Badd escapes and hits the TOOTY FRUITY PUNCH OF DOOM for two. Pillman hits Air Pillman for two, then a backslide for two as time expires at 20:00. We need a #1 contender, though, so it's overtime.

They fight to the floor, then back in as both miss a dropkick. Pillman
gets a sleeper, reversed by Badd, which is one of my least favorite
moves in wrestling, next to the Indian deathlock when performed by
anyone not from Japan. Pillman goes for a superplex, but Badd pushes
him off and sunset flips him off the top for two. Badd tries a
powerbomb (like earlier in the match) but it's reversed to a rana for
two by Pillman. The psychology here is positively All Japan-ish.
Pillman with a crucifix, countered into a fallaway slam by Badd for two.
Badd hits the top rope rana for two. He tries again, but Pillman
reverses to the tornado DDT, this time hitting it for two. Pillman goes
to the top, but he's knocked off and to the steel railing where he hits
his jaw. He does that spot all the time, and it always looks great.
Badd nails the somersault plancha for good measure. Back in, but when
Badd tries the slingshot legdrop again, Pillman counters and it misses.
I'm really digging the psychology here. Pillman tosses Badd and hits a
tope suicida, which is really amazing considering the shape his body was in at the time. He goes for a springboard dropkick, but misses and
crotches himself on the top rope. They criss-cross and Pillman tries a
cross-body, but Badd uses his weight advantage to fall on top of Pillman for the pin at 29:57. Just a spectacular match. ****1/4

vs

The Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn vs Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels vs Shark Boy & Jason Cross vs Johnny Storm & Chris Sabin vs XXX – TNA 4/9/2003

Chris Sabin has Dean Malenko like tights and looks a bit like Chris Harris to me. The match starts off with Jonny Storm taking on Jerry Lynn and exchanging some of the most intricate reversals to armbars and hammerlocks I've ever seen. Lynn and Storm end up trying to pin each other with knuckle locks on, but Storm scissors Lynn's body in a full guard position and SOMEHOW end up BOTH on their heads, punching each other and making it look like they're playing pattycake. I swear, if you can get a clip of this, please do so because a description of this will NOT do this justice. Both men tag out and Red comes in to face Shark Boy. They also exchange arm wringers and armbars for a few until Red comes off the top with a cross body and gets dropkicked down. Shark Boy charges at Red and gets powerslammed for two. Red actually tags out to Daniels who hits a leg lariat on SB for two as well. SB gets a back kick and bites Daniels on the ass before tagging out to his partner Cross. Cross comes in and just goes on a flurry of reversals and dropkicks before tagging out to Chris Sabin, now facing Elix Skipper. They lock up and Chris is an AWESOME seller from the get go as Elix hits him witth a flurry of clotheslines, including one while he flips into the ring, ala EZ Money. Sabin comes back with a nice flying head scissors and blocks two Elix punches before getting a nice overhead belly to belly suplex! He tags out to Daniels, now in to face Shark Boy and Daniels gets the advantage with an enziguiri. Shark Boy SOMEHOW puts on the Stratusfaction Bulldog on Daniels for two, nails a jawbreaker and clotheslines him over the top. He follows with a plancha and Cross is ready to pounce on them both, but Sabin grabs Cross from behind and hits a release German suplex! Baseball slide on SB keeps him on the outside and Sabin hits a GORGEOUS running top rope plancha on them! Red follows suit with a somersault tope con hilo, leading to a "TNA" chant! Storm continues the game and gets his double jump somersault senton to the outside on all 4 men! In the ring, Cross and Daniels have hooked up and Cross comes off the top with his armed hooked, somersaulting into the Unprettier. He heads up top for the CROSSFIRE~!, but the masked luchador that has been plaguing Jerry Lynn in the last few weeks comes out and shoves him off the top! He runs into the crowd as Daniels puts on the Last Rites (Roll of the Dice) on Cross for the pin and elimination! He and SB are out! Storm gets a quick roll up on Daniels for two, but the Triple X member nails him with a leg lariat. Storm sends Daniels to the corner and charges at him, being elevated over the top and goes for his reverse rana. Just like his last two times on TNA, he blew the move, but Daniels covered for it nicely. He tries the move on Jerry Lynn, but Lynn reverses it into a TKO and Storm rolls out of the ring. Daniels nails Lynn out of the ring and Red comes off the top with a QUICK rana on Daniels! Elix comes in and nails the Play of the Day on Red! Sabin comes in and Elix goes after him with a cross body. Sabin rolls through and stands up...Catatonic.....INTO A BACKBREAKER~! OMG~! That would have gotten the three count if Daniels hadn't pulled the ref out. The masked luchador comes out again and gives Sabin a spinning DDT, leading to Lynn nailing the Cradle Piledriver for the pin! The masked luchador runs away once again and the finals of the match are Jerry Lynn & Red vs. Triple X. Daniels and Lynn start brawling in the ring and Daniels crotches Lynn on the top rope....not the turnbuckle, but the top rope. Elix then does a move I haven't seen him do in YEARS! He walks the top rope, towards Lynn and then ranas him down! The fans definitely popped for that and deservedly so! Elix officially tags into the match and they double team Lynn for two. Lynn fights back and causes Daniels to nail Elix, allowing him to get Daniels with an enziguiri! He tags out to Red who hits a MASSIVE double dropkick off the top! He becomes a HOUSE...EN..FUEGO~! roundhouse kicking everything in sight! Elix disposes of Red, so Lynn comes in and hits the sunset flip powerbomb off the second rope for two. Daniels saves Elix and hits a Book End on Lynn before heading to the top and hitting the double jump moonsault! ONE...TWO...NO! Triple X come in with a double crossbody and the pin is broken up by Red. Daniels goes after a Red superplex, but Lynn goes under and Red dropkicks him down! ONE...TWO...NO! Elix comes in with the tag belt, but Lynn kicks it back into his face! Daniels hits a quick STO on Red! ONE..TWO...NO! Red gets up and goes for a tilt a while....but turns it into an inside cradle! ONE...TWO...THREE! Red & Lynn and the #1 contenders for the tag titles AND will face each other to see who the #1 contender to the X Division Title is!

Match 2:

Juventud Guererra vs Blitzkrieg – Spring Stampede 1999

Blitzkrieg v. Juventud Guerrera. Blitz has Al Snow's old Avatar costume tonight. Awesome opener, with the boys trading mat stuff and Juvy getting the first highspot with the tope con hilo. Blitz retaliates with his own tope, but Juvy dropkicks him in mid-air, and he takes a nasty fall to the floor. Juvy goes for the Driver, but they go into a complex reversal sequence that ends with Juvy hitting an inverted DDT for two. Juvy takes Blitz to the top and tries an inverted suplex off the top, but they fuck it up. Blitz goes for the sky twister, but Juvy moves. Then Juvy gets the MOTHERFUCKING KICKASS FINISHER TO END ALL FINISHERS, a Juvy Driver off the TOP ROPE! Wow. Wow. Wow. ****1/4

vs

Team WWF vs Team Alliance – Survivor Series 01

Rock & Austin start with a slugfest. THESZ PRESS BY GAWD and FU elbow gets two. Rock does the same sequence right back for two. Booker pounds Rock, but gets clotheslined for two. Jericho comes in and flapjacks Booker. RVD & Jericho go and Y2J gets a leg lariat and suplex. Chops, but Rob gets the standing moonsault for two. Rana is blocked with the Walls, but Shane breaks. Angle & Kane next, and Kane tosses him around. Corner clothesline, but Angle gets a german suplex. Kane sits up, sideslams him, and hits the flying clothesline. Shane saves again. Taker pounds Angle, but eats elbow. Booker in, but he gets legdropped for two, brutha. Shane saves again. ROPEWALK OF DOOM and he works the arm. Clothesline gets two, Shane saves again. Austin stomps a mudhole on UT, and chokes him down, but gets clotheslined. ROPEWALK OF EVEN GREATER DOOM gets two. Shane saves again. Taker gets pounded in the corner, but doesn’t bother to sell any of it. Angle neckbreaker gets two. Taker DDTs him, hot tag Show. JR buries him, pointing out how he makes stupid mistakes all the time. Show tosses Angle around, but the chokeslam is reversed to the Angle Slam. Booker axe kicks him, RVD frog splashes him, and Shane gets the pin with the Macho Mac elbow at 12:41. Rock decides to fix that injustice by KILLING Shane, and then we go Kane chokeslam, Undertaker tombstone, Jericho Lionsault for the pin at 14:30 to get rid of Skippy. Shane may be legally dead. Jericho & Angle go now, and Jericho gets a forearm and butterfly backbreaker for two. Booker slams him a few times for lack of anything better to do and kneedrops him. RVD kicks away, but a sunset flip gets two. Kane comes in, big boot and clothesline follow. Rob kicks him in the head, but gets clotheslined. Kane pulls Booker in, but that’s stupid because RVD & Booker double-team him, and Rob frog splashes him and finishes with a missile dropkick at 18:19. No one to blame but himself for that. Taker goes next, stomping Rob. He pounds all the Alliance guys with running clotheslines and Last Rides Angle, but KICK WHAM STUNNER finishes him at 20:01. So it’s 4-on-2 and the dead weight is all gone before they got burned out. Jericho is out on the floor, leaving Rock alone. Booker hammers Rock, Rock hammers back…and gets sidekicked. Nice. DDT on Booker gets two. Booker pounds away, but gets samoan dropped for two. Rock rolls him up for the pin at 22:32. RVD comes in and pounds him, but goes up and gets slammed off for two. Hot tag Jericho, as he gets the forearm and a neckbreaker for two. Bulldog, but Lionsault misses and he takes a leg lariat. Moonsault from RVD misses, and Jericho finishes with the Breakdown at 24:50. Rock eats post outside while Angle chinlocks Jericho. Angle covers for two. Austin chops Jericho and superplexes him for two. They mess up a spot and Austin covers with a suplex for two. Elbow gets two. Angle’s suplex is reversed to an anklelock, but he breaks it and lariats him. Austin suplex and elbow and he chokes Jericho out. Angle pounds away, as does Austin, and he hits the chinlock. Slugfest, won by Jericho, oddly enough. Double KO, hot tag Rocky. Rock pounds Angle, sharpshooter finishes at 31:51. Jericho back in, bodypress is reversed for two. Thesz Press reversed to the Walls, but Austin reverses, and Jericho blocks. Austin comes off the top but gets caught, but the Lionsault misses and Austin gets two. Jericho missile dropkicks him for two. Rollup gets two, reversed by Austin for the pin at 34:32, and it’s Rock v. Austin again. Spinebuster, but Jericho turns on Rocky before he goes. Austin gets two. Austin stomps away, and tosses Rock. They brawl by the table, and Rock eats post again. Back in, Rock chops away, but gets Sharpshooted. He makes the ropes. Austin grabs the belt, but walks into another Sharpshooter from Rock, but makes the ropes himself. Austin goes low, but Rock goes KICK WHAM STUNNER…and Nick Patrick punks out Earl Hebner at two. Austin Rock Bottoms Rock for two, then nails Patrick in frustration. Hebner gets bumped AGAIN, KICK WHAM STUNNER, no ref. Angle runs in, nails Austin to turn back to the WWF (yawn), and Rock Bottom finishes the Alliance at 44:55, thank GOD. Match was a nice throwback to the Survivor Series’ of yore, although no one got pinned by a clothesline, although the psychology no longer works with the modern audience. Everyone knew what the order of elimination was going to be (with a bit of doubt in the UT/Kane/RVD/Booker combination) and that it was going to come down to Rock-Austin, so the crowd was hot for the first 10 minutes, dead for the next 20, and hot for the Rock-Austin portion again. Still, they gave it that old college try. ****

I vote for:

Johnny B. Badd vs Brian Pillman
Juventud Guererra vs Blitzkrieg

I will post more matches at a time but does anyone know a site with short but good reviews of the TNA Weekly PPV's? Let me know.

[sharkstank]

badd/pillman
juvy/krieg

i didnt even try to add matches, cause there would be no way i can choose em, lol. so i;ll go with the ones we got

WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[horrorfreak13]

Johnny B. Badd/Pillman
Juventud Guererra/Blitzkrieg

[Raw Chili]

Badd vs. Pillman
Juvi Juice vs. Blitz was a good time

[Frank the Tank]

Badd/Pillman
Juvi/The Man Jack Evans Idolizes

[TheAxeGrinder]

Johnny B. Badd vs.Pillman
Juventud Guererra vs. Blitzkrieg

[brodeurnumber1]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
Badd/Pillman
Juvi/The Man Jack Evans Idolizes

Ditto.

[starcat]

going with the crowd on this one...

[jackson13]

Badd/Pillman
Survivor Series 01 (I LOVE this match. Eat me.)

[Mikey2Dope]

Winnas:
Badd/Pillman (9-0)
The Juice/Blitzy (8-1)

Match 3:

Kevin Sullivan vs Chris Benoit – Falls Count Anywhere – Great American Bash 96

The Horsemen were seemingly falling apart at this point, with Sullivan trying to recruit Arn Anderson for the Dungeon, and Pillman departing for the WWF. So Benoit took over for Pillman against Sullivan. We go fighting into the crowd right away, and fight up the stands. Boy, do you get the idea that these guys don't like each other? Sullivan drags Benoit up the stairs and they fight into the men's room. He slams a stall door in Benoit's face as Tony and Dusty nearly have a coronary. Vicious shots with the door. Dusty is truly in his glory here. Tony: "HEAD FIRST TO THE COMMODE!" Benoit comes back and slams Sullivan into the doors as Dusty reels off his famous catchphrase: "There's a lady! There's a lady in the men's bathroom!" Sullivan dumps a bag of toilet paper on Benoit and then a garbage can gets involved. They fight back to the stairs, and Tony notes that if someone falls, they fall bigtime. As if on cue, Benoit takes a shot to the head and then gets tossed down the stairs. Sullivan kicks him square in the nuts for good measure, then crotches him on the railing. Benoit returns the favor. He retrieves a table from below the ring after a couple of tries, and sets it up in the corner. Sullivan misses a charge to the corner and hits it...and it doesn't break. Wow, high quality. Benoit puts it on the top rope, but gets backdropped onto it. They fight to the top, and Benoit gets a superplex, for the pin. HUGE pop for that. Benoit slaps Sullivan around, and Arn Anderson runs out to make the save...then turns on Sullivan! Horsemen beatdown ensues and the roof nearly blows off the place. 10 points for effort, plus several million for originality. *****

vs

AJ Styles vs Raven – TNA 8/27/03

The bell rings and both men get into a fighting stance…so Styles kicks Raven in the thigh. Raven shakes it off, but Styles does it again. He does it a third time, but Raven fights through the pain enough to land a right hand to Styles. Styles charges at him, only to be taken down with a shoulder block for two. Styles tries to quicken the pace as they run the ropes, but Raven holds on as Styles goes for a dropkick. Raven rolls him up for a quick two count. Raven tosses him to the outside, only to toss him back into the ring. As Raven steps in the ropes, Styles lands some right hands. Raven recovers and goes for the Raven Effect, but it’s too early as Styles escapes quickly. Raven once again tosses him to the outside…and once again throws him in for some reason. Raven delivers a suplex on Styles for two before tossing Styles over the top to the floor off an irish whip. Raven tosses him into the steps and then reaches under the ring for a garbage can. He uses it on Styles, although the match isn’t No DQ…but then again, they’re on the outside. Styles, now bleeding, is then Russian Leg Swept into the guard rail five consecutive times by Raven! Raven goes for the cover, but Russo distracts the official. Raven is distracted enough so that Styles can recover and nail a low blow, before going for his quebrada/reverse DDT combo, which is done MIGHTY sloppily. All of a sudden, Julio & CM Punk pick up Russo from behind and take him to the back to a BIG pop! Styles and Raven start brawling in the middle of the ring to MASSIVE heat now as Styles delivers an enziguiri kick to Raven’s CHEEK. Styles completes a vertical suplex and drives his knee into Raven’s head for a second two count. A HUGE “Go Raven Go” chant has started and Raven nails a superkick on Styles. Styles, now on the apron, comes flying into the ring with a flying head scissors and goes for the pin, but Raven is under the ropes. Styles snap mares Raven over and nails him with some STIFF kicks to the back! Styles then hooks on the MUTA LOCK~!, but Raven gets to the ropes! Styles goes to ringside and gets a chair, throwing it into the ring. He picks it up and wedges it between the top and middle turnbuckles. Styles goes to whip Raven into it, but Raven reverses it! AJ stops before he hits the chair, turns around and BLASTS Raven with a superkick to the face! AJ takes the chair out and opens it up in the middle of the ring. He goes for the drop toe hold on Raven…and he gets it! Styles for a cocky pin and only gets two. Styles once again sets up the chair for the move, but Raven side steps the move and throws the chair at him! Both men are down and the fans are INTO this match! Raven gets up and he’s fired up! He connects with a pair of clotheslines and a running knee lift and the fans are going crazy! A clothesline in the corner and a bulldog get a nearfall on the champion! Raven takes the chair and opens it up in the ring himself. He goes for the drop toe hold, but Styles jumps onto the chair and onto the top rope! Raven grabs the chair and blasts AJ in the face with it as he springs off the ropes! He goes for the cover…ONE…TWO…NO! A “That was Three” chant erupts from the crowd as AJ goes for the Raven Effect on him…only to have it reversed! Raven looks to use the move on Styles, but Styles escapes and tries a rana! Raven catches him and hits the STYLES CLASH~! ONE…TWO…NO! The referee is pulled out by Sinn of the Disciples of the New Church! Raven goes to pick up Styles…but Styles surprises him with the Raven Effect DDT! ONE…TWO…NO! Sinn gets on the apron as Styles charges at Raven, who ducks…leaving Styles to dropkick Sinn to the guard rail! Raven picks up Styles and goes for the Raven Effect, but Styles rams them into the official! Raven still have the move hooked on though and gets it! He goes for the pinfall, but the ref is down! Slash comes into the ring, setting up to powder Raven, but Raven turns around and kicks it back into his face! Styles gets up and the blinded Slash grabs HIM…performing the Slash and Burn airplane spin drop on him! Raven clotheslines Slash out of the ring and goes for the cover! The ref is in position…ONE…TWO…NO! The crowd is going NUTZ!!!! Raven places Styles on the top rope and looks to Raven Effect him off the top when Shane Douglas shoves him off, onto the top rope. Styles comes off the top with a rana attempt, but Raven just throws him down and goes for the cover! ONE…TWO…NO! Douglas gets on the apron, as does Slash, but Raven nails them both. Slash holds onto the ref as Douglas comes in and kicks Raven in the groin, so Styles hits the STYLES CLASH~! on Raven! ONE…TWO….THREE!

Match 4:

WGTT vs The Filthy Animals – Vengenance 2003

Benjamin rides Rey down to start, but he slugs back and boots him off the ropes. Flying headscissors (after a botched try) and Kidman comes in with a dropkick to the head for two. Kidman with a spinning version of the headscissors, but Benjamin takes him down and Haas comes in with a quick rollup for two. Haas goes to the headlock and overpowers Kidman, but Kidman gets a cross body for two. Haas chokes him out, but misses a charge and Rey tags in with a guillotine for two. Rey’s Rube Goldberg Bulldog is blocked with a slam by Haas, and he sends Rey into the corner WITH AUTHORITY. Another trip to the corner sets up a sideslam for two. Benjamin comes in with a faceplant for two. He takes Rey down with a chinlock and gets the hooks in, but misses a charge. Rey reverses a powerbomb to a rana, but Benjamin rolls through and Rey counters with a dropkick to the face and makes the lukewarm tag to Kidman. High backdrop for Haas and a Rydien bomb for two. The champs catch him with the leapfrog choke, but Rey trips up Benjamin to break it up and sets up for the 619. Benjamin returns the trip to break that up, so Rey hits him with the plancha and Kidman dumps Haas and follows with the Shooting Star Press to the floor. Crazy. Back in, Kidman gets two. Haas dumps him, but Kidman slugs back until getting tossed into the post by Benjamin. Back in, Haas gets two as Kidman is YOUR face in peril. Double-team backbreaker gets two. Benjamin goes a bridged bow-and-arrow, which Tazz calls a Redhook Ringer, and then goes into the standard bow-and-arrow. Good stuff. Kidman crawls for the tag, but Benjamin cuts him off and Haas stomps on the back. Haas then puts him in the corner and surfboards the arm around the top rope in a great move. Kidman leverages him out of the ring and crawls for the tag, but Benjamin distracts the ref and he doesn’t see the tag. Back to the heel corner goes Kidman, and they hit him with a double-suplex for two. Benjamin snaps off a powerbomb, so I guess sometimes you CAN powerbomb him. That gets two. Another try is reversed, so YOU CAN’T POWERBOMB KIDMAN…um, twice. Hot tag Rey, who springboards in and misses Benjamin by a foot. Oh well. Enzuigiri and he baits Haas into charging and landing on the floor. He gets two on Benjamin and a DDT for two. Haas tags back in and gets cheapshotted by Kidman, allowing the 619. West Coast Pop (well not really, but that was the idea) gets nothing because the ref is distracted. Benjamin kicks Rey in the head and Haas gets two. Rey hits him with a jawbreaker and Kidman puts him on top, setting up the alley-oop rana for a close two-count. The crowd actually chants “bullshit” at that one, which is always a good sign. Benjamin spinkicks Kidman out of the ring, and Rey tries a rana on Haas, but Benjamin springs in with a Doomsday Device for the pin to retain at 14:52. TWGTT looked totally comfortable and worked the formula, and the result was a terrific tag team match. ****1/4

vs

Jushin Thunder Liger vs The Pegasus Kid – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title

This from 1990, when Benoit was still very much an underground type of sensation. Pegasus wins a battle of takedowns, but Liger reverses him out of the ring. Back in, Liger flips out of a wristlock and Pegasus does his own into a fireman's carry. Test of strength allows them to take it to the mat and Liger ties him up with a bow and arrow. Into a camel clutch and a cross-armbreaker, but Pegasus reverses into a backbreaker and grabs a headscissors. Liger pulls him into the Rita Romero Special and bridges him down for two. He wraps up Pegasus and rolls him over for one, but Kid breaks loose and goes to work on the leg, then presses him over the top rope to the floor. Whoa. They brawl outside and Liger gets whipped into the railing as a result. Liger comes back with a pair of dropkicks and a try for a crucifix, but Pegasus falls back with a fallaway slam and goes back to the headscissors. Next up, he goes to a half-crab as Cole and Tazz talk about the significance of Liger's mask (short version: They don't know) and Benoit transitions into a bridged Indian death lock. He goes back to the headscissors and locks up the arm so that Liger can't break, but he opts to release and go up, which allows Liger to slam him off. Liger misses an enzuigiri and Benoit does some quick flipping into a press slam, but he whiffs on a charge and hits the floor. Liger follows with a crazy somersault plancha, killing both guys. HANGTIME, baby! Kid fights back to the apron and springs in with a sunset flip for two. Liger reverses for two. Kid reverses for two. Pegasus tries a slam, but Liger rolls him up for two. They fight for a german, which Kid wins for two. They head up to the top and Benoit gets a superplex, which sets up the diving headbutt. It misses, as it usually does, and Liger hits him with the Koppo Kick for two. Powerbomb gets two. Liger goes up with a swanton bomb for two. That looked pretty painful. Another powerbomb is reversed by Pegasus for two. Liger escapes a tilt-a-whirl, so Pegasus clotheslines him to set up a tombstone piledriver, and finishes with a flying legdrop at 15:00 to win the IWGP title. Felt like it lacked a big finishing sequence, but it was a different time. ****1/4

I vote for:

Sullivan/Benoit
Liger/Pegasus

[TheAxeGrinder]

both Benoit matches (I miss The Pegasus Kid...)

[jackson13]

Beniot
WGTT

[horrorfreak13]

Benoit/Sullivan
WGTT/Filthy Animals

[brodeurnumber1]

Sullivan/Benoit
Liger/Pegasus Kid

[Frank the Tank]

"There's A Lady! "There's A Lady In The Men's Bathroom!!!!!!" (Sullivan/Benoit btw)

WGTT/Filthy Animals

[starcat]

Sullivan/Benoit
Liger/Pegasus

[Raw Chili]

Benoit vs. Sullivan
Liger vs. Pegasus

[Inglorious]

Benoit on both counts.

Is Benoit VS Jericho, SS '00 in the list?

[Mikey2Dope]

Originally posted by Mr. Peanut
Is Benoit VS Jericho, SS '00 in the list?

Yup: Match 47: Lance Storm vs Jerry Lynn – Anarchy Rulz 99 VS Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit – 2/3 Falls – Summerslam 00

Winners:
Benoit/Sullivan (9-0)
Liger/Pegasus (6-3)

Match 5:

Chris Sabin vs Frankie Kazarian – TNA 6/25/03

Sabin is, of course, the X Division champ. Crowd immediately busts out the "HAIL SABIN" chant. Awesome hammerlock sequence to start. Kazarian hits a SWEET slingshot into a DDT where Sabin lands RVD-stump-style. Sabin hits an awesome run up the turnbuckle swinging DDT. Sabin dumps Frankie out.. Hits a senton! Back in the ring, Sabin with a spring flying clothesline. Crowd applauds it. Sabin standing legdrop gets two. Sabin with a dropkick, gets two. Chinlock. Pretty good match but the crowd is a bit subdued. Sabin with a grab the ponytail neckbreaker, that looked painful. Gets two. Awesome pinfall reversal sequence, maybe a TAD slow.. Then Sabin hits THE BEST FLASH MAGIC I've seen in the US! Sabin applies a figure four headscissors. That would get applause in ROH, but these Asylum fans look on with only mild interest. Kazarian rolls over Sabin's back and hits a scissors kick to his chin. Sabin climbs Kazarian's shoulders, Kazarian gives him that ocean queen thing where he drops back and bridges for the pin attempt. Only two. Kazarian perched on the top turnbuckle, Sabin with the Kurt Angle charge up the ropes, FLINGS KAZARIAN ACRROSS THE RING with an overhead belly to belly! Kazarian plants Sabin with a DVD, so Sabin is in the tree of woe! He misses a running legdrop, Sabin rolls out of the ring. It's been what.. 8 minutes? Sabin comes back in, hits the Wind-up Slam on his KNEE! I love that move. Only two! Sabin with his fisherman's type finisher? No, Kazarian ESCAPES and hits his AWESOME finisher, a rock bottom set-up INTO A DDT! Only TWO!! Crowd is into this now. Sabin climbs the buckle, Kazarian with a CRACKING SUPERKICK! Crotches Sabin. HOLY SHIT! Kazarian with the FLUX CAPACITER! It's like a one-man Spanish fly! Winner: Frankie Kazarian Hoolllyy... Tha was AWESOME! Look at these crazy kids trying to steal the show, almost better than that great cage match. Maybe this was better, I dunno. That puts the Sabin great match hot streak at TWO.

vs

Low-Ki vs Spanky vs Doug Williams vs Christopher Daniels – Crowning A Champion 02

No handshakes, as Steve Corino tells us that each of the men (except for Christopher Daniels) shook hands in the locker room. Spanky is from Olympia, WA (which is the name of one of my favorite Rancid songs), and he gives the ring announcer a dirty look for adding “Self-Proclaimed” when announcing Spanky as The Showstopper. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels is from Sin City, of course. This is a 4-Corners Match, so in theory only two guys should be in the ring at a time, and Daniels convinces Spanky and Williams to go to the apron so that the match can begin with Daniels v. Low-Ki. They circle, and just at the last second before they tie-up, Daniels tags out and Williams comes in…and Daniels takes the early lead in my 2003 wrassler o’ the year rankings! The scoring for this match works like this: 2 points are awarded for scoring a pinfall or submission, and 1 point is deducted for getting pinned or submitting. Williams works over the arm on Low-Ki until Spanky tags in, and Williams works over his arm. Daniels tags in against Williams, who immediately takes over on Daniels’ arm! Spanky tags in against Daniels, who hits a Backdrop and then quickly tags out to Low-Ki. When Spanky starts to take control of Low-Ki, Daniels tags himself back in, and then when Ki starts to come back against him, he tags Spanky back in! More rapid tagging in and out until we wind up with Daniels v. Williams, and Williams locks in an Arm Bar (his finishing hold), but Daniels is able to get his feet to the ropes. Donnie B makes up a term as he tells us that if Doug Williams wins the title we can all hold our heads high knowing that the man from across the Atlantic represents the best in “Pro Wrasslin’ Entertainment”. Daniels in against Spanky and hits a Reverse DDT for 2…and since that was the third or fourth nearfall, Donnie B takes this opportunity to tell us that was the first attempt at a pin 15 minutes into the match. HA! Seriously, the commentary from Donnie B and Corino is quite good, and it is written for the smart fan, it seems. Low-Ki in against Williams, and Ki quickly finds himself hanging upside down from his right leg hanging around Williams’ neck. Williams calls the move the “Torture Device”, and that’s just what it looks like. Ki is able to kick with his other leg until he is free, but just about everyone’s attacks against him have been directed at the right leg for the whole match, and already is limping pretty severely. Spanky tags in against Ki, and dropkicks the knee! Low-Ki powers back with some kicks, and when he whips Spanky into the corner, Daniels kicks Spanky in the head. Yes! The crowd boos him loudly for breaking the Code Of Honor, and I applaud because Daniels is quickly becoming my favorite! Low-Ki covers Spanky, but only gets 2. With Spanky tangled in the ropes, Daniels tags himself in, and gives Low-Ki a cheap shot as he leaves the ring, to boot! Daniels continues the beat down on Spanky until he makes it to the corner and tags in Low-Ki. Daniels doesn’t want any part of Low-Ki, of course, but when he turns to tag in the big Brit, Williams has jumped down off the apron! The crowd is freakin’ nuts to see Ki work-over Daniels, and they get their payoff as Ki takes control with some chops and kicks. When Low-Ki goes for his patented 3-Kick series, however, he can’t use his right leg and has to kick with the left. Daniels ducks the third kick, and then clips the right knee as Ki spins around. Ouch! When both men get to their feet, Spanky comes off the top turnbuckle (no tag) with a Missile Dropkick for Daniels, but he moves out of the way and Spanky kicks Low-Ki. Daniels is going for the Last Rites on Spanky, but Williams comes from the top turnbuckle (again, no tag) with the Hello From the Atlantic Flying Clothesline. Things have really broken down, with all four men in the ring. Spanky hits Sliced Bread #2 on Williams, and Low-Ki hits a Double-Underhook Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex (does that have an easier name to type?) on Spanky. Daniels hits the Front Face Novocain (The Stroke, I think) on Ki, and all four men are down. Spanky is up and climbing the ropes in one corner, but Low-Ki dumps him out to the floor. In the other corner, Daniels tosses Williams through the ropes. Ki charges across the ring for his Cartwheel Kick on Daniels, but Daniels clips the right knee as Ki is coming across the ring. That looked crazy painful. Daniels hits the Last Rites on Low-Ki for the 1, 2, 3! Daniels scores the first points and the score is Daniels: 2, Low-Ki: -1, and Spanky and Williams each still have zero. Daniels quickly goes for another pin, but Spanky makes the save. Williams tags in against Spanky, and gets a chinlock and a big Knee Drop before Spanky tags out to Daniels. Williams locks in the Arm Bar on Daniels, who again quickly makes it to the ropes. Williams tags Spanky in, and the man from Olympia looks absolutely exhausted at the 30-minute mark. Daniels hits a DDT on him, but Spanky is aware enough to roll to the ropes. Williams is in against Daniels, and when Daniels follows him into the corner, Williams moves and Daniels hits his injured left arm and shoulder against the turnbuckle pad. Spanky tags back in against Daniels, and Low-Ki is practically jumping up and down on the apron, itching to get back in the match…so Daniels kicks him, knocking him off the apron! Spanky and Daniels rapidly tag in and out against Williams, with Spanky getting some viscous kicks in. They double team until the Brit overpowers the two of them. Williams hits the Chaos Theory (Rolling German Suplex) on Spanky, two and a-half! Daniels locks in an Arm Bar on Williams, and just as he leans back, Low-Ki comes off the top (no tag) with a BIG Double-Stomp onto Daniels. Ki is in against Williams, and when Williams is whipped into the corner, Spanky tags himself in. Low-Ki doesn’t seem to have noticed the tag, as he is still battling Williams, who goes for a German Suplex. Low-Ki flips over from the Suplex attempt, and when Spanky attempts to catch him, Ki comes down and locks-in the Dragon Sleeper! Spanky submits, and that was smooth the same way that AJ Styles goes from a Moonsault into an Inverted DDT…a very, very nice move. Daniels is still in the lead, and the score is Daniels: 2, Low-Ki: 1, Spanky: -1, and Williams still with zero. Daniels and Low-Ki are going at it next, and with Daniels down, Spanky tags himself in and goes for the Frog Splash, but in Donnie B’s words, there’s “no water in the pond”. Spanky hits a Double Underhook Tornado Pedigree on Daniels. 1, 2, 2 and 7/8ths, No! That was a sweet move. Lots of fast tags happening, and I’ve lost track of who the legal men are. OK, it looks like we’ve got Doug Williams v. Low-Ki, and when Ki drapes Williams in the ropes in the Dragon Sleeper, things degenerate once again with all four men in the ring. I want to take this chance to remark how amazed I am that this match has not once drifted outside the ring…no garbage brawling throughout the crowd, this match is all about workrate! Spanky hits Sliced Bread #2 on Williams, but Daniels makes the save and then hits a Cactus Clothesline, taking himself and Spanky outside. That leaves Low-Ki and Williams, and Williams is already down in the corner. Low-Ki comes off the top with a Phoenix Senton (but landing mostly on his head). 1, 2, 3! Low-Ki takes the lead in the match, and the updated score is Low-Ki: 3, Daniels: 2, and Spanky and Williams both at –1. Ten minutes to go. Daniels and Low-Ki in, both into the ropes, and both with a Clothesline. The ref begins the 10-count. Daniels is up first, and when he goes for a Moonsault Low-Ki moves. Ki goes for a move from the top, but Daniels gets his knees up. Spanky tags himself in against Low-Ki and gets a Snap Suplex, but that only gets a 2-count. Low-Ki reverses Sliced Bread #2 into a Tombstone Piledriver, but he can’t make the cover. Daniels and Williams each tag themselves in, and Williams hits a wicked Piledriver of his own, but Daniels gets his foot on the bottom rope. Low-Ki and Spanky tag back in, and when Spanky goes for a Superplex, Ki blocks it and hits a 450 Splash! Again Ki can’t make the cover, and he actually rolls out of the ring. Daniels quickly rolls him back in so that he can tag himself in. Spanky gets a DDT on Daniels, then connects with a Frogsplash, but Low-Ki breaks up the pin. Five minutes to go. Low-Ki tags in as the crowd chants “ROH!” German Suplex by Spanky gets 2 and 9/10ths. Daniels comes in with the blind tag to Spanky just as Spanky is jumping over the ropes onto Williams on the outside. While the camera is on Daniels and Low-Ki in the ring, Williams is seen at the bottom of the screen leaping from the apron with a Tornado DDT on Spanky on the floor! You have got to be kidding me! The crowd is right to chant “Holy Shit!” for that one. Daniels goes for the Last Rites on Low-Ki as time is beginning to wind-down, but Ki reverses…but Daniels reverses the reversal and locks Ki in his own Dragon Sleeper! (This is the move that Ki held Daniels in for 15 minutes the night that Daniels broke the Code Of Honor.) Low-Ki won’t tap, and the crowd starts to count down from ten. Ki is able to reverse the move at the last second and hits the Last Rites on Daniels as time runs out. The winner and first ROH champion is Low-Ki. The crowd chants, “Match of the Year!” as Spanky and Williams come into the ring to shake Low-Ki’s hand and congratulate him. Daniels is arguing with the referees because he pinned Low-Ki, and indeed Daniels was the only person in the match that was never pinned. The refs tell him to come into the ring and shake hands. He comes in the ring, but leaves without shaking, and walks back to the locker room.

Match 6:

Shawn Michaels vs The British Bulldog – European Title Match – One Night Only

Bulldog has his lying hosebeast of a wife and his cancer-ridden sister Tracy at ringside, so you’d THINK he’s gonna win, right? Shawn decides to do some stalling to start. Bulldog wins a shoving match in dramatic fashion, and Shawnie throws a tantrum. Shawn walks the ropes during a lockup, so Bulldog tosses him off the top and onto his face. Bulldog dumps him. Shawn takes a walk again, but when he jumps onto the apron, Bulldog rams him into both turnbuckles and then inverted-suplexes him into the ring again. Press slam and abdominal stretch follow, but Shawn escapes. He stomps away, but Bulldog casually tosses him and Shawn takes a dramatic bump to the floor. Bulldog slingshots him back in and works the arm. Shawn uses the cheapshot and eyepoke combo, but gets he goes for a rana and gets SMOKED with a powerbomb for two. Back to the arm. Shawn reverses, but Bulldog slams him and tries a Rita Romero Special. His shoulders are down, however, giving Shawn two. Bulldog screams at the ref about this, allowing Shawn to cheapshot him again and pound away. Bulldog suplexes him, but Rick Rude shows up as Bulldog gets a rollup for two. Rude pushes them over, and Shawn gets two. He trips up Bulldog and Shawn tosses him, allowing Rude to ram him into the post for good measure. Shawn nails Bulldog off the top and pounds on him on the floor. Back in, Shawn drops an elbow and goes to the sleeper. Bulldog eventually suplexes out of it and gets two. Shawn whips him into the corner, however, and hiptosses him into a short-arm scissors. Bulldog does the “power out with the other guy on your shoulders” spot that has been ruined for me since 1993 when I saw Bob Backlund do the same thing to Jeff Jarrett at a house show. They collide on a criss-cross for the double-KO, and HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE’S Hunter. Bulldog comes back and clotheslines Shawn, and catapults him for two. Blind charge misses and Bulldog eats post, however. Shawn goes up and drops a pair of elbows, and warms up the band. Bulldog ducks the superkick and goes for the powerslam, but Rude grabs his leg. Shawn gets dumped and they brawl, but Bulldog slips and hurts his knee, and the future D-X pounces on him 3-on-1 while Chyna distracts the ref. KICK WHAM PEDIGREE on the floor, and they toss him in. Shawn pulls off Bulldog’s knee brace and tosses it at his dying sister, once again proving himself to be the classiest guy in the business. Figure-four, using the ropes, Hunter’s hands, and a Mack track parked three blocks away with a rope leading to the arena for leverage. Bulldog makes the ropes, but Rude nails him, and he finally has no choice but to black out at 22:53. The crowd is, shall we say, less than enamored with the decision. This was undoubtably Bulldog’s last great, or even good, match. **** Owen & Bret chase off the heels after Shawn endears himself to the crowd further by telling Diana that the win was all for her.

vs

Steve Austin vs Bret Hart – Wrestlemania 13

Ken Shamrock is the guest referee. Brawl outside the ring to start, with Austin crotching Hart on the STEEL railing and clotheslining him to the floor. They brawl into the crowd, with Austin ramming Bret into the boards and pounding on him. Hitman comes back and they brawl up the stairs. Back to the ring, and Hart takes a MAN-SIZED bump to the stairs. Austin clotheslines him off the apron. Austin tries to use the steel steps but Bret kicks them out of his hands. Austin rams Bret to the post. We actually go the ring. Austin stomps on Bret, but Bret pulls out a neckbreaker and an elbow off the second rope. Vince starts badmouthing Bret, nothing that he'll probably have an excuse if he loses. Wow, I mean, WOW, this shit is brilliant in retrospect. I stand in awe of Vincent K. McMahon. Bret works on Austin's knee viciously. Austin suddenly hits the stunner out of nowhere, but can't capitilize fast enough. Big Austin chant. Bret goes back to the knee. The ringpost figure-four makes it's PPV debut to a monster pop. Bret grabs the bell and a chair, and opts to try the Brian Pillman Maneuver on Austin, to a big pop. Austin gets loose and WHACKS Hart with the chair, to a big pop. Another monster shot and a monster pop. Crowd is INTO Austin, big time. Austin with a slam, cross-corner whip and a suplex. Elbow off the second rope. Austin hits a russian legsweep and applies an odd cross-armbreaker. Crowd is 50/50. Boston crab from Austin to a big pop. Bret makes the ropes, so Austin goes for a Sharpshooter instead. Jerry: "Wouldn't that have been incredible, to have to submit to the Sharpshooter?" Vince: "Hey, it could happen." No shit. Bret escapes and Austin tosses him to the floor. Whip reversal sends Austin crashing into the timekeeper. Austin rips open a huge gash on his head. Now that's some high-quality blading. Austin gets rammed to the stairs and the ringpost. Austin is literally dripping blood on the ring. Hart drops an elbow and stomps away. Crowd doesn't feel so good about Bret now. He grabs a chair and smashes it into Austin's knee. You can almost feel the crowd changing sides. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but Austin blocks. Bret pounds Austin in the corner, but Steve counters with a greco-roman ballshot. Austin whips Bret to the corner, then does some stomping of his own. Austin with a superplex. Austin's face is literally covered in blood. Austin grabs a cable from ringside and chokes out Bret, but Bret grabs the bell that he brought in 10 minutes earlier and rings it on Austin's head. Sharpshooter. We get the famous shot of Austin bleeding all over the ring and screaming in pain. Austin fights the pain and powers out...but Bret hangs on. He reapplies the move and moves to the center of the ring. Austin passes out and Shamrock stops the match. Crowd is less than thrilled. Austin is DEAD. Bret soaks in some cheers, then goes back to pounding on Austin. Shamrock takes him down and gets a big pop. Hart leaves to huge boos. Austin leaves to the crowd chanting his name. Hogan and Flair WISH they could pull this off. This would set off the Steve Austin v. Hart Foundation war that carried the WWF through all of 1997, and was supposed to culminate in Bret returning the job to Austin at Wrestlemania XIV, but, well, you know...shit happens. *****

I vote for:

Spanky/Williams/Daniels/Low-Ki (Haven't seen either but this match sound fucking GREAT)
Austin/Hart

[sharkstank]

Originally posted by Mikey2Dope
Spanky/Williams/Daniels/Low-Ki (Haven't seen either but this match sound fucking GREAT)
Austin/Hart

ditto

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO

[Raw Chili]

Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Austin/Bret Hart

[jackson13]

Dont really care, so, Spanky, since its the only name I recognize.
Austin/Bret

[horrorfreak13]

Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Austin/Bret Hart

[Rated R]

Originally posted by horrorfreak13
Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Austin/Bret Hart

[Rated R]

Also, does anyone know where I could get my hands on some of these matches? I have seen most, but it has been so long since I have so I want to see them again. Especially Bret/Austin and Bulldog/HBK

[TheAxeGrinder]

Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Austin/Bret Hart

[brodeurnumber1]

Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Of course, Hart/Austin(although I love the other match)

[Frank the Tank]

Spanky/Low-Ki/Daniels/Williams (I've actually seen the match, and well it's not as good as ROH 2004 It's still fucking great. Jackson, spend cash and buy ROH. I command you.)

Bret/Austin

[jeo4]

Low Ki/Williams/Daniels

Hart Vs. Austin

[starcat]

Spanky/Williams/Low-Ki/Daniels
Austin/Bret Hart...one of the only times i will vote against hbk

[jackson13]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
Jackson, spend cash and buy ROH. I command you.

I'm trying! The only place I've found ROH stuff is online, and you have to have a credit card for that. Which I dont have. If i'm ever in a store and I see something, I promise I will buy it.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally posted by jackson13
I'm trying! The only place I've found ROH stuff is online, and you have to have a credit card for that. Which I dont have. If i'm ever in a store and I see something, I promise I will buy it.

I understand ya.

They do have their first four shows on DVDs available at stores though. I've seen them at my local suncoast as well as my local Sam Goody.

Era Of Honor Begins (Includes Super Crazy vs Eddie Guerrero, and Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels vs American Dragon)

Round Robin Challenge (Includes Low-Ki vs American Dragon, Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels, and American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels)

A Night Of Appreciation (Includes Low-Ki vs AJ Styles, Eddie/Red vs The Maximos)

Road To The Title (This is the best one. Includes AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn, Low-Ki vs Amazing Red, American Dragon vs Doug Williams, AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels and much more)

This shows are all good, but the stuff from this year as well as last year are way better.


Rated R, you can easily find Bret/Austin on Limewire or a downloading service.

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
4 Way (11-0)
Austin/Hart (11-0)

Match 7:

Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon – Ladder Match – Wrestlemania 10

Shawn and Razor exchange hammerlocks and a hiptoss to start, but Razor gets a chokeslam. Shawn follows with a neckbreaker and stomps away. Ramon gets dumped out, and Diesel sneaks out and lays him out. Hebner objects him over Diesel’s objections that he didn’t see anything. Ramon nails Shawn and sends him upside-down in the corner, then dumps him. Brawl on the floor, where Ramon stops to pull up the padding before heading back in. He goes for the Razor’s Edge early, but Shawn backdrops him out of the ring, and onto the exposed concrete. Sick Bump #1. Shawn grabs the ladder, and Ramon steals it so Shawn heads into the ring and baseball slides it into Ramon’s face. Sick Bump #2. That also draws the first “Oooooooh” from the crowd, of many. Shawn puts the ladder into the ring and nails Razor with it, then pistons it into his ribs from a standing position. He drops it on Ramon’s back, then waits for him to stand up and casually tosses it at Ramon’s back. Sick Bump #3. Shawn makes the first climb, but gets his tights pulled down. He shoves Ramon down and drops an elbow off the ladder. He sets it up in the corner and hits a flying splash off the top, another famous visual. He climbs, but Ramon pushes him over to stop him. They do a headlock/crisscross sequence for a double-KO. Shawn sets the ladder up in the corner, but gets whipped into it and goes to the floor. Ramon follows and makes a Shawn sandwich, with the ladder and the post as bread. Sick Bump #4. Ramon puts the ladder against the apron and catapults Shawn into it. Back in, he puts the butt-end of the ladder right into Shawn’s jaw and Shawn bails. Sick Bump #5. He climbs, but Shawn comes back in via the top rope and knocks him off. The ladder crashes on top of him in the process. Both guys climb and slug it out, leading to Shawn getting suplexed off the ladder. Ramon falls off and climbs back up, but Shawn dropkicks the ladder and Ramon crashes off. Shawn pushes the ladder onto him for good measure. Superkick puts Ramon down, and a piledriver follows. He climbs a folded ladder in the corner and rides it down onto Ramon. Sick Bump #6. Shawn puts the ladder in the middle with Ramon laying underneath it, just to be a jerk, but it backfires when Ramon recovers and pushes the ladder over, tying Shawn in the ropes in the process. Razor climbs unhindered and claims both the real and bogus I-C titles to become the undisputed champion at 18:47. ***** One of the best and most influential matches of the modern era.

vs

Shane McMahon vs The Big Show Last Man Standing – Backlash 2001

Shane grabs a kendo stick and canes Show into dog chow to start, drawing a “Shane O Mac” chant. Show clotheslines him and backin we go. Shane uses a chair to put him down, then gets an ETHER-SOAKED RAG?!? Didn’t Paul Bearer retire that gimmick in 1999? Holy 60s flashback, Batman! Show goes down, but Vince runs in and chairs his boy. Show comes back with a sideslam and bumps Shane around, then hits the Final Cut (of Meat). Chokeslam, Show picks him up. Test runs in and brawls with Show to the entrance, and Shane climbs the scaffolding. Test puts Show on the VERY conveniently placed black staging area, and Shane comes off from 239 feet in the air or whatever they’re claiming this PPV and gets the win at 11:55. Why would you even waste the stuntman bump on a Big Show match that was already flirting with negative stars? *1/4

Match 8:

RVD vs Randy Orton – IC Title – Armageddon 03

Mick Foley is of course YOUR special referee. Orton attacks, but RVD takes him down with a legsweep and Orton bails. Back in, Orton grabs a headlock, and they do some chain-wrestling off that until a stalemate sequence. Orton takes him down with a knee to the gut and pounds away, but gets spinkicked. Rob dropkicks him in the knee out of the corner and goes up with a bodypress for two. Rob slugs away, but Orton wins that battle, and Rob spinkicks him to the floor. Rob follows with a somersault plancha. Slingshot legdrop gets two, back in the ring. Orton misses a charge, but shoves Rob off the top and bumps him to the floor. Orton hits him with the high dropkick on the floor and they head back in, where Orton gets two. He stomps away for two. Choking follows. That gives Rob an opportunity to work on his silly faces while being choked. Foley stops to yell at Flair, as Orton keeps stomping away. He whips him into the corner and pounds away with something JR calls “concussed blows” (zuh?), but Rob comes back with a crossbody for two. Orton quickly clotheslines him down again. Orton works him over in the corner and gets two. We hit the chinlock, but Rob fights out, and then gets clotheslined down again. Time for a new transition, Randy. That gets two. Seated dropkick gets two. Back to the chinlock. Rob fights out and gets a rollup for two, and the split-legged moonsault gets two. Orton gets a body vice into a neckbreaker, which another “concussed move” according to JR. I mean, maybe he just means “concussing” or something. Back to the chinlock. A long one, which Rob fights out of, and then dropkicks Orton down. He slugs away and does the pummel in the corner, setting up a monkey flip and springboard dropkick. Northern lights suplex gets two. Orton bails, but Rob suplexes him onto the railing and guillotines him. Back in, Orton catches him with a sick DDP that allows Rob to do his weird headfirst bump, and that gets two. Orton misses a kneedrop and Rob loudly calls “bodyscissors”, then does just that for two. Seated dropkick sets up Rolling Thunder, and Rob disposes of Flair, but gets rolled up for two. Spinkick and Rob goes up, but Flair makes a nuisance of himself and Orton brings him down for the RKO and the title at 17:59. Orton actually treats the win like a big deal, which is nice to see. Interesting that they’d build his character of a big talker who can’t back it up, and then have him go over clean. Doesn’t matter, you’ve gotta pull the trigger on SOMEONE, and it might as well be Randy. Dull, but inoffensive, match. Rob didn’t seem terribly into it. **1/4

vs

E&C vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz – TLC – SummerSlam 00

Chair-throwing exhibition to start. The ladders come in early and Buh Buh makes the first run at it. Edge legsweeps both he and Matt off the ladders. Christian climbs but Buh Buh takes him off with the full-nelson bomb from the ladder! OUCH! Jeff climbs and Edge pushes him off, onto another ladder that snaps up and smashes the prone Matt in the face. DOUBLE OUCH! Dudleyz hit the Wazzup Drop from the ladder, and D-Von brings the tables. Christian takes 3D through one. They stack the tables outside 2-on-2, but Edge foils that spot with a chairshot. Matt hits the Twist of Fate on Edge and a legdrop off the ladder, and Jeff follows with the leapfrog legdrop OVER the ladder. Edge gets sandwiched in a ladder and Matt tosses Christian off the top rope, onto that ladder, killing Edge. Oh man, these guys are INSANE. Outside, Jeff tries the swanton bomb spot from WM2000, but Buh Buh is onto him this time and moves. Continuity! Big ladder gets set up, and four guys climb. All four fall off. Buh Buh’s still alive so he tries, but the champs push the ladder over and he takes a dive through that table stack outside. Awesome spot. Matt tries it, but D-Von is okay now so HE pushes the ladder over, and Matt goes through ANOTHER table stack on the OTHER side of the ring. I fear for these guys’ lives, I really do. Edge & Christian climb, but now Lita comes out and pushes THEM off. She takes a spear from Edge moments later and rams her head into the mat. Man, even the people running in are bumping like freaks. D-Von and Jeff, the last survivors, race up the ladder and each one grabs a belt…and the ladder falls over, leaving them swinging in the air! Wild! D-Von falls off and the crowd explodes…but Jeff can’t loose the belts, and Edge & Christian smash a ladder into him to knock him off, then climb up and grab the belts to retain. Canadians SO rule. Gotta go the full monty here again. ***** No 37-second pose from the champs, though.

