15 Y.C. Part 8: Glorious Honor

For the first time in this series of reviews I’m looking at Ring of Honor and one of the biggest shows they ever had, Glory by Honor V Night 2. Taking place in the Manhattan Center in New York on September 16^th 2006 the show had Bruno Sammartino on for his first wrestling show since retiring years before, it also saw the GHC Heavyweight title defeated outside of Japan for the first time. Dave Prazak and Jarrett David (I think I don’t know who he is).

The DVD opens with Bryan Danielson outside Madison Squared Garden and we then follow him a very short distant to the Manhattan Center. A nice little touch putting over the importance of the arena, we then see a video hyping up the Main event of Bryan vs. KENTA and this leads to the show starting.

Davey Richards vs. Jack Evans: 2006 was a good year for Davey as he won the Super 8 and Battle of Los Angeles tournament but he wouldn’t get the World title until 5 years later and for good reason as he would transform himself over that time. The fans are crazy for Jack, which I really don’t get. Jack does well to start and flips on everything he does. Jack does a nice handspring elbow in the corner where he lands on the apron and Davey just kicks him in the face, that pleased me for some reason. Just noticed the ROH owner, Cary Silken, was at the time keepers table rare to see an owner out there. Davey throws Jack stomach first on the top rope he then falls out and breaks the edge of a table. Jack hits a twisting version of the Sasuke Special to the outside. Jack goes for the 630 but Davey gets his knees up. Davey hits the Alarm Clock and locks in the Stretch Muffler for the 2^nd time to win. I really didn’t like Jack’s style or this match, the fans helped but still wasn’t impressed. Jack is a prime example of doing flips for the sake of flips and really didn’t much actual wrestling.

Bruno Sammartino Promo: This was basically Bruno thanking the fans, talks of his memories and puts over ROH. While that may not sound important think of this, Bruno didn’t do wrestling show after leaving WWE and even in shoots talked about how much he hated wrestling so to get him to not only show up but to put the company over was huge. Most of the locker room is out for this and as they head back Samoa Joe and Takeshi Morishima bump into each other near the entrance and push each other, planting the seeds for a match down the road.

Adam Pearce vs. Delirious: The battle of 2 ROH bookers! Adam would take over Gabe and Delirious would take over Adam. The story behind this match was that Adam worked for ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette and on videowires Delirious kept asking for matches so Jim made this match. Adam jumps Delirious before he gets into the ring. Delirious hides under the ring which leads to Adam looking under and Delirious sneaking up and hitting the Foley senton of the apron. Adam presses Delirious up and throws him out of the ring and into the guard rail. The fans are calling Adam fat, weird thing to pick on since he really wasn’t fat at all. Adam goes for the Superfly but gets nothing but knees. Delirious becomes Ultimate Warrior and hits endless clotheslines and bouncing of different sides of the ring. Delirious hits 60 turnbuckle clothesline, thanks NY fans. Delirious hits the Panic Attack and goes for Shadows Over Hell but Shane Hagadorn interferes and Adam hits the piledriver for the win. I wasn’t too impressed with this match but it was better than the opener.

Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey vs. Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels: The story here is that Jacobs loves Lacey but Lacey is going out with Colt so she demands that Jacobs helps Colt. During Jacobs entrance the fans bring out their phones and sway them, like at a music gig and it looked awesome. Watching these entrances make me miss ROH when they used real bands and not their own music, I know they can’t for legal reasons but I still miss it. Match starts with Jacobs crying and the other two wrestling. Lacey’s on the apron and Daniels almost run into her but saves himself, Colt then trips himself and grabs her boobs and then falls down and slides under her to look up her skirt. This breaks down to a handicap match and double team comedy spots. Colt sets up a Russian Leg Sweep, Jacobs tries for a clothesline and Colt moves and then hits the Sweep. He repeats this spot with a backbreaker. Colt holds Daniels up in a surfboard with his feet and then kicks off into a body scissors which looked really nice. Jacobs accidentally spears Colt leading to Daniels coming back. Daniels hits the Best Moonsault Ever, that always looks great and I’ve never seen him botch it. Colt hits an Asai Moonsault, which I forgot he would do. Colt goes for the Colt 45 but Jacobs low blows him and hits the Contra Code of Daniels for the win. Lacey is pissed at him. A fun little comedy match and it told a great story throughout.

Jim Cornette Promo: He comes out with the Briscoes and basically runs down the fans and Homicide. He explains that Homicide will get his ROH title at Final Battle, if he wins the upcoming tag match, but if he doesn’t win ROH gold by the end of the year he’s gone. For those who don’t know Homicide would beat Danielson at Final Battle in the same Arena to win the title. So I feel a little story is needed here, Homicide was a big help in the ROH/CZW feud and Jim offered him 3 wishes but he refused his last one, bring back Low Ki, and basically Jim turned heel. The other 2 wishes were to get a title shot and one final match with Steve Corino. Anyways this promo basically leads to the next match.

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) vs. Homicide & Samoa Joe w/Julius Smokes: This starts with just shots being traded and see’s Joe hit a Tope and Homicide hit his Tope Con Heelio. Mark attempts a slingshot crossbody and Joe just walks away, such a dick move. Homicide hits the Three Amigos, with the final being a Falcon Arrow, and gets Eddie chants that move will always be his no matter what now. The Briscoes get the advantage when Jay gets a low blow on Homicide and throws him out where Mark repeated rams the back of his head into the rail. Homicide gets the tag and instead of Joe running in the action almost starts all over again. Smokes is just annoying here, he’s constantly barking and growling. The Briscoes then get heat on Joe after a sneaky knee. In a spot I liked Jay keeps locking in a chin lock, Joe would fight back but would end up in the chin lock again. Joe just suddenly tags out, no HOT tags here it seems. Homicide hits a second rope jumping DDT on Mark. They hit a serious of big moves on each other ending with Joe nailing a lariat, Homicide teased the same move and his always looked odd to me Joes looked really nice. Joe & Homicide hit a backdrop driver and clothesline which sees Mark landing really high. The Briscoes got for the Doomsday but Joe grabs Mark’s foot as he jump up and it looked really painful. Homicide nails the Cop Killer for the win. Pretty good tag match here, my only problem is that the faces really didn’t build up to the tags. We go backstage to Gary Michael Cappetta who is doing backstage interviews, nice to see his face.

Generation Next (Roderick Strong & Austin Aries) (c) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) for the ROH Tag titles: This stems off the ROH/CZW feud, Claudio had been able to stay in ROH because he had a contract and Hero had constantly interrupted shows since the feud ended. They gained the shot by answering an open contract. The Kings come out to “We Are the Champions” by Queen, overused? Yes but still great. The Kings also come through the crowd, another thing I like in feuds like this. They are also the Chikara campeones de parejas. Aries has a massive bandage on his rips, I recently reviewed Wrestlemania 19 where Brock Lesnar had the smallest bandage to sell a rip injury. Anyways at this time Gen Next were the most successful Tag champs, they made the title World title by going to Japan and had the longest and most title defences. On record would be broken by the Kings later on. Claudio looks like a Swiss IRS. The Kings jump start  this match. They do a series of chomps which sees Strong chop them both and the Kings chop each other. Aries is in briefly and grabs his ribs throughout, always worth doing in my view. Lots of quick tags from the faces and a load of double teams as a result, we even get the Hart Attack. Hero hangs Aries on the top rope to start the heat and the attack on the ribs. Aries fights back and tries to jump over Hero for the tag but is blocked by a double team by the Kings, I complained they didn’t build the tags in the last match is this is a prime example of how to build to a tag. The Kings are very good at avoiding Strong from coming in and hitting them or they were until Hero locks in a weird submission and Strong kicks him in the face. Aries finally gets the tag by rolling by the Kings after a double suplex attempt, the fans popped for the tag. Aries hits his Heat Seeking Missile on both Kings and this is followed by Strong hitting a twisting plancha. Aries hits the turnbuckle dropkick and runs Hero into a sick kick, this is followed by a chop/brainbuster combo. Aries goes up top but Claudio hits him with a briefcase, Strong gets hit with a double team Hero’s Welcome and then taunt. Aries sneaks in and gets some strikes in but the Kings get the KRS 1 and the titles. I really like this match and it was a great way to justify the Kings staying in ROH.

Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Nigel McGuinness for GHC World Heavyweight Title: A very long intro to this match. Marufuji had only won the title the week before and was the first to win every title in NOAH. Chain wrestling to start. Jimmy Bower aka Gabe Sapolsky comes on commentary just to put over the match. Marufuji hits a Dragon Screw while Nigel’s leg was through the ropes this starts the attack on the leg. We get another Dragon Screw but around the ring post this time. Nigel gets a comeback after Marufuji shoulder blocks the post and this starts the attack on the arm. Even while on offence Nigel is selling the leg by shaking it out. Nigel starts using lariats, they don’t look as impactful as they would during his World title reign but he would also destroy his own arm in the process. Nigel slings the rope in Marufuji’s face in a nice spot, they fight on the outside and Marufuji hits the shiranui to the floor. Nigel gets in the ring at 17 and what I liked is that he physically struggled to get up before getting in, sometimes guys just pop up and jump. Nigel hits his hanging lariat for a near fall Nigel hits the Tower of London but Marufuji pops up and hits a shiranui and both men are down, that’s how you actually do fighting spirit spots. Nigel hits his rebound lariat for a near fall, if done smoothly that move looks awesome. Nigel hits the Tower of London on the apron and both men are fighting the count. They trade sick kicks which sees a near fall for Marufuji. Nigel does the headstand in the corner but gets superkicked, he lands in the tree of woe and Marufuji does a Van Terminator minus the chair. Marufuji hits the top rope shiranui for the win. A great, great match from these two and really helped build McGuinness up.

Bryan Danielson (c) vs. KENTA for ROH World Title: Bryan is working this match with a serious shoulder injury which required surgery. We get the “Final Countdown” for Bryan, how can you be a heel with that? Both are doing very dickish type strikes when they should do breaks. Bryan grabs his shoulder and rolls out after a kick, would like to think that’s good selling but it was probably a shoot. Every kick KENTA throws is to the shoulder, I understand why you’d work the shoulder in the match but why would you let KENTA kick you there? KENTA does his slingshot cocky kick, seriously what dick. Bryan goes for a sunset flip and KENTA slaps the hell out of him. Bryan gets the advantage after a Kravate suplex. Bryan tries the Mexican Surfboard but it gets messed up and he jumps down on the knees instead. We get a Ric Flair spot where the Figure 4’s locked in and Bryan grabs the ropes when the ref isn’t looking. Bryan does a roll through into a single crab just like Lance Storm, who he beat earlier in the year. Bryan goes for a flying headbutt but KENTA gets his legs up. After a double down both get up and hit & absorb a lot of big moves leading to another double down. Bryan somehow hits a one armed slingshot plancha into the crowd. KENTA blocks a roaring elbow with a Fujiwara armbar and he would use this throughout the rest of the match. Bryan hits the Regalplex for a near fall. A Super Back suplex by Bryan leads to Cattle Mutilation by KENTA gets the ropes. Bryan jumps off the top but KENTA catches him and hits the Go 2 Sleep, see that CM Punk, for a near fall but Bryan gets his foot on the rope. Bryan reverses the GTS with a crucifix and then elbows but KENTA fights out but is put into a pin for a near fall. Bryan locks in the Cattle Mutilation, he breaks it to hit elbows and puts it back on for the tap out. Just a fantastic match to close the show and even more impressive when you think about the fact Bryan was injured going in.

Overall: This is still probably the best ROH show I’ve ever seen. I often find that when you go back to watch ROH show they don’t really hold up but this was truly does. Each match on the card got better as we went along, which you could argue it should do. I found while reviewing shows that my complaints are mostly match order and unnecessary matches on the card but I think you didn’t get that on this card. Storyline progressed and the match quality was great, mostly. Watching this you can understand why ROH got called King of the Indies for so long.

15 Y.C. Part 7 No Joking People

We’re back on the indy scene for this review and we’re back to IWA Mid-South. For those who don’t know IWA MS it’s famous for getting pretty low crowds, in fact they once held and filmed a show with about 10 people in the audience. However this so was the complete opposite and the place was full to the brim with fans and it ended up being one of their best shows ever. The show took place in April 1^st 2006 (I believe) and we have Jim Fannin & Ben Jordan on commentary all night long.

Vulgar Display of Power (Brain Damage & Deranged) vs. Team Underground (Eric Priest & Chandler McClure): VDOP are more Deathmatch workers and this is a straight up match so we’ll have to see how they do. Team Underground have Playboy bunnies on their tights, only girls should wear Playboy bunnies. Deranged and Priest to start, Deranged is extremely loud in everything he does. VDOP are hitting some sick shots to get the advantage, they really don’t hold back. Deranged tries a Fall Away slam to the corner but it doesn’t work. A lot of messed up spots by everyone here. Deranged goes for a second rope moonsault but misses, he’s a big boy so that’s a big deal. Team Underground go for a Spike piledriver which results in Priest hitting a piledriver and McClure looking like an idiot and hitting nothing, but that ends the match. I would say this match was bad but the fans were into it and that’s half of what makes a match, if they jumped on the botches it would have been worse.

Daizee Haze(c) & Vanessa Craven vs. MsChif & Mickie Knuckles(c)-Elimination Match to Unify IWA MS & NWA Mid-West Women’s title: Craven is 6’3 dwarfing everyone in the ring. Mickie is the companies Women’s champion and it’s a rip off of the WWF European title, really? You couldn’t rip off the Women’s title you had to rip off the European title. By the way did Russo get to book this show? Why are you unifying two titles in a tag match, which has eliminations? Haze and Mickie start and Haze hits a low blow to start. MsChif is quickly tagged in, screams and Haze runs away and tags. We get our first “Wrestling! YAY!” chant, it would be the first of many. The heels spend a good few minutes working on MsChif, MsChif finally tags Mickie catches Haze’s crossbody attempt and tags straight back out, why? Haze and MsChif work into a weird double pin and are both eliminated, leading to boos and I don’t blame them as that was a weak finish. Mickie and Craven trade sick shots which include headbutts and loud chops. MsChif mists Craven, she was out of position for that and had to run over, and Mickie hits the Redneck Hangover to win. First off, look wrestling world someone who isn’t Japanese or pretends to be is using the mist. Second this match was pretty bad at places if you were putting Mickie over why not have her overcome the two heels?

9 Way TLC match for a shot at the World title: Ok so the rules are 2 men start and then another enters after a few minutes, the ladder cannot come into play until all 9 are out. You can get eliminated by pinfall, submission or going through a table. We get Marek brave and Tyler Black to start, they were teaming at the time. Trik Davis is out next, he looks like a geek really doesn’t look like a wrestler. Billy Roc is no.4. Trik hits a tope and Roc comes in and hits a plancha on everyone straight away. Dave Crist is no.5. Trik is held in a boston crab but his head is between two chairs which are then dropkicked into him, that looked insane. Dave hits a Triple Jump Lionsault on Roc. Chuck Taylor is no.6. Chuck hits a beautiful dropkick on Roc. Jake Crist is no.7. Ricochet is no.8. Black hits God’s Last Gift on Roc to eliminate him. Darin Corbin is the final guy. Darin does a stupid dance while everyone watches him, they crowd round he asks for a time out to remove his LED belt and they all jump on him after. Dave is running up a slated ladder that’s on the ring and Brave jumps over the top rope and crossbodies him. We get the Tower of Doom spot. We get a series of dives ending with Ricochet hitting a Double Moonsault of the ladder to the outside. Trik lands on Darin’s shoulders and actually has his hands on the contract but Black ups in for the Doomsday Device. Brave attempts a Shooting Star but goes nowhere and lands on the turnbuckle and falls through a table so he’s eliminated. Ricochet is then eliminated after the Crist’s hit an insane double team. Darin hit’s Shin City on Chuck to eliminate him. The Crist’s are eliminated when Black splashes both of them through a table at the same time. Trik knocks Corbin of the ladder but Chris Hero pulls him off before he could win and this leads to Corbin winning the match. Overall this was an insane stunt show that helped showcase some of the younger talent at the time, and Corbin (the only heel) got major heat for winning like that.

Eddie Kingston, Larry Sweeney & Spike Dudley vs. The Iron Saints (Sal, Vito & Brandon Thomaselli): This starts with King calling out the Saints and them beating him down, this leads to Sweeney trying to make the save and then Spike joins them making a six man. Basic back and forth action until the Saints pull out King and deliver a Knee breaker on a chair. In the short time Spike has been in the ring he’s taken shots at WWE and ROH, explains why he doesn’t work much anymore. Spike hits the Acid Drop but is pulled out and is hit by a chair and he’s now bleeding. We get Memphis style from the Saints who trade of using Brass Knucks on Spike. King has been selling his leg all match and even during his comeback he’s constantly grabbing the leg, the little things matter. Spike attempts the Acid Drop but lands into Brandon who hits the Deal (a Powerbomb on the knees) for the win. Nothing great here but wasn’t bad, Sweeney did very little but everything he did was great. This match was mainly to continue the King/Saints feud.

