Superstar Sleeze

NWA World TV Champion Mike Rotunda vs Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin - Clash of the Champions I Amateur Rules The evil Kevin Sullivan has subverted the good All-American boys of Rotundo and Rick Steiner to give them the edge they need. Now that I understand the Varsity Club angle I love it! This played out in the December 1987 TV that led to the formation of the Varsity Club. I skipped ahead to Clash because I got impatient so I don't know the exact story what I know is Hayes left while Freebirds were vying for the tag belts and he was feuding with Flair (why he left for rinky dink World Class I don't know). So now Garvin and Sullivan have a Prince of Darkness match (blindfold) in April that was being hyped on TV. It was not stated on the 3/26 TV, but if I had to hazard a guess it would be Sullivan is lusting after Precious. What makes this amateur rules is three, five-minute rounds and a one count garners a fall. Idea is to put Garvin at a disadvantage. I thought this was stellar and really well-worked. Little touches like Garvin always making sure to bump onto his back to avoid a flash pin. Rotundo lying on his back and Garvin hastily trying to cover him. Garvin is actually a pretty good mat worker and I really liked one of his singles matches with Kevin so I was not too surprised. He was really fiery. Rotundo was the consummate heel in this. Cocky doing jumping jacks. Pulling hair when he was at a disadvantage. Going to outside. Bumping stooging well. Psychology with one count was really excellent. Rotundo smacks Garvin hard in between rounds because he is a fucking dick. I love it! Match does not last too long into second round as Sullivan gets up on apron and this affords Rotundo to schoolboy Garvin and get the one count. Garvin lays out Rotundo with a brainbuster to get his heat back, good booking. Sullivan & Steiner try to beat down Garvin so Precious CRACKS Rick Steiner in the back with a 2x4 and then CHOKES SULLIVAN OUT WITH A CLOTHES HANGER!!! I was marking out hard for that! I thought this whole thing was fabulous! Excellent psychology super energetic, Rotundo is a total scuzzball heel and Precious killed it in the post-match. Match should be talked about way more! ***3/4

NWA US Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs Fantastics - NWA Pro 3/26/88 After being away from the 1980s so long, this is Chicken Soup for the Pro Wrestling fan's soul! Just that down home Southern Cooking that Mama Crockett always provided her fans baby! Midnight Express are one of those acts that I just cant help but smile when watching them wrestling. Whether it is Beautiful Bobby's Beautiful right or the wacky hijinx they end up in you cant help but be entertained. The story early is MX trying to control Fantastics with headlocks but everytime they break free they are able to armdrag or shouldertackle MX over. Shows Fantastics quickness and frustrated MX. Then we get some fun spots like Lane monkey flipping Eaton or the double atomic drop on Eaton sending him into Lane. Lane ends up getting crotched on the top rope when he was cheerleading. There was Fulton holding onto ropes avoiding a Lane kick and giving him the 'ol booty shake->strut->high-five! That's what pro wrestling is missing. More booty shaking, more strutting and more high-fiving! Love the 80s! Really liked Rogers with a lateral press but also figure-4ing the arms with his legs and arms forcing Lane to bridge out repeatedly great spot. Loved Lane's reaction to Eaton getting arm dragged, like fuck can we please catch a break. Eaton avoids a Fulton right on the apron but ends getting attacked and then wicked knee lift sends him flying. Tremendous shine! Super fun! Eaton sends Rogers flying into a Lane kick. Lane's kicks looked really good in this match. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not having him in your GWE! Solid heat segment on Roger. There is an commercial break every three fucking minutes in this match and it is driving me bonkers! Rogers tags out at 25 minute mark, but Ive only seen 15 minutes of action. In the fracas, MX hit the flapjack on Fulton, which is their finish! Rogers saves. They kick Fulton's ass. Really strong heat segment now. Lane clobbers Fulton with a kick to back of the head. MX looks so polished and great here on offense. Fulton is just draping his leg over the ropes to keep himself in this. TOP ROPE ELBOW BY EATON! 1-2-KICKOUT! Ross is besides him. Lane throws him over the top. Eaton takes Fulton's arm and shoulder to Divorce Court. Fulton keeps fighting. Atomic drop to Lane and then big foot to Eaton. Hot tag to Rogers! Rogers is a house of fire! Rogers goes flying out. MX goes for Rocket Launcher on Fulton but Rogers pulls him away and Eaton bellyflops. FANTASTIC ROCKET LAUNCHER!!! UPSET CITY! Non-title apparently. This was billed as the Fantastics debut in NWA and they devoted this entire episode of NWA Pro (40 minutes) to their debut and big upset win. This is how you get a hot new babyface tag team over. Strong booking. Loved the finish. Typically awesome MX/Fantastics match. My one big complaint was the commercials every three minutes driving me mad! ****1/4

Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham vs Tully Blanchard - NWA World Championship Wrestling 1/23/88 Besides the obvious Magnum match, I think this is the best Tully singles match I have ever seen. The complaint oft leveled at Flair of being too weak I think is much more apt for Tully, who is far more reliant on bumping and stooging than Flair ever was. However, on this occasion, Windham forced Tully to work on top through his commitment to great selling. I thought Windham was just incredible in this and the match was really worked through him, True to form, the match starts out with Tully bumping and stooging for Big Barry. I love a hot shine and I thought this was great. Tully could have made Barry earn it a little more, but Barry looked great here especially those punches. I liked Tully and JJ's embrace when Tully was getting his ass kicked. This is what I am talking about Tully getting a short knee in, then a nice concealed closed fist (AWESOME WINDHAM SELL!) and making Barry overcome him in a chinlock with a slam. Now back from a break, the ref gets clipped allowing Tully drag Barry by the leg and wrap it around the post and then slam a chair against the knee. YES! The heat segment is glorious. Windham sells the leg like a million bucks. The way he is dragging it around. The way he tries to protect it by standing UNORTHODOX. Any one who is not a southpaw knows how uncomfortable it is stand unorthodox in combat. Very cool touch! My big complaint towards Tully is not appropriate. He attacked the knee with vim and vigor. Going for takedowns and always looking for cutoffs with shots to the knee. From Windham, we constant struggle and constantly looking to get out of the toeholds and eventually starting to break Tully down with the barrage of punches. I thought the selling from both men was top notch. Tully was gradually running out of steam but always had the out to attack the knee while Windham jus had to keep coming. I loved stuff like Windham not being able to complete a suplex because of bad knee. Or Blanchard's half-piledriver where he collapsed forward from his own weariness. The figure-4 an obvious natural spot was very dramatic. Really like the incorporation of the bridge out of pin but this time into a Windham gutwrench suplex! Just as Windham looked to have it in hand, Tully went back to the knee fiercely. Tully went up top and Windham was trying for superplex, but his knee gave out. However, he was able to hit a wicked running lariat out of the corner! 1-2-BELL RINGS?!?!? DRAW?!?! No wait JoJo Dillon has rang the bell. Here is the Total Package to right this wrong. After eternity to rewatch all this, Tommy Young is ready to restart the match. Tully small package! Luger says not this way. TULLY JUMPS ON LUGER!!! IT IS BREAKING LOOSE IN RICHMOND VA BAYBAY!!! MASSIVE POP!!! Horsemen storm the ring. They give Windham the chance to clock Luger, but he attacked the Horsemen! Sting comes out too. Sting, Luger and Windham stand tall the future looks bright & blond for the NWA!!!!! Loved this match. Built totally around Windham's selling of the knee (what a great way to set that up with the chair), his perseverance gradually breaking Tully down and then Tully going back to the knee. You just get this dramatic finish stretch can Barry hit that one big bomb before his knee gives out completely or does Tully take advantage of his nefarious attack and take the championship. Didn't love the finish, BUT LOVED THE POST-MATCH! Super hot and Lex Luger felt like the biggest star in the world in that moment. Just perfect old school Southern pro wrestling built around selling and face/heel dynamics. ****1.2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Sting - NWA Pro 1/2/88 Before Clash I, this was the first Flair vs Sting television match. I have been watching the December 1987 WCW TV and Sting has been all pepped up to get a title match. Flair has been working Sting and Hayes around this time as he is bridging from Garvin to Luger. Sting is probably my least favorite Flair opponent, but I thought this match was very good. Maybe even their best match together ever. I am going to watch Clash I again soon but besides that the 90s matches have always left something to be desired. The press slams to start was a good shine. Really liked the no sell of the vertical suplex at the beginning. A well-timed no sell can be really effective to pop the crowd. Flair was great at selling the no sell going into the crowd and looking totally discombobulated. Great take on the Flair/ref spot. Flair shoves Teddy Long so Long runs and hides behind Sting. I thought Flair put enough of a fight to make Sting overcome him and Flair really sold the strength of Sting. Back from the break, Flair is in control working the arm really well. Big time credit to Sting for selling the arm well. I liked as Sting was firing up, Flair went down with a lowblow. Great sell and smart decision by Flair to let Sting sell that. See that's cutting a smart pace. Sting takes a wild swing to keep Flair at bay and then takes a kneecrusher! Great! Great leg work by Flair really focused and really strong selling by Sting. Really effective and strong heat segment, which is unusual from Flair. Liked the progression of hope spots from crossbody, backslide to the clothesline and suplex! Sucks that we go off air before a finish Did the finish air somewhere else? Sting looks like a star in this, which is the point but he does it through selling which is different for him. Really nice to see Flair work on top at length. He was great transitioning from arm to leg by using a low blow and then that progression of hope spots. Lack of finish hurts this. Solid championship title TV defense. ***1/4

