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Official Match/DVD/Show Discussion Thread - Tradition Continues & Bobby Eaton

771K views 10K replies 278 participants last post by  JustJoel 
#1 ·
Reboot initiated. Appropriate PPV tagline, tbhayley. Point for you if you can guess it.

Previous thread: The Big Bang

THE CAL SCALE

NO = -1
DUD-* = 0
*1/4-** = 0.5
**1/4-**3/4 = 1
***-***1/4 = 2
***1/2 = 3
***3/4 = 4
**** = 5
****1/4 = 6
****1/2 = 7
****3/4 = 8
***** = 9
As always, watch MENG, Evil Doink, & The Undertaker goodies on the regular. And you know what, Bobby Eaton ffs. Lets nip this in the bud and get everyone to worship immediately.
 
#2,112 ·
Breeze/Zayn/Kidd/Neville ****1/2

Same rating like Shield/Wyatts, but if I had to choose, I'd pick this one, if nothing then because visually it's more captivating (no Michael J. Fox on camera), just a perfectly booked multi-man match, very easy to get into, and this is coming from a man who only watched Cesaro/Zayn from NXT 2014. Shit, just realized I have that one at ****1/2 too.

Who books NXT?
 
#2,114 ·
Triple H books/produces all of NXT. He has a group of 2-3 writers who work with him but for all intents and purposes Hunter is the "Vince" of NXT. He's the guy who helped give us The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville in prominent roles, and assorted other things. Granted, he will tell you in interviews that he's not responsible for Bray or the Shield, that it's those guys who worked their tails off and created those characters and brought them to life, but he did help them along the way and kept Vince from fucking with them too much. For instance with Bray Wyatt, Windham Rotunda was down in NXT after Husky Harris had failed and was trying to come up with a new gimmick. He sent Hunter a tape of the first "Bray Wyatt interview" and Hunter really really liked it so they went back and forth helping flesh out the character, come up with the lantern entrance, and all that jazz. With Hunter calling the shots Bray became one of the most popular and unique characters on the roster. Then Vince got his greasy paws on him when the Cena feud started and EVERYTHING has been down hill from there.

You can read up on it more if it interests you, but Hunter seems like he knows how to run a wrestling show. It's too bad Vince won't stop controlling Raw and SD until he's dead. Anyone who has watched NXT for any length of time knows it's a better run show it just doesn't have the star power to draw viewers. Hell even the commentary in NXT is WORLDS better than what we get on an average Monday night.
 
#2,260 ·
Bryan being injured
Wyatt getting buried
Reigns = Cena 2.0
Jericho being washed up
Orton doing nothing of note
Cena being Cena
Cesaro's WM push being halted for whatever reason
Nobody else to care about (other than Rollins/Ambrose which they killed last night)

I literally only watch for Lesnar now that Rollins/Ambrose means nothing, so it makes it easier to tolerate how shitty things are as a casual fan.
 
#2,696 ·
Just got the new Sting DVD :mark:

Can't wait to watch it
 
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#3,093 ·
Either way, 50 matches will be more than enough to judge him. I enjoy reading thoughts behind why people hold a match a certain way, and this project certainly will open my own eyes to him from a new angle. Hey, maybe I'm completely undervaluing him to certain degrees. We'll see!


Same won't be said about the 50 Kelly Kelly matches, provided I lose this bet with FunnyFaces :side:
 
#3,258 ·
I say thank fuck Vince buried Vader, that way we got the legendary AJPW run and all those classics with Misawa and Co. Not to mention he still made cartloads of money.

But still, he deserved a WWF title reign, even if only for a week. Vader's championship credentials are completely insane, dude was a complete success everywhere but in WWF.

It's absolutely crazy and phenomenal that Vader held major titles in three different major feds in Japan - New Japan, UWFi and All Japan, as well as main eventing Tokyo Domes, Ryogokus, Budokans and Jingu Stadiums, and he was a star and world champ in both Germany and Mexico, the definition of a world champion.
 
#3,261 ·
Hook a brother up with some Vader AJPW recs? :eek: I've got this sweet comp from King Zeppers of his UWFi work but I really haven't seen as much of his AJPW work. List like the 5-6 best matches he had in AJPW if you can.

The fact that Vader isn't in the WWE HoF is absolutely maddening to me. He is one of the very best wrestlers to have ever walked the face of the Earth, he's the best monster ever, one of the best heels in general, and was a champion and massive success just about everywhere he went, aside from WWE.
 
#3,483 ·
Survivor Series 1996

Doug Furnas, Phil Lafon, and The Godwins w/Hillbilly Jim vs. Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and The New Rockers

I really liked the match a lot. While there are some guys in the match that I didn’t really want to see they didn’t last long and the majority of the match was Owen and Bulldog working with Furnas and Lafon. The pins on the other guys were all exciting enough. Furnas and Lafon were making their debut I think and they were made to look really impressive. A good chunk of the match at the end was Owen and Bulldog isolating Furnas. Bulldog got pinned on a roll up and you could tell from the reaction that the crowd really wasn’t expecting that to happen. Before he left the ring Bulldog took out his knee and Owen kept the isolation going and we saw some really good selling. The hot tag was great as Lafon came in and hit some amazing looking suplexes that Owen sold perfectly. I’ve watched a lot of shows from this time period and the tag division was awful. This seemed like a great step in the right direction. Furnas and Lafon were really good and meshed well with Owen and Davey. Everyone did a good job not ruining the match.
***


The Undertaker vs. Mankind w/Paul Bearer

What an amazing match. I’m not sure of there is a more perfect mix of characters than Mankind and the Undertaker. Undertaker got in a ton of offense and really just beat the shit out of Foley for a good chunk of the match. Foley got his offense in and he did it like a mad man. Every Foley match seems to have a bump that he takes that just makes you cringe, the more you see Foley wrestle the more you realize that it’s a miracle that he’s still doing OK. Anyway Undertaker beats the shit out of Foley and Foley keeps fighting and you get the impression that the Undertaker just wants to say, “What the fuck am I supposed to do?” While watching the match it’s amazing when you realize that this is the Undertaker that’s in the ring with Foley and he’s killing him and he still can’t keep him down. The story they told was amazing and when Undertaker finally did put Mankind away it seemed like he really accomplished something while Foley looked amazing for surviving for so long. I can’t believe this went on second.
****


Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Goldust, Crush, and Jerry ‘The King” Lawler w/Marlena vs. “Wildman” Marc Mero, The Stalker, Rocky Maivia, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Why is Barry Windham wrestling as the Stalker and why is the Stalker a babyface? And why are the commentators just calling him Barry Windham? Sunny was on commentary for the match and I was really impressed by her. It’s not that she was the world’s best commentator or anything but she clearly gets it. She knows how to be a heel and she knows how to explain what the heels are doing. I do have to say that this is a pretty amusing cast of characters for a Survivor Series match. Everyone has heard about this match before because it was the Rock’s debut. I just have to say that I’m glad Vince saw something in him because I really didn’t. He didn’t seem any better than any other generic babyface. You may notice that I haven’t really talked about the match, that’s true and I’ve done that intentionally. The match was bad, I don’t want to talk about it.
*



“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart

I don’t know where to begin or end with this one. It’s just a masterpiece and I don’t think my review will be able to do it justice. So the main story that we’re looking at is the brash, young, upstart heel trying to beat the established babyface. Austin shows no respect to Bret in the slightest and you can see how Bret reacts to it and you can really feel that he’s getting more and more angry with Austin as the match goes on. Bret first tries to take him to the mat and outwrestle him, which works for a little while but Austin is still talking shit and showing Hart no respect. Austin eventually gains the upperhand in the match when he hits his first throwback to his pre “Stone Cold” days, a Stun Gun. Austin takes control of the match and works the neck area. It’s all well done and you feel the animosity growing. Then there is this awesome moment where Hart tries to fire up as he starts throwing punches. Austin throws punch right back and gets the best of Hart. It was such a great moment in the match and made you realize how serious Austin needed to be taken.

There’s just so many layers to the match. It’s really amazing that they were able to put something like this together. It’s almost too much to handle as there is just so much going on in the match with the characters. I’ve seen this quite a few times now and every time I see it it’s like watching it for the first time again. I don’t think I ever noticed before how Bret’s mindset changed throughout the match but this time it stuck out like crazy to me. He’s cool and collective to start things off, then starts to get pissed, then gets really pissed, he loses control, and finally he realizes that this isn’t the time to beat respect into Austin because he’s doing everything he can to not get pinned by the guy. This is just one of those matches where the more wrestling that I see the more I can appreciate this.
****¾


Farooq, Vader, Fake Diesel, and Fake Razor vs. Yokozuna, Flash Funk, Savio Vega, and Jimmy Snuka

There was a pretty unimpressive match that ended with 6 people left in the match when the ref DQed everyone. There was some cool stuff in the match that made it decent. Snuka body slammed Vader which I thought was really impressive. Fake Razor was comically bad so that was a plus. Flash Funk was also impressive. I wish they had just let Vader and Flash Funk have a singles match because they had really good chemistry and were entertaining when they were in the ring together. Not the worst thing ever and you did need to put something between Austin/Hart and Michaels/Sid.




WWF Championship Match:
Shawn Michaels(c) w/Jose Lothario vs. Sycho Sid

What a strange match. The crowd is red hot for Sid and he gets more over as the match wears. At times Shawn seems to be embracing the boos (at one point he spit into the crowd) and at others he’s back to playing the pure face. You have the always fun dynamic of Shawn trying to use his quickness against a much bigger guy and the going after the leg. All of that was well done but Sid didn’t sell the leg in the slightest. But even with the bad selling they had a fun match that built to a really exciting conclusion. The crowd was going insane when Sid was getting offense in at the end of the match. Then Sid hits Jose in the chest with a camera for no reason, he acts like he’s having a heart attack, nobody helps the poor guy, and then Sid wins because Shawn is distracted. I get that Shawn didn’t want to put Sid over clean but it really would have been so much better if he had. I also just wish Sid didn’t suck, this could have been great if Shawn was in there was at least a competent worker.
**¾
You can’t really complain about a show that has 2 great matches and a couple of good ones.
 
