Superstar Sleeze

The Undertaker vs Triple H WrestleMania XXVIII Hell In A Cell Match I was at this WrestleMania live and I didn't have the first clue about how to buy tickets properly for a WrestleMania. So I ended up with seats before one of the giant Palm Trees that was holding up the canopy. Couldnt see shit. There were "Move The Palm Tree" chants throughout the night. Somehow, my Dad, brother and me snuck onto the floor and just stood in the back near entrance ramp the hold time. At least the entrances were cool. However, because the floor is not raked, I really could not see much especially anytime they were out of the ring. I don't have many memories of this show besides high-fiving CM Punk after his match with Jericho. Had a much better time the following year at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey where I knew where to buy tickets and had a perfect view of the ring in the lower bowl with stadium seating. I have plenty of memories and had a lot more fun. This match was not bad per se. It was definitely long in the tooth. It felt more like a routine Undertaker and Triple H match. They hit their standard spots. Even though, they were prattling on about how this was The End of An Era, no one believed it then and it clearly wasnt as Taker and HHH have gone on to main event Wrestlemania since against Roman Reigns. Jim Ross saying "An Era we will never go back to" made me laugh more like an Era we are stuck in. The first ten minutes is methodical brawling around the ring. Undertaker controlled. Brief flurries from HHH, but caught off from Taker. They were pushing the storyline from last year that it was Pyrrhic victory for The Undertaker. Triple H left in better condition than Taker and Taker looked vulnerable. Taker is out to prove this is still His Yard. It made sense that Taker started off hot and maintained control. I sighed so hard when the first transition was a random DDT from HHH. Lame videogame wrestling. The Spinebuster on the Steps was much better, but Taker immediately applying Hell's Gate on the stairs undercut the spot. HHH cements control by slamming from the Hells Gate. Now we enter Act II. We moved from routine Undertaker control segment to the replay of last year's WrestleMania. When HHH uses weapons (Chair and Sledgehammer) to batter and bruise Undertaker. Oh yeah, Shawn Michaels is the ref. So HHH keeps telling HBK to ring the bell and just end it. Undertaker took an absolute asskicking. His body was back & blue. At one point, HHH attempts to bash Taker's brains in with the sledgehammer. Michaels stops him. That was a little excessive. Taker's gets annoyed with Shawn's constant nagging and puts him in Hell's Gate. HHH hits with the sledgehammer. He goes for the Killshot (like an actual fucking killshot)...Taker boots him in the balls. Now we go to Act III which was my favorite act basically they do a big bomb throwing fest. Undertaker looked great here. He was explosive. Chokeslamming HHH and Charles Robinson. Undertaker doing his full comeback and running the ropes was great. One of the few things I remember from being there live was the Sweet Chin Music->Pedigree spot. That was hot shit. The Kliq Conspiring to end the Streak is a great storyline and really should have been more of a focal point. Then what ends up happening is the reverse of the last year. Undertaker is the one standing tall and HHH is left dragging himself to fight. It all begins when Taker grabs the chair, and HHH is going for the Hammer but Taker puts his foot on it. Damn that is some great Alpha Male shit. Taker exacts his revenge with the chair. I loved Triple H lunging at Taker with the Hammer, but having no gusto behind and Taker just stops him. It is very reminiscent of the Undertaker goozle from the previous year that HHH no sold. Then they do the Defiant Crotch Chop Suck It, which mirrors Taker's Defiant Throat Slash. Taker puts him out of his misery with a Tombstone to prove it is still His Yard. I'll tell one thing is that this match makes the previous year's match look WAY BETTER! That match had a Huge Fight Feel, great pacing, awesome highspots and great drama down the stretch. This was 20 minutes of boring, plodding brawling with stock HHH, Taker spots thrown in. The last ten minutes raise this match to good. Undertaker rocking his comeback and then Walking Tall and putting HHH in his place was glorious. It really did set Undertaker up looking strong to lose the following the year. They waited two years, but I liked this as a two year story arc to plant the seed of doubt and then re-establish Taker to set it up for the big loss down the road. It was a win there. ***

WWE not covering travelling expenses is bullshit. Lodging, food and transportation should be provided. No questions asked. I bet they get out of it due to the independent contractor bullshit.

This is the one bizarre take I can keep hearing crop up from wrestling fans. I don't know any company that acts as a travel agent for its employees. I book all my own hotels and then expense it. Now WWE should pick up the tab and if they aren't that's stupid. However, the actual booking of the hotel is not on the WWE, it is on the talent. Now my guess is that because RAW gotten re-written so much a Smackdown talent like Xavier may have not known he was going to be on RAW until it was so late that it caused this to happen. So that is a legitimate gripe. WWE the travel agent is not.

World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Christian - WWE Over The Limit 2011 One of the last WWE Classics I have never seen before. This was right at the nadir of my interesting pro wrestling before CM Punk's Pipebomb promo gave my passion for pro wrestling an adrenaline shot. I had stopped watching Smackdown all together so I only vague recollection of this feud from when it was going on, but I due remember this being one of the most praised matches of the year besides Cena vs. Punk. This was a fantastic singles match that did not rely on any gimmicks or crutches. It is one of those matches where you dont see what the big deal is until about 5 minutes left and you are like damn they got me. The story here is Christian finally won the big one in a hellaciously boring ladder match against Alberto Del Rio earlier in the month after his best friend, Edge retired. The twist is that five nights later on Smackdown he lost the belt to Randy Orton, which was a great troll of the smart marks and also just a great storytelling device. Career journeyman underdog finally wins the World Title just to cough it up later in the week. I liked the opening a lot. Lots of movements. Lots of energy generated off criss crosses. They were punctuated with great spots. Christian loved his dropkicks and Orton was hitting power moves like tackles and back elbows. Shout out to Orton for the Cheerleader Toe Touch on his Leap Frog. I dug Orton a lot in this match. I thought he sold well for Christian and worked quite snug. Christian took a lot of this match cutting Orton off with some wicked slaps to the face. First big highspot was Orton hitting his Superplex at about the five minute mark. They were working a good pace. Orton sold the impact of the Superplex well and how it prevented him from making a solid cover. I liked Chistian cutting off Orton with a spinebuster during what felt like a routine Orton comeback and then hit his inverted DDT. It felt like Christian came to play and that Orton would have to earn this victory. Another thing this match did well is incorporating scouting into the match. Orton had the slap on the outside scouted, but Christian had the Hangman DDT scouted. Another one is how Christian got Orton to bite on a feigned crossbody and Orton revealed he was going for an RKO. Christian bided his time and got a Sunset Flip for 2 instead. Great stuff there. The crowd heat was pretty intense for the midcard World Title match it shows that good work does get over. I did pop for Orton busting out the inverted Boston Crab which I have seen only a couple times and they way he got into it was very organic. I dug that a lot. It was around this spot that I realized I was watching something special and got more invested in the match. They hit the finish and they did a great job with escalation. Orton gets the Hangman DDT off a counter to a usual Christian spot. Goes for the RKO but Christian throws him off. Christian wants the Spear as a tribute to Edge. ORTON POWERSLAM! That was great! Babyface Orton has second thoughts about punting Christian's skull and SPEAR by Christian, great nearfall for two. Christian wants his finish, The Unprettier. Orton reverses and BANG! RKO! Christian sells it like a million bucks. I thought this was a real fun babyface vs babyface match. Orton played bit more of the face fighting from underneath, but this was wrestled very straight. I enjoyed the counter-heavy approach and it built to a great crescendo. Lives up to the hype. ****1/4

