GSR

The Briscoe Brothers’ Jersey All Pro debut. Rob Feinstein is continuing where he left off last night, wondering which one is Jack and which one is Jerry. That wasn’t funny when John House (I think) said the same line in CZW and it’s still not funny all these months later. A slight name change for Insane Dragon who used to go as Blue Dragon. There’s a feeling out process as they exchange holds, first between Jay and Dixie and then between Mark and Dragon. As Dragon looks to the crowd wanting more applause, Mark takes advantage, nailing him from behind. Double dropkick. Jay holds on after the snap suplex, turning it into a brainbuster and holds on a second time, hitting an inverted Roll the Dice. He’s still playing to the fans after a hot move too much for my liking. Dragon runs up the turnbuckles after being whipped into them, backflips over Jay and lands a bridging belly to back suplex. Backbreaker/springboard kneedrop double team by the Briscoes. Forward roll slam/senton/moonsault sequence, Dixie in for the save. Dragon catches Mark with a neckbreaker but then badly overshoots a springboard somersault senton. Mark does exactly the same before a double clothesline sees both go down. Each makes a tag and Dixie is all over Jay. Their partners hadn’t fully left the ring and now everyone is in there going at it. Stereo super sunset flips by Dragon and Dixie. After dropkicks to the front and back, Dixie stumbles through the ropes and through a table at ringside. He’s joined on the floor by Dragon and Mark backdrops Jay over the top rope onto the pair. We get another Jay Lethal “Super Fan” sighting, this after his appearance in the CZW crowd at the start of the year. Orihara moonsault by Mark. The four of them brawl towards the back of the building, Dragon and Dixie appearing to be in control. With Dixie marshalling things on the floor, Dragon heads up high above the entrance way at the ECW Arena and comes off with an insane (sorry, at least he’s living up to his name) 450 splash! Eric Gargiulo says “he’s going to kill him,” more like he’s going to kill himself. That was hairy and he was so close to cracking his skull on the concrete. He’s hurt himself anyway, badly hobbling back to the ring. DDT. Double jump springboard moonsault, although it was more like a headbutt with how much he overshot by. Dixie with a roaring elbow to Jay. He then ties his legs up as if for a Texas Cloverleaf, but instead flip over into a pin attempt which surprisingly gets them the three. Jay looked the best of the four, but working with Dixie & Dragon shows that the Briscoes have still got someway to go. Overall a very scrappy match with a flat finish that came out of nowhere after everything we had seen leading up to it.

Jerry ‘the Bull’ Todisco is a name that I don’t recognise and doesn’t mean a thing to me. It seems strange that they’re wasting the Sandman, who won’t have come cheap, on a no-name like ‘the Bull’. Sandman looks like he’s spent the duration of the show drinking in the back. I know if I was in the front row I wouldn’t be cheering like these fans who seem made up that he’s spat beer on them. This is a long ass entrance and he’s definitely pissed. Fucking hell, Rob Feinstein is talking about masturbating. Da Hit Squad obviously want to go home so attack Sandman in the aisle and throw him into the ring. Along with Todisco the three of them triple team him. ‘The Bull’ can’t even execute a decent looking elbow drop so I’ve a hunch he’s not much of a worker. The bell rings to officially start the match, this after the Sandman has been beaten down, and Todisco immediately makes the cover. At the count of two he’s dragged off by Billy Reil, out to help the Sandman. The two struggle with the odds at first but eventually clear the ring and stand tall, DHS and Todisco heading back to the dressing room. The Sandman cuts a promo on them, although Feinstein constantly talks over him so you can only make out very little of what he says. Apparently, according to RF, the Sandman is so drunk that he thinks the referee is his wife (Sandman grabs him at one point) and they’re going to have sex in the ring. The guy is obsessed and creepy. Fat Frank joins them and orders Da Hit Squad & Todisco back out to face the Sandman & Reil. As the teams square up, Homicide attacks DHS from behind, still having unfinished business from earlier in the night. That evens things up and we have a six man on our hands. DHS do their double press on both Cide and Reil, each time launching them into the low ceiling of the building. After one of them Feinstein references the Ultimate Warrior, leading him to doing an Ultimate Warrior impression which consists of him snorting and nothing else. I’m pretty confident we’re listening to the worst commentator of the year right here. I don’t even have the heart to fully recap this. The heels get the heat on Reil until Mack is early on the backdrop and he leapfrogs over him and hot tags the Sandman. The Sandman canes DHS while Todisco backs off. He swings at him, ‘the Bull’ ducks and then Homicide turns on the Sandman, levelling him with a clothesline. Reil is still out of it at this point so Cide and Todisco team up for a superbomb. Todisco is about to make Homicide part of his “family” but Reil runs them out of there before they can do the initiation. Unlistenable crap. Feinstein is probably the only person who thinks he’s funny and seems more intent in trying to get himself over than the action he’s meant to be calling. Another nothing Sandman match in Jersey All Pro and if we’re counting what we got here as two matches, that’s three out of four (maybe even five depending on whatever you class that altercation involving New Jack as) that have been a complete waste of time. No doubt he’ll still keep getting booked though.

