-80% done. Abso-sanely incredible. Now I know how my boss Eric Gargiulo felt when he came over to Ellis Island ninety-three years ago with nothing but three dollars in his pocket and the dreams of calling matches involving fluorescent lighting tubes. Like my good friend Eric, I can see the Island. I’m not quite there, but I’m close.

-And it’s apropos that I bring up a New York landmark, as the huddled masses of the WWE roster rolled into Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 14, 2004, which was the earliest WrestleMania to date. With 12 matches stretched over a five hour (yes, you read it right) time slot, there’s little doubt that Vince McMahon wanted this event to be completely and utterly memorable. Would it live up to the high expectations?

-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are providing commentary for Raw again, with Michael Cole and Tazz doing Smackdown. When there’s an inter-brand match, one team is chosen arbitrarily. In a sport where every match has a number one contendership on the line, they just hand over duties to one side without reason? Sounds fishy, and I have no idea why.

-Harlem Boys Choir kick things off and no worries, I already made my Pat Patterson joke in the last rant. I’m good for a few shows.

-The show kicks off with Big Show defending the US Title against…..John Cena. Yep, Cena opens a PPV, it happened. Cena was still a coarse rhyme-smith at this stage, wearing throwback jerseys to the ring (in this case, Patrick Ewing, though Cena has far more World Titles). Here’s an interesting theorem for you to digest: when a wrestler wears clothing that depicts a real life aspect of pop culture (Headbangers with Marilyn Manson, New Age Outlaws with South Park, John Cena with sports throwbacks), they become a cult favorite. When they eschew the attire in order to wear WWE-licensed shirts with their own logo and pictures and such, then they stop being cool. Reason one why everyone over age 20 turned on Cena.

-Show was bordering on useless at this point. Moreso than usual. Alright, it’s indistinguishable, you got me.

-Show dominates with his hoss-fense, and the crowd chants “Let’s Go Cena”. In New York City? If you played this tape at an ROH convention or at some smark rally in some loser’s basement, they’ll probably claim you doctored the tape.

-Cena manages to land an FU, but Show kicks out. Cena teases the Ultimate Warrior “my hands are telling me that my destiny is to lose” deal, but then realizes that he’s not going to job to frigging BIG SHOW. So he belts the monster with his faux “Word Life” knux and lands a second FU to win his first piece of WWE gold. Not a good match, but it got the crowd going. Nothing wrong with being the rah-rah guy on a five hour show. If this were curling, Cena would have pushed the stone.

-Backstage, we find three men. One of them is the Raw GM, and the other two are his two toadies. Nowadays, respectively, they are TNA’s on-air authority, an ESPNews employee, and an upper carder on Smackdown. So Jonathan Coachman’s better off than Eric Bischoff and John Morrison? I need to go soak my brain in some lemon juice.

-Meanwhile, Randy Orton has a monologue on the staircase where he kicked Mick Foley around on nine months prior, while flanked by Batista and Ric Flair. Man, if you asked me in 2004, I would have said Flair was way cooler than the other two OVW slimes. Now? He’s a distant third.

-Next we have an excuse to give eight men a payday: Rob Van Dam and Booker T will defend Raw’s Tag Team Titles against The Dudley Boyz, La Resistance (consisting of Maritimer Rene Dupree and American Rob Conway), and The Utah Jazz (Lance Cade and Mark Jindrak). If Cade and Jindrak were any whiter, Sheamus could get a gig at the Apollo just by standing next to them. “Vat eez the deal with midcarders getting titles too early? I mean, ree-lee?”.

-When you’re in a match with eight men that’s being rushed, get your moves in now. Bubba with the Dusty Rhodes elbow. Booker with the side kick. RVD with the spin kick. Dudleyz land 3D. Cade gets the….umm….did Cade even have a move? There’s nothing besides the paint-by-numbers heavyweight offense that they taught him in OVW? God, what does WWE see in him?

-To speed things along, Van Dam flattens Conway with the Five Star to keep the titles with RVD and Book. Why did Conway have to job? He actually had a personality and ability. Well, I guess they had to keep Jindrak strong for his career apex of playing Kurt Angle’s personal Stormtrooper. Match was decent.

-Backstage, Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund are found necking with Mae Young and Fabulous Moolah. Jonathan Coachman is horrified. He’s horrified because he forgot to ask Heenan “What am I doing wrong as a heel commentator?”. It’s just as well, since Heenan would have either said “everything” or “who the hell are you, Pez Whatley’s kid?”

-Video package to hype the Chris Jericho-Christian-Trish Stratus love triangle. Sadly, no clip of Christian telling Jericho “This is not the OC!”. If it was, Trish would need to stop eating altogether. Well, someone’s gotta play the Mischa Barton role.

-Finally acting in character for a change, Jericho just tackles Christian and hammers away. I dunno, Jericho sweating over a woman and losing his mind over her just doesn’t feel right. How can you explain this side of Jericho and his current outlook? Did Trish’s rejection turn him into a robot with abject disillusionment with the world? Makes sense to me.

-Jericho alternates between out wrestling Christian and beating the crap out of him, and Christian turns the tide with a thumb to the eye. As dumb as this storyline was in terms of two thirty year old, known-to-be-married men fighting over a starlet co-worker, at least the match is good. Kinda hard to fault these two.

-After spending a good chunk of the match reversing, countering, and answering back with moves, Christian locks Jericho in the Texas cloverleaf. Or is it the Ontario Maple leaf? That’s what RVD’s missing: the San Bernardino Hemp leaf! He can have that one for free.

-A superplex spot is blown when Christian slips, but they make up for it and do it anyway. You know, if Kevin Nash did that, two things: one is he’d be crucified for blowing the spot and, two, we’d be in disbelief that he broke his usual arsenal for one match. Let’s just move on.

-Jericho gets the Walls, but Christian nabs the ropes to escape. Trish comes bouncing out (literally) and Christian brings her in the hard way. An inadvertent elbow knocks Jericho into a Christian roll-up, giving Edge’s little brother the win. Afterward, Trish turns on Jericho with a hard smack, and Christian hits the Unprettier to give birth to “Trishtian”. Cheer up, Jericho. If you had won Trish’s heart, how would you have explained it to Jessica? Damn good match.

-The Rock gives a whacked out promo backstage to set up the greatest handicap match of all time: Rock and Mick Foley against Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. We used to argue whether Batista or Orton was the most useless guy in the match. We ain’t too bright, is we?

-Rock stealing the Flair strut = awesome.

-Match starts with a flurry, with Rock taking Flair down on the floor with a backdrop and Foley coming off with the big elbow. Crowd is in a frenzy early.

-Foley gets Orton in the ring to continue their issue, and Orton bails like a coward. Foley hammers him into the table and brings him back in for more punishment. Here’s the good thing about Mick: he sells for anyone and will put any kid over, with no politics. Except for burying Test in his book, which I still think is funny.

-Speaking of putting people over, here’s Rock to sell for Batista and Orton. I wish I had known this was his final match. I woulda painted my eyebrow on and worn my elbow pad and….well, not really, you see, I was umm….back to the match at hand here.

