Superstar Sleeze

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. ***

It is hard for me to be objective about AJ because he has been my favorite wrestler since 2003. I am just so happy with his success this year. The Payback match was the best match that I think has happened anywhere in the world since Kobashi/Takayama in 2004. That Payback match caused me to buy secondary market tickets to Extreme Rules in Jersey and make the drive from Boston, which is the best match I've ever seen live. Winning WWE Championship was huge for me personally and was a really bright moment for me. 2016 has not been a great year for me personally but AJ Styles has been a huge bright spot for me. To me he is the HOTTEST star in the WWE besides maybe Charlotte. Everything he does is must-see and his PPV matches have big fight feels. I think he is the only male star that can make a big fight feel that wrestled a regular schedule. I disagree that a Brock vs AJ match outcome would be a definite Brock win. The rumored Taker vs AJ match at Rumble (which I'll probably attend if confirmed) does not seem like a slam dunk victory for Taker at all. To me, AJ is without a doubt the number one male star in WWE. To say he is not a gigantic star like a Cena is silly because AJ is a heel and he does not have a transcendental charisma BUT to me he has overachieved my expectations and is the new one male star in the company!

Are you kidding me??? This is the first storyline in ages with actual week-to-week build and escalation. This is NOT Owens turns on Zayn then nothing happens but matches. This well thought out story with three unique characters that progresses week to week. Great story rather than just one great angle!

Great point!

Chris Benoit vs Finlay - WWE Judgement Day 2006 Chris Benoit is wicked over despite his push being down for two years now. The same thing was true in WCW where he was not pushed very often. I think Benoit has to be the most over person ever in relation to how little talking charisma he had. He has a lot of body language charisma. He has the silent, violent asskicker vibe that definitely resonates. Of course, that's what makes him so difficult to watch is how violent he can be in the ring and it turned out he was even more violent in real life. Intense and gritty. That's going to shock absolutely nobody. I think the deeper story here is Finlay is reacting to Benoit. Benoit is a great babyface because he is like the Russians at Stalingrad. He is always moving forward. He is going to fight through everything. On about a handful of occasions, we see Finlay completely overwhelmed by the fury of the Rabid Wolverine. I thought Finlay's reaction each time was perfect. He was always trying to break Benoit's momentum first by using the ref, then it was an eye poke, and then finally it was going outside trying to use foreign objects twice. Sometimes, he was successful, like that eye poke really gave him his first control segment. Other times, Benoit would blast through these distractions. I really liked that sense of tension they built. I thought it was very lo-fi not a lot of highspots and when they happened they counted. Transitions mattered. Everything was laid in. Benoit looked ferocious in this match. Finlay had jumped Benoit by using a distraction and got a little cocky so he started to disrespect Benoit with some slaps to the face. BENOIT ROARED BACK WITH THE SLAP TO END ALL SLAPS! Like you need to see this slap. He SMACKED Finlay. Watching Finlay backpedal and Benoit just race after him and still chop him was so awesome. Finlay eyepoke gives us the first Finlay heat segment, which I thought was excellent all centered around the head and neck while maintaining wrist control. The Benoit hope spots were great. He gets the Rolling Germans, the first one is nasty like a deadlift and misses Diving Headbutt, both men are kinda out. Benoit goes for Sharpshooter, Finlay kicks out and heads to floor. Finlay is spooked at this point. He averted disaster twice. Now he wants chair so Benoit baseball slides chair into him. Benoit knows how critical the Diving Headbutt is so he goes back and hits it. He does not cover just once, but twice. Benoit makes the Diving Headbutt such an important spot. He does not just leave it. He goes back, gets it and when it does not get him the win, he tries another cover. Now Benoit is a little lost in kayfabe and needs to regroup and look for Crossface, but Finlay reverses into a Bret Bump in the corner and smashes him in the back of the head. Second Finlay heat segment not as good as first. There were some wicked short arm clotheslines! It kinda meandered. It was intense. It felt like Finlay was torturing Benoit but it was NOT progressing. This is my criticism. Finlay was not escalating towards a win, he kinda stalled out. Benoit's selling was so good in all of this. Benoit gets an enziguiri and again Finlay freaks out and heads to outside and goes for Shillelagh, but Benoit gets a German on outside and does the Three Amigos inside as a tribute to Eddie. I also thought this was weird as Finlay bumps him off apron and actually starts to work over the arm. All of sudden Benoit gets an armbar takedown, great struggle over Crossface and Finlay taps. Angle take note, the struggle should be to put on the hold not in the hold!!!! Great character work by both men. Benoit was a machine in this looked awesome. Finlay was great as the sort of mirror heel Benoit and made good choices reacting to Benoit. Benoit's great understanding of psychology and selling was on display. Thought Finlay needed to escalate in his second heat segment and go for the win, thought build to finish was strange. The finish itself was great and how you ought to do a submission finish. Excellent intense encounter with strong storytelling and psychology from both men. I still think Akiyama/Taue is match of the year. ****1/2

