AEW World’s End 2023 12/30/23 10,093 in Attendance
Champions Heading In: AEW World Champion: MJF (407 Days) AEW TNT Champion: Christian Cage (99 Days) AEW Women’s Champion: Toni Storm (43 Days) AEW TBS Champion: Julia Hart (43 Days)
MJF defends his record world championship reign against Samoa Joe in his hometown, the Continental Classic concludes, and Adam Copeland goes no disqualifications with Christian Cage in a stacked show to close the year for AEW!
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Bryan Danielson, Daniel Garcia, Mark Briscoe, & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay White, Brody King, Jay Lethal, & Rush
Brody King Daniel Garcia AEW
Daniel Garcia def. Jay Lethal via Pinfall at 17:16
Everyone got their chance to showcase themselves in this match and the showdowns we got were awesome to witness. Pretty consistent overall, actually tells a nice story considering it’s just an all-star match, and it really touched my soul seeing Garcia get that roll up pin twice for the victory. Despite losing almost all of his matches in the tournament he still managed to get his moment and I’m really happy that he got that. Very good opener!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo
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Miro Andrade El Idolo AEW
Miro def. Andrade El Idolo via Submission at 15:14
The story is kind of hard to get interested in and this kind of went on a bit too long, but overall, it’s a decent conclusion to a chapter of this weird story between Miro and CJ Perry. Nothing outstanding, but no complaints besides the ones I’ve already said.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
‘Timeless’ Toni Storm(c) vs Riho | AEW Women’s World Championship Match
Toni Storm Riho AEW Women’s Championship
Toni Storm def. Riho via Pinfall at 11:39
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The awful offense from Riho towards the beginning of this match took me out of it almost immediately. They had an awkward pace for most of the match, but managed to bring me back at the end of the contest with some close calls and a crowd that seemed to be waking up. Overall a very hard contest to rate, but it wasn’t terrible, I guess.
⭐⭐
Rating: 1.5 out of 5.
Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes [In place of Keith Lee]
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Swerve Strickland Dustin Rhodes AEW
Swerve Strickland def. Dustin Rhodes via Pinfall at 9:28
I respect this match as an extended beatdown and a good showcase for Swerve. It’s unfortunate that Keith Lee couldn’t make it for this match, but we still got something. Dustin sold the leg well, not very sure about him hitting all those big moves, but it’s AEW so whatever you know. Decent encounter.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevera, Darby Allin, & Sting vs. Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Konosuke Takeshita, & Powerhouse Hobbs
Sting Konosuke Takeshita AEW
Sammy Guevera def. Ricky Starks via Pinfall at 15:42
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Before we get into the match itself, I’d just like to say to hell with Chris Jericho. All of my support goes out to Kylie Rae and any talent in general affected by power play and s*xual abuse. Now for the match itself, thank God at least some of the crowd was aware of Jericho’s terrible deeds. The match itself is your usual moves of doom for 15 minutes with the expected psychology problem. At this point I’ve seen like 30 of this exact same match. Someone should’ve shot on Jericho though…
⭐⭐
Rating: 1.5 out of 5.
Julia Hart(c) vs. Abadon | AEW TBS Championship Match
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Julia Hart Abadon AEW TBS Championshio
Julia Hart def. Abadon via Pinfall at 11:57
Just a really boring bout here with nothing much of a development throughout and a confusing pace. They kind of just did moves for nearly 12 minutes. The botched moonsault at the end did not help. Appreciate the “this is spooky” chant towards the beginning of the match though!
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland | AEW TNT Championship No Disqualification Match
Adam Copeland (Edge) Christian Cage AEW TNT Championship
Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage via Pinfall at 24:48
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Killswitch proceeded to attack Copeland, hand over his TNT Title Opportunity to Christian Cage, and Cage immediately won the belt back…
Christian Cage Killswitch AEW
Well, I’m disappointed with the booking of the aftermath, but the match itself is a pretty fun brawl with some nice callbacks to their careers together and some violent moments that made for an enthralling experience. Probably the only exciting moment of the night so far which is unfortunate.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston | AEW Continental Classic Tournament Final
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Jon Moxley Eddie Kingston AEW Continental Classic Final
Eddie Kingston def. Jon Moxley via pinfall at 17:16
A pretty good fight here to conclude the tournament. To me it wasn’t great, but I enjoyed it overall. I love that Eddie won this tournament and the story of him recovering from loss to get to the final cannot go unnoticed. Props to both men for creating a good fight and shoutout to Eddie for becoming a triple crown champion!
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
MJF(c) vs. Samoa Joe | AEW World Championship Match
MJF Samoa Joe AEW World Championship
Samoa Joe def. MJF via Submission at 17:52
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An enjoyable bout here with some nice arm work from Joe and of course great selling of said arm work from MJF. I’m surprised by the clean win from Joe, but considering what took place after, I guess a dramatic finish could’ve possibly made for overbooking? I’m not sure to be honest. Adam Cole being revealed as the devil post match was a good reveal, in my opinion, and his crew being Roddy, Wardlow, Taven, and Bennett, was an exciting thing to see. The whole build to this reveal, however, took way too long and might have been AEW’s worst main event storyline yet. It’s unfortunate considering how good I felt about the reveal itself.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Adam Cole betrays MJF AEW
Overall Thoughts: A very frustrating show to rate here. There’s some good qualities and some bad qualities. A few good matches, but the mid card was full of mid with nothing exciting until the final 3 matches. Even those matches have problems within themselves, mainly the booking. Just a lot of questionable booking decisions that made this a very bitter sweet show to watch. Might be their worst PPV if I’m quite honest. AEW is going down the hole and as someone who used to absolutely love the product, I’m very disappointed at the current state of it. At least we finally got a conclusion to the devil bullsh*t….
2023 was one of the wildest years in the history of professional wrestling! Join us as we list the best of a PACKED year in wrestling!
Promo Of The Year
Tanner/Prince – “The Son He Always Wanted,” Cody Rhodes & Paul Heyman | WWE Monday Night Raw, February 6th, 2023.
Paul Heyman Cody Rhodes promo
Tanner – “For me this was an easy decision to make. The emotions and words exchanged between Cody Rhodes and Paul Heyman involving Cody’s deceased father felt real and even I nearly shed a tear. This made the show-down between Roman Reigns and Cody at WrestleMania an even more important match, as Paul used a real life tragedy to sneak his way under the skin of Cody. The tears shed by both men made this feel like a real interaction and it only drew more heat onto Paul and his tribal chief Roman Reigns due to the intentions they had telling Cody what they did. Brilliant promo, makes the result even more painful.”
Prince – “Cody’s ‘finishing the story’ angle reached its pinnacle after this promo and it didn’t even have Reigns, the champion, involved! From the emotional turmoil Paul had to go through w/Cody’s words to the cope-up by Heyman without tarnishing his character was absolutely marvelous. There are other segments that came so close (for instance, the recent Punk/Rollins face-off) but nothing topped this war of words in my opinion.”
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MrDCWood – “You out, and I’m out too!,” The Bloodline enters Civil War!
Jey Uso turns on Roman Reigns
“The Usos. The Bloodline storyline has been one of the most phenomenal sagas in the history of wrestling, and the next thrilling chapter came when The Usos had had enough of Roman Reigns on the 16th June edition of SmackDown. Jimmy and Jey let their feelings for and against each other be known, and then Jey ultimately kicking his own brother out of the family, and then quitting himself by super kicking Roman flat on his arse. An amazing segment!”
Promotion Of The Year
WWE
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WWE WrestleMania Kevin Owens Sami Zayn
Tanner – “Ever since Hunter officially took over, the product has strived to be as interesting and exciting as possible with a roster full of returning stars and a whole new group of developing performers who will hopefully replace today’s stars in the future. WWE gave us a ton of stellar shows, moments, and matches that truly cemented them as the top product of 2023, which is something we as viewers haven’t seen in a very long time…”
Prince – “In all aspects, the promotion held their head high after the recent downfall & controversies it went through. The quality of matches & storylines felt fresh and super engaging and the surprise signings in Jade Cargill & CM Punk added more flavor to the already supreme product.”
MrDCWood – “Under the creative vision of Triple H, WWE has clearly flourished, with a great roster, fantastic storylines that have blossomed over the last year-and-a-half, consistent premium live events and TV shows have definitely given fans more reason to tune-in to the revitalized WWE product.”
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Show Of The Year
Tanner – AEW Dynamite, January 11th, 2023
AEW Dynamite Kenny Omega Young Bucks Elite
“This only makes the current state of the product even more depressing to look at. This, to me, was the perfect weekly television program in this entire year of wrestling. From excellent matches involving [e.g. Hangman/Mox, Danielson/Takeshita Elite/Death Triangle,] to storylines reaching new peaks, to Adam Cole’s PERFECT return promo…what a show this was and it was certainly my deal breaker for show of the year!
Prince/MrDCWood – WWE WrestleMania 39
Roman Reigns Bloodline WWE WrestleMania
Prince – “Despite a few decently tasted apples, this show didn’t spoil the tree at all in terms of match quality and entertainment factor. Starting from the divisively fabulous story from The Bloodline to the blistering GUNTHER/Sheamus/Drew war, the whole event was a tremendous spectacle to watch.”
MrDCWood – “There were a LOT of great shows this year, but WrestleMania 39 was an untouchable two-night event, with so many classic matches. From an overall standpoint, WrestleMania 39 was still one of the best Manias in recent memory.”
Tag Team Of The Year
FTR
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AEW FTR Wrestling Tag Titles
Tanner – “Dax and Cash have felt like the most consistent and well-rounded tag team not just this year but even years before. There’s never a dull moment with these two and watching their minds for wrestling play out in the ring is magical on all occasions! An awesome tag title reign and a huge catalogue of stellar matches makes them an easy choice for team of the year!”
Prince – “Time after time, I never felt tired of this duo irrespective of their position in the title scene. Their recent rivalries (Starks/Bill, BC Gold & House of Black) create a very interesting mystique and some of their matches were extremely remarkable as last year.”
MrDCWood – “Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have always been one of the greatest tag-teams of the last decade if not THE best, and 2023 was a year that cemented their status as THE best team today. An incredible run as AEW World Tag Team Champs has made them mandatory viewing on AEW programming.”
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Wrestler Of The Year
Tanner – Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson AEW Wrestling
“Approaching the end of his time as a full timer in the wrestling world, Bryan Danielson has somehow managed to become the most consistent performer of the year. Looking back, this was also Danielson’s most eventful year as he took part in a world title feud, went to war with his fellow BCC members, faced the legendary Kazuchika Okada, had multiple match of the year candidates, and put on an awesome performance in AEW’s recent ‘Continental Classic’ tournament. A GIGANTIC catalogue for a man entering the final years of his career…what a f*cking wrestler!”
Prince/MrDCWood – Gunther
Gunther WWE Wrestling Intercontinental Championship WrestleMania
Prince – “His Intercontinental title reign has definitely overshadowed the primary champions of both brands despite Rollins & Reigns having some excellent matchups in their repertoire. Apart from that, his herculean stand in the Royal Rumble is another key asset that boosted his value from a prospect to an actual main event contender.”
MrDCWood – “In 2023, Gunther has now made the IC Championship arguably the single-greatest-prize in all of wrestling. So many epic matches all year round, he broke records for longest-stint ever in a Royal Rumble and longest-reign ever as Intercontinental Champion. Surely set to become world champ in the future.”
Match Of The Year
Tanner/MrDCWood – Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn | WWE Elimination Chamber 2023
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Roman Reigns Sami Zayn WWE Wrestling Elimination Chamber
Tanner – “The story going into this was perfect and the satisfaction of seeing Sami Zayn getting a main event push in general was enough to make a grown man cry. The match itself is perfect in terms of quite literally everything. In ring quality, storytelling, crowd reaction, I loved every second of this and it went over 30 minutes! Some people have a hard time accepting the finish, but I think it perfectly wraps up the perfect gift that is this match. Well done to the both of them!”
MrDCWood – “After months of sublime build-up, the Bloodline saga exploded into such a heated, magical bout where you were so convinced that Sami could finally do the impossible. What an epic!”
Prince – Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley | WWE WrestleMania 39
Charlotte Flair Rhea Ripley WWE WrestleMania Wrestling
“From the build, I wasn’t that hooked initially since it was far from the WM36 spectacular hype. I had my hopes on their chemistry and expected a fantastic outing, but never did I expect these lasses to overdeliver their match three years ago. The torch-passing moment for Rhea & Charlotte’s laser-focused deliverance of action in a very long time left me in awe.”
That concludes our list for the best of wresling in 2023! Do you agree, or would you make different choices? Let us know by making a comment! And don’t forget to subscribe to our blog for more articles just like this!
September 13, 1993 Location: Manhattan, New York, USA (Manhattan Center) Announced attendance: ca 1200 TV rating: 1.8 (USA Network) [down 43.8% from the previous episode’s 3.2 rating]
RAW is back after some weeks without a show. With SummerSlam now in the history books, more history is made on RAW when The Steiners put the tag titles on the line in a unique match against a new WWF tag team, The Quebecers. Plus, Razor Ramon, Doink and Mr. Perfect are in action tonight.
Here is the list of champions in WWF heading into this RAW:
WWF Champion: Yokozuna [92nd day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Hulk Hogan
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [99th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Marty Jannetty
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) [86th day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage
The announcers show us the ‘Quebec Province Rules’ for the upcoming tag title match: the title can be lost by disqualification or by count-out, piledrivers are illegal, jumping off the top rope is illegal as is throwing someone over the top rope. Thank god Bill Watts isn’t from Quebec.
