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Matt's Monday Night RAW Recap - 4/6/2015

Happy MLB Opening Day to everyone.

I apologize for the lateness of this recap. We had a late night last night and we got in and pretty much fell asleep from a long day. In any case, I will hand the thing off next time. I really, honestly, thought I would be awake enough to get it done as I usually do.

LET'S GO...

We are LIVE(!!!) from Austin, Texas!!!

Byron Saxton is in for the pretty-much-dead Michael Cole and he's joined by JBL and Booker.

JBL: "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS THIS WEEK!!! I HAD SURGERY AND I'M HERE!!!" (LONG, VERY uncomfortable silence.)

Seth Rollins is in the ring with Kane and J&J Security. Big Show joins them. Crowd won't stop booing. Big Show reminds us that this "our champion", the guy who got a huge pop just because he was beating up Roman Reigns. Rollins says that the biggest takeaway from WrestleMania wasn't the large attendance or the Twitter "trend" record. It was that they always wins. He reminds us that Triple H and Show both went over at WrestleMania. He tries to pump up Kane by saying, "Kane was THERE!" Show pumps up Rollins as the new champ, then kisses his ass. Rollins tries to talk up Kane again, but Randy Orton interrupts.

Orton's here to remind everyone that he BEAT Rollins at WrestleMania. He wants the Championship and asks Kane to grant the match. Kane says that, tonight, there will be a Triple Threat Match to determine the #1 Contender for the match at Extreme Rules. It will feature: Roman Reigns, Ryback for some reason and Randy Orton. But, Orton's got another match...against him. Rollins isn't happy at all.

The clicking sound you hear is everyone switching to Better Call Saul.

MATCH #1: Kane vs. Randy Orton
Orton hits a couple clotheslines in the corner, then puts Kane in another corner, but get gets sent outside by a Kane uppercut. When we come back from break, Kane boots Orton and pins him for two. He clotheslines Orton in the corner, beats on him and hits a Sidewalk Slam for two. Kane hits a suplex and gets two. Kane tries a Chokeslam but Orton breaks the hold and kicks Kane outside the ring. He goes for the Elevated DDT and hits it. Orton goes for the RKO but Kane leaves the ring. Orton chases and beats Kane against the barricade...so, Kane retaliates with a chair and it's a DQ at 9:01 which didn't feel that long at all thanks to five minutes of Popeye's ads and commercials for 5 Gum.
WINNER: Randy Orton via DQ
RATING: 1/2*. Arbitrary, pointless and DOA and went nowhere before an abrupt, shitty end. What do Kane and Big Show have on Triple H and Vince right now? Why did Orton not go over here?!

Post-match, both guys almost hit their big moves, then break away from one another.

Speaking of pointless and arbitrary:

TONIGHT: Ryback faces Luke Harper

ALSO: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show

Byron and the guys address AJ's pregnancy "retirement".

Backstage, Brad Maddox is talking to Kane who yells at Maddox. Then Rollins shows up to yell at Kane because Kane's not the "Director of Operations"...? Anyhow, Rollins is tired of Kane "not getting it": they're supposed to be protecting Rollins. Kane reminds Rollins that Rollins wouldn't even be champion without his help at Money in the Bank. Kane says that it's his job to book Rollins against a "viable opponent" at Extreme Rules. Rollins says it's probably time for Kane to step down from Director of Operations and that Triple H and Steph would agree with him. Kane says that Triple H and Steph are on vacation in the "South Pacific with no internet or cell phone connection". What, did they travel to Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific? Rollins says that Kane will answer for his bullshit when they get back. Kane retaliates and says that Rollins is in a match...NEXT!

Well, not really "next". Byron has to talk with JBL and Booker about Brock Lesnar going into Hairless Wookie Rage last week and then we get clips of it.

Seth is out for his match -- NEXT!

Oh, wait, now we get a commercial break. So, like, after that. 

When we come back, Seth's opponent is...Neville?! We're already ready to job Neville?! Jeebus in a canoe, this show...Rollins sarcastically introduces him to the audience and has Neville introduce himself. Neville doesn't talk, so Rollins pretty much calls him chicken shit and tells him to sit this out. Neville kicks him instead.

