WWF WrestleMania III

1) Cowboy Bob Orton & Don Muraco vs. Rick Martel & Tom Zenk - 5
2) Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules - 4
3) King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo, & Lord Littlebrook vs. Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver, & The Haiti Kid - 3
4) The Junkyard Dog vs. Harley Race - 3
5) Greg “The Hammer” Valentine & Brutus Beefcake vs. The Rougeau Brothers - 4
6) Hair vs. Hair Match: Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis - 5
7) The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs. The Hart Foundation & Danny Davis - 6
8) Koko B. Ware vs. Butch Reed - 3
9) Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat - 8
10) The Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts - 5
11) The Killer Bees vs. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff - 3
12) Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant – 6

There are two matches that make this event so memorable, Savage vs. Steamboat for the Intercontinental belt, and perhaps the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling, Hogan vs. Andre. Had these matches not been on this card, then no one would’ve remembered it and it wouldn’t have drawn 93,173 people (the acutal number was around 78,000) to the Pontiac Silverdome. That being said, the remainder of the card, with the exception of the hair match and the six man tag match, didn’t really have any story behind it and the bouts themselves were kept less than ten minutes.

Out of the first six bouts, the only one that was some enthusiasm behind it was the opening tag match. Even though it only got five minutes, all four guys looked pretty good. Haynes vs. Hercules was your basic match against two guys who were inflated more than they really needed to be thanks to the miracle of steroids. The match where they had midgets team with Bundy and Hillbilly was ugly. Honestly, why not give the fans something they cared about. Race’s match was supremely subpar and is probably one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen him compete in. Our second tag match of the evening wasn’t too terrible but once again they were given limited time so nothing was able to click. Closing out the first half was the Piper vs. Adonis hair match. This was billed as Piper’s farewell match, but he’s retired and unretired so much since then, that now it doesn’t mean a thing. The only real memorable thing out of this bout was that it was Adonis’ last WrestleMania match as he was killed in an auto accident a year and a half later.

The second half kicked off with a pretty techinically sound six-man tag. Davis was really the weak link on the heel team as he was just a referee turned wrestler and really had no skills whatsoever. Forget about the Koko B. Ware match and let’s move on to the best match of the entire show, Savage vs. Steamboat. These two had a knock-down, drag-out affair that was probably one of the best matches of the 1980s. There was hardly any interference on either man’s behalf and they told the story in the ring just about as good as anyone. The funny thing is that they were actually scolded backstage after the match because Vince thought their match was so good that it completely overshadowed the main event. It was a tremendous contest, probably best match of Savage’s career, and is still talked about to this day. Now then, how do you follow up an instant classic like that? Why you present two matches no one gives two halves of a shit about. Honky and Jake blundered through about eight minutes or so. Following that, we get a tag match that featured the Killer Bees trying their best to make Sheik and Volkoff look productive. Hacksaw Duggan interferes and it ends mercifully in a DQ after about five minutes.

Finally, we get to the main event. It’s been almost 19 years since this match happened and people still talk about it today. Of course, it’s the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. Never before had a match of this magnitude been signed. The buildup was nothing short of tremendous and the crowd was definitely buzzing once it rolled around. That being said, the in ring action wasn’t that great. Andre and Hulk had about ten moves combined but we’ve all seen the match and know the outcome by know, so there’s really no use for going into great detail.

For all that I’ve ragged on the undercard bouts, this WrestleMania is truly the biggest event ever promoted by anyone … ever. Do your best to get your hands on a copy of this. You can find old-school Coliseum Video VHS copies on Ebay or you can pick up volume one of the WrestleMania box set. Either way, anyone who has not seen this event, really needs to just so they can say that they’ve experienced WrestleMania III. I would recommend the box-set version because it’s straight from the original broadcast and doesn’t have any wacky editing that the VHS version has.