#3,534 · (Edited)
2002: Year in Review
Undertaker vs. Big Show (1/3): ***
Edge/RVD vs. Jericho/Angle (1/3): ***1/4
Chris Jericho vs. Rikishi (1/7): **3/4
Dudley Boys vs. Tazz/Spike (1/7): **3/4
RVD vs. Test (1/7): ***
Tazz/Spike vs. Unamericans (1/10): **3/4
Rock/RVD vs. Jericho/Test (1/10): **3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin (1/10): ***
Christian vs. Low Ki (1/12): ***
Unamericans vs. Rikishi/Bradshaw/Faarooq (1/14): **3/4
Power Trip vs. Angle/Booker (1/17): **3/4
Dudley Boys vs. Tazz/Spike (Royal Rumble): ***
Edge vs. William Regal (Royal Rumble): ***1/2
Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon (Royal Rumble): ***1/2
Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (Royal Rumble): ****1/4
Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble): ***3/4
Bubba/D-Von/Booker vs. Spike/RVD/Tazz (1/21): **3/4
Edge vs. William Regal (1/21): **3/4
DDP vs. Christian (1/27): **3/4
Chris Jericho vs. Maven (1/28): ***1/4
Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle (1/28): ***
Chris Jericho vs. Tazz (1/31): **3/4
DDP vs. Christian (1/31): ***1/4
Regal/Bubba/D-Von vs. Edge/Rikishi/RVD (2/7): ***
Undertaker vs. Maven (2/7): **3/4
Edge vs. Chris Jericho (2/11): ***1/4
Undertaker/Angle vs. Maven/HHH (2/14): ***
Edge vs. William Regal (No Way Out): ***
RVD vs. Goldust (No Way Out): ***
Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho (No Way Out): ***3/4
Hardy Boyz vs. Unamericans (2/18): ***
Christian vs. Edge (2/21): **3/4
Bubba/D-Von/Storm vs. RVD/Jeff/Matt (2/21): **3/4
Tajiri vs. Hurricane (2/24): ***
Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle (2/25): ***
William Regal vs. Big Show (2/28): **3/4
HHH/Kane vs. Angle/Jericho (2/28): **3/4
Tajiri vs. Billy Kidman (3/1): ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Triple H (3/4): **3/4
DDP vs. Lance Storm (3/10): ***
Angle/Booker vs. Show/Edge (3/11): **3/4
NWO vs. Rock/Austin (3/11): ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. RVD (3/14): **3/4
Christian vs. DDP (Wrestlemania): ***
RVD vs. William Regal (Wrestlemania): ***
The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan (Wrestlemania): ****1/2
Ric Flair vs. Undertaker (Wrestlemania): ****1/4
Christian vs. RVD (3/18): **3/4
Edge/Kane vs. Booker/Angle (3/18): ***
Maven vs. Al Snow (3/18): BROCK
DDP vs. William Regal (3/21): **3/4
Tajiri vs. Test (3/21): ***1/4
Kurt Angle vs. RVD (3/25): **3/4
Edge vs. Goldust (3/31): **3/4
RVD vs. Booker T (4/1): ***
Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Raven (4/1): ***
Christian vs. DDP (4/4): **3/4
Edge vs. Kurt Angle (4/4): **3/4
Billy Kidman vs. Tajiri (4/4): ***
RVD vs. Undertaker (4/8): ***3/4
Tajiri vs. Hurricane (4/11): ***
Edge vs. Chris Jericho (4/11): ***1/4
Eddie/Regal vs. Spike/RVD (4/15): ***
Bookdust vs. Hardy Boyz (4/15): **3/4
Billy Kidman vs. Tajiri (Backlash): ***3/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Backlash): ***3/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Jeff Hardy (Backlash): ***
Edge vs. Kurt Angle (Backlash): ****1/2
Bookdust vs. Dudley Boys (4/22): ***1/4
Mark Henry vs. Christian (4/25): ***
Rikishi/Edge vs. Albert/Angle (4/25): ***
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H (4/25): ***1/4
Jeff Hardy vs. Eddie Guerrero (4/29): ***1/4
nWo vs. Austin/Bradshaw (4/29): **3/4
Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Jazz (4/29): Carryjob of the year
Storm/Angle vs. Edge/Venis (5/2): **3/4
Tajiri vs. Kidman (5/2): **3/4
Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Jericho (5/2): ***1/4
Jeff/RVD vs. Booker/Eddie (5/6): **3/4
Reverend D-Von vs. Triple H (5/9): **3/4
Jericho/Angle vs. Hogan/Edge (5/9): **3/4
Hardy Boyz vs. Brock Lesnar (5/13): **3/4
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (5/13): ***
Angle/Jericho vs. Edge/HHH (5/16): ***1/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Judgment Day): ***1/2
Steve Austin vs. Flair/Show (Judgment Day): ***
Kurt Angle vs. Edge (Judgment Day): ****
Lesnar/Heyman vs. Hardy Boyz (Judgment Day): ***
nWo vs. Hardy Boyz (5/20): **3/4
Undertaker vs. RVD (5/20): ***1/2
Triple H vs. Lance Storm (5/23): ***1/2
Mark Henry vs. Chris Jericho (5/23): **3/4
Billy Kidman vs. Tajiri (5/25): ****
RVD vs. Eddie Guerrero (5/27): ***3/4
Randy Orton vs. Undertaker (5/30): ***
Tajiri/Chavo vs. Kidman/Hurricane (5/30): ***
Edge vs. Kurt Angle (5/30): ****
Lesnar/Eddie vs. RVD/Bubba (6/3): ***
Ric Flair vs. Steve Austin (6/3): ***
Christian vs. Val Venis (6/6): **3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Hardcore Holly (6/6): ***
Lance Storm vs Billy Kidman (6/6): **3/4
Funaki vs. Chavo Guerrero (6/8): ***
Kidman/Venis vs. Unamericans (6/13): **3/4
Rikishi vs. Albert (6/15): **3/4
Jamie Noble vs. Funaki (6/15): ***
Kurt Angle vs. Hardcore Holly (6/15): ***
RVD vs. X-Pac (6/17): ***
Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle (6/20): ***1/4
RVD vs. Chris Jericho (King of the Ring): ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan (King of the Ring): ***
Brock Lesnar vs. Test (King of the Ring): ***
Jamie Noble vs. Hurricane (King of the Ring): ***1/2
nWo vs. Bookdust (6/24): ***1/2
RVD vs. Brock Lesnar (6/24): ***1/4
John Cena vs. Kurt Angle (6/27): ***3/4
Mark Henry vs. Lance Storm (6/27): ***
Kidman/Hurricane vs. Noble/Tajiri (6/27): **3/4
Albert vs. Tajiri (6/29): ***
Brock Lesnar vs. Ric Flair (7/1): ***
Benoit/Guerrero vs. Dudley Boys (7/1): ***1/4
Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy (7/1): ****1/4
Homosexuals vs. Hulkamaniacs (7/4): ***1/2
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena (7/4): ***
Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker (7/4): ***3/4
Tajiri vs. Billy Kidman (7/6): **3/4
Jamie Noble vs. Hurricane (7/6): **3/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T (7/8): ***
Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Chris Benoit (7/8): **3/4
Nash/Eddie/Benoit/Show/X-Pac vs. Bubba/Spike/Goldust/Booker/RVD (7/8): ***1/4 (LMAO at Shawn Michaels here)
Hulkamaniacs vs. Homosexuals (7/11): ***
D-Von/Batista vs. Orton/Henry (7/11): ***
Cena/Undertaker vs. Jericho/Angle (7/11): **3/4
Tajiri vs. Shannon Moore (7/13): ***
Jeff/Spike/Bubba vs. Benoit/Eddie/Regal (7/15): ***1/2
Tommy Dreamer vs. Steven Richards (7/15): ***1/2
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (7/18): **3/4
Chavo Guerrero vs. The Hurricane (7/18): ***
Dudley Boys vs. Benoit/Eddie (Vengeance): ***1/2
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (Vengeance): ***
Jamie Noble vs. Billy Kidman (Vengeance): ***
RVD vs. Brock Lesnar (Vengeance): ***1/2
Booker T vs. Big Show (Vengeance): ***1/2
The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker (Vengeance): ****1/4
Jeff Hardy vs. RVD (7/22): ***
Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (7/22): ***
Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle (7/25): **3/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero (7/25): ***1/2
Edge vs. Chris Jericho (7/25): ***3/4
Billy Kidman vs. Jamie Noble (7/27): ***
Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T (7/29): **3/4
Chris Benoit vs. RVD (7/29): ***3/4
