All Star Wrestling 03/10/14

Browsing through YouTube the other day, I realised there were loads of full wrestling shows put legally online, just waiting for two-bit bloggers like me to review them. I found this show, put online by Dean Allmark himself, with Jushin Liger making a rare appearance for All Star Wrestling. I've even linked to the show at the bottom of the page. Consider it an interactive review, or something

Andy Simmons vs JD Bryant

It feels like a long time since Simmons was the butler for the Duke of Danger in the team Hampton Court. Here, he’s just normal wrestler Andy Simmons, facing a guy in Bryant who is using “Yes” chants to get himself
over. This was a fun opener, really liked the early part with them fighting over an armbar. Simmons thinks he’s escaped, then runs into an armdrag and is trapped again. I also dug Simmons high impact knee to the stomach, and the way Bryant countered a second attempt with a rollup. I kinda wish Bryant would spend more time selling and less time clapping when hit by a move. The end seems Simmons rush the corner and get hit with a second rope dropkick for the win.
 

David Finlay vs Danny Collins

Good  to note that Collins still looks in surprisingly decent shape, and he cuts a promo referencing his battles with Finlay’s dad by saying he’s going to take out revenge for all the blood he shed. Collins works this as the grizzled veteran grounding young Finlay. I did love the way Collins disingenuously offered a handshake
only after getting dropkicked down by Finlay. Collins again shows his veteran smarts after getting a public warning for dropping Finlay throat first on the ropes by concentracting his attack on the neck and shoulders. Love the way he uses the ring apron as a weapon. Finlay looks promising, but shows his inexperience when
he has to make comebacks: they always start off fired up, but within a few moves he’s locking in a chinlock. He does get a really nice nearfall from a sunset flip, which I nearly bought. We start getting time limit countdowns,
which kinda telegraph the finish. Indeed, we get to the final minute and, despite a few frantic pin attempts by Finlay, we get a draw. Both men shake hands afterwards, and I enjoyed this. Collins looked great and Finlay, though green, showed promise.

Thunder vs Dean Allmark

Thunder is the son of Coventry’s own World of Sport representative Tony “Banger” Walsh. There is a contrast in size and strength here, with Thunder being considerably bigger. He hiptosses Allmark like he’s trying to
drill him through the mat. His selling is a bit suspect though, responding to an Allmark dropkick by wobbling like a drunk man slipping on a banana skin. Allmark hits a lovely springboard moonsault for two. The end comes rather too quickly, as Allmark goes to the top rope, only for Thunder to shove the ref into the ropes, crotching Deano. A superplex gets the win for Thunder.

Joel Redman vs Justin Star

I love the way that Redman is still announced as a WWE star (as opposed to “former WWE star”). I’ve not seen Star before, and he does things I like and stuff I dislike. He does some fun stooging on defence, especially when Redman is outsmarting him in the early stages, and he does show impressive strength to catch Redman from a crossbody. However, his strikes are both weak-looking and over-exaggerated and there are a few moments in the match which don’t make sense. For example, despite having worn Redman down and being in control of the match, he allows Redman to wander around outside the ring to recover. When Redman tries to enter, Star punches him, breaking the count and giving Redman more time to recover. Redman is a really fun offensive wrestler, so it’s not for the best that he spends most of the match selling, but his comeback is really good and he gets the win with a big spinebuster and a superkick.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs Robbie Dynamite

This is slightly surreal, watching Jushin Liger wrestle in front of the family-orientated All Star crowd, a lot of whom will have no idea who he is. They work a really fun mat section to start off with Liger having a slight (but only slight) advantage, annoying Dynamite. Dynamite resorts to strikes, but gets sent out and nailed with a Liger cannonball from the apron. Liger isn’t phoning this one in. Dynamite catches him coming off the ropes and cradles him up into a Falcon Arrow in one slick movement. Looked great. Dynamite works him over, but Liger comes back with a palm strike and a Koppo kick from the corner. Dynamite gets knees up on a top rope splash and hits a stomach-buster, which I love, concentrating his attack on the same area. Dynamite takes a risk, which backfires as he misses a plancha. Liger hits a top rope rana for two, then a palm strike and brainbuster for three. Really good match. Liger put in a good shift here, when he could easily have gotten away with phoning it in, and Dynamite looked his equal in defeat. Really great.

WCW SuperBrawl II 1992

Time to continue with my (slowly-moving) WCW 1992 project. This is the first time I've seen this show (WCW PPV's didn't get any UK broadcasts in the day), so I'm looking forward to this immensely. A great commentary team of Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura do a really good job here too...

