WWE 205 Live 27/12/2016

Cedric Alexander vs Tony Nese

Feels like another Alexander match being cut short to fit with their Alicia Fox storyline, but what they did fit in was fun. Think Nese may find himself in a difficult position, now they’ve given Neville a similar “bearded heel who is an incredible athlete with a muscular physique” gimmick, but I liked him here. Had a nice flashy combo of moves to down Cedric, but then slowed the match down on the mat so as to not overshadow the face. Alexander took a big bump to the floor when Nese shoves him from the top rope, and I dug his springboard clothesline. End was goofy, but fun, with Gulak claiming from the floor that Fox hit him, resulting in her getting sent to the back and Nese using the distraction to thwack Alexander with a palm strike for the win. Bonus points for Gulak looking like an utter boss in his suit.

Mustafa Ali vs John Yurnet

Glad to see them seemingly turning Ali face, saw him working that way in an AAW match, and he’s very likable. Plus you have to feel that the WWE couldn’t pull off the subtleties of an “You only boo me because of my heritage” gimmick. Since this match, it’s emerged Yurnet was probably injured going into this, and he seems to be limping right from the get go. Liked Aries trying to suggest he was just playing possum. Match is really brief due to the injury, with Ali hitting a reverse DDT and a sweet imploding 450 to win.

Neville vs Rich Swann

Neville continues his good work from last week, though he was noticeably a bit flashier this week than previously. I liked the fact he was able to keep up with Swann’s initial quickness, because Neville is still a superb athlete, but once in control he is much more deliberate. Loved him hurling Swann into the ring apron, with a nasty bump by Swann to boot. In the ring, Neville drives his elbow into Swann’s head in a nasty manner. I thought Neville was really good here at working his flashier offence into his character, hitting a standing shooting star to Swann’s back, which was a focal point of a lot of his offence. Swann is able to get more offense than in the previous week’s tag match, hitting a sweet looking Phoenix Splash to a standing Neville on the floor. I loved a lot of the touches in this, like Neville throwing Swann to the outside, giving him a beat to regain his bearings and nail an enzuigiri as soon as Swann was back on the apron, as well as Swann selling his beating with a slow walk across the ring, giving Neville time to attack. In the end, the cumulative beating from Neville slows Swann down too much, as he spends ages getting to the top rope, and Neville catches him with a superplex to win the match. Really enjoyed this, Neville has become a treat to watch.

Stardom Year-End Climax 22/12/2016

Ruaka vs Azumi vs Arisu Nanase

This is a rookie three way, with all three girls looking exceptionally young. You get the impression these three must have worked together and trained together a lot in their development, and thus a few sequences do look really slick – the quick exchange of role-ups where none of the girls looked lost for example. As the match progresses, a certain hierarchy in ability soon becomes apparent, highlighted by Nanase and Azumi putting a two-person crab on Ruaka, and only Azumi looking like she was applying any pressure. Nanase also has really flimsy looking strikes. Azumi looks the most capable of the three, though I was impressed at the angle of the Boston Crab applied by Ruaka to Nanase. However, Nanase escapes and cradles Ruaka for the pinfall. Nanase was probably the least impressive of the three, but this was a perfectly fine opener.

Konami vs Hiromi Mimura

The pre-match interview establishes this is Konami’s first Stardom match, though she has wrestled elsewhere. Her first move in the match is to snatch Mimura in a bodyscissors and go for the submission, and they work a nice little mat sequence of hold and counterhold. Mimura is a rookie, albeit more advanced than the girls in the opener, and she definitely seems to be improving from the matches I saw from her earlier in the year. Her selling was really good here as Konami decides to work on a leg, including it slowing her running the ropes and giving Konami an opening. At one point they work a strike exchange, but whilst Mimura goes for blows to the face, Konami unloads a kick to the leg, which takes Mimura longer to recover from. Mimura gets a close nearfall of a Majistral cradle, but a nasty looking rolling kneelock by Konami gets the tap. This was good.

Oedo Tai (Kris Wolf & Hana Kimura) vs Kaori Yoneyama & Saori Anou vs Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora

This match really flew by. After a brief bit of schtick at the start with Kimura, Anou and Kyona all posing for the cameras, this kicked off and didn’t slow down for the rest of the match. Hard to say there was any real structure, as people kept popping in and out of the ring without any tags, but it always felt like the people in the ring we actually trying to win. Nothing was done just for the purpose of looking cool, it always seemed to be to lead to a pinfall or a submission. Loved Anou teaming with Kyona, whipping her into the corner to splash Kimura, but then immediately rolling up Kyona from behind to try a flash pinfall. Yoneyama and Anou also locked a nice combo figure 8/head scissors on Tora, which looked cool. Wolf looked a lot more solid and confident than she did the first time I saw her compete, and Yoneyama, though short and stocky, was a little dynamo here, looked really good. The end saw Tora leap off her partner Kyona’s back to hit a big senton on Anou, but Wolf immediately dived in to cover Tora on impact and get the pin. A lot of fun.

Twisted Sisterz (Holidead & Thunder Rosa) vs Queen’s Quest (HZK & Momo Watanabe)

This was for the Sisterz NWA Vendetta Pro titles. Queen’s Quest seem pretty green, with mainly rookie offence like dropkicks and some soft looking blows, but they were game here, and sold nicely for the Sisterz. I really liked the fluid teamwork of Rosa and Holidead, with Holidead wheelbarrow suplexing her partner into a senton looking really choice. They zero in on the back of HZK, locking in pendulums and nailing a big back breaker, but I also liked that the moment Holidead makes a mistake and tangles her leg in the ropes, HZK goes right after it, kicking it in the ropes and locking in a figure four. Watanabe hits a really nice looking double-knees to Rosa’s face, but the result never feels in doubt due to the lack of power behind the rookie’s offence. They do get a really nice nearfall from a top rope senton, but Rosa is soon able to cradle HZK for the win.

BY HO (Kairi Hojo & Yoko Bito) vs Oedo Tai (Kyoko Kimura & Kagetsu)

This is for Oedo Tai’s tag titles. Odeo Tai take this to the floor early, which fits into their style of match more than their opponents. Kagetsu sends Bito sprawling into rows of chairs. Hojo has entered the match with strapping on her back, which is targeted by Kimura. It’s soon ripped off and Kimura lays in with a backbreaker and stomps. I liked the way, rather than go into a strike exchange, Kimura allows the smaller Hojo to unload with chops, in the process wearing herself out, and then levelling her with one big strike. Bito tags in, but doesn’t fare too well. However, her in ring stint does allow Hojo time to recover. Her flying punch from the top looks great. Loved Hojo diving in to save Bito from taking a knockout kick to the head to turn the momentum for their team. Oedo Tai try to use briefcases as weapons to turn the tide, but it backfires when Kagetsu hits Kimura by accident. Hojo blasts Kagetsu with her awesome elbow drop and Bito follows this with a Jig’N’Tonic for the titles.

Io Shirai vs Mayu Iwatani

This is for Shirai’s World of Stardom title, and is an absolute blast. Shirai played the role of dominant ace perfectly, with a cool and slightly cruel demeanour, giving a slight hint of a smirk after slamming Iwatani on the wooden floor. I liked the way they showed Shirai coming into the match with a gameplan, as she wedged Mayu’s leg in a chair before hitting it with a running dropkick. The injured leg provided an opening that Shirai would use to try and make comebacks later in the match when Iwatani was in control. Iwatani, as the challenger, really put it all on the line to win the title for the first time. A crossbody to the floor is followed by a Dragon Suplex on the floor. This is the match turning point that starts things really rolling for Iwatani, as Shirai can barely beat the count, and this is the first notable momentum shift. Iwatani goes for the Dragon Suplex at several points in the match, hitting a nasty one on the ring apron and a conventional one in the ring for a close nearfall. However, she goes to the well once too often as she tries for a top rope version, only to have Shirai land on her feet and nail a series of awesome rolling Germans, where she rolls over Mayu as if to make an O’Connor roll, then rolls through to her feet and suplexes Iwatani again. This was a very back and forth match, but the changes in momentum felt organic and both girls really sold their exhaustion in the closing stages. The end sequence was excellent, with Shirai spiking Mayu after reversing a tombstone, then nailing two consecutive moonsaults for the win. Terrific, terrific match.

ECW Hardcore TV #6 11/05/1993

The Super Destroyers vs Tony Stetson & Larry Winters

This is hair vs titles, with Tommy Cairo handcuffed to the Destroyers’ manager Hunter Q Robbins on the floor. It’s also no DQ, which Jay Sulli on commentary seems to keep forgetting. The opening stages where they brawl outside are actually pretty exciting, and the Destroyers actually look like big killers for a change. The camera cutting regularly to Cairo and Robbins makes the match harder to follow, but then it transpires there’s no real match structure anyway, so we’re not missing anything. No real heat worked on the faces, just guys getting in and out of the ring, and no transitions to offence, just guys deciding it’s their turn to go on the offensive. Winters has the wimpiest kicks to the head I’ve ever seen. Thankfully the end soon comes, as Robbins throws his cane into the ring (good job stopping that Tommy Cairo!) and Stetson intercepts it and crowns a Destroyer for the title

Jimmy Snuka & Eddie Gilbert vs JT Smith & Max Thrasher

The formatting of this show continues to suck, as they book two tag matches back to back. There’s bits of this that are good: Gilbert continues to impress and has some nice offence, and I dug this cool reverse slam Smith did. The rest is pretty meh, with Thrasher’s sole contribution being to tag in, eat a Gilbert backbreaker and a Superfly splash for the loss.