Ruckus vs. Josh Abercrombie (c) for the IWA MS Light Heavyweight Title: They get to the outside and Ruckus goes for a dive, Josh moves but he lands on his feet and they brawl on the outside for a while. Ruckus does a running up the wall moonsault. They get back in the ring and he hits a moonsault legdrop. Josh gets the advantage by throwing Ruckus back first into the corner and he begins to attack the back. Ruckus hits a springshot twisting kick and then a rolling Fame Asser to come back but he’s soon cut off with a Sidewalk Driver, these days everything is a Driver. Ruckus locks in the Gory Special and manages to pull Josh’s head behind his arm and then lands a flatliner out of it, never really seen that before or since. Ruckus does his Chaos Theory Fisherman for a near fall. Josh hits the Taliban Backpack Lungblower and follows that with the Phoenix Splash for the win. Pretty solid match, they messed up a bit but they recovered quickly instead of freaking out. Ruckus offence is a crowd pleaser and Josh was just great in his role at the time.

Kevin Steen vs. Ian Rotten: Steen starts by talking about Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon and how this match is like that. A woman in the crowd yells out and he replies “Shhh, women shouldn’t speak”. He then copies Shawn Michaels. That promo was great and a prime example of why I love Steen. Ian’s return promo was a bit hit and miss and he randomly insults Shawn Michaels. Very nice chain wrestling for a while, very impressive on both ends. Steen eventually gets the advantage after using the post. We get “You Screwed Bret” chants and Steen replies “He deserved it”. Steen’s advantage didn’t last long at all. Steen hits the forearm and kip up, this leads to him doing all of HBK’s stuff. We get the elbow and does the stomp in the corner but misses the kick. Steen does hit the kick but Ian gets his foot on the rope. Steen tries for a senton but Ian gets hit knees up and gets a cradle for the win. It was an OK comedy match but nothing else. I do think Ian is an underrated wrestler and Steen is great but this was just OK.

Delirious vs. El Generico: Bell rings and Delirious goes crazy, and Generico runs off. Delirious locks in a head lock and takes Generico down, Generico sneaks out but Delirious stays in the same position. Delirious is hilarious one of the best comedy wrestlers when he wants to be. Delirious refuses to jump over Generico’s lay down because he will trip him, this leads to the Ref holding him. Delirious tries throwing Generico into the post but he blocks and runs off with Delirious behind leading to him running into another post. I’m starting to think it’s because the arena is small and the camera’s are close that all these chops sounds sick, it’s been like this in every match. Delirious kills Generico with the Panic Attack knee. Generico hits a somersault plancha. Delirious hits the Cobra Clutch backbreaker. Delirious hits Shadow over Hell for a near fall. Generico hits the Yakuza kick and the half & half for a near fall. Delirious blocks being put on the top by pushing off and then hits the Chemical Imbalance for the win. Not only a great comedy match but a great match in general.

Tank vs. Toby Klein: Lots of strikes here. Tank gets the advantage by out striking Toby. Toby barely hits a plancha onto Tank. Toby kills Tank with a chair shot and then hits a Van Terminator which busts Tank open and gets a near fall. Toby tries for a DVD but gets a Samoan drop and a twisting top rope splash for the win. If you like 2 guys hitting each other a lot then this is for you. Tank bleed for no reason and all this did was put Toby over on route to him winning the World title later in the year.

Necro Butcher vs. Low Ki: This was the match everyone wanted to see. The match started with Ki running through the crowd and jumping Necro, the fans then fill the ring with streamers in a great visual. Ki looks really careless when delivering some of his strikes. They fight in the crowd and it looks like Necro is bleeding from the mouth. Necro has said that Ki hit him harder than anyone ever has, that says a lot. Everything these two are doing is getting a reaction and those are the types of matches you have to love. Every time Necro blocks or tries to counter he’s met with a kick. Ki hits some sick Kawada kicks and then brings in a table. Ki reverses a powerbomb into a Double stomp. Ki springboards and runs into a clothesline. Necro does his chair bodyslam on Ki. Necro’s body is stupidly red that’s how harsh this match has been. Ki counters a powerbomb attempt by stamping on Necro’s bare foot. Ki hits a double stomp while Necro’s bent over in the rope for a near fall. Necro hits the Tiger Driver for a near fall. The two fight on the top which leads to Necro laying on the table and Ki hitting his Tree of Woe Double Stomp through a table for a near fall. Ki locks in his Dragon Clutch and Necro passes out leading to Ki winning. Just a fantastic match, it may have been a lot of striking but they did so much more and told a story. The crowd made this match that little bit better.

Milano Collection AT vs. Chris Hero: AT has an invisible dog for some reason. AT is really outwrestling Hero to start. AT tries Hero up in the rope with himself and then delivers a funny looking dropkick. Hero does a rolling plancha were he lands on his feet but he goes down straight away leading to the long “shoot” injury spot and Hero getting the advantage, my one problem is that the spot has become truly predictable and just eats up so much time. AT hangs Hero on the second rope and while on the outside does a running dropkick in a great looking spot. Hero hits his gorgeous rolling handstand senton. In a very nice looking move Hero picks AT over his shoulder and drops down into a gutbuster. AT comes back with a Matrix and an enzuigri. AT locks in the AT Lock but the ref is down while Hero gives up. Hero nails a low blow for a near fall. AT hits the Armani Shoe Exchange and locks in another version of the AT lock. Hero hits a powerbomb and a version of the Lionsault for the win, the second he does the fans start leaving which looked funny. A really good main event match.

Overall: The fans really made this show special, without them it would of still be a good show but with them it was a great show. Main problem is the same with every IWA MS show which is too many guys on one show and it runs too long, this was about a 4 hour show I can’t imagine being there live. I think the match order was a problem as well and the main event, while very good was an afterthought after that Necro/Ki match.

15 Y.C Part 6: 20 Years in the making, it's Wrestlemania 19. Wait what?

I cannot celebrate 15 years of being a wrestling fan without reviewing at least 1 Wrestlemania and I’ve picked arguably the best, WM 19. Now I love 17 as well but to me 19 was just that little bit better and I actually have it. Taking place March 30^th 2003 in SAFECO Field in Seattle, Washington. Now Mania’s are long so expect this review to be long as well. We have JR & King commentary the Raw matches and Tazz & a much less annoying Michael Cole for Smackdown. The opening video is pretty much the regular opening video now where everyone puts over how big and meaningful Mania is. Limp Bizkit’s “Crack Addict” is the theme and we would hear it so much on this show. I will also note that I won’t review the Cat Fight girls who are all over this show but everything was awful, can’t believe Lance Storm got bumped for them. With that said let’s start.

Matt Hardy (c) w/Shannon Moore vs. Rey Mysterio for WWE Cruiserweight Title: JR & King welcome the show and they are in the Nitro position, always felt that was weird. I think Rey is meant to be dressed as a Marvel superhero, I’m guessing Hawk Eye. Matt has his Media Player entrance, as much as this screams mid-card I really felt he could be a main event at the time I loved Version 1 Matt. The running story is that Matt has to make weight to be champion. Match opens with Rey back dropping Matt, very quickly, over the top and following with a twisting plancha. Moore interferes early when Rey attempts a Sunset bomb to the outside. Matt delivers a back suplex with an elbow drop, not sure what that’s called. Matt & Moore are drinking tea now, as an Englishmen I approve. Very fast paced match. Rey attempts a float over and is caught into the side effect. Rey comes back with a Seated Senton and starts his comeback. Rey gets tripped up and runs into a Twist of Fate for a near fall. Matt goes for a Splash mountain, I only ever see that move come out when Rey is in a match, shock horror Rey reverses it into a Head scissors. He then hits a 619 and after some reversals goes for a Victory Roll but Matt sits on him and grabs the rope for the win. A great opening match and makes more sense than putting your WORLD title on opener.

Undertaker vs. A-Train & Big Show: This was meant to be a tag with Nathan Jones but WWE were so worried that he got pulled on the night. Oh hey look it’s Tensai, I mean Albert, I mean A-Train. Poor guy. Cole brings up the Undefeated streak, it only became important at the last Mania I think when Taker counted his wins. Taker quickly hits a chokeslam on Train but Show pulls him out. Train yells “Kick his Ass” that’s how wrestling usually works. Taker with a leap frog, that was impressive. We get Old School early, if this was Michael Cole it would be called Vintage School. The heels get advantage after Show distracts Taker and Taker is hit by the Baldo Bomb. Show goes for a Chokeslam but is reversed into a fujiwara armbar and then he locks in a Crossarm breaker on Train, this was when Taker really started to change his style. Train yells a lot while he works and during this match you can hear a train, that’s how little action is going on. Taker hits his weird running DDT which Cole calls a clubbing blow to the back. Show hits a Chokeslam but Jones comes out, and gets a reaction, and spin kicks Show. He comes in and hits a big boot and Taker hits the Tombstone for the win. Pretty slow at parts and not that good but I think it was wise to use Jones how they did in this match.