MATCH #2: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins (w/ Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury) vs. Neville (non-title)
Neville hits a nice arm drag and rolls Rollins up for a one count. Rollins comes back, knocking him to the mat with a shoulderblock. Rollins stomps at him as JBL talks about "having surgery" for the 47th time. Neville does his gymnastic flip routine and kicks Rollins in the face, then sends him outside and leaps at him with a flipping splash. J&J tries to attack but Neville gets back into the ring. After a break, Neville and Rollins fight in the corner and Rollins trips him, sending him, face-first, into the buckle. Two count. He chokes Neville against the bottom rope as the crowd tries to pump Neville up. He makes a short comeback but Rollins just whips him into the buckle and drops some knees for two. Side headlock on Neville but Neville gets to his feet and breaks. Series of counters and Rollins hits a quick Enzuguri for two. Rollins hits a knee to the gut against the ropes as Booker says that "Neville is a winner no matter what happens tonight." Rollins punches Neville in the face a bunch of times and it's another headlock. Neville fights out and hits a chinbreaker. Rollins whips him to the ropes and Neville hits a lariat and kicks. Rollins comes back with a huge running clothesline which flips Neville in a complete circle. It's another two count. The two trade shots but Rollins goes for the Buckle Bomb. Neville counters it and goes for his finisher -- but J&J get involved. Neville manages to kick Mercury away from him but Rollins manages to get up, grab Neville for the Buckle Bomb and Curb Stomp to close it at 12:01.
WINNER: Seth Rollins via Curb Stomp
RATING: ***. Not a bad match but Neville barely seemed to have any offense for most of it.

Post-match, Rollins & J&J beat up Neville and taunt him because fuck the new guy.

TONIGHT: Triple Threat Match between Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and Ryback.

ALSO: John Cena REEEEEALLY doesn't want the Franklin Mint 'Murica Commemorative Plate Belt anymore! PLEASE TAKE IT!

Furious 7 is #1 at the Box Office this week. No surprise there.

Out comes John Cena for the "Open Challenge". Cena pumps up the crowd, hits a cheap city pop, brags about beating Rusev, CHAMP IS HERE, etc. He says that Rusev wants a rematch with him at Extreme Rules. Cena says he wants to have a Championship Match RIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS!!! He says he's not gonna just cough the belt up, though. He tells somebody to come out and get some...and it's fucking Stardust. The crowd reacts by hitting the snack bar. Wow. Shouldn't Neville have been booked here instead?

MATCH #3: John Cena (champion) vs. Stardust (challenger) for the WWE United States Championship
Crowd chants for Cody who screams at them and tells them "IT'S STARDUST!" Some heavy countering and Dust hits a Sunset Flip for two. Cena sends him out of the ring but Star holds the top rope and flips back in. Cena slams him and drops punches. He hits Move #1 and stops. Star backs off and goes into a corner. Cena just tosses him around like a rag doll, then hits a VERY delayed Vertical Suplex for two. Cena clotheslines Star's head off and gets two. Headlock by Cena. Star breaks but runs into Cena's shoulderblock which must be like running into a wall. Finally, Star just rolls out of the ring and addresses the crowd. After a break, we're back to the latest Cena massacre. He has Star in the AA but Star actually escapes, hits a buckle and dropkicks Cena, getting two. Cena runs at Star in the corner but gets a boot to the face and can barely pretend that hurt. Two count by Star. Star leaps at Cena again and Cena counters with a sitting Powerbomb of sorts for two. Another AA sees Star landing on his feet and hitting a quick Alabama Slam for two. Star sets up his finisher but Cena comes back with a Falling Body Slam for two. Cena sets up for the AA AGAIN but Star escapes for the third time and hits a Sunset Flip for two. Cena gets up and hits Move #3. He goes for the 5KS but Star kicks him and hits a DDT for two which we recap about two or three times because NOBODY EVER DDT'S CENA! Star hits a nice splash off the ropes and NEARLY gets a fall. Star runs at Cena but Cena grabs his leg and hits the STF. Star escapes and hits Cross Rhodes -- NEARLY getting another fall. Cena instantly gets up and hits his brand-new movie, that goofy Springboard Stunner plus an AA to retain at 13:16.
WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: John Cena via AA
RATING: ***. Complete mis-match on paper which translated to a crappy first half. Got way better as it went along. The problem is that I really didn't believe, for one second, that Cena is in any danger.