Sal Bellomo vs The Canadian Wolfman

Wolfman is just an obese bald man with regrettable tattoos in jeans. He’s utterly terrible, starting the match by just looking at Bellomo, who just wanders up and punches him. He also can even take a snapmere bump, which is unfortunate as Bellomo seems to want to use quite a few. Bellomo splash finishes this quickly.

Jonathan Hotbody vs Tommy Cairo

This is a lumberjack match, and is probably match of the show. I liked Hotbody’s continued attempts to cower away from Cairo, despite the match stipulation, and especially how his partner Chris Candido was complicit in that, trying to provide him shelter outside the ring. There’s a nice bump when Hotbody throws Cairo to the floor and the Cairo/Robbins story from the start of the episode is paid off when it’s a Robbins cane shot that provides the knockout blow to put Cairo out. Call this a mild win.

The Sandman & Miss Peaches vs Rockin' Rebel & Tigra
This doesn't even get a finish. The main story is that Tigra wont tag in, forcing Rebel to wrestle all the match. This means he has to take Sandman's terrible looking offence. Honestly, becoming drunken hardcore Sandman gave him a career, because surfer Sandman is just a mess of sloppy looking spots and weak offence - his grazing dropkick here being a case in point. Rebel does take a big bump over the top to the floor to become the worker of the match. Tigra and Peaches finally get in...and the show ends just as they hook up. Excellent work lads.

WWE 205 Live 20/12/2016

Ariya Daivari vs Lince Dorado

Not been too impressed with either guy since 205 Live has started, but Daivari was clearly superior here. He had some nasty looking impact to his strikes, and I dug both the rainmaker neckbreaker and his whip into a big clothesline. After threatening last week to show me something I’ve never seen before, Dorado has been really unimpressive: springboard stunner looks shitty, tope saw him go vertical and basically headbutt Daivari’s thigh and he nearly slipped springboarding into the ring for a rana. Daivari polished him off with a frog splash. Daivari feels like a good worker, just not interesting enough for this division, might fit in better with the heavyweights.

Cedric Alexander vs Drew Gulak

Some of this was really good, but it fell victim to the ongoing Cedric/Fox/Dar storyline. Gulak showed nice early aggression, nailing some big forearms and taking advantage when Alexander takes his eyes off the prize (to talk to the ref) by hurling him into the ropes. Both guys take a big bump to the floor as a suplex reversal takes both over the top, but we get the booking coming in with Fox hurting her ankle, and Noam Dar coming out to carry her to the back. Even with this distraction, Gulak can’t beat Cedric, and the Lumbar Check puts him away. Gulak has lost 3 on the bounce now on this show, guy is far too talented to be enhancement talent when there’s guys like Dorado and the Bollywood Boyz kicking about.

Neville & Brian Kendrick vs TJ Perkins & Rich Swann

Man, heel Neville is already one of the most interesting wrestlers on this show, loved how he was portrayed here. Neville is a mass of muscle compared to most guys in the division, and the power advantage was put over really well here. He battered Swann from the get go, with a seated dropkick to the back of Swann’s head looking like it took Swann out. Neville never looks in any danger, and Perkins can only get in by blind tagging Swann, who looks overwhelmed. Kendrick likewise has to blind tag in, with Neville unwilling to share his spotlight. I liked the dynamic of the face team realising their best chance of winning is to isolate Kendrick, as it really puts over how much of an impact Neville is having on them. Swann tags himself back in, but I love that he’s still so hurt from Neville’s beating that he takes a little too long getting in, giving Kendrick an opening to strike. Swann takes a flatliner bump right on the top of his head, which looks killer. Neville gets back in and nails a great looking deadlift German for 2. Neville has been less flashy than usual, all clotheslines and heavy strikes, and I like that the one time he does get flashy, landing on his feet from a top rope moonsault, he gets caught with a Swann superkick for a close 2 count. With Swann so weak, it leaves Perkins having to carry a lot for his team, and when he springboards into the ring straight into a enzuigiri, it spells doom. The Red Arrow gets three for Neville, and this new attitude really works for him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

WWF Raw 25/4/1994

Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon

Non title match here, with Razor still holding the gold. Jarrett goes for some smart controls early, sliding to the floor and suckering Ramon out to be attacked. Jarrett shows a few nice bits, including a neat diving fist drop. Annoying ad break clip returns with Ramon hitting a sunset flip, and I liked that Jarrett tried to block it, only for Razor to physically hook the arms with his legs to pull him over, instead of Jarrett toppling for no reason. Ramon makes a comeback, which draws out Shawn Michaels. Razor beats him up handily, but Diesel comes out to draw the DQ. Was pretty good until the non-ending.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Tony Devito

Bigelow remains a pretty dull squash worker, with lots of dead time between his moves. Just nothing compelling despite his execution being fine. An enzuigiri and a headbutt get the win

Heavenly Bodies vs John Paul & Jason Headings

Paul feels like a guy higher on the jobber tier, so he doesn't get totally punked out, looking semi-competitive until he's hit with a double superkick by the Bodies. Del Ray hits a lovely sitout powerbomb on him before Headings comes in. Headings' first act is to grab Pritchard, rush into the corner with him to allow a Del Ray "blind tag", then go to the centre of the ring for an Irish whip. Just looked very amateur, and the Bodies should have known better. They make up for it by blitzing Headings with some fun double-teams: Pritchard back suplexes Del Ray onto Headings, they nail him with a combo powerbomb/neckbreaker and finish the job by Pritchard holding Headings in place for a Del Ray moonsault press.  

1-2-3 Kid vs Duane Gill

Kid squashes are always fun, as they actually feel like competitive bouts. Here, Gill gets to throw Kid from the ring and knock him back down as he tries to climb back in. I like that Kid retorts by using a springboard clothesline to get in, using offense as an opening. Nice leg lariat gets the win.

Owen Hart vs Rich Myers

Really vicious Owen showcase here, with some nice punches and stiff headbutts thrown. Also, loved the bulldog, where it looked like he really was trying to drive Myers’ face into the mat. Nice stuff, ended with a sharpshooter. Owen is up there with Jarrett and Kid as the best of these 94 Raw squash workers.

WWE Main Event 13/05/2014

Damien Sandow vs Dolph Ziggler

This was better than I thought it was going to be, albeit not something I’d actually call good. Liked some of the things Sandow did, like the vicious little elbow he did on a rope break to take the advantage, which he sadly then followed with some weak blows. They did go to a chinlock very early, but Sandow at least made it fun with some shit-talking. Some bits were off – a drop toehold into the ropes saw Ziggler having to walk two or three paces before falling, but Sandow showed an aggressive side, which led to him dropping a few nasty kneedrops. The aggression proved his undoing, as he puts too much force into a back suplex, with Ziggler flipping to his feet and hitting a flash zig zag for the win. Surprisingly decent.

Emma vs Alicia Fox

The start of this is great, as Fox gets on the mic…and almost immediately hurls it at Emma’s face. She keeps attacking before the ref can ring the bell, then immediately hits a backbreaker when it does. She dumps Emma through the ropes to the floor, which looks nasty. Like Emma selling her wooziness at being beaten down, so she takes too long to hit her corner crossbody, meeting only knees. Suddenly, Emma pulls out a roll up from nowhere and wins. Real shitty ending to a fun match.

Sheamus vs Cesaro

Yeah, there’s no way these two were going to have a bad match, and they both put it all out there for Main Event. Love the aggression from both guys, both happy to take a blow and lay one out at the same time. I loved how evenly this was worked, but in a way that both guys were getting worn down by the beating they’d take. Neither guy gets a sustained advantage as they’re both hurting too much from the damage they’ve taken to fully capitalise. Some nice offensive spots by both guys, loved Cesaro’s draping DDT over the ropes to send Sheamus’ head into the apron, and Sheamus hit a rare top rope dive to the floor. Sheamus misses a Brouge Kick and before he’s got both feet on the floor, Cesaro deadlifts him for a swank German suplex. It felt like an odd time for them to fight – Cesaro just a few weeks into his Paul Heyman run and Sheamus only just winning the US belt – as neither guy felt right losing, so when they both head to the floor, you know we’re getting a double count-out. Really good bout though, as these two always have.

WWE 205 Live 13/12/2016

Jack Gallagher vs Drew Gulak

My two favourites in the division here. Enjoyed the opening exchanges on the mat, managed to showcase how both guys are very close in technique, but Gulak’s hot-headedness at Gallagher’s ways would cost him as he ran headfirst into Jack’s traps. Loved the rolling crucifix, where they cycled around the ring. Though it wasn’t portrayed as such by the commentary team, who saw it as the two men battling for supremacy, it felt more like Gallagher disorientating Gulak and trying to get the pin. Gulak gets a few nice moments, starting with a nasty looking slam into the ropes. This gives him an opening by hurting Gallagher’s neck, which briefly becomes his focus. I liked the way they exchanged strikes, only a few blows, but treated as if they really hurt, culminating with Gallagher’s bullet headbutt. This gives him the opening for the corner dropkick to win. Criminally short, but what we got was great.

Lince Dorado vs Mustafa Ali

Very brief, and not anything exciting. Dorado does a pre-match interview promising to do things you’ve never seen before, but certainly here he does nothing to distinguish himself from any other generic high flier. Ali had the better moments here, slinkily avoiding Dorado in the corner to hit a big roundhouse kick and a rolling neckbreaker. Dorado’s offence looks a bit milky and his handspring stunner is clunky. His big top rope rana was pretty good though. The end sees Dorado hit an Asai moonsault to the floor and it puts both guys out of commission for the double count out. Kinda makes Dorado look like an idiot by putting himself out of action.