Match 9:

Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit – Owen Hart Tribute Match

This is the Owen Hart tribute match, from Kansas City in 1999, during one of WCW's greatest eras, when they had no one in charge and they were just throwing shows out there with great wrestling on them, in the days before Vince Russo took over. Now, here's a weird one: They overdub Bret's WCW music with a generic music, instead of his WWF music, which they OWN. Lockup to start and Benoit grabs a headlock, which turns into a wristlock battle. Bret overpowers him and fakes Benoit out on a criss-cross. They start again and Benoit does the bridge off the test of strength, then takes Bret down with a straightjacket hold and turns it into a hammerlock takedown. He goes into a surfboard, which Bret reverses, so Benoit mulekicks him into the corner and grabs an armbar. Bret counters with a Russian legsweep and grabs a chinlock, but Benoit fights out, only to run into a knee. Bret drops a leg and pounds on him in the corner, but Benoit fires back with a chop, so Bret DDTs him. Bret gets an elbow from the middle and travels nearly 3/4 of the way across the ring to do so. Nice. Bret tries the knee again, but Benoit rolls through this time and gets a crazy variation on the Liontamer, until Bret makes the ropes. Benoit backdrops him for two. Backbreaker gets two. They take an ad break and return with Benoit dropping an elbow for two. Another one misses and now Bret does the headbutt to the abs and suplexes him. That gets two. He goes back to the chinlock and then hits him with a backbreaker, taking him to the floor and working on the back. Back in, Bret keeps stomping and throws forearms, but Benoit reveres a tilt-a-whirl into a tombstone for two. That was Owen's thing, of course. Northern lights suplex gets two. Benoit gets his own knee to the gut for two. Benoit misses a dropkick, so Bret drops an elbow and then gets a vicious backdrop suplex for two. I wonder if Benoit just enjoys taking that bump or something. Bret hammers him against the ropes and charges, but runs into the ropes and knocks himself silly in the process. Benoit puts him out and follows with a tope suicida. Another ad break and we return with Bret hammering him on the apron and suplexing him into the ring. Benoit counters into a rollup, however, and Bret counters that for two. He goes for the direct approach, choking Benoit down and throwing a forearm, but Benoit backslides him for two. Bret works on the back, but Benoit cradles for two out of nowhere. Bret goes right back to the back and pulls out a swinging neckbreaker for two. He whips Benoit into the corner, and then catches him on the rebound with an inverted atomic drop, then puts him on top. Great transitions there. Benoit tries to catch him napping by coming off the top, but Bret crotches him into a superplex. Both are out, but Bret recovers and goes for the Sharpshooter, which Benoit reverses to the crossface! Awesome. I think he did that a couple of times in the WWE, too. Bret makes the ropes, however. Benoit pulls out Eddie's rolling verticals and goes up, hitting the flying headbutt. Another nice thing about Benoit: You never know if he's hitting or missing the headbutt. That only gets two. He returns the backdrop suplex favor from earlier, and drives an elbow into him. The crowd cheers for Bret, so Benoit gets upset and walks into an elbow. Piledriver gets two for Bret, but Benoit makes the ropes. Bret sends him into the corner again, but Benoit flips out of it and chops Bret into oblivion. He goes for a dragon suplex, but then opts for the rolling germans instead. Bret fights out of a fourth one by pounding on the back, but Benoit fights for the crossface, so Bret blocks it like a pro. Bret takes him down to the mat, still blocking, and then fights for the Sharpshooter, getting the move for the submission at 23:02. Benoit should have went over, but that's minor, because the match was a classic for all the right reasons. And really, arguing star ratings on something like this is about as gay as you can get. *****

vs

The Steiner Brothers vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka – WrestleWar 92

I know Fujinami
but I don't know the other guy. Scott does a proper Blockbuster on
both guys -- something I haven't seen him do in a dog's age. Iizuka
looks really crisp when he gets in and immediately gets over. Did he
ever become anything back in Japan? Scott with the butterfly powerbomb and the bodyvice/elbowdrop double-team that the Steiners used to do when they didn't suck. Nasty suplex by Rick on Fujinami. Iizuka is apparently cut open hardway from the double-team. He looks to be bleeding from the eye and is having trouble seeing. Fujinami comes in with a series of stiff kicks to the leg, followed by an anklelock.
Steiner rolls him over for two. Scott with a double-chickenwing on
Iizuka for two. Urinage by Scott. Rick rubs his knee into Iizuka's
injured face, just to be a dick I guess. Running bodyvice by Rick.
Pumphandle slam by Scott for two. Iizuka is taking a shitkicking here.
Abdominal stretch to a cradle by Scott for two, and Iizuka finally makes
the tag. Big brawl erupts as the Japanese doubleteam Scott. Fujinami
with an abdominal stretch when it calms down. Iizuka gets back in and
gets right back to getting beat on. Belly to belly for two. Fujinami
back in and Rick clotheslines both guys off the top rope. Scott puts
Iizuka on the top but Fujinami suplexes him off. Iizuka with a german
suplex for two. Spike piledriver, then Iizuka dropkicks Scott off the
top. Sleeper by Fujinami, into a Dragon Sleeper. Scott to the ropes.
Again, but Scott kicks him in the face. Double knockout. Double tag
and Rick destroys poor Iizuka. Pier six, and Rick puts Iizuka on the
top and belly to bellies him for the pin. Fabulous match. ****1/4

I vote for:

HBK/Ramon
TLC
Hart/Benoit

[TheAxeGrinder]

HBK/Ramon
TLC
Hart/Benoit

[Frank the Tank]

HBK/Razor
TLC
Bret/Benoit

[jackson13]

Mania 10
TLC 1
Beniot/Bret

[Raw Chili]

Mania 10
TLC
Bret/Benoit

[jeo4]

Shawn/ Razor

TLC

Hart/ Benoit

I am from Kansas City. I saw both Owens demise and Bret's return. Bret is my favorite wrestler. We were all stunned when Owen fell. I went to the WCW show and saw Bret and I could barely keep my composure. Both he and Chris Benoit are two of the most incredible performers in wrestling.

[horrorfreak13]

HBK/Razor
TLC
Bret/Benoit

[brodeurnumber1]

HBK/Razor
TLC
Benoit/Hart

[Rated R]

Originally posted by brodeurnumber1
HBK/Razor
TLC
Benoit/Hart

[starcat]

HBK/Ramon
TLC
Hart/Benoit

[Inglorious]

Originally posted by starcat
HBK/Ramon
TLC
Hart/Benoit

Same

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
HBK/Razor (10-0)
TLC 1 (10-0)
Benoit/Bret (10-0)

Match 10:

Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi 6/9/95

Taue and Kobashi start out exchanging chops. Kobashi applies a wristlock and Taue puts an end to it with one kick to the left quadricep. It wasn’t meant to hurt Kobashi as much as it was to let him know that he and Kawada see the weakness and are more than willing to exploit it. Kawada gets a tag and Kobashi goes for an Irish whip. Kawada adjusts his weight just a little and drills the unsuspecting Misawa with a running high kick, sending Misawa crashing into the rail. The move came totally out of left field but sent a message to the champions. The look on Kawada’s face is priceless as he has a true look of disgust for the bitter rival. Misawa gets the tag and brings the pain with his elbow smashes. They do a counter sequence to show just how well they know each other and then Misawa goes for a roundhouse kick but that’s ducked and Kawada surprises everyone by hitting a running high kick on Kobashi. The look on Kobashi’s face was something to remember as he looks like a kid that’s just had his lunch money taken from him. He wants to do something about it, but all he can do is stand there pouting with his lip hanging out. The challengers do a great job of letting the champions know that they have their number. Kobashi gets the tag and fires off a few chops on Taue. Kobashi hits his trademark delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Tag to Misawa who hits a roundhouse kick, which sends Taue to the outside. Misawa follows up with a very nice elbow suicida. Back in the ring and the champs hit a double vertical suplex for a two count. I think the champs really put forth the characteristics of the face wrestlers. I find in so many matches in Puro, the line between whom is the face and hell is very blurred, sometimes to the point of being indistinguishable. The moveset employed worked perfectly to put over their face characteristics. There was nothing dirty. Just good wrestling in various suplexes, submissions and one solid flying maneuver. Kobashi goes for a flying shoulderblock but Taue moves out of the way and gets the tag to Dangerous K. Kawada goes right to work on Kobashi’s left leg. The heavy bandage was just screaming "please destroy me." He hits a few kicks and Kobashi crumbles to pieces. Kawada fires off a huge jumping knee drop on the leg and Kobashi is in a whole world of trouble. Kawada slaps on a high angled half crab and tags to Taue. Dynamic T continues the assault with a Sasurigatame. He takes it much higher, putting more pressure on the contorted legs, rather than sitting back to emphasize an attack on the lower back. Great leg work from the challengers. Taue gets the tag and goes for the knee breaker but Kobashi escapes and makes the tag. Salvation is reached but the price was high. Kobashi’s leg would prove a crucial factor in this match as it progressed. Misawa fires off a few elbow smashes on Taue. An Irish whip is reversed but Misawa holds onto the ropes and clocks the unsuspecting Kawada with an elbow smash. That was a nice little bit of payback for the cheap shot at the start of the match. It also furthers emphasizes the fact that Kawada’s initial "sneak attack" wasn’t just for the sake of it. It played a role later, which the crowd ate up with a big spoon. Misawa goes back to work on Taue, slapping on a Boston crab. Kawada calmly walks into the ring and kicks Misawa straight in the mouth. Kawada looked almost emotionless with the delivery. It was like trying to point out that Misawa wasn’t even worthy of Kawada running in and attacking him. He just walked in, and laid in one shot straight to the mouth. Kawada gets the tag and lays in lots of kicks to the face and then a brutal running high kick to the face. Now an onslaught of kicks and knees rain down upon Misawa’s face as he sits hapless in the corner. Finally Misawa starts to block the shots and comes back with elbow strikes. Taue tries to make the save but Misawa takes him out. However, it does give Kawada enough time to hit another running high kick. Kobashi tries to make the save but Taue dropkicks him in the leg. Just like that, Kobashi is taken out of the match as he sells the leg like it’s the end of his world. Taue continues the assault as he stands on Kobashi’s leg. Kawada goes back to work on Misawa but he won’t have any of it. He unleashes a flurry of elbow smashes much akin to how Kawada had attacked him with kicks in the corner. Taue tries to make the save but Misawa meets him with elbows. Taue manages to duck one of the strikes and hits the Nodowa Otoshi onto Kobashi’s leg. This is some of the best leg work I have ever seen. Kawada continues to bring the pain with a second rope jumping knee drop onto the leg. You can’t help but feel a strong sense of sympathy for Kobashi as he lays screaming on the mat, a man broken. Irish whip and Kawada hits Misawa with a roundhouse kick for 2 and ½. Kawada continues to destroy Misawa’s face as he grinds his elbow into the face. He follows that up with a brutal jumping knee drop to the face. This wasn’t a HHH or Ric Flair knee drop. That one hit right on the money. Tag to Taue and he hotshots Misawa onto the top turnbuckle followed up with a Coconut Crush for 2 and ½. The attacks on Kobashi’s leg and Misawa’s face have come with an almost sickening precision. The camera gets a look at Kobashi who is still writhing in pain on the floor. Kobashi’s sell job in this match was exemplary, that’s for sure. More heel tactics as Kawada simply stands on Misawa’s face. He makes the tag to Taue who hits a lariat for 2 and ½. Kobashi makes a valiant effort to at least climb to the apron but Kawada just kicks him in the face, sending him back to the floor. The crowd sends out a chorus of boos towards the man they cheered only a few minutes earlier. Another tag and Kawada sets up for the powerbomb but Kobashi again tries to make the save. Taue throws him out and hits a knee crusher ON THE RAILING! If you’re a Kobashi fan watching this match, I’m forced to wonder how you’re not moved to tears seeing this man take a beating of this magnitude. Meanwhile, Kawada hits the powerbomb for 2 and ¾. Kawada slaps on the stretch plum but Kobashi again risks his leg to make the save. He gets Kawada to break the hold and then they go back and forth with chops until they do a double clothesline spot. The chants ring out from Nippon Budoken; MI SA WA, MI SA WA, MI SA WA! Finally Misawa makes the tag to Kobashi. Kobashi and Kawada go back and forth with the chops. Kawada tries to put an end to it with a thunderous kick to the injured leg. Kobashi sucks it up and now fires off some kicks of his own to the leg. This harks all the way back to 1993 Real World Tag League where Kawada took a horrible beating to his leg. Kawada goes for another kick but Kobashi grabs the leg and unloads with the chops. Taue tries to save but takes a forearm shot. It gives Kawada time to fire off another kick to the leg and tag Taue. Kobashi gains a small bit of redemption as he hits Taue with a dropkick to the leg. Kobashi goes for a powerbomb but it’s blocked so Misawa comes in and they hit the double Tiger Driver. Kobashi gives the sign for the Moonsault and the crowd ERUPTS! Kawada manages to cut him off though. Tag to Misawa who hits his trademark twisting clothesline. Misawa hits the Tiger Driver for 2 and 9/10. The heat is really starting to rise from the crowd. Misawa slaps on his trademark crossface headlock but Kawada stops that one with the DANGEROUS BAAAAAAACKDROPPAH! Taue crawls over to make the tag but Kobashi nails Kawada with a shoulderblock. Tag to Kobashi who hits a German suplex for 2 and 9/10. Kobashi again goes for the moonsault but Kawada again stops him with some kicks to the leg. Taue makes the tag and Kawada goes for a lariat only to have it ducked and Kobashi hits a backdrop suplex. He goes for the moonsault but now it’s Taue that stops it. Misawa hits a bodyslam and finally Kobashi hits the Moonsault. 1… 2… 2.999999! Misawa gets the tag and he hits the Tiger Suplex! 1… 2… 2.999999! THIS CROWD IS JACKED! Misawa manages to hit the Tiger Driver but Taue makes the save and hits the Nodowa Otoshi. He puts Misawa on the top and hits a SUPER NODOWA OTOSHI! Misawa rolls to the apron but Taue meets him and hits a NODOWA OTOSHI FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! Kobashi crawls on his hands and knees and covers Misawa, taking the beating from Taue to save his broken partner. Misawa is totally out of it. He’s rolled back into the ring and Kawada covers for 1… 2… 2.999999! Kawada goes for the powerbomb but again here comes Kobashi. A man basically working with one leg crawls over and holds onto his destroyed partner’s leg to prevent the powerbomb. Of course Taue takes him out with the Nodowa Otoshi and Kawada hits the High Angle Powerbomb but again Misawa kicks out. Kawada lays in more kicks but again Kobashi sacrifices himself to save his partner. I can’t emphasize enough the drama being played out in the final minutes of this match. Kawada and Taue struggle to pull Kobashi away from Misawa. They put him away with a BRUTAL Nodowa – Backdrop combo. Misawa finally makes it to his feet and fires off his last ditch effort as he nails Taue with the Rolling Elbow. The numbers work against him though as Kawada hits his trademark Gamengiri! 1… 2… 2.99999! Absolutely unbelievable that Misawa continues to kick out. Misawa is working on borrowed time. He inches and crawls to potential salvation in his corner but alas, Kobashi is nowhere to be found. All that’s left is the hope of pulling out something from deep down. Kawada picks up Misawa and hits another DANGEROUS BAAAAAACKDROPPAH! 1…. 2…. 2.999999! UNBELEIVABLE! Kawada hits another Gamengiri and hits one more high angle Powerbomb! 1… 2… Kobashi tries to save but is held down by Taue with Kobashi’s fingers literally inches from saving his partner… 3! The time of the match? I mere forty two minutes in length. Suitable enough to properly convey the epic war that just took place.

vs

Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles – TNA 2/19/03

Okay, I don’t want to watch this match while try to simultaneously type so I’m going to put down the keyboard and go watch. Be right back, I swear. Okay, this is how it went down. The match started evenly with Jarrett using a ton of moves I’ve never seen him use including a plancha. The match is really fast paced and we don’t see restholds until about 10 minutes in and then it’s for less than a minute. Refs got repeatedly bumped and The Harris Twins attempted to interfere but were chased off by Vader and Dusty. The second time a ref was bumped, Sonny Siaki entered the ring and hit Jarrett with two consecutive Siakilypses. Styles didn’t take too kindly and attacked Siaki and hit him with the Styles Clash. As Styles got on the middle rope to taunt Siaki as he rolled out of the ring, Jarrett climbed the ropes and delivered the Stroke from the middle rope for the pinfall to retain the World title. Hell, I’ll even toss a star rating out there and go out on a limb and call this one a **** match. Really, really good stuff from Styles and Jarrett.

Match 11:

Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – SummerSlam 2002

They slug it out and Shawn takes him down and dumps him. He follows with a pescado and they head back in, and do a chase on the way. Shawn finds a garbage can, but gets dumped on the railing. Back in, Shawn gets a clothesline and goes up for a double axehandle. Superkick misses and HHH gets a sadistic backbreaker and another one to show that he really means business. The psychology here is a gimme in terms of getting it over – it’s well known that Shawn has a crippling back injury, so any punishment at all to the back is amplified 100 times in the fans’ minds. It’s a great shortcut – you can skip 10 minutes of working the body part because one move, in the minds of the fans, is enough to damage the back again. HHH whips him into the corner and slugs him down. Elbow to the back gets two. I feel like singing “You always hurt the one you love”. Good old Spike Jones. HHH get a chair and blasts Shawn in the back for two. Shawn reverses a suplex for two, but walks into a facebuster and gets DDT’d on the chair for two. HHH uses Shawn’s own belt for some S&M-styled foreplay. Then it’s off under the ring, where he finds his trusty sledgehammer / phallic symbol, but Shawn fights him off. Man, this match works on so many levels, even the sick ones. HHH goes to an abdominal stretch instead, and that provokes an argument with Earl Hebner about using the ropes, which is of course completely ludicrous because the ref has no authority here. They head up and Shawn gets crotched and hung upside-down in position for either a chairshot to the ass or some spanking, depending on which level you’re reading this recap. HHH sets up the chair and drops Shawn’s back on it, which is just such a sick spot that I have to wonder about Shawn’s sanity. Sideslam on the chair gets two. Ditto. Pedigree, but Shawn goes low to block. HHH stalks him with the chair, but Shawn superkicks it back in his face to reassert his manhood in the relationship. A bigtime bladejob for HHh results. Shawn’s facial bleeding earlier in the match, by the way, was pretty much the first appearance of the legendary blood capsule in like 10 years, but I can understand not wanting to mutilate yourself for a one-shot match. Shawn fights back with the forearm and kip-up, and suddenly he’s on fire again like a revivalist preacher. Chairshot and Shawn dumps HHH and batters him right back with the belt. He even uses Hugo Savinovich’s boot, which might be a tip of the hat to his match with Diesel in 1997, but I doubt it. He finds a ladder and harpoons HHH with it. Catapult into the ladder gets two. HHH baseball slides the ladder back into him, and they head back in. Shawn superplexes him for two. Sunset flip gets two. HHH hits him with the high knee for two. He grabs the stairs, but that backfires and Shawn dumps him. A table gets set up and HHH ends up on it, and then through it via a splash. Ladder gets set up in the corner back in the ring, and Shawn drops the elbow and cues up the band. Superkick misses, but he reverses the Pedigree for the pin at 27:23. He probably should have just gone over clean with the superkick, but that’s not important. **** HHH attacks him and Shawn does the stretcher job to close out the match.

vs

2 Cold Scorpio vs Shane Douglas vs Chris Jericho vs Pitbull #2 – Heatwave 96

Jericho sends Scorp to the floor and teases a plancha to start. Back in, they do a hammerlock sequence and Scorp gets a leg lariat off the ropes. Somersault legdrop gets two. Jericho gets a tiger bomb for two, and into a bizarre submission move that Joey dubs “Mr. Salty” for lack of a better name. They exchange chops and Scorpio tags Shane in. Jericho suplexes him for two, and works a headlock. Bridging rollup gets two. He tries the Lionsault, but can’t get all of it. Jericho unleases some CANADIAN VIOLENCE in the corner, and Douglas responds in kind. Lionsault gets two. Jericho tags in Pitbull 2, but Douglas is a chickenshit and tags out to Scorpio. Crowd calls him a pussy. Joey totally oversells the storyline, however. Scorpio reverses a slam for one, but Pitbull drops him. Powerbomb gets two. Scorp sends him to the floor, and rams him headfirst to a chair. Back in, Scorp gets some high knees and tags Douglas in. So of course now he comes in and stomps the weakened Pitbull. See, now this is the character Shane should be playing, not whatever his WCW one is supposed to be. Backdrop suplex gets two. Douglas tags to Jericho, who dropkicks Pitbull in the head. Pitbull gives him an elbow and a powerslam gets two. Jericho escapes a wristlock with a leg lariat, and a german suplex gets two. Rana is blocked with a powerbomb, and Scorpio comes in. He goes upstairs, but Jericho crotches and hits the Super Frankensteiner. That differs from a normal top rope rana in that both guys are STANDING on the top rope. Wild stuff. Douglas then tags himself in and covers Scorpio for two. Scorpio hits a series of jabs on Shane and they brawl outside. Back in, Douglas eats a chair, and it gets two for Scorpio. Pitbull 2 is in, so Douglas is out. Jericho cradles Pitbull for two. Slam is reversed by Pitbull for two. Jericho tries the “You run at me in the corner and I’ll alley-oop over top of you” spot, but Pitbull forgets to run at the corner and Jericho is left to launch himself in the air and fall on his face. Whoops, there goes ¼* right there. Good one, Anthony. Pitbull powerbomb gets two. Scorpio in, and he brawls with Jericho. Jericho gets a DDT and tags Pitbull in. A blockbuster suplex off the top gets a one count and Douglas tags himself in. He and Pitbull brawl outside, but Jericho hits both with a tope, and Scorpio nails all three with a plancha. Jericho and Scorpio brawl into the crowd, out of camera range. Back to ringside, Douglas bulldogs Pitbull on a chair for two. He goes to tag out, but no one wants it. Oops. Pitbull comes back and Jericho missile dropkicks Douglas for two. Pitbull pulls him off and tries the pin himself, getting two. Dumb move there. Elbow off the second rope and dropkick get two on Douglas for Jericho. He hits the figure-four, but nothing there. Douglas tags out to Scorpio, but Jericho hits a fisherman’s suplex for two. He tries the Lionsault, but Scorpio dropkicks him in mid-air. Powerbomb and stalling follow. Jericho dropkicks Scorpio into Douglas and hits a tiger suplex on him, then tags Douglas in. Douglas hits a cheapshot on Jericho on the way in, then tags himself back out, leaving a dead Jericho at Scorpio’s mercy. Tombstone and Tumbleweed kill him off at 27:01. Douglas goes against Scorpio next, and they stall. A lot. Scorp fires away with punches and gets a dropkick. Into a resthold, but Douglas gets the belly to belly. Scorp comes back with a sunset flip for two. He catches Pitbull with a superkick, and piles Douglas on top of him. A moonsault attempt onto both misses, and Shane DDTs him. Douglas and Pitbull form an uneasy alliance, hit a superbomb on Scorpio as a result, and Scorpio is gonzo at 30:22. Pitbull and Douglas brawl on the floor, and Pitbull brings a pair of chairs into the ring and powerbombs Shane on them in a spot lifted by Kevin Nash and Terry Funk on one of last year’s WCW shows. I don’t even remember which it was – I think it was Superbrawl X, but don’t quote me on that. Pitbull gets a table, but Douglas hits the belly to belly. Francine (The Pitbulls’ manager at the time) gets dragged in by Douglas, and the ref is bumped. Francine then turns on Pitbull and takes her skirt off, revealing “Franchise” underwear. Pitbull comes back, taking the betrayal remarkably well, and clotheslines Douglas out, leaving the Pitbulls to have their way with Francine. They superbomb her through a table. Well, patience never was big on Paul Heyman’s list of booking attributes. Douglas comes in and nails Pitbull 2 with the belt for two. A piece of table gets two. Brass knuckles get two. His trusty chain gets two. The belly to belly finishes at 38:25. I really, REALLY hate that finish, and I’ m not impressed that Heyman felt the need to repeat it at Barely Legal for the Douglas-Pitbull match. Match was awesome aside from Pitbull blowing spots, Scorpio stalling, and the goofy finish. ****1/2

I vote for:

Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Kobashi
The 4 Way

[jackson13]

The one that Jarrett isnt in.

HBK/HHH

[Inglorious]

None

HBK/HHH

[Raw Chili]

Kawada/Taue vs. Misawa/Kobashi
4 Way

[Frank the Tank]

Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue
Scorpio vs Pitbull vs Douglas vs Jericho

[brodeurnumber1]

Tag Team Match
Fatal Fourway

[starcat]

the heartbreak kid vs. the greenwich snob

[Rated R]

Tag
4 Way

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Tag Match (6-0)
4 Way (5-3)

Match 12:

RVD vs Jerry Lynn – ECW on TNN 9/10/99 (pretty weak review)

This was a great match, truley what ECW is about...less talk more action. The match went all over the arena, and in the end Lance Storm and Justin Credible came in and attacked both wrestlers and said that they are closing the show, not Lynn and Van Dam. And so they did. Joey Styles announced that there will be a re-match next week and there will be a decisive winner.

vs

E&C vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz – TLC #2 – Wrestlemania X-7

Big brawl to start. Dudleyz dominate. Hardyz hit Poetry in Motion as Edge & Christian bring a ladder in and destroy everyone. They stomp on Matt’s nuts and drop Jeff on a chair. Matt climbs but gets speared off by Edge. Edge climbs and Jeff dropkicks him off, and they baseball slide the Dudleyz. Two ladders get set up and Hardyz hit Rolling Thunder off them. Dudleyz come on with the Wazzup Drop on Edge, they get the tables. Buh Buh powerbombs Jeff onto Edge, through the table. Dudleyz stack some stables outside and set up some ladders in the ring. All six guys climb, all six guys go flying off in all sorts of crazy bumps, including Christian clearing the top rope by six inches and splatting on the floor. Ye gods. Edge climbs, but Spike runs in and Acid Drops Christian out of the ring, through a table! Rhyno comes in and gores everything in sight, allowing Edge to climb again. Lita stops that, but Rhyno goes after her. Lita ranas him, and Rhyno knocks Edge off the ladder by mistake. Dudleyz give Rhyno the Dudley Device, then 3D for Lita. Edge chairs Buh Buh, but Jeff sets up a supersized ladder outside and puts Spike & Rhyno through a table. In the ring, Edge & Christian set up the big ladder and Christian races D-Von up, and both guys are left hanging. Both fall, and Jeff walks across the tops of four ladders, then falls off the last one and hangs in mid-air, only to get speared 15 feet in the air by Edge to the mat. OH MY GOD. Matt & Buh Buh fight on the ladder, but Rhyno shoves him out, over the top, through the double-stack of tables on the floor. OH MY HOLY GOD. Edge & Christian beat D-Von up to the top (with the help of a boost from Rhyno) and claim the titles for a record seventh time at 15:41. What else? *****

Match 13:

Chris Benoit vs William Regal – Brian Pillman Memorial Show

This is from the Pillman Tribute show in 2000, and it's fan-cam footage used here. Cole and Tom Pritchard provide commentary. They fight over a wristlock to start, which Benoit wins, but Regal kips up and they counter into Regal's advantage. Regal takes him down with a knucklelock, but Benoit powers into a bridge and takes Regal down. Regal bridges out as well and they start headbutting each other while in that position, and Benoit fires off an enzuigiri as Regal starts bleeding hardway. They bail and Regal boots him in the face, but they fight on the apron and Benoit DDTs him on the apron. Back in, Benoit gets two. Backdrop suplex gets two. Regal takes him down with a drop toehold, however, and wraps him up with a facelock, but Benoit makes the ropes. Regal throws a nice standing dropkick (when you do see THAT from him?) and takes Benoit down with the Rita Romero Special. Benoit fires back with a german suplex to buy some time, and starts throwing chops. Regal headbutts him straight in the face, however, and uses some stiff high kicks to put him down again. They slug it out and Benoit goes to the rolling germans, but Regal fights out and pounds Benoit into a butterfly suplex attempt, but Benoit counters him into a german suplex. He goes up and Regal catches him and superplexes him, for two. They collide in the corner and Benoit gets two. Slugfest, but Regal wraps him up for two. That was great. Backslide gets two for Regal. Dropped backdrop suplex gets two. CRAZY. He has to start using that again. Regal throws down and Benoit takes it, then reverses a tombstone attempt into his own, and a nice one. Back to the top, but the diving headbutt misses. Both guys are out, but Regal recovers, and they reverse until Benoit gets a release dragon suplex and the crossface for the submission at 12:47. Finish was a bit abrupt, but the rest was tremendous. ****1/4

vs

Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat – Bash At The Beach 94

Austin blindsides him to start, and attacks the knee, but Steamboat chops him. Austin meets the post, and Steamboat does the UT ropewalk to work the arm. Sadly, he doesn’t yell “old school” first, thus lessening the impact of the move. He then goes the Anderson playbook and hammerlock-slams Austin. Slugfest and Austin goes up, but Steamboat dropkicks him off and lays in the shots as he’s hanging upside down. Back in, Steamboat goes arm-draggin’. Austin fakes a knee injury off a leapfrog, but Steamboat isn’t buying. Hiptoss and dropkick, and Austin bails. He asks for time to heal his crippled knee, but MIRACULOUSLY recovers as Steamboat nears the ropes, and he yanks him out to beat on him. Back in, Steamer goes to the sleeper off a footrace and gets a rollup for two. Back to the arm. Austin goes low with that darned trick knee, however. A suplex and three clotheslines follow, but Steamboat won’t stay down. He finally does a crazy, delirious selling job that results in him drunkenly falling out of the ring. Austin suplexes him back in for two. Steamboat reverses a suplex and cradles for two. Armdrag and back to the arm for Steamboat. He drives some knees into Austin’s arm, boring the crowd. Collision on a leapfrog puts Steamboat on top for two, but Austin catches a HUGE spinebuster and drops a knee. He goes to the 2nd rope and drops another knee, but Steamboat gets up, wanting more. Slugfest and Steamboat catapults him into the ringpost for two. Austin nails him, but Steamboat wants more. More chops, but Austin backdrops him and hits a neckbreaker for two. Steamboat escapes a rear chinlock, but Austin clobbers him for two. He works that pinfall attempt, getting about 12 two-counts. Steamboat bridges out and mule-kicks Austin. Austin chokes him out on the ropes, then takes Steamboat limp arm and waves “Hello, everybody!” to the camera in the funniest moment of the night. Man, remember when Austin actually had a sense of humor? Austin comes off the ropes, but walks into his own stungun. He bails and they fight off the apron, but Steamboat takes a header into the railing. Ouch. Austin charges and hits the ringpost facefirst to one-up him. Back in, Dragon hits the FLYING KARATE CHOP OF DOOM and a backdrop. Double-chop gets two. Austin dumps him, but Dragon skins the cat back in and chops away. Austin dumps him again, same result. Steamboat cradles for two. Small package gets two. Rollup gets two. Austin freaks out and tries a tombstone, which is reversed, reversed by Austin, and reversed again by Steamboat to complete the move. Steamboat goes up, but Austin pulls the ref in the way…and Steamboat doesn’t want the DQ. He should have taken it, because he hits a bodypress, which is rolled through for the pin at 20:16 by Austin to retain. Great match, though. ***3/4

Match 14:

Iron Man Match - Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat – Beach Blast 92

Steamboat blitzes Rude to start, catching him off-guard with a gutbuster and injuring his ribs in the process. Steamboat goes HARD to the ribs in the corner, then literally kicks Rude around the ring like a dog, thus marking the one and only time where David Crockett would actually be appropriate as a color commentator. Steamboat goes to a side-bearhug, squeezing the ribs further. Rude knees out of it, but Steamboat buries a knee in the ribs in a sort of half-crab/armbar submission move. Rude tries a monkey flip, but Steamboat hooks the legs on the way down and rolls into a Boston Crab. Awesome. Rude uses the ABS OF STEEL to make the ropes. Steamboat goes back to the ribs with kneedrops. That’s almost heelish for Ricky. Steamboat uses a front suplex to drop Rude on his ribs, for two. Blind charges misses and Rude suddenly knees him in the face and gets the first pin at 7:32. Steamboat is stunned, so Rude applies the Rude Awakening and gets another pin at 8:50. Rude goes to the top and hits the kneedrop, but that’s a DQ at 9:45. However, Steamboat is now out, so Rude pins him at 10:15 to go 3-1. Steamboat fights to the ribs again, but gets nailed when he puts his head down. Rude burns up some daylight with a rear chinlock, and we get a funny bit as he’s too injured to swivel his hips, allowing Jesse to shower him with praise for the effort required to even try. Steamboat escapes another chinlock with an electric chair drop, but a splash hits nothing but knee. Rude neckbreaker gets two. He hits the chinlock and patiently works Steamboat over. Piledriver gets two. He tries a tombstone, but Steamer reverses for the pin at 17:41 to make it 3-2. Rude goes upstairs again but gets superplexed for two. Rude gets two and Steamboat bridges into a backslide to tie it up at 20:32. Steamboat then goes NUTS with near-falls until Rude knees him in the face to shut him up. Rude patiently works him over with basic stuff, going for the draw. Rude Awakening is blocked and reversed to one of his own by Steamboat, and it gets two. Suplex gets two. Backdrop suplex gets two. Rude gets a desperation sleeper, and holds on like a needle in Billy Gunn’s ass. Crowd starts freaking out as Steamboat does an A-1 job of selling it for nearly five minutes. Steamboat reaches the ropes, but Rude uses his legs to kick the Dragon’s hands back. Nice. Down to 1:00, Steamboat is in BIG trouble. He fights back one last time, pushing off the top rope and landing right on Rude’s injured ribs, getting the pin at 29:30 to go 4-3. Rude goes INSANE, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Steamboat in a desperate attempt to tie it up, but despite SEVEN near falls in 30 seconds, Steamboat holds on for the win at 30:00. That’s one hell of a match, right there. It’s no Rock-HHH (and who would have EVER though that comparison would come about with regards to Iron Man matches?) but it was pretty close. ****1/2

vs

2/3 Falls - Hair vs. Masks - Eddie Guerrero & Art Barr vs Hijo Del Santo & Octagon – When Worlds Collide 94

This is from the "When Worlds Collide" AAA/IWS PPV. Art Barr was a tremendous heel back in the early 1990s. He looks kind of like Billy Ray Cyrus. El Hijo Del Santo is the son of El Santo and former partner of Eddy Guerrero. His father was actually partners with Gory Guerrero, so this one definitely has a historical element to it. Octagon looks a lot like The Great Sasuke.

First Fall: Eddy and Hijo del Santo mix it up on the mat to start. Octagon and Love Machine tag in. Barr offers a handshake, but Octagon's not an idiot. Barr misses a senton. Octagon tags out. Eddy nearly kills Hijo del Santo with a Frankensteiner off Barr's shoulders. That's good enough for three. You have to beat both opponents, though, so Eddy superplexes Octagon off the top, allowing Barr to come off with a beautiful frogsplash to take the first fall in 4:05.

Second Fall: Eddy and Art taunt the fans between falls. Eddy jumps El Hijo del Santo and delivers a throwaway suplex. Octagon tags in, but Eddy goes to the eyes. Barr tags in and delivers a pair of standing dropkicks. Santo comes back in and sends Eddy to the outside. Santo drops an elbow on Barr and headscissors Eddy down again. The masked men dropkick Los Gringos Locos out and follow them out with double topes. Back in, Eddy delivers a huracanrana on Santo and eliminates him. That leaves Octagon alone against both men. Barr presses Octagon up, but Octagon ranas Eddy down for the three. Barr finally sees this, but Octagon wraps him up in Mr. Salty for the submission at 10:29.

Third Fall: Los Gringos Loco argue between falls. Santo reverses an Eddy powerbomb attempt to a rana for two. Eddy locks him in a camel clutch, so Octagon comes in and casually kicks him right in the face. Santo tries the same move, but Barr returns the favor with a kick. Santo small packages Barr, but Eddy makes the save. Octagon breaks up an STF by punting Barr in the ribs. Eddy goes for the Gory Stretch on Octagon. Santo breaks it up. He catches Eddy going up and delivers a super Electric Chair drop. Barr sends both of the masked men out, and the heels hit double topes. Eddy goes for a superplex, but we're clipped to Santo sunset flipping over the top rope to the outside and slamming Eddy to the ground. The ref gets tied up with them, so Barr delivers a Tombstone to Octagon (which is usually illegal in AAA). That's enough to eliminate Octagon. Barr clotheslines Santo into a Guerrero German Suplex for two. Guerrero superplexes Santo for Barr's frog splash. ONE, TWO, THRR--NOOOO!!! The EMTs come down and stretcher Octagon out. Santo avoids a charge and flies out on top of Eddy Guerrero. The ref admonishes them, enabling Blue Panther to sneak in and piledrive Barr. HUGE POP for that! Santo slides back in and covers for the pin. Eddy delivers a belly-to-belly superplex, but it only gets two. The paramedics call for a neckbrace for Octagon while Eddy hits Santo with a super huracanrana. Guerrero delivers a Dragon Suplex for two. He tries again, but Santo reverses to a rollup for three at 22:12. One of the best matches of the decade — great story, wall-to-wall action, incredible heat. ****3/4

Match 15:

Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect – King of the Ring 93

Bret starts with a headlock and Hennig counters, they exchange slams, and Bret goes back to the headlock again. Good fast-paced start. Bret gets a crucifix for two, back to the headlock. He gets put out, but sunset flips back in for two. Back to the headlock, but now Hennig goes low to go heel. Standing dropkick and Bret bails as the crowd starts to turn on Perfect, right on cue. He decks Bret on the way in after holding the ropes, and lays down some smack in the corner. Kneelift gets two. Brawl outside, where Perfect dominates. Bret crawls onto the apron, and Perfect snaps the ropes and sends him crashing into the railing. Bret would modify that spot at Survivor Series 95 with Diesel, putting himself through a table instead. Bret makes it back in and gets kneelifted for two, as the Curt Hennig I know and love re-emerges from the wimpy exterior that his face turn had put on him. Missile dropkick gets two. Now Perfect gets downright vicious, whipping Bret into the corner with GUSTO and sneering while he does it. He goes up again, but gets crotched again and superplexed for two. Bret kicks his leg out from under his leg and goes to a figure-four as the crowd gets more and more into it. Perfect makes the ropes, and Bret works the knee. Perfect goes to the eyes and uses a hairtoss, a definite heel move. Sleeper, but Bret makes the ropes. Perfect continues selling the knee as he releases, but he manages to go back to the move and use the ropes to boot. CHEAT TO WIN~! Bret breaks on the top rope and makes the comeback by going tit-for-tat and hairtossing Perfect right back. We get another variant of the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, this time they’re atomic drop, legsweep, legdrop, backbreaker and 2nd rope elbow. Sharpshooter is blocked by Perfect as he grabs the bad hand of Bret (something established by JR’s commentary early in the match), but Bret blocks the Perfectplex and suplexes both of them to the floor. Back in, Perfect fakes him out with his “knee injury” and cradles for two, but Bret reverses for the pin at 18:49. MORE, MORE, I WANT MORE! Man, there was more psychology than Sigmund Freud v. Carl Jung in a submissive match. ****1/2

vs

Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka – Heatwave 98

SOMEONE SIGN THIS MOTHERFUCKER RIGHT NOW!!! Match of the night, no question. The wrestling could have been better but as a bumpfest it was unmatchable. Now *this* is effort. If all the guys in ECW that people claim "try hard" tried as hard as this it would be 10x better. Tanaka powerbombs Awesome, through a table, on the outside, then finishes him with a tornado DDT on two chairs. ***3/4

I vote for:

TLC 2
Benoit/Regal
Rude/Steamboat (TOUGH match though)
Hart/Perfect

[starcat]

TLC 2
Austin/Steamboat
Rude/Steamboat
Hart/Perfect

[jackson13]

T.L.C. II
Wolverine/Regal
Iron Man
Hitman/Hennig

[outsyder]

TLC 2
Austin/Steamboat
Rude/Steamboat
Hart/Perfect

[TheAxeGrinder]

TLC 2
Benoit/Regal
Rude/Steamboat
Hart/Perfect (I liked the SummerSlam '91 IC title match better, though)

[jeo4]

TLC 2
Austin/Steamboat
Rude/Steamboat
Hart/Perfect

(I agree with Axegrinder...SS91 was better.)

[horrorfreak13]

TLC 2
Austin/Steamboat
Rude/Steamboat
Hart/Perfect

[brodeurnumber1]

RVD/Lynn(Kind of a pity vote)
Benoit/Regal(toughie, though)
Rude/Steamboat(TOUGH)
Hart/Perfect

[Frank the Tank]

I'd give RVD/Lynn around **** and TLC 2 the same rating, but since it's losing RVD/Lynn.

Man, both are really great. I guess Benoit/Regal

Both really did rule, but I guess I'm the only one that bought the Eddie DVD so Barr/Eddie vs Santo/Octagon.

Another tough one. When I first saw Awesome/Tanaka I really just marked the fuck out, but Bret/Perfect was a technical masterpiece. I'd say it was a slightly better match than SummerSlam, but SummerSlam 91 is a big personal fave.

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
TLC 2 (7-2)
Benoit/Regal (5-4)
Rude/Steamboat (8-1)
Hart/Perfect (9-0)

Match 16:

Chris Benoit vs Steve Austin – Smackdown 5/31/01

Benoit attacks Austin from behind to gain an early advantage. Benoit lays the boots to Austin in the corner. I guess Vince is just an outside referee here. Now Austin gains control with a swinging neckbreaker. Austin covers, but Benoit kicks out. Now Benoit reverses a suplex and goes for a Crossface, but Austin gets to the ropes. Then Benoit drags him back to the middle of the ring, and fully applies it. Austin gets to the ropes, and Benoit drags him out and applies it again. Austin again gets to the ropes. Now once again Benoit takes Austin down and applies the Crossface. Austin again reaches the ropes. Action spills to the outside now. Benoit runs Austin’s head into the announce table. Now Benoit tosses Austin back into the ring. Benoit follows, and clotheslines Austin to the outside again. Now Austin lands a kick to the ribs of Benoit. Austin runs Benoit into the announce table. Now we go back into the ring again. Austin grabs his title and goes to the ring. The ref tries to grab the belt, and Benoit runs into both of them, taking the ref out. Now Benoit lands a DDT on the title belt, taking Austin out. Now Benoit goes to the top. Benoit goes for a flying headbutt, but, Austin slams the belt right into Benoit’s face as he’s flying down. Austin covers, but Benoit kicks out! Now Austin applies the Sharpshooter. Now Benoit counters, and applies the Sharpshooter himself. Now Austin reverses it once more. Benoit reverses it once more, and Austin makes it to the ropes. Both men are down, and the ref utilizes his “no point” 10 count. Both men are up. Benoit wants to go for a german suplex, but Austin lands a low blow. Austin goes to the top rope!!! Benoit catches him! Huge superplex by Benoit, and the crowd is going nuts! Benoit covers, but Austin kicks out at two. Now Benoit applies the Crippler Crossface, but Austin again reaches the ropes. Austin rolls to the outside, and Benoit follows. Austin rams Benoit’s head into the announce table. Now Austin suplexes Benoit ribs first into the announce table! Austin tries to fight back, but Austin rakes him in the eyes, and lands another front suplex right on Benoit’s ribs. The second one was much more lethal than the first there. Benoit is down and out. Now Austin pulls Benoit over by his bandages, and rams Benoit into the steps a couple times. The crowd chants “Austin Sucks”, hm, about time they agreed with me, I’ve been saying that for years! We’re back into the ring now, and Austin lands a series of elbow drops, then taunts Benoit. Now Benoit fights back, but Austin lands a HUGE spinebuster on Benoit. Austin covers, but Benoit kicks out at two. Austin applies the Walls Of Jericho on Benoit! Cole calls it a boston crab, but Austin is standing. Benoit fights his way to the ropes. Now Austin lands a series of right hands on Benoit’s back in the corner. Now Benoit battles back, Austin goes for the Stunner, but Benoit reverses it, and lands about TEN STRAIGHT GERMAN SUPLEXES!!! My God!!! Vince is on the apron, and Benoit shoves Austin into him. Now Benoit applies the Crossface in the middle of the ring! Vince grabs a chair and enters the ring. He punches the ref, and goes for a chair shot on Benoit, but Benoit lands a low blow, and grabs hold of the chair. Benoit lands about six chair shots on Vince. But Austin comes up from behind and rolls Benoit up, grabs the tights, and gets the three.

vs

Ron Killings vs AJ Styles vs Chris Harris vs Raven – TNA 5/19/04

Harris is the first up against AJ. Harris spears him for a quick 2. A few punches to AJ by Harris. He whips AJ off the ropes for a knee breaker. Left arm lariat for quick 2. More punches before whipping AJ into the corner again. He really flung him hard causing AJ to end upside down against the ropes. Backbreaker for two by harris. He goes for vertical but AJ reverses in time. Harris goes for the high vertical again and makes it count this time. Harris gets a near pinfall from it. More punches to AJ’s head while he’s down on the mat. Harris shoots AJ into the corner again and gives the boot to the midsection of AJ. He attempts to fight back with some punches. Harris whips him into corner and goes to charge twice but gets the boot by AJ. Pele style bicycle kick by AJ. He’s finally getting in some decent offense here. A few rights to Harris’s head. Scoop slam by AJ followed by a springboard splash for two. He gives a few kicks to Harris before slamming
Harris’s head into the turnbuckle. Another slam face first into the opposite turnbuckle. Hard chops by AJ followed by some punches to the head. Kicks to mid section are next and then a hard dropkick into corner by AJ for a two count. Blows are exchanged before AJ springs off ropes. Harris catches him and goes for the catatonic. One count and then Raven comes in…Raven gets right on Harris attacking him with clotheslines. Raven pummels Harris’s head, which knocks him down. Harris gets up and Raven greets him with another blow to head knocking him down again. AJ resting outside the ring, which I’m sure, was needed after those first five minutes with Harris. AJ attempts to come in and Raven hits him with the boot knocking him back out. Harris can barely stand but somehow manages to fight Raven into the
corner with repeated punches. Raven bulldogs Harris out of corner. AJ tries to get in again and gets another boot by Raven. Raven goes for his infamous Raven Effect DDT but AJ comes up behind him. He tries for styles clash but just can’t muster the strength to do it. Raven with a clothesline to Harris. Styles wrangles Raven into a sleeperhold. Off the ropes they go which enables Raven to reverse it onto AJ. AJ slams him into the corner breaking the hold. Raven gets him right back in another sleeperhold. Harris comes up behind Raven with a sleeperhold of his own. AJ is about out but a jawbreaker manages to break both holds. Raven staggers to feet and whips Styles into the ropes but AJ reverses it and clotheslines Raven. AJ gets a two count but Harris breaks it. AJ goes after Harris by attempting a suplex. Raven gets two on Harris but AJ breaks it. Punches between Raven and AJ. Raven with a swift kick to Harris and then AJ with a vicious clothesline on raven. All three men are now down and it’s only 10 seconds until Killings comes in. All four are now in but three are worn down. Truth has punches for everyone. More punches for Harris. Irish whips and flying forearm on Harris. Kick to Raven after a missed clotheslines. Truth goes for the axe kick but Raven drags him out. All three except AJ are out. He goes up for a beautiful springboard to the outside knocking them all down. Mini-TNA cam shows the Alpha Male watching the match backstage. Killings gets in the ring with AJ and they exchange blows and chops. He charges with his knee right into the midsection of AJ. Nice standing dropkick to Killings for a two count. Scoop slam by AJ on the Truth. AJ is going up but Raven pulls on him giving Killings time to grab him up. Truth slams him for a two count stopped by Harris. Harris punches the Truth who is down. Truth misses the dropkick and Harris goes for the sharpshooter. Raven starts to attack Harris with punches. AJ grabs Raven with a spinning toehold a’la Funk on Raven. Raven kicks AJ off into Harris which breaks up the sharpshooter on Killings. AJ goes to the ropes but Harris pushes him outside the ring. Harris attempts a catatonic on Killings but Raven interferes. Truth nails Raven with hard kick knocking him right out of the ring. AJ climbs back in and lands a few punches to the Truth’s mid section. Rights and kicks to head. AJ whips him into the opposite corner for an attempted monkey flip but Killings reverses by going up on ropes for a hurricarana attempt. AJ counters and gets him into the Styles Clash. Roll up for two. Raven breaks it up at the last possible second. Series of forearms to Raven and he sets him up for the Styles Clash…Who’s this on the ramp? Who is coming to interfere with this incredible main event? Don’t they care that they may lose their job? Oh no, not him! Not Jarrett!! Jarrett is walking down the ramp with guitar in hand. He goes right for AJ
giving him a guitar shot to head. Raven Effect DDT and he covers for two count but Harris pulls Raven off. Harris goes up to rope for an elbow drop. He gets a two count but Killings drags the ref out of the ring. Raven clotheslines Harris out of ring. Truth goes up on the top rope with an axe kick to AJ’s neck for the three count.

Match 17:

Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper IC Title – Wrestlemania 8

Piper had substituted for Bret at the Royal Rumble, winning the I-C title from the Mountie, who had in turn won the title from Bret a few days prior. So now Bret and Piper fight. This is a lesson in ring psychology, as Bret and Roddy play mindgames with each other the entire match. Bret debuts the "goldbricking" routine that Diesel fell victim to at Survivor Series 1995. Bret juices, just for the hell of it. Piper works very stiff here, with noticable results. Ref gets bumped and Piper teases a heel turn with the ringbell before the fans change his mind. He goes for the sleeper instead, but Bret walks the ropes and rolls through for the pin and the title. **** Piper's best match in the WWF, IMO. Piper and Hart do the Babyface Embrace after the match.

vs

Kane & Hurricane vs Bubba Rey & Spike vs RVD & Jeff Hardy vs Jericho & Christain – TLC #4

Hurricane is not out there. Melee to start. Kane holds his own. RVD and Jeff try to double team Kane, but Kane nails a double clothesline. Kane singles out Jeff, leaving RVD in the ring. Kane puts Jeff in the steps, RVD off the apron, Kane grabs him, Jeff off the wall into Kane. In the ring, Bubba grabs the ladder and starts a helicopter spin, taking out Jericho and Christian. Kane in, boots the ladder into Kane’s face. RVD with a straight kick to Kane. Jericho and Christian take out Spike and Bubba. Bubba fights back, nails the Dusty Combo on the Canadians. Kane in, takes out Bubba with a Choke Slam, then tosses Spike over the top on RVD. Jericho in the ring with another ladder, takes out Kane. Jericho and Christian lay Kane on a table on the outside. Jericho and Christian go to toss a ladder on Kane, but RVD jumps on the ladder and sticks it in the Canadians faces. Jeff gets a big ladder and double leg drops Kane through the table! Bubba goes to the top of the ladder in the ring, but Christian gets to him and Powerbombs him off. We come back, Bubba is over the Canadians. Bubba and RVD fight on the ladders, the Canadians go up the other sides of the ladders. Jericho with a Bulldog on Bubba off the top of the ladder, and I think Bubba is dead. Christian with his reverse DDT on RVD off the top of the ladder. Spike goes up, but Christian takes him out. Christian and RVD going toe to toe, Christian goes up the ladder, Kane in, pushes the ladder down and crotches Christian on the ropes. Jeff comes in, but Kane powerslams him. Spike in, and Kane introduces him to the ladder. Jericho in, nails Kane with a chair, then Bubba. RVD spin heel kicks Jericho, and Jeff puts Kane in the corner, with a chair in front of his face….VAN TERMINATOR!!! Jeff then suplexes Jericho on a ladder. Christian on the top rope, but Jeff tosses him off on the ladder! Jeff and Bubba go to the top of the ladder. Bubba with a SUPERPLEX OFF THE TOP OF THE LADDER!!!!! JR agrees with the crowds “HOLY SHIT” Chant. All the SuperStars are motionless for a minute of so. RVD goes to the top of the ladder, but Bubba takes him out. Jericho goes up the ladder, and Spike gets in, pushes the ladder over, and sends Jericho head first to the floor. Spike then goes for the titles, but Christian drags him down, but Spike goes for a Dudley Dog, but Christian tosses him over the top though a table! Christian going to the top, Bubba sets up another ladder, catches Christian and nails a Bubba Bomb off top! RVD with a 5* on Christian. Jeff goes to Swanton Bubba, but Bubba moves, Jeff off the ropes, Bubba with a back body drop over the top rope through a table! RVD then with a Van Daminator on Bubba. RVD climbs the ladder, Jericho is right behind him. Jericho locks the Walls of Jericho on RVD on the ladder!! RVD out of the ring, Kane in, CHOKE SLAM OFF THE LADDER on Jericho! Kane gets up the ladder and wins the Titles all on his own.

