WWE Cyber Sunday 2006

1) Super Crazy vs. Rob Conway (Dark Match) - 3
2) Umaga vs. Kane – 3
3) The Highlanders vs. Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. Charlie Haas & Viscera – Texas Tornado Match – 3
4) Jeff Hardy vs. Carlito – 4
5) Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. Randy Orton & Edge (Eric Bischoff as referee) – 5
6) Mickie James vs. Lita – Diva Lumberjack Match – 2
7) Rowdy Roddy Piper & Ric Flair vs. The Spirit Squad (Kenny & Mikey) – 3
8) John Cena vs. King Booker vs. The Big Show – 5

I was at this show live and the crowd was pretty hot the whole night. The dark match was decent but not groundbreaking. I had forgotten that Conway was still employed. Kane and Umaga were somewhat stiff with each other but didn’t present anything new or exciting. Umaga went over to remain undefeated. The four-way tornado match was pretty wild with all eight guys going at it at the same time. The crowd seemed confused because the rules weren’t explained to them. Cryme Tyme won and stole Lawler’s laptop. Hardy and Carlito really had the potential to be good but they had some early miscommunications. They managed to salvage the match toward the end as Hardy went for the swanton and Carlito got the knees up in a nice spot. The tag match with Orton & Edge against DX was a pretty solid match but was way too heavy on the story with the referee for my taste. The heel guest ref angle has been done to death and Bischoff worked the exact same way he did when he was GM of Raw. Orton & Edge won after Bischoff let them blatantly cheat. Mickie and Lita had a horrible match. The stipulation didn’t work right and they blew so many spots that it wasn’t funny. Lita did hit a sick implant DDT to finish off Mickie but it left me longing for Trish to come back and resuscitate a division that’s near death. Piper looked absolutely terrible. He was very out of shape and made Flair look buff in comparison. Someone asked my friend who he was rooting for and he said “I’m rooting for Piper to put his shirt back on.” Flair and Piper won the tag belts for a nostalgia run. Wait … that means that I have to watch Piper wrestle on a regular basis. It’s not that I’m against Piper, I just think he has more value on the mic instead of in the ring. The main event wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and that was mainly due to the efforts of Cena and Booker. I was also extremely shocked that the World Heavyweight Title was voted to be on the line. There was a nice spot where Show had Booker on his shoulders and Cena dropkicked Show in the face from the top. K-Fed did a lame run-in at the finish thus costing Cena a chance to win Booker’s title a further a pointless feud. Like most of the past fan voting shows, if you missed this you didn’t miss much but it was fun to be there live.

WCW SuperBrawl II

1. Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger – 6
2. Larry Zbyszko and “Stunning” Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham – 5
3. Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson vs. Steiner Bros. – 5
4. “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat – 6
5. Sting vs. Lex Luger – 6

The show started off with a fast-paced athletic encounter between two of the early-90’s lightweight luminaries. Liger did an incredible somersault off of the top turnbuckle out onto Pillman on the floor which Jim Ross called a “moonsault.” The utter idiocy continued shortly after, when Jesse Ventura said, “this is the greatest aerial match I’ve seen in my career”, after it had only been in-progress for less than 3 minutes. I have to note, Pillman had one of the best dropkicks in the history of the business. Afterwards, I can see them both flying back home to recoup – Pillman drinking Canadian beer and eating moose meat, and Liger drinking sake and eating geisha.

The following tag match started off wild, with action everywhere, and some particularly good punches thrown by Windham. Now I know where Chris Sabin stole that spinning back-kick to the stomach – Larry Zybyszko was doing it a decade ago! Austin’s trunks looked like a ’91 JC Penny store’s bathroom wallpaper. Windham did a DDT on Zybyszko that made the move look cool again – take notes rookies. Larry later dropped Windham nuts-first on a steel guardrail. And finally, Windham’s top-rope clothesline was titties; and by that, I mean it was great, and Kane should try to emulate it because his version sucks dong.

Eaton, Anderson, and both Steiner brothers were all considered superstars at this point, and often put forth great performances; sadly, this match wouldn’t make it on any of their highlight reels. Also, during the course of this match, I realized how utterly obnoxious Jesse Ventura was on commentary. I chalk some of it up to him playing the heel persona, but still, I found much of what he said highly irritable. I was somewhat distracted while watching this bout, as I was devouring some of my mom’s chili, but I do recall Eaton doing a pretty damn terrific flying kneedrop from the top buckle at one point.