-Foley plays face in peril while Batista and Orton water their own learning trees with this opportunity. Within weeks, Batista and Orton would be having great tag team matches with the likes of Benoit, Edge, Benjamin, Michaels, and others. You’re seeing it now in WWE with guys like Rhodes, Dibiase, Ziggler, Kingston, and Miz all getting better through osmosis with the older names. Hey, TNA: if you use the older guys to bring the young kids up, you can weed out the has-beens and live on the kids’ newfound reputations. That’s why Batista and Orton crush Flair and Foley in the ratings. MAKE A NOTE OF THIS!

-Rock gets the hot tag and cleans house on everyone. Batista halts the rush with a spinebuster and Flair tries the Senior’s Elbow, but Rock puts an end to it. After cleaning house again, Rock lands his own People’s Elbow on Flair. Great fun.

-Orton gets tagged in and runs right into Rock Bottom. In all the confusion, Batista drops The Great One with the Batista Bomb. After Rock barely kicks out, he tags in Foley, who cleans house himself. However, after he prepares Mr. Socko, he walks into the RKO to give Orton the biggest pinfall win of his career to that point. Whew, insanely fun match with a murderer’s row of main eventers and champions. Rock consoles Mick afterward, and Mick consoles him for having to have such a crappy goatee in that equally crappy Be Cool flick. Thanks for the aweome career, Rock. Have fun with that Disney money.

-Hall of Fame recap is next, a year that saw Bobby Heenan, Tito Santana, Big John Studd, Harley Race, Pete Rose, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Junkyard Dog, Superstar Billy Graham, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jesse Ventura all get inducted. Say what you will about Pete Rose, but he took a stinkface from Rikishi. That alone warrants induction, I think.

-Next up, Sable and Torrie Wilson face Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie in an evening gown match. All the participants remove their gowns to start, but Miss Jackie is stand-offish. So she can make out with some loser on Tough Enough in a hot tub, but this is too much? Interesting.

-Cole on commentary says Tazz stabbed him with his pencil, and Tazz assures him that it wasn’t his pencil. Well then.

-Torrie pins Jackie and spanks her during the roll-up. I’d have included more content, but I write enough erotic letters to Hustler each week, and this would only detract from my usual quality. So rent the DVD, pervos.

-Meanwhile, Eddie Guerrero tries to motivate Chris Benoit by using reverse psychology. Show of hands?
Who else thought of a REALLY snappy punchline to that, but felt sick for even thinking it? I did, too.

-For more filler featuring some lesser-seen talents, we move onto the Cruiserweight open, which is a ten man gauntlet with the Cruiserweight Title on the line. The order of elimination goes like so:

-Shannon Moore jobs to Ultimo Dragon, who slipped during his entrance. Being the first one gone in this match must make you feel like Marsellus Wallace when he got picked by Zed during eeny meeny miney mo. Even the odds hate you.

-Jamie Noble comes in and dominates….some midcarders. He makes Dragon tap, and then pins Funaki in negative nanoseconds, then beats his forgotten cousin Nunzio by count out. It’s this spark and sass that made Noble a dominant ROH Champion for about seven hours.

-Then Billy Kidman hits the ring and dispatches Noble. Then Kidman jobs to Rey Mysterio, who’s dressed as The Flash. Kidman’s The Flash also, except his last name is “in the Pan”.

-Akio is unable to participate due to being blinded by Tajiri, and Rey pins Tajiri to bring it down to him and champion Chavo Guerrero. After some chicanery involving Chavo’s dad, Chavo “FREAKING AWESOME” Classic, Chavito retains the gold. Man, I miss Chavo Classic. He did a good job hosting Raw recently with Tommy Chong, however.

-Brock Lesnar-Bill Goldberg video to hype their epic match. Hey kids, when I say “epic”, you say…..yep, that’s right!

-Stone Cold Steve Austin and his over sized four wheeler of fun are the guest enforcers. He gets the biggest cheer of the three people involved in this match. Of course, that’s like saying that Capt. Sully Sullenberger won a popularity contest over Herpes and The Syph. Are you really surprised?

-Now, I could thoroughly recap this match, or I can tell you a joke I made up. You like jokes, right? Of course you do.

-Two muscle heads walk into a bar. They each order a bottle of “Over-With-The-Crowd Lager”. The bartender informs them that he can’t serve them this beverage because they don’t plan to come back to said bar, and it’s only for long-term commitment patrons. So the two muscle heads say “Fine, we’ll just occupy space for 15 minutes and do nothing!”. So the muscle heads proceed to do just that until the 20,000 patrons of the bar scream obscenities at them, which doesn’t faze them. Finally, a bald man runs in and beats up both guys himself. The other patrons roared mightily. Then the bald guy beat up a woman at random and the patrons still cheered. One patron sat stunned and muttered “Why would they cheer a wife beater over two men who don’t wish to be regular patrons anymore?”. And then Justin said “You must not be a wrestling fan!”.

-Bad as the joke was, it was still better than the match. Goldberg wins with a Jackhammer and Austin beats both guys up. I’d add more, but the match already damaged my brain. Let’s not let it hurt my fingers too.

-Vince is here to thank the fans. For sitting through that last match? Yeah, you better thank them.

-I have about 1600 words left before I get to my personal space limit, so rather than waste time with the next pointless match, let’s get it over with: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty retain the WWE Tag Team Titles over the APA, The Bashams, and The World’s Greatest Tag Team. Real quick, a note to Rikishi: when you’re going to give a man a stinkface and you have to arch your stomach out before doing it, because you’ve gotten so fat that to merely stand in front of him would mean that your ass would already be in his face, then it’s time to lose weight. Nothing match.

-Next up, Jesse Ventura comes out to ask Donald Trump to help him with his 2008 Presidential campaign. Well, Jesse almost got as many votes as Dennis Kucinich, so he’s clearly on the right track.

-Following that spirited jaunt, we come to a Title vs. Hair match, as Victoria defends her WWE Women’s Title against Molly Holly, who’s putting her hair on the line. Do you think George Steele and A-Train could done a back hair vs. back hair match on PPV and drawn? Me either.

-The match is technically fine, but it’s a five hour show and everyone’s just waiting for the main events, because they want to see Guerrero put Angle down, Undertaker come back, and Benoit do what he does best and that’s not disappoint. Wait….

-Victoria wins it with a backslide, and Molly tries to be a truant, but she eventually gets strapped into the chair, and Victoria shaves away with a satisfied and exhausted grin. I found this hot, I don’t know about any of you. Feel free to dislike me for it.

-Guerrero-Angle recap video to hype the WWE Title match. The only thing that could have made Eddie’s celebration at No Way Out better was if his brother Hector was in the crowd dressed as the Gobbeldy Gooker. You know that would have ruled more than anything else.

-Crowd finally comes to life during a chain wrestling sequence, as MSG has always appreciated good technical wrestling. They even do the ROH/TNA chant of “LET’S GO ANGLE/ANGLE SUCKS”, which I find amusing. It’s like an act of rebellion from the smarks: “We cheer the heel AND the face! What are YOU gonna do about it?”. And the booker says “I dunno, get laid after the show?”. The smarks then narrow their eyes and say “….you win this time.”