Jersey All Pro Heavyweight title match, Mack, half of Da Hit Squad, challenging Homicide. The commentators (one of whom is Rob Feinstein) talk about Homicide involving himself in Mafia’s match against Skinhead Ivan earlier in the night and how he’s wanting Mack to get some revenge. Great stuff from the off as Homicide is in for the lock up, only for Mack to drop to one knee and give him a Fireman’s carry takedown. I always like it when wrestlers differ from the norm or do something a bit out the box. Wow, Cide counters the tilt-a-whirl with an arm drag. Monkey flip by Mack! This is not what I was expecting. Mack runs into a big boot but Cide then eats a clothesline and takes a powder to the outside. On returning to the ring he reverses the whip to the corner and lands a running forearm smash. One to the back of the head followed by a Mafia kick and now it’s Mack circling around ringside trying to get his gather his bearings. Mack blocks the tornado DDT, he goes for a kick but Homicide snatches the leg, rips the knee with the Dragon screw and then applies an STF. The ropes come to Mack’s rescue so Cide drags him into the centre and locks in another variation of the hold, this time trapping the left arm with his own leg. When that looks as though it’s not having the desired effect he transitions to a crossface. Cide gets caught with a powerslam on the leapfrog. Big press slam, Homicide coming down chest first to the mat. A second big powerslam, he then backdrops Cide over the top rope to the unprotected floor. He blocks being whipped into the ring post and runs Mack’s head into it. Cide sits him in a chair, hops inside for a tope con hilo but Mack smartly rolls off it foiling his plans. Back inside Mack reverses the Irish whip and hits a Sky High. He lays a chair across the top turnbuckle and although Cide blocks the attempted German with a low blow, he still ends up crashing into it. Rikishi Driver for a near fall. Cide fires off some elbows to escape the Cobra clutch and then lands a Fameasser off the second rung, Mack once more taking to the floor. Again he ends up sat in a chair and again he avoids the tope con hilo, this time though Homicide wasn’t able to stop himself in time and goes flying into the metal railing. “Holy fuck” indeed! Feinstein is awful on commentary, suggesting they give Homicide some Viagra because he’s out of it! A brutal clothesline and Cide just smiles. Powerbomb. Mack is up to the middle when out runs Skinhead Ivan, attacking everyone, including the referee with a chair. Cide no sells a chair shot and then destroys Ivan with the chair, Feinstein claiming that what we’re seeing is a “shoot”. The match ends in a non-decision. It wasn’t as hard hitting as I was expecting and I especially enjoyed the start where we got something completely different out of them with Mack being all light on his feet doing monkey flips while Homicide was countering tilt-a-whirls. The less said about the non-finish the better and it still grates to watch a fifteen minute plus match end like that. Have to admit that it never felt like we were getting a title change, even though Cide was in big trouble when the interference came.

David Jett drops hints that the Kliq aren’t probably long for the world, saying how Shooter Schultz sacrificed Spanky and Jason Sensation to the Haas brothers. He hasn’t fallen out with the American Dragon though, at least yet. Combination drop toe hold/elbow drop to the back and Dragon is in for the save. Cade no sells Dragon’s chops, tells him to “bring it on” and then switches positions to dish out some of his own, forcing Dragon to go to the eyes. He fires off some forearms but runs into a raised boot. Short clothesline. Shooter knees Gas in the back as he hits the ropes and he makes the mistake of turning his back on Dragon, who dropkicks him in the knee, to take a swing at him. I’m getting pretty tired of seeing the heel team get the advantage and turn tag matches around by having the man on the apron strike an opponent in the back as they come off the ropes. The Kliq target Gas’ left leg, even making use of the ropes to bend it around. Leglock/toe hold submission, Dragon kicking Gas in the head with his free leg. Indian Deathlock, Shooter providing added assistance from the apron as the referee checks to see whether Gas wants to give. Dragon transitions to the Muta Lock before letting Shooter try his luck with a half crab. With Gas backed into their corner the Kliq take it in turns to chop his chest. Dragon is back on that leg but Gas is eventually able to catch Shooter with a spinebuster and hot tag his partner. A great looking release suplex into a sit-out powerbomb on Dragon. Shooter breaks that up which brings a rejuvenated Pete Gas back into the ring as all four fight it out. Cade with that reverse Diamond Dust, but as he makes the cover he’s attacked by Joey Abs for the DQ, the two going at it as the show goes off air seconds later. Decent match with strong, focused, working over of Pete Gas’ leg. The problem is that the Kliq have not been booked strong in recent weeks and I never bought them as a threat, especially with Lance Cade involved. Poor finish.

