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%
Thursday, July 30, 2009
WrestleMania X-8
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%
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%
Monday, July 13, 2009
Royal Rumble 2002
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%
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
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.
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%
Monday, July 6, 2009
WrestleMania 25
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%
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%
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