TJ Perkins vs Rich Swann

This was fine, but definitely the weakest main event of this show so far. Felt the most inconsequential. The opening exchanges were quite fun, liked Perkins showing some subtle frustration early on. Perkins’ slingshot dropkick to the apron always looks nice, and Swann seemed to do a bit more highflying than he has in previous weeks. His rolling thunder frogsplash looked pretty good. I think being face vs face made this feel a bit more of an exhibition and also affected the crowd reactions, so it was nice to see them work in an injury to Swann’s leg to give the match a bit more story. He injures it missing a moonsault to the floor and, following a sweet twisting pescado by Perkins, it becomes the focal point of TJ’s attack. Swann makes a brief comeback, but tries his leaping 450 like an idiot, causing his knee to buckle on the first jump. This lets Perkins quickly lock in the kneebar for the tap. Nothing particularly wrong with this, but not something you’ll remember for long.

CHIKARA Aniversario 3:Dodging The Sophomore Jinx

Shane Storm vs Rorschach vs Sabian vs Melvin Snodgrass vs DJ Skittlez vs Private Eye vs Hallowicked vs Blind Rage

With the exception of Rage, Sabian and Hallowicked, this is very much the dregs of the 2004 CHIKARA roster, thankfully all dumped into one match so as not to infect the rest of the card. This is a Royal Rumble with 60 second intervals, with the final two facing off later in the night. There’s not much to this, though the good thing about this format is that it means guys like Rorschach stick to chops and punches, which they’re ok at, rather than going through a load of moves they can’t do very well. A lot of the comedy doesn’t work too well here, as the audience has a lot of guy in there to look at, so only a select few actually spot the comedy bits. In a manner typical of crappy indy rumbles, there are no eliminations until everyone gets in, then they all go out really quickly. Hallowicked goes out second, meaning I’m praying Sabian and Rage are the final two. In fact, those two make it to the final 3 with DJ Skittlez, and my heart sinks on realising he’s going to make the final. Seconds later, Sabian is dispatched and I’m left to wonder if Rage is going to be able to carry Skittlez.

Darkness Crabtree vs Jolly Roger

The opening moments of this match are quite auspicious, as Crabtree is sent out and just casually wanders into position for Roger to dive on him. The problem with the Crabtree gimmick is that, because he’s played as a barely mobile senior citizen, it makes the face look inept if they have any struggles with him. Here, we get a proper Crabtree heat section, with Roger having to lie on the mat for ages as Crabtree performs a slow mo people’s elbow. I did enjoy Crabtree’s springboard butt-butt to the floor, and they pay off Crabtree’s crabwalk diving headbutt with Roger reversing a second try into a (admittedly crappy) diving stunner. Roger hits Walk The Plank to win.

Murat Bosporus vs Chris Hero

Having two guys like this in the next match feels like a breath of fresh air. This opens with some really fun counter chain wrestling, both guys looking really comfortable doing it. Bosporus shows surprising agility for a squat, stocky guy, cartwheeling out of wristlocks. Bosporus shows the first signs of frustration, using forearms to the face when he can’t counter out of a wristlock, positioning him as the heel. The next section of the match sees them both finding a body part to work over, Bosporus focusing on Hero’s back with a series of backbreakers and slams, whilst Hero keeps his focus on the left arm. Loved Hero selling his back pain by pausing momentarily before running the ropes, a hesitation that gives Bosporus time to prepare and send him over the top to the floor. I liked Hero climbing to the top rope with Bosporus’ arm and dropping down with a twisting hammerlock, which he also sells as hurting his back. Taking the risk in order to hurt Bosporus more. The end was pretty choice, with Hero hitting Hero’s Welcome, with the left arm trapped in a hammerlock, and chaining to the Hangman’s Clutch to win. This was real good.

DJ Skittlez vs Blind Rage

So could Rage carry Skittlez to something watchable? Against all odds, the answer is yes. The trick seems to have been to just keep it simple. At first Rage is on the defensive, taking some big bumps to make Skittlez offence look good. The height Rage gets from a backbodydrop is impressive to behold. Rage manages to hit a dragon screw from nowhere, and from there he focuses his attention to Skittlez’s leg. Rage works it over in an entertaining manner, including a nice low dropkick that sends Skittlez faceplanting onto the mat. Skittlez doesn’t blow any moves on his comeback either, with a spinning slam looking good. At one point, he goes for the Rainbow Bomb from the top, and I thought they’d blown it as it looked more like Rage had given him a bulldog – only to realise that he HAD given Skittlez a bulldog, and it was actually a nice reversal. Rage locks in the STF and gets the win. Perfectly fine match. Post match, Rage cuts a promo to announce his retirement.

Hallowicked & Ultramantis Black vs Mr Zero & Shane Storm

Have to give props to the surprisingly fluid faux-lucha sequence at the start with Black and Storm, looked really good. Zero is fired up to take on his former partner Black, who decides to hide away from tagging in. Given this story, it’s therefore a bit odd when they throw in a bit of awkward comedy (Storm holding up his stop sign to freeze the heels in place) to undermine it. The heels work the heat on Storm, showing some nice teamwork. Zero gets the hot tag, finally getting his hands on Black, but his offence feels a bit lacking, doesn’t seem to be as fired up as you would assume. They start brawling in the crowd and into the toilets, and it all becomes a bit of a mess. Things just break down and don’t look very good. There’s a really nice spot where Zero hits a sitout facebuster onto Storm’s sign (taken with gusto by Ultramantis) that feels like it should finish, but Hallowicked saves. Hallowicked hits a Yakuza kick on Storm to win. Underwhelming match, feels like they could all do better.

Mike Quackenbush, Icarus & Gran Akuma vs Jigsaw & the Wildcards

So, the stipulations for this dictate that whoever eats the pin or submits is punished. For the faces, Quack loses his 6 titles to whomever pins him, Icarus shaves his head and Akuma loses his mask. For the heels, Jigsaw loses his mask and both Wildcards will get their heads shaved. On top of this, if the heels lose, CHIKARA commissioner Cavalier Jones is fired from the company. This is also fought under lucha rules. Got all that? Cool

This goes nearly 40 minutes, and I will say it kept my attention for the entire run. I did have some issues with the match structure, but the action was crisp throughout and everything looked good. I loved Quack throughout this, he’s really a joy to watch in CHIKARA and here he showed a more vicious side than usual – at one point he blasts Blackjack Marciano flush in the face with a kick whilst BJM is in a Camel Clutch. Eddie Kingston is also terrific here – he’s a shit-talking, stooging heel who can turn it on offensively and the switch doesn’t look awkward. At one point here he’s blitzing Akuma with crossfaces, ripping at his mask and lacing in penalty kicks to the back. I think everyone here looked good, but there were issues with the match. Firstly, for an important match with so much at stake, there were still a few too many cutesy comedy bits, like a 6 way headlock or a sequence where the heels end up being dropped into each other’s balls and sitting on each other’s faces. Secondly, and more distractingly, the faces dominate the vast majority of the bout, to the point it just feels inevitable that they’ll win. For ages, the heels are bumbling around, unable to gain any traction whilst the faces outsmart them and make them look like idiots. Marciano suffers to most indignity, as his moves are easily reversed, he eats several low blows and loudly yelps like a buffoon as he gets schooled again and again. When the heels finally get to work a short heat section, it’s wisely on Akuma, a man who has been demasked in previous shows and therefore is the most likely to lose on his team. Things predictably breakdown towards the end, with a few nice little story touches. Most interestingly, the Wildcards fall out with Jigsaw after preventing him pinning Quack after a Jig N Tonic, presumably because they want to win Quacks titles. This leads to Jigsaw walking out, and in the end this costs the Wildcards. Akuma reverse Kingston’s Kondo Clutch to one of his own, Icarus spears BJM from the ring and, with no partner left, Kingston is forced to submit. For all my complaints, this is a fitting pay off for the Wildcards reign of terror and the head shaving is a really fun moment.

WWE 205 Live 06/12/2016

Noam Dar vs Cedric Alexander

Interesting match structure here, as Dar really dominates for the most part. Love the way that Dar seems to have a gameplan from the offset, working the left arm of Alexander from a headlock reversal right from the get go. From there, Dar seems to use the arm as a focal point, stopping every Alexander comeback with a quick kick to the arm, or locking on an armbar. That’s not to say Cedric doesn’t get a few choice spots to shine here. Loved him going for a tope, Dar ducking to avoid, and Cedric instead waiting to hit a slingshot dropkick through the ropes. The armwork is the main crux of the match, and Dar does some neat things as part of his control. Loved him pulling down Alexander’s elbow pad to grind his knuckles into the arm and his wrapping the ropes to inflict more punishment. Alexander puts over the pain too, including having to adjust his bodyweight during a pin attempt due to leaning on the arm, making it easier for Dar to escape. The end sees Cedric missing a corner charge, ramming the bad arm into the ringpost, and Dar has the opening to hit a running kick for the win. Really fun match, really put Dar over strongly.

Jack Gallagher vs Ariya Daivari

Third time these two have fought, and Gallagher is still selling the leg that Daivari had injured on Raw. Love Gallagher thinking about his usual leap into the ring to enter, but thinking better of it. The focal point of Daivari’s attack, unsurprisingly, was the leg, but Gallagher still managed to be his peer on the mat despite this. Loved them throwing in a few references to previous matches. Gallagher again did his handstand in the corner schtick, but this time Daivari decided to grab a leg, only for Gallagher to use it to push him away. Daivari got to show a vicious side by focusing on Gallagher’s leg, but his offence on it wasn’t particularly interesting. Mainly just him hitting it into things. Loved Gallagher trying flash pins to get the win, aware that he needed to get out of the match as quickly as possible. He also had a moment where he looked to be considering the corner dropkick, but decided against it. This gives Daivari time to take the leg out again and hit a frog splash to win. Not as good as last weeks match, Daivari isn’t a particularly compelling offensive wrestler.