Quebec Province Rules – WWF Tag Team Championship: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. The Quebecers (Jacques & Pierre) (w/ Johnny Polo)
Jacques starts with some body shots to Rick, but gets caught with a powerslam. Jacques takes a powder and Pierre is the one who gets back in, only to eat a powerslam himself for a one count. Tag to Scott, who drops Pierre with a butterfly powerbomb. Dropkick gets two. Scott misses a blind charge in the corner, and Pierre comes off the middle rope with a flying clothesline for two. Fistdrop gets two more. Scott explodes with a backdrop to Pierre and takes Jacques down as well. Rick sets up Jacques for a piledriver, but Scott reminds him of the Quebec rules and Rick punches him instead as we take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Rick blocking a powerslam and an O’Connor Roll by Jacques, with the latter dumping Jacques all the way to the floor. The action returns to the ring with Scott locking in a chinlock on Pierre. He fights out of it, blocks a hiptoss attempt and clotheslines him. However, Scott comes back with an overhead suplex for two before locking in a half crab submission. Scott brings Rick in, who applies the same hold until Jacques breaks it up. The Steiners maintain control though, with Scott dropping an elbow on Pierre’s back for two. Rick with a belly-to-belly suplex and he goes up top, with Scott having to remind him of the rules yet again. Pierre eventually meets Rick on the middle rope, with Rick picking him up and slamming him off. Jacques breaks up the pin, but ends up elbowing Pierre by mistake. Johnny Polo takes him team for a pep talk on the outside while we take another break.
Commercial break
We return with Pierre cheapshotting Scott to put the Quebecers in control. The heels hit a bunch of double team moves for a nearfall. The Quebecers cut the ring in half and cheat while Rick keeps trying to interfere and distracts the ref. Pierre slams Scott and hits a Vader Bomb for two. Scott finally gets a shot and milks the hot tag, with Pierre breaking it up just in time. The Quebecers with yet another great double team move as Jacques backdrops Pierre onto Scott’s body for two. Scott manages to hit a DDT out of the corner and goes to make the tag, but now Pierre enters the ring and cheapshots Rick. Rick goes after Pierre while Scott leaves the ring, with Johnny Polo threatening to use the hockey stick. Instead, Jacques jumps Scott on the floor and puts him back in. Jacques with an Alabama Slam right into a Boston Crab, with Pierre coming off the middle rope with a flying legdrop too. He goes for it again, but this time Rick enters the ring and slams Pierre off before breaking up Jacques’ submission too. Jacques breaks up the hot tag yet again, only for Scott to explode with a double clothesline on both Quebecers. It finally opens the door for the hot tag to Rick, who cleans house! It turns into a PANDEMONIUM with all four in the ring, and Scott hits the Frankensteiner on Pierre for two. Jacques broke up the pin, but Scott wasn’t legal anyway. Meanwhile, Polo throws the hockey stick in the ring while the ref is busy with Rick. Jacques goes for a shot, Scott blocks it and hits Jacques just as the referee turns around, causing the DQ and giving The Quebecers the belts at 22:00.
Winners by DQ & new champions: The Quebecers (Jacques & Pierre)
Rating: The unique rules resulted in a really fun match for the most part, with some nice teases by Rick selling the gimmick well. It started off a bit slow since they were going long, but it got pretty good once The Quebecers took control. I really liked their double-team moves and they did a great job of neutralizing The Steiners. They used the rules to their advantage, as they should’ve, and it worked in the end with Scott losing his temper and using the hockey stick to cause the DQ. Cheap title change but it made sense considering who was involved. ***1/2
Mr. Perfect vs. Tony DeVito
DeVito strikes first with a pair of cheapshots and runs all the way to the back. Perfect forces him back inside the ring and he pounds away. DeVito hits a dropkick, but Perfect bounces back with a dropkick of his own. The crowd chants “we want Shawn” right before Perfect puts him away with the Perfectplex at 2:47.
Winner: Mr. Perfect
Rating: Just a normal squash. Perfect was angry, selling his loss at SummerSlam well. 1/2*
We see a recap of Ludvig Borga challenging Lex Luger in the dressing room at SummerSlam.
Razor Ramon vs. Executioner #1
Razor overpowers Executioner to start. Executioner with a thumb to the eye, and he slugs away for a while. Razor with a chokeslam while McMahon hypes up a Razor/IRS feud on commentary. Fallaway slam by Ramon. Abdominal stretch, but Razor breaks the hold and hits a backdrop suplex off the top rope for the win in 2:36.
Winner: Razor Ramon
Rating: Fun squash as always with Razor. 1/2*
The Quebecers & Johnny Polo promo
Vince McMahon interviews The Quebecers, who are extremely happy about winning the titles. McMahon thinks they should be worried about a rematch with The Steiners under normal rules. Jacques doesn’t think they deserve it because it took him 7 years to get a title shot. The Steiners join us at ringside while the promo is going on. Johnny Polo says they’re on, but only if one of the Steiners can beat one of the Quebecers (they later reveal it’ll be Pierre) in a singles match next week. The Steiners walk away and the Quebecers sing their song to end the segment. This was designed to give The Quebecers some heat since the title win came a bit out of nowhere, but this wasn’t great.
Main Event
Doink the Clown vs. Rich Myers
Doink is distracted with the bucket of confetti, allowing Myers to jump Doink to start. That goes nowhere, though, as Doink turns things around with a belly-to-belly suplex. Pumphandle slam followed by a German suplex. Doink remains in control as we get a live call from Crush on commentary. Crush hangs up the phone when Savage speaks, teasing their feud and Crush’s heel turn. Doink finishes with the flying buttdrop splash at 2:10.
Winner: Doink the Clown
Rating: Very solid showing from Doink here. 3/4*
Bobby Heenan wants Doink to throw the bucket of water on McMahon and Savage, but Doink ends up giving Heenan a shower instead to begin his face turn.
Next week: Bam Bam Bigelow, Mr. Perfect and IRS are all in action. Plus, Pierre vs. Scott or Rick Steiner for the right to a title rematch.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Really good episode this week with a lot of stuff happening. The Quebecers winning the tag titles in a unique (and pretty good) matchup, The Steiners having the chance to earn a rematch next week, Doink showing some face signs and Crush slowly teasing a heel turn. Obviously, The Steiners and The Quebecers took much of the time this week and were the highlight of the episode. 7/10
That’s gonna be all from me today. Thank you for reading. Make sure you don’t any of the upcoming reviews here on the blog. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful year, everyone!
August 30, 1993 Location: Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA (The Palace of Auburn Hills) Announced attendance: 23,954 PPV buys: 250,000 (up 2% from WWF KOTR 1993’s 245,000 buys; down 11.3% from WWF SummerSlam 1992’s 280,000 buys; up 85.7% from WCW Beach Blast 1993’s 100,000 buys)
SummerSlam 1993 came in a transitional period for the company. With the days of Hogan and Warrior in the rearview mirror, Lex Luger steps up to challenge Yokozuna for the WWF Championship in an attempt to become the company’s top babyface. Meanwhile, King of the Ring winner Bret Hart battles the self-proclaimed ‘King’ Jerry Lawler. The Undertaker faces Giant Gonzalez in a Rest in Peace Match, and more. Let’s get to it!
Here is the list of champions in the WWF heading into SummerSlam:
WWF Champion: Yokozuna [78th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Hulk Hogan
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [85th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Marty Jannetty
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) [72nd day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & IMDb
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan
The broadcast starts with the Lex Express arriving at SummerSlam. Heenan & Vince hype up tonight’s events before we go to the first match.
Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon
DiBiase jumps Razor before the bell and unloads on Razor to start. Razor fights back with a backdrop, hits a fallaway slam and DiBiase bails. DiBiase tries to take back control inside the ring, but Razor shrugs him off with a couple of clotheslines, and a third clothesline dumps DiBiase to the floor. Razor uses the ropes to launch DiBiase back inside the ring. DiBiase begs off, only to grab the tights and ram Razor’s head into the turnbuckle. DiBiase chokes away as he finally gets control of things. Back elbow smash by DiBiase. Backbreaker gets two. Clothesline gets two. DiBiase with a tight chinlock that McMahon thinks is a choke, but Heenan argues that it’s legal and Razor simply has the bigger Adam’s Apple. You won’t find a better analyst anywhere! Razor escapes the hold, but DiBiase drives his knee to the gut. Swinging neckbreaker by DiBiase. He follows it with a suplex and calls for the Million Dollar Dream. Razor counters it with an elbow to the gut, and a clothesline puts DiBiase down. DiBiase stops him by ramming his head into the buckle, and proceeds to expose another turnbuckle behind the ref’s back. However, DiBiase ends up getting sent into the exposed buckle himself, which sets up the Razor’s Edge for the win at 7:32.
Winner: Razor Ramon
Rating: Solid opener, but not the awesome match these two could’ve potentially had. DiBiase was on his way out and worked his final WWF match here, putting Ramon over big time clean on PPV. They kept it simple but it wasn’t bad, and Razor looked good. **1/2
Todd Pettengill has a very weird interview with the Steiners’ mother and sister, who essentially say nothing before they just throw it to the ring for Jim Cornette’s introduction of the Heavenly Bodies.
WWF Tag Team Championship: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray & Tom Prichard) (w/ Jim Cornette)
Cornette is wearing a neck brace from an angle in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, which McMahon actually mentions on commentary. The Heavenly Bodies waste no time and go to work on the Steiners right away. They dump Scott to the floor and take Rick down with a double suplex. Flapjack by the Bodies, called a “double back body drop” by Vince because he’s funny that way, and Scott comes in for the save. Scott with a monkey flip to Del Ray out of the corner. The Steiners toss Prichard halfway across the ring, Rick hits a Steinerline on Del Ray and Scott with an overhead belly to belly on Prichard. Tilt-a-whirl slam by Scott on Del Ray and the crowd goes crazy for that sequence from the Steiners. The Heavenly Bodies bail and eventually come back in to take more of a beating. Gorilla press slam by Scott on Prichard and a huge backdrop to Del Ray. Rick delivers nasty Steinerlines to both Heavenly Bodies as the Steiners continue to dominate. Scott atomic drops both Bodies, but turns his attention to Del Ray and that allows Prichard to come in from behind with a bulldog. Prichard dumps Scott and Del Ray lands on top of him with a somersault plancha.
Del Ray throws Scott back in, and comes off the top rope with a flying double axehandle. Scott reverses a whip into the ropes and sets up for a Steinerline, but Del Ray turns it into a sweet floatover DDT. The Heavenly Bodies take over as they cut the ring in half. Del Ray superkicks Scott for two. They continue to isolate Scott in their corner and Cornette adds a shot with the racket. Del Ray goes for the floatover DDT once again, but this time Scott reverses it into a suplex. Butterfly powerbomb to Prichard and the hot tag to Rick! He runs wild and hits the flying bulldog on Del Ray, but Prichard breaks up the pin at two. Rick with a powerslam to Del Ray, but the ref is busy with Scott and Cornette throws the racket into the ring. Prichard hits Rick with it and Del Ray gets on top for the one, two… no! The Heavenly Bodies set up for the moonsault block on Rick, but Scott pulls him out of the way and Del Ray takes out Prichard instead. Scott plants Del Ray with the Frankensteiner and Rick gets the pin to retain at 9:28.
Winners & still champions: The Steiners
Rating: That was all action from start to finish. It was a pretty good match that saw The Steiners completely dominate until the Bodies started cheating. They traded some nice nearfalls eventually leading up to the Steiners’ win in their home state. This was good stuff. ***1/2
Joe Fowler interviews Shawn Michaels & Diesel backstage. Fowler was the replacement for Mean Gene, and he didn’t last long in the WWF.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) vs. Mr. Perfect
The match begins with Shawn taking Perfect down, but he gets too cocky and Perfect takes him down in return. Perfect tries a backdrop suplex, Shawn flips out and lands on his feet. They proceed to mess up a simple spot (seemed like a Shawn armdrag to me) off a criss-cross sequence. That was weird. Perfect drops some knees on the arm and goes to work on it. Shawn reverses it into a headlock that leads into a fast wrestling sequence won by Perfect. We get a stalemate. Shawn takes Perfect into the corner, and that quickly backfires as Perfect unloads with the chops. Shawn goes for the flashy offense, but Perfect’s always two steps ahead of him and takes Shawn’s head off with a massive clothesline. Blind charge in the corner misses, though. Michaels goes up, but Perfect catches him with an armdrag in midair. Armbar by Perfect. Shawn escapes the hold and goes for a dropkick, but Perfect catches him and catapults him all the way to the floor. Perfect goes after Shawn outside, but gets distracted with Diesel and Shawn nails him with the Superkick. Michaels follows it up with a double axehandle off the apron before bringing Perfect back inside.
Michaels whips Perfect into the buckle, who takes a pretty good bump. Michaels arrogantly walks on Perfect’s back and drops all his weight on the back. Backbreaker by Shawn followed by a submission. Perfect eventually escapes the hold and comes back with a dropkick. Backdrop, kneelift and an atomic drop get two. Perfect with a forearm for two. Hiptoss by Shawn is blocked into a backslide attempt by Perfect, but Shawn fights it. He flips out of it, only to get caught with the Perfectplex. One, two… Diesel pulls Perfect out of the ring. Perfect takes it to Diesel on the floor. Michaels tries to come off the apron with a double axehandle, but nails Diesel instead when Perfect moves out of the way. Perfect sends Shawn into the ring, only to get sent into the post by Diesel behind the ref’s back. Perfect is unable to get back in and gets counted-out at 11:20.
