CM Funk's Once a Day IN DEPTH Match Review

The Mandarin · June 8, 2004

BEST OF RIC FLAIR PAST HIS PRIME

Flair/Undertaker- WMXVIII

OR

Rock and Sock/Evolution- WMXX

P.S.- If you had to choose between JD03 and GFBE, you'd want to go with JD03. They only have the same rating because GFBE gets 1/4* more for Vince McMahon selling me on the match with his badass commentary.

June 9, 2004

Flair/Taker

The Mandarin · June 9, 2004

One fall, No DQ- Undertaker vs. Ric Flair
Date/Place- Toronto, Ont.- 3/17/02

Ref- Charles Robinson

Commentators- Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Undertaker tried to use a weapon on The Rock at No Way Out, but Ric Flair took it from him and whacked it over Undertaker's head. Undertaker then challenged Flair to a match at WrestleMania. Flair turned him down. So Undertakre beat the shit out of Arn Anderson, and then beat the shit out of David Flair until he got an answer. Funny thing is, during the hype video for this, they use the La Resistance music. Anyways, Flair goes nuts and then tries to kill Undertaker. Flair then pops a fan and is placed under arrest. Flair is almost kicked off the board of directors. Undertaker was actually pretty cool at this time. Too bad his matches SUCKED.

Character Related Info: Ric Flair is a legend to the wrestling business. Undertaker is the American Badass, or the devil, or whatever you want to call this evil-doing biker. Heel- Undertaker, Face- Flair

What this match is most known for: Arn's BADASS spinebuster.

The Match: Undertaker comes out to a pop. Hah. This is his tenth WrestleMania match.

Flair's robe is killer, and he runs into the ring and immediately tries to take down Taker.

Bell rings and Flair hits him with lefts and rights. To the outside, and Undertaker pops him in the face. Flair dives on Taker, knocking him over a table. Flair pounds Undertaker while he's down on the ground, and then keeps punching him in the face while some of the Toronto Raptors cheer him on. Undertaker gets up and punches Flair. Flair punches him back. Undertaker with an elbow that doesn't really connect. Back in the ring, Flair keeps pounding on him while Undertaker tumbles outside the ring. Flair tries diving on him, but is caught and Undertaker rams him into the ringpost. Punch to the back by Undertaker. Flair's head is slammed off the stairs. Flair's rolled back in the ring, and Undertaker takes his time. Undertaker yells at a fan in the front row, and then follows Flair. Flair starts hitting some nice punches. Undertaker looks like he's fading, but then chokes Flair and tosses him into the corner. Undertaker with several punches and a headbutt. Undertaker seems to be bleeding from the cheek. Undertaker irish whips Flair and he ALMOST does a Flair flip, but then just stops when his shoulder hits the ringpost. Ouch.

Sad note about ref Charles Robinson, his wife Amy was here for this event and died soon after from cancer.

Back to the other corner and Undertaker hits a mean elbow. Undertaker then hits Flair with a right and he falls down. Undertaker whips Flair into the corner and he does the Flair flip, lands on the ring apron and Undertaker big boots him off. Uch. JR calls him booger red, and I die a little inside. Flair's head is bounced off the table, and then Undertaker props him up on a chair at the timekeeper's position. Undertaker then punches and punches...and does some more punching. Flair blades, and he's now laying on the security railing. So Undertaker pops him some more in the face, does some throat thrusts and Howard Finkle gives Undertaker a really weird look. Flair's now really busted open, and slumps down as Taker pops him while he's lying on the ring apron. Robinson gives the OK for Flair, and both men get back in the ring. Undertaker boots Flair while he crawls on the mat, and then takes him into the corner. Flair is totally juicing, and Undertaker has a small trickle of blood coming back from his cheeck. Flair starts coming back with chops, but Undertaker whips him back into the corner, clotheslines him and punches him more in the face. There's blood on the camera now. Flair is whipped into the other corner, and then positions Flair on the top. Undertaker punches him again. This match has been ALL punching, no actual wrestling. Undertaker puts him on top and punches him. Superplex attempt? Woah! HUGE superplex!

Pin #1 (Undertaker)- 1-2-no.

Undertaker rakes some more at Flair's head. Flair fights back with a chop and Undertaker is livid. So Undertaker drops onto his head with a knee. Undertaker drapes Flair over the apron leaving his neck exposed, and Undertaker drops an elbow onto him. Flair's still there, so Undertaker climbs back up and legdrops onto him. Undertaker does something to a fan who had been constantly razzing him in the front row.

Pin #2 (Undertaker)- 1-2-no.

JR sells Flair as being near death. So Undertaker pops Flair some more in the head. Flair is busted open, and Undertaker positions him right in the middle of the ring and punches him. Flair is laid out. This match has had NO offense by Flair. Undertaker misses either an elbow or legdrop onto Flair (he just fell on his ass) and then Flair starts chopping. So Undertaker goes back to what had previously worked and punches him. Undertaker goes to the top and goes "Old School", but Flair flips him off the top. What was that move called before "Old School"? Anyways, Flair starts chopping Undertaker, bounces off the ropes and is sidewalk slammed.

Pin #3 (Undertaker)- 1-2-no.

Undertaker misses a boot and crothces himself on the top. Then Flair starts chopping. Flair follows Undertaker to the outside, finds a lead pipe and cracks it over Undertaker's head. Then Flair whips Undertaker in the side, the stomach and the BACK OF THE SKULL. Jesus. That was sickening. Anyways, Undertaker comes back and whips Flair's head into a steel grate. Undertaker is juicing, so Flair starts whipping him with a "Keep Off" sign. They get back into the ring and Flair punches Undertaker in the head while he is on his knees. Flair then does a BLOODY STRUT and punches Undertaker again. Flair bounces off the ropes and gets a goozle for his troubles. Flair with the lowblow! Undertaker falls down. Flair gets up and takes him down. FIGURE FOUR! Flair makes some hilarious facials and Undertaker falls backwards.

Pin #4 (while in the figure four)- 1-2-no.

Undertaker does the situp of doom, puts Flair back in the goozle and chokeslams while selling the leg. Good selling by Undertaker, who's leg gives out in the middle of the chokeslam.

Pin #5 (Undertaker)- 1-2-no!

Undertaker starts popping Flair in the face.

Pin #6 (Undertaker)- 1-2-no.

Undertaker is pissed, so he kills Little Naitch. Flair goes to the outside and gets the lead pipe. Undertaker gets kicked in the knee for his trouble. Chops by Flair, and then he irish whips Undertaker. Undertaker bounces off the rope, he ducks a chop and ARN ANDERSON runs in and does a BEAUTIFUL SPINEBUSTER! Robinson wakes up!

Pin #7 (Flair)- 1-2-NO!

Undertaker goes to the outside so he can kill Arn. Arn is now juicing. Triple juice! Triple juice! Undertaker puts him in the dragon sleeper so Flair comes in and kills Undertaker with chair shots to the back. So Undertaker no sells them, bounces off the ropes and boots Flair in the face. Last Ride--- doesn't work the first time. Flair's legs give way, so Undertaker tombstones him instead.

Pin #8 (Undertaker)- 1-2-3.

Winner: Undertaker

Undertaker signals that he's 10-0 by using his fingers. Good counting. Oh yeah, and Undertaker clocks Little Naitch again.

What resulted out of this: Flair refs Undertaker's match the following month, which leads to his heel turn which is ultimately canceled. Undertaker turns face after Vengeance 2002.

My review: This was basically a one-sided punch fest for the first half. Flair STARTED to come back, but Undertaker wasn't feeling it, and basically no-sold everything but a Figure Four. Arn Anderson's spinebuster tacks on another 1/4* for this match. Flair and Undertaker's blading also adds on another 1/4*. Not a good match. **1/4.

The Mandarin · June 9, 2004

MATCHES THAT GO FOR A REALLY LONG TIME:

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart- WMXII (2 parts, Thurs + Fri)

OR

Royal Rumble 2003 (Thurs + Fri)

June 9, 2004

Royal Rumble 2003

The Mandarin · June 10, 2004

I'll need a few more responses to pick a winner.

Aero · June 10, 2004

Rumble 2003

The Mandarin · June 14, 2004

A new week (hey buddy, I don't cover weekends), new match reviews.

One fall, No DQ, Intercontinental Title- Randy Orton © vs. Mick Foley
Date/Place- Edmonton, Alberta- 4/18/04

Ref- Charles Robinson

Commentators- Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Randy Orton and Mick Foley were scheduled to have a match on RAW in December 2003. Foley turned it down, even after Orton spat in his face. Foley came back a month later after Orton had ridiculed him on TV and said he was ready to fight because now he deep down hates Randy Orton. So they fought. Alot. And Evolution beat the shit out of Foley. Until The Rock intervened, and helped out his buddy. Evolution (minus HHH) defeated The Rock and Sock Connection at WrestleMania XX. Foley wanted Orton one on one. Orton accepted. This was the match that could make Randy Orton's career, ala SummerSlam 1998 for Rock and Triple H.

Character Related Info: Randy Orton is a punk kid who is trying to make a name for himself. Foley's the loveable but twisted hardcore maniac. Face- Foley, Heel- Orton

What this match is most known for: The thumbtack spot of doom

The Match: Mick Foley dives in the ring with Barbie, his barbed wire 2 x 4. He goes after Orton, who's using a garbage can to shield himself. Foley's shots dent the garbage can. Foley scoops up the garbage can with Barbie. Orton runs out of the ring and Foley gives chase. Foley swings Barbie rabidly, and Orton rolls out of the way for most shots. They knock over the cameraman and Orton seems to be caught near the timekeeper's table. Instead, he drop-to-holds Foley into the stairs. Orton takes Foley's Barbie and tries to drive it into his face. Foley catches the shot and they sort of play tug of war over it. Orton knees Foley, but he doesn't let go. So Foley pops Orton in the face. Orton rolls down and Foley looks to use Barbie. Instead, Orton slams a garbage can over his head thrice. NASTY shots. He goes for a running shot, instead Orton gets kicked in the face. Orton slams it over the back of his head. Foley soaks up the cheers and rolls Orton in. Orton is kicked in the face. Foley then starts choking him. Foley weighs 272 now. Good for him. Foley with a running knee and then a legdrop.

Pin #1 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Foley punches Orton in the face. Orton falls and he chokes him with his boot. Baseball slide launches Orton out of the ring. Swinging neckbreaker on the outside. Orton is down on the outside so Foley looks to elbowdrop onto him. Foley takes too long and Orton heads for higher grounds. But Foley catches up to him and rakes his face from behind. In response, Foley is back suplexed on the ramp. Falls count anywhere.

Pin #2 (Orton)- 1-2-no.

Backslide.

Pin #3 (Orton)- 1-2-no.

Orton is pissed and then starts kicking at him. He grabs Foley by the hair and throws him back onto the stairs.

Pin #4 (Orton)- 1-2-no.

Forearm shots. Foley is sent into the stairs, but not in the way that would see him get kneecapped. Foley is tossed back in the ring, Orton follows, picks up Barbie and he can't get it into Foley's face. So Foley manages to keep it away from his face, then low blows Orton who's standing behind him, clotheslines him and takes out Mr. Socko. But he has a change of heart. He asks the fans "who" they'd rather like to see: Mr. Socko or Barbie. Socko is left in the dust. So Foley just runs straight at Orton and smashes the bat into his face! And now Orton is juicing. So Foley dives onto him and drives the bat into his face. Orton gets up and Foley starts punching him in the face. Orton is cornered and Foley pops him some more. Foley "bang bangs" and does a running knee into the corner. Foley then picks up Barbie again and starts ripping Orton's flesh with it. Orton runs to the ropes and starts screaming into the camera. It looks like he's crying. 1/2* is immediately given for Orton's hilarious selling. Orton's knocked down, and wedges Barbie between Orton's legs, and LEGDROPS BARBIE INTO ORTON'S BABYMAKER. I think that was sexual assault. Foley goes to the outside and looks under the ring. He finds gasoline. The fans cheer. THEY ARE CHEERING FOR FOLEY TO BURN A MAN ALIVE. I love Canada. So Foley gets back in the ring and douses Barbie in gasoline. Foley goes to light it, but Eric Bischoff comes out and tells him that if he sets Barbie on fire, that not only will the fire marshall shut the show down, but Barbie will file for divorce. So Foley tosses the lighter away and the fans are pissed. Foley responds by slamming a baking sheet into Orton's head. That gets a good cheer. Foley goes to the outside and grabs a huge barbed wire board. The fans chant holy shit. Foley looks to dump Orton into it, but Foley is met with MR. FUJI POWDER in the face. Orton bodyslams Foley into the barb wire board! Holy shit!

Pin #5 (Orton)- 1-2-no.