Match 18:

Hulk Hogan vs The Big Boss Man – SNME Cage Match

This match is of course notable for Hogan's suplex off the top of the
cage, which really wasn't that impressive when you consider the fact
that Bossman was doing all the work. And after the move, a move which most wrestlers simply jump up and keep going after, Hogan and Bossman literally laid "unconscious" for 2 minutes. Finally, after
waaaaaaaaaaay too long, Hogan gets smart and steals the cuffs, cuffing Bossman to the ropes and beating up Slick. Brings the count to six. He escapes, wins the match, goes back into the cage, and beats up Slick again. We'll count this as beating #7 because it's basically two
seperate beatings. It's a famous match and one of Hogan's best, and the one that suddenly made everyone say "Wait a sec..." about Big Bossman's talents.

vs

Saturn & Raven vs Dean Malenko & Chris Benoit – Spring Stampede 1999

The Flock pulls out a ton of cool double-teams on Benoit to start. Raven gets triple-teamed by the Horsemen outside the ring and the Midgets work over Raven. Arn is jawing with the fans the whole time. Guess which team Charles Robinson favors. Fans completely turn on the Horsemen, booing them mercilessly. Well, I'll take heel heat over no heat. Saturn gets the hot tag and decks Anderson, which is a good sign for his healing. Malenko is just being a motherfucker here. Saturn goes for the DVD, but Benoit gets a german suplex, but a pier-six breaks out. Malenko gets the Cloverleaf on Saturn, but he escapes and hits the DVD. Benoit makes the save. Wild stuff. Saturn gets caught in the corner and double-teamed. Crowd is chanting "Horsemen suck" at various intervals. Malenko is being a mega-jerk, something he's very good at. Raven gets the hot tag (big pop) and cleans house. Big babyface reaction for the DROP TOEHOLD OF DOOM. Saturn goes for the tabledive on Malenko, but misses and goes through the table. Back in the ring, Raven gets the Evenflow on Malenko, and Arn casually walks into the ring (despite mild protests from Charles Robinson) and places a chair on top of Raven. Chris hits the swan dive onto the chair, sacrificing himself and doing a major bladejob for fun, and Malenko rolls on top for the pin. Wow, great match. ****1/2

I vote for:

Benoit/Austin
Piper/Hart (TLC 4 was an absolute mess)
The Tag Match (GREAT fucking match)

[starcat]

benoit vs. austin
hart vs. piper
hogan vs. big boss man

[outsyder]

Austin/Benoit
TLC 4 (What can I say, I'm a spot mark)
Raven+Saturn/Benoit+Malenko

[jackson13]

Austin/Beniot
TLC 4 (is this match on the Raw X dvd, or just highlights? Cause I havent seen it since it happened and I would like to get all 4 TLC's. I have 1 and 2, and I'm pretty sure my friend has 3 on tape.)
Raven and the others

[Frank the Tank]

Austin/Benoit

Bret/Piper (TLC 4 sucked ass. The worst of all of them. Piper/Bret is Piper's best match and full of emotion and other goodness.)
Raven and Saturn vs Benoit and Malenko (Hogan/Bossman is still a shockingly fun match, though)

[sharkstank]

benoit/austin
bret/piper, wat frank said
tag match, one of the most underrated matches ever. a perfect tag match

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[brodeurnumber1]

Austin/Benoit(one of Benoit's best matches in the WWF)
Hart/Piper(Piper's best match, like Frank said)
Raven/Saturn vs Benoit/Malenko

[horrorfreak13]

Austin/Benoit
Hart/Piper
Raven/Saturn vs Benoit/Malenko

[jeo4]

Austin/Benoit

Hart/Piper

Raven/Saturn vs Benoit/Malenko

[Raw Chili]

Austin/Benoit
Hart/Piper
Raven/Saturn vs. Benoit/Deano

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Austin/Benoit (10-0)
Piper/Hart (8-2)
Tag Match (9-1)

Match 19:

The Hart Foundation,The Dream Team,The Islanders & Demolition vs Strike Force,The Young Stallions,The British Bulldogs,The Rougeau Brother & The Killer Bees – Survivor Series 87

Hey, there’s one of the most impressive collection of talent in the world in the ring right here. And Paul Roma. As you might expect, Boris Zukhov gets pinned about a minute in from Santana’s flying jalapeno to send the Bolsheviks packing. The faces do some ultra-fast tagging in and out, handing Bravo off to three or four different guys in the span of about 10 seconds. The action is literally too fast to call. Roma gets beat up a bunch, never once messing up his hair. Jacques Rougeau tags in, but misses a bodypress and gets pinned by Ax. Roma then takes a major league asskicking. Then Dynamite takes one, until the ref finally disqualifies Demolition. Bret Hart & Dynamite do a brief dream match and then Powers interrupts. Back-and-forth for a bit, with the Harts and Strike Force exchanging some stuff. Neidhart pins Santana after a flurry allows Bret to drop an elbow on him. Powers gets destroyed next, for a long time. Major clip here from Coliseum video. We return with Bravo hitting the side slam, but he tags in Greg Valentine instead of going for the pin. And in one of those poetic justice (or is it situational irony?) moments, Valentine promptly gets pinned by a Roma sunset flip. That leaves Harts & Islanders v. Bees & Stallions. And now the action REALLY picks up, with everyone kicking it up a notch. Roma gets to play whipping boy. Funny moment: Haku dropkicks Roma, and Gorilla sarcastically says “I’d like to see Anvil try that”…and he does! Brawl breaks out, and Tama dropkicks Brunzell as he tries to slam Bret Hart, but he rolls through and pins Bret. The Islanders then beat the hell out of Brunzell. He finally tags in Powers, and the Stallions get a two count on the MONSTER MENG…er, Haku. Damn, the Islanders were tough to beat. They were really underrated. Too bad they weigh about 1200 pounds combined now. Pier-six brawl allows the Bees to do the mask switch trick, and get the pin on Tama at about 31 minutes by my counter. The clipping must have cut out any bad spots, because what was left was GREAT. **** Survivors: Roma, Powers, Brunzell & Blair.

vs

Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – 2/3 Falls Armageddon 02

Shawn attacks HHH to start, but gets tossed and comes back in. They slug it out and HHH gets dumped and baseball slid. HHH grabs a trash can, and Shawn follows him out and ostensibly lands on the can, but in fact completely misses and looks stupid doing so. HHH drops him on the railing and they start brawling down the aisle immediately, before heading back in. Shawn dives onto HHH and hits the trash can on the way down. I’m not sure who’s supposed to be selling, so I’ll assume no one. Shawn finds a table and has trouble setting it up. Man, those things should come with instructions! Shawn tries a suplex onto the table, but then remembers who he’s wrestling and gives it up. HHH meets the stairs instead and they head back in, where Shawn comes in with a garbage can that only meets HHH’s foot. HHH is limping really noticeably out there. Shawn gets a crossbody, which HHH rolls through for two. What is WITH that spot tonight? Everyone is screwing it up. HHH heads out and adds another table to Shawn’s previously set-up table, but can’t suplex Shawn through them. Shawn reverses the move for two. HHH USES THE KNEE but hurts himself, and hobbles out for a chair. These weapons are leaving something to be desired so far. HHH starts working on the back, but Shawn gets a sideslam on a chair as the psychology starts going all over the place. Shawn whips him around and HHH bails. You’d think that wearing a huge bandage on your quad muscle would be a sign of where it would be a good place to attack, and even Jerry Lawler picks up on that. Shawn doggedly sticks to the back, however, and tries the superkick, but HHH reverses to a single-arm DDT on the leg. He starts working on the knee now. Okay, so the guy with a bad leg is working on the leg of the guy with the bad back, and the guy with the bad back is working on the back of the guy with the bad leg. I guess you could call that reverse psychology. HHH stays on the leg. You wish you were Flair, buddy. Actually, I think he DOES wish he was Flair. He does, however, do the figure-four on the STRAIGHT leg, so kudos to HHH for that at least, because after 25 years Flair still can’t figure that out. Shawn can’t make the ropes, so he reverses instead. I appreciate the thought here, but when you hype it as a street fight and then spend 10 minutes building to a figure-four, you’re kinda straying from the intended point. HHH uses the TRASHCAN LID OF DEATH to put Shawn down for two. He tosses Shawn and they head down the aisle, as Shawn sells the knee injury off and on and then basically forgets about it for the rest of the match. HHH sends Shawn into the set, and then heads to the back and finds his weapon of choice – the barbed wire 2x4. How do you carry THAT through the airport security? He seems to have one in every street fight, so he must keep it in his overnight bag or something. He sets it on fire for added dramatic effect, but Shawn steals it and swipes at HHH with it, which busts him open. Back to the match, as they head back to ringside and into the ring, which allows Shawn to grab another chair and then use a can lid instead. He sets up the chair, but as is often the case, the hand of irony interjects herself and Shawn lands on the chair and gets DDT’d. KICK WHAM PEDIGREE is reversed with a lowblow, and Shawn kips up, but HHH clips him and finishes with the KICK WHAM PEDIGREE at 20:34. That would have quite enough as it is, but we’ve still got another two falls to go. HHH sets up another table as the cage lowers, and they announce that it’s the ultra-lame “escape or pinfall” rule variation. They fight over the table and Shawn gets catapulted into the cage and bleeds. HHH works him over with a garbage can and sends him into the cage, but Shawn responds in kind and gets a clothesline. Thesz Press and Shawn pounds away, but HHH climbs and they fight on the top for a bit, looking completely lost. Flair joins us again after getting sent to the back to start. That’s never explained. Flair sets up another table for the ever-expanding pile of them, as HHH & Shawn slowly climb back in. HHH ends up on the mat again and Shawn follows him down with the elbow and this thing is just completely falling apart. Flair comes in to try to save it, and Shawn fights him off with a chair and pounds away in the corner while HHH lays around in the other corner. KICK WHAM PEDIGREE is reversed by Shawn, and a superkick puts HHH down. Shawn for whatever reason stops to set up another table, puts HHH on it, and splashes him through it in a weak spot for the second fall at 31:09. These guys should not have been out there past 20 minutes, as most of the cage match was too boring to be worth anything. Third fall is a ladder match with about 10 minutes of TV time left, so it’ll be the fastest ladder match in PPV history. The ladder is brought into the ring with no fanfare, and Shawn knocks HHH down with it and drops the ladder on him. Shawn suplexes him “onto” the ladder, missing by a foot. These guys should not be in this match. JR speculates whether it’s Shawn or the Showstopper who showed up tonight. I hope it’s the Showstopper, so he can stop this show. He goes up the ladder and belly-flops off it, landing right on his face in most ungraceful manner. Not exactly a spot for the highlight reel. HHH gets another Pedigree while the fans are most excited about a fight in the stands. HHH does the SLOOOOOW climb, but gets shoved down by Shawn. Shawn does an equally slow climb, but gets shoved off through the huge pile of tables, and HHH limps up the ladder to gets his vanity belt back at 38:33. First half was as good as two crippled guys were gonna do, but once they had to start doing serious bumps in the cage and ladder portions, it became apparent how bad both guys have become. The “ladder match” portion in particular, all 4 minutes of it, was a total joke and ill-advised from the start. I suppose I’m gonna have to endure more e-mail now from HHH fans about how gutsy he was for wrestling through that injury. Yup, nothing like seeing a guy putting himself over when he’s too injured to wrestle. Bring on HHH-Nash! **1/2

Match 20:

The Rockers vs The Brainbusters – 2/3 Falls SNME

Awesome. Shawn Michaels is god, but then we know that now. Too bad it took most of us so long to realize it, otherwise the Rockers might have had better fortunes than they did during their tenure in the WWF. A minimum of recycled Anderson stuff, with the exception of the spot where he goes for a pump splash and his opponent lifts their knees, and some super work from all involved. No spectacular Sabu-type stuff, just solid tag team stuff. Well, there was one Shawn Michaels tope, but it was near the end. Double-countout deducts 1/2 a star, though. ****1/2, and easy 1 for 2. *This* is why I wanted this tape, and it's worth the 3 bucks to rent it.

vs

Jeff Jarrett vs Ron Killings vs Chris Harris vs Raven – TNA 6/2/04

AJ and JJ brawl to the outside, and Harris and Killings are in the ring. Killings tries an AX kick, but Raven pulls him out. Harris dives onto both men! AJ and JJ in the ring now, nice reversal series and a sweet drop kick by AJ. Styles runs, and leaps to the top rope and nails an AWESOEM FLIP DIVE OVER THE PENALTY BOX ONTO Raven, Harris and Killings! Raven and Killings in the ring, Harris climbs to the top of the penalty box, and clotheslines both men! Styles and JJ fight on the ramp. Harris and Killings alone in the ring now, and they go to the floor. JJ and AJ back in, cross body to AJ gets 2. JJ tries a German, reversal by AJ and JJ escapes, STROKE to AJ for 2! Roll up by JJ gets 2. Crowd is hot! AJ rolls up JJ, into a Styles clash for 3! JJ to the Penalty Box, and AJ can try and climb the ladder! AJ has the ladder and the belt, he tries to climb, but Harris is in. Raven slams the ladder into AJ's head! Harris SPEARS Raven and gets the 3! He can no climb the ladder! Raven to the Penalty Box with JJ. Raven and JJ are planning, as Harris and AJ fight it out in the ring. AJ tosses Harris to the floor, and he tries to climb. Killings is back in. He climbs the ladder, and grabs the belt, the fight it over, and both fall to the floor. JJ is back in. Harris tries to pick up the belt, and Killings gets the AX kick for 3! Killings is eligible to climb the ladder, and Harris to the Penalty Box. Raven and Harris fight in the cage, but Raven's time is up. JJ powerbombs Killings off the ladder! JJ whips Killings to the ladder in the corner. Raven and JJ double whip AJ onto the ladder. JJ has the ladder, and kills AJ and Killings with it. Raven is getting tables now. Raven and JJ grab the ladder, and nail Killings with the ladder, then to AJ. JJ with a face buster to AJ on the ladder and Harris is out of the Penalty Box. Raven goes to get another table, JJ gets the ladder and nail Killings and AJ again. They have AJ on the ladder, and dump him over the top to the floor! JJ and Raven talk, Raven doesn't look pleased and they start to fight! Drop toehold to J on the steel chair! Harris is in, and takes out Raven with a clothesline. Flying fore arm by Killings to JJ. Harris and v go for the double 10-punch count on Raven and JJ. Everyone to the floor now, and Harris and Raven fight back in the crowd. Killings has the ladder, and gets the belt from Russo. He starts to climb.and AJ with a Missile dropkick to take Killings down! AJ has the belt, and starts to climb. JJ grabs him for a power bomb, but AJ gets a RAN and they both go to the floor. Harris in now, and he tries to climb. He has the belt and is close.Raven is in and throws powder into Harris's eyes then pins Harris. Raven is able to climb the ladder, and Harris back to the Penalty Box. Killings is in, and takes raven to the floor. JJ clips Killings leg, takes Killings to the apron, and gives him the stroke to the STEEL RAIL! He pins him, and they are ALL able to climb with the belt. Russo doesn't want to give JJ the belt, and AJ rolls him up, and JJ is pinned and has to go back to the Box. AJ and Raven are in the ring, the tables are set up now. Harris is out of the box now, and Harris and Raven push the ladder and AJ falls into the PENALTY BOX! OUCH! Raven has the belt and climbs, Harris climbs as well. Harris punches away, he grabs the belt and Raven falls off through the table! Killings back in and shoves off Harris through another table! JJ is back in the ring now. Killings climbs the ladder and JJ has the guitar and WAFFLES KILLINGS! JJ climbs and tries to hang the belt. Part of the hook came off, and AJ climbs..but JJ Hangs the belt and is the NEW NWA Heavyweight Champion @ 20:10.

Match 21:

Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA – I Quit Match – Starrcade 85

[I]Backstory: They HATE each other. That’s all you need. They slug it out, and fight on the mat like schoolkids, then slug it out again. Tully bails to the apron and TA rams him to the cage. Tully responds in kind, then drops an elbow and does it again. Rear chinlock and Magnum powers out in a rather famous visual. He presses Tully onto the top rope, but gets kneelifted. He slugs away on Tully, but gets tossed into the cage again and they fight on the mat. Tully goes to the cage, and then again out of a hammerlocked position. His arm starts gushing blood, but he headbutts Magnum low. Magnum keeps digging at that arm, but Tully potatoes him, and busts him open. Tully kicks away and uses the mike to pound on Magnum’s face and ask for the submission. Magnum refuses, so Tully rams it into his forehead four times. They actually do this a few times, resulting in the crowd hearing this charming exchange over the PA: “SAY IT!” “NO!” THUNK. Hotshot into the cage and Tully goes up and hits an elbow, then more hijinx with the mike. “SAY IT!” “NO!” THUNK. They slug it out, won by Magnum, and he uses the mike himself. “SAY IT!” “NO!” THUNK. They claw at each other’s eyes on the mat, and Tully knocks TA silly with a right. TA hits his own and grabs the mike, but Tully kicks him in the head to block. Inverted atomic drop and Tully just destroys him with the mike. “SAY IT!” “NO!” THUNK THUNK THUNK He drops some elbows and tosses the ref aside, as Baby Doll throws a balsa-wood chair in, which shatters upon hitting the mat. Ah, American workmanship. Tully grabs a piece and tries to stab Magnum in the eye, but it’s blocked. Magnum grabs it from him, jams it into Tully’s eye, and gets the submission and US title at 14:22. And you thought Mick Foley was hardcore. *****

vs

Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell No Mercy 02

Brock gets a powerslam to start, for two. Undertaker uses the cast to come back, however. Brock bails, but pounds away on Taker. He goes after the hand and goes to an armbar, but gets nailed with the cast again. Brock bleeds as a result. They head out and Taker sends him into the cage and jumps on his head. Taker gets two on the floor and keeps introducing Brock to the cage. Paul tries to reach through the cage and help, but Taker sends him into the railing, and HE blades, too. Brock meets the stairs, but comes back to send Taker into the cage and take over. More brawling out there. He pounds away with a STEEL chair, and works on the hand with it, although you can pretty clearly see that the actual hand was out of the cast. He tries to pull the cast off, but Taker fights him off. He finally gets it off and works on the hand, but can’t get a superplex. Taker walks the ropes and drops an elbow (falling on the “broken” hand) for two. Whatever was in that needle, they should sell it on the open market. They’d make MILLIONS. Brock heads to the apron, but gets sent into the cage, and Taker follows with a dive. Brock hits him in the face with the stairs a couple of times, and Taker does a GORY bladejob off that, hitting 0.9 Muta within seconds. Back in, Brock gets a Main Event Spinebuster for two. Brock slugs away, but Taker fights back with his “broken” hand (I guess you could call that reverse psychology), showing no ill effects. Man, can’t you at least punch the guy with your OTHER hand? He starts stomping on Brock’s hand, but Brock pulls him down to block the ropewalk. Taker is gushing blood all over the mat, and Brock goes for the F5, which Taker reverses to the chokeslam (again, with the broken hand) for two. Taker charges and hits boot, but Brock’s attempt at a powerbomb is reversed. DDT gets two for UT. Brock stupidly pounds away in the corner, and UT powerbombs him for two. Taker drips blood by Brock’s mouth while covering, giving us our yucky spot of the night. I believe dripping blood in your opponent’s mouth officially makes it 1.2 Muta and sets a new standard. Tombstone is reversed to the F5 at 27:14. ***

I vote for:

Survivor Series Match
Rockers/Brainbusters
I Quit Match

[jackson13]

Aramgeddon 02 (oh i cant wait for the shit slinging to hit me for liking this one)
The J.J. match actually sounds prtetty good. I promise its the first and only time I'll vote for him in anything.
Brock/Taker (Uh-oh, I did it again)

[Frank the Tank]

SurSer 87
Rockers/Bustas
Honestly, I've tried watching I Quit several times and I can't get into it that much. The hatred is there, and the blood is there, and the ending is awesome but it's just too slow and not enough action or something. I really loved Hell In A Cell, so I'm going with that.

[brodeurnumber1]

Survivor Series '87
Rockers/Bustas
Blanchard/Magnum TA

[outsyder]

Survivor Series 87
Double J/Killings/Styles/Harris/Raven
Taker/Lesnar

[starcat]

Survivor Series Match
Rockers/Brainbusters
I Quit Match

[jeo4]

Survivor Series Match

Rockers/Brainbusters

Taker/Lesnar

[horrorfreak13]

Survivor Series Match

Rockers/Brainbusters

Taker/Lesnar

[sharkstank]

survivor series match
rockers/busters
this ones tough. old school coolness, but the hell in a cell is a guilty pleasure of mine....damn....i quit match

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Survivor Series (8-1)
Rockers/Busters (7-2)
Taker/Lesnar (5-4)

Match 22:

The Four Horseman vs The Road Warriors,Dusty Rhodes,Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering – War Games 87

This is it -- the first WarGames, ever. The story: Everyone hates each others' guts. That's all you need to know. Big Dust and AA start out. Lots of situations where a pinfall would usually happen to stress that there are no pinfalls. AA is bleeding two minutes in, just like everyone else in this match. An 11 year tradition begins here, as the heels win the first ever coin toss. Tully is next and Dusty elbows them both before they inevitably destroy Dusty. The overriding storyline of the match: When it's even odds, the faces are in command, but when the heels have one man up, the faces have no chance. Animal comes in to make the save and slingshots Tully into the cage THREE TIMES. No release. Wild stuff. Flair is in next (whoo!) and Animal is bleeding 10 seconds later. You like blood? This is the match for you. Incredibly hot crowd, they must've been distributing speed in the hot dog vendors or something. Koloff is in and just obliterates everyone. Luger is in and goes right after Koloff, and Flair helps out by giving the most blatant ballshot you'll ever see. Then Flair and Tully give Koloff *two* spike piledrivers in a row. Brutal. Even the bad wrestlers look good because they can punch and kick away and it's totally in context. Dillon is in last for the heels and not surprisingly doesn't turn the tide much. Ellering comes in, wearing the spiked gauntlet from one of the Warriors, and starts jamming it into Dillon's eye. Then the Warriors corner Dillon 2-on-1 and just absolutely murder him for about three minutes until he finally surrenders to the end the whole thing. A bloody, brutal classic. *****

vs

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho vs Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz – TLC #3

Here we go! Everyone attacks the champs. Now E&C set up a ladder go for a quick win but they get pulled of the ladders. Matt Hardy slams the ladder into Buh Buh in the corner. Now the Hardyz land poetry in motion on D-Von. Now they go to do the same to Buh Buh, but he launches the ladder at Jeff!!! The Brothers Chris send D-Von into a ladder set up in the corner. Christian, Edge, and Jericho are in the ring right now. E&C land a drop toe hold on Jericho onto a ladder. Now E&C set one up, and Matt is back in. Matt powebombs Christian off the ladder, then climbs it after Edge. Benoit tips the ladder over and hangs Christian and Matt on the ropes. Benoit goes for a flying headbutt off the top rope to the outside! I didn’t even see who it was on the table, but he moved, and Benoit lands straight into the table!!!!! Tazz goes to check on Benoit, and he’s out. EMTs put him on the stretcher. We’re back, and Edge is going to try for the belts. There are two ladders set up in the middle of the ring now. Here comes Jericho up the ladder. Jericho applies the Walls on top of the two ladders!!! Jericho gets tossed off, and here comes everyone else. Christian gets launched to the outside of the ring as his ladder tips. Then Edge gets his nuts hung out to dry on the top rope over on the other side. Now the Hardyz and Dudz battle on the ladders. D-Von arm drags Matt off the ladder. BUH BUH SUPLEXES JEFF OFF THE TOP OF THE LADDER!!! HOLY SHAT!!! Here is Benoit!!!! He climbs up the ladder, but Edge pulls him down. Now Edge and Christian go to work on him. You can hear Benoit screaming. Conchairto on Benoit’s ribs!!! The Dudleyz are in. D-Von sends Christian to the outside, and the Dudz do a flying nut buster on Edge. Buh Buh tells D-Von to get the tables, and the crowd goes ape shit. The Dudz set it up in the middle of the ring. Jericho comes in with a chair, and lays it the Dudz. Now Christian ROCKS Jericho with the chair, then he props Buh Buh up on the table. Christian sets up a ladder in the corner. Here comes D-Von. THE DUDLEYZ LAND A 3D ON CHRISTIAN OFF THE TOP OF A LADDER ONTO A TABLE!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! The Hardyz grab D-Von and drag him to the outside. The Hardyz set up a huge ladder in front of a smaller one. Buh Buh is out on the announce table… Jeff climbs the small ladder, then uses the big ladder as leverage and lands a leg drop on Buh Buh, shattering the announce booth!!!! Now back in the ring, Matt and D-Von climb separate ladders to go for the gold. Matt lands a TWIST OF FATE OFF THE TOP OF THE LADDER!!!! D-Von is convulsing! Matt goes up the ladder, and Jericho is back in. Jericho tips the ladder over, sending Matt into the ropes. Why didn’t I set my VCR for this? I’d tape over a porno for this! Now Jericho goes for the gold, while Edge sets up a separate ladder in the corner. Jericho is facing the wrong way, and goes to turn around, but Edge spears him from the top of one ladder to the next!!! Now Benoit is back in, really holding those ribs… and he is climbing the ladder! Benoit has the belts!!!!!! Match over!

Match 23:

Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – Wrestlemania 10

They lockup, and Owen pushes Bret off, then celebrates. Cheap heat, but hey, you take what you can get. Owen gets the best of a wrestling sequence and celebrates. Bret retaliates by sending Owen to the floor, which pisses him off and he slaps Bret upon returning to the ring. Bret takes control, working on the arm. Bret gets two off a cradle, then goes back to the arm. After another terrific wrestling sequence, Owen ends up getting tossed to the floor again, and now Bret celebrates. Crowd is much more appreciative of this. Owen has another fit and a shoving match results, off which Bret gets a rollup for two. Bret back to work on the arm. Bret gets a crucifix for two, then back to the arm. Good psychology here. Owen takes control with his SWANK~! leg lariat and sends Bret to the floor. He rams Bret's back into the ringpost, establishing the back injury for Bret. Owen gives Bret a cross-corner whip (first time I've seen Bret sell it back-first, actually) and hits a backbreaker. FIVE MOVES OF...oh, wait, wrong brother. Owen slaps on a camel clutch while trash-talking his brother. Bret escapes, but gets caught with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Sweet sassy molassy, I love that belly to belly. Another cross-corner whip, reversed by Bret, and Owen comes off the ropes with a bodypress, which is reversed by Bret for a two count. Owen goes back to the back. Resthold from Owen, thus dropping it from *****. Owen tries to slam Bret, but Bret falls back for a two count. Owen's kickout sends Bret to the floor. Beautiful sequence as Owen suplexes Bret from the apron, and Bret reverses to a waistlock, which Owen reverses again for a German suplex for two. Just gorgeous wrestling. Legdrop from Owen for two. He goes for a suplex, but Bret cradles for two. He goes for a backbreaker, but Owen flips through and tombstones Bret. Nasty one, too. Flying headbutt misses. Inverted atomic drop and clothesline from Bret for two. Wait for it...wait for it....FIVE MOVES OF DOOM! Owen hits an enzuigiri to break it up, then goes for the Sharpshooter. Bret counters. He goes for his own, and Owen counters. Owen cradles for two, but gets kicked out of the ring. Pescado from Bret, but he fucks up his knee. Owen circles in like a vulture, working on the knee and mocking his brother. What a jerk. Dragon screw legwhip (called "Look at that!" by the ever-astute Mr. McMahon) and a submission move of some sort follows. Another dragon screw, then a figure four, which gets a two count. Bret reverses to break the hold. Owen goes back to work on the knee. Another dragon screw legwhip attempt, but Bret counters with an enzuigiri. Crosscorner whip and legdrop gets two. Bulldog for two. Piledriver for two. Superplex, and both men are out. Bret revives long enough to get a two count. Both get up and Bret hits a sleeper. Owen breaks with a Flair uppercut (Where? Down there...) and Bret drops like a rock. Sharpshooter! Bret powers out and applies his own, but Owen makes the ropes. Bret with a cross corner whip, Owen reverses. Owen eats foot coming into the corner, and Bret goes for a victory roll, but Owen reverses the momentum and lies down on top for the pin! The crowd is in SHOCK. ****3/4...oh, hell, who am I kidding? This is the one of the best matches I've ever seen. *****, just because Bret continued selling the leg injury to the end of the show.

vs

Mr. Perfect vs The Texas Tornado – SummerSlam 1990

Have I ever mentioned how retarded it was to use an "Exodus"
clone as Hennig's ENTRANCE music? Hennig, Mr. Oversell, goes flying
back into the corner off a shove. Hennig gets his own shoving in and
towels himself off. Von Erich slams him and clotheslines him over the
top, and of course Hennig does his patented tumble over the top. Hennig clotheslines out of an armbar to take control, then applies a sleeper. He inexplicably releases and slaps the Tornado around in the corner, which never works out well for the heel. Tornado no-sells, slingshots Hennig into the corner, then applies the CLAWHOLD OF DOOM! He quickly releases, hits the DUMBASS PIROUHETTE TORNADO PUNCH OF DEATH, and covers for the pin and the IC title at 5:10. When you absolutely, positively have to get a stupid finisher over TODAY, call Mr. P. Match was nothing, although running about two minutes longer than many recent IC title changes on RAW. *

Match 24:

The Great Sasuke vs Chris Benoit – Super J-Cup 94

They reverse off a wristlock to start as Cole gets ANOTHER funny dig in, this one on Malenko. What's this world coming to? Benoit goes for the leg, but Sasuke kicks him off and it's a stalemate. Benoit grabs an armbar and starts throwing chops in the corner, but Sasuke does the running flip out of the corner and kicks him down and out. He fakes a highspot and Benoit backs off. Back in, Benoit takes him down with a headscissors, but Sasuke reverses to a surfboard and a bow-and-arrow. Benoit fights up, so Sasuke armdrags him down and it's another stalemate. Criss-cross and Benoit kills him with a clothesline, and a perfect german suplex for two. Sasuke comes back with a leg lariat and a legdrop for two. He keylocks the arm and works for a cross-armbreaker, but Benoit powers up. Sasuke armdrags him down, so Benoit catches him with another clothesline and then suplexes him on the top rope. Sasuke won't go down, so Benoit springboards with an elbow that takes him down to the floor in a nice bump. Back in, Benoit gets the dragon suplex for two. I miss that move. Benoit goes up and gets the diving headbutt for two. Powerbomb gets two. He gets the Sharpshooter, but releases quickly and opts for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker instead, for two. Benoit whiffs on a dropkick, but escapes a backbreaker, only to get clotheslined by Sasuke. Benoit recovers with another vicious german suplex, however, and gets two. Another dragon suplex is countered by Sasuke, but Benoit falls on top for two. Sasuke comes out of the corner with a high cross and a spinkick, and Benoit bails, so Sasuke follows with the SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP~! Back in, Sasuke hits him with another spinkick and another german suplex, for two. Fisherman's suplex gets two. To the top again, but he puts the miss in missile dropkick and it's comeback time for Benoit. Sasuke bails to the apron, but Benoit tries to suplex him, so he reverses and they both hit the floor on a crazy bump. A dropkick puts Benoit back on the floor, and Sasuke follows him out with a missile dropkick, to the FLOOR. Back in, Sasuke kicks him in the head and follows with a corkscrew moonsault for two. Sasuke pushes his luck and goes up again, so Benoit follows and knocks him down. A top rope gut wrench finishes at 18:45, as Benoit wins the 94 Super J Cup. A flawless classic that still gets the heart pumping today, 10 years later. *****

vs

The Naturals vs America’s Most Wanted – TNA 7/21/04

They start to brawl during the announcements, and Borash bails! They are locking the cage, pin or submission to win. Stevens stops himself from hitting the cage, and he and Storm go at it. Tag to Douglas, and they ram Storm into the steel. Douglas kicks away at Storm and tags to Stevens. Stevens charges at Storm, but he escapes and slams down Stevens as XXX watches on. Tag to Harris and Douglas, and Harris gets a Thez Press and punches away, then gets up and knocks Stevens down. Douglas to the steel, and again. Now a 3rd, 4th and 5th time. Full nelson slam to Stevens and Douglas is bleeding as the 3LK watches on as well. Stevens was send into the cage as well, and now repeatedly by Harris. Harris is all over them, and Storm was cut earlier as well. Harris just throws Stevens into the cage, he tries again but Harris gets rammed into the cage. Douglas is busted big time, as he throws Harris to the cage. Team Canada is out and watching on. Douglas works over Harris and does the cheese grater on Harris’s face on the cage! This cage has VERY little give BTW, as it is wall like when they hit it. Harris is bleeding as well now. Harris fights back with a double clothesline and tags Storm. Storm is on fire, and now a neck breaker of Stevens for 2. Punches for Douglas now, and sends him to the cage again. He rams them BOTH into the cage now and gets an Enziguri on Douglas for 2. Double bulldog by AMW for 2 on Stevens. Douglas fights back and spring boards right into a SPEAR by Harris! Cover and Harris gets 2. Stevens tries to climb up the cage, and he and Storm stand on the top rope and fight. Inverted DDT from the top as Harris had Stevens on his shoulders for 2. AMW tries the Hart Attack, but Douglas gets a spin kick to Harris! Super Kick to Strom for 2! Stevens climbs to the top of the cage…MOONSAULT TO ALL 3 MEN! Stevens and Harris up and punch it out and they both are down. SUPER KICK TO DOUGLAS! Harris climbs to the top of the cage…Stevens follows and they are hanging at the top…AND THEY FALL TO THE FLOOR! Douglas and Storm are left inside. Storm set on the top…DDT OFF THE TOP TO STORM! Covers 1..2..NO! Harris and Stevens try to climb back in, and punch it out on their way up. They are at the top, and Stevens fall to the floor. Team Canada runs down and they pull Harris down as well, and here comes XXX and the 3LK! Storm and Douglas fight in the cage, Stevens climbs with a chair, and as Harris climbs, D’Amore nails Harris with the hockey stick. It is 2 on 1 in the cage, and they have a chair. NASTY TOMBSTONE TO STEVENS for 2! POWDER TO The EYES of Storm…NATURAL DISASTER gets 2! Stevens gets the chair, and WAFFLES STORM 2 times and they finally pin him at 15:30.

I vote for:

War Games
Bret/Owen (Should be in the Final 4 at the least)
Sasuke/Benoit

[outsyder]

TLC3
Bret/Owen
Benoit/Sasuke

[Frank the Tank]

Tough match. I consider TLC 3 to be the best TLC , but I fucking love Wargames 87. The hatred is fucking off the charts, as is the crowd. Second best War Games, but I think it will lose here so I'll vote for it.

Bret/Owen (Oh, and I hate reviewers like Keith who would come close to not giving a great match like this ***** for a fucking resthold)

Benoit/Sasuke (AMW/Naturals was good, but last week's AMW/XXX cage match blew it away)

[jeo4]

TLC3

Bret/Owen

Benoit/Sasuke

[brodeurnumber1]

War Games '87
Bret/Owen(best match ever, EVEEEEEEEEEEEER)
Sasuke/Benoit

[sharkstank]

war games
bret/owen
benoit/sasuke

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[jackson13]

TLC 3
Mania X
Beniot/Sasuke

[starcat]

war games
bret/owen
benoit/sasuke

[Raw Chili]

War Games
Bret vs. Owen
Benoit vs. Sasuke

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
War Games (6-3)
Bret/Owen (9-0)
Benoit/Sasuke (9-0)

Match 25:

Chris Benoit vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 20

Shawn goes after HHH to start, but Benoit pulls him away and they fight over who gets to fight. Benoit takes him down immediately and starts chopping Shawn, to the delight of the crowd, but Benoit whips Shawn into HHH and slugs away. Shawn takes him down with a headlock, and they do the pinfall reversal sequence off that, and Benoit crosses Shawn up with another crossface attempt, which Shawn reverses for two. Northern lights suplex gets two for Benoit, and Shawn clotheslines him down, but HHH returns and lays Shawn out. He tosses Shawn, who skins the cat back in while Benoit pounds HHH, but Benoit gets dumped. Shawn backdrops HHH and throws some chops, but walks into a high knee, which gets two. Benoit fires away with shoulderblocks from the apron, but hits knee and gets sent into the apron by HHH afterwards. Shawn hits both of them with a baseball slide and follows with a moonsault. Guys with torn ACLs probably shouldn’t be doing that. Back in, Shawn gets two. He throws chops on HHH , but puts his head down and eats knee. Pedigree is broken up by Benoit, who goes right for Shawn again with knees, and sends him into the post. Snap suplex and he fires the chops, but HHH sends him into the corner and puts him on top, hanging him in the Tree of Woe to keep him occupied for a bit. HHH whips Shawn into Benoit, and gets two on Shawn. Now why hasn’t anyone thought of that before in a triple-threat match? Another try is reversed, and Shawn rolls up HHH for two. They slug it out and Shawn gets the forearm and kips up, but Benoit promptly clotheslines him over the top to get rid of him. Rolling germans on HHH follow, and he does the SNOT BLOW~! and goes up, only to get crotched by Shawn. Shawn tries to superkick HHH, but it backfires and he gets DDT’d, leaving Benoit hanging on the top. HHH & Benoit slug it out on top, leading to a superplex on Benoit for two. HHH pounds him on the mat, but Benoit fights back, winning a slugfest, but puts his head down and HHH goes for the Pedigree, but Benoit reverses to the crossface, which HHH is able to fight off until Shawn can save. Shawn hits Benoit with an attempt at rolling germans, drawing big boos, so Benoit reverses to his own, which the crowd enjoys more. Back up for Benoit, and the flying headbutt gets two. Shawn knocks him out of the ring with a forearm and comes back on HHH with clotheslines and a slam to set up the flying elbow, and the superkick gets two, as Benoit saves. They all brawl outside and Shawn brings Benoit back in and starts chopping. Benoit reverses him into the corner and takes him down with a catapult into the corner that triggers a gory bladejob, so fast that I couldn’t even see him do it. Benoit takes him down for another crossface, but HHH prevents him from tapping. Benoit and HHH fight outside and head over to the tables, where Benoit gets whipped into the stairs and HHH preps the announce tables. Benoit comes back on HHH, but Shawn recovers and joins them, and Benoit takes a double-suplex through the Smackdown table as a result. With Benoit apparently out of the equation, Shawn calls HHH into the ring while dripping blood everywhere. He’s about 1.0 Muta at this point. He slugs away on HHH and whips him over the top, into a cameraman, and HHH eats post and starts bleeding too, because apparently that’s what all the cool kids are doing at Wrestlemanias these days. Back in, Shawn slugs away, but HHH hits him with the Pedigree as the crowd starts going nuts for Benoit to recover and make the save. HHH gets two, and as desired by MSG, Benoit makes the save. Benoit starts chopping HHH, but HHH goes for the Pedigree, so Benoit reverses to the Sharpshooter. The pop for that would be massive if it was the finish. Sadly, it’s not, as Shawn saves with a superkick. He gets two on Benoit. He goes for the kill, and the crowd chants for Benoit as he sets up for the superkick (ouch, that’s gotta hurt), but Benoit dumps him. He looks like he’s gonna walk into a Pedigree, but he reverses to the Crossface in mid-move. HHH fights it and almost makes the ropes, but Benoit pulls him back. HHH tries one last desperation reversal, but Benoit holds on, and Edmonton goes insane as HHH taps to the crossface to make Chris Benoit the World champion at 24:46. Best three-way match I’ve ever seen, and although that’s not usually saying much, this was truly special, with HHH doing the right thing and everything hitting perfectly on all cylinders. If you can find a fault with this match, you’re nuts. ***** Just to add to the surreal nature of the evening, Eddie Guerrero joins him in the ring for the celebration, and I guess they’re actually trying to elevate someone new for once. What a crazy idea.

vs

The Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn vs XXX – TNA 4/16/03

Lynn & Daniels start the match out exchanging hammerlocks. Lynn is able to get a flying head scissors on Daniels and a tilt a while backbreaker and Elix comes in. Lynn tags Red in and Red counters out of a lot of Elix's stuff to a pop. Red also gets a flying head scissors and the 718, but gets caught in a midair springboard by Daniels. Red goes for another flying head scissors on him but turns it into a complicated submission (THQ's Six Second Magic) instead. All 4 men in the ring now and Red ranas Daniels as Lynn legdrops Elix to the outside. Elix and Daniels are able to recover and Daniels hits a leg lariat on Lynn. Elix hits a slingshot twisting plancha on Lynn for two, but Lynn gets a roll up out of the corner for dos. Elix with an AMAZING move as he ducks a Lynn clothesline, climbs the ropes in the middle of the ring and back flips off the top rope! Sure, it didn't really go anywhere, but impressive none the less. Skipper reverses Lynn and turns it into a reverse suplex for a close two count! Daniels comes in, but Lynn makes a double clothesline and tags in Red! He comes shooting off the top with a front dropkick on Elix (getting MASSIVE AIR) and a spinning enziguiri on Daniels! All 4 men in the ring now and Lynn sends Daniels and Elix to the outside crashing! Lynn flies over with a springboard somersault plancha! Red with a GORGEOUS somersault tope con hilo to the outside as well! Back in the ring, Red goes to work on Elix, but Daniels sneaks in and hits a NASTY clothesline on him, turning him 360! Daniels gets the most BEAUTIFUL Arabian Press EVER for a two count on Red and follows it up with a double team legdrop by Elix. Red gets a two count as the fans are cheering for him. Red gets a rana, but Elix bridges out of it! Red maneuvers himself into a CODE RED~! for a CLOSE two! Elix slams Red down with a spinning firemans carry and puts on a single leg crab and tags into Daniels. Red actually fights out of the corner, but falls victim to a double team pancake and Daniels puts on a Koji clutch submission hold. Lynn breaks it up, but Red is able to nail both members of Triple X with enziguiri kicks and get enough separation to tag in HOUSE...EN...FUEGO~! Jerry Lynn! Lynn goes to WORK and gets a Tornado DDT on Elix for the ONE...TWO...NO! Daniels heads to the top, but Lynn catches him and puts him on his shoulders. Red ranas him down after a springboard and Lynn covers for the ONE...TWO.....NO!!!! Red goes to the top...the Masked Luchador shoves Red off the top! Single Arm DDT on the outside to Red! Daniels rolls up Lynn, feet on the ropes....ONE...TWO....NO! ANGEL'S WINGS~! (Spinning Sit out Pedigree) to Lynn! ONE...TWO...NO!! Elix tags in and they nail Lynn with a big time doubleteam move, but Mr. JL STILL kicks out! Elix sets Lynn up in a powerbomb position as Daniels heads to the top, but Lynn catapults Elix into the corner, crotching Daniels. Lynn with a pin and a bridge....ONE...TWO...THREE! Lynn and Red are the NEW Tag Team Champions!

Match 26:

Hulk Hogan vs The Rock – Wrestlemania 18

Hogan gets a MONSTER pop, as I once again worry about the future of mankind. Rock gets a big heel pop. Hogan wins a lockup and the crowd ROARS. JR interprets this as a “mixed reaction”. I’d hate to hear what they’d sound like if they were booing Rock, then. Hogan pounds away and gets a clothesline, but Rock back with the forearm and gets roasted by the crowd. This is just vicious. Shoving match and Rock slugs Hogan down and out. Back in, Rock with the lariat, but Rock Bottom is blocked. Hogan gets the elbowdrops. That limp is getting really pronounced on Hogan’s part. Backdrop suplex gets two. Abdominal stretch -> rollup gets two. Man, that was his rear special in WCW v. nWo World Tour, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him use it in real life in like the past 20 years. Hogan goes to the BACKRAKES OF DOOM (which Rock sells like he’s being clawed by the fingernails of a Sinanju Master) and of course the crowd eats it all up. Rock chops him, but Hogan chokes him out for a while. Rock gets tossed and Hogan beats on him outside. Table is prepped but goes unused. Back in, ref bumped, and Rock gets a spinebuster and Sharpshooter, no ref, but a big heel reaction. Jesus, Toronto, just because the Leafs suck, don’t take it out on someone who CAN win the big one. The crowd just completely turns on Rock, so Hogan goes low and gets a huge face pop and then uses his own Rock Bottom for two. Hogan uses the belt, but Rock DDTs him and fires right back. JR is still insisting that the reaction is mixed. Stuff like that makes him sound like Tony Schiavone. Hulk Up time. It’s so sad to see Hogan out there at 75 years old acting like his act means anything but nostalgia. Big boot and STINKY WART-INFESTED GIANT-KILLING LEGDROP OF DOOM, but Rock kicks out at two. Big boot again, but the legdrop misses. Rock gives him two Rock Bottoms for good measure, and finishes with the People’s Elbow at 16:22. That was one of the best-booked bad matches I’ve seen – I’ve gotta admit, even I was cheering pretty vociferously for Rock (more than usual) by the end and getting into it. The match itself, as a match, was spectacularly horrible, but the booking was good and both guys were jazzed to be out there, so call it **. And before all the Hulkamorons start writing in and whining about how it was a **** match because they were so entertained by it, try going back and watching Hogan-Warrior from 1990, which was a similarly-structured match and not only featured a better storyline, but also had some psychology in it and more credible offense. They did everything they could here to polish the proverbial turd, but Hogan’s backrakes and choking are just not going to provide me with entertainment after months of Angle & Austin suplexing the shit out of each other.

vs

Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas vs The Hollywood Blondes – Clash of the Champions 22

Austin knees Steamboat and pounds away to start, but gets cradled for two. Rollover gets two. Criss-cross and Steamboat gets a bodyblock for two and it’s BONZO GONZO right away. The Blonds bail and regroup. Back in, Austin offers a handshake and then turns on Steamboat, allowing Pillman to come in and start chopping. Steamboat dodges him and gets a dropkick, and the faces pinball him into a Dragon armdrag. Douglas keeps on the arm, and they work it incessantly with cool quick tags. Pillman whips out of it and they criss-cross, but he hurts his knee. Well, better stop the match and call a stretcher. But IT’S A MIRACLE! Pillman slingshots in again, but Douglas powerslams him for two. Austin comes in to try, and Douglas immediately goes to the arm and works on it. Austin escapes, but Douglas goes back to it and brings Steamboat in for some more double-teaming. Steamboat gets the hammerlocked slam and tags back out, as Douglas gets a sunset flip for two. Austin reverses to a rollup for two, and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence that leads to Douglas getting a butt-butt off the second rope for two. Good stuff. Douglas & Steamboat double-team with a hiptoss and Steamboat slams Douglas onto Austin, then slams Pillman onto Austin. He goes back to the arm with a wristlock on Austin, but a quick cheapshot from Pillman allows Austin to slam Steamboat and put the heels in control. Pillman comes in and works the back with a whip into the corner and a slam for two. He suckers Shane in and then tosses Dragon out, which is TEXTBOOK NWA heel stuff. Austin adds a slam on the concrete while he’s out there. Pillman necksnaps him on the way in, but Steamboat fights back, so Austin kicks him in the back to allow Pillman to suplex him back in. That gets two. The Blonds work Steamboat over, and Pillman chops him down. I again wonder why Bischoff couldn’t let them become the Midnight Express of the 90s. Steamboat comes back with a sunset flip, but the ref was busy with Austin. Austin with a gutwrench and again suckers Douglas in, allowing more damage. Ricky fights back, but gets suplexed while crawling for a tag. Austin gets two. Man, you don’t have to ask Steamboat twice to play face-in-peril in a tag match. Austin goes to a body-vice, but Steamboat uses leverage to escape. Austin goes back to it because Steamboat doesn’t have the gas to capitalize, but Pillman tries Air Pillman and hits Austin by mistake. Steamboat gives both of them a flying chop, and finally makes the hot tag to Douglas after one last tease spot to really drive the fans into a frenzy. Douglas keeps it simple, slugging everyone down and dropkicking them, then moving to clotheslines. Belly to belly for Pillman, but Austin nails him off the top behind the ref’s back and then takes out Steamboat. That gets two. Steamboat brawls with Austin outside, and grabs a title belt, which he nails Douglas with for the DQ at 13:34, kicking off an epic feud that ended with the Blonds winning the titles after weeks of great matches. Great match, bad finish. ****1/4

Match 27:

RVD vs Christian – IC Title Ladder Match - Raw

Crowd chants RVD. RVD and Christian do their usual stuff, and RVD goes out and brings a ladder in the ring. RVD hits a silly sommersault plancha while Christian was holding the ladder. That looked painful. Christian throws RVD into the steel steps. Christian sets up the ladder between the steel steps and the railing. RVD suplexes Christian face first onto the ladder and hits a legdrop on the prone body of the IC Champ. RVD sets up the ladder in the corner and Christian ends up whipping RVD into the ladder. Christian then catapults RVD face first into the ladder. Christian climbs the ladder, but RVD knocks him off and hits a roundhouse kick. There are two ladders in the ring. RVD then hits a surprisingly powerful military press, holding Christian up for about ten seconds, then immediately hits a moonsault. RVD then nails Christian in the face, and Christian is knocked outside. RVD climbs up and almost gets it, but Christian stops him, and hits the reverse DDT off the ladder. RVD monkey flips Christian onto the ladder, then hits rolling thunder. Christian picks up a ladder, but RVD spin kicks it back into his face. RVD goes for a five-star with Christian on a ladder, but Christian moves. Ouch. Christian rams RVD in the face with a ladder, and RVD falls to the floor. Christian begins the climb, but RVD actually makes it back to the ring. Christian gets his hand on the belt, but RVD jumps off the top rope with a dropkick and the both fall in absolutely sick positions. Both men climb to the top of the ladder, reaching for the belt. Christian gets knocked off the ladder, but RVD jumped over to the other ladder. RVD goes all the way to the top and nails Christian with a five-star. The crowd is way into this. RVD sets up the ladder on top of Christian and begins to climb, reaches up, grabs the belt and wins the title.
WINNER, and NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION, ROB VAN DAM.

vs

DDP vs Chris Benoit vs Raven – Uncensored 98

Three-way lockup to start. Now that’s neat. We hit the floor in short order, where DDP hits the stairs. Raven & Benoit go inside the ring. Benoit gets two, then DDP takes Raven out. Benoit baseball slides Raven, and DDP hits a pescado on both. DDP neckbreakers Raven for two, Benoit suplexes Raven for two. DDP pancakes Raven for two. Benoit drops the flying headbutt on Raven for two. Rough night for Raven so far. DDP stomps Raven for two after Benoit gets off. DDP & Benoit brawl, and Raven follows with a pescado on both, then covers each in turn for two. DDP & Benoit fight up the aisle, Raven follows. Several two counts result. Raven grabs a trash can, and winds up wearing it, and DDP & Benoit double-team him with a pair of crutches. Benoit slams the garbage can into DDP’s often-injured ribs, and Benoit and Raven then team up to toss DDP through a convenient video wall. Neat spot. Benoit nails Raven with a kitchen sink, just to be cute. Raven retaliates by suplexing a table onto him. Raven sets the table up, but goes through it. They head to the ring, and Raven gets a low blow. He sets up a chair but Benoit hits his own drop toehold onto it. DDP crawls back to the ring. Benoit & Raven continue beating the tar out of each other. Benoit gets a sleeper, and DDP runs in for the triple sleeper spot that I hate so much. Benoit hits Raven with two of the rolling suplexes, and DDP suplexes both at once in a cool spot that the Radicalz lifted at Judgment Day. Benoit holds DDP, and Raven gets a stop-sign from Lodi (still playing Raven’s lackey at this point) and nails DDP. Another table gets set up, but Benoit gets his own shot on Raven with the sign. DDP is on the table soon after, and Benoit tries to superplex Raven through DDP and the table, but DDP recovers, pushes Benoit down to the floor, and hits a bad-looking Diamond Cutter off the top, through the table, and pins Raven to retain at 17:10. I was about a hundred billion times more impressed with this match after seeing it this second time. ****1/4 Benoit supplied the match flow, Raven supplied the booking, and DDP probably supplied the autographed pictures of himself.