Another match of the year contender for AJ! 450 splash was insane! Loved Ellsworth heel turn in all its 1999 swerve glory because we have not had one in a long time. Awesome

Awesome match! Bummed by Becky's loss but Alexa is an awesome heel and she will be a great champ. Thought the selling was great and table teases were well-done. Hyped for AJ!!!! And I guess for Ambrose

Loved the leg work by Miz and ballshot finish. Great match!Awesome Miz post match promo So hyped for Becky/Alexa!

I know I made a topic for this somewhere, probably put in the wrong year. Awesome 1980s bombfest, had it at 4.5, red hot. Rick Martel is fucking awesome. One of the greatest wrestlers ever. Tremendous babyface in every sense of the word. Definitely check out Strike Force too especially the Islanders matches as covered on Tag Teams Back Again! Nevermind! I have not seen their All Japan match! I was referring to the September 1985 AWA match that was awesome. Will have to check this out.

World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - WWE No Way Out 2006 If you are like me and couldn't remember how Angle ended up back on Smackdown, well it is simple when Batista got injured, he simply entered a Battle Royale and won the World's Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker and Angle are a really good pairing as they had a really good TV match back in 2003. Taker clearly is an MMA mark and loves rolling with guys like Angle and Brock. I think the style benefits Angle a lot. This is one of the last high touted matches of the era that I have yet to watch at least once. I thought Undertaker was awesome in this and looked to really be in high gear. I feel like 2004 and 2005 were down years for the Deadman but coming back to challenge for Angle's title here until the present day he more often than not looks good in his matches. Loved his urgency right out of the gate. He was the aggressor at the beginning. Taking the fight to the champion and looking to win the championship. Angle powdered early but Taker did not lose focus. Loved Taker's posture and body language in this. Everything was about moving forward. Grabbed a headlock and did a great job converting from that base hold into working on the arm. Thought the arm work was great, focused and intense. Angle sold well, tried to break, but kept being overwhelmed so good struggle. Couple good Angle hope spots based around Undertaker missing charges. In both cases, they were fleeting with Undertaker not being denied and making quick comebacks against Angle. It really looked like Undertaker was going to run away with this early. He was hitting his spots and turning back everything Angle threw at him. So when he went for the chokeslam that's when the complexion of the match changed. Desperate, Angle kicked at Undertaker's knee, creating enough separation to clip the knee from behind. At the beginning, I thought the knee work was great. Using the post, loved the Bret Hart figure-4 around the post and Undertaker's selling was great. Undertaker looked like he was going to turn the tide again with a legdrop on apron, but caught into the Anglelock was great. Undertaker was able to take an Angle leg lace and counter into a Triangle choke, which was a good hope spot. Taker tried turning this into a brawl, which makes sense and leveraging his striking ability. Angle got a pop-up Angleslam through an announce table. Up until this point, I thought they were wrestling an absolute classic. The transitions were crisp, great urgency on Undertaker's part, lots of struggle and they were telling the story of Undertaker's strong desire to prove he is the better wrestler and how much he wanted to win this match whereas Angle had become desperate. They lost it after the Angleslam and it became too much of a post-modern Angle match. The first misfire was Undertaker going to the top rope after the Angleslam through the table clearly just to set up Angle's run up the ropes Belly to Belly spot, which is lame. Then Taker hits a big boot anyway. Then comes the 8 million Anglelocks counters and reversals. I wouldn't mind it so much if he did not have the hold on for soooooooooo long before the counter. If it was constantly quick, like people could kinda feel it coming and before he can get set they countered that's one thing, it is this stupid is he going to tap or not and then roll through bullshit that's so lame. Way too easy getting in and out of the Anglelock and triangle. I am really bumming at this point because the first 2/3s was so damn good. Really dug the tombstone reversal spots into the Anglelock though that was neat-o, I will admit. The tenacity of wanting to put on the Anglelock is awesome. It is the sitting in the hold that sucks and kills the move. Loved the finish Angle gets a jackknife pin on a Triangle (again really didn't need the false drama of the arm raise). The first 2/3rds was awesome. Undertaker killed it and was such an aggressive challenger. I thought Angle kept Undertaker honest made him earn it and worked leg well. They just fell into the trap of way too many Anglelocks and sitting in them. Good finish though keeps everyone strong. Interesting match that Undertaker's shine felt more like a heat segment that was building and building to a finish. Then Angle took over likewise. I thought the highspots were just right in terms of giving the oomph to the story. Just wished they didn't fall into the Kurt Angle match trap, which is hard when the match involves Kurt Angle. Coulda been somebody. ****1/4

