The Jericho review is coming folks. Until then, I’m going into my way back machine for a pre-Inside Pulse review. When I went to grab the High Flyers set I noticed that this (along with Roddy Piper and Dusty Rhodes’ set) were in the $5 bin. This might not be true of every Wal Mart, and apparently some Wal-Marts are doing WWE collections of sets on their $10 aisles. DO NOT BUY THESE! You are only getting the first disc of each set. So you’re getting the documentary features only. Avoid.
I didn’t recap the documentary for this set, but it wasn’t bad. It had this weird tendency to alternate between kayfabe and shoot. Most people come for the matches anyway so let’s get to them. This was not sent to my editor Chris and thus any grammar mistakes or uses of “THEN†instead of “THAN†are on me. This is a pre-Pulse review, and is just being posted to fill time. But a lot of this stuff is being seen here at Pulse for the first time so enjoy!
Disc One
Match #1
Peter Maivia & Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Ali Baba & Baron Mikel Scicluna
9/27/77 Championship Wrestling
Video quality is bad due to age and poor storage. Peter treats us to a song to start. Mikel and Peter lock up, with Mikel missing a slow motion clothesline. Awful. Lockup, with Maivia pushing off on Scicluna. Tag to Ali Baba. Lockups go nowhere, and then Baba slips on a lockup. He claims Peter pulled his hair, despite the fact that he’s bald. Gut buster by Maivia, then a waistlock that goes nowhere as Baba gets a quick rope break. Baba puts a rope in his hand, but then passes it back to Scicluna. Knucklelock test doesn’t happen and Peter slugs it out. Snapmare by Maivia, then a front-facelock. Strongbow looks for a tag but Maivia doesn’t do it. Instead, he passes Baba to him. Strongbow pulls on Baba’s beard, then tags in proper. Scicluna also tags in and they lockup. Scicluna uses an illegal object to punch Maivia, then passes him to Baba so as to choke him with a rope. The ref and Peter are jawing this whole time.
More blatant choking, then a headlock, but Strongbow muscles over to his corner and tags in Maivia, who chokes away with rope, in full view of the ref, but doesn’t get DQed. Weird surfboard type backbreaker gets a two count for him. Baba slugs it out and grabs a nerve pinch. He passes him to Scicluna for some choking, but Strongbow breaks it up. Scicluna tags in and takes a bunch of free shots. Strongbow in again to break it up, but he seems to suck at it. He tries to take the object from Scicluna. Baba in and he grabs an armbar. Tag to Scicluna for some punches. He loads his hand up again but misses Maivia and hurts his own hand punching the mat. Scicluna keeps punching but Maivia rolls over to make the hot tag. Punches for all, then things break down. Scicluna holds Maivia for a free shot from Baba, which actually hits. Another shot off the top rope hits. Baba climbs again but Strongbow wipes out Scicluna and Maivia tosses him off the top rope. Double chop from the Chiefs finishes the match.
* Meh, the tag formula wasn’t completely ironed out in wrestling at this point. Fans of modern wrestling won’t like this one bit.
Match #2: AWA Championship
(c) Curt Hennig vs. Greg Gagne
5/15/88 All-Star Wrestling
Interesting choice for the DVD, considering that Greg Gagne was terrible or worse as a singles wrestler. He did make a pretty good face-in-peril. Anywho, video footage is once again washed out horribly, in the same aged and red fuzzy look of the last match, despite being eleven years younger. We’re joined in progress with Curt having an abdominal stretch on Greg. This seems to go on forever. Fans don’t really seem to care much for Greg. What’s funny is that if you listen to Greg Gagne talk about himself in interviews or in person, he acts as if Hulk Hogan didn’t have shit on him in the heroic babyface department, despite all evidence to the contrary. Never mind all that though, old man Verne tried with all his might for years to put the AWA Championship on Greg. In fact, the night that Rick Martel won the title, it was supposed to be Greg and was even billed as him in the title match that night.
Sadly for Greg, Verne’s business partners were not completely insane and nixed the idea. Verne insisted on a title change and moved the title to Rick Martel, which was somehow supposed to prove that Greg could draw. I’m not making this up. So over the course of Martel’s nearly two year title reign, Verne tried to position Greg in a way that could justify him becoming the champion, trying everything from a heel turn that lasted a month or so to teaming him with Sgt Slaughter to the Hogan-esq injury gimmick that was VERY similar to the Bundy/Hogan angle.
It didn’t work, because Greg was small, had no personality, and even the most retarded mark knew that he was only a ‘star’ because of nepotism. I remember seeing footage once, shot sometime in the mid 80s, where these two late 40ish, true-blue “still real to me damnit!” marks were asked about Greg Gagne. They said he was only there because his dad owned the company. Think about that. They truly believed that wrestling was 100% real and they still knew Greg was only there because of his daddy. Now, I actually like Verne Gagne and think that he’s one of the five greatest minds the business has ever known. I think, if not for is insane attempts by Verne to push Greg into the main event picture, nobody would remember Verne as being a bad booker or outdated or whatever. He was outdated, but I think history would look on him a lot more favorably then it does. Greg tarnished his father’s legacy, trading on his name in every sense of the term. It’s been done many times before and will happen in the future, but never as destructively as Greg Gagne. And you can’t even really fault Greg for it, even if he unintentionally buries himself with each new interview he gives.
OK, that’s the end of the rant. I’ll start the review over. We’re joined in progress with Greg locked in an abdominal stretch. Greg breaks out of it with a hiptoss, but Curt still has control with punches and stomps. Gutbuster for two. Backbreaker for two. The AWA’s announcer has to be the worst in the history of the industry. Greg tries to fight back, only to be put in the Boston Crab. The announcer notes that, like the abdominal stretch, it’s a submission hold. Gee, thanks.
Greg rolls through it, and they trade zero counts. Sledge from Hennig, then a knee lift. Shoot to the corner, reversed by Greg for a clothesline and a double KO spot. Curt gets up and dumps Greg through the ropes. Curt slams Greg on the floor, then rolls in to break the count. Curt teases a sledge off the top and to the floor, but instead he climbs down and bails to fight Greg. However, Greg fights back with some of the most girly punches I’ve ever seen. Curt starts throwing wild punches, then they end up in the ring, where Greg hulks up. Shoulderblock, backdrop, sissy ass looking stomp, and a slam into the turnbuckle. Greg-a-mania isn’t exactly running wild and the fans are DEAD.