Orton sets up the board in the corner, and looks to irish whip Foley from one corner into the board, but Foley won't give. So Orton goes to toss him, Foley reverses and Orton's going into the board! No! It's reversed again and Foley eats barb wire. And Orton dropkicks him while he's tangled in it for good measure. Foley falls and Orton pushes the board down onto him. The ref takes the board out of the ring and Orton gets a box. Which contains a bag. Oh my God, he's going to sick Damien on him! But no, it's thumbtacks. What a letdown. Orton kicks and punches Foley and signals that he's gonna RKO Foley into the thumbtacks. Orton bounces off the ropes, grabs the neck and is DRIVEN BACK FIRST INTO THOUSANDS OF THUMBTACKS. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ouch. Orton is rolled up!

Pin #6 (Foley)- 1-2-NO!

Orton goes to the outside and picks some thumbtacks out of his hand. Smart thinking. Orton runs the hell away but Foley follows. They disappear backstage for a second. But they come back out after a short washroom break and Orton is punched twice, and THROWN OFF THE STAGE INTO A LARGE BOX CONTAINING MANY WIRES AND SEVERAL TABLES THAT ORTON PLUNGES THROUGH. Or something like that. Orton fell in the same fashion as Foley from KOTR 98. Trainers come out to check on Orton. I think I see ARN~! So Foley looks like he's leaving and starts heading backstage. Instead, he punches the refs, including LITTLE NAITCH! NO! NO! NO! ..Foley jumps off the stage and elbow drops Orton. Holy shit.

Pin #7 (Foley)- ONE--TWO---NO!

Mike Chioda is ref now. Foley goes and talks to some fans. ...and then he points that he's taking Orton back to the ring. So he does. And Orton is punched in the face while he does this. Orton is rolled back on the ramp and Foley boots him in the face a few times. "ECW" chant. If only they had have kept Mike Awesome. Man, I miss that guy. Orton is rolled back in the ring and Foley signals for something.. Double Arm DDT!

Pin #8 (Foley)- ONE-TWO-NO!

So Orton ISN'T DEAD? That's a shock to me. Meltzer confirms that Orton is still breathing, as Orton smashes Barbie into Foley's face while Foley bends through the ropes to grab him. Foley is juicing from the face now, and Orton smashes Barbie into Foley's back, side, chest, and gut. Orton goes for the final kill...and is met with Socko! I thought this was it. But no! Orton with an uppercut! And then an uppercut again! To the nads! Foley is busted open and it is sick. Foley again applies the Mandible Claw. RKO on Foley.

Pin #9 (Orton)- 1..2..NO?!

Foley gets up and is .7 Eddie. RKO on Barbie.

Pin #10 (Orton)- 1-2-3.

Winner, and still champion: Randy Orton

What resulted out of this: Foley went to Japan and wrestled a bizarre match against Toshiaki Kawada. Orton was then put in a feud against Shelton Benjamin, defeating him and retaining his title.

My review: My favourite garbage brawl of all time, replacing Shane and Angle at King of the Ring 2001. Everything they booked went smoothly, and Foley is just such a champ. Mick Foley deserves all the respect he gets, and for this match, Randy Orton does as well. ****1/4.

Royal Rumble 2003 tomorrow.

The Mandarin · June 15, 2004

2003 Over-the-Top Royal Rumble
Date/Place- Boston, Mass.- 1/17/03

Ref- None

Commentators- Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Everybody's after the title shot, basically. HBK and Chris Jericho are feuding on the side, though, and both are entered numbers 1 and 2 for this match. The Undertaker is also returning from injury, and Brock Lesnar beat Big Show earlier in the night to be entered into this match.

Character Related Info: All thirty men are after the title shot and will toss anybody over to get it.

What this match is most known for: Version 1's hilarious antics

The Match: Entrant 1 is HBK. Entrant 2 is Chris Jerich-- no, wait, it's Christian doing Jericho's entrance as the real Y2J sneaks up from behind on Michaels and low blows him. The bell is rung and Christian is happy that their plan worked. Michaels gets bashed in the face repeatedly by Jericho. Jericho bounces off the ropes, punches him and then does some mounted punches. Jericho goes out through the second rope and gets a chair. Michaels staggers around into a nasty chair shot. The ref has some words for Jericho's heel tactics. Michaels is busted open (when ISN'T he?) and the timer starts ticking down. It is..Entrant 3 Chris Nowinski. He gets a face pop at first from being a local boy. He lets Jericho do his business with Michaels. Michaels keeps getting up only to be punched in the face by Jericho. Jericho picks the woosy Michaels up.. and Michaels is Elimination 1. Boos for that one. Jericho tells Nowinski to get into the ring. He takes his time. Jericho keeps yelling on the dumped HBK. Entrant 4 is Rey Mysterio. He dashes down to the ring, runs through Y2J's legs and bounces off the ropes and dropkicks him. He bounces off them again and does a headscissors. Irish whip by Y2J who tries a clothesline, misses and is hit with midair kicks to the side of the head, I guess. It looked like a powerbomb by Jericho but it wasn't sold that way. Rey gets up and is hit with a running forearm by Jericho. Jericho then knees him, and scoops him up. He looks to dump him over the top but Rey sends him to the corner. Rey charges and is met with a boot to the face. Jericho then sends him into the corner, but Rey lands on the top. Y2J gives him a shot and thinks he's taken him off. Rey hangs on to the turnbuckle/ringpost and then dropkicks Jericho off the top. Nowinski runs in for interference. Nowinski attacks Rey. Nowinski and Y2J then doubleteam Rey until #5- Edge runs down to the ring. Spears to Nowinski and Jericho. Hurricanrana off the top onto Jericho. Nowinski rolls out of the ring. Jericho's sent into the post and he falls through the second rope. Rey and Edge then fight. Both men go for a handshake, but break it up with double kicks. Spear attempt by Edge, who misses, hits the second rope and is almost hit with the 619. Edge avoids it, goes for a clothesline, misses, and Rey climbs up on Edge, who tries sending Rey over the top. Both men almost tumble out of the ring, but they hang on and get back in. Rey comes off the top rope with a hurricanrana, but Edge hits him with a powerbomb. They stall for a bit and the clock starts counting down. It turns out to be 6- Christian. Christian tells Edge that they're gonna double team Rey. Christian goes to attack Rey, but is met with a spear by Edge. No brotherly love here. Rey hops up on Edge's shoulders and Nowinski jumps in and dumps them both over the top..but they hang on. Nowinski thinks he did it, but Edge and Rey come off the top with stereo dropkicks..well, except for Edge's, who lands on Nowinski's face. OUCH. That was botched. Anyways, Nowinski is put in the corner and Rey delivers the Broncho Buster. His face was just nearly severely damaged, and now he's having another man's groin rubbed in it. Nowinski is a soldier. #7- Chavo Guerrero. He runs in with a spinebuster. They then do some cool reversing, but Chavo ends up eating the 619. Rey springboards off the top onto Chavo. Rey then hits the 619 on Christian, jumps onto Nowinski's shoulders and headscissors him over the top. Elimination 2 is Nowinski. Jericho finally gets back in and clotheslines Rey over the top. Elimination 3 is Rey. Jericho lays the boots to both Chavo and Edge. Chavo then hammers on Christian until Tajiri- #8 comes in. Tajiri with crazy kicks on Christian, sends him into the ropes and he eats spinning heel kick. Chavo with a back suplex on Tajiri. But Tajiri puts him in a spinning octopus hold. Christian then sets Tajiri up on the top and tries taking him over. Christian's attempts are met with Tajiri kicks and now Tajiri almost dumps him. #9- BILL DEMOTT. He's my pick to win. He comes in and BILL DEMOTT IS A HOUSE ON FIRE and he attacks Jericho, Chavo, and everybody else. Tajiri tries taking Edge over. Chavo is choked by Christian in the corner. Jericho almost gets dumped, but hangs on to the bottom rope. Bill Demott hammers on Edge and chokes him on the bottom rope. They hype that Bill Demott could fight for the title at WrestleMania. Yes, of course. Tommy Dreamer is #10 and he bears gifts. He comes in and delivers kendo stick shots to DeMott, Chavo, Christian and Jericho. But Jericho tells him way too loudly to do it again, and this time, DREAMER WINGS IT INTO HIS FACE. Your fault for calling the spot too loudly, Jericho. DeMott receives double team kendo shots from Dreamer and Edge. He gets hit until he falls over the top rope in an elimination that shocks everyone. Elimination 4 is Bill DeMott. Dreamer raises his stick and yells something. He's met with a NASTY garbage can lid shot to the head from Jericho, and then a singapore cane shot to the back. Jericho then has a temper tantrum and throws the stick at the mat. Of course, this is done because Jericho has a boo boo on his head from Dreamer's accidental stiff singapore cane shot. So Jericho beats him way too damn hard and then has a fit mid-ring. Way to be a professional. Elimination 5 is Tommy Dreamer. Jericho sits down in the corner and pouts. Chavo and Christian are met with Tajiri handspring elbows. Tajiri's whipped into the corner, where he gives Jericho a tarantula. Jericho gets out of it and dumps him over. Elimination 6 is Tajiri.. #11 is B-2. Bull then runs around, attacking everyone in sight. He is then eliminated when he's thrown over the top by Edge. By, Bull. Elimination 7 is B-2. Chavo is then thrown over the top, but he hangs on. So he waits on the ring apron for Edge to spear him off. Elimination 8 is Chavo Guerrero. Jericho's almost dumped over by Edge, but Jericho hangs on. Jericho runs back in and dumps Edge and Christian over the top. Eliminations 9/10 are Edge/Jericho. Jericho lays down and mutters "I hate you" at Tommy Dreamer silently as he watches himself on the video screen. I could swear I see tears in his eyes as he whines "I hate you" because he has a ugly knot on his forehead due to an ACCIDENTAL shot from Tommy Dreamer. Hilarious. Grow up, Chris. Entry #12 is RVD. He runs down and lays it into Jericho. Jericho bounces off the ropes and is met with a high heel kick. RVD is sent into the corner, but he comes back with an elbow, springboard dropkicks him, and then delivers the Rolling Thunder. Jericho is kicked in the face, and RVD is poked in the eys by Jericho. They do some whacky crap and then RVD slingshots Jericho almost over..but he hangs on. He comes back in the ring to see entrant #13- Matt Hardy, Version 1. Hardy delivers a neckbreaker to RVD. Jericho then slaps RVD as Hardy restrains him. Doubleteam on RVD. Jericho lays in the boots. They whip him into the other corner, where Jericho is slingshotted to him by Hardy. RVD rolls over Jericho and clotheslines Matt. Lionsault/bulldog combination by Jericho, but the former is missed. Five star frog splash, and that hits. Matt is gracious enough to try and dump him over. #14- Eddie~! It's hilarious how he gets NO reaction here, and one year later, he is arguably the most over worker in the company. RVD with a HYUGE monkeyflip on Eddie. Eddie's almost dumped over, but he hangs on. Matt tries to form a team with Eddie. NICE frogsplash by Eddie. But he's turned on () by Matt, who delivers the twist of fate! And number fifteen is..