The Undertaker vs Triple H - WrestleMania XVII The beginning of the match was truly something interesting and dare I say innovative. I'd call it highspot brawling. I'd never seen it really done up until this point. They were doing brawling highspots but with minimal brawling in between. It was war of attrition style brawling centered around big time highspots. I really liked how everything was set up as a counter. I think in current wrestling there are too many hits. Each of the wrestlers have BIG TIME Irish Whips that set then up for wanting to do announce table spots. Each time, they thwarted in dramatic fashion. First HHH tackling Undertaker into a Cole Mine explosion and then HHH taking a hellacious back drop off the announce table. The first person to hit a big time offensive move is Undertaker hits his suicidal tope which I am such a mark for. Then it is right back to the counters as HHH hits a Spinebuster to a running Undertaker through an announce table. This ends Act I. I thought this was really lean, mean highspot-oriented wrestling. I think Act II was where they dragged but it was necessary to get to Act III. Act II is the worst excesses of Pro Wrestling NOAH with none of its connective tissue. I can at least dig the escalation. Chokeslam vs Spinebuster. Chair is introduced by HHH but used against him. Pedigree vs Last Ride. I will say HHH's moves were better set up because they were true counters and had desperation to them. Tombstone ->1-2-NO! HHH DDTs on the Chair and that sets Pedigree #2. I think the selling especially from the Undertaker was really good in this stretch. He sold how incredulous he was that HHH would not stay down and then sold being concussed really well. This ends Act II and now we go to Act III. What separates Pedigree #3 from Pedigree #2 is we all believed Pedigree #3 actually had a chance of winning the match. Now we have entered the part of the match where we actually believe a finish can happen. This is also perhaps the greatest use of WWE Masterpiece Theatre. I think Savage vs Warrior is better, but this is pretty damn great. Undertaker's selling is fucking off the charts. Some of the best selling of all time. He totally has the Old Gunslinger going to out in a Blaze of Glory at the OK Corral down pat. HHH was great at being the remorseless asshole that was basically willing to kill this man dead to win the match. Chairshots were brutal, a protected chair shot to the head. That moment when Undertaker reaches up to choke HHH and HHH does NOT sell. Damn how good was that. How many times have we seen Undertaker use his other worldy powers to vanquish his opponent at the last second. Not today says HHH. Great example of how no selling can be such an effective tool. From there Undertaker has to pull himself up by the ropes. He is staggered on jelly legs with his fists balled up. My God, we are seeing the Undertaker...vulnerable. Fucking brilliant. HHH slashes the throat and hoists him up for the Tombstone nails it! Man Alive that place went fucking nuts! HHH sold it so well. This prompts HHH to get the sledgehammer which is great escalation. Undertaker, The Undertaker, is on his back squirming for the bottom rope trying to pull himself to safety. He is like a giant version of Ricky Morton. Holy shit, selling to another level. Taker gets him in Hell's Gate. Great sell job by Triple H, loved the last ditch pick up of Sledgehammer only to drop it again and then go unconscious. What a finish! Bonus points for Undertaker's after the match. It is very telling Triple H gets to his feet first and walks away first, while Undertaker lays motionless for quite sometime before collapsing off the apron to the floor in a powerful moment. Then they have to cart the Deadman away up the ramp. Wow! Talk about vulnerability and putting the story over! Some of the best character acting in pro wrestling history! They take you on a journey through selling that is sublime. The middle drags this down and does not make sense as the brawling spots were higher end than the middle. That's nitpicking that ending is the cinematic journey that Shawn Michaels always wanted to take you on. ****1/2

Seth Rollins has the best entrance music in all of wrestling, maybe ever. That is a glorious slab of head banging metal. Slipknot wishes it wrote something good. It is the only good thing about him. I don't have many problems with Rollins in-ring that is specific to him. He has a lot of the same problems his peers have. I think he has the Lex Luger problem. He is a better character as a heel, but he is a better in-ring wrestler as a babyface. Rollins is just so lame on the mic as a babyface. I would not follow that dweeb tool anywhere. His bitching that Brock Lesnar is a not a good champion for the brand is just a bunch of smart mark whining. Save it for the marketing meeting, brutha. That's what I feel like is that wrestling has become one big marketing meeting. Wrestlers complain about their adversary not being entertaining enough as the crux of their feud. It is so lame. What happened to personal feuds? What happened to wanting to be the best? C'mon, Rollins beat Brock because he nutshotted him not once, not twice, but three times. What a loser babyface! Good on Brock for bringing it up. Cant remember what promo. It was when Brock has the MITB. Rollins said something about beating him and Brock loudly said "Only because you hit me in the balls". What dumb booking for a babyface. You can claim that a lot of Rollins hate is generated by how he is booked and the content he has to speak, but man he does not make it sound. The only person that can really make WWE speak sound remotely normal and entertaining is Alexa Bliss.

I just saw Mick Jagger give an energetic 2 hour performance at 75 years old, three months after heart valve surgery. I think Dave has at least 15 good years left in him if he wants. I don't think he's going away anytime soon.

Beth Phoenix vs Melina - WWE One Night Stand 2008 I Quit Match A women's match without the title on the line! Wow! I didnt know that happened. Mickie James was champion at this time, FYI. Kadaveri recommended me this match on Twitter after I raved about Beth vs Candice. I got to say I really enjoyed this one. It felt like a really good PWFG match catch wrestling match. They focus almost exclusively on submission holds and there is no weapons. I thought there were a lot of innovative submissions that looked great. One thing, I think is that they dont always cater to the women's strengths in women's matches. They make them wrestle like men, but women have certain physical advantages over men, but they dont take advantage of them. One of those things is that women are more flexible and limber than men. So submissions look a lot cooler and financing on women. The psychology was very sound. Melina was hurling everything she had at Beth while Beth was using raw strength. I liked the immediate Guillotine Choke from Melina and Beth's sell. Beth's backbreaker out of it was gnarly. They were hitting each other hard too. I loved Melina's Mutoh Deathlock Back Bridge. Again more impressive looking because Melina is so flexible. Beth pulling herself to the ref with Melina still holding onto the submission popped me huge. What a cool spot. Then they tumbled out of the ring together! WOW! A lot of good Beth strength spots, but Melina avoids the Glam Slam. She kicks Beth in the ass into the post. She starts working the arm with the ropes. Awesome! FUJIWARA ARMBAR! I AM MARKING OUT! Cross-Armbreaker switch! BETH PICKS HER UP AND THROWS HER ASS DOWN!!! OH FUCK YEAH! GLAM SLAM! THEN SHE BENDS MELINA IN HALF UNTIL SHE SUBMITS FROM THE TORTURE! What a finish! I loved how submission based this was. Melina was a great scrappy underdog with lots of submissions and Beth was Beth just a glorious monster heel that owned it in this match. ****