Dropkick by Greg for two, with all the people in the front few rows not even smiling at it. It’s so sad it’s like Greg should get a hug just for showing up. Greg with more sissy as punches. Reverse shoot off and Greg slaps on a sleeper hold. Larry Hennig runs out to bitch at the ref. The ref bails to jaw with him, allowing Verne Gagne to run in a clock Curt with some brass knucks. Fans pop for that and Greg covers… for the pin and the championship? Yipes. Larry runs in to bitch about it, and so does Verne. Another ref comes in and gets punched down by Curt. Greg and Curt keep wrestling a bit, while other wrestlers run out we have a big pull-apart. The ref presents Greg with the championship. And that’s where the match ends and we cut back to the DVD menu.
Yep.
*checks Wikipedia*
Oh thank god. For a minute there I thought I was losing my mind. Apparently, I did not block out Greg Gagne’s world title reign from my mind. It never happened. OK, so I’m not exactly sure what happened here. Clearly some type of Dusty Rhodes finish. I’ve heard that Verne actually did put the belt on Greg twice, but was overruled once his partners found out about it. I’m guessing this is one of those times. Any help on what happened following this match would be appreciated.
1/2* for what was shown. Getting a good match out of the frail Greg all by yourself is about as impossible as trying to hold your breath and swim to the moon. Only reason this made it to disc is because of the interference. I’m guessing Greg has it on chapter-repeat in his DVD player.
Match #3
The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs. The Bushwhackers
2/20/89 WWF Home Video taping from Madison Square Garden
I’m guessing this is going to be brutal. The Rougeaus jump the Whackers to start. Whackers end up winning out on it and the Rougeaus bail. Jacques in and he smacks Luke around, but Butch comes in ends up thumbing him in the eye. Whackers dump the heels again. Ugh. For the life of me I don’t get the appeal this team had. We stall forever, then Ray jumps Butch and shoots him off the ropes for an abdominal stretch. Luke comes into the ring and bites Ray’s leg to break it up. Then more leg biting. And so the Rougeaus bails on the match. Someone tells them to get back to the ring or they won’t get paid. Theys gots to gets paid, so they head back in and my God, I’ve seen snails fight each other with more action then this shit.
So after eating up what is apparently half the match time, Luke and Jacques square off, with Luke decking him down and biting his face. Shoot off and Jacques hits a nice dropkick. Ray in for stomps. He misses a dropkick, but the ref gets distracted and the heels stomp the hell out of Luke. More crappy double teaming. The ref is coming across as the biggest douche ever, not watching the match at all. The heels bite and choke and stuff. Wow, this match is awful. Jacques shoots Luke off for a nice flying backelbow for two. Double suplex for two after Ray tags in. Hardwhip to the corner, then an abdominal stretch that takes forever to slap on. Ray does the cocky tag in and ends up hitting a savant kick. Double clothesline to Butch and the heels are uber-cocky now. Luke fights back but gets kicked down. Butch is knocked off the apron as well. Jacques in, who hooks in a front-facelock. Blind tag to Butch, but the ref misses it. I tells ya, the Bushwhackers had the worst luck with referees. The heels screw up and Jacques kicks Ray out of the ring. Hot tag to Butch. He shoots off Jacques and punches him in the gut. A gut punch for Ray too. Noggin-knocker that looked wussy. Luke in for a ‘second wind’ but he gets tripped up. Jacques covers, but the ref isn’t looking and Butch runs in and turns around the pin, giving the Bushwhackers the pin.
*1/2 Typical slow start by the Whackers, turned into a somewhat decent match. Just skip the first six minutes.
Match #4
Barry & Kendall Windham vs. Michael Hayes & Lex Luger
3/18/89 NWA Championship Wrestling
Another interesting choice, but I guess whoever picked the match listing had their hands tied by the DVD’s gimmick. Four way jaw-off to start. Hayes starts with Barry. The Windhams refuse to wrestle Hayes, wanting Lex Luger, who is the US Champion at this point. He tags in, popping the fans. Circle, lockup, clean break. Both guys jaw, lockup, shoot off by Windham and a shoulderblock. Windham catches a crossbody and turns it into a backbreaker, but Luger no-sells and press-slams Windham. I do have to say, that’s a very cool visual.  Barry begs off the corner but doesn’t tag. Lockup and Luger teases a 10 punch. Windham turns it into an atomic drop, only for Luger to no-sell that and clothesline him down. Barry to the apron where Luger suplexes him back into the ring for two. Barry begs off to the corner again. Lockup, tag to Michael Hayes, and Barry backs off like a pussy. Lockup and a clean break. Lockup again and another clean break, but Luger runs over and punches Barry’s hand. Hayes gets on all fours and Kendall comes out of nowhere to clothesline the SHIT out Luger for the pin. Hayes has turned heel and beats the crap out of Lex.
**3/4 Okay TV match that didn‘t have enough time,
Disc Two
Match #5
Bob Orton Sr. & Bob Orton Jr. vs. Jeff Ports & Rocky Smith
4/21/76 Championship Wrestling from Florida
The Ortons are technically tag champs at this point, although Orton Sr. is just a sub. Smith starts with Junior. He gets a single leg takedown, then a bridge. They roll around on the mat trying various technical stuff. Both guys tag out. Ports gets a European uppercut for two, drawing a HUGE pop. Orton Sr. calls bullshit on it and whines about his ear. Meanwhile, I must note that Gordon Solie has got to be the most overrated broadcaster in wrestling history. Junior tags in and smacks Ports around. Flying dropkick and then a float-over suplex for two. Ports grabs an armbar into a hiplock, and Junior begs off. Knucklelock test, with Junior monkey flipping with it into a bridge for two. They hold the knuckle-locks and fight on the mat. Ports turns it into a rollup for two. Another stiff punch pops the crowd huge. Florida in the 70s = weird. Smith and Pops tag in. Kneelift by Pops and a scoopslam and some kneedrops. Bob Orton Sr. looks WAY older then he actually is (he’s about 48 here, but looks like he’s sixty), but he’s still fairly good. He slaps on a grounded hammerlock. Smith gets tripped up by Pops while Junior stomps away. Pump-splash off the middle rope by Junior then a piledriver for the pin.
