LFC Blog

A blog by Guest

Followers 0

entries
147
comments
305
views
28006

About this blog

Read about Liverpool and stuff.

Entries in this blog

Sort By

LFC Blog

Review: ECW 1/21/96, from the ECW Arena.

ECW looked easy, and it was. So here. ___________________ An Axl Rotten video package opens the show, and you know why? It's cause he's facing Rob Van Dam in the first match. In Rob Van Dam's FIRST ECW match, as well. Van Dam and Rotten both do some faux karate kicks, and Rotten starts the action with an eye rake. Van Dam does a japanese armdrag, then gets a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. RVD does these funny looking karate punches on Rotten, and puts Rotten into the corner, where he does that 'ram into a guy twice with the shoulder, then flip and do it again' thing. Rotten rakes RVD in the eyes, inevitably causing Van Dam to miss a spinning kick (of course that wasn't the reason). Rotten does a t-bone suplex, which certainly was a surprise to me, and clotheslines RVD, so RVD does a 360 sell of the move. Nice. Axl slams Rob and goes up top, but misses an elbowdrop. This match ain't as bad as I thought it'd be. Rob gets a legsweep, and a big splash from up top for 2. Axl winds up on the outside, and Rob comes out with a somersault plancha. Rotten comes in, and gets kicked by Van Dam as Van Dam came off the top rope. A standing moonsault gets 2, and Axl misses a charge in the corner after some left hands. Rob finishes Axl with a spinning slam and split-legged moonsault. *3/4. That's probably one of the best Axl matches I've seen. No joke. Remember, Jim Cornette hates Ian Rotten, not Axl. I don't disagree with him. Ian and his promotion, IWA-Mid South, are a large part of what is wrong about independent wrestling. I'm obviously referring to their violent nature. ___________________ A video package runs which highlights events from the past few weeks of ECW television. Those highlights are...the return of the FRANCHISE, Francine being totally eliminated, Cactus Jack helping Mikey Whipwreck win both the TV Title and Tag Team Titles from 2 Cold Scorpio, the subsequent reaction from Raven when Cactus tried to bring Mikey to give the titles to Raven, in which Raven and Cactus had a bit of an altercation. Last but not least, we have the clip that denotes a possible Taz/911 feud (which never happened, because 911 left ECW), and Beulah's announcement that she's pregnant. The video package was pretty long, and the audio was terrible. Bad song selection. ___________________ Taz is facing Hack Myers, and I'd be making a big mistake if I didn't mention Myers' nickname. It's "the Shah." Now, you ask, why is it the Shah? Well....after every move, punch or kick that he does, both he and the crowd yell out, SHAH. It's actually funny. When I saw the nickname and heard the 'shahing' for the first time, I thought it was a little dumb. But it grew on me, and it's pretty damn funny. Bill Alfonso accompanies Taz to the ring, and he's wearing a Cowboys jersey. In Philadelphia. That's a big no-no. The heat deflects to Taz as it's supposed to, and the crowd starts a "fuck you Taz" chant. Hack starts with a "shah", no, excuse me, armwringer, but it doesn't do much, as shown when Taz hiptosses him. Taz applies an armbar, but Hack makes it to the ropes. Taz gives Hack a droptoehold and applies a rear naked choke, but again, Hack reaches the ropes. Hack starts a comeback, which consists of punches, until Taz gets a halfnelson Tazplex. A release german suplex puts Hack on his head, and the Tazmission finishes. Well, that didn't last long. *. Taz tells everyone to fuck off. Nothing about 911, just a bit about Sabu, and the statement made in the last sentence. ___________________ Next is a bit of footage from House Party 96, unfortunately, it's a hack job. I've heard good things about this match between Sabu and Stevie Richards, though, so try to find it. Sabu does a sunsetflip powerbomb from the ring to the floor on Richards, and it's worth noting that the floor isn't padded. Of course, this IS EXTREME. The thud of Richards head on the concrete was sick. Sabu wins it with the atomic Arabian facebuster, btw. ___________________ Now, we go to the end of the show, even though Styles and Tazz said we'd see footage of Sandman vs. Konnan. Guess not, and it's probably for the better. Strange as I am, I wanted to see it. The promo reel goes in this order. Tommy Dreamer and Beulah, Raven, Richards and the Blue Meanie, Fonzie and Taz, the Pitbulls, the Eliminators, and the Franchise tells Tommy Dreamer that he'll team up with Tommy against Whipwreck and Cactus. The FRANCHISE wants Cactus. He doesn't care about Mikey. ___________________ End show. Not as good as last week, I suppose that's the only way to give these an overall rating. They're short, so if you read this before watching and don't like the sound of what's there, don't watch it. Or watch it, and be bored. Whatever. Notable for the debut of RVD, and not much else. It took me about 20-30 minutes to type this, so hey. Easy review, that's why I got it over with. Prime Time Wrestling has to be next, otherwise it WILL go off. And I haven't watched it yet.