 

Brian Pillman vs Jushin Thunder Liger

Really great choice of opener to pump up the crowd. They didn’t really seem aware of Liger before the bout, but this crowd soon were going nuts for the action, pretty much from the moment Liger hit a graceful moonsault press to Pillman. I loved the struggle for Liger’s surfboard, which Pillman evaded twice – really put the move over as a threat. Liger works over Pillman’s legs following a missed knee charge in the corner, with a figure four causing real damage. Pillman is thrown to the floor, with Liger hitting a great rolling cannonball from the top. If I’ve one real issue, it’s that Pillman was barely able to stand from the figure four, and this was even before getting hit with the cannonball, yet right away he comes back with a springboard clothesline, showing no ill effects from either Liger move. I do like the way that PIllman ramps up his aggressive streak from this point, suplexing Liger to the floor and hitting a big dive from the top. This builds to the finishing stretch, which sees a number of very close nearfalls, with a Liger German suplex being the most convincing. However, Liger misses a top rope headbutt, and Pillman rolls him up with a bridging pin for three.

Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs Taylor Made Man

The Taylor Made Man really was a totally unsubtle Million Dollar Man rip-off, even down to the tuxedo with a gold trim he wears to the ring here. Bagwell is still played up as a rookie, but despite a few flubs on landings and reversals, he looks good here. Bagwell is mainly selling, as the veteran Taylor controls most of the bout after suckering Bagwell in and throwing him through the ropes. Loved the big gutwrench powerbomb from Taylor, and he hits a great top rope splash for two. The end sees an over-cocky Taylor getting rolled up for three, and I loved how Bagwell’s celebratory momentum sees him fired off the ropes and into a Taylor forearm for a post-match beatdown. Decent bout.

Ron Simmons vs Cactus Jack

Fun power sprint. I love the energy Simmons shows from the start, he just moves exceptionally well in the ring. Jack takes a nutty bump early, catching his neck in the ropes after diving through them. Momentum changes to Jack’s favour as he hits the double arm DDT, but it’s not a finisher yet, so he doesn’t bother pinning him. Big diving elbow to the floor by Cactus looks nasty. Simmons takes a bg bump, missing a 3-point stance and flying through the ropes onto the ramp, but he quickly rebounds to hit a vicious looking spinebuster onto the ramp. Back inside, Simmons catches Cactus from the second rope with a powerslam for three. Really enjoyed this.

Van Hammer & Tom Zenk vs Richard Morton & Vinnie Vegas

Good to see the Patron Saint of this blog, Tom Zenk, in action. Ventura gets in a few choice barbs on commentary, saying every Vinnie he knows wears bad suits, and in a jibe at the WBF, says no-one makes money on bodybuilding…”even Vinnie knows that”. The opening Vegas/Hammer section is pretty dull, Hammer looks a bit lost at times and Vegas isn’t the man to carry him. In contrast, Zenk and Morton work really well together, with a fun Zenk pescado leading to him hiptossing Morton on the floor in a heavy bump. Hammer becomes face-in-peril, and I did enjoy the heel double-teaming, with Morton directing traffic by holding Hammer in place for Vegas’ offence. The double-teams are basic, but effective. Zenk gets the hot tag, and looks great coming in, hitting a swank bodyslam on Morton for two, before pinning him with a sunset flip out of the corner. This was fine.

Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Steve Austin & Larry Zbyszko

Zbyszko had famously broken Windham’s hand by slamming it with a car door at Halloween Havoc 91, giving him the “Cruncher” nickname that Ventura loves to repeat on commentary. We get a melee to start, and I loved Windham dominating Austin only to throw him to the corner to tag Larry in. Windham looks great here, nailing Zbyszko with a sweet lariat and a fucking great DDT. It takes some interference by Austin throwing Windham over the top rope to finally give Zbyszko some respite, and Windham promptly hurls himself outside again with a missed lariat. Windham making sure his fingers are tightly locked before breaking a sleeper with a chinbreaker is great attention to detail. The heels then work a fun heat section on Rhodes, with Austin managing to repeatedly cut off Rhodes with clotheslines. It’s therefore fun when Dustin is finally able to avoid one by ducking and nailing a stungun instead. Windham comes off the top with a big lariat for the win. Predictably fun tag bout.