** Pretty much a squash. This DVD needs to bust out some GOOD matches or it’s getting the thumbs down.
Match #6: Six Man Double-Ring Match
Kerry Von Erich, David Von Erich, & Kevin Von Erich vs. Bill Irwin, Frank Dusek, and Ten Gu
12/25/81 WCCW Star Wars
So how this works is, two guys wrestle in one ring, two in the other ring, and the other two guys can tag into either of the rings. Yeah. This is going to be hard to recap. This I imagine would be better to watch live. The camera pans way back as everyone fights. Then there’s a long stall-session. David and Ten Gu go at it, with Ten Gu grabbing a headlock. Meanwhile, Kevin has a headlock on Dusek. Irwin runs into the left ring to try and knock out Kevin, but he fights them off and head-scissors them both down. Meanwhile, Kerry gets a dropkick on Ten Gu and some big roundhouse punches. Shoot off by Kerry and he grabs a sleeper on Ten Gu. Dusek makes the save for him. Again, it’s hard to follow the action as the camera pans back and forth between the rings. Chinlock by Dusek to Kerry. In the left ring, Kevin does a nice little chain sequence with Irwin. Kerry bounces off the left ring’s far rope and then planchas over both sets of ropes into the right ring to knock out Dusek. Cool spot.
The heels knock down Kerry and Ten Gu tags in. David tags in as well and gets a flying headscissors on Ten Gu. In the left ring, Kevin and Irwin go at it. Huge shoulderblock by Kevin, who’s looking like the star of this match. If he hadn’t been a loyalist to his father, he could have likely made a big star of himself outside of WCCW. Good, solid performer. Might have won a secondary title here or there. In the right ring, Ten Gu gets a two count on David. Meanwhile, Kerry gets a flying headscissors on Irwin. Suplex to Dusek by David for two. Mounted punches by David, while a fight breaks out between the rings. Kerry fights with Irwin on the outside. In the ring, snapmare by Kerry and then a kneedrop off the middle of the second rope for two. It’s so tough to watch this combination of the Von Erichs because they were all so very good when they weren’t on the drugs. David was voted into the NWA Championship spot and died months before getting it. Kerry had the best body in the business, a great personality and was a solid performer. Michael Hayes called Kerry in his prime “Lex Luger with good timing” and that pretty much nails it. Horrible waste. Dusek suplexes Kerry over the ropes and into the ring. He climbs but misses a kneedrop off the top rope. In the ring, snapmare by Kevin for two. Irwin tags Ten Gu in for some stomping. Irwin in who slams Kevin but misses a kneedrop. Ten Gu comes into the match and runs into the iron claw. Irwin runs in but hits the Ten Gu by mistake and Kevin scores the pinfall.
**1/4 Tough to follow. Might make an interesting booking choice these days with HD widescreen cameras.
Match #7
Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Mulligan Jr. vs. Ricky Harris & Jim Nelson
1/13/82 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Junior is, of course, Barry Windham. Barry is only 22 here, and Blackjack cuts a promo before the match talking about how he changed his diapers. That’ll strike terror in the hearts of their opponents. Barry says he doesn’t need his dad to save him. It’s strange to watch the promo because they talk about stuff that we have no context for. Anyway, Blackjack Mulligan sounds like a huge vainy soccer dad, talking about how he broke up a pee-wee football game because there were calls going against his kid. Just a very strange promo that made Barry look like a tool.
Anyway, they do have footage of a match for us. Mulligan starts with Jim Nelson, armdragging him like a bitch. Headlock by Nelson, only to get shot off and shoulder-blocked down. I’ve never seen anyone who just plain looked like a jobber more then Jim Nelson. He slugs on Mulligan, only to have everything no-sold. Mulligan shoots Nelson off into Barry for some shots. Barry tags in and gets a pair of shoulderblocks and a dropkick. Harris tags in and gets armdragged to hell. And hey, a young Dave Hebner is the referee here. Harris grabs a headlock and a punch, then another. Blind tag to Mulligan who smacks Harris around a shoots him off for a big boot. Mulligan drags Harris to Jim Nelson so that he can tag out. Funny spot. Harris gets pissed at that, so he brawls it out and dumps Mulligan, who lands on his feet. Mulligan into the ring and he beats the crap out of Harris. Barry tags in to slug it out himself. Tag to Jim Nelson and they lock up. Nelson gets a backelbow and some punches. Barry fights back. Punches for all. Harris gets slammed into Mulligan’s boot. Mulligan tags in for a flying backelbow. Barry tags in for a diving clothesline. Mulligan in and he grabs an iron claw, and Barry prevents Nelson from making the save, giving the win to the family.
* Squash-a-Mania is running wild.
Match #8: NWA Tag Team Championship
(c) Brisco Bros. vs. Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
11/24/83 Starrcade
I’m guessing this should save the DVD quite nicely. So who’s this Youngblood guy? Well, he was a pretty good wrestler who unexpectedly had a heart attack in the middle of a match in 1985. They rushed him to the locker room, where he had another one and died. It’s sad because he likely would have made something of himself during the Hogan era. Anywho, Ricky starts with Jack, who is 42 here but looks MUCH older. Gerry is only 30ish and he looks old too. And both guys were considered WAY past their prime.
Jack and Ricky lock up, shoot off and Ricky leapfrogs him. Jack grabs the ropes and we’re at a stalemate. Wristlock and a tag to Gerry, but he gets drop-toeholded. Tag back to Jack who slaps on a hammerlock. Ricky flips out of it and armdrags Jack down, leading to Jack begging off. You could say he’s jacking off! Ahem. Gerry in and he locks up with a clean break in the corner, then throws a punch. Ricky holds the ropes while Gerry bounces off him like a schmuck. Lockup and Gerry punches away in the corner. Ricky fights back with karate stuff, then tags Youngblood. Headlock takeover and he grounds it out on the mat. Keylock by Youngblood but Gerry slams him. Youngblood rolls through it and makes the tag to Steamboat, who flies off the top with a chop. Wristlock and then a tag to Jay who comes flying off the rope with a chop himself. Gerry tries to make a tag but Jack gets wiped out.