I absolutely love both Rude and Steamboat, and would honestly watch these two wrestle each other for hours at a time – if that were somehow possible and legal. I’ve seen them work together before, and the end result was better, still, this match was pretty good minus the weak finish. What weak finish, you may be asking yourself? The one where a chubby man in a ninja costume, that for some reason was standing at ringside, I suppose as moral support for Steamboat, turned out to be the weasel Paul E. Dangerously who busted a humongous cellular phone on Ricky’s cranium. I definitely dig these guys’ work, though; their timing, athleticism, and psychology are topnotch.

The main event featured Luger and Sting, and earns some bonus credit for being a major title change, as perennial fan favorite Sting got the strap after a decent bout. It started out with both men talking to each other for what felt like a few minutes, I couldn’t make out entirely what either was saying, but I imagine it went something like, “I paid for the booze and prostitutes last weekend, it’s your turn Steve.” There are honestly not a whole lot of guys that I’d be particularly interested in watching Luger work with, but Sting’s on that short list of talent, as his energy brings out Luger’s better qualities. Get this match if you’re a big fan of either guy, or for the sheer historical significance alone, otherwise it’s about as important to me as a random Godfather match from Sunday Night Heat.

TNA Bound for Glory 06

Here it is: TNA's World Series, their Superbowl, their Wrestlemania , for better lack of words. It was in Detroit( the first time they had done a PPV in another city besides Orlando) and the crowd responded mixed through the whole show.

1 Kevin Nash X Division Gauntlet- 4

Austin Starr( really Austin Aries) was the guy made in this match. Tenay said he had been pumped for weeks on TV, although I never saw one commercial for him( of course, I fast forward through most of their promos- thanks to DVR). By the way, speaking of Impact, it's one of the worst put together wrestling programs in the history of the industry. It needs immediate improvements, like yesterday. Back to the match, it featured your usual X Division culprits, including a woman, a midget, some Black Magic, and 5 seconds of work from the always fun Petey Williams. Starr won, but was the subject of every bad wrestling joke that happened in the match; and his Jesse Ventura needs work.

2 AMW v. The Naturals v. Team 3-D v. James Gang- 4

This was an average TV match. None of these teams were fueding and none of them had anything to gain from this. It wasn't even a No. 1 contenders match; it was giving them a paycheck. For the brief time the match was going, it was pretty stiff, and nothing was screwed up, so that's a plus.

3 Runt v. Abyss v. Raven v. Samoa Joe (Monster's Ball w/ Jake Roberts as the Guide to the Labyrinth in their minds)- 3

Roberts' involvement added little to this slop fest. Entertaining, yes, but good wrestling, that's a stretch Reed Richards couldn't make. Runt took a stiff chokeslam on his head from atop a scaffolding( I don't know how it's possible either, and I witnessed it) then Abyss jumped onto him like a little kid would back fall onto his bed before bed time. He looked pretty clumsy; but I'd be remissed if I didn't mention Joe's senton on his face into Thumbtacks. Or mention Raven wore a birdcage to the ring. (Insert your own Raven joke here)

4 Eric Young v. Larry Zybyszko- 0

I couldn't tell you a single move performed in this match. Larry looked like a lecherer in his skin tight bicycle shorts and no shirt. He looked like he was Bound for a Glory-hole in this match.

5 Senshi v. Chris Sabin- 6

These guys were the first to legitamitely work hard this night. In the past, their chemistry together has been questionable, but they pulled together a great match. Senshi's kicks were dynamite, and Sabin executed all his moves superbly. A Sabin title win was surprising and helped kick the grade up a little bit. But, his alien trunks and teenage girl haircut still make him look like Jeremy Borash's after show date.

6 Christian Cage v. Rhino (8 Mile Street Fight)- 2

When you look at the match, then the grade you may ask yourself, why? Certainly you thought this was better than a 2? Well, watch this match and tell me one thing that went right. You'll hurt your brain doing it. The brawl in the back- SUCKED! The ride on the Zamboni- Rhino stalled the thing out! Then, the weapons- we had a fake lamp post that looked like a prop from a bad Sherlock Holmes movie, an official "8 mile" road sign and the usual ladders, tables, and chairs, oh my. Nearly every weapon shot was blocked by one of the two guy's hands, and the finish was worse than a backyard federation. This match sucked my ass.