Rich Swann vs The Brian Kendrick

Last weeks match was really good, and whilst this week was fun, it was still the lesser match. Loved Kendrick hitting Sliced Bread on the floor early to damage the neck of Swann, the neck he’d damaged the previous week. Kendrick’s offence concentrates on the head and neck from this point, which looks really good. Nice crossfaces to the head, and I loved the way he hit a big Dragon suplex and went straight into the Captain’s Hook. Shows the desperation he has to win the belt early. Swann makes a comeback, including a nice tumbleweed to the floor, but his neck injury prevents him being able to really follow up on moves. Kendrick gets the Hook again, and I love how he works it, adjusting his body position to prevent Swann making the ropes as well as cranking on the pressure of the move. Kendrick essentially flatliners Swann into the ringpost, which looked nasty. The end is sadly a bit hooky, as in escaping a Dragon sleeper, Swann throws Kendrick into TJ Perkins, who is commentating. This distracts Kendrick, who goes face to face with Perkins, leaving him prone to a roundhouse kick for the Swann ring. Not a fan of the finish, as Kendrick has been shown as obsessed with the Cruiserweight title, so him letting Perkins distract him didn’t ring true. Still, this was fun.

ECW Hardcore TV #5 04/05/193

Eddie Gilbert & Don Muraco vs JT Smith & Glen Osbourne

Gilbert really feels like a breath of fresh air in these shows, as his execution is far crisper and his movement far better than anyone else in the promotion. Liked a few bits from Muraco here, his slingshot of Smith that sends Smith throat-first into the bottom rope is pretty good. Hotstuff International target Smith’s head and throat, with a neckbreaker and a loaded thumb to the throat from Muraco. Osbourne is tagged in to no reaction, and hits an admittedly sweet tombstone to Gilbert, but a debuting Paul E Dangerously clubs him with his phone and Gilbert picks up the pin. This wasn’t too bad.

Super Destroyers vs Tony Stetson & Larry Winters

The more I watch of Stetson and Winters, the more pronounced the gulf in ability becomes. Winters looks pretty poor here, stumbling over when trying to hiptoss a Destroyer, whereas Stetson has some nice touches. Dug the thrust headbutt to the Destroyer’s arm to continue his team’s basic armwork, and he gets nice height on a flying forearm. The Destroyers work a dull heat segment on Winters, including some truly terrible chokes, where the Destroyer waggles his elbow about in an unconvincing attempt to make it look like he’s adding more pressure. Stetson is tagged in, but gets caught with a loaded punch when trying a back suplex, giving the Destroyers the pin.

The Sandman vs Sal Bellomo

This was terrible. Bellomo is a terrible offensive wrestler, all chokes and wimpy looking stomps. Sandman here has an odd habit of trying roll ups that only manage to send Bellomo into the ropes. Bellomo locks in a terrible submission, where I honestly thought he was trying a sloppy pinfall. Sandman only looks mildly inconvenienced. The end is a special type of dreadful, as Sandman clotheslines Bellomo from the ring, and Sal decides to wander about talking to the crowd and gets counted out. An absolutely abysmal match.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Ernesto Benefico

Very quick squash. Liked the cockiness of Rebel taking Benefico’s legs out and casually slapping his face. Big elbow drop, powerslam and a spinebuster wins it for the Rebel

Johnny Hotbody vs Tommy Cairo

This is billed as a grudge match, so of course they give it less than 5 minutes. Hotbody looks really good in places here, and then absolutely shocking. Loved how he stumbled into Cairo armdrags, made it look really natural as if he was being caught unawares. He also hits a lovely diving elbow from the ring apron to the floor. But then, there’s his superplex. Honestly, it takes so long to get into place that it feels almost inevitable that Cairo will reverse it. They go for the move and it looks like Cairo has reversed to a top rope spinebuster, but no! The commentary, and Cairo’s selling, tells us that Hotbody did indeed hit his superplex. Absolutely dreadful. Cairo rolls up Hotbody, ramming his head into an interfering Chris Candido, and gets the win.

WWE Main Event 06/05/2014

Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler

In typical Ziggler match fashion, there’s good parts of this (the parts where Ziggler doesn’t do much) and some fucking terrible parts (when Ziggler goes on offence). Loved the big Swagger takedowns early on, and there were even moments when you remember that Ziggler used to be a college wrestler, as he looks ok working reversals on the mat. Loved Swagger flinging Ziggler across the ring, sending him over the turnbuckles to the floor – big bump for Ziggler to take on Main Event. Swagger does some fun work on Ziggler’s arm, and I dug him putting Dolph’s hand over his (Swagger’s) chest to do the “We The People” chant. Then Dolph goes on offence…terrible you-can’t-count-along 10 punches in the corner, sloppy fameasser, that abysmal slap-on-the-back DDT. Just awful. Things further fall off a cliff, as Adam Rose comes out for no reason (Swagger has been wrestling cleanly throughout) to bully Zeb Colter on commentary. Literally, Rose and all his Rosebuds come out to swarm Colter, essentially just intimidating a senior citizen for no reason. Swagger, rightly concerned for his manager’s well-being, is distracted, and Ziggler hits the zig-zag to win. First half was decent, but this ended up as utter shit.

Natalya, Cameron & Naomi vs Tamina, Aksana & Alicia Fox

Cameron and Natalya have some tension at the start, based around Cameron losing Nattie’s cat on that week’s episode of Total Divas. Not much to this, though I did like Fox’s big boot to Natalya off a Tamina distraction. Aksana looks pretty bad here, though credit due for fully committing to her missed elbow drop. Naomi comes in with a weird pedigree/piledriver move, which begins with Aksana draped over the ropes, and finishes with a split-legged moonsault. Tamina and Cameron are wisely left out for most of this, but it’s still a bit rubbish.

Goldust vs Curtis Axel

This was the match of the show by some margin. Both guys showed some nice intensity, and I dug Axel’s big running knee. Both guys also seem to have their timing down, as Goldust gets a really convincing nearfall off a jackknife pin when Axel misses a dropkick. This was pretty short, but all enjoyable, and the end sees a nice bit of misdirection. Both were accompanied by their tag partners, and the previous weeks had seen some tension building between Goldust and Cody, based upon Goldust beating people that Cody couldn’t. Here, the action spills to the floor, and it looks like Cody is trying to hit his brother with a Disaster Kick off the barriers, but instead he takes out Ryback who is about to sneak attack Goldie. Back inside, and the Final Cut gives Goldust the win. Dug this.

WWE 205 Live 29/11/2016

The new reboot of the WWE cruiserweight division hasn't exactly set the world on fire on Raw, so I was pleased to learn of the new cruisers-specific show on the Network. There's a number of guys I've liked for a while in the division, and the chance to see weekly Drew Gulak/Noam Dar/Brian Kendrick matches, which are actually given some time, really appealed. So, for as long as I'm motivated to do so, I'm going to try and do a weekly look at this show. The first episode set a good tone for the coming weeks.

The Bollywood Boyz vs Drew Gulak & Tony Nese

Absolutely baffling that they would choose to put the Bollywood Boyz over here. They come across as the most bush-league act in the division – generic gear, generic moveset, generic act. It’s really noticeable against someone like Tony Nese. Nese is naturally more athletic than either Bollywood Boy, but he really tones it down here to avoid overshadowing the face team. Still, it’s him and Gulak who really shine here. Gulak takes control for his team with a massive dropkick, followed by a big slam where he drops his opponent in the ropes. It’s just obvious when watching that Gulak and Nese have better execution. One Boy does hit a decent springboard crossbody to the floor, but when they hit a dodgy double-superkick on Gulak to pick up the win, it feels like the wrong team has won.

Jack Gallagher vs Ariya Daivari

Gallagher’s style is so unique, it pretty much serves to get him over right away, as he ties up Daivari on the mat. The crowd seems fascinated by his abilities, with his fluid movement and innate charisma being summed up by him tying Daivari into a ball, miming kicking him in the arse, then doing so to a big pop. Daivari doesn’t get chance to show much, but I did like his big kneedrop to the back to briefly gain control. Gallagher counters a rolling elbow with an absolutely sick headbutt, before hitting a corner dropkick for the win. A star is born.

Rich Swann vs Brian Kendrick

Really dug this. Both guys drop big bombs early, Kendrick taking Swann down with a big back suplex and Swann hitting a nice tigerbomb. Really liked Swann getting to show off his athleticism by leaping to the ringside barriers and hitting a flip clothesline. Because they gave this match plenty of time, especially in comparison to the cruiserweight matches on Raw, they were able to tell a story, with Kendrick deciding to work over Swann’s neck, after opportunistically finding himself in position to hit a neckbreaker over the metal turnbuckles. Swann beats the count, but a dragon suplex and an attempt at the Captain’s Hook further weaken the neck. A second Captain’s Hook really sees the crowd onside with Swann, and there’s a big pop when he reaches the ropes. Swann kicking out of a top rope Sliced Bread did feel slightly too much – a superpowered version of Kendrick’s finisher on top of an already injured neck should have been enough to win. It does lead to the end, as frustration on Kendrick’s part causes him to rush in, and Swann is able to nail three big head kicks to win and gain the title. Really good main event for the first show.

VII: Fight Forever (16/09/2016)

So, there I was browsing through YouTube, when this little beauty popped up on my recommend section. VII Wrestling carried on the good work of the Shropshire Wrestling Alliance (whose Summer Blowout 2014 I reviewed last year on this very blog), before announcing they'd folded just over a month ago. Obviously, a big shame, especially as their YouTube channel looks to have a host of great matches which I'm looking forward to ploughing through in the coming weeks. This is a full show, with a loaded line-up, and it's an actual treat to watch all the way through. Check out the link at the bottom for the full show.