Gerry fights him off and does make the tag. Jack slings Ricky onto his shoulder and decapitates him on the ring rope. Snapmare and a kneedrop, followed by a chinlock. Steamboat quickly to his feet and he fights out and shoulderblocks Jack. He bounces off the ropes but Jack catches him in a backdrop. Butterfly suplex and an Oklahoma roll for two. He holds the bridge for another two, then holds the waistlock. Shoot off by Brisco and an armdrag into an armbar. Steamboat to his feet and he dead lifts Jack up and slams him down to break the hold and draw a huge pop. Gerry gets the tag, and Youngblood gets the hot tag. Chops but Gerry blocks a suplex and gets one of his own. Tag to Jack and a very nice double three-point-stance by the Briscos. Gerry back in and he drops his weight on Youngblood’s back. Suplex for two. Abdominal rollup for two. Gerry jaws with the ref and ends up getting shoved down by him. Steamboat tags in and hits a sweet looking flying fistdrop on Gerry. That looked almost Air Jordan-esq. Shoot off and a big chop by Ricky. Another fistdrop, tag to Youngblood and a double chop. Shoot off by Jay, tag by Ricky and a double team kick. Another tag leads to a scoopslam and a press slam splash for the pin and the titles. Briscos wipe out the ref and the babyfaces after the match. Huge brawl breaks out and the faces end up knocking the Briscos back to Oklahoma.
***3/4 Pretty good match, lacking a certain something to get it up to four-star level.
Match #9
Hector, Mondo, & Chavo Guerrero Sr. vs. Mike Enos, Krusher Krugnoff, & Tom Burton
9/4/88 AWA All Star Wrestling
The DVD insert calls Mike Enos “Mike Inos.” Yep. Hector starts with Mike Enos. Hector, who has a win over Goldberg (wink), gets a German Suplex rather quickly then tags in Mondo for a splash. Chavo in and he hits a version of Junkyard Dog’s THUMP. Hector tags in for a leapfrog armbreaker, then Mondo in for the same move. Fireman’s carry by Mondo, then a rolling splash by Chavo for two. Snapmare by Chavo into the heel corner so that Krugnoff can tag in. They lock up Krugnoff slugs away, but Chavo brawls in out and hits a monkey flip. Tag to Hector who acts all crazy and gets a dropkick. Hector should have been a star too but a series of injuries ended up grounding him. In his youth, he was flat out WILD in the ring. Russian legsweep and a tag to Mondo for a foot rake. Messy looking armdrag/headscissors thingy, then a slow-motion rana. Krugnoff tags out to Burton and Mondo hits a spinning sunset flip for two. Tag to Hector, who gets shot off but gets a shoulderblock. He flips over Burton and gets a dropkick. Slam to the corner and a tag to Chavo who tries for what looks like a clutch suplex but it’s botched on both ends and Burton almost gets killed, landing forehead first on the mat in a sick spot.
Burton has to have a concussion but still kicks out at two. Chavo snapmares him into a chinlock, then grabs a windmill. Burton forces Chavo into the heel corner, allowing a triple-team. Tag to Krugnoff who slugs it out. Shoot off and a backelbow, but Chavo decides he’s sold enough and fights back, chopping off and sending Krugnoff to the face corner. Tag to Hector who hits a twisting splash for two. Hector ends up on the wrong side of the ring and gets beat up by the three heels. He gets backdropped by Krugnoff. The heels all take turns getting illegal shots on Hector. Big scoopslam by Krugnoff that looks like it would hurt like hell, and thus Hector no-sells it, pops right back up and takes him out with a clothesline. Ugh. Tag to Mondo who dropkicks the heels off the apron, then drags them into the ring. They wipe out the heels, then double suplex Krugnoff. Double Mexican Surfboard to Krugnoff by Chavo and Mondo, allowing Hector to splash him off the top rope while they hold him in that position. That’s just sick. It gets the pin.
*** Pretty entertaining for a total squash. The Guerreros, when they wrestled outside of Mexico and the far-southern United States, were basically a traveling novelty act. So I do get that they have squash matches, but I still think the no-selling was a bit obnoxious. I mean, just because you’re wrestling jobbers doesn’t mean you have to treat them like everything they do is wussy. Krugnoff had a good 50lbs on Hector and the scoopslam was well executed and looked devastating. When you no-sell like that, not only does it make your opponent look shitty, but it makes all instances of that move done throughout the card look wussy. I mean, if Buddy Rose scoopslammed Marty Jannetty later on the show, only the slam wasn’t as good looking as the one Krugnoff did, and Marty still sold it… it just devalues both the wrestlers and the move. It’s stupid and silly and it’s one aspect of wrestling that I never understood why it was so acceptable. Regarding the Guerreros, they peaked about ten years too early. If they had been around when Nitro became big, the whole family could have basically controlled the cruiserweight division and likely won a few tag titles as well. They were innovators for sure.
Match #10: Survivor Series Elimination Match
Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, Bret Hart, and Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels & his Knights
11/24/93 Survivor Series
The Knights are as follows…
Red Knight: Barry Horowitz
Blue Knight: Greg Valentine
Black Knight: Jeff Gaylord. It’s been reported in some places that the Black Knight was in fact Glen “Kane” Jacobs, but that’s not correct.
Shawn Michaels himself was a replacement for Jerry Lawler, who had been accused of rape and had to sort that out before he could return to the WWF. The DVD takes forever to get to the match, eating up twelve minutes before the bell rings. Owen starts with Shawn. Shawn jaws with Bruce, so Owen tags him in. Lockup, shoot off by Bruce, and Shawn ends up getting slammed into the Red Knight. That was weird. Bruce chops Shawn, then gets reversed on a whip but still manages to slug it out with the knights. The Black Knight holds him for a free shot, but Shawn misses a kneelift and wipes out Black. Bruce tags Keith in, who looks like Luigi from the Super Mario games. Bobby Heenan argues on commentary that Bruce Hart is a stupid name. “Nine months and that’s the best you could come up with?” If you think that’s bad, you should have seen what Smith Hart named his daughter: Satania Ecstasy Hart. I’m not joking.
Shawn tries a suplex but gets small-packaged for two. Drop-toehold into an armbar. Into a wristlock, but Shawn turns it into a slam. Tag to the Red Knight. He misses an elbow. Tag to Owen, who gets a wristlock, reversed a few times. Shoot off by Red but Owen gets a hiptoss and a pair of armdrags, finishing the sequence with a dropkick. Black Knight… who’s dressed in white… tags in only to get beat up by all the Harts. Blue Knight tags in, along with Bret. And man, did Bret get a huge face pop upon tagging. Bret gives him an atomic drop both ways, then a clothesline for two. Keith in with a wristlock and a fireman’s carry into an armbar. Tag to Bruce. Shawn knees him in the back while he’s bouncing off the ropes and the Blue Knight gets a slam. Tag to Shawn who gets a backbreaker and a trio of elbowdrops. Tag to the Red Knight who gets a sledge off the second rope. Double arm suplex for two, then two and two. Bruce slugs it out so the Black Knight gets the blind tag and slugs it out. Backslide by Bruce for two. Tag to Shawn who kicks Bruce out of the ring. Shawn gives chase and tosses him back into the ring, slamming him into the turnbuckle. NICE diving clothesline by Bruce, Randy Savage style, and Shawn tags out to the Black Knight. Bruce makes a hot tag to Bret who slugs it out. Punch to the gut and a rollup for two. Small Package for two. Gaylord looks lost in the ring, the stupid focker.
