The Tool Box - Wrestling Archives

Royal Rumble 2010

2011-04-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

1. Christian defeated Ezekiel Jackson by pinfall This just shows you how good of a wrestler Christian is. Ezekiel was extremely green here and Christian pulled a solid match out of the guy. Rating: 2.5 (out of 5) 2. Miz defeated MVP by pinfall This was quite a bit better than I had remembered. Miz did some nice heel work and was on his way to becoming a huge star. Rating: 2.75 3. Sheamus defeated Randy Orton by disqualification This was an odd heel vs. heel match, although the crowd was clearly behind Orton. Still, this was not the best of matches. Rating: 1.5 4. Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool by pinfall to win the Womens Championship This was just a squash match. Rating: .25 5. Undertaker defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall ***Match Of The Night*** This was pretty awesome and most definitely lived up to my expectations. Rey is great against big men and the Last Ride at the end of the match was absolutely wicked. Rating: 4 6. Edge won the Royal Rumble This was very entertaining from start to finish and was full of cool moments. I don't like the copycat booking of when Cena came back and won it a few years back, but it was nice to see Edge add this to his resume. Rating: 3.75 Well, if the Rumble match is good, usually the show is a winner. Add the Taker/Mysterio match to the mix and this is most definitely a recommended show. Sure, it starts off a little slow, but the final half is well worth your time. Overall Rating:

TLC 2009

2011-04-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

1. Christian defeated Shelton Benjamin in a Ladder Match This was good stuff as one would expect. It wasn't perfect and they were probably a little limited since there was another ladder match later on, but this was still a great opener. Rating: 3.75 (out of 5) 2. Drew McIntyre defeated John Morrison by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship I had much higher hopes for this one. I enjoy both guys work, but it's obvious that both of these guys have come a long way in the last year or so. Rating: 2.5 3. Michelle McCool defeated Mickie James by pinfall This was actually given some time and the ladies told a good story. The action was decent enough as well. Rating: 1.75 4. Sheamus defeated John Cena in a Tables Match to win the WWE Championship This was definitely not great, but it was dumb fun. Sheamus wasn't ready for his push just yet, but he has come a long way since this shocker. Rating: 3 5. Undertaker defeated Batista by pinfall This was a huge letdown, given the history between these two. The booking was also horrible, which never helps. Rating: 2 6. Randy Orton defeated Kofi Kingston by pinfall Speaking of bad booking, they built Kingston up for weeks only to have him lose cleanly. Why not have him win one on a big show? Kofi hasn't been the same since. Rating: 2.75 7. Shawn Michaels + Triple H defeated Chris Jericho + Big Show in a TLC Match to win the Tag Team Championships ***Match Of The Night*** This was a little on the goofy side, but it was a ton of fun. Shawn got one more run in as a tag champ before his big retirement and that's fine with me. Rating: 4 This was a good way to end the year. This show is bookended by two very entertaining ladder matches and there is some good stuff in between. This may not necessarily be great, but you can't complain about a show like this. Overall Rating:

Survivor Series 2009

2011-04-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

1. Miz, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre defeated John Morrison, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne by pinfall This was a good choice for the opener and the right team went over. You can't go wrong with that. Survivors: Miz, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus Rating: 3.25 (out of 5) 2. Batista defeated Rey Mysterio by referee stoppage I enjoyed this as a storyline, as it wasn't really meant to be much of a match. Batista was motivated and this led to the best run of his career as a character. Rating: 2.5 3. Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Mark Henry, MVP, Christian defeated Randy Orton, CM Punk, Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes, William Regal by pinfall This one wasn't quite as good as the first match, but pretty close. The final five minutes or so were really well done. Survivor: Kofi Kingston Rating: 3 4. Undertaker defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show by submission This was a little on the slow side, but Jericho did a great job at playing his role and the other two guys gave a decent effort. Rating: 2.75 5. Mickie James, Eve, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Gail Kim defeated Michelle McCool, Layla, Beth Phoenix, Jillian, Alicia Fox by pinfall This wasn't bad, but as usual, very rushed. It served it's purpose. Survivors: Mickie James, Melina Rating: 1 6. John Cena defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels by pinfall ***Match Of The Night*** This was a really great main event that reminded us how good John Cena can be in the right environment. The superkick on Triple H to start the match was great story telling and everything from there was pretty awesome. Rating: 4.25 This is hands down among the best Survivor Series ever. It's not perfect, but everything did what it was supposed to do and when you can pull that off, you know you have a success. Overall Rating:

Bragging Rights 2009

2011-03-04T09:10:00.001-08:00

1. Miz defeated John Morrison by pinfall

This was a good match, but I was hoping for a little bit more. Both of these guys have a come a long way since this match.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Michelle McCool defeated Melina, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim by pinfall

This was decent divas action, but still sloppy. I'll take this over most of the junk they give us though.

Rating: 1

3. Undertaker defeated CM Punk, Batista, and Rey Mysterio by pinfall

I think we all knew what was going to happen in this one, but it was still a very good match. All four guys worked well with one another and that's all you can ask for.

Rating: 3.5

4. Chris Jericho, R-Truth, Finlay, Hart Dynasty, Matt Hardy, Kane defeated Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

I really like the concept of this, but I hate that it is 7-on-7. Cut a few guys off the teams and have another couple of matches. Still, this was a lot of fun and an enjoyable inagural Bragging Rights match.

Rating: 3.5

5. John Cena defeated Randy Orton by submission to win the WWE Championship

This was a good effort by two guys that wouldn't be my top choices for an Iron Man match. This was definitely overbooked to help them out and there were some dull spots, but for the most part they held the attention of the audience for 60 minutes and in today's day in age, that's saying something.

Rating: 3.5

This was a good, quality show. It's missing that classic, but everything is worthwhile, which is something you can't say about a lot of shows. If you're a big Orton or Cena fan, there's a good chance you will like the main event a lot more than I did, and that would probably put this in the "great" category. Still, as is, this is worth a watch.

Overall Rating: 81%

Hell In A Cell 2009

2011-03-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

1. Undertaker defeated CM Punk by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This was way too short for what it was, but it was non-stop action. I hate that Punk got buried again, but he gave a great effort.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. John Morrison defeated Dolph Ziggler by pinfall

I was a little surprised at the way this was booked. They were given a lot of time, but didn't rely on what makes them great, their speed.

Rating: 2.75

3. Mickie James defeated Alicia Fox by pinfall

Well, this was awful and Mickie James continued to get worse around this time.

Rating: .25

4. Chris Jericho + Big Show defeated Batista + Rey Mysterio by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a really well-worked match. All four guys played to their strengths and this has to be one of the better non-gimmick tag team matches the WWE has had in some time.

Rating: 3.75

5. Randy Orton defeated John Cena by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

For some reason this feud is just very mediocre. I know that I am a little biased because I am not a fan of Orton. He's not terrible, but he just doesn't do it for me most of the time.

Rating: 3

6. Drew McIntyre defeated R-Truth by pinfall

I know they were trying to give Drew some pay-per-view exposure, but R-Truth is not the guy to help him look good. This match was pointless.

Rating: 1.25

7. Kofi Kingston defeated Miz and Jack Swagger by pinfall

I had higher hopes for this one, especially since I really liked what Miz and Kofi did at the last show. This was just too sloppy.

Rating: 2

8. Shawn Michaels + Triple H defeated Legacy by pinfall

With them booking three Hell In A Cell matches on the same card, they had to vary with the way they booked the matches. This one made the most sense, as it continued the story from their last big match together. Still, this didn't exactly set the world on fire.

Rating: 3

This was a good, solid show. The Cell matches were all pretty good, but they lacked what made some of the early matches had. The tag team match was very good as well, which means the majority of the show was solid. I wouldn't say you have to see this show, but it's one of the better ones from 2009.

Overall Rating: 77%

Breaking Point 2009

2011-02-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

1. Chris Jericho + Big Show defeated MVP + Mark Henry by pinfall

I had higher hopes for this, but there was too much of Mark Henry and MVP seemed unmotivated.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Kofi Kingston defeated Miz by pinfall

This was a great back and forth match that you really didn't know who was going to win. That seems to be a rarity these days.

Rating: 3.25

3. Legacy defeated Shawn Michaels + Triple H by submission

These guys gave a great effort, but this match really lacked in the creative department. This was just senseless brawling for the most part.

Rating: 2.25

4. Kane defeated Great Khali by pinfall

Well, the fact that they had big sticks to hit each other with definitely helped.

Rating: .75

5. Christian defeated William Regal by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was two veterans putting on a good professional wrestling match. Christian made sure that Regal looked like a threat and played the babyface role perfectly.

Rating: 3.5

6. John Cena defeated Randy Orton in an I Quit Match to win the WWE Championship

This was a good match, but unfortunately you knew Cena wasn't going to quit. I can't take away from Cena here though, because he gave a great effort and took a beating. I feel that they went to the handcuffs too early and that kept this from being something special.

Rating: 3.25

7. CM Punk defeated Undertaker by "submission"

So let's get this straight. CM Punk works his tail off to become a great heel. He then puts on a great program with Jeff Hardy, looking like a serious threat. Then Undertaker buries him in under 10 minutes, proving that he's not in his league. Then they do the stupid "screw the face in Montreal" bit and he wins, even though he looks like a jobber. Nice work.

Rating: 2.25

Well, out of the themed shows, this one was definitely the biggest stretch. Plus, the ending left a sour taste in a lot of people's mouth. But other than that, this show is not as bad as most people made it out to be. It lacks a classic match, but most everything is at least okay. I just wouldn't go out of my way to see this.

Overall Rating: 68%

SummerSlam 2009

2011-02-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

1. Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler by pinfall

This was an awesome opener and probably one of the best in SummerSlam history. These two have great chemistry and the put on a show here. There were a few flaws in execution that kept it from being an all-time great, but this is well worth your time.

Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

2. MVP defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall

WWE has never known what to do with Swagger and it's a shame. There's no reason this match should have gotten so much time with MVP going over cleanly.

Rating: 1.75

3. Chris Jericho + Big Show defeated Cryme Tyme by pinfall

This was a much better match than I remembered as the champs made Cryme Tyme look like real contenders. JTG looked very good here.

Rating: 2.75

4. Kane defeated Great Khali by pinfall

I expected it to be a little bit worse. The DDT was kind of a cool finish.

Rating: .25

5. Shawn Michaels + Triple H defeated Legacy by pinfall

A lot of people raved about this match and while it is good, it's nowhere near as great as a lot of people were saying. The Legacy looked better than you would expect from DX.

Rating: 3

6. Christian defeated William Regal by pinfall

This was really the only downer on the card. This one was a squash when it really could have made this show a classic.

Rating: .25

7. Randy Orton defeated John Cena by pinfall

Okay, I lied. This was the other downer on the card. This match was a mess and it really didn't need to be. Obviously they didn't know what to do because they wanted this feud to go on for another 3 shows. As a viewer, this is just frustrating.

Rating: 2

8. CM Punk defeated Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was a great way to end the show, as both guys proved they belonged in the main event on the second biggest show of the year. This was Hardy's last WWE match possibly ever, so there is a lot of historical significance as well.

Rating: 4

Well, this show is bookended by two great matches that are must sees. Two good tag team matches make this show very worthwhile. While there are a few dull spots, there is a good flow and it never is boring. Well, maybe the first five minutes of the Khali/Kane match.

Overall Rating: 84%

Night Of Champions 2009

2011-02-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

1. Chris Jericho + Big Show defeated Legacy by pinfall

This was sort of an odd choice as opener, since both teams are heels. I guess they figured Jericho would get a good enough reaction since it's in Philadelphia. Standard match here.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Christian defeated Tommy Dreamer by pinfall to win the ECW Championship

This was a pretty big disappointment. I knew going into this that Dreamer was way past his prime, but I thought the mix of the match being in Philly and his opponent being a guy who was on quite a roll would help this out. I was wrong.

Rating: 1.75

3. Kofi Kingston defeated Carlito, Primo, Jack Swagger, MVP and Miz by pinfall

This was actually quite a bit of fun. Primo and Kofi really stood out in this match, yet both of them are in their same positions in the company over a year later.

Rating: 3

4. Michelle McCool defeated Melina by pinfall

This was slightly better than their match at The Bash. Not much else to say other than this was better than a lot of divas matches.

Rating: 1.25

5. Randy Orton defeated Triple H and John Cena by pinfall

I liked the WrestleMania match better, but I'm glad this one got more time than that one did. The double tap was kind of silly, but Cena getting RKO'd while he had Cody Rhodes up for the Attitude Adjustment was pretty cool.

Rating: 3.5

6. Mickie James defeated Maryse by pinfall to win the Divas Championship

This wasn't horrible, but the crowd did absolutely nothing for the entire match. It felt like this match was 20 minutes long.

Rating: .75

7. Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Kind of an odd spot on the card for this one, but these guys acted as if they were in the main event. The match had a big match feel and you have to give Ziggler his due here. Good match.

Rating: 3.5

8. Jeff Hardy defeated CM Punk by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This was quite disappointing after their solid bout at The Bash. This was very competitive, but the pace was a lot slower. They would definitely make up for it at SummerSlam.

Rating: 2.75

Well, it was nice to see a show that actually went the whole three hours, but a lot of this dragged. There were some solid matches throughout the card, but this show concept, for whatever reason, just doesn't seem to work that well. Maybe if they tried to make the championships mean more they would be able to pull this off.

Overall Rating: 59%

The Bash 2009

2011-01-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

1. Tommy Dreamer defeated Christian, Mark Henry, Finlay and Jack Swagger in a Scramble Match

This started off decent, but then turned into a trainwreck. I had higher hopes for this one than what was actually produced.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was an absolutely fabulous match. These two have off the chart chemistry and put together a match that you don't typically see in WWE. Rey looked especially motivated by this feud and was on a great roll. Jericho, as always, was just awesome.

Rating: 4.5

3. Dolph Ziggler defeated Great Khali by pinfall

This was basically a TV match that really only started a Kane/Khali feud. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for Ziggler.

Rating: 1.25

4. Chris Jericho + Edge defeated the Colons and Legacy by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

This was actually pretty entertaining, it was just that the crowd couldn't have cared less about it unless Jericho and Edge were in there.

Rating: 2.75

5. Michelle McCool defeated Melina by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This was you standard divas match and perhaps a tad too long for its own good.

Rating: 1

6. Jeff Hardy defeated CM Punk by disqualification

This was actually a really fun match and the screwy ending actually accomplished the two things that it set out to. Jeff Hardy showed a little bit more edge and CM Punk walked away looking like a slimeball. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.5

7. John Cena defeated Miz by pinfall

This match had a lot of spunk, but it's a shame that it was basically a squash. However, looking back at it, I guess the Miz is doing just fine for himself.

Rating: 2.25

8. Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Three Stages Of Hell Match

I appreciate the storytelling by having Triple H just destroy Orton and give up the one fall, just to take the second one. However, you would think that he would have thought there was a solid chance that there was going to be some outside interference, which makes it look like kind of a dumb move on his part. I thought these two were really going to put on a good show after the bad reviews they got at WrestleMania, but that was not the case. This was another mediocre affair.

Rating: 2.25

Well, this show didn't get very good reviews and I see that argument. However, the Jericho/Mysterio match is phenomenal and the Punk/Hardy match is very good. The show also has a good flow up until the last match. I would say this is more of a show somewhere in the middle.

Overall Rating: 67%

Judgment Day 2009

2011-01-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

1. Umaga defeated CM Punk by pinfall

I thought this one had potential, but for some reason these guys never really clicked. Still, this was decent enough.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Christian defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall

These guys, on the other hand, did have really good chemistry with each other. Swagger definitely kept up with Christian, and the result was a good quality match.

Rating: 3.25

3. John Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin by pinfall

I am a big fan of both of these guys, so I was definitely let down with what we got here. I know both are capable of better. Morrison has really improved over the last year or so.

Rating: 2.75

4. Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was the beginning of what probably was the best feud of 2009. These guys kicked off the feud with a great match.

Rating: 3.75

5. Batista defeated Randy Orton by disqualification

Considering that I don't really like either of these guys a whole lot, this was better than expected. I hate how they can't decide if Orton should be a sadistic heel or a cowardly one. He bounces back and forth in this one and it leads to a stupid finish.

Rating: 2.25

6. John Cena defeated Big Show by pinfall

This was incredibly boring and had no right going on as long as it did. The reason the Cena/Khali matches exceeded everyones expectations was because they were kept short. This one was 10 minutes too long. Plus, there's no reason Big Show should have lost this one if they were actually serious about this feud.

Rating: .75

7. Edge defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

This was a solid main event, but it felt like it could have been better. The last third of the match was really kicked into high gear, but the rest was hit or miss.

Rating: 3.25

If it weren't for the Raw matches, this would have been a good pay-per-view. The roster on that show had become so stale and it really hurt the show. However, the other two brands held up their end of the bargin and made this a worthwhile, although unspectacular, event. The Jericho/Mysterio match is the only one that you probably should see, while the rest you can probably get away with skipping. Thumbs in the middle here.

Overall Rating: 75%

No Way Out 2009

2011-01-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

1. Triple H defeated Edge, Vladimir Kozlov, Big Show, Undertaker, and Jeff Hardy by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was a good opener, but probably on the lower end of the Elimination Chamber matches. You can blame that on Kozlov and Big Show being in there too much and Edge being in there too little. However, they corrected the Edge error in the next one.

Rating: 3.25

2. Randy Orton defeated Shane McMahon by pinfall

This was pretty disappointing, even if it wasn't bad. The match was never boring, but I don't think they got the result they were looking for.

Rating: 2

3. Jack Swagger defeated Finlay by pinfall

I am a big fan of both of these guys, but this may be the worst match I've seen either of these guys put on. They did not click at all and the crowd could have cared less.

Rating: 1.5

4. Shawn Michaels defeated JBL by pinfall

I can't remember the last time I have given a Shawn Michaels match this low of a rating. Thank God that JBL retired the next month. He should have just stayed as an announcer, where he was the best in the business.

Rating: 2

5. Edge defeated Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Mike Knox and Kane to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This match was full of surprises (Edge attacks Kofi Kingston to get in the match, John Cena only lasts a few minutes) and one heck of a performance by Rey Mysterio. This was the best effort I have seen Mysterio give in years and he absolutely made this match a classic. The booking was also smarter in this match as Kane and Knox only were in there for short periods of time as well.

Rating: 4.5

This is kind of hard to rate. You only have five matches and two of them eat up about half of the show. The main event is definitely a must see, but you can live without seeing the other chamber match, even though it is entertaining. Everything else is not very good. I guess this is more of a thumbs in the middle, but leaning up. Fast forward through the middle and enjoy one of the best matches of 2009.

Overall Rating: 75%

No Mercy 2008

2011-01-09T05:07:00.001-08:00

1. Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry by pinfall

I never understand having Mark Henry in the opener, but this wasn't half bad. The match didn't have a great flow to it, but it did tell a nice little story.

Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

2. Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle by pinfall

I actually enjoyed this match and wouldn't have minded it seeing going another couple of minutes. Beth Phoenix really is a misused talent.

Rating: 2

3. Rey Mysterio defeated Kane by disqualification

I was really digging this match until the finish. Both guys put in a good effort and it resulted in an exciting match.

Rating: 3

4. Batista defeated JBL by pinfall

This was basically a squash and not a pretty one. Neither guy looked particularly good here.

Rating: 1

5. Big Show defeated Undertaker by ref stoppage

This was far and away the best match that these two have ever had. The pace that these two kept at was twice the speed of any of their other matches. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.5

6. Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

This was another good match between these two, but just slightly missed classic status. The crowd ate it up and the finish wasn't what I expected.

Rating: 3.75

7. Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match

***Match Of The Night***

This was absolutely awesome. This was very likely the best match of 2008 as these two old pros went out there and showed how a ladder match is done. This was not a big spot fest like most of the ladder matches you see, this was two guys using the ladder to finish the story of one of the best feuds of my lifetime. My biggest gripe is that the Lance Cade interference shouldn't have led to the finish.

Rating: 4.75

Well, this show isn't talked about a lot, but it was darn good. The last three matches are all very good in different ways and that alone is enough to warrant a recommendation. The JBL/Batista match stinks up the joint, but everything else is good and nothing outstays its welcome. I highly recommend this show.

Overall Rating: 90%

WrestleMania XXIV

2010-12-31T04:57:00.000-08:00

1. JBL defeated Finlay by pinfall

I actually liked this match better this time around. Sure, it was just a garbage brawl, but it served it's purpose and Finlay is always entertaining. I'm still kind of surprised that this opened the show.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, Carlito, and Mr. Kennedy in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

***Match Of The Night***

I seem to be the only one, but I think this is the second best MITB match at WrestleMania. There was a really good flow to this one and they more than made up for the fact that Jeff Hardy was taken out of the match at the last minute.

Rating: 4.25

3. Batista defeated Umaga by pinfall

I actually had really high hopes for this one and they really let me down. My best guess is that both guys were a little disappointed with being nothing more than a mid-card match.

Rating: 1.75

4. Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall to win the ECW Championship

This was just a squash to make the crowd happy before the next one.

Rating: .25

5. Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

This one loses a little bit due to the fact that I know Ric Flair has wrestled numerous pointless matches over in TNA. Just give it up, Ric. You could tell he didn't have much left in the tank here, but to no surprise, Michaels got a good match out of him.

Rating: 4

6. Beth Phoenix + Melina defeated Maria + Ashley by pinfall

This was pretty bad, but at least the right team won. Kudos to the ladies for continuing the match when the lights went out.

Rating: .25

7. Randy Orton defeated John Cena and Triple H by pinfall

I remember there being a real shocked reaction when Orton won this match. I wouldn't have bet on that one, but I think it was the right move. All three guys looked good here and were about 5-10 minutes away from a classic.

Rating: 3.75

8. Floyd Mayweather defeated Big Show by knockout

WWE always seems to get the most out of their celebrities. This wasn't as good as the Lawrence Taylor match, but it was entertaining to say the least.

Rating: 2

9. Undertaker defeated Edge by submission

This was a bit of a surprise pick to be the last match, but both guys put on a good show. It seemed to be lacking a little in the beginning, which kept it from being a classic.

Rating: 3.75

Of course I'm a little biased on this show, but this is about the fourth time I've watched it and it still is great from start to finish. Four matches are among the best in WrestleMania history and everything else serves it's purpose. There really is something here for everyone. Garbage brawl? Check. Spotfest? Check. Emotional roller coaster? Check. Great title matches? Check. What else could you ask for in a show? This is a must see.