I vote for:

Michaels/HHH/Benoit
Steamboat/Douglas vs Blondes (Hogan/Rock was fun the first time but with repeat viewings it really was a terrible match that would have sucked hard without the generous crowd)
DDP/Raven/Benoit

[jackson13]

Mania XX
COC22
RVD/Captain Charisma (one of the best RAW matches ever)

[brodeurnumber1]

Wrestlemania XX
COTC(Rock/Hogan was fun because of the crowd. Otherwise, Nothing came out of it)
DDP/Benoit/Raven

[jeo4]

Michaels/HHH/Benoit

Steamboat-Douglas/Blondes

DDP/Raven/Benoit

[outsyder]

Originally posted by jeo4
Michaels/HHH/Benoit

Steamboat-Douglas/Blondes

DDP/Raven/Benoit


Ditto.

[Raw Chili]

Triple Threat at mania 20
COTC22
Triple Threat at Uncensored

[Frank the Tank]

Ditto to the last four posts

[starcat]

same here

[TheAxeGrinder]

yep

[sharkstank]

m hm *nods*

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO

[horrorfreak13]

Michaels/HHH/Benoit
Hogan/Rock
DDP/Raven/Benoit

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Mania 20 (11-0)
COTC 22 (10-1)
DDP/Raven/Benoit (10-1)

Match 28:

Paul London vs AJ Styles – Night of the Grudges 03

They lock wrists and AJ goes for a takedown. London grabs his leg but AJ ends up getting a front facelock. London goes for the arm and gets a front facelock but AJ falls on top and they roll around on the mat before facing off in the middle. London locks in a waistlock but AJ rolls over and gets on top. London gets a headscissiors but AJ is able to reverse and get a waistlock. London fights out and goes to the arm and kicks him. They shake hands. Lockup- Styles takes him down and kicks him. They shake hands. They lock wrists. Styles tries to roll over but London blocks him. Styles ends up getting a cross armbar and London goes to the ropes. Styles takes him down and works on the leg. Styles locks in a leglock. London grabs his leg to counter. They shove each other and London asks for a handshake. Styles slaps his hand away. Lockup- AJ pushes him back into the corner. London offers another handshake but Styles gets in his face. London slaps him so AJ slaps back. London goes for another handshake and they shake hands. Lockup- London gets a headlock and they collide in mid-ring with a shoulderblock. They lockup and go into the ropes. London cheapshots him and they fight on the mat some more. They trade armdrags and then both do a dropkick at the same time. AJ gets up first and London looks a bit miffed. London bails. London comes back in so AJ bails. They shake hands and AJ cheap shots him. AJ gets forearmed on a blind charge. London goes for a sunset flip but AJ blocks it and goes for the Styles Clash. London does everything he can to block it. London dumps him on the apron but AJ nails him and comes in with a springboard dropkick. London goes outside but AJ misses a plancha. London hits a flying baseball slide and they brawl on the outside and AJ is pissed. He tries to whip London into the rails but London holds on and drop toeholds AJ into the rail. London stomps away on the outside. London whips AJ into the rail but AJ JUMPS OVER the rail. So London kicks him in the face and then just kicks the shit out of him. London jumps after him so AJ reciprocates by kicking him in the face. Back in the ring they trade chops. AJ hits an enziguri and hits a snap suplex. He hits a variation of a swinging neckbreaker for two. AJ hits a running forearm and the sweat flies out of London. London kicks him away but AJ enziguris him. London is all: FUCK THAT SHIT and no-sells. London hits a beautiful dragon screw legwhip and stomps away. The crowd is divided. AJ hammers away but London sweeps out his leg and kips up. He drops a fist for two. London hooks a spinning toehold. AJ blocks a suplex and goes for one. London blocks it and goes for a neckbreaker but AJ blocks that and hits a brainbuster for two. London forearms him and rams his leg onto the steel ring and kicks at it. London slingshots in right on his leg for two. London works on his leg and hooks a leglock. AJ clubs him and London goes down. They trade forearms and AJ MURDERS him with a spinning clothesline. AJ hits a variation of the powerbomb for two. London boots him in the face and hits a spinning leg lariat from the second rope for two. AJ dumps London on the apron. London springboards back in but misses and lands on his feet. AJ catches him with an inverted DDT for two. AJ goes for a superplex but London tries to block it. They fight on the top rope. London gives him a gordbuster from the top and London hits the London Star Press right onto AJ’s leg. London goes for a figure four but AJ small packages him for two. London goes for the figure four again (woooooooooooooo!) and this time he hooks it. AJ fights his way to the ropes and makes it. London hammers away at him. London goes up top but AJ headbutts him down. London goes back up and forearms him and kicks him. London goes for a superplex but AJ pushes him off. London goes back up and chops and forearms him. AJ forearms him down again. London goes for a hurricarana but AJ is blocking everything. AJ hits a second rope powerbomb but at two he pulls him up and hits the STYLES CLASH! It hurts AJ’s knee so he’s slow to cover. He finally does…and London kicks out just before the 3! AJ Germans London but AJ can’t get his shoulders up and both men are pinned. ****3/4

vs

Mikey Whipwreck & Tajiri vs The FBI - ECW Tag Titles – 9/8/2000

If the FBI loses, Tony can never become a member. Tony & Whipwreck start out. Great action from both of them, including a great german suplex by Tony. Tags to Tajiri and Guido. Again,excellent action. Vicious punch by Tajiri on Tony. Double team moves I've never seen before. Gotta love innovation. Tajiri does an asai moonsaults to the floor, wiping out the FBI. Tajiri and Mikey set up a table in the ring. Mikey jumps off Sal to the floor and hits Guido. Guido gets put in the tree of woe and gets a baseball slide in the face. Top rope chair shot on Guido by Mikey. Dueling chairs from Guido & Mikey. Guido is busted open by Mikey from a chairshot. Everyone's bleeding but Tajiri. The table gets put up in the corner, and FBI double suplexes Mikey from the second rope. Windmill Stun Gun by Mikey to Tony almost takes his head off. Dropkick from Tajiri into the corner, and the table doesn't break! Ouch. Whippersnapper by Mikey from the apron to the floor through a table on the outside. Guido hits a Kiss of Death on a chair to Tajiri for the 1,2,3.

Match 29:

Jeff Hardy vs RVD – Ladder Match – Summerslam 01

Matwork to start establishes parity. They trade kicks and Jeff legdrops him low, and Rob backs off. Jeff gets dumped, but hiptosses Rob out and follows with a corkscrew plancha. He comes off the top and hits railing, allowing RVD to get the guillotine legdrop and grab the ladder. Jeff meets with the railrunner and brings the ladder in himself, but takes it in the jaw. Rob straddles the ladder to pick it up, and takes it in the crotch. Hardy 1, RVD 0. Double-jump moonsault on the ladder follows, but a blind charge misses and Rob hangs him in the Tree of Woe and does bad stuff to him, like forcing him to watch those old matches from Shotgun in 98 where the Hardy Boyz were dressing like Bon Jovi and jobbing to Los Boriquas. Okay, he just kicks him in the face a bunch of times, but I think the former would be more painful. Rob puts Jeff on the ladder and somersaults across the ring onto it, and then spinkicks and superkicks Jeff to set up another guillotine legdrop, this time onto the ladder. Rob showboats outside and turns around to meet the ladder face-first, buying Jeff some time. Jeff climbs but gets dropkicked off. A cartwheel splash onto the ladder kills Jeff. Rob should have one of those gymnastics balls and a length of ribbon tied around his wrist to complete his ensemble. I mean, a friggin’ CARTWHEEL? He climbs, but gets dropkicked and falls off, wiping out both guys. Jeff DDTs him and goes up, but misses the swanton. ***** frog splash also misses. Jeff climbs again, RVD follows, and superplexes Jeff off the ladder. Rob goes back up, Jeff follows, and powerbombs him off the ladder. Jeff climbs again and grabs the belt, but Rob yanks the ladder away, leaving him swinging there. Missile dropkick fails to dislodge him, but Jeff eventually falls anyway, without the belt. Jeff goes back up, but Rob pushes him over (and hurt Jeff’s leg on the ropes from the looks of things), climbs up himself, and regains the title at 16:33. You could see they were trying to tone down the crazy spots a lot, but the result is a lacklustre, although still really good, ladder match. ****

vs

DDP vs Goldberg – Halloween Havoc 98

It's pretty sad when Hogan does 20 minutes of every cheap Memphis heel tactic known to man and Jerry Lawler and gets zero reaction, but Goldberg and Page blow the roof off the joint with a straight wrestling match. It's sad in that Hogan is probably going to repeat the same match at World War III and get the World title, not in that straight wrestling matches are bad. I really, really hope the Braindead Suits in charge of WCW are paying attention. Goldberg tosses DDP around out of the lockup to a huge pop. DDP mouths him off and they go tumbling out of the ring. DDP takes down Goldberg, who flips and lands on his feet. Fireman's carry and cross armbreaker from Goldberg. DDP up with a jawbreaker and he takes control with some good wrestling. Goldberg tosses him and DDP with a necksnap off the top rope. Whip to the corner and russian legsweep for two. Goldberg is selling and everything. Front facelock slows things down. Goldberg knees out and spins off a neckbreaker. Suplex variation from Goldberg and a sidewalk slam. He should be wrestling like this all the time. Back with the cross arm-breaker on DDP. Whip and DDP with a flying headscissors, but Goldberg with a superkick. Charge and Goldberg goes to the post and fucks up his shoulder. See, now DDP should have gone to work on the arm, but that's a minor point. DDP with a clothesline off the top for two. Goldberg whips DDP off the ropes with one arm but gets DDT'd. DDP signals for the Diamond Cutter but Goldberg pops up and spears him, further injuring the arm. The crowd is rabid. And he's STILL selling the arm injury! He goes for the jackhammer but the arm is gone and Page gets out and hits the Diamond Cutter! Gets a very dramatic two count. Page tries a suplex but Goldberg reverses to the Jackhammer for the win. Best Goldberg match ever. What the hell, I'm feeling generous. ***3/4

Match 30:

Low-Ki vs AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn – TNA 8/7/02

This is the much talked about Triple Ladder match for the X-Title. Pick it up a few minutes in. Lynn has Styles in a Boston Crab. Ki breaks it up with roundhouse kicks. The kicks force Lynn to eventually break the hold. The ladder finally comes into play as Lynn sets it up and started to climb but Ki knocked him off. Ki then looked to start climbing but Styles took him out. Styles took control but was soon attacked by Lynn from behind. Fan support is all over the place here. Some good spots with the ladder including Styles making a dive off the ladder onto Lynn. Ki nailed a kick to Lynn's face and went for a cover but the ref reminded him that he could not win that way. Big spot saw Styles climb the ladder but Ki stopped him and hit him with some kicks as Styles was hanging upside down from the ladder. Another big spot as Lynn suplexes Ki off the ladder. Exciting finish saw Lynn give Ki a cradle piledriver off the ladder. Fans chanted "holy shit." Lynn then climbed the ladder for the win. Great match. Maybe not as good as the hype TNA put forth for it, but still very good.

vs

Toshiaki Kawada vs Mitsuharu Misawa – 6/3/94

Misawa and Kawada start out exchanging elbows and chops respectively. Irish whip, Misawa goes for the elbow but Kawada holds the ropes. He comes in for a running high kick but Misawa backs away. Surprised no one got in the first shot? Of course not. These two knew each other like no other and know what to expect. Irish whip, Kawada ducks the spin kick and comes back with a running high kick followed up with a roundhouse kick. He goes for a suplex but Misawa slips out and hits a gorgeous backdrop suplex. #2 man Kawada takes #1 man Misawa’s backdrop suplex just as #2 man Misawa once took #1 man Tseruta’s trademark backdrop a few years ago. A reminder that Kawada know his role in the scheme of things. Back to a vertical base as Kawada gets in a wristlock, Misawa kips out and hits an elbow strike followed with a dropkick. Kawada to the outside and Misawa comes off the apron but Kawada catches him with an elbow strike in mid air. Misawa manages to recover, and send Kawada crashing into the guardrail but he has none of it and comes right back with a BIG TIME lariat. They return to the ring and Kawada’s contempt is released. He lays in lots of stiff chops and nasty kicks. He even slaps on a half crab, takes is very high and stands on Misawa’s head. There is no desire to win at this point. This is about letting off some frustration. Kawada hits a few more kicks including a brutal one right to Misawa’s mouth. No holding back here. Finally Misawa has enough of this beating and lays in some stiff kicks to Kawada’s left leg. Going to back to the previous December during the Kobashi/Misawa vs Kawada/Taue match, Misawa and Kobashi worked over Kawada’s leg to no end. The sell job by Kawada in that match was one of the best I have ever seen. He continued to sell the leg injury throughout all of 1994 and into this match as Misawa goes to work. Misawa slaps on a half crab but Kawada’s flexibility proves helpful as he manages to kick Misawa in the mouth from the prone position. That’s the second time Misawa had been kicked flush in the mouth and he is not pleased at all. He works over the leg with various grapevine submissions. The old adage of "respect flying out the window in the face of anger" comes forth as Misawa lets Kawada up on a couple of occasions only to kick him in the leg and watch him tumble in pain. The sympathetic face gains the support of the crowds as "KA WA DA, KA WA DA" rings out through Nippon Budoken. Irish whip and Misawa hits a spin kick. He goes for the Tiger Driver but Kawada forces him into the corner. Misawa comes right back with a couple of elbow strikes. Irish whip and Misawa goes for a dropkick but Kawada holds the ropes and hits another spot on running high kick. Kawada hits the first big move of the night with his trademark jumping head kick for a 2 and ½ count. He goes for the powerbomb but gets backdropped. Kawada comes right back with a dropkick to the head. Kawada comes off the second turnbuckle on the inside with a kneedrop to the back of the head. The pain from Misawa’s earlier leg work comes through as Kawada limps away from his prone victim. Kawada hits four consecutive sets of mini chops and that nets a 2 and ½ count. Back to a vertical base, Misawa goes for a roundhouse kick but gets caught. However Misawa recovers with an enzugiri. The camera gets a beautiful shot as Misawa is bleeding hardway from his left ear. A probable result of one of Kawada’s many kicks to the head. Misawa goes for the Tiger Driver but Kawada backdrops him. Misawa lands on his feet and goes for the Tiger Suplex but gets hip toss. Kawada goes for the jumping head kick but it’s blocked and Misawa hits a dropkick to the face. Now Misawa hits the Tiger Driver for 2 and ¾. This crowd is really starting to warm up. Misawa hits a Frog Splash for 2 and ¾. Misawa comes off the top for a diving elbow but Misawa hits a jumping high kick in mid air. Kawada goes for his powerbomb but it’s blocked. They go back and forth with elbows until Kawada hits a high kick and then a LARIATOOOOOO! Kawada hits THE DANGEROUS BACKDROP followed up with the high angle powerbomb. 1… 2… 2.999999! The crowd appreciates every second as the decival level raises another notch. Kawada hits two consecutive jumping head kicks followed up with a NASTY released German suplex. Kawada cinches Misawa up and hits another high angle powerbomb. 1… 2… 2.999999! He goes for yet another but Misawa reaches the ropes. Ever determined, Kawada pulls Misawa into the middle of the ring and slaps on the Stretch Plum. Battered and beaten, Misawa finds the resolve to slowly make the ropes. Kawada will not be denied his victory as he again pulls Misawa away from salvation into the hell mouth that is the middle of the ring. This time a torture style Stretch Plum is the harbinger of pain. The crowd plays their role to perfection as the chant of "MI SA WA, MI SA WA" rings throughout the building. Frustrated with the lack of submission, Kawada lets go and gets a count of 2 and ¾. Misawa is picked up and returns to his primary weapon, the elbow smash. He follows up with a twirling clothesline. Misawa goes for a German suplex but it’s blocked. Not to be denied, Misawa hits a flurry of elbows and then hits a released German suplex. The big guns are brought into battle as Misawa hits the Tiger Suplex for 2 and 9/10. Misawa goes for another German suplex but it’s blocked. Kawada hits a chop and then fires off a Koppo kick. They go back and forth with elbow strikes and Misawa is sent reeling into the corner. Kawada brings unleashes the fury with multiple kicks to the head. Misawa will have none of it. He no sells, fires off a couple of elbow shots and then hits a spot on Rolling Elbow. The challenger is in trouble. Kawada gives one last ditch effort as he lets loose with his trusty kicks. The will is there but the body has nothing more to give, as the kicks don’t phase Misawa. He hits a few more elbow smashes and then uses a weapon not used in three years; THE TIGER DRIVER ’91. Kawada gave it everything he could but there just wasn’t enough to survive the awesome power of this move. Each count from the referee hammers a nail in the coffin of Kawada’s valiant quest. BANG… 1, BANG… 2, BANG… 3! It would be an insult to your intelligence to peg this match with a rating. If you’ve read this review from start to finish, and you understand the history, the psychology, and the match itself, you understand why this was considered the greatest match in history.

I vote for:

Styles/London
RVD/Hardy
Misawa/Kawada

[Raw Chili]

Styles vs. London
DDP vs. Goldberg, Goldberg's best match ever and highly underrated
kawada vs. misawa

[jackson13]

ECW Tag-titles
RVD/Hardy
I dont give a rats ass

[Frank the Tank]

London/Styles
DDP/Berg
Kawada/Misawa (Nice to see you don't give a shit about a match that is pretty much always named as the greatest wrestling match ever by the diehards jacko. Perfect Drama, off the charts heat, a fantastic story, great learned spots from their previous matches)

[Mikey2Dope]

Man one thing I just noticed about Keith that pisses me off is how bad he is at rating matches. For the RVD/Hardy match how do you a follow up a comment of "lacklustre" with a rating of ****?

[brodeurnumber1]

London/Styles
DDP/Goldberg
Misawa/Kawada

[Frank the Tank]

Originally posted by Mikey2Dope
Man one thing I just noticed about Keith that pisses me off is how bad he is at rating matches. For the RVD/Hardy match how do you a follow up a comment of "lacklustre" with a rating of ****?

What's sad was I used to think Keith was the messiah of reviews. He pretty much is awful on reviewing. All he does is give his star rating out with pretty much no reason as to why he'd like the match. Also he's really been getting easy on the ratings too. A major example was the Orton/HHH match from Unforgiven which he basically trashed in his rants leading up to it. He then said the match was the typical boring overbooked WWE brawl, but then he gives the fucking match *** 1/4 stars for no reason. Another one similar to RVD/Hardy is the Lesnar/Angle Ironman match which he called medicore but gave them **** 1/4 for wrestling 60 minutes. Keith's Puroresu reviews are horrid. Damn near every match gets *** or more and while Puro is usually awesome, but not every match is great. Also, he usually gives them high reviews because they use cool moves.

There, I'm done with my Scott Keith rant of the day.

[outsyder]

Styles/London
RVD/Hardy
Misawa/Kawada

[sharkstank]

styles/london
rvd/hardy
misawa/kawada

WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Styles/London (6-1)
RVD/Hardy (4-3)
Misawa/Kawada (6-0)

Match 31:

Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon – Street Fight – King of the Ring 01

Angle takes him down and suplexes him, but Shane works the mat. Angle tosses him, and reveals that Shane has apparently potatoed him and busted him open. Cool. Kurt gets pissed and offers Shane the down position, and Shane stupidly tries to wrestle him again. Kurt immediately reverses and pounds the hell out of him, then gutwrenches and belly to bellies hm. Oklahoma roll and Angle rides him on the mat for humiliation purposes, then offers the down position again. This time, Shane uses his head and simply punts him in the ribs, then comes off the ropes with an elbow. Angle takes him again in vicious fashion, but Shane dumps him. They do a footrace and collide, then Shane comes off the apron, over the table, and nails Angle. He finds the kendo stick and adds some shots, then armdrags Kurt into the railing a couple of times. Back in, Angle bridges out of a pinning attempt, which is just an awesome spot that you don’t see enough of because the guys don’t have the kind of proper training to do it. Shane loads up the plunder and unleashes the ROADSIGN OF DOOM for two. Shane pulls out a bad-looking anklelock and tornado DDT, into a butt-ugly Sharpshooter. Man, that sequence was horrible. Angle makes the ropes and grabs the kendo stick to break. Shane slugs away for two. Double KO, and Shane uses the garbage can and goes up. The SHOOTING SHANE PRESS (!!!) misses. Man, this guy is gonna die one of those days. Angle dumps him and they brawl on the floor, as Shane suplexes him in the aisle. They head over to the entranceway, and Angle suplexes Shane into one of the plexiglass “KOR” signs, and it doesn’t break. Shane lands SQUARE on his head and we’re all sure he’s done for. I mean, he landed on his goddamn HEAD on the CONCRETE. So Kurt picks him and DOES IT AGAIN, and this time the sign breaks, resulting in both guys becoming absolutely covered in their own blood from the pieces of glass. So Angle then picks him up and suplexes him into ANOTHER sign, which again doesn’t break. Oh my god Shane is dead dead dead. Again, and this time Kurt is smart enough to prep for the lack of breakage by catching him on the way down. Finally, he gets fed up and tosses poor Shane through the sign, shattering it and adding more blood. That was one of the sickest and more brutal sequences I’ve ever seen in a wrestling match, including Foley’s fall. The difference here being that it was in the context of the match and had some actual buildup, instead of being a stuntman bump that was added to compensate for injuries. Shane is quite possibly legally deceased and pushing up the daisies, as Angle loads him on an equipment cart and wheels Shane into the ring, where he gets two. Realistically, that probably should have been the finish. Shane goes low and uses the can lid to come back, hitting an Angle Slam for two. Angle, however, catapults him into the ringpost, beats him with a piece of plywood, and then sets it on the top rope for an Angle Slam off it that finishes at 26:00. Again, the final sequence was kinda overkill, but the wrestling stuff to start was really neat and the brawling stuff outside is probably un-toppable without serious injury, and the end result is an awesome match. ****1/4

vs

The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz – Cage Match – Survivor Series 01

Matt starts with Bubba, and gets a clothesline. Double-teaming gets two. Bubba Bossman-slams Jeff for two. Tag team rules appear to be in effect, although the winning condition is both guys escaping or a pinfall on one. Really, it should be an either/or situation: Either both guys escape or both guys get pinned. If one escapes, then pinfalls should be negated and the other team should be forced to attempt escape themselves. Anyway, Jeff dropkicks D-Von, and the Hardyz work him over. Matt backslide gets two. D-Von suplexes him back for two. Matt gets caught in enemy territory and double-teamed, as Bubba gets a neckbreaker for two. Elbows gets two. Matt gets pounded, but comes back with a DDT on Bubba and tags Jeff. He cleans house, and it’s Poetry in Motion x 2. The tag rules appear to have been tossed out, so it’s PERMANENT BONZO GONZO! Hardyz climb and Matt legsweeps D-Von down, while Bubba takes Jeff to earth with a Bubbabomb. Bubba climbs but gets slammed off for two. Dudleyz flapjack that pesky Matt into the cage, then try the same with Jeff. Jeff, that cheeky monkey, grabs the cage and climbs, but Bubba stops him, nearly yanking his pants down in the process. The Dudleyz give him the Dudley Device for good measure. Double-team neckbreaker gets two. Dudleyz take turns avalanching Matt into the cage, and Jeff eats cage a couple of times. Dudleyz go up and both miss their moves, so Matt goes up and clotheslines both of them. Bubba eats cage. Matt neckbreakers D-Von for two. DDT on Bubba gets two. Double-backdrop on Bubba and both Hardyz go up for stereo legdrops that get two. Matt climbs again and gets hung upside down, so Jeff gets Wazzuped. Stacy gets the table, and faced with the problem of a locked cage, decides to use the 90s Feminist approach to getting her way: She flashes her ass at Nick Patrick and then steals the key. Who says the WWF demeans women? The Hardyz block 3D, however, and Matt manages to escape, thus leaving his brother all alone. Well, that was rather dumb. You’d think they’d learn something after watching the Jersey Boyz v. UT/Kane match at Summerslam where the same thing happened. Crowd is confused, thinking the Hardyz won when Matt escaped. D-Von eats cage, and JR clarifies something that I, as a non-wrestler, have often been confused about: It apparently DOES NOT taste like chocolate. Well, that’s a relief. Jeff climbs with D-Von laying on a table, but decides not to escape and thus win the match, electing instead to try a swanton off the top of a cage onto the table, much like Homer being tempted by the cursed donut of Satan. Mmmm, satanic donuts. Anyway, 3 seconds later and the Dudleyz get the pin for the unified tag titles at 15:41. Match was nothing we haven’t seen a million times before, but still decent enough. **3/4

Match 32:

Hiro Hase vs The Great Muta – 12/14/92 (Sadly this is the best review I could find)

I liked this match a lot, far more than just going ga-ga over the buckets of juice. The actually _wrestled_ in between all the bloodletting, with both throwing out the suplexes left and right. Loads of drama with Hase coming off of the win over Chono and looking like he could dump Muta here. This will make my Top 20.

vs

Gran Hamada, The Great Sasuke & Masato Yakushiji v. Men’s Teioh, Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku – Barely Legal 97

Hamada kills Taka to start and the faces triple-team him. Sadly, Joey didn’t yet grasp the proper pronunciation of "Sasuke". KDX does its series of triple-teams and posing. Togo gets a FAT-ASSED SENTON~! for two on Yakushiji and they work him over for a while. Hamada comes in and things REALLY pick up. Sasuke and Teioh do one of those "sound and fury signifying nothing" tumbling sequences that ECW fans seem to always pop for. Nice spot next as Taka escapes a half crab from Sasuke and wiggles into an enzuigiri in one motion. Sasuke plays face-in-peril as KDX does the Togo muscle pose. Teioh nails a killer spinning DDT, then Yakushiji comes in and gets MURDERED. Triple-team powerbomb gets two on him. They try the same thing on Sasuke and blow it, the only bad spot of the match. Sasuke moonsaults onto both Togo & Teioh and gets two. The ending sequence begins with everyone pairing off two-by-two. Teioh pulls out an inverted atomic drop on Hamada…from the top rope! Yakushiji then takes a DDT and one of my favorite moves ever, the MIRACLE ECSTASY BOMB! Gotta love those Japanese move names. Togo and Hamada go next. Gran hits a DDT for two, Togo gets a powerbomb for two. He tries the senton bomb to finish, but Sasuke breaks it up. Yakushiji hits a flying rana and a tope suicida, and now it’s Taka and Sasuke. Michinoku Driver #2 gets two. Sasuke catches him coming off the top and moonsaults him for two. Powerbomb and tiger suplex finishes it for the faces at 16:55. This match, ladies and germs, is why I watch wrestling. ****3/4 Trust me, if you watched and enjoyed this match, get everything you can from Michinoku Pro around that time period, because IT’S ALL GOOD.

Match 33:

Ric Flair vs Terry Funk – Great American Bash 89

The storyline is simple: Flair regained the title at WrestleWar, and jealous ringside judge Funk decided to come out of retirement and make a grandstand challenge on the spot. Flair rightly turned him down, so Funk threw a tantrum and piledrove Flair through the ringside table, breaking his neck. And now Flair’s back and he wants sweet, sweet revenge. Flair wastes no time, attacking on the floor, and Funk wants none of that action. Flair chases and pounds away, so Funk runs for cover again. Into the ring, Funk chops away, but Flair returns fire with cherries on top. Funk takes a powder again, so they brawl outside. Flair gets posted, and Funk pounds him. Back in, a suplex gets two. He starts targeting the neck, so Flair takes a breather of his own. When he gets to the apron, they fight over a suplex, and both guys tumble to the floor. Chops are exchanged, and then eyepokes. Back in, Funk goes for his first try at a piledriver, but Flair reverses. More brawling and now Flair works the neck. Back in, he drops the knee on it, twice, for two. A pair of piledrivers and Funk is dead. Finished. Kaput. Done. DOA. However, he has enough left to bail and make a run for it. Flair heads him off and they slug it out, which Flair wins back in the ring and gets two. Backdrop suplex sets up the figure-four, but Funk is smart enough to grab the branding iron and tattoo Flair with it to break the hold. Flair starts bleeding as a result, and now Funk chooses that moment to hit the long-awaited piledriver. It only gets two, so Funk rips up the mats on the floor. Flair reverses that piledriver attempt, but Funk gets three neckbreakers back in the ring. Flair gets that branding iron for himself, however, and soon both guys are bleeding. They brawl out and in, and Flair hammers away on the cut. He misses a charge and hurts his knee, so Terry goes for the spinning toehold. Ric grabs his free leg and trips him up to set up the figure-four, but Terry reverses to an inside cradle for two, which Flair reverses again for the pin at 16:20. The psychology was a little goofy, but the brawl was super-intense and had tons of blood. ****1/4 Muta & Funk then do the classic beatdown of Flair that leads to Flair & Sting v. Funk & Muta at the first Halloween Havoc.

vs

Shane McMahon vs Steve Blackman – Hardcore Match – Summerslam 00

Blackman offers up a free shot, which he then blocks. Into the crowd, and back to ringside as Blackman hits the KICK OF FEAR from the guardrail. Into the ring, Shane gets kendo sticked under a garbage can. Blackman chokes him out with a strap for fun. T&A hit the ring and Test drops the big elbow on Blackman, then Shane uses the FLYING ROAD SIGN OF DOOM and they drag Blackman out to the entranceway. A dropped amp misses Blackman. Albert hits Test by mistake, and Shane flees for the scaffolding to escape. Oh dear, this can’t be healthy. Blackman chases him up there with a kendo stick…and when Shane gets to the very top, Blackman knocks him down and through a stage. Ho-lee Shit. Blackman then proves his manhood and testicular fortitude by JUMPING AFTER HIM and dropping a flying elbow from about 20 feet to get the pin and regain the title. Well, if Sting didn’t look like a total pussy for having a stuntman take his bump at the Bash before, he sure does now. Kudos to Shane for being Foley 2000, and hopefully Vince’s money can buy him some good medical care when he runs the WWF from a wheelchair. There was a pretty decent hardcore match preceding the bumps, too. ***

Match 34:

Bret Hart,Owen Hart,The British Bulldog,Brian Pillman & Jim Neidhart vs Steve Austin,Ken Shamrock,Goldust & The Legion of Doom – Canadian Stampede

Everyone from the US team gets SERIOUS heel heat. Steve Austin is nearly booed out of the building. The Hart Foundation is introduced one-by-one, with the ovation building with every guy, until the roof is nearly ready to blow off the place when Bret comes out. It gives me a lump in my throat to watch it. Austin & Bret start. Oh, by the way, the announcer make mention of a little documentary being shot at ringside. Something about “wrestling” and “shadows” or something like that. Bret beats the hell out of Austin, drawing INCREDIBLE face heat in the process. The crowd literally boos Austin’s every move. I mean, literally, when the guys MOVES they boo him. Austin quickly gets the cobra clutch, and they do the reversal spot in the corner for two. Austin misses the rope run, and Anvil tags in. Austin gets the Thesz press and tags Shamrock in. Zen sighting #3: He gets my masterpiece, “What’s Kayfabe?” on screen for a good chunk of time, and then had it confiscated by Adam (of George and Adam fame) about 10 seconds later. Shamrock controls easily, so Pillman tags in. He uses a blatant cheapshot and gets CHEERED for it. I know wrestlers always say that they like playing a heel and riling up the crowd, but Pillman had a grin about 4 miles wide on his face the entire match because of the babyface heat he was drawing. Backbreaker gets two. Shamrock hits a belly-to-belly, and everyone tags out. Owen & Goldust go. Enzuigiri gets two for Owen. Crowd starts with a VERY loud “Austin sucks” chant, and Austin wisely plays off it for fun. Hawk comes in with a legdrop on Owen for two. Flying splash gets two. Owen quickly comes back with the Sharpshooter, but Animal breaks. Big heel heat. Bulldog comes in with a hanging suplex and powerslam for two. Bret & Animal go next, and Bret kicks his ass. Goldust comes in and gets his ass kicked, too. Then he gets caught in the corner and a mass-beatdown results and the crowd is rabid and I’m nearly standing up and cheering even now. Owen comes in and hits the post on a blind charge, but comes back with a leg lariat on Animal and a missile dropkick. Rana is reversed into a powerbomb and powerslam. The LOD hits the Doomsday Device fro two, and another brawl erupts. Austin posts Owen and smashes a chair into his knee, then takes a shot at Bruce Hart in the front row. Crowd lets Austin know how much he sucks as Owen heads to the back for medical attention. Austin gets pummelled in the corner to the delight of the crowd, but he fights free. Austin and Pillman go and a quick stunner ends that fight pretty quick. Bret bails him out and posts Austin, then smashes a chair into HIS knee and applies the ringpost figure-four as the announcers gasp in shock at the bloodthirsty crowd. Back in the ring, Bulldog crotches Hawk on the top rope for two. Austin heads to the back for medical attention, too. Animal & Anvil get into a test of strength. Anvil wins and the Harts double-team Animal. Bret gets caught in the corner, but Shamrock plays to the crowd and Pillman sneaks in and clotheslines him. Hey, Ken, you’re a HEEL here. Shamrock then gets caught in the Hart corner and sent to the floor, where Pillman gleefully launches him into the Spanish table. Pillman is just having the time of his life out there. Sadly, this would be the last great match of his career. It’s nice to actually see a smile on his face for an entire match, ya know? Hart gets the russian legsweep for two. Bulldog comes in and pulverizes Shamrock, but a low blow turns the tide. Ah, now you’re catching on, Kenny. Goldust comes in to clean up with a bulldog on Bulldog and the Curtain Call, but Pillman interferes again. Goldust goes aerial and gets superplexed down for two. Austin makes his return. It’s Bret v. Austin again, and Austin wins this round. Suplex gets two. Bret DDTs him and goes for the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Sleeper is escaped with a jawbreaker, and it gets two. Bret comes back and gets the Sharpshooter, but Animal saves, and the crowd is PISSED. Austin does his own version, and Owen returns now to make the save. Austin clotheslines him out to the floor and they fight there. Austin takes a shot at fomer referee Wayne Hart, and they end up brawling as Wayne jumps the railing. Bret comes over and nails Austin for hitting his brothers, then rolls him into the ring. Austin has some choice words for Bret, which lets Owen roll him up for the pin at 24:30. Like you need to ask what this gets. *****

vs

AJ Styles vs Abyss – TNA 11/19/03

Styles with a running clothesline and a running senton plancha as we start fast. AJ with some punchy kicky, but Abyss pushes him off, then pushes him up, Styles balances on the middle rope and tries an Asai moonsault, but Abyss rams him into the apron. then the steps and the guardrail. Styles in an amazing spot, counters an irish whip into the guardrail by baseball sliding UNDER it, then springs up and hurricanranas Abyss. Back in the ring, AJ leapfrogs Abyss and dropkicks him for _barely_ one. Abyss whips AJ into the corner, then eats a boot on an idiot charge. Abyss recovers quickly with a Gorilla Press, then a running clothesline. Abyss pounding on AJ, then choking him. "Let's go AJ" chant. AJ moves out of the way of an idiot charge, and a springboard bodypress gets 2. AJ tries that damn floatover Irish whip counter, but Abyss makes him pay with a reverse powerbomb for 2. Abyss rams AJ's head into the corner, then hits a stiff open head slap to the chest, then another one. Crowd actually pretty hot for AJ, and he fights back with chops of his own. AJ grabs the ropes to avoid the big boot, then lands on the apron as Abyss tried to dump him, but Callis distracts him and Abyss knocks him down into the guardrail. AJ's showing some color, and Abyss rams him into the steps. Abyss pounding AJ outside the ring as Callis encourages him. AJ trying to crawl up on Abyss, but Abyss hammers him back down. Abyss side slam gets 2. Abyss with an angry stomp, and he goes to the middle rope, but AJ moves out of the way of the splash! AJ ducks a clothesline and an elbow, but gets caught with a boot. AJ counters a powerbomb with a faceslam, then a headscissors takedown and a kick, and AJ goes up top, but Abyss moves the ref into the way of AJ's missile dropkick. The ref is out as AJ somersault dropkicks Abyss, then somersaults into a reverse DDT. Springboard splash by AJ, but the ref is still out. Callis throws in a chair, and Abyss labels AJ with it. The ref recovers... and it only gets 2!!!! Abyss tosses the ref, which probably means a DQ. Abyss puts AJ up top and puts a chair in the ring. Styles fights him off, and sunset flip powerbombs him on the chair! Rudi Charles races in from the back, but it gets only two. Styles setting up the chair in the corner. Abyss stops an Irish whip attempt and goes for a powerbomb, but Styles flips over into a sunset flip, and Abyss counters by catapulting AJ into the chair. Sit out Torture Rack... gets 2???? Crowd is chanting AJ, and I'm sucked in as well. Abyss takes out official No. 2 with a Black Hole Slam. AJ with a chairshot, but Abyss grabs him by the throat and goes for the chokeslam, but Styles rolls him up for the win!!!! WINNER: AJ Styles.

I vote for:

Angle/McMahon
ECW Tag Match (TOUGH match though)
Flair/Funk
Canadian Stampede

[jackson13]

Angle/Shane
Barely Legal
Backlash 2000 (only cause I've seen it)
Canadian Stampede

[starcat]

Angle/McMahon
ECW Tag Match
Flair/Funk
Canadian Stampede

[Raw Chili]

Angle/Shane
Barely Legal
Flair/Funk
Stempede

[Frank the Tank]

Angle/Shane

Barely Legal (Although Hase/Muta is really good. Pretty much Muta comes out to the ring with Red facepaint on. After some chain wrestling for about 10 minutes, Hase gets a spike and jams it into Muta's face. Muta then does the goriest bladejob ever at the time. The blood recovered his face after the facepaint wore off. After that, Muta really timed his comebacks perfectly and the audiance was pretty fired up. Great Match, I though, although Barely Legal is the Shiznit)

Flair/Funk (I think I might be the only one alive to prefer it to their I Quit match)

Canadian Stampede

[brodeurnumber1]

Angle/Shane(fun stuff)
Barely Legal
Flair/Funk
Canadian Stampede

[outsyder]

Originally posted by brodeurnumber1
Angle/Shane(fun stuff)
Barely Legal
Flair/Funk
Canadian Stampede

Ditto.

[jeo4]

Angle/McMahon

Barely Legal

Flair/Funk

Canadian Stampede

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Angle/Shane (8-0)
Barely Legal (8-0)
Flair/Funk (7-1)
Canadian Stampede (8-0)

Match 35:

The Backseat Boys vs The New Hart Foundation vs The SAT's vs The Carnage Crew vs Hydro & AngelDust - Scramble Cage – Main Event Spectacles 03

The match started out with the Backseat Boyz going against the New Hart Foundation for 3 minutes, and the other teams would then join the match in a Royal Rumble-like 2 minute intervals. Right from the start this match proved it was going to be one of the most innovative things you will ever see. Jack Evans did a standing corkscrew shooting star press onto Acid before getting immediately up and hitting a standing corkscrew moonsault. My mind is being blown already and we just started. The Boyz then beat the crap out of Evans and threw him outside the cage, just in time for the Carngage Crew to hit the ring. The Crew did a really cool spot right away as they double backflipped the Backseats into the cage! The S.A.T. were next and pulled out an Old School ECW move…Total Elimination! Who would have thought John Kronus and Perry Saturn for God’s sake could be that entertaining to watch? The SAT then hit their AWESOME pendulum move on Kashmere sending him into the cage. Lovey called this “The Washing Machine.” F--- that. The Washing Machine?! Give me a break. I will NEVER call that move The Washing Machine. It’s The Pendulum. Teddy and Jack Evans climb the outside of the cage onto one of the platforms and then GET THIS, Teddy gives a huracanrana to Evans onto the wrestlers below! The SAT shortly thereafter give Hydro a Spanish Fly off one of the platforms! JESUS H. CHRIST! Oh my God, there’s an actual replay of the move! Evans and Hart again went to the platform. Hart gave corkscrew moonsault to the wrestlers on floor which was then followed by Evans, who set himself up like Greg Louganis at the Olympics, doing a double backflip to the f----ing floor. THIS IS THE GREATEST MATCH IN THE HISTORY OF WRESTLING! We then get more replays! This actually stuck with me because I have never seen a replay on an ROH show. This ain’t RAW where we get to see replays of the most mundane of shit every two minutes, these were the first replays EVER, and they were worth the wait. Inside the ring the Carnage Crew gave Hydro a Spike Piledriver from the second rope, but Trent Acid breaks up the pin. The Backseat Boys then give Hyrdor a T Gimmick and get the pin!I

vs

AJ Styles vs Psichosis vs Low-Ki vs Jerry Lynn – TNA X Title Tournament 6/26/02

[I]Psicosis vs. AJ Styles
Psicosis and Styles to start. Back and forth. If you lose twice, you’re out. Once a match ends, the next guy is in. Flips by both, and a sidekick by Styles for 2. “Spinning leg attack” says Tenay by Psicosis. Guillotine legdrop by P for 2. Styles turns a rana attempt into the Styles Clash for the first pin.

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki
Awesome Low Ki from his back, does a kip up into a rana! German suplex by Styles is reversed into an enziguri by Low ki. Back and forth reversals, Low Ki does some kind of awesome inverse DDT type move from the top, but the ref breaks them out of a cover in the corner. Stiff kicks by Low Ki. He goes up top for a somersault, lands on his feet as Styles moves. Stiff clothesline by Styles. German suplex. Face buster by Styles and that gets a pin.

Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles
Lynn right in and gets a cradle piledriver for a very very quick pin.

Psicosis vs. Jerry Lynn
Back and forth. Psicosis sends Lynn to the floor and then does a somersault plancha to follow, and Lynn is out. Back in, spinning leg lariat by Psicosis from the top for 2. Inverse DDT by Lynn for 2. Whipped into the ropes, Psicosis holds on and Lynn with a dropkick and misses. Psicosis comes at Lynn with a missile dropkick, Lynn counters with a dropkick. Does a cradle piledriver, and Psicosis is pinned for a second time and is out.

Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn
Stiff kick by Low Ki gets a VERY close 2 on Lynn. Low Ki in control. Pounds Lynn into the corner and does some stiff chops. Lynn kicks Low Ki as he comes into the corner, but then Low Ki kicks Lynn who is seated on the top rope, and then pulls Lynn down with a cool top rope rana. Lynn rolls through and covers Low Ki for 2. Both are up, enziguri (AGAIN?!) by Lynn and both are down. Both back up again, punches. Lynn with a back body drop. Low Ki goes at Lynn, who reverses and takes control. Lynn tries a cradle piledriver, but Low Ki grabs some sort of arm lock, Lynn reverses and hits a Powerbomb of sorts for 2. Short clothesline by Lynn. Cradle piledriver by Lynn and Low Ki is out.

Jerry Lynn vs. AJ Styles
Styles has one loss, Lynn has none, so Styles needs two falls to Lynn’s one. Rana by Lynn. Spin kick by Styles for 2. Tilt a whirl backbreaker by Lynn gets 2. Lynn charges Styles, who backdrops Lynn to the apron. Legdrop by Styles for 2. Styles whips Lynn to the corner, follows with a cool flip kick off Lynn’s chest! Lynn out of the corner with a sick DDT for only 2. Both down. Lynn tries a suplex, Styles blocks and hits a hangman’s noose neckbreaker. Gets only 2. Styles flips onto Lynn on the corner, but Lynn catches him and does a sit out powerbomb out of the corner for 2. Lynn goes for the piledriver, by Styles backdrops out of it. Styles hits the Styles Clash (not Crusher, my bad before) and gets the fall. Now it’s the next fall for the title, and Steamboat will referee.

X Title
AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
Both were down from the last fall, and both are now up with some punches. Lynn rolls Styles out of the corner for 2. Rolling pins get 2 several times for each guy. They each do about 5. Double clothesline and once again both men are down. Lynn snaps Styles next across the top rope from the apron, and pulls Styles to the floor. Styles tossed into the STEEEEEEEEL safety rail HARD. Lynn continues to attack on the floor, Lynn tosses Styles onto the apron, he lands on his FEET and hits a moonsault! Then hits an Inverse DDT right from the moonsault! Wow! Styles brings Lynn back into the ring. Inverse DDT switched by Lynn, and he does an inverse suplex onto the ropes. DDT by Lynn for 2. Lynn sets up Styles for a backslide. No, he does a airplane spin with Styles upside down on his back, and then almost goes for a Vertebreaker, but turns it into a front face sitout suplex instead! Fans count along with the pin, but Styles kicks out! Lynn tries a powerbomb, Styles floats through, gets Lynn over his shoulder, and flips him down onto his knee! Ouch! Styles covers for 2. Styles tries a suplex, Lynn blocks and gets a spinning brainbuster! Gets only 2. Lynn puts Styles in a sleeper. Slows it down for the first time since this round robin tournament/match begun! Lynn puts Styles on the top rope. Punches him a bunch of times. Superplex by Lynn! Covers and Styles kicks out! Lynn stomps Styles. Styles up, and Lynn pounds away. Lynn puts Styles on the top rope again. Styles shoves Lynn off, regroups, climbs to the top rope for the Spiral Tap (spinning somersault senton)! What a great move and a super match. This is the kind of thing that can differentiate NWATNA from WWE and make people take notice.
Winner and NEW X Champion: AJ Styles

Match 36:

Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle – Vengeance 2001

Feeling-out sequence to start, as the fans go “What”. Kurt gets in his face, annoying the fans. Austin pounds away and stomps a mudhole, and Kurt bails. Back in, Angle takes him down and Austin bails. Back in, Austin flips him off and we start fresh. Angle eats elbow and gets stomped and chopped, but he catches a foot and tries for the anklelock, narrowly missing it. Austin goes to the arm, and then chokes Angle out. They slug it out and Angle gets tossed, allowing Austin to work on his arm via the ringpost. Angle meets the stairs for good measure. Back in, Austin uses an armbar takedown for two. More chops, but Angle rolls into an anklelock in a sweet spot. Austin makes the ropes, dumps him, and they brawl. Back in, but Angle trips him up and wraps his knee around the post, then proceeds to lift the ringpost figure-four from the Bret Hart playbook. That’s just sacreligious. Another anklelock, and this one takes longer for Austin to escape from. Angle suplexes him and slugs away. Austin fights back, but gets german suplexed. Two more get a two count. Anglesault misses and Austin comes back with the Thesz Press and a spinebuster for two. Angle gets reversed into five german suplexes, and that gets two for Austin. Apparently WWF history now says that Angle invented that sequence. Angle goes low, and the Angle Slam gets two. Angle Stunner is reversed to the KICK WHAT? I SAID KICK WHAM STUNNER for the pin at 15:01 to retain. Angle’s glassy-eyed straight-back sell of the stunner is a thing of beauty. Match was solid, but all punchy-kicky and stuff. ***1/4

vs

Triple H vs The Rock – Iron Man Match – Judgement Day 00
First fall: Staredown to start. Rock hits the headlock and they fight over that for a while. Rock gets a pair of two-counts of rollups and HHH bails. Back to the headlock. HHH breaks and works the arm. Single-arm DDT gets two. Back to the arm. Rock gets a Rock Bottom out of nowhere at 11 minutes for the pin. 1-0 Rock.

- Second fall: They brawl outside. HHH drops Rock on the railing, but charges and hits his knee on the railing. Rock works the knee on the floor, dropping it on the stairs. Back in, Rock kicks at the knee, and applies a figure-four, once which is thankfully 1000% better than the one he busted out on Smackdown. It gets a few two-counts. HHH reverses and they brawl into the crowd. Back inw tih 20 minutes gone, HHH drops a pair of elbows for two. He keeps trying for the pin. I *love* that spot, especially in the context of a long match. HHH dumps Rock to the floor, then back in for a Pedigree and the pin to even it up. 1-1 tie.

- Third fall: The Rock is still groggy, so HHH small packages him for the pin. 2-1 HHH. Great spot.

- Fourth fall: Rock bails to recover and they brawl at the entrance. Back in, Rock tries a spinebuster, but that’s reversed to a facebuster and a piledriver for ANOTHER HHH pin. 3-1 HHH.

- Fifth fall: HHH goes up top and gets slammed off, and Rock busts out La Magistral for two. Whoa! Moveset, baby! HHH hits a high knee for two. Sleeper follows. Rock fights out and hits a belly-to-belly, then a botched floatover DDT for the pin. 3-2 HHH.

- Sixth fall: Back to the floor for more brawling. HHH grabs a chair and wallops Rock in the ring, drawing a DQ. 3-3 tie.

- Seventh fall: Rock is out cold, so HHH calmly pins him. 4-3 HHH, and another great bit of booking there.

- Eighth fall: 15 minutes left, so HHH goes to the sleeper again. And it WORKS! 5-3 HHH. Man, what a well-booked match this is, with all sorts of finishes that you don’t see everyday.

- Ninth fall: HHH & Shawn get into a fight, allowing Rock to come back. HHH takes a wicked bump over the top onto the cameraman, and they fight on the floor. Back in, HHH gets two. Rock superplexes him for a double-KO spot. He rolls over for two. Back to the floor, Rock slingshots HHH into the ringpost, but gets whipped into the stairs. Over to the announce table, where HHH tries a Rock Bottom of his own, but Rock reverses and Pedigrees HHH! And the table doesn’t break…OUCH! HHH gets counted out. 5-4 Rock.