Victoria (c) w/Stevie Richards vs. Jazz vs. Trish Stratus for the Women’s Title: Victoria comes out to Tatu’s “All the Things She said” which is an amazing song and is this seriously the best they had for Stevie? Jazz attacks both before the bell to start. Jazz locks in a version of the Last Chancery on Trish. Trish hits a Lou Thez press, weird to do knowing Austin was going on later. Victoria hits a slingshot flip leg drop but is pulled off. I really liked Victoria’s Insane gimmick. Victoria & Jazz attempt, that being the key word, a double shoulder breaker on Trish. Trish does a roll up and goes for a bridge as well and the ref doesn’t count until the bridge is done, that always bugged me he should count anyways. Trish hits the Chick Kick on Jazz but the pin is broken up. Victoria takes a nasty spill to the outside and Jazz locks in a sick looking single crab and then into a STF but Stevie interferes. King pops when we see the slightest glimpse of Victoria’s ass on a roll up. Jazz hits a version of the Glamslam but walks into a superkick by Victoria who then misses a top rope moonsault. Stevie does the goof spot and hits himself with a chair. Victoria tries for Widows Peak but its reversed and Trish hits the Chick Kick for the win. Watching this I miss this kick of women’s wrestling, thank God for Shimmer. A great match and it got a reaction something today’s Divas can only hope for. Afterwards we get a Rock promo backstage, he does a great heel promo. And his T-shirt says “Hit it Strong” what is “it”, it that sexual?

Team Angle (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) (c) vs. Los Guerreros (Eddie & Chavo) vs. Chris Benoit & Rhyno-Triple Threat for WWE Tag titles: One of these things just doesn’t belong here. Rhyno comes out and Team Angle’s Titantron video is frozen behind him. It’s amazing to think how quickly Team Angle climbed the WWE and how quickly they fell, the Team were in the main event the last PPV and hung with everyone easily. It breaks down early but it finally starts with Chavo and Haas. Benoit gets back suplexed by Chavo and Eddie hits his beautiful slingshot to come in. Benoit’s chops are sick I forgot how hard he hits. I wonder why Rhyno never got pushed, his work was good and he looked like a beast, no company really used him well. Lots of tags going on, no one seems to be in for long. Benoit hits a very quick Top tope Superplex on Eddie and then goes on to press Eddie up and locks in the crossface as he comes down but it’s broken up quickly. Chavo comes in and cleans house, wouldn’t have picked him for that spot, but is cut off by Benoit’s Multi-German’s. Shelton has the pin but Eddie breaks it up with a Frog Splash. Rhyno Gores Chavo and Shelton steals the pin to retain. Very good, fast paced match with a lot of action and Team Angle come off as sneaky heels.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho: The story here is that Y2J looked up to HBK but he now wants to surpass him. This was Shawn’s first Mania since returning from injury. Shawn comes out and he has confetti guns on his way but many don’t work, also he probably got the most pyro of anyone entering at this Mania. The King brings up the camera’s shooting “The Mania behind Wrestlemania” if you haven’t watched it just don’t it’s pretty meaningless and depressing. Chain wrestling to start, King says “Wrestling, wow” sums up how rare it was to see this I guess. Shawn goes for a crossbody but it’s rolled through, a spot you usually see as a near fall later in matches. Chris whips Shawn into the corner and attempts a bulldog when he comes out but Shawn launches him into the corner where he’s crotched. Shawn skins the cat and catches Chris with a head scissors, he follows that with a plancha. They fight on the outside and Shawn tries for a dropkick but Chris locks in the Walls of Jericho for a good amount of the count, Chris breaks the count though. This starts the attack on the back as Chris we then ram Shawn into the post back first. Chris hits his trademark dropkick when Shawn tries to get in the ring. Chris did his posing pin which got a pop from the crowd. Chris attempts to flapjack Shawn but he hangs there and hits a DDT to start coming back. Chris hits a forearm, kip up and then does Shawn’s pose, Shawn then does it to Chris. Shawn hits a top rope moonsault for a near fall. The two do the endless covers spot which ends with Chris trying for the Walls but is countered. Chris hits the Lionsault for a near fall. Shawn goes for a hurricanrana but is put in the Walls. Chris hits his Double Underhook backbreaker and follows with a top rope reverse elbow, he then teases the Sweet Chin Music and hits it for a near fall. Chris goes for a superplex but Shawn throws him off and hits his gorgeous elbow from the top. Shawn attempts Sweet Chin Music but is countered into the Walls. Chris screams at the ref but he then walks into the Superkick for a near fall. Shawn flips over Chris and catches him in a roll up for the win, afterwards the two hug but Chris quickly kicks him low. Just a fantastic match between these two and you can argue they stole the show. Personally I think they did steal the show as this was the best match on the card.

Triple H (c) w/Ric Flair vs. Booker T for the World title: This was the “You’re a criminal because you’re black” storyline. Triple H didn’t have the greatest storylines or opponents at this time. Flair looks so much younger here and he wasn’t really young. Little fact for you, Triple H would win Worst Wrestler of the Year in 2003, he must be one of the only guys to win best and worst. Booker hits a Top Rope Armdrag early, a unique spot. Triple H finally gets some offence by throwing Booker into the post. JR brings up that Triple H was awarded the title, that would be a good point if he hadn’t lost it and regained it since he was originally given the belt. Triple H hits a great spinebuster, really looked like Arn Anderson’s and his was the greatest. Triple H kills Booker with a clothesline in the corner. Booker hits a high DDT, really looked like Triple H landed on his head. We get the high knee/Harley Race reference. Booker hits an awful looking spinebuster, didn’t help that the earlier one looked great. Flair interferes after Booker misses a Scissors kick, and hits a Knee breaker onto the steps. Triple H looks in an Indian Deathlock, JR sounds truly surprised to see it and it’s a move that should be used more often it looks great. They tease a ref bump when Booker is kicked off into the corner but he’s fine. Booker then hits the scissors kick but can’t get the pin. Booker damn near kills Triple H when his Harlem Hangover lands right on his head, Triple H must hate gets coming off the top on him as just a few months earlier RVD seriously injured him in the Elimination Chamber in a similar fashion. Booker’s leg gives way and he gets hit by the Pedigree for the win. This match seriously dragged. I think Triple H has the worst luck at Mania as he always seems to go on after matches that steal the show. Honestly the finish was really flat as Triple H didn’t cover Booker for a good 10 seconds after the Pedigree.

Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan-Street Fight: I had to add the video promo for this match, it has to be one of the best videos I’ve ever seen to help build up a match. We actually get Voodoo Child for Hogan. Hulk hits the Axe Bomber (Japan reference for you there). Vince works on Hulk’s left arm randomly. The fans get up when Vince locks in a test of strength and Hulk fight back, which lasts a while. Vince gets thrown into the post and then gets murdered by a chair shot, no surprise he’s busted open. Hulk kills Hugo (the Spanish announcer) when Vince ducks and Vince hits a low blow, I wonder what made them decide to kill Hugo who was bleeding as well. Hulk is now bleeding as well. I hear the 3^rd train of the night. Vince drops a leg off a ladder through the Spanish Announce table in an insane spot. Vince finds a pipe and peaks over the apron in a great visual, Hulk nails a low blow before the pipe is used. A very fat looking Roddy Piper enters and the fans go crazy. This seems to go on forever, Piper is teasing hitting Vince and hits Hulk instead. The ref takes an awful bump into the ropes this leads to the French ref (Sylvan from La Resistance) to come down. Hulk begins to Hulk up and the fans erupt, I still love watching that especially at the “YOU” point.  Big boot and 3 Leg drops leads to Hulk winning. This was pretty good, Vince shines in this no rule matches and that freedom helped Hulk I think.

Steve Austin vs. The Rock: Austin returned the prior month and this would be his last match. The build to this was that Rock finally wanted to beat Austin at Mania. The promo video would be the “Theme song” video which we would get on every PPV. I loved the heel Rock especially his entrance theme. Little fact while this was their 3^rd match at Mania it was the first straight match as the other two were officially No DQ matches. Also this was originally going to be the main event but Austin had a health scare the night before and so it was put on as the Semi-Main. They brawl on the outside to start. Rock goes into the steps with some force. We get some “What” chants, I would like them to die. Rock clips the knee twice to get the advantage. The cameraman falls down, it’s not a good night for the non-wrestlers. Rock locks in the Sharpshooter, one of his better looking ones I have to say. Rock puts on Austin’s vest and this lead to a double clothesline and a double down. Austin hits the Lou Thez press to a pop and more “What” chants. Austin hits the Rock Bottom. Rock then counters a Stunner with his own but before then he gets up and is wobbly but has the time to adjust the vest. Austin hits the Stunner for a near fall, no one sells that like the Rock. Austin shoves the ref and gets low blowed for his trouble. Rock misses the People’s Elbow but then quickly hits a spinebuster and hits the Elbow for a near fall. Rock hits the Rock Bottom for another near fall, he tries for another which gets countered but he then hits one for another near fall. Rock hits a 3^rd one after Austin struggled to get up for the win. While you could argue that was overkill it made sense since these 2 have wrestled so much in the past. A really good match and a great conclusion to their series.

