Superstar Sleeze

World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio - Smackdown 1/11/13 Last Man Standing Match Where the hell has this Alberto Del Rio and where did he go? I have always thought Del Rio was mercurial. One week, he would be intense, passionate and urgent. Now the next week, he would look listless, bored, going through the motions and looking he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I thought he squandered a surefire amazing heel gimmick as the Mexican Million Dollar Man mixed with a little of Randy Orton's Legacy/Destiny gimmick based on Del Rio being second generation. Here he looked like an amazing babyface. His selling was off the charts great, definitely his strong point in this match. I really liked how scrappy and plucky he was in this. He was always peppering in shots. His performance dripped with effort against impossible odds. Now it is time to introduce what really made this match a classic in my eyes and that was Big Show's performance. Del Rio's performance was enhanced so much by how fucking great Big Show was in this. Big Show looked like The Giant he should have always been. He was Mount Everest in this match. He was registering pain. He was not selling. He was never bumping. He was just going down to one knee if he must and that was after wicked chairshot after wicked chair shot. He was pulverizing Del Rio. Swatting him like an annoying gnat. He was imposing his will with ease. So all the work Del Rio was putting in was magnified by how well Big Show played the Giant role. I really liked how they built the hope spots. They went from wild strikes to chairshots to Del Rio trying to rip Big Show's arm off (Big Show's howling was almost Vader levels of awesome). I liked how Big Show dropped Del Rio hard on the apron and then Del Rio just let himself bounce onto the floor. It was Del Rio that had to take the count. I liked how many Pyrrhic victories there were for Del Rio. It made you believe the situation was hopeless. From this hope spot, we get the big one when Del Rio hits a desperation dropkick and Big Show falls through a table and now Big Show is finally counted down, but gets up. I LOVED the part where Del Rio is trying to desperately to fell the Giant Redwood with clothesline only for BIG SHOW TO CHOKESLAM HIM! YES! Big Show does not bump for shit! Yes! They do a great job now escalating the "nearfalls" for Big Show. Big Show PLOWS Del Rio through the barricade. Great sell job by Del Rio how he goes limp and his upper is right up against chair exposing his teeth. He gets up and then Big Show hits his KO Punch and Del Rio is fucking out. Then in clever spot he slides out of the ring and lands on his feet! He is up! I dig. Now it is time for the grand finale. Big Show charges at him with the stairs but knocks himself silly with the stairs against the steel ringpost when Del Rio ducks. Del Rio RAMS Big Show multiple time with the Steel Stairs selling through the pain the whole time and then topples the announce table on Big Show! I cant say enough about this match. I thought the character work was superb! Amazing babyface performance from Del Rio and an even better Giant Heel performance from Big Show. I thought the plot of this match was flawless, just perfect escalation. Dont sleep on this match! ****1/2

Paige vs Emma - NXT 7/24/13 NXT Women's Championship To crown the inaugural NXT Women's Champion, in a lot of ways this is the start of the Women's Revolution as this championship is what made WWE fans take women seriously and this was the launching pad to get Paige on the main roster after WrestleMania. I thought this was a good match, serviceable, but not very memorable. I really liked their February 2014 NXT Takeover match. I remember it being physical and gritty. I re-read my review and it sounded like a banger of a match. I had forgotten how good Paige was at working the midsection. We see that here at times like right after the DilEmma Paige hits that side kick to the midsection or towards the end of the match. I just didnt feel like there was enough connective tissue. I thought Emma was the on delivering the highspots like Emmaite Sammich and the Superplex. I felt like the match meandered a lot and here's an odd complaint. I thought there were too many pinfalls attempted. Theoretically, I shouldnt really complain because pinning is the point of winning, BUT it came across more like they had run out of things to do so they might as go for a fall to kill time. I thought we saw flickers of Paige's intensity, but it would wax and wane. I could see the potential in both of them, but it didnt really materialize into anything great. ***

Emma & Santino Marella vs Fandango & Summer Rae - NXT 10/2/13 This match has intrigued me for years as Jimmy Redman placed it in her Top 10 out of 100 WWE Matches of 2013 (a very loaded year for the WWE). I really liked the original Emma gimmick and her liked her match with Paige on the first NXT Takeover. This is the Rockers vs Rougeaus of the Modern Era except it stays comedy throughout. I am not going to review every comedy spot because my words won't do it justice. The pre-match is pretty hilarious and there are some really funny spots in the match and one that did really get me. I think what holds this back for me is just how useless and bland Fandango is. I have always thought he could so much more with the gimmick. I grew up on dancing gimmicks like Alex Wright, Disco Inferno and La Parka. You really need just one signature move and you would be good. I never felt he went full bore with the comedy of the gimmick. The Fashion Police he became more entertaining as a character, but still left something to be desired in the ring. I will forever remember him coining the term "Aerogigantic" which still cracks me up. I dont think I have gotten to say my piece on Fandango. Emma and Santino ruled with better heels, I thought this could have been really special, definitely still worth checking out. I wish Emma got a better break. I can see that the gimmick has a shelf life, but weird palmless gloves and blue lipstick were not the solution. ***1/2

WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs Sheamus - Main Event 5/29/13 This has to be Wade Barrett’s career match right? Holy flying fuck this was awesome! I really need to re-watch Sheamus vs Cesaro from Main Event because I think this maybe even better. Hard-hitting, stiff brutal contest with a bomb-trading finish run and an insane finish. I loved Sheamus taking everything Barrett and hitting him twofold so he has to powder. Most impactful back heel trip ever by Sheamus. Look at those knee lifts by Sheamus in order to hit a Suplex. I love knee lifts. So manny great kneelifts. Barrett bum rushes Sheamus on a criss Cross sending him over the top rope and Sheamus whacks his funny bone. Sheamus sells like a champ. Barrett spends the entire middle third trying to knock Sheamus’ head off in unique and brutal ways. Sheamus is is peppering in hard, stiff hope spots and Barrett is snuffing every rally almost immediately with wicked shots of his own. Everything is so urgent! This is pro wrestling! Sheamus just says fuck it and basically hits Barrett so fucking hard he can’t cut him off. This is match that got over on stiffness and struggle. Not nearfalls! They actually chanted “This Is Awesome”. Insane. Then they traded Bombs but everything was convincing and made sense. These two have deep Arsenals. White Noise, Battering Ram, Cloverleaf, Beats of the Balrog, Irish Curse Backbreaker vs Mule Kick, Blackhole Slam, and Wasteland. The way they did the finish with both men charging and who could pull the trigger on the killshot was fucking epic! Loved this to death! Sleeper pick for WWE MOTY for 2013 watch it and weep manly tears of joy! ****1/2 P.S. Redman Report WWE MOTY 2013 Countdown is the greatest list ever Made.

Sheamus vs Cesaro - Smackdown 6/14/13 Isnt 2013 WWE TV wrestling just the best? Isn’t Sheamus vs Cesaro just the best? Isn’t big, meaty hoss battles just the best? This is the meatiest meaty matchup ever. Bill Watts would have creamed himself every time. This is such a change of pace from these zombie speed walkthrough matches we have now. They break the pace by actually showing fire and caring about the match. Watch how pissed Sheamus gets at the beginning after Cesaro slaps and crowds him in the corner. The crowd comes alive because it is a real, organic response to what happened. They just alternate between beating the shit out of each other and doing insane strength spots on each other. Sheamus doing a fall away slam to the barricade was great. The Irish Curse Backbreaker over the top rope was eye-popping. The finish was perfect. Each had gotten reasonable nearfalls. Nothing too excessive. Cesaro shoves Sheamus in a corner. Nobody puts Sheamus in a corner! BANG! BROGUE KICK! 1-2-3! Big mistake never give your opponent separation. I love how he pays for it. I love the sell by Cesaro. I love out of nowhere KO in a big time stand and bang slugfest. It was the fucking perfect finish on so many levels for this match. I remember loving the MAin Event match when I watched it in 2014. Now I couldn’t tell which is better but who cares you should watch both your life will be better for it. **** P.S. Thanks to Stacey (Jimmy Redman) for pimping this

WWE Champion The Rock vs John Cena -WrestleMania XXIX I don’t really remember much from this match because well there is not much that’s memorable. I think this match really hurts Cena’s legacy that he put on such a pedestrian main event on the biggest show of the year and arguably his career. You can blame Rock’s freak intercostal injury all you want but they does not excuse Cena’s soulless performance. These two looked like they were walking through rehearsal out there. The first ten minutes are a total waste. Once Cena goes for his trademark shouldertackles the match at least attempts to tell a story. The story is they both remember everything about the other from last year. So every move gets countered. There’s two problems. First, after two or three times, fans pick up on the pattern and there’s no surprise to the counter because everything gets countered. It becomes routine. Second to compound the problem there’s no struggle. These two fall into each other’s counter. I can’t believe how many shitty counters to FU and Rock Bottom there were. Oh hey Rock, you want to get down from my shoulders, Why sure buddy let me place you down. John is my arm wrapped around your upper torso? Let The Rock turn The People’s Side to you so you can hoist me up on your shoulders you big strapping lad. Yes pro wrestling is a work but Jesus there has to be some semblance of a shoot. Anyways all the usual moves are hit. They play off the 28 finish with Rock going for 5 Knuckle Shuffle and Cena is trying to lure Rock into an FU with a People’s Elbow attempt. The former should have been the finish. Instead it was some lame-ass do-see-do FU that had zero heat. I can’t believe two men so charismatic could have such a bland match.

Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - WrestleMania XXIX No Holds Barred What I remember from being at this match live was zero crowd heat like you could hear a pin drop. This was to the glee of the HHHaters at the time. I was disappointed because I absolutely loved their Summerslam 2012 match (still do! See my review). Looking back now the match is very good, but it is nowhere near the level of their overlooked Summerslam classic. i actually really liked the very, very beginning of the match. It was a good brawl mixed with some great Brock bumping. I loved the HHH High Knee that intercepted that chair shot. How fucking cool was that. Brock caught HHH with a belly to belly Suplex on the floor and then hit a tremendous Suplex slam through the announce table. After this match ground to a halt. It was Suplex City Brock with a bland babyface. It was a ragdolling. No hope spots. No seeds of hope. The Summerslam match HHH just kept chipping away at the abdomen until it paid dividends. All of HHH’s openings came from HBK distractions which is lame for a face. It climaxes with Brock hitting an F-5 over HBK but HHH hits a Pedigree. HHH goes for the sledgehammer and Brock hits an F-5. Again, the match grinds to a halt. I usually like Brock on top but there’s not much going on. Brock tries to break HHH’s arm with the Double Wristlock which had been totally forgotten yo until this point. The match kicks up here once HHH breaks free and decides he wants to return the favor by breaking Brock’s arm which I am a mark for that story. It is a great badass breaking down of the arm and Brock does a tremendous job selling and fighting back in HHH’s Kimora. The DDT on the stairs, sledgehammer, Pedigree on Stairs was a great finish combo. There’s more greatness to this than people want to give credit to but I rather spend my time beating the drum for the far superior Summerslam match. ***1/4

CM Punk vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXIX This was the second WrestleMania I attended and I have much better memories from this because I had much better seats. I was sitting in the lower bowl about halfway down directly into side of the ring. No obstruction. It was a great time and I remember this being our (my brother & mine) favorite match. It has been six years. The only thing I remember crystal clear was Punk’s elbow drop to the Taker on the announce table. Totally forgot the build, WWE video packages are the best. It is really what they are good at and they do useful five years or so after the fact. Punk was so great as irreverent well punk mocking Paul Bearer’s death and doing everything he could to get in Taker’s head. This theme of disrespect would be a consistent thread throughout the match. This match was very stripped down compared to the epics of the HBK & HHH Matches. This made for much more consumable viewing. Punk slaps Taker at the bell and it is on. For the most part there is a great vigor to this match. Punk really unleashes the strikes only for Taker to go on a tear. Taker had to earn his shine and he kicked Punk’s punk ass on the floor. He goes for Old School but Punk drags him down. Then in a sign of disrespect Punk hits old school! Oh shit! I had forgotten that but as soon as I saw it the memory came back. I liked the brief flurries to break up the Punk Control segments. It made it feel more competitive. Punk runs out of ideas apparently...tries Old School again, but he lands on his balls. Big punch by Taker. Taker wants the five but Paul E. Makes himself useful as a human shield. Punk hits a flying clothesline and his elbow drop. This is when Match picks up into a rousing home stretch. We get G2S attempt into a MASSIVE CHOKESLAM! That memory came rushing back. Great strike exchanges follow. I could watch these two stand and bang. There is a longer exchange toward the end of the match but the short stuff ahead of that was great. Taker goes for The Last Ride through the table but Punk evades and hits a tremendous roundhouse kick. Then comes that famous elbow drop from the the top rope and it doesn’t break! I forgot that! They milk the countout as part of the story Punk said a DQ or countout Counts as a loss. Different from the HBK and HHH that wanted clean wins. So this was a good nearfall. They do the submission exchange. Hell’s Gate -> Anaconda Vice. Best part of this was Taker did his Zombie Sit-up and CM Punk damn near crapped his pants. Now that’s something I totally missed by being In the stands. That’s my new favorite moment. I thought everything after that is gold. G2S into Tombstone was molten hot. They stood and banged in a great strike exchange, good stuff shots. I loved the red bump and Punk hits Taker with the urn to Avoid the Last Ride! What a great heel nearfall! Punk does the throat slash wants the G2S but it is a Tombstone! Great finish! The first half was solid but the second half was red hot. A really great stadium style Match with lots of highspots and drama. ****1/4