Winner by CO & still champion: Shawn Michaels
Rating: It wasn’t a bad match, but people expected a lot more given the hype. WWF themselves promoted it as the greatest Intercontinental Title match of all time, which ended up costing them. It’s not even close to being the best IC Title match ever, especially with such a weak finish. However, it was still a pretty good match. ***1/4
Perfect goes after Michaels and Diesel inside the ring afterwards. He gets knocked out by Diesel, but gets back up and chases them all the way to the back.
Joe Fowler interviews The 1-2-3 Kid, who wants to keep overcoming the odds.
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Irwin R. Schyster
IRS strikes first with a shoulderblock, but gets surprised with a spinkick for two. Faceplant by IRS. He goes for another one, but this time The Kid reverses into a dropkick in midair for two. IRS drops him with a back elbow smash and then dumps The Kid over the top to the floor. IRS uses the ropes to shoot The Kidd off the apron into the ring, but Kid lands on his feet and rolls up IRS for two. IRS cuts him off with a back elbow smash yet again, and proceeds to drop an elbow for two. Rope assisted abdominal stretch by IRS and he goes for a chinlock. The Kid escapes the hold with a series of kicks and the moonsault block gets a nearfall. La magistral cradle gets two. Kid gets caught going for another spinkick, but he turns it into an enziguiri instead for two. IRS hits the Write Off clothesline for the win out of nowhere at 5:44.
Winner: Irwin R. Schyster
Rating: The Kid had his working boots on and clearly wanted to impress on PPV. The match was solid enough, but the finish could’ve been done a lot better. It was literally a clothesline off a criss-cross sequence. Very abrupt. Regardless, it was a nice showcase for The Kid, and honestly I think he should’ve gone over here somehow. **1/2
Meanwhile, Owen Hart & Bruce Hart reveal Jerry Lawler attacked Stu Hart and thus his parents aren’t here tonight.
Bret Hart comes out for his match. Jerry Lawler comes out next… on crutches. Unfortunately, he had a terrible car accident when he arrived here in Detroit. The doctors told him he wasn’t clear, but he still came here like a true king. Sadly he can’t compete tonight, but that doesn’t mean Bret won’t get a beating. Bret’s gonna go up against Lawler’s “court jester”, Doink the Clown.
Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown (w/ Jerry Lawler)
Before the match, Doink throws water on Bruce Hart at ringside. That was supposed to be confetti, and some have claimed it was Owen Hart’s idea to do it with water as a prank. That does sound like something Owen would do!
Anyway, Bret jumps Doink outside the ring and takes him to the ring to start the match. Bret clotheslines Doink over the top to the floor. He rams Doink into the post outside. Bret throws him back inside, Doink begs for mercy but Bret unloads on him. Lawler encourages Doink on the outside, and Doink goes up top only to get crotched on the top rope. They get into a slugfest after a small distraction by Lawler, won by Bret with a nasty headbutt. Bret leaves the ring to after Lawler, however, and that allows Doink to jump Bret from behind. Doink rams Bret into the steps. Back in, Doink comes off the top with a flying double axehandle to Bret’s back. Doink goes to work on the leg with a legbreaker. Doink leaves the ring to ram Bret’s leg into the post. That gets two back inside. Doink locks in the STF, Bret escapes but Doink catches him with a knee to the gut. Doink locks in the Stump Puller, but Bret makes it to the ropes. Doink goes up top for his flying buttdrop splash finish, but Bret gets his knees up to block. That HAD to be a painful bump for Doink. Russian legsweep by Bret. Middle rope elbow. He puts him in the Sharpshooter… and Lawler runs in to hit Bret with the crutch for the DQ at 9:05.
Winner by DQ: Bret Hart
Rating: This was more of an angle than a match in more ways than one, but the action was solid and it was entertaining. **3/4
Lawler magically continues the beating on Bret before walking away with Doink. Jack Tunney comes out and forces Lawler to wrestle Bret Hart right now.
‘King of the WWF’ crown: Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
As soon as Howard Finkel makes the announcement, Bret meets Lawler up the ramp and unloads on on him. He carries Lawler all the way to the ring and bites him in the corner. The crowd is very much into the beatdown. Backdrop by Bret and he sets up for the Sharpshooter already, but drops the low headbutt instead. Bret hits Lawler with the crutch outside of the ring, which isn’t a DQ. Lawler takes the crutch from Bret and hits Bret in the midsection in return. Lawler chokes Bret with the crutch while the ref’s busy with the Hart Family at ringside. More shots with the crutch by Lawler. Back inside the ring, Lawler hits him with the crutch to the throat. Bruce Hart has now jumped the railing and asks the ref if he needs glasses. This is hilarious! Meanwhile, Bret takes the straps down and Lawler wants a handshake now! Bret responds with a series of vicious punches in the corner. His punches look amazing. Headbutt by Bret and a backdrop. Backbreaker gets two. Piledriver followed by the middle rope elbow. Then, Bret does the Batista thums up/thumbs down signal and sets him up for the Sharsphooter. Bret applies it and Lawler gives it up at 6:32.
Bret keeps the hold on for minutes afterwards, and not even a sea of officials are able to break it up. Finally, Owen & Bruce get in the ring and convince Bret to release the hold. However, Finkel announces the referee has reversed the decision because of the attack and thus Lawler is the undisputed king via DQ. Lawler does a stretcher job on the way to the back and leaves with his hand up as the winner! Bret celebrates in the ring. On a side note, Bret Hart claimed in his book that Lawler had hit him so hard in their angle at the end of KOTR that Bret felt it for ages. Thus, Bret put some little extra mustard on the Sharsphooter during this post-match attack as receipt, hyper-extending Lawler’s back & knees for minutes!
Winner by DQ: Jerry Lawler
Rating: Well, it’s very tricky to rate this one. Much like I said after Bret vs. Doink, this was also more of an angle than a traditional match per se. The crowd was super into it the entire time, even if the match was only six minutes. Still, we have to consider everything that went down here, and overall this was a lot of fun. ***1/2
Ludvig Borga cuts a typical WWF foreign heel promo on America & Lex Luger.
Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga
Jannetty turns his back to Borga like a dumbass when the bell rings, which allows Borga to pound away in the corner. Clothesline out of the corner by Borga. Faceplant and he drives a punch to the gut on the way down. Borga remains in control with kicks and punches, until he misses a blind charge in the corner and eats buckle. However, Marty runs right into a clothesline and goes down. Marty tries a sunset flip, but he’s overpowered by Borga who blocks it. It’s Bearhug O’Clock. Marty fights out of it, tries a powerslam but his back gives out and Borga plants him with yet another clothesline. Marty blocks a punch and connects with a pair of superkicks. He goes up top, but lands on Borga’s arms, who drops Marty with a front slam. Borga gets him up for the Torture Rack and Marty gives it up at 5:15.
Winner: Ludvig Borga
Rating: Jannetty tried his best and he sold the back really well, which made sense given Borga’s finisher. Marty would’ve been better off wrestling himself out there, because Borga brought nothing but kicks and punches to the table. With that said, the match was a lot better than it had any right to be, thanks to Marty. *1/2
A video package promoting Survivor Series airs. McMahon announces the traditional elimination tag team matches will be back this year.
Rest in Peace Match: The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez (w/ Harvey Wippleman)
The stip is finally revealed before the match, with Finkel announcing it’s… no DQ. That’s a nice way to steal a couple of PPV buys!
Undertaker starts by slugging away in the corner with KARATE THRUSTS, as called by McMahon. Gonzalez comes back with a headbutt, but Undertaker cuts him off with a KARATE CLOTHESLINE. He can’t knock Gonzalez down, however, and Gonzalez headbutts a charging UT. He gets up with the zombie situp, but Gonzalez dumps him and rams UT’s head into the steps. Gonzalez grabs a chair at ringside and hits UT in the back. Giant Gonzalez gets back in the ring while UT sells a chairshot to the back like death on the outside. UT gets brought back inside the ring by Gonzalez, and he crawls for the urn in the corner. Gonzalez with punches, UT fights back with some more KARATE THRUSTS and goes for the urn, but Harvey takes it away from him. Gonzalez remains in control until we hear a gong. Paul Bearer makes his return and comes down to ringside with a black wreath. Bearer clotheslines Wippleman on the floor and grabs the urn, in what was the best sequence of the match thus far. Gonzalez turns his back to the match and Bearer uses the POWER OF THE URN to get UT back to his feet. UT makes the comeback with five clotheslines, but that’s not enough to put Gonzalez down. He follows it up with a flying clothesline for the win(??) at 8:04. A flying clothesline, really!?
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: This really is one of the worst feuds in WWF/E history. At least this match had a finish unlike WM 9, which is the best thing I can say about it. Outside of that, everything about it sucked. Not to mention the ridiculous sensationalist promotion for this match. I’ll gladly never see any of this ever again. DUD
And then, Giant Gonzalez chokeslams Harvey Wippleman after the match. That was supposed to be a big face turn, but it obviously went nowhere and Gonzalez’s WWF career only lasted a few more months.
Joe Fowler is in the back with Yokozuna, Fuji & Cornette. Fowler says it’s been a night of surprises and we could see another one with Luger becoming champion. Cornette says the only surprise here is Fowler’s employment. That was a hilarious response! Corny warns Luger one last time and Yoko yells BANZAI to end the segment. Epic burn by Cornette!
Bam Bam Bigelow & The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) (w/ Luna Vachon & Afa) vs. Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns (Billy & Bart Gunn)
All three heels jump the faces with clotheslines in stereo to start. Bam Bam works over Tatanka, until Tatanka explodes with a dropkick and a backdrop. They collide on a bodypress attempt leading to a double KO spot. Billy and Fatu tag in and get into a slugfest, until Fatu superkicks him. Fatu sets up for a suplex, but Billy turns it into a faceplant. Billy goes up to the top rope and comes down with an inverted bulldog. Fatu runs over with a running shoulderblock, however, and The Headshrinkers destroy Billy with a double headbutt. Samu superkicks Billy right into his corner, which allows Bart to tag in. Bart comes in with a bodypress for two. He ends up running into an elbow, though. Bam Bam in with a dropkick for two. Fatu hits a powerslam for two. Samu comes back in for some biting, and The Headshrinkers double headbutt Bart again. Bigelow adds a headbutt of his own, and he rams Bart’s head into the heads of the Samoans.
Bart comes back with a faceplant to Fatu, but as you know that doesn’t work on Samoans, as Fatu pops right back up and clotheslines Bart. Bigelow & Bart with a double back elbow. Bigelow eats buckle on a blind charge, though, and Bart makes the hot tag to Tatanka. The chops stagger Bigelow, and Tatanka takes him down with a powerslam. He follows it up with a DDT, and then goes up top for a high crossbody that gets two. Tatanka IS ON THE WARPATH… but Bigelow cuts that off with an enziguiri. Nice! Diving headbutt by Samu gets two, with Bart breaking up the pin. Fatu immediately takes him out with a superkick as it turns into a PANDEMONIUM! The heels get rid of the Gunns before turning their attention to Tatanka. Bigelow crushes Tatanka with an avalanche in the corner before all three heels destroy him with a triple headbutt! They all go up to the top rope for a triple diving headbutt, but Tatanka moves out of the way and they all miss it. Meanwhile, The Smoking Gunns get back in to even the odds, allowing Tatanka to roll up Samu for the win at 11:15.
Winners: Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns
Rating: I wasn’t expecting it at all, but this turned into quite the fun chaotic six-man tag bout. Bam Bam worked really well alongside The Headshrinkers, and Bigelow cutting off Tatanka’s comeback spot was the highlight for me. It started off as a pretty basic tag match, but it got better as time passed. ***1/4
Joe Fowler interviews the driver of the Lex Express. Fast Forward City, baby.
Meanwhile, the National Anthems of both Japan & USA are sang before the main event, with Randy Savage as the ‘master of ceremonies’.
Main Event
WWF Championship: Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) vs. Lex Luger
Big staredown to start. Fuji sneaks in behind Luger, who knocks him off the apron. Yoko tries to capitalize, but he misses a blind charge and Luger unloads on him. A back elbow staggers Yoko, who blocks a punch and tries to slam Luger, but Luger tries to reverse into an O’Connor Roll, which is also blocked by Yoko. Luger avoids Yoko’s massive legdrop and kicks away at the leg until the big man eventually goes down. Elbowdrop gets two. Yoko slams a charging Luger and goes for an elbowdrop of his own, but misses. Clothesline in the corner by Luger. He goes for the corner punches, but ref Earl Hebner forces the break and that allows Yoko to cheapshot Luger. Fuji comes in with a handful of salt, but Luger ducks it. Luger can’t slam Yokozuna as his back gives out, and Yoko follows it up with a superkick. Yoko takes Luger to the floor, squashing him into the post. Luger avoids a chairshot and throws Yokozuna back into the ring. Back in, Luger comes off the top rope with a flying double axehandle. A second one connects and Yoko is still on his feet. Luger goes up a third time, and a third one finally puts Yokozuna down for two. Running forearm to the back of the head by Luger gets two. They collide on a clothesline for a double KO spot.
Meanwhile, Cornette gets up on the apron to distract the ref, which allows Fuji to throw the bucket into the ring, and Yoko hits Luger with it for two. Belly to belly by Yokozuna gets two. Backdrop suplex gets two more. Yoko goes to the nerve hold as the crowd starts chanting USA. Then, in a brilliant bit, Luger stomps Yoko’s barefoot to escape the hold. He goes for the slam yet again, but this time Yoko lands on top for two. Legdrop gets another nearfall. Yokozuna sets up for the Banzai Drop, but Luger moves out of the way and Yoko lands on his ass. Yoko still gets up before Luger and sets him up for the running buttdrop splash in the corner. He misses and eats the turnbuckle, though, and Luger follows it up with a big slam. Huge pop for it while Bobby Heenan loses his mind saying it was a hiptoss! Luger takes out Fuji on the apron. Hebner gets distracted with that, so Luger takes out the elbowpad and the running forearm knocks out Yokozuna all the way to the floor. Luger takes out Cornette, and Yoko is still out and fails to make it back in at 17:58.