Kurt Angle (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for WWE title: This was Brock’s first Mania, it’s amazing to think how much he did in such little time. Watching the build video they did nothing but do Brock vs. Kurt on TV for weeks. Brock has a tiny bandage on his ribs, to sell an injury. Very nice chain wrestler that gets applause for the fans. Kurt hits a very high German suplex. Brock actually grabs his ribs after delivering some moves, it’s something simple but worth doing. Kurt German’s Brock into the corner to get the advantage. Taz showing a lot of knowledge with holds here, something TNA can only hope to get from him these days. Kurt runs into a spinebuster and both men are down. It’s suplexs galore in this match. Kurt hits the multi-Germans hitting 4, the same number that Benoit hit earlier. Brock reverses the Angle slam and goes for the F5 which is reversed into the Ankle lock. In a nice spot Brock tries to kick him off but Kurt catches him and locks in a Single leg Crab. Kurt hits a German which sees Brock flip over and land on his front, fans loved that. Kurt hits the Angle slam for a near fall. Brock hits the F5 fall a near fall where Kurt barely kicks out. Brock hits another F5 after a series of reversals between the 2 but he goes outside for the now famous Shooting Star botch where he lands on his head. Brock then hits a 3^rd F5 for the win. A really great main event that I feel gets overshadowed too much. Everything was great until the Shooting Star but the match ended soon after.

Overall: This was a really solid show and you got the feeling it was a big time show as everything HBK/Y2J onwards felt like a true main event. There were some drawback in terms of matches, I’m never a fan of bands performing several times (like they did on here) and the Cat Fight girls took up so much time for nothing of meaning it was truly painful to watch. If you stick to the in ring work this show is great but everything outside was pretty bad.

15 Y.C 5: Hey look it's the King of Shows!

We’re back in the arena! The date is 25^th July 2010 and this is one of my favourite promotions ever! It’s Chikara and it’s grown into such an amazing company, the year 2010 was a stand out for them. The year long storyline at the time was the BDK trying to take over Chikara. But this show had another twist as it had Dragon Gate talent heavily involved, at the time Evolve and Dragon Gate USA were using Chikara talent a lot and so a relationship was born. So let’s start the review of Chikarasauras Rex: King of Shows. The commentary team is changing throughout the night.

BDK (Pinkie Sanchez, Lince Dorado, Tursas & Tim Donst) vs. Frightmare & the Colony (Solider, Fire & Green Ant): The BDK have Jakob Hammermeir announcing them, always liked that as he got so much heat as did the BDK in general. We get Pinkie and Green starting. Got to say the BDK group were fantastic and really made me fall in love with Pinkie and Donst it’s a shame Pinkie isn’t used anymore. Green Ant locks in some odd submissions which I’ve never seen before. Soldier is famous for saluting and I always like when he would salute while doing moves. We get the line of headlocks spot which is ended with Tursas running into them. Frightmare hits a twisting plancha and then runs around the crowd, with Lucha rules it’s a tag though. Yep Chikara is under lucha rules which I love and they use those rules well. Fire Ant gets a couple of Firemen’s carrys, attempts one on Tursas who just dead lifts him and hits a dominator leading to BDK getting the advantage. Fire gets the tag and Frightmare (the smallest) somehow hits a Yazuka kick on Tursas (the biggest). We then see the Ant-apult with Fire Ant getting some serious hit to the outside. Frightmare does his backflip dodge and a neckbreaker on Lince with Lince landing on his head! Pinkie then hit’s a version of the Burning Hammer for the win. Very good match to open the show.

Equinox (Jimmy Olsen) vs. SHINGO: The only singles match on the show. SHINGO attacks early to start and is overpowering Jimmy. Jimmy starts fighting back and SHINGO just nails him in the face with a punch, it looked super stiff. This is all SHINGO, Jimmy gets some spots but no offence for a while. Jimmy finally comes back with a Missile dropkick and follows that up with a nasty looking tope, I don’t think SHINGO caught him at all and Jimmy seemed to land on his head. SHINGO hits the Alabama Slam (I hate Hardcore Holly by the way) into the corner. SHINGO hits a lariat for the win. This was really a squash it seemed, Jimmy did get some offence but SHINGO killed him for 95% of the match. I wasn’t too impressed with this. Before our next match we have a little promo which sees Eddie Kingston induct Tommy Dreamer into the Arena’s Hardcore Hall of Fame. Not many got into that Hall of Fame.

BDK (Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze) vs. Raesha Saeed & Amazing Kong: First off mad respect to Cheerleader Melissa who actually wrestles in that get up. Saeed and Haze start. Fans love when Kong and Rey are tagged in. Kong does nothing but let Rey bounce off her and then splashes her and tags out. Kong and Saeed attempt a double team move, which they hit earlier, but it’s blocked and the BDK get the advantage. As good as Rey is I find she misses more kicks then she hits, maybe she should throw less kicks they also don’t get the reaction they should. Both sides take advantage of the lucha rules and Kong comes in and hits a Chokeslam, I’m starting to realise how overused that move is I don’t think I’ve reviewed a show without at least one happening. Saeed misses Haze with a backfist this leads to Rey hitting the rolling kick and Haze German suplexing Kong for the win! A good match and the site of Haze Germaning Kong was awesome. The end made sense as Kong & Saeed were a one off.

FIST (Icarus, Chuck Taylor & Gran Akuma) vs. CIMA, Super Shenlong & Masaaki Mochizuki: Before the match we get a backstage promo with FIST and Johnny Gargano interrupts in a t-shirt that was obviously made for a child! This was mainly done (the promo) to show that FIST have been having problems and Johnny has been the one causing them. FIST all have different versions of their tights on, I liked that as it showed they were having problems. Masaaki starts this off with Icarus. The first strike comes from Masaaki who hits a really sick kick to the gut. I liked how CIMA entered when tagged, he jumped over the top but kind of floated there for a second. CIMA hits the slingshot senton and when Akuma sits up he just slides and hits a back kick, that was pretty cool, Team DG gets the advantage after that.  Akuma gets tired up in the rope and Masaaki & CIMA trade of kicks on him. FIST get the advantage back when Akuma hits the Cheetah swipe. The fans just hate Icarus. Chikarason, who’s on commentary, mentions the bathroom attendance in bars this has nothing to do with the match but I hate those guys they want you to pay for peeing! It breaks down when Shenlong gets the tag. Shenlong hits a twisting vader bomb on Akuma who fights back with his tombstone into a lung blower. FIST then hit their triple kick in the corner. Icarus hits the pedigree, if he didn’t have heat he would have got it then. Team DG hold Icarus up in a handstand and Masaaki hits a scissors kick on his crotch, behinds the ref’s back. Chuck and Icarus hit a big boot/back cracker combo, then Sole Food, then a Slice Bread and a Splash by Akuma on CIMA for a near fall. CIMA hits the Breach Break and then Meteora on Akuma for the win. After the match FIST turn on Akuma and Gargano joins them making a new team. A very good match which really got good when it broke down near the end.

The UnStable (Vin Gerard, Colin Delaney & STIGMA) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) & Drake Younger: They’re a lot of guys who like all CAPS for their name on this show. Back story here is that it looked like Vin & STIGMA were turning face in a series of matches with the Portal but ultimately they remained heel so the Portal got Drake to help get revenge. This breaks out into a fight early and Ophidian hits a twisting plancha, followed by Amasis hitting a flip plancha, Colin then gets back dropped on everyone and Drake ends it with a flip senton to the outside. Less than a minute in as well. Colin is wearing a tie for some reason. Ophidian runs into the corner to Vin who attempts to throw him up he then does a handstand in the corner and comes back in to the Codebreaker. Drake is bleeding, don’t know how but he might of sneezed at some point and busted himself open, Flair would be proud. Lots of action everywhere and every time two leave the ring two come in, taking full advantage of the lucha rules. Drake hits the Foley rolling senton onto Colin. Drake hits the running Drake’s Landing but Vin pulls him out before a pin. Vin misses a tope and just hits the floor, Drake then throws Vin into a trash can head first and hits a dropkick. STIGMA then tombstones Drake onto the steps and we get a “Holy Poop” chant. Ophidian hits double knees, bet CIMA was pissed. The Portal hit the Osirian Sacrament for the win. So much action in this match I couldn’t note it all but this was a great brawl of a match.