Backbreaker and an elbowdrop off the second rope for two as Shawn breaks it up. Owen in with a spinheel kick for two and things break down with a pier-six brawl. The Harts get them in a corner and whip all four of the heels into each other, drawing a huge pop. Owen comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick onto the Black Knight to eliminate him. Red Knight in and Owen starts to whip his leg. Bret tags in and they do a wishbone to the Red Knight. Bret with a pair of diving leg whips. Keith in and continues to work the leg. The Red Knight gets a kneelift but can’t make a tag. Heenan keeps cracking on Stu Hart, something that actually did piss off Bret Hart for reasons I will never understand. He’s a heel announcer. Your dad is old. But that’s Bret for you, the biggest mark to ever hold a championship belt. Bruce in and he pushes the Red Knight around. Bret tags in and they do another wishbone. Keith in who goes for a spinning toehold but the Red Knight kicks him into the turnbuckle. The Red Knight’s selling of the leg injury is highly spotty. He misses a kneedrop and Keith slaps on a figure four. Michaels breaks it up. Blue Knight in and he chops away, called a “Weenie Slap” by guest announcer Ray Combs, the Family Feud host who committed suicide in 1996.
That’s actually a sad story. A few days after this show, he was fired from the Family Feud and replaced by original host Richard Dawson. In July, 1994, he was in a car accident that left him fairly beat up and without use of his limbs for a while. His life fell apart, as his comedy club had to be shut down and his wife left him. He suffered a nervous breakdown and was placed in a psychiatric ward, where he hung himself with his bed sheets.
So basically he fits in with professional wrestling like a glove.
Anyway, back to the match as the Blue Knight trips up Keith and Shawn splashes him over the ropes. Blue Knight drops a knee, then grabs a wristlock and elbows the arm. Tag to Shawn who hits a sledge off the top rope. Hammerlock by Shawn and then he drives Keith into the corner. He repeats that, then ties Keith’s arm in the ropes. Tag to the Red Knight who wraps Keith’s arm in the ropes, then kicks the ropes. Yep, it’s Horowitz. Red Knight drags Keith to the ringpost and tries to ring his arm, but Bret saves. Red Knight slingshots Keith’s neck into the bottom rope, then tag to the Blue Knight. A couple very loud, obnoxious fans who sadly are positioned right by the ring mic are chanting “BORING”, which is a bit distracting. I’m normally not in favor of the WWE altering the sound of it’s matches, but they should have really edited that stuff out. Legdrop to the arm by Blue Knight. Hammerlock slam by Blue Knight to Keith, then a legdrop. Tag to Shawn and they do a rocket launcher spot, but Keith rolls out of the way. Tag to Bret, tag to Red Knight. Spinebuster by Bret and then the Sharpshooter, forcing the Red Knight to surrender.
Blue Knight in and he dumps Bret to the outside where Shawn gets some free shots in. Shawn throws Bret back into the ring to get smacked around a bit. Suplex for two. Elbowdrop for two. Shawn in and he whips Bret hard into the turnbuckle. Shawn hits something, but we don’t see what because it’s more important to show Helen Hart in the audience. Yippee. Whatever it was gets two. Flying forearm gets two. And now a chinlock. Bret elbows out of it but runs into a kitchen sink kneelift. Blue Knight in with a headbutt for two. Chops and a whip to the corner, but Bret gets a diving clothesline and we have a double KO spot. Tag to Owen, who gets a dropkick and a 10 punch. Scoopslam and an elbow off the second rope for… nothing because Owen gets up to stop Shawn. Bruce in and they give the heels a noggin-knocker. Bruce whips Shawn at Owen, but Shawn baseball slides out of the ring. Shawn Michaels jaws with Stu and ends up getting punched out by the old man, a spot I’m sure Bret Hart watches over and over again with one hand on the remote and another in his pants. Owen hits a plancha to Michaels on the floor, then tosses him back in the ring. Owen and Bruce whip the heels into each other, then Owen climbs and hits a crossbody on the Blue Knight for two. Shawn misses an elbow and hits the Blue Knight instead. Bulldog by Owen and the sharpshooter and the Blue Knight taps.
Four against one on Michaels now.  Shawn tries to bail on the match, but Bret catches him and tosses him in for Owen. Shawn misses a roundhouse and gets atomic dropped by Owen. All the Harts on the apron get shots in on him, then Owen hits a big, comical windup punch that pops the crowd huge. Man, we need to bring the windup punch back. It’s always been over like Jesus. Tag to Bruce who drops a fist for two. Shoot to the corner by Bruce but Shawn gets a backelbow and a blatant choke, then another. Superkick by Shawn on Bruce… gets two. It wasn’t his finisher yet, mind you. Shawn shoots him off, but lowers his head and gets kicked. Bret tags in for an atomic drop. Hard whip to the corner by Bret and then a slingshot to the corner. Elbowdrop by Bret gets two. Russian legsweep for two. Backbreaker but Shawn rakes the eyes in the middle of it. Owen makes the blind… literally… tag and gets an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for two. Bobby Heenan is marking out on commentary.
Bret is still trying to get his wits about him, and Owen accidentally bounces off of Bret, knocking him off the apron and into the guardrail. Owen turns around to see what just happened, allowing Shawn Michaels to roll him up for the pin and the elimination. Thus begins the most well booked angle the WWE had done up to that point in their history. Owen is pissed at Bret for fucking up his game, while Bret sells the injury like death. That’s one thing about Bret. The man was a genius when it came to selling. Nobody in history approaches him. He’s the best ever at it. Owen throws a small tantrum in the ring, then screams that Bret’s a selfish bastard. Bruce in and he chops away on Shawn, then drops an elbow for two. Jawbreaker and a sleeper hold. Shawn leverages Bruce into the turnbuckle, and Bruce takes the bump like a wuss. Which is exactly why Bret didn’t want to go with the original plan of feuding with Bruce instead of Owen. It’s a double KO spot. Tag to Keith, who shoots Shawn off and hooks in an abdominal stretch. Shawn hiptosses out of it. Tag to Bret, who slugs it out. Hardwhip to the corner sends Shawn up and down the turnbuckle. Another whip puts him on the turnbuckle, where Bret kicks him, which leads to Shawn being crotched. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but Shawn escapes and bails on the match, getting counted out. DVD cuts out the post-match conflict.