Ric Flair vs. The Rock (7/29): ***1/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri (8/1): ***3/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Henry (8/1): **3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan (8/1): **3/4
Rock/Edge vs. Benoit/Eddie (8/1): ****
Bookdust vs. Nowinski/Regal (8/5): **3/4
RVD vs. Chris Jericho (8/5): ***
John Cena vs. Kurt Angle (8/8): **3/4
Mark Henry vs. Reverend D-Von (8/8): **3/4
Homosexuals vs. Moore/Hurricane (8/8): ***
Mysterio/Cena/Edge vs. Angle/Eddie/Benoit (8/8): ****
Brock Lesnar vs. Hulk Hogan (8/8): ***1/2
Tajiri vs. Chavo Guerrero (8/10): ***1/4
Jamie Noble vs. Hurricane (Global Warning): ***1/4
Unamericans vs. Mysterio/Kidman (Global Warning): ***1/2
Edge vs. Chris Jericho (Global Warning): ***1/2
Bubba/Flair vs. Jeri-Show (8/12): ***1/4
Tommy Dreamer vs. Steven Richards (8/12): **3/4
Test/Storm/Christian/HHH vs. Undertaker/Rock/Booker/Goldust (8/12): ***3/4
Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle (8/15): ***1/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Rikishi (8/15): **3/4
Los Guerreros vs. Redge (8/15): ***
The Rock vs. Chris Benoit (8/15): ***1/2
Funaki/Kidman vs. Tajiri/Noble (8/17): ***
Goldust/Booker/Undertaker vs. Unamericans (8/19): **3/4
Moore/Hurricane vs. Noble/Tajiri (8/22): ***
Billy Kidman vs. Kurt Angle (8/22): ***1/4
Edge/Rock vs. Benoit/Eddie (8/22): ***1/2
Tajiri vs. Funaki (8/24): **3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (Summerslam): ****1/4
Undertaker vs. Test (Summerslam): ***1/2
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (Summerslam): ****
Unamericans vs. Bookdust (Summerslam): ****
RVD vs. Chris Benoit (Summerslam): ****
Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair (Summerslam): ***1/2
Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Summerslam): ***1/2
The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam): ***1/4
Booker T vs. Christian (8/26): **3/4
Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy (8/26): ***1/2
RVD vs. Tommy Dreamer (8/26): ***1/4
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (8/29): ***
Rikishi vs. Eddie Guerrero (8/29): **3/4
Shannon Moore vs. Tajiri (8/29): **3/4
Matt Hardy vs. Brock Lesnar (8/29): ***1/4
Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (8/29): ***3/4
Mark Henry vs. Albert (8/31): ***
Funaki vs. Jamie Noble (8/31): ***
Triple H vs. Ric Flair (9/2): ***1/2
Jericho/HHH vs. RVD/Flair (9/2): **3/4
Shannon Moore vs. Jamie Noble (9/5): ***
Mark Henry vs. Tajiri (9/5): ***1/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton (9/5): ***
Crash Holly vs. Hurricane (9/5): **3/4
Undertaker/Edge/Rikishi vs. Benoit/Eddie/Angle (9/5): ***3/4
Unamericans vs. Bradshaw/Kane (9/9): ***1/4
Triple H vs. Spike Dudley (9/9): ***
Bookdust vs. Unamericans (9/9): **3/4
Big Show vs. Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy vs. RVD (9/9): ***1/2
Los Guerreros vs. Cena/Edge (9/12): ***1/2
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (9/12): ***3/4
Chris Jericho vs. RVD (9/16): **3/4
Los Guerreros vs. Edge/Rikishi (9/19): ***1/4
Matt Hardy vs. Hurricane (9/19): ***1/4
Homosexuals vs. Bangle (9/19): ***1/4
Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (9/22): ***
Unamericans vs. Bubba/Kane/Goldust/Booker (Unforgiven): ***1/2
Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho (Unforgiven): ***1/2
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (Unforgiven): ****1/4
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Unforgiven): ****
Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (Unforgiven): ***1/4
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust (9/23): ***
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (9/26): ****1/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (9/26): ***3/4
Kane vs. Chris Jericho (9/30): ***1/2
Los Guerreros vs. Henry/Rikishi (10/3): ***
Matt Hardy vs. Undertaker (10/3): **3/4
Kurt Angle vs. Edge (10/3): ****
Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Benoit (10/3): ****
Kane vs. Vitamin C vs. Jeff/RVD vs. Dudley Boys (10/7): ****1/4
Rikishi vs. Eddie Guerrero (10/10): **3/4
Bangle vs. Cena/Kidman (10/10): ***1/2
Redge vs. Lesnar/Tajiri (10/10): ***3/4
Vitamin C vs. HurriKane (10/14): **3/4
Redge vs. Simmons/D-Von (10/17): ***
Bangle vs. Los Guerreros (10/17): ****1/4
Bookdust vs. Vitamin C (No Mercy): ***1/2
Jamie Noble vs. Tajiri (No Mercy): ***1/2
Bangle vs. Redge (No Mercy): ****1/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker (No Mercy): ****1/2
Stratus/Booker/Goldust vs. Victoria/Jericho/Christian (10/21): ***
Jamie Noble vs. Tajiri (10/24): ***
Los Guerreros vs. Redge (10/24): ****
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (10/24): ***1/2
Booker T vs. Matt Hardy (Rebellion): ***1/2
Los Guerreros vs. Bangle (Rebellion): ***3/4
Vitamin C vs. Jeff/Bubba (10/28): ***1/4
Chris Benoit vs. Edge (10/31): ***3/4
Tajiri vs. Matt Hardy (10/31): ***1/2
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (10/31): ***3/4
Bangle vs. Redge (11/7): ****1/2
Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero (11/7): ***1/2
Tajiri vs. Crash (11/9): ***
Edge vs. Chavo Guerrero (11/14): ***1/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (11/14): ****1/4
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (11/14): **3/4
Jeff/Bubba/Spike vs. Three Minute Warning (Survivor Series): ***3/4
Billy Kidman vs. Jamie Noble (Survivor Series): ***1/4
Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show (Survivor Series): ***1/2
Redge vs. Los Guerreros vs. Bangle (Survivor Series): ****
Kane vs. Booker T vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Triple H vs. RVD (Survivor Series): ****
RVD vs. Chris Jericho vs. Booker T (11/18): **3/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble (11/21): ***
Tajiri vs. Billy Kidman (11/21): **3/4
Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (11/21): ***1/4
Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero (11/21): ***1/2
Edge vs. Big Show (11/21): ***
Dudley Boys vs. Vitamin C (11/25): ***
Unamericans vs. Jeff/Hurricane (11/25): **3/4
Shawn Michaels vs. RVD (11/25): ***
Redge vs. Cena/Matt (11/28): ***
Los Guerreros vs. Bangle (11/28): ****
Unamericans vs. Dreamer/Jeff (12/2): **3/4
Booker T vs. Chris Jericho (12/2): ***1/2
Vitamin C vs. Bookdust (12/2): ***3/4
Albert vs. Rey Mysterio (12/5): ***1/4
Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero (12/5): ***1/4
Kurt Angle vs. Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (12/5): ****1/4
Bookdust vs. Unamericans (12/9): ***1/2
Los Guerreros vs. Kidman/Benoit (12/12): ***3/4
Edge/Angle vs. Show/Train (12/12): ***1/2
Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero (12/14): ***
Bookdust vs. Dudley Boys vs. Unamericans vs. Vitamin C (Armageddon): ***3/4
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Armageddon): ****
Kurt Angle vs. Big Show (Armageddon): ***
Christian vs. Goldust (12/16): ***
Booker T vs. Chris Jericho (12/16): **3/4
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (12/19): ***
Bookdust vs. Vitamin C (12/23): ****1/2
Los Guerreros vs. Edge/Kidman (12/26): ***3/4
Chris Benoit vs. Big Show (12/26): ***1/2
Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer (12/29): ***