They throw a big celebration for Luger afterwards, with the other babyfaces joining Luger in the ring, balloons falling from the sky and everything, despite the fact Luger technically LOST his one and only title shot!
Winner by CO: Lex Luger (still champion: Yokozuna)
Rating: Well, let’s get the obvious thing out of the way first – the post match celebration was ridiculous and made Luger look like the world’s biggest dumbass for celebrating what was, for all intents and purposes, a loss. Putting that aside, I liked this match. I thought Yoko and Luger worked well together, and I particularly liked the final 5 minutes or so. The nearfalls got Luger more over with the crowd, since he he kept refusing to stay down. They also did a good job of building up the slam spot. I don’t even mind the finish if you take out the celebration that followed, as it could’ve easily led to a rematch down the road. They wanted to bring it back at WM 10 and have Luger win the title there, but he’d lost nearly all his heat by then. ***
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: This show is the definition of ‘thumbs in the middle’. While there’s good stuff on this PPV that I’d recommend, there are also some awful matches that you should avoid. It also lacked a spectacular match that truly stole the show and would become remembered forever (like Bulldog vs. Bret or even Savage vs. Warrior from the previous year), which is a point against it as well. However, I did like the tag title match, the Bret/Lawler saga and even the six-man tag match, which I thought would be nothing more than pure filler. That was a great surprise for me. The main event was also good, though it had the awful post-match celebration. And while Michaels vs. Perfect was far from bad, expectations were high (and WWF deserves most of the blame since they literally promoted it as the best IC Title match ever in advance!) and they didn’t even come close to that level. The less said about Undertaker and Giant Gonzalez, the better. Overall, I’m going right in the middle for SummerSlam. 5/10
That’s gonna be all from me today. I hope you enjoyed the review, thank you for reading. Don’t miss the upcoming reviews here on the blog. Until next time!
August 23, 1993 Taped show (on August 16, 1993) Location: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA (Mid-Hudson Civic Center) Announced attendance: ca 3000 TV rating: 2.8 (USA Network) [down 13.3% from the previous RAW’s 3.2] the original airing on Aug. 22, 1993 did a 2.9 rating
A replay of WWF SummerSlam Spectacular (that aired originally the previous night) was shown during the RAW time slot this week. It was a TV special to promote SummerSlam, which would happen the following week. The Steiners defend the WWF Tag Team Championship against Money Inc. in a Steel Cage Match. Shawn Michaels puts the Intercontinental Title on the line against Bob Backlund. Yokozuna battles Jim Duggan.
Here is the list of champions in the WWF heading into SummerSlam Spectacular: (lengths considering the date of the RAW replay – Aug. 23)
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WWF Champion: Yokozuna [71st day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Hulk Hogan
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [78th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Marty Jannetty
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) [65th day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
Note: in title matches, the defending champions appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Jim Ross
The show kicks off with a video package narrated by Jim Ross highlighting the Yokozuna/Duggan feud. That match is coming up right now.
Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Jim Duggan
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Duggan assaults Yokozuna from behind during his traditional bow. He grabs the 2×4 for a shot, but the referee Mike Chioda prevents Duggan from using it and that allows Yokozuna to cheapshot him. Yokozuna pounds away and Fuji chokes Duggan on the ropes too. The crowd’s USA chant gives Duggan some adrenaline as he fights back, until Yoko cuts him off and legdrops him. Bearhug by Yokozuna. Duggan fights out of it and actually tries a powerslam, but his back gives out and Yokozuna lands on top of Duggan for two.
Commercial break
We’re back with Duggan trying to fight out of yet another Yokozuna bearhug. Duggan resorts to biting after a while, but even that isn’t enough to stop Yoko. He releases the hold and opts to choke Duggan on the ropes instead. Duggan is still showing some life, but he’s still unable to put Yokozuna down. Duggan moves out of the way of Yoko’s running buttdrop splash in the corner, which opens the door for Duggan’s comeback. Cue the USA chant. DUGGAN IS HULKING UP, BROTHER! A running clothesline… Yoko staggers. Second one… Yoko staggers. A third one… finally puts Yoko down! Duggan calls for the Three Point Stance, but Fuji pulls Duggan’s leg to distract him. That gives Yokozuna enough time to get up and squash Duggan with a running avalanche in the corner. Banzai Drop ends it in 8:30.
Winner: Yokozuna
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Rating: I didn’t expect much, and it definitely didn’t set the world on fire or anything like that, but it was a really solid match. Duggan did a nice job of making Yokozuna look good, putting him over big time. Yoko sent Duggan packing out of the WWF ahead of the SummerSlam title match with Luger and looked unstoppable doing so. Duggan only got his hope spot after Yokozuna himself missed a move and ate the turnbuckle, which was a good touch. **1/4
Yokozuna wants another Banzai Drop, but several referees come out and help Duggan to the back.
Afterwards, Vince McMahon is backstage with Yokozuna, Cornette & Fuji. Corny says he’s heard rumors (including from Vince himself) that Lex Luger has awaken the sleeping giant. The thing is Yokozuna was never asleep, he was always a beast. But now, he’s a mad dog and he’s ready to destroy Luger at SummerSlam. Cornette adds Luger asked for this title shot, so now it’s up to Luger to take the responsibility for what Yoko will do to him. He doesn’t want it on his conscience. Mr. Fuji doesn’t want it on his conscience. Yokozuna doesn’t even have a conscience! When Yokozuna comes down with several Banzai Drops, Luger is gonna roll over and beg Corny & Fuji to stop Yokozuna, but Yoko won’t be stopped. He’ll finish Luger as well as the fans’ hopes and dreams. Fantastic promo by Cornette!
We see a recap of Razor Ramon‘s face turn.
Razor Ramon vs. Blake Beverly
Beverly gets in Razor’s face and gets the toothpick in the process. Lockup to start and Beverly bitchslaps Razor in the corner twice. Uh, I wouldn’t do that! Razor takes it to Beverly immediately, who wants no part of it and bails. Beverly with a cheapshot as Razor enters the ring. Beverly uses a handful of hair to get control via a headlock. Ramon finally escapes it, Beverly goes for the hair again, so Razor shoves him down by the hair in return. Beverly calls for a test of strength, only to hit Razor with a cheap kick to the gut. Razor fights back with a series of rights, with the last one sending Beverly flying. Razor’s punches are incredible. Razor charges, but Beverly ducks and dumps Razor to the floor with a backdrop. Beverly exposes one of the turnbuckles while the ref Danny Davis is counting Razor out. Back in, Beverly with a great looking neckbreaker. He proceeds to whip Razor back first into the exposed turnbuckle. Beverly goes to work on the back now. Backbreaker followed by a powerslam. Beverly goes for a cocky pin that Razor turns into a pin of his own for two. Beverly clotheslines Razor but gets too cocky yet again, allowing Razor to whip Beverly right into the turnbuckle that he exposed. Great comeuppance spot there. The crowd is going crazy for Ramon! Razor picks him up for the Razor’s Edge at 6:11.
Winner: Razor Ramon
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Rating: Very fun match. Beverly already proved he could go as a singles wrestler on a recent RAW against 1-2-3 Kid, and he delivered here yet again. Razor was on fire as the babyface and Beverly had a great heat spot. The stuff with the exposed turnbuckle was good and added a lot to this match. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands and put on a fantastic little match here. ***
Jerry Lawler is in a car with Elvis Presley in Memphis. He hates the fact Elvis is impersonated by many people, and Elvis hates that Lawler is being impersonated by Bret Hart as the ‘king’.
Bret Hart responds and says Lawler took it too far when he got his family involved. Bret says all his family will be at ringside at SummerSlam to witness the beating Lawler will receive at the hands of Bret.
Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns (Billy & Bart Gunn) vs. The Brooklyn Brawler, Barry Horowitz & Reno Riggins
Billy Gunn and Horowitz fight over a wristlock to start. Riggins gets in and walks right into a Japanese armdrag by Billy. Off to Bart for a regular armdrag, and Reno tags out and brings in the Brawler. Tatanka goes to work on the Brawler’s arm before taking him down with a scoop slam. Billy comes back in, only to get caught in the heel corner with a cheap knee. Horowitz follows it up with a northern lights suplex for two. Brawler with a neckbreaker for two. Riggins in with a sideslam for two. The jobbers are actually getting a lot of offense here, shockingly. Billy finally cuts Reno off with a sunset flip, but Horowitz breaks up the pin at two. Billy gets triple-teamed in the heel corner while ref Earl Hebner is distracted with the faces. Billy explodes with a flying forearm on Reno and makes the hot tag to Tatanka. He explodes with the chops and it soon turns into a PANDEMONIOUM! The Gunns get rid of Brawler & Horowitz and Tatanka is ON THE WARPATH BY GAWD. He comes off the top with a high crossbody for the pin on Reno at 7:04.
Winners: Tatanka & The Smoking Gunns
Rating: I wasn’t expecting to see that much offense from the jobbers, so it was fun in that regard. They got some good stuff in there, but I’m not particularly sure if it made the faces look great ahead of a PPV match with Bam Bam Bigelow & The Headshrinkers. The work itself was decent, though. **1/2
We see a clip of Lex Luger‘s call to action campaign.
The Undertaker interview
Mean Gene is in the ring to conduct this interview. Gene wants to know the rules of the RIP match. Undertaker says the RIP match will end when he goes into his carcass and extracts every living organ and the soul of Giant Gonzalez. Da fuck, man. Giant Gonzalez interrupts and cuts a promo of his own: “this time YOU rest in peace”. Gonzalez walks out of the ring and Undertaker leaves the ring as well. What the hell was this? What a terrible, absolutely awful promo.
Another clip of Lex Luger and his legion of fans.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (w/ Diesel) vs. Bob Backlund
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Shawn begins with a series of powerslams and even rests in the corner. Backlund fights back with a number of armdrags and sends Shawn flying with a big slam. Backlund with a backslide for two and Shawn rolls out of the ring for a breather. Shawn spits at Backlund, leading to a pursuit with Shawn hiding from Backlund in the corner.
Commercial break
We’re back with Shawn in control as he slugs away. Shawn with a front facelock and he seems quite bored to be there. Michaels’ facial expressions are great here and he looks like such a prick. Backlund escapes the hold and slaps Shawn in the face. Backlund makes the comeback with a backdrop, a dropkick and a swinging neckbreaker for two. Backlund with a delayed atomic drop and he goes for the cover, but Diesel has the referee distracted. Michaels grabs the tights and rolls up Backlund for the pin to retain in 6:20.
Winner & still champion: Shawn Michaels
Rating: First of all, it’s an odd match on paper. The bout itself was solid. Shawn’s heel work was great in this one, and Backlund did a good job with his hope spots. The finish was really abrupt and could’ve been a lot better, but it was a solid match overall. **3/4
Meanwhile, Lex Luger tells you to always try your best no matter what. I can’t wait for SummerSlam to be over so I don’t have to see any more of these endless sitdown interviews.
Ludvig Borga threatens Marty Jannetty in an interview with Vince McMahon. He’s here to destroy people & specifically Americans, not to win titles.
Marty Jannetty vs. Duane Gill
Jannetty wrestles Gill to the mat where he goes to work on the arm. Gill tries a backdrop that Jannetty turns into a cradle for two after landing on his feet. The idea was there, but the execution wasn’t great. It was a hard move to pull off, though. Anyway, Jannetty catches Gill with a superkick when he gets back up. Marty launches Gill with a backdrop while JR mentions the debut of Radio WWF. There’s a project that didn’t really go anywhere. Marty hits a spinning reverse DDT off the top rope, goes back up top and comes down with a flying fistdrop for the pin at 3:21.
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Winner: Marty Jannetty
Rating: Short and sweet victory for Jannetty ahead of his PPV battle with Ludvig Borga. 1/2*
SummerSlam Report w/ Mean Gene
Aaron Neville will sing the American National Anthem at the show
Gene with a rundown of the full card:
Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger for the WWF Title in the main event
Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect for the IC Title
The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez in a RIP Match
The Steiners vs. Heavenly Bodies for the WWF Tag Team Titles (if the Steiners retain up next)
Tatanka & Smoking Gunns vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Headshrinkers
Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon
IRS vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga
Main Event
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Steel Cage Match – WWF Tag Team Championship: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
No pinfalls or submissions in this one. Both team members must escape the cage to win.
DiBiase slaps Scott and both Steiners go after him. IRS tries to escape the cage already while the Steiners are busy with Ted, but he’s caught eventually. That’s actually bad strategy, because the Steiners could’ve easily crushed DiBiase 2-on-1 and then walk out of the cage together. DiBiase tries to leave the cage from behind as well, only for the Steiners to bring him back to the ring. Now it’s the Steiners’ turn to leave the ring, both at the same time, but Money Inc. are there to prevent it. Money Inc. try to escape the cage together but the Steiners are there to stop them yet again, with Rick exposing DiBiase’s ass while pulling him down. Scott with the ten punches in the corner, but IRS grabs his boots and crotches him on the top rope. Meanwhile, DiBiase is nearly out on the other side of the ring, but Rick grabs Ted’s foot and pushes down, eventually bringing him back in. Scott and IRS fight on top of the cage. Rick comes in to pull IRS away, but DiBiase comes in just in time to grab Scott by the hair and bring him back in with a superplex. That was nice. Money Inc. prevent Rick from escaping and beat him up together for a while until Scott comes back in. The Steiners both climb to the top of the cage and seem close to winning, only for IRS to superplex Scott down. DiBiase pulls IRS back to the middle of the ring as well.