I see said the blind man. Thanks for clairification.

NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs Michael Hayes - 12/5/87 Flair said in his pre match promo that this is his first title defense on TV in two years. Seems wrong to me. The Flair strut vs Hayes moonwalk was awesome! Typical Flair title defense on TV. But just a treat to watch. Pay attention to how Flair builds energy through bumping at the beginning then takes it down with chain wrestling. Watch how he tries different strategies first off the ropes, then using the ref in corner and then holds. It allows Hayes to beat him in different ways to keep the fans on their toes. Hayes was great in his intensity and energy. Flair creating offense on defense is another great Flair attribute. Here it is taking a headlock and using a knee Crusher and then immediately applying the Figure-4. Hayes sold well in hold with Flair grabbing ropes. Interesting transition with them banging heads but only Flair selling. Hayes gets a DDT and Bulldog! Flair was great in his desperation. They go off the air at two with Hayes having applies a sunset flip. Typical Crockett. No new ground was broken. But this match shows why Flair was consummate pro wrestling understanding the logic and entertainment of pro wrestler. Hayes is a fun babyface but he can bring fire with that wild eye look and punches. ***

Nailed my feelings. I'm open to Lucha. So I rather spend my time watching American and Japanese wrestling. One day I'll get to Lucha

Amen, Kelly! Badass match between two badass chicks. New Day/Cesaro & Sheamus was the only other worthwhile match. The rest of the card was shit. Poor Roman.

I actually thought they did a decent job laying out the story on paper, but it came off very forced with Foley resorting to his intense, end of days style promo without much provocation. But this match didn't do anyone any favors. I meant the actual storyline. A one on one match is not unfair and is not punishment. If Zayn was to be a world champion, he would have to defend against Braun. I get that Zayn is standing up to Foley but I hate these stories. If Zayn can't beat Braun, he doesn't deserve championship matches. This is a storyline for a rookie not an established star that beat Owens in a blowoff. The layout was basic. Zayn's shine was weak not much fire or urgency. Flat artificial. Braun was fucking awesome! Love him! Foley nonsense was horrible. Finish sucked.

The Sami Zayn/Braun Strowman is one of the worst stories in a long time.

New Day has gotten really good at bomb throwing sprints. Really liked their match against the Bullet Club at Oct RAW PPV and thought this one with Sheamus/Cesaro was very fun. Very happy Sheamus and Cesaro won.