-After Angle counters the Three Amigos (Two Amigos in current WWE acknowledgment canon) with a German, he gets the uber-creepy German attempt on the apron that looks like something out of day three of Pat Patterson’s fundamen—alright, there’s the requisite Patterson joke. Happy now?

-After Guerrero wipes out on a plancha, Angle brings him back in for a pain session to slow things down. Good, frenetic match so far, as neither man could really have a bad match. Crowd’s warming to Eddie, who really defied the odds to become a main eventer. Hey Vince, when Guerrero does it, it’s defying the odds. When Cena does it, it’s a marketing machine clearly standing behind him. I like Cena, but let’s be realistic here.

-A fast paced sequence ends with Angle trying for the Angle Slam, but Guerrero coming out of it with an armdrag. I’m enjoying myself.

-Another Three Amigos attempt is countered on numero tres into an Ankle Lock. Guerrero fights, not wanting to give up and the fans are really awake now, identifying with the champion’s struggle. Guerrero finally kicks him away.

-After falling victim to Angle’s super belly to belly throw, Angle latches on a second ankle lock, but Guerrero cradles him for two. After countering an Angle Slam into a DDT, Guerrero lands the Frog Splash, but Angle gets the shoulder up for two. Crazy great stuff, and the fans are behind Guerrero 100%.

-As Guerrero is in disbelief, Angle tries for a third ankle lock, but Guerrero kicks him off to the floor. Guerrero unties the boot on the injured ankle, and Angle goes back in for it. With the lock applied again, Guerrero kicks off and Angle’s left holding the boot. A surprised Angle is then cradled to give Guerrero the win to retain. Great, great match. My brother had no idea why Guerrero untied his boot (to slip out of the ankle lock easier) and Michael Cole explained it perfectly. So, yeah, Cole is smarter than my brother. I don’t think Josh ever recovered.

-Undertaker-Kane highlight package. You know how it goes: boy kills brother under a ton of dirt….and that’s about all.

-Kane comes out first with a nice entrance bit where the NYC set behind him “catches fire”. The lights then go out and we hear the voice of Paul Bearer, as he leads the Druids to the ring, which leads to classic Undertaker’s entrance. Undertaker was basically still Bikertaker, except with a new hat and his old mannerisms. But still, the MSG fans are thrilled, as was my viewing party. Nothing like the Dead Man gimmick to speak to your inner child.

-What follows is the typical Taker-Kane match, with Undertaker re-establishing all of his old tricks that made him The Dead Man in the first place. I was happy because I was so tired of that annoying Southern drawl that made Taker look like an out-of-shape hybrid of Mark McGwire and Sam Elliott. He should be a zombie forever, even when he’s 70, and will then be 42-0 at WrestleMania. Fine by me.

-Undertaker sits up from a Kane choke slam, and then reciprocates it. He then follows with the Tombstone for the relatively quick win. Not a good match, but it was a fun moment to enhance the show’s appeal. You just need these moments sometimes.

-And now, the match I’d waited years for. I wasn’t alone. And now, what was once a proud cult who relished this match, it’s become a dwindling minority. Triple H defends the World Heavyweight Title against Shawn Michaels and, yes, Chris Benoit. Let’s see if my feelings change watching it.

-Hey Hunter, nice white boots. Nobody can pull of the “He-Man goes Go-Go Dancing” look like you.

-Benoit and Shawn attack Hunter from the outset, but take time to beat each other down as well. Benoit tries a Crossface, but Shawn blocks. Benoit could have won right there in under a minute, and I would have been fine with it.

-This entire opening sequence is so well choreographed, as they take turns doing one on one bits, and nobody “plays dead” for so long that it seems contrived. A testament to all three men’s abilities.

-Shawn takes down both Benoit and HHH on the floor, and then heads up top to land a moonsault onto both men. Shawn was 38 here and still doing dives like that? Hey, if he’s not going to win the match, he’s going to steal the show for himself. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

-Triple H spends the next portion of the match in control, dominating both men until Benoit comes to life and drills him with a clothesline. He gets the rolling Germans, but tries for the diving headbutt and Shawn crotches him up top. Shawn tries SCM on Hunter, but eats a DDT. I think my stomach lining was like Swiss cheese at this point.

-HHH tries the Pedigree on Benoit, but Chris counters with the Crossface, which Shawn stops. Crowd doesn’t like that. Is it blasphemous to boo Shawn?

-Rolling Germans and diving headbutt for Shawn, but Benoit gets knocked outside. Shawn hits the SCM on Hunter, but Benoit pulls the champ to ringside to keep the match alive. I couldn’t take much more of this.

-Shawn opens up a MASSIVE cut after being sling shotted into the post. If Shawn’s wrists ever bleed simultaneously, he’ll have won me over. No more Jesus jokes then.

-The big turning point comes on the floor when Shawn and Hunter team up to double suplex Benoit through a commentary table. The idea was that this was to have finished Benoit as Shawn and HHH settled their feud.

-Back inside, Shawn does manage to bust Hunter open, but HHH lands the Pedigree out of thin air. My heart was sinking until Benoit slid in and broke the pin up. Whew.

-Benoit manages to counter the Pedigree into the Sharpshooter, and the place comes unglued. Hunter almost taps, but Shawn lands Sweet Chin Music at the last moment. He can only get 2, however. A second attempt sees Benoit backdrop a horribly bloodied Shawn all the way into the aisle. YAY!

-But Hunter lurked behind Benoit, and my heart fully sank. He tried the Pedigree, but Benoit snatched the Crossface to a huge pop. With no one to save HHH, he futily tried to roll Benoit over, but The Crippler held on. Finally, Hunter tapped to finally give Benoit a World Title and cause a smarkgasm the likes of which have never been seen. Guerrero comes out to celebrate and both men tearfully parade in confetti as JR gives a great sendoff. A tremendous match, circumstances aside, and still an all time favorite of mine.

-Drowning Pool’s “Step Up” plays off the show with highlights. Underrated Mania theme.

-CYNIC SAYS: Five hours flies by when you take two days to do the show in parts. I know I glossed over a lot of stuff, but that’s because they stretched things out to get about 50 people involved in matches. Four of them are great (both World Title matches, Rock and Sock vs. Evolution, Christian/Jericho) and there was enough fun moments otherwise (Taker’s return, Cena’s win, lingerie, the Hall of Famers, Lesnar/Goldberg’s crapfest) to make the entire show worthwhile.

If you can get past the controversy behind the main event, then this is a damn fine anthology that defined this era of WWE. I highly recommend watching all five hours, even the slow parts.

When he isn’t watching WWE, TNA, or his beloved Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies, Justin Henry can be found writing. It is his passion as well as his goal in life to become a well-regarded (as well as well-paid) columnist or author. Subscribe to The Cynical Examination, his wrestling blog, at http://www.facebook.com.