BDK (Claudio Castagnoli & Ares) vs. Eddie Kingston & Tommy Dreamer: King idolized Dreamer before wrestling and earlier in the year the two had a match, which was interrupted by the BDK and that’s why we have this match. Dreamer is coming back for King of Trios this year with Jerry Lynn and 2 Cold Scorpio, I want to see that very much. The BDK are the Campeonatos de Parejas, they come out with Delirious and we have the BDK referee Derek Sabato. I loved the idea of their own ref, who could only be in one match per show, it got so much heat during the matches he was in as he was so blatant. Dreamer’s wearing MMA gloves, that’s random. King goes after Claudio before the start, these two were feuding at the time and were originally the two would face off in the 12 Large Summit until Claudio signed with the WWE. Dreamer hits a fall away slam (Hey yo!) he then does a double team with King holding Ares in a side walk slam and Dreamer hitting an elbow from the bottom rope, he would of been better just jumping up. King hits a stupidly high Spinebuster. King is just looking at Claudio while beating up Ares. BDK get the heat by doing Dreamers regular spot of being crotched on the railing. Tommy reverses a double Irish whip by ramming the BDK together and then tags King in. King hits a tope on Claudio and Dreamer hits a rolling senton onto Ares on the outside. King hits a “yakuza” kick, it was really low, and then Dreamer hits a reiden bomb which got an insanely slow count by Sabato who then pulls Claudio off of Dreamers shoulders. Dreamer gets the DDT but it’s another slow count. Dreamer goes to DVD Sabato but Ares clips him. Claudio hits the Ricola bomb for the win. Good match but not great, I was expecting a bit more from these four and even Sabato didn’t add much heat here.

Team Chikara (Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Hallowicked) vs. Team Dragon Gate (Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi & BxB Hulk): Hulk has no hair here it’s odd to see, he looks like an evil badass right now in his heel look. Hulk and Wicked to start. Fans chant all 6 guys before the action begins. Hulk hits a low elbow to Quack and slides into a kick effortlessly. Yoshino is so fast. Doi hits a drop toe hold and Yoshino comes in with a dropkick before Jig hits the mat, that looked impressive. Team DG do a spot where they lock in an arm bar and one jumps of the top with an axe handle and they repeat this several times until Yoshino hits a double stomp. Doi’s working in a t-shirt I don’t like that, I would like to know why he’s doing it, I mean Quack is as well but that’s a working shirt. Doi goes for a flapjack on Jigsaw and Yoshino hits a Bulldog at the same time, Jig lands really high it looked painful. Jig tags by hitting a dive to the outside. Wicked comes in and hits a high Reiden bomb, a lot of repeated moves on this show. Quack hits the QD 3 for a near fall. Doi pressed Quack up and snaps him into a powerbomb in a great looking move. Jig hits a high German suplex for a near fall on Hulk. Yoshino hits a Missile dropkick and senton at the same time. Wicked hits Go 2 Sleepy Hollow and follows with a sick kick on Yoshino for a near fall. Hulk nails Quack with a mean Scissors kick to the head. Hulk hits an Asai Moonsault and hits the rail as well as Wicked. Doi hits endless slaps on Quack and attempts a sliding kick which is turned into a pin. They trade moves until Quack hits the QD 2 for the win. Just a fantastic match to end the show and the best match on the show by far.

Overall: I seriously remember this being hyped as a massive show because Dragon Gate was involved and looking back it comes off as just another Chikara show, which is a good thing. 2010 was a great year for Chikara in terms of ring work and storyline and this was a prime example of it. My only problems were Jimmy Olsen pretty much getting squashed and the tag between BDK/King & Dreamer wasn’t as great as I was hoping by besides that it was a great show. Maybe not the King of Shows but it wasn’t too bad.

15 Y.C Part 4: America invades the UK

I’m going outside the US for this review and I’m looking at 1 Pro Wrestling’s 1^st Anniversary show which took place 14^th October 2006 in the Doncaster Dome. So a little back story on 1PW, the company started in the UK and relied heavily on US talent but did put UK talent in. The company would run for a good few years but would close down and restart several time. This company was a prime example of the problem that some UK companies have, I went to a show for the short lived company Pro Wrestling 101 and they relied so much on US talent and it cost them so much that they didn’t last long. But 1PW did it right, the Doncaster Dome is a big arena and they filled it every show for that first year plus so it did become one of the big companies here in the UK. With that said let’s start the review.

El Ligero vs. El Generico: Fast lucha pace which is expected with these two. Both are so good but Generico is fantastic someone made the point once “Have you ever seen an actual bad match from Generico” and honestly I haven’t. Ligero takes advantage, little hard to believe as he’s the smaller of the top but I don’t think Generico can work as a heel. Ligero goes for a Sunset flip, Generico pops up and Ligero blocks his head so Generico flips over and dropkicks him in the back, was very quick and a nice spot. Generico goes for a plancha but it looked like he caught his foot, he didn’t hit that too well. Ligero hits a great Yoshi Tonic/Code Red, Generico comes back and kills Ligero with his Yakuza kick in the corner. Ligero hits a super reverse hurracana and a tornado DDT for the win. A great opener between these two, the biggest drawback with masked wrestlers is the lack of facial expressions but those two talked with their bodies so well. It made sense for Ligero to win as he’s the UK talent and would be used more often.

Mad Man Manson vs. Jamie Brum: This is nothing but an attempt at comedy, Manson loses to an “invisible man” but then quickly beats Brum. Pretty meaningless and could of done without it.

Jay Phoenix vs. Kingdom James: This started with an in ring promo looking back at the year, James comes out to join in. He cuts a promo in front of a screen and you can just see the delay on the screens on the screens on the screens, it’s ENDLESS. Phoenix comes out with a present, wearing a kilt. The present was a pillow with James face on, Phoenix’s trademark. Jay slaps him and we apparently have a match. James pulls the kilt and hits a couple of clotheslines. James goes for the 10 punches, gets powerbombed and that’s it. Jay wins and after James his Jay with the pillow, a top rope leg drop and a curb stop into a cake. The promo section was boring and the action wasn’t bad but this wasn’t needed and went on too long for what it was.

Tag Gauntlet: We start with Entourage vs. Maximum Head. Maximum Voltage jumps of the rope and is caught in a “Crossface” slam, imagine Sin Cara’s face plant. Dan Head does the Al Snow spot of trapping the arms and hitting headbutts. Maximum Head do a cool double team of Head getting them in a powerbomb, Voltage hooking in the reverse DDT and then spinning out into a Hero’s Welcome. Entourage win by Mark Sloan kicking Head in the face while in a Crossface. The Chavs are next, only UK fans will get this. We quickly get “Kill the Chav” chants. It should be noted that commentary just stops during this gauntlet for some reason, a real pain as I don’t know who many of these guys are. A 3^rd Chav comes in with a bat for the win. Pain Inc is next out and commentary is back on. Pain Inc dominates until the Chavs hit the Dominator on the knees to move on. The final team is Damned Nation. This was just Nation killing the Chavs until they hit a version of the “H-Bomb” for the win. Overall this Gauntlet went well, the fans were into it all and each match got enough time. The Entourage looked like the best team by far.

Curryman vs. Goldustin: Goldustin is Goldust basically but he could have least drew “in” at the end of the Goldust on his back. Curry does the pop and lock to break out of an armbar and we get a tango after. Mostly comedy here until Goldust misses a cross body. Goldust hits a great snap powerslam for a near fall. Fans chant “This is Awesome” are we in TNA? It’s good but not awesome. Goldustin hits the Curtain Call for the win. Good match but nothing great, actually think the comedy hurt this at points.

Iceman vs. Martin Stone vs. Ulf Herman-European Deathmatch: Ulf brings out a trolley full of weapons right at the start. Everyone gets whipped it the rail one after another and the railing is just destroyed everywhere, we then lose everyone and can’t see anything the fans respond the way you think they would by swearing. We get back in the ring and Ulf does the New Jack spot hitting a low blow on Iceman with a hoover on a cookie sheet. The fans pop when Ulf blows a horn, the simple things people. Ulf brings in pliers and it’s obvious he’s nowhere near grabbing guys which I’m glad about. Random fact here, Ulf appeared on ECW’s November to Remember 98 being squashed by Spike Dudley. A keyboard explodes when Iceman uses it on Ulf and he’s bleeding as a result, I’m surprised this happened 20 minutes in. Ulf hits a piledriver on a car hood on Iceman. Stone hits Iceman with a trash can for the win. A little long and Stone actually looked out of place here, even though he won. I think this would have been better if this was just Ulf and Iceman as those two did the bulk of the work.