ECW Massacre on 34th Street 12/3/00

1.Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger vs. Christian York & Joey Matthews - 2
2. Balls Mahoney vs. E.Z. Money - 3
3. Nova vs. Julio Dinero - 3
4. Danny Doring & Roadkill vs. Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke - 6
5. Tommy Dreamer vs. C.W. Anderson - 7
6. Rhino vs. Spike Dudley - 4
7. Super Crazy & Kid Kash vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri - 4
8. Steve Corino vs. Justin Credible vs. Jerry Lynn - 5

The opening tag match was just too short. The great thing about tag wrestling is, the format lends itself to good storytelling, and plausible psychology. Here, that was thrown out the window—we got a smattering of highspots and before you knew it, the match was history. I was somewhat intrigued by Mahoney versus Money, if not for any other reason than I couldn’t remember them ever working together. Besides the heavy interference rampant throughout it, this was still a fun match to watch. The aforementioned interfering birthed the next match, in typical E.C.W. styling, giving us Dinero and Nova, who put together a nice little match.

The next match, another tag team bout, was probably my favorite to watch. I was never a big fan personally of Doring and Roadkill, nothing to do with their work—I just never bought into their gimmick, or lack thereof. But, there are certain things they do well; and their opponents, the FBI, for two tiny guys, can work their asses off on occasion. Mamaluke was involved in two of my favorite spots of the entire show: first, he leaped off the top rope out to the floor, grabbed Roadkill’s head, and gave him a tornado DDT on the concrete entrance aisle and what appeared to be a rough landing; secondly, he took the bump of the night when while on the apron, Doring gave him a savate kick, and he somersaulted off directly onto the metal guardrail and out into the crowd. This match and some great back and forth stuff, and was a superior example of their tag division.

I recently watched their last pay-per-view, Guilty As Charged 2001, and Dreamer and Anderson stole the show in a grueling I Quit match. They do the same here, in a brutal match featuring two of the more unique and inspired table bumps I’ve ever seen. First, Dreamer gets superplexed off the top turnbuckle onto an unopened table lying on the mat; secondly, Dreamer gets driven through a table that was set up backwards against one of the corners of the ring, with the metal table legs pointing out and everything. I don’t think these original bumps happened by accident, and I give a nod to Dreamer, who likely crafted these spots, for trying to breath a little fresh air in the stale hardcore wrestling scene.

I liked Rhino versus Spike more than I expected. It was short, but the psychology was pretty sound. Rhino dished out tons of punishment, including a couple of the sickest chair shots I’ve witnessed in a very long time. I liked the finish, where essentially Spike was beaten into unconsciousness. The following tag match was a bit of a disappointment. I like Tajiri and Crazy’s work generally; but I expected this match to go one of two ways, either be a stellar bout showcasing their abilities, especially due to its spot so high on the card, or more likely, a highspot marathon lacking any real depth. Instead, we got neither of these—the alternative was them cruising through an unforgettable match. It seemed like these guys weren’t giving us 100% and even their signature spots and sequences looked lackadaisical and laissez-faire.

Lastly, the main event was a thorough disappointment. I’m part of the large crowd who never bought Corino, let alone Credible, as champions. This was a convoluted, piece of shit three-way. Firstly, they eliminate the best worker in the match first, that being the talented Jerry Lynn. During the subsequent fall, they brawl towards the balcony, do an uninspired and completely unnecessary balcony spot, then brawl lazily back to the ring… completely fucking negating any sense of psychology and realism! I mean, and I’m a stickler on this one… professional wrestling is supposed to be fighting as a form of art and entertainment. A good wrestler can craft a story, and make us believe in what he’s doing. Under those terms, how can we buy that if this was a real fight, and a guy was to be hung off a balcony and then plunge from it, that in mere moments later he’d be doing restholds like chinlocks in the middle of the ring?