The Steiner Brothers vs Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton

The second of three consecutive Dangerous Alliance matches, this time for Eaton/Anderson’s tag titles. This is a match of high impact moves, not just by the Steiners, but also from Eaton and Anderson. Steiners dominate early with a lovely overhead belly-to-belly on Eaton, followed by a sick looking tilt-a-whirl slam on the entrance ramp. The Alliance basically have to withstand this barrage until Eaton hits a mid-air low blow on Rick, as he attempts the top rope bulldog. This doesn’t last too long, as Scott is soon tagged in, and I love the desperation of Arn having to sacrifice his partner by ramming Scott’s head into Eaton’s just to get a sustained control. The Alliance have some great looking offence here: Anderson nails a great DDT and, in a sweet spot, Eaton gets thrown from the top rope onto the rampway with a Rocket Launcher splash. Rick gets the hot tag, and a fantastic nearfall when he slams Eaton on a Doomsday Device attempt. After all this, it makes sense that the DA need a cheap ending to retain their titles. After Anderson blinds him with powder, Rick hits a big suplex on the referee. Scott hits a Frankensteiner on Eaton, which is counted for 3 by a replacement ref, but the original ref recovers to disqualify the Steiners and keep the titles with the Alliance. One of the rare times I’d describe a fuck-ending as great, but I thought it fit the match perfectly. Really enjoyed this.

“Ravishing” Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat

This is for Rude’s US title, with Paul E Dangerously and Madusa banned from ringside. Steamboat is still allowed to be accompanied by his ninja though. I reviewed this same pairing earlier this year in the Royal Rumble 88 review, but this is light-years ahead. For example, both matches feature lengthy periods of Steamboat working the arm, but this time he mixes up the offence, clanging Rude’s arm around the ringpost. He also uses the arm as a focal point for comebacks, kicking Rude there in order to escape a barrage in the corner. Rude sells it really well too, hanging limply on his offensive runs. He twice instinctively hits clotheslines with the arm, but makes sure to sell the pain, and on the third clothesline he swaps arm. Love that stuff. Rude works the neck of Steamboat with a piledriver and spinning neckbreaker, which obviously sets up the Rude Awakening. Rude’s big mistake here is making soft covers which aren’t going to get him the win. It gets a little rest-holdy towards the end, with Rude locking in a camel clutch and two chinlocks, but Steamboat makes a fun comeback, with a great diving clothesline to a seated Rude. Second cheap ending in a row is a little disappointing though, as Steamboat gets whacked in the head by his ninja, suspiciously holding a Paul E-esque mobile phone, which gives Rude the win. A post-match segment sees Missy Hyatt go to Rude’s locker room, accidentally revealing Paul E indeed being the ninja.

Sting vs Lex Luger

This is for Luger’s world title, and you can tell Ross and Ventura know Luger is leaving soon. Luger had used all the dates on his WCW contract and had barely worked in 1992, and they’re all over him, pointing out how he lacked ring fitness and how he was sweating far more than Sting. Despite this, we had a pretty high tempo opening. Loved Sting hitting the Stinger splash, but Luger rebounding out of the corner with a big clothesline. Massive German suplex by Sting, which looked great. Sting always brought great energy around this time, and I loved his high leap to get more elevation on a leaping DDT. Luger hits the piledriver, but Sting kicks out at two. Sting makes a great fired-up comeback, starting off with some dazed blows, but getting more and more worked up with each blow that connects. Sting flies over the top rope, and Harley Race goes to piledriver him on the floor. Sting reverse and backdrops Race onto the floor. Luger doesn’t know about this, and turns around straight into a Sting top rope crossbody for the win. Really fun match, good logical ending and a massive pop for the new champion. No complaints here.

Kaientai Dojo 20/08/2012

Kotaro Nasu vs Ayumu Honda

Pretty fun opener. Honda is pretty slight, but he gets an early advantage by locking a cross armbreaker on early, which Nasu sells really well. Nasu even sells the pain while on offence, while Honda uses it as a focal point to regain control when Nasu rallies. I really liked Honda being disorientated following a roll-up, which allowed Nasu to hit a Shining Wizard for two. There’s a great fight over a second crossarmbreaker, before Nasu gets a two count following a big punt. A back suplex gets the win for Nasu. 

YOSHIYA, Saburo Inematsu, Boso Boy Raito & Bambi vs Ricky Fuji, Toshima Pacquaio, Jonathon Bader & Miss Mongol

Utterly throwaway intergender 8 man tag, which is JIP. Of note is Fuji looking totally out of shape and half-arsed, despite an admittedly good delayed brainbuster on Inematsu. Everything breaks down and Raito hits an acid drop on Bader for the win. 