Becky was in my opinion the best woman on the main roster until Charlotte closed gap in the last couple months and now it is a pick em. I'd go as far as to say Becky is the best pure babyface on roster male or female. Incredibly likeable, awesome at selling and makes awesome, hot comebacks. To me she is chicken soup for the traditional wrestling fan's soul.

Did this make the Mid-South set as JIP? Is it in full on NWA on demand😐?

Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio - WWE No Way Out 2006 "C'mon Randy, he's a midget." - Fan in front row There's nothing novel about this match, but I thought it was an excellent execution based on traditional wrestling fundamentals. I thought Orton gave an excellent performance of a despicable slimeball heel. Definitely one of his best performances of 2003-2007, wrestling was moving away from traditional heels, but Orton really did a great job in this one. He was so cocky in looming Rey over with his size and manhandling him. Those shit-eating grins were perfect. You really wanted to see him eat a boot to the face. That's exactly what you got out of the short Rey shine. Rey ended up crashing and burning on a reverse crossbody. Orton was just great at first with his clobbering assault. Rey got a nice hope spot in with a swift kick to the head. I thought Orton was great at bumping and selling in this match giving enough for Mysterio on offense throughout to make the comeback credible. Who is this Orton and why couldn't we get more of him? Off that hope spot, Orton powders and this leads him to catch Mysterio and smash him into the post. Rey did a great job selling the shoulder and Orton was tenacious and violent working it over. I cant believe Im writing this but this was a superb Orton heat segment and it was not just because of Mysterio's selling and hope spots. Orton was great on offense and great bumping for the hope spots! Honestly, thought the Rey comeback starting with a sunset flip from the top rope was a little tepid and there was a miscommunication on at least one spot. Mysterio did seem to draw some blood hardway. I don't think it built to too much of a fever pitch. Orton's dropkick of Mysterio's coming off the top was fucking awesome! That actually could have been a badass highspot early but this late into the match I thought it was too easily blown off and lost some of its consequence. Mysterio avoids the RKO and Orton avoids the 619. Orton schoolboys Mysterio and wins his spot at WrestleMania. What a fucking punk move! First 2/3s was awesome perfect Orton heel performance and Rey Rey was consummate babyface. Just didn't feel they kicked into overdrive in the finih. Thought the finish suited Orton's character perfectly. I would say a top 5 Orton match of all time. ****