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Commercial break
We’re back with the heels going for the win together. The Steiners cut them off yet again, with Scott ramming DiBiase’s face into the steel. The Steiners try to escape once more. IRS pulls Rick down by the legs, but Scott is already on the other side of the cage. The crowd is going crazy now. DiBiase grabs Scott’s hair and manages to place his head in between the cage bars, choking Scott before bringing him back in with a front facelock. Very creative spot, very well done. Meanwhile, Rick with a Steinerline on IRS inside the ring. Money Inc. try everything in their power to prevent the Steiners from escaping. Scott uses IRS’ own tie against him, choking him to get some distance, but DiBiase is there to help IRS and bring Scott to the ring. Huge sense of struggle in this match, which is great. Rick and DiBiase collide in the middle of the ring, and both Scott & IRS decide to walk out at the same time. They both walk out of the ring, leaving it down to DiBiase vs. Rick for the belts.
Rick Steiner gets up first and starts climbing the cage… but IRS climbs back inside and prevents Rick from getting the win. That draws Scott back inside as well, with Scott delivering a flying double axehandle to IRS off the top of the cage. All four men are back inside the ring, and Gorilla & JR say this means both members have to escape again. So Scott & IRS escaping a while ago is essentially nullified. Money Inc. manage to stop the Steiners from climbing the cage together, and DiBiase chokes Rick down with his own headgear as we take another break.
Commercial break
We’re back once more with Scott on the floor, but he goes back in again because Rick is being double-teamed. Scott tries to prevent IRS from leaving, but IRS smartly goes behind the post (where he can’t be reached) and climbs down. DiBiase is nearly out as well, and we get a brilliant tug-of-war spot with The Steiners pulling DiBiase into the ring while IRS tries to pull him out. Obviously, The Steiners win that exchange and DiBiase is back in the ring. The champs go for the escape, but IRS comes back in and stops Scott from leaving. However, Rick does make it to the floor. He thinks about coming back since Scott is being double-teamed, but he changes his mind once Scott explodes with a double clothesline. All three men are down as Rick cheers on at ringside. They battle on the cage, but Scott gets knocked down and Money Inc. have everything to win. DiBiase climbs down! Rick places IRS on his shoulders to stop him from winning! DiBiase gets involved as he tries everything to get his partner to touch the floor, but that leaves room for Scott to climb down and retain the titles after 17:58.
Winners & still champions: The Steiners
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Rating: Absolutely amazing cage match. Fantastic match that felt like a struggle all the way, like I said earlier. Both teams tried everything in their power to come out on top, with the Steiners eventually finding a way to win. They had the crowd’s attention from beginning until the end. I highly recommend watching this cage match. ****
The show ends with Randy Savage & Men on a Mission rapping in support of Lex Luger. Yep, exactly what you’re reading!
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Just a fun show with no pressure that was a very enjoyable watch. There were some squashes in here, but the steel cage delivered big time and boosts the show’s overall rating. Plus, Razor vs. Beverly, Yokozuna vs. Duggan and Michaels vs. Backlund were fun to watch as well. A very good TV special that felt more like a glorified house show at times, so it’s a very easy watch. Also, good rebound after a couple of shitty RAWs in the last couple of weeks. Well done, WWF! 7/10
August 18, 1993 Location: Daytona Beach, Florida, USA (Ocean Center) Announced attendance: 8903 TV rating: 3.8 (TBS) [37.5% up from Clash #23’s 2.6 rating]
Hello everyone. Welcome to my review of WCW Clash of the Champions #24. Featuring Vader vs. British Bulldog for the WCW Title, Ric Flair & Sting teaming up, Hollywood Blonds defending the tag titles against The Four Horsemen again, and the (masterfully) shocking reveal of the final member of Sting’s team for WarGames at Fall Brawl… you know where this is going!
Here is the list of WCW’s champions heading into Clash #24:
WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Big Van Vader [154th day of his 3rd reign] – previous champion: Sting
NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair [31st day of his 9th reign] – previous champion: Barry Windham
NWA United States Heavyweight Champion: Vacated (for 81 days] – previous champion: Dustin Rhodes
WCW World Television Champion: Paul Orndorff [169th day of his 1st reign] – previous champion: Scott Steiner, before it was vacated
WCW/NWA Unified World Tag Team Champions: The Hollywood Blonds (Stunning Steve Austin & Flyin’ Brian Pillman) [169th day of their 1st reign] – previous champions: Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas
Note: in title matches, the defending champions appear underlined
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & WhatCulture
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Your hosts are Jesse Ventura & Tony Schiavone
The show begins with a brief video package hyping tonight’s big matches. The pyro goes off in the arena and we go to the announcers.
They throw us to a pre-recorded promo from the Hollywood Blonds. Pillman announces he has a serious injury and can’t compete tonight. He says he’s very disappointed and apologizes to the fans because they won’t see the Blonds! Austin apologizes to the Horsemen and promises they’ll get a shot… just not tonight!
Back in the arena, Schiavone claims WCW officials announced the Blonds must defend the belt anyway. According to him, the Blonds chose Steven Regal as Brian’s replacement. Jesse Ventura can’t believe this decision by WCW. It’s quite the dick move, indeed.
WCW/NWA Unified World Tag Team Championship – Stunning Steve Austin & Lord Steven Regal (w/ Flyin’ Brian Pillman & Sir William) vs. The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Paul Roma)
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Regal comes out wearing Pillman’s belt, which is pretty weird. Austin and Arn start. AA gets the first strike with a shoulderblock, and Austin replies with a big clothesline. Advantage Austin, who goes to work on Arn until he takes Austin down and slugs away on him. Arn catapults Austin over the top rope, but Austin holds on to the rope and doesn’t fall outside. Jesse says that would’ve been a DQ if Austin landed on the floor. Are they really still acknowledging this rule? They ignore it every single match even when it happens in front of the ref. Austin comes back in and gets backdropped over the top by Anderson, but the referee Nick Patrick misses it since he was busy with Regal. Austin eats railing on the outside until he eventually tags in Regal. Arn goes to work on his arm, tags in Roma who comes off the top with a flying double axehandle to Regal’s arm. Roma slugs away in the corner, which gets Jesse all worked up because of the closed fists! Wrestling sequence sees ROMA OUTWRESTLING REGAL (yep) before Roma unloads with a dropkick. Austin cuts off Roma’s flurry by driving a knee to Roma’s back while he ran the ropes.
Tag to Austin who takes control. Suplex by Austin. Pillman gets his little cheapshot in by choking Roma on the ropes while the ref’s distracted. Paul Roma tries to sunset flip Regal, but Regal sits down to block it and follows with a somersault splash. Roma drives Austin’s head into the buckle and goes for the comeback, only to eat a knee to the gut by Austin for two. Some nice double-teaming by the “Hollywood Blonds” here. Patrick misses a small package by Roma due to a distraction outside, and Arn from the apron gets a cheapshot in on Austin. Roma surprises Austin with a Stungun of his own, causing Regal to jump in the ring immediately. Hot tag to Arn is missed due to Regal’s involvement, and a tag to Regal keeps the heels in control. Regal grabs Roma’s leg until he ends up taking an enziguiri from Roma, who finally makes the hot tag to Arn. He runs wild with several strikes for both heels. Anderson sets up Austin for the DDT, but Regal comes in from behind. Roma gets rid of Regal, Sir William jumps on the apron with Pillman’s crutch but Austin is the one who ends up getting knocked into it, and Arn rolls him up for the pin and the titles at 9:52.
Winners & new champions: The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson & Paul Roma)
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Rating: Despite the weird scenario and all the confusion that came with it, this was a pretty good match because of the talent involved. While Roma is definitely not on the level of anyone else here, he did a really good job as the face in peril. I believe The Blonds’ title reign still had legs, but they wanted the belts on this new version of the Horsemen now that Flair is back. I can understand the decision, but I don’t particularly agree with it. ***1/4
Eric Bischoff interviews the new champs on top of the ramp. Paul Roma says a lot of people don’t think he’s got what it takes to be a Horseman (ya think!?) but Anderson believed in him and that’s all it took. Anderson says it was hard to win the belts and it’s gonna be hard to keep it, but as of tonight you must call ’em champs.
Bobby Eaton vs. 2 Cold Scorpio
This could be a very interesting one. Eaton goes to work on the arm to start. Eaton dumps Scorpio, who lands on his feet and springboards back in right into a bridging pin for two, only to take a clothesline from Eaton. Eaton takes it to Scorpio in the corner until he misses a blind charge. Scorpio follows it up with a high crossbody for two, before hitting an armdrag. Into the armbar he goes. Legdrop onto Eaton’s arm as Scorpio now goes after the arm. Scorpio misses a crossbody, though, allowing Eaton to take control. Eaton chokes away on the ropes. Hammerlock takedown by Eaton. Scorpio fights back, puts Bobby on the top rope and dropkicks him all the way to the floor before meeting him outside with a dive. Back in, Eaton with a swinging neckbreaker that didn’t look good at all. He hits another one immediately afterwards, this time connecting perfectly. Eaton up top, and a flying elbowdrop gets two. They get into a slugfest that is eventually won by Scorpio, and a spinning heel kick puts Bobby down. The 450 Splash gives Scorpio the win after 5:26.
Winner: 2 Cold Scorpio
Rating: This was a showcase for Scorpio, with Eaton doing a good job of making him look good. The match was a bit sloppy at times for whatever reason, but overall it was pretty solid and accomplished the task at hand. **1/2
Mask vs. Guitar: Johnny B. Badd vs. Maxx Payne
For some reason this “feud” is still going. Plus, Johnny’s “mask” is just to sell the terrible confetti attack, so why even bother? Payne jumps Badd during his entrance and goes to work on him with an elbowdrop. Johnny fights back but eventually misses a crossbody, and Payne hits him with a sideslam. Maxx Payne unmasks Badd… but Badd has a second mask underneath. Ohhhhhh. Johnny with a flying headscissors, clothesline by Payne and a hammerlock slam. He sets up for the Paynekiller, but Johnny reverses into a cradle for two. Payne drops a couple of elbows, he goes up only to miss a flying splash… and Badd puts one arm on top for the DRAMATIC win at 2:41.
Winner: Johnny B. Badd
Rating: The third pointless match in this really, really pointless feud. 1/4*
Afterwards, Jesse Ventura interviews Johnny B. Badd, who’s got Maxx’s guitar (now his guitar?) with him. Johnny says he’ll reveal what Johnny really looks like on WCW Saturday Night. So what was the point of this match again?
And now… we make history!
Flair For The Gold w/ Sting, Davey Boy Smith & Mystery Partner!
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Flair begins the show with Fifi The Maid. Naitch immediately brings out Sting & Davey Boy Smith to talk about the WarGames at Fall Brawl, but they get cut off by Sid Vicious & Harlem Heat. They all yell at each other before Sting introduces their SHOCKING tag team partner, THE SHOCKMASTER! And then it happens. It’s absolutely hilarious, and the fact The Shockmaster cuts a stupid promo afterwards (that’s supposed to be serious) makes it even better. An all-time clusterfuck!
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The announcers are struggling to remain serious during the entrances for Steamboat/Orndorff due to what happened with The Shockmaster. Jesse in particular is laughing his ass off.
WCW World Television Championship – Paul Orndorff vs. Ricky Steamboat
Michael Buffer does the ring announcing for this one. Orndorff gets all worked up with the ‘Paula’ chants before the bell. Steamboat with a tight headlock to start. Shoulderblock by Steamboat for two, and he goes back to the headlock. Orndorff takes him down with a wristlock, but Ricky bridges his way back up and turns it back into the headlock. Steamboat misses a blind charge and goes flying all the way onto the ramp. Orndorff sends Steamboat to the ring, and comes back in with a flying elbow smash for two. Paul with a chinlock, Steamboat fights out only to get slammed for a number of two counts. Hiptoss by Orndorff for two, and back to the chinlock he goes. This is pretty good because Paul just isn’t letting go of Steamboat. Faceplant by Orndorff for a number of nearfalls. He just doesn’t allow Steamboat to rest. Paul eventually dumps Steamboat to the floor, only to get sent into the buckle. Steamboat flies back in with a flying elbow smash of his own for two. Now it’s Steamboat bringing it to Paul. Backdrop suplex by Steamboat, who hurts his own head on the landing. Delayed pin gets two. Steamboat chops Orndorff over the top to the floor, which Jesse thinks should be a DQ. Ricky follows it up with a dive on the outside. Back in, Orndorff cheapshots Steamboat and works the count a few more times. Meanwhile, Jesse hands Paul the belt. However, Steamboat catches him with an O’Connor roll for two. Orndorff goes for the Piledriver, Steamboat reverses it into a pin for two with Paul bridging up. Backslide by Steamboat gets two more, but Orndorff takes him down with a clothesline. Blind charge in the corner only finds Ricky’s boot. Up goes Steamboat, he hits a high crossbody but the momentum puts Orndorff on top for two. Back up, Steamboat reverses a slam attempt into a cradle for the pin and the TV Title at 8:31.
Winner & new champion: Ricky Steamboat
Rating: Fantastic fast-paced match between two veterans who threw everything at each other in order to win. They had great chemistry and delivered a fantastic title match despite only getting eight minutes. ***1/2
Then, Orndorff knocks out Steamboat with the Piledriver onto the belt on the ramp to get his heat back.
Promo by Harley Race who is standing by with The Colossal Kongs.