WWE WrestleMania – The Complete Anthology 1985-2005 DVD Set

Read WWE WrestleMania : The Official Insider’s Story

Check out the WWE WrestleMania – The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1 – 1985-1989 (I-V)

WWE WrestleMania – The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2 – 1990-1994 (WrestleMania VI-X)

WWE WrestleMania – The Complete Anthology, Vol. 3 – 1995-1999 (WrestleMania XI-XV)

WWE WrestleMania – The Complete Anthology, Vol. 4 – 2000-2004 (WrestleMania XVI-XX)

From the ring to your wall – WWE REAL.BIG Wall Graphics on sale now at Fat Head!

When you hear the name “WrestleMania” you think of the biggest event of the year for the WWE. A culmination of a year of well thought out feuds and rivalries and a card that will leave you awestruck when you watch it. Let me tell you, that is not the case with the WrestleMania events you are about to read about.

In the paragraph’s that follow you will be reading about some of the most mind numbing and boring WrestleMania events of all time. These WrestleMania shows were so bad for the most part that it made me want to watch Mae Young give birth to another hand to take my mind off of them. Now sit back, grab your Alka Seltzer and get ready to read about the top 10 Worst WrestleMania Events of all time.

#10.
WrestleMania 25
Reliant Stadium
Houston, TX

Talk about a match overshadowing your main event. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels was an all time classic match between two of the best performers the WWE has ever seen. Too bad it went on before the main event of HHH vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title, which was very anti-climatic considering the months of build up the match had. I did enjoy the Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy Extreme Rules match, even though in the WWE nowadays nothing can be to extreme thanks to the god damn PG rating they have. The MITB match also entertained me a little and they did work it right having Punk win for the second time as it spearheaded his recent amazing heel turn. Some of you may be surprised at this, but just watch it again and then get back to me.

#9.
WrestleMania 24
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

I loved the Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair match where if Flair lost he would have to retire. This matched saved the show from being almost unbearable to watch. The emotion in this match was like what the old WWF used to put on in the good ole days. When Shawn mouthed the words “I’m sorry, I love you” to Flair before super kicking him, it made me get goose bumps. Now the rest of the card was just not that good at all. I didn’t want to see Cena fight Orton and HHH for the millionth time, and having Undertaker wrestle for a World title at a WrestleMania is pointless because you know almost for sure that he was going to win. This took away from Edge’s moment of headlining his first WrestleMania. The WWE just does not get it these days and it’s sad.

#8.
WrestleMania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

There seems to be a trend here doesn’t there? This is one of the more recent WrestleMania’s, and also one of the worst. This event had a very good opening match with Mr. Kennedy winning the Money in the Bank ladder match. This match had very good participants and is in my opinion the second best MITB match ever. Kennedy cut’s an amazing promo at the end which adds even more to the match. The fact that this match so good and the rest of the show was like watching early 1990’s WCW doesn’t sit well with me. The Undertaker vs. Batista in a match other than a Hell in a Cell does not appeal to me, and seeing John Cena defeat another better wrestler then him for the second straight year in Shawn Michaels, pissed me off royally. I know they were trying to shove Cena down our throats, but come on seriously, enough is enough.

#7.
WrestleMania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

It saddens me to put this WrestleMania ranked so low because of the fact that it had arguably the greatest WrestleMania match of all time in Stone Cold vs. Bret Hart. If you have not seen this match go buy the DVD right now and look at how a feud is supposed to be. But then I look at the rest of the card again and realize that I would rather watch an episode of Sunday Night Heat then to have to go through the pain of watching it. The main event of Undertaker vs. Psycho Sid was horrendous, and HHH faced Goldust and Rocky Maivia faced The Sultan. Enough said.

#6.
WrestleMania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Some of you are probably thinking I have lost my mind rating the first WrestleMania this low. The only reason this WrestleMania ranks this high is because of the fact that it was the very first WrestleMania ever. The historical significance of this event cannot be overlooked. If it were not for that it very well could have ranked as the worst WrestleMania of all time. There is no one match on the card that is very good or stands out at all for that matter. Seriously, name another match. The main event was entertaining because of the fact that Mr. T was in it, but it really should have been Hogan vs. Piper. This would have had the ultra baby face against the bastard heel with Piper trying to cheat his way the entire time to win and Hogan coming out on top in the end.

#5.
WrestleMania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

This WrestleMania would also rank even lower if it were not for the Stone Cold vs. The Rock match for the WWF title. This was a WrestleMania where the WWF just tried to stack as many people onto the card as possible, and they came up really short. Shane McMahon vs. X-Pac was mildly entertaining, and Stone Cold vs. The Rock was very good, but other than that the rest of the card was bad. The Undertaker vs. Big Bossman Hell in a Cell match was the worst one of its kind I have ever seen. How you make a Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker bad back then is beyond me. While I like the fact they pushed the envelope with hanging Bossman from the cage, it was actually quite idiotic in retrospect.

#4.
WrestleMania IV
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Kind of ironic that the fourth worst WrestleMania ever is actually WrestleMania IV isn’t it? Here is my problem with this WrestleMania. While I do personally love the idea of a tournament for the title, this show just did not work for me. Most of the matches were boring and ended rather stupidly. The Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts match should have had a winner and he should have faced Bam Bam Bigelow in the Quarterfinals instead of having the One Man Gang beat Bigelow and then Gang get a draw. Sounds like something WWE would book these days by having Santino beat Christian and then get a bye after Edge and Jericho go to a draw in the other match. I personally would have had Dibiase win the WWF Title instead of Macho Man, and have Hogan try to help Macho out so they could still form the Mega Powers afterwards. I would then have had Hulk Hogan beat Dibiase at WrestleMania V. It’s not like Macho’s title reign was that good after this anyway?

#3.
WrestleMania IX
Caesar’s Palace
Las Vegas, NV

From the bad choice of venue, to the announcers wearing togas, all the way to Hulk Hogan stealing the limelight once again, this WrestleMania ranks up there as one of the worst of all time. I will give this WrestleMania one good review about it, the opening match between Shawn Michaels and Tatanka. This was a very good match up until the ending that made me want to shut the television off. Have Michaels at least cheat to win, just don’t have it end in a disqualification. This WrestleMania also had one of the worst mania matches of all time in the Undertaker vs. The Giant Gonzales. I wanted to poke my eye out with a rusty fork when I saw this match, that’s how bad it was. The Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect match had a lot of potential, but they botched that one up completely. While I do enjoy watching Hulk Hogan in a lot of the WrestleMania’s to follow, they just should not have taken away from Yokozuna winning the WWF title the way they did. No one wanted to see Hogan on top at that point.

#2.
WrestleMania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

I really wanted to make this the worst WrestleMania of all time, I really did. The only thing keeping me from making this the worst WrestleMania of all time is the Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels match for the WWF title, other than that the entire card was unwatchable. You do not, I repeat, you do not put a retired NFL player and a washed up wrestler as the main event in the biggest event of the year for the company. You have Bret Hart regulated to having a mid-card match with a wrestler from the late 1970’s in Bob Backlund, and you have your opening match as Lex Luger & The British Bulldog against the Blu Brothers. They could of done so many things with this WrestleMania such as have a rematch of Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, and that would have at least salvaged this god awful WrestleMania a little bit.