Who knows how long it'll take to get this up...I'll update when I'm done. Ok, I watched this on Saturday. Wasn't able to finish until Friday. Not very good. ___________________ Of course there's an opening video, but who really cares about that stuff? From now on, if there isn't anything notable in the opening video, I'm not mentioning it. Anyway, the opener is Rey Mysterio vs. MVP for the United States Championship. Blow-by-blow: Rey's wearing this, um, thing over his head during the introductions...one side looks somewhat like the mask of LA PARKA, and the other half is yellow and ugly. MVP takes Rey down to the canvas at the beginning, but Rey kicks away at MVP, allowing himself to regain his footing. Rey gives MVP a flying headscissors, and pins him with a la magistral, unfortunately only getting a 1 count. Rey armdrags MVP to the outside, then gets ready to dive onto MVP...BUT, the referee gets in the way. We're not allowing that in these parts, not tonight, anyway. After his spiel, Rey just does it anyway. DISOBEYING THE OFFICIALS. Inside the ring, Rey charges into MVP, and MVP launches him into the turnbuckle pad. Ouch? MVP covers Rey for a 2 count, before going to a neck vice. After a drop-toe hold we go right back to the neck vice, which is then powered out of, only for MVP to give Rey a knee-to-face variation. MVP now applies an armbar, then covers Rey for 2. I don't really understand how that's supposed to "make sense." MVP puts Rey on his shoulders, presumably for a fireman's carry, but Rey lands on his feet during the move, and gives MVP a hurricanrana. Rey then gives MVP a springboard hurricanrana for a 2 count, and the crowd, well, they hoped it was over. But it wasn't. Rey goes for a springboard seated senton onto MVP, but he botches it, and both men tumble to the canvas. I laughed. To give this match a boost, Rey jumps backwards (landing back first) onto the top rope and moonsaults onto MVP, for a 2 count. Well, that was different. Both MVP and Rey go up to the top and they fight, with Rey getting the better, as he gives MVP a hurricanrana from up there for 2. MVP gives Rey a big boot for 2, and Rey counters an attempted hold into a reverse DDT, for a 2 count. Rey misses a 619 attempt, as MVP ducks out of the ring. On the outside, Rey gives MVP a hurricanrana, but as the referee is making his count, MVP decides that he's done, getting counted out at 11:28. After the match, Rey gives MVP a 619. Yay(!) and all that. Match Analysis: Standard fare. BUT, do I think these two could do a lot better? Hell yes, they could. **1/2 for a match which was slightly disappointing. ___________________ We flashback to Jeff Hardy and Triple H's victory over the opposing team at Survivor Series, and then, Grisham interviews Jeff Hardy. I WILL NOT QUIT, and that sort of thing. ___________________ Kane and CM Punk (ECW Champion) are now taking on Big Daddy V and Mark Henry w/Matt Striker in a tag team match... Blow-by-blow: Well, this sucks. To set this match up, Punk was attacked on ECW by his opponents. Henry tosses Punk to the canvas, but Punk gives Henry a few knees and tags in Kane. Kane dropkicks Henry in the knee, before tagging in Punk, who gives Henry a dropkick. Henry responds with a clothesline, and then tags in Big Daddy V, who goes to work on Punk. Matt Striker kicks Punk in the back, which allows Big Daddy V to give him a gorilla press slam. Henry misses a charge to the corner, which allows Kane to tag in and give Henry a clothesline from the top rope. Viscera tags in and gives Kane a powerbomb for a 2 count, followed up by a big splash. Henry tags in to give Kane a bearhug, then tags Viscera in, for a clothesline. Henry comes right back in, but Kane gives Henry a DDT, allowing Kane to tag in Punk. He gives Viscera an enziguri, but after kicking Striker, Viscera gives Punk a samoan drop for the finish at 10:40. Match Analysis: That was poop. 1/2*. ___________________ Vickie Guerrero is in the back, with Edge. I try my best to just ignore those segments... ___________________ Mr. Kennedy vs. Shawn Michaels is next up... Blow-by-blow: This should be fun. To start, both wrestlers slug it out. Typical. Kennedy slams Shawn and gives him an elbowdrop, before a backbreaker for 2. They went quick into that. Kennedy sends Shawn into the corner and upside down, but