Wild Boar vs Travis Banks

I’ve heard a lot about Banks, but this was the first I’ve seen of him in ring. Enjoyed what I saw, loved the quick flurry of blows he hit to take advantage early on, dug him taking Boar on a tour of the ring by rolling him around in a bodyscissors to disorientate (with amusing dizzy selling by Boar) and a rolling corner kick looked great. For his part, Boar was reliably good. He’s not the biggest, but his offence always looks like it would hurt. Big forearm shots, nice running slam and a wicked exploder suplex (Boar’s lack of height and stocky frame allows him to get right under his opponent, makes suplexes look really good). The finish was kind of blown, with Banks slipping on the rope for a springboard kick, but this was a good opener.

Chris Brookes vs Drew Parker

Brookes is defending his Young Lions title here. Bell rings, and Brookes’s CCK partner Kid Lykos immediately levels Parker with a weapon for the DQ. Chris Ridgeway makes the save, leading to…

Chris Ridgeway & Drew Parker vs CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos)

Parker immediately kicks off the match, following the Ridgeway tag challenge, by hitting a big flip dive on CCK. I’d not seen Ridgeway until he suddenly hit a few local shows last month, and he was really impressive (as well as his ring music helping me get into Slaves). Was interested to see him work face here, and he looked great, really nice on-point strikes. Parker plays FIP early, which makes sense as he was taken out with a weapon in the original match. Nice teamwork by CCK to get to that point, a Lykos flyingheadscissors landing Parker on the middle rope for a Brookes kick to the temple. Brookes looked fantastic here, all his little bits of offence looked nasty. He drops really sharp kneedrops and did some nasty joint wrenching to the downed Parker. After Ridgeway becomes FIP following an outside trip, Brookes hits these painful looking kidney punches in the corner. Parker is a guy I’d never seen, but his hot tag work was great, firing up the crowd with a springboard dropkick to Lykos and hitting a backwards flip to the outside on Brookes. In fact, this is a really great match, until Lykos brings in his weapon to draw another DQ. Felt like a bit of an anti-climax, stick a finish on this and it’s a great match.

Chuck Mambo vs Isaac Zercher

Zercher attacks Mambo at the bell and doesn’t really look back, flinging his opponent into the corner. He also hits a great capture suplex and a snap Samoan drop, which both look brutal. Mambo’s offence doesn’t look as good, but he’s a really sympathetic seller and his timing on a hope spot superkick is perfect, getting a really effective nearfall. Zercher tries for a second Samoan drop, but gets caught in a Mambo crucifix for the win.

Nixon Newell & Dahlia Black vs Jinny & Sierra Loxton

Interesting contrast, as the opening Nixon/Loxton segment sees them take it to the mat, whereas Black and Jinny go straight to the impact blows as soon as they tag in. Jinny is really good here, manages to get across a really nasty character, but also having the ring chops to back it up. Her catching a boot from Black, swinging it backwards and driving a knee into Black’s face in one swift motion looked vicious. I’d only previously seen Black at the BEW/Stardom show in London, where her and Toni Storm basically got destroyed by Alpha Female and Kairi Hojo for 10 minutes, so I knew she could take an effective beating, and she does the same here, with great rubber-legged selling. A Loxton headbutt looks really nasty the way Black sells it. Newell gets the hot tag, making her entrance with a great missile dropkick, before everything breaks down. Nice to see Black give Jinny a receipt for her beating with a stiff kick before Nixon Rolls The Dice on Loxton to win.

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate

Two long-time favourites here, with Pete defending his heavyweight title against Bate. Dunne’s transformation over the past 12 months has been a revelation, he’s rightly become one of the leading lights in the UK. This match is worked very evenly, with the two almost being portrayed as mirror images of the other. The opening matwork sets the tone, both guys really selling the struggle and working the holds, forcing the other to thing practically about escaping. Bate’s fighting spirit really comes across here, as even when on the mat he finds time to blast Pete in the legs with a few big kicks. They exchange suplexes, in a state of one-upsmanship and showing off, and I love how, even though they both get up after the moves, it takes a bit longer each time, both guys showing the effects. The same happens later as both are worn down, but both try and counter German suplexes, the suplexer holding on partly to hit another and partly to prevent his opponent getting up before them. Bate hits a vicious looking thrust headbutt to send Pete out of the ring to give a moral victory. Loved Pete taking the low road in what had been an even contest by choking Tyler with a towel, and the pair of pump kicks to a kneeling Bate looked on-point. Bate shows his superhuman strength with a Backlund lift to escape a triangle, before Pete rolls him up for two. 15 minutes in, and I hadn’t realised there had been no pin attempt to that point. Bate gives a big airplace spin, but this allows Dunne to quickly roll him up again, this time with feet on the ropes for the win. Excellent match.

ECW Hardcore TV #4 27/04/1993

The Super Destroyers vs Tony Stetson & Larry Winters

The Super Destroyers are supposed to be the monster heels of the tag division, so seeing them selling for the weak offence of the face team is really off-putting. Lots of hiptosses and armdrags to seemingly send these big lads all over the place. We get a bit of heat on Stetson, but his hot tag out sees no reaction from the crowd. Winters hits a nice kneelift and locks in a figure four, but the other Destroyer brings in a cane from manager Hunter Q Robbins III, and we get a DQ. Bad start

The Suicide Blondes vs JT Smith & Tommy Cairo

The Blondes are Johnny Hotbody and Chris Candido. Cairo is a really frustrating character to watch – he can hit some really nice offence, like the swank back suplex he hits in this match, but he seems mentally unable to put together a good match. Here, he does dumb stuff like hold a headlock on Hotbody whilst watching Candido come over and just punch him in the face. He also hits really odd looking armdrags. Loved the diving elbow from the apron to the concrete by Hotbody, looked like a rough landing. Candido was also great here, and the Blondes stooged nicely for some of Cairo’s power offence. The end sees Smith hit a moonsault on Candido, but Hotbody comes off the top rope to the back of Smith’s head to give Candido the easy pin. Not terrible.

Jimmy Snuka & Don Muraco vs The Hellriders

Third tag bout in a row. Muraco wasn’t in great shape here, looked pretty old and fat. Nothingabout this match felt competitive, no sense of struggle from any combatant. Muraco seems to stumble on a discus clothesline attempt, and when he misses a corner charge to allow the tag for the Hellriders, he doesn’t bother with any selling. Muraco hits a tombstone and elevates Snuka onto a Hellrider for the win. Pretty lame.

The Sandman vs Rockin’ Rebel

The only single bout on the show, the only match with back story and a bout for the ECW title…is the only match joined in progress. So stupid. Rebel dominates with some really good clotheslines, including one which belted Sandman in the chin. Sandman takes over with some knees in the corner and a shit facebuster, before Rebel’s manager Tigra gets involved to draw the DQ. Unbelievable waste of time.

WWF Raw 18/04/1994

Bret Hart vs Kwang

Non-title opener to kick things off. Really good little match, especially considering the respective card position of the two. Loved Bret avoiding a corner charge at the last split second, timed to perfection. Bret takes a big spill to the floor to give Kwang control, really heavy landing. Kwang is decent on offence, working in his killer running corner kick and though he slows things with a nerve hold, he at least has the decency to work the shoulders over with some big blows first. Kwang cuts off Bret’s comeback’s nicely with some throat chops that look vicious. Bret sidesteps a back bodydrop attempt, hits a side Russian legsweep and locks in the Sharpshooter for the win.

Jeff Jarrett vs PJ Walker

Love watching these Jarrett squashes. He’s totally in control of his character and knows how to play it into these matches. He’s so cocky, swaggering about after cheapshotting walking, posing after hitting basic moves. Love him doing a little pose before missing an elbow, then getting up angrily to stomp Walker due to his embarrassment. Slingshot suplex is followed by a spike DDT for the win.

The Steiner Brothers vs Mike Khoury & Barry Hardy

Aggressive side of the Steiners shows here, not just because they decimate their opponents, but the manner in which they do it. Big crossfaces thrown by Rick, Scott beating up guys as they try to climb into the ring, just a nastier side shown. Obviously, on top of that, there’s some big bombs thrown. Big Dragon suplex and a top rope Samoan drop by Scott, massive clothesline and a top rope belly-to-belly by Rick. Scott finishes it with a Steiner Screwdriver. Lovely stuff.

Earthquake vs Mike Bell

Bit of comedy to start, as Bell is too short for a test-of-strength, so climbs to the second rope…only for Quake to just throw him off. From there, Quake blasts him with two dropkicks, a slick belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the big splash for the easy win.

IRS vs Major Yates

IRS isn’t a fun squash wrestler. Bit of token leg work to kick things off, followed by some plodding offence. IRS locks in a chinlock, before going back to the injured leg and locking in an STF for the win. Might have been better if he’d focussed his offensive run to concentrate on Yates’ leg, this was pretty dull. 

CHIKARA - Best of UK Tour 2016

This was another great DVD that came in a Wrestlecrate box. They've given away a few DVD's linked with CHIKARA UK tours in the past, and they've always been really fun. This was no exception.