And even more absurdly than that, in a spot that drove me absolutely insane, was Credible proving how big a pussy he truly is. He’s brawling with Lynn out on the floor, and Lynn attempts to backdrop Credible over the metal guardrail into the audience. Somehow, Credible miraculously doesn’t make it over, and lands awkwardly on his leg. Does he maintain composure, like a professional, and sell the inflicted damage? No! He gets up, completely out of character, now Lynn tries to capitalize and cover up the botch by attacking him, but Credible throws a cowardly elbow, which was legit, right into Lynn’s face, and hobbles away from the cameras noticeably pissed and cursing. I mean… what the fuck? Come on, man! You’re getting paid for this shit! If you were wrestling at a lousy X.P.W. show this wouldn’t be excusable behavior, let alone for E.C.W., further more, in the main event of their pay-per-view! I was involved in a backyard wrestling federation for nine years, we never made a dime, and I still never saw anybody act so unprofessionally in the course of a match.

After the match, Sandman comes out and gets himself over at the expense of the guys who just finished a match—at this point; I can’t take any more, and barf on my floor. In conclusion, I think a lot of the workers knew E.C.W. was on their last leg, and could be dying soon. With that in mind, a lot of guys worked hard this night. What I like the most about this show, though, is that it’s not as over the top as most of their pay-per-views. The emphasis is almost entirely on the in-ring stuff, not bad storylines, etc. With the exception of Heatwave ’98, offhand, I’d have to say this is one of the better E.C.W. pay-per-views I’ve ever seen.

WWF WrestleMania II

New York Matches:
1) Paul Orndorff vs. Don Muraco – 2
2) Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. George “The Animal” Steele - 2
3) Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. George Wells – 2
4) Boxing Match: Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Mr. T - 3

Chicago Matches:
5) The Fabulous Moolah vs. Velvet McIntyre - 1
6) Flag Match: Nikolai Volkoff vs. Corporal Kirchner - 1
7) 20-Man NFL vs. WWF Battle Royal - 4
8) Greg “The Hammer” Valentine & Brutus Beefcake vs. The British Bulldogs - 6

Los Angeles Matches:
9) Ricky Steamboat vs. Hercules – 4
10) Uncle Elmer vs. Adorable Adrian Adonis – 1
11) The Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana vs. Terry & Hoss Funk - 3
12) Steel Cage WWF World Title Match: Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy – 4

To be quite honest, this was a miserable show that belongs down at the bottom of the barrel next to AWA SuperClash 3. Everything on this show seemed half-assed … even the commentary. By the way, whose idea was it to put celebrities on commentary? Whoever it was needs to have their head smashed about 30 or 40 times with a golf club. But, I digress. The first six matches were total dog shit, with the highlight being the sorry excuse of a boxing match between Piper and Mr. T. Probably the best part of the first half wasn’t even a match. It was Jesse Ventura interviewing Hulk Hogan. Now, knowing the history between these two, I really wonder how McMahon even got them in the same room together. Now then, the battle royal wasn’t all that bad … but it wasn’t all that great either. The six or seven football players who were involved were totally lost and were disposed of with relative ease.

The best match of the night had to be the tag title match because it was actually a match that people wanted to see and cared about. All four guys brought the show to life with a fantastic match, which was probably the single greatest match in the career of Ed Leslie (Beefcake). On to LA where Steamboat and Herc provided a solid opener for that portion of the show. The next two bouts were terrible followed by a lackluster main event. The Funk match was probably the worst performance of his career. Truthfully, after a performance like that, it’s no wonder he left the WWF and returned to the NWA. The cage match was a subpar match to cap off a horrendous show. If you really must see this event, the only four bouts you need to watch are the battle royal, the Tag Title match, Steamboat vs. Hercules, and the cage match. On second though, the cage match is only worth watching if you worship the ground Hulk Hogan walks on.