A couple of dudes in the front row are rocking out to Last Resort! Victoria is wearing a bandana to match her charge, something I can’t remember her having previously. Abs doesn’t even wait for the introductions going straight for the champion. Rodrageous has stuck around on commentary, reminiscing about the old days when he and Abs were in the Mean Street Posse together. Nice vertical suplex. Bradley holds onto the ropes to avoid the boot, he ducks to the outside but Abs is hot on his tail. Despite getting his head slammed into the ring apron he’s able to get the jump on the challenger when they return to the ring, punting him. It’s not long before he throws him back outside, this time preferring to grab himself a word with the referee so that Victoria can get a few cheap shots in. Abs blocks being suplexed from the apron inside, instead hiptossing Bradley over the top rope to the concrete. Back inside he’s caught by a swinging neckbreaker. The champion works him over, although it’s all fairly uninspiring chinlocks. Victoria continues to work real hard from ringside and be a permanent thorn in any challenger’s side. Bradley spends too long talking to her as he climbs the turnbuckles and is met by Abs who superplexes him to the mat. Abs is to his feet first and has got a second wind. Big boot to the mush. He misses the double axe handle in the corner as he comes charging in and Bradley gives referee Charlie Miller a shove into Abs back. Hmmm, Abs, without looking, then lifts Miller up and gives him the Absolute. We’re supposed to believe that he was unaware of who he was giving the move to, this despite Miller being a good 50lbs lighter than Bradley. He telegraphs the backdrop and an Absolute for him, then one for Victoria after she involved herself one time too many. Bradley has the Southern belt in his hands though and clocks the unaware challenger with it. Miller comes around to count the three, Bradley escaping with the title yet again by the skin of his teeth.

Spanky and Jason Sensation are goofing off backstage again, this time having a staring competition. When Shooter Schultz arrives they apologise for screwing up last week, however he tells them not to worry about it as he has a surprise in store and to just head to the ring and he’ll bring it out for them. David Jett is the deliverer of bad news, letting the Kliq know that the surprise Shooter has arranged for them is a Southern tag team title match against the Haas brothers. Rodrageous is providing guest commentary for this bout. Crazily Jason starts out for his team, although it might as well be a fly throwing forearms at Charlie for all the effect they have on him. His dropkicks don’t even move him, let alone stagger him and Charlie just palms him backwards into his corner. Spanky fares no better, it’s only when Jason pulls down the top rope as Russ hits it, sending him crashing out to the floor, does it look like they might pose the champions a modicum of a threat. Pescado by Spanky. Slingshot elbow drop back inside and after dropping a leg across the back of the neck Jason is fancying his chances again. His shots again have no effect so he tries a different approach of wanting to be friends! Fortunately he’s close to his own corner so he can tag Spanky. Tornado DDT off the turnbuckles, rather than make the cover himself he let’s Jason take the glory. Well he would’ve if Russ hadn’t kicked out at one! Russ tees off on Jason who’s selling is dreadful. A clothesline turns him inside out and Spanky doesn’t even bother to wait for a tag. He gets tossed to the outside leaving Jason against both of the brothers and it’s a formality from here It’s painful watching Spanky being treated as an opening match comedy figure.

Jason Sensation and Spanky are playing thumb wars in the dressing room when they’re joined by Shooter Schultz. He says how he was upset that they didn’t win the tag title belts but has negotiated a rematch. Spanky and Jason are excited about the prospect, however Shooter clarifies that “he” has negotiated a rematch, and after how things panned out last week he’ll be finding his own partner tonight. As Shooter is lacing up his boots he’s approached by Just Joe, offering his services. Despite having held titles all around, he’s turned down, Shooter saying that he’s already got a partner. We hear from the Haas brothers who say that it doesn’t matter who Shooter Schultz gets to be his tag team partner. They then make an open challenge to anyone who thinks they can take the title belts away from them and that includes the soon to be arriving Christian York & Joey Matthews. The mystery partner turns out being Seven, David Jett reminding us that it was he who was responsible for bloodying up the Haas’ the night they won the tag titles, Shooter wanting someone who is all business and who doesn’t clown about like Spanky does. It sounds like the brothers slingshot shoulderblock that they do has been renamed Cannonball Express. So much for Seven being a difference maker as the match has been all the Haas’ so far. Shooter goes for a cheap shot as Russ is about to hit the ropes but he slides between his legs to the outside and pulls him off the apron. He does get him the second time of asking, hooking an ankle from the floor allowing Seven to drop an elbow to the back. David Jett is hyping the arrival of Christian York & Joey Matthews who it sounds are going to be plugged straight into a feud with the Haas’, which should provide some good matches. The challengers with the heat on Charlie. Seven with a modified abdominal stretch where it looked like he didn’t really know what to do. Double underhook suplex by Shooter. When he heads upstairs I think Russ shakes the ropes causing him to crotch himself, although it happens off camera and you don’t see it, so it just looks like he lost his balance. Superplex by Charlie who then tags his brother. Spanky and Jason Sensation have made their way down to ringside to cheer on Shooter. After Schultz breaks up a pin attempt following a big Russ powerslam, all four end up slugging it out in there. Spanky throws Shooter his Light Heavyweight title, but he doesn’t want it and throws it back to him. As he questions what he’s even doing out here, he then turns into a superkick. Total Haastility and the champions retain. Shooter is beside himself over Jason and Spanky costing him the titles for the second week in a row, Jett wondering what this is going to mean for the Kliq.