Overall Rating: 97%

Royal Rumble 2008

2010-12-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

1. Ric Flair defeated MVP by submission

It was obvious here that Flair really did need to retire and MVP was not the guy to carry him to a good match. It amazes me that Flair still feels that he needs to wrestle nearly 3 years later.

Rating: 1.25 (out of 5)

2. JBL defeated Chris Jericho by disqualification

This one is not for everyone, but I have enjoyed this match more with each viewing. It's far from a classic, but Jericho showed a different side that would eventually lead to him turning heel.

Rating: 2.75

3. Edge defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

Despite not being hyped nearly as much as the other title match, it still felt like a big match. You can credit the always rowdy MSG crowd. This one had good pacing and a great finish.

Rating: 3.5

4. Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

This one had a great build that is usually reserved for WrestleMania matches and even though the match was very good, it wasn't a classic. However, looking back, they made the right move since Hardy got suspended a few weeks later.

Rating: 3.5

5. John Cena won the Royal Rumble

This was an absolute shock and one of the better moments of the decade. This is also one of the best booked Rumbles, as the action never slowed down and had a lot of great storylines throughout.

Rating: 3.75

This was a very good Royal Rumble and one of the strongest undercards to ever be featured on a Rumble show. Add in the surprise factor of Cena returning very early from injury and you have yourself a must see show.

Overall Rating: 86%

Armageddon 2007

2010-12-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

1. Rey Mysterio defeated MVP by countout

This was just okay and the finish really didn't help it out. This did nothing for either guy and it's part of the reason that MVP is no longer with the company.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Big Daddy V + Mark Henry defeated Kane + CM Punk by pinfall

This was surprisingly entertaining, considering three of the four guys aren't very good. I'm not sure that the right team went over, but it really didn't end up having any effect on the faces long term.

Rating: 2.25

3. Shawn Michaels defeated Mr. Kennedy by pinfall

This was on it's way to being a 4+ match, but then it ended pretty abruptly. This was some of Mr. Kennedy's finest work, but that's no surprise since he was in the ring with the greatest performer of all time.

Rating: 3.5

4. Jeff Hardy defeated Triple H by pinfall

This was a good match, even if it was a tad slower than one would expect. Looking back on it, I appreciate it more, knowing that this was a different match than they would go on to have in 2008 at a couple of pay-per-views.

Rating: 3.5

5. Finlay defeated Great Khali by pinfall

It's always good to see Finlay get a victory, even if the match had no shot of being anything great.

Rating: 1

6. Chris Jericho defeated Randy Orton by disqualification

***Match Of The Night***

This was Jericho's first big match since returning and he looked very sharp. This was the peak for Orton in my opinion and the two of them had good chemistry. The finish was absolutely ridiculous and led to a sub-par comeback for JBL.

Rating: 3.75

7. Beth Phoenix defeated Mickie James by pinfall

This was solid Divas action, even if it was much too short. This probably should have gone on earlier in the card.

Rating: 1.75

8. Edge defeated Batista and Undertaker by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This was a very entertaining match, but a little overbooked. Even the announcers didn't quite understand what was going on and that hurt the match a little overall. Still, Edge looked good and the match was a worthy main event.

Rating: 3.5

This is a really good show, even if it is missing that one classic match on the card. Nothing is bad on the show and it really flows well. I think if they could have given a few more minutes to the Michaels/Kennedy match and come up with a better ending for the Jericho/Orton match, you'd have one of the best non-big four shows ever.

Overall Rating: 84%

Survivor Series 2007

2010-11-27T13:30:00.001-08:00

1. CM Punk defeated John Morrison and Miz by pinfall

This was a fantastic opener that kept up a frantic pace from bell to bell. It's no wonder that these three guys are still in the upper mid-card.

Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

2. Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, Maria defeated Beth Phoenix, Layla, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria by pinfall

This could have been a lot worse, but instead they focused more on making it fun, rather than a good match, which was absolutely the right decision.

Rating: 1

3. Lance Cade + Trevor Murdoch defeated Cody Rhodes + Hardcore Holly by pinfall

I liked this a lot better this time around. I'm probably overrating it, as it really was a pretty standard match and none of the guys were really over. Oh well.

Rating: 2.75

4. Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Rey Mysterio defeated Umaga, Finlay, MVP, Big Daddy V, Mr. Kennedy by pinfall

Survivors: Triple H and Jeff Hardy

This was a fun Survivor Series match, even if you could see the finish from a mile away. It would have been nice to see them put over one of the young heels, but you knew they wouldn't.

Rating: 3.5

5. Great Khali defeated Hornswoggle by disqualification

This has Mr. McMahon written all over it. It wasn't long enough for it to be a total dud, but it was really stupid.

Rating: .25

6. Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was absolutely awesome. If you want proof that Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest performers of all time, this match is one of the ones I'd pick to show. These two told a great story and built it up to a great climax.

Rating: 4.25

7. Batista defeated Undertaker by pinfall

This wasn't quite up to par with the rest of their series of matches, but it was a proper finale. This was fairly violent and both guys got in a good amount of offense. Still, it seemed to lack the spark of some of their past matches.

Rating: 3.25

Hands down, this was a great show. Sure, there were a few things that could have been chopped, but you got a classic title match and three other really enjoyable matches. There's no reason that any WWE fan shouldn't see this show.

Overall Rating: 90%

Cyber Sunday 2007

2010-11-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

1. Rey Mysterio defeated Finlay in a Stretcher Match

This was a good opener and an upgrade over their match at No Mercy. They both have unique styles and I thought they meshed well together.

Rating: 3.25

2. CM Punk defeated Miz by pinfall

This was a surprise to see the Miz get voted in as the challenger. He wasn't quite ready to be in the spotlight, but he certainly was improving.

Rating: 1.75

3. Mr. Kennedy defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

The more I go back and watch Mr. Kennedy, the more I realize he was lacking in the ring. Hardy wasn't quite up to the level he would be at by 2008 and this match was just okay.

Rating: 2.25

4. Kane defeated MVP by countout

This was thrown together at the last minute and even though they were pushing MVP they had no intentions of putting him over Kane. That's never a good thing.

Rating: 1.25

5. Shawn Michaels defeated Randy Orton by disqualification

Shawn was Shawn and that's always enough for a good match. Orton was probably at his peak in terms of in ring skill here and being in the ring with HBK never hurts.

Rating: 3.5

6. Triple H defeated Umaga by pinfall

This was given a good amount of time, perhaps to make up for the lack of time they were given at No Mercy. This was solid action, but I still feel that they could have done a little better.

Rating: 3

7. Batista defeated Undertaker by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a good match and probably the best of their series. It still couldn't get over that 4 star hump in my opinion, but it was certainly a really good main event.

Rating: 3.75

This was an underrated show, as the top three matches were all good and the opener was fun as well. I wish they would have spread out the good stuff a little bit more, but still this was a refreshing show and possibly the best show in this pay-per-views brief history.

Overall Rating:

No Mercy 2007

2010-11-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

1. Triple H defeated Randy Orton by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was solid and understandably on the shorter side. Still, considering what was in store for the rest of the show, this was still a good effort by these two.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade + Trevor Murdoch defeated Jeff Hardy, Brian Kendrick + Paul London by pinfall

This wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be. The scary thing is that not one of these guys is still on the WWE roster.

Rating: 2.25

3. CM Punk defeated Big Daddy V by disqualification

This was an insult to our intelligence. Why protect Big Daddy V? Did they really have big plans for him at the time?

Rating: .25

4. Triple H defeated Umaga by pinfall

This wasn't as exciting as it probably should have been, but again, considering that Triple H had another match, it was probably best that it was on the shorter side.

Rating: 2

5. Rey Mysterio and Finlay fought to a no contest

I really liked this feud, but unfortunately since neither guy is really known for their mic skills, it was only two pay-per-view matches long. Still, this was fun until the controversial ending.

Rating: 2.75

6. Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This wasn't very good, but at least the right diva went over.

Rating: .75

7. Batista defeated Great Khali by escape in a Punjabi Prison Match

The first half of this is pretty boring, but the last few minutes were pretty well executed. I suppose this was better than it had any right to be.

Rating: 1.5

8. Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Last Man Standing Match to win the WWE Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was a great match and excatly what their main event at WrestleMania 25 should have been. These two were asked to step up to the plate as a result of John Cena's injury and I believe they did. This is one of Randy Orton's better performances.

Rating: 3.75

This was by no means a great show, but it certainly is a watchable one. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this show felt a little bit more like an Attitude era show than most of the shows from this time period. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they scrambled to put this show together because of the Cena injury. Still, I wouldn't go out of your way for this one unless you love Orton or Triple H.

Rating: 75%

SummerSlam 2007

2010-10-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

1. Kane defeated Finlay by pinfall

This was a strange choice for the opener, but they gave us a better match that I expected. Finlay was actually a great heel around this time and it's too bad they never really did much with it.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Umaga defeated Mr. Kennedy and Carlito by pinfall

It's kind of strange that none of these guys are around anymore. Umaga looked strong, but the other two looked like they were trying to keep up. This was pretty sloppy and was just an odd match.

Rating: 2

3. Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was a fun match, but it's nothing we haven't seen 100 times before. Rey was shaking off the ring rust and Chavo was Chavo. Still, I'll take this over most of the stuff on the show.

Rating: 2.5

4. Beth Phoenix won a Divas Battle Royal

This was your typical Diva garbage.

Rating: .25

5. John Morrison defeated CM Punk by pinfall

This was an entertaining match, but the botched finish hurt it a bit. Still, you could tell these two were two guys that would be around for awhile.

Rating: 2.5

6. Triple H defeated King Booker by pinfall

This was actually not as one-sided as I remembered it to be. Still, it was less competitive than it should have been. This felt like a Raw main event.

Rating: 2

7. Batista defeated Great Khali by disqualification

This was pretty God awful and the ending was an embarassment. Even JBL asks "Why would Khali do that?"

Rating: .25

8. John Cena defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is nowhere near as great as many people have said it is, but it is definitely a worthy main event. I think people overrated it due to the fact that there was nothing else close to this level on the rest of the show and the fact that the crowd was crazy for it. Orton's chinlocks just took up too much of the match.

Rating: 3.5

Well, this was a huge disappointment. SummerSlam is the second biggest show of the year, yet WWE seems to forget that at times. 2007 was a good year from a pay-per-view standpoint, but this one was definitely one of the blemishes on the calendar. Orton and Cena tried to save the show, but it would have had to have been an all-time classic to save this show. This definitely goes down as one of the worst SummerSlams and thankfully 2008 was a good show.

Overall Rating: 59%

Extreme Rules 2007

2010-10-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

1. Rob Van Dam defeated Randy Orton in a Stretcher Match

This wasn't the great match it could have been, but that was due to the storyline that was going on. However, they did tell the story well and it was an entertaining match with a surprising ending, since Van Dam was on his way out.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer + Sandman defeated Matt Striker, Elijah Burke + Marcus Cor Von in a Tables Match

This match was disappointing because it had the potential to be really fun. Instead, it was rushed and average. It probably would have been for the best had it been an elimination style match.

Rating: 2

3. The Hardyz defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team in a Ladder Match

***Match Of The Night***

This was as crazy as most would expect and all four guys took a beating. There were some sloppy spots as well and those are what made this fall short of being a classic. Still, you can't complain when you get to see a match as exciting as this, even if you already knew who was going to win.

Rating: 3.75

4. Mark Henry defeated Kane by ref stoppage

How do you follow an insane brawl? With Mark Henry and Kane, of course! This match was pretty brutal and the bear hug as a finisher is just horrible.

Rating: .25

5. Bobby Lashley defeated Vince McMahon by pinfall to win the ECW Championship

Vince has a way of making things interesting, no matter who he wrestles and this was no exception. This was your typical McMahon match, but probably one of Lashley's better matches.

Rating: 2.75

6. Edge defeated Batista in a Steel Cage Match

These guys just never clicked, but this was probably my favorite match of their series. Still, it seems like it could have been a lot more.

Rating: 3.25

7. Candice Michelle defeated Melina by submission

This was pretty horrible and you really can't even call it a match. It's just two girls rolling around in pudding.

Rating: N/A

8. John Cena defeated Great Khali by pinfall

This was proof that Cena was capable of finding a way to have an exciting match with anyone. While it is far from a classic, this may be Khali's best match ever. I know that isn't saying much, but this could have been so much worse and instead we got a decent main event.

Rating: 2.25

Well, this show is one that is far from a classic, but it really has a good pace to it. You've got some entertaining matches on the card and a really good ladder match on the card. The Kane/Henry epic and divas pudding match put a damper on the show as a whole, but there are far worse pay-per-view events out there than this one.

Overall Rating: 72%

Backlash 2007

2010-10-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

1. Hardyz defeated Cade + Murdoch by pinfall

This was pretty standard fare, but it was decently entertaining, thanks to how over the Hardyz were with the crowd. Murdoch was never very good in the ring and it showed here.

Rating: 2.5

2. Melina defeated Mickie James by pinfall

This was a well-worked match, but lacked excitement. The double split spot was something new and at least you can tell that these two have an idea of how to put a good match on.

Rating: 2.25

3. Chris Benoit defeated MVP by pinfall

This was probably the best match of the series as MVP looked really sharp. The ending made more sense to me this time and everything was well executed.

Rating: 3.25

4. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Umaga defeated Lashley by pinfall

This was pretty much guaranteed not to be a good match and I have to say it was more entertaining than it had any right to be. It's too bad that this was the best they could do with Umaga at the time.

Rating: 2

5. Undertaker and Batista fought to a no contest

I remembered this being a lot better, but the first five minutes or so were pretty blah. They kicked it up a notch at the end and had themselves a good match. Not a bad effort, but not quite the classic they were going for.

Rating: 3.5

6. John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was brilliant stuff by four guys who were on a roll in the ring at this time. They had great chemistry and the match flowed extremely well for a multi-man match. Another great main event in a time where they seemed to always deliver at the top of the card. Unfortunately, they thought that no matter who they put in there with Cena, he could deliver and they gave him Great Khali next. No one can pull that miracle off.

Rating: 4.25

Well, this was a really good show. Nothing was bad and everything got a good amount of time. It's a shame that we didn't get the Mickie James/Melina match at WrestleMania, but it worked out well for this show. There are very few non-big four shows that really are classics, but I'd have to say this one comes pretty close.

Overall Rating: 88%

WrestleMania 23

2010-09-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

1. Mr. Kennedy defeated King Booker, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Edge, Randy Orton, Finlay, and CM Punk in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This was a definite step up from the previous year's match, partly due to the fact that they got a few more minutes to do some crazy spots. The crowd ate it up and at the time, Mr. Kennedy going over looked like the right move.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

2. Great Khali defeated Kane by pinfall

This match really deflated the crowd and it's too bad that they felt this was necessary to add to the show.

Rating: .25

3. Chris Benoit defeated MVP by pinfall

I had high hopes for this at the time and what we got was a decent match. MVP stepped it up, but the finish out of nowhere really hurt this one.

Rating: 2.75

4. Undertaker defeated Batista by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This one was a million times better than I ever thought it would be. This was probably Batista's best match up to this point and they both definitely used the fact that they were on so early as motivation.

Rating: 3.5

5. Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu + Sandman defeated Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorne, Matt Striker + Marcus Cor Von by pinfall

It's too bad this wasn't an extreme rules match because they could have put on a much better match that way. They got the opportunity a couple of nights later and it rocked the house. This was basically an apology to the ECW Originals for the new ECW sucking so bad. The scary thing is that none of the New Breed are actively wrestling for WWE.

Rating: 2.25

6. Lashley defeated Umaga by pinfall

A lot of people are pretty hard on this match, but it wasn't horrible considering that Lashley was involved in it. It was late 90s style wrestling and it worked okay for these two.

Rating: 2.25

7. Melina defeated Ashley by pinfall

This is another match that just totally just killed the crowd and really shouldn't have been on the card. Ashley is one of the worst Diva wrestlers ever.

Rating: .25

8. John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels by submission

***Match Of The Night***

This was great stuff from two guys who were really on a roll at this point. This was a great way to end the show and the crowd ate it up.

Rating: 4.25

This is kind of an odd show. The first and last matches are absolute must-see's and the Undertaker/Batista showdown is definitely worth a look as well. The whole Trump/McMahon is what made this show go over the 1 million buy mark, so if you were into that, you probably loved this show. This was my first WrestleMania that I attended live, so I am a little biased towards this one, but it seems like this one got a fairly favorable reaction. So with that being said, this is definitely a top ten WrestleMania, but definitely not top five.

Overall Rating: 89%

Royal Rumble 2007

2010-09-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

1. The Hardyz defeated MNM by pinfall

This was a solid opener, but went on a little long. Still, you can't fault these guys as both teams gave a good effort, even if MNM gained absolutely nothing from this feud.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Lashley defeated Test by countout

Why would a contender for the title walk away from the match? It makes no sense to me. We all knew Lashley was going to win, so why protect Test?

Rating: .5

3. Batista defeated Mr. Kennedy by pinfall

Kennedy looked okay in there and Batista showed no signs of the man who would have a great feud with Undertaker a few months later. This wasn't horrible, but it was hardly memorable.

Rating: 1.5

4. John Cena defeated Umaga in a Last Man Standing Match

***Match Of The Night***

This was absolutely awesome. Cena was on a hot streak and Umaga was really coming into his own. This was intense and action-packed from bell to bell. This was not only the match of the show, but it was one of the best matches of the year and a great way to kick off 2007.

Rating: 4.5

5. Undertaker won the Royal Rumble

Undertaker finally got his win, as did the number 30 in this solid Rumble. There were definitely some lulls in this one, but it was entertaining enough and the last 15 minutes are great. This probably isn't the best Rumble, but it's on the upper half.

Rating: 3.5

Well, the two matches that took up about half of the show were good, so this gets an easy recommendation. Two of the matches are blah, but the Umaga/Cena match is absolutely worth seeing. Plus, the classic confrontation between Michaels and Undertaker is fun stuff, especially knowing what happened between the two later in the decade.

Overall Rating: 81%

Armageddon 2006

2010-09-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

1. Kane defeated MVP in an Inferno Match

This match seems like it would be cool in theory, but it is probably the most restricting stipulation match that I can think of. And since they aren't doing garbage wrestling, this is almost guaranteed to be dull and it was.

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. Paul London + Brian Kendrick defeated MNM, the Hardyz, and Dave Taylor + William Regal in a Ladder Match

***Match Of The Night***

This was an impromptu match that saved the show. This was absolutely awesome stuff as you would expect. Regal and Taylor added a unique aspect to the match and Joey Mercury's nose busting was absolutely disgusting. This is definitely must-see TV.

Rating: 4

3. The Boogeyman defeated The Miz by pinfall

From absolute awesome to horrible trash. The Miz was awful at this point and I don't think there was a worse actual wrestler under contract at this time than The Boogeyman.

Rating: 0

4. Chris Benoit defeated Chavo Guerrero by submission

For some reason Chavo really started declining in ability around this time and it showed here. This should have been great, but instead it was just good.

Rating: 2.75

5. Gregory Helms defeated Jimmy Wang Yang by pinfall

The crowd could have cared less about this match, but it was a solid bout. Helms is solid and Yang is very underrated. It's too bad Yang was saddled with a horrible gimmick.

Rating: 2.5

6. Undertaker defeated Mr. Kennedy in a Last Ride Match

I really wanted to love this match, but it just didn't get over the hump. Both guys gave a good effort, but it seemed to be lacking something. Kennedy's character was starting to get him over though.

Rating: 2.75

7. John Cena + Batista defeated King Booker + Finlay by pinfall

I have no problem with matches like this on pay-per-view, but this one was just too obvious who was going to come out on top. This was a typical TV main event, with some good action and a few sloppy spots. This was not really worthy of being the main event.

Rating: 2.75

Well, this show was most definitely saved by the ladder match. Those eight men gave a great effort and unfortunately it did nothing for the careers of London and Kendrick. There was a lot of solid stuff on the show, so it's definitely not a recommendation to avoid, but just don't go out of your way, especially if you've seen the ladder match.

Overall Rating: 67%

No Mercy 2006

2010-09-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

1. Matt Hardy defeated Gregory Helms by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

I know I am probably overrating this, since I've never seen anyone give this anywhere near the score I'm giving, but I really enjoyed this match. These guys know each other well and it showed. Lots of back and forth action and the crowd ate it up.

Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

2. Paul London + Brian Kendrick defeated Austin Idol + KC James by pinfall

Another good match from London and Kendrick. These guys were the best tag team the WWE had since earlier in the decade.

Rating: 3

3. MVP defeated Marty Garner by pinfall

This was meant to make MVP look like an arrogant jerk and in that aspect it worked. Nothing more than a squash, however.

Rating: .25

4. Mr. Kennedy defeated Undertaker by disqualification

I really wanted to like this match, but I just couldn't get into it. It was slow and I don't think Kennedy got enough offense in. Plus, why did the Undertaker go nuts at the end?

Rating: 1.75

5. Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was a fun brawl, even if it was a bit tame. There were some good spots and they kept up a good pace throughout the match.

Rating: 2.75

6. Chris Benoit defeated William Regal by submission

This was an "impromptu" match between two old favorites. This was good, but not as good as some claimed.

Rating: 2.75

7. King Booker defeated Finlay, Batista and Lashley by pinfall

This was a good four-way match, but far from great. Finlay was really the glue that held this match together and Booker played his character well.

Rating: 3

This was a surprisingly good show. I remember really liking it when I watched it live and it has held up fairly well. The first match is a personal favorite, but even without that match, this is worth your time. Check it out if you get a chance, even if it's not at the top of your list.

Overall Rating: 79%

Survivor Series 2002

2010-09-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

1. Bubba Dudley, Spike Dudley + Jeff Hardy defeated Three Minute Warning in a Tables Match

This is exactly what you want out of your opener and more. Lots of energy, lots of brawling and a great surprise ending that the MSG crowd ate up. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Billy Kidman defeated Jamie Noble by pinfall to win the Cruiserweight Championship

Another good match that kept the crowd going. Jamie Noble was really good at this point and Kidman was motivated.

Rating: 3.25

3. Victoria defeated Trish Stratus by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This is one of my favorite women's matches ever. The first few minutes are absolutely great, but unfortunately it broke down a little bit at the end. Still, this was a great effort.