Drew Gulak vs Officer Warren Barksdale

Really great Gulak performance here, as he has a really enjoyable match with a guy  who is very early into his career. The opening mat work was really fun, Barksdale not looking out of place against a more experienced opponent. Gulak locks in this wicked Gory Special, squatting low to the ground to really bend Barksdale. Also love Gulak kicking out of a pinfall and keeping hold of Barksdale, muscling him up into a slam. Barksdale keeps it simple on offence, going for basic impact moves, though his back suplex into a bridging pin was really good. The competitiveness of the match really boosted Barksdale, and the end was really nice. Gulak rolls under a Barksdale leapfrog and grabs the leg upon landing to flip Barksdale over for the pin. Really good stuff.

Hallowicked, Frightmare & the Batiri vs Princess Kimberlee, Heidi Lovelace & the Colony

For the most part, I really enjoyed this, and especially the underlying story that carried the match. After some fun early stuff, with neat Colony double-teams and a goofy 8-way submission, Hallowicked and Kimber Lee end up alone in the ring together. Frightmare takes out two of the technicos team with a big flip dive, and suddenly Kimber Lee finds herself in a 4-on-1 situation. To add to this, she’s defending the CHIKARA championship against Hallowicked in a forthcoming match so, having isolated her, the rudos proceed to work over her leg to weaken her for the upcoming title match. Lovelace is the only technico on the apron, and at one point she’s able to take out enough rudos for Lee to tag out….only for Lee to tag Soldier Ant, who has just got on the apron. Lovelace looks rightly annoyed, which feels like it’s setting up something. In a neat twist on the hot tag, the rudos throw Soldier Ant out of the ring, and drag Lee back in by her bad leg, continuing to work over it. Then, in a moment that feels like it undermines most of what we’ve just seen, Lee pops up and nails a string of German suplexes on the rudos, with each guy eating two. So the beatdown, designed to wear Lee’s leg out for the upcoming title match, wasn’t even enough to stop her being able to reel off a ton of suplexes on guys who all weight more than her, with no effect to the leg she’d be supporting all the weight on? Just feels like a waste. Everything breaks down, with no real hot tag, and there are some nice touches – dug one of the Batriri droptoeholding Lovelace face first into his partners knee, and the match-ending cross-legged DDT Hallowicked hits on Lee is pretty great – but the main meat of the match feels for nought.

Fire Ant vs Ophidian

Really great stuff here, these two worked really well together. Absolutely loved the opening exchanges, some really nice counter wrestling including a one minute period where Fire Ant was trying to prevent an Ophidian cobra clutch, stood up with Ophidian draped around his body, carrying his opponent’s entire bodyweight. Ophidian has some nice looking offence here, hitting two big boots to the head and nailing a nasty looking top rope double-kneedrop. Ophidian is really fluid, but gets caught trying to be too clever with an handstand on the apron, and Ant kicks him to the floor with a 619. A battle on the top rope ends with a super Frankensteiner by Fire Ant. The end sees Ant escape a cobra clutch, and nail a rana and a brainbuster for two, before hitting White Noise for the victory. Loved this.

Heidi Lovelace vs Nixon Newell

Even worked to start, but things heat up quickly following a big Lovelace forearm. Nixon nails her with an enzugiri, almost to prove she wont be backing down from hitting some big impact strikes of her own. Really dug Lovelace elevating herself out of the corner, catching Nixon’s head between her legs and propelling her facefirst into the turnbuckles. Looked really good. Really like how evenly they worked this, as the commentary highlights this is Newell’s CHIKARA debut and by being presented on a par with someone like Lovelace, it makes her look legit right off. Double superkick puts both women down and they get up to exchange some vicious looking blows, and both gets really close falls in the closing straight – Lovelace getting two from the Heidicanrana, and only a foot on the ropes prevent Newell winning via the Welsh Destroyer. A second try is blocked and they exchange roll-ups, with Lovelace getting the deciding fall. 

WWE Main Event 29/04/2014

Goldust vs Alberto Del Rio

Quick little match, but a fun one. Goldust is fired up after ADR beat Cody on the previous Raw, but this costs him as the referee has to separate them in the corner, giving Del Rio an opening. Del Rio keeps control but maybe takes too long to set up a superkick (including taking down his kneepad, which I’m sure doesn’t help a superkick). Goldust blocks and hits a leg screw, before hitting the Final Cut for the unlikely win.

Paige vs Alicia Fox

Pretty heated to start, few nasty sounding strikes on the apron before Paige ranas Fox to the floor. Nice big boot to the face by Fox. Love the two of them really battling over a suplex before Paige turns it into the Rampaige for the win. This was pretty choice.

Bad News Barrett vs Kofi Kingston

Another really quick bout tonight. Loved the superkick to the midsection of Kofi, which lifts him into the air. Kingston is still a guy with floaty light offence that never looks particularly good. The match ends with them outside, with Kingston trying to leap off the steps, only to fly right into a Bullhammer. Barrett rolls him in for the academic pin.

Sheamus vs Bray Wyatt

Wyatt, for all his faults, is a guy unafraid to have a big fight with a guy, and Sheamus is always happy to oblige, so it’s no surprise that this is pretty good. Loved Sheamus just grabbing Wyatt by the beard and punching him in the face. Wyatt’s senton always looks crushing, and I loved him trying a second time, only to land on Sheamus’ knees. Sheamus was fired up here, with a running knee into the corner having so much momentum he flew out onto the apron. Sheamus gets a few close nearfalls from White Noise and the Irish Curse, but with Wyatt due to face Cena at the next PPV, he was always going to win here. The end sees Sheamus try to Brogue Kick an interfering Luke Harper from the apron, only to get caught up on the top rope and Sister Abigail finishes. Great match.

WWE True Giants - Disk One

As a fan of the Big Lads of pro-wrestling, this was a really great 3 disk collection put out last year. The documentary part was really fun, and then 2 disks were just made up of some really interesting looking matches. This is the first disk, with the other one hopefully coming up later this week.

Bruno Sammartino vs Ernie Ladd

Pretty enjoyable match for the most part, with Ladd working a load of fun cheating into the match. They establish before the bell rings that Ladd has a thumb weapon hidden on his person that you know will come into play at some point. Really liked Ladd’s sense of positioning, using his long legs to put his feet on the ropes when applying a bearhug to Bruno, and constantly circling whilst choking Bruno to prevent the referee seeing what he’s doing. Bruno makes a comeback, and Ladd bumps big for him, seesawing himself in the ropes. Ladd retrieves his weapon and uses it to take advantage again. Ladd hits some weak looking shoulderblocks, but his big legdrop looks as good as ever. Ladd misses a top rope splash, however, and that’s good enough for the pin for Sammartino.

Gorilla Monsoon vs Superstar Billy Graham

I can only assume they didn’t have many Monsoon matches in the archives, as this is pretty poor. Shame, as it starts off really well. Graham tries to knock Monsoon down, with Monsoon barely reacting. Suddenly, Monsoon explodes with his own shoulderblock to down Graham, quickly locks on a giant swing and then blasts Graham with a splash, with only the ropes saving Superstar. So great, it just came out of nowhere and suddenly Graham was nearly done. From then on, it’s all Superstar. He takes control with a low blow and applies two back-to-back bearhugs on Monsoon. He continues working the lower back, ramming Monsoon into the railings outside then hits a top rope kneedrop for the anticlimactic win (with Monsoon’s feet clearly in the ropes). Graham’s control was pretty dull and this went rapidly downhill after the fun opening.

Haystacks Calhoun vs Nikolai Volkoff

Very quick match. Some basic brawling to start, before Calhoun traps Volkoff in the corner and splashes him. Volkoff misses a knee charge and gets splashed for the win. Nothing to this.

Ernie Ladd vs Kerry von Erich

Bit scrappy this one, I’ve seen better from these two. There’s just too many moments where it feels like they aren’t on the same page, and have to slow it down to reset. That said, there were good things here too. Ladd is so good at using his size to immediately reach for the ropes when Von Erich puts any hold on him, and I love little things like shaking his own hand after a chop because he hit Kerry so hard. Kerry wears the Big Cat down by ramming his head into the turnbuckles, with Ladd slowly going down to a knee and getting rammed into the middle buckles. Ladd takes over with a foreign object, just as in the Bruno match, but there’s some fun turnabout as Kerry grabs the fist and causes Ladd to hit himself instead. These moments just make it more frustrating when things go off the rails again, before Kerry wins with a sloppy top rope sunset flip.

Ernie Ladd & the Wild Samoans vs Andre The Giant, Dusty Rhodes & Junkyard Dog

This is a really quick sprint, but it’s a load of fun. It’s not pretty, but they work a high tempo and keep the tags quick enough to maintain that pace. Loved the heels trying to isolate Andre in their corner, only for him to free himself, dragging Ladd and one of the Samoans with him as he gets to his own corner. The heels find it hard to gain any traction, until Ladd breaks an Andre pin with a legdrop, and the Samoans slam Andre. Things quickly break down and Andre is able to hit a 2^nd rope splash on Ladd for the win.

King Kong Bundy vs Dusty Rhodes

Two big boys colliding here. Dusty outpaces Bundy to start, peppering him with punches. Dusty gets huge reactions just by teasing the elbow. Bundy works a bearhug, which is fun as they pepper in fun comebacks for Dusty. Dusty elbows his way to freedom and peppers Bundy’s head with more elbows, busting him open. This cues up One Man Gang to enter and draw the DQ ending. Fun match

Hulk Hogan vs Big John Studd

This seems to be right at the start of Bobby Heenan’s WWF run, with Gene Okerlund and Monsoon basically introducing him to the audience with their commentary. Hogan is so great in this match, all fired up and ready to fight. He absolutely nails Studd with a running back elbow in the corner, which looks great. Studd takes over after blocking a slam, and he’s really not a fun offensive wrestler. Just methodical clubbing blows. Hogan bleeds nastily, with blood smearing the ring apron and his white trunks, and this seems to fire him up. Hogan’s angry attack is great, but they end up fighting outside the ring, with Heenan pushing Studd back in to beat the count at Hogan’s expense. This was the best Studd match I’ve seen, and that’s because Hogan brought the fire.