Ric Flair & Sting vs. The Colossal Kongs (Awesome Kong & King Kong) (w/ Harley Race)
Schiavone announces Flair and Sting will face each other for Flair’s NWA World Title on WCW Saturday Night. Sting with dropkicks and powerslams to both giants, who bail immediately. Back in, all four guys go at it inside the ring for a while. Flair takes one of the Kongs to the floor while Sting runs wild on the other one inside the ring. Flair and Harley Race get into a fight briefly outside. Stinger Splash. Sting goes up top and a flying splash finishes the Kong at 2:14.
Winners: Ric Flair & Sting
Rating: A total squash, surprisingly. Flair didn’t even get tagged in and they just destroyed a couple of 500 pound guys managed by Harley Race in 2 minutes! 1/4*
Sting & Flair get interviewed by Schiavone afterwards. They put each other over and shake hands, but each promise to win the World Title on Saturday Night.
The announcers discuss who Dustin Rhodes’ mystery partner will be in just a while.
Dustin Rhodes’ partner is revealed to be… Road Warrior Animal. Actually, Animal reveals it’s all a ruse and the real partner is Road Warrior Hawk.
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Rick Rude & The Equalizer vs. Dustin Rhodes & Road Warrior Hawk (w/ Road Warrior Animal)
Hawk and Rude start us off. Hawk shoves Rude into the corner to start. Rude used to do that spot regularly in his matches with Ultimate Warrior. Hawk calls for a test of strength, but Rude seems reluctant. Rude eventually accepts and Hawk gets the better of that exchange. Tag to Equalizer, who gets met with a dropkick. Equalizer bails and gets a few shots on Hawk back inside the ring, only for Hawk to turn things around with a corner clothesline. Hawk eats boot on a blind charge, though. Rude comes back in for a chinlock. Hawk gets back to his feet with Rude on his shoulders, tags in Dustin who comes off the top for the Doomsday Device. Rhodes with an atomic drop to Rude followed by a backdrop. Rude blocks a monkey flip out of the corner and clotheslines Rhodes. Rude goes up and comes down with a flying fistdrop. Rude celebrates with the hip swivels. Equalizer back in with a back elbow smash on Dustin for two. Equalizer slams Dustin and tags Rude back in. The heels set up Rhodes for a double-team, but The Equalizer ends up clotheslining Rude by mistake instead. Hot tag Hawk, which the referee misses, but he ends up forgetting about it as Hawk just ignores him and runs wild on the heels anyway. Equalizer sets up for a powerslam on Rhodes, but Hawk comes off the top and Dustin lands on top of The Equalizer for the pin at 7:41. Very confusing finish to say the least.
Winners: Dustin Rhodes & Road Warrior Hawk
Rating: The match started off nicely with a fine Rude/Hawk sequence, but it turned into a big mess near the end. *1/2
Main Event
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Title Can Change Hands Via DQ – WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race) vs. Davey Boy Smith
They start the match on the ramp with Vader taking his mask off as he brings it to Bulldog. Vader with a big clothesline on the ramp. He sets up for a suplex, but Bulldog counters and gives Vader an insane delayed vertical suplex. That man’s strength is beyond ridiculous! Running clothesline takes out Vader on the ramp. A dropkick puts Vader on the ropes, and Bulldog follows it up with a clothesline that sends Vader to the ring. Bulldog comes back in with a sprigboard splash, but Vader gets his knees up. Vader unloads in the corner with his barrage of punches. To the floor, Vader goes for a running splash, Bulldog moves out of the way and Vader hits the railing. Bulldog slams Vader onto the railing and gets back in. Vader crawls back in as well. Bulldog is waiting for him and gets him up on his shoulders for a Samoan Drop that gets two. Bulldog literally walked with Vader on his shoulders. Vader catches a charging Bulldog with a stiff shot. Vader drops an elbow on Bulldog’s leg and takes over.
Another big clothesline takes Bulldog down. Samoan Drop by Vader. He goes up top, and crushes Davey Boy with a splash off the top for two. Bulldog gets caught going for a sunset flip, Vader with a buttdrop splash but Bulldog escapes. Bulldog gets two off that. Vader whips Bulldog into the corner, who takes a huge upside down bump. Vader follows it up with a splash, and it seems academic at this point. Vader continues to take it to Bulldog, however. That nearly costs him eventually, as Bulldog catches Vader with a crucifix pin for a nearfall. Vader KNOCKS OUT Bulldog with a massive right hand. He takes him to the corner so he can throw more shots, and Bulldog just looks out of it by now. Bulldog somehow fights back, but Vader instantly cuts him off and puts him back down rather easily. Vader climbs up to the top rope, but takes too long and Bulldog dropkicks him. Bulldog fires away in the corner as he makes the comeback, but ends up running into Vader’s boot in the corner. Vader Bomb connects… for a nearfall. I wasn’t expecting that. Vader goes up top again, Bulldog slams him in midair (how Sting beat Vader at Starrcade 92) but Vader’s feet knock the ref down and he misses the count. Bulldog picks up Vader for a slam, but Harley gets in the ring and trips up Davey, as Vader lands on top for the win to retain at 11:11.
Winner & still champion: Big Van Vader
Rating: Yet another rock solid hoss fight between these two, who had some fun title matches this year. They had great chemistry together and proved it here once again. The nearfall off the Vader Bomb was really well done, especially since Bulldog’s was selling as if he was finished. Bulldog kept his heat as he was clearly going to win off the slam in midair, which was how his partner Sting beat Vader at Starrcade months earlier. Great little detail that the announcers didn’t mention – especially considering Bulldog and Sting were partners here, which adds a lot to the psychology. The finish was cheap but not bad. Vader and Davey Boy worked very well together. ***1/2
The returning Cactus Jack runs in to attack Vader just before we run out of time.
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END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Well, everyone knows what this show is most famous for! Everyone knows about The Shockmaster fail, even if they don’t know at which show, in what context or in which year it happened. It was definitely a noteworthy show, with the return of the Road Warriors being a highlight as well. Vader vs. Bulldog and Orndorff vs. Steamboat were both great title matches and easily the highlights of the show. The opening tag was a good match as well, but the crazy circumstances surrounding it prevented it from being even better. The rest was either skippable or forgettable. Overall, a solid yet very, very, very weird show. Some might even say SHOCKING! 6/10
That’s all from me today. Make sure you don’t miss the upcoming reviews on the blog. Over on the WWF side, the SummerSlam Spectacular special is coming up next. See you next time!
Greetings to the readers! I, Prince Osborne, am back after a very long time and in this post, the recently concluded PPV from WWE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will be reviewed.
Pre-Show
Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Sami Zayn def. JD McDonagh by pinfall in 9:46
The pacing of this match was rapid enough for a match in the pre-show stature and the raucous response for whatever Zayn does gave a tremendous feel even though it’s obvious. JD delivered his best shot in such a big state and if he hasn’t reached the attention of fans so far, he’s definitely reached by now.
Rating: 3.25
Main Show
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (C) vs. Drew McIntyre
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Seth Rollins def. Drew McIntyre by pinfall in 18:24
A very good opener from two of the top-tier wrestlers in the current crop of WWE, but considering the talent they possess, they could’ve gone an extra mile for a far better outing. The backstory took a while to create the conviction for Drew and it almost paid off at certain moments. The cash-in tease by Priest and Sami’s reappearance in the show for a robbery turned the track of the MITB briefcase to an intriguing path. Another intriguing path that everyone should look for is the next step Drew’s going to take. Possibly a heel turn?
Rating: 3.75
Fatal Five Way Match for the Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark vs. Nia Jax
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Rhea Ripley retains the title by pinfall in 11:04
I had my fair share of doubts in this match only because of a single woman’s involvement – Nia Jax! Other than her moments, all gave a tough time to the champion especially Zoey with her red-neck offense. Some cool spots, Zoey’s performance, the mini match between Rhea and Raquel and the sick finish saved this match from reaching the drain.
Rating: 3
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Solo Sikoa def. John Cena by pinfall in 16:10
This worked great for me! Cena’s veteran start in targeting Solo’s arm was a nice touch. Some might’ve felt boring while seeing the long toll it took to end, but I actually enjoyed how Cena’s smartness played out in evading Solo’s Samoan Spike. The final moments created a statement in the rise of a new threat among the division.
Rating: 3.5
WWE United States Championship: Rey Mysterio (C) vs. Logan Paul
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Logan Paul def. Rey Mysterio by pinfall in 17:52
Despite the polarizing popularity, Logan’s quick rise from a learner of the craft to a formidable wrestler is something that really needs to be applauded. His chemistry with Rey was fantabulous as the game of speed vs. power was executed flamboyantly. There were moments where we could’ve reached a gnarly halt, but it was saved to a much interesting path to follow. Santos’ accidental costing to Rey is something to watch on as well as Logan’s new stature as a champion.
Rating: 4
WWE Women’s Championship: IYO SKY (C) vs. Bianca Belair
IMG Credits: WWE.com
IYO SKY def. Bianca Belair by pinfall in 16:32
The spirit of this rivalry was very high, but the action wasn’t that enthralling like their match in Puerto Rico. Still, both women maintained a steady game of the challenger’s brute strength and the champion’s tactical combat. The comeback of Kairi Sane was felt from a mile away, but her siding with IYO is not how I envisioned and there’s another key takeaway to follow on for the next few weeks – the allegiance of IYO either with her Joshi buddy or the group that brought her to the spotlight in Damage CTRL.
Rating: 3.5
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Cody Rhodes def. Damian Priest by pinfall in 11:03
There was an actual “big fight feel” brewing around this battle from the get-go. The feisty start and the equaled back-and-forth exchanges from both combatants led to a very exciting final phase where the usual chaos unfold. Bálor, Dom & JD being scooted away by Jey followed by the stacked finish simply leads to one destination for this rivalry’s end – WarGames! And I’m super stoked for the cathartic fight in Chicago.
Rating: 3.5
WWE Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (C) vs. LA Knight
IMG Credits: WWE.com
Roman Reigns def. LA Knight by pinfall in 20:02
For the first shot at a major championship in the PLE’s main event, Knight’s best was witnessed in front of a great crowd. What really hindered this match to be more entertaining was the usual shtick of Roman’s main-event matchups – trash talk, Bloodline’s interference, a few spots on the outside and a spear! If they’ve actually relied on a proper one-on-one combat for Reigns to bag the win, it would’ve felt more convincing and lifted Knight’s morale even higher.
Rating: 3.5
Overall Match Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Overall Show Rating: 7 out of 10 points
Match of the Night: Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul Highlight of the Night: Kairi Sane’s triumphant return Weak Link of the Night: Typical main event
Overall thoughts
This is one of the least favorite PLEs without a doubt, but it doesn’t mean that anything bad took place. All of the matches had a proper path of story and delivered the best especially in the US title duel. Kairi’s return, Logan’s remarkable victory, the new leaf turned between Zayn & Priest and Sikoa’s hallmark win were the key moments to look back. In short, not the best but still made the cut for a solid PLE.
What are your thoughts on this show? Chime in your views in the comments section right below.
August 16, 1993 Location: Poughkeepsie, New York, USA (Mid-Hudson Civic Center) Announced attendance: N/A TV rating: 3.2 (USA Network) [down 6.1% from the previous week’s 3.4 rating]
Welcome everyone to my review of what is technically the last RAW before SummerSlam. While the show is only on August 30, next week will feature a replay of the SummerSlam Spectacular event that airs the day before. I will review that show as usual and review all the matches from the event as if it was a normal RAW review, considering it aired on RAW’s time slot. Anyway, this week we have a pretty big match between Ted DiBiase and The 1-2-3 Kid. Let’s get to it.
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Here are the champions in WWF heading into this RAW:
WWF Champion: Yokozuna [64th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Hulk Hogan
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [71st day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Marty Jannetty
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) [58th day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
Enjoy the review!
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IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage
We start off with RAW’s intro and immediately go to the ring for our featured match. No comments from the announcers this week.
Ted DiBiase vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
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They show us a clip of Kid pinning DiBiase on Wrestling Challenge. This is the rematch. The Kid takes his time getting into the ring while DiBiase intimidates him. Into the ring goes Kid… DiBiase jumps him on the way in. DiBiase beats him up for a while before throwing The Kid to the floor. Voice call from Razor Ramon over on commentary, who says Kid has a surprise for DiBiase and that The Kid promised to leave just a little bit of DiBiase for him at SummerSlam. DiBiase slugs away in the corner and whips him hard into the buckle. Kid takes the Bret Hart Bump to sell that one. He rolls to the outside and DiBiase chases him, allowing The Kid to catch him with a crossbody for two. That nearly went wrong. Kid with a series of dropkicks for two. A blind charge misses, though, and DiBiase stomps away on The Kid. The crowd chant for Razor while DiBiase is in control. McMahon announces The Kid will face IRS at SummerSlam. DiBiase eats buckle on a blind charge, and Kid comes off the top with a high crossbody for two. Kid goes back up top… but here comes IRS who shoves Kid off the top at 4:46.
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Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid (DQ)
Rating: Solid match that was just starting to get going when IRS ran in for the finish. The action was good and The Kid made an exciting comeback, although it was extremely short. Even then, the finish did a nice job of building Kid vs. IRS & Razor vs. DiBiase for SummerSlam, and Money Inc vs. The Steiners for SummerSlam Spectacular. *1/2
Money Inc. beat up The Kid together since Razor is not in the building, until The Steiners come out to make the save.
McMahon mentions Marty Jannetty will face Bastion Booger later tonight. That’s quite a challenge for Jannetty, but with the 1993 he’s been having, maybe he can pull a nice one out of Bastion Booger. Let’s see.
Video package promoting SummerSlam Spectacular coming up next Sunday airs.