I believe this is our first look at Tyler Gates who is announced as being from Tampa, FL. I don’t think he is a WWF developmental guy, although does have the look they tend to go for. Also, it would be strange from a Florida native to show up in Memphis if he’s not under contract to them. Dragon seems surprised by Gates who, while not as smooth, appears to be able to hold his own in the wrestling department. Some added info from David Jett who says that Gates is out of the Steve Keirn wrestling school. He catches Dragon with a flying headscissors, which was a bit of a wake up call for him, and the sign to get more aggressive. Nice looking pin attempt off the Russian legsweep. Dragon holds onto the ropes on the O’Connor roll and takes Gates’ head off with a Mafia kick. Gates escapes the butterfly underhook and hits a single arm DDT. Overhead belly to belly for a two count. Belly to back suplex, driving Dragon backwards to the mat. Dragon hops through the ropes out to the apron to avoid the charge and then lands a springboard shotgun dropkick. The roaring elbow puts Gates away in what ended up being more of a test than he probably expected. Gates appears to have a fair bit of potential although neither cagematch nor wrestlingdata have any record of him.

Southern Heavyweight title match, Lance Cade getting his first shot at the championship. David Jett says this title is the stepping stone for greater things in the World Wrestling Federation, referencing William Regal and K-Kwik as former champions. It may have been a stepping stone for those guys, but not so poor Steve Bradley. Cade has earned this opportunity after racking up a number of impressive victories over recent weeks. Bradley is already resorting to short cuts like grabbing the hair to remain in control. Victoria is up on the apron and that provides the distraction the champion needed, however Lance rocks him with a flying forearm followed by a pair of dropkicks. He measures him with left hand jabs before a big boot gets him an early two count. As he hits the ropes, Victoria pulls the top one down and he goes sailing out over it to the floor. She then grabs him by the pants and throws him into the ring post, all while Bradley is keeping referee Charlie Miller occupied. Swinging neckbreaker for a two. Rear chinlock, Bradley digging his knee into Lance’s back. Victoria continues to provide outside interference, choking the challenger and even hitting a slingshot somersault legdrop, although Cade is able to kick out of everything they throw at him. Bradley runs into a big boot and Lance comes off the middle with a flying bulldog. Superkick. Flying crossbody for a near fall. He telegraphs the backdrop and Bradley with an up kick. Victoria throws him her boot but Cade ducks the swing and unloads with punches. As Miller gets between the two to separate them, Victoria wallops Lance with her boot. Bradley then covers his KO’d challenger, putting his feet over the bottom rope to make doubly sure. Good TV match and Lance Cade looks like a champion in waiting, Bradley pulling out all the stops just to get out of there with the title.

Rodrageous sprints through the curtain in what is a ridiculously fast paced start. Butterfly suplex. Inverted atomic drop followed by a clothesline and Spanky is out to the floor to either regroup or try and work out what’s just hit him. He brushes off Spanky’s outside in headscissors and it is only down to the interference of Jason Sensation, who hides under the ring and grabs Rodney’s ankle after he’d chased after him, making him a sitting duck for the Spanky baseball slide, that gets Spanky a foothold in the match. Pescado. Leg lariat, Roddy kicking out of the cover at one. Drop toe hold followed by a legdrop across the back of the neck. Rodney starts firing back so Spanky yanks him by the tights through the ropes to the outside. Jason’s shot have zero effect but Spanky is down and Rodney ends up taking a trip into the ring post. Slingshot elbow drop. Someone really needs to have a word with Jason to calm it down a touch, he is constantly OTT all the time. Roddy catches him with a deep powerslam although neither man is able to keep the advantage for too long. He flips over on the attempted Sliced Bread and hits the Regal Hangman’s Noose neckbreaker. I seem to be seeing that everywhere at the moment. As he heads up top Jason grabs his leg but Rodney just kicks him off. High Society and that’s the win. Spanky going down clean to Rodrageous? The writing is on the wall for the Kliq.

A Southern tag team title match, Jason Sensation having guaranteed the titles will be back around the waists of the Kliq. Lovely dropkick by Charlie and an even lovelier arm whip followed by an armdrag take down. Spanky is tagged in and doesn’t fare much better. Tilt-a-whirl slam. Slingshot somersault shoulderblock by the Haas’. Russ does this forward roll into a dropkick which is a bit cute for my liking. Shooter pulls down the top rope as he hits them and as Charlie tries to tell the ref what just happened, Spanky wipes his brother out with a pescado. Combination dropkick/Russian legsweep. Schultz draws Charlie into the ring, the more ill tempered of the brothers according to David Jett, and they double team Russ behind the official’s back. Backbreaker, Shooter keeping hold of Russ and dropping him with a side slam. Charlie is drawn in for a second time, really playing into the Kliq’s hands here. Slingshot elbow drop by Spanky. Russ reverses the whip to the corner and catches Shooter as he rebounds out, launching him with an overhead belly to belly. Both men go down but both manage to make the tag at the same time. Charlie takes it to the Kliq, Shooter breaking up the cover after a scoop powerslam on Spanky. Double team tornado DDT by the Kliq and now all four men are in the ring, the American Dragon having also made his way out to ringside. Charlie with a Michinoku Driver. The brothers go for Total Haastility but Dragon grabs Russ’ arm on the handspring and drags him to the outside. Jason accidentally clocks Shooter with one of the title belts, when he was holding Charlie who ducked out the way of the shot, before Dragon is caught with an inverted atomic drop as he comes off the top rope. Banana split/flying elbow double team on Dragon. Spanky goes for Sliced Bread on Charlie however he blocks that and passes him to Russ for a sit-out powerbomb. Total Haastility at the second time of asking and the champions retain.