Kamala vs Andre The Giant

This is a cage match, and is exceptionally tedious. The start is fine, with Andre ramming Kamala into the cage causing Kamala to want to find a way out quickly. He does manage to overwhelm Andre and nail a splash, but tries for a pin due to not knowing the rules. We then endure a LOOOOOONG stretch of Kamala chopping and choking Andre, trying to escape, Andre grabbing his foot, repeat ad infinitum. This is finally broken by Andre grabbing Kamala and choking him out, slamming him and nailing a top rope buttdrop before escaping. This was terrible.

One Man Gang vs Shawn Michaels

Complete squash. Gang clubs Michaels to the floor, hits a big clothesline and powerslam in the ring and finishes with the 747

The British Bulldogs vs King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd

Same match as from the Bulldogs’ VHS I wrote about 5 years ago. Decent little match, with the Bulldogs using speed and superior double-teaming to control early on, but suffering as soon as Bundy isolates Davey Boy. Bundy is clearly better than Studd, with his offence looking far more painful and moving with more speed. Bit of a cheap ending as Dynamite Kid suddenly runs in, locking on a sleeper that looks like he’s pulling Studd’s head off, and we get a DQ win for the Bulldogs as Studd pushes the referee over. This was fine.

One Man Gang vs Ted DiBiase

Really liked DiBiase here, showed great babyface fire. Gang was the perfect foil, not only having good control and convincingly wearing DiBiase down, but also allowing for well timed openings on DiBiase’s comebacks. A missed elbow by Gang shakes the ring, and I loved how DiBiase keeps moving wherever possible. Gang misses the 747, and DiBiase tries a figure four. Gang’s leg strength sends Ted into the ropes, where he bumps heads with Skandor Akbar, the Gang’s manager. DiBiase is out, and Gang hits the 747 to the back, before hitting one from the second rope to confirm the pinfall victory. Really dug this.

Andre The Giant vs Randy Savage

This is for Savage’s WWF title. Some fun hullaballoo to start, with the ref sending Bobby Heenan to the back. Andre sneak attacks to start, hitting a big headbutt to send Savage to the floor. Even better, when Savage is on the apron, he hits a massive chop to bring Savage back into the ring. Loved Savage’s comeback where he just runs right by a big boot and hits a clothesline to tie Andre up in the ropes. Andre frees an arm and one chop is enough to stagger Savage, playing up Andre’s size advantage. Savage goes up and hits the double-axe handle, but misses the top rope elbow (with terrible camera work missing the whole thing). Andre goes to the floor and tries to grab Elizabeth, leading to a brawl and double count out. Disappointing ending. The post-match is pretty wild, with Andre grabbing the belt and roughing up the referee, demanding to be declared champion. Andre stands alone in the ring with the title to round out this disk.

JCW Slam TV #6

Regular readers might have noticed at the start of the year, I reviewed several episodes of JCW's Slam TV, but stopped abruptly. The reason for this is simple...I lost the second disc of the 4-disc set. Anyway, with 6 months passed, I'm just going to plough on with disc 3. Thankfully, we only lose 2 episodes from the second disc, so we're back on the JCW reviews all the way to the climactic Westside Wars.

2 Tuff Tony vs Mad Man Pondo

There’s elements of this which I like and elements I hate. It featured too many “disfiguring” spots, moments where Pondo is jamming a blade into Tony’s forehead, or holding the blade of some scissors over his head. Moves that are never going to lead to a pin and just come off a bit ghoulish. But when these two leave that shit behind, it was quite fun. Both guys looked good just slugging out with punches on the other, and I loved Pondo’s tumbling leg lariat from the top to a seated Tony. Just a fat man falling on top of you, sending you through a chair. Liked Tony’s top rope rana which sent Pondo onto a barbed wire bat. The end was weak, as Tony ducks a clothesline and hits a Tony Driver onto a chair. Rather than pin Pondo, Tony instead lights his fist and hits the Meteorite, but again doesn’t cover. Instead, he poses on the ropes, allowing Tracy Smothers in to demolish him for the DQ. Makes no logical sense for Tony not to try a pin after two certain finishers. That said, the Smothers beatdown is a lot of fun.

NOSAWA vs Necro Butcher

Necro is escorted to the ring by Pondo, so wisely throws NOSAWA outside at the earliest opportunity, allowing Pondo to attack on the outside. Necro just looks like a guy who knows exactly how to hurt someone, clawing at NOSAWA’s face like an angry bear. Loved Necro stopping a comeback by jamming his shoulder into NOSAWA’s junk as he attempted a shining wizard. Necro retains control, but NOSAWA blocks an attempted suplex onto a chair and gets a small package for the win. Short, but decent thanks to Necro’s control

I-Generation Wrestling: Rodman Down Under

This is a one-off PPV filmed in Australia in the year 2000, headlined by Curt Hennig and basketball player Dennis Rodman. This used to be shown on the Wrestling Channel in the UK on a semi-regular basis 8 years ago, so I've got fond memories of it, despite a lot of it being terrible. The version I'm reviewing is sadly the German commentary version available on YouTube, so I'm not totally clear on the rules in all the matches.

The Public Enemy vs the Legion of Doom

This is for the tag titles held by the PE, and is a double-elimination table match. Rocco Rock looks to be in decent shape, which puts him ahead of the other competitors in the bout. He takes a nice 360 clotheslines bump early as if to highlight this point. In contrast, Hawk hits a diving shoulderblock which sees him barely leave the mat. The key issue with this match is that everyone seems to move in a hesitant slow motion, making everything seem tentative and fake. Guys seem to be bumping gingerly. I know you aren’t supposed to get hurt on bumps, but the audience is at least supposed to believe you are. The Enemy work heat on Animal, before isolating Hawk off the hot tag. Rock hits a nice flip dive through a table to eliminate Hawk, but an attempt on Animal sees him move, causing Rock to take a nasty landing. Back in the ring, an awkward series of events sees Animal “spear” both members of the PE through a table in the corner (with Grunge tottering backwards embarrassingly) to win the match. Rock looked decent here, the rest were clumsy and inept at best.

Brute Force vs the Barbarian

This is a hardcore match. Brute Force is Brutus Beefcake under a non-copyrighted name. Brutus attacks Barbarian from the bell with a bin and attempts to choke him out with a broom, but a low blow turns the tide in Barbarian’s favour. Barbarian isn’t afraid to lace in the chops in the corner. They brawl outside the ring, culminating in a clumsy spot when Barb seems to give Brutus an atomic drop using the guard rail. That’d be a great spot if it was intentional, but it doesn’t feel like that’s the case. Really, this match is just two guys hitting each other with weapons, with control alternating back and forth at random. Still, fair play to Brutus who really does his part in keeping the crowd into the match, really works the audience. Beefcake gets a series of 2 counts, first off a terrible looking stunner, then off a DDT and a piledriver. I suspect the English commentary would attribute this to the Barbarian’s “hard head”. Beefcake tries a bin shot from the top rope, but as he leaps, Barb boots the bin lid into his face for the three count. Not a great match.

Sweet Destiny vs Brandi Wine

Destiny is accompanied by Australian boxer Joe Bugner, whilst Wine has a short-haired Typhoon, going under the name Sugar Daddy. Destiny is (slightly) better known as Little Jeanne of “feuding with Molly Holly on WCW Saturday Night in 99/2000” fame. She was always a decent worker in those matches, and this is the best match of the night so far. It’s not always pretty – Destiny kinda only glances Brandi with a top rope crossbody – but both girls work hard and take some nice looking bumps. Destiny takes the best looking bump, landing in the railings with some real oomph. Wine hits a poor looking powerbomb, but Destiny’s handspring rana is pretty choice. We get the inevitable face-off between Bugner and Typhoon in the ring, ending with Bugner nailing a straight punch to the face, before Destiny hits a top rope superplex to win. Good enough.

One Man Gang vs Tatanka

Tatanka is defending the “International title” here. This match is strange, in that there’s nothing technically wrong with it, but it’s a deeply uninteresting match. Which is odd, as I really like both guys. OMG in particular works hard to make this good, jawing with the crowd and drawing great heat, causing a deluge of rubbish to be hurled into the ring at one point. Heck, he even takes a big bump by getting slammed off the top rope, which I didn’t expect from year 2000 One Man Gang. For his part, Tatanka throws some nice chops and sells OMG’s offence well, but this match just drags on. It’s almost 20 minutes, which is an insane length for OMG in 2000. If this had been condensed down by even 5 minutes, this could have been really fun. As it is, we sit through a slow match to get a bullshit ending. Tatanka gets a visual pin on Gang following a top rope chop, but the ref has already been bumped. As Tatanka checks on him, Gang pulls out some brass knucks (making sure to raise them high for all the crowd to see, nice touch) and punches him out to win the title.

Curt Hennig vs Dennis Rodman

Hennig is working face here, defending the I Generation world title in a street fight. Rodman doesn’t get much offence in here, believably, but he does win me over with his effort. Rodman cheap shots Hennig from behind to start, and busts him open with the belt, which is a realistic way for a non-wrestler to take over on someone like Hennig. This doesn’t last long, before Hennig is in control and works him over outside. Rodman takes an impressive bump, getting hurled over the Australian announce table, before Henning drives him through it face-first. Back in the ring, Henning stomps on Rodman’s cock, before locking in a camel clutch (only actual wrestling hold of the match) and laying in some big chops in the corner. Rodman strangely escapes from the corner by giving the ref a headbutt, and after another tussle with Hennig, throws the recovered ref from the ring. This prompts a bullshit DQ finish in the street fight main event of a one-off PPV, but I guess both guys were supposed to be protected by it. Not a great match, but strangely entertaining up to that point, despite it being worked as an extended squash for Hennig. Probably still match of the night.