World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels - No Mercy 2008 The feud so hot that they simply had to put the strap on Jericho. Jericho really floundered when he initially came back in 2007 and this feud saved his career and established him as a main event draw for the rest of his career. Up until this feud, Chris Jericho was a song & dance man. He was great on the stick and very charismatic, but he did not do much in the way of having those truly great matches and hot feuds. This feud with Michaels changed his career and his legacy. I remember at the time clamoring for this feud to extend to Mania. In retrospect, I think it should have been Jericho defending against the chasing John Cena. Have Cena win in his big return match, but drop it back to the nefarious Jericho to set up the heated rubber match at Mania. I always felt like Jericho was Cena's personal job boy. He was on such a roll would have liked to seen more. Anyways on to the match... I had watched this match a lot back in the day because it was on one of the many DVD sets I bought in the pre-Network days. I always remember that king-sized Jericho bump takes on the ladder. I remember thinking this was potentially one of the best ladder matches I have ever seen. I think it falls just short of HBK/Razor Summerslam '95, but this is still a tremendous physical match. Characteristic of many HBK Ladder Matches is the creative yet organic use of the ladder. It begins with Jericho trying to send HBK into the ladder, but he jumps onto it and uses it as a springboard to reverse crossbody Jericho. The match continues the heated exchanges of the previous matches, but it does seem dialed down compared to the Great American Bash and Unforgiven. Those felt more like bar fights. This felt more like a car crash ladder match built around BIG ladder high spots. For example, Shawn dove onto the ladder causing it catapult into Jericho's face busting his lip (and maybe cracking his tooth?). This is similar to spot that broke Mercury's face. I thought they did a great job creating meaningful transitions with the ladder. Michaels control segment on Jericho's knee began with Jericho missing a move and wrenching his knee into the ladder. I thought the knee work was some of the best of the match. It was short and I wished it a more integral part of the match. The best part was again the transition when Jericho kicked the ladder in such a way it spun around and hit Michaels RIGHT IN THE INJURED EYE! It was killing me that there was no blood. Cmon! Alright I just got to let it go. Jericho did a great job targeting the eye. Again, it was the ladder and Michaels sending Jericho into the turned the tide. I thought they took a little long on the HBK/Foley Mind Games spot through a table only to do it from a ladder. It didnt look quite as cool either. I HATE when people do offensive moves on ladder. Elbow drop and Lionsault. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Put the ladder under your opponent! I liked the ladder stopping Sweet Chin Music, did something (Michaels' head or the ladder) hit Jericho's face. He came up clutching his face and his tooth was chipped. Then comes the crazy the spot where Jericho takes that insane bump from the top of the ladder to the floor. I would have shit a brick in my pants if that happened to me. Cade comes to Jericho's aid. SWEET CHIN MUSIC! It is a race to the top. Tug of War over the belt was a great finish. I love the headbutt to the injured eye to give Jericho the win. I feel like this match is more of a standalone match than a continuation of the feud. There was less sense of personal anger and hatred in the match. The eye injury was not a central focus. It got brought and it was used, but it was not the crux of the match. Like you can say the headbutt to the injured eye is what won the match for Jericho, BUT it was not presented as such. I dont know if it was because the heel was going over and they did not want to glorify it too much. I feel like the Unsanctioned Match is the true climax to the feud and this was just tacked on after the fact. This match excels at creating meaningful big time ladder highspots that are memorable and are consequential in the match. I have this a notch below the Bash and Unforgiven matches, but this is still a great capoff for the best blood feud in WWE history. ****1/2

WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix vs Candice Michelle - WWE No Mercy 2008 I watched this on a whim and it rocked! Yep, that's right it rocked! No sliding scale, this was legitimately good. I bet Stacey (Jimmy Redman) has already sung this match's praises. I was a pretty big Glamarella mark as it is my favorite style of comedy and Beth was my favorite women's wrestler along with Mickie James, but I think Mickie was already being phased out. This match is built around the fact that Beth injured Candice's shoulder. Beth taunts Candice right at the beginning by trying to touch the shoulder and Candice dropkicks her knee. It was a rapid fire shine. Where Candice was sticking and moving. She was a ball of energy trying to beat the monster quickly. Think of a version of Kobashi vs Hansen. I love Beth's selling. It was a register. It was I cant believe this is happening to me. It was happening so fast she couldn't recover. I love how she would drop to maybe one knee but never take a bump. She was protecting herself and the match integrity. He was creating a mountain for Candice to scale. Candice threw some great forearms. The dropkicks were solid. Of course, the monster Beth eventually catches Candice and squashes her like a bug and then works on the arm. Candice fires up and hits a Hashimoto Spinning Heel Kick for two which is her big climax. Now they hit the finish with Santino. Beth takes a tumble off the top rope and Candice looks poised to win, but Santino yanks Beth out very roughly I may add. Candice hits a baseball slide on Santino. Beth BULLDOZES Candice. Candice took a rough bump. Santino accidentally trips up Beth and Candice schoolboys Beth and I bit! I fucking bit! I actually went "Well the finish sucked" and I popped when Beth kicked out. Give WWE its due they have done so many shitty schoolboy finishes that you actually do bite on them. I mean that as a backhanded compliment. Great finish Candice goes for the UNprettier and Beth turns it into the Glam Slam! for the win! Efficient execution of pro wrestling 101. Great shine! Effective heat segment and strong finish stretch. I would have liked a little more character work from Beth to get herself over as a major heel whether it is heat-seeking taunting or monster shit like a Hansen. I think she was very focused on being a ring general and she looked great. Thumbs up! ***1/2