WWE Tag Team Champions World's Greatest Tag Team vs Rey Mysterio/Billy Kidman - WWE Vengeance 2003 Heralded match at the time and for some reason I don't remember watching this PPV live. I think this was the only post-Mania XIX PPV I didn't watch that year. Very fun little tag match. You really start to see the post-modern style creeping into this match. There are almost zero babyface/heel dynamics, it is more about spots and the nearfalls are huge in this. What keeps this above water is that the crowd is still old school and Rey Mysterio is on fucking fire in this match. There is an awesome nearfall where Rey snaps Haas off the top rope with a rana and everyone in the building bites that the titles are going to change hands, but it is a kick out at 2 and a half. Instead of "This Is awesome" chants, they start BOOING and even chanting bullshit!!! I loved the nearfall and the crowd reaction just made it that much better. They wanted to see a title change and wanted to see the good guys win. That was more important! I miss those days. Rey looked so damn crisp on offense. Everything was hitting and everything looked cool. I loved the springboard somersault dropkick! Never seen that before, really cool. Just everything else was so clean. Hell even Kidman looked damn good with his HOLY SHIT Highspot of the match a Springboard Shooting Star Press to the outside. He was a good face in peril. My big criticism is at the World's Greatest Tag Team. What makes you heels? This is right at the beginning of this whole "lets have a good match" movement that abandons traditional babyface/heel dynamics. There was a nice ref distraction preventing the hot tag and guess what that got the biggest reaction besides the three big spots of the match! This was an invested crowd. Benjamin/Haas are technically good, but they were missing the character work. The work on the back was solid. That's how they felt everything is solid from them, but they never kicked into the next level. Rey and Kidman looked great as a babyface team. The actual finish with WGTT hitting a Springboard Doomsday Device was pretty sick. The three big spots were all awesome and boost what was a good match and make it entertaining and memorable. ***1/2