Sterling James Keenan & Team Supreme (Jack Storm & Dave Mastiff) vs. Spud, Samoa Joe & Darkside: Starts as a handicap match as Supreme “took out” Joe earlier in the night backstage. But Joe comes out very early making it a 6 man. You may know SJK from his FCW works as Corey Graves (where he’s one half of the tag champs). Spud is one of the smallest wrestlers I’ve ever seen and if you want something funny check out Snog, Marry or Avoid as he appeared on that. The heels get the advantage on Spud. Spud & SJK have had a feud all year long in 1PW. SJK hits a great looking Spinebuster, really Double A-ish. Joe and Spud do duel Tope’s in a nice spot. Darkside misses a 450 and SJK hits the “MK Ultra” for the win, you flew Joe over for this he did nothing. After we see a video saying the Great Muta was coming to face SJK, that match would not take place as 1PW wouldn’t do that show instead Muta worked Martin Stone in Real Quality Wrestling. A good match which was mainly done to establish SJK as a main event guy but it was rather short for a 6 man tag.

AJ Styles vs. PAC: AJ has the NWA tag title with him, something I’ve always loved about AJ is that he is proud of being a champion many guys don’t take the belts with them. Fans do duelling chants from the very start.  Looks like AJ physically overpowered PAC in some spots here, almost as if PAC forgot what he was doing. AJ hits his beautiful dropkick and PAC does a flip when it hits, it looked great. AJ followed that up with his flying forearm off the apron onto PAC on the floor. We get “This is Awesome” chants 5 minutes in, going to leave that alone I think. I’ve said this before but AJ is so smooth in the ring and everything he does. AJ misses his Twisting clothesline and spills to the outside with some force, PAC then hits a spring board twisty thingy on Styles (the best I can do). PAC is only 19 in this match, that’s insane you can see that he would become something great and he did. PAC goes for a springboard but AJ catches him into a torture rack and spins him out into a slam for a near fall. PAC hits a twisting shooting star for a near fall, the fans are on their feet now. AJ hits a load of knees and then the Styles Clash for the win. Match of the night by far, this was fantastic. AJ puts PAC over afterwards and they both get “That was Awesome” chants.

Johnny Storm & Jody Fleisch (c) vs. Team Shag (Darren Burridge & Colt Cabana) vs. Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers & Chris Hamrick)-Ladder match for 1PW Tag titles: Tracy’s here so EVERYBODY DIES!! The tag titles are really far apart from each other, a good few feet I’d say. Everybody tries jumping for the belts, sadly they could probably reach them if they did it off the top rope. Tracy demands a dance off to start, a little odd for a Ladder match but at least it was at the beginning. Tracy the punches everyone and does a 619 to save himself from a dive, Mysterio does it better. Darren dives out, followed by Storm, followed by Fleisch and ending with Hamrick teasing a dive but getting a ladder. Damned Nation then interfere and take out Southern Comfort, probably a wise choice. Storm gets irish whipped and crotched on a ladder in a harsh spot. Tracy then comes back alone and while climbing Storm pulls his trunks to show his ass, to please the ladies. Team Shag do a double team version of the Terry Funk spin, would have been better with just one of them doing it. Colt hits a moonsault of the top of the ladder, that would be impressive if the ladder wasn’t as tall as the top rope, they’re seriously small. Storm climbs the ladder actually kisses the belt and jumps off with a splash, I hate those spots why would you hurt the guy when you could win. Jody takes a sick fall on a ladder when Darren shoves it. Hamrick then comes back. Team Shag then climb and grab the belts to win. I don’t see the point of Southern Comfort being in this match and I just don’t think the ladder match worked well here. The new champs wouldn’t remain champs as Colt wouldn’t comeback.

Steve Corino vs. Abyss-No Rope Barbed Wire Hell: There’s confusion about this match as no one was sure if it was for the 1PW World title or not. Corino was champ but didn’t bring it with him. But Abyss was named champ afterwards and that wouldn’t last as he didn’t come back. The barbed wire looks insane here, probably the sickest barbed wire I’ve seen in a match. This starts like every Barbed wire match does with both guys blocking it obviously. Corino goes for a sit down pin and gets kicked off into the barbed wire, a usual spot you see in these matches. Corino gets his face grinded in the wire and is busted open. Corino attacks Abyss’ arm and starts to bleed, that’s what you get for doing hardcore wrestling and wearing a mask! I see a problem here, I think neither man is confident enough to run into the way as they are bumping really badly on it but how do you bump on wire? Abyss pours rubbing alcohol onto his own arm and onto Corino. Corino fights back and throws Abyss into a barbed wire board but after Abyss kicks a barbed wire chair into Corino. Corino gets pressed, really badly, into a board. Corino brings in a really awful looking table and places a board on top. Team Supreme come in and give Abyss a light tube, which he uses on Corino. He chokeslams Corino but the table doesn’t break and he splashes Corino for the win. After Team Supreme attack, Ulf comes in but gets chokeslammed. Eventually SJK comes out and saves them, turning babyface and the fans love it.

Overall: This show really had something for everyone. We got comedy, hardcore and some great serious wrestling. It set up things for the future nicely and really made SJK a top guy, I feel he found the right place in England and improved a lot while working over here. There were some things that weren’t needed but nothing dragged too much. Re-watching this I remember it being a lot better than it was but it was still a damn good show.