Just like last week’s match between these two on Power Pro, Bo Dupp jumps Lance Cade from behind on his entrance, unlike last week though the bout doesn’t end a matter of seconds later via a belly to belly! Bo clips out the knee and throws Lance inside for his partner where the two of them double team him, attacking that leg. The referee eventually throws Bo out of there, although only after the damage had been done. Single leg crab by Jack. Figure Four leglock. Despite his recent run of quick victories David Jett is writing off Cade’s chances tonight. Lance gets to the ropes to break the hold and picks up a near fall by cradling Jack as he looks for a spinning toe hold. He fires back and goes for a bodyslam however falls to the mat, unable to put any weight on that leg. Jack continues to target the knee, wrapping it around the ring post. Cade connects on a desperation superkick but can’t follow up. The two trade blows in the middle, Lance still selling his leg. He gets on top and unloads with punches in the corner. Jack counters the attempted bulldog, just shooting his opponent off. Lance runs into an elbow but then catches Jack with a sidewalk slam which puts him down for the three. Bo is back although meets a similar fate as his partner, laid out by a second sidewalk slam. There was a definite feeling with the way they were both left laying that this was the end for the Dupps and we won’t be seeing them again in Memphis.

A good test of Dragon’s ability to see what he can get out of Rodrageous in comparison to what Spanky did on Power Pro last week. Rodney takes a kick at Jason Sensation, who’s at ringside, allowing Dragon to get the jump on him. Whip to the turnbuckles is reversed and Rodney with a high hip toss out of there. Nice arm drag followed by a high inverted atomic drop. Release snap suplex and Dragon takes to the floor, letting everyone know that he’s had enough and they’re out of here. They don’t get very far mind, Rodney hot on their tails. He whips Dragon into the ring post but is slow getting back into the ring himself, Dragon using that to seize the initiative. Some of those Tojo Yamamoto like chops of his! Rodney botches taking a jawbreaker. Step up enzuigiri by Dragon. Huge running forearm smash in the corner. Fallaway slam with bridge for a two. David Jett talks about how Dragon has been studying the Japanese wrestlers like Kawada and Misawa, maybe even Giant Baba and Kamala too! Some lame, weak ass interference from Jason, Jett even picking up on it saying he doesn’t know how much damage he’s doing. Dragon runs into a back elbow and Rodney catches him with a neckbreaker, he really hams that move up. Both men are down as Sensation tries to encourage his man. Rodney starts his comeback with Dragon bumping and feeding for him. He lifts him up as if for a vertical suplex but drops him onto his shoulders. As he then spins him around referee Charlie Miller gets wiped out by the flailing legs. The Kliq run interference, Shooter Schultz hitting a T-bone suplex and Spanky with a frog splash, however Rodney gets a shoulder up after Dragon had crawled over to cover him. Rodney ducks the roaring elbow and lands a float over DDT. Shooter is on the apron holding Millers attention but instead of going after him Rodney decides to nail Jason who is minding his own for once. Dragon connects on the roaring elbow at the second time of asking, a second frog splash from Spanky and this time that is enough to put Rodrageous away. I preferred this to Rodrageous’ match against Spanky, but that initial optimism I had for him as a single is diminishing with each passing week. The finish was overbooked and I’m starting to think that outside of Lance Cade they’ve already made their minds up about the remaining Kliq members, it taking four of them here (if you include Jason Sensation) to beat a bottom of the card guy like Rodney.

They must have a ton of those Wrestlemania X-7 jerseys that they’re looking to shift going by the number of wrestlers who have been wearing them these past couple of weeks. No Lita with the Hardyz tonight, still selling the effects of the Gore she received on Monday. Rhyno is an intense individual for sure. He runs into a big boot and the bump he takes off that is tremendous. Matt is up to the middle, however not quick enough, Rhyno hammering away on him before joining him up there for a superplex. That is blocked and Matt fires away with rights as Rhyno falls to the mat. Flying clothesline. Edge & Christian, who’re seconding Rhyno, are up on the apron but Matt slugs both, before sidestepping the Gore as Rhyno goes crashing into the ringpost. Twist of Fate. Edge is trying to get in to help his buddy which leads to Jeff also becoming involved. As the referee is dealing with those two, from the other side comes Christian who gives Matt the Unprettier and Rhyno then covers him for the quick victory. E&C grab a ladder from under the ring but get nailed from behind by a chair swinging Jeff. The Hardyz run the ladder into Rhyno before Matt Twist of Fates him onto the chair and Jeff hits the Swanton. Someone didn’t like hearing Matt telling his brother to “get the tables,” the Dudley Boyz sprinting to the ring. They briefly go at it with the Hardyz and after despatching of them put Rhyno through a table, both teams having now got some sort of revenge on ‘the Manbeast’ over what he did to Lita and Spike respectively.