STILL TO COME: The Triple Threat Match

TONIGHT: Reigns vs. Big Show

ALSO TONIGHT: Ryback vs. Luke Harper

MATCH #4: The Bella Twins (Brie Bella & WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella) vs. Naomi & Paige
Paige and Brie start. They lock up and Brie slaps Paige who comes back, pissed, clotheslining Brie. Paige charges the ropes but Nikki distracts her. Brie knocks Paige out of the ring. She kicks at Paige and puts her back into the ring, hitting the Drunken Knee or Brie Mode or whatever we're calling that. Brie puts on the CHINLOCK OF DOOM. Paige breaks but gets tossed to the mat. Brie tags Nikki and the twins hit a double suplex. Nikki puts Body Scissors on Paige, then breaks the hold and struts around the ring. She slams Paige against the buckle, then runs at her and misses. Hot tag to Naomi which gets nothing from the crowd. Naomi works over Nikki, then knocks Brie off the mat. Naomi misses an attack off the ropes and hits the fucking stupid Ass Bump. Brie comes into the ring to help. Paige kicks Nikki's head off, then ejects Brie from the ring. Naomi hits a Leg Scissor DDT which, again, gets nothing from the crowd. That seals it up at 5:14 as JBL says "FUNK IS ON A ROLL" so many times, even my neighbor Tweets WWE to tell them to take JBL off the air.
WINNERS: Naomi & Paige
RATING: 1/2 a *. I'm all for giving Divas a chance...but there's nothing going on with them. We went from Nikki feuding with her sister to Brie suddenly not giving a shit about her sister's abuse to Nikki winning the title to Nikki feuding with Paige to Nikki feuding with both AJ and Paige to...constant tag team matches. I have a feeling this is the status quo until Total Divas restarts.

The Primetime Players cut a promo about how awful The New Day is.

MATCH #5: Ryback vs. Luke Harper
Ryback beats up Harper in the corner but Harper comes back with a quick dropkick and uppercuts. One count. Ryback hits a Falling Press Slam but runs into a Superkick on a failed Meathook attempt. JBL: "FEED ME MORE? YEAH! THROUGH A STRAW!" Ryback falls outside and Harper goes after him, beating up on him. He rolls Ryback into the ring but misses the Clothesline From Hell. Ryback runs at him and Harper hits Winds of Change for two. Harper hits a Crossface but Ryback breaks it and hits a suplex. Shell Shock and we're done at 2:34.
WINNER: Ryback via Shell Shock
RATING: *1/4. Routine squash.

The New Day is backstage with Renee who FINALLY acknowledges that the fans are saying, "New Day sucks". Kofi: "It hurts that they say that...but we clap...or we SNAP..." Uh. Wut. Big E talks about signing autographs. Because he can clap. Then they clap.

MATCH #6: The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E) (w/ Kofi Kingston) vs. Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto)
Kofi still does the New Day clap. The crowd does the New Day Sucks chant. So, this is the Painfully Ironic Day now, I guess. The New Day beats up Cara in the corner with no mercy whatsoever. Woods puts a chinlock on Cara but Cara breaks. Woods immediately hits some kicks to his gut and gets a two count. Big E gets in and continues the beating. Cara manages to flip over E and tag Kalisto who destroys Woods. E tries to attack but Cara dumps him.. Woods tries a cheap roll-up but only gets two. Kalisto hits his finisher, then dives at E and Kofi. Tag to Cara who hits the Flying Reverse Senton for the win.
WINNERS: Lucha Dragons
RATING: **. Short match, but effective. Kalisto and Sin Cara are an impressive team.