Shawn comes right back with a suplex. A single-arm DDT follows and so does a fujiwara armbar, in favor of Shawn. A cover gets two, so Kennedy knocks HBK to the outside. Smart move. Shawn rams Kennedy into the guardrail, and when Kennedy places his hand on the steel steps, Shawn steps on it. Nice touch, which will add to the match. I really dig it. We get more handwork of the knucklelock variety, until Shawn pins Kennedy for 1. Gee. Kennedy rams Shawn's back into the post when both are standing on the apron, and after coming inside, Kennedy kicks Shawn right in the face for a 2 count. Kennedy goes to the backbreaker submission hold, then puts Shawn down and elbowdrops him for 2. Kennedy goes up to the 2nd rope for a move, obviously, and when Shawn puts his foot up to counter, Kennedy grabs it and gives him an elbowdrop. That was, um, weird looking. To the chinlock we go, until Shawn backdrops Kennedy over the top. In Kennedy comes, and there goes Shawn's flying forearm. Kip-up, inverted atomic drop x2, slam, flying elbow off the top. Yeah, it's usually the same. TUNE UP THE BAND, but Kennedy counters and rolls Shawn up for 2. Shawn counters a fireman's carry pickup with a roll-up of his own for 2, and then Kennedy slingshots him into the ringpost. Ouch. Kennedy gives Shawn a rolling fireman's carry slam, and unsurprisingly, it only gets a 2 count. Kennedy tries for the MIC CHECK (WTF), but it's blocked. Kennedy punches Shawn with his hurt left hand after his right handed punch is blocked, SWEET CHIN MUSIC, Shawn wins by pinfall at 15:16. Hell yes to that finish. Match Analysis: This was the standard HBK PPV match. BUT, the standard HBK PPV match is ***. Add in that finish, and you've got ***1/4. Do I get tired of the formula...oh, not really. It is formula, but the formula is very good. ___________________ Todd Grisham interviews Randy Orton, who says the same stuff Jeff Hardy did, but in a different way. Wow, talk about good writing. ___________________ Jeff Hardy (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Triple H is our for a title shot at the Royal Rumble match... Blow-by-blow: They shake hands at the start, you know, because they respect each other. HHH pushes Hardy away though, and gives him a shoulderblock. Then HHH gives him a clothesline, but he misses a charge to the corner and gets dropkicked. Jeff misses a baseball slide as HHH is outside the ring, but he's able to ram HHH into the retaining barrier anyway. Jeff falls off when he tries to walk on the top of that wall, and HHH gives him a clothesline. Back in, and HHH slaps Jeff. HHH wants Jeff to fight him. Well. HHH misses a few punches, so Jeff gives him an inverted atomic drop, and the AAHHHH legdrop to the nuts. A dropkick follows for 2, and then, Jeff slaps HHH. HHH smiles and tosses Hardy out of the ring, so he can ram him into the steel steps, and the ring apron. HHH gives Jeff a few elbowdrops inside the ring, and then he pushes Jeff off the top rope and down to the floor. HHH elbows Jeff for a 2 count, and then gives him an abdominal stretch. A suplex is not allowed, so Jeff gives HHH an enziguri. HHH gives Jeff a clothesline for 2...then we go to sleep. Sleep. After that hold, Jeff gives HHH a missile dropkick. After 2 clotheslines Jeff goes up and punches HHH 10 times, but he misses a seated dropkick, allowing HHH to get...a 2 count. Jeff clotheslines HHH over the top rope, and follows him to the floor with a pescado. You know, WWE has trained their crowd so that whenever someone does that, there's a good-sized pop. One of the positives of the "WWE Style," I believe. Jeff gives HHH a crossbody off the top for a 2 count, then follows it up with a WHISPER IN THE WIND, which also gets a 2 count. Jeff now goes for the TWIST OF FATE, but HHH counters with a DDT for a 2 count. HHH gives Jeff a samoan drop when Jeff tried for a crucifix, which gets a 2 count. What also gets a 2 count is when Jeff rolls HHH over, in a strange counter. HHH misses a charge to the corner, which finally allows Jeff to hit that seated dropkick of his. Jeff misses the SWANTON BOMB, so HHH pins him for 2. Finsher reversals galore, and it ends when HHH gives Jeff a spinebuster. HHH tries for the PEDIGREE, but Jeff counters and gives him a jackknife pin for the 3 count at 15:23. You know what, that pop wasn't