The Mandarin · June 17, 2004

(cont.)..Jeff Hardy. Matt tells Jeff to stop, as they can work together during this match. If you'll recall, Matt turned on Jeff when he left for SmackDown. Jeff makes a quacking motion with his hand, symbolising that Matt is talking too much. WTF? Jeff looks SO messed up here, it's not funny. Actually, it is. He looks like a total freak. The girls in the audience go nuts as Matt gets kicked in the gut by Jeff. Jeff bounces off the ropes with a clothesline and then a jawbreaker followed by a legdrop to Matt Hardy's Nuts, Version 1 and 2. He then dumps Hardy over the top but Shannon Moore saves Matt by going on his back and kicking his legs up at Matt's ass, keeping him from falling off the ring apron. Great. Jeff is distracted by noises(!), so Matt goes to strike. He then gets a Jeff Twist of Fate for his troubles. Jeff goes to the top for the Swanton but Shannon goes in the ring and lays on top of Matt, softening the blow. Jeff it dropkicked by Eddie. The clock finally ticks down (it's so rigged) as Rosie is #16. Rosie attacks RVD and goes to splash onto him. RVD reverses and rams Rosie but is superkicked in the face. Matt is almost dumped by Jeff, but he hangs on. Eddie goes back to work on Matt, ramming him into the turnbuckle. Chris Jericho is still in this thing as well. #17 is your favourite and mine, TEST! Test gets a kiss from Stacy Keibler before he rolls in the ring. He cleans house with pumphandle slams, and big boots and all that shit. Jericho is almost eliminated, but he hangs on. Test chokes Matt Hardy with his boot while Rosey is chopping Jeff. Eddie catches his breath in the corner, but RVD chokes him with his foot. Jeff is almost dumped over. #18 is John Cena. This is when he was EXTREMELY green and his raps were atrocious. Now, he's just bland and his raps are boring. He continues rapping while they ignore the ring action. It's just brutal as he has to catch his breath half way through his rap. RVD goes out to fetch him. #19 is Charlie Haas, who gets a pop as the simpletons think it's Kurt. Test almost dumps Matt Hardy. Charlie is attacked by Rosie. RVD and Hardy punch back and forth. Eddie is being choked and RVD pushes Jeff off the top to the outside. Finally, an elimination and it's Elimination 11- Jeff Hardy. #20 is Rikishi, a veteran of eight Royal Rumbles. He attacks John Cena and kicks Cena, Hardy, Haas and Jericho. Rosey tries to make a pact with Rikishi. "Wussup, dog?" Matt Hardy and his MFer almost get stinkfaced, but Rosey clotheslines Rikishi. RVD recovers from being beaten on while Haas and Jericho brawl in another corner. #21 is Jamal who superkicks Rikishi. But Rikishi superkicks Jamal. Jamal gets stinkfaced by his bro. Jamal attacks Rikishi. Jamal and Rosey go to work on Rikishi. Jim Ross scares the hell out of me as he literally SCREAMS as RVD is almost thrown over by Jericho. #22 is Kane, who gets a big pop. He takes his time getting to the ring. Kane beats on Jericho, Test, Rosie, and even Rico, who gets chokeslammed. Rosie clotheslines Kane, but Kane sits up and Rosie is launched over after running at Kane. Elimination 12- Rosie. Double chokeslams to Matt and Shannon by Kane. Kane goes to launch Jericho over, but he hangs on and almost touches the ground. #23 is Shelton Benjamin, who with Charlie double teams John Cena. Then he works on Matt while Eddie strangles Rikishi. Test tries picking up Kane while RVD dumps Matt who hangs on. Kane works on Shelton. Rikishi punches Eddie and then scoops him up. Eddie hangs on to the top rope. Matt and Jericho trade blows. Test chokes Jamal with his boot. #24 is Booker T, who's pyro is HUGE. It's like the size of the stage. Kane is scissors kicked. Booker almost spinaroonies, but then flapjacks Matt instead. But then he spinaroonies. Eddie charges and is backdropped over the top! Elimination 13- Eddie Guerrero. RVD is almost dumped over the top by Matt. Jamal has been working on Test for about 25 minutes. #25 is A-Train. JR calls him a big horse. Baldo Bomb to Cena. Derailer on Shelton. Baldo Bomb to RVD. But he's superkicked by Rikishi. Jericho is almost dumped over by Rikishi, but he hangs on. Rikishi gets his eyes raked. Jericho comes off the top with a punch to the back. A bloody, previously eliminated Shawn Michaels runs in the ring and goes straight after Jericho. Jericho clotheslines Michaels, and is eliminated by Test! Elimination 14- Chris Jericho. Michaels planchas onto him. #26 is Maven! JR notes that Maven eliminated Undertaker last year. Kane works on Maven, though, getting some revenge for his brother. Test tries dumping Cena. A-Train scoop slams Charlie Haas and splashes onto him. Rikishi works on Shelton. Booker T gets a groin shot from Matt and Matt and Cena double team him. Test works on RVD. #27 is Goldust, who gets nifty gold pyro. He clotheslines Charlie Haas and beats on Team Angle. Goldust delivers the Shattered Dreams to Maven. Haas and Benjamin double team Goldust. Haas clotheslines Goldust over the top, and that gets booed. Elimination 15- Goldust. Booker T is dumped over by Team Angle and is kicked until he falls off. ! Elimination 16- Booker T. #28 is Dave Batista. He's not as swank at this point as he would be about a year later, but he's still baaaaddaaasss. But Test full nelson slams him. He tries dumping him over the top but Batista hangs on. Test attempts a Big Boot, but he misses and is crotched on the top. He then falls over. Elimination 17- Test Rikishi is spinebustered and clotheslined over by Big Dave~! Elimination 18- Rikishi. #29 is Brock Lesnar. He runs in the ring and kills everybody. Mostly Team Angle and Matt Hardy, but he attacks Maven and Cena too. But then Team Angle start working on him as Kane is almost dumped by Jamal and Batista. Woah! Brock Lesnar clotheslines both members of Team Angle over and then F-5's Matt Hardy onto them. Elimination 19/20/21- Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin and Matt Hardy. JR marks out. A-Train scissors kicks Batista after splashing onto Lesnar. #30 is The Undertaker. He almost stumbles getting in the ring. He then beats the shit out of Jamal, Cena, RVD, and the rest. He then throat thrusts A-Train and clotheslines Cena over. Elimination 22 is John Cena and then Jamal is clotheslined over by Taker. But Maven dropkicks Undertaker from behind and then brags that he knocked him over two years in a row. Haha. Of course, Undertaker hung on and then Maven is chokeslammed and sent over. Eliminations 23/24 are Jamal and Maven. Kane chokeslams Lesnar after Undertaker is hit with the Baldo Bomb. RVD is the smallest guy left here, as the final six are A-Train, RVD, Batista, Undertaker, Lesnar and Kane. Kane clotheslines RVD and Kane. Batista then attempts the detrailer on Kane, but Van Dam saves Kane and they both doubleteam clothesline A-Train over the top. Elimination 25 is A-Train and then RVD and Kane try for a doubleteam move on Batista, but Kane turns on RVD and press-slams him over the top. Elimination 26- RVD. RVD asks why, but then Kane shrugs and does the RVD thumb taunt. Funny bit. Batista clotheslines Kane from behind and it's a double clothesline spot. It's an all-hoss final four! Undertaker gets up and stares down Lesnar. Kane attacks Lesnar while Undertaker works on Batista with punches and shit. Undertaker gives Batista some right hands and Undertaker is sent into the ropes and spinebustered. Batista and Kane doubleteam Brock. Lesnar starts fighting back, though, and clotheslines Kane and Belly-to-Bellies Batista. F-5 on Kane. Undertaker and Lesnar have another staredown. Punches back and forth and Undertaker sends Lesnar into the ropes and boots him in the face. Undertaker bounces off the ropes and is almost dumped over by Lesnar. Almost. F-5 on Undertaker, but Undertaker catches him and tombstones Lesnar. Undertaker gets up and clotheslines Batista over. Elimination 27 is Batista. Kane is then helped up by Undertaker, and they look to double-team Lesnar. But Kane is thrown over by Undertaker after his brother screws him over. THAT is why Kane hates everybody. Elimination 28 is Kane. Batista runs back in the ring and tries to attack Taker with a chair, but Taker stops him, throws him back over and turns around to see Lesnar running at him. Lesnar then dumps Undertaker over. Elimination 29 is The Undertaker.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Undertaker high-fives Brock but not before asking him for a shot after he wins at WrestleMania. Cool bit there.

What resulted out of this: HBK and Y2J fought at XIX, Lesnar beat Angle at the aformentioned PPV, but not after almost killing himself on an SSP. Booker T won a Battle Royal to get his shot at HHH's title.

My review- There is one man who carried this Rumble-- Matt Hardy. Shannon Moore's antics were hilarious as well. RVD was entertaining as well. Overall, not too memorable, but still fun as always. ***1/4

Since I didn't review anything yesterday, I'll review another short match tonight. So, here's your options:

LEGALIZE IT: THE BEST OF RVD AT WRESTLEMANIA-

RVD versus William Regal- WM XVIII

or

RVD/Kane versus Lance Storm/Sean Morley- WM XIX

The Mandarin · June 17, 2004

Now that this thread has made it to 100 posts, what star rating would you assign to the matches that I've reviewed? My own ratings underneath.

Matches Reviewed
(in chronological order of when the match was first aired)

WWF Heavyweight Title- Hulk Hogan © vs. Andre the Giant-

*

NWA Heavyweight Title- Ricky Steamboat © vs. Ric Flair-

*****

Bam Bam Bigelow and Owen Hart vs. Pegasus Kid and Steve Williams-

***1/4

WWF World Title- 1992 Royal Rumble-

****1/2

Super J Cup '94 Finals- Chris Benoit vs. Great Sasuke-

****

WWF World Title- Shawn Michaels © vs. Diesel-

***3/4

AJPW Triple Crown- Kenta Kobashi © vs. Mitsuharu Misawa-

****3/4

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker-

****1/2

WWF World Title Quarterfinals- The Rock vs. Big Bossman-

No Rating

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Mankind-

**3/4

WWF World Title- Triple H © vs. Cactus Jack-

****1/2

Undertaker vs. HHH- WMXVII-

**3/4

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Steve Austin-

*****

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kaz Fujita-

*3/4

WWF Hardcore Title- Maven © vs. Goldust-

1/2*

Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- WMXVIII-

**1/4

Edge vs. Booker T- WMXVIII-

***1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar-

****

WWE World Tag Team Titles- Lance Storm and William Regal © vs. The Dudley Boyz-

**1/2

"Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter Match" Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson-

DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Chris Benoit-

*****

Royal Rumble 2003-

***1/4

WWE Women's Championship- Street Fight- Victoria © vs. Trish Stratus-

**1/4

A Tribute to Nathan Jones- Undertaker vs. Albert and The Big Show-

*1/4

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels- WMXIX-

****1/2

20 Years in the Making- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon-

**1/2

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar-

****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Ric Flair-

**1/2

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show- Stretcher Match-

***3/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show (ring collapse)-

**3/4

Goldberg vs. Lesnar- WMXX-

DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Eddie Guerrero © vs. Kurt Angle-

****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels-

*****

WWE Intercontinental Title- Randy Orton © vs. Mick Foley-

****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- Chris Benoit © vs. Kane-

***

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H-

*3/4

Total Matches Reviewed: 35

June 17, 2004

RVD/Regal

As for my star ratings:

WWF Heavyweight Title- Hulk Hogan © vs. Andre the Giant-

3/4*

NWA Heavyweight Title- Ricky Steamboat © vs. Ric Flair-

*****

WWF World Title- 1992 Royal Rumble-

****1/4

WWF World Title- Shawn Michaels © vs. Diesel-

***3/4

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker-

****1/4

WWF World Title Quarterfinals- The Rock vs. Big Bossman-

No Rating

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Mankind-

***

Undertaker vs. HHH- WMXVII-

**1/2

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Steve Austin-

****3/4

WWF Hardcore Title- Maven © vs. Goldust-

DUD

Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- WMXVIII-

**3/4

Edge vs. Booker T- WMXVIII-

***

WWE Undisputed Championship- The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar-

***3/4

WWE World Tag Team Titles- Lance Storm and William Regal © vs. The Dudley Boyz-

**3/4

"Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter Match" Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson-

DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Chris Benoit-

****3/4

Royal Rumble 2003-

***1/2

WWE Women's Championship- Street Fight- Victoria © vs. Trish Stratus-**1/4

A Tribute to Nathan Jones- Undertaker vs. Albert and The Big Show-

*

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels- WMXIX-

****1/4

20 Years in the Making- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon-

*3/4

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar-

****

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Ric Flair-

**1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show- Stretcher Match-

***1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show (ring collapse)-

**

Goldberg vs. Lesnar- WMXX-

1/2*

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels-

****3/4

WWE Intercontinental Title- Randy Orton © vs. Mick Foley-

****

The Mandarin · June 25, 2004

One fall, World Heavyweight Title- Chris Benoit © vs. Kane
Date/Place- Columbus, Ohio- 6/13/04

Ref- Chad Patton

Commentators- Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Kane won a Battle Royal, last eliminating HHH (with help from HBK) to grant him this match.

Character Related Info: Chris Benoit is FOR REAL. And he's a damn fine wrestler. Kane's the psychotic monster who sorta set Jim Ross on fire. Face- Benoit, Heel- Kane

What this match is most known for: Being Kane's best match in a while

The Match: Kane gets kicked and chopped several times, but he chokes Benoit and throws him into the corner. Benoit fires back and chops and kicks some more, chopping Kane into a corner where he has to cover up from Benoit's shots. Benoit tells Kane to bring it on. Kane nods, and then they lock up. Benoit with an armringer, but Kane overpowers and tosses him halfway across the ring. Benoit and Kane resume staredown mode. They look to lock up again, but Kane knees him in the gut and starts punching. Benoit fires back with chops, bounces off the ropes and smashes into Kane's shoulder. He rolls out of the ring while some guy yells "You still suck, Kane!" Haw. Benoit takes his sweet time getting back in the ring, and when he does, Benoit boots him in the stomach, but bounces off the ropes and eats Kane's foot. Benoit is then punches in the face by Kane, who repeatedly throat thrusts him. Benoit's sent off the ropes, ducks under a Kane boot attempt and goes for a German suplex, but Kane elbows out. Benoit moves before Kane hits an elbowdrop, and then gives Kane a grounded enziguri. Benoit with the Sharpshotter attempt that doesn't work, and the Crossface attempt gets nothing. Kane throat thrusts and bounces Benouit's head off a turnbuckle. But Benoit chops back at him, so Kane just keeps beating on him and ramming his head into the corner. Benoit and Kane go to the other corner, where Benoit slams his arm over a turnbuckle, and then attempts a Crossface. Kane reverses it with one arm and tries slamming Benoit down throat first on the top rope. Kane then clotheslines him and he goes to the outside, where he uses Benoit's vulnerable neck that's waiting for him under the ringropes. After several elbows to the throat, he rolls back inside, where he is dropped throat first on the top and Kane then chokes him with his boot. More boot choking, until Benoit starts firing back. Benoit is hit with a Kane neckbreaker, and then Kane pins.