****1/4 Very well booked. This lead to Owen and Bret teasing a match for a while, then Owen turning on Bret, which led to a few five-star matches on PPV. It’s nice to see the genesis of a good wrestling angle, and this is that moment. And hey, the DVD finally has a four star match! I know a lot of people disliked this, such as Scott Keith, but I thought this was a well executed match given the circumstances.
Match #11
Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs. Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck
8/28/94 Clash of the Champions
WWE should bring back Clash of the Champions. Just promote a mega show on USA once every three months or something. It’s sure to get better ratings then most of the crap on that network. Big brawl to start. The Rhodes dump the heels to the floor. Dustin and Buck start. Shoot off and Dustin stomps him while Buck ducks for a leapfrog. Big kick by Dustin. Buck lures him to the heel corner for some free shots, but Buck misses a charge and wipes out Funk. Dustin dumps Buck, then Terry dives back in and gets atomic dropped. Another atomic drop from Dustin, then a tag to Dusty. Bionic elbow to Buck after a long dance off. Buck rakes Dusty’s eyes and shoots him to the corner, but Dustin shields the corner for him. Terry comes in only to get beat up, as well as Buck. Dusty whips them into each other. This is a bit of a train wreck. Dustin in with a power slam to Buck for two. Cowboy Boot shot to Dustin’s head by Buck, then a tag to Funk.
Dustin blocks a DDT, and they tie-up. Dustin makes the tag, but the ref doesn’t see it. Buck comes off the top rope with his cowboy boot but misses and hits Funk. Tag to Dusty who hits a noggin knocker. Arn Anderson runs out and trips up Dusty. Terry stomps away at Dusty, then more crappy kicking, and wow does this match suck. Dusty makes a silly looking hot tag. Crappy clotheslines for all. Bionic elbows for all. Bulldog by Dustin for Buck, but Arn Anderson runs in and draws a DQ to end one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen. Bionic elbows for Arn Anderson, but Dusty backs away from hitting Meng with one. Instead, he bails to grab a wooden chair. He breaks it on Meng, who no-sells it and slaps on the TONGAN DEATH GRIP~! The heels destroy the Rhodes for what seems like forever.
DUD As previously stated, one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen. It felt similar at times Jackie Gayda/Chris Nowinski vs. Trish Stratus/Bradshaw, only it wasn’t loaded with botched spots so that says something. Just completely awful.
Match #12
Terry & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Public Enemy
6/24/94 ECW Hostile City Showdown
Non-title match, as PE had the ECW tag belts at this point. This might be my first review of a Dory Funk Jr. match so I figured I would take the time to say that he was ten times better in the ring then Terry, and maybe second only to Verne Gagne as a star-making trainer. As a trainer, he brought us Stan Hansen, Ted DiBiase, Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu, and Kurt Angle. And the WWE also gave Funk to Bob Backlund, Edge, Christian, and Mickie James among others so that he could teach them out to carry themselves like stars. Of course, they also had him try the same thing with Test and Lita, so it proves you can’t win them all.
Anyway, to the match, which has a death percentage of 50% as of April of 2010. And sadly, it’s the young guys who are gone. What is wrong with wrestling? Terry starts with Rocko. Lockup, nothing. Lockup, nothing. Shoulderblock is nothing too. Rocko is freaking out for no damn reason. Dory shoots off, criss-cross leads to Dory getting a forearm. Double clothesline doesn’t work as Rocko hangs on to the ropes. Grunge tags in and locks up with Dory. Shoot off and another criss-cross, leading to Dory hitting the forearm to him as well. Lockup, tag to Terry who holds a headlock. He grinds it in. Funk gets bored and tosses Grunge to the floor. Grunge gets pissed and comes back into the ring. Grunge slugs it out in the corner, but Dory fires off a few nice looking European uppercuts. People would talk about how nice Terry’s punches were. They couldn’t hold a candle to Dory’s. Dory suplexes Grunge into the ring for two as Rocko breaks it up. Armbar headlock by Dory, tag to Terry for a double clothesline. Delayed powerbomb by Terry for two, almost like he did it after setting up a piledriver. To the floor where Grunge and Terry brawl. Terry no-sells some peck-slapping and tosses both of PE into the front row. Chair shot by Terry to one of the PE. Things have broken down and chairs are tossed into the ring. This lead to some pathetic looking shots by Terry, followed by a nice pair from Dory. Dory, who’s 53 here, is making his younger brother look feeble.
Dory and Rocko fight to the outside while in the ring Grunge chairs Terry a few times. They bail to the outside where Grunge and Rocko chair Terry some more. Dory and and Rocko brawl in the ring, where Grunge chairs Dory. This match started out OK and now has turned into total crap. Rocko drags Dory to the outside and slams him into the guardrail. Meanwhile, Grunge and Terry fight all the way back of the building. Joey Styles calls it great camera work, which would be true if you could actually see what’s happening. It’s too dark to follow.
Grunge does some kind of slam to Terry. In an unintentionally funny moment, the camera then misses Terry chair Rocko. Hilarious. Scoopslam by Grunge to Funk for two. Schoolboy with a handful of tights for two. Another for two. Tag to Rocko… why bother with the actual tagging stuff if it’s no DQ and battle axes are legal?… and he misses a splash, allowing Dory to roll him up for two. Grunge dumps Dory to the outside and holds him. Rocko misses a flipping plancha and hits Grunge instead. Big uppercut by Dory and some mounted punches that actually look horrible. Dory is clearly gassed. Another uppercut, which looks way better then the mounted punches, then Dory slaps on the spinning toehold. Grunge breaks it up with a clothesline for two.
Meanwhile, Terry is busted open on the outside. Paul Heyman and 911 hit the ring to bitch about the ref. 911 chokeslams the ref, and then the heels all dog-pile on Dory and Heyman makes the fast three count. Terry comes in and wipes out all the heels somehow, then counts a three for Dory. Oh yeah, Heyman was a fucking genius with ECW. Grunge chokes Dory with some tape, which Dory knees out of. Dory is incredibly gassed and can barely move. Grunge and low blows Dory and then rakes the eyes, which Dory somehow gets out of. I mean, it’s impossible to describe it because it’s so bad looking. Grunge chops at Dory in the ring then makes a cover, despite the match being over. I guess. Meanwhile, Terry and Rocko fight on the balcony, next to Joey Styles. Terry hogties Rocko then hangs him from the eagle’s nest.