Daigoro Kashiwa vs Kaji Tomato vs Yuki Sato

This is for Kashiwa’s UWA Middleweight title. Tomato seems to be working your usual “cheerleader tomato” gimmick. Of the three, Sato looks to be the best, working a nice comeback flurry after being double-teamed and looking really crisp on offence. Kashiwa seems to be working a “hard head” gimmick, hitting lots of headbutts and causing opponents to sell after hitting him in the bonce. Tomato hits a lovely flip dive to the floor. The end sequence is a fun flurry of offence, despite Tomato botching a springboard, and the end was cool: Tomato locking an Octopus stretch on Sato, only for Kashiwa to roll both men up for the win. I’d like to see more of Sato.

TAKA Michinoku vs MEN's Teioh

Pretty by-the-by match here. I did like the opening part, with Teioh working over TAKA’s wrist and fingers, and I enjoyed TAKA selling the work when trying to hold himself up o a headscissors. Teioh does feel a little off pace, and it’s obvious in places where TAKA is having to wait for his offence. The end sees both guys trying to get the win with roll-ups, and I dug the variety of different pinfalls used before TAKA got the three by tying Teioh up.

Hiro Tonai & Shiori Asashi vs Kengo Mashimo & Ryuichi Sekine

This is for Mashimo & Sekine’s Strongest-K tag belts. This kicks off at a really fast pace, breaking down from the start before Asashi misses a pescado and Sekine nails a cool big-guy suicide dive. Tonai and Asashi are much smaller than the champions, so it’s a battles of speed vs size. We clip to things being a bit more organized, with Tonai working over Mashimo’s arm. Mashimo is soon able to isolate Tonai, and a decent heat section is worked on him. Loved the close hot tag tease following a nice springboard rana by Tonai. When the hot tag is made, Asashi looks pretty good, especially driving Sekine face first to the matt with a diving knee from the top rope. They even managed to take a spot I hate, the “fighting spirit” strike exchange, and make it fun, with Mashimo resisting all Asashi’s chops, only to get caught with an eyepoke. Tonai and Asashi then isolate Mashimo, using their speed to keep on top of him, and hitting repeated blows to the arm. There’s a really exciting false finish as Tonai nearly makes him tap with armbars and armbreakers, really struggling to keep him from the ropes, before Mashimo picks him up with the old Bob Backlund reversal. The home stretch is great, with Sekine getting a good few numerous convincing nearfalls with some vicious kicks, before getting caught in a bodyscissors rollup to give Tonai and Asashi the titles. Not sure how much was clipped, but everything here was great, and the Mashimo/Sekine team were excellent.

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Hino

Battle of two big guys here, and the match has a real feel of two heavyweight fighters trying to wear each other out. They spill out early, and have a strike exchange, which Hino wins. Back in the ring, he cockily starts slapping Sekimoto in the head, an arrogance that backfires as Sekimoto hits a huge German suplex from out of nowhere. This totally changes the course of the match, as Hino seems to be knocked for six. He tries chopping Sekimoto from the mat, but they’ve lost all of their bite and Sekimoto just shrugs them off. I loved the Boston Crab locked in by Sekimoto, as Hino really sells his struggle to reach the ropes. Both guys feel like mirror images of each other, a point proven by Hino hitting his own German suplex from nowhere, only this one is followed by a mad looking tope. Really great hang time on it. This considerably weakens Sekimoto, who is no longer quick enough to block or reverse moves effectively. Both guys get frog splashes for two, again showing the mirror images theory. It’s ultimately Sekimoto who prevails, nailing Hino with a bridging delayed German for the win, but it felt like both guys had been in a real struggle. Really good match.

LPWA Wild Things

Been a while since Lovefilm sent me any wrestling, and I didn't know what to expect from this. I knew it couldn't be as bad a WEW, but I wasn't sure how serious a promotion the LPWA were. Would they be played for fun like GLOW or Wrestlicious? Well, there aren't as many silly gimmicks as those promotions, but you really have to search hard for the wheat amongst the chaff here...

Terri Power vs Rusty Thomas

Power is the future WWF diva Tori. The very first thing we see on this DVD is Power hitting some spectacularly bad armdrags. We get a sudden heavy clip and return to Power still in control, but looking lost on every other move. A top rope superplex gives Power the win. 

Misty Blue Simmes vs Nasty Linda

Linda is one half of the tag team the Nasty Girls. Simmes hits two Bubba Bombs early, before Linda grounds her. Linda works an arm bar, then arbitrarily decides to work the leg, which is probably why she loses control of the match. Linda does lock in a nice looking Octopus stretch. Linda goes to the top rope, but spends ages climbing, which allows Simmes to throw her off and hit a shitty looking top rope ax handle for the win.