The Headshrinkers (Samu & Fatu) (w/ Afa) vs. Dave Maraldo & Mike Khoury
The Headshrinkers jump the jobbers in the corner. Fatu tosses one to the floor while Samu DRILLS the other one with the mother of all superkicks. That looked great. Samu rolls the guy all over to his corner and brings in the other one. Double facebuster by the Samoans with their opponents both knocked out on the mat. Afa talks about wanting a shot at the tag titles while Fatu finishes it with the Flying Splash at 3:08.
Winners: The Headshrinkers
Rating: Fine squash to put over the Samoans. They looked good as usual. 1/2*
SummerSlam Report w/ Mean Gene
Lex Luger will get his one and only shot against Yokozuna
King of the Ring winner Bret Hart meets the self-proclaimed king Jerry Lawler
The Undertaker vs Giant Gonzalez in a Rest in Peace Match; the rules are still unknown
Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect for the IC Title
Newly announced match: Marty Jannetty vs. the debuting Ludvig Borga
Also added to the card: The Steiners vs. Heavenly Bodies for the tag titles
The SummerSlam card is complete
We see Bastion Booger eating ice cream in the back. Hmm… interesting.
Marty Jannetty vs. Bastion Booger
Marty is wearing red, white and blue wristbands in support of Lex Luger. They really are putting all the eggs in the Luger basket. Booger wants a test of strength to start. He gets the better of that at first, but Jannetty manages to find a way out and sends him into the buckle twice. Marty uses his speed to avoid Booger and catches him with a springboard crossbody for two. Marty with a series of armdrags, a hiptoss and a couple of dropkicks knock Booger to the outside. Marty goes up top and comes down with a flying axehandle on Booger. Back in, Marty jumps off with a dive. Jannetty rams Booger’s arm into the post twice as we take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with Jannetty taking it to Booger out on the floor. However, Booger throws Marty into the post, who takes a great bump. Booger follows it up with a running splash into the post. Booger takes Marty back inside and backdrops him. Marty runs the ropes and goes for a sunset flip, Booger blocks it and comes down with the buttdrop splash for two, at which point Jannetty rolls over and pins Booger in 6:01.
Winner: Marty Jannetty
Rating: Believe it or not, this was actually a pretty fun match. Jannetty brought his A-game like he did many other times in 1993, and Booger wasn’t that bad either. A lot better than I expected. **
Money Inc. promo
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IRS claims The 1-2-3 Kid just got a small taste of what will happen at SummerSlam. DiBiase hopes Razor Ramon and The Steiners were watching what he did to The Kid. He says Razor will pay the price at SummerSlam, but Vince McMahon cuts him off before Ted mentions the Steiners, so he can promote the upcoming cage match. DiBiase reminds Vince everybody’s got a price, and when the Steiners signed for a steel cage with Money Inc., they were bought and paid for. IRS adds the Steiners shouldn’t be worried about SummerSlam because they’re not gonna make it there with the titles. DiBiase puts them over as amazing athletes but says they’re stupid. McMahon says it takes speed and stamina to escape the cage first, and most people believe the Steiners have the advantage. IRS cuts him off and claims the “M” on the Steiners’ jackets stands for “morons” and Money Inc. have the brains to beat the Steiners. Effective promo to sell the upcoming TV special and PPV.
Men on a Mission (Mabel & Mo) (w/ Oscar) vs. Barry Horowitz & Iron Mike Sharpe
All-time great jobber team right here! Horowitz takes it to Mo but ends up eating a backdrop. Mo tags Mabel in, drop toehold by Mo into a Mabel legdrop combination. Mabel slams Barry all the way into his corner, and Horoitz brings in Iron Mike Sharpe. Double shoulderblock by MOM followed by a double elbowdrop. Huge clothesline by Mabel in the corner. Slam by Mabel while Mo goes up top, and Mo bulldogs Mabel onto Sharpe for the win in 2:09.
Winners: Men on a Mission
Rating: Easy win to put over Men on a Mission. 1/4*
Lex Luger‘s interview this week is about drugs in sports and anabolic steroids. Yeah, we’re going there. Vince McMahon asks Luger if he does steroids, who says no. Luger honestly says he did steroids in the past, but it makes him feel good because now he knows he doesn’t need a shortcut to look good. Yeah, I think it’s clear what the purpose of this interview was.
Main Event
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Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Luna Vachon) vs. Rich Myers
Bigelow destroys Myers easily. Running avalanche by Bam Bam in the corner. Bigelow continues to stomp away on Myers while Luna screams on the outside. Delayed vertical suplex by Bigelow as Savage talks about having some surprise. Bigelow slams Myers and goes up top for the Diving Headbutt at 3:13.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow
Rating: Not a particularly great squash. It could’ve ended about 2 minutes earlier but Bam Bam just kept beating him up, probably due to time cues. 1/4*
And now, Savage’s surprise is… Macho Midget coming to the ring with a bunch of girls. This was funny the first week, but now after three weeks in a row it’s just ridiculous. And then Macho Midget gets in the ring and does nothing as we simply move on. That’s your final piece of action in the ring on RAW before SummerSlam!!!!
The announcers rundown next week’s SummerSlam Spectacular matches: Michaels vs. Backlund for the IC Title, special interview with The Undertaker, Steiners vs. Money Inc. in a steel cage for the tag titles, and Yokozuna vs. Jim Duggan.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Yet another awful RAW for the second consecutive episode. The only things that were somewhat OK were Kid vs. DiBiase and Money Inc.’s promo, which at least sold the PPV and SummerSlam Spectacular. The rest of the show was just skippable nonsense. Jannetty vs. Booger ended up being a lot better than it should’ve been, but it’s not memorable or anything like that. Very poor episode so close to SummerSlam. 3/10
That’s gonna be all from me today. Make sure you don’t miss SummerSlam Spectacular, SummerSlam or any of the upcoming reviews. Next up will be WCW Clash of the Champions featuring Vader vs. British Bulldog for the WCW World Title. Until next time, see you everybody!
August 9, 1993 Taped show (on July 25, 1993) Location: Alexandria Bay, New York, USA (Castle Recreation Center) Announced attendance: ca 1000 TV rating: 3.4 (USA Network) [up 15.9% from the previous week’s 2.9 rating]
Welcome everyone to another RAW review here on the blog. With SummerSlam just 3 weeks away, Yokozuna and Lex Luger will sign the contract for their WWF Title match at the PPV. After Jim Cornette’s shocking WWF debut last week, his team of the Heavenly Bodies will wrestle their first match. Also, Tatanka faces Mr. Hughes, and Razor Ramon will be in action.
Here is the list of WWF Champions heading into this RAW:
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WWF Champion: Yokozuna [57th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Hulk Hogan
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels [64th day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Marty Jannetty
WWF Tag Team Champions: The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) [51st day of their 2nd reign] – previous champions: Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster)
Enjoy the review!
IMG credit: WWE & thesmackdownhotel.com
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage
The broadcast begins with a clip of Lex Luger in Chicago before the RAW intro plays.
Vince, Savage and Heenan hype up tonight’s events before we head up to the first bout.
Tatanka vs. Mr. Hughes (w/ Harvey Wippleman)
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Tatanka’s undefeated streak is on the line here. Hughes jumps Tatanka from behind to start us off. They blow up a criss-cross sequence with Hughes failing to duck down properly during a Tatanka leapfrog, hitting him right in the groin. Tatanka gets up awkwardly while Hughes just looks at him. I’ve already seen enough, thanks. Hughes takes over in the corner with some blows. He whips Tatanka into the other corner, misses a blind charge and Tatanka rolls him up for two. Running crossbody by Tatanka gets two. Tatanka charges at Hughes who’s supposed to hit a clothesline, but Hughes barely extends his arm and it looks terrible. Vince: “it’s like running into a brick wall”. It’s like watching a brick wall too. Tatanka runs off the ropes until Hughes grabs him by the hair and drives a knee to the back. We take a break.
Commercial break
We’re back with a Hughes chinlock. Tatanka escapes, Hughes hits the post on a blind charge in the corner and Tatanka IS ON THE WARPATH BY GAWD. He makes the comeback with the usual chops, shoulderblocks Hughes but gets dumped over the top to the floor on a charge. Hughes follows him to the floor, beats him up until Tatanka backdrops him on the floor and beats the count back in at 4:58.
Winner: Tatanka (count-out)
Rating: This was terrible. Hughes might be one of the least exciting wrestlers I’ve ever seen. His look is cool but he struggles to do the basics. The leapfrog and clothesline spots both looked awkward as fuck. 1/2*
Hughes beats up Tatanka after the match and leaves with the urn. As I’ve said in previous reviews, Hughes was fired shortly thereafter and the feud with The Undertaker went nowhere. Probably for the better.
We hear a similar interview from Lex Luger as last week. This week, he’s talking about his time in the University of Miami. He talks about starting to play football at 19 and eventually making it to the NFL. After that, he went to study to become a lawyer but instead ended up becoming a professional wrestler. Better interview than last week.
The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) & Macho Midget vs. Blake Beverly, The Brooklyn Brawler & Little Louie
The Macho Midget interfered in last week’s match between Randy Savage and Doink, helping Savage win. Little Louie is a fellow midget. The Bushwhackers were barely around by this point. I believe this is only their second RAW appearance. Macho Midget dances around for about a minute after the bell rings. The action finally begins with Beverly and Luke. Blake misses a clothesline in the corner and they all proceed to bite each other’s asses in the ring. Ah, the comedy. Macho Midget dropkicks Little Louie and the heels retreat while the Bushwhackers and Macho Midget do the Bushwhacker taunt in the ring. Little Louie shoves Macho back in the ring and then runs the ropes until he runs out of gas. Macho Midget finally gets in front of him, tells him to stop and hits him with a dropkick. Butch drives a knee to the gut on Beverly. He follows it with a bulldog and goes for the pin, which Brawler tries to block but drops an elbow on Beverly by mistake instead. Double noggin knocker by Butch and Macho Midget attacks Little Louie. The midgets come back in once again for a comedy pinfall spot with referee Earl Hebner. Butch comes back in with clotheslines on both Beverly and Brawler. The Battering Ram takes out Beverly and a double DDT puts Brawler away, but Macho Midget is the one who’s legal. Thus, he adds a flying splash off the top rope and pins Brawler after a very long 6:29.
Winners: The Bushwhackers & Macho Midget
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Rating: Not exactly the best way to use ten minutes of TV time so close to SummerSlam. This was way too long for what it was. DUD
The Bushwhackers and Macho Midget celebrate after the match and attack Brawler some more.
Yokozuna/Lex Luger contract signing
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Multiple WWF agents and officials are in the ring for this signing, as are the announcers. Jim Cornette comes out to the ring with Fuji and Yokozuna. Fuji reveals Cornette is their new American spokesperson. Cornette immediately puts over Japan as the worldwide leaders when it comes to industry, finance and commerce and as the most honest people in the world. That earns him a giant ‘USA’ chant from the crowd. Cornette adds Yoko and Fuji have been at a disadvantage in the WWF, because they have a limited knowledge of the English language. Plus, they have been given false information by bad lawyers given to them by crooked WWF officials such as Jack Tunney. McMahon introduces Lex Luger, who comes out in a suit with a red, white and blue tie. Yokozuna is the first one to sign, doing so while not taking his eyes off Luger. Lex signs next, looking down at the paper. After they sign it, Cornette grabs the microphone and says a final clause was added. If Luger wins, he will indeed win the WWF Championship, which draws a big reaction from the crowd. BUT – adds Cornette – if he doesn’t beat Yokozuna, then he’ll never ever get another title shot. Luger says stipulations don’t matter, not the elbow pad and not this one, all he asked for was one shot. He says America is all about opportunity and he won’t need more than one shot. Well, about that! Luger says he’ll win the title and bring it back to America. He says he wants Yokozuna to remember something that will be ringing in his ears on the flight back to Japan, leading to the USA chants.
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Good segment with the biggest news being Jim Cornette joining Yokozuna and Fuji. Surprisingly there was no beatdown afterwards.
Razor Ramon vs. Dan Dubiel
Razor is wearing red, white and blue wristbands in support of Lex Luger. Razor takes it to Dubiel to start and hiptosses him out of the corner. Fallaway slam by Razor. Abdominal stretch while the announcers promote Ramon vs. Ted DiBiase coming up at SummerSlam. Razor hits the backdrop superplex, setting up the Razor’s Edge for the win at 2:11.
Winner: Razor Ramon
Rating: Dominant win for the newly-turned face Razor Ramon. 1/4*
SummerSlam Report w/ Mean Gene
Mean Gene goes over the new stipulation for the main event that was addressed in the contract signing earlier tonight
Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez – RIP Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect in “what could be the greatest IC Title match ever”, says Mean Gene
There’s a camera backstage with Jim Cornette & The Heavenly Bodies, but Cornette says we’ll see what they’re all about after the break and tells the cameraman to leave.
Main Event
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The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray & Tom Prichard) (w/ Jim Cornette) vs. Bobby Who & Mike Bucci
Mike Bucci is the future Simon Dean aka Nova, believe it or not. Prichard starts in control with a DDT after a cheap thrust kick from behind by Del Ray. Regular thrust kick by Del Ray, who is now legal, and he sends Who to his corner to force the tag. Jimmy ducks a clothesline by Bucci and turns it into a floatover DDT. That looked pretty good. Tag to Prichard leading to a Del Ray spinning sideslam into a Prichard kneedrop combination. Double-team suplex by the Heavenly Bodies, who then jump Bobby Who in the corner. They turn their attentions back to Bucci, with Jimmy hitting a moonsault block off the top for the win in 2:37.