Most Valuable Wrestler of the Year: The Undertaker

During these watch-throughs, one unfortunate shame is that outside of 1996 or 1997, every year I watch either has an injured Undertaker, a part-time Undertaker, or the worst of them all: unmotivated Undertaker. I love Taker, but from 1998-2001, he just refused to have good matches for some odd reason. That all changed when he turned into Big Evil in the end of 2001. That momentum carried on to 2002 where Taker won the Undisputed Championship and had one of the best title reigns in company history. What impressed me the most was how Taker could work with the likes of Maven and Tommy Dreamer and put them over, work with upper midcarders such as RVD and Jeff Hardy and put them over, and work with The Rock and Hulk Hogan all at the same time on two different shows. No matter what position you put Undertaker in, he would excel along with the wrestler he worked with. And it didn't stop there. Before he took his annual sabbatical, Undertaker solidified a young Brock Lesnar into the most dominant wrestler in the business in an all-time great feud. What a year for the Deadman.

Workhorse of the Year: Kurt Angle

Believe me, in a year that consisted of the likes of Benoit, Mysterio, Eddie, Jericho, Goldust, and Lesnar, I was well-aware of all the great candidates. I actually had to put my matchlist onto an excel spreadsheet and calculate a total star-rating for these wrestlers, and the guy that had the highest value was Kurt. It certainly isn't a fluke though. Throughout the year, Angle played many different roles and wrestled many different styles of matches, ranging from tag team bouts to brawls to WWE main events to "technical wrestling" and even comedy. Kurt's matches passed the first and foremost test of wrestling; they were always fun. His matches also did a great job of showcasing his opponent no matter who they were. The most impressive thing though is that Angle stayed in that high gear throughout the entire year from January to December. Some wrestlers had their few months of good stuff and other wrestlers were generally very good but only took part in a fraction of the year. Angle was very good all year long. What makes a workhorse what they are is consistently high production under any circumstances, and nobody in 2002 consistently performed at a peak level like Angle did.

PPV of the Year: Summerslam

Mhm. You guys saw my diatribe a couple days ago regarding the main event of the show. Yes, it did not hold up as well as I remember it, but that just goes to show just how strong of a show Summerslam was. Never has there been an undercard as great as this. One four-star match after another after another thanks to some of the best wrestlers in the world at the time. All eight matches - all of them - are worth watching. And not only was the show itself great, but all eight matches had weeks of buildup that made all of them must-see. Is there a better PPV than this?