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - WWF Unforgiven 2008 Shawn Michaels' amazing 2008 campaign continues as he delivers another triumphant performance in the best blood feud in WWE history. At Great American Bash in July, Jericho bloodied Michaels with a wild back elbow that landed on the injured eye. Jericho ended up winning by TKO after Michaels could not defend himself from the barrage of punches to the open wound. Michaels came out at Summerslam to announce his retirement due to injuries, but Jericho came out and wanted to Michaels to admit it was due to Jericho. Michaels admits the injuries are at the hands of the evil Jericho, but Jericho needs to admit his family and himself that he will never be Shawn Michaels. Oh shit! Jericho goes to haul off and punch HBK, but instead nails his wife in the face. Another awesome angle! Now it is deeply personal as if it was not before! It is all leading up to this Unsanctioned match. Shawn's demeanor in this match is pitch perfect. He is in blue jeans and cowboy boots. He is not here to wrestle. He is here for a fight. Everything is a punch or a strike. He takes off his cowboy boot to whack Jericho in the head with it. He hurls his own body at Jericho. Everything is physical and for maximum damage. There is a great moment where Michaels is making his first comeback. He hits the Flying Burrito, but it is not an inverted atomic drop. He CHOKES Jericho! It is a fight. He is out to maim. I love it. Adding to the list of injuries, Michaels' left elbow has been injured. He misses a chairshot to the head of Jericho instead nailing the post. Jericho takes over. There were two minor complaints about this match. One is I think Jericho could have shown more personality, more sadism, really relish in what he was doing. He was doing some furniture set up. Take a page out of Michaels' playbook and just throw nothing but fists. I thought the first Jericho heat segment was missing some "Oomph". The second was this was just after the "no blood" policy which sucks. Shawn tapped a gusher in July, but could not tap on here. The blood really would have put this over the top in my estimation. After, Michaels first comeback, Jericho as desperation defensive move pulls him into the chair eye first! Where's the blood! Give me that sweet, sweet blood. It is such a shame! Shawn's selling and wild swings are great. Jericho zeroing in on the injury was the best part of his performance. The climax of Jericho's heat segment is the Walls of Jericho. Shawn uses a fire extinguisher to get out. Again, I wish the drama is whether the hold can be applied rather than can he get out of a hold, but that's a problem in American wrestling. Now Michaels is attacking the eyes of Jericho and they brawl up the ramp. Here comes Lance Cade. At first, Michaels is able to fend off both, but eventually succumbs to both. They attack the injured left arm in brutal fashion. Jericho goes to break Michaels' arm but HBK superkicks Cade and then chairshot knocks Jericho off the top rope through a table! My favorite part of the match was Michaels doing one arm swinging of the chair onto Jericho's body. It felt so wild and out of control, truly a man possessed. Loved it. He stacks Jericho and Cade on top of the announce table and drives an elbow drop through both. Michaels comes up fist pumping and the crowd roars. My second favorite part of the match was Michaels whipping Jericho like the dog he is. In my world, brawls should consist of cowboy boots, belts and chairs; on special occasions, powder and fireballs can be included. There is something about the belt that is so apropos for a blood feud. They re-do the Great American Bash finish but this time Michaels wraps his hand with the belt and just pelts Jericho with punches until he is defenseless. The ref calls it for Shawn Michaels. They do a really great job selling the violence of this match. I like the contrast to that elbow drop through an announce table. That's a pro wrestling spots. That's to be celebrated. However, the ending with the belt shots that draw blood and HBK beating Jericho senseless with fists. There is no fist pumping. There is no celebration. He had to go to a cold, dark, scary place. He had to do it for his family and himself and we get it, but we don't like it, quite frankly, Michaels does not like it either. I dig that. Violence of that level should be a last resort. I am glad they are not casual about it. It makes it all mean more. I have to admit I liked the Great American Bash match a bit more. I missed the blood in this match and I thought there were couple too many WWE weapons tropes (fire extinguisher, furniture decoration) that undercut the gravity of the match just slightly. This was an amazing Shawn Michaels performance who came to FIGHT! I am looking forward to the ladder match, which I remember loving. ****1/2

Brutha, I fucking love that you went the fully month on this. I am not quite that high, but this is a fucking badass match that does not get talked about enough. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - Great American Bash 2008 The trilogy of the best WWE Blood Feud begins here. They had a great match at Judgment Day, but that was just a place setting. Jericho has gone full heel in memorable fashion by smashing Michaels' face into the Jeritron 5000 severely injuring his eye. Michaels retaliated by costing Jericho the Intercontinental Championship. Now we are here. Up until this point, this is easily the best Jericho singles match of his career. Michaels has had three all-time great years: 1986, 1997 and 2008. He is in the midst of an amazing run and it is a true testament to how good he was that all three of those years are in different decades. There is a lot to love about this match and it is shocking how overlooked this match is. I think it is because it overshadowed by the two matches that follow. I love physical this is, how uncooperative and how much they had to earn their offense. There was no wrestling at all. It was just forearm shivers and knees. I loved Jericho throwing knees right off the bat. Michaels comes back with some head rocking forearms, but he is grabbing those ribs. I love it. He knows he is injured so he tries to get out of Dodge quick. Chopblock and an inverted Figure-4 summarily follows. I love it. When the rope break happens, Michaels is tenacious on pressing his advantage, but the ref keeps separating him. Eventually this allows Jericho to make to his feet, he whips Michaels hard into the corner and Michaels does the Flair Flip. Jericho does his patented springboard dropkick and Michaels takes a hellacious bump on the apron. I love how Jericho sells his knee on the Irish Whip and through the dropkick. He knows it is going to hurt but he has to do it. I like how he gradually recovers during his heat segment. Michaels does a great job selling the ribs and peppering in hope spots. The Enziguiri was a great cut off and cover by Jericho. I love how Michaels had to earn his comeback. It was not just given. Cut off by a Walls of Jericho. Fighting through the pain for the kip up. Fighting Jericho off for the Top Rope Elbow. Jericho was great as he started to move from the body to the eye. After the Walls, Michaels went for a surprise Sweet Chin Music (makes sense he was losing badly, needed to go for the Knockout Blow), Jericho blasted him in the face. Once he earned the Top Rope Elbow, Michaels went for Sweet Chin Music and now that's when you get the chicanery. Lance Cade, Shawn Michaels' student turned Chris Jericho disciple, distracts Michaels who knocks him out. You get the big biel over the top rope as Jericho wipes out Cade. The Michaels top rope moonsault to the floor knocking out both guys is the climax for the babyface. We definitively got to the babyface Michaels triumphant. Just when it looked like he take it home, Jericho throws a wild elbow in a waistlock that connects with the injured eye and busts Michaels wide open. What a glorious moment. Five alarm blade job from Michaels. I love how Jericho sells it he does not even know. Only back in the ring, he sees it and is astonished. After a few seconds of that, he BLASTS Michaels with a right punch to the cut. It was amazing. Michaels sold his ass off. Jericho worked the cut like a vicious heel, not just punches by kicks and great headbutts. Great trash talk by Jericho even Cade got in a shot on the open wound for extra heat. I really liked the one last ditch hope spot for Michaels, Jericho is trash talking and Michaels wrestles him down by the arm and puts him in a crossface. Too little, too late. Jericho makes the ropes and just relentlessly attacks the eye until the ref has not choice to call it because Michaels cant defend himself. Another reviewer mentioned this and nailed it, this is some great Lawler/Memphis stuff. The fundamental body of the match that is efficient and lean. Everything is earned and makes sense. You get to see Michaels overcome both the ribs and Cade interference. Only to lose on a wild elbow. Then we kick in the big time, bloody Memphis angle that is going to draw big money. I have seen the two re-matches and love them both, but now I am really looking forward to them. This is the best work of Jericho's career and right up there with the best of Michaels. ****3/4

Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero - Summerslam 2005 Ladder Match Im a big proponent of more personal issues. Rollins bitching about how Lesnar is not good for the brand should be left in a marketing meeting in a conference room not a kick ass pro wrestling show. This crossed the line into the ludicrous. What court would actually accept that the custody of a child would be decided in a ladder match. There should be a happy medium between the two. i thought this was a very entertaining ladder match lots of vicious spots with Rey taking the lion share of the bumps. The finish fell very flat to me. Vickie Guerrero won the match for Rey. It wasn't even Vickie districts Eddie and Rey hits a move. Vickie pushed over the ladder and Rey won. They also certainly loved their Sunset Flip Powerbombs. There were three, the second was a crazy botch that was dangerous. I really liked Rey's offense. Did a great job incorporating the ladder. I think the Dominic distraction was a given and necessary should have set up the Rey win instead of using Vickie which undercut Rey and didn't gives us that satisfying ending to the feud. This feud is really all about Judgement Day and that June Smackdown match after that it peters out. This was a great Rey performance. ***1/2