nearly as big as people made it sound. Match Analysis: I don't think it was as good as the last match, and the big crowd reactions for Jeff didn't really pick up until after this show. I'll give it ***. ___________________ The Great Khali is facing Finlay, but first, Khali cuts a promo. But I don't really care. Blow-by-blow: Khali pushes Finlay down at the start of the match, and goes through the typical big man offense. Punch, kick, choke, that is. On the outside, Khali rams Finlay into the apron, but Khali hits the ringpost on accident. To the nervehold we go, and then, Khali gives Finlay a horrendous spinning heel kick. Back to the neverhold, and then the HEAD CRUSH, but Hornswoggle distracts Khali. Khali hits Hornswoggle and slams Finlay, before taking a turnbuckle pad off. Honestly, my intelligence is being sapped as I type this. Finlay has a shillelagh, the referee takes it away, Hornswoggle gives Khali a lowblow, Hornswoggle gives Finlay another shillelagh, and he hits Khali with it in order to get the pinfall at 6:04. Whew. That was sorta tough to explain. Match Analysis: Sucked. Avoid at all costs. DUD. ___________________ Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton is for the WWE Championship. Blow-by-blow: Video first, and yeah, I don't think anyone buys that Jericho's going to win the belt. At least not yet. Jericho gives Orton an armdrag to start, and when Orton responds with a few punches, he also misses a charge to the corner. Jericho gives him another armdrag, and drops him along the top rope. Ouch. Jericho kicks away and applies an armbar, before giving him a spinning heel kick which sends Orton to the outside. Jericho flies out onto Orton with a PLANCHA, which is something he hasn't done in a while. Obviously because he hasn't wrestled in a while. Like, duh. Orton tries for the elevated DDT, but Jericho counters and goes for the WALLS OF JERICHO, which is also countered and turned into an Orton DDT. The cover gets 2, as does a cover after an Orton dropkick. A great looking dropkick, I should add. Before the dropkick, there was a chinlock that I didn't mention. Well, I didn't mention it because Orton went right back to it. Enough is enough, and as soon as I say it, the chinlock is done. Both collide, and after both get up, Jericho clotheslines Orton for 2. Jericho gives Orton a missile dropkick for 2, and in response, Orton gives Jericho a powerslam, which also gets 2. Jericho gives Orton a backslide for 2, but Orton rams Jericho's shoulder into the ringpost. Orton gives Jericho a superplex...for 2. Orton misses a dropkick, and as Jericho attempts to give him the WALLS OF JERICHO, Orton gives him a small package for 2. Jericho gives Orton an enziguri and a facebuster, but the LIONSAULT attempt misses. Orton gives Jericho the 3.0 backbreaker and primes himself for the RKO, but he can't get it, and Jericho gives him the LIONSAULT, for 2. The crowd is now in it, for Jericho to win it. Ok, that was a rotten attempt at humor. Orton sends Jericho to the outside, and after a bit of fighting, Jericho accidentally charges into JBL, who's sitting at the Smackdown announce table (you see, I know what happens, but I'd have put this down even if I didn't. It's notable.). Anyway, Jericho pushes JBL out of the way, and gives Orton a flying forearm off the top rope, as both wrestlers are back inside the ring. Jericho tries for the CODEBREAKER, but Orton rams him into the buckle. Orton tries to kick Jericho's head off, but Jericho counters and puts him in the WALLS OF JERICHO. The hold lasts for a long time and the crowd's going apeshit cause they think there's gonna be a new champ, but no, JBL runs in and kicks Jericho in the head, getting Orton disqualified at 15:04. Well I'll be damned. After the match, Orton gives Jericho an RKO. You know, because Jericho ain't on his level. Match Analysis: I thought this was better than any other match on the card, for at least one notable reason. Doubt of the outcome. All too often crowds don't pop for the nearfall, so this was definitely welcome. Pretty easy ***1/2 for me. The chinlock that Orton ALWAYS goes to nearly kills the momentum of every single match. Unfortunately. ___________________ Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix is for the Women's Title...but first, Jillian Hall comes