Match of the Year: Bookdust vs. Vitamin C (12/23)

I'm impressed by how many people guessed this. It is an unorthodox pick, but it has become indoctrinated as one of "those" matches for me. Who would have thought that the last real episode of RAW in a weak year for the show would provide us this classic? It was only fitting though that such a situation would take place because it almost felt as if the entire year was built up for this one special match. A year of hardship and difficulty for both Booker T and Goldust as they built an unusual friendship. A year for Christian where he was at last on his own, and he kept reinventing himself until he found something in Vitamin C. And a year for Jericho where he suffered a Shakespearean collapse from the top of the mountain into the tag team division, which in the end turned out to be a blessing in disguise. All of their roads led to a fifteen minute match on the 500th edition of RAW.

To really appreciate this match, it is worth noting a couple things. These two teams competed two other times before, but their first match was marred by a misbehaving ring, and their second match was initially a singles match that got Teddy Long'd. For all intents and purposes, this was their real chance to showcase themselves. Everyone should also watch the Jericho/Goldust segment prior to the match. Jericho berates Goldust for being the "weak link" of the team as well as being a failure of a son, husband, and father. Being the biggest Jericho fan here, even I was fuming at Jericho's comments to poor Goldy. On top of that, Goldust was going through some self-esteem issues at the time and even went as far as to voluntarily leave Booker and find a better tag team partner for him. Knowing all these details made this match that much better.

I love how the match started off with Booker T conceding the opportunity to start the match to Goldust as a way to reassure Goldust's confidence. This led to a nice shine sequence where Dust beats the crap out of Jericho and Christian with the assistance of Booker. In typical heel fashion, Vitamin C ends Goldust's rush of adrenaline with nefarious cheating and whatnot, which then leads to Jericho targeting the lower back of Goldust. I really liked how Goldust's initial FIP segment was kept short so that Booker T could get a shine sequence of his own in order to show how he was the "strong link" of the team. Booker's FIP sequence was surprisingly really good, mainly because Jericho was drawing unbelievable heat. It was also important that Booker had this lengthy FIP segment because it showed that even though Booker is a very talented wrestler, he still needed Goldust if he wanted to win the match. I also love how Jericho and Christian resorted to old-school heel tactics such as feigning a tag by clapping their hands and it was cool to see Bookdust go through unfortunate circumstances such as Christian putting his foot on the ropes during a nearfall and having their tag-ins rescinded because the referee didn't see it.

The match really hits a fever pitch when Goldust gets the hot tag and uses every part of his body in Goldust fashion to beat up the Chrises. Jericho was able to get in the Walls of Jericho by surprise and you could really see Goldust forcing himself not to succumb. Very fitting that the final sequence of the match was between Jericho and Goldust after the segment that aired earlier on in the show. Jericho nearly pulled off the victory with a rollup with his feet on the ropes, but Goldust saves the match all by himself by kicking out. As Jericho prepped for his Lionsault, Goldust was able to reverse it into a rollup of his own while grabbing on to his tights to finally pull off the victory for his team.

With all that said, the remaining question is why is this match the match of the year and not any of the other great choices? Simply put, this was the one match I watched from 2002 that I would call "perfect". Unlike any other match from 2002 (even the likes of Rock/Hogan and Taker/Brock), I cannot think of a single thing that would improve this match. I alluded to it earlier, but what made this match special for me is that it indoctrinated itself as one of "those" matches. What I mean by this is that I now feel the need to watch this match whenever I am not sure what to watch, especially if I am in the mood to witness a feel-good moment that shows off the power of wrestling. And that's what this match does best: show off the power of wrestling.

One long year where Goldust kept trying to prove to himself as well as his only friend in the company that he was not just a gold freak. Throughout this journey as well as even in this match, Goldust and Booker T experienced many close calls to success, but the rug was pulled and the unlikely duo would get cheated out of success at every opportunity. This match summarized the super fun Bookdust storyline into fifteen super fun minutes. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions watching this match, with the final emotion being a sense of catharsis and satisfaction as I saw Goldust get the biggest win of his career. And as a result, this match has now become the match that I will point out to whenever someone asks for a feel-good story that shows how much wrestling plays with our emotions.

In the first full year after the Attitude Era, the WWE was going through a period of uncertainty and lack of direction to say the least. In some ways it led to questionable decisions, but what it ultimately brought out was the Ruthless Aggression Era, which may be my favorite era of them all. The first half of the year was one where the star power was through the roof, but there was no sense of direction as to what this new era would be, and oftentimes the WWE resorted to watered down versions of Attitude Era ideas. It was only after the brand split where we got to see some sense of efficient allocation of talent as well as an understanding as to what the Ruthless Aggression Era was.

As we all know, Smackdown during this period is known for Paul Heyman's booking philosophy that emphasized in-ring quality, a fluid main event scene, and accentuating the positives and hiding the negatives of wrestlers. You could make a really good argument that the last six months of the year for Smackdown was the best material that the WWE ever produced. So many wrestlers put on the best work of their career and so many wrestlers became stars under Paul Heyman's oversight. The biggest example I would say of Heyman's brilliance was how he was able to make a stale and horrible Big Show into one of the more interesting characters in the WWE in minutes. If 2002 was just Smackdown, it could be the best year ever.

Unfortunately, RAW did not have the same brilliant mind running its show. Even before the brand split, episodes of RAW felt so disjointed and inconsistent, and lacked much good wrestling. After the brand split, things only got worse as so much talent switched to the superior show. I'm not gonna go into detail about Triple H because we all get the point. But I think the best way to show just how incompetent RAW became was that they were somehow able to make William Regal (WILLIAM FREAKING REGAL) into a dull and skippable part of the show. It takes a special level of incompetence to do something like that, and that was the story of RAW in 2002.

Not sure how to quantitatively describe 2002, but I will say that I had a lot of fun watching the year. Great run down memory lane as this was the time where I was most invested into wrestling. Definitely an important year that set down the foundation of my favorite era. Be jealous of me as I watch through Smackdown in 2003, and keep me in your prayers as I also watch RAW in 2003.
 