Pin #1 (by Kane)- 1-2-no.

Kane applies something JR calls a "neck vice", but it's just Kane making grimacing faces while having one hand on Benoit's head and one under his chin. Anyways, Benoit starts powering up and hammers Kane, but Kane sends him into the turnbuckle and hits a sidewalk slam.

Pin #2 (by Kane)- 1-2-no.

Kane goes back to the "neck vice". It's held in for a VERY long time. But Benoit starts..Benotiing up, but Kane hits a throat thrust. Benoit then floats over Kane when he tries a backsuplex, and Benoit attempts a sharpshooter but is met with attacks to the back and neck.

Pin #3 (by Kane)- 1-2-twooooo.

Benoit gets up and chops him. Benoit bounces off the ropes and is tossed over the top rope to the ouside. Kane follows and Kane picks him up. Benoit falls down. Kane scoops him up and tries to introduce Benoit to the ringpost, but Benoit slips behind him and Kane's bashed off the ringpost. Kane almost gets counted out, but he makes it in at 7. Kane runs at Benoit and gives him a clothesline.

Pin #4 (by Kane)- 1-2-twoooo.

Kane picks up Benoit and sends him off the ropes. Kane then has his leg kicked out by Benoit. Benoit continues to work on the leg and comes off the ropes with a chop block to the back of the leg. There's no charleyhorsing in wrestling! Benoit attempts the Sharpshooter but is kicked off. Benoit goes back to the legs with a bounce off the ropes and a dropkick to the monster knee. Sharpshooter attempt fails, and Kane's got him in the goozle. Benoit gets out and starts punching the hell out of Benoit, he sends him into the corner and Kane charges with a boot. It misses and Kane's leg is draped over the top. Benoit uses this to his advantage and takes out Kane's vulnerable leg and puts him in the Sharpshooter. Big pop for that. Kane almost taps, but he makes it to the ropes. They both take their time getting up and Benoit attacks the back. Kane is actually SCREAMING now. Hah. Triple germans~ from Benoit. He then stands up and signals for the Diving Headbutt. But Kane sits up before he can get to the top. So Benoit gets back in, kicjks and stomps Kane, and hits three more German suplexes! 3 Germans + 3 Gerans= one big dead retard. Benoit does the WCW Benoit Blow(!) and swandives onto Kane from the top. Benoit doesn't cover after the headbutt, and the double count on both men reaches six before Benoit goes for the Crossface. Benoit's thrown off and Kane puts him in the goozle and hits the Chokeslam!

Pin #5 (Kane)- 1-2-TWO?

Kane's LIVID and he picks up Benoit and attempts the Tombstone Piledriver. Benoit gets off him and runs right into a big boot. Kane then goes to the top and goes for his top rope diving attack thing, but it's reversed into the Crossface. Kane's almost tapping, but he powers out! Benoit's still got him trapped with the other arm, and Benoit then grabs his torso and flips over him into an Oklahoma roll.

Pin #6 (Benoit)- 1-2-3?!

Winner, and still champion: Chris Benoit

After the match, Kane is..crying. Even Lawler points it out. There's no crying in baseball, Lawler states. Actually, if this match had have taken in Japan, odds are this would have ended up in Baseball (the oddly named wrestling magazine). So yes, there could have been crying in Baseball.

What resulted out of this: Kane then showed up the next night and tried to kill Shawn Michaels. Also, he knocked up Lita. And Benoit is doing absolutely nothing of note.

My review: Good match that Benoit totally carried. The finish doesn't bury Kane..although, y'know, he's a monster, not a crybaby. Maybe they should bring back the Ultimate Humiliation match, with Kane playing the role of former buddy X-Pac. And then Kane could wear a diaper and a bib. But anyways, Benoit's work was pretty crisp, and Kane wasn't dragging it down or anything. Could have been a tad shorter, but for what it was, it's about ***. I wouldn't pay money to watch this match again at Vengeance. There's better stuff on free TV.

You can still get the RVD/Regal match, OR I can do another HCTP review.

Will it be:

RVD vs. William Regal- WrestleMania X8

OR

Edge/Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle/Eddie Guerrero- HCTP, 2 out of 3 Falls?

DCMaximo · June 25, 2004

RVD vs Regal

As for my match rating:

WWF Heavyweight Title- Hulk Hogan © vs. Andre the Giant-

*

NWA Heavyweight Title- Ricky Steamboat © vs. Ric Flair-

****3/4

WWF World Title- 1992 Royal Rumble-

****

WWF World Title- Shawn Michaels © vs. Diesel-

can't remember it enough to rate

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker-

****3/4

WWF World Title Quarterfinals- The Rock vs. Big Bossman-

DUD

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Mankind-

***

Undertaker vs. HHH- WMXVII-

***1/2

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Steve Austin-

****3/4

WWF Hardcore Title- Maven © vs. Goldust-

DUD

Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- WMXVIII-

**

Edge vs. Booker T- WMXVIII-

**1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar-

***3/4

WWE World Tag Team Titles- Lance Storm and William Regal © vs. The Dudley Boyz-

**

"Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter Match" Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson-

DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Chris Benoit-

****3/4

Royal Rumble 2003-

***1/2

WWE Women's Championship- Street Fight- Victoria © vs. Trish Stratus-**1/2

A Tribute to Nathan Jones- Undertaker vs. Albert and The Big Show-

1/4*

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels- WMXIX-

****1/2

20 Years in the Making- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon-

**1/4

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar-

***1/2

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Ric Flair-

**1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show- Stretcher Match-

not seen it

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show (ring collapse)-

**

Goldberg vs. Lesnar- WMXX-

1/2*

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels-

****1/4

WWE Intercontinental Title- Randy Orton © vs. Mick Foley-

***

theintensifier · June 25, 2004

Edge/Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle/Eddie Guerrero- HCTP, 2 out of 3 Falls

June 26, 2004

Edge/Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle/Eddie Guerrero- HCTP, 2 out of 3 Falls

I don't think you can do 2/3 Falls tag matches, but if you can, do it.

The Mandarin · June 26, 2004

Crap, I think you're right. There's no tag "3 Stages of Hell" option.

So I'll just replay the match three times.

Aero · June 26, 2004

WWF Heavyweight Title- Hulk Hogan © vs. Andre the Giant-

1/2*

NWA Heavyweight Title- Ricky Steamboat © vs. Ric Flair-

*****

WWF World Title- 1992 Royal Rumble-

*****

WWF World Title- Shawn Michaels © vs. Diesel-

***1/4

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker-

*****

WWF World Title Quarterfinals- The Rock vs. Big Bossman-

DUD

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Mankind-

**

Undertaker vs. HHH- WMXVII-

***

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Steve Austin-

*****

WWF Hardcore Title- Maven © vs. Goldust-

1/4*

Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- WMXVIII-

***1/4

Edge vs. Booker T- WMXVIII-

**1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar-

***

WWE World Tag Team Titles- Lance Storm and William Regal © vs. The Dudley Boyz-

*3/4

"Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter Match" Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson-

DUD

*****

Royal Rumble 2003-

****

**1/4

A Tribute to Nathan Jones- Undertaker vs. Albert and The Big Show-

*1/2

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels- WMXIX-

****1/2

20 Years in the Making- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon-

*1/2

****

**1/2

**3/4

**1/4

Goldberg vs. Lesnar- WMXX-

1/4*

****3/4

****1/4

Haven't seen it yet

BTW, Benoit vs. Kane at Bad Blood was in Columbus, OH, not Edmonton.

July 2, 2004

Andre vs Hogan - DUD (It's a classic for it's importance)

NWA Title Steamboat vs Flair Chi Town ****, Clash ****1/2(probably the best North American match ever), WrestleWar ***3/4

1992 Royal Rumble - ***

Diesel vs Shawn - ***1/4-***1/2

Shawn vs Taker HIAC - ***1/2

Rock vs Mick - *3/4

Taker vs HHH WMXVII - **1/4

Rock vs Austin WMXVII - ****(one of the best WWE matches except for some poor move executions and the interfearence)

Taker vs Flair - **

Rock vs Brock SummerSlam 2002 - **1/2

Royal Rumble Angle vs Benoit - ***-***1/4(closer to *** I discussed the problems with the match before)

Shawn vs Jericho WMXVIIII - ***1/4-***1/2(WWE match of the year for 2003)

Angle vs Lesnar WMXVIIII - **1/2

Flair vs HHH - *3/4-**

Eddie vs Brock No Way Out - ***1/2(Brock's best match ever)

Benoit vs HHH vs HBK WMXX - ***1/2-***3/4(Best WWE 3 way ever and current WWE match of the year just above Brock vs Eddie)

Orton vs Foley - **1/2

Benoit vs Kane **1/2-**3/4(Kane's best match since Angle)

The Mandarin · July 9, 2004

One fall, Hell in a Cell- Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels
Date/Place- Columbus, Ohio- 6/13/04

Ref- Mike Chioda

Commentators- Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

It's the battle of the egos. This match has been brewing since God-knows-when, and match after match won't end this feud. So they claim that Hell in a Cell will. Yeah, right.

Character Related Info: Shawn Michaels loves Jesus. Triple H is trying to be Jesus. Face- HBK, heel- HHH

What this match is most known for: ...zzzz....

The Match:The cell is lowered. They stare down. My expectations for this match right now-- VERY low. But anyways.

They finally tie up. And then they twirl around the ring like idiots. I can't believe I'm reviewing this match. Anyways, Michaels chops and then Hunter fights out of the corner, so Michaels pounds on his head and chops some more. Michaels is thrown into the ropes and Hunter elbows him in the face. Michaels tackles Hunter. And then he punches him. But HBK gets up and is thrown out of the ring, only to come back in and tackle Hunter again. Michaels punches.. very...slowly. Michaels bounces off the ropes and gets thrown over the top. Again. Triple H staggers around the ring..very slowly. Hunter rolls out and tries to punch Michaels, but misses and hand meets cell. So Hunter gets punched and the two roll back in the ring, where Michaels pins after a takedown. ..okay, I missed the move.

Pin #1 (HBK)- 1-2-no.

Michaels chops and goes over the top again. This is VERY dull so far. Hunter tries to bounce HBK's face off the cell, but Michaels blocks and Hunter's face hits the steel. Michaels approaches Hunter only to get kneed in the gut. Michaels rolls back in the ring and when Hunter follows, he gets chopped. He also gets punched in the face several times, Michaels snap mares him and then drops onto him with fists. Triple H is tossed into the corner, but he blocks a Michaels charge with a boot and throws Michaels over the top. Again. This match is basically the same sequence, over, and over, and over. Triple H is busted open. So Michaels bounces his head off the steel. Snap mare. Michaels stomps on Hunter's face. Michaels backs Hunter into a corner and chops him. Then he goes for a ten punch. He gets to five until Hunter tries to give him an atomic drop, which misses. Hunter's taken down and then Michaels clotheslines him over the top. UGH. Michaels then suplexes Triple H back in the ring-- or at least tries to-- fatman won't go over, so Hunter gets punched, rolled in the ring, chopped, and then irish whipped. But the irish whip is reversed and Michaels' back hits the corner. This is so easy to do play by play for. I just copy and paste over and over again. Michaels is tossed into the other corner. And then Hunter drops elbows onto his back. Michaels rolls over and Hunter stomps on his back..again..and again..and Hunter scoops him up and drops his injured back on his knee. He waits. FIRST SPOT OF THE MATCH! Vertical suplex! Holy shit! Holy shit!

Pin #2 (by Hunter)- 1-2-no.

Hunter drives knees into his back. Hunter then does another backbreaker.

Pin #3 (by Hunter)- 1-2-no.

Hunter goes to the outside. He finds a steel chair. He rolls back in the ring, and then picks up the chair. Very slowly, may I add. He sets the chair up. Then he attempts a backbreaker onto the chair, but Michaels starts fighting back. Hunter picks up the chair and tries to bash it onto Michaels' skull, but HBK kicks out of the corner and Hunter drops the chair. Michaels then punches twice and chops Hunter down. Hunter is thrown out of the ring. I've still got FOURTY minutes to go in this match. OH, JOY. Michaels jumps off the top and flies to the outside, where Hunter catches him, and then rams him back first into various things. LIKE THE POST! AND THE CAGE! AND THE POST! AND THE CAGE! AND THE POST! AND ..then Hunter drops him and says "What do you say, Michaels?" I say you call this match a draw and just go home, personally. HBK walks into a punch. Michaels gets picked up and is irish whipped into the cage. HBK hits back first. So Michaels starts rolling around. Hunter picks him up and rolls him in the ring. Hunter follows. Sidewalk slam on the chair, which..

Pin #4 (by HHH)- 1-2-no.