NEXT: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show

MATCH #7: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show
My feed cut out for part of this. It continues with Show choking Reigns against the bottom rope. Reigns comes back with punches but Show just grabs him and tosses him out of the ring. Show continues the beating outside but gets tossed into the ringpost on a counter by Reigns. Reigns dropkicks him in the head but Show comes back with a Spear. After break, Show has Reigns in the ring and hits a Side Suplex. Reigns gets to his feet because Show just walks around and/or stands there. Reigns comes back with a kick in the corner but Show grabs him and hits a Sidewalk Slam. Show goes for a Vader Bomb, hitting it perfectly. He gets two. Reigns gets to his feet and Show kicks him out of the ring again. Show follows, beats on him some more, then stands there and waits for Reigns to wake up and get back in the ring again. Show grabs him by the hair and just kinda stands there, looking at him. Reigns punches him, then hits three Superman Punches and Spear and we're done at around ten minutes.
WINNER: Roman Reigns via Spear
RATING: *. Big, dull, boring -- just like the other two matches involving the #1 contenders. Aren't you glad we have to sit through another match with all three of them?

Kane is leaving a message for Triple H and Steph -- despite the fact they're on Gilligan's Island. Natalya, Summer, Cameron and Alicia come in, squealing over Kane. They all want a "battle royal" to determine who the real #1 Contender should be for the Divas Championship, despite the fact that three of the four of them don't do anything remotely meaningful. 

Renee Young stops Reigns and wants to know his next move. Reigns holds up his fist and tells her wait and see.

Sheamus has new music to match his new look. It's not bad at all. He wants everyone to know that he is what a "real man looks like". He says grown-ups are speaking now. He says that the little go-getters don't do much at all. He says that people criticize him for bullying smaller guys...but there aren't really guys his size, so he has no choice. Mark Henry's music hits and out he comes to job.

MATCH #8: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry
Sheamus isn't having this and leaves the ring. He tells Henry not to waste his time -- so Henry grabs him and tosses him back into the ring. Sheamus isn't happy and tries to kick Henry. Henry grabs his leg and knocks him down. Sheamus fights back and clubs Henry across the neck. Henry blocks a move and dumps Sheamus from the ring. Henry chases and Sheamus just hits him in the face. Back in the ring, Sheamus tries for Ten Beats but Henry stops it at four. Sheamus knees him in the gut until he goes down. Sheamus picks him up again but Henry goes for the WSS, which Sheamus escapes. He hits the Brogue and we're done.
WINNER: Sheamus via Brogue Kick
RATING: N/A. This was your typical semi-squash. 

MATCH #9: The Miz vs. Damien Miz-dow
Miz-dow (who is still Miz-dow despite breaking free of Miz) immediately attacks Miz and it's a brawl that spills outside the ring. Miz-dow runs Miz's head into the mat, then picks him up and knees him in the head. Miz-dow kicks him in the corner, then chokes him. He tries to rush at Miz but Miz kicks him in the head and starts wailing on Miz-dow, kicking him in the head after a flurry of punches. Miz chokes Miz-dow against the middle rope and works him over in the corner. Miz-dow comes back and beats up Miz in the corner, nailing him with hard elbows. Miz-dow hits a quick suplex and drops an elbow. Miz gets to the ropes but Miz-dow won't let him go, hitting him with hard knees. Miz finally drops out of the ring. Miz-dow chases him back in and Miz is on him, kicking away. Miz-dow regroups in the corner and Miz climbs up on him, grinding his face into the buckle. Miz-dow stands up and puts Miz on his shoulders, hitting an Electric Chair Drop. Miz-dow gets up and headbutts Miz who rolls out of the ring. Miz drops Miz-dow's neck on the ropes and comes back in, rushing. Miz-dow quickly hits a clothesline, then a back/neckbreaker combo. He goes for the SCF but Miz blocks and it's more brawling before Miz manages the cheap roll-up pin to end it.
WINNER: The Miz
RATING: ***1/2. This was the match of the night. These two fought with incredible intensity. Great stuff. Why they couldn't wait until Extreme Rules is puzzling, but it's fine.

NEXT: The main event...