out, to sing. Man, that's fuckin' funny. Blow-by-blow: Thankfully, Mickie interrupts that singing crap by making her way to the ring. Also, please be short. I want to finish watching this. Phoenix gives Mickie a shoulder block, but she misses a charge to the corner, only to give Mickie a powerbomb anyway, for 2. Phoenix gives Mickie a dragon sleeper now, but Mickie kicks away, breaking the hold. Phoenix puts Mickie in TREE OF WOE position on the buckles, but Phoenix misses her charge and Mickie rolls her up for 2. Mickie gives Phoenix a hurricanrana, then follows it up with a LOU THESZ PRESS. Mickie gives Phoenix a seated dropkick and a neckbreaker, then goes up top, nailing her with a missile dropkick. Unfortunately, Phoenix just gives her a fisherman's buster kinda out of nowhere, and that gets the pinfall at 4:46. So, Phoenix retains her belt. Match Analysis: People don't care, which sucks. If they did, these matches would need to be longer, and I'd be in favor of that. But with people who don't care, 5 minutes is long enough. *. ___________________ Our main event is Edge vs. The Undertaker vs. Batista in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Blow-by-blow: WWE's been running too many multi-man title matches lately. Just an observation. Tazz is on commentary for this one, because JBL went to the back after his attack on Jericho. Batista and Taker fight over who gets to take out Edge at the start, and Taker rams Batista into the retaining wall. Batista rams Taker into the buckle back inside the ring, and clotheslines Taker over the top and to the floor, where Taker then begins to choke Edge. Batista gives Edge a baseball slide, and Taker then rams Batista into the steel steps. Taker gives Batista the apron legdrop, but Batista rams Taker into the post, and goes back into the ring. Edge knocks Taker off the apron, and Batista gives Edge a black hole slam type, um, slam, for a 2 count. Edge drop-toe holds Batista into the turnbuckle, but Batista comes right back with a powerslam, for 2. Taker tries another apron legdrop after a few punches, but Batista clotheslines Taker instead. Batista gives him a spinebuster and goes for the BATISTA BOMB, but Edge lowblows Batista and gives him a DDT for a 2 count, as Taker pulled the referee out of the ring. Taker gives Edge SNAKE EYES, and the usual big boot follows for a 2 count. OLD SCHOOL on Edge and Taker goes for the LAST RIDE, but Batista gives him a spear. Batista tosses Edge out, and Taker applies a triangle choke on Batista, which surely would make one believe the match is over. Edge runs over to the ring bell, and guess what, he rings it, which gets Taker to break the hold. That was cute. Taker's really mad, but Edge SPEARS him for 2. Same happens to Batista, but it only gets 2. Edge grabs 2 chairs, but Batista kicks one into his face, and Taker clotheslines him over the top rope. Batista goes to the rope rope, but Taker crotches him, and gives him a superplex, for a 2 count. OLD SCHOOL follows, but Batista catches Taker on the way down, and gives him a spinebuster. Batista SPEARS EDGE, but Taker rams Batista into the buckle. WAIT A SECOND. That was not Edge who Batista SPEARED. Hmmm. Taker chokeslams Batista, and another Edge (yes, I caught on), but Batista clotheslines Taker for 2 as Taker's in a zone. A big boot zone, that is. Taker gives Batista the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER, but Edge (the real one) hits Taker in the back with a chair, and covers Batista to win the World Heavyweight Title at 13:00. That ends what was a very, very good show. Match Analysis: Yeah, every match with these three facing one another is pretty good. ***1/4. A bit too overbooked for my taste, but it was fun and enjoyable nevertheless. ___________________ Rating: Good. Almost great, but based on my Survivor Series 2007 review, I can't go there, can I? If there was something over ***1/2, I would've went with the great rating, but of the PPV's I've seen from 2007, this is definitely the best. I probably should call this show great, but I won't. Best Segment: Uh, Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho. Worst Segment: The Great Khali vs. Finlay. I wish this Khali experiment would just fucking end. ___________________ I'll probably have a RAW and Nitro from 6/30/97 review up on Sunday.