WWE No Way Out – 2/19/06

1. Gregory Helms vs. Funaki vs. Kid Kash vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Nunzio vs. Paul London vs. Super Crazy vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Psicosis – 4
2. JBL vs. Bobby Lashley – 3
3. Matt Hardy and Tatanka vs. MNM – 5
4. Chris Benoit vs. Booker T – 6
5. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio – 5
6. The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle – 7

The opening cruiserweight match featured a lot of talented workers, but nobody got a chance to showcase much of their talent in this quick, forgettable match. JBL and Lashley went a little too long, exposing Lashley’s lack of experience, and Bradshaw’s inability to carry a rookie to a decent match. The odd team of Tatanka and Hardy worked an old school styled tag team match with MNM. It wasn’t groundbreaking stuff, but a refreshing mid-card bout.

Benoit and Booker worked a long match, at least 20 minutes or so, and it was pretty solid. There weren’t a lot of major highspots or sequences that called attention upon themselves, and the general pacing kind of slow; still, they achieved wrestling nirvana even if the live crowd was unappreciative. Orton and Rey had a lot of story going into their high-profile match, but didn’t deliver inside the ring. It wasn’t that they didn’t work well together, and certainly they were capable of delivering so much more—unfortunately, they opted to give us rather unremarkable performances. Undertaker versus Angle was great, and was a nice closing match on a pretty blasé pay-per-view. These guys went long, too; there was some quality intensity, and the ending sequence with Undertaker using the triangle choke, but Angle’s wrestling smarts saving his ass in the end, made for a perfect finish.

WWF WrestleMania

1) Tito Santana vs. The Executioner - 4
2) King Kong Bundy vs. S.D. Jones - 0
3) Ricky Steamboat vs. Matt Borne - 5
4) Brutus Beefcake vs. David Sammartino - 3
5) Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs. The Junkyard Dog - 4
6) Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff - 5
7) $15,000 Bodyslam Match: Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd – 3
8) Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter - 3
9) Rowdy Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T – 4

From the heart of the “Rock-N-Wrestling” era, comes the very first WrestleMania. Now, by no means did it have the grandeur and the spectacle of recent editions, but it was a damn fun show to watch and reminisce about. Tito Santana opened up against a mysterious man known as the Executioner. Not much to be said about this one as Santana goes over to re-establish himself in the intercontinental title picture. Bundy vs. Jones was a complete squash. The thing that gets me about this one is that the fall was announced as eight seconds but in reality, and you can tell by watching the timer on the DVD player, it was about 24 seconds. Steamboat vs. Borne was suprisingly solid and was probably the best overall bout on the card. Beefcake and Sammartino ran way to long for my tastes, as both men were fairly green and really had no idea what to do in the ring. Actually, because he never amounted to nothing more than a pile of crap, Sammartino disappeared for good shortly after this event.

The second half of the show began with the Intercontinental Title match. While it was a pretty even contest, the finish was screwed up so much that it involved Tito Santana and a count-out victory, need I say more? The duo of Windham and Rotundo really had to carry the load for the largely untalented duo of Volkoff and Iron Shiek. The bodyslam challenge didn’t involve anything more than the most basic of wrestling manuevers. I never was a big Andre fan in the first place because the guy only did a few elementary moves but I’ll give both guys credit, they did their best to make it at least watchable. The women’s title match was nothing but a God-awful blunder. They blew the finishing spot so poorly I couldn’t believe it. The main event was loaded with celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Billy Martin, and Liberace. Now, I’m not a fan of guest ring announcers but of all the guest RA’s they’ve had, Billy Martin was by far the best one. Now then, as for the match itself. It started out fine but then just turned into a blunder. The finish came when Cowboy Bob Orton accidentally whacked Orndorff with the cast. All in all, the first WrestleMania was a pretty entertaining show and it was certainly fun to see the WWF way before it became the gigantic media conglomerate that it is today.