John Cena vs The Rock - WrestleMania XXVIII Thanks to this match I ended up with front row tickets to Machine Gun Kelly, Sia and Flo Rida. I totally forgot MGK rapped. God he fucking sucks...he made for a great Tommy Lee in The Dirt. Flo Rida is good craic as the Irish would say. This match is also good craic and better than I remembered. I talked about this in my HHH/Taker review but I had shit seats at this Mania so I. Don’t remember a lot because I couldn’t see. I said prematurely that Punk/Jericho was the MOTN but this match was a frog’s hair better as Stone Cold would say. Very well-laid out Clash of Titans. All the highspots popped and Cena played a good subtle heel ring general guiding the rusty Rocky through the match. Lots of good symmetry in this match which makes sense as this is being billed as Icon vs Icon so they are equal footing. Each shoving the other off during the opening lock ups was a nice touch. Rocky doing La Magistral was great to establish Rock still remembered how to wrestle. Rocky goes for the Sharpshooter and Cena heads for the hills. Cena looks like he underestimated The Rock. He STEAMROLLS The Rock with a clothesline in the best move of the match. Cena plays heel in the control segment working the midsection. Rock still sells well. Rock hits his DDT and they do an extended finish stretch that is well-paced. Rock does his little comeback routine and when he goes for the People’s Elbow. Cena picks the ankle. I like how the camera still went wide. It sold it well. Cena does his comeback sequence. They trade the FU and the Rock Bottom early. That’s smart because it put heat on the bear falls after because people already saw the big hits. It also was not rapid fire. They would re-build to the highspots. Sharpshooter vs STF was good. I popped huge for The Rock top rope crossbody into an FU! Cena is the Man. Great nearfall for Cena. Glad they went home right after that with Cena looking to steal the People’s Elbow but getting stuffed with a Rock Bottom! The finish makes sense given the rematch the following year. Really well-structured clash of titans match where they played all the right notes even if it could have used a little more soul. O I really liked the slugfests in this much better than the NJPW strike exchanges, I liked Cena’s punches and the register of each men. ****

100% this. It should have been face vs face going into Mania and when Jericho loses he becomes a sore loser and turns heel. WWE Champion CM Punk vs Chris Jericho - WrestleMania XXVIII I remember thinking this was the best match of the night but was pretty underwhelmed. I remember nobody could hear John Laurinitis so we had no idea what happened. Given where I was sitting the entire beginning of the match made no sense to me. I think last minute rule changes need to be announced better if they are done and thought this was a dumb narrative for a stadium match. The beginning was Jericho trying to get under Punk’s skin to goad him into overreacting and getting DQ’d to lose the belt. It climaxes with Punk contemplating using a chair. Punk has become mentally compromised. Jericho hits a dropkick and really seals the deal with a wicked Suplex inside out and Punk lands hard on the floor. I thought that was the best spot of the match. Punk sold well and Jericho targretted the back. I thought what this match did best was symmetry. With both men claiming to be “best in the world” symmetry not trying to get DQ’d was a better narrative. Jericho used a double undertook backbreaker which is a move associated with both men. I liked how each man countered the bulldog. How each hit their finish but in both cases the opponent was outside or too close to the ropes. I didn’t like how inconsequential a lot of the big moves felt. There was a lot of hit a big move and follow that up with the opponent hitting the next big move. Punk hit a really nice Standing Shining Wizard causing Jericho’s head to hit the post. The next move is a Codebreaker. I thought the Codebreaker was shit on. The ending sequence with the submissions the battle of Boston Crab vs Anaconda Vice was the best part and is when the crowd finally came alive. I love how Jericho fought to survive in it. Knees to the back of the head, grabbing the hair to pull him into a pinning predicament only for punk to re-position in control and move his head out of the reach of Jericho for the win. The symmetry of the match especially the dueling submissions at the end would have been perfect for a babyface vs babyface match to determine who “the best In the world” is. Then you have Jericho be a sore loser and turn heel to set up the more personal grudge. I don’t know why they shot that angle before Mania and the didn’t deliver the street fight. There were times when the match felt flat where it could have used character work. It was solid but definitely not “best in the world” ***3/4