Guest

April 11, 2008

Followers 0

Sign In

LFC Blog

About this blog

Entries in this blog

Review: ECW 1/21/96, from the ECW Arena.

Review: WWF Prime Time Wrestling, 8/3/87.

Review: NWA 1/4/86.

Review: WCW Monday Nitro, 4/7/97, from Huntsville, Alabama.

Review: WWF Monday Night Raw, 4/7/97, from Muncie, Indiana.

Review: Saturday Night's Main Event #18, 11/26/88, from Sacramento, California.

Review: WWF Prime Time Wrestling, 8/10/87.

Review: WWF Monday Night Raw, 4/21/97, from Binghamton, NY.

Review: WCW Monday Nitro, 4/21/97, from Saginaw, MI.

Review: ECW 1/28/96, from the ECW Arena.

Review: The History of the WWE Championship, Part 1.

Review: WWF Prime Time Wrestling, 8/17/87.

Review: ECW 2/4/96, from the Lost Battalion Hall in Queens, NY.

Review: NWA 1/18/86.

Review: WCW Monday Nitro, 4/28/97, from Norfolk, Virginia.

Review: Shorties Section from 12-5 to 12-8-07.

Review: WWE Monday Night RAW, from San Antonio, Texas, 12/29/03.

Review: Random Thoughts from 1-18-08, featuring the MNW from 5/19/97, the first Monday Nitro, and the shorties section.

Review: WWF Royal Rumble 1988, from Hamilton, Ontario, 1/24/1988.

Review: Random Thoughts from 1-21-08, featuring, well, just Smackdown.

Review: Random Thoughts from 1/31/08, featuring RAW and Nitro from 5/26/1997.

Review: Macho Man Randy Savage & Elizabeth Coliseum Video.

Review: Monday Night RAW from Hartford, Connecticut, 6/9/97.

Review: House Shows Posted on WWE 24/7 in March 2008.

Review: WWE Armageddon 2007, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; 12/16/2007.

Browse

Activity