WWE Champion Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar - Smackdown 9/18/03 Ironman Have not seen this since original airing. Long match split into parts First 15 minutes: Brock's masterful in the opening. Such a great wrestler. Violent when he needs to be and a coward when it is right. The two times he takes advantage is by jumping Angle once right at the bell and using the ref. On top, he works like a beast. When it comes time to bump, he takes the big bumps and then scurries to the outside. Then he throws his temper tantrums on the outside. I wish Angle was better at selling these moments. He can be a little bland in the ring. The transitions are bit weak. Brock is in there selling his injured knee, acting like a total jackass stalling and Angle is just there for me. Angle finally gives chase on outside. Thought it was weak just Lesnar driving him into the apron. Would have liked something more dastardly. Lesnar pastes him with a chair to draw a DQ. Angle 1-0. Taz & Cole cant figure out why Brock would do that. Stupid idiots. Lesnar is really cocky now. F-5! Ties it up. Lesnar adds insult to injury making Angle tap to his own anklelock. Lesnar 2-1. Back from commercial looks like Angle gets a head of steam, but Lesnar gets a knee lift. During break, Angle kicked out of Angle Slam. Very 2003 match with finisher steals. Second 15 minutes: This match is pretty boring. Just capricious transitions. Angle just throws random suplexes. No struggle. Just "surprise". No buildup. Lesnar usually counters with a kneelift or kick to gut. Nothing stimulating. In terms of falls, Lesnar hits a F-5 on the floor for a countout. Brock 3-1. Good fall. Angle hits an Angle Slam out of nowhere to make it Brock 3-2. Angle gets the Anglelock, but Brock reverses and then decks the ref. Brock hits a lowblow and then pastes Angle with the championship belt. Brock 4-2 with the match half over. Third 15 minutes: Liked this a little better. Started with a lame transition of just Angle yanking Brock out by his foot. Then it got fun with Angle busting out some unique stuff like a double axehandle from the top to the floor. A missile dropkick, Brock took a great bump and then Angle missing a massive moonsault. Angle had one of the best moonsaults. Good height. Angle takes a tumble on the Anglelock. Liked Angle hitting baseball slide while Lesnar had steps and Lesnar and the steps go flying. Good urgency by Angle to get cover. We go to break and come back with Brock up 5-2 after a top rope superplex. Only 15 minutes remain! Final 15 minutes: Really liked the transition of Angle hitting the F-5 on Lesnar's leg to the post. Gives Brock a taste of his own medicine, sets up interesting work and is a badass spot. Angle gets a half crab and then Anglelock. Still not tap out. Weird. Lesnar gets an F-5. Takes his time going to top rope and Angle pops up and hits his run up top rope overhead belly to belly for a fall. Fuck that. Lesnar 5-4. Lesnar plays keep away from Angle. Hits a low blow with thirty seconds to go before Angle ends up putting him in Angle anyways and time runs out. Why hit the low blow? The original Suplex City match. I love Brock in this era, but this match sucks. Avoid. I realize besides some Anglelocks there were no holds in this match. It is just suplex after suplex. Just transitions out of nowhere. Brock is bumping great and facial reactions are awesome, but this match is not compelling at all. Eventually Angle gets the Anglelock they repeat the great spot from Summerlsam with Lesnar getting to each side of the ring ropes but Angle yanking him away before Lesnar taps. Lesnar 5-4.

I admit I also marked out for Yohe on PWO. Excellent first post. Learned a lot. Hope for a lot more.

So how long before WWE launches/buys a Japanese promotion? The All Japan tape library from the 70s-Mid to late 80s would be a great get for them.

Amen, brutha!

BINGO! Mystery is what is missing among other things. And storylines that actually develop instead of just a hot angle and then three months of no progress and three PPV matches that are carbon copies of each other.