#3,838 ·
My stream cut off literally as Cena's music played. :lmao I guess it's a sign of what I need to do as well.

I am honestly so over this shit. I'm not even gonna watch the rest of the event. Sorry Seth and Dean, but I'm DONE. Not gonna get the Network like I planned to get. I think I might just erase wrestling out of my life and move on. Delete all the videos I have in my PC, clear my internet history from anything wrestling related and just take a leave for something more exciting in life. It's just not worth it. They get you excited and make you think something interesting is happening, then it's back to square one. I promised I would try to not let the current product affect my enjoyment of the past but I just can't do it anymore. :(

/rant over
 
#3,886 ·
More ramble just b/c

I really didn't want to put up w/the PPV tonight, but I did anyways. Here's the rundown:

Dolph vs Cesaro - garbage. they botched the spot where Cesaro apparently got his arm injured for it to pretty much lead to nowhere. Cesaro had two more cool strength showcase bits in this. then all the rest was atypical crap.

Brie vs Nikki - literally was booked to be a finisher fest. literally. they're now so bad they're dipping into it w/the Divas. Nikki survived everything from Brie and still won clean. Incredible.

what was third? oh shit, Goldust. Dammit. I'm literally forgetting about him now. The match; fucking putrid.

Cena vs Orton XXXXXXXVI??? - Orton is an lol jobber. Neither tried. It was about as painful for the entire TWENTY SIX MINUTES it got, as you'd expect. Don't think it had nearly as many finishers as Cena vs Rock II, but it came close. Two "out of nowhere" RKO's and Orton still can't win. That dude is fucked. Sad that when Cena would answer back w/an FU following an RKO, I had zero emotion built up inside of me. Way to desensitized your fans. Things are so bleak.

Sheamus vs Miz - Sheamus is now involved in comedy filler. Ass.

Rusev vs Big Show - Holy crap something on the show that wasn't horrible. The only match I walked in w/any faith and luckily it didn't have that pointless Henry heel turn either. It ended clean and was worked really well. Still say the RAW match between the two was better. Dunno why this was made into a sprint b/c it didn't feel like anything on the show ate up that much time, but whatever. I'm not usually bothered by it. Still shows how the company doesn't try hard enough w/their PPV events to want to make it on par w/how much time & emphasis this program go on a weekly program. Rather than the culmination on a implied "bigger" event. Rusev's dropkick & no sweat vertical suplex rocked.

AJ vs Paige - who cares. crap.

Rollins vs Ambrose - I was cool w/the Foley love letter that formulated the start. Bump was insane. Especially in slow motion. It was kind of obvious it was gonna happen, but w/WWE in this current climate, I wasn't sure if they would let em go through w/it. Ambrose was keeping the history alive, letting it all come full circle. (not to say Rollins didn't, but the vessel here is Ambrose wants to KILL this guy for his treachery) Match itself wasn't really much other than the bare bones of what could have been. Not incorporating the finish into my thoughts here, overall it was flashy fun, but nothing pressing anything good quality levels. Appreciated the essence of hate, they've never been shy in showing that. Ambrose becomes the first guy to survive a curb stomp and I don't think the reaction from the crowd was very good. I could be wrong. Either way, that felt disappointing. They probably wanted another table spot. Called the finish when I started the show. Felt obvious b/c no way in hell was Ambrose winning this (seriously, am I the only one who felt that way?) & neither him or Bray would have anything on the horizon following the PPV, so boosh. That's why it happened. At least I'm happy about those two working vs each other. Their one match from Smackdown this year was terrific. Liked the Undertaker-esque shenanigans of Bray. I'm biased to that stuff though.
 
#3,887 ·
Has Hell in a Cell ever been a feud-ender like it's sold as? Perhaps I'm asking too much from "Satan's Playground" to expect a decisive end to feuds, but, from memory, this is what I've got

2014: Bray Wyatt interferes as a HOLOGRAM
2013: HHH/HBK interferes and costs Bryan the title
2012: Brad Maddox costs Ryback the match
2011: Ricardo breaks into the cage with a pipe, Cena is knocked out and locked out of the HiaC.
2010: Bearer's urn is a flashlight and costs 'Taker the match
2009: referee knocked out while Orton tapped


Holograms just be more of the same, now, I guess.
 
#4,066 ·
Wait, Phillip/Danielson/Yankem had TWO Triple Threats? I only recall the fun one at No Way Out, never remembered two of them. :hmm:
 
#4,072 ·
Ahh I see. For some reason I recalled not a lot of people liking that match, mostly because of AJ's involvement in the storyline and the match, but I thought she did a pretty good job and helped enhanced the match. It's still not better than their OTL match. Punk applying the Figure Four to Bryan and both of them slapping the shit out of each other while in the hold :mark:
 
#4,250 ·
Raw last night was a lot of fun live. You have to respect Cena's pandering. He's a master at that shit and it works like a damn charm every time. Rusev/Seamus was stiff as holy hell. The two of them were pelting the life out of each other out there. MOTN for me. There was a beach ball floating around during Cena/Ryback. The match was that good.... :side: Also Mercury took an EPIC KO punch from Show. Was pretty sweet. Cool show. Survivor Series is looking good. I don't really care what the undercard is because it's 90% likely I won't even watch it.
 
#4,342 ·
I can't get into those Joshi matches of the 90s everyone raves about for pretty much the same reason Rah mentioned. I watched Kong/Toyota the other day (can't remember the date) but half way into the match Manami just fucking gets up like she wasn't getting the piss and shit kicked out of her and starts with a flurry of offense....that lasted about 10 minutes. Not to mention the unnecessary amount of screaming. There's a lot of 90s Japan matches I'll never get into and that includes Misawa/Kobashi.
 
#4,346 ·
I just watched the Ziggler/Kidd/Cesaro triple threat match on Smackdown and I thought it was really fucking good. I thought the match played up to all of their strengths with Cesaro demonstrating his power, Kidd being opportunistic to get any victory he could find, and Ziggler being the "survivor" as he would like to describe himself and demonstrating a fighting spirit and never giving up.