ECW Hardcore TV #3 20/04/1993

The Super Destroyers vs The Wolfman & Super Ninja

Really basic squash here. Wolfman, despite the name, is just a fat guy in jeans. One Destroyer does hit a nice enzuigiri, but then barely gets Wolfman up for a slam. Super Ninja doesn’t fare much better and gets pinned following a senton. Nothing to this.

Jimmy Snuka vs Tommy Cairo

This isn’t much better. Short match with Cairo working a headlock for a long time to start. Not in the fun way, where Mike Quackenbush can work five minutes of schtick around frustrating his opponent with a headlock, just Cairo holding a headlock for a long time. Cairo barely stays down for a piledriver, before a ref bump sees Johnny Hotbody interfere, laying out Cairo with a weapon to allow the Superfly splash to win.

Eddie Gilbert vs Glenn Osbourne

Gilbert decides to go for smoke and mirrors to make this bout work. Lots of fighting outside the ring to start, making it hilarious to hear ECW commentators bemoaning the use of a table as “not wrestling”. Gilbert is clearly holding Osbourne’s hand through this to make it interesting. Osbourne works a weak comeback, with a milky clothesline, before Gilbert pins him after a brass-knucks blow. Commentator Jay Sulli informs the referee however, and the ref reverses the decision after finding them in Gilbert’s tights. This leads to Snuka vs Osbourne for the TV title tonight, as if we need another Osbourne bout.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Frank Cody

Squash, after Rebel flies into a rage when Sandman’s valet Peaches gives him a slap instead of a kiss. Barely 30 seconds, though I liked Rebel’s match-winning spinebuster.

Glenn Osbourne vs Jimmy Snuka

Yeah, this really isn’t great. Osbourne can barely hit a hiptoss on Snuka. There’s a terrible ref bump, as Snuka has to guide Osbourne round to get into position to be pushed into the ref, and Gilbert returns to break up a pin, leaving Osbourne prone to the Superfly splash to win the ECW TV title for Snuka. Really poor.

CHIKARA Pick Up Or Delivery 2004

Jolly Roger vs Darkness Crabtree

This is the best I’ve seen Roger look so far, and he takes a nasty bump to the unpadded floor to further impress. Crabtree’s old man gimmick actually enhances the match as it means he has to use basic heel offence. Rather than hitting a load of moves like the terrible Rorschach match the previous month, Crabtree uses chokes and back rakes, giving Roger something to fight back from. A rana ends a quick bout for Roger, and I didn’t hate this.

Ash vs Cady 45

These two are from the Squared Circle promotion from Canada. Unlike the previous month, where Sabian and Joker came in and totally stole the show, these two are a bit less impressive. They kick off with a competently worked series of counters and armdrags, which suggests these two work together regularly. Cady seems to botch a flip dropkick in the corner, and Ash, to his credit, instantly pounces to take control. Ash’s heel control is pretty decent, liked his running punt to the ribs and little touches like grinding his forearm into the back of Cady’s head. Cady doesn’t offer much, apart from jumping really high on a Rough Ryder. Ash rolls through a crossbody and grabs a handful of tights for the win.

Sabian & Joker vs Ultramantis & Mr ZERO

Joker and ZERO kick this off with a really fun mat section, and I dug them battling for superiority for a headlock. Ultramantis and Sabian were a bit less smooth, with some move chaining looking a little clunky. The key story point of the match sees Ultramantis put a submission hold on Sabian, but ZERO comes in to show him something in a newspaper, which costs Ultramantis the submission. The CZW boys attack and take over on ZERO. Some nasty looking running kicks in the corner. There are a couple of moments of miscommunication, but the heat on ZERO is suitably nasty. Just horrible little touches like Joker trying to bite ZERO’s mask off, or Sabian picking his nose and rubbing it on the painted mouth of ZERO. Just stuff that makes you want to see ZERO make the hot tag. He finally gets it….only for Ultramantis to turn on him with a snapmere driver and leave him prone for a Sabian senton for the win. This was the birth of Ultramantis Black and, though the turn was obvious given the tension between the two, it was still well executed.

Hallowicked vs Shane Storm

This is the weakest match on the show, and it took me 3 goes not to fall asleep when watching it. Hallowicked tries, but Storm is really green (think this was his second match). His timing is off on a corner charge and though Hallowicked hits a nice big boot to the head, this isn’t great. The end sees Hallowicked miss a swanton and Storm hits a shitty Emerald Frosion to win.

Hornet vs Extremo

Two more Squared Circle guys. Extremo is in decent shape, but Hornet looks so bushleague, even down to his stupid tights. This is just a match, nothing terrible but nothing great either. I liked Extremo ducking a crossbody by arching backwards and Hornet did an interesting hiptoss into an armbar. On the other hand, Hornet takes a terribly rehearsed tumble over the top on a missed corner charge, and Extremo barely touches Hornet on a moonsault. The end sees Extremo win with a victory roll.

The Wildcards vs Gran Akuma & Icarus

This is no DQ, triggered by the Wildcards stealing Akuma’s mask previously. This doesn’t go long, but is plenty of fun. Kingston throws some meaty looking forearms, and I love the fact they unmask Akuma for the second time, which leaves him on the floor covering his face. This means the Wildcards can isolate Icarus in the ring, beating him 2-on-1. Mike Quackenbush rushes out to bring Akuma another mask, and he returns to the ring a house on fire. This doesn’t last long, before Kingston kicks him in the back as he tries a suplex, causing Marciano to land on top for the Wildcards win. This in turn triggers another huge brawl that goes all around the venue and sees the Wildcards thrown out through the side door. Fun stuff all round.

Phantasmo vs DJ Skittlez

This was pretty rough, as neither guy is much cop in the ring. Phantasmo is billed as a luchador, but is so totally unlucha, bar his wearing a mask. Skittlez does seem to be incredibly strong, but doesn’t do anything with it. I did like Skittlez hitting a big suicide dive, but the most memorable thing about the match is Phantasmo somehow losing his mask as he tries to put Skittlez on the top rope, and the match awkwardly stopping as he puts it back on. The end sees Phantasmo casually walk out of the way of a corner charge, but get caught with a Skittlez backslide for the win.

Mike Quackenbush vs Jigsaw

This is a lumberjack match, with 5 of Quack’s titles on the line. Really enjoyed this, thought Quack was terrific and worked a really good match with a guy who’s decent but still green. For his part, Jigsaw held up his end well, but you know he probably wouldn’t be able to have a match this good with someone who isn’t on Quack’s level. Loved the early mat stuff, with Quack finding quirky new ways to apply a headlock, just to show his superiority. Nice to see Jigsaw not looking outclassed as Quackenbush starts to up the pace. Jigsaw has looked a step above the other CHIKARA students in previous shows, and you suspect the others wouldn’t be able to keep this looking competitive. Dug the fun use of the lumberjack stip, as Jigsaw pushes Quack off the apron, only for the lumberjacks to catch him and bounce him back into the ring ready to fight. Quack logically shouldn’t be giving up large parts of a match to a rookie wrestler he’s trained, so him clotheslining the ringpost gives a realistic opening for Jigsaw to attack and take control. All Jigsaw’s armwork looks good too, and it plays into his control as he uses it as a shortcut to stop Quack’s comebacks, and it helps him escape when Quack can’t support his weight on lifts. The end sees Quack finally lift Jigsaw and hit a cross-legged tombstone, only for the Wildcards to return and cause a DQ. Really good match, and real proof of how good Quack was as a wrestler.

WWF Raw 11/4/1994

Diesel vs Virgil

I had so few expectations for this match, so I was pretty pleased to see Diesel properly go at Virgil with some aggression at the start of the match. Also enjoyed Virgil’s armwork when he took control. Against Jeff Jarrett a few weeks earlier, he’d been content to just hold Jarrett by the wrist, but here he did some fun little bits, twisting it over the ropes and hitting a top rope ax handle to the shoulder. Of course, from there it all goes to shit, as Diesel slows things down, locking in THREE separate bear hugs. Virgil makes a brief spirited comeback but it gets ended by a big boot and a Jackknife for the win.

Thurman “Sparky” Plugg vs Barry Horowitz

Fairly pointless match, highlighted by the commentary team ignoring it for its entire runtime in favour of a chat with Mr Perfect. This was fairly enjoyable, though it’s odd that Horowitz had the best looking move of the match with a nice inverted DDT. The future Bob Holly was fairly pedestrian here, before winning with a top rope kneedrop.

The Quebecers vs Men On A Mission

This match was the result of an audience phone in, where the viewers could pick MoM, the Bushwhackers or the Smoking Gunns for this title match. They could have voted better, but then they could also have voted worse. This was a bit of a mess, to be honest, not aided by some overly fussy refereeing by Earl Hebner. It really hurt the match from as his insistence on clearing everyone from the ring hindered the drama on the nearfalls. I did enjoy some of this, largely due to the Quebecers. Loved Jacques’ intelligence as he eyepoked big Mabel and kept kicking at his legs to try and knock down the redwood, and there were some nice Quebecer double teams – a double stungun on Mo and a nice rocket launcher shoulder block that sent Pierre hurtling at Mabel from the top rope. Mabel had some fun fat guy offence, but Mo stinks as usual and the aforementioned Hebner refereeing prevent this from being a good bout. The Quebecers picked up the win with the assisted cannonball.