Rating: 2.5

4. Big Show defeated Brock Lesnar by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was one of the best five minute matches I've ever seen. Brock was the man and as I've said before, he and Big Show had great chemistry.

Rating: 2.75

5. Los Guerreros defeated Rey Mysterio + Edge and Kurt Angle + Chris Benoit by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

The three-way portion of this match is just awesome, but unfortunately they couldn't keep it up once Benoit and Angle were eliminated. That's all that kept this from being a classic.

Rating: 3.75

6. Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, and Kane by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was the first elimination chamber match and still one of the best. Shawn Michaels put on another show stopping performance and Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho also stood out in this one. A lot of drama and intensity in this one, which usually equals a high rating.

Rating: 4

Well, this show rocked. From top to bottom this is one of the most entertaining shows that WWE has ever put on. You could complain that there were five title changes and that there wasn't that all-time classic match on the card, but I think that's being picky. So no, this is not WrestleMania X-Seven, but it's right up there in entertainment value. Definitely check this show out.

Rating: 90%

SummerSlam 2006

2010-08-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

1. Chavo Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

This was a disappointing match, mostly because we know these guys are capable of more. However, it wasn't all their fault, as the match was weighed down by the angle.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Big Show defeated Sabu by pinfall

This was an entertaining match, but as expected it was very sloppy and short. Still, I've seen much worse.

Rating: 1.75

3. Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

Who would have thought that Hogan would fight in the first hour of a pay-per-view? Orton was doing all he could, but Hogan was just collecting a paycheck.

Rating: .75

4. Ric Flair defeated Mick Foley in an I Quit match

From one veteran slacking off to two veterans working their tails off. This was a high intensity battle and, aside from the ending, really good stuff. The ending hurts it overall, but you can't take away from either guys effort here.

Rating: 3.75

5. Batista defeated King Booker by disqualification

These guys had zero chemistry with one another and despite Booker's resurgence as the King of the WWE, he was starting to show his age.

Rating: .75

6. Shawn Michaels + Triple H defeated Shane + Vince McMahon by pinfall

This was overbooked and way over the top, but you can't deny that it was entertaining. It will never go down as an all-time classic, but it's definitely a good popcorn match.

Rating: 3

7. Edge defeated John Cena by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

These guys worked a great match that used both the stipulations and the time alotted wisely. Cena was really on a role here and Edge was at his peak as a heel. This is definitely one of the better SummerSlam main events.

Rating: 4

This show has not aged as well as I thought it would. Still, you have two of SummerSlam's greatest matches on the card and a fun DX match. It may not rank among the greatest shows, but it's better than your average show.

Overall Rating: 79%

Great American Bash 2006

2010-08-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

1. Paul London + Brian Kendrick defeated the Pitbulls by pinfall

This was a good match, but definitely could have been better. Still, you can't complain about a good tag team match.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Finlay defeated William Regal by pinfall

This was supposed to be a three way with Lashley as the lone face, but turned out to be heel vs. heel. That unfortunately hurt this match and it wasn't as good as it could have been.

Rating: 2.25

3. Gregory Helms defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

I liked this more than most, but I thought this match had some really good pacing and both guys gave a good effort. Usually when friends get in the ring, the results are usually positive.

Rating: 3.25

4. Undertaker defeated Big Show in a Punjabi Prison Match

Again, this was another match that was effected by a last minute substitution, but this was for the better. Anything is better than Khali, but unfortunately Big Show wasn't a huge one, especially at this point in his career. This was slow, but not as bad as I remembered.

Rating: 1.25

5. Ashley defeated Jillian, Michelle McCool and Kristal in a Bra & Panties Match

This was pretty bad. What a shock.

Rating: .25

6. Mr. Kennedy defeated Batista by disqualification

This was when I really thought Mr. Kennedy would become a star. He really stepped it up here and gave a great effort. Too bad he was an idiot and always got hurt.

Rating: 2.75

7. King Booker defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was a solid main event that featured Booker's first WWE Championship reign. I was a big fan of the King Booker character, even if he wasn't the performer he used to be at this point. Good ending to the show.

Rating: 3

Well, there were a lot of substitutions on this show, but at the same time there was really nothing worth going out of the way for. It's enjoyable as a whole, and if you're a Booker fan, you have to see his main event, but other than that, there's really no reason to go out of your way for this one.

Overall Rating: 66%

Vengeance 2006

2010-07-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

1. Randy Orton defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

This was a solid opener, about on par with their match at One Night Stand. I feel they could have done better, but this is still a good match.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Umaga defeated Eugene by pinfall

This was a squash match and I don't think anyone thought it would be competitive.

Rating: .25

3. Ric Flair defeated Mick Foley by disqualification

This was a huge letdown. Why even make this a two out of three falls match? It would have been just as effective as a normal match.

Rating: 1.25

4. Johnny Nitro defeated Carlito and Shelton Benjamin by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

These three guys were supposed to be a big part of the future of the WWE. Only one is left on the roster now. This was a fun match, however, and all three guys had moments.

Rating: 3.25

5. Rob Van Dam defeated Edge by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a much better match than I remembered it being. There were a lot of high spots and the last five minutes were very strong. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.75

6. Imposter Kane defeated Kane by pinfall

This was such a stupid angle that it was never brought up on WWE TV again after this match.

Rating: .25

7. John Cena defeated Sabu by pinfall

This was essentially a Raw main event, but it was crammed with a lot of action in a short time. Why the Kane match got more time than this is beyond me.

Rating: 2.5

8. D-Generation X defeated The Spirit Squad by pinfall

Everyone knew who would win this match, which is not a good sign when it's a 5-on-2. The action was solid, but it really did not deserve to be the main event.

Rating: 2.5

Well, this was definitely a disappointing show. The title match is really good, but beyond that, everything is pretty standard. The two duds on the show really drag it down and the disappointing Foley/Flair match doesn't do it any favors. I still would slightly recommend the show, but don't go out of your way unless you're a huge RVD or Edge fan.

Overall Rating: 70%

One Night Stand 2006

2010-07-11T13:44:00.001-07:00

1. Taz defeated Jerry Lawler by submission

This was just to get the crowd into it, which is fine. No one was expecting a classic anyways.

Rating: .25

2. Kurt Angle defeated Randy Orton by submission

The crowd was all over Orton this entire match. The beginning was basically Orton vs. the crowd, but once it got going, it was a solid match.

Rating: 3

3. The F.B.I. defeated Super Crazy and Tajiri by pinfall

This was four guys enjoying what they were doing. It was far from a classic, but this was a good match that was given a good amount of time.

Rating: 2.75

4. Sabu and Rey Mysterio fought to a no contest

This was great while it lasted, but the most disappointing thing was that they never had a rematch. If you were going to end it like this, why not have it go on another 5-10 minutes before this ending?

Rating: 3.25

5. Edge, Mick Foley, and Lita defeated Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, and Beulah by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was great stuff by four veterans that know how to put on a show. Sure, it wasn't flawless, but it was non-stop action despite their total age being close to 200 years. It was fun to see Mick Foley actually win a match, even if he was laid out at the time the pinfall was scored.

Rating: 4.25

6. Balls Mahoney defeated Masato Tanaka by pinfall

After such a great outing last year, you would have thought they would have given Tanaka another chance to shine. Instead he was basically squashed by Balls Mahoney. However, this was decent.

Rating: 2

7. Rob Van Dam defeated John Cena by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was a little slow at points, but still a classic moment. It was nice to see Cena play the heel, as the crowd was even more hostile than I thought they were going to be. I would have liked to have seen RVD look a little stronger in the match and I think Joey Styles missed a great opportunity to make a legendary call for RVD when he won, but they kind of just let the crowd do the talking. It's just too bad Van Dam blew it a few weeks later.

Rating: 3.25

This is an absolutely awesome show. The one thing you can say about the two One Night Stand shows (the ECW ones) is that the pacing is fantastic. You are never bored in either of the two shows and nothing seems too long. Top that off with a classic brawl and one of my favorite moments in WWE history and you have yourself a winner.

Overall Rating: 90%

Judgment Day 2006

2010-07-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

1. Paul London + Brian Kendrick defeated MNM by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

***Match Of The Night***

This was a great choice to open the show and a real fun match. London and Kendrick were pretty hot at the time and this was a showcase of some of the young talent in the WWE at the time.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Chris Benoit defeated Finlay by submission

This was an old-fashioned style match that the crowd stayed into. However, it was a bit slow and the finish was weak, hurting the match.

Rating: 2.75

3. Jillian defeated Melina by pinfall

This was surprisingly okay and a nice surprise to see Jillian actually win a match.

Rating: 1.25

4. Gregory Helms defeated Super Crazy by pinfall

This was a fun match that had a great beginning and ending. The middle dragged a tad, but this was a good effort.

Rating: 2.75

5. Mark Henry defeated Kurt Angle by countout

Angle seemed to be on a mission to make up for his poor Royal Rumble match with Henry. Unfortunately, the ending was so stupid that it hurt this. Why not just have Angle go nuts and get disqualified if you wanted the non-finish?

Rating: 2.5

6. Booker T defeated Lashley by pinfall

This of course led to King Booker and a career revitalization for Booker. The match was decent and Lashley was still pretty horrible at this point.

Rating: 2.25

7. Great Khali defeated Undertaker by pinfall

I remember being very surprised that Khali beat the Undertaker so cleanly. This was not a very good match, but far from Taker's worst monster match.

Rating: .5

8. Rey Mysterio defeated JBL by pinfall

This was not as good as their 2005 match and seemed to lack the spark that most Mysterio matches have. This wasn't bad, just disappointing.

Rating: 2.25

Watching this show again, I realized this was very much like a early to mid 90s style show. You had your Undertaker vs. a monster match, a tag team match that actually meant something, a new King of the Ring being crowned, and a face champion defeating a heel that you know had no chance of winning. And just like a show from that era, it was an entertaining three hours, but definitely not a classic. This is not a big thumbs up, but is definitely enjoyable, especially if you enjoyed the WWE during this time period.

Overall Rating: 71%

Backlash 2006

2010-06-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

1. Carlito defeated Chris Masters by pinfall

People seem to forget, but around this point in time, Carlito was pretty over. The WWE really didn't do anything to capitalize on it and he became even more lazy and the rest is history.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Umaga defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

This was Umaga's pay-per-view debut and he steamrolled over the Nature Boy. I remember being a little shocked that this was over as quickly as it was.

Rating: 1

3. Trish Stratus defeated Mickie James by disqualification

Well, things were going along just fine and then Trish got hurt. The ending was ad libbed and came across as silly, but you can't blame them for that. Unfortunately, there really wasn't a whole lot to the match, since the injury took place rather quickly.

Rating: .5

4. Rob Van Dam defeated Shelton Benjamin by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was a bit disappointing, as this was a match I had always wanted to see take place. Still, even though it was disappointing, it was the second best match of the night.

Rating: 3

5. Big Show and Kane fought to a no contest

This was horrible and it was a part of a horrible storyline. May 19th anyone?

Rating: .25

6. Shane and Vince McMahon defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

As far as handicap matches go, this wasn't bad, but handicap matches typically suck. This turned into a 7-on-1, as the Spirit Squad got involved and won the match for the McMahons.

Rating: 2.25

7. John Cena defeated Edge and Triple H by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Well, these guys knew they had to save the show and they most definitely did. What could have been a horrible show was made up by these three men giving it their all for nearly twenty minutes. There was never a dull moment and the crowd ate up every second of it.

Rating: 4

Well, like I said, the main event absolutely saved this show from being a bomb. Still, the card was not strong enough to make this a good one. Big Show/Kane insults your intelligence as a wrestling fan, while the McMahons/Michaels match could have easily been something a whole lot better. Stuff like that irritates you when you're paying good money to see a show and I just can't go out of my way to recommend this one.

Overall Rating: 67%

WrestleMania 22

2010-06-20T04:03:00.000-07:00

1. Kane + Big Show defeated Chris Masters + Carlito by pinfall

This was a strange choice for the opener, but it wasn't as bad as you would think. They all played their roles and Big Show finally gets a victory at WrestleMania.

Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

2. Rob Van Dam defeated Lashley, Matt Hardy, Finlay, Ric Flair, and Shelton Benjamin in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This was non-stop action, but possibly the weakest of the MITB matches. It was, however, a great moment for all Rob Van Dam fans, as he went on to win the title a few months later. Lashley really stuck out here as being very green.

Rating: 3.75

3. JBL defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall to win the United States Championship

Looking back, this one just has bad taste written all over it. Not only do we have Chris Benoit in there, but we have JBL mocking Eddie Guerrero. This match was disappointing, just like a lot of Chris Benoit's matches in 2006 and 2007.

Rating: 2

4. Edge defeated Mick Foley by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was just an unbelievable spectacle. I never thought I'd see someone get speared through a flaming table at WrestleMania, but it is a moment that no one who watched this show will ever forget. Both guys put it all on the line and it resulted in one of the best WWE matches of the decade.

Overall Rating: 4.75

5. The Boogeyman defeated Booker T + Sharmell by pinfall

Well, there had to be a letdown after that last match, right? Unfortunately this is one of the worst WWE matches of the decade. I'm not sure how they talked Booker into this one.

Rating: 0

6. Mickie James defeated Trish Stratus by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This is the best women's match in WrestleMania history. Now they did edit out some of Mickie's sexual heel acts and they also edited out part of the ending because it was botched really badly. However, finish aside, this was good stuff.

Rating: 3

7. Undertaker defeated Mark Henry in a Casket Match

Well, this sucked. Not as bad as some of his earlier WrestleMania matches, this just wasn't up to par with a lot of his recent matches. His dive over the casket was pretty sweet though.

Rating: .75

8. Shawn Michaels defeated Vince McMahon by pinfall

This was without a doubt entertaining, but a little too one-sided to really make it anything beyond that. This is what we all wish the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon could have been like at WrestleMania 26. Shawn did all he could and Vince was Vince.

Rating: 3.25

9. Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Randy Orton by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This is ragged on mostly because it is under 10 minutes long and it was a title match. But you can't rag on the three guys in this match, as they put on a good show. The middle slowed down for just a little, but the beginning and end were golden.

Rating: 3.25

10. Torrie Wilson defeated Candice Michelle by pinfall

More garbage. Why even have this on the card?

Rating: 0

11. John Cena defeated Triple H by submission

This is without a doubt one of the most overrated WrestleMania matches of all time. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining, but a lot of people think this is among the best mostly due to the crowd. Watch any Cena match around this era and the crowd really isn't that much different. This isn't really that much better than HHH/Orton at WrestleMania 25 and people HATE that match. Cena has had a lot better matches than this one and so has Triple H.

Rating: 2.75

This WrestleMania is a real mixed bag. On one hand, you have perhaps the craziest brawl in WWE history, a good ladder match, one of the greatest women's matches in WWE history, a great feel good moment, and a real good popcorn match featuring Mr. WrestleMania. However, the Boogeyman, the Playboy match, the casket match, and the disappointing JBL/Benoit match really hold this one down. Still, there is way too much good here to not rate this one high. Good show, but it's too bad they didn't give the Rey match more time by eliminating some of the garbage.

Overall Rating: 87%

No Way Out 2006

2010-06-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

1. Gregory Helms defeated Super Crazy, Psicosis, Brian Kendrick, Paul London, Kid Kash, Nunzio, Funaki, and Scotty 2 Hotty by pinfall

Unfortunately, the WWE never gave the fans a reason to care about the cruiserweights and these were the only types of matches they reacted to. This was solid action and of course a little cluttered.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. JBL defeated Lashley by pinfall

So JBL loses to Boogeyman in 2 minutes, even though they have no plans to push him beyond a mid-card comedy act. Then he beats Lashley, whom they planned on pushing to the moon. Why does this not make any sense?

Rating: 1

3. Matt Hardy + Tatanka defeated MNM by pinfall

This was a part of Tatanka's brief comeback stint and he actually didn't look too horrible here. The match wasn't bad, but I expected a little bit more. Hardy looked sharp though.

Rating: 2.5

4. Chris Benoit defeated Booker T by submission to win the United States Championship

I don't know if it's because of the whole murder or what, but Benoit during this era just seemed to be going through the motions around this time. Perhaps it's just because I (along with everyone else) look at him so differently. This was the best of their three pay-per-view matches, but none of them were great.

Rating: 3

5. Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

This is a fantastic match and one of Orton's best up to this point. A lot may not agree with that statement, but these two kept up a great pace throughout and storyline aside, put on a really well-worked match.

Rating: 3.75

6. Kurt Angle defeated Undertaker by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Absolutely fantastic. This was two pros going out there and putting on a show. If you like submission wrestling, there's no reason you won't enjoy this one and even if you don't, the pacing and the story will win you over. Great way to end a very underrated show.

Rating: 4

Well, this is without a doubt one of the best Smackdown pay-per-views ever. From top to bottom, everything is at least entertaining and every match was given enough time to tell their story. Three of the matches were over the 15 minute mark and that seems to be pretty rare in the WWE these days. The last two matches are well worth your time, as they both delivered.

Overall Rating: 82%

Royal Rumble 2006

2010-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

1. Gregory Helms defeated Funaki, Nunzio, Kid Kash, Jamie Noble, and Paul London to win the Cruiserweight Championship

This was what you would expect from a match like this and that's okay with me. I have no problem with matches like this getting air time.

Rating: 2.75

2. Mickie James defeated Ashley by pinfall

They gave this more time than you would think, especially since it was just there to further the Trish/Mickie storyline. The match felt like it was in slow motion and Ashley was not in wrestling shape here.

Rating: .25

3. Boogeyman defeated JBL by pinfall

Wow, who would have thought JBL would have gotten squashed like this at a big show? Not sure how they talked him into that one.

Rating: 0

4. Rey Mysterio won the Royal Rumble

As badly as he tried, the rest of the booking did not really help him. Had it not been for the last 10 minutes or so, this would have been very average. It was nice to see Rey finally win something important though.

Rating: 3

5. John Cena defeated Edge by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

***Match Of The Night***

They would go on to have much better matches, but this was fun. It sucks they took the belt off of Edge so quickly, but it did establish him as a main event player.

Rating: 3

6. Kurt Angle defeated Mark Henry by pinfall

This may be the worst Angle pay-per-view match that I can think of. The only reason this was last was for a stupid Undertaker special effect craptacular that was nothing but embarassing. Stupid.

Rating: .75

Well, there was some okay stuff here and everyone likes the Royal Rumble, but there was just too much crap to really make it something to go out of your way for. They usually don't screw up the Rumble anymore, but this is very mediocre.

Overall Rating: 64%

New Year's Revolution 2006

2010-06-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

1. Ric Flair defeated Edge by disqualification

I remember watching this live and being very disappointed with the abrupt ending. The writers definitely proved me wrong later on.

Rating: 2.25

2. Trish Stratus defeated Mickie James by pinfall

This was a nice Divas match and one they would improve on at WrestleMania.

Rating: 2

3. Jerry Lawler defeated Gregory Helms by pinfall

This makes no sense to me at all. Why give Helms this big change and then job him to a retired wrestler? Anyways, it was a million times better than Lawler's match at NYR the year before.

Rating: 1.75

4. Triple H defeated Big Show by pinfall

Wow, talk about a surprise here. Great storytelling by two old pros who often get ragged on by the IWC.

Rating: 3.25

5. Shelton Benjamin defeated Viscera by pinfall

Poor Shelton. He just never could catch a break. This was pretty bad and Mama did not help.

Rating: .75

6. Ashley defeated Victoria, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Mae Young, and Candice Michelle in a Bra and Panties Match

Well, what can you really say about this?

Rating: .5

7. John Cena defeated Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, Shawn Michaels, and Kurt Angle

***Match Of The Night***

This was much better than most people thought it would be, even if we all knew once Michaels was gone, Cena would win no matter what. What we didn't know was what would happen next.

Rating: 3.5

8. Edge defeated John Cena by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

The first ever cashing in of the Money In The Bank briefcase had the wrestling community buzzing and rightfully so. Great ending to the show.

Rating: .5

Before the big moment at the end, this was just a mediocre show, but those two minutes or so of Edge's big moment bump this show up a notch. Now that's how you end a pay-per-view.

Overall Rating: 71%

Armageddon 2005

2010-06-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

1. JBL defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

This makes no sense to me. They move Hardy to Smackdown after a successful feud with Edge and they job him in the opening match of a pay-per-view? Then to top it off, JBL loses his next pay-per-view match in 2 minutes. I don't get it. Luckily, both guys put in a good effort here and made the best of it.

Rating: 2.75

2. MNM defeated The Mexicools by pinfall

This was a good tag team match by two teams that never got a fair run. MNM was really coming into their own and it's a shame they never even got a WrestleMania moment together.

Rating: 3

3. Chris Benoit defeated Booker T by submission

This was better than their Survivor Series match for sure, even if the middle was pretty dull. The crowd hung with them and they made up for it with a solid ending.

Rating: 2.75

4. Lashley defeated William Regal + Paul Burchill by pinfall

The crowd was absolutely dead for this match. Yes, Lashley looked impressive, but he had to have been one of the most dull guys Vince ever pushed to the moon.

Rating: 1.25

5. Kid Kash defeated Juventud Guerrera by pinfall to win the Cruiserweight Championship

The crowd wasn't all that into this one and unfortunately it really hurt it because they were supposed to be reacting to the fact that Kash kicked out of everything Juvy threw at him. Still, it was an entertaining match.

Rating: 2.5

6. Kane + Big Show defeated Rey Mysterio + Batista

This had a TV main event feel to it and I mean that in a good way. Batista was hurt here, so Mysterio had to step it up a notch and he most definitely did.

Rating: 3

7. Undertaker defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is really pretty underrated by most. The pacing in this match was much better than one would expect for a 30 minute match between these two. Not a classic, but a worthy main event.

Rating: 3.5

This is from top to bottom a very solid show. I seem to be in the minority, but there's really no reason to hate this show. There are a few bad booking decisions, but nothing so bad to turn you off. This is a good effort from the B-show and something worth checking out, especially if you are a big Taker or Orton fan.

Overall Rating: 79%

Survivor Series 2005

2010-06-13T12:17:00.001-07:00

1. Booker T defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall

Talk about disappointing. I did enjoy this more live, but it really has not held up well.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Trish Stratus defeated Melina by pinfall

If it weren't for a few sloppy spots, this would have been a little bit better. Still, it was entertaining enough.