These teams will face each other in individual matches at Wrestlemania; we already learned that Benoit would meet Angle on Raw, now it’s been announced that Test is to defend the European title against Eddy. Kurt and Test kick things off, Angle tagging out to his partner the moment he gets Test down. Eddy starts running his mouth as he lays his shots in but Test reverses the Irish whip and launches him high, Eddy coming down chest first to the mat. Powerbomb for a two count. As Test hits the ropes Kurt clubs him from the apron, stopping his onslaught, Eddy then flooring him with a clothesline. Angle low blows his way free when he’s snatched in a full nelson and applies the ankle lock. Test is clearly tapping although the ref is not calling for the bell for some reason, only stepping in when he crawls to the ropes. Nice, Kurt takes a page out of ‘the Crippler’s’ playbook with the rolling Germans. Double clothesline sees both men go down. Each makes the tag, Benoit on a rampage. He gets his hands on Angle but only manages the one German before Eddy is breaking things up. Test obliterates Eddy with a big boot which looked and sounded fantastic. Kurt tosses him out to the floor and he quickly joins him courtesy of a Benoit double sledge. ‘The Crippler’ and Eddy back into one another and when Guerrero swings Benoit grabs the arm, taking him down and locking in the crossface forcing the tap. Although the match is over Benoit isn’t letting go. Angle, from behind, then puts him in the ankle lock which causes Benoit to tap, meaning that after what happened on Raw it means that both men have now forced the other to tap to their submission.

Y2J’s punishment for interfering in Commissioner Regal’s “tune-up match” earlier in the night. When Show climbs up onto the apron he’s met by a springboard dropkick, Jericho wanting to get a quick start. He leaps off the apron at him, however is caught and run into the ring post. Show whips him hard into the corner but then misses the Vader bomb as Y2J rolls out the way. Jericho low blows his way out of the Final Cut and a running crossbody takes both men over the top rope to the outside. Show presses him back inside, however before he can get back in himself he’s jumped by Kane who slams him into the ring steps. Raven is out carrying a trash can lid and he makes a beeline for Kane. Jericho lands the Lionsault but referee Tim White has his back turned, trying to deal with what’s going on on the floor. The Commissioner is next out, giving an unaware Y2J the Hangman’s Noose neckbreaker. Show follows up with a chokeslam and he picks up the win. It feels like the matches are a bit of an after thought this evening, the big business being the purchase of WCW. All three that I’ve watched have been on the short side, although all three did at least tie in with what’s going down at Wrestlemania, things just slowly chugging along until the event.

Kurt Angle is out at the start of this historic episode of Raw. He says that everyone is giddy over the big news and it’s pretty darn shocking to him too! That news is that Wrestlemania is less than a week away and he still doesn’t have a match! The only thing keeping him going is knowing he’s the best wrestler in the promotion, if not the world, and if the company is pre-occupied with other things rather than finding him an opponent, he’ll keep complaining and protesting until they finally do. He’s interrupted by Chris Benoit, to a decent reception from the fans. ‘The Crippler’ points out that he too doesn’t have an opponent yet and as he slowly steps into the ring says what really annoys him this claim of Angle’s to be the best wrestler in the WWF. Benoit’s promo hasn’t been the clearest, Heyman and JR clarifying that he’s calling Kurt out. Angle accepts, making it known that there is no way he will ever tap to the crossface. The two come to blows before scrambling on the mat where Benoit locks on the crossface and Kurt starts tapping. Edge & Christian run out for the save of their old Team ECK partner. On to the match and as soon as ‘the Crippler’ sees Kurt make his entrance goes out to meet him, however Christian gets a shot in on Benoit first. It looks likely that they’re probably saving their confrontation until Mania. Edge and Matt start us off, things having calmed down from the opening pier sixer. The Hardyz with a double suplex on Edge. Jeff mistakenly follows Edge to the outside, when he goes to get back in, Christian grabs him and slams him backwards into the barricade. A brief heat section before he hot tags Benoit who takes it to E&C. The Hardyz with Poetry in Motion on Angle who then staggers into the crossface. That lasts a second or so at the most, Christian stomping on ‘the Crippler’ to break the hold. Benoit counters his attempted reverse DDT into the crossface and Christian taps. Kurt attacks him post-match and the two briefly go at it, which includes a ‘Crippler’ suicide dive after he had clotheslined Angle to the floor. Matt lays out Edge with a Twist of Fate. Rhyno is down from the back and he gores Matt. He’s about to leave when he notices Lita in the ring checking on her boyfriend. That brings him back inside and he gores her too. It’s noted that Spike Dudley has already been put out of action due to being gored through the table on Smackdown so Rhyno is starting out with some semblance of a push it seems. A surprisingly short encounter. As I thought, there was hardly any interaction between Angle and Benoit during the match itself, clearly saving that for Wrestlemania.

Doink is seen in the crowd as they talk about the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania. Interestingly we see a graphic for the match and in that graphic is a picture of Corporal Kirschner, who ended up not being part of it. Jim Ross has been informed that William Regal has a tune-up match next, although hasn’t been told who his opponent will be. Regal is out, and being their WWF Commissioner he has something very important to tell the fans concerning W...C...Fields, someone who said the only cure for insomnia is sleep and he will not sleep or rest until he is the new Intercontinental champion! Tonight, for his warm up match before Wrestlemania XVII, he is going to fight someone from a very prestigious wrestling family, the Holly’s. Well that announcement went down like a lead balloon, met with absolute silence. Crash takes exception to being seen as someone’s stepping stone and as he passes the Light Heavyweight title to Molly Holly, Regal corrects him, saying that he’s got it all wrong and he didn’t mean him. He then clubs Crash from behind and drags Molly into the ring. The bell rings to start the match, Regal immediately tripping her and putting her in the Regal Stretch. Crash is back to save his cousin, but Regal slugs him and then puts him in the Stretch. As he taps, from the crowd comes Doink for the save. After a flying forearm Doink locks on the Walls of Jericho, Heyman not buying for one bit that he suddenly learned the move and become a good wrestler! The crowd are chanting for Y2J and he rips off the wig to reveal they’re right. Jonathan Coachman grabs a post-match word with the Commissioner, the Coach appearing to find it amusing that Jericho once again got the better of him. Regal responds to what just happened by putting Y2J in a non-title match against the Big Show later in the show.