..Hunter gets two for. Ross mentions HBK's passion. Haw. Backbreaker on the chair.

Pin #5, 6, 7 (by HHH)- 1-2-no.

Usually, when a match is excited, I'll go "1-2-no!" or "ONE-TWO-NO!". But this match deserves "1-2-no." Anyways, Hunter slams a chair onto Michaels. Yay.

Pin #8 (by HHH)- 1-2-no.

Michaels starts fighting back with punches into Hunter's gut o' doom. Hiptoss sees Hunter fall over the top. Hunter starts selling the gut. Hunter starts getting up so Michaels rams his ribs several times. Both men trade punches back in the ring. Michaels irish whips Hunter, and attempts to back body drop him, but Hunter goes for the Pedigree. Michaels emerges with a crafty..low blow. He targets the nads some more with atomic drops. Hunter is whipped into the other corner, and he does a Flair flop, which so far, is the best part of this match. I'm getting REALLY tired at this point.

Pin #9 (by HBK)- 1-2-no.

HBK rolls to the outside and irish whips Hunter (who follows) into the cage. Michaels then staggers around a bit. The chair is also on the outside. Hunter is irish whipped into the stairs now, and I REALLY want this match to end soon. Michaels starts tossing the stairs around. Triple H is picked up on the bottom portion of the steel stairs and attempts a piledriver. But of course, Michaels is back body dropped onto the floor. Michaels goes splat. Hunter looks under the ring while Michaels lays in the ring. And he finds..A CHAIR! And then, in the only intriguing part of this match thus far, he whacks it over Michaels' back pretty damn hard. And now he tosses the steel steps into the ring. He charges at HBK, who's laid up in the corner. Michaels kicks him and he drops the stairs. Then Michaels chops him and flies at him with a forearm. Delayed kip-up. Michaels misses the Sweet Chin Music, then turns around for Hunter to bounce the steps off his head. Michaels is busted open. HBK always does the best bladejobs. Hunter waits for Michaels to get up so he can bounce the steps off his head again. Hunter tosses the steps over the top. Hunter staggers around, and--delayed pin.

Pin #10/11 (HHH)- 1-2-no.

Mounted punches. If there were any justice, Hunter would have pedigreed and pinned him after bouncing the stairs off his head the second time. Michaels is tossed over the top and thrown into the cage. He's thrown into the other side of the cage, and this match is more boring than the bearhug portion of Andre/Hogan I. Michaels gets thrown like a dart into the steel mesh. Michaels takes a while to get up and is lead around the ring..so he can get the steel mesh raked into his face. What's the difference between that portion of the cage and the other side? I don't know. Michaels gets his face smushed into the steel steps. Irish whip, spinebuster.

Pin #12 (HHH)- 1-2-UGH.

That match should have ended right there, but we're not fortunate enough. Punches to the face by Michaels, who also fights back with chops. But Michaels gets thrown into the ropes and he's put in the sleeper. Michaels has an.. "adrenaline rush", and then drops HHH's face onto the turnbuckle. Some guy in the crowd calls them both sissies, or something. Pedigree is averted, and Michaels hits a DDT. No pin. Just long stalling. Nobody moves for a long time. A long..long...long long time. Michaels is moving! Oh, praise the Lord! And he picks up a chair. Of course, he uses it to smash over Hunter's head. Good thinking. Hunter makes extremely retarded faces for the camera. He gets up again and Michaels breaks the chair over his head again. Michaels stalls and then..

Pin #13 (HBK)- 1-2-uuuuggghhh.

HBK irish whips him, and OF COURSE, gets the knee bounced off his head. So Michaels goes to the outside and gets a ladder. He comes back in and rams it off of Triple H's head. Then he smashes it over Triple H's gut a few times. Michaels sets it up in the corner. Hunter begs for mercy. So do I. Michaels beats on him while he sits down in the corner, then of course, irish whips him into the ladder. Michaels waits for Triple H to get up, so he can do it again. Good for you, Shawn. Then he kicks Tubby H in the gut. Another irish whip and HHH falls over the top. It took three minutes to do that spot. END THIS MATCH. Michaels goes to the outside, and rakes Hunter's face into the steel. Then he punches him several times. Then he irish whips him into the mesh in the other side of the cage. Then they both roll back in the ring. Michaels sets up the ladder in the corner. Oh no, he almost walks into a Pedigree. But no, it's reversed and Triple H is catapulted into the ladder. I'm suprised half the audience haven't gone home yet.

Pin #14 (HBK)- oh, no, it's not over.

Bodyslam. Then Michaels goes to the top. And misses the elbow as Hunter rolls out of the way. Then Triple H crawls over. Slowly. Very slowly. And pins. Then they punch. Eachother. Again. And. Again. And again. While on their knees. End this match. Michaels gets the advantage and punches Hunter until he falls back. The only bonus in this match- the check that JR's gonna get for putting both men over as much as humanly possible.

Pin #15 (HBK)- one, two, whatever.

Michaels gets thrown between the ropes and his shoulder hits ringpost. Triple H goes to the outside and looks under the ring. He gets a table. Then he slowly gets back into the ring, only to be chopped by Michaels and punched by Michaels. So Michaels picks him up after he's fallen down, puts him on the table and then goes for the ladder. He climbs the ladder and here comes the table spot. REALLY ugly elbow drop off the ladder, through the table. The crowd chants "Holy shit", waking up most of the audience members who had fallen asleep previously.

Pin #16 (HBK)- 1-2-uuugh.

Earl Hebner pushes the table debris out of the ring. Michaels gets up. And starts stomping. And he misses the Sweet Chin Music to get blowed by Hunter. ...my bad, low-blowed. Pedigree, finally. He doesn't cover. For a long time. Until he does.

Pin #17 (HHH)- 1-2- of course not.

Michaels and Hunter get up..slowly. And they use eachother to stand up, but actually, it looks like they're just hugging. Triple H pushes Michaels off of him, only to get the superkick. Looooooonnnnggg delay. Pin.

Pin #18 (HBK)- 1-2-no.

Kick to the gut by Triple H after a lengthy delay. Pedigree. No pin. For a long time. A long, long time. ..Did you know a typical supermarket displays 25,000 items? Also, only 1 out of every 3 people has twenty twenty vision. Thanks for the random facts, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Oh, the match. THERE'S BEEN A THREE MINUTE DELAY.

Pin #19 (HHH)- 1-2-3?! IT'S OVER? Seriously? I expected them to go for another thirty-five minutes.

Winner: Triple H

What resulted out of this: Michaels got "injured" the next night so he could take time off, HHH got-- what else?-- his thirtieth World-title push.

My review: If long, drawn out sequences filled with plenty of stalling, fake finishes that you begged to be the end, and two people in a loving relationship behind the scenes can make an epic, than Gigli was indeed a great movie. As it was, this match stunk, and I've seen enough of them main-eventing to know that they're both tough competitors and they're willing to go through hell and all that crap. I've seen it all already. Hopefully, there won't be a sequel. *3/4, which is pretty pathetic considering UNDERTAKER and Brock did at least ** better.

I'll find something else to review when I feel like it. Discussion of the HHH/HBK match is welcomed.

The Mandarin · July 9, 2004

What the hell.

One fall, AJPW Triple Crown- Kenta Kobashi © vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
Date/Place- Japan- 1/20/97

Ref- ??

Commentators- ..uh..

If anybody could fill me in on this match, it would be greatly appreciated. Anyways, I haven't seen much from Japan but hear this match is very good.

Character Related Info: ..I don't know.

What this match is most known for: Being the Japan MOTY for '97.

The Match: The fans over there are pretty rowdy. Misawa is announced first. The fans seem to take a liking to him. In the other corner is the champ, Kobashi, who gets streamers.

The match commences. "Misawa" is the chant thus far. They pace around the ring until locking up. Kobashi pushes him onto the ropes, and the ref has to break the lockup. They break cleanly, and Kobashi stares him down. They lock up again, and Kobashi hits chops, but Misawa comes back with forearms. Kobashi with a shoulder takedown, but Misawa gets up, whips him into the ropes and dropkicks him and then baseball slides Kobashi, knocking him out of the ring. Misawa dives through the ropes onto him and the crowd goes nuts, as do the announcers. Misawa then waits for Kobashi to get back into the ring, and Misawa hits a forearm and a back suplex on the ring apron, bringing Kenta back in the ring. He then hits a standing senton and covers.

Pin #1 (Misawa)- 1-2-no.

Misawa gets up and attempts the Tiger Driver, but it's blocked when Kobashi hooks his foot on the ropes. Misawa then hammers on his back a bit, and then both men bounce off the ropes and dive out of the way from eachother, then Kenta gets up, hammers him and hits a DDT.

Pin #2 (Kobashi)- 1-2-no.

Misawa rolls and falls out of the ring. Misawa takes his time to get back into the ring. When he does, there's a stalemate again. One of the announcers has a deep, Satan-like voice. Kobashi chops. Misawa forearms. Kenta with nasty kicks that send Misawa to his knees. Kobashi attempts a suplex, but Misawa gets out of it, bounces off the ropes and flies over Kobashi's leg. Whips into the ropes see Kobashi follow not too far behind, greeting Misawa with knees to the sternum. Kenta then hits a side-Russian leg sweep.

Pin #3 (Kobashi)- 1-2-no.

Kobashi looks flustered. He picks up Misawa's arm and drops knees onto him. Kobashi then lets Misawa fall back against the ropes, and he chops him. Misawa comes back with a forearm, bounces off the ropes but takes another knee to the gut. The Satan-sounding announcer appears to be quoting Jabba the Hutt. Misawa is sent into the corner, where Kobashi hits him with some forearms of his own and some hits to the stomach. Gourdbuster from Kenta. He rolls Misawa over. Surfboard stretch! ..or something like that. I don't know. I have about five moves in my vocabulary. Thanks, Jim Ross. Anyways, Kenta picks him up, but Misawa hits him in the face, so Kenta bounces off the ropes and spears him. Kenta gets up and kicks Misawa in the stomach while he lies down. Kenta sends Misawa into the ropes and knees him a few times. Then Kenta applies the abdominal stretch. Misawa has the crowd's support, so he eventually gets the ropes. Kenta punches him and backs him into a corner, where Kobashi chops to (shockingly) no "Whooos". Kenta whips him into the other corner, but Misawa fights back. Misawa with a forearm and spinkicks.

Pin #4 (Misawa)- 1-2-no.

They go into the resthold, with Misawa driving the knee and then applying pressure to Kobashi's back, but then Kobashi eventually starts reversing out of the hold..but he just can't force himself...and he gets out of it in a cool spot. Misawa dropkicks him, then rolls out, Kobashi charges and tastes forearm. Misawa goes to the top rope and comes off with a nice looking dropkick. Misawa then hammers on Kobashi's back and hits a tiger suplex. He picks him up and then trades blows and chops with Kobashi, who stumbles and falls down. Misawa paces around the ring, picks Kobashi up and bodyslams him. Misawa goes to the top and comes off with an elbow. He gets right off and comes off with a big splash.

Pin #5 (Misawa)- 1-2-no.

Misawa adjusts his tights and puts Kobashi in the camel clutch. Kobashi starts getting up, but eventually he gets the ropes and Misawa has to break it. So Misawa snapmares him and puts in the front facelock. Kobashi gets some support from the crowd. He goes for the ropes, but Misawa, in true evil fashion, spins around to block him from getting to the ropes and clenches the move even tighter. Kobashi gets the ropes. Misawa picks him up and forearms him, but Kobashi's retarding up in Eugene fashion. Misawa with jumping kicks until Kobashi catches the leg and starts chopping him in the upper chest where one would dust off the crumbs from their t-shirt. Ouch. Misawa with forearms, and Kenta's fully tarded up. Kenta with forearms that don't knock Misawa down, and both men are IMMOVABLE OBJECTS~. Misawa bends Kobashi over and hammers on his back so Kobashi then knees Misawa several times, but Misawa continues with the forearms until Kenta falls out of the ring. Misawa: 1, Kenta: 0. Misawa bounces off the ropes, and then looks to dive through at Kenta, but he flips over and just stands on the ringapron. Kenta grabs a foot and tries to pull him off, but Misawa hangs on and then dives onto him, but misses and lands face first. Ouch. Japan's version of Jim Ross then sells it like death. Kobashi rolls back in the ring while Misawa is still on the outside. Misawa gets back up and then tries re-entering the ring, but evil Kobashi dives at him and knocks him off the ringapron! That asshole. That gets the crowd chanting for Misawa. Kobashi rolls to the outside and breaks up the count on Misawa by rolling back in. He picks up the dead-weight Misawa and rolls him back in to applause.

Pin #6 (Kobashi)- 1-2-no.