I'm really enjoying Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental Championship reign. From his multiple title defenses, the opponents he had to face, and the quality of matches he's having, I believe that Dolph Ziggler is making the Intercontinental Championship the workhorse title it once was and in turn, is increasing the prestige of that championship in my eyes. I don't know if it's jumping the gun calling him the best Intercontinental Champion in recent memory, but he's definately my favorite. Damn good reign by Ziggler thus far and hopefully he'll be champ for a while (Y)
 
#4,649 ·
On Punk main eventing, he could've easily been slotted into the WM27 main event. He actually had a feud with Cena going on and they could've had Punk win the title at Elimination chamber that year, main event Mania, and then either keep the title for awhile as the heel leader of Nexus or do what Miz did and drop it at the next PPV. The only issue I have with this in hindsight is we probably wouldn't have gotten the "pipe bomb" promo that ultimately did turn Punk into a main eventer and cemented him in that status. Hell, not just as a main eventer, but the #2 guy in the company. After his title reign ended, I'm sure it would've been back to business as usual with Punk in the mid-card. So main eventing WM27, while it would've been a viable option, I'm glad it didn't happen.

WM28 would've been Punk's time had it not been for Rock vs. Cena. Absolutely nothing should've closed the show over that and ultimately there would be no reason for Punk to butt into the match to make it a triple threat. No way in hell Punk/Jericho closes the show over it. Hell, Punk/Jericho wasn't even the second biggest match on the card as Taker/HHH HIAC definitely had that covered and that's not disputable. However, it could've main evented over that Taker/HHH match if that was it's only competition, but Rock/Cena? No way, that match needed to go on last. I believe 100% that the title match should close out the majority of PPV's, especially Wrestlemania. Despite it being MOTN and MOTY, I still don't believe Taker/HBK should've closed WM26. Rock/Cena, like Rock/Hogan, is one of those matches where the first time around at Mania, it should close the show. So Punk main eventing WM28 wasn't a realistic option IMO, although he did steal the show with Jericho so like the match with Taker, he at least has that going for him (well, to some people anyway).

WM29 was probably his best bet. He had a hot title run and two potential main event matches. He could've been put in the Rock/Cena match to make it a triple threat. This option would've definitely had Punk losing, but it would've ultimately satisfied Punk's quest to main event Mania, and it would've been a lot better than what we got... well, except we wouldn't have had Taker/Punk. That would be a big blow to Mania for me, and if Taker/Brock turned out anything like how it did at WM30 then I'm glad they didn't go that route. So that brings me to main event #2... 500 day title reign vs. 20-0 streak. You can sprinkle parts of the Paul Bearer stuff in it (I don't care what anyone says, I loved the Taker/Punk build up) but don't make it the whole thing like it ended up being. By this point Punk would've beat Rock and truly made it seem like he can't be stopped and his reign will never end. Enter Undertaker, and the build writes itself. The match goes down as it did, but the ending is up in the air. Do you have Taker beat Punk and then drop it at the next PPV to... well, whoever they want? Or does Punk end the streak, keep the title, and really seem like there's no end in sight for his reign until... say, Daniel Bryan dethrones him at Summerslam? Then you build up to Bryan/Cena at WM30 and go from there. That would've been awesome and what I'd have loved to see. Rock/Cena II and Brock/HHH II could've still happened, but neither of them NEEDED to be the main event without the title. This is the path I would've loved most.

WM30 could've been another opportunity, but again, as a heel, not a face. Bryan takes the face spot because there would be no reason to have anyone try to take that spot. Fans would've been more accepting of Punk than Batista but the bottom line is people wanted BRYAN in the main event of Mania and as champion, not Punk. Instead, forget about Punk/Brock for the time being, that can still happen down the road. Have him win MITB, and cash in on Bryan after the match at Summerslam like Orton did. But unlike Orton, have Punk go completely corporate. Have him be that smiling employee who always praises WWE and makes it seem like it's the greatest place to be. Not to the extent of Cena where he acts like the people's champion, but he sings the praises of the WWE and The Authority. One or two things happens here. One is that Punk becomes the most hated man on the planet. Nevermind that HHH and Stephanie are big heat magnets in their own right, Punk would flat-out betray and go against everything that he acted like he was working towards. Punk never betrayed who he was in his heel title run in 2012-2013. This time though he becomes the corporate champion that everyone hates. If Punk could truly commit to the character and make it seem as real as possible, there would be much louder and strong "YOU SOLD OUT" chants than there are at Seth Rollins. He would've actually gotten legit heat being a sell out and aligning with two of the most hated heels of all time. The support Bryan got I think would've went up as well, the main event at Mania 30 would've been better and potentially a classic (not that the actual main event of WM30 was bad, but I'm not that high on it like some are), and Punk would've gotten his main event at Mania and potentially still been around. Although who knows? Maybe he would've just left when his contract expired anyway and all that would do is prolong his eventual leave. I would've been happy with this option.
 
#4,650 ·
I love, absolutely LOVE the idea of Punk as the corporate sell out. If he, not Orton, was the guy smugly smirking into the ring, constantly screwing over Bryan in the fall of 2013, that would have been absolutely tremendous. The great part is, Punk and Bryan are so good and have such amazing chemistry, you can easily get 4-5 matches out of them and keep the fans wanting more. How cool would a Punk vs Brock vs Bryan main event at WM 30 be? There is just so many different, more interesting and fresh, ways you can go with a heel corporate champ Punk. He's just such a tremendous bad guy, as great as Randy can be, he just couldn't get the same kind of heat that a sell out Punk could get in 2013. Fans would so badly want to cheer for him, but he would strip away every single good thing about him while simultaneously be holding down the guy the fans truly adore and want to succeed, Bryan.

Man, what a missed opportunity. That could have been classic. Best booking idea I've read on here in a long time.
 
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