MATCH #10: Ryback vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat Match for the #1 Contender's Spot for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Ryback tries Shell Shock on Reigns but that doesn't happen. Orton and Reigns dump him, then fight int he corner. Ryback comes roaring back into the fight and clotheslines Reigns who comes back with his leaping clothesline, getting two. Orton and Reigns trade shots and Orton hits a clothesline out of the corner. Ryback dumps Orton out of the ring and goes to work on Reigns...and, suddenly, the Authority is out in force on the entrance ramp. Ryback puts Reigns in the corner, then hits a powerslam. He attempts the Meathook but Orton comes in and hits clotheslines on both guys, then hits twin powerslams in stride. He goes for the Elevated DDT on Ryback but Reigns leaps up and clubs Orton in the head. Two count. Reigns hits about a half dozen clotheslines in the corner but Orton interferes. Reigns hits a Superman Punch on Orton. Ryback hits a Spinebuster on Reigns. Ryback goes for a Meathook, nailing Reigns. Nobody cares. Orton tries an RKO but Ryback fights out and hits a Spinebuster on Orton. He goes for Shell Shock but Orton escapes. Reigns hits a Spear on Ryback and rolls out of the ring. The Authority approaches the ring, so Reigns dives at all five guys. Rollins gets involved and fights off Reigns. Show hits a KO Punch to finish him off. Orton grabs Rollins' hair and drags him in the ring, then hits an Elevated DDT. In comes J&J and Ryback hits them with Spinebusters. Orton hits an RKO and he's the #1 Contender.
WINNER: Randy Orton via RKO.
RATING: **. So, The Authority hates all three guys, books them all in the same match, then interferes for zero reason whatsoever, enabling Orton (who Seth didn't want to face) to win the match? Anyhow, this wasn't that bad...it's just stale. 

Post-match, Rollins hits a Curb Stomp on Orton and stands tall as we go off the air.

OVERALL: **1/2. Nobody cares about any of the Main Event guys and it's really weighing things down.

Er, that's it.

Comments

  1. Dustin even dropping the Goldust voice for the final "SO SHUT UP" is the best part

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  2. I was blown away by the KOTR match. Never heard any high praise for it. To me it's everything people hail their Rumble match to be and more.

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  3. Awful, awful show. Has EVERYONE gone part-time in this company?

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  4. Let's sign Lesnar to a contract...then make him vanish!

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  5. I remember nash saying kid was the wwe barometer on if guys could work in the wwe. and if he said you were good you were.I think vince was just testing to see if Mero could hang

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  6. At the the time I think they were trying to make the "Free For All" a thing as it was airing on the Preview Channel to get any last minute buys.

    Remember the Preview Channel?

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  7. Its not shawns fault imo hall nash kid and Bret left at the same time bret came back in 6 months.and shawn a white meat baby face with a 60 year old rather then being an edgy smart ass face that would have worked imo.but he gets the blame for that time

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  8. I don't get the point of the #1 Contender Series. Orton had a logical claim to it. Just go him vs. Rollins and let Roman sell the Mania beating/loss.

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  9. This show also featured the post-show with Bulldog jumping Shawn yelling at him for banging Diana.

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  10. Jose should have been there for wm12 and rumble 97 and that's all

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  11. Exactly that shawn would have been great.I seen that in his promo after Jose got hurt by sid him pissed off and ranting was great

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  12. Mero was so agile his ssp was awesome I never seen it prior to him doing it

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  13. he had a "°Hart on" for Diana

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  14. Ugh my mom almost banned me from watching wrestling because of that shitty angle

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  15. About as bland and monotonous as it gets...I'd watch 2000 Nitro's over this any day. Christ....

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  16. I like his match with Goldberg at Starrcade, controversial as it may be.

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  17. I didn't like it too much once I realized brets no selling.botchamania did a good job pointing out the problems in that match

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  18. Or instead of booking the triple threat and then putting each guy in a tune-up, say you're going to have a triple threat at the end of the night between the winners of the following matches: Reigns vs. Ambrose ("mutual respect"), Orton vs. Sheamus (or Ziggler), Ryback vs. Kane (why wouldn't Kane try to get himself a title shot?). Give it some kind of suspense.

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  19. Neville is just "Neville" now? That is atrocious. Whoever told Vince calling guys by just their last names is a good idea needs a cunt punt.