Rating: 1

3. Triple H defeated Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing Match

***Match Of The Night***

I really liked this match quite a bit. They kept up a good pace and it was appropriately violent. Nice work.

Rating: 3.75

4. John Cena defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

The match was going well and the crowd was hot, but then the silly booking kicked in and really ruined what would have been a fine match.

Rating: 3.25

5. Teddy Long defeated Eric Bischoff by pinfall

This is the best they could come up with? The crowd crapped all over this one and rightfully so. This is one of the worst pay-per-view matches in WWE history.

Rating: 0

6. Randy Orton, JBL, Rey Mysterio, Lashley, and Batista defeated Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane, and Big Show by pinfall

This was a good match, but it just seemed to be lacking that something special. Michaels put on a great performance, as always and Rey was also a standout.

Survivor: Randy Orton

Rating: 3.5

Most people don't like this show and I'm sure a good reason why I like it is because I attended it live. But I have now watched it a few times on DVD and I still enjoy it. It's not an all time classic by any means, but you got three good matches that take up most of the running time. To me, that's worthy of a recommendation.

Overall Rating: 80%

Taboo Tuesday 2005

2010-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

1. Matt Hardy + Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Masters + Snitsky by pinfall

This was a good opener and the crowd was extremely into it, making it all the better. There were a few sloppy spots, but overall it served it's purpose.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Eugene + Jimmy Snuka defeated Rob Conway + Tomko by pinfall

This was garbage, as expected.

Rating: .5

3. Mankind defeated Carlito by pinfall

This is one of the few victories Foley has had since he came back from retirement. Unfortunately, it meant nothing.

Rating: 2.25

4. Kane + Big Show defeated Cade + Murdoch by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

This was better than it had any right to be, but you won't mistake this one for a classic any time soon.

Rating: 2.25

5. Batista defeated Jonathan Coachman by pinfall

This was supposed to be Steve Austin, but the result wouldn't have been any better. Stupid.

Rating: 0

6. Trish Stratus won a battle royal

This could have been a whole lot worse. The ending kept the Mickie/Trish story going and that was it's purpose.

Rating: .75

7. Ric Flair defeated Triple H by escape in a Steel Cage Match

This was good, just not as good as most people hyped it up as. This was most definitely a throwback to the old NWA type matches of the 80s. Good emotion in this one from both performers.

Rating: 3.5

8. John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is one of the most underrated matches of the decade. This was great stuff and the crowd was super hot all the way through. This was right around the peak of "Cena Sucks" and it always made for a great atmosphere. Very good match.

Rating: 4.25

Well, the last hour is well worth your time. The rest is very skippable and some of it is just flat out bad. However, when you have a main event on that level, the show is usually worth checking out, especially since it doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Overall Rating: 75%

No Mercy 2005

2010-06-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

1. Legion Of Doom + Christy Hemme defeated MNM + Melina by pinfall

This wasn't very good, but considering who was involved, that isn't really that surprising.

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. Lashley defeated Simon Dean by pinfall

This was just a squash, which I guess it served it's purpose. Too bad Lashley was a waste of time.

Rating: .5

3. Chris Benoit defeated Christian, Booker T, + Orlando Jordan by submission

This was very disappointing. This had a lot of potential and it didn't live up to any of it.

Rating: 2.25

4. Mr. Kennedy defeated Hardcore Holly by pinfall

This was basically an extended squash for another guy that didn't pay off in the long run. Not bad, but not anywhere near great either.

Rating: 2.25

5. JBL defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

This was a fun match and both guys put in a good effort. They weren't able to take it to that next level, but what we got was good, solid action.

Rating: 3

6. Randy Orton + Bob Orton defeated Undertaker in a Casket Match

This was pretty dull and ineffective. Sure, Randy came out a heel, but he had to have a man advantage to beat the Undertaker.

Rating: 2

7. Juventud Guerrera defeated Nunzio by pinfall to win the Cruiserweight Championship

This was solid, but the crowd didn't respond much. It's hard to care about wrestlers when the company that promotes them doesn't care either.

Rating: 2.25

8. Batista defeated Eddie Guerrero by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Things started off well, then slowed down, then really kicked into the next gear. Unfortunately, just as they hit the next gear, it was over. Eddie was working his butt off here and it's too bad that they felt the match should end with a spinebuster.

Rating: 3.25

This was not a very good show. Only 2 of the 8 matches rated at a 3 or better. That's not something worth paying $40 for. If you're a big Eddie or Batista fan, the main event is worth watching, even if it's just to see Eddie's last pay-per-view match. Other than that, you can most definitely skip this show.

Overall Rating: 49%

Unforgiven 2005

2010-05-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

1. Ric Flair defeated Carlito by submission to win the Intercontinental Championship

The match itself was just okay, but the crowd reaction to the Nature Boy winning the gold was phenomenal. Great moment.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Trish Stratus + Ashley defeated Victoria + Torrie Wilson by pinfall

This was actually pretty good. Ashley was horrible, but Trish and Victoria both looked really good here.

Rating: 1.5

3. Big Show defeated Snitsky by pinfall

To be honest, watching these old shows has shown me that Snitsky is not as horrible as I thoughe he was. Don't get me wrong, I don't like him, but he is not nearly as bad as I remembered.

Rating: 1.5

4. Shelton Benjamin defeated Kerwin White by pinfall

This one was a disappointment and the crowd really wasn't into this one. Kerwin White was actually a pretty funny character, even if it had no chance of being anything but a comedy bit.

Rating: 2

5. Matt Hardy defeated Edge by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was an absolutely fantastic match and probably the best of Matt Hardy's singles career. The pace was fast-paced for about twenty minutes and both men played their parts extremely well. Awesome match.

Rating: 4.25

6. Cade + Murdoch defeated Hurricane + Rosey by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

This was okay wrestling, but it really didn't do anything for me. This was just to get the young guys over.

Rating: 1.5

7. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Masters by pinfall

The first half of this match was okay, but the last portion was really well done. Leave it to Shawn Michaels to have a good match with Chris Masters.

Rating: 3.25

8. Kurt Angle defeated John Cena by disqualification

It always hurts when the main event finshes with a DQ, but the match itself was really entertaining. The feud must continue.

Rating: 3.5

Talk about an overachieving show. I really didn't have that high of hopes for this one and they exceeded my expectations here. You have one of the best WWE matches of 2005 on the card and a lot of good, solid wrestling. There is some mediocre stuff here, but it's an entertaining show overall.

Overall Rating: 81%

SummerSlam 2005

2010-05-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

1. Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan by submission to win the United States Championship

If there ever was a squash on a pay-per-view that actually deserved to be a squash, this was it. Jordan was not going anywhere and Benoit, at the time, deserved this moment.

Rating: .25 (out of 5)

2. Edge defeated Matt Hardy by ref stoppage

I liked this more than most, but it was still a huge disappointment. I think if this happened at a smaller pay-per-view, it would have been viewed differently. This essentially was just set up for the cage match at Unforgiven.

Rating: 1.5

3. Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match

***Match Of The Night***

This was awesome stuff, as expected. The storyline still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but the over-the-top booking worked pretty well here.

Rating: 4

4. Kurt Angle defeated Eugene by submission

This was essentially an extended squash, but man was it entertaining. Angle was in top form here.

Rating: 1.75

5. Randy Orton defeated Undertaker by pinfall

Most people seem to like this better than their match at WrestleMania 21, but I have to disagree. This seemed to have more rest spots and they just didn't gel like they did at Mania.

Rating: 3

6. John Cena defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

This was Jericho's last pay-per-view match for over two years and it was a very solid outing. This was when the whole Cena backlash was really starting to become noticeable.

Rating: 3.5

7. Batista defeated JBL by pinfall

This was about 10 times better than I thought it would be. Far from great, it was at least entertaining and the booking made sense.

Rating: 2

8. Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

Sadly, Hogan wasn't even near the shape he was in for his WrestleMania match with The Rock, but Michaels did a fantastic job making this entertaining. The crowd was off the charts, as one would expect, and the result was a predictable, but fun throwback match.

Rating: 3

This was another really good show from the WWE in 2005. All of the matches delivered and they all felt important, which is hard to do these days. From top to bottom, there is no doubt this is one of the best SummerSlam events in it's 20+ year history.

Overall Rating: 84%

One Night Stand 2005

2010-05-30T04:09:00.000-07:00

1. Lance Storm defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

This was a good opener, even if it was a bit shorter. It was nice to see Storm back in the ring with fans actually reacting to him. Does Jericho just let everyone beat him?

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Super Crazy defeated Tajiri and Little Guido by pinfall

The first half of this match was great stuff, but it lost a lot of steam as it went on. It's too bad Super Crazy never caught on in WWE, because when he was motivated, he was capable of some good matches.

Rating: 2.75

3. Rey Mysterio defeated Psicosis by pinfall

These two rivals were a little off on this night, but this is still an enjoyable match. The crowd didn't dig this one as much as some of the others, however.

Rating: 2.75

4. Sabu defeated Rhino by pinfall

This was a pretty typical brawl, but one you don't see much in the WWE anymore. Enjoyable, but nothing special.

Rating: 2.5

5. Chris Benoit defeated Eddie Guerrero by submission

This was the most disappointing match on the card. These two have crazy chemistry, but this one came off a bit flat.

Rating: 2.75

6. Mike Awesome defeated Masato Tanaka by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was as hard hitting of a match that you'll see. Tanaka absolutely got destroyed at the end and the action was non-stop from bell to bell. It seemed to be missing something to put it into classic territory, but this is definitely worth a viewing.

Rating: 3.75

7. The Dudleyz defeated Sandman + Tommy Dreamer by pinfall

This was classic ECW at it's finest. Nonsense brawling, tons of interferences, and lots and lots of blood. Great way to cap off a fine evening.

Rating: 3.5

Not every match is awesome by any means and the amount of wrestling on this show is a lot less than a typical pay-per-view, but the pacing and action make up for that. All of the promos were memorable as well and the crowd was just off the charts. This was a great night that remembered ECW for the things they did right.

Overall Rating: 85%

Judgment Day 2005

2010-05-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

1. MNM defeated Charlie Haas + Hardcore Holly by pinfall

This is your text book opener that was fast paced and entertaining. MNM looked like a team on the rise, which was it's sole purpose.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Carlito defeated Big Show by pinfall

This was pretty silly, especially in retrospect. But then again, Big Show is a guy that can lose a hundred in a row and most people will consider him a threat, so I guess I can see why they did this.

Rating: .5

3. Paul London defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was extremely disappointing. This was one of the matches that really intrigued me about this show and they didn't even come close to what they were capable of.

Rating: 2

4. Booker T defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

This storyline was horrible and the match was another disappointment. These guys can do better in their sleep.

Rating: 2.5

5. Orlando Jordan defeated Heidenreich by pinfall

Talk about a dream match. Who thought this was a good idea? Orlando Jordan has to be one of the most boring wrestlers to have lasted as long as he did.

Rating: .75

6. Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero by pinfall

Not as good as their WrestleMania match, even though they got a lot more time to work with. Again, this was not the best storyline and it overshadowed some of their matches.

Rating: 3.5

7. John Cena defeated JBL by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is a great throwback to the late 90's style of main events. Just a flat out brawl that covered up the limitations of the two competitors. It's too bad they couldn't have had this at WrestleMania.

Rating: 3.75

Well, this show is worth watching for the last two matches. There is some okay stuff the rest of the way, but Smackdown just wasn't really clicking at this point. Still worth checking out, especially if you're a Cena fan, but not worth going out of your way for it.

Overall Rating: 70%

Backlash 2005

2010-05-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

1. Shelton Benjamin defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

I loved this match. Of course, I love both performers, so I'm a tad biased, but this was great stuff. Great opener.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

2. Rosey + Hurricane defeated The Heart Throbs, Maven + Simon Dean, William Regal + Tajiri, and La Resistance to win the Tag Team Championships

These matches are what they are, time killers. The action wasn't bad, but there's just really no way that these matches can be much better than average.

Rating: 1.5

3. Edge defeated Chris Benoit in a Last Man Standing Match

This would have been a great Raw main event, but it fell a little flat in terms of being a big match. Don't get me wrong, it's solid stuff and the horrible crowd didn't help it, but I think they had more epic expectations.

Rating: 3

4. Kane defeated Viscera by pinfall

Another time killer. Next.

Rating: .75

5. Hulk Hogan + Shawn Michaels defeated Muhammad Hassan + Daivari by pinfall

The match was fun to watch, but did anyone think the heels had any shot? I mean I guess there was the chance the Shawn would turn on Hogan, but that didn't happen until later on.

Rating: 2.75

6. Batista defeated Triple H by pinfall

Now this was a lot better. They improved on their WrestleMania match in every way possible. The pacing was a lot better and they told a much better story.

Rating: 3.25

There is some good stuff on this show and really only one bad match. For a single branded show, that's about all you can ask for. The dead crowd hurt a lot of the matches, but the performers for the most part gave a solid effort. Solid show.

Overall Rating: 81%

WrestleMania 21

2010-05-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

1. Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero by pinfall

Well, you know you're in for a good night when this is your opener. Great stuff from these two and possibly the best match of this storyline.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

2. Edge defeated Chris Benoit, Christian, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, and Kane in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This was non-stop goodness. Shelton turned in a star-making performance and Edge walked out the cowardly but victorious heel. It's just too bad they didn't know what to do with Shelton after this.

Rating: 4.75

3. Undertaker defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

Since the whole streak thing began, there have been very few times where I thought there was a shot it might end. This was one of them. This was one of Orton's better matches at the time and he showed he could be a worthwhile heel.

Rating: 3.5

4. Trish Stratus defeated Christy Hemme by pinfall

Well, the awesome streak ends here. There was a lot of talk of Christy winning here, but the WWE did the right thing.

Rating: .75

5. Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels by submission

***Match Of The Night***

A dream match in every way possible, these two did not let us down on the biggest stage of the year. Does Shawn know how to have a bad match? I can't remember the last bad pay-per-view showing he had?

Rating: 5

6. Akebono defeated Big Show in a Sumo Match

This is where the show gets a little questionable. Why couldn't they have done this at Judgment Day or something?

Rating: N/R

7. John Cena defeated JBL by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

If you didn't know this was a title match, it'd be hard to prove that it was. This was booked like a house show match, which is a shame because this should have been a big moment.

Rating: 1.75

8. Batista defeated Triple H by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

A lot of people tend to like this match and I don't see it. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but it certainly isn't main event worthy. I only have this .25 higher than Triple H/Orton at WrestleMania 25 and people won't stop complaining about that one.

Rating: 2.25

Well, the first half is unbelievable, containing three of my favorite WrestleMania matches ever. I'm not a huge Batista fan and I'm somewhere in the middle when it comes to Cena, so those WrestleMania moments didn't mean as much to me as they did to some people, but the matches were nothing special. Still, there is no doubt that when you have one of the greatest matches ever and one of the best ladder matches ever on the same card that you have a special evening. WrestleMania 21 is without question among the best shows I have seen.

Overall Rating: 92%

Royal Rumble 2005

2010-05-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

1. Edge defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

Wow, on paper, this is quite the opener. This was a fun match, even if the ending was a bit botched.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. Undertaker defeated Heidenreich in a Casket Match

This was actually a pretty entertaining match. Trust me, I'm shocked that I even wrote that.

Rating: 2

3. JBL defeated Big Show and Kurt Angle by pinfall

This was a really good triple threat match and I was expecting one. These three guys really worked well with one another and delivered in a spot where they didn't necessarily have to.

Rating: 3.75

4. Triple H defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

This was one of their better matches together. Most people don't agree, but I thought it told a good story and it led to Orton's heel turn.

Rating: 3.5

5. Batista won the Royal Rumble

***Match Of The Night***

This is my favorite Rumble of all time, which is saying something because I did not see this show live. The ending was kind of strange, but the rest was non-stop.

Rating: 4.25

This is without a doubt one of the best non-WrestleMania shows of all time. I haven't really heard anyone else who has said that, but I can't name too many shows that were this good all the way through that didn't have the name WrestleMania attached to it. It was nice to see them bounce back from a couple of duds the previous months.

Overall Rating: 96%

New Year's Revolution 2005

2010-05-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

1. Eugene + William Regal defeated Christian + Tomko by pinfall

This was going okay until Eugene got hurt pretty badly. Before that, it was a decent tag match.

Rating: 2.25

2. Trish Stratus defeated Lita by pinfall

Another match, another injury. This time it was Lita. I actually thought this would be a good match, so it was kind of a shame.

Rating: .5

3. Shelton Benjamin defeated Maven by pinfall

This could have been an exciting match, as both guys were at least good athletes, but instead the WWE gave us this crap. Which was really smart, since this show ended way early.

Rating: .25

4. Muhammad Hassan defeated Jerry Lawler by pinfall

Another great match. What were they thinking? Hassan could barely wrestle, let alone against a guy who is 15 years past his prime.

Rating: .25

5. Kane defeated Snitsky by pinfall

These guys put on better matches than you would expect, but on a show with so many duds, this one looked like a classic.

Rating: 1.5

6. Triple H defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Batista, and Edge by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a really good match up until it came down to Evolution. The first half is golden and it nearly saved this dog of a show.

Rating: 3.75

I would have been pretty mad if I paid for this show live. The crowd was among the best I have ever seen and this is what they gave them? They owe Puerto Rico another pay-per-view to make up for this. The main eventers put on a good show, but that was expected, the rest is worthless.

Overall Rating: 46%

Armageddon 2004

2010-05-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

1. Rob Van Dam + Rey Mysterio defeated Kenzo Suzuki + Rene Dupree by pinfall

I really wanted to like this match but Suzuki and Dupree just suck all the fun out of everything. Plus neither RVD or Mysterio were extremely motivated, and honestly can you blame them?

Rating: 2.5

2. Kurt Angle defeated Santa Claus by submission

This was just to make up for the poor booking decision later on.

Rating: .25

3. Daniel Puder defeated Mike Mizanin by crowd reaction

This was for Tough Enough and not a wrestling match. The Miz should have won.

Rating: N/R

4. The Bashams defeated Charlie Haas + Hardcore Holly by pinfall

The Bashams are one of my least favorite teams of all time. That doesn't usually add up to a good match.

Rating: .75

5. John Cena defeated Jesus by pinfall

This was one-sided and boring. I don't blame the performers, just the booking.

Rating: .5

6. Dawn Marie defeated Miss Jackie by pinfall

Man, is this a horrible show or what?

Rating: 0

7. Big Show defeated Kurt Angle, Mark Jindrak, + Luther Reigns by pinfall

Yeah, it's really smart to have one guy defeat three guys. This was so stupid, even if two of the guys were Jindrak and Reigns, who were both awful.

Rating: 1

8. Funaki defeated Spike Dudley by pinfall to win the Cruiserweight Championship

This was kind of a neat moment, but in the long run, it pretty much meant nothing.

Rating: 1.75

9. JBL defeated Undertaker, Booker T, and Eddie Guerrero by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This had some flashes of brilliance, but hit a wall a few times as well. I loved JBL before and after the match and Eddie brought his usual greatness as well. Solid main event, but it couldn't save this horrible show.

Rating: 3

Well, this was really bad. Smackdown was just a bad show at this point and thankfully Cena pumped some life into the show in 2005. The undercard is one of the worst I can ever think of on a WWE show, well until probably the next pay-per-view they put on.

Overall Rating: 38%

Survivor Series 2004

2010-04-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

1. Spike Dudley defeated Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, and Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was a really good match and it was nice to see them get a little bit of time. Spike was probably the least deserving to win, but at least they were trying to get him over as a heel.

Rating: 3.5

2. Shelton Benjamin defeated Christian by pinfall

I would have thought that these two would be headlining pay-per-views by now, but unfortunately that's not the case. Still, these two can go and it was fun watching them here.

Rating: 3.5

3. John Cena, Eddie Guerrero, Big Show, and Rob Van Dam defeated Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak, and Carlito by pinfall

It's a crime that this was so short. Not that it would have been a classic or anything, but it sure would have been good stuff. At least the opening matches got some time.

Survivors: John Cena, Eddie Guerrero, Big Show

Rating: 2.25

4. Undertaker defeated Heidenreich by pinfall

Again, this was better than expected, but I don't understand why Undertaker won so convincingly. Why put a guy like Heidenreich in there and have him lose? It certainly didn't help his career any.

Rating: 1.25

5. Trish Stratus defeated Lita by disqualification

This was just a storyline, not a match.

Rating: .25

6. JBL defeated Booker T by pinfall

I don't think many people thought Booker was going to win, but this was a pretty good effort from the two veterans. They had a lot more chemistry than you would think.

Rating: 2.75

7. Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, + Maven defeated Triple H, Edge, Snitsky, + Batista by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was another good Survivor Series main event. Not quite as good as 2003's, but still a really good match that made Orton look like a star.

Survivor: Randy Orton

Rating: 3.5

Well, I liked this show, but I didn't love it. Three matches were at the 3.5 mark, which is good, but it certainly doesn't make for a classic. I doubt you will be bored with this one, with really only one match worth skipping.

Overall Rating: 77%

Taboo Tuesday 2004

2010-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

1. Shelton Benjamin defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

It baffles me how Benjamin isn't a star. He was getting good pops at this time and was putting on good matches. It's a shame that he's a jobber to the stars these days.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Trish Stratus defeated Nidia, Gail Kim, Victoria, Jazz, Stacy, and Molly Holly in a Battle Royal

This was just an excuse to look at the divas.

Rating: .5

3. Snitsky defeated Kane by pinfall

This was much better than I think anyone expected, even if it was a tad on the long side. Still, this is actually decent.

Rating: 2

4. Eugene defeated Eric Bischoff by pinfall

WWE loved embarassing Bischoff, but this is a waste to put it on a pay-per-view. Next.

Rating: 0

5. Chris Benoit + Edge defeated La Resistance by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

This was a solid match, but it was more about getting Edge over as a heel. I'm not sure if you heard, but that worked out pretty well for him.

Rating: 2.75

6. Christy Hemme defeated Carmella by pinfall

This was another great example of how to waste pay-per-view time. Why?

Rating: 0

7. Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

I probably have this overrated, but it's hard not to watch this and think how amazing it is that Shawn Michaels actually survived this match. There is no way he should have even been out there.

Rating: 3

8. Randy Orton defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is a great cage match, even if it is much too short. This is one of Flair's best matches of his WWE tenure.