Hardcore Homecoming – 6/10/05

1. CW Anderson and Simon Diamond vs. Chris Chetti and Mikey Whipwreck – 3
2. Tracy Smothers vs. Blue Meanie – 1
3. Kid Kash vs. Too Cold Scorpio – 5
4. John Kronus and New Jack vs. Ian and Axl Rotten – 2
5. Justin Credible vs. Jerry Lynn – 6
6. Sandman vs. Raven – 4
7. Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas vs. Sabu – Barbed Wire Match – 5

This was the reunion show at the original E.C.W. Arena featuring a lot of their old roster. The guys in the opening tag match looked as if they hadn’t wrestled in months, if not longer, which is likely true for most of them. The timing in this match was awful, and it was obvious not much care was put into conceiving it. Smothers and Meanie’s match was one big comedy spot. Kash and Scorpio may not have done it for the casual fan, but knowing Too Cold’s extensive Japanese experience, it wasn’t that they didn’t mesh well together as it may have appeared, but in fact, Scorpio was working a slower paced, more psychologically sound match. I’ve always liked Scorpio’s work, and this match was no exception.

The following tag match was your typical barbaric, clustered, unmemorable E.C.W. brawl. What bothered me the most, and it absolutely drove me nuts, was that there was no finish to the match. After beating, battering, and bloodying each other—the combatants simply stopped fighting, and it ended. If wrestling is supposed to be the art of performing what should when done properly be a real fight, how does one explain this? These guys stopped fighting completely, and then stood around just sort of acknowledging each other, finally strolling leisurely to the back.

Lynn and Credible had the best match of the night. This wasn’t comparable to their old stuff together, but it was the match that most single-handedly on this show reminded me of the energy of the old E.C.W. that I once cherished. Sandman and Raven went through the motions, in a blatantly tame rendition of their old battles. The main event featured barbed wire, so for that alone some may find it notable, but ultimately, it was a big disappointment. Sabu, as expected, took the majority of the sick bumps. Douglas didn’t belong in this type of match, not now and not 10 years ago either, and Funk, who’s now over 60 years old, should have been at home sitting on a recliner watching Smackdown!.

Bloodsport: ECW's Most Violent Matches DVD Set

Disc One:
1) Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck vs. The Public Enemy – 5
2) Terry Funk & The Sandman vs. Cactus Jack & Shane Douglas – 3
3) Taipei Death Match: Ian Rotten vs. Axl Rotten - 4
4) Mexican Death Match: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis - 5
5) Four Corners Match: Shane Douglas vs. Chris Jericho vs. Too Cold Scorpio vs. Pitbull #2 – 4
6) Weapons Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Lee - 5
7) Stretcher Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu – 5
8) Three Way Dance: Terry Funk vs. The Sandman vs. Stevie Richards - 4
9) Terry Funk vs. Raven – 2

Disc Two:
10) Barbed Wire Match: Terry Funk vs. Sabu - 6
11) Bill Alfonso vs. Beulah McGillicuty - 5
12) Death Match: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Taz – 6
13) Shane Douglas vs. Taz - 5
14) Chicago Street Fight: Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley vs. The Dudley Boys - 6
15) Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley – 6
16) The Sandman vs. Rhino - 3
17) Three Way Dance: Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Little Guido - 7
18) I Quit Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. C.W. Anderson - 7
19) Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka – 6

All in all, this is a great companion to the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD. This set chronicles the best matches in the history of ECW in chronological order. The first disc pretty much focuses on the early days of ECW right up to Barely Legal, the first pay-per-view. From the matches on disc one, I would definitely recommend the RVD/Sabu stretcher match, and the four corners match. The stretcher match wasn’t great by any means because there were a ton of blown spots but it was entertaining nonetheless. The four way dance was a marathon. The match itself ran close to 45 minutes, which is an enternity by ECW standards. The second disc contains everything from the peak era which could be considered from 1997-2001. Some matches I would recommend viewing pretty much everything off of the second disc except for the Sandman vs. Rhino match. Be forewarned though, the barbed wire match, the Taipei death match, and the street fight are extremely violent and should only be viewed if you have a strong stomach.