Some people bought that as the finish. He picks up Misawa but Misawa comes back to life. Misawa staggers back into the corner. Kenta with a jumping high knee and a dropkick. Misawa falls. Kenta rolls to the outside and pulls Misawa out. Kenta hooks Misawa's arms and then lies him on the barricade. Nasty kick to Misawa's forehead. Kenta grabs onto Misawa's wrists and steers him back into the ring, where he then stomps him a bit. Armbreaker (called in english by JR) over the ringpost. Ouch. Kenta gets back into the ring (he was on the apron). So he armbreakers Misawa over the top rope. Kenta rolls Misawa back in the ring and picks him up. He then hits a jumping armbreaker and then works on the arm. Move #546 in Jericho's playbook-- armbar. I think Misawa gets the bottom rope with his foot, and Kenta's forced to break it. Kenta with chops onto Misawa. One hits him in the ear. Ouch. Kenta with another jumping armbreaker.

Pin #7 (Kobashi)- 1-2-no.

Misawa's face hit the mat pretty hard on that armbreaker. Misawa then works on the arm some more, including..more armbreakers. Misawa starts fighting back..but..AHM-BREAKA, says JR. They both roll to the outside, and Misawa tries to fight back. That pisses off Kenta, who bounces off the ropes with kicks. BEAUTIFUL modified tiger suplex that can only be described as the way JR describes it-- "Akawahsham!!! Yadiepo!" JR goes NUTS as he thinks Misawa's gonna tap after Kenta starts working on the arm and smiling. That asshole. Misawa is picked up and he starts fighting back! But Kenta traps him in an armhold and does it exactly the way Chris Benoit does his takedown into the crossface. I actually thought he was going for it there. Kenta releases the hold and stomps on Misawa's arm. He picks him up and uppercuts him a few times. I actually thought this match wasn't too long. I was wrong. German suplex! But Misawa gets up! Cross armbreaker! If this was America, anybody would have tapped out by now. Because it's so rare to see psychology on limbs over here, that that much damage is considered basically fatal. Oh no! Oh no! Clutch suplex on Misawa! Taz would be proud. Kenta gets up and starts gearing the arm..but Misawa blocks it and decks him! That was close. That "laria-to!" could have been fatal. Kenta rolls out of the ring. He sells his right arm as well. The old lady in the front row isn't really concerned for him. Everybody walks over (trainers included) to check on him. But baseball slide from Misawa, who then springboards onto him. Misawa holds his arm a bit until he picks Kenta up. He rolls Kenta back in the ring and then pins.

Pin #8 (Misawa)- 1-2-no.

He sends Kobashi into the ropes and comes back with a clothesline. This match is nearing 25 mins. Kobashi is picked up by Misawa, who goes for a tiger driver but can't lift him (hurt arm), but he gets the german anyways. Kenta = mush. He picks him up. Tiger bomb! Everbody senses that this is the finish.

Pin #9 (Misawa)- 1-2-no?

Wow. Misawa goes out toe the ringapron and is greeted with a chop. Kenta is knocked down with a forearm and Misawa goes to the top. Dropkick--no! Laria-to! Laria-to! Kobashi--

Pin #10 (Kobashi)- ONE-TWO-no!

He pins again!

Pin #11 (Kobashi)- ONE-TWO-no!

The crowd is strongly behind Misawa at this point. Kenta's selling one of his arms as well. Piledriver attempt doesn't work the first time, and the second time he just powerbombs.

Pin #12 (Kobashi)- one-two-no!

Misawa = out cold. Kobashi continues selling the arm. Kenta with a legdrop while Misawa's on his hands and knees. Big jumping legdrop. Kenta with the suplex-- no, it fails and Misawa stops him..but he lifts him up and hits..the Burning Hammer? I wouldn't know, I haven't seen it before. But that was pretty burning.

Pin #13/14 (Kobashi)- both attempts get two.

Kobashi's upset. So he picks Misawa up and then hits the lariat again. That hit Misawa in the temple. Kobashi sells the arm and doesn't pin. Kobashi's teeth are in pretty good condition, I must say. Misawa is on the mat and Kobashi looks to go to the outside, but stays in. And then both men are on the ring apron. He stomps Misawa. This doesn't look good. Oh no. Powerbomb from the ringapron to the floor? NO! Frankensteiner! Damn. Misawa's holding his arm, Kobashi-- the back. Well, he just got flipped onto his back, so that's acceptable. Misawa rolls back in the ring and Kobashi takes his sweet time. Kobashi's flopping around the ring now. Misawa with forearm shots and clotheslines, and then a german suplex. Both men are down. Misawa gets up and then hits a spinning forearm shot. 35 minute mark. Spinning forearm again! Misawa waits..and then goes for another one, but in mid spin he's hit with a Kobashi lariat. Double count on both men. Misawa gets up first and hits some rights and lefts. German-ish suplex drops Misawa on his HEAD. Chop from Kobashi and Misawa with a clubbing blow to the back of the head. Misawa waits for him to get up and this could be over. Kobashi won't let go of the top rope, but Misawa grabs his arms and here comes a butterfly (I don't know, I haven't seen that move in since WCW was around) suplex.

Pin #15 (Misawa)- 1-2-no!

Misawa waits for Kobashi to get up but Kobashi fights back yet he misses a lariat! TIGER DRIVER! Shit, son!

Pin #16 (Misawa)- ONE-TWO-NO!

I bought that as the finish. "Kobashi" chants. Misawa takes a while getting to his feet. Lariat. Misawa gets up and Kobashi attempts the lariat again. Misawa gets up and picks Kobashi up, but Kobashi misses a lariat. Silly man. Butterfly suplex onto Kobashi! He's dead. Misawa gets up..charging forearm!

Pin #17 (Misawa)- ONE-TWO--THREE? Wow, I didn't expect that to be the end, but it rightfully was.

Winner, and NEW champion: Misawa

Kenta = dead.

What resulted out of this: I went to the washroom then got a iced tea.

My review: Way, way better than the HIAC. So, so much more action that kept me guessing who was going to be the winner. Tons of near-falls and cool spots as well. That was a brilliant match, and I have no problem saying that was one of the best I've ever seen. He could have pinned after the suplex instead, though. I'm not sure if the crowd bought it. Anyways, still a beautiful, beautiful match and a great introduction (for me) into puro. ***** as a match, but ****3/4 for me since I don't have any knowledge of who these guys are and what the story to this feud(?) was.

Copper Feel · July 9, 2004

what was it exactly that made you say what the hell?

July 9, 2004

Nice to see your review of Misawa/Kobashi. I was going to review it eventually, but I see you did. Maybe I'll do one later on to see how it compares. Good reviews.

The Mandarin · July 14, 2004

One fall- Bam Bam Bigelow and Owen Hart vs. Pegasus Kid and Steve Williams
Date/Place- Japan- early 90's?

Ref- I don't know.

Commentators- ?

Pegasus Kid is obviously Chris Benoit before he became unmasked. It's gaijin action!

Character Related Info: ..I don't know. It appears Pegasus and Dr. Death are the heels, though.

What this match is most known for: Being on television.

The Match: The match is joined in progress.

Owen with a lariat that doesn't knock Dr. Death down, so he does it again and it takes Williams to the ground.

Pin #1 (Owen)- 1-2-no.

Owen and Dr. Death with hammerlock reversals until Owen flips out of the hold and gets popped in the face by Williams. Steve sells it like it hurt his hand. Haw. They stall for a second while Williams poses and waves to the crowd. Test of strength sees Owen arch his back to stop from falling. But he gives Death a nice monkey flip, then attempts one from the top rope when Death staggers into the corner, but Williams pushes Owen to the mat. He then does a HUGE gorilla press when Owen charges at him, and then misses an elbow drop. He gets dropkicked by Owen three times and staggers out of the ring. He seems pissed. Owen and Williams get back in the ring and pace around some more. Williams hammers on his back and tags in Benoit Benoit and Williams with double team clubs to the back. Pegasus and Owen trade german suplex holds until both men go into a stalemate after some cool reverses. Owen misses a clothesline which allows Benoit to roll him up.

Pin #2 (Pegasus)- 1-2-no.

Benoit dropkicks Owen out of the ring and then launches over the top with a plancha. Owen seems to have hurt his leg. Benoit gets the crowd up and Dr. Death is perched on the top. Pegasus tries to suplex Owen back into the ring, but Owen flips behind him and hits a LOVELY bridging German suplex.

Pin #3 (Owen)- 1-2-no.

Bam Bam is tagged in by Owen. He charges at Pegasus and hits a headbutt. AMAZING vertical suplex here by Bam Bam.

Pin #4 (Bam Bam)- 1-2-Dr. Death breaks it up.

Bam Bam picks him up and rakes Benoit's face. He then scoops him up and attempts a gorilla press but Benoit falls back on him.

Pin #5 (Benoit)- 1-2-no.

Benoit gets clotheslined by Bam Bam, sending him out of the ring. Bam x 2 follows him and sends him back into the ring. Axehandle knocks Benoit to his knees, but he fights back with headbuts, chops and elbows. Bam Bam stops that. He sends Benoit into the ropes, goes for a clothesline but misses and Benoit gets one of his own.

Pin #6 (Benoit)- 1-2-no.

Both men tag their partners and now Owen and Williams are in together. Dr. Death marches around and then ties up Owen. He then chops Owen in the corner a few times and snap mares him. Headscissors and Owen rolls out until he gets the rope. Williams breaks it up and Owen charges at him. Death misses two clotheslines and Owen crossbodies him.

Pin #7 (Owen)- 1-2-no.

HUGE german suplex from Williams. Owen lands on his head. Nasty. He picks Owen up and then stomps on him. Dr. Death tosses Owen out of the ring and Pegasus Kid (who would soon become the Wild Pegasus) stomps on him. Belly to belly suplex from Dr. Death.

Pin #8 (Dr. Death)- 1-2-Bam Bam breaks it up.

Dr. Death gets dropkicked by Owen, but that's not enough to knock him down. Huge shouldertackle that crushes Owen. He tags into Pegasus who sends Owen into the ropes and follows up with a clothesline.

Pin #9 (Benoit)- 1-2-no.

He sends Owen into the ropes and then lays down. Owen backflips over him and dropkicks him. He tries to make the tag to Bam Bam but Benoit grabs the leg. Owen dropkicks him off and then goes for Bam Bam but Williams charges in and stops that. Both men work on their opponents (hosses beating up cruiserweights) until they're sent out of the ring. Dr. Death with a nice exploder on Owen.

Pin #10 (Dr. Death)- 1-2-no.

Dr. Death says that he pinned Owen, but ref disagrees. He sends Owen into the ropes and then scoops him up and continues powerslamming him into the turnbuckles. Owen grabs onto the ropes which stops that and then uses his momentum to pin Dr. Death.

Pin #11 (Owen)- 1-2-no.

Death tags in Benoit. Back suplex that is really nice.

Pin #12 (Benoit)- 1-2-no.

Another back suplex that Owen flips out of and hits an AMAZING german with a bridge.

Pin #13 (Owen)- 1-2-no.

So Benoit hits one of his own.

Pin #14 (Benoit)- 1-2-no.

Benoit with a tombstone piledriver on Owen. Then he hits the diving headbutt!

Pin #15 (Benoit)- 1-2-no?!

That should have been the finish. Instead, Benoit goes for a back suplex off the top that Owen reverses into a crossbody.

Pin #16 (Owen)- 1-2-3.

Winners: Owen Hart and Bam Bam

What resulted out of this: Owen eventually got signed by the WWF and was instantly elevated to facing such superstars as Skinner and Repo Man. Chris Benoit eventually went to WCW, but not before winning the Super J Cup of 1994.

My review: Good match, but the tombstone/swan dive combo should have rightfully been the finish. Owen got the shit beat out of him but didn't really sell too much. That's what drags it down, but it still had some slick offense. ***1/4

One fall- Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kaz Fujita
Date/Place- Japan- 10/8/01

Ref- ?

Commentators- ??

Apparently this is Kensuke's return match.

Character Related Info: ..I don't know.

What this match is most known for: Uh, it was pretty stiff.

The Match: The bell rings and they pace around the ring. Is this a worked shoot match or a shoot match or just a worked match? I really don't know.

Kensuke's in the black trunks, I'm assuming. He just TAKES down Fujita with a lariat and goes straight into mounted punches. Fujita tries to cover up. He keeps nailing him in the face. Then he grabs Fujita's arm and applies crazy amounts of pressure. Fujita gets the ropes with his ankle, so Kensuke breaks it up and then does it again. Fujita gets the ropes again, pops Kensuke in the gut twice and then tries two jabs, which Kensuke ducks. He then jabs Fujita in the ribs and does a release capture suplex that drops Fujita on his head. Fujita rolls out of the ring and the announcer yells "DANGEROUS!" Anyways, Fujita gets his ribs worked on outside of the ring. Kensuke continues to work on him with knees and punches to the back of the head. They roll back in the ring and Kensuke hits a lariat. But he bounces off the ropes and walks into a huge spinebuster. Mounted punches and big knees to the side from Fujita. Fujita then applies a front facelock, I think. The ref's in the damn way. Anyways, Sasaki squirms to the ropes. Somebody starts talking in a girly voice and I'm REALLY scared. They get back up and Sasaki does jabs that miss. STO from Kensuke who then rolls into the armbar. But Fujita gets the ropes with his leg. He gets up and is attacked with high knees from Sasaki, who then kicks the shit out of his legs and hits a dropkick. He goes for a submission and eventually gets Fujita in a leghold. But Fujita looks uber-pissed and starts popping him in the face. Kensuke keeps applying pressure. Now Fujita justs pounds and pounds on Kensuke's head. Oh, man, that's harsh. He just nails him over and over and over in the back of the skull. Kensuke looks dead. Yeah, he must be. The ref tackles Fujita to stop him from killing Sasaki and stops the match.