Quick recap of Raw where the Hardyz lost the tag team titles to Edge & Christian due to the interference of the debuting Rhyno. There is some awful “comedy” in the dubbed Taka promo, saying that he thinks Jeff is cute, before correcting himself and saying he meant Lita and that she makes him want to sing. What cool, current song does she make him want to sing? An adapted Beatles number from 1967! Indeed! Funaki nails Matt with a dropkick and then starts jumping around like he’s already won the match. Matt grabs him and throws him into the corner where he unloads with punches. Tag to Jeff, the brothers double teaming him in their own corner. Funaki catches Jeff with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and then slugs Matt on the apron. I thought that was leading to some double teaming by Kaientai as the ref tried to prevent Matt from getting in there, it doesn’t, Jeff just giving him a jawbreaker. I wonder if Taka is injured and he can’t wrestle as that was very strange psychology. After a double legdrop both men make tags. Matt with a gut wrench suplex on Funaki and a middle rope legdrop for Taka. Jeff rejoins his brother in there, tossing Funaki out to the floor. He drags Jeff out with him but is then caught by a Lita huracanrana off the ring steps. Poetry in Motion on Taka. Twist of Fate, Swanton bomb and this one is over. The matches on Metal are more competitive than this was!

After describing Essa Rios’ credentials, Kevin Kelly calls Low Ki “a tremendous light heavyweight competitor in his own right,” as well as mentioning that they have seen him before on Metal. Maybe it’s because we’ve been following his career but you can tell Ki is something different just by the way he carries himself and moves in there. A basement dropkick takes Essa’s legs out from under him, Ki then drills him with two hard kicks to the chest followed by a third to the side of the head that draws a gasp from those watching. Kelly talks about all the young competitors wanting an opportunity to be in the WWF and Low Ki is proving that he belongs. Ki runs into a big boot, but as Rios sits himself on the middle for something he’s cut-off by a Tidal Crush that sends him tumbling to the floor. Dr Tom and Kelly go all gooey about that, the spot even gets the ‘Double Feature’ replay treatment. The match has been 90% Ki and he looks real good. He goes for a second Tidal Crush but this time Essa nails him with a spin kick to the mid-section. A big powerbomb, he then lands that gorgeous moonsault to put Ki away in what was a very competitive match for him. Even in losing Kevin Kelly continues to put Low Ki and his performance over.

TLC II has been set for Wrestlemania; the Dudley Boyz defending the WWF tag team titles against Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz in a three-way Tables, Ladders & Chairs match. Tazz puts over Spike, noting that he’s been around him previously and don’t be deceived by his looks as he’s one tough dude. Bubba reverses the Irish whip and propels Christian with a high back drop. Victory roll by Spike for a two count. He’s back on his shoulders, looking for a huracanrana, however Christian staggers towards his team mates where Edge, from the apron, clotheslines him across the top rope. Tag to Rhyno who takes Spike’s head off with a clothesline. He whips him into the corner where he gores him up against the turnbuckles. They continue to get the heat on Spike, his attempts to fight back stopped by an Edge forearm. Edge ties him in the ropes and launches himself at him with a running crossbody. Spike avoids the middle rope elbow drop and makes the hot tag to D-Von. D-Von is all over Edge & Christian, getting the first shot it on Rhyno too when he looks to enter the fray. Rhyno does eventually stop his momentum, all that does though is bring in Bubba. The Dudleys hot shot Rhyno and give him the diving headbutt. D-Von gets the table, which he sets up, Christian moving it out the way to save Edge being flapjacked through it. He places the table upright in the corner while Edge gets hold of a chair that he cracks Bubba in the back with. Referee Tim White calls for the bell, because apparently it’s perfectly fine to bring a table into the ring and try and put your opponent through that, a chair, er err, that’s game over. Hard chair shot to the head of Bubba and one for D-Von. Spike is up from his earlier beating, dropkicking Edge in the back before grabbing Christian for the Acid Drop. After what happened Monday though he was prepared and shoots him off. Spike ducks the Conchairto but gets gored through the table, folded up and left in a mass of broken wood.