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  20. His injuries he would gain steam but got hurt and would start over again until he left. but he probably would have gotten lost in Tha attitude era

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  21. Interesting that WWE was able to relatively quickly read the crowd's reaction to New Day and start turning them heel, but plays tone-deaf with other acts they're determined to get over. And is Kane slowly turning babyface? I keep saying this and keep being proven wrong, but I think he and Show are nearing retirement. Kane should go out as a babyface.

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  22. At least it's a recent thing.
    "From Greenwich, Connecticut ... the 13-time world champion ... HELMSLEY!"

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  23. The Preview Channel followed by 2.5 hours of Scramblevision...sometimes i miss the 90s

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  24. At least they don't have Cole gleefully yelling, "THEY CALL HIM NEVILLE!!!"

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  25. There's another rant of this show out there somewhere with a think a more in depth play by play of razor Vader.

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  26. "the match you'd never thought you'd see - miz vs mizdow". ??? Everyone saw that they'd end up there eventually.

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  27. I guess I can delete this show from the DVR without bothering to watch it. It sounds terrible.

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  28. Who was the Brodus Clay looking dude who came out with Goldust and Marlena for their match?

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  29. The Mania honeymoon is over.

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  30. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

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  31. I actually thought Diesel turned in a better performance at KOTR than at the Rumble. Both are Bret carry-jobs, but the Rumble felt like a true broomstick match while at KOTR Diesel seemed to at least be pulling his weight. And the run-in DQ is actually pretty great.


    KOTR '94 is an odd, odd show. It came when the WWF was at possibly its lowest point and the entire event has a chaotic, "off" feel about it. Vince wasn't at the show at all and dear Lord does it show--had he been there we may have had the plug pulled on Art Donovan earlier. Monsoon feels woefully out of place in '94 and he and Savage would have been a disaster together even without Art. Plus a disaster of a "main event."


    And yet, it has a lot of really good wrestling and aside from the Piper-Lawler showdown that was at least 7 years past its sell-by date, some realy good booking, too. It's not a bad PPV at all--just a very weird one.

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  32. They absolutely should have pulled Art after the first match. The KOTR match just had so much more life and energy than their Rumble match did. And the booking of the Rumble match just didn't work for me.

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  33. I agree though. Solid show despite horrible commentary and the main event defeats the purpose of the whole direction they were pushing for the company.

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  34. Thanks for the recap. I didn't want to have to watch the show in it's entirety. So glad I stopped watching the show after the first hour.. Same old shit..

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  35. Kane should go period.

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  36. Which is too bad. Mania was entertaining enough on its own that one of my friends was like. Oh, cool. I'll check out Raw again. Maybe I'll get back into wrestling. And he watched the Raw after Mania and was amused. Then this, turned it off by 10, and said he's good. And we also kind of had a week NXT this past wednesday as well. Why no all star show when everyone is still sort of amped! Why you no can synergize!

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  37. Oh, he would have a hundred percent been Helmsley if he came out with that character in NXT and was called up

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  38. There's like a whole YouTube community based on the Preview Channel


    Of course I remember it


    When there was nothing on TV to watch as a child, I watched the Preview Channel for hours at a time

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  39. As a kid, I cried at Survivor Series 1996.


    I cried because my favorite wrestler lost the world title. I couldn't have cared less that some old fucker I only knew as Shawn Michaels' mentor possibly suffered a heart attack because Sid hit him in the heart with a big-ass camera.

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  40. "The problem is that I really didn't believe, for one second, that Cena is in any danger."

    And that's the crux of the problem with this whole angle. Nobody is going to buy any of these chumps against John Cena, because none of them have been booked to look competent.

    I agree 100% that this was the spot to use Neville, because a good match with John Cena where Cena raises his hand post-match does far more for him than losing to the champion and getting the post-match beatdown that makes him look like every other geek in the midcard.

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  41. But seriously how great was Better Call Saul

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  42. I'm a firm believer of strike when the iron is hot. WWE is employing the opposite approach.

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  43. That would've been similar to Cena's debut against Angle.

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  44. I remember watching that stuff as a kid and my two older cousins always swore up and down that Diana was like the most beautiful woman ever


    Twenty years later, I look at the broads they've been with and the ones I've been with... yeah, I win.

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  45. The only bad thing I have to say about it is that it's done for the year.