7 LAX v. Christopher Daniels/ AJ Styles (6 Sides of Steel)- 7

The best match of the night, hands down. Homicide got sick with the fork AND a coat hanger. Daniels bleed like a freak. AJ got suicidal by coming off the top of the cage and Hernandez, well, looked cool climbing the cage, but pretty lame coming off of it- but regardless, he was more brutal than Cobra Commander with blue balls. All 4 guys left themselves in the ring and beat each other down. Homicides' Gringo Killa finisher on AJ was the closest TNA's ever come to looking like they belonged in a Japanese ring. Awesome tag match and so refreshing to see a clean finish.

8 Sting v. Jeff Jarrett ( w/ Kurt Angle as Guest Whatever he wanted to be)- 5

I nearly gave this a 6 because the match itself, the pace and the plot of it, was pretty solid. Angle I would say, was only there to get himself over, ex: by beating the ref's ass several times and added nothing of substance to the match. Sting and Jarrett showed they can still wrestle and punch to a lesser degree. Sting's psych was right on, acting very nervous about his career being on the line and his new gear was a refreshing change. Another clean finish was what the doctor ordered and another TNA show is in the books. An average show overall, with a few very good matches.

TNA Bound for Glory 2006

1) Kevin Nash X-Division Invitational Battle Royal – 6
2) The Naturals vs. America’s Most Wanted vs. Team 3-D vs. The James Gang – 4
3) Samoa Joe vs. Brother Runt vs. Abyss vs. Raven – Monster’s Ball Match – 5
4) Eric Young vs. Larry Zbyszko – Loser Gets Fired Match – 2
5) Senshi vs. Chris Sabin – 6
6) Christian Cage vs. Rhino – 8 Mile Street Fight – 4
7) A.J. Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. LAX – Six Sides of Steel Match – 7
8) Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting – 5

The battle royal was a fun match to open the show with. Austin Aries debuted with a new character (as Austin Starr) and ended up winning the match by lasting the whole way through. Petey was way over with the Detroit crowd. It was also cool to see guys like Norman Smiley and D-Ray 3000 to fill out the match. Afterwards, Nash presented Starr with a giant bowling trophy. The tag match was about what you would expect when these four teams get together. There was a pretty cool Tower of Doom spot but that was about all that was notable. Jake the Snake was the referee for the Monster’s Ball match which was a disappointment in general, mainly because it wasn’t as insane as the previous ones. Runt bumped his ass off and got thrown from the set by Abyss. Raven came out wearing some weird mask that looked utterly ridiculous. Joe bumped off the ramp through two tables. Abyss used his usual sack of tacks and ended up getting put through them face first. Joe won with a muscle buster. It was a fairly decent match but I would’ve liked to have seen more hardcore action. Eric Young closed down Larry Land permanently in a match that was nothing but three minutes of slop.

Senshi and Sabin tore the house down as was expected. There was a nice spot were Sabin kicked Senshi in the face in the middle of a cartwheel. Sabin won with a clean roll-up from out of nowhere which instantly gave the match a bonus point. I really found it interesting that there was little to no ovation for Rhino when he was introduced in front of his hometown crowd. His match with Christian was so reminescent of late-90s WWF hardcore matches that it wasn’t funny. They started the match outside, then fought on a zamboni, then started using plastic street lamps. Rhino did give Christian a pretty swank ECW-esque piledriver through a table in what was probably the highlight of the terrible match. To finish, Christian piled a bunch of crap like chairs, broken tables, and ladders on top of Rhino and then beat all of that with a chair in what was probably one of the most convoluted matches on pay-per-view this year.

The six sides of steel match was the perfect match to finish up the LAX feud with. Styles and Daniels were both busted and got worked over with a fork by LAX. There was another pretty awesome tower of doom spot but it looked like A.J. got stuck on the top of the cage. Immediately after, he hit Hernandez with an incredible dive from the top of the cage. A sickening Gringo Killer move from Homicide recaptured the belts for LAX and capped off one of the best matches of the year. For those who viewed the Hard Justice pay-per-view from August, you may remember the abysmal Jarrett/Sting main event which featured pointless brawling and tons of interference. Well, this was nothing like it. As a matter of fact, it may have been the best match that either of these two have had since their days in WCW. Sting even broke out a long lost powerbomb and seemed to have a new fire lit under him. Kurt Angle was on the outside and slammed the referee for no apparent reason halfway through the bout. Sting no sold a Jarrett guitar shot and the crowd went absolutely apeshit. Sting’s deathlock looked the best it had been in years and helped him recapture the NWA title and end one of the best shows of the year on a very high note.