Hulk Hogan vs Shawn Michaels - Summerslam 2005 You know I don't think I have ever seen this match before, which is surprising because I really loved the build to this match. I think one of the big missed opportunities for the WWE consistently since 2002 has been the build to the dream matches. In a lot of ways, once WWE purchased WCW, it became a dream match company and it really hasn't deviated from this and thats why finally in 2019 it is finally coming back to bite them. WWE knows the dream matches sell themselves so for the most part they don't put much effort into the build. I thought the build to this was phenomenal and it is still something my brother and I reminisce about. 1997 Shawn is one of my all-time favorite characters and for one month in 2005 we got him back. The stuff about teasing Bret in Montreal was fucking legendary. The heel heat was fucking nuclear. The shit with Larry King was amazing. The promos were great. The callbacks to 1997 and "Whatcha Gonna Do When The Heartbreak Kid Doesn't Lay Down For You" was such money. Hogan was great at being Hogan in all this. I remember really wanting to see the match, but it kind has been forgotten about except for Shawn's bumping, which some claim is exaggerated and overdone. That's basically all I knew about the match was that Shawn was being a ham. I am glad I watched this after I have immersed myself in 1980s American pro wrestling because I would have not appreciated it as much in 2005. This was Shawn Michaels doing a 1989 Hulk Hogan as the big bumping stooge heel. This is the match Mr. Perfect should have had with The Hulkster. The key difference was that Michaels got the offense and cheated his ass off to add to the drama. He was not just a pinball for Hogan but he through relentless cheating actually looked poised to defeat Hogan. The beginning was great with HBK establishing early this was going to be a big bumping match out of the lock up. Then it became a combination of Michaels bumping for Hogan's stock spots and Michaels doing his stock stooge spots. I love that spot he does on the turnbuckle laid out and then ends up getting crotched. It is such good camp. I think a lot of "serious" pro wrestling fans miss the point of camp and that pro wrestling is supposed to be fun. The 1980s were very campy and this is a call back to that era. What makes this better than the usual Hogan match from the 80s is how hard Michaels does work to try win and there are moments of real tension. When he was going around smacking Hogan in the face, it really got a rise out of me. I have never seen Hogan slapped and repeatedly. Michaels set up the payoff so ready and when Hogan finally let him have the big hammock and Michaels bumped on the apron I popped huge. As I said previously, it was Michaels' will to win that separated this match from Hogan's 80s fare. There are eye pokes, steel ring post, dogged punching until he busts Hogan open, ball shot and a chair shot. They use every bell and whistle to hook you in. I really like how they used the persistent punches to cut Hogan open rather than the ring post. It showed Michaels earned it. What a crimson mask! It looked gnarly. I liked that they teased the Hogan comeback twice, first the Sleeper and then after the elbow drop. The ref bumps were well used to increase the drama. If Bret had come out during the Sharpshooter, the roof would have blown off the place. It would have been insane. The ballshot and chairshot were huge. Then they build perfectly to the finish everyone knows. Elbow Drop->Sweet Chin Music->1-2-KICK OUT! I knew the kick out was coming, but boy did I pop. That was a glorious Hulk Up! Absolutely terrific Shawn Michaels performance that was a throwback to the 1980s and all Hulk Hogan had to be was Hulk Hogan and this had me smiling ear-to-ear. I love pro wrestling. ****1/4

That's too bad. Angelo Dawkins seems like the more likeable of the two.

I have kept an open mind but the Street Profits come off like utter dorks. Were they cooler in NXT? they are so lame on RAW. The Usos are way cooler and way better promos.

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - Great American Bash 2005 I know the June Smackdown match is fondly remembered but this entire series should be. From what I remember from 2005 is that a lot of people soured on this storyline once Dominic was added. Dominic is at ringside and if Eddie wins he reveals the secret. I have a higher tolerance for soap opera bullshit than the average wrestling fan so I'm down. Eddie has lost five straight singles matches according to Michael Cole. Cole & Tass were so good on commentary being strong babyface voices and really putting Eddie over as a sadistic, psychotic asshole. I thought Judgement Day & Smackdown matches were much better but this is still Eddie vs Rey so it is quite good. The execution is flawless. Eddie forces Rey to shake his hand for Dominic and it is Rey who lets Eddie have it. Rey is so explosive during his shine, I like Rey trying to end it early and sometimes his urgency gets the best of him. Huge nearfall when Rey gets the 619 and Seated Senton but only for two early. Eddie powders and plays some mind games with Dominic. This opens up Rey to an attack from Eddie. Eddie focuses on the back with laser precision. Tilt a whirl backbreaker (does anyone do it better?), Robinson backbreaker, wheelbarrow Suplex (great series of nearfalls as Eddie slowly descends into madness.) and a Gory Special. Eddie does character work so well. He is utterly reprehensible in this match. He uses Dominic when he is in trouble. He is arrogant and cruel. He is a great villain. He goes to the Dominic once too many and Rey unleashes a beatdown. Big time high octane Rey aerial assault. Loved springboard dropkick, 619 and missed drop the dime. When he missed you could feel the air let out of the building and even me. Eddie hits the Three Amigos and then again on the fifth Amigo Rey goes limp. So Eddie buries him with a vicious Brainbuster (does anyone do it better?) and then a Frogsplash. Eddie is very cocky as he covers and Rey reverses into Oklahoma Side Roll for 3. He bolts out of the ring grabs Dominic and runs up the ramp. I'm not a huge fan of playing possum in wrestling that was clearly the finish. It makes the Brainbuster look weak especially one that good. I thought the body of the match was their usual exciting, well executed work. The back psychology was strong and Rey's home Stretch was tremendous. Eddie's character work was so so good. I thought it was a bit short and felt a little incomplete. Still it is Eddie vs Rey it was really fucking good. ****

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy - Smackdown 8/28/09 Steel Cage Loser Leaves Town Match I am kinda surprised that this match does not get more play. It is a very high profile Free TV main event with high stakes. I liked doing the title change on PPV and following it up with a Loser Leaves Town Cage Match on Smackdown as it makes Smackdown must-see. They did a great job selling the attrition from the PPV. I am such a mark for pre-match beatdown to get that extra little bit of heat on the heel and sympathy for the babyface. A bandaged Punk hobbling down the ramp blasting Jeff from behind and throwing him into the cage was great. Once they get into the ring, Punk wants the bell rung quickly so he can immediately escape was great heeling. Jeff cut Punk off three and each time Punk cut off Jeff focusing on his back. I loved Hardy's offense in this match as he just hurling his body at Punk and going for broke. Whether it was a missed cross body or a the cross body that landed from the top or the Whisper in the Wind or the mid-match Swanton Bomb. It was all about throwing caution to the wind and just using his body as a weapon. Punk did great on his desperation saves to make it look like he had a chance of losing. Overall, I thought Punk did a much better job with character work in this match. The facial expressions of being so close were really good. He was heeling harder. He was almost out the door and saying he already won because his head was out was good. Punk was going for G2S, which he did not hit at Summerslam or here, which I liked. The first time was countered into a backslide with good heat on the nearfall. The Welcome to Chicago Backbreaker by Punk was a good nearfall. Punk attempted the G2S again, but was met with a Twist of Fate which put Jeff back in the driver's seat and Jeff went for the escape. This time we get the MASSIVE Superplex! Great climatic spot. It is a bit weird for the heel to hit it as that seems like it primed for the babyface to bring the heel back into the ring. Also as a cool spot it is just going to get a pop. You dont want fans to choose between: 1. Oh no my favorite did not win and 2. Oh shit that was so cool because it causes a 50/50 reaction. I do love that the superplex led directly to the finish because the superplex should be treated with respect. Punk very injured struggles to escape. Hardy meets him and looks to pull him back in just as Punk did, but Punk THUMBS Hardy in the eye! Hey! I was just saying that should happened at Summerslam! Well it was perfect here as the dick thing to do. Bounces Hardy's head off the cage and then Hardy takes a nasty spill off the ropes to the ring and Punk drops to win. Punk's heeling was much better here. He attacked pretty much, he sold like a chump heel should and then he cheated to win. Hardy did a great job portraying that cool daredevil throwing his body at Punk. The Superplex was a great climax spot. Hardy gave a very nice, professional promo about leaving and thanking the fans and saying this was not goodbye forever. People were crying. Punk attacks him again right as the shows goes off. Get that extra little bit of heat! Love it! Solid Free TV Main Event with high stakes. We need more Title Matches on TV and more matches with high stakes. ***3/4