Crusher Blackwell vs Butch Reed - St. Louis 11/82 Loved the simplicity of the first fall. It was all about establishing the impressive strength that Butch Reed possesses. He is constantly overpowering Blackwell into the ropes. He even lifts Blackwell into a bearhug which is an incredible feat of strength. Blackwell has to resort to eye gouges. I love when giants cheat. There is something so purely scummy when a dude with a significant size advantage is forced to cheat. On the second eye gouge, Blackwell finally turns the tide and he sticks with good heel wrestling of choking and strangling. Reed gets a solid kick out out of a elbow drop that shows he doesn’t give up. Nice comeback from Reed before he runs into a big forearm smash in the corner and then he drops down prematurely on a criss cross and Blackwell hits the big splash for the first fall! Reed is only a three year veteran so you can explain those two crucial late mistakes to inexperience whereas Blackwell’s experience allowed him to capitalize. One more thing, Blackwell is the king of heel registering but never bumping to really put himself over as a mountain. He did some really great heel selling. Awesome face/heel dynamics, just pure American wrestling at its most basic and finest. Per tradition, the second fall is short and this one sure is sweet. Great babyface selling from Butch Reed! I love how he is staggering. Blackwell bullies him in the corner. Just ramming his massive girth into Reed sandwiching him into the corner. Then it is headbutts to the small of the back remember that Big Splash was on the back of Reed. Blackwell bearhug! Reed fights back! Big running forearm knocks the Big Man off his feet for the first time! Holy shit! Fist drop! Leg drop! 1-2-No! Are you shitting me? Reed goes for the powerslam but Blackwell is just too fat and squashes Reed as His Back gives out. 1-2-No! Damn! I bit on that too! Now it is Blackwell trying a bodyslam but it is WM III finish with Reed rolling through with an inside cradle. Blackwell kicks out at three. They put together a really strong, compact fall with lots of drama. I had forgotten that one of my favorite Blackwell tropes was that person who can do the most damage to him is himself as he misses the big splash after an eye gouge & Suplex set up Reed. This supercharges the match! Then Reed misses a flying fist drop! Huge heat! Slugfest erupts big & meaty. You can feel the time limit draw. One last nearfall...Reed goes for the crossbody...Blackwell catches...here comes the slam...wait...Blackwell loses him and Reed ends up on top for 2. Liked the tension. Slugfest goes to a draw and Reed keeps fighting. Perfect adequate finish to get Reed over as a contender with a big time heel. So simple but so gratifying. Man I missed pro wrestling! This was great! ****

Thor got a huge pop in Infinity Wars when he made his entrance to the battlefield with his BattleAxe!

I’ve long thought Big E as a potential Ace Face. Is my correct in the Fall of 2013 there was a power struggle over whether to pick Big E or Roman as the heir apparent? Big E deserves a shot at the top and I constantly tweet that he should be in Kofi’s position.

Thank you Cap! Thank you Cap! Thank you Cap! Love the Summerslam move! Still have not rewatched All Japan 90s yet. Starting to get back into a regular routine. Hope to finish WWE 2005-2014 soon.

Yes Agganis Arena is in Boston proper. It is Boston University's hockey arena (college hockey is pretty big in New England, well as big as college hockey can be) and it holds about 5000-6000 people. I have seen NXT there, a TNA PPV and a RAW house show. Perfect arena for AEW.

I didnt see the Blind Guardian one (I would have loved that), but I popped huge for Kreator! Rowan definitely wins best dressed week in and week out!

My Dad did the same thing. I am going to AEW for sure. It was amazing. So we all (Dad, Mom, Brother) went to RAW in summer of 2018. Really boring show. Been going to shows by myself since then. Sent out a text to the family about the new company featuring Jericho and huge buzz. My mom is pumped for an alternative. It is hilarious. I will probably go to New Japan too. Need to get on that.

Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - WWE Summerslam 2012 This is the match that actually inspired me to join PWO. I found PWO in the spring of 2012 and fell in love instantly, but like most people started out as a lurker. I loved this match so much and was surprised a lot of people here didn't like it so I decided to join and speak up. The rest is history. I still think this is one of the most underrated matches in WWE history. I am a huge, unabashed Brock mark and this is a stellar Brock performance. Brock has a pro wrestling IQ so much higher than everybody else it is scary. He just has a great feel. He knows exactly what makes sense for Brock Lesnar. We start with the usual Brock bullying and crowding the corner, which is the perfect start. Now watch how HHH clotheslines him over the top rope twice. First off you see the impressive athleticism of Brock. I have seen LeBron James in person live and I am not sure if he is the greatest athlete I have ever seen because Brock is just that damn freakish. Brock is a great bumper and at his size all his bumps look great. The key is how does he sell it. He is NOT selling pain. He is selling shock. Big difference! That's pro wrestling IQ. Then we go into Brock Beast Mode. He literally takes the gloves off. How does he take control a cheap shot to the back of the head. Michael Cole does a great job pointing out you would be docked one point in UFC and the next time would be a DQ. Brock is an asshole. He is a bully. That is not a respectful move. Great job by Cole putting over this heelish action. Then it is a focused attack on the arm. It is Brock Lesnar in all his reigning offensive glory. Slamming HHH on the bad arm (he broke it in the build to the match). I loved the King Kong Spot where Brock tips the announce table on its side, ascends it and then leaps into the air and crashed down on HHH. HHH was great with peppering in hope spots and shots to make Brock cut him off. His arm is in pain, but he can still fight back and he showed that. This was the Brock show but HHH was doing a good job. Brock was great with all the cutoffs. What is also great is how they foreshadow the big turning point. HHH is throwing kneelifts and punches to Brock's gut constantly. By the time we get into the latter stage of the match, we see the best Brock, the wounded bear Brock. Andre and Vader had this special charisma when it came to selling. They were even more dangerous as these "wounded bears". Perhaps the greatest of them all is Brock Lesnar. I have consistently said that Brock Lesnar is the seller on the WWE Roster since 2012. AJ Styles is a close second just as AJ is the best bumper and Brock is a close second. You can already see Brock selling those shots the stomach. How it is slowing him down and the grimace on his face. Then when HHH pulls him into the pointed edge of the announce table stomach, wow, some of the best selling of all time. Brock Lesnar put on an absolute master class in selling. HHH to his credit stayed on it. Every punch and kneelift was to the gut. Brock was milking it. It had me on the edge of my seat just like back in 2012. Pedigree was a great final hope spot. Then the BALLSHOT~! I forgot about that. The match was effectively No DQ, No Countout because HHH told the ref to let everything go. Here you have the man who is supposed to bring legitimacy back to WWE. He is the Shootfighter and he has to stoop to a low blow. That's great fucking heeling! I love that shit! I love when a monster heel cheats because it just much more terrible. It also puts over how desperate he was. I liked the F-5 kickout to give HHH a little love and protection. The one part of the match I didnt dig was the finish. I think first Double Wristlock (I refuse to call it a Kimura, we are in pro wrestling) should have ended it. The Pedigree -> Flash Submission is stupid modern day wrestling where moves don't matter. What is so great about this match is every move up until the finish had consequence and had meaning. I am sour on the finish, but it does not negate how tremendous this match is especially as a standalone Brock performance and you see all three aspects of Brock that make him great, Brock the Bumper, Brock the Asskicker and Brock the Seller. Come in with an open mind and give this a shot. ****1/2