Rating: 4

Well, this one was full of peaks and valleys. Two terrible matches that are among the worst in WWE pay-per-view history. Then there is the the great cage match, the heroic effort by Shawn Michaels, and a fun opener in Jericho/Benjamin. Definitely not a great show by any means, but they invented fast forward for a reason. Use it on this one.

Overall Rating: 68%

Unforgiven 2004

2010-04-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

1. Chris Benoit + William Regal defeated Ric Flair + Batista by submission

Now this was a good tag team match. Batista was showing signs of improvement, but watching the three veterans in there was good fun.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Trish Stratus defeated Victoria by pinfall

This was a real solid wrestling match here. Trish's character development really help put her over as someone you wanted to watch in the ring.

Rating: 2.25

3. Tomko defeated Stevie Richards by pinfall

Unfortunately, that led to this. Why the referee let this go on so long is beyond me? The crowd turned on the angle within seconds and this was just torture to watch.

Rating: 0

4. Chris Jericho defeated Christian in a Ladder Match to win the Intercontinental Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This match doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves. Okay, it's obvious that I love both of these guys, but still, just because they didn't have any death defying spots, doesn't mean this doesn't rule.

Rating: 4

5. Shawn Michaels defeated Kane by pinfall

Does Shawn Michaels ever have bad matches? There certainly aren't many.

Rating: 3

6. La Resistance defeated Tajiri + Rhyno by pinfall

Hey, another pretty good tag match. I actually really liked the team of Tajiri + Rhyno. It's just too bad they never did anything with them.

Rating: 2

7. Triple H defeated Randy Orton by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

And just like that, the Orton era is over. This was an okay match and their first of many over the years.

Rating: 2.5

Well, minus the one absolutely horrible match, this was actually a pretty good show. Raw was the better show at this time, but that isn't saying much because this was the low point for Smackdown. However, everyone brought their working shoes and put on a solid Raw-only show.

Overall Rating: 78%

SummerSlam 2004

2010-04-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

1. The Dudleyz defeated Rey Mysterio, Paul London, + Billy Kidman by pinfall

This was a fun opener, but as usual, much too short. Still, a good match including some guys that deserved to be on the second biggest show of the year.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Kane defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

The fact that everyone knew Kane was going to win this match didn't help, but I still enjoyed this one. I'm one of the few, but this was an action-packed little match.

Rating: 2.5

3. John Cena defeated Booker T by pinfall

This was a solid match, but far from what it probably could have been. Cena was still finding his groove and Booker was kind of stuck in a rut.

Rating: 2.25

4. Edge defeated Chris Jericho and Batista

I'm not quite sure why Batista had to be involved, but this was good stuff. Edge was just starting to come back from his injury and Jericho was Jericho.

Rating: 3.25

5. Kurt Angle defeated Eddie Guerrero by submission

***Match Of The Night***

Angle gets his revenge in another stellar match between these two. How can you go wrong with these two guys in there?

Rating: 4

6. Triple H defeated Eugene by pinfall

This will forever be Eugene's shining moment. This is a good example of Triple H making his opponent look good even though he still comes out victorious. This is also a good example of where Triple H should have gone over.

Rating: 2.75

7. JBL defeated Undertaker by disqualification

This was another shocker. I had absolutely no expectations for this one and by the end of the match they won me over. Far from a classic, but this was a solid match.

Rating: 2.5

8. Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

A lot of people rave about this match and I'm not quite sure why. I'm not really a huge Orton fan, so that may play a role, but this is more solid than it is spectacular.

Rating: 3

Well, there really is nothing bad on this show. You also have one classic and a few surprisingly good matches. This show is definitely much better than I remember and I can say I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Overall Rating: 81%

Vengeance 2004

2010-03-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

1. Tajiri + Rhyno defeated Jonathan Coachman + Garrison Cade by pinfall

This was better than one would imagine, but nothing special.

Rating: 1.5 (out of 5)

2. Batista defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

WWE was feeding Jericho all the green big men at the time. He tried his best again here and got the most he could out of Batista.

Rating: 1.75

3. La Resistance defeated Ric Flair + Eugene by disqualification

This was solid action and it's always great to see the small period in time where Eugene was a big part of the WWE storylines.

Rating: 2.25

4. Matt Hardy defeated Kane by pinfall

This was considered a huge upset at the time and was a big singles win for Hardy. Unfortunately, injuries slowed down his momentum.

Rating: 2

5. Edge defeated Randy Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was a real solid match, even if it was a bit overrated. There were just too many dull points for this to be an all-time classic. Both guys would continue to improve over the next couple of years.

Rating: 3.5

6. Victoria defeated Molly Holly by pinfall

Another solid outing from Victoria. Having Molly in there certainly didn't hurt.

Rating: 2

7. Chris Benoit defeated Triple H by pinfall

This was a good match, even if it was overshadowed by the whole Eugene nonsense. Still, you can't help but think that this could have been a classic.

Rating: 3.5

Well, this show certainly isn't a great one. The whole Eugene/Evolution angle is silly, especially when looking back at it. It was promising to see Edge and Orton improving on their way to main event status, but there was just not enough good on this one to make it stand out.

Overall Rating: 60%

Great American Bash 2004

2010-03-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

1. John Cena defeated Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and Rene Dupree by pinfall

This was just bad booking to me. Why stick RVD in there? No wonder he could care less about the wrestling business.

Rating: 2.75

2. Luther Reigns defeated Charlie Haas by pinfall

Here's a match with two guys that never took off. Haas at least could wrestle, but man was Reigns horrible.

Rating: .5

3. Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was solid stuff, as you would expect from these two. This is about the 800th time they fought, so they knew each other pretty well.

Rating: 3.25

4. Kenzo Suzuki defeated Billy Gunn by pinfall

Suzuki was a horrible wrestler and he thankfully did not last long. Billy Gunn was especially terrible here too.

Rating: .25

5. Sable defeated Torrie Wilson by pinfall

This was pretty bad, but I'd rather watch this instead of Suzuki/Gunn.

Rating: .25

6. Mordecai defeated Hardcore Holly by pinfall

And another squash match to a character that tanked. At least this one was a slight step up in quality.

Rating: 1

7. JBL defeated Eddie Guerrero in a Texas Bullrope Match to win the WWE Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was the beginning of the mostly dreadful JBL era. This was actually a darn good match, as Eddie was really in a groove.

Rating: 3.75

8. Undertaker defeated Dudley Boyz by pinfall

Well, this is one of the dumbest endings in the history of WWE pay-per-views. We saw a mindless 2-on-1 brawl that ended with Paul Bearer getting killed. This a great example of how not to book a show.

Rating: 1

This show is often thought of as one of the worst shows ever put on by the WWE. It is definitely at the bottom of the barrel, but the title match is good stuff and Rey/Chavo is worth a viewing. The rest is filled with squash matches and stupid storylines.

Rating: 38%

Bad Blood 2004

2010-03-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

1. Chris Benoit + Edge defeated La Resistance by disqualification

This was a tad disappointing. Not that La Resistance are the Rockers or anything, but I figured this would be good. It seemed like there was a little too much stalling in this one.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Chris Jericho defeated Tyson Tomko by pinfall

Tomko was very green at this point and Jericho gave it a good effort. This was probably one of Tomko's best matches in the WWE.

Rating: 2

3. Randy Orton defeated Shelton Benjamin by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

I went back and forth on this one and I think I liked this match the best on the card. The ending was hot and Shelton looked like a star. This was a good match between two young stars.

Rating: 3

4. Trish Stratus defeated Victoria, Lita, and Gail Kim to win the Women's Championship

This was a fun divas match that really put Trish over as a mega heel. It's too bad the divas today haven't put on a match like this in awhile.

Rating: 2

5. Eugene defeated Jonathan Coachman by pinfall

Before I re-watched the shows from this era, I completely forgot about the whole Coachman wrestling storyline. Why?

Rating: .25

6. Chris Benoit defeated Kane by pinfall

This was a pretty good match, but no one in the building thought Kane had a shot. Oh well, they tried.

Rating: 2.75

7. Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

These two guys went for the epic brawl to end their feud. What we got was a overly long match that would have been really good if it were cut down 15 minutes. Don't get me wrong, this is still good entertainment, but not nearly as good as it could have been.

Rating: 3

Well, this one was certainly a disappointment. I have only seen this one twice and it didn't get any better the second time around. There is some solid action, but you can't help but leave this one disappointed.

Overall Rating: 56%

Backlash 2004

2010-03-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

1. Shelton Benjamin defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

This was an okay opener as Shelton was up for the test. It was actually Flair who dragged this down. He just didn't seem to have it on this night, which was common during his last few years and understandably so.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Jonathan Coachman defeated Tajiri by pinfall

This was always kind of a strange feud to me. Why Tajiri? Oh well, I suppose it could have been worse.

Rating: .5

3. Chris Jericho defeated Christian + Trish Stratus by pinfall

Jericho gets his revenge on the duo in another exciting match. When Jericho is in a meaningful feud, his match quality is as good as it gets. He brings it to a new level.

Rating: 3.5

4. Victoria defeated Lita by pinfall

This was a solid match, as this was probably the peak for Victoria as a performer. Injuries continued to slow her down after this.

Rating: 1

5. Randy Orton defeated Mick Foley by pinfall

This was viewed as Orton's coming out party. Foley really did everything he could to put Orton over and this match certainly is the match that had the fans believing in him as a top guy. The first half of this match is a masterpiece as far as brawls go, but the second half doesn't allow me to go any higher on the rating.

Rating: 4

6. Hurricane + Rosey defeated La Resistance by pinfall

This was more or less filler, which is pretty much what the tag team division has been since the TLC era.

Rating: 1

7. Edge defeated Kane by pinfall

This one was kind of rushed and in a strange place on the card. Don't worry, the main event made up for that.

Rating: 1.75

8. Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels by submission

***Match Of The Night***

This was not nearly as good as the WrestleMania match, but it was still awesome. The crowd was way into the match, as expected, and Benoit came out looking like the best in the world, which he very well could have been at this point.

Rating: 4.25

Well, you have two classics on this card, which means it's an automatic thumbs up. The Jericho match is well worth your time, but unfortunately everything else there is forgettable. Still, that's over a third of the card that is great stuff and a definite must see.

Overall Rating: 81%

Backlash 2009

2010-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

1. Christian defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall to win the ECW Championship

This was a great choice for the opener and these guys work together extremely well. Christian deserved better upon his arrival, but he still worked hard.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Chris Jericho defeated Ricky Steamboat by submission

Due to Steamboat looking so impressive, they had him go out there one more time with Jericho. He still looked good, but you could see the age set in as the match went on.

Rating: 2.25

3. Kane defeated CM Punk by pinfall

I'm not quite sure what the point of this match was. CM Punk had just won Money In The Bank for the second year in a row, then he jobs to Kane on pay-per-view.

Rating: 2

4. Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy in an I Quit Match

I'm one of the few who enjoyed this feud and I absolutely love Matt as a heel. They told a good story here and although it was slow at some points, this was good stuff.

Rating: 3.25

5. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, + Ted Dibiase defeated Triple H, Batista, + Shane McMahon by pinfall (Randy Orton won the WWE Championship)

This was a good old school 6 man tag team match. There were some good stories in there and everyone performed well. I wish they would do more 6 man tags just to break up all the title matches. Why do we need two title matches every pay-per-view?

Rating: 3.25

6. Edge defeated John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was a great Attitude-era brawl featuring two guys who know how to put on a show. I've recently seen some backlash towards this match, but I don't understand why. No it's not Angle/Benoit, but it's not trying to be. It's more like a Rock/Austin match, which most people would agree were some great battles.

Rating: 4

Once again, Backlash delivered. Only 6 matches on the card (no, I didn't count the Santino/Beth fiasco) and all of them are at least pretty good. Throw in the fact that you have a great main event and this show gets an automatic thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 84%

WrestleMania XX

2010-03-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

1. John Cena defeated Big Show by pinfall to win the US Championship

This was a bit of an odd start, but it did deliver the huge pop for Cena's win. Can you believe a New York crowd actually cheered Cena? Hypocrites.

Rating: 1.5 (out of 5)

2. Rob Van Dam + Booker T defeated Jindrak + Cade, The Dudleyz, and La Resistance by pinfall

This was an okay match, but it would have been better had it just been two teams. This was them cramming everyone they could onto this card.

Rating: 1.75

3. Christian defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

After a bit of a sluggish start, the show got going here. These two told a great story and had a real good match. The Trish heel turn was just the icing on the cake.

Rating: 4

4. Randy Orton, Batista, + Ric Flair defeated The Rock + Mick Foley by pinfall

This one probably should have been on later in the show, probably in the spot where the Lesnar/Goldberg match ended up going. This was a real fun match and unfortunately was Rock's last match ever.

Rating: 3.75

5. Torrie Wilson + Sable defeated Stacy + Jackie by pinfall

Considering these girls were wrestling in their underwear, this wasn't too bad. This one should have probably flip-flopped with the other womens match.

Rating: .5

6. Chavo Guerrero defeated Tajiri, Rey Mysterio, Jamie Noble, Billy Kidman, Funaki, Shannon Moore, Ultimo Dragon, and Nunzio by pinfall

I really enjoyed this match, even if it was way too short. At this time, this was a pretty solid cruiserweight division, but it sure didn't last long.

Rating: 2.75

7. Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar by pinfall

This is a tough match to rate. It's definitely memorable, but in the wrong way. The crowd knew both guys were leaving and the performers got a negative reaction. The actual match was horrendous.

Rating: .5

8. Scotty 2 Hotty + Rikishi defeated APA, The World's Greatest Tag Team, and The Bashams by pinfall

This was another one that would have made a better one on one match. Benjamin and Haas should have probably won this, but they moved Shelton to Raw shortly after.

Rating: 2

9. Victoria defeated Molly Holly by pinfall

This was a solid womens match that had a satisfying ending. Not bad at all.

Rating: 1.5

10. Eddie Guerrero defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

I will say that this was not as good as I remembered, but it was still darn good. Eddie finally got his moment on a grand stage.

Rating: 4

11. Undertaker defeated Kane by pinfall

This one still kind of baffles me. They built up Kane to look unstoppable (again). They had him fight his brother at WrestleMania (again). This time, they made him look like a total jobber. Why have Undertaker fight him again if this was nothing more than a glorified squash? Also, this match had no business being on this late in the card.

Rating: 1.5

12. Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels by submission to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

Now this is a triple threat match. This was non-stop action from bell to bell with drama galore. Would the WWE actually give Benoit the belt on their biggest show ever? They sure did. Say what you will about Triple H, but he was selling like a champ and even tapped out to give Benoit the belt. It's just too bad that this moment is no longer as special as it should be.

Rating: 5

Wow, that's a lot of matches. Some of the stuff on this card was unnecessary, but overall this had a big show feel. You have 4 matches that got a 3.75 or higher and one of them is one of the greatest matches I have ever witnessed. That alone is worth it, if you can get past the fact that it involves Chris Benoit. This is not necessarily the greatest WrestleMania, but it is defintely among the best the WWE has put on.

Rating: 92%

Royal Rumble 2004

2010-03-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

1. Batista + Ric Flair defeated The Dudleyz in a Tables Match

This was pretty pathetic. This didn't even get as much time as a standard Raw match. There is no reason they should have booked as many matches as they did if this was all the time they were going to give these matches.

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. Rey Mysterio defeated Jamie Noble by pinfall

This was another pathetic excuse of a pay-per-view match. These guys deserved better. They gave a nice effort in the few minutes they had.

Rating: 1.75

3. Eddie Guerrero defeated Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

The way they went about this match was as if they had 15 minutes, but then were told they only had 8. So you had the slow build of a good match, but then it just sort of ended without much happening. I understand why they had to shove this on the card, but come on.

Rating: 1.75

4. Brock Lesnar defeated Hardcore Holly by pinfall

This match started off hot, but died real quickly. Brock looked to have no interest in having a good match.

Rating: 1.5

5. Shawn Michaels and Triple H fought to a no contest

Well, this one was certainly a lot better, but these two have had much better matches. The non-finish did not sit well with the fans and I'm not too sure why they really even did it. This is a good match and worth checking out if you're a big fan of either guy.

Rating: 3.5

6. Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble

Many people consider this to be among the best Rumbles. I'm not sure I agree. I was a huge Benoit fan at the time that I saw this and even with the feel good ending (not so much anymore), I still just thought it was good. I didn't like the ending at all and there were quite a few slow spots for it to be great.

Rating: 3.75

I'm not as big on this show as most people are. Add in the fact that Benoit is now a disgrace to the business and that certainly doesn't help. The undercard is rushed, but the main matches do deliver, just not as much as I thought they would. This is worth watching, but don't put it at the top of your list.

Overall Rating: 68%

Armageddon 2003

2010-03-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

1. Booker T defeated Mark Henry by pinfall

This was an odd choice of an opener. They did all they really could to make Mark Henry look legit without actually having him win the match.

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. Randy Orton defeated Rob Van Dam by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

I was excited to take another look at this match and I have to say I was disappointed. Orton was just not there yet and RVD really didn't look motivated. Things started off and ended okay, but the middle is boring.

Rating: 2.75

3. Chris Jericho + Christian defeated Trish Stratus + Lita by pinfall

This was not a great match, but definitely some good entertainment. Jericho and Christian are both guys who do what's good for the fans and they proved it here. This worked about as well as it could have.

Rating: 2.75

4. Shawn Michaels defeated Batista by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was Batista's best match up to this point. Big surprise, huh?

Rating: 2.75

5. Batista + Ric Flair defeated Hurricane + Rosey, Dudleyz, Scott Steiner + Test, Jindrak + Cade, La Resistance, Venis + Storm by pinfall to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

This wasn't bad, but it certainly was long. For the lack of interest in the tag team division, I'm surprised this wasn't half the amount of time they were given.

Rating: 1.5

6. Molly Holly defeated Ivory by pinfall

The crowd was even more dead for this one than it was for most of the tag team match. Two solid performers who didn't have their best night tonight.

Rating: .5

7. Triple H defeated Goldberg and Kane by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This is definitely one of the worst triple threat matches ever put together on a WWE pay-per-view. Now, the match is semi-entertaining, but who thought these three would mix well?

Rating: 1.75

Usually when you attend a live show, you tend to think the show is maybe a little bit better than it really was. WrestleMania 25 is a good example of this. I absolutely had a blast at this show, even if the main event wasn't as good as it should have been. Well, Armageddon proves this theory wrong. This was only my second WWE pay-per-view and it was not a good one. I highly doubt I'll ever see a show this bad again. The best match gets a 2.75? Goldberg and Kane in one match? I'm not sure what they were thinking on this one. The Jericho/Christian segment was good, but you wasted two of your best workers in that match. This show is not one you would ever have to see unless you are a completist.

Overall Rating: 29%

Survivor Series 2003

2010-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

1. Kurt Angle, John Cena, Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, + Bradshaw defeated Brock Lesnar, Matt Morgan, A-Train, Nathan Jones, + Big Show by pinfall

This was a fun opener, but way too short considering the match had big stars in it. Lesnar's team was a bit of a joke, but the core of guys deserved more than this.

Survivors: John Cena + Chris Benoit

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Molly Holly defeated Lita by pinfall

This was a pretty typical divas match. Nothing flashy, but not horrible.

Rating: 1

3. Kane defeated Shane McMahon in an Ambulance Match

This had some pretty brutal spots, but a lot of it was just Kane chasing Shane McMahon. This one will depend on your taste.

Rating: 1.75

4. The Bashams defeated Los Guerreros by pinfall

I absolutely can't stand the Bashams. They were horrible in the ring and had a horrible gimmick to go along with it. With that being said, Eddie and Chavo did all they could to make this respectable.

Rating: 2

5. Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Christian, Mark Henry, + Scott Steiner defeated Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, + The Dudleyz by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

The first half of this match is pretty typical, but once some of the duds were eliminated, things really picked up. Check that, once Shawn Michaels took over, this was a roller coaster ride. Michaels bled like crazy and put on one of his best performances.

Survivor: Randy Orton

Rating: 3.75

6. Vince McMahon defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive Match

This is another match that it depends on your taste, but most agree this is pretty bad. The highlight is probably Vince's blade job, which is possibly even worse than Michaels' from the previous match.

Rating: .5

7. Goldberg defeated Triple H by pinfall

I'm not sure if the crowd was just exhausted, but this match had no heat. It could also be due to the fact that it sucked. Triple H was at the low point of his career and Goldberg just sucks. Not a good formula.

Rating: 1

Well, this was a mixed bag if I've ever seen one. There were some bad matches, a few pretty good ones, and one really good one. However, it is missing a great match to make this worth watching. This was a big disappointment for the WWE here.

Overall Rating: 58%

No Mercy 2003

2010-02-15T05:05:00.000-08:00

1. Tajiri defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

This was a good opener featuring two of my favorite performers of this time period. I miss having Tajiri around.

Rating: 3.5

2. Chris Benoit defeated A-Train by pinfall

This was the beginning of Benoit's push to the top and he really was at the peak of his WWE run here.

Rating: 2.5

3. Zach Gowen defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

Why job Matt Hardy? Hardy had the best character in all of WWE and they blew it. I would love to see V1 make a return.

Rating: 2

4. The Bashams defeated APA by pinfall

Good God, were the Bashams terrible. No charisma, no look, no talent. Not a good combination.

Rating: .5

5. Vince McMahon defeated Stephanie McMahon by submission

It's amazing to me how hot the crowd was for this match. It just goes to show you don't have to have two great wrestlers in there for something to work.

Rating: 1.75

6. Kurt Angle defeated John Cena by submission

***Match Of The Night***

This was a really good, competitive match. Kurt Angle was the man and Cena was on his way to becoming a major player. Both guys looked good here and they put on a good show.

Rating: 3.5

7. Big Show defeated Eddie Guerrero by pinfall to win the United States Championship

I just wasn't digging this match. Eddie was trying, but it just wasn't working.

Rating: 1.5

8. Brock Lesnar defeated Undertaker by pinfall

I don't think this was nearly as good as their past pay-per-view matches. The pacing just wasn't as good and the storyline dragged it down a bit.

Rating: 2.5

This was your definition of an okay show. There are a couple of good matches and a few duds. However, none of it is essential viewing and that of course drags it down a little. There have been many worse shows than this, but there are also a lot better ones as well.

Overall Rating: 65%

SummerSlam 2003

2010-02-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

1. La Resistance defeated The Dudleyz by pinfall

I seem to be one of the few that liked the Dudleyz. Their matches were all pretty similar, but they always gave a good effort. This was no different.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

2. Undertaker defeated A-Train by pinfall

This was very similar to Undertakers match at SummerSlam 2002, not horrible, but certainly not great.