Candi Devine vs Reggie Bennett

Bennett is billed as the power house here, apparently able to bench 300lbs, which doesn’t explain why Devine seems to be able to power her to the mat on a regular basis. Bennett downs Devine with a wristlock, and hits two legdrops. Bennett misses a third, but still gets to slingshot Devine across the ring. They seem to transition from each other being in control with no rhyme or reason: it just happens. They botch a backslide twice, before Bennett hits a torture rack slam for the win. Poor.

Heidi Lee Morgan vs Bad Girl

The imaginatively named Bad Girl puts on the best show so far on this DVD, with some big slams and a nasty looking backbreaker. Bad Girl hits a nice powerslam, before Morgan fires back with some shitty dropkicks. Morgan kicks Girl’s manager, Boogaloo Brown, from the apron to the floor (Brown taking the biggest bump on the DVD by a mile), and then dropkicks Bad Girl over the top, earning Girl a DQ win

Miss Linda vs Sheeba

Both have managers, Linda accompanied by Adrian Street and Sheeba by Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey. This is a terrifically dull bout. They work over each others limbs in a very tedious manner, before Al-Kaissey randomly interferes, drawing a DQ. So bad.

Malia Hosaka vs The Goddess

This takes a big clip very early, cutting to different crowd shots for 15 seconds. When we come back, Hosaka is valiantly bumping for the Goddess’ questionable offence, before getting thrown off the top for the Goddess win.

Team America vs La Gata & Comrade Olga

Team America are Heidi Lee Morgan and Misty Blue Simmes. This was actually ok, I thought the double teams by Team America looked good, and La Gata felt like an actual wrestler in there. Comrade Olga is a large lady, and she dominates Simmes for a while…until La Gata tags in and just lets Simmes tag out to Morgan. Soon, we’re back to Simmes and Olga again, and Olga once more dominates. She hits two big splashes, before Morgan basically cheats, not waiting to be tagged and hitting a missle dropkick on Olga, then throwing Simmes with a rocket launcher for the win.

Sindy Paradise vs The Beast

The Beast is a large biker lady in jeans and t-shirt. She stiffly beats up Paradise, who shows some spunk in fighting back. Beast hits two slams for the quick win.

Magnificent Mimi vs Dawn Marie

We gets the “cut to the crowd for 20 seconds” shot that indicates clipping, before coming back to Mimi hitting a terrible crossbody (that nearly sends her over Dawn Marie) to win.

Shelly Francis vs Brittany Brown

Francis is Sheeba from a few matches earlier, having now reclaimed her American roots. The sledgehammer of subtlety means she comes to the ring to “Born In The USA”. This is nearly as shit as her earlier match, as Francis lazily holds the leg of Brown before a clip. We come back to Brown working the arm, but Francis flips out and locks as Boston crab for the win.

Terri Powers & Alona Starr vs Bad, Black & Beautiful

Only one half of BB&B are black, and it’s arguable neither are a classic beauty. Power and Bad Girl work a laughably bad strike exchange. I hate the way this match shows zero tag psychology, as BB&B work power over, then casually throw her to her partner to tag in. Bad Girl looks good in control, beating up Starr, but then her partner Black Venus again throws Starr to tag back out again. It doesn’t make sense, as this isn’t a squash, and Power/Starr are presented as a decent threat. It all breaks down into a melee before Bad Girl hits a tombstone on Starr for the win. Very poor.

Reggie Bennett vs La Gata

Like Shelly Francis, Bennett also enters to “Born In The USA”. La Gata controls early by working over Bennett’s….hair? I did like Bennett using her size and power advantage to simply grab Gata’s arm on a clothesline to turn her round into a back suplex. Bennett blocks a flying headscissors by La Gata, then hits a legdrop for two. The commentator uses this to make an incredible dig at the WWF, implying Gata is tougher than anyone pinned by Hulk Hogan. Bennett hits a big tilt-a-whirl slam and locks in the Reggie Rack for the tapout. Thought Bennett looked really good here, one of the better matches on the disc.

Malia Hosaka vs Despina Mantagas

Whole lot of nothing here. Mantagas hits a fine fireman’s carry roll, but Hosaka ends up on top for the win.

Susan Sexton vs Leilani Kai

Something unusual happens here, as these two decide to put on an actual wrestling match, with proper selling and everything. Sexton actually works the holds when she downs Kai, who actually sells the moves. This was really enjoyable, with Kai looking really good on offence. Great Northern Lights suplex and she hits a mean looking headbutt, but misses a splash and Sexton rolls her up for three.