WWE Champion Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar - WWE Summerslam 2003 I remember marking out huge for this match when I watched it back in 2003 with my family and cousins. I have not watched it since. Totally did not expect it to live up to the memory. Who am I to doubt Brock Fucking Lesnar??? Excellent match. Totally tops the match from Mania. First off this is heel Brock. Remember this angle like it was yesterday. They do the friendship angle but then Angle beats Brock for the title. This leads to the heel turn. I am a sucker for the heels trap the babyface in the cage and loved it when Vince and Brock did it. Then Brock's path of rage. My brother still brings up the absolute mauling of Zack Gowen. He will tell you that is his favorite match of all time. Just beautiful violence. Brock was in such a zone at this point. This to me is the more natural pairing than Mania with Brock playing heel. Great layout and execution. Angle is able to use some really nice tricked out amateur stuff to get Brock down, but the story is Brock is too powerful to contain. We see a front trip which is pretty rare in pro wrestling. When Angle tries to meet Lesnar head on in a collar elbow tie up, he gets THROWN DOWN! So Angle angers the young hot head by flipping him off and then a series of quick armdrags. LESNAR IS PISSED!!! He throws a hissy fit on the outside throwing shit around. I love it! Such passion! He grabs the championship and is going to walk out. Angle attacks him from behind and Lesnar takes a wicked somersault on the floor and the way he throws himself into every bump is so impressive! This is all a ploy though once on the outside he can start to use his power and brawl so Angle goes to the knee. Love it. Back inside, Angle pops off a nice suplex, but is finally caught in a press slam and Lesnars THROWS HIM FROM THE RING TO THE FLOOR!!! SICK BUMP! GREAT TRANSITION!!! Lesnar is so much more at home in these dominant heat segments than fiery comebacks. His cutoffs all focused around the ribs are explosive and great. WIsh Angle would have been more creative with his hope spots. But that tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Brock was great. Brock charges into the corner and hits his shoulder. Great selling by Brock for a while after that! Angle was great too with some really hard-hitting shoulder tackles to the bad shoulder, something rare from Kurt that made the match feel unique. I liked Brock's spinebuster as a cutoff, but his bum shoulder cost him the chance to make a quick cover. Again the shoulder cost him to hesitate during the F-5 leading to a Tornado DDT. Really good stuff here by Brock to lead to logical transitions. Angle Slam only gets two and the Angle Lock leads to ref getting knocked. Angle locks it in again. BROCK TAPS! No ref! Vinny Mac cracks Angle in the back with a chair. Awesome friggin selling by Brock on the F-5 hitting it on one leg! Incredible! Angle kicks out! It felt pretty dramatic with Vince exhorting Brock on and Brock in so much pain. Brock goes for second, logically, but Angle pops into an Anglelock. I think this was the biggest flaw of the match was that quick pop up by Angle into Angle Lock. He loves it for the suddenness and surprise but it hurts the credibility of match. Still Lesnar's selling was great, loved him going to each side of the ring to grab the rope but only to pulled back to the center. Such a great spot! Before ultimately succumbing to the pain! I don't get the booking of the winner/loser at all, but I don't let that affect my opinion of the narrative. Angle used his speed and technique and then veteran experience to get under Brock's skin. Brock played some mind games back and ultimately his raw power won him control after a awesome transition. Heat segment was strong, a little sluggish with body scissors and Angle could have spiced up his hope spots. The finish run was awesome and every tempered its nearfall. Thought Vince added some good drama. My big complaint is that Angle popped up on Angle Lock. Brock's selling was so perfect in this match. Excellent match. ****1/4

How can you say he does not have a strong grasp of pro wrestling when so many "great" wrestlers blow off selling or are so afraid to look weak. Brock is so secure with himself as a badass that he can go out there bump and sell for any opponent and this dates back to 2002. The selflessness is a direct result of understanding the logic of pro wrestling. Every fan I know in real life which is five say Brock matches feel different, they feel like events, spectacles. That's Brock knowing how to be a monster and how to credibly vulnerable. Basically he is a better, more authentic Vader. If I had Vader at 16, I should have Brock higher.