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Masters - WWE Unforgiven 2005 For some reason, Shawn was motivated to give a tremendous performance and Masters was awesome as a power heel. I have heard the wild stories of Chris Masters the awesome C-show babyface, but here he proves his mettle working on top with power. In retrospect, the Masterlock challenge is something I would like even though as a teenager I thought it was lame. Michaels failed in breaking the Full Nelson twice on RAW. To my recollection, this was Masters only serious brush with a top level talent as he was shunted down the card in short order and never really re-pushed. Masters is only six years older than me. Weird. Loved Masters jumping HBK before the bell and applying the Masterlock, but he had to let go because the bell had not rung yet! Awesome! Hot start but logical reason for Masters to release hold. Of course, Masters goes right back to the hold, but HBk wriggles free. So then HBK fires up and really lets Masters have it. I thought Michaels did a great job being a fiery babyface and giving Master no quarter. Michaels went for a chair and the ref took it away allowing Masters to drive Michael's head into the barricade. The big turning point was two smashes back first into the ringpost in the powerbomb position. The subsequent back work was so tight by Masters everything was focused on the back and Michaels was selling the hell out of everything. I thought both were working together in perfect synchronicity during the heat segment. I love stuff that while Masters has him in a backbreaker, Michaels is punching his nose to break the hold. Then great cutoff with Masters turning a Crucifix into a Masterlock attempt and then into a good flip back bump into corner. TORTURE RACK~! MARK OUT CITY~! Great stuff. Masters calls for Masterlock, but Michaels desperately clutches the ref and low bridges Masters with the trick knee. Great veteran guile from Shawn there. Classic Shawn comeback, but Superkick turns into the Masterlock. Great desperation from Shawn to fight it and eventually makes it over the ropes. Masters goes for it again and BANG! Sweet Chin Music! If you asked me how I expected this match to go exactly as expected and exactly how I call it. I thought the beginning was a nice touch did not expect that to be honest. Got things hot. Thought Shawn's shine was great. Thought heat segment was even better, perfect harmony between those two. The low bridge was a good transition made the Masterlock look awesome. Shawn comeback with Sweet Chin Music reversed into Masterlock, great struggle there. The finish I would call the Masterlock attempt into a Superkick outta nowhere. Even if it is predictable, they did a great job in execution with strong transitions and I thought Masters looked great in defeat. Awesome veteran vs rookie match in the midcard. ****

WWE Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair vs Triple H - WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005 Steel Cage Match I have fond memories of this feud as it was well-built with lots of hatred and blood. Like many feuds in this era, I never saw the PPV match. I thought this was tremendous. Unless the Michaels match is a lot better than I remember, this is hands down the best Flair match of the 2000s. Buckets of blood and hate. I thought Flair was his old energetic self. Even the usually milquetoast Triple H feels like a violent bully in this. Liked the beginning with Flair taking it right to Triple H with his big hammock right chops and punches. He was pissed from the beatings from HHH and he wanted to kick some ass. I love HHH's use of the high knee as a cutoff. You see HHH gradually beat Flair down with the spinebuster and then busting him open on the steel. Now Flair is in a bad way. Flair is already a bloody pulp and HHH is ready to leave over the cage. Flair meets him on top rope with big chops. Nice headbutts from HHH. HHH gets a chain, but eats a boot. Flair gets kneecrusher, but HHH punches him with chain to avoid the figure-4. So HHH to add insult to injury applies figure-4 on Flair. Love Flair hollering and then flipping HHH off. Flair is so fucking awesome. Flair kicks HHH off on second attempt into the cage bloodying him. Flair is awesome here. He lunges at HHH, chopping and punching. Raking the forehead across the cage. Flair delayed vertical. Flair is feeling it right now. Chop block on the knee. Great knee work leading to the Figure-4, baby!!! Flair flips off HHH again, love it! HHH is selling in the figure-4 really well. HHH breaks the hold by throwing ref into Flair. Flair hits a massive low blow and heads for the door. HHH stops him, but Flair brings in a chair. This could be bad for Flair. Testicular Claw by Flair, oh Lord with all that roid usage surprised there is much to grab. Flair tees off with the chair and wins the match, but looks like a battered man. Slow grinding war with tons of blood and violence. Flair brought that characteristic energy and charm that was missing from most of his 2000s matches, but here he mustered it up. Loved the blood and the steel cage felt really Crockett. I know that's what they were going for. HHH was methodical, but in a way that was not boring. He built to breaking Flair down then got caught when he wanted to try to humiliate Flair by winning Figure-4 and that pride cost him in the match. Once he went into the cage, he never recovered. Flair did a great job on offense! Energy, hard-hitting, logical. Thought the finish was very definitive. Great throwback, violent cage match. ****