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  46. That last line

    "I know what was stopping me, and I'm damn sure I'm not letting it stop me ever again"

    I got a chill.

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  47. Virgil's Gimmick TableApril 7, 2015 at 9:23 PM

    God I hope they save that segment for Zayn.

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  48. I remember they would have infomercials run in the middle of the night. I have no reason why but this one sticks in mind about the escape from Alcatraz. I think it was for the Dionne Warwick hotline.

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  49. I recommend watching WWE on a PPV-only basis. I personally feel quite content doing that. They recap the major feuds with video packages anyway.

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  50. Worked with Batista because Batista is a very cool sounding name. Neville is not.

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  51. 50? I think you're off by 45.

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  52. Obsoletes???? Fie on thee, sir!

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  53. But with Bryan instead of Cena

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  54. I feel like Shawn's mic work is underrated. Especially as a babyface.


    Yeah, it wasn't great material, but the dude could talk.

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  55. I enjoyed JBL fucking up and calling him Adrian Neville several times and audibly thinking "shit!" and trying to recover it, only to do it again shortly after.

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  56. Never appeared again from what I recall.

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  57. I was at a local indie show where the guy went for a top rope leg drop and put his head through the ceiling and his finisher was a drop kick to the other guy's ass. THAT was more entertaining than this.

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  58. 2 people with legit claims to it. Lesnar and Orton. Lesnar is suspended so LOGICALLY it would be Orton. But, you know, WWE logic says there must be a series to fill programming.

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  59. Maven at New Year's Nevolution 2005 is also a top contender. He almost started a riot in Puerto Rico that night.

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  60. You will feel stupîd when Samoa Joe debut as a surprise challenger and beat Cena for the title

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  61. First names are for sussy, Pal !

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  62. I know the show wasn't that great... but they sure had a lot of wrestling. I don't know about you, but I find I'd rather watch two hours of mediocre wrestling with 30 minutes of promos than 30 minutes of wrestling and two hours of promos.

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  63. He has to go to NXT to learn how to work.

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  64. And the video recaps are much better than watching the feuds play out week-to-week.

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  65. me too I was really mad when shawn lost it ruined my night. I was happy when he got it back then he sat out most of 97 which sucked because he was great

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  66. Yea he was very believable and did his best given the guys he was against like Owen Davey vader not exactly the best promo guys

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  67. I redid Shawn v. Diesel for the Vintage Collection show a few years ago, but not Vader-Razor.

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  68. I think he honestly created the "Main-Event Promo Style" that's been copied (less successfully) by a bunch of dudes since.

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  69. It started with him and Bret when they would talk for 20 minutes so I agree with you on that. For a guy his size and strength facing much bigger stronger guys it's amazing how his career went

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  70. With no Michaels there's no Jericho/Edge/Punk/Guerrero as main-event guys.


    You might even be able to give him credit for Benoit and Bryan too.

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  71. Davey Boy was always very solid in the ring though. He didn't have the charisma or the talking ability to ever be a genuine top level guy, but he could always be relied upon to plug into the upper mid card or occasional main event match and perform with credit. And he was at least a big draw in the UK, if nowhere else.

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  72. Granted, its a tag match but that Diesel/HBK v. Razor/Kid match from Action Zone is one great piece of business. Also may not count because Nash got to take a nap for half the match.

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  73. If we lump in tag matches then absolutely agree on the Action Zone tag. Maybe my favorite tag match ever. Definitely top 5.

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  74. I think those opponents were chosen to help reintroduce to newer fans and build warrior up as a mega face, since both goldust/lawler are total heels the fans rally against. The plan was pair warrior against these heels, reestablish him as big face while killing time before putting him in main event title picture later in year

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  75. "Shawn crawls to the ring, and finds a fire extinguisher, which he discharges into Diesel’s face."


    I understand using the extinguisher to disorient your opponent, but then why not hit him with the metal extinguisher afterwards? Was that too extreme for 1996 WWF?

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  76. "Leave tonight or live and die this way". Interesting.

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  77. Absolutely he is he trained Bryan and influenced jericho im not sure what wwe would be like if he never was there

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  78. He did suck. Period. I'm not afraid to say it, either.

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