Winner: Fujita

What resulted out of this: I assume they gave Sasaki a nice burial plot.

My review: I have no idea if that was a shoot or not. I'm guessing it was(?) but I can't be too sure. Fujita ducking the Kensuke shots like that looked planned. Any help on this is appreciated. Either way, it was no more entertaining than a Undertaker match. *1/2

The Mandarin · July 15, 2004

This post will be edited later today with my recap of Mind Games-- Foley vs. Michaels.

Copper Feel · July 15, 2004

i wouldunt khnow if that was a shoot or not because i find japanese wrestling boring but judging from your play by play id say it was a work.

The Mandarin · July 15, 2004

I'll do this one first and later tonight I'll edit that above post with my review of Mind Games.

One fall, Street Fight, WWF Heavyweight Title- Triple H © vs. Cactus Jack
Date/Place- New York, New York- 1/23/00

Ref- Earl Hebner

Commentators- JR and Jerry Lawler

So after getting together with Stephanie McMahon, the two formed the "McMahon-Helmsley Faction/Regime/Subway Club" or whatever. Triple H didn't have enough heat on him so brass decided to pair him up with Foley. After making abusing his power to make Foley look like a chump, Triple H was then flabbergasted when Mankind brought back the Cactus Jack persona during an episode of SmackDown. The look on his face was PRICELESS. So this would be their first one-on-one PPV rendevous in a while.

Character Related Info: Triple H is the arrogant asshole married to a slut. During this match, he would become the ruthless asshole married to a slut. Mick Foley is normally a lovable guy, but he's changed his persona to the hardcore Cactus Jack for this one match. Heel- HHH, face- Foley

What this match is most known for: Man, it was brutal.

The Match: Staredown to star. Foley then starts working on him with clubs to the face and then slams his head off a turnbuckle. But Triple H kicks him in the gut and pushes him into the corner where he hammers on his head. Foley then comes back with a clothesline, backs Hunter into the corner and pounds the shit out of him. Triple H rolls out of the ring and Foley follows with a swinging neckbreaker. Triple H starts getting in the ring but Foley legdrops onto his neck. They're both out of the ring and then Foley pulls Triple H by the head and slams his head off the steel steps and then a microphone, which makes for some pretty loud feedback. But Triple H comes back with a ringbell shot to the head, then picks up a chair and rolls in the ring. Foley is dared to come back into the ring and Triple H waits patiently. So Foley charges and is absolutely CREAMED with the chair. Damn. So Triple H tosses the chair out and stalls. He then tries taking off the turnbuckle padding, but Cactus already gets up and clotheslines him. Cactus drapes the chair over Triple H's face, goes to the second rope and legdrops onto him.

Pin #1 (Jack)- 1-2-no.

So Cactus is up and starts clubbing him with fists. Triple H uses Foley to get up and Mick drops him again. Foley then kicks Triple H in the face and he rolls out of hte ring. Foley follows and gets clubbed in the face by Triple H. Triple H then charges at Foley, but is back body dropped over the security railing and both men brawl in the crowd. Some guy who looks like Vince Russo is wearing a chef's hat. ..odd. Anyways, they make their way out and go into the set, which may I say is probably the most creative one of all time. Looks like a scene right out of the hood. Triple H gets suplexed onto a wooden box frame, which punctures his leg really badly. Foley then squeals like a pig. Then Foley bashes a garbage can over his head and whips him into the door frame several times. By "several", I mean "plenty". Fans chant "boring"? Anyways, Foley starts leading him back to the ring but Triple H then back suplexes him into a garbage can. HHH picks the wood out of his leg. Then they start brawling and Cactus gets the upper hand. Cactus bashes his head off a ring step and then pounds on Hunter. Foley then hits a running knee smash onto the slumped Hunter. Foley then searches for some plunder. And he gets it. It's a barbed wire 2 x 4. He gets back in the ring to meet up with Hunter and tries to slam it over his head, but Hunter low blows. Hunter then picks up the weapon and smashes it into Foley's gut. Then onto his back. Nasty. Then to his gut and back again. He has to peel it off of Foley. Ouch. Triple H waits for Cactus to get up, but walks into a low blow. He then uses the 2 x 4 to low blow Hunter while the ref takes the weapon out of the ring and hides it behind the spanish announce table. Cactus then hits a double arm DDT.

Pin #2 (HHH)- 1-2-nooo.

Cactus then stalls and asks where the hell the 2 x 4 is. The ref won't tell him so he grabs him by the collar. Cactus rolls out of the ring and confronts Hugo, who won't give it up. So he gets punched in the face. Carlos then gives it up. The ref tries to stop Cactus from using it, but is squashed by a charging Hunter. So he turns around to get smashed in the face with the barbed wire! Cactus then drops onto Hunter's face with the barbed wire!

Pin #3 (Cactus)- 1-2-no!

HHH's leg is nasty. Of course, his face is equally bloody by now. He gets up to get hit in the face with it again. Then he starts rolling out of the ring, but Cactus follows and rips at Hunter's face with the barbed wire! Ouch. Foley follows Hunter out of the ring and starts pounding on Hunter. He leads him around the ring all the while punching him even more. Hunter gets his head slammed off the US commentator table. Foley takes the top off the table but doesn't remove the monitors! The ref does, though, but he misses one of them. And he goes to piledrive Triple H-- but gets backbodydropped! Triple H's blood is all over the announce table. Huge "Foley" chant just for a second. He gets up and rolls Foley back in the ring. He then picks up Foley and pushes him into the corner, where he continues to punch him in the face. Triple H's leg wound is just nasty. Attempted Pedigree, but Hunter gets slingshot into the turnbuckle. Facecrusher into the barbed wire!

Pin #4 (Cactus)- 1-2-no!

Hunter's face is just completely bloody. Triple H is laid on the ropes and then Foley takes them both over with the clothesline. Cactus then goes for a running charge but Hunter hiptosses him into the steel steps, knees first! Damn! He then gets irish whipped into those same steps. Damn, that's gotta hurt. Chopblock on Foley's knee. Foley slowly gets back in the ring and is struggling to stand. Triple H meets him in the ring and chopblocks him again while he struggles to stand. Triple H picks up the barbed wire and SMASHES it over Foley's leg with huge force. He does it again, this time not as hard. The crowd tries to wake Foley up, but he goes and gets a black bag from The Fink containing handcuffs. He then beats on Foley and tries putting them on him, but he uses them as a weapon. He walks towards Hunter, but he takes his knee out with a direct kick. Triple H tells Foley to come get him, but instead just punches him in the face repeatedly. Cactus can't really defend himself, and his legs are in too much pain to stand. So Foley use the ropes to get up and Hunter brings the stairs into the ring. He then goes to slam them over Foley's head, but Cactus hits a drop toe hold that sees Triple H's face smash into the stairs. Foley then knocks him down again and then falls into the Game's nads. Foley then tries to bite HHH's ears off, but Triple H then knocks him down. He picks up the chair and rams it into Foley's ribs! Then he absolutely CRUSHES it over Foley's back, breaking the chair in the process. He does it again and metal goes flying. Foley crumbles out of the ring. Triple H then crawls for the chair and then follows Mick Foley, who's heading for the alleyway. Triple H then follows and hits Foley over the head with the chair. Damn. So Foley gets up and Foley tells Hunter to hit him again with the chair. Hunter goes to do it, but The Rock comes out and hits Hunter with the chair! A cop then comes out and uncuffs Foley. Triple H then tries to crawl away from Foley, but Cactus then hammers on him and throws him on top of the Spanish announce table. Piledriver on the Spanish table, but it doesn't give! Oh, GOD, that's gotta hurt. Foley drags Helmsley by his arms back into the ring, and may I say the bloody Triple H being carried away looks very Christ-like. So Foley goes outside the ring and finds a big blue bag. He opens it and drops it around the ring to reveal-- thumbtacks. Stephanie McMahon comes out and jaws with Foley. Foley then starts punching Hunter and then backs up and charges at him to clothesline him into the tacks-- but is back body dropped into them. Pedigree!

Pin #5 (Triple H)- one-two-NO?!

So Mick Foley takes it again-- into the damn thumbtacks. NASTY.

Pin #6 (Triple H)- 1--2--3.

Winner and still champion: Triple H

Cactus beats the shit out of Hunter after the match to set up their match for next month.

What resulted out of this: Triple H then beat Foley the next month in a Hell in a Cell to retire him for the next four years.

My review: Man, was this match a godsend for Hunter or what? This match made Triple H's career. Beating a legend in his own game certainly makes you look good. Anyways, Triple H's work on the legs was excellent, as was Triple H's selling during the entire match. The match did it's job, and did it very well. Easily a classic of the Attitude era. ****1/2

July 15, 2004

CM Funk, that was a very good review. The armwork is beautiful. The only real problem I had was the rib work was a little to repetitve and didn't really lead to anything big like I would have hoped(It still works because it was a strategy to slow down Misawa and not really as a the major point of the whole match. It wore Misawa down and then when he finally made a mistake Kobashi started to destroy the arm). CM Funk that second to last pin on Kobashi was from Tiger Driver 91. Actually the running elbow is one of Misawa's finishers especially if the person kicked out of his other big moves and is pretty much dead like Kobashi was. It works the same with Kobashi because he also wins matches with the burning lariat. Misawa won quite a few matches with the running elbow so I think the finish works in the match. Tiger Driver 91 dropped Kobashi as he couldn't stand up and had to hit the lariat's of his knees with little damage to Misawa and more damage to himself(waisting his last bit of strength). So when he finally get's up from the Tiger Suplex 85 he's out on his feet and elbow knocks him out cold. I have that match rated at ****3/4 and it's probably in the top ten matches I have ever seen.

Since Kobashi was the champion and Misawa beat him with TD 91 before it made Kobashi look even stronger. At least that's what I get from viewing the match. Again a nice review and I hope you'll review other great Japanese matches. I would recomend viewing Hansen vs Kobashi 7/29/93. Since you probably know who Stan Hansen is, the match is great and can be enjoyed without knowing the backstory because you can get a sense of the underdog(Kobashi) trying to prove himself against Hansen.

The Mandarin · July 16, 2004

The Mick Foley DVD is due back on Sunday, so since I have the Shawn Michaels DVD I can review Mind Games any time. So instead, I'll review Austin/Dude Love from Over the Edge 1998.

Also, I rewatched some Brock Lesnar matches and have determined that I VASTLY overrated both the stretcher match and the ring exploding match.

One fall, No DQ, No Countouts, Falls Count Anywhere, WWF Heavyweight Title- Steve Austin © vs. Dude Love
Date/Place- Milwaukee, WI- 5/31/98

Ref- Vince McMahon

Commentators- JR and Jerry Lawler

Actually, it all started when Vince McMahon made the mistake of saying he doesn't think Steve Austin's fit to be champion. Then Austin messed up his ugly-looking blue suit. Anyways, Vince assigned Mick Foley (now returning to the name "Dude Love") to take Austin out. The previous month, Austin was disqualified vs. Foley for whalloping Vince over the head with a chair. Now Vince has assigned himself to be ref to make sure no shenanigans go on. Oh yeah, and Pat Patterson keeps changing the rules as the match continues.

Character Related Info: Mick Foley's the lunatic who has several different personas. Steve Austin is the badass who bullies around his boss. Vince McMahon is that boss, who plans to get the title off Austin as soon as possible. Undertaker's the special enforcer to make sure Vince doesn't screw around. Oh yeah, the stooges are here too. Faces- Undertaker, Austin, heels- Patterson & Briscoe, Vince, Dude Love

What this match is most known for: One of the best booked matches of the Attitude era-- couldn't have been better if you were a mark for Austin at the time.

The Match: They lock up and Mick Foley is pushed into the corner. Vince McMahon makes them break it clean, so he gets flipped off by Austin. Austin is JAKKED for this match. Side headlock by Dude Love, but he gets sent into the ropes and there's an ugly looking collision.

Pin #1 (Dude)- 1-2-no.

Austin yells at Vince. Then he stares at Undertaker who's still on the steel steps. Huge "Austin" chant. They lock up again and Austin's sent into the ropes and hit with a knee to the gut.

Pin #2 (Dude)- 1-no.

Foley puts him back into the chinlock. Austin's shoulders are down.

Pin #3 (Dude)- 1-no.