Bambi vs Lady X

Bambi’s offence is quite fun, sloppy, but certainly enthusiastic, and after she whiffs on a back elbow, she decides to hit Lady X with a stiff looking slap. X didn’t have much to do except look big and hit a few power moves, but this was perfectly fine. It ends with Bambi hitting a bulldog for the win.

WWF Monday Night Raw 03/01/1994

As well as my ongoing WCW 1992 project, I decided to use the Network to watch all the Raw's from 1994. This was the start of my second big moment as a wrestling fan, as my parents bought Sky, allowing me to watch WWF programming weekly. I've not seen this stuff since it first aired, so it should be interesting to revisit

Yokozuna vs Dan Dubeil

Before this match started, I was pretty sure I remembered Dan Dubeil’s name for some reason. This is a really fun squash, with Yoko just ragdolling Dubeil. There’s a lovely snap to a slam and a great looking belly-to-belly suplex. Then the reason I remembered Dubeil’s name….Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and lets his legs out, just squashing poor Dubeil. Brutal end to a great squash.

 

The Smoking Gunns vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger

Though both members of the heel team are big guys, Bammer is noticeably more agile and mobile than Booger. With Bigelow in the ring, the Gunns are able to use their speed advantage to take control, with Bigelow able to bump and make them look good. With Booger in, he’s so cumbersome that the Gunns end up bumping around for him more, to make his offence look more impactful. Bart Gunn even takes a 360 bump off a Booger clothesline. I liked the spot where Bart tried to take Booger down with a sunset flip and Billy came in to hit Booger with a bulldog, which would make sense as Bastion would be trying to lean forward to avoid Bart taking him down. The heels work a rather dull heat section on Bart, before the hot tag sees the Gunns run wild on Bigelow. Outside, Luna Vachon rubs Booger’s hump to revive him, and he takes this as a sign of her affection for him. This leads to a rather horrid ending as Booger essentially molests Luna, and Bammer rolls out to attack him, leading to the Gunns countout win 

Jeff Jarrett vs John Chrystal

Decent squash, and one where Jarrett was clearly already in command of his character. Loved him ducking out of the ring at the very start, and cheapshotting an opponent he’s superior to over the referee’s shoulder. Jarrett is pretty cocky during the match, and this keeps leading to Chrystal getting shock roll-ups on him, which in turn leads to Jarrett cranking up the aggression before the cycle repeats. JJ gets the win with a spiking DDT 

Shawn Michaels vs Brian Walsh

Curiously, Michaels gives Walsh loads here, even letting him get the better of Michaels on the mat. Walsh gets two from a slingshot, before Michaels cuts him off. Right away, Michaels throws Walsh out to Diesel twice in succession, as if wanting to cut off the threat in it’s prime. Michaels works a rather dull chinlock before Walsh gets another roll-up for 2. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and a piledriver to win the weakest squash of the show.

WWE Extreme Rules 2015

Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper

This was a pretty fun deal, and I liked Ambrose’s high-energy assault to start. The kendo shots on Harper sounded really nasty, but not as nasty as the suplex onto an open chair that Harper hits. Harper lawn darting Ambrose into a chair in the corner was pretty great. I really like that Ambrose has these quick flurries of energy when on the offensive, and the quick offensive burst that ended with his diving elbow drop was fun. There was a lovely spot on the outside where Harper tried to throw Dean into the ring, only for Ambrose to pivot his body on the apron and burst out with a clothesline. Really fun spot. They brawl to the back and, as Harper tries to escape in a waiting car, Ambrose dives into through the passenger window and off they drive…

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler

The first few minutes of Ziggler offence were pretty meh, including Ziggler hitting a horrible “carry me round” tornado DDT to the floor. As soon as Sheamus goes on offence though, things quickly improve, as Sheamus hits a lovely knee to the temple of Ziggler. Even a Sheamus chinlock looks great with how he cranks at Ziggler’s neck whilst holding it. Ziggler gets the odd hope spot, but this match is all about great Sheamus offence. I loved him catching a superkick, hurling Ziggler down and just flipping him into the Cloverleaf. Ziggler gets the win with a fluke roll up, but it’s Sheamus who comes out of this looking great.