Rating: 1.5

3. Shane McMahon defeated Eric Bischoff by pinfall

This was more of a storyline than a match. Add in the fact that involved guys who aren't wrestlers and you have yourself the low point of the show.

Rating: .5

4. Eddie Guerrero defeated Rhyno, Chris Benoit, and Tajiri by pinfall

I am very surprised that more people don't like this match. This was non-stop action from bell to bell and had four of the hottest performers of this time period in WWE.

Rating: 3.75

5. Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is another underrated match, even if it was overbooked. The first half is better than any part of their WrestleMania match and only the finish brings it down a little.

Rating: 4

6. Kane defeated Rob Van Dam by pinfall

This was a match that I actually was curious to watch again and unfortnately it was even more sloppy than I remembered.

Rating: 1.75

7. Triple H defeated Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and Shawn Michaels by pinfall

This was not nearly as good as the Survivor Series 2002 Elimination Chamber, but it was still a solid main event. Triple H was limited here and they decided to keep the strap on him, rather than give it to Goldberg. This may have been Goldberg's best match in WWE, which isn't saying much.

Rating: 3.5

This is a good example of a solid show. It wasn't a huge show that SummerSlam often is, but it was still good enough to live up to the legacy of the August show. The Lesnar/Angle match and the US Championship match are both extremely entertaining and worth a watch.

Overall Rating: 78%

Vengeance 2003

2010-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

1. Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall to win the United States Championship

***Match Of The Night***

These two were incapable of having a bad match with one another. Very smooth and exciting opener that set a good pace for the show.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

2. Jamie Noble defeated Billy Gunn by pinfall

Believe it or not, there was a short time period where Jamie Noble was not a jobber. Billy Gunn was pretty much done at this point, but Noble looked good here.

Rating: 2

3. Bradshaw won the Bar Room Brawl

This was just goofy fun and really served no purpose other than to be an interesting 5 minutes.

Rating: 1.25

4. The World's Greatest Tag Team defeated Rey Mysterio + Billy Kidman by pinfall

What a great tag team match. Tag team wrestling was pretty much dead at this point, but this was some great work by these four men. I still wish they would allow these types of matches to happen.

Rating: 4

5. Sable defeated Stephanie McMahon by pinfall

This was a heavily scripted match, but it was also a lot better than it should have been. I think had it ended a few minutes earlier, it might have scored a 2 or higher.

Rating: 1

6. Undertaker defeated John Cena by pinfall

This was actually a better match than I remembered. Undertaker played his role well and Cena showed why the WWE was so high on him. It would be nice to see Cena as a heel again.

Rating: 2.75

7. Vince McMahon defeated Zach Gowen by pinfall

This was very similar to the other McMahon match. Better than expected, but a little too long. I wasn't a big fan of this whole saga, but there have been worse matches.

Rating: 1.5

8. Kurt Angle defeated Big Show and Brock Lesnar by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was a great three way match and just showed how great Kurt Angle was at this time. The three of these guys had a surprising chemistry and any combination of these guys usually worked well.

Rating: 3.75

Any pay-per-view with two matches that receive a 4 is usually an easy thumbs up. Add in the fact that the main event was also quite good and this is an easy recommendation. There is some filler, but the show is never boring. Good show.

Overall Rating: 80%

Bad Blood 2003

2010-02-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

1. Christopher Nowinski + Rodney Mack defeated The Dudleyz via pinfall

Rodney Mack is probably one of the worst performers that I can think of to make it on pay-per-view in the 2000s. I like the Dudleyz more than most, but this was pretty bad.

Rating: .75 (out of 5)

2. Scott Steiner defeated Test by pinfall

This wasn't quite as horrible as one would expect and I think that's really due to Test being somewhat underrated by many. This wasn't pay-per-view quality, but it was watchable.

Rating: 1.25

3. Booker T defeated Christian by disqualification

This match was clicking really well and then Christian took the cowardly way out, as any good heel would. Add to the fact that this was in Booker's hometown of Houston and the ending actually works well.

Rating: 3

4. La Resistance defeated Rob Van Dam + Kane by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

La Resistance was not ready to be champs here, but I guess they finally realized that Rob Van Dam should be on his own. It really is a shame that Rob Van Dam's talent was wasted throughout most of his run in WWE.

Rating: 2

5. Goldberg defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

Jericho made this an absoloute great feud and did everything he could to make this a good match. However, by taking Goldberg to the limit, he also exposed how poor of a worker Goldberg really was.

Rating: 2.75

6. Ric Flair defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

This was a dream match that most definitely did not live up to it's potential. It was still good stuff, but don't expect their WrestleMania XXIV match here.

Rating: 3.25

7. Triple H defeated Kevin Nash by pinfall

Call me crazy, but this was a good match. Kevin Nash brought his A game and they put on an old school violent match. Lots of blood, lots of weapons, and few slow spots. Mick Foley added a lot as well as guest ref. A very worthy main event.

Rating: 3.5

This show was actually a lot better than I remembered. It was by no means a classic, but there are four matches that are worth watching. None of them are must-sees, but there are much worse shows out there.

Overall Rating: 70%

Judgment Day 2003

2010-01-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

1. John Cena + FBI defeated Chris Benoit, Spanky + Rhyno by pinfall

This was a fun opener, but way, way too short. I'm not sure it even hit the 5 minute mark. Too bad, they could have used a good match on this card.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. La Resistance defeated Scott Steiner + Test by pinfall

This was basically just to get La Resistance over and to start the awful Test/Steiner feud.

Rating: .25

3. Eddie Guerrero + Tajiri defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team in a Ladder Match to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

This was a darn good match and not as spotty as a lot of the ladder matches now. This is not quite a great match, but one well worth watching.

Rating: 3.75

4. Christian won the Intercontinental Championship in a battle royal

This was one of the few attempts that the WWE made at getting Christian over on his own. Too bad the match sucked.

Rating: .75

5. Mr. America defeated Roddy Piper by pinfall

Mr. America was Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper looked like an egg. Next.

Rating: .25

6. Kevin Nash defeated Triple H by disqualification

The feud...must...continue.

Rating: .5

7. Jazz defeated Trish Stratus, Jaqueline + Victoria by pinfall

This was good for the time given, but too short to mean anything.

Rating: .75

8. Brock Lesnar defeated Big Show in a Stretcher Match

This was actually a pretty fun match. These two just had chemistry and they showed it here. Lesnar was starting to grow as a performer and proved it on this night.

Rating: 3.5

Well, you have two good matches and the rest is crap. Seriously, what were they thinking here? Not a good way to end the co-branded show era. Not at all.

Overall Rating: 59%

Backlash 2003

2009-12-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

1. Team Angle defeated Los Guerreros by pinfall

This was a good standard tag team match that would have been a great Smackdown main event. These guys were all good performers and it was a nice way to open the show.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Sean O'Haire defeated Rikishi by pinfall

I was actually a fan of the O'Haire gimmick, but as a performer, not so much. Too bad.

Rating: .5

3. Rob Van Dam + Kane defeated Dudley Boyz by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Call me crazy, but I liked this match. It was way overbooked, but in a way that worked for me. Plus, I like RVD a lot.

Rating: 3

4. Jazz defeated Trish Stratus by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This was a very solid match. Jazz was always good and Trish was getting better by the match.

Rating: 2

5. Big Show defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

I really like the dynamic between these two, but the match was too short. Still, an entertaining few minutes.

Rating: 1.75

6. Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena by pinfall

This was an odd choice for Lesnar's first opponent as champion. Neither guy was really ready to carry an inexperienced performer at this point and it showed. I actually have to say that I was more impressed with Cena in this particular bout.

Rating: 2

7. Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels, Booker T, and Kevin Nash by pinfall

I miss having matches like this on pay-per-views. Even though this one didn't live up to the performers involved, it was still solid. I actually liked that the heels went over as well.

Rating: 2.75

8. Goldberg defeated Rock by pinfall

Goldberg never floated my boat. To me he was so easy to despise, that it still to this day surprises me that he was ever popular. I'd say the crowd was split 50/50 and the Rock did all he could to make this decent, but it wasn't enough. This match would have probably worked better in a WrestleMania setting.

Rating: 1

Well, I will say I enjoyed this more the second time, but when your top match only gets a 3, it's probably not a great show. It's not necessarily boring, just uneventful. If you're a big Rock or Goldberg fan, you'll probably enjoy the main event, but otherwise, you can skip this.

Overall Rating: 52%

WrestleMania XIX

2009-12-18T06:21:00.000-08:00

1. Matt Hardy defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

I seem to be in the minority, but I loved this match. I really enjoy these fast paced matches, even if they are too short. It's also no secret that Matt Hardy version 1.0 is one of my favorite gimmicks ever.

Rating: 3.5

2. Undertaker defeated A-Train + Big Show by pinfall

This is one of the dumbest matches in Undertaker's winning streak. I'm sorry, but there is no reason he should have beat two men, especially when one of them is former world champ Big Show.

Rating: 1

3. Trish Stratus defeated Victoria and Jazz by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This was actually a very solid match. The crowd was digging it and so did I. Far from classic, but fun.

Rating: 2

4. Team Angle defeated Los Guerreros and Chris Benoit + Rhyno by pinfall

This should have probably been better, but it was still an entertaining bout. Team Angle was just in the beginning of their career and not quite there yet. The crowd was really behind Rhyno, not sure why that stopped.

Rating: 3

5. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

My two favorite performers facing off at the biggest stage in a classic. This is great stuff and Jericho was just tremendous as a heel here. They stole the show in my book.

Rating: 4.5

6. Triple H defeated Booker T by pinfall

Booker should have probably gone over as he was at the peak of his popularity here. These two delivered a solid match, especially when compared to their SummerSlam 2007 dud.

Rating: 3

7. Hulk Hogan defeated Vince McMahon by pinfall

This was better than expected, but also pretty predictable. Vince has a knack for making matches better than they are with his over the top heelness and Hogan, well he will always suck.

Rating: 2.25

8. Rock defeated Steve Austin by pinfall

This was the third match in their WrestleMania trilogy and a pretty darn good way to end their series. Rock finally got the win over Austin, but it took multiple Rock Bottoms in order to do so. This was great stuff.

Rating: 4

9. Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This is mostly remembered as the match where Lesnar almost killed himself, but it was also a darn good match. I don't like it quite as much as a lot of people do, but it was a great ending to a classic show.

Rating: 3.75

There are days where I consider this to be my favorite show of all time. At the end of the day this is probably just one notch behind WrestleMania X-Seven. With 6 of the 9 matches being at 3 or higher, you can't go wrong with this one. Every wrestling fan should see this show.

Overall Rating: 100%

No Way Out 2003

2009-12-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

1. Chris Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a solid match that wasn't what you would expect. They told a good story here and the match was entertaining as a result.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. William Regal + Lance Storm defeated Rob Van Dam + Kane by pinfall

This was your typical Raw main event with nothing necessarily wrong with it, but nothing in it that made it stand out.

Rating: 2

3. Matt Hardy defeated Billy Kidman by pinfall to win the Cruiserweight Championship

This was the peak of Matt Hardy's career as his character was just tremendous. It's too bad they didn't capitalize on it, because I think he probably could have reached main event status eventually.

Rating: 2.75

4. Undertaker defeated Big Show by submission

This was a pretty standard brawl that featured Hell's Gate for the first time (although I could be wrong).

Rating: 1.75

5. Brock Lesnar + Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, + Charlie Haas by pinfall

Edge missed this for an injury, so we got a handicap match. I'm not sure how I feel about the two man team going over, especially since Lesnar defeated Angle at WrestleMania, but this was fun.

Rating: 3

6. Triple H defeated Scott Steiner by pinfall

This was a better match, technically speaking, than their match at Royal Rumble, but it was still really bad. These two had no chemistry and Steiner was just horrible. The Montreal crowd booed him out of the building.

Rating: .5

7. Steve Austin defeated Eric Bischoff by pinfall

This was a nothing match, as you would expect, but the crowd made it feel special. They ate up everything Austin brought to the table on this night.

Rating: .75

8. The Rock defeated Hulk Hogan by pinfall

This was more of a storyline than anything. They had some good moments, but in the end, it was just a set up for the Hogan/McMahon match at WrestleMania.

Rating: 1.25

This is not a very good show. There is some decent stuff, but the highest match rating is 3.5, never a good sign. None of the big matches were worth watching, making this a dud.

Overall Rating: 50%

Royal Rumble 2003

2009-12-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

1. Brock Lesnar defeated Big Show by pinfall

For whatever reason, these guys have really good matches together. Most of them are kept short, which is probably for the best, but Lesnar really seemed to enjoy being in the ring with Show.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. The Dudley Boyz defeated Lance Storm + William Regal by pinfall to win the World Tag Team Championships

The tag team division at this point was already just a waste of time. Both teams are good, but the WWE already gave up.

Rating: 2.5

3. Torrie Wilson defeated Dawn Marie by pinfall

Everyone's favorite angle. Next.

Rating: .25

4. Scott Steiner defeated Triple H by disqualification

This one is infamous for being horribly bad. Scott Steiner is so embarrasing in this match that should have probably released him the next night. Triple H was far from great in here, but he was trying pretty hard to make Steiner look good and that just wasn't happening.

Rating: .25

5. Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit by submission

***Match Of The Night***

I don't know if two back to back world title matches have been so completely opposite before this show. This match is absolutely awesome and if you for some reason haven't seen it, it is worth buying the DVD just for this.

Rating: 4.75

6. Brock Lesnar won the Royal Rumble

This was a pretty obvious ending, but the right one. The match itself was solid, especially the Jericho/Michaels build that ended up being brilliant.

Rating: 3.5

Well, the last two matches are the show and make this an overall winner. The Steiner/Triple H match is so bad that you have to see it at least once. This is one of the few shows in 2003 that was truly memorable.

Overall Rating: 82%

Armageddon 2002

2009-12-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

1. Booker T + Goldust defeated Chris Jericho + Christian, Dudley Boyz, and Lance Storm + William Regal by pinfall to win the World Tag Team Championships

This was a solid match that provided a feel-good moment, with Bookdust finally winning the titles. It's too bad that the WWE never really capitalized on Booker T's popularity.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Edge defeated A-Train by disqualification

What is the point of this match being on the show? I hate when they write themselves into corners.

Rating: 1

3. Chris Benoit defeated Eddie Guerrero by submission

As always, these two put on a good show. While they've had better matches, this was a highlight of this show, as expected.

Rating: 3.5

4. Batista defeated Kane by pinfall

Kane has always kind of been a jobber to the stars. Here he lost to an undeserving Batista. It would take Batista another couple of years to become worthy of his push. This was really bad.

Rating: 0

5. Victoria defeated Trish Stratus and Jaqueline by pinfall

This was your standard diva match with nothing truly memorable about it.

Rating: .5

6. Kurt Angle defeated Big Show by pinfall

Angle can make a match with anyone watchable and Big Show seems to turn it on when he needs to. While this was far from great, it was entertaining and that's fine with me.

Rating: 2.5

7. Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

Most people seem to hate this one, but I really enjoyed it. It's far from their SummerSlam 2002 epic, but they still put on a good show. They probably could have cut out 5-10 minutes and still had the same overall effect. Good main event.

Rating: 3.75

Well this one is pretty up and down, with the lows outweighing the highs. The main event takes up a good portion of the show, but it still doesn't make me forget a few of the stinkers earlier on. Worth watching, but don't go out of your way.

Overall Rating: 61%

Extreme Rules 2009

2009-11-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

1. Kofi Kingston defeated Matt Hardy, MVP, and William Regal by pinfall

This should have been much better, but the booking crew treated it like a Raw match, rather than a pay-per-view one. That seems to happen way too often and it is a shame, because this could have been fun.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Chris Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was a great feud and the match was a blast. They went on to have better matches, but this was good stuff. The ending was just great heel stuff. Jericho is the best thing going in the WWE.

Rating: 3.75

3. CM Punk defeated Umaga by touching all four corners

This was really slow and Umaga was very unmotivated, which makes sense because he probably knew he was going to be released.

Rating: 1.75

4. Tommy Dreamer defeated Christian and Jack Swagger to win the ECW Championship

This was a solid garbage match that had the right ending. Dreamer isn't necessarily a great performer, but he is definitely a hard worker that was deserving of this moment.

Rating: 3.25

5. Santina Marella defeated Vickie Guerrero + Chavo Guerrero by pinfall

This was probably the worst pay-per-view match of the year. There is no way people should have had to pay for this.

Rating: 0

6. Batista defeated Randy Orton by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

This was another stupid title change when it made no sense to do so. The match was kept short due to Batista's injury, which actually helped this, but there is no way Batista should have won.

Rating: 2.25

7. John Cena defeated Big Show by submission

Good God, was this long. Why would they give these two so much time? The reason Cena was able to have acceptable matches with Khali was because they were short. Show is much better than Khali, but that doesn't mean he should be getting a 20+ minute match with Cena.

Rating: .75

8. Jeff Hardy defeated Edge in a TLC Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was good stuff, as you would expect from these two in this environment. Some of the spots were a little too forced, but you can't ask for much more out of a main event. Especially with what came next...

Rating: 4

9. CM Punk defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

CM Punk cashes in his Money In The Bank briefcase to win the belt. Another great moment.

Rating: .25

I'm pretty torn on this one. Jericho/Mysterio and TLC were awesome. There were two great moments with Dreamer and Punk. The rest was just really bad. I would say this is on the low end of a good show.

Rating: 70%

No Mercy 2002

2009-11-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

1. Chris Jericho + Christian defeated Booker T + Goldust by pinfall

This was a solid opener, but nothing spectacular. Booker T was quite over here and it's a shame that they never really capitalized on it.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Torrie Wilson defeated Dawn Marie by pinfall

This was horrible, as you would expect. Next.

Rating: .25

3. Rob Van Dam defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

These two just had no chemistry together. Flair was just a shell of his former self at this point.

Rating: 2

4. Jamie Noble defeated Tajiri by pinfall

I actually was hoping for this to be a little bit better. I am a big fan of Tajiri's, so I enjoyed it, just not as much as I thought.

Rating: 2.75

5. Triple H defeated Kane by pinfall

This wasn't as horrible as I remembered, but it sure wasn't great either. The last few minutes really saved this from being a stinker. It just really hurt since everyone knew that Kane had no chance of winning.

Rating: 2

6. Kurt Angle + Chris Benoit defeated Rey Mysterio + Edge by pinfall to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

***Match Of The Night***

This is probably the greatest two-on-two standard tag team match that I have ever seen. These guys were all on fire during this time period and this was no exception. Awesome match.

Rating: 4.75

7. Trish Stratus defeated Victoria by pinfall

Trish wasn't quite there yet, so this was sloppy. Oh well.

Rating: .75

8. Brock Lesnar defeated Undertaker by pinfall

This was a very slow paced and brutal match. If you love those types of matches, then this is probably one of your favorite Hell In A Cell matches. If that's not your thing, you still have to admit this is a solid main event.

Rating: 3.25

Well, you had one unbelievable match and a good main event. But there were a lot of forgettable matches on this card and that really brings it down. Still, you can't go wrong with the two big matches, so it is worth a look.

Overall Rating: 72%

Survivor Series 1996

2009-11-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

1. Doug Furnas, Phil Lafon, Henry Godwinn, & Phineas Godwinn defeated Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Leif Cassidy, & Marty Jannetty by pinfall

This match was very, very sloppy at the beginning. Marty especially looked bad here. Once it got towards the end, this match got going a little bit. A solid debut for Furnas & Lafon, even if they never really got a chance to shine in their WWF run.

Survivors: Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon

Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

2. Undertaker defeated Mankind by pinfall

I am a big fan of this feud, but this is probably the weakest of all of their pay-per-view efforts. The ending was out of nowhere and there really was no story told here.

Rating: 2.25

3. Marc Mero, Rocky Maivia, The Stalker, & Jake Roberts defeated Jerry Lawler, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Goldust, & Crush by pinfall

This was Rocky's debut and he was thrown in this hodge podge of a match. These Survivor Series matches really showed how thin the WWF was at this time period. Luckily for them, the talent they did have went on to pay big dividends.

Survivor: Rocky Maivia

Rating: 1

4. Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This is an absolute classic that is completely different from their most memorable encounter at WrestleMania 13. WrestleMania 13 may have been the night where Austin became a star, but Survivor Series is where he showed everyone that he was a great performer.

Rating: 4.75

5. Flash Funk, Yokozuna, Jimmy Snuka, & Savio Vega fought Vader, Faarooq, (Fake) Razor Ramon, & (Fake) Diesel to a no contest

This was actually going pretty well until the lame finish. They seemed to be running low on time and pretty much let them fight long enough for Snuka to do a splash off the top rope. Flash Funk was great here and it's too bad he was misused. Speaking of misused, it still makes me mad that Vader wasn't given a long heel championship run. I consider him to be Vince's biggest mistake of this era.

Rating: 1.25

6. Sid defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall to win the WWF Championship

This may be Sid's best one-on-one match (at least that I can think of off the top of my head). They had a great flow for the first half of the match. The whole Jose Lothario angle hurt the match a little bit and they seemed to lose their momentum. Still, a good main event.

Rating: 3.5

I don't like this show as much as a lot of people do. I absolutely love the Austin/Bret match and Sid/Shawn is good, but the rest is kind of blah. However, one fantastic match and a good main event usually means the show is worth watching, and that is the case here. It's just not one you'll have to re-watch over and over.

Overall Rating: 75%

In Your House: Buried Alive

2009-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

1. Steve Austin defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley by pinfall

This was supposed to be Austin vs. Savio Vega, but injuries prevented that from happening. So we get heel vs. heel, but this was around the time that Austin was getting over as a face. This was solid, but HHH's heel offense was slow at times. The whole Jim Ross angle really hurt this match as well.

Rating: 2.25 (out of 5)

2. Owen Hart + British Bulldog defeated The Smoking Gunns by pinfall

This was another heel vs. heel match to an extent. Billy Gunn had been hanging around Sunny, leaving Bart as the lone face. This was decent at times, but the Gunns had run their course by this point.

Rating: 2

3. Marc Mero defeated Goldust by pinfall

This was actually a pretty good match. Marc Mero often isn't spoken of too fondly, but at this point of his career, he was actually one of the best workers the WWF had. Injuries would derail his ability, but this was a good example of good he actually was.