WWE Champion John Cena vs Edge - WWE Unforgiven TLC Match You know a match is damn good when ten years later you are pumping your fist at the finish. John Cena Rocks! Cena was awesome in this match. Definitely a harbinger of his bitchin 2007 campaign. I was at Summerslam live in 2006 was pretty disappointed by the main event and partly because at the time I was not a Cena fan (shaking my head, 17 year old me had so much to learn) and it was not a very good match. I watched this after the fact on DVD comp and I loved it. It has been a good 6-7 years since I have seen it and thought this was excellent. The best match of John Cena's career up until this point (yes, I think this is better than JBL I Quit match, which is number two). The story of the match is John Cena's heart vs Edge's experience in this match. You see throughout the match Cena become more and more comfortable with the environment. He starts off with what he knows running Edge over with shoulder tackles. Edge responds with what he knows: weapons. Edge is a pretty ineffective wrestler without gimmicks. The match at the beginning is really good thanks to Cena's selling. He makes these sometimes contrived spots look painful and important by selling. The table bump he powders because he wants to create space. This allows for Edge's best spot of the match which is him running up a ladder and diving to the floor on Cena. This match is really good at transitions and bringing the energy up in each segment. Edge is driving towards the Conchairto but Cena trips him up and drives his head into a chair. Now we see Cena adapt to the environment. STFU using a ladder, the most painful looking STFU in history! Edge taps. Great symbolic spot. Then the FU of the ladder onto Edge and then Fist drop from the top of a ladder. Great use of the gimmicks! The match is not perfect there are some contrived moments like why is Cena going for a table he should be looking to win. It is to set up a later spot which is not my favorite, but it is a minor complaint. Again, Edge's transition is to crack a chair across Cena's skull. Edge takes way too long to set up a double table. Cena sends him flying. Then as Cena is climbing Edge hits the lamest spear in history, but Goddamnit Cena sells it like he has cracked ribs and internal bleeding. God Bless John Cena! I thought the finish run was incredible and very dramatic. Lita comes out and tips the ladder over as Cena is climbing sending him hard through a table on the floor. Tangent: Lita got one of the best boob jobs in history. If I did not know what she looked like before, I would be convinced those were natural. ***** to the Cosmetic surgeon and Lita in this period was a definitely a young Sleeze favorite. On a more serious note, I feel like Lita adds a lot to these matches. She is just a much better performer than Edge. Really liked the spot where Lita cracked Cena in the back with a chair and that caused Cena to collapse into the ladder sending Edge through the tables on the floor. Cena FUs "the Evil Bitch" (JR's words not mine). Im not for man on woman violence typically but Lita feels like a wrestler and it felt like a great fist pumping moment. The FU off the ladder through two tables on Edge was awesome!!!! I was marking out big time for the Cena win in Toronto. It felt like a great SUCK IT moment to all those smart marks. Awesome car crash match that really built on itself and told a really great story. Cena was awesome throughout the match making each spot meaningful and adapting to the environment. I thought Lita added a lot to the match down the stretch in her interference, exhorting Edge and taking the FU bump. Thought all three table spots were awesome and well-done. It felt like a big time, Rah Rah John Cena victory. Loved it! ****1/2

WWE Tag Champs London & Kendrick vs Hardyz vs MNM vs Regal & Taylor - WWE Armageddon 2006 Ladder Match Fun fact: This was supposed to be London & Kendrick vs Regal & Taylor, but Teddy changed it right before the match. I hazard to guess a straight tag would be much better than this cluster fuck. This got plenty of hype at the time and then faded into obscurity, which makes sense. It was a car wreck, but does not age well. Besides Mercury's face exploding, there is no real super Holy Shit spot. The energy level was not there. Regal & Taylor were the only ones attempting to add a story element with their being afraid of heights so they try incapacitate their opponents using a ground game to give them ample time to climb the ladders. MNM was just there, nothing noteworthy. London & Kendrick were great at eating offense and taking bumps onto ladders. I like their double stomp on Matt on the ladder. London & Kendrick could have been so much more. They felt like the Rock & Rolls meet the Hardyz. Two outstanding bumpers and sellers that can do the high-flying stuff and are wicked good looking. However, this is the match where pretty boys need to show their mettle. Like the Rockers in those bloodbaths against Rose&Somers, London & Kendrick needed to do more asskicking. The Hardyz were the best at offense. They were the blueprint for London & Kendrick. I felt like they overshadowed London & Kendrick because they were getting the offense that London& Kendrick should be getting. Plus Matt's right hand is sick. Finish was pretty lame. Sliced Bread No. 2 did not come off well and Kendrick looked like he almost died. Then there was no grand finale. It was just London and Matt fighting on ladder with Matt losing. Meh. Which I feel bad about because there was a lot of pain felt here and Mercury's face became raw hamburger meat, but this did not do much for me.

WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus vs Mickie James - WrestleMania XXII I had a massive crush on Mickie when she first started in late 2005 into 2006. Loved this storyline with the obsession leading to Mickie snapping and some really good brawls between the two. It felt like the first real blood feud in the women's division and the only real blood feud going on at the time between any two wrestlers. I had never seen this match, but always wanted to. Mickie was awesome in this match. I have not seen a Trish match since she retired. She is exactly as I remember her sometime who tries really hard. I think it was great she spent most of the match selling because she was A+ at selling the leg. Her offense is ok, but Mickie made it looked like great at the beginning. Trish wanted to start off red hot pissed by the hell Mickie had put her through. Mickie was bumping, screaming and selling her ass off for Trish. Trish went for the Chick Kick on the outside and met steel. The leg work by Mickie was outstanding as was Trish's selling. Hope spots and cutoffs were great. Like Ligerbomb counter to Mickie's usual rana outta the corner or Mickie turning a rana attempt into a sick snapping of the leg over the ring rope. Mickie's demeanor and crazed facial expressions were so spot on. So now we can get to what the match is famous for. Mickie grabs Trish by the pussy. Stunning Trish. Trish LEVELS Mickie, but kinda oddly eats a knee and then its the Mick Kick for the win. It felt flat. I think Mickie pussy grab followed by a swift kick to the head was the way to go. They wanted Trish to get some revenge for the pussy grab, but then did not have transition to get back to Mickie winning that caused the actual finish to be flat. The pussy grab ->Trish decks her was super hot, but the switch back to Mickie was too abrupt. Still this has to be the best women's match between what 1996-2013 in WWE history. Is there anything close? Great heat segment. Awesome, awesome performance by Mickie character work, selling, bumping and offense. Trish was great at selling. Finish makes this fall short of being great, but definitely recommend this. ***3/4

Mick Foley vs Edge - WrestleMania XXII Hardcore Match This is a quintessential Mick Foley match where his pain is supposed to be our pleasure. It is the greatest hits of his career, the knees into the steel steps, slamming the back of his head on a metal surface. His offense was tight. He escalated the match well. Edge added nothing to this. In fact he actively detracted at times with his abysmal selling. I have no idea what the hell he was doing at the finish. He looked like he was suffering from hypothermia. I thought Lita was awesome in this. In fact, I thought the Lita/Foley interactions were the most compelling. Anytime, Foley looked like he was really going to decimate Edge, Lit was there with the save like the barbed wire baseball bat (taking that sick Cactus clothesline) or the barbed wire Mr. Socko (her lips were all ripped up). Foley's right hand when Edge was pouring Lighter fluid on him was great and Lawler marking out for the piledriver was fun. Thumbtacks are thumbtacks when there is no drama. In fact, with all the over the top violence, there was very little drama. It was just move from spot to spot. Escalation was there, but the fear and stakes were not. After all the punishment Lita took, she finally got here revenge hitting Foley in the balls with a barbed wire baseball bat and then setting the table on fire before Edge speared Foley from the apron through the flaming table. They should have milked the spot more. But hey they should milked more of the spots. Lita was awesome in this. Good Foley nostalgia. Edge sucked but that's to be expected. Tight, did not over stay its welcomed. Felt rushed though. ***1/4