TNA Bound For Glory ‘06

1. Kevin Nash Open Invitational X-Division Gauntlet Battle Royal – 3
2. James Gang vs. Team 3-D vs. AMW vs. Naturals – 2
3. Abyss vs. Samoa Joe vs. Brother Runt vs. Raven – Monster’s Ball – 4
4. Eric Young vs. Larry Zbyszko – Retirement Match –1
5. Senshi vs. Chris Sabin – 6
6. Christian Cage vs. Rhino – 8 Mile Street Fight – 4
7. LAX vs. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels – Cage Match – 7
8. Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett – 5

This was TNA’s first-ever pay-per-view outside of Orlando, and one that they sincerely hyped to the point of nausea. The Detroit crowd was pretty raucous, which helped the show have much needed energy. Would they succeed in what they promised to be their biggest show ever?

The opening battle royal had too much going on in it for my tastes. There were so many people involved, nobody even considering psychology, and I won’t even touch on the one-legged guy and dwarf. The subsequent four-way tag team match was also a mess of massive proportions; there were eight guys involved, and yet I still can’t recall anything that anybody did. That’s how little I, as well as the general viewer, care about these teams – and the writing staff of TNA is largely to blame.

Monster’s Ball was a ball, and also a complete melee of sloppy brawling and void of any structure. Granted, there were a couple highlights, one being legend Jake “the Snake” Roberts as referee, or as he liked to be referred to, “guide.” The less said about the retirement match debacle the better.

Senshi and Sabin was definitely more up my alley – although I know they’re capable of even better, this was still arguably the best bout of the show. Senshi is intense and I love it, all though he’s seemed homogenized since joining the ranks of TNA. Sabin, well, ever since he frosted his hair and started putting lame alien heads on his tights, I’ve kind of lost a little respect for him. When he’s on, he’s on, but he’s definitely lost that fire I admired in him in this past.

Christian and Rhino had a pretty lame brawl, very reminiscent of late-90’s WWF hardcore division crud. My favorite moment was Rhino giving Cage a piledriver off of the apron through a table. The finish, seeing Christian pile a bunch of garbage (literally) on top of Rhino, then repeatedly bash it with a chair was inexcusably bad. The steel cage match was pretty awesome; I definitely applaud all of these guys for their efforts and hard work. LAX are really becoming the team to watch on the scene this year, and Daniels and Styles are almost always a joy to watch. I kind of don’t want this feud to ever end.

The main event was surprisingly good, not great, mind you, but perfectly okay. At their age, you can’t expect much better out of them honestly. There were a couple miscommunications, but ultimately, this felt like a main event and was delivered like one. Jarrett took a delicious suplex on the entrance ramp, and came off for once looking like he belonged on the top of a card. The ending saw Sting win his first major championship in a long time, which was kind of a nice moment, even if Kurt Angle lurked around the entire match getting himself over at the expense of the guys busting their asses in the ring.

Overall, it might sound like I didn’t enjoy the show, but that’s not necessarily true. Like almost all wrestling, I had a lot of fun watching it, and was entertained throughout the duration of the pay-per-view. The quality of matches wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped, especially given the heavy hyping. One nice surprise was seeing three clean finishes in all three title matches – something exceedingly rare these days. We renamed the show as “Bound for Gloryholes” -- if you don’t get that reference, go to the seedy public bathroom of a nearby truckstop in the middle of the night. It’s an interesting time to be a TNA fan right now; they’re potentially on the cusp of becoming huge, or failing miserably. Either way, I’ll be watching intently, and never handing over.

WWE Taboo Tuesday 2004

This is an interesting concept because by letting fans vote for stips on all the matches, you get them involved even in the ones they could care less about. Until the stip is named, and then they grimace. Coach emceed the show, which is to say a charisma stripped announcer has been did. (no, not you King Lawler, you were at the announce booth.)