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies
Rating: Pretty good squash match to introduce the Heavenly Bodies. They looked impressive and smooth as a tag team. 1/2*
After the bell, Cornette gets on the mic and calls out The Steiners yet again for ignoring his challenge.
A video package airs promoting WWF SummerSlam Spectacular coming up 2 weeks later. The featured matches are Yokozuna vs. Jim Duggan in a non-tile bout and The Steiners vs. Money Inc. inside a steel cage for the tag titles.
Next week: “special interview” with Giant Gonzalez, Ludvig Borga, Men on a Mission, IRS vs. El Matador and The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Ted DiBiase.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: A poor episode after months of consecutive good episodes. A lot of that had to do with the six-man “comedy” match which ate up 10 out of the 40-45 minutes of air time. That’s way too long especially so close to a big show like SummerSlam. The featured match between Tatanka and Mr. Hughes was really bad after a run of great featured matches in previous weeks (Doink/Savage, Bret/Bigelow, Jannetty/Doink, etc) and the squashes were nothing special, with the exception of The Heavenly Bodies’. The highlight of this RAW was Jim Cornette being announced as Yokozuna’s new American spokesperson. Hopefully it gets better soon. 3/10
Over the last year, I wrote a series of article looking at the illustrious history of the WWF/E Intercontinental Championship; chronicling the greatest title-holders from over the last four decades, and some of the greatest matches ever waged for this prestigious belt. When I began covering the best IC Champions from the 2010s, I admitted that the Intercontinental Title had lost some of its value at the time I started writing the series.
Despite rough bumps in the road throughout the 2010s, you had the likes of Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and The Miz still making the IC Title feel like a prize worth fighting for. But after Seth Rollins lost the championship in 2018, the Intercontinental Belt truly hit rock bottom. Bobby Lashley, Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, and Apollo Crews…all tremendous wrestlers who should’ve had glorious Intercontinental Title reigns, yet were let down by appalling creative. Nakamura in particular had a 182-reign, yet was hardly booked to even defend the title!
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Other lacklustre booking befell Sami Zayn, who won the IC Title three-times from 2020 to 2022 and brilliantly used the belt to fuel his Conspiracy Theory gimmick, yet he wasn’t treated seriously as IC Champion. AJ Styles won the Intercontinental Title in a tournament-final on SmackDown back in June 2020, in what was arguably the greatest WWE match during the entire pandemic. The Phenomenal One had joined the Grand Slam club and (with Daniel Bryan) produced one of the greatest IC Title matches in years! But the subsequent reign was short-lived and got lost in the shuffle. Poor Ricochet was also criminally overshadowed when he won the IC Title in March 2022. Despite being a fighting champion and producing several good title-defences on television, Ricochet wasn’t even booked to defend the belt at WrestleMania! From 2018, it had been a dire four-years for the Intercontinental Title, thanks to dismal WWE Booking.
10th June 2022 was the date everything FINALLY changed. That was when Gunther defeated Ricochet for the Intercontinental Title.
IMG Credit: WWE/Sportskeeda
There was no denying that the former Walter had the makings of a great Intercontinental Champ; given the name he’d made for himself on the independent scene. Walter was a brutal, vicious workhorse with uncanny speed and exemplary mat-wrestling skills. His technical abilities had served him VERY well on NXT UK, where he would enjoy the single-longest-reign as the NXT UK Champion at a staggering 870 days! Boasting a catalogue of astonishing five-star classics against the likes of Pete Donne, Tyler Bate and Ilja Dragunov! Walter had also mastered character-work as the leader of Imperium, one of the best factions in all of NXT, and famous for their wicked feud with the Undisputed Era.
IMG Credit: WWE/Sportskeeda
But could Walter (now rechristened Gunther) prevail on the main-roster? Especially after that infamous appearance at Survivor Series 2019? Where Walter had been unceremoniously eliminated in no time at all? (Team NXT vs. Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown).
After making his main-roster debut on SmackDown (8th April 2022), Gunther was partnered with his old-Imperium teammate Marcel Barthel (now Ludwig Kaiser) and soon got over. Gunther was presented as a strict, no-nonsense, disciplined, old-school grappler, who held the wrestling-mat sacred above all else. The persona was refreshing for wrestling audiences who weren’t familiar with NXT, and Gunther (along with Kaiser) climbed up the ladder very quickly. When Gunther captured the IC Championship from Ricochet on 10th July 2022, it was a good bout indeed. As was the rematch the following SmackDown where Gunther retained his new prize. Promising stuff…but would dodgy creative get in the way again?
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No chance…in hell! Gunther’s rise coincided with Vince McMahon’s temporary retirement from WWE, and Triple H was now appointed the new Head of Creative. Having already proven himself with all his work for booking NXT, Hunter was now in an ideal position to change the WWE product for the better; better than it had been for a long time. And Gunther (as well as the Intercontinental Championship) were sure to benefit.
The winds of change first came into effect on 12th August 2022 edition of SmackDown, when the IC title match was promoted as being the MAIN-EVENT of that show. The WWE Production team had prepared another first-rate video package for today’s fans summarising why the Intercontinental Title was so prestigious throughout its 40-year history, and it superbly hyped-up the showdown between Gunther and his next-challenger, Shinsuke Nakamura. The resultant clash was full of heat, an enthusiastic crowd, and Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on form as the commentary team. Both the Ring General and the King of Strong-Style had the WWE Universe in the palms of their hands. It was not only Nakamura’s best WWE match in ages, it proved WWE were serious about returning the IC Title to the Promised Land. Gunther ultimately retained in a hellacious TV bout, and he was now on his way.
IMG Credit: WWE.com
Gunther’s vow to make the IC Title the single-greatest-prize in all of wrestling was taken even more seriously when he locked horns with Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior had been a proud WWE veteran for 13 years, accomplishing everything there was to achieve EXCEPT winning the Intercontinental Belt. On paper, it was a match that had the makings of a hard-hitting bout. Instead, we received a bout that wildly exceeded all expectations. At Clash of the Castle, Gunther vs. Sheamus was quite simply a twenty-minute epic. Many fans and critics regarded the Intercontinental Title showdown as THE Match of 2022, and the single-greatest IC Title match in years. Even Dave Meltzer rated it five-stars!
IMG Credit: WWE/WhatCulture
Gunther’s feud with Sheamus continued to much acclaim, with Gunther & Ludwig having reformed Imperium with Giovanni Vinci (the former Fabian Archer) to tangle with Sheamus’ Brawling Brutes (Butch and Bridge Holland). Gunther retained the title against Sheamus again in a cracking-rematch on the 7th October SmackDown, and then the Brutes & Imperium had a wicked street-fight at Extreme Rules 2012.
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Gunther’s dominance and sheer-match quality as the Intercontinental Champion rivalled Roman Reigns’ epic work as the Tribal Chief/Undisputed WWE Universal Champ. Every IC Title Match on television had become a must-see attraction, with Gunther selling perfectly for his opponents, before ultimately dominating them. Title defences against Rey Mysterio and Ricochet were terrific clashes, as were bouts against Braun Strowman and Madcap Moss.
As 2023 dawned, Gunther’s work as Intercontinental Champion transcended even further. Entering the Royal Rumble at No. 1, the Ring General broke the record for longest-performance in the Royal Rumble Match with an astonishing 71 minutes, 25 seconds; eliminating five superstars and making it down to the final two against the No. 30 entrant – and eventual winner – Cody Rhodes. What made Gunther’s herculean performance all the more incredible was that he’d been able to remain the dominant heel at No. 1, and selling enough to keep fans invested in Cody Rhodes’ story. It would’ve been so easy for fans to reject Cody’s babyface victory (given he’d entered at No. 30) in favour of the Intercontinental Champ after his marathon showing. And yet by targeting Cody’s previously-torn pectoral muscle, and making the American Nightmare fight for his life, Gunther had successfully rallied the fans behind Rhodes. When Cody was finally able to eliminate the Ring General, the victory felt earned and deserved. Cody was on his way to WrestleMania, Gunther had elevated the Intercontinental Title’s status even further, and showed that – like many IC Champs before him – Gunther could himself become a World Champion one day.
IMG Credit: WWE/Sportskeeda
Onwards to WrestleMania 39, Gunther continued to smash records. On 9th February 2023, he surpassed Shelton Benjamin’s 244-day reign to become the longest-reigning IC Champ of the 21st Century. Then on 17th February, Gunther surpassed Mr Perfect’s 280-day reign to become the longest-reigning IC Champ of the last 34-years. More and more people were taking notice of the Ring General’s Intercontinental Title run; especially as he arrived at Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 to defend his title against old-foe Sheamus AND Drew McIntyre.
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Fans were relieved that finally the Intercontinental Title had been booked in such a prominent-spot on WrestleMania after too long. Like the first Gunther/Sheamus match Clash at the Castle, Gunther/Drew/Sheamus had the makings of another great slugfest on paper. And like Clash at the Castle, the triple-threat match at WrestleMania 39 wildly exceeded expectations. For over 16 minutes, Gunther, Drew and Sheamus delivered arguably the match of their careers. In yet another blistering-epic, Gunther retained the title in dominant-fashion. The commentary team and fans in attendance wildly cheered & applauded the efforts of all three men, Dave Meltzer again gave Gunther five-stars, and the Triple-Threat was another strong-contender for Match of 2023. It was arguably the greatest IC Title match at a WrestleMania since Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon at WM10!
IMG Credit: WWE.com
Having achieved everything he could on SmackDown, Gunther and his Imperium Chums were drafted to Raw in the 2023 WWE Draft, and Gunther soon had some fresh challengers to contend with. He retained the title against Matt Riddle at Money in the Bank, and then enjoyed another almighty clash against Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam. Gunther was getting nearer and nearer to surpassing the Honky Tonk Man’s legendary reign of 454 days; a reign that for 35 years, looked like it was never going to be beaten. And many fans – who had truly come to appreciate everything Gunther had done for the title – were now clamouring for the Ring General to break Honky Tonk’s reign.
On the 21st August, Gunther’s reign featured another historic moment when in a heated defence against Chad Gable…HE LOST! Gunther’s undefeated streak on the main-roster had FINALLY been broken, but because Gable had won via count-out, Gunther still retained his title. A rematch was now set for the 4th September edition of Raw…in the main-event. Chad Gable was determined to win his first singles-title in front of his wife and children, and Gunther was determined to not only avenge his loss to Gable, but FINALLY break the Honky Tonk Man’s elusive record.
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The result was yet another hard-hitting wrestling match. A rollercoaster-epic that may be the best match on Raw for 2023. Chad Gable came SO close to scoring the win of his career, only for Gunther to narrowly avoid defeat yet again, turn the tables, and conquer Chad Gable for the victory. Chad Gable’s family were reduced to tears, and Gunther and truly asserted his dominance. Gunther officially became the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of ALL TIME.
IMG Credit: WWE/Wrestling Inc.
So far, it’s been an absolutely legendary story. Full of epic moments and such growth for the former-Walter. One of the most MUST-SEE wrestlers on television today, Gunther was also recently ranked 4th in the PWI Top 500 rankings for 2023! But does all this make Gunther the GREATEST Intercontinental Champion of all-time?
‘Greatest’ is always a matter of opinion when discussed by fans & critics. And of course, this is mine…Gunther has definitely become the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all-time. Obviously, there are so many legends to choose from. Wrestlers who embodied the workhorse aspect of the IC title, delivered so many legendary matches and made such historic-achievements with an Intercontinental Championship. I’ve covered them all on SmarkDown’s Blog over the last year, and Bret Hart was my favourite IC Champion ever. Until Gunther came along.
IMG Credit: WWE/WrestleTalk
It’s not JUST the fact that Gunther finally broke Honky Tonk’s record that makes his reign so historic. It’s EVERYTHING! A legendary rivalry with Sheamus. Two absolute classics for the Intercontinental Title that even Dave Meltzer absolutely loved. Prominent title defences against superstars on television and on pay-per-view. Breaking the record for longest-performance in a Royal Rumble match. Gunther embodies everything a workhorse should be for the modern-era, and the longer he holds the title, the better it will have been because Gunther has held it. The more ready Gunther will be for that inevitable World Title that he’s sure to have once he finally loses the IC Strap. Even if Gunther somehow never becomes WWE Champion, he can always be proud of what he has done for the Intercontinental Title, and will surely go into the Hall of Fame because of it.
Of course, Gunther is STILL Intercontinental Champion as of time of writing, with his glorious reign now standing at an almighty 472 days. The only wrestlers who have spent more time as Intercontinental Champion are Don Muraco, The Miz and the late, great Pedro Morales (whose two-reigns total 617 days). You could argue that Gunther’s ONE REIGN has achieved much more than any of these greats across their multiple-reigns. And that would be the next thing for Gunther to prove, surely. If Gunther can surpass the Miz’s combined total of 592 days, that would be another incredible accomplishment. But because I’m so invested in the Ring General’s dominance, I find myself wanting him to break Pedro’s record as well. That would truly be something!
Now, Gunther can’t be the Intercontinental Champion forever. It’s inevitable that he will lose the title. And just like when Roman Reigns’ historic run as WWE Champion finally reaches its’ conclusion, Gunther’s title loss will HAVE to be epic. Us at SmarkDown have debated how, where and when this should happen. In the main-event of Night 1 at WrestleMania 40? Maybe in a Champion vs. Champion. Title-For-Title Clash against either Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns? Where Gunther goes right to the top and then forfeits the IC Title? Or is allowed to hold two championships until he finally goes down?
IMG Credit: WWE/Fox News
Whatever the possibilities, whatever form the end will take, Gunther has truly restored the Intercontinental Title to prominence. He demands gratitude and acknowledgement. And from me…he’s got it.
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