World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk - Summerslam 2009 Ladder Match My brother and I loved this feud so much in the summer of 2009 that I bought this PPV. During this time when I was in college, I'd only buy on PPV a year if that. The 2009-2010 Straight Edge CM Punk is one of the all time great heel runs. This is one of the few times that Smackdown shone brighter than RAW and they rewarded with a PPV main event which is extra special because it is Summerslam. The CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy storyline based on Hardy's demons and Punk's Straight Edge personality made for great TV. I have very fond memories of this match delivering in spades, but ultimately all I could remember was the huge spot at the end. I think the match is still great, but not quite as great as I remembered I thought this would contend for match of the year. I thought the transitions held this back as too many times Jeff Hardy would take serious punishment and be right back up delivering offense such as when he took the superplex on the ladder only to deliver a Twist of Fate and then eat knees on a Swanton Bomb attempt. I thought the match started off strong enough. Each man tried to climb the ladder, but the other man knocked them off. Each man tried to hit their finish, but neither man could deliver. The first big time spot was Punk catching Hardy in Poetry in Motion and dropping him back first across the back of the chair. OW! That looked like it hurt. Punk kicked ass but failed to hit that big chair shot he was looking for. Hardy paid him back by hitting a home run shot with a chair and then Poetry In Motion on the floor. I liked the escalation and Hardy paying off the earlier shot and succeeding where Punk failed with the chair. Right then Hardy missed the splash from the top rope to the table on the floor. Big Time spot! Punk goes for the climb, but I thought Hardy had too much energy on the climb and end up powerbombing Punk off the ladder. This is when they began trading shots and felt like each spot lost consequence. One spot I really liked after that superplex on the ladder (great selling by Punk) and then the missed Swanton Bomb was Punk when for his high knee/Bulldog Combo but Hardy stopped the Bulldog and just dumped him over the top rope through a table, but you dont see the table so you think Punk is just going to go splat. Helluva a way to break your fall! The lead up to the BIG spot is great as Punk goes for the Chair Halo around Hardy's neck and Hardy just goes ballistic at the thought of being maimed. So he kicks Punk's ass from pillar to post probably the most violent Ive seen Jeff. He really let Punk have it. This all sets up the Spot. Where he does the Swanton off that ridiculous Ladder through Punk and the announce table. Insane. They do a great job milking it. Both men get attention, but Punk squirms into the ring. As Jeff is being loaded onto the stretcher, he realizes he needs to get back into the ring. I love Jeff's punch drunk selling spilling all over the ring as he attempts to prevent Punk from winning the match. I thought the finish was lame. One Punk kick to the injured ribs (assuming the ribs are injured from the death-defying Swanton) and then a punch. I would have liked an eye rake or a punch to the throat. Something more underhanded. It seemed too even for a heel to win that way. I did like The Undertaker appearing to set up the next feud immediately. It made Punk/World Championship feel like a huge deal and that momentum would keep rolling into the school year. I thought there were a lot of individually great spots, but not enough connective tissue to tie it together, nor did I think Punk or Hardy delivered a great character performance that really elevates this to a classic level. It was something that entertained me throughout and built to the big spot, but didnt feel like a match of the year contender. ****

I just want to echo what everybody said when Cena works his own cut to fire himself up thats the moment that put this over the top for me. WWE Champion John Cena vs Umaga - Royal Rumble 2007 Last Man Standing John Cena should have been wrestling more matches like this throughout the second half of the 2000s. Classic pro wrestling match. When I think of pro wrestling, the first style I think of is the monster heel beating down the valiant babyface and that babyface making the heroic comeback. To me this is the epitome of the style. Umaga injured Cena's ribs on Monday at RAW delivering a big splash from the top rope through a table. This is Cena 101. Sub-minute shine followed by a looooooooong heat segment (with plenty of hope spots) and then a rousing comeback. What separates this match from the usual Cena fare is how damn good the Monster is that he is fighting and that it deviates from a lot of his usual routine. Umaga was a great wrestler and even better gimmick. He was a throwback to the 80s and did a great job as this invulnerable Creature from The Black Lagoon who would keep rising again. A lot of people talk about Cena's selling, but Umaga's selling was perfect for his character. He would register the pain and just when you think you had him down, he would shake it off. It was not that he not selling. It was that he was just that much of Monster. He was creating an Everest for Cena to climb. Cena begins the match by standing toe to toe with the Samoan Bulldozer. He valiantly tries to slug it out with Umaga, but Umaga bury a punch to the breadbasket and so much for that. The slaughter begins. Umaga is relentless on the abdomen and Cena is so great at selling. Cena is going full Ricky Morton here. It is amazing to watch. I love that Cena never dies on us and is constantly peppering in hope spots. I loved the escalation. First it was stuff like bouncing Umaga's head off the apron or getting his feet up on a corner charge each to no avail. It then became HURLING THE STEEL STEPS FROM THE RING INTO UMAGA'S FACE and Umaga missing a butt splash into the stairs. I love how the action ramped up. Umaga had some great cut offs like a Mack Truck Lariat and a great catch of Cena's crossbody into a Black Hole Slam on Cena's bad ribs. The match really kicks into high gear when Cena starts his standard comeback but he does it so that everything involves Umaga landing on the steel stairs for maximum impact. Cena goes for the FU but his back gives out and he falls forwards. His head smacks the steel steps as the weight of Umaga drives him into the steps. Great spot! Cena comes up bleeding the match goes from great to instant classic. My complaint is out of these two wrestlers' control, but I want to say it because it bums me out. If this took place in the 80s, the place would be rocking for Cena's comeback. It would have been nuclear heat. Taking place in 2007 with half the crowd chanting Cena sucks and booing Cena, it is such a drag. The best moment of the match is when Cena works over his own cut to get himself revved up. He starts punching himself in the forehead and the blood really starts to pump. He just roars to a massive comeback only for Umaga to hit the most SAVAGE SAMOAN DROP I have ever seen! He basically piledrove Cena from his sholders! Talk about electricity! That was so fucking badass. I love how they teased the Samoan Spike at this point as it feels like it could at any time and put Cena down permanently. Another thing I love about Umaga matches is how much missed moves matter. More often than not, the person that causes the most harm to Umaga is Umaga. Umaga is so powerful that when he misses a move like the butt splash in the corner or the flying headbutt, it causes him so much pain. Cena hits his top rope leg drop and this one looks extra vicious as Umaga really takes it on his head. Cena blasts him in the head with the monitor and still Umaga won't go down. Umaga catches Cena again and this time he drives him bad ribs into the steel post. Brutal. Back to my point of how Umaga is his own worst enemy. Umaga tries a running splash across the announce tables to obliterate Cena, but only for Umaga to eat the table. Umaga is only down for 9! Estrada undoes the entire top rope. He wants Umaga to give Cena a giant-sized Samoan Spike by using the turnbuckle as a spike. Now that would have been insane. Cena catches him with an F-U! I love how the nearfalls have been escalated. It was not 8 million F-Us and Samoan Spikes. Each was teased and it was the F-U that hit first. Then Cena choked Umaga out with the top rope in an STFU. Great visual with Cena wearing a Crimson Mask and Umaga's tongue sticking out and his eyes fading. Cena lets go prematurely and Umaga makes one last gasp but Cena pounces and chokes him out for good. Holy shit! What a hero vs monster match! Cena's went down early, took a lickin' keep on tickin' and he looked like the world's biggest badass when he was punching his cut to get the blood to flow. Umaga was such a great monster. Great offense and the perfect amount of selling. I loved that so many hope spots for Cena were generated by missed moves by Umaga. Umaga is the only one powerful enough to hurt Umaga. Cena really drew you with his selling, but he never died, he kept fighting back and never gave up. The finish is just pure testosterone and I fucking loved it. Every bit the classic people say it is! *****