- Tenth fall: 4 minutes to go, the McMahons make their return en masse. Rock takes them all out as they come, People’s Elbow, goodbye. 5-5 tie.

- Deciding fall: 2 minutes left, and all of D-X charges the ring and attacks, but the nursery rhyme video plays on the Titan-tron, and the Undertaker returns! The crowd goes apeshit as he chokeslams everything in sight (with Shawn having been bumped onto the floor) as time expires…but Shawn recovers, calls for one last DQ at the bell, and HHH wins the match 6-5 to win the WWF title for a fourth time. Could’ve lived without the finish, but the match was the best old-school WRESTLING MATCH I’ve seen since the 80s. HHH is God. ****3/4

Match 37:

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Brian Pillman – Superbrawl II

Pillman works the arm, and they each flip out of a wristlock. Leapfrog exchange sees détente on a dropkick attempt. Pillman goes back to the arm. Liger pound away, but gets headscissored and bails. Pillman does a sort of baseball slide and Liger stalls for a bit. Back in, Liger goes to the mat with a toehold. Pillman goes cheap to break into the corner for some CANADIAN VIOLENCE. Liger moonsaults out for two, and dumps Pillman with a dropkick. Highspot fakeout time, and a frustrated Pillman heads back in and goes to the mat with a form of the abdominal stretch. Liger reverses, but Pillman makes the ropes. He tries again, but Pillman breaks again. Liger follows him into the corner with a NASTY dropkick, but Pillman gets off a crucifix for two. Liger comes back with a sunset flip for two. Pillman hits a backdrop suplex that’s totally missed by the crack camera crew. Blind charge misses and Liger works on the knee. Figure-four in the centre of the ring gets several two counts and they channel Flair-Luger and slap each other around to see who would get control of the move. Pillman gets fired up enough to reverse, but Liger keeps pounding the knee once the move is broken. Pillman’s selling is awesome. He fights back with an enzuigiri and headscissors, but Liger calmly dumps him and hits a spectacular somersault senton off the top. Crowd is just shell-shocked by this stuff. Liger tries to suplex him back in, but Pillman blocks and nails Air Pillman. He suplexes Liger onto the floor (!) and heads up for a plancha. He misses another dive off the apron and takes his trademark chinfirst bump to the railing. Back in, Liger goes upstairs but gets stunned by a mid-air dropkick from Pillman. Pillman tries his own aerial move but Liger uses the same tactic on him. Dueling leg lariats both miss. Pillman comes back with a powerslam for two. Liger reverses a german suplex with one of his own for two. They go to the top, and Pillman blocks a superplex and hits a flying bodypress for two. Liger powerbomb gets two. Another try is reversed to a rana-rollup for two. Pillman DDTs him for two. Criss-cross leads to the double-KO. Pillman recovers first and goes upstairs, but gets superplexed for two. Liger goes for the Benoit headbutt to finish, but misses, and Pillman gets a fluke cradle for the pin and the title at 16:57. They do the handshake of respect and the crowd goes apeshit for both. This being WCW, both guys were buried weeks later. ****3/4

vs

Austin Aries vs American Dragon 2/3 Falls - Testing The Limit 04

The match starts slow, but not boringly, as all the work is really intense and holds interest. Punk comes back to commentary and doesn't want to talk about losing the tag belts. Danielson spends much of the beginning of the match going for Cattle Mutilation, working on the arm and attempting the hold at various times. Aries also works the arm and the neck, obviously softening it up for the Rings of Saturn. For the first portion of the first fall, they are able to hold the crowds interest with the methodical chain wrestling. Danielson switches to working on the neck, and Punk suggests that Danielson is starting by working everything and seeing what gets the best reaction. That’s some damn fine commentating. Aries hits the first big move in the match with a supercanrana. The tempo of the match changes here, 15 minutes into the match, as Aries starts getting "explosive" with his usual dynamic strikes. He puts on the Fishhook, an illegal move, and the ref asks in Danielson wants to quit. That's some lousy officiating. Danielson hits a super-Malenko gutbuster, giving him the momentum and starting him on stomach work. Danielson fights for an abdominal stretch, which the commentators have made a believable move by focusing on Punk's submission loss to a variation of the maneuver at Reborn Stage 1. Danielson also uses the ropes for leverage, sinking into subtle heeldom. Aries escapes but falls to a big clothesline and double stomp. Danielson puts the seated abdominal stretch on Aries, the actual move that made Punk tap, but he knees out. At close to the 30 minute mark, Aries hits a big dive onto Danielson on the outside, and the crowd dies right after, which is not a good sign. Danielson misses a diving headbutt, perhaps distracted by the crowd chanting "watch your head". After hitting a successful top rope maneuv, Aries goes for another but gets caught by a superplex and the diving headbutt for 2. Every pin attempt for the rest of the first fall is totally believable until finally Aries hits a crucifix bomb, the Rings of Saturn and Cattle Mutilation forcing Danielson to tap at round the 45 minute mark. Ref Sinclair comes in to substitute for ref Hanson at this point. I'd like to point out here that in the Hero/Punk 93 minute match there was only one ref for the entire match.

The second fall begins with Aries being dumped from the top rope to the floor. Danielson destroys the leg in awesome fashion on the outside. Back in he goes for the half crab, which the commentators helpfully remind us he used to win a fall against Paul London at Epic Encounter. Danielson's work on Aries leg in this fall is just phenomenal. Danielson totally whiffs on a suicide dive attempt and gets knocked goofy. Aries performance and attack during this period is awesome, pulling the match from the doldrums. Danielson finally wakes back up close to the 60 minute mark and begins working the arm again. He gets Cattle Mutilation, revolves his body into a pinning situation and gets a 3 count to win the second fall at around 65 minutes. Aries starts off the third fall with a Malenko super DDT a la Dean Malenko and Scott Taylor. There's a healthy amount of R4dical stuff in this match. Aries hits multiple bodyslams on Danielson, much the same as Danielson did to him at Survival of the Fittest. Danielson comes back with his own, but slower than the Fittest match because of the work they've done to one another. Danielson finally goes to pay off the rib work with a bear hug, but Aries reverses to his own. Danielson starts stretching Aries in unnatural ways, leading into the awesome final segment of the match. Aries takes the third fall after hitting a super brainbuster for 2, followed by 2 more really nasty brainbusters and a 450 splash. And now the crowd that could barely give half a shit during the match starts chanting "Match of the Year" "Thank You" and the other usual appreciative chants. ****

I vote for:

Scramble Cage
Iron Man
Pillman/Liger

[jeo4]

Scramble Cage (I guess.)

Austin/Angle

Pillman/Liger

[Frank the Tank]

Tough match as both were really mindblowing for the time as far as Spotfests go. I'd go for Scramble Cage just because it is more insane than all 4 TLC's Combined. With Spots such as:

Teddy Hart Ranaing his partner Jack Evans off the top of the cage into both SAT members in the ring.

Evans's various flips

Spanish Fly off the top of the cage (2 Man Backflip Rock Bottom)

Double Rotation Moonsault off the top of the fucking Cage (That's right, Jack Evans rotates twice with the moonsault)

Hart's crazy dive off the top of the cage.

Also:

Iron Man (Austin/Angle was one of their weaker matches although it was odd to see Austin doing Germans)

Yikes, I love both matches. I guess I'll go with Aries/Dragon 80 Minute match since no one else will vote for it.

[Frank the Tank]

Oh, Mikey I messed up on one of my nominations. Misawa/Kawada 1/20/97 is actually Misawa/Kobashi 1/20/97. Yep, My Mistake.

[starcat]

Scramble Cage
Iron Man
Pillman/Liger

[outsyder]

X-Division Title Match
Iron Man Match
Pillman/Liger

[brodeurnumber1]

X Title Tournament
Austin/Angle(the only Iron Man match I didn't really like)
Pillman/Liger

[jackson13]

Cage
Iron Man
Pillman

[Raw Chili]

Cage
Iron Man
Pillman vs. Liger

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Scramble Cage (6-2)
Iron Man (6-2)
Pillman/Liger (7-1)

Match 38:

The Great Sasuke vs Jushin Thunder Liger – Super J-Cup 94

They trade go-behinds to start, and quickly go into a mat wrestling sequence. Liger with a funky submission move, that segues into a body scissor, which in turn segues into a bow-and-arrow type thing, which in turn segues into a proper bow-and-arrow. Good stuff. From there, Liger does something to Sasuke which is hard to describe, pulling the head down while keeping the legs in the air and nearly bending his neck back 90 degrees. Can't really explain it in words, but it looked PAINFUL. Liger keeps working on the back. Rolling kick appears to knock Sasuke right out. Referee tries to revive him, and he is assisted to his feet by Liger, then dropped again. Jumping tombstone and cross-facechickenwing by Liger, which is fitting because I had chicken for dinner. Okay, perhaps that's a stretch. Liger goes to work on Sasuke's arm now, with an armbreaker and MEGA-DICK hammerlock where he wrenches on it repeatedly. He goes into a cross-armbreaker. Backdrop puts Sasuke out again. Man, he's taking a hellacious shitkicking. Sasuke blocks Liger's dropkick, then gets the first highspot with a quebrada. Liger wanders over to another corner of the ring, so Sasuke gets back in the ring and fires off a MAN-SIZED somersault tope, nearly landing right on his head. Gosh, I wonder how he cracked his skull open? I can't imagine. Back in the ring and Sasuke with a Razor's Edge for two. Jumping tombstone sets up a senton, which misses. Liger gets an elbow for two. Ligerbomb for two. He puts Sasuke on the top and snaps off a rana for two, then showboats and Sasuke rolls him up for two. Release german suplex for two. Fisherman's buster gets two. Christ, Sasuke has taken everything but the kitchen sink. Kitchen sink gets two. Just kidding. Liger suplexes Sasuke to the floor and then gets his own highspot with a tope. Sasuke tries to climb to the apron but gets kicked in the head. Liger brings him back in, all cocky, and Sasuke hits a rana for the pin! Wicked match. ****1/2

vs

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa – 6/8/90

Misawa has his catchy “Spartan X” theme music by this time. Kawada and Kobashi come to the ring with him. Jumbo has theme music too, but the crowd is just do damn loud I can barely hear it. Jumbo has Masa Fuchi in his corner. Why is it that Puroresu always has seconds in the match but the only time they are in North American Wrestling is for interference angles? Jumbo leads their series in this tape set 1-0. They lock up twice and Jumbo just pushes Misawa off. Misawa puts on a side headlock and Jumbo pushes him off the ropes and drops him with a shoulder block. Jumbo tries his jumping knee but Misawa moves and hits a dropkick. Jumbo is on the ropes so Misawa charges and gets caught with a boot to the jaw. Jumbo hits a quick lariat for a count of two. Jumbo beats him down and gives Misawa a body slam, Jumbo tries the backdrop but Misawa blocks it, Jumbo tries again, but Misawa reverses into a body press for two. Jumbo goes to the floor and Misawa does his flip onto the apron and gives Jumbo a front dropkick. A charging elbow knocks Jumbo into the crowd, Misawa gets back in the ring while Jumbo recovers, as soon as Jumbo gets over the rail Misawa hits him with a pescado. Misawa waits for Jumbo to get back in the ring and then uses some elbows to wear him down before going to the front face lock. Jumbo turns that into a surfboard. Misawa then turns it into his own surfboard, Jumbo tries to get the surfboard back but Misawa keeps it on. Jumbo finally gets his reversal but Misawa kicks him out of it. they circle each other for a minute and then lock up again. Misawa gets out of the lock up and then SLAPS Jumbo. The crowd really wakes up when he does it too. The slap pretty much reminded the crowd of Jumbo and Misawa's roles in the match. Misawa was supposed to be the punk trying to further his career, Jumbo was the legend proving he's still the "Ace" of All Japan. Jumbo uses some elbows on Misawa and then hits his jumping knee smash. Jumbo locks an abdominal stretch on Misawa, but Misawa counters to his own. Jumbo makes the ropes and gives a hiptoss to Misawa over the top rope. Jumbo rams Misawa into the guardrails and then throws him back in the ring. Jumbo with a nice double arm suplex for a two count. Jumbo clamps on a chin lock and then sends Misawa off the ropes and throws him up and matches him land on his face. Jumbo tries again, violating the Puroresu rule about hitting the same move twice, and Misawa dropkicks him. Misawa hits a nice dropkick from the top rope for a hot two count. Misawa with a charging elbow in the corner and a gut wrench for two. Misawa hits his top rope splash for two. Misawa tries a body press but gets Stun Gunned off the top rope and Jumbo covers for two. Jumbo hits a nice pile driver for a close two count. Jumbo does an Austin press for a near fall and takes his frustration out on Misawa by stomping and knee dropping him on the mat. Jumbo with a dropkick and hooks the leg for two, Misawa is looking half dead by now. Jumbo hits his big boot for another near fall. Misawa catches Jumbo with a kick to the gut as he tries to come off the top, and Jumbo hooks his arms for a double arm suplex, Misawa wisely drops to one knee to block the move. Jumbo slams Misawa then goes up top, Misawa runs up to try to superplex Jumbo but he pushes him off and as Misawa gets up, Jumbo hits him with a knee off the top. Jumbo tries a pile driver, but Misawa blocks it and then Jumbo connects a leaning power bomb for a close two count. Misawa turns the double arm suplex into a nice backslide for two and then gets an elbow smash on Jumbo, this wasn't a big Misawa move yet so Misawa drops face first. Jumbo rolls outside and Misawa gets up for a baseball slide and does a plancha onto him off the top. Back in the ring and they jockey for postion and Jumbo blocks a German suplex but his lariat was turned into a roll up for a really hot two count. Misawa's splash gets knees and Jumbo covers for two. Jumbo gets sick of trying to pin him and goes for the Boston Crab. Misawa makes it to the ropes, Jumbo takes advantage of his fatigue with a big lariat but Misawa will not give up and he still kicks out. What is it going to take to beat this guy. Jumbo gets two on another lariat (can this guy do anything else?) and does another one in the corner. As if to answer my question, Jumbo goes for a backdrop and Misawa pushes off the top turnbuckle to lessen the impact. Misawa gets two off a German suplex and Jumbo looks ready to cry. Jumbo blocks the double arm suplex attempt and hits a jumping knee for two. Jumbo warms up for another lariat and sends Misawa to the corner, Misawa does a jumping turning head butt. Jumbo tries a dropkick and gets the ropes, Jumbo tries a suplex, reversed by Misawa who tries a backdrop, reversed by Jumbo who tries a body press for two, rolled over by Misawa for the three count. The fans pop huge for the pin fall. ***** Awesome match. Misawa winning this match was the AJPW version of Jericho's win at No Mercy 2001. Misawa evens the score at 1-1. This ranks as one of the top matches I have seen EVER. The ending came out of nowhere. This was used to help Jumbo keep his credibility by making it look like a fluke, they had a rematch in September that Jumbo won.

Match 39:

Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – 30 Minute Submission Match – Backlash 2001

Lockup series to start, and they do a sweet mat-wrestling clinic. Angle goes for the ankle early, Benoit makes the ropes. Back to the mat, Angle makes the ropes and bails. Back in, Benoit controls the mat again. He goes for the Crossface, Angle makes the ropes and bails. Back in, Benoit grabs a waistlock and they fall to the floor where Benoit locks on the Crossface to no avail. Angle stalls. Back in, Angle grabs a legbar and gets the first fall at the 22:54 mark. Benoit with some CANADIAN VIOLENCE, but Angle works the knee with a pair of clips. He walks into a cross armbreaker, however, to even it up at 21:55. Benoit pounds him in the corner and goes to the armbar again, but Angle makes the ropes. Benoit gets a shoulderbreaker and more CV to the shoulder, so Angle grabs a chair and clocks Benoit. Anglelock puts him up 2-1 at 19:38. Benoit is still out, so Angle puts him in a Crossface to go 3-1 at 18:18. Backdrop suplex and Angle stomps Benoit to the floor and they brawl. Back in, Benoit backdrops him out and posts him. Angle sends him to the stairs, however, and Anglelocks him on the floor. Into the ring, Benoit blocks an armbar and makes the ropes. Angle grabs an abdominal stretch, reversed by Benoit. Angle makes the ropes, but Benoit snaps on a Sharpshooter, drawing a huge pop from the crowd. The WWF should take note and build that up as a finish for Benoit. Half-crab with a knee to the face is enough for a submission to make it 3-2 at 11:55. Angle runs away, Benoit chases. Angle runs again, Benoit chases again. Again, and Benoit gets caught coming in. Slugfest and Angle tosses Benoit. Back in, Angle suplex and Benoit hits the ropes to prevent anything. Good psychology there. Blind charge misses, but Angle goes for the ankle again. To the floor, Angle suplexes him. Back in, Benoit tries his own anklelock, but Angle makes the ropes. Dropkick misses and Angle stretches him with a choke. Benoit breaks but gets clotheslined. Overhead belly to belly, twice, by Angle. Benoit comes back with the rolling germans and counters the anklelock into one of his own to tie it at 2:07. Benoit goes after the knee, viciously clipping him. Back to the germans, but Angle goes low and grabs the anklelock until time expires at 30:00. The match, of course, continues into OT. If Angle was from Dallas, Benoit would be in REAL trouble. Angle gets a Steiner-ish belly to belly, but Benoit takes him down and they tustle. Benoit struggles into the Crossface and gets the win at 1:33 of overtime. Really really solid psychology and intensity, but a lot of the stuff just didn’t seem to go anywhere and the fast submissions really hurt the believablility of it for me. ***3/4

vs

Chris Sabin vs Michael Shane vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels – Ultimate X Match - TNA 1/7/04

Shanee and Daniels go to climb right away, but the faces stop them. Low Ki and Daniels pair off, as do Shane and Sabin. Shane and Low Ki come out on top, then Ki clotheslines Shane out. Daniels beating on Sabin. Sabin tries to dump Daniels, and it ends up with Shane and Sabin holding Daniels so Low Ki and kick him from the floor. Sabin with a MASSIVE no hands senton plancha onto Shane and Low Ki! AWESOME! Shane and Sabin and Low Ki and Daniels pair off again. Daniels looking for some plunder, and GETS THE TABLES! Sabin hits a springboard legdrop to the back of Shane's head. Shane ducks an enzuigiri in the ring, then kicks Sabin and hits a chairshot. Daniels and Low Ki both try to hit their finishers from the apron to the floor, but they both block and Shane takes out Low Ki. Daniels tries a springboard leap for the belt, but just misses. Daniels trying to get to the cable, but seems unsure of himself. Daniels going for the belt, but Shane with a chairshot. Shane tries to use the chair to jump up to the belt, unsuccessfully. Shane goes for the belt, Daniels tries to use the chair to catch Shane for a powerbomb, but Shane hurricanranas out of it. Low Ki and Sabin both outside, and Shane goes up top, but Daniels knocks him out with a throat thrust. Daniels gets another chair, tries to use it to springboard to the belt, misses, tries again, but Low Ki catches hm with a tidal crush! Low Ki hurt his knee legit there. Low Ki tries to use the chair to climb, but Sabin uses Daniels to hit a springboard enzuigiri on Low Ki. Low Ki and Daniels exchange chops, but Shane goes for a chairshot and the former XXX members go to town on him. Low Ki sets up Shane in the hanging Dragon Klutch, but Daniels takes the opportunity to go for the belt, but Low Ki scramble up and gets Daniels in the Dragon Klutch while on the cable! WILD! Sabin missile dropkicks Low Ki down after Daniels falls! New Franchise tries to interfere with a ladder (which is against the rules), but Elix Skipper fights them to the back. Ref is bumped, Shane tries to set up the ladder, but Low Ki hits a kick onto the ladder to put down Shane, goes for the tidal crush, but Shane counters with a superkick. Shane sets up the ladder and climbs, and FOR THE PISSING PUKING LOVE OF GOD! Daniels with an STO off the ladder on Shane! Sabin fights out of a Ki Krusher and tries to climb, but Low Ki with a stiff kick and a German suplex off the ladder. Daniels takes down the ladder and rams it into both Shane and Low Ki, then hits a throatslam suplex and the Best Moonsault Ever on Low Ki! Daniels sets up the ladder again, Shane punches him off, then Daniels knocks down the ladder and Shane hits his chest on the top rope, then Daniels crotches Shane on the ladder. Enzuigiri by Daniels on Sabin. Daniels climbing the ladder again, and Low Ki starts climbing the other side. Low Ki and Daniels fighting on top the ladder and Low Ki kicks Daniels while standing on the ladder (!), and IN THE NAME OF GOD AND FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY! SHANE PUSHES BOTH MEN OFF THE LADDER, OVER THE TOP ROPE AND ONTO THE FLOOR! I think Low Ki busted his ankle legit there. If not, he sold the hell out of it. The ref prevents Shane from using the ladder, Shane tries to manhandle the ref while Chris Vaughn comes in to take the ladder out, and Shane goes up top to try to reach the belt, but Sabin kicks him off the top rope and through the table that was set up earlier (way earlier) in the match, and Sabin is all by himself with the belt! Sabin struggles with the belt for about 10 seconds, and then falls to the mat. HAIL SABIN! WINNER: Chris Sabin.

Match 40:

The Quebecers vs The Steiner Brothers – “Quebec Province Rules”

This is
Province of Quebec rules, as written by Johnny Polo. Titles change
hands on countout or DQ, piledrivers and top rope moves are illegal, and throwing an opponent over the top is illegal. Basically it's a parody
of all the dumb DQs in the NWA. Why would the Steiners ever sign this
match? Jacques gets powerslammed by Rick right off the bat. Pierre
comes in and gets Tigerbombed by Scott. Dropkick gets two. Pierre
comes back with a clothesline off the second rope for two. Rick comes
in and tries a piledriver, but of course Scott warns him in time. We
take a break and return with Jacques getting dumped to the outside.
Pierre comes in and gets dominated by the Big Bad Booty Daddy. The
Steiners trade off on a half-crab. Jacques breaks it up twice but the
Steiners don't sell. Johnny Polo wanders out, making his debut as the
manager of the Quebecers with a Canadiens jersey that reads "We're the Quebecers Jacques and Pierre and I am Johnny". Yes, it all fit. He was way funnier as Polo than he is as Raven. We take another break and Scott gets caught with a cheap shot and double-teamed. Good stuff. Wicked legsweep/clothesline combo, for one. Scott hits a nasty looking DDT on Jacques and a pier-six erupts. The Quebecers hit their finisher -- the Boston crab / legdrop combo, and another pier-six erupts. Scott double clotheslines the Quebecers and makes the hot tag. Another pier-six and Scott hits the Frankensteiner, but Jacques makes the save. Johnny Polo baits Rick into going for the hockey stick, which Scott gets and nails Jacques for the DQ....giving the titles to the Quebecers. Well, the ending was cheap, but it was within the defined rules.

vs

Cactus Jack vs Triple H – Street Fight – Royal Rumble 00

Cactus gets a quick start, so HHH bails and grabs a chair. Jack gets it and legdrops it on his face. Out to the floor, where HHH gets suplexed onto a pair of pallets. And a garbage can. And onto the stairs. Note to self: Don’t piss off Mick Foley. Cactus searches under the ring and finds a barbed-wire covered 2x4. The ref gets in his way, so HHH steals it and delivers some shots with it. Ouch. It ends up at ringside with Spanish announcers. Jack hits a double-arm DDT and then retrieves his 2x4, which has been miraculously re-wrapped with barbed-wire that looks suspiciously rubberized. Well, I don’t expect anyone to rip themselves apart with real barbed wire, but it looks silly to have different-looking weapons like that. He drops an elbow with it, and then bludgeons HHH with it, drawing some good juice. It’s a MANLY blade job, turning HHH’s blond hair red. Must have eaten his aspirin before the match. Jack tries the piledriver on the table, but HHH reverses. Back in the ring, and Jack then reverses the Pedigree, slingshots HHH into the post, then rams him face-first into the barbed wire. It gets two. Back out, and Jack pulls an older spot out of mothballs, taking a hiptoss into the stairs, right on his knee. Back in and HHH works on that knee, then finds a pair of handcuffs at the announce table. Oh, lord, it’s 99 all over again. HHH charges with the stairs, but Jack drop toeholds him and HHH goes face-first into them. HHH finds a chair and starts doing a Rocky job on him, so Jack retreats outside as HHH closes in for the kill. Then, ironically, the Rock himself emerges with his own chair and bashes HHH’s brains in. A cop unlocks the cuffs for Jack and now the crowd is just going BERZERK. Jack stalks him back to ringside and delivers the piledriver on the Spanish table successfully this time, but the table doesn’t break. Man, that looked VICIOUS. Jack then finds a jumbo bag of thumbtacks and scatters them in the ring. Stephanie joins us at ringside. Cactus takes a backdrop in the tacks, and HHH gets the Pedigree for…TWO? Crowd starts chanting “Foley”, but Jack walks into another Pedigree, ON THE TACKS, and that’s enough to finish it at 26:48. Oh. My. God. What an AWESOME brawl. I have new respect for HHH’s brawling abilities after this brutal war. ***** I know I’m probably opening a huge can of worms with that rating, but after that, they deserve it.

I vote for:

Tsuruta/Misawa
Ultimate X
HHH/Cactus

[starcat]

ditto

[brodeurnumber1]

Tsuruta/Misawa
Benoit/Angle(never can vote against these matches)
Foles/HHH

[sharkstank]

tsuruta/misawa
benoit/angle
foley/h

WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Frank the Tank]

Jumbo/Misawa
Ultimate X 2
Foley/HHH

[Raw Chili]

Jumbo vs. Misawa
Benoit vs. Angle
Cactus Jack vs. HHH

[Mikey2Dope]

Need more votes.

[jackson13]

Jumbo/Misawa
Beniot/Angle
Foley/Hunter

[jeo4]

Sasuke/Liger

Benoit/Angle

Cactus Jack/HHH

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Jumbo/Misawa (7-1)
Benoit/Angle (5-3)
Foley/HHH (8-0)

Match 41:

Cactus Jack vs Sting – Beach Blast 92

Sting is the WCW champ, but this is non-title because Cactus didn’t care about the title at this point in the character’s development. Slugfest on the ramp to start, and Sting backslides for two. Backdrop on the ramp and facebuster get two. Sting charges and gets tied up in the ropes. He rolls out of the ring, but Jack follows with the big elbow for two. Neckbreaker gets two. Jack does his usual sick bump, hitting a sunset flip off the apron and nearly breaking his ankle on the railing on the way down. It gets two. The bash each other on the railing, but Jack goes low. Sting dumps over the railing, and suplexes him on the concrete for two. Cactus takes another sick bump back to ringside and into the ring we go. Cactus hits a lariat to catch a breather, and pounds on him. Cactus…goes to the mat?! Yup, he hooks a bodyscissors, but Sting fights out. Cactus clothesline puts both on the floor, and Sting fights back. Jack calmly grabs a chair and bashes his head in. Jesse ponders why Sting would possibly be stupid enough to even sign this match, and I have to concur. Sting suplexes Cactus on his head, on the concrete, for two. Oh my god, Foley is insane, there’s no other explanation. They do a pinfall reversal sequence (!) on the floor, giving both a couple of two counts. Jack hotshots Sting on the railing in ANOTHER sick bump (this one for Sting), but Sting blocks a piledriver attempt. Cactus goes to the top but misses an elbowdrop to the floor. They head to the rampway and Sting fights back, DESTROYING Cactus with a chair of his own. Jack escapes the deathlock, however, and gets the double-arm DDT for two. Sting lariats him and uses his last bit of energy to hit a flying clothesline off the top rope, to the ramp, for the pin at 11:22. Mick Foley called it his best match in the book, but I can’t agree given the higher quality stuff he did in the WWF. ****1/2 Still, a SICK, SICK must-see brawl.

vs

Billy Kidman vs Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera – Starrcade 98

The thing that really frosts my preservatives nowadays is that the WWF could have this sort of **** opening match every damn SHOW if they really felt like it, and they could probably shut up a good portion of the workrate-intensive audience in the process. Instead we get X-Pac holding both titles and doing comedy matches with Big Show. This was during the end of the LWO angle, as Juvy was gleefully playing Stevie Richards to Eddy Guerrero’s Raven, and Rey Mysterio had been forced into joining the team due to a stipulation match that he lost. Rey & Kidman attack Juvy and double-team him. Kidman dropkicks him in the corner, into a broncobuster from Rey, but Rey & Kidman decide to slug it out. It turns into a three-way battle and Juvy goes up, but Kidman moves Rey out of the way and then powerbombs him for two. Juvy fights off both with a double-bulldog and covers both of them for two. He unloads with chops on both, and Rey gets whipped into Kidman, but comes back and allows Kidman to dropkick Juvy, and they then cover each other for two. That sequence was actually WAY more intricate than I can properly do justice to. Juvy dumps Kidman, then tosses Rey onto him, and follows with a springboard clothesline. Back in, he gets caught coming off the top, by a double-dropkick. Rey & Kidman go, and Juvy ranas Rey off of Kidman’s shoulders to prevent an electric chair drop. That’s insane. Kidman bulldog on Juvy gets two. Sideslam and Kidman goes up, but hits knee. Rey moonsaults him for two. Rey puts Juvy on the apron and ranas him to the floor, but Kidman suplexes him back in and a legdrop gets two. He powerbombs him for two. Everyone’s out. Rey bulldogs Kidman for two. Juvy backbreaker on Rey gets two. Juvy gets dumped, as does Kidman, and Rey splats both of them with a quebrada. Back in, Rey ranas Juvy, but gets hits with the Drunk Driver for two. Kidman goes up, but Rey jumps up and gets a rana for two. Kidman powerbombs Juvy for two. Rey and Juvy tumble out, and Kidman hits a shooting star press onto them, popping the crowd huge. Eddy Guerrero wanders out, popping the crowd in the opposite direction, as Juvy tries a sunset flip on Kidman, which Kidman reverses, which Eddy reverses by pushing them over, which Kidman reverses again for the pin at 14:56. Some slow spots, but that’s about it. ****1/2

Match 42:

The Rock vs Kurt Angle vs Triple H – Summerslam 00

Kurt stakes his claim to Stephanie before the match. HHH comes out and kicks some righteous ass. Both men hit the floor, and brawl. Back in, HHH tosses Angle again and sends him to the stairs. Pedigree is attempted on the Spanish table, but it breaks too soon and Angle takes an ugly bump. HHH grabs his trusty sledgehammer and HEEEEEEEEERE’S Rocky. Samoan drop for HH and lariat, and they brawl on the floor. Everyone stands around for a bit as EMTs attend to Angle. They stretcher him off, but HHH stops them and drags him back. Rock & HHH brawl a bit more. Back to ringside, as Steph comes out to attend to Angle. In the ring, HHH USES THE KNEE for two. Steph retrieves the belt, but hits HHH my mistake to give Rock a two count. Rock goes after her, but takes a low blow. Rock gets a forearm, HHH hits the neckbreaker. He grabs Mr. Sledge and nails the Rock in the gut. He lays in some kicks to the ribs, and a facebuster gets two. HHH slowly works the ribs over. They must be improvising due to an actual Angle injury. Rock comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. HHH knees him down and goes upstairs, and they fight there. Rock wins and gets a superplex. Meanwhile, Steph talks Angle into coming back and helping. Rock belly-to-belly gets two. Steph drags Angle out. He trips up Rocky and HHH hits the Pedigree…but Angle pulls HHH out at two. He covers Rock himself for two. Elbow gets two. Belly-to-belly gets two. Rock comes back with a DDT for two. He whips Angle into the recovering HHH and hits Rock Bottom for two. HHH pulls Rock out and posts him, while Steph slips the sledgehammer to Angle. HHH charges…and hits Steph by accident. Uh oh. Angle KO’s HHH for two, then Rock dumps Angle, hits the People’s Elbow on HHH, and retains the title. Interesting booking there. A Rock-HHH match is pretty much an automatic ***, plus a bit for some good stuff with Angle at the end. ***3/4

vs

Ric Flair vs Lex Luger – WrestleWar 90

This was a
last-minute switch after Sting blew the shit out of his knee. Luger was
a monster heel at the time, which made it even weirder. Luger went into
total babyface mode for this, however. This version is JIP at about the
17-minute mark. I've seen the original, and it's mostly the same stuff
from Luger and Flair at the beginning anyway. Besides, the entire match
runs almost 45 minutes with ring intros and extracurricular activities,
so there's lots of goodness for everyone. Flair cheats like a mofo and
insults the front row one-by-one. Classic stuff. Jim Herd was
desperately pushing for Luger to go over here but Flair (as usual)
vetoed the switch. But despite the backstage politics, Flair and Luger
still manage to put on a super match. Hogan was fighting Lanny Poffo
around this time, just for sake of reference. Flair gets the
figure-four on about 35 minutes in, and Sting hobbles down to ringside
for moral support. Luger is draped on the ropes and Sting slaps him
around until he's good and pissed and ready to kill Flair. Jim Ross is
nearly having an aneurism. Luger annhiliates Flair. Ref bump. Luger
kicks more Flair ass and racks him. But now the Andersons come down to ringside and start harassing Sting. So Luger has a morality judgment to make: Hold on for a guaranteed win (Flair is screaming "I quit" the
whole time) or release the hold to save Sting? Because he's an idiot,
he releases the hold and saves Sting. The Andersons beat up Luger
before the Steiners make the save. ****1/4

Match 43:

Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin - King of the Ring 97

Austin & Shawn are the tag champs at this point, but they don’t like each other very much. Austin knocks him down and flips him off to start. We head out and back in, as Shawn gets a quick armdrag…and flips AUSTIN off. Odd moment as Vince Russo accidentally falls over the railing from his position at ringside…oh, wait, sorry, that’s a Special Olympian. My mistake. Shawn helps him to the back. Back in the ring, they trade armbars. Shawn tenaciously holds a headlock. Don’t see much of that these days. Austin breaks out and mocks HBK’s pose. Nice little mat reversal bit puts Shawn in control with a chinlock, into a full headlock. Criss-cross, and Austin counters a Thesz press attempt with an atomic drop, and he dumps Shawn out. Back in with a suplex, which Shawn reverses to a rollup for two. Shawn goes to the arm. Test of strength is offered by Austin, and Shawn accepts, like an idiot. Once in that position, Austin kicks the crap out of him. Shawn comes back with a backdrop for two. Austin drops two elbow, but Shawn goes back to the arm. Criss-cross and Austin gets the Thesz press…which is reversed into a pinfall attempt by Shawn, and they go into an Eddy-ish pinfall reversal sequence. WHOMPASS! Take that, Russo-lovers! It ends with Austin kicking out of a backslide and tossing Shawn. Steve pounds him coming in, sending him crashing to the railing in a Pillmanesque bump. Austin heads out and drops him on it again. Shawn fights back, but gets sent to the stairs. Steve press-slams Shawn face-first to the concrete in a sick bump. We head back in, where Shawn gets a surprise inside cradle for two. Austin drops an elbow for two. He hits the chinlock, cheating for good measure. Shawn fights back, and they slug it out. Steve gets tossed, and Shawn baseball slides him. He suplexes Austin back in, but it’s reversed into an irish whip. Shawn rebounds with the flying forearm and a backdrop, however. Atomic drop, but a blind charge goes WAY wrong. Austin stomps a mudhole, but Shawn gets a cross-body out of the corner, which is reversed for two. Lariat gets two for Austin. Cross-corner whip, reversed, and the ref is bumped. Superkick is countered with the Stone Cold stunner as JR has an Oklahomian reaction at ringside. Austin revives the ref…and stunners him. Shawn superkicks Austin as another ref runs in…and checks on the first ref. What a tool. Shawn rightly kicks his ass. He wakes up the first ref, who counts two for Shawn. A third ref finally runs in and stops the whole thing at 23:00 for the Sports Entertainment Finish. BOOOOOOOOO! If that match had a finish, it’s a MOTY candidate, but as it stands we’ll go ****1/4 and leave it there. Man, did Austin have a run of great matches in 1997 or what? This one LITERALLY saved the show.

vs

The Rock vs Chris Jericho – No Mercy 2001

Lockup battle to start, and Rock works the arm. Jericho armdrags him, and works the arm in turn. Jericho slugs him down and chokes him out. Jericho unloads the CANADIAN VIOLENCE, but Rock counters with the Rock Bottom, which Jericho counters in turn with the Walls. Awesome. Rock bails to the apron and gets dropkicked to the floor. Back in, Jericho gets a flying elbow for two. More CANADIAN VIOLENCE, but Rock tries his own and gets hit with a leg lariat for two. Pair of backbreakers get two, but Rock reverses the pinfall for two. Nice touch. Jericho forearms him down, but gets hit with a Rock forearm in turn. He comes back quickly with a hotshot and the crowd starts chanting “Rocky Sucks” like old times. Jericho goes up, but gets crotched. Superplex and double-KO, and the crowd actually counts along with the 10-count. But then it’s St. Louis, so they’re already trained. Rock slugs away and gets a samoan drop for two. Kip-up and Rock lays the smackdown, drawing a very noticeable heel reaction. Jericho comes back and walks into a lariat for two. Suplex gets two. Rock dumps Jericho, and he gets two back in the ring. He goes to a heelish chinlock to put sympathy heat on Jericho, and indeed Jericho escapes, but misses a dropkick. Rock catapults him and lariats him. They head up, and Jericho gets a missile dropkick. Double KO again, Rock is staggered. Slugfest is won by Jericho, and he overpowers Rock and gets a neckbreaker and rana for two. Someone call HHH, he’s wrestling like a cruiserweight again. Jericho hits a Rock Bottom! Lionsault gets two. Bulldog sets up the Canadian Elbow, which misses. Rock gets an ugly dragon-screw into the Sharpshooter, and the crowd freaks until Jericho makes the ropes. Jericho bails and Rock preps the Spanish table and Rock Bottoms Jericho through it. Rock breaks the count like a heel and smacks Jericho around, and after Jericho crawls back in, Rock sets up for the Rock Bottom…and the crowd BOOS. Jericho blocks, but walks into a spinebuster. People’s Elbow is caught and REVERSED into the Walls of Jericho! This match is so awesome. I’m thinking it might be the finish, but Steph McJugs bounces out and distracts Jericho for the millionth time. Rock DDTs him and goes after Steph with a Rock Bottom that looked like he was fighting the combined forces of gravity and inertia trying to get the McMammaries in the air, but Jericho grabs the chair left by Stephanie, hits a forward legsweep onto it, and wins the WCW title at 23:47! Finally he wins the big one! Awesome match, a total MOTYC if not for the screwy finish. ****1/2 My faith in Jericho is restored and Rock shoots him a heelish glare, only to hand him the chair as if to say “You won this time, but you needed this chair to do it.” I smell rematch. I’m there, dudes.

I vote for:

Cactus/Sting
Flair/Luger
Rock/Jericho

[Frank the Tank]

Jack/Sting
Flair/Luger
Tough as I liked both matches a lot. Rock/Jericho by a slim margin I guess although Austin/HBK was better than their match at Mania.

[jackson13]

Foley/Sting
Summerslam
Rock/Y2J

[Raw Chili]

Foley vs. Sting
Flair vs. Luger
Rock vs. Y2J

[Inglorious]

Cactus VS Sting
SS (Have not seen other)
And Michaels VS Austin

[starcat]

cactus vs. sting
flair vs. luger
hbk vs. austin

[jeo4]

Cactus Jack/Sting

Flair/Luger

Austin/Michaels

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Cactus/Sting (7-0)
Flair/Luger (5-2)
Jericho/Rock (4-3)

Match 44:

Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance – War Games – Wrestlewar 92

Steve Austin and Barry Windham start out. Windham had just won the TV title from Steve Austin so there was an issue here. Thunderous "Paul E Sucks" chants at various points. Cute spot as Austin grabs the roof and swings at Windham, but he moves and simply allows Austin to fall on his face. Austin does the honors first after having his face rubbed in the mesh. Windham's taped fist is covered in Austin's blood. Aaah, it's like coming home after the past few years of crappy Wargames. Heels win the coin toss, duh. Rude is in and works Windham like a motherfucker while Austin sits in the corner and bleeds. Windham facefirst to the cage and you can guess the result. You know, the Wargames may have been the only good idea Dusty Rhodes ever had. Steamboat is in to even it up. DDTs for everyone and the crowd pops like mad. Austin is a bloody mess. Windham is valiently trying to catch up. I love this match. Anderson evens it up for the DA. DDT for Windham, spinebuster for Steamboat. Double crab by AA and Rude on Steamboat. More chaos and then Dustin in for the faces, and he destroys Anderson. Rhodes atomic drops Austin and rams his head on the roof in the process. Windham wedges AA's head between the rings and pistons him. Wild. Rude and Steamboat are fighting nonstop on their own. Zbyszko in and Rhodes wipes him out right off the bat. Madusa on the roof and she slips the cell phone into the ring, but Sting chases her down. Anderson brutalizes some people with it. Dustin hits a gusher of his own. Sting in next for the faces and he goes after Anderson. He presses Rude into the cage multiple times. Arn to the cage and he's busted open. Bobby Eaton is last man in for the Alliance. Dustin is pumping blood like an oil well. Rude loosens the top rope for some reason. Nikita Koloff is the last man for the faces and he and Sting quickly settle their past issues by beating the hell out of Rude and Anderson, then share a hug. Sting with the Stinger splash and Scorpion on AA, but Bobby breaks it up. The top rope finally falls off and Eaton uses the metal fork that connects it to the post as a weapon. Zbyszko takes a swing with the metal rod, but Sting ducks and Eaton gets nailed in the shoulder, and Sting applies an armbar for the submission. GREAT FUCKING MATCH!!! ***** Final bleeder count: Austin, Anderson, Rhodes, Windham. The DA bitches out Larry for the gaff.

vs

Royal Rumble 2003

Jericho attacks Shawn from behind to start and pounds away, then grabs a chair and busts Shawn open with it. Chris Nowinski is #3, and he allows Jericho to continue his assault. Jericho tosses Shawn with ease, thus completing the slaughter. At this point I thought they may have figured out what to do with Jericho for this match, but sadly that wouldn’t last. Rey Mysterio is #4 and he hits Jericho with a dropkick and a flying headscissors, but gets powerbombed and clobbered with a forearm. Nowinski seems content to play cheerleader. Jericho blocks a charge and tosses him, but Rey hangs on and comes back in with a springboard dropkick, as Nowinski finally joins us. Edge is #5 as the intervals are all over the place and he cleans house with spears. How hard is it to time 90 seconds? They send Jericho into the corner post and out, but he’s through the middle. Rey and Edge decide to rassle, and Edge misses a spear, and Rey misses a 619. Rey takes him out with a headscissors, but Edge only hit with one foot (supposedly). Back in, Edge blocks a rana with a powerbomb. Christian is #6 as the interval is closer to two minutes now, and he reconciles with Edge, but Edge turns on him. Well, I thought he was sincere. Nowinski tosses both Edge & Rey, but they both hang on and hit him with missile dropkicks. The timing was off and Edge lands on his face. Ouch. Rey adds a broncobuster for good measure and we’re still at two minutes as Chavito is #7. He does a lucha libre sequence with Rey and gets 619’d. Another one for Christian. West Coast Pop for Nowinski eliminates him, as Rey hangs on to stay in. Jericho dumps him soon after. Tajiri is #8 and he kicks people into mush, but gets suplexed by Chavo. Tajiri gives him a Gory Special and fights with Christian in the corner as things slow down a bit. Bill DeMott is an ANGRY and INTENSE #9. He hits guys at random, but can’t toss Jericho. Nothing much going on until Tommy Dreamer is #10. Thank god they dropped Damaja so that Dreamer could keep his spot. Dreamer brings plunder and goes nuts on everyone with it, busting open Jericho hardway with the cane. Edge canes DeMott out, and Jericho & Christian get a can-chair-to on Dreamer and toss him. Crowd doesn’t like that. Tajiri hits Christian & Chavo with a handspring, but gets the Tarantula on Jericho, and gets sent out. Well, that was dumb of him. Bull is #11, heat completely gone without Cena. Edge gives him a mercifully quick exit. Edge gives Chavo the old No Mercy N64 treatment, tossing him then spearing him off the apron. He tries the same on Jericho, but turns his back too soon, as Jericho pulls himself back in and dumps Edge & Christian at the same time to clear the ring for the first time at 16:17. RVD is #12 and they slug it out, but Rob superkicks him and pounds away in the corner. Springboard kick and Rolling Thunder, but Jericho chops back. Rob catapults him out, but Jericho hangs on again. Matt Hardy is #13, with Matt Fact: He strongly dislikes mustard. Side Effect for RVD and the heels work over Rob while Shannon Moore plays cheerleader at ringside. Rob escapes a double-team situation and kicks both guys down, but Jericho bulldogs RVD, and then misses the Lionsault. Rob goes up with the frog splash as Eddie Guerrero is #14. He goes after Rob and Matt, but gets monkey-flipped by RVD. Rob fights to get him out, but Mattitude saves the day. Frog splash for RVD, but Matt turns on him and gives him a Twist of Fate. The cheating torch has been passed. Jeff Hardy is #15 and Matt wants a truce, but Jeff attacks with a forearm and jawbreaker. Matt is just so much better than Jeff at this point that it’s scary. Jeff tosses Matt, but Shannon sacrifices himself and blocks Matt’s landing, thus keeping him in. Jeff goes up for the swanton, but Shannon again saves the day, using his body to block the move. Jeff does it anyway. This Matt & Shannon stuff is a riot. Rosie is #16, adding nothing. Everyone does the usual fighting on the ropes with nothing gained. Test is #17. He starts hitting guys with clotheslines, but he’s nothing without Stacy. He dumps Jericho, but he hangs on again. John Cena is #18, rapping for the entire interval until RVD tosses him in and Charlie Haas is #19. There’s too much deadwood in there right now. Nothing going on. Jeff goes up like an idiot and RVD causally shoves him out. NEVER go to the top in the Rumble. Eddie hits Jericho with a rana as Rikishi is #20. He superkicks a bunch of guys (someone call Shawn!) and has a showdown with Rosie. Don’t even ask me the relationship there because I can never keep track. I think they’re cousins. Stinkface for the Matt/Shannon tandem is stopped by Rosie and we really need to thin out the ranks. Jamal is #21 and he hits Rikishi with a superkick, but Rikishi goes back with his own. Stinkface for Jamal and everyone’s laying around on the ropes. Kane is #22 and he starts hitting guys at will. Rosie is gone. He chokeslams the MFers at once, but can’t toss Jericho. Shelton Benjamin is #23 and Team Angle goes right for Cena while Matt saves himself from elimination again. Booker T is #24 and he axekicks Kane right off and gives us a Spinarooni. He dumps Eddie and A-Train is #25. He gets his shitty offense on a few guys before walking into a superkick from Rikishi. Rikishi tires to dump Jericho, but no dice. Shawn runs in and goes after Jericho in a really poor show of sportsmanship, fights off a few guys, and distracts Jericho long enough for Test to toss him. This seems to be building to Shawn v. Jericho at No Way Out next month. Where Shawn is supposed to be a babyface and Canadian Chris Jericho is supposed to be a heel. IN MONTREAL. Find the logical gap there. Jericho’s exit kinda deflates the crowd because the winner is obvious now with no one else left. Maven is #26 and he gets nowhere fast against Kane. Goldust is #27 with no hope of winning and everyone knows it. He gets some token offense but Team Angle sends him out right away. Crowd turns on that decision. Booker T also falls victim to them. That leaves no one for the crowd to root for. Batista is #28 and he tosses Test and the crowd still doesn’t give a crap about him. Rikishi goes next. Brock is #29 and is the obvious winner. Team Angle and Matt Hardy all feel the pain and go to the showers. Undertaker is #30 as JR is ready to start sucking some Callaway dick. He fights everyone off and sells nothing, dumping Cena and Jamal. You can tell he’s not winning because he gets to eliminate everyone. Maven’s deadly dropkick fails to work this year, as he gets chokeslammed back into the undercard and tossed by the almightly Locker Room Leader. A-Train stops the path of Ben-Gay with the Mehshugganator, and we’re down to six. Rob hits A-Train with a spinkick and Batista with a leg lariat and the people left in the match should tell you loads about the thinking when business is down. Kane & RVD eliminate A-Train, but Rob makes the mistake of trusting Kane and gets dumped.

Final Four: Undertaker, Kane, Batista & Brock. The match completely dies now as we’re down to three slugs and Brock. Kane works over Brock while UT punches Batista. Such excitement. Batista gives UT the MAIN EVENT SPINEBUSTER, but even such a devastating move can’t stop him. Kane & Batista work over Lesnar, but he fights back and F5’s Kane. Brock & UT slug it out, but Taker gets the big boot (called rather loudly). Brock accidentally almost dumps Taker, but pulls him back in, only to get tombstoned by Taker (badly). UT dumps Batista, then suckers Kane into an alliance and dumps him, too. Brock then weakly tosses UT to win the match at 53:47. God forbid they let anyone else look strong with Undertaker in there. Match was better than usual thanks to the stuff being done by the cannon fodder at the bottom, but once the stiffs started filing in around #25 it was downhill again, and really needed a stronger finish for Brock. Better than last year’s, at least. ***3/4

Match 45:

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi – 1/20/97

This was a definitive ***** classic and the best men's match from a quality standpoint that I have ever seen. The heat was also amazing even for these guys since either they would see a title change, or they would see Kobashi pin Misawa in a singles match for the first time ever (even today, such a result would garner a HUGE pop). Although the first half was generally less spectacular than the second half of the match, the pace was never slowed and the fans were almost never quiet. Misawa's elbows vs Kobashi's lariats was the focus of the first half, with great psychology as both Misawa's elbow and Kobashi's arm were damaged by their opponent. For the last 20 minutes, there was one great move and near fall after another. The amazing moves and counters are too many to list completely, but one of the highlights was when Kobashi was on the apron ready to powerbomb Misawa, but Misawa countered with a huracanrana and Kobashi hit the floor with a thud. Both men also gave each other brutal suplexes in which their foe landed on his head and neck. The match went on until Misawa knocked out Kobashi with a running elbow and pinned him at 42:20 to win the match and the Triple Crown. easily *****

vs

Samoa Joe vs American Dragon – ROH 10/2/04

If you are a fan of either Samoa Joe or Dragon you might want to head on over and pre-order this show right now because this was one of the best title matches in ROH history. Period. The match had an epic feel to it and the intensity displayed by both men just added to the overall effect. Dragon kept yelling to the ref “I have till five!” when told to break holds. Both Dragon and Joe took the match outside the ring and set their opponent up for the OLE OLE OLE kick and the crowd was so into chanting that I was taken back. Dragon would dominate several parts of the match only for Joe to go on a stiff flurry of offense that made you think “Holy Shit!” This was a back and forth battle that was so close that when Dragon hit his Cattle Mutilation around the 35 minute mark I jumped out of my seat absolutely sure that was the finish. At the 38 minute mark Dragon tried the Mutilation again but Joe countered it with High PRIDE fighting championship-like knees which were amazingly stiff and beautiful. Finally Dragon tapped out to Joe’s Choke in the center of the ring at (39:15). F---ING INCREDIBLE in every way imaginable.