The New Day vs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

Xavier Woods was incredibly annoying as a face, so he’s perfectly suited to the role of heel cheerleader here. I actually saw a version of this match at a houseshow in Nottingham, so I wasn’t surprised that this was pretty great. Loved Kidd and Cesaro stomping their opponents to the beat of “New….Day Sucks”. Kidd hits a beautiful dive through the ropes, taking him straight through Kingston. This is actually the most I’ve enjoyed Kofi Kingston, as this heel role has given him a bit more of an edge. Now, he’s using his speed for quick cut-offs, which look more effective than they did as actual match-winning offence. Cesaro whipping his opponent from corner to corner, peppered with uppercuts, is a really neat face spot, whilst Big E spearing through the ropes to send Kidd flying to the floor is an ever-impressive bump. Kingston gets the win with a handful of tights on a roll-up, and I want to see this match every month.

Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper

….and we return to these two guys as they drive back into the arena. Ambrose hits a great elbow from the top of the car onto Harper and a celebrating New Day, before the match returns to the ring. There’s a great visual as both guys throw chairs into the ring, and suddenly make eye-contact from opposite sides. The match ends with Harper trying an ill-fated top rope move, instead getting hurled from the top onto the chairs, and Ambrose hitting Dirty Deeds for the win. Fun deal.

Rusev vs John Cena

Given the PG nature of WWE programming, this was never going to live up to my ideal of a brutal chain match, but I did hope for something a bit better than this. This was fought under touch-the-four-corners rules, with lights to indicate the scores on each turnbuckle. The problem with this stipulation is that it makes the match pretty repetitive and dull, with lots of drama-free tug of war spots. I did enjoy Cena yanking Rusev into the ring post when they were brawling outside, mainly because Rusev took an insane bump into the steel. However, the match was typified by Rusev, a man not known for his high risk moves, climbing to the top rope solely so that Cena could pull him off using the chain. The match is pretty much a spectacle of watching two talented guys slowly walk between turnbuckles that they’d normally zip between, just to try and create some drama. The end sees both guys somehow tied on three posts each, both needing the same final turnbuckle to win. Rusev goes for it, is pulled back and nailed with the AA for the Cena victory.

Nikki Bella vs Naomi

This heel turn has worked wonders for Naomi. Showing her more aggressive side has slowed her down, eliminating some of the athletic, but sloppy, moves she used to do. Also, her statuesque form makes it convincing for her to boss other women in the ring. I thought her hitting a running bulldog through the rope to send Nikki face first into the second turnbuckle was great. She also hit a slick full Nelson bomb into a pin, which looked good. Nikki’s offence looked a bit weaker than usual here, with a springboard kick looking pretty milky, and we didn’t get to see her awesome forearm smash. Nikki gets the win with the Rack Attack after Brie Bella kicks Naomi behind the referee’s back. This was pretty good.

Roman Reigns vs the Big Show

From the get-go, you could tell this was going to be good, as both guys were clearly not afraid of laying in some punches. I loved Big Show refusing to use weapons, confident enough that his size made him enough of a weapon in his own right. It also allows Reigns to get some big pops whenever he brings out the plunder. Of course, when Big Show only gets an 8 count following the KO punch, he suddenly decides to start using the weapons after all. I like how smart Big Show is in breaking the count by rolling out of the ring, as it gets him back to his feet with the least amount of effort. There is a negative part where Big Show uncharacteristically goes to the top rope, which is clearly only so Reigns can throw him off. Show chokeslams Reigns over the top rope to the floor through two tables in a massive bump. Looked great. Big Show sets up more stuff over by the announce table, giving Reigns time to recover, and even when Show returns to the ring, Reigns can only take control by avoiding a Show offensive move, rather than via his own attack. Show rolls out to his feet again, so Reigns knows he has to down the Big Show outside of the ring. A huge spear through the Spanish announce table looks to have done this, but Show is able to get up at 8. This leaves Reigns little choice but to bury Show underneath the main announce table, which finally gets him the 20 count. Really great match, logically laid out and with some massive bumps by both men. With Reigns now having the match-of-the-night for three PPV’s in a row, can we now just accept he’s actually really great? 

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton

This is a world title match in a steel cage with the RKO banned. The problem this match has is that no-one believes they’ll take the title off Rollins already, and no-one believe the steel cage will keep anyone out of the match. In fact, most of the match is a background to the drama between Kane, the external gatekeeper, and Rollins. I mean, I love Kane’s new “frustrated middle manager” gimmick, but it shouldn’t be overshadowing your brand new world champion’s first defence. That said, a lot of the action was good here. I dug Rollins, like a chickenshit, fleeing to try and escape at every opportunity, especially from an Orton slingshot. There was another moment where Rollins avoided Orton’s snap powerslam and tried to quickly escape while Orton was regaining his bearings. It also built up the later spot where Orton caught Rollins as he springboarded into the ring with a huge snap powerslam. Orton hit a lovely looking superplex, and I loved him doing the pose for the RKO, but hitting a pedigree instead, as a “fuck you” to the Authority. Ultimately though, it built up to a shitty end, as Kane gets in, J&J Security get in, Kane flip-flops between who he’s going to help and finally Rollins nails Orton with an RKO before escaping. It’s a shame that a decent match ends with the commentators arguing semantics over whether or not Rollins was allowed to use the move.