World Tag Team Champions Rated RKO vs D-Generation X - New Year's Revolution 2007 I was not even in college yet when this match took place and I was definitely watching, but man this whole era is a total blur. I have a general recollection of Rated RKO existing, but I couldnt tell you what they did. The video package as always is stellar and explains that this is a legit blood feud not one of those passe feuds that pass for violence nowadays. Rated RKO bloodied Flair and then D-X. Now D-X is out for revenge. Up until the quad injury, I would say this was on pace to being a contender for best WWE tag match of all time. The progression and layout were perfect. I liked the double shine and the double face in peril. The climaxes of each segment were great and the transitions were very well-done. I liked that D-X attacked the Tag Champs on the ramp and really set the tone for the match that this would be a fight. The opening heel in peril is on Edge. Edge was definitely the least of the four though he would improve on offense. I thought HHH and HBK both were good at sticking to fists and really trying to punish the heels as oppose to either popping the crowd or just merely winning the match. I thought Orton was clearly much better than Edge. He was better at stooging and selling for D-X. There was a great moment when Orton took a punch spun around and fed for the punch. Good shit. I liked that it took two underhanded tactics by the heels to overtake the babyfaces. Edge tried the Hart Foundation sliding knee on the apron, but HHH correctly no sold it and brought him in the hard way. That was a cool babyface spot. It said I am here fuck shit up and it is going to take a lot more to derail. So they up the ante with the chopblock. Good selling by HHH but even better offense by Rated RKO. I really liked Orton in this role. He seemed very motivated and laying shit in. I liked Edge going for the Figure-4, but HHH kicks him off. It was a good disrespectful nod to the Nature Boy and a good climax to the first heat segment. Shawn then comes in rattles off his home stretch sequence as his hot tag, which is very smart. It gets the crowd pumped up but he stops short of Sweet Chin Music instead only hitting the Elbow Drop. So you have escalated, but not paid off. You have ramped the tension without blowing your wad. That's an ingenious layout, bruthas. Orton hits a big time clothesline. It is breaking loose in Tulsa! Shawn hits a somersault plancha. Edge spears him off the apron and Shawn takes a nasty bump. Loved that spot. Orton BLASTS him with the Tag Belt busting him wide open! GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! Now we get the ultra-hot face in peril segment. Orton is absolute money in this. His Garvin Stomp has extra oomph. He is really laying his shit in. There's a great firefight that breaks out in the corner between Shawn and Orton that feels like a Flair vs Garvin fire fight and I love it! Even Edge has extra mustard on his shots. Shawn is selling like a million bucks. They work into a groove working on his back. There are great dramatic teases for the hot tag. I love that it takes multiple tries for Shawn to get it. HHH, who is not exactly Mr. Electricity, does do a pretty good job mowing down Rated RKO until in a freak accident he blows out his quad on a Spinebuster. I knew it was going to happen because he missed Mainia in 2007, but I was not expecting it there. It looked innocuous to me. He clearly hurt it bad based on how he took that RKO. They match totally falls apart. Shawn decides to go bezerk. He dives onto Orton with a suicide dive and decks the ref to trigger the DQ, which was a smart finish. Then D-X sends the crowd home happy with chairshot galore. HHH somehow does a Pedigree on the announce table with one leg and then Michael elbow drops from the top rope to Orton through the announce table. Loved the body of the match a lot. I thought HHH and HBK came to kick ass and were laser-focused. Orton and Edge were great heel foils especially Orton. I thought the heat segments were well-constructed and they were on their way to having the best tag team match in WWE history. Some people liked how the injury caused a chaotic, raucous finish to me it made the match feel incomplete. I thought they covered for it the best they could. I am always a fan of gratuitous ref violence because it seems so crazy. Chairshots, Orton bleeding like a stuck pig and the double announce table finish almost make up for the fact that match was derailed by a freak injury. Based on the timeframe and who was involved, I would have never thought this match was so great and so different if it was not for others pimping it (so thank you). All I can say watch it for yourself and decide for yourself, I think there is something for everyone to enjoy! ****

Cesaro vs Aleister Black - Extreme Rules 2019 I wouldnt say this was Match of the Year level, but I thought this was a total banger. What really stood out to me about this was the level of effort and motivation. This felt like 2013 all over again. Everything felt very urgent and explosive. Aleister Black looked really good during Halftime Heat, but felt like just another guy during his run with Ricochet. This was a great coming out party. I love the return of a Dutch Kickboxer. I loved the attrition of working over Cesaro's leg with those inside kicks. Black comes off as a slightly more kickboxer-oriented Kota Ibushi with all the moonsaults. Black looked ferocious. Cesaro looked like 2013 Cesaro. Those European Uppercuts were awesome. That finish was absolutely awesome. Explosive and out of nowhere in a good way. Some selling issues (people over sell initially, if they used a register instead of the annoying "oversell then don't sell" that would be better) and some psychology issues (head rocking spots puts Cesaro in a bad spot where he has to sell, but get back up. Put the head rocking spots in the back end and have Black miss a couple at the beginning to create that tension and blow off the head rocking spots at the back end) hold this back. But I dont want to bitch about this too much. I am nitpicking. We need more matches that bang. More matches that feel urgent. There are too many plodding walkthrough matches where the wrestlers are just sleepwalking through their matches. This reminds me of Rey vs Psychosis at Bash at the Beach 1996 as a way to get people over in the debut match. ****1/4