* Started okay, but once the brawl was on the match started to suck like a Hoover.
Match #13: Intercontinental Championship
(c) Rocky Maivia vs. The Sultan
3/23/97 Wrestlemania 13.
Funny… Honky Tonk is Jerry Lawler’s cousin and they’re calling the match for Rocky vs. Sultan, aka Fatu, a pair of cousins. Sultan has Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik with him. In a way, you can say this match made the Rock’s career. Before this match, he was considered borderline obnoxious. The WWE shoved him up everyone’s throat until nobody could take it anymore. Chicago fans are smart-asses so they felt ok booing Rocky, and it was loud enough to be heard on TV. Non-smart assed fans were like “Hey, they’re not playing along! We can do that to!” Thus, Rocky was getting booed everywhere. A well-timed injury resulted in Rocky leaving the WWE for a few months. When he came back, they turned him heel and he became arguably the most famous wrestler ever as a result of it. This is what that started that ball in motion. Which is the only thing this match will have going for it.
To the match. Rocky tries to get the fans to cheer him. Fans are like meh. Clothesline by Sultan, Rocky nips up, fans go meh. Shoot to the corner and Rocky fires out with a clothesline and a few dropkicks. Fans go meh. Rocky runs out to punch Sultan but ends up clotheslining the ringpost. Sultan smacks Rocky around. Back in the ring, more punching and a clothesline. More punching. Rocky tries to punch out of it but gets tossed in the corner and clotheslined down. Arrogant cover by Sultan for two. Fans start to chant Rocky Sucks for the first time, but not the last time. Oh lord, not the last time. Nerve hold by Sultan and a kick to the gut. Backbreaker and Sultan climbs and hits a headbutt, drawing a face pop.
Another arrogant cover for two. Sunset flip by Rocky but Sultan gets out of it with a chokehold. Rocky breaks it up only to get punched and belly to bellied for two. Now to a chinlock. This goes on forever. Fans start to hate-hoo the match. The arm drops twice but Rocky’s still alive. This draws boos. Double KO spot knocks both guys out. Rocky makes the cover for two. Sultan slugs it out and Rocky hulks up. Ali shuffle and weird dancing by Rocky. Dropkick, shoot off and a punch and a belly to belly for two. Roundhouse DDT by Rocky draws a face pop because it’s an impressive version of the move. Rocky climbs and hits a crossbody for… nothing as the Sheik distracts the ref. Superkick by Sultan for two. Piledriver by Sultan and he finally hooks the leg on the cover for two. Schoolboy by Rocky for the pin. Fans are happy it’s over. Sultan jumps Rocky after the match and pounds on him with the IC title. Backlund and Sheik order Sultan to big splash him off the top rope. Sheik slaps on the camel clutch, but out comes Rocky Johnson to make the save. Ali Shuffle to Sultan. Sultan grabs the Iran flag and smacks on Rocky Sr. Rocky Jr. KOs Sultan, slams the Sheik, then Rocky Sr. up and he slams Sheik. Double Ali Shuffle and that’s the end of this segment.
* Meh, a few people ranked this with negative stars but it honestly wasn’t that bad. It’s bad, but not bad-bad.
Match #14
Brian Christopher & Jerry Lawler vs. Ivan & Scott Putski
7/14/97 Raw
Interesting choice for the DVD. Scott was going to be one of the guys the WWE’s Light-Heavyweight Division was built around. He had an incredible build and was actually pretty decent in the ring. However, at Ground Zero in September of 1997, he dislocated knee in a match with Christopher and that pretty much screwed over his workrate. He floated around WCW for a while, losing every match he had over the course of two years before he was let go. I’m not even sure if he wrestles anymore. Ivan was 56 here, but still looked good for his age. He had what could be described as a shockingly good series of matches with Superstar Graham in the 70s, and likely would have won the WWWF Championship if he had been taller.
The Lawlers jump the Putskis, hitting a double backdrop to Scott. Scott recovers and hits a nice powerbomb on Brian. That was one of Scott’s problems: he would go to the high-power moves too early in the match. Scoopslam to Brian, then Jerry misses a dropkick and hits his kid. Clothesline by Scott to Brian, shoot off and Brian goes low and punches away. Scott slugs it out and hits a crazy flying clothesline. Jerry trips up Scott and Brian holds him for a free shot. Slam into the stairs. Scott looks like the Ultimate Warrior. Just thought I would mention that. Ivan bitches about the double teaming, while Scott gets tossed in the ring. Facebuster by Brian, then a tag to Jerry. Punches by Lawler and a double team. Jerry hits the piledriver on Scott and covers… for two as Brian tells pops that he wants to score the pinfall. Brian tags and goes for the hip-hop drop but misses. Scoopslam by Scott, and then a double clothesline into a double KO. Lawler tags in and holds Scott for a free shot, but Brian misses a superkick and nails daddy instead. Scott makes the hot tag to his dad. Punches for all. Scott quickly recovers and throws a bunch of punches himself. Polish Hammer to Jerry Lawler finishes for the Putskis.
** Not a bad little TV tag match, but not exactly worth watching either.
Match #15: WWE Tag Team Championship
(c) Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. Eddie & Chavo Guerrero
9/18/03 Smackdown
Eddie is also the US Champion at this point, and had just caught fire as a babyface. Shelton & Eddie lockup, with Eddie taking Shelton down to the mat and tagging Chavo. This is Chavo’s first match back from an arm injury. He gets an uppercut, then a tag to Eddie. The heels double team Eddie in the corner. Hard whip by Charlie to Eddie. Shelton tags in, but Eddie fights back and hits a belly to belly overhead, then a tag to Chavo. Tons of kicks to Shelton, monkey flip to Shelton, dropkick to Charlie, and then a crazy looking spinning head scissors to Shelton. Double planchas by Los Guerreros hit, giving us a chance to take a commercial. When we come back, Eddie is choking Charlie with the tag rope. Thumb to the eye by Eddie, then a tag to Chavo who drives a knee into Charlie’s back. Snapmare/dropkick double team for two. Charlie fights back and drives Chavo to the heel corner, where Shelton tags in and slugs it out. Chavo fights out of that and tags Eddie. Backdrop suplex is countered by Shelton for two. Shelton goes for a bomb but it gets turned into a sunset flip for two. Double clothesline and both guys are out.