Rating: 3

4. Sid defeated Vader by pinfall

This was a #1 contenders match to face Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series and this was better than it had any right to be. Vader was so misused during his WWF run and it really was a shame, as he really was a great performer. This was also probably the peak of Sid's run in the WWF.

Rating: 2.75

5. Undertaker defeated Mankind in a Buried Alive Match

***Match Of The Night***

This was another good brawl in a series of them between the two. Mankind really got Undertaker to step up his game and I think was integral into turning Undertaker into the performer he is today. Even if this wasn't their best match, this was still a good main event.

Rating: 3.5

Well, nothing on this show was bad. There were two injuries that caused matches to be switched, which hurt it from a storyline point of view. The Jim Ross angle was annoying, especially since we know that they didn't go anywhere with it. Everyone gave a good effort here, especially in the last two matches and made this a very watchable show.

Overall Rating: 70%

Unforgiven 2002

2009-10-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

1. Booker T, Goldust, Bubba Dudley, and Kane defeated Christian, Test, William Regal, and Lance Storm by pinfall

This was a really good opener. It was essentially a Raw main event, but did a great job of getting the crowd into the show. My only complaint is that the wrong team won.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Chris Jericho defeated Ric Flair by submission

I'm still not quite sure why these two didn't have better matches together, but this was still far from bad. Just not one would expect.

Rating: 2.25

3. Eddie Guerrero defeated Edge by pinfall

Wow, was this good. Edge was really improving and Eddie was Eddie. Very, very good match.

Rating: 3.75

4. Jamal + Rosey defeated Chuck + Billy by pinfall

This was blah as neither team was very good. Luckily, it didn't go on too long.

Rating: .75

5. Triple H defeated Rob Van Dam by pinfall

Most people aren't fond of this match, and to be honest, neither was I the first time. I really thought this was pretty good stuff the second time around, so sue me.

Rating: 3

6. Trish Stratus defeated Molly Holly by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This was a pretty good match that needed a few more minutes to tell a story. The execution was good here and both looked good.

Rating: 1.75

7. Chris Benoit defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was good, but nowhere near Royal Rumble 2003 quality. The botched ending aside, another great encounter between these two.

Rating: 4

8. Brock Lesnar and Undertaker fought to a double disqualification

This is another match that most don't like, mostly because of the screwy finish. If you put that aside, Lesnar put in a great effort here. He was bumping all over the place and looked like a main eventer. Not a classic main event, but very solid.

Rating: 3

This show isn't very popular among many, but there are two really good matches on here and three that are fun matches. That to me is a good show. Not a classic by any means, but a good one.

Overall Rating: 80%

In Your House: Revenge Of The 'Taker

2009-09-23T06:18:00.001-07:00

1. Legion Of Doom defeated Owen Hart + British Bulldog by disqualification

This was really held back by being overbooked. First, you have a reversed decision and the match re-started and then an interference. How are you supposed to have a good match in between all of that?

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. Savio Vega defeated Rocky Maivia by countout

This was slow and uninspired and overshadowed by the Nation of Domination/Ahmed Johnson angle. Who booked this show?

Rating: .75

3. Jesse James defeated Rockabilly by pinfall

First of all, who thought this was a good idea? Second of all, why do you have the guy who was hyped up for weeks lose to a guy that was not over and looked at as a jobber? What a joke and a horrible pay-per-view match. If this were a 10 match card, maybe. But this was a 5 match show.

Rating: .25

4. Undertaker defeated Mankind by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was a really good match. Most people don't seem to enjoy it as much as me, but this was a hard hitting and well paced matchup. The feud with Mankind is one of my favorite of the era and both guys could go at this point. Great work by both men.

Rating: 4

5. Steve Austin defeated Bret Hart by disqualification

This was a great feud, probably my favorite of all time, but their worst pay-per-view battle. That's not to say it wasn't great, which it was, it just wasn't AS good. Great main event that featured two of the best of the era. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.75

The first hour of this show is absolutely horrible. I'm talking December To Dismember bad. Why anyone would want to pay for some of that is beyond me and I know buyrates were really suffering at this point. However, the last two matches were great stuff and saved the show. The last two are definitely worth checking out, but skip the first hour.

Overall Rating: 60%

SummerSlam 2002

2009-07-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

1. Kurt Angle defeated Rey Mysterio by submission

Wow, was this a great match. These two had great chemistry and nearly stole the show. They crammed as much action and suspense as they could into a 10 minute match and the crowd was the winner here.

Rating: 4.25

2. Ric Flair defeated Chris Jericho by submission

Not as good as many expected, but defintely a fun match. 2002 was not Jericho's best year as he was kind of lost in the shuffle.

Rating: 2.75

3. Edge defeated Eddie Guerrero by pinfall

It was definitely great to have Eddie back and Edge was really coming into his own at this point. On many cards, this would have been one of the better matches for the night.

Rating: 3.25

4. Christian + Lance Storm defeated Booker T + Goldust by pinfall

This was a good tag match featuring 4 guys they had nothing better to do with. Booker was very over at this point.

Rating: 2.5

5. Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was a very intense and hard hitting match between two of the best from this time period. Why they wouldn't push RVD to main event status at this point is beyond me?

Rating: 3.75

6. Undertaker defeated Test by pinfall

You know when these two have an entertaining match, something is up. Even if the booking of this match was stupid, they still delivered a match that was much better than expected.

Rating: 2

7. Shawn Michaels defeated Triple H by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Well, I think everyone knows that this match rocked the house. This featured the first match by Michaels in over 4 years and he looked better than ever. No one can manipulate the crowd quite as well as he can. Awesome match.

Rating: 4.75

8. Brock Lesnar defeated The Rock by pinfall to win the Undisputed Championship

This was Brock's first big matchup and he definitely delivered. Props to The Rock for working his tail off to make Lesnar look as good as possible. Not quite 4+ material, but pretty darn close.

Rating: 3.75

This show is unbelievable. If WrestleMania X-Seven didn't exist, this may be my favorite show. From top to bottom, there are no bad matches. If you haven't seen this, do what you can to make sure you do.

Overall Rating: 99%

WrestleMania X-8

2009-07-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

1. Rob Van Dam defeated William Regal by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

Good choice for the opener as RVD was still over huge at this point. Too bad the IC belt didn't mean anything at this point, but it was still a good opener.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Diamond Dallas Page defeated Christian by pinfall

It's too bad that DDP didn't last too long in the WWE. I always felt that he was one of the few WCW wrestlers that would adapt to the WWE style the quickest. This was your typical Heat main event.

Rating: 2

3. Goldust and Maven went to no contest. Spike Dudley wins the Hardcore Championship.

It's a shame that guys like Mr. Perfect didn't get on the card, but this did. Why not just have another multi-man Hardcore match?

Rating: 1

4. Kurt Angle defeated Kane by pinfall

This was probably one of the best non-gimmick matches I have ever seen Kane have. Both guys worked hard, even if the ending was botched.

Rating: 2.75

5. Undertaker defeated Ric Flair by pinfall

Much like Flair's match with McMahon at Royal Rumble, I don't feel as if they went about the match the right way. The Arn Anderson segment was great stuff, however.

Rating: 2.5

6. Edge defeated Booker T by pinfall

Now here's where I get frustrated. All summer, Booker was among your top guys. Heck, he main evented SummerSlam, your second biggest show of the year. He gets into a promising feud with one of the top young stars in Edge. Even though it's over a bottle of shampoo, this feud has a lot of promise. They face off at the biggest show of the year in a match that had potential to be a great mid-card match. Then, they give them 7 minutes to work with. 7 minutes! I know you have 11 matches on the card with numerous backstage segments, but you couldn't spare more than 7 minutes for this? There's just no logical explanation for that.

Rating: 2.5

7. Steve Austin defeated Scott Hall by pinfall

This didn't have the big match feel it would have had if it were Nash in there. However, Austin busted his butt to make this important and as a result, the match was much better than most expected.

Rating: 2.5

8. Billy + Chuck defeated The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, and APA by pinfall

This started off slowly, but had a fun last few minutes. B+C were a terrible team, but I guess since they were pushing them, it makes sense that they went over.

Rating: 2.25

9. The Rock defeated Hulk Hogan by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

If you've read some of my previous posts, it's no secret that I don't like the Hulkster. At all. This is my third time watching this match and I think that I finally have a better appreciation for this match. There was no denying that it was entertaining, but it never clicked until this viewing. No doubt, the best Hogan match in years.

Rating: 3.5

10. Jazz defeated Trish Stratus and Lita by pinfall

Talk about a difficult task. Divas always have a hard time keeping the crowds interest, but following the Rock/Hogan match was an even tougher challenge than usual. Not a bad little match, considering the circumstances.

Rating: 1

11. Triple H defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall to win the Undisputed Championship

This match is often an afterthought when people talk about this show. It's very similar to WrestleMania 25 where the Undertaker/Michaels match stole the show and the Orton/Triple H match kind of ended the show on a low note. The main difference to me was that Rock/Hogan was not anywhere close to Undertaker/Michaels and this was a much better match that Orton/Triple H. A lot of people hate on this match and I really don't get why. The ending was a little weak and the crowd was only into it about half of the time, but from a work rate point of view, this match was good. Jericho worked extremely hard and Triple H did what he could coming off a major surgery.

Rating: 3.25

This is the only WrestleMania since WrestleMania 14 that I did not watch live, so it probably lacks that appeal. There are too many strange matchups on this card to really justify having 11 matches on the card. I am not opposed to 10+ matches at WrestleMania, in fact I encourage it, but did we really need to see Maven/Goldust? There is nothing offensive here, none of the matches get below a 1, but it just doesn't get the job done as a "great" show. The Hogan/Rock match is definitely worth checking out and you will not be bored with the rest of the card. Just don't expect this to be as good as many of the other more recent WrestleManias.

Overall Rating: 68%

Royal Rumble 2002

2009-07-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

1. Tazz + Spike Dudley defeated The Dudley Boyz by submission

This was a fun match but was way too short. It didn't even hit 6 minutes. These guys were always underrated as they typically put on entertaining matches.

Rating: 2.25

2. William Regal defeated Edge by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was solid stuff, but still not as good as it could have been. I always liked the whole brass knuckle stuff with Regal.

Rating: 2.5

3. Trish Stratus defeated Jazz by pinfall

This was so short and should have been so much better. Jazz was always a good competitor.

Rating: .5

4. Ric Flair defeated Vince McMahon by submission

This was pretty much Vince destroying Flair for half the match and then Flair makes the comeback and gets the win. There was no story being told and no suspense either.

Rating: 2

5. Chris Jericho defeated The Rock by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

These guys just always put on a show. Even when they have all the goofy booking going against them, they just know how to turn it on. Awesome match.

6. Triple H won the Royal Rumble

This has to be one of the worst booked Rumbles ever. All of the big names, with the exception of Undertaker, came at the end. So you had guys like Booker T, Big Show, and Rob Van Dam being eliminated in a matter of minutes. Stupid, stupid booking.

Rating: 2.5

There is one classic match, but the rest is pretty forgettable. The Rumble isn't horrible, but just poorly planned. The rest of the card is kind of just there.

Overall Rating: 67%

Royal Rumble 2009

2009-07-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

1. Jack Swagger defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

This was a good match, but not as good as some of their other encounters. Swagger has so much potential and I'm guessing the WWE is going to do everything they can to keep him around.

Rating: 2.5

2. Melina defeated Beth Phoenix by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

This was a pretty entertaining Diva's match, but was too short to really go anywhere. Santino was crazy over in this matchup.

Rating: 1

3. John Cena defeated JBL by pinfall

This was more of a storyline than anything else. These two have had one great match together and everything else has been pretty blah.

Rating: 2

4. Edge defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was a good match, even if the first half felt a little bit more like a TV match. The Matt Hardy turn was the big part of this match and I think he did a good job. I love heel Matt Hardy.

Rating: 3.5

5. Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble

The actual Rumble was fun, but the outcome was just way too predictable. It just bothers me that they couldn't have come up with another way for Orton to win other than having the whole Legacy 3 on 1 bit.

Rating: 3

This was my first Rumble live and while it was loads of fun to attend, it wasn't a classic by any means. There was some good action, but also had some predictable outcomes. This is by no means a bad show, just not one that will blow you away.

Overall Rating: 69%

WrestleMania 25

2009-07-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

1. CM Punk defeated Finlay, Mark Henry, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, MVP, and Kane in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This was, as usual, a great spotfest that got the crowd into the show. Kofi really shined in this one as his athleticism is off the charts. CM Punk winning was a surprise and he got a mixed reaction.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)

2. Santina Marella won the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal

This was a poorly worked match with a silly ending. There are so many botched spots in here, I can't help but give it a 0.

Rating: 0

3. Chris Jericho defeated Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper, + Ricky Steamboat by pinfall

Jericho proved he can have a good match with anyone here. Snuka and Piper were horrible, but eliminated early. Steamboat on the other hand was so impressive that he got a match the next night on Raw and at Backlash. The last few minutes were fun, even if the Mickey Rourke stuff wasn't great afterwords.

Rating: 2.25

4. Matt Hardy defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

A lot of people were down on this match but I thought it was a hard fought match and quite entertaining. The ending was great even if it didn't get the reaction it should have. I am a huge fan of a heel Matt Hardy and hope they can find a way to push him higher on the card.

Rating: 3.5

5. Rey Mysterio defeated JBL by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

After seeing how short this match was, it was even more disappointing that the Miz + Morrison/Colons match didn't make the show. This was just a squash.

Rating: .25

6. Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This will probably remain the greatest match I've ever seen live for the rest of my life. Absolutely awesome. Two legends giving us a match that no one will forget. There were a few flubs, but the storytelling was incredible and for a second you thought that Michaels had a shot. Perfection.

Rating: 5

7. John Cena defeated Big Show and Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship

These guys had their work cut out for themselves following the Michaels/Taker match. Because of that, I think this one gets looked at unfairly. This was a really good match that was non-stop action. Too bad it wasn't the main event.

Rating: 3.5

8. Triple H defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

These guys tried to give us an epic and boy did it fall flat. Many of those in attendance left before it was over. There was just no flow to this match and it didn't deserve over 20 minutes. Once again, why not have the tag team match on the card?

Rating: 2

I like this show. Most people were let down and most likely due to the main event being one of the worst in WrestleMania history. The way I look at it is you've got one of the greatest matches I've ever seen, an exciting ladder match, two very good matches, and Jericho's awesomeness. That sounds like a good show to me. Yes, I was there and had a blast, but it was still a really good show that translated well to DVD.

Overall Rating: 87%

Vengeance 2001

2009-06-25T09:50:00.001-07:00

1. Scotty 2 Hotty + Albert defeated Test + Christian by pinfall

It seems as if they never could figure out what to do with Christian during this time period. This was your standard opener.

Rating: 2 (out of 5)

2. Edge defeated William Regal by pinfall

This match was essentially a squash match with a fluke win. I like that they made Regal look good, but it made Edge look like he was an underdog, which he shouldn't be.

Rating: 2

3. Jeff Hardy defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

Since neither was truly a heel, although Matt tried to play the role, this was kind of a strange match. It wasn't boring, but not your typical Hardy match either.

Rating: 2

4. The Dudley Boyz defeated Big Show + Kane by pinfall

This wasn't as bad as one would expect, but essentially just a Raw match.

Rating: 1

5. Undertaker defeated Rob Van Dam by pinfall to win the Hardcore Championship

Okay, we know the Undertaker is as tough as they come. But did they really need to put the Hardcore belt on him to prove it? Really, that isn't all that important, but the fact that RVD didn't get the big win does bother me. He was one of the hottest attractions at this point and he could have really benefitted from a victory here.

Rating: 2.75

6. Trish Stratus defeated Jaqueline by pinfall

This was so short that there's no way they could have given us something that mattered.

Rating: .25

7. Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

These two are incapable of a bad match, but given the fact that Austin knew he was going to have another match later on, he knew he had to pace himself.

Rating: 3

8. Chris Jericho defeated The Rock by pinfall to win the WCW Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This at the time was a huge shocker, as everyone was anticipating Austin/Rock. These two are another pair incapable of a bad match and this was a real good one.

Rating: 3.75

9. Chris Jericho defeated Steve Austin by pinfall to win the Unified Championship

There weren't a whole lot of people that thought Chris Jericho would be the first ever Unified Champion. As a diehard fan of Chris Jericho, this moment is right up there with his debut for favorite moments. The match itself wasn't as good as his match with The Rock, but it is still fun and a great ending to the show.

Rating: 3

Well, I'm torn here. The undercard is kind of blah and there is no match of the year type match on this show. But then again, my favorite wrestler made history and had two real solid matches. I can't say it's the best show, but one that everyone should see for history purposes.

Overall Rating: 76%

No Mercy 2001

2009-06-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

1. The Hardyz defeated Lance Storm + Hurricane by pinfall

None of these guys could do no wrong at this point in time and it was the right match to open the show. Not every match needs to be an epic to be entertaining.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Test defeated Kane by pinfall

This was supposed to be viewed as a big upset victory for Test, but really Kane was already nothing but a jobber to the stars at this point. Not horrible, but not very good either.

Rating: .75

3. Torrie Wilson defeated Stacy Keibler by pinfall

For a Lingerie Match, it could have been worse. Stacy is the hottest diva ever, so that's where the .25 comes from.

Rating: .25

4. Edge defeated Christian in a Ladder Match to win the Intercontinental Championship

A lot of people are down on this match, and while I agree it has some slow moments, it's still a very good match. These two were never the insane ones from the legendary TLC matches, which is why I think some people are let down by the outcome of this one. This was very intense and very entertaining.

Rating: 3.75

5. The Dudley Boyz defeated Big Show + Tajiri by pinfall

I miss Tajiri. It's a shame he'll probably never be back. The Dudleyz were still on their game at this point and the outcome was a solid match.

Rating: 2.5

6. Undertaker defeated Booker T by pinfall

This was much better than I had remembered it. It's still a slow match and I still think Booker should have gone over, but what do I know?

Rating: 2

7. Chris Jericho defeated The Rock by pinfall to win the WCW Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This was just a flat out awesome match featuring two of the most charismatic stars of the era. The chemistry between these two was just off the charts and it's a shame they never got a chance to have a WrestleMania match.

Rating: 4.25

8. Steve Austin defeated Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle by pinfall

This era was known for delivering in the main event and this show is no different. While this wasn't as good as it could have been, it is still a good way to end the show.

Rating: 3.5

This is a pretty awesome show. Three very good matches and a lot of good ones. I'd have to say this one is a little underappreciated, mostly because it's not one of the Big Four, but definitely that you should see if you liked this era.

Rating: 86%

Armageddon 2008

2009-05-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

1. Vladimir Kozlov defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall

This was definitely not the match I would have picked to open the show. Why not have the Henry/Finlay brawl? Kozlov is not an entertaining worker and Matt Hardy gave it his all, but he couldn't make this interesting.

Rating: .75 (out of 5)

2. CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio by pinfall

This was a real good match between two of the more consistent superstars. I would love to see these two have an extended feud.

Rating: 3.75

3. Finlay defeated Mark Henry by pinfall

This was a pretty decent garbage match that could have benefitted from being the opener. Not a bad effort.

Rating: 1.75

4. Batista defeated Randy Orton by pinfall

These two just do not have chemistry with one another. It probably doesn't help that neither of them are top notch workers.

Rating: 2

5. Michelle McCool, Mickie James, Maria, and Kelly Kelly defeated Victoria, Natalya, Jillian, and Maryse by pinfall

This was just a way to get the Divas to dress up in Christmas gear. Next.

Rating: .25

6. John Cena defeated Chris Jericho by submission

I would say this was a step up from their Survivor Series match, as the final few moments of this match were fast-paced and exciting. The crowd was digging it too.

Rating: 3.25

7. Jeff Hardy defeated Edge and Triple H to win the WWE Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This wasn't as quite as good as I remembered, but that could have been because it was overshadowed by an awesome moment. Even if you don't like Jeff Hardy, he has earned his main event spot. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.75

Well, there are two real good matches and another one that's very solid. However, the rest is pretty much a waste of time. Hardy's memorable title win and the Punk/Mysterio match bump it up to a recommended viewing.

Overall Rating: 74%

Unforgiven 2001

2009-05-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

1. The Dudley Boyz defeated Big Show and Spike Dudley, Lance Storm and The Hurricane, and The Hardy Boyz by pinfall

This was a very solid opener that could have easily been a mess. At least tag team wrestling existed at this point in time.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Perry Saturn defeated Raven by pinfall

The crowd was absolutely dead during this match, which would be a theme throughout the night. Not a bad match, but very much like a Raw match.

Rating: 1

3. Christian defeated Edge by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was actually quite good, but the crowd really killed it. It's pretty crazy how far these guys have come as characters since this point.

Rating: 3.25

4. Undertaker and Kane defeated Kronik by pinfall

This is one of the most infamously bad matches of the Attitude Era. The amazing thing about it is the four guys involved are all guys that were in the business for a long time.

Rating: 0

5. Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

There were a few sloppy spots to start, but once they got going, this was a great battle. They've had better matches, but this was still good stuff that *gasp* the crowd was actually into.

Rating: 3.5

6. The Rock defeated Booker T and Shane McMahon by pinfall

This was entertaining but by no means a great wrestling match. Really all this match did was make Booker T look bad, which turned out to be a bad business move.

Rating: 3.25

7. Rhyno defeated Tajiri by pinfall

Why they put this match on after a title match is beyond my comprehension? These guys put on a good, but rushed match. Tajiri's kick into Rhyno's face as he attempted to gore Torrie was money.

Rating: 1.75

8. Kurt Angle defeated Steve Austin by pinfall to win the WWF Championship

This was good, but not nearly as good as their SummerSlam match. It just lacked the epic feel that it needed. I still would have loved to have seen these two headline a WrestleMania together.

Rating: 3.5

This one is hard to rate. There are no classic matches, but there are some duds. One of which is legendary. But at the same time, there were 5 good pay-per-view quality matches, but it just lacked that big pay-per-view feel, despite the hometown Kurt Angle winning the gold.

Overall Rating: 75%

SummerSlam 2001

2009-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

1. Edge defeated Lance Storm to win the Intercontinental Championship

A good opener that showed flashes of the star Edge would become in just a few short years. Storm was always underrated and this remains among his most remembered WWE matches.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. Test and The Dudley Boyz defeated Spike Dudley and The Acolytes

This probably could have been the opener since it was the least important match on the card. Solid stuff, but nothing spectacular.