Man between the hate for Seth Rollins' badass theme and Dolph Ziggler's glorious 1989 straightened Hair Metal hair, I'm so out of touch with PWO. There's probably no bigger glam metal fan on Earth than me so I have been totally digging his glam metal aesthetic for years now.

The Undertaker vs Triple H WrestleMania XXVIII Hell In A Cell Match I was at this WrestleMania live and I didn't have the first clue about how to buy tickets properly for a WrestleMania. So I ended up with seats before one of the giant Palm Trees that was holding up the canopy. Couldnt see shit. There were "Move The Palm Tree" chants throughout the night. Somehow, my Dad, brother and me snuck onto the floor and just stood in the back near entrance ramp the hold time. At least the entrances were cool. However, because the floor is not raked, I really could not see much especially anytime they were out of the ring. I don't have many memories of this show besides high-fiving CM Punk after his match with Jericho. Had a much better time the following year at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey where I knew where to buy tickets and had a perfect view of the ring in the lower bowl with stadium seating. I have plenty of memories and had a lot more fun. This match was not bad per se. It was definitely long in the tooth. It felt more like a routine Undertaker and Triple H match. They hit their standard spots. Even though, they were prattling on about how this was The End of An Era, no one believed it then and it clearly wasnt as Taker and HHH have gone on to main event Wrestlemania since against Roman Reigns. Jim Ross saying "An Era we will never go back to" made me laugh more like an Era we are stuck in. The first ten minutes is methodical brawling around the ring. Undertaker controlled. Brief flurries from HHH, but caught off from Taker. They were pushing the storyline from last year that it was Pyrrhic victory for The Undertaker. Triple H left in better condition than Taker and Taker looked vulnerable. Taker is out to prove this is still His Yard. It made sense that Taker started off hot and maintained control. I sighed so hard when the first transition was a random DDT from HHH. Lame videogame wrestling. The Spinebuster on the Steps was much better, but Taker immediately applying Hell's Gate on the stairs undercut the spot. HHH cements control by slamming from the Hells Gate. Now we enter Act II. We moved from routine Undertaker control segment to the replay of last year's WrestleMania. When HHH uses weapons (Chair and Sledgehammer) to batter and bruise Undertaker. Oh yeah, Shawn Michaels is the ref. So HHH keeps telling HBK to ring the bell and just end it. Undertaker took an absolute asskicking. His body was back & blue. At one point, HHH attempts to bash Taker's brains in with the sledgehammer. Michaels stops him. That was a little excessive. Taker's gets annoyed with Shawn's constant nagging and puts him in Hell's Gate. HHH hits with the sledgehammer. He goes for the Killshot (like an actual fucking killshot)...Taker boots him in the balls. Now we go to Act III which was my favorite act basically they do a big bomb throwing fest. Undertaker looked great here. He was explosive. Chokeslamming HHH and Charles Robinson. Undertaker doing his full comeback and running the ropes was great. One of the few things I remember from being there live was the Sweet Chin Music->Pedigree spot. That was hot shit. The Kliq Conspiring to end the Streak is a great storyline and really should have been more of a focal point. Then what ends up happening is the reverse of the last year. Undertaker is the one standing tall and HHH is left dragging himself to fight. It all begins when Taker grabs the chair, and HHH is going for the Hammer but Taker puts his foot on it. Damn that is some great Alpha Male shit. Taker exacts his revenge with the chair. I loved Triple H lunging at Taker with the Hammer, but having no gusto behind and Taker just stops him. It is very reminiscent of the Undertaker goozle from the previous year that HHH no sold. Then they do the Defiant Crotch Chop Suck It, which mirrors Taker's Defiant Throat Slash. Taker puts him out of his misery with a Tombstone to prove it is still His Yard. I'll tell one thing is that this match makes the previous year's match look WAY BETTER! That match had a Huge Fight Feel, great pacing, awesome highspots and great drama down the stretch. This was 20 minutes of boring, plodding brawling with stock HHH, Taker spots thrown in. The last ten minutes raise this match to good. Undertaker rocking his comeback and then Walking Tall and putting HHH in his place was glorious. It really did set Undertaker up looking strong to lose the following the year. They waited two years, but I liked this as a two year story arc to plant the seed of doubt and then re-establish Taker to set it up for the big loss down the road. It was a win there. ***