Match 46:

Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs The Steiner Brothers – Wrestlefest 94

Yes, this is the famous only meeting in history between these two teams. Scott takes Bret down with a double-leg to start, and Bret wisely gets the ropes. Back up, Bret gets his own takedown and rides Scott, and now Scott gets the ropes. Scott uses a vicious single-leg to take Bret down and steps over with a toehold, but Bret reverses out of it and they wrestle up to a headlock position. Criss-cross and Bret gets powered right out of the ring, where he regroups. Back in, they fight over a wristlock and Scott tries a powerslam, but Bret reverses to a rollup for two. Bret goes back to the arm, and Owen wants in. He continues on that road, but Scott slams out of it with authority and Rick comes in. They do a really cool mat-wrestling reversal sequence, trying to get control of each other. Rick goes for the arm, but they criss-cross and Owen gets powerslammed. Rick misses an elbow, but settles for a backdrop suplex that gets two. That’s a fair trade, I guess. Owen flips out of a wristlock and gets a german suplex for two. Suh-weet! Scott comes back in and walks into a leg lariat that gets two. Northern Lights suplex gets two. Rollup gets two for Owen, and Scott bridges into the butterfly bomb for two. This is some wild technical wrestling. Rick and Bret pair off next and the crowd is 50/50. Rick uses a wristlock takedown, and works the arm over, but Bret slams him…and Rick hangs on. Great touch. You just don’t see that all the time. Rick takes him down to the mat and stretches him, turning it into a pinning combo for two. Criss-cross and Rick eats knee. Bret misses an elbow, however, and Rick is back on the arm. Solid strategy there. Rick stretches him into pinning position again and Lane & Gorilla actually get to discuss mat-wrestling strategies in a meaningful manner. Bret DDTs out of it and drops a leg, pounding him with elbows. He grabs a sleeper, and hangs on even as Rick rams him back into the turnbuckles. Rick falls into the ropes, and that’s enough to break. Bret smartly won’t release until forced by the ref. And why not? You’ve got a count of five. Bret suplexes Rick and misses another elbow, which allows Rick to head up and bulldog Bret for two. Rick sends him into the turnbuckles for two. Scott comes in with bad intentions and hits a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Bret tries a charge and nearly dents the post with his shoulder as a result. Scott tries a suplex back in, but Bret reverses and suplexes Scott to the floor! Bret rams him into the apron and they head back in, where Owen takes over. He heads up and headbutts the back for two. Gutwrench gets two. Abdominal stretch, but Gorilla points out that Scott is too strong for it to be effective. And indeed, he reverses. Owen snaps off a belly-to-belly for two. Bret comes back in and pounds on the back. Legsweep gets two. Owen comes back in, and Bret cheapshots him on the apron to turn heel. Owen gets two. He misses a dropkick, however, and Rick gets back in and goes at Owen again. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two. Tombstone gets two. Scott comes in and gets a Dragon Suplex for two. Oh MAN. Rick with the Steinerline for two. He goes to a rear chinlock, and Scott comes back in and hits the MOTHERFUCKING SCREWDRIVER! OH MY GOD! That gets two, as Bret saves. He just DRILLED Owen right on his head, too. Nasty. Owen takes a breather outside, and Scott hammers him on the apron, but Owen suckers him in and slingshots him to the floor. Owen manages to tag Bret, who hits Scott with an atomic drop and a clothesline for two. Backbreaker and second-rope elbow get two. He can’t get the Sharpshooter because Rick saves, so Owen tries, and Rick saves again. The Steiners then go for the bulldog, but Owen cradles Scott for two while Bret pushes Rick off. It’s BONZO GONZO and both Rick & Bret end up on the floor, and Scott follows with a double axehandle onto Bret, and Owen follows with a pescado onto Rick, and the ref calls for the bell at 24:52. The referee brigade can’t break up the fight, however, and the Steiners accuse the Harts of being cowards. Well, you can’t say that about Canadians, so let’s get it on! It’s a huge brawl again, and the officials finally get all four separated, but they keep going. Finally the Steiners decide they’ve had enough, so now BRET eggs them on and here we go again with another brawl. That’s awesome. Finally, everything gets calmed down and they all shake hands and go home. The match was amazing, an easy ****3/4 and probably one of the best matches of the decade.

vs

Christian vs Edge – Ladder Match – No Mercy 01

Brawl outside and Edge backdrops him back in. Edge works the leg, but Christian bails. He fetches the ladder but gets it dropkicked in his face. They brawl into the crowd and back to ringside, where Edge catapults him into the ladder. Christian drops him on it, however, and climbs onto it while it’s laying on the stairs, but Edge crotches him on it. Christian hits Edge in the jaw with the ladder and climbs. Edge knocks him over, but Christian spears him with the ladder in the corner. Christian gets knocked onto it and dropped crotch-first on it. Man, Christian’s nuts are taking the biggest beating of the night. Edge gets whipped into the ladder and Christian catapults him facefirst underneath the ladder. Ouch. Christian gets another ladder and both guys climb, but Edge hits the Edge-O-Matic off the ladder. Edge climbs, but now Christian DDTs him off the ladder. Well, I guess they’re even now. Edge escapes the one-man conchairto and fetches a third ladder. Edge puts a ladder onto two chairs and splashes Christian from the top. Didn’t look very good – his knees hit the mat first. Christian goes up, but gets speared off the ladder. Saw that spot coming. Both guys climb the same ladder, and both guys tumble off and out. Christian crawls back in and climbs, but Edge lowblows him with a chair in revenge for Unforgiven, puts his head on a chair on top of the ladder, and finishes with a one-man conchairto that allows him to grab the title at 22:17. Pretty much the worst of the 18 million ladder matches this year, but that’s more the fault of the oversaturation of the gimmick than any lack of effort on their part. The repeated ladder spots from earlier matches didn’t help much, either. They really need to get a new gimmick match over. ***1/2

I vote for:

War Games
Dragon/Samoa
Bret/Owen/Steiners

[Frank the Tank]

Here's a better Joe/Dragon review although I'd put it at **** 3/4 This one's from Smarkschoice by a reviewer named Mike Rome who absolutely kills Keith.


ROH Title: "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe:

People often ask what differentiates RoH's booking from other US promotions, and the answer stares them right in the face in this main event: patience. They're in no hurry to rush out big matches, they build them on their own schedule, and try to maximize anticipation. This is the first meeting between the 2 in Ring Of Honor in over a year and a half. In the first 2 matches, both of which were slugfests, Joe beats Danielson's ass both times, but Danielson scores a rollup victory in the second, making him the last man to beat Joe in a singles match.

I'm a big fan of matches where one guy comes in with a strategy, and uses mini strategies as means to that end. That's what this match is all about, and it's evident from the beginning. Danielson knows he can't allow Joe to get on a roll, because that's how Joe always wins--a series of killer power moves in a row almost always ends Joe title matches, and Joe's momentum is hard to stop, given his size. Danielson's goal is clear: Don't let Joe get any real momentum, and the title is his.

The opening matwork is really good, as per usual with Danielson matches. Danielson doesn't let Joe get anything, quickly countering a leglock with an enziguri. Joe grabs a cross armbreaker at one point, and Danielson immediately bails. That ends up being the only time all match that Joe really wins anything resembling a mat wrestling situation. Danielson has a counter to pretty much everything Joe busts out on the mat, and comes out of one hold with an interesting leg submission counter, which he uses as a base for his main strategy. Joe gets frustrated and rubs his arm in Danielson's face in the corner, but Danielson cuts him right off at the leg. The work is really realistic, which is something these 2 do very well. Everything is a struggle, and the atmosphere does feel like a title fight. Danielson makes the mistake of getting into a strikefest with Joe early, and gets fucking owned for it. Joe goes for his first big move about 10 minutes or so into the match, a German suplex, but Dragon blocks, so Joe dumps him to the floor. He goes for the ole kick, but Dragon counters it, and comes off onto Joe with a really nice springboard dive, followed by 2 dropkick versions of the Ole kick. Danielson's confidence builds.

"This motherfucker is gonna pay."--Bryan Danielson

Another thing they do is the story of strikes vs. submissions. Joe is the king striker in ROH, so early on when Danielson makes the mistake of going to strikes, Joe makes him pay. We see this early when Joe kills Danielson following a Danielson headbutt, and also murders him on a strike exchange. The tide changes after the dive and ole kicks though, as Joe comes roaring back with a series of strikes in the ring, but Danielson cuts it off at the pass with a simple eyepoke. Danielson starts winning strike wars at this point, and up through 15-20 minutes or so, his strategy is working perfectly, and he is in control. It's also worth noting his cocky smile and little dance after the eyepoke counter.

Ironically enough, Joe's first real offense comes when he uses new move, a knee to the ribs. It's not part of his usual arsenal, but that usual arsenal isn't cutting it tonight. He follows up with a KENTAesque fireman's carry knee strike to the ribs that looks real painful (another new move). He follows up with 2 hard kicks to the ribs, and Danielson struggles to catch his breath. He locks in a seated full nelson, and collapses down, putting pressure on the ribs in a nice touch. Danielson counters though, cutting the offense of Joe short again. Danielson goes back to the strikes that were just working, and they continue working, but Joe gets a desperation slide tackle for 2. Joe goes for a submission, but Danielson counters AGAIN, and then floors Joe with a series of strikes, followed by a half hatch suplex and a flying headbutt for 2. Joe mounts a short comeback, Danielson blocks his lariat, but Joe hits a big enziguri, sending Danielson to the floor, followed by a nice tope. Joe is finally feeling it, and hits 2 of his ole kicks. I'm not really a fan of how long this took, but it made sense for Joe to go to his bread and butter for much needed offense.

The next transition is great, as Danielson suckers Joe into making a mistake. He lays on the floor a long time after the Ole kick, forcing Joe to roll him into the ring after a long time. As Joe gets in, Danielson pops up with a chopblock to the bad leg from earlier, again cutting off Joe's offense. His legwork in this section is nice too, he busts out an Indian deathlock and some other nice work. Danielson successfully nails his corner forearm, and goes for another. Usually you'd think this was stupidly asking for a Joe sidewalk slam, but Danielson has the counter, and in a really smooth sequence counters out of it and hits a beautiful second rope European uppercut to really move us into the final faze of the match.

Dragon again gets a little too cocky after a successful counter, and gets planted with the sidewalk slam he just avoided seconds ago. Joe hits the Powerbomb/STF combo, but can't trap the leg because of his leg. He moves into a crossface, and Danielson is able to make the ropes. Everything is getting a nearfall now. Joe goes for a German again, but Danielson counters by kicking out the bad leg, he charges, Joe misses the lariat again, and Danielson comes off the ropes with a dropkick to the knee. He locks in his reverse Indian deathlock (?) that I love. Joe makes the ropes, and Danielson charges, only for Joe to catch him with the snap powerslam for 2. Joe moves into his cross armbreaker, but Danielson counters into the leglock suplex for 2.5! Danielson immediately moves into the Cattle Mutilation, and the crowd is buying it as a finish, but Joe is too thick, and his grip breaks, so he moves into a pinning combination for a GREAT nearfall. Danielson is really feeling it now, and puts Joe up for the super backdrop. Joe gets a pretty unique counter, and slips out from behind Dragon, and grabs him in a choke! He has to break because Dragon is in the ropes, but he takes Dragon off with the German that has been blocked twice, and immediately follows with the big lariat that has been blocked twice for another fantastic nearfall. Joe goes for the musclebuster, but Dragon slips out! He hits 2 hard elbows, and then a rolling elbow, but Joe still doesn't go down! Dragon comes off the ropes with a dropkick to the bad knee, followed by the Dragon suplex! Joe's shoulder comes off the mat at 1, and Dragon immediately moves into the cattle mutilation again. This gets a really believable near-submission, and the crowd is nuclear, but Joe gets the ropes. Danielson moves for the charge again, but Joe catches him with that same knee to the gut again. Joe starts going crazy with his big knees on the mat, but Danielson has a counter to this too, and moves out of the way. Danielson makes the same mistake he's made earlier though, and this time to fatal results: He gets too cocky, and goes into Joe's wheelhouse and tries to kill Joe with knees of his own. Nobody beats Joe at this kind of game, and Joe recovers with massive sick knees before locking in the choke, and moving into the choke clutch for the win.

This match is really everything I love about wrestling. You have the long-awaited first title match of the promotion's uncrowned champion, and he comes in with a clear strategy, and the whole match is based around the strategy. All of the work is really realistic, they fuck each other up with strikes, the mat counters all look plausible, and there's never a point in the match where it doesn't seem legit. Some criticize ROH matches for being too bodypart-oriented, but it worked brilliantly in this match because the work was a means to an end, the end being cutting off Joe's offense. There are a couple things that keep it from being flawless--Joe's shoulders naturally coming up twice off the mat sort of ruined 2 near falls, but it didn't take away much from the match. Joe's long ole kick segment kind of felt out of place, but really, that's about it for flaws. The show is titled Midnight Express Reunion, but make no mistake, this match is the main attraction. This was the best match in company history when it happened, but went on to be topped 2 weeks later.

****1/2


Anyways:


War Games 92
Joe/Dragon (Tough though, but I fucking loved Joe/Dragon.)
Steiners/Hart Brothers

[TheAxeGrinder]

War Games
Samoa Joe vs American Dragon
The Harts vs. The Steiners

[jeo4]

War Games

Dragon/Samoa

Bret/Owen/Steiners

[brodeurnumber1]

War Games
Misawa/Kobashi
Harts/Steiners

[starcat]

War Games
Samoa Joe vs American Dragon
The Harts vs. The Steiners

[horrorfreak13]

War Games
Dragon/Samoa
Bret/Owen/Steiners

[outsyder]

War Games
Misawa/Kobashi
Harts/Steiners

[Raw Chili]

War Games
Joe/Dragon
Harts vs. Steiners

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
War Games (8-0)
Joe/Dragon (6-2)
Harts/Steiners (8-0)

Match 47:

Lance Storm vs Jerry Lynn – Anarchy Rulz 99

Good choice for an opener, although Lynn should be pissed about being demoted to the opener again. Headlock sequence to start, and then Lance goes to work on the ribs as Cyrus makes various comments about how this is the first ECW PPV being shown in Canada and how much of a hero he is up here. The crowd actually chants "USA" to support Lynn. God, I thought they were above that sort of thing. Lance seems to be reigning Lynn's spotty tendancies in much better than RVD can. Jerry comes back with a plancha, missile dropkick and pinfall reversal sequence, which was really nice. Storm gets two off an inverted DDT and the chair gets involved. Storm to the top, but Lynn powerbombs him off for two. Another powerbomb for two, but Bytch puts Lance's feet on the ropes. Lynn takes a nasty rib-first bump to the post to put Storm back in control. Lynn reverses an inverted DDT into a Stunner for two. Top rope rana gets two. Storm nails him in the ribs and cradles him with a three-quarter nelson for the pin. Great match, although I question the sanity of jobbing Lynn. ***1/2

vs

Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit – 2/3 Falls – Summerslam 00

New tights for both tonight, as Jericho goes for the purple motif. Slugfest to start, and everyone rolls right out of the ring, including the ref. Jericho charges and gets posted. Back in, Benoit goes for the crossface, which is countered to the Liontamer, which Benoit counters, so Jericho catapults him into the corner. German suplex out of that gets two. Nice. Jericho hits a chop (only one?) and Benoit reverses a tombstone attempt into a shoulderbreaker. Jericho comes back with a Lionsault, which hits knee. Benoit locks on the crossface…and Jericho taps! Yeah! Benoit then proves he’s your god and mine by going right back to the move and holding on. Awesome psychology. Jericho doesn’t have another fall to waste, so this time he fights for the ropes. He makes it, so Benoit just absolutely KILLS him, hitting the most intense shots I’ve ever seen. God, Benoit’s so awesome right now. He rams Jericho’s shoulder to the post three times, wearing it down. Jericho comes back, but falls prey to pair of rolling german suplexes. He reverses the third to the Liontamer…and Benoit taps. One fall apiece. Jericho with more Canadian Violence and a flying elbow for two. They trade powerbomb reversals and do a pinning combo (with the crowd getting SERIOUSLY into it) and Benoit finally debuts the Dragon Suplex in the WWF, for two. YEAH! They fight on the top and Jericho hits a vicious superfrankensteiner, and gets a two count. Perfect form there. Jericho hits a pair of lariats and a leg lariat for two. Lionsault hits, but Jericho comes down on his shoulder, and thus can’t make the cover. PSYCHOLOGY! Jericho gets one last-ditch rollup for two, but Benoit does a crazy-ass reversal, hooking the legs and GRABBING THE BOTTOM ROPE for that last bit of old-school badass heel psychology, and gets the pin! Yeah! Markout city and yet another match of the year canadidate from the WWF. I can’t take much more of these, I’m running out of stars. ****3/4

Match 48:

The Rock vs Chris Jericho – Vengeance 01

Rock works the arm to start, but Jericho reverses to a headlock. Rock slugs him down and clotheslines him, but Jericho spinkicks him and dropkicks him off the apron. They brawl by the tables, and Rock meets stairs, and they head back in. Jericho elbows him off the top for two. Suplex gets one with the ARROGANT COVER~! Choking and chops follow, but Rock gets the lariat for two. Jericho suplexes him for two. Clothesline gets two. Rock comes back with a belly-to-belly and samoan drop for two. Jericho sleeper turns into a chinlock to give Rock a chance to rally the fans. Jericho elbows him, but misses the Lionsault and Rock fights back. Jericho cuts it off with a bulldog and Lionsault for two. Snap suplex and Jericho goes up, but gets crotched. Rock can’t suplex him, but when Jericho tries a flying bodypress, Rock rolls through for two. Don’t see that spot much anymore. Jericho keeps on him, but charges and hits the post. They brawl outside, where Jericho catapults him into the ringpost and preps the table. Jericho Bottom is reversed to a DDT through the table. Back in, Rock readies to finish, but Rock Bottom is blocked and reversed to the Breakdown. Jericho is still wobbly from the DDT, though, and instead of covering he goes for a People’s Elbow instead, which Rock catches and turns into a Scorpion King Deathlock, which Jericho in turn reverses into his own Sharpshooter. New rule: Only Canadians can do a Sharpshooter. Nice psychology there, as Jericho adjusted to the last time he faced the Rock and devised the counter. Rock teases the blackout finish, but that would make Jericho look too strong so he makes the ropes. Walls of Jericho attempt is reversed to a small package, but again Jericho has apparently learned from the last time Rock beat him that way and it only gets two. Rock Bottom, but he can’t cover because he’s too tired. Vince runs in to argue and Rock nails him. Spinebuster and Elbow, but Rock makes the fatal babyface mistake and goes after Vince again, walks into a low blow, and Jericho Bottom finishes at 19:05 to Jericho the World title. Rock had no one to blame but himself there. Match was quite awesome before the YAM (Yet another McMahon) finish. ****1/2

vs

Edge vs Kurt Angle – Smackdown Cage Match 2002

We’re back to pin or escape rules again. Jesus, make up your damn minds already. Kurt grabs a headlock to start, but Edge takes him down and they do their thing on the mat. Edge slams out of it and Angle wants a timeout. Angle slugs away and gets an elbow, but they slug it out and Edge gets a leg lariat, and introduces Angle to the cage. Spear misses and he too kisses the steel. Angle lays the smackdown in the corner and chokes away. Suplex gets two. Angle goes to a facelock, but Edge gives him a belly-to-belly suplex and climbs. Angle tries to stop him, but Edge follows him down with a flying clothesline for two. Angle suplexes him with the rolling germans to stop that bit of sassback, and gets two. Angle wants out the door, but it’s locked. So he gives Edge some cold cage salad with blue cheese cage dressing on the side and cage croutons on top. Edge blades and Angle works on the cut. It’s a wussy bladejob until the ref helps it out a little and the good stuff starts flowing. Angle pounds him down again, but Edge slingshots him into the cage and gets the Edge-o-Matic for two. The blood starts to turn Edge’s blond hair red, which is the main factor in a truly MANLY bladejob. Edge bulldogs Angle for two. Ref bumped, and Angle suplexes him, loosening the wig. Buckwheat Angle climbs, but Edge follows him up and gets a backdrop superplex, which Angle manages to counter in mid-air, and both guys are down. Edge climbs again, but Angle goes low and gives him the Angle Slam off the top. Ref is still out. Hope he has medical coverage in case he ends up a vegetable due to being unconscious this long. Angle climbs out with ease, but of course it’s not official unless the ref is awake to see it. Hulk Hogan sends him into the cage, however, and back into the ring. Commercial, and we return with an Angle Slam for two. Edge gets his own for two. Anglelock, but Edge counters him into the cage and gets his own. Angle counters, but Edge tries to climb, only to get stomped down by Angle. Angle goes for the door, but Edge won’t let him. Angle climbs, but Edge follows and Angle crotches himself on the cage door. Back into the cage, Angle ends up on the mat, and Edge follows him down with a spear from the top for the pin at 14:34. More good stuff, but did we need the goofy non-finish and Hogan interference? ****

Match 49:

Justin Credible vs Shane Douglas – CyberSlam 99

Douglas gets on the mic and there's a bunch of bleeps. Nothing really important. Shane slaps Credible and Credible grabs the mic and says hes not backing down. Shane says its gonna be a War. Trading punches to start and then trading chops. 2 Snap Suplexes followed up with a Vertical Suplex by Shane Douglas. Credible gets dropped and then a rolling neck snap by Shane Douglas. They go to a commercial and when they come back Credible tosses Douglas through a table. Scoop and a slam by Credible. Credible from the top and he drops an elbow on Douglas. Clothesline by Credible and Douglas sent outside. Douglas gets driven head first into the support beam and is busted wide open now. Both back into the ring. Credible with some big right hands and Douglas starts to come back but a low blow by Credible. Jason puts a table into the ring. Credible sets it in the corner. Credible's whip is blocked and Credible gets tossed into the table. 2 Count and then Douglas locks on a Figure Four. Jazz breaks that up and Francine is in and we've got a catfight between the two. Credible has a Singapore Cane now and so does Douglas. Douglas with 2 cane shots on Credible and then three singapore cane shots right back for Douglas. Credible misses a fourth shot and Douglas spins him around and takes him down with a side kick. Jason in the ring now and he has a singapore cane after low blowing Douglas. He's about to hit Douglas when Francine spears him. Francine canes Jason as Credible nails Douglas with a superkick. Credible hits a Stunner. Credible goes all the way up and Douglas catches him. Inverted atomic drop. Pittsburgh Plunge now by Douglas and Douglas picks up the win. Storm runs into the ring now and attacks Douglas. Credible hits Douglas with the cane 7 times and Douglas asks for more. One more and down goes Douglas. Dreamer in with a trash can and he nails Storm but Credible nails Dreamer with the Singapore Cane and Dreamer goes down. Storm hits Dreamer with the trash can and Storm and Credible celebrate as the show ends.

vs

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Ground Zero

Note to self: Don’t EVER piss off the Undertaker. Shawn was riding the babyface/heel fence at the time, and this is the match that put him over the top as a heel. D-Generation X would soon follow. The pyro guys screw up Shawn’s big entrance. Undertaker, who was destroyed by the thrown-together team of Shawn & HHH on a previous RAW, is so pissed that he flattens the referee before we even start. Shawn very wisely runs away. Sgt. Slobber tries to stop him, and that allows Undertaker to toss our poor ref over the top and onto both of them. He chases Shawn up the ramp and indulges in some righteous and hellacious ass-kicking. Back to ringside, where he chokes Shawn out with a cable. A right sends Shawn sprawling onto the Spanish table, and another sends him flying from there onto the railing. Into the ring, where UT flattens him with a clothesline and drops two elbows. Shawn takes a nasty bump to the floor as ref #2 joins us. Shawn literally begs for a DQ, but the match hasn’t actually started yet, so no dice. Shawn sneaks in and clips UT as the match FINALLY starts. Shawn hammers him in the corner, but that just serves to annoy Undertaker. He goes up and gets caught coming down, and sent over the top. Onto the apron, as Shawn sunset flips in, and THAT doesn’t work either. He gets crotched in the corner, and clotheslined for two. UT works on the arm for a bit, but gets dropped on the top rope during the ropewalk. Shawn hits a baseball slide and a pescado, but UT casually catches him and rams him into the ringpost. Back in, where a massive backdrop gets two. Shawn gets a swinging neckbreaker, but UT ignores it. Shawn grabs a chair, UT ignores it, then grabs it for himself. The ref gets in the way and is wiped out. Shawn hammers UT and hits a flying elbowdrop, but there’s no ref. Another one gets two as Rick Rude joins us and gives Shawn a pair of brass knuckles. The REAL old-school kind, not the wimpy taped-up ones you usually see. Shawn bashes UT’s brains in with them for two. HHH & Chyna bring us another ref, and Shawn beats HIM up, too. Hunter & Chyna work UT over. Back in, it’s a slugfest. UT hits the floor and Shawn follows with a tope. Back in, UT blocks the superkick and pulls the brass knuckles out of Shawn’s tights. A good shot with them gets two. Undertaker chokeslams the ref, and finally another ref comes in and calls the whole thing a no-contest at 21:58. D-X tries a heel beatdown, but UT’s having none of that, thank you. Tombstone for HHH, and the lockerroom empties to pull them apart. Shawn escapes, so UT debuts the DEAD GUY OUTTA CONTROL no-hands plancha and sends the crowd into fits of cheering, taking out about 10 guys in the process. And THAT is the end of show. Pretty much the damnedest brawl you’ll ever see, and a match so intense that there was only one way to settle this feud…Hell in a Cell. ****

Match 50:

Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid vs Shawn Michaels & Diesel – Raw

Saaaaaay, what do all four guys have in common? This match is actually very famous in net.lore, and with good reason. It was broadcast on the 2nd or 3rd edition of Action Zone, the morning show that eventually morphed into LiveWire once it became another D-level recap show. The original idea behind Action Zone was to let the guys go out and do 15 minute wrestling matches, whereas RAW would be all storyline-intensive and stuff. And they picked a DOOZY of a match to illustrate that point. Big brawl to start, heels collide and the faces clean house. Razor’s Edge for Shawn gets two, Diesel saves. Razor tosses Shawn at Kid, who rolls him up for two. Backdrop and bodypress get two for the Kid. Victory roll gets two. Rana is blocked with a vicious powerbomb, and Diesel comes in to pound the Kid. That was all just the FIRST MINUTE, as they worked at a breathtaking pace and moved faster than I thought any of them could possibly go. Kid tries a sunset flip, but Diesel casually grabs him and just chokeslams him out of his boots. Kid gets a dropkick, and Razor comes in. Slugfest is won by Da Bad Guy, and he pounds Shawn off the apron for good measure. Slam on Diesel for two, but he gets clubbed down. Clipped to Diesel hitting a sideslam for two. Shawn comes in with a flying elbow for two, and he takes a break. Razor backslides out of the chinlock for two, but Shawn dropkicks him for two. Diesel hits Snake Eyes for two. Big elbow to the back, and when Razor rolls over Diesel drops another one on the chest for two. Razor escapes a neck crank, but gets shoulderblocked for two. Clipped to a double-KO. False tag to the Kid, but Shawn superkicks Diesel by mistake, and he plays dead in the corner. Hot tag Kid, and he just UNLOADS on Shawn with spinkicks. Shawn bails but Kid comes barrelling over the top with a plancha and the crowd explodes. He rolls back in and Kid follows with a missile dropkick for two. Shawn walks into a fallaway slam from Razor for two. Backdrop superplex gets two. Kid goes up and they hit a Rocket Launcher on Shawn for two. Shawn desperately tries to revive Diesel to save him, but Razor casually slugs him for two. Shawn grabs a sleeper as Diesel rolls to the floor. Kid breaks it up as Diesel slowly crawls to the apron. Ramon catapults Shawn to the corner and knocks him cold, and tags the Kid back in. He gets a top rope legdrop for two, but Diesel finally gets to his feet, sticks his leg in the air, and takes Kid’s head off for the pin at 13:52 to retain. 15 minutes! This was aired on a Saturday morning TV show, in it’s entirety, remember. Funny how everyone sold like nuts for everyone else there, and a freakin’ awesome match resulted, one which I’d give ****1/4 without hesitation.

vs

Raven vs AJ Styles – TNA 3/19/03

Tenay says that if you put Raven in a Hardcore match, he's damn near unbeatable...but AJ's had ladder matches in TNA. GREAT start to this match as AJ comes from the crowd and nails Raven in the face as he sits in the corner awaiting his opponent like he usually does. He nails Raven in the head with a few more chairshot before putting it on his head and kicking it off. He lays the ladder on the 2nd rope and places Raven on it, allowing him to Lionsault onto Raven on the ladder! "TNA" chant. AJ nails him with a dropkick in the head as Tenay talks about the fact that Raven's forehead wounds never got to close, hence the bandages. AJ then drop toe holds Raven into an open chair AND DDT's him into it! Raven is already busted open as AJ climbs the ladder...but Raven nails him by throwing a chair at him. A "Smashmouth" if you will. Raven goes out and comes back with a trashcan lid, nailing him with it. Raven then puts the ladder on his neck and spins around....nailing AJ THREE TIMES! Raven drives the ladder into the midsection of AJ in the corner before placing him on the top rope. Raven sets up the ladder wedged between the turnbuckles horizontally and stands on it as AJ gets a trashcan lid while hanging upside down! He NAILS Raven in the face, causing him to crotch himself on the ladder rungs!! Styles jumps off of the top rope and uses the ladder as a see saw to nail Raven, but the spot doesn't come across looking too good. Styles nails him with a trashcan lid (with the handle side) until Raven goes down! AJ tries to climb the ladder, but Raven is up, so AJ jumps off into a 'rana! The contract is on a clipboard at the top of the ladder btw. Raven pulls out a staple gun and uses it on AJ's head! AJ sells it like DEATH and he SHOULD! Now AJ is bleeding as Raven goes to ringside. There are tables set up already and he pulls AJ to the outside. Russian leg sweep into the ring barrier by Raven. AJ crawls up the ramp and hits a desperation HARD superkick on Raven! AJ places Raven on the table, nails him with a trashcan lid and heads to the top rope! Raven pulls the referee on top of him at the last minute as AJ comes off the top with a guillotine legdrop on both Raven AND the ref! A replay of the human shield is shown. Styles tries to get into the ring now and climb the ladder...but Glen Gilberti comes in! He tries to topple the ladder, but Styles kicks him off! Styles almost has the contract....but Gilberti picks him up and powerbombs him through another table at ringside! Raven is up but is EXTREMLY bloody....and he gets the contract! Raven gets the next title shot against Jeff Jarrett!

I vote for:

Jericho/Benoit
Jericho/Rock
HBK/Taker
Ramon/1-2-3/HBK/Diesel (GREAT match)

[outsyder]

Originally posted by Mikey2Dope
I vote for:

Jericho/Benoit
Jericho/Rock
HBK/Taker
Ramon/1-2-3/HBK/Diesel

Ditto.

[Inglorious]

Originally posted by outsyder
Ditto.

x2.

[jackson13]

Y2J/Wolverine
Rock/Y2J
HBK/Deadman
The Clique

[sharkstank]

jericho/benoit
rock/jericho
hbk/taker
tag match

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Frank the Tank]

Well, here's a better review for Justin/Douglas first that I found on Rolling Germans.

SHANE DOUGLAS vs JUSTIN CREDIBLE

Time for me to rant: Justin Credible takes a lot of shit from internet "smart" marks. I think a lot of it is unjustified. Yes, he was overpushed. Yes, his catchphrase was annoying. But, he can also be a damn fine worker and this match proves it IMHO. Same goes for Douglas. He takes a lot of shit too. Sometimes it is deserved. Oftentimes, it is not. Case in point: this match. These two men came to the ring to prove a point and to tell a story... and they did that in spades. This is one of my favorite ECW matches ever. Say what you want about both men, but this match delivers the goods.



Awesome promo by Douglas to set up the match. Premise: Douglas thinks Credible is a disrespectful little bitch who doesn't deserve to be called "The Franchise." Credible gets in Douglas's face and tells him that "he ain't afraid of an old man like him." Douglas dares Credible to hit him and it's on... Sick chopfest to start. Rolling snap suplexes into a gourdbuster by Douglas. Rolling neck snap (and a painful looking one at that) stretches Justin. More nasty chops. Holy smoke! These are some of the loudest chops I've ever heard. (Once again, most people wouldn't consider Shane and Justin as two workers who would bring the stiffness, but in this match they sure as hell do) Both men's chests are beet red. Douglas gets a table and goes up top, but Credible slams him through it for 2. Credible is getting some serious heat here as he disrespects Douglas and the crowd. Credible works Douglas over with punches and chops, but he retaliates in kind. Superkick sends Douglas's eyes rolling into the back of his head. Credible takes a chinlock to cover up for Douglas's semi-conscience state, but Douglas eventually comes to and fights out. Sunset flip, but Credible rolls through and hits a clothesline. Outside, Credible puts Shane on his shoulders and rams him headfirst into a steel girder at ringside! That was just plain wrong! Douglas blades a gusher during the requisite "Holy Shit" chant. Chopfest breaks out on the floor. Douglas is bleeding like crazy. His blonde hair is now a sickly shade of red. Crowd rallies behind "The Franchise" but to no avail as Justin hits a lowblow. Credible scampers off the get a table and set it in the corner. Irish whip, but Douglas reverses it into a press-slam through the table! Great little sequence into that spot. Both men are down and Shane sells exhaustion perfectly as he drags his bloody carcass over for the cover. 1-2-Justin barely kicks out and "The Franchise" is pissed! Figure-Four! Douglas is screaming at Credible: "Tap out you piece of shit!" but he makes the ropes. Dueling kendo sticks follows as the two of them start hitting each other right in the fucking face. Good God!! They're killing each other! This is sick! Finally, Credible misses a shot and Douglas catches him with a spin heel kick. Jason breaks up the count and takes a full-nelson slam from Shane who in the distraction eats another Credible superkick. Justin follows up with a stunner and signals that it is over. He climbs up to the top, but Douglas catches him. Fisherman's Buster!!! It has to be over... and it is. Absolutely amazing! What made this match so great was its transitions from brawling to wrestling to hardcore spots and back again. Add in high level amounts of stiffness, some blood to heighten the drama, and a great sell-job by both men and you have all the elements of a great match. ****1/4



Benoit/Jericho
Rock/Jericho
Credible/Douglas (Extremely underrated and my favorite Singles match from both guys)
Razor/Kid vs HBK/Diesel

[Raw Chili]

Benoit/Jericho(has a benoit match lost yet??)
Rock/Jericho
HBK/Taker
Tag Match

[jeo4]

Jericho/ Benoit

Jericho/ The Rock

HBK/Undertaker

Ramon & 1-2-3/ HBK & Diesel

[starcat]

goin with the rest of the peeps

[Mikey2Dope]

Post 1 of 2

Winners:
Jericho/Benoit (9-0)
Jericho/Rock (9-0)
HBK/Taker (8-1)
Ramon/1-2-3/HBK/Diesel (9-0)

Match 51:

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels – Iron Man Match – Wrestlemania 12

Mat wrestling to start. Bret works the headlock, burning up 7 minutes. Shawn tries the armbar as his time-waster of choice, working the arm.

- 10 minutes gone. Michaels takes Bret to the floor with a flying headscissors and Bret takes a breather. Back in, Shawn goes back to the arm. Matches like these make for easy recapping with all the slow stretches. Bret gets the headbutt to the groin and legdrop, then goes to the chinlock. I’m gonna resist fast-forwarding as long as possible. Shawn goes into a vicious wristlock but Bret doesn’t watch UFC, I guess, because he sells it like a resthold. Bret comes back and tries the Sharpshooter, then clotheslines Shawn to the floor. Bret lands in the lap of the timekeeper, but ducks a superkick and the poor timekeeper is down for the count (nyuk nyuk). Back in, to the chinlock. Bret is working the neck, Shawn the arm. Shawn clotheslines Bret, Bret returns the favor. Back to the chinlock. Must…not…fast-forward.

- 20 minutes gone. Shawn dropkicks him down, and back to the armbar. That turns into another cross-armbreaker and AGAIN Bret won’t sell. Hmph. To the hammerlock. Bret hammers him in the corner, but Shawn gives him a pissed-off knee to the gut and sends him shoulder-first to the ringpost. I sense some hostility there. Shoulderbreaker and double-axehandle to the shoulder, then hammerlock slam. Shawn "AA" Michaels? Bret fights back but Shawn hits a single-arm DDT and cross-armbreaker. Again, Bret won’t sell. Shawn goes into a NASTY standing armbar, but Bret hits a stungun to escape. Bret catapults him into the ringpost for two. Voila!, the arm injury is magically gone. That is SO unlike Bret. Something’s gotta be up there. I’ve seen him sell knee injuries for WEEKS, and within the story here Bret’s arm should be hanging dead at this point. Shawn misses a blind charge and gets pounded with an atomic drop and lariat for two. Bret gets a bulldog and goes to the top. Shawn tries to stop him, but Bret counters by driving his knee to Shawn’s head down to the mat, bumping the ref in the process.

- 30 minutes gone. Shawn powerslam gets two. Bret gets a piledriver for two. Shawn takes him down with a rana and sidebreaker gets two. Bret takes the pussy route to escape a superkick, running to the floor. That draws boos. Shawn follows with a SWEET tope. Back in, bodypress-reversal gets two for Bret. Backslide into small package gets two for Shawn. Fisherman’s suplex gets two. Sleeper uses up more time. Shawn puts Bret in the corner and charges, but Bret backdrops him over the top and Shawn takes his patented "HOLY SHIT" bump to the floor in suicidal fashion. Bret tosses him back in and wisely starts working on the back. He drives an elbow from the 2nd rope, then hits the backbreaker and legdrop.

- 40 minutes gone. Bret banzai drops him on the back and hits a backdrop superplex for two. Bret goes to the rear chinlock. Shawn sunset flips him for two. Bret puts him on top and tries another superplex, but Shawn blocks, then gets nailed coming down. Bret cross-corner whips him and Shawn goes over the top and nails Jose accidentally on the way down. They brawl on the floor and Bret whips Shawn into Jose again, and yells at Jose. What’s up with that? Back in, Bret gets a belly-to-belly for two. Bret hammers him down. Shawn escapes a suplex with a rollup for two. Bret kicks out and sends him to the outside, then follows with his tope suicida. Bret allows the ref to count Shawn out, but then changes his mind and suplexes him. Shawn reverses mid-move, but Bret reverses that and hits a nasty german suplex for two, then does a good ol’ beatdown.

- 50 minutes gone. Back to the chinlock. Double KO, and Bret gets a quick superplex and goes for the Sharpshooter. He changes his mind and goes into a half-crab instead. He starts the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, but Shawn kicks him in the face to block the elbowdrop. Standing dropkick sends Bret to the corner, and Shawn comes off with a fivearm. Running elbow and double axehandle get two. Flying elbowdrop gets two. Doctorbomb and moonsault press get two. Flying rana gets two. Shawn goes up with one minute left, but gets caught with the Sharpshooter on the way down, and Bret holds on until the 60 minute time limit expires. The match is a draw.

- BUT WAIT! Gorilla Monsoon declares that there MUST BE A WINNER, so Bret comes back…

- Overtime: Bret continues hammering the back, hitting a backbreaker, but Shawn gets Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere. He’s too tired to capitalize, and Bret does a half-hearted selling job. Shawn hits it again and that’s enough to put Bret out, and Shawn gets the pin and the WWF World title at 1:47 of overtime. ****3/4 Can’t go the full monty for this one because of Bret’s attitude problems, and the fact that there was about 5 different points where a pin or submission could have feasibly occurred, but neither guy wanted to job first. But the rest is AWESOME.

vs

Royal Rumble 2004

Chris Benoit is of course #1, and Randy Orton is #2. Since this is mixed brands, it’s JR & Tazz on commentary, and it’s a great team, showing that perhaps JR’s commentary problems stem from his partner. Benoit stomps away in the corner to start and gets a snap suplex, but Orton fights back in the corner and tries to push him out. Benoit knees him in the gut to break and Mark Henry is #3, with 90 second intervals as promised. Nice touch: There’s graphics with the number of entry this year, making it easier to keep track. Mizark goes after both of them, but walks into a chop. Orton tries the CLUBBING FOREARMS, but gets clotheslined down. Henry works Benoit over in the corner, as Tajiri is #4. Still 90 seconds. Tajiri trades kicks with Orton and gets the handspring elbow, but Benoit cuts in with a german suplex, and drops an elbow on the head. Orton gets tossed, but hangs on to climb back in. Orton pounds on Henry in the corner as Bradshaw is #5 with intervals increasing by a few seconds. He hits everyone with Clotheslines from Heck, but Benoit blocks it with a crossface. That’s why he rules. Bradshaw tries to power him out, but Benoit uses leverage to get rid of Bradshaw instead, at 5:27. Well, there’s always shower rape to console him. Orton throws an elbow at Henry as the interval is up to 100 seconds now, and Rhyno is #6. He goes after Orton & Benoit while Tajiri tries the Tarantula on Henry. That’s kind of dumb – hanging upside down in the Rumble. Rhyno goes for the Goar, but hits Tajiri at 6:53 to eliminate him, and Henry gets elbowed out by Benoit at 7:08. Replay shows that Tajiri misted Henry on the way by to blind him. Mattitude is #7 and he goes after the heels, hitting a Side Effect on Rhyno, but Benoit tosses him. Matt hangs on, however. Everyone pairs off and slugs it out. Rhyno tries to suplex Matt out and Scott Steiner is #8. He starts throwing clotheslines and suplexes on everyone, and goes for Benoit, but Chris returns the suplex favor with some germans. Matt almost has Orton out, but Benoit saves with a backdrop suplex, and Matt Morgan is #9. He immediately hits Benoit with the deadly sitout powerbomb, and no-sells Matt’s stuff to set up a big boot. Nash Choke in the corner on Orton and he works him over while Steiner tangos with Hardy. Morgan works over Hardy in the corner while Rhyno spits on Benoit. Hurricane is #10 and he comes in with a bodypress on Matt, but he’s Hurri-gone via Matt Morgan at 13:32. The real highlight is Steiner & Orton rolling around on the mat in what looks like a lover’s clutch. Benoit & Rhyno keep slugging it out. Hardy tries clipping Morgan, but he doesn’t know how to sell it properly. Booker T is #11, and hostilities with Steiner are renewed. Nice touch. Axe kick on Orton and he goes for Morgan, but eats a knee. Everyone slugs it out as Kane is #12. Steiner gets eliminated off-camera at 16:44 by Booker. Kane starts chokeslamming people and runs the table, but doesn’t toss anyone, as Spike Dudley (with Undertaker’s gong) is #13, and causes Kane to get dumped by Booker at 18:30. Kane gets his revenge and Spike never makes it into the match. Back in the ring, Benoit tries to get Hardy out, and Rikishi is #14. Benoit dumps Rhyno at 20:25 as Rikishi cleans house and gives Morgan the Stinkface. Booker elbows Matt down as the other four fight in the corners, and it’s time for more bodies, with Rene Dupree at #15. That dance is so gonna get over with time. He goes after Matt Hardy and they fight over a suplex, and Hardy gets dropkicked out at 22:28. Dupree follows via a Rikishi superkick at 22:35. How nihilistic. A-Train is #16 and he rekindles that hatred with…Rikishi? Well, he’s the biggest guy, so you can’t fault the logic. Benoit dodges a charge from Morgan and dumps him at 23:48. Thank god. Everyone gangs up on Train, but Orton turns on Rikishi and dumps him at 24:15, and then Booker T at 24:20. So we’re back down to Benoit, Train and Orton, and it’s time for another person. That’s TIGHT booking. Shelton Benjamin is #17 and Benoit dumps Train at 25:10 or so. Benjamin slugs Orton down, but misses a superkick and lands on the top rope, going bye-bye via Orton at 25:45 as a result. So it’s back down to 1 and 2 again, as Benoit gets a backdrop suplex and they collide for the double KO, and wouldn’t you know, time for another entrant. This proves to be Ernest Miller at #18, and he slows the match down with a dance party, until Benoit & Orton redeem it by tossing both Miller and his butler at 27:46. And we’re back to SERIOUS contenders again, as Kurt Angle is #19. JR notes that Orton needs to “make hay while the sun is shining” to which Tazz replies “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” THANK YOU. Benoit and Angle immediately bring it on, while Orton sits in the corner and defers to their better judgment. That’s a very nice touch. Benoit chops away and elbows him out of the corner, but gets clotheslined. Vertical suplex by Angle and he tries get Benoit out, but Orton breaks it up. Rico is #20 and he gets pounded by Orton right away, but comes back with the corner kick and some groping. Orton hits him with the RKO while Benoit fires off germans on Angle, and Orton casually dumps Rico at 31:12. Benoit goes up, but Angle crotches him and tries to send him out, as Test is supposed to be #21, but someone has attacked him. And that someone is sent out by Austin to take his place. And that someone is…MICK FOLEY. Orton understandably shits the proverbial brick, as Foley goes nuts on him and beats the tattoos off him in the corner. Cactus Clothesline eliminates both guys at 33:46, but that’s good enough for Mick. They continue brawling outside as Christian is #22. The focus remains on Foley & Orton, as Orton finally catches a break with a pair of chairshots and they brawl up the aisle, allowing Foley to go for Mr. Socko. Meanwhile, Nunzio is #23, so Foley gives him the Sock, while Orton hits him in Mr. Cocko on the way back to the dressing room. Nunzio hides out on the floor while the other three do their thing inside, with Benoit and Christian trying to get Angle out. Stick together, Canucks! Angle fires off a german on Christian, and one for Benoit, but can’t get Christian out. Big Show is #24, and he goes right for Angle, and then deals with the other two. He pounds Angle down and tosses Christian around, and Jericho is #25. He saves his compadre from Angle and they work him over in the corner, but Show intervenes and rams them together. Show headbutts Jericho down and pounds him in the corner, and now everyone gets smart and goes after Show. 4-on-1 isn’t quite enough, and Show is able to fight them off. Charlie Haas is #26, but Vitamin C hit him with a double-suplex on the way in. Christian & Jericho toss Benoit, but he hangs on. Then Christian turns on Jericho and tosses him, but HE hangs on, and then backdrops Christian out at 42:48. Angle gets a german suplex as Billy Gunn is #27 and he comes in with the Dumbasser on a few people. Everyone pairs off as it slows down a bit, with Jericho getting a backdrop suplex on Angle and then going after Show, but Benoit saves with a german suplex. John Cena is #28, and he brings Nunzio out of his hiding place, but gets jumped by Show as a result. Nunzio then goes after Show, which is kind of dumb, and gets nowhere. Cena tries next while Benoit scraps with Nunzio, and RVD is #29. He goes after Show, as seems to be the trend, but he can’t organize another try at getting rid of him. Everyone slugs it out as Cena gives Angle the F-U, and Goldberg is #30. Time to get rid of the dead weight. Spear for Show! Spear for Gunn! Powerslam for Haas. Nunzio attacks and gets Haas eliminated indirectly at 48:39, but then gets speared for his troubles. Gunn is Billy Gone at 49:00. Nunzio flies Air Italy out of the ring at 49:05. However, Brock runs in with an F-5 on Goldberg to pop the crowd, and Angle dumps Grizzly Adams at 50:15 while he’s being all intense. So amazingly we have Benoit, Jericho, Angle, Cena, RVD and Show left. They make another try at getting rid of Show on the ropes, but you can’t fight gravity and he won’t go. Next tactic sees everyone hitting their finishers in succession, starting with the Lionsault and going frog splash, Five Knuckle Shuffle, flying headbutt, and Angle Slam. Show is still in it, however, so now Angle organizes a team carry, but that’s just wishful thinking. Show gets angry and tosses Cena at 53:02. RVD gets fancy and gets gone at 53:21. Jericho gets tossed and hangs on, as our final four is Jericho, Benoit, Angle and Show. How about THAT? Jericho is backdropped out again, but slides in again. Show tosses him into the corner, but Jericho comes back with a bulldog and goes for the Walls of Jericho. That seems a little counterproductive. Angle breaks it up and fights with Jericho on the ropes, but Show saves for Angle and chokeslams Jericho out of the ring at 55:11. Down to three. Angle walks into a sideslam, and Show chokeslams Benoit following that. Show fights off Angle’s suplex attempt, but falls victim to the Angle Slam, and Benoit gets more of the same. Angle takes a poll from the fans as to who to go after, and Show is lucky winner of an anklelock, which is of course meaningless. Show powers him to the ropes and Angle hangs on too long and gets eliminated at 57:40. So now Benoit is faced with having to eliminate single-handedly the guy that 5 people couldn’t get rid of at once. He starts by headbutting him back into the ring, but walks into a chokeslam, which he counters into the crossface. Again, that’s for nothing, as Show powers out and sideslams him. Show goes for the kill with a press-slam, but Benoit counters to a standing guillotine choke and hangs on. He pulls Show to the apron with that and won’t let go, and gravity proves to be Show’s enemy, as he passes out and falls out at 61:37 to make Benoit the winner and the recipient of the title shot at Wrestlemania XX. I was marking out like nuts last night and initially was thinking ***** because of the excitement and brilliantly tight booking, along with the great story of Show being the monster that no one could eliminate until Benoit figured it out, but after watching it again…I still loved it. HA! Fooled ya! It’s still *****, and the best Rumble I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen ‘em all.