WWE Champion Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar - WrestleMania XIX Weirdly enough, this is the match that cemented I would be a wrestling fan the rest of my life. Vince Russo killed my interest in pro wrestling in 2000 as a long time WCW fan. I enjoyed WWF in the summer of 2000, but by fall of 2000 was not even watching that. I was really sad to find out that WCW was sold to WWF. I gave the Invasion a chance and again I checked out by September when I realized how badly bungled it was. Then I heard the NWO, my favorite act ever, was coming back in 2002 so I tuned again only to be disappointed and this time I was done after WrestleMania X-8. it had been a year since I watched wrestling and had totally put it in my rear view mirror. Then my Dad got a cable box scrambler and to try out his new gizmo he taped this WrestleMania XIX. I remember being like, whatever Dad, I don't watch this anymore. Then I saw Shawn Michaels was back and I was like ok, lets give this a shot. Remember Hogan/Vince was pretty awesome and seeing a Rock/Austin PPV match for the first time was pretty mind-blowing. It was only one man that made me say, Holy shit, I need to watch this every week and that was Brock Lesnar. I tweeted today that Brock Lesnar should be remembered as the greatest freak athlete and artistic genius of our generation. His bumping in this match was off the charts. His explosiveness and power unparalleled. His nuanced selling in this match is only matched by those veterans of the craft that would have 5-10 times the experience. I have discussed Brock's high wrestling IQ before, but what's scary is it existed all the way back here and can be traced back to 2002 against the Undertaker. Brock Lesnar absorbed pro wrestling psychology like a sponge. Seeing him execute is always a treat. There is something weird about this match. I can't put my finger on it, but it just was not compelling as a match. As an individual performance by Lesnar it was breath-taking. The explosiveness of the early chain wrestling was incredible. The selling of the ribs as a consistent thread and conveying the fight through that pain was great. His amazing bumps into the turnbuckles, on the suplexes especially the backflip off the release German was breath-taking. Angle for all his faults was not that bad. Lesnar would overpower him on the mat early so he started to attack the injured ribs. He would ultimately gain control off a great German suplex into the turnbuckles (awesome bump). Angle did sit a hold for a stretch of the match, which did grind the match to a halt. Lesnar's comeback was not quite as ferocious as I would want. I would say that would be my one criticism of him. It did get a little finisher-trade-y towards the end especially with all the constant kicks to the gut to set up the moves. I did like the first Anglelock with Angle countering F-5 with an inside heel trip into Angle lock, Brock fighting and Angle converting into a half crab. The grips were so well-done in this match. Didn't care for the F-5 kick out. The second F-5 into Shooting Star Press into a third F-5 was weird. I assume the third F-5 only existed because the Shooting Star Press was botched?!?! ***3/4 This is a very good match and still not sure why I don't think it is great because Angle is very measured here and is focused on the ribs. Lesnar is great at selling and bumping. Finish stretch is so 2003 with the kick outs and trading maybe that is it? I totally agree with the 13 year old version of myself in believing this was the new future of pro wrestling, a big bumping, power, athletic freak. Brock, I am so glad you made me a pro wrestling fan for life. There is no amount of stars I can give to that.

Brock Lesnar is the greatest the freak athlete and artistic genius of our generation. His wrestling IQ is amazing. He just gets pro wrestling on a level that so few do. Brock Lesnar is the best seller on the roster. We have seen that against Cena, HHH, Roman and the Undertaker. This may have been his most masterful performance yet. Brock Lesnar MADE this match. Brock Lesnar MADE Goldberg look like a million bucks. The entire magnificent story of this match is told through Brock and his ability to convey intensity leading to cockiness leading to oh shit I am in trouble leading to out cold. A pro wrestling masterpiece. My biggest regret of GWE now is not putting Brock Lesnar in my Top Ten. What an amazing pro wrestler!

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - WrestleMania XIX Fantastic Greatest Hits match! Reminds me a lot of Misawa vs Kawada from the Dome 2005. Great rivalry that now is really just a great nostalgia experience. Kinda crazy this match took place in 2003 and has that feel given that their 2001 match is the apex of the Attitude Era. A lot changed 2 years and yet it does not feel like much has changed since then. The first half of this match is actually incredible in fact if they stuck with it, they could have a legitimate match of the year contender. Austin looked fantastic in his shine. Tons of energy and urgency. Lots of movement. Rock was great bumping and selling for him. Some really great clotheslines from Austin. Austin was kicking so much ass the Hebner pulls him off, Austin never one to let a chance to jaw with the ref indulges him and Rock chopblocks the knee. Rock absolutely destroys that knee in a great heat segment and he is fucking excellent at taunting the crowd. Awesome heat segment. Austin just had no desire to sell the knee. Rock puts on Stone Cold's vest to taunt him. The match then becomes a Greatest Hits package. It is super hot and really engaging. It is the type of match that needs mega-stars and a long history so Hogan/Savage, Flair/Steamboat, Misawa/Kawada to do. There is finisher trading at the outset, but what I enjoy is that does not go all the way to the end. What you see if Rock gradually gain more and more control after the low blow. The low blow is so crucial. He had just eaten the Stunner and one more and it would be over. After the low blow, he goes for People's Elbow, but needs a spinebuster to set that up. Then it takes three Rock Bottoms. You see Austin's fight is slowly sapped with each Rock Bottom before he succumbs to the third one. There are no Stunners in between the Rock Bottoms, there is no shocking moves just a gradual progression to the end. That's what separates this from these finisher spamming matches of the 2010s. Super fun summer Hollywood action blockbuster. Pretty much no selling until the end. Awesome fired up Austin performance and great heel Rock. ****