Cesaro vs Aleister Black - Extreme Rules 2019 I wouldnt say this was Match of the Year level, but I thought this was a total banger. What really stood out to me about this was the level of effort and motivation. This felt like 2013 all over again. Everything felt very urgent and explosive. Aleister Black looked really good during Halftime Heat, but felt like just another guy during his run with Ricochet. This was a great coming out party. I love the return of a Dutch Kickboxer. I loved the attrition of working over Cesaro's leg with those inside kicks. Black comes off as a slightly more kickboxer-oriented Kota Ibushi with all the moonsaults. Black looked ferocious. Cesaro looked like 2013 Cesaro. Those European Uppercuts were awesome. That finish was absolutely awesome. Explosive and out of nowhere in a good way. Some selling issues (people over sell initially, if they used a register instead of the annoying "oversell then don't sell" that would be better) and some psychology issues (head rocking spots puts Cesaro in a bad spot where he has to sell, but get back up. Put the head rocking spots in the back end and have Black miss a couple at the beginning to create that tension and blow off the head rocking spots at the back end) hold this back. But I dont want to bitch about this too much. I am nitpicking. We need more matches that bang. More matches that feel urgent. There are too many plodding walkthrough matches where the wrestlers are just sleepwalking through their matches. This reminds me of Rey vs Psychosis at Bash at the Beach 1996 as a way to get people over in the debut match. ****1/4

Stan Hansen vs Andre The Giant - NJPW 9/23/81 Godzilla vs King Kong! Bill Watts' Wet Dream! I really hope someone showed this to Bill Watts because he would fucking love this hoss battle. Pedal to the metal, couple big ugliest throwing haymakers and each other around. They beat the shit out of each other. The selling is pitch perfect. You don't want Ricky Morton here. You want a strong register and then the FIGHT response to win back out. The opening minutes are so crucial to set the tone. Hansen charging. Andre HITTING A BIG BOOT AS HE IS CLIMBING OVER THE TOP ROPE!!! Insane! Hansen just keeps coming! It is a WAR! Andre wraps him up in a bear hug. Great struggle. Hansen CLUBS him in the head with a wicked Western Lariat. Andre's sell is magnificent and I loved his response of immediately want to break Hansen's left arm because that's what hurt him. I loved Andre's sell of the headbutt to the Left Elbow. It made it feel like Hansen's left elbow has magical powers. Great holds by Andre on the left arm and great struggle by Hansen. Loved the multiple tries for a bodyslam and when he got it, it felt huge. I loved that he immediately went for a chinlock. He was getting ass whipped now with this opening he needed to control and catch his breath. Its been about 5 maybe even 6 or 7 years since I last watched this. I totally forgot about the false double countout and restart. I even thought I was watching the wrong match for a second. Then it restarted and I was like yep we are good. The rope tangle spot was awesome and fiery. THEN GOD ALMIGHTY! That WESTERN LARIAT! Holy shit! Andre sold that like a million bucks and Hansen looked like a bull. Andre grabs his own elbow pad. I forgot this! Mark Out City! CLOBBERS THE REF! I love gratuitous ref violence. I don't know if it is a No Contest or Hansen by DQ but I don't care this was fucking Pro Wrestling at its apex. Best match ever with a non-clean finish though it won't be my number one match. I see this between 25-50 in my next Greatest Match Ever ranking. I loved the selling (register and immediate desire to fight), psychology (keep moving forward, oh you whacked me in the head with your left arm let me snap that off), the brawling and the struggle. *****

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Antonio Inoki - NJPW 12/14/78 The action-packed Backlund vs Inoki match! A real false finish, big bombs, run-ins, blood and total pandemonium. I loved the beginning so much. Inoki starts off with a fast break of dropkicks that totally catches Backlund off guard. Table tops him. 1-2-3! NEW WWF HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Wait! What? The ref says it was 2! I love how they sold this with the bell and everything. Wrestling needs more intentional shit like this. Blown calls and then reversals are apart of pro sports. Sometimes wrestling can be too neat, clean and tidy. This was good shit. Restart and Backlund has escaped by the skin of his teeth. Now here comes the hard-fought tussle we expect, but it does not last long. These two had two one hour draws in Japan over the summer. This is wrestled in such a way you know it is not going to a 60 minute broadway. Inoki slaps Backlund. Backlund does not take too kindly to this and slaps him right back. Inoki chops him and Backlund sells it like he chopped high into the throat. Great selling by Backlund. Between this and the early dropkicks, Inoki came to play. Inoki follows up with a choke/sleeper, but Backlund resists enough to turn it into a reverse chinlock. Backlund tries to make this a game of strength which where he will win, but BANG! ENZIGUIRI! ROCKS BACKLUND! Inoki is on fire in this match. Backlund has his bell rung and powders. He comes back in and when Inoki looks to suplex him. He hoists him up into a Fireman's Carry and SLINGS HIM DOWN! Think Wasteland from Wade Barrett! Backlund using his best asset to physical strength to take control. Inoki responds with sliding leg kicks to soften Backlund up for a Figure-4! It really does feel like Backlund is in deep trouble against Inoki in this match. Backlund fights off another Inoki figure-4 attempt, but Inoki kicks him through the ropes. I love how hard fought this is. Inoki is just pouring it on. Backlund looks like a defeated champion in a heap. Inoki big time suplex back into the ring gets a big pop, but cant pin the champion. Nice floating Butterfly Suplex but Backlund bucks him off. Backlund hits a desperation back suplex but misses the leg drop. INOKI BOMBS AWAY KNEEDROP! MISSES! Backlund attacks the leg. This is Backlund's opening! ATOMIC DROP! HOLY SHIT! 1-2-NO! WOW! Backlund almost escaped with the win there. He goes for it again. Inoki evades and hits a backdrop driver. Backlund does the smart thing and powders. A bleach blond Ueda and a young Saito attack and bloody both wrestlers. For some reason, the ref lets this continue. They trade dropkicks and then Inoki dropkicks low and Backlund sells it like a nut shot and the ref does not do shit! What the fuck! First the chop to the throat and now this! Where the hell is Arnie Skaaland when you him? They end up tumbling to the outside. Backlund rams Inoki's head into the ringpost, but Inoki goes bezerk and just starts bashing Backlund's head into the post and wins the match by countout. This is unlike any of there other matches. It is pedal to the metal from jump with Inoki dropkicking and almost winning the match in the first minute. There are some awkward moments to be expected. Backlund and Inoki are probably the two most on un-rhythmic wrestlers. There is a certain rhythm a match takes shine-heat-comeback-finish, but these guys totally abscond from that tradition, but while maintaining the integrity of the contest. They just make odd duck choices here and there and sometimes arent on the same page, but this is a lot more hits than misses. I really liked the story of Backlund being in deep trouble throughout the match, which is very unusual in a Backlund match. It makes the Atomic Drop feel huge like holy shit he survived and he might win! I think I would have preferred the No Contest/Run-In finish OR the countount win, the combination was definite overbooking. This is my favorite Backlund/Inoki match so far, but I do remember really liking the July 78 Broadway. ****1/4