Rating: 2

3. X-Pac defeated Tajiri by pinfall to unify the Cruiserweight Championship and the Light Heavyweight Championship

This was solid stuff and it's a shame that they didn't do much more with Tajiri. He was always one of those guys that had solid matches.

Rating: 3.5

4. Chris Jericho defeated Rhyno by submission

These guys had surprisingly good chemistry with one another and really won the crowd over as a result. Rhyno was actually quite good at this point in time.

Rating: 3.25

5. Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match to win the Hardcore Championship

This was absolutely great stuff from two insane individuals. The mistakes were limited and there was never a dull moment. Rob Van Dam was extremely over at this point and there's no reason that he shouldn't have gotten a World Championship run.

Rating: 4.25

6. Undertaker and Kane defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon by pinfall to win the WCW Tag Team Championships

It's too bad DDP and Kanyon weren't around longer, as they were always two of my more favorite WCW wrestlers. This could have been worse, considering how it was booked.

Rating: 1.5

7. Kurt Angle defeated Steve Austin by disqualification

***Match Of The Night***

This match is just fricken awesome. Even with the horrible DQ ending, this was incredibly intense the entire way through. Kurt Angle really put on quite a show.

Rating: 4.5

8. The Rock defeated Booker T by pinfall to win the WCW Championship

Another intense match between two guys at the top of their game. Booker T was really a different wrestler at this point and it showed.

Rating: 3.75

This is an awesome show. There is not one bad match and there are two absolute classics. Not to mention a couple of other real good matches. This is a highly recommended show.

Overall Rating: 95%

Survivor Series 2008

2009-05-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

1. Shawn Michaels, Cryme Tyme, Great Khali, and Rey Mysterio defeated MVP , Kane, Miz, John Morrison, and JBL by pinfall

This was a fun opener, even if some of the pinfalls were too close together. Unfortunately, this was one of the few bright spots.

Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. Michelle McCool, Maryse, Natalya, Victoria, and Maria defeated Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Jillian, Candice Michelle, and Kelly Kelly by pinfall

This was your typical divas match. In retrospect, having Maryse win the match turned out to be a good idea, as she is turning into the top heel diva.

Rating: .5

3. Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Casket Match

Their last two matches completely exceeded everyone's expectations and then it was back to reality. Horrible match.

Rating: .75

4. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry, and William Regal defeated Batista, R-Truth, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and Matt Hardy by pinfall

This was another solid elimination match, however I didn't like the booking in this one as much. They made Batista look like the only guy on the face team who could do anything and considering they had some of their best young talent on his team, I am not a fan of that.

Rating: 2.5

5. Edge defeated Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov by pinfall to win the WWE Championship

I can almost say that Great Khali deserved to be in a main event match more than Kozlov. He showed just how green he is and Triple H seemed content to bore the hot crowd. Edge's surprise entrance saved this from being awful, but it's not enough to call this anything but bad.

Rating: .5

6. John Cena defeated Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship

***Match Of The Night***

I enjoyed this match much more on the second viewing. Although it was far from a classic, it still was better than anything else on this card. I still don't agree with the way they booked Jericho at the end of '08, but you can't blame them for having Cena win this one.

Rating: 3

Well, this was a real stinker. 2008 actually had quite a few real good shows, but this was probably the worst of the bunch. The two title changes make this have some historical significance, but other than that, it's a nothing show.

Overall Rating: 52%

No Mercy 2004

2009-04-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

1. Eddie Guerrero defeated Luther Reigns by pinfall

This was probably one of the worst Eddie Guerrero pay-per-view matches that I can think of. Reigns was just horrible.

Rating: .75 (out of 5)

2. Spike Dudley defeated Nunzio by pinfall

I was really hoping that this was going to be good. This was just a typical WWE match with cruiserweights in it.

Rating: 2

3. Billy Kidman defeated Paul London by pinfall

This was on pace to be the match of the night, but it just seemed to end. It needed another 5 minutes.

Rating: 3.25

4. Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree defeated Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

This was surprisingly a pretty fun match. It's too bad we never really saw a Mysterio/Van Dam feud.

Rating: 3.5

5. The Big Show defeated Kurt Angle by pinfall

Angle did everything he could to make this entertaining. The final few minutes were a lot of fun.

Rating: 2

6. John Cena defeated Booker T by pinfall to win the US Championship

Cena was nowhere near what he is today and Booker seemed to lack motivation. Plus, they really had no chemistry.

Rating: 1

7. Charlie Haas, Rico, and Jackie defeated The Dudley Boyz and Dawn Marie by pinfall

This was just filler. Charlie Haas was pretty good at this point, that's about it.

Rating: .75

8. JBL defeated Undertaker in a Last Ride Match

This was by no means bad, but there were some stretches that were just downright boring. There are only a select few individuals who can have a good match with JBL.

Rating: 1.5

Smackdown had a lot of talent on it, but it also had some of the worst wrestlers of the era. For whatever reason they seemed to try and spread out the talent, rather than having them go against one another. That's probably why this was a horrible time period for the blue brand. Not a good show.

Overall Rating: 48%

WrestleMania X-Seven

2009-04-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

1. Chris Jericho defeated William Regal by pinfall

They didn't get enough time to really have a classic, but they did a great job of opening the show.

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

2. Tazz and The Acolytes defeated Right To Censor by pinfall

This was just to get these guys on the show, as this was just a typical Raw match.

Rating: .75

3. Kane defeated Raven and Big Show to win the Hardcore Championship

This was a pretty solid match with Raven working his butt off. There were a few fun spots and a few sloppy ones, as usual.

Rating: 2

4. Eddie Guerrero defeated Test to win the European Championship

Eddie was the man and Test was pretty solid for a big man. Not a classic by any means, but another solid match.

Rating: 2.75

5. Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit by pinfall

This actually wasn't quite as good as I remembered. It is definitely not anywhere near their Royal Rumble match that would happen a little down the road. However, I am just being picky because this is still a very good match.

Rating: 3.75

6. Chyna defeated Ivory by pinfall to win the Women's Championship

Well, if she can beat Chris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett, then I'm pretty sure Ivory would be no big deal. This was more revenge than a match, so it doesn't get a zero.

Rating: .25

7. Shane McMahon defeated Vince McMahon by pinfall

This is one of those cheesy storylines that just somehow worked perfectly. These two guys put on as good of a match as they possibly could and the writers did a good job at making the crowd buy it.

Rating: 3.5

8. Edge and Christian defeated The Dudley Boyz and The Hardyz in a TLC match to win the Tag Team Championships

This is probably my favorite from their trilogy. Edge's spear off the ladder has to be in my top ten moments. These guys risked their lives one more time and delivered another classic.

Rating: 5

9. Iron Sheik won the Gimmick Battle Royal

This was simply to add a little fun to the show. The match itself was horrible, but it is probably the shortest battle royal ever, so it's all good.

Rating: .25

10. Undertaker defeated Triple H by pinfall

This was probably Undertaker's best WrestleMania match up to this point. Good late-90s WWE brawl, yet I question why they put this on right before the main event. Still, good match.

Rating: 3.5

11. Steve Austin defeated The Rock by pinfall to win the World Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This is just off the wall awesome stuff. I don't get how people can go back and watch Hogan/Warrior and think that match is anywhere near this one. These are the two top guys of their era tearing the house down. Awesome, awesome match.

Rating: 5

This is without any doubt in my mind, the greatest show ever. It has two of my all-time favorite matches, a great undercard, and a ton of memorable moments. The crowd was hot the whole show and they had great reason to be. They were witnessing the WWF at it's finest.

Rating: 100%

Royal Rumble 2001

2009-04-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

1. The Dudley Boyz defeated Edge and Christian by pinfall to win the Tag Team Championships

Things started off a little slowly, but the ending was what you would expect from these teams in this time period. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

2. Chris Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a Ladder Match to win the Intercontinental Championship

***Match Of The Night***

This is absolutely one of my all time favorite matches. Both wrestlers put in a gutty performance that had a different feel than most of the WWE ladder matches.

Rating: 5

3. Ivory defeated Chyna by pinfall

This was more of a storyline than a match. Short and inoffensive.

Rating: .25

4. Kurt Angle defeated Triple H by pinfall

This was very solid, even if it wasn't a classic. Angle was just getting comfortable at this point with the main event scene and proved that he belonged.

Rating: 3.5

5. Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is always more fun when it is live. It typically isn't a match that is one you crave to watch over and over. It's hard to really rate these matches. I would have to say this one is definitely in the top half of Rumble matches.

Rating: 3.5

This is a great show. This was really a high point for the WWF/E that led to a lot of great shows. This is definitely a must see.

Overall Rating: 93%

Cyber Sunday 2008

2009-04-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

1. Rey Mysterio defeated Kane by pinfall

I seem to be one of the few that thought this was pretty good. It was basically an extended Raw match, but still good fun.

Rating: 2.25

2. Matt Hardy defeated Evan Bourne by pinfall

If people doubted Bourne's ability, this match proved them wrong. By the end of this match, you actually thought he might pull off the upset. Real good stuff.

Rating: 3.5

3. Miz and John Morrison defeated Cryme Tyme by pinfall

Cryme Tyme is better suited for 5 minute matches, but they seem to be able to have solid matches with M+M. A little long, but not bad.

Rating: 2

4. Honky Tonk Man defeated Santino Marella by disqualification

This was an absolute waste.

Rating: 0

5. Undertaker defeated Big Show by 10 count

This wasn't as epic of a match as I remembered, but still better than you would think these two would be able to pull off. It's amazing how much better Undertaker is at this point of his career.

Rating: 3.25

6. Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

These two have great chemistry no matter how many times they square off. It seems like Triple H is better when he is the heavy favorite in a match.

Rating: 3.75

7. Batista defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This was a little slow to start, but then kicked into high gear before the overbooked finish. Still, Jericho can do no wrong.

Rating: 2.75

This was a much better show than I think anyone expected and possibly the best Cyber Sunday/Taboo Tuesday to date. I would have liked to have seen the Benjamin/R-Truth match on the actual card, but everything here was at least solid (minus the Marella match). Good show.

Overall Rating: 79%

SummerSlam 2000

2009-04-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

1. Right To Censor defeated Rikishi and Too Cool by pinfall

This was an okay opener featuring three of the most popular stars at the time. Seeing Stevie Richards actually get a win on pay-per-view makes this more enjoyable.

Rating: 1 (out of 5)

2. X-Pac defeated Road Dogg by pinfall

This was bad. Road Dogg would probably fall in my top ten least favorite WWE performers.

Rating: .5

3. Chyna and Eddie Guerrero defeated Trish Stratus and Val Venis by pinfall (Chyna wins the Intercontinental Championship)

This was essentially a Raw match that was saved by the greatness that was Eddie Guerrero. WWE really misses him.

Rating: 2

4. Jerry Lawler defeated Tazz by pinfall

There is no reason that this should have ever been an angle, let alone one that would lead to Jerry Lawler going over. This killed Tazz's credibility.

Rating: .25

5. Steve Blackman defeated Shane McMahon by pinfall

This was a decent hardcore match that is remembered for the insane bump that Shane took. Entertaining stuff, but nothing amazing.

Rating: 3

6. Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho by pinfall

This was good stuff as usual, but for a three fall match, it should have been at least 10 minutes longer. That complaint aside, these two never had a bad match together, and this match is no different.

Rating: 3.5

7. Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudleyz in a TLC Match

***Match Of The Night***

This is phenomenal, as you probably know by now. These guys definitely revolutionized the business.

Rating: 4.75

8. The Kat defeated Terri by stinkface

The less said about this, the better.

Rating: 0

9. The Undertaker and Kane fought to a no contest

This wasn't as bad as I originally remembered, but the ending was still pretty stupid.

Rating: 1

10. The Rock defeated Triple H and Kurt Angle by pinfall

This was the typical Attitude Era main event featuring three of the best performers of the era. This wasn't their best work, but still darn good.

Rating: 3.5

Despite a few flaws, this is a darn good show. During this time period, SummerSlam was often the top show. There is no question that this was a better show than WrestleMania 2000 and possibly the best show of the year.

Rating: 85%

WrestleMania 2000

2009-03-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

1. Big Boss Man and Bull Buchanon defeated D-Lo Brown and Godfather by pinfall

Wow, you really want to open your biggest show of the year with this?

Rating: .25 (out of 5)

2. Hardcore Holly won the Hardcore Battle Royal by pinfall to win the Hardcore Championship

For as big of a trainwreck that this match was, there were some fun spots. The ending still has me confused though?

Rating: 1.5

3. T&A defeated Head Cheese by pinfall

I love Al Snow, but man was this match ever horrible. That's 2 duds already.

Rating: 0

4. Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz in a Ladder Match to win the Tag Team Championships

***Match Of The Night***

Well, here's your show saver right here. As if you didn't know that by now. These guys put every ounce of effort into this match and it paid off, as this was a classic.

Rating: 4.75

5. Terri defeated The Kat

JR warned that this match was not for people who use the star system to rate matches. So in other words this one gets a...

Rating: 0

6. Too Cool and Chyna defeated Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn by pinfall

Why would you have Chyna pin one of the greatest performers of all time at WrestleMania? I'm sorry, I don't care what the storyline is, that should have never happened.

Rating: 2

7. Chris Benoit defeated Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho defeated Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle by pinfall to win the European Championship

This was a good solid match, but deep down, I know it would have been better without the goofy stipulation and had it ben given more time. However, on this show, I'll take any good match I can get.

Rating: 3

8. Kane and Rikishi defeated X-Pac and Road Dogg by pinfall

This was nothing more than a Raw match.

Rating: .75

9. Triple H defeated The Rock, Mick Foley, and The Big Show by pinfall

This was a good main event and I'm still shocked to this day that it got over a half hour. I didn't like how early The Big Show was eliminated or the way that Foley went out, but there were some good moments in here. There were also a few sloppy ones and the McMahon storyline overshadowed the match at times (big surprise, right?). This is one of the rare moments where the heel won in the main event at WrestleMania.

Rating: 3.5

Well, this show is prety hard to rate. You have 2 matches at 0, but have one of the best matches in WrestleMania history. There is just so much crap on here that I can't give it much higher of a rating than...

Overall Rating: 60%

Royal Rumble 2000

2009-03-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

1. Tazz defeated Kurt Angle by submission

This was Tazz's debut with the WWF and he got a huge ovation. However, he really didn't do much after this, but it was a fun moment. Kurt Angle was already approaching greatness at this point.

Rating: .75 (out of 5)

2. The Hardy Boyz defeated The Dudley Boyz by throwing them through tables

This was actually a pretty awesome match that is forgotten because of all of the classic ladder matches. This was a total ECW-style brawl, but was pieced together better than most matches of that style.

Rating: 3.75

3. Chris Jericho defeated Chyna and Hardcore Holly by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was much better than I remembered, even though Chyna is just horrible. I don't know why they forced Jericho into a feud with her. What a waste.

Rating: 2.5

4. The New Age Outlaws defeated The Acolytes by pinfall

Why did they book this match if it was only going to be three minutes? Not that I'm complaining.

Rating: .5

5. Triple H defeated Cactus Jack by pinfall

***Match Of The Night***

Well, this was fricken awesome. Not that you probably don't know that by now. Foley brought the goods and Triple H proved he's willing to take a beating. An absolute classic.

Rating: 4.75

6. The Rock won the Royal Rumble

This was actually a pretty lackluster Rumble. They really missed Austin and Undertaker's star power and the first half was pretty brutal. There were some good moments, but overall not the best Rumble match.

Rating: 2.25

Well, things were going along great, but the Rumble didn't deliver. On the other hand, you have one of the greatest WWF/E title matches of all time and a really good tables match. Automatic thumbs up there.

Overall Rating: 84%

King Of The Ring 1997

2009-02-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

1. Triple H defeated Ahmed Johnson by pinfall

This was actually a pretty good match, as Triple H was starting to improve his in-ring skills. Not a bad way to open the show.

Rating: 1.75

2. Mankind defeated Jerry Lawler by pinfall

This was not a very good match. Somehow, they kept sticking Lawler in against upper mid-card guys.

Rating: .5

3. Goldust defeated Crush by pinfall

Not sure how this match came about, but I would hope that whoever suggested it was relieved of their duties.

Rating: .5

4. Owen Hart, British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart defeated Sid and Legion Of Doom by pinfall

I actually had some hope that this was going to be good. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Rating: .75

5. Triple H defeated Mankind by pinfall

This was nowhere near as good as some of the matches they would have later on in the year, let alone the ones they had later in their career. Foley was always good at making people look good.

Rating: 2

6. Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels fought to a double disqualification

***Match Of The Night***

This was the first meeting between these two and it was darn good. They did a little bit more wrestling in this one, which made this matchup quite a bit different from their WrestleMania match.

Rating: 4

7. Undertaker defeated Faarooq by pinfall

This is probably one of the most forgotten WWE main events in history. You pretty much never hear this match even mentioned. It was actually a little bit better than I would have ever expected, even if everyone knew Faarooq had no chance.

Rating: 1.25

Well, this show is forgotten for good reason. There is one classic on here, but the rest is pretty forgettable. Even the King of the Ring match is just pretty good. Not a very good show.

Rating: 49%

SummerSlam 1999

2009-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

1. Jeff Jarrett defeated D-Lo Brown by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship and European Championship

This was a real good opener, even if it was much too short. D-Lo was always a favorite of mine during this time period.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. The Acolytes defeated Edge + Christian, Hardy Boyz, Mideon + Viscera, Droz + Prince Albert, and The Hollys by pinfall

This started off hot, thanks to Edge and Christian, but fell apart once they lost. These matches usually end up feeling repetitive.

Rating: 1.75

3. Al Snow defeated Big Boss Man to win the Hardcore Championship

This was actually pretty entertaining, even if we have seen this type of match 100 times before.

Rating: 2

4. Ivory defeated Torrie by pinfall

This was pretty awful. I think the fans forget how far the females have come along in the past decade.

Rating: .25

5. Ken Shamrock defeated Steve Blackman by decision

I really liked the Shamrock/Owen Hart match at the previous SummerSlam, but this one just was kind of there.

Rating: 1

6. Test defeated Shane McMahon by pinfall

Shane was pretty much money at this point of time. Test, at this point, was probably one of the better big men.

Rating: 3

7. Big Show + Undertaker defeated X-Pac + Kane to win the Tag Team Championships

This had some moments, but there were just too many big men involved.

Rating: .75

8. Rock defeated Billy Gunn by pinfall

I never really got what they saw in Billy Gunn. He was a decent performer, but just lacked that extra something to be fighting The Rock at a major show.

Rating: 2.25

9. Mankind defeated Triple H and Steve Austin to win the WWF Championship

This was a good WWE 90s style main event, but I felt that the ending should have been a little bit more special. I remember watching this live, assuming Foley had no shot.

Rating: 3.5

This show is definitely better than a lot of shows, but there is something about the storylines in this era that do not hold up as well. Still, this is solid, but unspectacular.

Overall Rating: 71%

King Of The Ring 1996

2009-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

1. Steve Austin defeated Marc Mero by pinfall

***Match of the Night***

This was a really good match that showcased both guys well. I know Mick Foley usually is very critical of Mero, but I thought he always put on solid matches. That Austin guy, I think he's going to be a star.

Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

2. Jake Roberts defeated Vader by disqualification

This was just an excuse to put Roberts over as an underdog and Vader as a monster. Not much of a match.

Rating: .5

3. The Smoking Gunns defeated The Godwins by pinfall

This era of tag team wrestling sucked big time, but I'd have to say this is the best match of this era (at least that I can remember).

Rating: 2.25

4. Ultimate Warrior defeated Jerry Lawler by pinfall

This was just a pointless squash to get Warrior on the card.

Rating: .25

5. Mankind defeated Undertaker by pinfall

I haven't seen a lot of good reviews on this match, but I thought it was really good. This was one of the first hardcore matches in WWF/E and these guys always had good chemistry.

Rating: 3.75

6. Ahmed Johnson defeated Goldust by pinfall to win the Intercontinental Championship

This was much better than expected, but still slow and sloppy at points. However, the crowd was into it and they gave a good effort.

Rating: 1.25

7. Steve Austin defeated Jake Roberts by pinfall to win the King of the Ring

This wasn't much of a match, but a huge historical moment that changed wrestling forever.

Rating: .25

8. Shawn Michaels defeated British Bulldog by pinfall

Yet another good match by Michaels in 1996. It's crazy that he's almost as consistent in 2009.

Rating: 3.5

I have only seen parts of this show before and honestly wasn't dying to see it again. However, there were three good matches on the card and one of the most important moments in WWF/E history on it. Much better than expected.

Overall Rating: 78%

Unforgiven 2008

2009-01-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

1. Matt Hardy defeated Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Finlay, and Mark Henry to win the ECW Championship

This was the first of three Scramble Matches on the night and this one was very solid. They did the right thing by letting Hardy win and I think that Chavo was the unsung hero of the match.

Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)

2. Priceless defeated Cryme Tyme by pinfall

This was given a good amount of time and because of that they were able to tell a story, rather than rush. While this is nothing that you should go out of your way to see, the match was actually pretty good.

Rating: 2.25

3. Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho by decision

***Match of the Night***

Well, this was fricken awesome. This was an all out brawl that actually felt like it meant something, a rarity in the WWE these days. Both guys were in top form and beat each other senseless. This was the best match of their series up to this point.

Rating: 4.25

4. Triple H defeated MVP, Shelton Benjamin, The Brian Kendrick, and Jeff Hardy by pinfall

This was without a doubt the best Scramble Match of the night. You had three guys trying to prove they belong in a high profile match and I think that really helped the quality of this match. Kendrick was awesome and unfortunately they did not capitalize on this performance.

Rating: 3.75

5. Michelle McCool defeated Maryse by pinfall

This was far from horrible, but nothing special. It didn't feel as scripted as some other Diva matches, so that's a plus.

Rating: .75

6. Chris Jericho defeated Kane, Batista, Rey Mysterio, and JBL by pinfall to win the World Heavyweight Championship

This was a bit sluggish, which is not surprising considering three of the men in this match are not known for their work rate. However, the surprise itself of Chris Jericho walking out with the title, makes this a significant match.

Rating: 2.25

With only six matches on the card, and three of them Scramble Matches, there wasn't a whole lot of room for error. However, I feel that everyone stepped it up and gave a great effort on this show. Thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 82%