15 Year Celebration Part 3: Entering the Impact Zone, I enter a lot of Zone.

It’s July 17^th 2005 and we’re at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. We have Mike Tenay & Don West on commentary, man do I miss this team when hearing the current team. And most importantly it’s No Surrender and it’s the six-sided ring! Show opens with a video which includes backwards talking, which I believe revealed Rhino was debuting later that night, but the main purpose was to highlight the matches coming up. We then go to our first match.                 Matt Bentley & Alex Shelley w/Traci Brooks vs. America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm): Back story here is that Storm and Bentley claim to have the best Superkick. Watching AMW I always thought Harris would be the breakout star, fast forward to today and Storm will likely be the next World champ. Storm and Shelley start, Alex is wearing similar colours to Matt which I like. Harris does a British Bulldog style suplex to Matt. I forgot SoCal Val just hanged around the outside. Storm throws Shelley into the side of the entrance ramp, security swams and Storm runs off the ramp onto the pile but he seemed to miss everyone and just hit the floor. Apparently there are no count outs as everyone is fighting forever and no DQ’s as Traci hit’s a low blow on Harris. Harris fights back and picks up Traci, giving up a up skirt shot for all you men out there although she’s done “playboy” before, and she gets handcuffed in AMW’s corner. We finally get Storm vs. Bentley. Storm hits a weak Eye of the Storm on Shelley. Bentley hits a dropkick when Storm tries to Skin the Cat, not an actual cat mind you. Shelley flips into the ring and into a Superkick to give AMW the win but Bentley hits a superkick afterwards. Honestly this match just screamed, lets break into a brawl and the finishing sequence from the get go. Nothing to special but wasn’t bad. We then get a video showing Jeff Jarrett’s promo pointing out that TNA hiring every former WWE guy and this leads to the reveal that Rhino is here. Then we go backstage to Team Canada, oh look Shane Douglas is there as the interviewer probably his best on air role. Jarrett interrupts and asks if they’re with him, Roode finishes by saying they shouldn’t trust him basically saying “We’re heel but not as much as him”. Finally the next match.                                            Shark Boy vs. Mikey Batts vs. Elix Skipper vs. Sonjay Dutt: This match has tags and we start with Elix and Dutt. Dutt does several twists in a tilt-a-world head scissors. West mentions how Dutt should be an X champ at some point, he never was which was a crime. Batts outfit looks painted on. Shark bits Batts ass never she the point of that but at least I’m not the one who has to bite another man’s ass. Elix dodges a crossbody with his “matrix” and Dutt jumps in with a double stomp when he was down. Dutt is so smooth in the ring, TNA really missed out on him. Elix messes up his tight rope spot and he falls awkwardly on the apron to the outside, he must have been glad that didn’t happen in the famous cage match he was in. Batts throws Dutt of the top rope and Dutt hits a moonsault on Shark, yet sells it which I don’t get as that’s what he was aiming for. Dutt eventually hits the Phoenix Splash on Batts to win. A match full of high spots and big moves, your typical multi man X division match.                                                                                                                    Simon Diamond & David Young vs. Apolo & Sonny Siaki: A match for the work out obsessed. Simon looks horrible mixed in which these four, and Simon wasn’t in bad shape at all. I don’t want to say Apolo & Siaki were on the gas but they were probably on the gas. The running story is Young is a loser and has been for years, always a winning story to use. Apolo hits a somersault plancha onto everyone didn’t expect that from him. The heat in this match lasted all of a minute this is all Apolo & Siaki. Young hits a great double A looking spinebuster. Young wasn’t legal so the ref didn’t count, Apolo then hits a TKO on Young and the ref counts. What? Probably the worst match on the card. Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin: Just these names alone should get you excited. Tenay points out that Joe is undefeated over the past month, I wouldn’t have pointed that out. By the way this is how you do an undefeated streak story no one cared about Crimsons. They trade shots and Sabin sells it great putting over how much stronger Joe is. Sabin tries for the cradle shock early but can’t pick Joe up, Joe then hits a Sick Kick. He then hits CM Punk’s corner knee and the face wash. Joe looked like a killer here we need this Joe back. Sabin fights back with shots to the head, Joe must not be Samoan as wrestling has taught of Samoan’s don’t feel pain in their heads. Sabin fights back with a springboard dropkick, followed by a low dropkick and ending with a dropkick off the apron to the outside to Joe. Sabin hits a double stomp while Joe is bent over in a nice looking spot. Joe hits an awesome looking powerslam. We’re getting a lot of replays and they fill the entire screen, I don’t like that as we miss things. Joe hits his powerbomb and when Sabin kicks out goes into the STF and when he reaches out moves into a crossface and then into the Rings of Saturn, loved all of that. The fans love this and are into a near fall when Sabin hits a running powerbomb. Joe then hits the muscle buster and locks in the choke for the win. Just a fantastic match that built up perfectly. I love this match. As much bad that can be said about West’s commentary you can’t deny you was perfect to help build excitement.                                                                                                                         The Naturals (Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens) & Lance Hoyt w/Jimmy Hart vs. Team Canada (A1, Bobby Roode & Eric Young): Quick story The Naturals were managed by Chris Candido but he sadly passed away soon after winning the Tag titles, my guess is they put Jimmy Hart with them as they felt they needed someone to talk for them, he wouldn’t last long. In this match only 2 remain with the company, one is a horrible comedy act and the other is the World champ imagine that. A1 is insanely jacked and is probably the only TNA wrestler that ever got “You Can’t Wrestle” chants, Mr. Anderson should get that but the TNA fans are too kind I guess. Hoytamania is running wild and by that I mean the 6 guys in the front with t-shirt, did you know Hoyt used to by shots for the fans after shows? I’m surprised WWE didn’t do more with Hoyt, I hear he’s doing well in Japan. Of course we get USA chants early. We miss a dive by Douglas but we do see a moonsault to the outside by Stevens. We then comeback from a replay to just catch Hoyt’s dive. I’m really hating those replays. The faces are destroying A1, way to build him as the monster of Team Canada. I miss heel Eric Young, just a serious Eric Young would be nice to see. They do the Eddie Guerrero spot with Roode acting like Jimmy Hart hit him with a hockey stick leading to him being thrown out and Team Canada getting the advantage on Stevens. I’m getting tired of the commentators saying the Naturals are lost without Jimmy Hart, they’re your Tag champs for crying out loud. Hoyt gets tagged in hits a huge twisting slam and a big chokeslam. The ref bumps himself he just falls on the floor randomly, this leads to Roode hitting the champs with the megaphone and the win for Team Canada. Nothing too great here but this wasn’t bad and that ref bump was hilarious.                                                       3 Live Kru(Konnan & Ron Killings) vs. Monty Brown & Kip James-Street Fight: Story here, is BG James with Kip? By the way he announces he’s Kip James seconds before the match he was originally the Outlaw. Backstage promo with Brown & Kip, I love Monty Brown so much. He should have been a World champ. Jarrett asks for his help and Brown refuses until he’s champ again and gives him a shot, Brown was awesome in this segment. This is the 4^th tag match, we can only dream of getting 2 these days. Konnan cuts a promo with his back to the hard cam, such a pro that guy. Konnan hits his rolling clothesline, never been a fan of that move. Within seconds Kip is bleeding, is he trying to be Ric Flair? The ref gets nailed with a cookie sheet within minutes, oh good his replacement bumped himself in the last match. We get 3D’s What’s Up spot by the Kru, they try for a second but Brown throws Killings and they get the advantage. I always thought Killings just added twist for the hell of it, he flips like crazy when fighting back. The ref get’s pulled out and thrown into the railing but my highlight is the fan in the background that you can see is stealing the sheet with their foot. Back in the ring we get the Pounce and the win for James & Brown. This was nice, short little brawl. Afterwards BG comes out to tease joining them but leaves. They would join up later.                                                                                                                                                 AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman w/ Jerry Lynn as Special ref: Video shows how the match was made and the history between Lynn and the 2 guys. Sean cost AJ the World title the previous month. Lynn cuts a backstage promo and no one told him he was the ref apparently as he acted like he was wrestling. They do a nice feeling out process to start. We get a “1-2-3 Kid” chant by a couple of guys, apparently they can’t physically chant Waltman or Sean. AJ locks in the Indian deathlock early, sorry Native American deathlock. AJ nails a beautiful dropkick and follows with a smooth somersault plancha, you forget how crisp AJ can be. Sean crotches AJ against the ring post to get the advantage.  AJ fights back by doing the same thing and then hits a great springboard forearm. AJ hit the moonsault in the reverse DDT, often though that was just random. Waltman sneaks in a low blow and hits an northern lights, 2 guys in the crowd are going crazy right now. AJ gets a near fall after hitting the Styles Clash. AJ misses the Spiral Tap and Sean hits the X-factor for a near fall. Sean goes for the Pillmanizer aka the chair on the leg spot. Lynn throws it out, the two argue, Lynn kicks Waltmans hands off the ropes and this leads to the Styles Clash for the win. A great match and it set up the Lynn/Waltman match for the next month.                                                                             Chris Daniels(c) vs. Petey Williams for X Division title: Video shows that this match was made randomly by Petey asking for it. Two heels here. Petey starts by jumping Daniels, I guess he’s the heel here now. Daniels takes a nasty spill to the outside, catching his foot on the ropes. This is all Petey until he attempts a dive on the outside, Daniels catches him and powerbombs him on the apron. Something Kevin Steen does in his matches now and it always looks painful. Daniels is working on Petey’s back and everything he does is aimed there. We get our second hanging vertical suplex of the night. Daniels lock in the Koji Clutch, I move not a lot of people use I can only think of him and Koji himself. Both catch each other’s foot and punch each other at the same time leading to a double clothesline. Petey starts fighting back and we see Samoa Joe has come out on the ramp. Petey gets the sharpshooter out of nowhere, I think you have to be a Hart to make that move look good. Daniels hits a scoop slam off the top rope. A1 throws in a chain but Daniels has his own and knocks Petey down, follows with the Best Moonsault Ever for the win. A great match between these two, that was expected. These two got plenty of time and put on a great match.                                                   Raven (c) vs. Abyss w/James Mitchell-No Surrender Dog Collar for the NWA World title: A video sums up the problem with TNA at the time as Jeff Jarrett was all over this, the ending line with him saying “You have my title shot and my title and I’m taking them both” summed it up. I miss the combination of Mitchell & Abyss, I just miss Mitchell such a good promo and those two worked so well. I don’t think any previous NWA champ liked the idea of this match being for their belt, well except Flair who would be doing this kind of stuff just a year or so later. Abyss sets up a chair in the corner, Raven goes out and throws in several chairs and then pulls Abyss into the chair in the corner. Raven brings out a table and we get an “ECW” chant, we don’t get those now it’s been done to death. Abyss hits a second rope splash onto Raven with a chair on top, kind of dump why not just do a splash? Raven gets a staple gun and staples a dollar onto Abyss, who is now bleeding, this spot was done to prove that the gun had staples in as everyone said on the internet that it was empty, my guess is it went back to being empty the next time. Raven gets sent into the post and he’s bleeding now. Abyss set up several tables near the entrance ramp, they fight on the ramp and Raven knocks him through them but Abyss pulls on the chain and send Raven through a table as well. This would be more impressive if the ramp was bigger. Raven hits the Evenflow to no reaction, at least Jake Roberts always got a pop when he used it. Abyss brings out the “Thousands” of Tacks which Raven powerbombs him on out of the corner. Abyss counters the DDT into the Black Hole Slam for a near fall. Raven hits his DDT onto the tacks to retain. Afterwards Jarrett comes out and Rhino debuts goring Raven. End of show. This was the perfect match for these two and it showed. A great brawl of a match.                                                                                                                                         Overall: Probably the best TNA PPV I’ve seen. While this show had some flaws it wasn’t painful to watch at any part. Its downfall was the Jarrett stuff and how the show ended but besides that the in ring action was pretty solid. Watching this reminds me how much I miss the old TNA, between 2004-2006 you rarely got a bad PPV from them and everything was just awesome I was a massive fan but since 2010 and beyond it just went downhill and I stopped being a fan. Hopefully they can turn things around but sadly with Hulk Hogan and Sting stealing so much attention I can’t see that happening.