WWE not covering travelling expenses is bullshit. Lodging, food and transportation should be provided. No questions asked. I bet they get out of it due to the independent contractor bullshit.

This is the one bizarre take I can keep hearing crop up from wrestling fans. I don't know any company that acts as a travel agent for its employees. I book all my own hotels and then expense it. Now WWE should pick up the tab and if they aren't that's stupid. However, the actual booking of the hotel is not on the WWE, it is on the talent. Now my guess is that because RAW gotten re-written so much a Smackdown talent like Xavier may have not known he was going to be on RAW until it was so late that it caused this to happen. So that is a legitimate gripe. WWE the travel agent is not.

World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Christian - WWE Over The Limit 2011 One of the last WWE Classics I have never seen before. This was right at the nadir of my interesting pro wrestling before CM Punk's Pipebomb promo gave my passion for pro wrestling an adrenaline shot. I had stopped watching Smackdown all together so I only vague recollection of this feud from when it was going on, but I due remember this being one of the most praised matches of the year besides Cena vs. Punk. This was a fantastic singles match that did not rely on any gimmicks or crutches. It is one of those matches where you dont see what the big deal is until about 5 minutes left and you are like damn they got me. The story here is Christian finally won the big one in a hellaciously boring ladder match against Alberto Del Rio earlier in the month after his best friend, Edge retired. The twist is that five nights later on Smackdown he lost the belt to Randy Orton, which was a great troll of the smart marks and also just a great storytelling device. Career journeyman underdog finally wins the World Title just to cough it up later in the week. I liked the opening a lot. Lots of movements. Lots of energy generated off criss crosses. They were punctuated with great spots. Christian loved his dropkicks and Orton was hitting power moves like tackles and back elbows. Shout out to Orton for the Cheerleader Toe Touch on his Leap Frog. I dug Orton a lot in this match. I thought he sold well for Christian and worked quite snug. Christian took a lot of this match cutting Orton off with some wicked slaps to the face. First big highspot was Orton hitting his Superplex at about the five minute mark. They were working a good pace. Orton sold the impact of the Superplex well and how it prevented him from making a solid cover. I liked Chistian cutting off Orton with a spinebuster during what felt like a routine Orton comeback and then hit his inverted DDT. It felt like Christian came to play and that Orton would have to earn this victory. Another thing this match did well is incorporating scouting into the match. Orton had the slap on the outside scouted, but Christian had the Hangman DDT scouted. Another one is how Christian got Orton to bite on a feigned crossbody and Orton revealed he was going for an RKO. Christian bided his time and got a Sunset Flip for 2 instead. Great stuff there. The crowd heat was pretty intense for the midcard World Title match it shows that good work does get over. I did pop for Orton busting out the inverted Boston Crab which I have seen only a couple times and they way he got into it was very organic. I dug that a lot. It was around this spot that I realized I was watching something special and got more invested in the match. They hit the finish and they did a great job with escalation. Orton gets the Hangman DDT off a counter to a usual Christian spot. Goes for the RKO but Christian throws him off. Christian wants the Spear as a tribute to Edge. ORTON POWERSLAM! That was great! Babyface Orton has second thoughts about punting Christian's skull and SPEAR by Christian, great nearfall for two. Christian wants his finish, The Unprettier. Orton reverses and BANG! RKO! Christian sells it like a million bucks. I thought this was a real fun babyface vs babyface match. Orton played bit more of the face fighting from underneath, but this was wrestled very straight. I enjoyed the counter-heavy approach and it built to a great crescendo. Lives up to the hype. ****1/4