#1.
WrestleMania II
Nassau Coliseum
Long Island, NY

This has got to be the worst WrestleMania of all time. It saddens me to know that part of it took place in my own backyard in Long Island, N.Y. Whoever thought that the idea of having the matches take place from 3 different arenas was a good idea had to be clinically insane. The only watchable match on this card was the British Bulldogs vs. The Dream Team for the Tag Titles, and it was not even that good. The main event was Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage match. While on paper this might seem like a good idea, the match was atrocious and not done well at all. There is not one historic match at all on the card, or even a very good one for that matter. This mania even had Randy Savage put on a bad match, which is about as hard to do as the WWE putting on a good edition of RAW these days.

I welcome your questions, comments or suggestions for future articles. Contact me at richardciancioso@hotmail.com.

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This should come to a surprise to anyone on Camelclutchblog.com and fans of “The Still Real to Us Show.” It is a couple days after RAW during the Road to WWE WrestleMania 26. What am I talking about yet again this week? But of course, Randy Orton’s match for WrestleMania 26! The only exception to past blogs is that this match has become official now.

At WrestleMania 26 live in Glendale, Arizona we will be seeing a Triple Threat Match between Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. Yep, that’s what booking has come up with for this year’s WrestleMania with one of their biggest stars in the company from the last six years. I did not see this final result coming at all and I’m starting to think TNA is booking this angle.

Is Randy Orton really a face? I have no idea. He didn’t come off as a face this week on Raw when he took on Triple H. But then again he’s now teaming with Triple H next week on Raw to take on Sheamus, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. This is by far the most confusing angle so far going into WrestleMania 26. You know what; it’s the only confusing angle heading into WrestleMania 26.

I have spent too much time breaking this angle down the last couple of weeks but that’s how mind boggled I have become by watching it week after week on Raw. I really feel like that this Triple Threat Match is setting up other angles now that could have lead up to WrestleMania not be featured at WrestleMania. This Triple Threat match could have been done at a Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber because now it’s clearly setting up the rocket ship for not only Ted DiBiase to be a break out star but for also Cody Rhodes to become a break out star.

For weeks and months we have been hearing rumblings that Ted DiBiase was going to be a face and become a breakout star within the WWE. For that to happen he needed to break away from Orton & Legacy to become that star. It appeared that’s where they were heading following Elimination Chamber but obviously those plans were derailed.

I would have to wonder if WWE has lost faith in DiBiase becoming a big major star and that they feel that Cody Rhodes who seemed to be always the third wheel in this Legacy angle for the past two years can also become a top star. So to scrap the entire Orton/DiBiase deal they make it into a triple threat match where you have to figure some sort of swerve is going to take place to solidify Randy Orton back as a heel. Sorry Orton fans this temporary face/tweener deal with Orton is not going to last.

At WrestleMania 26 I still see Orton walking out as a heel no matter what, he walks alongside with him following the match is a whole different story. Creative wants the fans to believe that Legacy is going to work together in this and turn a Triple Threat match basically into a Handicap match. That’s not going to take place one way or another as the booking of the match happens.

I have been booking what WWE hasn’t been booking the last couple of weeks for this angle so take this obviously with a huge grain of salt. I see Orton alongside a member of Legacy (at this point flip a coin but I’d have to say Rhodes more then DiBiase) will beat down the other member of Legacy (I would guess DiBiase) and let Orton get the win. In essence creative has broken up Legacy, given a fresh face singles push to either Rhodes or DiBiase and created multiple feuds with the new face (DiBiase or Rhodes) vs. Orton & the member of Legacy who turns its back on the other at WrestleMania.

As I would have liked to see this angle take place at a Rumble or Elimination Chamber I can kind of understand where they may be taking this. Following WWE’s April PPV Extreme Rules, there will be another WWE draft. As we all know that is the night where we see stars go to another brand to become fresher singles stars (i.e. Morrison to Smackdown, Miz to Raw). For one of the members of Legacy to break off and become a bigger star they will have to receive a fresh start following this brief feud stemming from WrestleMania.

I still like Ted DiBiase in the role as the face coming off of all of this. Give him a quick angle at Extreme Rules with Orton and/or Rhodes and then let him get drafted to Smackdown. Let Rhodes get more of a spotlight put on him now that he is the only one teaming with a heel Randy Orton and set up an eventual turn on Orton months down the line.

The future sees that eventually DiBiase and Rhodes will become stars in the WWE. Whether it is upper mid-card or Main Event material they will eventually get some sort of singles spotlight in the near future. I can see both of these guys a year from now being involved in WrestleMania 27 with their own angle.

While this angle’s setup has received much confusion from me, I hope the end result pans out well for Rhodes & DiBiase. Orton doesn’t need it at all, he’s already there as the established top star. He needs to give eventually both of these guys the same rub that wrestlers like Chris Benoit and The Undertaker gave to him to build him up as an established star in the WWE.

This has the potential for being an intriguing angle at WrestleMania, while I feel like the stage for the angle itself isn’t necessarily the best I can also understand that you never know what can happen with WWE creative. They have been firing on all cylinders this year heading into WrestleMania 26 and have done a great job with the overall booking. As I continue to write these blogs regarding this angle week after week it’s also another friendly reminder why I don’t book wrestling shows, especially for the biggest wrestling company in the world.

While I am confused and have been confused I am still intrigued by what can take place at WrestleMania 26. I hope when I look back at this entire thing to write some sort of post show blog I can finally say the confusing doesn’t compare the execution that took place at Glendale, Arizona. We can only hope right? And as for this angle I hope this is the last time I have to write about this until AFTER WrestleMania 26.

If you have any questions or comments for Eric Gargiulo and I for this week’s “The Still Real to us Show” please e-mail us at thestillrealtousshow@gmail.com

Jeff Peck is the producer for the “Wheelhouse Radio” program that airs every Sunday – Thursday @ 8pm ET/5pm PT at www.blogtalkradio.com/thewheelhouse and at www.errorfm.com @ 2am ET/11pm PT

Jeff also co-hosts “The Still Real to us show” with Eric Gargiulo which can be available at www.wheelhouseradio.com and can be downloaded in the “Real Guy Radio” section of the site. There you can also download many different shows including “The Wheelhouse”, “24 on 24″ and “Lost: Smoke Monsters and You.”

If you would like to subscribe to “The Wheelhouse” on iTunes simply subscribe for free at iTunes by typing in “Wheelhouse Radio!”

You can follow “The Champ” Jeff Peck on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/therealjeffpeck or you can follow Wheelhouse Radio! on Twitter by visiting their page @ www.twitter.com/thewheelhouse. You can also e-mail them @ wheelhouseradio@gmail.com

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Welcome loyal readers to this week’s episode of ROH on HDNet. This week it’s the completion of round one of the Ring of Honor World Television Title tournament with both members of the American Wolves in action. Let’s go down to ringside.