Both guys tag out, with no crowd reaction. Shelton smacks the shit out of Chavo with a thrust kick to the injured arm of Chavo. That looked great. Charlie sends Chavo into the corner and brawls him. Armbreaker using the ropes by Shelton, and then a northern-lights suplex for two by Charlie. Tag to Shelton who goes after the arm. Keylock by Shelton, tag to Charlie kicks the arm. The World’s Greatest Tag Team, if they had been allowed to stay together and keep working it, could have gone down as one of the all-time great teams. Considering that neither Charlie Haas nor Shelton Benjamin has a lot in the way of charisma, I think they should have never broken them up. Shelton did have some singles success, but he was also buried in spectacular fashion as well. Chavo fights back and gets a diving clothesline. He goes for the tag but Shelton stops it. Chavo makes the tag but the ref doesn’t see it. Heels double team but Chavo ends up getting flung into Charlie with a dropkick. Hot tag to Eddie gets a cold reaction from the crowd, as Eddie gives bunches to all. Backdrop to Haas, three amigos to Shelton, then Charlie fires back with a German Suplex for two. Shelton accidentally KOs Charlie with a thrust kick, then an armdrag/headscissors combo to the heels. Eddie climbs but gets crotched by Shelton. Eddie recovers but puts the breaks on the frog splash and instead dumps Charlie. Heels grab chairs, but Shelton misses and Chavo dropkicks Shelton’s knee. Shelton is injured, and then Charlie botches his end of a double backdrop and almost breaks his neck in what looked like a muscle-buster type of powerbomb. Chavo gives Charlie a brainbuster and Eddie hits a frog splash for the pin and the tag titles.
***1/2 Good TV match. Crowd was a bit dickish.
Match #16
The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
8/21/05 Summerslam
Randy bails to start. He gets in and locks up, but Undertaker tosses him off. Orton up to get bitch slapped in the face. Orton uses his speed to avoid the Undertaker a few times, then grabs a headlock. Shoot off by Taker and a shoulderblock for two. Hiptoss by Orton and a clothesline, but he runs into a big boot. It gets two. Keylock by Taker, and then we get to hear Orton loudly call for Undertaker to knee him in the shoulder. Undertaker does. What is this, “Wrestling’s Greatest Secrets Revealed II: Randy Orton”?
Wristlock by Undertaker but Orton prevents the ropewalk with an armdrag off the top for two. Orton smacks Undertaker around in the corner. The ref pulls Orton off, allowing Taker to throw Orton into the corner and slug away. Whip to the corner, but Orton gets a boot up. Orton runs at Taker and eats a big boot himself. Two count for that. Shoot off Taker and a flying clothesline for two. Punches to the gut by Taker and a boot to the face. Taker goes the extra effort of tying up Orton’s arm in the rope before punching the gut. Undertaker intimidates the referee out of the ring, then hits a running knee to Orton. Some stiff ass shots between these two. Disrespect slap by Taker, then more punches and elbows. I’m beginning to think these guys have nothing here. Running big boot misses and Taker gets tied in the ropes, then kicked to the apron. Orton charges but eats a backelbow in the face. Undertaker tries to get into the ring and Orton smacks him with a sick as hell DDT out of nowhere for two. Fans are pissed at that it would seem. Orton goes nuts attacking the knee. I would say the fans are split 50/50.
Knee cruncher to Taker’s leg, then he starts to whack the leg into the ring apron. Taker sells the leg injury fairly well. I doubt it lasts more then five minutes. Orton kicks the leg and drops elbows to it, but Taker catches him on one and holds him in a rear naked choke. Orton holds a leglock, then frees both of them. Kneedrop for two. Taker slugs it out on his knees. Uppercut by Taker but Orton hits a straight kick to the face for two. Kick to the gut by Taker, then a shoot off, reversed by Orton who hits a powerslam for two. Grapevine hold by Orton, almost a toehold, but Taker reverses it and slams Orton’s knee into the mat. Shoot off by Taker, but Orton hits the worst chopblock I’ve seen in a while. He then goes back to the leglock. Taker again grabs a rear naked choke with it. Orton never learns. Orton drops his weight on Taker’s knee. Orton tries it again but Undertaker kicks him over the top and to the floor. On the outside, Taker slams Orton into the stairs, then places him on the apron where he drops a leg on him. Silly move to do when you have an injured leg, but Michael Cole actually covers it well for once, noting that he lands it on the right leg, with the left leg not landing on anything.
In the ring, Taker hits the ropewalk. Cole notes he has no explanation for how he did that. Taker does sell the injury, buckling upon landing. Reverse STO by Taker for two. Snake eyes by Taker but Orton counters the running big boot with a dropkick. Fans seem mostly in favor of Taker now, with one loud ass chanting “BORING” loud enough to get on camera. Nothing more obnoxious then having a single asshole saying it over and over and being close enough to the microphones to pick it up. The WWE should have sent out security and dragged him to the back, then forced him to become blood brothers with Cowboy Bob.
Randy goes for the RKO but Taker throws him off. Orton sells it like death. Taker goes for the Tombstone but Orton reverses into his own, but Taker reverses that, but Orton reverses THAT and gets the wrap-around backbreaker for two. Orton hits a crossbody off the top, but Taker rolls through it and hits a chokeslam. He calls for the end, but some crazy old fan crawls in the ring and slows him down. Security tries to stop him, along with Undertaker and the referee. It was done really well, almost looking real. Taker goes to pick Orton up, but Randy hits the RKO for the pin. And who was that crazy old fan? None other then Cowboy Bob Orton Jr. Nice disguise too. It doesn’t look anything like him. It’s too bad Bob got fired for blading despite having hepatitis, because the paring of Randy and Bob was a bigger boost for Randy’s career then winning the World Title from Chris Benoit. The heat for both of them was insane.
***3/4 for the match. It was actually well done, despite the punchy-kicky opening. The Undertaker sold the leg injury throughout the match, and hey, actual psychology is something I can appreciate. Nice finish too.
BOTTOM LINE: Overall, a huge letdown. You get 16 matches. Of those matches, ten are ** or under and only one match was four stars or better. Granted, they were limited to the family theme when choosing matches, but the quality just isn’t there. The main feature wasn’t interesting enough to make up for the bad matches and so thumbs down for this set, even at the $5 price tag.