World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker vs Batista - WWE Backlash 2007 Last Man Standing WOW! Undertaker was moving so damn fast here. Looked really spry and agile. He looked like he had lost a ton of weight and it showed as he was moving as well as he did in 2007. I thought he looked amazing on offense throughout and was really putting in the effort to have a great match. Loved the opening with Big Dave running into a big boot and Undertaker just pouncing. The urgency was great and it was nothing but hard shots. Good powerslam by Batista as a hope spot. Batista's leg is bandaged due to an attack from Finlay. Having a bad leg seems very bad in a last man standing match. Undertaker has a bad elbow, but that may be a shoot. Undertaker starts working on the bad leg. They move to a superplex and then they are throwing hands. So I think everybody who reads my reviews knows what's coming. They are moving way to fast between their segments. The transitions do not mean anything. Batista and Undertaker are REGISTERING the shots, but they are NOT SELLING the damage. The move are not having consequence. The rest of the match is a mindless, entertaining power spotfest but totally feels like an exhibition and that they are just checking off boxes. Taker bloodies Batista - Check, uses stairs Cool highspot nearfall - Check, Taker leg drop on announce table Outta nowhere transition for a nearfall - Check, Batista's crazy spear after taking a ton of punishment Finisher trading & Frustration - Check, Chokeslam, Batistabomb, steel chair, Tombstone BIG CRAZY FINISH - Check, Batista spears Undertaker off the ramp through a table with some electronics that explodes They checked all the boxes, but in the most mechanical fashion possible. It did not have the heart or the glue to be a great match even though Undertaker was trying so hard to have a great match. ***1/2

Finlay vs Matt Hardy - WWE Smackdown 6/22/07 The story of the match is Finlay is always one step ahead of Matt Hardy and Matt needs to somehow crawl out of this hole. The match takes place in North Cackalacky, Matt's home state so he is super over. It is totally worked around him selling the entire match. Finlay puts on absolute clinic working on top with great smashmouth early and then a targeted focus on the leg. I loved Matt's sell of Finlay's early forearms. Hardy looked like he was going to get something started by giving Finlay a taste of his own medicine and then a nice bulldog. However, Finlay one step ahead of Hardy cuts this off by going to the floor and using Hornswoggle to distract Hardy long enough to level him. Again, Hardy mounts comeback this time with a series of beautiful punches. Wow! Totally forgot how good of a puncher Matt Hardy is and ambidextrous too! Hardy wants to go up top to cement his advantage, but Finlay yanks him down by the bad leg. Finlay is one step ahead. This is when the match goes into overdrive. Finlay tortures the bad knee, gnarly holds, slams into the steps, takes off the brace and Matt Hardy gives a stellar selling performance both hobbling and verbal selling. The enziguiri gives Matt hope. Side Effect is a great nearfall. Cant seem to get Twist of a Fate. Hornswoggle distracts ref. We get the shillelagh shot to the knee and I totally buy this as the finish. Finlay is one step ahead. Matt Hardy withstands this, stays on his feet and hits Twist of a Fate for the win. Anytime, Matt Hardy was about to get some momentum, Finlay cut him off. Matt kept coming and coming. Eventually he withstood all the punishment long enough to hit his finish and win. Excellent lay out, great selling from Hardy and great offense from Finlay. Awesome TV match. ****