World Television Title – First Round – Colt Cabana (3) vs. Eddie Edwards (6)

I had originally picked Colt Cabana in this matchup. But after El Generico lost last week to Kenny King I am now going with Edwards here and eventually an all American Wolves final. Edwards starts working the leg and lower back of Cabana, softening him up for his half Boston Crab finisher, the Achilles lock. Surprisingly to me, this is a rather slow match that the crowd doesn’t seem to into. Cabana manages some offense but is distracted twice by the appearance of Steve Corino at ringside. The second time, Edwards applies the Achilles lock and Colt taps out in short order. Eddie Edwards moves on to the semi-finals against Kevin Steen. I think you will definitely see some sort of retaliation interference against Steen that will cost him.

Backstage with The Briscoe Brothers

Kyle Durden interviews the ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Briscoes. They have a match coming up at the next pay-per-view, Big Bang, against the Kings of Wrestling. Get your tickets now!

Roderick Strong Promo

Next we see an interview with Roderick Strong, who will be in a triple threat match for the ROH World title at Big Bang. Roddy is not happy with the match being a 3-way and he blames Tyler Black for going back on his promise of offering Strong first crack at the belt.

The newest member of ROH is…

Jim Cornette is in the ring to introduce the newest addition to the ROH roster. This must be somebody important. It turns out to be Shawn Daivari. You might know him better as, well…Daivari. Not really the big news I was hoping for. He comes out in his traditional Arabian outfit, which he promptly rips off. He then shoots on all the promoters who have made him play the stereotypical Middle Eastern role. Maybe things will work out differently here for him after all. And then he insults the fans, which prompts chants of “U-S-A”. Nope, things will be exactly the same for him.

Austin Aries Promo

Next it’s Austin Aries’ turn to speak. “A Double” is also in the triple threat match at Big Bang. He comments on his superior mental abilities and with Strong and Black in the match, that isn’t saying much.

Kyle O’Riley vs. Tony Kazina

I have no idea who the heck either of these two guys are. I’m not even sure how to spell their names since neither ones merits any graphics. This is a snoozer of a match and I won’t bore you with any details except to say the O’Riley wins it with a rollup. I want those six minutes of my life back Jim Cornette.

Tyler Black Promo

Of course the champ needs a turn to shoot. He talks about the challenge of having to defend his title against not one but two men. Tyler’s promo skills are improving, but he still has a ways to go.

World Television Title – First Round – Davey Richards (4) vs. Delirious (5)

Here is your main event. Very interesting development early, Davey Richards does not come out in his American Wolves tights. Does that mean anything? We’ll see. By the way, Davey was my sleeper pick to win this tournament before it began. With Eddie Edwards winning earlier tonight I would be shocked if Richards doesn’t go over here. Delirious sets the early pace with his unorthodox offense. Richards starts to land some truly hellacious kicks. Richards is so intense, I love his attitude in the ring. Delirious sends Richards out to the floor and does a somersault off the top rope… onto Richards’ head!! Not his shoulder, not his chest, not in the general area of Richards so he has to catch him, but right on top of his freaking head. Richards counters a little later with a perfect fisherman’s suplex (get it, Perfect) that he then converts into a kimura. This is some really good back and forth action. Richards catches Delirious in a juji-gatame (cross arm lock) and there’s nothing left to do but tap out. Great match that really showcased the skills of Davey Richards. Now it’s on to the semis and a date with Kenny King.

This was a good episode of ROH. Surprisingly though, there were only three matches the whole show. And one of them involved two guys I had never heard of. Luckily, the other two matches involved members of the American Wolves, that’s what made it a good episode in my opinion. Everything is in place now for an Edwards vs. Richards finals. That would make an awesome conclusion to the TV Title Tournament. But I’m getting ahead of myself. They still have to make it through their semi-final matchups. Will they be victorious? Be sure to tune in next week for more exciting Ring of Honor action.

Vince DeHoratus lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two kids. He has been a life long wrestling fan and he has passed that love onto his son. Though not quite yet “middle aged and crazy”, he is fast approaching it.

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I was in the middle of doing The Wheelhouse show when the ratings for the March 15 TNA Impact were released and didn’t get a chance to look at it until I got home to read an e-mail from the great Eric Gargiulo. In it he sent me the ratings for TNA Impact and WWE Raw from the past Monday March 15th shows. WWE Raw received a 3.7 rating while TNA Impact in show #2 of the Monday Night Wars II headed by up by Eric Bischoff & Hulk Hogan received a 0.84 rating, the lowest rating for TNA Impact in four years.

As I figured TNA had a lower rating then last week’s show but I didn’t think it would be in the .8’s! I think re-runs of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” on Nick at Nite at 2am receive higher ratings that TNA Impact right now. Don’t hold that statistic to me, I can already hear TNA fans going “that isn’t true!” It’s all in jest but I digress.

Are the red flags waving in Nashville at the TNA offices and at the Spike TV section of the Viacom building yet? You would think right? They paid in what I’m sure is millions of dollars to bring in Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Band etc. You wouldn’t think so after reading Dixie Carter’s now infamous twitter page tonight after the announcement of the rating came out. Here is what she wrote:

“Although its classic David v Goliath, 1 stone will not bring down our giant, it’s a different day. It’ll take time & commitment, we have both.” – Dixie Carter (via her twitter page)

You have time & commitment do ya? Does Spike TV have the same kind of time and commitment as you do Dixie? Because if they don’t your off of a network and don’t have an outlet to take down Goliath.

This isn’t breaking news to TNA this rating has been getting worse and worse since January 4th when TNA pulled in their biggest rating of all-time. Everyone in TNA was jumping up and down like a room full of kindergarten’s being greeted by the ice cream man. You would have thought that they had already won the Monday Night War the way they were acting. That’s how ridiculous it was.

We talked about the Impact rating from last week’s show (March 8th) at length on my podcast “The Still Real to Us Show” co-hosted by fellow Camel Clutch Blog’s Eric Gargiulo. I’m not going to go back in time and discuss that rating again. At the time I was shocked that was how TNA rated back on the 8th, this time around I am not as shocked.

I read the spoilers because I had little interest in tuning into the show this week. I’m sure the TNA defenders will use that as another reason as to why the rating was so low. Are you sure it has nothing to do with the inconsistencies with the booking of TNA? Or how maybe, just maybe fans of the TNA product are fed up with the same old wrestlers being shoved down our throats ten years ago being shoved down our throats yet again?

TNA took everything they laid their foundation with for 8 years and threw it out the window the minute they brought Hulk Hogan on board to “shake up” their product. How does Hulk shake up the product? By bringing in Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, The Nasty Boys, Bubba the Love Sponge, Sean Waltman, Scott Hall, Sean Morley and Mr. Anderson. Last I checked wrestling fans and more importantly TNA fans weren’t clamoring for one last run for The Nasty Boys, to see Bubba the Love Sponge on TV and to get another chance for Scott Hall to no show a TNA event.

This is slowly becoming more and more of a joke every week. I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon see bets on how low the TNA rating will be in Las Vegas next week. TNA will be live next week so I’m sure the rating will do better right? Maybe it will move from a 0.84 to a 0.94. I’m a believer! You can do it TNA! Let’s beat the ratings of Impact from the Fox Sports days!