WWE US Champion Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Smackdown 11/24/06 As expected another tremendous match from these two. Not as good as their WWE MOTY from this year, but another great TV bout. Loved Finlay's selling of Benoit's chops. The way he backpedaled and his facial expressions while Benoit just kept coming. Perfect use of eyepoke to stymie Benoit. Finlay just suffocated Benoit which is exactly what you need to do to the Rabid Wolverine. The German suplex, dive outside the ring were a pair of good hope spots to send us into the break. I thought the transition to real heat was great. Benoit gives chase and Finlay shoves Benoit into the steps drawing blood from kidney. Very desperate, very real. Finlay targets the leg and tortures it. Really good half crab. Liked Benoit's hope spot of Sharpshooter attempt but Finlay picks the leg and drags it out to the post for more punishment. My quibble is Benoit's use of six suplexes in his comeback when all that great leg work had happened. Chavo & Vickie distract allowing the Little Bastard (when Hornswoggle was cool) to give Finlay the shillelagh who whacks Benoit and hits Celtic Cross for win. Strong hard hitting match wished Benoit was a bit more creative on finish stretch and the finish was good did not really inspire me one way or another. ***3/4

World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton - Smackdown 4/7/06 These two have crazy awesome chemistry with one another. This is the first Smackdown after Mania XXII where Mysterio won the championship over Angle & Orton. I think Orton & Mysterio could have main evented on their own. I thought this was in the same ballpark as their great No Way Out match but with the feel good finish here putting this one slightly ahead. They really establish Orton's size advantage early on. Orton was so good execution at this point in his career. You can see why a Bret Hart would look on him so favorably. Should tackle bowls over Mysterio. Love Orton dropping to a knee to hit a massive European Uppercut it really magnified size difference, Great throwdown on a wheelbarrow Bulldog attempt. First Rey hope spot is a Rana, Orton powders on 619, but eats a seated senton on the floor. In the ring, Orton gets a hold of Rey Rey and hits that backbreaker he did early in his career. Great use and application of the chinlock. Best spots of the match were Orton's pinpoint accuracy of his anti-air dropkicks to Mysterio when Rey Rey tried to fly (once springboard and once off the top). Rey really dove into them and Orton was perfect in execution. My one complaint was it did get a bit extended squash-y. Rey could have used a shine early or more hope spots that worked. It felt like too many cutoffs and too much Orton offense without Orton really progressing. Minor quibble. Finishing stretch was good with Rey Rey making his comeback throwing some nice strikes. Wish he sold the eyepoke better, but really the comeback is supposed to be hot so Orton probably should have used it early. Liked Orton's mistake (charging into the post) to set up the 619 and then Orton having the presence of mind to feed for another 619 when Rey was ready to finish. That second 619 got a big pop. Some veteran instincts from Orton there! Drop a dime and the win. Really awesome, babyface/heel TV match that no one talk about. Big, clean win for Mysterio. Orton was great in his offense and beatdown. Orton could have been a bit more scummy and Mysterio could have gotten a bit more shine. Just some minor stuff. These two had great chemistry and their matches are not talked about enough. ****

ECW Champion Big Show vs Ric Flair - WWECW 7/11/06 I watched this live in 2006 and have fond memories of this bloody brawl. I remember when ECW first started they definitely tried loading up the main events and this was the best of that early bunch. Within a month or two, I stopped watching the show became a total afterthought. I liked the repackaging of Big Show as the Extreme, violent Giant I don't remember what the end game was but I feel like it was a good idea that could have been better executed. Garbage match Flair was pretty fun around this time. I went to Summerslam in 2006 in Boston and Flair/Foley was fun live but something I will revisit. I thought this was a good solid match which utilized the strengths of both men effectively. Big Show used his size and strength to control the early portion. Loved Big Show's chops in response to Flair. Headbutts bust Flair open early. Plenty of slams and suplexes on Flair. Flair great at selling defiance and bumping. Flair just tried to keep chopping and chopping. Finally when things looked really bleak he just whacked Big Show in the balls four times very blatantly. The Flair brought in the barbed wire baseball bat and thumb tacks and chair. It was just fun garbage stuff but it was well set up because Flair at least tried to go toe to toe with The Giant, but he was clearly overwhelmed and bloody so this his last resort. He knocks Big Show flat on his back into tacks and this pisses off the Giant. Who steamrolls Flair! I loved Show's finish at the time which the Cobra Clutch backbreaker and then Cobra Clutch to win. He then ragdolls Flair into the thumbtacks for good measure. They did a really great job working around Flair's limitations and thought Big Show looked like a sadistic monster and Flair's comeback was plausible and entertaining because it relied on ballshots and weapons. The finish was great, simple and effective. Very fun garbage TV brawl. ***