1 Chris Jericho v. Shelton Benjamin- 4
the gimmick was Jericho didn't know who the fans were choosing between about 16 guys in the back. Jericho had a look on his face that said "okay, i could have a passable match with about three of those guys." Anyways, that's what he had with Shelton. Jericho wasn't really selling anything but the big spots, which they were only really two: a crazy superplex and a back drop to the floor. Jericho played up the upset win by trying to kick his legs out of the pin. Good psych, but this ain't for college credits. the fans were really into this too.

2 Divas Battle Royal( School girl outfits)- 0
there was no wrestling at all in this, and Stacy was the most over. She was the center of attention, just like back in the Baltimore Ravens locker room, when they had that pin the dick in Stacy's ass game.( the donkey was taking bets.) or when she was at the Flair family Christmas and she was the only girl there that David and Ric had both slept with( except the maid)

3 Kane v. Snitsky( Chain Match)- 2
slow- plodding- void of enthusiasm- lackluster-Kane-Calvin Klein- Obsession

4 Eric Bischoff v. Eugene(Loser gets Shaved)- 0
This was when Eugene was over and Chris Benoit got outvoted by a second tier heel(Edge) Vince came out to get over on Bischoff, which he does every chance he gets, done to no one's entertainment.

5 La Resistance v. Chris Benoit/ Edge- 4
Benoit showed a lot of intensity( Duh!), La Resistance showed a lot of greenness( Duh!) and Edge showed his ability to make me really not care if he lives( Triple Duh!) There was some good stuff, when Benoit was in, but Edge showed me he couldn't pull the two French Canadians through a decent match.

6 Christy v. Carmella( Lingerie Pillow Fight)-0
The match started out with Christy pulling out Carmella's fake boobs. Reading this you would think it's a good thing, but watching it was something too altogether horrifying. in fact, I'd rather not speak of this again.

7 HHH v. HBK- 4
A match that had potential. I'm a huge fan of Michaels, not as much as I used to be, but still a fan of his work. I think he severely overplayed his knee( even though i heard it was legit.) the match was pretty short on time and action, and even though the fans came alive at the end of this, I wasn't hooked in. I've seen much better from them.

8 Randy Orton v. Ric Flair( Steel Cage)-6
I'm becoming an Orton fan. I like his work, and he proved that he wants to play with the big boys in this one. He and Flair busted each other open badly( badly meaning really good) and just fought. Flair got his occasional main event, and tried to make something out of it. I enjoyed what i saw.

WWE Monday Night Raw - 10/9/06

1) Umaga vs. Kane – Loser Leaves Raw Match – 4
2) The Big Show vs. Jeff Hardy – 3
3) Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. Shawn Michaels & Triple H – Street Fight – 4
4) Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Benoit – 4
5) Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, & Batista vs. William Regal, Chavo Guerrero, & Finlay – 5
6) Torrie Wilson vs. Melina – Lumberjack Match – 2
7) Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T – 5
8) Ric Flair vs. Mitch – 1
9) John Cena vs. The Undertaker – 3

Umaga and Kane had a pretty hard-hitting match. While it was your basic TV match between the two, it was worlds better than their match at Unforgiven. Show and Hardy was a joke and why did it even happen? Show very sloppily sold Hardy’s standard offense and Show won with that leg smash thing he does. DX continued their burial of the Raw tag division by utterly destroying Cade and Murdoch in a very unrealistic street fight. A note to DX, stop putting yourselves over at the expense of everyone else and learn how to tell a fucking story! Benjamin and Benoit was a little bit too short for my liking but still managed to entertain me. The six-man tag from Smackdown was probably the match of the night. It was a breath of fresh air on a show that mostly has a less that stellar undercard. Finlay yelling out “I’ll beat your head in!” when they went to a commercial was definitely a highlight. The women’s match was a joke and only helped put over strip poker on ECW. Also, everyone has already forgotten about the women’s title so why even bother with a tournament. RVD and Booker had another good match and the commentary with JBL and Tazz taking shots at each other was pure gold. Flair and Mitch was nothing and only got a score because Flair had Piper, Anderson, DiBiase, and I.R.S. as backup. Cena and ‘Taker went about five minutes before Booker and Show ran-in to build up the main event for Cyber Sunday. Afterwards, Cena gets Big Show in the STFU and Big Show taps? What the fuck? That’s not fucking realistic. On another note, Raw now has new graphics and music that make it feel refreshing. That was actually long overdue in my opinion.