World Heavyweight Champion Batista vs Triple H - WWE Vengeance 2005 Hell In A Cell I'll be honest I was very skeptical about this match being good let alone great. On paper, this is a very uninspiring matchup especially given HHH's clunkers from 2003-2005 in gimmick matches. Yes, HHH can have great matches see Foley, Street Fight and Bryan, Mania match. He usually is not the better wrestler in the match. I am sure there are people that would argue Batista is better than HHH, I could see that, but to me HHH is the better wrestler. There is no main event wrestler that has inspired more apathy from me than Batista. Even Edge can be funny at times and I enjoyed the Edge & Christian stuff. Even Orton can wrestle a pretty compelling match based around sound psychology. Batista does nothing for me. I love power wrestlers, but he is powerful in a bodybuilding way not that awesome Mid-South Hoss style. He is super awkward in the ring in my opinion. Does not bump naturally and his moves look weird. Not much of a seller. His character is bland as hell. Though heel Batista heeling on all the internet nerds was legitimately very good. So much to my pleasant surprise, this was great just as everybody said it would be. This is a better version of the Cena/JBL I Quit Match. I thought there was a lot more hate and a lot more gritty violence. Gotta give the devil his due, HHH wrestled one helluva match. He made Batista look like a million bucks. Big Dave did nothing to really change my opinion of him. I would say this may be HHH's best match in terms of having to be the better wrestler and really carry the work load here. I was just reading a review I wrote for a Harley Race match. I gotta say I would put HHH over Race in terms of great workers after watching this. Pretty standard start with Batista in control using the Cell. HHH is able to whip him into the steps. First big bump is Batista off the apron into the cage. Batista's awkwardness actually made that look nastier. HHH grabs a chain. I thought this was pretty tactful in which weapons they used and how many they used. They did not feel like props. HHH was great at whipping with the chain and choking with chain. It felt violent. He was not using the chain because it was expected in the match. He was using it to inflict damage. That's difference between this Cell and the one I just watched love with Roman/Rusev. Great receipt spot with Batista whipping HHH with the chain. Batista spinebustering HHH into the Cell repeatedly was awesome and HHH does an amazing bladejob. I think a big difference in this match from Cena/JBL was how much more of an asskicker Batista looked like. Cena had to come from behind and was bleeding profusely in his match. Here Batista busts HHH wide open first and HHH really sells it. Like I don't compliment HHH on selling much, but here he does a fantastic job. HHH's spinebuster is a babyface transition. Shaking my head. He gets a barbed wire chair Ok, ok, ok so that's a bit over the top but but but it is a barbed wire chair so it is fucking awesome. He pokes a bunch of holes in Batista flesh. Again, great receipt spot set up because Batista gets the chair and he blasts HHH right in his already bloody face and then grinds into his open wound. That is pretty friggin awesome. HHH gets a desperation DDT onto the chair to bust Batista open. Very violent, very good. I miss grating your bloody opponent's face into a steel cage. Sister Sledge makes her appearance. Worst weapon ever. But you knew it had to be a part of the match so I will give it a pass. In the battle of sledgehammer and chain, the chain wins with HHH pulling the trigger first. Another great thing about this match, is the lack of pinning attempts. That was only the second cover of the match! The violence is taking center stage not kickouts to get pops. Good for them! The Irish Whip into the steel steps in the ring is a really good spot actually and HHH really threw himself into it. HHH gets a low blow NOW there is a GREAT heel transition. Pedigree only gets two. That's a nearfall I can get behind. Spinebuster on the steps is a great spot from Batista. Loved the finish. Batista has HHH up in the powerbomb position but HHH has the sledgehammer. So it is a moment of high drama and you really don't know which way it is going to go. Batista pulls the trigger first and hits the powerbomb for the win. Kudos to HHH he did everything he could to put Batista over huge in this match. He bled buckets, bumped big, sold well, Batista kicked out of the Pedigree and the finish was fantastic. Batista played his role well. Violence was great. Spots were huge. It was epic without trying to be epic. Is this the last great Hell In A Cell match? ****1/2 P.S. So I watched this last night, but I did not have enough time to review because I was going out with my friends. So I read a review this morning to jog my memory. The reviewer gave this **** and the Angle/Michaels match on the same card ****3/4. What the flying fuck?