NEW Autumn Ambush

NEW stands for North East Wrestling, and this is a random US indy DVD I picked up earlier in the year. It's the epitome of blandly ok.

Kurt Adonis vs Jeff Starr

Adonis looks like a knock-off Chris Chetti, if you can imagine such a thing. They work the crowd to start with, establishing Starr as the face. I dug Starr hitting an early pescado that looked decent. Adonis takes over with a weak looking superkick, but I liked his interactions with the crowd whilst working a chinlock (and he actually WORKED the chinlock, rather than just sitting in it. Fair play). Adonis takes too long climbing the ropes and gets superplexed off. Starr hits a better superkick and an out-of-control looking swanton for the win. Brief match, nothing offensive.

Terrible Todd Stone vs Short Sleeve Sampson

The DVD box bills this as “Midget Madness”. Great. Sampson looks remarkably like a midget Martin Stone. He also raps. Stone attacks from behind to start, but Sampson soon gains control. He springboards off the ropes nicely, then hits a sweet looking suicide dive, so I’m already happy with Short Sleeve. Stone isn’t quite so enjoyable on offence, not moving quite so fluidly as Sampson. Stone gets an RKO but fails a second attempt, and Sampson hits a Worm for the win. This was ok

Chris Sabin vs Damian Adams

Sabin’s arrival earns a “TNA” chant, which really makes the show feel old. Sabin looks really good early on, hitting a nice springboard dropkick and a pescado to the floor. Adams impresses early with a big bump, hurling himself over the top rope to the floor. Sabin works the crowd by chopping Adams outside the ring on all four sides. Adams hits a nice overhead belly-to-belly to take over, but his spell in control is pretty bland, working a chinlock and a weakly applied abdominal stretch to little reaction. Shame, as he looks able to keep up with Sabin during the closing run before falling to the Cradle Shock for the Sabin victory.

Al Snow vs Chris Candido

Candido isn’t accompanied by Tammy Sytch here, but another wrestler called Thunderbolt (think a terrifying lovechild of Droz and BJ Whitmer). Luckily, they’ve got quite good chemistry and Thunderbolt happily stooges for Candido. This is basically a competitive comedy match, and it’s fun, if a bit overlong. We kick off with basic comedy spots like Snow riding Candido like a pony, and Thunderbolt missing interference spots and nailing Candido instead. Candido gets a brief run of offence after Thunderbolt nails Snow with a spear (earning himself an ejection), but Snow regains control after pulling Candido’s trunks down on a sunset flip. Candido, like a pro, wrestles with his trunks below his arse for a few minutes. We suddenly hit a run of finisher spamming, with Snow getting two counts from Sweet Chin Music, a pedigree and the People’s Elbow. Candido also gets two after hulking up and hitting a big boot/legdrop. Candido hits an appalling stunner before the ref bumps, and Tammy Sytch runs in dressed like a ref. Snow manages to beat her fast counts, and Candido accidentally nails her with a foreign object. Snow nails him with Head and the recovering ref counts three. Decent enough.

Jerry Lawler vs Slyk Wagner Brown

Brown is accompanied by a fat lad in a t-shirt called Big Daddy. Mick Foley is the guest ref for this bout, and he’s bloody awful at it. This match is pretty poor, and that’s in no way the fault of Lawler, who tries his best to make it watchable. Lawler hits some beautiful looking fistdrops and a really nice high dropkick. Brown is pretty bland, and is really shown up by Lawler. 90% of Lawler’s offence is punches, which all look great and are interspersed perfectly. Brown’s offence is 90% punches and kicks, and at no point do you think they’ll put Lawler away. Big Daddy gets ejected after getting caught interfering after hitting numerous cheapshots behind Foley’s back. This leads to the finish, where Lawler nails two piledrivers but only gets two, albeit with a VERY slow Foley count. Big Daddy comes back, nails Lawler from behind and hides under a table, only for Foley to stop counting on two and instead leave the ring and hunt down Big Daddy (who he doesn’t know for sure is out there). This melee ends with Lawler rolling up Brown for the win. A bit of a clusterfuck.