The Undertaker vs Triple H - WrestleMania XVII The beginning of the match was truly something interesting and dare I say innovative. I'd call it highspot brawling. I'd never seen it really done up until this point. They were doing brawling highspots but with minimal brawling in between. It was war of attrition style brawling centered around big time highspots. I really liked how everything was set up as a counter. I think in current wrestling there are too many hits. Each of the wrestlers have BIG TIME Irish Whips that set then up for wanting to do announce table spots. Each time, they thwarted in dramatic fashion. First HHH tackling Undertaker into a Cole Mine explosion and then HHH taking a hellacious back drop off the announce table. The first person to hit a big time offensive move is Undertaker hits his suicidal tope which I am such a mark for. Then it is right back to the counters as HHH hits a Spinebuster to a running Undertaker through an announce table. This ends Act I. I thought this was really lean, mean highspot-oriented wrestling. I think Act II was where they dragged but it was necessary to get to Act III. Act II is the worst excesses of Pro Wrestling NOAH with none of its connective tissue. I can at least dig the escalation. Chokeslam vs Spinebuster. Chair is introduced by HHH but used against him. Pedigree vs Last Ride. I will say HHH's moves were better set up because they were true counters and had desperation to them. Tombstone ->1-2-NO! HHH DDTs on the Chair and that sets Pedigree #2. I think the selling especially from the Undertaker was really good in this stretch. He sold how incredulous he was that HHH would not stay down and then sold being concussed really well. This ends Act II and now we go to Act III. What separates Pedigree #3 from Pedigree #2 is we all believed Pedigree #3 actually had a chance of winning the match. Now we have entered the part of the match where we actually believe a finish can happen. This is also perhaps the greatest use of WWE Masterpiece Theatre. I think Savage vs Warrior is better, but this is pretty damn great. Undertaker's selling is fucking off the charts. Some of the best selling of all time. He totally has the Old Gunslinger going to out in a Blaze of Glory at the OK Corral down pat. HHH was great at being the remorseless asshole that was basically willing to kill this man dead to win the match. Chairshots were brutal, a protected chair shot to the head. That moment when Undertaker reaches up to choke HHH and HHH does NOT sell. Damn how good was that. How many times have we seen Undertaker use his other worldy powers to vanquish his opponent at the last second. Not today says HHH. Great example of how no selling can be such an effective tool. From there Undertaker has to pull himself up by the ropes. He is staggered on jelly legs with his fists balled up. My God, we are seeing the Undertaker...vulnerable. Fucking brilliant. HHH slashes the throat and hoists him up for the Tombstone nails it! Man Alive that place went fucking nuts! HHH sold it so well. This prompts HHH to get the sledgehammer which is great escalation. Undertaker, The Undertaker, is on his back squirming for the bottom rope trying to pull himself to safety. He is like a giant version of Ricky Morton. Holy shit, selling to another level. Taker gets him in Hell's Gate. Great sell job by Triple H, loved the last ditch pick up of Sledgehammer only to drop it again and then go unconscious. What a finish! Bonus points for Undertaker's after the match. It is very telling Triple H gets to his feet first and walks away first, while Undertaker lays motionless for quite sometime before collapsing off the apron to the floor in a powerful moment. Then they have to cart the Deadman away up the ramp. Wow! Talk about vulnerability and putting the story over! Some of the best character acting in pro wrestling history! They take you on a journey through selling that is sublime. The middle drags this down and does not make sense as the brawling spots were higher end than the middle. That's nitpicking that ending is the cinematic journey that Shawn Michaels always wanted to take you on. ****1/2

Seth Rollins has the best entrance music in all of wrestling, maybe ever. That is a glorious slab of head banging metal. Slipknot wishes it wrote something good. It is the only good thing about him. I don't have many problems with Rollins in-ring that is specific to him. He has a lot of the same problems his peers have. I think he has the Lex Luger problem. He is a better character as a heel, but he is a better in-ring wrestler as a babyface. Rollins is just so lame on the mic as a babyface. I would not follow that dweeb tool anywhere. His bitching that Brock Lesnar is a not a good champion for the brand is just a bunch of smart mark whining. Save it for the marketing meeting, brutha. That's what I feel like is that wrestling has become one big marketing meeting. Wrestlers complain about their adversary not being entertaining enough as the crux of their feud. It is so lame. What happened to personal feuds? What happened to wanting to be the best? C'mon, Rollins beat Brock because he nutshotted him not once, not twice, but three times. What a loser babyface! Good on Brock for bringing it up. Cant remember what promo. It was when Brock has the MITB. Rollins said something about beating him and Brock loudly said "Only because you hit me in the balls". What dumb booking for a babyface. You can claim that a lot of Rollins hate is generated by how he is booked and the content he has to speak, but man he does not make it sound. The only person that can really make WWE speak sound remotely normal and entertaining is Alexa Bliss.