Something is not working right now in TNA obviously. This situation Dixie Carter got her organization into by bringing Hogan & Bischoff into the fold was a make or break situation. They can either fight the situation and make their product entertaining or continue to go down with their sinking ship.

You can point the finger at Vince Russo, but as Eric Gargiulo brought to my attention on last week’s “Still Real to us Show”; the finger must be left to be blamed to Dixie Carter, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. Those three and more then likely Hogan & Bischoff, have the final say on what we see on Monday nights. Clearly what we’ve been seeing lately is some of the worst things TNA has produced in four years according to the ratings of course.

Spike TV executives are not going to let this continue happen for much longer as they have invested a lot of time and more importantly money into the TNA product. Spike TV & TNA want to beat the USA Network & the WWE in the ratings game. They didn’t air on Monday Nights because they are the “little engine that could.” They did it to make a point and climb the ladder of the Wrestling game. It is another form of “Survival of the Fittest” and right now they are most definitely the hunted.

To me they are even behind Ring of Honor’s Monday program that I watch on YouTube because I can’t get HDnet! No offense to ROH, their product is by far much more entertaining then the TNA product right now. Spike TV call up Cary Silkin and bring ROH to the worldwide fan base because the way it’s looking right now TNA won’t survive till 2011.

What is TNA’s excuse this week? I’m sure it will be that they were taped. But even so most wrestling fans read spoilers including spoilers for NXT & Smackdown. You know the two other WWE shows not named Raw that are doing better then your program. What will TNA’s competition be next? Hell maybe they can take on WWE’s AM Raw that airs at 2am on the USA network.

This is one of the worst wars I have ever seen so far in the Wrestling business and I know it’s still early for me to say this in Week 2 but this is horrible. If TNA makes a comeback they will look back at this period of time and remind all the haters (including the one writing this blog) how they came back from a 0.84 rating to out-do the WWE on Monday Nights. I don’t know when or how that can happen right now and I think TNA is feeling the same way right but won’t let on that they feel that way as we speak.

The heat will be on this coming Monday March 22nd in Orlando, Florida. The WWE is doing their “go home” show to Wrestlemania 26. TNA and their fans need to stop blaming the “Road to Wrestlemania” as well for their problems. This has been getting worse for weeks and weeks. Plus have you been watching the same show I have been? It’s horrible and un-entertaining.

The only war that seems to be happening on Monday Nights right now is TNA Impact taking on VH1’s replay of the Tool Academy. TNA needs to improve fast or the Spike TV executives will be calling Dixie Carter, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff into their offices rather quickly. Things are at least getting most definitely getting interesting during the Monday Night Wars II.

If you have any questions or comments for Eric Gargiulo and I for this week’s “The Still Real to us Show” please e-mail us at thestillrealtousshow@gmail.com

Jeff Peck is the producer for the “Wheelhouse Radio” program that airs every Sunday – Thursday @ 8pm ET/5pm PT at www.blogtalkradio.com/thewheelhouse and at www.errorfm.com @ 2am ET/11pm PT

Jeff also co-hosts “The Still Real to us show” with Eric Gargiulo which can be available at www.wheelhouseradio.com and can be downloaded in the “Real Guy Radio” section of the site. There you can also download many different shows including “The Wheelhouse”, “24 on 24″ and “Lost: Smoke Monsters and You.”

If you would like to subscribe to “The Wheelhouse” on iTunes simply subscribe for free at iTunes by typing in “Wheelhouse Radio!”

You can follow “The Champ” Jeff Peck on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/therealjeffpeck or you can follow Wheelhouse Radio! on Twitter by visiting their page @ www.twitter.com/thewheelhouse. You can also e-mail them @ wheelhouseradio@gmail.com

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This past Monday night, TNA presented their next Monday night IMPACT episode going head to head with Monday Night RAW! The only difference this week as opposed to last was that last week’s TNA IMPACT was live where as this week’s was taped. What was in store for TNA after last week’s shocking appearances by Jeff Hardy, Sting, and Rob Van Dam? Also, with TNA Destination X this Sunday night on PPV, how did TNA present their go home show? Let’s find out!

To start out the program, the TNA World heavyweight Champion AJ Styles and Ric Flair made their way down to the ring and AJ preceded in cutting a promo about how he will destroy Abyss in their title match come this Sunday at Destination X. Flair then takes the mic and cuts an excellent promo on how he want revenge on Hogan. Flair then literally punched himself in the forehead several time reopening his laceration from last week. This looked sick! Not sure I’ve ever quite seen something like it in the given circumstance. At this point, AJ got back on the mic and called out Jeff Hardy who attacked him last week as IMPACT went off the air. Hardy came out sporting a new look consisting of a full face of face paint. AJ then challenged him to a match in the main event which Hardy gladly agreed to. Hardy made a reference to him beating AJ with the help of his “creatures of the night”, which are apparently Hardy fans from the arena who wear his face paint and neon shirts which glow with black light, and left to his theme music. Nice segment to open up the show and set up the main event, however I’m not sure why there’s so much emphasis between Hardy and Styles considering it will not be Hardy, rather Abyss who Styles will defend his title against this Sunday.

The Nasty Boys (Saggs, Knobs, and Jimmy Hart) Defeated Team 3D (Brother Ray, Brother Devon, and Brother Runt) In A 6 Man Tag

Before this match officially began, the Nasty Boys were shown backstage powerbombing Jesse Neal through a table. His replacement ended up being the returning Brother Runt! Coll to see him back with Team 3D again. This was your typical 3D vs. Nasty Boys match, which really isn’t much of a good thing if you catch my drift. 5 Minutes of below par stuff here, with the main angle being 3D trying, but failing, to get their hand on Hart. In the end, Sags hit Brother Ray in the back of the head with a helmet for the win. After the match their beat down continued until Jesse Neal (injured ribs and all) made the save and he and Team 3D ended up giving Sags a 3D through a table in the center of the ring. Nice table spot but worthless feud and waste of Jimmy Hart’s presence in TNA.

Kurt Angle and “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero Defeated Mr. Anderson and Desmond Wolfe

Nicw way to wrap a couple of feuds into one here, while it looks to be Angle/Anderson feuding as well as Dinero/Wolfe, although I’m not sure why these two are still feuding considering Pope has a world title shot next month at TNA Lockdown. Nice wrestling action here telling a very good story, however it still wasn’t given quite enough time to pick up any real momentum. TNA did a nice job of giving some more time to their matches last week, so I was disappointed to see this match end in only about 5 minutes or so here. Dinero heavily sold his ankle injury as well. In the end, Angle hit an Angle Slam on Anderson and then went for one on Wolfe but he countered that into a hammerlock DDT. Wolfe tried to hook a figure four in on Dinero but Dinero countered that into a small package for the three! After the match, Dinero and Wolfe battled to the back while Anderson gave Angle a Mic Check in the ring. Anderson then split Angle wide oen with his dog tag. As the blood dripped down Angle’s face, Anderson grabbed his mic and degraded Angle while he was helpless. Great way to set up their match this Sunday at Destination X as well as leave Angle wanting revenge going into their battle! I was very impressed here, and the use of blood really put TNA even further over WWE when it comes to appealing to a more mature demographic.