MORE MATCHES COMING

VOTE AFTER NEXT POST

[Mikey2Dope]

Post 2 of 2 (Royal Rumble 04 vs Bret/Shawn - Iron Man Match - Mania 12 is in post above this)

Match 52:

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Hell In A Cell – Bad Blood 97

DX tries to accompany Shawn, but get sent back. Shawn tries to avoid UT, who slowly stalks him around ringside. He runs into the ring and right into a big boot. UT rams him to the turnbuckle, and again, which Shawn sells bigtime. He goes for the chokeslam but Shawn kicks him in the shin and hammers away. UT shrugs it off and reverses a whip, sending Shawn crashing to the corner. UT with a wristlock, and he slams into Shawn's shoulder a few times, then does the ropewalk. Shawn oversells again. UT with a headbutt and choking. Slam and legdrop for two. Michaels is dazed, and UT backdrops him to the heavens. Shawn gets up so UT knocks him on ass several times, and then tosses him over the top rope in a wicked bump for Shawn. He chokes Shawn against the cage, prompting Shawn to try to climb out of the cage. UT pulls him down to the floor, another wicked bump. Front row starts yelling "Make him bleed", thus demonstrating how much Shawn was despised at this point. UT whips him into the cage, and then tears his head off witha clothesline coming back. Again. Great bumping by Shawn. The announcers are totally selling the idea of UT taking his time and destroying Shawn bit by bit. Taker tries a piledriver on the floor, but Shawn flips up and hammers on his head. UT calmly smashes the back of his head into the cage and drops him on the floor. Ouch. To the steps. UT hammers away on Shawn, and rams him backfirst into the ringpost, then to the cage, then to the ringpost, to the cage again. Crowd eats it up. This, folks, is a shitkicking of the first order. Shawn tries to push UT into the cage, but UT simply clotheslines him on the way back. He smashes Shawn into the stairs. UT whips Shawn into the cage, but Shawn uses the momentum to nail UT on the way back, giving him the advantage. He wisely rolls back into the ring to escape the Undertaker. He nails him a few times on the way back in, but UT snaps Shawn's neck on the top rope on the way down. Shawn comes back and knocks UT off the apron into the cage. UT keeps coming. Shawn tries a tope suicida, sending UT crashing into the cage, then he climbs halfway up the cage and drops an elbow to UT on the floor. UT keeps getting up, so Shawn clotheslines him off the apron. Shawn, getting desperate, grabs the stairs and rams them into UT's back a few times. He piledrives Taker on the remains of the stairs and rolls back into the ring to escape again. He comes off the top rope with a double-axehandle to UT on the floor. Back in the ring, and Shawn finds a chair under the ring before returning. A shot to the back puts UT down again. UT gets up, so Shawn knocks him down again. It get two. Notice the story, as UT controlled for the first portion, while Shawn had to use his brain and every advantage possible to come back. UT tries to come back, but gets caught in the ropes and pummelled by Shawn. Shawn charges and eats a boot to the mouth, and charges again and gets backdropped over the top, onto a cameraman. He nails the cameraman (a local worker) and injures him. The medical crew opens the cage to give the guy assistance as Shawn hits UT with the flying forearm back in the ring. Shawn with the Randy Savage elbow, and he cues up the band. Superkick, but UT sits up. So Shawn runs out the door. UT follows and they fight in the aisle. Shawn dropkicks UT, but on a second attempt gets caught and catapulted into the cage. If you go in slow motion, you can see Shawn rip the blade across his forehead in mid-air. It's not noticeable, though, otherwise. UT rams Shawn into the cage a few times like a batterring ram. Shawn kicks him in the nuts to counter. Shawn climbs the outside of the cage to escape the increasingly crazed UT, and UT follows. They fight on the roof, and Shawn attempts a piledriver, reversed by UT to a big pop. UT grates Shawn's face into the mesh as a neat camera angle from below lets us see it. Taker military presses Shawn onto the cage, then nails him, sending Shawn scurrying to the edge to run away. He starts to climb down the cage, so UT stomps on Shawn's hands until he crashes to the table below. Like the Terminator, Undertaker follows and biels Shawn onto the French table, then press slams him to the remains of the Spanish table. Shawn is just bleeding all over the place. UT literally kicks Shawn's ass around the cage, and tosses him back into the ring. Clothesline, then he puts Shawn on the top rope and chokeslams him off. UT finds his own chair and smashes it into Shawn's face, then calls for the tombstone...and the lights go out. The now-familiar music and red lights start, and Kane makes his first appearance. He rips the door off the hinges, does the pyro thing, and tombstones Undertaker, then leaves. Michaels pulls his blood-soaked carcass off the mat, rolls over with his last ounce of strength, and covers for the pin. D-X drags him out of the ring before the Undertaker can wake up and finish killing Shawn. Ending deducts 1/4*, but make no mistake: This is THE match of the year. ****3/4

vs

RVD vs Bam Bam Bigelow – ECW TV Title

The storyline here is pretty standard: Rob’s partner Sabu has a title shot against Bam Bam upcoming, so he sends RVD to do his dirty work and soften him up. Or so he thought. This is another one I never saw the first time. Stalling to start. Bam Bam hammers and shoulderblocks him. RVD leg lariat, but he gets powerbombed and bails. Stalling follows as RVD and Fonzie do a whole little skit for the ringside camera. Back in, RVD misses an enzuigiri, but he gets a sidekick, flying bodypress, missile dropkick and rolling splash in quick succession for…a one count. Ouch. Bigelow tosses him. Rob gets posted to the back, but comes back and springs off the railing with a kick. Bigelow tosses him into the crowd. Rob necksnaps him off the guardrail, and then springs off the railing with a rana that sends Bigelow further into the crowd and probably takes out a couple of spectactors. Van Dam then heads back into the ring, goes to the top, and comes BARRELLING off the top, onto Bigelow, who’s like four rows into the crowd. Whoa. Back in, and he DOES IT AGAIN. Holy shit. Crowd is just absolutely going bananas, and rightly so. Bigelow crawls to the railing, and Rob legdrops him on it, off the apron. Bigelow comes back with a lariat and powerbombs him onto the timekeeper’s table. Elbowdrop puts him through. Rob chairshots him, but Bigelow hits an elbow. Back in, Bigelow suplexes Rob off the apron, dropping him facefirst on the apron. RVD back in, and Bigelow goes up to finish him, but the moonsault misses. Five-star frog splash gets two. Bigelow hits a samoan drop for two. Brainbuster gets two. He goes for Greetings from Asbury Park, but Sabu runs in. Bigelow tries to powerbomb him, but Sabu goes to the eyes to stop it, and a blinded Bigelow doesn’t see the chair thrown at him or the Van Daminator that finishes at 15:46 to give Rob the TV title, a title which he’d hold for the better part of the next two years. Match was awesome by sheer force of willpower. ****

Match 53:

Cactus Jack vs Vader – Halloween Havoc 93

This is the final blowoff for the amnesia angle. Read the 1993 WCW rant if you want to know what *that* was all about. They brawl on the rampway right away, and Vader hits the post by accident. Jack grabs a camera from a fan and bashes Vader with it, then a good ol' chairshot. Back in the ring, and Vader decides to kill Cactus dead. Jack manages to survive long enough to suplex Vader onto the rampway, then fights off a chair- wielding Race and blasts Vader into the stone age with the chair. OUCH! They fight into the gravesite set up on the stage, and fall into the open grave. When they emerge, Jack is gushing blood from both above and below his eye, and Vader is bleeding from the forehead. What is this, a contest? Jack clotheslines him and pins him. Vader beats the 10-count back up, so Cactus clobbers him with a prop cactus. Vader rolls onto the floor to escape, and Jack follows him down with a Cactus elbow, which gets another pin. Vader beats the 10 count again. And now he's PISSED. Jack tosses a table into the ring (helpfully set up by Nick Patrick) and Vader gets the wrong end of a whip into it. Back outside the ring, and Jack sunset flips him off the apron and suplexes him on the railing. Vader pulls Jack into the crowd, which allows Cactus to take a SICK bump onto the concrete, then Vader tosses him back over the railing, so Jack takes a SICKER bump that way. What a maniac. Vader nails him with a chair, but keeps the legs stuck out. Ouch. Back in the ring for the Vadersault, which gets the pin, duh. Jack beats the 10 count. Vader pummels him in the corner and they're back on the ramp. Jack tries a sleeper, and Vader FALLS BACK on him. Jack later said in a shoot interview that it ruptured his kidney, but he didn't want to quit because then he'd look like a wuss. The trainers check on Jack, but Vader tosses them off and pins Jack. Jack gets up during the 30-second rest period and DDTs Vader on the rampway, but Race pulls out a tazer and zaps him, making him stay down for the 10-count and giving Vader the win at 16:20. Hey, guess which fat cow booked this match? Awful, awful ending to a crazy brawl. ****1/2

vs

Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson – Cage Match

This is from 1979, and I know what you’re thinking: How can any discussion of either manliness OR mindless violence include Pat Patterson (or Backlund for that matter). Read on, oh ye of little faith, and save the Patterson jokes for another rant. They fire away and Bob sends him to the cage. He learns this stuff fast. He drops a leg and climbs, but Pat pulls him back and goes for the door right away. Bob grabs a leg and hauls him in, and kneelifts him. Bob goes up again, but can’t fight Pat off. Bob eats cage, and Pat DIVES for the door, but gets stopped at the last second by Backlund, who proceeds to dive for the door himself in one motion, before Pat stops him and chokes him down. He goes up, but gets pulled down by the foot. Bob pounds away on top, and both guys tumble down. Pat recovers and bolts over again, but Bob barely catches him by the leg and hangs on for dear life. They fight on the top, with Pat half out of the cage hanging onto the top, until Backlund drags him back in again. Pat gets a lowblow to knock Bob off the cage, and he just pounds the shit out of him, opening up a cut in the process. Pat climbs, but Bob pops up and yanks him back in, only to get another stiff beating as a reward. Bob comes back and they butt heads for the double KO. Both guys climb, but Pat changes his mind and chooses to pull Bob back in instead. Pat headbutts the cut and they slug it out on the mat. Bob catapults him into the cage, drawing blood, and he crawls for the door. They slug it out again and Pat goes the cage a few times as Bob’s inner barbarian is unleashed. Bob starts dropping fists, Pat shoves him into the cage and climbs again. Bob atomic drops him out of the corner (that was his big finish at the time), and climbs, but Patterson finds an international object and takes a swing at Backlund. They fight on top of the cage, as Backlund knocks the knuckle dusters off Patterson’s hand and both guys tumble to the mat. Bob crawls for the door again, but Patterson grabs the leg. Bob just starts kicking at Patterson’s face like a maniac, until finally the momentum alone is enough to push him right out of the cage and to the floor at 13:25. ****1/4 Backlund earned his crewcut here.

Match 54:

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr. – Halloween Havoc 97

Rey has his "SLAM EVIL!" alternate costume tonight. Big heel heat for Eddy here. Good fast sequence to start, with Rey mistiming a highspot and Eddy covering by bumping him onto the floor. Eddy springboards in and hits some stiff shots. Rey with a dropkick and Eddy blocks a handspring with a backdrop suplex and a jackhammerish move for two. Tilt-a-whirl gets two. Eddy goes for an abdominal stretch and turns it into a nasty pumphandle backbreaker. Ee-yow! It gets two. Eddy applies a knucklelock and gets a few twos. Rey fights up and goes into a springboard DDT. Dropkick sends Eddy to the floor, but Eddy thinks ahead of him and dodges the highspot. Brawling on the floor. Back in and Eddy rips at the mask while in a rear chinlock. Gory Special is reversed into an armdrag, so Eddy dropkicks him in the face and into another submission move. Flying elbow gets two. Rey is in the Tree of Woe, and Eddy gleefully charges, but misses and crotches himself. Rey hits a plancha as Eddy bails. Back in, and Rey snaps off a rana for two. Headscissors puts Eddy on the floor again, and Rey follows with a somersault plancha. Back in, and Rey hits a corkscrew moonsault for two. Moonsault #2 hits the knees and Eddy nearly KILLS him with a powerbomb. He misses a blind charge and Rey comes back with the rana, but gets caught with a backbreaker. Blown spot, but I can forgive it. Frog splash misses, and they head to the top and fight over a superplex. Eddy maneuvers into Splash Mountain, but Rey reverses to the rana for the pin at 13:49 for the title. Whew. ***** I still liked Hell in a Cell better for emotional impact and heat, but this was the better pure match.

vs

Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior – Wrestlemania 6

[I]Warrior blows up running into the ring, seriously. This is the very definition of a divided crowd, as they are almost literally 50/50 for both guys. Staredown and shoving match to start, won by the Warrior, then Hogan. They do the test of strength: Warrior brings Hogan to his knees, then Hogan fights up and brings Warrior down. Crowd is absolutely rabid for every move. Hogan takes down Warrior and drops an elbow, then they do the CRISS-CROSS OF DOOM, which leads to a Hogan slam that is no-sold by Warrior. Another criss-cross, and a slam on Hogan, which Hogan sells. Warrior clotheslines Hogan to the floor, and Hulk injures his knee, and totally oversells it. Warrior stomps on it for good measure. Back in the ring and they poke each other in the eye and choke, to Jesse's delight. Warrior jaws with the referee and Hogan takes the opportunity to clothesline Warrior in the corner and basically forget about the knee injury. Hogan drops an elbow for the first two-count and applies a facelock and a small package for two. Hogan...carrying a match? Considering how long this thing was rehearsed before this show, Hogan shouldn't have to be carrying it, but whatever. Running clothesline gets two for Hogan. Backbreaker gets two. Hogan uses an ultra-weak chinlock, but drives some knees into the back to redeem it. Belly-to-back suplex gets two, then back to the chinlock. Warrior breaks free and they do the double-KO spot. Warrior shakes the ropes to hulk up, giving Hogan a taste of his own medicine by no-selling Hulk's offense. THREE CLOTHESLINES OF DOOM! RUNNING SHOULDERBLOCK OF DEATH! Is the end of Hulk? Two cross-corner whips and a suplex gets two. Oh, no, it's the dread BEARHUG OF EXCRUCIATING DISCOMFORT! Hogan breaks free and Hebner gets wiped out on the criss-cross. Warrior goes to the top with a pair of double axehandles, but Hogan drives him face-first to the mat when he tries the running shoulderblock. No ref to count, and Jesse is right on the ball as he notes the irony of this after all the times it happened to Hogan's challengers. Warrior gets a belly-to-back as Hebner...crawls...over...for....two. Crowd is on the verge of a collective heart attack. Hulk rolls up Warrior for two. Hogan with rights, and an elbow that sends Warrior to the floor, where they brawl for a bit. Back in the ring and Warrior with a clothesline and then...the Gorilla Press! Big splash...and it only gets two. Hogan makes the comeback, hulking up. Hogan no-sells the punches, delivers some of his own, then hits the Big Boot of Death. Legdrop...MISSES! Warrior hits a weak splash and gets the pin. Half the crowd is delighted, the other half is in shock. Hebner fucks up, handing the belt to the Warrior, and the camera cuts away as Warrior gives it back so Hogan can present it himself. Meltzer gave it ****, I wouldn't go that high, but it was a definite ***. It was suitably epic for the show it was carrying, and even after seeing it 200 times or so it still got my heart pounding during the ending sequence when I saw it again. That's all you can ask.

I vote for:

Royal Rumble 2004
HBK/Taker
Vader/Cactus
Mysterio/Guerrero

[Frank the Tank]

The first match didn't appear, but it's Ironman at WM 96 vs RR 04

Anyways:

Royal Rumble 04 Easily
HBK/Taker
Jack/Vader
Eddie/Rey

[Mikey2Dope]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
The first match didn't appear, but it's Ironman at WM 96 vs RR 04

Shit. Sorry I forgot to mention the Royal Rumble 2004 vs Bret/Shawn Iron Man match is in a post above the 3 other matches (both reviews were so long it took up it's own post).

[outsyder]

RR04
HBK/Taker
Cactus/Vader
Eddie/Rey Jr.

[Raw Chili]

RR04
HBK/Taker
Cactus/vader
Eddie/Rey Jr

[jackson13]

My votes are same as everyone else. WM12 and RR04 is a toughie though, because Mania12 is one of my all time fav matches. My only fault with it is I feel they shoulda left it a draw and kept the fued going a little longer.

[jeo4]

Royal Rumble 2004

Shawn Michaels/Undertaker

Vader/Cactus Jack

Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero

[horrorfreak13]

Bret/HBK
HBK/Taker
Vader/Cactus
Eddie/Rey Mysterio

[brodeurnumber1]

Bret/HBK(I personally found the 2001 Rumble more fun to watch)
HBK/Taker
Foley/Vader
Mysterio/Guerrero

[starcat]

Bret/HBK tops!!!!!!!!!
HBK/Taker
Vader/Cactus
hogan/warrior

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Rumble 04 (6-3)
HBK/Taker (9-0)
Vader/Cactus (9-0)
Rey/Eddie (8-1)

Match 55:

Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack – Backlash 04

Randy’s pathetic little barbed-wire 2x4 is kinda sad, really. Foley attacks with the real one to start, pounding him into the corner until he bails, and they do a chase outside the ring until Orton is able to take him into the stairs. He gets the bat and they fight over it, but Foley wins that battle, so Orton clobbers him with a garbage can. He charges with it one time too many, however, and gets it kicked back in his face for his troubles. Back in, Mick stomps him down and chokes away, setting up the kneelift and a legdrop that gets two. To show you the miracle of WWE camera work, from our position that legdrop missed by a foot, literally, but looked fine with the quick cut. Baseball slide puts Orton on the floor, and he follows with a neckbreaker. Foley goes up, but Orton evades any potential big elbows being dropped. They fight up the ramp, but Orton suplexes him there for two. Backslide gets two. I guess that was more for the surprise factor. With scientific wrestling not working, he slams Foley’s head back into the ramp and gets two. Back to ringside, where Foley meets the stairs, and Orton brings him back in and tries to introduce him to the barbed-wire, but Foley fights him off and goes low to escape. He brings forth the sock, but then polls the crowd on whether they’d rather see that or the bat, and the bat wins. There’s a certain charming element of total insanity there that you’d don’t see in normal sports. Orton eats the barbed-wire and starts bleeding, and Foley drops an elbow with the bat. He works on the cut and slugs away in the corner, then follows with the running knee to the face. Then he rubs the bat into Orton’s face for good measure, sending him scurrying. Mick keeps on him with the barbs and the wire and the hurting, and then takes it to the NEXT LEVEL by legdropping the baseball bat onto his crotch. Shane McMahon was going APESHIT at this point, by the way. So was I. Foley heads out for a gas can and a lighter (throw in some booze and you’ve got a PARTY!), but Eric Bischoff threatens to stop the show if he lights the bat. So Mick tosses it aside and uses a baking sheet instead. And then he finds a barbed-wire covered plywood sheet. Shane is nearly jumping up and down on his seat at this point. Foley slugs him into position, but gets powdered and slammed onto the table. Well, he’s the one who brought it in. Orton gets two off that. Orton puts the sheet in the corner and they reverse each other until Foley inevitably ends up getting whipped into the barbed wire. Orton drops the barbed wire on him for extra incentive. And speaking of incentive, Orton dumps a bag of tacks on the mat. Orton tries an RKO, but Foley dumps him onto the tacks. Jesus, even HHH wasn’t crazy enough to try that spot. The tacks are EVERYWHERE, stuck into Orton’s HAND and back, and Foley cradles for two. In moderation, those kinds of sick spots are VERY cool. Orton retreats up the ramp, but Mick’s in no mood for moderation, so he brawls with him and then tosses him off the stage, through a table below. That’s even sicker considering he landed on the thumbtack-covered back. Foley, crazy man, follows with an elbow off the stage. The arena thought it was over at that point, but Orton kicks out at two. Back to the ring, where Foley DDTs him for two. He sets up the barbed-wire sheet in the corner again, but Orton nails him with the bat to draw blood, and then pounds him down caveman-fashion. However, age and guile defeat youth and power in this case, as Orton then walks into a Mandible Sock. He goes low to break. Foley goes back to the claw, but Orton escapes with an RKO. That gets two. Another one, onto the bat, gets the pin at 23:04. Orton was over bigtime with the crowd here after that. **** I liked it better live, because of the more visceral feelings of being there to see the beatings, but it was still a great coming-out party for Orton.

vs

The Iron Sheik vs Sgt. Slaughter – Boot Camp Match

The Iron Sheik is getting PELTED with garbage. Cobra Corps member Pvt. Terry Daniels carries the flag to the ring, Slaughter races to the ring with his helmet on, and he puts it to good use hitting Sheik in the head with it. He then pulls out his swagger stick and starts beating the Sheik with it, and the crowd is going insane. He hits him in the throat with it and hits a hammer to Sheik’s throat. He then goes back to the helmet, hitting him with it, and then headbutting him with the helmet on. He then catapults him into the corner. He throws some forearms and whips him into the corner, but Sheik reverses and Slaughter does his patented “fly over the top turnbuckle and sail onto the concrete floor.” And while all this has happened, the Sheik is STILL getting hit with debris from ringside. Yeah, it was cheap heel heat, but damn the Iron Sheik was hated. Sheik goes to the floor and smashes a chair into Slaughter’s back. He gets a 2 on the floor. Sheik gets a choke, and he throws Sarge into the ring. The Sheik, who’s been wearing a belt the whole time, starts whipping Slaughter with it, and then chokes him with it. Slaughter literally turns purple as he doesn’t stick his fingers in to get air. Sheik lets go and starts hitting the Sarge with the swagger stick. Back to the belt with more whipping and choking, with the Sarge this time using the fingers to breathe. He runs and tosses Sheik out, with Sheik bumping his head on the announce table on the way down. Back in, and now Slaughter has the belt and starts to return the favor, but he’s still woozy from the choke, and the Sheik kicks Sarge in the face with his pointed boot. Sarge fights back and throws Sheik back out to the floor. He hits a backbreaker on the floor for a one count. The Sheik scurries into the ring and gets a quick eyerake. He tries to push Slaughter’s face into his curved boot but Sarge blocks it. So the Sheik bites him and throws his face all the way into the ringpost. Sarge blades as the Sheik starts spitting on him and kicking him in the face. Sarge quickly becomes a bloody mess as the Sheik starts gnawing at the wound. Slaughter blocks a couple punches, but the Sheik kicks him in the stomach to end it. He sends Slaughter to the turnbuckle, and Sarge almost flies over again. The Sheik goes for a gutwrench suplex but Sarge gets a quick shot to the kidneys. And this is our first rest period of the match. Gene Okerlund says Sarge is “wearing the crimson mask” and for once it’s appropriate. Sarge goes for broke and rushes to the top turnbuckle and leaps off with a kick to the Sheik’s face. And the Sheik blades the top of his head which makes the blood pour on all sides of his head. He elbows Sheik down, picks him up, winds up and hits a big uppercut. He gets two. Slaughter gets a slam for two. The Sheik is even bloodier than Sarge at this point, it is everywhere. Sheik gets a desperation kick to the gut to turn the tide. But he collapses yet is able to crawl over for a two. He hits a gutwrench suplex (which Gorilla calls a “soufflé” WTF?) for two. He hits a suplex for two. The ring is stained with blood now. The Sheik takes his loaded boot off, and goes to hit the Sarge with it but the Sarge hits a vicious clothesline to counter it. He takes the Sheik’s boot, smashes the Sheik in the head with it and gets the three to one of the loudest MSG eruptions I’ve ever heard. ****. This is how you end a feud. This match was superbly booked, and got the exact reaction at the end it deserved. One of the best WWF brawls, and certainly one of the bloodiest WWF matches I’ve seen.

Match 56:

Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Raven & Saturn vs Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr – Slamboree 99

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! You don't start out the show with the only match that is guaranteed not to suck. Big mistake, I'm predicting it right now, because you can only go downhill from here. Anyway, Horsemen get a big heel pop, Flock gets a big face pop, and the champs are somewhere in between. Saturn, Kidman, and Malenko start out, with Saturn and Kidman double-teaming Malenko. Kidman does the over-the-top bump from the belly-to-belly early. Great double-team german suplex from the Horsemen. Why is Rey dressed like a Godwinn? Horsemen are drawing mad heel heat. Beautiful sequence as Malenko alley-oops Rey to the top rope, and he comes back with a moonsault. Just gorgeous. Everyone fights to the floor, leaving Benoit against Raven. Horsemen seem to controlling the flow here, stomping everyone into oblivion at one point and tossing the fallen team members to the floor with regularity. Big highspot crashup leaves everyone fighting on the floor. Benoit and Saturn are left in the ring by default and Benoit takes advantage with the ROLLING GERMAN SUPLEX~! Malenko must be in a bad mood today or something, he's spitting on the faces a lot. OH MY GOD...Malenko actually powerbombs Kidman without it getting reversed! This is a historic day! Dragon suplex from Benoit gets two on Kidman. I'm impressed at Tony actually calling the match. Raven gets a hot tag and does his rolling vertical suplex~ on Benoit. It's cooler when Benoit does it. A true pier-six brawl with everyone doing big moves on everyone else. Kidman and Rey do the alley-oop rana on Benoit, but when they try it on Saturn he reverses to a superbomb. Kidman goes for the shooting star press, but Kanyon comes out of the audience and pushes him off the top, into an Evenflow DDT for the pin. Malenko had Saturn in the Texas Cloverleaf at the time, but I guess Saturn didn't give up. The Flock 2.0 is the new champions, which is the right booking decision. We'll give Tony 8 bottles of Surge(tm), which should give him some leeway for the crap ahead. Too much brawling for my tastes, but I'd give it **** easy

vs

Vader vs Antonio Inoki – 1/4/96

To put it quite plainly, this wasn’t just a match, it was a slaughter. It was like watching the brutal ass kicking that Vader used to heap on Sting in the early – mid nineties except this was a far worse beating. Add that fact that Inoki was the fine young age of FIFTY THREE and you can understand why so many people love this match. They even throw in some blood as Vader blades from a brutal chair shot on the floor and Inoki bleeds hardway from the right eye after one of numerous Vader Hammers. Vader kills Inoki for about 90% of the match with lots of stiff punches and Vader Hammers. Every so often he throws out a wrestling move that would kill some people including the single most brutal released German suplex I have ever seen and a Nodowa Otoshi that nearly dropped Inoki on his head. Vader even pulls out the big guns such as the Moonsault but it’s not enough as Inoki manages to just barely kick out of everything Vader has to offer. Inoki’s offense is sparse at best but the crowd loves each and every punch, kick and trademark Enzugiri that Inoki can muster. After a hailstorm of punishment, Inoki manages to get the tap out from what? You got it; the Juji Gatame. They show the press conference after the match and Inoki is so fucked up that I don’t think he even knows where he’s at. He’s got this wide-eyed look on his face that just screams delirious. If you ever wanted to watch a man take a beating, this is the match to watch. ****

Match 57:

Steve Austin vs Bret Hart – Survivor Series 96

Austin gets all in Bret’s face, and a slugfest erupts. They trade hammerlocks, and Austin gains the advantage with power moves. Bret rallies, but gets caught with a stungun. Austin works the neck, and another slugfest develops. Bret comes back with an inverted atomic drop and a rollup for two. Russian legsweep gets two. Bulldog is countered by Austin, but Bret manages a top rope elbow for two. They fight outside, and Austin rams him into the post. Bret gets pissed and they fight into the crowd. Austin catapults Bret onto the spanish table and pounds him. He drops an elbow from the apron for good measure. Back in the ring, Austin continues punishing the neck. He uses that good ol’ heel standby: The rope-assisted abdominal stretch. Bret breaks and gets a stungun on Austin in a neat bit of irony. Rolling cradle gets two. To the top, but Austin gets a superplex. Bret pulls a Dynamite Kid and cradles Austin on the mat, however, for a two count. Austin manages the Stunner out of nowhere, but takes half a second too long to cover and only gets two. He keeps covering and gets two more two counts. You NEVER see that anymore. I can understand the kickout, since Austin didn’t kick him in the gut and flip him the bird first. Austin tries a Texas Cloverleaf, and I’m thinking Vince must be going nuts trying not to jump up and yell "RING THE BELL" from ringside. Austin sends Bret crashing to the post, but Bret reverses a bow-and-arrow into the Sharpshooter. Austin makes the ropes. Bret gets a sleeper, Austin breaks, and hooks the Million Dollar Dream. Bret walks the ropes and flips over for the pin at 28:34 to end an INCREDIBLE match, possibly the last, best match in North America before the Great Changeover to the Austin era in 1997. *****

vs

Steve Austin vs Chris Jericho – Vengeance 01

Jericho rolls over for two, then stomps away. Forearm, and he pounds away. Corner clothesline, but Austin spears him and gives him some turnbuckle sandwich. Stunner is blocked, so Austin tosses him and they brawl. Austin dumps him on the railing and gives him the post ala Angle in the previous match. He pulls up the mat, but Jericho preps the Spanish table and tries the Walls of Jericho there. Austin powers out, though, and suplexes Jericho on the floor. They head back in, where Austin charges and hits the post. Jericho goes to the arm, but misses a dropkick and gets catapulted for two. Jericho floats over out of the cover, into a Herb Kunze armbar, using the ropes for leverage. Suplex and he goes up, but Austin nails him coming down. Austin comes back, but Jericho rolls into the Walls, getting a good pop. Austin makes the ropes. Ref is bumped, so Jericho goes low and stunners Austin. Vince brings out Nick Patrick: Evil Ref to count, but Ric Flair in turn pulls him out, and Vince in turn punks out Flair. In the ring, Austin chases Vince and punks him out, then heads back in for a Thesz Press and the Walls of Austin. Jericho is tapping, but Booker T runs in, nails Austin with the belt, and Jericho unifies the titles at 12:37. ALL HAIL CANADA! Too much tomfoolery, what with the ref bumping and the run-ins and the screwjobs and all. ***

Match 58:

Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – Wrestlemania 16

First fall for the I-C title: Benoit chops Jericho to start, then Jericho and Angle go. Jericho dropkicks both off the apron and Angle whips him into the stairs. Back in, Benoit & Jericho hammer each other and Jericho goes flying into the Spanish table. Benoit gets a pair of suplexes on Angle for two. Jericho takes out Angle, who comes back to suplex Benoit for two. Jericho camel clutches Benoit, then hits a hanging suplex on Angle that gets two for Benoit. Angle suplexes Jericho for two. Benoit blocks a sunset flip for two. Jericho gets caught with the cross-face chicken-wing by Angle, broken up by Benoit. Flying headbutt on Jericho gets the pin and the title for MY BOY! Whoo-hoo! Guess that’s the reward for carrying the Rock to one of his best matches. Second fall, for the Euro title: Angle takes out both, but Benoit superplexes Jericho and Angle misses a moonsault (!). Jericho covers for two, then locks on the Liontamer. Benoit breaks. Triple collision sequence leads to the double powerbomb by Jericho on Angle, which leads to the rolling german suplexes on Jericho, for two. Dragon suplex on Angle gets two for Benoit. Ref gets bumped, and Benoit hooks the crossface on Jericho, who escapes and hooks the Liontamer. Angle blasts him with the Euro title for two. Benoit suplexes Angle, but misses the headbutt, and Jericho hits the Lionsault for the pin and the European title. Angle is understandably pissed, having dropped both titles (cleanly, too) without losing a fall. Match was, of course, great, and I think we’re all just waiting for the Benoit v. Jericho wars to follow now. ****

vs

The Ultimate Warrior vs The Macho Man – Wrestlemania 7

Bobby Heenan points out that Elizabeth is sitting ringside. Geez, she couldn't even get front row. Warrior wisely decides to not run to ringside. Savage takes his top off, showing that he means business. Doesn't help, as Warrior methodically destroys Savage in a manner totally unlike him. Savage comes off the top but gets caught by Warrior, and then, in an Eddy Guerrero-like moment, Warrior simply puts him down and slaps him. Ooooo, you could get shot for doing shit like that in Mexico. Warrior paces himself nicely, slowly beating the hell out of Savage. He finally goes high-risk and misses a cross-corner charge, sending him flying out of the ring, where Sherri abuses him. Has Sherri been drinking "Ass Bulk 2000" or something? Savage sends Warrior to the post and Sherri lays in more punishment. Warrior calmly comes back in the ring and clotheslines Savage out of his boots. Flying shouldblock misses and Savage gets two. Sleeper, and Warrior fights out, but they do the double-knockout bit. Warrior with a small package, but Sherri is distracting the ref. Savage decks Warrior from behind, bumping the ref in the process. But Sherri's interference backfires and she knocks out Savage. Warrior chases her around, and gets cradled for two. Savage with a stun-gun and the running necksnap for two. Savage drops the big elbow! But it's not enough, so he drops...FOUR MORE! Seriously, the guy drops five flying elbows on Warrior, just to be a dick. And it only gets two, which didn't really matter at the time because Savage was supposed to be retiring anyway, so who cared if his move was ruined. Warrior re-energizes and blitzes Savage with the THREE CLOTHESLINES OF DEATH, then the Gorilla Press and splash. *That* only gets two, and now Warrior doesn't know what to do. He has an epiphanic moment, as he talks to his hands, looking for advice. He starts to walk away from the match, but Savage jumps him from behind. That's apparently good enough an answer for Warrior, as he moves out of the way of the double-axehandle, sending Savage crashing to the steel railing. He tosses Savage back into the ring and spears Savage, which puts Savage onto the floor. He does it again, sending Savage out again. Finally he throws Savage back in one last time, hits the shoulderblock, and places a foot on his chest to win the match. Warrior's best match ever. ****1/2

I vote for:

Sheik/Slaughter (Tough one though)
Vader/Inoki
Austin/Hart
Macho/Warrior

[jackson13]

Orton/Foley
Vader/Inoki
Austin/Hart
WM16

[Frank the Tank]

Orton/Jack
Horsemen/Filthy Animals/Raven And Saturn
Austin/Hart
Warrior/Macho

[brodeurnumber1]

Orton/Foley
Horsemen/Filthy Animals/Raven And Saturn
Austin/Hart
Benoit/Angle/Jericho

[Raw Chili]

Orton vs. Foley
Horsemen/Raven and Saturn/Filthy Animals
Austin vs. hart
Macho vs. Warrior, memorable match

[starcat]

Sheik/Slaughter
Vader/Inoki
Austin/Hart
Macho/Warrior

[outsyder]

Sheik/Slaughter
Horsemen/Filthy Animals/The Flock
Austin/Hart
Benoit/Jericho/Angle

[horrorfreak13]

Orton/Foley
Horsemen/Raven and Saturn/Filthy Animals
Austin/Hart
Savage/ Warrior

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Orton/Foley (5-3)
Triple Tag (5-3)
Austin/Hart (8-0)
Macho/Warrior (5-3)

Match 59:

Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson – Fall Brawl 95

The resuscitation of the Horsemen was one of the few things WCW did right in 1995. This particular match came about because Flair was becoming more and more dependant on Anderson to help him win matches, and it came to a head as Vader beat of them in a handicap match at the Clash preceding this show, with Flair not pulling his weight. Anderson confronted him with years of pent-up frustration at never getting a shot at Flair's title, and they decided to have this match to get it out of their system. This was such a great storyline. They play mind-games with each other to start, with Flair taking the heel role. They exchange wristlocks, which is the worst thing you can do when wrestling Arn Anderson, because he immediately goes after Flair's arm. Flair tries to take it to the mat but gets nowhere. Arn works the armbar, so Flair reacts the best way he knows -- he chops him down. He attacks the knee, drawing a big pop. Arn gets a high knee off the second rope, then goes back to the arm. Tony and Bobby do a great job of selling the psychology and the history of the Anderson's arm-breaking tactics. Arn actually pulls out a single-arm DDT, something he learned from Bobby Eaton. They exchange shots in the corner, and AA ends up on the floor. Flair comes off the top rope with a double-axehandle, then tosses Arn back in. AA comes back, but a low blow turns the tide. Back outside the ring, as Flair takes a backdrop on the floor, and retaliates with a suplex. Back in the ring for a delayed suplex and more chops, for a two count. Arn comes back and goes for the DDT, but Flair grabs the ropes to block. He flops for good measure. He goes to the top, but AA slams him off and goes for that dreaded move, the Double Axehandle Off the Second Rope That Has Never Hit a Single Person. Luckily for Ric, it misses. I get the feeling that Arn's had that one saved up in him for so long that if he ever hit it, the poor recipiant would be dead. Flair gets the figure-four, but Arn reverses. Flair escapes and tries agian, but gets cradled for two. Now Pillman jumps onto the ring apron and talks smack to Flair, so Flair smacks him. Pillman doesn't appreciate that, and kicks Flair in the head, allowing Arn to DDT his best friend and pin him at 21:53 to the shock and/or delight of the crowd, depending on which 50% of the arena you asked at that moment. That should have effectively killed the Horsemen for good, butbigger schemes were in the works at Halloween Havoc that year... ****

vs

Taka Michinoku vs Triple H – Monday Night Raw

Shane is having a fit that the aPa is there. Earl Hebner takes out
Shane McMahon and the aPa go after him. Taka starts out beating on HHH. Flying headscissors takeover and a dropkick by Taka. A drop kick to a sitting HHH gets Taka a near fall. Another drop kick by Taka takes HHH down. A slap to the face followed by chops to the chest. Taka whipped into the corner, but gets the boot up. Tornado DDT by Taka for another two count. Taka chopping HHH again. HHH hits a facebuster after a whip then knocks Taka out of the ring. Outside, HHH beats on Taka. HHH jumps back in to break the count and HHH comes back out and chops more. The Acolytes are standing outside to make sure there's no interfernec. Irish whip by HHH followed by a knee to the face for a two count. HHH kicks Taka down in the corner. Hebner grabbed HHH by the hair to pull him off. HHH shoved HHH then Hebner shoved him right back. HHH punches Taka in the corner, butTaka fights back. Taka thrown through the ropes . Taka thrown into the steps then thrown back in. Hebner and HHH go at it again. HHH says he don't
"give a f*ck" (exact words. The camera mic picked it up) Funaki baseball slides and knocks HHH into the Acolytes. The Acolytes pummel HHH. Drop kick by Funaki and Moonsault by Taka for a NEAR FALL. Shane and Vince come down to the ring and try to buy the aPa. Taka still working on HHH. Taka goes up. Bull Buchanon and Bossman assualt the Acolytes. Taka goes for the Michinoku driver but can't pick him up. Hurricanranna turned into a powerbomb followed by pedigree for the win.

Match 60:

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – Chi-Town Rumble 89

This was the
first of their best of 193988 series, which Steamboat won 193987 to 1.
But Flair won the last one, and that's what mattered in the end. Flair's entrance is complete with a line of women and a row of trumpets to herald him. Now THAT'S an entrance. I ask you -- why would David
Flair go to HOGAN to get a woman when his father had 40 of them lining the aisles just for his ring entrances? They exchange some mind-blowing chops and Steamboat gets a two count. They play mind-games with each other over things as simple as a headlock, which is pretty neat to see. They're just letting it all hang out, as Flair does the overselling thing with a near-dive over the top rope from the force of a chop. Geez, talk about putting someone over. Flair drags him out and cheats like a bastard, to the delight of the ringside fans. They are literally hitting each other so hard that I'm flinching from watching it. Flair
flip leads to a flying bodypress, which is reversed for two. Flair gets the figure-four and grabs onto the ropes for leverage and the crowd is nearing a riot. Is that Dave Meltzer at ringside...with an afro? More chops and both guys go spilling over the top rope. Flair gets some two-counts off a suplex. Backbreaker for two and some two-counts, with
the feet on the ropes, of course. Steamboat gets two on a rollup. He
misses the flying bodypress and they go into a wrestling sequence off a headlock, which leads to a butterfly suplex for two for Steamboat.
Backslide for two. Crowd is SERIOUSLY into this. Steamer with a flying
tackle and he hits the CHOP OF DEATH from the top, then goes for the
flying bodypress, but Tommy Young gets bumped. Flair tosses Steamboat, but Steamboat hangs on and goes for the bodypress again. It misses, and Flair goes for the figure-four as Teddy Long runs in to sub for the original ref. Steamboat reverses to a small package and gets the winning pinfall to claim his first World title. Would've been Match of the Year if they hadn't gone and topped themselves later in the year. ****3/4 And that last 1/4* was ONLY knocked off because WrestleWar was *that* much better.

vs

Tajiri vs Super Crazy – Guilty As Charged 99

This was early in Tajiri’s US career, back when he was clean-shaven, with short hair and normal tights, and no personality to speak of. You know, going totally insane really helped his career, although it’s obviously not for everyone in terms of career paths. Crazy gives a clean break to start and they do a neato armdrag reversal on the mat before Crazy gets a rollup for two. Criss-cross and Crazy gets a tornado DDT, but Tajiri fires off the kicks and gets a seated dropkick, as it seems that ECW was saving money by using epileptic cameramen at this point. They exchange chops and Tajiri dropkicks the knee a couple of times, then rolls into a kneebar. Handspring elbow and baseball slide put Crazy on the floor, and he follows with the Asai moonsault. Back in for the Tarantula and Crazy escapes and bails to the floor. He fights Tajiri off, sending him out, and follows with a crazy tope con hilo. Moonsault off the railing follows. Ouch. Back in, Crazy takes him up in a Rita Romero special, then rolls him into a bow-and-arrow. Awesome. Elbowdrop, but Tajiri counters an armdrag and dropkicks the knee again, sending Crazy out. Tajiri goes up with a plancha, then kicks him in the head afterwards. Back in, leg lariat gets two. They trade suplex attempts and Crazy gets another rollup for two. Another try is countered by Tajiri for two. They exchange chops and Crazy gives him a shot in the corner and moonsaults him for two. Dropkick puts him on the floor and he follows with a slingshot corkscrew tope. Nice. Back in, Crazy gets a missile dropkick and follows with a tornado DDT, then clotheslines him into the corner for ANOTHER one, this one inverted. Now that’s a cool transition. Powerbomb is countered by Tajiri to a DDT, but Crazy recovers first and goes up, but misses the Sky Twister Press. Tajiri then goes up, but Crazy catches him, so Tajiri comes down with a sunset flip for two. Back up for a rana, but Crazy rolls through for two. Liger Bomb gets two for Crazy. Tajiri comes back with his own Liger Bomb, into the rolling cradle for two. They slug it out and Tajiri gets a dragon suplex for the pin at 11:36. As a spot exhibition it was TREMENDOUSLY entertaining, although both guys would develop into more complete wrestlers later. ***1/2

Match 61:

Chris Benoit vs Al Snow – Double Tables

Hey, who’s the skinny guy with da skillz? Where’s Head? Or the Rocker tights? Or Steve Blackman? Oh well. Wristlock sequence goes Benoit’s way. Into a pinfall sequence for several two-counts. Benoit goes to work, but takes a superkick. Benoit goes into…you guessed it…CANADIAN VIOLENCE, hitting Snow with chops so loud that they’re picked up by JOEY’S mike. Oh my god! Snow bails to the apron and Benoit clotheslines him to the floor, then baseball slides him. He turns around, and Snow slingshots in with a dropkick, and tries his own baseball slide. It misses. Back in, Snow goes into a wicked series of kicks and Benoit bails. Back in, Benoit drops Snow on the top rope, and then sidesteps a retaliatory missile dropkick. Benoit gets a german suplex for two. Benoit puts the badmouth on Snow ("Is this the best the US can offer?" – TELL ‘EM CRIPPLER!) to waste some time. I guess Snow was legit hurt or something. Snow battles back but gets smacked down again. Vicious backdrop suplex gets two. Another one is countered by Al for one. Benoit gets the diving headbutt for two, bouncing about three feet off the mat as he lands. Brutal powerbomb gets two. Benoit hits a snap suplex and stalls some more. German suplex gets two. Jesus Christ, he’s fucking KILLING Snow in there. I approve. Dragon suplex is reversed into the Snowplex (ocean cyclone), but Snow has been beaten silly so he can’t cover. He gets a release german, still no cover. He mounts the superman comeback and gets a superkick for two. Fisherman’s suplex gets two. Benoit gets another german suplex to stop the rally, and a dragon suplex puts Snow out of his pain at 14:33. Good god, what a beating. ****1/4

vs

The Steiner Brothers vs Sting & Lex Luger – Superbrawl 1

There was no real build to this match -- Sting and Luger basically just
asked for a title shot at one point. Luger and Rick start out slow, but
it builds fast once Luger no-sells a Steinerline. Rick blitzes him with
a pair of suplexes and a clothesline, but Luger responds with his own.
The crowd is torn. Sting's turn, as he clotheslines Rick out of the ring and hits a gorgeous running tope. Sting does Rick's own body-vice-into-the-corner ramming move on him, but the Stinger splash misses. Scott in with a butterfly powerbomb to a huge pop. Tilt-a-whirl and the crowd is going nuts. Sting reverses a whip into a stungun and Luger's in. Another quick tag to Sting, but Scott with an atomic drop and a belly-to-belly superplex for two. Over to the other corner, but Scott misses a charge and goes over the top rope. Luger tags in and suplexes him in for two. Scott blocks a powerslam with a uranage, but Lex comes back with the powerslam. He goes for the rack, but Scott counters to a russian legsweep. Rick tags in and comes off the top with the bulldog and an elbowdrop for two. Sting dropkicks Rick off the top rope and a brawl erupts. Luger and Rick do the double knockout. Sting and Scott get the hot tags and Sting hits a belly to back on Scott. They do the tombstone reversal spot and Sting gets it. Two count. Another brawl erupts as Rick and Luger fight outside. Sting with the Stinger splash on Scott...but Nikita Koloff skulks to ringside with a chain wrapped around his arm. He swings at Luger but Sting pushes him out of the way and takes the shot himself, falling prey to a Scott Steiner pin at 11:09 to retain the titles. Ab fab. ***** A great match with a great angle, great intensity, and completely non-formula.

Match 62:

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinjiro Ohtani – 3/17/96

Well, we can't go wrong with these two. IWGP junior title on the line here as well. This is one of Schwab's favourite Liger matches so I'm expecting alot out of this one. I'll be brief in my description because I'm betting a lot is going to happen here. Basic matwork early on, with Liger taking the advantage locking in a surfboard variation and really pulling back on it. Otani in control now working over Liger's arm. He refuses to break for the rope and really rips on the arm. Liger, clutching his arm goes after Otani's knee. Both men picking a body part and sticking to it. Liger slaps Otani's face while he works over the leg. Pretty good stuff here early on. Koppu kick! while Otani is straddling the middle turnbuckle. Brainbuster follows but no cover. He just goes right back after the knee. Another koppu kick! in the corner. I love that move. Liger goes for a plancha only to get slapped in the face on the way down. Otani hits the springboard swan dive to the outside. Springboard spin kick follows for a close 2 count! Otani senses victory but gets absolutely launched with a release german suplex and takes another rolling koppu kick to the head. Top rope splash by Liger only gets 2. Big time Ligerbomb only gets 2! Liger goes for another, but Otani takes him over with the hurricanrana, sits Liger up top and takes him down with an avalanche style version, german suplex gets 2! So close. Springboard dropkick right to the arm as Liger was pulling himself up! Brilliant. Cross armbreaker, but Liger fights to make the ropes. Otani tries to pull Ligers elbow down over his shoulder, but gets caught in a sleeper! He makes the ropes but majistral cradle out of nowhere! Liger gets only a 2. Liger signals for the end. Fisherman buster! 2 3/4! Liger takes him up top. Otani fights it off and shoves Liger down. Dropkick to the back of the head! And Otani is feeling it. Dragon suplex, and another! but Liger is foot is in the ropes! Otani can't believe it. Otani goes for another but Liger blocks, running shotei! Otani stumbles around, and Liger hooks the leg for the 3. Benoit comes in to congratulate Liger. Great match. **** You want his match now. Fantastic stuff here. Otani is busted open from the last shotei and Liger continues to sell the arm afterwards. Awesome.

vs

Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle – Wrestlemania 19

Brock works the arm, and Angle takes him down with a fireman’s carry. They work off a headlock and Brock takes him down and they reverse until going to the mat again with a headlock. Good stuff. Brock overpowers him, but Angle shoots for the leg and they reverse off that for a bit until Brock takes him down. Back to the armdrag for Brock. Chain-wrestling at a WM main event, who’d have thunk? Angle pounds on him to escape, but gets elbowed and Brock works him over in the corner. Brock charges and meets elbow, but recovers with a powerslam for two. German suplex from Angle, but Brock no-sells and clotheslines him. Angle takes a powder and catches Brock coming in. You’d think people would stop falling for that after 100 years of it. Brock presses him, but runs into a boot, and Angle suplexes him into the turnbuckles in a sick spot. Back in, Angle gets a backdrop suplex for two. Snap suplex gets two. Angle goes to the chinlock and that goes on for a while, but Brock eventually powers out and rams Kurt’s back into the turnbuckles to break free. Angle gets an overhead suplex, however, to keep the advantage, and a knee to the back sends Brock flying. Back in, Brock gets a nasty spinebuster and they slug it out until Angle goes to the eyes. Brock makes the comeback with a clothesline and a kick to the face, and he pounds away in the corner. Blind charge hits elbow, but Brock gets his overhead suplex from one side, and then back to the other side. That’s really scary to see considering Angle’s neck. It gets two. Angle comes back with the rolling germans (and they wonder why the necks are falling to pieces) and the Angle Slam, but Brock escapes and reverses to the F5, which Kurt in turn reverses to the anklelock. Brock makes the ropes, but Angle pulls him back in and forces Brock to fight him off instead. Angle turns it into a half-crab to counter that strategy, but Brock makes the ropes again. Angle keeps laying in the knees, but charges one time too many and gets dumped as a result. Back in, Angle misses a charge and Brock hammers on him, but Angle gives him an absolutely sick german suplex for two. 300 pound guys should not be able to take those bumps. Angle Slam gets two. Another one is countered to a cradle for two. F5 gets two. Angle feigns injury, and grabs the anklelock while crawling to his feet. He turns it into a heel hook to really sink it in, but Brock drags Angle and makes the ropes. Kurt tries it again, but Brock shoves him off. F5 is countered to a cradle by Angle for two. Angle Slam is countered to another F5, but Brock opts to go up instead. Brock tries his legendary Shooting Star Press, but doesn’t get enough rotation and lands on his HEAD, knocking himself silly. That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen, and not in a good way. I’m assuming that was supposed to be the finish, but Brock’s miscue ruined it. Angle improvises and gets two as the ref freaks out, but Brock gets another F5 to win the title at 21:07. Probably Brock’s best match to date, as Angle pulled out all the sick bumps in he thought may have been his last match. ****1/4

I vote for:

Flair/Anderson
Flair/Steamboat
Steiners vs Sting/Luger
Liger/Ohtani

[Frank the Tank]

Flair/Arn
Flair/Steamboat
Steiners/Sting and Luger
Ohtani/Liger

[starcat]

Flair/Anderson
Flair/Steamboat
Steiners vs Sting/Luger
Liger/Ohtani

[jackson13]

Just for the hell of it...Taka/Trips
Naitch/Ricky
I dont like the Steiners, or Luger, so Benoit/Snow
The Next Big Thing/Kirk Angel

[Frank the Tank]

Originally posted by jackson13

I dont like the Steiners, or Luger, so Benoit/Snow


Eh, I can't help it, but Both The Steiners and Luger were a billion times better in 1991 then now. So if you ever get faster internet speed, I reccomend that you download yourself that match. It rules and all four work their asses off. I wouldn't go the full monty with it, but It's a really good **** 1/2 match with a retarded ending.

[outsyder]

Originally posted by starcat
Flair/Anderson
Flair/Steamboat
Steiners vs Sting/Luger
Liger/Ohtani


Ditto.

[brodeurnumber1]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
Flair/Arn
Flair/Steamboat
Steiners/Sting and Luger
Ohtani/Liger

Exactomundo.