They get up and Austin gets out of the hold by tossing Dude into the ropes and then hitting him with an elbow. Side headlock takeover, Foley's shoulders are down.

Pin #4/5 (Austin)- 1-no.

HUGE "Vince is gay!" chant. Austin keeps the hold in and Mick Foley backs him up into the ropes. They break it up and Foley starts punching. Foley kicks him in the gut and sends him into the ropes but Austin reverses into a kick to the gourd and a hair pull. Then Austin finds Mick Foley's fake teeth and stomps on them and throws them into the crowd. So Foley is pissed and takes him down. He starts stomping on Austin then picks him up and headbutts him into the corner, where he starts punching him in the face. Whip into the ropes by Foley and Austin comes back with a Lou Thesz press and clotheslines him over the top. Austin then bashes Foley's head off a guardrail, but then Foley sends him into the steps. Austin's knee is hurt. Foley starts punching Austin in the back of the head then bashes Austin's head off the steel steps. Back in the ring, Russian leg sweep by Foley.

Pin #6 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

"Let's go, Stone Cold" chant. Foley backs a crawling Austin into a corner where he chokes him with his boot and bites him. Irish whip into the other turnbuckle and he hurts his back. Fistdrop onto Austin's neck. Foley backs Austin into a corner and then irish whips him into the other turnbuckle and squashes him.

Pin #7 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Austin is sent into the ropes and Foley ducks but he comes back with a spinning neckbreaker and then some clotheslines. He picks him up and bashes Foley's head off the ropes and then starts kicking a mudhole in Foley's gut. He's sent into the other corner and Foley puts him in the Mandible Claw! But Austin twists him over the top rope and Foley's head is stuck in the ropes! He puts the Claw back on Austin when he walks over but Vince McMahon releases the ropes from killing Foley. On the outside, Foley hits a hiptoss into the Spanish announce table. Foley chokes Austin out under the table (which didn't break) and then uses wires to choke Austin out. But Austin starts running and both he and Foley crash into Briscoe. Then he mounts Foley's shoulders and starts beating the shit out of him. Mick Foley's set up on the guardrail and Austin lariats him down to an EXTREMELY harsh landing for Foley. Austin beats his ass in the crowd and then they head back to the ring. Lariat by Austin. In the ring, Austin drapes Foley's neck on the ropes and goes to jump on him, but Foley runs out of the way and Austin crotches himself. Foley hits a baseball slide knocking Austin out of the ring. He then follows that up by running out of the ring and hitting a neckbreaker on the floor. Mick Foley pins out there.

Pin #8 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Backslide by Foley.

Pin #9 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Foley waves at the crowd but turns around to be clotheslined by a SPRINTING Austin. They make their way to the stage which has a variety of broken down cars and shit like that. Austin goes to clothesline Foley onto a car hood but Foley ducks and back body drops him onto a car hood. He breaks the winshield feet first.

Pin #10 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Mick Foley picks him up and rams his head off a car hood. He then pins on top of the car.

Pin #11 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Austin then fights back with punches but Dude rakes his eyes. Hotshot by Austin on top of a car.

Pin #12 (Austin)- 1-2-no.

Austin slams Foley's head on top of a car hood.

Pin #13 (Austin)- 1-2-no.

They get on top of one of the cars and Austin goes for a Stunner on top of it but Dude throws him off onto one of the other cars. He then slides to the ground. Foley follows him and hits a HUGE sunset flip off the car onto Austin.

Pin #14 (Dude)- 1-2-no.

Dude sends Austin into the steel guardrail. He then picks him up and slams his head off another car. Foley picks up a lead pipe and raises it over his head. He then goes to bash it over Austin's back but does it very weakly. Haw. Austin's busted open and he starts fighting back. He goes for a piledriver but Foley backdrops him and Austinhits the floor.

Pin #15 (Dude)- 1-2-no.

Snap suplex on the ground, but Dude doesn't pin. He goes back to the car area and gets on top of one. He goes for a big elbow but misses by a mile. Austin pins anyways.

Pin #16 (Austin)- 1-2-no.

Austin kicks Foley back to the ring. Austin picks him up and bashes his head off the steel. He then rolls him back in the ring and chokes him out using the ropes. Austin punches him in the head and bounces off the ropes. Patterson trips Austin and Dude clotheslines him. Dude follows with a series of punches to the head. Austin's really busted open now. Dude takes the padding off the turnbuckle and bashes Austin's head into the steel. Foley then chokes him out and pounds on him in the corner until he slumps down. Foley then hits the running knee. Foley picks him up and hits his head off the turnbuckle again. Foley then puts him in a modified camel clutch. Austin won't tap out and Austin finally gets up and then starts firing back with elbows and punches. He goes to ram Foley's head into the exposed turnbuckle but his head gets smashed instead.

Pin #17 (Foley)- 1-2-no.

Pat Patterson gives Foley a chair. He uses it to bash it into Austin's gut and over his back. He doesn't pin for a while. They still focus on Undertaker being there. Double Arm DDT into the chair.

Pin #18 (Foley)- 1-2-no!

Austin is slumped in the corner and he runs at him with the chair, but Foley tastes the chair after Austin kicks it into his face. Austin then clotheslines Foley and picks up the chair and SLAMS it over Foley's head.

Pin #19 (Austin)-- but Vince won't count.

So Austin jaws with Vince while Foley gets the chair. He approaches Austin and goes to hit him from behind-- but Austin ducks and Vince gets CREAMED with the chair! Austin gets Vince's corpse off of him and hits the Stunner! Mike Chioda runs down to count!

Pin #20 (Austin)- 1-2-Patterson pulls the ref out of the ring.

Pat punches Mike square in the face and Foley gets the claw on Austin. Patterson counts.

Pin #21 (Foley)- 1-2-Undertaker pulls Patterson out!

Undertaker chokeslams Pat right through the English announce table! Damn. He didn't even take the covering off or the monitors or anything. So Briscoe goes to count the pin.

Pin #22 (Foley)- 1-2-Undertaker pulls Briscoe out!

Chokeslam through the Spanish table! Foley still has him in the claw but both guys are up now and Austin low blows Foley and hits the Stunner.

Pin #23 (Austin)-- there's no ref, so Austin drags Vince over and slams his arm to the mat. 1---2---3!

Winner and still champion: Steve Austin

Austin eyes Undertaker. Undertaker eyes Austin.

What resulted out of this: Undertaker fought Foley in the Hell in a Cell the following month.

My review: Well, it was a bit better before. Since then, we've all seen that kind of brawling repeated in most of Austin's matches. Not that it's a BAD thing, but this match isn't exactly different. Foley's selling was a bother as he gets up from chairshots, Stunners and the like. But the spots were thrown out in such a hurry I guess he didn't have time. The minor leg work on Austin was so-so because he had some problems standing at first but then forgot about it by the end.. Anyways, it was still a very entertaining brawl and the finish was done perfectly. In 1998, I probably would have called this one of the best matches ever. ****, possibly ****1/4

The only determined match I have for next week is Shawn Michaels/Mick Foley- Mind Games. So you guys can vote on whatever else it is you want to see from the following:

Pick One Match from each Pile:

Group 1: Mick Foley vs. Undertaker- HIAC

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels- WrestleMania XIV

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart- Iron Man

Group 2: Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle- WrestleMania XX

Ric Flair vs. Sting- COTC XXVII

CW Anderson vs. Tommy Dreamer- I Quit Match

The Mandarin · July 16, 2004

Matches Reviewed

(in chronological order of when the match was first aired)

WWF Heavyweight Title- Hulk Hogan © vs. Andre the Giant- *

NWA Heavyweight Title- Ricky Steamboat © vs. Ric Flair- *****

Bam Bam Bigelow and Owen Hart vs. Pegasus Kid and Steve Williams-***1/4

WWF World Title- 1992 Royal Rumble- ****1/2

Super J Cup '94 Finals- Great Sasuke vs. Chris Benoit- ****

WWF World Title- Shawn Michaels © vs. Diesel- ***3/4

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit- ****1/4

AJPW Triple Crown- Kenta Kobashi © vs. Mitsuharu Misawa-****3/4

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker- ****1/2

WWF World Title- Steve Austin © vs. Mick Foley- ****

WWF World Title Quarterfinals- The Rock vs. Big Bossman- No Rating

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Mankind- **3/4

WWF World Title- Triple H © vs. Cactus Jack- ****1/2

Steven Regal vs. Chris Benoit- ****

Undertaker vs. HHH- WMXVII- **3/4

WWF World Title- The Rock © vs. Steve Austin- *****

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kaz Fujita- *3/4

WWF Hardcore Title- Maven © vs. Goldust- 1/2*

Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- WMXVIII- **1/4

Edge vs. Booker T- WMXVIII- ***1/4

WWE Undisputed Championship- The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar- ****

WWE World Tag Team Titles- Lance Storm and William Regal © vs. The Dudley Boyz- **1/2

"Stepmother vs. Stepdaughter Match" Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson- DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Chris Benoit- *****

Royal Rumble 2003- ***1/4

WWE Women's Championship- Street Fight- Victoria © vs. Trish Stratus- **1/4

A Tribute to Nathan Jones- Undertaker vs. Albert and The Big Show- *1/4

Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels- WMXIX- ****1/2

20 Years in the Making- Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon- **1/2

WWE Undisputed Title- Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar- ****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Ric Flair- **1/2

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show- Stretcher Match- ***1/2

WWE Undisputed Championship- Brock Lesnar © vs. Big Show (ring collapse)- **1/2

Goldberg vs. Lesnar- WMXX- DUD

WWE Undisputed Title- Eddie Guerrero © vs. Kurt Angle- ****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- HHH © vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels- *****

WWE Intercontinental Title- Randy Orton © vs. Mick Foley- ****1/4

WWE World Heavyweight Title- Chris Benoit © vs. Kane- ***

Hell in a Cell- Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H- *3/4

Total Matches Reviewed: 37

Number of Each Rating-

*****- 4

**** to ****3/4- 11

*** to ***3/4- 7

** to **3/4- 8

* to *3/4- 4

DUD to 3/4*- 4

No Rating- 1

Number of Title Defenses-

WWF Heavyweight/WWF World/WWE Undisputed- 12

NWA Heavyweight/WWE World Heavyweight- 4

WWE Women's- 1

WWE Intercontinental- 1

WWE World Tag Team- 1

WWF Hardcore- 1

AJPW Triple Crown- 1

Wrestlers Who have Made the Review More than Once-

HBK- 7

Chris Benoit- 7

Lesnar- 5

Undertaker- 5

Mick Foley- 5

Triple H- 5

Flair- 4

Hogan- 3

Rock- 3

Angle- 3

Big Show- 3

Eddie Guerrero- 3

Jericho- 2

Steve Austin- 2

BIG BOSSMAN(?!)- 2

Kane- 2

Steven Regal- 2

Matches I have on DVD I still have yet to Review-

The Rockers vs. Buddy Rose/Doug Summers- 9.2.86

Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon- Ladder Match

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart- Iron Man

Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind- Mind Games

Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H- SummerSlam 2002

Triple H vs. Scott Steiner- Royal Rumble

Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show- Royal Rumble

RVD vs. Kane vs. Batista vs. Jericho- 1.13.03

Brock Lesnar vs. Hulk Hogan- 8.8.02

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker- HIAC

Ric Flair vs. Harley Race- Starrcade '83

Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes- Starrcade '86

Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham- 1.20.87

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat- Clash of the Champions VI

Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk- Clash of the Champions IX

Ric Flair vs. Sting- Clash of the Champions XXVII

Ric Flair vs. Pete Sanchez- 3.1.76

RVD vs. Regal- WMXVIII

DDP vs. Christian- WMXVIII

Kane vs. Kurt Angle- WMXVIII

Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall- WMXVIII

Billy and Chuck vs. The Hardyz vs. The APA vs. The Dudleyz- WMXVIII

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan- WMXVIII

Jazz vs. Lita vs. Trish- WMXVIII

Chris Jericho vs. Triple H- WMXVIII

Rob Van Dam and Kane vs. Lance Storm and Chief Morley- WMXIX

Matt Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio- WMXIX

Victoria vs. Trish Stratus vs. Jazz- WMXIX

Team Angle vs. Los Guerreros vs. Rhyno and Benoit- WMXIX

Triple H vs. Booker T- WMXIX

Steve Austin vs. The Rock- WMXIX

Big Show vs. Cena- WMXX

RAW Fatal Four Way- WMXX

Chris Jericho vs. Christian- WMXX

Rock and Mankind vs. Evolution- WMXX

Sable and Torrie vs. Stacy and Miss Jackie- WMXX

Cruiserweight Open- WMXX

SmackDown Fatal Four Way- WMXX

Victoria vs. Molly- WMXX

Undertaker vs. Kane- WMXX

Dudleyz vs. Lance Storm and Val Venis- 3.7.04

Plus 100's more on tape

Topped.

CM Funk's Once a Day *IN DEPTH* Match Review

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CM Funk's Once a Day IN DEPTH Match Review