Angelina Love Defeated Daffney Via DQ

This was suppose to be an open challenge from Love to any single member of The Beautiful People, however Daffney was apparently The BP’s honorary member for just one night. Nice way to pull the wool over our eyes and further this feud, even though I’m not enjoying it all that much. Not much of a match here, for Daffney got disqualified in only about 2 minutes or so when the BP got involved. After the bell, Daffney swung Love but the legs, head first into the side of the ramp. Very scary spot which literally almost broke Love’s neck! After this, Tara ran out to stop the beat down, hit Velvet Sky with the Widow’s Peak, and locked eyes with her opponent this Sunday Daffney as she retreated onto the ramp way and to the back. Nice way to set up this match on Sunday for the Knockout Championship.

Up next, it was time for Hulk Hogan to call out Sting to meet face to face for the first time in nearly a decade. Sting eventually showed himself and preceded in climbing down each and every step from the rafters. Intense moment played very well. Before Sting could enter the ring, RVD jumped the rail and floored him! He beat him all around the perimeter of the ring, seeking revenge after Sting’s onslot last week. RVD eventually threw him into the ring for an awaiting Hulk Hogan with Sting’s bat, but Bischoff came out and stood in between the two claiming that this wasn’t the right thing to do and that Hogan should stop trying to get involved with the talent. He said Hogan was there to run the company, not compete. Nice segment here to start creating tension between Bischoff and Hogan. reminds me of the days where Stone Cold and Bischoff were each co-general managers of RAW. They didn’t get along yet they were both running the show. At least this most likely will not involve a one on one match between Bischoff and Hogan… at least I hope not!

Scott Hall Defeated Kevin Nash In A 5 Minute Challenge For $25,000 (Was This Even A Match???)

Earlier in the evening, Nash challenged Hall to this match, if you could call it a match. Apparently if Hall could last 5 minutes with Nash he would get the money. TNA made this very unclear as to how to win the match, if it was one. Pretty brutal stuff, and no I don’t mean because it was violent! I use to dread the day we’d see these two in the ring together. Thankfully, after about 2 minutes Waltman ran out and attacked Nash’s knees. They cuffed him to the turnbuckle, but Eric Young ran out to make the save, but ended up getting the X Factor on a steel chair. Decent way to set up the tag match this Sunday though, although I’m really not looking forward to it whatsoever.

Beer Money Defeated Hernandez With Jeff Jarrett As The Guest Ref

Once again, Beer Money played full fledged heels. Did this come out of left field or what? Nice little formulaic handicap matchup here with Beer Money dominating most of the match with Hernandez coming back with flurries of offense several times throughout the duration, which was about 5 minutes or so. During the match, Matt Morgan was on commentary and did not seem to be on the same page as Hernandez at all. He walked out on him in the end. Nice way to further the tension between these two, although I still think it’s a carbon copy of the Morgan/Abyss feud last year. After Beer Money got the win with the DUI, they continued the beat down, until Jeff Jarrett couldn’t take it any longer and cleaned house! Nice way to create anticipation when it comes to the reaction of the man who booked this match, Eric Bischoff. A match which accomplished several things here, which was a smart usage of time.

Earlier, Bischoff promised that he would shave Foley’s head to make him look more business like. Foley came out and sat in the barber chair. Bischoff turned on the clippers and was about to shave Foley’s head when Foley shockingly stood up and put Bischoff in the Mandible Claw with Mr. Socko! After Bischoff passed out, he began to shave Bischoff’s head. He ended up shaving most of his hair off leaving him looking like a complete wacko! Although this was probably not the segment you needed to do before a pay per view that weekend, I’ll admit this was pretty funny and a nice way to see Foley get his revenge after following Bischoff’s orders for so long. Guess this was our payoff.

Before we saw the main event, The Motor City Machine Guns stood in the ring under the Ultimate X structure and cut a promo claiming that they are the top tag team in TNA and will defeat the two men who just waltzed into TNA, Generation Me. Generation Me came out and told the Guns that they defeated them in their TNA debut. The MCMG said it was all luck. After the Guns made a questionable comment about Generation Me’s girlfriends being with them last night, the four men engaged into a full out brawl. At this, Brian Kendrick ran out and went after Generation Me. Amazing Red then ran out and went after Kendrick. Next Daniels ran out and took out Red. Last but not least, Kaz ran out with a ladder and threw it in Daniels’ face who was standing in the ring. The Guns now attacked Kaz. Generation Me then climbed the truss holding up the X wires and dove onto the Guns on the floor! Huge TNA chant! Kaz and Red soon cleared the ring. Red dove off the top of the ladder, front flipping onto Kendrick, Daniels, and Sabin on the floor! Awesome spot here! Great way to show off the X Division and to set up both the Ultimate X and Ladder match which will take place this Sunday at Destination X which is supposed to focus on the X Division! I just wish they would have started building up this PPV, at least from an X Division standpoint, a few weeks ago.

Jeff Hardy Defeated AJ Styles (C) With Ric Flair In A Non-Title Match With Abyss As The Guest Enforcer

First of all, I’m glad TNA at least involved Abyss, AJ’s poopnent this Sunday for the title, somewhere in this match. The match featured Styles dominating for the majority of the duration. Hardy looked a tad slow at times, but you must remember that he hasen’t been in the ring for a while. He’s got a bit of ring rust. Hardy made a comeback at about half way through this 10 minute match. Hey, at least TNA gave us a main event lasting more than 5 minutes for a change! Styles came back and hit a snap brainbuster suplex at 6:00 for a two count stopping Hardy’s momentum. AJ then countered a Twist of Fate with a Pele Kick. Looked very cool! Toward the end, the ref got in the way of a cross body off the top rope by Styles. Styles hit both Hardy and the ref. Styles preceded in grabbing a chair. Abyss walked up to his and waved his finger in a no gesture. Styles set the chair down and went for a springboard 450 splash but caught nothing but canvass. Hardy then hit a Twist of Fate and the Swanton for the three, as counted by Abyss! After the bell, as Abyss and Hardy celebrated, Flair attacked then with a steel chair. Flair forced Abyss to the ramp with repeated chair shots to his back, but it had no effect on the monster! Abyss “Hulked up” and turned around, punching the chair out of Flair’s arms. Abyss then grabbed Flair by the throat and choke slammed him through the stage to end the show! Another sweet spot! Great way to leave the impression that Abyss could legitimately win the title from Styles this Sunday night! Great stuff post match!

Overall, this wasn’t the best episode of IMPACT ever, certainly not as good as last week, however I felt it did a very nice job of setting things up for Destination X this Sunday night on PPV. All the matches were set up and things didn’t seem as rushed as usual. Not nearly enough actual in ring action here, but it is understandable because of the PPV coming up this weekend. The main event was satisfying though. Overall, I’d give this show a B+.

Todd Frizzell is from Columbus Ohio, and has been a huge professional wrestling fanatic for the last ten years. Todd is very interested in all aspects of pro wrestling, including what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling. Todd is very excited to write about his passion, and will try his best to entertain and provoke the wrestling fans.

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