[jeo4]

Flair/Anderson

Flair/Steamboat

Steiners/Sting and Luger

Liger/Ohtani

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Flair/Anderson (6-1)
Flair/Steamboat (7-0)
Steiners/Sting/Luger (6-1)
Liger/Ohtani (6-1)

Match 63:

Shawn Michaels vs Marty Janetty – Monday Night Raw

Shawn was stupid enough to challenge ANYONE to a match, and
Marty answered. Marty gets a couple of quick rollups to start. He
clotheslines Shawn out, baseball slides him, and then hits a pescado.
Crowd chants "Marty". Shawn runs and Marty tosses him back in.
Superkick from Shawn misses and Marty hits an armdrag and flying
headscissors for two. Backdrop and Shawn gets tossed over the top. He grabs the belt and takes off, but Mr. Perfect stops him and chases him back. Janetty slingshots him back in and tries another headscissor, but Shawn drops him on the top rope. Rights in the corner and Shawn drops a knee on him. Chinlock from Shawn, and Marty escapes, but Shawn dropkicks him down again. He tries another, but gets caught and slingshot into the corner for a two count. Jannetty with a flying elbow and powerslam for two. Flying bodypress for two. Atomic drop, but Shawn reverses, and Marty reverses for a rollup for two. Shawn reverses that for two. Superkick, and Shawn mouths off Perfect. Perfect tosses his towel at Shawn, and Marty cradles for the pin and his only major singles title. This match got ***** from Meltzer and won Match of the Year in 1993.

vs

Vince McMahon vs Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania 19

Hulk slugs away to start and they do a silly little parody of ground-and-pound before Vince comes out of the corner with a clothesline and kicks him down. He starts working on the arm with a hammerlock and wraps the arm around the pole a few times. They go into a test of strength, as Vince shows his guns off, apparently playing the role of Ultimate Warrior as we warp back to 1990. I mean, seriously, it’s two senior citizens holding hands during a fight, what the fuck? They head out and Hogan hits the post, allowing Vince to grab a chair and miss. Hogan sends him into the post, drawing blood, and adds a chairshot. Back in, Hogan uses the power of his punches to send McMahon FLYING out of the ring, and he works him over with a chair. Vince goes low to stop the tide of Hulkamania and chairs Hulk down. Vince gets a ladder. I take it back, go back to the chairs. They continue brawling and Vince sets up the ladder between the tables and comes off with a legdrop onto Hogan, through the Spanish table. To be more accurate, it’s a buttdrop onto the table with Hogan in the general vicinity. Back in, Vince gets two. He heads out and finds the lead pipe that always seems to be hidden under the ring, and then peaks over the ring with a deranged look that draws howls of laughter from the group watching the show with me. Hogan goes low, however. I’m just disappointed that we haven’t seen a backrake yet. However, my disappointment for stupidity is quickly made up by Roddy Piper doing a waddle-in, looking about 300 pounds, and turning on Hogan for no particular reason. Isn’t this the guy who was on TNA busting on the WWE for killing Owen Hart a few weeks ago and basically promising never to so much as speak to Vince ever again? I guess money talks and hypocrites walk when offered enough of it. Vince gets two, thus rendering the run-in pointless. The ref won’t let Vince use the pipe, so Vince punks him out and the Evil French Ref takes his place. Vince pipes Hogan down and drops a leg for two. It’s Hulk-up time, however. He apparently just now realizes that he’s bleeding. He fights off the Evil French Ref and tosses him, and it’s big boot and three legdrops (my god, are you trying to KILL the man?!?) for the pin at 20:45.**1/2

Match 64:

Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect – Loser Leaves Town

They get all in each other’s face to start and Flair overpowers him, but Perfect takes him down and chases him out of the ring. Flair consults with Bobby Heenan, and heads back in for a hammerlock sequence. They exchange chops and Flair wins that battle, but Perfect jabs him down and Flair is on his heels again. Flair tosses him over the top to buy a moment, but can’t use a chair. We head back in after a commercial break and Perfect bumps over the corner post and to the floor, and Flair hauls him back in and starts laying in the cheapshots. Perfect is bleeding, and Flair goes after it with zeal. ¾-nelson (and feet on the ropes) gets two. Flair denies any wrong-doing, of course. Perfect fires back, and they slug it out, which leads to a Perfect forearm shot and rollup for two. Flair goes low to stop that rally, but a Perfect backslide gets two. He hammers away in the corner, but Flair goes low again and gets a rollup for two. He bails as Perfect goes after him again, so Perfect suplexes him back in for two. Flair gets the sleeper, but Perfect makes the big comeback and rams Flair into the turnbuckles to break. Perfect gets his own sleeper in what looked like one guy was going for a leapfrog and the other a sleeper, and that gets a couple of near-falls. Flair suplexes out of it. Figure-four follows, with the ropes providing timely assistance, and that gets several near-falls on Perfect. Flair goes up, but gets slammed off, and we take another break. We return as Flair finds brass knuckles in his kneepad, and he uses the POWER OF THE PUNCH to KO Perfect. Elbowdrop gets two, as the foot landed on the ropes. Another try gets two. Flair goes to work on the cut again and lays in the chops, but Perfect has HAD ENOUGH. He returns fire with chops and backdrops Flair out of the corner, and hits him with a forearm shot. Flair Flip and he charges to the top, but Perfect catches him coming down with a clothesline for two. Flair pins him in the corner using the ropes for two. The ref kicks him off and Perfect reverses for two. Flair puts his head down, Perfectplex, goodbye at 17:32. Flair would be in WCW again the next month. I can’t believe they gave this 20 minutes on RAW. This was a great note for Flair to leave the promotion on, a great, intense TV match with Flair again putting the other guy over clean in the middle. ****1/4

vs

Sting vs Rick Rude – Clash of the Champions 21

Rude pounds away to start and swivels. Jesse wants a point for the swivels. Sting comes back with a press-slam and an exploding gutbuster, and stomps away. Jesse makes sure to note that Sting is targeting the ribs, not the abs, because the abs are made of steel and all. Sting works the ribs in the corner and mocks Rude. Jesse feels that Rude’s hip-swivelling was superior and thus Sting shouldn’t get any points for it. Too funny. Front suplex gets two. Again, and Rude is winded. Sting hammers away for two and hits the rear chinlock. Into an abdominal stretch to work the ribs, so Rude goes to the eyes to break. Jesse is, as always, proud of Rude. Rude works the back, but can’t suplex him due to the rib problems, and indeed Sting reverses and dumps Rude on the top. Rude gets crucified on the ropes, hanging over the apron, so Sting unloads with sidekicks on his ribs. Rude bails to the railing and Sting charges, and after 15 years of Sting matches I’m sure you know what happens. Back in, Rude goes up and clubs him for two. Elbow gets two. Rude goes to his own rear chinlock and wears down the back, but he’s too hurt to taunt Sting. Slam gets two. Back to the chinlock and into a suplex, but Rude can’t cover. Another slam and back to the rear chinlock. Sting comes back, but his back buckles on a slam and Rude works a cover for a few two-counts. Rude whips him from pillar to post and hits the bearhug. He rams Sting into the turnbuckle to keep things moving, but Sting fights back. Sleeper is reversed to a jawbreaker, however, and Rude blows some snot Sting’s way. SPORTSMANSHIP RULES~! Rude goes up, but Sting LAUNCHES him off the top and he comes back. Atomic drop front and back, and a bulldog gets two with 1:00 left. Sting goes up with a bodypress for two. Back up, but Rude sidesteps him. Kneelifts and Rude Awakening, but Sting blocks and hits the Stinger Splash as time expires at 20:00. So we go to the esteemed judges, and Ole Anderson: 2 votes Sting, 1 vote Rude. Sting advances. Rude wuz robbed. Real good effort here. ***1/2

Match 65:

Triple H vs The Rock – Ladder Match – Summerslam 98

Slugfest to start. Both go for the finisher early but neither can hit it. HHH goes for the ladder first and it comes into play via Rocky. He makes the first try for the belt but HHH nails him from behind on the slow climb. HHH makes his own go for it but Rock yanks him down and he lands wrong on his ankle, injuring his knee. Rock works on it. Crowd is super hot. Rock drops the ladder right on the knee and then sandwiches the knee in the ladder and jumps on it a lot. Rock puts the ladder on top of the steps and the railing and drops HHH on it, right on his knee. Ouch. Rock goes for the belt but HHH barely gets there in time. Back out on the floor, and HHH gets slingshotten into the ladder. HHH gets the crap beaten out of him as he tries the Pedigree on the ladder on the floor, but Rock backdrops him on it. Henry tosses a backup ladder in because the first one is in bad shape. Rock does another slow climb as HHH fights off Mark Henry just in time to dump Rocky out of the ring. Baseball slide into the ladder right into Rocky's face. Rocky bleeds. HHH makes his first attempt at the belt but gets dumped by the Rock. Rock sets up the ladder on the top turnbuckle and DDTs Hunter. Rocky climbs for the belt and Hunter follows him up the other side and we get the slugfest at the top. Hunter goes flying into the ladder on the turnbuckle, bounces off, and knocks the Rock off the ladder and onto the top rope. Rock grabs the ladder, but Hunter smacks him with a chair and beats the hell out of him with it. Rocky retaliates with a People's Elbow on the ladder to a massive reaction. HHH back up and goes for the belt again, but Rocky pulls him off and hits the Rock Bottom to another massive pop. Rock back up the ladder again but HHH pulls him off and nails the Pedigree to yet another massive pop. Mark Henry then tosses a big bag of powder in his face and blinds him. HHH climbs but can't see the belt. Another slugfest on top and Chyna runs in, ballshot to Rock, and he falls off, allowing Hunter to grab his second I-C title to a raucous ovation from the crowd. Rock is unconscious as D-X celebrates. Bold prediction: This match will *make* these guys' careers. ****1/2

vs

Team AAA vs Team NWA – 2/11/04

Review was waaaay to long to put here so review can be read right here: http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/tvreports/article.php?tvreports_id=1473

Match 66:

Low-Ki vs American Dragon – Round Robin Challenge 02

My friends, if you ever wanted to see ground work at it’s best, you had better go after this thing. We’re talking fifteen minutes on the mat with chain wrestling and submissions coming out the yin/yang. Arm bars, leg bars, headlocks, hammerlocks, bow and arrows, Indian Deathlocks. It’s all there for your viewing pleasure. The interesting part is that they still manage to tell an interesting story here. These two are kind of like the old “Wrestler vs Striker” from the old UFC days. So what you have is Dragon taking it to the mat and Ki trying to run with him but he’s not quite on the level so every few minutes he finds a way to get in a few stiff kicks to break up the ground work and reset. So it basically boils down a chess match to see who has a better grasp of their particular style and who can prevail with that style. Dragon mixes things up very well as he works the limbs but he also keeps coming back to work on the neck as a means to soften Ki up for The Cattle Mutilation. We break things open from the ground work at a point beyond what any other match on the card even got to and you realize that you’re in for something great. Ki hits a double stomp on the abs but Dragon actually bridges while Ki is standing on him (that’s outright unbelieveable) but Ki stomps him right back down (dirty dirty move). He looks for The Ki Krusher but Dragon manages to block and hit a Dragon Suplex for 2 and ¾. Dragon heads up but hits Ki’s knee on the Swandive Headbutt. Irish whip and Ki hits The Tidal Crush followed up with a Dragon Suplex of his own for 2 and ¾. Ki takes a page out of Dragon’s book with The Cattle Mutilation but Dragon has none of that shit and reverses his own move into The Dragon Clutch. Sadly Ki has no escape and has to force the rope break. Dragon gets outright SICK as he slaps on a neck crank and turns that into a NECK CRANK SUPLEX! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! 1… 2… 2 AND 9/10! WOW, I have never seen anything like that before. Irish whip into the corner and Dragon hits a FISHERMAN’S NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX (NLS with a hooked leg)! AWESOME! 1… 2… 2 AND 9/10! Dragon looks for a suplex but that’s blocked and Ki hits a Brainbuster but he’s totally winded and can’t cover for anything worthwhile. Ki brings a huge flurry of stiff as fuck kicks. NOW… KI CRUSHER ’99! IT’S OVER! 1… 2… 2.999999! OH MY GOD! That my friends is the only point in this entire match that I had a gripe. A full fledged kick out is a total disrespect to the power of the move. We keep going though as Ki hits a Backbreaker and looks for The Stardust Press but HITS THE KNEES! DRAGON SUPLEX! 1… 2… 2.999999! SUPER BACKDROP SUPLEX! 1… 2… 2.999999! Dragon puts Ki on the top and looks for another Suplex but Ki blocks and hits a MOTHERFUCKING SUPER KI KRUSHER! MOST DISGUSTING MOVE EVER! THIS CROWD IS OFF THE WALLS! “HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!” Both guys are down. Dragon rolls out of the ring and is FUCKING DEAD on the floor. Ki inches and crawls across the ring, barely manages to get Dragon into the ring and it’s 1… 2… 2.FOOT ON THE ROPE! IT’S NOT OVER! Ki brings the chops and looks for The Tidal Crush but Dragon blocks mid move and hits a MOTHERFUCKING CRADLE SUPLEX! SWEET JESUS! 1… 2… 2.999999! CATTLE MUTILATION! CATTLE MUTILATION! KI IS SCREEEEEEAMING IN PAIN! He inches… crawls… almost there… DRAGON BREAKS! PULLS HIM BACK! CATTLE MUTILATION WITH A CHINLOCK! THIS CROWD IS NUCLEAR! KI WON’T GIVE UP! The hand drops once… twice… IT’S OVER! GET THIS MATCH NOW NOW NOW! I loved the hell out this thing. This was absolute balls to the wall action. This had some of the best mat work you’ll ever see with a kick ass story to boot. Then you get the usual stuff that would end most matches. Then you get the insanity moves. Then you get the stuff that you didn’t think was even possible and it still keeps going until they take you to the absolute peak of anticipation before the big payoff. ****3/4

vs

Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera – Nitro 9/14/98

Both men gave it their all in the match, coming within a 1/2 a second at
several points from winning the match. After Guerrera hit Kidman with a
huracanrana from the top, he went to the top for the 450 degree splash. However, Kidman got up and delivered a powerbomb to Guerrera as Guerrera came off the top rope. Kidman then went to the top rope and delivered the 7-Year Itch for the victory. Saturn then came down and applauded Kidman's victory. Winner: Kidman by Pinfall (New Cruiserweight Champion)

Match 67:

Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr. – World War III 96

Dragon starts with a headlock, into a wristlock and armbar takedown. Rey goes to the knee, but Dragon keeps him grounded and slams him for two. They trade a hammerlock and Dragon flips out of a wristlock. Complex criss-cross sequence goes nowhere, but looks nice. Dragon gets the kick combo, but Rey charges and goes to the apron, then gets dropkicked to the floor. Suplex in is reversed by Rey, reversed again to a german suplex by Dragon for two. Dragon drops him facefirst off a whip and throws some stiff kicks. Spinning backbreaker drop and Rey seeks refuge. Dragon goes into a half-crab, then a powerbomb -> hotshot combo for two. Spinebuster and he pulls out the Giant Swing. Interesting stylistic choice there, and I’ll leave it at that. Rey heads to the floor, and back in where Dragon hits a fisherman’s buster for two. Brainbuster gets two. Vicious. Suplex is reversed to a small package by Rey for two, but Dragon lays in the kicks again and goes to a legbar. Tombstone gets two. Dropkick puts Rey on the floor, and Dragon sends him to the railing. He tombstones him on the floor, hits a pescado onto him, and Rey is DEAD. Back in, they go up and Dragon gets a top rope rana for two. Running Ligerbomb gets two. Rey gets a quick leg lariat and double-jump moonsault for two, however. A springboard dropkick puts Dragon out, and Rey follows with a springboard somersault plancha. Back in, sunset flip gets two, reversed for two. Rey cartwheels into a rana for two. Dragon gets a Dragon suplex for two. Powerbomb is reversed by Rey into his rollup for two. The springboard rana is caught, however, and Dragon finishes with a slingshot powerbomb for the pin at 13:46. Quite the opener there. ****

vs

AJ Styles vs Jeff Jarrett – TNA 4/21/04

Shoves, lock-ups, blows etc are exchanged at a fast pace. Styles gets JJ in a headlock and follows it with a shoulderblock. Chops to JJ chest send him across the ring. Man, those sounded stiff! Styles grabs JJ again in a headlock but he breaks out and whips him into the ropes.
Styles returns with a deep armdrag. JJ does the same but follows his with some chops. The match goes on for a while with various chops, kicks, and punches. Styles dropkicks, bodyslams, and then springboard kneedrop for a two count. A bit of offense by JJ leads to a powerslam for two for Styles. He picks JJ up and holds him for a high vertical suplex. Another two count. Styles attempts a springboard but JJ catches him and tosses him into the side of the cage. JJ gets Styles into a figure four but Styles reverses and gets a two count. JJ then attempts the Scorpion Deathlock but Styles is able to crawl over to the ropes. Styles tries to return the favor but JJ gets the ropes. Styles covers JJ with a German suplex bridge but still doesn’t get the three.
Styles isn’t ready to give up yet and tries a reverse DDT but JJ manages to get out of that too. He tries the Styles Clash but didn’t succeed. The ref takes a really weak bump at this point. While the ref is trying to shake it off JJ reaches into his trunks for a small baggie of white powder and throws it into Styles’s face. JJ takes advantage of this with a backslide for two. JJ now is unlacing his boot where he has a chain hidden away. He tries to hit Styles but he sees it and ducks. Styles rolls JJ up for yet another two count. JJ decides to do the ultimate insult of trying to use his opponent’s finisher but Styles shows him how the clash is done. Another two count and Styles climbs up the cage. JJ shoves the ref into the cage knocking Styles down. As Styles hangs on for dear life he hits the cage again causing Styles to hit the floor hard. A “Holy Shit” chant erupts from the crowd! The ref stops the match and unlocks the cage because there has to be a winner since this is a No DQ match. When the cage is unlocked JJ rushes out and grabs his guitar off the announcers’s table. Tenay tries to get it before him but JJ is too quick. He gets back in the cage and goes to hit Styles with it but he sees it coming. He nails the guitar with an enzugiri like it’s target practice. JJ just stands there shocked before attempted to hit him with what was left. Styles was too quick for him though and rolled him up, guitar and all, for the three count. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you our new NWA TNA Heavyweight Champion of the World……AJ Styles!

I vote for:

HBK/Janetty
Flair/Perfect
HHH/Rock
Low-Ki/Dragon
Dragon/Mysterio

[jackson13]

Shawn/Marty
Naitch/Hennig
Hunter/Rocky (this match DID MAKE these guys. This is their best match, along with Judgement Day 2000)
Low-Ki/Dragon
Ultimo/ReyRey

[Frank the Tank]

HBK/Marty
Flair/Perfect
Trips/Rock
AmDrag/Ki
Ultimo/Rey

[outsyder]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
HBK/Marty
Flair/Perfect
Trips/Rock
AmDrag/Ki
Ultimo/Rey

Ditto.


He fights off the Evil French Ref and tosses him, and it’s big boot and three legdrops (my god, are you trying to KILL the man?!?)

You'd think this was CZW or something.;)

[Raw Chili]

HBK/Marty
Flair/Perfect
Trips/Rock
Ki/Dragon
Rey/Dragon

[starcat]

HBK/Marty i still get depressed over the rockers breakup
Flair/Perfect
Trips/Rock
Ki/Dragon
Rey/Dragon

[horrorfreak13]

HBK/Janetty
Flair/Perfect
HHH/Rock
Low-Ki/Dragon
Dragon/Mysterio

[jeo4]

HBK/Marty Janetty

Ric Flair/Mr. Perfect

HHH/The Rock (I hate D-X. Pathetic Gimmick.)

Low-Ki/American Dragon

Ultimo Dragon/Rey Mysterio (I guess.)

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
HBK/Marty (8-0)
Flair/Perfect (8-0)
Trips/Rock (8-0)
Dragon/Ki (8-0)
Ultimo/Rey (8-0)

Match 68:

Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle – Royal Rumble 03

Benoit takes him down and tries a Sharpshooter, but Angle bails. Back in, Benoit mule kicks him and escapes a sleeper with an armdrag, then legdrags him into another Sharpshooter attempt, but Angle makes the ropes before he can finish. Angle sends him into the post and pounds on him, and gets a suplex for two. They exchange chops, which is rather dumb of Angle, and Benoit takes over. Boomerang clothesline and knee to the gut get two. More chops and he knees Angle down, but gets suplexed onto the top rope to stop the rally. He necksnaps Angle and drags him onto the apron, where they slug it out, and Benoit DDTs him onto the apron. Coolness. Back in, Benoit gets two. He goes up, but misses the headbutt, and then counters an Angle Slam into a Sharpshooter. He really needs to start using that as a finish. Angle makes the ropes. Backdrop suplex gets two. He walks into an overhead suplex from Angle (done with snap and force, unlike Steiner’s sloppy throws), however, and bails. Angle stomps him on the floor and they head back in, which Angle short-arms him for two. Angle hits the chinlock and they turn it into a mat sequence as Benoit armdrags out of it, but Angle snaps off another overhead suplex. Nasty backdrop suplex gets two, and Angle goes back to the chinlock. Using the bodyscissors is a nice touch. Benoit fights out again, and they collide with clotheslines for the double KO. Crowd is into it, which is always a good sign. Benoit fights back with clotheslines and gets a backdrop to set up the rolling germans, but Angle reverses to his own, which Benoit then reverses to one more of his own. Benoit gives him the SNOT ROCKET OF DEATH and goes up, but Angle hits him with the Pop Up Superplex for two. See, blowing snot on your opponent is never a good idea. Lou Thesz did the same thing in 1938 and nearly lost the title as a result. Benoit counters the Angle Slam with the crossface, but Angle pulls himself to the ropes. Benoit hauls him off and gives him an anklelock, but that allows Angle to reverse to his own. Benoit counters again back to the crossface, but Angle rolls him over for two. Benoit snaps him right back into the crossface. Angle rolls through, but Benoit doesn’t release, and that proves to be a mistake as Angle hits him with the Angle Slam out of that. It gets two. That’s an awesome sequence with no booking trickery needed to pop the crowd. Angle grabs another anklelock, and Benoit has nowhere to go. He powers out instead and tries another german, but Angle reverses, which Benoit then counters with a rollup for two. Another german for Benoit, but Angle reverses to his own, but Benoit reverses and Angle takes that sick upside-down bump onto his face off it. This is just breathtaking stuff. Benoit goes up again and hits the flying headbutt from ¾ of the way across the ring as the crowd is actually chanting for Benoit now. That gets two. Crossface again, but Kurt rolls out and tries a powerbomb. He drops Benoit on the turnbuckle, into the Angle Slam, and that gets two. I was calling that as the finish while watching live. Benoit takes him down again with the crossface, and Angle is stuck, but he rolls through again into the anklelock. Benoit fights it off, but Angle won’t let go of the hold. Benoit rolls off again, but Angle stays on it. Another reversal, but Angle rolls with him and holds on. One last counter for Benoit, but Angle turns it into a heel hook to finish at 19:47. But I bet that according to HHH, neither of these guys know how to work. This is your first match of the year contender, but with the setup of the awards it’ll be forgotten by November. ****3/4 I’m deducting ¼* for the chinlocks in the middle, for those who will inevitably ask. The crowd then shows huge class and gives Benoit a standing ovation after the match for the effort.

vs

Royal Rumble 2001

Jeff Hardy is #1, Bull Buchanan is #2. Bull pounds Jeff, who comes back with a headscissors. Jeff escapes a press slam, but gets pounded in the corner. They to put each other out, as Matt Hardy is #3. They bounce Bull in short order. Matt and Jeff go at it, as Jeff hits a jawbreaker and tries to put him out. Faarooq is #4, and he misses the Dominator and takes the Twist of Fate/Swanton finisher and goes over the top quickly after. Matt then dumps Jeff, who sneaks back in under the ropes. They square off again as Drew Carey is #5, and hangs out around the ring for a couple of minutes. The Hardyz eliminate each other and Drew celebrates. Until Kane comes in at #6, at which point he craps himself. He tries a bribe, then resorts to cowering until Raven comes at #7, allowing Drew the chance to graciously eliminate himself and get the hell out. Kane kills Raven, so he bails and starts tossing weapons into the ring in desperation. Al Snow is #8, as he nails Kane with the bowling ball and hits the SEVEN-TEN SPLIT OF DEATH on Raven. Raven & Snow put aside their differences to pound on Kane with trashcans, and ram him headfirst into one. Perry Saturn is #9, as he joins in and makes it 3-on-1. Kane fights them off, but a Raven sleeper puts him down. Steve Blackman is #10, and he blows the entire plan by attacking the other guys and allowing everyone to pair off. Grandmaster Sexay is #11, and he gets some shots in before Kane whacks him so hard with a trashcan that he flies right over the top. Kane then dumps Snow, Raven, Blackman and Saturn for good measure, ending the hardcore segment and leaving him alone. Honky Tonk Man is #12, and he stops to thank the crowd and sing his song. Kane of course destroys him and tosses him out. Funny stuff. Rock is #13. He lays the smack down, but can’t toss Kane. Kane pounds him and hits the big boot. Goodfather is #14…or, I mean, he WAS #14, leaving in about that many seconds via the Rock. Kane suplexes Rock and chokes him out, then hits a sideslam. Tazz is #15, and lasts even less than Goodfather. Kane continues beating on Rock. Bradshaw is #16. He’s more than happy to go after Kane, Rock and anyone else. Rock hits a spinebuster, then Kane lariats him. Albert is #17, as everyone pairs off and plays “You lay on the top rope and I’ll try to push you out” for a bit. Hardcore Holly is #18, and takes the brunt of the punishment. Rock dumps Kane, but can’t get him off the apron. K-Kwik is #19 and looks lost. Match slows down a LOT here as the ring is filling up with too much deadwood. Val Venis is #20 and adds nothing. William Regal is #21, match still drags. Test is #22 and he tosses Regal, but there’s about 10 guys in there and nothing’s going on. Big Show makes his return at #23.He disposes of Test and K-Kwik, then hands out chokeslams like candy. Albert! Bradshaw! Venis! Holly! Kane! Rock…no wait, Rock in fact blocks it and dumps Big Show. Crash Holly is #24, as Big Show drags Rock out and chokeslams him through the table. Oh, GOODIE, another Big Show-Rock feud. Maybe we can get another four-way at Wrestlemania, with Austin taking Mick Foley’s place. Wouldn’t that be KEEN? Everyone suddenly gets smart and goes after Kane, to no avail. Undertaker is #25, and thank god because maybe he’ll thin out all the extra bodies. Bradshaw, Albert, Crash, Hardcore and Venis all exit stage left, leaving the Brothers Grim alone to compare hair-care notes. Scotty 2 Hotty has the misfortune of being #26, and he dies without putting up much of a fuss. The crowd, possibly expecting him to make a big comeback and hit a double-Worm on both guys, seems more bummed than usual to see him tossed. Rock struggles back in as Steve Austin is #27, and right on cue HHH runs out and beats the bejesus out of him. Billy Gunn is #28, and he holds off UT & Kane as the refs drag Hunter away from Austin. UT gets a DDT on Rock, and THE MONSTERMENG (re-dubbed Haku) is #29. He blitzes UT and Kane, but gets double-teamed, and everyone pairs off. Rikishi is #30. Rikishi stops to brawl with a bloodied Austin, and this awakes the giant. Austin enters the match and beats the hell out of Billy Gunn, then dumps Haku. Rock goes out, under the ropes, and back in again. Rikishi superkicks Undertaker out, nonchalantly. He tries the same approach with Rock on a banzai drop, but gets dumped over and out for his troubles.

- Final Four: Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane, Billy Gunn. Gee, I wonder who goes first here? Austin disposes of Rockabilly soon enough, leaving Kane to take a breather. Slugfest and the crowd is torn. Rock Bottom is blocked, KICK WHAM STUNNER. Kane goes after Austin, but gets Thesz-pressed. Austin walks into a Rock Bottom, and Rock tosses Kane…THROUGH the ropes, so no go. Austin and Rock pound each other, but Kane sneaks up to dump both, only getting Rock out in the process (!!!). Man, there goes my sure-fire pick. Chokeslam for Austin and Kane gets a chair, but it’s KICK WHAM STUNNER again, and a bunch of chairshots send Kane to the floor at 61:38 after an admirable 55-minute performance, and Steve Austin will be YOUR challenger for the WWF title at Wrestlemania 17.***1/2

Match 69:

Shawn Michaels vs Sid – Survivor Series 96

Crowd reaction to Shawn is mixed, to say the least. Sid pounds on Shawn to start, and gets a big face pop. They get into a slugfest, which is pretty dumb on Shawn’s part. A foot race erupts, and Shawn clips Sid back in the ring, drawing big heel heat. The crowd reactions are almost as interesting as the match. Then the crowd actually starts chanting "Let’s Go Sid" during a figure-four. Sid shakes it off and starts overpowering Shawn, who then goes back to the knee and gets mad boos. Shawn does the skin-the-cat move back into the ring, and gets clotheslined by Sid. Heh. They fight outside, and Sid kills him. Back in the ring, more pummelling. Shawn manages to get to the top, but gets caught coming down with a shoulderbreaker from Sid for two. Shawn asks for more, so Sid pastes him a few times. Shawn comes back with a slam, but misses whatever from the top. Sid hits the cobra clutch, getting a two count. HBK escapes and tries the superkick, but Sid simply catches him and chokeslams him to a BIG pop. The psychology here is actually terrific, which is shocking for a Sid match. Powerbomb attempt, but Shawn reverses to a small package for two. Shawn makes the comeback, kips up, and Sid rips his head off. YEAH! Damn, I’m marking out for Sid, what the hell’s wrong with me? Sid grabs the camera from the cameraman at ringside (before y’all e-mail me, YES, I know this was "stolen" from November to Remember the night before) and nails Jose Lothario with it, who proceeds to overact a heart attack. Frighteningly, the crowd CHEERS this. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music, but decides to check on Jose instead of covering. That costs him the match, as the ref gets bumped when Shawn gets back in, so Sid hits him with the camera to knock him out, then powerbombs and pins him to win his first World title (or major title of any kind for that matter) at 19:59. MAJOR face pop for that. This was quite possibly Sid’s best match ever, to boot. ****

vs

Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Sabin – Super X 2003

At the bell, Sabin doesn’t want to lock up right away and uses the ropes to break away. Sabin fakes a handshake with a slap to the face and receives one in return. They shove each other…and it’s ON as both men run towards the ropes at the same time and hit the Indy Applause Stance! You know what…tonight, that’s forgivable. It’s the finals, no one else did it tonight…I understand. Sabin then goes to shake Juvi’s hand, but he gets the finger instead. Sabin goes for a clothesline, but gets kicked instead. Sabin ducks a second kick, but eats a third. Juvi comes BLAZING off the ropes with a flying head scissors and puts Sabin in a tight armbar to slow it down. Juvi transitions it into a cross armbreaker, but Sabin escapes. Juvi chops away at Sabin’s chest and gets on his shoulders for a rana. Sabin tosses him off (and Juvi lands on his NECK instead of rolling and landing on his feet) before connecting with an enziguiri (to said neck). Sabin gets a two count off of it and whips Juvi into the corner…and EATS BOOT AGAIN! Juvi counters with a spinning wheel kick that sends Sabin to the outside. Juvi fakes going to the outside again and then hits a pescado! He rolls Sabin back in and hits a slingshot elbowdrop for two. Juvi hooks on a hammerlocked abdominal stretch on Sabin before chopping him in the chest once again. Juvi jumps onto Sabin’s shoulders and tries to bulldog him down, but Sabin swings back with an OCEAN CYCLONE SUPLEX~! Sabin hooks on a Straight Jacket submission hold before going to the 2nd rope. Juvi picks him up and goes for a powerbomb, but Sabin goes for a sunset flip…only to eat a basement dropkick by Juvi! Juvi goes to pick up Sabin, but he rakes the eyes and regains the control. Juvi gets up and whips Sabin into the ropes. Juvi charges and Sabin gets on his shoulders, only to be dropped back in a cross armed version of Frankie Kazarian’s Back to the Future for two! Juvi goes for a waistlock on Sabin, but it’s reversed…but Juvi has nothing to fear as he lands on his feet on the German Suplex attempt. Sabin kicks him in the midsection though…and goes for a powerbomb! Juvi lands on hit feet and goes for one of his own, but Sabin counters and whips him into the ropes where they end up in a BIG nearfall reverse sequence. In a cute spot, both men fall on their asses at the same time afterwards, dizzy from all of the spinning and reversing. Both men slowly get up and the fans are definitely into it, clapping along. A slugfest erupts in the ring, but Sabin wins it. He ends up whipped to the ropes and on Juvi’s shoulders, but rolls off and they exchange a ton of reversals before Juvi turns a powerbomb attempt into a roll up for two! Juvi nails a bulldog and the fans erupt as both men are down again! Juvi gets up and springs off the apron with a front dropkick! He nips up and motions for the Juvi Driver! Sabin reverses and hits the Over Easy for two! (Flipping DDT out of a Razor’s Edge position.) Sabin goes for Future Shock, but Juvi floats over and hooks both arms. Sabin blocks it at first…so Juvi stops to chop him and then proceeds to drop Sabin SQUARE ON HIS FUCKING HEAD WITH TIGER DRIVER~! ’91! HOLY SHIT! SABIN…IS…DEAD! ONE…TWO…NO!!! OH MY GOD!Juvi picks him up and goes for the Juvi Driver…but Sabin reverses it into a swinging DDT! Both men are down and the fans are chanting “TNA” like they MEAN IT! Sabin goes for the cover and once again only gets a two count. Sabin goes to the top rope and comes off the top…only to eat a front dropkick to the FACE! Juvi goes to the top, but Sabin cuts him off! Sabin superplexes Juvi off and both men just collapse with both men covering each other! ONE…TWO…NO! Juvi gets up and gets a roll up for two…and then Sabin does the same! Sabin goes for a clothesline, but Juvi ducks and hits the JUVI DRIVER~! He goes to the top…and hits the 450 SPLASH~! ONE…TWO…TH..NO! SABIN GOT HIS FOOT ON THE ROPE! Juvi picks up Sabin and goes for his Torture Rack sit out powerbomb, but Sabin lands on his feet and hits the FUTURE SHOCK~! for the ONE…TWO…THREE~!

Match 70:

Owen Hart & The British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin – Monday Night Raw – May 97

Austin attacks Owen to start and hits him with a knee to the gut and drops an elbow, into a Sharpshooter attempt, but Bulldog breaks it up. Elbow off the middle gets two. Shawn comes in off the top, right onto the crippled knee, and works on Owen’s arm, but Owen flips out of it and brings in Bulldog. Bulldog overpowers Shawn and they criss-cross, but Shawn goes to the eyes and gets a rana. He slides under for an enzuigiri, which gets two. Back to Austin, as he hammers Bulldog down and stomps on his nuts behind the ref’s back, then chokes away. They switch off in the corner, double-teaming Davey Boy, but a cheapshot turns the tide and Owen pounds Austin on the floor and drops him on the railing. We take a break and return with Owen headlocking Austin, but they criss-cross and Owen gets a sleeper, which Austin counters with a quick jawbreaker. Tags abound and Shawn hammers Bulldog with a forearm and kips up, into a dropkick, but Bulldog drops him crotch-first on the top rope. Back in, Shawn fights back, but Bulldog catapults him into the post as the match continues to move at 120 MPH. Bulldog whips him into the corner and into a powerslam for two. Austin dives in for the save and it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA, allowing Owen to gutwrench Shawn into a legdrop for two. The frantic pace slows a bit as Owen hits the chinlock, and snaps off the belly-to-belly for two. Owen again lures the hotheaded Austin into the ring and it’s some shenanigans in the Hart Foundation corner. Shawn comes back with a sunset flip on Bulldog, but Owen is distracting the ref, and it only gets two. Bulldog kills him with a clothesline to regain the advantage and drops the leg for two. Facelock to cut off the ring and it’s a false tag, and back to the heel corner for more punishment. Owen pounds Shawn in the corner and sets up for a superplex, but Shawn blocks and brings Owen down the hard way. High cross gets two. Owen fires off a leg lariat, but misses a charge, and it’s hot tag Austin, as the crazy pace picks up again. Austin goes nuts, pulling a Bertuzzi on the Hart Foundation, and it’s BONZO GONZO. Shawn superkicks Bulldog and Austin pins Bulldog to win the tag titles at 10:25. Awesome, super-fast paced tag match that would prove to be Austin’s last great match in that mode before the neck injury forced him to reinvent the entire style of North American wrestling, more or less. ****1/2

vs

Bret Hart vs Steve Austin – IYH: Revenge of the Taker

Slugfest to start. Austin quickly gets control and nails Bret with an axehandle off the apron to the floor. Bret to the stairs. Austin mocks Hart in the ring, then tosses him to the stairs again. He tosses Bret over the railing, into the crowd, then hits an axehandle off the railing. Bret is bumping like mad here. Back in the ring and Austin with a "fuck you elbow" for two. Bret grabs a chair it backfires, as Austin takes it from him. Ref gets bumped and Hart smashes the chair into Austin's knee a few times. Vince talks about Bret's ego. Bret hooks the ringpost figure-four, then smashes a chair into Austin's knee a few times. Austin's knee is gone. Austin comes back with a series of elbows, but Bret simply kicks him in the knee to retake control. He rips off Steve's faithful knee brace and works on the knee some more. Back in the ring and Austin with a low blow to counter. Dammit, that could cause a serious GROIN injury, the likes of which we've never seen before! Ahem. Austin chokes out Bret with his tape. The Fuck You Elbow misses and Austin lands on his knee. Bret, of course, goes back to it. Bret hits a figure-four. Austin reverses and they fight outside the ring again. Austin drops Bret on the railing and clotheslines him from the apron to the floor. Back in the ring and Austin with the CROSS CORNER WHIP OF DEATH. Bret should do that bump in every match. It gets two. Austin tries a piledriver but his leg gives out. Bret goes back to the knee. Austin drops him facefirst on the top turnbuckle for two. He goes for the Stunner but Bret makes the ropes. Bret with his own low blow. Bret with the superplex. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter, and Austin grabs his wayward knee brace and whacks Bret with it, allowing him to reverse to his own Sharpshooter! But then Owen and Davey Boy run in. Austin breaks the move, chases them off, and tries the Sharpshooter again, but Davey Boy smacks Austin with a chair for the DQ. ****

I vote for:

Benoit/Angle
Juvi/Sabin
Owen/Bulldog vs HBK/Austin

[Frank the Tank]

Benoit/Angle
Juvi/Sabin
AustinHBK/BulldogOwen

[jackson13]

I'll be the lone man out here and vote for Rumble 01. I watched The whole Rumble 03 ppv today (along with 02 and 04) and while the Benoit/Angle much was good, it dragged a lot in the middle, and the end, to me, was a cop out. Kurt put one of the weakest looking ankle locks on Chris and Chris barely fought before he tapped out. Rumble 01 was great and very entertaining what with Kane dominating and Austin winning.

HBK/Psycho Sid
Hart Foundation/HBK-Austin

[brodeurnumber1]

Benoit/Angle(minusing a quarter of a star for chinlocks is bullshit on Keith's be-half. Royal Rumble 2001 is still oh so fun though)
Sabin/Juvi
Austin/Michaels vs Hart/Bulldog(tough one though)

[starcat]

rumble
HBK/Psycho Sid
Hart Foundation/HBK-Austin

[outsyder]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank
Benoit/Angle
Juvi/Sabin
AustinHBK/BulldogOwen


Ditto.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally posted by brodeurnumber1
Benoit/Angle(minusing a quarter of a star for chinlocks is bullshit on Keith's be-half. Royal Rumble 2001 is still oh so fun though)


Yeah, at least my reasons for giving it **** 1/4 are somewhat logical. And please don't ask what they are, there somewhere in the WWE thread.

[Raw Chili]

Benoit/Angle
Sabin/Juvy
Hart Foundation/AustinHBK

[jeo4]

Royal Rumble 2001

Shawn Michaels vs Sid – Survivor Series 96

Austin/Michaels vs Hart/Bulldog

[horrorfreak13]

Benoit/Angle
Shawn Michaels vs Sid
Austin/Michaels vs Hart/Bulldog

[Mikey2Dope]

Winners:
Benoit/Angle (6-3)
Juvi/Sabin (5-4)
Tag Match (9-0)

Match 71:

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - Wrestlemania 19

Shawn works a headlock to start and gets nowhere. They do a bit of that and Shawn showboats, and they go back to the headlock again. They do a stalemate sequence and back to the headlock, and Shawn gets two off it. Jericho overpowers him and they criss-cross and slug it out. Shawn tosses him and follows with a baseball slide after a highspot tease, and back in we go. Back in, Jericho rolls through a bodypress for two. He hammers away on the mat and starts with the CANADIAN VIOLENCE and choking in the corner. Shawn counters a bulldog by sending him into the corner, and gets a figure-four for no discernible reason (has he even kicked him in the leg yet?), which Jericho reverses. Jericho stays on the leg with a kneecrusher, but Jericho reverses him into the post and tosses him. Shawn pulls himself back in and headscissors Jericho out, and then follows with a pescado. Jericho puts him in the Walls on the floor, however. Back in, Jericho dropkicks him off the apron and gets a backdrop suplex. The psychology is pretty cut and dried here. Delayed suplex gets two. Jericho works on the neck and gets a pretty nasty backbreaker, and the Arrogant Cover~! gets two. We hit the chinlock and Jericho goes to the eyes to keep Shawn down. A backdrop is reversed to a DDT by Shawn, however. Shawn slugs away, but walks into a forearm from Jericho. He kips up and mocks Shawn, but so does Shawn. Another one and Shawn atomic drops Jericho to set up a backdrop. To the top, and the moonsault press gets two. They do a pinfall reversal sequence and Jericho tries the Walls, but Shawn reverses out of it. They fight for a german suplex, but Jericho turns it into a northern lights suplex for two. Shawn bridges out and they fight for a backslide, but Jericho gets a lariat. Bulldog and Lionsault get two. Jericho starts chopping, but puts his head down and gets caught by Shawn. A rana is blocked with the Walls, however. Shawn makes the ropes. Another try is reversed to a cradle for two. Double-arm backbreaker from Jericho and he goes up with a flying reverse elbow and cues up the band. Fozzy? Well, anyway, a superkick (and a nice one, too) gets two for Jericho. Shawn comes out of the corner with a messed up crossbody and hammers away, then catapults Jericho into the post for two after teasing his own Walls of Jericho. Jericho hits him in the back again as Shawn suddenly remembers to sell it again, and they head up for a superplex that Shawn counters to put both guys down. Shawn gets two. Shawn goes back up, but Jericho crotches him and follows him up. Shawn sends him back down and gets the flying elbow for two. Sweet Chin Music is ducked by Jericho and we get another Walls, and that should have been the finish. However, Shawn eventually makes the ropes, prompting a tantrum from Jericho. Shawn superkicks him again for two. Jericho sends Shawn into the corner, but Shawn escapes a suplex and gets the pin off a rollup at 22:34. The finish was a letdown and it’s totally counterproductive to put Shawn over ANYONE at this point, but Shawn adjusted his style and put forth a much more solid, non-garbagy effort than he did with HHH. The spotty “Now I’m hurt, now I’m not” selling of the back injury hurt it a lot, though. **** Jericho, class act all the way, kicks Shawn in the balls after the loss.

vs

Eddie Guererro vs Dean Malenko – Hostile City Showdown 95

You may have heard of this match before. We kick it old school on the mat to start. They trade boots to the head, and Dean bails. Super hot pinfall sequence leads to a Deano lariat. Eddy’s tilt-a-whirl is reversed to a headscissors, and Eddy responds in kind. Back to neutral position as the crowd applauds. Dean goes for the knee, while Eddy fights for an armbar. He gets a cross armbreaker as the fans focus their interest on something happening in the crowd. Don’t e-mail me about it, I don’t care what it was. Test of strength leads to a uranage by Eddy, and the slingshot senton for two. Malenko goes back to the knee, using an indian deathlock into a surfboard, then rolling him over into a pinning combination while holding the submission move. That’s just MEAN. Dean clips him and works the knee. Kneebreaker, and Eddy clings to the ropes for sanctuary. Dean drags him back and slaps on the kneebar. He moves to an STF. That’s the difference between matches like this and matches like RVD has: Every move here MEANS something and leads to something, even during the fast-paced action sequences. Eddy gets a fluke sunset flip for two, then a fisherman’s suplex, but he can’t make the pin. Powerbomb gets two as he revives. Tornado DDT is blocked once, but not twice. It gets two. Top rope rana gets two. Eddy goes into a painful looking cross between the Liontamer and the Sharpshooter. Guerrero puts him on top and shoves him to the floor, but Dean hooks a bodyscissors and takes Eddy down with him. Dean suplexes Eddy to the floor, and misses a pescado as Eddy simply walks away, then heads up and hits his own highspot in the form of a tope. Back in, Malenko brainbuster leads to a reveral sequence, and Guerrero gets his own. Frog splash gets two. Blind charge misses and Dean gets a northern lights suplex for two. Cloverleaf is stopped in the ropes, then another try is thwarted. Tiger bomb is countered by Eddy with a small package for two. Eddy hits his springboard rana for two, impressing the fans. Small package gets two for Eddy. They fight on top and Eddy powerbombs him for two. The bell for the time limit rings at 25:42, which I guess is 30 minutes in wrestling terms. An awesome match marred only by the dumbass fans ruining the middle portion and the non-finish. ****3/4

Match 72:

Bret Hart vs Owen Hart – Cage Match – Summerslam 94

Owen attacks right off the bat, ramming him into two turnbuckles and doing the 10-punch count. Bret comes back with a lariat, but Owen stomps on his hands. Bret blocks a shot to the cage and DDTs Owen. Another slugfest erupts, won by Bret. He makes the first climb attempt, but gets pulled off by Owen. ENZUIGIRI, BABY! Owen nearly makes it out but Bret catches him going over the top and hits a backdrop suplex to the mat. Bret crawls for the door but Owen catches him and whips him to the other corner. Bret grabs a quick bulldog and tries for the door again. Owen yanks him away and dives, Bret yanks him away and dives, repeat twice. Bret tries to climb out, and gets slammed off by Owen. Now Owen climbs and again nearly makes it, but Bret grabs him by the hair and they fight on the top. Owen kicks him off and dropkicks him off the top rope. SWEET. Owen climbs again and they fight on the top again with Owen getting the better of the situation. Owen goes for a piledriver but Bret reverses. Whip, reverse, and double-KO. Owen lunges for the door again, but Bret stops him and drops a vicious looking elbow on him. Bret to the top, Owen stops him again. Bret kicks him in the face a few times, but Owen holds on and crotches him on the top rope. Owen tries for the door again, but Bret stops him. Headbutt to the groin puts Owen down and Bret goes for the climb out again. He changes his mind and goes for an elbowdrop, but misses. Owen climbs out, with Bret not moving. He pops up at the last second and blocks Owen, however, pulling him in by the hair in a great visual. He slams him in for good measure, then makes his own ascent. Owen brings him back in with a modified samoan drop. Owen tries to climb again, Bret stops him. Owen keeps control, however, and they end up ramming each other into the cage. Bret recovers first and makes it about 3/4 of the way down the cage...when Owen grabs his hair and pulls him back in. Piledriver on Bret. Both guys are exhausted, but Owen tries to climb out again. Bret meets him at the top, and they have a slugfest that leads to both guys collapsing to the mat below. Bret immediately crawls for the door, but Owen grabs his leg. Owen fights him down and then lunges for the door himself, but Bret blocks, drags him back in, and slingshots Owen into the cage. Crowd is WAY into this one. Bret crawls for the wrong corner to build suspense, then finds the right one...and Owen leaps over and stops him. Crowd is having a collective heart attack. Owen is up first and goes behind Bret, but ends up going facefirst to the cage. Bret is selling a knee injury, but still climbs up again. Owen gets up....collapses....and makes it juuuuuuuuuust in time to stop his brother from winning. Back in via the hair, and Owen hits a leg lariat. The crowd is absolutely losing it. Owen climbs to the top again, and makes it halfway out before Bret stops him. They fight on the top rope, with Bret getting a big field goal kick to send Owen flying. He pops up again and hauls Bret back in. Owen hits some european uppercuts, and we get another double-KO. Owen makes it up and to the top rope, but Bret stops him and superplexes him back in. Even Davey Boy, at ringside, is marking out. Both guys are out cold again. Bret crawls to the door . . . slowly . . . but Owen grabs him. Owen slaps on the Sharpshooter, screaming about how the belt is gonna be his the whole time. Bret breaks free and reverses to his own. He releases and climbs again, with Owen once again lunging at the last split second and grabbing the hair. Both men fall to the mat. Owen makes it up and to the top first, and both guys make it halfway down the cage, fighting the whole way. Owen rams Bret into the cage, but slips and gets hooked in the cage, allowing Bret to drop down at 31:51 to retain the title. Meanwhile, Jim Neidhart blindsides the Bulldog in the audience, taking Diana down with him. Owen and Anvil toss Bret back into the cage, chain the door shut, and beat the holy hell out of him as the Hart Brothers storm the cage. Oh man, this is so NWA. I love it. Finally the Bulldog (with his caveman hairdo and all) fights his way in and makes the save. This is easily the best cage match you'll ever see in the WWF. *****

vs

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Juventud Guererra – Big Ass Extreme Bash 96

This is from the Big-Ass Extreme Bash in 1996, and it’s Rey’s last ECW match before jumping to Atlanta. It’s also 2/3 falls. Rey with a surfboard, into the bridging deathlock. Juvy gets a northern lights suplex for two. Rey gets a rana for two. Pinfall reversal sequence ends with a two count for Juvy. Nick knucklelock gymnastic exhibition spot leads into a near-fall for Juvy, and Rey comes back with another rana for two. Rey dumps him and fakes a highspot, then follows with a quebrada. Back in, Rey goes up with a top rope powerbomb for two. They fight over a suplex, won by Juvy for two. Spinkick, springboard dropkick, and dragon suplex finish for Guerrera at 5:30. Second fall: Rey snaps off a rana for two. Juvy charges and splats on the apron, and Rana headscissors him to the floor. Rey vaults over the ref and gets a tope on Juvy, and they head back in. Powerbomb gets two for Rey. Lionsault gets two. Juvy snaps off a clothesline and kicks away, but gets dropkicked while trying a bodypress and Rey finishes with a Doctorbomb at 9:01. Third fall: Juvy takes a breather outside and then dropkicks Rey, and puts him on top for a dropkick to the floor. Baseball slide, and Rey is in the crowd. Juvy follows with a quebrada. Back in, springboard leg lariat gets two. Springboard legdrop misses, and Rey comes back. They head up and Juvy blocks a rana, but gets caught coming off into a powerbomb for two. Rey with a northern lights suplex, and a moonsault misses. Juvy gets a blockbuster suplex for two. Rey with the leg lariat and Juvy bails, but Rey slides out with a headscissors on him. Rey hits a tope and battle outside the arena, where Juvy powerbombs Rey on a CAR, and they head back in. To the top, where Rey reverses Splash Mountain into a rana for the pin at 16:00. Non-stop spots. ***1/2

Match 73:

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels – Ladder Match

Lockup to start and Shawn hammers away in the corner, and they do the hiptoss-flip sequence, which ends with Bret clotheslining him and pounding on him. Backdrop and Bret keeps on him in the corner, as Shawn bumps like a freak. And people wonder why his back is screwed up. Bret gives him a forearm and Shawn does a half-gainer on the sell. Those were the days. Shawn stomps him down and gets an elbow, and hits Bret with a knee to the gut that puts him down long enough for Shawn to make a break for the ladder. Bret lets him drag the ladder back to ringside, and then heads out to attack him. Smart move. Shawn, meet post. Post, Shawn. Back in, Bret headbutts him down and drops the elbow, which allows him to get the ladder. Sherri meddles in his business, and when Bret chases her like an idiot, Shawn makes the first climb. Bret yanks him down and beats on him in the corner, but Shawn goes to the eyes. Bret makes a quick climb, but gets pulled down and kicked by Shawn. Shawn gives Bret a little ladder action to the gut, but tries it one time too many and hits the post with it. He remains on offence, but puts his head down and gets kicked in the face. Bret charges and gets whipped into the ladder as a result of his own momentum, however. Shawn climbs again and the crowd goes NUTS with fear. Bret grabs the leg to stop him, but gets stomped down. Bret pulls him off again, and brings the ladder down on Shawn as a bonus. Bret goes for it, but can’t steady the ladder and Shawn follows him up, which results in a headbutt that sends both guys crashing down. Shawn gets the better of it and climbs again, but Bret is right there to stop him. The ladder gets put in the corner and Shawn rams Bret into it a couple of times, but charges and misses. Bret KILLS him with a clothesline off the second rope and Shawn spins a couple of times on the sell. Bret then catapults him into the ladder, putting Shawn out. Backbreaker and Bret sets up the ladder again and climbs, and Shawn shakes him loose before he can grab the belt. Double KO, and Shawn is up first. He climbs again, as does Bret. The ladder gets the worst of it, and both guys go crashing off. They slug it out and Sherri trips up Bret, and Shawn is able to superkick him down and out. Teardrop suplex (his finisher at the time) and Bret is dead. Finished. Done. Shawn climbs, seemingly a formality, but can’t reach the belt, and Bret dropkicks the ladder, sending Shawn crashing crotch-first onto the top rope and out. Bret climbs and retains the title at 13:43. This was actually a different match than more recent ladder matches – it was built around the drama of the climb, not the degree o