Another week, another match for Chris Jericho set up by the Commissioner, this time he’s getting a shot at the Hardcore champion. We get a recap from Raw where Y2J urinated in a pot of tea that he had prepared for the Commissioner, so Michael Cole finds it strange that he would be “rewarded” with the chance to potentially win another title. I’m sure Mr Regal has got something up his sleeve... Raven, who regained the Hardcore belt with a victory over the Big Show on Monday, is pushing a shopping cart full of weapons as he makes his way to the ring. We’re reminded that Jericho faces Regal at Wrestlemania, so there’s your answer. If he gets hurt or injured here in this Hardcore match, with Mania only ten days away it’s unlikely he’ll have enough time to recover/heal up. Raven picks up a trash can but Jericho springboard dropkicks it into his own face, Raven falling into the cart. Jericho pushes him around ringside before flipping him over the barricade into the crowd. They fight their way through backstage and into the Commissioner’s office. Y2J, apologising to her first, hits Raven over the head with a photo of the Queen mother and then rubs his face into a tray full of cakes and crumpets. Regal arrives and surprises Jericho, breaking a vase of flowers over him. Raven waffles Regal with the tray of cakes and covers him for the three to retain the title. Michael Cole wonders if Raven knew what he was doing and who he was attacking, what with his face covered in cream and the like. We return from a commercial break to see an angry Regal setting a triple threat for Wrestlemania, Raven being forced to defend his strap against both Kane and the Big Show in a Hardcore match.

Apparently the Dudleys had some sort of plane problem earlier that meant they missed the title match against the Hardys, however have got one here against the new champions instead. Edge & Christian don’t look much like the fighting champions that they proclaim, in no hurry to enter the ring. Bubba ends up leaning over the top rope, grabbing Christian by the hair and dragging him inside. This has barely got going and the crowd are already wanting tables. Christian goes to the eyes and then throws D-Von to the floor where Edge slams him into the barricade. Rude Awakening neckbreaker. D-Von catches Christian as he comes off the middle with a clothesline before both men make tags. Bubba runs through Edge and then nails Christian for good measure too. Hot Shot on Edge. Christian grabs himself a chair but is cut-off before he gets the chance to use it, JR saying how they’d love to get DQ’d just to end this. Edge inadvertently spears his own partner when Bubba steps out the way, the Dudleys then hitting the Wazzup diving headbutt. D-Von collects the table but as he lays it on the apron Edge dropkicks it into him. Christian with a reverse DDT on Bubba. As referee Tim White steps from the ring to try and sort out what’s going down on the floor with Edge, D-Von and that table, we have our second debut of the night in the shape of Spike Dudley. Spike dropkicks the chair that Christian had just picked up into his face and then gives him the Acid Drop onto it. Edge only realises what’s gone on too late and as he shouts something at Spike, who is already half-way back up the rampway by now, the Dudleys set themselves. He turns right into 3-D and we can add two World tag team title changes for the night to go with two debuts. Just like when E&C celebrated with Rhyno, the Dudleys are straight off to join their little “brother” for a celebration of their own.

The Hardy Boyz were expecting to face the Dudleys but are surprised when they hear Edge & Christian’s music instead. Edge says that he’s back, the Dudleys blew their chance and if they’ve got the guts, why don’t they put the tag team titles up against them instead? D-Von initially defeated Christian in a singles match to earn this title match and Ross and Heyman are suspecting something fishy because it’s not like the Dudleys to miss an opportunity like this. The Hardyz accept, going out to meet them in the aisle. Matt takes the fight to Christian early, Edge grabbing his hair from the apron for the distraction as the challengers then take over. I don’t want to go all Jerry Lawler but Lita’s looking hot here. Short FIP section and Matt tags Jeff, quickly rejoining his brother on the offensive. They go for Poetry in Motion on Edge but he pulls referee Jack Doan in the way who ends up taking the impact and getting bumped. Lita with a leaping rana on Christian. Twist of Fate for Edge. Jeff hits the Swanton, he’s though then gored by a debuting Rhyno who had come through the crowd. Edge crawls over to make the cover and we have new World tag team champions, E&C immediately going to celebrate with Rhyno. After some adverts we see the three of them in the dressing room. E&C tell Rhyno to go back to the hotel, they’re going to shower and they’ll meet him there.

The Light Heavyweight title is on the line, although Michael Cole is more interested in talking about some ninjas in the back who’re looking for Kaientai. It’s only when Crash catches Malenko with a deep powerslam for a two count does he turn his attention to the match in progress. The champion sends Crash between the turnbuckles, shoulder first into the ring post. Molly continues to be great selling at ringside. Seated abdominal stretch, Malenko trapping Crash’s other arm with his left leg so that he’s pretty much helpless. Crash does fire off some shots prior to being dumped on the belly to back, those shots taking something out of Malenko. He sits the challenger upstairs for a superplex, but Crash blocks the attempt and shoves him backwards to the mat. Missile dropkick. Crash picks up a handful of near falls before Malenko rolls through on the sunset flip and locks in the Texas Cloverleaf. Molly is up on the apron and he lets go of the hold to lay a kiss on her. I know he has this sort of “ladies man” gimmick, although it’s more like some sort of sexual predator with the way he forces himself on the women. Crash gets clotheslined to the outside and grabs the title belt, bringing it back into the ring with him. As the official tries to pry it away from him, over on the other side of the ring, behind their back, Molly hits the Molly-Go-Round. Crash quickly lets go of the belt, Oklahoma roll and we have ourselves a new Light Heavyweight champion. The wrestling was solid and the crowd popped for the Molly-Go-Round and even bigger for the title change. Will this lead to a new philosophy when it comes to the Light Heavyweight title? The jury’s out on that one. I really like Tazz on commentary too, the guy has improved an awful lot since we first saw him in that position last year.